Maassluis Merchantmen (IHOF), part 2 - Page 4

MIJB#19 · 11-02-2013, 10:27 AM

2041 week 11

Merchantmen outlast Giants
The Maassluis Merchantmen took out on of their two division title rivals. The Gothenburg Giants played along for the most part, intercepting Perry Coleman twice, but failed to overcome the field position disadvantage. Charles Anthony kicked a last minute field goal to ice it for the Merchantmen.

The Merchantmen didn't necessarily struggle, as Perry Coleman had a strong outing, but a couple of unlucky interceptions helped the Giants to keep it close and going into the fourth quarter with a tied score. Overall, the Merchantmen were more efficient offensively and did a better job in forcing the opponent to punt, pulling a deserved victory.

Offense
passing: Coleman 20/28 for 224 yd, 2 td, 2 int
rushing: Terry 19 for 79 yd
receiving: pritt 9 for 118 yd; Haskell 1 td, Pomeranz 1 td

Defense
interceptions: Duncan
fumble recoveries: none
sacks: Lucas 1.5, Johnstone 0.5

MIJB#19 · 11-02-2013, 10:42 AM

2041 week 12

Merchantmen showcase against Fightin' Bums
Happy faces everywhere in Oranje Haven. After a slow start, the Merchantmen took control and completely outplayed the visiting Brooklyn Fighin' Bums en route to a 41-10 victory. The defense clicked, the offense gelled and Perry Coleman posted the second perfect passer rating in Merchantmen history.

The game started with a defense heavy trend. Punts went over and down until the seventh possession of the game resulted in Donald Terry fumbling the ball inside the Merchantmen red zone. Brooklyn settled for an 18-yard field goal after the first quarter. But from there on things drastically changed on drives where the Merchantmen had the ball, seven consecutive drives resulted in scoring plays, playing out the first half with three touchdowns and a 21-10 lead. Perry Coleman lived up big time, piling up the big throws to complete 25 of 28 pass attempts for 346 yards and 3 scores, without having any of his targets getting 100 yards or more receiving.

Offense
passing: Coleman 25/28 for 346 yd, 3 td, 0 int (perfect game)
rushing: Terry 22 for 122 yd, 2 td
receiving: Pomeranz 4 for 98 yd; Haskell 6 for 84 yd, 2 td; Harriman 1 td

Defense
interceptions: none
fumble recoveries: none
sacks: Lucas

MIJB#19 · 11-02-2013, 11:12 AM

GM Notes

After a couple of tough losses in October against Tucker and Paris, we bounced back and have a five game winning streak going. I'm far from confident it will last much longer, as we're going to visit the Vicksburg Vipers (also 9-2) and Chesapeake Chitterlings (7-4) in the next two games. We'll close out the regular season with a threesome of home games, hosting the disappointing Bordeaux Vineyards (2-9), underwhelming Williamsburg Colonials (4-7 after last season's 13-3 campaign) and the all-important home game against the Paris Musketeers (8-3). The Gothenburg Giants (6-5) have fallen behind and it looks like they're out of the division title race.

We've had a shocking stretch of five games where we gave up over 400 yards on defense, but we've bounced back a bit and are back in better half of the league in yards allowed. The offense is clicking, we're 6th in yardage, despite having our usual field position advantage with Jack Money's league leading kick returns. On the scoreboard, we're in great shape, scoring the second most (30.2 per game) and allowing the fourth least (16.3 per game), giving us the second best scoring margin (+13.9, trailing the Tucker Tigers by 1.8 points per game).

It's going to be tight down the stretch, the Vipers game will be very important for the seeding order in the AOC, assuming we'll get into the playoffs. Currently we're sitting in 3rd place on inferior conference record, but losing top Vicksburg would put us down in head-to-head to both Tucker and Vicksburg. The overall cut currently is at 7-4, so we're far from there yet. Hence, with Paris on our tail, a week 17 loss against the Musketeers would put us behind them on the head-to-head sweep.

MIJB#19 · 11-08-2013, 06:04 PM

2041 week 13

Merchantmen avenge Vipers
The Maassluis Merchantmen avenged the playoffs loss against the Vicksburg Vipers from last season. In a close game, the Merchantmen held on just enough to win 24-20. Terry Haskell had a big role with a couple of receiving touchdowns. The victory puts the Merchantmen a game ahead of the Vipers and also gives them the important head-to-head tie-breaker in the race for a bye week in the playoffs.

The second and third best teams in the AOC made for an interesting game. The Merchantmen drew first blood, scoring on the first drive of the game as Perry Coleman found Terry Haskell in the end zone. They had set it up a couple of minutes earlier with a 43-yard play to get into scoring position. Vicksburg's Roy Lynn replied with a 49-yard bomb to Ricky Summers, but Harold Matheson made an important third down sack to hold the Vipers to a field goal. Helped by a couple of unnecessary roughness penalties, the Merchantmen reached the Vipers red zone and Perry Coleman ran it in himself from 8 yards out for the 14-3 lead after the first quarter.

The second quarter started with a Merchantmen field goal, which the Vipers replied with their first touchdown of the game, as Roy Lynn found Ricky Summers in the endzone. The Merchantmen quickly marched into the Vipers redzone in an attempt to restore the two score lead, however Perry Coleman had a pass intercepted. The Merchantmen defense returned the favor a couple of plays later, as Johnnie Warren sacked Roy Lynn and Harold Matheson picked up the ball that Lynn lost on the play. Greg Brass ran for a nice 17-yard gain and three plays later it was another Coleman to Haskell touchdown. The Vipers took some risks to try to trim their deficit, but Perry Walker picked off Roy Lynn to end the first half, the Merchantmen leading 24-10.

The second half started with defensive superiority, until the Vipers reached the Merchantmen territory. They went for it on fourth and one, but Ricardo Turnbull was stopped for no gain and the loss of possession. The third quarter ended with Roy Lynn's 27-yard pass to tight end J.C. Krenn to get onto Merchantmen turf, but the possession ended with a punt. Maassluis kept struggling offensively and Roy Lynn found Jorge Hunte for a 66-yard bomb to set up a short touchdown pass to tight end Monty Heffner. The Vipers got the ball back on their own two-yard line, still trailing by a touchdown. Roy Lynn found Ricky Summers for another 46-yard bomb to get into the red zone, but another well timed sack pushed the Vipers back and they settled for a 30-yard field goal with just under 3 minutes left to play. The Merchantmen professionally ran out the clock and punted it back to Vicksburg, with 9 ticks left on the clock without any time outs. On that last play of the game, Roy Lynn tried to buy time, but failed as Harold Matheson broke through and laid Lynn on his back to end the game.

The victory maintains the Merchantmen a top the European division, one game ahead of the Paris Musketeers (they beat the Rochester Razorbacks 17-12). That result also bodes well for any bye week hopes, putting the Merchantmen 2 games ahead of Rochester and 1 game plus tie-breakers ahead of Vicksburg. The Gothenburg Giants kept their hopes alive with an impressive 27-17 victory at the San Antonio Tidal Force.

Offense
Passing: Coleman 15/29 for 210 yd, 2 td, 1 int
Rushing: Terry 18 for 55 yd; Coleman 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 7 for 128 yd, 2 td

Defense
Interceptions: Walker
Fumble recoveries: Matheson
Sacks: Matheson 2, Warren, Johnstone 0.5, Lucas 0.5

MIJB#19 · 11-08-2013, 06:15 PM

2041 week 14

Chitterlings beat Merchantmen again
No payback for the IHOF Bowl XXXVI loss. The Chesapeake Chitterlings gathered an early big lead and held on plenty enough to hand the Merchantmen a 31-21 loss in their last road game of the regular season.

The statistics looked good for Maassluis, but the numbers were racked up heavily late in the fourth quarter after the Chitterlings had already built a 24-point lead. At crucial moments, the Merchantmen defense faltered, allowing many third down conversions, while the first quarter resulted in more penalty yards than yards gained on offense. The comeback was decent, with two unanswered touchdowns, but time was way too short to make up for the remaining 10 points.

The Merchantmen drop to second place in the European division as the Paris Musketeers won 21-14 at the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums. The Gothenburg Giants packed their division race hopes after a sour 38-34 loss at home by the hands of the Frederick Red Menace. There also was some good news from elsewhere in the AOC, as the Vicksburg Vipers fell 24-21 at the Hanalei Dragons to keep them a game behind the Merchantmen.

Offense
Passing: Coleman 23/37 for 240 yd, 3 td
Rushing: Terry 14 for 106 yd
Receiving: Pritt 9 for 104 yd, 1 td; Pomeranz 7 for 78 yd, 2 td

Defense
Interceptions: none
Fumble recoveries: Pomato
Sacks: Warren

MIJB#19 · 11-08-2013, 06:37 PM

2041 week 15

Struggling Merchantmen steamroll Vineyards
Despite a struggling performance, the Maassluis Merchantmen did what they had to do. The winning streak over the Bordeaux Vineyards in Oranje Haven was extended to eight games with a 31-7 victory. Donald Terry accounted for the scarce good plays on offense, scoring twice.

The first half was a complete trainwreck of a football game. Neither team seemed to be able to do anything. The Merchantmen started their first four drives all in Bordeaux territory but came away with a single field goal, despite staying turnover free on offense. In between, Vineyards quarterback Dusty Hughes orchestrated an 14-play 80-yard scoring drive, which was finalized with J.C. Fitzgerald's 14-yard run for a touchdown. Defenses ruled the remainder of the first half and the Merchantmen players were booed off the field with a disappointing 7-6 deficit at half time.

The Merchantmen came out of the gates much stronger. Perry Coleman was still struggling, but kept the chains moving and eventually it was Donald Terry who ran it in from 14 yards out to put the Merchantmen ahead 13-7. It didn't get much better after that drive, although the Merchantmen defense did their job as they picked off Dusty Hughes on three straight drives. Still, it wasn't until halfway into the fourth quarter when Perry Coleman found J.T. Pritt in the end zone. Greg Brass ran the ball in for 2 points to put the Merchantmen up by 14. The Vineyards went in go for it mode after that and twice were stalled inside their own red zone, giving the Merchantmen 10 easy points, with Donald Terry scoring his second touchdown of the game. The final 3 minutes were played off the clock by the Vineyards.

The Merchantmen ended the game with just 243 total yards on offense and their longest drive being only 55 yards long. Despite that, the defense had a big part in the game, with 5 turnovers and 4 sacks of Dusty Hughes, that resulted in the Bordeaux quarterback's 12.9 passer rating as he completed just 17 of 50 pass attempts for 190 yards and no scores.

Offense
Passing: Coleman 17/32 for 124 yd, 1 td
Rushing: Terry 15 for 94 yd, 2 td
Receiving: Pritt 6 for 57 yd ,1 td

Defense
Interceptions: Crum, Gordon, Hatton, Pomato
Fumble recoveries: Warren
Sacks: Warren 1.5, Johnstone, Walker, Matheson 0.5

MIJB#19 · 11-08-2013, 07:05 PM

GM Notes

With two games to go, we've reached an interesting situation. We're tied with the Paris Musketeers at 11-3 each and have a week 17 clash in Oranje Haven that will determine who wins the European division this season, regardless of what happens in week 16. The only caveat being that a tied game will favor Paris. More interestingly, if we win that clash, we'll have at least a 12-4 record and that will guarantee us a bye week, because the only other AOC teams in contention are the Tucker Tigers (12-4 at worst - they have tie-breakers over us) and the Vicksburg Vipers (12-4 at best - we have tie-breakers over them).

As a result, and eventually it was a pretty easy decision, we're going to keep a lot of injured starters out of the depth chart, even inactivating some of them, most notably quarterback Perry Coleman, fullback Greg Brass, tight end Mike Bernstein, tackle Tom Bush, linebackers Wesley Devine and Donald Duncan, and safety Thurman Hopper. We're also moving cornerbacks Mark Crum and Marc Pomato into backup roles, while we'll inactivate our running back Donald Terry and wide receivers J.T. Pritt and Terry Haskell.

It will likely end Donald Terry's race for the rushing title this season. He's currently second in IHOF with 1,250 yards, but 85 yards behind Capital City Blues' John Loukas jr, making it a steep hill anyway. Besides, it should come as no surprise that we're not interested in individual accolades in Maassluis, Terry's performance is a team based one anyway, the only thing that matters is winning the big game at the end of the season.

Despite that, this won't mean we'll be playing with a bunch of stiffs against the Williamsburg Colonials. At quarterback, we'll welcome back Harry Osborne and his tremendous record. Charles Pomeranz and Vincent Cox will be the wide receivers and rookie Steven Fulcher will get his first career start. On defense we'll be happy to give our veteran cornerback Herman Hatton his first start of the season and on the offensive line it will be Lamont Whitfield getting the same privilege.

Do I fear defeat by the hands of the Colonials? 'Fear' is a big word in this context. It will be a tough opponent as they are, with quarterback Gino Greenburg, but the Colonials are hurting at wide receiver, with Roy Walton out this week and Edwin Freedman not back at 100% after breaking his clavicle in week 11. I think we'll still stand a decent chance to win, especially at home. But the important part is to have our key players stay injury free as much as possible. Week 17 will be the crucial game, beating the Colonials would be icing on the cake, providing we bake that cake. And if we somehow lose the last two games, we'll still be the top wild card team in the conference and have a road game at Vicksburg, Rochester or Toronto.

MIJB#19 · 11-15-2013, 07:46 AM

2041 week 16

Merchantmen B-team fumble to deficit
The Maassluis Merchantmen recorded their fourth loss of the season, falling 16-10 to the Williamsburg Colonials in Oranje Haven. The Merchantmen kept most of their key players off the field, as the outcome of the game would have no effect on the playoffs seeding order. The B-team played decent football, but turned the ball over 5 times, three times in scoring position.

Offense
Passing: Osborne 19/28 for 153 yd, 1 td, 2 int
Rushing: Fulcher 26 for 154
Receiving: Brown 8 for 85; Pomeranz 1 td

Defense
Interceptions: none
Fumble recoveries: Bradley, Crum
Sacks: Matheson

MIJB#19 · 11-15-2013, 08:00 AM

Donald Terry diagnoses with impaired vision
A tough blow for Maassluis Merchantmen running back Donald Terry. An infection to his left eye has taken its toll, limiting Terry's vision severely enough to be able to play football. The diagnosis was made as 'impaired vision' and doctors can't estimate how long this condition will stick. Terry was inactive in the Merchantmen's 16-10 loss to the Williamsburg Colonials, but that decision was made before he suffered illness. Terry will miss the crucial final home game of the season, as the Merchantmen host the Paris Musketeers in a battle for the European division title and a bye week in the playoffs.

MIJB#19 · 11-15-2013, 08:36 AM

2014 week 17

Merchantmen lose control of Europe
Maassluis' reign of Europe has ended. After four consecutive division titles, the Merchantmen came to a halt as the Paris Musketeers invaded Oranje Haven to claim the 2041 European division title. The disillusioned Merchantmen lost 24-5 and will not have a bye week in the playoffs for the first time in five years. The AOC's top wild card was already secured as the worst case scenario several weeks ago.

The Merchantmen started the game on good notes, as Jack Money returned the opening kickoff all the way to the Paris 44-yard line. But the Musketeers quickly set the tone of their own game, stuffing Scott Fulcher on his first carry and intercepting Perry Coleman on the second play of the game. Despite that the Musketeers were forced to punt shortly after, they took the lead on their second drive, marching 85 yards up field and finishing it as Rosey Hansen reached Dana Battle in the end zone. Coleman marched his team forward on the next drive and ran the ball in on third and goal, but a holding penalty took the touchdown off the board and the Merchantmen settled for a 34-yard field goal for a 7-3 Paris lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Musketeers were stalled early at pinned the Merchantmen deep. Perry Coleman guided his team forward with a couple of first down conversions, but that came to a halt as he was intercepted at midfield, the second giveaway of the game. Paris gained just enough yards to convert a 46-yard field goal. The Merchantmen got the ball back late in the second quarter, but completely mishandled the clock and scored no points despite reaching the Musketeers 26-yard line.

The third quarter started with a three and out for Paris and was followed up with Maassluis' Edward Rice pinning the Musketeers at their own 2-yard line. Rice copied his play with an even longer punt to the 2-yard line after neither team failed to make much ground. Sadly for him, it didn't keep the Musketeers from starting a long drive that brought them at the Merchantmen 3-yard line at the end of the third quarter, still leading 10-3.

Rosey Hansen found Dana Battle for the second touchdown of the duo and the game to start the fourth quarter. Jack Money had another kickoff return into Paris turf, followed up with yet another big punt from Edward Rice to the Paris 4-yard line. The Merchantmen got the ball back, but Coleman got intercepted again near the 50-yard line. Rosey Hansen replied it with a 37-yard bomb to veteran Fred Ahmed and an 11-yard score to Gus Lockhart for the three-score lead and 9 minutes left to play. Maassluis was stalled again and Edward Rice pinned Paris at their 1-yard line, setting up a safety on the next play as Donovan Bertleson got tackled by Bernie Gordon in the end zone. Maassluis got the ball back, but after a three and out, with just 5 minutes left to play and down by 18, the game was basically over. Maassluis got the ball back, with just over a minute to play and without any time outs. A face saving score was too much to ask and the season ended with the biggest loss of the season.

Offense
Passing: Coleman 17/31 for 224 yards, 0 td, 3 int
Rushing: Fulcher 10 for 23 yd
Receiving: Cox 3 for 61 yd

Defense
Interceptions: none
Fumble recoveries: none
Sacks: Matheson, Lincoln 0.5, Warren 0.5

MIJB#19 · 11-15-2013, 09:06 AM

2041 Regular season standings

European division
13-3 Paris
11-5 Maassluis
8-8 Gothenburg
2-14 Bordeaux

Paris goes into the playoffs seeded 2nd in the AOC, behind the Tucker Tigers (14-2). The Vicksburg Vipers (12-4) will host the Fort Wayne Fury (10-6). The Merchantmen (11-5) will visit the Toronto Lake Monsters (9-7). In the NAC, Capital City and Chicago are the top two seeds, Oakland hosts Minnesota and Chesapeake hosts Outer Banks, with all four wild card round teams having a 10-6 or worse record.

Statistical leaders
Passing: Coleman 62.8% complete (6th in IHOF), 3,508 yd, 26 td, 9 int; Osborne 3 td
Rushing: Terry 1,250 yd (6th in IHOF), 13 td (1st), 4.98 avg (9th); Brass 3 td, Coleman 2 td
Receiving: Pritt 92 rec (7th in IHOF) for 1,114 yd (14th), 7 td; Haskell 65 rec for 945 yd, 11 td (7th in IHOF); Pomeranz 4 td, Harriman 3 td, Cox 2 td, Brown 1 td, Wilkerson 1 td

Defense
Interceptions: Crum 3, Duncan 3, Gordon 2, Pisano 2, Pomato 2, Walker 2, Devine 1, Hatton 1, Hopper 1
Sacks: Matheson 8.0, Warren 6.0, Lucas 5.5, Johnstone 3.0, Lincoln 2.5, Toohil 2.5, Devine 2.0, Duncan 2.0, Walker 1.5, Gilman 1.0, Gordon 1.0, Hutton 1.0, Boo 0.5, Finch 0.5

Other statistics:
Jack Money averaged 11.0 yards per punt return (4th in IHOF) and 32.9 yards per kickoff return (2nd).
Charles Anthony scored 28 field goals, with a 96.6% efficiency (1st in IHOF) and 45 extra points for 129 point (10th).
Dennis Lucas was 11th in the league in pass rush percentage, adding 30 hurries (2nd in IHOF) and 2 blocked passes to his 5.5 sacks.
No less than four players had double digit defended passes, with Mark Crum (12), Bernie Gordon (12), Daniel Duncan (11) and Marc Pomato (11).

Overall statistics:
6th in scoring offense
4th in scoring defense
top5 pass defense and pass rush, top5 pass protection

MIJB#19 · 01-24-2014, 10:37 AM

2041 Wild Card Round

Lake Monsters upset Merchantmen in barnburner
The Maassluis Merchantmen will have to wait another season to get their ultimate goal achived. The Merchantmen lost 35-34 at the Toronto Lake Monsters, after an up and down turnover free game, where the lead switched hands four times. Lake Monsters quarterback Marcus Robbins threw for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns to guy his team in the game winning late fourth quarter drive.

Offense
Passing: Coleman 25/42 for 352 yd, 3 td
Rushing: Fulcher 62 yd, 1 td
Receiving: Pritt 122 yd, 1 td; Haskell 11 yd, 1 td; Bernstein 1 td

Defense
Interceptions: none
Fumble recoveries: none
Sacks: Duncan 1, Finch 0.5, Lincoln 0.5, Matheson 0.5, Warren 0.5

MIJB#19 · 01-24-2014, 12:13 PM

2042 Retirement wave

The Maassluis Merchantmen will be down 4 men going into the upcoming 2042 season. Tom Bush, D.J. Cahill, Herman Hatton and Gilbert Rhodes filled their retirement papers. All of them played more than 100 games with the Merchantmen, starting a large majority of those games.

Tight end D.J. Cahill earned the biggest accolades in Maassluis. Although never living up to the firth round pick hype, Cahill hung around for 12 seasons. Following a disappointing 2030 rookie campaign, Cahill improved his game, but never became a big weapon, peaking at 609 yards in 2033 and 7 touchdowns in 2034. Cahill was a regular starter for eight season and didn't miss a game in the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI campaign. After that game, Cahill's playing time significantly reduced. He retires with 167 regular season games played (115 starts) for 4,205 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns. He also played in 9 playoffs games (4 starts) and this upcoming pre-season, Cahill is a nominee for induction into the Merchantmen Ring of Honor.

Cornerback Herman Hatton was a 2033 first round pick and spent his entire IHOF career with the Merchantmen. Hatton immediately jumped into the starting lineup, but recorded his first interception in his second season. He was a starter in each of his first eight seasons, including the IHOF Bowl XXXVI loss. Last season, Hatton was pushed aside to make room for rookie Mark Crum and newly signed Marc Pomato. He retires with 136 games played (121 started), excluding 12 playoffs games (11 starts).

Offensive tackle Tom Bush began his football career in Florida with the Miami Sharks as a fourth round pick. After having slowly grown into a starting role, the franchise moved to Texas and decided to part ways with Bush. The Maassluis Merchantmen traded a fourth round pick to acquire Bush, but planted him on the bench for that 2033 season. After that season, Bush was promoted to a starting role and kept it until his retirement. Bush was a crucial run blocker in all of those season, including en route to the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Bush totaled 162 games (107 starts) for the Merchantmen, not counting 10 playoffs games (all started).

Guard Gilbert Rhodes had a strange career path. The 2029 fourth round pick didn't earn a single start with his first team, the Houston Mustangs. After his first playoffs appearance, he signed with the Orlando Talons in 2032, but was kept on the bench for three full seasons there as well. The Maassluis Merchantmen came along in 2035, signing him as a free agent and giving him his first starts in the last two regular season games. The 2037 season was Rhodes breakthrough, as he burst into the starting lineup and maintained that status throughout. In 2039 Rhodes played his first games at left tackle and in 2040 he moved to that role indefinitely. Rhodes retires with 108 regular season games played (82 starts) for the Merchantmen and with 12 playoffs games played (8 starts), including the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI.

Elsewhere, Quarterback Jay McGee retired after one season with the Paris Musketeers. McGee was a first round pick for the Fort Wayne Fury in 2027, but lost the starting role in 2029 and subsequently got traded to the Merchantmen in 2030 after 'Rusty' Harrison's departure to the Rochester Lake Monsters. McGee had decent campaigns, but failed to guide the Merchantmen to the playoffs. In 2033 he was demoted to a backup role as Harrison returned in Maassluis. That and the following season, McGee played second string, yet got plenty of action as the injury prone legend Harrison lived up to his reputation. Following 'Rusty's' retirement, McGee finally broke through, guiding the Merchantmen to the playoffs after a six-season drought. It started a five season string as the full time starter, ending in the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. McGee was released for salary cap reasons and moved on to the Iowa Cobbers in a second-string role. The Paris Musketeers signed him as their understudy for the 2041 season, but he didn't play a single down. McGee retires with 10 seasons of service in Maassluis, with 149 regular season games played (145 starts) and 10 playoffs games played (all started). He's been nominated for induction into the Merchantmen Ring of Honor.

Guard Nate Hurnblad didn't play any football in 2041, but only now decided to officially retire, following a full season without. Hurnblad was a fourth round pick in 2030 for the Merchantmen and spent his entire active career in Maassluis. Hurnblad had ups and downs, usually being in a starting role, but also losing it for full seasons in between. Eventually he played 168 regular season games (105 starts) and 11 playoffs games (7 starts), including being a starter in the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Hurnblad was released after the 2041 training camp and remained out of a football job throughout the season. He's been nominated for induction into the Merchantmen Ring of Honor.

Cornerback Tito Close played nine seasons with the Merchantmen, the first seven as a starter, after being picked in the first round of the 2032 draft. He still had a very active role in 2039, helping the team reach IHOF Bowl XXXVI. In 2040 his role was greatly reduced, being active in only one game. Last season he was released after training camp and didn't find a roster spot elsewhere.

Other Merchantmen alumni that officially retired this off-season include wide receiver Skip Dillon (2031-2036), defensive tackle Ralph Campbell (2034-2037), defensive tackle Brenden England (2036-2040) and safety Quinn Gonzalez (2036-2037, 2039-2040).

MIJB#19 · 01-24-2014, 12:55 PM

2042 Off Season News

Merchantmen hire Himes as Head Coach
Graham Hines is the new harbor master. The Maassluis Merchantmen fired head coach Charlie Witten after four season, picking Himes third overall in the staff draft. Himes had been the San Antonio Tidal Force defensive coordinator for 12 seasons and was happy to jump into this opportunity: "It's a big opportunity to get a career move here."

The release of Witten came as a surprise to some. Despite the recent one and done season, Witten coached the Merchantmen to their first IHOF Bowl appearance, posting a 52-19 record. Last season the Merchantmen failed to win the European division for the first time after four straight division titles. Witten was hired by the Capital City Blues as their new head coach.

The Chesapeake Chitterlings also found their new head coach in Maassluis, signing former defensive coordinator Howie Kolb. As a replacement for Kolb, the Merchantmen hired Harlem Apollos' defensive coordinator Lenny Boyd, former Chesapeake Chitterlings linebacker.

Additionally, the Merchantmen hired assistant coach Josiah Reid and strength coordinator Sammy Donaldson.

MIJB#19 · 01-24-2014, 01:08 PM

2042 Off Season news

Good news for Donald Terry
Maassluis Merchantmen running back Donald Terry had good news to report. Last season, Terry was diagnoses with impaired vision and consequently missed the last three games of the season. Following suitable rest and required therapy, sight returned to normal for Terry and he's expected to return to Maassluis for the 2042 season. "I'm thrilled to be back," Terry said, "it was quite the shocker when the problems began."

Merchantmen star wide receiver Terry Haskell called in from his vacation resort: "Awesome news! Donnie (Donald Terry) is a big part of this team, he carried us to the IHOF Bowl. Our goal is to get back there and with Donnie we'll have a bigger shot at it, we really missed him down the stretch last season."

