First note: I have been unable to edit the title of this topic, so it's stuck on "1950 Awards & All-Star" Don't know why that is, but thought I would mention it if anyone knew how to fix that or just so people know if they get confused by it. 

Also, I will be rolling out the offseason over the next couple days and then the 1951 season will be able to start. I am finished the actual "simulation" of the offseason so I just need to write up and then we can get rolling again. 
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EXPANSION DRAFT
The Athletics got the chance to pick 21 players from the 7 other teams. The teams were able to protect 20 of their players leaving around 12 players available. If a player had a contract and was picked they would be on the team, but other players without contracts would still have to negotiate a new contract with the Athletics. 

DRAFT
1 - RB Jacque Montier MTL
2 - TE Baudouin Renaud MTL
3 - DL Harvey Franklin OTT
4 - WR Dewey Doyle TOR
5 - DB Ray Dickerson BUF
6 - S Alfred Watts PRO
7 - QB Adrian Little PRO
8 - LB Lewis Whitfield PRO
9 - WR Jean-Yves Vallotton MTL
10 - RB Clayton Owen BOS
11 - OL Kwanzaa Graves BOS
12 - OL Phillip Wells BUF
13 - LB Reginald Rhodes OTT
14 - OL Roger Brewer HAR
15 - WR Jay Baxter HAR
16 - LB Seth Pennington TOR
17 - OL Darryl Garrison TOR
18 - DB Gregory Briggs BOS
19 - LB Glen Cameron BUF
20 - S Lewis Benson OTT
21 - DB Adrian Madison HAR 

The most notable of the selections for Worcester was Jean-Yves Vallatton from Montreal, taking what was their top receiver on a team that lacked a pass game. Jacque Montier will also be an interesting player after playing behind Élisée Marchal for the past few years. Montier has some potential as a starter but will be competing with RB Clayton Owen who saw the field a little more with the Independents. Worcester natives were sought after as well with Seth Pennington and Dewey Doyle (who was about to retire but decided to return for one last season with the Athletics).  

LEAGUE ANNOUNCEMENT
Starting after the 1951 season the NAAF will be hosting an annual draft. The draft will be four rounds and will be in reverse order of final standings. Each team will be awarded picks for the next three years which are available to be traded to other teams. The implementation is to give a greater number of players an opportunity to be seen by all the teams as well as create greater parody between the 8 teams.  

OFFSEASON HEADLINES

FRESH COAT OF PAINT IN THE ROUGE OFFENSE
The offseason got off to a rocky start for Montreal. They lost several players to the Athletics draft trying to keep their defense together. The receiving core had lost its best player, they also lost their top TE in Baudouin Renaud, who in turn went to free agency and signed with division rival Ottawa. With everything in turmoil, it looked like Montreal might be a lot further from a McCallister Cup than last year, until they pulled off a blockbuster trade with Hartford acquiring their star WR John Rivera. There were rumblings that Montreal would target a WR from somewhere but Rivera was a bit of a surprise. The Hawks were willing to give up the 30-year old in entering their rebuilding process. Now not only did the Rouge pick up Rivera but they grabbed QB Oliver Callahan and TE Darrell Hubbard. However, there was still a lot going back to Hartford the other way in DB Eugene Christensen and QB Maurice Norris, as well as a 1952 1st Round Draft Pick, a 1953 2nd, and a 1952 4th. The Rouge paid a hefty price but they hope it will pay off in a championship as the team has possibly added an air attack to one of the best run games in the league. 

Montreal Rouge get:
WR John Rivera
QB Oliver Callahan
TE Darrell Hubbard 

Hartford Hawks get:
MTL 1952 1st Round Pick
DB Eugene Christensen
QB Maurice Norris
MTL 1953 2nd Round Pick
MTL 1952 4th Round Pick


WR John Rivera MTL  

QB Oliver Callahan MTL

QB Maurice Norris HAR

BUFFALO STRENGTHENS THEIR O-LINE
The trade that came before the Rivera trade featured the Hawks and the Blue Wings. Buffalo had two young safeties in Marvin Tillman and Carl Dawson. Tillman had started all of last season and the Blue Wings liked his game so they decided that Carl Dawson could be sent elsewhere. The Hawks have a need for a young safety so they targeted Dawson. The discussion took some time but the Blue Wings would send Dawson to Hartford for 1949 All-Star OL Melvin Marshall. Marshall gives Buffalo help immediately while Dawson will provide a future strength for the Hawks in their rebuild. The Blue Wings also took back former Hawks' starting safety Vince Baker to have behind Tillman. 

