Blast from the Past - FOF 2001 Dynasty!!! (With a New Team)

[Abe Sargent]

Here we go:


Team Perform - 100
Franchise Value - 23
Profit - 48
Difficulty - 84

Overall Score - 53

Good work on profit/loss.


Hall of Fame

DE Christian Torres - 82% of vote, Arizona State, 164.5 sacks, 2 all league honors. He was on our team for a bit.

Retirees:

S Eric Carlson - Goes out on an All Pro season
S Junior Burke, Bills (Never an All Pro, but solid)
DE Andre Kadanoff - The only DE I’ve ever drafted with an All Pro nod until this year
DE Dennis Perry, Cincinnati - I brought him onto one of my teams once

[Abe Sargent]

Franchise:

12th lowest franchise value
8th worst stadium
Best roster
3rd lowest support
19th worst economy
3rd lowest attendance by #, 8th by %


I franchise Leo Rayburn

[Abe Sargent]

Free Agency

We have 33 players, 10 million under the cap. Let’s massage.

I extend OT RJ Freedman for two years.

We sign a new deal with CB Rufus McGowan which gives him a contract for 4 years.

Leo Rayburn is being stubborn and won’t sign a multiyear deal.

Why did Richmond allow Parrish and Rexin to come free? That’s just silly but they are in the FA pool.

I trade RB Lorenzo Verdin and my 7th rounder to the Rams for their 2/6 and 5/6. Verdin was about to leave next year. I trade OT Velasquez to the Broncos for their 6/23.

We have 10 picks, 31 players on the roster and Rayburn is franchises. That’s 42 total players. I would like to try and sign WR Danny Parrish, but I don’t have the cash (Curse this 30 million contract to Freedman this year).

I choose not to chase any FAs.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2025 NFL Amateur Draft:

Needs:

Starter: WR?, OG, OT, LB, LB, S

At the 2/3 pick, here is who interests me:

OG Riddick Wilkerson - Pretty good, actually. There’s another almost as good, so perhaps I can pass until 2/6.
OT Darnell Beaver - Low endurance, very green. 68, 63 pots
RB Charlie Peters - Very solid
WR Sherman Clayton - Very developed, little growth potential
LB Emmit Walton - Solid
S BJ Cox - Worst of this group
S Kent Berryhill - Very developed, massively good interceptions


I take Emmitt Walton after looking at what is available. There are few good LB left.

The next pick arrives. I really like OG Wilkerson so I take him.

Beaver is still there at the end of the round so I draft him.

Then Its BAP once I see Peters still on the board. Peters has late 1st quality.



Draft Recap:

2/3 LB Emmitt Walton, Northwestern
2/6 OG Riddick Wilkerson, Maryland
2/36 OT Darnell Beaver, Stanford
3/36 RB Charlie Peters, Duke
4/36 S BJ Cox, Livingstone
5/6 TE Irving O’Neill, USC
5/36 FB Seth Pierce, Arkansas
6/4 QB Kenny Kidwell, Mississippi
6/23 WR Louis Gaines, Rutgers
6/36 LB Donnie Rodriguez, Minnesota

[Abe Sargent]

We have 42 players under contract and 8.3 million left.

UFAs Signed:

RB Kyle Adair, Stanford
S Ethan Battle, UNC
LB Russell Cochrane, USC
CB Ted Dunne, Purdue
CB Justin Thompson, Houston
OT Todd Jurkovic, Northwestern
OG Moe Collier, Holy Cross
OG Todd Ogden, Mississippi
DE Roman Logsdon, Villanova
DE Anthony Hanson, Oklahoma


I trade OG Curtis Mayes to the Ravens for their 3rd next year




We have 51 players and time to move to Training Camp.

[Abe Sargent]

We sold 24,300 season tickets

My first concern are the rooks so let’s look at them right now:

G Riddick Wilkerson - 34/77
TE Irving O’Neill - 27/71
LB Donnie Rodriguez - 12/61
S BJ Cox - 18/58
WR Louis Gaines - 18/52
OT Darnell Beaver - 17/48
RB Charles Peters - 38/46
FB Seth Pierce - 20/44
QB Kenny Kidwell - 11/22 - BUST
LB Emmitt Walton - 4/10 - MAJOR BUST

I cut Walton and Kidwell.

I sign a patch, LB Karl Hutchens

I sign UFA DT Dan Conway Georgia Southern and OT Renaldo Roiger, Virginia.



We now have 52 players for just 500k under, which is essentially useless.

[Abe Sargent]

All Abe Team

For my 25 years in the league, I was asked to compile my official All Abe Team. I was allowed to interpret this however I wanted, so I have created two teams, as you will see below. One group are those I’ve drafted and the other are those that have spent extensive time on my teams. When one deviates form the other, I mention it in the write up.


QB Tony Clements - It really begins and ends with Tony. I’ve had great QB in Jerome Allard, Shane Dunlap, Claude Grey, and now Ernest Mayes. At the end of the day, however, it all comes down to Tony Clements. Numerous titles, All Pro several times, and my own draftee.

RB Grady Pender - This may surprise some people expecting Heath Shepherd or Ralph Barrett here. Troy Santoro would be eligible under the first team and Aaron Witt under the second. It is current RB Grady Pender who is the most likely to take over and dominate a game. He is the most dangerous of my RBs.

FB Warren Dole - Only two or three FB I’ve drafted have had All Pro, and both were while I was not GM, but Dole was 2x All Pro, so I am going with him. He is not the most talented FB I’ve drafted, just the most successful. Zach Taylor was close to getting this award.

TE Ed Gardener - Is there any question? This is the obvious choice with his 50 thousand All Pros and great stats.

WR Marvin Graham - Another obvious choice is the Hall of Fame wide receiver who I drafted with the pick I got from Santoro. He set records I don’t think will get broken in the next 20 years.

WR Jerome Baker - This is tough. I have other WR I drafted with All Pro and Baker wasn‘t that more dominant. If I opened it up to all WR I’ve had for extended periods of time, it doesn’t add that many more options to the table. Tyrone Garner is pretty much the only other WR I’d consider that I didn’t draft, most, like Moe Paradis and Az-Zahir Hakim, were light on stats. Thus, Baker gets the nod, but others are in the conversation.

C Marty Brennan - For a long time, Brennan was the best C in the league, so he is a perfect choice, with numerous All Pro nods and great stats. I suspect a HoF nod for him may come down the pike. I drafted him and developed him, and he is on both teams. I’ve had several of my C get All Pro, JC Collins was an All Pro, Jesse Tate similar, and Gerard Wright, but Brennan was the cream of the crop.

OG Orlando Wells - Never had great abilities on paper, but simply produced when blocking on numerous occasions. Numerous All Pro nods to boot. On both teams.