MIJB#19 · 01-26-2014, 03:04 PM

Summary of results so far

year	rk	record, playoffs
2004	4th	1-15
2005	3rd	7-9
2006	3rd	8-8
2007	1st	13-3, lost in AOC Championship
2008	1st	9-7,lost in wild card round
2009	3rd	8-8
2010	3rd	6-10
2011	1st	11-5, lost in wild card round
2012	2nd	10-6, lost in divisional round
2013	2nd	8-8
2014	2nd	9-7
2015	2nd	8-8
2016	2nd	8-8
2017	2nd	6-10
2018	3rd	6-10
2019	3rd	6-10
2020	2nd	7-9
2021	3rd	5-11
2022	4th	5-11
2023	1st	12-4, lost in wild card round
2024	1st	11-5, lost in wild card round
2025	1st	11-4-1, lost in wild card round
2026	2nd	10-6, lost in divisional round
2027	1st	11-5, lost in AOC Championship
2028	1st	12-4, lost in divisional round
2029	2nd	9-7
2030	4th	5-11
2031	2nd	9-7
2032	2nd	9-7
2033	3rd	6-10
2034	3rd	9-7
2035	1st	11-5, lost in divisional round
2036	2nd	10-6, lost in divisional round
2037	1st	13-3, lost in divisional round
2038	1st	13-3, lost in AOC Championship
2039	1st	12-4, lost in IHOF Bowl XXXVI
2040	1st	13-3, lost in divisional round
2041	2nd	11-5, lost in wild card round

MIJB#19 · 01-26-2014, 03:36 PM

Maassluis Merchantmen Ring Of Honor, update

Retroactively, I decided that any professional american football team isn't complete without a 'Ring of Honor'. My decission was to make it a limited club of players, meaning only one player can be entered at every start of the season. I decided that the ring of honor had to be started in 2014, as a celebration of ten years Maassluis Merchantmen. I wanted the candidacy to be as objective as possible, laying down the following ground rules:
1. a player is eliglible as soon as he is retired. This means a player that retired at the start of the 2042 off-season can be introduced into the Ring of Honor immediately.
2. players with 10 seasons of service with 100 or more starts, including playoffs games, are automatic candidates, have priority over non-qualifying players and will all eventually be inducted. The order in which they are introduced is subjective and based on 'likeability' factor.
3. if there are no candidates based on the 100+10 rule, a player with exceptional talent and achievements will be introduced into the Ring of Honor. Again the 'likeability' factor will be there as a subjective tie-breaker.

In effect, most players introcuded will have met the 100+10 rule, some of them will have been on the waiting list for a couple of seasons. To put into perspective, entering the 2042 season, 29 different players have met the 100+10 rule. Four of them (DE Johnnie Warren, LB Fred McCorkle, S Perry Walker and S Thurman Hopper) are still active. The 100+10 rule can be unrewarding to special teams specialists, which makes it that much more important for them to do exceptionally well. At the same time it makes sure only those that played at a very high level of football and spent a majority of their career in Maasssluis will be honored.

The (retroactive) list of players inducted includes:

year	player	Short bio (* denotes non-member of 100+10)
2014	28 RB Randy Harris	* Starting running back for 6 seasons. Four 1,000-yard seasons and 46 touchdowns. Scored the first IHOF touchdown in Oranje Haven. Franchise second-most 7,151 rushing yards (through 2041).
2015	78 DT Charles Gomez	Starting nose tackle for 11 seasons. Six-time All IHOF 1st or 2nd teamer. Franchise high 72.5 sacks, 43 blocked passes and 206 hurries (through 2041).
2016	47 CB Tai Wayne	Starting cornerback for 10 seasons. Franchise high 135 defended passes (through 2041). Franchise high 9 seasons with double-digit passes defended (through 2041). Member of the 2-deep zone defense.
2017	50 MLB Cody Cluff	Starting inside linebacker for 13 seasons. IHOF and franchise high 1,350 tackles (through 2041, includes special teams tackles prior to 2013 season). Franchise high 3 interception return touchdowns (through 2041). Legend of the Game.
2018	46 SS Lincoln Gilmore	Starting strong safety for 9 seasons. Formed the defense's backbone with Gomez and Cluff in the first decade. Key member of the 2-deep zone defense.
2019	54 C Brant Heinrich	Starting center for 9 1/2 seasons. Franchise third-most 218 key run blocks (through 2041). Allowed 33 sacks in 4,385 pass plays.
2020	87 WR Bryce Ewald	Starting wide receiver for 8 1/2 seasons. Scored franchise first touchdown. Career 498 catches for 6,859 yards. Scored 44 touchdowns.
2021	56 OLB Bernie Surry	Starting linebacker for 6 1/2 seasons. First late round draft pick to reach 100 starts +10 years on roster. Member of the 2-deep zone defense.
2022	14 QB Louie Flannery	Starting quarterback for 15 seasons. Franchise high 47,472 passing yards and 327 passing touchdowns (through 2041). Franchise high single-game 6 touchdown passes (tied in 2040, through 2041).
2023	86 TE Jim Reiser	Starting tight end for 6 1/2 seasons. Franchise high 541 catches for 5,025 yards and 34 touchdowns receiving for non-wide receivers (through 2041). Flannery's favorite target.
2024	35 SS Eddie Cole	Starting safety for 6 1/2 seasons. Successor of Lincoln Gilmore. Franchise fifth-most 726 tackles (through 2041). Franchise high 4 defensive touchdowns (through 2041).
2025	63 LT Ivan Jacques	* Starting left tackle for 8 seasons. Allowed only 23 sacks in 3,643 pass plays.
2026	81 WR Alfredo Basso	* Starting wide receiver for 3 seasons. First player with 1,000-yard season. 1,000-yard receiver in all three seasons on roster.
2027	20 RB Stanley Givens	* Starting running back for 3 1/2 seasons. Franchise high single-game 5 non-passing touchdowns (through 2041). Carried team into playoffs in all four seasons on team.
2028	86 WR Gabe Springer	Starting wide receiver for 10 seasons. Franchise high nine 1,000-yard seasons (through 2041). Franchise high 1,077 catches, 14,531 receiving yards and 105 receiving touchdowns (through 2041). Franchise high 106 non-passing touchdowns (through 2041). Franchise high single game 267 receiving yards (through 2041).
2029	27 CB Randall Allen	* Starting cornerback for 5 seasons. Double-digit passes defended in each of his five seasons on roster.
2030	84 WR Freddie Upshaw	Starting wide receiver for 5 1/2 seasons. Franchise third-most 604 catches and 7,539 receiving yards, fourth-most 47 receiving touchdowns (through 2041).
2031	87 TE Rondell Bowers	Starting tight end for 7 seasons. Second late round draft pick to reach 100 starts +10 years on roster.
2032	48 S Jimmy Chellino	Starting safety for 11 1/2 seasons. Franchise high 36 interpetions (through 2041). Franchise second-most 766 tackles for non-linebackers (through 2041). Legend of the Game.
2033	77 G Casey Kappers	Starting guard for 8 1/2 seasons. Allowed only 20 sacks in 3,749 pass plays.
2034	52 MLB R.J. Knight	Starting middle linebacker for 10 1/2 seasons. Franchise second-most 978 tackles (through 2041). Franchise high 28 forced fumbles (through 2041).
2035	5 QB 'Rusty' Harrison	Starting quarterback for 11 seasons (twice 1/2 a season). One of two quarterbacks to win offensive rookie of the year. Franchise second-most 33,162 passing yards and 266 passing touchdowns (through 2041). Franchise only 1st overall draft pick.
2036	80 WR Terry Thomason	Starting wide receiver for 12 1/2 seasons. Franchise second-most 842 catches, 11,996 receiving yards, 91 receiving touchdowns (through 2041).
2037	92 DT Andy Cottle	Starting defensive tackle for 12 1/2 seasons. Franchise second-most 44.5 sacks and 128 hurries, franchise third-most 42 blocked passes (through 2041). Legend of the Game.
2038	70 G Wes Mason	Starting guard for 7 seasons. No outstanding individual stats.
2039	73 C Shawn Hudspeth	Starting center for 10 seasons. Franchise most 287 key run blocks. (through 2041).
2040	65 LT Ronald Dole	Starting left tackle for 9 seasons. No outstanding individual stats.
2041	83 WR Vince McAlister	* two-time 1,000-yard receiver. One of six Merchantmen receivers with 10+ single season receiving touchdowns. Career cut-short by career-ending ACL knee injury.
2042	t.b.d.	t.b.d.

MIJB#19 · 01-31-2014, 10:49 AM

2042 Off-season: Free Agency

Freidkin, Bradley stay in Maassluis
Linebacker Alton Bradley and offensive tackle Clifton Freidkin signed new three-year contracts with the Maassluis Merchantmen. Bradley has been with the Merchantmen since 2039, while Freidkin was a mid-season signing last year. Both hope to improve from their roles in backup roles.

Alton Bradley joined in 2039 as a free agent from the Kansas Creationists. The pass rushing linebacker unexpectedly broke into the starting lineup right away, although he was listed as a reserve for IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Last season, Bradley's role was limited, seeing action in 6 regular season games.

Clifton Freidkin joined in week 11 of the 2041 season as injuries depleted the Merchantmen at offensive tackle. Freidkin's activity was limited, however, playing sporadically in 8 games, including the lost wild card round game. With the retirement of both starting offensive tackles Tom Bush and Gilbert Rhodes, Freidkin might be a candidate to break into the starting lineup.

MIJB#19 · 01-31-2014, 11:03 AM

2042 Off-season: Free agency

Merchantmen hire T Robinson, TE Lowe
The Maassluis Merchantmen bolstered their team with two new signings on the free agents market. Offensive tackle Dwayne Robinson is considered to be a key signing, after the earlier retirement of both starting tackles Tom Bush and Gilbert Rhodes. Tight end Troy Lowe was signed to become the new long snapper in Maassluis.

Dwayne Robinson had a slow start in his pro football career. After his graduation from Florida State, the Minnesota Miners drafted Robinson early in the second round of the 2031 draft. For four seasons he rode the bench, but in 2035 he took over a starting role. After an injuries plagued couple of seasons, Robinson left last season and was hired by the Toronto Lake Monsters. He started the first 7 regular season games, but then was benched for the remainder of the season, including the victorious wild card round game against the Merchantmen. Robinson was released this off-season and signed a three year deal in Maassluis.

Troy Lowe is a rare Harvard graduate in the IHOF. Despite going undrafted, Lowe managed to find a backup role with the Boston Rhinos as a special teamer. After the ownership change and rebranding to the Toronto Lake Monsters, Lowe hung around for four more seasons, although seeing his special teams role diminish. Last season he was released in the off-season, but was quickly welcomed back in week 7. In Maassluis he'll be asked to play the long snapper role.

MIJB#19 · 01-31-2014, 11:13 AM

2042 Off-season: Rookie Draft

Merchantmen trade for TE Clark, RB Riley
A busy day in the Maassluis Merchantmen war room resulted in trade of all their draft picks in the 2042 draft to help acquire two first round picks. Another consequence was losing their first round picks in the next two drafts, as well as their second rounder in the next draft.

The Merchantmen first acquired the 25th overall pick to select tight end Irving Clark. The Colorado graduate was considered the top prospect at his position, boosting it with a tremendous combine. The Merchantmen saw his available and contacted the Kansas Creationists initially for the 23rd overall pick. After lengthy talks, the Merchantmen settled for the 25th overall pick, sacrificing their first and second round picks next draft and swapping their three fifth round picks for a single fifth rounder next draft.

Four picks later, again the Kansas Creationists were the selling party. At pick 29 overall, the Merchantmen took Notre Dame running back Harold Riley, who ran the 40-dash in 4.48 seconds and the agility test in 7.00 seconds. To get Riley, the Merchantmen gave up their 2044 first round pick, a third rounder next draft and their remaining picks this draft in rounds 3, 4, 6 and 7.

MIJB#19 · 01-31-2014, 11:23 AM

GM Notes 2042

A relative quiet off-season is about to finish here. Granted, free agency isn't over yet, but we're heading for the post-draft stages with 52 players signed and a couple of first round picks about to arrive. Most likely, we'll have a lot of contract talks upcoming with many players in their final year of contract. A league mandated punishment for all franchises has resulted in a tight cap season, with roughly $50 million less to spend than originally planned. Talks with Terry Haskell, our star receiver, were unsuccessful.

Now, Haskell is locked up for a couple of seasons, but that isn't the case for 25 other players. We'll have to anticipate losing some of them to the open market next off-season, because we'll have about $13 million to work with after the rookies have arrived. Amongst the final-year players are quarterback Harry Osborne, running back Scott Fulcher, fullbacks Terrell Wilkerson and Greg Bass, tight end Cary Harriman, wide receivers J.T. Pritt and Vincent Cox all-world returnman Jack Money, center Arnie Croft, punter Edward Rice, defensive linemen Eugene Johnstone and Brian Lincoln, linebacker Wesley Devine and defensive backs Marc Pomato and Perry Walker. It'll be rough to keep them all...

That said, our #1 goal is to keep this team together now, to give ourselves a shot at the IHOF Bowl. With the likes of Perry Coleman, Donald Terry, Harold Riley, Irving Clark, Mike Bernstein, Vincent Cox, J.T. Pritt, Adam Brautlacht and Terry Haskell, this offense has all the firepower to make some noise. The defense remains rock solid, depending on how good Perry Walker and Thurman Hopper will turn out to still be at safety.

MIJB#19 · 02-01-2014, 04:18 PM

2042 Off-season

Merchantmen sign DE Chu, KR Dawson
The Maassluis Merchantmen announced the signing of two free agents. Defensive end Carlton Chu signed a three-year contract, as did safety Sammie Dawson. Chu became a free agent after the Rochester Razorbacks released him earlier this off-season. Dawson was without a team in 2041, after being released by the Kansas Creationists at the end of the 2040 season. Chu is a proven pass rusher with 32.0 career sacks. Dawson is primarily signed for his kickoff returning skills, albeit having an underwhelming resume with just 17.0 yards per return as a rookie in his only active season.

Merchantmen sign rookies Clark and Riley
As per new IHOF guidelines, all drafted rookies receive guaranteed contracts. Tight end Irving Clark signed a four-year deal worth roughly $17 million, with a $9.6 million signing bonus. Running back Harold Riley also inked a four-year deal, giving him a $8.6 million signing bonus on a contract worth roughly $16 million.

Stars Pritt and Terry announce hold out
The Maassluis Merchantmen will have some work to do. Player agents of leading receiver J.T. Pritt and leading rusher Donald Terry communicated that their players will hold out for a better contract and plan on missing training camp. Merchantmen management responded that the league mandated salary cap reduction has hit hard and made it impossible to work out better contracts before the draft, promising to hit the tables with both players' agents as soon as possible. The Merchantmen currently have 56 players under contract, including Pritt and Terry. Nearly half of them are out of contract after the upcoming season and Merchantmen management hopes to rework the contracts of most of these players to keep them at least until the 2043 season. With roughly $12.5 million of cap space to work with, it will be a challenge to work it all out.

MIJB#19 · 02-01-2014, 05:17 PM

2042 News

Cahill, Hurnblad and McGee nominated for Merchantmen Ring of Honor
The Maassluis Merchantmen Fan Club today announced the official nomination of D.J. Cahill, Nate Hurnblad and Jay McGee for induction in the Merchantmen Ring of Honor. As per the guidelines stipulated in 2014, players with 100 or more games started for the Merchantmen in 10 or more years of service are automatic nominations. Only if no suitable candidates with these requirements are available, the fan club will ask their members to nominate players. Tight end Cahill, guard Hurnblad and quarterback McGee all met the 100+10 rule and retired this off-season. Merchantmen fans can vote until the start of pre-season. In the home exhibition game against the Kansas Creationists, the winner will be announced.

Former Merchantmen first round pick D.J. Cahill could become the third tight end inducted into the ring of honor, after Jim Reiser and Rondell Bowers. Initialy expectations for Cahill were sky high. The Merchantmen scouting staff as well as the league scouting agency thought Cahill could be a force in the passing game as a playmaker. He had a couple of good seasons, but failed to surpass Reiser in catches or yardage. Cahill did surpass Reiser in receiving touchdowns, making Cahill the Merchantmen's leading non-wide receiver in that category.

Merchantmen fourth round pick of the 2030 draft, Nate Hurnblad would become the third guard added to the Merchantmen Ring of Honor, following footsteps of Casey Kappers and Wes Mason. Hurnblad immediately stepped into a starting role as a rookie, taking over Kappers' role at right guard and several years later moved to left guard when Mason was demoted. The Merchantmen have a tradition of grooming their own offensive linemen and that has resulted in little turnover of starters over the years. Hurnblad was the eighth offensive lineman to meet the Ring of Honor automatic nominee criteria.

Despite the achievements of Cahill and Hurnblad, their former-teammate Jay McGee is the favorite to win the vote between these three former Merchantmen players. McGee would step into the footsteps of Louie Flannery and 'Rusty' Harrison as the third quarterback inducted, who also preceded McGee as the starting quarterback in Maassluis. Unlike Flannery and Harrison, McGee wasn't drafted by the Merchantmen, although he was acquired for a first round through trade from the Fort Wayne Fury. With a shortage of initial seasons, McGee just barely failed to catch up with his predecessor in stats, coming about 1/3rd of a season short to catch up with Harrison in yardage and touchdowns. Flannery's numbers were never really in sight.
Like Flannery and Harrison, McGee guided the Merchantmen to the AOC championship and, unlike Flannery and Harrison, he managed it twice and the second time also guided the Merchantmen to the IHOF Bowl, although they lost in a disappoint game to the Chesapeake Chitterlings in IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Shockingly, contract negotiations after that lost game resulted in the Merchantmen releasing McGee. He finished his career with stints on the Iowa Cobbers and Paris Musketeers rosters, riding the bench with both teams. Meanwhilst, the Merchantmen have gone one-and-done in the playoffs, twice, after McGee...

MIJB#19 · 02-04-2014, 04:52 PM

2042 Off-Season: News

Pritt and Merchantmen agree terms
One down, one to go. The Maassluis Merchantmen agreed terms with star wide receiver J.T. Pritt on a new two-year contract, after Pritt had threatened to hold out throughout the 2042 season. Pritt was on his final year of contract, but opted to re-sign a contract worth over $25 million, with an $11 million signing bonus.

The Merchantmen have yet to get Donald Terry re-signed. Their leading rusher is signed for two more years, but is signed on a minimum salary this season. Terms were not made public, but the IHOF's 2039 league leading rusher's agent said that their demands are below his market value, rumored to be around $10 million for a new 3-year deal. The Merchantmen management has said that they are willing to pay the value of the deal, but are struggling to find the required cap space.

The Merchantmen also worked out new three-year contracts with star linebacker Wesley Devine and punter Edward Rice to lock to extend their contracts and create some cap space for Terry. Cornerback Marc Pomato turned down a new 4-year deal worth roughly $55 million, but Merchantmen management said they are still talking with Pomato's agency and as with Devine and Rice hope to both extend the contract and save some cap space to re-sign Terry.

In the meanwhile, Donald Terry's chances to remain as the starting running back look small, as the Merchantmen drafted Harold Riley in the first round and may not feel too worried with Scott Fulcher after his 154-yard performance in his first start in IHOF. "We'll need three running backs to get through the season, we'll find touches for all of our stars," said Merchantmen General Manager M.IJ.B.

Merchantmen sign rookie cornerbacks
After the retirements of Herman Hatton this off-season and Tito Close's departure before last season, the Merchantmen are looking for new blood at the cornerback position. Suggestions to move Karl Pritchett to cornerback where shot down. Four undrafted rookies where signed and will get a chance to prove themselves in training camp and the upcoming pre-season.

Virginia Tech's Horace Hicks combine scores made him an interest prospect, scoring a 28 in the Solecismic score, a 45 in the position drill and running the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds.

Ohio State's Mack Gonzalez' combine scores were less impressive, but a 40 drill score and a 4.52 40-yard dash made him an interesting prospect. Gonzalez also played a lot of special teams in college, making him a decent addition for special teams duties.

Wake Forest's Corbin Newhart also sports special teams experience, quite possibly the most of all four rookies. It's likely the main reason the Merchantmen signed him, as Newhart was slower and score lower in the position drill than the three other rookies.

Baylor's Lee Pretko at 6'2" is easily the tallest guy of the bunch. League scouting had Pretko as the third highest graded cornerback amongst undrafted rookies and ran the fasest agility score of all undrafted rookie cornerbacks. He scored a decent 37 in the position drill had the most bench press pushes of all undrafted rookie corners.

MIJB#19 · 02-07-2014, 12:16 PM

2042 Off-season news

Donald Terry joins Merchantmen training camp
Running back Donald Terry stays with the Maassluis Merchantmen. After threats to sit out the season, Terry's agents had been in talks with Merchantmen management to get a new deal worked out. Shortly before training camp, agreement was reached on a three-year, $10 million contract.

Pomato extends with Merchantmen
Marc Pomato stays with the Maassluis Merchantmen. The 25-year old cornerback sign a new four-year contract, worth $52 million, including a $14.5 million bonus. Pomato was acquired from the Minnesota Miners last season and was a full time starter in Maassluis.

This deal locks up another key member of the Merchantmen, leaving 24 players in their final contract with the Merchantmen, most former starting quarterbacks Harry Osborne and Harvey Corbett, fullbacks Greg Brass and Terrell Wilkerson, star return specialist Jack Money, center Arnie Croft and safety Perry Walker.

Merchantmen release rookie corners
The Maassluis Merchantmen have announced the release of two rookie cornerbacks. Horace Hicks and Neil Robinson were both signed to compete for the fourth cornerback roster spot, but didn't make the pre-season roster. This leaves Mack Gonzalez, Corbin Newhart and Lee Pretko competing for the roster spot.

MIJB#19 · 02-07-2014, 06:20 PM

GM Notes 2042

Fighting against a tough salary cap figure, we managed to keep the team together, draft a new tight end and running back, and sign an offensive tackle to fill the gap from retirements. We'll inspect the roster after our first series of pre-season games, playing mostly our second stringers in these games. The starters will come into action in the second series of games. Although, at several positions I think we're deep enough that it doesn't matter too much who we'll put out there, except for the obvious positions (wide receiver and quarterback).

A slight problem is still having 24 players subject to being a free agent next season. We've got just under $4 million of cap space, potentially a bit more after our final pre-season cuts. We'll have to mull over which players are worth extending their contracts. We'll make that decision before the regular season starts. We did manage to restructure enough contracts to expensive and key players to lock up our wide receivers, our linebackers and cornerbacks. But having a third of our players out of contract, that just isn't our roster building game plan. At the same time, we're living today too, an attempt to sign free agent star wide receiver Norm Pineo failed, but would have been icing on what I think is already a strong team.

MIJB#19 · 02-09-2014, 07:20 AM

2042 Pre-Season

Merchantmen stand ground at Fairbanks
The Maassluis Merchantmen started the pre-season with a decent 17-10 victory at the Fairbanks Northstars. The Merchantmen played mostly with their second string, aside from quarterback Perry Coleman, who completed 20 of 35 passes for 230 yards and a rushing touchdown. Leaning on the special teams unit, the Merchantmen took a 14-3 lead just before half time, saw it trimmed down to 17-10 in the third quarter and held ground in the fourth quarter. The game clinching play was an interception from off-season signing Scottie Dawson at midfield. First round picks Irving Clark and Harold Riley had a slow start, with Clark catching 2 passes for 18 yards and Riley running for 49 yards on 18 carries.

Passing: Coleman 20/35 for 230 yd
Rushing: Riley 49 yd; Brass 1 td, Coleman 1 td
Receiving: Money 75 yd; no td

Interceptions: Dawson 1
Fumble Recoveries: none
Sacks: Matheson 1, Chu 0.5, Finch 0.5

Merchantmen demolish Kansas
With an all around stellar performance, the Maassluis Merchantmen welcomed crushed the Kansas Creationists in Oranje Haven. The 38-6 victory took shape in the first half with a 17-0 half time score and was steadily improved with three consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter. First round pick Harold Riley ran for 91 yards and a score, while fellow first round pick Irving Clark made 3 catches for 28 yards. The Creationists were held to just 120 yards on offense, while the Merchantmen had the ball for 39 minutes, gaining 458 yards on offense. Many Merchantmen starters were inactive or played in a backup role, with Perry Coleman being an exception.

Passing: Coleman 24/30 for 327 yd, 3 td
Rushing: Riley 91 yd, 1 td; Fulcher 1 td
Receiving: Brautlacht 98 yd; Brown 1 td, Money 1 td, Pomeranz 1 td

Interceptions: none
Fumble Recoveries: Devine 1
Sacks: none

Merchantmen release cornerback Pretko
Undrafted rookie Lee Pretko has been released by the Maassluis Merchantmen. Pretko was signed together with four other undrafted rookie cornerbacks to compete for one roster spot. He saw limited action in the first two pre-season games, but his inferior special teams play made him the casualty. Mack Gonzalez and Corbin Newhart remain as the two players competing. With 58 players signed, there's no guarantee either of them makes the final roster, as 5 players will have to be released after pre-season.

MIJB#19 · 02-10-2014, 04:40 PM

2042 Pre-Season

Dragons tamed by Merchantmen
The Maassluis Merchantmen continued their strong pre-season run. With a solid defensive performance, the Merchantmen had an easy 17-3 win over the Hanalei Dragons. A solid performance as the Merchantmen overcame 4 turnovers on offense, with 3 interceptions of quarterback Harry Osborne. Terry Haskell caught 9 passes for 148 yards and a score to carry the offense. Rookie running back Harold Riley had a rough day, being held to -7 yards on 4 carries, while fellow rookie Irving Clark hardly saw the field.

Passing: Osborne 17/29 for 299 yd, 1 td, 3 int
Rushing: Terry 57 yd, 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 148 yd, 1 td

Interceptions: none
Fumble recoveries: none
Sacks: Johnstone 1, Lincoln 1

Merchantmen crush NAC champion Minnesota
The Maassluis Merchantmen have completed their perfect pre-season. On the road at the defending NAC champions, the Minnesota Miners, the Merchantmen strolled to a 48-10 victory. Harry Osborne scored 4 touchdowns, adding a running score to his 3 scoring passes. Rookie Harold Riley scored the opening touchdown, but was held to just 3 yards on 4 scores the rest of the day. Fellow rookie Irving Clark was invisible on the offense.

Passing: Osborne 21/32 for 231 yd, 3 td
Rushing: Terry 133 yd, 0 td; Brass 1 td, Osborne 1 td, Riley 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 131 yd, 2 td; Cox 1 td

Interceptions: Duncan 1, Walker 1
Fumble recoveries: Toohil 1
Sacks: Johnstone 1.5, Lucas 1, Bradley 0.5, Chu 0.5, Devine 0.5, Matheson 0.5, Toohil 0.5

Merchantmen cut Warren, Patterson, Corbett
At the end of the pre-season action, the Maassluis Merchantmen today announce the release of five players: quarterback Harvey Corbett, running back J.T. Patterson, center Donny Gaines, defensive end Johnnie Warren and cornerback Mack Gonzalez.

The Merchantmen traded for Harvey Corbett in 2040 with the intent to make him the starting quarterback. Instead he rode the bench for half the season as Harry Osborne emerged as a game winning team captain. Corbett eventually started 7 games late in the season, including a devastating 24-0 loss in the playoffs at home to the Vicksburg Vipers. Last season Perry Coleman was signed as the new short-term starter, leaving Corbett inactive all season. This past training camp Corbett looked out of shape and uninspired to pick up the quarterback battle for the post-Coleman years.

Running back J.T. Patterson joined the Merchantmen in 2033 as a rookie free agent. Despite never starting a single game, Patterson had his role on the team as a special teamer, most notably as a kickoff returner, which translated into his only touchdown. Last season he fell on the depth chart in that role as well and this off-season became expendable after the signing of Scottie Dawson. Patterson is the last Merchantmen player to score on a punt or kickoff return, with a 96-yarder right after half time in a 35-20 victory over the Gothenburg Giants in the 2035 season.

Center Donny Gaines signed with the Merchantmen in 2038 as a rookie free agent. Gaines immediately made his name as the team's long snapper, which was his primary role the past four seasons. As IHOF evolved, Gaines became too heavy for a long snapper and lost the roster spot battle to newly signed Troy Lowe.

Defensive end Johnnie Warren was a surprise cut. The undrafted rookie free agent signing in 2031 quickly grew his reputation, becoming a starter in that rookie season. In recent seasons, Warren wasn't listed as a starter anymore, but in rotation still had his role on the team. With 43.5 sacks, he ranks third in Merchantmen history, just one sack shy of tying second ranked Andy Cottle. Warren played 11 seasons with the Merchantmen, missing just 3 games in that time span and being listed as a starter for IHOF Bowl XXXVI.

