Purple Free-time Eaters - '61 Expansion Dynasty
 

Hey guys. I know I'm new to this community, but after being inspired by Izulde's fantastic Dolphins dynasty (props to you, man.), I couldn't resist entering the NFL with the '61 expansion Vikings. And I have plenty of free-time at the minute... So, who knows if anyone will read this, but let's go. :p


Let the four Superbow losses ensue! ;)

A look at the 1961 Vikings by Position:

How do I pick here? Shaw is a sure short passer, and an established low-risk decent quality QB. But... Tarkenton is Tarkenton, he's got all the upside in the world and well, he's Tarkenton. Need to sign a mentor though.

Mason isn't great at seeing the hole, and his speed isn't great. However, his elusiveness is enough to put him in a league above the others. Caleb will run 3rd downs. Mayberry will return punts, and Mason is the best kick returner in the league and has high endurance.

Hayes is a strong blocker and has the potential to be a good blocker. Triplett is just a finished article for blocking and a catching fullback. Hayes is a strong third down runner, so he'll start on third behind Triplett.

Okay blocking potential, and I don't exactly have much competition for him.

The receiving set on this team is pretty dire. Williams has some big-playability, but little else. Reichow's route-running and ability to hold onto the ball makes him the natural split-end. Fred Murphy's hands place him in the slot, whilst Mayberry's catching ability lands him the fifth receiver slot.

Pass blocking is good, but there is no strength to him. A starting centre is a priority for next year.

Huth has no pass blocking talent, but is otherwise decent. Petersen is raw, and Rabold has enough all-round talent to start.

Alderman has scary potential on pass blocking and endurance, which is enough to land him the starting spot and likely a place on the line for all those seven years. Youso is a career backup who will get his chance to start.

I don't seem to have a punter. Mercer has a lot to do to justify a starters job next term, with low to average skills across the board.

Leo hits hard and nothing else. Denton reads plays well, and hits pretty hard on his decent rush. Joyce is a shut-down run defending end, but cannot rush the passer. Marshall is the only player on the team with pass rushing talent, and that lands him a starting spot.

Prestel is a set starter, with his run-stuffing talent and decent play reading. Dickson hits scary hard, and his play-reading and pass rush make him the logical starter for the 4-3.

Hawkins is raw, but has great ability to read and hit the passer. Osbourne is great on the run, but has 0 endurance. Rubke and Stonebreaker (I just love his name) land the starts, with Osbourne cycling in.

Haley and Morris get the start, as they can sense the ball. But these guys are all terrible at anything else, and they'll be relying on the safeties alot.

Mostardi heads to cornerback to cover our weakness there, falling to a 33/55. Lamson has good defensive skills, and Sumner has good diagnosis.

It's going to be a mixed bag this year, with weaknesses at corner and receiver. With strengths at RB and QB, as well as a developing MLB, we should be okay for a decent (6-9 wins) season and a mid-level pick.

Exhibition

Minnesota sold 59,400 season tickets for the season out of a capacity of 64,000.

Exbition Week 1 Signings
QB Shawn Reeves (1 year, $30k - Rookie FA)
-Okay 3rd stringer, signed to be just that. Okay general skills.

TE Walt Crittenden (1 year, $30k - Rookie FA)
-Okay hands and ability to get downfield and hold it. Can't block though.

P Wilie Renfrow (1 year, $30k - Rookie FA)
-His direction is good, and his other skills are okay. Very raw though.

C Gerald Prill (1 year, $30k - Rookie FA)
-His long snapping is enough to earn him a spot. Decent potential for pass blocking, just a complete absence of run blocking.

Oakland 20 Minnesota 24
We start with a win. George Shaw is 15-20 for 154 yards and a TD to state his claim for that starting spot. The pass rush had 5 sacks (Jim Marshall had two) and the line didn't give any up. Tommy Mason (25 yards on 13 carries, 2 TD, 2 fumbles) struggled, but Jamie Caleb (71 yards on 20 carries, 1 fumble) picked up the slack somewhat. Rip Hawkins had 7 tackles (3 assists) Dick Haley had an interception. Not ground breaking stuff, but steady.

Crittenden is concussed and misses a week.

Exhibiton Week 3 Signings
TE Brent Downs (1 year, $30k - Rookie FA)
-Has a little blocking potential.

Minnesota 26 Pittsburgh 24
Defence wins matches. While the offence managed 62 yards rushing yards and 162 passing, the defence picked up four interceptions (one of which Dick Haley returned for a 45 yard TD) and a fumble recovered for a 81 yard TD by A.D. Williams. Shaw stunk out as Fran Tarkenton (4-5 21 yards) earned a shot at starting the last two preseason games.

Baltimore 10 Minnesota 23
Baltimore didn't show up, and the Vikings responded by shutting them down. Chuck Lamson had two interceptions for 30 yards and Bob Denton enjoyed two sacks, whilst the rushing attack contributed 212 yards to roll on over the Ravens.

Minnesota 24 Dallas 20
Fran Tarkenton was 24-34 for 301 yards (1 TD, 3 picks) for a passing attack that stuttered slowly into action. Tommy Mason and Jamie Caleb shared 101 yards and two TDs, while the defence had five sacks (Jim Prestel 2.5, Bob Denton 2.0). While Tarkenton struggled, he did lead a fourth quarter, 14 point double drive to win the match and that wins him the starters role for the new season.

Final Updates

Frank Youso goes down with an elbow injury, and is doubtful. Rip Hawkins suffers a hamstring injury, but will soldier on. All in all, a deceptively competant preseason. Here's hoping the defence can continue to trouble the passer, whilst shutting down the run.

Signing
RT Kris Chodzinski (1 year, $30k - Rookie FA)
-Has some potential blocking, but he's only really cover.

Thanks for the praise and I'm glad I inspired this dynasty :) I love historical dynasties in all kinds of sports.

FWIW, Tarkenton is still a solid QB in his 16th season in my dynasty. While he only has one All-Pro appearance to his credit (2nd Team All-Pro in 1970) and has never been to the Super Bowl, he's thrown for 52,334 yards (2nd All-Time to this point), with a career 317 TD-167 INT ratio, 59% career completion %, and a 144-121 career record.

The problem is, the Chargers have never given him any decent receivers to throw to, so he's never broken the 4,000 yard mark, though he did have 3,000+ yards 8 seasons in a row (1966-1973).

Hopefully you'll be able to do better than San Diego did with him. :)

hopefully you can get the Vikes to win a superbowl :)

Detroit 21 Minnesota 14

Shaw picked up a knock last week, and Fran Tarkenton returned with 16-24 for 151 yards (1 TD, 1 int.). It all started well, with a 14-0 lead at half-time. Where the hell was Rombach’s excellent motivation?

Minnesota 16 Seattle 23

Another 4th quarter meltdown. George Shaw was 27-40 for 287 yards and Jerry Reichow caught all ten passes thrown his way for 94 yards for a 16-3 lead. Then it went terribly wrong.

New England 10 Minnesota 41

George Shaw 20-26 for 260 yards (5 TD, 1 int.) had a rating of 131.4 to lead the offence to 387 yards, and the defence contributed another 5.0 sacks (Jim Marshall 2.5, Jim Prestel 1.0, Rich Mostardi 1.0). 100% red-zone conversion and 8/14 3rd down conversion were other positives.

Minnesota 17 San Francisco 23

Minnesota dominates the game, with George Shaw 32-54 for 312 yards (1 TD) but somehow the 49ers sneak home.





Those fumbles of Mason's are starting to be a worry. The pass defence seems to be declining as well, and the season could go either way now at 4-4.

Vikings Re-Signing:
RCB Rich Mostardi (2 yrs, $120k)

Green Bay 47 Minnesota 14

Bart Starr's Packers move to 9-0 as Paul Hornung rushed for 5 TDs. Shaw was sacked five times and the Vikings just couldn't match the Packers dominance.

Minnesota 24 Miami 7

The 1-8 Dolphins, however, are a different story. George Shaw has 26-32 for 237 yards and another 2 TD, and Tommy Mason rushes 107 yards on 24 carries (1 TD).

Bad news. Paul Dickson damages his ACL and is out for the year, while 5-5 has Minnesota bottom of the NFC north.

Arizona 15 Minnesota 30

The 8-2 Cardinals produce 380 yards of offence, more than 100 more than the Vikings, but 100% red-zone scoring (2 TD, 3 field goals) punished their wastfulness.

Minnesota 27 Chicago 0

Fran Tarkenton comes in with 25-30 for 277 (3 TD, 1 int.) and endures five sacks as he leads the team to a dominant win. Jack Morris (6 tackles) has 2 interceptions and the defence forced four fumbles and recovered three.

Triplett is concussed and will miss three weeks.

Minnesota 10 Detroit 18

Detroit all but end Minnesota's playoff hopes with a win that takes them to 9-4 in possession of the final wildcard, and drops Minnesota to 7-6. Despite a tired attempt from the offence, DE Jim Marshall shone with 4.0 sacks for 21 yards, 4 tackles and a block. George Shaw was 16-37 for 130 yards (1 TD) and Tommy Mason had 57 yards on 10 carries. Charlie Sumner had his 4th interception of the year.

New Jersey 24 Minnesota 23

New Jersey's red zone efficiency was the difference as DE Jim Marshall's 2.0 sacks, Tommy Mason's 13-66 yards (1 TD) and George Shaw's 20-33 for 245 yards (1 TD, 1 int.) were in vain.

Minnesota 14 Green Bay 37

511 yards against 157 was the difference as Green Bay improved to 15-0 with only Chicago to go. At least Paul Hornung only had 1 TD this time. Silver linings, maybe?

St. Louis 7 Minnesota 24

George Shaw was 24-34 for 220 yards (2 TD, 1 int.) and Tommy Mason 24-82 yards (1 TD) on an offence that produced 310 yards. Jim Marshall has 2.0 more sacks, including a forced fumble, and Will Sherman had a 39 yard interception as St. Louis didn't reach the red zone once.

Vikings Re-Signing:
FB Ray Hayes (2 yrs, $90k)



Superbowl:
Arizona (15-5) 20 Cleveland (17-2) 17
Poor 15-1 Cleveland.

Season Awards
NFL MVP - RB Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns
Coach of the Year - B.J. Washington of the Cleveland Browns
Legend of the Game - K Lou Groza of the Cleveland Browns
Offensive Player of the Year - RB Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns
Defensive Player of the Year - LDE Willie Davis of the Green Bay Packers
Offensive Rookie of the Year - RB Albert Barrow of the Baltimore Ravens
Defensive Rookie of the Year - SS Phil Nugent of the Denver Broncos
Well done to SS Charlie Sumner, who was named All-League Second Team Safety after a great year.


Stay tuned for the Weinstein post-season review.

Staffing changes to come.

Good read so far, good luck!

The new staff:

Head Coach: Brian Dugan (60)
3 Years.
Motivation: Very Good
Discipline: Excellent
Off. Playcalling: Fair
Def. Playcalling: Very Good
Inj. Avoidance: Very Good

Seeing as I never call defensive plays, I think he could be a solid head coach for the next 3 years.

Offensive Coordinator: Cedric Liotti (37)
4 Years.
QB: Good
RB: Good
WR: Good
OL: Very Good
K/P: Poor
YT: Good

A solid addition, and at a yound age I have hopes he'll develop better on the skill positions. Time will tell if he'll see

out that contract.

Defensive Coordinator: Darrin Kwiecinski (57)
5 Years.
K/P: Average
DL: Good
LB: Average
DB: Very Good
YT: Very Good

Signed to work primarily on our defensive backs, he was the best of a bad bunch. I didn't pay much for him though, so he could be replaced next year (he actually looks like he could be a decent Head Coach, if a defensive minded one).

Scouting Director: Jeffrey Harper (63)
QB: Very Good
RB: Good
WR: Average
OL: Fair
K/P: Very Good
DL: Average
LB: Fair
DB: Very Good
YT: Average

Not keen on the average youth scouting, but there were no better scouts available so Harper stays for another year.

Retirements:

Hugh McElhenny leaves us but as he was angry and not very good, I think I can survive.

Free agency and the draft to come tomorrow, after work.

Free Agency
The main goal in free agency is two wide receivers to complement my offensive playmakers, Mason and Tarkenton. A mentor for Tarkenton would be a big plus, and a mentor in all positions would be good, in addition to some offensive line pickups.

Upgrades in any position is a positive, but the OL and the WR corps are the priority.

Week 1
FB Ray Hayes (Re-sign: 300k, 3 yrs.)
Has alot of potential, and he and Triplett mean I have absolutely no worries over at least one position.
Week 2
QB Eddie LeBaron (150k, 1 yr.)
Finally I get my hands on a mentor for Tarkenton as he begins his first starting year.

The big news from this week is that Bobby Mitchell (a 92/92 WR from Cleveland) turns down a big money offer from Minnesota to stay in Ohio. Damn it all, he was the only WR available in free agency above 40...
Week 3
C John Mellekas (3 yrs. $1.17m)
A quality centre for the heart of my line. Not only that, but he's a mentor so he should be around until he retires.
DE Don Joyce - Denver ($430k 2 yrs.)
I'm not devastated by the loss of Joyce. His best asset was run defence, which doesn't suit my 4-3 defence, and I can get a better pass rush without him.
Week 4
P Sam Baker ($330k, 2 yrs.)
A veteran punter, until I can find a decent rookie for the position.
TE Ron Kramer ($310k, 2 yrs.)
This disappointed one of my TE on the way out.. how sad. Kramer isn't a long term solution, but he's better than Smith.
DT Bill Bishop - Arizona ($140k, 1 yr.)
An experienced DT who was never going to be a starter in Minnesota. I wish him luck in Arizona, but he's no real loss.
Week 5
FS Will Sherman (Re-sign: $140k, 1 yr.)
Resigned as cover.
DE Bob O'Neil ($120k, 1 yr.)
A mentor for Jim Marshall and the new DE I will hopefully sign...
T Michael Evans ($390k, 2 yrs.)
A mentor for Alderman and the other tackle I will hopefully obtain.
Week 6
Ron Kosterlink ($140k, 2 yrs)
A new backup for Prestel, replacing Bishop, who has a real talent for the rush if it can be developed.
Week 7
WLB Karl Rubke - San Diego ($100k, 1 yr.)
Rubke is not happy at being behind the two talented rookie linebackers, and heads out to California.
Week 8
CB Johnny Bookman ($270k, 2 yrs)
A journeyman CB to help cover out horrible weakness at corner.
Week 9
RB Al Carmichael ($120k, 1 yr.)
A mentor for Tommy Mason.
Week 10
SLB Jim Furey ($100k, 1 yr.)
Finally, a mentor for Stonebreaker. Furey won't start except in a crisis, but hopefully he can develop my youngsters.
CB Dick Haley (Re-sign: $90k, 1 yr.)
Deserved to be brought back to play nickel after last year.