OG Conrad Cloutier - I’ve not had a really good OG. Honestly. I’ll have a good one for a year or two and it seems like I’ve had rotisserie OG forever. I thought I had one here at Cleveland, retired. Cloutier is the best I can marshall.

OT Tyrone Rathbone or RJ Freedman - Here is where were start to see some separation. Rathbone is among the best we’ve drafted ,but not the ones we’ve played. I have regularly brought in a high number of very good OT. Freedman is just high quality. He had 3 All Pro before he joined me and has one in his first two years with me. Great OT.

OT Bob Turney or Charles Dodge - I only had Bob Turney on my team for my final two years at an Antonio but he really did a lot better than his skills would otherwise indicate. Dodge, on my Time on My Team team was a great OT for me at Richmond and had All Pro performances. There are many OT I’ve brought on like Time Becker, LJ Shelton, Mo Collins, Marcus Severson and more. I’ve also drafted a ton of OT high, but I rarely have long term success with any.

K Olindo Mare - This position is only for the second team, since I Have never drafted K or P. He had long stints with both my Lone Stars and Rail Runners and is now in the HoF. We’ve been blessed to have a large number of high quality P and K because I believe in playing them what they deserve.

P Blaine Baldridge - He was a great P for a long time.

DE Andrew Kadanoff or Tony Brackens - Kadanoff is one of two DE I have had to get league wide acknowledgement of awesomeness. When I really open the position up, however, I can’t help but be reminded of Tony Brackens’ awesomeness as well.

DE Bert Cousin or Dennis Perry - Cousin is young, but already has an All Pro season under his belt. For FAs included, I have a lot of places I can look like Phil Lee and Christian Torres. Torres is HOF but he wasn‘t while on my team. I felt like including him would therefore be cheating. Perry really contributed for several years so I toss him on my list.

DT Bert Matthews - Future HOF? First pick by the Rail Runners? Numerous All Pro awards? Yeah, he deserves it all!

DT ??? or Mitchell Lincoln - Lincoln was a great pick up for my Lone Stars and really helped us out a lot including an All Pro nod. There’s really not a good choice for my own draftees here. There are some positions I like to bring in FA to help, DE, OT, OG, S or CB sometimes, LB sometimes, and DT. Right now I have Allen and he‘s great. As such, I don‘t have a lot of choices for awesomeness here in my own draftees. I will go with Peter Berry on my current team because I have no one else who has truly dominated.

LB Roosevelt McWilliams or Conrad O’Neal - Roosevelt has done well including two All Pro nods and played on two of my teams, Richmond and Cleveland. I am very happy with his production. It doesn;t match that of the various LB I have brought in, including Conrad O’Neal.

LB Quinn Burroughs - First round draft pick for the Rail Runners with several All pro nods. Makes both lists.

LB Blake Crawford or Chris Glenn - Glenn was great and I passed him once for a different LB at 1/5 who busted, so he’s close. I like Glenn a lot because he really helped us out and had All Pro seasons. Blake Crawford was solid but unspectacular, and not a great choice. Many of my higher LB were busts and most of my good ones were signed, not drafted.

CB Leon Morabito - For the first position, this is largely uncontroversial, because I drafted him. Yay! This is a position I have had a lot of success with. I’d say RB, CB, S, and C I’ve done really well with having some of the best talent in the league getting All Pro nods. He was a BAP pick when I didn’t need a CB.

CB Jack Huntley or Samari Rolle - This is very controversial. First of all, I have drafted some great CBs. McGowan, on my current squad had 2 All Pros already. Jimmie Rebensdorf never met his potential but was still All Pro once or twice. Jack Huntley had a HoF type career. He is in the Lone Stars individual Hall of Fame and becomes eligible fo the league’s next year when I think he will get the nod. This guy was no slouch. Samari Rolle beats Sam Madison because, although both are HoF, Rolle was on our team longer. Huntley, Rolle, Morabito, and Madison are all HoF level CBs. Who knows what McGowan will do, although he appears to need more picks. We had great players at this position the past 25 years.

S Eric Carlson - He has been Defensive Player of the Year, and had numerous All Pro nods. He was one of our best S we had, and we had several good ones.

S Travis Westbrook or Tyrone Rexin. This was close and I kept going back between Rexin and Darius. Darius is in the HoF but Rexin had many of the props Darius had, including Defensive Player of the Year. I’ve had three players get DPofY from the S spot during my 25 years. Lethon Flowers also had All Pro years from the S spot as did Westbrook. Jose Stevens had a good year too. We’ll see if my new S can carry on this proud tradition.


KR/PR - Tyrone Rexin - Because he was a good starter, we had him for a lot of years, and he was able to get a ton of yardage, great positions, and many scores. This is a special bonus for the second team and does not apply to the first one.

[Abe Sargent]

WR Nate Blades was picked up by the Bucs, btw



The 2025 Cleveland Browns

QB Ernest Mayes - Great
RB Grady Pender - Very Great
FB Sam Albriktsen - Solid
TE Herman Deal - Did not do well last year, but not is mostly developed.
WR Kenny Marshall - Strong, but stats don’t bear that out
WR Bart Greene - No longer sold on him, but there’s no one else for the position.
OT RJ Freedman - Strong
OG Bruce Holliday - Virtually developed. Adequate
C Bo Austin - Virtually developed. Adequate
OG Riddick Wilkerson - Not as Raw as most of my rooks, better potential than Holliday
OT Darnell Beaver - Raw, little endurance
P Leo Rayburn - Awesome
K Levon Quinn - Awesome
DE Brock Woods - All Pro level DE
DT Stanley Allen - Stud
DT Peter Berry - Virtually developed, adequate
DE Bert Curtain - All Pro as rookie, more developed, still has room to grow
SLB Karl Hutchens - Patch, and not a good one
MLB Corey Davidson - Not as good as he was when I drafted him
WLB Jamal Greer - Ick
CB Rufus McGowan - Two All Pro years back to back. More picks please
CB Mercury Greene - Good
S Jose Stevens - Enhhh
S Justin Sotiroff, Enhhh

KR/PR - WR Vince Benson with help from other random people as needed.


I drafted 17 of these players. The only ones I didn’t are P, K, DT Allen, SLB Hutchens, DE Woods, OT Freedman and QB Mayes.

[Abe Sargent]

What does the league think of our players:


Tied for THE best QB
THE best RB
8th best FB
8th best TE
13th best WR
18th best C
11th worst OG
7th worst OT
THE best P
3rd best K
Tied for THE best DE
4th best DT
5th worst LB
THE best CB
11th worst S


No question the LB corps is our greatest weakness. We have got to inject some talent there soon.


My prediction, 12-4, #2 seed. Too many weaknesses to be 14-2 again.

