Coming off a surprising 11-5 campaign and the team's first playoff berth since relocating to London in 2028, the Monarchs had more organizational than roster changes in the offseason.

Retirements:
Only two retirements, both from the offensive line:
C David Hake - A league founding member of the Hound Dogs in 2017, Hake's retirement was not unexpected. A serious foot injury in the London's divisional round loss to the Argonauts caused Hake to call it a career. The 38 year old started 224 of 239 career games, and allowed only 24 sacks in his career, and even scored a TD on a fumble recovery for the Colts in 2027. Third year center Patrick Wilson will take over leading the O line.

LT Seth Felix - A free agent pickup in 2031, Felix started 24 games over two seasons. While he was not going to be re-signed, the 32 year old's departure leaves a hole that needs to be addressed.

Coaching changes:
Management hopes it improved an overachieving squad with coaching upgrades for 2033:
Defensive Coordinator George Markowski: London saw the only way to keep the in demand Markowski is to promote him from offensive line coach to defensive coordinator. His heavy 4-3 man to man defensive tendencies seem to line up well with the team's current roster.

Offensive Line coach Jay Martinson: Atlanta's former offensive coordinator comes in to replace Markowski, with a strong emphasis on pass blocking. After surrendering 36 sacks for a league worst 342 yards lost in 2032, Martinson will be in charge of improving protection for QB Matthew Avila.

Receivers coach John Thompson: After several declined contract offers, the Atlanta to London pipeline continues as the former Falcons defensive coordinator comes aboard. The shakiest of the Monarchs' offseason hires, his job will be to improve pass catching prowess.

Linebackers coach Arthur Ellis: The strength of the team's defensive side, the former Raiders kicking coach comes aboard with a reputation for strong pass rush and run defense. Improving the LB corps work in pass defense will be another expectation in this slight coaching upgrade.

Secondary coach Curtis Hardy: The former Irvine secondary coach takes over the same position in London. With higher grades coaching man to man and zone coverage than the departed Matthew Anderson, Hardy will be charged with an improving secondary that had 17 of the team's 27 interceptions in 2032.

Free agents:
Payroll flexibility allowed some offers to top tier free agents this offseason, but missing out on the marquee names led to more signings for depth rather than stars.
CB Marty Shuffler - The former Blizzard CB was the only secondary player the Monarchs were able to add, despite multiple offers. A back of the roster/special teams player, Shuffler had 46 tackles and 2 INTs in 2032.

DT Elliott Merino - Yet another poach from the Falcons, Merino is strictly a depth add on a cheap contract. Management will likely add more defensive line help in the draft or free agency.

WLB Dwight Gainer - The biggest free agent signing, Gainer was tied for second in the league with 117 tackles in 2032. The speedy former Dildozer can play multiple positions, and will add to an impressive group of LBs on the roster, led by MLB Bryon Cleveland.

RDE Todd Martinez - A castoff from the Teabag Party now under new management, Martinez was snapped up to improve a defensive line that struggled to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Mainly a run stopper, Martinez had two sacks and seven QB pressures in his twelve starts for Boston last season.

RB Alvin Dillon - Possibly a luxury on a team that features Archie Daniels, Dillon was added to bring more speed to the London backfield. While used less as a rusher in Arkansas, Dillon did show skill as a receiver out of the backfield, which plays well with the Monarchs current offensive scheme. Signing a five year contract, the 26 year old should be a useful piece for the foreseeable future.

Cornerback, safety and offensive line depth could not be addressed in early free agency, so the Monarchs hope to acquire some young talent at those spots in the 2033 draft.

The Monarchs mostly achieved their goal to continue getting younger and faster with a wide array of players picked up in the 2033 draft:

1-26 TE George Payne - Third year coach David Kirby has looked to upgrade the tight end involvement in the offensive gameplan, and Payne fits the bill in spades. A rare combination of speed and strength, Payne is still raw as a receiver. Payne will not immediately replace Bernard Smith (64-573-2 in a breakout 2032 campaign) as the starter, but could be part of a two TE passing attack. London agrees with Arkansas scouts that Christopher Heuer shouldn't have been the first tight end off the board this year.