Cornerback Mack Gonzalez was released after spending the pre-season in Maassluis. The rookie lost the roster spot battle to fellow undrafted rookie Corbin Newhart.

MIJB#19 · 02-11-2014, 04:28 PM

2042 Season Preview

Here we go again! Another season were we (I) think weve got a legitimate chance of going all the way to the IHOF Bowl and to win it. Afterall, getting there means getting past the Tucker Tigers and their spectacular quarterback Jackie Collier. So, what does our team look like? Let's break down the roster and I'll give you each player's scouted current ratings, rounded to factors of 5.

position	#	first	last	age	szn	rating	notes
QB1	7	Perry	Coleman	35	2nd	65	top12 talented QBs, our path to glory?
QB2	4	Harry	Osborne	30	8th	20	scrambling team leader
QB3	8	Kerry	Lewis	35	14th	30	holder, and nothing bu a holder
RB1	29	Donald	Terry	29	6th	25	fastest breakaway seed in IHOF
RB2	24	Harold	Riley	22	Rookie!	35/40	1st round pick, speedy and elusive
RB3	21	Scott	Fulcher	22	3rd	30	like Terry and Riley
FB1	22	Greg	Brass	25	4th	55	run blocker, 3rd down back
FB2	25	Terrell	Wilkerson	27	5th	25	decent run blocker
TE1	12	Mike	Bernstein	31	6th	35	decent run blocker, big-play guy
TE2	16	Cary	Harriman	25	4th	30	ok blocker, sure hands
TE3	10	Irving	Clark	24	Rookie!	30/40	1st round pick, ok receiving prospect
WR1	89	Terry	Haskell	29	7th	70	top10 WR, complete receiver
WR2	18	J.T.	Pritt	33	3rd	60	top25 WR, big-play guy
WR3	88	Vincent	Cox	34	4th	45	balanced receiver
WR4	85	Charles	Pomeranz	29	7th	45	all around decent
WR5,PR	83	Adam	Brautlacht	31	9th	35	downfield receiver, punt returner
KR,PR,wr	87	Jack	Money	29	6th	30	return specialist
ST,wr	84	Casey	Brown	31	9th	30	special teamer
LT,g	73	Blaine	Sulfstedt	35	2nd	65	our best all-around lineman
LG	70	Lamont	Wihtfield	24	4th	50	home grown, no real weakness
C1	75	B.J.	Samuels	30	8th	60	good run blocker, no weakness
RG,c	77	Arnie	Croft	31	10th	45	lost some strength, still good
RT	79	D.J.	Dunn	32	4th	40	pass blocker
OL6,lt	67	Clifton	Freidkin	28	2nd	30/35	pass protector, low stamina LT
OL7,t	68	Dwayne	Robinson	34	1st	45	pass blocker, better but newer
OL8,g	71	Vinny	O'Neill	25	3rd	40	okay lineman, best on running plays
P	13	Edward	Rice	33	12th	55	best coffin-corner punter
PAT,FG,k	17	Charles	Anthony	41	17th	35	still accurate at age 41!
KO,k	15	Lenny	Russell	25	4th	20	kickoff specialist
LDE	91	Eugene	Johnstone	26	6th	50	complete lineman, no weakness
LDT	95	Brian	Lincoln	24	3rd	45	top-notch pass rusher
RDT	96	Dwight	Hutton	28	8th	40	run defense anchorman
RDE	99	Harold	Matheson	30	6th	30	still decent pass rusher
DT3	56	Dennis	Lucas	27	2nd	50	elite pass rusher
DE3	90	Quentin	Toohil	35	2nd	40	quality pass rusher
DE4	93	Carlton	Chu	29	1st	40	quality pass rusher
DL8	97	Roger	Finch	33	10th	15	old, but still pretty fast!
SLB	54	Daniel	Duncan	25	3rd	75	complete linebacker
MLB	55	Wesley	Devine	29	7th	80	elite linebacker
WLB	58	Lester	Gilman	26	2nd	55	quality linebacker, no weakness
LB4	53	C.J.	Boo	29	9th	40	pass defense specialist
LB5	57	Alton	Bradley	31	4th	35	passing downs specialist
LB6	51	Fred	McCorkle	33	12th	20	over the hill, good on special teams
CB1	36	Mark	Crum	26	3rd	65	top15 corner
SS	32	Bernie	Gordon	29	7th	40	zone defender, decent against run
FS	49	Thurman	Hopper	35	12th	35	zone defender, forces turnovers
CB2	30	Marc	Pomato	25	2nd	50	top25 corner, stamina weakness
CB3	33	Zach	Pisano	30	5th	40	good corner, low man-to-man speed
S3	42	Perry	Walker	36	13th	40	good enough for active backup role
KR,s	41	Scottie	Dawson	24	1st	30	kickoff return specialist
S4	45	Karl	Pritchett	28	5th	40	all round decent defender
CB4	39	Corbin	Newhart	23	Rookie!	20/25	special teamer, zone prospect

MIJB#19 · 02-13-2014, 02:24 PM

2042 Week 1

Merchantmen lose Coleman, win game
The Maassluis Merchantmen kicked the 2042 season off with a routine 27-6 victory over the Bordeaux Vineyards. Quarterback Perry Coleman left the game with a broken foot in the first quarter, but Harry Osborne stepped in and guided the team to victory. Tight end Mike Bernstein scored two first half touchdowns to anchor the win.

The first quarter started with the Merchantmen being stopped early. The Vineyards appeared to take the lead first, but Byron Greenburg's 43-yard field goal was blocked by Dwight Hutton, keeping the scoreboard empty. On the next play, Perry Coleman got stuck between two other players after a dump pass and was carried off the field with what turned out to be a broken foot. Harry Osborne stepped in and steered his team to a 7-0 lead, finding Cary Harriman in the end zone. The quarter continued with Alton Bradley intercepting Bordeaux' Geoff Cobb, only to have Harry Osborne fumble after a sack inside the Vineyards red zone.

In the second quarter it was the Merchantmen dominating the field position. The Vineyards were pinned back deeper and deeper, miraculously escaping from a safety a couple of times. But half way in, Harry Osborne connected with a wide open Mike Bernstein for a 42-yard touchdown pass and the 14-0 lead. Following a three-and-out, the Merchantmen offense displayed a time consuming drive, completing it with another Osborne to Bernstein combo, on a short pass to take a 21-0 lead at half time.

The second half it was Bordeaux looking stronger early on. They reached the red zone, but as the Vineyards got stopped on third down, they saw their field goal position wasted after a face mask penalty pushed them to a 50-yard attempt. The remainder of the third quarter was a defensive battle, with Maassluis slowly gaining ground through special teams play, leaning heavily on Donald Terry's leg to get into the Bordeaux red zone.

Charles Anthony converted a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, extending the Merchantmen lead to 24-0. The Vnieyards finally got a break as they blocked an Edward Rice punt from around midfield and needing only 30 yards to reach the end zone. Ronnie Parrish made it happen on their third play with a short run into the end zone. The two-point conversion failed, keeping it a three-score game at 24-6. The Merchantmen replied with an impressvie 7 minute, 34 seconds drive, to leave a minute and a half on the clock, with Bordeaux without timeouts and trailing 27-6 after Charles Anthony's second field goal. By the hands of backup quarterback Bo Hansen, the Vineyards got up field, but came time short to score again, making the final score 27-6 in Merchantmen advantage.

Merchantmen offense
Passing: Osborne 17/20, 117 yd, 3 td
Rushing: Terry 116 yd
Receiving: Haskell 73 yd; Bernstein 2 td, Harriman 1 td

Merchantmen defense
Interceptions: Bradley 1
Fumble recoveries: none
Sacks: Lucas 1

MIJB#19 · 02-14-2014, 11:40 AM

2042 Week 2

Dragons expose Merchantmen
The Maassluis Merchantmen are back on earth. In a lackluster display of football, the Merchantmen lost 41-16 at the Hanalei Dragons. Two first half interceptions returned for a touchdown and a red zone lost fumble from Harry Osborne put the Dragons in an early 17-3 lead and never looked back. Osborne struggled all day long, completing just 14 of 29 passes, 3 interceptions and 4 sacks. He completed only 2 passes to Terry Haskell and none to last week's scoring tight ends Mike Bernstein and Cary Harriman. The Merchantmen defense did their share of the bargain, holding the Dragons to 220 total yards, equaling the Merchantmen production for the day.

Merchantmen offense
Passing: Osborne 14/29 131 yd, 3 int
Rushing: Brass 50 yd; Osborne 1 td
Receiving: Pritt 84 yd

Merchantmen defense
Interceptions: Devine 1
Fumble recoveries: none
Sacks: Devine 1

MIJB#19 · 02-14-2014, 11:52 AM

2042 News

Kerry Lewis getting snaps with Merchantmen
Following the disastrous thwarting at the Hanalei Dragons, the Merchantmen staff is working out Kerry Lewis in the first team offense for the week 3 game at the Fort Wayne Fury. Harry Osborne showed his famed heroics in a week one victory over the Bordeaux Vineyards, but at Hanalei set up his own team to defeat with 3 early turnovers that accounted for 17 points. Lewis has one career start, a week 17 win over the Bordeaux Vineyards in 2037 when a playoffs bye week was already secured. Combined with one more game active in relief, Lewis has completed 28 of 60 passes for 317 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions.

Perry Coleman is still out with a broken foot and is expected not to return for another couple of weeks. "A tough situation," said Merchantmen head coach Graham Hines, "we'll make the best of it. We've got a talented team, with two quarterbacks that know this franchise in and out. Osborne and Lewis can step in and step it up."

In the mean time, the Merchantmen have signed sixth year veteran Jerald Jefferson as their new third string quarterback. Jefferson had stints with the Moontown Darksiders and Frederick Red Menace, primarily as the emergency quarterback and kick holder. Last season he threw his first IHOF passes, playing in relief in three games for the Red Menace. Jefferson was already active in the road game at the Hanalei Dragons. Rookie quarterbacks Marco McKinnis (Oregon) and Ronald Frederick (Colorado) worked out for the emergency quarterback roster spot, but they lost the battle to Jefferson.

MIJB#19 · 02-14-2014, 12:04 PM

2042 News

Giants lead AOC Europe Division
The Gothenburg Giants have taken the sole lead in the AOC Europe division. The Giants posted a 30-7 victory at the Oakland Black Panthers, leaning heavily on interceptions of Oakland quarterback Nathan Thompson. They followed up their impressive 24-3 win over the Paris Musketeers, the reigning European champions. The disillusioned Maassluis Merchantmen dropped to second place, following their 41-16 loss at the Hanalei Dragons. The Paris Musketeers improved to 1-1 with a 20-13 defeat of the Colorado Cutthroats. The Bordeaux Vineyards extended their regular season losing streak to 15 games, dating back from week 4 of the 2041 season, hitting rock bottom with a 23-0 shutout loss at home against IHOF's worst team from last season, the Fairbanks Northstars.

rk	aoc	team	W-L	tie-breakers
1.	1.	Gothenburg	2-0
2.	t-7.	Maassluis	1-1	1-0 in division
3.	t-9.	Paris	1-1	0-1 in division
4.	t-15.	Bordeaux	0-2

MIJB#19 · 04-04-2015, 12:18 PM

2042 in review

Week 3
The Merchantmen travelled to the Fort Wayne Fury and played an incredibly close game. Helped by three interceptions and a 90-yard Harry Osborne to Terry Haskell connection, the Merchantmen built a 27-24 lead going into the final two minutes. The Fury drove for the tying field goal to force overtime. In the overtime, the Fury got the ball first and drove 64 yards for a 33-yard field goal, which Xavier Bishop surprisingly missed. The Merchantmen didn't take advantage, as Harry Osborne got sacked twice on the ensuing drive, losing the ball on that second sack, turning the ball over again. A holding penalty pushed the Fury back, yet Xavier Bishop attempted a 52-yard field goal and succeeded for the Merchantmen's 30-27 loss in OT.

Week 5
Still missing Perry Coleman, the Merchantmen put Harry Osborne out there at the North Plainfield Plague. It wasn't much of a success, as Osborne lost a fumble and threw two interceptions, twice resulting directly into a touchdown. Late in the fourth quarter, the Merchantmen finally scored their only offensive touchdown of the night, unable to make the 38-24 loss look any better.

Week 6
With Perry Coleman back under center, the Merchantmen regrouped, as Coleman guided his team to a 31-6 victory over the Rochester Razorbacks. Harold Riley scored two touchdowns on the offense, while the Merchantmen defense had no influence on the points allowed, as the Razorbacks scored on an interception return.

Week 7
Hosting the Toronto Lake Monsters, the Merchantmen hoped to build on the previous win. With the score tied 10-10 just before half time, Perry Coleman got hurt again, dampening expectations in this futility bowl matchup. In the fourth quarter, the Lake Monsters took a 17-10 lead, while the Merchantmen struggled to push back and settled for a field goal. With five minutes left to play, the Merchantmen forced a fumble in their territory and replied with a strong drive. Inside the two-minute warning, the Merchantmen tried to run it fro 4 yards out, but Harry Osborne himself came inches short. From the 1-yard line, the Merchantmen failed to score, turning things over. The Merchantmen defense then forced three and out. With 4 seconds left from the Toronto 32-yard line, Harry Osborne managed to connect with tight end Irving Clark in the end zone for the game ending touchdown, giving the Merchantmen a 20-17 victory.

Week 8
Hosting the Paris Musketeers, the Merchantmen had a crucial game in the race to the European division. Riding high on their defense, the Merchantmen had every opportunity to make something of this game. Harry Osborne, however, didn't have his best of performances, getting picked off 4 times. In the final 43 seconds of the game, the Merchantmen got a chance to tie again after a missed Musketeers field goal attempt. Harry Osborne found J.T. Pritt for a decent gain, but still 19 yards away from the end zone, resulting in a 20-13 loss for the Merchantmen.

Week 9
Leaning heavily on the running game and defense, the Merchantmen regrouped from their divisional loss. At the Harlem Apollos a 20-7 victory was the result. Harlem's quarterback Darnell VanValkenberg completed only 12 passes on 42 passing plays.

Week 10
With Perry Coleman back again, the Merchantmen went into the Bordeaux Vineyards house with confidence. Completing 29 of 38 passes for 248 yards, Coleman lead his offense as usual, and towards a well earned 20-7 victory.

Week 11
Going to the Gothenburg Giants with a 5-4 record, the Merchantmen felt that a victory was required to stay alive for the division title and possibly even for the playoffs at all. Despite getting the ball first, the Merchantmen failed to score first as Perry Shifflett returned an interception 76 yards for a Gothenburg touchdown. But Perry Coleman wasn't impressed and replied by guiding his team 76 yards into the right direction, finishing off with a touchdown pass to Vincent Cox. Things went back and forth from there on, and the Giants held a 21-14 lead going into half time. Just like in the first half, it took the Giants' Perry Shifflett few plays to get on the scoreboard, scoring a 50-yard interception return touchdown for the hometeam. Harold Riley ran for a touchdown in the third quarter and scored the game tying touchdown in a last chance drive with 26 seconds remaining. In overtime, the Merchantmen quickly forced the Giants to punt. Coleman steered his team downfield, but Charles Anthony missed the game winning 37-yard field goal attempt. Almost 10 minutes into overtime, the Merchantmen capitalized on a long third down pass and failed to avoid the 31-28 loss in OT.

Week 12
Despite a bit of an off day for the offense, the Merchantmen rebounded with a 17-10 victory over the Oakland Black Panthers and their unimpressive one man offense.

Week 13
Although expecting a big test, the Merchantmen steamrolled over the Augusta Greenjackets to a 31-0 victory. Harold Riley ran for 109 yards and 2 touchdowns, most of it coming on a 69-yard score in ther fourth quarter. The defense accounted for two touchdowns with a fumble recovery for Quentin Toohil and an 82-yard interception return from Thurman Hopper.

Week 14
Against the Fairbanks Northstars, the Merchantmen continued their winning streak with a 20-14 victory. Despite a somewhat struggling offense, the defense and especially the special teams unit gave the Merchantmen a 21-yard advantage on every drive, despite losing the turnover battle.

Week 15
A crucial divisional game arrived, as the Merchantmen travelled to the Paris Musketeers in week 15. Following the unnecessary home loss earlier on, the Merchantmen were determined to set a thing or two right. And they really showed it in Paris. The defense was all over Rosey Hansen, sacking him 7 times and making 3 interceptions. The 23-3 victory was a well deserved result of a game dominated by the Merchantmen. The divisional standings after week 15:
1. Gothenburg 9-5 (3-0 head-to-head)
2. Maassluis 9-5 (1-2 head-to-head)
3. Paris 9-5 (1-3 head-to-head)
4. Bordeaux 4-10

Week 16
Keeping momentum, the Merchantmen travelled to the Colorado Cutthroats, knowing back to back victories would still result in a European division title. Harold Riley had a memorable game, rushing for 175 yards and a score. Terry Haskell added 142 yards receiving and a score in a strong showing of the Merchantmen offense. This time around, they actually needed the offensive performance to complete the 36-24 victory. Elsewhere, both Gothenburg and Paris lost, making the week 17 showdown between the 10-5 Merchantmen and the 9-6 Giants a European division final. Paris' only hope to make the playoffs was a Merchantmen victory.

Week 17
In a sold out Oranje Haven, in a rainy setting, the Merchantmen were to host the Gothenburg Giants in a winner takes the division clash. The Giants got the ball first, but arrived inside the Merchantmen red zone, they turned it over as Mark Crum intercepted R.J. Ginsburg. After series of punts, it were the Giants after all to open the score, as Cole Meier ran on five straight plays, eventually landing in the end zone.

In the second quarter, the Giants had to start at their own 2-yard line, but were not easily stopped. R.J. Ginsburg was finding receivers left and right, ending a 98-yard drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to Landon Reid for a 14-0 lead. Back to back lost fumbles and a Merchantmen punt put the Giants deep inside their own red zone, leading to running back Joshua Addai getting tackled inside his own end zone. The remainder of this quarter, the Giants held ground and maintained their 12-point lead.

In the third quarter, it looked like the Giants were going to lock the game up. Connecting on and off with Jesse Hartman, R.J. Ginsberg drove his team down field, until linebacker Lester Gilman came in between the tandem and ran the ball back for 84 yards and trimming the deficit to 5 points. The defense took over from there on and neither side managed anymore points in that quarter.

The deadlock was broken again in the fourth quarter, as Ginsberg resumed his stellar passing performance, finding a wide open fullback Eugene Fletcher for a 32-yard touchdown pass. The Merchantmen replied with a 29-yard field goal, but trailing by 9 points, they arrived at the two-minute warning. Perry Coleman connected with Terry Haskell for 30 yards to reach the Giants' red zone, setting up a 23-yard field goal and one final chance to come back from behind. The following onside kick return went to Maassluis, but with the clock running out, the 20-15 loss became final.

Regular Season standings

1.	Gothenburg Giants	10-6
2.	Maassluis Merchantmen	10-6
3.	Paris Musketeers	10-6
4.	Bordeaux Vineyards	4-12

With how the scores went elsewhere across the Atlantic Ocean Conference, the Giants ended up with the 3rd seed, far behind the Tucker Tigers (13-3) and San Antonio Tidal Force (12-4), but ahead of the Toronto Lake Monsters (9-6-1). The Orlando Talons (10-6) ended up with the top wild card, ahead of Maassluis (10-6). Paris finished the season in seventh place, outside the playoffs. This also set up a rematch of Gothenburg-Maassluis, to be played in Gothenburg.

Wild card round
Visiting the Gothenburg Giants, the Merchantmen knew this could be a tough game to win. After all, the Giants swept the regular season series, with a lucky victory at home, but also a convincing victory in Maassluis.

Helped by Jack Money's 43-yard kickoff return, the Merchantmen managed to score on the opening drive, settling for a 30-yard field goal. On the Giants first drive, Perry Walker intercepted R.J. Ginsberg's first pass attempt of the game, setting up another short field goal for a 6-0 lead. Despite that the Giants regrouped, a couple of penalties stalled their drive and forced them to punt from inside Merchantmen territory. The Merchantmen would respond with a couple of short gains, leading 6-0 at the end of the quarter, with the ball in possession at midfield.

On the continuing drive, the Merchantmen decided to go for it on fourth and one at the Gothenburg 31-yard line, but Harold Riley got tackled for no gain, forcing turnover. But after a quick three and out, the Merchantmen got the ball back and on the following drive they finally improved their lead. Anchored by a 31-yard Coleman to J.T. Pritt pass, the Merchantmen offense marched into the Giants red zone and eventually saw Riley pound it in from a yard away for a 13-0 lead. Drama continued from there on as the Giants drove downfield, only to see a 17-yard touchdown called back for holding and two plays later missing a 44-yard field goal attempt. The Merchantmen looked to lock it up before half time, driving all the way to the Giants red zone, only to see Perry Coleman intercepted by Perry Shifflett and to see the cornerback run the ball back 97 yards for a Giants touchdown. Although still leading 13-7, the Merchantmen went into the break much less confident about their chances.

The second half started with a defensive battle. Neither team managed to make any big plays, until the Giants' R.J. Ginsberg found Jesse Hartman for 28 yards and setting up a 30-yard field goal. They marked the only two high lights of the entire third quarter.

The fourth quarter, the Giants were still trailing, but had visibly taken control of the game. On the first drive of this quarter, Ginsberg connected with Robbie Downs for a 49-yard gain. Three plays later, Cole Meier surprised the Merchantmen defense, running for a 11-yard touchdown and a 17-13 Giants lead, their first of the game. The Merchantmen continued to struggle, while the Giants looked rejuvenated and increased their lead to 7 points as Al Malone converted a 46-yard field goal with less than 3 minutes remaining. After a couple of three and outs, the Merchantmen got the ball back with 1 minute to go an no time outs remaining. Coleman quickly found Terry Haskell for 9 yards, but the next attempt to gain ground resulted in Coleman getting stuffed and on the fourth down, Coleman's pass attempt was blocked. Season over for the Merchantmen, a 20-13 loss.

Representing the European division well, the Giants continued with a surprise 13-10 overtime win at the San Antonio Tidal Force. The Tidal Force missed a last second 38-yard field goal in regulation, then saw their first overtime drive end in an interception and finally the Giants scored on a 34-yard field goal.

In the Atlantic Ocean Conference game, Jackie Collier and the Tucker Tigers proved to be one game too many for the Giants. Despite scoring first and having the more productive offense, the Giants lost 30-13 in Tucker, coming one win short of going to IHOF Bowl XXXIX.

In IHOF Bowl XXXIX, the heavily favored Jackie Collier Tucker Tigers won the turnover battle 4-2, but struggled on offense. In a memorable game, the Capital City Blues pulled off their finest hour to win 30-17 and the first league championship since their franchise renaming.

MIJB#19 · 04-04-2015, 01:03 PM

2043 off season

Retirements
In the annual retirement wave, the Merchantmen said goodbye to kicker Charles Anthony after 17 seasons of service, in which he scored a franchise high 2013 points in the regular seasons and played in a franchise high 265 regular season and 19 playoffs games. Anthony played in three conference championship games for the Merchantmen, including the 2039 season victory en route to IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Anthony initially was a Mr. irrelevant 2026, but got released by the Colorado Cutthroats in pre-season of his rookie season. The Merchantmen then signed him in week 9 of the 2026 season, keeping him around until his retirement.

Linebacker Fred McCorkle was the second player with a long standing reputation in Maassluis. McCorkle was a highly rated rookie and was taken 14th overall in the first round of the 2031 draft. McCorkle was a day one starter, although missing a good bit of his regular season with an ankle injury. McCorkle continued to be a starter for 10 seasons, dropping to a depth role in his penultimate season and finally seeing action in only 3 games in his final season.

The Merchantmen also lost starting defensive end Quentin Toohil and starting guard Blaine Sulfsted. Both were veteran free agent signings in the 2041 off-season and retired after just two seasons with the Merchantmen. They are joined by Dwayne Robinson, who was signed last season as a free agent, but failed to become a starter. All three retired after 12 seasons in IHOF.

Free Agency
Unusual for the Merchantmen, the off-season saw a couple of key players run off in free agency. Tight against the cap last season, contracts of guard Lamont Whitfield and wide receiver Vincent Cox were not extended, making both available on the open market. Whitfield had just emerged as a starter in 2042, which combined with Sulfsted's retirement leaves the Merchantmen with just Vinny O'Neill at the guard position. Cox hasn't been a starter, but was active in all games last season and was expected to become a starter opposite Terry Haskell in the upcoming season(s).

In return, the Merchantmen signed four veterans before the draft. Mark Grevan signed to become the new right tackle, meaning Vinny O'Neill would be able to move back to right guard again. Guard Artie Cortez was signed to become the new left guard. Defensive tackle Patrick Doyle was signed to improve the run defense and also be a decent pass rush option. Mack Heatherly was signed as the new kicker.

Draft
As a result of the 2042 draft day trades to be able to select tight end Irving Clark and running back Harold Riley in the first round, the Merchantmen were without picks in the first three rounds, but had one extra fifth round pick. The taken players:

4th round	G Sean Schwimmer
5th round	G D.J. Sampson
5th round	DE Mark Cosell
6th round	QB Conrad Van Pelt
7th round	K Rich Maurice

Schwimmer and Sampson were need picks, with the departure of Sulfsted and Whitfield. Both looked like potential starters, with Schwimmer the more experienced one of the two. Cosell was a typical pass rusher pick, likely to make the team as a future project. Van Pelt was an obvious project pick, unlikely to take the job away from any of the three returning veterans (Perry Coleman, Harry Osborne and Kerry Lewis). Maurice was picked for his kickoff ability, but would have to prove to be better than Lenny Russell, the veteran kickoff kicker.

Post-draft free agency
The Merchantmen signed six free agents after the draft: quarterback Malik Weaver, defensive linemen Tim Howe and Bucky Snyder, linebacker Neil Ralph and cornerbacks Jack Pryor and Marty Styles.

Trades
There were no off-season trades. Would this mark the first season in IHOF history without a trade of the Maassluis Merchantmen?

MIJB#19 · 04-04-2015, 02:10 PM

2043 training camp / pre-season roster evaluation

During the pre-season, we acquired wide receiver Scott Dupuis from the Texas Sharks for a third round pick in the 2044 draft. Dupuis' stand out ability is kickoff returning, which is the main reason why he was acquired.

We'll run down the 2043 roster below.

Quarterbacks
starter: Perry Coleman (60)
backups: Harry Osborne (20), Kerry Lewis (25), Malik Weaver (15/25)
released: Conrad Van Pelt, Marco McKinnis
Last season showed how fragile Coleman is, which meant we brought along six quarterbacks in camp and decided to go into the regular season with four of them making the team. Coleman is the clear starter for another season. Osborne can be hot and cold, he'll get another season with us. Lewis is our kick holder and emergency quarterback. Weaver beat Van Pelt and McKinnis for our future project roster spot.

Running Backs
starters: Harold Riley (40), FB Greg Brass (55)
backups: Donald Terry (20), FB Terrell Wilkerson (15), Scott Fulcher (25)
Riley had a fine rookie campaign, rushing for 1,186 yards and 9 touchdowns. He's proven to be a starting caliber back. Breakaway speed monster Terry remains as our change of pace back. Brass remains to be our blocking fullback and also our third down back. Wilkerson isn't as good as he used to be, expect us to use our tight ends more often and favor us to use them in the blocking roles when we expect Brass to carry the ball. Fulcher has became a special teams backup.

Tight Ends
starter: Mike Bernstein (30)
backups: Irving Clark (40), Cary Harriman (30)
As we're getting thinner at the fullback position, we'll likely increase our playing of tight end heavy formations. Small sized Clark can't block, but is a valid receiving option. Bernstein and Harriman can catch the ball, if needed, but also have the ability to use their body frame to block.

