Bear Bryant Challenge: The Professional Years

[Ben E Lou]

(NOTE: This is a dynasty using both TCY and FOF2K4. On this, my FOF team, I'm only allowed to use SEC Players. For full details, look at the Main Bear Bryant Challenge Page.)

2005

I come out of staff hiring with a pretty solid staff, and of course fly through free agency. Now, for the fun part: THE DRAFT! Glancing at the pool, I count 39 SEC players with future potential of 50 or greater, and 4 of the top 10 players in terms of adjusted rating. This sounds pretty good.

I have the #16 pick, and am faced with a dilemma from the very start: do I try to move up? Not knowing how the draft is going to look in the future, it is very tempting to move up this year. There's an SEC player in the Top 5 of nearly every position group this year. It just seems that it would behoove me to get some more picks in the first three rounds this year. I make a few trades to do exactly that. However, I don't want to do what it takes to trade up too high, because I want to keep my #1 next year, which should be a very high one, in anticipation of selecting Georgia's Eric Daft. Heck, I already fell in love with these rules! Just the thought of thinking forwardly and getting excited about a player a year or more in advance gets me pretty jazzed. Excellent!!! At any rate, here's how it pans out...

DRAFT

1(31)--SILB Matthew Lynn, LSU--37/57--Lynn, ranked 91/100 in college, had 10 tackles for losses and one sack. He's better at defending the run than rushing th passer. He's not the fastest guy around, but he's exceptionally agile and should be a nice MLB for us.

In late free agency, I pick up a pretty solid-looking FB as a backup, Omar Syvrud.

2(6)--FL Alfred Whitlow, Florida--26/64--Looks like a pretty good possession receiver. Cuaght 34 passes for 438 yards and 4 TD's last year. Good PR/KR as well.

2(16)--RCB Leroy Lange--Florida--21/58--Used primarily as a nickel back in an outstanding Gator secondary last year. He looks like a pretty good all-around DB.

2(31)--RB Fabian Lemke--Ol' Miss--35/55--Was averaging 5.8 ypc in 9 starts before breaking ribs last year. Finished with 653 yards and 5 TD's. Not particularly fast, but pretty solid otherwise.

3(16)--SE Herb Boone--Arkansas--34/45--The Razorbacks ran the Wing-T, and didn't throw much. He was their leading receiver with 24 catches for 376 yards and 5TD's. His 4.27 time in the 40 catches my eye, though.

4(21)--LCB Paul Roques--Florida--15/53--A starter in Florida's vaunted secondary. He might have some good all-around skills.

5(16)--QB Louie Hicks--LSU--13/41--2nd Team All SEC QB last year. Threw for 3252 yards and 31 TD's. Smart kid, but may lack the physical tools.

6(16)--WLB Ike Copeland--UGA--24/41--Could be a pass-rush specialist for us. He had 31 tackles and 2 sacks last year.

7(16)--MLB Warren Sanders--LSU--24/42--Was the other ILB with Matthew Lynn at LSU. Was 1st-Team All SEC, but less of a physical specimen than Lynn. Will play SLB in the NFL. his ratings increase to 25/47 with the position switch.

After training camp, there are two increases worth noting. FA TE Jay Word from Georgia moves from 18/32 at draft time to 21/38 now. Also, 'Bama FL Kyle Moln, also signed as a FA, moves from 19/39 at draft time to 23/47 now. There are too many significant drops to mention, the biggest being that 2(6) pick Whitlow is down to 26/54.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

LT Wade Malley--2(21) by Green Bay.--rated 8/51.

FS Phillip Davis--5(28) by St. Louis--rated 22/42 and slated to start as a rookie

RESULTS

2005 Regular Season (1-15)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	13	at New Orleans Saints	16	M.Hagood 17-30-239	F.Lemke 8-27	V.Givens 6-99	57,900
Week 2	10	New York Jets	17	M.Hagood 20-38-181	F.Lemke 16-88	V.Givens 4-46	65,400
Week 3	0	Seattle Seahawks	36	M.Hagood 5-23-47	F.Lemke 8-14	V.Givens 1-28	64,700
Week 4	16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	28	M.Hagood 21-39-274	S.Van Der Linden 19-90	A.Whitlow 7-128	64,700
Week 5	17	at Carolina Panthers	31	M.Hagood 18-31-196	L.Lavoie 16-53	G.Hannan 5-67	69,300
Week 6	3	Minnesota Vikings	24	M.Hagood 16-35-210	F.Lemke 11-33	K.Moln 5-101	63,900
Week 7	10	at Green Bay Packers	42	M.Hagood 9-22-120	F.Lemke 8-37	H.Boone 6-133	69,900
Week 8	9	Detroit Lions	33	M.Hagood 18-40-197	F.Lemke 13-48	A.Whitlow 5-59	61,800
Week 9	0	at Chicago Bears	41	M.Hagood 13-34-134	F.Lemke 13-31	H.Boone 5-46	54,800
Week 10	17	New Orleans Saints	30	M.Hagood 11-23-171	F.Lemke 10-46	K.Moln 4-78	62,500
Week 11	Bye Week
Week 12	10	New England Patriots	12	L.Hicks 17-32-176	S.Van Der Linden 5-46	K.Moln 3-51	61,100
Week 13	3	at Philadelphia Eagles	14	L.Hicks 16-29-158	O.Guthrie 4-22	H.Boone 5-89	68,500
Week 14	13	at Miami Dolphins	34	L.Hicks 15-29-196	S.Van Der Linden 5-29	K.Moln 5-88	73,900
Week 15	27	Carolina Panthers	3	L.Hicks 14-27-252	F.Lemke 10-94	V.Givens 4-137	60,400
Week 16	0	at Buffalo Bills	31	L.Hicks 7-20-119	F.Lemke 9-17	A.Whitlow 5-97	67,900
Week 17	0	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	20	L.Hicks 5-18-67	F.Lemke 10-12	A.Whitlow 3-37	62,600

