With three teams folding (Georgia, KC and Milwaukee), things are going to be interesting. This is both good and bad. Bad because this is all that casual fans will hear about this league. It just makes it seem more and more like the league is in trouble. I beg to differ. The league needs to reign it in a bit for a little while. This will condense the talent pool into the remaining teams, only making them better. This will also condense the fanbase in so (in theory) each team can get more viewers. It can go either way, but I'm a blind optimist in this area.
Now, there hasn't been a lot of news out of the Power camp during this period, which is both unsurprising and a little disturbing. Now that teams are allowed to sign players for more than one season, players are probably thinking a lot harder about where they want to be and giving a lot more thought to seeing where offers will be made - meaning that they'll wait for the unrestricted period to begin. So far, we've re-signed Chris "Gingabread" LeFlore and Mike "the Joystick" Washington. This is great news, but it's still a long way from a complete team.
Skuttlebutt said that the Power was going to release a "big" statement Monday, but that didn't happen, probably because of the weather. The options are limited to what this could have been, as they can only technically talk to people from their 2012 roster. Now, I suppose they could have skirted that and been ready to announce someone as soon as open free agency began...but I don't think so. The only player aside from the above that would have been that exciting is Superman. (Though, I suppose, they could still be over-estimating his popularity and continued to beat the Bill Stull drum.) So, it's not a done deal, but it's my gut feeling.
So, what can we expect in the coming phase? More specifically, what should the Power do?
Well, assuming we have Superman in addition to Joystick, we've got a start on the receiver corps. That's it for sure. Frankly, I think that our receivers will take care of themselves. LeFlore was the star on defense, and we know he's back. They say defense is underrated in this league - and, to a degree, this is true. However, you look at teams like the Rattlers last year that had great offense and defense that stopped their opponents in their tracks. It's important. However, it's useless without offense. You need to score fast and often in this league, and the Power didn't. We had great D, but our offense couldn't get it done.
So, having said that, you're going to start screaming at me when I say that our top three concerns should be - in this order - Offensive line, Kicker, QB. "What the hell are you talking about, Weidman?" you might be yelling. "You said we needed offense! Nick Davila and Tommy Grady are free agents! At very least, how about some more receivers and some running backs?" Calm down, hypothetical reader. 'Tis madness, but there is method to it.
I'd love to see guys like Christian Wise and Tyree Young back, but they're not crucial. We've got some stars locked up, and frankly, the Power hasn't had a lot of trouble getting quality people out front - we've had problems getting the ball to them. ("So, yeah! A quarterback!" Quiet, you.) We've been through a lot of QBs over the last two seasons. Why is that? Well, aside from Rowley, we've lost every single one of them to injuries at one point or another. This goes back to the O line. They have not been able to offer the protection needed. I firmly believe that most of the QBs we've had could have done a lot better if they had more time to think in the pocket, or at very least, didn't have that voice in their head screaming "OH MY FRICKIN' GOD, THEY'RE GOING TO MURDER ME!" Case and point is Bernard Morris. He goes to Jacksonville and makes the playoffs.
Connected to this is how the league works. Every team pays the same amount for their players (I'm pretending that non-pay extras don't happen.) This means that the players have to look at intangibles - especially quarterbacks. They're going to want to go somewhere with a lot of exposure, a great fanbase and some place that won't end their career early. Pittsburgh has none of those things right now. Sure, the fans that show up are into it, but the following hasn't gained the traction of old-market teams like Orlando, Arizona and San Jose. Because of this, they won't get a lot of exposure. This leaves protection. If we can shore up that line, we can either get someone of higher caliber, or at least let our guy play up to his ability.
As for free agents like Davila and Grady, don't get your hopes up. Grady went to U of U and went far with the Blaze last year. I don't see him leaving there any time soon, unless it's to the NFL. Likewise, Davila has two Arena Bowls, one ring and his family in Arizona. The fact that he isn't signed is probably just a matter of paperwork.
So....yeah. That's why I think focusing on a QB is a waste of time. Why did I pick kicker next? I've hammered this point in over and over again - the kicker is key in the AFL. How many games have the Power lost based on shoddy kicking? When you score 6-7 TDs a game, a lousy kicker can swing that final score by 6-7 points. Along with the QB carousel last year, we had kicker hot-potato. That needs to stop (Though, I'd like to bring the Vampire back on defense and special teams for his tackling ability.)
After all this is done, we can think about the QB situation...but only if there aren't any good receivers/backs out there. If we're "stuck" with Hines or Stull, I can deal with it. Like I said - they had more to offer, they just kept getting steamrollered.
Elsewhere in the league
- Now that Clint Dozel in the coach's seat, he seems to be trying to meld his dreams into reality. When he came up east from the Vigilantes, he brought as many of his favorites with him as he could From there, he molded the D in his image. He and Dirty Dan are now signed for two years, so I think he's going to hold on tight to as much of his creation as he can and see if he can get that ring this year.
- Bernard Morris is returning to the Sharks.
- Kurt Rocco looks to take the Voodoo even farther this coming season. New Orleans is one of the teams with the most activity during this period. They seem to know what they want.
- Despite some serious ups and downs, Steve Wasil is returning to Tampa Bay
- The Talons are getting both Fred Shaw and Robert Quiroga back
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