Blast from the Past - FOF 2001 Dynasty!!! (With a New Team)

[Abe Sargent]

Hello folks and welcome to my newest dynasty. I found a member here who still had the old FOF 2k1 and I grabbed it. My old code still worked and so I am replaying one of my fav FOF titles, not because it is perfect (far from it) but because of one thing - Expansion!

I began a game as the St. Louis Rams GM and piloted them to a Super Bowl and NFC Championship appearances in the first two seasons. Now, the brand new San Antonio Lone Stars have been announced, and I have successfully applied to be their GM. It is 2002. I have a head coach and a head scout already hired by my owner. The expansion draft is about to begin.

[Abe Sargent]

A review of FOF 2001 - This is the EA/Solecismic combined game. It is infamous for having players where they were then, and not a realistic picture of where the would be today. A classic example is Charlie Batch, who is really good in this game, and fairly cheap.

There were several issues with FOF2k1, famously the bug where older players would demand significantly more money than was their due, especially for backups. Another issue was trades, where you could rape the computer AI with unrealistic trades.

FOF2k1 was claimed to be nothing more than an update of FOF2 with newer graphics, but it was harder and the AI was better. Not massively so, and it would continue in later games, but it was a better game in many of these aspects, making it an interesting selection for another dynasty.

Some think using the Franchise tag is cheesy, but I like it. It’s realistic and useful. However, I am not allowed to abuse the tag. Key uses are to keep disgruntled players on your team or force someone to stay on your team when you are having a contract issue. Other than that, don’t use it just to use it.

Another thing I like about FOF2k1 over FOF2 is that the perfect players are not here. You know, the TE that is absolute nuts at both received and blocking, or the RB that is a top pounder and dasher and receiver, the LB who is both a house in coverage and against the run while also nuts rushing the passer, etc. These are no realistic, and FOF2k1 significantly reduces them.

[Abe Sargent]

Our Dynasty Rules:

1. We begin on the hardest level of difficulty.

2. Only 1 year deals for most UFA of rookie status, but you can offer the occasional two or three year contract to players of a developmental nature or QBs, to represent reality.

3. I will only accept offered trades, and those I offer to the AI must be ones I would agree to if I were on the other side.

4. GM may be fired for poor performance.

5. Signing of Draft Picks is automatic.

6. I will never add more than one year to the initial demand of length made by an agent.

7. Franchise tag restrictions as listed above.

8. Post Training Camp cut players can only be signed to one year if they are expected to be a starter. (Backups can get paid over several years).

9. Backloading can never be more than 2x the previous salary

10. Do not reduce salary cap requested by an agent during negotiations.

11. I may not renegotiate a contract unless we are at a Backloaded year, they suffered a major injury that reduced their ability significantly, they are in the final year of a 3year or less contract, or they are in the final two years of a 4+ year contract. I will allow an exception to QBs. One of those must be true.

12. I will be moving to new teams when I see a need. As such, I will not be with the San Antonio Lone Stars for the long haul.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s take a look at my new franchise:

Head Coach - Oscar Frederick - Already hired when I came on board. Excellent at Discipline and Defensive Play Calling. Poor with Injuries. Very Good with Motivation and Good with Offensive Play Calling and Youth. In terms of talent, he is Excellent with D Linemen, Very Good with Kickers and Secondary, Good with QBs and Rbs, Fair with Wrs, O Line and Lbs. He is the 14th highest paid HC in the league and we have a contract with him for two years. I would have hired someone with better young players skill because we will likely have a lot of youth on our roster.

Head Scout - Stanley Glenn - We have the highest paid head scout in the league by a lot. What do we get four our money? Excellent at evaluating QBs, Rbs, Dline and Oline. Very Good at Wrs. Good at youth, Lbs, Secondary. Fair at kickers. Not bad.

Only four franchises, Buffalo, New Orleans, Cincinnati and Tampa Bay have a lower value than us.

San Antonio has 1.57 million people in the area. It is one of the most trend setting cities in the US. It also has one of the highest poverty rates in the US, so take that with a grain.

We are in the AFC West and play against the Chargers, Chiefs, Seahawks, Raiders and Broncos annually.

Our outdoor/natural grass stadium has: 19300 upper deck seats, 14,000 end zone seats, 8,100 Mezzanine seats, 12,400 sideline seats, 9,500 club seats and 140 luxury boxes.

Capacity 66,700.

[Abe Sargent]

The Jaguars made it to the AFC Championships in their 2nd year with youth and luck, but then began to dominate for several years. The Panthers made it to the NFC Champions in their second year with experience and veterans, and then didn’t see the deep playoffs again for years.

I want a symbiotic relationship. Both veterans and youth. That is how, I beleive I’ll be able to hit the playoffs early and keep hitting.

[Abe Sargent]

Ok, time to head into the 2002 Expansion Draft.


I want to keep my cap relatively light. So I will be wary of the adequate veteran with the high price tag. So, for example, I might want QB Elvis Grbac, best QB in the draft and not too shabby, but there is no way I want to spend 15 million on him this year, and 5 million each year for the next three years. Perhaps I will do so later in the expansion draft after seeing my cap.

I decide to start selecting with a few good players with adequate salaries:

1 - S Kenny Kennedy from the Broncos. With a cap cost of just 490k, has three years left, and is just in his 3rd year. He is adequate but doesn’t break the bank.
2 - TE Mike Lucky from the Cowboys. In the final year of his contract for just 610k. Best non kicker in the draft and just in his 4th year. He is disgruntled, however.
3 - P Jeff Feagles form the Seahawks. He’s old, but really good. We have him for two years with a good contract.
4 - LB Ryan Phillips from the Giants. He’s okay, but a bit expensive. We have him for two years at 2.1 million this year and 2.6 next. This is his 6th year in the league.
5 - OT Christian Jewell from the Packers. Very green and very young with a small price tag. We have him for just one year.
6 - DE Jared Tomich from the Saints. He isn’t that good, but I wanted a DE with some experience on my roster and he was the best of the bunch. 2.88 million hit this year but none next because he is in the last year of his contract, so he is not a major commitment.
7 - DT Seth Payne of the Jaguars. Just like Houston did in real life, we have taken Seth Payne. He is the best DT on the board, but acceptable at best. We have him for three years with 2.84 this year, 3.5 next, and 4.4 the following year.
8 - WR Kevin Lockett of the Chiefs. There are a lot of receivers open, but not many that are any good. Kevin could start for us easily. We have this 6 year man for two years at 3.3 this year and 4.1 next.
9 - QB Elvis Grbac of the Chiefs. I decide to bite the bullet. I don’t know what the rookie class holds but I don’t want to tie myself to having to force draft a rookie QB if there isn’t want available when we pick, and we lock up a starting caliber QB for four years, even if this year is a 15 million hit. I don’t know if the game will account for it, but bringing both a QB and a WR from a team should have some benefits for an expansion franchise.
10 - FB Rob Konrad of the Dolphins. There are a ton of Fbs in the pool ,but only 4 Rbs, which all suck. I take the one I like the best with a combination of skills, youth and cheapness. I’d rather not have to be forced to waste a draft pick on a FB if I don‘t have too. We have the 4 year man for two years at 610k.
11 - K Brett Conway from the Redskins. Using that logic, I grab the best K on the board but we have him for just one year at 60k, so I can cut him easily if a good K is a free agent or a great kicker falls in my lap during the draft.
12 - WR Tai Streets from the 49ers. We have this young developmental WR for three years at 610k each year.
13 - LB Phil Clarke from the Saints. 1.2 mill this year, 1.5 next. 4th year, still needs development but could be good.
14 - CB Kevin Smith from the Cowboys. There were a lot of corners in the expansion draft, but most were lousy. Kevin is an okay emergency starter and we have him for three years at 1.9 million each year. He’s older though - 11th year is beginning.
15 - S Scott Shields from the Steelers. He’s a solid young player who we have for two years.
16 - LB Brett Cox from Buffalo. Very green. We have this 2nd year player for two years at minsal, but probably just a backup.
17- TE Daniel Campbell from the Giants. Young, cheap and we have him for just one year. A very good backup. You draft where the strength is on the board.
18 - C Derek Engler from the Giants. The top rated C on the board. Not that good. This 6 year man has one year left on his contract for 2.1 million and then he is gone.
19 - G Jeremy Jacobs of the Falcons. The worst G in the group and very, very raw, but has some solid skills once this 2nd year man develops into them. We have this 3rd round pick from last year for two more years at minsal.
20 - RB Britt Weber from 49ers. Last year’s 5th overall pick from Boise State, Britt busted hard. Because his compensation is so bonus heavy, we get him for four years, with 690k this year, then 900, 1.1, 1.4 and 1.8 over the next years. Still, I needed a RB on my roster, and he was the cheapest of the 4.


The final five picks are all meant to be cheap, young players for backups. DT Adam Hill from the Titans, OT Bryan Booty from the Bengals, CB Howard Toler of the Jets, OG Frank Beede of the Seahawks and DE Steve White from the Bucs.

[Abe Sargent]

We have 39 million under the cap.

Free Agency:

I can definitely go shopping for a few quality FAs. I take a look over my roster before I do so. What sort of FAs do I want? I also take a quick look at the draft class. Is there an obvious top overall selection for me to grab? There is a stud DE, really good QB, and a pretty good RB. All could go near the top if I needed.

For Free Agency, I have a starting QB, TE and adequate WR, FB, C.

S I need O-Line, Defense, and perhaps a stud RB. What does free agency have for me?

A handful of good Rbs. Eddie George and Michael Pittman head the list.

I make an offer to Eddie George.

There are a ton of good OGs. I make two offers. One to Matt O’Dwyer and one to Everett McIver. Both are older. I decide to put a poker in the Willie Anderson sweepstakes.

I also make offers to DE Tony Brackens, LB Dwayne Rudd, and I enter the Samari Rolle sweepstakes. I also make a token offer to Lawyer Malloy.

At the end of week 1, we have signed Eddie George and Dwayne Rudd. We lost Lawyer Milloy which I expected. The Eagles are the top bidders to Brackens. 49ers for McIvers. Atlanta for Willie Anderson. We are tops for Samari Rolle and O’Dwyer. I increase our bids for Anderson, Brackens, but not McIvers. The bids have increased significantly. I submit an offer to OG Will Shields. I also make an offer to S Reggie Tongue.

The next week, G Matt O’Dwyer signs with us. We have the highest contracts for Rolle, Tongue, Shields and Brackens. I increase my bid for Anderson again, and increase mine for Rolle a bit.

DE Brackens signs with us. We are tops in the other candidates.

Will Shields signs with the Rams and Reggie Tongue with the Falcons. We are tops in the other two players - Anderson and Rolle.

No news for two weeks.

Week 8, Willie Anderson decides to sign with us.

Week 9 - Samari Rolle signs with us.

We have signed CB Samari Rolle, OT Willie Anderson, RB Eddie George, OG Matt O’Dwyer, DE Tony Brackens and LB Dwayne Rudd.

Week 19 - There are still some good players out there. Good WRs and CBs. I decide to make an offer for WR Az-Zahir Hakim for three years at a very flat and decent 2.6 million per year. He signs for it.

Time for drafting.

[Abe Sargent]

2002 Amateur Draft.

We have the first overall pick. Options:

DE Richard Kinney with very high stats is the top rated rookie in the draft. We have one hoss in Brackens and this would give us a second.

QB Jerome Allen with 7.8 future rating, very green and very good.

No contest. I take Jerome Allen.

In the next round I have several options, none of which are too inspiring. It’s down to a good Center and a good DT. I snag the very green but developable DT.

In the third, I hope to catch lightning in a bottle with a really good looking RB in Troy Santoro. In the 7th, I grab a great, great returner in Floyd Redman.


Draft Recap -

1st - QB Jerome Allen of Vanderbilt
2nd - DT Gerald Swayne of New Mexico
3rd - RB Troy Santoro of McNeese State
4th - OG Alvin Stokes of Bluffton
5th - DT Martin McGregor of Duke
6th - LB Malcolm Emmons of Kansas State
7th - S Floyd Redman from West Virginia



We now have 39 players under contract.

[Abe Sargent]

Areas of severe concern:

Safety and Safety
OT


Moderate concern:

CB
DE

I sign DE Duane Clemons to a one year deal.
I sign unsigned CB Sam Madison to a four year deal. Corners are now set for a long time.
I sign S Jerome Woods to a three year deal.

[Swaggs]

7th - S Floyd Redman from West Virginia


More Mountaineers, please. :)

[Abe Sargent]

More Mountaineers, please. :)

Hehe, this isn[t my WV dynasty Swaggs. Perhaps, someday I might relocate a team to WV...

[Abe Sargent]

The UFAs I Sign:

OT Blaine Buckner of Michigan State
QB Mo Andrews, Colorado State
RB Norman Knight of Oklahoma State
TE Norbert Rivers of Evansville
WR Brenden Davis of Concord State
C Carlton Spain from Bowling Green
WR Lincoln Nixon of Temple
CB Johnny Henry, UTEP
DE Riddick Sherman, Louisville
QB JJ Price, Air Force
QB KC Lucas, NC State
RB Chad Way, Culver-Stockton
LB Kirk Emmons, USC


I release DE Jared Tomich. Too much money for a backup.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s hit up camp.

We sold 37600 season tickets.

Post- Camp Roster Moves:

We sign LB Freddie Russ to a single year contract for 600k. He was cut off a team that drafted him and then cut him post camp. I like this rookie, so I am signing him.

I cut QB JJ Price, RB Britt Weber, LB Brett Cox. That puts us at 52 players. I then sign draft camp casualty OT Ryan Young to a one year deal and cut OT Bryan Booty.

We finish the pre-season with a 1-3 record.

[Abe Sargent]

Here is our starters:

QB Jerome Allard - You don‘t draft a QB with the top overall selection and then start an adequate older QB like Elvis Gerbc over him. He’s raw and will get a chance to grow under center this year.
RB Troy Santoro- He looks like the real deal and better than Eddie George. Eddie will be pissed.
FB Rob Conrad - I picked him up in the expansion draft and haven’t even touched the position since.
TE Mike Lucky - The same is true with Mike. I could have splashed the cash to upgrade this position, but Mike appears good enough and I need to fix other positions first.
WR Za-Zahir Hakim - Our best WR no question.
WR Kevin Lockett - From the expansion draft.
OT Willie Anderson - Because he is great and we now have a strong OT presence on our team.
OT Ryan Young - Not bad, but not that great either.
OG Matt O-Dwyer - He‘s pretty good and we could keep him under contract for a while.
OG Alvin Stokes - Our 4th rounder with some potential is starting.
C Derek Engler - Another starter from the expansion draft
K Brett Conway - Adequate
P Jeff Feagles - A bit better.
DE Chris Clemons - Good enough to start for a year and keep Brackens from being the sole attention getter on the Dline.
DE Tony Brackens - Obviously our best Dlinemen and a good all around player.
DT Martin McGregor - Others are better right now, but he will be better down the line.
DT Gerald Swayne - Same here. Let’s start my rookies from the 2nd and 5th rounds.
OLB Ryan Phillips - Best of the lot but not that good.
MLB Dwayne Rudd - The rock of my defense.
OLB Freddie Russ - He is hyper green but has great bars. I can see why this rookie got cut. He is the worst on my team right now, but starting him should get him some serious experience.
CB Samari Rolle - Just a great corner.
CB Sam Madison - Just a really good corner.
S Jerome Woods - Just an alright safety
S Scott Shields - Ick. A weakness this.

Some notes - Both of our starting corners are fan favorites. We are evaluated as have the best starting tandem in the league at the corners. 9th best starting DTs. We will be running a 4-3 defense. Our RB, taken in the third round, is rated as a 57/80 player by our scout.

[Abe Sargent]

Our rookie ratings:

QB Allard - 22/70
RB Santoro - 57/80
LB Malcolm Emmons - 16/56
DT Gerald Swayne - 15/56
DT Martin McGregor - 14/56
G Alvin Stokes - 29/52
S Floyd Redman - 12/38

Floyd is our best punt and kickoff return man.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2002 Schedule for the San Antonio Lone Stars

1. Miami
2. At Cleveland
3. San Diego
4. At Seattle
5. At Minnesota
6. At Kansas City
7. At Oakland
8. At San Diego
9. BYE
10. Seattle
11. Tampa Bay
12. Denver
13. Oakland
14. At Denver
15. Chicago
16. At Jacksonville
17. Kansas City

(No NFL schedule would ever give a team five consecutive away games. Especially not an expansion team in its first season).

Our goal - Hit the 7-9 mark set by the Panthers in their first season.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We win our debut game 20-17. Eddie George and Troy Santoro got two scores on the ground. Add two FGs by Conway. Player of the Game - DE Tony Brackens. We gave up no turnovers. They held us to under 100 yards rushing. Rookie Allard went 19 of 37 for 142 yards. No receiver has more than 50 yards. 9 receives caught a pass, so Allard really spread out his 19 completions. Dwayne Rudd had 11 solo tackles and 5 assists. Brackens notched a trio of sacks. Sam Madison grabbed a pick. It was a good, professional game with no mistakes. Az-Zahir broke his hand and will be out for a few weeks. Tai Streets will be starting in his place. C Derek Engler dislocated his should is and doubtful. I deactivate him for a game or two.

Week 2 - We defeat the Browns 21-20. Close. Santoro notched a pair of TDs on the ground and Eddie George added a 3rd. Allard threw a pick that was returned for a TD by the Browns defense. We had 170 yards on the ground. We gave up three turnovers, a fumble lost and two picks, all by Allard. Santoro had 30 rushes for 131 yards. Allard went 19 of 32 for 141 yards. Redman had a 58 yard kickoff return. Picks by Samari Rolle and LB Phillips. White had a pair of sacks. O’Dwyer had 5 KRB and Spain had 4. We won this game despite our QB.

I am moving Elvis Grbac to the starting position. Let’s see what the old man can do.

Week 3 - We defeat San Diego 10-7. Kevin Lockett caught a pass for our only TD. Player of the Game? Tony Brackens again. Santoro had 76 yards. Grbac was 14 of 31 for 110 yards, a TD and a pick. Not any better than Allard. Brackens notched two sacks, while Sherman also grabbed a pair. White, Swayne and Rudd all added a sack. Grbac is questionable. I’ll go back to Allard permanently.

Week 4 - We lose to Seattle 19-20. All of our games are close. LB Ryan Phillips go at pick and ran it back for 47 yards. Kevin Lockett caught a TD pass from 3rd string QB KC Lucas. That may be bad news. MVP is Ryan Phillips. Santoro had 99 yards on 18 carries. Lucas went 15 of 25 for 96 yards, a TD and a pick. Phillips grabbed two picks on the day. Samari Rolle got a sack. Allard looks banged but fine. I jack up our willingness to use injured players. Perhaps we could have ended up with a win today had the injured Grbac stepped up. Willie Anderson is questionable but will start. LB Dwayne Rudd is questionable and we will be strating him as well. Az is back.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We defeat Minnesota 24-8. Out first game that was not close at all. Kevin Lockett caught a 66 yard pass from Allard for a TD. Eddie George rushed for a score. Tai Streets caught an Elvis Grbac pass. Why are my QBs keep getting subbed? Eddie George rushed for 129 yards on 31 carries. No carries by our starter. Grbac went 18 of 30 for 136 and a TD. Allard went 3 of 4 for 77 and a TD. Redman had 48 yards punt returning on two returns. Rolle and Madison each grabbed picks, Brackens got a sack and a half. Game MVP was Eddie George. Jerome Woods has 3 passes defensed. QB Jerome Allard is probable wit ha bruised shoulder.

RB Troy Santoro is out, long term, with a severe hamstring pull, and his stats have dropped as a result. I place him on IR and move Eddie George to the starting position. I sign Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala to a one year deal to salve my roster. I had this bright, great RB and is sucks that he was injured this badly this soon.

Week 6 - We crush the Chiefs 23-3. Our defense is looking good. Sam Madison notched a 73 yard interception return and was the game MVP. 4th string WR Nixon caught a TD pass. The rest were Fgs. George has 107 yards on 11 carries. Allard went 12 of 24 for 120 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick. Brackens came away with another pair of sacks. DT McGregor recovered one of their fumbles. WR Tai Streets is out for a few weeks.

At the 6th week mark, we are 5-1 without any major offensive players. On defense, however, Brackens is second in the league with 8.5 sacks. Our defense is allowing the 2nd fewest rushing yards per game at 79/game. We allow the fewest yards per completion, 5.1, of any team. We are tied with the most sacks in the NFL at 20. We have a +3 turnover margin despite starting a rookie QB.

I approach a couple of my starters from the expansion draft with one year left to see if they want to sing for next year, but none have a decent contract expectation.

Week 7 - We lose to the 1-5 Raiders 3-10. An ugly game. George had 92 yards on 23 carries. Allard was 9 yards. 2 of 14? That is not a veteran presence. Brackens got another pair of sacks. LB Phillips and S Scott Shields grabbed picks. Az is questionable for next week (but will play). G Alvin Stokes is doubtful and I am pulling him. Willie Anderson has been knocked down to doubtful, and I am pulling him as well.


Week 8 - We defeat San Diego 17-7. We are now in first place in the AFC West and heading into our bye. Eddie George was the Player of the game with a 2 yard td run and a 74 yard catch and run for a score. He had 101 yards on 19 carries and 125 yards catching on 6 catches. Allard was 20 of 34 for 220 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick and lost a fumble. S Shields with another pick, Brackens with another sack. C Engler had 5 KRB. Our defense grabbed a fumbles by DE Clemons.

OT Ryan Young was knocked into doubtful from an injury. I hope this week will ge tus som erest. Our players need it.


Week 9 - Bye

Injuries we still have of significance:

G Alvin Stokes is doubtful with a hip pointer
T Willie Anderson is questionable with a bruised ribcage
T Ryan Young is questionable with a sprained neck
WR Tai Streets is doubtful with a hyper extended knee


My starting O-line is hemorrhaging players right now.

I decide to rest Stokes and Anderson and Streets but start Young.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - We lose 17-28. Eddie George was MVP. He has a score on the ground and 4th string WR Brenden Davis caught a TD pass from Grbac. George had 126 yards on 28 carries. Grbac had his first good passing day where he is 21 of 35 for 297 yards, and a TD, but two picks. Eddie George caught 134 yards on 7 passes. Samari Rolle grabbed a pick. Eddie George was also the league’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Jerome Allard is questionable with a broken nose. I will be starting Grbac. Wrs Lincoln Nixon and Brenden Davis both got injuries at questionable, and Tai Streets is still doubtful and Az has a niggling injury at probable. Four of my 5 WRs have an injury right now.

Week 11 - We crush Tampa Bay 33-3. Our highest scoring game of the year by far. Eddie George player of the game with an 67 yard catch and run for a TD, 18 yard run for a score, 143 yards on 29 carries, 124 yards on 4 passes and a good day. Chris Fu also hammered it in from 4 yards away, and O-Lineman Blaine Buckner got a fumble recovery for a TD. Grbac was 20 of 28 for 243 yards and a TD - no turnovers. Tony Brackens notched an incredible 4 sacks on the day. C Engler had 4 KRB. Clemons and McGregor both recovered fumbles from the other side. Eddie George is again league Offensive Player of the Week.

G O’Dwyer is doubtful with a broken foot. Willie Anderson is healed and back in the saddle.

Week 12 - We lose to Denver 17-30. Ouch. Our scores came from a George run and a Lockett catch. They held us to 23 rushing yards on the day. Grbac went 16 of 42 for 238, a TD and 3 picks. Hakim had 105 yards on 4 catches. S Shields grabbed a pick. S Woods had three passes defensed.

Jerome Allard is healed and will be starting again next week. It is true that Grbac had two of our best performances, but last week was just a nightmare.

Week 13 - We lose 11-30 to the Raiders. Lincoln Nixon caught a 2 yard pass for our only TD. In his return, Allard went 15 of 29 for 169 yards, 1 TD and 1 pick. Pick by Shields, sack by Brackens.

If the playoffs were held today, our 7-5 record would lose to Buffalo’s and we would not make it in as a wild card. However, Denver is also 7-5 and has the tiebreaker, so we could leapfrog over them for the division victory. We play Denver this week.

S Jerome Woods is questionable with turf toe, but I’m starting him anyway.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We edge Denver 13-9. Kevin Lockett caught a 35 yard pass for the game’s lone TD. Dimeback Johnny Henry is the Game Mvp. George was kept to just 55 yards on the ground. Allard was 14-28, 147, 1 TD. Henry has two picks. Lincoln Nixon is doubtful so I activate probable Tai Streets to take his place.

We are now leading the AFC West again, 8-5.


Week 15 - We crucify the Bears 27-7. Both Sam Madison and Samari Rolle return picks for scores. Samari Rolle is the game MVP. Tai Streets got a two point conversion. FB Rob Konrad got a 24 yard catch and run for a score. George was knocked out and Chris Fu got us 82 yards on 27 carries. Allard went 21 of 31 for 216 yards, a td and no picks for his best passing day of the season. Rolle had two picks, Brackens got a sack and a half, Rolle had three passes defensed. Willie Anderson had 4 KRB. DT McGregor got us a fumble recovery. We were +4 in turnover differential. Samari Rolle was League Defensive Player of the Week.

Jerome Allard is questionable with a hyper extended elbow so Grbac is moved to starter. George is questionable with a hip pointer and will sit out this week.


Week 16 - We travel to and lose in Jacksonville 13-20. Carnell Lake go at 43 yard interception return off Grbac. Kevin Lockett caught a 47 yarder. Chris Fu had 4 yards on 17 carries. Without any ground game, our team lost it. Grbac went 19 of 32 for 226 yards, 1:2 ratio.

We are 9-6, as is Denver. We play KC this week. We need to win, so I am activating a few players that have injuries to get us this win.


Week 17 - We edge KC 16-10. But Denver wins the division so we are a wild card at 10-6. Backup RB Norman Knight rushed for our only score of the game. Dwayne Rudd was game MVP. Rudd had 1.5 sacks, Rolle had a pick, Brackens had a sack. Three of our D Line recovered fumbles.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Round - San Antonio Lone Stars at the Denver Broncos. We split the regular season series. Jerome Allard will be starting, as will Eddie George.


We lose 17-21.

Eddie George and Chris Fu rushed for two tds. George had 157 yards on the ground on 19 carries.

Allard was 7 of 16 for 122 yards, no tds or picks.

S Redman, starting after a backup safety went down with a tie injury and the starting S Shield was out for a few quarters, led the team in tackles with 12 solos and 2 assists. Jerome Woods had a pick. Stokes and Konrad each had 3 KRB.



Denver lost in the AFC Championships 10-41 to Cincinnati. The Super Bowl was Cincinnati vs. Dallas, which the Cowboys won 38-25.

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

All-Pro 1st Team DE Tony Brackens, CB Samari Rolle.
All Pro 2nd Team RB Eddie George, LB Dwayne Rudd


Four of my free agency signings.

[Autumn]

Seems like you've got a great looking defense already. A great running back and a developing QB. Put together some receivers and a solid O-line and you could be there quick.

Fun read.

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks!

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s look at stats:

Jerome Allard started 11 games and only passed for 1375 yards, 6:6 ratio. 69.3 rating.

Eddie George had 9 starts and played in 14 games for 994 yards on the ground, and 7 Tds, plus 479 yards in the air and 2 more Tds.

Kevin Lockett led the team with 771 yards and 6 Tds. Az-Zahir had 541 yards on 13 starts.

Redman had the 5th best punt return average in the league and 10th best KR.

Jeff Feagles had a very poor punting season, and I will be looking to replace him next year.

Tony Brackens led the league in sacks with 19.5. Second was Kevin Carter at 19.

Dwayne Rudd was 5th in the league in tackles. Add 4.5 sacks.

Rod Woodson, btw, had an unbelievable 19 picks in the season. Looks like a broken stat. Two other players had 10 each. Pretty unbelievable. Rolle had 6. He was also one of the best in passes defensed with 14 (4th best). DT Martin McGregor led the league in fumble recoveries with 4.

Not a bad year, all in all.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

My personal awards to my players. I give out annual awards for OPotY, DPotY, RotY, STPotY and Heart Award.


Offensive Player of the Year - RB Eddie George - After stepping up once Troy was injured and getting us yards after yards and scores after scores, George shows that we made the right choice when we signed him.
Defensive Player of the Year - DE Tony Brackens- Obviously, having the most sacks in a year is going to get you DPotY virtually every time. Good job!
Rookie of the Year - QB Jerome Allard - We started rookies at DT, DT, G, and QB plus RB for a few games, and QB was one of four weakest places, but as far as rookie starting level stats go, having just 6 picks is a good place to start. Allard shows himself to be a good caretaker of the ball. He may not light up the board with thousands of yards, but he gets the job done.
Special Teams Player of the Year - S Redmon - He had good PR and KR returns and gave great field position on a regular basis. Good job Redmon!
Heart Award - WR Kevin Lockett -I really didn’t expect much from what I thought was an overpriced receiver, but I was happy with Lockett’s contributions, all thing considering.

[Abe Sargent]

Next year we are going to have to make some decisions and put out some money.

I have a lot of players leaving my roster, (23) and this time, I may not have as much money for good free agents, since all of my free agents form last year now have higher cap numbers. The patches that I signed will be mostly gone. I have no expansion draft to help me build my roster. I kept 21 of my 25 expansion draftees last year and they really helped.

Score: Team Performance - 66, Franchise Value 61, Profit/Loss - 39, Difficulty - 79 - Total Score 56.

[Abe Sargent]

CB Kevin Smith retired.

I don’t touch ticket prices.

The salary cap rose 9 million.

I will not be franchising any players.

I keep my staff in place.

We are now the 14th rated franchise in the league. Our stadium is tied for 6th best, Support is 5th worst, roster is 14th worst, economy 12th best. We had the second lowest attendance in the league last year either by raw numbers or by percentage of butts in seats.

[Abe Sargent]

I get two trade offers when we enter free agency, but I don’t want to trade my good players. The only player I might shop is RB Troy Santoro. We draft 24th, which truly sucks for us, because we need good youth. As such, I may try to move Troy.

I trade Troy Santoro and our 6th rounder to the Bears for their 1/18 selection. Good. Now I have more 1st rounders.

I will not be resigning any of my UFAs, at least not right now. Time to see what is available. We are currently 26 million under the cap with 28 players under contract.

I make offers to K Mike Vanderjagt, P Josh Miller. Josh is alright, but better than Feagles. Vanderjagt is awesome and I’d love to sign him.

I make offers to:

C John Wade - Best C in free agency. I need to improve my O Line.
TE David LaFleur - I lose my starter, so let’s bring in a solid player
S Lethon Flowers - Older, but the best of poor crop.
LB Wali Rainer - Best of the group

I needs OT and DT, but the players don’t match the money right now. Same with OG.


Week 1 - David LeFleur signs with us. P Josh Miller does too. We are the highest offers to the others. I cut Jeff Feagles.

Week 4 - Mike Vanderjagt signs with us.

Week 6 - Still no movement on the final 3 guys.

Week 7 - Lethon Flowers signs with us

Week 8 - John Wade signs with us

Week 9 - Wali Rainer signs too.


We got all of our targets. K, P, LB, S, C and TE. Not really a bunch of name positions - no DT or DE, no OT or CB, no RB or WR or QB.

[Izulde]

I'm disappointed you traded Troy away. I was looking forward to watching his career.

[Swaggs]

Week 4 - Mike Vanderjagt signs with us.



Now you are moving in the right direction. :)

[Abe Sargent]

Now you are moving in the right direction. :)

Heh. John Wade is from Marshall too.

[Abe Sargent]

I'm disappointed you traded Troy away. I was looking forward to watching his career.

Well, his injury knocked his skills down, and I was able to get a really good WR from the pick we traded, and I need WR more than I need RB with Eddie George coming off an All Pro season. That was my thinking there.

Troy was good, but not as good as he was.

[Abe Sargent]

As I alluded to earlier, here is our draft, including WR pick from the Troy trade:

The Draft:

The Dolphins take a DE with the top pick. There are several players I’d be happy with at 18. Let’s see what falls my way.

Suck. The best C in the draft is still on the board and I just signed John Wade. JJ Turman would be a great starting corner, but I already have two. S Roderick Hammonds would be a great starting S down the road, and Woods disappointed me last year. That might be doable.

However, none are as useful to me at Marvin Graham, WR. This guy looks to have a lot of potential, and I need more quality receivers.

I then take a need pick. Gary Conley is the best OT on the board, and I need a starter. I grab him. Same in the second, I need a DE starter and Bertsch is good enough. Grabbing Andre in the 3rd can allow me to drop Elvis.





Draft Recap:

1/18 - WR Marvin Graham, Nevada
1/24 - OT Gary Conley, Fairmont State
2 - DE Harvey Bertsch, Colorado
3 - QB Andre Geiger, Washington
4 - LB Leland Finkes, Sienna
5 - C CJ Luciano, Mississippi State
7 - QB Floyd Swayda, Vanderbilt

[Abe Sargent]

This draft was light on talent.

I now have 40 players under contract. I release Elvis to go to 39.

I make offers to some UFAs:

LB Albert Veland, Hampton
QB Dave Bidwell, Boston College
FB Neal Goulet, Furman
TE Daryl Goble, San Diego State
OG Ron Reeves, Texas A&M
OT Michael George, Virginia Tech
CB Vince Lacina, Northern Iowa
CB Lionel Sousa, Stanford (great return man)
DE Lance Wooden, Oregon State
DE Mo Matich, Akron
WR Brett McKnight, Robert Morris



I sign two year FA OT Melvin Gadsden to a four year deal.


I cut LB Phil Clarke

Let’s go to camp!

[Abe Sargent]

Post Camp, I make some signings: RB Gary Cattell for 1 year, 300k. RB Bert Davison, Georgia Tech, 1 year at 300k, TE Jay Tant, 1 year, 600k.


That finishes up patching my roster so it works. Let’s do some final massaging


OT Gary Conley busted badly. I release LB Ryan Phillips. I sign Ryan Young to another one year contract. I suck it up and cut Gary Conley. I cut CB Howard Toler. I need a true nickelback and I pay Paul Ford 1.3 million for a one year deal to be it.