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Mack Hagood	335	155	1857	5.54	4	19
Louie Hicks	174	80	1029	5.91	2	11
Team	526	243	2994	5.69	6	33

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Fabien Lemke	RB	158	539	3.41	3
Sam Van Der Linden	RB	76	275	3.61	1
Levon Lavoie	RB	41	140	3.41	1
Team	---	340	1184	3.48	8

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Vinny Givens	SE	77	43	671	15.6	150	0
Herb Boone	SE	101	42	586	13.9	80	1
Alfred Whitlow	FL	85	36	516	14.3	55	1
Kyle Moln	FL	87	35	493	14.0	83	1
Gene Hannan	FL	45	24	273	11.3	39	2
Jay Word	TE	48	23	248	10.7	42	1
Team	---	522	243	2994	12.3	519	6

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
Matthew Lynn	MLB	147	46	2.5	0	2	9
Warren Sanders	SLB	91	32	1.0	0	5	8
Karl Cheyne	FS	74	29	0.0	0	0	4
Harold Behrens	RDT	53	15	1.5	4	0	0
Lionel Jenkins	SS	52	23	0.0	0	1	6
Paul Roques	LCB	47	8	0.5	0	0	2
Leroy Lange	RCB	43	20	0.0	0	0	5
Frank Fredrickson	LCB	42	14	0.0	0	0	4
Robert Jenkins	FS	39	9	0.0	0	2	1
Earnest Mathews	WLB	34	14	2.5	0	0	0
Roger Maxwell	LDE	32	17	3.5	6	0	0
Carlos Montano	LDT	26	11	0.5	1	0	0
Ike Copeland	WLB	25	10	2.0	5	0	2
Lenny Palmer	SLB	25	6	0.0	1	0	1
Britt Barnes	LDT	24	8	1.0	0	0	0
Greg Bracken	LCB	24	5	0.0	0	1	1
Curtis Barrett	LDE	18	4	1.5	7	0	0
Fernando Muir	LDE	16	4	1.0	3	0	0
Team	---	952	302	19.0	37	12	45

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 340 32 Rushing Yards 1184 32 Yards Per Carry 3.48 30 (T) Pass Attempts 526 15 Completions 243 32 Passing Yards 2994 26 Yards Per Attempt 5.69 28 3rd Down Conversions 29.7 32 Points Per Game 9.2 32 Turnovers 45 32 Turnover Margin -23 32

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 573 32 Rushing Yards 2289 32 Yards Per Carry 3.99 19 Pass Attempts 472 1 Completions 321 27 Passing Yards 3322 11 Yards Per Attempt 7.03 30 3rd Down Conversions 42.8 20 Points Per Game 25.7 32 Turnovers 22 27 (T) Turnover Margin +23 1

Basically, we stunk, as expected. When your best defensive player is one of few decent ones and is MLB, funny things happen, like MLB Matthew Lynn winning every award he could win: Defensive Rookie Of The Year, Defensive Player of the Year, First Team All-Pro. There were no real surprises this year. Our offensive and defensive lines really stink right now. It was difficult just getting enough players to field an o-line, as a matter of fact. I had to sign some d-linemen and convert them to get us legal even. I'm very much hoping that Georgia QB Eric Daft comes up as a stud, worthy of the 1(1) pick that we have next year.

ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

LT Wade Malley--GB--played in 13 games, 58 total snaps. 1 for 2 KRB, 2 sacks allowed...now rated 9/51

FS Phillip Davis--5(28) by St. Louis--started the first game of the season, tore his rotator cuff in the first half of that game and never returned this season--now rated 23/42.

[Ben E Lou]

2006

Due to our cheap salaries last year, we made a lot of money, and end up with one of the best staffs in all of football.

In free agency, there's one 2nd-year former SEC player who got cut, and I sign him. LT Ben Fairweather from Florida was a 5(22) pick by the Panthers. He's not particularly good, but he's better than any lineman on my roster right now.

I have the 1(1) pick in the draft, of course, and once again an interesting decision. First off, it looks like Georgia's Eric Daft is not going to translate into a franchise FOF QB, although he might be a solid one. The best-looking SEC QB is Florida's Ralph Davison, who threw for 3,490 yards, 37 TD's and only 6 INT's his Senior year, and was 2nd Team All-SEC. However, he's rated 23/58, only the fifth-best QB overall--definitely not worthy of 1(1). There are, however, four SEC players in the first 10 in terms of adjusted rating, including the top guy. They are:

LT Earnest Pleasant, UGA, 37/77--anchored UGA's offensive line

RB Alex Price, Auburn, 63/68--injured for part of Senior year. Averaged 4.7 ypc in two years for a relatively weak team.