2-1 LDE LaVar Ball - The Monarchs made a splash by trading back into the second round, agreeing to send their 2034 first round pick to the rebuilding Teabag Party. London looks to upgrade its pass rush by selecting the slightly undersized defensive end Ball. Adding a real life Monarch to the virtual roster (seriously, Google it), Ball shows elite promise as both a pass rusher and run stopper and should give the coaching staff a lot of flexibility. With John Harrington in the final year of his contract and unlikely to return, having a solid replacement in house was vital. London adds a 2034 fifth round pick and speedy FS Joseph Jacobsen from Boston in the deal.

3-26 FS Malcolm DeVry - Drafted as a cornerback, DeVry projects more as a punishing safety. What he lacks in strength, he makes up for with excellent tackling and coverage skills, plus solid speed and acceleration. The additions of DeVry and Jacobsen will hopefully address a longtime hole on the roster and allow veteran Leonard Lino to slide back to his natural CB position.

4-26 RDE/DT Chris Thompson - Another speedy defensive lineman, Thompson will be charged with stopping the run. While mainly working on the end, Thompson could add depth as a DT as well.

5-26 RG Paul Rolfes - The Monarchs finally address the offensive line with the addition of the strongman Rolfes. The molasses slow guard doesn't project as a starter, but should prove to be a capable backup at several positions with his above average pass blocking skills. London is likely to bring in more pass blockers via free agency.

6-26 WR John Michael - London added some project receivers for QB Matthew Avila with their remaining draft picks. Michael has only average speed, but precise route running and strength could turn the big body into a valuable possession receiver. Training camp will be key to gauging his chance at making the team.

7-26 WR Keith Lorentz - A pure dart throw for the final Monarch draftee of 2033. An unspectacular pass catcher and sloppy route runner, Lorentz offers blazing speed and burst as a receiver. A prime candidate to get cut if other roster needs pop up.

As London management continues to phase out aging vets in favor of younger players, the Monarchs look to strengthen a solid foundation for an extended run of success. Look for a rookie update after training camp.

2033 Training Camp update:

1-26 TE George Payne (+8/-4) - A little displeased with his slight drops on the pass catching potentials, but not a huge surprise since TE is probably my weakest coach. Didn't like a -26 on avoiding fumbles potential - that could be a problem.

2-1 LDE LaVar Ball (+6/+0) - Maybe a bit slow developing, but had a +20 in pass rush and +33 on run defense. May end up as a run stuffing RDE down the line.

3-26 FS Malcolm DeVry (+5/+7) - Just what the doctor ordered. A +42 on tackle potential, +22 on strip ball, and +17 and +14 on zone and M2M coverage. Now has 100 potentials on all the important defensive categories except bump and run. Will soon be a stalwart in the London secondary.

4-26 RDE/DT Chris Thompson (+11/+1) - A slight improvement in max speed and acceleration, plus increased potential in pass and run defense. Very pleased with his potential as a future starter.

5-26 RG Paul Rolfes (+7/+4) - A +9 to his potential as both a run blocker and pass blocker, which I really need. Another valuable piece - haven't figured out where to try him on the line.

6-26 WR John Michael (+4/-8) - A -22 on pass catching potential, and -23 on route running. Not much to offer, likely to be cut soon.

7-26 WR Keith Lorentz (+6/+1) - No huge bumps at receiving skills and route running. May give him a preseason game to show how fast he is, but will probably be another roster casualty.

Pleased with how training camp shook out besides the two wide receivers. The Monarchs signed Pennsauken sixth round draftee RB John Johnson, and will try him out as a potential WR candidate instead. London also did some offensive line shuffling, adding former Arizona LT Willie Bacon as a backup pass blocker, and cut 2032 third round pick RG George Dowell. A salary cap hit, but Dowell didn't show any huge long term value to the team. The Monarchs GM will continue to scour the waiver wire or explore potential trades to shore up the roster.

Lol LaVar Ball

Yeah, I know. Can't stand the guy, but I saw he played DE for the real life Monarchs in the 90s - couldn't resist.

