7-10, 5th place
Lomé discovered their offense this year, which was not certain given Thurman Thomas‘ early season injury. In stepped rookie Marshall Faulk and Thomas–he of over 1700 yards rushing in Year I–was unable to find much playing time even when he returned. Faulk was that good, and now the Dzidudu need to decide if they will continue with a 2-back setup (the likely choice) or not.
As importantly, Jim Kelly established himself as an elite QB, and the duo of Torry Holt and Henry Ellard were devastating.
And then there was the defense. Robert Quinn and Aaron Donald were solid up front, and … well … um … there was Terry McDaniel on 1 corner and that’s about it.
Lomé started well, managing a 3-2 record after an impressive win over Istanbul. But they lost 5 consecutive games in the middle of the season, including disappointing losses against Beijing and Cape Town. There was a bit of a rebound, as they ended the year 4-3.
The Off Season
It’s all about the defense, which was pretty abject in Year II.
Bottom Line
Strengths
RB, DL, G/C.
Needs
LB, DB, TE.
Offense
Pts: 5th
Rush/G: 11th
Pass/G: 3rd
Yards/Play: 4th
Skill
Jim Kelly (18.7 AV, 4549 passing yards, 42:13 TD:interceptions) blossomed in Year II, putting to rest any concerns that had emerged after his injury-plagued Year I. Cecil Isbell (0.7 AV) did enough to retain the backup position, but the Austin Davis (-0.2 AV) era is over in Lomé.
Marshall Faulk (20.3 AV, 1375 yards rushing, 60 receptions for 694 yards) was incredible all year, with over 2000 yards and 14 TDs combined rushing and receiving. Thurman Thomas (2 AV in 7 games) struggled a bit in limited action, but the Dzidudu will chalk that up to injury concerns, and hope to come back in Year III with a truly elite offense.
Roland Hooks (2.8 AV) is key to those aspirations, filling the role of a hard-nosed blocking back with aplomb, but it means that both O.J. Simpson (0.6 AV) and C.J. Spiller (0.5 AV) will head off in search of more playing time with their paths blocked here.
Torry Holt (18.8 AV, 93 catches, 1546 yards, 13 receiving TD) and Henry Ellard (16.7 AV, 86 catches for 1510 yards, 16 receiving TD) are a great top 2 set of receivers, but there is a massive drop off between them and the trio of Tom Fears (3.2 AV), Sammy Watkins (2.2 AV), and Chris Givens (1.1 AV). Fears should stick around, but the others–as well as Elroy Hirsch (0.6 AV)–will be available.
Scott Chandler (1.9 AV) was solid at TE, but is probably lost in the numbers shuffle.
OL
Travis Frederick (13.6 AV, 28 holes) stepped in and dominated at C, and Orlando Pace (9.0 AV, 13 holes) was quite good at one T position. Jake Long (5.2 AV) was alright on the other side, but may not retain his roster spot, as both Ruben Brown (4.2 AV)–largely on his Year I work–and Adam Timmerman (3.7 AV, 10 holes) showed quite a bit at the 2 G spots.
Harley Sewell (3.5 AV) and Cody Wichmann (2.9 AV) should find a spot somewhere as well.
Special Teams
Neither K Greg Zuerlein (1.2 AV, 3 50+ FGs) nor P Johnny Hekker (0.9 AV) were as good as they were in Year I, but both preserve their spots for Year III.
Chris Givens was quite meh returning kicks, and Roscoe Parrish (-2.1 AV) equally ineffective running back punts.
Givens sticks around, however, as the gunner.
Defense
Pts/G: 15th
Rush Yards/G: 8th
Pass Yards/G: 16th
Yards/P: 16th
DL
Robert Quinn (11.4 AV, 82 tackles, 7 sacks, 15 stuffs) and Aaron Donald (10.6 AV, 60 tackles, 24 hurries) were dominant up front, but after that there was a pretty significant drop-off. Mario Williams (5.4 AV) was good enough to regain his spot, but it’s not clear if keeping those 3 in a 3-4 is the way to go here, or if embracing their talent glut and trying to find a way to maximize the latent abilities of Merlin Olsen (4.7 AV), Marcell Dareus (2.3 AV), and, especially, Deacon Jones (2.8 AV, 9 sacks in 6 games), whose sack rate is off the charts.
