OFF-SEASON SPONSOR AND PLAYER SHUFFLE SETS UP BOISE SPEED FOR A SOLID PLAYOFF RUN… OR ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING SEASON

Team Preview by: Jared Neumeier

BOISE – On April 22, 2006, the Boise Roughriders, now called “Speed” did what the franchise had never done before.

They defeated the Idaho Falls Mustangs.

In the state of Idaho, the Mustangs have been the most consistent non-losing franchise ever… for 10 seasons; meanwhile, the representatives from the state capitals have been consistently treated like the “ugly step-sister” or rather the Rodney Dangerfield of Idaho… “never getting any respect”.

What the Boise Speed must do NOW in 2007 is… to go one further.

And just shut … their critics… UP!

The Boise Speed will need to parley the support of their great sponsor (Brad Duke), yoke the knowledge of their new coaching staff, use their new playing location in Boise to drum up a fan base, and they need to prove that they have finally put together an offense that gets as much respect as their defense.

There has been an open competition for the quarterback and trigger man of the Boise offense in the off-season, currently being lead by their star receiver from 2006, Adam Guy. Brian Stogsdill has been the teams starting quarterback for most of the last 3 seasons and may have played himself out of a job… for now. They have lost a great offensive lineman and replaced him with a good one. They lost a potential hall of fame tight end and replaced him with a great fullback… and the shuffle at wide receiver continues, especially pulling their best 2006 play-maker and putting him behind center.

There were holes to fill, on both sides of the ball, and the Roughriders believe they have filled them.

Zac Jockumsen is back and healthy along with the most consistently good cornerback in the RMFL, Dane Knickrehm, who holds most interceptions records, including getting 9 picks in 2006. But even the defense has some questions.

Regardless of the many questions, this team still has too much talent and its location on the outermost edge of the AAA map, gives them a little more home field edge than the Eastern Idaho or Northern Utah AAA teams. Although I’m predicting another eek into the playoffs as a #6 seed for this franchise, I’m by no means any more sure they will make it at #6 as I am that perhaps they have found the answers and will actually be hosting a play-off game in 2007.

KEY ADDITIONS:

Mike Bills – Offensive Line

James Clumpf – Quarterback

Josh Black – Running Back

Jared Coleman – Defensive Back

KEY LOSSES:

Joe Critchfield – Offensive/Defensive Line

Shawn Mares – Tight End

OFFENSE:

There will likely be little argument against the statement that the Boise Speed have never been known for their offense. Even in the heyday season of 2004 MVP, Ernesto Ramos, were the Boise Speed known for offense… and in that season, they finished 4^th in offense and a mediocre 9^th in defense. Whether they had a good year on offense or not… the book on Boise has always been, “good defense… below average offense”. Last season was no exception. In the first season of the AAA competition level, the Speed placed a reasonable 6^th in offense (6^th rushing, 6^th passing), which means they were theoretically better than 4 other AAA level teams. Of coarse one of those teams was the ultimately struggling Idaho Matadors and another was the Utah Heat who would have had trouble passing against AA defenses. Boise’s offensive line rank? How about 6^th. They only gave up 14 sacks, however, they only averaged 3.9 yards an attempt on the ground. So the challenge for the 2007 Boise Speed on offense? To bring back some excitement when the unit is on the field. To cut to the chase, what Boise always seems to lack, even when they have quality players at every other offensive position, is a quarterback… that can make a difference. For the past 3 seasons, Brian Stogsdill, has been the “Guy”, however, in those three seasons, Stogs has passed for 24 touchdowns and 34 interceptions… not a good ratio at all. His good QB rating in 2004 of 81.8 dropped to 33.8 in 2005 and stayed down at 56.8 last season. With the Speed wondering if he can be the “Guy”, head coach, Todd Rietmann seems to be leaning towards handing the QB duties over to their best receiver from last season, Adam Guy. Guy lead the team with 22 receptions for 474 yards and 5 touchdowns and is ready to take over the job. But can the “athlete” do any better than the veteran who has seemed to struggle with inconsistency over the years. The Speed hope so. Joining Guy, who has not thrown a pass in an RMFL game to my knowledge in the backfield will be returning tailback, Dan Maguira who rushed for 311 yards on 81 carries in ’06. Maguira will be joined by valuable off-season pick-up, Josh Black. Black was a big part of the Madison Lionz success in their first year in 2002 proving to be an explosive runner and receiving threat out of the backfield. They will be a dangerous duo if the passing game can pick up. The Speed lose long time perennial all-star tight end, Shawn Mares. New to the team, Dan Koski has some very big shoes to fill replacing Mares who is no less than a legend in Boise football. Jeremy Prussia returns as one of the primary wide outs. Prussia caught 11 passes for 240 yards and a couple of scores in ’06 and hopes to improve greatly on those numbers. Joining him most of the time is expected to be Kevin Bekker. Bekker, who played primarily on defense in ’06 seems to rotate back and forth from offense to defense every season for Boise and has done it consistently for now his 4^th season. Improving on the 6^th ranked offensive line would require a singular focus for the Speed; figure out a way to run block better. Unfortunately for the Speed offensive line, they lose their best offensive lineman, Joe Critchfield (playing for the Boise Burn with Shawn Mares). They welcome Mike Bills (6’3, 315) from the Matadors to replace him and hope that Bills can “fill the Bill”. Also returning to the team will be longtime former Roughrider, Phil Janquart (5’9, 280). Bills and Janquart join returning veterans, Todd Rietmann (6’4, 350), Jesse Lee (6’0, 275) and Mike Kierpec (6’2, 305) to fill out what is hoped to be a vastly improved offensive line… somehow. Eric Harbison, who was the RMFL’s best kicker, converting 16 of 16 extra points and 7 of 7 field goals in ’06 is back to do the place-kicking duties. The Speed realistically probably have a 3-way quarterback battle, having James Clumpf join the team after losing interest with the Matadors. Clumpf has mobility and some experience. The Roughrider offensive line is fine. Losing Mares is a hit, no matter how good Koski turns out to be. Black at fullback, if used right will more than make up for some of the catches lost with Mares. This offense will go, and so will the Speed playoff hopes… if a quarterback steps forth and can perform. Boise is one of my “middle teams” in this years rankings. One of those teams, in my opinion, that has a real shot at grabbing a 4^th thru 6^th playoff position. I will predict this. If they can get a 75.0 or greater efficiency rating from the quarterback position, they will be a playoff team. Projected Offensive Rank: tie 6^th .

