Tweet
As I travel around the highways and back roads of this Imperial Football country, getting rides from strangers who become friends, I have started to promote something new. No matter who your favorite team is, lets cheer on the perennial losers. We need to give these teams our support, because they are getting close in some cases. What I am talking about is the six teams in the Imperial Football League that have never made the playoffs. Those teams are the Vancouver Killer Whales, Dakota Spirit, Texas Trojans, Murfreesboro Mules, California Heroes, and Boston Dragons.
Last year the Heroes finished with the best record they have ever had, 10-6. They still missed the playoffs.
Vancouver finished 10-6 in 2003, as did Dakota. Both teams lost out on wild card births to division rivals who also finished 10-6. In 2006 Dakota finished 1 game behind their division winner. In 2007 Vancouver finished 1 game behind their division winner.
In 2009 the Mules finished with their best record ever, 9-7. Two wins shy of a potential wild card spot.
In 2004 Boston went 9-6-1, and missed out on the wild card by a win.
Finally, in 2006 Texas finished 10-6 and lost out for the wild card to two other teams (one division rival Columbia/Georgia) who had the same record.
That is the history of these teams. This year some of them are threatening to break the playoff barrier once again. California, Boston, and Dakota can pretty much be written off at this point, unless something drastic happens. Murfreesboro, Texas, and Vancouver though, are threatening to leave the others behind in the Zero Playoff Appearance category.
The Murfreesboro Mules, in one of the toughest divisions, are currently sitting at 5-3 and looking up at Houston and St. Louis ahead of them in the division standing. After years of high draft picks, including some #1 overall picks, the Mules are starting to make something of those players. Otis “Opie” Peterson, in his fifth year, has developed into the QB the Mules had hoped for. In four previous seasons he has never passed for over 3,000 yards, this season he already has over 2,000 in just 8 games. RB Scott Fortune is on pace for a career year. Along with WR Justin Whitaker, rookie 3rd round pick Victor Neri is helping the offense be much more productive. Neri is not the only rookie starting for the Mules though. RG Freddie Benveniste, a 2nd round pick, is a starter. Third round pick, DT Freddie Whitaker, is starting at RDT. And Warren Farley, taken in the 1st round, is the starting RCB. This youth may be one of the things that prevent the Mules from being able to put the finishing touches on a playoff run. On the other side, they are already 2-0 in the division. Continued success there could help more then anything else.
For the Texas Trojans, the playoffs were not even a consideration after week two. New leadership brought a new attitude to the franchise though, and they have since gone 4-1, with only one of those games being a home game. Clayton Chung and rookie 3rd round pick Randall Burns have both had time leading the offense, both getting wins. Both of those guys are happy with the clear effort to improve the offense, by trading for WR Grady Gomez only a couple of weeks ago. The key to their success has been the defense though. In their four wins, they have held opponents to a total of 35 points. They have a bunch of rookies, but most are in the back up roles. Their veteran defensive leaders are showing them the way to play, and if any of them go down there could be some trouble for them there. As with the Mules, and later you will read with the Killer Whales, the youth is a big question mark. There are some young starters, and key backups. Will they be able to make that final push in the second half of the season? Texas, looking at their schedule, has some help. Not a lot of teams with winning records on the remaining games list. If they can catch Little Rock, or secure a wild card, they will be happy.
The Vancouver Killer Whales fans always thought that they should be contenders with former QB Dennis Collela. Now with him gone, and year two of the Xavier Armstrong era half way gone, they look like contenders. They are the only team of the three focused on here that currently lead their division, with a record of 5-3. Armstrong and 3rd year RB J.B. Lincoln are both near the top of several league leaders lists. The defense and offense are both a mix of vets and youth. Perhaps the difference between Vancouver and the other two playoff hopefuls, is that Vancouver’s youth are not all rookies. As with Armstrong and Lincoln, many of the young players are into their 2nd and 3rd years in the league. DE Zach Thornton along with LB’s Mike Barkley and Julio Wheeler are major keys to the defensive unit. What else is helping the Whales is slightly more questionable competition within their division. Oakland appears to be ready to give them some competition, but that is yet to be seen.
Those are the three teams that I now proclaim everyone’s 2nd favorite team. Sure, Oakland, Little Rock, Vermont, Houston, St. Louis, Cleveland, or Portland fans may have a hard time with this since their teams will be competing with them for playoff spots, but even that can work out. Fans of teams in the AC cheer for Texas and Vancouver, while NC fans cheer on Murfreesboro. There, problem solved. We need new blood in the playoffs, and all three of these teams are 100% pure, certified, virgins. The only big problem is that Vancouver and Texas play each other this week. I wonder if a tie would help them or hurt them?
