FOF: League of Ordinary Gentlemen [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Autumn

12-09-2007, 08:55 PM

Random notes:

It's good to see our stadium is in very good shape, and outdoors and natural grass. That's just what I wanted. And I love this guy's name - Roman Augustson.

Week 1
Omaha Tornadoes at Indianapolis Racers
17-16

We squeak out with a 17-16 win in Indianapolis, despite really being outplayed. They correctly pick the player of the game, safety Daniel Caccavale who returns a INT for a touchdown, giving us some much needed points when the offense really was doing nothing. The Racers meantime were fairly productive on offense, with a league leading passing yards. We'll take the win.

Week 2
Minneapolis Lakers at Omaha Tornadoes
20-30

Glen Miller is the dashing quarterback for Minneapolis, and man this guy runs. I thought he was the running back at the beginning of the game watching it on Solevision. It's a pretty good game with Artie going for almost 250 yards, and finally generating some offense. We have it tied up in the fourth quarter but end up losing on a fumble near our own endzone that turns into the winning points for the Lakers.

Week 3
Cincinnati Eagles at Omaha Tornadoes
31-24

Cincinnati's offense comes out hot and scores two TDs right away, passing and running. The Tornadoes finally get started and score, then grab an INT and take it in for a score, tying it up. Unfortunately, after a good stop right before the half, Artie throws an interception, and with eight seconds left the Eagles take a screen pass 43 yards for a touchdown and go into the locker room leading. The Tornadoes tie it up in the third, but an interception by Artie gives the Eagles good field position. The defense holds them to a field goal and then the offense gets their own, so the game is still tied half way through the 4th quarter. With under two minutes left, the Tornadoes stop the Eagles and get the ball back to try for a tie breaker. But three and out gives the Eagles the ball with 45 seconds on their own 47. But the Eagles are sacked and fumble, and Omaha tackle Corey Prescott returns it for the winning touchdown! An exciting win at home.

Week 4
Omaha Tornadoes at Denver Mountaineers
11-30

This game is starting off as a contest of mediocrity. Both teams seem unable to do much of anything, both having more penalties than complete passes. Denver finally hits its stride though and makes a long drive, scoring in the second quarter, going up 10-0. In the second half it's 17-0 when the Tornadoes pull Artie and put in disgruntled backup QB, Kyle Matijacic. The magic man isn't able to do any more than his predecessor, and the defense actually gets worse, basically letting the Mountaineers drive the field whenever they want. Magic man does produce one good scoring drive, but that's it and the Tornadoes are thoroughly defeated.

Bye week

Week 6
Omaha Tornadoes at Richmond Cavaliers
10-3

The Cavaliers are 4-1, but the opening drive gives us confidence as Artie drives us down the field for an authoritative touchdown. Best name of the game so far? Richmond defensive player: Bubba Pigg. The offense works in fits and starts and we're up 10-0 in the second half. A blocked kick, an interception and fumble recovery all work to keep Richmond off the board despite some good plays by their offense. However, our offense doesn't keep any momentum either and it's 10-3 when we get the ball with 4 minutes left in the game. We have to punt with about two minutes left, and then give up a 30 yard pass after some good defense. They get a subsequent 33 yarder called back for the penalty, we end up intercepting them on their 4th down heave and it's time to take a knee, and a sigh of relief. Artie ends up leading the league again this week with 214 yards passing.

Week 7
Pittsburgh Steelers at Omaha Tornadoes
10-23

We start this game poorly, fumbling the opening kickoff and letting it get returned for a touchdown. We keep the excitement going through when Shawn Haggans takes a handoff and busts into the open for a 52 yard touchdown on the next possession. An interception thrown by Artie gives the Steelers good field position, but we hold them to a field goal. However we proceed to fumble it away and they kick another. We look ready to score a TD but then somehow get intercepted on 4th down I think and run back to midfield. Despite playing well, we're down 20-7 at the half, with 3 giveaways. It only continues, with the team moving the ball well but then fumbling it away, and giving up plays on defense. Five turnovers in the end do us in.

Week 8
Omaha Tornadoes at St. Louis Trailblazers
17-40

An early fumble gives us a 3-0 lead early on. Next drive is a nice one by Artie and we're up 10-0 on some long passes. St. Louis can match us though, and it's soon 10-17 at the end of the half. A fumble near our endzone lets them go up 10-24 in the third. It seems the coaches are relying on Artie too much and forgetting the running game. However, they don't seem to think that's the problem, as they pull Artie and put in the magic man again. We subsequently fumble it and it's 10-30 going into the 4th. Maybe he is magic though, as we back the Trailblazers back to their 1 and then Magic man ends up throwing a TD pass to make it 17-30. Then again, that interception run back for a TD makes it 17-37, so maybe not so magic.

Week 9
Kansas City Cowboys at Omaha Tornadoes
41-13

Our chance to claw back up to .500 against a division rival. An interception by Suto gives us our chance and we go up 7-0. We're up 13-3 right before the half when a pass interference in the endzone gives them a chance to score and make it 13-10 at the half. In the beginning of the 4th, we intercept KC in the endzone, to keep it 20-13. Artie and Chad Rice proceed to march the field and make it 27-13, and then the defense comes up with another pick and soon it's 34-13. In the end, a 78 yard fumble return runs it up to 41-13. We're 4-4! We set the league record for points in a game, and Artie breaks the league record with 4 passing touchdowns in a game. Ah, the first year.

Now, it will be interesting to look around the league and see how this is shaping up, a league full of rookies. The first thing I notice is that there's not just a bunch of 4-4 teams, and complete parity. We've got one 8-0 team in the American Conference, The Buffalo Blizzard. Then there is one 0-8 team, the Baltimore Admirals, and the 1-7 New York Yankees. There are two 7-1 teams in the National Conference, the Portland Eruption and the Minneapolis Lakers. And we've got two 1-7 teams, the Los Angeles Stars and the Indianapolis Racers. My division is the only in the league with no teams below .500.

Looking at players and stats, the clear passing leader in the league is Ike Hamilton of the Portland Eruption. The only QB with a rating in the 90s, he leads the league with 12 TDs and only 5 picks (tied for second least INTs). He's thrown for over 1500 yards in the first half. This is a monster passing attack in this league it seems.

On rushing, John Rosario of the Chicago Gale is the clear leader, with 844 yards so far on 5.48 ypc average.

Receivers is where you notice the clearest difference between this league and a normal NFL league, as the league leader has 489 yards half way through the season, and the league leading YPC is 14.69. Most receivers seem to be in the 10-12 range for YPC, and no one's stretching the field with a passing attack.

Defensively, sacks seem as easy to come by as ever, with 10.5 leading the league and quite a lot of linemen having a similar number. Interceptions are also high with Kenyon Somerfelt of the Detroit Wheels leading the league with 6, and Dave Henderson of the Richmond Cavaliers having 14 defended passes.

Most interesting to me is the lack of correlation between these achievements and player ratings. While pretty much the whole league sucks, certain teams did have a concentration of talent on them, but those are not the ones leading the league. Kansas City, Denver and San Antonio seemed to have much better rosters than most of the league, yet they are 5-3, 4-4 and 2-6 respectively. In fact, Ike Hamilton who is clearly leading the best passing attack in the league, is rated 10/22 and his only notable skill is in 3rd down passing and timing. The Blizzard's 8-0 QB is rated 7/23. These guys aren't even listed on the Recommended Player screen for QBs, far below even my back up QB. It's a funny league, my friends. Let's finish up this season and see the real action offseason.

Autumn

12-09-2007, 11:16 PM

Week 10
Omaha Tornadoes 4-4 at Minneapolis Lakers 7-1

We play our division leaders in a fairly close game, duking it out. But they prove superior, especially on three big plays involving runners in the secondary or long bombs. When we make plays we're not able to punch into the endzone and so end up on the losing end 9-16. Getting sacked six times while getting no sacks ourselves doesn't help.

Oh and I forgot to look at power ratings at the mid-season break. Right now we're 4-5, but ranked 9th in the power rankings, due to us having the second toughest opponent record so far in the league, at 48-33.

Week 11
Baltimore Admirals 1-8 at Omaha Tornadoes 4-5

A back and forth game where Baltimore's offense seems to be able to move at will against us, but we come up with another stops to hold them to 17 points, 7 of which come off a returned interception. Our offense moves occasionally, but manages to put up 14 of its own when we get to the two minute warning. Stopping the Admirals on 3rd down we force a punt that we return for 22 yards. That puts us at midfield, and a pass interference call on a long bomb allows Tubbs to tie it up 17-17 and put us in overtime!

Our offense can't move in overtime, but we win the war of field position, pinning the Admirals at their endzone twice. That's when we come up lucky on teh bottom of the pile with a fumble recovery at their 25 yard line. We hold on to it and kick for the win, 20-17.

Week 12
Omaha Tornadoes 5-5 at Louisville Chargers 5-5

We basically get stomped on this one, the point that they pull Matijacic back into the game. The good news ius that we actually show a running game in this one, rushing for 138 yards on 22 carries before the game gets away from us completely. At that point the magic man is just lobbing it around, and we end up losing 14-31.

Week 13
Seattle Destroyers 7-4 at Omaha Tornadoes 5-6

In this game the Destroyers seem to be able to move on us offensively, racking up good numbers, but never are able to get close to the endzone. They only score once, and are picked off three times, and fumble twice. That's worse than our two fumbles lost, and we capitalize with an efficient passing game and some running. We win it 14-6.

Week 14
Denver Mountaineers 7-5 at Omaha Tornadoes 6-6

The Tornadoes show some more guts in this game, in which neither team seems able to punch it in, but the Tornadoes come up on top wiht simply more field goals, and less turnovers. It's ugly, ugly, but we win 9-3. Second best name in the game? QB J.C. Bombard.

What's the playoff picture with three games left in the season? Our division is rather unusual, with the Lakers leading it at 11-2, and the three other teams at 7-6. That's going to make for a wild wildcard races there's three other teams in the conference with 7-6 or 8-5 records that will be vying for it. Let's just play it out.

Week 15
Omaha Tornadoes 7-6 at Kansas City Cowboys 7-6

Last we saw the Cowboys we trounced them 41-13. Now we're heading into their stadium. Things start out rather wild, as in the first quarter we throw 2 INTs and drop a fumble. By the half they've turned downright ugly as we're down 0-28. The Cowboys have our number this time as everyone knows Artie's going to air it out every other play and they just bat them down or pick them off. He's 9/29 in the first half and takes the bench as Matijacic comes out in the 2nd. The Cowboys's running back, Mersky, who is the best rated in the league is finally showing some promise running over us for 73 yards in the first. We finally score with 5 minutes left in the game, and kick one at the close to make it a slightly less embarrassing 9-31, with a total of 6 turnovers by our team. That tells us something about the parity in this league I guess.

Week 16
Omaha Tornadoes 7-7 at Houston Oilers 5-9

This game is another embarrassment at th half, down 3-28, with three INTs by Artie. The league has obviously figured out his deal and it seems he gets sacked, defended or picked off every pass. Meanwhile the defense seems to give up 7-9 yards per play. Luckily this team is going to be completely overhauled come the offseason. We play good enough in the second half to keep it only 3-31.

Week 17
Washington Generals 7-8 at Omaha Tornadoes 7-8

Any hope of a playoff spot is gone, with us at the bottom of the division at 7-8. So, we play it for pride, wanting to come out 8-8 at least in our inaugural season. There's some tight races around the league, with two divisions coming into the last week with a tie for the top of the division.

We come out with a very solid looking game -- for this league -- and hold on to our advantage to win our last game 19-3. Artie leads the league this week with 241 passing yards, and we get 123 rushing yards out of our backs too. The key of course, only one turnover, while the Generals threw two picks. Artie is player of the week with that performance, but the real question is will he be back next year? With a 58.4 rating on the year, let's hope we find something else.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1920.jpg">

I'm pleased to see in the post-season the Memphis Showboaters move past the first round with an exciting 4-interception performance by their strongside linebacker. That must have been an interesting game

That leads them to Boston to meet the 13-3 Minutemen. Meanwhile the Bootleggers go to frigid Buffalo to face the 12-4 Blizzard, while the Eagles face the Eruption's league best passing attack and the SF Quake go to Minneapolis to face the league's best rushing attack. It's a week of surprises as Boston is the only home team to pull off the win and the Lakers, Blizzard and Eruption fall. So much for regular season records.

The Atlanta Bootleggers meet the Boston Minutemen in the conference championship, giving us a good old fashioned North-South rivalry. The Minutemen seem to win through a great running game and fairly solid defense. The Bootleggers meanwhile aren't apparently great at anything, though they have a defensive end with 14.5 sacks and four running backs on the year with well over 4.0 ypc. The Minutemen prove the better, winning 13-10 with their big score coming from an INT return for a TD.

In the other conference the San Francisco Quake has a good running game and the league's overall best defense. They're facing the Cincinnati Eagles, who must win by magic, because they are last in the league on passing yards and almost last on yards per carry. Their defense is decent, but not great. As you'd expect I guess, this was a slugfest, with the Quake winning 6-3 at Cincinnati. The game featured a grand total of 391 yards between the two teams.

It's a matchup of new and old when Boston meets San Francisco in the Super Bowl. It's very even according to the bookies, but they give Boston the point spread by 3. In a nice sunny game, though, the Quake surprise the Mnutemen with a 34-21 win. Their QB Frankie Young throws for 225 and two touchdowns, while their running back, Walt Lyons runs for 136 and two more scores and WR Jeffrey Mendheim pulls in 4 catches for 114 yards. It's a little sign of excitement in the league as the rest of the teams look forward to the draft, and the first sign of real talent to come.

PiemasterUK

12-12-2007, 04:53 AM

Reading and looking forward to more

Autumn

12-12-2007, 02:29 PM

Thanks, good to know someone's watching :-) With a home business and two little kids, things work slow here, but I'm working on off-season stuff.

finketr

12-12-2007, 02:51 PM

no worries.. i'm reading this...

anyway to change the scor format to "we lost 23-10" rather than "lost 10-23"?

just curious.

BYU 14

12-12-2007, 09:41 PM

Like the concept....any chance that will make the game more run oriented during this time, or are you pretty much using modern type gameplans?

Autumn

12-12-2007, 10:21 PM

The computer teams are definitely keeping to the modern gameplans, although the talent makes it harder to throw. I've considered going with a run-oriented team, but it definitely seems the league will be modern in that sense.

Autumn

12-15-2007, 11:56 PM

To wrap up 1920, the first year in the AFPL, let's look at league honors. San Francisco came away with the Front Office Bowl with Front Office Bowl MVP, Frankie Young, QB. But they also took Player of the Year with Kent Dunn, their WLB who led the league in sacks with 20.5. Obviously a league of rookies didn't hurt the sack totals. This guy is rated 15/32 and came out MVP, Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year.

On offense, Ike Hamilton ran away with the award, as clearly the best quarterback of the bunch. Despite being rated 11/22, he had a QB rating of 91.5, when the next highest was 77.3. He led in yardage by 500 yards, and had 22 TD passes when the next highest was 15. Meanwhile only one QB, Minneapolis's Glen Miller threw less interceptions. Unbelievable. Also of mention when looking at the QB stats, is there was only one 300+ yard game this whole season.

As for my team, I had one fellow make the All-League team, my middle linebacker, Rodney Sage. He grabbed a first team spot, despite being rated 13/23, by throwing down 115 tackles, 4.5 sacks and 3 interceptions.

Funniest thing of the year? Legend of the game ... obviously difficult to call in a one year old league. But they choose Scott Quinn, RT, who played a grand total of 3 games before being placed on injured reserve with a serious head injury. It was a great career, lol.

My team's performance this year? 39. It's not something I'm worrying about, I did basically nothing active this season. This offseason will be the first chance to start putting my stamp on the team. Given that the draft will probably consist of 7 rounds of people better than anyone on my roster, I should be able to make some inroads.

Staff Hiring

In the staff hiring phase I get a chance to look things over. I like my head coach, who's signed for two years. He's got Very Good in young talent and motivation, which are things I like to see, as well as injury avoidance and defensive playcalling. His Offensive and Discipline are Good. Similarly my offensive coordinator goes from Good to Excellent in the categories I care about, so I'd like to keep him. My defensive coordinator basically stinks, and my scout is so-so. I make a grab on the only better scout out there, in my opinion. I grab a defensive coordinator too, although I make a snafu and hire Grady Chapman, who was the Steelers head coach last year. He is good, but after more examination I see that I should have grabbed the Buffalo ex-head coach, who had better ratings, but was snatched up by the Oilers.

Free Agency

Free agency should be a zany blast, since nobody has anyone on their rosters after last season, and so everyone has their entire 15 million cap open. Nobody's still very good, so I don't plan on spending much.

First I go through and resign 23 of last year's players. I'm sure hoping I don't have to play them all, but at the moment there's not much better out there on the free agent market. It seems a lot of players are restricted free agents and aren't going to show up until later. I figure I can always cut people, since everybody's signing for a very minimum salary. I sign those who looked all right last year, such as Rodney Sage, and some who the computer didn't play but have promising green bars. Some are just sentimental favorites, like my safety Sammy Midget (he's 5'9" by the way).

Free agency is almost embarrassing, to have to vie with other teams over such crappy players, but I slug through it. It turns out that the other teams don't do much in this stage, each only signing a handful of players while I'm trying to fill up my roster. They're apparently expecting better prospects after the draft in late free agency. I don't want to gamble that, so I go ahead and sign 22 more players. With my draft picks I'll be able to field a squad. If there's a lot better available later I'll have to release and sign, but since almost everybody signs for a $60,000 salary, it's no big deal. I spend a little bit more on my cornerbacks, who think they deserve $80,000. And I spend a whopping $90,000 on a running back who actually could turn out good I think.

The Draft

In the draft I've found a fair number of good looking underrated players I'm hoping to key on. Some should be real sleepers. I'm surprised by the variety of positions taken in the first round though, two safeties already going in the first six picks, so I'm thinking I can't count on certain positions slipping to later rounds. I hope to go for the best TE in the draft, even though that's not a position I was targeting. He's got the highest combine numbers deviation of the draft, he's rated a 7.2 unadjusted and my scout thinks he's underrated. Sounds like he'll be a star, and I figure in this league even a TE should be able to eat the opposition up.

That plan goes out the window before we get to me at #16 though. Here's the picks so far:

1. Los Angeles - Harvey, Travis, ILB, Texas
2. Indianapolis - Stanberry, Harris, QB, Arizona State
3. New York - Hastings, Hardy, OLB, Western Michigan
4. Baltimore - Rasberry, Max, S, Miami, Florida
5. Philadelphia - Mason, Monty, S, Wisconsin
6. Cleveland - Phillip, Walt, DT, Louisiana State
7. San Antonio - McDonald, Trevor, S, Southern Methodist
8. Birmingham - Strader, Al, TE, Clemson
9. Washington - Pierce, Hugh, T, Georgia Tech
10. Houston - Wynn, Clifton, DE, Memphis
11. Louisville - Blackner, Leo, RB, Virginia Tech
12. New Orleans - Hong, Josh, T, Louisiana State
13. Pittsburgh - Bryant, Rod, G, Florida
14. Providence - Blasingame, Brandon, DT, Mississippi State
15. Oklahoma City - MacCracken, Maurice, T, Alabama

The two linebackers, Harvey and Hastings look to be big stars, they're great picks. The safety Raspberry also is about as good looking as they come. Unfortunately Birmingham stole my TE at #8. It seems you can't expect safeties and tight ends to fall through the cracks like I'm used to. Four of my underrated key picks have gone already, which I expected. Of the ones left who don't look to be sleepers, I've got a running back, a defensive tackle and a cornerback.

The cornerback has very high ratings in everything that counts, low volatility and is 48% developed, and looks Very Underrated to my scout. Looks like he'll be a good bet. The defensive tackle is very high volatility and not so well rated. But he is Very Underrated by my scout who is Very Good at linemen. And he's 68% developed. The running back is very high in breakaway speed and power inside, only bad spot is at elusiveness, which I don't mind at all. He's got a high volatility and is only 38% developed. I've got another RB tagged as a sleeper I might be able to grab lower, so I'm thinking i won't go with the RB. The cornerback seems the best bet. I was hoping for something a bit more showy, like a DE or a QB or RB to tear this new league apart, but it's always good to have a shutdown corner.

I look over some of the other players just to be sure. But everyone at the top here is either considered overrated by my scouts, or As Is and just doesn't look too good. So I go with Harvey Shepherd, cornerback from Minnesota.

My other two top targets don't last the first round, so now I'm keeping my eye on my sleepers. I've got a running back and a quarterback just coming into view as we hit the second round who I'm going to have to take another look at. My running back goes at pick 6 in the 2nd, so now I'll just hope for the QB and keep an eye on things. I'm not sure of anything enough to consider trading picks around. My pick gets to me with the QB still on the board.

His ratings don't look like anything special, notable mostly for Timing and Deep Passes. His volatility is low, and his solecismic test very high, and my scout thinks he's very underrated. As is he's probably not any better than any of the free agents I've picked up, so I'm not sure whether to go for him. He's only 21% developed. My next closest sleeper is a DE who looks about the same - not outstanding but underrated.

I decide that since neither one did an outstanding combine, I'll go with the DE, knowing my scout's better there, and knowing that he's more developed.

16. Omaha - Shepherd, Harvey, CB, Minnesota
17. Chicago - Matthews, Emmanuel, QB, Vanderbilt
18. Seattle - Shepherd, Junior, RB, Alabama
19. Denver - Guzowski, Martin, RB, Indiana State
20. Kansas City - Shaw, Duane, S, Mississippi
21. Memphis - Cortez, Bernard, T, Missouri State
22. Atlanta - Siler, Dusty, RB, Duke
23. Dallas - Abrams, Clay, RB, Colorado
24. Richmond - Volk, Rodney, DT, Southern California
25. Detroit - Kaplan, Patrick, S, Boston College
26. St. Louis - Knight, Darren, WR, Arkansas
27. Cincinnati - Fulton, Isaac, OLB, Houston
28. Portland (OR) - Briceland, Darryl, DE, Oklahoma State
29. Buffalo - Summers, Jarvis, DE, Mississippi
30. Minneapolis - Goettl, Tyrus, OLB, Florida State
31. Boston - Koumentakos, Roosevelt, RB, Utah
32. San Francisco - Ballou, Mel, DE, Oklahoma

47. Omaha - Jennings, Sam, DE, Missouri

I'm at spot 14 in round three, and surprisingly my QB falls down to that spot. I figure that's too good to pass up, I don't mind taking a shot in round 3 on a QB. And my last sleeper is a WR way down in the ranks, so why not.

78. Omaha - Atkins, Timothy, QB, South Carolina

By the fourth round I'm not quite sure what to do. I've got two underrated guys waiting in the wings, a CB and a WR. I already have taken a CB, but this one looks pretty good too. The WR doesn't look as good, but is underrated. They may be able to wait, but I don't have a good idea what else to grab. I need tight ends, I know that, but otherwise it's kind of wide open. I look some people over and decide I don't have a clue about any of them except the ones I've targeted, so why not grab those. So, I grab another cornerback, Steve Wicks, who is listed as Very Underrated and has a good combine. The next round I grab the wide receiver Adrian Walsh. The rest will be guesses, so I'll just use the last two rounds on that.

113. Omaha - Wicks, Steve, CB, Wake Forest

144. Omaha - Walsh, Adrian, WR, Auburn

I realize I'm short on tackles and tight ends so I target those and pick out some possibly lucky prospects.

175. Omaha - Solwold, Grady, T, Alabama

206. Omaha - Harmon, Wendell, TE, Arizona

Once I get out of the draft and take a first look at my roster, my draft picks look like this.

1. Harvey Shepherd CB 39/69
2. Sam Jennings DE 22/30
3. Timothy Atkins QB 9/31
4. Steve Wicks CB 23/44
5. Adrian Walsh SE 10/21
6. Grady Solwold T 13/51
7. Wendell Harmon TE 20/59

My first round pick automatically becomes the best rated player on the team. The 2nd through 5th rounds look like disappointments so far, but I'm banking on some kind of boom from these underrated players. The last two look great for 6th and 7th round picks with no research.

Now it's time for late free agency. I make a gaff by having it set for the computer to manage the roster, so they go ahead and release a bunch of the guys I signed earlier. Which is a pain, but now I can comb the new free agents and see what I can improve on. It looks like the undrafted rookies will add some better prospects to the league.

Autumn

12-19-2007, 08:23 PM

Late Free Agency

Late Free Agency looks to be where the action's really at. It seems anyone that actually performed for teams last year is available now, instead of earlier. So, I start seeing who I can pick up. Cap room shouldn't be any issue.

The first thing I see is a kicker with potential in the high 70s. I'll sign anyone who seems like they should actually be starting in a professional league, so I make him a two year offer. The best punter available is not all that fantastic but is better than mine, so I make a one year offer on him.

I like the running back I grabbed earlier, Juan Vanaqs, and I've got a back up for him, but I could use a third one. I'm going to try to grab John Rosario who was the league leader last year in rushing, with the Chicago Gale. His ratings, like anybody in the league last year, are not good. But production has got to count for something. Not a bad 3rd stringer I figure.

I throw out an offer to the best looking fullback, and to a rookie fullback as well. I figure I can afford to get them into training camp and see how he looks. I try the same technique in tight ends and wide receivers. I bid on a couple reasonable veterans and then a couple promising rookies. Most everyone is looking for one year, $80,000 contracts, just above the league minimum. However, I'm starting to see a few real contract requests. The best rated receiver in the league (in the 50s potential) wants a multi year, multimillion dollar contract, which is quite something in this league of 15 million salary cap and $60,000 dollar veterans. I'll have to decide where, if anywhere, I'm willing to start paying big money. For the most part I stick to the strategy of bidding on the best future potential out there that's not asking for a big contract. There's just not enough difference between them to pay the big bucks.

There just really aren't quarterbacks available. It's awful. Nobody's good now, and nobody's going to get good. Obviously the best bet is to draft, so I'm just going to have to hope for a boom from my rookie or slog it out 'til next year.

I need basically everything but cornerback. Between my two rookies I drafted and my earlier free agent finds, I feel like I've got that covered. I manage to nab most of the free agents I'm bidding for, and those that I don't I just pick another warm body. It will be a few years before anyone starts to really stand out, I think.

Coming out of free agency the position I'm most worried about is wide receiver, I wasn't able to find much there (although I love the name Rusty Seinfeld). Quarterback is bad, as well, of course, but I expected that. I have about 64 people on the roster, but want to see how the rookies look post training camp and then I'll cut down.

Training Camp

I'm not too excited about how training camp treated my rookies.

1. Harvey Shepherd CB 39/69 --> 42/62
2. Sam Jennings DE 22/30 --> 26/31
3. Timothy Atkins QB 9/31 --> 14/35
4. Steve Wicks CB 23/44 --> 25/42
5. Adrian Walsh SE 10/21 --> 12/24
6. Grady Solwold T 13/51 --> 17/46
7. Wendell Harmon TE 20/59 --> 21/50

Atkins, Jennings, and Walsh went up in future but not a lot, and none of them look good at this point. The others went down, as well as basically all of the free agent rookies I grabbed. I'll play them all a lot in preseason and see what happens.

I make the mistake of checking out Strader, the TE I hoped to get in the first round that went to Birmingham. He is as good as imagined, having close to 100 in every category except route running. Unreal.

On the other hand, I check out the Draft Review and find out that I'm at the very top of the chart with an A+. That's surprising to me, maybe they know something I don't about my prospects. It seems to me I chose rather poorly, as the "sleepers" I tried for are low rated, so far. Maybe this A+ bodes well for where they're headed?

It's time to cut, and I'm afraid I have to say goodbye to Rodney Sage, my all-pro MLB last year. He's now far at the bottom of the bunch and I've got too many inside linebackers. I cut a few more of the earlier free agent finds to make room for my later signings. The roster doesn't look too terrible, in future potential at least.

I've got a decision to make at quarterback though.

Blackburn, Artie 2 19/48
Jochen, Ben 2 12/42
Atkins, Timothy R 14/35
Lelie, Rusty R 13/50

Artie is my starter from last year, and makes some sense to start again (except for the fact that I know he sucks already). Atkins is my draft pick who I'm hoping to be a creeper, but is obviously not well rated yet. The other two I grabbed as free agents. I guess we'll fight it out in exhibition season.

A sad note - my highest rated player in Fan Popularity is my punter. He is named Ricky Havens, but come on. A punter?

Autumn

12-19-2007, 09:01 PM

The Omaha Reporter
by Marcus O'Riley

THINGS ARE SIMMERING FOR FOOTBALL SEASON

The beginning of the second season in the American Professional Football League is still months away, but things have been stirring here in Omaha as the Tornadoes front office works to build a champion team here in Nebraska. Many faces are new here at training camp, brought in over the offseason by Omaha GM Ken Walden and his scouting staff. Some faces, and voices, are very familiar though.

We spoke with Artie Blackburn, Omaha's tempestuous quarterback who will be returning this season, to the team if not the field. Quarterbacks are a common sight here in the locker room, as the offseason has seen the departure of several others, and the arrival of three more: Ben Jochen, a 2nd year player, and two rookies, Timothy Atkins, the Tornadoes' 3rd round pick, and Rusty Lelie an undrafted free agent. When asked who will be leading the squad this year, the coaching staff is mum, but not Blackburn.

"I don't think there's much to talk about there," Blackburn told us after practice this week. "I hear some of these guys they brought in are pretty good at holding for kicks. If not, they can hold the clipboard, hold my water. I'm sure we'll find something for them to do." When asked if he can be that confident of a starting spot after his spotty play last season, bringing the Tornadoes to an 8-8 record, Artie seemed upbeat. "I wouldn't place any bets, Marcus, on seeing those guys on the field come September. Just get me some guys who won't drop the ball, and keep them defensive ends off of my uniform and you'll be seeing some plays, trust me."

The coaching staff had little to say on the quarterback controversy. However, head coach J. R. Jenkins offered a few words. "Artie had probably best save his breath for the field, not the press conferences. We'll be looking at everyone in training camp, and in the exhibition season. Everybody who earns a job will have one."

Beyond quarterback, much of the Omaha roster has changed, and it seems we'll be looking at a very different team this year. Jenkins and offensive coordinator Alfred Lavan return, though this time with what looks like a run-heavy roster led by RB pickup Juan Vanaqs. New defensive coordinator Grady Chapman joins the team from Pittsburgh where he was head coach last season. He will have first round draft pick Harvey Shepherd to lead the flock, and a lot of new talent all over the field.

PiemasterUK

12-20-2007, 02:05 AM

Will be interesting to see how this year pans out. Assumedly there will be a lot of mediocre players with a few superstars from the draft. You could see some huge numbers in categories such as sacks, interceptions and rushing yards. Have you spotted any drafted players that look like they could be awesome? Can you link their profiles?

Autumn

12-20-2007, 12:22 PM

That's my thought exactly, though I'm a little less sure now. Perhaps it will show us football is too much of a team game for that to happen. Here are the standouts in the league right now:

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/stars1921.jpg">

A lot of them are in positions they won't make a huge impact, possibly. Al Strader, that TE I almost drafted, is the best rated player in the league but I just played him in preseason and he caught one of two passes. Still, I expect like you said pass rushers to make a big impact, and perhaps Junior Shepherd, that running back who is clearly the best rated in the league.

Notable still is the complete lack of quarterbacks. We'll see if this season brings about any development there. It may not happen until we get mentors in the league, I don't know.

Autumn

12-20-2007, 10:45 PM

Exhibition Games

I normally don't pay a lot of attention to preseason games, other than attempting to avoid injuries to my stars. In this stage, though, I'm going to have to in order to get a sense of who on the roster is for real, and especially to see who to start at quarterback.

On a meta-game I note I have to add that I played out the first preseason game last night and then my computer crashed, so it was lost. It should be ignored, I know, but it made quarterback Rusty Lelie stand out to me. Timothy Atkins, our 3rd rounder, started the game, went 1-3 and then was pulled. Lelie, an undrafted rookie, came in to replace him and promptly marched the team down the field, on 6 for 6 passing for a score. He then continued to play well the whole game, especially connecting with fellow rookie Adrian Walsh. Lelie ended up going 26-39 for 265 yards in three quarters, including a lot of heaves in the fourth to try to win the game. This is in a league that had only one 300 yard game last year, so that was good. Walsh hauled in 7 catches for 105 yards. I was very excited ... then the computer froze.

So, while history did not repeat itself in the "Real" first preseason game, I can't help but pay a bit more attention to Rusty than I had been. And it gives me hope that maybe Walsh is masked, and much better than he seems, especially given that A+ draft review.

Of other metagame note, I found it interesting that when I replayed game 1, the score came out exactly the same, though the in-game statistics were different.

Game 1

In the first game Atkins gets the start until he is injured, and then Lelie takes over. Neither looks particularly impressive, but not particularly bad. Jochen gets a couple possessions at the end of the game and goes 4 for 4. Atkins being injured lets me activate Artie, but I think I'll try to give Jochen and Lelie most of the reps in the next week and see what happens.

Elsewhere, Vanaqs and Rosario both run well, and Conway, our one decent receiver, hauls in a lot of yards. Nothing else particularly notable.

Game 2

The next game suggests that at least we've got a good kicker, as we win on the strength of Bercich's 5/5 FG kicking. Jochen takes most of the snaps at QB and goes 13 for 18 for 93 yards. Lelie goes 7 for 11 in his possessions, for 108 yards. However he's intercepted once and sacked three times. His low sense rush rating seems to make him particularly sackable, as he got sacked four times last game too.

WR Schaefer hauls in a 59 yard pass, but nothing else much going on here. Vanaqs gets mostly stuffed at the line, Rosario looking fairly good on 9 carries. My D-line makes a couple sacks and four hurries among them, and backup OLB Godspeed makes a great pass defense stat by coming in for one pass play this game and defending a pass.

So far it seems Jochen is worth keeping an eye on, so I'll give him the ball next game too, maybe bringing Artie into the mix.

Game 3

In this game Jochen gets the start, but Blackburn gets most of the reps. Both look good, Jochen going 5 for 6, and having a touchdown pass called back for holding, before being pulled. Artie goes 15 for 20, but throws a pick that gets returned for a touchdown. He also throws a score, and gets sacked three times. Artie only passes for 98 yards, his two main receivers being the backs, so it's not all that impressive.

John Rosario impresses coming off the bench and running 9 carries for 42 yards. I might end up giving him the start over Vanaqs, who went 10 for 35.

Shepherd, the 1st round CB, has a good game with a INT and no passes caught against him. Sampson, my nickel back, has an interception as well.

I'm not sure what this game tells me about quarterback, since Artie looked okay but also didn't make much happen. I think I'm going to let Jochen take the helm next week and not let him get pulled early so I can see what he can really do.

Game 4

This game sealed the deal for me on Artie. He came in to replace Jochen, who had thrown 9-11 for 60 yards, no sacks, no picks. Artie went on to throw 20-39 for 147 yards, 1 score and 3 interceptions, while getting sacked three times. The guy obviously has a horrible Avoid Int score. Granted he was the one in in the 4th trying to make something happen, but he's just not doing it for me. Looking at the details, Artie had 4 bad throws, while Jochen's two incompletions both came off of hurries. I'm definitely looking Ben's way next week.

Rosario again looked better than Vanaqs, running 12 times for 51 yards. He also caught three passes. Walsh caught 5 for 51 yards and a TD. He's not looking too bad in preseason.

Besides Artie's three picks we also fumbled it away three times (including one by Artie and one by Jochen). However, we forced four fumbles too, and our one score came when O.J. Greer forced one, recovered it and ran it back for a TD. DE Paz had a great day, with 7 tackles and two sacks. The rest of the line contributed 5 hurries and a knock down. SLB Minter also defended four passes, while Shepherd did 2 more.

All in all, the preseason has caused me to push Rosario up to the starting role at RB, and Jochens at QB. I'm not sure who will back up Jochen exactly, as Blackburn has the best stats but I'd liek to see the rookies develop. The rest of the roles seem fairly clearcut, except tight end which didn't get cleared up at all yet.

Autumn

01-08-2008, 11:03 PM

<blockquote>The Omaha Reporter

Tornadoes Deliver a Knockout

The Kansas City Cowboys were taken by storm today when they arrived in Omaha for the season opener against our Tornadoes. In the first matchup of the season, the division rival Cowboys could find no answers on offense or defense as the Tornadoes rolled to a eventual 31-6 win.

John Rosario, last year's legue leading rusher for the Chicago Gale, didn't slow down at all, coming in this game and rushing for 138 yards and two touchdowns on 23 rushes. Free agent pick up Juan Vanaqs did well in relief role, coming in to spell Rosario and putting up 64 yards of his own on 12 carries.

With the running game doing the heavy lifting, quarterback Ben Jochen took care of the passing end with a 16/28 perforamcne for 154 yards, two touchdowns, but one interception. Starting for the first time, the young quarterback seemed the shoulder the pressure well, both from the defense, and his own bench where three other quarterbacks wait in the wings, hungry for a starting role.

Outspoken quarterback Artie Blackburn, last year's starter, seemed unbothered by taking 2nd string duties. After a day when he only stepped on the field in the 4th quarter to run out the clock, he told reporters, "It's a young team, everyone is going to have some mistakes, including the coaching staff. Let Ben have his day out there, I'm not going anywhere."

The defense was a big part of the story too, however, holding the Cowboys to two field goals. The defensive line produced pressure, a sack and two hurries by end Darren Paz, and another four hurries contributed by rookie Sam Jennings at the other end. First round pack Harvey Shepherd, at corner, chimed in with two defensed passes, and only one caught against him.

The coaching staff wasn't talking roses after this game, however. "This is only one game, we've got a long way to go," head coach J. R. Jenkins reminded us. "And there's a lot to work on, despite our performance. It was an abysmmal day by the wide receivers out there, and we're not going to keep winning games throwing screen passes and little dunks and drops. I'm expecting to see some more production next week out of the passing game. And while John and Juan ran well out there, we struggled in the second half, rushing to hold on to that lead. We're going to have to pick it up, all the way around."

While the pressure seemed to be on the receiving corps at this point, including free agent pick up R. J. Conway, and rookie Adrian Walsh, each of whom only managed one catch this afternoon, everyone knows that the hotseat is at quarterback. So far, though, Jochen is sitting pretty, but only has to look to the sidelines to see Blackburn and two rookies eager to take his place.</blockquote>

Autumn

01-08-2008, 11:59 PM

Game 2

Chicago Gale at Omaha Tornadoes

We're playing the Chicago Gale, our running back's old team, and so of course we'd like to put a stomping on them. Taking a look at them, their talent is as unremarkable as the rest of the league. Their first choice in the draft was Emmanuel Matthews, a QB who is riding the pine. However, they drafted heavily on defense the rest of the rounds, and are starting A MLB, a LDT, a SS and RCB who were all draft picks. No one seems remarkable talent-wise. They are in fact remarkable, however, for having a defensive tackle by the name of Fernando Pancake! My desire to run a time based on personnel with catchy names is rising. Did I mention Bubba Pigg is still in the league?

Given the success of our run game in week 1, I decide to adopt a smash mouth game plan for this game and see how it works out. It hopefully will cover for the inadequacies in teh passing game, a bit.

We get the first possession and come out running. Vanaqs has a 39 yard run that we follow up with a 25 yard TD pass. Offense looks good. Their offense makes some movement on us, but stalls. With the ball back we get started with unnecessary roughness on a scramble by Jochen. Vanaqs makes another the big play, rumbling for 17 yards. Rookie tackle Grady Solwold has had three KRB already, which sounds great to me. We get another first down on a pass interference call, and the running game keeps moving us. A key third down pass puts on us on the 11, and Jochen throws one to Conway in the endzone. We're up 14-0. Then CB Dale Farr tips and intercepts a pass, running it back to the four yard line on Chicago's next possession. Next play Jochen throws one to Walsh in the endzone and it's 21-0.

The game plan is working perfectly now. After smashing them with the run, they're now keying on it and getting burned by the pass. We rush into their side of the field and then a 22 yard pass brings us to the red zone again. With 3rd and 1 at the 1 Jochen passes to Walsh again and we're up 28-0.

Their WR Gonzalez makes some big plays, and they drive into the red zone for the first time. However, he coughs it up on the 8 yard line and Godspeed recovered. We're not able to do much else and punt for the first time with under four minutes left in the half.

With our pass pressure now set on high, they're not able to do much other than bust some surprise runs, and aren't able to score before the half.

Or shouldn't be able to. Getting the ball back with a minute left and up by four scores, the coach calls in a long ball, which is intercepted, giving the Gale another chance before halftime. We defend it well, and then Steve Wicks intercepts one in the end zone, ending that threat.

In the second half, with a 28-0 score our defense is able to key on the pass and rush the passer, and it is working. However, our offense is looking predicable again when trying to grind it out with the rush. We're going to have to learn to score when ahead somehow. Each rush is met at the line and stopped for no gain. Luckily Jochen steps up and makes enough first down passes in the second to keep us moving, and the clock moving.

At one point, a fumble by Vanaqs gives the Gale the spark they're looking for, and good field position. However, all they can get out of our defense is a field goal. Minter and Sampson combine for a recovered fumble on Chicago's next possession. With a short field, we're able to get enough yards out of Rosario, and clutch passes out of Jochen to get to the 8 yard line, and then Jochen throws another TD to Conway. It's 35-3.

Minter picks off a pass on their next possession, and it's time to grind out a win. When the clock runs out Chicago is rooting around for another loose fumble and we close the win.

Chicago Gale 3 Omaha Tornadoes 35

Post-game notes:

Obviously another very convincing win. Jochen looks great, on 17-22 passing he breaks the league record with 5 passing touchdowns, benefiting from the defense's focus on the run. Only sacked once, he also threw his only interception on a very silly play call.

The running back situation got a bit more complicated. Vanaqs, coming in as the backup, stole the show with 68 yards on 11 runs, including the two long yardage ones on our first two drives that set off the avalanche. Rosario, in return, was 24 attempts and 50 yards, obviously hurt by the fact that we were trying to grind out the clock most of the game, and getting a lot of 0 to 1 yard gains.

The new game plan got a lot more passes to the receivers, which I like. Conway, our FL, was 4 of 4 for 56 yards and 3 touchdowns (tying the league record). Walsh was 3 of 4 for only 15 yards but two touchdowns. Both were red zone machines obviously. Shaefer had another 3 of 4 for 35 yards.

Grady Solwold was the real star of the running game with 4 of 5 key burn blocks and no sacks allowed. Everyone else had a lot of opportunities but no more than 1 KRB. Since he was one of my underrated rookies, I'm excited by this.

On defense, obviously we looked good given they were playing catchup the entire game. Both Samson and Shepherd had 2 defensed passes, and Wicks and Farr each had an interception, making for a happy CB corps.

Jennings and Paz, my ends, each had 1.5 sacks, Paz throwing in 2 hurries as well, and Jennings having a hurry, a block and a knockdown.

We had another interception from OLB Minter, and our defense forced 5 fumbles, though only recovering two. All in all a commanding performance, and we're 2-0 on top of the division. Yet to be seen is how tough our opponents really were.

Around the league:

Player of the week is old favorite Ike Hamilton, who continues to put up good QB numbers despite being rated 14/23. Sadly, Jochen doesn't even warrant a player of the week mention despite breaking the league passing touchdown record. His yardage was too low. Notably there's an awful lot of great run blocking mentions on the charts. All those offensive line rookies? Or just bad defenses?

Our team looks great now. Let's see how they do on the road against another winner.

Next week: The 2-0 Indianapolis Racers, in Indy.

Izulde

01-09-2008, 12:11 AM

Fascinating read. I look forward to more.

Autumn

01-09-2008, 08:20 PM

Thanks, it's fun doing it though I hardly get any time. Nice to know it's of interest.

Autumn

01-09-2008, 10:05 PM

Game 3

Omaha Tornadoes at Indianapolis Racers

The Racers are 2-0, a nice start after last year's 2-14 disaster. That earned them a top draft pick though which they used on starting quarterback Harris Stanberry, the top QB prospect in the draft, who is now looking 18/50 to my scout. Oh well, not too bad in this league. Their best player appears to be their second round pick, running back Ernest Maxwell who is rated 40/51, which is a phenomenal current rating in this league, though he doesn't seem to have done much so far this year. But they kept picking offense, and their third round pick is a WR, Grady Brennan who seems to have put up some good numbers in the first two games.

I'm keeping to the same gameplan, and hoping Rosario has a better day, though I did adjust his playing time down a bit to give Vanaqs a few more chances. Other than CB Steve Wicks coming back to start, things look the same this week.

The game starts off with our possession and we start as we did the past two games, running powerfully. They seem to be expecting the pass so we drive the length of the field, requiring only two pass plays from Jochen in order to drive in for a touchdown.

However, they take the ball at their own 14 and start driving, looking as good as us, picking up 9 to 10 yards on every pass and run. Things look dire until CB Shepherd blitzes, sacking Stanberry and making him cough up the football. Fellow rookie Sam Jennings picks it up.

We start trading punts. Once they start keying on the run, Rosario doesn't get much. Jochen makes some throws, and we occasionally catch them in pass defense when we run, so we get some movement. However, my center's total lack of pass blocking ability shows up as their relatively talented DT puts the spin move on Dawkins three times in a row one series, hurrying the passer.

The defense makes the difference again with big plays. They're moving on us down the field when OLB Torres intercepts a screen pass and returns it 31 yards to the 27. MLB Martinez is also making great plays, catching screens and runs for short gains. Unfortunately Jochen follows up their pick by throwing his own pick and giving them the ball before halftime. They can't do anything though, and a good punt return gives it to us at the 48 with 45 seconds.

A fullback run against the blitz nets us 13 yards. A 15 yard pass to Walsh (who seems to be playing great today) gets us to the 19 with 15 seconds left. That gives us a field goal and a 10-0 lead at the half.

Their first possession in the second they hit a 53 yard field goal, with the fans standing in appreciation for what is probably one of the longest in this league's history. We kick a field goal to make it 13-3 at the end of the third.

They in turn make it a game, getting a good punt return (including a fumble and an advance on the fumble return). A couple big plays later, and running back Hugh O'Neal takes it 25 yards for the score. It's a 13-10 game.

We move the ball a bit, including a useful pass interference penalty. I step in and substitute Vanaqs for Rosario, who is getting flattened at the line even when they're expecting pass. We have to punt and they come alive, slinging the ball downfield. They drive to the 3 and kick it on 4th and 3, tying it up at 13-13 with 2:33 left.

I get reminded I need to sign a kick returner when Conway only returns it to the 15 on the next kick. We don't make a first down, and have to punt, which turns into good news when they fumble the return and we end up with the ball at the 36 yard line. We make a couple run plays, but get penalized for holding and we're backed up to the 44. We throw an incomplete, and then make a 13 yard play to Walsh. Not enough for a first down, but enough to try for a field goal. He makes it, a 48 yarder!!

With 14 seconds left they can't do anything, and we're 3-0 on the season.

Game Notes:

Our running game suffered again, this time never really getting off the ground other than the first drive. Obviously the game plan needs major tinkering. Also notable was that we never got any big pass rush going, not having the huge lead to pin it on.

Still, we struggled through and made some big plays. I think our defense is playing great this year, and if we can fix some offensive problems we're looking good. Jochen showed he could make some plays and so it may be worthwhile to open the passing game up some.

Rosario's numbers for the day? 25 for 66 yards and a TD. He looked awful, and while I think that's largely gameplanning, I think I may have to sit him behind Vanaqs next week, who has honestly looked better in the real season. Vanaq had 9 for 38 behind him.

Jochen was 17 of 29 for 133 yards and a pick, which makes for a crappy rating but kept us in the game. Adrian Walsh was 10 of 13 for 90 yards, a nice day for him, suggesting again his rating may be better than advertised. Conway meanwhile only caught 2 of 4, and Banks went 0 for 5. That sucked, and I'm not sure where Schaeffer was. Last game he was all over the place. Weird.

Our defense won't look good statwise, as they gave up 5.5 yards a carry, and Stanberry was 26 of 33 for 219. But they proved stout on the scoreboard again, having only given up one TD in three games. They forced four fumbles today, and got a pick. However, only two sacks, neither by a DL, and no hurries or blocks. Combine that with only four defensed passes on the team, and no wonder they were moving on us.

Nobody looked particularly good on the offensive line, but overall we got 12 KRBs today, and that seemed the key to our success with Rosario's poor running after the block.

Around the league:

A look at our player of the week shows us our old friend, Ike Hamilton of the Portland Eruption, who threw for 304 yards and 2 TDs in only the second 300 yard game in league history. What's up with this guy? I figured last year he was a fluke, but Mr. 14/32 is still lighting it up. The players of the week continue to be flooded with defensive linemen with a sack or three, including some recognizable rookies. Hardy Hastings, the #3 pick OLB shows up for the first time as well as our own Joseph Minter. Actually, Harvey Shepherd, Courtney Kitts, Adrian Walsh and the player of the game, kicker Nolan Bercich all get mentions this week, not to toot my own horns.

Next week is a bye, so I can rest my couple injured guys and see who I can get back. I will tinker with the game plan a bit and move Vanaqs up to the front seat. Then in Week 5 we'll be in Seattle to meet the Destroyers.

SFL Cat

01-09-2008, 10:37 PM

Cool dynasty.

I created a 1950s universe featuring the NFL and a new rival league that emerged after the AAFC went out of business and its better teams jumped to the established league. One of the teams in the rival league was the Kansas City Cowboys and their first coach was Packer's legend Curly Lambeau.

Interestingly, one of the expansion franchises in the 80s was the Indianapolis Racers (I've always thought that nickname for an Indy team would be AWESOME, and it gives the football team a certain synergy with the NBA's Pacers and Indy's racing legacy). The Colts stayed in Baltimore btw.

Autumn

01-09-2008, 10:38 PM

<block><center>They Aint' Jochen!!

Omaha Tornadoes release veteran QB Artie Blackburn

Jochen 3-0 as starter, set to remain so.</center>

The Omaha Tornadoes took advantage of their week long bye from competition to make some moves in the office, including the surprising release of Artie Blackburn, last season's starting QB and constant outspoken presence in the locker room. Despite riding the bench behind Ben Jochen this season, Blackburn had remained confident he would resume his starting role.

Pressed for details, general manager Ken Walden gave a brief answer. "This was really a matter of roster management. We felt it imperative we pick up another player to take over the kick return duties, and we had no room to do so without releasing someone. It became clear that four quarterbacks was more than we could afford to maintain on the roster, and so that's where the cut came from."

Walden refused to comment more on Blackburn's release, who led the team to a 8-8 record in their inaugural season. Local sportswriters though suggested it could probably be attributed to two factors. One is the office's belief in the two rookies behind Jochen, 3rd round pick Timothy Atkins and undrafted rookie Rusty Lelie. While Blackburn is a proven quantity, his tendency to turn the ball over undoubtedly concerned Tornadoes coaches.

Also unspoken was the likelihood that the Tornadoes were glad to relieve themselves of Blackburn's contentious voice in the locker room. While never blamed for any conflict on the team, his attitude was inflammatory enough to make the staff worried about keeping him around, especially when not starting him.

Coming in to take that roster place is undrafted rookie Donnell Danielson, a wide receiver from Florida State. Walden stated that the youngster possessed the best combination of return abilities with receiving talent of the free agent pool out there. His addition should shore up one of the glaring weak spots on the 3-0 team, which had no players with any experience whatsoever running kicks back after the cut of Lionel Butler over the offseason.

"I hope to get in there, learn the system, and get my feet wet running back kicks," Danielson commented to reporters. "Other than that, I'll just keep my head above water and see what happens."

Blackburn, surprisingly, and for the first time, was unavailable for comment. His personal effects were already gone from his locker. The only thing left, perhaps left intentionally by the cantankerous Blackburn, was a jock strap.</block>

Autumn

01-09-2008, 10:40 PM

Yes, I think "alternate historical" leagues are the most fun. There's so many great ideas!

Thanks for checking it out.

Autumn

01-09-2008, 11:35 PM

During the bye week:

The Baltimore Admirals QB earned player of the week honors and a place in the record book putting up 150.8 QB rating on 21 of 23 passing for 246 yards and 3 TDs against the Washington Generals. I'm also starting to notice Rufus Chandler, the St. Louis 5th round pick in the QB spotlight a lot.

Game 4

After the bye week, we remain only one of two teams left undefeated, our parallel in the other conference being the New Orleans Jazz at 4-0. We hope to match them this week, playing the 2-2 Seattle Destroyers, who come off a 17-16 win over our division rival, the Minneapolis Lakers. They boast Junior Shepherd, the best rated running back in this last draft, and now a fully developed 56/56 by my scout. He's not exactly tearing up the league with 285 yards in four starts, but let's not give him any ideas. He did start the season with two 100 yard games.

Our game plan is opened back up, and Vanaqs is in as the starter at RB, especially given that Rosario came down with shin splints over the bye.

The game starts wonderfully! Their initial kickoff return is fumbled on a tackle by Rosario, and Chism scoops it up and returns it for the touchdown. That's how to start, Tornado style. Have we scored on our first touch each time this year?

Their next possession OLB Torre gets an interception and we take over at their 41, but don't go anywhere and miss a 49 yard field goal, just short.

A 39 yard pass play to Walsh puts us in their territory next possession, but again we don't get to the endzone, and they block the kick.

And then, just like last week, their backup running back, not their star, takes a run all the way, this time 66 yards for a touchdown, tying the game up in the first. Oh! But it gets called back for holding. Ha ha. They drive anyway, though we hold them to a field goal. It's 7-3 at the start of the second.

We get a great punt return and then drive to the 2 yard line. 4th and 1 at the 2, I try to call the play to go for it, but hit the button too late or something. We kick it and are up 10-3, and that's the score at the half.

We have a good first drive, but then Jochen throws a pick in their territory and it gets returned 32 yards. Those bastards go for it on 4th and 2 at the 25 and make a 15 yard pass. That's what I was trying to do, damn it. They are 1st and 10 at the 10 but we hold them to the field goal. Damn, we're good at that. It's 10-6.

Then they recover a fumble by Rosario on the next possession at midfield. They drive it in and are up 13-10 now with 12 minutes in the fourth. We are driving well when Jochen throws another pick on a long pass to Walsh. I'm going to have to key back on his passing, it seems.

Twice the Destroyers have run on 3rd and 8 or 9 in this game, and once made i. Argh. They're now running our time out with a long, long clock killing drive that looks likely to end in a TD or FG. Our defense is now much too porous.

Until!!! My DTs, Greer and Huie cause a fumble. Weve got it at the 24 with 1:53 left, and no time outs. However, Jochen throws four incompletes and the game is over. I'm thinking I should have taken over playcalling there too and not hefted it down field so quickly. We only needed a field goal, and he obviously can't throw long.

I'm so goddamned mad I didn't make that call to go four it on 4th and 1 at the 2 yard line. I didn't click the button fast enough, and that of course would have made the margin of error if we picked up a touchdown there. And that's exactly the way I like to play my teams. I hate those sort of metagame blunders, but I can't blame the loss on that. The offense only put up 3 points, the kicker missed his two FGs, and Jochen threw two interceptions. It was not a good game, though my defense seems to be masters of making the big play when it counts. They have kept us in these past two games that way.

Seattle Destroyers 13 Omaha Tornadoes 10

I'm so annoyed, I'll do the game notes later.

Autumn

01-16-2008, 09:00 PM

Game 5

Let's forget about last week and look at the game coming up. After a tough two game road trip we're back home where we're undefeated this season, to meet the 1-4 Los Angeles Stars. The Stars, 2-14 last year, picked up star rookie MLB Travis Harvey who is looking good manning their middle. Also notable is 2nd round pick at SS Ron Fretty. Otherwise their team looks unremarkable. They're manned at the helm by QB Cornelius Creasy, who I just noticed is 4th in career yards, and 1st in interceptions, by a lot. Good luck guys!

We're hoping to reestablish our game here at home where we had our first two blowouts. Everybody is mostly healthy, and I've tinkered with the gameplan again. I'd like us to get that running game going again to open things up.

We start with the ball, the way I like it. Rookie Star Harvey stops our run on the first play, hopefully not a sign of things to come. But it's three and out for us. On their first play, our star rookie, Shepherd, defends a pass, so that makes us even at least. They're three and out as well. We make a couple plays our next possession, but their rookie safety defends a 2nd down pass, and then Jochen gets sacked for only the second time this year and we punt.

The first quarter ends with us stopping them, but close enough for them to kick a field goal and make it 3-0. I'm not sure why the defense is looking so bad today so far, they're really letting these guys move on us, and we know they're not that good. We bend but don't break, and keep giving the offense a chance to get going. Nothing really sparks though and we go to the locker rooms down 3-0.

We back them up early in the second, and then get their punt at the 50. Next play Rosario gets spuring for 18 yards by Broderick Morris, back for the first time from injury. Vanaqs gets 12 a few plays later. We move to the 3 bbut get called back for holding, and then miss the field goal. So much for that.

We end up getting backed up to our three, but get out of that jam, and then hit a long ball to Walsh. However Jochen gets cocky and tries it again, and Harvey intercepts it. For some reason Creasy is eating us up, he and his receiver Floyd mostly. They drive to our 17 then settle for a field goal attempt which they miss.

We continue clicking on offense, running well, and then hitting Waslh for a 25 yard pass to the 4. Jochen scrambles two plays later for the touchdown and we're up 7-3 with 12 left in the game.

Now we can put some pass pressure on, and we're able to stop their offense with a big 10 yard sack by Jennings. We go three and out (got to do something about Jochen's short passes). Jennings pressures again, but we can't stop Floyd who busts out another big gain. Then a 32 yarder to Simone, and we're getting schorched. They're down to the 9 and run it in. Now it's 10-7, with under 5 left.