SLB Floyd Walton, Florida, 57/75--2nd-Team All SEC OLB.

SE Chad Rodriguez, Florida, 47/70--Slowed by turf toe last year, still caught 50 passes for 1031 yards and 14 TD's. Only dropped 1 all year.

As far as 'Bama players worth noting (adjusted rating 3.0 of better)

QB Artie Gaylor: 18/51

FS Tyrone Caldwell: 21/51

RDT Ty Bruton: 22/50

RB Bernie DeMeester: 23/45

LDE Stanley Knaack: 11/43

TE Joey Burks: 25/43

RDE Pat Norton: 18/42

RDE Junior Fulcher: 23/35

LT Buddy Mahovlich: 14/35

With the top player in the draft being from the SEC and in a key position, this one's a no-brainer. I keep the pick..

DRAFT

1(1)--LT Earnest Pleasant--UGA--37/77--Here's hoping he'll anchor our line for years to come.

2(1)--LG Lawrence Ahrens--UGA--31/52--2nd Team All SEC guard will continue playing next to his buddy Pleasant.

4(1)--QB Artie Gaylor--Alabama--18/51--Heh. I promise I didn't show favoritism. Using my adjusted FOF Analyzer settings, he's the best player available at this point. Ran a 4.38 40 and had 15 bench press reps at the combine.

5(1)--TE William Meidinger--LSU--32/48--One of those TCY quirks: this guy didn't start due to LSU using the run and shoot. With four TE's rated 60 or better current rating, they really shouldn't have used a no-TE offense--especially considering that beyond their top 2 receivers, no other had a current rating >35. At any rate, this guy looks like he could be pretty solid.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

RDT Ty Bruton--3(13) by the Jets.

QB Artie Gaylor--4(1) by Atlanta

FS Tyrone Caldwell--4(31) by St. Louis

LDE Stanley Knaack--6(17) by Buffalo

RDE Pat Norton--6(22) by Philly

At the beginning of late free agency, Cincy offers a trade for QB Louie Hicks. It is only a 7th-rounder, but considering that Artie Gaylor (up to 17/52) looks a good bit better than Hicks (19/41), I take the trade just to grab the extra pick.

None of my draftees this year suffer significant gains or losses after training camp. It is, however, worth mentioning that former Red Elephant FL Kyle Moln, signed as an undrafted free agent last year, is up to 29/49. The trio of Moln, Alfred Whitlow (29/49), and Herb Boone (45/51) look like they could all be legit NFL receivers. QB Artie Gaylor came out of camp rated 21/52, so we may have a decent passing game soon.

Overall, the SEC talent pool was quite a bit better this year than last, and I make a lot of changes. Next year, when it stabilizes a bit, I'll look at it in more detail.

RESULTS

2006 Regular Season (2-14)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	0	Carolina Panthers	27	A.Gaylor 9-22-85	F.Lemke 9-34	V.Givens 2-26	66,300
Week 2	3	at Cleveland Browns	27	E.Daft 6-9-75	S.Van Der Linden 6-26	A.Whitlow 3-45	68,900
Week 3	7	Arizona Cardinals	30	A.Gaylor 23-34-229	F.Lemke 12-45	K.Moln 6-68	62,700
Week 4	3	at Philadelphia Eagles	38	A.Gaylor 14-27-146	F.Lemke 10-33	K.Moln 9-131	68,000
Week 5	3	Washington Redskins	13	A.Gaylor 19-32-185	F.Lemke 11-28	A.Whitlow 5-64	63,600
Week 6	3	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12	A.Gaylor 16-35-155	F.Lemke 13-38	H.Boone 5-69	61,400
Week 7	7	at Carolina Panthers	23	A.Gaylor 13-29-101	A.Gaylor 8-29	H.Boone 4-45	64,000
Week 8	Bye Week
Week 9	17	at Dallas Cowboys	35	A.Gaylor 19-42-199	A.Gaylor 6-62	K.Moln 5-75	65,700
Week 10	14	New York Giants	23	A.Gaylor 20-36-292	F.Lemke 11-63	A.Whitlow 8-112	62,700
Week 11	3	at New Orleans Saints	21	A.Gaylor 14-33-100	F.Lemke 12-41	A.Whitlow 2-32	51,800
Week 12	20	at Pittsburgh Steelers	13	A.Gaylor 23-33-166	S.Van Der Linden 5-71	H.Boone 6-64	58,500
Week 13	21	at Detroit Lions	33	A.Gaylor 15-27-227	F.Lemke 11-45	H.Boone 6-120	48,400
Week 14	0	Cincinnati Bengals	17	A.Gaylor 15-40-203	F.Lemke 11-35	W.Meidinger 4-59	60,000
Week 15	10	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	A.Gaylor 12-28-146	A.Gaylor 9-46	K.Moln 4-70	61,500
Week 16	17	Baltimore Ravens	21	A.Gaylor 15-44-162	F.Lemke 14-76	A.Whitlow 4-43	57,100
Week 17	28	New Orleans Saints	25	A.Gaylor 17-37-170	F.Lemke 17-85	K.Moln 8-85	57,100

