Front Office Football Central - View Single Post

Autumn · 01-05-2010, 10:32 PM

Week 17 vs Minneapolis Lakers

Our old friend Timothy Atkins always does his best to beat us, and their season is on the line here. We hold them to 3 and out on their first drive, but Nichols tries to open the game with a 50 yard pass and instead throws a pick. That would be bad but okay since it pins them at the 7. Except that he of course runs it back 93 yards for a score. Down 7-0. Ouch.

Next drive we work the running backs and the short passes instead, until just the right moment when Nichols opens back up and hits Youssef for 19 and then 12 yards. Two plays later Davidson runs in the TD to tie it up.

Austin for 26 yards starts the next drive, and Bratton for 23 continues it. Nichols has a big scramble to give us first and goal, followed by a 8 yard Hiscock run. However he coughs it up and they get the ball at the 2. McCracken's third down rush though hurries Atkins into a bad throw, which is picked off by Paschal. We get the ball at their 15. Hiscock's 14 yard run gets us in position and Bratton grabs the jump ball TD. 14-7.

It's three and out for Minneapolis again, they don't have any first downs yet. We miss a long field goal, and then next drive Carl Austin sparks with a 26 yard catch. Davidson turns a short pass into a 23 yard gain. We get to the 4 yard line but no further, settling for the field goal and a 17-7 lead.

No one scores again until the top of the fourth quarter, when Hiscock does some great running on a drive and Nichols finds Hergett for a 9 yard TD pass. Next drive stalls but Bercich hits a 50 yard field goal to make it 27-7.

Atkins gets himself benched after going 7/20. His replacement makes a 29 yard strike on his first play, but that's the last thing he does and the ball goes over on downs. Nichols's back up finally makes a showing and the regular season is finished.

Artie Hiscock had a fantastic game, running 27 times for 127 yards even when running out the game. Our line accumulates 7 sacks against Atkins.

Marshall Hastings, out in Seattle, picks up player of the week for a 29/31 performance with 298 yards and 2 TDs. Xavier and Money both have great games too though. Earnest Van Pelt breaks the single game sack record, picking up 5.5 for San Antonio.

Omaha Tornadoes 27, Minneapolis Lakers 7

15-1

Denver beats Kansas City, and with St. Louis losing to the 13-3 Racers, that gives Denver the first wild card at 9-6-1. St. Louis will still be in the show, holding the second at 9-7, three 8-8 teams staying home.

Division winners are the Racers in the Rust Belt, Dallas squeaking it out at 8-8 in the Lone Star division, San Francisco dominating the West Coast and of course the Tornadoes winning our division.

In the other conference, Birmingham edged out the others to win the Deep South division at 8-8. Detroit held off Xavier's Chicago Gale to win their division at 9-7 and maintain a perfect 7 playoff visits for the Wheels. Richmond is the class of the conference, easily winning their division at 13-3, with division mate Louisville Chargers grabbing a wild card spot. The other wild card must be between 8-8 Chicago and Washington Generals. A look at the schedule shows that Washington has the tiebreaker there.

The surprise of that conference is the Philadelphia Privateers winning the Colonial division at 12-4. The Privateers have dwelt in mediocrity for years, with this being their first playoff visit. They are notable for being the team that dealt me the Edwin Nichols pick. Nice to see they won't suffer for that forever.

Corey Money's excellent Week 17 game earned him the top QB rating spot at 112.5, and a record. Nichols came in second with 108.3, but clearly the more dominant performance. Nichols posted the third highest yardage total ever with 4,176, one of only four quarterbacks to post a 4000 yard year. Xavier Kirkaldie smashed the record, passing for 4,638 this year. Nichols meanwhile broke his own TD record, throwing 38 this season. Detroit's Deon Crowder set a record for rushing TDs with 14.

I have to admit that Xavier had an impressive season, leading Nichols or equaling him in a lot of categories, passing for more yards than any quarterback has, including setting the single game record. His line was one of the worst in the league in opponent pass rush percentage, while we were the best. Given a decent team around him Xavier is going to give Nichols one hell of a run for his money.

How about a shoutout for my O line who only allowed 12 sacks all season for a 2.3 sack percent. We also had clearly the best special teams in the league, being #1 in punt returns, #2 in kick returns, as well as being #1 or #2 in defense. Bercich was the best kicker in the league, only our punter was average.

Artie Hiscock had the highest catch percentage in the league, while Michael Fulton was second in the league in Avg/catch and avg/target. He was also second in touchdowns, despite only starting in 8 games and playing in 14.

Paul McCracken was #7 in sacks in his second year, and Fleming was up there with 10.5 despite only playing 12 games. He was poised to have his best year yet.