I extend Matt O’Dwyer’s contract by two years.

I release Rob Konrad. I sign RB Rodney baroque to a one year 1.5 million deal to spell Eddie George.

There are a ton of great players in free agency. Great DEs, a starting caliber QB, and more. These are players that were drafted four years ago, and they demanded too much in RFA negotiations, so the computer held on to them until is was forced to drop them in the FA pool. I did the same, frankly. Best player in the FA pool - QB Joe Hamilton. If I had not drafted Allard and I was going with Grbac, I would have just gotten saved. Other examples include DE Renaldo Francis, OG Antonio Sederth, and DE Morris Lattimore.

I sign one of them right now. P Blaine Baldridge. I cut Josh for him, and I can only sign him to on year, but next year I can make him some nice offers to stick around permanently. Perhaps a good target for franchise tag. Would I franchise a Punter? Well, if its one with 81/81/74 stats and just 4 years experience I might.

[Abe Sargent]

My Starters:

QB Jerome Allard - He had a tendency to get injured last season so I had to take the 3rd round QB who was already partly developed as insurance in case that happens again. He developed well last year, but we have to do better than he did in order to do as well record wise as we did last year.
RB Eddie George - I tried Troy Santoro last year, injury, trade, Eddie did very well for us. He fits us.
FB Neal Goulet - Undrafted FA Neal is just a chump.
WR Az Hakim - His stats last year were unfortunate, but I hope this year, with a real offense, he steps it up.
WR Marvin Graham - The first round rookie steps into the starting role early.
TE David LeFleur - He is pretty solid
OT Willie Anderson - You know him, you love him.
OT Ryan Young - Reprising a second year on a 1 year contract.
OG Matt O’Dwyer - With a new contract in hand.
OG Alvin Stokes - 4th rounder last year, got a lot better and starting again for us this year.
C John Wade - The rock of our offensive line.
K Mike Vanderjagt - Say hello to a good kicker
P Blaine Baldridge - And a good Punter.
DE Tony Brackens - Proved his worth last year.
DE Harvey Bertsch - 2nd round pick rookie, very developed already so he’s a good start but will never be anything special.
DT Gerald Swayne - 2nd rnd pick form a year ago, started then, now developing nicely.
DT Martin McGregor - 5th rounder from last year starting again
LB Dwayne Rudd - Had an All-Pro season a year ago.
LB Wali Rainer - Ready to get a nice start for us.
LB Malcolm Emmons - The weak point in our defense, no question
CB Samari Rolle - He returns
CB Sam Madison - With his mate
S Jerome Woods - Adequate, not massive or anything
S Lethon Flowers - A sufficiently decent starter and hopefully a long term fixture.

CB Redmon and CB Sousa are our returners.

[Abe Sargent]

We sell 38,900 tickets

Draft Eval (remember we cut out busted OT)

WR Marvin Graham 58/72
DE Harvey Bertsch 41/41
C CJ Luciano 16/51
QB Andre Geiger 27/51
LB Leland Finkes 9/44
QB Floyd Swayda 14/55


We are ranked with the 6th worst starting QB in the league, worst starting FB, 7th best TE, 11th best WR tandem, 10th best C, 9th best starting G tandem, 11th OT, Best Punter, 2nd best kicker, 10th best DE tandem, 4th worst DTs, best corner tag team, 7th best safety crew. This means our starters have moved into some power. Obviously, the strength in our roster is our starting corners and we now have good special teams with two returners and a top K and P. Our O Line is strong but not top echelon. Our receivers are solid. Our only real weaknesses are QB and DT, and those will hopefully keep improving.

We have the lowest cohesion in every area except secondary, where we are second lowest.

Our major losses at the end of this upcoming season will be Kevin Lockett, P Blaine Baldridge and both of my returners.

[Abe Sargent]

Coming out of our 2-2 preseason, FB Neal Goulet has a massive injury and will be out for several months. I toss him on IR. I sign DJ Edmonson to be our starting FB from free agency.

I also have a doubtful backup DE and Lionel Sousa, one of my returners is out. LB Emmons is questionable and I deactivate him for a week or two.


The 2003 San Antonio Lone Star Schedule

1. At Denver
2. At San Diego
3. Indianapolis
4. At San Francisco
5. Seattle
6. Oakland
7. Kansas City
8. At New England
9. At St. Louis
10. BYE
11. At Seattle
12. San Diego
13. At Kansas City
14. New Orleans
15. Denver
16. At Oakland
17. Atlanta

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We crush Denver 26-6. Vanderjagt got four FGs including a 57 yarder. Jerome Allard gets his first Game MVP. George gets a short run and new TE David LeFleur gets a TD catch in his first game as a Lone Star. P Baldridge had a punting average of 54.6 on three punts. S Shields gets a pick and a sack. Brackens was with a sack too. Anderson had a manly 6 KRB. Dwayne Rudd recovered a fumble.

Allard - 24 of 28, 294 yards, 1 TD, 1 pick. That’s a professionally done statline. 24 of 28? Awesome. His best passing day yet.

Week 2 - We edge out the Chargers 16-7. Deep dimeback CB Vince Lachina is the Game MVP with a sack and a pick. Kevin Lockett caught a 56 yard TD. 13 of 31 for 200 yards, 1 TD, 1 Int. That’s the Allard we all know and love. Brackens adds a sack. OT Ryan Young is questionable with a broken nose. I’ll pull him for a few weeks.

Week 3 - We get thumped by the Colts 35-6. Their defense scored two Tds, a pick and a fumble recovery, each for a score. Allard was 20 of 34 for 179 and a pick. Flowers gets a pick and Brackens get a pair of sacks. Brackens is knocked to questionable with a bruised shoulder but I will start him anyway. Jerome Woods is doubtful and I pull him. Samari Rolle is questionable and I pull him and start our nickel back.

Week 4 - We lose to the 49ers 14-20. Marvin Graham and Kevin Lockett caught TD passes. Allard was 26 of 49 for 211 2TDs and no picks. Sam Madison got a pick. Kevin Lockett is questionable with a sprained ankle. OG Matt O’Dwyer is doubtful with a hip pointer.

Time to make some executive decisions. I trade WR Az-Zahir Hakim to the 49ers for their 3rd rounder net round. I sign WR Todd Pinkston to a one year deal to patch the hole Az left. He never did anything and I want to try to get the right mix for my QB.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We defeat the Seahawks 27-13. MVP is Lethon Flowers with 2 picks. Eddie George rushed for one TD and FB Davison rushed for another. George also caught one in the air. Still hasn’t had a100 yard game though. Pinkston had 9 catches for 119 yards in his first game, and that’s good stuff. His stats aren’t that great when you look at him, but that is production on the pitch. Too bad I only have him for one year. He keeps breaking this open, and he may get himself a permanent job. S Shields nabbed a pick.

Allard 24 of 37, 277 yards, 1:0 ratio.

Knowing the team is in good hands with Pinkston, I deactivate Lockett for a few weeks to heal up. DT Martin McGregor is out for a few months with a dislocated knee. I put him on IR. Seth Payne will start in his place. I sign DT Emmitt Burton for a one year deal in his place.

Week 6 - We lose 23-20 in the Raiders. Eddie George gets a 46 yard run for a score. Kenny Kennedy is the Game MVP and returns a pick 76 yards for a TD and has another pick. S Shields also notched a pick. Nothing else of significance occurred.

Week 7 - We lose to the Chiefs 17-44. Ouch. Our two Tds are catches by Brett McKnight and Tai Streets. Shields grabbed a pick and Brackens grabbed a pair of sacks. John Wade got 4 KRB.

Kevin Lockett is back from injury as is Jerome Woods.

Week 8 - We lose to New England to go to 3-5. The final score was 20-28. Todd Pinkston caught an 83 yard TD. Unfortunately, the pick was returned for a score. Marvin Graham also catches a TD. George had his first 100 yard rushing day of the season with 128 yards on 15 carries. Allard was 23 of 41 for 338 yards, 2 TDs an a pick. Pinkston had 123 yards on 5 catches. Samari Rolle and Sam Madison each got a pick. Brackens got the only sack on the day.

We need something we didn’t have last year. We have a better team this year and now are 3-5. Let’s see what the second half brings.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - We defaet the Rams 27-13 and get off the loser wagon. Rookie first rounder Marvin Graham gets his first Game MVP with two TD catches of 43 and 9 yards, 9 catches for 119 yards. Backup RB Marroquin rushes for a score. Allard went 21 of 31 for 237 yards, 2:0 ratio. Brackens got a sack. Both Wade and Anderson got 4 KRB.

Week 10 - BYE

Week 11 - We defeat the Seahawks 19-10. Our only TD was a TD rush by backup RB Marroquin. Brackens was Game MVP with 3 sacks on the day.

Bad news - Wali Rainer had torn knee cartilege and is out long term. I place him on IR. His stats dropped. I sign Roderick Corbin as a patch for the end of the season.

DT Seth Payne is out with a torn calf muscle. I place him on IR and sign DT Norbert McSwain as a patch.

Week 12 - We defeat San Diego 41-13. Our best performance yet. Samari Rolle is Game MVP with a pair of picks. Madison and Flowers also have a pick each. Allard went 25 of 42 for 255, 3:0. Pinkston, Marroquin and Graham all caught Tds. Anderson had 4 KRB.

Our FB is out, so I toss another on IR and sign FB Deon Dyer to get through the year. Madison and Rudd are both knocked to Questionable but I will start them next week. After all, we are 6-5 and one a three game winning streak, so while we still have realistic shot at the playoffs, I want ot take it.

Week 13 - 24-16 Us over KC> Eddie George is Game MVP with two rush TDs and 139 yards on 24 carries. Allard hit Pinkston for a score. C Wade had 5 KRB.

I am hemorrhaging players. I have a bunch that are questionable, doubtful and in problems. If the season were to end today, we would be the 6th WC so we need to keep pushing.

Week 14 37-28 over Saints. Allard hits McKnight, Graham and backup TE Tant for scores. Jerome Woods get an 84 yard INT return and is Game MVP. Marvin Graham had 183 yards on the day. Lethon Flowers had 3 picks and Sam Madison had 2. Lethon Flowers in the League Defensive Player of the Week.

Week 15 - 38-14 over the Broncos. Sam Madison with an 89 yard INT return. Redmon with a 97 yard KO return. George caught a 2 pt conversion and rushed for a score. Lethon Flowers with a 93 yard Int score. Flowers was Game MVP. Brackens had 2.5 sacks. Madison had 2 picks on the day. That is just a crazy box score.

Week 16 - We are blanked by Oakland 16-0. Brackens get a sack, Shields gets a pick. it’s our first loss since week 8. We are 9-6 and poised to get a wild card berth. If we win next week, we are in. If we lose, we could still be in.

Week 17 - We edge Atlanta 16-10 to go to a second consecutive 10-6 season and a second consecutive WC berth with the 4th seed. Eddie George caught our only TD> Lethon Flowers was Game MVP again with a pick. Brackens added 2 sacks. Graham had over 100 yards receiving.

[Autumn]

Wow, that's some off the charts defensive play. I'll be interested to see the defensive stats this season.

[Abe Sargent]

WC Week - We host WC team Indianapolis.

We win 28-7 Our scorers are Todd Pinkston, Eddie George, Marroquin and David LeFleur. Pinkston was Game MVP with 117 yards on 6 catches. Allard had 26 of 37 for 352, 1:2 ratio. George added 105 on the ground. Brackens had a sack and a half.

We travel to Oakland next week.



We lose to Oakland 21-3. Allard was injured and our rookie Geiger had to play most of the game. He went 12 of 27 for 179 and a0:1 ratio, not bad for a rookie backup QB in a playoff game, but not near enough for a victoire. Nickelback CB Ford nabbed a pick, Brackens had a sack and a half.

However, LB Leland Finkes will be out long term with massive shoulder injury, and his stat lowering may mean he’ll never play for us again.


Oakland defeats Green bay 25-22 in the Super Bowl.



Awards - Offensive Rookie of the Year - WR Marvin Graham
All Pro 1st Team - OT Willie Anderson
All Pro 2nd Team - K Mike Vanderjagt, S Lethon Flowers

[Abe Sargent]

Wow, that's some off the charts defensive play. I'll be interested to see the defensive stats this season.

Yeah, we had some solid play. I've been building my defense around great FA and my offense partly through the draft. This may be th result of that.

[Abe Sargent]

Stats:

George had 976 yards on 276 carries for an anemic 3.5 ypc. That is one of the worst ypc in the league.

Allard had 3336 yards on 306 of 506. 19:8 ratio. 85.8 rating. Very respectable and definitely better. Among qualifiers, he was 9th in the league in percentage completions, 5th in QB rating, 15th in yards. Tied for second lowest # of picks tossed among those with 16 starts (Mark Brunell was the best).

Marvin Graham had 71 snags for 946 yards and 6 Tds. Todd Pinkston, with 12 starts, had 60 catches for 716 yards and 3 scores.

Floyd Redmon had the 6th best KR avg in the league plus a KR TD. No one kicked a longer ball thatn K MikeVanderjagt. P Blaine Bladridge led the league in punting average. Him not making All-Pro was a snub. The first all team put a blistering high # of balls in the 20, so I can get it, but our guy had a longer punting average than everyone, and more balls in the 20 than the #2 guy Hunter Smith, and a higher percentage of balls in the 20 than Smith, plus more than 2 yards more length. No way Smith shoul dhave gone over Bladridge.

Tony Brackens had 18 sacks, just 2 off the leader and 4th most in the league but was not rewarded with All -Pro honors this year. All three guys above him got it, and #6 got it too. 2nd rnd rookie Hervery Bertsch was second on our team with 6.5 sacks.

Lethon Flowres was second in the league with 9 picks. #1 had 11. Sam Madison was tied for 6th most with 7. You could have mad ea strong argument for Madison for All Pro honors. This is why we need Pro Bowls and not All Pros in the game. More awards means you often can reward those with excellence that lose out in numbers.

Anderson had 32 KRB on the season. John Wade had 26. Alvin Stokes had 9, and perhaps it is time we thought about replacing him.

We had the 5th stingiest passing defense in the league and 12th best against the run.

We led the league with a +15 TO margin. Amazing. We tied for 3rd best in fewest picks given, had the most picks defensively in the league (say thanks to my awesome secondary for that). You can see the difference that having Flowers + Madison + Rolle has on my team. Now if I can plus the S hole, I can turn into a lights out passing D.



Simply put, I need to improve my LB corps, perhaps find a safety to replace Jerome Woods, and a lights out DT. Especially the LB after Wali’s injury.

[Abe Sargent]

My Personal Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year - QB Jerome Allard. He took that next step and did so very well. As I predicted last year, he doesn’t put up a lot of numbers but the protects the ball and finds the receivers. He does what I need him too.
Defensive Player of the Year - S Lethon Flowers. Great picks with 9. All Pro honors. One of a group of great secondary and that will cause a lot of problems for any team that want so throw.
Rookie of the Year - WR Marvin Graham. To him who much is given, much is expected. Even an 18th overall WR is expected to contribute and he did. I got rid of his security blanket, Az Haki, and he responded with a good season.
Special Teams Player of the Year - P Blaine Bledridge - This could have gone to Venderjagt or Redmon, but I decided to go with the guy with the best punting average in the game. Guy has a leg.
Heart Award - WR Todd Pinkston - Seriously, if you saw his stats, you would not think he is anything special, and he didn’t do THAT much but he did a lot coming in mid-season, and he gets my Heart Award as a consequence.


Score - 60 (Team Performance), 78 (Franchise Value), 72 (Profit/Loss), 77 (Difficulty) = 71

[Abe Sargent]

The Offseason

K Mike Vanderjagt retired. Suck! I’m not sure why. I thought I’d be set there for years.


I want to hire a new Head Coach, with better injury avoidance. Who do I want to chase?

I make an offer to the former Bills head coach, Les Walters. We get into a bidding war but win after we drive up the salary to 7 million annually for 5 years.

Les Walters - Excellent - D Line, Young Talent, Def Play Calling. Very Good - Avoid Injury, WR, O Line, Secondary, Discipline. Good - LB, K. Fair - QB, Off Play Calling, RB, Motivation



We are valued at the 4th highest franchise in the league. That was a meteoric rise. We have the best roster, 9th best economy, 7th worst support, and tied for 6th best stadium. We were third lowest in attendance, 4th lowest by capacity.

I have 25 players under contract. Who is leaving that I care about?

P Beldridge, Wrs Todd Pinkston and Kevin Lockett, OT Ryan Young. I franchise my Punter. Not out of the question. Seahawks franchised K Josh Brown a few years ago in rl and the Broncos did it with Elam a few years before that.


I increase ticket prices a bit.

[Abe Sargent]

I am 23 million under the cap. Places where I can cut fat include Seth Payne. Starters in the final year of their contract include Jerome Woods, Samari Rolle, Dwayne Rudd, Eddie George, DT Gerald Swayne.

I extend Samari’s contract by two more years.

We pick 22nd in the draft. I suspect a good WR will fall because there are four goons ones on the board.

Positions of Need:

RB starter possibly, backup x3
FB
TE backup x2
WR x3
OG backup x2
OT starter, backup
K
DT Starter only, backup
DE Mega only, backupo x2
LB starter, backup
CB x3 (backups)
S better than Woods,


Trade Fodder - Perhaps OG Alvin Stokes, or LB Wali Rainer. Maybe even Eddie George. Let’s see what I can move.

I trade my 6th plus Alvin Stokes to the Colts for their 2/20 pick. No one wants Eddie’s salary. I trade my 6th next year and LB Wali Rainer to the Rams for their 2/13 pick this year.

[Hoya1]

damn I miss expansion.

Made single player......well, playable

[Abe Sargent]

damn I miss expansion.

Made single player......well, playable

Yeah I loved it!

[Abe Sargent]

Free Agency time. I make some offers:

K Olindo Mare
S Donovin Darius
LB Brian Simmons
OG Solomon Page
OT Mo Collins

Week 1 - Mo Collins and Darius have signed with us.

Week 4 - No action yet

Week 5 - Several of our former players, patches, have signed like Ryan Young and Marroquin.

Week 7 - OG Page signs with us

I release Jerome Woods now so he has a chance to find another team.

I make an offer to FB Les ball for a two year minsal contract.

Week 8 - Olindo Mare signs with us but Brian Simmons goes to Cincy.

Week 9 - FB Les Bell signs with us.

Week 19 arrives. Do I want to make offers to anyone else prior to the draft?

I sign P Blaine Baldridge to a 3 year deal.

I extend Dwayne Rudd’s contract by another 2 years.

I trade RB Eddie George to the Chiefs for their 6th rounder (7) this year. Now we can free up a lot of salary and move a guy who really fell last year. I should have kept my star that I drafted.

I’ll take my team to the draft.

[Abe Sargent]

Swaggs will happy with the Page signing

[Abe Sargent]

2004 Amateur Draft:


The Browns go WR with the top pick

We select at 22 for our picks


At pick one, there are a ton of good players but none that I need, so I go with the best LB on the board.

In the 2nd we have picks 13, 22, and 20. I take a very developed WR from Alabama who can start immediately for us and do well, I hope.

I then take a DT and a LB.

In the 3rd, the pickings are very, very slim. This is not a deep draft. I just BPA until the end.


Draft Recap:

1 - LB Richard Dunlap, Illinois
2/13 - WR Monty Swift, Alabama
2/20 - DT Neal Castillo
2/22 - LB Jessie Austin, Utah
3/22 - RB Vince McDaniel, Nebraska
3/24 - DE Ian Smith, Texas A&M - Kingsville
4 - FB Desmond Casanova, Notre Dame
5 - S Arnold Ramthun, Arkansas (returner)
6/7 - RB Thomas Halton, Florida
7 - TE Buddy Gardner, Hofstra



Post draft, our rookies are signed and we have 37 players on roster and 16 million in spending money. Time to round out the roster.

[Abe Sargent]

I sign UFAs:

CB John Covington, Illinois
RB Rod Seto, California
WR Tony Dunnigan, Stanford
OT Robert Preston, Vanderbilt
OG Cory Cobb, Texas A&M - Commerce


I sign OG Todd Ackerman to a two year minsal deal. I resign Floyd Redmon to a two year deal. Now I have two returned, Floyd Redmon and Arnold Ramthun. I sign FA CB Matthew Thompson to a three year deal to be our nickel back.

I resign a few of my RFAs in order to get some solid backups. They include DT Adam Hill for two years.



I head to Training Camp with some holes hoping to patch post camp.


We sell 40,800 season tickets.


Post Camp Moves:

1 year for backup TE Michael Farr
1 year for CB Travis Fisk
1 year for WR Mikael Ricks
1 year for DE Robert Merrick
1 year for LB Tommy Wiggins


I need a real RB. My 3rd round draft pick isn’t that grand. I sign the best available for the year - RB Priest Holmes. He is a fan favorite.

[Abe Sargent]

This puts us at 52 players on the roster. I take a quick look, as always, at my draftees:

DT Neal Castillo - 20/64
DE Ian Smith - 11/61
LB Richard Dunlap - 8/52 (He dropped a lot)
LB Jessie Austin - 1/34 (He busted massively)
WR Monty Swift - 47/47
RB Thomas Halton - 20/45
TE Buddy Gardner - 25/42
RB Vince McDaniel - 36/36
FB Desmond Casanova - 13/23 (Another bust)
S Arnold Rathrun - 22/22

I thought my draft was so good. I had permanent fixtures at my LB positions and a long term FB solutions. Even my WR dropped a bit from 53/53 to 47/47. A shame.

Well, as you know, I don’t like to through good money after bad. I drop LB Jessie Austin and FB Casanova immediately. I sign LB Roderick Corbin and Greg Hildreth off waivers for one year each. They will each start for me while I wait yet another year to try and fix my LB situation.

I get a trade offer that intrigues me. Someone has offered their 2nd rounder and an adequate DE for DT Gerald Swayne. I need to take a closer look at this. This might be a good deal. It’s an offer from the Browns, who drafted first overall this past year. That could end up being close to a first. Two years ago they were pick 14, and three years ago pick 5. Draft picks from them might be worth pursuing. Gerald Swayne is in the last year of his contract, and as a DT, he will be demanding mammoth money to keep, and he isn’t that good. He’s good mind you, but not amazingly so. I doubt I’ll be keeping him next year. AS such, I am just trading one year of Gerald Swayne for a 2nd rounder from the Browns.

I can sign a decent enough patch for the year in Norbert McSwain. Is this worth doing? Looks like a good deal. Hmm. Perhaps other teams would be interested, or might be willing to offer me more? I don’t want the expensive DE they are trying to unload on me. No one else is jumping, because most of the league is too close to the cap. All right Cleveland. You get your trade. We get DE Derrick Alexander and their 2nd, and they get Gerald Swayne. I sign Norbert McSwain for a one year deal.

I cut DE Robert Merrick to bring me back to 52 players.

[Abe Sargent]

In cohesion, I have the second worst in the league in everything except for Defensive Front, which is the worst.

We are considered to have the 9th worst starting RB, 20th best QB, worst FB, 6th best TE, 9th best WR, 4th best C, 4th best starting Gs, 5th best starting OTs, best P, 2nd best K, 9th best starting DEs, 4th worst DT, 3rd best LBs starting, best corners and best safeties in the league. That’s a strong roster. Holes are in the are of DT, FB, and RB. We have a strong special teams, defense, and Oline. We have the best starting four in th secondary in the league.

Let’s take a look at our strong, strong starting roster.


QB Justin Allard - Now in his third year and developing nicely. He is currently rated 51/71. Started all 16 games last year.
RB Priest Holmes - One of several FA one year patches after I failed to find a quality starter, Priest is a 50/50 rated guy who will never be that good for us. Hopefully, with a great Oline, he will be good enough.
FB Les Ball - He’s not that good, and after our highly touted draft FB busted, he is all we are getting.
TE David LeFleur - One of the better TEs in the league, but we use our FB less so we need him more for blocking. 9 yards per catch, but nothing spectacular catching wise.
WR Marvin Graham - 74/74 rated 2nd year WR and picked with the trade of our good RB. Very good.
WR Monty Swift - Just a solid producer we hope, in his rookie year. Very well developed already.
C John Wade - He’s very good.
OG Matt O’Dwyer - As is he.
OG Solon Page - Adds a WVU player to my roster, and he’s a pretty good guard.
OT Willie Anderson - Getting a bit older but a rock for our team.
OT Mo Collins - One of the new signees, and the final piece to a strong Oline. I hope.
K Olindo Mare - We were lucky to get him after Vanderjagt retired.
P Blaine Baldridge - Just a top flight punter.
DE Tony Brackens - He is our stud.
DE Ian Smith - I am starting the rookie over Derrick Alexander or Bertsch, because he has a lot of potential.
DT Nerbert McSwain - We have to do something about DT next year.
DT Neal Castillo - Starting the rookie here as well to give him devo time. Develop him and sign a hoss next year, that’s my plan to have a good DT section next year.
LB Dwayne Rudd - Back again in the middle.
LB Greg Hildreth - A patch signed for one year to be sufficient
LB Roderick Corbin - Another patch
CB Samari Rolle - He is one fourth of the best secondary in the NFL.
CB Sam Madison - Another fourth.
S Donovin Darius - Another quarter
S Lethon Flowers - The final piece.


I expect to see the passing game just shut down this year, much like it was last.

Our kick and punt returners are safeties Floyd Redmon and Arnold Ramthun.

[Abe Sargent]

Our Schedule:

1. OAKLAND RAIDERS
2. DENVER BRONCOS
3. Colts
4. COWBOYS
5. Chiefs
6. Seahawks
7. Chargers
8. BILLS
9. CARDINALS
10. BYE
11. CHIEFS
12. Broncos
13. CHARGERS
14. Redskins
15. Raiders
16. SEAHAWKS
17. Giants


Caps is a home game.


I am feeling very comfortable about my starters, but I don’t have massive depth in many places. CB, DT and DE, WR, a few players on the Oline, and that’s it for my depth. If the injury bug bites, then we may fall, which is why I picked up a Head Coach that might help us here.


We finish the preseason 3-1.

Returner Arnold Ramthun is out for several months with a torn thumb ligament. I toss him on IR. I sign undrafted rookie FA James Luckett, a safety, for the same role. Also injured to questionable is WR Monty Swift and OG O’Dwyer. I deactivate both for a week or two to help them heal. WR Dunnigan and OG Ackerman will be starting in their places for the first week.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - 30-3 over Oakland, and we are the 30. Tai Streets caught a 7 yards for a score . Both Greg Hildreth and Lethon Flowers returned picks for Tds. Lethon Flowers was the Game MVP with two picks on the day. Sam Madison added a four INT on the day. Smith and Brackens had sacks. Priest Holmes had 125 yards on 20 carries, a very workman like day. QB Allard was…rusty. 13 of 27 for 113 yards, a TD and 2 picks. Baldridge averaged over 50 yards per punt on 6 punts. Darius, Rudd and Madison all had multiple passes defensed. Both Wade and Anderson notched 4 KRB. Everything hummed today, and if our QB had done better, the score would have been astronomical. I will hold out Swift and O’Dwyer for another week.

Week 2 - 36-3 over Denver. We didn’t score 3. Olindo Mare had 5 FGs. Tony Dunnigan had a 75 yard receiving play for a score, and David LeFleur caught a short pass for a score. Backup RB McDaniel had the third TD of the day on a 2 yard run. Game MVP was Jerome Allard, with 25 of 35 for 306, 2 Tds and no picks. Much better Allard! That’s what I want from a top overall selection. The Broncos were held to 71 yards passing on the day. Holmes had 87 yards on 19 carries. Dunnigan had 123 yards receiving on 6 catches, a solid substitute for Monty Swift, plus he’s an undrafted free agent rookie, so that’s something. Darius and Rolle had picks. McSwain and Hildreth had sacks. Even backup G Ackerman led the team with 3 KRB on the day out of 4 KBO. O’Dwyer is healthy again and will start next week, but I’ll hold out Swift for one more week probably, especially since Dunnigan is doing so well.

Week 3 - We lose to the Colts 17-23. Marvin Graham caught two passes for scores. Holmes had 77 yards on 15 carries, which is still a respectable 5.1 yards per carry. Allard was 23 of 37 for 241 yards, 2 TDs and a pick. Darius got a pick but we were held sackless for the first time ever in our franchise’s history. Yuck. Allard fumbled three times and recovered two of them. FB Bell recovered the other, so we didn’t give the ball up, but we need to get Allard more protection (5 sacks allowed, 3 fumbles, while not getting any sacks ourselves ,sis simply unacceptable).

WR Monty Swift will start next week. Dunnigan has impressed with 14 catches so far, but I want to give Swift a try and see how he does. DT McSwain and LB Corbin are questionable. I drop McSwain to the inactive roster but keep Corbin up. DT Adam Hill will be starting in his place.

Week 4 - 32-29 over Dallas. We kicked a FG to win in overtime. With 12:50 left in the game, Dallas scored to make it 29-14. They had a safety in the end zone on Priest Holmes in the 2nd to make it an odd score. Then, Jerome Allard took over. In a possession that took 6:14, he marched our offense down the field and hit 3rd WR Tony Dunnigan for a 15 yard strike. Then we punted, and our awesome defense began to melt on one first down then another. Until Samari Rolle picked them off and returned it for a TD. Allard hit Monty Swift, in his first game, for the 2 point conversion to send us to overtime. Our other scores were Monty Swift and Marvin Graham each with 10 yards catches. Game MVP goes to Samari Rolle, with his game changing pick and TD. Holmes had 60 yards on 20 carries. Allard went 27 of 47 for 451 yards, 3 TDs and a pick. Graham had 9 catches for 160 yards and a TD. Swift had 8 catches with 130 yards for a TD and a 2 pt conversion. Dunnigan had another 5 catches in the 3rd WR spot and 62 yards and a TD. Brackens had a pair of sacks. It was a good game, and Allard went crazy. Arguably his best performance. LB Corbin exacerbated his injury and will have to be inactivated. Tommy Wiggins will be starting.

I need to remember at the end of the season to look at resigning Dunnigan, if his value continues.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - 23-20 over KC. Tony Dunnigan opened the game with a 12 yard TD catch. Tommy Wiggins picked up a blocked punt and ran it in for a score. Tai Streets added a 4 yard TD catch for a score. Mare missed an extra point (yuck!). Game MVP was Dwayne Rudd with 14 tackles. Holmes had just 46 yards on 12 carries. Allard went 14 of 26 for 199 yards, 2 Tds and no picks. WR Graham caught 5 balls for 112 yards, one of the few games where Allard did not spray the ball around a lot. We need to start running the ball more, I suspect.

Injuries - DT McSwain is healed and will start for us again. DT Adam Hill was knocked doubtful and goes on. Tony Brackens is questionable and too valuable to risk, so he goes on too. The same is true of Sam Madison, and he gets pulled. CB Matthew Thompson and DE Derrick Alexander will be starting for us.

Week 6 - We lose 21-24 in OT to the Seahawks. Lethon Flowers had a pick and return for a score. Monty Swift caught a 31 yard pass from Jason Gieger for a score and McDaniel scampered for a 2pt conversion. Flowers was Game MVP with 11 tackles too. WR Graham had 11 catches for 131 yards. Holmes had 84 yards on 16 carries. Geiger and Allard had virtually mirrored stats. Redmon fumbled twice on returns. Ick.

Week 7 - We win 30-20 over the then one loss Chargers. McDaniel with 30 and 4 yard runs for 2 TDs. McSwain recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for a score. Game MVP was Dwayne Rudd with a pack and a sack. Castillo also had a pick. Allard was 21 of 38 for 205 and a pick. Holmes was stymied with 32 yards on 18 carries. Dwayne Rudd is knocked out for a few months with a pulled tendon injury. Sigh. I put Dwayne Rudd on IR, and that’s a major pain. I go and sign LB Jude Waddy from free agency for a year. Sam Madison is back next week.

Week 8 - We win 33-20 over Buffalo. LB Greg Hildreth is the Game MVP with an Int returned for a score. Anderson had 4 KRB. Three of my starting Dlinemen had more than one sack - Alexander, Smith and McSwain. Holmes had 86 yards on 25 carries. Allard was an effective 17 of 26 for 2 TDs and a pick. He hit Graham and Swift for scores. Graham had 107 yards on the day from 6 catches. Redmon had another fumble. I will not be returning him next season and a KR/PR guy.

My Punter is probable so I will start him.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - We defeat the Cardinals 33-7. Back to the beginning of season form? Marvin Graham caught a 10 yard TD, Tai Streets and 8 yards one form the Game MVP Jerome Allard. 31 of 50 for 279, 2 Tds and a pick. Samari Rolle recovered a fumble and returned it for a score. Graham had 109 yards on 11 catches. Redmon had two punt returns for 60 total yards, and average of 30 yards per punt return. I wish I’d get that more, without the fumbles. Darius and Madison had picks. Alexander had the only sack on the day. Holmes had 25 yards on 26 carries.




Week 10 - BYE WEEK. A week of rest. Adam Hill, Roderick Corbin and Tony Brackens are now rested and Brackens and Corbin will start again.

Week 11 - 36-30 over the Chiefs in OT when priest Holmes rushes for a 6 yard TD for the win. He also had 1 yarder in the first quarter. Marvin Graham caught a 31 yard pass, David LeFleur a 10 yard one. Holmes still had just 32 yards on 16 carries though. Jerome Allard was Game MVP with 26 of 40 for 316 yards, 2 scores and no picks. Graham had 145 yards on 7 catches. McSwain had a sack and a half. Redmon fumbled again on a return. Luckett, our other returner, also fumbled. I had three players knocked into questionable - Sam Madison, Richard Dunlap (LB) and Greg Hildreth. I deactivate Hildreth and Madison. We are now a win and a tie at 8-2 over 6-3-1 Denver, who we host next week. The division may be ours, and I want to have my best players in shape for the playoffs.

Week 12 - 20-12 over Denver. Game MVP LB Jude Waddy, with a sack and 9 tackles. Brackens got his first sack since coming back from injury. Darius added a pick. Solomon Page had 4 KRB. Homes rushed for 67 yards on 12 carries and a TD. Allard tossed 41 balls for 25 completions and 235 yards, for a 1:1 ratio. Tai Streets caught the TD pass. David LeFleur led the day with 7 catches.