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Artie Gaylor	521	252	2623	5.03	10	23
Team	536	261	2747	5.12	10	24

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Fabien Lemke	RB	185	653	3.52	2
Sam Van Der Linden	RB	89	342	3.84	1
Artie Gaylor	QB	79	479	6.06	2
Team	---	400	1628	4.07	7

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Herb Boone	SE	136	64	780	12.1	80	4
Kyle Moln	FL	125	63	724	11.4	65	3
Alfred Whitlow	FL	97	46	528	11.4	24	0
Jermaine Wahle	TE	39	23	156	6.7	42	0
Vinny Givens	SE	50	17	172	10.1	29	2
Team	---	533	261	2747	10.5	362	10

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
Matthew Lynn	MLB	142	35	2.0	1	2	3
Warren Sanders	SLB	87	19	1.5	2	2	6
Scott Brandon	RDT	54	22	2.0	4	0	2
Dusty Hudson	SS	52	17	0.0	0	2	6
Ike Copeland	WLB	51	26	2.5	12	0	0
Frank Fredrickson	LCB	49	11	0.0	0	0	8
Leroy Lange	RCB	36	5	0.0	0	2	5
Erik Kelley	LCB	36	8	0.0	1	0	1
Karl Cheyne	FS	35	12	0.0	0	0	4
Junior Fulcher	RDE	31	9	4.0	7	0	0
Roosevelt Connell	FS	28	14	0.0	0	2	3
Britt Barnes	LDT	27	16	1.5	4	0	1
Lenny Palmer	SLB	27	7	0.0	0	0	4
Lionel Jenkins	SS	27	8	1.0	0	0	2
Norman Hutton	RDE	27	10	5.5	4	0	0
Derek Bachechi	RDT	22	10	2.0	4	0	0
Oliver Maguire	LDT	20	14	0.0	0	0	0
Paul Roques	LCB	19	10	0.0	0	1	0
Monty Irwin	LCB	19	9	0.0	0	0	1
Team	---	886	271	24.0	40	11	50

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 400 30 (T) Rushing Yards 1628 28 Yards Per Carry 4.07 14 Pass Attempts 536 15 (T) Completions 261 32 Passing Yards 2747 32 Yards Per Attempt 5.12 32 3rd Down Conversions 37.1 27 Points Per Game 9.7 32 Turnovers 32 27 (T) Turnover Margin -13 30

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 506 30 Rushing Yards 2062 30 Yards Per Carry 4.07 20 Pass Attempts 490 2 Completions 314 23 Passing Yards 3393 17 Yards Per Attempt 6.92 26 3rd Down Conversions 42.1 17 Points Per Game 23.1 31 Turnovers 19 27 (T) Turnover Margin +13 3

Well, as the season progressed we started to show a few signs of life. MLB Lynn won his second straight 1st Team All Pro Award, and QB Gaylor had some decent games. There was really only one discouraging sign: SLB Warren Sanders, who has played well for two seasons, has to have ACL Surgery. Hopefully he'll retain his ratings.

ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

LT Wade Malley--was released by GB. I'll try to sign him in free agency next year as a backup.

FS Phillip Davis--5(28) by St. Louis--started 2 games for the Rams, but was released.

RDT Ty Bruton--3(13) by the Jets--played in 13 games, starting two. Had 12 tackles, 7 assists, 7.9 TkPct. 23/45

QB Artie Gaylor--4(1) by Atlanta--stats above.

FS Tyrone Caldwell--4(31) by St. Louis--started 11 games, played in 15, before tearing rotator cuff and going on IR.18.4 PDPct. 40 tackles, 11 assists.

LDE Stanley Knaack--6(17) by Buffalo--released by the Bills, picked up by Dallas--didn't see the field this year.

RDE Pat Norton--6(22) by Philly--Played 9 games for Eagles, starting one--released after that, pick up by Carolina, where he started 2 more games--on the whole, had 7 tackles, 3 assists, 1 sack

[Ben E Lou]

2007

We improve one staff position. We're still very, very solid here.

In free agency, there are a handful of former SEC guys who look like they could be useful at this point. I'll specifically mention the ones graded 3.5 or better who signed with me:

FB Bert Carpenter--4.8--a good FB on UGA's National Championship team, but didn't play on offense due to run and shoot. Drafted 4(12) by Seattle. Two-year starter for them. Looks like a very good run-blocker.

SS Doug Thornton--4.2--Academic All American at LSU, and a 13-game starter as well--drafted 3(12) by Indianapolis, and started last year, but wasn't all that impressive.

FL Hardy Gonzalez--4.1--729 yards receiving his Senior year at LSU, then made a 6(27) pick by the Eagles. Hasn't played much, but looks like an outstanding deep threat/kick returner. Had a 30.6 yard average as kickoff returner last season

DT Tommy Welch--3.7--13-game starter for LSU in '04, picked 3(14) by Minnesota in '05. Sporadic starter for MN, but looks to have solid potential as a run-stopper.