We go 2-1-1 in the preseason. S Jose Stevens is out for a while.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We lose the opening game 12-13 to the Rattlesnakes. I’d rather just skip the lowlights if you don’t mind.

Week 2 - We edge the Packers 21-10. Pender is NFL Off Player of the Week and Game MVP. 188 yards, 32 carries, 2 TD, 66 rec yards. Hitchcock caught our lone TD. Austin and Holliday each have 5 KRB. Roiger has 4.

Week 3 - We defeat the Jags 24-10. TE Herman Deal is out for several months. LB Corey Davidson is the NFL Def Player of the Week and Game MVP with 12 solo tackles, a sack and a pick. Woods had a pair of sacks. Pender just 67 yards. Mayes hit Hitchcock and Benson for scores.

Week 4 - We defeat the Ravens 20-3. Pender is again OPotW, GMVP, 123 rush yards, 30 carries, 62 rec yards, 6 grabs, 1 rec TD. C Austin with 6 KRB.


S Brownlee is out, OT Freedman is out.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We beat the Bengals 24-20. Ethan Battle is Game Mvp with 1 pick. Sotiroff also had a pick. Holliday had 4 KRB. 90 rush yards, 28 carries, 1 TD, 21 yards, 1 Rec TD for Pender. Greene also had a score.

Week 6 - Victory against the Titans 36-25. Bart Greene is Game MVP with 178 yards receiving, 3 TD, 5 catches. Pender had 80 yards on the ground and added an aerial score. Picks by Greene and Richardson.

C Bo is injured for a bit.


Week 7 - BYE


Week 8 - We win against the Ravens 31-17. WR Marshall is doubtful. CB Justin Thompson is DPotW and GMVP with a 74 yard INT RET TD and another pick. Cox and Sotiroff added picks. Tyrone Rexin, playing for the Ravens, returned a KR 107 yards for a score against us. Guy still has it. Roiger, starting in place of RJ Freedman got 4 KRB. Holliday recovered a fumble for a score in the endzone . Pender had 11 yards 28 carries. Mayes hit Greene for two more scores.

Week 9 - We defeat the Bengals again, 24-14. Mayes is Game MVP with 19 of 25, 195, 2:0. Pender had 131 yards, 1 TD, 31 carries. Benson and Pender caught Tds. McGowan had a pick. No sacks. Roiger 5 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - We lose 23-27 to the Broncos. S Justin Sotiroff is Game MVP with 57 yard IN for score. Woods and Hutchens each had 2 sacks. C Austin had 4 KRB. 112 yards, 16 carries, 1 TD for Pender.

Injuries of note: LB Davidson doubtful. Rufus McGowan questionable. CB Damon Richardson doubtful.


Week 11 - 36-16 over the Titans. Mayes is GMVP. 25 of 38, 351, 3:1. Benson was 7 catches, 125 yards, 2 TD. Greene caught the other score. Curtin with 3.5 sacks. Hutchens with 2 sacks. Picks by Greene, Sotiroff, Battle.

Jose Stevens is back from his injury.

Week 12 - Jacksonville edges us 20-21 in our place. Ick. Pender had 71 yards on 29 carries, 2 Tds. Sotiroff had a pick. Woods with 2 sacks.

Week 13 - We win 38-31 over the Bucs at their place. Pender is GAME MVP with 90 yards, 27 carries, 1 TD, 113 rec yards, 5 catches, 1 rec TD. TE O’Neill had 5 catches for 115 yards and a score. Greene added 2 scores.

OT RJ Freedman is back from his injury.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - 37-10 over the Steelers. Pender is GMVP with 144 yards, 24 carries, 2 TD, 49 rec yard son 4 catches. Greene and Benson caught TD. McGowan and Dunn add picks. Logsdon had 2 sacks.


WR Kenny Marshall is back


Week 15 - We lose at Kansas City 24-30 in OT. Pender is OPotW: 25 carries, 167 yards, 2 rush TD, 36 rec yards, 5 catches, 1 rec TD. 111 yards and 8 catches for Marshall in his return from injury.

Week 16 - 41-7 vs. the Patriots. GMVP QB Mayes, 17 of 29, 268, 3:0. Hit Greene, O’Neill, Benson for scores. Pender had just 52 yards but a rushing score. Woods with 2.5 sacks. Greene picks once.

Week 17 - 44-9 over Steelers. Pender is OPotW and S Sotiroff is DPotW and GMVP. Pender had 199 yards, 3 rush TD, 73 rec yards. Sotiroff has 3 picks and one INT RET TD. Sackless. McGowan has a pick. Freedman had 5 KRB. Gaines caught a TD.

[Abe Sargent]

12-4, #1 seed.


AFC Playoffs:


Wild Card Weekend:

KC over the Lone Stars 20-17 in OT

Oakland over Seattle 25-22.



Divisional Weekend

We host the Chiefs that beat us earlier this week.


We win 37-0.

Mayes is Game MVP with 23 of 39 for 262, 2:0. Marshall and Pender caught TD. 113 yards, 10 catches for Marshall. Mayes rushes for TD. Peters does as well. Cox with pick.


Colts over Raiders 37-3

Virtually identical scoreboard.

(Richmond won)

[Abe Sargent]

AFC Championship:

We barely win, 34-31, in OT. Marshall is Game MVP with 226 yards on 12 catches. Pender rushes for 4 scores on the ground.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2025 NFL Super Bowl.


Your AFC Champion #1 Seed 12-4 Cleveland Browns are looking to three peat

vs.

Your NFC Champion #1 Seed 13-3 Richmond Rattlesnakes


Richmond beat us earlier this season in Week 1.


We lose. Badly. 0-38. After having our own shut out last year, we are shut out this one.

Ouch!

Mayes was knocked out in the second after tossing a pick. Then our backup was knocked out in the third and we were playing with our 3rd string QB. Pender was held to 56 yards. Just two sacks, no picks, no fumble recoveries by my team. Ouch.

Just for fun, I go back and resim the Super Bowl 10 times. We win 8 times outta ten. Just wasn’t our lucky day in this game.

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards.

NFL MVP - Grady Pender
NFL Offensive Player of the Year: Pender
All Pro 1st Team: RB Grady Pender, K Levon Quinn, S Justin Sotiroff
All Pro 2nd Team: FB Sam Albriktsen, OG Bruce Holliday, QB Ernest Mayes


Others of Note:

LB Quinn Burroughs, 2nd Team, Albuquerque
OG Scott Pintsak, 1st Team, Albuquerque
RB Calvin Garrison, 2nd Team, Washington
C Jesse Tate, 2nd Team, Richmond
CB Jesse Pirtle, 2nd Team, Richmond
DT Danny Phelan, 2nd Team, Richmond


Some players I traded recently got All pro, including Garrison above, BJ Farr, and JJ Boddy, so those teams do often get good players.