Wide Receivers
starters: Terry Haskell (70), J.T. Pritt (55)
backups: Charles Pomeranz (45), Scott Dupuis (40), Adam Brautlacht (35), Jack Money (25)
released: Casey Brown
Haskell is our star wide receiver. He's returning from a career high 111 receptions for 1,447 yards. We're obviously counting on him to carry the team again. Pritt is a quality player, although coming of an off season (734 yards, 1 touchdown). Pomeranz and Dupuis will be our options as WR3 and WR4, as Brautlacht is becoming more of a pure return specialist (0 catches in 14 games last season). Money already was a pure return specialist. Brown got released. He used to be our gunner, but we have decent other options and were no longer willing to reserve a roster spot for him.

Offensive Line
starters: LT Clifton Freidkin (35), C Arnie Croft (45), C B.J. Samuels (60), G Vinny O'Neill (40), T Mark Grevan (50)
backups: G Artie Cortez (35), T D.J. Dunn (35), G D.J. Sampson (15/35), G Sean Schwimmer (25/50)
Last season we let Croft ride the bench, but later on in the season it became clear that he's still one of the best five linemen on the team. With Samuels as the undisputable center, Croft will play at guard. With Grevan added to the team, O'Neill moves back to guard, putting Cortez in the bench. Cortez didn't impress us, but could come into action at some point after all. Freidkin is still our best pass protection option for the left side. Dunn is the alternate. We're putting the technical Sampson ahead of the stronger Schwimmer, but both will see little action in their rookie seasons.

Defensive Line
starters: DE Eugene Johnstone (50), DT Brian Lincoln (45), DT Dwight Hutton (40), DE Carlton Chu (35)
backups: DT Dennis Lucas (45), DT Patrick Doyle (45), DE Mark Cosell (20/30), DE Harold Matheson (30)
released: DE Tim Howe, DT Bucky Snyder
The starting lineup isn't as clear cut as listed above. Johnstone and Lincoln are the all around complete players. Hutton will preferably see more action on running downs, which also applies to Doyle. Chu and Lucas are passing downs players, probably our two best pass rushers at the moment. Matheson is past his prime, but remains to be decent enough to come in when injuries occur. Cosell impressed in camp, but is stuck behind a strong group of players and will start the season in an inactive role. Neither Howe or Snyder was able to beat Cosell or Matheson for the final roster spot.
Veteran defensive tackle Roger Finch was released during the 2042 regular season to make room for injury replacements. He was cut in his 10th season with us.

Linebackers
starters: SLB Daniel Duncan (75), MLB Wesley Devine (75), WLB Lester Gilman (45)
backups: OLB Neil Ralph (30), MLB C.J. Boo (30), OLB Alton Bradley (30)
Unwilling to go through the motions of signing and releasing players, we decided to go into the 2043 season with six linebackers. There's not much to tell here though, as Duncan and Devine are arguably the best linebackers duo in IHOF, possibly even the best in the history of the league. Gilman is a decent all around linebacker. Ralph is primarily our gunner, but will also serve as a backup to Gilman and the two stars. Pass defender Boo and pass rusher Bradley are both declining a bit, but they're still good enough to jump in if injuries arise.

Secondary
starters: CB Mark Crum (65), SS Bernie Gordon (40), FS Thurman Hopper (35), CB Marc Pomato (50)
backups: CB Zach Pisano (30), S Perry Walker (30), S Karl Pritchett (40), CB Scottie Dawson (15/25)
released: CB Jake Pryor, CB Marty Styles
They may seem to be just average, but this unit is pretty good, if you'd ask me! Crum and Pomato are a capable shutdown corner duo. Gordon and Hopper are our zone defending safeties. Walker was still a starter last season, but Gordon has improved enough, while Walker declined a bit, to make the switch. Pritchett is more of a running downs player than the rest of the bunch. Dawson is a decent kickoff returner, but his role will be limited this season.
During the 2042 season, we released cornerback Corbin Newhart. He was low on our depth chart and we needed to make space on the roster for injury replacements.

Special Teams
punter: P Edward Rice (50)
field goals kicker: K Mack Heatherly (55)
kickoff kicker: K Lenny Russell (20/25)
kick holder: QB Kerry Lewis (100)
long snapper: LS Troy Lowe (90)
kick returners: Jack Money (85), Scott Dupuis (100)
punt returners: Jack Money (70), Adam Brautlacht (80)
released: K Rich Maurice
Maurice wasn't better than Russell, which means he had to leave after just one training camp. Heatherly showed up a bit out of shape compared to the reputation he had, he might be just a one-year solution. Lewis and Lowe are the supporting act for the kicker. Rice is slowly declining, but still good enough to stick with him. Money will be our top return specialist, despite that his technique is scouted lower. Money has proven he can get the job done, while Brautlacht is slightly worse. Dupuis could be the best in the game, but he'll need some time to get used to the rest of the unit. We've got a good number of players able to play on special teams. The release of Casey Brown has been a result of the signing of Neil Ralph, possibly the best gunner in football.

Overall, we have to feel confident that this team is on par with the 2042 team.

MIJB#19 · 04-04-2015, 06:50 PM

2043 Season

Week 1
The Merchantmen 2043 regular season kicked off at home against the Paris Musketeers. Perry Coleman connected with J.T. Pritt for the only Merchantmen touchdown in a 16-14 victory. Coleman threw for 284 yards, without any 100-yard receivers. Kicker Mack Heatherly was perfect on his three field goal attempts.

Week 2
Despite a strong defensive performance, the Kansas Creationists proved to be a stingy team to beat on the road. Perry Coleman completed two first half touchdown passes to Terry Haskell and one in the fourth quarter to J.T. Pritt. But it proved insufficient, as the Merchantmen lost 27-21 in Kansas. Coleman threw for 242 yards.

Week 3
Back home, the Merchantmen had no trouble with the Orlando Talons as they won 24-6 in a one-sided game. Perry Coleman threw to J.T. Pritt for a 59-yard touchdown, Greg Brass ran for a 62-yard touchdown and Harold Riley scored a late game victory clincher. Brass ran for 103 yards, while Coleman threw for 276 yards. The Merchantmen defense sacked the Orlando quarterbacks 7 times.

Week 4
What was said to be a shootout with the [b]San Antonio Tidal Force[b], turned out to be a lopsided game. The Merchantmen took an early 21-0 lead, with Perry Coleman finding J.T. Pritt and Terry Haskell (twice) for touchdowns. Greg Brass added a ground game touchdown, while Irving Clark scored a late game fumble return to finalize the 41-10 victory. Coleman threw for 306 yards, while Haskell accounted for 124 of those yards. Harold Riley ran for 103 yards without a score.

Week 6
Following a bye week, the Merchantmen kept on rolling. The Atlanta Vipers struggled offensively, but held the Merchantmen to five field goals in the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter the Merchantmen ran up the score, as Perry Coleman connected with Irving Clark and Terry Haskell en route to a 29-0 shutout victory. Coleman threw for 289 yards to eight different players, seven of them with multiple receptions.

Week 7
The trip to the Fort Wayne Fury turned out to be a low scoring affair. Despite a pretty stellar offensive showing, the Merchantmen scored only two field goals in the first three quarters, while the Fury leaned heavily on a blocked punt touchdown. Down by four points, the Merchantmen drove for a comeback from behind touchdown but came no closer than the Fury 35-yard line, giving up a 10-6 deficit. Harold Riley ran for 117 yards, while Perry Coleman passed for 234 yards.

Week 8
After the week 1 showdown, the Paris Musketeers had gone on to win their next five games, setting up a big clash for the European division lead. The Merchantmen were entering the game just one game behind, tied with the Gothenburg Giants. It turned out to be a wild football game, as the Merchantmen ended up winning 41-35. The Musketeers missed two field goals, but needed a last minute touchdown to come within 6 points. Greg Brass and Harold Riley ran for scores, while Perry Coleman threw for touchdown passes to Terry Haskell (twice) and Mike Bernstein. Harold Riley ran for 145 yards, while Terry Haskell received 122 yards of Perry Coleman's 345 yards passing. This result and Gothenburg's victory over San Antonio put the three European rivals tied at 5-2 each.

Week 9
In the final game of the series against the AOC Deep South, the Merchantmen visited the Houston Mustangs. Despite a half time deficit, the Merchantmen bounced back for a 20-17 victory. Perry Coleman found Terry Haskell for a touchdown in the third quarter, while Harold Riley scored the game winner on a 7-yard rush. Coleman threw for 280 yards, with 147 yards toward J.T. Pritt. Harold Riley ran for 110 yards. The Merchantmen pass rush once again received a lot of praise, sacking Cary Joyner 4 times and breaking up 7 more attempts on 35 passing plays.

At the half way point, the European division was tight, with three teams tied:
1. Maassluis 6-2 (2-0 vs Paris and Gothenburg)
2. Paris 6-2 (0-2 vs Maassluis, 1-0 vs Gothenburg)
3. Gothenburg 6-2 (0-1 vs Paris)
4. Bordeaux 1-7

Week 10
The Merchantmen machine was running on and the home game against the Bordeaux Vineyards was no exception. Perry Coleman threw touchdown passes to J.T. Pritt, Adam Brautlacht and Irving Clark, while Marc Pomato scored on an interception return. Final score was a 28-6 victory. Harold Riley ran for 172 yards, while Charles Pomeranz amassed 103 yards receiving. Elsehwere, both Paris and Gothenburg won, improving all three teams at 7-2.

Week 11
Visiting the Gothenburg Giants the Merchantmen for the first time were outmatched. In the previous losses, the Merchantmen had actually played a better game of football, but in Gothenburg that wasn't the case. Despite that Gothenburg's touchdowns were both defensively, they scored two touchdowns on four turnovers, on offense they were more productive as well. The Merchantmen had possession of the ball just under 23 minutes in this 26-14 loss. Harold Riley scored a rushing touchdown, while Perry Coleman connected with Charles Pomeranz for a passing touchdown. With Paris winning against Houston, Maassluis dropped to third place, despite a 7-3 record.

Week 12
Hosting the Chicago Norsemen the Merchantmen hoped to bounce back into the winning ways. In an even match, the Norsemen struggled in the red zone and settled for four field goals, excluding two missed three-pointers. Mean whilst, Perry Coleman connected with Terry Haskell (twice) and Mike Bernstein for touchdowns, resulting in a 21-19 victory. Haskell accounted of 132 yards from Coleman's 249 yards passing. Linebacker Daniel Duncan earned the MVP honors, making 1.5 sacks and the game ending interception.

Week 13
And then week 13 came around. The 7-4 Rochester Razorbacks appeared determined to stay in the race for the playoffs and caught the Merchantmen on their biggest offday since the invention of football. The Merchantmen lost four fumbles on the day, three of them on return plays. The Razorbacks didn't even impress on offense, but still pulled off a 35-0 shutout loss for the Merchantmen.

Week 14
Coming home from the largest deficit in team history, the Merchantmen immediately bounced back against the Minnesota Miners. Perry Coleman had a perfect passer rating day, as he completed 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards and 6 touchdown, anchoring the 49-23 victory. In between his passes, Harold Riley ran for 200 yards, although the sole running touchdown was from Coleman himself. The touchdown passes went to Mike Bernstein, Terry Haskell, J.T. Pritt (twice) and Charles Pomeranz (also twice).

Going into week 15, the European division race was still wide open:
1. Paris 11-2
2. Maassluis 9-4
3. Gothenburg 8-5
4. Bordeaux 1-12
The wild card race was also ongoing, with the Snapfinger Jazz (8-5) the only competition for the European teams.

Week 15
Remembering the deficit earlier this season and the threesome from last season, the Merchantmen were determined to end their losing streak against the Gothenburg Giants. The Giants struck first on a 75-yard R.J. Ginsberg to Robbie Downs touchdown pass, but the Merchantmen turned the score around on threesome of Harold Riley touchdown runs and a Daniel Duncan interception return touchdown for a 30-10 lead into the fourth quarter. But knowing the determination of the Giants, this game wasn't over yet. The Giants scored touchdowns on their next two drives and were driving for a game leader. Luckily, Ginsberg fumbled on a 13 yard scramble in Merchantmen territory and Perry Walker came away with the loose ball. Helped by a couple of Gothenburg penalties, the Merchantmen ran out the clock, ending the losing streak with a 30-24 victory, securing a playoffs ticket in the process. Elsewhere in Europe, the Paris Musketeers lost at home against the Bordeaux Vineyard, trimming their lead back to one game over Maassluis.

Week 16
Visiting the Iowa Cobbers, the Merchantmen got cocky and expected to cruise to an easy victory. Two off-seasons ago, the Merchantmen signed Perry Coleman and Skip Perron, both from the Cobbers. After training camp, Perron was shown the door again, to return back to Iowa and take over the starting role that used to be Coleman's. With that in mind, the Cobbers players had more reason to have a desire to beat the Merchantmen. And it showed, as they overcame a couple of lost fumbles to hand the Merchantmen a 20-13 loss. Perry Coleman completed a pass to Greg Brass for the only Merchantmen touchdown of the day. The good news of the day was the Paris Musketeers loss in Chicago, keeping chances of a European division title going.

Week 17
Despite playing at the Bordeaux Vineyards, the Merchantmen players were distracted from the game at hand, to win the division requiring a Paris loss to the eliminated Gothenburg Giants. In Bordeaux, the Merchantmen saw Perry Coleman threw touchdown passes to J.T. Pritt and Terry Haskell, while running for another one for a 24-0 half time lead. The Vineyards were unable to fight back and the game was quickly over, with a 27-0 victory for the Merchantmen.

Elsewhere, in a wild fourth quarter, the Musketeers came back from 13-10 down to a 16-13 lead with a couple of field goals. With 3 minutes remaining, the Giants turned the score around, taking a 20-16 lead. The Musketeers were not beaten yet, converting a crucial fourth down in the Gothenburg red zone to keep their hopes alive. Two plays later they scored a touchdown, which got called back for holding. With 32 second left, Paris needed to gain 20 yards on fourth down to get a first down. Rosey Hansen tossed it into the end zone and an open tight end Donny Dumont caught it for a wild 23-20 victory.

Regular season standings:

1.	Paris	12-4
2.	Maassluis	11-5
3.	Gothenburg	9-7
4.	Bordeaux	2-13-1

With these results, Paris ended up as third seeds, hosting the Snapfinger Jazz, while Maassluis as fifth seeds were to visit the Atlanta Vipers.

Wild Card round
In the game at the Atlanta Vipers, the outcome was pretty much determined in the first quarter. Zach Pisano intercepted a Roy Lynn pass in the Merchantmen red zone to keep the Vipers from opening the score. The Merchantmen replied with a 12-play 71-yard drive ending in a Perry Coleman to J.T. Pritt touchdown pass. The Vipers' second drive stalled earlier, as Mark Crum intercepted Lynn on the second play of the drive at midfield and returning it to the Vipers 23-yard line. Four plays later, Harold Riley ran it in for the 14-0 lead. The third Vipers drive also resulted in an interception around midfield, this time Thurman Hopper made the pick, just before the end of the quarter. Two minutes into the second quarter, Coleman found Terry Haskell for the 21-0 lead. The Vipers would add a field goal later on, while the Merchantmen would score another Harold Riley touchdown for a 28-3 half time score.

The second half, the Vipers fans got some of their faith back, as Mack Heatherly missed a field goal for Maassluis, while the Vipers would add 3 points on their side of the scoreboard and following it up with a defensive three and out. But those hopes all flew away on the following drive, as Roy Lynn got intercepted for a fourth time, Perry Walker being the man for Maassluis this time. Neither side managed to score for a while as the fourth quarter rolled around. The Vipers' misfortune continues, as Leonard Carrigan fumbled the ball and Merchantmen safety Thurman Hopper came away with it. The Vipers would pull a last chance long drive, getting stopped on the Merchantmen 1-yard line. In the garbage time, Mark Crum added a fifth interception for the day and sealing the 28-6 victory for the Merchantmen.

Divisional round
The road game at the Rochester Razorbacks proved to be a more thrilling one for the Merchantmen. After a scoreless first quarter, things got wilder in the second quarter, with Perry Coleman finding J.T. Pritt for a 63-yard score opening touchdown. But Rochester would come out of the first half leading after all, as Norman Browning found Ricardo Meynardie for a 41-yard long bomb touchdown pass at the time-minute warning and Browning to Meynardie also setting up a 46-yard field goal as time runs out.

The second half started with back to back drives ending in interception. Johnny Sharp struck first in Rochester favor, but linebacker Daniel Duncan returned the favor to give Maassluis the ball back at mid field. A crazy turn of events later, Mack Heatherly attempted a 31-yard field goal and tied the score again with it. A defensive battle followed, until the Merchantmen finally broke through into the Razorbacks red zone, shortly before the two-minute warning. A holding penalty pushed the Merchantmen back and Heatherly ended up missing a 43-yard field goal attempt. In the final minute of the game, the Razorbacks managed to get down field and with three seconds remaining stopped the clock to attempt a 42-yard game winning field goal. Marlon Weber converted, making the Merchantmen fly back home with a 13-10 loss to end the season.

Atlantic Ocean Conference Championship
In the Atlantic Ocean Conference game, the Razorbacks ended up losing 14-13 at the Tucker Tigers, capitulating on a last minute 11-yard touchdown pass from Jackie Collier to Alan Cooley.

IHOF Bowl XV
The Tucker Tigers and Capital City Blues went for a rare rematch, both returning as the respective conference champions. In a lopsided game, the Tigers avenged the loss of a year earlier, coming back from 14-0 down to tie before half time and in the fourth quarter cruising to a 20-point lead. A punt return touchdown after the two-minute warning made it a two-score game, but it didn't get any more closer than that, as the Tigers prevailed 34-21.

MIJB#19 · 04-05-2015, 06:40 PM

2044 Off-season

Retirements
With the Merchantmen roster building tradition to keep veteran players around longer than the average team does, there's always a bigger risk to lose players to retirement. The 2043 to 2044 roll over resulted in a surprisingly high number of eight retirements.

Safety Perry Walker left Maassluis after 14 seasons. A fifth round pick in the 2030 draft, Walker wasn't a day one starter, but did see quite some action in his first two seasons. In 2032 he became a regular starter and the tandem with Thurman Hopper got really started. Aside from sitting out December 2038, Walker was always available. Walker remained a starter for 11 seasons, but last season was downgraded to a nickel/dime formations role. With Walker, the Merchantmen reached the playoffs in all of the past nine seasons. Like most Merchantmen players of the past bunch of seasons, Walker's highlight was playing (albeit losing) in IHOF Bowl XXXVI.

Tight end Mike Bernstein was the biggest shocker on the list of football quitters. Bernstein was yet to turn 33 and had been a starter in Maassluis the past seven seasons. Initially a seventh round pick with the Fort Wayne Fury, he wasn't active in his rookie season and saw limited action in the following two seasons. The Merchantmen signed Bernstein after the 2037 draft and immediately added him in the mix of offensive players. Bernstein scored a pair of touchdowns in the victorious 2039 season Atlantic Ocean Conference championship game en route to IHOF Bowl XXXVI, which marked his career highlight.

Wide receiver J.T. Pritt spent just four seasons in Maassluis, but certainly made an impact. Pritt was acquired through trade from the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums in the off-season after the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI, in hopes to bolster the passing game. Pritt had a couple of 1,000-yard seasons and scored 26 receiving touchdowns in his time with the Merchantmen.

Others retiring were cornerback Zach Pisano, linebacker Alton Bradley, defensive end Carlton Chu, guard Artie Cortez and linebacker/special teamer Neil Ralph. Pisano was a free agent signing in 2038 and spent most of his time in a nickelback role, reaching the playoffs in all those season, including IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Bradley had spent the entire 2043 season inactive, although he was a starter in the IHOF Bowl XXXVI reaching season. Chu spent two seasons in Maassluis, but never lived up to the pass rushing machine hype that he was brought in with, despite being a starter last season. Cortez was signed in 2043 and eventually became a starter, but eventually decided it was enough. Ralph had also just spent a single season in Maassluis, although it became clear he wasn't happy with just a special teams role as a former three-time All-IHOF first teamer.

Cap Moves
In a tight cap situation, the Merchantmen struggled to get kicker Mack Heatherly to sign a cap saving new contract and decided to release him after just one season, early in the off-season. This left the Merchantmen with just kickoff kicker Lenny Russell on roster, clearly hoping to find a new kicker in the remainder of the off-season.

Free Agency
Only three players were hired in the pre-draft free agency.

Fullback Harvey Miller was signed from the Toronto Lake Monsters to become the new blocking fullback. Maassluis became his seventh IHOF franchise in his eighth season, hoping this to be his first playoffs bound stint.

To fill the gap of the retired Perry Walker, the Merchantmen signed Kelvin Shepherd from the Oakland Black Panthers. He was a starter for the Tucker Tigers in IHOF Bowl XXXVIII, but missed most of his second season in Tucker with an ankle injury and was subsequently released. He rejuvenated his career in Oakland last season and hopes to return to the big game with the Merchantmen.

Left tackle Fred King leaves the Williamsburg Colonials after two seasons to sign with the Merchantmen. King was be brought in to battle with Clifton Freidkin for the left tackle role for the upcoming season.

Draft 2044
As a result of the 2042 draft day trade to be able to acquire running back Harold Riley, the Merchantmen went into the draft without a first round pick. They were also missing a third round pick because of the trade for Scott Dupuis in the 2043 pre-season. During the draft, the Merchantmen traded their 2045 sixth and seventh rounders to the Kansas Creationists for picks in the same rounds in this draft, giving the Merchantmen seven picks after all. It marked the only trade of the entire off-season.

round	player
2	P Malachi Pennell
4	CB Lonnie Browning
5	G Bryant Huffman
6a	TE Wyatt Stephens
6b	LB Trevor Rodgers
7a	K Jay Diamond
7b	WR Jaylen Swann

Some might say Pennell was a reach, but at that stage of the draft, there wasn't much left that seemed worthy of a second round pick. Pennell might be the best punter to join IHOF in nearly a decade, making this well worth it. Browning was picked to fill in for the retired Pisano, hopefully becoming a decent coverage corner. Huffman ran a decent agility score and showed signs of being a better alternative that last season's D.J. Sampson. Stephens was another forced pick, with Bernstein retiring, he turned out to be more of a blocker than a pass catcher. Rodgers looked all around decent and with Ralph retired, a linebacker spot was vacant. Diamond was picked in hopes to be the solution to the kicking woes after release of Heatherly earlier on. Swann was a combine skipper, but management felt he was worth a shot in the seventh round, also somewhat forced with a vacated spot on the receivers corps.

Post-draft Free Agency
After the draft, the Merchantmen signed fourth year veteran kicker Marvin Creekmur, who had been with the Capital City Blues and should be an immediate improvement over the departed Heatherly. The Merchantmen also signed four undrafted rookie free agents: linebacker Frank Weaver, defensive linemen Freddie Malone and Kendrick Ramirez, and safety Tim Manalang.

Recap
The off-season was pretty straight forward. All spots vacated by retirements were filled with rookies or the few veteran signings, while the kicker had been replaced. Going into training camp, Maassluis had to hope the remaining veterans would hold up well and some of the drafted players in this and other recent drafts would be ready to step in...

MIJB#19 · 04-05-2015, 07:43 PM

2044 Training Camp

Below is our training camp report from the 2044 season. An under whelming camp it was, with a couple of bright spots. Although the main concern was in seeing our key players maintaining their level of play. Especially Perry Coleman, Terry Haskell and the defensive starters were a risk.

Quarterbacks
starter: Perry Coleman (60=)
backups: Harry Osborne (15-), Kerry Lewis (15--), Malik Weaver (15=/20-)
After training camp, there was no doubt that 2044 would be a Coleman or nothing season. Weaver showed little improvement compared to the previous training camp, but as both Osborne and Lewis looked like they are on the decline, Weaver made the cut again, just in case Coleman does go down and Osborne falls into the turnover habits he showed in the 2042 season.

Running Backs
starter: RB Harold Riley (40=), FB Greg Brass (55=)
backups: FB Harvey Miller (35=), RB Scott Fulcher (20-), RB Donald Terry (15-)
released: FB Terrell Wilkerson
Riley and Brass are our guys again. Riley can be an all downs back, but with the steam engine shovel Brass around, short yardage situations won't be Riley's. Miller will be in the mix as a blocker. Fulcher promoted back to the number two role, but basically is number three behind Brass. Terry lost more of his speed, but survived the final cuts as we didn't see any free agents which would be an improvement over Terry and his knowledge of the playbook.

Tight Ends
starter: Cary Harriman (30=)
backups: Irving Clark (40=), Wyatt Stephens (20=/30=)
A mix of players this is. Harriman is the most all around guy, despite that he lacks the speed to really contribute to the passing game. Clark will move in on the obvious passing downs, which certainly will happen at times, while Stephens is decent enough to be our second blocker. We still hope Clark will live up to his first round status and become a 50-catch receiver after seasons of 29 and 30 catches.

Wide Receivers
starter: Terry Haskell (65=), Charles Pomeranz (40-)
backups: Scott Dupuis (45=), Adam Brautlacht (25-), Jaylen Swann (20/25+), Jack Money (20-)
Unsirprinzingly, Haskell remains to be our far and beyond best player on offense. Pomeranz and Dupuis will be the number two and number three, possibly even losing some playing time to our tight ends. Brautlacht and Swann are the emergency guys, while Money will just focus on returning duties. Swann will start the season in an inactive role, but made the team nevertheless and will be activated as our fifth receiver if there's a roster spot available.

Offensive Line
starter: LT Clinfton Freidkin (30-), C Arnie Croft (40-), C B.J. Samuels (60=), G Bryant Huffman (35+/50+), T Mark Grevan (50=)
backups: G Vinny O'Neill (40=), G Sean Schwimmer (35+/50=), LT Fred King (40=), G D.J. Sampson (25+/40+)
released: T D.J. Dunn
With the increase in sacks last season, it became apparent that either this unit isn't as good as it used to be, or Perry Coleman is becoming more prone to getting sacked. At the same time, Harold Riley is just a second year running back and we'll need cohesion on the line to make him successful. However, both Huffman and Schwimmer are emerging as guys that need just half a season to become legit starters. Samuels is indisputable, while Croft knows this offense too well to not make him play. For similar reasons, O'Neill is still our best alternative at guard and right tackle. But left tackle is the problem position. Freidkin is lacking stamina, but King is new, while Grevan just can't play on the left, making us start Freidkin after all. Sampson showed good progress and we hope to give him another season to grow, but most likely we'll try to trade one of the young guards in the next off-season.

Defensive Line
starter: DE Eugene Johnstone (50-), DT Brian Lincoln (45=), DT Dwight Hutton (30--), DE Harold Matheson (20--)
backups: DT Dennis Lucas (45=), Patrick Doyle (45=), DE Mark Cosell (20=/30-), DE Freddie Malone (10/20=)
released: DT Kendrick Ramirez
This unit, requires some explanation, why are Hutton and Matheson listed as starters and Lucas and Doyle as backups? Quite simple, they're not. both will see plenty of action in the rotation system, especially Lucas on obvious passing downs. Johnstone and Lincoln are the complete linemen of the team. Hutton is a run stopper, while Doyle is a run stopper too, with some rushing speed. Lucas is our best pass rusher, which he has proven with back to back All-IHOF First Team honors. Matheson goes into the season ahead of Cosell and Malone, as the youngster are still a bit green, while Matheson is a proven veteran with All-IHOF honors in our IHOF Bowl run season. Ramirez looked interesting, but in an already crowed unit, he got stuck on the wrong team to test the waters of IHOF.

Linebackers
starter: SLB Daniel Duncan (75=), MLB Wesley Devine (80=), WLB Lester Gilman (40=)
backups: MLB C.J. Boo (25-), OLB Frank Weaver (20=/35=), OLB Trevor Rodgers (20=/35-)
Another unit which is self explanatory. Our Double D's are so overwhelming and hard too miss, we'll cherish them as long as we can. Gilman is the best of the bunch, still, although Weaver and Rodgers look like they can step in if Gilman decides to quit or would he have lost some of his versatility. Boo's knowledge of the defense makes him the main backup, but realistically we'll use defensive backs if we're going to take a linebacker off the field.