All of these guys were signed to low/no-bonus contracts, along with five other players graded 2.3-3.3

I have the 1(1) pick in the draft, of course, and this time it isn't that tough of a decision. The best SEC player is Tide LT Wes Babic, who is only the second-best LT in the draft. UGA QB Lionel Weber also looks intriguing, but with Gaylor looking like he's got a shot at panning out, I don't want to spend a high pick on a QB again just year, and I doubt Weber will fall. Also worth a look are LSU's TE Leonard Gray, and Florida DT Randall Walker, but neither look like Top 10 picks. I decide that my strategy is going to be as follows: trade down around #5, and if Babic is still there, take him there. If not, trade down again to around #15 and pick Gray or Walker.

As far as 'Bama players worth noting (adjusted rating 3.0 of better)...

LT Wes Babic--38/72--7.2

QB Bobby Maxfield--18/54--5.0

LT Adrian Ross--17/53--4.6

LG Matt Garner--31/53--4.5

QB Darrell Daniels--16/40--3.9

When I looked at the #4-#6 teams, I saw that MN, at #4, has a dreadful QB situation, and the other two teams have decent ones. MN's future first rounders look like they could be valuable, so I trade the #1 for 1(4), 2(4), a future third rounder, and their next two first-rounders. When the #4 pick rolls around, the tackle who is better than Babic hasn't been taken yet, so I traded down one more pick. The other T was taken 1(4), so I grab Babic at 1(5). Here's the draft in its entirety:

DRAFT

1(5)--LT Wes Babic--38/72--Alabama--A three-year starter and one-time All-SEC pick, Babic has pretty consistent ratings across the board. He'll be moved to RT, since Earnest Pleasant appears to have LT sewn up for years to come.

2(1)--LG Matt Garner--31/53--Alabama--Another three-year starter and one-time All-SEC pick. Garner will be moved to RG. Now all I need is a center to complete putting together a pretty solid-to-be offensive line.

2(4)--WLB Mickey Godfrey--34/55--UGA--One-year starter at UGA--Looks to have pretty solid ratings across the board. With SLB Warren Sanders still listed as Out (7) due to ACL surgery, Godfrey will get moved over there.

4(1)--QB Bobby Maxfield--18/54--Alabama--Didn't start at Bama, but actually had higher bars in several categories than starter Darrell Daniels. Can't pass this guy up in the fourth round, even with a decent-looking QB on the roster. Solid ratings and combine performance.

4(5)--SE Donovan Basnight--25/53--Georgia--Put up some phenomenal numbers in the run-and-shoot in Athens. Two-time All American, Three-time All-SEC. Career NCAA leader in receptions (232), receiving yards (3762), and TD's (46). A great pickup this late, I hope.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

LT Wes Babic--Atlanta--1(5)

QB Bobby Maxfield--Atlanta-4(1)

LT Adrian Ross--Seattle--3(5)

LG Matt Garner--Atlanta--2(1)

RATING CHANGES OF NOTE

QB Artie Gaylor improves to 39/58 from 21/52 last year. Looks like he is the man.

TE Jay Word continues his ratings climb. He was 18/32 originally, and now he is 39/44.

I picked up a rookie FA C from Auburn this year, by the name of Brenden Tolbert. He goes from 16/37 to 19/42 at training camp.

Also, RG Roderick Treftz from TN goes from 12/35 to 15/40.

RT Wes Babic drops to 42/63 from 38/72 at the draft.

I end up cutting FA signee FL Hardy Gonzalez, due to some strong conflicts he has. We have too many solid-looking young receivers, and a good-looking young QB to be dealing with conflicts.

The team this year looks like we won't be so terrible offensively. The line is decent, and the QB and receivers could be pretty solid. Defensively, we've still got some progressing to do, though. All in all, I wouldn't be surprised if we end up not getting the #1 pick next year.

RESULTS

2007 Regular Season (3-13)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	6	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	A.Gaylor 11-26-146	F.Lemke 12-46	S.Van Der Linden 2-77	55,500
Week 2	9	at Houston Texans	13	A.Gaylor 14-32-153	F.Lemke 13-39	H.Boone 4-51	64,600
Week 3	17	Minnesota Vikings	16	A.Gaylor 17-31-194	F.Lemke 10-36	H.Boone 4-68	51,900
Week 4	13	Seattle Seahawks	24	A.Gaylor 17-36-172	A.Gaylor 9-53	D.Basnight 5-58	54,700
Week 5	Bye Week
Week 6	0	at Arizona Cardinals	30	A.Gaylor 12-30-82	A.Gaylor 11-63	H.Boone 3-21	40,500
Week 7	17	Carolina Panthers	27	A.Gaylor 15-35-178	F.Lemke 19-44	D.Basnight 3-91	56,900
Week 8	24	at San Francisco 49ers	13	A.Gaylor 14-24-207	F.Lemke 28-96	K.Moln 4-109	58,400
Week 9	14	St. Louis Rams	27	A.Gaylor 20-42-195	F.Lemke 14-30	H.Boone 10-97	59,000
Week 10	10	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	A.Gaylor 19-32-165	F.Lemke 15-51	H.Boone 10-81	63,300
Week 11	23	New Orleans Saints	10	A.Gaylor 20-36-209	A.Gaylor 9-65	H.Boone 7-92	47,600
Week 12	22	at Tennessee Titans	38	A.Gaylor 20-43-301	F.Lemke 12-29	J.Wahle 7-87	64,900
Week 13	10	at Washington Redskins	24	A.Gaylor 13-36-147	F.Lemke 13-49	H.Boone 4-52	78,200
Week 14	30	Jacksonville Jaguars	31	A.Gaylor 24-48-280	A.Gaylor 10-76	K.Moln 8-123	49,100
Week 15	14	at New Orleans Saints	19	A.Gaylor 22-46-195	F.Lemke 15-60	K.Moln 7-84	44,700
Week 16	10	Indianapolis Colts	24	A.Gaylor 14-30-176	F.Lemke 13-32	H.Boone 4-86	51,200
Week 17	3	at Carolina Panthers	21	A.Gaylor 15-49-103	F.Lemke 11-79	A.Whitlow 6-37	64,800