Cody Jones (0.7 AV) could be a reserve somewhere.
This leaves open the maddening question of Bruce Smith (0 AV), who continues to be an infinite about of potential wrapped in a garbage bag of injuries.
LB
The linebackers sucked. Hard to be more succinct than that.
The best of the group was Alec Ogletree (4.5 AV, 80 tackles), followed by Archie Matsos (3.5 AV, 2 interceptions) and Cornelius Bennett (3.0 AV). But none of them were healthy for the full season and the team is more convinced of Isaiah Robertson‘s (1.7 AV) upside than those three, although Matsos is most likely to be retained.
Jake McQuaide (1.5 AV) should play somewhere as well.
DB
Terry McDaniel (6.9 AV, 7 interceptions, 2 TDs, 102 tackles, 16 deflections, 145 penalty yards) led the secondary, but his very high penalty rate kept him from being truly among the best in the league. Still, he returns, as does Stephon Gilmore (3.4 AV). Gill Byrd (5.0 AV, 5 interceptions, 10 deflections) played well, but is caught up in the numbers game at CB; however, given the hot mess at safety, he may be retained.
It’s likely that Lomé will go into Year III with all new safeties, as neither Charles Godfrey (2.3 AV) nor Da’Norris Searcy (1.4 AV, 67 tackles) really warrant starting positions, although those 2, Jonathan Meeks (0.7 AV), and Harry Hamilton (0.5 AV) could all be useful somewhere.
Players Retained
Franchise
QB: Jim Kelly
RB: Marshall Faulk
WR: Torry Holt, Henry Ellard
OL: Orlando Pace
DL: Robert Quinn, Aaron Donald, Mario Williams
LB: Archie Matsos
DB: Stephon Gilmore
Protected
RB: Thurman Thomas, Roland Hooks
WR: Tom Fears
OL: Travis Frederick, Ruben Brown, Adam Timmerman
DL: Deacon Jones
LB: Isaiah Robertson, Cornelius Bennett
DB: Terry McDaniel
K: Greg Zuerlein
P: Johnny Hekker
Reserves
QB: Cecil Isbell
WR: Chris Givens
DB: Gill Byrd
Taxis Kept
OL: Rodger Saffold
LB: Kelvin Sheppard
Players Waived
To Start Somewhere
OL: Jake Long
LB: Alec Ogletree
DL: Merlin Olsen, Marcell Dareus
DB: Charles Godfrey
To Play Somewhere
QB: Austin Davis
RB: O.J. Simpson, C.J. Spiller
WR: Sammy Watkins, Elroy Hirsch
TE: Scott Chandler, Ernie Conwell
OL: Harley Sewell, Cody Wichmann
DL: Cody Jones
LB: Jake McQuaide
DB: Da’Norris Searcy, Jonathan Meeks, Harry Hamilton
Released
RB: Dan Kreider, Gene Ronzani
WR: Peerless Price, Desmond Howard, Roscoe Parrish
TE: Trey Burton, Billy Truax, Fred Baxter
OL: John Miller, Cordy Glenn, Ben Gottschalk, Art Hunter, Ben Jones, Scott Wells
DL: Tom Sestak, Jerry DeLoach, Morgan Fox, Randy Gregory, Bruce Smith, Marshall McFadden
LB: Josh Forrest, Mark Brown, Ralph Heck, Marcus Rush, Marshall McFadden
DB: Brandon McGee, Janoris Jenkins, Gene Ronzani, Mike Jordan, Pierre Desir, Lamarcus Joyner, Duke Williams
K: Michael Palardy, Jeff Wilkins