01-05-2010, 10:32 PM	#125
Autumn Head Coach Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Bath, ME	Week 17 vs Minneapolis Lakers Our old friend Timothy Atkins always does his best to beat us, and their season is on the line here. We hold them to 3 and out on their first drive, but Nichols tries to open the game with a 50 yard pass and instead throws a pick. That would be bad but okay since it pins them at the 7. Except that he of course runs it back 93 yards for a score. Down 7-0. Ouch. Next drive we work the running backs and the short passes instead, until just the right moment when Nichols opens back up and hits Youssef for 19 and then 12 yards. Two plays later Davidson runs in the TD to tie it up. Austin for 26 yards starts the next drive, and Bratton for 23 continues it. Nichols has a big scramble to give us first and goal, followed by a 8 yard Hiscock run. However he coughs it up and they get the ball at the 2. McCracken's third down rush though hurries Atkins into a bad throw, which is picked off by Paschal. We get the ball at their 15. Hiscock's 14 yard run gets us in position and Bratton grabs the jump ball TD. 14-7. It's three and out for Minneapolis again, they don't have any first downs yet. We miss a long field goal, and then next drive Carl Austin sparks with a 26 yard catch. Davidson turns a short pass into a 23 yard gain. We get to the 4 yard line but no further, settling for the field goal and a 17-7 lead. No one scores again until the top of the fourth quarter, when Hiscock does some great running on a drive and Nichols finds Hergett for a 9 yard TD pass. Next drive stalls but Bercich hits a 50 yard field goal to make it 27-7. Atkins gets himself benched after going 7/20. His replacement makes a 29 yard strike on his first play, but that's the last thing he does and the ball goes over on downs. Nichols's back up finally makes a showing and the regular season is finished. Artie Hiscock had a fantastic game, running 27 times for 127 yards even when running out the game. Our line accumulates 7 sacks against Atkins. Marshall Hastings, out in Seattle, picks up player of the week for a 29/31 performance with 298 yards and 2 TDs. Xavier and Money both have great games too though. Earnest Van Pelt breaks the single game sack record, picking up 5.5 for San Antonio. Omaha Tornadoes 27, Minneapolis Lakers 7 15-1 Denver beats Kansas City, and with St. Louis losing to the 13-3 Racers, that gives Denver the first wild card at 9-6-1. St. Louis will still be in the show, holding the second at 9-7, three 8-8 teams staying home. Division winners are the Racers in the Rust Belt, Dallas squeaking it out at 8-8 in the Lone Star division, San Francisco dominating the West Coast and of course the Tornadoes winning our division. In the other conference, Birmingham edged out the others to win the Deep South division at 8-8. Detroit held off Xavier's Chicago Gale to win their division at 9-7 and maintain a perfect 7 playoff visits for the Wheels. Richmond is the class of the conference, easily winning their division at 13-3, with division mate Louisville Chargers grabbing a wild card spot. The other wild card must be between 8-8 Chicago and Washington Generals. A look at the schedule shows that Washington has the tiebreaker there. The surprise of that conference is the Philadelphia Privateers winning the Colonial division at 12-4. The Privateers have dwelt in mediocrity for years, with this being their first playoff visit. They are notable for being the team that dealt me the Edwin Nichols pick. Nice to see they won't suffer for that forever. Corey Money's excellent Week 17 game earned him the top QB rating spot at 112.5, and a record. Nichols came in second with 108.3, but clearly the more dominant performance. Nichols posted the third highest yardage total ever with 4,176, one of only four quarterbacks to post a 4000 yard year. Xavier Kirkaldie smashed the record, passing for 4,638 this year. Nichols meanwhile broke his own TD record, throwing 38 this season. Detroit's Deon Crowder set a record for rushing TDs with 14. I have to admit that Xavier had an impressive season, leading Nichols or equaling him in a lot of categories, passing for more yards than any quarterback has, including setting the single game record. His line was one of the worst in the league in opponent pass rush percentage, while we were the best. Given a decent team around him Xavier is going to give Nichols one hell of a run for his money. How about a shoutout for my O line who only allowed 12 sacks all season for a 2.3 sack percent. We also had clearly the best special teams in the league, being #1 in punt returns, #2 in kick returns, as well as being #1 or #2 in defense. Bercich was the best kicker in the league, only our punter was average. Artie Hiscock had the highest catch percentage in the league, while Michael Fulton was second in the league in Avg/catch and avg/target. He was also second in touchdowns, despite only starting in 8 games and playing in 14. Paul McCracken was #7 in sacks in his second year, and Fleming was up there with 10.5 despite only playing 12 games. He was poised to have his best year yet.