A New Sheriff In Town | Madden 16 | San Antonio Marshalls

[Letalis]

Ups, Downs And Dynasties – A 2015/16 NFL Recap

Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks could do no wrong this year and Pete Carroll was once again the coach with the midas touch, taking the team to the Super Bowl for the third straight year. This time, instead of Tom Brady and the Patriots, they faced off against the opponents they savaged for their first win, Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Although this game was a lot tighter than the Super Bowl 48 blowout, the Seahawks still managed to hang over 40 points on the Broncos again and won the game 41-35. This time Russell Wilson picked up the Super Bowl MVP trophy to pair with his regular season MVP trophy and Peyton Manning had to console himself with another case of the might have beens before announcing his retirement after the game.

The rise and dominance of Seattle has drawn a lot of comparisons to the early 2000s Patriots teams for obvious reasons but the current state of affairs for the New England team could not be further from that. After watching Tom Brady's body finally succumb to years of abuse and break down, the surefire Hall of Fame quarterback missed seven games with a torn bicep mid-season, the Patriots stumbled and missed the playoffs for only the second time since 2001. Bill Belichek chose this year to be the year where he finally hung up his hoodie and announced his retirement. Brady admitted that Belichek's decision and the injury together had essentially forced his hand when he announced that he too was retiring, leaving the franchise in the hands of Jimmy Garoppolo.

A lot of teams had surprisingly great seasons this year, especially the likes of Miami and Washington. The Dolphins rode the arm of Ryan Tannehil and an angry Ndamukong Suh to a third best overall 12-4-0 finish and the top seed in the AFC. Miami also managed to uncover one of the best short yardage and goal-line running backs in all of football with Jay Ajayi who managed to scramble over for 13 touchdowns despite a less than four yard per carry average. Washington had more of a rocky road to their impressive 13-3-0 finish, a performance which netted head coach Jay Gruden the coach of the year award. After making nice with formerly shunned quarterback Robert Griffin III the pair found themselves in lucrative offensive waters only for Griffin's injury bug to rear its ugly head again and strike in week 6, ruling the player out for the rest of the season with a foot stress fracture. Colt McCoy took the reins and ran with it, posting up impressive numbers in his ten games, finishing with over 2,000 yards passing and sixteen touchdowns to only five interceptions.

Some teams tipped to do well really struggled but there were a variety of reasons behind that. Teams like the Cardinals were unlucky with injuries whereas teams like the Giants were simply catastrophic on defense. Arizona themselves were going fine until they lost quarterback Carson Palmer for twelve games, Daryl Washington for six games and then the final nail in the coffin, Patrick Peterson for four games. The Dallas Cowboys were also hit with injuries to their signal caller, losing Tony Romo for a total of eight games over three separate injuries. The Giants mixed their defense problems with poor decision making as they traded away Ryan Nassib for Darren Sproles, who spent more time with the physio than on the field, and so had no-one to turn to when Eli Manning's game went south. No-one lost more on the trade table than Cleveland though, the Browns moved their third round pick to state and division rivals the Bengals for quarterback AJ McCarron. McCarron promptly went and tore his ACL almost directly after the trade, rendering him entirely useless for the year and leaving the Browns with a lackluster Johnny Football under center.

[Letalis]

Last Charge Of The Rams – A 2015/16 St Louis Rams Recap

The big news out of St Louis this season was obviously the Rams move to Texas. The switch to San Antonio and the sale of the team dominated every game from pre-season to off-season and it was clear that it effected a lot of the players given the standard of football on the field. The Rams dropped to a disappointing 3-13-0 finish, their worst since 2011. Both the record and the move ended up costing head coach Jeff Fisher his job, but with the team not having a winning season since 2003 it was a direction that the franchise needed to take. However with a new head coach, a new city and a new name next season things are definitely looking up for the soon to be San Antonio Marshalls.

Despite the news of the move the pre-season actually started quite well with the team managing to pull off a 2-2-0 record. However this form wouldn't carry into the season itself and the Rams had to wait until week eight to pick up their first win, against the San Francisco 49ers. They were hampered throughout the whole of their season by injuries across the board. Nick Foles broke his toe in week two and missed five weeks, not to be outdone back-up quarterback Austin Davis pulled his groin in week three and was out for four weeks. Nickel cornerback Trumaine Johnson missed a total of seven games through injury which left the team light in pass defense. In a disastrous week fourteen match up against the Detroit Lions, a game which the Rams managed to win, they lost Brian Quick, Nick Foles and Roger Saffold for the rest of the year.