Amateur Draft

Draft time!

There are a few talented guys at the start of this draft, but I don't expect any to fall to me. Lance Alworth would be the guy we need, but he's a lock for a top three pick and I expect Roman Gabriel will compete with him for no. 1. Houston has the first pick and no QB, so I expect Gabriel will go first.

We're picking at #17 and to be honest, I don't see anyone I consider worthwhile at that spot right now. It's not really worth trading up, we'll see if it's possible or desireable to trade down once I see what's on the table. The aim is a WR, a CB, an OLman, and a K late on.

1. Houston - Gabriel, Roman, QB, North Carolina State
2. Jacksonville - Alworth, Lance, WR, Arkansas
3. Cincinnati - Buoniconti, Nick, ILB, Notre Dame
4. Miami - Green, Cornell, CB, Utah State
5. Seattle - Miller, Bill, WR, Miami, Florida
6. Carolina - Stratton, Mike, OLB, Tennessee
7. Atlanta - Buncom, Frank, OLB, Southern California
8. Tampa Bay - Edgerson, Booker, CB, Western Illinois
9. Baltimore - Sestak, Tom, DT, McNeese State
10. New England - Suci, Bob, CB, Michigan State
At this point I tried to trade up to get Sonny Bishop. Oakland, however, would have none of it and stuck where they were.
11. Oakland - Collins, Gary, WR, Maryland
12. New Orleans - Morrow, Tommy, S, Southern Mississippi
13. Washington - Bishop, Sonny, G, Fresno State
Because a team with a 80 & 65 guard combination need the best rookie guard.
14. Dallas - Bowie, Larry, G, Purdue
15. San Diego - Miller, Fred, DT, Louisiana State
16. Kansas City - Nieghbors, Billy, G, Alabama
17. Minnesota - Moore, Fred, DT, Oklahoma
My brain says to draft Gary Ballman from Michigan, the underrated WR. But my gut says not to, as he looks to have bust written all over him with his high combine, low bar ratings. In the end, I decide to take the best guy left on the board as an abundance of DL talent is never a bad thing.
18. Chicago - Olsen, Merlin, DT, Utah State
19. Buffalo - Pine, Ed, OLB, Utah
20. San Francisco - Jacobs, Ray, DT, Howard Payne
21. St. Louis - Erlandson, Tom, OLB, Washington State
22. Detroit - Perkins, Jim, T, Colorado
23. Tennessee - Gross, George, DT, Auburn
24. Denver - Montalbo, Mel, CB, Utah State
25. New Jersey - Birdwell, Danny, DT, Houston
26. New York - Ballman, Gary, WR, Michigan State
27. Philadelphia - Cutsinger, Gary, DE, Oklahoma State
28. Pittsburgh - Cadile, Jim, G, San Jose State
29. Indianapolis - Shorter, Jim, CB, Small College
30. Green Bay - Lassiter, Ike, DE, Small College
31. Cleveland - O'Bradovich, Ed, DE, Illinois
32. Arizona - Abruzzese, Ray, S, Alabama
33. Jacksonville - Bullocks, Amos, RB, Southern Illinois
34. Houston - Byers, Ken, G, Cincinnati
35. Miami - Miller, Al, ILB, Ohio
36. Seattle - Turner, Bake, WR, Texas Tech
37. Cincinnati - Andrie, George, DE, Small College
38. Atlanta - Carollo, Joe, T, Notre Dame
39. Carolina - McCullough, Bob, G, Colorado
40. Baltimore - Boyette, Garland, ILB, Grambling
41. Tampa Bay - Jancik, Bobby, CB, Small College
42. Oakland - Sutro, John, T, San Jose State
43. New Orleans - Thompson, Bobby, CB, Arizona
44. New England - Frazier, Charlie, WR, Texas Southern
45. New England - Holmes, Pat, DE, Texas Tech
Dallas receive 2nd '63, 2nd & 4th '64
46. San Diego - Winter, Bill, OLB, St. Olaf
47. New England - White, Gene, RB, Florida A&M
Washington receive 1st '64 Now, what are those crazy Patriots doing?
48. Minnesota - Shea, Pat, G, Southern California
I have three guards on my board, all of whom are available: Pete Case, George Flint and Pat Shea. However, Shea looks to be the most intelligent guy available and looks to be an all-round talent.
49. Chicago - Hillebrand, Jerry, OLB, Colorado
50. Kansas City - Sullivan, Dan, G, Boston College
51. New England - Davis, Dick, DE, Vanderbilt
San Francisco receive 3rd '62, 3rd '63, 3rd '64 Guess New England don't like the idea of drafting in 1964. After all, you wouldn't want to end up with a young college prospect named Carl Eller...
52. Buffalo - Sharockman, Ed, CB, Pittsburgh
53. St. Louis - Gilchrist, Cookie, FB, No College
54. Chicago - Rivera, Hank, CB, Oregon State
Tennessee receive 7th '62, 2nd & 4th '64
55. Denver - Case, Pete, G, Georgia
56. Chicago - Flint, George, G, Arizona State
Detroit receive 3rd '62, 2nd '63
57. New York - McClinton, Curtis, FB, Kansas
58. New Jersey - Hinton, Chuck, DT, North Central
59. Denver - Winston, Roy, OLB, Louisiana State
Philidelphia receive 3rd '63, 3rd '64
60. Indianapolis - Saul, Bill, OLB, Penn State
61. Jacksonville - Fowler, Bobby, FB, Tennessee - Martin
Indianapolis receive 6th '62, 2nd '64
62. Green Bay - Frazier, Wayne, C, Auburn
63. Cleveland - Gruneisen, Sam, C, Villanova
64. New England - Bakken, Jim, K, Wisconsin
Arizona receive 1st '63
65. Houston - Rieves, Charlie, OLB, Alabama
66. Minnesota - McGeever, John, CB, Auburn
Jacksonville receive 3rd '62, 3rd '63 At this point, I decide to trade up and get the guy on my board. We're desperate at corner, and McGeever is the last talent in this draft.

And the rest...
67. Chicago - Edwards, Dave, OLB, Auburn
68. Denver - Gibbs, Sonny, QB, Texas Christian
69. Jacksonville - Stephens, Harold, QB, Hardin-Simmons
70. Seattle - Gros, Earl, FB, Louisiana State
71. Cincinnati - McDougall, Gerry, FB, UCLA
72. Atlanta - Skaggs, Jim, G, Washington
73. Dallas - Contoulis, John, DT, Connecticut
74. New Orleans - Hadl, John, QB, Kansas
75. San Francisco - Woulfe, Mike, OLB, Colorado
76. Oakland - Williams, Howie, S, Howard
77. San Diego - Barnes, Gary, WR, Clemson
78. Washington - McClellan, Mike, CB, Oklahoma
79. Dallas - Norris, Jim, DT, Houston
80. Detroit - Von Sonn, Andy, OLB, UCLA
81. Kansas City - Kroll, Alex, T, Yale
82. Miami - Brock, Clyde, T, Utah State
83. Buffalo - Mitinger, Bob, ILB, Penn State
84. San Francisco - Kochman, Roger, RB, Penn State
85. St. Louis - Elwell, Jack, WR, Purdue
86. Denver - Gaechter, Mike, S, Oregon
87. Detroit - Counts, Johnny, RB, Illinois
88. Tennessee - Yohn, Dave, ILB, Gettysburg
89. New Jersey - Shannon, Carver, CB, Southern Illinois
90. New York - McRae, Bennie, CB, Michigan
91. Philadelphia - Hunt, Bobby, S, Auburn
92. Pittsburgh - Hays, Harold, OLB, Southern Mississippi
93. Indianapolis - Neck, Tommy, CB, Louisiana State
94. Green Bay - Henley, Carey, RB, Tenn. - Chattanooga
95. Cleveland - Moore, Charlie, G, Arkansas
96. Arizona - Lomakoski, John, T, Western Michigan
97. Jacksonville - Norman, Pettis, TE, Johnson C. Smith
98. Houston - Hudson, Dick, T, Memphis
99. Cincinnati - Harris, Wendell, S, Louisiana State
100. Miami - Jackson, Bobby, FB, New Mexico State
101. Carolina - Winston, Lloyd, FB, Southern California
102. Atlanta - Lind, Mike, FB, Notre Dame
103. Carolina - Coan, Bert, RB, Kansas
104. Baltimore - Hall, Tom, WR, Minnesota
105. Tampa Bay - Tidmore, Sam, ILB, Ohio State
106. Baltimore - Gallegos, Chon, QB, San Jose State
107. Oakland - Tiller, Jim, RB, Purdue
108. New Orleans - Brown, Charles, T, Houston
109. Washington - Onesti, Larry, ILB, Northwestern
110. Baltimore - Bull, Ronnie, FB, Baylor
111. San Diego - McCormick, John, QB, Massachusetts
112. Kansas City - Warlick, Ernie, TE, North Central
113. Minnesota - Burrell, John, WR, Rice
114. Carolina - Charon, Carl, S, Michigan State
115. San Francisco - Nomina, Tom, ILB, Cornell
116. Buffalo - Goode, Irv, G, Kentucky
117. St. Louis - Tarr, Jerry, WR, Oregon
118. Detroit - Goosby, Tom, G, Baldwin-Wallace
119. Tennessee - Sieminski, Chuck, DT, Penn State
120. Cincinnati - Tinglehoff, Mick, C, Nebraska
121. New York - Echols, Fate, T, Oklahoma State
122. New Jersey - Kirchiro, Bill, G, Maryland
123. Philadelphia - Jackunas, Frank, C, Small College
124. Indianapolis - Powers, John, TE, Notre Dame
125. Pittsburgh - Triplett, Bill, RB, Miami, Ohio
126. Green Bay - Meyers, Jerry, DT, Northern Illinois
127. Cleveland - Winston, Kelton, S, Small College
128. Arizona - Davis, Chet, ILB, Norwich
129. Houston - Smith, Ralph, TE, Mississippi
130. Pittsburgh - Wilder, Bert, DE, North Carolina State
131. Miami - Dean, Floyd, OLB, Florida
132. Seattle - Hall, Galen, QB, Penn State
133. Cincinnati - Compton, Dick, WR, McMurry
134. Carolina - Griffing, Glynn, QB, Mississippi
135. Atlanta - Wegener, Bucky, G, Missouri
136. Tampa Bay - Green, Ernie, FB, Louisville
137. Atlanta - Sczurek, Stan, OLB, Purdue
138. Oakland - Isbell, Joe Bob, G, Houston
139. New Orleans - Ferguson, Bob, FB, Ohio State
140. New England - Sheppard, Danny, P, Chapman
141. Dallas - Perkins, Art, FB, North Texas
142. San Diego - Bolin, Bookie, G, Mississippi
143. Washington - Gursky, Albert, OLB, Penn State
144. Minnesota - Thibert, Jim, ILB, Toledo
145. Seattle - Gassert, Ron, DT, Virginia
146. Kansas City - Crabb, Claude, S, Southern California
147. Buffalo - Budd, Frank, WR, Villanova
148. San Francisco - Davis, Donnie, TE, Southern University
149. St. Louis - Wilson, Eddie, QB, Arizona
150. Tennessee - Cloutier, Dave, S, Maine
151. Denver - Ferguson, Larry, RB, Iowa
152. Detroit - Hernandez, Joe, WR, Arizona
153. New Jersey - Saxton, Jimmy, RB, Texas
154. New York - Hull, Bill, DE, Wake Forest
155. Philadelphia - Reese, Guy, DT, Southern Methodist
156. Pittsburgh - Nicklas, Pete, T, Baylor
157. Indianapolis - Kaimer, Karl, DE, Boston University
158. Green Bay - Morelli, Fran, T, Colgate
159. Cleveland - Yaccino, John, CB, Pittsburgh
160. Arizona - Marshall, Chuck, CB, Oregon State
161. Pittsburgh - Minter, Tom, CB, Baylor
162. Houston - Butler, Bob, G, Kentucky
163. Carolina - Johnson, Marshall, DT, McMurry
164. Cincinnati - Donahue, Oscar, WR, San Jose State
165. Miami - Wheeler, Manch, QB, Maine
166. Atlanta - Reed, Bobby, RB, Pacific Lutheran
167. Carolina - Jordan, Larry, DE, Youngstown State
168. New England - Wilson, Ben, FB, Southern California
169. Tampa Bay - Jolley, Nick, QB, Maryland
170. New Orleans - Jackson, Leroy, RB, Western Illinois
171. New England - Eaton, John, T, Small College
172. Oakland - Galyon, Billy, OLB, Louisiana State
173. San Diego - Blaine, Ed, G, Missouri
174. Washington - Robinson, Jerry, WR, Grambling
175. Dallas - Scribner, Solomon, RB, Cal. - Sacramento
176. Chicago - Donnell, Jim, ILB, Hillsdale
177. Kansas City - Jackson, Ira, ILB, Western Michigan
178. Minnesota - Pennington, Tom, K, Georgia
179. San Francisco - Edwards, Niko, OLB, Central Florida
180. Buffalo - Williams, Larry, QB, NW Missouri St.
181. St. Louis - Stafford, Dick, DE, Texas Tech
182. Denver - Dufek, Doug, ILB, Pittsburgh
183. Detroit - Ellis, James, QB, St. Thomas, Minn.
184. Tennessee - Gillett, Fred, OLB, Small College
185. New York - Kelso, Bob, CB, Duke
186. New Jersey - Diamond, Bill, G, Miami, Florida
187. Philadelphia - Smith, John, DE, Nebraska
188. Indianapolis - Burns, Archie, QB, Northwestern
189. Pittsburgh - Vargo, Larry, S, Small College
190. Green Bay - Bundra, Mike, DT, Southern California
191. Cleveland - Kennedy, Willie, CB, Maryland
192. Arizona - Berger, Don, QB, Houston
193. Houston - Mirer, Robbie, RB, Texas Christian
194. Jacksonville - Craig, Dobie, WR, Howard Payne
195. New England - Simpson, Willie, FB, Small College
196. Miami - Podolak, Ed, RB, Princeton
197. Seattle - Richardson, Isaac, TE, Fort Hays State
198. Carolina - Grant, Donald, WR, Alma
199. Atlanta - Nunamaker, Darren, WR, Muskingum
200. Tampa Bay - Cole, David, G, The Citadel
201. Baltimore - Tyler, Kent, DT, Columbia
202. New England - Ham, Raphael, T, West Virginia
203. Oakland - Glass, Glenn, CB, Tennessee
204. New Orleans - Kirchner, Bill, DT,
205. Washington - Washington, Ralph, WR, Marshall
206. Dallas - Ferguson, Brennen, QB, Rutgers
207. San Diego - Brown, Lynn, WR, Penn State
208. Kansas City - Irvin, Artose, S, Southern Illinois
209. Minnesota - Carter, Jim, DT, North Carolina A&T
210. Tennessee - Brooker, Tommy, K, Alabama
211. Buffalo - Collins, Juan, CB, New Haven
212. San Francisco - Gillette, Pete, C, Toledo
213. St. Louis - Shello, C.R., DT, Georgia
214. Detroit - Dennison, Al, WR, Stanford
215. Tennessee - Tant, Phil, ILB, Texas Christian
216. Denver - Smith, Tony, TE, Duke
217. New Jersey - Brutley, Houston, OLB, Iowa
218. New York - Oats, Yale, G, California
219. Philadelphia - Reed, Lonnie, RB, Oklahoma
220. Pittsburgh - Williams, Howard, WR, Kentucky
221. Indianapolis - Spani, Lamar, ILB, Central Connecticut
222. Green Bay - Smith, Tom, S, West New Mexico
223. Cleveland - Wright, Mike, QB, Williams
224. Arizona - Lince, Phil, RB, Virginia

I took Burrell, a prospect WR, in the 4th as he was underrated at interview. Jim Thibert is a real raw prospect, but there's not much left on the board at this point. Tom Pennington has good looking prospects for a cannon of a foot, who could replace Mercer. Jim Carter was a shot in the dark, but looked to have a little upside.