Secondary
starter: CB Mark Crum (60-), SS Bernie Gordon (40=), FS Thurman Hopper (30-), CB Marc Pomato (50=)
backups: CB Lonnie Browning (25-/30-), S Tim Manalang (30=/40+), S Karl Pritchett (35-), S Kelvin Shepherd (30=)
released: S Scottie Dawson
No changes in the starting spots, the same quartet will be our backfield on defense. Rookies Browning and Manalang impressed enough with their interception skills to make us put them in the nickel and dime roles from the start. Pritchett and Shepherd won't see much action this season. Pritchett should be familiar with that role, while Shepherd is about equal with Gordon and Hopper in talent, but being the new man and a veteran, he's the odd man out, despite making the team, because you never know when we need to dig deep in the depth chart. Dawson is out after a season of inactivity.

Special Teams
punter: Malachi Pennell (80+++/90+++)
kicker: Marvin Creekmur (80=)
kickoff kicker: Lenny Russell (20-)
punt returner: Jack Money (50), Adam Brautlacht (65)
kick returner: Jack Money (70), Scott Dupuis (100)
others: Kerry Lewis (100 holder), Troy Lowe (90 long snapper)
released: P Edward Rice, K Jay Diamond
Pennell made a big impression in training camp and without hesitation we released Rice and made Pennell the new punter. Creekmur was the other off-season acquisition and, unlike Heatherly last season, held up with his reputation. Russell hangs on for another season, but he better starts improving his kickoffs, or we'll give that role to Creekmur too and break tradition and go with an all duties kicker. We're set here for the next decade, hopefully. In return duties, Money is still the man, but don't be shocked if Dupuis takes over in the kickoff return role at some point this upcoming season. Brautlacht has yet to impress us in real games, making Money the primary punt return option still. Although we're starting to get disappointed with Money's increase in fumbles of the past couple of seasons.

MIJB#19 · 04-14-2015, 06:13 PM

2044 Season

Pre-Season
The Merchantmen rolled through the exhibition games with a 4-0 record, although inflating the results by playing with their starters in all four games and barely taking them off. In a way, it caused a bit of a scare, as 4-0 is seen as a jinx.

Week 1
If there were any doubts about the Merchantmen's ambitions, they were perfectly clear after the first home game of the season. After seasons of struggles against them, the Gothenburg Giants were no match this time, as the Merchantmen steamrolled to a convincing 52-6 victory. Perry Coleman ran for a couple of touchdowns, while completing scoring passes to Charles Pomeranz and Terry Haskell. Fullback Greg Brass had a trademarked short yardage touchdown, while Harold Riley scored on 13-yard run. Cornerback Mark Crum made the last touchdown of the game with a 32-yard fumble recovery.

Week 2
As convincing as the week one game was, the Outer Banks Ospreys proved a bigger obstacle. Despite a stellar defensive performance, the Merchantmen struggled themselves, settling for field goals on their first two red zone visits and coming downs short in the final minutes to avoid a 10-6 defeat.

Week 3
Back home, the Merchantmen regrouped against the Fort Wayne Fury. But despite the 23-10 victory, the story of the game was quarterback Perry Coleman's departure from the game with a knee injury. Coleman still received the game MVP honors, throwing touchdown passes to Charles Pomeranz and Terry Haskell. Harry Osborne went into the game as the injury replacement, completing 4 of 6 passes for 25 yards and no turnovers.

Week 4
Despite not playing, the Merchantmen had big news as Perry Coleman was diagnose with a torn MCL in his knee and out for the rest of the season. All hopes on having a championship run immediately dampened and the Merchantmen and fans realized that there were only two possible scenarios: going back to Harry Osborne or giving the reigns to Malik Weaver earlier than hoped. Granted, with the Merchantmen there's always a possibility of a trade, but the Merchantmen decided against that. Osborne was announced the week 5 starter, at home against the Tucker Tigers, of all teams. Hoping that Osborne would show his running speed while proving his knowledge of the play book would make him the obvious choice over the possibly even more athletic Weaver.

Week 5
Boy, was Perry Coleman missed. The Tucker Tigers took full advantage of the absence of the Merchantmen quarterback. Maassluis looked lost at sea and at the end of the night were lucky to lose 38-3, not getting crushed by double the margin. The Tigers already lead 31-3 by half time, with the Merchantmen field goal coming seconds before the break. Tucker scored a field goal on their first drive and touchdowns on each of their next five. In return, the Merchantmen saw Harry Osborne struggling, albeit completing 17 of 26 passes for 220 yards, a couple of interceptions and a lost fumble reminded the fans and management of why Malik Weaver was brought in to challenge Osborne for the backup role.

Week 6
On the road at the Augusta Greenjackets, the Merchantmen went to their third quarterback of the season, giving Malike Weaver his debut. And what a debut. On his first play, Weaver immediately got intercepted, 'Welcome to IHOF, Malik!' But Weaver remarkably recovered from yet another interception, throwing touchdown passes to Terry Haskell and tight end Cary Harriman. After Augusta appeared to have scored the winning touchdown with just a minute left, Weaver guided his team downfield and saw Marvin Creekmur convert a 49-yard field goal to force overtime. However, Weaver copied his first play of the game, which set up the 26-20 overtime loss.

Week 7
At the Paris Musketeers, the Merchantmen decided to switch quarterbacks again, reverting to Harry Osborne. In a traditionally close divisional clash, the Merchantmen kept it close. Down by four points, eventually they had to go for it and failed, resulting in a 31-27 loss. Osborne remarkably stayed turnover free and completed a 70-yard touchdown pass to Charles Pomeranz. Harold Riley ran for a touchdown, while long snapper Troy Lowe returned a fumble for a score.

Week 8
Convinced by the turnover free game, the Merchantmen staff stuck with Harry Osborne against the Snapfinger Jazz. Expectations were low with the fans, for the first time this season not selling out their tickets in Oranje Haven. The Merchantmen responded with a strong defensive performance, holding the Jazz to 196 total yards in a 19-3 victory. Especially the pass rush of the Merchantmen received a lot of praise, breaking up 16 of 51 passing plays. On the offense, Osborne connected with Terry Haskell for the only touchdown of the game.

Week 9
In an unexpected turn of events, the Bordeaux Vineyards were in for a surprise when it turned out the Merchantmen went to Malik Weaver as the quarterback. It paid off as Weaver completed 18 of 25 passes for 335 yards. Weaver threw touchdown passes to Scott Dupuis and Terry Haskell, while running for another, in the 27-14 victory on the road. Especially Haskell looked rejuvenated, gaining 238 yards on 9 catches on the night.

At the mid-season point, the Merchantmen were still hoping to challenge for the division title, knowing a week 17 home game against Paris could become a winner takes all game.

rk	team	w/l
1	Paris	5-3
2	Maassluis	4-4
3	Gothenburg	2-6
4	Bordeaux	2-6

Week 10
At the Orlando Talons, the playoffs hopes in Maassluis took a hit. Malik Weaver opened the game with another first play interception. Although the scoreline remained 0-0 after that pick, the Talons would eventually open on a Weaver pass, as safety Ernie Douglas intercepted him for 59 yards and a touchdown. Maassluis hardly recovered from that mistake, stumbling to a 23-10 loss. Weaver did throw for the only Merchantmen touchdown of the game, completing a 10-yard pass to Terry Haskell.

Week 11
Still believing in Malik Weaver to turn the tide, the Merchantmen went to the Gothenburg Giants. Harold Riley and Scott Fulcher ran for a touchdown each in the first quarter on the first two Merchantmen drives, before the Giants took control of the game. Down by seven, the Merchantmen were stopped 3 yards shy of the tie. A safety with 18 seconds left on the clock gave the Merchantmen another chance, but it was too much to ask to avoid the 27-22 loss. Weaver completed only 13 of 32 passes for 128 yards and 1 interception, surely this would commence the return of Osborne in the lineup?

Week 12
At home against the Capital City Blues, the Merchantmen staff committed to youngster Malik Weaver. Helped by the defense, the Merchantmen kept it close, despite a couple of interceptions thrown by Weaver. In the final four minutes of the game, Weaver orchestrated a couple of touchdown drives to trim the scoreline to a 23-17 deficit, running for a score and throwing for another to his favorite target Terry Haskell.

Week 13
On the road at the Harlem Apollos, the Merchantmen were playing for their last chances to keep even the slimmest of chances for the playoffs alive. Malik Weaver got the start again and once again gelled perfectly with star Terry Haskell. Weaver threw for 339 yards and 2 touchdowns, with Haskell being on the receiving end 11 times for 230 yards and both scores. Harold Riley, Greg Brass and Scott Fulcher all added a running touchdown to complete the 35-10 victory.

Week 14
The Texas Sharks removed any remaining Merchantmen hopes for the post-season. In his typical fashion, Malik Weaver struggled until the fourth quarter, adding more to the running game than the passing game. A 42-yard touchdown pass to Terry Haskell in the dying seconds of the game was far from sufficient to avoid the 27-13 loss.

Week 15
Free of any remaining hopes, the Merchantmen crushed the Bordeaux Vineyards with a 38-7 victory. Harold Riley ran for three touchdowns, while Scott Dupuis scored his first kickoff return touchdown for the Merchantmen and Malik Weaver threw to Terry Haskell in the fourth quarter to finalize the score.

Week 16
Hosting the Moontown Darksiders, the Merchantmen made it back to back victories. A first play of the game interception return touchdown from Wesley Devine gave Maassluis the first lead. After giving up a set of field goals, the Merchantmen saw Malik Weaver respond with a 61-yard touchdown pass to Scott Dupuis to regain the lead. In the final minutes, Scott Fulcher ran for the 24-9 victory clinching touchdown.

Week 17
With nothing on the line anymore, a sold out Oranje Haven crowd was in for a big surprise as Perry Coleman was cleared by the medical staff. The Merchantmen staff decided to stick with Weaver after the recent victories in a game where they could play spoiler for the Paris Musketeers to keep them from a bye week in the playoffs. The Merchantmen fans were in for a disappointing evening, witnessing a 26-7 loss. Despite the loss, the Merchantmen fans were in for a happy moment as well. After a horrible performance, Weaver got replaced in the fourth quarter and Coleman came in to complete 5 of 7 passes for 44 yards and the only Merchantmen touchdown of the day, connecting with Terry Haskell on an 18-yard pass.

After the game, the crowd was divided between emotions of disappointment for missing the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons, and the joy of seeing Perry Coleman wear the orange-white-and-blue at least one more time. Unanimous sources were claiming the knee injury could trigger Coleman's retirement plans...

European Division standings

rk	team	w/l	notes
1	Paris Musketeers	11-5	#2 seed
2	Maassluis Merchantmen	7-9
3	Gothenburg Giants	6-10
4	Bordeaux Vineyards	3-13

Playoffs
The Paris Musketeers followed their bye week with a thriller against the Tucker Tigers. Leading 13-10, the Musketeers thought the had the victory, only to give up a 54-yard field goal in the final seconds of regulation. The Tigers scored a field goal on their first overtime drive, but taking full advantage of the new overtime rules, the Musketeers replied with a strong drive on their own, finishing it with Rosey Hansen's 14-yard touchdown pass to Max Pinner for the 19-16 victory.

In the Atlantic Ocean Conference Championship game, the Musketeers hosted the Augusta Greenjackets, who went 11-5 in the regular season as well. The Greenjackets scored touchdowns on their first two drives and controlled the clock for the remainder of the game, en route to a 33-16 victory.

In IHOF Bowl XVI, the Augusta Greenjackets faced the Chesapeake Chitterlings, who went 13-3 in the regular season. The Chits' quarterback Charlie Grillot threw for 237 yards and 3 touchdowns to a convincing 34-13 victory and the franchise's sixth league title. It was their first league championship since beating the Merchantmen in IHOF Bowl XXXVI.

MIJB#19 · 04-26-2015, 07:46 AM

2045 Off-Season

Retirements
The 2045 Off-Season started with the news that safety Thurman Hopper and wide receiver Adam Brautlacht both retired from football. Neither came as a big surprise, given their respective ages.

Thurman Hopper was a first round pick in the 2031 draft, spent his rookie season on the bench, but from his second pro season was key starter on the Merchantmen defense. As a free safety, he formed a remarkable duo with Perry Walker as the locks on the defense. Hopper was a crucial element in the pass defense and retired as the all-time Merchantmen leader with 42 interceptions. With Hopper, the Merchantmen reached the playoffs nine consecutive season. Hopper sat out all but one game of the 2039 season with a nagging elbow injury, which meant Hopper was on injured reserve during the Merchantmen's only IHOF Bowl appearance to date.

Adam Brautlacht was a third round pick in the 2034 draft. A fast and agile receiver, Brautlacht was brought in to challenge for the WR2 or WR3 role. There were also hopes he could grow into becoming a premier return specialist, but eventually was just an alternate punt returner, mostly a result of his fumbling woes. In his first six seasons, Brautlacht did have quite the contribution to the passing game, usually being good for 500 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. Brautlacht was a starter in IHOF Bowl XXXVI for the Merchantmen. In 2040 Brautlacht missed a good portion of the season with a hamstring injury and from there on his role became more limited. At the time of retirement, he ranks 9th all-time in receiving touchdowns for the Merchantmen.

Free Agency
In an unusual pre-season, the Maassluis Merchantmen didn't sign a single player before the draft. Instead, three veteran players were released to help create enough cap room to be able to sign rookies. Quarterback Harry Osborne, defensive end Harold Matheson and kickoff kicker Lenny Russell were all cut. The biggest news in free agency was the blockbuster trade the Merchantmen made...

IHOF Draft 2045
Following the woes at quarterback during the 2044 season, the Merchantmen management was determined to get the replacement of Perry Coleman in the 2045 off-season. At the top of the draft board sat a number of intriguing quarterback prospects. The Merchantmen worked the phoned, attempting to move up in the draft from 12th overall to within the top five. And as to be expected with the masters of trade, they succeeded, moving up to first overall. The Merchantmen traded their 2046 first and second round picks, all their 2045 draft picks (first through fifth round), including that 12th overall pick. The end result was a draft with just one player acquired: Illinois quarterback Bryson Chow became the 2045 number one pick. Chow smiled ear to ear at the press conference, showing his new #1 Merchantmen jersey. In line with IHOF regulations, Bryson Chow was signed to a pre-determined four-year contract, worth $49 million dollars over four years, with a $39.8 million dollar signing bonus.

Despite that the Merchantmen coaching staff was unimpressed with Bryson Chow, general manager M.IJ.B. was convinced Chow was the best of the bunch in a draft dominated by quarterback picks. In a historic draft, eight quarterbacks were taken in the first round: the Houston Mustangs selected Jayce Powell second, the Harlem Apollos selected Declan Knight third, the Fairbanks Northstars selected Bryan Rhodes fifth, the Iowa Cobbers took Bo Scott nineteenth, the Frederick Red Menace picked Emmitt Latham twentieth, the Tucker Tigers took Ethan Beyer twenty-fifth and the Chicago Norsemen took Ernie Hatcher twenty-eighth overall. The top of the third round saw two more interesting quarterback picks, as the Bordeaux Vineyards took Bryson Kleinsasser and the Oakland Black Panthers selected Mel Briggs, both became starters in their rookie season.

Post Draft Free Agency
After the draft, the Merchantmen signed either rookie free agents: running backs Marty Finley and Asher Tyler, wide receiver Noah Rico, defensive linemen Caleb Hanson and Rob Fjelstad, cornerback Paxton Podbevsek, safety Santiago Poole, and kickers O.J. Blades and Pete Cummins.

With no cap room to work with, the Merchantmen also made the tough decision to release running back Donald Terry. The 2039 rushing leader and as such a key player in the IHOF Bowl XXXVI reaching campaign, Terry had been a backup player in the past two seasons, carrying just 7 times in 2044.

Safety Tim Manalang signed with Snapfinger Jazz, as the Merchantmen were unable to make a decent enough offer to retain the second-year pro. Donald Terry failed to find a new team, as was he faith of aforementioned Harold Matheson and Lenny Russell. Quarterback Harry Osborne did find a new home, becoming the mentor of Oakland Black Panthers' Mel Briggs.

MIJB#19 · 04-26-2015, 08:56 AM

2045 Training Camp

In Maassluis Merchantmen tradition, here we'll take a look at the 2045 Maassluis Merchantmen roster. We'll break down the roster by position or position group, give some insight on training camp and pre-season impressions and what the depth chart is going to look like for the upcoming season.

Quarterbacks
starter: Bryson Chow (20+/45--)
backups: Perry Coleman (50--), Malik Weaver (20=/25=), Kerry Lewis (10-)
The word spread quickly around the league. Scouts from all over IHOF looked at Chow in his first action and their expectations quickly downgraded from potential super star to below average starter material. Despite that, the Merchantmen felt that Bryson Chow would be ready to start from day one, mentored by Perry Coleman as his understudy. Kerry Lewis retained his emergency quarterback and kick holder role. Malik Weaver did just enough to stick around as the backup backup, just in case Chow or Coleman would get hurt bad enough to avoid having to release another player and at least have a quarterback ready who knows the playbook. Although that argument could be frowned upon with the aged veteran Lewis always being available.

Running Backs
starters: Harold Riley (40=), FB Greg Brass (50-)
backups: Marty Finley (30=/40=), FB Harvey Miller (35=), Asher Tyler (25=/35+), Scott Fulcher (15-)
Harold Riley retained his premier runner role, with Greg Brass as the third down back and splitting the fullback duties with Harvey Miller. In the change of pace department, Marty Finley outran his fellow undrafted rookie Asher Tyler, while veteran Scott Fulcher made the team once again in an emergency role.

Tight ends:
starters: Wyatt Stephens (25=/25-), Irving Clark (40=)
backups: Cary Harriman (25-)
In our rotation of skill players, it's hard to say there is one particular starter at tight end. Wyatt Stephens is the blocker of the two, while Irving Clark is quite possibly the second best receiving option on the entire offense. Both will see their share of action, rotating with the wide receivers, fullbacks and running backs. Cary Harriman also retained his roster spot.

Wide Receivers
starters: Terry Haskell (60--), Charles Pomeranz (30--)
backups: Scott Dupuis (45=), Noah Rico (15=/25=), Jack Money (15-)
released: Jaylen Swann
Terry Haskell remains to be the face of the franchise and might at times be the only wide receiver on the field. Charles Pomeranz just barely maintained the best of the rest designation, being the one that knows the offense best. Scott Dupuis will be the clear WR3 option. The roles of Noah Rico and Jack Money will be limited to special teams playing time. Rico is the new punt returner, although he could still lose that role to fellow rookie Santiago Poole. Money will be the backup kickoff returner to Dupuis. Jaylen Swann was the only non-kicker that we released after training camp. He might be lucky enough to find a new team someday. If injuries deplete our wide receivers depth chart, we'll be ready to give him a call.

Offensive Line
starters: LT Fred King (45=), LG Sean Schwimmer (45+/50=), C B.J. Samuels (60=), RG Bryant Huffman (45+/55=), RT Vinny O'Neill (40=)
backups: C Arnie Croft (40=), T Mark Grevan (45-), LT Clifton Freidkin (25-), G D.J. Sampson (20-/35-)
The choices on the offensive line are based on more than just raw talent. Fred King beat Clifton Freidkin for the left tackle role. On ther right side, veteran Vinny O'Neill will play out of position again, holding of Mark Grevan in favor of cohesion on the line. B.J. Samuels as the best lineman once again anchors the line. Sean Schwimmer and Bryant Huffman both made enough progress to deserve a starting role. Their relative newness to the team is risky and there's a good chance we'll reinstall Arnie Croft as a guard to improve cohesion on the line. D.J. Sampson was underwhelming in camp, barely making the final 53-men roster by lack other candidates to not make the team.

Defensive Line
starters: DE Eugene Johnstone (45=), DT Brian Lincoln (45=), DT Dennis Lucas (40--), DE Caleb Hanson (30+/35=)
backups: DT Patrick Doyle (45=), DT Dwight Hutton (25-), DE Mark Cosell (20=/30=), DE Freddie Malone (15=/20=), DT Rob Fjelstad (10=/15=)
As in past seasons, this will be a position group with a lot of rotation. Eugene Johnstone and Brian Lincoln are the all downs starters on the left side. Dennis Lucas is the pass rush monster of the team and will likely be rotated in often enough to consider him the real starter, despite that his games started statistics won't show it. Rookie Caleb Hanson impressed enough to become the new defensive end in place of Harold Matheson. Patrick Doyle and Dwight Hutton will see their share of action on neutral and running downs. The verdict on Mark Cosell and Freddie Malone isn't out yet. We like both their pass rush potentials, but we're so stacked, they might never grow into the rotation. The same applies to rookie Rob Fjelstad, who failed to impress in camp to make him move up in the hierarchy.

Linebackers
starters: SLB Daniel Duncan (70-), MLB Wesley Devine (80=), WLB Lester Gilman (40-)
backups: WLB Trevor Rodgers (25=/35=), SLB Frank Weaver (25+/35=), MLB C.J. Boo (20-)
We love our Double D; who wouldn't? Daniel Duncan and Wesley Devine are undisputed as our most important pieces of the defense. Lester Gilman is still the best of the rest and will be our weak side option on running downs, making room for the nickelback on obvious passing downs. Trevor Rodgers and Frank Weaver easily made the team again, both being potentially good enough to replace Gilman when needed. C.J. Boo's role is slowly decreasing.

Secondary
starters: CB Mark Crum (55-), CB Marc Pomato (50=), SS Bernie Gordon (40=), FS Kelvin Shepherd (30-)
backups: CB Lonnie Browning (30=), S Karl Pritchett (35=), CB Paxton Podbevsek (15=/25-), S Santiago Poole (15=/25-)
With the legendary Hopper and Walker duo retired, we're entering a transitional period, with veterans Bernie Gordon and Kelvin Shepherd stepping in. Gordon had been waiting in the wings for quite some time as our nickelback and will enter his fourth straight season as a full time starter. Shepherd joined with us last season and barely saw any action. But he learned the playbook now and, frankly, is our best option to step in now. Mark Crum and Marc Pomato are still our shutdown corners. Lonnie Browning isn't making the progress that we hoped to see him make, but he is our best nickelback option. Karl Pritchett remains to be a hard to define player. Paxton Podbevsek is said to have a nose for interceptions and we'll hope to see him show it, if we need him as an injury replacement. Santiago Poole will be on our active part of the roster as well, being our second best option for punt return duties.

Special Teams
kicker: Marvin Creekmur (80=)
punter: Malachi Pennell (90=)
long snapper: Troy Lowe (90)
holder: Kerry Lewis (100)
kickoff returner: Scott Dupuis (90), Jack Money (70)
punt returner: Noah Rico (45), Santiago Poole (45)
Malachi Pennell is an elite punter, while Marvin Creekmur is a top-notch kicker. Nothing to complain about. Dupuis and Money are excellent kickoff return options. The punt return role is to be filled with the undrafted rookies Rico and Poole. We'll have to keep an eye on their respective development to figure out whether either of them is a long term answer. We released both rookie free agent kickers Pete Cummins and O.J. Blades in pre-season.

MIJB#19 · 04-26-2015, 05:11 PM

2045 Season

Week 1
In an even game at the Bordeaux Vineyards, the Merchantmen struggled in the red zone, failing to score any touchdowns on offense and converting three of four field goals. Combined with a first quarter interception return touchdown for Daniel Duncan, it wasn't enough to avoid the 20-16 loss. Chow had a decent debut, despite not scoring and getting picked off, also showing his ability as a second running option.
Passing: Chow 21/34 for 180 yd, 1 int
Rushing: Chow 54 yd
Receiving: Pomeranz 71 yd
Sacks: Johnstone 2 sk
Interceptions: Duncan 2 int, 1 td

Week 2
In his Oranje Have debut, the Frederick Red Menace proved to be a welcome first opponent for Bryson Chow. Despite not throwing for a touchdown, Chow did run for a score in, while being helped by the defense and special teams en route to a seemingly easy 34-16 victory.
Passing: Chow 15/27 for 154 yd, 1 int
Rushing: Riley 88 yd, 2 td, Chow 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 87 yd
Sacks: Devine 2 sk, Johnstone 1 sk, 4 players 0.5 sk
Interceptions: Pomato 1 int, 1 td

Week 3
Hosting the Atlanta Vipers, the Merchantmen struggled. Especially Bryson Chow failed to connect with his receivers down field, being held without a passing touchdown for the third straight game. A strong red zone defense forced the Vipers to kick four times, but their last minute drive resulted in a touchdown. On the ensuing play, Bryson Chow took all the risk required, but got intercepted as he tried to avoid the 18-13 loss.
Passing: Chow 13/29 for 99 yd, 1 int
Rushing: Riley 116 yd, 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 31 yd
Sacks: Lincoln 1 sk
Interceptions: none

Week 5
After their early bye week, the Merchantmen travelled to the North Plainfield Plague. Bryson Chow finally threw for his first touchdown, but the offense struggled nevertheless, gaining just 228 total offense. The defense and special teams unit saved the day, as defensive tackle Patrick Doyle returned a fumble 67 yards for a touchdown, while Scott Dupuis ran a kickoff back for 91 yards and a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. End result a 29-22 victory, despite being outplayed.
Passing: Chow 13/22 for 145 yd, 1 td, 1 int
Rushing: Riley 62 yd, 1 td
Receiving: Miller 29 yd, 1 td
Sacks: Lucas 1, Rodgers 1
Interceptions: none

A tough decision came after the victory on the road. Merchantmen management decided to switch gears, benching Bryson Chow and going back to veteran Perry Coleman, hoping to give a boost to the passing game. Chow's 1/4 td/int ratio, combined with a lack of 200-yard games made the management realize that it was too early to hand over the offense in Chow's rookie season.

Week 6
Hosting the Rochester Razorbacks, the Merchantmen hoped to keep momentum going with Perry Coleman back in the lineup. It was to no avail, the Merchantmen struggled equally with Coleman in place of Chow and for the first time end up losing by more than a single score, needing a late game touchdown to trim the deficit to a 24-10 loss.
Passing: Coleman 23/37 for 201 yd, 1 td
Rushing: Riley 64 yd
Receiving: Pomeranz 67 yd
Sacks: 2 players 0.5 sk
Interceptions: none

Following the game, the Merchantmen management announced more changes for the offense. Harold Riley was demoted to third string behind rookies Marty Finley and Asher Tyler, with Finley getting the 'starter' tag. It also resulted in the benching of young guards Sean Schwimmer and Bryant Huffman, making room for Arnie Croft to return into the lineup, while adding Mark Grevan to the right side and moving Vinny O'Neill to his old position at guard.

Week 7
The reshuffling of personnel appeared to pay of. The Merchantmen hosted the Toronto Lake Monsters, coming into the game as favorites to win this Futility Bowl. Perry Coleman and Terry Haskell played like in their best days, gelling on three touchdown drives, with Haskell's 11 catches for 169 yards nearly doubling his seasonal production. All was plenty enough to anchor a big 33-3 victory.
Passing: Coleman 23/33 for 304 yd, 3 td
Rushing: Finley 109 yd, Tyler 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 169 yd, 3 td
Sacks: Cosell 1 sk, Johnstone 1 sk, Lucas 1 sk
Interceptions: none

Week 8
At the Paris Musketeers, the season continued with a crucial game for the division race. Sitting 4-2 at the top of the division, the Musketeers were the favorites going in, but the Merchantmen stormed to a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. The game continued as an even matchup and the Musketeers trimmed their deficit to 8 points as William Blades scored a 54-yard field goal at the end of the first half. The Merchantmen held ground, leading by 5 points with four minutes left to play. But the Musketeers and their quarterback Rosey Hansen are not easily beaten and they drove downfield in an impressive fashion. Hansen found his tight end Donny Dumont in the end zone with 36 seconds left to play and then found his fullback Max Pinner to hand the Merchantmen a 20-17 loss.
Passing: Coleman 15/26 for 187 yd, 1 td, 2 int
Rushing: Finley 124 yd, 1 td
Receiving: Pomeranz 59 yd, Haskell 1 td
Sacks: Lucas 2 sk, Duncan 1 sk, Hanson 1 sk, Rodgers 1 sk
Interceptions: none

Following the defeat in Paris, the Merchantmen management announced a switch back to Bryson Chow at quarterback. Trailing the Paris Musketeers by 3 wins, the quarterback position would be re-evaluated after each game and based on the upcoming opponent, leaning towards giving Chow the ability to gain experience.