Banks makes a big 3rd down catch, then Schaefer pulls in a 19 yarder. We can't quite get in good field goal range so I go for it on 4th and 1, but we don't convert. They manage to get a first down and the game is over. Another one so close I could pull my hair out.

Los Angeles Stars 10, Omaha Tornadoes 7

Game Notes:

So we gave up 261 yards to Creasy, and didn't pick him off once. Nor did we recover a fumble. Meanwhile, jochen threw a pick and got sacked three times. We weren't playing our game out there.

Vanaqs ended up going 20 for 78, while Rosario had 7 for 44. Nobody did much in the passing game, Walsh was only 2 for 5. Meanwhile we have up 9 of 10 for 136 yards to Daryl Floyd.

We can't blame the loss on Bercich's missed kick given that the Stars missed one too. And I certainly wouldn't blame it on Sam Jennings, who had a forced fumble, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knock down. Maybe we can blame it on Shepherd, who had an unusually bad day, giving up 5 catches, but his compatriots at CB gave up 4 and 3 respectively, and the safety 5 more. Just a bad day back there in coverage. Cassani was the goat at offensive line, letting up 2 sacks, and going 0 for 3 on run blocking.

Around the league:

Rookie Harris Stanberry puts up only the 3rd 300 yard game in league history for the Racers, while Richard Flowers takes player of hte week with 285 yards and 2 touchdowns on 29 for 35 passing for the Cavaliers. Hugh Kendrick runs for 3 TDs for the Steelers, and Stanley Ogden knocks out 6 of 9 KRBs for the Outlaws. We're at 3-2, now behind 5-1 Denver in our division. We're starting to collect some disgruntled players too, including rookie QB Atkins. He has some nerve being disgruntled given his ratings.

Game 6

Next up is our division rival, the Minneapolis Lakers, who won our division at 13-3 last year, but who are 1-5 at this point. Quarterback Glen Miller leads the team not so impressively, as they're last in the league in passing. But they have a pretty good two-headed running attack. Rookie OLB Goettle seems their defensive star. We're just hoping to go on the road and cream a division rival and get back in form.

It's cold in Minneapolis, and they start at the 20. They are driving easily on us, but we force two fumbles on the drive, recovering the second. Sam Jennings forces it, making him my favorite rookie pickup. Our offense moves, a few runs and some good passes by Jochen, including a 22 yarder to Walsh. A big 3rd down run gets us to the 13, and a few plays later Walsh catches a TD pass. We're up 7-0.

They go 3 and out, with a Jennings sack thrown in. We drive the length of the field, getting 1st and goal at the five, but we get stopped at the one. Once again I'm not able to call the play in time and so we kick. We're up 10-0. I wish there was a setting for that play.

We make some progress on offense, but end up trading punts the rest of the half.

In the second we continue trading punts until Minter intercepts a bad pass. I get the impression we could tear these guys apart if we just started passing all over on them, but we're still trying to pound the ball, interspersed with big pass plays. We manage another field goal before the 4th quarter.

They manage a field goal to make it 13-3. We start a clockeating drive with runs and an occasional pass. It stalls but puts them at the 12 with 3:42 left. A hurry and a couple drops later, Shepherd defends a 4th down pass.

Now we try to run out time. We burn two of their time outs and then our field goal is blocked. They've got it at their 20 with just udner two minutes left. They move the ball but run out of chances and we win it 13-3. Finally.

Omaha Tornadoes 13, Minneapolis Lakers 3

Game notes:

Our passing game really looked good, I think because I got it away from a short passing game. We got 12 first downs by passing, and Jochen was 23 of 29 for 204 yards with a TD and no INT. Ten of 17 on third downs kept it going for us and we had the ball for almost 38 minutes.

The running numbers did not look good, but we had a total of 4 10+ runs that did us well. That seem to be the type of runners these guys are. Walsh was 6 of 9 for 80 yards and the TD in what was a good looking game. He was 4 of 4 for third down catch conversions! TE Reed stepped in at 5 of 5 too, from the bench. Schaeffer was 4 of 4 behind Walsh, making a case for the starting job again.

But Sam Jennings was the star today in a breakout performance for the underrated DE. He had 7 tackles and two assists, 2.5 sacks. He was all over the line of scrimmage. Shepherd had a good game too with 0 cathces against him, and one defense.

Vince Foster was the star of the O line with 3 of 3 run blocking on only 7 run plays. He's our backup center, but days like that would move him up.

Around the league:

Not much noteworthy in players of the week, except that we had 5 Omaha mentions there. We're now 4-2, behind the 5-1 Mountaineers, and guess who we play next week, at home? That's right, Denver. A win at home will put us on top of the division.

Game 7

So, Denver is 5-1, riding rookie RB Martin Guzowski. He's got 500 yards rushing and another 167 receiving in 6 games. It looks like they keep to a short passing attack and have a pretty stout pass defense. They're number one in points scored on offense and number four in points allowed (we're number one, just so you know, only allowing 8 a game).

It's a fairly balmy day in Omaha when we start off. They've got a scrambling QB, and he starts the game going for 4. They make a first down but then punt. We get penalized on the punt return and start from the 15. We make a first down, but Jochen gets sacked and fumbles, and they recover at our 20. We stop them with 3rd and goal at the 3, but they go up 3-0.

We alternate run and pass well, driving to their 9. And then passing it into the endzone for a TD, making it 7-3.

Darren Paz is all over them today, I've seen him block a pass or two already in the first. They punt, but then Jochen gets intercepted and they have it on our 25. And now Paz is hurt. We get a bad penalty and then our defense loosens up, and they end up scoring making it 10-7.

We drive, and Jochen runs it 9 yards on a 3rd and 7 blitz, keeping us alive and into the redzone. Rosario runs it to the 1. It takes three tries but we drive it in and are up 14-10.

They make a big 37 yard pass play before the two minute warning, getting to our 15. They don't get further though, and we block their field goal attempt. We go into the locker room up 14-10.

We start off the second half with a 21 yard pass to Walsh. A 12 yard run by Vanaqs follows and we're at midfield. Soon Conway hauls in a 21 yarder and we're at the 18. A couple of plays later, Jochen throws to Rosario in the endzone and it's 21-10.

We then back them up and return their punt to midfield. TE Reed picks up a first down pass and is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. For some reason the game plans before weren't getting him the ball. We get to the 13 yard line on a big third down pass. We don't get the third down try so we kick it this time and are up 24-10.

We've got the pass pressure on now, but they still manage some big pass plays, and drive it in for a TD, and it's 24-17.

We go 3 and out, but back them up to the 10. Jennings and Greer get a sack, and then Huie gets one too. Their punt is pathetic and we have it at their 27. We kick a field goal and are up 27-17 with 8 minutes left.

I'd like to see a big play on defense here, especially since our return coverage teams seem to stink. Instead we let them drive to the 3 again, and they score again. 27-24.

We elect to try to bleed the clock, running for it three times, rather than going for the first. It's probably not what I would have done given how our defense is playing. We boom a 61 yard punt. Yes! They return it 11 yards. No! Then they fumble. Yes! They recover their own fumble and advance it 7 yards. No!

There's 2:14 left on the clock and they're down by three with three timeouts (we also have three). Jennings knocks a pass down. Then they throw an incomplete, but we get called for defense holding and they get a 1st. Minter defends a pass. Jennings hurries the passer. Their QB scrambles for 4. On 4th and 6 he throws a screen that Guzkowski actually converts. QB Coles scrambles again, this time for 7. A bad throw makes it 3rd and 3 with 40 seconds left and 1 time out, on the 50. This time Buddy Martinez intercepts it and it looks like we have our win. They burn their time out and we run out the clock.

Denver Mountaineers 24, Omaha Tornadoes 27

Game Notes:

It was a tightly played game, and the key for us I Think was converting 9 of 14 third downs, with an average YTG of 3.9. We also scored on all our red zone visits, but stopped them on one, giving us that little edge.

The running game does not look good statistically, though it seemed better than normal to me. Jochen though was great, 21 of 26 for 198 yards and 2 TDs. He did have one pick and one sack.

No one stood out receiving, with no one having more than 3 catches or more than 46 yards.

Pass rush was mediocre, Jennings having .5 sacks, 1 block and two hurries, and the rest of the line contributing a bit. Unfortunately the other DE, Paz, got injured after having two blocks on 9 plays, and he'll be out for a little bit.

Minter at the SLB spot had two defensed passes and ILB Martinez had a pick. The Mountaineers seemed to be picking on safety Stanton for 5 catches.

On the line center Dawkins was 3 of 5 for KRB, while Cassani was 2 of 4 with a pancake.

Around the league:

This win puts us on top of our division, with the second best record in the league to the 6-2 St. Louis Trailblazers. We're 3-0 in our division, and that should treat us well as the season goes on. Nothing else stands out, but after the next game I'll do a midseason look around the league.

Looking ahead we're going to Portland to play the 3-4 Eruption next week.

Game 8

For some reason the Eruption seem to have benched last year's All-League quarterback, Ike Hamilton, despite his putting up an 83.5 rating in four games. Pete Thomason has put up a 53.9 rating, yet taken them to two one point victories in the last two weeks, so I guess they're going to keep riding him. Their 2nd round pick at running back is putting up good numbers with a 5.92 average. However, their defense appears to be a sieve, giving up almost 1200 rushing yards and 1200 passing yards already, while giving up 156 points. Their first round pick, 35/60 prospect at DE, Briceland, seems to be underperforming so far.

Hopefully we can open up some offense on these guys, and get our defense making some more plays.

It's 59 degrees and a bit windy in Portland tonight. CB Steve Wicks picks off a pass on the first play of the game, bringing it back to the 31 yard line. They hold us there though, or back a few yards, and we end up punting into the endzone. Ugh. I need to adjust a setting, I wouldn't have punted there.

Now they throw a fullback screen and Lang fakes us all out and takes it 49 yards, to our 24. We push them back and they punt as well, fair's fair.

However, they seem to be stopping our run game even when they're watching for a pass. We're three and out again.

Our next possession Rosario makes a big 3rd and 2 run for six yards. Then Walsh makes a great 22 yard catch in double coverage to put us into enemy territory. My new fave, TE Reed drops a pass and gets a demerit. We're punting into the endzone again. That 'go for it in 4th' setting doesn't seem to ever happen.

DT Huie has two pressures in the first quarter, which after his play last week makes me think his pass rush game is coming on.

Johcen runs for a first down and we move to midfield. Conway grabs a 22 yard catch. Soon we're in the redzone, but a holding penalty backs us back out. We move up and get 4th and 3 at the 10. I decide to go for it against a defense that seems porous, and since I always miss this call. Nice call, 'cause Walsh catches a 10 yard TD pass, and we're up 7-0.

They make a big pass play again, and then a huge run and they're on our 9. And then it's a TD pass and we're tied up.

They've got some QB pressure on us, and combined with a dropped pass that stalls us. We pin them at their 2 yard line though, and next play Minter intercepts a pass and runs it back for a score!

Under two minutes, Portland's trying to go for something and we intercept them again, Steve Wicks at the 2 yard line for his second of the game. We go into the locker room up 14-7.

We start off the second at our 10. Our drive and a penalty on them backs them up to their 14 on their first possession. They drive it well though, and they're in our redzone. We hold them briefly but then they score on 3rd and 11 and it's 14-14.

Their pass defense is playing well, and when they don't we seem to drop the ball. But a penalty gives us another chance. We drive into their territory at the beginning of the 4th, and finally Reed makes a big 3rd down play. He makes another to get us into the red zone. Walsh drops another pass and we're forced to kick, and of course it's blocked.

We get called for pass interference on the next play to move them up. They cross midfield with 10 minutes left in the game. With nine minutes left they throw a TD and are up 21-14.

We get a good return to the 41. However, we can't do anything and have to punt again. This is a vital possession. And it doesn't look good as they bust a nine yard run, a six yard catch. We get flagged for pass interference again on a vital 3rd down and now they're threatening to increase the lead. This one is slipping away from us. For some reason we expect a pass play and let up two big runs. A big gameplan error there. It keeps happening, and by the time I realize I should take over playcalling it's 2:20 left in the game and they're on my 6 yard line. Somehow they adjusted better in the second half.

They kick the field goal to go up by 10 with a minute and a half. Of course now Jochen's just throwing bombs and that doesn't work. I think the AI should work on medium length passes instead in that situation.

We lose a stupid game, and we're 5-3 now at midseason.

Omaha Tornadoes 14, Portland Eruption 24

Game notes:

Somehow, despite throwing three interceptions these guys managed to walk on us in the end. They got three first downs by penalty, and we gave up 5 of 9 third downs. We also didn't produce from that first pick we got. I would have gone for it on that 4th down and maybe that would have made a difference. Then that blocked field goal was another wasted opportunity.

Rosario and Vanaqs have been perfectly splitting rushing lately, but they couldn't get anything done today. Jochen either, he was 16 of 35 for 126 yards. He had three bad throws, three passes dropped, 7 hurries and 4 defended passes. Walsh was 2 of 6, Conway was 1 of 6. Both had a drop.

Notably our nickel back was near the top with 5 tackles. They just were going over the top on us, and the sacks weren't really there.

Around the league:

Lucky for us Denver got shut out by the Quake and so we're still on top of the division in a three way tie with them and Kansas City going into the midseason.

Autumn

01-16-2008, 09:54 PM

Midseason Look

Here's the Tornadoes after 8 games.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921halfteam.jpg">

We've slipped in the last couple weeks, after starting as the highest scoring team, with the fewest point allowed, and the best turnover margin. Our pass rush is still looking good, keyed by Jennings especially (hopefully he's masked, he's certainly playing well). But our pass defense has gotten bad.

The running game has tanked after the first couple games too. I'm not sure what to do there, switching runners hasn't made much difference. The game plan hasn't seemed to key it either.

Walsh and Conway have been playing adequately, but the stats suggest I should give Shaeffer a bigger role. I might try moving him up to the starter and see what happens.

The league standings:

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921halfstand.jpg">

We've obviously got a strong division again. Last year we were at the bottom of it with an 8-8 record. This year will be another close race it seems. Luckily so far we're 3-0, so I hope to not die of tiebreakers this time.

Given the odd nature of this league, I thought people might be interested in just seeing some of the league leaders. I'd be glad to look up any other stats people might wonder about.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921halfpass.jpg">

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921halfcatch.jpg">

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921halfrun.jpg">

Autumn

01-21-2008, 10:49 AM

Game 9

This week we draw last year's champion, the San Francisco Quake. This year they're 4-4 so far, behind their 5th round rookie QB, Darnell Boone. They're third in the league in total yardage behind a decent running game, and a four receiver attack including former Tornado Brian Kinney.

On defense, of note is their cornerback tandem of O'Neill and Aquino, who have 8 interceptions between them. That might explain why they're so tough on the long ball. They seem to give up the short pass though, so hopefully we'll have some success.

We're favored at home. Their first possession is three and out as we key on their passing game. Conway has a good punt return, but we're not able to capitalize on the drive because, guess what, Aquino makes an interception on a pass to Schaeffer. It was a seemingly safe short pass, so it seems keeping the passing game short isn't going to fix things.

Jennings forces a fumble on their next series but they recover. He seems to do that a lot. Still, we make them punt. Rosario busts a 22 yard run on our next possession. Later on the drive Vanaqs busts out a 23 yard touchdown run and we're on the board, 7-0.

Their next possession we get a hurry, a blocked pass and then Shepherd intercepts Boone, and runs the pick back 32 yards for a touchdown and his first pick of the year.

Their next possession they hit a big pass play, and then a 20 yard run to get into our territory. We seem to be looking only for the pass, and so they're able to run, run, run it in for a TD.

Obviously something is wrong with my game plan as I seem to be expecting only a pass on every single down. As you can imagine, this doesn't work well against the run. Still, we hold them to a missed field goal.

We put together a good drive that stalls at the 3, so we kick the field goal. It's 17-7 at the two minute warning, and they drive the length of the field with a 46 yard pass to the tight end. They run it in and make it 17-14 before the half.

The depth chart changes I made are working well at getting Harmon, my best receiving tight end, into the game. He makes some key catches on a drive that ends up in a 11 yard TD pass to Banks. It's now 24-17.

The Quake puts Frankie Young in the game, to replace Boone. We're running to milk the clock, and it's not getting us anywhere at this point, so we keep trading punts. Their passing game under Young can't get anywhere against our intense pressure. It's a stalemate, until we get our running game going a bit, taking advantage of the Quake coming out in pass defense, and just better running. This long 4th quarter drive eats up time, and we recover our own potentially costly fumble. We kick a field goal and they get it back near the two minute warning, down by 13.

Their desperation drive ends when Young fumbles the ball and Martinez runs it to their 5 yard line. They hold us there but we kick the FG to make it 30-14. That's the final score.

San Francisco Quake 14, Omaha Tornadoes 30

Game Notes:

Jochen had a great game, 18 of 20 for 163 yards and a TD. His interception on the first possession didn't end up hurting us, and he had a 96.5 rating. Meanwhile, the running game looked good due to those two 20 yard runs on one drive, but was in actuality as iffy as usual, though we did good on third down, going 7/14 overall.

For some reason Banks, the 2nd FL, got 4 targets (catching all) while Conway, the starter only got one. Putting Schaeffer as the #1 SE got him a 3/4 game for 30 yards, but Walsh didn't show up at all as the backup. I don't like that, and for some reason Rosario ended up with three targets, even though I thought I had eliminated him from the pass attack.

Their rushing attack worked well against us, but they had to drop it once we got ahead. We seem to play great with a lead, and so-so otherwise. In particular our pass rush benefited, with Paz having 1.5 sacks, a block and 2 hurries, and the rest of the line contributing as well. No defensed passes at all, though, and our nickel back gave up 4 catches again.

On the O line, T Cassani was a monster at 5 of 6 KRB, while C Dawkins disappointed with 1 of 10. His back up went 2 of 2, and maybe I should be looking at moving him up.

Around the league:

Denver won as well, keeping them right behind us in the division. Only three 200 yard passing games this week, and two 100 yard rushers, only one 100 yard receiving game. Offensive yards still seem hard to come by in this rookie league. Chicago kicker Don Gray sets a record of 19 points in a game with 6 of 6 field goal kicking.

Next week is a big game against division rivals the Kansas City Cowboys. They're one game behind us, and so a loss to them would muddy the waters even more. We stomped them week one, and hope to repeat it on the road.

Game 10

Kansas City just came off of a shut out at home against the Lakers, and so they're eager for a win, I'm sure. they have a three pronged running game that racks up a lot of yards, but not very efficiently. England heads up a short passing game. Their strength seems to be in defense, with one of the best rated pass defenses in the league.

Their defense shows it at the start, letting runs by, but shutting down Jochen so far. We get a fumble but aren't able to do anything with it. They drive well with the running game and come up with a field goal to make it 3-0.

They're driving again when Stanton gets a big interception. We make a few plays this time, and seem to gain confidence, our gains getting bigger and bigger. We get it in the endzone with Rosario on a RB screen, and it's 7-3.

They get it to start the second half, but we hold them to three and out. Walsh picks up a key third down pass, and then Vanaqs busts a runf or 26 yards. Conway gets seriously injured on the play, but we have it at their seven. Two plays later another screen to Rosario gets us the touchdown and a 14-3 lead.

We trade turnovers, until on their next drive Kansas City is looking likely to score when Shepherd picks up his second interception of the year, running it back 33 yards to midfield. It's into the fourth quarter, but we don't go into ball control just yet, using some key passes to keep the ball moving. The running game is still effective, until we get to the redzone. We're forced to kick, but we miss, apparently due to a bad hold by Jochen. Still, we're able to do just enough with each possession to milk the clock down. Until the two minute warning they can't manage to pass against our pass rush. We run out the time on our second win in a row.

Omaha Tornadoes 14, Kansas City Cowboys 3

Game Notes:

This followed the pattern of showing our strength with a lead. It seems we need to jump up on somebody to play our strengths. The game stats definitely do not look impressive, though if we hadn't missed two field goals the end score would look even nicer.

We obviously compensated for KC's tough pass defense by hitting the running backs. Wide receivers only saw 9 targets out of 22 today. Jochen had a good rating, going 15 of 22 for only 91 yards but two touchdowns. Vanaqs and Rosario had their typical ho-hum day, some big gains evening out lackluster performance.

The defense came up big with three interceptions, and a couple fumble recoveries. The pass rush only got two sacks, but Jennings had 5 big hurries. The switchup in the secondary might have helped a bit, with only one catch against the new nickel back. My switch at center didn't produce great results, but T Cassani was 5 of 11 for run blocking.

The biggest blow comes after the game though, when we find that top FL Conway is out for the rest of the year with damage to the knee. Luckily I think we have some decent talent behind him, guys who have already made catches. We end up switching Conway to injured reserve in order to sign a new punt returner.

Around the league:

Denver loses to Minneapolis, and that puts me alone at the top of the division, a good spot since I also have a 4-0 division record. Bryant Hentschel of Pittsburgh has a big day with three interceptions and two defensed passes. Cornelius Creasy, the career leader in interceptions who tore us apart for the Stars is player of the week with 210 yards passing. Rookie Junior Shepherd of the Destroyers moves up to second in the rushing stats with a 135 yard game.

Autumn

01-21-2008, 11:17 AM

Game 11

The Detroit Wheels show up in Omaha 7-3 as well, coming off a big loss to the Blizzard. They have a weak run offense complemented by a very accurate passing game run by Dusty Harvey. Their defense is their strength, in the top ten in most categories, led by first round pick SS Patrick Kaplan, owner of a fantastic 92.8 PD percent, and DE Cole Mannix leading the team with 8.5 sacks.

Jochen coughs up a fumble on our first possession. We keep trading punts, our offense looking better than the Wheels, but not able to move enough to get anything. Stanton intercepts the ball at the 35 yard line, and gives us a good chance at a score. And we do it, converting on 3rd and goal at the 5 for a touch down pass to Harmon. The Wheels follow up with a drive of their own though, with the "defense not moving quickly on this cold day." They get backed up by a tripping penalty, but unnecessary roughness on our part turns 3rd and 20 into first and goal. We hold them to the field goal and it's 7-3 at the two mnute warning.

Jochen drives us past midfield, and with less than a minute we're in field goal range. On third down we get sacked and almost lose another fumble, pushing us back to the 32 yard line. Bercich makes a 49 yarder, and we're up 10-3 at the half.

Our first drive of the second half results in their rookie star, Kaplan, intercepting a deep pass to Schaefer. They kick a field goal to make it 10-6. Then on the subsequent kickoff, Danielson fumbles the ball and Detroit recovers at the 5. Our defense is stiff as a board though, forcing a field goal that they botch. We drive to midfield and then pin them at the 1 with our punt. In a reversal of fortune, Perrin tackles Harvey on a QB run, forcing a fumble that Minter returns two yards for a touchdown. It's now 17-6. Their next drive results in MLB Martinez intercepting a pass and returning it to their 26. They hold us to a field goal, making it 20-6.

Harvey makes some great passes on the next drive for the Wheels, but a holding call backs them up and he loses his steam. However, our next possession, Vanaqs coughs up the ball and they recover on our 31. We hold them to a field goal, yet again. We're not able to move, and so only milk the clock and punt. We block their punt and so get it back at their 33, with 8 minutes left. Time to ice the game, I think, if we can hold on to the ball. A 13 yard run by Vanaqs moves us into the redzone, and we add a field goal at under five minutes, to make it 23-9.

Now Harvey is forced to throw long, and our pressure gets to him. I also note we start blitzing less, which I think helps, we were blitzing far too much earlier. They go four and out, and Vanaq's 11 yard run ices the game for us. He adds more icing by breaking a run for a 22 yard touch down at the two minute warning.

Detroit Wheels 9, Omaha Tornadoes 30

Game Notes:
Most notable to me was the fumbling. We fumbled 5 times, losing three. We were lucky to come away with a win that way, these guys must be punishing hitters.

Vanaqs comes away with his best game of the season, 23 for 121 yards, and a touchdown. I did adjust his playing time this game, so maybe that helped. Of course the 22 yarder at the end helped too. Jochen was his typical self, 18 of 24 for 122. He threw one interception and was sacked three times, which is a lot for him.

With my starting FL Conway out, I moved Walsh to his spot and put Schaeffer in the SE slot. Schaeffer came up big with 4 of 5 catches. Banks was 4 of 5 while Walsh only caught 2 of 5 from the flanker spot, and one of those he fumbled. I may move those folks around for next week. Pretty decent run blocking all around.

The safeties were the stars of the defense, combining for 15 tackles, 3 assists and an interception. Only two sacks today, a block and 3 hurries from the line. CB Shepherd uncharacteristically gave up 4 catches.

Of big note to me too is my home attendance. Our first home gave drew 57,900. This last home game shot up to 61,300, 2,000 more than our last home game. It seems our winning ways are making a difference.

Around the league:

Richie Brady had a big 3 TD performance at QB for the Steelers this week. Six 200 yard passers today, and 6 100 yard rushers as well. The unfortunately named Kevin Steptoe had the biggest day at WR with 135 yards.

I notice that Artie Blackburn was picked up by the Cincinatti Eagles, and has started three games for them, posting a 37.4 rating with 1 TD and 6 interceptions.

We're now 8-4, with the rest of the division having 7, 6 and 5 wins respectively. We've got a lot of disgruntled folks though, I'm going to have to look at the line up carefully this week. I can't renegotiate anybody's contract - is it because they're all one year deals, or because they're only two to one year veterans? Anyway, big game at home next week against the Oilers to increase our lead.

Game 12

The Houston Oilers come into Omaha at 4-6-1, and on a three game losing streak. They boast a solid rush defense bolstered by two draft picks in the defensive line, Clifton Wynn and Preston Ruegamer, and one at middle linebacker, Winston Kuhlman. Their offense is not so notable looking, headed by Juan Salpala, who throws a lot of picks but looks like he does well in the red zone and on third down.

Shepherd gets an incterception in the endzone after the Oilers drive well. Our offense is playing too conservatively though and doesn't get anything out of its first two drives. Jochen coughs up a fumble on a sack our next possession and they get it at our 24 yard line. A timely sack is followed by another interception in the endzone and we dodge another bullet.

We seem stuck in a rut of getting some good runs, but then throwing screens on 3rd down. Meanwhile they're breaking our tackles left and right. We seem to be missing the presence of OLB Minter on defense, who is doubtful today. His replacement gets a key sack in the redzone though, and though we don't pick up either of the two fumbles on the drive it results in just a field goal.

Our next drive Vanaqs breaks free and runs 59 yards for a touchdown, putting us up 7-3. Their rookie Wynn gets a sack on our next possession, stopping us, and Houston tries again, driving at the two minute warning. A sack and a defensed pass stop them though, and it's 7-3 at the half.

We finally put a drive together in the third, with some key third down conversions. Holding backs us up to their 33, (why does holding alwyas happen on 1st down?). Bercich comes through though with another 49 yard field goal, putting us up 10-3.

We stop them at our 43, and take over at our own six. Our running game is looking familiar to them, and so we're a bit premature in attempting to milk the clock. Those screen passes on third and six aren't helping either. We have to punt though, but Havens knocks out a 67 yarder, putting them at their own four. We hold them there and end up with the ball on their 34. A penalty kills any movement, and we end up punting from the 35 (what????). I really would like to adjust this situation. No way I'm punting into the endzone here.

We of course immediately let them rush down the field, and they are going for it on 4th down at the 23, and get it, getting into the redzone with just over two minutes left. Jennings gets a big sack. And then Sampson picks off the next pass.

We are attempting to run out the last two minutes when Vanaqs fumbles on a 9 yard run, but we get it back. He then picks up a first down, seemingly icing the game, but fumbles it again, and this time they recover at our 42, with 1:33 and one timeout. Luckily Salpala isn't that good at long bombs, and his one key completion gets called back for a penalty. This time we're able to kneel and run the time out.

Houston Oilers 3, Omaha Tornadoes 10

Game Notes:

We got lucky, fumbling three times and losing two, but coming out on top. Our three interceptions, and Jochen's zero, helped. We went 6 of 16 on third down, while holding them to 1 of 13, and that was key.

Vanaqs comes out with his second 100 yard game in a row, 18 for 101 yards and a touchdown. Of course that was basically just that one 59 yarder, and nothing else. Our running game didn't do a lot today.

Jochen was accurate, at least, going 18 of 25 for only 96 yards. For some reason again Tyrone Banks, the backup WR, got the most catches, going 5 of 6, while Schaefer hauled in only 4 of 9. Walsh was only 1 of 1. I'm not sure why his production has dropped off so much. Perhaps he's being double teamed now that Conway is out?

All three cornerbacks had a pick, and only allowed two catches between the three of them, so that's a good day for them. The safeties again led the team in tackles, and they gave up 8 catches between the two of them, with only two defensed. Still, it was a good day pass rushing for the line, with six sacks three hurries and a knockdown between them all.

We pulled out a win, but the loss of Conway seems to have really hurt the passing game, and our running game is as off and on as always. I'm worried about our prospects going forward.

Around the League:

Denver loses, dropping to 7-5 as we move up to 9-3. Minneapolis at 6-6 is the bottom of our division, so it's a strong showing all around. But it will be a hard race for a wild card in our conference, with Pittsburgh and St. Louis both at 9-3 in the Rust Belt Division. Parity seems to be settling in, with no team in our conference worse than 4-8, and none better than 9-3. The West Coast Division has three 6-6 teams, and one 5-7. Ugh.

Junior Shepherd and Hugh Kendrick are battling it out for the rushing title, the only two backs over 1000 yards so far. Vanaqs has moved into fourth place with his last two games, and me giving him more carries. Still, my RB duo is nothing but consistent, getting most of their yards on a few 10+ runs. Combined Rosario and Vanaqs have 40, while the league leader has 29.

Rookie Harris Stanberry of the Racers is leading the league in passing yardage so far, but it's a close contest. It's Rufus Chandler of the Trailblazers though leading the league in rating and touchdowns. It looks like we'll be lucky to see a 1,000 yard receiver in the league, the leader's only at 691 right now. Receivers seem to be the biggest difference in this all rookie league.

We're ranked number two in the power ratings this week, nearly tied with the 9-3 Steelers. This is the home stretch, the last four games that can push us into the playoffs or doom us to misery.

Game 13

We're back on the road, visiting Cleveland on the lake to face the 5-7 Hammers. They lead the league in pass attempts, but that's only gotten QB Harden a 52.2 rating. Their offense seems a bit anemic, but possessing some big play receivers when they do get a catch. They've only amassed 19 points in their last three games, so I'm hopeful. They seem to be suffering from injuries, especially in their rookie defensive stars. We've never played the Hammers, as they're from the other conference, so this will be a new one for us.

They start out sacking us and then forcing a three and out, not good. Havens booms a 52 yard punt though. When we get the ball back, Rosario busts a screen pass for 19 yards. That keys a drive that takes us to their redzone on a Walsh catch (finally). Vanaqs busts open a 13 yard run to make it first and goal. Rosario takes the next handoff for a score.

We seem to be calling the wrong plays on defense, and they drive to our side of the field. We stop them at the 20 though and their kicker misses his field goal. Rosario follows up with a 16 yard run on our next play. We get to midfield but are intercepted on a pass to Rusty Seinfeld (hello! pass to Walsh!) They drive into the endzone, despite two holding calls, with a clutch 9 yard run on third and seven to keep them alive.

We're backed up to our six on the kickoff return. Walsh makes a big 3rd down catch to get us out of there, and we're back in business. We still have to punt though, but we pin them at their own six. We hold them there, and end up at midfield. A facemask penalty moves us to the 35, but Jochen's not finding any open men. Sacked on third down, we're forced to punt it into the endzone at the two minute mark.

It's 7-7 starting the second half. We stop them on 4th and 1, with injured linebacker Minter making the big tackle. Taking over at their 34 yard line, Vanaqs takes it 10 yards, and soon we're in their redzone. A big 7 yard run on 3rd and three gets us 1st and goal, and Rosario runs it in for a touchdown two plays later. We get backed up to our 5 our next series, and it looks bad until Rosario bursts into the open field for a 34 yard run. A penalty backs us up again, as well as another ill advised pass to Seinfeld. But Walsh pulls us out with a 18 yard catch on 3rd and 18 and we're at midfield. Jochen soon coughs up a fumble on a sack, which is starting to become routine, and now Cleveland has it at midfield. We hold them there and they're not able to make anything out of it.

We construct a nice 4th quarter drive with big runs by both running backs. Even Rusty Seinfeld takes a screen pass 7 yards. But we stall at their 31 and miss the kick.

Their wide receivers are eating us up, as I feared, and they drive to our six. They score, and now it's tied at 14 with 7 minutes left. Oh for all those missed opporutnities.

Rosario starts our drive out with a 12 yard run. Vanaqs keeps it going with a 7 yard run on third down. Defensive holding keeps us going with five minutes left, on their 42. Schaeffer drops a pass, and we throw a screen for some reason on 3rd down and we punt into the endzone. Now we need some defense.

But it's not there as we give up a 25 yard pass, again. Then an 11 yarder. At least they're not eating up the clock. An 8 yard pass next play. For some reason we're expecting run, which is a bit silly here. They miss a couple passes, and then blessedly miss their field goal attempt.

Now it's our turn as Banks pulls in a 22 yarder taking us to their 35 yard line. We throw an incomplete, and then get sacked, however. A pass interference call saves us, and we get first down at their 38. But a long pass gets tipped and intercepted at their 15. Now we have to keep them from driving for a score. Should have been running it, idiots.

Minter and Sampson make key pass defenses, and we get it back at our 31 with 45 seconds and three time outs. However, our first pass gets intercepted. We force them three and out and get it at the 20 with 8 seconds. Looks like we're going to overtime.

We win the toss. After one good pass we get sacked twice in a row, and even fumble it and recover it ourselves at the four. Bad playcalling, again, as our running game was working well in the 4th. Of course it's an awful punt from there, and they get it at our 34. We'd need a miracle now. We don't et it as Nixon makes a 15 yard catch on third down, and then catches a touchdown to win it.

Game Notes:

A really gutsy performance on defense, but a really poorly coached game. Our offense was actually clicking today, but the coaches got away from it. Jochen also had a very poor game, ending up 21 of 38 for 179 yards and three interceptions, but that was actually better than he played in the beginning. He also got sacked 7 times, which was more than the first half of the season. I'm surprised the coach didn't bench the guy.

The running game was great. Vanaqs had 84 yards in 16 carries, while Rosario had 96 in 12, with two touchdowns. They were 4 of 4 for third down conversions running. Walsh was in the game this time with 4 catches for 50 yards, but on 8 targets. He was 3 of 3 for third down conversions, however.

We fumbled 4 times, with only one forced, and no interceptions, a big turn around from our usual great turnover margin. Bercich missed a kick that would have won it (though admittedly so did their kicker).

We got some pass pressure, Jennings had three hurries, a knock down and a half a sack and we had 3 sacks all together. But Harvey Shepherd was the real goat of the game, giving up 7 catches, with no defensive plays. This guy usually only gives up one, but he was schooled today by Nixon, Alfred and Zellars, Nixon going for 101 yards and two TDs.

Their DE, Brian Dorn, was a monster with 7 tackles, 3 hurries, and 3.5 sacks. Meanwhile most of our passes came against their OLB Gadberry (9 catches allowed). Scottie Dawkins was the only offensive linemen to have a good game, going 3 of 4 and no sacks allowed.

Around the League:

Jerald England of the Cowboys gets offensive player of the week with near perfect 27 of 30 passing for 228 yards. It's a big running day, with 8 100 yard runners, including Martin Guzowski, the rookie, picking up 3 touchdowns.

Clifton Wynn of Houston eclipses Brian Dorn by picking up 4 sacks and 6 tackles in his game.

Denver won handily over Buffalo, so they and Kansas City are right behind us at 8-5. Minneapolis is only one game behind that, and we play them next week. A win is vital if we don't want to sink down into the morass.

Autumn

01-27-2008, 11:53 AM

Game 14

The Minneapolis Lakers may be at the bottom of our division, at 7-6, but they have clearly one of the best ranked defenses in the game, #1 in yards gained against and points scored against, and at least number 7 in almost every category. Their one weakness, third down conversions, is our biggest strength, but I'm worried about our off and on offense today.

Offensively they're one of the top running teams, led by Jimmie McGee in his second year, and backup Eugene Myers who comes from San Fran with a championship ring. Glen Miller leads a passing attack that has the fewest attempts in the league, and is at the bottom in nearly everything else other than completion percentage. They have a solid offensive line, and the best turnover margin in the league.

Losing this game would completely muddy the waters in our division, while of course winning it would keep us afloat on top. We squeaked out a win 13-3 in their place earlier this year, we're hoping to win convincingly here at home for the last regular season game in Omaha.

They come out running, picking up a first down and 20 yards before their first pass play ends up in a sack by Greer, and a fumble recovery by Sampson (starting in place of the injured Wicks). However, Jochen gets intercepted on the one yard line and we get nothing from it.

I'm not sure why we're looking for pass plays on third and one. Or nearly all the time when they're a clearly runing team. Should have adjusted those settings better.

After trading punts for a while, they get a couple long plays and end up in our redzone. We hold them there though and they settle for the field goal, and go up 3-0 in the second quarter.

We punt then get another big break when we pick up a fumble and return it to their six yard line. Vanaqs catches a play action pass in the endzone, and it's 7-3.

Their kicker manages a 52 yard field goal to make it 7-6. Jochen gets intercepted on the next series after a big intentional grounding penalty, and they have it at our 36. Martinez and Shepherd combine on some drive ending tackles though, and hold them to a field goal again.

With three minutes left in the first half, Jochen starts driving, completing three passes in a row to get us over the midfield by the two minute warning. He then carefully drives us to the six yard line, but we fumble the ball with 21 seconds left. Our chance to go ahead is gone.

Watching the play by plays I'm constantly impressed by how good Buddy Martinez is. He gets a lot of tackles, as the middle linebacker. But it's the tackles he makes that's impressive, constantly cutting short long gains or catching people before they get first downs.

We trade punts in the third. In the fourth we finally drive into their side of the field, but get backed up by a illegal use of hands penalty. We get back to the 23 though, and convert a 3rd and 3 with an offsides penalty on the Lakers. Another third down conversion gets us to the 11, and a few plays later Rusty Seinfeld catches his first touchdown pass. We're up 14-9.

The Lakers quickly cross midfield on their next possession. We stuff them, but their miracle kicker somehow hits a 56 yarder, "a nice kick in a hostile environment." Again. It's 14-12 with three and a half minutes left.

We go three and out, but eat up a minute on the clock and make them burn two timeouts. Blitzing two cornerbacks? Maybe not a good idea. Still, they convert once on 4th down, but luckily the long ball game isn't what they're good at, and Sheldon intercepts Miller's pass. We're able to run out the clock on a very tight, and very vital 14-12 win.

Minneapolis Lakers 12, Omaha Tornadoes 14

Game Notes:

Our ability to hold the team to field goals, while scoring touchdowns, comes through for us here. Rosario had the biggest day, as the backup, going 13 for 71 yards, while Vanaqs was held to 30 yards. We did not at all slow down their running game, letting them go for 129 yards and an average of above 5 yards a carry.

Jochen had a mixed day, 24 of 35 for 182 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. He seems to be throwing a lot of picks these days, after starting off so careful. Schaeffer was his big target, with 8 catches for 74 yards. Banks pulled in another four. Walsh was an unimpressive 2 for 11 yards on 5 targets. He's got the rookie slump I think.

Martinez had 11 tackles and 4 assists against this heavy running attack. Not much of a pass rush against anyone, and Shepherd gave up three cathces today.

Around the League:

Harris Tripplett has a big 4 touchdown passing day for the Providence Whalers. Al Chandler, OLB for the Louisville Chargers has a big 10 tackle, 2.5 sack day. J. C. Izzard of the Blizzards (hah) has a three interception performance.

I just noticed that kicker Marty Long has the most 50+ kicks this season. Appropriate.

Denver wins as well at Kansas City, meaning our division goes 10, 9, 8, 7. There won't be any early clinching in this division, but at least we have the tiebreaker on Denver, so far. Of course our last game of the season is in Denver. That will be vital.

But for now it's the Buffalo Blizzard we're worrying about.

Game 15

The Blizzard are 5-9, and not really notable in anything. Their defense is consistently bottom of the heap in everything. Offensively, they're mid to bottom in everything as well. They're led by D. J. Sciuto, a free agent from Chicago, who so far has a 62.6 rating this year. Their leading rusher has 655 yards in 14 games. The one thing they seem good at is getting turnovers on defense, probably helped by their two ballhawks, Izzard and Knechtel in the secondary.

It's a balmy 44 degrees in Buffalo in December. We start off by trading punts. They look bad, and we look ineffective, doing things like throwing to Seinfeld for 0 yards on 3rd and 5. They finally break something open with two big pass plays to get into the redzone, and end up running it in from first and goal.

We follow up with a decent drive and end up with Rosario running in a touchdown himself. Jochen is looking very sharp when he passes towards the first down markers. I see that the Blizzard are starting backup QB Fertwagner for their injured starter. He may be an improvement. They march down the field after a huge kick return and score making it 14-7. We get it back before the half, but punt it. We'll get the ball to start the second half, down 14-7.

Farr and Sampson combine to recover a fumble on a long pass play, but we can't make points out of it, since we fumble it right back to them.

Before the end of the third, we manage to drive it into the redzone. Harmon picks up a key third down catch to give us first and goal. Then Harmon picks up the touchdown on third down, and we're tied 14-14 at the beginning of the 4th.

A short punt gives us the ball at midfield. A personal foul advances us, but we foolishly don't play for four downs, and end up punting, pinning them at the 7. They convert a third and one to get out of danger. However, Minter makes one of his patented interceptions at midfield, and we get another chance. Or so I think, but a 0 yard screen pass later, Jochen scrambles with the ball and coughs it up.

This time Sheldon comes through, intercepting Fertwagner at our 24. We need to score, and eat up the clock on this drive. Vanaqs tries to give it away with another fumble, but we recover. However, even in pass D, they stuff our run game. It's Walsh who saves us with a key 3rd down catch for 13 yards. This drive is taking too long to get nowhere though, and it's 3rd and 1 at their 45 with just over two minutes left. Jochen tries to go long to Walsh, but it's defended. However, we pick up the pass interference call on the play, and get it at their 16. A masterful call, I must say. I wisely decide to take over the play calling, as the coach tries to throw it into the endzone. Tied with less than a minute left on their 16? Let's not start throwing, thanks.

Vanaqs bursts a ten yard run against their pass defense (wouldn't everyone run in this case??). The strategy works and Vanaqs runs it in for a touchdown with 44 seconds left. We're up 21-14 when Bercich boots a touchback. The Blizzard manages to get one pass out, but a blocked pass and then a sack later, time is up on them, and we pull out a win on the road that should guarantee us a division title.

Omaha Tornadoes 21, Buffalo Blizzard 14

Games Notes:

First, the bad news is that Banks, our backup flanker is out for the season, to go along with Conway, our starter at flanker. We're thin there and may even need to sign somebody, I'll have to see. I'll need Walsh to start stepping up.

Vanaqs was the big story, going for 128 yards in 20 carries today, and a TD. Rosario contributed 26 yards and another TD. It should be noted that Vanaqs pickd up 42 yards of that on one run, in a drive that ended with a punt.

Johcen was near perfect going 25 for 30, but only for 152 yards. Too many of those were on 0 yard screen passes. Ugh. Still he posted a 98.9 rating to stay near the top of the league.

Schaeffer was the main man with five catches for 32 yards, but backup SE Rusty Seinfeld showed up to pick up another 5 catches. I'd like to lower his playing time behind Walsh, but with another injury at receiver I'll need everybody in there.

Fertwagner threw for 211 yards against us, but it was his two picks that gave us the game, along with Walsh's clutch plays at the end. Vanaqs had three fumbles today, and his fumble numbers more than anything may cost him a spot here next year. Still, he went over 100 yards today, so we'll applaud him for now.

Around the League:

There's a ton of tight divisional races. I tried writing them up, but you just have to see it to believe it.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921stand15.jpg">

It should be noted that Dan McDaniel had a 304 yard game for the New Orleans Jazz, big numbers for this league. For some reason, Vanaq's huge running day didn't get even a mention, even though it was clearly the biggest, and there were only two other 100 yard runners. Indianapolis had a big day on defense, with 5.5 sacks between their defensive ends.

Game 16

We make the adjustments for injury, putting Banks on injured reserve so we can sign a fifth receiver. He looks pretty good at 3rd down and big play and avoiding drops, so a good fit. There's not much else to do but fine tune the game plan. Let's hope for a big win in Denver. I truly have not realized until this point that a win would clinch us the #1 seed in our conference. What a crazy league. Now I'm nervous.

We squeaked out a win against Denver in Omaha earlier, 27-24. They're now 10-5, and a strong team. They don't turnover the ball, are second in the league in scoring while third in points allowed. That comes on what seems to be just a generally effective offense and a generally stingy defense, with a good pass rush, second only to ours. Stars on their defense line are DT Snee and DEs Bernard and Pozy. Guzowski leads the team in rushing, and while the rookie is only averaging 3.72 yards per carry, he leads the league with 12 touchdowns. Sherman Coles is a decent passer, favoring the short pass to Guzowski who's killer coming out of the backfield, averaging 10 yards per catch.

It's 18 degrees in mile high Denver. They start the game with a big return, followed by a drive taking them into our redzone. Huie gets a sack to push them back out, we contain a Guzowski screen, and stop him on 3rd and 13 to hold them to a field goal.

Vanaqs starts our day with a 11 yard run. But Schaefer ends that drive with a fumble on a 9 yard catch. Now they've got it on our side of the field again. They trick us on first down with a 21 yard pass, but two penalties and solid defense by Shepherd hold them to another three.

Rusty Seinfeld gets the first real catch of the day to start off our next drive, but a loss of a yard on a 3rd and 1 screen forces us to punt. Guzowski busts one for 19 to get them back to midfield. A timely penalty forces them to throw, and Minter comes up big with a key interception. They stop us handily after one first down, however, and it's a punt again.

We trade punts in the second quater. Jochen gets intercepted at our 37 and they're threatening to score again. Our offense just isn't doing anything, and while we're holding them from scoring much, their offense is looking much much better. A penalty saves us here and they're forced to punt into the endzone. We manage to drive to midfield at the two minute warning, but aren't able to get anywhere from there, and punt it to their two. So, it's 6-0 at half time.

We start off with a good drive in the second, but double penalties back us up to 1st and 25, and we end up punting. The Mountaineers come out throwing and march across midfield. A stop on 3rd and 1 holds them to the field goal, and it's 9-0.

We sack them twice in a row on their next drive, but they convert 3rd and 20 with a long pass. We hold them on 3rd and 6, only to get the ball back on our 7 at the end of the third quarter.

Our next drive Jochen throws a couple nice balls, but then is injured and out of the game. Untested rookie Timothy Atkins comes in and takes the helm. The running game keeps him out of immediate trouble, and we end up pinning the Mountaineers at their 2, down 9-0 with 10 minutes left. We nearly recover a fumble, but instead end up letting Coles scramble for a key first down. We give up another third down conversion on the drive, and our chances are looking slim as they run down the clock. For some reason we're expecting pass at this stage, which is ridiculous. Still, we give up a 7 yard run on 3rd and 6 that basically ends our chances. They're in field goal range at the two minute warning, and soon are running out the clock.

Omaha Tornadoes 0, Denver Mountaineers 12

Game Notes:

This unfortunate outing may have been a case of poor gameplanning, I'm not sure, as the offense just couldn't do anything most of the day. Vanaqs didn't look bad going 11 for 73 yards, but Jochen was not his normal self, going 14 for 25 with an interception before getting hurt. Most of the targets were to running backs and tight ends, so I guess Denver just managed to shut down the wide receivers today.

Guzowski put up 99 yards on us, and another 30 receiving yards. Cole was 19 of 26 for 233 yards. Not a good defensive outing either. Shepherd got pawned, giving up 5 catches. Still, our defense did their job, holding them to 4 field goals and no touchdowns. They're definitely a bend but don't break unit.

Of course the biggest news is Jochen, who pulled his calf muscle and won't be full strength until next year. That means we head into the playoffs with a couple of rusty rookies on the shelf. Well, QB Atkins has been very angry about his playing time, so maybe he'll get a chance to show his stuff.

Around the League:

Luckily our 5-1 divisional record gave us the tiebreaker, and we end up winning the Midwest Division and go 11-5. Indianapolis wins the number one seed though with an 11-4-1 record. Still, a bye is a bye, and we'll get one home game out of it.

I'll look at the situation around the league in the next post.

Autumn

01-27-2008, 12:15 PM

We'll take a look at the statistical leaders and results after the playoffs. For now I'm pumped to have won my division and gotten a first round bye. Things don't look too hopeful though, with Jochen injured. Atkins was an underrated 3rd round pick, who I have a feeling might be better than he looks. But he hasn't played in the regular season, and doesn't show any visible development. There's nothing we can do but give him the wheel though and hope for a miracle.

Looking around the league in week 16, Indianapolis had to win to keep their division title and a shot at the #1 seed. Pittsburgh and St. Louis were playing each other, with the winner very likely to get a wild card slot and the loser not. In their division San Antonio and Oklahoma City were also playing each other head to head, the winner to clinch the division, the loser to miss the playoffs. San Francisco needs a win at Seattle to stay on top, or else slip into a possible three way tie.

In the American Conference, Atlanta and New Orleans both are tied, and need to win their respective games, though the loser will pick up a wild cards pot. The Midatlantic division is tied up at 7-8, with Washington and Richmond playing each other, while Louisville gets Baltimore. There again, the losers are likely to miss the playoffs, only the division winner having a chance. New York and Providence are playing each other, New York needing the win to be in contention for the spot.

And here are the final standings.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921standings.jpg">

Indianapolis wins and ends up clinching the number one seed after our loss. Pittsburgh pulls out a win in St. Louis to get a wild card spot, while the 10-6 Trailblazers go home. San Antonio wins to take their division, while Seattle beats San Francisco at home, to turn their division into an 8-8 tie which Seattle wins by tiebreaker. San Fran goes from world champions last year, to losing their division by a tiebreaker this year and missing the playoffs.

In the AFC, Atlanta manages to tie the Memphis Showboats, while New Orleans loses to the Rebels, so Atlanta takes the division. New Orleans still nabs a wildcard spot in the weak conference though. Richmond beats Washington to take the division and make the playoffs. The New York Yankees beat rivals Providence, but lose the tiebreaker. That's still good enough for a wildcard spot though.

The NFC looks strong this year, and wildcard teams the 11-5 Steelers and the 11-5 Mountaineers will probably prove difficult for their first round opponents, The 9-7 Defenders, and the 8-8 Destroyers respectively.

Autumn

01-30-2008, 09:05 AM

Wild Card Round

The 8-8 Seattle Destroyers are favored by two to beat the 11-5 Denver Mountaineers, in Seattle. I know first hand the Mountaineers are tough, but we lost to Seattle in Seattle by three points this season as well. Seattle rookie running back Junior Shepherd was second in the league in rushing yards, ahead of Denver's Guzowski. But QB Omar Carper for the Destroyers threw a nearly league-leading 27 interceptions and only 9 touchdowns.

The 9-6-1 Memphis Showboats have one of the first defenses in the league, and worst passing offense, but are good at turnovers and have a decent running game. They'll be in Detroit to play the 9-7 Wheels, who have a good rated defense, and a mediocre offense.

10-6 New Orleans is favored to win in Richmond against the 8-8 Cavaliers. The Jazz have a very stingy defense, especially against the pass, and a high octane passing game, while the Cavaliers look about the same, only not quite as good. New Orleans receiver Kirk Lodde was tops in the league in targets and nearly in catches, with 82 of 149.

Lastly wild card entrant Pittsburgh, at 11-5, is favored to win in San Antonio against the 9-7 Defenders. The Steelers have the highest scoring offense in the league with league leading rusher Hugh Kendrick, and #2 QB in the league, Richie Brady. The Defenders don't stand out statistically at all, but have some decent talent, and seem to alternate between big point days and shutouts.

Results

As it turns out, Denver beats Seattle and Pittsburgh beats San Antonio, as I expected those strong wild card entrants to do. Guzowski doesn't do a lot on the ground, but picks up 71 yards in the passing game as well, to key Denver's win. Pittsburgh comes from behind to win it in overtime, having to amass 292 yards passing to overcome San Antonio's 17 for 22 passing game. Wide receiver Lincoln Covington has a big 109 yard, 2 TD game to win player of the game, while backup QB Arnold Auyeung has the winning touchdown pass after Richie Brady's injury boots him out of the playoffs.

In the other conference, Detroit rolls over Memphis, keyed by their 219 yards rushing, including a 60 yard TD run by Corey Frye. The Jazz beat Richmond in a rather unremarkable game.

This matches us up with Denver in the next round of the playoffs, only two weeks after playing them for the division title. We're 1-1 against them this season, fresh off a dispiriting loss. Can we reverse things with our QB on the bench? The odds makers think so, making us two point favorites.

Autumn

01-30-2008, 09:22 AM

Tornadoes Storm the League!

Omaha Tornadoes win the Midwest Division

Star QB Ben Jochen is injured and will miss the playoffs

Omaha, Nebraska -- The season ended on a bittersweet note for the Omaha Tornadoes players and staff, coming home from a discouraging 12-0 shutout in the hands of division rivals, the Denver Mountaineers. Not only did the team suffer a loss on the scoreboard, but in the final minutes they lost the services of quarterback Ben Jochen, who has started all 16 games for the Tornadoes this season, coming out fourth in the league in quarterback rating. Injuring his calf in the fourth quarter, Jochen was forced to retire to the training room.

There was sweetness too, though, as even the Tornadoes season-ending loss couldn't knock them from atop the Midwest division, which they won with their 11-5 record, and tie-breaking 5-1 division record. The Mountaineers, also 11-5 after the win, have to settle for a wild card entry in the playoffs, while the Tornadoes, with the second best record in the league, will be resting for their bye week, ready to play the conference semifinals at home.

They'll be playing it without the heart of their offense though, as training staff reports that Jochen's injury will keep him out for the rest of the season. How far into the playoffs this team can go without their leader is a serious question, but it's unlikely they'll see the service of Jochen no matter how long they last. The coaching staff is keeping him off of injured reserve, just in case. But they will be signing a third string quarterback to fill that roster spot and take over kick holding duties just the same.

Jochen's injury is third in a series that has attacked the Tornadoes passing game. Wide Receivers Conway and Banks already have suffered season-ending injuries, and it will be a back up quarterback and backup receivers who face the winners of the wild card round in two weeks. Third round pick, Timothy Atkins, will be getting the start, according to sources. The rookie was a surprising pick by the Tornadoes, who believe him to be much better than many league scouts. He has yet to prove it though, his only playing time this season coming at the end of game 16 when he threw three incomplete passes to end the shutout. With an untested rookie behind the helm, it's expected that Omaha will be leaning on their running game of John and Juan, the running back tandem that took them through the regular season. Whether that's enough to get them to the conference championship, only time will tell.

Autumn

01-30-2008, 10:28 AM

Tornadoes Tumble Mountaineers!

Omaha wins their first playoff game

Rookie Timothy Atkins shatters records, wins game MVP

Omaha, Nebraska -- Perhaps only Timothy Atkins ever imagined this outcome, as the rookie led the Tornadoes to a shocking 26-3 victory over division rivals, the Mountaineers, here in Omaha this afternoon. The rookie, who had never started this season and only thrown three passes in garbage time, not only managed not to lose the game, as the faithful were hoping for, but won it, as well as game MVP, breaking league playoff records as he passed for a startling 274 yards, throwing a touchdown and running for one more.

With Omaha's starting quarterback on the bench for the playoffs with an injury, fans and coaching staffs alike had to expect the Tornadoes to come out with a smash mouth running game, and a careful short passing game, to ease the burden on the untested rookie at the helm. With two injuries to the wide receiving corps as well, the Tornadoes adequate passing game was deemed dead, and fans only hoped that their bigtime defense, and explosive running backs, would win the game for them.

And that was the story even after the Tornadoes first possession, which quickly ended on Atkins's second pass, a drive-ending interception. The defense held the Mountaineers to a subsequent field goal, and the 64,000 fans in Tornado Alley must have all been thinking the same thing. "Run the Ball!"

Only one guy wasn't thinking that way, according to offensive tackle Grady Solwod, a fellow rookie. "The next series Atkins came into the huddle, and we could see this kid wasn't rattled at all. 'Let's take this all the way,' he said to us. And we all started to realize what we had here." So did the fans, who watched Atkins march down the field with a balanced mix of big runs by Vanaqs and Rosario, and long passing by the rookie. His favorite target was another backup pushed into the starting lineup by injury, wide receiver Marshall Schaffer. Catching two long passes to help carry the team into the redzone, fans were shaking their head at their good luck, but expecting the coaching staff to lean on the running game to push it into the endzone. They couldn't have been more wrong though, as Atkins dropped back and looked for Schaeffer one more time, finding him in the endzone for a 15 yard scoring pass, and a 7-3 lead.

The Tornadoes never looked back, holding the Mountaineers scoreless the rest of the game, and continuing their audacious offensive attack. Atkins threw no more interceptions after that first series, and rarely made a mistake at all, leading a passing attack that bravely threw into the teeth of the Denver defense. Schaefer continued to be the leading target, ending the game with a record breaking 11 catches on 11 throws, as well as a record breaking 145 yards in receptions. These two backups not only kept the Tornadoes in the game, they made league and team history in doing so, Atkins passing for more yards than any Omaha quarterback ever.

Atkins showed his pluck and versatility on the Tornadoes next scoring drive, converting two third downs with short passes, and hitting another long pass play to Schaefer to bring Omaha to the nine yard line. That's when he showed defenses something else to fear, as he tucked the ball and scrambled into the endzone from nine yards out for the second touchdown of the game.