Draft Grade A-

*grumble* There were precious few decent receivers in this draft. Also, New England are crazy with their trades and have almost no picks in 1964. Shea looks to be a good pick, and Fred Moore looks like a beast at the heart of the line. Jim Carter and Jim Thibert look like duds. Maybe I should have a "no more Jims!" draft rule?

Late Free Agency
Week 1
LG Pat Shea (Rookie: 880k, 4 yrs.)
Let's get these rookies locked up.
DT Fred Moore (Rookie: $1.89m, 4 yrs.)
There we go, the two most talented signed up.
WLB Charlie Anderson ($170k, 2 yrs.)
A second year linebacker out of Tampa, who will replace Rubke.
C Roderick Holloway ($210k, 2 yrs.)
A very competant backup center, who will probably end up better than my guards this term..
WR Overmyer, Johnny ($180k, 2 yrs.)
Also a second year talent out of Tampa, Overmyer had 750 yards last year and looks like a good slot receiver with safe third down hands.

Week 2
P Willie Renfrow - San Diego ($50k, 1 yr.)
Byebye, Willie. You were decent, but so are many other free agent punters this year.
WR Howard Clark ($170k, 2 yrs.)
I was lured in by his 43/70 on avoid drops, 66/76 on getting downfield and 51 on big play receiving... he has many, many flaws but he'll get plenty of time to wor them out of his system as we prepare for throwing money at a free agent next year.
WLB John Tracy ($200k, 2 yrs.)
Backup out of Philly, signed primarily for special teams.

Week 3
DT Penguin Culpepper - Jacksonville ($130k, 1 yr.)
Byebye, Penguin. After the draft, there was very little chance of him staying around. Great name, only a decent player.
TE Darryl Hanks ($140k, 2 yrs.)
A talented second year player, who looks like he'll stomp on Smith in training camp.
WR Kenny Witcher ($140k, 2 yrs.)
He's quick, can hold onto a ball if it's thrown straight at him, and can hold a route. Or at least he has the potential to and this year potential seems the only option at WR.
Ben Davidson ($390k, 3 yrs.)
The most talented young DE in free agency. A strong personality discouraged many, but Dugan is strong as well and this guy has no limit to his energy, reads the play brilliantly for an end and can stop the run like a DT. His pass rush is good, not special, but the rest makes him a risk worth taking. Besides, it'll test Dugan.
MLB Dave Lloyd ($220k, 2 yrs.)
Part of the dominant Browns team, he joins to provide depth at the LB slot for us and competition for Hawkins should he bust this year. Used to a 3-4 system, but he can convert to MLB without problem.
FS Vinny Crute ($160k, 2 yrs.)
A potential replacement for Sumner if he does something stupid like retire next year. Returned an interception for a TD in his rookie year for Dugan at Oakland.

Training Camp
CB John McGeever (Rookie: $350k, 3 yrs)
K Tom Pennington (Rookie: $220k, 3 yrs.)
WLB Jim Thibert (Rookie: $210k, 3 yrs.)
The last rookies I intend to stay on this team. That means not you, Jim Carter. What on earth was I thinking, drafting someone named Jim Carter? (For reference, Jimmy Carter (no relation) was 38 at this point.)

So, that's the roster filled out. I will post a roster analysis soon.

A look at the 1962 Vikings by Position:

This is the year of Fran Tarkenton, and we'll live and die with him. He may not have any receivers to throw to, but he should have better protection for his first starting year and next term we'll find some targets. Shaw will back him up before he leaves in preseason and LeBaron is present primarily to work with Tarkenton during the week.
Tommy Mason will continue to start, with Caleb running third downs. Mayberry will sit, with Carmichael working with the youngsters.
These two will continue to split time, with the experienced veteran guiding a young guy. Ray Hayes may well be sole starter next year, so he needs time to develop this year.
Darryl Hanks is a very good run blocker, and a decent receiver, who is a surprisingly good pickup for a second year free agent. Kramer is a good second TE, strong run blocker and good at getting downfield and good hands. I play several 2 TE plays so they should both get plenty of work, especially with my receiver corps.
This is, without doubt, the weakness on this team. Witcher will start preseason and we'll judge his development from there, if he doesn't go well then Overmyer or Reichow might move over to start there.
Alderman-Shea-Mellekas-Rabold-Youso is the starting set-up. Evans is a mentor for Alderman, and Holloway will cover the heart of the line. Not really a huge amount of depth here, but the addition of Mellekas and Shea changes the quality for the better.
Pennington has a huge boot, but not much accuracy. Mercer will retain field goal duties while Pennington will kickoff, and Baker will surprisingly punt.
I feel good about the rush that Marshall and Davidson will provide and Denton is a good guy to cycle in. O'Neil will mentor the starting pair and hopefully will see limited play time.
Carter won't be signed. Moore and Prestel have good endurance and very good potential for run-stuffing, while Kostelink will back them up to develop his pass rush.
I like the run defence on my linebackers, which whould help open up the pass rush for my DE. Not that they can't rush themselves, and Stonebreaker/Hawkins should develop quicker under the tutelage of Furey.
Two obvious starters here. I need some good corners next year...
Lamson and Sumner will reprise their partnership of last year, whilst Crute plays dime and hopefully develops into a replacement for Sumner.

$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,

Other information:
Players Under Contract: 53
Inactive: 7
On Active Roster: 46
Salary Cap: $15,200,000
Cap Room: $7,490,000
Maximum for New Player: $7,540,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $50,000
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $7,060,000

Offence:
Tarkenton & Mason. Two second year players will lead my offence (I feel like a real Viking :p) and the massive problem is the lack of any speedy receivers. It's never healthy to rely on TE and RB to lead the receiving...
Defence:
I like my defence. Last year we survived on big plays, but I've improved the rush and added mentors. The only issue is that the DL is young and needs to develop but the potential is good. My secondary does need improving, as I am not so confident in their ball-hawking.
Special Teams:
We'll see how it goes here. Mason will continue on returning duty for probably his last year as I want to preserve his health.

Exhibition

Minnesota sold 56,200 season tickets for the season out of a capacity of 64,000.

Minnesota 25 New Jersey 14
An ugly start for Tarkenton, who was 13-27 for 98 yards (2 TD, 3 int.). However, the real positive here is we played very badly and still had a fairly secure win. Clutching? Straws? Never.

Denver 6 Minnesota 21
Fran Tarkenton eased many nerves around the Twin Cities with 8-13 for 150 (1 TD) and a rating of 127.0. Kelly Witcher had 99 yards on 4 catches, and the DL shared 5 sacks. The OL didn't give up a sack and had several key blocks as well to show signs of life before the season starts.

A blow as Johnny Bookman injures his calf and will miss 6 weeks.

Minnesota 16 New England 22 (OT)
This is another frustrating performance, as Fran Tarkenton and George Shaw both produce 100 yard, 50% completion and 1 TD games. I have a suspicion this will be an up and down 8-8 season again.

San Diego 33 Minnesota 15
The Chargers have 2 Jack Kemps. That is beyond weird. Anyways, George Shaw reminds everyone he is a capable backup with 167 yards and a TD.

Dick Haley is out with a broken tibula and we have a corner crisis. Ross Dylan signs a 1 year, $70k deal and Mike Mercer is cut for his inability to get the ball to the goal posts on a 32-yard field goal.

Roster before the start of the season:
The improvements made by Jim Marshall (40 to 45), Gary Alderman (53 to 57), Ben Davidson (37 to 40), Chuck Lamson (39 to 46) and most of all by Steve Stonebreaker (30 to 40) are good signs.

Season two begins tomorrow.

Chicago 17 Minnesota 14
Fran Tarkenton passes for 139 yards and 2 TDs, but the lack of a big play receiver is really hurting us on big plays. The OL leaked 5 sacks (all from the right side, 3 through Youso and 2 through Huth), and the DL conjured just 1. Even so, a 4th quarter drive could have tied it, but Tom Pennington couldn't get the kick on target.

New Jersey 28 Minnesota 23
We don't seem to play well at home. Fran Tarkenton has 15-27 for 208 yards (2 TD), but the Jets' Al Darow has 454 yards culminating in a game winning TD pass with 40 seconds on the clock. Johnny Overmyer enjoyed his first 100 yard game (1 TD) after being switched to starting SE with Reichow on the FL.

Minnesota 24 San Francisco 21
I don't know how we won here. Fran Tarkenton was 25-33 which helped, and the 280 yards (2 TD) certainly helped. I am concerned about the problems of the defence with such a heavily defence-minded staff, with the overall defence seeming to fail. Maybe the cornerback crisis is to blame.

RG Mike Rabold seperates his shoulder and misses 5 weeks.

Minnesota 24 Philidelphia 17
The big difference now seems to be that Fran Tarkenton is taking better care of the football with 22-27 for 244 yards (2 TD) and this is starting to open up the run. Tommy Mason rushes for his first TD of the year and Rip Hawkins has a sack.

Obviously the biggest concern is the defence. Last year we had 12 sacks, 12 hurries, 6 int. and 18 passes defenced. This year it is 4 sacks, 10 hurries, 3 int. and 18 passes defenced (those mostly due to Mostardi). What has changed? I think the problems in the secondary released the pressure from the line and that has hit the rush. The receiving corps is doing better with Reichow and Overmyer starting and Tarkenton is starting to grow. Tommy Mason remains a concern, with fumbles and no yardage, but Jamie Caleb is a big plus.

That pass rush is the biggest concern.

I'm thinking you're going to regret not drafting Gary Ballman if my Dolphins career is any indication. :D

Nice to see him go late in the 1st in your draft, though... Just verifies just how much of a steal he was for him to fall to me in the 3rd round in mind.

That said, Moore looks like to have been a solid 1st round pick for you thus far and should anchor the middle of your D-line for quite a few years :)

Fred Moore is a beast, he'll eat Gary Ballman. ;)

Minnesota 25 Green Bay 28
Agonising. Paul Hornung returns to haunt the Vikings, rushing for two unanswered 4th quarter TD scores and break Minnesota hearts. After 10 hurries all year, the DL produces 5 in this game. Even Fran Tarkenton and his 24-31 for 245 yards (2 TD) could not force the Vikings over the line.

Rich Mostardi signs a 5 year $1.69m extension to stay with the Vikings through 1966.

Minnesota 24 Dallas 7
The DL continues to stutter slowly into life. 3 more hurries and a season high (season doubling, in fact) 5 sacks (Ben Robertson 2.0) and Jim Prestel recovering a forced fumble finally created some QB pressure. The secondary responded with 3 4th quarter interceptions, Fran Tarkenton has 3 TD and Tommy Mason rushes for 119 yards. I wish we could play Dallas every week.

ALl-pro S Charlie Sumner signs a $710,000, 3 yrs. extension to tie him to the Vikings until retirement. As a reward for his burgeoning talent, Steve Stonebreaker receives a $1,280,000, 5 yrs. extension.

Washington 6 Minnesota 15
A battle of the kickers, with Tom Pennington (5/5) leading the Vikings to victory of the back of Tommy Mason's second 100 yard game of the year.

New York 7 Minnesota 10
Off the back of Tommy Mason's 93 yards (1 TD), the Vikings improved to 5-3. A time eating, 7 minute and 72 yard drive ended the game with mixed feelings after a knock to Tommy Mason. For a little perspective on our pass rush here, the two sacks produced caused a 50% rise in the number of sacks the Giants have given up. All year, 6 sacks. Yep, that's a tough line.

Tommy Mason is fine, and he's 100% already.

Turnovers. 3rd in the league of rushing defence, 4th on rushing offence. A league-low 1 int. thrown and second in the league in turnovers lost (5, 4 fumbles). The defence has started to emerge over the last few weeks, and it's a big relief for my (as good as) rookie offence. To be honest, I don't think we deserve too be in the playoffs this year. But with the addition of a star WR, this team should be aiming for the NFC Championship game at least.

Of worthwhile note: Greta tells me that Grady Alderman is the 5th best LT in the league. I am one of those GMs for whom LT is the second most important position on offence and I am glad to have Grady.

Minnesota 33 Chicago 26
Our defence stopped Chicago twice on downs in the 4th and saw both converted into TDs as a strong 4th quarter (20 points) blew Chicago away. A 44 yard TD from the final play skewed Chicago's points closer than they were during time that mattered.

Detroit 26 Minnesota 33
It's not a good situation when your QB is your lead rusher. However, Fran Tarkenton is really feeling like something special now and is shredding teams. Tommy Mason is struggling, and is fumbling alot.

Minnesota 7 Miami 14
Fran Tarkenton finally blows up, with 3 int. as Minnesota just can't convert. Tommy Mason has 100 yards on 16 carries, but wastefulness snaps the 5 game streak and draws us back into the mire of the playoff hunt.

Rip Hawkins is just not making the plays I need from him at the moment, and Dave Lloyd will collect his first start this week against Carolina. Jerry Reichow is out, so Kelly Witcher will get the chance to demonstrate what he can do.

Carolina 7 Minnesota 20
Another win, with good all-round contributions. Kelly Witcher didn't catch a single pass, but Dave Lloyd led the team in tackles. Tommy Mason had a rushing TD for the first time in a while, and the defence produced 5 sacks (Ben Davidson 2.0).

However... Damn.

Good dynasty so far.

Just one nitpick. If it was a fractured femur (hip fracture), Tarkenton wouldn't be holding his arm, and more than likely wouldn't be leaving the field under his own power. I know this isn't reflected in the game, but back in the 60's, a fractured femur was much more likely to be a CEI.

In fact, thanks to modern medicine, a lot of injuries that at one time ended careers are now treatable, and athletes come back from most major injuries in just as good a shape as before the injuries -- rather than being just shells of what they were.

Great dynasty choice, hope you keep it going. I'll be following along pulling for the Vikes!

