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An introduction is probably in order since this is after all the inaugural issue of The Seals' Source. I'm Scoop Stanisic and this column is my little corner of the universe where I dig up all the dirt on our local gridiron zeros (or are they heroes this week?), the Portland Seals. Consider me your handy-dandy guide for all that is Seals football.
The topic of today should be no surprise to any IFL fan, the IFL 2006 College Football Draft. Like any problematic franchise, the Portland Seals had their fair share of holes to fill and too few picks to fill them. With eight picks, the Seals selected four defensive linemen, a cornerback, a runningback, a fullback, and finally a kicker. Following the draft, yours truly was able to jot down a few comments from the Seals new General Manager, Jimmy Fuller. So without further ado...
ON DRAFTING WES GOAD WITH THE 1.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Going into the off season, we realized that this draft had some talented defensive tackles declare for it. So we gambled a bit in early free agency when we decided to hold off on making any offers to free agent defensive tackles. Luckily, Wes was still on the board when we picked at 18 and the rest is history. Wes brings a lot of potential to the table, but our coaching staff has to make certain they turn that potential into production. It should be a fun season for Seals' fans when they see Wes lining up with Gary Davis in the starting lineup.”
ON DRAFTING DERRICK PRESCOTT WITH THE 2.09 PICK:
Fuller: “Derrick is a quality all-purpose back who gives our franchise that multi-dimensional threat out of the backfield that we were looking for this off season. Derrick will certainly have an opportunity to earn his share of carries along with fellow runningbacks Andrew Hirst and Brady Parrish.”
ON DRAFTING DEION WYNN WITH THE 3.18 PICK:
Fuller: “The defensive end position was an area we really needed to add some depth. We had originally hoped that Deion could potentially start this season due to his dominance in college, but after training camp realized there was still some improvement needed before Deion was ready to man the Seals' defensive line full-time. I expect that Deion will gain significant minutes for us this season as a part-time starter.”
ON DRAFTING JON FREDRICKSON WITH THE 3.26 PICK:
Fuller: “We drafted Jon due to the fact that he was the best available talent on the board at that time. We already had Terrence Greeley and Bennie Caine at the fullback position, but Jon was just too good of a talent to pass up. We expect Jon to share some of the fullback responsibilities this season, but Terrence Greeley will of course be the starter.”
ON DRAFTING STANLEY FLORA WITH THE 4.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Stanley was one of the defensive ends we had looked at prior to drafting Deion Wynn. Stanley didn't have the college numbers that Deion had, but looked to have the potential to help stop the run. I could see Stanley and Deion both sharing time as the starting defensive end opposite Chris Aguero.”
ON DRAFTING GILBERT FONSECA WITH THE 5.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Gilbert is a young man that we had pegged in the draft as depth for the secondary. He probably won't see a lot of time this season unless there's an injury, but we hope that he can improve in the next off-season or two to warrant more playing time.”
ON DRAFTING HOWARD VALEDEZ WITH THE 6.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Andrew Bradford did a solid job for us last season, but we really wanted to bring in some competition for the kicker position. Howard was the best kicker available at the 18th pick in the sixth round.”
ON DRAFTING BRIAN NICHOLS WITH THE 7.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Brian was our third defensive lineman chosen in this draft due to our need at that position. We were really just looking for more depth at the position when we selected Brian and I expect he'll get some playing time this season behind the starters.”
ON THE 2006 IFL DRAFT:
Fuller: “I was fairly pleased with the draft. I would have liked to see a stronger class of cornerbacks since that was an area of need for us, but I think for the most part our needs were addressed in this draft. This may not have been the deepest draft, but I think we found more than a couple of players who will make an impact for the Seals franchise.”
ON LOOKING BACK AT THE 2005 IFL DRAFT:
Fuller: “Although I wasn't with the Seals for the 2005 draft, I think it's safe to say that it was successful. Jay Caro was obviously the key to the 2005 draft and he is the future of this franchise. It's my job as the manager now to surround him with the talent so that he can be successful and in turn make the franchise a winner. There is still some work to be done, but the foundation was laid during the 2005 draft.
