#9 Manitoba Year-In-Review

Preview: (Posted before the 2015 Draft)
The MooseCrew were born of a disastrous run under Raynor Lundy in Seattle to start the season. After an 0-2 start, Marty Sheehy took the reins and never looked back, turning a team of misfit toys into a 6-5 group of renegades. Now armed with a draft card of his own, we should see what the MooseCrew are truly capable of in 2015.

Final Record:
Six Wins, Seven Losses (2,302.37 points; 177.11 avg - 8th)

Playoffs:
Defeated Savannah Petes in Consolation Quarterfinals 179.05 - 121.61
Lost to Saskatoon Sasquatch in Consolation Semifinals 161.82 - 135.37
Defeated Deputy Van Halens in 9th Place Game 196.36 - 163.38

Synopsis:
A good start (3-2 with three 200+ point games) to the season gave way to a mid season slump that cost the Moosecrew a shot at the playoffs in their second season. Their four straight losses included a very good performance, an okay performance, and two bad performances, but the team also had the deck stacked against them, seeing the second most points against this year; Only Savannah had worse luck. Things could have gone the other way (the team scored over 190 three times in defeat) but ultimately MMC was unable to rise above the middle of the pack, despite showing a lot of promise. The sudden irrelevance of third round pick Andre Johnson was minimized by fifth round pick Brandon Marshall scoring first round production, and seventh round pick Larry Fitzgerald having a dominant year as well- 4th and 9th overall at the position, respectively. Their consistency at WR and the addition of stud DL option Khalil Mack (not to mention All Day at RB) gave them a week to week baseline that could have been capitalized on further: In a deep QB field, Tony Romo's early injury saddled the team to holding him- and then Joe Flacco's injury (and Romo's reinjury) kept this team from being able to move on to a young gun. It's a story that lends credence to waiting to draft a QB, streaming options until a contender shows up on the wire. They eventually moved to serviceable David Carr, but imagine this team if they drafted Doug Martin or Allen Robinson or Chris Ivory instead of Romo, and then had Carr or Cousins or Wilson (when he inexplicably became available midseason) and think of how the year might have turned out differently.

Draft Analysis:

VALUABLE ; TRADED ; DROPPED; RECYCLED; INJURED

Andre Johnson was not supposed to die like this, but he did. Besides a few weeks with touchdowns, the third round pick was a total bust. The rest of the Crew's first thirteen picks were pretty good- Jennings wasn't getting opportunities mid-season, thus the cut. Bowe was an unmitigated bust, and none of the other backend picks were stellar, but having a fungible back end is usually better than having it be rigid but mediocre.

Projected Points by Position versus League Average Projections (POST DRAFT)

MMC: B GRADE
Strength: RB
Weakness: WR & Front Seven

The MooseCrew are relying on a lot of grizzled veterans on offense, where only one starter (Jimmy Graham) is on the right side of 30. The defense is unsettled with players recovering from injury.





Trade Review: (Listing each player's point total following the trade)

• SEP 30 traded RB Rashad Jennings (159.23) and WR Tavon Austin (171.17) to SAV for RB Carlos Hyde (37.2)

You can see what the MooseCrew were going for here- Hyde was dominant in week one, showing really special talent. Pairing him with Adrian Peterson could have been something incredible, and allowed a team short on bench space the ability to concentrate on other needs. Unfortunately for them, Hyde only played four games after the trade, with two solid performances bookended by games where he had nowhere to go. Jennings is a misnomer, as most of his remaining production came in the last four weeks of the season, long after it could have helped either team. Austin's ascendance makes this a win for the Petes, but if Hyde had stayed healthy it might have been a different story.

• NOV 12 traded CB Patrick Peterson (30.47) to PHX for LB Danny Trevathan (76.95)

This is the sort of minor trade that doesn't happen too often in the Larkspur Bowl- Phoenix was long on startable linebackers but needed a corner, while Manitoba had three corners but was shopping in the bargain bin for a linebacker. Moving depth for depth, the MooseCrew attained an asset for a guy that would only have cracked their optimal lineup once the rest of the way. 

Player of the Week Awards:

• WK12 OPotW: RB Adrian Peterson 36.9 pts
• WK14 DPotW: DE Khalil Mack 32 pts
• WK16 OPotW: WR Brandon Marshall 30.6 pts
• WK16 DPotW: LB Sean Lee 19pts

All Larkspur Bowl Players:

• Running Back: Adrian Peterson 305.6pts
• Wide Receiver: Brandon Marshall 333.4pts
• Defensive Line: Khalil Mack 166.5pts

Depth Chart:

• QB: David Carr, Tony Romo, Joe Flacco
• RB: Adrian Peterson, Theo Riddick, Marcel Reese, Joique Bell
• WR: Brandon Marshall, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Danny Amendola, Markus Wheaton
• TE: Jason Witten, Jimmy Graham, Scott Chandler
• K: Robbie Gould
• DL: Khalil Mack, Michael Bennett
• LB: Sean lee, Mychal Kendricks, David Harris, Danny Trevathan, Uani Unga
• CB: Prince Amukamara, Janoris Jenkins, Brent Grimes
• S: Devin McCourty, Kam Chancellor, Will Hill, Dashon Goldson