Alternate History Sports » North American Association of Football

Wallflower · 11/12/2021 5:15 pm

1966 Staff Changes

8 of the 12 teams decided to make zero changes in this season feeling either they have a good group or that they have not had enough time to show what they got.

PROVIDENCE GOLD STARS
As for the teams making changes, it was a full reset in Providence after the team fired HC Harry Meadows early last season. They decided to let go of GM Allen Hutchinson, who served in the role for 7 and a half seasons. It was likely a rebound following the drafting of DB Neville Falkner that saved Hutchinson for a couple more seasons. His replacement will be a former Gold Star in WR Peter Brooks. Brooks has been working with the NAAF player committee since his retirement after the 1960 season and has been interested in taking on a GM role. He has a good reputation within the Gold Stars organization so he is certainly a liked choice for the role. There are some concerns about his ability to manage the team and make deals, but only time will tell.

As for the coaching staff, the Gold Stars considered bringing their Interim Head Coach, Carroll Moss, back, but ultimately decided to take a shot at Rhode Island State Head Coach, Garrett Boone. Boone has had a pair of very successful seasons with the school which makes him an intriguing get for the role. The team did bring back Dean Parrish as the offensive coordinator after he took over for Jack Dorsey midway through last season, and then they brought in Tommie Warner as the Defensive Coordinator who comes over from Haynes University.

BOSTON INDEPENDENTS
A shocking decision was made in Boston as the team has fired Head Coach Ben McMillan. McMillan had a lot of success with Boston, as he never missed the playoffs in his 6 years, however, aside from the team's 1961 McCallister Cup run, he has been 1-5 in the playoffs. The continued failure in the playoffs has left the team to look for a new coach. They would settle on Victors’ DC Johnathan Fox. Fox was convinced by the Victors to leave his Head Coaching role at Rockefeller University in Chicago to coach at the professional level. After just one year in Indiana, Fox is moving up to one of the most prestigious roles as Boston’s Head Coach. The hope is he can turn the team up a notch much as he did with the Victors last season.

MONTREAL ROUGE
After a disappointing 5-7 season in Montreal, GM Martin Gagneaux has decided to make a change at the top, letting go of HC Perry Powell. He has promoted DC Jimmy Sargent to be the new Head Coach. Sargent has a lot of experience as a head coach, winning a McCallister Cup and Coach of the Year Award with Long Island, and having a couple of seasons at the helm in Indiana. To replace Sargent in the DC role, the team has hired Head Coach of the Longueuil Larks of the Eastern Canadian Semi-Pro Football League, Louis Batteau.

INDIANA VICTORS
With Fox getting hired to Boston, the Victors would have to get a new DC. They would end up bringing in Carroll Moss to fill the role. Moss had worked with current Victors’ OC Malachi Knowles back in Boston, so Knowles made sure to put in the good word to his former co-worker.

Wallflower · 11/13/2021 5:18 pm

1966 Re-sign Stage

BOSTON
The Independents were able to lock up several defensive stars with LB Konrad Aust returning on a 2-year deal at $34,000 a season, and then DB Mordecai King and DB Lawrence both on 3-year deals at $25,000 and $22,000 a season respectively. However, there were a couple of players who were let go. DL Robin Hill has been struggling with penalty trouble in the last couple of seasons which has made him and the team frustrated, leading to the two parting ways. The other player key piece would be S Drew Porter, as they look to the 3rd year S Ernie Osborne.

BUFFALO
The Blue Wings had the tough task in bringing back their big trade splash from last season, DL William Sanderson. They would bring the superstar back on a 2-year deal at $37,500 a season which certainly makes the Blue Wings a challenger again this season. They also were able to lock up DB Dean Hawkins and DB Ezra Power on match 4-year deals and then WR Zachariah Pembroke would agree to another 2-year deal at $25,500. They did end up being unable to negotiate with another DL in Mickey Daly who wanted more money and a larger role which he was not getting on the stacked Buffalo D-line.