Injuries - Priest Holmes is questionable with a broken finger. I deactivate him. Starting in his place will be Vince McDaniel. Can Vince take us to the promised land? Monty Swift is probable and will continue to start. DT Adam Hill is questionable and I toss him on the inactive list. Madison and Hildreth are still questionable so will sit out next week as well.

At 9-2, we are currently in first in the AFC. We currently have the best record in the NFL.

Week 13 - 31-0 over the Chargers. We spanked them good! Vince McDaniel had two runs for scores, a 1 yarder and a 10 yarder. Marvin Graham and Tai Streets caught passes for scores. Game MVP was Donovin Darius with 2 picks. Smith recorded a sack and a half. Allard was restless and completed just 15 of 33 for 169, 2 TDs but no picks. Smart tossing, but not great stats. McDaniel had 55 yards on 15 carries. Holmes, Madison and Hildreth will sit out next week as well.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We lose 17-21 to the Redskins. Backup RB Rod Seto pounded in the ball for a TD, and David Lefluer caught our other score. McDaniel had 108 yards on 18 carries. Allard went 20 of 33 for 186, 1 TD and no picks. McSwain continues to have these one sack games, and today was another. O’Dwyer had 4 KRB. Hildreth and Madison are back next week.

Week 15 - We defeat the Raiders 20-6. Monty Swift had a 75 yard receiving play for a score, and McDaniel plunged it in from 2 yards out. MVP was Darius with a pick. Madison, in his return from injury, got another. Bertsch and Brackens each had a pair of sacks. CJ Luciano, my backup C had four KRB. McDaniel had 78 yards on 22 carries. Allard tossed the ball 26 times, completed it 16, 212 yard and a 1:1 ratio. Hildreth is injured again and again I toss him on the inactive list. Sigh.

Week 16 - 36-14 over Seattle. LB Jude Waddy picked up a blocked punt and ran it in for a score. Three times this season we’ve scored after a blocked punt. David LeFleur got a 16 yard TD. Lethon Flowers got a pick and returned it 47 yards for a score. Mare had 5 Fgs. That means we had three scores, on one offense, one on defense, and one on special teams. That’s nice. Flowers was Game MVP with his pick, 7 tackles and two passes defensed. Brackens notched another pair of sacks. Warming up for the playoffs, I see. Sam Madison had a pick as well. McDaniel had 53 yards on 11 carries. Allard was knocked out early and Geiger came on. He had 14 of 36 for 213 and a 1:1 ration. LeFleur had 97 yards on 6 catches, Swift had 97 yards on 6 catches, and Graham had 106 yards on 5 catches.

We are guaranteed the top spot in the playoffs.

Week 17 - We win 37-24 over the NFC East champion Giants. David LeFleur caught two TDs. Marvin Graham also caught two passes for scores. McDaneil was 56 for 16. Allard was 26 of 41 for 247 and a 4:1 ratio. Flowers and Madison had picks. Corbin the LB had a sack and a half. Page had 4 KRB. Unfortunately, Monty Swift went down with a torn thumb ligament, it drops his stats a bit. I toss him on IR. I sign Bart Lyons to be my 5th receiver for the playoffs. Dunnigan will be starting. I hope he can take us home.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Weekend - Cincy edges Denver 10-7, and the Patriots rough handle the Steelers 31-20.


Divisional Weekend - We host the Patriots, the hot team over the least few years. Over the past four years, the Patriots have won two Super Bowls, prior to me taking over the Lone Stars. They have been the consistent power in the AFC. If we can beat them in our place, we will have gotten a major victory. Here we go.

Greg Hildreth will be starting today, as will Priest Holmes.

San Antonio 35
New England 3


We spanked them.

Our scores -

Marvin Graham 7 yard pass from MVP Jerome Allard
Marvin Graham 25 yard pass from MVP Jerome Allard
Marvin Graham 21 yard pass from MVP Jerome Allard
David LeFleur 1 yard pass from MVP Jerome Allard
Priest Holmes, 1 yard run

Priest Holmes was 49 yards on 15 carries for the day.
Jerome Allard tossed the ball 25 times, connected on 19, for 333 yards and a 4:0 ratio.
Graham had 170 yards and 10 catches along with his 3 Tds (He would have been my choice for game MVP). He caught every ball thrown his way. That’s amazing.
Dunnigan had 9 catches for 131 yards
Madison, Hildreth and Timpson made picks.
Brackens had 3 sacks on the day


A pretty solid day, I’d say.


In other news, the Colts also win dominatingly, 34-14 over the Bengals. We host the Colts next week.

Tony Brackens is slightly injured but I will be starting him.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2004 AFC Championship:

The 11-5 Indianapolis Colts travel to Texas to take on the

13-3 San Antonio Lone Stars


Here we go:

This is a score recap, in order:

1st Quarter, Mare 43 yd FG,
1st Quarter, Graham caught 4 yard pass for TD. Extra pt good.
2nd Quarter, Indy FG
2nd Quarter, Indy FG
Halftime 10-6.
3rd Q, Mare hits 37 yards to put us up 13-6.
4th Q, Tony Dunnigan gets 36 yard pass for TD. 20-6 after XP good
4th Q, Mare hits 31 yard FG
4th Q, McDaniel gets 2 yard run for TD. XP good.

30-6, final score.

Game MVP - Backup S Kenny Kennedy - 2 picks and 8 tackles.

Priest Holmes had 102 yards on 20 rushes.
Jerome Allard went 21 for 27 for 247 and 2:0 ratio
We were held sackless
Willie Anderson notched 4 KRB.

A nice day.

Ian Smith is questionable but will start in the Super Bowl.

[Abe Sargent]

Super Bowl - 13-3 San Antonio Lone Stars vs. 10-6 St. Louis Rams (My old team if you’ll recall).

Can undrafted rookie free agent Dunnigan continue to give good performances? Will we be held sackless again? Can Holmes get another good running day? Will Allard have a typically good day or one of his off days? Will our returners keep fumbling? Can we get another punt blocked and returned for a score? Will we continue a strong streak of defensive TDs?

If we win, which of our players will be the Super Bowl MVP?

Final Score 35-17. We scored the 35.

We won the Super Bowl!

Who scored?

Super Bowl MVP Jerome Allard

Tai Streets 13 yard pass TD from Allard
Priest Holmes 10 yard run
Tony Dunnigan 1 yard catch for TD.
Tony Dunnigan 3 yard catch for TD
Backup TE Michael Farr for 4 yard catch for TD.

Jerome Allard - 24 for 34, 266, 4:0 ratio. Nicely done Jerome!

Holmes had 89 yards on 19 carries.
Graham had 120 yards on 9 catches.
Thompson and Redmon, both nickel and dime backs, got picks.
Alexander and Payne each had a sack

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

Super Bowl MVP - Jerome Allard
All Pro 1st Team - WR Marvin Graham, P Blaine Baldridge, K Olindo Mare, S Lethon Flowers
All Pro 2nd Team - S Donovin Darius


Not a bad year.

[Abe Sargent]

Some team stats:

We didn’t have a particularly good or bad offense or defense in the stats. Our rushing defense was 16th best by yards allowed, and 20th in rushing average against, passing defense was 13th by yards and 5th best by average yards per completion (6.3).

We were third in the league with a +14 TO margin.

We were, however, tied for 9th in most sacks allowed. We need to watch that, and a better FB could help there. Maybe. We were tied for 4th worst in the league in sacks. This is something I intend to address in the off season.

[Abe Sargent]

Individual Stats:

Rushing:

Priest Holmes had 722 yards on 197 carries for 4 Tds and a 3.6 average
Vince McDaniel has 6 Tds, 517 yards on 128 carries for a 4.0 average

Passing:

Allard - 59.6%, 3663 yards, 25:11 ratio. 87.4 QB rating. I’ve seen better.

Receiving:

Marvin Graham, 111 catches for 1503 yards, 9 Tds. Led the league in yards receiving and catches.
Monty Swift, 13 starts, 51 for 744, 4 Tds.
Tony Dunnigan, 46 catches for 535 yards, 3 Tds
David LeFleur, 55 catches for 525 yard, 6 Tds - This is where I want my TE to be.
Tai Streets, 26 catches for 216 yards and 5 Tds


Returns:

Floyd Redmon had 5th highest PR average in league, fumbled 5 times
James Luckett had 9th highest KR in league, fumbled once

Kicking:

Mare had most FGs made by 9 over competition
Baldridge had 2nd highest kick average, put 42 of 86 punts inside the 20.

Defense:

Brackens led our team with 10.5 sacks but was out 4 games.
DT McSwain was second with 6.5 sacks.
Rookie Ian Smith had 5.5
Darius had 7 picks
Flowers and Madison had 5 each. Flowers returned three for scores.
Hildreth returned both of his picks for scores.
Rolle returned both a pick and a fumble recovery for a score.

Blocking:

Solomon Page led the team with 28 KRB, but this was not a good blocking year.


We did not return a kick or a punt of ra score, but we still had a massive non-offense 10 TDs. Three were punts blocked and returns, and 7 were defensive scores.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards (Given out by Me)


Offensive Player of the Year: WR Marvin Graham - He had a marvelous record setting year, and you have to account for that in the awards. No offensive layer shined as brightly. No one else on our team led the league statistically in two major categories (although our punter came close, being 1st in one and 2nd in another).
Defensive Player of the Year: S Donovin Darius - He led the team in picks with 7, and was second on the team in tackles with 79 solo tackles and 26 assists, just one less than leader Lethon Flowers. He also was second on the team for the most passes defensed. He got picks, he made tackles, and he defended passes. That’s a nice slate of contributions he made.
Special Teams Player of the Year: P Blaine Baldridge - Olindo Mare led the league in Fgs made, but he attempted 7 more than the next guy, so that is to be expected, plus Mare missed a PAT. On the other hand, Baldridge dominated the punter stats, with the 2nd highest average and the most punts in the 20. And that is not a function of how many punts he had. He had four more than the next guy, but punted 86 times to that guy’s 124 times. He had a high percentage as well as a high kick average. The result was a powerful weapon.
Rookie of the Year: DE Ian Smith - With 5.5 sacks, the hope is that this 3rd rounder will develop into a perfect complement for Brackens.
Heart Award: WR Tony Dunnigan - He’ll never be an amazing receiver, but this undrafted FA started several times when 2nd round rookie Marty Swift went down, and he even managed two TDs in the Super Bowl. He had a strong number of yards, catches and TDs considering his relative lack of ability. Excellent!



Players leaving next year of import:

Whose contracts are up and we aren’t bringing back:

DT Seth Payne
Patches like RB Priest Holmes and several of my LBs.
DT Norbert McSwain - signed as a patch, but he was not bad. Got a lot of sacks from the DT position, which is hard to do.

[Autumn]

What were Allard's postseason stats? Seems like he really turned it on there.

[Abe Sargent]

What were Allard's postseason stats? Seems like he really turned it on there.

???

I included his statline in every single game. Whatcha looking for? Math?

Sure

Super Bowl - Jerome Allard - 24 for 34, 266, 4:0 ratio
AFC Championship - Jerome Allard went 21 for 27 for 247 and 2:0 ratio
Divisional Round - Jerome Allard tossed the ball 25 times, connected on 19, for 333 yards and a 4:0 ratio.

Copied and pasted for your viewing pleasure! ;)

Two of those games were at home.

[Autumn]

I just meant his cumulative postseason stats. Yes, I suppose I could figure it out myself. I'm sure his rating must have been much higher than his season rating, hopefully that's an indicator for next year. Thanks for humoring me.

[Abe Sargent]

I just meant his cumulative postseason stats. Yes, I suppose I could figure it out myself. I'm sure his rating must have been much higher than his season rating, hopefully that's an indicator for next year. Thanks for humoring me.

Heh, no prob ;)

[Abe Sargent]

The Off Season


Here we go:


Score: Team Performance - 100, Franchise Value - 88, Profit/Loss - 56, Difficulty - 76, Score - 80.


We now have more continuity. 38 players are under contract. This is starting to look like real team instead of a patchwork one.

Franchise:

We moved up to the #2 most valuable franchise in the NFL, behind the 49ers. 6th best stadium, best roster, 11th worst support, 9th best economy.

Our tickets sold at a higher rate.

Four players are inducted in the Hall of Fame - Jerry Rice, Warren Moon, Darrell Green and Bruce Matthews.

I choose not to franchise or anything like that. I bump tickets prices up a buck each.

I move to free agency and I get offered a very, very tempting trade. The Chiefs are offering me their 1(2) pick and a strong WR Derrick Alexander for OT Willie Anderson. Anderson is in his 10th year and Alexander is also quite old, but tossing in the 1(2) is just terribly enticing. I take a look at the draft. Is there a player I need or could really, really use there?

QB Jermaine Grant will be going first overall, an 8.2 rated hoss of a QB, like Peyton Manning. That means we could take anyone left on the board. I could get a permanent stud at DT, LB, or OG. There is a strong RB, but he’s down a ways on the RB board, and probably would be a reach and a half at 2 - Harry Whiting.

However, there is no replacement for Anderson in the draft. What about free agency? There are several options, but only a couple of good ones.

Alright, I’ll make the trade, but I try and trade for LB Donnie Edwards instead, plus the 1(2) pick. No doing - Donnie is a star player. I go with the original plan.

We extend Tony Bracken’s contract by a year. I resign WR Tony Dunnigan for two years. I extend John Wade by a year and S Lethon Flowers’ as well. Sam Madison and Matt O’Dwyer are in their final years, but I decide to hold off making an offer right now. Both are getting older and both would be more expensive than I am will to pay right now.

I trade DE Harvey Beitsch to Oakland for their 1st pick in the 2nd and 6th rounds.

Yay freeing up money!

I then cut DE Derrick Alexander, because he is costing me too much money to chase free agents. Okay, I don’t have too much money after all of these changes. I’m 19 million under the cap right now, so let’s make just a few offers in free agency this year.

[Abe Sargent]

There are no good DTs in free agency.

I make an offer to Fred Taylor, Brain Urlacher and Jon Jansen.

Week 2 - Jon Janson signs with the Eagles.

Week 3 - Fred Taylor signs with us.

The cap is catching up with us. I choose not to pursue any more OTs, because they are not as good. I decide to make a cap friendly contract offer to LJ Shelton but I expect him to reject it.

Week 6 - Urlacher signs with Tampa Bay.

Week 8 - LJ Shelton signs with us. He had a high Play for Winner score. We only take 2.9 million in hit this year, so it was very cap friendly.


Week 19 - I release DT Adam Hill to free up some cap space.

[Abe Sargent]

Draft Time:

I have needs at FB, DE backups, DT starter, 2 LB starters at least, CB starter to replace Sam Madison soon, backup QB, TE, OG, OT, 2x DT, CB.

Just for fun, I trade Allard to the Raiders for their 7th rounder this year and then simmed their draft, to see if super QB hoss of amazingness Jermaine Grant would fall to me, but he did not. Even with Allard and two other Qbs on their roster, they picked Grant. Then I reloaded and now here I am. I tried to make a trade by exchanging picks that was in the Raiders’ favor by 80 points on the Draft Value Chart, but they still weren‘t interested. I even offered my 1st(2), 2(11_ and 2,3,4 next year jus to move up one and no deal. Well then.

2005 NFL Amateur Draft

The Raiders take Jermaine Grant, QB, with the top selection.

We have 1(2).

Options:

DT Tracy Mahoney - Already solid, will be a hoss at the position, area of need, starter quality.
DT Alfred Warren - Backup choice, not as good but still high caliber quality nice.
LB Rodney McWilliams - Looks like a studly stud of studs, but my scout has been wrong here before.
RB Morris Johnston - A strong running back
LB Austin Johnson - Looks good enough.
RB Harry Whiting - Looks even better but rated worse, but looks better.
LB Chris Glenn -Looks like another star, but again, my scout is suspect in this area.
CB Stephen Crownheart - Looks like a player we could develop into Sam Madison;s spot.
QB Joel Pennington - Down on the list, but looks fantastic.


I try to trade down but I can’t. The game thinks me trading my pick will cause me to lose too much money under the cap. Ick. Alright, who do I take then?

I narrow this down quickly - DT Mahoney or LB McWilliams. Each fixes a hole.

I draft McWilliams. I need a good backer, but I have adequate DTs if I need them.

The last pick of the 1st round arrives. Who do I want? Whiting went 5, Pennington went 3, McWilliams went 10. All of my players are gone, so I take the best FB in the draft, Terry Tripodi.

In the 2nd, I have the 1,11, and 32 picks. I take a backup CB for now, and hopefully a start someday. I grab a starting quality but very green DT next. I then shotgun two more LBs in case one doesn’t work.

It’s BAP after that.


Draft Recap:

1(2) - LB Rodney McWilliams
1(32) - FB Terry Tripodi, Baylor
2(1) - CB Clarence Hudson, UCLA
2(11) - DT Mike Rodgers, Fresno State.
2(32) - LB Malcolm Medina, Florida
3 - LB Neil Huntley, Arizona State
4 - C Lorenzo Maxwell, Minnesota
5 - DE Reggie Collier, Michigan
6(1) - DT Dennis King, Wyoming
7 - QB Reuben Newsome, Georgia Tech

All players re signed and we now have 47 players under contract. Massage time.

I cut fumbler McGee, Floyd Redmon

I sign UFAs:

TE Frankie Black, Illinois
OG Earl McWhirter, Washington State
OT Donald Rollins, USC
DE Karl Jeffries, Kentucky
DT Teddy Torkleson, Illinois
S Donovan Newman, East Carolina

52 players on the roster.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s move to Training Camp!



We sold 48,600 season tickets after a Super Bowl win? We went down? Ouch.

Let me look at my drafted rookies, post-camp:

CB Hudson - 42/75. Looks very nice.
DE Collier - 15/71. Could grow into a nice player
LB Neil Huntley - 8/69 - 3rd round pick looks like a future starter.
DT Mike Rodgers - 24/68. Yet another strong future player.
C Maxwell - 11/48 - The solid backup I thought he was.
DT Dennis King 17/47 - As is King
QB Newsom - 11/42 - Just a backup body
LB Rodney McWilliams - 18/38 - Why do my LBs keep bustin?
FB Terry Tripodi 13/28 - And my FBs?
LB Malcolm Medina - 10/28.

So, I came out of the draft with TWO first round busts. My second round LB was another crappy one. I managed to find a starter caliber one out of sheer luck. Another FB bust. However, I came out with a strong CB, LB, DT and DE, and all are starting caliber, so it wasn‘t the worst draft ever.

I release Malcolm Medina. I sign Ray Lewis to a one year deal as a patch. I may just franchise him next year in order to insure my team has three LBs.

I now literally, literally, have 0$ under the cap. Let me make another change or two to help my financial situation. I cut LB Richard Dunlap, my 1st rounder from last year. I sign OG Sammie Mascorella, a 4th year starting caliber guy to a one year deal. I then get on the horn. Would someone like Matt O’Dwyer whose age is getting higher?

I trade OG Matt O’Dwyer to the Cardinals for their 3rd and 6th next year. Now I still have an OG in his last year of a contract, but not an 11 year veteran. O’Dwyer was better skill wise, but he never gave me great stats. Hopefully, Mascorella can. Mascorella is an adequate run blocker but a great pass blocker. In 35 starts, O’Dwyer had just 42 KRB and allowed 7 sacks. That was not worth top flight money.

Before he came to us, he had been All Pro one year, and had 37 KRB and 27KRb in the previous two years, so its not like I signed a lump, and expected it not to smell, you know?

I sign FB Fred Beasley to a one year deal. I cut FB Les Ball. Another one year guy patching us up. No more drafting FBs. I then sign RB Sherman Cook to a 1 year deal to round out my roster.

I trade QB Andre Geiger to the Raiders for their 2nd rounder next year. I sign to a one year deal QB Colin Duran, a 5th year vet out of Arizona State.

Oh, Jermaine Grant busted a bit, but in realistic ways. Here are his potentials:

Screens - 98
Short - 100
Medium - 78
Long - 56
Deep - 48


Where he once was all in the 90s and 80s, even in the long balls. Realistic adjustments. Now that he has busted sorta, I actually like Allard better.

Allard’s potentials (almost there in most cases)

Screens: 49 (his weakness)
Short: 99
Medium: 90
Long: 63
Deep: 96 (my favorite stat of his)
3rd Down - 48
Accuracy - 87
Power - 59
Scramble Freq - 43
Carrying - 44

That is not a bad QB. He’s realistic, with some weaknesses, but if you wondered how he can sometimes get a small number of completions for a bunch of yards, that’s how. Deep and accurate is his game, plus he’s money at the short and medium stuff.

Oh, btw, I have really good corners. All three backups are strong. Just saying this might be one of the best secondaries I’ve ever had bar none.

[Abe Sargent]

We supposedly have the 6th best QB, and 5th best QB backup in the league. 13th best RB. 3rd best FB. 7th best TE. 3rd best WR and 11th best WR backups. 4th best C starter and 5th best reserves. 7th best G. 3rd best OT and 6th best reserves. Best P, 2nd best K. 10th best DEs, best reserves. 2nd worst Dts but 4th best reserves. 13th best Lbs. Best corners and reserves in NFL. Best S in the league.

Cohesion, worst at everything but secondary where we are just 9th worst.

We are beginning to look like a real team, with histories, players that have been here a while, and so forth.

Our Starting Roster:


QB Jerome Allard - He is almost fully developed
RB Fred Taylor - Let’s see what we can do with him in our backfield.
FB Fred Beasley - Can he make a difference in the backfield?
WR Marvin Graham - Can he repeat last year’s performance?
WR Derrick Alexander - Will he get in the way or be a valid target for Allard?
TE David LeFleur - He is in the final year of his contract and not looking to resign.
C John Wade - Still good
OG Solomon Page - I want to see if he has what it takes to really star in this league.
OG Sammie Mascorella - Can he be a true starter at the upper levels of the game?
OT LJ Shelton - New signee, can he play in Anderson‘s shoes?
OT Mo Collins - He was lost last year, with few major stats. Let’s get a bit more from him.
P Blaine Baldridge - Best punter in the league
K Olindo Mare - Absolutely gobsmacked to have him on our team.
DE Tony Brackens - The hoss
DE Ian Smith - Returning from last year
DT Neal Castillo - Also returned from last year
DT Mike Rodgers - We will also be starting this rookie as well
LB Dwayne Rudd - He dropped a bit in ability post-injury, so he is being moved to the outside.
LB Ray Lewis - A one year patch or a new player on the team?
LB Neil Huntley - Of the many rookie LBs I have drafted, the only one that is any good.
CB Sam Madison - Great CB, final year of contract and it costs too much to resign him. (8+ mill)
CB Samari Rolle - Part of the greatest secondary of our time, but also one of the highest priced players.
S Donovin Darius - Strong player returning from All Pro year last year.
S Lethon Flowers - The final piece in the secondary players.

Donovan Newman and Samari Rolle are our returners.

I’m not sure about DE. Brackens is amazing. Smith was good last year and developed, but my rookie 5th rounder is very green and very high in potential. He’d be a little better than Ian Smith when both are developed.

What do I do? It’s a good problem to have.

I push the lever and trade Smith to the Titans for their 2nd rounder next year. Now I will be starting rookie DE Collier. I sign DE Barry Stratico to a one year deal.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2005 San Antonio Lone Star Schedule:

1. DENVER
2. Kansas City
3. DETROIT
4. Chicago
5. BYE
6. INDIANAPOLIS
7. San Diego
8. Seattle
9. New England
10. KANSAS CITY
11. GREEN BAY
12. Oakland
13. SAN DIEGO
14. OAKLAND
15. Denver
16. Minnesota
17. SEATTLE


ALL CAPS are home games



We finish the preseason 2-2.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We lose in OT 13-16 in the first week to Denver. Backup TE Buddy Gardner caught our lone TD. Taylor got injured so Vince McDaniel got us 68 on 16 carries. Allard was 18 of 36 for 195, 1 TD and no picks. Collier and Castillo notched sacks. A poor game, and we must and will do better.


Week 2 - We win 21-14 vs. the Chiefs. Monty Swift and Fred Taylor caught TD passes. Derrick Alexander caught a 2 pt conversion late in the 4th. Ray Lewis was Game MVP with 14 tackles, one of which was a sack. Wade had 4 KRB. Taylor had 85 yards on 17 carries. Allard was 21 of 32 for 256 and a 2:1 ratio.

Week 3 - We defeat the Lions 20-14. Marvin Graham caught a 20 yard score. Vince McDaniel had a 5 yard run for the other. Dwayne Rudd was Game MVP with 14 tackles. Allard had one of his worst days ever. A fumble and 3 picks. Taylor had 48 yards on 13 carries. Madison got a pick and Collier a sack.

Brackens is injured for a few weeks. I pull him.

Week 4 - We lose to the undefeated Bears 17-23. Dennis King got a fumble and returned it for a score, and Marvin graham had our lone offensive score. Ray Lewis was game MVP with 17 tackles and a pick. Allard had 316 yards on 19 completions for a 1:1 ratio. Graham had his first 100+ yard of the season with 111 yards.

Week 5 - BYE WEEK. It’s too early in the season though. I’d have preferred it later, like it was for the first several seasons.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 6 - We defeat the Colts 45-30 and that sounds like our offense at old back again. Here are our scores: Taylor 28 yard run, Taylor 13 yard run, Swift 18 yard catch, Taylor 2 yard run, Graham 4 yard catch, Swift 4 yard catch. Nicely done folks. Allard was MVP with 26 of 35, 317 yards, 3:0 ratio. Taylor had 126 yards and his three Tds on 26 carries. Alexander had 129 yards on 9 catches. Both Flowers and Darius had picks. King and McWilliams had sacks. OT Mo Collin shad 4 KRB on the day. Lethon Flowers is doubtful with a dislocated shoulder. I deactivate him. Allard is the NFL Player of the Week.

Week 7 - We crush the Chargers 40-10. Scores: Swift TD Catch, Taylor TD Run, Darius 54 yard INT RET TD, Taylor TD run. Game MVP was Darius, with 2 picks on the day. Sam Madison and rookie Hudson, starting in the S spot despite being a CB got a pick as well. Taylor added 91 yards on 21 carries, and Allard had another poor day with 19 of 37 for 215 and a 1:4 ratio. That’s very untolerable. How do you toss four picks and win 40-10? With a good defense, that’s how.

Brackens will be back but DT Neal Castillo will be out for a few weeks.

Week 8 - Seattle joins the teams we hang 40 or more on 41-26. Scores - Marvin Graham and Derrick Alexander catch TDs. Tai Streets gets a score off a reverse. Fred Taylor pops one free for a 77 yard TD run. I love it when he does that. Vince McDaniel adds a 10 yard TD run. Fred Taylor is Game MVP with 173 yards on 16 carries and a TD. Allard was 23 of 32 for 260 2:0. Madison, Covington and Newman got picks. We were again held sackless.

Week 9 - We defeat New England 34-10 to go to 6-2 for the first half of the season. Took us a while to find our groove. Jerome Allard is NFL Player of the Week and Game MVP with four TD passes to Alexander (10 yards), Swift (14), Graham (9) and Graham (23). Taylor had 85 yards on 13 carries. Allard had 26 completions out of 42 attempts for 284 yards and the 4:0 ratio. Graham had 115 yards on 7 catches. Brackens had 2.5 sacks. Madison and Darius both grabbed picks. Wade added 4 KRB. DT Mike Rodgers sprained his neck and is doubtful for next week. I reactivate Castillo and play him questionable next week but only as the backup.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - We defeat the two win Chiefs 37-3. Monty Swift had a 80 yard receiving play for a score. Derrick Alexander and Fred Beasley caught TDs as well. Taylor broke an 80 yard run for a score. He still does it. Game MVP is Jerome Allard with 20 of 28 for 340 yards and a 3:0 ratio. Taylor added 122 yards on 17 carries. Swift had 164 yards on 7 catches. Darius had two picks, and joining him are Hudson and Madison with one each. Collier and Lewis had sacks. Solomon Page has a hyper extended knee. He will be out for several weeks. Castillo injured himself further and is now out for 6-8 weeks. I thank him for his service and place him on IR. I sign a cheap replacement, DT Hunter McNeill. Dennis King will start the rest of the season.

Week 11 - We win 33-6 over the Packers. Fred Taylor gets a TD run as does Vince McDaniel. Samari Rolle is the Game MVP with a 82 yard INT return for a TD, plus another pick. Thompson and Hudson each added a pick. King recovered a fumble. Brackens had 1.5 sacks, while King and even Newman had sacks as well. Lethon Flowers will be back next week. Rolle was NFL Defensive Player of the Week.

Week 12 - We defeat Oakland 20-13. A much more normal score. Jerome Allard got his first TD run, this of 2 yards. Taylor also had a run for a score. Geiger was the QB for the match because their highly touted QB was injured a few weeks ago, so we played against our former backup. Dwayne Rudd was Game MVP with a pick and 12 tackles. Flowers joined him with an interception in his first action back from injury. Allard had 216 yards and Taylor had 49.

Week 13 - We defeat the Chargers 34-0. Both Freds got TD runs (Fred Taylor and Fred Beasley). Marvin Graham caught a TD. Backup RB Thomas Halton even got a TD run. But the Game MVP was Donovin Darius with a pick. Dwayne Rudd had 2 sacks and Flowers had a pick while Madison had 2.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We crush Oakland 38-0. Wow. Two back to back shutouts. Embarassing for them. Fred Taylor was Game MVP with just 15 carries for 147 yards and 4 TDs. Vince McDaniel got the final score with a fumble return. Allard went 20 of 29 for 270 yards and a pick. Madison had 2 picks. Unfortunately, CB Clarence Hudson, my star rookie CB dislocated his knee and is out for the season. I place him on IR and sign CB James Helton to a 1 year deal. I don’t need to spend the cash on a major patch, because Hudson isn’t a starter and I have amazing CB depth anyway. He’s also a returner, so he can replace Samari Rolle in that roll.

Week 15 - We lose to Denver 17-37. David LeFleur gets his first score of the year. James Helton gets a 104 KO return for a TD. First game, and he gets a score. Allard was knocked out in the 2nd quarter. DE Barry Stratico is out for year with a hip pointer. I replace him with DE Timothy Burt, a quick patch.

We have won the AFC West and the top playoff spot despite losing. Our 11-3 is much better than the 8-6 the rest of the conference is sitting at.

Week 16 - We defeat the Vikings 20-13. Game MVP was Fred Taylor with 206 yards on 15 carries. Allard was 20 of 37 for 189 yard and a 2:0 ratio. He hit Graham for both scores. Darius had a pick. Wade notched 4 KRB.

Week 17 - The Football Gods grace us since I order us to play all personnel. We score 51 on the Seahawks. Our scores: Marvin Graham 11 yard, Graham 86 yards, TE Buddy Gardner, 1 yard catch, Graham 22 yard catch, Tony Dunnigan 9 yard catch, Lethon Flowers, 39 yard INT RET TD. Marvin Graham was Game MVP but Jerome Allard was NFL Offensive Player of the Week. Graham - 9 catches for 234 yards and 3 TDs. Taylor had 105 yards on 16 carries. Allard went 26 of 38 for 434 yards, 5:0 ratio. Flowers had that pick, Darius had 2, and Newman had a pick. Brackens had 2 sacks. We had no injuries at all (football gods smiling).

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Week in the AFC:

Colts defeat Jets 34-10. Patriots over Jaguars 35-0.


We host the Colts next week.


AFC 2005 Division Round:


13-3 San Antonio Lone Stars host

9-7 Indianapolis Colts


Who will win?

We do, 30-24.

Marvin Graham is Game MVP with 195 yards on 8 catches and 2 Tds. Swift had 146 yards on 10 catches plus a TD. Jerome Allard went for 25 of 47 for 420 yards and a 3:0 ration, out dueling Peyton Manning on the day. Taylor add 115 yards on the ground on 18 carries. OT Mo Collins had 4 KRB.


Baltimore defeated the Patriots 41-17.

[Abe Sargent]

2005 AFC Championships

Ray Lewis and the 13-3 San Antonio Lone Stars seek revenge and repeats against the 9-7 Baltimore Ravens.


Here we go, score recap:

1Q - Fred Taylor 20 yard run TD.
Halftime - 7-0
3Q - Martin Grammatica, 36 yard FG. 7-3.
3Q - Derrick Alexander, 5 yard catch for TD. 14-3.
4Q - Martin Grammatic, 41 yard Fg. 14-6.
4Q - Fred Taylor 75 yard TD run. 21-6. Seals the game.
4Q - Tony Banks hit’s a receiver for TD. 21-13.
Final


Game MVP _ Fred Taylor with 165 yards on 16 carries.
Allard was 21 of 29 for 228 and a 1:0 ratio. He was bumped a bit and Duran came in for a couple of series.
Jeffries had 1.5 sacks


Derrick Alexander broke his jaw and is out. Jerome Allard I probable and will play, as will probable Tony Dunnigan.

[Abe Sargent]

2005 year (2006) Super Bowl:


13-3 San Antonio Spurs look to repeat their title.

12-4 Philadelphia Eagles stand in their way.


Who will win and who will fall? Will the loss of Derrick Alexander hurt the Lone Stars? Will Allard continue his hot streak or recall his bad games? Does Taylor have enough gas to keep running? Will the highly vaunted pass defense stand up? Can the Eagles exploit the banged up D Line of the Lone Stars? Who will stand and who will fall?

We win 34-26.

Super Bowl MVP - Marvin Graham

They came back rough in the 4th. Donovin McNabb hit Isaac Bruce twice for scores and were pushing for a third in the quarter.
Taylor had just 51 yards on 17 carries but rushed for a TD.
Allard went 20 of 31 for 233 yards and a 3:1 ratio. He was knocked out for a series and Duran did play one series.
Graham had 141 yards on 9 catches. Lefleur was second with 7 catches.

