Oakland ready for offseason

[Jave]

Oakland Press Oakland, Ca

With the 2010 season behind them Oakland looks forward to what will be one of the biggest offseasons in team history. For the first time in years, Oakland will head into the free agency and draft with a little bit of spending money. And thats a good thing because this team has holes all over the roster and with the team aging at every position, this years offseason will set the tone for the rebuilding that will be taking place over the next few years.
In the past, the Devils have relied on a strong roster with a heavy emphasis on the pass with Martinez and Bice playing catch. That looks to change with the strong running of Rico Bailey and Bryan McCarthy, and the injury to Bice. Look for a more balanced attack and more emphasis on the defensive side of the ball. Lets take a look at the Oakland roster and where we can expect to pick up some important free agents and rookies.

Quarterback
--Gene Hamilton--
Gene continues his stellar play and looks to head to the IFL HOF. The question remains, will he ever get a ring?
The real need here lies in getting a backup capable of running the team if Hamilton goes down. Last year proved that was a need as Bratcher and Papadopulos where just awful when they stepped in. If Oakland ever hopes to go back to the IFL bowl, a backup will have to be found.

Need-slight

--Runningback--

--Rico Bailey--
Bryan McCarthy
Gaston Lomeli

This could be the best trio of backs that Oakland has ever had. If there was at least a semblance of an offensive line it's scary to think what they could accomplish.

Need-None

--Fullbacks--

--Matthew Myer--
Myer continues to truck along as one of Oaklands most dependable players. While not spectacular, he gets the job done week in and week out.

Need- None

--Tightend--

Oakland has not had a decent TE since they traded Joseph Flores away. This is an area the Devils have to find an answer for this year. They do not have a single TE on the roster who should be starting in the IFL.

Need-Critical

--Receivers--

--Ernest Martinez --
-- Kurt "Showtime" Bice--
Christopher Tessier

You would think a combined 22 million invested in the position would guarantee this would be an afterthought, however poor gameplanning and then the near career ending injury to Bice makes this once again an area of need for the Devils. However Oakland still has future HOF'er in Martinez so while a counterpart is needed, this area is far from critical.

Need-Medium

Offensive line

Clarence Chisholm
Marco Swift
Rusty McClurken
Gus Falkenberg
Julio Alston

What was once one of the IFL's strongest units, trades and free agent losses have plummeted the Oakland offensive line to easily the worst in the entire league. With Chisholm aging Oakland must replace the entire offensive line this offseason or face another subpar year. I don't believe that any player on the offensive line would even be a backup on any other team in the NFL. If Hamilton is to even think about a ring it all starts here.

Need-Critical

Defensive line

--Gregory Shook--
--Dwayne Francisco--
--Omar Boyles--
-- Bo Lindsay--

While not impressive on paper, this defensive line could be a pleasant suprise for the Devils. While young, this unit could suprise alot in the IFL and we believe that very little attention in the off-season needs to be paid here. It would be nice to find a genuine super stud at DE but isn't that awaly's the case?

Need-Slight

Linebackers

--Ken "Tank" Allmon--
-- Dennis Gallup--
--Jon Hawkins --

The is still one of the top defensive units in the entire IFL. The trio of Allmon, Gallup and Hawkins have alot left in the tank and should give opposing runningbacks fits. This area requires next to no attention in the offseason. Oakland is set here.

Need-None

Cornerbacks

-- Joshua McLaughlin--

Realistically, McLaughlin is getting older and never performed at the level Oakland had hoped when they moved him to CB, so the hunt is now on for replacements at both the right and left cornerback positions.

Need-Critical

Saftey

Basically, Oakland has no saftey's performing at any acceptable level. Both FS and SS will have to be addressed this offseason if they expect to win more then 6 games.

Need-Critical

Realistically, it's going to take another 2 or 3 seasons of strong drafting and affordable free agent pickups to build into a playoff unit, however the offensive line must be addressed instantly before Hamilton gets killed and retired before he ever raises the IFL trophy above his head. This year is a start and we expect a very aggressive front office as Jave will be busy night and day to beat the clock on Hamiltons career. It can be done and the Oakland Devil's are not as far away as it may appear.

[sovstar]

Gaston Lomeli's legs are going to fall off as soon as I hit the begin free agency button.

[sovstar]

What was once one of the IFL's strongest units, trades and free agent losses have plummeted the Oakland offensive line to easily the worst in the entire league.

Hmmm.. I seem to recall a trade where one guard was traded for an All-Pro tackle. Can't remember one that would've added to the plummeting though.

[Jave]

Gaston Lomeli's legs are going to fall off as soon as I hit the begin free agency button.

Haha, your probably right. To bad cause even in his backup role he was still running ok.

Hmmm.. I seem to recall a trade where one guard was traded for an All-Pro tackle. Can't remember one that would've added to the plummeting though.

Not necessarly trading away offensive line players, I was thinking more of ignoring the offensive line by trading away draft picks for players in other positions.

My fault is I was pulling an "Al Davis" and kept thinking I was just one or 2 players away for years, while I ignored the big picture. Which lands me here. No offensive line, no defensive backfield and a roster of players just 1-3 years from retirement. Realistically, it may be to late to avoid a full downward spiral but I am going to see what I can do.

[Jave]

Another thing that caused this is the switch to 07' negated one of my strongest weapons. In 04' I could use a players loyalty rating to sign them for millions under the league standard. So if a player went to FA and had a high loyalty rating, I could just offer him the standard contract and he would sign. Well that backfired in 07' as I tried that and lost nearly every player to the highest bidder with the loyalty rating now meaning nothing to contracts. In fact, I now wonder if the entire "cohesion" rating is rendered meaningless. Paying millions to keep rosters together is a waste of time and effort. I don't believe the payoff is worth the effort.

[sovstar]

Yeah. Cohesion is meaningless ...

[roadrash]

Another thing that caused this is the switch to 07' negated one of my strongest weapons. In 04' I could use a players loyalty rating to sign them for millions under the league standard. So if a player went to FA and had a high loyalty rating, I could just offer him the standard contract and he would sign. Well that backfired in 07' as I tried that and lost nearly every player to the highest bidder with the loyalty rating now meaning nothing to contracts. In fact, I now wonder if the entire "cohesion" rating is rendered meaningless. Paying millions to keep rosters together is a waste of time and effort. I don't believe the payoff is worth the effort.

I went to the Bowl game with a decent roster with high cohesion. I'd have to disagree with you on that one. . .

[Kobeck]

agreed. Although the retirements knocked the Snipe Hunters down to the pack - somewhat anyways - on cohesion.

I screwed the Mules cohesion in like 2003 when I kept dumping 5/17 guys with 1 year on their contract for 22/30 guys with 1 year on their contract. I really need the other 31 teams to turn their rosters over lol

[Hell Atlantic]

look at the Heroes' roster at the beginning of 2010, and look at what our cohesion rating was.

now tell me cohesion doesn't matter.