First year awards for Albriktsen, Holliday, Sotiroff, Garrison, Pirtle, Phelan, so there’s a lot of All Pro love to my guys there.

[Abe Sargent]

Players in the League with Honors that are Mine:

RB Grady Pender, Countless
S Justin Sotiroff, 1 honor
FB Sam Albriktsen, 1 honor
OG Bruce Holliday, 1 honor
RB Calvin Garrison, 2 honors, Skins
LB Quinn Burroughs, Rail, 4 honors
OG Scott Pintsak, Rail, 2 honors
C Jesse Tate, Snakes, 4 honors
CB Jesse Pirtle, Snakes, 1 honor
DT Danny Phelan, Snakes, 1 honor
DE Jackie Greene, Snakes, 1 honor
RB Ralph Barrett, Snakes, 6 honors
WR Jerome Baker, Rail, 3 honors
RB Heath Shepherd, Rail, Many
C Marty Brennan, Rail., 5 honors
FB Warren Dole, Rail, 2 honors
OT Tyrone Rathbone, Rail, 3 honors
C Ray Hampton, Stars, 1 honor
DE Bert Curtain, 1 honor
CB Rufus McGowan, 2 honors
S Jose Stevens, 1 honor
TE Mitchell Spence, Falcons, 1 honor
FB Zach Taylor, Broncos, 3 honors

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:


5th most rushing yards, 13th most ypc
8th most passing yard,s Tied for 2nd most per pass/completion
Allowed 2nd fewest rush yards, Tied for 9th fewest ypc
Allowed most passing yards, Tied for 11th worst yards per
39 sacks, 15th most; 27 sacks allowed, 2nd fewest in league
+19 TO margin, 5 better than #2, league leading.

[Abe Sargent]

Individual Stats

Pender 1720 rush yards, 4.2 ypc, 17 rush TD, 797 rec yards, 6 rec TD66 catches: Typicla stats you expect from him.

QB Mayes - 61.8%, 3785 yards, 28:8 ratio, 99.4 Rating. Glad I increased his time a bit. 3rd most passing yards, Tied for 2nd most passing yards, Best QB rating. Should have been All Pro, so glad about the nod.

WR Bart Greene, 56 catches, 838 yards, 11 TD
WR Vince Benson, 6 starts, 47 grabs, 663 yards, 6 TD
Marshall 607 yards
TE O’Neill had 35 for 408 and 2. Pretty solid for a rook in 12 starts.

Benson with PR TD>

K Quinn 33 of 40, long of 58.
P Rayburn, 14th best PR avg, 41 of 91 in 20

DE Brock Woods leads team with 12.5 sacks.
DE Bert Curtain has 9
Hutchens and Allen each notch 4


S Justin Sotiroff with 10 picks, 2 returned for score, and led the team with 8 pasdef. 10 picks ties for second most in league.
McGowan with 4 picks, Greene with 3.

OG Holliday had 33 KRB, 6 sacks allowed
C Bo Austin ratcheted 32 KRB and 7 sacks allowed
OG Wilkerson had 20 KRB, 3 sacks allowed (good for a rook)


Pro-Bowl Albriktsen - 15 KRB out of 50 KRO, 1 sack allowed, 78 yards receiving, 111 yards rushing, 1 TD, other than KRB, I’m not sure what got him the nod.

Mayes fumbled it away 5 times, Pender 5,

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: QB Ernest Mayes. He had a great year with All Pro nod, blisteringly good TD:INT ratio and did it without his top receiver for much of the year. Awesome!
Defensive Player of the Year; S Justin Sotiroff. 10 picks gets you All Pro and that gets you DPotY for my team easy Also led team in pasdef and3rd on tackles from FS position.
Special Teams Player of the Year: K Levon Quinn - Had another great All Pro year.
Rookie of the Year: TE Irving O’Neill. This award is not as easy. My two rookie O Line were not that great. Do I give the nod to one, or go elsewhere. Since O’Neill started 12 games after Neal went down, I can evaluate him on the same level, and here a rookie, late round, BAP, did not disappoint. Thanks O’Neill.
Heart Award: FB Sam Albriktsen - This is the first time, ever, that I‘ve had a FB get all pro while I was GM. Great KRB equaled that of our 2nd round starting OT rookie. Great job Sam!

[Abe Sargent]

Players leaving of note:


P Leo Rayburn
LB Karl Hutchens - patch
LB Jamal Greer
S Jose Stevens

[Abe Sargent]

Here we go:


Performance: 95
Value: 29
Profit: 56
Difficulty: 84

Overall: 56

[Abe Sargent]

The 2026 Hall of Fame:

DT Ross Meadows - YAY. 80%, Alabama, 6 honors, 104.5 sacks
CB Jack Huntley - YAY. Temple, 86%, 1 honor, 55 picks
P Vernon Stiggers - U of Minnesota, 81% of vote, 2 honors
K Buddy Frederickson - U of Delaware, no honors, 82%,
OT Orlando Tipton - Texas A&M, 82%, 9 all league honors (WOW). 450 KRB in 8 years.
S Dave Fling - Stanford, 87%, 8 all league honors, 75 picks in 14 years
WR Ty Everett - Boise State, 80%, 2 honors, 66 TD, 13 years
QB Johnny Orellina - Notre Dame, 93%, 19 all league honors (MAMA), 372 TD passes, 52157 passing yards, 16 season

No question that Tipton, Fling and Orellina are just top of the line players. I’d also have voted for Meadows with 6 honors and a ton of sacks from the DT place. I would never have voted for Frederickson, you don’t make it in with at least one honor somewhere. I question Everett, Huntley and Stiggers.

[Abe Sargent]

Retirees:

RB Heath Shepherd
FB Warren Dole
TE Mitchell Spence


Franchise:

11th lowest value
9th worst stadium
Best roster
Tied for lowest support
17th lowest economy
6th lowest attendance by #, 7th by %


I franchise Rayburn again. Maybe this time he’ll sign a real contract.

[Abe Sargent]

Free Agency:

We have 31 players under contract plus Rayburn with a tag and are just 8 million under the cap and that’s with RJ Freedman’s contract dropping. I begin to make some moves:

I extend QB Ernest Mayes’s contract for four more years.

I extend K Levon Quinn by a year.

I extend DE Brock Woods by four years.
I extend DT Stanley Allen’s by three more as well.


I now have 55.5 under the cap.

I sign Rayburn to a two year deal.



Free Agency - I need a LB. Badly.

I make an offer to…LB Quinn Burroughs. He’s older, may only play for a few years for us, but he is the best in the FA market and he’s one of my own.

I give CB Mercury Greene his first professional contract after his rookie one.

