[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: the day everything can change...
It came, 2094 brought little noteworthiness.

Okay, we're two games into the four game pre-season. We crushed the Hanalei Dragons 42-7, then get crushed 34-7 at the Kansas Creationists. But that's not what the general managers in the IHOF are worried about. We don't mind if we see our kick holder get player of the game honors after he tossed 1 touchdown pass on 16 attempts. We don't feel pride when a top-notch receiver is held to 6 catches for 45 yards. We're not worried when our future face of the franchise completes 7 of 11 passes when the plan was to have him throw the ball 30 times, or see that kid run for 15 and 10 yards. No, as soon as these games are played, we rush to our staff members and ask them one simple question: give me a new scouting report!

The crucial part is to have made notes on what the 60 or so players on roster were evaluated at right after training camp. And that we did in Maassluis as well. So, what's the verdict? We'll once again go by the 0-100 scale of the staff members, round down to the nearest 5's to keep some guesswork for the other teams alive and make no secret about the changes.

Quarterbacks
20/50 (+1/+1) Earnest Ashley (R)
30/30 (-4/-4) Moe Sheldon
15/30 (nc/+1) Jon Giles (KH)
05/25 (nc/-1) Herb Bensen (R) (KH)
Whew, Ashley held ground. That's good news. Sheldon will be the mentor. Giles the kick holder.
cut: Bensen

Running backs
45/45 (+1/-2) Trey Beyer
45/45 (-1/-1) Francisco Patter
35/35 (-5/-5) Reggie Thongchanh
35/35 (-4/-4) FB Clay Brosseau
25/35 (-2/-1) FB Owen Johnston (R)
20/20 (-1/-1) Darien Bettencourt
Okay, is this the year we'll promote Beyer into Thong' role? If so, Thong' will still stick as a special teamer, together with Johnston.
cut: Bettencourt

Tight Ends
55/55 (no ch.) Clay Gaynor
50/50 (no ch.) Clarence Gore
20/30 (-1/-1) Ike Nixon
20/25 (nc/-2) Norman Blades (R)
20/20 (-4/-4) Renaldo Crawford
Nothing new here, it's all about finding ways to get the ball thrown to the guys with the initials C.G.. I'm undecided about Nixon and Blades, knowing the last two pre-season games will do exactly nothing to the decision making process.
cut: Blades

Wide Receivers
55/70 (nc/-2) Ed Schulz
55/55 (-4/-4) Theodore Bondy
45/45 (+1/+1) George Stuckey
40/40 (-6/-7) Rickey Lyle (KR)
40/40 (+1/+1) Branden Sandlin
20/20 (-8/-8) Santiago Messenger (KR)
25/25 (-3/-3) Mark Perkins (PR)
Not one but two guys regressed. And I'm not talking about Theo here, he's still WR2 material behind Schulz. And in pre-season Bondy already showed a connection with Ashley, so: yay? Lyle's regression makes him expendable, well, close to. Messenger's drop is more problematic, he went from a great kickoff returner to a very good one. Perkins continues to grow, is he top3 in the league now? Sandlin will make the team, way to go! So, after pre-season it's a decision about 5, 6 or 7 wide outs, with Lyle and Messenger at risk.
bubble: Lyle or Messenger

Offensive Linemen
70/75 (+2/+1) C Robbie Zinn
60/60 (-4/-4) RT Howard Humphrey
40/75 (-1/+1) LT Isaac Delgado (R)
50/50 (-11/-11) G Michael Szott
30/60 (+1/+2) LT Johnnie Houston (R)
45/45 (-2/-2) G Hayden Gaylor
40/40 (no ch.) G Andre Watson
20/25 (-10/-12) C Lewis Azzolini
Azzolini dropped hard. It's time to shop for a new backup center. The rest? Szott is getting older, but is still useful. The real questions are: Houston or Delgado at left tackle? The 'loser' plays at guard or Watson will?
bubble: Azzolini (if we find a replacement)

Defensive Linemen
60/60 (-7/-7) DT Darien Fletcher
55/55 (-3/-3) DT Jumbo Mojica
50/50 (no ch.) DE Gene Kondovski
45/45 (-4/-4) DE Archie Exner
35/45 (-3/+4) DT Harold Gough (R)
30/40 (-2/-4) DT Caleb Domis
30/30 (-1/-1) DE Trent Donovan
30/30 (-3/-3) DT Kurt Ackerman
25/25 (-4/-4) DE Tony Whiting
These guys all continue to look good and now that enigmatic Gough guy becomes even more puzzling. I really have no idea where we go here, will we keep 9 guys for the second straight season?
bubble: Gough, Domis or Donovan

Linebackers
75/75 (+2/+2) Brandon Brady
45/45 (-6/-6) Daquan Espino
45/45 (-3/-3) Clayton Jackson
35/35 (+6/+6) Jose Meadows
30/35 (nc/+1) Andrew Cochrane (R)
25/25 (-5/-5) Brant Rayburn
20/20 (-12/-12) Les Flowers (new)
10/10 (-2/-2) Alec Palmer
The verdict on Flowers is out: out. He looked nice, but is worse than all the nine d-linemen. That still leaves us with too many linebackers than we could use. It's a decision for the top3 (Brady, Jackson, Espino) and behind them 2 or 3 special teamers. Meadows looks safe, the staff says he's so good, he can't even be ranked amongst his peers in the league.
bubble: Palmer
cut: Cochrane and Flowers

Secondary
65/65 (no ch.) S Devon Farrell
45/45 (-7/-7) CB Jackie Richardson
40/45 (no ch.) CB Zachery Weisz (R)
40/40 (-1/-1) CB Adam Harmon
35/35 (-3/-3) S Chuck Murray
30/30 (-4/-4) S Jon Bozeman
35/35 (+1/-1) CB Britt Hudson
35/55 (+9/+19) CB Bryson Swafford (R)
25/35 (-1/-1) S Gabriel Cromer
20/25 (nc/-7) CB Keegan Cosby (R) (KR)
It's tricky yo judge rookies so early, but Cosby looks like he's on the way out. Cromer can become a useful backup, one that can jump into action if injuries force us to activate him. Swafford may look like a hidden gem that wasn't to be discovered, but he was very underrated by my staff's assesments. Richardson is declining, but should still be the starter ahead of the rest. Farrell is still Farrell.
bubble: Cosby, Cromer

Punter
90/90 (+2/+2) Doug James
Best in business

Kicker
75/75 (-2/-2) Dylan McMullen
Second best in business

Long snapper
20/20 (no ch.) Bryce Karney
Third best in business


That's where we stand now. We'll be 5 players lighter in the last two pre-season games. And after those, 2 more to let go. And not to forget: renegotiate with upcoming free agents. We've got about $26M of cap space to work with and at least one key player to talk with: Devon Farrell. (Actually, I should have talked with him now, but sometimes you make all the instructions that need to be made and afterwards remind yourself you forgot something. New chance tomorrow.)