CFL: The Tucson Toros

[Fonzie]

It has come to my attention that Boston cannot, in fact, make the playoffs. The FOF standings show them still alive, but they lose out no matter what happens with the other teams vying for the WC.

Sorry flere!

[flere-imsaho]

[Fonzie]

Well, the final week of the season is upon us, and Your Beloved Toros are battling Boise for the top seed in the playoffs. With a win today we can lock it up; with a loss, we need to hope for Boise to lose to Anchorage (which is not likely to happen). So, we decide to go for broke in this final week to gain the ever-important homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. We face an Arizona Outlaw squad that will also be going all-out, as their playoff hopes rest on getting a win here and some help elsewhere.

On to the action!

  Box Score: Arizona at Tucson
   Tucson, AZ.
   
   Week 17, 2009
   
   Attendance: 67,000 (69,800).
   
   
   Weather: 62 degrees, fair.
   
   1Q: 04:31 TUC - Drew Holliday 4 pass from Daryl Cassidy.
   1Q: 04:31 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
   2Q: 14:50 ARI - Artie Sonntag 5 run.
   2Q: 14:50 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
   2Q: 11:05 ARI - Artie Sonntag 2 run.
   2Q: 11:05 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
   2Q: 00:26 ARI - Artie Sonntag 4 run.
   2Q: 00:26 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
   3Q: 04:02 TUC - Rubin Castorena 41 field goal.
   3Q: 00:17 ARI - Erich Frazee 10 pass from Freddie Mathias.
   3Q: 00:17 ARI - Paul Stephan extra point.
   4Q: 01:08 ARI - Paul Stephan 20 field goal.
   
   Game MVP: ARI 3 Freddie Mathias
   
   Arizona	0	21	7	3	-	31
   Tucson	7	0	3	0	-	10
   
   Team Statistics		ARI		TUC
   
   First Downs		        22		22
   
   Total Rushes		        38		28
   Rushing Yards		142		154
   Yards Per Carry		3.7		5.5
   Pass Attempts		21		41
   Completions		        17		16
   Passing Yards		223		225
   Yards Per Attempt		10.6		5.4
   Sacked		        0		3
   Yards Lost		        0		20
   Interceptions		0		1
   Fumbles/Lost		        2/0		2/0
   
   Total Plays		        59		72
   Total Yards		        365		359
   Yards Per Play		6.1		4.9
   
   3rd Down Plays		3/9		10/17
   Avg. YTG on 3rd		5.0		10.1
   4th Down Plays		0/0		0/1
   
   Penalties		        4		9
   Penalty Yards		21		75
   
   Avg. Drive Start		OWN 35		OWN 22
   Time Of Possession		29:02		30:58
   
   Arizona Individual Statistics
   
   Rushing		Att	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
   28 Sonntag		23	101	4.3	42	3
   39 Zimmerman		12	20	1.6	8	0
   24 Stovall		2	8	4.0	6	0
   3 Mathias		1	13	13.0	13	0
   
   Passing		Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	Long	TD	Int	Sckd
   3 Mathias		21	17	223	10.6	51	1	0	0
   
   Receiving		Catch	Yards	Avg	YAC	Long	TD
   85 Frazee		5	49	9.8	19	14	1
   81 Latour		5	97	19.4	5	51	0
   28 Sonntag		3	21	7.0	4	13	0
   86 McKoy		2	36	18.0	7	18	0
   80 Connors		1	7	7.0	0	7	0
   12 Khan		1	13	13.0	5	13	0
   
   Punt Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   
   Kick Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   32 Chandler		1	19	19.0	0
   80 Connors		1	22	22.0	0
   12 Khan		1	24	24.0	0
   
   Punting		Punts	Yards	Avg	Long	In20
   17 Shields		4	179	44.7	54	3
   
   Kicking		FG	FGA	Long	PAT	Att
   14 Stephan		1	2	20	4	4
   
   Defense		Tackle	Assist	Sack	Int	IntYds	IntTD
   52 Pittman		6	3	0.0	0	0	0
   49 Breckinridge	6	0	0.0	0	0	0
   22 Dao		5	2	0.0	0	0	0
   99 James		4	0	1.5	0	0	0
   98 Burke		4	1	0.0	0	0	0
   91 Crowther		3	0	1.0	0	0	0
   53 Farley		3	1	0.0	0	0	0
   57 Buenaluz		3	1	0.0	0	0	0
   41 Clancy		2	1	0.0	0	0	0
   32 Chandler		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   29 Bottoms		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   12 Khan		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   94 Dunmore		1	1	0.5	0	0	0
   90 Stiles		1	3	0.0	0	0	0
   34 Fisher		1	2	0.0	0	0	0
   48 Ibanez		1	0	0.0	1	1	0
   50 Caines		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   84 Austin		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   95 Nichols		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   56 Wiggs		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   
   Miscellaneous	Fumb	FForc	Recov	MiscTD	KeyRBlk	SckAlwd
   50 Caines		0	0	0	0	3	0
   63 Banks		0	0	0	0	3	0
   91 Crowther		0	1	0	0	0	0
   32 Chandler		0	1	0	0	0	0
   85 Frazee		0	0	0	0	1	0
   28 Sonntag		1	0	0	0	0	0
   84 Austin		0	0	0	0	1	0
   86 McKoy		0	0	1	0	0	0
   65 McIntyre		0	0	0	0	1	0
   79 Compton		0	0	0	0	1	0
   87 Legan		0	0	0	0	1	0
   24 Stovall		0	0	1	0	0	0
   39 Zimmerman		1	0	0	0	0	0
   59 Keillor		0	0	0	0	1	0
   
   Tucson Individual Statistics
   
   Rushing		Att	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
   42 Holliday		19	102	5.3	17	0
   8 Cassidy		4	29	7.2	11	0
   22 Bradley		3	16	5.3	8	0
   26 Jeffries		2	7	3.5	4	0
   
   Passing		Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	Long	TD	Int	Sckd
   8 Cassidy		38	14	208	5.4	34	1	1	3
   4 Hogan		3	2	17	5.6	9	0	0	0
   
   Receiving		Catch	Yards	Avg	YAC	Long	TD
   89 Armitage		3	37	12.3	4	14	0
   42 Holliday		3	16	5.3	3	8	1
   80 Higginbotham	2	54	27.0	3	32	0
   26 Jeffries		2	23	11.5	7	14	0
   11 Housley		2	50	25.0	3	34	0
   82 Torres		2	25	12.5	19	14	0
   22 Bradley		1	10	10.0	0	10	0
   88 Ramirez		1	10	10.0	0	10	0
   
   Punt Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   22 Bradley		1	9	9.0	0
   
   Kick Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   88 Ramirez		2	29	14.5	0
   85 Garcia		2	28	14.0	0
   
   Punting		Punts	Yards	Avg	Long	In20
   15 Winters		4	151	37.7	45	1
   
   Kicking		FG	FGA	Long	PAT	Att
   13 Castorena		1	2	41	1	1
   
   Defense		Tackle	Assist	Sack	Int	IntYds	IntTD
   58 Watford		10	2	0.0	0	0	0
   31 Enoch		8	3	0.0	0	0	0
   75 Grier		4	3	0.0	0	0	0
   40 Biggs		4	1	0.0	0	0	0
   55 Trujillo		4	1	0.0	0	0	0
   32 Hartung		4	0	0.0	0	0	0
   95 Stoltzfus		4	0	0.0	0	0	0
   90 Jarrard		4	0	0.0	0	0	0
   73 Smith		2	2	0.0	0	0	0
   72 Bernard		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   74 Cochrane		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   80 Higginbotham	1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   46 Bloch		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   25 Minahan		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   42 Holliday		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   26 Jeffries		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   29 McCloskey		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   30 Robbins		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   45 Bennett		0	1	0.0	0	0	0
   33 Mirer		0	1	0.0	0	0	0
   