Though Atkins won the deserved game MVP, and drew most of the attention post-game, it was a team effort that brought the win. The defense played the sort of physical game they love, knocking people around like it was week one all over again. They forced a phenomenal five fumbles in the game, although they only recovered two of them. And once Atkins had given the team the lead, they were able to pin their ears back and apply the sort of pressure they love, holding the Mountaineers on third down, and getting turnovers. Cornerbacks Wicks and Shepherd each had an interception in the game.

The backs had one of their best running days of the season as well, John and Juan each carrying 17 times in the game, for a nearly identical 73 and 76 yards. "We thought we'd be going out there and trying to get the pressure of of Tim by making some big runs," said back John Rosario. "But it turned out the other way. Once the defense saw his arm, he started making some big throws, all of a sudden there was a lot more space for us to move." Not relying on big yardage runs as they often have through the season, the running backs were able to consistently pick up 4-8 yards per carry, rushing past wary defenders who were unsure what to expect.

Atkins was just as confident in his post game press conferences, responding to questions about his surprise performance. "I'm not surprised at all, and no one should be, really," the quarterback quipped. "I've been telling the coaches, the players, you guys, anyone who will listen all season that this is what I could do. The coaches drafted me for a reason, they knew I could play. They signed me to a contract for a reason, and they're sending me this fat paycheck for a reason. I keep telling them, I don't want a fat paycheck to sit around and hold a clipboard and watch other guys win. Harvey, Steve, Adrian, Grady, Sam, Wendell -- I'm the only guy we drafted that hasn't been out there playing. The only one. No offense to Ben, but it should have been my job from the beginning, i'ts what I'm getting paid big bucks to do, to go out and win games. So no, I'm not excited, and I'm certainly not surprised. I'm just glad to finally be doing what I do."

And thanks to his performance, and Pittsburgh's victory at Indianapolis, he'll be doing it again for Omaha fans next week, as the conference finals are hosted here at Tornado Alley. The league leading offense in the Pittsburgh Steelers will be coming to town, hoping to end the Tornadoes fairy tale season. Atkins has somesthing to say about that, as well. "We had some empty seats out there today, and that's too bad. You guys come and fill this place up next week, we're going to come back and put on a show for y'all."

Autumn

01-31-2008, 08:56 PM

The Pittsburgh Steelers are the league's highest scoring offense, behind league leading rusher Hugh Kendrick, and quarterback Richie Brady. Unfortunately for them, like us, their quarterback was injured and is out for the rest of the playoffs. That hasn't slowed them down though, as they won their first playoff game in overtime, with quarterback Arnold Auyeung throwing the winning pass. Rather than go with him the rest of the way though, they went out and signed Wayne Collins, who last year was Providence's starting QB, and this year was not signed by anyone. He came in and did a decent game managing job in their game against Indianapolis. It was Kendrick though that keyed that victory, rushing for over 100 yards.

They got a great pass rush out of their entire D line in that game, one that includes Colin Josephson, the undrafted DE who led the league with 15 sacks. Their secondary is built around 3rd round pick Bryant Hentschel, the cornerback who had 8 interceptions this year.

Our plan is to simply play the same game as we did against Denver, as they're similar teams - strong running games and good defense. We'll let Atkins and John and Juan play and see what they can do.

Elsewhere, Detroit beat Providence, and Atlanta beat the Jazz, to make for their conference matchup.

The game is a fairly tight one. Our offense is not nearly as effective as last game, but we're able to move the ball some. Pittsburgh plays good defense on us though, and has an effective pass rush, and they manage to get some key sacks and pressure to keep us even out of field goal range most of the game.

They go up 7-0 first, after we fumble it away on a sack by Josephson. They only need to go 12 yards to score, and do. Their next possession, Wayne Collins hits a couple good passes, and a long bomb to get them in field goal range, where we hold them, but they go up 10-0. We continue to make some progress on our drives, but not enough. We end up scoring though on a 72 yard punt return, to make it 10-7. We fumble on our next possession though, and it is half time before we are able to do anything else.

Our first drive of the second half is a good one, keyed by a long run by Vanaqs into their redzone. We end up scoring on a pass to the fullback Shepherd, and now are up 14-10. We then manage to hold on to that lead for a series of 10 punts between the two teams. Our defense is stiff, but our offense is anemic, relying perhaps too much on the pass and getting rushed. Quick possessions means we're not eating up the clock as much as we should, and they eventually construct a long drive in the fourth quarter. The key play of the drive is a 3rd and 12 where they manage to run for 15 yards. The wind goes out of our sails there, and we give up a 25 yard run soon, as well as a killer unnecessary roughness penalty. We not only let them drive into the redzone, but don't hold them to a field goal, and they go up 17-14 with five minutes left.

Plenty of time to do something, but instead we go three and out, getting tackled short of the first down on third down. We subsequently give up a key first down that enables them to run the clock down, and the Omaha fans sit stunned and quiet as we lose the conference championship.

Pittsburgh Steelers 17, Omaha Tornadoes 14

Oh, and Pittsburgh goes ahead to win the Superbowl against the Detroit Wheels, behind off-the-street QB Wayne Collins.

aran

01-31-2008, 09:23 PM

This is really cool. I'd love to play a league like this. Do you have the universe files for this league for when you started it?

Uncle Chop Chop

02-01-2008, 06:02 AM

Great read, keep it up. Really looking forward to the off season.

Autumn

02-01-2008, 09:04 AM

Thanks for the comments. I don't think I did save the universe files, which is too bad. Basically all I did for the players though is create a player file with one low rated rookie, and then the game auto generates the rest of the league.

Autumn

02-01-2008, 10:00 AM

I haven't ended the season and seen my performance review yet, but I am very pleased with how things went. I was not really setting my sights on a division win or conference championship just yet, as I didn't think I necessarily had the star material. I think this season showed the result of having a pretty good team all around, without any stars.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921team.jpg">

The defense played very well all year, I thought. They weren't gaudy, but if you look at the bottom of the chart they had things that matter most to me: points allowed, 3rd down conversions, pass rush and pass defense and turnovers. When we had a lead we played great, and I think our weak pass defense numbers partly had to do with teams airing it out against us.

Our whole defensive line was impressive, and I will try to bring them all back, generating a very decent pass rush by themselves. Our linebacking corps also played great. I mentioned several times during the season how pleased I was with MLB Martinez who is just a playmaker. SLB Minter was a big surprise too, making great tackles, and near the top of hte league in pass defense and interceptions! He not only was in the top 10 in pass defense percent, he was the only linebacker on the screen! Very odd, but I'll take it. His partner at WLB, Torres, had a small role but was seen making some clutch plays during the year. I'll have to look at him more closely.

The secondary was the weakest segment of the defense, I'd say, but still did a decent job. I've always had a hard time teasing apart who's performing well in the secondary, but I don't see any glaring weaknesses here.

On offense, the center of this team was going to be the running attack behind Vanaqs and Rosario. That experiment didn't really work as well as expected, though it looks decent on paper (in electrons?). The running game occasionally won us game, or gave us leads, so I can't complaint too much. But neither one of them could establish themselves as a clear starter, and so I ended up starting Vanaqs, whose poor endurance would result in them splitting carries. Both had good games, but they both have the same style of running, which normally resulted in lots of 1-3 yard gains, and an occasional 12-25 yard run. Not the kind of 4 yard average I want. We'll have to wait and see what happens here next year. If I can nab someone else, I would in a heartbeat.

It seems we had good production on the offensive line, though as spotty as you would expect a bunch of guys with these ratings to be. The first half of the season we were excellent at protecting the quarterback, but that seemed to fade. We'll bring a lot of these guys back though, as most have a good deal of future potential still to them.

Wide receiver was a bit of a carousel. Walsh showed flashes of brilliance, but then would disappear for games at a time. Conway was a dependable starter, and Schaefer filled in great for him after the injury. Banks was a decent 3rd or 4th man, but the rest of the crew was not deep enough. We got some great pass catching out of the tight ends, all three of them, and both Rosario and Shepherd made big plays coming out of the backfield to catch.

Quarterback will be an interesting one. Jochen gave the best performance at preseason, and I gave him the nod, deciding I would let him have the job 'til he lost it. He never did, playing decent if not brilliant all year, until his week 17 injury. Atkins of course had the biggest game of the year in the playoffs, and then played like a mortal, but decently, in his second game. Is that enough to make him the starter next year? Perhaps. I still suspect he's much better than he's rated.

Autumn

02-13-2008, 10:51 PM

Season Wrapup

Since this league is a bit unusual, I think it's interesting to see how the stat leaders fare. Things so far haven't gone as I expected. With top rookies coming in this season for the first time, I expected some really blowout years by a few individuals. But it seemed we had even more parity than the year before. Besides that, some of the fellows performing at league leading levels are nothing rating wise.

Matt Case, he who kicked 22/24 field goals for the Boston Minutemen this year, going 8/10 from 40+ has an accuracy rating of 24. Ironically, the kicker who attempted the league leading 13 field goals from beyond 50 yards this year? Marty Long. Hah.

So, without further ado, here are the stat leaders for the year. Often just the top ten, except when I stretched a bit to include a Omaha player, and for quarterbacks.

<center>Passing</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921pass.jpg">

<center>Rushing</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921run.jpg">

<center>Receivers</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921catch.jpg">

<center>Blocking</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921blocking.jpg">

<center>Tackles</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921tackle.jpg">

<center>Sacks</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921sack.jpg">

<center>Interceptions</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921interceptions.jpg">

<center>Pass Rush</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921passrush.jpg">

<center>Pass Defense</center>
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921passD.jpg">

The league just frankly wasn't dominated by the most talented players, as I would have expected. This is probably due to a few factors, one being that they were all rookies, and therefore developing and prone to hot and cold games. The other is that there are no mentors yet and so development is slower. Third is that the game is clearly much more of a team game than I anticipated, and even these few greats can't do anything without a good crew around them.

Autumn

02-13-2008, 11:22 PM

And lastly a look at the standings, power ratings and my performance. Obviously on the field we did much better, going from 8-8 and no playoffs to 11-5 and division champs. We turned a tidy profit too, from our increasing attendance and near invisible player salaries. We were second in the league in attendance to the Boston Minutemen, up 5,000 seats from last year. That enabled us to double our ticket revenue, while almost tripling our suite revenue. So, while costs went up 152%, revenue went up 97% and we made a tidy profit.

And season awards?

Player of the Year: Ron Fretty, strong safety for the Los Angeles Stars, a second round pick who had 5 interceptions and 115 tackles this year. No, I don't understand this one bit either.

Offensive Player of the Year: Denver running back Martin Guzowski who we met three times this season, and can attest he is good. Guzowski also nabbed offensive rookie of the year.

Defensive Player of the Year: Walter Antel, MLB for the Washington Generals. He racked up 117 tackles, six sacks, and four interceptions.

Defensive Rookie of the Year: Monty Mason, strong safety for the PHiladlephia Privateers, who had a great PassD rating of 85.5 and 111 tackles. Why he wasn't defensive player of the year is beyond me as well.

And finally, Coach of the Year is our own J. R. Jenkins, the Tornadoes coach who came in here and took Omaha to the top of their division and nearly the Superbowl. Well recognized. Especially since Omaha had no players named to the All Star squad at all this year. I thought we had a couple contendesr, but we're busy looking at next year.

I'll try not to mention the 'legend of the game', cornerback Arnie Lipsky who started in two games in his entire career. And played poorly.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921standings.jpg">

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921power.jpg">

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1921performance.jpg">

Autumn

02-20-2008, 10:16 AM

The League Report
Your New Professional Football Periodical

Season Preview: Omaha Tornadoes

Offseason News

The watchword for the Tornadoes this offseason was: consistency. General Manager Ken Walden's team was at the top of their division last year and played for the conference championship, and all involved are looking for that ingredient that will put them over the top this year. But rather than shake things up or go out spending money on free agents, Walden has decided to stress two things, cohesion and development.

"I'm very happy with the starting roster we put out there on the field last season, and I was eager to bring that whole crew back," Walden told us in a private interview. "There is of course room for lots of improvement, but the players in this league are all young, and have a lot of potential still. I'd like to see that improvement come by developing the players we've already gone out and found."

That went for the coaching staff as well, who remained unchanged from last season. Of course a Coach of the Year trophy on the desk helps with job security, for J. R. Jenkins at least. Walden expressed confidence in his coordinators as well, though, saying that whatever glitches they had last season hopefully would disappear with experience.

Bringing back that same roster was not a simple act though. Like other teams around the league, the Tornadoes had signed their players last year to one year contracts, and that meant having to resign the whole team this year. This was a chance for a few formidable players to up their asking price. In the end Walden brought back his entire starting lineup, having to pay out big contracts though for linebackers Martinez and Minter, the core of the defense, and offensive linemen Dawkins and Morris. That meant big paydays and long contracts for these young stars, and hard decisions for GM Walden. "I did hesitate to offer those big contracts. This is a young league, and I wasn't sure it was time to tie ourselves down four five years like that. But in the end I knew that those guys were the core of our team, and I couldn't have them playing anywhere else but on our field."

So, for the Tornadoes key acquisitions this season have been from within their own ranks. Walden is hoping that this playoff-caliber roster will develop more this season, and play even better together with another year together under their belt.

Omaha used the late free agent market mostly to pick up backups for their starters, with the hopes that they may unearth some talent in the process. For the most part, backups is what they got. Two positions though look up for some challenge. Harry Fleming, a third year defensive end brought in to back up Darren Paz looks like he could give some real competition to Paz at that spot. We'll have to watch in the preseason to see who comes out of camp looking best.

Back there in the secondary, the most surprising battle of the preseason is at cornerback. 1921 first round draft pick Harvey Shepherd should have been a lock at left cornerback. However, sources are saying that Harvey has come into camp having lost a step, or more than one. Free agent pickup Roderick Bliss goes from being a possible nickel back to looking as if he might beat out the heralded Shepherd and take his job. Quite an opportunity for Bliss, but quite a blow for the Tornadoes franchise, who thought they had anchored down one defensive position long-term, with Shepherd a cornerback considered one of the best in the league.

QB Controversy

Of course there's one position we haven't talked about, but it's the one on the lips of all Tornadoes fans. Back this year are all three quarterbacks from last season, but that doesn't mean there isn't any shuffling going on. Ben Jochen would be considered by many a shoe-in, after last year's 11-5 run as starter, coming in with a quarterback rating in the top five in the league. However, everything changed in Week 17 when Jochen limped off the field with a pulled calf. Two weeks later Timothy Atkins, the 1921 3rd round pick, came on the field for his first start and led the Tornadoes to their first playoff win, breaking league passing records in the act. Though the team lost in the next round, fans have not forgotten Timothy, the man who ignited that offense and showed the league why the Tornadoes had grabbed the underrated rookie.

So, who starts this season? While the front office is quiet on the subject, it was Atkins who went to play in the summer league in Europe, and all experts agree that the Tornadoes are likely to put Atkins to the test this preseason, and probably favor him for the start. Atkins was unhappy last season riding the pine, and it seems likely the coaching staff will give him a chance to show them his stuff. If the experiment fails, they know they have a reliable backup in Ben Jochen. How content Jochen will be will be the next question for them to answer.

Draft Day

While the Tornadoes were lauded for their draft day selections last year, the results have remained unclear to this day. Rookies Atkins, Adrian Walsh, Grady Solwold and others have not yet proven their worth, while some like DE Sam Jennings seem to be outplaying their abilities.

This season, the Tornadoes were at it again, making a few unexpected picks, and crossing their fingers that these players can outperform their rankings. So far, it looks good for them.

Their first round pick was prized offensive guard Kim Covington. Picking at #28, the Tornadoes were happy to find the top-ranked guard in their lap, and all reports suggest he will be as good as advertised, which means he should be an all-pro in no time.

In the second round the Tornadoes surprised people by taking WLB Tyrell Ingram, a not highly ranked player who had good combines and had impressed the Tornadoes staff. Ingram will put some pressure on starting WLB Torres, who had a solid but unspectacular season. Ingram will have to show more than he has so far though to challenge the starter.

The Tornadoes went into the draft looking to improve at wide receiver, and while they didn't nab any of the top prospects, they did make two promising finds. Here in the third round they went for Willie Whipple, who showed some flashes in college but really performed at the combines. They were later thrilled to find their second prospect, Alonzo Sampson, still around all the way at the bottom of the 7th round. Sampson looks to be possibly the better of the two, and last year's rookie Adrian Walsh will have some stiff competition for 3rd receiver.

Another great find by Omaha was offensive tackle Norm McGregor. McGregor had skipped the combines, and so fell like a rock, but so far in training camp he looks like a very solid player who will fight out in a three way battle for the right tackle spot.

Fifth and sixth round picks Artie Hiscock and Arnie Ferrer seem to be the lone miscues of the scouting staff. Ferrer, a safety, has not shown a lot of promise in camp and is likely to ride the bench this season. Hiscock, a running back, has not shown any flash, but still has a good chance at playing. The back showed great receiving skills out of the backfield in college, and could find a role here doing the same. It remains yet to be seen if he can run here in the pros, but he'll get his chance in the preseason to unseat Rosario and Vanaqs, the running back tandem which has delighted and tormented fans with their up and down play.

Summary

Overall, the Tornadoes have not changed their roster much, focusing on a few key additions and developments. This method seems to have worked for them this season, a solid defense improving slightly, an offensive line that looks much stronger than last year, and some new prospects in the backfield. Most players were signed to at least a two year deal, so the Tornadoes should have a solid core to work from on into next season.

There are worrisome signs ahead, though. While players are improving all over the field, most of the roster is not looking so promising as they did at first blush, one or two years ago. The Tornadoes may find themselves hitting a development wall, possibly next season. With the slow development of young rookies in this league though, that may be a pain felt by all.

Moreover, it will be hard for the Tornadoes to rebound if CB Shepherd performs as badly as he has in camp, as they had made little effort to bolster that position. Most important of all though will be the performance they get from the QB position. Jochen was a solid, efficient but unremarkable presence behind center last season, and that got them 11 wins. We have yet to see if Atkins can perform on a regular basis. If so, and if he performs as sensationally as he did in the postseason, the Tornadoes could be a much improved team. If not, the team may drop back a step, particularly if they don't get any improved play out of the running game.

Autumn

02-20-2008, 10:26 AM

To step out of character, this seemed to be a very talent heavy draft class. And people seemed to choose well. I'm thinking this may be the breakout season for this league, as I look through the first round of picks and see some very well developed, very scary looking players, particularly at DL and OL. These guys look like they'll easily be in the 70s or 80s, this year.

The first round went QB heavy, with at least five QBs going. Most seem pretty good already, particularly #1 pick Albert Humphrey who went to Birmingham.

After the draft I'm getting a lot of trade offers for Timothy Atkins, everybody offering a 6th round pick next year. I'm not sure what that means.

1922 Draft

1st pick - Albert Humphrey, QB, Birmingham

Mr. Irrelevant - Mike Batteson, DT, Pittsburgh

Omaha's Picks:

Kim Covington : 36/77 - 41/77 +0
Tyrell Ingram : 24/40 - 28/44 +4
Willie Whipple : 12/29 - 15/32 +3
Norm McGregor : 25/52 - 29/52 +0
Arnie Ferrer : 20/45 - 23/42 -3
Artie Hiscock : 32/46 - 35/44 -2
Alonzo Sampson : 14/34 - 20/41 +7

I'm quite pleased with this class, really. Post-training camp I had some mild increases in Timothy Atkins, Adrian Walsh and Sam Jennings. I had hoped for bigger jumps this year, but I think without any mentors in the league it may be hard to get those. Jennings has hit 32/32 and gone up to 34/34, so I think he will keep creeping for a while.

Of course the biggest story of camp was Harvey Shepherd. He went from 47/57 (already down from the 60s where he was originally drafted at) all the way to 28/37. Has anyone seen a bust like that? He dropped 19 points of Current! Totally unexpected, if I had known I of course would have shopped heavily for a corner. I may still look at some trades, but I don't know that I have any talent to ship off.

Izulde

02-20-2008, 05:58 PM

Roger Taylor fell off a cliff in his 3rd season in my Dolphins dynasty, which shocked me and ruined my plans to have him be a fixture at RT for the next several years.

BTW, Covington looks like a terrific find for you there and Sampson looks like he could be a real steal, with that +6/+7 jump.

Autumn

02-20-2008, 06:54 PM

Glad I'm not the only one. I thought I was prepared for some busts, but didn't expect so much to drop off the current rating on such a bust. Now I'm paranoid, who knows who's next!

Yeah, the more I look at it, that Sampson seems a super steal. He's already better than the 3rd rounder, plus the 3rd rounder I took last year. And if he keeps going up like that, who knows! I don't know how he fell to the 7th, but I'm glad I didn't bother taking him in the 3rd.

I hope Covington keeps on his current ratings. He was marked As Scouted, so I have some hope, and if so his ratings will be amazing. I think he's got a potential of 99 or something in pass blocking. I wasn't high enough to get a tackle with that sort of potential, but I'll take a guard

Izulde

03-23-2008, 11:38 PM

Bumpity bump bump.

This means, update, sir! ;)

Autumn

03-24-2008, 11:43 AM

Thanks for the bump. I'm 9 games into the season, just need to get my writeup done. I was thinking of doing it today.

Autumn

04-13-2008, 09:19 PM

Week 1

We start off on the road at division rivals Minneapolis, and we come out sharp, just as we did last year. With big runs and good passes, we're catching them offguard every play, and score on our first three possessions to make it 21-0. In the first three drives Atkins goes 10/11 and we rack up 126 yards rushing.

Minter also resumes last year's form, picking them off before the half, and we go into the locker room up 28-3 and in very good spirits. With that kind of lead our pass defense can go to work, and even though they cram our running game, and run well against us, they can't make any headway.

Game Notes:

Vanaqs had 114 yards rushing, with Rosario throwing in 52 more. Atkins was a very efficient 16/20 for 174 yards. Broderick Morris went 6 of 10 on run blocking, with first round rookie throwing in a 4 of 10 performance himself. Jennings and Fleming dominated at defensive ends, with cornerback Harvey Shepherd being the big worry. Even at nickel back he gave up 6 catches, and may have to disappear even further.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, Minneapolis Lakers 20.

Week 2

Birmingham has the draft's top pick, Albert Humphrey, but in his first game he looked awful, throwing four picks. We hope to see more of the same. We also hope to produce more of the same on our side of the field.

Sampson shows why he was the possible steal of the draft, picking up a big third down pass on the first drive, and then later a 44 yard bomb on the same drive. We score. On Humphrey's first pass of the game he actually manages to get an illegal forward pass penalty. Bad for them. but good for us, as on our next drive it's Vanaq who busts out a 38 yard run. He scores to make it 14-0 but our jubilation is short lived as Birmingham returns the kick off 92 yards for seven points. The big plays continue though as Sampson makes a third down catch, and Rosario makes the most of it taking the ball 47 yards for a touchdown, sprung by Covington.

We score again on the next drive, and it's 28-7 going into the second quarter. Atkins is 15/16 so far, and we have 132 yards rushing, much like the first game although our game plan is quite different. Things start going south though as we give up a touchdown on their next possession, and then get stuffed in turn, fumbling the ball away in the redzone. We manage to drive for a field goal before the half on some more clutch plays by Sampson, who is looking like a real star so far.

our first drive of the 2nd, it's Rosario with the big play, rushing for 33 yards. Atkins marches us right in for the score, and he's now 24/27 passing. We give them a touchdown drive with three big penalties, and they make it 38-24 at the end of the third. We punt and then they make it a game, with their star TE, Al Strader, breaking a tackle to make a 54 yard touchdown scramble.

This time we benefit from three penalties to make it down the field, but only come away with a field goal and a 10 point lead. Atkins passing game is looking very familiar to Birmingham now, and it's not looking so hot. That's enough though, as we manage to run some our next possession and they're not able to hurl it down the field good enough. We win our first home game, and look good yet again.

Game Notes:

Atkins has another great game, this time going 29/42 for 285 yards and a TD. The running game was hot, with both Vanaqs and Rosario having 100 yard games, with 2 TDs each. Sampson was the star receiver, with 8 catches for 111 yards on 12 targets, and 5 for 5 on third down catches. Dawkins had another good day at center, going 4 for 8 on blocking. We set a league record for total yards in this game, with 482!

Not much of a pass rush this game, which was the difference in giving up those points. And this time new nickel back Farr gave up 6 catches, so maybe it's just a result of being so far ahead, not the players. Still, I'm disappointed in my defense.

Birmingham Rebels 31, Omaha Tornadoes 41

Week 3

Though the Seattle Destroyers still have Junior Shepherd, one of the best backs in the game, they're starting a 6th round draft pick at quarterback, and he is not performing well this season. Their defense is held up by two first round picks, Josh Nixon at end, and Blaine Ward at MLB.

Timothy Atkins shows why we love him and hate him, in this game. He makes great plays, scrambling twice on the first possession, the second one for a big touchdown. However, our next possession he throws a pick on a screen pass that gets run back for a score. Two possessions later he gets sacked and fumbles the ball away. In the fourth quarter Atkins throws another pick that ends up putting us down 21-10. The rest of the game just sees them scoring again, and us going down on the wrong end of a blowout.

Game Notes:

Atkins didn't shine, but my rookie receiver Sampson continued to make big third down catches, showing me he's the real deal (unlike Conway who always makes 3rd down catches nowhere near the markers). Rookie RB Hiscock makes a couple nice runs too. However our passing game stinks, and no pass rush on defense. Looks like a bad game plan.

Omaha Tornadoes 10, Seattle Destroyers 28

Week 4

The San Antonio Defenders notably have a very good all around defense. Their offense is good enough to score first on some big plays, going up 7-0. Our offense looks good, with Atkins hitting Walsh and Banks for big plays, and getting a big run as well. But Atkins plays bad cop, fumbling on a sack and giving the ball away. This could be his doom despite his promise.

Their quarterback makes a huge play, escaping the clasp of DL Huie, and running for 16 yards. They go up 14-0, and it ends up 17-3 at the half. Atkins comes out firing in the second, but not in a good way, throwing a pick on a long heave downfield. Later on he ruins our best chance of scoring by fumbling on a sack. To add to the misery they return the fumble all the way, making it 24-3. That ends up being the final score.

Omaha Tornadoes 3, San Antonio Defenders 24

Week 5

I've done what fixes I can to the gameplan, but this may be Atkins's swan song. If he can't produce--and not fumble--today I'm going to throw Jochen back in his spot.

We trade punts for a while, with Sampson grabbing good passes, but Atkins getting sacked. He fumbles on another sack, but they don't capitalize. He then tries to make good in my eyes, throwing a long pass to Schaeffer, who grabs it and breaks free for a 70 yard touchdown. Soon after nickel back Farr intercepts a pass and runs it back all the way, and we're up 14-3.

Atkins goes bad cop again, fumbling away another possession. We end up holding them, and even going up 17-3 on another interception, but it's playing with fire having a guy back there with such slippery fingers. Rookie WLB Ingram, recently worked into the lineup, shows his stuff by picking up two interceptions before the half, keeping us well ahead. Atkins shows his stuff by fumbling again.

Atkins keeps fumbling in the second half, although I must admit he makes some big plays too like a third down scramble for the first. Vanaqs breaks open a 61 yard screen pass, and Hiscock runs in a touchdown on 3rd and 8. Our D is so stiff today they don't have a chance. Two more interceptions ice the game for us.

Game Notes:

We got sacked 7 times, with Atkins fumbling it 4 times(though only losing two). We made up for it though with 7 sacks of our own, and most importantly 6 interceptions. I think if Jochen can play better than Atkins we're in good shape going forward, as this win came without even a passing game really.

Sam Jennings was player of the game, with 3 sacks and 2 hurries. Huie continued his dominant play this year at tackle, with 1.5 sacks, a block, a hurry and a knockdown, as well as three tackles and an assist.

Houston Oilers 9, Omaha Tornadoes 30

Week 6

The game starts out ominously with Dallas breaking 25 yard run. They march right down the field for a score, 7-0. Jochen comes out trying to look like Atkins with the long bomb, and we're 3 and out. Our defense is not looking sharp, but we hold them at the 2 yard line with a key sack by Huie and it's 10-0. However, we're 3 and out again, with Jochen trying to have it yet again. We get the ball back, but it's more of the same, heave ho, heave ho. It's awful, and Jochen ends up throwing a pick. The D stiffens up and holds them to a field goal and i'ts 13-0.

We get a little action finally on a Rosario screen pass for 14. Conway makes a 24 yard catch and then an 8, but Jochen's already been sacked three times. The O Line is going to be the next overhaul it seems.
Things are looking bad as Dallas marches down the field, ready to make it 20-0. but Bliss gets an interception to get us out of it.

It's 13-0 to start the second half, and it's not getting better. Van Rankinen, the rookie wide receiver for the Rangers is eating us up. We hold them to a field goal, and make some movement on offense, with three big passes. Jochen scrambles for a first at the 9 yard line, and then a screen to Hiscock gets us the touchdown. Now we've got a game at 16-7.

It's three and out for Dallas, and then we march into their side of the field two two long passes to Banks. They hold ust to a field goal, but then it's three and out for them, and Vanaqs rumbles for 11 yards to start us off. I must admit that Jochen fumbles on a sack, but he recovers it himself to keep us alive. We end up punting though, in a series of traded punts. Their pass D comes alive and Jochen starts heaving again, and we're three and out. They're running out the clock on us, even with these three and outs. They miss a long field goal to give it to us at our own 40, with 2:14 left and down by 6. Here's Jochen's test.

He immediately throws an interception. We give up a 14 yard pass on 3rd and 10 and it's all over for us.

Game Notes:

Our problem today seemed to be gameplanning, as we only ran 11 times versus 41 pass plays. Not at all what I want with Jochen in the lineup. He passed fairly well, but did throw two picks, so he wasn't the improvement I had hoped for. Huie had another big day at tackle with 6 tackles, 3 assists, a sack and a hurry. Otherwise, not much to talk about.

Omaha Tornadoes 10, Dallas Rangers 16

Week 7

Somehow I lost my notes for these next three games, so here's the scores and a very brief summary from the box score.

They say it doesn't matter how you win them, right? That's good because in this case we won despite Jochen passing for 88 yards, while scoring 14 of our points off of fumble returns. I'd feel bad, except Oklahoma scored 7 of theirs the same way, getting an 83 yard return in the fourth quarter to make it look close.

Omaha Tornadoes 24, Oklahoma City Outlaws 22

Week 8

These guys just embarrass us at home, going up early and tacking it on late with an interception return AND a fumble return for touchdowns. Guzowski ran all over us for 176 yards, including a 66 yarder. Hiscock took the main running job for us today, and did adequately with 65 yards on 4.33 running. Not much of a passing game, and Jochen fumbled it twice.

Denver Mountaineers 45, Omaha Tornadoes 20

Week 9

We get a needed win at home over a division rival, to get us to 5-4 and on top of the division, just barely. Not much in the running game, though rookie Hiscock does score twice. Atkins takes over the starting nod again after the embarrassment against Denver. He goes 21/32 for 171 yards and one interception, but most importantly no fumbles. Samson hauls in 6 of 8 passes for 80 yards as well. It's Jennings who gets player of the game though with 2 sacks and a hurry, and 5 tackles. Fleming helps out with 4 hurries. The game isn't nearly as close as it seems, with the Lakers scoring on a long interception return towards the end.

Minneapolis Lakers 10, Omaha Tornadoes 20

Autumn

05-22-2008, 11:51 PM

Week 10

Kansas City comes to town, looking to take top spot in the division if they win. We're banged up in the secondary, and looking forward to our bye week next week. Atkins is banged up and so I'm going to start Jochen, keep Hiscock as starting back, and see how it goes.

Things start poorly with a fumble by Jochen nearly lost, and then a screen pass intercepted. They end up scoring, with defensive end Darren Paz injured to rub salt in the wound. Or so I thought. The real salt was when we are forced to punt our next possession and the punt is blocked in the endzone for a touchdown, putting them up 14-0 only six minutes into the game.

Ingram makes a couple of clutch plays, making me glad he's in there. Jochen makes some plays toward the end of the second half, but ruins it by going into two minute heave-ho land and we punt. They somehow miraculously pull out a two minute drill that gives them a field goal, and a score of 20-3.

In the second half Jochen puts together two good drives to make it 20-13 in the fourth quarter. We stall on one good drive, but get it back with 6 minutes left. Vanaqs opens us up with a 15 yard run. Conway follows up with a 16 yard catch. Sampson follows up two plays later with a 16 yard catch of his own. However, we get stuffed on a run, make a short catch, a penalty, and then drop a screen pass on third down. The coach goes for the field goal, making it 20-16 with two and a half left. Then we kick deep. Obviously that is not a good idea, I have to check those settings. They run the clock out.

Kansas City Cowboys 20, Omaha Tornadoes 16

Bye Week

Last week I lost tackle Norm McGregor to knee surgery, for this year and most of next year. I really hate when that happens. Otherwise people are getting better.

Week 12

Atkins is back to full strength and starting against the Jazz in New Orleans. Hiscock gets bumped down to third back to put Rosario and Vanaqs back in the start.

They score first on a 58 yard bomb. On our turn, Schaefer makes a big plays getting 20 yards after the catch to spark our first threat. We move on offense, but stall and settle for a field goal. Meanwhile we continue giving up big plays on defense.

We finally score, after Sampson gets 15 yards after the catch to get us to the 8 yard line. Two plays later Shaeffer hauls in the touchdown catch. A couple of big sacks gets us the ball back with three minutes in the first half. We play it safe running, and manage to get some big gains, except that Vanaqs fumbles it. They instantly throw a 32 yard pass and have it at the 7 with two minutes left. Two stuffed runs and a hurry later and they kick it, making it 13-10 with a minute left. Atkins tries to save the day by throwing a couple bombs and gets intercepted, giving them another chance, this time from the 19. They "surprise" us with a bomb and get the touchdown, going in up 20-10 at the half. That's pretty much the game as we fail at playing catch up the rest of the game.

They march down the field in the second, going up 27-10. When we get the ball, their defense is all over us now, and manage to knock the ball loose from Atkins on a sack. We make what should have been a good stop, but get called for pass interference in the endzone. We show some chutzpah by holding them at the 1 though, and they screw up the kick.

Next possession Vanaqs fumbles it again, effectively giving the damn game away even though we've got a quarter left. Atkins tries to fumble it away next time but we recover. Rosario makes a play, rushing for 14 yards. That sparks a drive that gets us rushing all the way to the endzone, making it a 34-16 game. Our offense stalls after this though. We aren't getting the big plays on offense or defense that we need.

I swear, Atkins fumbles every single time he gets sacked. Is that even possible? He gives it away again, ruining any chance of catching up. Schaefer catches a nice 44 yard pass on our last ditch effort, but soon Atkins throws a pick and it's over.

Game Notes:

It was a good running day, Vanaqs going 20 for 92 yards with a long gain of 12, lots of consistent good runs. Rosario throws in another 29 yards. Atkins did not play well though, trying too much longballs. At least we were throwing down the field. Schaefer made the big plays, hauling in 4 catches for 92 yards.

Martinez was the man on defense, making 8 tackles, most of them stopping drives. DT Caillouet had a huge day, getting three sacks and a hurry from the interior.

Unfortunately another loss drops us to 5-6, and third in our division. This season is rapidly slipping away from us. I'm unsure what to do. QB has still not settled out. I'm tempted to bring in the third stringer just to see if something happens. Atkins makes plays, where Jochen doesn't. But he also fumbles every time someone pokes him. At this point we're still in the race for our division but down by two games. I decide to put in Jochen, hoping that with my other game plan adjustments he'll open the game up a bit now.

Omaha Tornadoes 16, New Orleans Jazz 37

Week 13

We finally see a big play, as Bliss comes out with a fumble as Indy was driving on us. We get a couple good runs, but amazingly Sampson falls 1 yard short on third down. On their 39 yard though, we go for it on 4th and 1, Hiscock getting stuffed.

The Racers receiver, Stortz, is torching us so far, saving their bacon with big catches on third down. This time the Racers go for it on 4th and 1, and they make it. They capitalize with a quick touchdown.

Jochen continues his tradition of passing to the backs. I got the RB out of that but now he just passes to the fullback. It's a real bad habit, that leads to punts. We get a break though with an interception of Stanberry. Rosario runs for 9 yards, Hergett pulls in a 12 yard pass, and then Hiscock punches it in from the two to make it 7-7.

Another big play as Fleming sacks Stanberry and knocks the ball loose for Minter to recover. We're at their 11 now. We push it to 4th and 1 at the two. We play it safe and kick it for a 10-7 lead.

Stortz shows us how foolish we are by taking the very next play 62 yards for a touchdown. However we start a drive of our own, mixing runs and good passes, Sampson pulling in three big passes before Conway hauls in the touchdown pass.

The pressure is on as Stanton intercepts Stanberry, and gives us another short field. Schaefer breaks a screen pass for a 24 yard gain to get us to the 10 yard line. Reed catches a 7 yarder, and Conway catches another touchdown pass, making it 24-14.

The Racers come out running, and move, getting far enough to kick a 54 yarder before the half runs out. 24-17.

We come out running to great success, but Vanaqs goes down on the drive. That stalls us and we end up punting. A big sack by Huie ends their drive, but our offense is flat and punts again. They enjoy the short field and drive for a touchdown, tying up the game.

We stall on our drive, but manage to drop the punt at the 4 yard line. Our pass defense stiffens up, and they punt. Burton, my punt return specialist, earns his paycheck for the year by returning the punt 69 yards for a touchdown and the go-ahead score. We trade punts, but we foolishly don't take the chance to run down the clock, instead passing, getting sacked and giving them a short field. We manage to stop them at our 41, and they go for it on 4th down with three minutes left. it's incomplete and we get it back, with Hiscock making a big set of runs giving us a first down, and then repeats it with Rosario. That gives us the win.

Game Notes:

Vanaqs injury is going to keep him out until next season they tell me. Which is bad news in that my other two running backs didn't play well this week. Jochen did excellent, 17/24 for 147 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Dale Farr had a great game, with three defensed passes. Covington did as well, with 5/7 blocking. Rookie WLB Ingram had an interception.

Indianapolis Racers 24, Omaha Tornadoes 31

Week 14

This is a must win against the Memphis Showboats. Vanaqs is out for the season but early in the game Rosario looks good, and Jochen makes the key throws. Shepherd makes a big third down catch to get to the 9 yard line, and we get to the one, but end up kicking it to go up 3-0.

We trade punts for a bit, Jochen making good use of the tight ends as safety valves, but having some problems hitting the receivers down the field. Our defense is laying fairly tightly though. Hiscock makes some good runs, and catches, and Sampson comes up with a longer grab to get us back into the red zone. We end up kicking again, to go up 6-0.

We stop them again, and our next possession Rosario and Hiscock both come up with long runs, and then some passing, including a 37 yarder to Sampson, gets us in the red zone again. With 35 seconds in the half we run it a few times to milk the clock, but Rosario gets two key blocks and runs it 10 yards for the TD. We're up 13-0 at the half.

We trade punts in the third, but Schaefer breaks free for 29 yards after the catch and puts us in good position. We are alternating well between the run game and pass, catching them off guard. We're in scoring position when Jochen throws an interception at the 11 yard line.

We return the favor though, intercepting Memphis and running it back to the 9 yard line. Luke Welch is the man, a late season signing. They stuff two run plays but then Sampson hauls in a 7 yard pass to make it 20-0 at the end of the third.

The game starts to get away from the Showboats completely when they fumble on special teams, and Chism returns it 74 yards for the score, and a 27-0 lead.

Now that they're passing like crazy they make some plays, and get to our five yard line, and eventually the one. They kick it though, settling for a 27-3 non shutout.

We run some time out with runs, punt it 66 yards, and then make them lose six yards on the return. That's good stay-head defense I'd say. They go four and out, and we get it there at the 13 yard line. We end up kicking for a 30-3 lead at the two minute warning, and coast to a comfortable win at home.

Game Notes:

Jochen has a very nice looking 20-27 for 219 yards game line, 1 TD and 1 interception. Our win puts us at 7-6, right in the wild card hunt at least. Schaefer stunk the joint up going 1 for 5 on receiving, I think I'll bump him down for next week.

Memphis Showboats 3, Omaha Tornadoes 30

Week 15

In Denver for our next game, our once rivals are now 4-9 while we're hoping to claw back up to division leader. We stick with the same game plan and just hope to come and out play them.

They come out throwing, working us over good, especially CB Dale Farr. We force them to punt but they pick off Jochen and have a good chance again. They catch us in pass defense and Guzkowski runs it in from 12 yards out to go up 7-0. We drive but get held up at 3rd and 1, making the kick to reach 7-3.

They continue to work the passing game, and drive right to our 1 yard line, where Coles scrambles and runs it in to go up 14-3.

We trade punts for the rest of the half, with Jochen attempting to rally us for a two minute drive. We manage to get to midfield, but that's it.

We come out working it hard in the second half, even going for it on fourth at midfield, but come up short. Luckily we hold them, and then they miss the field goal, giving us a new chance. We drive effectively, getting to first down on the six. Rosario catches the pass in the endzone, and we're now down only 14-10.

We trade punts again for a while. A big play comes when Bliss intercepts Coles and brings it to their 39, with 10 minutes in the fourth. We are forced to punt but pin them at the two. Three and out and another good punt return by Burton and we have a chance again. The defense is seeming very familiar with all our antics, and we have given up on the running game. Not good. We punt again but it gets blocked and now they have it at mid field. They end up hitting a field goal to make it 17-10 with two minutes left. They quickly shut us down as Jochen comes out hurling, intercepting it on fourth down to rub it in.

Game Notes:

That's a tough loss, dropping us to 7-7, while Kansas City climbs to 10-4 on top of our division. As usual we don't play well from behind, Jochen isn't a good enough quarterback for that. Just not a good game day, or stat day for anyone.

Omaha Tornadoes 10, Denver Mountaineers 17

Week 16

We're off to Atlanta, an interconference game, with the 6-8 Bootleggers. We're actually still in the wild card race if we can get some wins.

We come out rushing, getting to the 12 yard line on big runs by Rosario, Hiscock and Jochen. Hiscock drops a pass on 2nd and 9, and then Jochen gets pressured and we settle for the field goal. 3-0.

We stop them and come back running again, Hiscock busting one for 23 yards. Atlanta seems sure we're going to come out throwing every down. We even get a first down on a reverse on third and three. That's followed by Rosario for 12 yards. Sampson catches one in double coverage and it looks like we've got something going today. Unfortunately we get two yards on 3rd and 3 and then miss the field goal.

Burton makes another nice punt return, cementing his position on the team for next year. We resume our running ways, Rosario going for two 14 yard runs in a row. When they finally start defending it we hit a pass. Rosario has 73 yards rushing only three minutes into the second quarter. We drive to the one yard line, where Hiscock loses a yard, gains it back, loses a yard on a screen pass, and we kick it on 4th down. Ugh. 6-0.

In the third, Hiscock fumbles at midfield, and they take advantage, driving into the redzone. Flowers catches the TD pass and we're now down 7-6.

We trade punts for a while until Jochen throws one too many passes to Sampson, and gets picked off. There's a definite problem with the passing game there. With a short field, we hold the Bootleggers to a field goal and a 10-6 lead at the end of the third.

To show you our problem, down by 4 with a quarter to play, Jochen comes out and throws three consecutive LONG passes to Sampson. All three are incomplete, and in fact the last one is intercepted and run back to our five yard line. Flowers follows up with another short touchdown catch.

Jochen follows up again with a series of long bombs. This is not good coaching. Atlanta is now trying to milk the clock with a 17-6 lead. For some reason we're expecting passes.

They pick up a first down on a penalty on the punt at one point and end up kicking a field goal to make it 20-6 and put it away.

Atkins comes in for the two minute warning and makes some things happen, actually, but runs out of time.

Game Notes: We obviously have some gameplanning issues, since we don't want Jochen airing it out quite so much. Our start was good, maybe time to go back to a smash mouth offensive game plan. Mostly, frankly, I'm looking forward already to next year and upgrading talent. With this loss we're out of the wild card race, and looking to be sitting at home this year. The Rust Belt division is at a 3 way tie for division lead, so it should be an interesting last week, for them at least. Kansas City has our division sewn up. In the AFC the Deep South division has a three way tie at 7-8 for division lead. Ugh.

Omaha Tornadoes 6, Atlanta Bootleggers 23

Week 17

We're playing for honor now, our third game on the road in a row, we're here to take out the division champs. These guys look to have a solid defense, but I'm throwing Atkins at them. Let's see what happens.

They come out racing on offense, but we intercept them on a third down screen pass and stop them cold. We can't get anywhere, but are plenty close to kick the field goal for a 3-0 lead. We drive into their territory, but get driven back by a penalty and end up punting. Next Vernon Mersky busts through the line for a 51 yard run against us. We hold them but they go for it on 4th and 1 and make it. Next thing we know they're in the red zone and score on a 14 yard pass, to make it 7-3.

Somehow we fumble the kickoff return and they get it right back and run it in, to make it 14-3 quickly.

We get going on offense, including a nice 22 yard catch by Sampson. Atkins is looking accurate and we drive into the red zone. They hold us there though, and we make it 14-6.

Hiscock gets seriously hurt during the two minute drill and we end up punting. KC gets on our side of the field, into field goal range and makes it to go up 17-6 into the locker room.

We come out in the third quarter with a nice drive, Atkins still looking acurrate, and Rosario punishing them on the ground. We get 1st and goal at the nine, and Simpson catches the TD pass. Now it's 17-13.

A big third down stop gets us the ball back, and Schaefer immediately makes them pay with a 20 yard catch. Chism chimes in with 18 yards on the ground on consecutive carries. Atkins gets them to the five yard line, and Rosario runs it in, putting us up 20-17.

Ingram stops them on third down, and we get it back. Penalties back us up to our own seven though, and then even further to the four. We end up punting it. Cowboy receiver Hanks makes some key catches to get them in a threatening position, but we stop them on third. They kick the field goal to tie it at 20.

We come out running but turn the ball over, giving them prime scoring position. We stuff them at the 1 yard line, but they kick the field goal to go ahead 23-20.

We go 3 and out when we really need it, forcing us to start using time outs. Atkins makes an attempt at a two minute drill but there's no chance, they run out time and end the game on a sack.

Omaha Tornadoes 20, Kansas City Cowboys 23

Game Notes: This was a real ball breaker, a game we had in our hands but gave away. The only saving grace, it wasn't Atkins who had the fatal fumble, but Rosario. If Atkins had been the one I would have traded the boy away. As it is he had a great game, going 19 of 27 for 180 yards, almost all those incompletions coming at the very end. Fullback Chism filled in well when Hiscock was injured at running back, going 5 carries for 26 yards.

Playoff notes:

Kansas City obviously won our division, 11-5, with us at 7-9 coming in second. San Antonio were clear bests in our conference, at 14-2. Indianapolis meanwhile ended up clinching the Rust Belt at 10-6, their entire division going 9-7 behind them. Lastly, the Portland Eruption won the West Coast. There were five teams tied at 9-7 to vie for the wild cards, the lucky spots going to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Eagles, both from the Rust Belt division.

In the AFC, the Detroit Wheels claim the best record at 12-4, and the Great Lakes Division. Right behind them and in the wild card slot though are the Buffalo Blizzard. In the Midatlantic the Washington Generals are at 11-5, followed by the Richmond Cavaliers. Limping into the playoffs are the 8-8 Atlanta Bootleggers, while the 9-7 New York Yankees won the Colonial division.

Tornadoes end of the year wrap up:

This was a disappointing season, falling back to 7-9 after a division winning season last year. I think my strategy of holding onto a lot of players didn't pay off, as it seemed our talent slipped behind the rest of the league. Our biggest problem, lack of talent at quarterback, I think. Atkins shows it, but has been dodgy with all his fumbles. This year we didn't excel in anything statistically, coming off as completely average, except that we gave up 22 points a game, close to highest in the league.

In terms of player development I see two good signs. OLB Joseph Minter has "maxed out" and yet gone up three points in potential during the season. The same with S Perrin, who had a great year also. Those look like definite keepers, who I already have signed long-term. Others seem to be developing their current rating as hoped.

To come later: league wrapup and the playoff reports.

Autumn

05-24-2008, 08:06 PM

1922 Team Summary

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922summary.jpg">

1922 League Standings

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922standings.jpg">

Stat leaders for 1922

Passing
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922pass.jpg">

Rushing
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922run.jpg">

Receiving
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922catch.jpg">

Blocking
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922block.jpg">

Tackles
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922tackle.jpg">

Sacks
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922sack.jpg">

Interceptions
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922intercept.jpg">

Pass Defense
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922passd.jpg">

Autumn

05-24-2008, 08:24 PM

League Highlights

Bryant Bentsen set a league record for both touchdown passes and quarterback rating, having a great year leading San Antonio to the best record in the league. Meanwhile, Richard Flowers set the record for yardage playing for Richmond.

Leo Blackner wins the rushing title this season, setting a record for all purpose yards in the process. Also of note is Rex Money, undrafted running back for the Washington Generals who broke 1000 yards, and had the best average in the top 20, while never starting a game all year.

The league has its first 1,000 yard receiver, three of them in fact, as the passing game slowly inches forward. The rushing game seemed to stay about the same this season.

Otis Davison, a rookie for Pittsburgh, has the most tackles in the league, beating out the #1 pick in 1921, Travis Harvey, by one tackle. Meanwhile Darryl Briceland improves upon his rookie season, tearing off 19.5 sacks this year, 23 hurries and 16 knockdowns. Rookie Ronnie Newhart, pick #4, is right behind him with 17.5. There's still room for the guys out of nowhere though, as third in the list is Kris Dawkins, an undrafted 3 year veteran.

Journeyman Vince Terrell and 2nd year man Tito Monroe tie the tops with 10 interceptions apiece. The tops of the league in pass defense are mostly undrafted journeyman in fact, Terrell for instance only rated 30/35.

Second year, first round pick, Bernard Cortez takes the run blocking cake for the Showboats. This is the only category my guys make a good showing in, with Cassani and Morris having great block percentages in particular.

Izulde

05-24-2008, 09:16 PM

Your defense looks in semi-respectable shape, what with Perrin, Bliss, Huie and Jennings posting decent #s just from a real quick scan of those stats.

I'd work on beefing up your offense, myself. But that's just me. :)

Autumn

05-25-2008, 10:46 AM

I think you're exactly right. Our defense didn't perform great, exactly, but most of my talent is on that side of the ball. I'll do a team wrap up next, but basically offensive skill positions is where we're really weak. Although, I think that's true around the league - offense is a lot harder than defense with the level of talent in the game right now.

Autumn

05-25-2008, 12:06 PM

Omaha Tornadoes Wrap Up

Quarterback

The quarterback controversy continues unabated. I went into the season thinking I would put the ship in Atkins hands, and did. He didn't tear hte league apart, but performed as I expected, making more long passes and big plays than Jochen tends to. However, he had an amazing ability to fumble the ball. Looking back now he fumbled 12 times in the 8 games he started, including a 4 fumble game and a 3 fumble game.

I decided to try my chances with Jochen's game manager style, after all he got us to win the division last year. He just seems to lack a spark, however, and relies too heavily on dumping it off in the backfield. Atkins came back towards the end and didn't fumble in his last game at all.

Regardless, it's clear we don't have "the answer" here. Eventually we're going to have to draft a top prospect quarterback. I was thinking it wasn't worth it at this stage, wtih no mentors in the league. But I think our lack of leadership at the top is hurting us.

Running Back

None of my running back crew make me dance a jig, but I can't complain much about them. Vanaqs and Rosario are both bust and boom runners, they'll have a lot of no-gainers and then a bunch of 15 yarders. When that works, it's great, but they kill me when we're trying to keep a lead. Hiscock, the rookie, got some action and performed reasonably well. He's more of a steady runner, and can catch as well. But no permanent solution here. Vanaqs and Hiscock both have some potential to grow into still, so we'll see.

Fullback, I feel comfortable with. Both Chism and Shepherd get into the game and make plays, as well as have some potential to grow into.

Receiver

Schaefer comes in with the second best average per catch in the league, suggesting maybe he's ready for the prime time, rather than getting shuffled around. Sampson, my surprise from the seventh round, earned himself a starting job this year. Still, he needs to improve a lot, he had just under a 50% catch rate and a lot of balls thrown his way. His ratings continue to go up though, so we'll keep him and watch his boom. The rest of the crew didn't distinguish themselves at all this year. Walsh, my previous underrated draft pick doesn't seem to be going anywhere special.

I'm happy with my tight end crew. They all have some potential to grow into, and all make good plays in the passing game when we get aroudn to them. I like having the depth, and we've got them all signed for next year.

Offensive Line

Our line isn't bad, it's certainly our best unit on offense. Center Scotty Dawkins is at 48/48, and gets a lot of KRB opportunities, though he's got a low success rate. First round pick Kim Covington is up to 54/77, and performed well, but not spectacular. The other guard, Broderick Morris, at 40/53, had a decent year I think. Tackle is where we're weak, but even there Marc Cassani caught my eye a number of times wiht good play, but gives up a lot of sacks. McGregor, my fourth round pick, got injured in week 10 and figures to be injured into 1923, so that's bad news. Tubbs played at the right tackle spot and did hardly anything. A couple of tackles would be good to pick up for next season.

Kickers

I can't complain about Nolan Bercich, my kicker, who still has room to grow into his potential, and yet was the second most accurate kicker in the league this year. He only missed four, and they were all more than 40 yarders. That's all I ask (and he didn't miss any PATs).

Ricky Havens, the punter, is a differnet story. His ratings have slipped downward, and his performance was mediocre by league statistics. He's definitely not the solution here.

Defensive Line

I'm rather happy with my entire defensive line, though none of them are league leaders. Jennings and Paz have manned the ends, and this year I added Fleming, who performed well enough to bump Paz into a backup role. Jennings is only rated 34/34 but I think is a creeper, while Felming looks decent at 38/51. Paz doesn't like his lack of playing time, but for now makes a nice security blanket. In the middle, Greer adn Huie man down the fort at 46/55 and 47/54 respectively. Caillouet has made a good backup there.

We got 17.5 sacks out of the ends, and 14.5 out of the middle. Certainly there's a lot of room for improvement on this unit, but I'm not afraid to go forward with these guys.

Linebackers

This is another unit I'm happy with. Minter and Martinez are the soul of this defense, and almost all their tackles are good plays, stopping big plays or makign big plays. Minter didn't have the fantastic pass defense year he had last season, but he's hit 57/57 and keeps going up, so I think he's a find.

At the weak side, rookie Ingram came in to pressure Torres for the spot, and did so. He made it into a starting position after a few weeks, and seems to be a playmaker like the others. Looking at his stats, he doesn't add anything to hte pass rush, but seems to make good tackles, and big plays. Torres isn't complaining about being bumped, so it's a perfect set up. I just need to look for some backups for this crew.

Secondary

This looked to be a tough year, wtih former first round pick Harvey Shepherd dropping rating points like crazy. He's now down to 29/29 and basically doesn't play anymore. Luckily I got some great play out of free agent pick up Roderick Bliss, who took over that LCB spot. He kept up a 82.0 pass defense rating. On the other side, former draft pick Steve Wicks did decent with a 80.1 rating. Farr stunk it up as nickel back, but late season pick up Luke Welch didn't do bad, posting an 80.5 rating in three games.

Jared Perrin was our best player back here, leading hte team in pass defense and throwing in 67 tackles and 35 assists from the SS spot. Stanton at FS was not so imporessive, picking up a decent amount of tackles, but giving up a lot of passes. He's got some potential to grow into, so we'll see about maybe bringing him back. None of our backups here were anything to write home about.

Oh except Darrin Burton who has no skills as a safety, but did a great job at punt returning and probably will come back for that express purpose.

Looking into the next season I'm looking for:

Depth at cornerback and safety to tighten up our defense. Offensive tackles to shore up our line. And any of hte offensive skill positions. I don't think anyone is safe there. Oh and we should pick up an improvement at punter also.

Autumn

05-25-2008, 12:21 PM

The first round of the playoffs is the Faceoff of the Mediocre. We've got five 9-7 teams, two 10-6 and and 8-8. It's so mediocre Vegas can't even pick a winner between Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

In the end, homefield advantage does it, with all four home teams winning. New York wins in a shootout with Richmond, with QB Moe Hamm wining player of the week with his 260 yard outing. But it's Richard Flowers, the Cavaliers quarterback who broke the league's passing yardage record this year, who breaks another record with his 353 yard losing performance. Despite the yardage, New York picked him off four times, and won by three points.

Atlanta wins in a different style against Buffalo, with QB Ryan Frederick breaking the playoff completiion percentage record, going 18-22 for 151 yards and a TD, to win 13-6.

Meanwhile in the NFC, our conference, Indianapolis wins at home versus Cincinnati, where former Tornado Artie Blackburn had led the Eagles into the playoffs. He put up 228 yards in his losing effort, but Racers QB Harris Stanberry came away with a win, mostly due to running back Ernest Maxwell's 105 yards, and their D-line's pass rush.

Last year's Superbowl winners, the Pittsburgh Steelers, were forced to head to Portland, to duke it out with the Eruption. Pittsburgh handled the league sack leader, Briceland, holding him to no sacks and three hurries and two knockdowns. But the player of the game was Portland linebacker Mack Halley who put in 11 tackles, two assists, a sack and a forced fumble. Middle linebacker Copeland added 12 more tackles in the middle in a hard fought 10-3 contest.

Autumn

05-25-2008, 10:27 PM

Divisional Round

In the AFC, we have wild card winners Atlanta heading to Detroit to face the 12-4 Wheels, where it's raining pretty bad. No dome in 1922, folks. Meanwhile, the Yankees will be heading to Washington to face the 11-5 Generals.

