Los Angeles Sharks dynasty

[tarantism]

Los Angeles Sharks Draft Results:

Round 1, Pick 7: LB Kyle Sullivan (Oregon, 5-11, 241 Pounds)
Round 2, Pick 7: DE Jamie Hobson (Kansas, 6-5, 262 Pounds)
Round 3, Pick 7: QB Blake Santiago (Florida State, 6-4, 234 Pounds)
Round 4, Pick 7: LB Sherrod Burden (Central Michigan, 6-2, 245 Pounds)
Round 5, Pick 7: TRADED to Arizona for Round 5, Picks 24 and Round 7, Pick 24
Round 5, Pick 24: LB Sam Gibson (Baylor, 6-0, 239 Pounds)
Round 6, Pick 7: OC Sammy Kamakele (Hawaii, 6-0, 290 Pounds)
Round 7, Pick 7: OL Benji Kato (Virginia Tech, 6-8, 298 Pounds)
Round 7, Pick 24: NT Jamal Lewis (Eastern Washington, 6-3, 321 Pounds)

[tarantism]

Sharks Sign Top Pick, Trade Defensive Back

The Los Angeles Sharks today announced that they have signed top pick Kyle Sullivan to a multi-year deal worth upwards of 35 Million Dollars. Sullivan, the seventh overall pick in the draft, is likely to get a good shot at a starting outside linebacker spot across from free agent signing Manny Lawson. "We are excited to get Kyle out there before training camp" said GM Joshua Affonso Monday, "It's important that he gets out there on the field where he can perform as a member of this team, instead of sitting in contract negotiations wasting time". Sullivan is expected to be a cornerstone of a large defensive rebuilding project taken on by Dean Pees and his coaching staff this offseason. Out of eight draft picks this year for the Sharks, five were defensive players and three of those were linebackers. In total, the Sharks acquired five new linebackers during the offseason, including free agents Lawson and Kroy Biermann and draft picks Sullivan, Sherrod Burden of Central Michigan and Sam Gibson of Baylor.

The Sharks today also announced that they have agreed to trade versatile veteran safety Brian Williams to the Chicago Bears in exchange for a sixth round draft pick in the 2011 draft. The move is thought to be mostly financial, as all involved appeared to be happy with Williams as a player and Williams had no complaints about playing in Los Angeles for the coming season. Williams, a 10th year man out of N.C. State, appeared in 13 games in his only season with the Sharks, totaling 32 tackles, 1 interception and 1 sack in a reserve role as a backup safety and cornerback.

[tarantism]

Los Angeles Sharks UDFA/Post Draft Signings:

CB Wilson Miles (2nd Season, 6-1, 194 Pounds out of Holy Cross)
TE Jared Baker (Rookie, 6-5, 250 Pounds out of SUNY Albany)
OL Brent Loudenback (2nd Season, 6-6, 325 Pounds out of San Jose St.)
DB Antione Harris (6th Season, 5-10, 205 Pounds out of Louisville)

[tarantism]

I played one game in pre-season, but I really don't want to play the rest. I am supersimming the games so that I can get in my subs, but other then that I am just going to skip to the regular season. I hope that next year offline franchise is given expanded rosters during the preseason, because I really really try to get into the preseason but I just can't...

Some updates: My third round pick, Quarterback Blake Santiago, needs a lot of work before he can be put onto the active roster so I am sending him down the practice squad and will only carry 2 quarterbacks on the active roster (the emergency third quarterback does not count against my 45 man game day roster, according to NFL rules).

Other notes: Markus Brooks won the starting halfback job. That dude is going to be a beast for me this year. WR Demetrius Mitchell won the starting spot across from across from Chris Henry. Early Doucet got injured on his first reception as a Shark and will miss the entire season. I am going to start Alex Brink at QB as my team had the most success with him starting last year.

My first round pick Kyle Sullivan will miss the first week of the regular season. Mario Haggan Will start in his place. Floyd Womack, my primary backup at guard, and Sean Mahan My backup center, will miss the first few weeks of the year. Kevin Burnett beat out Marquise Kassem for a starting inside linebacker spot after an awesome preseason.

My second round pick from last year, Dante Vincent, will be sent down to the practice squad. I will post a full roster in a few minutes. Different than last season: I will be updating the main roster/depth chart as the year goes on with guys being put on IR and depth chart adjustments and practice squad additions/call ups/signings.

OK now for the 2011 season.

[tarantism]

Final Cuts Made, Sharks Roster Announced

The Los Angeles Sharks today announced their final mandatory roster cuts and roster adjustments going into the regular season, as well as their final depth chart and practice squad.

