[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: We played so well...
But not good enough.

The 2104 season has ended for the Maassluis Merchantmen. We showed up, playing exceptionally well for one quarter at the championship favorite Fort Wayne Fury. But as the game progressed, our defense was unable to stop their passing game, we failed to get our ground game working, got penalized too often and a couple of turnovers were too much for us to overcome. A 21-7 lead eventually piled up into a 42-21 loss.

Missed opportunities? Sure. Unable to keep pace with the best of the best? That too. We tried to adapt our game plan to find a way too stop the phenomenal passing game of the Fury. And it failed, big time, giving up their second biggest passing yards figure of the season. At the same time, they needed most of it to win. In particular, our inability to stop their short passing (they completed 21 of 23 passes for 325 yards) was a disgraceful showing. No way around it: we clearly made the wrong calls. Now, if only I knew what the mistakes were...

The way our offense put up a fight with the most talented defense in the league was encouraging. QB Evan Drake threw for 355 yards, this addition to the offense has brought new life to our offense. The running game is still lacking two pieces: a short yardage power back (Van Goodwin isn't the answer) and the traditional Merchantmen melange: cohesion on the offensive line. That last part will take some time, especially if our centerpiece Elijah Cyr will turn out to be a one-year rental.

Still, the revival season ended as we were quite clearly not good enough yet to seriously compete with the best of the best. Or, to be more specific, with the Fort Wayne Fury in their home. Our 11-5 record and reaching the elite eight were well within how good this team is. The roster is young (bar a handful of veterans) and our cap situation is wealthy.

2014 was good, but we're not good enough.
At least, not yet.