Toronto Tigers:
Following the award ceremony, the league committee discussed possibilities for the league moving forward. The hot topic was, of course, the Toronto Tigers and their very rough first season in the NAAF. While there were many ideas the top options are either contraction and sticking with six teams moving forward or possible relocation of the Tigers to a different market. Ryan Jameson and several owners (mainly Ottawa and Buffalo) want to be able to keep the team afloat and in the league. The conclusion for this offseason was to assist the Tigers financially this season and hope that things will improve and be open for more ideas to keep the Tigers in the NAAF.
Worchester Athletics:
Another topic was some possible interest from other clubs wanting to join the NAAF. While most interest is very preliminary and more just ideas the serious consideration comes from a former NEFC club in the Worchester Athletics who did not return to the professional level after the war but maintained a small amateur team in a regional league. After seeing the success the football club is interested in returning to professional football and rejoin their former league-mates in the NAAF. The discussion will continue throughout the offseason and 1950 season with hopes to bring the Athletics to the NAAF within the next few seasons.
1950 Season Schedule:
The upcoming schedule was also released with some changes from last year's format.
- Weeks 5 and 6 will have only 2 games instead of a single game week
- The determining factor for the teams that would face multiple times was based on 1949's standings
1 v 3 v 5 v 7 v 2 v 4 v 6 v 1 Alternating between positions to decide who plays who twice.
- The season will kick off with a McCallister Cup rematch in Boston between the Independents and Gold Stars
1950 Offseason Headlines
Young 25-year-old QB Angelo Medina decided to leave the Pennsylvania Football Association’s Pittsburgh team to pursue an opportunity to compete in the NAAF. The declining health of the PFA is affecting all the teams financially, so Medina felt that it might be smart to make the jump to the successful and promising NAAF. Medina was quickly a target of the Toronto Tigers after veteran starter Ellis Sears was leaving and they had no real confidence in the younger Michael Kramer. Surprisingly, but also not, two other teams were also showing interest in Medina. Buffalo had decided to gamble and not resign QB Evan Morrow and opt to hold onto backup Andrew Glover, so they could target Medina. Hartford also put their name in the hat even after signing their long time starter Oliver Callahan to 2 more years. After weighing the deals Medina decided the best place for him was in Buffalo and signed a four year deal with the Blue Wings. The teams that lost out on Medina, scrambled for the other QB’s available. The Tigers added Evan Morrow and the Hawks picked up Ellis Sears to back up Callahan.
ELLIS LOVE MOVES ON FROM PROVIDENCE
Ellis Love had a solid 1949 season after the Gold Stars RB Gene Fischer had gone down with an injury for most of the season. Love performed well in Fischer’s absence even collecting a Player of the Week Honour. When Fischer returned it was obvious the Gold Stars favoured the younger Fischer over Love. They still ran a 2 RB system for their playoff run but Love wanted the starting role. Two teams showed major interest. The two, of course, being the losers of the Medina sweepstakes, Toronto and Hartford. Both teams had no run game in 1949 and were desperate to add a solid back like Love. In the end, Love was easily persuaded to stick closer to home and play for the Hawks who will now have more weapons at Oliver Callahan’s disposal.
1950 Power Rankings and Season Preview
1 - Boston Independents
The defending champions come into the second season as heavy favourites again. The Independents were able to maintain most of the team that won it last year while also adding to the roster with a former Philadelphia DB Francis Veillette. Larry Larson and Joel Bonner lead the way once again and are expected to do better than they had last year with many people predicting an undefeated run by the Boston Club
Biggest Adds:
DB Francis Veillette (Philadelphia PFA)
OL John Richards (Springfield - Amateur)
OL Kwanzaa Graves (Syracuse - NYFL)
2 - Providence Gold Stars
The Gold Stars were quite underrated last year but had proved everyone wrong with the upset in the semi-finals to compete for the championship. While they still have yet to beat the Independents since their return to playing each other, they may have a shot with the roster they have. Providence was just as good or better than Boston at keeping most of their players and added depth pieces to help the team that is growing a lot after the first season. Even with the loss of backup RB Ellis Love the Gold Stars added RB Ruben Armstrong who shows some potential as a solid power back. Overall, many of their young players are getting better this season and could make the Gold Stars a contender for a while.
