MAGIC VALLEY BULLDAWGS TO RE-INVENT THEMSELVES
FOLLOWING SIGNIFICANT EXODUS OF LONG-TIME VETERAN PLAYERS
Team Preview by: Jared Neumeier
TWIN FALLS – The “5 Gun” offense has officially been holstered.
Long time Bulldawg quarterback and probably first ballot RMFL Hall of
Famer, Mike Manning has retired. Along with him were many of his receiving
weapons. No Robert Carrick, no Junior
Hale or Fernando Vale. No Cole Meiners, No Trent Vest, No Kelly Nebeker, No
multi-athletic Hakes brother, and, up to now, not even a Lonnie Edwards.
This recently maligned franchise has been nothing short of a “Wide
Receiver Factory” over the past many seasons.
Well, for the first time since 1998, the factory has shut down.
Without the mega-talented quarterback “and his band of renown”, the
Bulldawgs have been put into a position to “re-invent” themselves; and so they
have.
Gone are the May brothers (Jeff to the Predators, Rick retired) and the
many Hakes (Alan, Dallas, Roudy, Dennis…)…
What the Bulldawgs will have, incredibly so, is no shortage of talented
linemen; a problem many teams in the AA level do have. In fact, almost ½ of the current Bulldawgs
roster is lineman. With no shortage of
beef, RMFL newcomer, quarterback, Matt Myers will be looking to make a name for
himself in Bulldawg blue in 2006…. Who
he will be tossing too, however, is a bit up in the air.
In fact, team coordinator, Ben Landrian has actually suggested that the
team my put a want ad out for wide receiver talent; a commodity most teams get
in multitudes. In fact, Landrian does not flinch at saying that “it is a
rebuilding year for the Bulldawgs, and we would like it to be known that if you
would like to play for our squad, contact…”
Not exactly the words that inspire
prognosticators to pick the Bulldawgs for great deeds in 2006.
The Bulldawgs, however, will have size, they will have talent and they
certainly have a rich history of rising up and making a difference. Any time a team has a good line,
they are dangerous and have a chance to win.
I’ve always felt that the skill positions are the easiest to recruit;
especially when you have a decent line. I’m also not so sure we have seen the
last of some of these old Bulldawg skill players that have yet to materialize.
Of all of the teams, this Bulldawg team looks the most desperate at press time, however, I believe that when the games begin, there will be more than enough talent on this team to compete for a AA title.
OFFENSE:
With many teams, particularly in the AA, I tend to focus on talking about the offensive line, and whether they will be capable or not of “getting the job done”. I usually go on to say that “this team will only go as far as the offensive line will take them…” or some such jibber jabber, however, in the case of the Bulldawgs, this team will only go as far as their quarterback, running back and receivers… whoever they turn out to be… will take them. The Bulldawgs book on their projected starting quarterback, Matt Myers is that he is 5’10, 180 lbs, is young, with great mobility and a fairly strong arm. Which in my extremely experienced world of pre-season prognostications means, “we really don’t know how he is going to perform in real game situations” Well, I don’t either. Rule of thumb, however, is that most quarterbacks new to the league, take a year to get it figured out. In the backfield with Myers will likely be Bulldawg returner, Geriah Nay, who played mostly defense last season, recording 36 tackles (3rd on the team) and in limited offensive duty, actually averaged 11 yard a carry out of the backfield and 20 yards a reception. Nay could put up very big numbers behind this Bulldawg o-line. Nay will be joined in the backfield by a powerful blocker and runner, Jeremy Shaffer. Landrian, who will finally have an opportunity to show his wares as a player for the Bulldawgs will likely be playing tight end. Although the Bulldawgs seem to be ready to hold open auditions for wide receiver, currently, the heir apparent for the jobs may be Bryce Egbert and Jordan Kunkel as the only wide receivers listed on the Bulldawgs roster besides Landrian. The offensive line is projected to be anchored by returning veteran journeymen, Travis Hobson (275 lbs) and Sonny Wilkenson (270 lbs), also Jake Skeen (240 lbs) is expected to