   Miscellaneous	Fumb	FForc	Recov	MiscTD	KeyRBlk	SckAlwd
   64 Connell		0	0	0	0	2	1
   63 Pitman		0	0	1	0	4	1
   71 Franck		0	0	0	0	3	1
   61 Eaddy		0	0	0	0	4	0
   8 Cassidy		2	0	0	0	0	0
   87 Sheehy		0	0	0	0	1	0
   55 Trujillo		0	1	0	0	0	0
   88 Ramirez		0	0	1	0	0	0
   59 Buckley		0	0	0	0	1	0
   74 Cochrane		0	1	0	0	0	0
   
   Arizona Drive Chart
   	Quar	Began	Poss	From		Plays	Yards	Result
   	1	15:00	3:18	OWN 34		5	17	Punt
   	1	4:31	2:21	OWN 34		3	9	Punt
   	1	1:22	1:32	OPP 20		3	20	Touchdown
   	2	13:13	2:08	OWN 36		5	64	Touchdown
   	2	9:17	5:15	OWN 25		9	41	Missed FG
   	2	2:21	1:55	OWN 13		9	87	Touchdown
   	3	10:20	2:38	OWN 21		4	17	Punt
   	3	4:02	3:45	OWN 37		10	63	Touchdown
   	4	8:49	1:27	OWN 33		3	9	Punt
   	4	5:32	4:24	OWN 40		10	57	Field Goal
   
   Tucson Drive Chart
   	Quar	Began	Poss	From		Plays	Yards	Result
   	1	11:42	7:11	OWN 17		14	83	Touchdown
   	1	2:10	0:48	OWN 9		2	4	Interception
   	2	14:50	1:37	OWN 32		3	4	Punt
   	2	11:05	1:48	OWN 24		3	6	Punt
   	2	4:02	1:41	OWN 41		3	4	Punt
   	2	0:26	0:26	OWN 21		1	-4	Half
   	3	15:00	4:40	OWN 30		12	49	Downs
   	3	7:42	3:40	OWN 26		8	50	Field Goal
   	3	0:17	6:28	OWN 20		14	54	Missed FG
   	4	7:22	1:50	OWN 4		4	20	Punt
   	4	1:08	1:08	OWN 20		8	54	Game
   
   Arizona Red Zone Profile
   		Visits	TDs	FGs
   		5	4	1
   
   Tucson Red Zone Profile
   		Visits	TDs	FGs
   		4	1	1

Oh dear. That really couldn't have gone much worse.

On our very first defensive series we lost starting LB Jerry King to a hyperextended knee, and then our worst fears were realized. During our very first offensive series, after a very nice march down the field, "Colonel" Hogan somehow suffers a separated shoulder on a handoff to Drew Holliday. He's out for the next seven weeks, and just like that our hopes of finally making some noise in the playoffs are shattered. Both the offense and defense unravel from that point on, and it really doesn't matter what happened in the game. Our season is effectively over.

I took a risk in starting our big guns today, and it blew up in my face. There were maybe three players for whom an injury would be devastating, and we just so happened to suffer an injury to the least replaceable of those three. Hogan had heretofore suffered only one injury in his career that forced him to miss playing time, so I figured the probability of that happening in this game was slim-to-none. Apparently that probability was more on the slim side.

Our backup QB, Daryl Cassidy, is still very green and hasn't developed like we thought he would when we brought him over from Tampa Bay. He did a decent job in relief of Hogan today, but 14 of 38 will not win many games. He filled in for Hogan last year during the only other significant injury Hogan has suffered and went 2-1. Will he be able to work some playoff magic? We have to hope so. Our only other alternative at QB is Artie Weinke, who might hold more long-term promise for us, but he's even greener than Cassidy. Alas.

A barely perceptible silver lining in this game is that we got our run game back on track, which will be very important with Hogan out. We also got our starting center back from injury, and might get our starting MLB Grant Wash and our key backup DT Henry Stansell back in time for our first (and probably only) playoff game. On a related note, I have calculated that our defensive starters have missed a total of 48 games started this season. I'm amazed at how strong our defense has been given that I've been MacGyvering the defensive lineup all season long.

Ken Wickes Deathwatch Update: Take a gander at this playcall, occuring in the 3rd quarter with the score AZ 21, TUC 7:

 4-15-ARI21 (10:25)   TUC 8 Cassidy pass fell incomplete, intended for 11 Housley.
   ARI 75 Isola hurried the quarterback into a bad throw.
   The ball goes over on downs.

Huh? 4th and 15, a shitty backup QB in the game, in a situation where a FG puts us within 2 scores of a tie, and we go for it?! ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I have a hard time believing that any head coach in the history of professional football would have made that call. That's at least six different kinds of stupid, and I blame this call not on Ken Wickes, but on Jim Gindin. That kind of thing just shouldn't happen in this game. Sheesh.

All in all this was a bitterly disappointing week, and it probably shows in my writing. I'm genuinely pissed that the improbable has happened and all of the magic of that 10-game winning streak has evaporated into nothingness. Damn, what a waste. But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself - we've still got a playoff game in two weeks. Maybe we'll get lucky.

And maybe I will start pooping out rolls of $100 bills.

You never know.

[condors]

sorry, the win didn't even get us in

things may not look so good but you can win with a backup qb really it is possible

good luck in the postseason

[Fonzie]

Time for a bit of a season recap for the CFL. Here's how things shook out in the final standings:

Front Office Football 2004
2009 Regular Season Standings

Eastern Football Conference

Deep South              W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Shreveport              12  4   0   .750  375   292   8-4     4-2       
*San Antonio            10  6   0   .625  315   318   8-4     4-2       
Memphis                 9   7   0   .563  294   273   6-6     2-4       
New Orleans             4   12  0   .250  285   375   2-10    2-4       
   
Great Lakes             W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Detroit                 12  4   0   .750  309   240   9-3     6-0       
Cleveland               5   10  1   .344  304   347   5-6-1   3-2-1     
Albany (NY)             3   13  0   .188  202   339   3-9     1-5       
Chicago                 2   13  1   .156  167   291   2-9-1   1-4-1     
   
Atlantic                W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Durham                  12  4   0   .750  432   269   9-3     5-1       
*Charleston (SC)        11  5   0   .688  368   323   8-4     4-2       
Tampa Bay               7   9   0   .438  276   293   5-7     3-3       
Baltimore               6   10  0   .375  311   370   3-9     0-6       
   
Yankee                  W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Hartford                10  6   0   .625  368   268   7-5     4-2       
New York                10  6   0   .625  350   314   8-4     3-3       
Boston                  10  6   0   .625  365   323   7-5     3-3       
Atlantic City           7   9   0   .438  323   323   5-7     2-4       

Western Football Conference
San Andreas             W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Sacramento              8   8   0   .500  295   271   6-6     5-1       
Huntington Beach        7   9   0   .438  295   290   6-6     4-2       
Long Beach              4   12  0   .250  248   329   4-8     3-3       
Santa Cruz              3   13  0   .188  195   374   1-11    0-6       
   
Ring of Ice             W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Boise                   12  4   0   .750  386   287   9-3     4-2       
Oregon                  6   10  0   .375  315   335   5-7     3-3       
Seattle                 6   10  0   .375  386   415   6-6     3-3       
Anchorage               5   11  0   .313  335   445   4-8     2-4       
   
Cavalry                  W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Denver                  10  6   0   .625  368   301   9-3     6-0       
*Tulsa                  10  6   0   .625  316   333   8-4     3-3       
Fargo (ND)              8   8   0   .500  340   312   6-6     1-5       
El Paso                 6   10  0   .375  358   390   5-7     2-4       
   
Ring of Fire            W   L   T   Pct   PF    PA    Conf    Div  
Tucson                  12  4   0   .750  372   235   8-4     4-2       
*Las Vegas              10  6   0   .625  360   311   7-5     4-2       
Arizona                 10  6   0   .625  345   311   7-5     2-4       
Honolulu                8   8   0   .500  285   346   5-7     2-4    

* denotes Wild Card Teams

So, we wind up tied for the best record in the CFL. That's nice.

