6-11, 7th place
Rome beat some good teams–Berlin home and away, San Francisco, and most surprisingly, London. But there was little else to celebrate in a truly mediocre season.
How long do you go with clearly talented QBs that fail to produce? This is the key question for the Roman Empire during this offseason, and it looks like the answer is no farther, as both Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning will be shed. That makes a franchise QB the top priority for the team, but it’s not like the needs end there.
The secondary is weak, the DL picture is confused, and there is a need for high end talent across the board.
The Off Season
All about the QB at this point, and beyond that, an upgrade of talent across the board.
Bottom Line
Strengths
DL. RB. KR.
Needs
QB. QB. QB. RB depth.
Offense
Pts: 15th
Rush/G: 12th
Pass/G: 14th
Yards/Play: 15th
Skill
Their completion percentages hovered around 50, their QBR hovered just over 80, and while Peyton Manning (5.0 AV, 1965 passing yards) played a little better than Andrew Luck (4.7 AV, 1123 passing yards) in Year II, neither did enough to justify the ongoing uncertainty in Rome (and none of the others tossed in for a handful of plays did much, either).
At the same time, Edgerrin James (15.1 AV, 1451 rush yards, 41 catches for 366 yards, 12 total TDs) cemented his position as an elite RB in the WFL, aided by the constant superlative blocking of Dwayne Allen (6.6 AV, 10 holes, 23 catches for 165 yards). Virtually nobody else got a chance in the Roman backfield (James rushed over 300 times, next on the RB list was Ryan Mathews with 13), but none of them impressed, either. Some support for James is high on the list for the offseason.
Marvin Harrison (8.2 AV, 925 yards, 7 TD) is a solid #1 receiver in the league, but depth around him has been an issue, although the emergence of rookie Reggie Wayne (7.7 AV) is quite promising. A.J. Green (6.9 AV, 84 rec, 828 yards) keeps showing signs of development, but keeps falling slightly short, putting his future at the club in doubt. Hakeem Nicks (1.0 AV) should get a look somewhere as well.
Allen may be more of a TE in truth, with neither Tyler Kroft (0.8 AV) nor Clark Harris (0.6 AV, but see ST below) doing enough to claim that position.
OL
There’s Anthony Munoz (9.5 AV, 25 holes, 0 bad runs, 1 sack allowed) and Ray Donaldson (7.0 AV, 11 holes), and then there are a bunch of question marks. Andrew Whitworth (5.1 AV) was solid all year, but neither Willie Colon (4.0 AV) nor Kevin Zeitler (3.3 AV) really impressed, and Max Montoya (2.2 AV) was injured more than he was healthy.
Gabe Jackson (1.0 AV) will play somewhere, but not in Rome.
Special Teams
There is a conundrum at K, as Mike Nugent (0.5 AV) was no better than mediocre before his injury, and Cary Blanchard (0.3 AV) was better as his replacement. The strength of Nugent’s Year I keeps him around, but Blanchard will be a commodity on the open market.
Pat McAfee (1.0 AV) continues to hold down the punting duties.
Returns are a complicated thing for Rome, as Larry Anderson (8.3 AV–0.5 from time at DB, the rest from returns, 3KR TDs, 32.1 yards return average) was easily the best in the league, but is an anchor when he sees the field as a DB. Bert Rechicar (1.6 AV) is better on defense, and handled PR duties adequately.
Clark Harris (see info at TE above) was their best ST player, preserving his roster spot as well.
Defense
Pts/G: 5th
Rush Yards/G: 14th
Pass Yards/G: 6th
Yards/P: 11th
DL
Dwight Freeney (14.6 AV, 78 tackles, 9 sacks, 14 hurries, 13 stuffs) burst onto the scene this year and is causing quite a bit of confusion for Rome in terms of what to do in Year III. He’s a clear starter, as is the stalwart Carlos Dunlap (12.5 AV, 77 tackles, 7 sacks, 16 hurries). The challenge is that Cory Redding (0.1 AV), arguably their best lineman in Year I, lasted only 3 games in Year II. But the Empire are likely to go into camp with all 3 DEs, hoping to sort it out there.
