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The Grizzlies came into this season with a chip on their shoulder. While management felt the team was a top caliber team, many experts around the league pointed to the team's 9-7 record and claimed the team wasn't that good. Team management pointed out the several 4th quarter collapses that the team suffered and pointed out that had those games gone the other way, you would have been talking about a 12-4 team that was the division champion of the AC East.
During FA, the Grizzlies picked up a few players that would play major roles on the team: TE Munguia, DE Aguero, and WLB Wortham. To date, these FA pick ups have been outstanding. Wortham has 3 sacks, nearly doubling his career total to date. Aguero has started 6 games and has amassed 3 sacks to date. Munguia started off slow, but he has turned it on the last 3 weeks and is now second on the team in receptions.
In the draft, the Grizzlies picked only one key contributor in Grant Hernandez. Most of the other picks that stuck with the team were for players that are learning the ropes to replace key contributors down the line. Hernandez has excelled to this point. As of week 7, he had amassed more yards rushing than several teams starting RBs! His YPC is exceeded by only 8 other players in the top 30 RBs.
Even with these moves, not all was rosy with the Grizzlies. All one had to do was look at their schedule. Early games included Little Rock at home, at St. Louis, at Wichita, at Houston, and two games against Boston. It looked like a very tough schedule. Given our early schedule, we fully expected to go 5-3 over the first half of this season, and would not be surprised if we went 4-4.
Our first game was with division rival Boston. A rare loss to them late last year helped to seal our doom with regards to the playoffs. Our offensive line absolutely dominated the Boston front seven as we racked up over 200 yards on the ground and dominated Boston 23-10.
Week 2 saw Little Rock come to town. One of our worst losses in franchise history came at the hands of the Toads in 2005. We looked to avenge that loss, but wound up with a tough 4th quarter loss to a very good team. Although at the time, critics were quick to point out that the Toads were only 1-1, and were soon to be 1-2. Still, aside from a late Toads drive, we should have won this game.
Week 3 saw us take to the road against Wichita. It was a fairly sloppy game, but we were able to somehow eek out a win on the road against a talented Wichita team. It wasn't pretty, and we probably shouldn't have won, but we would take it.
In week 4, the Beasts came to town. We absolutely jumped on them early, and then coasted to a 31-14 win. The stats were a little misleading as the Griz jumped out to an early 14 point lead. Jamison and Hernandez pounded the ball to the tune of 198 yards between the two of them, and the Griz moved to 3-1. Next up was a game against St. Louis who was finally going to be healthy, and desperate for a win.
Week 5, as St. Louis was as good as advertised. The Grizzlies walk out with a 27-24 win in a game they probably shouldn't have won. However, Jim Hickman finally had a game worthy of the hype of the previous two years. He set a then team record of 258 yards passing, and lead the team on a late drive to seal the win. With this tough win under our belts, we felt comfortable with the first half of the season. At 4-1 after 5 games, we were only one game away from our goal of 5 wins.
Week 6 saw Louisiana come to town. We moved the ball at will, dominated the game (over 200 yards passing and running), but only came away with a 13-7 win. Still, it was a win against a team that has traditionally given us fits. We move to 5-1, and Tan looked good in his return to action as we finally hold a team to fewer than 300 yards offense.
How good was this team? A trip to Boston would show that it was pretty good. Boston had played many good teams on the road, and had a 1-5 record to show for it. How would they fare in front of the hated Grizzlies in front of the home crowd? A 31-7 win later showed that the Grizzlies had what it takes to really shut a team down. A second consecutive 400 yard offensive day, combined with a defense that allowed fewer than 300 yards for the second consecutive week led to a blow out. Hickman was a beast going 20 of 24 for 238 and a TD. The Grizzlies were for real. Plus, a loss by Norfolk to Houston gave the Grizzlies a slight lead in the division.
Week 8, arguably the game of the year to date with Houston sitting at 7-0 leading the AC South, and the Grizzlies sitting at 6-1 atop the AC East. The experts believed that the Renegades had what it would take to silence the Grizzlies backers since they had just beaten the reining IFL champs with their backup QB. It was not to be. The Grizzlies had another 400 yard day offensively, and had a 26-17 lead. Until Houston closed the gap to 26-24 late, the Grizzlies had been in firm control of the game from the opening gun. Hickman threw for a team record 275 yards while Jamison and Hernandez did enough to keep the Renegades off balance and added over 115 yards between them on the ground.
OFFENSE
Offensive Line: With another year playing together, the line of Flemming, Stubblefield, Damien, Suarez, and Overton has been stellar. Frequently having 3 of the top 15 linemen in KRBs on the season week after week. These guys have opened the holes for the second best rushing attack in the league. They have also kept the opposing pass rushers off of Hickman. These guys have been outstanding. Grade A.
Running Backs: Yes, the offensive line has been opening up huge holes for the duo, but the fact remains, after 7 games, both Jamison and Hernandez were among the top 30 rushers in the league. Grade A-.
Receivers: No one has really stood out in this group. But, the group has been very effective as a whole. Whenever one player has had a bad game, the other receivers have picked up the slack. Individually, everyone gets a C, with the exception of Munguia, as a whole they are much better. Grade B-.
Quarterback: Early on, Hickman looked quite shaky. However, he has really hit stride the last few games, and he is the reason why we won at Houston, St. Louis, and even at Wichita. He has consistently led the late drives for scores, and also scores when we needed them at other points of the game. Additionally, he has one of the best passer ratings in the IFL, he has set records for the most passing yards for a Grizzly QB multiple times this year, and has only thrown 3 INTs to date. The team is also on pace to shatter all team records for production in the passing game. Finally, at this point last year we were 5-3, this year we are 7-1 with wins against Houston, St. Louis, and Wichita. I can't give him anything less than an A. Grade A.
