The Draft Rap Up
San Diego, Ca (04/15/2008) -
The 2008 OIF2 Draft came to close today. The San Diego Sailors really like their chances in the West this year with all the teams in the west in their first year in the OIF2. The draft went ten rounds and the Sailors decided to keep all there picks rather then trading some away.
Here are the Sailors picks. 1st QB Albert Gardner, 2nd OS Kenneth Brimmer, 3rd OLDL Darrell Krame, 4th WRLB Don Walsh, 5th RBLB Zack Lalty, 6th WRLB Richard Zier, 7th WRDB Chris Love, 8th WRDB Dan Cheswick, 9th OLDL Sam Bartter, 10th WRDB Michael McCoy. The Sailors drafted a total of 1 QB, 1 RBLB, 3 WRDB, 2 WRLB, 2 OLDL, and 1 OS.
The Sailors are really satisfied with their picks. With their first pick they drafted Albert Gardner, arguably the best quarterback in the OIF2. His arm is one of the best in the league with his pin point accuracy and he can throw the ball quarter mile. One of his weaknesses is his non ability to scrabble around in and out of the pocket but the Sailors made sure they drafted some great Offensive Linemen so it should not be a problem. We had a chance to talk to Gardner and he said that he will be working on scrabbling and moving around during training camp.
One of the big strengths for the Sailors will be their wide receiver core. They drafted five wide receivers and they are all quick and can catch the ball. The Sailors should not have any problem with the receiver position. The Sailors also feel that their defensive backs will play a big role this year in competing in the west and that they should keep the score down and keep the games close.
Overall the Sailors felt that the draft was a big success. The Sailors' front office is working hard with OIFL teams to get quality loans for the upcoming season. Also the club plans on signing a couple of free agents to fill the remaining spots on the roster.
The OIF2 Properties, San Diego Sailors and it's members teams are not affiliated, sponsored or associated with the Arena Fooball League or any of its member teams.
Sailors Roster is Complete
San Diego, Ca (05/22/2008) -
The last Free Agent signing filled the San Diego Sailors 28 Man Roster. General Manager Wyatt Hoffman said the roster is set for the 2008 season and the Sailors feel that they have plenty of depth and no holes to fill. Also he said that were not looking to trade or sign anymore players as we feel that this is the team we want to start the beginning of the season with.
This is how the Sailors got their players: Ten in the 2008 OIF2 Draft, Nine from OIFL loans, Five from Open Tryouts, and four from Free Agency. The Sailors also have completed getting nine loans from OIFL teams. Each OIF2 team can choose to have nine or less players from the OIFL join their team for the year. The Sailors got three from The Houston Marshals: QB Bud Pohlad, RBDB Patrice Tucker, and WRDB Marques Benjamin. Two from the Los Angeles Barracudas: RBLB Dave Ross and OS Howard Maxwell. One from the San Francisco Thunder Sharks: DS Shaun Bennigan. Three from the San Antonio Rattlers: RBDB Bruce Malloy, OLDL David Barton, OLDL Lane Moreland. All the loaned players are full year loans except for San Antonio's players can be recalled at anytime.
In Open Tryouts the Sailors found four quality starters and one good back up player. The best player the Sailors signed in Open Tryouts is Kicker John "Auto" Matich. He will most likely be the bester kicker in the OIF2 with his strength in accuracy. He made every kick in the tryouts and even made a couple of fifty yard field goals after the tryouts just for show. This guy is going to be a beast. The other four players from the tryouts include RBDB Ty Evans, WRDB Deondre Alexander, OLDL Gerald Sykes, and DS Rico Curtis. The players signed in the tryouts will be a big impact this season.
Home Cooking
San Diego, Ca (06/25/2008) -
The Sailors first game at the San Diego Sports Arena was a success. Last Sunday the Sailors took down the Philadelphia Colonials in a pre season offensive battle 70-55. The Sailors offense looked like a machine that could not be stopped. Albert Gardner played like a man possessed completing 31 passes out of 41 with a total of 374 yards passing and throwing nine touchdowns.
On defense The Sailors looked a little shaky giving up 250 pass yards and a total of 334 yards. The Defense also gave up 84 rush yards. San Diego's Michael McCoy had the game's only interception and The Sailor's Linebacker Dave Ross had the only Sack. The offense carried the sailors to victory but San Diego will have to work on their defense if they want to continue to win games.
This week The Sailors are on the road to play the last pre season game in Cedar Falls against the Phantoms at Donald N. Eades Field at UNI Dome. The game is Sunday June 29th at 5:05 pm PST. The Phantoms lost their first pre season game last Sunday against the Carroll County Cannons. The Phantoms just switched over to the Western Conference so this match up will be important because the Sailors play them two more times in the regular season.
