It was another rebuilding year for the New York Rumble. For the past handful of years it has been the same story heading into each offseason. The previous two years the team finished last place in the conference with a 2-8 record. In 2016 the Rumble made it three seasons in a row.
To start off the season the team lost the face of their franchise for three seasons, Chris Mazur. Mazur was (and still is) the team's all-time leader in goals (49) and assists (80). In addition they lost their next top eight scorers including Chris Kocher and John Wodatch, two young stars expecting to begin a youth movement to rebuild the Rumble. The top two players returning would be the YouTube personality Marques Brownlee and defensive superstar Jibran Mieser. Joining the team would 2014 Rumble player Quinn Hunziker and former Philadelphia Phoenix player Sean Mott.
There were not high expectations for this team to start the season. In fact, looking at where they started, being able to finish with the same record from the year before was an accomplishment for this squad. This team may be set up to succeed from one season to the next for the first time in their history.
To start off the season the team lost the face of their franchise for three seasons, Chris Mazur. Mazur was (and still is) the team's all-time leader in goals (49) and assists (80). In addition they lost their next top eight scorers including Chris Kocher and John Wodatch, two young stars expecting to begin a youth movement to rebuild the Rumble. The top two players returning would be the YouTube personality Marques Brownlee and defensive superstar Jibran Mieser. Joining the team would 2014 Rumble player Quinn Hunziker and former Philadelphia Phoenix player Sean Mott.
There were not high expectations for this team to start the season. In fact, looking at where they started, being able to finish with the same record from the year before was an accomplishment for this squad. This team may be set up to succeed from one season to the next for the first time in their history.
Record: 2-8 | Home: 0-5 | Away: 2-3 |
Getting the group together and creating some chemistry would be the goal of New York this season. Winning and getting to the playoffs was not a viable option for the team and has not been since 2013. New faces in larger and different roles were going to take time to develop. One thing no one questioned was their athleticism, they had two of the best defensive players in the game, Brownlee and Mieser, and a young roster to build on.
Early on in the season many of the veterans from 2015, there were only nine, were placed on the offensive unit. Normally that is how it works with any professional, club, or college team for their top line, especially on a year with massive turnover. As the season progressed the lines began to change, the largest difference being Mott to the O-line and Brownlee being mixed up between offense and defense.
On a team with only a 45 percent offensive scoring efficiency, many players would see time on both sides of the disc. It let this team with 22 MLU rookies gain more experience rather than playing all your good cards in hopes of stealing a win. As a result there were 14 players who saw over 90 points of action on the season for New York, which averages to nine points a game.
Their offense consisted of a new group of guys leading the charge, Mott (13 goals, 18 assists), Charlie Patten (217/247 throws), and Scott Xu (15 goals, 12 assists). Between the three of those players they touched the disc over 480 times on the season. With Patten the middle guy, Mott and Xu would often take their chances at cutting downfield. Despite their size (both at 5'8") they managed to win multiple battles downfield. Other cutters, Brownlee (12 goals, 12 assists), 2016 Spirit Award winner Hunziker (5 goals, 10 assists), and Mason Compton (14 goals) each filled in different roles.
Throughout the season though there were countless unforced turnovers by New York. While they only had the third most turnovers in the league, their completion rate was the worst at 87.2 percent.
The biggest improvement was their defense. As always consistency is the biggest factor in professional ultimate and keeping a low roster turnover. When changes happen the biggest problem ends up being the productivity of the defense. Led by Matt Weintraub (23 assists), the Rumble improved their turnover rate by nearly seven percent to 53 and their defensive scoring rate by eight percent to 29. The team still struggles to score on defense but as shown by the statistics the more turnovers you force, the more opportunities there are to score. Brownlee led the league in blocks this year with 21 but many of those came while he was on the offensive line.
vs. San Francisco Dogfish: 1-0 PD: +3
vs. Washington D.C. Current: 1-2 PD: -1
vs. Boston Whitecaps: 0-3 PD: -32
vs. Philadelphia Spinners: 0-3 PD: -35
New York was the only team in the league to get more wins on the road than at home in 2016. That is saying something for a team that went two years without a road victory. In contrast though they became the first team ever to go winless at home (0-5). The first road win came against the Washington D.C. Current in Week 3 but even more impressive was their win in Week 6 when they traveled out to San Francisco.
They became the only team in MLU history to travel cross-country and get a win. In addition they extended the East coast's undefeated record against the West, which now stands at 6-0 with the Philadelphia Spinners winning the MLU Championship.
From opening pull the Rumble did not look like the team that had just traveled 3,000 miles and instantly rolled the San Francsico Dogfish. In the first half the Rumble were able to get seven breaks against the Dogfish and have a commanding 12-6 lead at the halftime break. The defense of New York dominated, forcing a turnover on 67 percent of their points and led to Weintraub having a season high seven assists.
While Xu (four goals) and Mott (three goals) brought in the scoring, the Rumble cruised to victory. The final score line may look to be a close game but the Rumble were rolling in the first half in perhaps only the second-best defensive performance against the Dogfish in 2016.
Team MVP: Marques Brownlee
(12G, 12A, 21B, 69/96 throws, 0.551 TPOP)
Brownlee was one of the few superstars in the league to play on both sides of the disc. Throughout the season he played both offense and defense and never favored playing one side more than the other. Always a fan favorite, Brownlee had his best season yet and played on 50 more points than his second best year in 2014. Going forward into 2017, Brownlee will probably see continuous action on both sides of the disc. His presence on the field is too valuable to waste and can create huge mismatches.
Team Star: Matt Weintraub (2 weeks)
There were eight different players named a Weekend Superstar for the Rumble this season (see Power Rankings). Weintraub was the only player to earn it more than once. Both weeks that Weintraub won were weeks that the Rumble won. This is not a coincidence because of him being a defensive handler. He is not a guy that will get a lot of blocks for your defense but when there is a turnover he is a great asset to have. The more weeks Weintraub lights up the scoreboard, or has the ability to, the more victories New York will have.
Rookie of the Year: Sean Mott
The MLU community was introduced to Mott back in Week 3 when he made waves on Sportscenter for skying two D.C. Current defenders. From there Mott began to have a huge impact on the field for New York as a offensive hybrid. There was never really a question who was going to be the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Year from that point. Mott has a huge opportunity to fill into the empty role that was left with the departure of Mazur to start the season. After only 10 games he has done an impressive job.
Trend: Upward (for now)
This team exceeded expectations despite only a 2-8 record in 2016. Losing their top nine guys but still able to get wins on the road is quite an accomplishment. Ending the year with a flop to the Whitecaps and losing by 17 will hurt their ego but the team figured out some key parts this season. Like every offseason with this team, they have to sign their top guys and get consistency going into next year. They may not make the playoffs next season, but contending for the playoffs is better than what they have done the past three years.