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Columbia Fire Weekly
2006 Off Season Review by Oliver Closeff
WOW what a season, a true roller coaster adventure that ended with the Fire failing to advance to their first ever Imperial Bowl with a 28-24 loss to division rival Little Rock in the NFL Title game. By the looks of the early free-agency period, it appears the owners are going to ride this coaster thru out the entire off-season.
RETIREMENTS -
SLB BROWN - Many fans where not surprised to hear the retirement of SLB Beau Brown. A 12 year vet who found himself injured much of last year, "Decided now was a good time to hang up the cleats" said Brown in his retirement press confrence after the NFC Title game. His retirement managed to leave the fire with some very deep holes in the Line backing corp., a position that the Fire worked to address in this off-season
DEPATURES -
FL Ramos - The surprise that caught many fans off guard was the trade of SE Rusty Ramos to the Madison Demons. In a decision that was very hard to accept for many players, it was understood that the move of Ramos was driven by the need to improve the team and was easy to do given the depth of the teams deep WR corp. the Fire still have signed long term.
FB Coburn - Last years starting fullback was shipped to Houston after issues began to flourish with him and starting RB John Feliciano.
QB Morris - As part of the Ramos trade, Morris was sent to Madison with dreams of starting full time in the IFL. While the team was very upset to see him leave, they realized that this was in the best interest of Jamie and hope that this move will give him the chance he has been looking for.
G Stocks - The one squeak in the wheel of progress on the Fire's rebuilding Offensive Line was that of Daniel Stocks who was shipped to Murfreesboro to address team chemistry issues.
TE McGinn - After years of sitting behind TE Larry Spraggins, McGinn finds himself behind another TE legend in Murfreesboro (TE Daniel Rich).
Misc. - T Bee, DE Dashiell, CB Cusack, CB Forehand, RB, Parrish,
ADDITIONS-
OG Gordon - Part of the Ramos/Morris deal from Madison, Gordon was brought in to help address the growing need to solidify the Fire's Offensive Line.
RB Duffy - part of the Murfreesboro trade, Duffy was brought in as a low price back to help battle develop a ground game and to see if there is anyone who can push RB Feliciano out of the starting job.
FB Steib - Part of the Coburn trade to Houston and one of the highlights of the off-season. The addition of Steib, who is well known for his blocking ability, is a key peace in helping the Fire build upon the running success they had during the playoffs.
Misc. - G Blazier, T Azzolini, TE Harmon, SLB Kao, SLB Clark, RB Marcano, C Bybee, QB Mulchay
DRAFT-
In a draft where the Fire had some major holes to fill it was not surprising to see the Fire take SLB Derrick Goodwin from Illinois. This pick was more of a need pick for the Fire after the loss of SLB Beau Brown to retirement. Goodwin his a LB with RB speed, CB coverage skills, and excellent smarts, the fire look for him to be a building block with MLB John Maynard for years to come. After addressing the need at SLB the Fire moved out of the 2nd round to help add depth to the team roster. The fire spent the rest of the draft addressing depth with the additions of RT Amos Glenn, CB Jerry Rubisch, LB Thomas Pressley, RB Bob Finn, and DT Dustin Burns.
Well that is all for now. We will continue to keep you updated all the way thru training camp.
Oliver
2006 Off Season Review by Oliver Closeff
WOW what a season, a true roller coaster adventure that ended with the Fire failing to advance to their first ever Imperial Bowl with a 28-24 loss to division rival Little Rock in the NFL Title game. By the looks of the early free-agency period, it appears the owners are going to ride this coaster thru out the entire off-season.
RETIREMENTS -
SLB BROWN - Many fans where not surprised to hear the retirement of SLB Beau Brown. A 12 year vet who found himself injured much of last year, "Decided now was a good time to hang up the cleats" said Brown in his retirement press confrence after the NFC Title game. His retirement managed to leave the fire with some very deep holes in the Line backing corp., a position that the Fire worked to address in this off-season
DEPATURES -
FL Ramos - The surprise that caught many fans off guard was the trade of SE Rusty Ramos to the Madison Demons. In a decision that was very hard to accept for many players, it was understood that the move of Ramos was driven by the need to improve the team and was easy to do given the depth of the teams deep WR corp. the Fire still have signed long term.
FB Coburn - Last years starting fullback was shipped to Houston after issues began to flourish with him and starting RB John Feliciano.
QB Morris - As part of the Ramos trade, Morris was sent to Madison with dreams of starting full time in the IFL. While the team was very upset to see him leave, they realized that this was in the best interest of Jamie and hope that this move will give him the chance he has been looking for.
G Stocks - The one squeak in the wheel of progress on the Fire's rebuilding Offensive Line was that of Daniel Stocks who was shipped to Murfreesboro to address team chemistry issues.
TE McGinn - After years of sitting behind TE Larry Spraggins, McGinn finds himself behind another TE legend in Murfreesboro (TE Daniel Rich).
Misc. - T Bee, DE Dashiell, CB Cusack, CB Forehand, RB, Parrish,
ADDITIONS-
OG Gordon - Part of the Ramos/Morris deal from Madison, Gordon was brought in to help address the growing need to solidify the Fire's Offensive Line.
RB Duffy - part of the Murfreesboro trade, Duffy was brought in as a low price back to help battle develop a ground game and to see if there is anyone who can push RB Feliciano out of the starting job.
FB Steib - Part of the Coburn trade to Houston and one of the highlights of the off-season. The addition of Steib, who is well known for his blocking ability, is a key peace in helping the Fire build upon the running success they had during the playoffs.
Misc. - G Blazier, T Azzolini, TE Harmon, SLB Kao, SLB Clark, RB Marcano, C Bybee, QB Mulchay
DRAFT-
In a draft where the Fire had some major holes to fill it was not surprising to see the Fire take SLB Derrick Goodwin from Illinois. This pick was more of a need pick for the Fire after the loss of SLB Beau Brown to retirement. Goodwin his a LB with RB speed, CB coverage skills, and excellent smarts, the fire look for him to be a building block with MLB John Maynard for years to come. After addressing the need at SLB the Fire moved out of the 2nd round to help add depth to the team roster. The fire spent the rest of the draft addressing depth with the additions of RT Amos Glenn, CB Jerry Rubisch, LB Thomas Pressley, RB Bob Finn, and DT Dustin Burns.
Well that is all for now. We will continue to keep you updated all the way thru training camp.
Oliver
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