CFL: Passacaglia takes over the Boston Panthers

[Passacaglia]

It started with a message in my inbox, from GoldenEagle.

I have an opening in my FOF2k4 league, the CFL. I think you will fit well into it. I know that you are the eNFL, we have a couple of guys in both leagues. If your looking for a fictional league to compliment the eNFL, then I think we would be a good choice. We have many famous FOFCers and I am sure some names you will recognize. Let me know if your interested. The website is www.thecfl.net where you can find the league files, etc.

-GE

With a personal invitation like that, how could I refuse? I took a gander over the league info, pretty much the forums, and decided I might as well have a go at it. Although, you have to wonder why the CFL would want a GM who has taken Bledsoe and the eNFL Bills to a measly 5-5 record.

I get on the horn to GoldenEagle, and find out the team I will be taking over is the Boston Panthers. To my surprise, they're not a doormat, and are in fact 3-0, 2-0 in the division. I'm in a division with the Hartford Charter Oaks, the Atlantic City Slickers, and the Brooklyn Dodgers -- although, Brooklyn's GM, timmmmmmae, informed me that the team is actually referred to as the New York Empire. These four teams play in the AFC West -- no doubt, some sort of cruel joke. Revenge looks to have been served cold, however, since the Continental Football League has teams in Anchorage, Honolulu, and someplace called Chicago, which also surely can't be in the Continental United States!

I look at the team and am appalled. No way this team is 3-0! Further inspection shows that the defeats are over the 0-3 Slickers, the 1-2 Charter Oaks, and the 1-2 New Orleans Breakers, from the AFC North. No reall challenges there, and the game in Brooklyn, whose Dodgers are 2-1, strikes fear in me.

There were a lot of free agents I wanted to sign to the team, but at this point, I didn't have much time left before heading out for the weekend, so I gave a quick ring to my coach to discuss the Brooklyn game.

Coach: "Hello?"

Passacaglia: "Hello, this is Passacaglia, new GM of the Boston Panthers."

Coach: "Oh! Good to get a chance to talk to you! My name is..."

Passacaglia: "No time for that! Here's the starting lineup for the Brooklyn game."

Coach: "Um, uh, okay. Well, how much playing time do you..."

I hung up, hoping that this small adjustment would be enough to strike the Dodgers.

[Passacaglia]

So, it was time for my first game as GM of the Boston Panthers. One note. Our top QB, Charles McMillan, is out, and will be replaced by Curtis Soriano. I don't have a ton of confidence in either guy, so we'll just have to hope our running game picks up the slack.

After taking FOREVER to get the viewer to work (FYI, Brooklyn is now known to the rest of the league as New York City), the game was under way.

Brooklyn starts out driving right down the field on me, mixing the run and pass well, but stalling once they get to first and goal, thanks to a sack by backup DE Dan Saavedra. Still, they lead 3-0 with 7:35 left in the first quarter.

A holding call on the kick return gets us started at our own 6 yard, where 2 runs get 2 yards, and an incomplete pass on 3rd down sets us up in a punting situation. Schrimsher boots a nice one, though, and a fair catch is made at the New York 44 yard line.

Saavedra is showing me that he deserves to start. He nothces another half sack, and recovers the fumble, giving us the ball at our own 47! Our RB, Sheehan, runs for 4 yards, then 4 yards, then is stuffed for 1 yard on 3rd and 2, and we punt again, downed at the New York 13. At least we're out of the field position hell.

New York City drives down the field again, pretty slowly at first, until three nice passes by their QB, Pace, gets them the touchdown. 10-0 NYC, 12:08 left in the 2nd.

A 6 yard run by Sheehan, a -1 yard pass, then an incompletion, and we're still hunting for a first down. 9 plays, 16 yards. Meanwhile, the Empire drive 58 yards to make the score 17-0, with 7:21 left in the half.

Despite a holding penalty and a false start, a 17-yard pass gets us our first first down! That's all we get, though, as a 4th and 2 pass from our own 36 fails. New York City responds with a 25 yard pass, but starting LCB Ira Davey prevents the score by intercepting a pass in the end zone. Of course, we didn't get a first down, and the Empire get the ball back with less than a minute left, adding on another field goal, this one from 58 yards. 20-0 Empire at the half.

