SFL: New England Patriots - The "I still have no idea what I'm doing" dynasty

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So, a few weeks ago I took over the management of the New England Patriots in the SFL (http://summitfootball.net/), during the latter stages of the regular season. At that point, the Patriots were leading their division and in pole position for the playoffs.

We then proceeded to lose three straight....

However, I got my act together and we ended the 2004 season 9-7, behind the New York Jets, making the playoffs as a Wild Card, where we promptly lost to eventual Super Bowl runners-up the Oakland Raiders.

With that in mind, we start off a new season, with the team now fully under my control. Let's see what happens....

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2004 Evaluation

Profit: $10,310,000 (-$30,820,000)
Franchise Value: $403,740,000
Attendance: 67,000 (98.5%, no change from year before)

The team underperformed in 2004. There's a ton of talent on this team, but even with key injuries to DE Jevon Kearse and CB Ty Law, a 9-7 record was disappointing. We go into 2005 hard up against the cap and with a lot of folks to re-sign. Is this the last year before the fall, or do we start rebuilding now?

Let's check out the staff first....

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2005 Staff Hiring

We're blessed with one of the cheapest staffs in the league, and they're all still under contract! :D However, that won't stop me from looking for upgrades. :)

Scout
Tom Graham, 50 years old, 2 years at $290,000/year
Excellent: None
Very Good: Young Talent
Good: QB, RB, Rec, Kickers, LB
Average: O-Line, Secondary
Fair: D-Line

Can't beat the price, and overall he isn't bad. I'll see what's out there, but he's probably a steal for the time being.

Head Coach
Darnell Davies, 47 years old, 2 years at $1,400,000/year
Excellent: None
Very Good: Motivation, Discipline, Injury Avoidance
Good: Defensive Playcalling
Average: None
Fair: None
Poor: Offensive Playcalling

Here's the reason for some really dubious offensive playcalling from last year. Although I like the VGs in 3 categories, this really is a position of need.

Offensive Coordinator
Marty Preston, 45 years old, 1 year at $830,000
Excellent: None
Very Good: O-Line, Young Talent
Good: QB, Rec, Kickers
Average: RB

Ideal for developing our young, talented O-Line. Since RB Ricky Williams is still under contract and doesn't need to be developed, it's very tempting to keep him.

Defensive Coordinator
Ike Chiles, 59 years old, 2 years at $750,000/year
Excellent: None
Very Good: Secondary
Good: D-Line
Average: Kickers, Young Talent
Fair: LB

The defense is likely to undergo a major revamp this year, so we definitely need an upgrade here. Being rated "Fair" for LBs was fine when all of our LBs were veterans, but they'll all out of contract now (well, most of them), and we're going to need to bring in young talent.

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2005 Roster Preview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Fiedler, Jay 16 QB 8 60 60 2 yrs
Detmer, Koy 18 QB 7 31 57 1 yr.
McKnight, Jimmy 2 QB 3 7 15 ---

I'm very happy with Fiedler and Detmer's potential is very nice. McKnight has a good chance of being replaced by a rookie this year. I don't see a lot of changes at this position.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Williams, Ricky 45 RB 7 66 69 3 yrs
Bettis, Jerome 37 RB 13 33 33 1 yr.
Patton, Rodney 27 RB 3 22 34 ---

Ricky Williams Lives!!! :) We're also in good shape at RB. I'd prefer Williams to have more speed, but he's performed very well, which is good. Bettis is a decent backup. I'm likely to look for a real change-of-pace back in the draft or maybe even FA.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Henderson, William 24 FB 11 56 56 1 yr.
Luchey, Nicolas 41 FB 9 23 29 ---

For our needs, Henderson works. I anticipate extending his contract. Luchey will probably be replaced by rookie talent.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Riemersma, Jay 87 TE 9 52 57 1 yr.
Gibson, Zack 86 TE 3 17 34 ---
Harrison, Tyrus 84 TE 3 10 35 ---

Riemersma is merely adequate, but he is the position leader, so I may keep him around just for that. Neither of the other guys impress me all that much and I'm sure they'll be replaced by newer projects after the draft.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Smith, Rod 85 FL 11 56 56 ---
Gaffney, Jabbar 83 FL 4 44 61 1 yr.
Baker, Eugene 88 FL 6 18 24 ---
Porter, Jerry 80 SE 6 59 59 2 yrs
Ford, Carl 81 SE 3 19 33 ---

Smith is a key re-signing, but Porter and Gaffney are the current and future stars, respectively. I'll try to fill the two open positions with kids who have more upside than Ford or Baker.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Wohlabaugh, Dave 51 C 11 89 89 3 yrs
Lehr, Matt 59 C 5 22 48 ---
Ferguson, Everett 52 C 3 15 38 ---

Wohlabaugh's contribution was enormous last year, converting 32.6% of his 144 key run block opportunities, and allowing only 2 sacks in 490 pass plays. As a result, he racked up All-Pro First Team honors. His contract is also huge, so we may fiddle with it, but he'll be around for quite some time. Lehr and Ferugson are roster filler, but Ferguson may get re-upped as he's a good long snapper.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Crittenden, Monreko 63 LG 2 40 66 2 yrs
Snell, Shannon 67 RG 2 48 72 4 yrs
Tait, John 68 RG 7 39 43 2 yrs

Snell and Crittenden, our first and second round picks last year, respectively, performed very, very well last year. We've got the nucleus of an awesome O-Line with them and Wohlabaugh. Happily, Tait is OK with his backup role, and he clearly gets rotated in a lot. Good stuff here.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Hall, Hugh 60 LT 3 24 38 ---
Rivera, Marco 66 RT 9 67 67 4 yrs
Brooks, Ethan 65 RT 9 55 55 ---

Not so good here. Hall's merely average, and Brooks, our position leader, got unhappy sitting behind Rivera. If I resign Brooks, I'll move him to LT, where he's more suited, but we definitely need to look at what's available out there.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Jett, John 6 P 13 43 43 ---
Cortez, Reggie 9 K 3 45 60 ---

Jett has been consistently good, so we'll try to bring him back. If he wants too much, I'm sure I can get similar value via the draft. Cortez wasn't so good. His FG % was 68.9%, which isn't going to get it done, and his kickoffs are kind of dire. I'd definitely like to upgrade here.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Wiley, Marcellus 73 LDE 9 81 81 2 yrs
Williams, Jay 94 LDE 10 31 35 ---
**Kearse, Jevon 99 RDE 7 63 64 ---
Upshaw, Regan 98 RDE 10 36 37 ---
Douglas, Marques 93 RDE 5 26 40 ---

The ever-injured Jevon Kearse is out for another 25 weeks with a torn MCL, so he's gone from New England for the forseeable future. Wiley's the only star in this group, and he's the only one with a contract, and it's likely to stay that way. Upgrades all around, and I have the cap space to do it.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Gregg, Kelly 92 NT 6 54 60 1 yr.
McGlockton, Chester 74 NT 14 30 32 1 yr.
Legree, Lance 75 NT 5 21 33 ---

