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2017 was supposed to be the year that the Reno Wolfpack put it all back together and made a playoff run. While fans weren’t necessary giddy with Imperial Bowl hopes, they were at least hoping that two trades made back in 2015 would pay off playoff dividends.
But as the Wolfpack enter into 2018, Linebacker, Wes Martin retired and offensive tackle Eric Vitale continues to age. Reno stumbled to a 6-10 record last year, losing their last 3 games and leaving fans ready to just call it quits. The franchise continues to lose money and flounders in mediocrity. The curtain had closed. Rumors even swirled over the team possibly moving to Arizona, Charlotte, or even Minneapolis.
Interestingly enough, management did not resign future hall of fame running back Darnell Castillo in the offseason. Instead they decided to franchise him and test the market in order to rebuild. With feelers out, Reno rejected talks of moving some pieces of the team without first addressing Castillo’s value.
With no interest in Darnell, Reno took everyone off of the block, resigned Castillo to a multi-year deal, and began to go after free agents that could fill gaps left by the retirements of Martin, Russell, Rose, and Ackerman.
Jim Delap returns as the Head Coach for his 3rd year, and has not delivered on his promise to return the Wolfpack to the playoffs. Aschenbrenner’s Defense remains one of the top 10 in the league, but Kris Howard has not been able to put 5th year QB, Bryan McNeil in a place to win.
Bryan McNeil continues to disappoint fans and the front office who saw management give up almost an entire draft to get him in the first round after drafting Castillo. It’s the sole reason that Dennis Collela was brought in by previous ownership and journeyman quarterbacks like Jerry Patterson continue to find playing time. This year is no different, as the Wolfpack have brought Oakland’s Alvin Mann into the offseason competition. Reno was so impressed with Mann’s ability to lead the Devildogs to the championship despite Donovan’s injury, that they made an offer to him as a free agent. Jerry Patterson also returns, if nothing else, to give Bryan McNeil one more chance to develop with two great veterans in his ear.
There were some rumblings that McNeil and Castillo had words in the offseason, so management looked to veteran Steve Mireless to lead the backfield. Argot drafted Mireless when he was with Dakota and liked his ability to be an unselfish team player. Mireless also gives Castillo someone that he can trust. McNeil is already developed a good relationship with Mireless and perhaps, if nothing else get the running game back to where it should be.
Despite Castillo’s obvious skills, his statistics are behind projections. This in part is due to a change in the offense that went from a long pass happy attack under Collela, to more of a hybrid short passing attack under McNeil. Management has invested time and energy in looking at the offensive line to improve on their investment. Last year, a priority was put on LT, Jamie Cuomo’s skill development. This led to Easterling becoming disgruntled which also caused turmoil in the locker room. This year, look for Easterling to return to the starting lineup in run formations which will allow Cuomo to shift in on passing downs until he is fully developed. Vitale is being pushed this year after showing only flickers of what has been expected from him. The line is aging but should be able to give Castillo some running room. Leland White, picked in the 4th round is the heir to Vitale pending his development.
McNeil’s chief complaint has been a lack of quality receivers, which has not gone over well with his teammates. Mo Bauer has not been everything that Reno had hoped he would be, and they have had to continue to lean on Steverson and Bronson. Tight End, Luke Burnett continues to age and lacks the ability to block for Castillo. While Majka can block he doesn’t have the pass catching ability of Burnett. Ray Rossini, was taken in the 6th round for his ability to stretch the field.
News on the defense doesn’t get much better. Though Ike Kendall and Cuthbert continue to excel, the Linebackers are suspect and cornerback play has been horrid. The Wolfpack are hoping that Rookies Cedric Porter and Herman Patton are the answer. Safeties Sweeny, Diaz, and Buckner are top notch and have had to cover more ground than necessary to bail out average corners. The need for zone coverage over man to man has allowed many teams to adjust and start to pick apart the defense. Look for these new guys to challenge receivers one on one.
Andy Hartley joins the linebacking crew and will move to the strong side where scouts believe he could be better than expected. Darryl Woods continues to excel as a pass rushing specialist and veterans Shane Baxter and Levon Tucker have been brought in for their experience.
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