Swamp Ducks' Home Loyalty Challenge

[Upstate_New_York]

I've decided to start an empty cupboard challenge for FOF 2001 based on QuickSand's Black Squirrel series and my past cupboard challenges... I've dubbed the setup: The Home Alone Challenge.

Here are the rules (If you're familiar with QuickSand's latest, there are many overlaps):
1. Expansion Clause. Start with the 2002 expansion team
2. Use Fictitious Players Only Clause. Self explanatory.
3. The Almost No Trade Initiation Clause. You can accept any trade from any team, except you may not have multiple #1 picks in back to back seasons. The only time you can initiate a trade is in trying to acquire a former player from your team (no having the other team throwing in an extra player or draft pick).
4. No Restructuring Clause. No restructuring contracts
5. No Franchise Player Clause. Self explanatory.
6. Limited Haggling Clause. When trying to re-sign your players during free agency, if another team outbids you, you can only match the highest offer... you can not outbid the highest offer.
8. 3 Year UFAs Only Clause. You can only sign unsigned free agents with three years or less experience... no going after superstars in the draft, and no signing that unwanted superstar that was left hanging after free agency ended. Along with resigning current players, you may resign former players from your team during the free agency period as well.
9. Smart Ticket Pricing Clause. You can not have more expensive tickets than the next closest NFL team (brilliant QuickSand innovation).
10. The Be A Man Clause. No hiding your starters from possible injury during pre-season by benching them.

The "Home" in the Home Loyalty Challenge name derives from trying to form a homespun team through the draft. The "Loyalty" comes from having the players field competitive offers via free agency. I think this challenge differs from QuickSands in that I am trying exactly for realism... I'm trying for personality. When it comes to professional sports, I'm old school. I love players who stay their career with one team. With the above house rules in effect, I think this is going to be both challenging and addictive... hopefully I'll get attached to my players so that following their careers will be as satisfying as trying to field a championship squad. Not to mention that cohesion will also get a boon from this challenge.

In terms of adding realism while drafting, I'm going to rely heavily on my scout's recommendation lists... because they definitely do vary from the overall lists via the draft screen. Now I'll be playing more to the strengths and weaknesses of the scout.

Tomorrow I should have my first season done and posted. Have to admit, I cheated slightly when I went into 2002. I saved my game before-hand to make sure I got a cool city. First I got Los Angeles... and that was pretty bland. Next, I got Austin... which reminded me too much of the Cowboys. Nada. At last, on my third try I got Greenville, South Carolina. That was cool, but what makes zero sense is that we're in the AFC West. However we are talking about the NFL here. And so it begins... the story of the Greenville Swamp Ducks.

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Don't blame me. I voted for Willie Nelson.

[Vaj]

Don't blame me -- I voted for Gore. I think.

[Upstate_New_York]

2002 - Season 1

FIRST GLANCE:

And so I began my tenure with the Greenville (SC) Swamp Ducks. At first I asked myself: "Greenville... hmm... Greenville... Greenville, where?". But this was what I wanted, a small obscure city. I was happy not to get stuck with Los Angeles or Austin as my two other attempts brought on... There's more people in Greenville than I figured (nearly a million) and my closest rival geographically is the Carolina Panthers. However, the NFL - always one for intelligent team placement - has wisely decided to place me in the AFC West. Can you say road trips from Hell?

FRANCHISE VALUE:

I'm in the bottom third in terms of franchise value at $320,990,000. Heck, A-Rod could practically buy me out.

STAFF:

Head Coach - Gus Gilbreath. He's pretty good with player development. Very Good with Young Talent, Very Good with QBs for instance. However, he's poor with defense.

Lead Scout - Riddick England. Still in his thirties, this guy is super. Very Goods and Goods all over, except for Fair at running back and secondary.

EXPANSION DRAFT:

An amazing thing happened after the expansion draft. The Arizona Cardinals offered me their 6th round pick for one of my picks, FB Korey Springer! However, Springer looks like a capable starter, and I don't know what I could find at the 31st pick in the sixth round. Tempting, but I s'pose I'll pass. Springer has a chance to be a starting fullback with sub-par blocking ability. A few other standouts: My scout's really high on CB Harvey Dunn, who has a chance to be an average CB. Thomas Harrison is promising at TE with a potential 32/38/56/29/72/43/17. I got a punter and a kicker... and I took one guy accidentally who was a six year man... but with the name Orlando Bobo I just have to keep him.

As I'm just starting out, I decide to allow myself a one time splurge... I decide to go after one free agent during the free agent period, still holding myself to the fictitious player course, of course. In that way, I'm still not going to wind up with star material, merely starting material. This proves correct as I pick up a moderately skilled corner. However, just after signing the bloke, The Eagles offered me their 3rd round pick for the CB. Seeing as how he dropped off in ratings after I signed him anyway, and seeing that he is somewhat overpriced, you bet your sweet booty I'm going to go for this.