One of the big problems with the Rams was the tendency to give up big plays and easy scores. Overall the Rams defense played well, they rushed the passer with a lot of efficiency and they managed to create a good deal of turnovers, especially through fumbles. The particular defensive weakness, combined with a plodding and lethargic offense, meant that the Rams were often chasing games with no way to generate fast points of their own. Pundits put the blame equally on the shoulders of whoever was throwing the ball that particular week, the lackluster running game and Kenny Britt. Whilst it might seem unfair to pick on Britt he was a hazard in the red zone and managed to pull off a negatively impressive feat, being the only player to rack up more than 400 receiving yards, Britt had 806, on the season without scoring a single touchdown. That becomes even more damning when you take into account that this season 105 receivers managed over 400 yards receiving. The offense will need a revamp and probably a lot of new faces coming into next season.

The man that the team chose to lead them into San Antonio and beyond is former Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer. Zimmer was fired from the Vikings this off-season for not making the play-offs but a lot of experts felt that it was a rash dismissal given the crowded NFC field and his statistics with Minnesota. Under Zimmer the Vikings managed the number one ranked overall defense, ranked first against the pass and second against the run. Zimmer has always been considered one of the best defensive minds in the game and his work with Cincinnati and Minnesota has reflected that. To go along with this dominant defense Zimmer built up a power based rushing attack that was the fourth best in the league. Minnesota's big downfall was its passing game, which ended up a paltry twenty eighth in the league. The main cause of this was a long lasting shoulder injury to quarterback Teddy Bridgewater though and the story in Minnesota might have been very different if the young signal caller had managed to stay healthy. The Rams, or rather the Marshalls, will be looking for Zimmer to bring that defensive stability and rushing attack to play in Texas and hopefully he will be able to turn around the passing game as well.

[Letalis]

Wholesale Changes Expected In San Antonio

San Antonio's new head coach Mike Zimmer is expected to make a lot of changes to the team before the opening of the free agency market. With a lot of big names, including defensive tackle Nick Fairley and quarterback Nick Foles, coming to the end of their contracts we will be looking at who Zimmer is likely to re-sign and who is likely to get lost in the move to Texas. Zimmer's specialty in Minnesota was a dominant defense based on a steady pass rush and run defense and with Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald both having great years he is sure to have that strength in San Antonio. He also had a very run focused offense, understandable when you have Adrian Peterson, but it's unsure whether he will be implementing the same kind of system with the Marshalls who have Tre Mason and Todd Gurley in the position.

A player that Zimmer is sure to be keen to keep around is Nick Fairley, the former Lions defensive tackle. Fairley had a reasonably quiet year, only recording 41 tackles but he was effective at breaking down the pocket and managed to rack up 5 total sacks on the year. Fairley was partnered with Aaron Donald, one of the top defensive tackles in the league but some pundits felt that Fairley should have exploited the double teams that Donald demands more and had a better statistical year. However with his upside, familiarity in the interior with Donald and the fact that he is still only 28 years old means that Zimmer will be doing everything he can to retain him, look to see the Marshalls use the franchise tag if talks break down.

With all three of the team's quarterbacks up for new contracts don't be surprised if none of them are kept on the books. No signal caller did anything to stand out from the crowd this season and each one looked ordinary at best. With a new coach and new set up there is no loyalty for the players brought in under the previous regime and so all that Zimmer can look at is the film of the last season. Nick Foles is sure to be let go first, no team is going to keep hold of a quarterback that went down multiple times with injuries and threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. The only quarterback who might stick around is Austin Davis, as his movement ability and familiarity with a power run offense might prove to make him a valuable back-up. Davis wasn't too bad when he played this season but he was also hit with the injury bug.

There may also be some shake-ups in the secondary as there are three players who all come with some red flags. The most likely players to remain with the team are cornerback Janoris Jenkins and safety Mark Barron but neither are likely to be offered very big contracts. Barron had a decent year statistically but often looked out of place on big plays, something that Zimmer has promised to crack down hard on. It may be that he moves to outside linebacker as Zimmer prefers rangy safeties with some ball skills whereas Barron is a bruiser at the position. Although Jenkins led the team in interceptions last year he found himself moved to the second cornerback slot, losing his place to E.J. Gaines who had a great year. Jenkins is likely to want first cornerback money but in a draft year with a lot of strength in the secondary he might find that he has to take less to keep his place. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson is not likely to return to the team this summer due to a long injury list and struggles in the nickel position when he did manage to play. The secondary is definitely an area that Zimmer will need to look at upgrading either in free agency or in the draft if he hopes to stop those big plays.