Hartford Hawks get:
S Carl Dawson 

Buffalo Blue Wings get:
OL Melvin Marshall
S Vince Baker 


OL Melvin Marshall BUF

OFFSEASON RECAP/SEASON PREVIEW - POWER RANKINGS:

#1 - Boston Independents
The reigning champions kept things pretty safe in the offseason. They overall kept a similar crowd, however, they did lose a top OL in Malachi Knowles who went home to Worcester. They also lost TE Willard Morrison to retirement pushing back up Martin Newman into the starting role. Besides the losses the Independents were able to add some youth to the team with RB Rahil Boone who has the potential of being an elite back in the future, and DL Prevan Greer who should be a solid depth piece. With the weak depth at the WR position, Boston would go out and get Tigers WR Clifford Chapman who has been a top target for Toronto. 

Top Additions:
RB Rahil Boone (Boston, MA)
WR Clifford Chapman (TOR)
OL Andrew Bates (PRO) 

#2 - Montreal Rouge
Montreal made the biggest splash of the offseason with the John Rivera trade. It makes up a lot for the losses of WR Jean-Yves Vallatton and TE Baudouin Renaud. The trade is still a risk for the future in the draft picks they gave up but overall they keep most of the roster intact through it. QB Oliver Callahan will be starting a new chapter with the Rouge after an abysmal season with the Hawks in 1950. With Marchal and Rivera on the offense with a strong O-line, it will hopefully allow for Callahan to thrive. They also added a young Halifax native WR Ray Lopez who has the potential to be an elite pass-catcher for the Rouge. The Defense also doesn’t lose any major pieces which automatically throw Montreal into the favourites pool for the McCallister Cup. 

Top Additions:
WR John Rivera (HAR)
TE Darrell Hubbard (HAR)
WR Ray Lopez (Halifax, NS)
QB Oliver Callahan (HAR)

#3 - Buffalo Blue Wings
The Blue Wings showed lots of improvement in the second half of last season with a 4-1 record over the final five games, dropping them just short of the playoffs. They only get better with this season. The big addition being OL Melvin Marshall who will help give RB Arthur Conner room as well as protect QB Angelo Medina. They added a young WR in Clifford Church to a receiving core that is quickly becoming one of the most lethal in the league, maybe outside of Ottawa. They also get better on defense with the young players improving from last year. The biggest question will be at Kicker with a rookie in Donald Brewer, but he has the potential to be one of the best kickers the league has seen so the Blue Wings will hope for that.  

Top Additions:
OL Melvin Marshall (HAR)
WR Clifford Church (Buffalo, NY)
K Donald Brewer (Warwick, RI) 

#4 - Ottawa Royals
The Royals didn’t shake the world but were able to keep their defense growing which is finally catching up to their offense. Their young secondary helps with that, adding a rookie in S Lester Greer, as well as the reacquisition of LB Reginald Rhodes who didn’t sign in Worcester after the draft. The Royals also capitalized on the release of TE Baudouin Renaud from the Worcester draft class as well and gave them a piece they have been missing in that position. They also added Aaron Spears, an OL from the Toronto Lakers of the OFU who will be a big piece for the Royals future. The biggest story out of Ottawa this season will be at the QB position as they have of course Duane Logan, but a young star in Jean Matieau, who has shown flashes of skill greater than Logan’s. Matieau is in the final year of his contract while Logan has another year yet. The Royals might give both QB’s a shot this season, and one will likely be in another jersey next season.

