[MIJB#19]

General Manager Notes: It's over, 4 weeks too early.
If you think 2100 was bad, well... 2101 was even worse.

European Division:
1. Gothenburg 16-0
2. Paris 7-8-1
3. Maassluis 5-11
4. Bordeaux 4-12

This disaster of a season has ended and it was quite simply just as much of a pain to go through as previous season was. Never before have I been so disappointed in this team. I've never felt more sure that we had the right 13 or so players on offense to achieve something. I should have stuck with my traditional fashion: defense first. We were the worst defense in the league. Merchantmen unworthy. Unworthy. Unworthy!

The offense was easily to blame here too, as our defense was on the field more than any other defense has been. That's seriously discouraging when you have the players to put drives out there that last for 10 minutes of playing time. We mightily failed. I'm running out of suitable adjectives, as much as I'm trying to get a grip on the English language, it feels like it doesn't have enough words and synonyms for the complete opposite of what this team should be capable of, it makes no sense at all that my attempts to construct a suitable offensive game plan for them has completely backfired and for dubious reasons turned our defense into the worst we've ever had. That's 98 seasons of sample size right there.

Blech.

2101 is over, for us, on to 2102.

And boy, will the 2102 off-season be a challenge. I'm seriously tempted to put the overpaid 'stars' of the defense on the block, because clearly they were unable to keep their unit up to standards. Ernie Grant and Richie Piotte, yes, I'm looking at you two. And on the offensive side, Earnest Ashley has to understand that he's not untouchable, despite the apparent safety of $56M in bonus money invested in the next three seasons. It's absurd how little he gets done for us, ludicrous.

And while I'm rambling, some of the readers must be thinking: 16-0, is that a first time in the IHOF? It's not the first time, but it's rare, yes. And unprecedented in the European Division. In 2004 Bordeaux took the first division at 9-7, improved to 11-5 in 2005, which we then beat with a 13-3 record in 2007. In 2031 Bordeaux matched that 13-3 all-time best, which we then repeated in 2037, 2038 and 2040. In 2041 Paris joined the 13-3 club. In 2058, it were once again the Merchantmen to hit 13-3 and we finally broke that record with a 15-1 campaign in 2059. Gothenburg recently sniffed at that, posting back to back 14-2 records in 2097 and 2098, but this season finally getting to the top with the best single season record possible: 16-0.

The story of the Giants is like ours in reverse. We clearly have a more potent offense, but where our offense falls asleep after 4 drives and eventually makes our defense get worn out, the Giants thrive by their defense and manage to do what our more talented offense should be able to do: play efficient, time-wasting football.

I'm not too fond to root for our division foes, but I'm one to root for the best regular season team to get to week 20 and win there. But this Giants teams looks similar to the 2059 Merchantmen (albeit we went 15-1), which had an even more impressive points and yardage figures compared to the other 31 teams (in my opinion). Loyal readers might remember that we tripped over the Atlanta Vipers 31-17 in the conference semifinals. From that experience, I know how cold playoffs football can be. So, Giants, win it all, or sit with a scar on your football soul until the end of your time. After a 16-0 season, the pain must be even more intense than after a 15-1 one-and-done... I'm still hurting, the IHOF Bowl we won 7 seasons later felt more like consolation than confirmation, which it basically should have been. But the 2059 and 2066 Merchantmen had just few players in common. So, one final time: do it now, Giants, or you will regret it forever.