Tidebreakers Have the Receiver and the Rusher, Need the Points

San Diego went 5-6 last season and finished fourth in the West. The numbers behind that record are plain. The Tidebreakers scored 191 points and allowed 223, so they were outscored over the course of the year, but not by much. It was the profile of a team that was close to competitive without being able to push through.

Coach Frank Delacroix said the picture is better than it looks. "We have good players at the right places," he said. "We have to put it together for sixty minutes."

Standout individuals

Two names headline the preseason conversation. Wide receiver Lamar Kimble led the Tidebreakers with 728 receiving yards, the top total among the receivers in the league, though he scored only two touchdowns. Defensive lineman Grant Bishop recorded eight sacks, tying for the highest figure among the linemen in the league.

Delacroix said both are the sort of players the team builds around. "Lamar wins one-on-one matchups, and Grant changes how offenses call plays," he said.

The quarterback and the running game

Quarterback Preston Nolan threw for 2,461 yards and 12 touchdowns. As with several teams in the conference, the yardage was respectable and the touchdown total was not. That gap often points to trouble near the goal line, and San Diego's staff has acknowledged it.

Running back Aaron Underwood ran for 636 yards and six touchdowns, which made him the team's main scoring threat on the ground. He did more than anyone else on the roster to bring the ball into the end zone.

"We have to turn yards into points," Delacroix said. "Everybody says it, and everybody means it."

Where the improvement could come

San Diego sat fourth in a conference where the middle was crowded. The gap between the Tidebreakers and the teams below them was small, and the gap between them and the top was larger. That leaves two paths, climb or slip, and the roster is unlikely to deliver anything dramatic either way.

Specific things to follow:

• Whether the passing game can find the end zone more often, given how much yardage Kimble produces
• Whether Bishop gets more support from the rest of the defensive front
• Whether Underwood's role grows in short-yardage and red zone situations

The Tidebreakers do not look like a team that needs a rebuild. They look like a team that needs to tighten a few details, convert a few more drives, and win a few more of the games that were decided late.

San Diego fans have a quarterback, a receiver, a runner and a pass rusher to watch. If the pieces work together better than they did last year, the Tidebreakers could move up the West standings. If they do not, the season will probably look much like the last one.