Preview: (Posted before the 2015 Draft)
The league's loveable losers, the Pride have always seemed just a half step slow at crunch time, leaving them on the outside looking in for four of the past five years. You get the sense that Pete's perseverance is palpable though- the Pride could be the team that suddenly puts it all together and prances into the promised land. After losing the deed to their stadium to Deputy, they'll be playing in Ohio this season.
Eight Wins, Five Losses (2,534.93 points; 194.99 avg - 3rd)
Playoffs:
Defeated Toronto Les Tres Petite in Larkspur Bowl Quarterfinals 206.21 - 123.32
Defeated Phoenix Uprising in Larkspur Bowl Semifinals 246.84 - 216.78
Lost to South Park Cows in Larkspur Bowl VII 224.98 - 136.36
Synopsis:
Loveable losers no more: The Pride is for real. I mean, they still lost, ultimately. But in putting together a monster roster and storming into Larkspur Bowl VII Pawnee showed a level of shrewd adeptness they had not previously approached. The team rode two running backs (Martin & Ingram) through the bulk of the season, and traded their depth and surety to put together a quartet of wide receivers that were the envy of the league; Believing in Gary Barnidge's improbable breakout, and scoring DangeRuss for nothing after mortgaging off their quarterbacks made Pawnee's offense perhaps the best in Larkspur Bowl history. After a tight win to start things off against LHT, there were only two lulls (week 3/4 and week 9/10) where Pawnee looked beatable through the season- their other loss came in week five to the Islanders by .33 of a point. In that game, and their seven other wins the team scored 197 or more, and showed no sign of slowing as they entered the playoffs: they demolished Toronto, and then exploded for their best game of the year to knock off Phoenix. But it was not without worry- Mark Ingram had gone down late in the season, and his stellar replacement Thomas Rawls went down shortly after that, leaving the team with a black hole at RB2. Then in the leadup to Larkspur Bowl VII, team MVP Odell Beckham was suspended, an ominous sign. With the offense clipped, the team's average defense was left vulnerable, and the Cows stomped out the Pride's hopes and dreams. A successful season by any measure, Pawnee will look to take the model they developed in 2015 and apply it to the new season. Why do we fall? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.
Draft Analysis:
VALUABLE ; TRADED ; DROPPED; RECYCLED; INJURED
Projected Points by Position versus League Average Projections (POST DRAFT)
Strength: Ceiling
Weakness: Floor
The Pride grade out below average at nearly every position; Nearly their entire roster is boom or bust. If their instincts are right, they could stun the projections though.
Trade Review: (Listing each player's point total following the trade)
- SEP 1 traded WR Mohamed Sanu (82.55) to PHX for RB DeAngelo Williams (247.2)
This trade gave Pawnee an abundance of early season assets at RB- DeAngelo was phenomenal in his two weeks as a starter, and Pawnee tapped him for a monster game in week two. However, they were unable to convince anyone to trade for him before his role was reduced, and they were unable to keep space for him on their bench. When injury thrust him back into a superstar role, the Pride no longer had a claim on him. They didn't need him, they just squandered their brief chance to get something for him. Still a good early move, the right pawn to the right spot.
- SEP 23 traded TE Dwayne Allen (19.1), WR Cecil Shorts (86.49), and RB Isaiah Crowell (142.8) to SAV for TE Antonio Gates (132.9), TE Ladarius Green (72.4), and WR James Jones (155.2)
This was an masterstroke: Dwayne Allen had a lost year, Cecil Shorts was hurt as much as he was healthy, and Crowell could not convince the Petes to trust him with totes. Green have them an immediate solution at TE, and staying patient with Gates through his suspension paid dividends later in the year. James Jones had a flash in the pan look to him early- but why? He was a very good WR2/3 option through the year, albeit an unsexy one. Pawnee got sexier.
- OCT 11 traded WR James Jones (114.1) and QB Matthew Stafford (227.3) to LTP for QB Drew Brees (257.84)
Pawnee's QB situation was in flux all year: This move seemed to address it with finality, but the Pride's plan would change a few times- and with each twist and turn it worked out. They got value out of Jones and Stafford, both players who were roster worthy, but without the luster of bigger stars.
- OCT 15 traded TE Jordan Cameron (54.5) to PHX for RB Isaiah Crowell (101.3)
Small potatoes in their litany of season defining moves, they did get the better player in this move, and moved a player in Cameron who had been in a free fall down their depth chart. Far from playing time, they sent him back to the place his career started, and got a nice bench option in Crowell, an auxiliary that never came to pass. But solid preparation!
- OCT 29 traded QB Drew Brees (216.16), RB James Starks (107.4), and WR Danny Amendola (76.93) to LHT for WR AJ Green (163.9)
When this move occurred, it looked like Pawnee might have gotten AJ Green on the cheap. Ultimately they got the best positional value in the move, and replacing Drew Brees with Russell Wilson ended up being an upgrade that might not have happened without this deal. But the spare parts they threw in both retained pertinence: James Starks showed surprising value and versatility, and Danny Amendola would have a (brief) star retread for the Moosecrew. AJ Green (Larkspur Bowl V's MVP) was the #8 WR in the game and quietly the number two option for the squad. scoring six touchdowns in the final six games. Uh, so it was worth it, without question. Five trades, five wins for Pawnee.
- WK05 PUotW: TE Gary Barnidge (26.7pts)
- WK11 OPotW: RB Doug Martin (37.3 pts)
- WK14 OPotW: WR Odell Beckham (39.9 pts)
- WK15 OPotW: WR Emmanuel Sanders (39.0 pts)
- WK15 DPotW: SS Deone Bucannon (27.95 pts)
- Wide Receiver Odell Beckham (317.5 points)
- QB: Russell Wilson, Jay Cutler
- RB: Doug Martin, Mark Ingram, Thomas Rawls, Donald Brown
- WR: Odell Beckham, Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Evans, AJ Green, Ty Montgomery
- TE: Gary Barnidge, Antonio Gates
- K: Mason Crosby
- DL: Ziggy Ansah, Greg Hardy, Henry Anderson
- LB: Stephone Anthony, Preston Brown, Kelvin Sheppard, Alec Ogletree, Pernell McPhee, Rolando McClain
- CB: Aqib Talib, Tramon Williams, Darelle Revis, Bene Benwikere, Jason Verrett
- S: Deone Bucannon, Rashad Johnson, Rodney McLeod, Antrel Rolle
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