3-14, 8th place
What the hell happened here?
Boston was a playoff team in Year I, and while, sure, they didn’t have much of a running game, but you sure didn’t think this would happen.
A victory over Cape Town was their only win in their first 14 games, and while they closed out the year with wins over Sydney and Rome, it was still a pretty miserable season.
It’s hard to figure out–the team has some good top-end talent, and Irving Fryar was a revelation this year after Don Maynard‘s injury. But they couldn’t score, they couldn’t defend, and they could barely kick.
It is tempting to blame injuries, but everyone faces injuries in the WFL. That said, losing Rob Gronkowski did hurt and Gronk is a near-unique weapon in the league, one that allowed the Bulldogs to compensate for their lack of a dependable running game.
A lot of help is needed.
The Off Season
The key question is whether to limp by with the RB situation or not.
Bottom Line
Strengths
QB, WR, TE, DE, DB, CB
Needs
RB, DL, S
Offense
Pts: 14th
Rush/G: 15th
Pass/G: 10th
Yards/Play: 13th
Skill
Tom Brady (13.2 AV, 90.2 QBR, 3847 yards passing, 26:9 TD:Int) is still a WFL QB for sure. Whatever the Bulldogs’ problems are, he’s not it.
RB continues to be an issue. Chris Ivory (5.8 AV, 678 yards rush, 5 rush TD) was given a chance to claim the #1 spot, and he didn’t do badly. But he didn’t exactly solidify a starting role in Year III. There are some challenges with what to do with him and Curtis Martin (4.2 AV) and Freeman McNeil (0.4 AV), who impressed in a late season cameo.
Only Harold Green (0.6 AV) really played himself out of contention here Well, Green and Bruce Harper (-0.1 AV), whose performance as kick returner was even worse than his running out of the backfield.
Tim Wright (3.6 AV) remains a very useful piece for Boston, as a blocking back and Brady’s safety valve, meaning Michael Hoomanawanui (0.8 AV) will be elsewhere next year.
Irving Fryar (15.6 AV, 95 rec, 1378 rec yards, 9 rec TD) was one of the best WRs in the league, something nobody would have predicted at the start of the year. But he showed an ability to function as a #1 wideout that will certainly bear fruit if Don Maynard (3.3 AV) can be healthy next season. Rob Moore (3.3 AV) did enough to stick around, but Jeremy Kerley (1.9 AV) is likely to search for more playing time and Keyshawn Johnson (0.7 AV) will be sent on his way after a whopping 15 drops in the season.
TE is all about Rob Gronkowski (7.1 AV, 43 catches, 505 yards in 11 games) and his health.
OL
T Bruce Armstrong (9.3 AV, 22 holes) was the Bulldogs’ best lineman in Year II, but that is not unrelated to John Hannah‘s (1.3 AV) missing most of the year through injury (he was quite poor before the injury, with a 10:3 bad run:hole ratio, which is a bit of a concern).
Look for those 2, along with mainstays Logan Mankins (5.2 AV) and Nick Mangold (6.8 AV) to return, although journeyman Jermon Bushrod (3.4 AV) and newcomer Kelechi Osemele (2.1 AV) will be looking for roles elsewhere. Osemele especially performed well enough to get a shot at a starting spot.
Special Teams
Nick Folk (0.2 AV) was awful on FGs, making only 4 of 15. But he was hurt, and so solid in Year I that he retains the spot. It helps that Errol Mann (0.3 AV) wasn’t great as his short-term replacement.
Ryan Quigley (0.3 AV) didn’t do enough as P to stay on.
LB Larry Izzo (0.8 AV) was the standout on special teams.
Defense
Pts/G: 11th
Rush Yards/G: 13th
Pass Yards/G: 7th
Yards/P: 4th
DL
Mark Gastineau (12.3 AV, 89 tackles, 13 hurries, 12 stuffs) is an elite WFL player, and Vince Wilfork (10.0 AV) and Richard Seymour (7.5 AV) were both good at clogging up space in the middle. But there was a real separation between that group and Larry Eisenhauer (4.6 AV) and Jason Babin (4.3 AV), who split time at the other DE spot.
Muhammed Wilkerson (2.5 AV in under 300 plays) should get a chance somewhere.
LB
Despite a drop in sacks, Andre Tippett (11.7 AV, 9 sacks) had another great year at one OLB slot. Nick Buoniconti (8.9 AV, 88 tackles) held down the middle and Mo Lewis (6.3 AV) was a pleasant surprise on the other side.
None of the reserves did much, other than Izzo on special teams.
DB
Figuring out what to do in the secondary is very complicated, basically because absolutely nobody had a good year.
Darelle Revis (1.2 AV) had a poor season on Revis Island, giving up a high percentage of completions and missing 16 tackles while going without an interception. But his performance in Year I keeps him around. At the other CB slot, Mike Haynes (2.2 AV, 3 interceptions) was on his way to a spectacular season with 3 interceptions in 5 games before he got injured. So in normal cases, you would automatically keep them because reasons.
But, both Ty Law (3.4 AV, 12 deflections) and Malcolm Butler (2.6 AV) were excellent as fill-in options, and Kyle Wilson (1.2 AV) was no slouch either.
At safety, Patrick Chung (3.0 AV) was the best of a weak group.
Players Retained
Franchise
QB: Tom Brady
WR: Don Maynard, Irving Fryar
TE: Rob Gronkowski
OL: Nick Mangold
DL: Mark Gastineau, Richard Seymour
LB: Andre Tippett
DB: Darrelle Revis, Mike Haynes
Protected
RB: Curtis Martin, Chris Ivory
WR: Rob Moore
OL: Bruce Armstrong, Logan Mankins, John Hannah
DL: Vince Wilfork, Jason Babin, Larry Eisenhauer
LB: Nick Buoniconti, Mo Lewis
K: Nick Folk
Reserves
RB: Freeman McNeil
DB: Ty Law
Taxis Kept
TE: Tony Romeo
WR: Laveranues Coles
Players Waived
To Start Somewhere
OL: Kelechi Osemele
To Play Somewhere
RB: Michael Hoomanawanui, Bruce Harper, Tim Wright
WR: Jeremy Kerley, Keyshawn Johnson
OL: Jermon Bushrod
DL: Muhammed Wilkerson
DB: Malcolm Butler, Patrick Chung, Kyle Wilson
Released
QB: Pat Ryan, Brad Smith, Cotton Davidson, Shaun Hill
RB: Harold Green, Charles Clay, Shane Vereen, Jerome Felton
WR: Cody Latimer, Wesley Walker
TE: James Jenkins
OL: Joe Fields, Ted Karras, Brandon Moore, Ben Ijalana, Stew Barber
DL: Sheldon Richardson, Joe Rutgens, Bob Dee, Julius Adams, Geneo Grissom, Jerel Worthy
LB: David Harris, Larry Grantham, Christian Kirksey, Jerod Mayo, Eric Pinkins, Jordan Jenkins, Matt Overton
DB: Calvin Pryor, Devin McCourty, Ronnie Lippett, Duron Harmon, Crezdon Butler, Rontez Miles, Richie Petitbon
K: Errol Mann
P: Ryan Quigley