2036 Mid-season Report

"The team under Coach Terry Caskey has been a revelation. Owner Timothy Thompson--himself, a Football Moguls Hall of Fame inductee and champion quarterback--sat back, mouth agape, at how Caskey has changed the culture of the locker room and propelled the team forward with a winning strategy. Where once, Thompson was ready to rebuild and traded away multiple assets, Caskey triumphantly remarked, 'I can work with this...' and he has." - Reporter Newsman, Thrashers Beat Reporter

Current Record: 7-1

Offensive Highlights

For 14 years, QB John Spartan has had the reins of this offense, and this year could be his swan song, but he is playing with the intent of going out on top. The QB1 has the 2nd best completion percentage in the league with a QB Rating of 101.92 (also 2nd best among qualified QB). Over the last two games, he's made a new connection with WR Stacker Pentecost (17 catches; 396 yards), who spent the first three seasons as a FB/TE hybrid who contributed but never had the full spotlight. When Dutch Schaefer was traded during the offseason, Pentecost made the transition to WR. At 6.'3", he slimmed down to 216 lbs. which really took his speed to another level.

However, Spartan has always spread the ball around, and this season is no different, throwing to 14 different receivers. Under Coach Caskey's West Coast Offense, WRs are actually targeted--where in the past, many more receptions went as dump offs to the RB--in fact, 40% of all passes in 2035 went to the backfield; this season, it's down to 30%, so as a result, the average depth of target is away from the line of scrimmage instead of at or behind the line.

Furthermore, the running game has still been an important piece to control the clock and maintain a dominant time of possession. The team won't be winning any rushing titles and even the yard per carry currently sits at a paltry 3.4 (19th in the league), but RB Henri Boudreaux spent multiple games injured, and he's slowly made his way back and should get the start in Week 9. In his absence, Ignatius Infernus has done a serviceable job and currently leads the team in carries and yards (110 for 420), and the team as a whole ranks 3rd in rushing attempts (33), 6th in yards per game (115), and 7th in rushing TDs (0.5).

Defensive / Special Teams Highlights

Although the pass rush has slowed (6 sacks; 23 QB hurries), the pass defense has been elite this season (4th in Interceptions with 15; 2 pick sixes). Sophomore LB Dude Lebowski leads the team with 4 Interceptions, but CBs Alonzo Harris and Nat Romanov have also chipped in 3 each. The team has already accumulated 71 Knockdowns, as well. LB Henry Tyler leads the team in tackles by a wide margin with 64. The defense is tied for allowing the 6th fewest points across half the season as well.

K T'Challa King has been more consistent this season as well. He's tied for most FGs this season with 25/28 and has completed 16/17 Extra Point Attempts, as well. His career average has been 84%, and he's currently kicking for 89%. Let's hope this is progress to raising his average rather than a sign that he's going to regress toward the mean.

Up Next

The Thrashers have a difficult road schedule ahead, facing the Seahawks and Argonauts back to back. Then, they have two home games versus the Demons and Invaders. There is a scenario in which the team can lose all of those games. Most of them are division leaders, currently. Five of the final eight opponents have winning records, as well. It's not an easy schedule. Check back later for more updates.

2036 End of Regular Season Report

Final Record: 13-3; 1st place AFC East; 1st Round Bye in playoff seeding

"Is this John Spartan's last hurrah and will it end in victory?" --Reporter Newsman

In many people's minds, Coach Terry Caskey is a candidate for Coach of the Year. Yes, the team finished 12-4 last season, so to finish 13-3 is only a slight improvement on paper, but it's the first time in three years the Thrashers have won their division. The AFC East won more games this season than any other division. No team fell below .500. The reality is that the division is tougher than ever, and even though the Thrashers have only lost more than 5 games once in 18 seasons (and subsequently missed the playoffs that year as well), going into this season, the future did not look bright. QB John Spartan looked tired, and the draft picks were so awful that Owner Timothy Thompson shipped off their first round pick to division rival Independence Pirates. Other trades were made as well. Ownership was planning for a rebuild. Then a funny thing happened: the Thrashers didn't quit. Coach Terry Caskey wouldn't let them.

Rather than letting his Hall of Fame ego get in the way, Thompson played ball, so-to-speak which led to an 11-1 start that no one saw coming. The team traded for Joseph Jacobsen (London Monarchs) to add speed to the secondary, and then signed Javier Webster and William Nettles to beef up the offensive line. They also added two WRs, Raymond Broadhead and Jason Lipscomb--both role players but will potentially solidify the position for at least two seasons beyond. In short, the team got better as the season progressed...not worse.

Offensive Highlights

QB John Spartan finished 6th this season with 4,608 yards, which adds to his career total of 53,932 passing yards (245 yards less than Patrick Spinner's all time record of 54,177 yards). His 26 TDs put him 2nd all time (364) and only one of three QBs to exceed 350 TDs ever.

The QB was only sacked 12 times (the fewest since 2031) and the run game still picked up 4.0 yards per carry, so the offensive line held remarkably well, even with the FA loss of All Pro Roger Murtaugh last season.