Madison and Flowers got picks.
Brackens grabbed 3 sacks. Collier and Huntley also picked up a sack each.
DT King recovered a fumble

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:

Super Bowl MVP - WR Marvin Graham
All-Pro 1st Team - WR Marvin Graham, C John Wade, CB Sam Madison, S Donovin Darius
All-Pro 2nd Team - K Olindo Mare, LB Ray Lewis


Stats (Team) - 2nd most rushing yards in league. Highest yards per rush (4.5). 3rd most passing yards in league. 8th highest yards per completion. Defensively - allowed 4th fewest rushing yards, tied for 5th fewest yards per rush, 7th fewest passing yards, tied for 3rd fewest yards per completion. Led TO margin by +21. 5th fewest sacks in league. 8th fewest sacks allowed in league, though.

[Abe Sargent]

Stats (Individual) - Jerome Allard, 59.1 completion percentage for 4101 yards 27:11 ratio. 90.0 rating. Most yards passing in league, tied for most passing TDs in league. Why no honors? Most passing yards, most passing TDs. Seems like an auto choice to me. The #1 rating was 26 TD Donovin McNabb, and I can understand that. But we had a higher rating, more TDs, and more yards than the 2nd Team All Pro guy. And our guy fumbled 5 times, the 2nd Team guy fumbled 9 times. He had 14 picks, our guy had 11. The only stat where their guy was better was a 59.9% completion vs. 59.1, but he had fewer yards, fewer Tds, more fumbles, more picks, and a lower rating. Come on now. That’s just silly. Allard was robbed.

RB Fred Taylor - Another robbery. 1330 yards, 14 tds, 6.0 rushing average, which is just crazy good. He led the league in rushing TDs, had an unbelievably high rushing average, and was 2nd highest in rushing yards. Troy Santoro, the guy we traded to Chicago, had 12 rushing Tds and 200 less rushing yard.s He got 1st team despite having fewer Tds, fewer rushing yards, and a much lower average per rush, probably because he got 350 yards more receiving and 4 receiving TDs. That;s fair I suppose, but what about the #2 All Pro guy? TJ Russell of Baltimore. 100 less yards, 4 less rushing Tds. 4.6 average, 280 yard receiving and 2 receiving Tds, so he’s not even that good of a receiver. Flat out, you get 6.0 average and start 16 games, you should be getting All Pro.

Taylor was perfect, and we all know he won’t do as good next season. This was his year, and he was robbed.

WR Marvin Graham - 87 catches for 1385 yards, 12 Tds. Led league in Tds and 2nd in receiving yards.
Monty Swift 982 yards, 76 catches, 6 Tds.

Mare had a solid season, made 34 of 42 Fgs.
Baldridge had the highest punt average once again at 46.0 yards, but his # inside the 20 dropped.

Ray Lewis had 94 solo tackles and 34 assists. 3 sacks. 1 pick.
Brackens led the team with 7 sacks in 13 starts. A down year for sure.
Collier had 6.5 sacks. No one else had more than 3.

Donovin Darius led the league with 10 picks while Sam Madison was tied for second in the league with 9.

Flowers had 4 picks. Rolle and Hudson had 3. Backup S Newman had 2.

John Wade locked up 33 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:


Offensive Player of the Year: RB Fred Taylor. He broke open some long plays and was simply the perfect back for my system. My backs get less than 20 carries per game, and he was dangerous with just that. Perfect, perfect year for my RB.
Defensive Player of the Year - CB Sam Madison. I am not opposed to giving this to Darius again, but this is like a nice going away present for Madison. He was 2nd on our team in passes defensed as well, and had All Pro honors just like Darius. Good job Sam!
Special Teams Player of the Year: CB James Helton - He was with us for three regular season games and had great return numbers plus a return TD. He also did very well for us in the playoffs too.
Rookie of the Year: DE Reggie Collier - 6.5 sacks, 39 solo tackles and 8 assists, and he id a good job stepping up.
Heart Award: S Donovan Newman - Signed as a backup S good at special teams, he had several shining moments including a pair picks when pressed into playing defense, and a sack. The guy playing in about 70 pass plays all year long, and came away with 3 major game changing plays. Good job Donovan.

Major players at the end of their contracts:

Patch players like Ray Lewis and Colin Duran and Fred Beasley

TE David LeFleur
CB Sam Madison


WR Tai Street

[Abe Sargent]

Off-Season



Score - Team Performance - 100, Franchise Value - 94, Profit/Loss - 53, Difficulty - 74 - Total 81

Hall of Fame Inductees - Bruce Smith, Emmitt Smith, Randall Cunningham.

We have 31 players under contract. Ray Lewis, despite good numbers last year, has entered his 11th year. He skills are not great, outside of run stopping. In other words, I will not franchise him. David LeFluer is in his 10th year, and two of his seasons have not been where I want my TEs to be, so he’s not getting franchises. I can’t afford to enfranchise Madison.

I need a new scout. My old one was very expensive and sucked at LBs. Our drafts were the result. I make an offer to the Titans Lead Scout. We had to offer him a bunch but we got him.

Wes Place - 5 yeas, 960k. Excellent - Kickers, LB, Young Talent, Secondary. Very Good - QB, O Line. Good - D Line, RB, WR.


We are the 3rd highest franchise in the league, 49ers and Skins above us. 4th best stadium, 5th best roster, 15th best support, 9th best economy.

We were the 15th most full stadium by percentage.

[Abe Sargent]

Uh oh. Our new scout sees our team a bit differently than our old one.

QB Jerome Allard, still good, but as much so. CB Hudson not as good, but still good. LB Rodney McWilliams not as much of a bust because really good at coverage. Not where I want him, but not as bad. Neil Huntley not as good as we thought he was. DE Reggie Collier is not as good as we thought he was. He dropped to 15/44 from 15/71. That’s a big drop.

We will likely have to make some changes to our roster based on our new scout’s views.

I have four extra picks in the draft to help us out. Let’s look at our roster, once we are into free agency.

I extend Jerome Allard’s contract by three years. His cap number jumps significantly, but will lower next year.

I extend Tony Brackens’s deal by two years. Perhaps he had a down year because we thought we had a better DE on the other side than we actually did. Also extended, Donovin Darius by two years. Olindo Mare extended by one. I release backup CB Matthew Thompson, whose value dropped a lot and was in the last year of a FA contract making about 2.2 mill as our main nickel back. Perhaps his value really was less - he had 1 pick in two seasons including 5 starts for injury and constant nickelbacking.

I extend Solomon Page’s contract by two years.

Players of importance entering final season - C John Wade, CB Samari Rolle, S Lethon Flowers, LB Dwayne Rudd, P Baldridge.

[Abe Sargent]

Positions I need:

Backup QB, RBx2, WR, OGx2, OT, DE, LB, CBx2, Sx2

Starting FB, OG, DE, DTx2, LB, TE

For next year? S, CB, LB, C



I make an offer for G Alvin Stokes. The irony is that I drafted Alvin in my first year, traded him after two years of starts, but my changing scout eval make him much better than what I gave up. Let’s see if I can bring him back home.

I also make offers to TE Bubba Franks and DE Shaun Ellis.

Week 1 - Sam Madison signed with Miami and Alvin Stokes resigns with us.

Week 2 -Bubba Franks and Shaun Ellis resign with their previous teams. Ikc, lost them both. I make an offer to Ray Lewis for a permanent gig. He is not as expensive as I would have thought. I also make an offer to DE Ebenezer Ekuban.

Week 4 - FB Fred Beasley signs with the Jets. Ray Lewis signs with us.

Week 6 - TE David Lefleur signs with Cincy. Ekuban signed with Dallas.

I trade C John Wade to the Vikings for their 4(1) pick. Wade was not interested is resigning with us, and now I can use the cleared salary to chase a starter.

I make an offer to C JC Poole.

Week 7 - JC Poole signs with us.

Week 18 - I find a good LB in the crop, he was a free agent last year, dropped after being a 3rd rounder as a rookie. I offer LB Bart Zambrano a 2 year deal.

I cut OT Melvin Gadsen and make an offer to OT Bob Turney for a 3 year deal as a backup with green future potential.

Week 19 - They both sign.

[Abe Sargent]

Draft Time - I get an intriguing offer from the Bucs. They offer both a solid DT - Rashod Swinger, and their 7th overall pick in round one for my QB. There are two studs in the draft of QB ness. Would one fall to 7? I doubt it, but I at least considered it before I said no.

What is still on the board at 32? Not much. Best players are a WR and CB. I take CB and the WR in picks that are virtually back to back. Then I just BAP the draft.



Draft Recap:

1 - CB Jack Huntley, Temple
2(2) - WR Herman Swinger, Rutgers
2(11) - DE Lee Wilkins, Appalachian State
2(32) - TE Al Hatcher, Virginia Tech
3(5) - RB Chris Evans, UCLA
3(32) - QB Marlon Strickland, SW Missouri State
4(1) - OG Orlando Wells, Georgia Tech
4(32) - DT Pat Bradley, Tennessee Tech
5 - FB Billy Joe Blackwell, Charleston Southern
6(5) - CB Don Fitzgerald, Texas Christian, listed at 100/100 in each return category.
6(32) - DT Chuck Small, USC
7 - OG Danny Miller, Tennessee

[Abe Sargent]

Rookies are signed. We have 45 players under contracts and no money. Time to start trimming some fat.:


I cut:

FB Terry Tripodi



I make offers to UFAs:

TE Stan Baez, Clemson
WR Daniel Shelton, Notre Dame
TE Shawn Lane, Wisconsin
LB Tom Jamieson, Ohio State
RB Wendell Reese, San Jose State
OT Broderick West, Ouachita
DE Devin Bates, Washington State
S Johnny Banks, Duke


I trade WR Derrick Alexander to the Raiders for their 6th pick.


Let’s go camping.

We sold 54,400 season tickets.

[Abe Sargent]

Overview of Rookies Drafted:

RB Chris Evans 42/70 - Not bad, but bars do not appear to back this.
WR Herman Swinger 57/66 - Pretty good
CB Jack Huntley - 43/66. A Samari Rolle replacement in the future?
DE Lee Wilkins - 19/61. Looks like he is higher than 19 at the moment.
OG Orlando Wells -26/54 - Solid
DT Pat Bradley - 16/48
TE Al Hatcher 31/44 -Not as good as I’d hoped
FB Billy Joe Blackwell 30/44. Finally got a FB from the draft.
DT Cheuck Smll 16/53 - Another adequate performer.
OG Danny Millner 16/50 - Yet more sufficiency.
CB Don Fitzgerald 24/31 - Grabbed for his return skills.

QB Marlon Strickland 23/55 - His future bars look downright amazing, not 55 overall. Very serious gap between the bars and the overall number. Here are his potentials

Screen - 68
Short - 67
Medium - 80
Long - 92
Deep - 49
3rd Down - 64
Accuracy - 53
Power -55
Scramble Freq - 58
Carrying - 62

That’s a pretty good QB.

CB Clarence Hudson, my supposed replacement for Sam Madison who was amazing, has busted in his second year severely. I will be starting Jack Huntley as a result. LB Rodney McWilliams busted a bit again.

I’m fine this year, but I thought I had found replacements for both Rolle and Madison on my roster, and now I find out that is not the case. Disappointing.

I trade Dwayne Rudd to the Bills for their 6th rounder this year. Rudd was in his final year and his stats kept decreasing. I have Ray Lewis as a starter in the middle or strong side. I also have Bart Zambrano as a really strong looking weak side LB, with great coverage skills. I sign LB Joey Albert, a one year guy who can start for me as well.

With the extra cap money cleared off, I resign Samari Rolle for three more years. I also extend S Lethon Flowers’s deal for a year into next year.

I sign UFA S Donovan Darien to a one year deal and now I have a full 52.

I trade RB Vince McDaniel to the Bengals for their 5th. I then sign RB Mark Vallejo to a one year deal at minsal for a 2nd year player

[Abe Sargent]

Our Starters:

QB Jerome Allard - With a fancy new contract and a great year behind him.
RB Fred Taylor - Our staff want to start Wendell Reese but I prefer Fred Taylor.
FB Billy Joe Blackwell - Green but he has potential
WR Marvin Graham - A stud among studs
WR Herman Swinger - A great adjunct to our team
TE Al Hatcher - A weakness - not as good as we had hoped
C JC Poole - He appears to be adequate, but not special.
OG Solomon Page - Solid
OG Alvin Stokes - Welcome home
OT LJ Shelton - Strong but not a stud
OT Mo Collins - Also string, but also not studly
P Blaine Baldridge - In the last year of his contract. More franchising coming?
K Olindo Mare - Two All Pro years with us and he’s a good player.
DE Tony Brackens -Was last year’s sack drop temporary or permanent?
DE Lee Wilkins - He looks like starting quality but has to grow into it.
DT Neal Castillo - Returning, but this position is all a mess
DT Mike Rodgers - Both have dropped a bit after our new scout took over.
LB Ray Lewis - Moved to SLB from MLB, but that suits his strong run stopping ness.
LB Joey Albert - As the most well rounded, a perfect match for the MLB position
LB Bart Zambrano - With such a strong inclination to coverage, a natural for WLB.
CB Samari Rolle - I screwed up. I’d have preferred to have kept Madison over Rolle, but since I thought I had a starter, then they left, so now I am stuck with the lesser of the two stars.
CB Jack Huntley - The rookie, 1(32) pick, please be a great corner. Please.
S Lethon Flowers - Strong
S Donovin Darius - Very strong

Fitzgerald is our returner, with Swinger and contributing as a KR as well.

[Abe Sargent]

2006 San Antonio Lone Stars Schedule:

1. Broncos
2. CHARGERS
3. Panthers
4. 49ERS
5. BYE
6. Patriots
7. SEAHAWKS
8. CHIEFS
9. COLTS
10. Chargers
11. Saints
12. RAIDERS
13. Seahawks
14. Raiders
15. BRONCOS
16. FALCONS
17. Chiefs


CAPS are home games.

[Abe Sargent]

We have the 6th overall QB, 10th best RB and 4th best reserves, 10th worst FB, 3rd worst TE, 3rd best WR and 7th bets reserves, 10th best C, 3rd best OG and 7th best backups, 5th best OT and 4th best reserves, Best Punter, 3rd best kicker, 11th best DE, 11th worst DT, 3rd best LB and reserves, 7th best CB and 4th best reserves, best S and 7th best reserves.


We go 2-2 in the preseason, but Billy Joe has broken his jaw and is out for 2-3 months. I toss him on IR and sign FB Brent Fitzpatrick as our new FB. We have now spent all of our $$.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We lose 17-23 to the Broncos. Tony Dunnigan and Monty Swift caught our two TDs on the day. Taylor had 47 yards on 12 carries, Allard was 24 of 35 for 287 and a 2:1 ratio, and Graham had 153 yards on 7 catches. No sacks, no picks. No pressure, therefore we lost.

Week 2 - The Chargers are no opposing as we win 45-20. Our scores - Al Hatcher, Monty Swift and Monty Swift caught TDs. Wendell Reese ran for a 33 yard score and a 4 yard score. Herman Swinger recovered a Fred Taylor fumble and ran it in for our 5th TD on the day. Jerome Allard was Game MVP with 18 of 31 for 211, 3:0 ratio. Taylor had 79 yards on 20 carries. Swift had 112 yards on 7 catches. Samari Rolle had a pick and half a sack. Collier recovered a fumble.

We have several injuries coming out of that game. Swinger will be out for a while and I deactivate him. Graham is questionable. I move Graham to 4th on the depth chart. Dunnigan and Swift will be starting next week. Our new TE caught a TD in his 2nd game, so that’s a good sign.

Week 3 - We lose 23-31 to Carolina. Allard hits Swift, Dunnigan and 3rd WR Daniel Shelton for scores. Taylor had 26 yards on 10 attempts. Allard had 19 of 40 for 305, and a 3:2 ratio. Swift had 106 yards on 6 catches. Flowers got a pick. Albert and Wilkins notched sacks. Rolle fumbled on a return but recovered it. Nickelback Hudson got a fumble recovery, but returner Fitzgerald fumbled it away once. CB Huntley is injured and will be out for a few weeks. Hudson will start.

We’re going to give RB Chris Evans a start and see what he can do.

Week 4 - We defeat the 49ers 34-10. Tony Dunnigan gets a TD from Allard. Wendell Reese gets two short yards runs for scores. Darius, Game MVP, gets a pick and returns it for a score. C Poole had 5 KRB. Brackens and Collier had sacks. Evans had 91 yards on 25 carries, Allard was 22 of 27, 205, 1:1.

We have several injuries. DE Collier will be out for a while. WR Daniel Shelton is out. OG Page is Questionable.

I make a major, major move. I trade Tony Brackens to the Bengals for their 2nd and 4th rounders next year. Brackens was simply not contributing in any meaningful way. Anyway, no what tI have some money, I can afford to put WR Swinger on IR and I sign UFA WR Nick Creemur to a one year minsal deal. I then sign UFA DE Irv Fulcher to fill up a roster spot.

Week 5 - BYE

[Abe Sargent]

Week 6 - We scrape by the Patriots 23-20. Our scores are Marvin Graham TD pass and Mike Rodgers with a 23 yards fumble return. Game MVP was Samari Rolle with a pick. Flowers had a sack. Evans had 69 yards on 20 carries. Allard was 18 of 33 for 1:0 and 216 yards. LB Neil Huntley will be out for a few weeks. Jack Huntley will be back, however. I’m going back to Taylor as my RB.

Week 7 - We defeat Seattle 20-13. Wendell Reese scored from 13 yards out and Monty Swift caught our other score on a 58 yard receiving play. DE Irv Fulcher was Game MVP with 2.5 sacks and a fumble recovery, he is starting in Bracken‘s spot. Rolle and Jack Huntley got picks. Covington and Bates added a sack each. Taylor had 50 yards on 17 carries, Allard was 19 of 30 for 286 and 1:0. LB Joey Albert is questionable. I deactivate him.

Week 8 - We crush the Chiefs 44-10. Monty Swift caught a TD. Allard ran in for another. Fred Taylor added two more on the ground, one of 45 yards. Samari Rolle had a 66 INT RET TD 66 yards and was Game MVP. Covington and Hudson added picks. Castillo had our lone sack of the day. Allard was 19 of 37 for 286 and 1:1. Taylor had 131 yards with 21 carries and Graham had 168 yards on the day. DE Collier will be back next week.

Week 9 - We lose to the Colts 17-13. Fred Taylor had a 73 yard run for a TD and that was our lone TD. He had 15 runs for 184 yards on the day. Allard had one of his Jeckyl and Hyde performances with 26 of 45 for 0:4. Rodgers had a sack and a half and King added a sack. OG Page is knocked to doubtful and therefore is pulled.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - The Chargers are always the patsies that sooth our wounds, and once again we defeat them 31-6. Fred Taylor had two runs for a score, Wendell Reese had a 74 yard scamper for a score, and Game MVP Samari Rolle had a 46 yards INT RET TD. Hudson recovered a fumble. Collier had the day’s lone sack. We had something for the first time in Lone Stars history.

Fred Taylor, 156 yards on 20 carries, 2 TDs
Wendell Reese, 100 yards on 8 carries, 1 TD

First time we’ve had two 100+ yard rushers in one day. 9 players registered KRB on the day.

Allard was 15 of 29 for 154 and a 0:1 ratio. LB Joey Albert will return next week.

Week 11 - 16-13 over the Saints. Our sole TD, a 29 pass to Monty Swift. Their sole TD, a pick that turned into a returned TD 68 yards later. Taylor was 62 on 16 carries. Allard had 28 of 47 for 317, 1:2, Swift had 133 yards on the day, Rolle got a pick and McWilliams and King each grabbed sacks. Poole had 4 KRB. Dunnigan recovered a fumble on special teams.

Week 12 - In a game to determine the lead in the AFC West, we lose 10-24. Fred taylor had our lone score on a 17 yard run. He had 17 yards on 10 carries. Allard was 17 of 32, 209, 0:0, Graham had 161 yards on 10 catches. Flowers and Rolle had picks. Ray Lewis and Collier had sacks. Fitzpatrick fumbled another ball on the return.

Week 13 - Looks like we are sliding. We lost 27-52 to Seattle. Nick Creekmur, and Tony Dunnigan caught TD passe.s Fred Taylor added a TD on the ground. Dunnigan had 102 yards on 6 catches. Allard was 19 of 33 for 235 and a 2:4 ratio. Taylor was 96 on 13. No picks, no sacks. Fumble recovery by Flowers.

Massive injuries - OG Alvin Stokes is doubtful with a broken hand. WR Marvin Graham is doubtful as well. Both are deactivated. Page will start despite being questionable with the injury to Stokes. CB and nickel back Clarence Hudson is questionable with a bruised sternum. We have some other minor injuries as well.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We defeat the Raiders 14-7. Allard, Game MVP, hit Swift and Dunnigan for scores. 19 of 28, 208, 2:0 ratio. Taylor was 79 on 17. Huntley got a pick and Albert had a pair of sacks. Flowers recovered a second fumble. DT Pat Bradley is out.

At 8-5, we are tied with the Raiders with the same record and we split the series. We still have a shot at the division title, and a wild card if that falls through.

Week 15 - 28-11 over Denver. Scores - Fred Taylor with a 29 yard run, Don Fitzgerald with a 50 yard punt return, Dunnigan and Swift with pass receptions. CB Jack Huntley was Game MVP with a pick and a fumble recovery. Darius had a pick. Collier had the game’s sole sack. 107 yards for Swift. 43 for Taylor on 21 carries. Allard was 21 of 29 for 228 and 2:1 ratio. The Broncos are normally our kryptonite, but we beat them this time. LB Joey Albert is doubtful. I deactivate him.

Oakland lost so we are now in 1st in the AFC West.


Week 16 - We take down the Falcons 24-3. Allard and Reese have TD runs. Dunnigan caught a TD pass. MVP was nickel back Clarence Hudson with 2 picks. LB Zambrano had a sack. Ray Lewis recovered a fumble. Allard was 18 of 32 for 242, 1:0 ratio. Taylor was 36 on 21. Dunnigan had 146 yards with 8 catches.

Oakland won too, so if we lose this game, and Oakland wins, we may lose the AFC West. If we win, we get the #2 spot in the AFC and a very helpful bye week with many niggling injuries.

Week 17 - We win 16-6. Fitzgerald had a 76 yard punt return. Add three Fgs. Lethon Flowers was Game MVP with a pick, our team‘s only turnover. We went sackless on the day again. Taylor 44 yards on 21 carrries. Allard 17 of 28, 151 yards, 0:0.

[Abe Sargent]

AFC Wild Card Weekend -

Indy 41-16 over Oakland
Seattle 41-10 over Pittsburgh

Our division had two wild cards.


AFC Divisional Round - We host the 9-7 Colts.

Players back - WR Marvin Graham, LB Joey Albert, O Alvin Stokes.



We win 29-7.

Monty Swift and Tony Dunnigan with TD catches. Mare with 5 Fgs. Jerome Allard Game MVP with 23 of 36, 317, 2:0. Taylor had 15 yards on 24 attempts. Graham had 103 yards on 3 catches. Darius had two picks, Hudson one. Ray Lewis notched 2 sacks, Collier 1.5, Castillo recovered a sack.

We gained no additional injuries.


Cleveland defeated Seattle 17-3.

[Abe Sargent]

2006 AFC Championships

11-5 San Antonio Lone Stars travel to Cleveland to face the

12-4 Cleveland Browns

In a battle of expansion teams. Can the Lone Stars three peat or is destiny on the side of the Browns finally getting to the big one.

We lose 24-31. Destiny is on the side of the Browns. I will root for them next week.

Going into the 4th quarter, the score was 31-0, I kid you not. Then we scored by hitting Dunnigan, hitting Swift, Wendell Reese rushing and a Mare FG.


Taylor had 9 yards on 5 carries. Allard was 21 for 42, 303, 2:0. Swift had 190 yards on 10 catches. LB Huntley had a sack. Graham reinjured himself early so Swift and Dunnigan were starting the whole time.


Cleveland beats SF 16-13 to win their first Super Bowl. I’m happy for them

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

All-Pro 1st team - CB Samari Rolle
All-Pro 2nd team - C JC Poole, S Lethon Flowers

Major players ending their contract”

Several patches.

P Baldridge
WR Tony Dunnigan
RB Wendell Reese

[Abe Sargent]

Stats:

Team - Our offenses dropped significantly. Our rushing defense got worse, but our passing defense remained steady with 4th fewest passing yards allowed, and 4th lowest rushing average allowed. Tied for 6th with TO average of +7. 2nd fewest sacks in the league. Allowed 3rd fewest, however.

Individual Stats:

QB Jerome Allard - 58.6% complete, 3731 yards, 20:17 ratio. 78.7 rating. 5th most passing yards in NFL. 12th best QB rating. Very average play this year.

WR - We had a lot of changes with Graham being out for 5 games and Herman swinger getting injured after two. Despite a lot of changes, here are our stats:

WR Monty Swift - 80 catches, 1071 yards, 9 Tds. 8th most receiving yards in NFL. Tied for 2nd most Tds.
WR Marvin Graham - 57 catches, 943 yards, 1 TD
WR Tony Dunnigan - 73 catches, 875 yards, 7 TD. Tied for 10th most receiving Tds.

RB Taylor - 1014 yards with 214 carries, 8 TD, 4.6 average. 9th in league in yards ad rushing Tds.
RB Wendell Reese had 7 Tds.

Among qualifiers, CB Don Fitzgerald was 10th in kick return average, had 2 PR Tds, and 5th in PR average.

K Mare was 26 of 30 and missed a PAT
P Baldridge once again led the league in punting average, and got 39 of 91 punts inside the 20

DE Collier led the team with 4 sacks.

CB Rolle led the team with 7 picks. A good year for him

C JC Poole led the team with 23 KRB. Poor run blocking year, good pass blocking one

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: WR Monty Swift. In a year in which Allard was anemic at times, Taylor could not reignite his previous year, Graham was injured and Swift was supposed to have been downgraded to 3rd WR he still put up good numbers at the WR position.
Defensive Player of the Year: CB Samari Rolle. Often in the shadow of Sam Madison or Donovin Darius, this was his year to step up big, and he did.
Special Teams Player of the Year: CB Don Fitzgerald. He had good return averages in both PR and KR, and had two TDs to his name. A good year.
Rookie of the Year: CB Jack Huntley. There are no obvious players, but CB Jack Huntley had a solid year with 3 picks starting at the CB position. That’s more picks than Darius.
Heart Award: WR Tony Dunnigan. He’s won this before. He dropped to 4th on our roster, and due to injuries, had 5 starts. However, with just five starts and deep on the chart, he still managed to have a record season for him, with a ton of yards and TDs. It’s be sad to see this UFA go, but he’ll be too pricey to keep. A real shame. He’ll ask too much money, no one will grab him, and then he’ll leave NFL, but I would have given him a long term home on my roster in the 3-4 spot. Ah well.

[Abe Sargent]

The Off Season

Score - Performance - 81, Value - 100, Profit Loss - 53, Difficulty - 72, Score - 79


The Hall of fame inducts James Hasty and Henry Thomas



We have 34 players under contract. I franchise tag Baldridge

Franchise Picture:

We are the 3rd valued franchise in the NFL behind the 49ers and the Giants. 6th stadium, 1st roster, 15th support, 8th best economy.

We had 91.3% capacity last year, 13th best in the league.

[Abe Sargent]

Hello Free Agency:

Crazy Thoughts - Allard had a down year last year and my scout had dropped our evaluation of him. What if we traded him and then used the high draft pick to find some nice long term players?

Let’s live dangerously. I trade Allard to the Dolphins for their 1 and 5 picks (6th in the round).

I trade Fred Taylor for a 6th to the Ravens. Clears up more salary.

I spend some of that cap room to extend Marvin Graham by 3 years. I can’t get Baldridge to sign a longer contract, so I sign him to a one year deal.

I extend Bart Zambrano’s contract by a year, Olindo Mare’s by two years, Lethon Flowers by two.

I have decisions to make with my Ots. Neither have had great stats and both are in their contract year. Options include signing one and trading the other, trading both, or signing both.

Mo Collins is in his 10th year and LJ Shelton in his 9th. This is not a bad time to leave them. Last year, LJ allowed fewer sacks, has slightly better bars, and is one year younger. I look to move Collins.

After some moves, I end up trading both to Arizona in a package deal and get a 1st and a 5th from the Cardinals.

It’s time to refresh my roster.

During the draft I have 3 1sts, 3 2nds, 1 3rd, 3 4ths, 3 5ths, 5 6ths and a 7th.

Total # of draft picks: 19

Moving the expensive OTs gave me 35 million under the cap which I can spend on a nice FA or two.

Needs:

Backup: Qbx2, RBx3, TE, WRx2, C, Otx2, LB, CB, Sx2

Starter: TE, OT (Perhaps OT, QB), DE, DT, LB

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s see what I can find out there in FA land.

I make an offer to DT Mitchell Lincoln. Let’s end this poking at the DT position and just sign a hoss.

I make an offer to TE Rickey Dudley and DE Phil Lee. We need to increase our sack count.

There are a ton of OT out there, so I intend to hold off my offers for now. Plus, there are three hot OT prospects in the draft, all worthy of the pick at 1/6.

Week 1 - Dudley signs with Pittsburgh

Week 9 - Both my new DT and DE sign with me this week.

I trade DT Neal Castillo to the Vikings for their 3(10) pick and Mike Rogers to the Chargers for their 6(3) pick. Both of them were in the last year of their contract at the position that demands a ton of money and weren‘t that great and cleared off about 3.2 million from my books.

Some spending money for, perhaps, one more major FA.

Week 18 - We have a choice to make. To make an offer or not to make an offer to Akili Smith, QB. He’s really talented. Marlon Strickland, on my roster, has tons of potential. However, he make take a few years to grow into the position. Akili is ready now.

Nah, I’ll stick with Strickland. He’s cheap.

[Abe Sargent]

I’ll hit up the draft now.

With the top pick, the Vikes take DE John Barrett. He was a super super stud and no way he was falling to 6. There are three Ots and I want one of them to fall to us.

Next pick, the top Qb goes. Now, all I need is one of the next three teams to not go Ot and I am all set.

3 - OT
4 - OT
5 - OT

Yep, they went 3,4,5. Sucks.

I look at the draft board and my roster carefully. I have another pick in four ticks of the board at 1/10.

The best player on the board is super super super stud S Dave Fling. He‘s rated 74 now, 82 later. He can come in and contribute right away and has potentials of 100, 88, 88, and 100. I don’t need a S now, but dang. However, Fling is no development project, he is an immediate starter. I could draft him and trade Flowers. Lethon’s entering his 14th year. I wouldn’t get much for him. I would be set forever at this potion though.

Here’s another option - LB Charles Thomas with potentials of 100, 74, 100, 60. Not bad.

OG Adam Benson, 86/87 potentials and 48/49 currents with 52 endurance. OG Dale Glover has higher potential but stats out lowers.

I draft LB Charles Thomas. This is my third 1st round LB taken since I’ve had the Lone Stars, and I hope this will be the first that is not a bust.

I then take the best DT in the draft at pick 1/10. Let’s fix these defensive problems!

I take a useful OT at 29, because I simply needed at least one here. That was my final need pick.

From there, it's is just BAP, BAP, and some more BAP


Draft Recap:

1/6 - LB Charles Thomas, Tennessee - Martin
1/10 - DT Levon Moss, Kent
1/29 - OT Ernest Samuelson, UNLV
2/5 - DE Derrick Fontaine, East Carolina
2/12 - S Brady Horn, Indiana
2/29 - C Mark Jeffers, Iowa State
3/10 - CB David Finch, North Carolina State
3/29 - QB Tony Clements, Virginia
4/10 - RB Harvey Nowlin, Truman State
4/12 - QB Artie Switzer, USC
4/29 - TE Herb Cranford, Boston College
5/6 - OT Henry Buckley, Notre Dame
5/12 - C Xavier Stone, Purdue
5/29 - WR Grady Givens, Florida
6/3 - RB Ross Ballard, St. Peter’s, NJ
6/5 - S Billy Joe Williams, Colorado State
6/7 - WR Chester Battle, Liberty
6/13 - RB Harvey Hopson, Pittsburgh
6/19 - LB Rod Kirnan, Indiana
6/29 - CB Cole Martinez, Alabama
7/29 - OT Adam Kelly, Kansas

[Abe Sargent]

I come out of the draft, after my rookies are signed, with 53 players on the roster. Incredible.

I trade C JC Poole to the Cowboys for their 5th rounder next year. My two rookie Cs are awesome, and if even one does not bust coming out of camp, then I’ll have a starter on my roster form the draft.


A look at my rookies post camp:

LB Charles Thomas - 46/84. Finally an LB that’s not a bust!
S Brady Horn - 43/76. A long term replacement for Flowers or Darius?
DT Levon Moss - 40/72. Not a bust either!
C Xavier Stone - 45/68. Starter quality easily.
DE Derrick Fontaine - 33/63 - Another starter quality player from the draft
WR Grady Givens - 34/56
CB David Finch - 29/56
C Mark Jeffers - 31/52
RB Ross Ballard - 40/50
WR Chester Battle - 29/48
TE Herb Cranford - 14/47
RB Harvey Hopson - 31/45
S Billy Joe Williams - 26/44
RB Harvey Nowlin - 34/42
CB Cole Martinez - 14/39
LB Rod Kirnan - 18/32
OT Henry Buckley 22/29 - Looks better though
OT Adam Kelley - 4/24
OT Ernest Samuelson - 3/21 - Mega Mega bust
QB Artie Switzer - 30/65. Very good for a backup
QB Tony Clements 24/64 - Bars are better than Switzer’s though.

[Abe Sargent]

Switzer’s Potentials vs. Clements vs. Marlon Strickland:

Screen - 58 - 85 - 56
Short - 78-85 - 70
Medium 58-48 - 87
Long 80-59 - 79
Deep 63-100 - 58
3rd Down 46-76 - 60
Accuracy 67-75 - 51
Power 44-74 - 54
Scramble Freq 34-39 - 55
Carrying 74-98 - 71

As you can see, Switzer is better at Medium and Long balls, and Clements is better at literally, everything else of the two. Add Strickland into the mix, and we have some interesting decisions to make.


The result?