That's it from the Source this week. Next week, we'll cuss and discuss a new topic regarding our favorite franchise, the Portland Seals. As usual the pleasure has been all yours.
The topic of today should be no surprise to any IFL fan, the IFL 2006 College Football Draft. Like any problematic franchise, the Portland Seals had their fair share of holes to fill and too few picks to fill them. With eight picks, the Seals selected four defensive linemen, a cornerback, a runningback, a fullback, and finally a kicker. Following the draft, yours truly was able to jot down a few comments from the Seals new General Manager, Jimmy Fuller. So without further ado...
ON DRAFTING WES GOAD WITH THE 1.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Going into the off season, we realized that this draft had some talented defensive tackles declare for it. So we gambled a bit in early free agency when we decided to hold off on making any offers to free agent defensive tackles. Luckily, Wes was still on the board when we picked at 18 and the rest is history. Wes brings a lot of potential to the table, but our coaching staff has to make certain they turn that potential into production. It should be a fun season for Seals' fans when they see Wes lining up with Gary Davis in the starting lineup.”
ON DRAFTING DERRICK PRESCOTT WITH THE 2.09 PICK:
Fuller: “Derrick is a quality all-purpose back who gives our franchise that multi-dimensional threat out of the backfield that we were looking for this off season. Derrick will certainly have an opportunity to earn his share of carries along with fellow runningbacks Andrew Hirst and Brady Parrish.”
ON DRAFTING DEION WYNN WITH THE 3.18 PICK:
Fuller: “The defensive end position was an area we really needed to add some depth. We had originally hoped that Deion could potentially start this season due to his dominance in college, but after training camp realized there was still some improvement needed before Deion was ready to man the Seals' defensive line full-time. I expect that Deion will gain significant minutes for us this season as a part-time starter.”
ON DRAFTING JON FREDRICKSON WITH THE 3.26 PICK:
Fuller: “We drafted Jon due to the fact that he was the best available talent on the board at that time. We already had Terrence Greeley and Bennie Caine at the fullback position, but Jon was just too good of a talent to pass up. We expect Jon to share some of the fullback responsibilities this season, but Terrence Greeley will of course be the starter.”
ON DRAFTING STANLEY FLORA WITH THE 4.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Stanley was one of the defensive ends we had looked at prior to drafting Deion Wynn. Stanley didn't have the college numbers that Deion had, but looked to have the potential to help stop the run. I could see Stanley and Deion both sharing time as the starting defensive end opposite Chris Aguero.”
ON DRAFTING GILBERT FONSECA WITH THE 5.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Gilbert is a young man that we had pegged in the draft as depth for the secondary. He probably won't see a lot of time this season unless there's an injury, but we hope that he can improve in the next off-season or two to warrant more playing time.”
ON DRAFTING HOWARD VALEDEZ WITH THE 6.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Andrew Bradford did a solid job for us last season, but we really wanted to bring in some competition for the kicker position. Howard was the best kicker available at the 18th pick in the sixth round.”
ON DRAFTING BRIAN NICHOLS WITH THE 7.18 PICK:
Fuller: “Brian was our third defensive lineman chosen in this draft due to our need at that position. We were really just looking for more depth at the position when we selected Brian and I expect he'll get some playing time this season behind the starters.”
ON THE 2006 IFL DRAFT:
Fuller: “I was fairly pleased with the draft. I would have liked to see a stronger class of cornerbacks since that was an area of need for us, but I think for the most part our needs were addressed in this draft. This may not have been the deepest draft, but I think we found more than a couple of players who will make an impact for the Seals franchise.”
ON LOOKING BACK AT THE 2005 IFL DRAFT:
Fuller: “Although I wasn't with the Seals for the 2005 draft, I think it's safe to say that it was successful. Jay Caro was obviously the key to the 2005 draft and he is the future of this franchise. It's my job as the manager now to surround him with the talent so that he can be successful and in turn make the franchise a winner. There is still some work to be done, but the foundation was laid during the 2005 draft.
That's it from the Source this week. Next week, we'll cuss and discuss a new topic regarding our favorite franchise, the Portland Seals. As usual the pleasure has been all yours.
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