General Manager Notes: Over, it's finally over
Done, finished, 2088 is in the books for us.
We actually managed to finish the season with a crushing defeat of the Bordeaux Vineyards: 37-10. Reggie Thong' ran for 148 yards, Branden Sandlin caught 6 for 105 yards, Moe Sheldon threw for 204 yards and 2 scores without a pick. And Theo Bondy, he struggled once again: 6 catches on 17 targets, gaining 64 yards for 2 scores (the second one a 45-yarder).
The margin of victory actually pushed this season from worst to only third worst in franchise history. A -73 points differential is quite obviously nothing to be happy about, but it's better than the -100 points from before today. Although, considering that we also steamrolled the Paris Musketeers in our house, it shows how pathetic we were most of the time. We lost all 8 road games, only twice being within 1 score. At the same time, we lost one 2 home games, including the one against the Toronto Lake Monsters that we choked as well. But had we not choked those two games, we would have still fallen behind the Paris Musketeers on common games record, this was never meant to be.
European division:
1. Gothenburg 8-8
2. Paris 8-8
3. Bordeaux 7-9
4. Maassluis 6-10
Gothenburg swept Paris, giving them tie-breakers.
All around, the league has six (division winning) teams with a 12-4 or 13-3 record going into the playoffs: the Outer Banks Ospreys, Oakland Black Panthers, Kansas Creationists, Chesapeake Chitterlings (all four in the NAC) and the San Antonio Tidal Force and Tucker Tigers (both in the AOC). The 10-6 Orlando Talons (AOC) and 9-7 Williamsburg Colonials (NAC) are probably better than their records show, they are the top wild cards. Sixth seeds Fort Wayne Fury (AOC) and Moontown Darksiders (NAC) both look good, but not bowl bound material. The Fury might actually have a decent shot at the 9-7 Toronto Lake Monsters, the only team in the playoffs with a negative points differential. The Gothenburg Giants might even not be the worst team in the post-season, despite their 8-8 record, but hosting aforementioned Orlando Talons, a deep run looks farfetched.
Mean whilst, we've taken note of the Houston Mustangs finishing the season with a 7-9 record and as such giving us only the #13 overall draft pick in the 2089 draft. Sure, much better than the #32 pick they were supposed to be, but after their 1-6 start, we had every reason to think we hit the jackpot. Combined with our 'earned' #9 overall, we'll have something to work with. Although it should be no surprise that I would have preferred a pick in the bottom 12, which would have meant still being in the race for league championship.
So, what does next season look like for us?
We have a young roster, we forced our hand there, but it's a fact now. We have exactly one player in his 10th (or up) season: our frickin' kick holder. Let's take a quick glace at each position group.
Quarterbacks
signed: KH Muchnick
restricted: QB Farley
unrestricted: QB Sheldon
Moe Sheldon actually guided us to a 6-7 record in his starts, Francisco Farley lost the starting gig after an 0-3 start. Quite simply, with Farley we were a train wreck. With Sheldon, we were average. Will we bring Sheldon back? If he wants to and if he doesn't ask for $20M/year, maybe. Farley? A somewhat similar story: welcome back, but if he asks for much more than minimum, I suspect his career will be over before we find out what his true potential is.
Backfield
signed: RB Patter, FB Brosseau, RB Gunja
restricted: RB Ford, RB Szporluk
unrestricted: RB Thongchanh
Oh yeah, Thong'. He ran for 1,359 yards this season (1,436 last season). Quite simply, he's going to demand starter money. Will we have the cap space? Probably. Will we give it to him? Unlikely. Patter actually thinks he should be the guy, he's locked up cheap for 2 seasons and looks unlikely to go into holdout mode. Brosseau could be serviceable, but we'll have to get him more involved in the running game as a blocker, otherwise it's a waste for him to play with us. The other three guys? We might be able to bring Ford and Szporluk back cheap and Gunja is locked up. But these guys might be a RB2 at best.