HALIFAX
It was fairly quiet in Halifax with the team signing a lot of their talent to extensions. They brought back Joe Robinson, WR Shane Steadman, WR Jav Kerrigan, and LB Bear Donnelly. The biggest fish ended up being DL Wayne Baxton who signed back on to a 6-year deal at $28,500 to start and reach up to $36,000. Halifax did let go of both QB Robert Humphrey and QB Sammy Townsend as they geared up to look for a new starting QB.

INDIANA
Following a very promising season, the Victors were able to maintain much of their team from the last few years. They brought back key pieces in DB Kelly Kirkland, WR Orlando Barrack, OL Viktor Stahl, and RB Raymond Green all to fresh contracts. Of course, to no surprise the team did allow for the reigning MVP, QB Lyle Painter to walk into free agency.

LONG ISLAND
It is always a tall task to manage the team following a championship, as there is a lot of talent that you want to bring back and need to pay to keep around. GM/Owner Wayne Tillman brought back most of the team for this season with big contracts going out to DB Rutherford Winter, DB Alexander Bradley, OL Elliot Winterbottom, and LB William Washington II. WR Casey Coleman also agreed to a 2-year contract, but it was a rough negotiation. Coleman wanted more money or at least more opportunities in the passing game, but it did not seem to mesh with what Tillman was envisioning with the team which could be a concern down the line. The team also had a couple of other players walk away with TE Andrew Mathias and DL Blaine Caswell that could be an issue if they don’t play this offseason right.

LONDON
The Tigers continued their usual plan of maintaining as many pieces as possible. The key signing would be QB Riley Kiernan who stays on for 2-years at $42,000. They also locked up OL Emil Jennings to a 5-year deal as well. There is not much else to say about the Tigers as they continue to maintain the team and hope they can still compete for another title.

LOUISVILLE
The Thunder were a team on the verge of going into a full rebuild after their 2-4 start, but after recovering for a McCallister Cup appearance, they are still looking to maintain the team. This starts with QB Leonidas Dumont, who many believed might be on the way out this season, but instead re-signed for another 3-years at $38,000 a season. They also spent a lot of money in the secondary, locking up DB Oliver Langstrom, DB Jayden Mills, and DB Jared Francis all to $20,000+ contracts. It certainly could be a risk as the team now has $107,500 locked up in the secondary with S Johnny Berger included. The Thunder did end up parting ways with WR Sammy Moss, after seeing the 2-year experiment did not work out.

MONTREAL
Montreal did a solid job of bringing back the important pieces, signing LB Sam Fitzroy for 2 years, Lucas Kipling for 4, and DB Jayson Kylde for 2. They did bring back 2nd string RB Hugo Hughes on a 1-year deal. Hughes has shown sparks of being the team’s next top back so they are hoping he takes a jump this season and he could potentially take over for RB Scott Mallard-White.

OTTAWA
The Royals have a lot of their roster currently in place, so they only made a couple of signings bringing back DL Zane Tannith on a 4-year deal and breakout TE Ryan Hatcher for 4 years as well. DB Wesley Nires also returned on a 2-year deal as the Royals hope the younger core starts to take a step forward this season.

PITTSBURGH
The Blacksmiths seemed like a popular place to re-sign for a lot of players despite the 2-10 season this year. However, a lot of the deals signed with players like LB Red Clarkson, WR Wilson Queensgate, and DB Elvin Waters were all 1-2 years. The longest contract signed ended up being with OL Wally McRose who stays for 3 more years. The team did bring back both the team Captain, RB Stavros Black, for another year and young QB Magnus Torrensen who has shown some promise thus far.

PROVIDENCE
The large overhaul in the front office seemed to shakedown to the rest of the team with a few key pieces in Providence deciding they did not want to be a part of a potential rebuild. The biggest piece was DB Cameron Taylor who is considered a fringe top 10 DB in the league. Taylor (29) is very much focused on trying to win now and does not feel like Providence will get him there soon. They also almost lost young DL Ryan Sargent, but GM Peter Brooks and HC Garret Boone convinced him to stay on for 2 more years. The last major question would be QB Connor O’Rourke, who was rumoured to potentially be let go by the team following injuries over the last several seasons, but with Brooks in office, he couldn’t wait to offer his old pal a 2-year deal at $40,000 a season.