I trade WR Bart Greene to the Bengals for their 3rd and 6th this year (#3 in those rounds)

I make an offer to S Travis Westbrook for a two year contract that will hopefully give him more starting time and us a good S until I can find a real one.

I notice that not a single player on my first draft with Cleveland 5 years ago is still on my team, and I had 2 1st that year. I traded everyone away.


Week 8 - Burroughs signs with us!

Week 9 - Westbrook comes in too!

Week 17 - I like a LB still out there - LB Cole Rhodes, and I make him a 3 year offer.

Week 18 - Rhodes signs with us

We pick 35 in each round


I have four starters from last year in the final year of their rookie contract but they become very pricey - FB Sam Albriktsen, C Bo Austin, DT Peter Berry, and LB Corey Davidson.

Let’s move to the draft and see what I can find.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2026 NFL Amateur Rookie Draft


Needs - Starters - WR, LB?, S?
Backups - DE, OT, OG, WR, RB, QB, DE, LB, CB, CB

We are picking at 1/35. I look to see what is left.

OG Thomas Cobb - WOW. 31/69 run blocking, 39/85 pass blocking, 83 endurance. That is a great., developed OG at this spot in the draft.
LB Terrell Buchanan - Solid, very green, low end
QB Rufus Richardson - Virtually a starting QB and very good, only weakness, 31 throwing power potential. Other potens are 94, 100, 80, 86, 72, 65 (3rd down), 83 for accuracy, 47 scramble and 86 carrying. That is top notch good except for the arm. That is epic-ly good.
WR Cornell Harrison - The conventional pick. Best WR on the board, very developed, meets need. Only 42 catch freq pot which scares me, but 63 catch, 78 ypc, 84 3rd down, 59 carrying, 68 endur
TE Brant Carman - Best TE I’ve seen in a draft since Ed Gardener (Ed was better though). 88 run blocking, 72 catching, 69 ypc, 100 catch freq!, 86 3rd down, 62 carrying, 79 endurance. That’s an All Pro caliber TE.


This is one of the best 1/35 picks I’ve ever seen.

I order the picks in this order:

TE Carman
OG Cobb
QB Richardson
WR Harrison
LB Buchanan

Remember the Leon Morabito pick? I grabbed him, despite having two starters at CB that were very good, because he represented the maximum value available at that pick. Now, I can take QB Richardson and sign him to 4 or 5 years and get a lot of development done on him and have a great backup if needed. Then I can trade him near the end of his apprenticeship and get a great first round pick, like banking my 1/35 now and turning it into a top ten pick in 3 or 4 years. That has value to me.

I can also take Cobb, who is better than either of my two OG currently, but Holliday did well this past year and Wilkerson did alright as a rookie and needs time to develop.

Cobb leaves me with too many OG starters. But he’s better so he is an improvement. Richardson is not an improvement, but, to be fair, in 3-4 years when he is developed, Ernest Mayes will be in his 12 or 13 year in the leagues, and that is getting longer in the tooth, but QB do have longer careers. Clements was best late in his career.

Harrison is the safe pick, the expected pick. He is largely developed and can slide into a position of need on a team with Super Bowl aspirations. Harrison is the smart pick, the safe pick, the pick I’d make most years.

Buchanan is a nice developmental pick, but I’d rather have Harrison so he’s largely out of the picture.

Now let’s talk TE Carman. Two years ago I drafted TE Herman Deal in the late first because he was solid and he was injured most of last year and did not do well his rookie year. In the mean time, I drafted a pretty good TE, Irving O’Neill, in the 5th last year and he did very well for me in his 12 starts. I was considering moving Deal and just going with O’Neill. Is Carman better? Absolutely. He’s gorgeous.

Carman is the top TE on the board by current value, so he is a known quantity. He will not fall. Similarly, Cobb is the top OG by current value, as is Rufus Richardson. These players are not falling. Harrison is second by current value and 4th by potential value at WR. Buchanan is on top of current value.

None of these players will be on the board at 2/35. I don’t think these players will be on the board at 2/15.

Okay so I make some moves.

I draft Carman, he is too good to pass up. I trade into 2/11 and give up RB Peters, and four later round draft picks. I grab OG Cobb with that pick because Harrison and Buchanan were already taken. Then Rufus falls to me at 2/35 and I grab him.


So I grabbed all three of my top players there. I make some more moves now while I can recoup value.

I trade TE Norman Deal to the Lone Stars for their 5/29 pick this year.

Alright, I’ve played in the park. Time to finish up this draft, grab some needs, and gets some decent players.

Draft Recap
1 - TE Brant Carman, Northwestern
2/11 - OG Thomas Cobb, Air Force
2/35 - QB Rufus Richardson, UCLA
3/3 - WR Ryan Ponder, Washington
3/16 - DE Vincent O’Donnell, Navy
3/35 - LB Jeff Grier, Ball State
4/23 - RB Austin Westbrook, Kansas State
4/29 - WR Shannon Kaplan, Texas Tech
7/35 - CB Devin Williamson, Iowa

Okay, I just hope none of the big three suck.

[Abe Sargent]

UFAs

RB Walter Witt, Auburn
RB Jamal Terry, UNC
DT John Baker, Texas
OG Winston Franks, Iowa
FB Leslie Paxson, Morehead State
TE Brant Finch, Illinois
C Tommy Taylor, South Carolina
CB Mickey Lucic, Mississippi State
OT Claude Peters, Alabama
OT Ted Alston, Alabama



With 51 players, I look at FA.

LB Blake Crawford was cut, one of my old players, but I don’t have the money or the inclination to sign another LB.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s go camping. Pray no busts, pray no busts, pray no busts.

The Jets offer me their 1st rounder and a really, really good C for DE Woods. C is in his 4th year and just really top of the line, arguably one of the best C in the league plus a 1st for Woods. Sigh. I can’t do it.

The Broncos make me an offer for a first for Rufus McGowan. That‘s what I paid to get him, so I’m not interested.

Carman still looks as good, Rufus dropped a tiny bit in some numbers but nothing distressing, and Cobb also slid a bit in run blocking from 69 potential to 52 and from 85 to 76 in pass blocking. Sigh. Now he’s not nearly as good and arguably not worth starting over my other two guys.

I sign UFA DE Mario McCarter from New Mexico State.

Now I have to make a call with these players:

FB Albriktsen - Costs e 3 million more a year to sign him to a long term contract. Do-able, but 6 million annually for a FB seems a bit high, even in 2026 with a super high cap.

LB Corey Davidson - Not even developed much. Not worth the 10 million annually to pay to keep him.

C Bo Austin - C are easy to come across. Developed and good, but replaceable. Not worth 9.5 million annually.

DT Perry 0 12, 15, 18 million each year for a guy with pots in the 60s? I like DT but that is too much.