ROOKIE DRAFT:

With our first pick we go with DE Dennis Cosell 35/95, 42/99, 68/68... could be the next minister of defense (or announcer) if he doesn't bust. Next the Ducks go with Doug Rosehill, a safety out of Ohio State 16/54, 33/94, 32/95, 64/64, 67/67. The third round is proving a challenge however... there is a good RB and a good T... seeing that there isn't even one close to good QB in the draft, I need a running back. However, that's Riddick England's worst scouting position. Taking this into consideration, and that we're on a three year track to respectability, I go with Calvin Yeater, tackle out of Tennessee. (The lack of a good QB is a major blow to Coach Gilbreath, seeing that he's a bit of a quarterback guru). For our next pick, things continue to get more complicated. England's really hot on RB Corey Novotny out of Auburn (even though he's ranked fourth among the remaining backs) and FB Tyrell Hodges out of Southern Mississip'. Now Hodges has more upside, but at a lower impact position... and Novotny is more good-to-go, plus the fact that running backs are starting to go fast. Of course... we could always feature Hodges as our main ball carrier. And that would be fun. What the hell. We give Hodges the phone call. However, the cool thing turns out to be that Novotny is still available for our next pick... but now the QB issue begins to press, and our number one choice, Bart McDaniel is getting higher on our eligible list. Still, Novotny will be more useful at RB than Bart at QB... so that decides that. Gus gets on the phone to Corey. Wow. Again, the cards fall right, and Bart is there for round five. He'll be a Swamp Duck. Then suddenly, in round six, the amazing happened: Now before this whole draft started we had in mind to take Riddick's kid brother Kennedy, if he was still available, but we weren't keeping our fingers crossed. Luckily for us, he was really looked over in this draft, and so we jump on the opportunity to snatch up LB Kennedy England. Greenville is a family town after all. For our last pick, we take a rider on QB Daniel Brown out of Oklahoma State. In the end, here was the list:

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Dennis Cosell, DE, Florida
Rnd 2 - Doug Rosehill, S, Ohio State
Rnd 3 - Tyrell Hodges, FB, Southern Mississippi
Rnd 3 - Calvin Yeater, T, Tennessee
Rnd 4 - Corey Novotny, RB, Auburn
Rnd 5 - Bart McDaniel, QB, Iowa State
Rnd 6 - Kennedy England, LB, Purdue
Rnd 7 - Daniel Brown, QB, Oklahoma State

TRAINING CAMP:

The Swamp Ducks went into training camp with the maximum 70 players, a varied cast of second year rejects and undrafted free agents alongside our key draft picks. There were no real busts or surprises... thankfully my star picks got through that fine. Before playing the first game, it looks like the kicker and punter may be the most accomplished players on the team... However, it's Hodges at fullback, Rosehill at safety, and Cosell at DE that bear watching. It'll be exciting to see how each of them do.

SEASON:

The Patriots crush us in the opener, 30-3, however we come back against Tennessee 14-9. Dennis Cosell is game MVP. We rack up 178 yards on the ground with significant contributions from all three of my running backs. McDaniel completing 16 of 19 passes was the key. Cosell had two of our five sacks. KC drubs us 35-10 in week three, however Cosell had 1.5 sacks making that three straight games he's had at least one sack bringing his total to 4.5. Next is Oakland... a game which we lose 31-14. However an interesting experiment has inadvertently begun by putting Ginsberg, our fourth RB, in at the third wide out slot. He had a 150 yard game there in pre-season. I got him more involved as a go to guy out of the third slot in this fourth game and he came up with 58 yards on four catches. This might be fun. No running game this time, but McDaniel had a good time. Cosell had 4 sacks! His first four pro games have yielded 8.5 sacks. Deron Blair, my primary receiver dislocated his shoulder and is out indefinitely... hm, Ginsberg might be moving into my second slot... hell, why not. Next we get tossed around by the Bears 37-9. Ginsberg has a touchdown and 101 yards on 3 catches in the slot. News Flash: Cosell was shut out, and only had 5 tackles. But he had a pass block. We fall to 1-5 against the Chargers 31-17. Cosell had a sack and we had a running game... Cooper and Novotny had nearly a hundred yards on 16 carries. Also McDaniel had over 200 yards and a td... no picks. Our first mid season pick up happens when WR Branch goes down with a hip pointer. We end up taking punt return specialist Max McCoo to replace him. In the meantime CB Ricky Curtis goes on IR. Week 7 brings us our second win against division rival Denver, 27-17. Our running game was completely suffocated... but they pounded in two touchdowns anyway. McDaniel was accurate (as usual!) and Ginsberg caught 5 for 82 yards and a TD! We're all happy but scratching our heads here in the front office over Mr. Ginsberg. Speaking of happy, DC had a sack, a pass block, and two hurries. This is our best performance to date. Unfortunately Calvin Yeater is out at tackle. Luckily our receiver corps is getting healthy again. We get dashed out by lowly KC 28-7 next to slip to 2-6. Coop had a 41 yard TD run and the mighty Ginsberg had 75 yards receiving. Cosell has come back down to earth having only 2 sacks in his last 4 games. After our bye week we come out strong against Oakland but lose 37-24 (gave up 24 3rd quarter points). It was defense and special teams in this game that kept us close: Rosehill had a 61 yard INT return and McCoo had an 80 yard kickoff return. We only had one sack, but it went to DC. Very bad news though... Doug Rosehill, our second pick overall, tore his achilles and is out for the season, and maybe longer. So much for the secondary. We sign S Jason Codeke. We get nipped by the Vikings 17-13 next... Rosehill might have been the difference that one. Seattle then drops us 10 to 28. We had no running game. Denver then pounds us 42-11 to drop us to 2-10. Nothing good to say about this one. DC (Dennis Cosell) goes down for a few games with a hyperextended elbow. Really not looking good right now in Swamp Duck Town. A little cheer comes back to the Ducks as we took Seattle 30-27, the first time Greenville has broken into the 30s. Sherman Snellings is the MVP. We had 454 yards of offense! Snellings had 202 yards on 10 catches with 2 TDs. Of course, he hurts himself in the process... questionable. The Ginsberg experiment isn't too pretty in the second half of the season so far... but I'll let it go till the end. The good news is that Cosell is now probable... but do I risk playing him? Gus tells him he'll sit one more game to be safe... he is the franchise, after all. Detroit beats us 27-14 next. Just as it looked like Ginsberg was losing it, he comes back with 2 TDs and 65 yards. Orlando Bobo is out for the year at guard, and that makes it three on IR. The tremendous news is that DC is totally healthy! The second to last game and we get destroyed 35-3 to Baltimore... our worst loss of the year. We allow 241 yards rushing. That said, we went into our last game hoping only to not lose anyone to serious injury. We lose a close one to the Chargers 13-7 to end the year at 3-13... a typical first year. The New York Jets defeat the Eagles 41-14 in the Super Bowl. Nobody on our squad got any awards... DC's injury didn't help his cause for defensive rookie of the year... plus the fact that he cooled off, a combination of scouting us and his not used to playing a 16 game schedule. Still, Cosell ended up with 12.5 sacks. His partner in crime, Lonnie Woods came in with 9. Leo Henderson led us with 92 tackles and 30 assists, plus he had 3 picks. Tyrus Howes had a great year punting for us, with an average of 42.5 yards a kick, plus leading the NFL in total yards punted with 5,188. Although we gave up the most yards on the ground in 2002 out of anybody, we were tenth in the league in passing defense! Plus we were tied for first in the league with 53 sacks.