That's a very good point, and is entirely the fault of me not paying any attention whatsoever and seems to have just been me inserting a bone in that I could remember.:o


So... correction: it was a broken humerus. Ah, the impact one wrong word can cause. :p

Free Agent Signing:
Bob Beisler ($70k, 1 year)
Beisler is an okay young QB, signed off waivers from San Diego to back up whilst Tarkenton is out. He had a decent enough year with Jacksonville last year for a 3rd string guy, throwing 17 passes and completing 13 (1 TD).

Bob O'Neil, the veteran DE, is placed on IR to make room.

Minnesota 16 Buffalo 20
A late 4th quarter comeback by Buffalo upset our hopes here. Tommy Mason fumbled another 3 times, which is highly worrying, and George Shaw just can't get us into the endzone. A game behind Green Bay in the division, and a game behind Philidelphia for the wildcard. I wish I was in the NFC south, where Tampa lead the division with 4-9. Pittsburgh are 13-0...

Minnesota 16 Detroit 13
Mr. Reliable George Shaw sees us throw a tough game in Detroit, completing 30-39 for 242 yards (2 TD) and a passer rating of 109.1 with two 2nd quarter 70 yard TD drives. Jim Prestel led the DL with 2.0 sacks out of a 5.0 total and both corners had interceptions. Tommy Mason didn't fumble! We still trail Green Bay and Philidelphia by a game, and face the very real prospect of having to beat Green Bay to reach the playoffs. That 9-2 conference record may be my saviour, although I do need to snap the 3 game skid against AFC opposition against New England...

Minnesota 25 New England 22 (OT)
Just. We stay alive by the skin of our teeth, with an OT drive to the 2 yard line that produced an easy field goal. Tommy Mason's 74 yard punt return was a definite plus, and Jerry Reichow had his second 100 yard game of the season.

So, winner takes all against Green Bay...

Statistics show year-start/year-end ability for players where a difference was noticable.

Mel Triplett (2 year, $640k extension)

I'd say our playoff appearence is the direct result of the growth in our second year players. Fran Tarkenton showed real glimpses of MVP potential and his run without an interception really helped the defence create those big plays for our high turnover margin.

There are two other big stories, the first of which is Grady Alderman, who exploded from 53/71 to 79 and 100 run blocking (I think that's LT sewned up for the next ten years). He had 8 pancakes this year and delivered 31% BPct. The second is Steve Stonebreaker, who went almost as far from 30/71 to 55/71. The contributions from those two have certainly increased and I'm glad their both tied to long-term deals.

I expect Eddie LeBaron to retire this year, although I would like to keep him around. I am not prepared to pay George Shaw what he is asking, and I'll need to pick up a backup for Tarkenton. Tommy Mason has peaked, and I think we need a new third-down back to replace Jamie Caleb. Hopefully I can find a tough old mentor to run 3rd downs, and minimalise my RB needs. Ray Hayes will start next year and I am happy with his development. Darryl Hanks looks like next years starter at TE and a mentor for him would be useful. The WR corps needs revamping, despite small amounts of improvement from Kelly Witcher and Howard Clark.

We need a new RG and RT, with Youso leaving in free agency and Rabold not impressing. Pat Shea, John Mellekas and Grady Alderman are all secure starters next year. Tom Pennington will stay after his boot took us into the playoffs and Sam Baker will stay if no-one else comes in. Jim Marshall and Ben Davidson took a while to get going, but should be a solid pass rush next term. Jim Prestel and Fred Moore make up a 4-man unit with abundant talent for such a young group.

Dave Lloyd took the starters job away from Rip Hawkins towards the end of the year and they will battle it out next year. Stonebreaker is a set for the next five years at least. Rich Mostardi has finally seemed to settle at corner and will await a younger partner to play opposite. Chuck Lamson will start again next year, with Vinny Crute preparing to step in for veteran Charlie Sumner.

All in all, there is a highly talented core there which will continue to develop next year. There's always room for improvement and a starting FL and LCB are priorities. But, that can wait a week at least...

The postseason!

So, as a reward for our fantastic response in tight games this year, eight of our wins have been by less than 7 points, we have a home game against San Francisco in the wildcard round. The 49ers are led by the Californian icon John Brodie, who has not had a great year by his standards, his 6th pro season. 57.0%, 3135 yards, 19 TDs, 18 INTs. He has the ability to make any pass but has struggled with turnovers this year, however he could explode at any time like he did against Seattle when he shredded them for 300 yards with 20-28 and a 103.2 passer rating.

Brodie's go-to guy is Aaron Thomas, a second year receiver who had 8 TD this year. J.D. Smith is the teams RB, he recorded a 1000 yard season for the second straight year, and Randall Fenwick provides a formidable 1-2 punch. They also have a very good line to protect Brodie in veterans C Bruce Bosley, an all-pro reserve last year, and LT Bob St. Clair, and younger guys RG John Thomas and RT Monte Clark. Third year LG Mike Magac is a great prospect, and our pass rush could have a little challenge here.

Dan Colchico is a quality DE and Clark Miller is a quality DE who has still got room to grow. However, the heart of the line relies on rookie NT Ray Jacobs who is weak against the run and that could be exploited by John Mellekas and Tommy Mason.

Aside from SLB Matt Hazeltine, the 49ers linebacker corps is not really enough for their 3-4 system. They have three prospect second year players who can be exploited if George Shaw can drop the ball beneath the secondary. That secondary is the biggest threat on the San Francisco defence, with SS Dave Baker returning two interception TDs this year and FS Eddie Dove having one as well. The corners had 9 interceptions but RCB Abe Woodson is one of the best run defending CB in the league.

So, how are we going to beat the 49ers? By attacking their linebackers with short passes, which happen to be George Shaw's forte, and pummeling their line down. Our defensive line could decide this game against the 49ers solid o-line, as we need to put Brodie under pressure and force him to make plays that we can pick off. We're favourites, but that doesn't really help at this point.

Superbowl II
Pittsburgh 17 St. Louis 31
The Rams become the first NFC Superbowl champions in a close game. Pittsburgh QB Rudy Bukich is 20-33 for 199 (2 TD), rating 97.9, RB John Henry Johnson has 15 carries for 59 yards and WR Preston Carpenter catches 4-4 for 90 yards. St. Louis QB Zeke Bratkowski has 20-27 for 282 yards (1 TD), rating 119.6, RB Dick Bass has 24 carries for 70 yards (2 TD)and WR Carroll Dale 6-7 for 109 yards.

Season Awards
Congratulations to Tom Pennington who capped an interesting year by being named All-Pro first team kicker.

Stay tuned for the Weinstein post-season review.

The returning staff:

Head Coach Brian Dugan (61), 2 years remaining. He showed no difference in skill. I saw no reason to replace him following a successful year.

Offensive Coordinator Cedric Liotti (38), 3 years remaining. He showed no relevant improvements in skill. At 38, he is still a decent prospect.

The new staff

Defensive Coordinator: R.J. Blackburn (59)
3 Years.
K/P: Average
DL: Good
LB: Very Good
DB: Very Good
YT: Very Good

He is significantly better with the linebackers than Kwiecinski was. That's the only change, but he is quite a decent coach and will help our youngsters develop.

Scouting Director: Clyde Neufeldt (54)
QB: Good (worse than Harper (VG))
RB: Good
WR: Average
OL: Good (better than Harper (F))
K/P: Average (much worse than Harper (VG))
DL: Good (better than Harper (A))
LB: Average (better than Harper (F))
DB: Average (much worse than Harper (VG))
YT: Excellent (Lightyears better than Harper (A))

He's an excellent youth scout and a competant ability scout. At 54, I may well stay with him for the next 15 years as I like that youth stat.

Retirements:

RB Al Carmichael and T Michael Evans retire. Both were mentors, and Carmichael will need replacing for certain. Evans will need replacing if I acquire a new rookie tackle, but he's not a huge loss with Alderman seemed pretty well set.

Next, free agency and the draft.

Side note: Darrin Kwiecinski signs a 1 year deal as Cincinnati's defensive coordinator. Poor guy.

Free Agency

Week 1 Resignings
MLB Dave Lloyd ($610k 2 year extension)
After winning the MLB spot towards the end of last year, he deserves a contract to continue that fight.
FS Vinny Crute ($200k 1 year extension)
Despite his fall towards the end of last year, he's still pencilled in as the longterm replacement for Charlie Sumner.

Week 2
T Ollie Spencer ($220k, 1 year)
A mentor guard, signed to replace Michael Evans. He's probably just about good enough to compete for the RT spot with whatever rookie I can get, as there are no RTs in FA.
G Dale Memmerlaar rejects me; he was the best guard in FA, but ultimately a journeyman and no big loss.

Week 3
WR Tom Osbourne, the only semi-decent FA WR, rejects me for Dallas. Guess it's a first round WR, and I hate drafting them that high.
QB Bob Beisler ($100k, 1 year)
4th string QB resigns in case of injury, and possibly to play third if I can't replace Shaw.

Week 4
CB Dick Haley ($130k, 1 year)
The annual resigning of nickel Haley.
WR Jim Mutscheller ($170k, 1 year)
A veteran mentor WR, signed in anticipation of a first round WR.

Week 5
DE Bob O'Neil ($170k, 1 year)
Mentor for my DEs resigns as a FA.
RB Tom Wilson ($340k, 2 years)
A mentor replacement for Carmichael.

Week 6
G Chuck Muelhaupt ($180k, 1 year)
A mentor guard for Pat Shea.

Week 7
QB George Shaw ($1.33m, 3 years)
Okay... so here it is. I have nearly $8m in cap room. George Shaw is the best free agent QB by miles, and I would not be able to get a better replacement. Then, I see he is near a deal with Green Bay... I top that and tie him back to us. He's a great backup, and I won't let Green Bay have him.

Week 8
QB Eddie LeBaron ($170k, 1 year)
Fran's mentor is back.

Week 9
DT Bill Bishop ($170k, 1 year)
Anyone remember Bill? Well, he had a year starting in Arizona and he seems satisfied with that. He's now a mentor and returns to work with Fred Moore.
ILB Mal Hammack ($140k, 1 year)
A mentor who I hope will get Rip Hawkins back on track.
OLB Bill Roehnelt ($120k, 1 year)
A replacement for Jim Furey, after Furey developed a problem with the far more talented Ben Davidson.

The 1963 NFL draft

1. Baltimore - Stallings, Larry, OLB, Georgia Tech
2. Oakland - Reynolds, Bob, T, Bowling Green
3. Houston - Logan, Jerry, S, West Texas A&M
4. Arizona - Walker, Chuck, DE, Duke
5. Atlanta - Baird, Billy, CB, Small College
6. Tampa Bay - Campbell, John, OLB, Minnesota
7. New Orleans - Aldridge, Lionel, DE, Utah State
8. Jacksonville - Hill, Dave, T, Auburn
9. Miami - Bell, Bobby, OLB, Minnesota
10. Carolina - Alexander, Kermit, CB, UCLA
11. Dallas - Herman, Dave, G, Michigan State
12. Seattle - Smith, Jackie, TE, NWestern St., La.
13. Atlanta - Behrman, Dave, C, Michigan State
Chicago receive 3rd '63, 1st & 3rd '65
14. Arizona - Buchanan, Buck, DT, Grambling
Cincinnati receive 1st '65
15. Buffalo - Dunaway, Jim, DT, Mississippi
16. Kansas City - Sweeney, Walt, G, Syracuse
17. Washington - Jordan, Lee Roy, ILB, Alabama
18. Denver - Auer, Joe, RB, Georgia Tech
19. Detroit - Gaubatz, Dennis, ILB, Louisiana State
20. Arizona - Kanicki, Jim, DT, Michigan State
Well, that is some aggressive rebuilding on the defensive line from Arizona. This is a team that won the first ever Superbowl, and now has 3 top 20 picks on it's D-line? That's getting scary.
21. Green Bay - Atkinson, Frank, DT, Stanford

Well damn, the two people on my draft board, G Ed Budde and WR Ray Poage are still there. I'd love to take Budde, but I desperately need a playmaker at WR so it has to be...

22. Minnesota - Poage, Ray, WR, Texas
23. San Francisco - Jones, Homer, WR, Texas Southern
24. Tennessee - Clark, Ernie, OLB, Michigan State
25. New Jersey - Budde, Ed, G, Michigan State
26. San Diego - Schoenke, Ray, G, Southern Methodist
27. New York - Killett, Charlie, RB, Memphis
28. Philadelphia - Westmoreland, Dick, CB, North Carolina A&T
29. Indianapolis - Mackey, John, TE, Syracuse
30. Cleveland - Russell, Andy, OLB, Missouri
31. Pittsburgh - Hultz, Don, DE, Southern Mississippi
32. Carolina - Vogel, Bob, T, Ohio State
St. Louis receive 1st '64, 1st & 3rd '65
33. Oakland - Stovall, Jerry, S, Louisiana State
34. Baltimore - Saimes, George, S, Michigan State
35. Houston - Silas, Sam, DT, Southern Illinois
36. Dallas - Howell, Lane, T, Grambling
37. Tampa Bay - Woodeshick, Tom, FB, West Virginia
38. New Orleans - Caffey, Lee Roy, OLB, Texas A&M
39. Atlanta - Janik, Tom, S, Tx. A&M - Kingsville
40. Atlanta - Bradshaw, Jim, S, Tenn. - Chattanooga
Miami receive 2nd '64, 5th & 6th '65
41. Carolina - Hill, Winston, T, Texas Southern
42. Jacksonville - Costa, Dave, DT, Utah
43. Dallas - Curry, Roy, WR, Jackson State
44. Seattle - Barnett, Steve, T, Oregon
45. Detroit - Baker, Johnny, OLB, Mississippi State
46. Buffalo - Kassulke, Karl, S, Drake
47. Kansas City - Graham, Art, WR, Boston College
48. Washington - Johnson, John, DT, Indiana
49. Denver - Meggyesy, Dave, OLB, Syracuse
50. Cincinnati - Sisk, John, S, Miami, Florida
51. Atlanta - Calland, Lee, CB, Louisville
Detroit receive 3rd '63, 4th & 7th '65
52. Arizona - Caylor, Lowell, CB, Miami, Ohio

I am unbelievably annoyed at missing Calland. I didn't notice the Atlanta-Detroit trade, and consequently I take the other ballhawk on my board, Terry Kosens.

53. Minnesota - Kosens, Terry, S, Hofstra

At this point, I'll provide just the draft, no trades.