Week 9
At the Harlem Apollos, the return of Bryson Chow had an immediate impact. The Merchantmen defense managed to shut down the Apollos' running game, but fellow rookie quarterback Declan Knight made less mistakes than Chow. Harlem safety Clyde Byers intercepted Chow 3 times, running back a 49-yarder and a 82-yarder for touchdowns. In the forth quarter, Chow did add a couple of touchdowns on the right end for his team, and a scramble on the onside kick gave the Merchantmen one more chance to comeback from behind, but they failed to avoid the 21-16 loss.
Passing: Chow 20/46, 208 yd, 2 td, 3 int
Rushing: Chow 58 yd
Receiving: Haskell 83 yd, Pomeranz 1 td, Finley 1 td
Sacks: Lucas 1 sk
Interceptions: Duncan 1 int

At the virtual mid-season point, the Merchantmen were 3-5 and already unlikely to have a shot at the playoffs. Upcoming home games against Bordeaux and Gothenburg could be crucial to stay on the Bordeaux' tail and remain hopeful for a wild card for the post-season.
European Standings

1.	Paris	6-2
2.	Bordeaux	5-3
3.	Maassluis	3-5
4.	Gothenburg	1-9

Week 10
Despite the near comeback, the Merchantmen management reverted back to Perry Coleman for the crucial home game against the Bordeaux Vineyards. It didn't help, as the Vineyards pressured the immobile Coleman all day long, sacking him 5 times and forcing three turnovers. A late game fumble near the Vineyards' red zone gave Perry Coleman and his offense a chance to tie the score, but his throw was mistimed, sealing the 24-17 loss at home. Interesting note of the day was rookie Asher Tyler's 2 touchdowns on an equal number of ball touches.
Passing: Coleman 25/39 for 282 yd, 1 td, 2 int
Rushing: Finley 50 yd, Tyler 1 td
Receiving: Haskell 92 yd, Tyler 1 td
Sacks: Duncan 1 sk, Johnstone 1 sk, Lucas 1 sk
Interceptions: none

Week 11
With the season pretty much done, the Merchantmen hosted a disappoint Gothenburg Giants team. The Merchantmen reinstalled Bryson Chow, who ended up having his best game to date. Supported by the still going strong defense, who had Caleb Hanson add a fumble return touchdown in the first quarter, Chow had a decent game. A lack of scoring kept it somewhat close and a fourth quarter field goal was required to secure the 17-7 victory.
Passing: Chow 20/27 for 192 yd, 1 td
Rushing: Finley 68 yd
Receiving: Haskell 50 yd, Pomeranz 1 td
Sacks: Hanson 1.5 sk, 1 player 0.5 sk
Interceptions: none

Week 12
At the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums, the Merchantmen resparkled their season with a convincing 31-6 victory. Bryson Chow connected with Terry Haskell 6 times for 100 yards, finally getting that problem fixed, of sorts. The Merchantmen cornerback duo Mark Crum and Marc Pomato had an interception each, with Pomato having a game changing 91-yard touchdown return.
Passing: Chow 15/20 for 185 yd, 1 td, 1 int
Rushing: Finley 92 yd, 2 td
Receiving: Haskell 100 yd, 1 td
Sacks: Lucas 2 sk, Cosell 1 sk, Lincoln 1 sk
Interceptions: Crum 1 int, Pomato 1 int, 1 td

Week 13
In a game where the Merchantmen were arguably the better side, the home playing Augusta Greenjackets were more efficient. Bryson Chow was picked off twice, while kicker Marvin Creekmur missed two field goals, all adding up to a 24-3 loss.
Passing: Chow 21/39 for 190 yd, 1 int
Rushing: Finley 81 yd
Receiving: Haskell 67 yd
Sacks: none
Interceptions: Shepherd 1 int

Week 14
The home game against the Chesapeake Chitterlings became a crazy game. The respective quarterbacks combined for 5 interceptions, with the home team's Bryson Chow responsible for 3 of those. But Chow responded well to his mistakes, completing 25 of 35 passes for 290 yards in a 27-10 victory.
Passing: Chow 25/35, 290 yd, 2 td, 3 int
Rushing: Finley 61 yd
Receiving: Haskell 120 yd, 1 td, Clark 1 td
Sacks: Doyle 1 sk, Johnstone 1 sk
Interceptions: Shepherd 2 int, 1 td

Week 15
Hoping to play spoiler, the Merchantmen hoped to go all out on the Paris Musketeers to give the fans a good reason to show up for a sell out in the last home game of the season. But as to be expected, clearly Europe's best team this season, quarterback Rosey Hansen and his Musketeers had another strong showing. The Merchantmen red zone defense kept them in the game and gave the offense an opportunity to pull back a bit and make it a more respectable 23-17 loss.
Passing: Chow 18/38 for 160 yd, 1 td, 1 int
Rushing: Finley 87 yd
Receiving: Clark 51 yd, Dupuis 51 yd, Haskell 1 td
Sacks: Lucas 1 sk
Interceptions: none

Week 16
With the season basically done, the Merchantmen looked relaxed at the Williamsburg Colonials. The red zone defense was there once again, forcing the Colonials to kick field goals four times, while intercepting the underwhelming Gino Greenburg three times. Chow was mistake free and guided his team to a nice 30-19 victory.
Passing: Chow 22/31 for 260 yd, 2 td
Rushing: Finley 49 yd
Receiving: Haskell 111 yd, 2 td
Sacks: Duncan 1 sk, Rodgers 1 sk
Interceptions: Browning 1 int, 1 td, Duncan 1 int, Pomato 1 int

Week 17
The Merchantmen season ended in a road game at the Gothenburg Giants. After the previous meeting, the Giants won four of their five games and were playing for a chance to finish the season with a winning record at home. The Merchantmen played ok, but were unable to avoid the 21-13 loss.
Passing: Chow 16/36 for 188 yd
Rushing: Finley 99 yd, 1 td
Receiving: Pomeranz 69 yd
Sacks: Duncan 1 sk, Hanson 1 sk
Interceptions: none

European Division

1.	Paris	12-4
2.	Bordeaux	8-8
3.	Maassluis	7-9
4.	Gothenburg	6-10

The Paris Musketers made the playoffs as the Atlantic Ocean Conference's top seeds. After their bye week, they steamrolled over the North Plainfield Plague 34-10 and followed up by destroying the Tucker Tigers and Jackie Collier 23-0. It turned out to be Collier's last game in IHOF...

In IHOF Bowl XVII, the Musketeers weren't all that bad, but they simply ran into a team on fire, as the Capital City Blues represented the North American Conference even better. The Blues won 30-19 in their eleventh straight victory to end the 2045 IHOF season.

11-02-2013, 10:27 AM	#151
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 week 11 Merchantmen outlast Giants The Maassluis Merchantmen took out on of their two division title rivals. The Gothenburg Giants played along for the most part, intercepting Perry Coleman twice, but failed to overcome the field position disadvantage. Charles Anthony kicked a last minute field goal to ice it for the Merchantmen. The Merchantmen didn't necessarily struggle, as Perry Coleman had a strong outing, but a couple of unlucky interceptions helped the Giants to keep it close and going into the fourth quarter with a tied score. Overall, the Merchantmen were more efficient offensively and did a better job in forcing the opponent to punt, pulling a deserved victory. Offense passing: Coleman 20/28 for 224 yd, 2 td, 2 int rushing: Terry 19 for 79 yd receiving: pritt 9 for 118 yd; Haskell 1 td, Pomeranz 1 td Defense interceptions: Duncan fumble recoveries: none sacks: Lucas 1.5, Johnstone 0.5 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-02-2013, 10:42 AM	#152
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 week 12 Merchantmen showcase against Fightin' Bums Happy faces everywhere in Oranje Haven. After a slow start, the Merchantmen took control and completely outplayed the visiting Brooklyn Fighin' Bums en route to a 41-10 victory. The defense clicked, the offense gelled and Perry Coleman posted the second perfect passer rating in Merchantmen history. The game started with a defense heavy trend. Punts went over and down until the seventh possession of the game resulted in Donald Terry fumbling the ball inside the Merchantmen red zone. Brooklyn settled for an 18-yard field goal after the first quarter. But from there on things drastically changed on drives where the Merchantmen had the ball, seven consecutive drives resulted in scoring plays, playing out the first half with three touchdowns and a 21-10 lead. Perry Coleman lived up big time, piling up the big throws to complete 25 of 28 pass attempts for 346 yards and 3 scores, without having any of his targets getting 100 yards or more receiving. Offense passing: Coleman 25/28 for 346 yd, 3 td, 0 int (perfect game) rushing: Terry 22 for 122 yd, 2 td receiving: Pomeranz 4 for 98 yd; Haskell 6 for 84 yd, 2 td; Harriman 1 td Defense interceptions: none fumble recoveries: none sacks: Lucas __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-02-2013, 11:12 AM	#153
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	GM Notes After a couple of tough losses in October against Tucker and Paris, we bounced back and have a five game winning streak going. I'm far from confident it will last much longer, as we're going to visit the Vicksburg Vipers (also 9-2) and Chesapeake Chitterlings (7-4) in the next two games. We'll close out the regular season with a threesome of home games, hosting the disappointing Bordeaux Vineyards (2-9), underwhelming Williamsburg Colonials (4-7 after last season's 13-3 campaign) and the all-important home game against the Paris Musketeers (8-3). The Gothenburg Giants (6-5) have fallen behind and it looks like they're out of the division title race. We've had a shocking stretch of five games where we gave up over 400 yards on defense, but we've bounced back a bit and are back in better half of the league in yards allowed. The offense is clicking, we're 6th in yardage, despite having our usual field position advantage with Jack Money's league leading kick returns. On the scoreboard, we're in great shape, scoring the second most (30.2 per game) and allowing the fourth least (16.3 per game), giving us the second best scoring margin (+13.9, trailing the Tucker Tigers by 1.8 points per game). It's going to be tight down the stretch, the Vipers game will be very important for the seeding order in the AOC, assuming we'll get into the playoffs. Currently we're sitting in 3rd place on inferior conference record, but losing top Vicksburg would put us down in head-to-head to both Tucker and Vicksburg. The overall cut currently is at 7-4, so we're far from there yet. Hence, with Paris on our tail, a week 17 loss against the Musketeers would put us behind them on the head-to-head sweep. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-08-2013, 06:04 PM	#154
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 week 13 Merchantmen avenge Vipers The Maassluis Merchantmen avenged the playoffs loss against the Vicksburg Vipers from last season. In a close game, the Merchantmen held on just enough to win 24-20. Terry Haskell had a big role with a couple of receiving touchdowns. The victory puts the Merchantmen a game ahead of the Vipers and also gives them the important head-to-head tie-breaker in the race for a bye week in the playoffs. The second and third best teams in the AOC made for an interesting game. The Merchantmen drew first blood, scoring on the first drive of the game as Perry Coleman found Terry Haskell in the end zone. They had set it up a couple of minutes earlier with a 43-yard play to get into scoring position. Vicksburg's Roy Lynn replied with a 49-yard bomb to Ricky Summers, but Harold Matheson made an important third down sack to hold the Vipers to a field goal. Helped by a couple of unnecessary roughness penalties, the Merchantmen reached the Vipers red zone and Perry Coleman ran it in himself from 8 yards out for the 14-3 lead after the first quarter. The second quarter started with a Merchantmen field goal, which the Vipers replied with their first touchdown of the game, as Roy Lynn found Ricky Summers in the endzone. The Merchantmen quickly marched into the Vipers redzone in an attempt to restore the two score lead, however Perry Coleman had a pass intercepted. The Merchantmen defense returned the favor a couple of plays later, as Johnnie Warren sacked Roy Lynn and Harold Matheson picked up the ball that Lynn lost on the play. Greg Brass ran for a nice 17-yard gain and three plays later it was another Coleman to Haskell touchdown. The Vipers took some risks to try to trim their deficit, but Perry Walker picked off Roy Lynn to end the first half, the Merchantmen leading 24-10. The second half started with defensive superiority, until the Vipers reached the Merchantmen territory. They went for it on fourth and one, but Ricardo Turnbull was stopped for no gain and the loss of possession. The third quarter ended with Roy Lynn's 27-yard pass to tight end J.C. Krenn to get onto Merchantmen turf, but the possession ended with a punt. Maassluis kept struggling offensively and Roy Lynn found Jorge Hunte for a 66-yard bomb to set up a short touchdown pass to tight end Monty Heffner. The Vipers got the ball back on their own two-yard line, still trailing by a touchdown. Roy Lynn found Ricky Summers for another 46-yard bomb to get into the red zone, but another well timed sack pushed the Vipers back and they settled for a 30-yard field goal with just under 3 minutes left to play. The Merchantmen professionally ran out the clock and punted it back to Vicksburg, with 9 ticks left on the clock without any time outs. On that last play of the game, Roy Lynn tried to buy time, but failed as Harold Matheson broke through and laid Lynn on his back to end the game. The victory maintains the Merchantmen a top the European division, one game ahead of the Paris Musketeers (they beat the Rochester Razorbacks 17-12). That result also bodes well for any bye week hopes, putting the Merchantmen 2 games ahead of Rochester and 1 game plus tie-breakers ahead of Vicksburg. The Gothenburg Giants kept their hopes alive with an impressive 27-17 victory at the San Antonio Tidal Force. Offense Passing: Coleman 15/29 for 210 yd, 2 td, 1 int Rushing: Terry 18 for 55 yd; Coleman 1 td Receiving: Haskell 7 for 128 yd, 2 td Defense Interceptions: Walker Fumble recoveries: Matheson Sacks: Matheson 2, Warren, Johnstone 0.5, Lucas 0.5 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-08-2013, 06:15 PM	#155
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 week 14 Chitterlings beat Merchantmen again No payback for the IHOF Bowl XXXVI loss. The Chesapeake Chitterlings gathered an early big lead and held on plenty enough to hand the Merchantmen a 31-21 loss in their last road game of the regular season. The statistics looked good for Maassluis, but the numbers were racked up heavily late in the fourth quarter after the Chitterlings had already built a 24-point lead. At crucial moments, the Merchantmen defense faltered, allowing many third down conversions, while the first quarter resulted in more penalty yards than yards gained on offense. The comeback was decent, with two unanswered touchdowns, but time was way too short to make up for the remaining 10 points. The Merchantmen drop to second place in the European division as the Paris Musketeers won 21-14 at the Brooklyn Fightin' Bums. The Gothenburg Giants packed their division race hopes after a sour 38-34 loss at home by the hands of the Frederick Red Menace. There also was some good news from elsewhere in the AOC, as the Vicksburg Vipers fell 24-21 at the Hanalei Dragons to keep them a game behind the Merchantmen. Offense Passing: Coleman 23/37 for 240 yd, 3 td Rushing: Terry 14 for 106 yd Receiving: Pritt 9 for 104 yd, 1 td; Pomeranz 7 for 78 yd, 2 td Defense Interceptions: none Fumble recoveries: Pomato Sacks: Warren __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-08-2013, 06:37 PM	#156
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 week 15 Struggling Merchantmen steamroll Vineyards Despite a struggling performance, the Maassluis Merchantmen did what they had to do. The winning streak over the Bordeaux Vineyards in Oranje Haven was extended to eight games with a 31-7 victory. Donald Terry accounted for the scarce good plays on offense, scoring twice. The first half was a complete trainwreck of a football game. Neither team seemed to be able to do anything. The Merchantmen started their first four drives all in Bordeaux territory but came away with a single field goal, despite staying turnover free on offense. In between, Vineyards quarterback Dusty Hughes orchestrated an 14-play 80-yard scoring drive, which was finalized with J.C. Fitzgerald's 14-yard run for a touchdown. Defenses ruled the remainder of the first half and the Merchantmen players were booed off the field with a disappointing 7-6 deficit at half time. The Merchantmen came out of the gates much stronger. Perry Coleman was still struggling, but kept the chains moving and eventually it was Donald Terry who ran it in from 14 yards out to put the Merchantmen ahead 13-7. It didn't get much better after that drive, although the Merchantmen defense did their job as they picked off Dusty Hughes on three straight drives. Still, it wasn't until halfway into the fourth quarter when Perry Coleman found J.T. Pritt in the end zone. Greg Brass ran the ball in for 2 points to put the Merchantmen up by 14. The Vineyards went in go for it mode after that and twice were stalled inside their own red zone, giving the Merchantmen 10 easy points, with Donald Terry scoring his second touchdown of the game. The final 3 minutes were played off the clock by the Vineyards. The Merchantmen ended the game with just 243 total yards on offense and their longest drive being only 55 yards long. Despite that, the defense had a big part in the game, with 5 turnovers and 4 sacks of Dusty Hughes, that resulted in the Bordeaux quarterback's 12.9 passer rating as he completed just 17 of 50 pass attempts for 190 yards and no scores. Offense Passing: Coleman 17/32 for 124 yd, 1 td Rushing: Terry 15 for 94 yd, 2 td Receiving: Pritt 6 for 57 yd ,1 td Defense Interceptions: Crum, Gordon, Hatton, Pomato Fumble recoveries: Warren Sacks: Warren 1.5, Johnstone, Walker, Matheson 0.5 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-08-2013, 07:05 PM	#157
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	GM Notes With two games to go, we've reached an interesting situation. We're tied with the Paris Musketeers at 11-3 each and have a week 17 clash in Oranje Haven that will determine who wins the European division this season, regardless of what happens in week 16. The only caveat being that a tied game will favor Paris. More interestingly, if we win that clash, we'll have at least a 12-4 record and that will guarantee us a bye week, because the only other AOC teams in contention are the Tucker Tigers (12-4 at worst - they have tie-breakers over us) and the Vicksburg Vipers (12-4 at best - we have tie-breakers over them). As a result, and eventually it was a pretty easy decision, we're going to keep a lot of injured starters out of the depth chart, even inactivating some of them, most notably quarterback Perry Coleman, fullback Greg Brass, tight end Mike Bernstein, tackle Tom Bush, linebackers Wesley Devine and Donald Duncan, and safety Thurman Hopper. We're also moving cornerbacks Mark Crum and Marc Pomato into backup roles, while we'll inactivate our running back Donald Terry and wide receivers J.T. Pritt and Terry Haskell. It will likely end Donald Terry's race for the rushing title this season. He's currently second in IHOF with 1,250 yards, but 85 yards behind Capital City Blues' John Loukas jr, making it a steep hill anyway. Besides, it should come as no surprise that we're not interested in individual accolades in Maassluis, Terry's performance is a team based one anyway, the only thing that matters is winning the big game at the end of the season. Despite that, this won't mean we'll be playing with a bunch of stiffs against the Williamsburg Colonials. At quarterback, we'll welcome back Harry Osborne and his tremendous record. Charles Pomeranz and Vincent Cox will be the wide receivers and rookie Steven Fulcher will get his first career start. On defense we'll be happy to give our veteran cornerback Herman Hatton his first start of the season and on the offensive line it will be Lamont Whitfield getting the same privilege. Do I fear defeat by the hands of the Colonials? 'Fear' is a big word in this context. It will be a tough opponent as they are, with quarterback Gino Greenburg, but the Colonials are hurting at wide receiver, with Roy Walton out this week and Edwin Freedman not back at 100% after breaking his clavicle in week 11. I think we'll still stand a decent chance to win, especially at home. But the important part is to have our key players stay injury free as much as possible. Week 17 will be the crucial game, beating the Colonials would be icing on the cake, providing we bake that cake. And if we somehow lose the last two games, we'll still be the top wild card team in the conference and have a road game at Vicksburg, Rochester or Toronto. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 11-08-2013 at 07:20 PM.

11-15-2013, 07:46 AM	#158
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 week 16 Merchantmen B-team fumble to deficit The Maassluis Merchantmen recorded their fourth loss of the season, falling 16-10 to the Williamsburg Colonials in Oranje Haven. The Merchantmen kept most of their key players off the field, as the outcome of the game would have no effect on the playoffs seeding order. The B-team played decent football, but turned the ball over 5 times, three times in scoring position. Offense Passing: Osborne 19/28 for 153 yd, 1 td, 2 int Rushing: Fulcher 26 for 154 Receiving: Brown 8 for 85; Pomeranz 1 td Defense Interceptions: none Fumble recoveries: Bradley, Crum Sacks: Matheson __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-15-2013, 08:00 AM	#159
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	Donald Terry diagnoses with impaired vision A tough blow for Maassluis Merchantmen running back Donald Terry. An infection to his left eye has taken its toll, limiting Terry's vision severely enough to be able to play football. The diagnosis was made as 'impaired vision' and doctors can't estimate how long this condition will stick. Terry was inactive in the Merchantmen's 16-10 loss to the Williamsburg Colonials, but that decision was made before he suffered illness. Terry will miss the crucial final home game of the season, as the Merchantmen host the Paris Musketeers in a battle for the European division title and a bye week in the playoffs. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-15-2013, 08:36 AM	#160
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2014 week 17 Merchantmen lose control of Europe Maassluis' reign of Europe has ended. After four consecutive division titles, the Merchantmen came to a halt as the Paris Musketeers invaded Oranje Haven to claim the 2041 European division title. The disillusioned Merchantmen lost 24-5 and will not have a bye week in the playoffs for the first time in five years. The AOC's top wild card was already secured as the worst case scenario several weeks ago. The Merchantmen started the game on good notes, as Jack Money returned the opening kickoff all the way to the Paris 44-yard line. But the Musketeers quickly set the tone of their own game, stuffing Scott Fulcher on his first carry and intercepting Perry Coleman on the second play of the game. Despite that the Musketeers were forced to punt shortly after, they took the lead on their second drive, marching 85 yards up field and finishing it as Rosey Hansen reached Dana Battle in the end zone. Coleman marched his team forward on the next drive and ran the ball in on third and goal, but a holding penalty took the touchdown off the board and the Merchantmen settled for a 34-yard field goal for a 7-3 Paris lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Musketeers were stalled early at pinned the Merchantmen deep. Perry Coleman guided his team forward with a couple of first down conversions, but that came to a halt as he was intercepted at midfield, the second giveaway of the game. Paris gained just enough yards to convert a 46-yard field goal. The Merchantmen got the ball back late in the second quarter, but completely mishandled the clock and scored no points despite reaching the Musketeers 26-yard line. The third quarter started with a three and out for Paris and was followed up with Maassluis' Edward Rice pinning the Musketeers at their own 2-yard line. Rice copied his play with an even longer punt to the 2-yard line after neither team failed to make much ground. Sadly for him, it didn't keep the Musketeers from starting a long drive that brought them at the Merchantmen 3-yard line at the end of the third quarter, still leading 10-3. Rosey Hansen found Dana Battle for the second touchdown of the duo and the game to start the fourth quarter. Jack Money had another kickoff return into Paris turf, followed up with yet another big punt from Edward Rice to the Paris 4-yard line. The Merchantmen got the ball back, but Coleman got intercepted again near the 50-yard line. Rosey Hansen replied it with a 37-yard bomb to veteran Fred Ahmed and an 11-yard score to Gus Lockhart for the three-score lead and 9 minutes left to play. Maassluis was stalled again and Edward Rice pinned Paris at their 1-yard line, setting up a safety on the next play as Donovan Bertleson got tackled by Bernie Gordon in the end zone. Maassluis got the ball back, but after a three and out, with just 5 minutes left to play and down by 18, the game was basically over. Maassluis got the ball back, with just over a minute to play and without any time outs. A face saving score was too much to ask and the season ended with the biggest loss of the season. Offense Passing: Coleman 17/31 for 224 yards, 0 td, 3 int Rushing: Fulcher 10 for 23 yd Receiving: Cox 3 for 61 yd Defense Interceptions: none Fumble recoveries: none Sacks: Matheson, Lincoln 0.5, Warren 0.5 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

