The
"Grill"
Miscellaneous
Coach's Forum
April 4, 2004
Coach Grieb's Free Agent and Rookie draft Analysis:
Coach Grieb assessed each player signed or lost in the free agent
draft and rookie draft. Here are excerpts from his assessments:
Free Agent Acquisitions/Losses
On the loss of Quinten Jammer: Jammer was probably our biggest loss,
and we knew he was going to be gone early. We tried to work a deal
out with him, but the Killers made a better offer. He'll do great
for them.
On the loss of Zeke Moreno: Zeke was a steady contributor for us. He
was a good locker room presence. We'll be able to replace him, though.
On the loss of Reche Caldwell: Reche wanted a chance to start, and when
we couldn't trade Boston, his options here were limited.
On the loss of Darren Bennett: Darren was another huge loss. He holds
most of the Dicks league punting records, and he certainly got us out of
a ton of jams in the past. It's a huge hole for us to fill.
On the pickup of Jammar Fletcher: Jammar has some big shoes to fill, but
we are confident that he will do just fine replacing Jammer. He did a
great job for the Mudfish last year.
On the pickup of Coy Wire: To steal a phrase from the Dick's Bowl champs,
'we are tickled pink' about the Coy Wire pickup. He was phenomenal last
season, and he'll have plenty of chances to stick it to his former
employer.
Rookie Draft Picks:
T. Jackson ROLB: Without question, Jackson was the best ROLB in the draft.
He is going to jump right in and start for our team. We were thrilled that
he was still on the board when the pick go to us.
L Alford TE: Alford has a tremendous chance to start for us. We'll see how
he does in camp. We got him awfully late, and we felt were lucky he was still
on the board. The tight-end position is a very important position in this league.
M. Zala WR: Zala will definitely be returning kicks and punts, and with his speed,
he may see some significant playing time in the slot. We felt the wide receiver
pool was deep this year, so we were lucky enough to get him a little later.
A. Biondio DT: - Biondio will see a lot of snaps this year. We stole him late -
we thought he was the second best DT in the draft, and to see him fall into our
hands is a Godsend. Our DT position was a little thin, but with Biondio, we did good.
N. Mack K: Steve Christie has done an O.K. job for us, but we need to give him some
competition. We need a kicker that can get us 50+ yard field goals, and Christie
wasn't going to do that. Mack has a strong and accurate foot, and will be a pro bowler
some day.
T. Eckman P: Losing Bennett was tough, but we got a great punter in the draft. Eckman
has a powerful foot, and is pretty accurate with it. He'll easily fit into this team.
K. Whitehead LT: We needed more left tackle help on this team, so that Tomlinson could
run through bigger holes. Whitehead was the top guy on our list in that position. We
are excited.
Questions for the coach:
1. Were all needs answered?
Coach Grieb - We answered a lot of them. I'm happy with our draft. We'll see how they
do in camp.
2. Who was the best player you got in the rookie draft?
Coach Grieb - Honestly, we got a bunch of good ones. Our team is going to be a lot younger
this year, and that will pose some initial problems, but will be good for us in the long run.
A lot of new faces will be starting and that is challenging, yet exciting.
3. Rumor has it that you were trying to work out a trade to get rid of David Boston. Is this
true?
Coach Grieb - David Boston really wasn't happy here. We thought we had a deal, but it fell
through. I talked to him, and said we are willing to make an effort to get him the ball a
little more. He's on board.
4. Will you be trying to make any trades?
Coach Grieb - We'll assess our team, and we'll see what we need. I think the league will
be very active with regards to trades this year.