The Sharks cut 10 year NFL veteran and former starter at guard for the team Keydrick Vincent. Additional released players were defensive end Jason Hunter, who had three sacks as a situational pass rusher for the Sharks in 2010 and defensive back Antoine Harris, who was a late free agent signing by the team this offseason. Rounding out the veteran cuts was primary backup tackle Jon Stinchcomb.

The Sharks today also announced that they have signed free agent defensive lineman Tony McDaniel and Anthony Montgomery. McDaniel, a 6th year man out of Tennessee, spent the past two seasons as a free agent after getting released by the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2008 season. He has totaled 31 tackles and one sack in 25 contests with no starts over the course of his three seasons. Montgomery, also a 6th year player, spend all of 2010 as a free agent after the Washington Redskins chose not to retain his contract after the 2009 season. The Nose Tackle from Minnesota has totaled 60 tackles with 2 sacks in 36 games with 21 starts.

Notable players being signed to the practice squad are former 2nd round draft pick Dante Vincent, who failed to make an impact after spending all 16 games on the active roster last season, former 4th round pick Ashton Smith, who graced the practice squad every week of 2010, and 2011 third round pick quarterback Blake Santiago, who will appear on game days as the third emergency quarterback. In addition the Sharks acquired OL Alex Boone and DB Jacob Lacey off of waivers and assigned them to the practice squad.

*Returning Starter, **Rookie

Offense:

QB: *Alex Brink/Chris Simms
HB: Markus Brooks/Danny Ware/Emory Broussard
FB: *T.J. Hurley
TE: Stephen Spach*/Jared Baker**
WR-Y: Demetrius Mitchell/Harry Douglas/Arnaz Battle
LT: *Adrian Grant/Ephraim Salaam
LG: *Chester Pitts/Floyd Womack
OC: Sammy Kamakele**/Sean Mahan
RG: Jamon Meredith/Floyd Womack
RT: Benji Kato**/Jamon Meredith
WR-Z: Harry Douglas/Arnaz Battle
WR-X: *Chris Henry/Arnaz Battle/Harry Douglas

Defense:

LCB: *Tramon Williams/Stanford Routt
FS: *Taylor Bernard/Martavis Carolson
LOLB: Manny Lawson/Kroy Biermann/Sam Gibson**
LDE: Jamie Hobson**/Deron Littman/Tony McDaniel
LILB: Kevin Burnett/Marquise Kassem/Sherrod Burden
NT: *Gabe Watson//Fred Hurd/Anthony Montgomery
RILB: *Larry Foote/Marquise Kassem
RDE: *Justin Bannan/Deron Littman
ROLB: Kyle Sullivan**/Mario Haggan
SS: *Clinton Hart/Martavis Carlson
NCB: *Stanford Routt/Karl Paymah
RCB: *Leigh Bodden/Karl Paymah

Special Teams:

K: *Brenden Gentry
P: *Daniel Sepulveda
LS: Stephen Spach
KR: Emory Broussard/Arnaz Battle
PR: Emory Broussard

Practice Squad

OLB Ashton Smith (5-11, 236, 2nd Season)
DB Wilson Miles (6-1, 194, 2nd Season)
QB Blake Santiago (6-4, 234, Rookie)
TE Dante Vincent (6-2, 230, 2nd Season)
OL Brent Loudenback (6-6, 325, 2nd Season)
NT Jamal Lewis (6-3, 321, Rookie)
CB Jacob Lacey (5-10, 177, 3rd Season)
OL Alex Boone (6-7, 330, 3rd Season)

[tarantism]

Sharks Look Solid, Win Opener

(Sunday, September 11th, 2011) Los Angeles Stadium, Los Angeles, California: The Los Angeles Sharks opened up their season at home on Sunday, facing a tough but aging Baltimore Ravens defense. The game was expected to be a back and forth defensive struggle, as both teams are not know to have the kind of offense that puts up large amounts of points and it may have been just that if it hadn't been for three first half Raven turnovers that led to 13 Sharks points. Even so, the Sharks defense lived up to their high hopes through 3 quarters and going into the fourth quarter the Sharks led 23-7 and looked to be in good shape before Derrick Mason received a three yard pass from Joe Flacco and then Ray Rice converted for two points to make the score 23-14 with 8:38 to go in the game. After a flat showing by the Sharks offense, their defense got pushed all the way down the field for a Ravens touchdown and extra point to make the score 23-22 with 5:25 to go. With the Sharks receiving the kickoff, second year tailback set up and returned the Garret Hartley kick 97 yards for a touchdown to give the Sharks a 30-22 lead, a score which eventually sealed the deal and gave LA an impressive season opening victory. "It's always great to get the year off to the right start like this" said a smiling Coach Dean Pees following the game, "You want to come out here in front of the home fans and take care of business."