54. New England - Petrich, Bob, DE, West Texas A&M
55. Tennessee - Robinson, Dave, OLB, Penn State
56. Green Bay - Brown, Willie, CB, Grambling
57. Atlanta - Heck, Ralph, OLB, Colorado
58. New York - Whitmyer, Nat, CB, Washington
59. Chicago - West, Dave, S, Small College
60. Denver - Rowley, Bob, OLB, Virginia
61. Oakland - Brown, Tom, S, Maryland
62. Seattle - Overton, Jerry, S, Utah
63. Houston - Frank, Bill, T, Colorado
64. Baltimore - Chuy, Don, G, Clemson
65. Atlanta - Wilson, Jerrel, P, Southern Mississippi
66. Chicago - Turner, Jim, K, Utah State
67. Oakland - Raimey, Dave, CB, Michigan
68. New England - Goodwin, Ron, WR, Baylor
69. New Orleans - Nelsen, Bill, QB, Southern California
70. Seattle - Taylor, Bob, DE, Small College
71. Tampa Bay - Kerbow, Randy, WR, Rice
72. Houston - Butsko, Harry, OLB, Maryland
73. Baltimore - Mirich, Rex, DT, Arizona State
74. Cincinnati - Lamonica, Daryle, QB, Notre Dame
75. Dallas - Paterra, Herb, OLB, Michigan State
76. Philadelphia - Battle, Jim, G, Southern Illinois
77. Pittsburgh - Guy, Lou, CB, Mississippi
78. Kansas City - Mitchell, Charley, RB, Washington
79. Washington - Fleming, Marv, TE, Utah
80. Philadelphia - Snidow, Ron, DE, Oregon
81. Detroit - Brumm, Don, DE, Purdue
82. Buffalo - Park, Ernie, G, McMurry
83. Detroit - Dixon, Hewritt, RB, Florida A&M
84. Jacksonville - Sanders, Lonnie, CB, Michigan State
85. San Francisco - Liscio, Tony, T, Tulsa
86. Tennessee - Tobin, Bill, RB, Missouri
87. Green Bay - Dillon, Terry, CB, Montana
88. Jacksonville - Walton, Chuck, G, Iowa State
89. New Jersey - Boylan, Jim, WR, Washington State
90. Philadelphia - Hayes, Wendell, FB, Humboldt State
91. Arizona - Nomina, Tom, G, Miami, Ohio
92. New York - Cuozzo, Gary, QB, Virginia
93. Indianapolis - Baker, Terry, WR, Oregon State
94. Cleveland - Burson, Jimmy, CB, Auburn
95. Pittsburgh - Farrier, Curt, DT, Montana State
96. St. Louis - Brabham, Danny, OLB, Arkansas
97. Oakland - Price, Jim, OLB, Auburn
98. Baltimore - Simon, Jim, G, Miami, Florida
99. Houston - Mansfield, Ray, C, Washington
100. New England - Breaux, Don, QB, McNeese State
101. Baltimore - Scrutchins, Ed, DE, Toledo
102. Tampa Bay - Lisbon, Don, RB, Bowling Green
103. New Orleans - Joe, Billy, FB, Villanova
104. Arizona - Laskey, Frank, T, Florida
105. Miami - Rutkowski, Ed, WR, Notre Dame
106. Carolina - O'Mahoney, Jim, ILB, Miami, Florida
107. Jacksonville - Stricker, Tony, CB, Colorado
108. Seattle - Carson, Kern, RB, San Diego State
109. Chicago - Rock, Walt, T, Maryland
110. Washington - Trull, Don, QB, Baylor
111. Cincinnati - Maples, Butch, OLB, Baylor
112. Cincinnati - Peters, Anton, DT, Florida
113. Buffalo - Liske, Pete, QB, Penn State
114. Kansas City - Flatley, Paul, WR, Northwestern
115. Detroit - Benz, Larry, S, Northwestern
116. San Diego - Walker, Clarence, RB, Southern Illinois
117. Tennessee - Petties, Neal, WR, San Diego State
118. Green Bay - Ryder, Nick, RB, Miami, Florida
119. Minnesota - Pashe, Bill, CB, Small College

From what is left on the board, Bill Pashe is the last guy at corner I was prepared to take.

120. San Francisco - Swain, Bill, OLB, Oregon
121. New Jersey - Kirouac, Lou, G, Boston College
122. San Diego - Perreault, Pete, G, Boston University
123. New York - Starks, Marshall, CB, Illinois
124. Philadelphia - Hutchinson, Tom, WR, Kentucky
125. Indianapolis - Russ, Patt, DT, Purdue
126. Chicago - Wilson, Butch, TE, Alabama
127. Pittsburgh - Breen, Gene, OLB, Virginia Tech
128. St. Louis - Williams, Roy, DT, Azusa Pacific
129. St. Louis - Grimm, Dan, G, Colorado
130. Pittsburgh - Sanders, Daryl, T, Ohio State
131. Carolina - Neumann, Tom, RB, Northern Michigan
132. San Francisco - Heeter, Gene, TE, West Virginia
133. Tampa Bay - Powers, Warren, S, Nebraska
134. New Orleans - Sklopan, John, S, Southern Mississippi
135. Baltimore - Francis, Dave, FB, Ohio State
136. San Diego - Ramsey, Nate, S, Indiana
137. Carolina - Estes, Don, G, Louisiana State
138. Jacksonville - Claridge, Dennis, QB, Nebraska
139. Dallas - Thornton, Bill, FB, Nebraska
140. Seattle - Glueck, Larry, CB, Villanova
141. Philadelphia - Richardson, Willie, WR, Jackson State
142. Cincinnati - Barrett, Jan, TE, Fresno State
143. Cincinnati - Johnson, Dick, WR, Minnesota
144. Buffalo - Slaby, Lou, ILB, Pittsburgh
145. Kansas City - O'Brien, Dave, T, Boston College
146. Washington - Sykes, Gene, S, Louisiana State
147. Detroit - Rosdahl, Hatch, DE, Penn State
148. Arizona - Gambrell, Billy, WR, South Carolina
149. Green Bay - Burke, Vern, TE, Oregon State
150. Minnesota - Faulkner, Staley, T, Texas
151. San Francisco - Holler, Ed, OLB, South Carolina
152. Tennessee - Vander Kelen, Ron, QB, Wisconsin
153. New Jersey - Reeberg, Lucien, T, Hampton
154. New York - Snyder, Al, WR, Holy Cross
155. Philadelphia - Slaughter, Mickey, QB, Louisiana Tech
156. San Diego - Mazzanti, Jerry, DE, Arkansas
157. Indianapolis - Watson, Dave, G, Georgia Tech
158. Cleveland - Rzempoluch, Ted, CB, Virginia
159. Pittsburgh - Chlebek, Ed, QB, Western Michigan
160. St. Louis - McAdams, Bob, DT, North Central
161. Oakland - Hopkins, Jerry, ILB, Texas A&M
162. Baltimore - Kinderman, Keith, RB, Florida State
163. Houston - Perkins, Bill, FB, Iowa
164. New England - McKinnon, Don, ILB, Dartmouth
165. New Orleans - Richter, Pat, TE, Wisconsin
166. New Jersey - Bynum, Gary, ILB, Murray State
167. Tampa Bay - Crossan, Dave, C, Maryland
168. Carolina - Shonta, Sherman, DT, Kansas
169. Jacksonville - Dubenion, Melvin, OLB, Clemson
170. Miami - Herock, Ken, TE, West Virginia
171. Dallas - Stiger, Jim, RB, Washington
172. Baltimore - Veals, Cason, T, Livingstone
173. Cleveland - Perry, Kory, RB, Delta State
174. Cincinnati - Gill, Roger, WR, Texas Tech
175. Buffalo - Bajema, Lance, RB, Jacksonville State
176. Kansas City - Jones, Carl, DT, Michigan Tech
177. Washington - Kemp, Weston, OLB, Cal. - Northridge
178. Denver - Wood, Bill, CB, Wesleyan
179. Detroit - McCray, Rafael, S, Texas
180. Arizona - Berry, Joaquin, RB, Bloomsburg
181. Minnesota - Paremore, Bob, RB, Florida A&M
182. San Francisco - Summers, Gary, RB, Sul Ross State
183. Tennessee - Lytle, Carl, DT, Texas Tech
184. Green Bay - Walker, Randy, S, Albany
185. New Jersey - Kreitling, Mike, RB, Morehead State
186. Philadelphia - Williams, Ryan, OLB, West Georgia
187. San Diego - Bosworth, Andrew, OLB, Wake Forest
188. New York - Thompson, Paul, DT, San Diego
189. Indianapolis - Keyes, Logan, RB, Wofford
190. Cleveland - Barnes, Tom, S, Michigan
191. Pittsburgh - Johnson, Gerry, RB, Coll. of New Jersey
192. St. Louis - Blanchard, Vernon, CB, Mississippi
193. San Francisco - Schaub, Paul, DE, Cal. - Poly SLO
194. Oakland - Sidney, Winfield, RB, UNLV
195. Houston - Young, Lam, ILB, California, Pa.
196. New England - Marshall, Steve, RB, Maine
197. Atlanta - Paine, Dick, QB, Washington
198. Tampa Bay - Hawthorne, Alvin, OLB, California
199. New Orleans - Raab, Don, CB, Tarleton State
200. Arizona - Blackledge, Dave, G, Dayton
201. Miami - Davenport, Russell, CB, Harding
202. Carolina - Taliaferro, Dion, QB, Coe
203. Dallas - Thomas, Courtney, WR, Youngstown State
204. Cleveland - Saxton, Norris, WR, Michigan
205. Oakland - Simmons, Leon, OLB, Grambling
206. Buffalo - Collins, Donald, WR, Florida State
207. Kansas City - Lee, Wayne, ILB, Dartmouth
208. Washington - Smith, Hines, RB, Jackson State
209. Denver - Woodson, George, TE, Nevada
210. Cincinnati - Bayne, Thomas, RB, Clemson
211. Detroit - Faryniarz, Doug, WR, Stephen F. Austin
212. Arizona - Casillas, Don, WR, Northwood
213. San Francisco - Jencks, Bob, K, Miami, Ohio
214. Tennessee - Foley, Dexter, ILB, Simpson
215. Green Bay - Washington, Alvaro, S, West Virginia State
216. Minnesota - Johnson, Joe, WR, Missouri - Rolla
217. New Jersey - Resslet, Sheldon, WR, Hobart
218. San Diego - Shipp, Charles, WR, MacMurray
219. New York - Bryant, Richard, OLB, Boston College
220. Philadelphia - Evers, Pat, RB, Sul Ross State
221. Indianapolis - Foschi, Greg, G, Greensboro
222. Cleveland - Leahy, Perry, T, Wofford
223. Pittsburgh - Allen, Luciano, WR, Mercyhurst
224. St. Louis - Allen, Larry, RB, Hamilton

This has to be the first draft in history where no QB went in the first two rounds... but it was a very shallow class. In fact, there is no depth at all to the drafts in this period it seems. 6th and 7th round picks seem rarely worth signing.

Late Free Agency

Week 1
G Thurman Lewis ($80k, 1 year)
Prospect guard, who may well be cut after camp.
T Harold Miller ($80k, 1 year)
Prospect tackle, who may well be cut after camp.

Week 2
Resign RB Doug Mayberry ($80k, 1 year)
He's going to be the best 4th RB out there, even if he ends up inactive all year.

Week 3
G Terrance England ($80k, 1 year)
Prospect guard, who may well be cut after camp.



Players Under Contract: 60 at training camp, 52 post-camp
Inactive: 5
On Active Roster: 47

Salary Cap: $18,100,000
Cap Room: $8,110,000
Maximum for New Player: $8,110,000

Training Camp Cuts

I have a hugely bloated roster, with many prospect FA signings, and I need to make 9 cuts following camp. Rookies WR Joe Johnson & RB Bob Paremore were only ever prospect signings, and they don't show me enough at camp to justify keeping them. Similarly, second year draftees OLB Jim Thibert & WR John Burrell aren't creeping and I have more talented prospects than them. With the development of my guards during the off-season, G Jerry Huth was the odd man out and G Thurman Lewis beats G Terrance England out at camp; although I'd like to keep both, England misses out.

CB Johnny Bookman showed a massive downturn at training camp, and slipped to 4th choice CB. Considering I needed to trim the roster and the money I was paying him, he was an easy cut choice. Similarly, TE Gordon Smith is never going to develop and he's a poor third choice TE. Ray Hayes will play as the 3rd TE. Finally, RB Doug Maybury is cut. Although I really wanted to keep Maybury on the roster, ultimately I chose to keep prospect WR Kelly Witcher instead.

With room on my roster, I can sign FS Terry Kosens to a rookie $700k, 3 year contract to give me my roster for the new season.

To be honest, everything is well set here. Tarkenton is our guy, Shaw is his backup and LeBaron his mentor.
Tommy Mason remains the most talented running back on my roster by a long way. Jamie Caleb will continue to run 3^rd downs, and Tom Wilson is there primarily to mentor the other guys. Mel Triplett is on the downside of his career now, but Ray Hayes is ready to step into the starting role. Both are strong blockers and good receivers as well, so I am well set there if Mason can start running through the gaps.
Kramer is a good quality veteran who will compete with the younger Hanks. I have no concerns over this guys, although I might consider a better catching TE for next year, considering my favoured style of play (using the TE, RB, FB receiving to open up space in the secondary for the big play).
Obviously, Poage will shoulder the responsibility of being our big-play guy as he is in a different league to the other FL. Reichow is a decent SE and Overmyer might get the chance to step up if he plays well or even move into the slot. Mutscheller is the mentor to Poage, as I (as strange as this seems to say) share Coach Childress’ paranoia over 1^st round receivers and will try anything to help him succeed.
Alderman-Shea-Mellekas-Rabold-Miller. Alderman is the best LT in the NFL and the rock around which my line is built. I think I may be too attached to this guy… anyway, Shea is growing well and Mellekas is the heart of my line. The right side of the line is weaker, but Miller has potential especially as a run blocker.
I don’t really understand why Pennington makes the kicks he does, but I don’t really care. Baker is competent.
Davidson is very, very good on the run but I am getting a little concerned about my pass rush. Marshall needs to pick up the slack that Davidson can’t, but at least the right side of my line is shutdown on the run. O’Neil is the mentor and Denton the actual backup.
Ron Kostelink is still a talent, but I struggle to get him in. Prestel and Moore are the heart of my line, and Dickson is the other backup. Bishop is likely to get cut when Moore reaches his potential.
Steve Stonebreaker has developed really well, and Anderson will play weak. The main competition is between the prospect Hawkins and the better established Lloyd. The rest are competent backups.
Haley’s ball-hawking makes him the nickel again, whilst McGeever is coming along well and will start with Mostardi. Pashe is a prospect and will probably get plenty of time if an injury drops anyone in the secondary.
Lamson is the starting SS, and Crute will start at FS ahead of the vet Sumner. Kosens will probably play dime ahead of Sumner to get some experience.