Tight ends
signed: TE Holliday, TE Kotz
restricted: TE Blake, TE Crawford
All these guys are run blockers and okay special teamers. Blake isn't listed as our starter, but he saw the most action. This unit is shoulder raising. We're not going to pay these guys. It's pretty clear that the game these days demands teams to have a decent receiving tight end. Well, we'll have to look at the market and draft class then.
Wide receivers
signed: WR Bondy, WR Sandlin, WR/KR Arntt
restricted: WR/KR Messenger, WR Gelat
If these were happy times, I might be more disappointed about Bondy. It just doesn't make sense that he stopped playing like an all-time great. I really hope we can unbreak him next season. Sandlin has lived up to my expectations, he's WR2 material and locked up cheap. Messenger is our WR3 and kickoff returner, he may have demands, we'll likely meet them. Arntt is locked up, a very good backup to Messenger for the return duties. If we want to improve our team, Gelat might find himself dropped to WR6, providing he gets called back for next season. It's quite possible we'll look at bringing in a new starter.
Offensive Line
signed: C Pearson, G Szott, G Watson, LT Hadinger, RT Humphrey, LT Hamilton, C Labbe
restricted: G Willis
This unit will remain as is. Most likely. Watson is the only starter at risk here, bar disaster in training camp/pre-season, while backup Willis would then be the actual casualty. But unless we find a very good starter, this unit should stick with a cohesion boost.
Kicker/Punter/Long snapper
signed: P Guynes, K Wells, LS Biegen
unrestricted: P Holton
Holton is still around? Yeah, but just because it was pretty pointless to axe him for the last game alone. Neither Guynes or Wells is safe, we have high standards for these positions, but it would need to be a major improvement. Ditto on Biegen.
Defensive Line
signed: DE Kondovski, DE Russell, DE Exner, DT Ackerman
restricted: DT Mojica, DE Whiting, DE Gellar
unrestricted: DT Ritt
Oh boy, Mojica. That guy broke out and might ask for big money. Will we pay him? I might actually be willing to. This guy is the best guy on this unit. Whiting also broke out and might want to get paid as well. Worth it? Probably. Ritt is worth keeping at the right price. There's little chance other teams would want him, well, he'd fit here.
Linebackers
signed: ILB Espino, OLB Jackson, OLB Mendelssohn
restricted: ILB Strobel, OLB Palmer, OLB Peterson
Espino is the real deal, but we already knew that. Jackson is decent, Strobel played okay for what we had. If he wants to get paid, I suspect he'll be out of football by 2090. Palmer and Peterson are special teamers (can somebody please fire the moron that kept Palmer off the field every single game every single special teams play
). Mendelssohn is a bust, sorry kid. Don't be shocked if he's no longer with us by 2090.
Secondary
signed: CB Hitchcock, CB McNeil, CB/PR Blackwell, S Marty, S Newsome
restricted: CB Frias, S Sword, S Harper, S Blanchard
I really like Marty and Newsome, but we do need an all downs guy to give these guys more time to take a breath. The restricted safeties are okay, all lack stamina as well. Yes, safety will be a position to look at for improvement. Hitchcock is undisputable. McNeil better suited to become or nickelback, which would downgrade Blackwell back to just a return specialist and maybe dimeback duties. Frias might be better than he has shown so far. If the price is right, we'll bring him back and give more time to develop.
We're does that put us? 31 players signed, 18 restricted free agents, only 4 players that will hit the open market before the draft. A draft where we will pick at #9 and #13 in the first round, have 3 additional 4th round picks, and also bonus picks in the 5th and 7th round for 13 picks in total. The cap situation? We'll be $80M under the cap, not accounting for the draft picks that will be an expensive one with two top half picks. After accounting for the 22 open roster spots, we'll probably have about $35M to work with.
The season isn't over yet, 12 teams are still in the race to become the IHOF's next top franchise. For 19 others and us, the action is over, it's "tot volgend seizoen" for us. And we wil return, stronger than this season. For we are the Merchantmen, never giving up!