Rumor Mill

[Rumor Mill]

Comebacks and Setbacks

Things have been a little slow, so I thought I'd highlight a couple players, one having a good year and one not so good.

First, the good: DE Stephen Berardhas been quietly having a great year for the underacheiving Snipe Hunters. Cut by Salt Lake City after a disappointing year last year, Berard has created a resurgence to his career this season, accumulating 5.5 sacks and 22 hurries, both of which easily lead the team. SLC, whose two starting DE's have combined for 1.5 sacks and 10 hurries so far this year, maintains that his poor play was not the reason he was cut. "Berard was released due to cap issues, not his play," said Stallions GM Vito, "It was a tough call but I had to do it." Salt Lake City currently has $9.16 million in cap room for the current season.

Then there is Fire WR Mercury Halbert. Despite becoming CBA's #2 WR this year, Halbert has failed to make a significant impact, with per game averages of 2 catches for 30 yards through 9 games. He has also failed to find the end zone a single time. Halbert was obtained by the Fire in exchange for three first round draft picks, and after showing flashes of brilliance in his first game in the league, has settled down into what could just be a sophomore slump. Hopefully for the Fire he just doesn't have the same chemistry with Mulcahy that he has with Cartagena.

[sovstar]

Re: Rumor Mill 2006

"Berard was released due to cap issues, not his play," said Stallions GM Vito, "It was a tough call but I had to do it." Salt Lake City currently has $9.16 million in cap room for the current season.

ouch

[Rumor Mill]

Oakland with an MVP candidate?

Oakland is high on their new old starting RB Gaston Lomeli. "Hamilton is not 'lighting it up', so to speak," Assassins GM Jave said in a recent public statement, "[Lomeli's statline] proves, at least this year, he belongs in the league's elite." But could those two things be related? It's very likely that, with a great QB and fantastic receivers, teams are ganging up on the passing attack of Oakland, leaving running lanes open for Lomeli and the great run blocking line of Oakland to exploit.

Just taken on it's face, does Lomeli's stats rate among the 'elite' of the IFL? True, he is second in TD's with 10, but he is 11th in rushing yards and 27th is ypc among qualifiers. So while Lomeli has been a key part of Oakland's success, he is not quite up to the 'elite' level.

[Matt]

So while Lomeli has been a key part of Oakland's success, he is not quite up to the 'elite' level.

Rumor Mill, are you on crack?

[Jave]

Rumor Mill, are you on crack?

WTF more do you want from the guy? Lets see:

11th in total yards
7th in total attempts
2nd in the stat that matters most. TOUCHDOWNS with 10.

All of this from a guy rated a mere 42!

Are teams ganging up on the pass and leaving Gaston open for the run? I seriously dought it. Teams must know by now that they cannot stop both Martinez AND Bice! Why would they even attempt to? I have the 2 best recievers in the league! Regardless of what he does after week 17 you have to give the guy his props this year. He has earned it.

[Rumor Mill]

Can the Mules afford the top pick?

With huge cap problems and small salaries, Murfreesboro is in a bit of a bind this offeseason. They are on pace to be awarded the number one pick in this offseason's amatuer draft, but do they have the money to sign him?

Currently, without as of yet signing FB Jimmy Spraggins, the Mules are projected to be six or seven million dollars over the cap for next year. That could lead to the Mules either trading away a number of decent players, or a bigger number of mediocre players. With the little depth that they have, the Mules can not afford to trade away a large number of players, and their better players all have contracts with lower salaries and high bonuses. DT Andrew Monroe, for example, will earn just over $3 million next year in salary, while his bonus number will be over $10 million. This will make it exceedingly difficult for the Mules to restructure their contracts to fit them under the cap.

Last year's number one, QB Otis Peterson, signed a contract with a cap number of over $4 million this year, and their rookie pool could exceed $7 million. That would mean that the Mules would have to trim $14 million off of their roster before next season. Unless the GM can pull off some grest deals that pay dividends next season, look for the Mules to be worse next year.

[Kobeck]

2006 offseason should be the worst. Mules FO let "some" players go last season, should have let more go - lol. Looks like 2007 will be the worst and hopefully starting to get out of CAP heck in 2008.

Peterson's CAP is not so bad really and Yeah I have been repeateadly rebuffed by Spraggins on a CAP friendly deal. If he was under 10 years in the league ....

And as far as 1st overall. I was dissappointed to see that when Mules got their third win they were alone at that number. Last two games are at home and I do NOT want 1st overall two years in a row AND serious CAP issues on the side - sheeze. ops:

[Jave]

Kobek...............

WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING SIGNING PLAYERS TO 7 AND 10 MILLION DOLLAR BONUSES??????

Did you suggest that or is the game generating that? Jesus dude! You are screwed by accepting deals with that kind of bonus!
Not only that, it looks like you ran and signed every player on your team to 3-6 year long term deals without looking at the bottom line. WOW bro. With bonuses that outrageous, theres not much room to manuver.