The next half starts off as poorly as the first one. Run for 1 yard, incomplete, sack. NYC looks to be driving again, when starting LB Dennis Perez gets our second interception, returning it to the NYC 21 yard line! A touchdown here could put us back in the game.

And we get it right away! Soriano passes to our starting FL, Sydney Armitage, on the first play of the drive, and the score is 20-7. Here come the Panthers!!

The Empire get the ball back, and the ball is fumbled, recovered by Rohr! Please tell me Rohr is on my team! I look at my sheet, and find out he isn't. However, we do manage to get them to punt, with the help of an illegal block below the waist penalty. Once we take over, well, we would have had a first down, if not for a false start penalty. Instead, we throw an incomplete pass on 4th and 1 at the NYC 49.

An illegal use of hands penalty helps us stop the Empire from getting a first down, but the punt goes out of bounds at the 2 yard line. A lot has happened, but there's still 5:53 left to go in the third quarter. We manage one first down (our third), and end up punting from our own 20. The Empire drive down the field, get 1st and goal at the 6, then settle for a 23 yard field goal. 23-7, still a two-score game, 13:59 left.

The offense comes alive in the 4th quarter, but still settles for a 49 yard field goal. 23-10, 9:01 left. But the Empire completely have their way with our defense, bringing the clock down to 2:26. They missed a 26 yard field goal, so the score is still 23-10, but time is definitely running out on us. Then again, since we throw three incomplete passes, then complete a pass for NINE yards on 4th down, time doesn't matter much anyway. And the game ends, 23-10, but much more lopsided than the score shows.

[GoldenEagle]

Someone finally did a dynatsy on the CFL! Hooray!

Good luck excpet when you play the Express!

[3ric]

I've waited for someone to start writing a CFL dynasty! The GM of the CFL Baltimore franchise will follow this thread with great interest.

[Passacaglia]

Thanks for the support, guys. I've been wanting to get a dynasty up there for my eNFL team, but decided there wasn't much that interested me until the off-season (or the playoffs if I'm so lucky), especially since Northwood_DK has covered the league itself so well. An eNFL Bills dynasty will commence, either in the off-season or playoff time (let's hope playoffs, we're 6-5 and still have an outside shot).

As for this dynasty, the info was obviously scant to start out with. I guess I bring an interesting perspective, almost an outsider looking in to begin with, then at some point being completely integrated into the league, much like a typical dynasty reader. We'll see how that perspective plays out.

[3ric]

Did you see Taco's rankings of the CFL teams? He had Boston listed at #18, is that about what you think you should be at?

[timmae]

great intro for the dynasty Pass!! I can't wait to see the next installment. Oh, and sorry for making your intro into the CFL so harsh! I tried to go easy on ya!!! Here's to what is going to be the best division in the CFL!

[Passacaglia]

Shortly after the brutal defeat, I received a report from the Top Analytical Comparison Organization (TACO), which ranked all the teams. The Boston Panthers came up 18th out of 32, despite our 3-1 record.

18. Boston Panthers (3-1) Owner: Passacaglia

With starting QB Charles McMillan out with broken ribs, the Panthers are glad that they have a bye week in 2 weeks. Unfortunately the Panthers have no secondary, and therefore they won't be making it to the post season this year.

This report leaves out a couple things. First of all, McMillan will probably be healthy in time to play a game during the bye week, so actually, I'm not glad the bye week is soon -- I wish it were a week or two earlier, or simply much later.

Secondly, I haven't examined the rest of the league to see where we stand among the other teams. I am sure that this is not a complete team, but I get the feeling that other owners around the leagues feel their teams are not complete, too. So this season will come to which weaknesses can be exploited easiest. As TACO indicates, my secondary is a weakness, which I think makes me easy to exploit. On the other hand, I may be able to exploit the weaknesses of other teams as well. All in all, I'm not too concerned with this season. I generally despise the first season of FOF anyway, and am more interested in building a solid foundation in order to challenge for the title with a team more of my own making. A lot of decisions will need to be made, about who stays, and who gets replaced. In this sense, the CFL looks more interesting than the eNFL, because the inability to renegotiate contracts will create more free agents. As for this year, 18? Well, the 3-1 record seems to indicate otherwise, but I think 18 sounds about right. Even as we end the season, the record may not indicate it, but I still think we could very well be in the bottom half of teams in the league.