TORONTO
Cheap contracts were flying off the shelves in Toronto with the team gearing up for a run this season. Most of the veterans returning for one last push were more than willing to sign for less if it means the team can get some other help. The only larger investment the team ended up making was on LB Sebastian Andrews III, who they had acquired at the deadline to be the future #1 guy for the team. He signed on for 2-years at $20,000 a season.

Top 25 Free Agents
1 - QB Lyle Painter - IND
2 - DB Cameron Taylor - PRO
3 - DL Mickey Daly - BUF
4 - DL Robin Hill - BOS
5 - S Drew Porter - BOS
6 - DL Dexter Barbarcos - PIT
7 - OL Christopher Weeks - PIT
8 - DB Dennis Kirchner - PRO
9 - S Nick Larson - PRO
10 - TE Micheal Bowman III - LDN
11 - DL Blaine Caswell - LI
12 - QB Matt Fletcher - LI
13 - QB Stanislav Ovechkin - LOU
14 - QB Robert Humphrey - HFX
15 - WR Sammy Moss - LOU
16 - S Clarence Sale - LI
17 - LB Killian Reed - PIT
18 - TE Andrew Mathias - LI
19 - WR Otto Washington - IND
20 - WR Paul Franklin - HFX
21 - DL Dennis Hughes - MTL
22 - OL Benny Germain - MTL
23 - WR Sam Nash - TOR
24 - DB Lou Lake - IND
25 - QB Rigobert St-Hilaire - MTL

The reigning MVP tops the free-agent list unsurprisingly. It is very likely he lands with the Mariners as the only team that seems to be looking for a new starting QB this season and is trying to win now, but you never know. DB Cameron Taylor is likely the most unknown player on the board since he could go to a much larger list of teams that could use him. The question will be if he is willing to maybe take less to potentially win with a competitive team. After that, several teams are going to likely be targeting DL as there are a lot of open spots at the position across the league. It could be very tough for teams looking for a new LB with Killian Reed being the only real solution available in this class of free agents. Lastly, QB Matt Fletcher could create some noise as the former 1st round pick is going to be available after not getting many (if any) chances in his first three seasons in Long Island.

NeoPrankster · 11/14/2021 1:51 pm

I'm still kinda anxious to know if the NAAF will come to the West Coast soon.

Wallflower · 11/14/2021 5:50 pm

NeoPrankster wrote:
I'm still kinda anxious to know if the NAAF will come to the West Coast soon.

I don't want to reveal a whole lot about the future of the project, either (A) don't have it all set in stone, (B) gotta keep you guessing. However, don't get too hopeful, at least anytime soon, I mean I haven't even gotten past Lake Michigan yet. Also, if you mean California, it is very unlikely we reach Cali and you will see why as the story continues.

Wallflower · 11/14/2021 5:53 pm

1966 Free Agency Pre-Draft

It was not a big surprise when QB Lyle Painter officially signed a 3-year contract with the Halifax Mariners. The Mariners were the only team that was looking for a new starting QB this offseason, which meant it was pretty much the only place Painter would be able to maintain a starting role heading into this season. With the youth the team has, Halifax could be a great place for the veteran QB to continue his career.

The other big fish in DB Cameron Taylor took a lot longer to find a new home. 6 teams were originally interested in the veteran, but it came down to Boston, Indiana, and Pittsburgh as they offered either a competitive team, a lot of money, or a bigger market. In the end, Indiana had the best combination and he will join the Victors next season which should provide the squad with a great boost. Many are noting the similarity of the move to DB Alexander Bradley’s move to Louisville, which could mean good news for the Victors.