[Fonzie]

2009 Summary for Tucson Toros
   
Record: 12-4
Winning Pct.: .750
   
Tucson Toros            Team      Rank  
Rushes                  534       2           
Rushing Yards           2117      5           
Yards Per Carry         3.96      13          
Pass Attempts           469       28          
Completions             288       22 (T)      
Passing Yards           3209      26          
Yards Per Attempt       6.84      20          
3rd Down Conversions    48.1      5           
Points Per Game         23.2      5           
Turnovers               10        1           
Turnover Margin         +9        7 (T)       
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes                  410       2           
Rushing Yards           1448      1           
Yards Per Carry         3.53      3           
Pass Attempts           530       17          
Completions             278       6           
Passing Yards           3314      6 (T)       
Yards Per Attempt       6.25      3           
3rd Down Conversions    38.2      3           
Points Per Game         14.6      1           
Turnovers               19        23 (T)      

Now that's what I like to see - a great running game and good complementary passing game coupled with a miserly approach to turnovers. Combine that with a dose of dominant defense and you've got yourself a winner.

Unless, that is, you lose your starting QB. Speaking of whom...

Passing             Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int  
4 Hogan             QB    429   273   2996  6.98  21    5       
8 Cassidy           QB    40    15    213   5.32  1     1       
**Team              ---   469   288   3209  6.84  22    6       

Hogan had another great year. He posted a QB Rating of 95.6 on the season, just a shade below last year's career best 97.9. How he does it I don't know, as he's not rated as being all that great by the scouts (65-ish). Must be my great game planning.

Rushing             Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD  
42 Holliday         RB    351   1382  3.93  11      
22 Bradley          RB    111   522   4.70  5       
26 Jeffries         FB    44    136   3.09  1       
**Team              ---   534   2117  3.96  17      

Drew Holliday had another great year, although for him this season represented the worst ypc of his career. Still, it is hard to argue with 1382 yards, especially considering the constantly changing O-line he had to contend with. Daryl Bradley continues to be a great secret weapon, and Corwin Jeffries was our main 3rd down back. Great running attack this year.

Receiving           Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
82 Torres           TE    87    59    584   9.8   180   5       
89 Armitage         WR    110   56    724   12.9  99    6       
80 Higginbotham     WR    62    42    613   14.5  78    1       
26 Jeffries         FB    55    41    312   7.6   174   2       
22 Bradley          RB    34    22    179   8.1   75    2       
**Team              ---   467   288   3209  11.1  749   22      

Torres and Armitage both had career-best performances this year, but I was really expecitng more of Armitage. He's got the best hands in the league and runs routes like noone else (100 ratings in both), so he should be a lock to top 1000 yds per season, even in a run-oriented offense like we had this year. Maybe next year he'll settle into our passing system and flourish.

Higginbotham had another solid year as the #2, and our running backs contributed considerably to the passing game this year. Holliday is the noteworthy exception there. His receiving skills are okay, but they're inferior to the Bradley's and Jeffries'. Without those receiving numbers Holliday will almost certainly never win any major awards. Too bad, 'cuz he's a beast.

Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  
58 Watford          OLB   72    13    0.0   3     1     1       
52 Wash             ILB   68    24    0.5   1     1     7        
95 Stoltzfus        DT    45    17    3.0   26    1     0       
55 Trujillo         OLB   42    14    2.0   5     1     3       
75 Grier            DE    42    17    10.5  11    0     1       
90 Jarrard          ILB   36    10    0.0   0     0     0       
93 King             OLB   32    8     1.0   3     1     2       
70 Neubauer         DT    30    18    0.5   8     0     0       
72 Bernard          DE    28    16    2.5   7     0     0       
96 Stansell         DT    18    11    2.5   8     0     0  

Once again Joseph Watford leads the team in tackles, despite having missed seven starts on the year. He's nothing short of amazing, but he struggled a bit defending the pass this year - we'll have to hope that doesn't become a habit. Grant Wash came in second on the team in tackles, and he also missed five starts. Most noteworthy was the contribution of newcomer Harold Stoltzfus, whose 45 solo tackles and 62 total tackles ranked him 4th on the team while playing in just 12 games for us. Including his time in Cleveland, he finished with 82 solo tackles and 27 assists with 4 sacks, 29 hurries and 2 FF. For a tackle in a 4-3 those're some crazy delicious numbers. Howie Grier, a former 1st round pick, registered double-digits in sacks for the first time in his career. Good for him.

Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  
31 Enoch            S     66    34    0.0   0     4     13   
32 Hartung          S     38    11    0.0   0     0     5       
46 Bloch            S     37    9     0.0   0     1     0       
40 Biggs            CB    34    15    0.0   0     2     21      
37 Rosenberry       CB    34    11    0.0   0     1     11      
25 Minahan          CB    32    12    0.0   0     2     7       
29 McCloskey        CB    25    7     0.0   1     0     1       
33 Mirer            S     21    8     0.5   0     1     5       
**Team              ---   777   271   29.0  89    16    77

S Mitchel Enoch once again held the secondary together, logging 100 total tackles, 13 PDs and 4 INTs. CB Keven Biggs had a marvelous season despite missing four starts, and Ray Minahan filled in nicely when either Biggs or Rosenberry were out of the lineup. 1st round pick Mike Mirer saw a bit more playing time than I'd hoped he would, but he played reasonably well and we continue to hold out hope that he'll be a long-term answer in center field.

So, from a statistical point of view I can't help but be thrilled with both individual and team performances this year. 'Twas a truly great season for Your Beloved Toros.

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by condors

good luck in the postseason

Thanks. I'm gonna need it!

[Fonzie]

I was about to write up my own summary of the Wild Card Round action when I realized that the CFL Pressman over at the league website has already done so. Why reinvent the wheel?

Here's what he had to say:

Originally Posted by CFL Pressman at the CFL website

The 2009 CFL wild card round is over and the home team won all 4 games. So the divisional round contains all 8 division winners. Here is a recap of the wild card action:

The Shreveport Pride posted the first shutout in CFL playoff history when they defeated the San Antonio Stingers 27-0. San Antonio was held to 164 yards of total offense, a new CFL playoff record. The Pride's defense was led by DT Derrick Javier who had 5 tackles, 2 assists, and 2.5 sacks. Shreveport goes to Detroit this week to face the Vampires.

The Hartford Attack were already ahead 30-0 early in the 2nd quarter against the defending champion Charleston Monitors. The Attack cruised from there to a final score of 33-14. James Oberg averaged 9.2 yards per pass attempt in the victory, while Landon Hurt completed less than 50% of his passes and averaged 4.3 yards per pass attempt in the loss. The Monitors also turned the ball over 4 times. Hartford's next opponent is the Durham Bulldogs.

The Denver Dynomite also got out to an early lead in their wild card matchup, going into halftime up 28-3 over the Las Vegas Rounders. The final score was 38-18 as the Dynomite move on to face the Tucson Toros in the divisional round. Denver QB Marcus Garibaldi won the offensive player of the week award by completing 25 of his 28 passes (89%!) for 241 yards and 4 TDs.

Finally, the Sacramento Dragons defeated the Tulsa Talons by a score of 28-20. Tulsa's star RB Butch Fulton injured his shoulder late in the first quarter and did not return. The Dragons were outgained 289 yards to 257 yards but they scored a TD on each of their 4 trips into the red zone. Sacramento travels to Boise to face the Stampede this week.

[Fonzie]

Our first playoff game is at home vs. a strong Denver team. They made a great late season push to win their division, and are relatively healthy. Neither of those bits of information cheer me. We'll be without Hogan, as the week off didn't allow him to heal enough to play. So, young Daryl Cassidy gets the start. Some other injured players are at least Questionable this week, so they'll get the nod (including MLB Grant Wash, DT Henry Stansell, SLB Buster Trujillo and C Steve Odum). We'll have to hope that a somewhat healthy defense and an emphasis on the running game will be enough. And on that note, we were unfortunate enough to draw the only WFC team that has a better run defense than us, as Denver is allowing just 3.4 ypc.

When it rains, it pours.

I fear we'll get bounced right out of the playoffs without Hogan, but at least our two other unreplacable stars (Holliday and Soltzfus) are completely healthy and ready to go. We'll need a great defensive performance, awesome special teams play, and no turnovers to have a chance in this one.

Here we go!

  Box Score: Denver at Tucson
   Tucson, AZ.
   
   Conference Semifinals, 2009
   
   Attendance: 67,000 (69,800).
   
   
   Weather: 69 degrees, fair.
   