We'll finagle with these folks in a likely change to a 4-3 defense. Gregg will almost certainly have a year to adapt to his new position, but McGlockton may lose out to new blood, even though he's the position leader.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Kaplan, Roman 57 SILB 3 17 40 ---
Bruschi, Tedy 56 WILB 10 41 46 2 yrs
Fletcher, London 90 MLB 8 58 59 ---
Clark, Danny 95 SLB 6 52 55 ---
Steele, Markus 91 SLB 5 34 41 ---
Porter, Joey 96 WLB 7 73 73 4 yrs

Our best LB, Porter, is going to get switched to SLB so we can actually use his outrageous talent. We'll also move Bruschi to MLB and try to resign Fletcher and Clark, also probably trying to move them around. A lot of work needs to be done here.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Law, Ty 42 LCB 11 79 82 3 yrs
Buchanan, Ray 22 LCB 13 37 37 2 yrs
Cash, Chris 30 RCB 4 43 46 1 yr.
Greer, Jabari 32 RCB 2 27 43 2 yrs
Arpaci, Warren 35 RCB 3 24 45 ---
Harris, Al 25 RCB 8 22 27 --- Law missed a lot of time due to injury, but he's still the star of this unit. This unit also needs a good bit of re-working to fit into my system, though Greer is a likely keeper.

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Jones, Tebucky 33 SS 10 65 65 2 yrs
Green, Victor 47 FS 13 58 58 ---
Lewis, Keith 28 FS 2 23 58 3 yrs

Yow. Terrible. Not exactly stellar performance from these folks. To stop the bleeding I'm going to switch Jones to FS and Green SS, to take advantage of their natural talents. Assuming I can resign Green, of course. We also need to get some young talent in here.

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 24
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 24

Salary Cap: $81,400,000
Cap Room: $14,870,000
Maximum for New Player: $11,650,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $0

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $67,330,000

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2005 Staff Hiring (Complete)

We get the upgrades at DC and HC for which we were looking. Meet the new guys:

Head Coach
Artie Kennedy, 57 years old, 5 years for $4,490,000/year
Excellent: Offensive Playcalling
Very Good: Defensive Playcalling, Avoid Injury
Good: None
Average: Motivation, Discipline

We trade motivation and discipline for Offensive and Defensive Playcalling. Davies' rating of Poor in the Offensive Playcalling really spurred me to get a new HC. We're paying Kennedy almost 4 times as much as Davies', but I think it's worth it.

Defensive Coordinator
Conrad Tillman, 49 years old, 5 years for $2,550,000/year
Excellent: None
Very Good: Young Talent
Good: Kickers, D-Line, LBs
Average: Secondary

A big upgrade from Chiles. Pretty much the guy I wanted, as there really weren't any "superstar" DCs out there.

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2005 Ticket Pricing

We reached 98% attendance last year. Unfortunately we're years away from being able to expand the stadium. I nudge the prices up slightly to take advantage of our popularity.

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2005 Franchise Designation

There's a bunch of guys I could slap the tag on, but I decide to neglect it altogether. It should be an interesting FA period.

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2005 FA Stage 1 (Pre-Draft)

Trades

Our 2005 6th round pick for LA's DT Bernard Holsey
Holsey's an 11-year vet who's a mentor and a D-Line Leader (100), with great run-stopping ability. I hope to upgrade the position, but he'll probably still play a good bit. However, the reason I got him was for the leadership, which should sort out the conflicts I have in the position group at the moment.

Our 2005 3rd round pick & our 2006 6th round pick for Detroit's 2006 5th round pick and CB Fred Thomas
This is part of our attempt to seriously upgrade the CB corps. Thomas fits our system very well, and plays way above his ratings. He's also comfortably cheap.

Our 2006 3rd round pick & FS Keith Lewis for New Orleans' FS Lance Schulters
I could probably be accused of overpaying here, but Schulters is a great talent with a good contract and instantly upgrades our Safety corps to great levels. He fits really well with the system and, after 8 years in the league, is a mentor. We now have 3 really terrific safeties, which should help out our Nickel & Dime packages a lot.

Our 2005 4th and 5th round picks for Detroit's DE Kenny Holmes and OLB Keith Mitchell
Frankly, I think this is a steal. Both are probably All-Pro Second-Team caliber. DE Holmes fills a serious hole at RDE for us (replacing the oft-injured-now-out-for-25-weeks Jevon Kearse), giving us a great DE package. Mitchell has the versatility to play anywhere in the LB corps, so once my FA negotiations shake out he'll be part of a complete restructuring of that group.

Our 2005 1st round pick for New Haven's TE Alge Crumpler
I probably wouldn't have done this if we had a higher 1st round pick, but we're picking at #22 overall. Crumpler is the complete package at TE and will fit in perfectly to our system. TE is a position of importance in my system and my rationale here is that with #22 overall I'm not going to get someone anywhere near similar, and surely not able to help this year, so the decision makes sense.

Renegotiations

TE Alge Crumpler renegotiates for 3 years, $2.43 million. Crumpler's former owner didn't play him a lot, so he's trying to "prove" himself. I have no such qualms and was happy to give him what he wanted to extend him out of his former 1-year-left contract.

TE Jay Riemersma renegotiates for 3 years, $3.41 million. Jay's our position leader and was in the final year of our contract. He'll probably lose time to Crumpler, but then again I plan to run a lot of 2-TE sets. I did this mostly to drop his cap number a fair bit.

WR Jabbar Gaffney renegotiates for 3 years, $2.52 million. Gaffney's a stud-in-waiting, and I'm more than happy to give him what he wants to extend him. He's currently backed up behind Rod Smith, who's UFA and balking on re-signing. Maybe Smith knows he'll start losing time to Gaffney this year. Who knows?

WR Jerry Porter renegotiates for 5 years, $17.49 million. A fair price with a slowly-escalating cap number for my best receiver. I'm happy to lock him up this way.

S Tebucky Jones renegotiates for 3 years, $6.54 million. With Schulters, he'll be the other starter. This is a good price for a highly-rated starter at safety.

Re-Signings of our RFAs/UFAs

C Everett Ferguson signs a new contract for 1 year, $440,000. He gets the league minimum for long snapping this year and is easy to cut if I draft a kid with more potential.

CB Warren Arpaci signs a new contract for 3 years, $2.08 million. He's got a lot of potential to become a great nickel corner, and I'm happy to wait for him to develop at this price.

S Victor Green re-signs as a UFA for 2 years, $3.64 million. Our 3rd safety, and frankly he's pretty good. Depending on who I can land during FA at CB, he may very well be our nickel DB this year. Otherwise, he'll back up both safeties.

OLB Danny Clark re-signs as a UFA for 5 years, $15.81 million. I like his ability to play all the LB positions, so he gives me flexibility as I restructure the position. His price is also very good for a player who still has a lot of potential to develop.

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2005 Free Agency Stage 2 (Pre-Draft)

Renegotiations

RB Ricky Williams signs a renegotiated contract for 4 years, $14.19 million. I restructure his contract to add another year and even out the cap hits.

QB Koy Detmer signs a renegotiated contract for 2 years, $1.39 million. He was in the last year of his contract and wanted barely anything to re-sign. He's a key backup for when Fiedler goes down, and may eventually take over the starting role.