Screen - Clements
Short - Clements by a bit
Medium - Strickland
Long - Switzer/Strickland
Deep - Clements
3rd Down = Clements
Accuracy - Clements
Power - Clements
Scram - Strickland - not important
Carrying - Clements - not important

Who comes out the best?

Clements does, obviously.

I have three good quality young QBs and I have to decide who is the face and future of this franchise. A poor choice here and we are screwed. I have Strickland under contract for two years and my rookies for three. One of these will be the one I commit too, and there should be no turning back barring significant issues.

Scout Overview - 31/64 Strickland, 30/65 Switzer, 24/64 Clements. Even the scouts say they are about even in potential.

Strickland is more developed, and that is a good thing. However, Clements has better future upside.

I sign OT Raymond Hopper as a one year patch. I release OT Ernest Samuelson. Might as well get it over with and cut the lad.

I trade DE Collier to the Jets for their 3rd rounder. He was going away next year, and I have a newly revamped D Line with four new players, and he was not in the cards. I sign TE Norbert Rivers to a one year deal.

I will start Clements and try to hit it out of the park.

We sold 55,400 season tickets

[Abe Sargent]

Roster Strength - QB - 2nd worst but 2nd best reserves, 15th best RB, 16th best FB, 7th worst TE, best starting Wrs 2nd best reserves, 14th best C and 5th best C reserve, 4th best starting G, 2nd worst starting OT, best P, 2nd best K, 13th best DE and best reserves, 5th best DT and 3rd best reserves, 9th best LB and 7th best reserves, best corners still with 2nd best reserves, 2nd best safeties with 2nd best reserves.

Areas of concern - OTx2 and TE.

Perhaps I’ll move a few more backups leaving at the end of the year. Let me take a look.

I trade DT Chuck Small to the Giants for their 6th rounder.

I sign DT Dan Myers to a one year backup role minsal deal.


Okay, the roster is as tweaked as I can manage to make it.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2007 San Antonio Lone Stars:

QB Tony Clements - We are going with the rookie with the potential, but it’s all a crap shoot. Next year I can look to move one of the big three and get a nice plum draft pick out of the deal.
RB Chris Evans - Looks like he could be a perfectly serviceable back for us. Nothing major, of course.
FB Billy Joe Blackwell - Needs growth
WR Marvin Graham - Stud of all studs
WR Herman Swinger - Maybe in his second year he can stay healthy for more than 2 games.
TE Herb Cranford - Rookie who’s quite green but could develop into something decent.
C Xavier Stone - The lower draft pick won out, but both are really good.
OG Soloman Page - From WVU!
OG Alvin Stokes - Hello old man
OT Raymond Hopper - Recent signee who might be something decent later, Green now.
OT Bob Turney - Another recent signee who needs time to grow into his role

Look at how many of my offensive players I drafted! 8 of 11 were drafted by me. All but Page, Hopper and Turney are mine.

K Olindo Mare - Great
P Blaine Baldridge - Great

DE Phil Lee - Recent Signee brought in as part of our D Line overhaul. Strong
DE Derrick Fontaine - Rookie green but with lots of potential. Could be between adequate and a stud later.
DT Mitchell Lincoln - A downright dominating player.
DT Levon Moss - Another rookie with some serious potential but very green right now.
LB Ray Lewis - Starting at the MLB spot
LB Charles Thomas - 6th overall pick will start at OLB, and looks like a future star.
LB Bart Zambrano - I like this natural WLB and he looks great.
CB Samari Rolle - Coming off a record year for him
CB Jack Huntley - Sophomore year arrives
S Donovin Darius - Stud had a down year last year. We hope for better stats this year.
S Lethon Flowers - Another great S.

Returners - Don Fitzgerald with some help from WR Herman Swinger and CB David Finch.

Let me show you Bart Zambrano’s potentials to show you how he is a good WLB to my mind.

Run Defense - 53 - Good but not great, his weakness, and thus on the side with the fewest runs.
Pass Rush - 73 - Rushes to the side with less protection for the passer. Perfect
Man-to-man - 94 - Can really spot the TE and others.
Zone - 93 - Good at zoning the short passes

Isn’t that just a great WLB? I mean, once developed, he can be better at pass coverage than most defensive backs, and a good pass rusher, while still decent at tackles.

[Abe Sargent]

Oh, we drafted just 4 of 11 on defense.

I honestly think this is our strongest roster ever, despite starting six rookies (LB Thomas, DE Fontaine, DT Moss, C Stone, QB Clements and TE Cranford).

It feels like a real team instead of a free agency built and patched team, if that makes sense.

We go 2-2 in the pre-season

We lose a backup S - Billy Joe for a month or two.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2007 San Antonio Lone Stars Schedule

1. SEAHAWKS
2. Broncos
3. EAGLES
4. Cowboys
5. BYE
6. COLTS
7. Chiefs
8. Raiders
9. Patriots
10. BRONCOS
11. GIANTS
12. Chargers
13. CHIEFS
14. CHARGERS
15. Seahawks
16. Redskins
17. RAIDERS


CAPS are home games

[Abe Sargent]

I’m bored with the slow pace of my previous season sims, so I quick sim the regular season.

We finish 11-5. At 12-4, Denver won the divisions.

We have some injuries, but nothing major.

We are playing against the equally 11-5 Pittsburgh Steelers in the WC game in Pittsburgh.

We lose 22-30.

Cincy crushed Indy.

Divisional Playoffs - Denver 27, Cincy 24; Miami 27, Pittsburgh 14

AFC Championship:

Miami 41 over Denver 22/

Super Bowl - New Orleans over Miami 27 to 21.

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:


Defensive Player of the Year - S Donovin Darius.
Offensive Rookie of the Year - QB Tony Clements
All-Pro 1st Team - DE Phil Lee, S Donovin Darius
All-Pro 2nd Team - S Lethon Flowers.


Hello Donovin!

[Abe Sargent]

Stats:


QB Tony Clements: 2976 yards, 18:18 ratio, 68.9 QB Rating

RB Chris Evans - 938 rushing yards, 5 Tds, 3.6 ypc

WR Marvin Graham - 959 yards, 6 Tds
WR Herman Swinger - 711 yards, 3 Tds
WR Monty Swift - 534 yards, 1 TD

PR/KR Don Fitzgerald had a PR TD, had 2nd highest PR average in league, highest KR average is league.

P Blaine Baldridge - Once again, best punting average in league. 28 of 70 inside 20
K Olindo Mare - 30 of 36.

DE Phil Lee led the league with 23.5 sacks. No one else on the team had more than 3.5 sacks.

S Donovin Darius and Lethon Flowers each led the league with 8 picks. CB Jack Huntley had six. Both Flowers and Darius returned two picks for scores.

OT Bob Turney and OG Soloman Page led the league with 25 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

7th worst rushing offense in league by yards, 4th worst passing offense by yards.

2nd best rushing defense in the league. By yards, 9th worst passing offense in leagues. However, by yards per passing play, we were 5th best in allowing the fewest yards per play.

+8 TO margin. We were 3rd in the league in sacks. We were tied for fifth fewest sacks allowed. With a rookie QB, that’s saying something.

We only fumbled the ball away 6 times in the entire season. Again, with a rookie QB starting, that’s a solid stat.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year - OG Solomon Page. This was a down year for our offense. No one was particularly good. No receiver or back had 1000+ yards, no blocker had 30+ KRB, no QB threw for over 3000+ yards. No one excelled. Therefore, I am giving this award to Page. He led the team in KRB, he led the team in % KRB out of KRO, and he only allowed 3 sacks all season long. There were 32 sacks allowed, and he accounted for just 10% of the sacks. This combination of good run blocking and good pass blocking makes him my choice for OPotY.
Defensive Player of the Year - DE Phil Lee. I know is it hard to discount a guy who won DPotY for the entire league for this award. However, we always have a great secondary year in and year out. Without Darius, Flowers till had 8 picks and Huntley had six. We would have still been in games. Without Phil Lee, however, we would have had, by far, the worst pass rushing game in the league. We had problems with rushing the passer in years past, and although a fresh D Line was brought in, some did not have stats that met our expectations, but Phil did. He single-handedly put the fear of Phil Lee into opposing quarterbacks.
Special Teams Player of the Year - CB Don Fitzgerald. It is hard to argue with success. Best KR average in the league despite not having a TD (which inflates averages). 2nd Best PR average in the league. PR TD to add to his numbers. He is a difference maker.
Rookie of the Year - QB Tony Clements - We had starters in a lot of areas, but none had the pressure Tony had. None were just amazing successes. Tony had moments of brilliance, and considering how green he is, this was a great year for him, and for us as a team in moving on from our previous QB.
Heart Award - S Lethon Flowers - Usually this award goes to a overachiever on t he bench who steps in and doe swell or that fourth string WR who catches way more TDs then they should have, etc. However, Flowers’s skills as a safety have atrophied over the last few years. I would not be surprised to see him retire next year. And despite swiftly dropping skills, he still has a great year, leading the team and league in picks, running two backs for scores, and leading the team in passes defensed. Flowers has done a great job this year stepping up and I am glad to have him!

[Abe Sargent]

Important people leaving us:

CB Don Fitzgerald
WR Monty Swift
P Blaine Baldridge?
OT Hopper



Since the game began, Donovin Darius is second in career picks at 48. Sam Madison is 4th at 42. Rolle and Flowers are at 32 and are in the top 20.

Olindo Mare is #2 in FGs kicked.

Tony Brackens is #9 in sacks with 84 and Phil Lee is #13 with 72.5.


Season records:

Phil Lee has the most sacks in a season at 23.5
Mare has the most FG in a season at 39 from 2004
Marvin Graham has the most receptions in a season also from 2004 with 111

[Abe Sargent]

The Off Season

Score: Team Performance - 66, Franchise Value - 80, Profit/Loss - 17, Difficulty - 71, Total Score - 56

That is an ugly profit/loss score.


Franchise Overview:

4th highest value
7th rated stadium, 2nd rated roster, 14th rated support, 6th rated economy

Capacity - 91.9% last year


We lost 77 million dollars last year.

Our costs only increase 7 million, but our revenues dropped massively. Perhaps a lack of home games in the off season did that.

I franchise Baldridge again.

That gives us 44 players on our roster plus Baldridge.

[Abe Sargent]

Free Agency - 2008:

I begin some roster changes:

DE Tom Burke is released
OG Solomon Page is extended for a year
TE Al Hatcher is released
We trade QB Marlon Strickland to the Chiefs for their 2/8 pick. Not a bad pickup for them. They keep their 1/8 and get a starting caliber QB.
I ink a 3 year deal with Blaine Baldridge
LB Rodney McWilliams is cut
I trade CB Clarence Hudson to the Titans for their 2/4 pick.


We have 40 players under contract and 13 draft picks. That’s 53 players total.

I have room for at least one good free agent. What are our holes?

TE. We have a massive need for a quality TE.

RB perhaps.

OT

DE Derrick Fontaine busted a bit. He’s still okay, but not as good as we thought he’d be.

Rolle’s CB replacement in a year or two perhaps



I make an offer to TE Ethan Hanson.

He signs in the first week with Chicago.

I make an offer to a FB to see if a great one would make a difference for us statistically.

He signs with Washington 3 weeks later/

Week 17 arrives. Monty Swift is still unsigned. We make no moves.

Areas of need:

Backup: Qb, TE, OG, DE, DT, LB, CB
Starter: RB perhaps, TE, FB perhaps, OT

[Abe Sargent]

The 2008 Amateur NFL Draft

We are drafting 24th this year. Our number comes up in the first. There is an outstanding drop dead good WR, but we don’t have any WR needs for starters.

There are good LB and QB options, but we don’t have needs for starters there either. I go for OT.

In the second, I look at grabbing BAP in positions of need.

After that, it’s simply fill in the dots.



Draft Recap:

1. OT AJ Berry, Central Florida
2/4. TE Norman Spann, McNeese State
2/8. FB Wesley Hamer, California
2/24. RB Russell McSherry, Michigan State
3/3. DE Donnell Powell, Toledo
3/21. QB Horace Harper, Oregon State
3/24. CB Leon Matijacic, Indiana (KR/PR)
4. LB Austin Deal, Iowa State
5/7. TE Courtney Woo, Rutgers
5/24. OG AJ Burke, Oregon State
6/24. DT Kerry Gaines, Minnesota - Deluth
6/27. FB Kendell Freeman, Kansas (in case Hamer is a bust)
7. WR JB Clemons, Indiana


We have 53 players under contract now

I extend LB Bart Zambrano’s contract by a year and S Donovin Darius’s by two.

Ray Lewis agrees to a salary cut. His abilities continue to decline.

I sign UFA FB Thurmon Hakim from Purdue to a one year deal prior to going to camp. I have a history of busting FB picks, so I want to insure I have at least one good one.

I sign UFA S Chad Marsh from Duquesne to a multi-year deal which I rarely do, but he looks good enough to be a backup for a while. I gave him a nice contract though, 250k signing bonus and increasing salaries well above min-sal. It is a respectable deal.

I finally sign RB UFA Ike Covington of Oklahoma State to a one year deal.


I trade DT Pat Bradley to the Redskins for their 4th next year. I sign UFA DT Roy Patel from Purdue to a one year deal.


We head to camp.

[Abe Sargent]

We sold 57,500 season tickets


A look at our drafted rookies:

TE Norman Spann, 46/73. Looks like he could be a solid starter for us.
OT AJ Berry, 29/71. Could be a really strong OT for us as well.
DT Kerry Gaines, 16/58 - Doesn’t look as good as our scouts think
DE Donnell Powell, 17/56 - Solid, which is what we need.
FB Wesley Hamer, 44/55 - Which FBs will be cut and which will stay?
TE Courtney Woo, 35/55. A good enough backup.
QB Horace Harper, 19/53. Yet another project.
CB Leon Matijacic, 32/50 - Drafted because he was both decent at defense and great at returning.
OG AJ Burke, 19/44 - Will never be more than an ok backup
FB Kendell Freeman, 25/41
RB Russell McSherry, 27/39 - Numbers look better than this, though
LB Austin Deal, 13/35
WR JB Clemons, 27/30


I release FB Billy Joe Blackwell and Thurman Hakim, RB Harvey Hopson, and Ike Covington

Artie Switzer busted a bit. Glad I didn’t start him last year. LB Charles Thomas busted a bit.

Roster Strength: 4th worst QB, 11th worst RB, 6th best FB, 20th best TE, best WR, 7th best C, best OG, 2nd worst OT, 2nd best P, 2nd best K, 10th best DE, best DT, 6th best LB, best corners, best safeties

We are 11.5 million under the cap.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2008 Lone Stars:

QB Tony Clements - Now a sophomore QB, hopefully can significantly progress during the year.
RB Chris Evans - Still not a great RB
FB Wesley Hamer - Could be one of the best FBs in the league after he develops.
TE Norman Spann - One of the best TEs we’ve had in our roster so far.
WR Marvin Graham - Very very good
WR Herman Swinger - Very good, but this is his third year. Let’s see him do something.
C Xavier Stone - Already almost fully developed by his second year.
OG Solomon Page - Looks pretty good
OG Alvin Stokes - Solid
OT AJ Berry - The 1st round rookie will be starting for us
OT Bob Turney - A poor starter.
P Blaine Baldrige - Amazingly solid punter
K Olindo Mare - I want him to be around for a while
DE Phil Lee - We hope he can continue to be a massive force
DE Derrick Fontaine - Although he busted a bit, he is still solid
DT Mitchell Lincoln -A house
DT Levon Moss - Very developed already.
LB Ray Lewis - Starting in his 14 year in the league. Abilities are diminishing.
LB Bart Zambrano - Our WLB of choice
LB Charles Thomas - Busted a bit but still really strong
CB Samari Rolle - Had just one pick last year. Is he getting too long in the tooth? Highest cap hit on the team
CB Jack Huntley - A good enough corner. No Sam Madison, but pretty strong.
S Donovin Darius - A rock in our secondary.
S Lethon Flowers - Is it time for him to get replaced or can he continue last year’s pace?

KR/PR - CB Leon Matijacic


2-2 in the preseason

DE Donnell Powell is placed on IR with a broken hand. We sign David Wade to a one year minsal deal to be our deep backup.

Herman Swinger is questionable and deactivated until healed.

[cubboyroy1826]

Is there anywhere to download FOF 2k1?

[Abe Sargent]

There was a thread about it in the FOF section.

[cubboyroy1826]

I tried that link and got an error?

[Abe Sargent]

It was probably taken down then.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - 34-28, us over Denver in OT as Tony Clements hits Marvin Graham for a TD. Stats: Marvin Graham, Game MVP, 174 yards, 2 TDs. Evans 13 rushes for 121 yards and caught a 2 yard conversion. Clements had 22 of 36, 284 yards, 4:2 ratio. DE Phil Lee got 2 sacks. C Xavier Stone had 5 KRB. Our new KR/PR fumbled twice. Ick. Blaine Baldridge kicked two FGS as Olindo Mare was injured. Other Tds were caught by backup WRs Battle and Givens.

Week 2 - We defeat the Raiders 23-3. Game MVP was Lethon Flowers, with 2 picks, and Darius also had a pick. Baldridge kicked 3 FGs including a 52 yarder. Both Lee and Wilkins had two sacks. Clements had 19 of 30 for 253 yards, 2:3 ratio. He hit Graham and Battle for TDs. Graham had 174 yards on 9 carries.

Samari Rolle is the doubtful. We deactivate him. Herman Swinger will be returning.

Week 3 - We lose to Indianapolis 25-6. DE Phil Lee had two sacks. There are no other noteworthy occurrences.

Week 4 - We defeat the Bears 24-16. Donovin Darius was Game MVP with a pick. CB Marsh joined whim with a pick. Clements looked good today. 15 of 26 for 204 and 3 TDs. He hit Graham twice and RB Evans once.

CB Cole Martinez is OUT VERY LONG TERM with a Compound Leg Fracture. I toss him on IR and go shopping. With Rolle still doubtful and another CB, Marsh, knocked down to questionable, I decide to get a good CB instead of a minor one.

We sign Leroy Bowlin for a one year deal.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We lose to KC 17-23 in OT, we were 35 seconds away from a tie. Marlon Strickland, the QB we traded them, started and beat us. Chris Evans had a 51 yard run for a TD. Ross Ballard had an 11 yard run. Evans had 110 yards on 15 carries. Clements went 32 of 47 for 316, 0:1 ratio. Swinger had 138 catches on 11 yards, and Graham added 111 yards on 9 grabs. Baldridge punted five times for an average over 50 yards each time. OG Page had 4 KRB.

RB McSherry is questionable. I deactivate him.

Week 6 - We lose 26-31. Game MVP is Marvin Graham with 215 yards and 3 TDs on 8 catches. Swinger adds 115 yards on 5 catches. Clements had 17 of 49 for 391 and a 3:1 ratio. Huntley had a pick. DT Mitchell Lincoln and LB Bart Zambrano and S Donovin Darius are questionable. All will start.

Week 7 - We defeat San Diego 38-17 to go to 4-3 on the season. RB Chris Evans was Game MVP with 19 rushes, 81 yards, and 2 Tds. Clements was 23 of 37 for 212 and a 3:1 ration, hitting Graham, Givens and Graham for scores. S Horn got a pick. Lee had our lone sack of the day. Stone and Turney each had 4 KRB.

Week 8 - We narrowly defeat the up-until-then undefeated Patriots 22-20. Olindo Mare is Game MVP with 5 FGs. Clements was 23 of 36 for 266 and 1:0. Graham had 157 yards on 9 catches. Givens had the lone catch for a TD. Darius and Horn got picks. We were held without a sack. 5-3 halfway through the season.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - We lose to Tampa 10-16. Our lone TD was Chris Evans catching one from Clements. Graham added 110 yards on 9 catches. Flowers and Horn had picks.

WR Herman Swinger is out with a dislocated elbow. This drops Herman’s ratings a bit.

Week 10 - BYE. Samari Rolle will be back next week. I put Swinger on IR. I sign Monty Swift for the rest of the season to be our #2 guy.

Week 11 - We lose to the now 8-2 KC Chiefs 10-17. We are now 5-5. FB Hamer got a TD run. Graham had 182 yards on 11 catches. LB Thomas and Samari Rolle got picks.

WR Chester Battle is OUT with a Sprained Back. I IR him and sign WR Kelly Carr to a one year deal. Solomon Page is doubtful and is deactivated for a few weeks.

We need to start winning soon, but we have the woeful Raiders coming up.

Week 12 - 37-6 over the Raiders. Marvin Graham was Game MVP - 180 yards on 11 catches and a 72 yard TD. Chris Evans had 117 yards on 15 carries and a TD while backup RB Ross added another TD on the ground. Swift had 110 yards on 8 catches. LB Thomas added a pair of sacks and Darius had a pick. Wells, starting in place of Page had 6 KRB. Chris Evans is questionable as is Derrick Fontaine. I deactivate CB Leroy Bowlin who is also questionable. Next up - the 2 win Chargers.

Week 13 - 20-14 over the Chargers. RB Ross Ballard had 28 carries for 111 yards. Newly signed WR Carr had a score. Rolle and Flowers had picks. C Stone added 6 KRB. OG Alvin Stokes is doubtful and is deactivated.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We edge Green Bay 17-14. Game MVP is Marvin Graham with an 80 yard receiving play for a TD, and 159 yards on 8 catches. Clements had one of his good days. 19 of 27 for 243 and 1:0. McSherry, starting in his first game since Evans is out, had 92 yards and a TD on 22 carries. Jack Huntley and Ray Lewis have been knocked to questionable, while my OGs have been upgraded to it. I will start Bowlin over Huntley.

At 8-5, we have the 4-9 Broncos next. We are currently 6th in the AFC in the final wild card spot.

Week 15 - We crush the Broncos 34-14. Game MVP was Marvin Graham with 189 yards on 11 catches and a TD. McSherry had 105 yards on 18 carries and two TD runs. DE Phil Lee recovered a fumble and returned it for a TD. Darius had a pick.

We now sit at 9-5.

My guess - Marvin Graham will be League Offensive MVP. Next week, we have the 10-4 Seahawks from the division. A critical game.

Week 16 - We manage to defeat the Seahawks 23-13. Tony Clements was Game MVP with 27 of 35 for 258, and 2:0. Graham caught 7 balls for 95 yards and two more scores. Darius added a pick and Lee had 1.5 sacks.

We are now in a 3-way tie at 10-5 at the top of the AFC West. If I lose, I may not even make the playoffs. On the other hand, if I win, I may not even win the division. Here we go.

Week 17 - We crush the four win Vikings 31-7. Game MVP Monty Swift with a 70 yard receiving TD, 144 yards on 6 catches. Graham and Carr also caught TDs. Clements was 19 of 26 for 266, 3:0. McSherry was 17 runs for 89 yards and a TD. Lee notched a pair of sacks, Finch grabbed a pick.

How did we rattle off 6 straight wins after going 5-5.

Record of Final 6 Opponents Combined: 4-12 Vikings, 4-12 Raiders, 5-11 Broncos, 5-11 Chargers, 11-5 Seahawks, 7-8-1 Packers. Total Record: 36-59-1.

We will be traveling to 12-4 Miami.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Weekend:

All wounded players are enlisted for this game.

We win 34-30.

Game MVP -Backup LB Austin Deal. Led the team in tackles and had a pick.

Backup CB Finch had a pick

Gaines had our lone sack.

McSherry had 23 carries for 116 yards and a TD

Clements was 10 of 23 for 173, 1:2. Switzer came in for a couple of series after Clements was knocked down. Switzer had two TDs on 6 passes. Swift had 5 catches for 113 yards, 2 Tds. Carr had the other score.

Page had 4 KRB

Marvin Graham is questionable and WILL start next week.

Baltimore crushed KC 45-14.

[Abe Sargent]

Divisional Weekend:

We travel to face the 12-4 Patriots. We were the team to first beat them when they were 6-0, and we crushed them a couple of years ago in the playoffs. Perhaps we match up well with them

Not this week. 24-17. We lose. Our TDs went to Monty Swift and Carr. Swift had 150 yards on the day. No pick, no sacks, and we tossed more picks than we tossed TDs. An easy formula for defeat.

Seattle beat Baltimore 17-10.


AFC Championship sees Seattle defeat New England 27-24.


2008 Super Bowl - Seattle loses to the Saints 45-31.

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

All-Pro 1st Team - WR Marvin Graham, C Xavier Stone, P Blaine Baldridge, DT Mitchell Lincoln

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s look at who they thought was league Offensive MVP:

QB Johnny Orellana - 3831 yards, 30-10 TD:Int ratio, 97.9 rating. A very good year, no question.

Now, let’s look at Marvin Graham:

WR Marvin Graham - 142 catches, 2114 yards, 16 TDs.

All three stats led the league. The catches and yards are, by far, record setting numbers.

Orellana had a good year, no question. But nothing there is record-setting. Nothing there is Marino-esque. It’s a very, very good year, and Orellana deserved the Top QB spot for All Pro, but Marvin Graham SET RECORDS in his position that obliterated previous records. Who should be League Offensive MVP?

[Abe Sargent]

Stats:


Team -

10th best rushing offense by yards, 12th by ypc. 3rd best passing offense by yards and average.

13th best rushing defense by yards, 2nd best passing defense by yards, best by yards per pass allowed.

16th best in sacks, -6 TO margin (ick!).

We rarely have such an anemic TO margin.


Individual -

RB Chris Evans - 12 starts, 144 rushes, 723 yards, 4 Tds, 5.0 ypc
RB Ross Ballard - 116 rushes for 472 and 3 TDs, 4.0 ypc
RB Russell McSherry - 4 starts, 109 rushes, 440, 4 Tds, 4 ypc

QB Tony Clements - 61.8 completion percentage, 4283 yards, 27:19 ratio, 86.4 QB Rating. Very good. 2nd most yards in league. 6th best QB Rating. 3rd highest # of Tds.

Our PR/KR was woefully poor.

P Baldridge was 2 full yards more than the next in terms of average punt, 35 of 79 in 20.

DE Phil Lee was 7th in the NFL with 14 sacks.
DT Mitchell Lincoln had 7.5 sacks, a good number for a DT.

S Darius had 6 picks, Flowers 4, S Horn 3,

C Xavier Stone had 36 KRB and also led the league in KRB.
OT Bob Turney had 25.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year - WR Marvin Graham. Duh.
Defensive Player of the Year - DT Mitchell Lincoln - He did well enough to get 1st team all pro, great sacks, solid tackle numbers, and was a force for us. I got what I wanted when I signed him!
Special Team Player of the Year - P Blaine Baldridge - He massively led the league in kicking average, got a good number if balls inside the 20, was the 1st team all-pro, and even kicked 5 FGs while subbing for an injured Mare.
Rookie of the Year - OT AJ Berry - While no rookie really flashed anything major, OT Berry had a solid year. 5 sacks allowed, and 17 KRB, which is a good year for such a green player.
Heart Award - WR Marvin Graham - This award always goes to overachieving players on the bench, overachieving UFAs, or even older stars playing well past their prime. However, Marvin Graham is a stud, but his performance this year was beyond expectations. No one drafts a WR at any position, not even 1/1 with the intent that they will get 142 catches and 2112 yards in just one season. Here’s to Graham!



LB Ray Lewis is currently 2nd in most tackles during this dynasty.

[Abe Sargent]

I still wish I had Santoro on my team, but that trade gave me the pick I used on Marvin Graham. Was it such a loss in retrospect?

[Abe Sargent]

The Final Gasp


End of Season:

Score: Performance: 67, Franchise Value - 78, Profit/Loss - 55, Difficulty 70 - Score - 67

Hall of Fame - Randal McDaniel, Shannon Sharpe and Vinny Testaverde have been Hall of Fame ized.

[Abe Sargent]

We are having a new round of expansion. Albuquerque Timber Dogs and Corpus Christi Cyberhawks.

Ray Lewis retired.

I will be jumping to a new expansion team this year. I would love to follow my team, but I feel that I have made a great franchise and I am ready to jump for another expansion team.





The San Antonio Lone Star Seasons:

2002 - 10-6 Wild Card
2003 - 10-6 Wild Card, Made it to Division Round
2004 - 13-3 Division Winner, Won Super Bowl
2005 - 13-3 Division Winner, Won Super Bowl
2006 - 11-5 Division Winner, Made it to AFC Championship
2007 - 11-5 Wild Card
2008 - 11-5 Wild Card, Made it to Division Round


That is a very realistically good dynasty. We never just absolutely dominated. Two Super Bowls, 3 division banners and 4 wild cards in seven years.

I hire a new nice cheap coach for the Lone Stars who reduce their costs but is pretty solid.

[Abe Sargent]

Say Hello to the:




Albuquerque Timber Dogs

What happens sometimes is teams get poor random choices assigned to them. So I am going to choose a new mascot, more appropriate to the Albuquerque environment.

We have narrowed the list to the possibilities:


Vipers
Dust Devils
Chubasco
Thunderbirds (currently the name of the Albuquerque Dleague NBA team)
Mustangs
Scorpions
Rail Runners (You’d have to know NM in order to get that one)
Cottonwoods
Prairie Dog
Pronghorns


There are several evocative New Mexico and Albuquerque names here.

Thunderbirds is considered too close to Phoenix, and is removed from contention. The Mustangs are too similar to the Broncos and Colts.

The Cottonwoods is too meh. It is removed.

I removed Dust Devils. Sun Devils are next door at ASU. Pronghorns don’t strike enough fear into people.

That leaves:


Vipers - I like snakes as mascots, they aren’t done enough. It doesn’t scream Albuquerque, however.
Chubasco - Which, in case you didn’t know, is a violent storm that rages in the area.
Scorpions - See Vipers. Perhaps a bit too deserty.
Prairie Dog - Can be found in the Sandia Mountains right next door to Albuquerque.
Rail Runners - The name of the public rail transit system, but I like it.

Chubasco, although good, may be a bit too region specific. It is pulled. Scorpions are too deserty.


That leaves Rail Runners, Prairie Dogs or Vipers.

I think all are suitable.

No schools have these mascot names, so we are good to go from that perspective. All that is left is to choose one.

This is not the time for Vipers. Both Prairie Dogs and Rail Runners are good local names, unused, and good for mascots. Prairie Dog would be the more traditional one, along the lines of numerous other animal mascots in the NFL.

Which one will it be? Rail Runner or Prairie Dog?

Rail Runner.


We are in the AFC East, fighting the Jets, Patriots, and so forth. That was a silly location.

[Abe Sargent]

Our head coach and lead scout were already hired. Let’s say hello:

Head Coach
Norbert Cole
4 year contract at high rate (5th highest paid coach in the league)

Excellent - RB, WR, Young Talent, Motivation, Discipline
Very Good - Offense PC, Def PC, Avoid Injury
Good - LB, DB
Fair - QB, Oline, Dline, K


Lead Scout
Kelly Shehee
4 years, one of the cheaper lead scouts in the league

Excellent - K
Very Good - RB, WR, Young Talent
Good - QB
Fair - DB, Dline
Poor - Oline


Our Head Coach isn’t bad, but our scout is downright disappointing.

[Abe Sargent]

Franchise Overview:


4th worst stadium, worst roster (duh), 4th worst support, tied for 9th best economy, 3rd lowest franchise value.

Our stadium:

Outdoor/Artificial Turf

Capacity - 84000


Time for the expansion draft.

Unlike last time, we are now competing against the Corpus Christi Cyberhawks for players.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2009 NFL Expansion Draft has begun:

We have the first pick.

I initially take a look to see if the new GM at San Antonio left us anything to play with, but he didn’t.

The top rated player is TE David LeFleur, in his 14th year.

This is largely a wrinkles convention, with a lot of players long in the tooth on the board.

Here are my options:

P Edward McConnell, one of the best young players on the board, could be a starting P for a while.
QB Tony Banks - You’d have him for two years at 5+ million each year, and not that great but something.
WR Kelvin Griffin - Just one year but a decent enough WR.
TE Rickey Garcia - One of the younger players with some potential on the board. Have him for 3 years.

I take a good player in Griffin. Perhaps he will want to resign. The Cyberhawks take TE David LeFleur.

I grab Edward McConnell now. There aren’t that many good players in the draft.

Corpus Christi takes LB Lance Madison

I grab S Russell Tuttle, of the Giants. Just one year left on his contract, but younger and has some potential for growth.

They take LB Barry Gardner. I grab TE Garcia and they take Tony Banks.

I grab old, idolized, RB Tim Biakabutaka.

They take an old washed up receiver, I take a washed up guard. They grab a washed up safety, OI take another washed up OG. They grab a 3rd LB.

After that, it’s pretty much BAP, as much as that even applies here.


Expansion Draft Recap:

1. WR Kelvin Griffin, Broncos
2. P Edward McConnell, Patriots
3. S Russell Tuttle, Giants
4. TE Ricky Garcia, Dolphins
5. RB Tim Biakabutaka, Saints
6. OG Doug Brzezinski, Eagles
7. OG Rich Tykski, Steelers
8. DT Edward Kaplan, Chicago
9. CB Devin Reed, Dolphins - Returner
10. LB Dexter Coakley, Cowboys
11. DE Mo Poston, Jaguars
12. LB Austin Deal, San Antonio
13. S Billy Joe Williams, San Antonio
14. WR Rex Hanks, Chargers
15. OT Randall Norris, Jets
16. C Mike Compton, Detroit
17. DT Gary Fike, Chargers
18. LB Stanley Clayton, Chargers
19. WR Wayne Chrebet, Jets
20. K Julio Tyler, Falcons
21. LB Derek Castle, Jaguars
22. FB Kendell Freeman, San Antonio
23. TE Raymond Kolodzik, Bills
24. S Donovan Norton, Titans
25. WR Kurt Money, Packers

We now have 25 players under contract

[Abe Sargent]

We are in the 1/2 slot.

There are some good QBs and a perfect, perfect DT.

I make an offer to:

QB Rex Alcott to be our starting man
K Jason Elam
WR Moe Paradis - A stud WR
OT Randy Long
OG Conrad Cloutier
LB Conrad O’Neal



Week 1 - OG Conrad Cloutier joins us

Week 2 - I made an offer to TE Cam Cleeland for one year, but he goes elsewhere. QB Rex Alcott will be our new QB.