   1Q: 00:24 TUC - Rubin Castorena 46 field goal.
   2Q: 04:10 DEN - Curtis Plotkin 47 pass from Marcus Garibaldi.
   2Q: 04:10 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
   3Q: 11:16 TUC - Drew Holliday 4 run.
   3Q: 11:16 TUC - Rubin Castorena extra point.
   3Q: 07:07 DEN - John Lubin 3 run.
   3Q: 07:07 DEN - Gary Hutchins extra point.
   3Q: 01:23 TUC - Rubin Castorena 51 field goal.
   4Q: 12:59 DEN - Gary Hutchins 24 field goal.
   4Q: 03:12 TUC - Rubin Castorena 39 field goal.
   
   Game MVP: DEN 52 Theo Garcia
   
   Denver	0	7	7	3	-	17
   Tucson	3	0	10	3	-	16
   
   Team Statistics		DEN		TUC
   
   First Downs		       17		20
   
   Total Rushes		       31		43
   Rushing Yards		149		203
   Yards Per Carry		4.8		4.7
   Pass Attempts		30		20
   Completions		       16		10
   Passing Yards		189		152
   Yards Per Attempt		6.3		7.6
   Sacked		       0		1
   Yards Lost		       0		5
   Interceptions		1		0
   Fumbles/Lost		       0/0		1/1
   
   Total Plays		       61		64
   Total Yards		       338		350
   Yards Per Play		5.5		5.4
   
   3rd Down Plays		4/12		5/14
   Avg. YTG on 3rd		6.6		6.5
   4th Down Plays		0/0		0/1
   
   Penalties		       3		4
   Penalty Yards		25		30
   
   Avg. Drive Start		OWN 33		OWN 22
   Time Of Possession		27:17		32:43
   
   Denver Individual Statistics
   
   Rushing		Att	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
   37 Lubin		25	133	5.3	27	1
   26 Farrar		5	18	3.6	6	0
   4 Garibaldi		1	-2	-2.0	-2	0
   
   Passing		Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	Long	TD	Int	Sckd
   4 Garibaldi		30	16	189	6.3	47	1	1	0
   
   Receiving		Catch	Yards	Avg	YAC	Long	TD
   87 Plotkin		5	99	19.8	6	47	1
   25 Warren		3	22	7.3	11	10	0
   82 Arms		2	27	13.5	1	18	0
   37 Lubin		2	9	4.5	8	5	0
   89 Peace		2	19	9.5	7	12	0
   26 Farrar		1	2	2.0	0	2	0
   1 Rodriguez		1	11	11.0	3	11	0
   
   Punt Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   40 Knight		1	-6	-6.0	0
   
   Kick Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   85 Godbey		2	52	26.0	0
   1 Rodriguez		2	46	23.0	0
   
   Punting		Punts	Yards	Avg	Long	In20
   10 Thornton		7	263	37.5	41	5
   
   Kicking		FG	FGA	Long	PAT	Att
   3 Hutchins		1	1	24	2	2
   
   Defense		Tackle	Assist	Sack	Int	IntYds	IntTD
   53 Wilk		12	1	0.0	0	0	0
   93 Collins		8	1	0.0	0	0	0
   46 Brister		7	5	0.0	0	0	0
   21 Dizon		6	2	0.0	0	0	0
   94 Deacon		5	1	0.0	0	0	0
   99 Beamon		4	4	0.0	0	0	0
   38 Halvorson		4	3	0.0	0	0	0
   27 Waters		2	2	1.0	0	0	0
   98 Knell		2	1	0.0	0	0	0
   52 Garcia		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   95 Duggan		1	3	0.0	0	0	0
   49 Jennings		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   24 Sanderson		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   55 Nichols		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   
   Miscellaneous		Fumb	FForc	Recov	MiscTD	KeyRBlk	SckAlwd
   52 Garcia		0	0	0	0	5	0
   78 Peterson		0	0	0	0	2	0
   60 Saldivar		0	0	0	0	2	0
   21 Dizon		0	0	1	0	0	0
   99 Beamon		0	1	0	0	0	0
   68 Calder		0	0	0	0	1	0
   25 Warren		0	0	0	0	1	0
   89 Peace		0	0	0	0	1	0
   
   Tucson Individual Statistics
   
   Rushing		Att	Yards	Avg	Long	TD
   42 Holliday		32	163	5.0	19	1
   8 Cassidy		5	16	3.2	6	0
   22 Bradley		4	18	4.5	12	0
   26 Jeffries		2	6	3.0	3	0
   
   Passing		Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	Long	TD	Int	Sckd
   8 Cassidy		20	10	152	7.6	31	0	0	1
   
   Receiving		Catch	Yards	Avg	YAC	Long	TD
   89 Armitage		3	44	14.6	3	16	0
   26 Jeffries		3	57	19.0	37	31	0
   87 Sheehy		2	22	11.0	8	13	0
   80 Higginbotham	1	11	11.0	0	11	0
   42 Holliday		1	18	18.0	3	18	0
   
   Punt Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   22 Bradley		1	4	4.0	0
   
   Kick Returns		Att	Yards	Avg	TD
   85 Garcia		1	11	11.0	0
   
   Punting		Punts	Yards	Avg	Long	In20
   15 Winters		5	203	40.6	56	0
   
   Kicking		FG	FGA	Long	PAT	Att
   13 Castorena		3	3	51	1	1
   
   Defense		Tackle	Assist	Sack	Int	IntYds	IntTD
   58 Watford		9	4	0.0	0	0	0
   31 Enoch		6	0	0.0	0	0	0
   96 Stansell		5	0	0.0	0	0	0
   52 Wash		4	2	0.0	1	33	0
   55 Trujillo		4	1	0.0	0	0	0
   72 Bernard		4	1	0.0	0	0	0
   95 Stoltzfus		3	2	0.0	0	0	0
   32 Hartung		2	1	0.0	0	0	0
   90 Jarrard		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   29 McCloskey		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   33 Mirer		2	0	0.0	0	0	0
   75 Grier		1	2	0.0	0	0	0
   46 Bloch		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   63 Pitman		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   25 Minahan		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   42 Holliday		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   74 Cochrane		1	0	0.0	0	0	0
   40 Biggs		0	2	0.0	0	0	0
   
   Miscellaneous	Fumb	FForc	Recov	MiscTD	KeyRBlk	SckAlwd
   71 Franck		0	0	0	0	2	1
   78 Odum		0	0	0	0	4	0
   61 Eaddy		0	0	0	0	3	0
   63 Pitman		0	0	0	0	3	0
   64 Connell		0	0	0	0	3	0
   42 Holliday		1	0	0	0	0	0
   26 Jeffries		0	0	0	0	1	0
   
   Denver Drive Chart
   	Quar	Began	Poss	From		Plays	Yards	Result
   	1	12:33	2:57	OWN 33		6	14	Punt
   	1	6:26	1:30	OWN 29		3	3	Punt
   	1	0:24	2:24	OWN 27		5	27	Punt
   	2	10:50	1:56	OWN 44		3	5	Punt
   	2	7:52	3:42	OWN 20		7	80	Touchdown
   	2	2:30	1:25	OPP 47		5	6	Punt
   	3	15:00	1:33	OWN 28		3	12	Interception
   	3	11:16	4:09	OWN 20		8	80	Touchdown
   	3	1:23	3:24	OWN 25		8	68	Field Goal
   	4	10:50	2:39	OWN 29		5	20	Punt
   	4	3:12	0:44	OWN 31		3	0	Punt
   	4	1:39	1:39	OPP 36		5	13	Game
   
   Tucson Drive Chart
   	Quar	Began	Poss	From		Plays	Yards	Result
   	1	15:00	2:27	OWN 20		5	13	Punt
   	1	9:36	3:10	OWN 17		6	18	Punt
   	1	4:56	4:32	OWN 32		7	39	Field Goal
   	2	13:00	2:10	OWN 5		3	7	Punt
   	2	8:54	1:02	OWN 17		3	1	Punt
   	2	4:10	1:40	OWN 20		3	-6	Punt
   	2	1:05	1:05	OWN 4		4	68	Half
   	3	13:27	2:11	OPP 29		5	29	Touchdown
   	3	7:07	5:44	OWN 20		10	46	Field Goal
   	4	12:59	2:09	OWN 20		4	51	Fumble
   	4	8:11	4:59	OWN 17		10	61	Field Goal
   	4	2:28	0:49	OWN 28		4	8	Downs

Well damn.

