Mid-Season Draft Update


(Mistakatonic University Press) - The season is half-over. Time to check up on those highly - valued rookies and see how they're doing.

1. FB Sam Buck, Seoul Choson
89 carries for a 322 yards, for a 3.6 average. No touchdowns on the ground, and a frightening 13 stuffs. 18 catches with a 13-yard average and three scores, though. His total is 107 touches for 559 yards. Not bad, but you expect more from the number one pick. He's a Minor Bust.

2. DL Matt Calhune, New Deal Lions
8 tackles, 2 sacks, 3 stuffs. That's a normal game for Kenny Arnold, not half a season. Calhune has been a terrible disappointment in New Deal. He's a Total Bust.

3. CB Ned Jarvis, Virginia Beach Panthers
Ned has 22 tackles, and a six-yard average. Interestingly, he's only defended one pass all season (!) That could be because he intercepts them, three so far. He's a decent kick returner, too. After a bad pre-season, Jarvis now looks like a Great Pick.

4. DL Darin Hall, Albuquerque Scorpions
12 tackles for 28 yards. That's pretty good work for a defensive tackle, but the absence of sacks, stuffs, and pass blocks is not good. He'a strong player, but he was picked number four. A Moderate Bust.

5. HB Kenny Proctor, Haddonfield Pumpkins
80 carries with a 4.6 average is very nice, so is five touchdowns on the ground. Six stuffs and five fumbles are not so nice. Nineteen catches with a seventeen-yard average with four more scores is fantastic. Proctor is looking more like a wideout all the time, but he's making it work. Right now, he's a Great Pick.

6. LB Tony Saaverda, Duluth Moose
17 tackles, 32 yards, and 4 stuffs. One interception. His stats are down from the pre-season by a good margin. Tony will struggle without proper attention from Szatch, but he's still a Good Pick.

7. FB Newton Newnan, Arkham Grave Robbers
51 rushes with a 3.3 yard average is very boring, but he did score two touchdowns on the ground. Only two stuffs, too. Seven catches for 86 yards, with one more score, and you wonder if Arkham would have been better-off with Joe Waxley and a great linebacker. As the second-highest scoring fullback in the league, Newt is a Minor Bust.

8. WR Al Toon, Long Beach All-Stars
After a dominant pre-season, Coach Jon has completely wasted Toon. He has one catch for 36 yards, showing his potential without any respect at all from Long Beach. Al is a fantastic player, but as a choice by the stuffy All Stars' management, he's a Total Bust.

9. LB Kenny Arnold, Haddonfield Pumpkins
Scary. 28 tackles with a 2.6 yard average, 4 stuffs, 9 passes defensed, and 1 interception. Pro-Bowl, here I come! Kenny is a Perfect Pick.

10. S Darryl Miller, Pullman Cougars
Mr. Miller has 34 tackles with a 6.5 yard average, and 5 pass defenses. Add in three interceptions, and you get pure gold for Pullman. A Perfect Pick.

11. QB Scott Hennig, New Deal Lions
Almost never sacked, leading the league in pass rating, and thriving with a great pocket and plenty of targets, we are aiming low when we call Scott a Perfect Pick.

12. WR Shannon Shepard, Texas Outlaws
30 catches, 347 yards, 7 touchdowns. Say no more. He's a Perfect Pick.

13. S Nicholas Collard, Seoul Choson
He's doing a decent job on punt returns, not bad on kick returns, but still playing center-field in Seoul. He does have two picks and a handful of pass defenses, but he won't realize his potential until he gets a supporting cast. Right now, he's a Minor Bust.

14. WR Miguel Evans, Owasso Rams
Miguel only has 23 catches, but a 14 yard average is nice. One touchdown? Not enough for the number 14 pick. It is with great charity that I call him a Moderate Bust.

15. S Alex Chamblee, Virginia Beach Panthers
29 tackles, but he's still playing center-field. Chamblee belongs very close to the line of scrimmage. He has 5 passes defended, but he's not a cover-man. Nor will he be any time soon. A lot of guys can play center field, but not many can rush the passer like Alex. In his current utilization, he's a Moderate Bust.

16. OL Dennis Williams, Albuquerque Scorpions
Dennis finally found his form, and Chris Barnes thanks him each week. While most of the improvement has been in the Scorpion playbook, Dennis is a tool in that playbook. He's a Great Pick.

17. DL Cary Carlson, Haddonfield Pumpkins
Only 12 tackles, but two sacks and five stuffs. A pass-block, too. Carlson is doing the best he can, but he's a super-specialized player who only survives with the support of the talented linebackers behind him. He's outperforming Matt Calhune, though. A Minor Bust.