In our conference, the Portland Eruption has drawn the league's best, the San Antonio Defenders, 14-2 and the best ranked team in the league. These guys are ranked #1 in points scored and points allowed, and a whole lot of other things. The other game has Indianapolis heading to Kansas City to face our division winners, the Cowboys.

The home teams are all favored, but this is the round for upsets. Atlanta beats the Wheels 14-10, with CB Kurt Hines winning player of the games with his two interceptions, one coming to seal the win in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately for Atlanta, it looks like Ryan Frederick got hurt, and while his replacement played well, they've got to be hoping it's not serious.

Meanwhile, the New York Yankees eke out a win in Washington, 21-20. The Yankees scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to pull out the win, with the Generals missing a long field goal in the last seconds that would have won it for them.

Our division leaders, Kansas City, are the only home team to win, beating the Racers 19-3 in a pretty clear thumping. The double headed rushing monster of Vernon Mersky and Mickey McElrath put 156 yards on the ground, while QB Jerald England was 21 of 26 passing. Playing from behind the whole game, the Racers had to air it out, and ended up with Stanberry throwing four interceptions.

The biggest upset was the Portland Eruption taking out the San Antonio Defenders in a 23-6 victory on the road. They poured on the winning 17 points all in the fourth quarter with two long scoring drives and a field goal to top it off. Running back Toby Matthew put up 98 yards on 15 carries, while the Portland defense held league's best QB Bryant Bentsen to a 49.4 QB rating. It seems that while San Antonio was keyed on holding down sack leader Briceland (and they did, to two hurries) they forgot to cover the opposing defensive end, Colin Evans, who had a 5 tackle, 4 sack, 3 hurries and one block game. That four sacks is a league playoff record.

Conference Finals

In the AFC, Vegas is at a deadlock again, unable to pick a winner between the 10-8 Atlanta Bootleggers, and the 11-7 New York Yankees. Atlanta QB Frederick is out, giving the Yankees an advantage at the helm with Moe Hamm.

Vegas was right to be unsure, as Atlanta's win only comes in a 9-7 victory, with two field goals in the fourth to put them ahead. The game winner came on a 7 minute, 88 yard drive starting at their own 10, leaving the Yankees with less than a minute to try to win the game. It was a gutsy performance, with backup QB Byron Hicks going 30-44 for 262 yards and one pick, while throwing largely to Joseph Flowers, who had 11 catches for 89 yards. Last week's player of the game, Kurt Hines, had another interception, this one to end the last ditch effort by the Yankees.

In the NFC, our division leader, the KC Cowboys are the home team, and the favorites, expected to beat the Portland Eruption. However, we've already seen the Eruption take out the league's best, so all bets are off, I think.

Well, sometimes Vegas knows what it's doing, and the Cowboys win an easy 34-3 game, with the Eruption getting intercepted twice in the fourth quarter to seal it, one of those getting returned for the icing on the cake. The Cowboys picked up another 143 on the ground from their running back committee, and a careful short passing game did the rest. Looking through the stats, I notice Daryl Briceland strangely missing. It turns out he missed the conference championship with a hyperextended knee, and it obviously hurt the Eruption. In their defense though, the Eruption defense has some rather cool named players, including Xavier Craighead, and Nick Leatherman, who combined for 19 tackles and 6 assists in the game.

Super Bowl Mania!

This is quite an odd matchup. The Kansas City Cowboys, 11-5 winners of the Midwestern Division, were second in our conference, and so it's not surprising they're here after the Defenders's loss. However, the Atlanta Bootleggers were winners of their division, but with an 8-8 record, beating out two other 7-9 teams narrowly. Benefiting from a conference bereft of great teams, they not only fought their way to the championship game, they did it while losing their starting QB.

Kansas City are the favorites, but we'll see what the rain and 12 mile per hour winds do to the teams.

What happens is that Kansas City ends Atlanta's Cinderella story, spanking the Bootleggers in a 31-3 win, and cementing the seeming superiority of the NFC. In a repeat of history from last week, the Cowboys seal the game with an interception returned for a touchdown at the end of the fourth quarter. These guys are opportunists if nothing else. They crushed the Bootleggers with a dominant running game, grinding for 164 rushing yards, 113 of it from Vernon Mersky, who scored two touchdowns in the first half. Meanwhile, the Cowboys QB England was an efficient 11 of 15 for only 96 yards.

Atlanta's fill-in QB, Byron Hicks was 15-25 with an interception, before being replaced himself. Dwight Waldron managed to score a 0.0 QB rating in his 3 drives, throwing two more interceptions. Player of the game was Cowboy safety Bucky Ribich, who was responsible for two of those interceptions, and two pass defenses. A strange choice over the dominant Mersky, but hey, let's give defenses some loving. Still, maybe they could have gone with LT Tommie Boyer who had 6 key run blocks to spring that running.

The Kansas City Cowboys are Superbowl Champions, continuing the NFC's three year dominance of the award, following in the footsteps of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the San Francisco Quake.

Autumn

05-25-2008, 10:52 PM

Season Awards

The League MVP came out not as strange as last season, but still a bit odd. Congratulations go to Ronnie Newhart, defensive end for the Philadelphia Privateers. Newhart is a rookie, the #4 pick in the 1922 draft, and was only barely beat by Darryl Briceland for the lead in sacks this year, with Newhart putting up 17.5. It was a great year, yet eclipsed in every number by Briceland himself, including wins. Newhart played for the 4-12 Privateers, while Briceland brought the Eruption to the Conference Finals before getting injured. However, Newhart is idolized (literally, 100 popularity) in passionate Philadelphia, so that must have swayed the vote.

Newhart wrapped up defensive rookie of the year as well, and deservedly so. Briceland contents himself with Defensive Player of the Year for his outing, and he certainly deserves it. The second year player upped his numbers considerably this year to lead the league with 19.5 sacks.

Offensive Player of the Year went to division-mate Martin Guzowski of the Denver Mountaineers. Guzowski is a second time winner of this honor, winning both offensive player of the year and offensive rookie of the year in his first season. This year, he put up 1240 yards rushing on an improved 4.41 average, while adding 531 yards through the air. Certainly a deserving winner here.

Offensive Rookie of the Year this year goes to Sherman Sprout, the rookie running back for the Cincinnati Eagles. He's not well known even in Cincinnati, but his 930 yards rushing and 407 catching as a rookie drew the league's attention.

Coach of the Year goes to the head coach of the Detroit Wheels, Brian Bullock. He brought his team to a 12-4 season, but a loss in the divisional round.

Most amusing award? It's always Legend of the Game, where the game attempts to figure out which player in a brand new league deserves this honor after retiring three years into their career. This year the winner was Ken Walden! Why is this amusing? Well, because I'm Ken Walden. And becaue Ken Walden was the running back I created as the lone player in the player file, when I started this league. The rest were generated randomly, using his birth year, and Walden has soldiered on as a decent running back for the San Antonio Defenders ever since. Ending his career with 2,346 rushing yards, he'll always be remembered. His name at least.

The All-League teams go as expected. The only Tornado to get attention is rookie offensive guard Kim Covington who gets picked for the second team. It's a nice recognition for the man who is clearly our most talented player.

Team Performance

I don't need a scoresheet to tell me this year didn't go well. After last year's division win, and reaching the conference finals, our coach winning coach of the year ... well, I expected even more improvement this year. What we got was a lot worse than that.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1922eval.jpg">

Down from an overall 76 last season, at least our franchise value creeped up. However, everything else is in the tubes, even profit which I thought would be good this year. Looking over the stats, we did make more revenue this year, but spent a lot more on salaries and particularly bonuses. Now, keep in mind, we never even came close to the salary cap. But last year, every player in the league was asking for peanuts, so naturally it's going up.

Good news, though, is that we led the league in attendance this year, with 62,300 per game. Hopefully they won't all desert us after that season.

Autumn

05-26-2008, 12:09 AM

Staff Hiring

My scout is still under contract, and I don't see anyone available that I think is better - he's got a Very Good in Youth Talent, and I think that's essential.

I had forgotten that my coaches' contracts were running out though, and it seems head coach J. R. Jenkins and offensive coordinator Alfred Lavan are out of contract. Grady Chapman, our defensive man has one more year on contract.

Jenkins was coach of the year in 1921, but certainly has now hit hard times. I'm glad to shop around, and see a prospect in William Procop, a new 60 year old available, who would be an improvement in most every way. I'll gun for him and see what we get.

In offensive coordinator land I see a real golden boy, the New York Yankees coordinator, Terrell Donovan, who is only 46 but has great marks all around. I'm going to really gun for him, he'd be a great improvement.

Unfortunately, Donovan goes right away back to New York, despite my offering him as much as I could. I see they went with a 5 year offer, while I offered 4. The bastard could have stuck around, I would have thrown more at him.

Procop is considering another offer, so I'll see if I can up his. Meanwhile, the next best prospect at offensive coordinator isn't really an improvement. He'd be better at kickers and youth, but not everything else. The next best is similar. I think I'm going to rehire Lavan. I could use some improvement but don't want to lose his expertise in quarterbacks and offensive line. He signs right back with me.

Meanwhile, Procop is attracting attention, and my owner is lowballing me. He's now limiting me to 1.2 million a year, which isn't enough even to rehire Jenkins. I'm now forced to scramble to see who I could get. I find Rickey Watach, a 57 year old with no experience, but who is only slightly a downgrade from Jenkins. What's better, we can afford him.

Jenkins goes to Richmond, while my boy Procop goes with Dallas.

As we wind up to free agency, I look over the roster and send Alonzo Sampson to the summer league. I think he has some chance of booming, so I want to give him every chance I can.

I decide to take a glance at the draft preview before bed. Who can resist? Looking it over, there is a clear favorite and number one pick. Edwin Nichols, a QB out of Washington has an 8.9 adjusted grade, with bars all the way to the right in everything. This is clearly the guy to get after only one glance. It makes me ponder ... what would it take to get that #1 pick away from Philadelphia? I interview the guy ... he's underrated. His bars no longer look absolutely perfect. But it's close enough.

I decide to wheel and deal. It takes half the farm, but I get the Privateers to send me the #1 pick in this draft. The cost?

My first round pick this year (#12)
My first round pick next year
J.J. Torres, former starting WLB, had been bumped to backup
Kim Covington, guard, former first round pick and the best player on my team.

Will it be worth it? For Edwin Nichols? This could be the bust of the century, or the start of the first dynasty. Covington was my one definitely great player. But he's a guard. If I can swap him out for the best QB in the league? It's a no-brainer. If it doesn't work out, my hole just got a lot deeper.

Izulde

05-26-2008, 12:44 AM

:eek:

If Nichols is even half of what he's projected to be, you've got your league's top QB for at least the next few seasons.

Autumn

05-26-2008, 12:58 PM

Yeah, I'm trying not to get too ahead of myself, especially considering there aren't even mentors in the game yet. But I think we may have landed the best talent in the game, and I intend to try to milk it as much as I can. But if it doesn't work out, we'll have lost a step for sure.

Autumn

05-28-2008, 08:29 PM

Players we need to resign

Ricky Havens, P. He was underwhelming, but I sign him for a one year deal with no bonus in case we don't find better.

Henry Fleming, DE. This guy was our starter all year, and I thought did well. Surprisingly he was hardly asking for above the minimum. I sign him to a low three year deal.

Billy Joe Stanton, S. This guy was our starter, but did not perform well. He's looking for a large four year contract that I'm loathe to give him. I'm going to wait and see what happens.

Roderick Bliss, LCB. This guy was our starter all year, and our best corner. He's hardly asking for anything so I'll lock him in a for a few years at a low contract.

Harvey Northcott, LDT. Our backup tackle, he's got some potential still so I sign him back for a year at a low salary.

Monty Peyrouse, C. Our backup center, he comes back for a low minimum one year contract.

Leslie Gist, G. A backup, but one we need with Covington gone. We sign him

Dale Farr, CB. I'm not really willing to pay this guy anything above minimum, he was that underwhelming as nickel back. I'll leave him hanging and see who else I can get.

Gilbert Caillouet, LDT. Antoher backup DT, I sign him to a low one year contract.

Luke Welch, CB. This guy is purely dime material, having no run or even man to man skills, but he played well in three games for us, and is a pick-hound. Minimum contract.

Ben Jochen, QB. Obivoiusly we're looking elsewhere at QB, but he'd make a reliable backup. We sign him to a one year deal.

Tyrone Banks, FL He plays decently as a 4th or 5th receiver for us. I sign him back to the minimum and we'll see if we can do better.

Andrew Herdeg, MLB. A backup with some good potential so we bring him back with the minimum.

Ike Tharp, SLB. A backup with some potential and good affinity. We need depth here with Torres gone so we sign him to the minimum.

Darrin Burton, S. We sign him to the minimum just for his punt return skills.

Clyde Sheldon, S. Backup material with good potential. We sign him to the minimum.

Things to be looking for: another CB, either a starter or a good nickel back. A starting guard to replace Covington. A starting caliber tackle. A starting safety: I don't want to pay Stanton the bucks he wants for his performance, although his ratings are good.

I have probably too many people signed, but I like to have a security blanket since in this new league the free agent market is hard to predict. No one's an unrestricted free agent yet in the league.

Free Agent Signings

Chris Sutton, G. A better backup than Gist, so I take him. That's about all I'm going to bother with in early free agency. Everyone seems to come up in late.

The Draft

It's time to start the draft, and obviously the first choice has been decided for weeks since the Tornadoes made the trade to the top. We take Edwin Nichols, and I am as sure as I can be he's going to be the real deal.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1923nichols1.jpg">

The Stars go for a wide receiver next, and the big surprise comes when San Francisco picks a QB next, who wasn't expected to go for a while. Two picks later though the Whalers reach even further for a QB. This is good news for me since it's dropping everyone else down a bit to me in the second round.

With what would have been our pick, the Privateers take Marcus Linquist, a running back from Notre Dame who looks pretty good. Up to this point things have gone fairly much as expected. But next Dallas takes Allen Carpenter, a safety, who wasn't expected to go until the second round.

Cincinnati trades their pick to WAshington, who grabs OJ Upshaw, a running back. By the end of the first round things have mostly fallen as expected, with the top 21 rated picks having gone, with 5 picks going ahead of schedule.

We've got pick #11 in the second. There's been quite a run on safeties ahead of schedule, which is bad news for my safety pick, but means there may be other folks left stranded. Top on my board is a tackle who scouted as very underrated, with decent combine scores. His bars look decent, but not great. I end up going with him. Although I've got some other prospects further down the line, I don't have anyone else on my board worth going after in the second round, and I need tackles.

2-11 Antonio McKnight, T, Washington State

Everyone surprises me when I see a kicker going early in the third round. Before my wheels can spin, a punter goes next. The punter was on my board. Yes, a punter, but he had absolutely perfect bars in every category, and was listed as underrated. The Edwin Nichols of punters. I was expecting to grab him in the fourth mabye. Oh well.

We're 10th in the third. A glance shows the same cornerback hanging around I looked at in the second. Hard to read, but good bars and combine. There's a couple of good looking safeties left I didn't interview. Then I've got my top prospect at guard, he's very underrated and had good combines. In wide receivers I've got a couple of dicey prospects hanging around underrated.

I decide to go with the guard. He's the prospect I know the most about, and we certainly could use a good one. We've left defense hanging so far with our picks, but hopefully we can remedy that now or in free agency.

3-10 Carl Haber, G, Houston

Amusingly, the next three picks in a row in the draft are the three guys I was considering - the CB and two safeties. Guess we were all considering them.

In round 4, we're up #9. We've got a hard choice to make here, as the few prospects we still have on the board are at the top of their positions and not likely to be there next round. On top of that, our prospects in CB and S, two key needs, are all gone and I'm shooting in the dark now. I've got another prospect at guard, two at wide receiver, a tight end and a full back. Then there's a cornerback I'm considering despite not having been interviewed.

I decide to go with what I kow, the wide receiver has the best combines and ratings of my very underrated guys left. The cornerback would be my other alternative, and I just don't know anything about him.

4-9 Dustin Fenderson, WR, Oregon State

In the fifth round the cornerback I was considering is gone. I've got a underrated tackle at the top of his board, and decide to go with him. It makes it all offense so far, and three linemen, but if I'm drafting the best quarterback in the business, I might as well support him. I'll have to try to gun for a safety and cornerback in free agency though.

5-14 Reuben Webb, T, Florida

In the sixth, I finally get around to defense. The CB I scoped out last round is still there, with good looking bars in man to man and a couple other things, average combines. I scoop him up.

6-13 Sam Barge, CB, Texas Tech

In the seventh I take a flyer on a safety, just based on a hunch from his info. Seems better than picking a punter.

7-12 Wesley Randle, S, Northwestern

And our first blush, post-draft look at the crop?

1-1 Edwin Nichols 44/92
2-11 Antonio McKnight, T 22/45
3-10 Carl Haber, G 19/40
4-9 Dustin Fenderson, WR 20/37
5-14 Reuben Webb, T 13/38
6-13 Sam Barge, CB 21/50
7-12 Wesley Randle, S 16/44

Not great looking so far, but I tend to draft underrated, so maybe they'll jump up.

In late free agency I find a corner back and a safety to shore things up, a backup linebacker, a rookie punter and that's about it. My roster is too full as it is, soon it will be time for cutting. Nichols finally signs for a 5 year, 8.4 million deal, he gave me a scare there for a while.

We run training camp, and then let's see how people look.

First, the rookies.

1-1 Edwin Nichols 44/92 --> 54/92 +10/+0
2-11 Antonio McKnight, T 22/45 --> 22/39 +0/-6
3-10 Carl Haber, G 19/40 --> 24/45 +5/+5
4-9 Dustin Fenderson, WR 20/37 --> 24/40 +4/+3
5-14 Reuben Webb, T 13/38 --> 18/39 +5/+1
6-13 Sam Barge, CB 21/50 --> 25/46 +4/-4
7-12 Wesley Randle, S 16/44 --> 19/45 +3/+1

So, not too bad, only too seeming busts out of the crowd. Luckily I drafted two tackles. And Nichols? He looks like the real deal for sure.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1923nichols2.jpg">

There's only two players in the league with a higher potential, the kicker and punter that went one after another this draft.

We get a B+ in the draft review, but as far as I'm concerned it's an A++

Autumn

06-18-2008, 09:22 PM

The Omaha Reporter

The Spotlight Is On Nichols
Rookie QB the Talk of the Town as Another Pro Football Season Begins

Anticipation was high in Omaha for the start of a new professional football season, all because of a young man from Texas. Edwin Nichols has been on the tongues of every local football fan ever since the Tornadoes front office made the deal to acquire the top pick in this year's college draft. Banking on the potential of this college star, the Tornadoes gave away two first round picks and two players in order to land what they hope will be the preeminent quarterback in the league for years to come.

Seeing limited action in the preseason, Nichols excited fans with near perfect passing and his ability to run with the ball. His lack of experience was shown though with some topsy-turvy play including a dismal two pick outing. Still, it was the regular season fans were waiting for.

They would have to wait a little longer as the Tornadoes opened their season in Denver facing their division rivals, the Mountaineers. Though few fans were able to make the trek to watch their team play, those who did were witness to a thrilling outing. Nichols lit up the field with an electrifying 340 yard outing, throwing three touchdowns on 31 of 45 passing. With the running game backing him up, Nichols led the team to 21 points, but was not able to make a play at the end of regulation, sending the two teams to overtime with the Mountaineers matching Omaha point for point.

In overtime, the Tornadoes went three and out, but held the Mountaineers in order to get the ball back. Able to move to midfield they stalled again, yet pinned Denver to the three yard line with their punt. They soon had the ball back in excellent position, nearly in field goal range already. It was then though that Nichols made his worst mistake of the game, fluttering a sideline pass that was intercepted. Denver cornerback Ben Maltman not only snagged the pass, he returned it a heartbreaking 72 yards for a touchdown, winning the game for the Mountaineers.

Though no one could fault the quarterback for what was nearly a record shattering passing performance, Nichols left the field in obvious dismay, refusing to comment to the press.

The next week brought the Tornadoes home to Omaha to open in front of the fans. The Washington Generals were coming to town, and it looked to be a rowdy home opener, as the Generals possess one of the poorest rated teams in the league. Gamblers make Omaha 20 point favorites, and the fans are on their feet ready to watch their rookie QB take this team apart.

But as every coach says, the game happens on the field, not in the betting room. The Generals put every forecaster to shame, coming out aggressively. Blocking a punt on the first drive of the game, they score a quick and easy touchdown. But they don't have to depend on luck this Sunday, as their offense continues to walk all over the Tornadoes, quickly going up 17-0 behind the powerful running of their running back Bryant. Luck plays its part though too as the Tornadoes knock the ball loose for a big turnover, yet the Generals pick it up themselves and advance it 88 yards for the touchdown.

In the end, the Generals walk all over the Tornadoes 30-6, and the presumed star of the league is left looking at an 0-2 record. Nichols and the whole offense are never able to get things going, and Nichols ends up with 168 yards, while Bryant runs for 155 on Omaha.

Nichols continued to avoid comment after the game, but new coach Rickey Watach had this to say. "Edwin's a young player, he's going to have his up and down games like everyone does. But this one can't be laid in his lap. We failed to execute as a team in every single aspect, from offense to defense to special teams. You can rest assured we're going to have some brutal practices this week and get this team into gear. We're not playing to our potential, and that's what I need to see."

The season is still young, but Omaha fans are coming down from the lofty expectations they started with. "Edwin's a very talented player, he's got perfect touch all over the field, and he can make big plays with his feet. But he's going to have to learn the game and learn the system, and that will take time," says Watach, himself still busy instituting his new system in his first year. Omaha fans will be watching.

Autumn

07-20-2008, 11:05 PM

1923 Recap

Week 1

Denver Mountaineers 27, Omaha Tornadoes 21

Game Notes:

Nichols wins PoG in his first professional outing, although he obviously didn't deserve it, losing the game in overtime. Still, it's hard not to recognize what would have been a record setting performance if it hadn't been for the Racers QB, Stanberry, breaking the yardage record in the same week.

Nichols: 31 of 45, 340 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT, 103.9 rating

Week 2

Washington Generals 30, Omaha Tornadoes 6

Game Notes: A humiliating loss at home, where the Generals, 20 point underdogs, ran all over us in every way.

Week 3

In week three the Tornadoes travel out to Seattle to face the Destroyers, who seem to have put a good team together. Still having Junior Shepherd at running back, they've got some talent also at TE and flanker, though a mediocre offensive line. On defense they've got a very talented left side of the line as well as a great middle linebacker and two decent corner backs. Luckily for us perhaps their starting quarterback is out.

It turns into a bit of a slugfest. We score on our first drive, and Nichols is 11 of 12 to start off, but mostly for dump passes. Our defense can't contain Shepherd, but makes the stands when necessary. Including a goal line stand where they go four and out at the end of the fourth.

Omaha Tornadoes 14, Seattle Destroyers 7

Game Notes: Fleming made player of the game with 2 sacks and 2 hurries. They picked apart my linebackers in the passing game though, I don't know how to remedy that.

On offense we had a fairly ugly looking three yards per rush, but it kept us in the game. Nichols was a very utilitarian 15 of 17 for 92 yards and a TD. Not exactly the gameplan I was looking for, but it got us the win.

Week 4

The St. Louis Trailblazers come to town. We start out making big plays on defense, intercepting their first two drives. We aren't able to capitalize on it much though, getting a field goal, and a nice drive that ends wiht a fumble at the six. Finally a pass interference call gets us out of our slump and we drive it into the endzone for a 10-0 lead.

The second half continues the same, we fumble away a drive, save it with an interception, make big plays including a 33 yard screen pas on third down, but can't get to the endzone. A field goal makes it 13-0. But we immediately give up a long drive that ends in a touchdown, 13-7. Our next drive gets to the four yard line, but again we're short, and it's 16-7. But we put enough pressure on and pick off another pass to hold on.

Omaha Tornadoes 19, St. Louis Trailblazers 7

Game Notes:
Nichols wins Game MVP going 29 of 38 for 208 yards and a TD. Vanaqs helped out with 56 yards on 10 carries, while Rosario didn't do much.

The St. Louis QB, Rufus Chandler outran Nichols, being the Trailblazers leading rusher with 9 carries for 70 yards. Nichols ran 3 times for 18 yards himself.

Four picks by the defense was the story of this game, Perrin coming up with two of them. Perrin unfortunately is out for four weeks with a knee problem. Minter and Martinez again got picked on each giving up 5 catches. Minter at least had an interception.

Around the league, Earl Bratton is tearing teams apart, already having 521 yards receiving in four games.

Week 5

In Week 5 we draw the Cincinnati Eagles, who are 1-3 at the bottom of their division, yet can't be looked past. They have Earl Bratton, the wide receiver who's tearing the league apart averaging 128 yards per game so far, in a league where 100 yard receiving games are very rare. Worst of all, passing to him is former Tornado, Artie Blackburn, our first season quarterback who moved on to throw interceptions for the Eagles instead. Now he's got the league's most dangerous player to throw to. Worstest of all, Perrin, our safety and best player in the secondary is out for this game.

I go with a all-Bratton all the time defense, since he's basically their only offensive threat. They may tear us apart anyway, but we'll see. Nichols has some motivation to show Artie up at home in Omaha.

We draw first blood, but only a field goal. Bratton drops his first pass, double covered of course, but catches his next one, double covered on third down. It goes for 49 yards and a touchdown, and I can see we might be in trouble.

We trade punts before putting together a nice drive of our own, to make it 10-7. Another drive stalls before the half and we miss the long kick. They tie it up in the third. Later Bratton manages to pull in a 24 yarder against our run D, but our double teaming finally pays off with Wicks intercepting a pass to Bratton.

We're forced to punt though and it goes like that for a while, both teams struggling to break the tie. Bratton's able to make catches even double teamed, but our defense holds fairly well. Nichols isn't able to make any magic happen though. We get it at the two minute warning with the score tied, but it goes sack, incomplete, dropped pass, punt. We hold them to a three and out also though, and get one more chance. We are able to move the ball this time, but for some reason the coaches don't bother using their timeouts, so the clock runs out with us still holding onto two. Overtime, for the second time this season.

We get the ball first and move the chains, getting past midfield. I'm ready for us to inch it into field goal range, but Nichols tries to pass instead. Teh result? Sack. Bad. Interception, horrible. Our defense shows they're the stars by holding the Eagles to a punt, but Nichols shows he isn't by getting sacked twice more before we punt, and punt again. Our defense on Bratton pays off again as Martinez picks off a throw to him. Time is almost out in overtime and this is our last chance.

We only need about ten yards to get into field goal range but instead Nichols is throwing it down the field. Three incompletes and then we attempt a 54 yard field goal and miss. Between Nichols and the coaches I don't know who to strangle.

It's not my defense as they cause and recover a fumble on the Eagles next drive. We're on their 38. Could we please just go for the kick? No. Sack, fumble that we recover, long pass for an interception.

The Eagles can't miss this many opportunities and they finally hit a 32 yard pass to their tight end. They end up trying for a 53 yard field goal and hitting it to end the game.

Cincinnati Eagles 13, Omaha Tornadoes 10

Game Notes:
game disappointing mostly for the play calling, as I think we could have easily won it in the end with the right calls. But also, the offense was not as productive as I had hoped, hitting mostly short passes with Nichols having trouble downfield. He ended up 0 for 8 on long passes, 7 of 19 on medium, and with two picks. Not a good day.

Vanaqs had a nice day running though, with 87 yards on 17 carries, and Hiscock filling in with 43 on 9. Even Nichols added 30 yards. We let Cincy's Sprout get 97 yards on us, but it's understandable given we were targeting Bratton.

Now Bratton, even double covered almost every play of the game, still had a six catch, 137 yard performance. He only caught 6 out of 14, and we got two picks out of those other eight, but this guy is otherworldly. He's the sort of superstar I expected to emerge in this league. He's now got 658 yards in 5 games, on target for 2100 yards in a league where the record is 1,054.

We did get a great pass rush today, with Huie and Greer combining for three sacks and a block in the middle, along with two forced fumbles. Fleming and a great day with 1.5 sacks, 1 block and 2 hurries.

And lastly Martinez did well in the middle on pass defense, getting 2 defensed passes and an interception with only two caught passes.

Game 6

Now, we're on the road to 4-1 Indianapolis, where the Racers have Harris Stanberry, the current passing yardage leader and one of the best in the league. Perrin is still out at safety, so I have to hope that my gameplan tweaking will help.

The defense seems to be in good form today. The clicks on one drive that stalls at the 3, putting us up 3-0. But the Racers are moving the ball well and go up 14-3.

Our offense works better in the third quarter, with Vanaqs and Hiscock running well and closing the lead to 14-10. Fleming gets a key sack to make it three and out for them, and we put together a clutch drive. Nichols is only looking so-so, but Hiscock makes three key plays and dashes in from 12 yards out to make it 17-14.

Wicks gets an interception off of Stanberry, and Hiscock gets a key first down to get us in field goal range, and up 20-14. Nichols tries to give them their chances, as we punt to them several times plus Nichols throws a pick. But our defense holds tight, with Kooiker eventually intercepting them in the endzone to end their chances.

Omaha Tornadoes 20, Indianapolis Racers 14

Game Notes:

Vanaqs is player of the game with 105 yards and a TD. Hiscock picked up another 47 yards and a TD. Nichols was again not great today, going 16 of 30 for 154 yards and one pick.

We gave up two hundred yard receivers on defense, with Brennan and Stortz having 101 and 111 respectively on five catches each. Still, we intercepted Stanberry three times, and that was the key to victory. Why can't Nichols get the ball down the field like these scrubs I play do?

Fleming had another big day with 1 sack and 4 hurries. Wicks looked good with 2 defensed passes and one interception. Our O-line looked great too, with 18 KRB and only one sack allowed.

At 3-3 we're still in the thick of it in our division. If we win the next game against Minneapolis we could be in first or second place.

Week 7

Home again to hopefully not disappoint the fans. The Lakers start off with the ball. Perrin is questionable but I've put him back in the lineup, I really need him on defense.

We cause two turnovers on tehir first two drives but only manage to go up 3-0. They end up going 10-3 despite our good D. Our offense just keeps giving them chances, Nichols throwing a pick in the endzone on one good drive.

The running game and some key third down catches finally get us moving in the third quarter, and we tie it up 10-10 on a 2 yard pass. They manage to make a 50 yard field goal to make it 13-10.

Vanaqs busts out a 25 yard run to get us across midfield ourselves. Hiscock makes a key first down through the air. Sampson follows with a key third down catch. Conway converts on second down and we have it in the red zone. Nichols scrambles for four, Shepherd catches a six yarder and we have first down at the 11. Two short plays later it's 3rd and 9. Hiscock runs it 6 yards and then we kick, tying it at 13-13.

We hold them three and out and then make another good drive but our field goal gets partially blocked and misses. Our defense seems deflated and lets them easily run the field and punch it in to go up 20-13. With less than two minutes left Nichols makes a couple completions but then gets intercepted to end our chances.

Minneapolis Lakers 20, Omaha Tornadoes 13

Game Notes:

Our running game was good again, Vanaqs getting 75, Hiscock 42. The Lakers QB runs a lot, 14 times this game for 53 yards.

Nichols had another bad game 22 of 38 for 176 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. His rating is going in the cellar. Unfortunately I don't think our running game is good enough to drive the team if he's not passing, so I'm not sure what to do. Sampson caught some this week, 6 of 13 for 63 yards and a TD.

Perrin came back in a big way with 13 tackles and a defensed pass. Not much of a pass rush today though at all.

Week 8 is our bye, so at the end of 8 weeks we are 3-4, third in our division. Surprisingly Vanaqs is the star of our offense, rushing for 459 yards so far on nice 4.5 ypc running. Nichols has a rating of 72.5, but he's been in the 50s the last few weeks. Our defense is toward the bottom of the league in just about everything but pass rush and pass defense.

Bratton is still tearing up the league. After eight games he has 986 yards on 57 catches. The next best guy is 360 yards behind him. He had a monster game against San Francisco in which he set the records for catches, receiving yards, kickoff return yards, yards from scrimmage AND all purpose yards. the man had 13 catches for 220 yards PLUS 217 kickoff return yards (including a TD). Harris Stanberry is leading the QB race, with the best rating, 2267 yards and 22 TDs, while the next best guy has 12. He's clearly going to break the season records in those which are 3,384 and 25 respectively.

Autumn

07-21-2008, 09:34 PM

Week 9

We travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. They start off moving easily on us and take a quick lead, 7-0. But Mack Halley, recently moved up to starter position on the run defense, intercepts a short pass and runs it back 39 yards for the TD and the tie. Halley tries to keep playing superhero, making two consecutive tackles on the 1 yard line on their next drive, but htey eventually get in the endzone.

Things go downhill from there and we ned up down 24-10 in the fourth quarter. We hae a shot at catching up when Sampson and Hiscock combine to get us intot he endzone. But it gets called back on holding and we don't end up scoring. Two blocked kicks by the defense, but the offense just can't get anything going.

Pittsburgh Steelers 24, Omaha Tornadoes 10

Game Notes:
We sucked.

Week 10

Denver comes to town and we're eager to avenge our Week 1 loss. We come out strong on defense, and our offense is nimbling combining run and pass. We go up 10-0 after Wicks and Greer recover a fumble at their 20.

However, Nichols can't keep hot, throwing a pick that our defense holds to only a field goal. In the third quarter Fenderson fumbles and they score in return, easily making it 10-10. Then in the fourth Nichols throws another pick, this time in the redzone. Denvery easily marches down the field nad makes it 17-10. A final interception by Nichols and the game's basically over.

Denver Mountaineers 17, Omaha Tornadoes 10

Game Notes:
A very nice running game by Vanaqs and HIscock, with 114 yards between them. But Nichols threw three picks, plus Fenderson's fumble, and that was that. Our defense played fairly well early in the game though.

Week 11

We decide to take our frustration out on the Kansas City Cowboys. Coming out firing in KC, we get a good kick return, run and pass effectively and soon we're up 17-0.

Penalties nad turnovers hurt us in the second half, killing two drives and forcing Nichols into a long pass that gets picked. But Bliss saves the bacon by coming right back with an interception of his own, and we at least get the field goal out of it.

An unnecessary roughness penalty gives them their only scoring chance of hte day and we still hold them from a TD. Big runs from Nichols and hte backs in the fourth quarter tick the clock down and end up giving us another score.

Omaha Tornadoes 27, Kansas City Cowboys 3

Game Notes:

e kept to the same offensive game plan and it worked well, Vanaqs and Hiscock combining for 148 yards this time. Nichols has a decent game with 16 of 23 for 176 yards, and most importantly only one pick. Schaefer ended up with 4 catches for 90 yards. Great play from the O line with 5 of 8 blocking from Dawkins, 4 of 7 from Morris.

Around the league Stanberry and Bratton respectively continue dominating the league. Stanberry's already broken the passing TD record in only 10 games. Bratton likewise has broken the receiving yardage record in 10 games.

Week 12

Home against the Admirals, I'd really like to see a win streak. In the meantime I make sure to renegotiate a few players for next year. I'm unsure if this is going to be the first big free agent year as we finally have 5th year players? So far this league has only had restricted free agents, and it's going to be pandemonium when free agency really starts.

Our D gives us a lot of opportunities in this game, but our offense struggles to punch it in. We're down 7-6 before the half when some two minute offense makes somethign happen, Fenderson pulling in a 24 yard TD to make it 13-7. at hte half.

All these field goals are nice, but come back to haunt us as the Admirals are scoring TDs instead. It's 19-14 in the fourth when they make a gutsy call to keep a drive alive on 4th down, and it pays off. We're only able to punt next drive, but Perrin makes the play of hte game picking off a pass at their 23. Another kick and w'ere up by eight now with under a minute, and that ends up to be good enough.

Omaha Tornadoes 22, Baltimore Admirals 14

Game Notes:

A two win streak feels good now, and actually puts us in second place in teh division at 5-6. Nichols is the player of the game, with finally a breakout game. He was 23 of 28 for 279 yards and 1 TD, for a rating of 120.1 Despite keeping the same run heavy game plan, he wisely took advantage of them through the air, while they held Vanaqs and Hiscock to 103 yards on 3.1 yards per carry.

Schaefer, Sampson and Fenderson were the top targets, which I like to see. Some downfield passing finally, each of them averaging over 10 yards per catch. Our defense contributed with three picks, and finally some pass rush from the front four.

Week 13

Tough defense by the Houston Oilers keys them to a 13-0 lead early in the game, with an interception by Nichols giving them an easy score one of thoese times. We make one good drive to get a score, but a blocked punt makes it easy for them again and we find ourselves down 20-7 athome.

We score again, but only after giving up a long pass play to them, and an eventual score. At 27-14 we're tryign to play catch up, and Nichols isn't upto it. He gest intercepted and our chances are over.

Houston Oilers 27, Omaha Tornadoes 14

Game Notes:

Not a horrible outing, but our offense never quite got in gear. Vanaqs was under 4 yards a carry, and Nichols threw two interceptions. Meanwhile we let Salpala pass right over us. Our pass D is probably the biggest flaw on this team I need to address. Jennings had a great game with 1.5 sacks and two hurries.

Around the league Jared Eden tied Jochen's old league record, throwing 5 TDs in a game while also hitting 324 yards. He was eclipsed by Mr. Who's That?, Darnell Huffman who threw 344 yards for Dallas. Looking at it, it turns out that Huffman has also thrown 5 TDs already this season in a game. He's right behind Stanberry in passing TDs, looking to break the record in the same year Harris does. Meanwhile Earl Bratton had a very quiet 40 yard day against that same Dallas team, getting beat 43-20.

We're falling out of any playoff race, but Nichols seems to be improving and our team getting better, so I'm eager to see how we can do these last four games.

Week 14

It's a shootout in Richmond with the Cavaliers. We go up early, scoring on our first possession and second possessions, Vanaqs rumbling 63 yards to make it 14-0. They turn right around and score on us, but next possession Sampson hauls in a long pass and takes it 50 yards for the score.

Both our offenses continue to work fine, but the defenses make just enough plays to keep either team from scoring 'til the end of hte half. We give up a field goal, but in return Hiscock and Schaefer combine for a two minute drive that gets us a 23 yard touchdown pass and a 28-10 lead at half time.

Richmond comes out determined to catch up in the second half, scoring on two consecutive drives to close to a 28-25 score. But my two running backs won't have that, Hiscock busting out a 27 yard run, and Vanaqs following it with a 28 yard TD run.

Hiscock has an unforunte fumble, and we follow up wiht a pass intereference that combine to give them an easy score. It's 35-32 in this unbearably tight shootout. Hiscock is determine dto redeem himself though, and makes a handful of clutch plays on the next drive to get us in field goal range, and up 38-32 at the two minute warning.

Our defense does their part, with a four and out, but Nichols can't leave well enough alone. He fumbles once again, giving them the one chance they need. Our defense saves our bacon, Jennings and INgram getting a sack, Barge defending a pass and Kooiker intercepting the fourth down heave. Whew.

Omaha Tornadoes 38, Richmond Cavaliers 32

Game Notes:

Now that was a wild game. obviously our defense did not do a great job, letting Flowers walk all over us, and even win player of the game as well as player of the week. But who can complain about that when we've got this sort of offense:

Vanaqs has 17 rushes for 166 yards, and two TDs
Hiscock chimes in with 21 rushes for 110 yards of his own and a TD.

Nichols completes 15 of 19 for 181 yards and 2 TDs, 1 INT.

It's not often you have two 100 yard runners, and Hiscock's biggest gain was 27 yards, so his was really legit. Jennings threw in another 1.5 sacks and two hurries, great blocking from Tubbs and Kitts. Minter, Perrin and Ingram though got picked apart by Flowers.

Week 15

We draw Kansas City again, this time at home, which could be a useful boost to our standings. they sit at 3-10 at hte bottom of the conference, and I'm eager to continue our resurgence against them.

Our defense comes out all over them, holding them to negative yardage on their first two drives. Our offense is looking a bit clunky though until Vanaqs reminds them how it's done, busting out for a 49 yard touchdown. This man is on fire.

KC shows us they have some surprises too though when they bring the kickoff back 95 yards for their own TD, 7-7. and it continues liek that, back and forth, with Nichols running in a touchdown himself, and their running back Mersky busting a big 40 yard run to get htem a score, and a one point lead. He ends up wearing us down, making run after run in crunch time to run out the clock, and our chances. Nichols has a chance wtih the ball and 1:53 left, but he ends up throwing an interception.

Kansas City Cowboys 21, Omaha Tornadoes 20

Game Notes:

his one hurt, we could have had it easily. Nichols had a rather poor 2 INT performance, Vanaqs getting 105 yards but only on that 49 yard TD. Our defense played well though I thought, and the offensive line.

Looking around the league I've noticed that Earl Bratton, our wunderkind, has slowed down, only getting 17 yards this last game. And then I noticed that his draft-mate, Van Rankinen, is having an amazing year too. A couple hundred yards behind Bratton, but still well over a thousand, and amazingly the man has 16 touchdowns in 14 games. Keep in mind the previous record was 9, and Bratton only has 4. Quite a performance.

Week 16

We look a bit sloppy playing Louisville, Hiscock coughing up the ball again and giving htem three points (this boy has slippery hands). But Vanaqs is running well, and the defense is playing well, getting turnovers nad holding them to field goals, and that puts us up 17-6.

Louisville gets their offense working though, scoring an easy seven. But Fleming recovers a fumble giving us an easy three, and Bliss makes a big interception on what could have been a game-tying play. Fleming makes the last play of the game, tipping a fourth down pass with less than a minute left to preserve the win.

Omaha Tornadoes 20, Louisville Chargers 13

Game Notes:

Vanaqs stars again with 127 yards on 25 carries, and two more TDs. Nichols had a game management game with 12 of 17 for 112 yards. No interceptions was the key. Some good pass defense and some great blocking and we're there.

Harris Stanberry was player of the week with a 338 yard, 4 TD performance that is helping him shatter the recordbooks. I can only hope Nichols will be shattering those some day. Not this year. Vanaqs meanwhile has crept up into 5th in the league in rushing yardage, and second in TDs, on some strong end of the year play.

Week 17

We've got one chance to at least hit 500 and salvage this season. Our opponents are the cellar dweller Minneapolis Lakers who beat us at home earlier this season.

Our defense comes out hot again. I've been balking at resigning my DTs for what they're asking, but I may have to. They are pretty damn good on a team that's not that great. Our offense hits a lot of penalties though, and we end up punting from against our endzone. They promptly throw a 38 yard touchdown to go up 7-0.

We promptly drive right down the field on a strong running attack,a nd Vanaqs scores again, putting us at 7-7. Unfortunately Hiscock fumbles on the next possession. I couldn't make him my feature back with that fumbleitis, it's too bad. We stuff them from the 5 though, and they settle for 3. 10-7.

Hiscock has a 30 yard run on the next drive, to try to make up for it. But Nichols ruins it all by throwing a pick next play. If it's not one of them, it's the other. Or a penalty. Our defense is having a great day though, giving our offense opportunity after opportunity to mess up.

Nichols gets us just enough to get in field goal range, and we make it, tying up 10-10. Time is running out in the 4th and neither team seems able to break the tie. A short punt and a good return sets the Lakers up on our 44. They drive to the 24, but two sacks in a row put them at the 34. They still boom the field goal though and go up 13-10 with 1:30 left.

This is when I want to see Nichols pull a game out, last game of hte season, for the win. But Schaefer drops one, a bad pass, a 5 yarder, and a bad pass and he's done. He's still got a lot to learn if he's going to be as good as I'm hoping.

Minneapolis Lakers 13, Omaha Tornadoes 10

Game Notes:
Vanaqs closes with a nice 91 yard effort, and Hiscock chimes in with 68 on 12 carries. Nichols however closes the year with 12 for 26 for 101 yards and a pick. Ugh.

Greer played lights out with a 4 tackle, 2 assist, 2 sack, 1 hurry and 1 knockdown game. Ingram had a nice game too with 2 tackles, 1 interception, 1 hurry and 2 knockdowns.

Ironically player of the week was Artie Blackburn, trying to make me regret letting him go and pinning my hopes on Nichols, I guess.

Autumn

07-21-2008, 09:38 PM

Wildcard Round

The Racers have the best record in the league at 12-4, behind Stanberry's amazing season. The Trailblazers are one game behind them and so nab one wild card, with the San Antonio Defenders taking the other. That leaves Houston, Denver and Portland as the other division winners in our conference.

The Detroit Wheels are the class of the American Conference at 11-5. The Generals win their division at 10-6, and the rest is a mess of 9-7 teams. Providence and Birmingham win their divisions with tie breakers over their 9-7 division mates. Baltimore and Memphis squeak in at 9-7 themselves.

St. Louis has the only blowout in the first round, beating Houston 31-14 behind Rufus Chandler at QB, and Jermaine Elliott picking up three sacks and two hurries.

My division leader, Denver Mountaineers, wint heir game against San Antonio by a point, after a 80 yard TD drive. Rob Forbes picks up 108 receiving yards in that game, and Martin Guzowski has 82 yards rushing.

The Whalers beat the Showboats despite an impressive rushing day by Lee Lu and O.J. Goodwin. The Whalers countered with great passing by J. T. Perkins

Baltimore was the other away winner, beating The Birmingham Rebels with a 295 yard passing day from Jamie Edmond. Grady Starks pulled in 110 of those yards, while star defensive end Corey Brush had 9 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 4 hurries, a block and a knockdown. Yikes.

Divisional Round

Now the Trailblazers and Racers, division rivals, face off in Indianapolis. It's a game, but Indy wins it with a 300 yard passing game from Stanberry. The Racers put up no rushing game, while Trailblazer Corey Frye rushes for 11 yards. But Stanberry is too good for these guys.

Denver hits the road to Portland, where the 11-5 Eruption are heavy favorites. It's not to be though as our division mates beat the Eruption 27-21 with a touchdown in overtime. Martin Guzowski is player of the game with a 121 yard performance on the ground, and 83 receiving yards, including the 22 yard winning touchdown. Jared Eden lights it up for 351 yards, perhaps a record, and Moe Bates catches 171 of them, definitely a record, but all in vain.

In the AFC, Baltimore is traveling to Detroit to face the best team in their conference. But the Admirals pile it on and Detroit never has a chance, losing 17-7. The Admirals have 176 yards rushing between their two backs, while Wheels QB Dusty Harvey only manages 78 yards in the air. Corey Brush goes home player of the game again, with a 2 sack, 3 hurry, 3 knockdown, 4 tackle game.

Providence goes to Washington where the Generals are 8 point favorites. They only manage to win 10-6 though, in an ugly offensive game. Whaler running back Raymond Mitting was the only highlight with 135 yards rushing on 15 carries. But this was a defensive battle, and player of the game Dixon Pelliteir's 7 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 hurries and 3 knockdowns were the game winner.

Conference Finals.

The NFC championship pits Denver against Indianapolis, with Indy the slight favorites. The wind is gusting and it's rainy though, and so Stanberry may not be such an advantage. And indeed, Denver surprises again, winning against the favored Racers, recovering a fumble and driving in for the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Guzowski only has 62 yards in this game, and a receiving touchdown, but still manages player of the game. Coles passes for 221 yards, 116 of it to Rob Forbes. Meanwhile Stanberry's 277 yards don't get the job done, nor their 100 yards rushing, as the Mountaineers win the turnover battle.

The Admirals and the Generals face off in Washington for the AFC Championship. The Generals don't disappoint, beating Baltimore handily with a crushing defense. They grind out 124 yards on the ground, and Alonzo Crocton gets 199 yard passing. But it's DT Dixon Pelletier, and his 3 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 block, 2 hurries and 3 knockdowns that dominates the game. On the other side, DE Corey Brush manages 1 sack, 2 hurries, but it's not enough. The Admirals have an excellent defensive squad though and I expect to see them again.

Super Bowl

Washington and Denver in the big game, neither of them the cream of their conference during the regular season. But Guzowski has turned it on in the postseason for the Mountaineers, and Pelletier for the Generals. Washington are two point favorites.

It's a tied game to the end of the third quarter, when the Generals go ahead on a touchdown run and add a field goal late in the 4th to cement their win. Guzowski runs well, with 90 yards on 17 carries. But the Generals keep possession of the ball with a pounding running game and 21 of 26 passing from Alonzo Crocton, our Superbowl MVP. Pelletier doesn't have a knockout game, but the Generals do just enough to win, holding Coles to 18 of 35 passing in the end.

The Washington Generals are the fourth Superbowl Champions, and our very first AFC team to win the big trophy.

Autumn

07-21-2008, 09:57 PM

MVP
The voters continue to confound us with their selections, electing Ronnie Newhart, DE for the Philadelphia Privateers, as this year's MVP. This is despite record shattering seasons by Harris Stanberry and Earl Bratton. Newhart, who won the MVP award last year as well, had an excellent year with 17.5 sacks and 59 tackles. He was not even the sack leader this year, but is idolized in Philly where it seems the voters must all live.

Offensive Player of the Year
Stanberry runs away with this award, clearly appropriate for the man who ended with 4337 passing yards, 36 touchdowns and a 97.3 rating, all new league records, as well as leading his team to the conference finals.

Defensive Player of the Year
Brant West of the Detroit Wheels takes this award in a season in which he broke the league record for sacks, with 21, adding 31 hurries and 19 knockdowns. A very reasonable choice.

Offensive Rookie of the Year
Before this season started i would have had Nichols penciled in here for sure. He disappointed, but Lee Lu, the running back picked 9th by the Memphis Showboats, came on strong this season. He racked up 1300 yards in his first year, good for second in the league (though on a low average), as well as 8 touchdowns. A threat out of the backfield as well he got 696 yards in the air, leader among running backs.

Defensive Rookie of the Year
D.J. Lengel, the 10th pick in last year's draft, a defensive tackle for the New Orleans Jazz, took this award with an amazing 73 tackle, 15.5 sack performance.

All Stars
There are some surprises in the All Star picks, including Lee Lu beating out such contenders as Martin Guzowski and Rufus McArthur for first string running back, despite their far superior averages. Most interesting to me though are some Tornado additions. Shannon Shepherd made first team at fullback, confirming my feeling that this guy was a huge playmaker this year. Despite only being rated 40/40, this guy picked up 14 KRB for us this year, and two pancakes. His 25 catches out of the backfield were key plays for us as well.

Also first team is Scottie Dawkins, our center who had 35 KRB this year and 7 pancakes, while only allowing two sacks (for a 0.5 sack percentage). And this is a guy with

O.J. Greer makes 2nd team at DT, with a 52 tackle, 9.5 sack season.

I'm at least glad to not see Kim Covington, my former 1st round pick I gave up to get Nichols, in the 1st or 2nd team this year. He can get back in after Nichols does.

Coach of the Year
Quentin Merrifield for the Indianapolis Racers gets the nod here. They had the best record in the league, so I guess that makes sense, though they had the best QB too.

Legend of the Game
Okay, every year this is a joke, because of course there are no legends retiring yet. Last year was legend Ken Walden, who was the one player I created for the original player file. This year the legned is .... Ken Walden. Yes, somehow he retired twice. He didn't actually come back this year, so this is just more weirdness.

Autumn

07-21-2008, 10:08 PM

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1923teamsummary.jpg">

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1923performance.jpg">

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1923nicholsend.jpg">

I'll be doing the league leaders next, but I'm struggling over format. I like doing the images but it's a bit tedious. I tried printing to file but don't like the format it comes out in. I'll try to get to it soon.

1924 .... the year of the unrestricted free agent!

Autumn

01-18-2009, 02:00 PM

<center>1924</center>

Staff Hiring

1924 does not open auspiciously for the Omaha Tornadoes. Both our defensive coordinator and head scout are due for a new contract, and they're both two of the best at their positions in the league. I'm eager to snatch them back up but it seems my owner doesn't feel the same way. Given the dismal profit returns thsi past year he's decided to hamstring me financially. I have to go look through the cheapest prospects out there. I find a D coordinator with decent ratings who at least is young, so has some upside. He's an upgrade on the secondary, which is where we need the most help so I can overlook his downsides. I'm eager to get a young great looking scout but he goes elsewhere for big money. It takes a lot of effort to grab someone I want. I eventually get a guy who's okay, though has a low Youth rating.

Free Agency

I'm stoked and ready for this, the first year in the league with real unrestricted free agents. We're five years in now and the first crop of fellows are on the market.

We're targeting three spots: WR, DE and CB. I especially would like to get an all-league type WR to match up with my stud QB. The other two are the weak spots on our defense and the best place to land a star, I think.

Free agency doesn't go our way though. We chase after the couple stud WR prospects out there. But the guy we really want, who we offer millions of dollars and a multi-year deal, Russel Rayburn, ends up resigning with the Richmond Cavaliers for $270,000, basically a min-sal deal for him. That's insane.

Similarly, the DE we target, Jerald Bernard, ends up resigning with division rival Denver, though at least he gets 4 years and $9 million out of it. There's not really any great CBs in the market either.

We end up doing two things in free agency: adding some decent but not star material players and helping with chemistry. We add a couple wide receivers who look to be better than what we have, though not by much. Same at cornerback and defensive end.

To go along with our coaching change though we do what we can to tweak chemistry, letting go some locker room malcreants and trying to sign guys with good affinity with our stars. In addition to that this turns out to be the first year any Mentors are on the rosters, and I hustle out there and sign one for every position I can get. It means we've got some weak veterans on the roster but I hope it will help my guys develop. In particular I'm glad to get Tripplet, a veteran QB from the first days of the league who will help mentor Nichols to greatness (is the idea).

Chemistry works out perfectly for me. I have one DL who's good, really the best free agent on the market, but who I decide not to resign since he's got a conflict with my franchise star MLB. However, things work out perfectly as I pick up a veteran LB who becomes our new defensive leader, and my old DL loves the guy. I sign the tackle back, now a happy man, and there's nary a conflict to be found in the locker room.

We have a few guys leave, of course. John Rosario, once part of our two-headed running attack and the rushing leader in 1920, signs with Detroit. Timothy Atkins, the hotheaded QB we drafted but never quite trusted with the ball signs with division rival Minneapolis.

I find some interesting things looking to see who has the best contracts in the league. Most are quarterbacks of course, though notably Nichols is not one of them. Only one defensive player in the top and it's Dave Henderson, a CB for the Philadelphia Privateers. The guy is rated 34/34 and had one good year in 1920. The Privateers gave him a gigantic bonus the next year and he's not done anything since, getting four picks in three years. Notably, Philly is the team I traded with to get my Nichols first round pick. Bad management I guess.

Draft

I somehow can't find my notes on the draft, but it wasn't signficiant. With Philly having our first round pick we're mostly just looking to fill holes here. I grab a couple wide receivers with my first picks, hoping to get lucky. Neither one turns out to be fantastic, and one gets cut before the season starts. One good pick seems to be a backup center.

Training Camp

Training camp is decent, seeing some increases in even some veterans I thought were all done. A lot of guys with big camps and I can't really complain about those who don't.

The biggest drop, and hit in my plans, is Juan Vanaq, my leading rusher, who has a huge drop and doesn't seem likely to see much playing time based on his ratings. He was #5 in the league last year. I luckily had picked up a guy named Jeff Schroeder in free agency who interested me with a league-leading YPC as a 2nd fiddle. He will now pair with Artie Hiscock, a much weaker tandem than I thought I was going to get.

However, I also get a surprise boom out of WR Marshall Schaefer who goes up something like 12 points in training camp. He suddenly looks like a legitimate starter and maybe has more room to boom.

I use preseason to sort out which of my many cornerbacks and wide receivers to keep. The rest of the team is fairly well settled, and fairly similar to last year. Offensive tackle Norm McGregor comes back from his injury and disgruntled status and now looks ready to start. Free agent pickup Kelly Dilon look sto move into a starting spot at defensive end. Cornerback will be a juggle as I have a few new guys with decent ratings, and some guys of my own who I suspect are better than they look.

Autumn

01-18-2009, 09:45 PM

<center>1924</center>

We hope this season will be a coming out party for Edwin Nichols. While clearly the most talented quarterback in the league, Nichols had an underwhelming rookie season. While he didn't play horribly it was the team's running game that got them any success and he was outperformed by many other league quarterbacks. With some better locker room chemistry, new coaching, and some new additions in the receiving corps we hope for better this year. Nichols looks to have improved greatly already in training camp.

Week 1: at Kansas City

We start the season on the road, and gut out a dirty but convincing 19-0 win. It's a real boost of confidence, but there was clearly a lot still to work on despite the score.

Nichols played very accurately, going 21 of 23, but only for 179 yards. Winds were 17 mph and he threw a lot of screen passes, and not terribly effectively. Still, our offense chalked up 200 yards rushing in the wind. And the bulk of that, or the effective bulk of that, was actually Nichols himself. He scrambled 12 times for 94 yards, almost singlehandedly winning us the first half with his legs, picking up 38 yards on a designed run and also running in a touchdown.

The star on defense was our newly acquired DE Dilon, who had 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks and 4 hurries. Still, he was outshined by the Defensive Player of the Week on the other side, Cowboys OLB Andy Joseph who terrorized us for 12 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Omaha Tornadoes 19, Kansas City Cowboys 0

Week 2: at Philadelphia

Philadelphia is notable for two things: having traded us the #1 pick we used to get Nichols, and for being home of Ronnie Newhart, two time MVP and one of the most popular players in the league. This monster DE will be a big matchup problem for us, especially considering how McGregor got eaten up last week.

We manage to move the ball well, but have trouble getting in the endzone and so are up only 9-7 at the half. Their only score comes on a big play, a 66 yard screen pass. It seems we've gotten lucky when Newhart gets injured in the first half as well.