Time to make some moves.

I trade DT Peter Barry to the Pack for the #2 next year. I sign DT UFA Kim Alston, from Indiana

I sign patch C Travis Fulter for one year.

I trade Bo Austin for the Dolphins 6th next year.

I’ll keep Sam and Davidson on my team.

Actually, I’m beginning to second guess the Davidson decision. Guy Isn’t even fully developed.

I trade Davidson to the Rams for their 3rd and 5th next year.

I sign Blake Crawford for the year as a patch.


I would love to get Burroughs his fifth all pro or Westbrook his third before they retire.

I sign UFA CB Joel Young, Colorado State

53 players under contract.

[Abe Sargent]

WR Gaines got better in camp this year and boomed a bit. Just a bit but now I have a fierce competition among my WR. It will not be easy to figure out #2.

#2 WR. My scouts recommend Gaines.

Current Freq/Pot Freq

Gaines - 37/59
Kaplan - 13/49
Ponder - 10/58

Win for Gaines.

Yards pc

Gaines: 52
Kaplan: 41
Ponder - 37

Again, win for Gaines

Catching

Gaines: 52/78
Kaplan - 18/91
Ponder - 11/64

A win for current for Gaines, future for Kaplan

Gaines is in the last year of his rookie deal and costs a lot o money to bring back. Kaplan and Ponder are rookies who can play for a couple of years.

Gaines is better. Gaines showed growth, Gaines is rewarded. Then Ponder then Kaplan.

Maybe we can retain Gaines and he’ll grow again, especially if he has a good season.

[Abe Sargent]

Some Rooks:

TE Brant Carman - 33/93
OG Thomas Cobb - 20/74
QB Rufus Richardson - 24/72
WR Ryan Ponder - 24/58
WR Shannon Kaplan - 28/52
DE Vincent O’Donnell - 6/48 - OUCH
RB Austin Westbrook - 45/45
LB Jeff Grier - 32/38
CB Devin Williamson - 24/32



I am obviously very excited about the top three., especially the #1 and #3 players on there.

[Abe Sargent]

My Top Ten Players by Potential:

DE Brock Woods - 90/93
TE Brant Carman - 33/93
QB Ernest Mayes - 92/92
K Levon Quinn - 86/86
P Leo Rayburn - 86/86
LB Quinn Burroughs - 81/81
RB Grady Pender - 80/80
DT Stanley Allen - 74/79
WR Kenny Marshall - 68/79
CB Rufus McGowan - 78/78

OT RJ Freedman - 74/77 at #11

[Abe Sargent]

The 2026 Cleveland Browns

QB Ernest Mayes - Makes me happy
RB Grady Pender - Happy here too
FB Sam Albriktsen - All Pro = yay!
TE Brant Carman - Say hello to our newest star
WR Kenny Marshall - Let’s see more please. Last year, in 10 starts, no TDs? That’s crazy.
WR Louis Gaines - Earned a starting spot in camp, needs to keep it in the season
C Travis Fulcher - Almost embarrassing to have a one year patch as a C but since I traded my C, it makes sense.
OG Bruce Holliday - I love an All Pro lineman
OG Riddick Wilkerson - Getting another year of starting after the Thomas Cobb slight breaking
OT RJ Freedman - I likes him, getting old though
OT Darnell Beaver - Weak run blocking last year as a rookie, but I expect, no, demand, improvement this year, although only allowed one sack last year, so a great pass blocking year.
P Leo Rayburn - Sexy
K Levon Quinn - Sexier
DE Brock Woods - A house couldn’t even stop him from getting sacks. Will age?
DE Bert Curtain - Had a better year than last year, but no All Pro. Will improvement continue?
DT Stanley Allen - Awesome
DT Colin Kirkpatrick - First full year as a starter
LB Quinn Burroughs - Starting as my MLB. Strong, but older.
LB Blake Crawford - A patch and one of my former draftees
LB Cole Rhodes - Signed later in the FA process, has solid but unspectacular skills.
CB Rufus McGowan - Begin supplication to my awesome CBs.
CB Mercury Greene - Strong, but not Morabito or McGowan or Huntley level.
S Travis Westbrook - An older patch and a familiar face
S Justin Sotiroff - Fresh off a 10 pick season in his sophomore campaign. I like him.

KR/PR - CB Micky Lucic with help from WR Gaines

[Abe Sargent]

What do others think?

2nd best QB
2nd best RB
12th best FB
15th best TE
11th best WR
18th best C
11th best OG
10th best OT
THE Best P
3rd best K
2nd best DE
9th best DT
7th best LB
THE Best CB
13th best S

No major weaknesses.

3 of our 1st 4 on the road
4 of 5 at home.
4 of 5 on road
Final two at home

My prediction: 13-3, #1 seed

We go 1-3 in the preseason. Both WR are questionable but will start

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We win 12-10 over the Panthers. Quinn, who was 4 of 4 FG, is Game MVP. Pender is held to 73 yards on 33 carries. Mayes is barely at .500. Lucic has our lone sack, no picks.

Week 2 - We win 24-20 over the 49ers. OT Freedman is out for 2-3 months. Ick. Pender is Game MVP with 139 yards, 2 rush TD, 31 carries. Westbrook and Sotiroff both have picks. Woods was a terror with 1.5 sacks but THREE pass blocks. Ouch.

Week 3 - We win 34-10 over the woeful Bengals. Travis Westbrook is Game Mvp with 2 picks. McGowan also had a pick. Fulcher grabbed 4 KRB. Pender went down during the game and my offensive guys split the load between Walter Witt and Austin Westbrook until Westbrook went down as well. Witt had 101 yards on 13 carries and a TD. Westbrook had 2 rushing TD. Pender added a 4th rush TD.

Pender and Witt are questionable with Pender starting next week.

Week 4 - We lose 7-24 to the Ravens. Pender goes down early and Witt finishes the game with 108 yards on 26 carries. Mayes goes down early and Rufus Richardson, in his first playing time, goes 13 of 24 for 168 and 1:1. Marshall had 111 yards and the TD on 9 catches.

Mayes is probable and will start. Pende rwill also start. UFA OT Ted Alston is doubtful, and he was starting with Freedman down. I will be starting rookie OG Thomas Cobb as OT until Freeman returns. DT Kirkpatrick and S Westbrook are questionable.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We defeat the Jaguars 24-6. Pender is Game MVP with 104 yards, 23 carries and a TD. Mayes rushed for a score too. Mayes hits Gaines for a score too. Fulcher has 4 KRB.

Mayes is in a severe funk right now:

55.9%, 735 yards, 1:2, 72.2 Rating. Ouch.

He’s earned the right to throw himself out of it though.