FS Lance Schulters signs a renegotiated contract for 3 years, $3.04 million. Extends him another year, gets rid of a voidable clause, and even out the cap hits. This is a great contract for a guy rated in the 70s (albeit a guy who lost over a year to a major injury).

UFA/RFA Re-Signings

K Reggie Cortez re-signs for 2 years, $1.07 million. It became clear to me that we're not going to land someone better, so I made it a priority to re-sign him, and he wanted reasonable terms, so that's good. We'll see what, if anything, filters down through the draft.

ILB London Fletcher re-signs for 5 years, $15.44 million. We had some competition, but he came back to us. We're now very, very stocked at LB, which is nice. :)

FA Signings

DT Alan Harper signs for 1 year, $500,000. A great run-stopping specialist, for very cheap. I just saw him out there and decided to grab him while I could.

Position Changes

With all my LBs re-signed, I make the Linebacking changes I've planned to do as part of restructuring the position:

WILB Tedy Bruschi to WLB
ILB London Fletcher to WLB
WLB Joey Porter to SLB
SLB Keith Mitchell to ILB
SLB Danny Clark to ILB

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Free Agency Stage 4 (Pre-Draft)

Re-Signings

WR Rod Smith re-signs for 2 years, $5.50 million. I had to fight off a horde of vulture, but got him re-signed. This leaves us in great shape with our WR corps.

FA Signings

K David Akers signs for 3 years, $3.90 million. This is a major upgrade at Kicker. Akers is a proven commodity, and will instantly improve all areas of our kicking game.

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Free Agency Stage 5 (Pre-Draft)

Re-Signings

OT Ethan Brooks re-signs for 3 years, $6.50 million. This turned out to be a crucial re-signing. In spite of Brooks being unhappy with his lack of playing time, his position as Position Leader, and the fact that I'm going to switch either him or Rivera to LT, means it was going to be really helpful to keep him around. I'm sure he'll soon be happy with his playing time.

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Free Agency Stage 6 (Pre-Draft)

Position Change

RT Ethan Brooks moves to LT, where he'll start this year. This leaves Marco Rivera at RT, where he's more suited.

FA Signing

RB Ronney Jenkins signs for 1 year, $580,000. He's signed for his kick returning ability, where he averaged 30 yards/return with 1 TD last year.

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2005 Final Pre-Draft Free Agency

We send our 2005 5th round draft pick to Jacksonville for RB Moe Williams, who will be our change-of-pace back. This may spell the end for RB Jerome Bettis who is fading.

2005 Amateur Draft

With only 2 picks (2.22 and 7.22), there's not a lot for us to do. We take:

2.22: QB Levon Mount. Here's a guy with a lot of upside, and I'm kind of surprised he was left at 2.22. He has a lot of developing to do, but really has som potential with Accuracy, Timing, and the short passing game. He should be able to take over kick holding duties right out of the gate, which is nice.

7.22: C Dexter Hogrefe. An interesting prospect, but we cut him immediately when he develops a conflict with position leader Ethan Brooks. He signs with the Bills.

2005 Post-Draft Free Agency (Part 1)

Rookie Negotiations

QB Levon Mount turns down his initial contract offer. We'll see how long he wants to hold out.

FA signings

Undrafted Rookie LT Hugh Chun signs a minsal deal for 2 years. He's a roster filler with some potential.

Undrafted Rookie RDE Jeff DiMaggio signs a minsal deal for 2 years. A lot of potential, and will probably see some good time as a backup.

Undrafted Rookie FB Nicky Heath signs a minsal deal for 2 years. Here's merely a backup, but has the potential to develop, though not a lot.

Undrafted Rookie FL Rod Ellison signs a minsal deal for 2 years. Exciting, for an undrafted rookie, we'll have to see if he pans out. We can wait, however, since we already have 3 great WRs on the roster.

Undrafted Rookie RT Ron Cooper signs a minsal deal for 2 years. Similar to Chun.

Undrafted Rookie ILB Alex Bonk signs a minsal deal for 2 years, and moves immediately to SS, where he'll be more suited. Since he fills a roster hole there, he'll likely make the team.

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2005 Training Camp


Player Pos Cur Fut Cur Fut Cchange Fchange
Fiedler,Jay QB 62 62 62 62 0 0
Detmer, Koy QB 30 57 32 57 2 0
Mount, Levon QB 13 54 13 48 0 -6
McKnight,Jimmy QB 7 17 8 17 1 0
Williams,Ricky RB 66 69 66 69 0 0
Williams,Moe RB 36 39 36 39 0 0
Jenkins,Ronney RB 18 20 19 20 1 0
Henderson,William FB 50 50 50 50 0 0
Heath, Nicky FB 13 32 14 29 1 -3
Crumpler,Alge TE 65 77 70 77 5 0
Riemersma,Jay TE 51 57 51 57 0 0
Lane, Mitch TE 15 42 16 42 1 0
Smith, Rod FL 53 53 53 53 0 0
Gaffney,Jabbar FL 45 62 47 62 2 0
Morey, Sean FL 24 35 26 35 2 0
Ellison,Rod FL 11 32 13 30 2 -2
Porter, Jerry SE 60 60 60 60 0 0
Wohlabaugh,Dave C 89 89 89 89 0 0
Maese, Joe C 21 40 23 40 2 0
Ferguson,Everett C 12 34 15 34 3 0
Crittenden,Monreko LG 40 67 44 67 4 0
Barnes, Victor LG 7 28 8 28 1 0
Snell, Shannon RG 46 70 51 70 5 0
Tait, John RG 40 44 42 44 2 0
Brooks, Ethan LT 41 50 44 50 3 0
Chun, Hugh LT 5 37 7 34 2 -3
Rivera, Marco RT 67 67 67 67 0 0
Cooper, Ron RT 15 38 16 38 1 0
Miller, Josh P 45 53 45 53 0 0
Akers, David K 55 59 55 59 0 0
Wiley, Marcellus LDE 80 80 80 80 0 0
Holmes, Kenny RDE 46 49 46 49 0 0
Finley, Louis RDE 24 32 24 31 0 -1
DiMaggio,Jeff RDE 13 41 15 41 2 0
Gregg, Kelly NT 54 61 57 61 3 0
Holsey, Bernard NT 21 33 23 33 2 0
Harper, Alan NT 15 42 18 42 3 0
Bruschi,Tedy SILB 40 46 40 46 0 0
Kaplan, Roman SILB 16 38 18 38 2 0
Mitchell,Keith WILB 48 58 50 58 2 0
Clark, Danny WILB 37 57 41 57 4 0
Porter, Joey SLB 73 73 73 73 0 0
Ayanbadejo,Brendon SLB 17 32 19 32 2 0
Fletcher,London WLB 53 59 55 59 2 0
Caballero,Rodney WLB 12 39 14 39 2 0
Law, Ty LCB 78 82 78 82 0 0
Thomas, Fred LCB 43 43 43 43 0 0
Buchanan,Ray LCB 33 33 33 33 0 0
Cash, Chris RCB 42 45 45 45 3 0
Greer, Jabari RCB 27 43 30 43 3 0
Arpaci, Warren RCB 23 41 25 41 2 0
Jones, Tebucky SS 62 65 62 65 0 0
Turner, Preston SS 16 40 18 39 2 -1
Schulters,Lance FS 67 69 67 69 0 0
Green, Victor FS 48 48 48 48 0 0



Random Thoughts:


QB Levon Mount continues to degrade, and hold out. Not a good combination.
2nd-year Guards Crittenden and Snell continue to improve, which is terrific news.
FA Signings TE Alge Crumpler had a great training camp. I think he'll be a big part of the team this year.
All the LB-shuffling didn't seem to hurt anyone too bad.
Nice bumps in the secondary.