That loss hurts more than a 40-7 blowout would. Coming up one point shy of advancing hurts bad. And the worst part is that we could've had three more points in the 4th quarter had it not been for our one turnover of the day. Drew Holliday fumbled away the ball at the DEN 29, and that was bascially the game right there. A few other unfortunate plays I'd like to grumble about:

1) We lost another of our Unholy Triumverate when Harold Stoltzfus was knocked out of the game late in the 2nd quarter. Our defense had Denver under control up until that point, but the rushing flood gates opened up when Stoltzfus was replaced by rookie DT Cochrane (Lubin had a great day!). Fortunately Stoltzfus is only out a week and should be completely healthy for next season.

2) This play pissed me off:

 4-03-DEN29 (00:32)   TUC 13 Castorena attempted a 46 yard field goal and succeeded.
   Penalty: DEN - Running into the Kicker. Penalty was declined.
 

With a shitty offense on the field and the opportunities to score TDs limited, at best, we needed to keep that drive going. I know many coaches don't like to take points off the board, but damn we needed to accept that penalty at that point in the game (1st quarter). Alas.

Drew Holliday did an otherwise great job today against a very tough run D, and Cassidy wasn't terrible (no turnovers = a great day for such a green QB). We lost this one largely because of yet another key injury and one devastatingly timed turnover. Of course, had we managed to win this game, Stoltzfus' and Hogan's absences for the conference championship almost certainly would've doomed us, so maybe it is for the best that Denver won. At least they'll have a chance.

Go forth and do us proud Denver!

So that concludes our regular season. Losing out because of injuries to key guys is part of the game, but damn it is tough to take such a shitty end to an otherwise spectacular season.

I guess that means we'll just need to redouble our efforts for next year!

[Fonzie]

Shreveport (15-4) 23, Durham (13-5) 10 - Raven Hawk's Shreveport Pride came up huge in a road game at Taco's Durham Bulldogs. Shreveport's running game was on fire (40 carries, 180 yards) and their defense shut down an impressive Durham offense (just 236 total yards). Durham was never really in this one.

Sacramento (10-8) 17, Denver (13-6) 24 - Varacel's Denver Dynamite jumped out to a 24-7 lead by halftime and cruised to the win over George W. Bush's Sacramento Dragons. This was a somewhat ugly game, with neither passing offense doing much except chucking six interceptions between them. Denver's running game was the difference though, piling up 173 yards to burn the clock and secure the win.

Denver has now won their third straight WFC title, and Shreveport has locked up their first EFC title. Congratulations to both teams! The CFL Bowl will be played Monday night. The new season will begin on Thursday - see you then!

[Fonzie]

Varacel's Denver Dynamite have captured their second CFL championship in a tightly contested match with Raven Hawk's Shreveport Pride. Final score: Denver 16, Shreveport 7.

Congratulations varacel!

[Fonzie]

We had two players honored for their on-field performances this year. They are:

DT Harold Stoltzfus - 1st team DT. 82 solo tackles, 27 assists, 4 sacks, 29 hurries, 2 blocked passes, 2 forced fumbles, 1 INT.

RT Matthew Pitman - 2nd team tackle. 36/91 KRB, 0.6 SPct.

And that's it. I was expecting Stoltzfus to get recognition, but I wasn't sure about Pitman. I thought Keven Biggs or Mitchel Enoch might've snuck in on the 2nd team, but overall 2 all-pros is about right. We didn't have many standout individual performances this year - our success was more a result of a combined team effort.

[Fonzie]

And just like that, the calendar has flipped over to 2010. Time to get back to the drawing board and see if we can't make it back to the Promised Land of the playoffs for another crack at a championship before Hogan retires.

Speaking of which, we had no retirements this offseason. That is a huge relief, especially knowing that we'll have Hogan back under center. Had he retired we probably would've had to go into rebuilding mode, but with him returning we'll gear up to make another run at the title.

Some of our RoF foes weren't so lucky in the retirement department, most notably Arizona and Honolulu. Arizona lost their starting DE Brian Widmer, while Honolulu did not lose Ronnie Tu to retirement. That's right, Tu is still on Honolulu's roster, nursing his now 36-week ACL injury. He'll be out all of this year, but in the meantime will be gobbling up cap space for the Blue Pacific. Tough break.

In other injury news, former 1st round pick DE Lance Crane is fully healed from his own knee troubles, but is a mere shadow of his former self. He had been 51/62, with most of his skills in the Pass Rush domains, before the injury. He's now rated 30/33, with a 70 rating in PR strength, but that's about it. I'd cut him, but he may be useful as an Affinity guy. If he renegotiates down to the veteran's minimum from his $1.7 million base salary he may keep his roster spot. If not, he's gone.

Cap space has risen $4.9 million this year, which puts us at $2.2 million under the cap with 47 players under contract. We'll be franchising Stoltzfus, which should cost us about $5.7 million, and so we'll be at least $3.5 million over the cap come free agency. We'll be renegotiating a few deals, so it shouldn't be hard to get under the cap. Also, we don't have any picks in the first three rounds this year, so we'll save some cap money there.

Coach hiring begins on Thursday. Hopefully we'll finally be able to replace Shit-Head Coach Ken Wickes.

[Fonzie]

Time for a quick peak at our regular season opponents for 2010:

Front Office Football 2004
Tucson Toros 2010 Regular Season Schedule
   
  Week    Opponent (2009 Record) 
Week 1    LAS VEGAS ROUNDERS (10-6)
Week 2    at New York Knights (10-6)
Week 3    SACRAMENTO DRAGONS (8-8)      
Week 4    at Oregon Ice (6-10)
Week 5    at Seattle Thunderbirds (6-10)
Week 6    ANCHORAGE WOLFPACK (5-11)
Week 7    at Honolulu Blue Pacific (8-8)
Week 8    BOISE CITY STAMPEDE (12-4)   
Week 9    at Las Vegas Rounders (10-6)
Week 10   OPEN                                    
Week 11   ARIZONA OUTLAWS (10-6)   
Week 12   HARTFORD ATTACK (10-6)  
Week 13   at Denver Dynomite (10-6)
Week 14   at Boston Panthers (10-6)
Week 15   at Arizona Outlaws (10-6)
Week 16   ATLANTIC CITY PHANTOMS (7-9)     
Week 17   HONOLULU BLUE PACIFIC (8-8)    
   
Home Games in ALL CAPS
   
Season Tickets Sold: 0
Stadium Capacity: 69,800

Cumulative Record of Opponents: 140-116 (.547)

Ouch.

This promises to be a tough season, as we've drawn the 1st place schedule and it shows. We face just four teams with losing records, and at least three of those look to be substantially improved over last season (Seattle, Oregon, and Atlantic City). We have an especially brutal stretch of seven games from Week 8 through Week 15 - every one of those opponents finished in double digits for wins.

We'll certainly have our work cut out for us this year!

[flere-imsaho]

Hey, you get to play in our new stadium!

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Hey, you get to play in our new stadium!

I've heard great things about Boston's new Clearasil Stadium at Milwaukee's Best Field. We're looking forward to experiencing it first hand.

[Fonzie]

Head Scout - Troy Bernard
Age: 37
Contract Terms: 5 years, $670k per
Record: 0-0
Playoff appearances: 0
Bowl wins: 0
QB: Good
RB: Average
WR: Good
O-line: Good
Kickers: Average
D-line: Very good
LB: Good
Secondary: Very Good
Young talent: Good

We were able to secure the top scout available this year and locked him up for 5 years. He's young and should improve with time. He's better than last year's scout, Kennedy Jennings, who was a desperation pick due to low owner limits on spending. This year the owners have loosened the purse strings and allowed us to get a guy who represents a substantial improvement with respect to evaluating receivers, the defensive backfield, and young talent.

[fantastic flying froggies]

methinks Fonzie needs to update his team name file...