Week 3 - I increase my offer for Paradis. I want a developed WR to catch from my developed QB.

Week 6 - I increase my offer for OT Long.

Week 9 - OT Randy Long joins us

Week 10 - Jason Elam signs with Dallas

Week 12 - WR Moe Paradis signs with us

Week 13 - LB Conrad O’Neal joins us

Week 18 - No FAs interest me. To the Draft!

What I want is that perfect DT and if Corpus Christi takes a QB for their franchise, we can have him!


Needs:

Starter: RB, C, OG, OT, K, DEx2, DTx2, LB, CBx2, S

Bunch o’ Backups

[Abe Sargent]

The 2009 NFL Amateur Draft

As expected, Corpus Christi took a QB with the top pick, leaving us Ross Meadows.

In the 2nd I take a look at my board. What do I need and who is still there?

There is a good LB candidate, a few solid receivers and a good DE. However, despite the fact that they are not regarded highly by other teams, there is an really strong starting quality C out there, and I am tempted by him.


Here are some players I like on the board:

DE Mel Kwan
C Hunter Van Horne
LB Luther Stuart
WR Todd Hare
S Michael Anderson is okay
C Eugene Tanner - Amazingly good
WR Spencer Hughey
LB Tommy Choate
LB Edwin Greer
OG Al Peterson (Adequate)
QB Glen Law
OG Clarence Van Koerving
DE Cornelius Pryor
LB Wesley Davis
LB Curtis Woods
LB Kelvin Mahoney
TE Justin Machado
C Joey Taylor
DT Ralph Laverne * Sleeper?
CB Bobby Molina
OT Lorenzo Boss

And those are the players ranked 5.0 or higher in potential that I like.

What I will do is select from this list. How long will it last? Probably just two rounds.



Later Rounds:

QB Nate Ameche is okay


Alright. I know that DT and RB are arguably the rarest positions in the game. It is not easy to get high quality players at these positions, which is why grabbing a excellent DT with the 1/2 pick is so awesome. I don’t have to wait on a developmental player like a QB, I can just plug and play.

I am looking at my 2/2 pick. There are lot of LB and a few C on the board. I’ll skip those. WR is not a position of need either.

Without other obvious options, I grab DE Mel Kwan.

I watch and wait until 3/2 and hope I have many of these players left.

C Tanner goes two picks later. A bunch of other players fall off the board.

3/2 is up.

Obvious choice. We are shoring up our D Line in this draft.

4/2 arrives. Any of our players left?

Just one. Backup QB Glen Law is still there.

Let’s see what else I can unearth. A nice C, amazing pass blocking but woeful run blocking. I’ll take it.










Draft Recap

1. DT Ross Meadows, Alabama (6.5/8.5 rated) (Potentials are 92, 100, 98, Current is 58 and 66)
2. DE Mel Kwan, UCLA (3.6/6.0 rated)
3. DT Ralph Laverne, Fresno State (2.4, 5.4 rated)
4. C Gerald Wright, VMI
5. RB Levon Rosenthal, Oregon State
6. QB Nate Ameche, New Mexico State (The local kid!)
7. LB Travis Tafoya, Indiana

[Abe Sargent]

We need to sign some peops

Rookies are all signed.

Time for some UFA lovin.


I make some FA offers first. We need to finish up our team.

RB Aaron Witt is solid and wants a 3 year deal. I agree.
OT Andrew Erickson to a 2 year deal. Not that good.
CB Keith Martinez, 2 year deal, not that good
WR Terrell Owens to a 3 year deal. Not as good as he used to be, obviously
LB Shawn Barber, 2 years.
DE Norbert Rivera, 1 year, not good at all but best DE in Free Agency right now
S Heath Pasich, 2 years, again, not that good at all

UFA:

CB Deon Reese, Lehigh, 100 in each return stat
QB Colin France, Louisville
RB Leon Mills, South Carolina
TE OJ White, Northern State
OG Bucky Elliot, Washington State
OT Corwin Becker, San Diego State
DE Matthew Morrison, UNLV
CB Butch Evans, DePauw
CB JT Robbins, Kansas State


Let’s go camping and hope my top rookies do not bustify.


We sold 48,400 season tickets.

[Abe Sargent]

DE Mel Kwan busted but my two DTs are still up. Disappointing.

The Corpus Christi QB they took 1/1 overall? Massive bust. Looks worse than Ryan Leaf.

Rookies we drafted:

DT Ross Meadows - 63/96
DT Ralph Loverne - 42/76
QB Nate Ameche - 24/56
RB Levon Rosenthal - 39/48
C Gerald Wright - 14/48
LB Travis Tafoya - 8/34
DE Mel Kwan - 8/20

If Meadows and Loverne are long term fixtures at the DT position, then this draft will have had more impact than mine at San Antonio, where, after 6 years, even our 1/1 QB was gone and after 5 we had just him left.

Any post-camp cuts I am interested in attacking?

I sign CB Erik Whalen for one year at 2 million. He’s adequate.
I also sign K Neil Ford to a 1 year deal


I release K Julio Tyler
I release CB JT Robbins
I release DT Edwin Kaplan - We Aren’t starting him and I don’t want to pay him 6 million.

I sign DT Cole Garrison to be a backup for a year

I release WR Kelvin Griffin, with a 6.5 million salary and one year left on his contract. Owens is better and cheaper.

I sign OT Alan Buckner for a year

I sign TE Cam Cleeland for a one year deal.

I cut OJ White

I sign QB Marlon Strickland. This is the guy we drafted, then traded to KC and he’s closer to developed now. He gives us a good backup QB for a season.

I cut QB Colin France

[Abe Sargent]

I have done what I can to tinker with and play with the initial roster and I think it is now done:


2009 Albuquerque Rail Runner Starters:

QB Rex Alcott - Instead of spending time developing a QB, we just bought one. We were lucky to get a quality QB on the FA market in the year we were building.

Let’s take a closer look at Alcott, shall we?

7th year vet. He was the 1/7 pick of the Giants 6 years ago. In that time, he has started 3 games. The Giants have been starting Brock Huard all of that time.

Rex has the following Current/Potential stats

Screen: 76/98
Short: 68/86
Medium: 57/73
Long: 46/57
Deep: 61/78
3rd Down: 65
Accuracy: 61/75
Power: 41/53
Scramble Freq: 78
Carrying: 90

He looks like a guy who’s great at the small stuff, and can do the long stuff when he has to, but doesn’t want to make it his bread and butter.

Not a bad QB at all, and already developed for us!

We are paying him 10 mill this year, 12 and 13 the next two years.

Totally worth it.

I hope

[Abe Sargent]

RB Aaron Witt - Looks like a good RB, the best I’ve had yet in this dynasty. He’s not great or anything. He’s not above 78 in any stat other than carrying. Only 59 breakaway and 53 3rd down. Not a great catcher. 75 and 78 on short yardage and ypc skills. He’s not awesome, but is his solid and we are paying 4+ million for him each of the next three years, so we are paying him. 7th year
FB Kendell Freeman - An import from San Antonio. I like him enough to not search for a a replacement immediately. 2nd year
TE Cameron Cleeland -We have him for one year, and he’s pretty saucy.
WR Moe Paradis - In order to have a real offense from the beginning, I bought it. I picked up a RB, WR, WR, TE and QB in free agency immediately. Moe is really strong and just 6 years in.
WR Terrell Owens - He is our #2 guy despite his age. Pretty cheap too.
C Gerard Wright - We are starting our 4th round rookie to see if he can develop quickly into a real player.
OG Conrad Cloutier - 5th year, and pretty solid.
OG Doug Brzezinski - Not that good.
OT Randy Long - Not great, but hopefully sufficient. 6th year
OT Alan Buckner - A one year hope
P Edward McConnell - I really like him, he’s not amazing or anything, but he’s strong. 2nd year
K Neil Ford - No better than okay but the best I could acquire this year
DE Mo Poston - With a busted rookie, we will be starting this overpriced career backup.
DE Norbert Rivera - A good run stopping DE, but lousy at getting to the QB
DT Ross Meadows - I love him love him love him. Defensive RotYear perhaps?
DT Ralph Loverne - Also really good too, although greener.
LB Conrad O’Neal - He is a studly LB in his 7th year that we can rely on for years to come
LB Shawn Barber - Meh
LB Dexter Coakley - More meh. Mere patches
CB Erik Whalen - One year patch, not even that good. Might be a solid nickel back for another team
CB Keith Martinez - Him too
S Russell Tuttle - He’s not as green as he was when we picked him up in the expansion draft.
S Billy Joe Williams - Superfluous at San Antonio and starting here due to a lack of good players

PR/KR = CB Deon Reese, Devin Reid


I am not a fan of the roster. There are some good pieces, especially at the DT and skill positions. Lbs corps, secondary, are woeful and the O Line is suspect, with an average K.

[Abe Sargent]

Our QB is deemed the 15 worst starting QB in the league of 34 teams. Reserves are 3rd best though. 4th best RB in the league (see, that’s how rare good RB’s are), 13th best FB, 5th best TE, 6th best WR corps, 4th worst C, 20th OG, 15th best OT, 7th best P, 12th worst K, 2nd worst DE, 7th best DT already, 8th best LB, 15th worst CB, 11th worst S




We are 22 million under the cap. Corpus Christi is 4 million under, and with their QB bust, I think we have a better roster. We are paying 8.2 million this year through 10.5 in five years for a studly DT at a premium position who could, literally, be the best at his position in the league. They paid less money actually, 8 million a year up to 9 and a half for 5 years for a guy who should not even be a UFA signee.


They have a great UFA S but other than that, we did better than them in the long run.

[Abe Sargent]

2009 Rail Runners Schedule

1. Patriots
2. JETS
3. Dolphins
4. Bears
5. BRONCOS
6. RAIDERS
7. Colts
8. Jets
9. BYE
10. COLTS
11. Bills
12. PATRIOTS
13. DOLPHINS
14. Titans
15. Vikings
16. PACKERS
17. BILLS

HOME games are in CAPS

That is a murderous opening schedule.


We go 2-2 in the preseason. Hope?

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We lose on the road, in our first game, to the division champ from last year. 16-21. Aaron Witt got us a TD on the ground and Moe Paradis caught on in the air. Witt had 101 yards on 17 carries. Rex Alcott was 17 of 27 for 159, and 1:0 ratio. Mike Compton had 4 KRB.

Week 2 - We mangle the Jets 38-6 the following week. That’s a score I can get used to. Our scores: Rex rushed for a score, Witt ran for three scores. Witt was Game MVP with 156 yards on 31 carries plus the 3 TDs. It’s awesome to finally have a real back. Alcott was 24 of 32 for 244, and a 1:0 ratio, a very respectable day. Paradis caught a TD as well. S Tuttle had 2 picks and LB O’Neal added a pick. OT Long had 4 KRB. Cleeland will be out for a few weeks with a broken finger but I’ll start him at questionable anyway.

Week 3 - We edge Miami 20-17 in OT. Wayne Chrebet caught a 61 yard ball from… Marlon Strickland? Witt added a 20 yard TD run. Witt was held to 76 yards on 22 carries. Strickland was 14 of 29 for 193 and a 1:0 ratio. Chrebet had 111 yards on the day. Coakley recovered a fumble for us. Obviously Alcott was injured a bit on the day, but it will not carry over to next week. Glad I got Strickland now.

Paradis and Coakley are now questionable too, but I’ll start everyone.

Week 4 - We get drilled by Chicago 35-10. Our lone TD came from Rex Alcott hitting Rex Hanks for a 70 yard TD on the opening drive of the game. Witt had 75 yards on 14 carries. Alcott had an okay day. Yuk.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We defeat the now 0-5 Broncos 17-10. Game MVP Eric Whalen with two picks. Terrell Owens got a 37 yard TD. Witt rushed another in from inside the 10. Witt had 87 yards on 17 carries. Alcott had a poor passing day with 12 of 36 for 129, 1:2 ratio.

OG Rich Tylski is out VERY LONG TERM with a Torn Rotator Cuff. I IR him. I sign OG Danny Millner for a year. DT Loverne is now questionable. CB Martinez is doubtful and placed on inactive list.

Week 6 - We lose to 5-1 Oakland 19-10. Terrell Owens catches a 35 yard TD for our only TD on the day. Alcott through up 3 picks. Evans and Reese each had picks. Evans was starting in Martinez’s place. Paradis is now doubtful. I deactivate him.

Week 7 - We are slammed by the Colts 33-3. I’ll skip the stats on this one.

Week 8 - We manage to right the ship, barely, 14-10 against the Jets. Witt rushed for a score and Rex Hanks, starting with Paradis down, caught another. Game MVP was LB Conrad O’Neal with a sack and 15 tackles. Cam Cleeland is out with Arthroscopic Knee Surgery. I throw him on IR and sign TE Byron Chamerlain.

Week 9 - BYE

My C has been knocked crazy so Mike Compton will start. Martinez is healed.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - We barely lose to the Colt 38-41. Our scores - Witt for 44 yard run, Owens 3 yard pass, Kurt Money 34 yard completion, Devin Reid 83 yard KO return, Dexter Coakley, 39 yard pick return. Coakly, S Williams and S Tuttle all had picks.

OT Long is questionable and deactivated. My P is doubtful but will play.

Week 11 - We lose to the Bills 10-24. Wayne Chrebet caught a 7 yard TD. Witt had 110 yards on the day. CB Martinez grabbed a pick.

Paradis will be back next week,

Week 12 - We are hammered by the Patriots 36-3. I’ll skip the stats

Week 13 - We defeat Miami 17-14. Witt is Game Mvp with 8 yard TD run, 115 yards on 19 carries. Owens caught a TD pass. Poston had 2.5 sacks. Martinez had another pick. DT horse Meadows has been knocked to doubtful and so is deactivated.

Week 14 - We lose to the Titans 20-45. Paradis had a 33 yard catch for a score. Witt had a 23 yard run. Brett Downs, backup RB rushed for another score. Reid had a pick. O’Neal had 18 tackles and a sack. OT Long is back next week.

Week 15 - We manage to break Minnesota 34-24. Backup S Pasich had an 86 yard INT return for a score. Chrebet caught a TD pass. S Billy Joe Williams got a 55 yard pick and return for a score and was Game MVP wit ha second pick. Witt added a 3 yard run. CB Evans also had a pick.

Week 16 - We lose to the Packers 14-17. Paradis caught a TD and Witt rushed for one. Paradis had 113 yards on 7 catches. S Tuttle had a pick

Week 17 - We lose 12-6 to Buffalo.




We finish the season 6-10. Corpus Christi finished 4-12, so there we are.

Analysis of season to follow season.


Super Bowl:

San Antonio vs. New York Giants. My old team, the Lone Stars, wins 34-11.

I built a dynasty there!

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

Defensive Player of the Year: LB Conrad O’Neal
All-Pro 1st Team: LB Conrad O’Neal


Stats (Team):

13th worst rushing offense by yards, 2nd worst passing offense by yards. Allowed 5th most rushing yards, 7th most passing yards.

In other words, we had one of the worst defenses in the league, and one of the worst offenses in the league, and still won 6 games. How?

+7 TO margin despite a Qb who spewed the ball all over the place. Allowed 5th fewest sacks in league.

[Abe Sargent]

Stats (Individual):

QB Rex Alstott - 2535 yards, 52.4%. 14:12 ratio, 68.5 QB Rating. Only fumbled 2x

What was this? I’ve had better stat lines from rookies! Just so you know, one one 16 game starter threw for fewer yards and that was Shaun freakin’ King! Ick. We’ll take a look at this more in depth in a bit.

RB Aaron Witt - 1265 yards, 12 Tds, 4.5 ypc - 2nd most rushing yards in league, 3rd most rushing Tds. 1 fumble

WR Rex Hanks - 676 yards, 4 starts, 2 Tds
WR Terrell Owens - 16 starts, 559 yards, 4 Tds
WR Moe Paradis - 12 starts, 498 yards, 5 Tds
WR Wayne Chrebet - 3 Tds on 253 yards

Returns:

Deon Reese - fumbled SEVEN times
Devin Reid - 2nd best KR average in league, KR TD, just 1 fumble

K Neil Ford - 16 of 27.
P McConnell - 37 of 77 in 20.

DE Mo Poston had 6.5 sacks. Rivera had 4.5, Barber and O’Neal 4 each.

LB Conrad O’Neal - 4 sacks, 150 solo tackles, 54 assists, 1 pick

S Russell Tuttle - 4 picks. S Williams 3.

OG Cloutier - 28 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, lets chat Qb .

El Stinko McPhearson needs to be discussed. Why was Rex Alstott such a failure?


He is a better QB, no question, then QB Tony Clements. By all rights, he SHOULD have had a good year.

Could it have been pressure? Doubtful. He was 5th lowest sacks in the league. He had a sufficient running game. He had two WRs that were good in Owens and Paradis.

He had all of the recipes for success. What was his failure?

Perhaps it was Rex Alstott himself.

[Abe Sargent]

In other news, we may have a bunch of retirements:



This was Mike Compton’s 17th year, Wayne Chrebet and Byron Chamberlain’s 15th, Rich Tylski, Terrell Owens, and Tim Biakabatuka;s 14th, Dexter Coakley’s 13, Cam Cleeland and Shawn Barber’s 12th, and Doug Brzezinski’s 11th.

That a lot of older players.

Let’s see what happens in a few months.


Records -

Most tackles in a season - LB Conrad O’Neal

[Abe Sargent]

San Antonio Season Awards:

1st Team - FB Wesley Hamer, WR Marvin Graham, DT Mitchell Lincoln,
2nd Team - P Blaine Baldridge


Year End Score -

Performance - 27
Value - 21
Profit - 28
Difficulty - 79

Total Score - 29

[Abe Sargent]

2010 Off Season

Hall of Fame - Marshal Faulk, LeRoy Butler

C Mike Compton retired. TE Byron Chamberlain retired. WR Terrell Owens retired. I wish Terrell had stayed, he was good for us.

I have 29 players under contract.

I try to chase Indy’s scout because I don’t like mine at all.

We hire, for a lot of money, Devin Witt:

Very Good - 6 Things
Good - D Line
Fair - Qb, WR

[Abe Sargent]

Our new scout’s view of things:

QB Rex is not as good
DT Meadows - Still good, but not as much so
DE Kwan is not as much of a bust as we first thought
DT loverne is still solid but not as much so
C Wright is better
LB Tofoya is much better
CB Butch Evans is a lot, lot better.

Luckily, he’ s a RFA.


No moves with franchise tags

I am 50 million under.

[Abe Sargent]

Free Agency begins and I get an intriguing offer from the Broncos. Rex Alcott for their 1/12 pick. Can I get a lot for this guy?

San Diego won’t do a trade for their 1/2. Neither will the teams through 1/9. We have pick 1/11.

Let’s do it. Alcott is sucking it up right now.

Denver also throws in a backup OT.

I get a trade offer for TE Raymond Kolozdik for a 5th rounder and I take it.


I make offers to:

K Olindo Mare
DE Phil Lee
CB Stephen Crownheart
LB Chris Glenn
CB Jack Huntley


I cut Tim Biakabatuka

Week 4 - I increase my offers for some players.

Week 5 - K Olindo Mare signs with us.

Week 6 - Jack Huntley signs with us. We have one corner down.

Week 7 - CB Stephen Crownheart signs with us. We have the other.

Week 8 - DE Phil Lee signs with us.

Week 9 - LB Chris Glenn signs with us.

Awesome. All targets in.

We are 33 mill under the caps.

We have 32 under contract.

I cut CB Keith Martinez which frees up several million.

Week 18 - I take a look into FA to see what is there.

Nope - lets go to the draft.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2010 NFL Amateur Draft

We pick 11 and 12 in the 1st round



There are some good players, I just hope two are still on the board when we pick.


Needs:

Starting: QB, TE, WR, OG, DE, LB maybe, Sx2
Backup: QB, RBx2, TE, WRx2, C, OGx2, OT, DT, CB, S


Corpus Christi drafts first again and takes a QB again.

We pick at 11.

Worthy 1st round players

Starting caliber RB, which is rare.
Great LB, which is not as much of a need
Strong WR
Massively awesome CB (91,100,100,100)
A good OG

One pick is easy.

I take LB Ed Feely from Vanderbilt , because he is really good. I’m BAPing this.

Need with OG Hanks? 67/66/65 stats. Or try for the homerun at corner?

I simply cannot, in good conscience, disagree with my scout who is very good at the secondary and very good with young talent who says this guy is a mega super star.

The 2nd round arrives. There is another homerun hitter on the board so I grab a TE. Could be absolutely amazing, could be a bust. Let’s swing for that fence. Has massive bars. 100 in lots of stuff.

3rd round, ding dong

The best player on the board, in my opinion, is an OT. Then I take my franchise QB, perhaps.


Draft Recap:

1/11 - LB Ed Feely, Vanderbilt
1/12 - CB Leon Morabito, Southern Methodist
2 - TE Ed Gardener, Washington
3 - OT OJ Sellers, Princeton
4 - QB Scott Johan, North Carolina State
5/11 - OG Jerome Frederick, Northeastern
5/16 - FB Danny Gerhardt, Kansas State
6 - S Reggie Jenkins, Bemidji State
7 - TE Roosevelt Battles, Georgia State

How many of the top ones will proves to be long term hits?

[Abe Sargent]

UFA signings:

FB Ryan Mickelson, Dartmouth
CB Ricky Rouen, Clemson - returner
C Kendell Myers, UNC
RB Broderick Garcia, Washington State
DT Cornell Clemons, Oklahoma State
LB Steven Sneed, South Carolina
QB Joel Mili, Furman
TE Mitch Kelly, Alabama
WR Alex Lynn, North Texas
DE Marco Carlson, Delaware State
OG Kenneth Kacyvenski, Richmond




Let’s go camping

[Abe Sargent]

Holy Moly.

Each of the top three picks looks as good today and he did when we drafted him. If these numbers hold, we could have, and I am not kidding when I say this, one of my best drafts of all time. Let’s take a look at my drafted players:

LB Ed Feely: Rated 45/83. Potentials - 84, 75, 94, 95, 80 endurance. Current stats in the 30s and 40s

CB Leon Morabito: Rated 56/90. Potentials - 88, 100, 100, 100 w/ 82 endurance

TE Ed Gardener: 62/93. 100, 100, 68, 83,100, 100, 82.

OT OJ Sellers: 22/53. Will start. 76, 43, 43

QB Scott Johann: 29/66. 94, 52, 77, 91, 56, 73, 46, 79 - 84, 88. Weakness, accuracy (that’s the 46).

OG Frederick: 17/46. Busted some. 44, 35, 66

FB Danny Gerhardt: 38/52. Will start. 100 potential run blocking. 40, 67, 79, 70, 94, 72, 82, 60 endurance

S Reggie Jenkins: 28/53. 46, 51 ,43, 66 w/ 18 endurance.

TE Roosevelt Battles: 30/44. Solid.


Starters: 6, plus the S who will start due to lack of quality at the position most likely, so 7. LB, CB, TE, OT, QB, FB and S.

Not a bad haul.

[Abe Sargent]

I head to the free agency marke tot see who is there as a patch for my team. Players entering their 4th year who were on 3 year rookie contracts are RFAs and only enter the market now, if they have not been retained by their team. You can also find some decent post-camp cuts at times, or a player who might have sneaked through FA may still be there.

Until I see him…while trying to find players to smooth my roster, I see a player let go by another team. A player in his 4th year, whose contract ran out and was too expensive too keep, but because he was an RFA he did not come available until now.


The salvation of my new franchise is at hand.



Who is it? Who will I be signing in a hot second?

[Abe Sargent]

QB Tony Clements.

I kid you not. The guy I replaced Jerome Allard with is available for me to sign, right now. He wanted too much, and the Lone Stars let him go.

As per the rules of my franchise, I can only sign him for one year, but franchising him seems like a strong option, especially if he does well.


I sign, Tony Clements.

I release QB Joel Mili and FB Kendell Freeman.

I sign WR Brock Gall to a one year deal to start for me as a WR. I do the same with S Duane Abrams

I offer DE Brady Smith a one year deal to be my backup. I cut DE Mo Poston.

I bring back OG Doug Brzezinski to be a backup OG.

I sign UFA WR Jeffrey Weiss and S Max Whitfield

I trade TE Ricky Garcia for a 5th rounder with Tampa. I cut LB Shawn Barber and LB Austin Deal and LB Stanley Clayton and S Donovon Norton.

I forgot to get a punter! I thought my guy was under contract! Ah well. I bring in a decent one, UFA P Herb Garcia for a year (he’s from Eastern Michigan U)

I sign RB Ray Ragan to be a solid backup to Aaron Witt.

I cut Heath Pasich and his 3 million contract. I sign UFA Paul Harris

[Abe Sargent]

A quick aside, I passed over Chris Glenn and selected a different LB in the rookie draft, and now he's a major play on my Albuquerque team, and the guy i picked was a bust and cut and gone. Crazy.

[Abe Sargent]

2010 Albuquerque Rail Runners:

QB Tony Clements - I was lucky to get him. I developed him, and now I may reap the rewards long term. All of his passing stats are in the 70s except accuracy at 60 and medium passes at 37 and 3rd down passing at 86. Ready for a good player?
RB Aaron Witt - I have a real RB.
FB Danny Gerhardt - The 5th round rookie looks good enough to start.
TE Ed Gardener - He looks better than just a starter, he looks amazing. I tried to include him a bit more in the offense this year.
WR Moe Paradis - He is a great WR, and now he has a strong QB throwing to him
WR Brock Gall - Pretty good for a patch
C Gerald Wright - Very developed, specializes in pass blocking.
OG Conrad Cloutier - He’s okay.
OG Kenneth Kacyvenski - The UFA will start as our drafted rookie busted. He is very green.
OT Randy Long - Solid
OT OJ Sellers - With some strong potential, the green rookie will start.
K Olindo Mare - I love him, but he’s getting older. Could retire any year now.
P Herb Garcia - You know, from a UFA from EMU grabbed post-camp, he’s not that bad.
DE Phil Lee - He did wonders for me at San Antonio, can he duplicate it for me here . 9 year veteran
DE Mel Kwan - Since this scout does not think Kwan was as much of a bust, we’ll try him out.
DT Ross Meadows - He’s still good.
DT Ralph Loverne - And he’s not bad himself.
LB Conrad O’Neal - Defensive Player of the Year moves to SLB. I do not expect a repeat performance, last year was a unique situation.
LB Chris Glenn - This guy is just a horse. Just downright awesome. 6 year vet.
LB Ed Feely - The rookie will start on the weak side.
CB Stephen Crownheart - With a good veteran corner, I hope to anchor my secondary.
CB Leon Morabito -I will be starting the rookie over Jack Huntley, which will piss off Huntley I imagine.
S Duane Abrams - A patch, but a decent one.
S Reggie Jenkins - The obvious hole in my defense.


PR/KR CB Rickey Rouen, Devin Reid, S Duane Abrams


I really like this roster. I have an amazing LB corps. Good offense, except for two green players on the O Line. Weak safeties, and a green pass rushing specialist at one DE spot, but upgraded everywhere and ready for action. I have a proven QB with a pair of good WRs, a good RB, a good TE, even a good FB. I love my kicker.

[Abe Sargent]

We’ll see what happens.


2010 Rail Runners Schedule

1. SEAHAWKS
2. Patriots
3. PANTHERS
4. DOLPHINS
5. RAVENS
6. Colts
7. Bills
8. 49ers
9. BYE
10. Cyberhawks
11. Steelers
12. BILLS
13. COLTS
14. Jets
15. Dolphins
16. PATRIOTS
17. JETS


HOME games are in CAPS


We are 24 million under the cap


We sold 45,200 tickets

[Abe Sargent]

Roster Strength: We are deemed to have the 9th best starting QB, 2nd best RB with 3rd best reserves, 11th best FB, 9th best TE, Best WR corps with 3rd best reserves, 8th best C, 13th worst OG, 8th worst OT, 9th worst P, 2nd best K, 16th best DE, 15th best DT, 2nd best LB with 5th best reserves, 6th best CB with best reserves, 14th best S



3-1 in the preseason

Our FB is knocked to questionable so I’ll start the other one and deactivate Gerhardt.

[flere-imsaho]

Aarrgghh!! Must know!!!

[Abe Sargent]

:)

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We open with a crushing victoire! 38-7 over the Seahawks. Game MVP was Tony Clements with 26 of 33 for 298 yards, 3:0 ratio. Now THAT”S a QB ladies and gentlemen. Witt is knocked out and Ragan gets 100 yards on 31 carries and a rushing TD. Gall, a patch, had 160 yards on 11 catches and 2 scores. Ed Gardener, in his opening game, had a TD catch. Glenn - 2 sacks. Loverne, 2.5 sacks. S Reggie Jenkins, the rookie, got a pick and returned it 651 yards for a score. Our other starting rookie D Back got a pick (CB Morabito). We recovered three fumbles (DT Meadows, Lynn, Clemons).

That is how I want to play football!

Paradis is deactivated after going to questionable. Witt is probable and will start next week. Next week‘s opponents, the Patriots, will be a true gauge of our progress.


Week 2 - 24-3. We didn’t lose. Game MVP was RB Aaron Witt with two rushing Tds, 107 yards on 27 carries. Clements was 16 of 24 for 216 and 1:1, hitting Kelly for a score. WR Lynn had 135 yard son 6 grabs. Morabito had another pick. Whitfield added a pick. Phil Lee announced his presence with 2 sacks. We got a fumble recovery on special teams too.

CB Stephen Crownheart is questionable and I deactivate him to start Jack Huntley for a few weeks.

S Duane Abrams is out VERY LONG TERM so I IR him. I sign patch S Mitchell Joyner for a year to replace him.

Week 3 - We smash Carolina 38-13. S Mitchell Joyner, in his first game, is MVP with a 32 yard pick for a TD to go with 9 tackles. Witt 22 for 115, 2 Tds. Clements - 19 of 28 for 186, 2:1. Gall and backup TE Battles caught TD passes. Jack Huntley got a pick in his first start plus a fumble recovery. C Wright had 6 KRB.

LB Ed Feely is doubtful with a broken foot and I deactivate him. No sense risking him. Gerhardt is back from injury.

Week 4 - We lose to 3-1 Miami 20-27. Brock Gall and Rex Hanks catch Tds. Witt adds 189 yards on 29 carries. Clements was 18 of 35 for 233, 2:0. Loverne had 1.5 sacks. C Wright added 5 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - Baltimore falls to us 16-10. Game MVP is Clements with a TD ass to TE Ed Gardener, 23 of 29 for 288 yards. Witt adds 102 yard son 27 carries. Rex Hanks had 108 yards with 7 catches. Huntley nabbed a second pick. WR Brock Gall is knocked to questionable. Paradis is back so I deactivate Gall. CB Crownheart is back but I move him to nickel back for a week while Huntley is hot.

Week 6 - We lose to the Colts 28-37. Gerhardt had a 5 yard run for a score as the FB. Witt broke an 85 yard td scamper. Clements hit Jeffrey Reiss for a 98 yard TD completion. Paradis caught a 2 point conversation. Witt had 174 yards on 15 carries. Clements - 18 of 32 for 289, 1:1. Reiss had 112 yards on 2 catches. Gerhardt is knocked to questionable with a new injury and again deactivated.

Week 7 - We lose to the Bills 14-21. Clements rushed for a score and hit Paradis for another. Witt had just 54 yards. Clements tossed 3 picks. Lee had 2.5 sacks. Crownheart had a pick. DT Loverne is questionable and I deactivate him. LB Steven Sneed is doubtful and also deactivated.

Week 8 - We lose 17-32 to 49ers. Witt has 109 yards on 16 carries. Rex Hanks had 110 yards on 6 catches. Paradis had 105 yards on 5 catches and a pair of scores. Morabito got a pick. LB Chris Glenn is doubtful with a broken hand.

Week 9 - BYE (We are 4-4).

WR Brock Gall is back. LB Ed Feely is back.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - We defeat the Cyberhawks 26-24. Witt is MVP with 2 Tds, 161 yards on 27 carries. Lee had 1.5 sacks. S Jenkins had a pick. C Wright had 6 KRB. Paradis goes back down to doubtful with a new injured and is again deactivated. FB Gerhardt is back starting again. DT Loverne is back. Witt was the NFL Offensive PotW.

Week 11 - We edge the previously 7-2 Steelers on the road 20-14. Witt is Game MVP with an 18 yard TD run, 243 yard on 25 carries. OUCH! Clements hit Rex Hanks for a 15 yard score. Witt is NFL Offensive PotW for two weeks in a row. We finish a tough 5 road game stretch 2-3. 4 of our 6 last games are at home.

Week 12 - The Bills fall before us 25-11. Game MVP - Rookie CB Leon Morabito with 2 picks. Backup S Whitfield had a third pick. TE Ed Gardener caught a 35 TD, Witt had an 11 yard TD run but just 48 yards on the day. Probably tired from last week. ‘s Ok because Clements had 301 yards, 26 of 33, with a 1:1 ratio. Wright had 4 KRB. DT Ralph Loverne is out with a sprained back. I IR him. I sign Spencer Syron for a year.

Week 13 - We defeat the 4 win Colts 31-21. Tony Clements is Game MVP. He hit Gall for a TD, Battles for a TD, and Rex Hanks for a score. Aaron Witt added a TD on the ground, 112 yards, 19 carries, LB Chris Glenn is back next week.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - 42-13 over the Jets. Witt is Game MVP with 4 rushing Tds, 149 yards, 27 carries. Clements hits Kelly and Hanks for scores. Whitefield, Morabito and Crownheart each grabbed picks. Wright added 4 KRB.

S Mitchell Joyner is doubtful and deactivate.d

Week 15 - 31-21 over the Dolphins. LB Derek Castle is Game Mvp with a sack and a pick. Witt had 93 yards and 2 rushing yards on 23 carries. Clements had a poor day. Lee and Kwan each had 3 sacks, and DT Meadows added 2 sacks. Massive pressure. O-Neal and Castle each had sacks on the day too. Wright had another 4 KRB. Syron recovered a fumble for a TD. We recovered 4 fumbles on the day, but gave up two - Crownheart, Morabito, Kwan got fumble recoveries.