On to preseason! :D

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2005 Preseason (Prior to Preseason Week 1)

Team News

We continue to be active on the signing market, switching things around to give us a good chance for this season.

Cuts

RB Jerome Bettis - His skills are degrading rapidly, and with the trade for RB Moe Williams, we have a better backup for Ricky.

NT Chester McGlockton - Not a greatly skilled player, and wants to start, which he won't, so I get rid of the locker room problem.

MLB Alex Bonk - Undrafted rookie isn't really going to make it, unfortunately, so he's gone.

Position Changes

Remember when I switched around all the Linebackers to go to 4-3? Well, I'm switching them back and will feature a 3-4 defense this year:

MLB Keith Mitchell -> WILB
MLB Danny Clark -> WILB
WLB Tedy Bruschi -> SILB

RDT Bernard Holsey -> NT
RDT Alan Harper -> NT

Re-Signings

QB Jimmy McKnight - signs a no-bonus contract for 2 years, $840,000. Of course, he'll be cut as soon as 2nd Rounder QB Levon Mount signs his rookie contract.

SILB Roman Kaplan re-signs for 2 years, $840,000 to backup Tedy Bruschi.

FA Signings

TE Mitch Lane signs for 2 years, $840,000 - Roster filler.

WR Sean Morey signs for 2 years, $1.17 million - The 5-year veteran from Seattle is a nice addition for depth in the WR corps.

C Joe Maese signs for 2 years, $1.08 million - The 5-year veteran comes in from Washington to be the primary backup at Center.

G Victor Barnes signs for 2 years, $840,000 - Roster filler.

DE Louis Finley signs for 2 years, $540,000 - Undrafted rookie, roster filler.

WLB Rodney Caballero signs for 2 years, $910,000 - He'll backup WLB London Fletcher, and could develop in an interesting manner.

SLB Brendon Ayanbadejo signs for 2 years, $1.08 million to backup SLB Joey Porter.

FS Preston Turner signs for 2 years, $540,000 as an undrafted rookie, and switches to SS, where he's more suited.

Rookie Signings

We finally sign QB Levon Mount to his rookie contract (4 years, $3.69 million). Maybe signing Jimmy McKnight spurred him on. Mount has great ratings for kick holding and timing, and a lot of potential across the board. Unfortunately he's hardly developed (6 formations) and is a bit of an idiot (1 in Intelligence). So, it'll be an uphill battle.

[scarface132]

Wow, you look to have really improved your team. Nice job.

Prior to week 1 of the preseason, mine looks worse than it did in preseason but better than it was in the postseason due to a ton of injuries. We won the bowl last year but many teams including yours improved and have a better roster value than ours, and I believe yours was one of the only teams to beat me in the regular season.

Keep up the good work! :)

[flere-imsaho]

Thanks!

I think prior to Week 1 of the regular season I'll do a roster recap just to give everyone an accurate picture of the state of the team.

[scarface132]

That would be cool.

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2005 Preseason Week 2

Home to Los Angeles

Los Angeles 16, New England 7

Interesting Performances

QB Koy Detmer goes 10-of-11 for 143 yards and 1 TD before giving way to QB Levon Mount, who goes 9-of-22 for 84 yards & 1 INT admidst 5 bad throws. Clearly Mount has a way to go, but on this evidence, Detmer might be ready to start already.

FL Sean Morey our 4th-string WR, catches the only TD. Good things ahead for the spread offense?

The running game averages a pretty weak 3.1 YPC, and our run defense gives up a pretty lousy 4.7 YPC.

A sack by new DE Holmes makes me happy.

Injuries

None suffered. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

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2005 Preseason Week 3

@ Arizona Cardinals

New England 17, Arizona 10

Interesting Performances

RB Moe Williams rushes 5 times for 36 yards and a TD, but RB Ronney Jenkins is the bigger story of the backups, carrying 10 times for 43 yards, and returning one kickoff for 32 yards! :)

QB Koy Detmer is miserable, going 13-of-23 with 2 INTs and 2 sacks.

QB Levon Mount is also bad, going 4-of-10 with 2 INTs, 1 sack, but also a 53 yard TD pass to FL Jabar Gaffney. Maybe in 5 years, kid. ;)

FL Jabar Gaffney gets PoG with his 7 catch, 107 yard, 1 TD performance. He did drop two catches, though....

Second year Guards Crittenden and Snell go 2/3 and 1/5 on key run blocks, and allow no sacks (the tackles are the culprits).

Injuries

Crushing. LT Ethan Brooks is out for 19 weeks with a Torn Biceps Muscle. He'll be put on IR and we'll have to look for a replacement. :mad:

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2005 Preseason Week 4

@ Green Bay Packers

New England 26, Green Bay 9

Interesting Performances

QB Koy Detmer redeems himself with a 19-of-37 for 239 Yards & 2 TD performance. We let QB Levon Mount throw one pass.

3rd string RB Ronney Jenkins again gets the bulk of the work, rushing for 55 yards on 15 carries. RB Moe Williams gets 40 yards on 6 carries for a 6.6 average, though, and a well-rested Ricky Williams does just fine, pulling off some good runs and scoring TDs on a rush and on a pass.

Undrafted Rookie DE Jeff DiMaggio has his 2nd good game in a row, notching another sack and 2 hurries. He's having a great preseason.

Injury Status (* indicates a new injury)

LT Ethan Brooks Out for 18 weeks, Torn Bicep Muscle
*C Joe Maese Probable, 1 week, Sprained Ankle

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Trade Update

We work a deal with Buffalo, sending our 2nd round pick next year to them for LT Jason Fabini.

I'm quite happy with this deal, as Fabini should be a great replacement for Brooks and, if he does well and we extend his contract, he, Brooks and Rivera will make a good trio of tackles going forward. Also, Fabini was the league's strongest man in 2003, so he's not dead weight.

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2005 Preseason Week 5

Home to Seattle Seahawks

Seattle 38, New England 8

Interesting Performances

QB Levon Mount throws 4 INTs to go with 1 TD. QB Detmer adds an INT, along with a 50% completion rate. Pretty poor throwing from these guys.

RB Ronney Jenkins averages 32 yards per kickoff return.

Nada from the defense.

Current Injuries (* denotes a new injury)

*OLB Danny Clark, Out, 3 weeks with Hyperextended Elbow
LT Ethan Brooks, Out, 18 weeks with Torn Biceps Muscle


On to the regular season! Stay tuned for a review of our finalized, 53-man roster.

