Boston Rebuild: 2022

[mike17]

In a move that's sure to shock the OSFL world, Boston has acquired the 1.1 pick from division rival Brooklyn.

Boston gave up ILB Ricky Thomason, the 1.15, 3.15, and 5.15 picks.

Other trades:

Acquired the 1.26 pick from Utah for 1st in 2031 and the 2.27

Acquired the 4.4 pick from Phoenix for 3rd in 2031

[mike17]

FA notes.

5th yr CB Hardy Robertson 40/40 - was brought in to shore up our less-than-stellar secondary.

8th yr ILB Jesse Murphy 49/49 - will try to fill the void left by the trade of Ricky Thomason to Brooklyn

9th yr P Ernie Chester 50/50 - will create some competition for the starting punter job

8th yr RB O.J Fitzgerald, and QBs Renaldo Evans, and Louis Hoyler are all sitting around singing Kumbaya with the Cary Money and the rest of the backfield.

[mike17]

Draft picks:

1.1 RB Max Montano - He's a extremely special player who will immediately become one of the best backs in the league. In a draft class which is low on offensive talent, it was a no-brainer to trade up for him. He alone gives us a great run game regardless of the players around him, and his presence will allow our pass game to thrive as defenses key on him.

1.26 WR Trent Grayson - I scouted him as the best WR in the draft, which isn't saying much in this class. But we really need help at wideout, and didn't want to see him get snatched up by someone else so we reached a bit here.

1.28 FB Lenny Irwin - An all around stud FB, but his future is uncertain. Do we let him and Max Montano terrorize defenses on the ground, or do we try to get his special talents into the pass game in a TE role? Decisions, decisions...

2.16 C Roosevelt Bennett - This was very quietly a great class for centers. I really wanted Rich Douglas, but Bennett was a very good second choice and a good value at 2.16. He will be opening holes in the D-Line for Max Montano for many, many years.

4.4 DE Ty Guzy - He has absolutely studly pass rushing ability. Enough so, that I can ignore his complete lack of run defending. He should put many a QB on their back, and he was well worth trading into the 4th round for.

5.16 C Patrick Briggs - I thought this was a good year for centers. Briggs was my backup plan if I couldn't get Roosevelt Bennett, so I was shocked that he was still around in the 5th.

6.16 TE Harold Lane - He's big and tall, and looks like he might have some hands. That's all I'm looking for in a TE.

Thoughts:

In my mind, I got the best RB, WR, and FB in the draft, also a very good C and DE. Maybe training camp will change my tune, but I feel like we got 5 instant starters from this class and Boston is looking much stronger this year. Briggs is looking like a good pick as well and we might have gotten 6 starters from this class.

[mike17]

PreTC ratings:

1.1 RB Max Montano - 67/78

1.26 WR Trent Grayson - 19/52

1.28 FB Lenny Irwin - 35/70

2.16 C Roosevelt Bennett - 36/77

4.4 DE Ty Guzy - 33/51

5.16 C Patrick Briggs - 16/64

6.16 TE Harold Lane - 17/30

These guys' initial ratings are making me look smart

[Aston]

What a find in Guzy in particular! He seems like he could be a stuuud pass rusher.

[mike17]

Week 1 ratings:

1.1 RB Max Montano - 67/78 - 74/78

1.26 WR Trent Grayson - 19/52 - 30/50

1.28 FB Lenny Irwin - 35/70 - 41/70

2.16 C Roosevelt Bennett - 36/77 - Traded to Phoenix for 2nd and 3rd

4.4 DE Ty Guzy - 33/51 - 37/49

5.16 C Patrick Briggs - 16/64 - 21/58

6.16 TE Harold Lane - 17/30 - CUT

[mike17]

We've had some roster shakeups and I haven't documented them here, so here goes...

We signed 4th year TE Dan Bullock in late FA, and he looks like a very good pass catcher if he can manage to avoid the drops.

Undrafted rookie Terry Haward won the punting job in camp, and he's 48/48 at the moment and still showing lots of green.