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

methinks Fonzie needs to update his team name file...

I'll be damned...I hadn't noticed that! I had updated the team name file on my home pc, but failed to do so on my work computer (not that I use my work computer for anything other than work, mind you). Thanks for catching that, fff. I've fixed the out of date nicknames.

[Fonzie]

I've been bitching about my idiotic head coach for a couple of seasons now, but my owners have been stingy with staff payroll owing to our unprofitable situation. That situation has now changed nicely with last year's completion of our new stadium, and our profitability has translated into a drastically improved salary allotment for staff.

That infusion of cash allowed me to fulfill my dream of kicking Ken Wickes and his questionable playcalling abilities right out the door, and to grab the best head coach I could find. Some might question the wisdom behind ejecting the leader amongst active head coaches in career winning percentage (.676), but I think he benefitted more from our team's talent and excellent personnel abilities (read: my awesomeness) more than he helped the team to win. So he's gone.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to introduce the third(-ish?) head coach in the history of the Tucson Toros, Ryan Bolden:

Head Coach: Ryan Bolden
Age: 44
Contract Terms: 5 years, $6.69 million per
Years experience: 6
Record: 39-57-2
Playoff appearances: 2
Bowl wins: 0
Motivation: Good
Discipline: Good
Offensive Playcalling: Very Good
Defensive Playcalling: Excellent
Injury Avoidance: Very Good

Bolden represents an improvement over Wickes in both playcalling departments (Wickes was just Good in those) and in Injury Avoidance (Wickes was just Good there as well). Bolden is slightly worse than Wickes in terms of motivation and discipline (Wickes was Very Good in both), but I'm happy with that tradeoff.

Our staff is now set. Everyone is under contract for at least two more years, which makes me very happy.

Next up: free agency.

[Fonzie]

We're about to jump on the offseason personnel carousel, and so it seems wise to spend a bit of time evaluate our roster. First up, the offensive backfield:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Hogan, Milan "Colonel"  4   QB   12   65/69/1 yr.
Cassidy, Daryl          8   QB   4    34/53/1 yr.
Weinke, Artie           9   QB   4    24/52/3 yrs

All three of last year's QBs are back and under contract. I was most relieved to see Hogan avoided the call of the golf course and returned for his 12th season, which allows us to postpone the inevitable rebuilding mode for at least one more season. He's posted QB Ratings of 97.9 and 95.9 in the last two seasons, and if he keeps that up for another year we may well find our way back into the postseason.

Cassidy has filled in adequately for Hogan when asked, but he needs more seasoning to really be a good starter. Weinke may well end up being better than Cassidy, but he's more of a project. While I might prefer to have a more experienced backup, I'm disinclined to invest much in the way of resources in one when we have needs elsewhere. We're pretty much set at QB, but if a backup QB shakes loose we'll give 'im a look.

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Bradley, Daryl          22  RB   7    55/55/3 yrs
Holliday, Drew          42  RB   5    61/65/1 yr.
Robbins, Grant          30  RB   3    29/42/2 yrs
Jeffries, Corwin        26  FB   5    52/52/5 yrs
Brown, Antonio          23  FB   5    26/34/1 yr.

Holliday is entering the final year of his rookie contract, and we'll have a decision to make about him before this season is through. He continues to post excellent numbers, and if we get another "average" year (1400 yds, 12 TDs) from him we'll be in good shape.

Bradley might be one of the most underrated weapons in the league. He's an excellent backup to Holliday (4.7 ypc and 5 rushing TDs last year), is one of our top receiving options out of the backfield, and is a top punt returner to boot. I love having a security blanket like him. Grant Robbins is a project player, but has some promising potential in some areas.

Jeffries is our starting fullback, and is a good receiver out of the backfield. He also does a good job in run blocking. Brown is our backfield leader, and is unlikely to ever see the field.

Overall, our offensive backfield is set. I'm happy with what we've got.

[Fonzie]

To The Two Of You Still Reading This: after a brief, real life-induced hiatus, I'm back and ready to resume our offseason analysis and update on roster changes. Thanks for your patience.

Now onto our receivers:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Sheehy, Ramon           87  TE   12   51/58/---  
Torres, Anthony         82  TE   4    72/72/2 yrs
Joyner, Marlon          84  TE   4    47/54/3 yrs
Armitage, Sydney        89  FL   10   57/63/2 yrs
Housley, Freddie        11  FL   5    36/41/2 yrs
Garcia, Brent           85  FL   3    34/46/2 yrs
Higginbotham, Demetrius 80  SE   8    47/47/3 yrs
Ramirez, Mack           88  SE   6    35/41/3 yrs

This group did a decent job last year, but there were some mild disappointments mixed in with the success stories. Torres did a good job in taking over the starting role from Sheehy (59-584-5), and was a pleasant surprise in the run game (10/25 KB). Our new scout, who is Good at evaluating receivers, likes him a great deal more than our old scout, who was Poor (translation: he's now rated 72/72 intead of 66/66).

Joyner continues to look like one of our better undrafted free agent pickups, and is likely to see additional PT this year. Sheehy is aging and was a bit disappointing, considering how many 2-TE sets we used. He's a free agent this year, and he may not be back.

Sydney Armitage was last year's big addition to the offense, and while he had career bests in receptions, yards and TDs (56-724-6), he didn't exactly set the world on fire. Some of this was because of our emphasis on the running game, but that can't account for all of it. We expect his production to improve after being in our system for a year - or else.

Demetrius Higginbotham is our receivers leader and continues to have the most awesome name in the league. He remains a starter and steady contributor in the passing game, and no less than five players have affinities with him.

Housley and Ramirez were brought in last offseason to battle for the #3 spot, and while Housley had an outstanding exhibition season last year he flopped when the games started to count (and he got hurt). Ramirez performed somewhat better, but was not great. Garcia is a former 1st rounder who is looking increasingly like a bust. He can still be a useful return guy, though.

If we can upgrade this bunch I'll do it, but overall I'm content with our talent here. I'd especially like to get a better kick return specialist this year, and WR is of course a likely position to house that kind of player. The only FA in this group is Sheehy, and while we'd love to have him back he's a 12-year vet with a minimum salary of $1 million. We might not be able to swing that, given that he'll likely end up a 3rd-stringer.

[Fonzie]

The Offensive Line:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Odum, Steven            78  C    13   64/64/---  
Buckley, Luther         59  C    3    37/50/1 yr.
Poplawski, Ross         60  LG   3    56/62/3 yrs
Eaddy, Richard          61  RG   10   46/47/1 yr.
Connell, Kelvin         64  RG   4    52/60/2 yrs
Wickham, Cory           62  RG   2    12/24/---  
Franck, Chris           71  LT   14   47/49/1 yr.
Lyle, Stan              65  LT   4    36/44/---  
Puente, Rob             69  LT   2    22/43/1 yr.
Kaczmarek, Freddy       67  RT   11   37/45/---  
Pitman, Matthew         63  RT   6    71/71/2 yrs

Back when the CFL began in 2003, Steven Odum was a standout guard on an excellent O-line. That O-line was not to last, however, as two of our stars there suffered severe injuries and the rest succumbed to the ravages of age. Odum, however, made a successful transition to center after we let David Pless leave via FA last year, and he's done everything we've asked of him. Except, of course, for staying healthy. He was one of the reasons our O-line was in flux last year, as he missed six games due to injury. He's only played in all 16 games once in his career, and has only started 75 of 112 possible games. He's our O-line leader, but two players have conflicts with him. And he's a free agent. He most likely won't be back, unless his asking price is dirt cheap. His backup, Luther Buckley, hates his guts, but probably isn't good enough to take over as a full-time starter. We may have to bring in some fresh blood here.

Guard was another position of instability last year, as Ross Poplawski was out half of the season with injury. He was only occasionally effective when he did play, and was perhaps single-handedly responsible for our tragic loss to Santa Cruz last year thanks to his 0/0 KRB and 4 sack-allowed performance. We can only hope this promising player improves, as he's our no-doubt-about-it starter at LG. On the other side we have Kelvin Connell, who had something of a breakout year in 2009 (40/105 KRO, but 10 sacks). If he can do a better job of keeping Hogan upright he'll be an all-pro. Our backups at guard are Eaddy, who is talented enough to keep around as well as a mentor, and Cory Wickham, who was only brough in last year because Steven Odum liked him. If Odum is gone, Wickham will be too.