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Don't blame me. I voted for Willie Nelson.

[Upstate_New_York]

Just thought of an interesting twist to throw in this challenge of mine. Going along with the Home Loyalty concept, maybe I should allow myself only to have players with loyalty rating of 50% or better. In that way I'd be bringing "good people" onto the team... it'd say something about personality!

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Don't blame me. I voted for Willie Nelson.

[Kevin]

With Cosell at DE, you'll need to find a Meredith in next year's draft!

[Upstate_New_York]

2003

NEW COACH:

Although Gus had his ups and downs as an NFL coach we in the front office decide to go in a new direction this year with a new coach... and sign 39 year old Hugh Campana to a three year contract at 2.9 million. He's already above average... and he just happens to be the youngest coach in the league. The future already looks a little brighter before the preseason even begins.

Campana's Abilities:
QB - VG
RB - VG
RC - VG
OL - F
DL - G
LB - G
2D - F
PK - P
Young Talent - G
Motivation - F
Discipline - E
Offense - P
Defense - VG
Avoid Injury - F

While I'm at it, here's Riddick England (only 37 years old):
QB - VG
RB - G
RC - VG
OL - VG
K - G
DL - VG
LB - G
2D - F
Young Talent - VG

PRE-PRESEASON:

As our scouts are just beginning their job preparing the Ducks for the rookie draft, we get a phone call from the Vikings... they told me that they're willing to trade their #1 pick for our starting QB, Bart McDaniel... who the Ducks got in the fifth round last year. Riddick and I quickly agree we can't pass this up. Although there are no real blue chippers in the 2003 draft at QB to possibly replace Bart, backup Rodriguez is pretty much Bart's equal anyway.

THE DRAFT:

So Riddick, Hugh, and I get to Los Angeles for the draft and we're really excited... because our people count between ten to fifteen blue chippers in this draft, and we have the first and eleventh pick. Greenville fans should feel really happy after we come back home... with a little luck.

For our first pick, we decide to take DT Vinny Glover, out of NW Missouri State a potential 100/100/60 player... with him and DC on the defensive line, we should be able to really move offenses back in two years. For our second pick, #11 overall, it's between Wagner at center and James at corner. Riddick is really high on Wagner, so we go with it. Glen Wagner it is, out of Texas A&M. Whatdoyaknow, James goes next at #12. By the second round, none of our blue chippers fall through. So we go with Damon Dittoe, LB out of Mississippi State (who would end up leading us in tackles this year). Our third pick even surprised us... we took QB Randal Fadiman out of Arizona (I accidentally hit the god damn select button). Well, he looks fairly average, but he was the highest rated QB. Good god, lets see where that one gets us. A really nice linebacker out of UCLA is next, J.C. O'Donnell. Then for our fifth round pick we go with TE Herb Gorham, out of Auburn. In the sixth round we take safety Karl Cassatt out of Auburn. In the seventh we take Scott Joslin, CB out of Indiana.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Vinny Glover, DT, NW Missouri St. (1)
Rnd 1 - Glen Wagner, C, Texas A&M (11)
Rnd 2 - Damon Dittoe, LB, Mississippi State
Rnd 3 - Randal Fadiman, QB, Arizona
Rnd 4 - J.C. O'Donnell, LB, UCLA
Rnd 5 - Herb Gorham, TE, Auburn
Rnd 6 - Karl Cassatt, S, Auburn
Rnd 7 - Scott Joslin, CB, Indiana

TRAINING CAMP:

There's a lot of turnover here from last season... many of the first year guys are asking for salaries well over their ability. Now is not the time to waste money on ingrates, so we instead sign a bunch of new first and second year guys who were hungry, and who wanted much much less.