Top Additions:
TE Baudouin Renaud (MTL (WOR))
OL Aaron Spears (Toronto Lakers OFU)
S Lester Greer (Markham, ON) 

#5 - Providence Gold Stars
The Gold Stars 1950 season came to a disappointing end with a couple of rough losses. Going into the offseason, they weren’t looking to change much, and they didn’t. Besides some depth pieces like backup QB Adrian Little going to Worcester and OL Andrew Bates moving down the road to Boston they didn’t lose a whole lot. They have a solid foundation right now where they have balance in most positions. This allows them to fly under the radar. However, considering the inconsistency at times there are some questions that maybe the Gold Stars should make more drastic moves. In terms of the additions, they have a solid QB prospect in Brian Meadows who will get to learn under Bruce Woodard, as well as Shovon Coleman on the OL that should be a solid starter in a year or two. The big-name was LB Leo Davenport who will fit in well beside LBs Samuel Grimes and Roger Morrow on the defense. 

Top Additions:
QB Brian Meadows (Manchester, NH)
OL Shovon Coleman (Syracuse, NY)
LB Leo Davenport (Rochester, NY)

#6 - Toronto Tigers
The Tigers are not projected to make the playoffs considering the very tough North division they are in, but the team will be interesting seeing the improvement after a much better 1950 season. They lost a lot in the pass game, losing Dewey Doyle and Clifford Chapman, but Wilbert Benjamin enters his second year as the top guy and has lots of potential. The other WRs are also young and could create a strong Tigers core for the future. They had major improvements on defense with the secondary growing and getting better. They did lose their top star in DB Clifford Jacobson who retired after 5 years with the Tigers. He has played for the Lakers for most of his career and will go down as one of the best DB’s to ever play the game. In terms of bringing in new players, the Tigers struggled to compete with the rest for landing players, but found success in grabbing young prospects with DB Marshall Allen, WR Marqués Gardner, and LB Benjamin Pittman.

Top Additions:
DB Marshall Allen (Detroit, MI)
WR Marqués Gardner (Buffalo, NY)
LB Benjamin Pittman (Kingston, ON) 

#7 - Hartford Hawks
The Hawks offseason started with the firing of head coach Jerry Moore. Moore’s termination was a last-ditch effort for GM Allen Grey to hold on to his spot, but just a month later he was let go as well causing Hartford to completely change all personnel. New GM Michael Stein started his tenure hiring Willie McLean as head coach. The two worked together to figure out the game plan for the team moving forward. Stein had a slightly more aggressive approach to managing and wanted to shift the Hawks into a complete overhaul. They started with a couple of young OL in Lewis David and Herold Paul and followed that up with grabbing possibly their future franchise QB in Scranton native Andrew Sexton. They kept up looking around and grabbed up several other top tier prospects in WR Robert Lang and LB Sharquay Bradford. Then it was about clearing out some of the value with the two trades. Getting rid of Rivera was a big risk for Stein but he believes the future will be brighter with the return they get. QB Maurice Norris will have a different challenge in Hartford having less stability and no MVP RB to bail him out.  

Top Additions:
QB Andrew Sexton (Scranton, PA)
WR Robert Lang (New Haven, CT)
LB Sharquay Bradford (Hartford, CT)

#8 - Worcester Athletics
The Athletics, unfortunately, start the year at the bottom of the power rankings, but since they haven’t played a game in the NAAF yet, we have no idea what to expect. They will have QB Adrian Little as their starter day one, who has backed up Bruce Woodard in Providence over the last 2 seasons. He has little experience so a complete wildcard. RB Jacque Montier will be given the biggest chance out of the backfield. Spending time with Élisée Marchal, he may have picked up some tricks from the back-to-back MVP winner. Their top prospect is WR Clyde McIntosh, who spent time with the Athletics in the amateur league the previous season. He has the potential to be the team’s top passing option. On defense, they also have DB Clifton Powers and DL Bayden Mills who will be good foundational pieces but are far from being difference makers at this point. The rest of the Athletics is made up of depth players from the rest of the league and will not likely be an immediate success. 

Top Additions:
RB Jacque Montier (MTL)
DL Bayden Mills (Worcester, MA)
DB Clifton Powers (Allentown, PA) 

WEEK 1 Games
MTL @ BOS
PRO @ WOR
TOR @ OTT
HAR @ BUF

Last edited by Wallflower (3/23/2020 8:03 pm)

Go Gold Stars!