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Artie Gaylor	576	267	2903	5.03	10	17
Team	583	270	2932	5.02	11	17

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Fabien Lemke	RB	228	740	3.24	2
Artie Gaylor	QB	93	568	6.10	4
Sam Van Der Linden	RB	61	227	3.72	2
Team	---	442	1766	3.99	11

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Herb Boone	SE	166	76	840	11.0	168	4
Kyle Moln	FL	145	60	731	12.1	127	3
Donovan Basnight	SE	93	42	450	10.7	80	1
Jermaine Wahle	TE	51	30	270	9.0	42	0
Alfred Whitlow	FL	53	27	288	10.6	33	0
Team	---	582	270	2932	10.8	565	11

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
Matthew Lynn	MLB	87	24	2.0	0	0	5
Scott Brandon	RDT	64	24	1.0	1	0	0
Doug Thornton	SS	57	21	0.0	0	8	10
Mickey Godfrey	SLB	55	22	2.0	1	0	4
Roosevelt Connell	FS	53	18	0.0	0	0	4
Frank Fredrickson	LCB	51	21	0.0	0	1	9
Tommy Welch	LDT	49	25	2.5	15	0	1
Ike Copeland	WLB	47	17	3.0	7	1	3
Leroy Lange	RCB	42	10	0.0	0	1	10
Warren Sanders	SLB	40	14	1.0	0	1	2
Seth Constable	MLB	35	15	0.0	1	0	3
Junior Fulcher	RDE	30	13	1.5	12	0	1
Paul Roques	LCB	29	9	2.0	0	2	3
Junior Horn	LDE	28	6	6.0	13	0	0
Rico Norris	RCB	28	13	0.0	0	3	3
Earnest Mathews	WLB	21	3	0.0	0	1	0
Alfred Whitlow	FL	16	0	0.0	0	0	0
Team	---	835	277	24.0	63	18	61

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 442 16 Rushing Yards 1766 17 Yards Per Carry 3.99 14 (T) Pass Attempts 583 3 Completions 270 27 Passing Yards 2932 26 Yards Per Attempt 5.02 30 3rd Down Conversions 35.3 28 Points Per Game 13.8 29 Turnovers 28 22 (T) Turnover Margin -4 22 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 475 25 Rushing Yards 1981 26 (T) Yards Per Carry 4.17 24 (T) Pass Attempts 510 10 (T) Completions 295 10 Passing Yards 3287 15 Yards Per Attempt 6.44 19 3rd Down Conversions 41.1 14 Points Per Game 21.6 30 Turnovers 24 15 (T) Turnover Margin +4 10 (T)

Well, only one more win than last year, and tied with NO and MN for the worst record. Glad we have the MN draft pick. We had too many dropped balls (45, which looks like it led the league) to take the passing game to the next level. The defense made a move toward mediocrity this year. I think next year we could see some marked improvement.

NOTABLE ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

RCB Rodney Poole--signed as an undrafted rookie FA by Cincy this year. Played all 15 games, started 7. 19.0 PD pct, 27 tackles, 5 assists.

FS Tyrone Caldwell--2nd-year man started 12 games for the Rams. 34 tackles, 10 assists, 1 sack.

[Ben E Lou]

2008

Staff stays as-is. Still quite strong.

Free agency this year is the ol' "calm before the storm." The fifth-year guys available next year will surely give us the ability to sign some actual talent. At any rate, I make a few signings. Here are the ones worth noting (above 3.5 rating) at this point:

RDE Allen Hagood--4.4--Fourth-year man had 7 sacks and 13 hurries in 10 games fro LSU in '04 before missing the rest of the year with a severe hammy pull. Has played with Tampa Bay, starting the last two seasons. He's a pass-rush specialist. Had 7.5 sacks in '06 for the Bucs.

WLB Clay Mathews--4.2--Third-year player from Clarke Central and UGA was a part-time starter on UGA's Top 5 teams in '04 and '05. He was drafted by Denver, and after a year on the bench has blossomed into a pretty good-looking, rated 43/54. Will start at WLB for us.

RB Marcus Lage--4.7--He's a fourth-year player from USC. Starter for the Gamecocks in '04, averaging 4.7 ypc in a pass-oriented offense. Drafted by Oakland and has 1132 yards and 10 TD's in 3 seasons as a backup. Lage has very good receiving ratings, and will be used as a RB2/WR3 for us in all likelihood.

None of these guys got big contracts.