A big interception return by Sheldon gets us up 16-7. They intercept Nichols in turn, but Kooiker stops them from scoring with an interception of his own. It seems Newhart's absence isn't hurting them as now their DT Givgore is in seemingly every play, wrecking it. He ends the night with 2 blocks and 5 hurries.

We manage to go up 19-14 with six minutes left in the game. Though they're clamping down on our offense and moving the chains themselves they can't score, Ingram making a big defensive stop at the three minute mark. Schroeder makes an all important 17 yard run that causes them to use the last of their timeouts and Hiscock follows up with a 10 yarder that breaks their back.

Another tough road win, an ugly one. Still no real run game on our part, and while Nichols made the plays to keep us alive he was only passing 50%, and with too many RB targets. Defense kept us in this one, Kooiker ending with that interception and three defensed passes.

Omaha Tornadoes 19, Philadelphia Privateers 14

Week Three: St. Louis at home

We're stoked for our first home game, coming in at 2-0 to meet the Trailblazers. I've tweaked our gameplan and depth charts now that I see what we're about. We're hoping for a big win.

Two big grinding drives get us 14 early points in the game, a defensive stand and a big Hiscock run getting us in position for another three. However, an interception by Nichols and a bad defensive holding call give them an easy 14 of their own. A last minute drive puts us up 20-14 at the half but it should be better than that.

The scoring continues in the second half. We miss out on a big Schaefer TD catch with a penalty, but get the kick. A pick by Martinez puts us in position and a couple nice passes by Nichols gets us the TD. But we give up a drive and an unnecessary roughness call to give them 10poinds of their own. With 8 minutes left we're up 30-24 and go three and out.

It's up to the defense to come through. Martinez gets a sack, Minter tips a pass and then Perrin intercepts a third down heave and runs it back for a score. It should be enough but we let them score too easily and can't run the clock out. They get one last chance and Dilon gets the key pass rush here, ending their chances and giving us a close shave but a win.

Hiscock hits 100 yards on fairly good running today, while Nichols only gets sacked once. McGregor comes out well, with 3 of 4 blocking, a pancake and no sacks allowed. Nichols goes 19 of 28 for 208 yards and 3 TDs. Greer has a nice defensive game at tackle, with 2 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown.

Omaha Tornadoes 36, St. Louis Trailblazers 31

Week 4: Bye

Week 5: at Seattle

We are one of only two undefeated teams left in the league. And for the third time in four games we're on the road, this time to face the Destroyers. They have one of the league's best running backs in Junior Shepherd and some good D players, including DT James Dehaven, an almost perfect specimen of football player.

For the first time it seems we'll be playing from behind as they go up 13-7 on us, attacking us with their passing game. Only one nice drive by us in the first half, while we gave them three first downs by penalties. Sloppy.

They go up 16-7 in the third quarter before we finally get into gear. Hiscock busts out a 46 yard run and Nichols follows right up with a 32 yard bomb to Crawford for the TD. Next series Kooiker gets a pick and runs it back all the way and suddenly we're up 21-16.

Things look like they'll be put away as we play good D, Dilon getting a monster sack, and good O. But Nichols throws a pick at the two yard line. We don't despair though, Paschal getting a pick of our own and now we're back at the 24. We get a TD run by Vanaqs called back and end up kicking it, 24-16.

The Destroyers wouldn't even be in this game except for our 17 penalties for 120 yards! But in it they are, driving on us with two minutes left. Dilon gets another key sack, and we then promptly intercept their desperation heave. We can't grind it out with that Dehaven in the middle, but they can only desperately heave it down the field with 43 seconds left and we hold onto our fourth win.

Hiscock has his second big game, with 15 rushes for 117 yards. I'm starting to relax about him leading the attack. Meanwhile, Nichols had a good game, 23 of 32 for 220 yards and 2 TDs. None of the receivers are really standing out, and Hiscock is still getting too many targets, but at least Nichols is getting it downfield more.

Our defense got three interceptions, Kooiker the star here with 1 INT run back for a TD and two defensed passes, plus giving up no catches. Dilon gets another two sacks.

Omaha Tornadoes 24, Seattle Destroyers 16

Around the League

We are now the only undefeated team, with Detroit falling to 4-1. Minneapolis is right behind us in the division though at 4-1, and helmed by former Tornado Timothy Atkins.

The surprise of the century is that last year's Offensive Player of the Year, and record-smashing QB, Harris Stanberry is currently dead last with a 49.5 QB rating and 8 interceptions in 5 games. I wonder what's going on there. Meanwhile, the Stars QB is leading the league with 11 TDs already.

A lot of record setting performances already this year. Juan Salpala lived up to his high accuracy rating, going 19 of 20 in a game to set the completion percentage record. Huffman of the Dallas Rangers broke the yardage record with 383 passing yards against the Gale. Even Jack Nelson of the Bootleggers set one with 35 completions against the Yankees in a loss, while his receiver set a record with 14 receptions.

Autumn

01-18-2009, 11:29 PM

Week 6: home against Los Angeles

The Stars come to Omaha for our second home game of the season. Willie Tisdall, their QB, doesn't seem like much but he's thrown 11 touchdowns already and is averaging 250 yards a game. They have no running game at all to speak of, but don't need it with a receiver like Gene Pritchett who's averaging 19 yards per catch. Their defense is not well ranked, but has some talented players.

The game starts out great as we swarm them on defense, Fleming getting a sack and Dilon picking up the resulting fumble and running it in for a TD and first blood. They come right back to drive on us though and even up the score. Even worse they cause a fumble on our first drive and get another chance. They score and it's 14-7.

A good return and some plays by Hiscock get us in the redzone. Schroeder then earns his check with two big plays to get us in the endzone and tie it up. We trade punts and then Nichols picks our way down the field with a very methodical drive, getting a 5 yard TD pass to Sampson in the end.

We go into the locker room up 21-14. A pick by Wicks gets us a chance and we drive into the redzone. Schroeder has another big run to get us to the 1 yard line, and Mohammed ends up with the TD catch to make it 28-14. Paschal follows up with another pick as LA just doesn't have diverse enough a gameplan to keep our pass D off of them. We get three points off of that turnover. Our problem however is a pass offense that is relying on dumpoffs to Hiscock, and that's starting to get familiar to the Stars.

The Stars finally get some big catches in the fourth quarter, and a TD by Pritchett puts them down 31-21. However, Nichols can do that too and hits Sampson for 20 yards on the next series to help us grind out some more clock. A 14 yard run by Hiscock does the same, as well as a 8 yard run on 3rd and 5. It's not pretty, but we grind out the clock and hit a field goal at the two minute warning. They can't score and we run out the clock on a fifth win.

Nichols had another fine looking day, going 24 of 32 for 221 yards and 2 TDs. Hiscock was his main target, catching 8 passes for 86 yards. Not exactly what I'm looking for but I guess he took what was there. Meanwhile we shut down the LA pass attack for the most part, Tisdall going 14 of 35 for 204 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked 5 times, four of them by player of the game DE Harry Fleming. Besides the sacks he also had 4 tackles, 2 hurries and four knockdowns.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, Los Angeles Stars 21

Week 7: Home against Minneapolis

This is the most exciting matchup so far. Division rival Minneapolis has fallen to 4-2 while we're at 5-0, but this is their chance to play catchup. Not only that but they've gotten those four wins with Timothy Atkins at the helm, the confident QB we drafted and later rejected for Nichols. He's got a bone to pick with us and is coming to do it.

We come out with the ball, and strong. A big catch by Schaefer puts us on the 8, and then Schroeder runs it in the rest of the way and we're up 7-0. Now it's Atkins's turn, and he proves he can do the same, moving it into the redzone. Luckily though his receiver fumbles it and Briles recovers for us.

We trade punts for a while. Hiscock busts open a screen for 22 yards to get us to midfield and then makes a big run. Fenderson makes a couple of catches to get us to the redzone. Nichols scrambles but loses the ball and Minneapolis recovers. Our defense is all over them but a desperation heave on third down keeps the Lakers alive.

Atkins proves why we let him go through when he coughs up the ball himself on a sack, giving it to us at the 24. A penalty backs us up but Nichols brings us right back and on 2nd and goal Hiscock punches it in for a 14-0 lead. Atkins takes them on a two minute drive though with some great play by his receivers. They try to drive it in from the two yard line but we hold them and they have to kick it, making it 14-3 at the half.

Their hot play continues in the second though, Atkins already at 250 yards passing by thefr first drive, FB Howard especially busting the moves on us. A pass interference call on us gets them to the 7, and they score, bringing it to a 14-10 lead by our Tornadoes.

The momentum affects them swarming defense and we are three and out. We need a big play and our defense hasn't brought it yet this game. We get a stop at least, and a good punt return, and a 10 yard catch by Schaefer to give us some rhythm. Fulton makes a big third down catch and now Nichols is feeling his oats again. Hiscock makes two great catches to get us to the 6 as the third quarter winds down. Sampson hauls in a touchdown catch and it's 21-10.

We hold Atkins just shy of 300 yards passing on the next possession as we force a three and out. And then Burton turns in a huge punt return getting us to the Minneapolis 25 yard line. A dropped pass, big pressure, it looks bad, but Nichols pulls it out hitting Fulton for a 25 yard touchdown toss right down the seam to end the third.

Fleming picks up two sacks on the next possession to make it three and out again. They expect us to start grinding it out but instead Nichols takes to the air, finding Sampson for a 34 yard gain. Schroeder soon punches in another TD and we're up 35-10. What once looked like a tight game is turning into a rout as they can't handle our pass rush when it's coming full tilt. Now we start grinding the clock down and they can't make the stops they need. We get another FG and at that point they basically give up, just making big gains by running the ball and wasting their time. In the end we've got our sixth win and a big lead in the division.

Nichols showed he could get it done here, going 19 of 26 for 274 yards and 2 TDs, distributing the ball to just about everyone. He picks up a Player of the Week award for his effort, and maintains his status as best rated QB in the league. Atkins outgunned him, ending up with 301 yards, but couldn't get the ball in the endzone.

Omaha Tornadoes 38, Minneapolis Lakers 10

Autumn

01-23-2009, 11:19 PM

Week 8 at Denver

We come out looking good, stopping them on D and then moving the ball ourselves, scoring on our first drive with a 16 yard pass to Schaefer. We get a break picking up a fumble on their next possession, but we miss the ensuing field goal. Our next drive though Nichols connects on four long pass plays to get another 16 yard TD, and us a 14-0 lead.

A penalty and some bad play backs us up to the six, where we punt, giving Denver good field position. They immediately come out passing and get into the redzone. They drive it in to make it 14-7 at the half.

Nichols picks up more big passes in the second half, a 30 yard pass to Sampson getting us to the three where we punch it in to go up 21-7. Next series, Minter comes up with a loose fumble but we fail to score. Dilon comes up with key pressure when it counts though and we keep them from scoring.

Next series Fenderson takes a medium pass to the races, 68 yards for a touchdown and we have a 28-7 lead going into the fourth. Denver's QB, Coles, decides to show us the same, scrambling for over 50 yards himself on the next series. That gets them close enough and they score to make it 28-14. Key possession for us and Nichols comes through with two big completions to move us downfield. We're then able to run out some of the clock, especially as backup FB Machen busts out a 10 yard run. Hiscock follows suit to get us to the redzone with five minutes left. We end up kicking the field goal with under three minutes left to all but sew up the game. Perrin gets the final interception that seals things and we get our seventh win.

Nichols is the game MVP as well as Player of the Week, going 21 of 29 for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns, no picks, in probably his best pro game so far. I made a few tweaks to the game plan and they seem to have paid off, with wide receivers being the top three targets instead of Hiscock. Meanwhile, Hiscock picked up 75 yards on 15 carries. We won the turnover battle by forcing two fumbles and getting a pick, and we're now #1 in the league in turnover margin as well as points scored.

Omaha Tornadoes 31, Denver Mountaineers 14

Before our next game we do a little renegotiating, signing some guys who are about to expire this season. We're able to wrap up several of our promising players this way before they get to free agency. Marshal Schaefer is the only one who we really can't deal with, he's asking for so much. We'll let hte cold dose of reality deal with him.

Week 9: at Portland

I would really like to get to 8-0, and to do so we'll have to win our 5th road game of the season. Portland is on a three game winning streak. However they don't look formidable. They're first in the league in pass attempts but almost last in all other passing categories, giving you a good idea of how feeble their attack is. Their defense looks decently average. I'm not going to tweak much of anything in our plan given how it's worked so far. I do tweak the defensive rosters a bit though.

A penalty, and then a bad hold by Jochen on a kick keep us from scoring on what was a good opening drive. An interception on our next drive as Nichols is getting a bit cocky with the deep passes. We get the ball right back on a monster sack by Huie though causing a fumble. Nichols has scrambled for three first downs already this game, but also got caught for a 15 yard sack. We manage a field goal on the drive, coming up short at the four.

We score on a nice drive with a screen pass, putting ourselves up 10-0 before the half. They follow up with a drive right before the half themselves, getting to first and goal at the two but running out of time and kicking the field goal.

We play the field position war, giving ground to them and they are driving into our side of the field as the fourth quarter starts. They get to the 6 yard line with a long pass, and then throw a TD to tie things up.

We get a good return though to start at our 43. Nichols immediately throws a pick though on a broken play, and the other show drops when they hit a 24 yard pass. We desperately need a big play on defense but they're not showing up in the second half. We give them the 8 yard line with penalties, and then let them rush it when while we expect pass. We're now down 17-10.

Nichols gets sacked, but Fulton makes up for it next play with a 17 yard catch. Fenderson follows up on the next play by busting a huge one for a 51 yard touchdown and all of a sudden it's tied again. They're running on us and for some reason we're expecting nothing but passes. A touchdown run is called back on a penalty luckily for us, but we still need to find a way to stop them. We give them another long pass to get them in the redzone. They milk the clock, hoping to kick and go up by 3 with two minutes left. But Minter shows why he's the heart of this team by breaking through and blocking the kick, giving it to us with a tied score and 2 minutes left.

Somebody picks up an unsportsmanlike conduct call, calling back a nice pass. Another one gets called back on holding. I'm not liking how our team is acting when they have to work for it for the first time this year. We end up having to punt and now have to depend on our defense.

Minter plays solid D on a pass, then Huie knocks one down. They hit a screen pass and then kick a 45 yarder. It was partially blocked though and doesn't have a chance. It looks like we're going to over time.

We win the coin toss. Starting at our 35, we need Nichols to take control. Instead he ends up getting intercepted on a third down pass, giving it to them at our 32, and with momentum. A defensive holding call breaks up a great play by Ingram. Instead they drive to the 7 yard line and play it safe, going for another game winning kick. They don't even need it as we give up the touchdown and our first heartbreaking loss of the season.

Nichols looked rattled out there, as our whole team did. I take the blame for some of my adjustments, I think Nichols was trying to throw long too much and the three interceptions resulted. Otherwise he had a decent game. Hiscock was running well but didn't get run enough.

Meanwhile our defense was porous. Clarence Browning got schooled at cornerback, giving up 7 catches today, and Paschal didn't do much better, with 6 caught against him and only one defended. Someone's going to catch hell for this game.

Portland Eruption 23, Omaha Tornadoes 17

Autumn

02-01-2009, 10:35 PM

Week 10: San Francisco

The second half of the season begins and now the league is gunning for us. At 7-1 we have the best record and have a slight edge, having five home games coming up in the last half.

We start it with the San Francisco Quake coming to town. The Quake, one time champions, are 2-6 this season, at seeming disarray at the QB spot. They've had three differnet QBs play so far this season. They do seem to have a decent running attack though.

We spend the early game trading punts. I know we need better cornerbacks, but our run defense is pretty poor as well. I'm not sure why, I like our front seven, but they just give up yardage. They come up with a big play though, recovering a fumble And Hergett follows up with an 18 yard catch. The offense doesn't make anything of it though and we end up punting away. Perrin almost comes up with anohter turnover but misses out. The offense is just sputtiner today, we only have two first downs so far.

Hiscock busts a big play, getting loose for a 26 yard pass to give us some momentum. However, McGregor lets up a sack on third down which means we have to settle for a field goal on the drive. We're up 3-0. They start moving down the field toward the end of the half, slinging the ball. Minter gets a monster sack to set them back some but they come right back with a 22 yard pass. Somehow we give up a 13 yard run while in run defense to get them to first and goal. Stuff them on first, stuff them on second, but a TD on third down and they will go in the locker room up 7-3.

McGregor gives up another sack to ruin our first drive of the second half. I dont know what his problem is today. They come right back out passing, hitting a 18 yard play to start their drive. Dillon picks up a sack of his own, and then a blocked pass to give the crowd something to cheer about. Hiscock breaks a run for 16 yards and the noise is getting louder. Now they're on their heels as we cross midifeld with another good run. Crawford drops a pass though, making me wonder how he can be complaing about playing time. The coaches make a great call, going for it on fourth and one. Nichols scrambles on a quick count, catching the defense unawares, going for 15 yards. Hergett makes a great play to get a first and get us in the redzone. There though we shoot ourselves in the foot with a holding call and then a sack given up by Sutton. We have to settle for the field goal attempt and even miss that. Where's the fight in this team?

Apparently it's in the defense who stuff the Quake for no gain on two consecutive plays and then cause a fumble, Paschal picking it up and getting to the 29. The offense takes advantage, Fulton pulls in a 13 yarder, Hergett grabs a 17 yarder and we're on the one yard line. Hiscock's run gets stuffed, so he takes it thorugh the air instead, pulling in a 2 yard pass for a TD and a 10-7 lead.

Our run defense is suddenly a steel curtain it seems, fired up. Kooiker makes a good tackle to force them to punt and Nichols has it in his hands in the fourth quarter. Hergett continues to make plays with his fourth catch, and Fulton follows up with a 31 yard catch on 2nd and 3. Sampson pulls in a 15 yarder and we're at the red zone again. Hergett catches a 7 yarder, and then defensive holding gives us first and goal on the 8. We make some plays but a penalty pulls us back and we have to kick it. We're up 13-7 with 8 minutes left. If it wasn't for penalties this would be a blow out.

We force them to punt and now is a key drive. Third and five we need this first down but instead Nichols gets intercepted, the LB running it back 24 yards to give them prime field position. We really need the defense to come up big now. Minter makes a good tackle on first. Fleming has a huge sack on second down. They dump off the pass on third and long, and simply go for the field goal, which they make. It's 13-10 with three minutes left.

Hiscock comes up with a key first down run to help us milk down the clock. We don't quite make another first down and punt it to them at the 18 with less than two minutes. We give up two catches but our pass rush finally comes through. We squeak by with a three point win to go 8-1.

Nichols wins game MVP but I'd give it to Hergett, maybe. He had a great game with 5 catches for 57 yards. Nichols has been forgetting him lately, but he's a good target. Nichols went 25 of 35 for 228 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. He got sacked 3 times, which was a big factor in the close score. Not a good running day for anyone, though I loved Nichols big 4th down surprise scramble. I can't decide of CB Paschal had a good day or not, he allowed 6 catches, but defended three passes.

Around the league, Harris Stanberry is seemingly back in form, having a monster 327 yard, 3 TD passing day. Last year's Rookie of the Year Lee Lu has a monster day as well, running for 171 yards for the Showboats. He's tremendously popular in Memphis and around the league, a team leader and I wouldn't be surprised to see him getting MVP votes. Meanwhile, rookie running back Ray Gist scores 4 touchdowns for the Boston Minutemen setting a new league record. It seems I missed that WR Earl Bratton did the same a few weeks ago, hauling in 4 TDs for a record. Mario Skiffington, WR for the Cleveland Hammers, is looking to be having an MVP like performance himself, on pace to have a 2000 yard season.

Omaha Tornadoes 13, San Francisco Quake 10

Week 11: Kansas City

I really need the team to get it back together after two so-so games. I make a few tweaks to try to get us back to the way we were performing in the beginning of the season. This is the game to do it, as we're playing Kansas City, who we crushed 19-0 in the first game of the season, in their stadium.

KC draws first blood, holding us to three and out and then managing enough to kick a field goal. We march right down the field though, looking good mixing up big runs and big catches. However, we go a bit conservative in the redzone, settling for a field goal which then gets blocked. We play good D, but they show some balls going for it on 4th and 1 and making it. We hold them though and they end up kicking to make it 6-0 Cowboys.

Schroeder is finally earning his pay with his second big run of the day. That motivates Hiscock and he has a big first down run to put us at midfield. Sampson and Schaefer take turns moving the ball down the field to get us in first and goal. Schroeder takes a screen pass to the 1 yard line and Fulton ends up catching the TD pass to make it 7-6.

We give up a huge run, but make up for it by knocking the ball loose, Fleming coming up with it. Fulton makes a big catch on a broken play to get in the redzone, and Hiscock follows up with two good runs to make it first and goal. It gets called back on holding though, and then holding again and suddenly we're way backed up. Shepherd makes a big 19 yard catch but that gets called back too on a penalty. We end up punting instead of scoring, nailing them at the 1 yard line. Another touchdown denied with penalties.

We hold them and get the ball back, but two dropped passes on our next series does that in. We get it back with less than a minute left in the half and make a go for it after a couple quick big runs. But we run out of time as rookie WR Youssef gets caught inbounds.

They come out running in the second half, driving down the field on us. Runs and screens get them to first and goal. The heart of our team, Buddy Martinez makes a huge third down stuff and they somehow miss the field goal.

For some reason, backup RB Schroeder is getting a lot of targets, and that's not a good thing. We go three and out with some of those short dumpoff passes. He can just go back to being disgruntled if that's what having him in the game is going to mean. Kooiker makes a great play, getting an interception as they were starting to move and running it to about midfield. Unfortunately it's more passes to Schroeder for us. A penalty gives us another chance and this time Scroeder runs it picking up 7. Nichols follows with a first down scramble, and then another for 7 yards. The fourth quarter starts with us up by 1 and picking up a first down at their 25 yard line. Mohammed hauls in an 11 yard catch and Fulton follows that right up with a 14 yard TD! It's 14-6.

KC is starting to act a bit desperate on offense, and it pays off for us with a big sack and some blocked passes. We get the ball back with a chance to start putting this game away. A holding call isn't a good way to start though. Dawkins gives up a sack and we end up punting. We give up another big play but hold them to another missed field goal. This would be the time to shove it odwn their throat but instead it's more dinky screens and dumps. Nichols is 23 of 27 right now, which would be great if half of them weren't passes for 0 yards.

KC gets it back wtih five minutes left. They make a couple big plays but we make enough of our own to keep them from scoring. With two minutes left we finally start running it, Schroeder picking up a key 9 yards. They get it back with 50 seconds left, down by 8 and can't do anything. Squeaked by again. Going 9-1 is a nice feeling, but I'm still not comfortable with how the team played. They definitely looked better here, and part of the problem was just some gameplanning roster issues. But I still want to see a lights out performance.

Nichols certainly doesn't hurt his league leading completion percentage, going 23 of 27 for 162 yards and 2 TDs. Unfortuantely Scroeder was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 6 yards. He did some nice running with 7 carries for 43 yards, but still. Hiscock also ran well, 14 attempts for 74 yards. Huie had a nice day on defense, with 1.5 sacks and 2 blocked passes. Haber bloked well, 3 of 4 KRB and no sacks allowed.

Around the league Lee Lu continued his fine play, getting player of the week nod with 125 yards and 2 TDs. Skiffington continued destroying the league with 10 catches for 179 yards. He's 400 yards ahead of the next highest receiver in the league. Lu is likewise running away with the rushing title by almost 300 yards.

I suppose Nichols is also making a play at MVP. His rating so far is 103.8, he's leading the league with 19 touchdowns, 71% completions and 7.53 yards per attempt. He's third in the league in yardage. His player rating has been soaring up all year around, I think starting the season at something like 62. It's now at 86 and seems to have peaked as his potential has dropped from 92 to 86.

Omaha Tornadoes 14, Kansas City Cowboys 6

Week 12: Providence

Providence makes the trip from the other conference out to Tornado Alley. They're 4-6, but have what seems to be a very decent pass defense, so this will still be a challenge for us. I'd like to see, obviously, a resounding win here at home.

Somehow the game starts with us still throwing at Schroeder. Really annoying, but it goes for 10 yards this time. Nichols scrambles twice on the first drive for 19 yards, Hiscock has one for 14 yards and Shepherd converts on third down. Mohammed is in the action, always a good sign I think, catching a pass to get us in the red zone. Nichols scrambles for another first down and then we try a reverse, our first of the season I think. Next play Fenderson catches a 2 yard TD. Now this is the kind of production I want to see.

We get called for unnecessary roughness, on top of poor defensive play. That seems to fire us up though and make them go 3 and out after that. Their long FG attempt gets blocked and it's back to us. Nichols is scrambling again, and then Machen turns a short 3rd down screen into a 27 yard gain. Fulton pulls in a 16 yarder to get first and goal. Fenderson drops a TD catch, and then a holding call really dampens the spirits. Two more passes though and Nichols gets it in the endzone anyway and we're up 14-0 in the first quarter.

We trade punts. Now it's Fulton's turn to drop an easy catch and two more incopmletes follow. Kooiker almost comes up with a fumble on their next drive but they keep possession. Their QB, Allen, scrambles himself for a huge 32 yards and follows up with an easy TD toss to make it 14-7.

Burton gives us a spark with a 33 yard kick off return and Fenderson and Schaefer follow suit with 20+ yard catches. On 2nd and goal Nichols scrambles in for a TD and it's 21-7.

Again we almost come up with a fumble. Our D is playing hard out there. Lowe catches Allen with a 13 yard sack, but the Whalers come back with a 44 yard pass. Our D stays tight though and they're forced to kick, and miss. McGregor gives up a sack on the next play, but Hiscock makes up for it with a 26 yard run. Fenderson makes a 10 yard catch in double coverage to get us across midfield, and then hauls in anohter for a 37 yard TD. It's 28-7 before the two minute warning.

Time to tighten the vice, and our D does just that, stuffing runs and knocking down passes. Fleming sacks Allen and makes him cough it up and this time Greer comes up with the ball. With two minutes left we get it at their 15 yard line. Two runs and then Mohammed hauls in a 7 yard pass to amek it 35-7 before the half. So far this is the resounding win I was looking for.

They start with the ball in the third quarter and wisely don't abandon the run. Unsportsmanlike Conduct on us gets them to our redzone, but a Minter third down stuff means they settle for the kick and it's 35-10. Despite the score I'm worried about the amount of penalties we've been getting lately.

We're not exacxtly playing good defense, but we haven't let our foot off the gas as Huie tears through their line for a sack and a recovered fumble at their 13. Nichols ends up scrambling for another TD, his second of the game, to make it 42-10.

The Whalers have sent in a new QB as we start the fourth quarter. He's not able to do anything either and we continue trying to run out the clock. Schroeder really needs to stay on the bench more, he hasn't turned out to be the backup RB I was hoping for. I'm not sure why he's playing as much as he is, I thought I had cranked up Hiscock's playing time. You can trust it won't happen next week.

We were running out the clock pretty well but a penalty backed us up and resulted in Machen fumbling the ball at midfield. I note that we have six penalites so far and Providence none. I notice that Machen filling in as backup RB is working well, despite the fumble. Better than Schroeder at least. I'm not sure Nichols should still be in the game at this point. If he gets injured I'll be pissed as all get out. Finally Providence gets one penalty, I'll take it. It means with a good punt return we get the ball back on their side of the field. That's it for them and we rush into the locker room, a jubilant 10-1.

Nichols picks up yet another game MVP, deserving it for sure for going 17 of 23 for 205 yards, 4 TD passes, as well as rushing 7 times for 44 yards and 2 TDs. Hiscock played awell, with 16 rushes for 84 yards. Fenderson was the man catching the ball, pulling in 5 for 80 yards and 3 TDs. Our defense was swarming and hard hitting as our 4 forced fumbles attest to. A decent pass rush, with Dillon contributing 3 hurries.

Omaha Tornadoes 42, Providence Whalers 10

Week 13: at San Antonio

So ends our three game home stand. Now we go on the road for three games . First up is the San Antonio Defenders, who at 5-6 are in the midst of a wild card hunt.

Minter makes an interception on the first series of the game, giving us great field position. Vanaqs has a 4 yard run called back, so Nichols simply throws a 19 yard touchdown to Schaefer instead. So there! Shit, that gest called back on on a holding penalty. We end up kicking, 3-0. We just manage a field goal on the next drive as well to make it 6-0.

Pinned at our three, Nichols calmly marches us out of there, Hiscock making a 15 yard catch to get us across midfield. Sampson picks up 16 on a short hitch on the next play. A 22 yard run surprises them on 2nd and 10 and we get first and goal. Mohammed hauls in the next pass for a 4 yard TD and a 13-0 lead on a 97 yard scoring drive.

We trade punts and penalties for the rest of the half. We start off with the ball in the second half, and Vanaqs opens things up with a 19 yard screen pass. Sampson picks up a couple receptions, and Hiscock's first down run gets us to the red zone. On 3rd and 3 Shepherd picks up 7 on a pass and we have first and goal. Fenderson catches one short of the goal line, but Hiscock runs it in for only his second rushing TD of the year. It's 20-3.

The Defenders have a successful drive next, getting it into our redzone before a penalty backs them up. Sinclair hauls in a 19 yard pass for a TD and it's a 20-10 game. We return the favor, Fulton hauling in an 18 yard pass on 3rd and 4 as we close out the third quarter. A penalty gets us another first down and Schaefer busts a catch open for 33 yards to make it first and goal. He then hauls in the next pass too for a TD and a 27-10 lead.

Some good hard running, and an interception by Paschal are keeping our lead safe. Backup safety Sheldon is making some nice plays, I'll have to look at him closer after the game. We run out most of the fourth quarter on the next series, dirivng to the two yard line and then Vanaqs takes it in on third down to score and make it 34-10 at the two minute warning. They try throwing in their second string QB, but that's all she wrote for them.

Great day all around. Nichols goes 25 of 31 for 251 yards and 2 TDs. Hiscock rushes 25 times for 121 yards and a TD. The running backs are far down on the list of targets, so that's good. Scottie Dawkins rocks at center with 5 KRB. Minter has a great day on defense, picking up 6 tackles, 4 assists, an interception and a sack. Nichols picks up PLayer of the Week honors for his performance.

More good news is that Nichols is still creeping. He's up to 87/87 now. We are far ahead of the league in scoring, scoring 50 points more than the #2 team, the Detroit Wheels. The next best team in our conference record wise is 8-4 Houston, followed by bunches of 7 and 6 win teams.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, San Antonio Defenders 10

Autumn

02-07-2009, 03:42 PM

Week 14: at New York

The last quarter of the regular season begins with the Tornadoes sitting at 11-1, the best record in the league. Our one loss came in overtime against the Portland Eruption. If there is a knock against the Tornadoes it is that it's hard to say if they've played any good teams. The rest of the conference is mired in mediocrity with records ranging from 4 wins to 8 wins. The other conference is not much better, ranging from 3 wins to 9 themselves.

The Tornadoes look to pull away in the last four wins and establish themselves as the clear Super Bowl contenders. First off they will face the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium itself. The two teams have never met. Moe Hamm leads the Yankees at QB, as he has since 1921. A mediocre passer, it's hard to say why they stick with him. Hardy Hastings at SLB is clearly their best player, An All-Pro player last year who can do it all.

New York comes out playing the field position game, and playing it well, pinning us on the two yard line in two of our first three possessions. Conversely, Nichols looks unsure out there, getting rattled by a surprisingly effective New York pass rush. After those first three possessions NIchols is 7 of 14, and ends it by throwing a pick.

We come up with a big fumble recovery on the next possession to give us the ball at the 15. Sampson hauls in a 9 yard TD while double covered to put us up 7-3 and give us some confidence. We stop them and then march right down the field on our next possession but Nichols gets too cocky, trying to zip a long bomb through double coverage, and gets intercepted in the endzone. No more scoring in the first half.

Fenderson gets hurt catching a 15 yarder in the third quarter. On our next drive, though, we get it at midfield and promptly get to the redzone, with Nichols busting out a 12 yard run. Rookie Youssef, filling in for Fenderson, makes two catches including the touchdown catch and we're up 14-3. They miss a field goal on their next possession to keep it that way.

Nichols decides to give them another chance though, throwing a pick on the first play of the drive, his third on the day. The defense comes thorugh for us though, forcing a three and out. The Yankees manage to hit the 52 yard field goal though to make it 14-6. The pass rush is still rattling Nichols and we go three and out, but the defense decides to give him anohter chance, Kooiker and Sheldon combining to cause and recover a fumble, giving it to us at midfield.

Youseff pulls in two catches on the drive, and Vanaqs shines wiht a 17 yard run. Hergett gets us to the six yard line with a surprise catch out of the 2 TE set and three plays to Hiscock get us in the endzone and up 21-6 in the fourth quarter. We play well with a lead, our pass rush rattles Hamm and he throws a pick to Browning. Thus the game goes, Nichols not playing great but the defense giving us great opportunities. We pack on three more field goals to make it 30-6. The ball goes over on downs on them and we have our 12th win.

The injury report after the game is bad news, as Fenderson is out for probably the rest of the season. Luckily Youseff performed relatively well filling in for him, catching 4 of 6 passes.

Nichols was off today, ending up 23 of 40 for 245 yards, 3 TDs but 3 interceptions. They only sacked him once but he was hurried six times, had three passes droped and 4 defensed. Luckily we showed we could survive even a bad outing by him and it was clear if the coaches hadn't pressed the pass so much we could have done even better. Clarence Browning wins player of the game from the corner, picking up an interception and a sack and only allowing two catches.

Hiscock breaks 1000 yards in this game, he's currently 5th in the league in yardage with a nice 4.45 average. We have clinched our division, Denver falling to 6-7 as the next best contender. Sadly they still have a chance at a wild card spot despite it. Detroit reached 10-3 in the other conference to remain the best contender as second best in the league. While we are #1 in points scored and #2 in points allowed, they are #1 in points allowed and #3 in points scored.

Omaha Tornadoes 30, New York Yankees 6

Week 15: at Minneapolis

Minneapolis is at the bottom of our division at 5-8. Timothy Atkins, who played a hell of a game against his old team earlier in the season has played decently but is not lighting it up. While he posted 300 yards against us, his last 5 games he's failed to break 200.

The Lakers come out charging, marching right into our redzone to the screams of their fans. We simply have to wait for Atkins to get up to his old tricks though as he lofts one into the endzone that flutters into Perrin's waiting hands. We take over at our own 1. Hiscock immediately makes a nice move to get us a first down and out of trouble but things go south from there and we punt. Punts are traded into the second quarter when the Lakers finally hit a field goal to draw first blood.

Nichols shows why he's the team leader on our first scoring drive. Sampson drops a nice pass, but Nichols goes right back to him the following play. He then follows up with a long pass to Crawford, the fifth receiver who just came onto the active roster. Crawford makes the catch for 18 yards. Despite being backed up with a sack, he finds Fulton on third down and 12 for a 15 yard play. On third and 10 he scrmables for 8 yards, getting us in field goal range at the two minute warning. Thanks to Nichols we're tied up at half time.

Burton tries to start us off right with a big return to start the second half but he coughs up the ball, giving Minneapolis good field position amidst the screaming fans. We show why we lead the league in points allowed though as the defense tightens up. Even a holding call doesn't daunt us, though it gives them first and goal. We keep them out of the endzone and they go up to a 6-3 lead.

We start the next possession slowly, pounding the line with three consecutive runs. That sets up the bomb, as Nichols goes to Youssef for the 4th time, finding him for 23 yards. He's got the Lakers on their heels, and though they're expecting it they can't stop his next bomb, this time to Fulton for 28. Two plays later Fulton makes a short TD catch in the back of the endzone and it's 10-6.

The fans are quiet now in the Twin Cities and our defense is stoked, combining for a stuffed run on first down and then picking Atkins off on 2nd down. The heart of our defense, Buddy Martinez snags the pass and returns it 21 yards. Nichols tries to drive the stake in with a long bomb to Fulton but can't connect. So he wisely slows things down with a run to Hiscock. He makes the play himself on 3rd and 5, scrambling for 7 yards. Now the defense doesn't know what to expect and Nichols takes advantage, throwing the TD pass to go up 17-6 at the start of the 4th.

They expect us to milk the clock with a rushing attack, and we do, fairly effectively. Hiscock busts out for 11 yards on 3rd and 3. Youssef picks up three more catches on the drive to get us to the 3 yard line, as well as a big Nichols scramble. Vanaqs is the go to man on the goal line, rushing three times and getting the touchdown. That makes it 24-6 with 7 minutes left. The football traditionalists love the run-run-run call.

The Lakers abandon Atkins for thier old mainstay, Glen Miller, and that gets them some movement on offense. Not enough though, and Martinez's hurry on fourth down does them in. Vanaqs makes a btg play running for 9 on 3rd and 4 to basically do in the Laker's chances of scoring.

It's a 13-1 team that heads back to Omaha for a two game home stand to close out the season. It's something no one could have dreamed for. Nichols is back in form, and player of the game, with a 23 of 28, 239 yard performance with 2 TDs and no picks. Amazingly, it was unsung rookie Benjamin Youssef who was his chief target, hauling in 6 catches for 84 yards. Nichols makes a living tearing zones apart by targeting his 3rd and 4th receivers, who have 11 catches between them in this game, while the two starters combine for 4 targets. That's what an all-star QB will do for you I guess.

Hiscock was hardly used until the last drive, strangely, only getting 11 carries on the day. Vanaqs had 10, mostly in short yardage situations. Alfred Tubbs had a great day at tackle, wiht 4 KRB and a pancake. With our trampling of the Lakers we now are #1 in both points scored and points allowed, not having given up more than 10 points in 6 straight games.

It's a big day for Houston, whose QB Juan Salpala wins Offensive Player of the Week while throwing 4 touchdowns, and whose DE Clifton Wynn wins Defensive PLayer of the Week while setting a league record with 5 sacks against Oklahoma City. It's a needed win for them to pull away in their division race. Of note in my record watch is that Mario Skiffington, the Hammers WR has already broken the season records in receiving set by Earl Bratton last season. With two games still he has 101 catches for 1,659 yards.

Omaha Tornadoes 24, Minneapolis Lakers 6

Izulde

02-07-2009, 04:20 PM

Sophomore slump? What sophomore slump? :D

Autumn

02-07-2009, 08:19 PM

Week 16: Boston

The first game of our home stay looks like a real challenge. The Boston Minutemen are the last team in the league that we have never played. They are only 8-6 but seem the real deal with a highly ranked defense and sporting a hot rookie running back. Ray Gist is averaging under four yards a carry, but has scored 9 touchdowns and is getting better as the year goes on. Most of note about the Minutemen though is their monster D-line, featuring two of the best in the league. Johnny Shapiro has picked up 16.5 sacks in his second year at left end and Lincoln Prior has 8 himself at nose tackle, while also racking up 60 tackles. Their defense leads the league in pass rush percent.

Boston has a one game lead in their division and needs this win to keep on top. We, meanwhile, have already sewn up the #1 seed in the conference. I don't believe in taking the foot off the pedal though.

We start with the ball and look crisp, using screen passes to take advantage of this monster pass rush. Hiscock picks up 15 on one, Vanaqs breaks a big one for 44 yards getting us to the 13. Hiscock ends up with the rushing touchdown, his third on the year, to go up 7-0.

Boston comes out sharp looking too, driving from deep in their own territory to our 11 yard line before our defense slows them down. They kick to go 7-3.

We trade punts, unable to convert on third. But the 20 yard passes are there as Nichols has 153 yards already midway through the 2nd quarter. This time we keep trucking, Vanaqs helping out with a huge 21 yard run where he gets tackled on their 1 yard line. It takes two tries but Hiscock gets it in the endzone and we're up 14-3.

They only manage a field goal in the rest of the half with a crisp two minute offense that our defense clamps down on in the redzone. Nichols only throws one incomplete pass in the half, but we're not able to add any points. We go in up 14-6 at the half.

We trade punts in the third. Jared Perrin gets injured, which has me worried but I can't tell if it's serious. We take turns pinning each other in our own redzone, their pass rush showing up to give Nichols some trouble.

They manage a field goal in the fourth to make it 14-9. We come out moving the ball, eager to put the game away. Two big plays on 3rd and longs get us to the 12 yard line with just over two minutes left and a five point lead.

We make them burn two of their timeouts as we advance to the 3. We then kick the field goal to make it 17-9. They have one chance but aren't able to move the ball and we go on to a 14-1 record.

Nichols wins player of the game for his 21 of 27, 291 yard performance. But it was Hiscock who soaked up the scoring, getting 2 touchdowns on his 13 runs. Youssef continued to impress picking up 6 catches, though Nichols used him for short gains. Schaefer only caught 4 of 6 passes, not great for a starter who thinks we should sign him to a multimillion dollar contract.

Minter racked up 12 tackles going up against Gist in the middle. Norm McGregor was a blocking beast with 4 of 7 KRBs and a pancake. Fullback Machen logged two pancakes himself as well as a 12 yard catch and a 10 yard run.

Rookie phenom Ray Gist was held to 65 yards on 23 carries, but he still did his damage, actually. No turnovers on either side from this game, which is probably why it ended so close, we usually pick up a couple.

A return to the locker room shows that the flu has swept the team. Much more worrisome in 1924 than it is nowadays, it has 15 players in questionable status. Shannon Shepherd has severe headaches, perhaps from listening to everyone bitching and moaning.

Much, much more serious is Jaerd Perrin's dislocated shoulder which has him out for four weeks. He's one of our best defenders, and that could hurt.

Omaha Tornadoes 17, Boston Minutemen 9

Week 17: Denver

I mull over the question of whether to rest some starters, but decide not to. We have the bye week coming up. And I need to figure out what kind of defensive backfield to send out with Perrin on the bench in street clothes.

Denver is coming to town at 8-7, fighting for a wild card spot. There are five teams in the conference with 8 or 9 wins at the moment looking for a wild card spot. In the other conference, Boston's loss to us means they have to beat Philadelphia or else risk losing their division and a playoff spot. Quite a few teams there are hoping for a spot as well while Detroit, Richmond and Memphis rest comfortable at the tops of their divisions.

Denver rests, as always, on their strong rushing attack with Martin Guzowski. He's the 2nd leading rusher in the league (though amazingly league leader Lee Lu has only played 12 games). Sherman Coles does a good job managing the team, with Rob Forbes leading their receivers. Their defense is fairly good with a strong defensive line. We are 4-6 against these division rivals lifetime.

It's cold and calm in Omaha on game day, the crowd going wild for their Tornadoes. Burton starts us off with a big return and in two plays we're across the midfield line. Hiscock has a hard time getting past that D line, but he does fine catching out of the backfield. Nichols finally misses on a 3rd down pass though and we have to settle for a field goal.

Guzowski tries to quiet the fans with a 10 yard run on first down. These fans aren't slowed though, and neither is Minter who knocks Guzowski for a 1 yard loss. Next play Kooiker, filling in at Perrin's spot, picks Coles off at midfield. We run all over them and even throw a TD, but a series of penalties cancels that and pushes us back, and eventually our field goal attempt is blocked.

But when we get the ball back the rushing attack continues. Hiscock for 14. Vanaqs for 42. The very next play Nichols reads their tight rush D and audibles a long bomb instead, 35 yard touchdown to Fulton and it's 10-0.

We play the field position game for a while. Then Fulton breaks the game open for us, picking up an 18 yarder and then breaking loose for a 59 yard TD, no one able to catch him. That makes it 17-0 with three minutes in the first half.

Guzowski tries his own magic, breaking loose for 45 yards. That gets them to the redzone with two minutes left. Coles scrambles through a big hole for 17 yards but the man's not use to running. He coughs up the ball and DE Kelly Dillon scoops it up and RUNS IT BACK ALL THE WAY FOR A 96 YARD TOUCHDOWN! That's 24-0 before the half. We get the ball back and don't let up, Nichols firing downfield with a minute left in the half. We pay for that hubris by throwing an interception, but don't give up any points.

Denver comes out in the second half in a hurry up offense. We know they're passing but they move the ball well. They drive the length of the field and run it in to make it 24-8.

We manage another field goal after Sampson breaks free on a 33 yard catch. An interception by Sheldon gives us another shot, and Vanaqs breaks loose, this time for 38 yards. Youssef gets us the first down in the red zone and Sampson hauls in the pass to the 5 yard line. Then it's Vanaqs and Haber again four a touchdown and it's 34-8.

Denver keeps running Guzowski, which is great for his stats since we're in nickel D, but not helpful for them actually wining the game. They're running out most of the fourth quarter on a grinding drive. Unfortunately for us Kooiker gets injured on that drive, which could be really trouble for us if it's as serious as Perrin's injury. We need to get this game over with before we have more trouble. They eventually score a TD, making it 34-15 with under two minutes left. That's the score as we run the clock out.

The first place i go after the game is the locker room. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see that Kooiker only has a bruised heel. He'll be fine in time for the playoffs, along with most of the rest of the team.

There were a lot of stars of this game. Nichols went 18 of 25 for 258 yards and 2 TDs, no picks, no sacks. Juan Vanaqs probably should have been player of the game, his huge runs getting him 10 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown. It could have gone to Michael Fulton who caught 4 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Sheldon and Kooiker, our two safeties, each had an interception to help shut down the Mountaineers. But it was Kelly Dillon who had 2 sacks and a 96 yard fumble return who received the honors. Huie also had a great game with 7 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 hurries. Martinez plugged up the middle with 12 tackles of his own.

Now time to relish our season. 15-1, the best regular season record in league history, besting San Antonio who went 14-2 in 1922 then bowed out in the first round of the playoffs. It's a story to keep in mind as we spend the bye week readying ourselves for the rest of the challenge.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, Denver Mountaineers 15

Autumn

02-07-2009, 08:21 PM

Izulde: No kidding. He took his lumps in the first season and turned it right around. And all this without an All-Pro receiver to throw at! Hmmm.

Autumn

02-07-2009, 08:23 PM

Regular Season Wrap Up

Nichols ends up the best QB of the season, setting a league record with his 107.5 QB rating, as well as his 71.7% completion rating.

Other records are set, most notably Mario Skiffington's 118 catches for 1,852 yards, both records. Willie Reid's 91.5% pass defense rating, only allowing 18 catches this season with 7 interceptions and 13 defensed passes, was also a record. Last year's Defensive Player of the Year ups the ante by setting a new record of 22.5 sacks in a season. Earl Bratton, while not the receiving force he was last year sets records in return yardage and all-purpose yards. On a team level, the Louisville Chargers set a record by only allowing 82.1 yards rushing per game this season. Our team ties the league record by scoring 26.6 points per game, sharing that honor with last year's Racers.

Lee Lu ended up capturing the rushing title in only 13 games, just barely edging out Martin Guzowski. Rookie Ray Gist led the league with 11 rushing touchdowns. Lu is a leading MVP candidate but his three games missed may hurt him.

Skiffington obviously is another MVP candidate, shattering receiving records, though Cleveland's 7-9 record and lack of a playoff berth will count against him.

Defensive players have been the MVPs so far in this league. Looking there we see Brant West with 22.5 sacks and 31 hurries for a league leading pass rush percentage. He is on one of the league's best teams, the Detroit Wheels. But his lack of fan popularity may limit him.

Dan McMullen, DT for the Chicago Gale could be another candidate, racking up 15.5 sacks to go along with 72 tackles. Willie Reid's work at safety is also worth a look.

A lot of our success came through being able to balance our offensive attack, leading the league in yard per rushing attempt as well as passing attempt. And our defense, while giving up yardage didn't give up points. Here's a look at our team summary and the league standings.

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1924teamsummary.jpg">
<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1924standings.jpg">

Autumn

02-07-2009, 08:56 PM

1924 Wild Card Round

To look around the league the playoff picture coalesced more or less as expected. Pittsburgh pulled out to win the division over St. Louis, both teams having been tied 'til the end. St. Louis however nabbed the wild card spot. They join Omaha, Portland, Houston and Dallas in the National Conference.

The Detroit Wheels have been the class of the American Conference all year, racking up a 12-4 record. The Richmond Cavaliers are clearly the second best there, the rest a collection of 9 and 8 win teams. Boston managed to eke out the division, sending the Providence Whalers home. Baltimore just squeaked in the wild cards as an 8-8 team, while the Buffalo Blizzard claimed the other spot. The Memphis Showboats won their division on the strength of Lee Lu's running.

In the wildcard round the Baltimore Admirals head to Memphis to face the Showboats. The Admirals don't have much of anything to write about, riding some horrible QB performance to the big show on the strength of ... I don't know. The Showboats, meanwhile, feature Lee Lu at QB, shoring up an adequate quarterback. Their defense consists of a lot of playmakers, as shown by their 41 takeways this year and some great pass defense stats. However, they lost to the Admirals earlier in the year, so who knows.

In the end, they romp over the Admirals, nobody having an amazing day but just seemingly playing good field position football, hitting four field goals and making some big plays.

Memphis Showboats 26, Baltimore Admirals 6

The Buffalo Blizzard are heading to Boston in their wild card match up. The Blizzard have a pretty sad offense and it's unclear how they got this far. Boston we just played, and we know they win on the strength of their powerful defense and some adequate offensive play.

Boston wins by almost the same score as Memphis, Ray Gist running all over the Blizzard for 123 yards, plus 98 through the air (80 of that on a long touchdown pass). Roy Witte, LB, wins player of the game by getting 4 tackles, 4 assists, 2.5 sacks, 1 interception and one forced fumble.

Boston Minutemen 26, Buffalo Blizzard 7

In our conference, the Dallas Rangers are heading to Pittsburgh. Dallas has a high flying passing attack keyed by Van Rankinen, one of the best receivers in the league who pulled in 1300 yards this year. Their defense meanwhile is a bit of a sieve. Pittsburgh meanwhile is trying to ride a pounding running game into the playoffs. It's not terribly good, and they're on their fourth quarterback of the year, but they should be able to beat Dallas.

They don't though, losing by a point to the Rangers. Van Rankinen pulls in a TD pass late in teh 4th quarter to put them ahead. That's nearly the only play of the game for the Rangers, while the Steelers had both a 100 yard rusher and 100 yard receiver. Yet they only got 13 points out of it, and it wasn't enough.

Dallas Rangers 14, Pittsburgh Steelers 13

The last game of the weekend is St. Louis heading to Portland. The Trailblazers have a multiheaded and effective running attack and a high yardage passing attack. Their defense isn't great but good enough to keep their offense ahead. The Eruption meanwhile just aren't particularly good at anything. I'm sad to say they beat our team because the only thing to write about these guys is that their MLB got 134 tackles and is named Subramanian.

St. Louis is indeed the better team, as they come in and put three touchdowns on the Eruption, Portland unable to get a touchdown until the final two minutes of the game. Artie Delgado had the game of his life at running back for the Trailblazers, 16 carries for 124 yards and 2 TDs. That was the game there, though Subramanian did get 10 tackles and 6 assists.

St. Louis Trailblazers 21, Portland Eruption 13

Autumn

02-07-2009, 10:15 PM

Conference Semifinals

Most of the Tornadoes are well rested after the bye, but we have three out. WR Fenderson, S Perrin and FB Machen. Machen should be back next week, and is a backup anyway. The other two are not likely to be back this year.

We draw Dallas in the conference semifinals, which is to my liking. They seem the weakest of the conference teams. Shut down Van Rankinen, or at least outscore him, is the plan. They seem to have a lot of injuries, which will also help us. Dallas is helmed by Darnell Huffman, a 5th year player who has run the Dallas offense the past three years. He only has one playoff game experience from back when he was a Bootlegger. He has the ability to really rack up the yardage at times, but is not consistent.

Three and out isn't a great way to start. Luckily they do the same. The first big play of the game comes when Vanaqs loses the ball on third down, giving Dallas possession at our 27. 64,000 fans are booing the Rangers and then erupt into cheers when Minter and Sheldon combine for a sack, forcing a fumble that Greer runs back 15 yards. The Tornado offense comes through with a big play on 3rd and 10 to get us to midfield. Nichols gets into a rhythm, defying their pass defense with completion after cmopleition into the redzone. Shcaefer hauls in a pass at the 6 yard line and the crowd roars as Nichols stands in the teeth of the pass rush and throws a score to unheralded rookie, Youssef.

The Rangers are rattled and go three and out wtih a poor punt. Nichols comes right back firing, His 19 yard pass to Youssef on 3rd and 4 getting us into first and goal. It's an easy touchdown toss to Schaefer and the score is 14-0. The Rangers go three and out again and the fans can't believe what they're watching as Nichols strolls out, throwing into the teeth of the defense. Nichols finds Schaefer open on a long pass, Schaefer breaks free of a Ranger defender and races the length of the field for a 75 yard touchdown. It's now 21-0 with 10 minutes left in the first half. The crowd is pounding the bleachers.

The Rangers try to quiet things down with a methodical drive but are clearly rattled catching a false start penalty, a sack and then they are forced to punt. The crowd is quiet for Nichols as the offense takes the field again but the noise is deafening when Vanaqs takes the handoff and bursts through a hole for a giant 64 yard gain. The Rangers look stunned as Hiscock takes it 14 yards to the 1 yard line on the next play. Two more plays and it's a touchdown and a 28-0 game.

The very next play, Rangers QB Huffman is sacked and loses the ball, Omaha coming up with it at the Dallas 15. Dallas finally firms up, stuffing two runs and defending the third down pass, forcing the kick. 31-0. The Rangers go three and out and Nichols takes the ball back on their 44 yard line. He's getting too cocky now though as he tries to force a long pass into dobule coverage to Schaefer and gets picked off. Vanaqs manages to make the tackle and avoid a runback for a score. The pick doesn't matter with our defense forcing three and out. Omaha is heading in with a 31-0 lead.

Van Rankinen makes his presence known to start off the second half with a large kick return. Huffman can't complete a pass but a penalty gives them a first down anyway. That seems to calm the Rangers down and they march into our redzone on a big third down pass to Blackwell. That worked so well, Huffman goes to Blackwell again despite the double coverage and the receiver pulls in a touchdown.

Vanaqs shows why he's no longer the feature back when he coughs up the ball on the ensuing kick return. Rankinen gets his first catch of the day on a key third down conversion to get them into the redzone. Huffman follows up with his second TD throw and it's a 31-13 game (after the missed conversion).

The stadium is silent, except for boos, when Vanaqs fumbles a second kickoff return in a row. THe gleeful Rangers take over at the 19, eager to make this a game. They drive to the three yard line before our defense stops them, but the field goal makes it 31-16.

The mood has certainly changed, Burton taking the return for a short 17 yard gain, and a false start backing us up to the 12. Vanaqs tries to make up for things with an 8 yard run. Hiscock pulls out a 9 yarder to follow it. Fulton's 11 yard catch gets us to our 40 yard line. Penalties back us up from there, but Hiscock comes through with a 19 yard scramble after a catch to get to midfield. Youssef gets the crowd chanting with an 18 yard catch himself. Nichols takes off to run for 14 yards to get us in the redzone and Shepherd pulls in a 10 yard pass. Finally, Alex Crawford catches the 4 yard touchdown to show that Nichols can go to anyone. It's 38-16 going into the fourth quarter.

They go three and out but we don't, Mohammed making a nice third down catch, Hiscock following up wiht a 15 yard run. A 14 yard run gets us to their 26, but Schaefer receives an injury in the course of the play. Injuries are my fear here. An 8 yard run by Hiscock on third and 6 drains the clock and keeps us alive, our drive finally stalling on the 4 yard line where we kick a field goal to go up 41-16 with two minutes left. Dallas is hardly even trying, actually running the ball several times on their last possession. They naturally run out of time and go home thoroughly beaten by the Tornadoes.

The media must be sick of Nichols because they give the PLayer of the Game award to Harry Fleming, who did have a nice game with 3 tackles, 4 assists, 3.5 sacks and a hurry. Still, Nichols went 22 of 29 for 276 yards and 4 TDs, throwing one interception and not being sacked even once. Hiscock had 92 yards on 20 carries, Vanaqs contributed 80 on 11 carries of his own. He also fumbled three times, which is unbelievably horrible. Schaefer only caught 4 out of 7 passes, but it was for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Youssef continued his short range success with 6 catches for 54 yards and a score.

Our defense was all over the Rangers QB, picking up 9 sacks overall, and knocking down 6 passes.

Omaha Tornadoes 41, Dallas Rangers 16

Meanwhile St. Louis traveled to Houston for the other semifinal game. Houston was 10-6 this year, and I think is a good team. Juan Salpala helms them, throwing for 3600 yards this year. They have a decent running game and a good pass defense. It's a close matchup between these teams.

Houston wins it though, scoring 27 points in the first half and coasting the rest of the way. Oliver Stephens rushed for 139 yards and backup RB Napiecek added 85 and that was the story there.

Houston Oilers 27, St. Louis Trailblazers 14

In the other conference, Memphis has to take their show to Richmond to face the well-rested Cavaliers. The Cavaliers have a dangerous passing attack, Richard Flowers finally giving away to Corey Money a third year man who threw for over 3,600 yards this year. They've got a great cornerback in Wally Middleton, and they're led by former Tornado coach, J.R. Jenkins.

The Cavaliers prevail despite Lee Lu picking up 119 yards on 15 rushes. The Showboat QB couldn't connect, ending up with a 38.0 rating, while Corey Money was on the money, throwing for 261 yards.

Richmond Cavaliers 23, Memphis Showboats 7

Lastly the Detroit Wheels are waiting to receive the Boston Minutemen. This should be a slaughter, as the Wheels have the most dangerous defense in the league and a balanced offense that doesn't make mistakes. The Wheels are the only team to have been in the playoffs 5 seasons in a row, and QB Dusty Harvey won't get rattled.