TE Ed Gardener is dinged to questionable but I’ll start him.

Week 16 - With the Patriots fighting for a playoff spot, we win 28-14. Game MVP Leon Morabito again. 2 picks and 5 solo tackles. Clements fumbled twice - ick. He hit Gall and Lynn for score.s Rouen returned a kickoff 92 yards for a score. Witt had 82 yards and aTD on 14 carries. Clements was 12 of 23 for 194, 2:0. Gall had exactly 100 yards on 6 grabs. Kwan had a sack and ahalf. Rouen added a pick.

We must play this week for a bye. I deactivate a few of our injured players. Paradis is back.

Week 17 - We edge the Jets 16-14. Witt is the Game Mvp and the lone scorer. 117 yards on 22 runs. Clement shad an off day with 3 picks. Gall had 10 catches for 147 yards. S Whitfield had a pick.


We have a bye and should be #1 because we beat the 12-4 Steelers.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Round:

Lone Stars over Jets 20-13

Oakland over Seattle 16-10.



Division Round:

We host as the 9-7 Raiders come to town.

S Mitchell Joyner is probable and will start for us.


How will the Rail Runners handle their first playoff game?

Suckingly

14-17 loss

Clements hit Paradis and Gall for scores. Witt had 110 yard on 16 carries. Clements had a pick. Paradis had 103 yards. Witt fumbled the ball away. We finished the game -2 in TO and that’s how you lose in football.


Pittsburgh over the Lone Stars 16-10


Steelers crush Raiders 30-3.


2010 Super Bowl

Steelers vs. Saints

New Orleans - 31
Pittsburgh - 7

[Abe Sargent]

Awards - We were robbed!!!! I’ll show you

All-Pro 1st Team - RB Aaron Witt, C Gerald Wright
All Pro 2nd Team - CB Leon Morabito

Morabito was in the top four corners and did NOT win Defensive Rookie of the Year, instead a LB with 104 tackles, 1 sacks, and 1 pick did. Guy didn’t even get all pro honors.

When a rookie gets ALL PRO, they had better win Defensive Rookie of the Year.

ROBBED ROBBED ROBBED,

In other news, Morabito seems like the real official deal.

Lone Stars: DT Mitchell Lincoln (1st), CB Leroy Bowlin (1st). OG Alvin Stokes (2nd), DT Levon Moss (2nd), LB Bart Zambrano (2d), S Donovin Darius (2nd).

I drafted Moss and Stokes, and I picked up the others in various ways.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

We had the best rushing game in the league, period. 13th best passing game by yards. 12th best rushing defense. 11th worst passing defense by yards but 5th best in terms of yards per pass. I’ll take that. +12 TO margin. 3rd most sacks in the league. Tied for 7th fewest sacks allowed.




Very good.

Individual Stats:

QB Tony Clements - 3647 yards, 60% rate, 22:13 ratio, 87.1 QB Rating.

RB Aaron Witt - 331 rushes for 1855 yards, 18 rushing Tds, 5.6 ypc


WR Brock Gall, 13 starts, 69 grabs for 817 yards, 6 TD
WR Rex Hanks, 0 starts, 57 for 726, 4 TD
WR Alex Lynn, 13 starts, 42 for 579, 1 TD
TE Ed Gardener, 40 for 482, 3 TD
WR Moe Paradis, 6 starts, 21 for 264, 3 TD

Also caught Tds, backup TEs Kelly, Battles, 5th WR Reiss. Literally, every receiver other than a back caught a TD pass, and many caught more than their share (3rd string backup TE Battles caught two,, for example).


K Mare had 26 of 30, 46/46 PATS
P Garcia had 36 of 92 inside the 20 and one of the lowest punt averages in the league.

DE Phil Lee had 16 sacks. Awesome! Tied for 3rd most in league, but lost his season record to a guy with 25 sacks. DE Mel Kwan had 6.5 sacks, as did DT Matthews. LB O’Neal added 6.

CB Leon Morabito had 8 picks, tied for 3rd most in league. Backup safety Max Whitfield grabbed 4.

C Gerald Wright had an amazing 47 KRB. UFA rookie Kacyvinski was second on the team with 25.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: RB Aaron Witt. Witt set a record for the most rushing yards in a season this year and tied the one for most rushing TDs. Witt had an incredible season, and one defiantly worth rewarding with this trophy.
Defensive Player of the Year: DE Phil Lee. Lee was brought in as someone I knew could get the job done and he did not disappoint despite his age. Welcome aboard, Phil!
Special Teams Player of the Year: K Olindo Mare. He has a solid season, with a few games where he just pulled out everything and got us the win.
Rookie of the Year: CB Leon Morabito - No question that selecting him was the right move. He played better than Huntley and Crownheart and he was a rookie! I love him! Let’s just hope he can continue at this level for the rest of his career.
Heart Award: OG Kenneth Kacyvinski - This undrafted FA from Richmond was roped into starting for us when our drafted OG dropped a lot in camp. He would go on to notch 25 KRB, second most on the team. He also had the highest blocking percentage of the starting 5 o linemen. Good job!

[flere-imsaho]

Maybe they needed a year to gel before DOMINATING. :D

[Abe Sargent]

C'est possible, c'est possible...

[Abe Sargent]

Score - Performance - 83, Value - 50, Profit - 37, Difficulty -82, 56 total score.


Troy Aikman and Todd Lyght have been added to the Hall of Fame.

OG Doug Brzezenski retired along with DE Brady Smith.

28 players on our roster

34 million under cap

I franchise tag Tony Clements

[Abe Sargent]

Albuquerque Rail Runners:

Franchise Value - 8th lowest in league. 7th worst stadium. 14th best roster. 10th worst support. 21st worst economy (aka 14th best). We had 79% attendance last year. 11th worst.

This year we, ugh, pick 31st out of 34 teams.

This is not going to be pretty.

[Abe Sargent]

Free Agency

I get a trade offer from Corpus Christi. They offer us their 1st and TE David LeFleur for OT Randy Long. Randy is in the last year of his contract, but we can extend that for two years at about 7 million nper year. I take a look around. I would like the 19th pick overall.

The last two years Randy Long has allowed 2 sacks in one year and 7 last year. He has had 22 or 23 KRB. Last year he allowed 7 sacks and was 22 of 75 KRB with a low %. That’s not worth 7 million to me.

I agree with the trade.

I sign Tony Clements for three years at 15 million each year.

Free agency has a player I absolutely COVET:

P Steve Washington. He is awesome! I make him a mad offer. Baldridge was available too but he is older and not as good as Washington.

I extend K Mare’s contract by two years.

I extend Aaron Witt’s by two years but it raises it to 6 million each year.

I extend OG Cloutier by two years as well.

I trade DT Ralph Loverne to the Falcons for their 1/20 pick this year. He was in the final year of his deal.

LB Conrad O’Neal may not want to return, as I am unable to deal a multi year deal with him. Ah well.

I sign C Gerald Wright to a three year deal worth a ton of cash.

We are now 30 million under the cap.

Players of need: WR, OT, DE, DT, Sx2, P

[Abe Sargent]

I make offers to:

DE Christian Torres - This is the guy who had 25.5 sacks last year.

That’s pretty much it. The S aren’t good enough to commit too, same with DT and WR. But this guy? Him I am comfortable splashing the cash for.

Week 7 - P Steve Washington lands with us.

Week 8 - Christian Torres agrees to our offer as well.

Excellent!


I make an offer to bring OT Mark Stevenosn to our team for three years on the cheap and a nice backup.

Week 9 - He signs.

Week 18 - I look around to see what’s up. Nothing sparks my interest.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2011 NFL Amateur Draft



Who do I want?

Well, there are two good ones in my needs, so my first two selections in the 1st are easy. I grab a S and OT.

At the end of the round, I just look for a good BAP. There is a good WR on the board, so I grab him and move on.


From there on, it’s largely BAP.





Draft Recap:

1/19 - S Eric Carlson, Vanderbilt
1/20 - OT Tyrone Sutter, Missouri
1/31 - WR Donald Wagner, Kent
2 - S Nicky Peterson, West Virginia
3 - DT Roosevelt Wilber, Wisconsin (Sleeper?)
4 - LB Buddy Greene, Louisiana State
5/27 - DT Xavier Dawson, Indiana
5/31 - WR Brian Fackleman, Tennessee - Returner
6 - S Junior Burke, Mississippi State
7 - WR Matthew Webster, NC State


After signing my rookies I have 42 players under contract.

Needs post draft:

RBx2 at least, WR, C, OG, DT, CB,

I sign UFA:

RB Larry Lee, Arizona State
RB Kurt Hardy, Virginia
CB Butch Bassett, Northwestern
C Troy Thornton, Florida
WR Rickey Woodard, Texas
DE Tyrell Piniella, Iowa
DT Melvin Morrison, Texas Christian
OG Chad Glynn, South Carolina
RB Bill Morris, Kansas State
CB Martin Scales, Louisville
OT Richie Theophilakos, Georgia
LB Jumbo Romaine, Kansas

I trade DE Mel Kwan to the Saints for their 4th rounder next year.
I cut CB Devin Reid and OT Jeff Covington


I hit up camp.

[Abe Sargent]

Swaggs will be happy with the WVU guy getting [picked

[Abe Sargent]

OT Sutter is a bust. Ack!

My other draftees look good though.

We sold 43,300 ticks



Here are my drafted rookies, in order of quality:

S Eric Carlson - 49/82
WR Donald Wagner - 64/79
DT Roosevelt Wilbur - 34/79
DT Xavier Dawson - 24/76
S Nicky Peterson - 40/70
S Junior Burke - 38/68
WR Matthew Webster - 38/61
WR Brian Fackleman - 39/49
LB Buddy Greene - 28/48
OT Tyrone Sutter - 16/38

[Abe Sargent]

The 2011 Albuquerque Rail Runners

QB Tony Clements - Yup, he’s back and has an expensive 3 year deal. Let’s hope he doesn’t regress.
RB Aaron Witt - No concerns here
FB Danny Gerhardt - Our only FB, so I hope we don’t have injury problems like we did last year.
TE Ed Gardener - I have high hopes for Eddie.
WR Moe Paradis - He has yet to have a dominating season due to injuries. I want to see excellence from him. Soon.
WR Donald Wagner - Perhaps this guy can be the dominant receiving force I want Paradis to be.
C Gerald Wright - With a fresh three year contract, this guy has become the rock of my O Line
OG Conrad Cloutier - Just so-so, but we have problems filling the other spot, so I keep him around
OG Kenneth Kacyvinski - He did very well last year stat-wise, but his skills don’t seem to be up to the task.
OT OJ Sellers - A draftee from two years ago in the 3rd round is starting for us.
OT Mark Stevenson - Another draftee from the 6th round of the same year, will also be starting for us.
P Steve Washington - Just, simply, amazing
K Olindo Mare - Obviously a great guy
DE Phil Lee - Older, but produces.
DE Christian Torres - Can he give us half of what he did last year?
DT Ross Meadows - I like him.
DT Roosevelt Wilbur - 3rd round rookie but looks good, a run stopper.
LB Conrad O’Neal - Yup, he’s solid, but probably his last year on the team
LB Chris Glenn - Just an absolute house
LB Ed Feely - Stats have dropped some. Now he looks like a 2nd or 3rd round LB who will start, but not amaze.
CB Leon Morabito - Oh yes, he is here.
CB Stephen Crownheart - He will continue to edge out Jack Huntley until something happens.
S Eric Carlson - 1st round selection who looks very good.
S Nicky Peterson - 2nd rounder who also looks decent enough.

KR/PR - WR Brian Fackleman

[Abe Sargent]

Weaknesses - OG and OT are our weaknesses this year.

7th best QB in the league. 2nd best RB and 2nd best reserves. 5th best FB. 2nd best TE and 9th best reserves. Best WR, 2nd best WR reserves. 9th best C. 10th worst OG but best reserves, 10th worst OT. Best P. 2nd best K. 4th best DE, 10th best reserves. 4th best DT, 2nd best reserves. 2nd best LB corps and best reserves. 4th best CB tandem and 2nd best reserves. 15th best S, 2nd best reserves.


We go 3-1 in the preseason

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We defeat the Eagles 16-9. Game Mvp was LB Chris Glenn with 2 sacks and 10 tackles. Rookie 3rd WR Webster caught a TD pass in his debut. S Nicky Peterson had a pick in his first game as a professional. Witt was held to 44 yards rushing. Clements was 22 for 34 for 219, 1:0 ratio. WR Paradis and OG Kacyvinski are knocked to questionable. Paradis will be deactivated.

Week 2 - We win in a good game over the Giants 36-28. Aaron Witt was Game MVP with 208 yards and 29 carries with a rushing TD. Clements got banged up in the 3rd quarter. Up until then, he was 15/27 for 162, 2:0, but Johann came in and threw a pick while hitting just 5 of 16. Wagner and Webster both caught Tds. Morabito had two picks AND recovered a fumble. While Huntley, S Nicky Peterson and LB Ed Feely each had one. Lee had 2.5 sacks. Even Huntley had a sack. Wright added 4 KRB. DT Wilbur also recovered a fumble. Witt was NFL Offensive PotW.

Week 3 - 33-26 over the Colts. Witt was once again Game MVP and had a 4 yard and 76 yard TD run, 126 yards on 30 carries. Webster caught a TD pass from Clements, who was rather quiet today. LB O’Neal recovered a fumble and rushed 27 yards for a TD. We also got a safety when they were called for intentional grounding in the end zone. S Peterson had our lone pick on the day. Lee had 1.5 sacks, Huntley added another sack ,and Torres has yet to get a sack, although he had 0.5 one in this game. LB Glenn also recovered a fumble.

Paradis will be back next week.

Week 4 - We crush the now 0-4 Patriots 48-10. Clements was Game MVP with 23 of 39, 293, and 4:0 ratio. Witt added 106 yards on 25 carries. Wagner had his first 100 yard day with 7 catches for 117 yards. Webster had 7 catches as well, for 68 yards and two Tds. Paradis and Gardener added TD catches. Morabito and Huntley added picks to their totals for the season. I slide Huntley to the starting role and Crownheart back to nickel back. OT Mark Stevenson picked up a KR fumble by Woodard and rushed it in for a score. Fackleman had an 83 yard PR TD with 46 seconds left in the game, when we were just going to run out the clock.

We are the only undefeated team in the AFC after four weeks.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We lose to the Jets 17-21. There went our undefeated streak. Ed Gardener caught a TD pass and newly minted nickel back Stephen Crownheart had a pick and return for a score. Witt was held to 64 yards. Clements, while not tossing a pick, was held to 10 of 22 of 94 yards and 1:0. Ouch. Crownheart had two picks total. Torres had our lone sack on the day, he first full sack of the season. LB O’Neal got another fumble recovery.

Clements is banged and dropped to questionable. OG Cloutier is similarly dinged. Both will start next week.

Week 6 - We lose 6-15 with a horrible performance against the Dolphins. It was one of those nasty rough matches, and we left with a whole lot more injuries than we entered with.

I’ll skip the injury report and stats for this week, if you don‘t mind.

Week 7 - We get revenge for our thumping last week by just hammering the Steelers with a final score of 50-14. That’s revenge! Witt is Game MVP with a 46 and 54 yard TD runs, 174 yards on 20 touches. Clements had 2 picks and just one TD, before he was injured a bit more. He hit Paradis for our only aerial score. Huntley and Peterson added picks, and Huntley returned his for a score. Torres led the team in tackles and had 1.5 sacks. OG Cloutier had 4 KRB. Fackleman had a 102 KR TD. Scores defensively, special teams, on the ground, and in the air, plus 5 FGs. Nicely done!

DE Phil Lee is knocked to questionable for several weeks with a broken finger. I deactivate him. Huntley is questionable with a concussion and I deactivate him as well, starting Crownheart in his place.

Week 8 - We defeat New England again 36-10. Witt was Game MVP with 10 and 5 yard TD runs, 106 yards on 21 scampers. Clements was 19 of 30 for 206 and 2:2. He hit Gardener and Webster. Crownheart and backup Burke caught picks. Ed Feely recovered a fumble.

Clements is still nursing an injured elbow but he is probable these days.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - We defeat the Jets 23-13 at our place. Rookie and 1st round draft pick Eric Carlson was Game MVP with a pick returned for a score and 2nd on the team in tackles. His first professional pick. Backup Bassett also had a pick. Witt had 80 yards, Clements was 29 of 43 for 329 and 1:0, hitting Wagner for a score and 150 yards on 10 catches.

DE Marcon Carlson is out for the season. This UFA we really liked from last year has his scores adjusted downwards, and he had been starting in place of Phil Lee. I toss him on IR.

I cut TE David LeFleur. This frees up some cash, since he‘s not doing much anyway.

I sign DE Kurt Johnson and TE Christian Fields.

Huntley is back from injury and will start next week. Clements is no longer injured.

The remaining 7 games include just 2 home games. We will need to survive it in order to keep our good standing in the AFC.

Week 10 - We win on the road against the Browns 37-24. Clements, fresh from injury, is Game MVP with 4 TD passes to TE Roosevelt Battles, Webster, Paradis, and Wagner, 18 of 29 for 202 and no picks. Witt had just 54 yards. Huntley had a pick coming back from injury too.

Hello Bye week.

Week 11 - BYE

DE Phil Lee is back from injury.

We are currently up by 3 games in the division and have the best record in the AFC.

Week 12 - The Colts just, and I mean just, barely take us down at their place 21-20. Morabito had a pick returned for a score. Paradis caught our other TD. Witt had 88 yards. OG Cloutier had 4 KRB. Clements was injured to questionable again.

Week 13 - Then we lose at the Cardinals 16-31. Sucks, because both were losing teams, and we just dropped two on the road. This does not bode well for the rest of the season. Witt had a 50 yard scamper for our lone TD, and 175 yards on 25 carries. Clements was downright horrible. 13 of 40 for 142, 0;2. Ourch.

We are now just one game ahead of Buffalo, and we have them next week in their place.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We put up a stinker but manage to win 9-3. Ed Gardener was Game Mvp with 100 yards on 8 catches. Witt had 93 yards. Clements was 22 of 29 for 218, 0:1. Lee had a sack and a half plus a recovered fumble. Backup S Burke had a pick.

OG Cloutier tore his calf muscle and is our, plus his stats dropped a bit. I IR him. I sign OG Edgar Broxon. OG Jerome Frederick is also out but I don‘t have enough $ for both to get replaced so I deactivate him. LB Ed Feely is doubtful and I deactivate him for a few weeks.

Week 15 - We lose to Miami 17-38, which was one of our home games, so that sucks double. Clements hit Paradis for a score and Witt had one on the ground. Wagner had 137 yards on 6 catches. S Eric Carlson had a pick. My C is knocked to questionable but I’ll start him.

Week 16 - In a must win game on the road, we manage to just beat the Seahawks 34-32. The Seahawks weren‘t even in playoff contention. Backup CB Martin Scales is Game MVP with a 39 yard pick and return for a score. Huntley and Carlson had picks as well. Torres had 2 sacks. DT Wilber recovered 2 fumbles. Clements hit Paradis and Gardener for scores. Witt had 78 yards on 30 carries, very underwhelming. Paradis had 157 yards on 9 catches, Gardener 134 yards on 7 grabs.

Oh, get this. They scored with 18 second left to be up 32-31. We managed to get the ball downfield either with a special teams effort or passing offense, and Olindo Mare kicked a 40 yard GW FG with 1 second left.

S Nicky Peterson is out with a dislocated knee, which damaged him as well. Junior Burke will be starting in his place.

We have won the 2nd slot in the playoffs, so I rest a few players that are injured.

Week 17 - We host our final game against the Bills and win 28-10. Leon Morabito was Game MVP with 1 56 yard pick returned and another pick. S Jenkins had a pick too. Witt had 94 yards plus a score. Clements was 19 of 29, 230, 0:0. Olindo had 5 Fgs.

We finish the season 11-5.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Weekend:

Oakland defeats Jacksonville 28-10

Tennessee defeats Miami 24-17.



Division Round -

We host the 9-7 Raiders.

WR Woodard is doubtful and I deactivate him.

We CRUSH the Raiders 47-14.

Witt is game MVP with 3 TD runs including one of 89 yards. 153 yards on 23 carries.

Clements was 21 of 33 for 266 1:0 and hit Paradis for a score.

S Eric Carlson had 2 picks. Morabito added a pick.

OT OJ Sellers had 5 KRB.


LB Ed Felly will be back next game. TE Ed Gardener is knocked to questionable, but will be starting for us.


Cincinnati edged out Tennessee 18-15.

[Abe Sargent]

2011 AFC CHAMPIONSHIPS

13-3 Cincinnati Bengals

Host

11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners


We have not done well on the road this season. We were just 4-4 on the road.


And we lose here as well. 19-22.

Witt had our lone TD on the day plus 84 yards.

Clements was not hot, 24 of 40, 212, 0:1.

Mare was 4/5, and had he had that fifth one, we would have taken the game to overtime.

FB Gerhardt fumbled the ball away.




The Super Bowl

Bengals 38
Falcons 28

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

All-Pro 1st Team: TE Ed Gardener, K Olindo Mare
All-Pro 2nd Team: RB Aaron Witt, WR Donald Wagner, LB Chris Glenn, CB Leon Morabito

Once again I have a rookie make the All-Pro roster but NOT win Rookie consideration over someone who did not make All Pro Things from this season:

Morabito proved he was a smart draft choice despite the signing of two CBs in free agency. Gardener proved he has what it takes. Witt continues to do very well. Wagner was a bit of a surprise. Glenn being here is no surprise

[Abe Sargent]

Stats (Team)

6th best rushing offense by yards. 11th worst passing offense by yards.

We had THE best rushing defense in the league by yards, allowing just 1234 yards (1359 was #2). We allowed the 3rd fewest yards per carry. We had the #9 worst passing offense by yards, but middle of the road for yards per pass.

+16 TO margin

Tied for 9th fewest sacks allowed in the league. Pretty good for a questionable O Line. 16th worst (18th best) sack total in the league. Yuck. With our DEs, that is crazy.

[Abe Sargent]

Stat (Player)

QB Tony Clements - 3408 yards, 21:13 ratio, 84.4 rating, 60.2% completion. Not bad, but we need to increase output if we want to win the big games.

RB Aaron Witt - 1514 yards, 4.3 ypc, 11 rushing TDs. 2nd most rushing yards in league. Tied for 4th most rushing TDs. Someone got 20 , breaking Witt’s record of 18.

WR Donald Wagner, 94 catches, 1277 yards, 3 TDs. 2nd most receiving yards in league (Top four in league were Someone random, Wagner, Marvin Graham and Herman Swinger, three of those I drafted)
WR Moe Paradis, 81 grabs, 1030 yards, 6 Tds.
TE Ed Gardener, 55 for 597, 4 scores.
WR Matthew Webster, 42 for 371, 7 scores

Fackleman had a KR and PR TD. 5th highest PR average in league. 3rd highest KR. Fumbled EIGHT times.

Mare had 44 Fgs with a long of 57 yards. Washington was 6th in punting average. 37 of 80 inside 20.

Despite a slow start, Christian Torres ended the year with 10 sacks. Phil Lee, 12 starts, had 8.

LB Chris Glenn had 3 sacks, 98 solo tackles, 31 assists, and a fumble recovery + 8 pasdef, leading the team.

6 more picks by Morabito. Jack Huntley had 5. S Nicky Peterson had 4. Eric Carlson and CB Crownheart had 3 each.

DT Roosevelt Wilber led the league with 4 fumble recoveries.

OG Cloutier had 25 KRB. C Wright notched 24.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: TE Ed Gardener - I was very happy with his contributions from the TE position. No TE had more receiving yards than him this year. He did very well, and took over two games, plus he was Game MVP once. Good job!
Defensive Player of the Year: CB Leon Morabito - In a follow up to his previous year, he still was a force in the secondary, and thus he wins an award this year, like last, but a different one.
Special Teams Player of the year: K Olindo Mare - We a large number of FGs, and long range, he dominated in the air.
Rookie of the Year: WR Donald Wagner - He got All Pro, so there is something. He was 2nd in receiving yards, and that is another. We have a lot to look forward too with Wagner on our team.
Heart Award: WR Matthew Webster, this late 7th round draft pick led our team with 7 Tds - tied for 13th most receiving Tds in the league (tied with 11 other players, to be fair). He had to start when Paradis was down, and otherwise was a very serviceable 3rd option. I’m sad that I can only have him for one more year before his contract is up, and he demands too much money.

[Abe Sargent]

Score - Performance 81, Franchise Value 48, Profit - 28, Difficulty - 80 - Total Score - 51

Hall of Fame - Victor Green, Dawayne Washington


None of our players retired (but Samari Rolle did)

We have 34 players under contract.

The Rail Runners:

14th most valuable franchise in league
9th worst stadium
Best roster
10th lowest support
14th best economy

We lost a ton of $$ last year and need to work on that for this year.

We pick 31st again.

[Abe Sargent]

San Antonio offers us a starting caliber OG and their 3rd rounder for OJ Sellers, our OT in the last year of his contract. I agree.

I trade WR Paradis to the Patriots for their 3rd and 6th this year.

I trade Phil Lee to the Giants for their late 3rd rounder . He seems to be slipping, so let’s trade him while we can still get value for him.

I trade CB jack Huntley to the Seahawks for their 2/13 pick. We cannot afford to keep three top flight CBs anymore.

I extend by two the years we have newly acquired OG Orlando Wells under contract.

I trade OG Cloutier to the Colts for their 2/14 pick. He dropped in value after th injury and was not longer worth starting money.

I trade DE Marco Coleson to the Skins for their 7th rounder this year.

I trade QB Scott Johann to the Skins for their 3rd rounder


Starters I need: WR, OG maybe, OT, DE, LB

And I have plenty of money to go shopping

I submit offers to:

OT Claude Sawyer
OG Dale Glover


I don’t like the players at the other positions. I would make an offer to O’Neal, but this is his 10th year for us and….nah. Let’s do it.

I make an offer to bring back Conrad O’Neal

Week 1 - O’Neal signs with us, but Sawyer does not.

I go after OT Marcus Severson

Week 3 - Severson comes to us.

Week 5 - We get Glover to join us too.

We are 19 under the cap and I stop spending.

I get an intriguing offer at the end of free agency. We get an offer for the 1/10 pick for recent signee OG Glover. I would LOVE to do it, but it seems a bit too unlikely for my tastes, so I decline the trade.
Team Needs:

Starter: DE, WR

RBx3, Qbx2, TE, WR, C, OT, DEx2, DT, LBx2, CBx3, S

[Abe Sargent]

2012 NFL Amateur Draft


Our pick arrives.

I decide to take one of the starters I need.

The 2nd round arrives and it’s time to play some BAP.


Draft Recap:

1 - WR Jerome Baker, Clemson
2/13 - DE Andrew Kadanoff, Mississippi
2/14 - CB Tim Harris, St. Francis
2/31 - QB Wayne Webb, Michigan State
3/5 - OT Ellis Marshall, Humbold State
3/9 - LB Monty Joseph, Wake Forest
3/16 - RB Oliver Bailey, Wake Forest
3/30 - DT Matt Moore, Johnson C. Smith
3/31 - C Wally Covington, King’s Point
4/26 - WR Xavier Ornelas, Memphis - Returner
4/31 - TE Austin Donovon, Indiana
5 - DE Andre Harnett, Michigan
6/9 - RB Alonzo Aldridge, San Jose State
6/31 - LB Rob Neele, Mississippi
7/5 - QB Eric Fields, Clemson
7/31 - FB Walt Devine, Wisconsin



We now have 47 players under contract.

I trade OG Kacyvinski for the Bills’s 4th and 7th next year. He was in the last year of his contract, I need to free up some cap space, and he was not starting.

I sign OG Daniel Schwantz, UFA from Baylor, CB Mitchell Bradley (Miami, Florida), S Grant Hammond, VA, RB Lenny Hurd, Kansas, DE Bubba Overlease, Boston College

I extend Clements’s contract by a year, freeing up some money for this year.

Let’s go camping.

[Abe Sargent]

We sold 47,300 tickets

I sign UFA WR Robert Talley from Vanderbilt and UFA CB Casey Bartell from California.



Let’s look at my draftees:

WR Jerome Baker 62/87
LB Monty Joseph 34/74
C Wally Covington 40/70
QB Wayne Webb 39/66
DE Andre Kadanoff 24/64
WR Xavier Ornelas 41/62
OT Ellis Marshall 21/60
RB Oliver Bailey 42/59
CB Tim Harris 32/56
QB Eric Fields 28/55
RB Alonzo Aldridge 32/48
DT Matt Moore 14/46
LB Rob Neele 15/46
TE Austin Donovan 27/38
DE Andre Harnett 18/33
FB Walt Devine 24/28


As you can see, our draft has many bright spots and many low spots. Makes sense for a draft with 16 picks. DT Matt Moore busted some. I knew Webb was solid when I took him in the second, and know I have a good backup for four years. Baker looks hot. LB Joseph was a 3rd rounder and obviously looks good.

On the other hand, Matt Moore was a 3rd rounder too. UFA RB Lenny Hurd is better than either of the two RBs I drafted, so I obviously missed some talent in the draft. TE Austin Donovan in the 4th is a minor player.


We have the 4th best QB in the league, 9th best reserves. 6th best RB and best reserves. 3rd best FB. Best TE. 3rd best WR starters and reserves. 6th best C. 11th best OG. 13th best OT and 7th best reserves. Best P. 3rd best K. 16th best DE. Best DT and 3rd best reserves. Best LB, and best reserves. Best CB and 6th best reserves. 8th best S and 4th best reserves.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2012 Albuquerque Rail Runners

QB Tony Clements - Remember when, many years ago, I was wondering who to start when I traded Allard. I am glad I chose Clements.
RB Aaron Witt - Hit his 10th year in the league this year. I hope he can still run at the top level.
FB Danny Gerhardt - Still looks like a solid FB.
WR Donald Wagner - The sophomore fresh off an All Pro Year should be a good target
WR Jerome Baker - I really am enamored with the WR we got this year. Reminds me of Marvin Graham
TE Ed Gardener - Fresh off an All Pro year.
C Gerald Wright - Had a disappointed year last year, and the rookie has a better potential, so Wright needs to step it up in order to retain this position long term.
OG Orlando Wells - This 7 year veteran was accidentally acquired in a trade that got us a nice pick. We drafted him in the 4th round 6 years ago for San Antonio and he has been playing there ever since, until we acquired him in a trade, and now, once again, he is playing for me.
OG Dale Glover - One of our FA trio, this 6 year vet is solid, and hopefully will have a good year.
OT Marcus Severson - Another of the FA trio brought in, This 7 year vet is not the best OT ever, but he is starting caliber quality.
OT Mark Stevenson - Our own draftee did not do that well last year, but we will see if another year of growth can help.
P Steve Washington - He is hot
K Olindo Mare - 16 years means he’ll retire eventually. That’ll suck.
DE Christian Torres - We need him to revert to form and get lots of sacks instead of the 10 he had previously.
DE Andrew Kadanoff - The rookie will be starting for us.
DT Ross Matthews - I still love this guy
DT Roosevelt Wilbur - Run stopping specialist
LB Conrad O’Neal - The 3rd of the FA trio but we know him well. 10th year though.
LB Chris Glenn - Coming off a All Pro year.
LB Ed Feely - Just adequate.
CB Leon Morabito - Just absolutely amazing in every way
CB Stephen Crownheart - The other guy
S Eric Carlson - Let’s see if the sophomore can improve his game
S Nicky Peterson - Not as good as he was last year with the injury, but still, barely, better than Burke.

KR/PR is Xavier Ornelas


I am currently 2.6 million under the cap.


4 of our first 5 games are on the road, then our BYE week followed by two outta three on the road. However, by week 10, we will have 6 of our last 8 games at home. If we are in contention despite the large number of away games, then we can run away with it, I suspect.

[Abe Sargent]

Where are my QBs in the league?

Tony Clements is in his 6th year, has a Super Bowl victory the one year I was not his GM, and has been in the playoffs 5 out of 5 years as a starting QB. QB ratings in the mid 80s every year.

QB Jerome Allard, our 1/1 pick of the San Antonio franchise is in his 11th year. He is the QB of the Arizona Cardinals. He won two Super Bowls with our franchise, but his values dropped leading us to trade him. He has never gotten an award other than the one Super Bowl MVP he has from his time with us. They got him the right receiver, much like Marvin Graham, and that receiver had 1700 yards two years ago and 1300 last year.

QB Rex Alcott - Has been the starter of the Broncos the last two years where he continues to under perform. Since he was a FA signing who only played for me a year, you might not consider him one of my QBs.

QB Artie Switzer - This 6 year vet is currently a backup for 15 year vet Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. He has one year as a full start for the Colts in 2010, when he had a QB rating of 74.0.

QB Marlon Strickland - This 7 year vet is currently on Seattle’s roster. He has not played since seeing a couple of series for us in our inaugural year when Alcott was dinged. He has never started more than three games, but he had a QB Rating of 93.3 for those games for Kansas City.

QB Scott Johann - This 4 year man is currently employed by the Redskins. He may be their starter this year, although I do not know for sure.

[Abe Sargent]

We go 3-1 in the preseason

OG Dale Glover is doubtful and will be benched. Same with WR Matthew Webster.


Week 1 - We win in our first outing, 30-24 over New England. Clements was Game Mvp with a TD pass to rookie Xavier Ornelas, two to rookie Jerome Baker, and a fourth to backup FB Walt Devine in OT for the win. Witt was injured so RB Bailey stepped up and had 83 yards on 12 carries. Clements did have 2 picks, so beware. Torres had a pair of sacks and Kadanoff had one in his debut. Wright had 4 KRB.

FB Danny Gerhardt is doubtful and will be deactivated for the next game.


Week 2 - We lose to the Colts 20-23 in OT. OT taketh and it giveth away. Fackleman had a 92 yard KR return for a score on the first play of the game. Ornelas caught a TD . Witt had 123 yards on 21 carries. Clements was 23 of 40 for 290, 1:0. Baker had 139 yards on 10 catches. Witt, Clements and Fackleman all fumbled the ball.