I have the 1(1) pick in the draft, once again. The #1 player overall according to my adjusted draft ratings is LCB Andy Hedges from Florida. He's also--by far--the best CB available in the draft. He was a two-year starter for the Gators. A no-brainer as the 1(1) pick. I also have the 1(3) pick. The best-looking option is a receiver from Florida named Michael Mannelly. Mannelly is the best receiver in the draft, and a worthy Top 10 pick. However, there are three or four other SEC WR's who are first-round worthy, so I trade down to #10 in the first round to see what's available there.

As far as 'Bama players worth noting this year... (adjusted rating 3.0 of better)...

SS Dean Bills--21/65--5.1

SLB Benjamin Reid--15/54--4.2

LCB Will Kimble--10/42--3.6

RDT Rusty Shapiro--11/37--3.4

Here's the draft on the whole:

DRAFT

1(1)--LCB Andy Hedges--28/72--Florida--If his bars are to be believed, he should be a great shut-down corner for us.

1(10)--SE Michael Mannelly--43/64--Florida--This guy was 2nd-Team All America and first-team All-SEC. He should give us another very good receiver. He'll probably be moved to flanker, and become our WR3 this year. Surprised, but happy, that he fell this far.

2(1)--LG Sherman Hitchcock--23/59--UGA--Hitchcock was a 2-year starter in Athens, with a 33.6 career KRBPct. He's got some nice-looking bars, and pretty solid development. He'll get moved to RG for us.

3(1)--FS J.B. Craig--34/54--Tennessee--3-year starter, one-time All SEC. Solid pass defense and run support. Should be an immediate starter at FS.

3(3)--C Bruce WIlkerson--19/58--Tennessee--2-year starter for the Vols. 36.1 Pct overall. Should be good enough to step in and start immediately for us.

4(1)--LDE Ken McLaughlin--29/38--Tennessee--2-year starter. 10.5 sacks in 9 games before missing several due to injury his Senior year. Looks like he'll be strong pass-rushing, weak against the run.

5(1)--WILB Bennie Ingram--37/61--LSU--3-year starter. 2-time All SEC. I have a very good starting MLB, but he got hurt and missed half of last season. Hard to pass up this kind of talent in the 5th round, especially since I am at my last pick of the draft.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

SS Dean Bills--21/65--5.1--2(15) by Philly

SLB Benjamin Reid--15/54--4.2--4(17) by SD

RATING CHANGES OF NOTE

Michael Mannelly is down to 44/58, but still looks like he'll be a solid contributor. Bruce Wilkerson, however is now 21/47, and his ability to contribute is in doubt. Ken McLaughlin is looking like a potential breakout guy, as he's up to 32/45.

Entering the regular season, this does not look like a bad football team on paper. We've got a 52 power rating, 5th-worst in the NFC. It is reasonable to think we might win 5-7 games this year.

RESULTS

2008 Regular Season (5-11)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	13	New Orleans Saints	23	B.Maxfield 11-25-159	F.Lemke 13-55	M.Mannelly 6-118	59,000
Week 2	26	San Diego Chargers	13	L.Hicks 15-26-168	M.Lage 30-163	H.Boone 6-66	54,000
Week 3	7	at Seattle Seahawks	23	L.Hicks 12-33-121	W.Douglas 7-35	K.Moln 7-73	46,200
Week 4	10	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	B.Maxfield 13-22-176	F.Lemke 13-63	K.Moln 6-98	62,500
Week 5	14	Carolina Panthers	27	B.Maxfield 16-29-207	M.Lage 7-21	M.Mannelly 4-93	57,700
Week 6	23	Minnesota Vikings	21	B.Maxfield 21-36-288	F.Lemke 17-43	M.Mannelly 6-112	51,900
Week 7	7	at Green Bay Packers	17	B.Maxfield 13-25-148	F.Lemke 9-21	H.Boone 1-48	69,700
Week 8	24	Detroit Lions	21	B.Maxfield 17-26-226	F.Lemke 10-50	H.Boone 4-97	59,000
Week 9	10	at Chicago Bears	14	B.Maxfield 14-25-169	F.Lemke 18-68	H.Boone 4-100	54,700
Week 10	24	at New Orleans Saints	21	B.Maxfield 21-30-263	F.Lemke 15-64	H.Boone 5-89	61,900
Week 11	Bye Week
Week 12	24	Oakland Raiders	14	B.Maxfield 25-33-239	F.Lemke 13-49	H.Boone 4-49	57,700
Week 13	3	Washington Redskins	10	B.Maxfield 17-36-131	F.Lemke 13-51	M.Mannelly 4-50	62,600
Week 14	17	at Kansas City Chiefs	23	B.Maxfield 18-33-255	B.Maxfield 5-16	K.Moln 4-94	89,400
Week 15	10	at Carolina Panthers	20	B.Maxfield 18-36-170	M.Lage 7-37	K.Moln 5-47	66,500
Week 16	3	at Denver Broncos	41	B.Maxfield 11-23-93	F.Lemke 7-26	H.Boone 5-28	75,600
Week 17	34	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	40	B.Maxfield 24-33-386	F.Lemke 15-78	H.Boone 7-153	62,600

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Bobby Maxfield	412	239	2910	7.06	12	17
Louie Hicks	74	32	347	4.68	2	3
Team	521	294	3505	6.72	15	21