To do list (once I get to my work computer)
----------
1. Find out coach's name
2. Find out who signed for me during the middle of the week
3. Find out next opponent
4. Set up gameplan for next opponent
5. Further evaluate my 18th ranking by TACO

Any other things I should add to the list? Any more things you guys want to see in this report?

[3ric]

An analysis of the next opponent would be nice (but maybe that's included in steps 3-4 above). A little behind-the-scenes peek at your roster would be interesting as well. Where's the intrigue? Who hates whom?

[Passacaglia]

Thanks for the ideas, 3ric! I'll have to get to that if I can. As it is, I'm not able to use the computer that has FOF installed on it, so those things will have to wait. Once I get done with 'the big picture' I will definitely try to take notice of things like that.

I can report, however, that the Panthers extended offers to several players, and everyone else in the league knows which ones signed but me! If someone in the league wants to do a 'guest report' that would be nice!

[Passacaglia]

The Panthers hit the FA market big!

It was a great day for the Panthers organization today, as a total of ten mentors have signed on to the team. Most of them don't bring much to the playing field, but are expected to assist the rest of the team pick up speed as the season wears on. We have Ivey at RB, Montiel at FB, Blizzard at TE, Niemann at WR, Barry at DE, Musgrave at DT, Boring, Duncan, and Makowski at ILB, and Boyd at S. Also, Butterfield has been signed as a nickelback, to help shore up that position.

[Passacaglia]

Boston Panthers Staff

Our scout is named Barnes, and he has two years left on his contract. Word is he's fair with QB's, Good with RB's, Poor with WR's, Good with Offensive Linemen, Good with Kickers, Good with Defensive Linemen, Good with Linebackers, Poor with Secondary (so maybe it's not as bad as I thought?), and Poor with Young Talent. Passable. Might as well see how things go for a couple years, and we can revisit him then.

Our head coach is named Kinney. This guy will be around for 5 years, so he'd better be good. He is excellent at motivating his players, good with discipline, average at offensive and defensive playcalling, and fair at avoiding injuries. The injuries could be a weak spot for him, and he's already let our starting QB get hurt, but hopefully we can catch a few breaks.

His offensive coordinator is only signed on for this year, but he looks like he may be worth keeping around. His name is Jude, and he's excellent with QB's, Average with RB's and WR's, excellent with offensive linemen, fair with kickers, and good with young talent.

The defensive coordinator is named Evans. He'll be here for 3 years, and is poor with punters, average with defensive linemen, very good with linebackers, good with secondary (thankfully), and good with young talent.

Not the greatest staff in the world, I'm sure, but I bet in the competitive market of a multi-player league, I should be happy if I can keep these guys around for the long haul.

[Passacaglia]

Our next game takes us to the state of New York again, to face 2-2 Albany. I must confess I didn't have much time to look over the opponent, and just set up a basic gameplan, that gets the team playing my style of football. It's basically my attempt to get the team to stop doing the stupid things that the AI does in the solo game. It's pretty generic, but it will get us playing real football.

[sachmo71]

Since you already trounced me, I can say "good luck" at this point.

[Taco]

Hey, it's great to see a CFL dynasty! Good luck trying to prove my oh so scientific prediction wrong. Good luck this season! I'll be reading!

[Passacaglia]

Game 5, at Albany. The Albany Engineers are 2-2, so a win on the road against a decent team would be huge. It would put us at 4-1, and give me a lot more confidence in the team after that horrible loss in New York City.