Week 3 - We edge the Jets 30-27. Clements is Game MVP with TD passes to Gardener and Wagner. Witt is held to 63 yards. Wright had 4 KRB

Week 4 - We crush the Raiders 34-11. Game MVP is TE Ed Gardener, with a 76 yard and 35 yard scores, 174 yards on 7 catches. Wagner had 163 yards and a 93 yard score on 6 catches. Wright had another 4 KRB. S Peterson and Carlson each had picks.

WR Matthew Webster is back from his injury.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We defeat the Vikings 23-10. Witt had a TD run but Wagner is Game MVP with 85 yards and a score. All three Qbs played in this game. Both Clements and Webb were knocked out and 3rd string QB Eric Fields is the one who hit Wagner for the score. OT Severson had 4 KRB.

Week 6 - BYE

FB Gerhardt will be back next week. OG Glover will be back as well.

Week 7 - We crush Miami 41-24 at our place. Witt is game MVP with a 17 and 31 yard runs for scores, 183 yards on 23 carries. Clements hit Baker, Wagner and UFA WR Robert Talley for scores. Baker had 116 yards on 7 grabs. S Eric Carlson had a pair of picks. Morabito added a pick

Rookie Jerome Baker is knocked to doubtful and is benched.

Week 8 - We defeat the Lions 23-17. DE Torres is Game MVP with 3 sacks. LB O Neal added 3 sacks as well. Carlson and backup Bartell got picks. OT Severson had 4 KRB. Xavier Ornelas opened the game with a KR TD. Witt had a rushing TD, and Clements hit Webster for the 2 point conversion. Witt had 97 yards.

We have a one game lead over the Bills and are heading to them. This is the final game of our massive away game stretch of the schedule.

Week 9 - We win 44-3. CB Stepehn Crownheart is Game MVP with three picks, one returned for a score. Witt had three rushing TDs, 99 yards on 22 carries. Wagner had 117 yards on 6 catches plus a score. Talley got another score. Morabito had a pick as well. Clements fumbled twice, but both were recovere by Ots.

LB Ed Feely is knocked to questionable as is nickelback and rookie CB Tim Harris. I deactivate both for now.

Now we begin the easy part of our schedule with a 9-1 record. Blistering!

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - 31-27 over the Bears. Witt is Game MVP with 168 yards on 24 carries and a TD. Ornelas caught a pair of TD passes. Kadanoff and Torres each had 2 sacks. Wright had 4 KRB. OG Dale Glover is out for a couple of months with a pulled groin. I IR him. I hire OG Billy Boggs to finish out the year.


Week 11 - We crush the Dolphins 40-13 on the road. CB Morabito is Game MVP with a pick for a score. S Peterson also had a pick. Severson had 4 KRB. Witt had 140 yards and 2 Tds on 23 carries. Clements hit TE Ed Gardener for a score.

The game caused a lot of injuries, however. Clements is out and Webb will be starting for us. TE Gardener is questionable and he will start. Ed Feely is back.


Week 12 - We edge the Patriots 34-31. Webster catches a Webb pass 80 yards for a score, plus a 16 yarder for one later and a 2 point conversion as well. Witt had 92 yards. Webb was 18 of 34 for 250, 2:2. Wagner had 105 yards on 5 catches. Feely had a pick in his first game back and backup S Burke had one as well. Webb fumbled 2x. Ouch.

DT Roosevelt Wilbur is questionable so I deactivate him for a few games. CB Crownheart is also questionable, as is S Nicky Peterson. I deactivate Peterson and start Burke in his place.


Week 13 - We barely manage to defeat the 3 win Jets at our place 34-31. Mare kicked an OT GW FG for us. Witt was Game MVP with 2 short yardage TDs, 153 yards on 24 carries. Webb was 21 of 37 for 170 2:1. Low yardage but everything else good. Talley and Ornelas caught the scores. Burke had another pick and led the team in tackles. Severson had 4 KRB. LB Glenn and CB Crownheart had fumble recoveries.

WR Talley is now questionable. S Eric Carlson is now questionable as well.

Our team is getting hammered with injuries.

WR Jerome Baker is back and I bench Talley for him.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We edge Buffalo 20-17. Witt was our Game MVP with 163 yards on 24 carries plus a score. Webb had a subpar game, but hit Wagner for a score. DT Meadows had a sack and a half. Witt was also NFL Offensive Player of the Week.

Now CB Casey Bartell has been knocked to doubtful. Tim Harris is healed, so I swap them on the roster.

Week 15 - We defeat the Titans 17-3 at our place. Backup LB Rob Neele is game MVP with a pick returned for a score. FB Gerhardt caught our lone offensive TD. Morabito had a pick. Kadanoff had 2 sacks. Meadows had 2.5. Witt had 90 yards.

LB Ed Feely has been knocked to doubtful and is deactivated again. DT Wilber is good and back. S Nicky Peterson is felling hale and hearty and is back.

We are fighting 13-1 Denver for the #1 spot in the playoffs. Considering my QB issue, I cannot let up the pressure because I need every advantage we can get.

I expect to lose next week, away at the 9-5 Bengals with Webb as my QB.

Week 16 - We lose 17-21. Denver won so it looks like we are locked into the #2 spot. Ah well. S Burke had a pick for a score and Kadanoff recovered a fumble and rumbled it 74 yards back for a score. If we could have scored just one TD on offense, we would have won. Witt was held to 35 yards. Glenn and Torres also recovered fumbles.

Talley is back from injury.

Week 17 - We crush the Colts 31-17. Well, I think of it as a crush. Witt is Game MVP with 2 rushes for scores, 218 yards on 27 carries. Rar! Webb hit Wagner for a score. Glenn, Peterson, Burke and Carlson each had picks. Severson added 6 KRB. Witt was NFL Offensive Player of the Week.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card:

We have a bye

Cincy over KC 19-14.

Jacksonville over Settle 21-6.


Division Round.,

Clements is still doubtful so Webb, Webb will start.


We host the Jaguars.

14-2 Rail Runners vs. 11-5 Jaguars



We win 19-13.

Whew. I was worried.

Matthew Webster caught a pair of passes from Wayne Webb, the final one in OT for the win.

Witt had 93 yards on 20 carries.

Webb - 19 of 39, 223, 2:2.

Crownheart had a pick.

Hartnett had 2 sacks.

Denver won 38-10.

[Abe Sargent]

AFC Championship:


The 14-2 Albuquerque Rail Runners travel to Denver to face the

14-2 Denver Broncos


Clements is questionable. Play a questionable Clements or Webb. Either is rolling the dice.

I start Clements.


We manage to win 16-13.

DT and our first draft pick Ross Meadows was Game MVP. The player of our franchise took us the Super Bowl with 2.5 sacks and a team leading 8 tackles. Mare kicked the GW FG with 6 seconds left on the clock. Witt had 99 yards on 23 carries and a score. S Nicky Peterson with a pick.


Clements - 17 of 29, 213, 0:1.


Ed Feely is probable and will start in the Super Bowl

[Abe Sargent]

The 2012 Super Bowl

Featuring

The 14-2 Albuquerque Rail Runners, your AFC Champion

vs.

The 13-3 Dallas Cowboys, your NFC Champion


Someone on my team has a chance to imprint their name in Super Bowl lore forever. Aaron Witt? Tony Clements? One of my Wideouts? One of my Secondary? Maybe even Ed Gardener?

We win 49-21.

Scores:

Ed Gardener, 93 yard score
Jerome Baker, 25 yard score
Stephen Crownheart, 25 yard pick and score
Junior Burke, 31 yard pick and score
Donald Wagner, 52 yard score
Ed Gardener, 7 yard score
Wagner, 6 yard score

Game MVP Stephen Crownheart: 2 picks
Hartlett, Bradley, Peterson also had picks.


Witt had just 28 yards on 19 carries.

Clements, who SHOULD have been Super Bowl MVP:

23 of 32, 397, 5:0.

Come on now.

Wagner, Baker and Gardener each had 100 yard receiving days.

Good Game! Good Season!

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:

Super Bowl MVP - CB Stephen Crownheart
NFL MVP - RB Aaron Witt
NFL Offensive Player of the Year - RB Aaron Witt
All Pro 1st Team - RB Aaron Witt, TE Ed Gardener, OT Marcus Severson, DT Ross Meadows
All Pro 2nd Team - P Steve Washington, K Olindo Mare, CB Leon Morabito

Several things here. Ed Gardener and Leon Morabito have proved they are tops. Mare needs to retire, and I’ll show you why in a bit. Washington was no surprise. I love Meadows, and he got his first All Pro nod. Witt obviously dominated.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

3rd best rushing offense by yards, best by ypc. 15h best by passing yards. 6th best rushing defense by yards, tied for 4th best by ypc allowed. 3rd worst passing defense by yards, 6th by yards per completion. +12 TO margin. Notched 47 sacks, 3rd highest in the league. Allowed 39, 11th worst.

[Abe Sargent]

Individual stats:

RB Aaron Witt - 1788 yards, 15 rushing Tds, 5.2 ypc

QB Tony Clements - 10 starts, 2355 yards, 62.5%, 18:10, 95.7. When he went down, Clements was having his best regular season ever.
QB Wayne Webb - 1240 yards, 55.1%, 7:6, 68.8 rating. As expect for a rookie pressed into service.

WR Donald Wagner - 988 yards, 7 Tds.
WR Jerome Baker - 10 starts, 49 grabs, 757 yards, 3 scores
TE Ed Gardener - 51 for 692, 4 TD
WR Xavier Ornelas - 45, 398, 5
WR Matthew Webster - 6 starts, 32 for 352, and 2 scores.
Talley had 3 scores and FB Walt Devine had one

Xavier Ornelas has 2 KR TD and the highest KR average in the league. 3 fumbles on 74 returns, which is not bad.


K Olindo Mare - 33 of 37, long of just 49. 46 of 49 PAT. Yes, he missed 3 PAT
P Steve Washington - 39 of 85 inside the 20

DE Torres led the team with 13.5 sacks.
DT Ross Meadows had 9 sacks
DE Andrew Kadanoff had 9 as well
LB O’Neal had 5

These are solid numbers.

S Eric Carlson had 5 picks. Morabito and Burke each had 4. Peterson and Crownheart had 3.

OT Marcus Severson had 36 KRB. C Wright had 32. OG Orlando Wells had 27. Those guys did solidly.

[Abe Sargent]

Players on my team that have gotten an All Pro Award while I have been their GM:

RB Aaron Witt, TE Ed Gardener, WR Donald Wagner, C Gerald Wright, OT Marcus Severson, K Olindo Mare, P Steve Washington, DT Ross Matthews, LB Conrad O’Neal, LB Chris Glenn, CB Leon Morabito

Players who have gotten an All pro Award earlier in their career:

CB Stephen Crownheart, DE Christian Torres

That’s 11 of my starters have been all-pro at some time or other, plus my K and P.

Strong roster..

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: OT Marcus Severson. Sure, Witt had a great year, but he’s had them before for us. This guy opened up plenty of holes for Witt. Before he joined us, this 7th year veteran had started a bunch of years, and never came close to sniffing All-Pro, but on our team, he jelled and open up hole after hole.
Defensive Player of the Year: DT Ross Matthews - We took him with the intention that he become one of the best DTs in the game, then our scout switched and Ross’s evaluation dropped. However, it rose back the last couple of years and now sits comfortably in the 80s. Ross had grown, and his game has arrived. IF he can retain this level of play, I will be tickled pink.
Special Teams Player of the Year: WR Xavier Ornelas. Mare and Washington are good choices, but Ornelas has two returns for scores, led all qualifiers in KR average, and fumbled a lot less than his predecessors.
Rookie of the Year: DE Andrew Kadanoff - I love his energy. 9 sacks for the guy opposite Christian Torres makes me happy. 3 fumble recoveries and two returned for scores. He also led the D Line in tackles.
Heart Award: S Junior Burke - Not only the 6th round pick, but the third S taken by us two drafts ago. Yet, despite juts four starts, he managed to grab 4 picks, tied for 2nd most on our team. I love him from the backup position, because he can come in, damage people, and get picks.


Important Players with Contracts Going Up - FB Danny Garhardt, WR Matthew Webster,

[Abe Sargent]

Score:

Performance: 100
Value: 49
Profit: 42
Difficulty: 78

Total Score: 60

Our head coach retired.

Hall of Fame inductees:

Brett Farve
Willie Roaf
Tom Nalen
Ray Lewis (who was on our team for a while)

None of our players retired

[flere-imsaho]

CHEER!!! :D

[Abe Sargent]

A Glimpse at the Rail Runners:

10th most valuable franchise
10th worst stadium
Best roster
13th worst support
14th best economy




We miss out on the first Coach I want.

I get outbidded on the second

We sign a guy for really cheap:

Head Coach

Henry Hays
5 year deal
46 (2nd youngest head coach in league)
3rd cheapest in league

Excellent - Avoid Injury
Very Good - Def Play Call, Discipline, Motivation, QB, WR, DB
Good - Off Play Call, Young Talent
Fair - RB, O Line, K
Poor - D Line, LB


We have 41 players under contract and are 7.8 million over the cap.

[Abe Sargent]

I have several players in the final year of contracts that are making a ton of money. Let’s negotiate:

DE Christian Torres agrees to extend his deal by a year.
P Steve Washington extends his deal by a year
LB Chris Glenn extends by two years

I trade LB Ed Feely to the Patriots for their 3 and 4 this year. He is in the final year of his rookie year and since he busted a bit, we can trade him and have a starter on our roster for his position.

I trade CB Stephen Crownheart to the Steelers for their 6th rounder this year.

This will help to keep this team together. See, I have a lot of players who have finished their rookie contracts at the end of next year that I want to retain: Leon Morabito, Ed Gardener, Ross Matthews plus Aaron Witt, Gerald Wright, Olindo Mare are all up.

I extend QB Tony Clements by another year.

I sign DT Ross Matthews to a new 4 year deal replacing his current rookie one. Awesome. He is the rock of our team.

Only 4 players have been on our team since 2009. Matthews, Conrad O’Neal, C Gerald Wright, and Aaron Witt.

I trade OT Mark Stevenson to the Eagles for their 4/25 pick.

I trade DT Xavier Dawson to the Redskins for their 2 and 4 picks next year.

I get Leon Morabito to sign a new 4 year deal but it causes his cap hit this year to jump.

I extend C Gerald Wright’s deal by a year .

I release OT Tyrone Sutter

I extend TE Ed Gardener’s deal by several years.

I extend Mare’s contact by one year, just in case he should decide to return next year.

I trade S Nicky Peterson to the Rams for their 4/17 selection this year.

I now have 35 players under contract and 14 draft picks, for a total of 49 total picks/players.

[Abe Sargent]

Needs:

Starter: FB, S
Backup: QB perhaps, RB, TE, WRx2, OGx2, OTx2, DE, DT, LB, CBx3, S


I will not be chasing any FAs.



The 2013 NFL Amateur Draft

Remember we are picking 34th in each round.

Our turn comes, and one of the best S have not been taken yet, so I grab him.

The end of the second round brings a lot more interesting decisions to make about our team. There looks ot be a really strong RB, starter level easily, still in the pool. With Witt in the final year of his contract and 11th year professionally, this is a perfect time to draft his successor.

Next up, BAP, grabbing the best CB and best TE on the board when the pick comes.

Draft Recap

1 - S Travis Westbrook, Wisconsin
2 - RB Heath Shepherd, Georgia Tech
3/14 - CB Kenny Minton, Western Carolina
3/24 - TE Mitchell Spence, Indiana
4/14 - DE Scottie Watt, West Chester
4/17 - FB Carl Sierra, Indiana
4/19 - WR Lonnie Schwartz, Fordham
4/25 - C Marty Brennan, Northwestern
4/34 - LB Brad Harmon, Clemson
5 - OG Howard Booker, Illinois
6/3 - OT Willie Rasmussen, Michigan
6/34 - QB Andrew Browning, Oregon State
7/19 - OG Ron Wilkins, Fresno State
7/34 - DT Darren Lindell, Illinois


Post draft I still need a few players:

UFA:

CB Adrian Peterson, East Carolina U
S Roosevelt Reynolds, Indiana
OT Kerry Ahern, Louisiana State
WR Marco Ellard, Kansas
CB Sammie Broxon - Louisville


Training Camp, here we come.

[Abe Sargent]

We sell 53,500 ticks.

I cut QB Eric Fields.



Let’s look at our rookies in quality order:

TE Mitchell Spence - 58/84
RB Heath Shepherd - 61/82
S Travis Westbrook - 45/77
DE Scottie Watt - 22/72
QB Andrew Browning - 26/64
OG Ron Wilkins - 14/62
FB Carl Sierra - 35/60
C Monty Brennan - 28/57
WR Lonnie Schwartz - 32/56
CB Kenny Minton - 20/56
OG Howard Booker - 20/53
OT Willie Rasmussen - 20/48
DT Darren Lindell - 24/45
LB Brad Harmon - 16/23

Our best picks were mid rounders, and some of the picks I grabbed earlier are not as good. 7th rounder OG Wilkins is much better than 5th rounder OG Howard Booker. LB Harmon was a bust. CB Minton was much father behind.

See what I said about Shepherd and starting? Witt, by the way, is 60/60, so Shepherd is simply better.

I trade Aaron Witt to the Jaguars for their 6th pick next year. Now Witt can still start somewhere.

I sign UFA Alfred Coffey from Virginia for a year.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2013 Albuquerque Rail Runners

QB Tony Clements - The king
RB Heath Shepherd - The new star
FB Carl Serra - Just a guy
TE Ed Gardener - Best TE in the league?
WR Jerome Baker - Very good
WR Donald Wagner - Strong
C Gerald Wright - Adequate.
OG Orlando Wells - Decent enough
OG Dale Glover - A bit weaker after the injury last year.
OT Marcus Severson - A good signing last year, let’s see him continue
OT Ellis Marshall - Let’s go with the sophomore 3rd rounder
P Steve Washington - Love ‘im
K Olindo Mare - A fixture for my teams, a rock, 17th year
DE Christian Torres - Keep it going buddy
DE Andrew Kadanoff - You too
DT Ross Matthews - Sometimes I think he’s my favorite player on the squad.
DT Roosevelt Wilbur - Adequate
LB Monty Joseph - We are starting him on the SLB position where his skills are better suited.
LB Chris Glenn - Awesome
LB Conrad O’Neal - 11th year, moved to WLB
CB Leon Morabito - Obviously awesome
CB Tim Harris - Let’s see what he can bring
S Eric Carlson - Keep it coming
S Travis Westbrook - A new rookie S starting for the team

KR/PR - WR Xavier Ornelas

[Abe Sargent]

7th best QB, 4th best reserves. 5th best RB starter (already), 2nd best reserves. Best TE, 4th best reserves. Best top two WR and best reserves. 7th best C. 7th best OG, 3rd best reserves. 16th best OT, 10th best reserves. Best P, 5th best K. 5th best DE, 2nd best reserves. Best DT. Best LB. 3rd best CB. 6th best S.


Again, a strong roster. And no free agents this year. Our only influx of talent was the draft.

Seems like our team may have reached equilibrium.

I think this is one of the strongest rosters I’ve fielded in FOF2001.


How many of our starting 22 have we drafted?

17 of 22. The only non draftees here are LB O’Neal, LB Glenn, DE Torres, OT Severson and OG Glover.




2-2 in preseason

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We defeat the Bills in our place 34-3. RB Heath Shepherd was Game MVP with 2 TD runs, 140 yards on 26 carries. Clements hit Ed Gardener and Jerome Baker for scores, 17 of 29 for 222 and 2:0. Kadanoff had two sacks. Westbrook had a pick in his debut game. OG Glover notched 5 KRB. CB Harris is dinged to questionable. I deactivate him for a few weeks.

Week 2 - We lose on the road to the Jets 20-24. Shepherd ran for a score and Clements hit Wagner for another. Shepherd was held to 54 yards. Clements had 207 and 1:1 ratio. Morabito grabbed a pick. LB Joseph had a pair of sacks. Ed gardener is questionable as is OT Severson. I will start Gardener but I deactivate Severson.

Week 3 - We survive the Dolphins on the road 10-9. Andrew Kadanoff was Game MVP with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Meadows had 2 sacks. Shepherd was held to 34 yards on 20 carries and a fumble. Clements hit FB Carl Serra for a score. Backup CB Broxon is doubtful so I bring back CB Harris early from his injury.

Week 4 - We give the Jaguars their first loss at our place, 24-10. Shepherd was game MVP going up against Aaron Witt for Jacksonville. He had a 1 yard score, 155 yards on 23 carries. Clements hit Xavier Ornelas twice for scores. Wagner had 111 yards on 7 catches. Kadanoff added 3.5 sacks. S Carlson and CB Harris each had picks while Morabito had 2. Both OGs Wells and Glover had 4 KRB. We held Aaron Witt to 21 yards.

FB Carl Serra is out VERY LONG TERM with Tobacco Withdrawal Syndrome. I toss him on IR and sign Danny Gerhardt to finish the year for us.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We win against the winless Dolphins at our place, 24-20. Our Game MVP is Oliver Bailey , backup RB, with three TD runs and 141 yards on 21 carries. Both Wright and Marshall had 4 KRB.

Our next three games are all on the road.

Week 6 - We lose to the 4-2 Patriots in New England 17-30. Lonnie Schwartz caught a Clements pass as did Michael Spence. Ornelas had 116 yards on 6 catches. Both WR Baker and RB Shepherd gave up the ball on fumbles.

We come out with a passel of injuries. LB Monty Joseph questionable, S Travis Westbrook the same, OG Wells ditto, DE Torres likewise, and then a few probables. OT Severson is back from injury.

I bench Wells and Westbrook.

Week 7 - We lose at the 5-2 Denver Broncos 24-7. Heath Shepherd had our lone TD on the day, a 35 rush., plus 101 yards. Baker had 100 yards himself. No sacks, no picks, no fumble recovers, but Clements fumbled twice and tossed a pick.

LB Chris Glenn is questionable.

Week 8 - We get lucky and manage to beat the now 5-3 Bengals. We had 3 road games all against good teams. It was rough. We won 27-21. Game MVP was S Junior Burke with a 66 yard pick for a td in the 1st quarter, and led the team with 8 tackles. Shepherd had 85 yards. Clements opened yup the passing game well with 19 of 28 for 260, 2:0. He hit Wagner and Ornelas for scores, but Shepherd had 100+ yards receiving.

LB Monty Joseph is back so Glenn is benched. OG Wells is backs.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - Our chance to come back is lost at home vs. the 49ers when we lose 21-24, but the 8-1 49ers handled us. Baker catches 2 TD passes, Wagner the other. Clements tossed a pick that was returned for a score and we allowed a PR TD. Either stopped and we win. Shepherd was held to 48 yards on 14 carries. Baker had 127 yards in addition to his 2 scores. Harris and Morabito each had picks. Torres had a double sack day.

RB Shepherd is questionable and I bench him.

Week 10 - We lose at home again, this time to the 7-2 Jets to go to 5-5. We cannot lose games at home, and have dropped 4 of our last five games. Clements hit Gardener and Bakerx2. One Baker TD was a 78 yard play. Baker finished with 116 yards. Harris had a pick.

Week 11 - BYE

RB Shepherd is back. S Westbrook is back.


Week 12 - We travel to Buffalo and defeat the Bills 21-16. Shepherd is Game MVP with 115 yard on 20 carries, Clements hit Ornelas twice and Schwartz for another score. S Carlson got a pick. Torres grabbed a trio of sacks. Wright had 4 KRB. LB Glenn will be back next week.

Week 13 - We defeat the Patriots at our place 20-13. Shepherd is Game MVP with a 21 yard scamper for a score, 223 yards on the day on 28 carries. Baker had 141 yards on 8 catches. Wagner caught a Clements toss. Kadanoff had another 2 sacks. Wells had 6 KRB while Severson added 4. Shepherd was NFL Offensive Player of the Week. 

LB Chris Glenn is out for the season with Broken Ribs. It drops his skills some. I toss him on IR and sign LB Bubba Doughty for the rest of the season. Conrad O’Neal is moving to the middle, and Doughty will be on the WLB side.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We go on the road and beat the .500 Saints 33-22. Shepherd is Game MVP with 98 yards on 27 carries and 2 TDs. Clements hits Gardener for a score while Shepherd adds 105 yards catching on 7 grabs. Torres has a sack and a half. Harris has a pick. OG Glover adds 4 KRB. DT Wilbur is out for a while, and his numbers drop a bit as well. I deactivate him. Rookie Lindell will start in his place. Wagner will rest for a week for me.

Week 15 - We win our final road game of the season against the 4 win Colts 27-19. Game MVP is S Eric Carlson with 2 picks and 12 tackles. Clements hit Shepherd for an aerial score. Oneal is doubtful

Right now, at 9-5, we are in the 6 spot for the playoffs. We are way behind many teams. This is just a really strong year for the AFC right now. There are three 10-4 teams, a, 11-3 and a 12-2. At least our final two games are at home. Both are against losing teams, we can try and get some wins against.

Week 16 - We defeat the Corpus Christi Cyberhawks 28-24. Clements hits Gardener and Gerhardt for scores, but the Game MVP is Shepherd again with a 48 yard TD run, a 10 yard TD run, 106 yards on 14 carries. Meadows grabbed 1.5 sacks, and Doughty had a pick.

Brad Harmon ,the rookie LB is out with a broken jaw, and he no longer has any skills at all. I IR him and sign LB Lee Dawkins to a one year deal. WR Wagner is probable and I am bringing him back. We are 10-5 as is the Jets. We need to win this week, and we have a shot at the division title. Plus, Buffalo is right behind us at 9-6.

Week 17 - We win 31-17 over the Colts. Shepherd is again Game MVP> 2 TD runs, 145 yard,s 25 carries. Clements hit Gardener for a score. Ornelas had 113 yards on 5 catches. Carlson had a pick.

Whew! We won the division at the Jets lost and then got a bye on tiebreakers. We are 11-5 and the #2 seed. We were once 5-5 and spinning out of control.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Weekend

Jets defeat Jaguars 13-10.

San Antonio 45 over Tennessee 20.

We now host my old team the Lone Stars.



Division Weekend:

11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners vs. the 13-3 San Antonio Lone Stars.

Whichever team wins I win and lose. Sorta.


We make a statement. 39-0 on a team that hung 45 on Tennessee last week.


Shepherd is Game MVP with 2 TD runs, 133 yards on 20 carries.

Clements had 26 of 37 for 261, 2:0

Jerome Baker was 102 yards, 10 catches, 1 TD
Wagner caught other TD

Torres had 2.5 sacks

Backup CB Broxon, Morabito, and Greene had picks

The Jets win 20-10 over the 13-3 Seahawks.

So, in a week where the Winner and WC of the AFC West was going up against the Winner and WC of the AFC East, with the AFC East teams each with worse records, the AFC East teams come up winners to set up a division showdown next week.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2013 AFC Championship

The 11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners seek to repeat their Super Bowl victory from a year ago, but to do that, they will have to go through division foe…

The 10-6 New York Jets, who swept the Rail Runners earlier this years.

Reminds us of the 1999 AFC Championship with a 14-2 Jaguars against the 13-3 Titans, both in conference, but the Titans had swept the Jags in regular season play.


We manage to win 31-28.

Clements hit Ornelas, Wagner, Mitchell Spence, and Wagner again.

Shepherd was Game MVP with 207 yards on 21 carries.

Wagner had 157 yards on 7 catches.

Torres added 2 sacks.

Dawkins had our sole pick.

OT Sevreson added 5 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2013 Super Bowl


The 11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners seek to do the double

The 11-5 Chicago Bears stand in their way

One will claim glory, the other will claim a footnote.


O’Neal, at probable, will start the game.

We win 24-10.


Shepherd was the Super Bowl MVP, naturally, with a 7 yard TD run, 111 yards on 28 carries. Clements hit Gardener for a score and rushed for his own TD> Backup safety Burke had a pick. Reynolds had one too. Torres added 1.5 sacks. Severson had 4 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:

Super Bowl MVP - RB Heath Shepherd
NFL MVP - RB Heath Shepherd
NFL Offensive Player of the Year - RB Heath Shepherd
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year - RB Heath Shepherd
1st Team All-Pro - RB Heath Shepherd, TE Ed Gardener, DE Andrew Kadenoff, S Eric Carlson,
2nd Team All Pro - DT Ross Meadows


Kadenoff and Carlson got another nod, Meadows proves he is a top flight DT. Heath Shepherd has arrived. Ed Gardener continues to dominate. Morabito’s first year not getting All Pro.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

8th best rushing offense by yards, tied for 2nd best in terms of ypc. 8th best passing offense by yards, 3rd best by yards/ pass. 11th worst rushing defense by yards, tied for 10th worst ypc. 15th best passing defense by yards, tied for 10th worst yards allowed per pass. -3 TO. 10th in sacks. 13t his most sacks allowed.

Several problems. I never have a negative TO margin. That’s crappy. I rarely fall outside the top ten fewest sacks allowed, that’s crappy.

Let’s took a look at the players:

[Abe Sargent]

Player Stats:

QB Tony Clements, 3738 yards, 61.3%, 25:11 ratio, 91 rating. This is his best professional year. 5th highest QB rating among qualifiers and 3rd among Qbs with 14 or more starts. 5th most passing yards. Only three QBs with 16 starts had fewer picks. This was a good season for him from every angle. Fumbled 7 times though.

RB Heath Shepherd - Who won the maximum five awards this year. 1374 rushing yards (2nd in league), 12 rushing Tds (tied for 1st with two other players), 4.6 ypc. Here is what put him over the top - 472 yards receiving, 1 TD. The other top RB are just runners, not catchers too. Fumbled 6 times though.

WR Jerome Bailey - 940 yards, 69 grabs, 5 Tds - This is very disappointing for a 16 game start.
WR Donald Wagner - 735 yards, 4 Tds, 54 touches. As is this for 14 starts.
WR Xavier Ornelas - 647 yards, 54 grabs, 5 TD - good for a 3rd WR.
TE Ed Gardener - 57 grabs for 615 yards, 5 TDs.


With a guy who tossed 3738 yards, it is embarassing to not have a single receiver with 1000+ yards, especially when one started 14 games and the other all16.

Ornelas had a PR TD, but poor averages. Fumbled 4 times.

Mare was 17 of 25. Made all of his PATs though.
P Washington had 35 of 86 in the 20, and has increased his punting average a bit.

S Eric Carlson was 5th in the league in tackles and led all defensive backs with 103 tackles.

DE Andrew Kadanoff had 13.5 sacks which was 4th most in the league.
DE Torres had 9.5 sacks
DT Matthews had 9 sacks

S Eric Carlson had 5 picks.
Morabito and Harris each had 4


OG Glover and OG Wells each had 32 KRB.

We only recovered three fumbles defensively this year. That’s why our TO margin dropped.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: QB Tony Clements. In a year when the attention is on Shepherd, and he will get an award in a bit, Clements had the best year of his life, and for a guy who now has three rings, that is saying something.
Defensive Player of the Year: S Eric Carlson. He has fully shown faith in the 1st round pick I invested in him. Tackles and picks were both top on the team and led the team in passes defensed with 9. That’s three major categories to lead in, so there is no question that Carlson is my DPOTY.
Special Teams POTY: P Steve Washington - Everybody was down except for Washington, who increased his yards/punt more than one yard over last’s year’s number.
Rookie of the Year: RB Heath Shepherd. We can’t say anything that has not already been said.
Heart Award: FB Danny Gerhardt -This guy was cut from our team and signed back as a patch mid year. He still ended with 12 KRB out of 20 KRO for a high percentage there, caught a TD pass from Clements, had a lower sack percentage than three starting O Linemen, and was a solid performer for us.


Player of Import Leaving Us Next Year:

WR/KR/PR Xavier Ornelas
FB Danny Gerhardt
S Junior Burke


Marvin Graham won another All pro award

[flere-imsaho]

AWESOME!!! :D

[Abe Sargent]

I KNOW!! Totally cool.

[Abe Sargent]

Score:

Performance - 100
Value - 51
Profit - 63
Difficulty - 77

Total Score - 68


I slashed our coaching budget and we saw results in score as a result.


Hall of Fame - Chad Bratze, Ty Law, Larry Allen


We have 41 -players under contract and re 6 million over the cap. A good place to be sitting.

Mare is returned for an 18th year. His numbers are starting to decline.

Franchise Value - 12th
11th worst stadium
Best roster
17th worst support
14th best economy

[Abe Sargent]

We hit free agency:

Players in the final year of their contract of note:

P Washington
K Mare
OT Marcus Severson
OG Wells
OG Glover
LB O’Neal
DE Torres
C Wright
WR Donald Wagner
DE Kabanoff
DT Roosevelt Wilbur
OT Marshall
LB Monty Joseph

Literally, I have 11 of my starters from last year up this year, plus my K and P. I have a lot of finagling to begin to do.

[Abe Sargent]

I need to figure what to do with who

For example, O’Neal had been with me for five years and is now in his 12th year. Do I want to bring him back for another contract go around? I can extend it by two more years, but that may be bad for us.

DE Torres has been with us for 3 years and he has had 10 sacks, 13.5 sacks, and 9.5 sacks. Before he joined us, he had (going back), 25.5 sacks, 13.5 sacks and then reaches his early years. Am I getting 9 million dollars worth of investment for him?

OG Wells I drafted but now he is in his 9th year. Worth 6 million a year to keep him?

I love C Gerald Wright. Same draft Class as Ross Matthews, our first one. Both of the backup Cs have better potential, and he is going for 5.5 million, but he is a draftee from my inaugural class who is not playing poorly and had an All-Pro year. Time to reextend or give the spot to the next guy?

Some of the players leaving rookie contracts will cost a lot to keep, like WR Donald Wagner, LB Monty Joseph, DT Wilber and LB Kadanoff.

Do I trade them, play them and lose them, or resign them to major deals?

OT Severson is another that costs me 8-9 million a year to keep for a 9th year vet. He had a much worse record this year than he did two years ago with his All Pro year. If he had another, I would have resigned, him, but as is, it ‘s a place to find some cash.

Literally, my entire Oline is up, and I could be facing a completely new Oline.