Baltimore Hawks
4-10
Third (Last) in NSFC


The Good

We are now at our second 4-10 team on the list, and much like their other division counterparts, the Baltimore Hawks had some bright spots as well. For one, their offense wasn't all that bad. Their awful record aside, the team actually sported the third best offense in the league. One may be surprised to find a team that won four games in the top half of anything in the league, but this all starts with the play of Scrub Kyubee, who really isn't living up to his name. His decision making could use some serious work, but even though he was plagued by picks, he still managed to throw twelve touchdowns, and completed 58.3 percent of his passes, a relatively high clip compared to the league. Kurt Hendrix, Stephen Harrison and Erasmo Broadway have proven to be a formidable linebacker crew, and defenses should watch out for 1000 yard receiver Damian West, paired with Cooper Christmas, who had 700 yards on the season. The acquisition of Bert Metas from the Otters during the season helped add to their front line as well.

The Bad

Like the Sabercats, there was also plenty of bad to go with the good. Scrub Kyubee fell into both of these categories, as I briefly mentioned. He threw five more interceptions than touchdowns (17 and 12), which is certainly no recipe for success, and had the third lowest QBR in the league. The running back situation is also a bit unfortunate for this team, because while both Marcus Robinson and Levon Novel showed promise in preseason and early on, they have both been slacking off in the training room, and it is showing. Neither one of these players have eclipsed 120 TPE, which is not a good sign for two guys who were pegged as "surefire starter caliber". Also, aside from leader Antoine Delacour, the team is a bit lacking in the secondary, something which hurt them down the stretch, as opposing quarterbacks and receivers continued to adapt to each other more comfortably. The 31-3 blowout loss to the San Jose SaberCats was a sort of "last straw" for the unsuccessful Hawks season.


The Future

Again, this is the impartial analyst in me talking, but the Baltimore Hawks do have fewer assets to work with than their 4-10 counterparts, the San Jose SaberCats. Losing a solid tight end like Gabriel Tenzini to the expansion Las Vegas Legion hurts as well. As I said, the running back situation may be OK for now, but is looking a bit futile for the future, which is where this franchise needs to turn now. They do possess the fourth overall pick, and the rumblings are that they may be looking at an offensive lineman with that spot, someone that they could potentially craft a franchise around. After all, someone has to protect the backfield. Daniel Robicheaux is an interesting name they acquired for the O-Line as well, as he hasn't been all that active, but is still a solid body to put there, better than any bot. If one thing is consistent, it's the kicker spot, where Turk Turkleton will likely be the franchise kicker. I believe the Baltimore Hawks can turn it around, but with the GMs in flux, it will be interesting to see how they do so.