Offence:
Tarkenton & Mason will continue to lead the offence, and hopefully Poage will provide a strong receiver for Tarkenton to play off. We’re still growing here, but that could cause issues as we are not there yet.
Defence:
The pass rush continues to be the biggest issue, but it’s the lack of consistency that’s my problem. We make big plays, but what good is the big play when you give up 90-yard drives? Again, we are young and that could be the problem throughout my team.
Special Teams:
Pennington was very good last year and Mason is the best returner in NFL history. Baker is competent, and our special teams defence could be good. We’ll see on that bit.

Exhibition

Minnesota sold 60,500 season tickets for the season out of a capacity of 64,000.

Minnesota 9 Pittsburgh 13
Fran Tarkenton was 9-9 for 52 yards, but the match was lost when Eddie LeBaron stepped in and tossed two interceptions. Jim Prestel had 2.5 sacks and I suspect he may improve on last seasons 10.0 sacks. In fact, my D-line may start to eat people soon... but Minnesota don't hav that tradition do they? Just for reference, this Pittsburgh team went 15-1 last year. Just so you know.

George Shaw has a broken clavicle, he'll miss the first 2 weeks on the season likely. Young tackle Harold Miller has damaged his knee, but should be back for the regular season.

Indianapolis 23 Minnesota 24
Fran Tarkenton continues to shine with a passer rating of 154.5 in the first half before Eddie LeBaron leads 2 scoring drives and produced a 39 yard pass with 9 seconds remaining to get Tom Pennington into range. He duly slotted the 38 yarder (too easy) to produce a calming win. Jamie Caleb had 101 yards on 12 carries to outshine Mason. The run blocking from the O[line was good (11/14 KRB) although they allowed 4.0 sacks.

Cincinnati 7 Minnesota 37
Poor old Kwiecinski didn't seem to have much luck with the Bengals defence. 100 % red-zone conversion (3/3 for TD) and a 9 yard fumble return after a Steve Stonebreaker sack. Bengals QB Milt Plum recorded the dreaded passer rating 0.0 and Daryle Lamonica wasn't much better in the face of dominant Minnesota defence. Worryingly, Tarkenton collapsed after leading an opening 68-yard TD drive and failed to complete his next 11 passes before being benched. Damn.

DE Bob Denton is out for 16 weeks. With a hamstring strain. Surely, 4 months out=more than a strain? That's more tear territory.

Minnesota 10 Jacksonville 17
I would love to have Lance Alworth in my team. He tears us up with 149 yards from his 7 catches, and was the difference between the teams. A worrying lack of production from my offence here, with Jamie Caleb again outshining Mason. However, Tarkenton was protected and I am hoping he'll make a big difference.

Preseason Prediction: After winning our division last year, we will now have to play a number of better teams. Also, we over-performed last year which doesn't make a good equation. 8-8.

Regular season

Minnesota 31 Detroit 42
This turned into a QB shoot-out and Fran Tarkenton lost. He's not the finished article yet, as demonstrated here: 27-55 for 263 yards (2 TD, 3 int.) and a rating of 52.3. Detroit had 3 first quarter TD, and although it was 21-21 at halftime after a 73-yard interception return from John McGeever, we couldn't match them in the later stages. Credit to the Detroit pass defence: Tarkenton had only 4 bad throws and 4 drops, but 7 defenced, 9 hurried, 5 knockdowns and the 3 interceptions. To be honest, we were just outplayed and that's painful against Detroit.

San Diego 38 Minnesota 13
Something has gone horribly wrong somewhere. We condeded 83 points in our first four games last year, but we're almost on that mark already.

Minnesota 16 St. Louis 17
The postseason seems so very long ago. However, at least we performed somewhat better, although our only TD was a 99-yard interception return by Rich Mostardi.

Green Bay 28 Minnesota 21
Well, it's officially the worst start in franchise history. After losing 5 games all year in 1962, it's 4 down in 1963. Again, there were positives. Fran Tarkenton was 22-31 for 282 yards (2 TD) and a rating of 120, but Tommy Mason suffered badly again. Rookie receiver Ray Poage caught 9 passes for 140 yards (1 TD) and Steve Stonebreaker had his second interception of the year, but Jamie Caleb lost 2 fumbles.

Former all-pro FS Charlie Sumner's season is over, with a ruptured elbow tendon and the injured reserve.

Well, to be honest this season could not have started much worse. However, we have shown signs of improvement of late and we seem to be on the verge of that first win. We need to start running the ball much more as our pass attack doesn't seem too potent, and our pass rush has started very slowly again. We're 27th in the league for rushing offense, 13th for passing, 17th on run defense and a worrying 31st on pass defense. It's not a surprise that we're losing on those statistics.

Second Quarter

Tampa Bay 6 Minnesota 20
A very cautious game in Minnesota that saw much more emphasis on Tommy Mason, who rushed for a career high 138 yards on 28 carries, and a conservative turnover margin. Fran Tarkenton was 16-22 for 127 yards (1 TD, 1 int.) and there were no lost fumbles. The defence had 6 sacks, Fred Moore 2.0 and Ben Davidson 1.5, as we had 287 yards against Tampa's 176.

Minnesota 46 Atlanta 0
How can this be the same team that was destroyed by San Diego? Tommy Mason had his second straight 100-yard game with 118 yards on 29 carries and had his first ever multiple TD game. Fran Tarkenton was 15-23 for 256 yards (1 TD, 1 int.) for a rating of 99.2 and WR Ray Poage had 7 catches for 123 yards (2 TD). 5.0 sacks, Jim Marshall had 3.0, and 4 interceptions, including 2 from Dave Lloyd one of which was returned for a TD, and a 68-yard TD return from Dick Haley. Our 407 total yards was the second highest in franchise history and only the second time past 400 yards. 46 was the highest number of points scored, and 46 was also the highest margin of victory.

T Staley Faulkner finally ends his holdout and signs a 3 year, $280k deal.

Carolina 0 Minnesota 26
The second consecutive shut-out is in stark contrast to out early performances and while I know Atlanta and Carolina are poor teams, a shut out is still an achievement. Tommy Mason had 70 yards on 25 carries to demonstrate a change in attitude towards his use on offence. We forced 3 fumbles and recovered 2, and didn't fumble at all ourselves. John McGeever now has 8 interceptions which is a franchise record, and Tom Pennington scored 4 field goals to send him back to the top of the league. Only one person has more 50+ yard field goals... and it's Mike Mercer, the man I cut due to his dodgy kicking power. Ironic? I think so.

Fran Tarkenton strains his achilles tendon and will miss about 4 weeks. George Shaw will step in again.

Minnesota 16 Chicago 13 (OT)


Shaw will miss 2 weeks, Beisler 4. To help with our QB crisis, in comes former Green Bay journeyman QB Shaun Morris ($140k, 1 year) and third year, former Giant Darrin Everhart ($80k, 1 year). Neither have any NFL starts, but they will cover my crippled QBs. To make room Bob Beisler is placed on IR, ending his Vikings career. I have six QBs on my roster... it's ridiculous.

Mid-season assessment to come.

Interesting stat, of the 19 times Tommy Mason has rushed 20 times or more, we've lost twice (17-2). We are 7-15 when he rushes less than 20 times. Something to ponder.
Tarkenton is still struggling to lead this team, but I'm hopeful that his continued development combined with that of Ray Poage will help this team move forward. Jamie Caleb needs to be replaced for the longer term, with a better back who can help share the load with Mason. Tommy Mason has started to show signs that he could be a potent weapon of offence.

On defence, Steve Stonebreaker contiues to be our big playmaker, whilst our line has 17.5 sacks. Jim Prestel is the heart of our line and his 14 QB hurries is pretty impressive (3rd in the NFL). McGeever is 4th in the NFL on 4 interceptions and 1st in interception return yardage. After some early maulings, our defence seems to finally be coming to grips with the season.

The important thing to remember is that we played three teams from the NFC South, and that skews things. However, the win in Chicago with 3 QBs throwing passes is encouraging and as a unit the team seems to be growing. I suspect a 7-9 finish is on the cards now, with Green Bay and Detroit (who are now 7-0) to play.

Wow... it's been a while since I updated this. Plenty of real life stuff to deal with (mainly me having a high-flying new job that involves me being stranded in a flash apartment by myself in London for the next two months...) kept me away then led me back here. So... for the relief of my own boredom... back to 1963!

Minnesota 27 New Orleans 6
Shaun Morris gets the start in place of... any of my normal QBs. He starts strongly, before fading late in the game, with 18-38 for 225 yards (2 TD, 2 int.) and a rating of 61.8. Tommy Mason has 122 yards on 19 carries (1 TD) and Ray Poage 137 yards (2 TD) on 7 catches. John McGeever has another interception, as the Vikings draw away in the 4th quarter for a solid win. Outyarding NOS 334 to 143 the result was safe, and would have been more if a 4-goal on the 1 had not resulted in a sack: we had 7 QB hurries and 4.0 sacks.

Detroit 24 Minnesota 10
2 fumbles cost us this game: the first by Jamie Caleb on 3-1 at the Detroit 13, then by Mason on a kick return to give Detroit the ball on the Minnesota 19. Detroit kept converting 3rd downs in a first half where we couldn't get our hands on the ball. Things improved, but George Shaw couldn't force the offence over the line.

The combined win total of the NFC North is 29 (Detroit & Green Bay 9-1, Chicago 6-4, Minnesota 5-5): 6 better than any other division. It's a tough division to be in.

Minnesota 20 Oakland 35
We keep giving up huge plays, and it negates all our good work. Two 4th quarter Oakland TDs (a 47-yard pass and a 48-yard run) kill us stone dead. Our secondary needs some work, although to be honest our entire defence was dire here. John McGeever had a 32-yard interception.

New York 34 Minnesota 17
The 9-3 Giants just beat me down. Fran Tarkenton produced a passer rater of 51.1 and for all our offensive production (Tommy Mason had 96 yards on 17 carries, 1 TD and Tarkenton passed for over 200 yards and rushed for a TD) we couldn't stop anything. I forgot how many glaring holes this team has... some changes may be due this off-season.

Denver 17 Minnesota 16
Ben Davidson had 2 sacks and 2 FFs, but the story of this game is Tom Pennington going 3/7 on his FGs as we just couldn't finish.

Minnesota 13 Green Bay 37
Bart Starr passed for 361 yards and 3 TDs. Fran Tarkenton threw 3 picks. Enough said.

Kansas City 17 Minnesota 13
We just can't convert in the red zone. Ray Poage dropped 8 passes(!) to some up our day here, despite putting up 360 yards against the Chiefs 240. To make matters worse, Steve Stonebreaker has broken his foot and will miss the final game.

Chicago 22 Minnesota 27
We finally end our 6 game losing streak to finish the season 6-10. Dave Lloyd had 9 tackles and a 39-yard int. which was the stand-out of this game. Fran Tarkenton had 2 TDs and a shiny passer rating of 119.

Suffice to say, I am disappointed by my teams 6-10 record. However, going forward, we have a top quality QB and a top quality LT. I just need to improve our WR set quite dramatically,


I'd say our playoff appearance last year may have fooled me into thinking we were further along than we actually were. Whilst we had big guys again, Fran Tarkenton, Grady Alderman and Steve Stonebreaker again impressing, the team as a whole struggled. Our WRs miss too many passes and we really just failed to put up too many points.

Our priorities are to improve the right side of the o-line and our WR group. Grady Alderman, Pat Shea and John Mellekas are solid but the replacements brought in last year on the line were dismal. Ray Poage looks like a decent FL if I can pair him with a reliable SE and slot receiver.

Jim Marshall had a return to form with 12.0 sacks and more blocks, with Ben Davidson again solid. In fact this whole team is solid and unspectacular which is why we give up big plays.

All in all, there is still a highly talented core there which will continue to develop next year. Priorities are RG, RT, SE, FL2, WLB and FS.


Superbowl III
Green Bay 24 Indianapolis 26
Two 4th quarter TDs could not save the Packers as the Colts won the first ever future Hall of Fame QB Superbowl shoot-out. Johnny Unitas is 23-34 for 278 (1 TD, 1 int.), rating 90.0, RB Lenny Moore has 23 carries for 104 yards (1 TD) and WR Jimmy Orr catches 7-10 for 99 yards (1 TD). Bart Starr has 28-50 for 383 yards (2 TD, 1 int.), rating 85.7, RB Paul Hornung has only 6 carries for 43 yards (2 caught TDs) and WR Boyd Dowler an impressive 12-18 for 176 yards.

1963 Awards List


Congratulations to Grady Alderman and John McGeever on their awards.

I will forego the Weinstein post-season review and go straight to the off-season. I am keen to get right back into business!

You're definitely getting there. Glad to see this back! :)

>> Izulde - Thanks, man. :)

That fair in offensive co-ordination is not good enough. I don't like chopping and changing my coaching staff, but at this point those skills are even more important.I am confident this pair will help us win, and help us win now.

The new staff:

Head Coach: Mack Holmes (53)
5 Years.
Motivation: Average (Much worse than Dugan)
Discipline: Average (Much worse than Dugan)
Off. Playcalling: Excellent (Much better than Dugan)
Def. Playcalling: Excellent (Better than Dugan)
Inj. Avoidance: Excellent (Better than Dugan)

As our offense just didn't move at all last year, I am hoping Holmes will bring a lot of improvement there as I gave up alot of motivation and discipline skill. Holmes is an expert signal caller and with suspect players that is essential.

Offensive Coordinator: Leslie Beyer (59)
5 Years.
QB: Good (Same as Liotti)
RB: Average (Worse than Liotti)
WR: Excellent (Much better than Liotti)
OL: Excellent (Better than Liotti)
K/P: Average (Same as Liotti)
YT: Very Good (Better than Liotti)

Beyer's talents are also two of our biggest problems on offense: this should help my WRs improve and make my o-line dominant. I feel a little sorry for Liotti, who was improving, but I was feeling a little irritated at this point.

Early transactions:
T Ollie Spencer & RB Tom Wilson have both retired.

Free agency next...

Free Agency

It's no secret what my targets are going to be. I want a mentor T to back up the RT I plan to chase in the draft and I am looking for a WR with great hands to play opposite Poage. Aside from that, young talent that could break out and resigning veterans are the other targets.

Week 1 Resignings
FB Ray Hayes ($520k 3 year extension)
After winning the FB spot from Mel Triplett, he deserves a contract to continue that fight.
C John Mellekas ($1.42m 3 year extension)
He might be getting a little old now, but he is still the best centre I would be able to get and he should be good for the next three years.
WLB Charlie Anderson ($120k, 1 year)
He's a restricted free agent, so his contract isn't large and he will continue to be a good backup to a position that invariably ends up with a disgruntled incumbent.
SS Chuck Lamson ($1.07m, 3 years)
He's my starting SS, and I am not confident there will be a better available to me.

Week 2
WR Kelly Witcher ($120k, 1 year)
Restricted free agent, and has fairly decent hands.
TE Darryl Hanks ($280k, 2 years)
He's still my future starter.