[flere-imsaho]

2005 Regular Season 53-man Roster Preview


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Fiedler, Jay 1 QB 8 62 62 2 yrs
Detmer, Koy 3 QB 7 34 57 2 yrs
Mount, Levon 4 QB 1 13 48 4 yrs

Fiedler is a decent above-average QB for us. His best aspect is his all-roundedness. Being reasonably well-versed in most things allows us to do a number of things on offense, from "3 yards and a cloud of dust" to both a short and long passing game. Detmer has potential, and is a suitable backup for the moment. We'd like to see him progress, of course. Levon Mount has good potential, but for the moment his key contribution is his kick holding ability, which is superb. Look for the occasional fake FG-pass this season.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Williams, Ricky 20 RB 7 66 69 4 yrs
Williams, Moe 21 RB 10 36 39 1 yr.
Jenkins, Ronney 23 RB 6 19 20 1 yr.

Ricky is our bread-and-butter, both capable of driving up the middle for crucial yards, and breaking the long one. Moe is a good backup and a good change-of-pace back (he's much quicker than Ricky, for instance). Jenkins is our kickoff return specialist and can fill in at RB in a pinch.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Henderson, William 25 FB 11 50 50 1 yr.
Heath, Nicky 24 FB 1 15 29 2 yrs

Henderson blocks, and that's about it, which is how we like it. He's very good at his role. Heath is mostly roster filler.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Crumpler, Alge 81 TE 5 70 77 3 yrs
Riemersma, Jay 84 TE 9 51 57 3 yrs
Lane, Mitch 86 TE 3 17 42 2 yrs

Crumpler is a very key addition to the squad. With him and Riemersma, we have great TE bookends which allow us to pound the ball, max-protect, or terrorize opposing linebackers by sending TEs out on routes. Crumpler should be a big part of the passing game this year. Mitch Lane is total roster filler, and if either of the main two go down to injury, we'll gameplan accordingly, not fit Lane in.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Smith, Rod 87 FL 11 53 53 2 yrs
Gaffney, Jabbar 85 FL 4 50 62 3 yrs
Morey, Sean 83 FL 5 26 35 2 yrs
Ellison, Rod 88 FL 1 13 30 2 yrs
Porter, Jerry 82 SE 6 60 60 5 yrs

We have a great trio of wideouts here. FL Smith is the old hand on whom we can count when we need a key reception. Gaffney has terrific potential and will get a lot of playing time, perhaps taking the starting role from Smith by the end of the season. Porter is, obviously, our best receiver, and is locked up for a long-term contract. Morey's potential as a big-play artist is interesting, and Ellison is only potential at this point.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Wohlabaugh, Dave 60 C 11 89 89 3 yrs
Maese, Joe 61 C 5 24 40 2 yrs
Ferguson, Everett 62 C 3 15 34 1 yr.

All-Everything Center Wohlabaugh is the class of the Offensive Line. Eventually we probably won't be able to afford him, but for the time being we'll enjoy things. He's a key reason why we should be able to run up the middle with impunity. We were rather thin at Center last season behind Wohlabaugh, so brought in Joe Maese, who is a competent backup. Ferguson is there for his long snapping ability


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Crittenden, Monreko 72 LG 2 45 67 2 yrs
Barnes, Victor 63 LG 3 8 28 2 yrs
Snell, Shannon 69 RG 2 51 70 4 yrs
Tait, John 67 RG 7 44 44 2 yrs

Snell & Crittenden were our 1st and 2nd round picks last year, respectively. They're turning into solid, quality starters, and given their future potential, could possibly be here for their entire careers. They're a big reason why we can run up the middle. John Tait spells the two youngsters and Victor Barnes is only filler at this point.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Fabini, Jason 77 LT 8 49 50 1 yr.
Brooks, Ethan 68 LT 9 46 50 3 yrs
Rivera, Marco 64 RT 9 67 67 4 yrs
Cooper, Ron 66 RT 1 17 38 2 yrs

Ah, the position that gave us such trouble in the offseason. O-Line Leader Ethan Brooks is out, possibly for the season, with a long-term injury. We hope he'll be back for the playoffs, so he's not on IR yet. However, if we suffer other injuries, he may have to go on IR. Jason Fabini was brought in from Buffalo for the cost of a 2nd round pick, and should slot in nicely. He's the former holder of the NFL's Strongest Man title, so he's no slouch. Marco Rivera is a great run-blocking tackle. Cooper is merely a backup.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Miller, Josh 2 P 10 45 53 3 yrs
Akers, David 6 K 7 55 59 3 yrs

In all likelihood we'll replace Miller for Jacksonville's Craig Hentrich by week 2 for a 7th round pick. Hentrich is a good upgrade. Akers is a big upgrade for the kicking game, and should be very accurate on FGs.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Wiley, Marcellus 91 LDE 9 80 80 2 yrs
Holmes, Kenny 99 RDE 9 46 49 1 yr.
Finley, Louis 97 RDE 1 24 31 2 yrs
DiMaggio, Jeff 71 RDE 1 15 41 2 yrs

Wiley is our star, obviously, and we'll be hoping for a big year from him. Holmes, a new addition, should also have an impact. His stats seem to be better than his ratings, over time. Finley and DiMaggio are intriguing offseason pickups, and could have an impact on the select plays they're in the game.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Gregg, Kelly 93 NT 6 60 61 1 yr.
Holsey, Bernard 92 NT 11 23 33 1 yr.
Harper, Alan 73 NT 4 18 42 1 yr.

Gregg is a key run-stopper in the middle. I'm happy enough with him. Holsey is a decent backup, but I do worry what happens if Gregg goes down. Not much to say about Harper, really.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Bruschi, Tedy 50 SILB 10 40 46 2 yrs
Kaplan, Roman 51 SILB 3 18 38 2 yrs
Mitchell, Keith 52 WILB 9 50 58 1 yr.
Clark, Danny 53 WILB 6 41 57 5 yrs
Porter, Joey 54 SLB 7 73 73 4 yrs
Ayanbadejo, Brendon 55 SLB 5 20 32 2 yrs
Fletcher, London 56 WLB 8 56 59 5 yrs
Caballero, Rodney 57 WLB 3 14 39 2 yrs

A lot of good talent here. I'm glad I was able to bring Fletcher back, in particular. Our star, of course, is Joey Porter, who will be really challenged in all facets of his game this year. We're also very interested in seeing what Mitchell and Clark can do with their new opportunities. All in all, a pretty solid group.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Law, Ty 26 LCB 11 78 82 3 yrs
Thomas, Fred 27 LCB 9 43 43 1 yr.
Buchanan, Ray 29 LCB 13 33 33 2 yrs
Cash, Chris 22 RCB 4 47 47 1 yr.
Greer, Jabari 30 RCB 2 33 43 2 yrs
Arpaci, Warren 31 RCB 3 25 41 3 yrs

As long as we don't lose Ty Law to injury again, we're in good shape. Law can shut down most teams' #1 receiver, and the rest of these guys can generally deal with the rest. We continue to hope, of course, that 2nd-year man Greer continues to develop well. This may also be Ray Buchanan's last year, even if he is position leader.


Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Jones, Tebucky 32 SS 10 62 65 3 yrs
Turner, Preston 33 SS 1 18 39 2 yrs
Schulters, Lance 34 FS 8 67 69 3 yrs
Green, Victor 28 FS 13 48 48 2 yrs

Schulters should make a big impact on this unit, and will have a lot of license to break up plays. Jones' main job is run-stopper, but he's a good all-rounder. Green is the good backup for both and Turner is there to see if he develops his potential.