The various DL that were available would go to various new places. Mickey Daly would surprise a lot of people by signing on with the Blacksmiths which gives them a pretty sturdy line. Robin Hill would go closer to home (Burlington, VT) by signing in Montreal, which should help that team a lot this season. Barbarcos was thought to potentially return to Montreal after being picked in the expansion draft, however, he decided to head to the champs in Long Island. Blaine Caswell ended up taking a larger salary to play for the Royals next season and Dennis Hughes ended up taking Daly’s spot on the Blue Wings line for next season.

OL Christopher Weeks ended up returning to Toronto in hopes of joining the championship push of his former team. S Nick Larson, who used to play in Toronto decided to take a different route providing some stability in the safety position in Boston behind Ernie Osborne who will likely be the starter for the first time in his career. S Drew Porter looks to do the same in joining the Victors on a solid contract with them.

Matt Fletcher was the most interesting QB outside of Painter. The former 1st round pick has not gotten a chance so far in the NAAF, so he is taking a gamble with the Steelheads who do have a pair of older QBs and may lead to a shot down the line. As for others, QB Stanslav Ovechkin decided to take advantage of the potential uncertainty that could be the Indiana QB room. Robert Humphrey also joined his 3rd different team in the NAAF looking to backup Riley Kiernan in London.

WR Sammy Moss also created some buzz in returning to Providence after two years in Louisville. Moss played with new GM Peter Brooks, so it seems the two wanted to reconnect in Providence this season. DB Dennis Kirchner also decided to return to Providence as well.

Top 25 Free Agents
1 - QB Lyle Painter - IND -> HFX - 3Y, $27,500 (NTC Y3 with $30,000)
2 - DB Cameron Taylor - PRO -> IND 3Y, $26,000
3 - DL Mickey Daly - BUF -> PIT - 2Y, $22,000
4 - DL Robin Hill - BOS -> MTL - 1Y, $20,500
5 - S Drew Porter - BOS -> IND - 1Y, $18,000
6 - DL Dexter Barbarcos - PIT -> LI - 2Y, $16,000
7 - OL Christopher Weeks - PIT -> TOR - 2Y, $15,000
8 - DB Dennis Kirchner - PRO -> PRO - 1Y, $18,000
9 - S Nick Larson - PRO -> BOS - 1Y, $12,000
10 - TE Micheal Bowman III - LDN -> LI - 1Y, $15,000
11 - DL Blaine Caswell - LI -> OTT - 1Y, $16,000
12 - QB Matt Fletcher - LI -> TOR - 2Y, $15,000
13 - QB Stanislav Ovechkin - LOU -> IND - 1Y, $14,000
14 - QB Robert Humphrey - HFX -> LDN - 1Y, $14,000
15 - WR Sammy Moss - LOU -> PRO - 1Y, $15,000
16 - S Clarence Sale - LI -> LI 2Y, $12,000
17 - LB Killian Reed - PIT -> BOS - 1Y, $18,000
18 - TE Andrew Mathias - LI -> PRO - 1Y, $14,000
19 - WR Otto Washington - IND
20 - WR Paul Franklin - HFX
21 - DL Dennis Hughes - MTL -> BUF 1Y, $14,000
22 - OL Benny Germain - MTL -> IND 1Y, $12,000
23 - WR Sam Nash - TOR
24 - DB Lou Lake - IND -> BUF - 1Y, $8,000
25 - QB Rigobert St-Hilaire - MTL

Last edited by Wallflower (11/15/2021 12:37 am)

Kingsfan11 · 11/14/2021 11:23 pm

Some good moves made by teams; Montreal getting help on defence is excellent. Also, you have the wrong name and (maybe) number on the jersey for Nick Larson on your graphic.

Enigmajones · 11/15/2021 5:04 pm

Something just occurred to me, have there been any draft busts?

Wallflower · 11/15/2021 6:07 pm

Enigmajones wrote:
Something just occurred to me, have there been any draft busts?

There for sure have been a few big-time busts. I would say the most notable would be QB Lee Rogers in the 1953 draft. The Hartford Hawks (Raiders) took him 1st overall and he went 2-18 over his first two seasons which eventually led to the team trading him to Montreal where he continued to struggle and then went to the ACFL for a while. He finally had a career season in 1965 with the Royals but far far too late to be considered a success. That same year in 1953 the Hawks also took RB Pierre LeStrange at 6 (after trading with Ottawa to move up...yea this is arguably the worst 1st round by a team in NAAF history), and he also struggled and went along with Rogers in the trade 2 years later. LeStrange, at best, was an okay backup RB.