Sidenote: Len Dawson signs a 6-year, $28.12m contract with $15.84m guaranteed in Cleveland. That's a huge contract for this point in the game and significantly more than Bart Starr (4 year, $16.04m, $6.48 guaranteed) got from Green Bay.Kansas City get George Shaw, a 2nd round pick & a 7th round pick. Vikings get Billy Neighbors and a 6th round pick.

I am happy with this trade, as I'm confident Neighbors is better than any guard available in the draft and George Shaw is no longer worth his contract. Maybe I paid too much for Neighbors, really... but I want to win pretty soon and that requires good players now rather than a few years down the line.

Week 2 cont.
G Billy Neighbors ($1.82m, 5 years)
With Alderman, Shea and Neighbors my line is looking set for years to come.

Week 3
QB Earl Morrall ($210k, 1 year)
Morrall's job is to replace Shaw and back up Tarkenton. He is half the price of Shaw, only a few points worse, and can be released next year at no cost if he fails.
RB Joe Womack ($170k, 1 year)
Womack's ability to catch, especially on 3rd downs, make him a useful third back to have.
FB Mel Triplett ($200k, 1 year)
He started 7 games last year, and resigning him was never a doubt.
TE Ron Kramer ($200k, 1 year)
He was my starting TE last year, and remains a good player to compete for that spot this year.
P Bobby Joe Green ($540k, 3 years)
It's probably a big contract to give a punter, but Green is one of the best in the NFL. He has a career average of over 7 yards further per punt than Sam Baker and has post-season experience from every year of his career.

Week 4
WR R.C. Owens ($2.06m, 3 years)
He may be 30 at this point, but his abilities as a WR make him the perfect SE to complement Poage. He has three 1000 yard seasons and 26 career TDs. He's a good upgrade on Jerry Reichow. He's also a mentor.
C Roderick Holloway ($170k, 1 year resign)
A restricted free agent, who will back up Mellekas again.

Week 5
G Mike Rabold - Atlanta ($540k, 2 years)
Atlanta move for my former starter, and I'm not sorry to see him go. I have two young guards with alot of potential, I didn't need Rabold.
T Jim Boeke ($350k, 2 years)
Boeke comes in to try and help my RT position, which cannot get any worse.

Week 6
QB Eddie LeBaron ($190k, 1 year)
Fran Tarkenton's mentor comes back for a 15th NFL season and more than probably his last. Good luck to him.

Week 7
G Willie Smith ($180k, 1 year)
With two young guards, a mentor was definitely need and Muelhaupt is leaving. Smith is a journeyman of 4 teams in three years, but he's not likely to see much play.

Week 10
P Sam Baker - Philidelphia ($210k, 1 year)
That is a ludicrous contract which makes Green look like an absolute steal.
G Chuck Muelhaupt - Carolina ($530k, 2 years)
He left because he wanted two years, and I didn't want to give him that. Good luck to him in Carolina.

So that's free agency over. On to the draft, where my priorities are a RT, a CB, a S and a slot receiver.

The 1964 NFL Draft

I went into the draft with the following names on my list:
Billy Truax - 1st
A top quality TE is always a good thing for a young QB.
Jim Wright - 3rd
Herschel Turner - 4th
Bill Dawson - 5th
Manny Stalls - 6th
Zakary Blinka - 6th
The other guys are people with potential who could turn out to be good. It's so hard to find quality late in the drafts in these historical draft...

1. Seattle - Staubach, Roger, QB, Navy
2. Houston - Hill, Mack Lee, RB, Southern University
3. Miami - Kelly, Leroy, RB, Morgan State
4. New Orleans - Josephson, Les, RB, Augustana
5. Cincinnati - Graham, Kenny, S, Washington State
6. Dallas - Warren, Jimmy, CB, Illinois
7. Tampa Bay - Brown, Bob, T, Nebraska
At this point, I have a change of heart. In what might well be termed a moment of madness, I pick up my phone and start attempting to trade up. Oakland tell me, in no uncertain terms, that a 1st and a 3rd won't do. They want a 1st and a 2nd or there is no deal. I look around for trade bait, and to cut a long story short... unsettled, unpopular DE Davidson ends up at the Browns and the 8th pick ends up as:
8. Minnesota - Eller, Carl, DE, Minnesota
I couldn't resist it. It doesn't really make sense, and to be honest it's probably a mistake, but I couldn't resist Eller...
9. New Orleans - Hicks, W.K., CB, Texas Southern
10. Atlanta - Philbin, Garry, DE, Buffalo
11. Buffalo - Taliaferro, Mike, QB, Illinois
12. Denver - Hand, Larry, DE, Appalachian State
13. Oakland - Keating, Tom, DT, Michigan
14. Washington - Truax, Billy, TE, Louisiana State
15. St. Louis - Taylor, Charley, WR, Arizona State
16. Jacksonville - Oats, Carleton, DT, Florida A&M
17. Kansas City - Clarke, Hagood, S, Florida
18. Washington - Duncan, Speedy, CB, Jackson State
19. Chicago - Budness, Bill, ILB, Boston University
20. Philadelphia - Morris, Jon, C, Holy Cross
21. San Francisco - Kopay, Dave, RB, Washington
22. Pittsburgh - Purnell, Jim, OLB, Wisconsin
23. Detroit - Evey, Dick, DE, Tennessee
24. New Jersey - Brown, Robert, DT, Ark. - Pine Bluff
25. St. Louis - Wright, Steve, T, Alabama
26. Baltimore - Gordon, Cornell, CB, North Carolina A&T
27. San Diego - Kupp, Jake, G, Washington
28. Philadelphia - Wilcox, Dave, OLB, Boise State
29. Cleveland - Lothamer, Ed, DT, Michigan State
30. New York - Thurlow, Steve, RB, Stanford
31. Green Bay - Pope, Bucky, WR, Duke
32. Indianapolis - Cummings, Ed, ILB, Stanford
33. Cleveland - Renfro, Mel, CB, Oregon
34. Houston - Conners, Dan, ILB, Miami, Florida
35. Miami - Rademacher, Bill, WR, Northern Michigan
36. New Orleans - Byrd, Butch, CB, Boston University
37. Dallas - Denson, Al, WR, Florida A&M
38. Cincinnati - Richardson, Jerry, S, West Texas A&M
39. Oakland - Kirby, John, OLB, Nebraska
40. St. Louis - Hilgenberg, Wally, OLB, Iowa
41. Tampa Bay - Krause, Paul, S, Iowa
42. Buffalo - Mudd, Howard, G, Hillsdale
43. Denver - Prudhomme, Remi, DE, Louisiana State
44. Kansas City - Sunde, Milt, G, Minnesota
45. Miami - Hayes, Bob, WR, Florida A&M
46. Tampa Bay - Scarpati, Joe, S, North Carolina State
47. Dallas - Frazier, Willie, TE, Ark. - Pine Bluff
48. Kansas City - McNeil, Clifton, WR, Grambling
49. Washington - Mitchell, Willie, CB, Tennessee State
50. Pittsburgh - Woodson, Marv, CB, Indiana
51. Tennessee - Kortas, Ken, DT, Louisville
52. Atlanta - Whittingham, Fred, ILB, Brigham Young
53. Carolina - Wells, Warren, WR, Texas Southern
54. Seattle - Evans, Jim, WR, Texas - El Paso
55. Miami - Kirner, Gary, G, Southern California
56. Chicago - Morgan, Mike, OLB, Louisiana State
57. St. Louis - Kelly, Jim, TE, Notre Dame
58. New England - Manders, Dave, C, Michigan State
59. Buffalo - McGee, Ben, DE, Jackson State
60. Dallas - Sherman, Bob, S, Iowa
61. New Jersey - Snell, Matt, FB, Ohio State
62. San Francisco - Young, Bob, G, Howard Payne
63. New York - Martin, Aaron, CB, North Central
64. Green Bay - Seals, George, G, Missouri
65. Tampa Bay - Lothridge, Billy, P, Georgia Tech
66. Carolina - St. Jean, Len, G, Northern Michigan
67. Seattle - Rose, George, CB, Auburn
68. Miami - Bailey, Monk, CB, Utah
69. Chicago - Hohn, Bob, CB, Nebraska
70. St. Louis - Gogolak, Pete, K, Cornell
71. Buffalo - Walden, Robert, P, Georgia
72. Dallas - Van Raaphorst, Dick, K, Ohio State
73. Green Bay - Gossett, Bruce, K, Richmond
74. New York - Larson, Gary, DT, Concordia (Minn.)
75. Minnesota - Wright, Jim, CB, Memphis
76. Tampa Bay - Berry, Bob, QB, Oregon
77. Baltimore - Schmitt, John, C, Hofstra
78. San Francisco - Leeuwenburg, Dick, T, Stanford
79. Oakland - Seedborg, John, P, Arizona State
80. Denver - Concannon, Jack, QB, Boston College
81. Jacksonville - Williams, Sid, OLB, Southern University
82. Kansas City - Appleton, Scott, DT, Texas
83. Cincinnati - Odom, Sammy, DT, NWestern St., La.
84. Pittsburgh - Brown, Willie, RB, Southern California
85. Detroit - Davis, Ted, ILB, Georgia Tech
86. New Jersey - Haymond, Alvin, CB, Southern University
87. St. Louis - Di Midio, Tony, T, West Chester
88. Philadelphia - O'Donnell, Joe, G, Michigan
89. Green Bay - Parks, Dave, WR, Texas Tech
90. Tennessee - Warfield, Paul, WR, Ohio State
91. Cleveland - Burrell, Ode, WR, Mississippi State
92. Arizona - Baker, Ralph, OLB, Penn State
93. San Diego - Dobbins, Oliver, CB, Morgan State
94. New York - Fowler, Jerry, T, Louisiana-Lafayette
95. Green Bay - Martha, Paul, S, Pittsburgh
96. Indianapolis - Donaldson, Gene, RB, Purdue
97. Seattle - Hart, Doug, S, Texas
98. Houston - Crenshaw, Willis, FB, Kansas State
99. Jacksonville - Reilly, Mike, OLB, Oklahoma
100. New Orleans - Williamson, J.R., OLB, Louisiana Tech
101. Dallas - Blanks, Sid, RB, Tx. A&M - Kingsville
102. Detroit - Viltz, Theo, CB, Southern California
103. Seattle - Moran, Jim, DT, Idaho
104. Indianapolis - Wilson, Jim, G, Georgia
105. Baltimore - Ross, Willie, RB, Nebraska
106. Minnesota - Turner, Herschel, T, Kentucky
107. Arizona - Jones, Jim, WR, Wisconsin
108. Tennessee - Walters, Tom, S, Southern Mississippi
109. Washington - Looney, Joe Don, FB, Texas Christian
110. Pittsburgh - Higgins, Jim, T, Small College
111. Dallas - Mira, George, QB, Miami, Florida
112. Jacksonville - McCoy, Lloyd, G, San Diego State
113. Kansas City - Smith, Bobby, RB, North Texas
114. Washington - Bass, Norm, S, Pacific Lutheran
115. Tennessee - Turner, Vince, CB, Missouri
116. Detroit - Rhome, Jerry, QB, Tulsa
117. New Jersey - Shiner, Dick, QB, Maryland
118. St. Louis - Dunn, Perry Lee, RB, Mississippi
119. Philadelphia - Crutcher, Tommy, OLB, Texas Christian
120. San Francisco - Costa, Paul, TE, Notre Dame
121. Pittsburgh - Pillath, Roger, T, Wisconsin
122. Cleveland - Logan, Chuck, TE, Northwestern
123. Arizona - Barry, Odell, WR, Findlay
124. San Diego - Voss, Lloyd, DE, Nebraska
125. Tennessee - Simpson, Howard, DE, Auburn
126. Philadelphia - Livingston, Andy, RB, Small College
127. Green Bay - Costello, Tom, ILB, Dayton
128. Indianapolis - Farmer, Lonnie, OLB, Northwestern
129. Seattle - Nelson, Benny, CB, Alabama
130. Houston - McDowell, John, T, St. John's, NY.
131. Miami - Munson, Bill, QB, Utah State
132. New Orleans - Henson, Ken, C, Ohio State
133. Cincinnati - Parker, Charlie, G, Southern Mississippi
134. Tampa Bay - Poole, Bob, TE, Clemson
135. Oakland - Jacquess, Pete, CB, Small College
136. Baltimore - Wheelwright, Ernie, FB, Southern Illinois
137. Tampa Bay - Gent, Pete, WR, Michigan State
138. New Jersey - Farris, John, G, San Diego State
139. Buffalo - Martin, Billy, TE, Georgia Tech
140. Denver - Lorick, Tony, FB, Arizona State
141. Minnesota - Roberts, Walter, WR, San Jose State
142. New Jersey - Anderson, Roger, T, Virginia Union
143. Carolina - Wood, Gary, QB, Cornell
144. Kansas City - LaLonde, Roger, DT, Muskingum
145. Washington - Kindig, Howard, DE, Small College
146. Jacksonville - Lewis, Sherman, CB, Michigan State
147. Chicago - Shackelford, Don, G, Azusa Pacific
148. New Jersey - Rasmussen, Wayne, S, South Dakota State
149. St. Louis - Rakestraw, Larry, QB, Georgia
150. Philadelphia - Long, Bob, WR, Small College
151. San Francisco - Mitchell, Ed, G, Southern University
152. Pittsburgh - Budka, Frank, S, Notre Dame
153. Detroit - Griffin, Jim, DE, Grambling
154. Arizona - Michel, Tom, RB, East Carolina
155. San Diego - Garrett, J.D., RB, Grambling
156. Tennessee - Dawson, Bill, ILB, Florida State
157. Cleveland - Soleau, Robert, ILB, William & Mary
158. New York - Horton, Bob, ILB, Boston University
159. Green Bay - Beathard, Pete, QB, Southern California
160. Indianapolis - Wade, Tommy, QB, Texas
161. Seattle - Carpenter, Ron, OLB, Texas A&M
162. Houston - Smith, Ron, QB, Richmond
163. Miami - Jaworksi, Cedric, ILB, Ferrum
164. New Orleans - Woolfolk, Larry, ILB, Simpson
165. Jacksonville - Johnson, Rudy, RB, Nebraska
166. Cincinnati - Daugherty, Bob, RB, Tulsa
167. Baltimore - Snowden, Jim, T, Notre Dame
168. Tampa Bay - Phillion, Will, RB, Georgia Tech
169. Oakland - Hart, Clint, QB, Texas Christian
170. Baltimore - Colquitt, David, ILB, Florida State
171. Denver - Heater, Cleo, ILB, Clemson
172. Minnesota - Stalls, Manny, DE, Michigan State
173. San Francisco - Hangartner, Karmeeleyah, OLB, Duke
174. Carolina - Luchey, Greg, RB, Michigan
175. New England - Edwards, Lamont, QB, Furman
176. Washington - Alexander, Charlie, RB, North Carolina
177. Miami - Johnson, Dan, OLB, Houston
178. Minnesota - Blinka, Zakary, ILB, Morgan State
179. St. Louis - Allen, Dale, WR, LIU/C.W. Post
180. St. Louis - Tittle, Jayce, ILB, Maryland
181. Philadelphia - Bedsole, Hal, TE, Southern California
182. Green Bay - Heap, Robert, RB, Ripon
183. Pittsburgh - Sikahema, Dennis, OLB, Fort Valley State
184. Detroit - Richardson, Anthony, WR, Albany State
185. New Jersey - Taylor, Marcus, RB, Georgia Tech
186. San Diego - Rackers, Cornell, DE, Mississippi
187. Tennessee - Lothridge, Donald, RB, Duke
188. Cleveland - Jones, Rickey, DT, Wyoming
189. Arizona - Johnson, Earl, ILB, Eastern Michigan
190. New York - Jells, Soren, DT, Michigan
191. Indianapolis - Foster, Craig, S, Kent
192. Indianapolis - Wilson, Isiah, WR, Cincinnati
193. Seattle - Harrington, Rylee, TE, Louisville
194. Houston - Yoder, Bob, CB, Colorado
195. Miami - Anderson, George, CB, Maryville (Tenn.)
196. Carolina - Mitchell, Bill, DT, Kansas
197. Cincinnati - Greene, Gerald, OLB, Memphis
198. Dallas - Gaines, Rex, DE, Southern Illinois
199. Tampa Bay - Jones, Chuck, DE, Morehead State
200. Oakland - McKenzie, Jeff, RB, Akron
201. Baltimore - Stepnoski, Phil, CB, Ohio Wesleyan
202. Denver - Aguiar, Don, WR, Clemson
203. Kansas City - Martin, Jerry, QB, Army
204. Tampa Bay - Mangum, Jim, OLB, Florida State
205. Buffalo - Starr, Artrell, RB,
206. New England - Ellison, Garry, RB, Colorado State
207. Houston - Corey, Tony, DE, Michigan State
208. Miami - Hall, Dave, OLB, St. Cloud State
209. Kansas City - Shanks, Adrian, WR, Toledo
210. Washington - Feeley, Myron, QB, Michigan
211. Cleveland - Peguese, Bobby, RB, North Carolina State
212. Philadelphia - Stafford, Ray, T, Iowa
213. San Francisco - Ballou, Jeremiah, WR, Northern Illinois
214. Pittsburgh - Sabal, Dave, WR, Anderson
215. Detroit - Cappadona, Gordy, WR, Northern Arizona
216. New Jersey - Williams, Fabien, WR, Quincy University
217. Dallas - Edwards, John, OLB, Clemson
218. Tennessee - Kaiser, Dave, CB, Minn. St. - Mankato
219. Cleveland - Eaton, Cornell, WR, Greensboro
220. San Diego - Saul, Jason, WR, Millikin
221. San Diego - Strickland, Khalif, QB, Maryland
222. New York - McBath, Chris, TE, Northern Michigan
223. Green Bay - Divito, Andrew, G, UCLA
224. Indianapolis - Justin, Henry, G,

