NEW JERSEY - NEW ORLEANS

New Jersey Hitmen

Team synopsis: No doubt about this, Damon Moffa and his New Jersey Hitmen are in full blown rebuild mode for 2011.  A team that was 10-6 in 2010 dealt away some top notch talent in the off season.  Names like Asomugha, Manning, Cofield and Bart Scott were sent packing in order to bolster the roster with youth and draft choices.  The Hitmen made a solid first pick in the draft with Center Maurkice Pouncey.  Only one year into his NFL career and Pouncey is already right around the top of the NFL class at his position.  One young player who survived the purge is Offensive Tackle Ryan Clady.  With Pouncey and Clady anchoring the offensive line the Hitmen rebuild is off to a nice beginning.  Time will tell how all the rest of the New Jersey youth movement plays out.

Beginning the season in an acknowledged rebuilding year the New Jersey Hitmen finished 0-16. The offense has scored a league low 200 points. The defense has allowed a league high 515 points.  Drew Stanton, based on his play, appears to be the transitional quarterback as New Jersey will no doubt look for a replacement for next season.  RB Mike Tolbert took over the lead running back job from Clinton Portis.  Tolbert was good enough to average over five yards per carry with 7 TD's.  Despite that solid effort, running back might be another area addressed before next season.  Wide Receiver Deon Butler is one player who performed above expectations.  Butler pulled in 74 passes with three T.D. receptions.  The defense has some young building blocks with players like Stanford Routt, Brandon Carr and Jamar Chaney.  Still, there is much heavy lifting ahead for New Jersey to get back to being a playoff contender.  Offensive leaders for the Hitmen:

PASSING ATT. COMP. T.D. INT. RTG.
Drew Stanton 513 259 8 18 55.2
RUSHING ATT. YDS. AVG. LONG T.D.
Mike Tolbert 150 772 5.1 35 7
RECEIVING REC.YDS. AVG. LONG T.D.
Deon Butler 74 78510.6 70 3



New Orleans Voodoo

Team synopsis: Butch Shramek and the New Orleans Voodoo suffered through a 4-12 season in 2010.  Unsatisfied with those results the Voodoo were also active in the trade market.  New Orleans made an immediate impact in the Rookie Draft by nabbing Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh and later in Rd. 1 selecting Defensive End Jason Pierre-Paul.  Add those two rookies to Chris Long, Bart Scott and Darrelle Reavis and you immediately have a daunting defense for the Voodoo.  The New Orleans offense begins with Pro-Bowl Running Back Steven Jackson.  Jackson has three Pro-Bowl selections on his resume and that will keep the opposing defenses focused on the run while Mark Sanchez continues his development at Quarterback.  Looks like better days are ahead for the team from the "Big Easy".

After suffering six one-score losses the New Orleans Voodoo ended their season with two victories to finish the season 2-14. The Voodoo allowed the third most points in the league which is a little bit of a head scratch-er.  On defense Ndamukong Suh had 9 sacks and Chris Long added 7 more.  Darrelle Reevis has controlled his corner of the field and made 4 interceptions, on the other side Chris Houston also had 4 picks.  Despite those efforts the defense still allowed 1300 more yards than the Voodoo offense generated. Halfback Steven Jackson gained over 1600 yards and led the team with 9 touchdowns.  Quarterback Mark Sanchez finished below 50% in completions and had to finish with a flourish to break even with 23 T.D.'s and 23 Int's.  Austin Collie and Patrick Crayton have combined to provide Sanchez with long ball threats at wide receiver to go along with a solid possession TE in Jermaine Gresham.  On the season New Orleans just didn't click as a team, as some seemingly nice pieces didn't yield better results.  Voodoo offensive leaders:

PASSING ATT. COMP. T.D. INT. RTG.
Mark Sanchez 487 225 23 23 61.8
RUSHING ATT. YDS. AVG. LONG T.D.
Steven Jackson 343 1642 4.8 39 6
RECEIVING REC.YDS. AVG. LONG T.D.
Steven Jackson 57 61410.8 49 3
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