18. OL Clarke Bennett, Long Beach All-Stars
Clarke continues to help with Long Beach's strong running game. While the All Stars have had some problems in recent weeks, sacks have not been one of them. Clarke is still a Great Pick.

19. TE Jed Sinks, Arkham Grave Robbers
13 catches for a 10-yard average and one touchdown. Jed has only had one strong game so far. Without more offensive production from Jed, he'll remain a Moderate Bust.

20. OL Oscar Townsend, Duluth Moose
Oscar is doing his part, and Antwann Newburry appreciates it. While the Moose have stumbled in recent weeks, it can't all be laid on Oscar's shoulders. He's still a Great Pick.

21. LB Tim Greenleaf, Haddonfield Pumpkins
Tim has 13 tackles and a 3.8 yard average. One sack and one pass-defense. That's bad production for pick number 21. He's a Total Bust.

22. HB Homer Thomas, Pullman Cougars
Only 22 carries and one touchdown on the ground, with 17 catches and another in the air. The committee approach to running in Pullman has doomed Homer to obscurity. Add in Kwame Cook, and this looks like a wasted pick, or at least a wasted opportunity. He's a Moderate Bust.

23. LB Tad Ramsey, New Deal Lions
A 2.25 average on tackles is great. But when you only get 11 tackles, that's not so great. Tad has one stuff and has defended five passes. Those are very mediocre numbers for a Round two selection. He's a Moderate Bust.

24. K Sydney Evans, Texas Outlaws
We liked everything about Sydney. Now if he would just get some chances. He's only kicked three field goals, and he missed one of them. He's also missed two extra points. Halfway through the season, Brett Ross looks like a better pick. We like Sydney, but for Texas, he's a Moderate Bust.

25. LB Brian Fain, Seoul Choson
26 tackles, two sacks, a pick and two defended passes. His tackle average is a little high, but he's doing a lot in Seoul. He's a Great Pick.

26. OL Bob Washington, Owasso Rams
Bob has been part of the sadness in Owasso this season. Ballard hasn't been reliable in the air, and John Calloway hasn't been strong on the ground. We like Bob, but he needs to work harder. Maybe the mid-season turnaround against Baton Rouge willl be the start of better run-blocking for the Rams. Bob is a Minor Bust.

27. OL Ethan Gillette, Virginia Beach Panthers
Ethan has been part of the elite unit that protects Angelo Dominic. We expect him to really shine as they start to run hard with James Friedrich. As a nice puzzle-peice for the Panthers, we think he's a Good Pick.

28. CB Keith Sims, Arkham Grave Robbers
22 tackles with a six-yard average is not bad on the corner. Only one pass defended is a little scary, but his one pick was returned 35 yards for a touchdown. Taken in the third round, he looks like a Great Pick.

29. DL Tyrone Haselrig, Baton Rouge Bengals
Seven tackles for minues-twelve yards, with two sacks and two stuffs. It was very sad to see his Discipline increased before the season, but Tyrone continues to impress after a woeful pre-season. He's a Good Pick.

30. LB Adam Halsey, Duluth Moose
9 tackles is terrible. A 2.5 yard average is great. 1 stuff and 1 pass defended is terrible. After an amazing pre-season, Halsey has vanished. Right now, he's a Total Bust.

31. TE Sean Kay, Texas Outlaws
Fifteen catches for 87 yards with two touchdowns. He's playing his role, but maybe it's not a large enough role to warrant his pick at number thirty-one. After a great pre-season, Kay is now ranked as a Good Pick.

32. OB Ken O'Brien, Long Beach All-Stars
Ken 's rating is up from the pre-season, but his production is down. He's only got nine touchdowns, against six picks. He's cooled off considerably, but he still looks like a Good Pick.

33. OL Vic Salisbury, Haddonfield Pumpkins
Vic is doing all he can with limited skills. Haddonfield has put highly-skilled players behind Vic, but he works next to Rob Holt, which is not his fault. Unfortunately, Vic is no Vince Tabron. He's a Minor Bust.

34. S Donnell Sims, Pullman Cougars
Twenty-seven tackles but a fifteen-yard average. That's too much. Paul Fullington could have done the job Sims is doing in Pullman. He's a Moderate Bust.

35. WR Glen Heller, New Deal Lions
Embarrassing. He has no stats. Complete humiliation for a usually brilliant staff at New Deal, and a Total Bust.

36. HB James Friedrich, Baton Rogue Bengals
Friedrich has exploded after languishing with the troubled Bengals. His first week at Virginia Beach was dramatic, and showed the pre-season was no fluke. If Don Jackson wasn't taken in Round 4, James would be the steal of the draft. He's a Perfect Pick.


Main Draft Update