The surprise of the weekend is not that the Wheels lose, but that they squeak by. They require a last minute, literally, TD pass from Dusty Harvey and the two point conversion to come up with a three point win. Boston itself took the lead on a 80 yard pass at the two minute warning, as well as 4 field goals. So, the good news is that The Wheels look fallible, despite Harvey's 301 yards. Ray Gist had a nice day in a losing effort, picking up 75 yards on 16 carries.

Detroit Wheels 22, Boston Minutemen 19

No real surprises this weekend as all the best teams win, setting up the matchup we've bee waiting for in the American Conference, Richmond versus Detroit. Meanwhile Houston will find themselves huge underdogs heading to Tornado Alley.

The Tornadoes set a league record with their 41 playoff points, as well as their 473 total yards. Houston however set one themselves with 242 rushing yards.

Nichols broke a league record posting a 130.2 QB rating in the playoffs and throwing for 4 touchdowns. Oliver Stephens set a record for the Oilers with his 139 yards rushing, stopping him will be a key to this next matchup. Nichols and Fleming both came away with Player of the Week awards for their performances in the big win.

Autumn

02-07-2009, 11:30 PM

Conference Finals

The injury report is growing. Schaefer is doubtful with a pulled groin, but at least he can play so I'll just move him down the lineup. CB Briles has shin splints which somehow are going to last until next year if you can believe that.

The Houston Oilers defense is notable for Clifton Wynn, a monster DE who had a five sack game earlier this season. At middle linebacker though is Andrew Herdeg, a Omaha reject who I can't believe is starting, they must have some serious injuries. Willie Reid is one of the best safeties in the league.

One offense, RB Oliver Stephens had a big game last week and will have to be watched, he's a decent runner in the vein of Hiscock. Juan Salpala is a rarety, a quarterback who was one of the original members of his team. Running the show in Houston since 1920, he had his best year this season and has all that experience under his belt. He is all-time first in passing yards, due to that longevity.

Houston tries to quiet the crowd in Omaha with their first possession, Stephens running well and Salpala dancing around Fleming to hit Swift for 15 yards. That ferocious Omaha D won't have any of it though, Martinez driving into Salpala and knocking the ball loose, Huie coming up with it. The crowd is ecstatic but only for a moment. My words must have made bulletin board material because Nichols first pass is intercepted by who else but Andrew Herdeg, former Tornado and mediocre LB. He not only picks off Nichols he takes it to the races rushing it back 62 yards for the touchdown and first blood. The stadium is shocked as the Oilers announce they're here to play.

The Tornadoes are not ones to get flustered, they simply come back and run their offense, driving past midfield on a mix of runs and passes. Reid defends a long pass but Sampson comes up with another for 14 yards. They manage to stop Nichols on third down, but a defensive holding call gives us first and goal. Fulton takes it right in for a score and a tied game.

Kooiker gets a pick on their next drive, giving us the ball at the Houston 31. Three runs gives us a first down in the red zone and sets them up for the play fake. Nichols hits Shepherd on the 11 and he scurries into the endzone for a 19 yard TD. 14-7.

It's three and out for them. Fulton and Youssef catch long passes on our next drive to get us to the 32. A scramble by Nichols gets us a first down on the 18. It's a simple task for Crawford to haul in the TD pass from there, but the extra point is missed. It's 20-7.

Pierce comes up with a 23 yard catch on their next drive to get them some movement. Pierce grabs a 31 yarder on the same drive and now they're at the three. We stop them there, though, and they settle for a kick and a 20-10 score.

Youssef has a 21 yard catch on our next possession to get us across midfield. And he's somehow the man, pulling in another 20 yarder in double coverage to put us at the 11. Schaefer gets us a first down on the 1 yard line and Vanaqs runs it in from there. 27-10.

With two and a half minutes left in the half, Nichols goes to work. He makes it to midfield but Crawford drops a third down pass and we punt it to the two. End of half.

The second half starts off with us trading punts. Their pass rush is getting to us more, stalling our drives. I think injuries on our offensive line are hurting us. Big play though as they're driving. Fleming and Huie combine for a sack and fumble at their 35. We get held up but kick the field goal to make it 30-10 as the fourth quarter starts.

Punts are traded before Fulton pulls in a 26 yard pass, Machen gets a first down run on 3rd and 10 and Vanaqs rush for 9 yards on 3rd and 3. That puts us at their 40 with 4 minutes left. We stall but Bercich hits a 52 yarder to make it 33-10 at the two minute warning. They make a drive, getting to our 20 before time runs out on their season.

In the end, the Tornadoes didn't take kindly to Herdeg's first quarter interception return. It was the only touchdown we allowed, and Omaha immediately answered it with FOUR STRAIGHT TOUCHDOWNS in the first half.

Nichols is Player of the Game and of the Week as he goes 25 of 36 for 303 yards, 3 TDs and the 1 INT. He spreads it around, Youssef especially making a name for himself by getting 5 catches for 85 yards. This is a fellow that wasn't even on the active roster most of the year.

Fleming pulls out another 1.5 sacks and a hurry. 5 blocked passes from the rest of my D-line as we harried Salpala all day. Bliss got schooled, giving up 6 catches, but the rest of the crew did well, including the whole offensive line.

Omaha Tornadoes 33, Houston Oilers 10

In Detroit, the Cavaliers are actually one point favorites over the Wheels. I don't see it, the Wheels are the complete package. Dusty Harvey is a top-shelf quarterback in this league, and their defense is a monster. It will take a big day by Corey Money to pull out a win here.

But that's exactly what the shocked Detroit fans get. Corey Money explodes for 322 yards and 3 TDs against the Wheels, on 17 of 25 passing. That quickly, Nichols playoff QB rating record is gone. J. J. Collier pulls in a 76 yard pass and the Cavaliers add on 10 points in the fourth quarter to win their berth in the Superbowl. Kemp and Cunningham combine for 95 yards of good running.

On the Wheels, they keep up with the scoring for the first half, Deon Crowder posting 113 yards rushing and 2 TDs. But Dusty Harvey can't do any magic as the Cavaliers pull away, going 19 of 34 for 212 yards. It's a surprise to me, but not Vegas it seems.

We'll find out in two weeks whether Russel Rayburn, the Cavaliers WR who spurned my multimillion dollar deal to resign with Richmond for minimum salary comes to regret it or not.

Richmond Cavaliers 33, Detroit Wheels 21

Autumn

02-08-2009, 08:15 PM

Super Bowl Preview

The Super Bowl pits two similar teams together in Richmond and Omaha. Like Omaha's Rickey Wattach, J. R. Jenkins is in his second year with Richmond and bringing them to the playoffs for the frst time, after a 7-9 season last year. Jenkins, the former Omaha coach, knows the team and players well and that may give him an edge. He coached much of this Tornadoes squad on their first trip to the playoffs, in 1921, when they lost in the conference finals.

Vegas gives the Tornadoes a three point edge. It's not much given the Tornadoes 15-1 season and statistical dominance, but it could be said they have yet to play a team of the Cavaliers ability.

Indeed, that could be an edge for Richmond. The Tornadoes have obviously played well all season, but they have almost always played with a lead. While Edwin Nichols now has the best winning percentage of all active quarterbacks (with Richmond's Corey Money right behind him), he has never pulled out a win in the fourth quarter. The Omaha defense has excelled at shutting down opposing teams, especially in the redzone. But they often have the advantage of playing teams who have fallen behind and had to switch to an unbalanced offense.

Richmond's Keys to The Game:

1. Stake a lead early. Richmond needs to get Omaha out of their game, and forcing them to play catchup for once could do that.

2. Get inside Nichols's head. The only times this season Nichols has looked vulnerable were when he got cocky, trying to force big plays that weren't there. If the Cavaliers can rattle Nichols and get him to try to win the game himself, he'll make mistakes.

3. Make the big plays. Omaha has been vulnerable all season, and indeed for years, to the big play. They play tight D but often give up the big run or big pass. Richmond will need to make those plays and take advantage of each if they want to win.

Omaha, in turn, simply needs to come out and play their game. It's gotten them to 17-1 and there's no reason to mess with things now. Their enemy will be mental, staying focused, not letting the Super Bowl hype get to them and not letting themselves get rattled if Richmond proves tougher than their previous opponents. Nichols in particular has to avoid the hype and allure of going big on every play.

In the locker room before the game, the Omaha players confer. The locker room was a key focus for Omaha management in the offseason as they brought in key veterans, leaders and mentors. That has perhaps proven key as the Tornadoes franchise turned from a 7 win season to a 15 win season.

Edwin Nichols, a quiet leader on the team, usually lets others do the talking. But before the game we caught him speaking to his teammates.

"Guys, this is the moment each one of us has been dreaming about ever since we heard news of a professional football league starting up. Everybody wants to get that trophy and that ring and now the chance is ours. I gotta tell you, I like our chances. Not because of any stats, though. No, let me tell you, I was looking around this locker room and it struck me. The reason we're here, the reason we're going home wiht that trophy is becaue there's not a single guy in this room I don't trust to win this game for us. Right? Really, every single guy here I think could be the one, if we need it, they'll bring it home for us. That's amazing, isn't it? That's like no team I've ever played on. There's always the stars, the go-to guys. It was me in college, some other guys. In high school it was Rico, our running back, and our cornerback. He could run a pick back all the way nearly every time and when we needed that game, that's who we looked at.

"Not here, though. This is a special crowd. And our coaches, they get that. And the management. Think about it, we went from seven wins last year, to 15 this year. But this is pretty much the same team that stood here last year. Yeah, yeah, Kelly, I know there's a few new faces, I'm not forgetting you. But that starting squad is pretty much the same out there. The difference, the guys that the coaches brought in are guys like Gabe, Dixon, Fernando. Every single guy here, even if they don't get in the game, is helping us win. Harris, the coaches brought in Harris, and I'm here to tell you I wouldn't have won 17 games without Harris Tripplet behind me. I'm the same guy that was lost out there last year, and with Harris I'm ready to go win this game. And if something happens to me, I know, I know Ben or Harris will go in there and get us the win instead. That's Tornado football, boys. Let's go get it."

Autumn

02-08-2009, 09:25 PM

There's nothing left but to play the game. Stockton, CA is the site of the game. It's 41 degrees and sunny as the teams reach the field. Richmond wins the toss and will start at the 20.

Money comes out looking like Nichols, scrambling on the first two plays. He misses the pass on third down but we get called for holding. We're covering the receivers well, as he scrambles for a third time. On third down he tries passing to former Tornado Willie Whipple, but to no avail. We cut him for a reason.

Their star cornerback, Wally Middleton makes a good play on a pass and we go three and out. They are almost exclusively passing, and while we get a sack and a rush, they eventually make a couple big throws to get into our redzone. Tackled at the six, it's time for some stiffening up on the defense. A big sack by Dillon helps and a dropped pass by their star receiver. We do it again, forcing the field goal. They go up 3-0.

Schaefer makes a 20 yard catch while double covered, but doesn't hold onto the ball, and Richmond recovers it on our 36. This is one of those big plays, we need to keep them from converting. Instead we give up a big pass to the 3 yard line. There's only so many times we can expect that magic. This time they get in the endzone and it's 10-0 at the end of hte first quarter.

Nichols lives up to the hype of getting rattled by trying two long bombs in a row. He settles down a bit and hits Crawford for 12 yards instead. Youssef pulls in a 7 yarder to get Nichols a little rhythm. A big run on 3rd and 1 gets us the first, and a face mask pentaly on top of it gets us to the 24. Holding backs us right back up though. A nice run by Vanaqs and a nice catch by Hergett get us to the 12. Youssef ends up catching the 5 yard TD pass to make it 10-7 and hopefully settle the team down.

And indeed the defense is energized, holding the Cavaliers to a three and out. Hiscock resopnds by turning an 8 yard pass into 18. A Hiscock runs gets us across midfield. Another run, this one by Vanaqs, only sets Nichols up for a nice 21 yard strike. Adn then it's topsy-turvy again, catching them in pass D and setting Vanaqs up for an 18 yard touchdown run. That gets called back on holding though, backing us up to the 28. A false starts backs us up further. A scramble by Nichols gets us in field goal position and we settle for the 10-10 tie. That's the score at the half.

We get it to the start the third quarter, Burton running it back to our 36. Hiscock makes a big 20 yard catch and a few plays later turns a 1 yard catch into a 25 yard gain. We're threatening, but Nichols tries to get too much in one go, getting intercepted at the Richmond 9. It takes two forced fumbles, but we finally get it away from them. Fleming sacks Money and knocks the ball loose and Huie recovers it. NIchols has his second chance but continues trying to force long passes. Penalties pile up and back us up to midfield and Nichols scramble isn't enough as Berchich misses a 50 yarder.

That's disappoinging and puts the pressure on the defense again. Instead they give up a 32 yard pass, giving Richmond first and goal. They score to make it 17-10.

Burton has another nice return. Nichols tries to calm things down by giving it to Hiscock, who has a 6 yard run. On second he runs for three, and on 3rd and 1 Vanaqs picks up the first down. Richmond is now gearing to stop the run, stuffing Hiscocks' next run, but Nichols tosses a 7 yarder to mix things up. Vanaqs has 8 yards on third down to get us to the 23 adn this time we need to score. Nichols has a 8 yard scramble on first, Hiscock follows with three. Nichols then catches them looking for the run and instead tosses a 12 yard TD to Schaefer and we're tied back up 17-17 with 11 minutes left in eth game.

We hold them to three and out, though two penalties make us start at our 12. Hiscock makes some magic out of another screen, picking up 11 yards. Nichols then scrambles for a first down himself. Sampson drops a long pass and when we get stopped on 3rd and 2 we have to punt.

They make a big play with a 23 yard catch on third down. We give up another 26 yarder to put them on our 16 with 4 minutes left. They score a touchdown, thankfully leaving 3 and a half minutes on the clock as they go up 24-17.

Nichols tries to do it all, lobbing a deep pass that is defended. Sampson instead pulls in 10 yards, Hiscock hauls in a 14 yarder, Mohammed gets 14 on a screen and we have it at their 40 with just over two minutes. Nichols is sacked at the two minute warning. He comes back out and misses on third down, forcing us to go for it on 4th and 20. Middleton defends the ball though and it goes over on downs. We have our time outs but have to stop them here. We don't, letting them back up the first down and it would seem the game will go to them. Corey Money takes a knee as his fans cheer wildly. The Tornadoes trudge off the field, 17-2.

Jeremy Kemp, their running back, is made player of the game based on his three touchdowns (and obviously not his 15 for 53 running). Money was probably a better choice, going 20 of 32 for 242 yards against us.

Our offense just never really got going. No big runs. Youssef only caught 3 of 8 passes to him, while Sampson was only 1 of 4. That led to Nichols having an unchraacteristic 18 of 31 game, for 211 yards, 2 TDs and 1 interception. Hiscock did great coming out of the backfield, the lone highlight really of the offense. Martinez played his heart out with 11 tackles, 2 assists, 1 forced fumble. Dillon had 1 sack and three hurries, but we were not able to get to Money often enough. Meanwhile they picked on Martinez in themiddle, goign to the tight end quite a few times. THe offensive line had a lot of nice blocks, 2 pancakes from Dawkins and one from Machen, but we just didn't run often enough I think.

Nichols had 5 passes defended, 3 hurried, 3 knocked down and one drop. He went 1 of 8 on long passes, which tells it all as none of those were really needed. Just as the keys of the game explained (damn me) they managed to make Nichols feel like he needed to win it himself, and he made mistakes.

At the same time they capitalized on our mistakes while we didn't on theirs. The fumble by Schaefer that led to 7 points for them. The series of penalties that brought back a touchdown and resulted in us going for a tie at 10 points. The series of penalties that prevented us from scoring after their fumble. Sampson's dropped pass that led to their consequent go-ahead touchdown. The 10 yard sack on our last drive. The first down we gave up on their last drive.

I feel better about Nichols at least, after looking that over. Those penalties on two scoring drives robbed us of 11 points by themselves. We had 9 penalties for 75 yards and clearly that made a huge difference.

This is really, really pissy. Now instead of enjoying the long ride back to Omaha, I am going to be steaming and plotting for next year.

Richmond Cavaliers 24, Omaha Tornadoes 17

Autumn

02-11-2009, 12:27 PM

Postseason Wrap-up

Given our loss, the season awards seem a bit anticlimactic. Still, I remember being eager to see them before the game.

Edwin Nichols, no real surprise, sweeps Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and of course All-Pro, First Team QB. Given the odd choices in the past I wasn't quite sure, but he was the clear favorite. Perhaps the league has finally gotten to a talent level that it can make these picks wisely.

Defensive Player of the Year was Detroit's Brant West, who broke the sack record with 22.5 and was a true force on the line. Offensive Rookie of the Year goes to Boston's Ray Gist who certainly deserved it. Defensive Rookie goes to Roman Ramsey from Pittsburgh, a first round pick who had 11 sacks at left end for the Steelers.

Brian Bullock, the Detroit coach wins coach of the year, reasonable enough though I might have picked Jenkins from Richmond. Bullock retires after this season though, so maybe was a sentimental pick. He is a two-time winner of the award, and led the Detroit Wheels to the best overall record in the league for the first five years.

This year's Legend of the Game is Irv Dilger, a 5th round pick in 1921, a center who in fact only started 6 games in 4 years. Nice choice folks! The league still has a way to go before these Legends start making any sense.

I'm a bit disappointed to see no other Tornadoes get All-Pro status though I didn't have anyone in mind for the honor. The choices look to be reasonable all around. We really have a crop of good players now in this league.

As for my GM rating:

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1924results.jpg">

Izulde

02-11-2009, 12:37 PM

Rough Super Bowl loss, but hopefully Nichols will grow and learn from the experience.

Autumn

02-11-2009, 12:38 PM

1926 Preseason

Our staff is all under contract still and I don't see any reason to mess with a good thing. Looking at our franchise value though, our stadium is listed as 0 even though it's in good condition. It seems prudent to see what I can do about that. Our turf and parking lot are very good, excitement for a new stadium is not high. So, I put in a bid for renovations. A few more seats and improvements and maybe these jackasses will sell the joint out to see the best team in football (arguably).

WR Brendan Youssef gets sent to Summer League. I only have two players who could go and he showed a lot of promise. I franchise tag WR Marshall Schaefer, who wanted a lot of money for a guy who's not really producing. Still, I wanted him here, so this works. I'll give him the year to show some results.

I'm at the bottom of the draft. I was considering trying to trade up but it looks like maybe a deep draft. With a number of QB prospects hopefully going high someone might fall to me.

Instead though, after looking at free agency I end up pulling the trigger on a big trade. I've seen that no big wide receiver talent is going to hit the free agent market for quite a while. And unless our team tanks it will be a while before we get a shot at one in the draft. So, after a lot of heartending decision making I make a deal

Cincinnati Eagles get:
our 1st roud pick this year, #31
Our 1st rounder next year, 1926
Dustin Fenderson, WR

Omaha Tornadoes get:
Earl Bratton, WR
Cincinnati's 2nd round pick this year, #14

So, we drop 15 spots this year and give up a pick next year. I really wanted to deal Marshall Schaefer but Cincinatti wouldn't take his salary. I hated to do it because I really like Fenderson, but there's no doubt this hugely increases our reciver talent. Bratton broke all the receiving records in 1923 and is a real talent. He did that with Artie Blackburn, Tornadoes reject, passing to him. Imagine what he can do here! In addition he's probably the best return man in the league, and has shown he can win games that way too.

I mostly sign my guys back in free agency. I pick up a new cornerback, take a shot at a decent looking running back mentor. Try a couple defense ends on for size. I mostly like who I've got and there's not much out there in free agency. If some of my guys tank in training camp I may have to go looking but otherwise I like our team chemistry and performance.

The draft starts, New Orleans picking up the consensus #1, a great looking QB. We have to wait til the middle of the 2nd where we pick up a decent looking DE who we think is underrated. Could be a good pick. We get another pick at the end of the round. I'm tempted by a great looking WR, but we're so stacked there it would mean having to cut someone i like if I got him, so I look to defense, where we need youth. I make a try at a CB who our scouts like.

In the third round that WR is still there, and the best prospect I have scouted, so I go with him. WE can always cut him if we're too crowded. The RB I had my eyes on goes to Providence. In the fourth only guy on my board is an underrated MLB who looks to have great RUN D but not much else. He has an affinity, so I figure he might make a decent backup. I need youth on D more than anywhere else, so I try him out.

I take a leap at a K in the fifth. There's nobody I really need, and I'm afraid I'm just going to be cutting these guys anyway and he looks decent. A safety in the third and a TE in the 7th, almost Mr. Irrelevant.

We get a B+. Our division rivals, Minneapolis, rate an A+

First blush
DE McCracken 30/55
CB Jamison 23/51
WR Austin 24/52
MLB Andrus 13/37
K Fletcher 44/69
S Coborn 15/41
TE Wilcox 22/39

Our stadium vote fails. We get a couple crappy trade offers. Really, does anyone bite on these things? My best DT for a 4th rounder?

No huge gains in training camp. Benjamin Youssef, the promising receiver I sent to summer league goes up +6, which is great. My kicker, though he's in his sixth year, goes up 4 points. Obviously the rookie I drafted put the pressure on him. McGregor continues to climb, important. My center Dawkins goes up, again a little competition in camp helps as I just signed a center to compete with him. Martinez and Minter after all these year still creep up. Wicks, Hiscock, Haber and Flming, great news. I think I've really lucked out as my biggest fear was that my core players would start dropping.

Paz and Jennings, two backup DEs both drop big, so I'm glad I brought in new blood there. Shepherd, my FB does as well. Again, glad I've got a backup. Otherwise it's mostly backups that drop. I make a few cuts to get down to 60 on contract, Paz, the rookie kicker, my backup center. I'm going to have hard decisions to make next roster trim as I once again have a glut of cornerbacks who I can't decide between and the same at DE. Hopefully the preseason will give me some answers.

DE McCracken 30/55 --> 34/54
CB Jamison 23/51 --> 23/43
WR Austin 24/52 --> 26/47
MLB Andrus 13/37 --> 16/37
K Fletcher 44/69 --> Gone
S Coborn 15/41 --> 18/41
TE Wilcox 22/39 --> 25/36

Autumn

02-11-2009, 12:38 PM

Rough Super Bowl loss, but hopefully Nichols will grow and learn from the experience.

Well, check out my offseason move. I'm hopeful he may explode ;-)

Izulde

02-11-2009, 12:42 PM

Well, check out my offseason move. I'm hopeful he may explode ;-)

:eek: Wow, ballsy move! But it's probably worth it to get the best WR in the league.

Autumn

02-11-2009, 01:05 PM

Yeah, between Nichols and Bratton I've spent a lot of first round picks. This one and I hope next year's are low picks though. I wouldn't have had a shot at a player like him down there anyway.

I may regret spending it all on the passing game if our defense stinks, but so far I've been pretty successful with the guys I get there.

Autumn

02-11-2009, 01:18 PM

Five Year Retrospective

Five seasons have passed in this, the first professional football league. I plan on going back and looking at draft classes five years out, but of course there was none in 1920. We all got who we got, and it was pretty slender pickings. Looking on my roster I see that I don't retain a single player from that original squad as I mostly exploded it during the post season. I also didn't retain any stats from then. But I know quite a few of the original players are still hanging around the league and some still playing. Artie Blackburn, the Tornadoes QB in 1920 was dropped by us the very next year. But he's had a productive career in Cincinnati where he still starts and averages around a 73 QB rating. Of course he's been throwing to Earl Bratton these last few years, we'll see how he does this time around.

John Rosario was the leading rusher in 1920 and I snapped him up in the postseason. He was a decent player but never repeated that level of success for us. Last year he had a number of carries at backup for the Detroit Wheels. It seems he's been picked up by Denver this year to backup Guzowski so we'll be seeing him again.

Vernon Mersky is the only other running back from the top of the charts that is still around, being a main producer. Basically none of the wide receivers are anywhere to be seen. The leading QB in 1920 was Ike Hamilton and he retired a couple seasons later. But quite a few of the other QBs are still bouncing around, most of them, but not all, playing backup. I don't recognize any of the defensive players, certainly not Kyle Hicks who picked up 12! interceptions that season and never played again.

As for teams, for the most part the parity of the league has meant nothing in the way of dynasties or lasting success. Five years, five different Superbowl winners. In fact, 10 different teams in the Superbowl.

Detroit however has the distinction of having made the playoffs all five years, the only team to have done that. Despite not winning a bowl, they have amassed a 54-26 record, best in the league by five wins. They made it to the Superbowl once. Three other teams have made the playoffs four times, Portland, Richmond and Memphis, Richmond being the only champs among them. We hold the third best record in the league, but mostly based on two good seasons. St. Louis is at #2 with three playoff appearances but no bowls.

The worst team in the league over these five years? The Los Angeles Stars with a 29-51 record. There are six teams who have never made the playoffs, the Stars among them. The Stars in particular have 7 great looking first round picks on their team, including the best rated WR in the league. But they haven't picked that franchise QB and that seems to be their undoing. Still, they should be able to do better than that.

Autumn

02-11-2009, 09:46 PM

Team Preview

Given Omaha's success in 1925 it's perhaps not surprising that they chose not to make many major changes in the offseason. Coming back with the same coaching staff and same core of players they hope to repeat their success and come away with a ring this time. The prognosis looks good for them, the early championship favorites.

OFFENSE

The Tornadoes led the league in scoring in 1925 with a balanced offense that obviously keyed off of the success of league MVP Edwin Nichols. With the addition of superstar WR Earl Bratton in the offseason we expect another high scoring year and a likely switch to a pass heavy attack.

QB
Edwin Nichols 87/87
Ben Jochen 29/29
Harris Tripplett 23/28

The Tornadoes obviously stayed pat with Nichols and he is still the best in the business. The only thing to worry about here is injury, though Nichols hasn't missed a play in his first two seasons.

Which brings us to the backup situation. Ben Jochen was decent when he played, but that was years ago and the league has passed him by. Harris Tripplet comes back as a mentor for Nichols despite complaints during the '25 season about playing time. You've got to admire the guy's gumption but he will never be seeing the field again. The Tornadoes had better hope neither of these guys do or their season could be in trouble.

RB

Artie Hiscock 43/43
Artie Delgado 39/39
Juan Vanaqs 30/30

Artie Hiscock was a sixth round pick back in 1922 who has matured into the starting back for the Tornadoes. He appears to continue to improve in training camp, though Artie would never be able to make it as the feature back in a run-centered offense. He does well in the Tornadoes offense though, posting 1,100 yards last season with another 450 out of the backfield. He's a dangerous receiver, logging 28 first down catches last season. Nichols showed a tendency to use the running back as a crutch though and so expect to see Hiscock kept in to block more often to avoid an over-reliance on the dump off pass.

Juan Vanaqs looked destined for the cut last season after his skills declined visibly in training camp. He held on though and surprised the league by getting more and more attention from the coaches as the season moved on. He posted 247 yards in the last four games with a healthy 5.74 average, and added another 166 in the playoffs. He once again looks to have slowed over the offseason but we won't be foolish enough to count him out a second time.

The Tornadoes let disgruntled Jeff Schroeder go and instead brought in Artie Delgado to spell Hiscock. Delgado won't do anything in the passing game but has the talents to be a solid runner. He posted 1,000 yards in St. Louis last year and could get a good share of carries this year.

FULLBACK

Shannon Shepherd 30/30
Dexter Machen 38/38

Shepherd, a two-time All-Pro and once a featured part of this offense was overshadowed by his understudy last season. This year he looks to have taken a step backwards and is likely to backup Machen.

Machen doesn't have the all-around talents that Shepherd once did. He's a devastating run blocker though and has decent receiving skills. He never missed a pass last season while registering three pancakes. More importantly, Machen is a vocal leader in the locker room and well respected. He's unlikely to take Shepherd's place, but in this new offense he won't be required to.

TIGHT ENDS

Brady Mohammed 43/43
J.J. Hergett 40/40
Darnell Wilcox 25/36

Despite being the starter last year, Hergett was rarely seen, Mohammed taking his place as a favorite target of Nichols. This year it seems likely Mohammed will take the starting spot. Hergett remains a very strong blocker and will see plenty of action in the two tight end sets. Wilcox is a rookie with some strong blocking skills. Whether he'll survive the cuts is yet to be seen.

WIDE RECEIVER

Benjamin Youssef 46/52
Alonzo Sampson 44/44
Carl Austin 26/47
Earl Bratton 74/47
Marshall Schaefer 43/43
Norm Simone 37/37
Michael Fulton 37/37

The Tornadoes posted one of the deepest receiver depth charts in the league last year, Nichols spreading the wealth with three top targets, Fulton, Fenderson and Sampson each having 44 catches. While Schaefer was underwhelming in the #1 receiver slot, Youssef was a pleasant surprise, coming off the inactive roster to post 17 catches in the last four games, and add another 14 in the playoffs. Nichols quickly zeroed in on him as a favorite receiver and Youssef only looks better after a summer in Europe.

The addition of veteran WR Norm Simone may have helped as well. Not expected to see much action, Simone is a needed mentor for young receivers such as Youssef and rookie Carl Austin. Whether the Tornadoes can manage to keep seven receivers on the roster is yet to be seen. The management pines the loss of Dustin Fenderson, lost in the trade for Bratton, but they certainly have no holes on this roster.

With the addition of Earl Bratton, the wide receiver who changed the game with his breakout performance in 1924, the Tornadoes are poised to change it again. With teams forced to double team the explosive Bratton, Nichols should only find it easier to find open receivers among the squad he so successfully passed to last year. They have the depth to survive injuries and opposing teams will be forced to try to cover receivers such as Sampson and Youssef with nickel backs and linebackers. Nichols, the league's best at checking down and finding third and fourth options, should have a field day.

OFFENSIVE LINE

C Scottie Dawkins 47/47
C Darrin Warhurst 46/46
G Jessie Bell 38/38
G Broderick Morris 44/44
G Chris Sutton 39/39
G Carl Haber 48/54
T Marc Cassani 37/37
T Norm McGregor 56/56
T Alfred Tubbs 43/43
T Dixon Bridges 8/13

The Tornadoes management believes in consistency at offensive line and has worked at maintaining one effective squad, slowly moving young players into a starting position as they mature. This year they are likely to start at least four out of five positions the same as last season. Relative youngsters McGregor and Haber continue to improve and so the Tornadoes may look even better on the line than last year.

The one spot of change comes surprisingly at center. Scottie Dawkins has been an Omaha fixture, manning the center position since 1921 and owning every team record when it comes to blocking. Darrin Warhurst was brought in at the last moment to provide some depth but the coaching staff has reportedly been very impressed with the six year player. While Dawkins is indisputably the superior at run blocking, a crushing blocker, he is not a skilled pass blocker. What Warhurst lacks in the one he makes up in the other. A better rounded player, he may see more action than Dawkins in the coming season, particularly if the Tornadoes shift to a less balanced passing offense. Still, both players looked strong in training camp and both may see playing time.

SPECIAL TEAMS

KICKING

K Nolan Bercich 67/67
K Kenyon Fletcher 43/60
P Ricky Havens 56/56

Bercich, spurred on by the presence of rookie Fletcher in training camp, showed even better accuracy than last year. A Tornado since 1921, Bercich is 4th in All-Time Points Scored and has been reliable for the Tornadoes. Fletcher remains on the roster for his superior kickoff skills, though it is unlikely the Tornadoes will feel they have the room for that once the season starts.

Havens continues to be a reasonable option at punter. By no means the league's best, he performs well enough that the staff doesn't seem compelled to replace him.

RETURNERS

Earl Bratton 74/74
Darrin Burton 16/24

Burton continues to reserve his spot on the Tornado roster purely for his return abilities. Omaha's leading return man all-time, Burton posted his best averages ever last season. That makes the addition of Bratton all the more worrisome for opponents. Bratton is 1st all-time in kickoff return yards and TDs, and 3rd in punt return yards. He brings explosiveness to the return spot, having returned 3 kicks for touchdowns last season alone. With Burton next to him, teams will no good choices in where to kick.

DEFENSE

Omaha's defense is designed to give ulcers to its coaches. They have a schizophrenic approach to football, having a nagging tendency to give up the big play while also making them when it counts. With a lead they are lights out, the defensive line's pass rush coming alive. Near the goal line they frustrate opponents with their tight D. But they often lack the ability to put an opponent away when they should. With Omaha's offense only getting better it may not matter, and either way the defense was league leader in points allowed last season.

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Orlando Riley 32/32
Gilbert Caillouet 40/44
O.J. Greer 49/49
Ricardo Huie 50/50

Things look the same on defensive interior in Omaha. Greer and Huie continue to play side by side, where they make one of most underrated tackle tandems in the game. Neither are superstars, having signed on to the league at its inception. But neither has lost a step, Greer looking sharper than ever. Riley and Caillouet continue to back them up, both capable and performing well in limited duty.

DEFENSIVE END

Harry Fleming 49/49
Paul McCracken 34/54
Kelly Dillon 41/41
Floyd Myers 34/34
Sam Jennings 28/28

Omaha continues to believe in Dillon despite his underwhelming talent. Dillon posted 10.5 sacks and 21 hurries last year and the Tornadoes talk highly of his intangibles, the fellow having recovered 5 fumbles last season, scoring two touchdowns. He will likely start again this year at right end, though he faces competition from two new faces.

Floyd Myers is a free agent pickup with 45 career sacks in four seasons. McCracken was the Tornadoes 2nd round pick this year and shows promise as a run stuffer and overall players. Omaha resigned Sam Jennings despite his decline, hoping the former 2nd round pick can show the new 2nd rounder a few tricks. Fleming is likely to continue manning the left end, looking as good as ever. While none of this line is likely to win an All-Pro award, all together they make a very effective unit.

LINEBACKER

MLB Corwin Standafer 42/42
MLB Buddy Martinez 49/49
MLB Gary Andrus 16/37

SLB Joseph Minter 54/54
SLB Mack Halley 37/37
SLB Ike Tharp 26/35

WLB Fernando Lowe 42/42
WLB Tyrell Ingram 54/54

The lineup of Minter, Martinez, Ingram stays the same in Omaha. It hasn't changed in four years and Omaha is lucky that these three continue to show development. Their decline will be a blow to this defense but it hasn't happened yet. Meanwhile, Omaha resigns Lowe, who rarely gets in the lineup but is a valuable voice in the locker room and allows the intense Martinez to focus on his play on the field. Halley and Standafer have looked good in limited duty and improve incrementally. Andrus is a rookie chosen for his run D but who may not survive the cuts long enough to develop it.

CORNERBACK

Dave Burnett 43/43
Freddie Paschal 45/45
Roderick Bliss 34/34
R.J. Jamison 23/43
Clarence Browning 41/41
Steve Wicks 36/36
Sam Barge 34/41

The Tornadoes again have a glut at cornerback, even after making several cuts. Unable to get their hands on that shutdown corner they continue to collect and test out corners. Muddying the waters is the sometimes stirring performance of homegrown talents Wicks and Barge who continue to get playing time. Burnett is a new acquisition and looks to slot in as a starter right away. Jamison is a rookie with good potential but will be a likely target when cuts come.

Rotating corners has been a problem in Omaha, muddying team cohesion as the coaches try to settle on a set of starters. Underwhelming performances by the whole lot last season has not made the decision any easier for the staff. The Omaha's offense put additional pressure on the secondary last season by putting the team in a lead, facing a constant passing attack.

Expect all of these to get a shot at the field during preseason, and should one falter during the regular season the coaches will likely pull a switch.

SAFETY

Darrin Burton 16/24
Jared Perrin 47/47
Clyde Sheldon 32/50
Geoff Kooiker 37/37
Zach Coborn 18/41

Kooiker and Perrin have manned the middle of the Omaha field for two seasons now, Perrin for two seasons before that. This year Kooiker will face some pressure finally by Clyde Sheldon who has haunted the Omaha bench since 1921 with his promising potential but slow growth. Seeing limited action in all 16 games last season, Sheldon impressed the coaches, picking up 2 interceptions and 7 defensed passes in limited time. Although his performance in the playoffs was less impressive he will likely continue to see more and more time this season and word is the coaching staff is even entertaining the idea of starting Sheldon. Kooiker however is a strong leader on the Omaha team who gets along exceptionally well with most of the secondary.

Coborn is a rookie with the makings of a nice dime back, but it is unlikely he will get the chance to develop. Burton continues to keep a spot on the active roster due to his return skills, although with Bratton now onboard Burton could be bumped in a pinch.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Omaha continues to flirt with disaster by not adding any first round level talent to their defensive squad. Their approach of fielding a strong overall unit instead has paid good dividends but could very well bite them back as the talent level in the league continues to increase. The lack of a monster pass rusher and a shut down corner continue to be their largest weaknesses and as other teams field more effective passing games the Tornadoes could be in for a problem.

However, team chemistry and cohesion have served Omaha well. Maintaining a solid core of starters they know each other well and as their head coach moves into his third season they should have the system down very well. The defensive front seven and the offensive line have been amazingly consistent over the years.

And of course Omaha's success is likely to be based on offensive production. Last year's MVP now has his familiar stable of receivers PLUS All-Pro Earl Bratton. Never before has this league seen an MVP level quarterback throwing to an all-pro level receiver and there is no telling what sort of production this team could have this year. If the defense can continue a steady level of performance, the running game continue to complement Nichols well, this team could see it's already astronomical 1925 performance improved greatly. The X factor is how much the rest of the team has improved in the offseason to keep up with players like Nichols and Bratton.

Autumn

02-11-2009, 10:02 PM

All right, I had a bad case of buyer's remorse. I really wanted Dustin Fenderson back on the team. So, I finally worked out a trade with the Eagles to get him back. In addition it means I"ll get a first round pick next year, and possibly a good one.

Cincinnati Eagles get:
Omaha's 1st round pick 1927

Omaha Tornadoes get:
New Orleans 1st round pick 1926
WR Dustin Fenderson

I noticed that Cincinnati had 3 first round picks next year, so I thought they'd be willing to deal one. I get to forestall that day of no pick, and since New Orleans had the worst record in the league this year, there's a decent chance it will be good.

Mostly, I convince them to ship Dustin Fenderson to me. Which means they dealt me Earl Bratton and a 2nd round pick for a 1st round pick in two years. Suckas.

Of course now I have 8 wide receivers and will have to cut some. But Fenderson is a great talent, I think, having caught over 70% of his passes last season for us while averaging 14 yards per catch. A lineup of Bratton, Youssef, Fenderson, Fulton excites me. Having Schaefer and Sampson there to clean up is awesome.

Izulde

02-11-2009, 11:20 PM

Super-elite QB. Studly group of WRs.

Re-acquisition of a sentimental favorite and ripping off opposing GMs.

Where have we seen these things before? :D

Autumn

03-29-2009, 08:59 PM

Regular Season 1925

Preseason cuts were difficult, we had a lot of guys who were on the margin. But I generally went in favor of letting promising rookies hang around, as well as mentors, and a few sentimental favorites. Though Juan Vanaqs and Steve Wicks, for example, are not looking so hot ratings-wise, I still like to have them on the team.

While the roster was settled in preseason I didn't play with the gameplan much. I think it will take a few weeks of tinkering to decide what we're doing there. RB pickup Artie Delgado did great in preseason and we'll see how best to use him. Bratton didn't get a lot of targets, so we still have yet to see how things will work with him. He did great on returns, yardage wise, but coughed the ball up several times. That's a worry.

Week 1 at Minneapolis

Division rivals, the Lakers, are up first. It seems they franchise-tagged former Tornado Timothy Atkins in the offseason, signing him to a fat near-$2 million contract. Pretty good for a so-so quarterback. However, they also drafted unfortunately named QB Jumbo Donaldson and it seems up in the air who's going to get the helm on Sunday. The Lakers drafted running back Leland Springfield in the first round and he looks good, a real weapon to worry about along with receiver Craig Ludwig.

The new season starts with Earl Bratton catching a 19 yard pass while double covered. Auspicious. Youssef outdoes him by breaking loose for 29 yards to get us into the redzone. Mohammed, on his second catch of the drive, catches a 13 yard touchdown and we score on our first drive.

It's Timothy Atkins at the helm as the Lakers come out. We trade punts before Atkins and Springfield drive into our endzone, looking sharper after a rusty start. However, Bratton has a nice 25 yard punt return to give us a spark and Hiscock gets us to the one yard line with a big third down ramble. On second down Bratton pulls in the 1 yarder for his first touchdown as a Tornado.

Bratton makes two catches while double covered on the next drive, showing how hard he is going to be to cover this year. He can't connect on an end zone pass though and we settle for the field goal to go up 17-7 and that's the score at the half.

After trading some punts in the second half it's our defense who comes up big, Paschal picking Atkins off and returning it 53 yards for a touchdown and a 24-7 lead. All's not perfect though. The team's not quite used to our new punt returner I think, as Bratton has two good returns called back for penalties. Even Nichols can be rattled, as he tries to force a long bomb to Schaefer and is intercepted. The Lakers take advantage, driving in for a touchdown and cutting the lead to 24-14.

This time Bratton's nice kick return stands. Nichols doesn't show any hesitation about going back to the air, hitting tight end Mohammed for his 4th catch, and then Bratton for his sixth. Two bad throws in a row put him at third and ten but Bratton pulls it out of the fire, catching a 22 yarder while double covered. Look out league. Hiscock breaks into the endzone on an 11 yard run to make it 31-14 at the start of the fourth.

They have us pinned at our 8, but Bratton gets us out of there with his 8th reception. Unfortunately, Delgado ruins the drive by coughing up the ball and giving the Lakers possession at our own 20. Springfield turns a screen pass into a touchdown to make it 31-21. They've scored twice off our turnovers, it's the only reason they're in the game.

It's not enough though as we both trade punts the rest of the fourth, Nichols and company managing to keep the ball alive long enough to run down the clock and preserve the win.

A decent running day by Hiscock, for 86 yards, against what I think was a tough run D. Nichols wins player of the game with his 220 yard, 2 TD performance. Bratton, in his first Tornado appearance, pulled in 8 out of 9 targets for 88 yards and a TD. Not great yardage but he showed he was a very reliable #1 receiver indeed. Norm McGregor was a beast at LT with 4 of 7 KRB and no sacks allowed. Scottie Dawkins let by the one sack today, making me think we should maybe go with Warhurst who's a better pass blocker.

On defense Fleming managed to hurry the opposing QB 5 times, though he never did get his hands on him. Free agent CB Burnett had a rough outing, allowing 5 catches with one defended pass, but Browning at LCB had two defended passes and only two catches allowed.

Omaha Tornadoes 31, Minneapolis Lakers 21

Week 2 at Chicago

Still on the road we go to Chicago to face second year QB Xavier Kirkaldie. He's Nichols's closest rival in terms of talent but had an ugly first year, throwing 29 interceptions. 1925 hasn't started off better for him, with a 2 INT performance in week one. Rufus McArthur is their main weapon, a fourth year running back who is putting up 1200 yards a year. Former Tornado Alex Crawford is catching balls for the Gale.

The Tornadoes start their second game the same way, with a Nichols to Bratton pass. He wants to set the tone, and does with a 25 yard strike. On third and one Youssef takes a 1 yard pass and breaks it for 12 to get us in the red zone. Fenderson then completes the drive with a 9 yard TD catch.

Chicago's been watching our games, and is making pretty good defensive calls. It comes down to execution though and while they're stopping the run game fairly well they can't stop Nichols. He's 7 for 7 before he throws his first incomplete, but it's not enough to stop the drive as Bratton catches an 18 yarder next play. A sack knocks us out of contention for the endzone and we settle for the field goal and a 10-0 lead.

It's three and out for the Gale and Bratton makes them pay for it, returning their punt 49 yards to their 7 yard line. The man's paying the expected dividends wearing Omaha's colors. Nichols scrambles for 6 and then Hiscock pushes his way through for a TD and a 17-0 lead at the end of the first.

Ingram forces a fumble out of MacArthur and Dillon scoops it up and runs it back to midfield. We move the ball but their pass rush keeps us out of the endzone. Nichols gets us to the 11 but no further and we kick it, 20-0. Xavier isn't bad but he doesn't have the cast to support him, his receivers dropping balls left and right. We get the ball right back before the half and Bratton brings in two catches to get us to the 25. Schaefer catches one for 18 and we have first and goal, and Delgado punches it in from the one. We go up 27-0 before the half, Nichols has 200 yards already in the game.

Our defense is fierce when it has a lead, and the second half starts with a three and out followed by a great punt return by Bratton. On third and 9 Bratton catches a 20 yarder and we're in the redzone again. They're playing our run tight but Youssef hauls in a TD to make it 34-0.

It's three and out for the hapless Gale and I'm kind of hoping we pull Nichols soon, it's getting embarrassing. Bratton has three catches on the drive, including the touchdown, to make it 41-0 and to give him 9 receptions for 140 yards. It looks like it's the Nichols-Bratton coming out party today. Two possessions later, Nichols is risking the anger of the football gods by throwing a long bomb while up 41 points in the fourth quarter. Those gods force a three and out but Chicago though is more cursed, getting pinned on their 8 where we force a fumble and recover at their 3. Hiscock punches it on on the first try and we're up 48-0.

I'm truly, truly embarrassed for the Gale. We intercept them, yes, but just run and punt. But even that can't help as Bratton fields their next punt and returns it 66 yards for a touchdown. The score is now 55-0 and this must be the biggest blowout in football history. I suspect our defensive coaches tried to give them a chance, as they drove onto our side of the field as the clock was winding down. But they don't even manage a field goal before it runs out.

We scored 55 with effectively no rushing game at all, though Hiscock got 2 TDs on his 37 yards and Delgado had one score with his 19. The game was all Nichols, posting a 27 of 34, 324 yard performance, for 3 TDs and no interceptions. Bratton set Omaha team records both for his 11 receptions and 147 yards. Bratton also set team records for punt return yards and all purpose yards.

Scottie Dawkins at center has me wondering. He allowed another sack, but he went 5 of 9 for KRB with 2 pancakes, and was likely responsible for our effective short yardage running at the goal line. Warhurst is disgruntled behind him though, and better rounded, and I'll give him a shot next week.

Paschal had a great game with 1 defensed pass and one interception. Burnett gave up 4 catches but defended one. I think I'm going to switch their spots and see whether Paschal does as well as the number one man.

Nichols picked up Player of the Week honors though his performance was somewhat eclipsed by Lonnie Harden breaking the league record with 398 yards in a game, going up against the Lakers in a passing duel with Timothy Atkins, who posted 340 yards himself.

Omaha Tornadoes 55, Chicago Gale 0

Week 3 Portland

We finally show up in Omaha in front of our jubilant fans, primed to see this team at work and their new star The Earl. Revenge is also on our minds, as Portland was the one team to beat us in the regular season last year. They're helmed by Jared Eden as is usual, coming off a subpar year but looking crisp so far. They have first round draft choice Reuben Parton at running back who has yet to show his stuff. One time Defensive Player of the Year Briceland and MLB Curtis Subramanian helm the defense.

Portland is ready for the pass attack but we surprise them coming out running, and with Nichols scrambling when a pass play is called. It's the kind of balance I'm working on for a team that could easily lapse into being pass-first. It's 9 plays into our drive before Nichols attempts his first pass and the stratagem has worked for they somehow don't manage to cover Earl Bratton and the Earl turns a five yard dump pass into a 57 yard touchdown. He can go cash his check.

We trade punts and miss a field goal. Tight end Mohammed has shown a nice ability to get yards after catch this season, picking up a 25 yard gain here. Nichols gets denied on two attempts to Bratton but he finds other receivers, and we end up with the touchdown. 14-0.

Our pass rush has been all over Portland and they're not able to generate anything. Our offense however isn't slowed, Nichols has a 15 yard scramble that gets us to the goal line and Delgado punches in his second TD of the day to make it 21-0. That seems to spur something in Eden and the Eruption and they drive down the field on us as the second quarter winds down. They drive in the touchdown with three minutes left to make it 21-7.

Nichols has rushed 10 times in the game so far, I love this facet of his game that keeps our drives moving even when their pass D is tight. He's not able to get anything in the two minute drill though and neither does Portland.

A huge kickoff return starts our second half, but so does Bratton's second drop of the day. Nichols makes up for it with his 11th scramble, this time for 11 yards, and Hiscock following up with 14. Bratton saves the drive by recovering Hiscock's fumble on the next play but Portland seems to have the number for our passing game and Nichols just isn't able to complete anything. We do manage a field goal out of it though to go up 24-7.

Eden shows he's got some moves too, driving the team past midfield and then busting loose for a 21 yard scramble that silences the crowd. He seems to have stolen Nichols's mojo. One touchdown pass later it's 24-14 and the momentum seems to have shifted. This is where things get dangerous, as Nichols has a tendency to try to force things. He does just that, dancing around and then throwing a pick to Portland's safety. They've now got the chance to make this a real game, and Eden does just that, scrambling for 8 yards for a TD that makes it 24-21.

Bratton has a great return and the coaches try to slow things down with a rush. Nichols goes right back to Youssef on the next play though for a 13 yard gain. Delgado is stuffed on the next play and you can see the frustration on Nichols's face. He feels he's the one who has to win it and on the next play he calls a designed run. It works, catching them unaware, and he picks up 23 yards. Nichols now has 12 rushes for 101 yards on the day. More importantly we're in the red zone.

Bratton has his third drop on the day. I think he may have been injured and he obviously should be pulled out. A very irate and flustered Nichols is forced to go to Youssef on 3rd and 8 and he forces it, getting intercepted on the Portland two yard line. The crowd watches as he heads to the bench, throwing his helmet.

It's on the defense now to keep this game in hand. Portland wisely takes it easy, rushing and throwing short passes. Huie and Greer come up with a sack and that's good enough to force a punt. Nichols comes back on the field at the 37 yard line and goes straight for Bratton, who picks up a first down. As the fourth quarter starts they go to Hiscock for two no-gainers and Nichols is again forced to throw on 3rd and 12. This time it works out, Sampson pulling in a 19 yard catch. On the next play Nichols catches them unawares and hits Fenderson for 24 yards and it's first and goal. On 3rd and goal though Youssef drops the ball in the endzone and even the fans at the top of the bleachers can hear Nichols cursing. Bercich hits the field goal to make it 27-21.

Eden moves them to midfield but no further and they punt. Nichols goes right to his security blanket, and the Earl picks up 20 yards on a long crossing route. Another Omaha drop is nullified by defensive holding but that doesn't excuse him in the huddle. The grass seems to be getting slippery out there and it's messing up the offense's rhythm. An incomplete pass on 3rd and 12 means another punt and another chance for Portland. The defense comes up with key stops though and we get it back with four minutes left.

This time Hiscock breaks out a good run, and Delgado follows up with an even better one for 26 yards. Nichols is still out of sync and throws another incomplete, and then another one on 3rd down to Youssef. He seems to feel he has to go to Benjamin on 3rd and it's not working out for him. The receiver's only 3 of 9 today. Luckily Bercich's got the leg of a giant and he boots a 55 yarder to give us a crucial 30-21 lead. The ball goes over on downs for Portland and when Delgado runs for a first down the game's over for them. We kick a field goal on fourth down and hold on for a not very pretty win.

Post game reports show that The Earl broke his toe during the game, explaining his spotty performance. The rains in Omaha didn't help either. Nichols had one of his poorer games passing, going 15 of 31 for 254 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions. However, he made up for it on the ground, with 13 rushes for 104 yards. Bratton meanwhile broke 100 yards again, 4 catches for 101, but on 10 targets, not good. He did what he could, throwing in a 37 yard kick return and a fumble recovery too. I was surprised to see that it was Burton, not Bratton, who had the two other long kick returns. They make a nice tandem.

O.J. Greer gets player of the game with 2 sacks and a hurry. I'm not sure about the center position. Warhurst and Dawkins ended up splitting time and Dawkins went 2 of 3 while Warhurst went 1 of 6, neither allowing a sack.

Omaha Tornadoes 33, Portland Eruption 21

Autumn

03-29-2009, 08:59 PM

Week 4 San Antonio

It's a sunny day in Omaha today for the middle of our three game home stretch. Hopefully that will bode better for us. Dave Burnett decides to reward me for putting him back in the starting lineup by defending passes on the first two plays of the game. The Defenders follow up with two long catches anyway but the defense holds them to a field goal at least.

Burton starts us off with a nice long kick off return. Nothing stellar happens but a few short gains leave us close enough to try a 50 yarder and we do, Bercich nailing it to make it 3-3. In turn we get burned by a 30 yard pass and subsequently let them sneak into the redzone. They get it in the endzone and go up 10-3 and I think we're behind for the first time all year. It takes a couple of drives but we finally get in sync and drive down the field, Youssef catching a 20 yard touchdown pass to make it 10-10.

Browning makes a pick on their next drive to give us a short field. Youssef continues where he left off, picking up 20 yards. It's Fenderson who makes the tough touchdown grab though in double coverage, and puts us ahead 17-10 midway through the 2nd.

Nichols throws a rather unfortunate interception and they run it back into our redzone. We play pretty knockdown goal line D, but a facemask gives them first and goal on the 1. They eventually drill it in from there and tie the game up with under two minutes left in the first half. Nichols hits four straight completions to get us to their 13 yard line with a half a minute left. From there we surprise the Defenders with a run play and Hiscock scampers the 13 yards for a go-ahead score as the first half runs out.

Nichols gets picked off right away to start the second half, on a tipped pass. They get a field goal out of it. Our fourth sack forces another punt from them as the third quarter runs out. Somebody needs to make a play. An 11 yard scramble on 3rd and 4 counts, and seems to spark us a bit. Nichols runs for another first down to get us first and goal. Bratton picks up his second catch but it's Delgado who gets into the endzone on a screen pass to go up 31-20.

The Defenders take advantage of a couple long passes to move into scoring range. We hold them to a field goal however to make it 31-23 with six minutes left. Youssef makes a clutch 33 yard catch as suddenly Nichols is looking unstoppable. After a 50% first half he's now 22 of 30 as Youssef picks up another 21 to give us first and goal. Hiscock's touchdown run puts us up 38-23 and seals the game. However, just like last week, our opponent seems cursed as Perrin intercepts one of their last minute heaves and runs it back 71 yards for a touchdown and a crushing 45-23 lead. This team, if anything has a killer instinct as they come up with one more interception before we run out the clock.

There was no running game to speak of, despite Hiscock's 2 rushing TDs. That's something we're going to need to tweak going forward. This one fell on Nichols going 22 of 30 for 259 yards, 3 TDs but with 2 interceptions. With Bratton's injury, Youssef was the main man with 7 catches for 127 yards and a TD. Nobody stood out on defense, but it was a good team effort locking down after a topsy-turvy first half.

Around the league, Corey Money, QB for those Richmond Cavaliers who ruined our Superbowl run last year, was player of the week with a 398 yard, 5 TD performance. Both of those tied league records, TDs by our own Ben Jochen.

Omaha Tornadoes 45, San Antonio Defenders 23

Week 5 Houston

The Oilers come to town helmed by a new face. Ryan Frederick, the Bootleggers QB from '20 to '23 comes to town as a free agent and is running the 2-2 Oilers. They've got the best pass defense in the league so far this season, helmed by monster safety Willie Reid. It will be quite a test.

Things start out rocky. Scottie Dawkins makes me love and hate the fact that I put him back in as starter at center as he makes a crushing run block to start the drive, and then gives up a sack to end it. To top it off, Oilers star Willie Reid blocks our field goal. They return it 36 yards to get great field position. One play later it's a touchdown to their star receiver.

A hurry, a drop, but a scramble by Nichols gets the first down. Nichols runs again for another 14. Bratton shows up for a 21 yard pass to get us to the 11 yard line. Their star defensive end is everywhere so far, but we run the other way and Delgado makes it into the endzone for the tying score.

Three sacks in a row end their next drive, and the one after that ends with a missed field goal However, we cough up the ball and give them another chance. Martinez however shows where our team's heart is, stuffing two short yardage runs to force a long field goal which they miss. They give Nichols and company another chance, and Michael Fulton pulls out a 53 yard bomb to make them glad they did. First and goal we get a holding call, but unnecessary roughness on the Oilers offsets that. Then we get another holding call. Fulton gets us back to the 4yard line and Bratton catches the touchdown and we have a 14-7 lead.

Problems in this game are too many screen passes, and bad cohesion. I need to stop shuffling the lineup. Bratton is not the problem though, pulling in a 18 yarder to get us across midfield. Hiscock turns a screen pass into 16 yards, but misses the next screen. Fulton gets us to the 13 yard line but Youssef drops the pass on 3rd down and we have to kick for a 17-7 lead.

We get the ball right back on a Kooiker interception, but Hiscock fumbles it in turn. The first half is winding down as we get the ball back. We get stymied but Nichols scrambles for just enough to allow Bercich to boom a 53 yarder to make it 20-7 at the half. That kicker of ours is doing something special this year.

Bratton's 20 yard catch is key play in our first drive of the second half. His 10 yard touch down catch follows and it's a 27-7 game. Burnett causes a fumble and Perrin picks it up, giving us another shot at a score. They're playing tight D now though, especially as our running game is doing nothing, and we miss the field goal.

We pick up our sixth sack of the game on the next drive, but they pick up a 30 yard pass to get on our side of the field. A 17 yard gain by their tight end gives them first and goal. We stop them on the one yard line though and they settle for the field goal and 27-10 game.

We drive to their 13 yard line but Delgado fumbles the ball away. On the subsequent drive the Oilers hit Pierce for a 43 yard gain and suddenly they're in our redzone to start the fourth quarter. Two plays later they have a touchdown and it's 27-17.