[Kobeck]

IFL imposed signings - see offseason 2004 I think - lol

Basically the same situation last offseason, just not quite so severe. I really should build one of those spreadsheets that has all this stuff on it, but that would require me to input all the data and stuff - lol

seriously if Mules can make it thru 2007 with the core intact - NOT a given - then 2008 there is some relief, at least in the ability to cut players by bringing their bonuses forward and such. This offseason I will have to have some, and by some I mean tons, of restructures. Hopefully not pushing too much money into the future.

The "Upside" is there is no point in releasing Ash/Monroe/Nowell/Rath the guys with those huge bonus contracts cause there is almost no CAP relief from cutting them, matter of fact could be on the negative side by bringing the bouns forward. Could be a situation where one cut leads to another ect... ect... Trying to avoid that obviously.

[sovstar]

Kobek...............

WHAT IN THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING SIGNING PLAYERS TO 7 AND 10 MILLION DOLLAR BONUSES??????

Did you suggest that or is the game generating that? Jesus dude! You are screwed by accepting deals with that kind of bonus!
Not only that, it looks like you ran and signed every player on your team to 3-6 year long term deals without looking at the bottom line. WOW bro. With bonuses that outrageous, theres not much room to manuver.

LOL

Where did your memory go, Juave?

[Rumor Mill]

Interesting stat of the day:

The top 5 highest winning %'s of active QB's with more than 5 decisions

1. Bart Alexander 5-1 .833
2. Jesse Garcia 11-5 .687
3. Johnie Loving 30-14 .681
4. Jerome Mueller 21-10-1 .671
5. Jared Mulcahy 21-11-1 .651

[Rumor Mill]

St. Louis and Fresno talking trade?

Rumor has it that embattled St. Louis QB Mark McMurray could be on the way out. StL management has been upset at the underwhelming play of the QB, and may be looking to go in another direction. A possible landing spot could be Fresno, where the GM is looking for a 'stud quarterback' (whether McMurray qualifies or not is debatable). Rumor Mill has credible reports that the two teams have been talking about a McMurray / QB Rob Richardson + draft picks swap. The young Richardson would have good receivers to develop a chemistry with, while Fresno would be able to give it a couple more years before possibly having to blow up the team.

[Rumor Mill]

Biggest Sure Things in the 2007 Draft

From most sure to least:

RB Nicky Kersey
MLB Wes Martin
C Gerald Shelton
CB Duane Edwards
RB Scott Fortune
MLB Dexter Gregg
RB Harris Mahoney
DE Raymond Webb
C Seth Stender
DE Bennie Garner
WR Will Blackwell
C Shawn D'Arcy
MLB Paul Craig
OLB Devin Bell
CB Terrell Cortez
WR Sharmin Jarvis
TE Irvin Molnar
DE Freddie Swift

Impressions of the top of the draft: Lots of WR, MLB, DE, C, and CB.

[Rumor Mill]

In the IFL last year there were thirty-one thousand seven hundred and fifty plays ran that gained one hundred and seventy-two thousand nine hundred and eighty-eight yards. Here is how it broke down by formation, with yards per play:

Formation			Runs	Yards	YPP	Passes	Yards	YPP
I Normal				2295	9849	4.29	1771	11890	6.71
I TE Pairs				704	2898	4.12	328	1974	6.02
I WR Moves to Slot	232	1022	4.41	265	1768	6.67
Pro Normal			2848	10740	3.77	2441	16898	6.92
Pro TE Pairs			1029	3868	3.76	605	4306	7.12
Pro WR Moves to Slot	289	1076	3.72	440	3173	7.21
Single-back Normal	2212	9374	4.24	2913	19099	6.56
Single-back Four WR	482	2240	4.65	1108	7772	7.01
Single-back TE Pairs	555	2159	3.89	438	3010	6.87
Single-back Trips WR	548	2654	4.84	1322	9124	6.90
Strong Normal			1487	6190	4.16	1351	9153	6.77
Strong Three WR		246	1100	4.47	520	3371	6.48
Strong TE Pairs		293	1309	4.47	179	1248	6.97
Weak Normal			1349	5563	4.12	1164	7894	6.78
Weak TE Pairs			453	1809	3.99	253	2057	8.13
Weak Three WR			166	746	4.49	341	1883	5.52
Goal-line Three TE	471	1744	3.70	83	491	5.92
Five WR Spread									569	3536	6.21

[Rumor Mill]

More Database Mining

Effect of the defensive call on the result:

Call					Pass	Run
Run - Normal		7.18 	3.33 
Run - Aggressive	7.52 	3.09 
Pass - Normal		6.55 	4.68 
Pass - Aggressive	6.30 	5.57