The Monarchs post a 3-1 record in the preseason, but there are still issues to address going into the 2033 regular season.

- LA QB Ernest Williams does Ernest Williams things for the XTreme going 15-18 for 168 yards and a TD in the first half of the "Matthew Avila Revenge Bowl," but London's defense steps up forcing three turnovers after halftime in a 20-14 victory. Backup QB Edwin Johnson tosses two TD passes before going down with a leg injury that forces the Monarchs to sign longtime Rubber Duckie QB Neil Kleinschmidt, and former Thrasher RB Alvin Dillon rushes for 71 yards before suffering a foot injury in what ends up being his only preseason appearance.

- The Monarchs travel to Wisconsin to take on the Blizzard, and the defense continues to outpace the offense in a 17-10 victory. London records four interceptions and adds a fumble recovery, and rookie LDE LaVar Ball preserves the victory with a sack on the final play of the game after a long pass gets the Blizzard to the Monarchs two yard line with two seconds remaining in regulation.

- With the memory of arguably their worst game of 2032 still in their minds, the Monarchs sends Memphis to the doghouse with a 44-7 blowout in week three. London's offense finally gets on track, scoring TDs on five of six first half possessions. QB Matthew Avila goes 23-25 in the first half for 255 yards and two scores, RB Archie Daniels rushes for 62 yards and 2 scores, and backup RB Randy Bainter continues a strong preseason with 91 yards rushing, 52 yards receiving and his third and fourth TDs of the preseason, one on the ground and one in the air. Starting TE Bernard Smith adds a 9-92-1 receiving line in the victory.

- However, all of the highs of the win over Memphis come crashing down in the preseason finale in Chicago, as the Bears administer a 35-14 thrashing to the Monarchs. Every weakness of the London squad gets exposed in the loss - long pass plays, two missed field goals and awful offensive line play. Veteran QB Kleinschmidt may be reconsidering signing with London, as he absorbs eleven of the twelve sacks recorded by the relentless Bears pass rush on the day. Chicago DE Richard Parker notches four sacks and a forced fumble returned by Peter Ezell for a TD, SLB Andrew Ward adds three more sacks and SLB Jack Adams adds insult to injury with a safety in the fourth quarter. The lone bright spot for London is an 83 yard TD catch by WR Seth Rollins, who has struggled to find his place in the offense since getting claimed off waivers in 2031. The schedule maker has done the Monarchs no favors with three straight preseason ending blowout losses in Chicago, plus a rematch in the windy city in week 15.

Injuries have led management to shuffle the roster more than expected, especially along an already shaky offensive line. Besides the injuries to Johnson and Dillon, RT David Trudeau lands on IR after a knee injury against the Blizzard, and second year RT Nathan Parker suffers a serious leg injury after giving up three sacks against Chicago and will eat up a roster spot until he recovers. LT Allan Lawrence performed adequately after being signed in preseason week 3, but London will be looking at multiple options to shore up the weakest part of the roster.

Preseason cuts:
London makes some young as well as expensive cuts to get down to the 53 man final roster:
WRs Keith Lorentz and John Johnson - neither speedy rookie shows enough promise to be an important part of the Monarchs long term plans
SS Joshua Taylor - rarely used, there's enough defensive backfield depth now to make him expendable
FB Howard Bordelon - a fourth round pick in 2032, the fullback crashed hard and with other pressing areas on the roster management decides they have no choice but to eat his contract.
RB Scott Ferree - previous management inexplicably signed the plodding runner to an expensive five year deal in 2030, but the 31 year old won't find the field with younger, faster backs. Plenty of bonus money tied up in Ferree until 2034.
LDE Robert Graves - a third round pick in 2030 Graves underwhelmed, with just two sacks total in his entire London career. Drafting a pair of DEs in 2033 meant Graves was not going to be re-signed after this season and was shown the door.
LG John Martinez - Despite the Monarchs offensive line woes, Martinez is the final cut. Martinez started 55 games for the franchise over six seasons, but constantly gave up sacks playing out of position at left tackle. Surrendering three sacks in the preseason ending loss to Chicago convinced management it was time to give the 32 year old his walking papers.