Added Note: I had wished to have this posted yesterday, but no one (and by that I mean not one single person in the world) told me about this little hurricane that cut across in front of my path from Houston to New Orleans. The damn thing destroyed my free internet spot. So after panhandling for some change, I bought me some internet service for a short time. Any claims by people that I sold my body for the money are lies.
Last year the Heroes finished with the best record they have ever had, 10-6. They still missed the playoffs.
Vancouver finished 10-6 in 2003, as did Dakota. Both teams lost out on wild card births to division rivals who also finished 10-6. In 2006 Dakota finished 1 game behind their division winner. In 2007 Vancouver finished 1 game behind their division winner.
In 2009 the Mules finished with their best record ever, 9-7. Two wins shy of a potential wild card spot.
In 2004 Boston went 9-6-1, and missed out on the wild card by a win.
Finally, in 2006 Texas finished 10-6 and lost out for the wild card to two other teams (one division rival Columbia/Georgia) who had the same record.
That is the history of these teams. This year some of them are threatening to break the playoff barrier once again. California, Boston, and Dakota can pretty much be written off at this point, unless something drastic happens. Murfreesboro, Texas, and Vancouver though, are threatening to leave the others behind in the Zero Playoff Appearance category.
The Murfreesboro Mules, in one of the toughest divisions, are currently sitting at 5-3 and looking up at Houston and St. Louis ahead of them in the division standing. After years of high draft picks, including some #1 overall picks, the Mules are starting to make something of those players. Otis “Opie” Peterson, in his fifth year, has developed into the QB the Mules had hoped for. In four previous seasons he has never passed for over 3,000 yards, this season he already has over 2,000 in just 8 games. RB Scott Fortune is on pace for a career year. Along with WR Justin Whitaker, rookie 3rd round pick Victor Neri is helping the offense be much more productive. Neri is not the only rookie starting for the Mules though. RG Freddie Benveniste, a 2nd round pick, is a starter. Third round pick, DT Freddie Whitaker, is starting at RDT. And Warren Farley, taken in the 1st round, is the starting RCB. This youth may be one of the things that prevent the Mules from being able to put the finishing touches on a playoff run. On the other side, they are already 2-0 in the division. Continued success there could help more then anything else.
For the Texas Trojans, the playoffs were not even a consideration after week two. New leadership brought a new attitude to the franchise though, and they have since gone 4-1, with only one of those games being a home game. Clayton Chung and rookie 3rd round pick Randall Burns have both had time leading the offense, both getting wins. Both of those guys are happy with the clear effort to improve the offense, by trading for WR Grady Gomez only a couple of weeks ago. The key to their success has been the defense though. In their four wins, they have held opponents to a total of 35 points. They have a bunch of rookies, but most are in the back up roles. Their veteran defensive leaders are showing them the way to play, and if any of them go down there could be some trouble for them there. As with the Mules, and later you will read with the Killer Whales, the youth is a big question mark. There are some young starters, and key backups. Will they be able to make that final push in the second half of the season? Texas, looking at their schedule, has some help. Not a lot of teams with winning records on the remaining games list. If they can catch Little Rock, or secure a wild card, they will be happy.
The Vancouver Killer Whales fans always thought that they should be contenders with former QB Dennis Collela. Now with him gone, and year two of the Xavier Armstrong era half way gone, they look like contenders. They are the only team of the three focused on here that currently lead their division, with a record of 5-3. Armstrong and 3rd year RB J.B. Lincoln are both near the top of several league leaders lists. The defense and offense are both a mix of vets and youth. Perhaps the difference between Vancouver and the other two playoff hopefuls, is that Vancouver’s youth are not all rookies. As with Armstrong and Lincoln, many of the young players are into their 2nd and 3rd years in the league. DE Zach Thornton along with LB’s Mike Barkley and Julio Wheeler are major keys to the defensive unit. What else is helping the Whales is slightly more questionable competition within their division. Oakland appears to be ready to give them some competition, but that is yet to be seen.
Those are the three teams that I now proclaim everyone’s 2nd favorite team. Sure, Oakland, Little Rock, Vermont, Houston, St. Louis, Cleveland, or Portland fans may have a hard time with this since their teams will be competing with them for playoff spots, but even that can work out. Fans of teams in the AC cheer for Texas and Vancouver, while NC fans cheer on Murfreesboro. There, problem solved. We need new blood in the playoffs, and all three of these teams are 100% pure, certified, virgins. The only big problem is that Vancouver and Texas play each other this week. I wonder if a tie would help them or hurt them?
Added Note: I had wished to have this posted yesterday, but no one (and by that I mean not one single person in the world) told me about this little hurricane that cut across in front of my path from Houston to New Orleans. The damn thing destroyed my free internet spot. So after panhandling for some change, I bought me some internet service for a short time. Any claims by people that I sold my body for the money are lies.
Comment