11-15-2013, 09:06 AM	#161
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 Regular season standings European division 13-3 Paris 11-5 Maassluis 8-8 Gothenburg 2-14 Bordeaux Paris goes into the playoffs seeded 2nd in the AOC, behind the Tucker Tigers (14-2). The Vicksburg Vipers (12-4) will host the Fort Wayne Fury (10-6). The Merchantmen (11-5) will visit the Toronto Lake Monsters (9-7). In the NAC, Capital City and Chicago are the top two seeds, Oakland hosts Minnesota and Chesapeake hosts Outer Banks, with all four wild card round teams having a 10-6 or worse record. Statistical leaders Passing: Coleman 62.8% complete (6th in IHOF), 3,508 yd, 26 td, 9 int; Osborne 3 td Rushing: Terry 1,250 yd (6th in IHOF), 13 td (1st), 4.98 avg (9th); Brass 3 td, Coleman 2 td Receiving: Pritt 92 rec (7th in IHOF) for 1,114 yd (14th), 7 td; Haskell 65 rec for 945 yd, 11 td (7th in IHOF); Pomeranz 4 td, Harriman 3 td, Cox 2 td, Brown 1 td, Wilkerson 1 td Defense Interceptions: Crum 3, Duncan 3, Gordon 2, Pisano 2, Pomato 2, Walker 2, Devine 1, Hatton 1, Hopper 1 Sacks: Matheson 8.0, Warren 6.0, Lucas 5.5, Johnstone 3.0, Lincoln 2.5, Toohil 2.5, Devine 2.0, Duncan 2.0, Walker 1.5, Gilman 1.0, Gordon 1.0, Hutton 1.0, Boo 0.5, Finch 0.5 Other statistics: Jack Money averaged 11.0 yards per punt return (4th in IHOF) and 32.9 yards per kickoff return (2nd). Charles Anthony scored 28 field goals, with a 96.6% efficiency (1st in IHOF) and 45 extra points for 129 point (10th). Dennis Lucas was 11th in the league in pass rush percentage, adding 30 hurries (2nd in IHOF) and 2 blocked passes to his 5.5 sacks. No less than four players had double digit defended passes, with Mark Crum (12), Bernie Gordon (12), Daniel Duncan (11) and Marc Pomato (11). Overall statistics: 6th in scoring offense 4th in scoring defense top5 pass defense and pass rush, top5 pass protection __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-24-2014, 10:37 AM	#162
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2041 Wild Card Round Lake Monsters upset Merchantmen in barnburner The Maassluis Merchantmen will have to wait another season to get their ultimate goal achived. The Merchantmen lost 35-34 at the Toronto Lake Monsters, after an up and down turnover free game, where the lead switched hands four times. Lake Monsters quarterback Marcus Robbins threw for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns to guy his team in the game winning late fourth quarter drive. Offense Passing: Coleman 25/42 for 352 yd, 3 td Rushing: Fulcher 62 yd, 1 td Receiving: Pritt 122 yd, 1 td; Haskell 11 yd, 1 td; Bernstein 1 td Defense Interceptions: none Fumble recoveries: none Sacks: Duncan 1, Finch 0.5, Lincoln 0.5, Matheson 0.5, Warren 0.5 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-24-2014, 12:13 PM	#163
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Retirement wave The Maassluis Merchantmen will be down 4 men going into the upcoming 2042 season. Tom Bush, D.J. Cahill, Herman Hatton and Gilbert Rhodes filled their retirement papers. All of them played more than 100 games with the Merchantmen, starting a large majority of those games. Tight end D.J. Cahill earned the biggest accolades in Maassluis. Although never living up to the firth round pick hype, Cahill hung around for 12 seasons. Following a disappointing 2030 rookie campaign, Cahill improved his game, but never became a big weapon, peaking at 609 yards in 2033 and 7 touchdowns in 2034. Cahill was a regular starter for eight season and didn't miss a game in the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI campaign. After that game, Cahill's playing time significantly reduced. He retires with 167 regular season games played (115 starts) for 4,205 receiving yards and 35 touchdowns. He also played in 9 playoffs games (4 starts) and this upcoming pre-season, Cahill is a nominee for induction into the Merchantmen Ring of Honor. Cornerback Herman Hatton was a 2033 first round pick and spent his entire IHOF career with the Merchantmen. Hatton immediately jumped into the starting lineup, but recorded his first interception in his second season. He was a starter in each of his first eight seasons, including the IHOF Bowl XXXVI loss. Last season, Hatton was pushed aside to make room for rookie Mark Crum and newly signed Marc Pomato. He retires with 136 games played (121 started), excluding 12 playoffs games (11 starts). Offensive tackle Tom Bush began his football career in Florida with the Miami Sharks as a fourth round pick. After having slowly grown into a starting role, the franchise moved to Texas and decided to part ways with Bush. The Maassluis Merchantmen traded a fourth round pick to acquire Bush, but planted him on the bench for that 2033 season. After that season, Bush was promoted to a starting role and kept it until his retirement. Bush was a crucial run blocker in all of those season, including en route to the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Bush totaled 162 games (107 starts) for the Merchantmen, not counting 10 playoffs games (all started). Guard Gilbert Rhodes had a strange career path. The 2029 fourth round pick didn't earn a single start with his first team, the Houston Mustangs. After his first playoffs appearance, he signed with the Orlando Talons in 2032, but was kept on the bench for three full seasons there as well. The Maassluis Merchantmen came along in 2035, signing him as a free agent and giving him his first starts in the last two regular season games. The 2037 season was Rhodes breakthrough, as he burst into the starting lineup and maintained that status throughout. In 2039 Rhodes played his first games at left tackle and in 2040 he moved to that role indefinitely. Rhodes retires with 108 regular season games played (82 starts) for the Merchantmen and with 12 playoffs games played (8 starts), including the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Elsewhere, Quarterback Jay McGee retired after one season with the Paris Musketeers. McGee was a first round pick for the Fort Wayne Fury in 2027, but lost the starting role in 2029 and subsequently got traded to the Merchantmen in 2030 after 'Rusty' Harrison's departure to the Rochester Lake Monsters. McGee had decent campaigns, but failed to guide the Merchantmen to the playoffs. In 2033 he was demoted to a backup role as Harrison returned in Maassluis. That and the following season, McGee played second string, yet got plenty of action as the injury prone legend Harrison lived up to his reputation. Following 'Rusty's' retirement, McGee finally broke through, guiding the Merchantmen to the playoffs after a six-season drought. It started a five season string as the full time starter, ending in the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. McGee was released for salary cap reasons and moved on to the Iowa Cobbers in a second-string role. The Paris Musketeers signed him as their understudy for the 2041 season, but he didn't play a single down. McGee retires with 10 seasons of service in Maassluis, with 149 regular season games played (145 starts) and 10 playoffs games played (all started). He's been nominated for induction into the Merchantmen Ring of Honor. Guard Nate Hurnblad didn't play any football in 2041, but only now decided to officially retire, following a full season without. Hurnblad was a fourth round pick in 2030 for the Merchantmen and spent his entire active career in Maassluis. Hurnblad had ups and downs, usually being in a starting role, but also losing it for full seasons in between. Eventually he played 168 regular season games (105 starts) and 11 playoffs games (7 starts), including being a starter in the lost IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Hurnblad was released after the 2041 training camp and remained out of a football job throughout the season. He's been nominated for induction into the Merchantmen Ring of Honor. Cornerback Tito Close played nine seasons with the Merchantmen, the first seven as a starter, after being picked in the first round of the 2032 draft. He still had a very active role in 2039, helping the team reach IHOF Bowl XXXVI. In 2040 his role was greatly reduced, being active in only one game. Last season he was released after training camp and didn't find a roster spot elsewhere. Other Merchantmen alumni that officially retired this off-season include wide receiver Skip Dillon (2031-2036), defensive tackle Ralph Campbell (2034-2037), defensive tackle Brenden England (2036-2040) and safety Quinn Gonzalez (2036-2037, 2039-2040). __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-24-2014, 12:55 PM	#164
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off Season News Merchantmen hire Himes as Head Coach Graham Hines is the new harbor master. The Maassluis Merchantmen fired head coach Charlie Witten after four season, picking Himes third overall in the staff draft. Himes had been the San Antonio Tidal Force defensive coordinator for 12 seasons and was happy to jump into this opportunity: "It's a big opportunity to get a career move here." The release of Witten came as a surprise to some. Despite the recent one and done season, Witten coached the Merchantmen to their first IHOF Bowl appearance, posting a 52-19 record. Last season the Merchantmen failed to win the European division for the first time after four straight division titles. Witten was hired by the Capital City Blues as their new head coach. The Chesapeake Chitterlings also found their new head coach in Maassluis, signing former defensive coordinator Howie Kolb. As a replacement for Kolb, the Merchantmen hired Harlem Apollos' defensive coordinator Lenny Boyd, former Chesapeake Chitterlings linebacker. Additionally, the Merchantmen hired assistant coach Josiah Reid and strength coordinator Sammy Donaldson. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-24-2014, 01:08 PM	#165
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off Season news Good news for Donald Terry Maassluis Merchantmen running back Donald Terry had good news to report. Last season, Terry was diagnoses with impaired vision and consequently missed the last three games of the season. Following suitable rest and required therapy, sight returned to normal for Terry and he's expected to return to Maassluis for the 2042 season. "I'm thrilled to be back," Terry said, "it was quite the shocker when the problems began." Merchantmen star wide receiver Terry Haskell called in from his vacation resort: "Awesome news! Donnie (Donald Terry) is a big part of this team, he carried us to the IHOF Bowl. Our goal is to get back there and with Donnie we'll have a bigger shot at it, we really missed him down the stretch last season." __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-31-2014, 10:49 AM	#168
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off-season: Free Agency Freidkin, Bradley stay in Maassluis Linebacker Alton Bradley and offensive tackle Clifton Freidkin signed new three-year contracts with the Maassluis Merchantmen. Bradley has been with the Merchantmen since 2039, while Freidkin was a mid-season signing last year. Both hope to improve from their roles in backup roles. Alton Bradley joined in 2039 as a free agent from the Kansas Creationists. The pass rushing linebacker unexpectedly broke into the starting lineup right away, although he was listed as a reserve for IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Last season, Bradley's role was limited, seeing action in 6 regular season games. Clifton Freidkin joined in week 11 of the 2041 season as injuries depleted the Merchantmen at offensive tackle. Freidkin's activity was limited, however, playing sporadically in 8 games, including the lost wild card round game. With the retirement of both starting offensive tackles Tom Bush and Gilbert Rhodes, Freidkin might be a candidate to break into the starting lineup. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-31-2014, 11:03 AM	#169
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off-season: Free agency Merchantmen hire T Robinson, TE Lowe The Maassluis Merchantmen bolstered their team with two new signings on the free agents market. Offensive tackle Dwayne Robinson is considered to be a key signing, after the earlier retirement of both starting tackles Tom Bush and Gilbert Rhodes. Tight end Troy Lowe was signed to become the new long snapper in Maassluis. Dwayne Robinson had a slow start in his pro football career. After his graduation from Florida State, the Minnesota Miners drafted Robinson early in the second round of the 2031 draft. For four seasons he rode the bench, but in 2035 he took over a starting role. After an injuries plagued couple of seasons, Robinson left last season and was hired by the Toronto Lake Monsters. He started the first 7 regular season games, but then was benched for the remainder of the season, including the victorious wild card round game against the Merchantmen. Robinson was released this off-season and signed a three year deal in Maassluis. Troy Lowe is a rare Harvard graduate in the IHOF. Despite going undrafted, Lowe managed to find a backup role with the Boston Rhinos as a special teamer. After the ownership change and rebranding to the Toronto Lake Monsters, Lowe hung around for four more seasons, although seeing his special teams role diminish. Last season he was released in the off-season, but was quickly welcomed back in week 7. In Maassluis he'll be asked to play the long snapper role. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-31-2014, 11:13 AM	#170
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off-season: Rookie Draft Merchantmen trade for TE Clark, RB Riley A busy day in the Maassluis Merchantmen war room resulted in trade of all their draft picks in the 2042 draft to help acquire two first round picks. Another consequence was losing their first round picks in the next two drafts, as well as their second rounder in the next draft. The Merchantmen first acquired the 25th overall pick to select tight end Irving Clark. The Colorado graduate was considered the top prospect at his position, boosting it with a tremendous combine. The Merchantmen saw his available and contacted the Kansas Creationists initially for the 23rd overall pick. After lengthy talks, the Merchantmen settled for the 25th overall pick, sacrificing their first and second round picks next draft and swapping their three fifth round picks for a single fifth rounder next draft. Four picks later, again the Kansas Creationists were the selling party. At pick 29 overall, the Merchantmen took Notre Dame running back Harold Riley, who ran the 40-dash in 4.48 seconds and the agility test in 7.00 seconds. To get Riley, the Merchantmen gave up their 2044 first round pick, a third rounder next draft and their remaining picks this draft in rounds 3, 4, 6 and 7. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

01-31-2014, 11:23 AM	#171
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	GM Notes 2042 A relative quiet off-season is about to finish here. Granted, free agency isn't over yet, but we're heading for the post-draft stages with 52 players signed and a couple of first round picks about to arrive. Most likely, we'll have a lot of contract talks upcoming with many players in their final year of contract. A league mandated punishment for all franchises has resulted in a tight cap season, with roughly $50 million less to spend than originally planned. Talks with Terry Haskell, our star receiver, were unsuccessful. Now, Haskell is locked up for a couple of seasons, but that isn't the case for 25 other players. We'll have to anticipate losing some of them to the open market next off-season, because we'll have about $13 million to work with after the rookies have arrived. Amongst the final-year players are quarterback Harry Osborne, running back Scott Fulcher, fullbacks Terrell Wilkerson and Greg Bass, tight end Cary Harriman, wide receivers J.T. Pritt and Vincent Cox all-world returnman Jack Money, center Arnie Croft, punter Edward Rice, defensive linemen Eugene Johnstone and Brian Lincoln, linebacker Wesley Devine and defensive backs Marc Pomato and Perry Walker. It'll be rough to keep them all... That said, our #1 goal is to keep this team together now, to give ourselves a shot at the IHOF Bowl. With the likes of Perry Coleman, Donald Terry, Harold Riley, Irving Clark, Mike Bernstein, Vincent Cox, J.T. Pritt, Adam Brautlacht and Terry Haskell, this offense has all the firepower to make some noise. The defense remains rock solid, depending on how good Perry Walker and Thurman Hopper will turn out to still be at safety. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

02-01-2014, 04:18 PM	#172
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off-season Merchantmen sign DE Chu, KR Dawson The Maassluis Merchantmen announced the signing of two free agents. Defensive end Carlton Chu signed a three-year contract, as did safety Sammie Dawson. Chu became a free agent after the Rochester Razorbacks released him earlier this off-season. Dawson was without a team in 2041, after being released by the Kansas Creationists at the end of the 2040 season. Chu is a proven pass rusher with 32.0 career sacks. Dawson is primarily signed for his kickoff returning skills, albeit having an underwhelming resume with just 17.0 yards per return as a rookie in his only active season. Merchantmen sign rookies Clark and Riley As per new IHOF guidelines, all drafted rookies receive guaranteed contracts. Tight end Irving Clark signed a four-year deal worth roughly $17 million, with a $9.6 million signing bonus. Running back Harold Riley also inked a four-year deal, giving him a $8.6 million signing bonus on a contract worth roughly $16 million. Stars Pritt and Terry announce hold out The Maassluis Merchantmen will have some work to do. Player agents of leading receiver J.T. Pritt and leading rusher Donald Terry communicated that their players will hold out for a better contract and plan on missing training camp. Merchantmen management responded that the league mandated salary cap reduction has hit hard and made it impossible to work out better contracts before the draft, promising to hit the tables with both players' agents as soon as possible. The Merchantmen currently have 56 players under contract, including Pritt and Terry. Nearly half of them are out of contract after the upcoming season and Merchantmen management hopes to rework the contracts of most of these players to keep them at least until the 2043 season. With roughly $12.5 million of cap space to work with, it will be a challenge to work it all out. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 02-01-2014 at 04:18 PM.

02-01-2014, 05:17 PM	#173
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 News Cahill, Hurnblad and McGee nominated for Merchantmen Ring of Honor The Maassluis Merchantmen Fan Club today announced the official nomination of D.J. Cahill, Nate Hurnblad and Jay McGee for induction in the Merchantmen Ring of Honor. As per the guidelines stipulated in 2014, players with 100 or more games started for the Merchantmen in 10 or more years of service are automatic nominations. Only if no suitable candidates with these requirements are available, the fan club will ask their members to nominate players. Tight end Cahill, guard Hurnblad and quarterback McGee all met the 100+10 rule and retired this off-season. Merchantmen fans can vote until the start of pre-season. In the home exhibition game against the Kansas Creationists, the winner will be announced. Former Merchantmen first round pick D.J. Cahill could become the third tight end inducted into the ring of honor, after Jim Reiser and Rondell Bowers. Initialy expectations for Cahill were sky high. The Merchantmen scouting staff as well as the league scouting agency thought Cahill could be a force in the passing game as a playmaker. He had a couple of good seasons, but failed to surpass Reiser in catches or yardage. Cahill did surpass Reiser in receiving touchdowns, making Cahill the Merchantmen's leading non-wide receiver in that category. Merchantmen fourth round pick of the 2030 draft, Nate Hurnblad would become the third guard added to the Merchantmen Ring of Honor, following footsteps of Casey Kappers and Wes Mason. Hurnblad immediately stepped into a starting role as a rookie, taking over Kappers' role at right guard and several years later moved to left guard when Mason was demoted. The Merchantmen have a tradition of grooming their own offensive linemen and that has resulted in little turnover of starters over the years. Hurnblad was the eighth offensive lineman to meet the Ring of Honor automatic nominee criteria. Despite the achievements of Cahill and Hurnblad, their former-teammate Jay McGee is the favorite to win the vote between these three former Merchantmen players. McGee would step into the footsteps of Louie Flannery and 'Rusty' Harrison as the third quarterback inducted, who also preceded McGee as the starting quarterback in Maassluis. Unlike Flannery and Harrison, McGee wasn't drafted by the Merchantmen, although he was acquired for a first round through trade from the Fort Wayne Fury. With a shortage of initial seasons, McGee just barely failed to catch up with his predecessor in stats, coming about 1/3rd of a season short to catch up with Harrison in yardage and touchdowns. Flannery's numbers were never really in sight. Like Flannery and Harrison, McGee guided the Merchantmen to the AOC championship and, unlike Flannery and Harrison, he managed it twice and the second time also guided the Merchantmen to the IHOF Bowl, although they lost in a disappoint game to the Chesapeake Chitterlings in IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Shockingly, contract negotiations after that lost game resulted in the Merchantmen releasing McGee. He finished his career with stints on the Iowa Cobbers and Paris Musketeers rosters, riding the bench with both teams. Meanwhilst, the Merchantmen have gone one-and-done in the playoffs, twice, after McGee... __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 02-01-2014 at 05:18 PM.

02-04-2014, 04:52 PM	#174
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off-Season: News Pritt and Merchantmen agree terms One down, one to go. The Maassluis Merchantmen agreed terms with star wide receiver J.T. Pritt on a new two-year contract, after Pritt had threatened to hold out throughout the 2042 season. Pritt was on his final year of contract, but opted to re-sign a contract worth over $25 million, with an $11 million signing bonus. The Merchantmen have yet to get Donald Terry re-signed. Their leading rusher is signed for two more years, but is signed on a minimum salary this season. Terms were not made public, but the IHOF's 2039 league leading rusher's agent said that their demands are below his market value, rumored to be around $10 million for a new 3-year deal. The Merchantmen management has said that they are willing to pay the value of the deal, but are struggling to find the required cap space. The Merchantmen also worked out new three-year contracts with star linebacker Wesley Devine and punter Edward Rice to lock to extend their contracts and create some cap space for Terry. Cornerback Marc Pomato turned down a new 4-year deal worth roughly $55 million, but Merchantmen management said they are still talking with Pomato's agency and as with Devine and Rice hope to both extend the contract and save some cap space to re-sign Terry. In the meanwhile, Donald Terry's chances to remain as the starting running back look small, as the Merchantmen drafted Harold Riley in the first round and may not feel too worried with Scott Fulcher after his 154-yard performance in his first start in IHOF. "We'll need three running backs to get through the season, we'll find touches for all of our stars," said Merchantmen General Manager M.IJ.B. Merchantmen sign rookie cornerbacks After the retirements of Herman Hatton this off-season and Tito Close's departure before last season, the Merchantmen are looking for new blood at the cornerback position. Suggestions to move Karl Pritchett to cornerback where shot down. Four undrafted rookies where signed and will get a chance to prove themselves in training camp and the upcoming pre-season. Virginia Tech's Horace Hicks combine scores made him an interest prospect, scoring a 28 in the Solecismic score, a 45 in the position drill and running the 40-yard dash in 4.51 seconds. Ohio State's Mack Gonzalez' combine scores were less impressive, but a 40 drill score and a 4.52 40-yard dash made him an interesting prospect. Gonzalez also played a lot of special teams in college, making him a decent addition for special teams duties. Wake Forest's Corbin Newhart also sports special teams experience, quite possibly the most of all four rookies. It's likely the main reason the Merchantmen signed him, as Newhart was slower and score lower in the position drill than the three other rookies. Baylor's Lee Pretko at 6'2" is easily the tallest guy of the bunch. League scouting had Pretko as the third highest graded cornerback amongst undrafted rookies and ran the fasest agility score of all undrafted rookie cornerbacks. He scored a decent 37 in the position drill had the most bench press pushes of all undrafted rookie corners. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

02-07-2014, 12:16 PM	#175
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Off-season news Donald Terry joins Merchantmen training camp Running back Donald Terry stays with the Maassluis Merchantmen. After threats to sit out the season, Terry's agents had been in talks with Merchantmen management to get a new deal worked out. Shortly before training camp, agreement was reached on a three-year, $10 million contract. Pomato extends with Merchantmen Marc Pomato stays with the Maassluis Merchantmen. The 25-year old cornerback sign a new four-year contract, worth $52 million, including a $14.5 million bonus. Pomato was acquired from the Minnesota Miners last season and was a full time starter in Maassluis. This deal locks up another key member of the Merchantmen, leaving 24 players in their final contract with the Merchantmen, most former starting quarterbacks Harry Osborne and Harvey Corbett, fullbacks Greg Brass and Terrell Wilkerson, star return specialist Jack Money, center Arnie Croft and safety Perry Walker. Merchantmen release rookie corners The Maassluis Merchantmen have announced the release of two rookie cornerbacks. Horace Hicks and Neil Robinson were both signed to compete for the fourth cornerback roster spot, but didn't make the pre-season roster. This leaves Mack Gonzalez, Corbin Newhart and Lee Pretko competing for the roster spot. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 02-07-2014 at 12:17 PM.

02-07-2014, 06:20 PM	#176
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	GM Notes 2042 Fighting against a tough salary cap figure, we managed to keep the team together, draft a new tight end and running back, and sign an offensive tackle to fill the gap from retirements. We'll inspect the roster after our first series of pre-season games, playing mostly our second stringers in these games. The starters will come into action in the second series of games. Although, at several positions I think we're deep enough that it doesn't matter too much who we'll put out there, except for the obvious positions (wide receiver and quarterback). A slight problem is still having 24 players subject to being a free agent next season. We've got just under $4 million of cap space, potentially a bit more after our final pre-season cuts. We'll have to mull over which players are worth extending their contracts. We'll make that decision before the regular season starts. We did manage to restructure enough contracts to expensive and key players to lock up our wide receivers, our linebackers and cornerbacks. But having a third of our players out of contract, that just isn't our roster building game plan. At the same time, we're living today too, an attempt to sign free agent star wide receiver Norm Pineo failed, but would have been icing on what I think is already a strong team. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

02-09-2014, 07:20 AM	#177
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Pre-Season Merchantmen stand ground at Fairbanks The Maassluis Merchantmen started the pre-season with a decent 17-10 victory at the Fairbanks Northstars. The Merchantmen played mostly with their second string, aside from quarterback Perry Coleman, who completed 20 of 35 passes for 230 yards and a rushing touchdown. Leaning on the special teams unit, the Merchantmen took a 14-3 lead just before half time, saw it trimmed down to 17-10 in the third quarter and held ground in the fourth quarter. The game clinching play was an interception from off-season signing Scottie Dawson at midfield. First round picks Irving Clark and Harold Riley had a slow start, with Clark catching 2 passes for 18 yards and Riley running for 49 yards on 18 carries. Passing: Coleman 20/35 for 230 yd Rushing: Riley 49 yd; Brass 1 td, Coleman 1 td Receiving: Money 75 yd; no td Interceptions: Dawson 1 Fumble Recoveries: none Sacks: Matheson 1, Chu 0.5, Finch 0.5 Merchantmen demolish Kansas With an all around stellar performance, the Maassluis Merchantmen welcomed crushed the Kansas Creationists in Oranje Haven. The 38-6 victory took shape in the first half with a 17-0 half time score and was steadily improved with three consecutive touchdown drives in the third quarter. First round pick Harold Riley ran for 91 yards and a score, while fellow first round pick Irving Clark made 3 catches for 28 yards. The Creationists were held to just 120 yards on offense, while the Merchantmen had the ball for 39 minutes, gaining 458 yards on offense. Many Merchantmen starters were inactive or played in a backup role, with Perry Coleman being an exception. Passing: Coleman 24/30 for 327 yd, 3 td Rushing: Riley 91 yd, 1 td; Fulcher 1 td Receiving: Brautlacht 98 yd; Brown 1 td, Money 1 td, Pomeranz 1 td Interceptions: none Fumble Recoveries: Devine 1 Sacks: none Merchantmen release cornerback Pretko Undrafted rookie Lee Pretko has been released by the Maassluis Merchantmen. Pretko was signed together with four other undrafted rookie cornerbacks to compete for one roster spot. He saw limited action in the first two pre-season games, but his inferior special teams play made him the casualty. Mack Gonzalez and Corbin Newhart remain as the two players competing. With 58 players signed, there's no guarantee either of them makes the final roster, as 5 players will have to be released after pre-season. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 02-09-2014 at 07:22 AM.

02-10-2014, 04:40 PM	#178
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Pre-Season Dragons tamed by Merchantmen The Maassluis Merchantmen continued their strong pre-season run. With a solid defensive performance, the Merchantmen had an easy 17-3 win over the Hanalei Dragons. A solid performance as the Merchantmen overcame 4 turnovers on offense, with 3 interceptions of quarterback Harry Osborne. Terry Haskell caught 9 passes for 148 yards and a score to carry the offense. Rookie running back Harold Riley had a rough day, being held to -7 yards on 4 carries, while fellow rookie Irving Clark hardly saw the field. Passing: Osborne 17/29 for 299 yd, 1 td, 3 int Rushing: Terry 57 yd, 1 td Receiving: Haskell 148 yd, 1 td Interceptions: none Fumble recoveries: none Sacks: Johnstone 1, Lincoln 1 Merchantmen crush NAC champion Minnesota The Maassluis Merchantmen have completed their perfect pre-season. On the road at the defending NAC champions, the Minnesota Miners, the Merchantmen strolled to a 48-10 victory. Harry Osborne scored 4 touchdowns, adding a running score to his 3 scoring passes. Rookie Harold Riley scored the opening touchdown, but was held to just 3 yards on 4 scores the rest of the day. Fellow rookie Irving Clark was invisible on the offense. Passing: Osborne 21/32 for 231 yd, 3 td Rushing: Terry 133 yd, 0 td; Brass 1 td, Osborne 1 td, Riley 1 td Receiving: Haskell 131 yd, 2 td; Cox 1 td Interceptions: Duncan 1, Walker 1 Fumble recoveries: Toohil 1 Sacks: Johnstone 1.5, Lucas 1, Bradley 0.5, Chu 0.5, Devine 0.5, Matheson 0.5, Toohil 0.5 Merchantmen cut Warren, Patterson, Corbett At the end of the pre-season action, the Maassluis Merchantmen today announce the release of five players: quarterback Harvey Corbett, running back J.T. Patterson, center Donny Gaines, defensive end Johnnie Warren and cornerback Mack Gonzalez. The Merchantmen traded for Harvey Corbett in 2040 with the intent to make him the starting quarterback. Instead he rode the bench for half the season as Harry Osborne emerged as a game winning team captain. Corbett eventually started 7 games late in the season, including a devastating 24-0 loss in the playoffs at home to the Vicksburg Vipers. Last season Perry Coleman was signed as the new short-term starter, leaving Corbett inactive all season. This past training camp Corbett looked out of shape and uninspired to pick up the quarterback battle for the post-Coleman years. Running back J.T. Patterson joined the Merchantmen in 2033 as a rookie free agent. Despite never starting a single game, Patterson had his role on the team as a special teamer, most notably as a kickoff returner, which translated into his only touchdown. Last season he fell on the depth chart in that role as well and this off-season became expendable after the signing of Scottie Dawson. Patterson is the last Merchantmen player to score on a punt or kickoff return, with a 96-yarder right after half time in a 35-20 victory over the Gothenburg Giants in the 2035 season. Center Donny Gaines signed with the Merchantmen in 2038 as a rookie free agent. Gaines immediately made his name as the team's long snapper, which was his primary role the past four seasons. As IHOF evolved, Gaines became too heavy for a long snapper and lost the roster spot battle to newly signed Troy Lowe. Defensive end Johnnie Warren was a surprise cut. The undrafted rookie free agent signing in 2031 quickly grew his reputation, becoming a starter in that rookie season. In recent seasons, Warren wasn't listed as a starter anymore, but in rotation still had his role on the team. With 43.5 sacks, he ranks third in Merchantmen history, just one sack shy of tying second ranked Andy Cottle. Warren played 11 seasons with the Merchantmen, missing just 3 games in that time span and being listed as a starter for IHOF Bowl XXXVI. Cornerback Mack Gonzalez was released after spending the pre-season in Maassluis. The rookie lost the roster spot battle to fellow undrafted rookie Corbin Newhart. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 02-10-2014 at 04:41 PM.

