DODGY ATHLETICS SEASON REVIEW CAPSULE

Record ? 6-8 (2nd in Bill Thompson Conference ? Wild Card play-off team, lost in semi-finals, won WGAS Bowl)

Season in a nutshell ? Had both good and bad luck in equal parts; the good - scraping a play-off spot on tie-breakers despite a losing record and almost making it to the FFL Bowl itself. The bad? Injuries galore which almost ruined the Athletics season and stopped their streak of consecutive winning seasons at 7. Roethisberger, Jackson, Benson, MJD, Mcfadden, Austin and Hernandez all went down at various times meaning the Athletics sometimes operated short-handed. They started well enough at 3-0, then the injuries kicked in but a win in the final week sealed a play-off spot, and they lost in the play-offs 99-98 by a matter of yards in what was arguably the fantasy game of the season.

Keepers going in ? B Roethlisberger (QB), S Bradford (QB), M Jones-Drew (RB), D Mcfadden (RB)- the Michael Owen of the NFL in that we often forget he's still on someones roster - and M Wallace (WR)

Notable draftees (Rnd selected) ?Andre Johnson (1), Miles Austin (1) ? would have been better off signing Miles Davis, Brandon "in the garden of? Weeden (3), Torrey Smith (3), Aaron Hernandez (3) ? was on the field as often as Aaron Neville, Jermichael Finley (5) ? this guy makes the selecting owner regret the pick every year, Ryan Tannehil (6), Ronnie Hillman (6) ? Ronnie Biggs was far more effective on a running yards covered basis

Trades in/out ? Never quiet! Pull up a chair and listen in at this years work of our trading king. Traded QB Russell Wilson to the Dragons for a 5th round pick; traded a conditional 12th round pick to the Funky Furbys for RB Cedric Benson ? the pick which could have risen based on Bensons performance, thus it of course remained a 12th rnd one; traded a 6th round pick and Andre Brown to the Teds for Steven Jackson; Traded a conditional pick to the Warrants for RB Darren Sproles which turned into a 1st round selection.

What went right ? Fielded 4 starting QB's most of the season as that unit remained largely on the field. Torrey Smith provide excellent value and Andre Johnson did what he does ? ironic that the most injury prone player did stay fit. Other draft successes were Ryan Tannehill in round 6, Golden Tate in round 13 though sadly not for the team that drafted him, and the same for Russell Wilson a round later. Had the fewest points put on them in the entire league which certainly assisted, and won their rivalry match-up over the 2 legs. Also came soooo close to making the final at the end ? simply put, if Ben Roethlisberger completes his out pass to Mike Wallace in week 15 as was intended, then the Athletics beat the Clap with the yards involved swinging the semi-final Martins way; fortunately for The Clap Brandon Carr picked it off.

Where it went wrong ? Got rid of the wrong rookie QB, with Weeden and Tannehill retained instead of Russell Wilson who unbeknownst to all of us, turned in to a fantasy football god sometime around week 8. Only topped 100 twice and the TE & Defence positions scored pathetically. The RB position was decimated by injury with 4 potential starters all going down, none of whom was put on IR either, despite serious injuries ? nuts. Miles Austin and Jermichael Finley did what they do, and underwhelmed whilst Steven Jackson showed that after multiple years as the Rams only bona fide offensive weapon, he's as worn out as a cucumber in a convent. Has there been a bigger fantasy let down than Mile Austin over the past 2 years? Like an X Factor winner he rolls in to a fanfare, and disappears quickly via the back door with no-one noticing.

How this team will get better ? It'll get a lot more luck with the injury big, particularly at the RB position, and get better scoring from the QB, TE and Defense positions in 2013. Look for a trade or two prior to the deadline.

What's been done already ? Eerily quiet since the end of the season, though Martin's roster has at least 9 guys who would make suitable keepers. He also has a plethora of ammunition to make changes should he wish to do so.

A Current Guess at the likely 5 Keepers ? B Roethlisberger (QB), S Bradford (QB), D Mcfadden (RB), MJD (RB) and M Wallace (WR)

What's ahead ? A whole pile of draft picks, 23 of them in total, and 11 of the first 58 picks overall ? wow. Martin can basically run this draft how he wants, especially with two 1sts and three 2nd round selections in his pocket. Will be interesting to see what he does. He will be selecting back-up Kickers whilst Ill be still looking for a starting RB!