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GAMER'S NOTE:
This is odd. After training camp all of my expertise ratings were halved! Also, the coach wants the team to run a 3-4 defense because of our personnel, however we have zero expertise in 3-4. However, our 4-3 rating has been halved to 44 anyway, so I guess I'll experiment and go with the 3-4. Plus I prefer the 3-4 anyway.
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THE SEASON:

So we get through preseason without a win, but without any major injuries, so it is indeed a successful camp. However, we have a major major hole in our secondary with the loss of safety, last years #2 pick, Rosehill. In fact, we really have no secondary without him. Well, get this, we start the year off tying Buffalo 13-13. Novotny ran for 12 yards on 20 carries (this would not improve with time). However we did get pressure on the quarterback with four sacks. And we're in third place! We lose our first game against the Titans 41-14. Novotny one-ups his last performance by running -1 yards on 6 carries. However we again had four sacks. We go 0-2-1 against Kansas City, losing 31-7. Next, winless San Diego gets by us 34-28. Backup QB, Brown, had a great game throwing for 228 yards and 3 TDs. At this point in the season we decide to go with a different offensive set up, still emphasizing the run, but creating a more balanced sense on the field... we're not going to go with any five or four wide receiver sets, and very little three and two tight end sets... this will keep the opposition guessing on the field with our two wide outs, TE, FB, and RB constantly on the field. We lose 35-20 next to the Rams... however, we had a great running game and passing game going. Brown was good with 232 yards, 2 TD, and 2 picks. Thomas caught 8 for 145 yards and 2 TDs. Next game we get dominated by Seattle 34-13. We're outgained 3 to 1. The Raiders drop us to 0-6-1 in a nail biter, 13-10. The key was our 66 yards passing. DC had a sack, a pass block, and two hurries. Still winless at midseason, losing 33-21 to the Chiefs. Here we see something we've never seen before, through all the agony of 2003 so far... 0 rushing yards on 19 carries. Novotny had 0 on 10 carries. I don't care what his ratings claim, he's seeing bench time. He's been horrible all year... a 1.6 average on 70 carries. The pain continues as we fall 10-9 to San Diego. I can take heart that our last three games have been close. Our passing game continues to outshine our ground game... we really need that star running back or QB. Next, we get whacked by lowly Atlanta 28-6. At last, in week 12, we win... 24-21 over the Broncos. Our running game shines at last with 154 yards. Our upbeat mood comes crashing down again, however, in a 41-14 loss to Oakland... followed by a drubbing from Denver 47-21. But WR Thomas shines with 193 yards receiving. Then it's an 18-6 loss against the Saints. Next, Cleveland 30 - Greenville 7... beginning to mull selling the team and buying the Clippers. However, we win a garbage game against 12-3 St. Louis 41-13! 264 yards on the ground. Novotny shows up, in week 16, with 3 TDs and 140 yards. Gumphrey has a 101 yard kick return for a TD. DC had 2.5 sacks. At least we can go into next year on an upbeat note. AND Rosehill finally looks ready to come back from last year's surgery... which will shore up our secondary for 2004.

Tyrell Hodges wins the first player award for the Swamp Ducks with 2nd Team Fullback. Andre Thomas has 1,020 yards on 70 catches. Rookie first round pick, DT Vinny Glover, leads us with 9.5 sacks... DC had 8.5 (and led in blocks and hurries). LB Kennedy England had 78 tackles, 35 assists, and 7 sacks. With no legitimate running back, and with Novotny sleeping for most of the season, we're amazingly 17th in rushing (thank you offensive line). Second to last in passing. Second to last in rushing yards allowed, and fourth from the bottom in passing yards allowed (the loss of Rosehill all season). Year end performance: 2, franchise value: 64, profit: 66, score: 51.

20003 WRAP:

Why did the bottom fall out this year? Well, we couldn't stop anyone. We could rush the passer no problem with our young but talented defensive line... but we had scrap for a secondary. Having Rosehill at safety might have equated to two more wins, or so. Our cohesion hit couldn't have helped. AND we are without that impact player on offense. However, we have a young and talented offensive line and defensive line. With our past two years of high draft picks, and the second pick in this year's draft coming up, we may just surprise people next year.

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"It's fortunate that everybody plays badly when we play against them. We're not a very good football team." -Jason Sehorn, on the Giants 13th victory of the year against Philadelphia.

[Kevin]

Re: your gamers note.
I've been royally pissed at my scout for the same thing the past two years. Recommends no training on 3-4 then starts season recommending using 3-4 75% of the time although we have zero expertise. Methinks he won't be back next year.

[Upstate_New_York]

2004

So after 2003, we in the Swamp Ducks Front Office we go into 2004 with a bit of the deer in headlights look. After two abysmal seasons, the second one almost worse than the first, Riddick, Gus, and myself are wondering what in hell kind of direction the team in Greenville is taking. An indicator of how tough things have been, the stress must have gotten to my coach and scout... four of their ratings dropped:

Riddick's ratings:

QB - G (VG) drop
RB - G
RC - VG
OL - VG
K - G
DL - VG
LB - G
2D - P (F) drop
Young Talent - VG

Campana's ratings:
QB - VG
RB - VG
RC - G (VG) drop
OL - F
DL - G
LB - G
2D - F
PK - P
Young Talent - VG (G) gain
Motivation - F
Discipline - VG (E) drop
Offense - P
Defense - VG
Avoid Injury - F

DRAFT DAY:

The draft goes well enough... we had the second pick overall. Still, no superstar running back or quarterback in the fold, however. So instead we go for another DE for our first pick, to compliment Cosell: Kendrick Oaks, with a 74/90/74 potential... and most of it filled out in red already. This kid can play on any team in the NFL already. Next, we go for a good RB, Shank, with a break away speed of 100... so we don't have to resign Novotny to an incredible contract. Next, we take the best QB available... Harold Flynn, with potentials in the 70s in most places. Then, we take another quasi-stud looking RB, Horace Lynch. Our fifth pick, Malcolm Borders will be a starting guard in a year. Our sixth pick, Nolan Everett will be our starting kicker this year... and will be something special next year. And seventh pick, Artie Hager has great return ratings for both punts and kickoffs... choosing him in the draft will put him in a multi year contract so I don't have to worry about signing some shmuck next season for returns.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Kendrick Oaks, DE, Wake Forest
Rnd 2 - Donny Shank, RB, Texas Tech
Rnd 3 - Harold Flynn, QB, UCLA
Rnd 4 - Horace Lynch, RB, Alabama
Rnd 5 - Malcolm Borders, G, Rutgers
Rnd 6 - Nolan Everett, K, Army
Rnd 7 - Artie Hager, WR, Stanford

POST-TRAINING CAMP:

We continued to lose expertise points, as was the case last year... with the high number of player turnover. Next year this should be different. One good point about this is I can switch us over to a 3-4 set without worrying about taking years to build this up... since we already suck at 4-3, we could make the switch that much easier. Sizing up our team, I am REALLY excited about our defensive line. Both ends, Cosell and Oaks, and nose tackle Vinny Glover are all #1 Duck draft picks from the last three years. (Can you say boo-yah?) Behind them are four young, very decent linebackers, led by Kennedy England at LOLB and Damon Dittoe at LILB (two very cool LB names, if I ever did hear one). Doug Rosehill is back from surgery to lead the secondary (nearly career ending... it's been a year and a half he's been out of action)... however after Doug, there's not much at strong safety... and even less at the corners. Looks like we'll have to pressure the QB with the front seven. Offensively, we have a solid left side of the line, a very good center, and a not so great right side. Johnnie Rodriguez has improved from nothing to poor at QB, and is reaching his ceiling fast. Flynn should be the QB next year, or will step in, should Johnnie be totally wretched. Donnie Shank has brilliant speed (99) and great pass catching ability at RB... but his yards per carry and short yardage are not so brilliant. Lynch may turn out to be the better back in the future, but Shank has the ability to be a game breaker, I believe. It'll be interesting to see these two work this year. Hodges is an all-pro at FB in every way... and my TEs and WRs are mediocre at best.

REGULAR SEASON:

So we get through preseason without any major injuries, and we manage to win our first preseason game in franchise history in the meantime. The regular season begins with a bang... We trounce Miami 37-17. K Nolan Everett is game MVP with five field goals. And amazingly, we did it in the air... Johnnie had 2 TDs and 0 picks... URFA pick up, Spragan had 129 yards receiving. Our front seven had six sacks! Oaks's debuted with 2 at nose tackle. And we had three picks. The Titans beat us 31-20 next. However, we run for 264 yards. Shank has 142 yards on 17 carries. Glover had 2 sacks. I now see why Johnnie got sacked six times this game, Wagner is out for a few games at center with a dislocated shoulder. So much for running off center, eh? We fall again in a close one, 21-17 to San Diego... they came 14-0 in the 4th quarter. And like week one, it was all air. Snellings had 114 yards and a TD. Cosell had 2.5 sacks. Again with the heart breaker... 17-14 to Kansas City... they came back 10-0 in the 4th quarter. Like in week 2, our offense ran well but passed poorly. Maybe this is an odd/even week thing. Ick, Johnnie was 9 for 31 passing. Kennedy England had 10 tackles and 2 sacks! The heartache continues, losing 22-20 to the Eagles. They kicked the game winner with 17 seconds remaining. We ran the ball well, but we got no pressure on their QB... zero sacks. Our last three losses have been by 4, 3, and 2 points successively. We're getting closer! We should have a win in three more games at this rate. Unfortunately Vinny Glover's out for a few games. Hopefully DC can carry the load alone at right end. Denver shuts us out 17-0 next. Only 8 first downs. Damon Dittoe has 9 tackles and 2 sacks. No running game or passing success. Thankfully, DE Glover's at probable, and will play next game. At last, success again... we take down the hapless Raiders 27-10. Doug Rosehill is MVP with 2 INTs. And more good news, Henry Wagner is probable for next game at center. He'll start, but play sparingly. Again, we go back to the close losses... 17-7 to the Chargers. Snellings had 106 yards on 5 catches. DC had 2 sacks. The Chiefs beat us by three points for the second time this year, this time 20-17. Sherman Snellings had 140 yards and a TD. The defense had six sacks, led by Cosell's 2.5. The New York Giants topple the Ducks next, 26-3... in what is only the second bad loss of the year. We had no running game, and they had 24 first downs to our 8. Seattle kicks us down to 2-9, with a score of 35-14. Sherman again shows me something with 135 yards and a TD on 9 catches. At last, we win our third, again over the hapless Raiders... 17-15. Shank had 17 yards on 17 carries... FB Tyrell Hodges is MVP. We beat the Seattle Mariners, er, Seahawks 6-3 next. Doug is MVP at safety, six tackles and a pick. Bad news though, LB Damon Dittoe suffered torn biceps and is out long term. Tough blow to one of our top LBs. We sign LB Quinn Herndon out of Georgia Tech to replace the roster spot. CB Harvey Dunn is out again with a concussion after just getting off another injury. The Redskins beat us by a touchdown next, 14-7. Four dropped passes and poor rushing totals sealed this one. Win number five comes against Cleveland, 24-21. Earl Fulton is MVP at LB. Rookie QB Flynn comes in, completes 4 passes for 116 yards and 2 TDs. Doug has 10 tackles at free safety. DC has 1.5 sacks. Johnnie Rodriguez isn't hurt too badly, but we'll give the next start to Harold Flynn. Huge loss! Kennedy England is out long term with torn knee cartilage... the plague has swept through my linebacking corps! This isn't looking good for his future ability either. We sign some scrub, Martin Benton, to replace him. This is a huge blow to Riddick as well... he saw the hit his brother took on the field, and his face went white (up here in the press box). We end the season losing to Denver 27-13.