Week 6 - 34-17 over the Titans. WR Kenny Marshall is Game MVP with 113 yards on 8 catches, 1 TD. Gaines also had a TD. Pender goes down again but not before getting another rush TD. Austin Westbrook finishes the game with 19 carries, 71 yards and a score. S Cox had a pick. Wilkerson with 4 KRB.

As we head into our Bye Week even more injuries - WR Louis Gaines is out for months. Ouch. Pender is banged again to questionable for several weeks. DE Brock Woods is questionable. We’ll see where thing stand next week.

I am winning the score board but losing the injuries that is going to eventually catch up with me.

Week 7 - BYE

Pender is sitting next week.

Week 8 - We drop our other game to the Ravens 27-24. RB Westbrook had 1 TD and 79 yards on 20 carries. Mayes hit Marshall twice for scores and 197 receiving yards on 6 catches.

Week 9 - We take down the Jaguars 37-17. FB Sam Albriktsen goes down for a few weeks as does RB Austin Westbrook. DE Bert Curtain is Game MVP with 1.5 sacks. Damon Richardson had a fumble recovery for a TD. LB Jeff Grier rushed a blocked punt into the end zone. TE Brant Carman caught a 51 yard strike for a TD and had 104 yards on 5 catches for his first 100+ yard game too. Witt had a rushing TD. Brownlee had a pick and fumble recovery.

Pender is back next week as is OT RJ Freedman.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - 45-17 over the Chiefs. Rock on! Pender is Game MVP and NFL Off Player of the Week. 230 rushing yards, 3 rush TD, 29 carries, 35 receiving yards, 1 Rec TD. It’s like the wanted to make up for missed time . Kaplan and Marshall had TD too. Holliday had 5 KRB and Fulcher 4.

Week 11 - We edge the Titans 13-7. Pender is Game MVP with 103 yards, 26 carries, TD. S Westbrook with a pick.

Week 12 - We lose ot the Bengals 30-24. Pender is held to 56 yards and no rushing scores. Marshall has 177 yards on 7 catches and a score. No sacks. No picks.

Week 13 - We barely manage to defeat the now 7-5 Corpus Christi Cyberhawks 23-17 in OT. Pender is GAME MVP with 191 yards and a score on 27 carries. Marshall has a receiving TD.

Week 14 - Victoire over Pittsburgh 31-21. Ernest Mayes is Game MVP with 27 of 33 for 314 and 1:0. Marshall has 116 yards, a TD, on 9 grabs. Pender adds 117 yards and 3 scores on 31 carries. McGowan has a pick.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 15 - 26-21 over the Raidahs. Pender is held to 59 yards but still managed two Tds. TE Carman has 124 yards on 8 catches. Sotiroff and McGowan with picks.

At 11-3 we are currently in the #1 spot but there are two 10-4 teams in the other two divisions, so we cannot afford to slip if we want home field all the way. We face one of those teams, the 10-4 Colts, next week in our place.


Week 16 - 29-8 over the 10-4 Colts. Pender is NFL O Player of the Week with 102 yards, 26 carries, 26 rec yards and a rec TD. Marshall caught the other score. However, Travis Westbrook is Game MVP with a pair of picks. Holliday had 4 KRB.


Week 17 - 28-10 over the Steelers. CB Mercury Greene is Game MVP with 2 picks. Pender added 87 yards and a TD to his total. Marshall finished the season with a 113 yard, TD, 4 catch day.

13-3 and the #1 seed, exactly as predicted. I’m good.

[Abe Sargent]

AFC Playoffs:


Wild Card Weekend:


Chiefs over Ravens 24-14 (YAY! Ravens beat us twice but we beat the Chiefs)

Denver over San Antonio 42-14.



Divisional Weekend:

We host the Chiefs.

We win 17-7. Damon Richardson is Game MVP with 2 picks. Pender has 115 yards, 2 rushing TD.


Colts over Broncos 21-17

[Abe Sargent]

AFC Championship, 2026

The #1 seed 13-3 Cleveland Browns

Host the #2 11-5 seed Indianapolis Colts

In a rematch of their Week 16 battle.



We lose 33-38. Damn, Colts beat us! Grrrr.

Pender is Game MVP with 293 yards, 3 TD, 33 carries. Damn! Kaplan caught a TD too. No sacks. Fulcher and Freedman each had 4 KRB.

For the record, this is a Playoff Game record for Pender.





Green Bay smokes the Colts 48-0 in the Super Bowl

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards -

Pender meet your new rival, RB Brian Acuna for the Raiders, the 3rd year 1/1 pick with 2050 yards rushing and 19 TD. NFL MVP this year.

All Pro 1st Team: WR Kenny Marshall, OG Bruce Holliday, K Levon Quinn, DE Bert Curtain, LB Quinn Burroughs
All-Pro 2nd Team: RB Grady Pender


Others of note: None. Only draftees on my team got All Pro this year, none of the others around the league made it.

Marshall finally got an award. Yay! Totally deserved it too. Holliday and Curtain proved longevity by each getting All Pro twice in their first three years in the league. Quinn deserved the nod, and Burroughs got another award, and the first one he’s gotten while I was his GM.

I wish we’d have gone to the Super Bowl, but I am happy.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

2nd most rushing yards, Tied for 10th most ypc
7th most passing yards, the most yards per pass/completion
10th fewest rush yards allowed, tied for 11th most ypc allowed
10th most passing yards allowed, Tied for 13th most ypc allowed
34 sacks, tied for 11th fewest, 26 allowed, 3rd fewest
+10 TO Margin


Nice rushing O. Even with a low # of sacks, we still got more sacks than we allowed.

[Abe Sargent]

Individual Stats:

QB Ernest Mayes, 60.4%, 3691 yards, 14:8 ratio, 89.3 Rating. He came back later. 5th most yards in league. 6th best rating of qualifiers. He still had a down season though.

QB Rufus Richardson, 57.1%, 16 of 28, no starts, 192 yards, 2:1 ratio, 87.1 rating. Not enough here to judge by, but this is not disappointing.


RB Grady Pender - 1357 yards, 2nd most in league, 16 TD, 2nd most in league. 357 rec yards, 2 rec TD>. Even after missing a bunch of games, Pender still got All Pro. Nice.

WR Kenny Marshall - 1390 yards (2nd in league), 85 catches, 10 TD (tied for 3rd in league).
TE Brant Carman - 45 grabs, 612 yards, 1 TD. Add another few TD and you have an All pro season. I checked out the two TE who did get All Pro and both had 5-6 TD and 600-700 yards. Carman is right there yards wise.
WR Ryan Ponder - 10 starts, 43 for 531, no scores. Ouch. Not starting him again.


K Levon Quinn again led the league with 39 of 49, long of 59 yards.
P Rayburn was 7th in P Average, 34 of 89 in the 20.