More recently you have DL Dale Rothery in 1960 who was taken by the Thunder 5th overall. Rothery was a lot worse than anticipated and has not been able to find a stable spot. After just one season in Louisville, he was traded to Long Island, where he spent his longest tenure with a team which was only a year and a half as he was then traded to Montreal midseason in 1962. He then became a free agent and signed back with the Thunder for a season before then moving on to Halifax the next season. He may have finally landed in a stable home in Toronto as he is entering his second season with the team, but he’s like a backup DL at best.

Others that can be considered are that of DL Clyde Dale who was more of a fringe starter that was taken pretty early in 1954 and bounced around a lot. And WR Alexei Dubois is still a solid player but sits more as a #2 receiver which is not what you hope from a guy you took #1 overall. That’s probably why the Victors traded him to Boston just a couple of seasons ago.

Wallflower · 11/17/2021 6:41 pm

1966 Draft Preview - 1965 College Results

CEHC
WEST
(3) Toronto Dukes
(5) Hamilton Howlers
(10) St.George Maples
London Foresters
Rideau Rams
Kitchener-Waterloo Provincial Beavers

EAST
(6) St-Laurent Cavaliers de riviere
Majeure Montreal Insulaires
Montreal Provincial Panthers
Nova Scotia Armada
New Brunswick Pirates
Mont-Bellevue Geais bleus

CEHC Semi-Finals
EF (6) ST-L 36-10 MMTL
WF (3) TORU 32-26 (5) UHAM

CEHC Championship
(3) TORU 31-37 (6) ST-L

AEHC
(1) New England Cardinals
(2) Rhode Island State Bulldogs
(4) Haynes Colonials
(7) West Mass State Rangers
(8) Western New York Whitetails
(9) Maine Acadians
Vermont Republic Mountaineers
Cambridge of Boston Cubs
Concord-Manchester Fighting Pike
Erie Sailors
WNY-Rochester Eagles

AEHC Playoffs
(1) UNE 42-20 (7) WMS
(2) RISU 20-13 (4) HAY

Conference Championship
(1) UNE 38-28 (2) RISU

Hybrid Football Championship
(1) UNE 35-24 (6) ST-L

1966 Draft Preview

The QBs in the 1966 NAAF draft class are highlighted by New England QB Louis Vaughn. UNE’s unbeaten year was largely attributed to their senior QB who only threw 4 interceptions this past season. Vaughn is likely a franchise-level QB with lots of similarities to QB Lyle Painter, with accuracy and solid decision making, but a lack of pure arm strength.

Behind him, is Brooklyn Metro QB, Ivan Sanchez. Sanchez was originally set to be a top pick in the ACFL, but after an injury in his junior year and hearing some not-so-great things from former teammates he is looking to make the jump to the NAAF. Sanchez showed a lot of promise with good arm strength and decent mobility, but his injury did knock his comfort in the pocket a little which could become an issue.

QB Rider Wandrey had a strong season with Louisville State who won the Mid-western conference this season. The mobile QB garners a lot of similarities to QB Angelo Medina with the ability to run but has some accuracy issues down the field.

QB Micheal Miranda was a bit of a surprise this season, suddenly having a fantastic year in his senior season following a forgetful junior season. He was able to lead the West Mass State Rangers to their first semi-final since switching to hybrid after upsetting the WNY Whitetails.

The last major QB is Gilles Doucet out of St-Laurent. Doucet is not much different than Wandrey as he is very mobile, but more significant issues with his throwing ability could be a large concern for Doucet.

As for the other top prospects. LB Kurt Warlock looks like a very dominant LB that could very likely end up with the Gold Stars after they hired Rhode Island St.’s head coach Garrett Boone. DB Sergio Alvarez out of Haynes had a stellar season locking down several top WRs in college this season, he could be another top DB making a major impact immediately.