SEASON'S END:

We end up 5-11 and tied for fourth in the AFC West. Not bad. And we were sixth in the AFC in giving up the fewest points with 313. Also, my front defensive three, Oaks, Cosell, and Glover, had 34 sacks. Kansas City wins the Super Bowl, 21-12 over the Rams.

AWARDS:

We got a few Player Awards this year. Donny Shank got Offensive Rookie of the Year at RB (rushed for 820 yards), to my surprise. Tyrell Hodges was All-Pro 1st Team FB for the second year in a row. And Dennis Cosell was 1st Team DE (16.5 sacks).

2004 WRAP:

We are on the verge of establishing ourselves as a contender. With our 3-D defense (DC, Oaks, and Glover) Greenville has arguably the most talented line in the NFL... and they're all young. Our linebacking corps was hit hard by injury, but still they're solid. With the addition of a top draft pick for the secondary, we should contain offenses better. Our offense has a decent line, a potentially solid QB, two very good running backs, Hodges at FB, and squat for WR. With a good draft, and luck with injuries, I'd like to be 9-7 in 2005.

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"It's fortunate that everybody plays badly when we play against them. We're not a very good football team." -Jason Sehorn, on the Giants 13th victory of the year against Philadelphia.

[Upstate_New_York]

2005 "The Swamp Ducks Make A Splash"

So Greenville heads into 2005 with a much better feeling about its football team than the previous season. We're young, we're talented in many areas, but we're not deep. I really expect us to do something this year, and 9-7 seems like a good goal. If we don't hit this, I may start thinking about a coaching change.

SCOUT & COACH:

Riddick's ratings (unchanged):

QB - G
RB - G
RC - VG
OL - VG
K - G
DL - VG
LB - G
2D - P
Young Talent - VG

Campana's ratings (unchanged):
QB - VG
RB - VG
RC - VG
OL - F
DL - G
LB - G
2D - F
PK - P
Young Talent - VG
Motivation - F
Discipline - VG
Offense - P
Defense - VG
Avoid Injury - F

DRAFT:

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Stan Bratcher, WR, Louisiana Tech - the best wideout in the draft
Rnd 2 - Arnold Limon, S, North Carolina State - will compliment Doug at Strong Safety
Rnd 3 - Zack Corbett, G, Florida - blossomed in camp
Rnd 4 - Johnnie Jefferson, CB, California - will be my main CB... ick
Rnd 5 - Jon Foley, WR, Northwestern - good backup
Rnd 6 - Mo Carpenter, G, Central Michigan - potential starter... ick
Rnd 7 - Derek Frankel, C, Illinois - great potential quality backup center.

POST DRAFT:

Good lord, after training camp four trade offers are sitting on my desk. None of them were overly compelling, however. Training camp goes wonderfully. The biggest surprise by far, RB Donny Shank. Shank improved beyond all reasonable expectation into a feature back (expanding well beyond his green potentials in yards per carry, and short yardage), proving that he is worth that Offensive Rookie Of The Year trophy. Kendrick Oaks blossomed beyond his initial ratings of last year too... now he even may be Cosell's equal at Left End. However, Kennedy England is in sorry condition. After Kennedy's injury last season, the LB is only a shadow of his former self.

PRE-SEASON:

Oh, things are looking mighty interesting after preseason. In three of the four games we had 200 or more yards rushing, with Shank averaging around a hundred yards a game (at least one TD in each contest for him). No major injuries.

SEASON

Our season starts off like a shot out of a cannon. Roy Baxter took the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown.

We beat the Raiders (again) 24-20. Shank and Hodges led us on the ground and Johnnie Rodriguez had a decent passing game.

We win another close one against Denver, 34-31, even though the Broncos outscore us 15-6 in the fourth quarter. Arnold Limon, the rookie strong safety, is MVP with 5 tackles and an INT. Cosell has a sack and three hurries. Stan Bratcher showed a glimpse of his big play ability with 3 catches for over a hundred yards. Vinny Glover's out for a game or two at nose tackle. The 3-D defense is going to be two dimensional this week.

Minnesota takes us down 27-10 next. Damon Dittoe had 13 tackles and 3 assists however. No sacks. And Rodriguez had 2 INTs, no TDs. 7 bad throws! And Calvin Yeater's out for a few, so there goes my best offensive lineman. Thank god we have a bye week.

So it seems nobody really feels better after the bye, luckily we win anyway... 21-10 over the Dolphins, which included a Donny Shank 51 yard TD run. Overall 109 yards on 20 carries and 2 TDs for Shank, who takes the game MVP award. After moving Bratcher to flanker, he responds with 8 catches for 130 yards. Rodriguez has no picks. Hodges is out a few games... but Glover's back.