Enjoying this, thanks for all your work.

1951 Week 1 

Boston Independents - 10, Montreal Rouge - 19
The season kicked off with a huge redemption game for the Rouge over the defending champions. The start of the game was defensive as these battles have tended to be. Boston was the first to score on a field goal, but the 2nd quarter drive came at a major cost. RB Joel Bonner was running up the middle where he was tackled by several Rouge players. They came down on him awkwardly and broke his right leg. Bonner was in immense pain and would leave the game with an expected return in week 6. This threw rookie RB Rahil Boone right into the action for Boston. Montreal would take some momentum back as QB Oliver Callahan started to become comfortable in his new team. WR John Rivera made a dent on a couple of catches that would give Montreal 2 field goals and a 6-3 lead. The second half was Montreal’s to control. They would get RB Marchal into the endzone for his first of the year and would steal the ball for the Independents 3 times to hold on for the win 19-10. WR Ethan Walters did have a late TD for Boston but they just couldn’t get the offense going against the Rouge defense especially without Bonner.  

Worcester Athletics - 7, Providence Gold Stars - 27
The first game in Worcester did not go too well for the Athletics. The team was overall very conservative as they all adjusted to a brand new team. RB Jacque Montier was solid getting the ball to move down the field a couple of times. QB Adrian Little faced his old team in his first professional start and was able to get the ball to his receivers for the most part. The Athletics would get their first NAAF touchdown in the 3rd on an 11-yard pass to Worcester native WR Dewey Doyle who is starting what will likely be his final season of football. On the other side, Providence looked like their old selves. They were able to move the ball well and take the ball away as well. DB Lee Wolfe grabbed 2 interceptions and WR Peter Brooks would take in 2 touchdowns.  

Ottawa Royals - 31, Toronto Tigers - 17
Ottawa wins just their 3rd out of 9 home games in the NAAF. While the final score looks good for Ottawa, this game was a lot closer than that. Ottawa was great through the air all day as Duane Logan looked like his usual self, while WR Allen Atkins caught three of his 4 touchdown passes. The Royals' defense was much better, but the Tigers were keeping themselves in it. Rookie of the year in 1950 and Tigers RB Laurent Brazeau found the endzone twice and had the game tied at 17-17 going into the 4th quarter, but the Tigers were unable to stop the Royals powerful offense and get into the endzone themselves. The teams showed some newer intensity that was born from the 20-20 tie from last season and proved that the divisional rivalries were going to start heating up immediately. 

Buffalo Blue Wings - 25, Hartford Hawks - 6
The Blue Wings were able to carry their late-season momentum from last year into the start of this season. RB Arthur Conner stormed in behind the former Hawk OL Melvin Marshall on the first drive of the game. The Hawks had little to answer. QB Maurice Norris made his first start for the Hawks and he was better passing the ball than he had been in Montreal but still lacked the ability to make a huge play when needed. The Blue Wings defense took the ball from the Hawks 3 times. DB Dylan Alston had the first pick and the young S Marvin Tillman had the other, while DL Jonathan Brown knocked the ball out of Norris’ hand and picked it up himself for a fumble. WRs Travis Gallagher and Joseph Barry both caught a touchdown from Angelo Medina to start their season off on the right foot.  

Players of the Week

OFF: QB Duane Logan OTT - 4 Passing Touchdowns, 341 Passing Yards, 1 Interception

DEF: DB Lee Wolfe PRO - 2 Interceptions, 4 Tackles, 4 Knockdowns

Standings: 
NORTH
Buffalo 1-0
Ottawa 1-0
Montreal 1-0
Toronto 0-1

NEW ENGLAND
Providence 1-0
Boston 0-1
Worcester 0-1
Hartford 0-1

Power Rankings
Montreal +1
Boston -1
Buffalo -
Ottawa -
Providence -
Toronto -
Hartford -
Worcester -

Week 2 Games
WOR (0-1) @ TOR (0-1)
BUF (1-0) @ PRO (1-0)
HAR (0-1) @ BOS (0-1)
OTT (1-0) @ MTL (1-0) *Game of the Week*

Last edited by Wallflower (4/20/2020 8:53 pm)