We were thankfully stable at tackle last year, as both starters played in all 16 games. Chris Franck is another old warrior from our inaugural year, and he has done well in making the transition from RT to LT. He's a mentor and will almost certainly be out starter again this year. Pitman is our O-line's indisputable best player and anchor. He was recognized as 2nd-team all-pro last year, and has never missed more than 2 games in a season. He's our starter. Our depth at tackle is reasonable, but Kaczmarek is a free agent and almost certainly won't be back. He was "Angry" when we signed him for depth mid-season, and stayed that way when he wasn't inserted as our starter. Adios, stupid. Lyle was also picked up mid-season and looks like a pretty good young player - if he keeps developing he may replace Franck as our starter in a year or two. He's a RFA, so we'll lock him up. Puente was an undrafted free agent who looks to also have considerable talent - we'll try to keep him active this year so that he can benefit from Franck's mentorship.

In sum, we're in the market for a starting center and perhaps some depth at guard. Not too bad.

[Fonzie]

The Specialists:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Winters, Edward         15  P    3    69/69/3 yrs
Gilmore, Mark           7   P    2    45/70/2 yrs
Castorena, Rubin        13  K    9    67/67/2 yrs

Winters came on strong last year and looks to be our long-term starter. He's the best in the league at directional punting and has good kicking power. His chief rival is last year's 6th round pickup Mark Gilmore, who boomed after the draft. We couldn't find any trade partners for him last year, so we'll try again this offseason to see if we can't find him a good home.

Castorena probably saved his job by making 10 of his last 11 FG attempts in 2009. Even with that late-season success he wound up connecting on just 23 of 36 attempts (63.8%), by far the worst year of his career. He'd better turn things around this year.

[Fonzie]

The D-line:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Smith, Carl             73  LDE  9    47/48/2 yrs
Grier, Howie            75  LDE  7    57/59/2 yrs
Bernard, Ted            72  RDE  6    42/42/1 yr.
Horn, Albert            97  RDE  6    41/48/2 yrs
Crane, Lance            94  RDE  4    30/33/2 yrs
Stansell, Henry         96  LDT  7    47/50/3 yrs
Cochrane, Bennie        74  LDT  2    31/46/3 yrs
Neubauer, Kenneth       70  RDT  8    55/60/4 yrs
Stoltzfus, Harold       95  RDT  8    95/97/1 yr.
Dennis, Marvin          76  RDT  3    26/40/---  

Everybody's back and under contract now that we've franchised Stoltzfus, who just happens to be the best player on our team. With him in the fold I'm very happy with the middle of our line - both he and Neubauer are run-stuffers, and Stoltzfus can harrass QBs with the best of them. Stansell is a solid backup, and Cochrane is a draft pick from last year who may turn out OK. Our only free agent is Marvin Dennis, who was a midseason pickup to replace the injured Neubauer. I doubt that we'll bring him back.

On the outside of the line, our DE situation is OK. On the downside, former 1st-rounder Lance Crane finally recovered from his ACL injury, but it is hard to call what he's done a "recovery." He looks terrible, and will need to drastically reduce his contract number if he wants to stay on the team. Howie Grier had a career high 10.5 sacks last year and is a solid run stuffer. He's our starter on the left side. Last year we successfully platooned Bernard and Horn on the right side, and they'll do so again this year unless we're able to land some surprising talent at DE. Carl Smith is a great, versatile backup.

So, some DE help would be nice, but otherwise our defensive line is pretty much set.

[Fonzie]

The Linebackers:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Wash, Grant             52  MLB  13   65/65/1 yr.
Jarrard, Josh           90  MLB  8    43/50/3 yrs
Trujillo, Buster        55  SLB  9    62/66/3 yrs
King, Jerry             93  SLB  10   54/60/3 yrs
Watford, Joseph         58  SLB  10   75/80/3 yrs
Brkich, Jackie          56  SLB  3    25/37/---  
Richardson, Cornell     98  WLB  2    24/40/3 yrs

Our linebacking corps is aging. Wash is a 13-year pro and it shows - he's losing skills and having trouble staying healthy. He can still be a good run stopper and does a decent job in coverage, but he's only been able to start 12, 14, and 11 games in the last 3 years. His clock is ticking. His backup, Jarrard, can do an adequate job in relief.

On the strong-side we have long-time defensive anchor Joseph Watford returning for his 10th year. He had never been very susceptible to injuries before 2009, but last year we were only able to suit him up for 10 games (9 starts). Still, he was amazingly productive in those games (he led the team with 72 solo tackles) and we're hopeful that he can return to his healthy, dominant ways this year.

Buster Trujillo came over with Stoltzfus last year and proved to be a very valuable member of the defense. He was supposed to be our weak-side starter, but when Watford got hurt we moved Trujillo over there and he did well. He's also our defensive front leader, and many of the fellas like him. When he moved to the strong-side Jerry King filled in for him on the weak-side and performed reasonably well. He's not much good in coverage, but he can play the run well. Cornell Richardson is our only "true" weak-side 'backer, and he's still a bit of a project. Jackie Brkich is a restricted FA who will probably return, as he can play special teams and likes Trujillo.

I'd like to get younger here, but overall we've got good talent at linebacker. I don't forsee us making many moves in this department.

[Fonzie]

The Secondary:

Player                  #   Pos  Exp  Cur/Fut/Yrs 
Biggs, Keven            40  LCB  10   66/73/2 yrs
Rosenberry, Jeremy      37  LCB  10   46/53/2 yrs
Bennett, Kyle           45  LCB  2    15/45/1 yr.
Minahan, Ray            25  RCB  6    57/57/2 yrs
McCloskey, Cornell      29  RCB  4    27/34/---  
Enoch, Mitchel          31  SS   10   76/83/3 yrs
Bloch, Johnathan        46  FS   10   32/40/2 yrs
Hartung, Kenneth        32  FS   10   54/54/1 yr.
Mirer, Mike             33  FS   2    34/66/3 yrs

Biggs and Rosenberry are our starters, and Biggs is clearly our best cover guy. His 21.9 PDPct was tops on the team, but he missed four games due to injury. His fellow starter Rosenberry also missed 3 games and had one of his worst seasons (19.7 PDPct). Due to those injuries our nickel back Ray Minahan was forced to start 9 games, and he played pretty well (20 PDPct, 2 INTs). Ray is also our positional leader, and several guys like him. Kyle Bennet is an undrafted FA from last year who is a long-term project. The only guy not under contract is former 7th round pick Cornell McCloskey. He's servicable, but will likely never be more than a dime back, at best. I'm not sure if we'll try to bring him back or not. I'll need to think on that.

Mitchel Enoch had another solid year for us at SS, registering 100 total tackles and a PDPct of 20.6. He's been very healthy over the last 3 years, and we'll need him to retain both his health and his steady play to keep our secondary performing well. Last year's FS was Kenneth Hartung, who missed 5 games with injury and underperformed in his 11 starts (0 INTs, 19.3 PDPct). He'll be competing with last year's 1st round pick Mike Mirer for the FS position this year. Bloch is a veteran affinity guy who can fill-in adequately, although I certainly wouldn't want to rely upon him for an entire year.

In sum, our secondary is largely set. I need to make one minor decision regarding an RFA, but otherwise our key guys are back and under contract. If we can bring in some help at corner we will, but I don't see that as a big need area.

Well, there you have it! Our roster looks pretty good overall. I don't think we really need to do much but add some peripheral players via free agency and the draft. I anticipate that we'll be able to reload without too much difficulty and be ready to make another run next year.

[Fonzie]

The CFL is currently in Week 5 of Free Agency. We went into the offseason a few million over the cap. After some renegotiations we got up to about $4 million in cap space, some of which must be reserved for our few remaining draft picks. The players we've picked up so far:

WR Courtney Hodges - Hodges, a 3rd year player, was brought in because of his 3rd down receiving skills (58/74) and his ability to return kicks (56/64). We had to pay a bit more than I wanted ($760k bonus) for him, as there was considerable market interest. However, he finally gives us a credible kickoff returner, and that's nice.

