[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: You win some, you lose some
Does it still apply after back-to-back losses?

Two more games in the bag and to be frank: they were a couple of disappointments. At the Chesapeake Chitterlings we forgot how to play football, in particular on offense. Effin' Batcheck completed 16 of 36 passes for 167 yards and 3 interceptions. Yeah, that's a recipe for disaster. Bert Ta'Amu was held to 59 yards on 20 carries. It shall come as no surprise that we lost. Now, if the defense had played any better, we might have come closer than a 22-10 deficit. But can I really blame the defense here, when they hold the opponents to 301 total yards?

Then week 15 at the Gothenburg Giants. What was supposed to be the game of the regular season, after our sudden downfall, we were just playing for keeping division title hopes alive and more importantly not dropping outside the virtual top6 for the playoffs. The good news was the return of Earnest Ashley, a game earlier than anticipated. The bad news that our running game was silenced, while our defensive performance was laughable, as if we completely forgot how to play on that side of the ball: giving up 208 rushing yards and letting Mercury Pierce complete 16 of 23 passes for 224 yards is unacceptable. I mean, an average defense is allowed to struggle here, but we've got a team with guys that are getting or soon to be demanding quarterback money. Well, kids, play up to it, you've got to earn it. So yes, indeed, while Earnest Ashley was perhaps the best player on the field, actually earning his paycheck, kind of, but it were the Gothenburg Giants that won 36-24. The Giants got the big plays, we didn't.

European Division:
1. Gothenburg 12-2
2. Maassluis 9-5
3. Bordeaux 5-9
4. Paris 4-10

Gothenburg has secured the division title in this game, but a bye week isn't secured yet. Our playoffs hopes rely on the wild cards. The one thing we've got going for us is that we're pretty much secured tie-breakers over all other hopefuls, but with Tucker 2 wins ahead, Augusta 1.5 wins, while San Antonio and Orlando are both 0.5 wins behind, the only team that's likely to be tie-breakable is Houston at 1 win ahead of us.

But to be allowed to talk about playoffs, we'll have to play the way we did in weeks 1 through 10, not like the 1-4 losers from the recent 5 games. Yes, I went there, I upped my standards, especially in a series of home games. Next up are the Williamsburg Colonials, despite their 6-8 record, a team to fear, even in Oranje Haven. It's time to, well, not just regroup, but really, show the league what we're made of.