The team finished 8th in rushes, 7th in yards per game, and 9th yards per carry. Henri Boudreaux continues to lead the team in rushing (819 yards) and scrimmage yards (1,428 yards). Those totals would have been higher but the halfback spent 6 weeks dealing with various injuries. Ignatius Infernus continues to be an excellent compliment to Boudreaux, taking the lead when necessary and holding his own. The one-two punch should fill out the run game through the 2041 season and that's a pleasant thought.

Stacker Pentecost made his full transition from gadget man FB/TE hybrid to WR this season, and it paid off bigly. He snagged 65 catches for 1,019 yards and 4 TDs. His 6'3" frame combined with his elite acceleration and route-running have made him a difficult match up no matter where he lines up. Muhammad Boudreaux was no slouch either. He hauled in 76 catches for 769 yards and 6 TDs. It's been a long time since two prominent WRs led the team in catches and receiving yards. The receiving corps rounded out with Gary Crume whose average catch was 18 yards in depth, and TE John W. Creasy who finished with a career best 570 yards.

Collectively, the offensive group averaged 399.1 yards per game which ranked 5th in the league for 2036.

Defensive Highlights

Earlier in the season, the defense was holding teams incredibly well, but that shifted as the season went on. Through six of the first nine games, the defense held opponents to 10 or less points. Even so, Thrasher D only allowed more than 18 points four times all season (three of which were losses). The unit ranked 6th in Interceptions and 8th in sacks, and the turnover margin was good enough for 11th.

DE Michael Cherrito led the team in sacks for the umpteenth time with 5 (although he missed multiple games due to injury...again), bringing his career total to 93 sacks with 352 QB hurries. Cherrito lost a step this year, but is still on contract for another season. Retirement rumors have stirred with him as well. Also noteworthy, FA signing Joseph Fields gathered 4 sacks himself, proving he just needed a change of scenery to unlock his potential. In general, the D-Line is relatively young and stable and not in need of repairs come the offseason.

Moving on to the linebacking corps, the leading tackler was once again LB Henry Tyler with 99. He also contributed 18 knockdowns in coverage. The system doesn't track tackles for loss, but Tyler made his behind the line of scrimmage a dozen times or more throughout the season. He's been instrumental in limiting the run game on outside runs. However, not to be outdone, Dude Lebowski really excelled in his second season. He finished with 61 tackles, 1 sack, 2 hurries, 12 knockdowns, and 5 INTECEPTIONS (tied for 1st on the team). To boot, he only allowed catches 28.5% of the time.

In the secondary, Alonzo Harris snagged 5 interceptions to go along with a team-leading (tie) 20 knockdowns. Nat Romanov pulled in 4 herself, as well. Captain Rodgers also had 20 knockdowns, and only allowed 29% of ***** thrown his way to be caught. He also had one interception that went for a touchdown. Speaking of pick-sixes, the team had 4 this season which is the most in team history.

Team Awards

Offensive MVP: WR Stacker Pentecost
Defensive MVP: SLB Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski

As previously mentioned, the Thrashers have earned a first round bye and home field advantage. This could be the final days of QB John Spartan and DE Michael Cherrito, but we'll find out soon enough. This pundit can't wait!

Spartan Now All-Time Post-Season Leader for Passing Yards

In a 65-16 thrumming of the Invaders, QB John Spartan might have played the best game of his storied career. He had a perfect passer rating of 158.33 while throwing 27/33 for 517 yards and 5 touchdowns. His yards per attempt was an incredible 15.73, and because of game flow, most of that came in three quarters.

In addition, Spartan has now passed Hall of Fame QB Patrick Spinner (the GOAT, really) in post-season yards with 7,192 yards and only trails Spinner by two TDs (55 to 53) to tie the TD record.

Nothing is certain yet. The Dildozers will certainly be trying to limit Spartan in the AFC Championship. In any case, it should be a whole lotta fun to watch.

2036 End of Season Report

The Thrashers lost handily to the might of Brawndo Corp. Dildozers in the AFC Championship. Nothing seemed to work in favor of the Thrashers all evening.

Now, the team looks to move on in multiple ways. With the fate of QB John Spartan, DE Michael Cherrito, and three aging linemen hanging in the balance, the team could be facing an overhaul...for real this time.

Rumor around the league is that Football Moguls is instituting new rules and mechanical changes for next season (0.4.6), so the landscape of the league could be significantly different come the start of training camp.

Check back soon for off-season updates, leading up to the 2037 season.

Nike Unveils New Elite Arkansas Thrasher Unis

With the 2037 season about to be underway, the team has contracted Nike to produce new uniforms for this season. The team wants to honor the past and bring in the future, so below are a few mock-ups. The team has yet to fully decide and is looking for public feedback.

First, we have the Thrasher Classic from 2022:


Next, we have the 2037 Alternative Harvest Vermillion:


Third, we have the 2037 Solid Orange and Red Stripe Helmet:


Finally, we have the 2029 10-year Anniversary Biscuit Blue-Gold Throwback:


What says the Football Moguls?

Biscuit blue gold

I just want to say, the helmets remind me of pretty patties.

The third one looks like the old Tampa Bay Buccaneers uniforms. Back when they won nothing.

Digging the Harvest Vermillion myself - closest to your Thrashers logo.

https://imgur.com/6ZmJJDt