Dawkins makes a key block on our next drive to set up a first down. Three incompletes in a row though force us to punt, all the way to their 3 yard line. We can't seem to stop their passing though, they must have had a great halftime speech. Frederick is now well over 300 yards as they drive to midfield. We get the ball back though and proceed to try to run the clock down. Hiscock has a big run on 3rd and 4 to keep the drive alive. Delgado picks up another and now it's near the two minute warning. For some reason they're expecting us to pass and so we just keep running over them. We get close enough to hit a field goal and make it 30-17 before they have their last minute heaves.

Still no real running game, though Delgado and Hiscock posted decent numbers. Nichols was a a nice looking 23 of 38 for 253 yards, 2 TDs. Bratton hauled in 7 passes but only for 78 yards, and on 11 attempts.

CB Burnett had 7 passes caught on him. Browning didn't do much better with 5. I don't know what is up with those guys. I hate to keep juggling because I think my cohesion is part of the problem, but that's ugly. Browning did have a sack and a half though. Fleming had a great game with 1.5 sacks, 4 hurries and 2 knockdowns.

Omaha Tornadoes 30, Houston Oilers 20

Week 6 at Dallas

Boston and Omaha are the only undefeated teams left. Dallas is 2-3, but they have Van Rankinen, one of the rivals to Bratton's crown as the best wide receiver in the game. And given how our pass defense has been playing, a real danger.

The Rangers start by making us look like fools, rushing against our pass defense over and over. However, when Huffman finally drops back to pass Kelly Dillon is all over him, sacking him, forcing a fumble and recovering it. The Rangers aren't about to go down that easy though, they intercept a Nichols to Bratton pass.

We stop them, but amazingly Nichols follows up with another interception. So far he is 0 for 2 with two picks. These guys have obviously been studying Nichols well. They toy with us and then Van Rankinen catches the 14 yarder to go up 7-0 in front of those rabid Rangers fans.

Nichols is rattled, and seems intent on winning the game on one throw, throwing long pass after long pass. On the other side, Huffman is making great throws, though his line keeps getting called for holding. We seem unable to stop him as he already has 100 yards in the first quarter when they break open a screen pass. First and 10 from the 11 Minter stuffs a run, Martinez stops a scramble and we hold them at the two yard line. Their kick makes it 10-0.

Another long bomb and I'm beginning to wonder if I entered a number wrong in the game plan. I think I must have, as it's long pass after long pass. Kooiker gets an interception on their next possession, and we have it at the 26. Hiscock's 16 yard run gives us first and goal and Youssef catches the TD pass. 10-7, Rangers.

We give up several large plays and they drive into our redzone. We stop them on the 5 and they kick, 13-7. The long passes are back, but Fenderson catches one of them for 22 yards. That gets us close enough for a field goal to make it 13-10 at the two minute warning. We get it back to make a try but Nichols is intercepted and they get a field goal out of it, heading into the locker room up 13-10.

Youssef catches one of these bombs for 45 yards, giving us a good chance. Hiscock follows up with a 11 yard run and it's first and goal. Hiscock punches it in from there and we're up 17-13. We trade punts for a while until Fenderson catches a 37 yarder to spark anohter drive. Bratton hauls in the next long pass for 26 yards and a touchdown. Luckily with this talent even a screwed up game plan like this can work. We're up 24-13 in the fourth.

Mohammed pulls in a 20 yarder on the next drive and we move into their redzone. We're not able to convert though and settle for the field goal. The Rangers aren't able to do anything and it goes over on downs on their own 10. We rush in for the touchdown and a reassuring 34-13 lead. Things have not looked this good most of the game, but these Tornadoes know how to make the kill in the end. We tack on a field goal before time runs out on them.

Unfortunately before time can run out Buddy Martinez hurts his knee, seriously. I hurry down to see the prognosis, ignoring the rest of the game. And indeed, it's as bad as I feared. ACL Knee surgery, out for this year and part of next is the prediction. The heart of our defense has fallen.

I go next to the game plan section but I don't see any typo. I can't quite explain why Nichols was chucking it long. 12 long pass attempts, 6 medium, 12 short. I don't know why this happened. But it made for an awful game, 15 of 30 for 219 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INT. Youssef only caught 3 of 12, target for most of those bombs. Bratton was 2 of 6.

Kelly Dillon was player of the game with 3 sacks, 1 block, 4 hurries, 4 tackles and 3 assists. Martinez put in 8 tackles and 2 assists in what may end up being his last game as a Tornado. I don't know if he'll come back from this one. Paschal had a lights out game, with no catches in 47 pass plays, and 3 defensed plays.

Omaha Tornadoes 37, Dallas Rangers 13

Week 7 at Oklahoma City

Corwin Standafer has been unhappy about playing backup to Buddy Martinez, and so now he gets his wish. Martinez is on the bench in street clothes and we're depending on Corwin to fill his big, big shoes. The Outlaws are 4-2 and our first real opponent.

Bratton and Hiscock make big plays on our first drive, but we come up short and settle for 3. Next drive, Hiscock makes up for it, busting loose on a short dump pass for a 29 yard touchdown. Delgado however basically plays himself out of a position. He's gotten quite a few handoffs early and done nothing.

Opposing running back Julio Willimason takes over the next drive to get them into the redzone, pounding us. They get an extra bonus on a play where their tackle, Maurice MacCracken pancakes my defensive linemen, Paul McCracken. There's some family rivalry here as Paul goes a little after the whistle and gets an unsportsmanlike conduct call. They get the ball on the 14. We almost stop them, Minter knocking the ball loose at the five, but they recover and run it in for the touchdown and a 10-7 score.

It's Oklahoma that gets the unsportsmanlike next drive. That gets us to the 25, and maybe it was former Tornado CB Reggie Norton who got flagged, for Nichols is picking on him. Next play is a 24 yard strike to Fenderson covered by Norton. First and goal on the one and it's Hiscock who gets it in the endzone. 17-7.

The Outlaws are now taking advantage of our base defense, which I bumped up for this game versus the nickel. A series of long strikes is ended though on a bad pass which Perrin intercepts and brings back 35 yards. We're winning the field position war this game, especially due to Bratton's returns. He picks up a 27 yard catch next play just to cement his star status. However, Nichols falls short on 3rd and long and Bercich misses a 51 yard boot. The Outlaws however hit their own 51 yarder at the two minute warning to make it 17-10.

We're not going down quietly. Bratton opens up the two minute drive with a 30 yard catch, followed with a 21 yarder. Youssef disappoints with a drop that takes the steam out of our surge and we end up setting for another field goal after Youssef can't get his hands on anohter pass. The boy is good, but only in streaks.

Second half begins with a nice Bratton return, followed by Bratton's 6th catch of the day. Youssef tries to make up for the first half with his first catch, a 10 yarder. Delgado however is officially heading for the inactive roster after muffing a 3rd and 1 run, after missing two other plays on the drive. We manage a field goal though to go up 23-10. An interception on the next play gives us another great chance. This time Delgado, hearing the bells tolling, breaks open a run for a 16 yard touchdown.

Three and out for the Outlaws and another nice return gives us a short field, and Nichols, Hiscock and Delgado combine to get us to the 15. Youssef's touchdown gets called back and we settle for a field goal. A methodical drive puts the Outlaws in the position to score but their third interception goes into Sheldon's hands on the 7 yard line. We pick up an easy score later in the quarter when the Outlaws go four and out from their own 12. Delgado continues his bid for playing time by rushing it in from 12 yards out. Good try, but he shows his true colors with four minute left. Pinned on our own two, Delgado gets the ball, manages to lose a yard and then fumble it. The Outlaws recover at the 1. They get the score to make it 40-17. That will be the end score.

Nichols had his typical game, while Hiscock and Delgado both racked up 60 yard games. Delgado had the better runs but also 2 fumbles, and some maddening stuffs. Bratton was the man with 7 catches for 188 yards.

The three safeties each had a pick in the game. Standafer picked up five tackles in his first starting nod.

Omaha Tornadoes 40, Oklahoma City Outlaws 17

Week 8 Denver

Division rivals Denver stand in the way of our best start ever. Last year it was 7-1, this year we're hungry for 8-0. Denver comes in helmed by rookie QB Irv Pritchett who is playing well so far. Guzowski still mans the RB spot and Rob Forbes at WR. They're 4-2 and they need to keep winning if they're going to stand a chance in our division.

Passions are high for this intense rivalry, and it shows on the field with three Omaha penalties by our second drive. Nichols too seems rattled, making a couple poor throws and ignoring Bratton for Youssef. He sparks the crowd though with a 19 yard scramble that puts us across midfield. Hiscock adds to the cheers with a 14 yard romp. And then crowd favorite and seemingly ageless veteran Juan Vanaqs comes in to replace Fumbling Delgado. He picks up nine and a lot of cheers. The touchdown is almost anticlimactic as Youssef hauls in his third catch of the day for a score and a 7-0 lead. On our next drive Nichols threads the needle to hit Youssef, double covered, for 19 yards to spark anohter drive. Hiscock fans the flames with a 32 yard run into the redzone. Two plays later it's Fenderson with a 17 yard catch and a 14-0 lead.

There's no team we've played more than the Mountaineers. These teams know each other well. The Mountaineers manage a field goal. But as the half winds down we are driving, Bratton picking up his first catch of the day on a drive that takes us into the redzone. Unnecessary roughness gives us great position and Hiscock and Vanaqs get it to the endzone, but get pulled back on a holding call. Nichol's dump pass gets stopped at the two yard line. We have to settle for a field goal and a 17-3 lead at half time.

The second half starts off well for us as Browning makes a nice pick off of the rookie and with no one in front of him returns it for a 42 yard touchdown. After that Denver abandons the rookie for Byron Doyle, whoever that is. He can't do much, but does manage to get them a field goal. As much as we're dominating, there's still a lot of mistakes on the field, including the seven penalties we've gotten so far. I'm not pleased with that, but I'll chalk it up to interdivisional rivalry passion.

We are basically in prevent offense at this point but Nichols scrambles and throws just enough to keep things moving. Youssef makes the third down catch that gets us in the red zone, and Hiscock follows up with a TD catch to make it 31-6. Denver manages a field goal and tries the onside kick but we recover. We paste on another field goal as time runs out to make it a bit closer to our scoring average.

Hiscock responded to my game plan well, posting 92 yards. Nichols did his typical, 23 of 30 for 238 yards and 3 TDs. This time it was Youssef posting 7 catches for 85 yards. Bratton was only targeted twice, which was odd. Paschal had a great day with 2 passes defended and only 2 catches. Scottie Dawkins allowed a sack, and was 2 of 6 on run blocking. I'm really conflicted whether to go with this more rounded backup or not.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, Denver Mountaineers 9

Midseason Report

It's safe to say we are dominating to an even further extent than the 1924 season. We are now 8-0, and averaging 38.1 points a game. However, it's also safe to say that the only acceptable result from this season, after last year, is a Superbowl win. Going 15-1 and losing the big game left a sour taste.

Nichols is playing great, but has competition at the top of the heap, with last year's champions Richmond's Corey Money throwing 18 touchdowns and Birmingham and Boston both showing great passing offenses. Bratton was an early receiving leader but has fallen off a bit.

Autumn

04-25-2009, 07:55 PM

Autumn

04-25-2009, 07:58 PM

Week 9 Minneapolis

Our second home game in a row is Minneapolis, another division rival. The Lakers sit at the bottom of the division but they've always played us hard. Timothy Atkins, the former Tornado, is still at the helm and he'd love to show us up. It's very gusty and cold with a dash of rain in Omaha today though. That could dampen our passing game. In the past Nichols has scrambled us to a win in conditions like this. We'll see what he does today.

Minter starts our day off with a quick pick. Nichols hits a short pass and then takes the ball himself for a first down on a designed run. Three plays later Hiscock bangs it in and we're up 7-0 quickly. Lakers RB Springfield makes a big play all the way to the one and they quickly tie things up, 7-7.

The Lakers are getting a lot of pressure on Nichols but Fulton picks up 29 yards to give us a spark after a few punts were traded. Bratton gets us to the 7 yard line and Fulton then picks up the TD for a 14-7 lead. our next drive Bratton picks up 33 yards on 3rd and 8 to give us another scoring chance, however all we manage is a field goal after a dropped pass backs us up.

Nichols gets hurried three plays in a row to make a short possession for us. I'm not sure why this defense is all over us. They've got our running game bottled up too. That makes it three and out for us again, with Bratton dropping a pass this time. Sure, it's raining, but come on guys.

On defense Corwin Standafer is going full tilt filling in for Martinez. He's got a whole bunch of stuffs already in the game. That gives Nichols a chance for some two minute magic. He gets us to midfield before the pass rush closes in on us. He surprises with a third down scramble though, quickly gets the timeout and we boom the field goal to go up 20-7.

Mohammed has his second drop in the third quarter and I've got my evil eye on him. Next drive Bratton and Fulton and Hiscock get the team moving and all of a sudden we're knocking on the redzone. Hiscock picks up another touchdown, this one through the air. It's now 27-7. Minneapolis is doing good covering Bratton, holding him to five catches out of 14 targets so far. It hasn't been enough though.

Their second string QB comes in and does a mite better than Atkins. They score on a busted screen pass after we give them a couple penalties. They come back only to have a penalty of their own that costs them a score. But in a two minute drive kept alive with their QB's big scramble they end up scoring with 34 seconds left to make it 27-21. Minneapolis recovers the onside kick and all of a sudden we're in danger of losing this one.

McElroy wastes time on the clock by scrambling and we knock the ball loose but don't recover. With 18 seconds left they connect on a pass to get them across midfield. They only get one more chance, and the throw is bad, but this is the closest we've come to a loss this season. Hopefully it's a wakeup call for the Tornadoes.

It was an ugly game, as the weather would dictate. Nichols still tried to win it through the air but went 18 of 37 for 213 yards and 2 TDs. Bratton was the lead catcher with 5 for 84 yards but it took 14 targets to get there. Hiscock increased his scoring lead in the league with a TD on the ground and one through the air. We didn't allow any sacks but Nichols got hurried 11 times today, just not good.

Standafer was my defensive player today with 7 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack and a forced fumble. He did have 5 balls caught against him with Atkins working the short passing game though. Paschal only allowed one catch in 50 pass plays.

Boston, the only other unbeaten team left, loses to the Detroit Wheels to leave us alone on top of the league.

Omaha Tornadoes 27, Minneapolis Lakers 21

Week 10 at Kansas City

The game starts slow but Vanaqs sparks things for us with two big runs on a drive. Youssef pulls in a tough catch in double coverage for a first as well, but we end up settling for a field goal on the drive. A big Bratton catch and unnecessary roughness on the next drive get us knocking on the door. They're playing us pretty tight though and we settle for a kick again, which we miss.

Meanwhile they're running really easily against us. They must have some great blockers. We manage to keep them down to one field goal. A good looking scoring drive is preempted though when Nichols tries to hit Bratton on third down and is intercepted in the endzone. They walk all over us on their next drive toward the end of the half scoring a TD and making it 10-3. Nichols and Youssef come back though, picking up two big completions as time runs out, Nichols adding a long scramble to get us to the 29 with 13 seconds left. For some reason they don't try the field goal though and that's the half.

We come out just as lackluster in the second. They score on us promptly making it 17-3. This is the only time we've really been behind and it's about time for Nichols to show he knows how to catch up in a game. He does just that, taking us on a scoring drive to make it 17-10 as the fourth quarter starts.

The Cowboys lose some steam and give us another chance. Hiscock starts us off again with a big run but we can't do more after that. Our next drive is do or die. We make it to midfield and punt them to the 1, but that's not going to be enough unless we get a quick stop. We do just that though and get the ball back at their 40 with two minutes. Bratton gets us a first down and then follows up with a 19 yarder to the 3 yard line with one minute left. Nichols Scrambles next play to tie it up 17-17.

The Cowboys have 45 seconds but can't do anything. We go to overtime where we start with the ball. Two short runs and then Fenderson picks up a first. A sack costs us big time but Youssef saves us with a 20 yard catch that puts us near field goal position. Mohammed moves us closer with a catch and then Nichols scrambles on third down to keep our drive alive in the redzone. Holding backs us up and then two false starts. The refs obviously don't want us to win this one, backing us up to the 34 yard line. A series of huge plays get called back on penalties until finally we miss a third down. By this time we're forced to punt. Obviously we should have just kicked when we had the chance.

The Cowboys drive across midfield, though they pick up a couple penalties themselves. The teams are passionate and playing sloppy. Unfortunately they surprise us on 3rd and 2 with a long pass and get in field goal range. They can't do anything more, but they do hit the kick and win.

Nichols got us back in this game, but our offensive line knocked us out of it. 10 penalties, mostly holding and false start in overtime, took us from an easy score to nothing. And our first loss.

The biggest thing of note is the lack of turnovers by our defense. One big play could have made the difference. The fact of the matter is everybody played lackluster. Kicker missed a field goal, lineman gave up a sack on the critical drive, penalties, giving up plays on D.

Also, their star CB had quite a game with 3 passes defended and an interception. The fact of the matter is, I think KC is good and they played us tough.

Kansas City Cowboys 20, Omaha Tornadoes 17

Week 12 at Detroit

We face the Detroit Wheels, one of the best teams last year, and currently riding a 6-4 record. They have clearly the best pass defense in the league right now, #1 across the board and lead the league in takeaways. They're led by Patrick Kaplan, their star safety, who has 7 picks already this year and a 94.3% pass defense. On the D-line they have Brant West, a pass rushing monster who is 2nd all time in sacks. Their offense is just mediocre, still helmed by 6 year man Dusty Harvey.

Two three and outs to start our game show that their defense is indeed tough. We play tight D, but it's all for naught as we give up a giant play, a 81 yard run to give the first score of the game. That puts some fire into our offense and they tear off a series of first downs, Nichols finding the backs in the short passing game. It only gets us close enough to try a 53 yarder, but we nail it to make it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

Bratton gives up a big play instead of making one, fumbling on a punt return. Our defense stiffens up though and they miss the field goal. Bratton makes it up with two 19 yard catches on a later drive, getting us into the red zone with Fenderson pulling in the subsequent touchdown to go up 10-7. Our pass defense is ultratight and they can't do anything before the two minute, but they do manage to pin us at the one, and that spells the end of the half.

Sampson picks up 22 yards after the catch to open our first drive of the second. Bratton follows up with a 20 yard catch. Two penalties on the Wheels gets us to the 10 yard line but a sack causes us to stick with a field goal. Jessie Bell, what the hell was he doing in there.

In turn their running game comes out thundering on us, giving up all pretense of winning through the air. That doesn't work well for them, but they intercept Nichols on the next drive, giving them excellent field position. Luckily a penalty backs them up but their running back breaks loose again, getting them to the two. We hold them there and they make it 13-10 with a field goal at the end of the third.

We start a slow plodding drive across midfield, where we get helped out with an unnecessary roughness call on the Wheels. Bratton picks up his sixth catch to get us inside the ten and Nichols eventually throws the TD pass to make it 20-10 with seven minutes left. The Wheels respond with a confident drive downfield, where they eventually punch it in to make it 20-17 with three minutes left.

A penalty weakens our chances of running the clock out. Their run defense plays it too tight and we have to punt with two minutes left. Chaos breaks out as they fumble their punt return. Although they recover it our center, Dawkins, looks seriously hurt in the ruckus. With two minutes left they attempt to score once more. We give up one 16 yard pass, but then we're all over them from that point out and the ball goes over on downs on a last sack. Nichols takes a knee and preserves an ugly win.

We had no running game to speak of, with the Wheels looking like a premier run D instead. Nichols has his typical game, his yardage a bit low as he went for a lot of running back dump off passes. Their stellar pass D didn't let us get much from those. Bratton had six catches for 92 yards, but it was Fenderson who pulled in the two touchdown passes.

Bercich really should be player of the game for knocking out that 53 yard field goal that proved the difference. Bratton averaged 20 yards on punt returns in another stellar special teams outing. Meanwhile the D line racked up 4 sacks and 3 hurries between them. The injury report confirms that Dawkins is out until next year. I'm glad we've got a very sturdy replacement. I go out and sign a fellow to fill in the long snapping duties, he turns out to be a mentor as well.

Omaha Tornadoes 20, Detroit Wheels 17

Week 13 at Pittsburgh

This is a stretch of good teams, the Steelers are always a contender in the Rust Belt division, and this year they are 8-3. Richie Brady continues to man the helm after oddly sitting out much of last season. He's not looking as sharp this year. Their defense is tight, DE Freddie Godfrey leading the league in sacks at the moment, from the right end of the line surprisingly. He'll be going up against Tubbs,who hasn't given up a sack all year.

Our offense has lost some steam and I'm looking at the gameplan, hoping to get them back into it. It starts us off well, running hard and then hitting Bratton for 31 yards. They stop us on third down though and we settle for a field goal. They hit us with two big running plays and do the same, making it 3-3.

They sack us on third down this time, but we manage to pin them at the 3. Once again though it's like our run defense has holes in it and they bust loose for 17 yards. Again on third own they make a big play and follow it up with a big run. They make it look easy, moving right down the field and scoring, going up 10-3.

Nichols tries too hard, going for a bomb on his first play. Once he settles it down though he marches us right down the field and throws a TD to Bratton. However, Brady comes right back and shows he's got the right stuff too despite his mediocre ratings. His arm gets them to the redzone and more, punching it in to go up 17-10 with three minutes in the first half.

With 36 seconds left Nichols has maneuvered us to the 31 yard line. He gets us closer but can't get in the endzone, and we settle for the last second field goal and a 17-13 score at the end of the half.

We recover a fumble on their first drive, the first big play our D has made in some time. Bratton makes them pay for it with a 18 yard catch but we can't move further than that and settle for another field goal, 17-16.

They come right back at us charging down the field but Standafer shows he can fill Buddy's shoes by forcing a fumble that Sheldon recovers. We can't do anything with it though and end up punting. Sampson has two drops in the second half and is quickly earning a spot back on the bench. His second forces us to punt again.

But the defense shows they know how to keep games alive, Fleming with a crushing sack that knocks the ball loose. Huie scoops it up and runs it back 32 yards to put us in the lead, 23-17. After getting pinned on our goal line a couple times we stage a nice clock draining drive across midfield. Hiscock breaks loose for 18 yards on third and two to really make things bad for the Steelers. Our subsequent field goal makes it 26-17 with two and a half minutes left.

Pittsburgh's not going down easily though, immediately picking up a 36 yard pass play. A couple more passes and defensive holding get them to the 14 yard line and Brady throws a score from there. That makes it 26-24 and suddenly we're in danger with a minute and a half left. They don't try the onside kick, instead giving it to us at our 19. Vanaqs for four. Vanaqs for zero. Vanaqs for zero and we have to punt.

They get it at their own 37 with 50 seconds left, only needing a field goal to win. They get called for holding and with no timeouts left that does them in. They're not able to do anything else and we hold onto the win.

Some really tough wins on the road. They show we've got some grit, but a lot to improve also. Nichols is player of the game but it should be Huie, whose 32 yard fumble return gave us the game. Nichols was an unseemly 25 of 40 today for 236 yards. Hiscock had a 91 yard day on the ground, but wasn't as dominant as that seems. He did pick up 53 yards in the air though, and that helped.

Bratton only caught 6 of 12 today, for only 60 yards. The Steelers were a tough D. It was our tough D that won it, recovering three fumbles. Bercich was 4 of 4 today and we needed it. Ingram again led the team with 7 tackles from the WLB, since I've tweaked our defense he's seen the field a lot more. I'm not sure it's helping as our pass D has suffered. Even Paschal, our best CB though was awful today, giving up 5 catches. Brady had a ungodly 117 QB rating against us.

Omaha Tornadoes 26, Pittsburgh Steelers 24

Week 14 Cleveland

The Cleveland Hammers come to town with a sad 2-10 record. Still, they're the #1 passing attack in the league, undoubtedly playing catchup but also possessing a dangerous weapon in Mario Skiffington. The WR has over a thousand yards already. On defense they've got a star in DT Walt Phillip with 11.5 sacks.

A big return by Burton to start the game. Having him opposite Bratton helps a lot. It's three and out after that with pass pressure on third down, but we pin them to the 2. That gives us great field position when Bratton brings it to their 38 on their punt. Their pass rush is all over Nichols though, who is 1 of 4 at this point. Our running game is working, luckily, and we get to first and goal at the one. Hiscock catches the pass in the endzone and we go up 7-0.

Hammers QB Lonnie Harden is making good so far targeting everybody but Skiffington. That's not good enough to really move the chains much though, and Bratton gets us back to our 45 at the next punt. Finally Nichols connects with Youssef for 31 yards and we're in the red zone. Their pass D is playing tough though and we settle for the field goal and a 10-0 lead.

They hit a 49 yard bomb on the next drive to get in our red zone. Skiffington catches his first pass of the day to give them a first down, but he coughs up the ball and we return it for a 93 yard touchdown!!!

It's starting to look like a rout as we quickly get the ball back and Nichols drives us down the field, picking up a first down with a 13 yard run on 3rd and 9. He quickly follows with a 29 yard touchdown strike to Fenderson and a 24-0 lead in the second quarter.

Skiffington makes his second catch of the game, this time a good 25 yarder. They catch us again for 20 yarder later in the drive to get first and goal. A seven yard TD run makes it 24-7.

The running and scrambling game gets us inside the 10 on our next possession. At the two minute warning we're at the two yard line but they hold us there to a field goal, 27-7. The Hammers get no luck as they cough up a fumble on their 20 yard line and we return it to the 7. With 43 seconds left in the half Hiscock charges into the endzone to make it 34-7.

Cleveland turns to the running game in the third quarter, but eventually they have to pass and Harden throws an interception to Clarence Browning. It's three and out though for our stuff, stuff, incomplete offense. Cleveland turns to their backup quarterback but he doesn't get anything done on his first drive. Nichols gets us moving with a short pass to Bratton followed by a scramble. Fulton comes through with a 22 yard pass play in double overage. Fenderson gets the first down in the red zone and then a defensive holding call gets us first and goal. Bratton hauls in a 5 yard TD pass to make it 41-7.

It's going to get embarrassing as the first play of their drive is a sack and a fumble by the backup QB. We recover at their 16 yard line. Nichols angers the football gods by trying three passes in a row, and they're all incomplete. The field goal makes it 44-7. The Hammers are expecting us to go to the run but Nichols is out for blood. He comes back firing next drive, hitting Bratton twice in a row, including a 26 yarder. Another catch by Bratton gets us to the 6 yard line. They hold us again to a field goal though, and a 47-7 lead.

Their backup QB is 2 of 6 for 6 yards, so there's not a comeback in the making. Skiffington however does his best catching two big passes on the drive to get them across the field. It's his counterpart, Asher, who catches a 27 yard TD bomb though to make it 47-14 with 8 minutes in the 4th. They get another good drive off on our tired D, lucky enough to recover two of their own fumbles on the drive. However they end up settling for the field goal to make it 47-17. That ends up being the end score as we run out the clock on them.

Our rushing numbers don't look good in the end due to the long lead, but Hiscock kept us in it early, as well as Nichols's 38 yards. He threw for only 196 yards, but for 3 TDs today. Six forced fumbles by our D today and seven sacks.

Around the league Corey Money picks up another player of the week award heading the Richmond Cavaliers. He remains the best rated QB in the league, besting Nichols in every category almost. Corey is also staying neck to neck with Nichols in all time QB winning percentage, both at .750 at the moment. The Cavaliers are 11-2 and look like favorites as AFC champions. Meanwhile Kansas City remains behind us in the division at 10-3, close enough to worry about, and the only other good team in the league. Third place Denver actually has the next best record in the conference.

Omaha Tornadoes 47, Cleveland Hammers 17

Autumn

04-25-2009, 07:58 PM

Week 15 at Denver

And Denver is next up, the 8-5 Mountaineers hoping to vie for a wild card spot. They're working with backup QB Irv Pritchett after Coles went down early in the year. He's doing reasonably well, but they're counting on a two pronged running attack with two time Offensive Player of the Year Martin Guzowski and third year Roman Reeves. Their defense is decent, but weak against the rush. We are 6-6 all-time versus our chief division rivals.

Denver comes out with a surprise long pass to open things up. They catch us off guard but we find our feet and stop them. A face mask penalty on Denver knocks them out of field goal range. It will be another heated battle I think.

Nichols starts with a 10 yard scramble, himself. Sampson then turns a 2 yard dump into a 16 yard gain, showing why he thinks he should be starting. Things turn sour though on a sack that Nichols fumbles. Denver gets the ball at our 35. They use their tight ends to exploit our middle, ending up with an easy looking touchdown and a 7-0 lead in front of their home fans.

The Mountaineers are expecting the pass from us and so Nichols is forced to work the short game. Our guys make it work, turning tiny passes into big gains though. Youssef catches one for 16 yards against their run D to get us good position, and Fulton gets us a first down inside the redzone. Nichols then finds Hiscock out of the backfield for a 16 yard seam pass for a TD to tie it up.

We're calling a bad game on defense and they're able to move on us again. We hold them to a field goal as the first quarter winds down. Three and out and we give them another chance at it. They're moving right down the field until we finally make a big play. Standafer knocks the ball loose and Browning recovers it. I need Nichols to get a score here, and he starts it off with a 13 yard scramble. A couple of runs don't do much but Bratton earns his paycheck pulling in a first down catch in double coverage. Hiscock follows with two receptions and Vanaqs takes a big run to get us first and goal at the one. Vanaqs punches it in to make it 14-10.

Denver comes right back at us, Forbes hauling in a 22 yarder for his 5th catch. He fumbles it though and Sheldon comes up with it. With the short field we have the chance to stake a considerable lead before the half. Hiscock reels off 11 yards around the end. Fenderson catches one for 13 yards. A sack though, the second allowed by Morris, backs us up. Bratton isn't able to haul in a pass and now it's third and very long. Nichols lofts up a ball that is intercepted, negating the turnover.

The second half starts with Nichols having the ball. Tight end Griffith picks up a key first down catch, impressive for a guy who was only signed this week to fill in for an injury. Griffith picks up a second first down in the same drive, and it's Hiscock who has a big run to get us in the red zone. Youssef hauls in an 11 yard TD to make it 21-10.

Kooiker makes a big interception on their next drive. The Mountaineers are all over Nichols though and he's not able to pick up a first. Our defense is fired up now, and gets some real pressure on Pritchett. Not only that but they knock the ball loose again on a short third down pass, Perrin recovering at the 21. Vanaqs ends up with the 1 yard TD to make it 28-10 with 13 minutes left in the game. Now my defense has their pressure on. Not only does Denver quickly punt it back but several penalties help us out as they're getting frazzled.

They're not able to get a score, and end up going over on downs with five minutes left. Harris Tripplet makes his first appearance of the season I think to replace Nichols as the Tornadoes rush their way to another touchdown, Hiscock getting it on a 13 yard run. That ices the game and our next possession we clear out the clock on a 12 yard run by Hiscock.

That last run gave Hiscock 93 yards on the day, though I'd say his running was only so-so. That and his 49 yards receiving, plus two touchdowns, earns him player of the game. Bratton only caught one pass today for probably his least productive game of the year.

Meanwhile on D we gave up a lot of passing to Irv Pritchett, but did pick him off twice. In addition we forced another four fumbles, recovering three. Our defense has been dangerous like that these last few games.

We've cemented our division title and #1 seed, Kansas City the next team behind us at 10-4. In the AFC Richmond (12-2) and Boston (11-3) remiain the chief combatants, the same two teams that faced off in the AFC Championship last year. Disappointedly, the New Orleans Jazz are 7-7. I hold their first round pick and was hoping they would tank.

Omaha Tornadoes 35, Denver Mountaineers 10

Week 16 Buffalo

We finish off the season with a two game home stand. Buffalo is 5-9, possessors of a pretty dismal passing attack led by Sean McGregor, and a very mediocre running game. Their defense is also near last in every category. Still, it's a classic trap game and we need to bring our game.

Things start off just as the home crowd likes, three and out by the Blizzard and an easy drive for a touchdown by the Tornadoes. Things look to continue the same until Nichols throws an untimely interception during a grinding drive. Buffalo tries to take advantage but look out of it on 3rd and 17. Rooking running back LaBrosse breaks out a 24 yard run to surprise us. That gives them a spark and they drive into our red zone. A 17 yard touchdown pass ties them up at 7-7.

Nichols keeps cool, letting Hiscock pick up 16 yards on his next carry. A pass to Bratton gets batted down, but Nichols catches them on the next play sleeping as he scrambles for 15 yards. That makes them cautious and he hits Bratton for 12 yards next. Hiscock has a 12 yard run himself, then 6 through the air. A 17 yard pass play on third down gets Hiscock to the 2, and Machen catches the short TD pass.

Buffalo drives into scoring range under the two minute warning. They score with a minute and 45 in the half, to make it 14-14. Nichols doesn't want to leave it at that, hitting Fenderson for 29 yards. Bratton picks up 15 himself. Now it's Youssef for 14 and we're on the 8 with 20 seconds left. We hit the field goal before the half to give us a 17-14 advantage.

The second half starts the same, with the Tornadoes driving effectively, quickly getting within scoring range. We settle for the field goal, and a 20-14 lead. We trade punts for most of the third. Buffalo mounts a long drive that creeps into the fourth quarter. They manage a field goal out of it to make it 20-17. Fenderson picks up a key first down next drive, picking up 25 yards. Bratton has another to get us to midfield. We call the plays well, catching them in the wrong D. Hiscock gets us in the red zone with a 14 yard run. Fulton gets us to the 4 yard line. Nichols is the one to score, scrambling it in to go up 27-17.

Buffalo comes right back driving on us. We need the D to make a big play instead of just giving up yard after yard. It doesn't happen though, we give up the TD and it's a three point game with three minutes left.

Bratton gets us to the 47 to start. We don't get much further though, punting it to the 5 yard line with less than two minutes left. The D makes four nice plays, finally, and we get the ball on downs. We top off the scoring with a last field goal to end the game.

That game was closer than it should have been. Our pass defense really is rather porous. As can be seen my Buffalo QB McGregor winning player of the game with his 26 of 38 for 265 yards and 3 TDs performance. Nichols was a more pedestrian 19 of 27 for 257 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. Nichols posts nearly the same numbers game in, game out. it's remarkable.

Hiscock had 88 yards and Vanaqs chimed in with 47 against a poor run D. The defense didn't provide any turnovers, the difference between this game and the last few. Carl Haber keyed the running game with 4 KRB.

Boston and Richmond are tied up at 12-3, meaning this last game could decide the #1 seed in their conference. Here in the NFC, Pittsburgh is only one game ahead of Indianapolis and Cincinnati in their division, making this week key. The same with Portland and Seattle in the West Coast division. Kansas City has a Wild card slot locked up behind us, but Denver has to duke it out at 9-6.

Omaha Tornadoes 30, Buffalo Blizzard 24

Week 17 Kansas City

It's division rival Kansas City that closes off our regular season. Neither of us have anything to play for anymore, but 63,000 show up to watch us play. Chances are good we could meet in the conference championship. Kansas City delivered us our one defeat this season, and I'm not sure we can let them sweep us. I don't like to take the foot off the gas pedal, but injuries are a worry here. Nearly all of our cornerbacks are limping in one way or another. The Cowboys have had a key injury to Mersky, their star running back. They've filled in well with 2nd round rookie Darryl Wheeler.

We start off with a great kickoff return to our 50. Nichols to Bratton is the first call of the day, for 15 yards. That's how our good games usually start. Youssef contributes with a big catch on third and 10. Two sacks though end our drive, and we settle for the three pointer.

KC in turn starts on their 5. They go three and out and we start at midfield again. We're still not able to do more than a field goal, and Bercich finally misses one. A big 20 yard pass sparks KC and they're able to drive into our red zone. They score and are up 7-3. Things turn immediately sour as we fumble the ensuing kickoff and they return the fumble for another TD and a 14-3 lead.

We trade punts and then Hiscock sparks us with a 14 yard run, followed by a 7 yarder. That opens things up for Nichols who hits Youssef for 19 yards. Hiscock has another 7and then Youssef another 18. We're playing their defense just right. Hiscock picks up 5 on a run and then Fenderson picks up a 15 yard catch to get us first and goal. Fulton is the one to catch the TD pass and make it 14-10, KC. That's the score at the half.

Kooiker finally makes a big defensively play, picking off Lonnie Bush and returning it 48 yards for a TD in the third quarter. That makes it 17-14, but we follow it immediately with another huge defensive play, Dillon sacking Bush and knocking the ball loose. Paschal picks it up and runs it back 19 yards for a score and a 24-14 lead. This is where our defense likes to be, and they easily force a three and out next possession.

Nichols would like to put the game away, and goes long to Bratton but doesn't connect. Next play he tries the same thing to Youssef but he gets picked off by KC corner Sam Barge, an Omaha draft pick playing nickel for KC. That gives KC the chance to make something happen. Bush is trying to make too much happen as well, and they have to settle for the field goal.

In turn Nichols and company lead us on a long drive for a touchdown, making it 31-17. There's still a quarter to play, but we've clearly cemented our record breaking scoring season. Bratton picks up a nice pass on the next drive, but Sam Barge stops us on 3rd and long to show us he had the right stuff.

We're playing prevent defense now and that works about as well as you'd expect. They end up scoring on a 20 yard pass to make it a 7 yard game.

Nichols hits second week Tornado Griffiths for 11 yards, and then TE Hergett for 15. He's determined to put the game away, scrambling for a first down himself as the fourth quarter winds down. Hiscock picks up a 13 yard TD run before the two minute warning to make it 38-24. We sack KC on the next possession and knock the ball loose. Vanaqs picks us up a first down to end the game, and the regular season.

It's a convincing win against the one team that beat us in a 15-1 season, our second in two years. A nice running day by Hiscock and Vanaqs, 81 and 49 yards respectively. Youssef was the main receiver with 6 catches for 75. Bratton was a quiet 4 for 54 yards. Three turnovers forced by the defense gave us 14 points directly, making up for Bercich's poor 1/3 kicking. DE Kelly Dillon was player of the game with 6 tackles, 2 sacks, a block and a hurry.

Boston and Richmond both won and so I'm not sure who grabbed top seed. Birmingham at 11-4 and Detroit at 9-7 round out the top teams in the AFC. Pittsburgh meanwhile won and claimed their division, which was bad news for 9-7 Cincinnati who have to stay home. My division posted three playoff teams, with the 11-5 Cowboys and the 10-6 Mountaineers claiming both wild card spots this year. The playoffs will include some very familiar foes.

Omaha Tornadoes 38, Kansas City 24

Regular Season Wrapup

Two 15-1 seasons in a row, obviously the best play this young league has seen. However, this team knows nothing will mean a thing until they have that championship trophy they let slip away last year. Still, let's look at some accomplishments.

No team has ever scored more than the 1925 Omaha Tornadoes. Last season we led the league and tied the all-time record with 26.6 points per game. This year we obliterated the record, scoring an average of 34 points per game. Nolan Bercich, on the way to that team scoring record, set the league record with 37 field goals in one season, as well as with his 173 points scored. Earl Bratton set a record himself with 587 punt return yards in a year, breaking a record held since 1920.

Other teams passed more than us, notably the Cleveland Hammers who broke a record for pass attempts. Other teams ran for more, including the Birmingham Rebels who notched over 2,000 yards running between their backs. The Tornadoes though led in yardage gained, third down conversions and came close to the top in yards per attempt, completion percentage, passing yards and rushing yards.

Nichols had a similar season to last year's MVP performance, notching 31 TDs and only 13 interceptions, throwing for 3,866 yards. However his completion percentage was down and he was eclipsed by both Birmingham QB Albert Humphrey, with a 99.6 QB rating, and Richmond's Corey Money who led the league with 32 TD passes.

Hiscock barely hit 1,000 yards in a fairly disappointing rushing season. However he dominated scoring, notching 13 rushing TDs and 5 receiving ones. Nichols added another 500 crucial rushing yards for our team.

Earl Bratton did not have the dominating season I thought he might. 82 catches for 1,106 yards and 8 TDs is nothing to sneeze at, and it's certainly the best receiving season in Omaha history. Nichols however spread the ball out, hitting four receivers for more than 40 catches. Bratton had one totally dominating performance, three 100 yard games total and quite a few very quiet games. Meanwhile The Earl totally dominated the return field, averaging 15.1 yards per punt return, leading the league, and coming in 4th with 27.8 yards per kick return. In contrast our special teams only allowed 18.8 yards per kick return, lowest in the league, and 4.1 yards per punt return, second lowest in the league. The difference was a HUGE factor in putting up 34 points per game.

Kelly Dillon notched a respectable 13 sack season, Greer behind him with 10. Freddie Paschal was probably our star defensive layer posting a 83.3 pass defense percentage. Meanwhile Dave Burnett earned the dunce cap for nearly leading the league in catches allowed with 55. This for a guy who only started 6 games. Way to earn a pink slip.

Benjamin Youssef performed well at SE, catching 63 balls for 832 yards and 7 TDs. The second year player continues to surprise, coming on late in his rookie year off the inactive list to grab the starting spot in his second year. The WR who was 35/46 precamp is now rated 55/55 at the end of the season and gives us receiving tandem that's hard to beat (though league scouts consider Richmond to have the better one.)

Contenders for league MVP have to include Albert Humphrey. The Birmingham QB put up 3,573 yards on extremely accurate passing, 68% completion percentage and only throwing 2 interceptions all year in 523 attempts. That was the perfect complement to Birmingham's running game. Boston running back Ray Gist was run hard this year, with 416 rushes for 1,588 yards. That led the league but several backs had better years, I think, including Lee Lu of the Showboats with 1,444 yards plus anohter 478 receiving, or Portland rookie Reuben Parton who got his team to the playoffs with 1,313 yards on a 4.53 average and 11 TDs.
Receivers had a big year also, though. Clock Brancy of the Atlanta Bootleggers led the league with 1,557 yards on 115 catches, far more than anyone else. Mario Skiffington posted 1,400 yards himself on 97 receptions. Gene Pritchett of the Stars led the league in YPC though with 1,343 yards on only 79 catches.

Not a big year for sacks, Brant West leading the league with 16.5 and another 31 hurries. Antonio Sigrest led the league in picks, with 9 for Birmingham, and another 21 passes defended.

Autumn

04-25-2009, 08:11 PM

Autumn

04-25-2009, 08:17 PM

Wild Card Round

In the National conference, our division mates Kansas City and Denver are the two wild card teams, despite having better records than the rest of the conference.

In Dallas, the 9-7 Rangers are hosting the 11-5 Kansas City Cowboys. The Rangers have a mediocre running game behind 2nd year back Lenny Griffith. Their passing game is led by 6 year veteran Darnell Huffman. Their only statistical highlight is some good yards per attempt and catch and that is mostly due to star wide receiver Van Rankinen, 4th all time in receiving yards. He averaged almost 17 yards a catch, but had an abysmal 43.7 catch rate this year. Really, the Rangers are only because they won a weak division, barely beating out two .500 division rivals. Kansas City meanwhile has a productive rushing attack behind Wheeler and Billie Joe Gadget, a sixth year QB having his best season in Lonnie Bush and a dangerous receiver in 4th year man Ricky Hanks. The defense is keyed by a host of fairly good rushers, and Herb McGinty at cornerback, a very talented 2nd year player who had 22 passes defended this year.

Despite the difference in records, Dallas plays like the home team, dominating the game with a devastating rushing game. Lenny Griffith gets 119 yards and his backup is right behind him piling on anohter 92. Van Rankinen is a non-factor as the Rangers rushing attack puts them up 14-0 going into the fourth quarter. The Cowboys meanwhile did nothing on the ground and Lonnie Bush had an abysmal day trying to win it through the air. I'm glad to see a tough division rival go down.

Dallas Rangers 14, Kansas City Cowboys 7

In Portland the 10-6 Eruption will be hosting the 10-6 Denver Mountaineers. Portland is a genuinely dangerous offense, with RB Reuben Parton putting up 1,313 yards on a 4.53 average, and scoring 11 TDs. Meanwhile long-time Portland QB Jared Eden had his best year throwing for 3,665 yards and 24 TDs. The Portland defense is not good as a unit, despite having a good pass rusher in Darryl Briceland (13.5 sacks, 24 hurries) and a beast in the middle with Curtis Subramarnian (123 tackles). Their secondary is very weak. Denver will try to take advantage of that, though Irv Pritchett's passing game is rather one dimensional, targeting star receiver Rob Forbes and then featuring a lot of dump-offs to the running back tandem of Reeves and Guzkowski. Denver's advantage comes in their defense, which is weak against the run but very stiff against the pass and produces a lot of turnovers.

It is not a pretty game in Portland as neither offense is able to produce anything at all all game, Denver setting a playoff record by holding the Eruption to only 32 yards on the ground. The Mountaineers don't do any better though and are shut out in the end. Jared Eden's lone first quarter touchdown pass ends up the difference in a game where he went on to throw three picks.

Portland Eruption 7, Denver Mountaineers 0

In the American conference, I'm disturbed to see the 8-8 New Orleans Jazz picked up a wild card spot (since I hold their draft pick). They'll however be facing the 11-4 Birmingham Rebels in a very tough contest. The Jazz are leaning on rookie #1 pick Frank Todd at QB who leads the league in nothing but pass attempts, but still got the Jazz to those 8 surprising wins after a dismal season last year. Their pass defense has kept them in games, only allowing a 55.8 completion percentage. There aren't a lot of stars here, and we'll have to commend new head coach Dominic Tucker for getting them this far. in the Rebels they face one of the best teams this season, featuring the strongest running game in the league. Oliver Stephens scored 11 TDs on the ground while racking up 1,254 yards. That would be tough enough for an opponent but QB Albert Humphrey also racked up the highest QB rating in the league with a careful pass attack that led the league in completion percentage, gave up the lowest turnovers in the league and allowed the lowest pass defense to opponents.

The Jazz's surprise season ends here as Birmingham holds on against a second half surge to secure the win. There was little rushing game sighted in this game, and Birmingham held the edge going 20 of 29 through the air versus Todd's 22 of 47 and a pick. The Jazz held Oliver Stephens to an abysmal 21 yards on 20 rushes, but Humphrey racked up two TDs and a 115.9 QB rating. They're the dangerous ones in these playoffs so far.

Birmingham Rebels 20, New Orleans Jazz 13

New York picked up the other wild card slot for only their second playoff visit ever. They have a decent defense paired with a dink and dunk offense. They're in turn paired against playoff royalty, the 9-7 Detroit Wheels who have never missed the playoffs in the six years of this league. The Wheels have a potent rushing attack with Deon Crowder, who also is a good target in the air. But more importantly they have the league's best pass defense and are second in takeaways. Brant West led the league in sacks at defensive end, and Patrick Kaplan led the league in pass defense percentage at safety. Two clear Pro Bowlers that lead a tough unit.

New York dominates the second half to come up with a wild card win against the Wheels. A four minute, 93 yard drive that put them ahead by 7 with 19 seconds left won the game. Sutter passed efficiently against the normally tough Wheels defense including going 6 of 6 for 87 yards on the final drive.

New York Yankees 17, Detroit Wheels 10

Divisional Round

Birmingham showed they're one of the more dangerous teams in the playoffs, but now they must go on the road and see if they can beat the 13-3 Boston Minutemen. The Minutemen rush more than any team in the league, pounding second year man Ray Gist to the tune of 416 carries this year. Their run game isn't particularly effective but it seems to allow them a very effective play action passing game, first in yards per attempt and catch. On defense they feature the best pass rush in the game, with defensive end Shapiro picking up 13 sacks and tackle Lincoln Prior tallying 15.5. Meanwhile they accumulated 83 hurries between their four rushers.

Boston proves their regular season record was not fluke, putting up a 17-0 lead in the first and punching in a fourth quarter TD to secure the win. QB Phillip Bennett hardly had to work, only posting 112 yards. Ray Gist was the man of the hour, accumulating 192 yards on 26 runs, including a 41 yard TD in the fourth quarter. You can't ask more than that. The Boston defense rose to the occasion also, putting together 6 sacks, 3 blocked passes, 10 hurries and 7 knockdowns. Albert Humphrey, the coolest QB in the league just couldn't do much in the face of that pressure.

Boston Minutemen 24, Birmingham Rebels 13

The New York Yankees pulled off a win but now are heading to Richmond to face the reigning champion Cavaliers. Richmond is just all around good, coming in second in points per game and second in points allowed. They lead the league in takeaways and were third in pass defense. Corey Money racked up 32 touchdowns through the air. If they have a weakness it's a poor running game but it hasn't slowed them down, former Tornadoes coach of the year taking the Cavaliers to a 13-3 record.

New York held in it for a half but couldn't contain the Cavaliers in the second. Corey Money continued his remarkable season, throwing 26 of 34 for 289 yards and 3 TDs. The Yankees just couldn't get it done against the superior team.

Richmond Cavaliers 34, New York Yankees 21

Portland won a slugfest and now they're ready for anohter one in Pittsburgh. The Steelers pulled off a 10-6 season behind a good defense, number one in points allowed this season. Don't make mistakes on offense, stifle them on defense, that's their plan.

Portland puts the lie to that vaunted Steel Curtain. Reuben Parton gained game MVP honors by rushing for 157 yards on 25 carries, singlehandedly dismantling the Steelers defense. 24 second half points including a crucial 10 in the fourth quarter were too much for the Steelers and their relatively anemic offense, though Richie Brady did post 239 yards.

Portland Eruption 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 12

We draw the Dallas Rangers after our bye week. The Rangers showed a very dangerous rushing attack in their wild card game. But we get a real break when I check out their scouting report and see that Van Rankinen, their best player and star receiver is out with a broken wrist. That's going to severely limit what they can do and help my game plan.

The game starts with a three and out on their side, and a six and out on ours. We get stuffed on third down but manage to pin them at the one yard line with the punt. And what a pin it is, as the next play Halley and Greer tackle Idonije in the endzone for a safety and the first score. 2-0.

Roughing the kicker after a good stop give the Rangers new life and they move to the red zone as the second quarter starts. Holding takes away a touchdown pass from them and they end up settling for the field goal to make it 3-2. Dallas is playing us pretty tough on defense but finally in the second quarter we put together a long drive, picking up first and goal at the 8. Youssef drops a touchdown pass but Bratton catches the next and we're up 9-3.

Mack Halley makes the stuff to hold them to three and out and get us the ball again in the half. Youssef and Fenderson advance us to midfield at the two minute warning, and then Youssef breaks free for 21 yards on the next catch. Fenderson catches one for 14, and then Fulton for 17 and the score before the one minute mark, 16-3.

The second half starts with a 60+ kickoff return from Bratton, starting us off at their 33 yard line. Vanaqs follows that with a 14 yard fun, knowing that they're expecting Nichols to chuck it. On third and five it's third week man TE Griffith who makes the 8 yard catch to get us to the 6. Two plays later Nichols scrambles for a touchdown and we're up 23-3.

It's starting to smell like a blowout as we quickly get the ball back and drive the length of the field. Youssef breaks free again, picking up 15 yards after the catch to get us to the four yard line where Vanaqs punches it in. 30-3. Youssef's 23 yarder on the next drive ruins their chances at a quick turnaround and allows us to continue to run out the clock. We add a field goal to make it 33-3 before they get it back. The Rangers pick up some first downs by running instead of passing, but they're wasting precious minutes on the clock. They manage a field goal out of it, but have less than five minutes left as they make it 33-6. They try the same on the next possession, seemingly giving up on making a play at this game. They catch a break when their wide receiver breaks a tackle and runs in a short pass for a long touchdown, making it 33-13 with 30 seconds left.

This is a game where the stats miss a lot. Hiscock picked up 62 yards and Vanaqs 53, and though their averages look bad that is due to nursing a lead for the whole second half. They really did a great job in this game. Meanwhile the Dallas runners picked up nasty looking yardage, but most of it was junk runs in the fourth quarter.

Nichols was his typical 20 of 29 for 237 yards and 2 TDs. I realized his yardage numbers are never flashy partly because he usually has the game sewed up two or three quarters in. Youssef was the star of the show, having a coming out party of sorts with 7 catches for 104 yards, only the second 100 yard game of his career. Bratton was a quiet 2 for 14 yards and one TD. His long kick return helped a lot though.

Omaha Tornadoes 33, Dallas Rangers 13

Autumn

04-25-2009, 08:25 PM

Conference Championships

Portland has made it this far on a balanced game on offense, featuring 1300 yard rusher Reuben Parton and 3,600 yard passer Jared Eden. Their defense has not done well statistically but they shut out Denver in the playoffs and held Pittsburgh to 12 points. The game looks to be rainy and that may favor the Eruption who can rely on their ground game when need be. Defensive ends Briceland and Henson will be trying to get in Nichols face all day while Curtis Subramanian mans the middle of the field.

The crowd is crazy in Omaha as the game starts out, despite the rain. That sparks the team and we start off with a crushing tackle on the kickoff return, followed by Fleming batting a pass away. Portland quiets things down with some running plays however and the game starts in earnest. Our pass rush is on top of Eden in a big way, I don't ever remember them starting a game off so hot. They get us the ball back and Nichols quickly sparks the crowd with a 21 yarder to Fulton. His 11 yard scramble on 3rd and 9 gets us to the redzone, and he runs for another first down to the three. From there he simply runs it in for the score making it 7-0.

We get the ball right back, our defense keeping Eden to 2 of 10 passing so far. Hiscock pounds it at them, Nichols scrambling for another crucial first down. The running game gets us there, but it's Bratton who hauls in the score, double covered in the endzone for a 12 yard TD and a 14-0 lead.

Eden finally connects on a long pass on third down to get the Eruption some momentum. From there they effectively drive into the endzone and suddenly Eden has some confidence and a 14-7 game. Hiscock's not prepare to go down quietly though, and neither is Fenderson who catches a 19 yarder to get us to midfield. Hiscock springs free for a 17 yard pass and now the Portland players on on their heels. We get to the 1, and while a penalty backs us up Nichols connects anyway with Fulton for the TD pass and a 21-7 lead that we bring into the locker room.

Portland plays us well enough to force us to punt twice in the third. We get our break though when Machen forces a fumble on the punt return and Haber recovers. With a short field at their 33, we drive to the 11 but they stop us there, and we settle for the 24-7 lead. Portland appears to find their rhythm now as the fourth quarter begins, and they make it to our redzone where a big play gets them to the four. Two big stuffs and then a sack keep them from scoring though and they settle for three points, and a 24-10 game.

Hiscock comes right back at them, Fulton following up with a 25 yard gain on a short pass. That gets us close enough for another field goal. Portland is now playing desperate and they give us the ball over on downs at midfield. They're lining up to stuff our running game though, so they will get some more chances. They're backed up by penalties to their own five, and they regrettably decide to go for it on fourth down. Paschal makes the play and now we take over. Their goal line D is tough when they know we're running but we get the field goal and make it 30-10 with three minutes left. We get the ball back after anohter set of downs and soon we're dropping to a knee

Edwin Nichols may have picked up the game MVP, and he did throw for 2 touchdowns and rush for 33 yards, a TD and several first downs. But it was Artie Hiscock who really deserved the award, doing all the work on this rainy day, picking up 107 yards on the ground. With only a long gain of 9 he was doing it all in 4-8 yard bunches, and Nichols was only required to keep drives alive with a scramble or a timely throw. Nichols went 18 of 23 for 151 yards, Fulton picking up 61 yards on 5 catches.

The vaunted Portland rushing attack couldn't do anything against our front seven today, Parton going for 16 yards on 10 rushes after his 100 yard outing last week. Eden finally found some success at the end of the game but still ended up 22 of 51. We only sacked him once, but blocked 5 passes and hurried him 13 times. Meanwhile the secondary defended 10 passes. The only success he had was against our SLB, our nickel back gave up no catches, with three defended passes.

Our O line were perhaps the real players of the game. They gave up no sacks and only two hurries, and meanwhile put together 14 KRB in the game.

Omaha Tornadoes 30, Portland Eruption 10

It comes down to this, the two best teams in the American Conference meeting up. Both 13-3 in the regular season, Boston and Richmond missed each other last season after the Detroit Wheels knocked off the Minutemen. This time the Minutemen believe in the leadership of their once backup QB, Philip Bennett. The Cavaliers meanwhile believe in Corey Money, and who wouldn't, the guy has only been matched by Edwin Nichols himself in these last two seasons, putting together a 27-9 record. This may be the year he gets the MVP over Nichols, and he already has the one thing Nichols wants, a Championship ring.

I have to admit I was eyeing the scoreboard during the game, watching this game, especially as it became clear we were heading for the championship. The league wanted the storybook rematch, Richmond vs. Omaha, out for revenge. And it seemed clear that was what we were getting, seeing Richmond leading 17-0 in the third quarter and Boston barely having a yard, let alone a point. Boston was not about to let things go that easy though, as it turned out, and they poured on 24 fourth quarter points of their own, including a field goal that tied up the game and sent it to over time. Richmond might have been reeling from 17 unanswered points on their home turf but they kept it close, both teams punting in overtime until Boston kicked the winning field goal on the fourth possession of OT after a 8 play, 58 play drive.

Corey Money was the story for Richmond, setting a league record with 410 yards, three Richmond wide receivers accumulating 140, 99 and 85 yards respectively. His was not only the first 400 yard passing performance in playoff history, it was the only 400 yard passing game in league history. Money threw for three TDs, but two interceptions also, both in the second half and leading to 10 Boston points.

Bennett for Boston threw two picks also, managing 259 yards on 22 of 45 passing. His main receiver was Gene Tuman who picked up 121 yards and a TD. It was Ray Gist again who gave them the spark with 92 yards on 13 runs, and 2 TDs. Boston's D also accumulated 4 sacks and 3 hurries against Money, as well as 7 passes defensed. I'm a little sorry not to see Richmond again, as I'd love to settle that score. But Boston made clear that they've got the fight to be champions. And frankly, I like seeing Money get one more loss on his record, cementing Nichols on the top of the all-time winning percentage column. So far.