Can't Miss Play: Broussard's Heroics

"I think that there are certainly several improvements to be made" continued the Coach, "I think that we got to the quarterback pretty well for the first three quarters, but the defense needs to play all 60 minutes. I thought that the running game was good, and we didn't turn the ball over. These things are positives that we can hope to carry over to next week." Quarterback Alex Brink seemed to continue the role that he took up last season when he became the starting quarterback late in the season due to injuries: don't try to do too much, take care of the ball and basically manage the game. Today he did it to perfection, completing 53% of his passes and committing to turnovers. "We tried to do some things to make Alex feel comfortable form the start" said the Coach, "We rant he ball pretty effectively, which is a big part of the game plan, we tried some play action stuff early and rolled him out to get him some space to work in and I thought that the offensive line did a great job. When the line plays the way it did today and the backs get holes and some nice gains then what you end up with is some nice third and manageable distances. We think that is the best situation that Alex can be in right now". This game planning and execution obviously worked to perfection on Sunday, as the Shark converted 41% if their third downs.

The defense was nearly shut-down through three quarters, forcing thee turnovers and allowing just 80 offensive yards to an up-and-down Ravens offense through halftime. Though only achieving one sack, the Sharks pass rush was able to achieve numerous hurries and get hits on Ravens fourth year quarterback Joe Flacco, and the pressure showed up on the stat line as two interceptions in the first half, one of which was credited to 2010 team interceptions leader and pro bowler Tramon Williams. The Ravens, however, seemed to get a boost in the fourth quarter as their power running attack led by halfback Ray Rice was able to start finding some holes and gaining some ground on the Sharks front seven. Rice finished with 91 yards, 45 of which came on just one carry in the fourth quarter, and two touchdowns. "I thought we played tough till the end of the game" said inside Linebacker and Team Caption Larry Foote after the game, "But there are no excuses. If we were tired, then we can't be tired. If we weren't strong enough then we gotta get stronger. If we didn't execute the plays, then we have to study harder. Coach wants us to play 60 minutes, and at the end of the game, that is when you gotta play like men and finish the game tough."

Next Game: The Sharks will travel to Philadelphia to play the Eagles, Sunday September 18th @ 1pm EST.

Game Statistics:

Passing Leaders:

Joe Flacco (BAL):
Alex Brink (LA):

Rushing Leaders:

Ray Rice (BAL):
Markus Brooks (LA):

Receiving Leaders:

Davone Bess (BAL):
Derrick Mason (BAL):

Chris Henry (LA):
Harry Douglas (LA):

Defensive Leaders:

David Hawthorne (BAL):
Tramon Williams (LA):

Sacks: BAL: Trevor Pryce (1); LA: Fred Hurd (1)
Interceptions: LA: Tramon Williams (1), Taylor Bernard (1)
Forced Fumbles: BAL: Jarret Johnson (1), Todd LeGaux (1); LA: Gabe Watson (1)

Kicking:

Garrett Hartley (BAL): 0/1
Brenden Gentry (LA): 3/3 (44, 30, 34)

Punting:

Sam Koch (BAL): 5 punts, 38.0 AVG
Daniel Sepulveda (LA): 5 punts, 45.2 AVG, 1 inside 20, 1 touchback

[tarantism]

Sharks Drop One on the Road, Fall to 1-1

(Sunday September 18th, 2011) Lincoln Financial field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Los Angeles Sharks had high hopes coming into their first road game of the season, a good test against the Philadelphia Eagles on a rainy September day. After a tough inaugural season in 2010, the Sharks won their season opener against the Baltimore Ravens last week to get off to a fast start of 1-0. The Eagles, however, had different plans, and though both defenses shined for the most part of the game, the Eagles were able to pull out a home victory 21-7. "It's tough for any team to overcome four turnovers" said Coach Dean Pees following the game, "You really can't blame this one on the defense. It's too tough to go out there and stop a team with a short field again and again. My hat's off to Coach Williams on the other side, they came in with a good game plan and were able to rattle us".