Albany gets the ball first, and the defense that was gone last week finally finds itself! Sure, the Engineers did complete a 19 yard pass, but it was called back by a holding penalty, and a sack by Lynn, who just became a Panther this week, ends the drive. A poor punt and nice return start us off in Albany territory, at the 47. A very nice start, now we just need to get some points.
The offense does much better than it did against New York City, actually managing a fist down this time, off three Sheehan runs. Not much, but hey, it puts us in field goal range and gives us a 3-0 lead. We're winning! Oh, wait. Oh, my god! Offsides on Albany. We accept, and it's 4th and 1. That's fine -- if we were going to go for it. Instead, we kick the field goal AGAIN, and miss it! Oh, my god.
The defense gets us another three and out, which is nice. We get the ball back at our own 26, and now our offense really needs to kick it if we plan to score here. Of course, that doesn't happen. An incomplete, a 4 yard run, then a 3 yard pass sets up our first punt. But wait -- again! There's ANOTHER offsides penalty against Albany, and Soriano completes another 3 yard pass, this one to backup RB Pisano, and we convert the 3rd and 1! It doesn't do much for us, however, as we punt three plays later, on 4th and 11. Albany ball at their own 17.
Albany's offense starts to click here, passing for a few first downs, then another holding penalty and another sack, this one by starting SS Rodriguez blitzing from the seconday, end the drive. We get the ball back on our own 20. And of course, do nothing. Sheehan loses a yard, then Soriano throws two incompletes, and we're out again. Albany gets pretty nice field position, at their own 43. The defense, obviously defeated, allows Albany to march down the field quickly, with McFarland throwing a 13 yard TD pass to Gunter gives them a 7-0 lead.
Maybe the start of a new quarter will help us get things back in gear. Sheehan starts to get things going, and breaks one for 27 yards. It's all for naught, however, as our drive stops at the Albany 43, and the punt sails into the end zone for a touchback. So we don't even get a chance to dominate the field position battle. Albany comes out driving again. An unsportsmanlike conduct, and a big pass by McFarland put them in field goal range, then a sack by rookie DE Willie Meyers notches a sack, which is recovered by Saavedra!! Maybe this turnover will further inspire the offense.
And it does! First play, Soriano hits Niemann, another new Panther, for 22 yards. That's pretty much all we get, and Lynch hits a 48 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. No penalties this time. AND, the defense responds again! CB Ira Davey picks off McFarland's pass, and we get the ball at the Albany 44. And they said we have no secondary!
Of course, the offense is back to its old ways. Soriano throws incomplete, Sheehan runs for 6, and Soriano throws incomplete again, and the punt once again sails into the end zone for a touchback. Thankfully, our defense is keeping us alive this time. And they do the job again, three and out, giving us the ball back at our own 34.
This time, however, we might not be so lucky. Soriano gets picked, and Albany starts with the ball at our 30. Stupid Soriano and the passing game. Naturally, the defense is pissed. They forced two turnovers, and we're still losing. And we start to lose more, 14-3. We had them down to third and 10, when McFarland completed one for 17 yards. The touchdown came two plays later.
Our backup RB, Kris Pisano, sets us up with good field position, after a nice kick return reaches the Albany 44. And we get a first down! Soriano runs for 2 yards, then runs for 3 yards, then passes for 6! Since I'm not prepared to play rookie QB Adrian Webster, he'd better stop doing that. Just hand the ball to Sheehan!! And he does -- once. For two yards. Then he throws incomplete, then gets sacked, making the field goal a 56 yarder, which Lynch misses. Naturally, Albany gets into field goal range in three plays, but their kicker, Tan, misses from 47 yards. 14-3 at the half.
The secon half starts out pretty ugly. Three runs and we're out on offense, including a 3rd and 2 where we pick up 1 yard. Depressing. Albany drives pretty well, but decides to punt from our 33. Fine with me. Soriano keeps it himself AGAIN, and this time he fumbles! Luckily our rookie WR Monty Bridges picks it up, giving us a chance to punt it two plays later. Albany drives over us again, and even another sack by Willie Meyers can't stop the touchdown. 21-3. Soriano comes out and throws an interception right off, setting up another Albany score, 28-3. Yikes. Soriano comes back, and actually gets a nice pass out to out top WR, Armitage, but we still end up punting three plays later, as the third quarter ends.
I think that's enough of watching today's game. Since this is a road game, I can spend the 4th quarter trashing the booth they have set up for me here in Albany. Let me know if anything interesting happens.
Glad I stopped watching. Game over, Albany wins 28-3.