C Casey Reeves - Reeves came over to us in a trade with the Hartford Attack. We sent them our 2nd rounder next year and P Mark Gilmore for this promising young center. He is currently rated 41/62 by my scout, with a 41/66 in run blocking and 55/81 in pass blocking. With Reeves we got younger on the O-line and don't have to worry about bringing back our problematic position leader, Odum.

C Kenneth Hart - Because Reeves is still young and hasn't fulfilled his potential, we brought in 9-year vet Hart to mentor him (and Buckley). He'll also be a passable backup.

And that's it so far. Three players in, one player out. These are some nice additions, methinks, and we don't really need to do much else with our roster to be competitive this year. We'll see what else shakes loose in FA, but I'm happy with where we're at for now.

[Joe]

hmm.. no mention of Fulton-gate

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by George W Bush

hmm.. no mention of Fulton-gate

Oh, don't worry. We'll get to that.

[fantastic flying froggies]

So if GWB is reader #1, then I must be #2...

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

So if GWB is reader #1, then I must be #2...

Great! Now that we're all here, let's discuss all those non-readers. They are quite despicable people, you know. I don't like them one bit. But you guys, you readers, you're the best.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Oh, as a matter of fact, I would even go as far as saying that the 3 of us are quite awesome...

[Joe]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

Oh, as a matter of fact, I would even go as far as saying that the 3 of us are quite awesome...

I'm agree

[Fonzie]

There have been several big-name stars who've switched teams this offseason. A quick recap:

QB Josh Urrutria - The 14-year veteran who is tied for the CFL record of 112 consecutive games started decided to try switching coasts this offseason, moving from Long Beach to Tampa Bay. He's thrown for over 23000 yards in his career, with 128 TDs vs. 78 INTs for a career Rating of 82.5. 3 years, $20 million.

S Rocky Alleman - Hartford's 7-year starter defected to Conference rival Charleston when they offered him a 5 eyar, $54 million contract. He has 20 career interceptions and a 19.8 PDPct.

G Lonny Washington - El Paso has emerged from cap hell and has resumed the giddy experience of spending make-believe money. They dropped $20 million on a 5-year contract for Washington, a 9-year vet who spent the last three seasons in Memphis.

G Eldon Wendling - Another big offensive lineman hit the jackpot when Wendling bolted from Honolulu to New York for a 4-year, $17 million contract. Wendling was reportedly interested in blocking for a quarterback who had two intact knees, and Kim Pace fit that bill nicely.

FB Chris Wisdom - Wisdom may have set a league record for fullback pay when he inked his 3-year, $11.47 million deal with Las Vegas. He is also believed to be the first "good" free agent to ever sign with the inexplicably unpopular Las Vegas squad, who have struggled to attract top talent.

RB Butch Fulton - Tulsa's front office apparently forgot about the league deadline for submitting franchise tenders, and as a result the league's 2-time Offensive Player of the Year and 2009 League MVP was allowed to hit the market. The 7th-year player, who has 8668 career rushing yards, made the controversial decision to eschew a lengthy contract offer featuring a $17 million bonus from San Antonio in favor of a one-year deal from Sacramento. The Dragons' offer featured a $5 million bonus and $1 million salary. The CFL Player's Association was furious with him for doing so, as his inevitable designation as a franchise player next year will almost certainly depress the free agent running back market. Pundits have been questioning Fulton's "thinking" about his decision, as he will almost certainly never be able to make as much money in Sacramento as he had on the table from San Antonio. A curious story, indeed.

[timmynausea]

You can add DE Casy Bousquet signing with Durham to the major free agent signings. I went for him but didn't have enough cap space to match Durham's offer.

[fantastic flying froggies]

so timmy can be #3 now...

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by timmynausea

You can add DE Casy Bousquet signing with Durham to the major free agent signings. I went for him but didn't have enough cap space to match Durham's offer.

Yeah, I'd say that was a major deal!

DE Casey Bousquet - Bousquet spent the last three seasons with Charleston, but defected to league rival Durham when offered a 2-year, $25 million contract which included a $12.5 million bonus! The 12-year veteran is third in CFL history with 63.5 sacks, and holds the records for highest PRPct (9.1%) and most hurries (215). He's great against the run as well, and gives Durham's already solid defense an instant improvement.

[Taco]

Welcome to Durham, Casey!!! Just let Motormouth do the talking, and you do your thing on the field...

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by timmynausea

You can add DE Casy Bousquet signing with Durham to the major free agent signings. I went for him but didn't have enough cap space to match Durham's offer.

I wanted him as well, but after suffering through cap for for three years I didn't want to blow my wad on him.

I think I've been upgrading my defense nicely without him.

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

I didn't want to blow my wad on him.

Where is the Quote Of The Moment when we need it?

[Fonzie]

Free agency has now moved through stages 7-8, and we see two additions and one subtraction to Your Beloved Toros.

Added:

DE Ryan Talley - Talley is a former 7th round pick from Santa Cruz who spent the last two years with Long Beach. The 6th-year pro never saw much playing time, and as a result he's still fairly raw. He does have good potential as a situational pass rusher (30/63 in PRT, 70 in PRS), but will never be an every-down player (0 in Run D). Another bonus: he has a Strong Affinity with Buster Trujillo. Talley likely won't see a lot of playing time, but we hope to develop him into a useful spare part.

S Waylon Ellsworth - We were fortunate to land this 14-year pro, who was pursued by at least one other team. He's an ideal fit for the scheme we run (esp. in M2M coverage, where he's rated a 76), and is a ballhawk to boot (Interceptions rated at 66). He can't play the run worth a damn, but he'll be an excellent nickel/dime back for us.

Subtraction:

TE Ramon Sheehy - It was just a matter of time before he left, as I was only willing to offer him the veteran's minimum salary to stay. Oregon landed him with a $1.38 million bonus offer. Ramon was our longtime starter and mentored his eventual replacement, Anthony Torres. He'll be missed, but I'm glad he's going somewhere that will give him more playing time than we could've offered.

With these roster additions we now have 54 players under contract, with a few other possible free agent additions and four draft picks still in the works. We'll certainly have some decisions to make come cut-down time.

[Doug5984]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

so timmy can be #3 now...

Does this mean I'm reader # 4?


Man o man- my Fulton fiasco is becoming legendary

[JeeberD]

Originally Posted by Fonzie

Added:

S Waylon Ellsworth - We were fortunate to land this 14-year pro, who was pursued by at least one other team. He's an ideal fit for the scheme we run (esp. in M2M coverage, where he's rated a 76), and is a ballhawk to boot (Interceptions rated at 66). He can't play the run worth a damn, but he'll be an excellent nickel/dime back for us.

bastard

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by Doug5984

Does this mean I'm reader # 4?


Man o man- my Fulton fiasco is becoming legendary

Yes on both counts.

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

bastard

Sorry Jeebs. I'd be happy to trade him to you - for the right price.

[fantastic flying froggies]

Originally Posted by JeeberD

bastard

What are you bitching about?

You got yourself a nice rookie safety there!

[JeeberD]

Yeah, you can't have too much depth, though...

[Fonzie]

I'm a lot less optimistic about this spare part, but what the heck:

CB Ted Sinclair - Ted is a former Boise 2nd round pick who never developed. He still has some potential in M2M coverage and is a good ballhawk (54/63 in interceptions). He'll sit at the bottom of our depth chart, and will likely have to battle for one of our last roster spots.

C Steven Odum signed with Fargo. Adios, Steve!

[timmynausea]

Originally Posted by Fonzie

I'm a lot less optimistic about this spare part, but what the heck:

CB Ted Sinclair - Ted is a former Boise 2nd round pick who never developed. He still has some potential in M2M coverage and is a good ballhawk (54/63 in interceptions). He'll sit at the bottom of our depth chart, and will likely have to battle for one of our last roster spots.

C Steven Odum signed with Fargo. Adios, Steve!

I remember that guy. I had a really terrible draft that year. I had 3 second round picks and two of them ended up being awful. G Kendall Kenderdine has turned out pretty decent, though.