LB Quinn Burroughs was 3rd in the league with 113 solo tackles, and had 3 sacks.
DE Bert Curtain with 9.5 sacks, 81 tackles (crazy for a DE, 2nd most tackles from an D Lineman in the league), 4 blocked passes, 6 hurries.
DE Brock Woods with 7 sacks, 6 blocked passes (tied for 2nd most in league), 8 hurries

S Travis Westbrook with 6 picks, 6 pasdef
LB Cole Rhodes led team with 9 pasdef
McGowan had 3 picks, Greene 2, Sotiroff 2.

OG Bruce Holliday with 34 KRB (tied for 3rd most KRB in league) and 6 sacks allowed
C Travis Fulcher, 30 KRB, 2 sacks allowed - a good patch
OT Darnell Beaver, 25 KRB, 4 sacks allowed
OG Riddick Wilkerson, 20 and 6.

[Abe Sargent]

Important Players Leaving at end of Season:

FB Sam Albriktsen
WR Louis Gaines
C Travis Fulcher
LB Blake Crawford





Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: WR Kenny Marshall - Finally put all of the pieces together. To be fair, he may have been helped by a year in which the starting WR on the other side went down for the season, and in which RB Pender had a lowered presence in the receiving game. We’ll see if Marshall can sustain this through the next few years.
Defensive Player of the Year: LB Quinn Burroughs - I hate giving this to the MLB as much as I seem to have been doing recently. Still, you cannot miss the All Pro year he had for us despite it being his 12th year in the league. I loves ya Quinn!
Special Teams Player of the Year: K Levon Quinn - He just keeps kicking at a high level. I Trust him way much.
Rookie of the Year: TE Brant Carman - With 600+ yards and a score, he gave us hope for what he can do once he fully develops.
Heart Award: RB Walter Witt - UFA and third string RB Witt did quite well when everything fell down. He had a 4.4 ypc, 262 yards on 59 carries and 2 TD. That’s a much better statline, btw, then Austin Westbrook, a drafted rookie who was above him on the depth chart had, despite Austin;s two starts to Witt’s none. Thanks Walter!



I expect Westbrook and Crawford might retire at the end of this year.

[Abe Sargent]

BTW - We now hold three playoff records.

2026 - Most rushing yards, Grady Pender, 293, against Colts
2025 - Most Passing Yards, Ernest Mayes, 478, vs. Colts
2024 - Most TDs Scored, Pender, 5, vs. Chiefs


Acuna eclipses Shepherd for the most rushing yards in a season since the dynasty began.

Graham still has the trifecta of season awards with the most yards, TD and receptions in a season.

Shepherd still had most rush TD in a season with 22

O’Neal and Mare still have their records (most tackles, most FG)

[Abe Sargent]

Scores:

Performance - 85
Value - 25
Profit: 30
Difficulty - 85

Total Score - 45


Hall of Fame -

TE Ed Gardener - YAYAYAYAY. From Washington. 85% of vote. 7 all league honors. 6616 yards, 45 scores. 13 years.
CB Andrew Jarvis - 85%, 42 picks, 4 honors, from St’ Johns (NY)
WR Darnell Franz - 82%, the pride of Duke. 91 TD, 13783 yards, 2 honors

[Abe Sargent]

The Browns have moved to Huntington WV!


We need a new name!


I review a list with some names chosen by me, some chosen by NFL properties and some by the citizens of Huntington.


Mountaineers
Highlanders
Hilltoppers
Vandals
Hunters
Lynx
Mountain Dogs
Yeagers
Coal Monkeys
Miners


I immediately get rid of a few. Mountaineers is the WVU mascot and not appropriate here. Huntington Hunters is just too cute. Lynx is non-descript. Coal Monkeys aren’t a thing.

That’s leave me with six.

Each adds something different.

Of the group, the first I leave behind is Mountain Dogs. It is too generic. It is a nod to current Browns fans with the Dog Pound, and I do like that, but it is too generic.

Yeagers is nice, but naming an NFL team after a test pilot, even the one ever, is a bit out there.

Hilltoppers is nice, no question, but I prefer Highlanders to it.

Highlanders, Vandals, Miners are left.


Highlanders - I like it because it has the pretty double H thing, it speaks of mountain-ness of the region without coming right out and saying it, it pays homage to the strong Scottish heritage of WV, and it makes sense. The names have to have a bit of meanness, and this does. This is a great choice.

Vandals - I love it. It is very clever. See, back before the Revolutionary War, there was a proposal by a variety of people, including Ben Franklin, to create a new colony out of Pennsylvania and Virginia called…Vandalia, named after the Queen who was supposedly descended from Vandals. It was put on hold due to the French-Indian War, then the colonies heated up. During the Revolutionary War, there was a petition to the Continental Congress to form this as a new state, but it was rejected. Again, in the 1820s, there was a movement for the area to be a new state, and was summarily denounced. Vandals recalls this history, it is also a mean name for the team. It is both subtle and appropriate. This is a great choice too.

Miners - The obvious team name. It’s not a bad one either. The central history of West Virginia is mining. The Huntington Miners would be a fine nickname.



After review, I reject Miners. It’s good, and a fine choice, but a bit too stale. I like the meanness inherent in the other two.


The NFL Champion Huntington Highlanders

The NFL Champion Huntington Vandals

Both are good. Both tweak different bones.

The Highlanders has more things to recommend it, but the Vandals is more in touch with WV history. Each has something to offer.

One minute I move one way, the next the other way.


Screw it. I’m flipping a freakin’ coin!

Heads - Highlanders
Tails - Vandals



Say hello to the Huntington Highlanders

[Abe Sargent]

Our new stadium:

Outdoor/Natural Grass

7300 Upper Deck
5300 End Zone
3000 Mezzanine
4700 Sidelines

12000 Club Seats
310 Luxury Boxes
125 VR Boxes

45000 is capacity

[Abe Sargent]

Huntington City Info:

4 teams within 250 miles
480k population
5.2% growth
$59,300 avg income
25.1% poverty level


Competition - 69th percentile
Trend Setting - 92nd percentile


Franchise -

20th franchise value
19th best stadium
2nd best roster
3rd lowest support
Tied for 15th best economy

[Abe Sargent]

With just 11 years, K Levon Quinn has quizzically chosen to retire. WTF?

WR Jerome Baker retired.

I hire a new Lead Scout even though my current guy has a year left.


Lead Scout
Marty Schour
5 years, 500k/year
Very Good - Oline, Dline, WR
Good - everything else

That’s right, no fair, no poor, and I got him cheaper than my current guy which I am sure is going to be important here for the first few years especially.

I’m going to start the VR boxes at 40k and see how they sell. I drop the prices of my tickets for the new market. I can grow into the new market by slowly increasing my tickets over time.