Front Office Football Central - View Single Post

revrew · 05-10-2006, 10:18 AM

Before that fourth season of Rebel football (in which we made the playoffs), I had tried fervently to work out a deal with the Titans to bring 6'4 Southerner receiver Tyrone Calico to Birmingham. The Titans wouldn't have it, and so I waited.

That season, however, the Titans suffered a horrible year, driving Calico's performance and stock way down. When the season ended, the Titans were in cap trouble and released Calico to free agency. When I spoke to Calico's agent, his client was very impressed that I had gone to such great lengths to try to bring him to Birmingham earlier. His client was impressed with our upward trend, and to make a long story short, Calico signed with us for a song in the first week of free agency, before other teams even made a serious offer.

The ripples of our free agency coup spread across the media. Everyone knew we were hurting at WR, but the signing of Calico plus the re-emergence of veteran wideouts Robert Ferguson and Corey Bradford (signed to the Rebels in seasons 2 and 3 for cheap after suffering injuries and poor years elsewhere), gave us a suddenly formidable receiving corps. That veteran FB we grabbed in season 4 showed himself to be a receiving threat, and then coupled with TE Randy McMichael, young QB Marco Turtschin had more weapons than he could count.

With our holes being shored up and our young stars emerging, the Rebels became a trendy pick to win the SuperBowl. ESPN the Magazine ran a cover article featuring Turtschin, Knowles, and MLB Atkins, with the headline, "Are the Rebels Ready?". Their answer was yes, and the Mag picked us to win it all. Was that a curse, as it had been to other teams? Perhaps, but time would tell.

At the end of free agency, I surveyed the team. We had some expensive depth eating up cap space, and I knew we were getting close to being a real contender. "This could be our year," I told Davis, so I dumped some of our depth and went after one last free agent, 11-year veteran left guard Alan Faneca. With Faneca anchoring the line, we would still struggle at right guard, but the rest of the line could more than hold its own. If someone, anyone could step up at RG, I believed the O-line would plow our way to the big game.

Our draft, depleted by the trades that brought in Spencer Knowles and C.J. Atkins:

Rnd 3 - Jerald Boyle, WR, Auburn
Rnd 4 - Johnnie Wachsmuth, TE, Texas - El Paso
Rnd 4 - Toby Guthrie, T, North Carolina
Rnd 5 - Ron Cicci, QB, Small College

05-10-2006, 10:18 AM	#42
revrew Team Chaplain Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Just outside Des Moines, IA	Chapter 9: Great Expectations Before that fourth season of Rebel football (in which we made the playoffs), I had tried fervently to work out a deal with the Titans to bring 6'4 Southerner receiver Tyrone Calico to Birmingham. The Titans wouldn't have it, and so I waited. That season, however, the Titans suffered a horrible year, driving Calico's performance and stock way down. When the season ended, the Titans were in cap trouble and released Calico to free agency. When I spoke to Calico's agent, his client was very impressed that I had gone to such great lengths to try to bring him to Birmingham earlier. His client was impressed with our upward trend, and to make a long story short, Calico signed with us for a song in the first week of free agency, before other teams even made a serious offer. The ripples of our free agency coup spread across the media. Everyone knew we were hurting at WR, but the signing of Calico plus the re-emergence of veteran wideouts Robert Ferguson and Corey Bradford (signed to the Rebels in seasons 2 and 3 for cheap after suffering injuries and poor years elsewhere), gave us a suddenly formidable receiving corps. That veteran FB we grabbed in season 4 showed himself to be a receiving threat, and then coupled with TE Randy McMichael, young QB Marco Turtschin had more weapons than he could count. With our holes being shored up and our young stars emerging, the Rebels became a trendy pick to win the SuperBowl. ESPN the Magazine ran a cover article featuring Turtschin, Knowles, and MLB Atkins, with the headline, "Are the Rebels Ready?". Their answer was yes, and the Mag picked us to win it all. Was that a curse, as it had been to other teams? Perhaps, but time would tell. At the end of free agency, I surveyed the team. We had some expensive depth eating up cap space, and I knew we were getting close to being a real contender. "This could be our year," I told Davis, so I dumped some of our depth and went after one last free agent, 11-year veteran left guard Alan Faneca. With Faneca anchoring the line, we would still struggle at right guard, but the rest of the line could more than hold its own. If someone, anyone could step up at RG, I believed the O-line would plow our way to the big game. Our draft, depleted by the trades that brought in Spencer Knowles and C.J. Atkins: Rnd 3 - Jerald Boyle, WR, Auburn Rnd 4 - Johnnie Wachsmuth, TE, Texas - El Paso Rnd 4 - Toby Guthrie, T, North Carolina Rnd 5 - Ron Cicci, QB, Small College __________________ 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.