We go 4-1 against Seattle, 27-10. We had 230 yards rushing. Donny Shank is MVP... 173 yards on 23 carries and a TD. Jefferson had 2 INTs at CB. Kennedy England sustains another big injury, and is out with a broken arm. And Dittoe, his partner on the left side, is out a few games with a broken hand... what is it with that weak side at LB??

Lowly KC goes down 20-14 to the Swamp Ducks next, as we extend our record to 5-1. Donny "Citizen" Caine is MVP at corner, with a winning 44 yard INT TD. 203 yards on the ground, 210 in the air. Shank has 157 yards on 31 carries. Bratcher has 138 yards on 7 catches and a TD. I'm beginning to enjoy this broken record. Doug has 10 tackles at strong safety. Vinny Glover is out again at nose tackle, this time for a longer stint with shoulder tendonitis.

We take down 1-5 Chicago 21-14 for our sixth win. Orlando Maxie, filling in for the injured Glover takes game MVP with 2 sacks and a hurry. As a team, we had six sacks.

Next we dump the Bills 20-10 to go 7-1. One thing I'm noticing about all these wins is that they're against teams with poor records. Hodges had an 88 yard run, capping off his game MVP (his only rushing attempt). 249 yards on the ground for the Ducks, 239 in the air. 4 team sacks. Shank with another hundred yard performance. Johnnie got knocked out of the game and Harold "Aarol" Flynn came in and did a good job at QB. At mid-season Donny has 820 yards rushing, a 220 yard lead on the next guy.

4-4 Detroit nips us 31-24 and stops our momentum. The Lions shut down Shank and Co. for the first time this year. But get a load of this, Howes averages 49.8 yards a punt in 7 punts! Oaks and DC have a sack apiece. Glen's out at center for at least next game. Doug is hurt, but will start sparingly at free safety.

4-5 San Diego blows us out 34-14 next, and we fall to 7-3. They scored the final 24 points of the game. And our running game rushes for 28 yards. Fulton has 13 tackles at LB. Yeater is out again at right tackle for at least a game. And Glover is still out at nose tackle. And now DC is out for at least a game. Things are getting rather dicey. Only Oaks is left on the line.

Our lack of depth is definitely showing as we get blown out by Denver next, 37-13. Denver outscores us 27-0 in the second half. Even 2-8 Kansas City stops us, 20-10. Doug had 11 tackles at free safety. Cosell is back full strength now, but Kendrick Oaks goes down for at least next game. But Glover is up to probable... and he'll start. We're 7-5... if we split our last four, we'll make our goal of 9-7.

We get on the winning note again, downing San Diego 18-9. Nolan Everett wins game MVP with 6 field goals. Shank goes down for what might be the season with a sprained neck, and Lynch is still doubtful as backup RB. Hodges is down for next game. Wait, it gets worse... Yeater is out, yet again... along with DC. The wheels are coming off again. We'll be lucky to win one more game.

Baltimore gets us, 31-24, but 3rd stringer Troy Garth rushes for 96 yards and 2 TDs. And Dittoe is at last probable to start at LB.

And we win our 9th game against 4-10 Oakland, 10-3... whew. Garth has 100 yards on 24 carries... man, I'm beginning to feel like Denver with all these capable backs. Amazingly enough, at 9-6 we're in first place in the AFC West.... Denver is one game back. Cosell is still not ready to come back, and both Lynch and Shank are on the shelf at RB, same with Yeater at tackle. Let's see what we can do against the Seahawks.

We win 17-10, end the season 10-6, and take the AFC West... what a ride! 208 yards rushing. Troy Garth has 129 yards on 22 carries and gets the game MVP (superman, at 3rd string RB).

PLAYOFF PREVIEW:

The good news: Yeater and DC are good to go and will start. We have our original front seven, minus Kennedy, back for the playoffs and at full strength... thanks to our first week bye. Lynch is probable, but Troy has done such a good job filling in, that I have to keep him in at RB. The bad news: Doug Rosehill broke his foot and is out for the season... greatly weakening our secondary. And Shank is still questionable. That's ok... I feel comfortable with Troy in there at RB. We pick up Frankie Treadway at safety and place Rosehill on IR. Greenville is getting ready to host its first playoff game... the Jets are coming to town.

[Upstate_New_York]

2005 PLAYOFFS

-New York Jets at Greenville:

The Jets win the toss and elect to receive. Favre it turns out, is playing even with his injury (doubtful). Opening drive, the Jets move through our defense like it isn't there and have a first and goal at the five. In a surprising move, they go for it on a 4th and 9 at the goal line and come up empty. Our defense held 'em. In our first offensive drive we move the ball well, but Johnnie Rodriguez gets picked off and Favre then throws a 22 yard score. 7-0, Jets. A minute twenty into the second quarter, Everett makes it 7-3 with a 44 yard field goal. For most of the second quarter it's a game of field position, until with four minutes to go we put a drive together, highlighted by a Bratcher 34 yard catch and Troy Garth four yard TD run. Favre gets dumped by Cosell twice in the remaining minute, making sure it stays 10-7, Greenville at the half. We come out blazing in our first drive of the third quarter, but Johnnie's sacked and turns the ball over, luckily we stop them in four, get the ball back and kick a field goal: 13-7, Greenville, early fourth quarter. Next, Favre leads the Jets to a field goal, making it 13-10. The ball swings back and forth over the next ten minutes, until Everett sucks it up and delivers a 51 yard field goal, putting the Ducks up 16-10 with 2:42 left on the clock. To the horror of everyone in the stadium, Favre, wounds and all, delivers a 14 yard TD pass with just over a minute left to play. Suddenly the skies darken and it's 14-13, Jets. But we're not through... Johnnie to Bratcher for 21 yards, 46 seconds left. Three incompletes later, on 4th and 10, Snellings grabs a fifteen yard pass and gets hurt... has to be helped off the field. First down and ten, Jets 32, 20 seconds left. We get hit with an Illegal Formation, Coach Campana rolls his eyes... 1st and 15... completed pass to Bratcher for 18 yards... timeout! Everett runs onto the field, 11 seconds... the clock starts, the kick is set, and up... 36 yards and good!!! The Swamp Ducks win! Everett MVP. Johnnie had a solid game with 261 yards on 25 for 37, one pick. The veteran Snellings had 109 yards on 10 catches. We sacked them five times, DC had 1.5. Next up, we travel to Baltimore. But Shank is probable... he will start at running back.

-Greenville at Baltimore

Baltimore wins the coin toss, but we score first. Donny Shank has a 32 yard TD run... in a drive where he already had a 24 yard carry. 7-0, Greenville. And the scoring keeps coming... Johnnie to Gorham, 9 yard TD pass, 14-0. To Bratcher, 8 yard TD pass. 21-0. To Snellings, 17 yards. 28-0. Everett field goal, 31-0. Everything is just hitting on all cylinders. Billy Joe Tolliver, however, completes a 28 yard bomb to Glover, making it 31-7 at the half. Then, in the second half of the game (just as in our season), we hit a wall, and bad things begin to happen. First, Shank goes down with an ankle sprain. Out for the game and the rest of the playoffs. Then Limon goes down on a play at free safety and has to be carted off the field... he's done for this season, and maybe all of next. Suddenly we have no secondary. Baltimore scores a field goal, 31-10. Tolliver suddenly thinks his Jim Plunkett out there and just goes bombs away on our depleted secondary. Next thing you know, it's 31-21 and they have the ball with four minutes to go in the fourth. Then, the light shines again. Codeke picks off Billy Joe, and Troy has a 52 yard scamper. Toliver gets the ball back with 2 minutes left, but is picked off again. Johnnie puts the knee down seconds later... and the Swamp Ducks are the 2005 AFC Champions. Johnnie Rodriguez is game MVP with 223 yards and 3 TDs. Shank had 102 yards on 15 carries before he got eliminated... and Troy then had 89 on 17. Although we're celebrating back in Greenville, there is a bit of saddness in the fact that rookie Arnold Limon, a main cog in turning us into a winner, is out for reconstructive knee surgery.

(THE GREEN) SUPER BOWL

-Green Bay vs. Greenville

No one gave us a shot at this one going in. Vegas Odds had us as 10 point underdogs. Green Bay was by far the more talented squad, considering all of our injuries and lack of depth. And the first half showed how thin we had become. It was 10-0 Green Bay, at the half. We had 2 first downs and 7 yards passing. Hodges went down with an injury at halftime, meaning we didn't have a viable fullback. Luckily our scrappy defense kept them in striking distance. But Cosell is hurt...but comes back in the game shortly thereafter. The third quarter proves to be twice as dull as the first half... no one scored. We finally did put one run together in the third, but it ended in a fumble. Still 10-0, we were thanking our lucky stars that we still have a chance to come back. But then the fourth quarter began... Green Bay pounded down the field, but we didn't break, and they came away with a 35 yard field goal. 13-0, Packers. It was now or never, and the offense responded. Finally, Johnnie hits Bratcher for a 21 yard gain... and Everett hits a 50 yard field goal. At least we weren't going to be shut out. 13-3. Next, we get a fumble recovery on Green Bay's next possession... but now Oaks goes down at right end. Taking the opportunity in hand, Rodriguez hits Bratcher on a 24 yard TD pass. SUDDENLY, we're down 13-10! But time is closing fast... 4:02 left in the game. The defense comes through and we force Green Bay to punt with 2:30 left on the clock. We drive.. and with 54 seconds to go, Troy runs in a 9 yard score. 17-13 Swamp Ducks! All we have to do is stop them. But it proves too much for the depleted secondary. Minus Rosehill and Limon at the safeties, Blake completes a 54 yard pass, and then a 26 yard TD bomb with 30 seconds left. 20-17, Green Bay. Rodriguez is unable to complete a miracle pass... and Green Bay is 2005 Super Bowl champion.

SEASON ROUNDUP

We get no season awards... although if Shank had stayed healthy, there is no doubt he would have been up there at least with 1st Team Running Back. And with the amount of injuries suffered by nearly all of our stars on both sides of the line, it's amazing we had a winning season at all, let alone a Super Bowl contender. Here are my "stars" that missed games due to injury in 2005 (not including mediocre starters): Cosell DE, Shank RB, Lynch RB, Oaks DE, Glover DT, Rosehill FS, Limon SS, Jefferson CB, Kennedy LB, Dittoe LB, Wagner C, Yeater T, and Hodges FB. Thirteen of my stars missed games this year, yet we managed to go to the Super Bowl, and almost win the greatest one ever. I have to say this team exceeded all expectations. I'm damn proud.