Post draft ratings:
Carl Eller 34/67
Jim Wright 24/49
Herschel Turner 14/47
Walter Roberts 14/26
Manny Stalls 5/43
Zakary Blinka 6/22
I'm not sure how I feel about this draft class. I hit on almost all my targets and there is plenty of potential, but there is plenty of bust potential there as well. Still, this was all about Eller and I have high hopes for him.

Week 1
Four rookies sign with me:
CB Jim Wright ($460k, 3 years)
T Herschel Turner ($370k, 3 years)
DE Manny Stalls ($300k, 3 years)
ILB Zakary Blinka ($300k, 3 years)

Week 2
MLB Mal Hammack ($170k, 1 year)
My mentor MLB returns.
T Gene Selawski ($140k, 1 year)
A mentor tackle for my inexperienced right side.
K Herb Travenio ($70k, 1 year)
An unsigned rookie kicker, who will compete with Pennington through camp.

Week 3
CB Tom Brookshier ($190k, 1 year)
CB Jack Morris ($170k, 1 year)
Brookshier and Morris are both mentors, who will compete for one roster spot after camp.
CB Terry Clifton ($60k, 1 year)
A rookie CB who could prove to be a good nickel. We'll see how he comes through camp.

Week 4
C Ken Bowman ($60k, 1 year)
An unsigned rookie, who could help my o-line as a backup.
FB Gary Lewis ($60k, 1 year)
Mel Triplett is getting old, and a shot on Lewis costs me nothing.
DT Ron Kostelink - San Francisco ($120k, 1 year)
I am disappointed that Kostelink chose to leave, but he wanted to be a starter and he could not get that here.

Week 5
QB Bob Beisler ($140k, 1 year)
He has a chance to compete for a 4th spot on the roster as we have a stunningly bad record with QBs getting hurt.

Pre Camp
DE Carl Eller ($4.66m, 5 years)
WR Walter Roberts ($340k, 3 years)
WLB John Tracy ($140k, 1 year)
We're a bit light at LB, so we'll give Tracy one last shot for the team.
G Thurman Lewis ($120k, 1 year)
I haven't given up on him yet, although my guards are set.

So, my team is all set for training camp, with 57 guys looking for roster spots.
I also release several other players: QB Shaun Morris, WR Howard Clark, WR Jim Mutscheller, WR Johnny Overmyer, T Harold Miller, DE Bob O'Neil, DT Bill Bishop, WLB Bill Roehnelt & CB Dick Haley.

On to camp!

Post camp cuts: CB Jack Morris, 2nd year T Staley Faulkner, rookie C Ken Bowman & veteran MLB Mal Hammack. There were some tough choices there, namely Hammack, but I am looking forward and my team has better balance now.

A look at the 1961 Vikings by Position:

There's only one starter in this group, but the surprising news is that Earl Morrall is only marginally worse than Shaw was. Here's hoping he is not needed this year.Taking 3 FBs into this year may seem strange, but Lewis has a real chance of making the team next year ahead of Triplett. Hopefully Womack can develop quickly and beat out Caleb for next year.Kelly Witcher stands a very good chance of beating out Jerry Reichow to start in the slot. Walter Roberts will be the 5th receiver and will also take over KR duties from Tommy Mason.Alderman-Shea-Mellekas-Neighbors-Boeke will be our starting line. Turner will backup and hopefully develop into a decent replacement in 2 years time. Thurman Lewis and Roderick Holloway can also be good stand ins if someone goes down.Green still looks a good signing, while Travenio will try and displace former all-pro K Tom Pennington through pre-season.A lot actually depends on Carl Eller, who will start at LDE. Aside from that, my line looks solid with decent depth.I think Rip Hawkins will finally surpass Dave Lloyd this year, and that remains the main point of interest here.I will need to hand McGeever a new contract this year. Vinny Crute will more likely start than Kosens, and that is the only real question. Jim Wright is likely to contest the nickel role with Bill Pashe.

Salary Cap: $21,000,000
Cap Room: $9,050,000
Maximum for New Player: $9,120,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $160,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $110,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $9,980,000

The offense was definitely what I was looking to develop and I think I have some solid additions there. Owens is key to kick starting our season and I head into the preseason looking for 8-8 at worst.

Preseason

Minnesota 23 Pittsburgh 3
Indianapolis 17 Minnesota 20
Minnesota 24 Cincinnati 3
Houston 14 Minnesota 13

I don't especially care about preseason, but I'm happy with our performances. However, we did have some casualties: RB Joe Womack has a broken ankle and will miss three weeks, whilst DT Fred Moore has a mystery hamstring injury.

The 1964 NFL Season

Herb Travenio will get the chance to kick, with at least 4 games to prove he deserves that job. John McGeever is also the proud owner of a huge $2.78m, 5 year contract. Whether that will haunt me, time will tell. He was an alternate all-pro last year...

I start with two road games in Green Bay and Indianapolis, before visiting Dallas and then having a bye. That's just ridiculous, both Superbowl teams on the road in two weeks and no home game until week 5? That Dallas game will be crucial with Holmes going up against his old team and us potentially 0-2.

Minnesota 13 Green Bay 30
It is always going to be hard to win in Green Bay with Starr & Hornung ruling the roost. Fran Tarkenton was 21-34 for 290 yards (1 TD, 1 int.) ratin 86.6 in an improved performace, with Owens 6-9 for 93 yards, but he threw an interception on the Green Bay 8 yard line right before halftime to kill our chances. Dave Lloyd had 9 tackles and Carl Eller had 2 hurries on debut.Minnesota 31 Indianapolis 24
Who said we couldn't win in Indianapolis?

It was nice to win in Dallas for Coach, but we have a major blow now. Our starting backfield (Fran Tarkenton and Tommy Mason) are down, and a career backup from Detroit (Earl Morrall) is our best hope of any victories.

Seattle 14 Minnesota 35
The Seahawks are very, very bad. Two fumble returns for TDs inside the first five minutes killed this contest stonedead and Earl Morrall (19-21 for 145 yards, 1 TD 111.3 rating), Joe Womack (76 yards on 21 carries) and Jamie Caleb (80 yards on 15 carries, 2 TDs) only had to manage the game to see us safely home. Carl Eller (4 tackles, 2.0 sacks) and Jim Marshall (7 tackles, 1.5 sacks) tore up the Seattle line.

Just a quick note: Arizona WR Sonny Randle has 736 yards in 5 games this year, and had 1841 yards last year. His 5350 career yards are second only to Tommy McDonald of Philidelphia.

Minnesota 23 Arizona 49
Sonny Randle was 9 for 9 with 153 yards and 2 TDs. 900 yards in 6 games? That's insane. On the plus side Jim Wright had two picks, but no pass rush statistics at all tell a story.

St Louis 16 Minnesota 10
This was a painful loss, overshadowing Ray Poage's 137 game and 5 sacks for our DL. St Louis just outlasted us and took their chances.

Tommy Mason returns, but Jim Wright is missing.

Minnesota 10 Chicago 7
Rip Hawkins had 3 FFs, as Earl Morrall (22-26 for 220 yards, rating 101.9) managed us to a victory in a cold and windy Chicago. We committed fewer turnovers, that was the difference, as we weren't really the better team.

Fran Tarkenton is back.:)

Minnesota 17 San Francisco 28
Fran Tarkenton (13-32, 170 yards, 1 int. 45.1 rating) was horrible, John Brodie 27-37 for 381 yards, 4 TDs 1 int. 130.5 rating) was not. This has been a hugely frustrating year thus far.
Our offense has really struggled this year, despite the upgrades. We're just not finding any consistency, and we're struggling to break teams down. Of course, conversely, we're in a stupidly hard division and we've played both of last years SB teams. Feels like poor excuses, though.

Green Bay 28 Minnesota 20
I honestly cannot wait for Bart Starr to retire, but it's going to be four years at least. Fran Tarkenton was 28-40 for 311 yards, 2 TDs and a rating of 109.5 but Green Bay's ruthless red-zone efficiency (4 visits, 4 TDs) was just too much for us. We're 4-5 now, and this season is in danger of turning into a horror show.

And John McGeever is placed on IR with a high ankle sprain. 4th year veteran CB Winfred Terrell, a former Saint, is signed to replace him. Apparently he and Charlie Sumner are best friends, which is always a plus.

Detroit 17 Minnesota 35
Fran Tarkenton was 25-34 for 283 yards, 3 TDs and a 127.4 rating, with R.C. Owens 8-11 for 136 yards, 1 TD, seeing us home. This was a crucial game for us, and our key players stood up when it mattered most. DE Carl Eller had 2.0 sacks to lead a defense which had 6.0 in all, including one for Winfred Terrell, to disrupt Detroit at key times. We'll ignore the fact we gave up 128 yards to Gail Cogdill on 5 catches, including a 79-yard TD.

S Vinny Crute misses 5 games with a broken foot.

Minnesota 37 Jacksonville 24
Fred Moore had a 2.0 sacks, during one of which he forced a fumble and recovered it for a TD. I love seeing that from my defensive line. I honestly can't remember Tommy Mason's last 100 yard gane either, but it was a welcome bonus whilst Fran Tarkenton went 16-21 for 215 yards, 3 TDs and 1 int. Kelly Witcher has 81 yards on 5 catches which was nice to see.

Charlie Sumner is out for 7 weeks, which is the end of his season and likely his career, if we don't make the playoffs.

New Orleans 3 Minnesota 20
Tommy Mason has two consecutive 100 yard games! Wow, that was a pleasant surprise. Not much else to say, except Jim Marshall and Carl Eller caused havoc from the outside despite having no sacks. Three hurries and six knockdowns were enough to disrupt a poor passing attack in it's entirety.

Tennessee 24 Minnesota 31
An impressive way to drop a 9-3 team. Ray Poage reeled in a short pass for 4 yards and took it all the way for an 81 yard TD with time running out. That gave him 146 yards in all from Fran Tarkenton (21-25 for 289 yards, 2 TDs 141.5 rating). It was a pretty even game, with the offensive units of both teams dominating. 400 yards on either side, no sacks and only 3 hurries (2 from Jim Marshall) in the entire game. Jim Wright had another interception, and QB George Blanda just couldn't get it done despite 323 yards and 3 TDs.

We've now won 4 on the spin and find ourselves 8-5, one game behind Detroit and St Louis (both 9-4) in the wild card hunt. I hate being in Bart Starr's division...

Chicago 20 Minnesota 28
Fran Tarkenton (15-25 for 188 yards) struggled, but when it mattered most he led us on 3 TD drives in the 4th quarter to cut out a 13 point Chicago lead.

Frustratingly, Detroit destroyed Green Bay at Lambeau Field and the NFC wild card hunt is still very much on. With 2 weeks to go, there are 5 teams chasing 2 spots: Arizona & Detroit (10-4), Minnesota, Philidelphia and San Francisco (9-5) and New York (8-6).

Seattle are 0-14 and have now lost 30 on the spin since winning their last game in 1962.

Houston 7 Minnesota 34
What's not to like? Steve Stonebreaker had 7 tackles & 1 int. and our defensive line shared out 6.0 sacks between them (Carl Eller had 2.0 and Jim Marshall 1.5) as Houston could only manage 129 yards. Fran Tarkenton was 23-38 for 288 yards, 3 TDs and a 110.4 rating and R.C. Owens had 9-14 catches for 151 yards as we mustered 403 offensive yards. And that is 6 wins in a row.

Final weekend and effectively the first round of the playoffs. Arizona (10-5) play San Francisco (10-5), and Minnesota (10-5) play Detroit (10-5) with the two winners advancing to the wild card round to play Tampa Bay and either St Louis or Washington. Talk about high-stakes...Wow, this should be a close game. Detroit has the more explosive offense, but Minnesota has a much better defense (interceptions aside). And Fran Tarkenton has been in great form recently. Besides, it would be pretty devastating to go 10-6 and miss the playoffs (although not as bad as San Francisco going 11-5 and still missing out last year...)