Boston Minutemen 27, Richmond Cavaliers 24 (OT)

Autumn

04-25-2009, 08:27 PM

Championship Game

Phillip Bennett, the Boston starting QB is a bit of mystery. A fourth year player, he languished on the bench only picking up three starts in his first three years. Boston has had the same head coach and offensive coordinator since 1920 when the team started up, Boston losing in the championship game that year. But for whatever reason, this year was the year they gave the nod to Bennett. The man must have seasoned well on that bench for he has come off to a 15-3 record, with an amazing 7 fourth quarter comebacks in that time. The former second round pick has improvement to be made in accuracy, but he's got a dangerous arm, matching Nichols at top of the league for average per attempt this year.

There's no doubt that Ray Gist will be getting his share of attention leading up to the big game. The second year back was Offensive Rookie of the Year last season and led the league in yards this year. One might not be blamed for considering him overrated though, giving his 3.82 rushing average. Gist has proven himself in these playoffs though, rushing for an amazing 284 yards in two games, for a scintillating 7.28 yards per carry and 4 TDs. Omaha can no longer afford to write him off as a workhorse, he's a weapon that has to be guarded against.

On defense Johnny Shapiro has already racked up 4 sacks and 11 QB knockdowns in just two games. A key for Boston will be getting Shapiro in Nichols face. He has the assistance of Travis Jones and Curtis Reidl, with another 3.5 sacks among them in the post season. This will be a test for the Omaha offensive line.

The key for Omaha will be coming and playing their game. Last season Omaha raced off to a 17-1 start in the season, came to the Super Bowl already crowned champions, and lost their focus. Getting behind early, Nichols got rattled and made poor choices. This is the way to beat the Tornadoes and now the league knows it. Nichols may be the winningest QB in league history with a 41-12 record but he has not once logged a fourth quarter comeback. Likewise the Omaha defense works best when they are capitalizing on a lead.

Omaha has to be pleased with the success of their running game in the postseason. When Hiscock is able to run, and Nichols adds some scrambles, this offense is very hard to stop. Against Boston's strong pass defense, it's going to be crucial. If Hiscock doesn't have a big day it will be up to Bratton or Youssef to make something happen.

This is it, game day. Nichols and company have been working all season only for this moment. After last year a 17-1 record means nothing but a shot again at the championship they let slip away. There's no chance these guys will come out soft today.

From the very first play we're firing, Sampson knocking the ball loose on the initial kickoff return and Fenderson recovering it. Nichols to Bratton isn't complete, so the next play Nichols dumps it off to Hiscock who breaks loose for 21 yards to the 4 yard line. Haber allows a sack and though Nichols scrambles it back to the 1, the Tornadoes settle for the easy field goal. 3-0. Boston settles for the same on their next drive, taking advantage of one key 29 yard pass.

The pass rush has indeed been getting to Nichols who starts off 2 of 6. He hits Bratton for a big 29 yard play though. That gives him the confidence to try for something big, and he goes for 5th receiver Alonzo Sampson who makes the long catch and takes it all the way, 52 yards for a TD! 10-3.

Next possession we show confidence, moving down the field with a combination of runs and passes, catching them in the wrong defenses. We play it safe on the goal line and settle for a short field goal and a 13-3 lead. Unfortunately, Boston does the same, moving down the field on us easily. We almost manage a stop but Bennett catches us on a safety blitz and throws the 21 yard TD. 13-10.

That's the score as we go into the locker room. Gist has already run for 100 yards against us, and I'm wondering if I called the wrong defense against these guys. Our running game has done nothing and it's big plays that have us this far.

Bratton makes a big first down catch on our first drive, and I'm glad to see him really involved in this game. However, the drive fizzles and worse when they block our punt and recover at midfield. Standafer though makes a clutch play, stuffing Gist on 3rd and 1. Hiscock in turn earns us a first down. We have five penalties so far to Boston's one. Hiscock gets another first, but another penalty sets us back. Nichols is only 14 of 25 so far, they're playing him and our receivers tight.

Three big runs in a row loosen up Boston's defense next drive, and Nichols hits Bratton for 21 yards. Youssef follows up with his first catch to get us in the red zone at the start of the fourth quarter. Bratton's sixth catch of the day is a touchdown and we have a 20-10 lead.

Our next big play comes midway through the fourth. We punt and Halley makes a huge tackle on the returner. He coughs up the ball and backup center Cornelius Clinton recovers. A holding call starts us off poorly but Hiscock makes up for it with a 18 yard pass play. Nichols hits Machen for a first down on 3d and 1, and now we're in the red zone. They stop us at the 12 but we make the kick to go up 23-10.

AT four minutes the ball goes over on downs at midfield. The Minutemen have almost given this game away with their poor defensive calls in the second half, expecting pass almost constantly, even now down by 13 at the end of the game. It proves too easy to drain the clock out on them with our running game. They only start expecting the run once they burn their timeouts.

And that means the clock stops on a championship for Omaha.

I have to give Boston their due, they played us tight and if it were not for turnovers they might have taken us today. Ray Gist ran 23 times for 123 yards and had another 45 in the air. Had the game stayed closer and he kept running like that we might have been done for.

On the opposite side Hiscock and Vanaqs, who had a miserable first half, ended quite well. 18 rushes for 74 yards for Hiscock, 10 for 46 for Vanaqs. Nichols threw in 32 yards of his own on 5 rushes. He was named game MVP for his passing, 20 of 31 for 264 yards and 2 TDs. Sampson had the biggest play with this 52 yard catch, but Bratton caught 6 balls for 93 yards and a TD, showing up big time for the big game. Hiscock did what he could to alleviate the Boston pass rush, catching 9 balls for 86 yards. No one else on the team had more than one catch, a very odd game for Nichols.

Ingram was the surprise defensive player of the game, coming out of nowhere to have 4 tackles, 3 assists and 2.5 sacks. The WLB only had 1.5 sacks in the regular season but brought his game today. Roderick Bliss, nickel back, would get another nod for big play, with three defensed passes. Paschal played his normal great came, knocking two balls away himself. Perhaps it should be Mack Halley and Alonzo Sampson though, with a forced fumble each that their teammates recovered, who should be noted most.

The curtain closes on a 18-1 season, our only loss coming in overtime. Your world champions, the Omaha Tornadoes.

Omaha Tornadoes 23, Boston Minutemen 10

Izulde

04-25-2009, 08:35 PM

Congrats!

Autumn

04-25-2009, 08:48 PM

1925 Performance Review

<img src="http://www.meadowdance.org/khww/images/1925performance.gif">

I'm not sure how they expect me to get 100. I won the championship, only lost one game in overtime all season, set league records in scoring. Geez.

Season Awards

Player of the Year goes to Albert Humphrey, the Birmingham QB who led the league in quarterback rating. I suppose it's nice that they awarded efficiently over Corey Money's TD totals or Ray Gist's inflated yardage, but it's also a bit boring.

Coach of the Year goes to Richmond's J.R. Jenkins. Jenkins won coach of the year when he was with the Tornadoes, leading them to the conference championship in 1921.

Defensive Player of the Year is John Hofmann. I have no idea who this is. A SLB for the Richmond Cavaliers, Hofmann had 97 tackles and 14 sacks. It's a rather odd choice, as he was not dominant in any category, and his popularity is only 60.

Offensive Rookie of the Year is Portland running back Reuben Parton, who certainly did have a great year, only stalling against us in the conference championship.

Defensive Rookie of the Year is Los Angeles defensive end Vincent Hiatt, the #19 pick who put up 14.5 sacks in his rookie season. A nice choice.

Legend of the Game is always a hoot in a six year league. We must be getting somewhere because Lee Banks, LT for the Los Angeles Stars at least actually played, which is something. The five year starter rode the bench this past year, but previously put together a total of 76 run blocks and way, way too many sacks. Still at the bottom of the barrel for this award.

All-Pros

Nichols gets bumped down to 2nd team, which I suppose is necessary with Humphrey winning the MVP, but still irks me. Well, he's got the ring. Bercich gets 2nd team nods as the kicker, which probably has more to do with his numbers than accuracy. I kind of thought maybe some of my linemen would get a nod, but no such luck.

My Personal Awards (stolen from Abe)

Team MVP - This has to go to Edwin Nichols. He's clearly great and now it's about building a team around him, but he is still the reason why we win.

Offensive Player - It would be easy to go Nichols or Bratton here, and both did their share of shining. But Benjamin Youssef is my choice. A third round pick who only started one game last year, he took the starting role and proved he could make defenses worry about who to cover. Having an 800 yard receiver across the field from Bratton made this offense click.

Defensive Player - Freddie Paschal did a fantastic job manning the left corner this year, way overplaying his ratings to shut receivers down. He was clearly the star of a defensive squad that is quickly becoming overmatched.

Special Teams Player - This is a hard one. Bratton was clearly the best return man in the game and that made a huge difference. But I'm going to go under the radar and give it to our coverage teams. Bratton's a superstar, but our special teams squad held opposing teams to obscenely low return yardage. That wasn't expected and it gave us a huge edge.

Heart Award - This season teetered on the edge when Buddy Martinez, the heart of our defense for 5 years, had a season ending injury. On a team that relies on cohesion, I was worried that things would fall apart. Corwin Standafer stepped in and didn't miss a beat, filling in with the clutch tackles and plays that we had relied on Martinez for.

Autumn

04-25-2009, 08:48 PM

Thanks. I was really afraid we were going to pull a Patriots for the second time.

Autumn

05-25-2009, 10:03 AM

1926 Omaha Tornadoes Preview

Much remains the same for the 1925 champion Omaha Tornadoes. With most major players locked up bfeore the season or resigned in free agency, the few moves the Tornadoes are making in the preseason is ushering some younger players up to starting slots. One major question mark for the team that shattered league scoring records last season is whether new offensive coordinator Michael Dole will be able to keep up the pace.

Alfred Lavan, the Tornadoes offensive coordinator for six years, and architect of the offensive system that swept the league for the past two season, putting up a 30-2 regular season record, could not be enticed to stay with the Tornadoes. Talk says that the owner, worried about dwindling profits, put down the boom on the Tornadoes GM, not allowing him to match the pricy contract that the Philadelphia Privateers offered. And so Lavan walked, Philadelphia perhaps enjoying a taste of revenge against the team that used their #1 pick to take Edwin Nichols and begin a dynasty.

Michael Dole, coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers for six years, will come to town and attempt to keep a near flawless offensive system working. Dole has had great success with underwhelming quarterbacks in Pittsburgh and here will get a chance to work wtih a legend in the making. The real question mark is if he can coax some performance out of the running back crew and keep up what is probably the best O-line in the business.

On the field, there will be few new faces on the field, but some shifting as youth moves forward. Second year defensive end Paul McCracken will see a starting nod opposite Harry Fleming, having impressed coaches with his backup work last season. At cornerback, the Tornadoes are excited to feature Richie Sigman, their first round pick, the man they hope to be the cornerstone of the secondary going forward. The Tornadoes have always struggled at cornerback to find a star and they are hopeful here. Sigman will likely start the season at nickel but the coaches won't hesitate to rotate him in.

Fans will be disappointed to see WR Benjamin Youssef riding the pine and slotting in at 5th receiver. Youssef was the surprise star of last season leaping up to a starting role and looking to be the Tornadoes second deadliest receiving weapon. An injury in preseason has him back in the lineup, but word is coaches were not impressed with the way Benjamin looked in training camp and are leery of sending him in. That will provide playing time for second year receiver Carl Austin who has shown promising development.

Another rookie hoping to claim a starting job is second round running back Drew Davidson. While the Tornadoes have leaned on the efforts of so-so talents like Artie Hiscock and Juan Vanaqs for years, the coaching staff clearly would like to have a star caliber player behind Nichols. Davidson is their latest try, and the rookie looked promising in the preseason. Despite his greenness, he is likely to get the starting nod and the bulk of the carries as the Tornadoes try to add a new spark.

Perhaps the only controversy on the field will be at MLB, where Buddy Martinez, the long time heart of this defense, returns early from a season ending injury that could have lasted through this year. Coaches are excited to see Martinez seeming as healthy as ever in his 7th year, but Corwin Standafer will not be pleased to be shuffle back to the bench. The fellow 7th year man and recipient of the franchise tag took advantage of last year's loss to secure the starting gig and clearly hoped Martinez's days were done. If Buddy falters in his return Corwin will be there.

surlyc

06-06-2009, 07:15 AM

Honestly, can't wait for the HoF to kick in. That's aways good on reset leagues :)

Awesome read, and some great trades. Keep it up! :devil:

Autumn

06-06-2009, 08:24 AM

Thanks for following. Yes, I imagine the Hall of Fame will be interesting, hopefully they'll pick better than their legends of the game.

Things should get interesting right about now with a handful of great QBs appearing in the game.

Athleticsfan2k8

06-06-2009, 02:04 PM

Way to Go, But in order to make it much better, i will create a player to take part in a dynasty

Name: Ernie Baker
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
College: Ohio State
Born: March 11, 1906
Draft Year: 1927
Position: QB

And i will add the following Real Football Players to take part in this dynasty for 1927

Rex Thomas (WB)
Red Grange (BB)
Milt Romney (QB)
Adrian Ford (TB)
Ernie Nevers (FB)
Paddy Driscoll (RB)
Roddy Lamb (TB)
Jimmy Conzelman (BB)
Earl Britton (FB)
Curly Lambeau (FB)
Harlan Carr (WB)
Tiny Cahoon (LT)
Red Badgro (LE)
Gus Sonnenberg (LT)
Johnny McNally (TB)
Hinkey Haines (TB)
Cobb Rooney (BB)
Mule Wilson (WB)
Doug Wycoff (BB)
John Vesser (RE)
Jack McBride (FB)
Ed Lynch (LE)
Frank Racis (LG)
Barney Wentz (FB)

So Is That Okay?

Autumn

06-06-2009, 07:02 PM

I'm not sure what you're asking. I'm not planning on adding any players to the files myself, if that's what you mean.

Autumn

09-06-2009, 10:53 PM

A Look Back at the Draft Class of 1921

1. Los Angeles - Harvey, Travis, ILB, Texas

The number one pick made a splash, still the career leader in tackles and assists despite playing only 77 games. Not a pass rusher, he's never gotten much acclaim but was an All Star in '22 and '23. Still playing.

2. Indianapolis - Stanberry, Harris, QB, Arizona State

Stanberry went on to one amazing year in 1923, where he took offensive player of the year. Never won a ring, but is the all time leader in passing yards and TDs in his prolific career, despite an overall rating of 77.

3. New York - Hastings, Hardy, OLB, Western Michigan

A three time All Pro Hastings has put up 470 tackle and 30 sacks in 5 seasons and is still going strong for the Yankees.

4. Baltimore - Rasberry, Max, S, Miami, Florida

All-Pro in 1923, second team in '24, Raspberry has been a safety to fear and a monster tackler, but just that.

5. Philadelphia - Mason, Monty, S, Wisconsin

Mason made a bigger splash, taking Defensive Rookie of the Year wtih the Privateeers and turning All Pro in '21, '22 and '23. Sixth all time in tackles and assists, 4th in pass defense he's been a premium defender.

6. Cleveland - Phillip, Walt, DT, Louisiana State

Phillip dealt with injuries, missing all but one game in his rookie season and 4 more the next year. Second team All pro in '23, he finally blossomed just last season, getting his first first team nod while putting up 11.5 sacks. He hasn't been durable, but still leads the Hammers in sacks and blocked passes.

7. San Antonio - McDonald, Trevor, S, Southern Methodist

Continuing the early safety fetish, McDonald never made a splash, making 2nd team All Pro last season, he's not a good pass defender but has put up some big tackle numbers in recent years.

8. Birmingham - Strader, Al, TE, Clemson

The guy I coveted in the '21 draft that slipped away, Strader is a perfect physical specimen. All Pro in '21 and '24, second team in '22, 23 and '25. Unsurprisingly as a TE he's never torn the league apart, his best season being 46 catches for 658 yards and 6 TDs.
9. Washington - Pierce, Hugh, T, Georgia Tech

10. Houston - Wynn, Clifton, DE, Memphis

Wynn has never made an All Pro team but is certainly Houston's best defender, and 5th all time in sacks, 4th in hurries. He's good for a steady 13 to 14 sacks a year and still going strong.

Basically the first year's top 10 turned out a lot of solid players, many at positions without much impact. Some great defenders, but no fierce pass rushers, no HOF quarterbacks, no running backs or receivers. Still, all ten of these guys are still playing, and have put together a lot of All Pro nods. Interestingly, no players of the year there though.

Omaha Draft of 1921

1. Harvey Shepherd CB 39/69

Shepherd is a draft bust of legend. His career went so poorly it's not even recorded in the books. A pretty decent season in '21 for us, the next year he came into camp looking like a new man, and not in the way you want. Not cut out for the tough business of pro ball he was cut later on and disappeared. Complete bust.

2. Sam Jennings DE 22/30

Jennings was much loved by the Tornadoes coaching staff, always an overachiever. He started for three seasons and managed 26.5 sacks in that time. In the end though he simply wasn't as good as the talent the league developed and was released in '25 after two years of inactivity.

3. Timothy Atkins QB 9/31

Atkins was probably the first player to bring excitement to the Tornadoes franchise, and maybe the league. His appearance in the '21 playoffs was a surprise, his first appearance in a pro game ever, filling in for the injured starter. He proceeded to have a game for the ages, breaking the league passing records at the time against Denver to get us to the conference championships. That was enough to lead him to 9 more fitful starts for the franchise. While he could make exciting plays, he made exciting mistakes too, fumbling a memorable 12 times in 8 games. He was released and moved on to division rival Minneapolis where he has had some respectable seasons.

4. Steve Wicks CB 23/44

Wicks is another long time coach favorite, despite his underwhelming talents. A starter for most of three seasons he lingers on as an occasional starter or nickel back. '23 was his best year with a pass defense of 83.6, and he's always made just enough plays to make us keep him around.

5. Adrian Walsh SE 10/21

Walsh was essentially a bust, starting for us in '21 and then slowly sliding off the radar in '22 until he was released during the next season.

6. Grady Solwold T 13/51

Started one season and then was replaced the next year, he just couldn't keep up with the rising talent of the league. Has bounced around the league as a replacement ever since, currently released by Louisville he's waiting for a new contract.

7. Wendell Harmon TE 20/59

Harmon seems to have never played a snap for us.

Autumn

09-28-2009, 09:51 PM

Week 1 at Denver

We start the season, as we do every year, with a divisional battle. Traveling to Denver I'm glad to get a road game and a division game out of the way right out of the gate, hoping to head back home with some notches in our belt. It's a complete sold out game in Denver, over 78,000 fans eager for blood.

We start the game off with some poor defensive calls, letting the Mountaineers drive right down the field to the cheers of their home fans. We nearly recover a fumble at the goal line, but they recover instead and Guzowski scores on us.

Nichols decides to open the new season with a 25 yard strike to The Earl, and he does, moving us across midfield immediately. Davidson takes his first real handoff of his career for a six yard gain, showing the defense they're going to have to be wary. Youssef and Fulton combine to give Nichols two incomplete passes though and it's Bercich going wide to end the drive.

Play continues like that with the Mountaineers going up 14-0 and Nichols pushing to get a long strike to Bratton but failing. Our coaches are chewing each other out on the sidelines as it seems our defense is in complete disarray. Finally in the second quarter our offense finds some rhythm, Davidson picking up a big three yards on 3rd and 2, Nichols completing some passes. Nichols is able to take advantage of their run success, hitting Hisoick for 5 on 3rd and 1 to get into the red zone. Its Nichols himself who rushes in the touchdown on a QB sneak.

We seem hardly able to slow Denver's QB England down, but we finally make a play, Martinez picking him off in the endzone in his first game in a year. That ends the scoring for the first half, 14-7, Mountaineers.

It's Hiscock and Davidson starting off the next half, with a 12 yard gain and a 23 yard catch respectively. Nichols keeps the action hot and the crowd quiet taking off on a bootleg for 15 yards. Fulton is the man who hauls in the touchdown pass, evening up the score.

Youssef gets called for a face mask on their kick return and I'm thinking it's about time to get this guy off the field if he doesn't make a play today. The defense too is due for some shuffling as we continue to look awful in the second half. Denver drives nearly at will, though the front seven makes a few nice plays. I think it's the secondary that isn't doing it, giving up another 3 points. Bercich evens it up on our next drive at the end of the third, Nichols unable to get any help from his wide receivers at all.

Sheldon makes a big play, intercepting England again when they seem on the verge of scoring. The offense can't do anything with it though, looking inept as Bratton even drops a pass. Denver unbelievably scores again on a long drive, going up by seven with three and a half minutes left. Time for Nichols to get to work.

He does just that, hitting Bratton for 7, Davidson picking up a quick first down. Nichols goes right back at Bratton, seeing something good, and picking up 33 on the play. Fulton picks up 15 on the opposite side of the field to make it first and goal and Mohammed quickly picks up the touchdown from the second tight end slot. It's all tied up, two and a half minutes to go.

England isn't to be denied, moving Denver up the field as well. At a minute left they cross the midfield, working toward field goal range. An untimely drop, a defensed pass from Paschal and then another and they have to punt to our 14. Nichols isn't afraid to try to win this, hitting Fulton and Mohammed but a face mask penalty backs us up and we run out of time.

It's OT in the first game of the year and Denver wins possession. Our defense needs to suddenly show up and prove they're champions. They do just that, holding Denver to three and out. Nichols comes on the field, looking determined. It's Hiscock that moves the chains though, before a holding penalty takes away a 21 yard strike. Backed right back up things look dire, 3rd and 10 and the crowd deafening. Nichols confidently hits Fulton in stride though and he breaks loose for not just the first down but a 30 yard gain. The Mountaineers are in trouble as we sit on their 24 yard line. They expect us to pound slowly to the goal and kick for the win. But they don't know Edwin Nichols. The man is fearless and goes right back to the air, right back to Fulton who streaks down the sideline and catches a 24 yard pass, dashing into the endzone for the win!

Our defense let the Mountaineers walk all over us, though in the end they picked off England twice and held Guzowski to 3.23 yards per carry (though his back up had 6.1). Our offense sputtered, but in the end you can't argue with Nichols going 17 of 26 for 268 yards and 3 TDs, enough for a 137.9 QB rating and a OPOW award. Fulton caught most of those, picking up 100 yards in his starting nod with 2 TDs. Davidson's numbers did not look good running the ball but he was fairly effective.

Steve Wicks looked horrible at the right corner, and I'm going to quickly reconsider my idea of giving him that spot. I hope that will be enough to fix this secondary, which did not look good. I need our line to get more pressure up front also.

Omaha Tornadoes 30, Denver Mountaineers 24

Autumn

09-28-2009, 09:58 PM

Week 2 vs Birmingham

Things start off poorly against the Rebels. They drive easily for a touchdown on teh first drive of the game. Three and out from the Tornadoes and they do it again, going 7 of 7 for 98 yards in the first two drives, and a 14-0 score.

A defensive stop, a good punt return and some offense and soon Nichols is clicking. However, he then gets intercepted on the 1 yard line. Another great punt return by Bratton though sets up a 16 yard TD strike to Austin the next drive and cuts their lead.

Defense is horribly porous. We give oup a third TD drive. We hit a field goal on the next drive. We force a punt, and Nichols is driving, but he pushes it too hard again and throws a pick, which they return for a TD. That makes it 28-10 at the two minute warning in only the second half. Nichols moves the chains in the two minute drill getting in the red zone, but incredibly throwing a third red zone pick.

Things are sour in the locker room, you can imagine.

We finally get a break, recovering a fumble in the third. Sampson breaks one for 26 yards, and then Hiscock busts out a 10 yard TD run to make it 28-16. Thier RB Stephens busts out a 38 yard run of his own to get them across midfield. Two blocked passes prevent them from getting a TD but they make it 31-16.

We get a big kickoff return, and then a huge play from Hiscock. 3rd and 1 he picks up a dump pass behind the defense and scampers for a huge 51 yard TD. That brings us to 31-23. We force a three and out and Bratton has a monster 60 yard punt return but fumbles it right back.

Nichols works Hiscock again on our next possession, throwing a seam pass to the running back which he catches 40 yards down field then busts it for anohter 25. We're back in the red zone and this time Nichols plays it safe, scrambling for a first down on third. We almost fumble it away but get it back, throw a short TD pass and then make the 2 point conversion to tie it up with 7 minutes left.

Howevery they make a big 40+ yard pass play to get to our 1 and punch it in to go back ahead. Nichols takes control and methodically drives us down the field, getting to the 34 yard line by the two minute warning. Bratton catches a 18 yarder that gets us close, and then with about a minute left Nichols throws a TD pass to Wayne, the FB. We're all tied up.

Huie gets a sack to start us off right. Salpala makes a nice play to force a three and out and we have the ball at our 40 yard line with ten seconds. Bratton goes for 10 to get us to midfield, we get off one more play for 11 yards but run out of time and go to overtime.

Brimingham wins the toss. Fleming and Martinez and Paschal make big plays to force incompletions and get the ball back in our hands. Bratton has a 20 yard return and we're already at their 37. We simply drive down the field from there, and Nichols gets the winning points on a 3 yard scramble for a TD.

A horrible defensive game, we gave up 140 yards to Oliver Stephens on the ground, and 304 to Humphrey in the air. Meanwhile Nichols had a horrible start, throwing three picks but ended up throwing 4 TDs as well to go along with 397 yards, a personal and team record. Hiscock was our hero with 127 yards through the air. Though perhaps Bratton should be, with 4 punt returns for 123 yards, and 5 kickoff returns for 154.

Our pass defense was awful, the only bright spot being Richie Sigman only giving up 1 catch in 41 plays.

Omaha Tornadoes 44, Birmingham Rebels 38

Autumn

09-28-2009, 10:00 PM

Week 3 at Dallas

We start off the game in Dallas playing as poor defense as we did last week, giving up big plays in the air and on the ground. What's more they're stifling our offense as well, and they take an early 9-0 lead. Nichols finally hits two big passes toward the end of the 2nd quarter, but Earl Bratton goes down on the play. Not good news.

We get three points out of the drive, but even bigger recover a fumble on the kickoff. Sampson takes it right into the redzone and Davidson plunges in from 8 yards out to make it 10-9 before the half. But our defense gives us another big break, intercepting a pass with 39 seconds left. The next play we're in 1st and goal. We only manage a field goal before time runs out but that gives us a 13-9 lead.

Hiscock continues to make plays in the passing game, keeping us moving down the field on a drive in the 3rd. We only manage a field goal on the drive though. They manage another field goal, and we just about do the same, but it's blocked. A waste of a very powerful drive. We come right back though with a nice punt return by Burton and a big pass play to Fulton. Machen catches a TD pass and we're up 23-12.

Rookie Sigman makes a big interception next drive, and Perrin does the same on the drive after that. That allows us to run out the clock on a 23-12 victory.

Bratton is out for five weeks. Not good, I need someone to step up there. Sigman is doing great manning the corner as a rookie, another good game. But our defense in general is just giving up big plays. It's hard to overestimate how big our special teams has been for us though, returns saving us game after game.

Omaha Tornadoes 23, Dallas Ranger2 12

Autumn

09-28-2009, 10:01 PM

Week 4 vs St. Louis

We score first at home against the Trailblazers, from a fumble recovery. Minter then gets an interception to give us another chance but too many penalties foil the chance. Late in the second we finally strike again, hitting Fenderson for a 30 yard touchdown pass in his first action of the season, coming out due to Bratton's injury. Nichols has also had three key scrambles. With time running out in the second they get to our 1 yard line but we hold them to a field goal, 14-6.

Sheldon gets an interception in the third to kick off a drive. Fulton busts the next play open for a 65 yard touchdown catch and run, and a 21-6 lead. Fulton can't be stopped there, after a three and out he fields the Trailblazer punt and returns it 34 yards for another TD. Now that momentum's on our side our running game kicks into gear and we're able to drive down the field. We're held at the goal line but put up a kick. Next drive we do it again, running over the defense and notching another field goal, and a 34-6 score.

Hiscock has a fine day running, 15 for 80 yards in the end, mostly keyed off our lead though. Fulton had the biggest plays though he otherwise did poorly as a receiver. Another 3 interception game for the team.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, St. Louis Trailblazers 6

Autumn

09-28-2009, 10:04 PM

Week 5 vs Cincinnati

Cincinnati has a seemingly tough D, but has only forced one turnover this season, worst in the league. They seem determined to change that, picking Nichols off on the very first play of the game.

Our defense is stiff though and we get the ball right back. Fulton makes a tough third down catch, double covered, to show us we don't have to worry about Bratton being on the bench. Sampson pulls in a 16 yarder and then Davidson busts a run for 11. Fenderson catches a TD two plays later and Nichols shows he's not going to be easily rattled.

Perrin picks off Blackburn himself. Nichols just makes a mockery of the Eagles pass D, throwing straight into double coverage time and time again and getting big gains, including the 16 yard score to Fenderson to make it 14-0.

Blackburn takes to the air then, determined to show his own stuff. He drives them down the field to the 20 before we sack him and back them up. Blackburn gets them back to a first down though, picking on rookie corner Sigman. It's first and goal and they score. 14-7.

We get a pass interference call on a long bomb to get us right back in scoring range. Nichols scrambles for a first down, then hits Fulton for a 19 yard TD pass, 21-7.

Their second RB, Floyd Booker somehow has our number, with three rushes for 39 yards so far. The Eagles just aren't a very coherent unit though, picking up a lot of flags and not converting third downs. When Nichols gets the ball back he drives us down the field, testing the D with long bombs as the second half winds down. Sampson hauls in a 22 yarder to get us first and goal at the two minute warning. Two plays later Davidson runs it in for a 28-7 lead. Artie in turn drives the Eagles into scoring range as time runs down, but Ingram picks him off to end the threat and the half.

Things look bad for the Eagles, who already feel compelled in the third quarter to start chucking it down the field, and our defense isn't having any of that. We start to lean on the run, but Nichols still throws enough to keep the ball moving. A holding call stalls us and I think we're settling for the field goal, but no, on third down Fulton hauls in a 33 yard TD pass, Nichols 4th of the day and it's 35-7. It's not even half way through the third, this could get ugly.

The Eagles run D turns porous, strangely, but they get a break coming up with a fumble in a big pileup and preventing us from what was likely to be another score. We settle for a field goal on our next drive to make it 38-10. The Eagles later manage to score a TD. I'm surprised Nichols is still in the game, I should ratchet that down a little. They later go for it on 4th down at their own 14, and get sacked by Huie and Fleming, giving us the ball at the 7. We don't try to run it up, I swear. Derek Forbes makes an appearance at QB, and three plays later we run it in for a 45-17 lead. At least we can say Nichols was on the bench. That's the final score.

Nichols gets player of the game going 18/28 for 255 yards, 4 TDs and 1 int. Fulton almost hits 100 yards, pulling in 5 for 95 with 2 TDs, Fenderson Mr. Money with 3 catches for 2 TDs. Rookie RB Davidson has a great game with 21 rushes for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns, Hiscock throwing in 46 yards rushing as well on 10 carries.

Omaha Tornadoes 45, Cincinnati Eagles 17

Autumn

09-28-2009, 10:06 PM

Week 6 in Indianapolis

You couldn't ask for better than this. The Tornadoes and the Indianapolis Racers at 5-0 are the only undefeated teams left, and we are traveling to Indianapolis to face them. Harris Stanberry continues to shine, with a 105.1 QB rating so far this season, throwing to a bevy of receivers. Rookie K.C. Walker is doing a good job at the running.

We open the game up big, Fulton coming up with a 51 yard catch one play after miffing one. Austin hauls in a 20 yarder to make it first and goal at the 1, and Nichols throws a TD next play. Now it's up to Stanberry to see if he can keep up. Not so far. Three plays in, rookie CB Sigman picks Stanberry off and runs it back 29 yards to their 14. Sampson hauls in the pass in double coverage and it's 14-0, just like that.

They pin us at the 1 with a punt. Seems bad, doesn't it? Davidson gives us a little room with a 4 yard run. Then Nichols just airs it out hitting Fulton 32 yards downfield, and Fulton adds on some more for a 46 yard gain. He's already got 97 yards, more than last week's great game. Nichols scrambles with the ball for a first down to keep us moving, and Bercich manages a 47 yard field goal to make it 17-0.

Stanberry is 2 of 8 so far, and Walker has 3 yards rushing, our defense is just stifling them on their home turf. Meanwhile the offense doesn't slow down, next drive Nichols throws a TD pass to Sampson and it's 24-0. Fulton shows his stuff on special teams too with a 24 yard punt return. That keys our next drive which results in a 12 yard Hiscock run for a TD, 31-0.

It's not looking like there will be much contest for the title of last of the undefeated. Just when the Racers have something to crow about, a touchdown scored in the third quarter, Darrin Burton takes the subsequent kick off and returns it 93 yards for a TD. It's 38-10. They pin us on the 2 on a punt, stuff us twice for no gain, but then Nichols pulls his disappearing trick, hooking up with Fenderson for a 32 yard pass. That was their last chance, really, to get anything done. We tack on two more field goals before the end.

Our rushers look horrible, mostly working in garbage time. Nichols has a perfect QB rating though, going 17/21 for 275 yards and 3 TDs. He's the first QB in league history to post a perfect rating. Sampson has 6 catches for 65 yards and 3 TDs on 6 targets, can't ask for better than that. Rookie CB Sigman has a pick and a forced fumble to go with 2 defensed passes, a nice game against what was considered a top tier QB.

Omaha Tornadoes 44, Indianapolis Racers 10

Autumn

09-28-2009, 10:09 PM

Week 7 at Minneapolis

Another week, another former Tornado quarterback. This time it's Timothy Atkins and the Lakers. They're behind us in the division at 3-2, and so this is a vital game for them if they want a chance to catch up.

The Lakers get the crowd right into it, hitting Ludwig for a 54 yard pass first play. They end up punching it in for a 7-0 lead. It's a reversal of last week, as Nichols falters in turn, throwing an interception on his second pass. We hold them to a field goal this time. Things look dire as our drive gets backed up due to a holding call. But instead Austin ends up hauling in a 35 yard touchdown pass to cut it to 10-7.

We pick Atkins off to set up another drive. Tyrus Goettl is just a monster defender in the middle though, we end up punting. Good playcalling gets them to the redzone And a big run by Springfield gets them to the goal line. We stuff them on 3rd and 1 and they settle for the three points. In turn Nichols marches us down the field in a two minute offense, crossing into the redzone at the two minute warning in the half. A Davidson run and unsportsmanlike conduct gets us to the four yard line, where Hiscock runs it in for a 14-13 lead. Our prevent D gives up a huge 40 yard run, which gives them a chance to score again. Great pass pressure forces them to kick and they make it 16-14 at the half.

Hiscock's 16 yard run keys our next drive, getting us to the 4 yard line again after another run and penalty. Fulton catches the short TD pass and it's 21-16. They come right back to score though, taking advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty which negates their punt. McCracken's sack holds it to a field goal, 21-19.

It's Fulton who yet again makes a play of the game, turning into the playmaker in Bratton's absence. He busts open a short pass to take it 43 yards for a TD, making the score 28-19 in the fourth. I actually think we may be playing better with Bratton on the bench somehow. The ball goes over on downs as they make a last attempt to score. We give them the ball back, pinned on the 1, with 1:46 left and no timeouts. It's almost cruel. We end up kneeling down at their 1 as time runs out.

Harry Fleming is a justified player of the game, his pass pressure the main thing keeping Atkins from stealing the game from us. 2 sacks, 1 blocked pass and 5 hurries is his stat line to go along with 8 tackles.

Edwin's rival in Chicago, Xavier Kirkaldie has the game of the week with a 457 yard, 2 TD performance, hitting Brant Murphy for 10 catches for 197 yards. That's a record for passing yardage and the first 400 yard game in league history. Edwin has a mundane 20/30, 250 yard, 3 TD game.

Omaha Tornadoes 28, Minneapolis Lakers 19

Autumn

12-20-2009, 07:29 PM

Week 9 at Pittsburgh

The Steelers are 1-6, at the bottom of their division. Long time starter Richie Brady is struggling at QB, and it doesn't seem they've made many other improvements to the team. Perhaps being a four time visitor to the playoffs does that to you in this league of talented rookies.

Nichols marches us straight down the field first possession for a touchdown, caught by Fulton, set up by a big catch by Fenderson.It's 14-0 by the end of the first quarter. They bravely go for it on fourth but don't convert. That's what it takes to beat an unbeaten team, but we end up going up 17-0 as a result.

What does help though is big plays, and the Steelers get one, their tight end somehow getting behind the defense and turning a 30 yard throw into a 71 yard touchdown and their first score.

Nichols throws his third touchdown pass before the half ends, Davidson and Hiscock providing some good running as well. We go to the locker room up 24-7.

We are 10/12 on third down in the game so far, but they do finally stop us, preventing what seemed likely to be a score. We come up with a fumble-sack on their next drive however and their work is for vain, as Nichols passes for another, and a 31-7 score.

Pittsburgh converts their first third down in the third quarter, and shortly after that Brady gets pulled for his backup. The new QB can't complete a pass but he does scramble for three first downs, keeping the ball in their hands. They never do anything with it, and we do just enough with our ground game to keep grinding the clock out.

Davidson had the start at RB, but Hiscock outshines him, picking up 101 yards on 20 carries and earning himself a spot back in the starting lineup I think. Meanwhile, Nichols earns Offensive Player of the Week going 23/30 for 211 yards and 4 TDs. The offensive line earns a lot of credit, only allowing one sack, and busting a lot of nice runs all day. Bratton was well enough to play, but played second fiddle to Fulton who continued to perform well as the lead receiver.

Omaha Tornadoes 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 7

8-0

Autumn

12-20-2009, 08:11 PM

Week 10 vs Denver

The Mountaineers at 4-3 are our closest division rival. We beat them in a close contest week one, and we look to keep the momentum here. We are on a course for our best season yet. With the last game Nichols became the fourth QB in the 50 win club, and clearly the youngest. With 17-2 and 18-1 seasons behind him, Edwin is clearly focused on doing one better this year.

Nichols does his bit, not only passing us down the field on the first drive, but breaking wild for a 30 yard scramble and a score, reminding the Mountaineers they have to watch both air and land. Next drive is almost killed wiht a holding call but Bratton grabs a 22 yarder and we eventually score again, combining a grinding ground game with Nichols's arm.

Denver gets behind 21-0 in the second quarter but don't give up, making some big plays on offense to get first and goal at the two. We stuff them twice but not thrice and it's 21-7. They follow up with a nice defensive series, sacking and stopping Nichols. They fail to score though, and give Nichols another chance with a minute left. HE moves us across the midfieldand then goes with the running game, getting in position for a field goal. The kick is good and we go in up 24-7.

Nichoils starts another drive in the 3rd wtih a 13 yard run and later another first down scramble. HE hits Fulton for 32 yards to put us in the red zone. DAvidson runs in the score adn we're up 31-7, keeping up our scoring habits this week as well.

Pascal gets an interception next play and we have another short field. Bratton busts upon a 21 yard passand two plays later it's another score, 38-7. We give up a score next drive easily, but pin them on their six for the next drive, giving us good field position. Their defense is playing much tighter now though and it's a battle of punts and penalties. We have gotten a lot of penalties the last towo games, big ones like roughing the kicker, giving the ball back to them. Denver takes advantage but they can't get it done at the goal line and turn the ball over on downs.

Derek Forbes comes in the game for Nichols, I've finally convinced the coaches not to play him in these blowouts. We manage a long field goal in the process of tryign to run the clock out and that gives us the final score, despite ending the game on our own 3 yard line. No one can say we're bad sports.

Nichols goes 20/27 for 240 yards and 3 TDs, not to mention running one in. I thought he'd get POTW, but his new rival, XAvier Kirkaldie gets it, busting the 400 yard mark again, the only player in league history to have done it, and he's done it twice. Former Tornado Timothy Atkins throws 4 TDs himself.

Omaha Tornadoes 41, Denver Mountaineers 15

9-0

Autumn

12-20-2009, 08:34 PM

Well, due to a Vista problem I had to redo those last two games. The Pittsburgh one instead was a 38-13 win. Nichols went 20/23 and threw for 5 touchdowns, tying a team record. In addition Hiscock had a big 23 rushes for 117 yards.

We suffered a big injury, DT Greer going out for 8 weeks.

This time Denver plays us very, very tough, and we only squeak out a 10-9 win. Four turnovers and not a great passing or running day. We are really lucky to have pulled that one out.

Autumn

12-20-2009, 09:14 PM

Week 11 at Kansas City

The Cowboys are at the bottom of our division, so hopefully we won't have a close one like last week. With Greer on the sidelines though I'm a bit worried about our D.

A fumble returned for a touchdown puts us immediately into the hole. I don't like that. They follow it by holding us on D, including stopping two long passes to Bratton, and then turn around and make a 47 yard play themselves. We stop them there. Then Nichols shows he's not about to get frustrated, with completed passes of 26 yards, 19, 22, 11 and then it's a 3 yard touchdown run.

He comes right back and does it next drive, putting us up 14-7. The next drive features a fair amount of running, but it has the same result, touchdown. They make a bad face mask to end up giving us good position as the half winds down, and we kick one for a 24-7 lead at the half.

Nichols starts out the second half on a mission, driving us down the field and then Hiscock tops it off with a 10yard touchdown run. It appears they won't be able to do much, so desperate to pass are they. However they do make a big play, intercepting Nichols in the endzone. They can't take advantage of it though, their drive stalling and now they're resorting to long passes every play while we just run it out.

We move to 10-0, their only points in this game coming from a fumble return. Nichols was 29/39 for 302 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. Austin was the receiving star, stepping up for the injured Fulton, hauling in 8 passes for 112 yards. Hiscock only managed 88 yards but scored 3 TDs on the ground.

Omaha Tornadoes 34, Kansas City Cowboys 7

10-0

Autumn

12-20-2009, 09:45 PM

Week 12 at New Orleans

We travel to the other conference to face the 5-4-1 Jazz. Led by second year QB Frank Todd, he is still struggling. However, they have a great running game behind Tomaszewski. Their defense stinks, and doesn't bode well for them.

We start the game ripping them up on offense, but Hiscock fumbles the ball and they recover. In a nice turn of events though, DT Covington, filling in for Greer, gets a sack and then next play causes a fumble himself which he recovers. Two plays later it's a touchdown pass by Nichols to Fenderson.

Their star running back rushes all over us, but some killer penalties back them up from a touchdown to out of the red zone. They gain it right back and score to tie things up. Next drive they intercept us and drive right back into the endzone to take the lead. Nichols is not going to like this. The coaches call three runs and it's three and out. However, next drive Nichols takes over and passes us to another touchdown and a tie game. Right now he is 10/11 with two touchdowns and one pick.

Nichols makes some huge plays in the two minute drill to get us to the 15 yard line with 33 seconds left. They play it safe and take the field goal and the 17-14 lead going into the locker room.

The Jazz stuff us on our first drive, and then they go for it on 4th down on their own. They have to settle for a field goal, but that ties it up again. Our next drive puts us up 20-17 to start the 4th. An interception by Perrin gives us another chance. Nichols stalls, but we get three out of it.

Two sacks end the danger on their next drive, one by Covington who has just shined filling in for Greer. The offense seems to be sputtering, but a penalty gives us a second chance, and then Hiscock makes up for his earlier fumble, jetting 60 yards on a touchdown run. That effectively ends the game, putting us up 30-17, they're not able to do anything against the pass rush. We pin them on their 1 where they barely avoid a safety. They give it back to us at the 1 with 1:35 left. We kindly take the knee instead of adding to their misery.

With that huge run Artie Hiscock has 110 yards on 15 carries. Nichols was 22/29 for 232 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT. Bratton had 9 catches in his fully healed debut, but not for much yardage.

Substitute DT Tyrus Covington earned player of the game and Defensive Player of the Week while amassing 3 tackles, 2 assists and 2.5 sacks, as well as a forced and recovered fumble. Perhaps he's earning himself a starting spot.

Omaha Tornadoes 30, New Orleans Jazz 17

11-0

Autumn

12-20-2009, 10:22 PM

Week 13 vs Portland

6-5 Portland Eruption come to town. They're in the very curious case of being in a 4 way tie in their division. Obviously every win counts for them. We are on the path for perfection. They have one of the better offenses in the league with a great running back in Reuben Parton, and an efficient veteran QB in Jared Eden. They have a stiff rush defense but a mediocre pass defense.

The Tornadoes are more than just metaphorical today as we have 18 mph winds here in Omaha. We come out rushing and passing well, settling for a field goal on our first drive. We trade punts for a while until Nichols and Bratton break things open, completing a 22 yarder and then a 26 yard TD pass to make it 10-0 in the second.

Two sacks, a defensed pass and a great punt return put us in prime position. We settle for the field goal to make it 13-0. Our next drive we pin them with a punt to the six, where Paul McCracken makes an amazing play, sacking the QB and causing a fumble, which he recovers on the four. Two plays later it's a TD run and a 20-0 lead. An interception leads to another field goal before the half ends. A second interception leads to another and it's 26-0 when we head into our locker room.

The second half begins with a third QB in for the Eruption. McWilliams gives them some spark and they score a TD to make it 26-7. Our offense sputters on a later drive and then fumbles, giving them possession at midfield. Even worse, the next play our best DE, Fleming goes down with a serious injury.

Derek Forbes comes in for Nichols as we start trading punts and running down the clock. Their run defense is too tight to do anything but they can't do anything to make up the difference in the score, not with our pass defense pinning it's ears back. We hit a field goal to keep up our scoring average.

Sigman racks up a crazy six passes defended, particularly at the end as they're trying to lob it every play. An ugly running game with only some Nichols scrambles to save it. Edwin is 19/26 for 221 and 1 TD. We have 3 INTS and 2 fumble recoveries. Bercich is player of the game, kicking six field goals.

We lost two more players this game, perhaps our chiefest danger being injury now. Harry Fleming is out for the season, possibly two. Our FB is out for five weeks.

Nichols has 30 TD passes, and a 115.8 rating. He's on course to break both of those records at this pace.

We have to go out and sign a FB to fill the roster, picking up Shannon Shepherd, a former Tornado. We'll try to get by with the defensive ends we have as I don't want to have to cut someone to fit another on the roster.

Omaha Tornadoes 32, Portland Eruption 7

12-0

Autumn

12-20-2009, 10:48 PM

Week 14 at Memphis

Our last road game of the season, one way or the other. The Racers have stumbled after a hot start and at 9-3 are not going to catch us. Memphis is a dangerous opponent, 5-7 but with one of the best running backs in the game in Lee Lu.

The first drive ends in a score as Drew Davidson busts loose on a swing pass for a 20 yard TD. A 31 yard pass to Austin starts our next drive after three and out and we get a field goal out of it.

The Showboats show their stuff on the next drive, marching down the field, White throwing a TD pass to make it 10-7. However, Fulton nabs a 35 yard pass next drive, and then Nichols runs it in from seven yards out. The Showboats show they can keep up, marching right back down for a score themselves. We manage a field goal on the back of two nice Bratton catches, that makes it 20-14 at the end of the second.

They score again and clearly this is going to be a shootout today. We have a big break, Covington recovering a fumble on the 8 yard line. Somehow we go three and out and settle for the field goal. Where is our mojo?

Lee Lu has his, as he breaks open a run for a 43 yard TD and a 28-23 lead for Memphis. Another penalty gives us horrible starting position. A poor pass to Shepherd on third down kills the drive. We stop them on third down, but lose it on a penalty. We have to stop them here but we're not doing it. Finally we hold them to the field goal and a 31-23 lead.

Austin has a big 17 yard catch for us. Bratton converts a first down. But then Nichols is intercepted in the end zone on a long pass. Time is running out. We hit the two minute warning, finally getting the ball back, down by 8 with 1:35 left. Bratton makes a clutch 4th down catch, but these guys are really playing D. Three long bombs are dropped, and then a fourth. Nichols proves unable to move the ball, and we take our first loss of the year.

Our running game was awful, and Nichols was only 18/34 for 236 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT. WE had a hard time containing Lu, as expected, and therefore struggled on O. We lose two more players this game, a backup guard and our punt returner. With the perfect season gone, it may be time to start resting some guys.

Corey Money becomes the second QB to join the 400 club, passing for 453 yards for the Cavaliers.

Memphis Showboats 32, Omaha Tornadoes 23

12-1

Autumn

01-05-2010, 08:18 PM

Week 15 versus Kansas City Cowboys

The Cowboys come in 4-9 and I just can't find much good to say about them. We, however, are fairly banged up and with the perfect season lost to us don't have a ton to play for. Hopefully we can put this away early and not have any injuries.

They draw first blood, their drive keyed by a 49 yard pass, and an injury to Perrin, our starting safety. The very first play of our drive their start cornerback, McGinty, jumps in front of a pass to Bratton and returns it 48 yards for the TD. Suddenly we're down 14-0.

Bratton makes up for it with a 32 yard catch on our next drive. Hiscock punches it in next play and we're back in it. We trade punts for a while, Nichols just can't get anything going, he's actually 6/18 at this point. Bercich manages a long field goal to make it 14-10 in the second.

The next drive Nichols gets enough short completions to move the sticks, and a few good runs from the backs. Hiscock gets a TD on a 9 yard pass and we pull ahead, 17-14.

In the second half Nichols manages to hit a few more nice passes, but seems to be pushing it downfield too much. He ends up getting intercepted for the second time, ending a scoring chance. Finally things open up next drive, Nichols moving the sticks with some short passes and a scramble, and then finding Carl Austin open for a 22 yard TD strike.

Our next drive turns out to be just the same, short strikes followed this time by a 41 yard TD pass to Austin. Our rookie is looking good, making the game 31-14. Three and out, followed by a great Bratton punt return, and we're moving again. They stuff us at the 11 and we settle for the field goal. They turn it over on downs and we grab another before handing them back the ball with two minutes left. They can't do anything and that's the game.

We lose another player, WR Michael Fulton is out for the year. I've got good depth at WR but these injuries are mounting. I've got to do a lot of shuffling, signing a backup tackle, activating a third safety. I need some guys to get better soon.

Nichols had a bad day, bad enough to knock him out of the top spot at QB rating. Corey Money, his rival at the Richmond Cavaliers takes over.

Omaha Tornadoes 37, Kansas City Cowboys 14

13-1

Autumn

01-05-2010, 08:57 PM

Week 16 vs Atlanta Bootleggers

Atlanta is 7-7 and brings a pretty decent passing game to Omaha, keyed by their superstar WR, Brock Clancy. He's got almost 1500 yards already and is clearly the main weapon in Atlanta. Oddly enough this is a key game for Atlanta, who is tied for their division lead at 7-7. They're not the only ones, the Lone Star division has one team at 7-7 and three at 6-8. Plenty of tight races to watch here.

We trade turnovers, and then manage a field goal on our next drive, despite being slowed by four penalties.

Nichols dazzles the crowd with a 46 yard scramble on our next drive. Unfortunately, despite another first down scramble on the drive we only manage a field goal and a 6-0 lead.

We get whistled for unsportsmanlike conduct on an amazing 10 yard catch by Bratton on 3rd and 10. Unfazed, Nichols returns to Bratton and this time The Earl busts the 10 yard play into a 21 yarder. The drive fizzles though, and their subsequent drive looks scary until back to back sacks end the threat. Under the two minute warning we manage to tack on a 49 yard field goal for a 9-0 lead going into the locker room. Given our 8 penalties, and their 0, it's lucky we've got that.

Bratton keeps our first 3rd quarter drive alive with an amazing 33 yard play on third and 14. Holding backs us up from first and goal at the five, and we end up settling for yet another field goal.

It's beginning to look like it's going to be field goals all day as we dink and dunk our way down the snowy field. But then Hiscock turns a 9 yard pass into an 18 yard touchdown and we finally have a sizable lead, 19-0 in the fourth quarter. Now with momentum on our side we turn unstoppable, back to back sacks getting us the ball back, and Nichols delivering with another touchdown pass to make it 26-0.

We recover a fumble, that snow is slippery. It seems fate always conspire to help us run up the score at the end. However, Bercich misses his first of the game, a 47 yarder. Atlanta tries a long field goal to avoid the shutout, but miss, and that's all she wrote.

Bratton is man of the hour with a 7 catch 103 yard game. However, Nichols shows his versatility hitting nine different receivers in the game. Paul McCracken has a 3 sack game. We held Brock Clancy to 3 catches for 39 yards, hooray.

In this game, Nichols tied the league record for touchdowns in a season, at 36. Next week, with any luck, he'll make it his own in the season finale at home. His young rival in Chicago is poised to break the yardage record himself, with over 4,300 himself going into the last game. He's right behind Nichols with 34 touchdowns himself, and could conceivably grab that record.

Dallas managed to clinch the Lone Star division, winning thier game, the rest of thier division losing. Atlanta's loss tied them with Birmingham, and of course these two conveniently meet in the last game. The loser will be likely done for the season, though the last wild card spot is really up in the air there.

In our conference, with five teams with either 8 or 9 wins, there's going to be a lot of fighting over the wild card spots. St. Louis controls their fate, but unfortunately they're up against the 12-3 Indianapolis Racers, their division winner. That gives Denver, at 8-6-1 and up against the 5-10 Cowboys, a real good chance of sneaking in.

Omaha Tornadoes 26, Atlanta Bootleggers 0

14-1

Autumn

01-05-2010, 10:32 PM

Week 17 vs Minneapolis Lakers

Our old friend Timothy Atkins always does his best to beat us, and their season is on the line here. We hold them to 3 and out on their first drive, but Nichols tries to open the game with a 50 yard pass and instead throws a pick. That would be bad but okay since it pins them at the 7. Except that he of course runs it back 93 yards for a score. Down 7-0. Ouch.

Next drive we work the running backs and the short passes instead, until just the right moment when Nichols opens back up and hits Youssef for 19 and then 12 yards. Two plays later Davidson runs in the TD to tie it up.

Austin for 26 yards starts the next drive, and Bratton for 23 continues it. Nichols has a big scramble to give us first and goal, followed by a 8 yard Hiscock run. However he coughs it up and they get the ball at the 2. McCracken's third down rush though hurries Atkins into a bad throw, which is picked off by Paschal. We get the ball at their 15. Hiscock's 14 yard run gets us in position and Bratton grabs the jump ball TD. 14-7.

It's three and out for Minneapolis again, they don't have any first downs yet. We miss a long field goal, and then next drive Carl Austin sparks with a 26 yard catch. Davidson turns a short pass into a 23 yard gain. We get to the 4 yard line but no further, settling for the field goal and a 17-7 lead.

No one scores again until the top of the fourth quarter, when Hiscock does some great running on a drive and Nichols finds Hergett for a 9 yard TD pass. Next drive stalls but Bercich hits a 50 yard field goal to make it 27-7.

Atkins gets himself benched after going 7/20. His replacement makes a 29 yard strike on his first play, but that's the last thing he does and the ball goes over on downs. Nichols's back up finally makes a showing and the regular season is finished.

Artie Hiscock had a fantastic game, running 27 times for 127 yards even when running out the game. Our line accumulates 7 sacks against Atkins.

Marshall Hastings, out in Seattle, picks up player of the week for a 29/31 performance with 298 yards and 2 TDs. Xavier and Money both have great games too though. Earnest Van Pelt breaks the single game sack record, picking up 5.5 for San Antonio.

Omaha Tornadoes 27, Minneapolis Lakers 7

15-1

Denver beats Kansas City, and with St. Louis losing to the 13-3 Racers, that gives Denver the first wild card at 9-6-1. St. Louis will still be in the show, holding the second at 9-7, three 8-8 teams staying home.

Division winners are the Racers in the Rust Belt, Dallas squeaking it out at 8-8 in the Lone Star division, San Francisco dominating the West Coast and of course the Tornadoes winning our division.

In the other conference, Birmingham edged out the others to win the Deep South division at 8-8. Detroit held off Xavier's Chicago Gale to win their division at 9-7 and maintain a perfect 7 playoff visits for the Wheels. Richmond is the class of the conference, easily winning their division at 13-3, with division mate Louisville Chargers grabbing a wild card spot. The other wild card must be between 8-8 Chicago and Washington Generals. A look at the schedule shows that Washington has the tiebreaker there.

The surprise of that conference is the Philadelphia Privateers winning the Colonial division at 12-4. The Privateers have dwelt in mediocrity for years, with this being their first playoff visit. They are notable for being the team that dealt me the Edwin Nichols pick. Nice to see they won't suffer for that forever.

Corey Money's excellent Week 17 game earned him the top QB rating spot at 112.5, and a record. Nichols came in second with 108.3, but clearly the more dominant performance. Nichols posted the third highest yardage total ever with 4,176, one of only four quarterbacks to post a 4000 yard year. Xavier Kirkaldie smashed the record, passing for 4,638 this year. Nichols meanwhile broke his own TD record, throwing 38 this season. Detroit's Deon Crowder set a record for rushing TDs with 14.

I have to admit that Xavier had an impressive season, leading Nichols or equaling him in a lot of categories, passing for more yards than any quarterback has, including setting the single game record. His line was one of the worst in the league in opponent pass rush percentage, while we were the best. Given a decent team around him Xavier is going to give Nichols one hell of a run for his money.

How about a shoutout for my O line who only allowed 12 sacks all season for a 2.3 sack percent. We also had clearly the best special teams in the league, being #1 in punt returns, #2 in kick returns, as well as being #1 or #2 in defense. Bercich was the best kicker in the league, only our punter was average.

Artie Hiscock had the highest catch percentage in the league, while Michael Fulton was second in the league in Avg/catch and avg/target. He was also second in touchdowns, despite only starting in 8 games and playing in 14.

Paul McCracken was #7 in sacks in his second year, and Fleming was up there with 10.5 despite only playing 12 games. He was poised to have his best year yet.