02-13-2014, 02:24 PM	#180
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Week 1 Merchantmen lose Coleman, win game The Maassluis Merchantmen kicked the 2042 season off with a routine 27-6 victory over the Bordeaux Vineyards. Quarterback Perry Coleman left the game with a broken foot in the first quarter, but Harry Osborne stepped in and guided the team to victory. Tight end Mike Bernstein scored two first half touchdowns to anchor the win. The first quarter started with the Merchantmen being stopped early. The Vineyards appeared to take the lead first, but Byron Greenburg's 43-yard field goal was blocked by Dwight Hutton, keeping the scoreboard empty. On the next play, Perry Coleman got stuck between two other players after a dump pass and was carried off the field with what turned out to be a broken foot. Harry Osborne stepped in and steered his team to a 7-0 lead, finding Cary Harriman in the end zone. The quarter continued with Alton Bradley intercepting Bordeaux' Geoff Cobb, only to have Harry Osborne fumble after a sack inside the Vineyards red zone. In the second quarter it was the Merchantmen dominating the field position. The Vineyards were pinned back deeper and deeper, miraculously escaping from a safety a couple of times. But half way in, Harry Osborne connected with a wide open Mike Bernstein for a 42-yard touchdown pass and the 14-0 lead. Following a three-and-out, the Merchantmen offense displayed a time consuming drive, completing it with another Osborne to Bernstein combo, on a short pass to take a 21-0 lead at half time. The second half it was Bordeaux looking stronger early on. They reached the red zone, but as the Vineyards got stopped on third down, they saw their field goal position wasted after a face mask penalty pushed them to a 50-yard attempt. The remainder of the third quarter was a defensive battle, with Maassluis slowly gaining ground through special teams play, leaning heavily on Donald Terry's leg to get into the Bordeaux red zone. Charles Anthony converted a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, extending the Merchantmen lead to 24-0. The Vnieyards finally got a break as they blocked an Edward Rice punt from around midfield and needing only 30 yards to reach the end zone. Ronnie Parrish made it happen on their third play with a short run into the end zone. The two-point conversion failed, keeping it a three-score game at 24-6. The Merchantmen replied with an impressvie 7 minute, 34 seconds drive, to leave a minute and a half on the clock, with Bordeaux without timeouts and trailing 27-6 after Charles Anthony's second field goal. By the hands of backup quarterback Bo Hansen, the Vineyards got up field, but came time short to score again, making the final score 27-6 in Merchantmen advantage. Merchantmen offense Passing: Osborne 17/20, 117 yd, 3 td Rushing: Terry 116 yd Receiving: Haskell 73 yd; Bernstein 2 td, Harriman 1 td Merchantmen defense Interceptions: Bradley 1 Fumble recoveries: none Sacks: Lucas 1 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

02-14-2014, 11:40 AM	#181
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 Week 2 Dragons expose Merchantmen The Maassluis Merchantmen are back on earth. In a lackluster display of football, the Merchantmen lost 41-16 at the Hanalei Dragons. Two first half interceptions returned for a touchdown and a red zone lost fumble from Harry Osborne put the Dragons in an early 17-3 lead and never looked back. Osborne struggled all day long, completing just 14 of 29 passes, 3 interceptions and 4 sacks. He completed only 2 passes to Terry Haskell and none to last week's scoring tight ends Mike Bernstein and Cary Harriman. The Merchantmen defense did their share of the bargain, holding the Dragons to 220 total yards, equaling the Merchantmen production for the day. Merchantmen offense Passing: Osborne 14/29 131 yd, 3 int Rushing: Brass 50 yd; Osborne 1 td Receiving: Pritt 84 yd Merchantmen defense Interceptions: Devine 1 Fumble recoveries: none Sacks: Devine 1 __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

02-14-2014, 11:52 AM	#182
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2042 News Kerry Lewis getting snaps with Merchantmen Following the disastrous thwarting at the Hanalei Dragons, the Merchantmen staff is working out Kerry Lewis in the first team offense for the week 3 game at the Fort Wayne Fury. Harry Osborne showed his famed heroics in a week one victory over the Bordeaux Vineyards, but at Hanalei set up his own team to defeat with 3 early turnovers that accounted for 17 points. Lewis has one career start, a week 17 win over the Bordeaux Vineyards in 2037 when a playoffs bye week was already secured. Combined with one more game active in relief, Lewis has completed 28 of 60 passes for 317 yards, 1 touchdown and no interceptions. Perry Coleman is still out with a broken foot and is expected not to return for another couple of weeks. "A tough situation," said Merchantmen head coach Graham Hines, "we'll make the best of it. We've got a talented team, with two quarterbacks that know this franchise in and out. Osborne and Lewis can step in and step it up." In the mean time, the Merchantmen have signed sixth year veteran Jerald Jefferson as their new third string quarterback. Jefferson had stints with the Moontown Darksiders and Frederick Red Menace, primarily as the emergency quarterback and kick holder. Last season he threw his first IHOF passes, playing in relief in three games for the Red Menace. Jefferson was already active in the road game at the Hanalei Dragons. Rookie quarterbacks Marco McKinnis (Oregon) and Ronald Frederick (Colorado) worked out for the emergency quarterback roster spot, but they lost the battle to Jefferson. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

04-04-2015, 02:10 PM	#186
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2043 training camp / pre-season roster evaluation During the pre-season, we acquired wide receiver Scott Dupuis from the Texas Sharks for a third round pick in the 2044 draft. Dupuis' stand out ability is kickoff returning, which is the main reason why he was acquired. We'll run down the 2043 roster below. Quarterbacks starter: Perry Coleman (60) backups: Harry Osborne (20), Kerry Lewis (25), Malik Weaver (15/25) released: Conrad Van Pelt, Marco McKinnis Last season showed how fragile Coleman is, which meant we brought along six quarterbacks in camp and decided to go into the regular season with four of them making the team. Coleman is the clear starter for another season. Osborne can be hot and cold, he'll get another season with us. Lewis is our kick holder and emergency quarterback. Weaver beat Van Pelt and McKinnis for our future project roster spot. Running Backs starters: Harold Riley (40), FB Greg Brass (55) backups: Donald Terry (20), FB Terrell Wilkerson (15), Scott Fulcher (25) Riley had a fine rookie campaign, rushing for 1,186 yards and 9 touchdowns. He's proven to be a starting caliber back. Breakaway speed monster Terry remains as our change of pace back. Brass remains to be our blocking fullback and also our third down back. Wilkerson isn't as good as he used to be, expect us to use our tight ends more often and favor us to use them in the blocking roles when we expect Brass to carry the ball. Fulcher has became a special teams backup. Tight Ends starter: Mike Bernstein (30) backups: Irving Clark (40), Cary Harriman (30) As we're getting thinner at the fullback position, we'll likely increase our playing of tight end heavy formations. Small sized Clark can't block, but is a valid receiving option. Bernstein and Harriman can catch the ball, if needed, but also have the ability to use their body frame to block. Wide Receivers starters: Terry Haskell (70), J.T. Pritt (55) backups: Charles Pomeranz (45), Scott Dupuis (40), Adam Brautlacht (35), Jack Money (25) released: Casey Brown Haskell is our star wide receiver. He's returning from a career high 111 receptions for 1,447 yards. We're obviously counting on him to carry the team again. Pritt is a quality player, although coming of an off season (734 yards, 1 touchdown). Pomeranz and Dupuis will be our options as WR3 and WR4, as Brautlacht is becoming more of a pure return specialist (0 catches in 14 games last season). Money already was a pure return specialist. Brown got released. He used to be our gunner, but we have decent other options and were no longer willing to reserve a roster spot for him. Offensive Line starters: LT Clifton Freidkin (35), C Arnie Croft (45), C B.J. Samuels (60), G Vinny O'Neill (40), T Mark Grevan (50) backups: G Artie Cortez (35), T D.J. Dunn (35), G D.J. Sampson (15/35), G Sean Schwimmer (25/50) Last season we let Croft ride the bench, but later on in the season it became clear that he's still one of the best five linemen on the team. With Samuels as the undisputable center, Croft will play at guard. With Grevan added to the team, O'Neill moves back to guard, putting Cortez in the bench. Cortez didn't impress us, but could come into action at some point after all. Freidkin is still our best pass protection option for the left side. Dunn is the alternate. We're putting the technical Sampson ahead of the stronger Schwimmer, but both will see little action in their rookie seasons. Defensive Line starters: DE Eugene Johnstone (50), DT Brian Lincoln (45), DT Dwight Hutton (40), DE Carlton Chu (35) backups: DT Dennis Lucas (45), DT Patrick Doyle (45), DE Mark Cosell (20/30), DE Harold Matheson (30) released: DE Tim Howe, DT Bucky Snyder The starting lineup isn't as clear cut as listed above. Johnstone and Lincoln are the all around complete players. Hutton will preferably see more action on running downs, which also applies to Doyle. Chu and Lucas are passing downs players, probably our two best pass rushers at the moment. Matheson is past his prime, but remains to be decent enough to come in when injuries occur. Cosell impressed in camp, but is stuck behind a strong group of players and will start the season in an inactive role. Neither Howe or Snyder was able to beat Cosell or Matheson for the final roster spot. Veteran defensive tackle Roger Finch was released during the 2042 regular season to make room for injury replacements. He was cut in his 10th season with us. Linebackers starters: SLB Daniel Duncan (75), MLB Wesley Devine (75), WLB Lester Gilman (45) backups: OLB Neil Ralph (30), MLB C.J. Boo (30), OLB Alton Bradley (30) Unwilling to go through the motions of signing and releasing players, we decided to go into the 2043 season with six linebackers. There's not much to tell here though, as Duncan and Devine are arguably the best linebackers duo in IHOF, possibly even the best in the history of the league. Gilman is a decent all around linebacker. Ralph is primarily our gunner, but will also serve as a backup to Gilman and the two stars. Pass defender Boo and pass rusher Bradley are both declining a bit, but they're still good enough to jump in if injuries arise. Secondary starters: CB Mark Crum (65), SS Bernie Gordon (40), FS Thurman Hopper (35), CB Marc Pomato (50) backups: CB Zach Pisano (30), S Perry Walker (30), S Karl Pritchett (40), CB Scottie Dawson (15/25) released: CB Jake Pryor, CB Marty Styles They may seem to be just average, but this unit is pretty good, if you'd ask me! Crum and Pomato are a capable shutdown corner duo. Gordon and Hopper are our zone defending safeties. Walker was still a starter last season, but Gordon has improved enough, while Walker declined a bit, to make the switch. Pritchett is more of a running downs player than the rest of the bunch. Dawson is a decent kickoff returner, but his role will be limited this season. During the 2042 season, we released cornerback Corbin Newhart. He was low on our depth chart and we needed to make space on the roster for injury replacements. Special Teams punter: P Edward Rice (50) field goals kicker: K Mack Heatherly (55) kickoff kicker: K Lenny Russell (20/25) kick holder: QB Kerry Lewis (100) long snapper: LS Troy Lowe (90) kick returners: Jack Money (85), Scott Dupuis (100) punt returners: Jack Money (70), Adam Brautlacht (80) released: K Rich Maurice Maurice wasn't better than Russell, which means he had to leave after just one training camp. Heatherly showed up a bit out of shape compared to the reputation he had, he might be just a one-year solution. Lewis and Lowe are the supporting act for the kicker. Rice is slowly declining, but still good enough to stick with him. Money will be our top return specialist, despite that his technique is scouted lower. Money has proven he can get the job done, while Brautlacht is slightly worse. Dupuis could be the best in the game, but he'll need some time to get used to the rest of the unit. We've got a good number of players able to play on special teams. The release of Casey Brown has been a result of the signing of Neil Ralph, possibly the best gunner in football. Overall, we have to feel confident that this team is on par with the 2042 team. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

04-05-2015, 07:43 PM	#189
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2044 Training Camp Below is our training camp report from the 2044 season. An under whelming camp it was, with a couple of bright spots. Although the main concern was in seeing our key players maintaining their level of play. Especially Perry Coleman, Terry Haskell and the defensive starters were a risk. Quarterbacks starter: Perry Coleman (60=) backups: Harry Osborne (15-), Kerry Lewis (15--), Malik Weaver (15=/20-) After training camp, there was no doubt that 2044 would be a Coleman or nothing season. Weaver showed little improvement compared to the previous training camp, but as both Osborne and Lewis looked like they are on the decline, Weaver made the cut again, just in case Coleman does go down and Osborne falls into the turnover habits he showed in the 2042 season. Running Backs starter: RB Harold Riley (40=), FB Greg Brass (55=) backups: FB Harvey Miller (35=), RB Scott Fulcher (20-), RB Donald Terry (15-) released: FB Terrell Wilkerson Riley and Brass are our guys again. Riley can be an all downs back, but with the steam engine shovel Brass around, short yardage situations won't be Riley's. Miller will be in the mix as a blocker. Fulcher promoted back to the number two role, but basically is number three behind Brass. Terry lost more of his speed, but survived the final cuts as we didn't see any free agents which would be an improvement over Terry and his knowledge of the playbook. Tight Ends starter: Cary Harriman (30=) backups: Irving Clark (40=), Wyatt Stephens (20=/30=) A mix of players this is. Harriman is the most all around guy, despite that he lacks the speed to really contribute to the passing game. Clark will move in on the obvious passing downs, which certainly will happen at times, while Stephens is decent enough to be our second blocker. We still hope Clark will live up to his first round status and become a 50-catch receiver after seasons of 29 and 30 catches. Wide Receivers starter: Terry Haskell (65=), Charles Pomeranz (40-) backups: Scott Dupuis (45=), Adam Brautlacht (25-), Jaylen Swann (20/25+), Jack Money (20-) Unsirprinzingly, Haskell remains to be our far and beyond best player on offense. Pomeranz and Dupuis will be the number two and number three, possibly even losing some playing time to our tight ends. Brautlacht and Swann are the emergency guys, while Money will just focus on returning duties. Swann will start the season in an inactive role, but made the team nevertheless and will be activated as our fifth receiver if there's a roster spot available. Offensive Line starter: LT Clinfton Freidkin (30-), C Arnie Croft (40-), C B.J. Samuels (60=), G Bryant Huffman (35+/50+), T Mark Grevan (50=) backups: G Vinny O'Neill (40=), G Sean Schwimmer (35+/50=), LT Fred King (40=), G D.J. Sampson (25+/40+) released: T D.J. Dunn With the increase in sacks last season, it became apparent that either this unit isn't as good as it used to be, or Perry Coleman is becoming more prone to getting sacked. At the same time, Harold Riley is just a second year running back and we'll need cohesion on the line to make him successful. However, both Huffman and Schwimmer are emerging as guys that need just half a season to become legit starters. Samuels is indisputable, while Croft knows this offense too well to not make him play. For similar reasons, O'Neill is still our best alternative at guard and right tackle. But left tackle is the problem position. Freidkin is lacking stamina, but King is new, while Grevan just can't play on the left, making us start Freidkin after all. Sampson showed good progress and we hope to give him another season to grow, but most likely we'll try to trade one of the young guards in the next off-season. Defensive Line starter: DE Eugene Johnstone (50-), DT Brian Lincoln (45=), DT Dwight Hutton (30--), DE Harold Matheson (20--) backups: DT Dennis Lucas (45=), Patrick Doyle (45=), DE Mark Cosell (20=/30-), DE Freddie Malone (10/20=) released: DT Kendrick Ramirez This unit, requires some explanation, why are Hutton and Matheson listed as starters and Lucas and Doyle as backups? Quite simple, they're not. both will see plenty of action in the rotation system, especially Lucas on obvious passing downs. Johnstone and Lincoln are the complete linemen of the team. Hutton is a run stopper, while Doyle is a run stopper too, with some rushing speed. Lucas is our best pass rusher, which he has proven with back to back All-IHOF First Team honors. Matheson goes into the season ahead of Cosell and Malone, as the youngster are still a bit green, while Matheson is a proven veteran with All-IHOF honors in our IHOF Bowl run season. Ramirez looked interesting, but in an already crowed unit, he got stuck on the wrong team to test the waters of IHOF. Linebackers starter: SLB Daniel Duncan (75=), MLB Wesley Devine (80=), WLB Lester Gilman (40=) backups: MLB C.J. Boo (25-), OLB Frank Weaver (20=/35=), OLB Trevor Rodgers (20=/35-) Another unit which is self explanatory. Our Double D's are so overwhelming and hard too miss, we'll cherish them as long as we can. Gilman is the best of the bunch, still, although Weaver and Rodgers look like they can step in if Gilman decides to quit or would he have lost some of his versatility. Boo's knowledge of the defense makes him the main backup, but realistically we'll use defensive backs if we're going to take a linebacker off the field. Secondary starter: CB Mark Crum (60-), SS Bernie Gordon (40=), FS Thurman Hopper (30-), CB Marc Pomato (50=) backups: CB Lonnie Browning (25-/30-), S Tim Manalang (30=/40+), S Karl Pritchett (35-), S Kelvin Shepherd (30=) released: S Scottie Dawson No changes in the starting spots, the same quartet will be our backfield on defense. Rookies Browning and Manalang impressed enough with their interception skills to make us put them in the nickel and dime roles from the start. Pritchett and Shepherd won't see much action this season. Pritchett should be familiar with that role, while Shepherd is about equal with Gordon and Hopper in talent, but being the new man and a veteran, he's the odd man out, despite making the team, because you never know when we need to dig deep in the depth chart. Dawson is out after a season of inactivity. Special Teams punter: Malachi Pennell (80+++/90+++) kicker: Marvin Creekmur (80=) kickoff kicker: Lenny Russell (20-) punt returner: Jack Money (50), Adam Brautlacht (65) kick returner: Jack Money (70), Scott Dupuis (100) others: Kerry Lewis (100 holder), Troy Lowe (90 long snapper) released: P Edward Rice, K Jay Diamond Pennell made a big impression in training camp and without hesitation we released Rice and made Pennell the new punter. Creekmur was the other off-season acquisition and, unlike Heatherly last season, held up with his reputation. Russell hangs on for another season, but he better starts improving his kickoffs, or we'll give that role to Creekmur too and break tradition and go with an all duties kicker. We're set here for the next decade, hopefully. In return duties, Money is still the man, but don't be shocked if Dupuis takes over in the kickoff return role at some point this upcoming season. Brautlacht has yet to impress us in real games, making Money the primary punt return option still. Although we're starting to get disappointed with Money's increase in fumbles of the past couple of seasons.

04-26-2015, 07:46 AM	#191
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2045 Off-Season Retirements The 2045 Off-Season started with the news that safety Thurman Hopper and wide receiver Adam Brautlacht both retired from football. Neither came as a big surprise, given their respective ages. Thurman Hopper was a first round pick in the 2031 draft, spent his rookie season on the bench, but from his second pro season was key starter on the Merchantmen defense. As a free safety, he formed a remarkable duo with Perry Walker as the locks on the defense. Hopper was a crucial element in the pass defense and retired as the all-time Merchantmen leader with 42 interceptions. With Hopper, the Merchantmen reached the playoffs nine consecutive season. Hopper sat out all but one game of the 2039 season with a nagging elbow injury, which meant Hopper was on injured reserve during the Merchantmen's only IHOF Bowl appearance to date. Adam Brautlacht was a third round pick in the 2034 draft. A fast and agile receiver, Brautlacht was brought in to challenge for the WR2 or WR3 role. There were also hopes he could grow into becoming a premier return specialist, but eventually was just an alternate punt returner, mostly a result of his fumbling woes. In his first six seasons, Brautlacht did have quite the contribution to the passing game, usually being good for 500 yards receiving and 5 touchdowns. Brautlacht was a starter in IHOF Bowl XXXVI for the Merchantmen. In 2040 Brautlacht missed a good portion of the season with a hamstring injury and from there on his role became more limited. At the time of retirement, he ranks 9th all-time in receiving touchdowns for the Merchantmen. Free Agency In an unusual pre-season, the Maassluis Merchantmen didn't sign a single player before the draft. Instead, three veteran players were released to help create enough cap room to be able to sign rookies. Quarterback Harry Osborne, defensive end Harold Matheson and kickoff kicker Lenny Russell were all cut. The biggest news in free agency was the blockbuster trade the Merchantmen made... IHOF Draft 2045 Following the woes at quarterback during the 2044 season, the Merchantmen management was determined to get the replacement of Perry Coleman in the 2045 off-season. At the top of the draft board sat a number of intriguing quarterback prospects. The Merchantmen worked the phoned, attempting to move up in the draft from 12th overall to within the top five. And as to be expected with the masters of trade, they succeeded, moving up to first overall. The Merchantmen traded their 2046 first and second round picks, all their 2045 draft picks (first through fifth round), including that 12th overall pick. The end result was a draft with just one player acquired: Illinois quarterback Bryson Chow became the 2045 number one pick. Chow smiled ear to ear at the press conference, showing his new #1 Merchantmen jersey. In line with IHOF regulations, Bryson Chow was signed to a pre-determined four-year contract, worth $49 million dollars over four years, with a $39.8 million dollar signing bonus. Despite that the Merchantmen coaching staff was unimpressed with Bryson Chow, general manager M.IJ.B. was convinced Chow was the best of the bunch in a draft dominated by quarterback picks. In a historic draft, eight quarterbacks were taken in the first round: the Houston Mustangs selected Jayce Powell second, the Harlem Apollos selected Declan Knight third, the Fairbanks Northstars selected Bryan Rhodes fifth, the Iowa Cobbers took Bo Scott nineteenth, the Frederick Red Menace picked Emmitt Latham twentieth, the Tucker Tigers took Ethan Beyer twenty-fifth and the Chicago Norsemen took Ernie Hatcher twenty-eighth overall. The top of the third round saw two more interesting quarterback picks, as the Bordeaux Vineyards took Bryson Kleinsasser and the Oakland Black Panthers selected Mel Briggs, both became starters in their rookie season. Post Draft Free Agency After the draft, the Merchantmen signed either rookie free agents: running backs Marty Finley and Asher Tyler, wide receiver Noah Rico, defensive linemen Caleb Hanson and Rob Fjelstad, cornerback Paxton Podbevsek, safety Santiago Poole, and kickers O.J. Blades and Pete Cummins. With no cap room to work with, the Merchantmen also made the tough decision to release running back Donald Terry. The 2039 rushing leader and as such a key player in the IHOF Bowl XXXVI reaching campaign, Terry had been a backup player in the past two seasons, carrying just 7 times in 2044. Safety Tim Manalang signed with Snapfinger Jazz, as the Merchantmen were unable to make a decent enough offer to retain the second-year pro. Donald Terry failed to find a new team, as was he faith of aforementioned Harold Matheson and Lenny Russell. Quarterback Harry Osborne did find a new home, becoming the mentor of Oakland Black Panthers' Mel Briggs. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail

04-26-2015, 08:56 AM	#192
MIJB#19 Coordinator Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands	2045 Training Camp In Maassluis Merchantmen tradition, here we'll take a look at the 2045 Maassluis Merchantmen roster. We'll break down the roster by position or position group, give some insight on training camp and pre-season impressions and what the depth chart is going to look like for the upcoming season. Quarterbacks starter: Bryson Chow (20+/45--) backups: Perry Coleman (50--), Malik Weaver (20=/25=), Kerry Lewis (10-) The word spread quickly around the league. Scouts from all over IHOF looked at Chow in his first action and their expectations quickly downgraded from potential super star to below average starter material. Despite that, the Merchantmen felt that Bryson Chow would be ready to start from day one, mentored by Perry Coleman as his understudy. Kerry Lewis retained his emergency quarterback and kick holder role. Malik Weaver did just enough to stick around as the backup backup, just in case Chow or Coleman would get hurt bad enough to avoid having to release another player and at least have a quarterback ready who knows the playbook. Although that argument could be frowned upon with the aged veteran Lewis always being available. Running Backs starters: Harold Riley (40=), FB Greg Brass (50-) backups: Marty Finley (30=/40=), FB Harvey Miller (35=), Asher Tyler (25=/35+), Scott Fulcher (15-) Harold Riley retained his premier runner role, with Greg Brass as the third down back and splitting the fullback duties with Harvey Miller. In the change of pace department, Marty Finley outran his fellow undrafted rookie Asher Tyler, while veteran Scott Fulcher made the team once again in an emergency role. Tight ends: starters: Wyatt Stephens (25=/25-), Irving Clark (40=) backups: Cary Harriman (25-) In our rotation of skill players, it's hard to say there is one particular starter at tight end. Wyatt Stephens is the blocker of the two, while Irving Clark is quite possibly the second best receiving option on the entire offense. Both will see their share of action, rotating with the wide receivers, fullbacks and running backs. Cary Harriman also retained his roster spot. Wide Receivers starters: Terry Haskell (60--), Charles Pomeranz (30--) backups: Scott Dupuis (45=), Noah Rico (15=/25=), Jack Money (15-) released: Jaylen Swann Terry Haskell remains to be the face of the franchise and might at times be the only wide receiver on the field. Charles Pomeranz just barely maintained the best of the rest designation, being the one that knows the offense best. Scott Dupuis will be the clear WR3 option. The roles of Noah Rico and Jack Money will be limited to special teams playing time. Rico is the new punt returner, although he could still lose that role to fellow rookie Santiago Poole. Money will be the backup kickoff returner to Dupuis. Jaylen Swann was the only non-kicker that we released after training camp. He might be lucky enough to find a new team someday. If injuries deplete our wide receivers depth chart, we'll be ready to give him a call. Offensive Line starters: LT Fred King (45=), LG Sean Schwimmer (45+/50=), C B.J. Samuels (60=), RG Bryant Huffman (45+/55=), RT Vinny O'Neill (40=) backups: C Arnie Croft (40=), T Mark Grevan (45-), LT Clifton Freidkin (25-), G D.J. Sampson (20-/35-) The choices on the offensive line are based on more than just raw talent. Fred King beat Clifton Freidkin for the left tackle role. On ther right side, veteran Vinny O'Neill will play out of position again, holding of Mark Grevan in favor of cohesion on the line. B.J. Samuels as the best lineman once again anchors the line. Sean Schwimmer and Bryant Huffman both made enough progress to deserve a starting role. Their relative newness to the team is risky and there's a good chance we'll reinstall Arnie Croft as a guard to improve cohesion on the line. D.J. Sampson was underwhelming in camp, barely making the final 53-men roster by lack other candidates to not make the team. Defensive Line starters: DE Eugene Johnstone (45=), DT Brian Lincoln (45=), DT Dennis Lucas (40--), DE Caleb Hanson (30+/35=) backups: DT Patrick Doyle (45=), DT Dwight Hutton (25-), DE Mark Cosell (20=/30=), DE Freddie Malone (15=/20=), DT Rob Fjelstad (10=/15=) As in past seasons, this will be a position group with a lot of rotation. Eugene Johnstone and Brian Lincoln are the all downs starters on the left side. Dennis Lucas is the pass rush monster of the team and will likely be rotated in often enough to consider him the real starter, despite that his games started statistics won't show it. Rookie Caleb Hanson impressed enough to become the new defensive end in place of Harold Matheson. Patrick Doyle and Dwight Hutton will see their share of action on neutral and running downs. The verdict on Mark Cosell and Freddie Malone isn't out yet. We like both their pass rush potentials, but we're so stacked, they might never grow into the rotation. The same applies to rookie Rob Fjelstad, who failed to impress in camp to make him move up in the hierarchy. Linebackers starters: SLB Daniel Duncan (70-), MLB Wesley Devine (80=), WLB Lester Gilman (40-) backups: WLB Trevor Rodgers (25=/35=), SLB Frank Weaver (25+/35=), MLB C.J. Boo (20-) We love our Double D; who wouldn't? Daniel Duncan and Wesley Devine are undisputed as our most important pieces of the defense. Lester Gilman is still the best of the rest and will be our weak side option on running downs, making room for the nickelback on obvious passing downs. Trevor Rodgers and Frank Weaver easily made the team again, both being potentially good enough to replace Gilman when needed. C.J. Boo's role is slowly decreasing. Secondary starters: CB Mark Crum (55-), CB Marc Pomato (50=), SS Bernie Gordon (40=), FS Kelvin Shepherd (30-) backups: CB Lonnie Browning (30=), S Karl Pritchett (35=), CB Paxton Podbevsek (15=/25-), S Santiago Poole (15=/25-) With the legendary Hopper and Walker duo retired, we're entering a transitional period, with veterans Bernie Gordon and Kelvin Shepherd stepping in. Gordon had been waiting in the wings for quite some time as our nickelback and will enter his fourth straight season as a full time starter. Shepherd joined with us last season and barely saw any action. But he learned the playbook now and, frankly, is our best option to step in now. Mark Crum and Marc Pomato are still our shutdown corners. Lonnie Browning isn't making the progress that we hoped to see him make, but he is our best nickelback option. Karl Pritchett remains to be a hard to define player. Paxton Podbevsek is said to have a nose for interceptions and we'll hope to see him show it, if we need him as an injury replacement. Santiago Poole will be on our active part of the roster as well, being our second best option for punt return duties. Special Teams kicker: Marvin Creekmur (80=) punter: Malachi Pennell (90=) long snapper: Troy Lowe (90) holder: Kerry Lewis (100) kickoff returner: Scott Dupuis (90), Jack Money (70) punt returner: Noah Rico (45), Santiago Poole (45) Malachi Pennell is an elite punter, while Marvin Creekmur is a top-notch kicker. Nothing to complain about. Dupuis and Money are excellent kickoff return options. The punt return role is to be filled with the undrafted rookies Rico and Poole. We'll have to keep an eye on their respective development to figure out whether either of them is a long term answer. We released both rookie free agent kickers Pete Cummins and O.J. Blades in pre-season. __________________ * 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail Last edited by MIJB#19 : 04-26-2015 at 09:00 AM. Reason: typoes

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