Offense as a whole: When you are number 2 in rushing yards and number 11 passing, and in the top 10 for scoring, something is going right. Grade A.
Defense to come later.
During FA, the Grizzlies picked up a few players that would play major roles on the team: TE Munguia, DE Aguero, and WLB Wortham. To date, these FA pick ups have been outstanding. Wortham has 3 sacks, nearly doubling his career total to date. Aguero has started 6 games and has amassed 3 sacks to date. Munguia started off slow, but he has turned it on the last 3 weeks and is now second on the team in receptions.
In the draft, the Grizzlies picked only one key contributor in Grant Hernandez. Most of the other picks that stuck with the team were for players that are learning the ropes to replace key contributors down the line. Hernandez has excelled to this point. As of week 7, he had amassed more yards rushing than several teams starting RBs! His YPC is exceeded by only 8 other players in the top 30 RBs.
Even with these moves, not all was rosy with the Grizzlies. All one had to do was look at their schedule. Early games included Little Rock at home, at St. Louis, at Wichita, at Houston, and two games against Boston. It looked like a very tough schedule. Given our early schedule, we fully expected to go 5-3 over the first half of this season, and would not be surprised if we went 4-4.
Our first game was with division rival Boston. A rare loss to them late last year helped to seal our doom with regards to the playoffs. Our offensive line absolutely dominated the Boston front seven as we racked up over 200 yards on the ground and dominated Boston 23-10.
Week 2 saw Little Rock come to town. One of our worst losses in franchise history came at the hands of the Toads in 2005. We looked to avenge that loss, but wound up with a tough 4th quarter loss to a very good team. Although at the time, critics were quick to point out that the Toads were only 1-1, and were soon to be 1-2. Still, aside from a late Toads drive, we should have won this game.
Week 3 saw us take to the road against Wichita. It was a fairly sloppy game, but we were able to somehow eek out a win on the road against a talented Wichita team. It wasn't pretty, and we probably shouldn't have won, but we would take it.
In week 4, the Beasts came to town. We absolutely jumped on them early, and then coasted to a 31-14 win. The stats were a little misleading as the Griz jumped out to an early 14 point lead. Jamison and Hernandez pounded the ball to the tune of 198 yards between the two of them, and the Griz moved to 3-1. Next up was a game against St. Louis who was finally going to be healthy, and desperate for a win.
Week 5, as St. Louis was as good as advertised. The Grizzlies walk out with a 27-24 win in a game they probably shouldn't have won. However, Jim Hickman finally had a game worthy of the hype of the previous two years. He set a then team record of 258 yards passing, and lead the team on a late drive to seal the win. With this tough win under our belts, we felt comfortable with the first half of the season. At 4-1 after 5 games, we were only one game away from our goal of 5 wins.
Week 6 saw Louisiana come to town. We moved the ball at will, dominated the game (over 200 yards passing and running), but only came away with a 13-7 win. Still, it was a win against a team that has traditionally given us fits. We move to 5-1, and Tan looked good in his return to action as we finally hold a team to fewer than 300 yards offense.
How good was this team? A trip to Boston would show that it was pretty good. Boston had played many good teams on the road, and had a 1-5 record to show for it. How would they fare in front of the hated Grizzlies in front of the home crowd? A 31-7 win later showed that the Grizzlies had what it takes to really shut a team down. A second consecutive 400 yard offensive day, combined with a defense that allowed fewer than 300 yards for the second consecutive week led to a blow out. Hickman was a beast going 20 of 24 for 238 and a TD. The Grizzlies were for real. Plus, a loss by Norfolk to Houston gave the Grizzlies a slight lead in the division.
Week 8, arguably the game of the year to date with Houston sitting at 7-0 leading the AC South, and the Grizzlies sitting at 6-1 atop the AC East. The experts believed that the Renegades had what it would take to silence the Grizzlies backers since they had just beaten the reining IFL champs with their backup QB. It was not to be. The Grizzlies had another 400 yard day offensively, and had a 26-17 lead. Until Houston closed the gap to 26-24 late, the Grizzlies had been in firm control of the game from the opening gun. Hickman threw for a team record 275 yards while Jamison and Hernandez did enough to keep the Renegades off balance and added over 115 yards between them on the ground.
OFFENSE
Offensive Line: With another year playing together, the line of Flemming, Stubblefield, Damien, Suarez, and Overton has been stellar. Frequently having 3 of the top 15 linemen in KRBs on the season week after week. These guys have opened the holes for the second best rushing attack in the league. They have also kept the opposing pass rushers off of Hickman. These guys have been outstanding. Grade A.
Running Backs: Yes, the offensive line has been opening up huge holes for the duo, but the fact remains, after 7 games, both Jamison and Hernandez were among the top 30 rushers in the league. Grade A-.
Receivers: No one has really stood out in this group. But, the group has been very effective as a whole. Whenever one player has had a bad game, the other receivers have picked up the slack. Individually, everyone gets a C, with the exception of Munguia, as a whole they are much better. Grade B-.
Quarterback: Early on, Hickman looked quite shaky. However, he has really hit stride the last few games, and he is the reason why we won at Houston, St. Louis, and even at Wichita. He has consistently led the late drives for scores, and also scores when we needed them at other points of the game. Additionally, he has one of the best passer ratings in the IFL, he has set records for the most passing yards for a Grizzly QB multiple times this year, and has only thrown 3 INTs to date. The team is also on pace to shatter all team records for production in the passing game. Finally, at this point last year we were 5-3, this year we are 7-1 with wins against Houston, St. Louis, and Wichita. I can't give him anything less than an A. Grade A.
Offense as a whole: When you are number 2 in rushing yards and number 11 passing, and in the top 10 for scoring, something is going right. Grade A.
Defense to come later.
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