11-6, 3rd place
Maybe it’s a little unfair. Rio is unbalanced, and nobody thinks they’re idiots for building their team around their running game. But Tokyo has plenty of critics, despite winning the inaugural Whirled Bowl and making it to the playoffs in Year II. It’s hard being Blanda.
The challenge is how the season ended, as, after riding an 8 game winning streak to a 10-3 record, the Swallows limped towards the finishing line, ending the season 1-3, with an inexplicable loss to Sydney in there before the season-ending debacle at Beijing.
Still, Blanda shattered records and Demaryius Thomas was on pace to before his injury and Kimble Anders emerged as perhaps the perfect RB for their system. If they can someday solve the issue of having a defense, they could truly be dominant.
The Off Season
A defense, a defense, our country for a defense.
Bottom Line
Strengths
QB, WR.
Needs
Defense (DT), OL.
Offense
Pts: 1st
Rush/G: 16th
Pass/G: 1st
Yards/Play: 1st
Skill
Those rankings tell the whole story.
George Blanda (22.9 AV, 5937 passing yards, 67:35 TD:interception) was all kinds of magnificent, even considering the number of turnovers. He also was ridiculously busy, averaging just shy of 40 pass attempts per game. John Elway (0.2 AV) showed well once again as a reserve, and it’s unclear if he’s content to remain Blanda’s backup.
At RB, Earl Campbell (0.6 AV) was a good enough back in Year I to chew up the clock, but he was injured in Year II, only appearing in 2 games. That opened the door for both C.J. Anderson (7.6 AV, 857 yards, 3 TD) and Kimble Anders (5.0 AV, 568 yards from scrimmage), but it was really Anders who turned heads with his combination of running and receiving. Zach Line (3.8 AV) was a surprise at FB, and should return.
Given numbers pressure, look for some surprises here, with the Swallows trying to keep Anders, while letting both Anderson and Campbell move on.
While it is difficult to separate them entirely from Blanda, the WRs were once again dominant. Demaryius Thomas (21.8 AV, 69 receptions, 1761 yards, 18 TDs) was on his way to a record-shattering season, and his numbers are truly other-worldly for 13 games. Rod Smith (15.7 AV, 65 receptions, 1134 yards, 20 TDs) established himself as a great receiver, compensating for a slight down year from Lionel Taylor (11.9 AV, 1044 yards), and Kendall Wright (4.1 AV) once again demonstrated his worth, arguing for a starting position somewhere.
Wright’s departure would be cushioned by the emergence of Ernest Givens (3.7 AV), although it is conceivable Tokyo loses both.
Shannon Sharpe (12.8 AV) is an elite TE, but there is little–perhaps no–depth behind him.
OL
Ryan Clady (10.7 AV) and Mike Munchak (10.5 AV, 14 holes) anchor an effective, if unspectacular OL. Evan Smith (9.8 AV, 12 holes) was the surprise of the group, and Bruce Matthews (8.3 AV) will be back as well. Beyond that, it’s a bit murkier.
Both Jim Tyrer (5.6 AV) and Michael Roos (3.4 AV) were excellent in limited appearances, but Tokyo is likely to only keep one of them.
Jerry Sturm (1.2 AV) deserves a backup role somewhere as well.
Special Teams
Matt Prater (1.2 AV, 3 50+) was good enough at K to retain his position, although he wasn’t spectacular. Craig Hentrich (-0.1 AV), however, is out at P.
Leon Washington (0.1 AV) has dominated the return duties, but he’s actually not been all that good, so the Swallows will be looking elsewhere.
TE Jacob Tamme (0.0 AV) retains his spot as the Gunner.
Defense
Pts/G: 16th
Rush Yards/G: 15th
Pass Yards/G: 14th
Yards/P: 13th
DL
Sean Jones (10.2 AV, 3 sacks, 85 tackles, 15 hurries, 13 stuffs) and Ziggy Hood (10.2 AV, 86 tackles, 11 hurries) were excellent off the ends, and then there was a massive dropoff. Karl Klug (5.1 AV) was mediocre in the middle and while Terrance Knighton (3.1 AV) was decent, it was in limited appearances and he’s pretty unproven.
Ray Childress (3.0 AV) was impressive enough to get another shot somewhere, as were Henry Ford (1.3 AV) and Paul Smith (0.6 AV). Bud McFadin (1.2 AV)–a star in Year I–was limited to 3 games in Year II, but should get a chance to show what he can do if healthy again.
LB
As elsewhere, injuries make the LB situation hard to suss out. Both Karl Mecklenburg (4.6 AV in 13 games) and Von Miller (0.3 AV in 1 game) are retained, but its more a function of their Year I performances than anything else. The best performer here in Year II was Randy Gradishar (8.4 AV, 80 tackles), and Jack Ham (4.5 AV) continued to impress on the edge of the first team.
Al Smith (2.1 AV) should get a job somewhere, as should Kamerion Wimbley (0.4 AV).
DB
The secondary was a bit of a mess and it’s not terribly clear how to make it better. Chris Harris, Jr. (8.1 AV, 94 tackles, 18 deflections) was the best of a bad group, but Jason McCourty‘s (1.0 AV) performance was pretty concerning, given the gap between his Year I excellence and his downright poor showing in Year II. Champ Bailey (4.1 AV, 70 tackles) played better than McCourty, but may get caught up in the numbers game.
S was a real mess as nobody really differentiated themselves, and both T.J. Ward (3.4 AV, 20 deflections) and Michael Griffin (3.3 AV) will be allowed to move on if they wish, as will Steve Atwater (0.9 AV).
Players Retained
Franchise
QB: George Blanda
WR: Lionel Taylor, Demaryius Thomas
TE: Shannon Sharpe
OL: Mike Munchak
DL: Sean Jones
LB: Karl Mecklenburg, Von Miller
DB: Chris Harris, Jr., Jason McCourty
Protected
RB: Kimble Anders, Zach Line
WR: Rod Smith
OL: Ryan Clady, Evan Dietrich-Smith, Bruce Matthews, Michael Roos
DL: Ziggy Hood, Ray Childress, Bud McFadin
LB: Randy Gradishar
Reserves
WR: Ernest Givens
TE: Jacob Tamme
LB: Jack Ham
DB: Steve Atwater
Taxis Kept
RB: Ronnie Hillman
DL: Pat Holmes
Players Waived
To Start Somewhere
RB: Earl Campbell, C.J. Anderson
WR: Kendall Wright
OL: Jim Tyrer
DL: Karl Klug, Terrance Knighton
DB: Champ Bailey, T.J. Ward
To Play Somewhere
QB: John Elway
OL: Jerry Sturm
DL: Henry Ford, Paul Smith
LB: Al Smith, Kamerion Wimbley
DB: Michael Griffin, Terry Schmidt, Bernard Pollard
Released
QB: Dan Pastorini, Dutch Clark
RB: Juwan Thompson, Carlos Hyde, Henry Krieger-Coble, Pug Manders, Leon Washington
WR: Justin Gage, Wes Welker, Chris Williams
TE: Erron Kinney
OL: Paul Cornick, John Williams, Tim Grunhard, Chance Warmack, Thomas Gafford
DL: Mitch Unrein, Phil Hansen, Tyus Bowser, Mike Bell
LB: Ian Gold, David Frye, Brandon Marshall, Hayes Pullard III, Larry Morris, Tyus Bowser, Frank LeMaster, Don Shinnick
DB: Bradley Roby, Daimon Stafford, Carl Lee, Kenny Okoro
P: Craig Hentrich