[flere-imsaho]

2005 Week 1

@ Buffalo Bills

New England 28, Buffalo 21

We survived a late flurry by Buffalo to get the win, largely on the strength of controlling the clock, and from some clutch play by the Defense.

Game Recap

Our first possession started off well, with QB Fiedler on fire:


1-10- NE29 (14:23) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 85 Gaffney for 17 yards.
1-10- NE46 (13:42) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 29 yards.
1-10-BUF25 (12:53) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 87 Smith for 23 yards.
1-02-BUF02 (12:10) NE 20 Williams ran outside the right tackle for 0 yards.
2-02-BUF02 (11:25) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 87 Smith for 2 yards and a touchdown!

Buffalo came right back, though:


1-10-BUF20 (11:20) BUF 23 Shipp ran inside the left guard for 1 yard.
2-09-BUF21 (10:45) BUF 8 Garcia scrambled for 12 yards.
1-10-BUF33 (10:08) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 83 Meier for 10 yards.
1-10-BUF43 (09:20) BUF 23 Shipp ran around the left tackle for 28 yards.
1-10- NE29 (08:49) BUF 8 Garcia scrambled for 10 yards.
1-10- NE19 (08:20) BUF 8 Garcia pass was blocked at the line, intended for 85 Lloyd.
2-10- NE19 (08:13) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 86 Dixon for 19 yards and a touchdown!


We're not so hot on our second possession, and despite this clutch 4th down pass, we punt a few plays later:


4-02- NE41 (06:14) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 5 yards (OOB).


Similar news for Buffalo, and we both play the field possession game through the 2nd quarter.

Midway through the 2nd quarter we break out of our funk and engineer a good TD drive:


1-10- NE26 (06:20) NE 1 Fiedler pass was dropped by 20 Williams.
2-10- NE26 (06:13) NE 20 Williams ran outside the right tackle for 0 yards.
3-10- NE26 (05:37) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 85 Gaffney for 12 yards.
1-10- NE38 (04:54) NE 20 Williams ran around the left tackle for 2 yards.
2-08- NE40 (04:14) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 60 yards and a touchdown!
Porter gained 42 yards after the catch.


Nice work by SE Porter.

At halftime the game is New England 14, Buffalo 7.

We start out the 2nd half very hot, scoring on our first two possessions. Big series for TE Alge Crumpler:


1-10- NE18 (13:01) NE 20 Williams ran inside the left tackle for 3 yards.
Penalty: BUF - Unnecessary Roughness.
1-10- NE36 (12:53) NE 21 Williams ran around left end for -1 yards.
2-11- NE35 (12:23) NE 20 Williams ran around left end for 35 yards.
Key block delivered by NE 81 Crumpler.
1-10-BUF30 (11:36) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 20 Williams for 7 yards.
2-03-BUF23 (10:55) NE 1 Fiedler pass fell incomplete, intended for 85 Gaffney.
Penalty: BUF - Offsides.
1-10-BUF18 (10:43) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 20 Williams for 9 yards.
2-01-BUF09 (09:57) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 81 Crumpler for 9 yards and a touchdown!

Another punt by Buffalo and we put together a well-balanced drive for another TD:


1-10- NE40 (08:23) NE 21 Williams ran around the left tackle for 2 yards.
2-08- NE42 (07:55) NE 20 Williams ran inside the right tackle for 8 yards.
1-10-BUF50 (07:29) Penalty: NE - False Start.
1-15- NE45 (07:21) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 81 Crumpler for 3 yards
2-12- NE48 (06:42) NE 87 Smith ran a reverse around left end for 10 yards.
3-02-BUF42 (06:10) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 21 Williams for 4 yards.
1-10-BUF38 (05:43) NE 20 Williams ran inside the right tackle for 1 yard.
2-09-BUF37 (05:06) NE 21 Williams ran inside the right tackle for 2 yards.
3-07-BUF35 (04:29) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 20 Williams for 16 yards.
1-10-BUF19 (03:45) NE 20 Williams ran around the left tackle for 3 yards.
2-07-BUF16 (02:59) NE 20 Williams ran inside the right tackle for 2 yards.
3-05-BUF14 (02:20) Penalty: BUF - Encroachment.
1-09-BUF09 (02:15) NE 20 Williams ran inside the right guard for 1 yard.
2-08-BUF08 (01:34) NE 1 Fiedler pass fell incomplete, intended for 82 Porter.
3-08-BUF08 (01:29) NE 20 Williams ran around the left tackle for 8 yards and a touchdown.


Then it all starts to go wrong. Buffalo scores a TD on their next possession, the key play of which is probably this one:


2-09-BUF21 (00:53) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 1 Driver for 47 yards.


Then, to start the 4th Quarter, we miss a 46 yard Field Goal. All is not lost, however, as that drive eats 8 minutes and gets the game down to 3:29 to go.

Despite that, Buffalo come back with a quick strike:


1-10-BUF37 (03:24) BUF 8 Garcia pass fell incomplete, intended for 85 Lloyd.
Penalty: NE - Defensive Pass Interference.
1-10- NE14 (03:13) BUF 23 Shipp ran around right end for 3 yards.
2-07- NE11 (02:57) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 85 Lloyd for 11 yards and a touchdown!


We manage nothing on our next possession, and Buffalo get the ball back in good field position to attempt to tie the game in regulation:


1-10-BUF42 (02:10) BUF 8 Garcia pass fell incomplete, intended for 47 Davis.
2-10-BUF42 (02:05) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 85 Lloyd for 12 yards.
1-10- NE46 (01:56) BUF 8 Garcia pass fell incomplete, intended for 81 Newson.
2-10- NE46 (01:42) BUF 8 Garcia pass fell incomplete, intended for 85 Lloyd.
Penalty: BUF - Offensive Holding.
2-20-BUF44 (01:31) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 1 Driver for 9 yards (OOB).
3-11- NE47 (01:24) BUF 8 Garcia pass fell incomplete, intended for 1 Driver.
NE 26 Law defended the pass.
4-11- NE47 (01:19) BUF 8 Garcia pass completed to 1 Driver for 18 yards (OOB).
1-10- NE29 (01:09) BUF 8 Garcia pass was intercepted by NE 32 Jones at the NE15.

Nice work by SS Tebucky Jones to seal the victory.

Patriots Players of the Game

I'm using the same format for this that I use in my CFL dynasty, originally swiped from MIJB from his great IHOF dynasty. (http://dynamic2.gamespy.com/~fof/forums/showthread.php?t=21067)


0 points: FL Smith (5 catches for 59 yards & 1 TD)
0 points: SE Porter (3 catches for 94 yards & 1 TD)
0 points: CB Law (2 tackles, 2 assists, 3 passes defensed)
1 points: DE Wiley (4 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack, 1 pass blocked, 1 QB hurry)
2 points: QB Fiedler (26-of-33 for 289 yards & 3 TDs)
3 points: TE Crumpler (4 catches for 23 yards & 1 TD, 1/1 key run blocks)
4 points: SS Jones (5 tackles, 1 assist, 2 passes defensed, Game-Ending INT)
5 points: RB R. Williams (23 carries for 96 yards & 1 TD, 9 catches for 60 yards)


Injuries (* denotes a new injury)

LT Ethan Brooks, Out, 17 weeks, Torn Biceps Muscle
LB Danny Clark, Questionable, 2 weeks, Hyperextended Elbow

Looking Ahead to Week 2....