London now looks to build on their surprising playoff appearance last season. The regular season opener provides a rematch of the Monarchs' divisional round loss to the defending conference champion Wilmington Argonauts, this time in London. With the tough NFC North division on the schedule, and showdowns with the Invaders and Raiders plus games against the Dildozers and Thrashers who both narrowly missed the playoffs in 2032, Coach David Kirby will be under a lot of pressure to get the Monarchs back to the postseason for the second straight year.

like to see my former coaches and players find work

Quarterly report:
Record: 2-2 overall record: 2-2

Monarchs mania seems to have officially hit London, as the three biggest crowds in team history fill Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to start the 2033 season. As for the on field product? Still a work in progress.

- The Monarchs get revenge for their 2032 divisional round playoff loss to the Argonauts with a 27-13 victory. The preseason trend continues as the Tough Blokes defense forces five total turnovers, including four in the second half. A run heavy attack lead by RB Archie Daniels with 103 yards rushing, plus 56 yards and a receiving TD paces the offense. QB Matthew Avila isn't called on to do much, passing for just 167 yards, but adding two short TD passes.

- The largest Monarch crowd ever of 57,875 sees London cruise to a 29-7 victory over Detroit in week 2. After allowing a game opening 75 yard TD drive to the Lions, it was all Monarchs the rest of the way. Rolling up 501 yards of total offense, including 211 on the ground, the Monarchs are in control the entire game. Archie Daniels continues a strong season opening campaign, rushing for 121 yards and a TD, plus adding another 58 yards receiving. London's muted passing attack explodes for 290 yards total, including 20 yard TDs to TE Bernard Smith, and a 68 yard strike to second year WR William Ortiz. The only downside is injuries, as MLB Bryon Cleveland suffers a hand injury after an interception that forces him to miss the next two games, and backup DT Elliott Merino who goes down with a knee injury.

- Monarchs fans looking for a sweep of the three game season opening homestand leave disappointed, as the Pennsauken Del Fuego Phoenix befuddle London in a 19-13 loss. The Monarchs defense are unprepared as the Phoenix reverts to its traditional all pass offense, not calling a single run play until the kneel down victory formation. London's strong run game is bottled up, running for less than 90 yards, and QB Matthew Avila's early season struggles continue. Avila goes 28-48 for only 183 yards, and even though he is getting slightly better pass protection this season, too many short passes aren't moving the team down the field.

- London hits the road for the first time in 2033 in week four, but the disappointing offense puts up another sluggish performance in a 17-3 loss to the South Brisbane Raiders. The Raiders RB tandem of Joshua Ryan (75 yards) and Anthony Todd (TDs of 16 and 1 yard) control the game. The Monarchs punt on seven straight possessions after an early field goal on an eight plus minute opening drive, and turn the ball over on downs on their final three drives in the fourth quarter in a fruitless attempt to get back into the game. The coaching staff will need to rework the gameplan, as the Monarchs total only 199 yards of total offense and Matthew Avila continues to play timid throwing for just 134 net yards.

Mama, don't let your babies grow up to be Monarchs right tackles, as Marcus Barraza suffers a serious arm injury against the Raiders and is the *third* right tackle to suffer a serious injury in the early campaign in an already patchwork unit. London's defense has nothing to be ashamed of so far, giving up more than one TD in only one game this season (Raiders). Currently in a three way tie with the SnowSharks and Phoenix in the AFC South with a 2-2 record, the Monarchs are the only team in the division with a positive point differential, giving some hope that if the offense can get on track more success could happen later in the season. The next four games will be vital in determining if the Monarchs will be a buyer or seller at the trade deadline in a surprisingly competitive AFC.

Quarterly report:
Record: 3-1 overall record 5-3

The Monarchs reach the halfway point of the 2033 season with sole possession of first place in the division, as the offense begins rounding into form.