Domata Peko (8.4 AV) has the inside locked up, and while he was ably assisted by Geno Atkins (4.7 AV) and Brandon Thompson (3.4 AV), those 2 are likely to move on in search of playing time, as will Gene Lipscomb (1.5 AV). If the team can find a way to keep Atkins, they certainly will.
LB
What ends up happening with the DL matters here, as there is enough talent to play a 3-4, but the team is likely to remain in a 4-3. Regardless, Vontaze Burfict (9.9 AV, 10 hurries, 10 stuffs, 111 tackles) and D’Qwell Jackson (8.5 AV, 69 tackles in 14 games) are locks (although Jackson’s tendency to get injured is concerning).
Vincent Rey (3.8 AV) and Shaun Phillips (3.4 AV) both had strong showings, with Rey’s looking good enough to unseat Phillips as the 3rd LB on the depth chart, meaning Phillips will be looking for work elsewhere, as will Jerrell Freeman (1.3 AV).
DB
Almost all of Larry Anderson’s value came from his kick returns, which emphasizes how meager a secondary this is.
Ken Riley (8.0 AV, 79 tackles, 3 interceptions, 11 deflections) was good at one CB, but gave up too many penalty yards and completions to really be considered elite, and late season pickup Chris Dishman (2.0 AV in 9 games) did more than enough to lock down the other CB spot for next season, with Terence Newman (1.2 AV) being exposed to the drafts as much from his injury status as anything else.
At S, Jason Belser (6.9 AV, 10 deflections) and Mike Adams (4.4 AV, 59 tackles) were solid enough, making Reggie Nelson (2.0 AV) and Melvin Bullitt (0.8 AV) expendable.
Players Retained
Franchise
RB: Edgerrin James
WR: Marvin Harrison
OL: Anthony Munoz, Ray Donaldson, Andrew Whitworth
DL: Dwight Freeney, Carlos Dunlap, Cory Redding, Domato Peko
LB: Vontaze Burfict
Protected
FB: Dwayne Allen
WR: Reggie Wayne
OL: Max Montoya
DL: Geno Atkins
LB: D’Qwell Jackson, Vincent Rey
DB: Ken Riley, Chris Dishman, Mike Adams, Jason Belser
K: Mike Nugent
P: Pat McAfee
Reserves
TE: Clark Harris
DB: Larry Anderson, Bert Rechichar
Taxis Kept
LB: Jim LeClair
DB: Lemar Parrish
Players Waived
To Start Somewhere
QB: Peyton Manning, Andrew Luck
WR: A.J. Green
OL: Willie Colon, Kevin Zeitler
DL: Brandon Thompson
LB: Shaun Phillips
DB: Terence Newman
K: Cary Blanchard
To Play Somewhere
RB: DeMarco Murray, Shaun Alexander, Walt Garrison
WR: Hakeem Nicks
TE: Tyler Kroft
OL: Gabe Jackson
DL: Gene Lipscomb
LB: Jerrell Freeman
DB: Reggie Nelson, Melvin Bullitt, Cornell Green
Released
QB: Earl Morrall, John Brodie, Matt McGloin, Derek Carr
RB: Pete Johnson, James Brooks, Ryan Mathews, Lydell Mitchell, Bob Davis
WR: Matt Bouza, Carl Pickens, Cooper Kupp
TE: Ted Kwalick, Tyler Kroft
OL: Doug Skene, Le’Raven Clark, Ken Mendenhall
DL: Jim Burt, Kelcy Quarless, Fred Cook, Robert Geathers
LB: Reggie Williams, Tom Howard, Ray May, Gary Brackett, Robert Lyles
DB: Sergio Brown, Lawyer Milloy, James Hunter, Jeremy Langford, Doug Skene
K: Ben Agajanian, Neil Rackers
P: Paul Maguire