Week 2 is our Home Opener, against the New Orleans Hurricanes. New Orleans survived extreme cap hell in the offseason and will still have a difficult time of it next season.

However, this doesn't mean this is a terribly weakened team. New Orleans field a good QB in Kyle Boller and a good young RB in Cedric Benson. They also have a couple of great wideouts. Their Offensive Line is average, except for RT Mike Williams, who's All-League.

On the Defensive side, they're solid in the front seven, but merely average in the secondary.

New Orleans will be a difficult challenge for us, but hopefully we will have the requisite talent to overcome them.

[jeronemitchell]

Jake Grove and Jeff Backus are Average? Man... you're really trying to help motivate them, huh? ;)

And merely average secondary?!?! ... .... ... I got nuthin'. They're average :D

[flere-imsaho]

Ah, so someone is reading this.... :)

[jeronemitchell]

Well, I may not anymore, if the Hurricanes are going to keep performing like they did last game. ;)

Cedric Benson... five attempts, eight yards. :(

[flere-imsaho]

2005 Week 2

Home to New Orleans Hurricanes

New England 44, New Orleans 14

Big win. Big. In the end our plan of airing it out against New Orleans' "average" secondary worked, and we also exploited their linebackers with some great performances by our tight ends.

Game Recap

We kick off, and things immediately go our way:


1-10-NOS23 (14:38) NOS 14 Boller pass was intercepted by NE 22 Cash at the NE24.


This was, it has to be said, part of our plan. We had to make a decision between blitzing a lot to put pressure on QB Boller, or holding off and just hoping he'd make mistakes upon which we could capitalize. We went with the latter, which also allowed us to corrall the run (which major-blitzing wouldn't have done) and, as you'll see, it worked out.

No rust for QB Fiedler on our first drive:


1-10-NOS44 (14:26) NE 1 Fiedler pass fell incomplete, intended for 87 Smith.
2-10-NOS44 (14:21) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 87 Smith for 13 yards.
1-10-NOS31 (13:34) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 13 yards.
1-10-NOS18 (13:04) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 18 yards and a touchdown!


We had to pass, of course, because RB Ricky Williams was still looking for his helmet.

Things stay ugly for New Orleans and QB Boller on their second drive, as our defense starts to set the tone for the day:


1-10-NOS46 (12:25) NOS 44 Pinnock ran inside the right tackle for 11 yards.
1-10- NE43 (11:57) NOS 35 Benson ran outside the right tackle for -1 yards.
2-11- NE44 (11:35) NOS 14 Boller sacked by NE 91 Wiley for a loss of 7 yards.
3-18-NOS49 (10:49) NOS 14 Boller sacked by NE 93 Gregg for a loss of 9 yards.


Not bad for a 3-man front!

We can't capitalize on this, however, and punt it back. New Orleans then puts together a really fine 9 play, 73 yard TD drive that culminates with a superb 39 yard TD pass to FL Rashuan Woods.

We answer like so:


NOS 11 Bennett kicked off 62 yards from the NOS30.
NE 39 Scobey returned the ball 92 yards for a touchdown!


Yep, that's someone new. We cut RB Ronney Jenkins and replaced him with RB Josh Scobey who's more experienced, and a very good kickoff specialist (as you can see). Nice to see that pay immediate dividends.

New Orleans come back with another nice drive: 11 plays, 45 yards, that ends like this:


3-07- NE43 (12:34) NOS 14 Boller pass completed to 85 Johnson for 8 yards.
Tackled by NE 52 Mitchell.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by NE 32 Jones for 0 yards to the NE35.


Bad luck? Or is the New England Defense just making plays?

Fiedler drives us quickly for another TD:


1-10- NE35 (12:25) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 22 yards.
1-10-NOS43 (11:46) NE 1 Fiedler pass fell incomplete, intended for 85 Gaffney.
2-10-NOS43 (11:38) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 81 Crumpler for 9 yards.
3-01-NOS34 (10:56) NE 21 Williams ran around the left tackle for 6 yards.
1-10-NOS28 (10:30) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 20 Williams for 12 yards.
1-10-NOS16 (09:42) NE 20 Williams ran inside the right tackle for 7 yards.
2-03-NOS09 (09:11) NE 1 Fiedler pass fell incomplete, intended for 87 Smith.
3-03-NOS09 (09:03) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 85 Gaffney for 9 yards and a touchdown!


The key here, as it was for most of the day, was running multiple-receiver sets. New Orleans just didn't have the secondary depth to deal with it, and when we ran out of a multiple-receiver set they were even more discombobulated. Our trio of WRs: Smith, Gaffney and Porter, really excelled today.

New Orleans aren't down and out, though, and put together a 9 play, 80 yard drive for a TD. Boller puts on a good show, and you can see that when he develops fully, he'll be a quality QB in this league.

The rest of the 2nd quarter is back-and-forth, slowing down from the earlier torrent. We enter halftime leading 21-14.

Our 2nd half really ends up being about ball control and time of possession. We begin the 2nd half with 3 straight long TD drives, followed by a 4th that nets us a Field Goal. New Orleans, on the other hand, gets intercepted on their first drive, and then can muster only two 3-and-out drives to end the game. Total dominance. Here is the summary:

NE 3 15:00 6:39 OWN 32 13 68 Touchdown
NO 3 8:21 3:41 OWN 14 7 24 Interception
NE 3 4:40 6:11 OWN 45 11 55 Touchdown
NO 4 11:06 1:12 OWN 14 3 5 Punt
NE 4 13:23 2:17 OPP 21 5 21 Touchdown
NO 4 6:11 1:39 OWN 20 3 4 Punt
NE 4 9:54 3:43 OWN 43 8 50 Field Goal
NE 4 4:32 4:32 OWN 37 7 51 Game

Despite this great win, in which QB Fiedler and DT Gregg get the League's Offensive & Defensive Players of the Week Awards, respectively, it's important not to get overconfident. New Orleans are a team deep in rebuilding, and as such we should not have difficulty beating them.