After not committing a single turnover last week against the Ravens, the Sharks offense struggled on Sunday, with Quarterback Alex Brink almost constantly feeling pressure in his face. The offensive line gave up four sacks on Sunday, and with the team playing from behind quarterback Alex Brink was asked to do far too much towards the end of the game. This combination of things led to Brink throwing two interceptions and fumbling once on a quick pressure from Eagles veteran defensive end Bertrand Barry late in the fourth quarter. "I struggled today" said Brink after the game, "I think that we struggled as a whole, but I am supposed to be the starting quarterback for this team. I didn't play like a leader today. There is no excuses for not taking care of the ball. That is my only job and I have to do it". The Sharks didn't get any help from their ground game, and the halfback duo of Markus Brooks and Danny Ware consistently failed to get or find holes throughout the game, averaging just 3.1 and 2.5 yards per attempt respectively. Wide Receiver drops in the rain were also a big problem for the team. With the backs and tight ends having to stay in pass protection for a majority of the game due to the Eagles blitz schemes baffling the Sharks starting line, Brink could be seen visibly losing confidence in his starting receivers throughout the game, and they consistently were either failing to gain separation or dropping passes because of the wet. "It's tough to catch passes out there" said wide receiver Chris Henry, "That's not an excuse or anything, but it's just tough".

Can't Miss Play: Maclin's First Touchdown


The defense, which has started building a small reputation based off of being opportunistic, was only able to force one turnover on Sunday, an interception by pro-bowl ball hawk Tramon Williams. Outside of that pick, however, the Sharks found themselves getting no push in the running game, allowing all-pro halfback Brian Westbrook to gain a generous 5.1 yards per attempts on Sunday. "Anybody can tell you that if you are going to win a game in the rain, you have to stop the run" said Coach Dean Pees, "We also need to either get to the quarterback faster or play tighter coverage. I really need to watch the film and I am certainly not going to roast my players publicly, but I am disappointed with the team effort today." The Sharks recorded just one sack in the game, making their streak of recording one sack or less 7 straight games dating back to last season. The thought was that adding a host of young linebackers would give the team some fresh legs and hopefully a fresh pass rush, with the chief signing of which was Manny Lawson who has no sacks and only two quarterback pressures this season so far, and like Lawson so far this has not panned out the way that Coach Pees and the rest of the staff had hoped. "We are going to try some different things, some different stunts and things like that, hopefully it will make a difference" said the Coach, "Rest assured that we are not happy with the success we have had so far. We have some different packages, stuff like that. It's time to get back to work."

Game Statistics:

Passing Leaders:

Alex Brink (LA): 10/25, 120 yards, 2 interceptions, 22.1 Rating
Tyler Thigpen (PHI): 15/32, 162 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 70.0 Rating

Rushing Leaders:

Markus Brooks (LA): 17 attempts, 54 yards
Brian Westbrook (PHI): 27 attempts, 138 yards, 1 touchdown

Receiving Leaders:

Chris Henry (LA): 3 receptions, 27 yards
Emory Broussard (LA): 3 receptions, 27 yards

Jeremy Maclin (PHI): 5 receptions, 85 yards, 2 touchdowns
Kevin Curtis (PHI): 3 receptions, 18 yards

Defensive Leaders:

Marquise Kassem (LA): 10 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 pass defensed
Bertrand Berry (PHI): 8 tackles, 3 TFL, 2 sacks, 1 fumble forced

Sacks: LA: Kroy Biermann (1); PHI: Bertrand Berry, 2 (2), Trevor Laws (1), Juqua Parker (1)
Interceptions: LA: Tramon Williams (2); PHI: Chris McAllister (1), Sheldon Brown (1)
Forced Fumbles: PHI: Bertrand Berry (1)

Kicking:

Brenden Gentry (LA): 0/2
David Akers (PHI): 0/0

Punting:

Daniel Sepulveda (LA): 8 punts, 36.6 AVG, 3 inside 20
Jacob Richardson (PHI): 10 punts, 31.3 AVG, 2 inside 20, 2 touchbacks

[tarantism]

Sharks Lose At Home, Now 1-2

(Sunday, September 25th, 2011) Los Angeles Stadium; Los Angeles, California: The Los Angles Sharks returned home only to disappoint fans for the second straight week on Sunday, receiving their first home loss from the Green Bay Packers by the score of 20-14. The Sharks struggles can be attributed mostly to the struggles of the passing game, as the defense can only be asked to do so much when the offense turns the ball over as much as they have in the past two games: four per game. Quarterback Alex Brink and the offensive line struggled for the second straight week in picking up a creative set of blitz packages thrown at them from the Packers defense, just as they faced last week in their loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. This is starting to emerge as a glaring weakness in the offense- and hardly one that comes unexpected. It is a lot of expect an offensive line that is comprised of two rookies, one second year player and one first year starter. That would be enough adversity to make success tough to achieve for any team with a seasoned veteran quarterback behind center, but the Sharks also have a player at quarterback who is only starting his 9th NFL game in his fourth season, and his first time being named the starter for any team at the start of a season after being drafted in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL draft by the Houston Texans. "We are not the kind of team that are going to come and make excuses" said Brink following the game, "We know what we have to do. It doesn't matter, how much experience we have. It doesn't matter. Coach made us starters because he knows we can play. We just have to answer the bell".

