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At La-Z-Boy Stadium in Detroit, an air of excitement wrapped the crowd gathered to watch the new era of the Vampires under GM zenzog and Head Coach Matthew Perkins. A decade of disappointment and ownership finally took action, cleaning out the front office and declaring that they would take a reduced role in day to day management of the team.
At his first press conference GM zenzog paid homage to the greats, saying, "This is the house that fantastic flying froggies, Harry Garrett, and Shane Hall built. We'll remind the CFL of that."
In the offseason, the Vampires let several big pieces walk in DE Dominique Jeffries and WR Al Boone and traded WR Victor Caldwell, C Pedro Cooley, OT Louie Winslett. All contributors to the team in 2056 leaving large holes in the roster, but the reports of new Vampires came in starting with an eye popping $190M/4 year deal for OLB Hunter Fulton (who likely won't play a single snap for the team in 2057). Then, it was DE Scott Gradkowski signing a $78M/4 year deal. Next, C Bruce Entman, OLB Lionel McConnell, and TE Oliver Sims calling Detroit home. It was clear that things would be different in Motor City.
When the draft began, the team was already looking very different to the sub 0.500 rosters of recent past. The Vampires had big names and flashy signings, but were the draft picks going to be all bubble and no bath? Seemingly not, as GM zenzog let cooler heads prevail and drafted OT Andres Such (1.17), CB Roy Irwin (1.16), and RB Taylor Murray (3.15), emphasizing the goal of drafting for value. All three players made the final 53-man roster and will even start from week one. Many analysts power rated Detroit in the top 10 saying now was the time to see what FS Luis Anthony, DE Riley Gray, NT Gage Schindlbeck, and ILB Avery Agustoni could do now they had time to gel.
So, how did we look against Cleveland?
The first drive was about the cleanest one could ask for, with QB Mitchem going 5/5 for 60 yards, RB Murray rushing twice for 15 yards, and WR Stevenson catching a 23 yard touchdown. Then the much maligned defense takes the field for Cleveland's first drive and it looks like the same old story as QB Kaczor drove up the field and responded immediately. Excitement turned to despair as QB Mitchem was unable to keep drives alive while QB Kaczor and Cleveland's ground game would go on to rack up 17 more points, capitalizing on a horrific fumble by QB Mitchem just before the end of the first half.
The defense tightened up in the second half, only allowing 78 yards before TE Voinovich left the game with a knee injury and a failed 4th down conversion sealed the deal. The Vampires were unable to reach even the red zone in 60 minutes of play with QB Mitchem finishing 19 of 42 for 216 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, RB Taylor Murray collecting 57 yards on 19 rushes, and TE Voinovich on 5 catches for 64 yards.
Next week, La-Z-Boy Stadium will host the Las Vegas Rounders and blockbuster trade target RB Alonzo Gmerek coming off an overtime thriller. Hopefully the rust will be off by then.
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GL Division Champions: 2057, 2059, 2065
EFC Champions: 2057
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FAQ
. I might be ‘borrowing’ a little from your PlayBook next season. 