The last change may not come from a player who is out of contract but who might be traded before the draft. A lot has been written about the poor play of Kenny Britt who seemed allergic to the endzone during the season. Mike Zimmer is not likely going to want a player who managed to score zero touchdowns despite multiple chances however whether the team keep Britt might rely on whether or not they re-sign Brian Quick. Quick was the main receiver for the season and acquitted himself quite well but he turned down the offer of an extension from Jeff Fisher during the season. If Quick stays then look for Britt to be moved off during free agency and don't rule out that trade even if Quick hits the market. There are a lot of big names coming up in free agency at the position and the draft also looks to have some strong options at receiver.

[Cheese2121]

Always loved your work my friend. It goes without saying I will be following this very closely. Love the choice in Zimmer as well!

[Manning2Harrison]

Look forward to this even though the team didn't move back to my birthplace.

[Letalis]

Quote: Originally Posted by Cheese2121

Always loved your work my friend. It goes without saying I will be following this very closely. Love the choice in Zimmer as well!

Thank you mate, good to have you along for the ride.

Quote: Originally Posted by Manning2Harrison

Look forward to this even though the team didn't move back to my birthplace.

There are a lot of places in Texas that you can move to, I just thought (since the stuff with the Raiders this year etc) that San Antonio made the most sense. Normally I move teams to London, because I'm from the UK, so this makes a nice change. Thanks for reading.

[Letalis]

Transactions

Players Re-Signed:
Offense:
Wide Receiver - Brian Quick - 4 year deal, $14.6 million
Right Tackle - Brandon Washington - 2 year deal, $1.72 million

Defense:
Defensive Tackle - Nick Fairley - 3 year deal, $21.6 million
Cornerback - Janoris Jenkins - 4 year deal, $18.4 million
Linebacker - Mark Barron - 4 year deal, $8.2 million

Special Teams:
Kicker - Greg Zuerlein - 4 year deal, $7.12 million

Players Released:
Offense:
Quarterback - Nick Foles
Quarterback - Austin Davis
Quarterback - Case Keenum
Running Back - Benny Cunningham
Full Back - Cory Harkey
Wide Receiver - Damian Williams
Center - Tim Barnes
Guard - Andrew Donnal

Defense:
Defensive End - William Hayes
Outside Linebacker - Jo-Lunn Dunbar
Cornerback - Trumaine Johnson
Safety - Cody Davis
Linebacker - Daren Bates

[Letalis]

Kenny Britt Moved To Cincinnati

A lot of experts said that this was happening now it has been confirmed, Kenny Britt has been traded from the San Antonio Marshalls. Britt was a poor fit with the Marshalls last season and there was only a slim chance of him staying with the team for this year. The biggest problem that the team had was his apparent allergy to scoring touchdowns, having scored none all year. This really affected the team as they were struggling to put up points anyway, with a lot of issues at quarterback to boot. Now with the problems that relocation, rebuilding and a new coach all bring to a team the Marshalls need to focus on players than can find a way to score.

The wide receiver has moved to Cincinnati where he will likely be the number two receiver with Mohammed Sanu and Marvin Jones hitting free agency. The Bengals won't be worried about Britt's lack of endzone production with A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert also catching passes from Andy Dalton. What Cincinnati needed was a receiver able to take some of the heat away from Green, Eifert and their running game and Britt will work well enough for that. The Marshalls packaged Britt with their sixth round draft pick (186) and got back the Bengals second round pick (50), sixth round pick (178) and their seventh round pick (210).

The key move that let the Marshalls trade Britt was the re-signing of Brian Quick for great value. Quick signed a four year deal worth $14.6 million which leaves more than enough money for the Marshalls to pick up a partner for Quick in free agency who will be able to contribute in the endzone. Quick put up decent numbers in the fourteen games he played last year, pulling in over 800 yards and seven touchdowns. There were some suggestions that Quick wasn't true number one material but with the issues at quarterback it's hard to argue that any receiver had the chance to shine last season. One thing that is in Quick's favor is his huge improvement from 2014/15 season, where he only managed 375 yards and three touchdowns.