The Sharks lack of a passing game seems to be holding back an evolving and likely explosive ground attack, led by starting halfback Markus Brooks and augmented by lightning-quick tailback Emory Broussard, a player who is quickly generating a buzz around team facilities due to his effectiveness and versatility. The explosive back, who earned a larger role due to his big play potential and bang-for-your-buck type moxie displayed at the end of last season, gained 276 all-purpose yards on Sunday against the Packers. This overall stat includes two impressive gallops, one punt return in the third quarter for 52 yards and one Alex Brink handoff that didn't end until Broussard was 46 yards downfield. Broussard also caught the first Alex Brink touchdown pass of the season, a diving 6-yard grab in the fourth quarter to pull the Sharks within three. The wide receivers appear to be a glaring weak spot on the team, and wide out Chris Henry, supposed to be the number one option in the passing attack for the Sharks, seems to be coming back more slowly than expected from the complete MCL tear he suffered midway through last season.

Can't Miss Play: Broussard Breaks a Punt Return

The defense played fairly well, giving up just 20 points even though they were often left with a short amount of real estate behind them due to the four turnovers by the Sharks offense. Team Captain and emerging star safety Taylor Bernard was flying all over the field, recording 16 tackles by the end of the game, 12 of which came as solo efforts. The Sharks also managed to generate a pass rush for the first time in nearly 8 games, dating back to last season. At the end of the contest the Sharks had recorded 3 sacks, not a jaw dropping number but it is the highest total sacks tallied by the team since early in the 2010 season. "I thought it was an improvement, but we still have a lot of work to do" said Coach Dean Pees following the game, "There is still ground to be gained. I think if we can start getting there a split second earlier then our guys will look far better out there in coverage. Right now it seems like some of the time they are being hung out to dry. It's hard to ask a secondary to cover guys all day with no pass rush. Thats something that we will work on during the week for sure". Also of note: Cornerback Tramon Williams recorded his 9th interception in his last 11 games, including one in each of the three games played this season. The 6th year pro out of Louisiana Tech is quickly growing in reputation around the league as one of the sharpest and most instinctive ball hawks in the NFL. "You start to wonder if guys are going to stop throwing to your side" said the cornerback, "Either way, I don't mind. I am not in it for the stats. If by getting the interceptions, if that is the best way that I can help my team win then I will do that. But I am still effective if I just shut down my side of the field. I don't mind. I just want to help us have success".

Next Game: the Sharks begin a four week home stand against the division rival Seattle Seahawks (2-1), Sunday October 2nd at 4:05pm EST.

Game Statistics:

Passing Leaders:

Aaron Rodgers (GB): 19/37, 242 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 78.9 rating
Alex Brink (LA): 8/21, 64 yards, 1 touchdown 2 interceptions, 22.8 rating

Rushing Leaders:

Ryan Grant (GB): 21 attempts, 76 yards
Markus Brooks (LA): 18 attempts, 87 yards

Receiving Leaders:

Jordy Nelson (GB): 6 receptions, 62 yards, 1 touchdown
Greg Jennings (GB): 6 receptions, 99 yards

Harry Douglas (LA): 3 receptions, 23 yards
Emory Broussard (LA): 2 receptions, 13 yards, 1 touchdown

Defensive Leaders:

Nick Barnett (GB): 8 tackles, 4 TFL, 1 interception, 1 pass defensed
Taylor Bernard (LA): 16 tackles, 2 passes defensed

Sacks: GB: Jarius Wynn (1), Clay Matthews (1); LA: Fred Hurd (2), Kroy Biermann (2), Jamie Hobson (1)
Interceptions: GB: Nick Barnett (1), Atari Bigby (1); LA: Tramon Williams (3)
Forced Fumbles: GB: Nick Collins (1), Al Harris (1); LA: Tramon Williams (1)

Kicking:

Rian Lindell (GB): 2/2 (44, 44)
Brenden Gentry (LA): 2/2 (48, 46)

Punting:

Jeremy Kapinos (GB): 6 punts, 40.1 AVG, 2 inside 20, 2 touchbacks
Daniel Sepulveda (LA): 5 punts, 47.4 AVG, 1 inside 20