DEFENSE:

As I mentioned in the offensive preview, the Speed have been known for their defense… and although there have been some seasons in which they did not deserve such recognition, 2006 was not one of them. The Roughriders squeaked into the playoffs as the #6 seed invariably by the solid play through the season of their defense. Ranked 3^rd in the league (6^th vs. rush, 4^th vs. pass), the Roughriders lead ALL AAA teams with 21 interceptions; an average of more than 2 per game. OF course a lot of that had to do with all-star, and all-time RMFL career record-holder in interceptions, Dane Knickrehm who had 9 of them… also an RMFL record. The Roughriders also recorded a better than average, 20 sacks to go with the number of picks and developed a good reputation as a defense that creates turnovers and keeps the team in the game, even when the offense is struggling. What will be interesting to see, however, is how well the off-season changes affect the Speed defense, particularly the defensive line. The Speed defensive line will sport a whole new look from 2006. In their first season, they wills start Derek Collins (6’5, 225) and Darren Gossett (6’0, 210) at the defensive end positions. In his first season with the team, they are leaning towards Josh Nelson (6’4, 280) at one defensive tackle spot. The really good news for the speed is the return of their one-time sack champion, Austin Callison (6’1, 255) to the defensive front line and hope that teams will have to account more and more for him freeing up an array of other great players. Of course, speaking of “other great players”, you simply cannot talk about the Boise defense without talking about last season’s “North Division MVP” and a former 3-time RMFL Defensive MVP, Zac Jockumsen. Jockumsen is on a pace to obliterate every RMFL tackling record ever thought of. A smart and active strong side linebacker, Jockumsen also plays heavily on special teams, making that unit even stronger. Jockumsen will be joined by former Pocatello Silverback linebacker, Chris Howington (5’11, 240) and long-time RMFL veteran, Aaron Crawford (5’10, 225). Together, this might be the most seasoned linebacking corps in the league. The Speed believe they have also significantly upgraded their already formidable secondary. Along with all-star record-holder and kick return specialist, Knickrehm, and Ryan Weaver who returns after finishing 4^th in the team in tackles in ’06 with 23, will be Brooks Engstrom at the other safety (along with Weaver) and Jared Coleman. In Rietmann’s own words, “Coleman is one of the best cover corners I’ve ever seen”. And he sees Knickrehm year after year after year. I think this defense has the composite to be another top unit in 2007, however, I am very reluctant to project another 3^rd place ranking. Callison will help a lot and I can believe the hype surrounding Coleman, however, even if Jocko is still in his prime, I’m not sure that Howington and Crawford still are. I think to compete against some of these very fast backs and complex backfield sets, you need more speed at linebacker. Granted, Boise has had plenty of run stopping success over the years without a lot of linebacker speed, however, I just think that for this defense to progress, they will need to get younger and bigger across the d-line! The size of their front 4 is a cause of concern, considering the size of some of the offensive lines they will see during the season. Oh these guys are good , solid players and the quickness of the secondary will allow them to do some things with their front 7 that other teams may not be able to do, including blitzing Jockumsen, who lead the team with not only 75-1/2 tackles (which also lead the RMFL), but also 6 sacks. I’m still expecting a slight fall off from the good season in ’06. Which is why I think they will need to rely a bit more on some offense to make the playoffs in 2007. Projected Defensive Rank: 4^th .

INTANGIBLES AND COACHING:

Although I’m clearly not willing to guarantee that the off-season pick-ups and changes will be better or improve the off-season losses with the Speed, there is one thing that is for certain. With the big off-season sponsorship by Brad Duke and an influx of a full coaching staff, this team is definitely in a better position to compete this season than last. I am even willing to believe that the Speed will get better play from their quarterback, whether it by Guy or Stogsdill. The problem with giving the Speed a higher pre-season ranking is that there are still plenty of question marks surrounding some key players and this teams ability to contain some of the top AAA teams. There are just other teams with less concerns or unknown factors. After the big announcement and name change, things have really been a bit quiet in the capital of Idaho. In the past, that has usually proven to NOT be a good sign, although plenty of teams have played the silent game figuring to keep the target off of them, it just hasn’t seemed to help them compete any better. Moving back to the Boise area for their games and out of Horseshoe Bend I think will help them, but it also helps their opponents, who I’m sure, were getting tired o the extra leg of that trip. Along with player/coach Rietmann, the Roughriders will have Charles Dabney, Del Nelson, TJ Martin, Jerome Nelson and Rocky Lopez helping coach the team. No doubt this will also be a plus. Those familiar with Cardinal/Roughrider/Speed history will be very familiar with these names. They may be just enough to get the most out of the talent… but without a proven quarterback...

OVERALL RANKING: 5^th