be a regular starter. The other two offensive line spots are expected to be filled by a combination of 2 of the following: Stephen Medina (260 lbs), Mike Maloney (275 lbs), Sherman King (250 lbs), Taryn Pullin (260 lbs), Dallan Myers (255 lbs) or Dario Azevedo (255 lbs). A very capable, Dario Azevedo will handle the kicking duties for the Bulldawgs for the second straight season. Azevedo provided consistent kicking for the first time in Bulldawg history in 2006. In fact, the 14 extra points he kicked were more than the Bulldawgs had kicked total in the 7 seasons previous. For those who have seen the Bulldawgs over the past several seasons, this Bulldawg offense will look entirely different, however, in some respects, different is…okay. This team has the talent and offensive line depth to control the clock on offense, keeping their defense well rested and holding leads. If 2 or 3 of their past offensive star receivers suddenly materialized, I might even suggest this could be the best offense in the AA, but for now…. Projected Offensive Rank: 7th
DEFENSE:
Lets face it, the Magic Valley Bulldawgs were never “famous” for their defense. But what few realize is that the Magic Valley defense has been getting better and better over the years and became a team strength. Of course, that having been said, the defense may have taking even a worse off-season beating than the offense. The only returning starters listed, for certain, for the ‘Dawgs are Taryn Pullin at defensive line, Zac O’Toole, linebacker and Geriah Nay at defensive back; although Tim O’Donnell and Jason Blair, a former RMFL sack leader are also listed on the roster and certainly Travis Hobson is as much a defensive line force as he is an offensive line talent. Currently, the Bulldawgs project Sherman King (6-3, 240) as the other defensive end along with Pullin with Mike Malloney (6-2, 280) and Dallan Myers (6-0, 250) as the likely defensive tackles in the base 4-3 defense. Zac O’toole returns at linebacker sans any May’s or Hakes and will likely be joined by Dario Azevedo and one of the following: Alma Buhler, Tyrel Hoagland or Will Howerton. The Dawgs aren’t tipping their hand on who will win the last spot, which will likely come down to practice participation like many of the contested positions. Former Mustang, Bill Sherman joins Nay in the secondary. Sherman, who was lost in the shuffle of a deep and talented secondary there, will play cornerback along with Bulldawg quarterback, Myers who is expected to iron man over to play the other corner slot. Joining Nay at the safety position could be either Jordon Kunkel, Will Howerton or Tyrel Hoagland. Likely, thte team will play around with these spots as the games progress and any late influx of talent could also shift this group a bit more. There are plenty of question marks on this defense, however, there are also plenty of bright spots. This group would have likely been eaten up by AAA level offenses, however, in the AA division, they may become a very solid unit. Only time will tell as the Bulldawgs become one of the biggest question mark teams heading into the regular season. Projected Defensive Rank: 10th
COACHING AND INTANGIBLES:
For many of the Bulldawgs, how the 2006 season ended, did not sit too well with them. They would be very motivated to turn the Bulldawgs around and prove what kind of football gets played in the great plains of Idaho. Unfortunately, most of those Bulldawgs aren’t around anymore… but a few of them are. Taryn Pullin, team GM LOVES being a Bulldawg and will fight on the field with more tenacity than ever before. Guys like Nay, Skeen and Landrian have been finally given a golden opportunity to really let it loose. Guys in the trenches like Hobson and Wilkenson have a great opportunity to become first team All-RMFLers, all-stars and lead their team to a championship. For every thing negative you can think about the 2006 Bulldawgs chances, there are at least two positive things. In a Conference of absolute parity, this team was absolutely the hardest team to rank. The only thing to do is totally hedge and project them middle pack, however, any number of the wrong key injuries will keep them near the bottom of the herd… and lets face it, that could be a problem for any team.
OVERALL RANKING: 9th
