[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: Too good to be true
Or: how to piss away a potential great season.

For a day or two, we thought we had arrived. The Solecismic Power Ratings report was convincing: the Maassluis Merchantmen are the #1 team in the league. Our record wasn't the top of the mountain, but flip around the loss at the Tucker Tigers and, in fact, we'd have been tied at the top at 7-2 each, together with the North Plainfield Plague.

To get there, we beat the Paris Musketeers 38-10 on the road, a sound and solid victory, completely in line with where we are as a team and where Paris is at the moment. We followed up with a very encouraging 23-17 at the Harlem Apollos, making it 3-1 against the tough Northeast division (they combined for a 26-18 record). We didn't play all that well on offense against Harlem, but we still got the job done. And the winning streak continued with a solid 27-19 beating of the Bordeaux Vineyards.

All looked well going into the crucial home clash with the Gothenburg Giants, everything setting up for us to win the game we should win against a rebuilding rival. The outcome was a train wreck of a game. It felt like the Gothenburg Giants knew every call we were making on offense. We didn't just play bad, it was a shameful performance. The running game was held to 43 yards on 22 carries, while WR Calvin Maxwell, WR Vinny Buysse and TE Garrett Alcala combined for 7 catches on 25 targets. QB Evan Drake was held to 138 yards passing, a performance I thought impossible of this personnel. Amazingly, the defense for a change actually played up to their talent and we actually were a 54-yard field goal away from a dirty victory. K Oscar Harrington shared in the misery, the kick fell short, the most talented kicker to ever play for orange-white-and-blue failed to make himself the game winner that we are paying him to be for us.

The pathetic display of can-we-still-call-this-football continued on our trip to the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums. The 23-15 final score makes it sound like we had a change to tie it up, but the reality is that we actually lost the field position battle and got outgained by 130 total yards. QB Evan Drake was held below 200 yards again, the running backs combined for 41 yards rushing and the defense couldn't keep a mediocre quarterback from throwing for 339 yards.

Ugh.

European Division:
1. Gothenburg 7-4
2. Maassluis 6-5
3. Bordeaux 3-8
4. Paris 1-9-1

As of now, we're actually outside the playoffs spots, as the Northeast and Southeast divisions both have a 7-4 second place team. Gothenburg has a much better divisional record now, which means winning in their house in week 17 will not give us the edge either. It's painful to conclude that as high as we were on this team, in 5 of 11 games, we pissed away our chances to win. The loss at Tucker was to be expected, a close loss by a single score, decided by a once in a million play. The losses at Brooklyn and North Plainfield fair, but the lack of defensive and offensive performance in both games was depressing. The losses against Bordeaux and Gothenburg were both unnecessary, despite our lackluster and sloppy play in both games, we should have converted game winning field goals in both games. I mean, sitting at 8-3 makes things so much easier to go into the final stretch, which will involve two more games against the tough NAC Mid-Atlantic division (a combined 26-17-1 record) in football at the moment.

Our journey continues with a home game against the fallen apart Fort Wayne Fury. But it's fair to say that they are much better than their 3-8 record would make you believe. Reality is that as talented as this team is, we're just not living up to it consistently. This passing game has no business being held under 200 yards in 5 of 11 games, that's just way below the quality of the quarterback and receivers involved. The running game is too hit or miss, despite that it's an improved group of players. And the defense, oh boy, I have no clue why they just can't deliver. This unit is talented, Merchantmen worthy.

I thought we got rid of all the players with their overpaid attitude. I'm starting to think we haven't fixed that mentality problem at all... Well, guys, stop looking good on paper and start being good on grass from here on! The season isn't lost yet, a lot can still happen, but we have to stop the lunacy here and now. Merchantmen, go out there and play good football!