Biggest Adds:
RB Ruben Armstrong (Brooklyn - NYFL)
LB Lewis Whitfield (HAR)
DL Tykeim Moss (Pittsburgh - PFA)
3 - Montreal Rouge
The Rouge had what would be an okay off-season as they do keep their defence locked in, however, they were unable to add in places of need. The downfall of the Rouge last season was their air attack as Maurice Norris didn’t have a lot of options at through the air and is not a prolific passer himself. While some wanted to see the Rouge target Angelo Medina, they decided to stick with Norris and Beliveau at QB. They were in the hunt for WR Willard Brooks who came from Baltimore but ultimately lost out to the Royals for the deep threat receiver. Those losses will not be the end of the Rouge as they still remain a top squad but will want to avoid embarrassment and disappointment when games become more important.
Biggest Adds:
DL Zakary Turbide (McGill University)
OL Eugésippe Chalifoux (Laval)
OL Claude Montgomery (Sherbrooke - LFQ)
4 - Ottawa Royals
The Royals had a big issue to deal with in the offseason and that was defence. Unfortunately, they fell short on DB Francis Veillette who went to Boston but were able to add two young DB’s in Timothy Key and Uzzia Hayes. The two corners may not be super impactful initially but they have the potential to break loose in a year or two and give the Royals a deadly secondary. They also were able to snag WR Willard Brooks away from the Rouge to add to the passing attack alongside WR Allen Adkins. Duane Logan will be more determined this season to be more consistent and keep up with the three juggernauts ahead of them.
Biggest Adds:
WR Willard Brooks (Baltimore - APFA)
DB Timothy Key (Rochester - NYFL)
DB Uzzia Hayes (U of Ottawa)
5 - Buffalo Blue Wings
The Blue Wings had probably the most exciting off-season with the addition of QB Angelo Medina. Medina is only 25 and still has some room to grow into one of the top QB’s in the NAAF being the perfect franchise quarterback on a team oozing of potential. They made improvements in the air attack with the addition of former Royals #2 reciever Kenneth Mullen who is going onto his last legs of his career but alongside Travis Gallagher and Joseph Barry they Blue Wings could be flying up the field. Medina will also have Arthur Conner in the backfield to help out. The Blue Wings also improved on defence and could make a name for themselves behind the play of Oscar Patterson in the secondary and Jonathan Brown on the D-line. Buffalo will be an exciting team to watch this season and the near future.
Biggest Adds:
QB Angelo Medina (Pittsburgh - PFA)
WR Kenneth Mullen (OTT)
DL Jefferson Maynard (MTL)
6 - Hartford Hawks
The Hawks were somewhat aggressive during the off-season, being in the conversation on most top free agents. They were able to grab up Ellis Love to give Callahan a run game but they fell short on a lot of players as well. They did snag LB Landon Ashley from Boston which will add a veteran presence to the middle of the defence. They also acquire WR Jay Baxter from Providence to add depth at the wideout position. Hartford still is a ways away from being a championship contender but they have made some improvements that will hopefully turn into an extra win or two.
Biggest Adds:
RB Ellis Love (PRO)
LB Landon Ashley (BOS)
WR Jay Baxter (PRO)
7 - Toronto Tigers
The lowly Tigers had a quietly good offseason. They never made any big splashes but the team was able to still acquire players that will hopefully stabilize a very dysfunctional team from the horrid 1949 season. QB Evan Morrow is the new go-to guy and the Tigers are just hoping for more of the same from his time with the Blue Wings. Morrow played pretty well but he is definitely not the long term answer. Missing out on Medina and Love was still hard for the Tigers but they recovered well picking up young RB Laurent Brazeau who has the potential to become a regular back in the NAAF. Another area that the Tigers look good in is their secondary which is young (aside from 1949 all-star Clifford Jacobson) but could be the centerpiece of the Tigers developing defence. The Tigers may still end the season winless, but there is renewed hope that the team will at least show some fight this year and that is all fans could ask for.
Biggest Adds:
QB Evan Morrow (BUF)
RB Laurent Brazeau (Quebec City - LFQ)
WR Wlibert Benjamin (U of Toronto)
WEEK 1 Games
PRO @ BOS *McCallister Cup Rematch
OTT @ HAR
MTL @ TOR
No comments:
Post a Comment