Memphis Mustangs

[Red Zone]

After a closer look and a deeper evaluation of the roster, we submitted a file for a midweek stage tomorow and we are hoping that our 2nd Game since taking over...vs Waco on Saturday, will be more competitive than our week 14 game was. Will the results be any better? not sure, but we have identified the strengths and weaknesses of the team and we can attempt to compete in these last 3 games better than we did in week 14.

A Breakdown of the team...as we see it

Stadium/Franchise Value
The game lists us as the 7th most valueable franchise and we have the Luxury Boxes and Club Seats needed to be profitable. The Turf, Stadium and parking lot are all in good condition and we arent making any stadium payments, so the Team is Profitable. We are the 2nd most expensive team to watch in the league, and that may need to drop in order to increase the attendance to where we want it. 49,900 out of 79,100 isnt good enough.

Roster Evaluation

QB
Donovan Priar is in his 9th yr and has seen GMs and Coaches come and go. Its clear to us that the talent around him hasnt been utilized very well lately...we plan to change that.
Priar looks like he could flourish in this offense with our gameplan, but that remains to be seen.
The backups are...well, backups
We arent sure about the Rookie 1st round pick from last yrs draft and Rusty Devine didnt show much in the week 14 game he started.

RB
We feel like its time for Levon Doelle to take over from Paul Becker
Becker will still see considerable playing time, but Doelle needs to be the starter.

FB
Backfield Leader Horace Newsome is one of the leagues Better FBs and makes this a position of strength.

TE
Morris Jamison appears capable...for now
The other 2 are roster fillers and probably wont be here long

WR
Brady, Banks and Dowd give Priar 3 nice targets to throw to
Dorash, Preston and Nikwenti provide decent depth

C
With Luther Richard on IR, this is a problem area
Next season will be Richards 12th, so this is a position we need to address soon

G
Marvel, Felkey, Schell and Price
This is a position that needs addressed soon

T
Corbett, Jaster, Whitfield and Wayne
Corbett looks more like a Guard, but has held his own at Tackle
This is a position that needs addressed soon

Kicker/Punter
Collett and Jamison are 13th and 14th yr vets, so these will need to be addressed soon

DE
McElroy, Fletcher, Olivera, Marrero
McElroy is 10th yr
This is a position that needs addressed soon

DT
Rhett, Reese, Myers, Bissonette
Most Likely we will be switching to a 3-4 sooner or later
Rhett looks like a great NT and Reese looks like a solid backup

OLB
Armstrong, Craig, Wescott and Corbett
Solid, but no standouts here

ILB
Atkins and Schultz
Atkins is a stud and Schultz appears to be solid too
depth in a 3-4 will be a concern here

CB
Downey, Morrison, Hamilton, Greer and Finch
Looks like 5 solid CBs
no complaints here

S
Doty, Walker and Fellows
The strength of the team
a 4th safety for spec teams wouldnt hurt

Analysis
These last 3 games have very little meaning, aside from pride.
We only know one way and thats to try and win each game we play, but its clear we arent a serious contender this season.
The main weakness is in the trenches on both sides of the ball.
Oilne and Dline are simply not strong enough to allow us to compete with the big boys this season.

Its a little odd to inherit a team with so much talent at the skill positions and so little in the trenches...hopefully we can beef up the lines some and be more of a factor next season.

[Red Zone]

A New Gameplan
That was the plan for the game vs Waco...put in a new high octane GP and score some points.
Use those WRs and see how effective QB Priar could be.
Priar was player of the game, but we won 9-7
So much for high octane...id say this was regular unleaded
With 2 games to play, there is still an outside chance we could take the division, if Waco loses to Boston and we win both our games...since we beat Waco twice this season. Will that happen? who knows...its like predicting the weather

[Red Zone]

Well, we ground out a win vs Port City while New Orleans knocked off Waco and we end up as Division Champs at 7-9. Our Reward? a vist from The Utah Bees in the wild card game.
That probably means an early playoff exit, but thats ok...we made it here and thats more than most expected.

Looking to next season we are probably in the market for a QB.
Donovan Priar has hurt his groin 3 times this season and he will be 10th yr next season. With his contract he may have to stick around a season or two as a backup, but we dont see him as our starter any longer.
Rusty Devine is disgruntled and quite frankly, so are we. He is being paid to be a backup QB and has not shown any reason to consider him anything else.
Rookie Emmitt Jeffries has sat and watched all season, and thats what he will most likely do vs Utah unless Devine gets hurt.
Since we made the playoffs we probably wont have a high enough draft choice to draft a qb of any real value...so we may have to examine trade possibilities.
The first name that is sure to come up is Rico "Frodo" Oglethorpe
We would prefer a young QB to build around, but all options will be considered.

[Guest]

Frodo needs a home, he'll fit in nicely down south with all those garden gnomes!

[Red Zone]

Utah rolled into Memphis and promptly ended the Mustangs season, winning the wild card game 33-21. This wasnt a surprise to GM Red Zone and the Front Office.
2 days later Memphis Agreed to terms on a trade that sends 2031 2nd and 4th, and 2032 4th round picks to Dakota for QB Walt Johnson.
Johnson should be able to get the ball to the Mustangs WRs, something that didnt happen often enough in 2030.
With the QB in place, Memphis can now start to look at offseason Free Agency, the Draft and other teams Trade Blocks to decide what their next move should be.
3 Areas the team may address on offense:
Tight End...it would be nice to have an impact player here
Oline...changes are coming, only LT Rodney Corbett is safe
RB...a workhorse would be nice, but last seasons 2 back rotation did pretty well. A better oline and a more efficient passing game would probably allow them to do even better.
Defensively, Memphis will be looking to improve at SLB, DE and ILB.

[Red Zone]

After an Offseason that brought many new Faces to the Mustangs, an 0-2 start made many wonder if those changes were improvements or not.
New QB Walt Johnson struggled while WR Jon Brady was injured, and the team lost close games to Waco and Columbus. Things didnt look good.
2 Close wins vs brought us back to 2-2, but Utah was next on the schedule and most critics expected a Bees blowout.
This was the game that turned the season around, as Memphis won 20-9 by eating up time of possession and shutting down the Bees high powered offense. 3 more wins have followed, vs New Orleans, Los Alamos and Phoenix, so Memphis sits at 6-2 now, riding a 3 game win streak as they enter the bye week.
Injured players are getting healthy at the right time, as the 2nd half of the season looms. The Mustangs still have a few weak spots, this team isnt complete yet by any means, but they have started to jell and appear to be strong contenders for the Division crown.
No telling what happens once the playoffs start, but at this point it looks like Memphis is capable of a return visit to the post season party.

[Sharkn20]

You are doing a great job man!!

[Al Davis]

No telling what happens once the playoffs start, but at this point it looks like Memphis is capable of a return visit to the post season party.

We're 5-2 as well but we're not talking playoffs unless we've made them, one game at a time in Lake County!