Undrafted rookie Martin Glenn has claimed a roster spot as the backup NT. He has above average pass rushing skills.

And, lastly undrafted G Howard Davison will be starting the season as the backup at RG.

[mike17]

Well, final cuts were made tonight and they were tough. We parted ways with RB Marcus Gruenich, who never really made a splash with the team despite his scouted rating; We also cut two young linebackers with potential in Carlton Jahr and Don Holmes in order to keep some cagey vets around for another year or two.

On the bright side, the final roster looks much improved this year and with three second rounders and two thirds next year, we're on pace to continue improving for the next few years. Our weaknesses last season were in the secondary and the run game... We addressed the run game problem more than adequately by bringing in stars at RB and FB. However, the secondary is still an issue. You might see Boston making a move for a corner or young safety, should the opportunity present itself.

Week 1 vs South Maryland

The offense was firing on all cylinders during the preseason, and they continued right into week 1. Cary Money had 300+ yards passing and 3 TDs, and Ralph Bell had a career game receiving. I think you'll see this happening quite a bit this year, with defenses keying on Montano who didn't have a bad game himself.

The defense played well also, although they were not as flashy. We didn't get much pass rush or passes defended, but we didn't allow South Maryland to get anything started either. All in all this was a very important divisional win on the road, and I couldn't ask for better production from this motley crew.

[Guest]

gotta change your signature hes up to 20/32 now

i look at Carey money every game and i wonder hes doing crazy good

[Aston]

I think mike's Boston squad is the most underrated team in the league right now. Cary Money's low rating keeps making me forget what a beast combine he had, and that he was the #1 overall pick. Add to that a near-perfect RB, a solid workable WR in Michelle, My Bell, and some good pieces in the right places elsewhere...this is a team that should be able to get into the playoffs.

A very impressive turnaround. I'm hoping for maybe an epic sophomore slump from Money, but would not count on it.

[mike17]

Week 2 vs Memphis

Well this one didn't start out so well... Cary Money threw a pick-6 on our first offensive play, and then threw another on the second play of the next drive. We were quickly down 14-0. We might have been in real trouble if Memphis had started playing ball control at that point. But, they continued to throw even though they were ahead, and our defense feasted. DE Dixon Lowe had a career best game, OLB Darren Walsh was only slightly less productive, and we ended up with 3 total defensive TDs.

In our first two games, we won one with offense and one with defense. I'm not sure if that means both our units are very good, or if I should be concerned that neither is consistently playing well.

In other news, I finally decided to rectify our problem of having no one in the team that can return a kickoff. CB Randall Holiday is a kick return specialist who seems like a decent nickleback as well. Maybe we'll see some more offensive effectiveness with some better field position.

[mike17]

Well, there's 3 weeks left in the season and we need to win out and get some help to claim a wilcard spot. Nearly everyone worth talking about on the team has at least a 3 week injury and we have to play the Cutters in Camden tomorrow, so I'm calling our season over.

On the bright side, that means it's time for the Season Recap

We seem to have brought together a modestly talented, young group of players here. Back to back 1.1 picks Cary Money and Max Montano showed flashes of greatness this season. Barring catastrophe over the last 3 games, Money will be in the two-mile club this year, and Montano although injured for nearly half the season, put up 5 yards per carry and over 800 total yards. WRs Ralph Bell and Adam Skerritt have both taken a step forward this year and established themselves as a couple of workhorses. Also TE Dan Bullock has shown himself as an explosive ball-catcher who is always a threat to take one to the house.

On the defensive side of the ball, our WLB duo of Darren Walsh and Brady Hoffman combined for over 30 hurries. They, along with DE Dixon Lowe, gave opposing QBs fits. Our pass rush has become something to be feared, which is helpful because our secondary did not impress this year.

7-6 is our record at the moment. We'll be looking to make a 1 game improvement over our 8-8 record from last year. Although it didn't show in our record, I feel like the team made big strides forward this year. Our core group are coming into their own, and the rookies got some development time... We will definitely be a dangerous team for the next several years going forward, and I'm looking forward to next season.

Bring on the draft! ;)