Sailors Ready For War
San Diego, Ca (07/11/2008) -
Come and see the San Diego Sailors first ever Regular Season OIF2 game, Sunday July 13 at 7:05 @ the San Diego Sports Arena. The Promotional Schedule was released today and for the Sailors home opener local San Diego band and nationally famous P.O.D. (Payable On Death) will perform at halftime.
The Sailors will take on the Toronto Assault without OIFL loan Bruce Malloy. On July 2 the San Antonio Rattlers recalled one of three players that they loaned to the Sailors. RBDB Bruce Malloy was arguably one of the best defensive backs in the OIF2. Luckily San Diego has a lot of depth and this shouldn't hurt the team too much. No word out of the front office of who will take the roster place but they said we should know sometime next week.
San Diego finished the pre season 1-1, winning at home against the Philadelphia Colonials and losing on the road to the Cedar Falls Phantoms. The Toronto Assault will be one of two teams that the Sailors face from the Eastern Division, the other being the Buffalo Wings whom they will be playing on the road.
Sailors Win Home Opener
San Diego, Ca (07/15/2008) -
The San Diego Sailors win their first ever OIF2 Regular Season game on their first try. In an almost sold out crowd of 12,115 the Sailors sent the home crowd happy with a win in the home opener. The Sailors took on the Toronto Assault one of two teams from the league last year, the other being the Philadelphia Colonials who San Diego beat in the pre-season. The Sailors have taken on two of the most experienced teams in the league and have beaten them so things are looking good in America's finest city.
The Sailors won the game 52-41 which is a close score but the game was a blow out until the fourth quarter. San Diego was ahead 45-20 going into the 4th Quarter but the Sailors put in some backups and Albert Gardner threw two interceptions finishing the day completing 20 of 39 passes for 231 pass yards and throwing five touchdowns. Gardner's favorite receiver was Deondre Alexander completing eight passes to him for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Evans, Brimmer, and Ross combined 35 rushing yards on ten carries. The Sailors will have to work on the rushing if they want to contend for a championship but the pass defiantly carried them through the game.
Yesterday the Sailors signed veteran OLDL Jim Lindsay to replace Bruce Malloy who was recalled to the San Antonio Rattlers two weeks ago. Lindsay was cut from the OIFL Memphis Crusaders back on week one of the OIFL season. Even though Lindsay most likely will not start he should get some playing time as a backup adding depth to an already great Offensive and Defensive line.
This week the Sailors will be on the road playing the Washington Commandos (0-1) this Sunday July 20th, 7:05 PST at Battlefield Stadium. The Commandos were crushed on the road against the Cedar Falls Phantoms last week in a blowout 56-29. All of the Sailors games will be televised on local channel 4SD and broadcasted on local sports radio The XX 1090.
Sailors Lose in Barn Burner
San Diego, Ca (07/21/2008) -
The Sailors fall short on the road in Washington in most likely the best game so far in the OIF2 this year. San Diego loses 48-46 to the Washington Commandos. The Sailors lost in the 4th quarter by falling short on a 2pt conversion to tie the game and would have sent it into overtime. The game started of with a bang for the Sailors when Shaun Bennigan sacked Washington's Quarterback Whitehead in the end zone for a safety.
Albert Gardner finished the day by completing 17 out 32 passes with 187 yards and three touchdowns. The Sailors did beat the Commandos in rushing with 53 yards. Evans rushed ten times for 42 yards and three touchdowns. Alexander caught six passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. McCoy caught five passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.
San Diego came out of the game banged up with two players injured. Starting OLDL Sam Bartter sprained his ankle and will be out for 1-2 weeks. Backup WRLB Richard Zier sprained his shoulder and will be out for a week. The Sailors have a lot of Depth at these positions and the injuries shouldn't affect the team that much.
This week the Sailors will take on the San Jose Thunder (1-1) in the battle for California, Sunday July 27 at The San Diego Sports Arena. Help the Sailors to victory by coming to the game and become the 9th man. Also Free San Diego Sailors t-shirts will be given to all the fans who attend the game. San Jose just came off a victory at home defeating the Cedar Falls Phantoms 47-33.
2008 Schedule
July 13: Toronto
July 20: @ Washington
July 27: San Jose
August 10: @ Cedar Falls
August 17: Washington
August 24: @ Eugene
August 31: @ San Jose
September 7: @ Buffalo
September 14: Eugene
September 21: Cedar Falls
Home games are in bold
