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revrew · 07-05-2006, 02:38 PM

Our eigth season began with some tense conversations between the commissioner and I. We made some additions through free agency, but oddly, they were all Southerners or Stanford graduates. RDE Dexter Young was from North Dakota, I argued, but since he graduated from Auburn, the Commish wasn't all that impressed. Our second-round pick was from Oklahoma, I argued, a state Davis had forbidden for me, but the Commish still wasn't impressed. We drafted players from Illinois and Wisconsin, I argued, but 6th and 7th rounders weren't all that impressive to him either. Finally, in the free agency shuffle after the draft, we brought in a starting left tackle from Massachusetts, and Tagliabue was appeased.

We weren't trying to be a "Southern" team anymore, but that year, many of the players we went after just happened to be Southern. Such is life in football.

Rnd 1 - Rusty Stockman, TE, Memphis
Rnd 2 - Quentin Brown, WR, Oklahoma
Rnd 2 - Bart Houston, OLB, Clemson
Rnd 3 - Bennie Sanderson, ILB, Davidson
Rnd 4 - Scottie Lyon, DT, California
Rnd 5 - Jack Lesky, RB, Louisville
Rnd 6 - Ian Vang, G, Illinois
Rnd 7 - Edwin McDowall, S, Wisconsin

Our eighth season was a nerve-wracker. We were uncommonly strong in the early season, led by rookies and newcomers. TE Rusty Stockman looked like he would grow into the kind of TE that would make fans forget about Randy McMichael. WOLB Bart Houston showed flashes that gave us visions of the finest LB corps in the league. Atkins, Smith, and Houston looked like HOF candidates each on paper, and Smith had already proven himself many times over.

The youngsters, however, grew tired at the end, dropping us to a 10-6 record. The fans were still thrilled to have a powerful team, but a key loss to Minnesota lost our tie-breaker, and even at 10-6, we were out of the playoffs. Worse still, our LT went down to a possible career-ending MCL, our center went down to a similar ACL, and MLB C.J. Atkins blew his MCL, too. The dreadful astroturf we were playing on had blown out more knees than any team could afford. Thankfully, the new, outdoor grass stadium was scheduled to be finished the next year...but would it be too late?

At 10-6 with no playoffs, the team lost $38 million. That meant $19 million dollar losses for both Davis and I. Davis' $50 million was down to $31. My $65 was down to $46. One more year like that, and Davis wouldn't be able to recover in time. Two more years like that, however, and even I might get into trouble. The goal was to prevent Davis from profiting, but keep myself afloat.

And, oh, winning another SuperBowl. I was hungry. Hungry for a Lombardi without Davis over my shoulder.

07-05-2006, 02:38 PM	#73
revrew Team Chaplain Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Just outside Des Moines, IA	CHAPTER 16: Winners and Losers Our eigth season began with some tense conversations between the commissioner and I. We made some additions through free agency, but oddly, they were all Southerners or Stanford graduates. RDE Dexter Young was from North Dakota, I argued, but since he graduated from Auburn, the Commish wasn't all that impressed. Our second-round pick was from Oklahoma, I argued, a state Davis had forbidden for me, but the Commish still wasn't impressed. We drafted players from Illinois and Wisconsin, I argued, but 6th and 7th rounders weren't all that impressive to him either. Finally, in the free agency shuffle after the draft, we brought in a starting left tackle from Massachusetts, and Tagliabue was appeased. We weren't trying to be a "Southern" team anymore, but that year, many of the players we went after just happened to be Southern. Such is life in football. Rnd 1 - Rusty Stockman, TE, Memphis Rnd 2 - Quentin Brown, WR, Oklahoma Rnd 2 - Bart Houston, OLB, Clemson Rnd 3 - Bennie Sanderson, ILB, Davidson Rnd 4 - Scottie Lyon, DT, California Rnd 5 - Jack Lesky, RB, Louisville Rnd 6 - Ian Vang, G, Illinois Rnd 7 - Edwin McDowall, S, Wisconsin Our eighth season was a nerve-wracker. We were uncommonly strong in the early season, led by rookies and newcomers. TE Rusty Stockman looked like he would grow into the kind of TE that would make fans forget about Randy McMichael. WOLB Bart Houston showed flashes that gave us visions of the finest LB corps in the league. Atkins, Smith, and Houston looked like HOF candidates each on paper, and Smith had already proven himself many times over. The youngsters, however, grew tired at the end, dropping us to a 10-6 record. The fans were still thrilled to have a powerful team, but a key loss to Minnesota lost our tie-breaker, and even at 10-6, we were out of the playoffs. Worse still, our LT went down to a possible career-ending MCL, our center went down to a similar ACL, and MLB C.J. Atkins blew his MCL, too. The dreadful astroturf we were playing on had blown out more knees than any team could afford. Thankfully, the new, outdoor grass stadium was scheduled to be finished the next year...but would it be too late? At 10-6 with no playoffs, the team lost $38 million. That meant $19 million dollar losses for both Davis and I. Davis' $50 million was down to $31. My $65 was down to $46. One more year like that, and Davis wouldn't be able to recover in time. Two more years like that, however, and even I might get into trouble. The goal was to prevent Davis from profiting, but keep myself afloat. And, oh, winning another SuperBowl. I was hungry. Hungry for a Lombardi without Davis over my shoulder. __________________ Winner of 6 FOFC Scribe Awards, including 3 Gold Scribes Founder of the ZFL, 2004 Golden Scribe Dynasty of the Year Now bringing The Des Moines Dragons back to life, and the joke's on YOU, NFL! I came to the Crossroad. I took it. And that has made all the difference.