There are several strong OLs out of New England and Toronto. Both schools have had great O-lines over the past few years and that is reflected by the 4 OL in the top 13. RB Reggie Whitehead could be a highly sought-after piece for teams looking for a difference-maker out of the backfield. Whitehead was certainly a big help to Vaughn at UNE this season and showed strength in running many defenders over.

St-Laurent could have a couple of sneaky players that could be a lot better than some initially assume. DL Bernard King is a fairly quiet player, but he does everything very well and could start running through O-lines across the league. WR Felix Fontaine could also be interesting as he follows up WR Alexei Dubois from St-Laurent. The not-so-great start for Dubois has led some to question if Fontaine has it, but the young WR has shown a great ability to make something out of nothing on the field.

There are also a pair of WRs from outside of the hybrid conferences with the speedy Taylor Austin from Louisville State and the sturdy Edward Webb out of Brooklyn Metro who could both be valuable weapons to offenses across the league.

The Gains Report - Top 25
1 - QB Louis Vaughn - New England - Brad Cumberland - DireBear
2 - LB Kurt Warlock - Rhode Island State - Brad Cumberland - DireBear
3 - DB Sergio Alvarez - Haynes - George Stefanakis - Dan O’Mac
4 - OL Elliot Barrett - New England - Barry Williams - ZO82
5 - WR Taylor Austin - Louisville State - Barry Williams - ZO82
6 - RB Reggie Whitehead - New England - Johny Armando - Stickman
7 - WR Felix Fontaine - St-Laurent - Sterling Brantley - Darknes
8 - DL Bernard King - St-Laurent - Vincent Desjardins - Kingsfan11
9 - QB Ivan Sanchez - Brooklyn Metropolitan - Barry Willams - ZO82
10 - OL Andrew Parsley - Toronto - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
11 - WR Edward Webb - Brooklyn Metropolitan - Joonas Van Dijk - Osctheg
12 - OL Crawford Starrick - Toronto - Sterling Brantley - Darknes
13 - OL Mason Fitzpatrick - New England - Barry Williams - ZO82
14 - LB Le'Darius Wynn - Western New York - Kenneth Jones - Enigmajones
15 - DL Bartolo Cruz - U-America - Jimmy Yamamoto - QCS
16 - S Marc Bellecourt - Majeure Montreal - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
17 - DB Perry Ferris - Rhode Island State - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
18 - DL Albert Sullivan - New England - Wally Flowers - Wallflower
19 - DL Johnathan Ellison - Louisville State - Timmy Bjarnathan - NoE38
20 - QB Rider Wandrey - Louisville State - Perry Matthews - Sevsdast
21 - DB Janek Rodoslav - Upstate - Jay Hawkins - Jayhawk
22 - QB Micheal Miranda - West Mass State - Ivan di Marco - ItDoesntMatter
23 - OL Tony Walker-Jones - Western New York - Johnny Armando - Stickman
24 - DB Aiden Sargent - Central Ohio - Barry Williams ZO82
25 - DB Charles Grim - Rhode Island State - Jimmy Yamamoto - QCS
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44 - RB Alex Herbco - Kitchener-Waterloo Provincial - Oscar Burns - AJHFTW
48 - LB Brian O’Flaherty - Central Pennsylvania - James Herr O’Nark - JamHeronArk
64 - TE Buddy Bing - Jersey State - Roger Roy - Scratch

1966 1st Round Draft Order
1 - Pittsburgh Blacksmiths
2 - Providence Gold Stars
3 - Halifax Mariners
4 - Ottawa Royals
5 - Montreal Rouge
6 - Indiana Victors (from Buffalo)
7 - London Tigers
8 - Indiana Victors
9 - Boston Independents
10 - Providence Gold Stars (from Toronto)
11 - Louisville Thunder
12 - Long Island Raiders

Enigmajones · 11/17/2021 7:40 pm

Here is hoping Le'Darius has a good career.

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NeoPrankster wrote:

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