New England Players of the Game

0 points: SE Porter (5 catches for 77 yards & 1 TD)
0 points: FL Gaffney (3 catches for 33 yards & 1 TD)
0 points: TE Riemersma (2 catches for 14 yards & 1 TD)
0 points: C Wohlabaugh (4/9 key run blocks, 0 sacks allowed)
0 points: OG Crittenden (3/6 key run blocks, 0 sacks allowed)
0 points: OG Snell (2/2 key run blocks, 0 sacks allowed)
0 points: OG Tait (2/3 key run blocks, 0 sacks allowed)
0 points: DE Wiley (2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 QB hurry)
0 points: LB Porter (6 tackles, 1 QB hurry)
0 points: CB Cash (2 tackles, 1 assist, 1 pass defensed, 1 INT)
1 points: RB Scobey (2 carries for 37 yards, 2 kickoff returns for 118 yards & 1 TD)
2 points: TE Crumpler (5 catches for 37 yards & 2 TDs)
3 points: LB Mitchell (6 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble)
4 points: DT Gregg (5 tackles, 1 assist, 3 sacks)
5 points: QB Fiedler (25-of-34 for 254 yards & 5 TDs)

Current Standings

7 QB Fiedler
5 RB Ricky Williams
5 TE Crumpler
4 SS Jones
4 DT Gregg
3 LB Mitchell
1 DE Wiley
1 RB Scobey

Current Injuries (* Denotes a new injury)

LT Ethan Brooks, Out, 16 Weeks, Torn Biceps Muscle
*DE Jeff DiMaggio, Probable, 2 Weeks, Broken Finger
LB Danny Clark, Probable, 1 Week, Hyperextended Elbow
*CB Fred Thomas, Probable, 4 Weeks, Knee Tendinitis

Looking Ahead to Week 3....

We travel down the road to 1-1 New Haven in Week 3. New Haven start 12-year veteran QB Doug Flutie, but the real news is the long-term injury to superstar RB Priest Holmes. With Holmes still out, they'll rely on 2nd-year man Ran Carthon to carry the load.

Their receiving corps is excellent, with Franchise Player FL Andre Johnson starring. But can Flutie get him the ball? C Jeff Saturday and OT Willie Roaf are the stars on the Offensive Line, but the unit is weak behind them.

The Defense is more average. The only star is DE Joe Johnson, but it's a unit that has kept scores down in the first two games, so there might be more than meets the eye.

[flere-imsaho]

2005 Week 3

@ New Haven

New Haven 31, New England 17

Calamity! Chaos! Crumbling! A very poor effort by the team on this outing. The defense hardly showed up to play today, and QB Doug Flutie and his receivers took us apart. Our offense didn't really do much to help either.

Game Recap

Things started well, though. On New Haven's first drive, we manage a good stop like so:


3-05-NHV50 (10:33) NHV 3 Flutie sacked by NE 91 Wiley for a loss of 6 yards.


However, two fumbles in a row aren't a good sign:


4-11-NHV44 (09:59) NHV 17 Barajas punted 48 yards from the NHV44.
NE 82 Porter returned the ball 16 yards to the NE24. Tackled by NHV 80
Holloway.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by NE 82 Porter for 16 yards to the NE40.
1-10- NE40 (09:50) NE 1 Fiedler sacked by NHV 57 Harris for a loss of 10 yards.
Sack allowed by NE 77 Fabini.
Ball was fumbled and recovered by NHV 57 Harris for 10 yards to the NE20.


Needless to say, New Haven score the gift-wrapped TD, and we're quickly 7-0 down.

Our second drive goes nowhere, so we punt it away. However, a few plays later the defense gets it back for us:


3-06-NHV24 (03:20) NHV 3 Flutie pass was intercepted by NE 52 Mitchell at the NHV26.


Continuing nice work by LB Mitchell So now we convert the gift-wrapped TD, and it's all square again:


1-10-NHV26 (03:08) NE 21 Williams ran around the left tackle for 3 yards.
2-07-NHV23 (02:22) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 20 Williams for 10 yards.
1-10-NHV13 (01:49) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 81 Crumpler for 8 yards
2-02-NHV05 (01:17) NE 21 Williams ran around right end for 1 yard.
Penalty: NHV - Offsides.
1-03-NHV03 (01:09) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 25 Henderson for 3 yards and a touchdown!


TD to a FB! I bet they weren't expecting that pass! :)

So, now you'd think we'd settle down and get going, right?


1-10-NHV16 (00:25) NHV 48 Carthon ran inside the left tackle for 2 yards.
2-08-NHV18 (15:00) NHV 3 Flutie pass completed to 81 Johnson for 13 yards.
Penalty: NHV - Offensive Holding.
2-17-NHV09 (14:55) NHV 3 Flutie pass completed to 83 Bruce for 91 yards and a touchdown!
Bruce gained 76 yards after the catch.


Holy Moley!

Two more possessions end in desultory punts, and then QB Fiedler decides to give it away again:


1-10-NHV44 (10:31) NE 1 Fiedler pass was intercepted by NHV 23 Harris at the NHV19.
The interception was returned 31 yards.


We get lucky in that New Haven only manage a FG out of this one, but they do eat up 6 minutes of the 2nd Quarter in doing so.

We manage to grab another FG and go into halftime down 17-10.

We start the 2nd Half by going 4 plays before punting. New Haven turn around and do this:


1-10-NHV20 (11:59) NHV 3 Flutie pass completed to 83 Bruce for -4 yards.
2-14-NHV16 (11:23) Penalty: NHV - False Start.
2-19-NHV11 (11:16) NHV 3 Flutie pass completed to 87 MdDonald for 89 yards and a touchdown!
MdDonald gained 82 yards after the catch.


Yeah, great. :rolleyes:

Our second possession of the 2nd Half goes even better:


1-10- NE30 (10:47) NE 1 Fiedler pass was dropped by 87 Smith.
2-10- NE30 (10:38) NE 1 Fiedler pass fell incomplete, intended for 82 Porter.
3-10- NE30 (10:32) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 85 Gaffney for 17 yards
1-10- NE47 (10:07) NE 1 Fiedler scrambled for 11 yards.
1-10-NHV42 (09:21) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 3 yards.
2-07-NHV39 (08:52) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 82 Porter for 17 yards.
1-10-NHV22 (08:20) NE 1 Fiedler pass completed to 83 Morey for 15 yards.
1-07-NHV07 (07:36) NE 1 Fiedler pass was intercepted by NHV 34 Ditka at the NHV03.
The interception was returned 97 yards for a touchdown!

At this point it's pretty much over. We trade some more punts with New Haven, miss a FG, and score a TD in the final 2-minute drill, but costly mistakes really cost us the game here.

New England Players of the Game

0 points: DE Wiley (3 tackles, 1 sack)
1 points: SE Porter (6 catches for 71 yards)
2 points: LB Mitchell (7 tackles, 1 INT)
3 points: P Hentrich (6 punts for 268 yards, a 44.6 average, 2 In20)

Current Standings

7 QB Fiedler
5 RB Ricky Williams
5 TE Crumpler
5 LB Mitchell
4 SS Jones
4 DT Gregg
3 P Hentrich
1 SE Porter
1 DE Wiley
1 RB Scobey

Current Injuries (* denotes a new injury)

LT Ethan Brooks, Out, 15 weeks, Torn Biceps Muscle
CB Fred Thomas, Probable, 2 weeks, Knee Tendinitis
DE Jeff DiMaggio, Probable, 1 week, Broken Finger

Looking Ahead to Week 4....

In Week 4 we host the surprising 0-3 Oakland Raiders. Slated as a preseason favorite, and led by superstar QB Donovan McNabb, the Raiders have disappointed so far this season.

The Raiders do look tough, however, and feature a well-balanced attack and well-balanced defense, and show no weaknesses currently through injury. They'll be another tough early-season challenge for us.

[flere-imsaho]

I'm afraid that due to a lack of time, I'm going to have to stop updating this dynasty. Thanks to all (any?) who were reading. :)