- October begins with a 10-3 home victory over the Denver Broncos. A game opening drive is capped by a 12 yard TD run by Archie Daniels, and a chip shot field goal is all London needs to secure the victory. The Monarchs defense does most of the heavy lifting, limiting Denver to just 178 yards of total offense and picking off three Tyler Burchett passes. Two of the interceptions were by CB Osvaldo Costales, arguably the second best DB from the 2031 class (20 career INTs) after Wilmington's Armando Reynoso. MLB Bryon Cleveland returns from a two game injury absence to record 10 tackles in the win.

- The Monarchs begin a four game road trip in week six with a return trip to Wisconsin to battle the Blizzard. However, the results are different this time, as the Blizzard cruise to a 34-20 win. Rookie TE George Payne opens the scoring with his first career TD catch, but Wisconsin is in control after that. Blizzard RB Gerald Rosales chalks up only 56 yards rushing, but makes it count with TD runs of 16 and 15 yards in the second quarter. Wisconsin switches to a passing attack after halftime, as QB David Livengood hooks up with WR Timothy Gebhardt (8-103-2) for TD catches of 5 and 32 yards in the third quarter. Forced into comeback mode, London QB Matthew Avila throws for 370 yards but only one TD, and the offensive line does him no favors surrendering seven total sacks, including four by second year DT Stephen Graff. Dale Hale records his third career kickoff return TD, going 100 yards to the house in the fourth quarter. Osvaldo Costales provides one of the few defensive highlights for the Monarchs, picking off a pass for the second straight game.

- The road trip continues with a trip to New Jersey for a divisional showdown against the Pennsauken Del Fuego Phoenix. The wild matchup provides all the offensive fireworks Pennsauken fans could ask for as the Monarchs come out on top 41-31. A back and fourth first half ends up tied at 17-17, as QB Jonathon Mentzer connects with RB Ignacio Carlton for a 90 yard TD pass, one of his three TD catches on the day (13-192-3), but Archie Daniels reels in a pair of scores in the first half. London's defense steps up the intensity in the third quarter, picking off four Mentzer passes in the period. This sets up the offense with great field position in Pennsauken territory, which responds by scoring 24 poiints in the frame. QB Matthew Avila puts on a clinic going 26-34 on the day for 317 yards with a new London career high five total TD passes, including scores of 23 yards to TE Bernard Smith (8-94-1) and 35 yards to WR William Ortiz (3-79-1) in the decisive third quarter. In the ultimate "bend but don't break" performance, London surrenders an astounding 584 passing yards on an unheard of 85 passing attempts to the Phoenix, who don't record a single rush the entire game. However, the opportunistic Monarchs defense records six INTs on the day, including three by CB Frank Ball, and one by Costales for his third straight game with a pick. Phoenix WR Bobby Martin records an impressive thirteen catches for 213 yards, but is unable to find the end zone in the loss.

- The second straight divisional game finds the Monarchs traveling to Roswell New Mexico for a battle with the always tough Invaders squad. An efficient performance on both sides of the ball results in a 23-10 victory for the Monarchs. Roswell's defense holds strong, as two long Monarchs drives stall out for field goals in the first quarter. London finally breaks through in the second quarter with Archie Daniels reeling in a four yard TD catch, and WR Seth Rollins - who was reportedly being shopped at the trade deadline - makes management glad they kept him with a 44 yard TD reception. Daniels tallies 190 yards of total offense, 82 rushing and 108 yards receiving with the touchdown, including a stellar 62 yard catch and run on the second play of the game. Matthew Avila continues a strong month under center, going 17-19 on the afternoon for 273 yards and the pair of TD passes and a near perfect QB rating of 153.84. After struggling to begin the season, Avila has started to pick up his play and is now on pace to match most of his passing stats from the 2032 playoff squad.

- In a minor roster move to bolster the offense, London claims second year WR Shaun Ingrassia off waivers from the Barbarians prior to week eight, and waives backup DT Elliott Merino.

The win over Roswell allows the Monarchs to open up a two game lead in the scuffling AFC South division. As the only division team currently with a winning record, London management hopes the improving offense can continue its upswing, as a deep AFC field of postseason contenders makes it seem unlikely more than one squad will make the playoffs this season.

Matthew Avila once threw 7 TDs in one game.

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