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Fabien Lemke	RB	172	614	3.56	4
Marcus Lage	RB	148	567	3.83	5
Bobby Maxfield	QB	32	98	3.06	0
Team	---	393	1438	3.65	10

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Herb Boone	SE	112	57	861	15.1	132	5
Michael Mannelly	FL	91	54	774	14.3	73	4
Kyle Moln	FL	100	47	659	14.0	86	1
Marcus Lage	RB	43	28	218	7.7	67	0
Donovan Basnight	SE	54	27	316	11.7	31	1
Jermaine Wahle	TE	31	22	220	10.0	53	0
William Meidinger	TE	38	20	182	9.1	52	1
Team	---	520	294	3505	11.9	606	15

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
Mickey Godfrey	SLB	75	20	4.0	3	0	4
Peter Benton	SS	74	26	0.0	0	1	7
Bennie Ingram	MLB	72	28	0.5	1	3	3
Andy Hedges	LCB	71	14	0.0	1	3	21
J.B. Craig	FS	70	26	0.0	0	2	9
Leroy Lange	RCB	57	15	0.0	0	1	9
Scott Brandon	RDT	51	22	3.5	2	0	0
Clay Mathews	WLB	37	11	1.5	0	0	2
Julio Brooks	RDE	34	16	3.5	5	0	0
Matthew Lynn	MLB	33	14	1.0	0	1	1
Earnest Mathews	WLB	27	5	2.0	0	1	2
Warren Sanders	SLB	26	12	0.0	2	0	0
Doug Thornton	SS	24	6	0.0	0	0	0
Ken McLaughlin	LDE	24	8	3.5	4	0	0
Ty Bruton	RDT	22	7	4.0	2	0	0
Ike Copeland	WLB	21	8	1.5	10	0	1
Rico Norris	RCB	20	3	0.0	0	0	1
Frank Fredrickson	LCB	19	10	0.0	0	0	1
Harry Scott	RDT	16	6	1.5	2	0	0
Team	---	875	280	34.0	51	13	61

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 393 31 Rushing Yards 1438 30 Yards Per Carry 3.65 26 Pass Attempts 521 21 Completions 294 26 Passing Yards 3505 18 Yards Per Attempt 6.72 15 3rd Down Conversions 37.5 26 (T) Points Per Game 15.5 26 Turnovers 23 13 (T) Turnover Margin -3 19 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 473 22 (T) Rushing Yards 1710 10 Yards Per Carry 3.61 3 Pass Attempts 528 12 (T) Completions 338 29 Passing Yards 3749 27 Yards Per Attempt 7.10 28 3rd Down Conversions 45.9 26 (T) Points Per Game 21.3 26 Turnovers 20 24 (T) Turnover Margin +3 11 (T)

KEY INJURIES

LDT Tommy Welch required ACL Surgery after Game 3, and missed the rest of the year.

Disaster struck our QB's in Week 4. Louie Hicks (ACL Surgery) and Artie Gaylor (RCS) both ended up on the IR with career-threatening injuries. Bobby Maxfield was named the starter, but just in case, since it was before the trade deadline, I traded for the only obtainable SEC QB from another roster: Marc Kraus, formerly of Tennessee, was picked up from Jax. Then, in Week 5, MLB Matthew Lynn went out for the year with MCL Damage, making me quite happy that I drafted Bennie Ingram this year. Finally, in the penultimate game of the season, I lost RT Web Babic to a torn rotator cuff. Lots of guys potentially taking ratings hits next season.

Well, it was a noticeable improvement over the past, even with my best two QB's missing nearly all of the year. We were in nearly every game this year, and won 5 of 'em, and we even beat a playoff team in NFC North Division Champ Detroit. Neither QB Artie Gaylor nor Louie Hicks is likely to be healthy by the beginning of the 2009 regular season. In fact, it looks like Gaylor will miss *all* of 2009. That being said, if RT Wes Babic and MLB Matthew Lynn can return up to full speed, .500 doesn't seem to be out of the question next year.

NOTABLE ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

Not really much to talk about.

[Ben E Lou]

2009

Staff stays as-is. Still quite strong.

Well, time for this dynasty to get interesting, because it is year five, which means that some solid players should be available via free agency, and that I might have to start shelling out big bucks to keep some guys. First off, I franchise MLB Matthew Lynn, and sign him to a five-year deal. Also worth noting is that a signee from last year, RB Marcus Lage, has become a mentor already. Nice! To update injured players, LDT Tommy Welch and QB Artie Gaylor both have injuries that will cause them to miss most/all of this season, and both have their contracts run out now. Neither is re-signed. QB Louie Hicks will probably miss all of this year, but may end up getting an extension near the end of the year.

As far as free agency goes, I simply go down and look position-by-position and see if there's an SEC player in his 5th year or less who could make the team. Here are the new signees:

QB Ralph Davison--4.1--Backup. Very low bonus contract.

QB Dusty Goldman--4.1--Has a chance to start. 84.8 passer rating as starter in Houston last year. Was a Senior in '04 for Auburn. Started three games there, then got hurt.

RB Ernie Shannon--5.1--1(20) pick for SD out of UGA in '05. Has gained over 2300 yards in past two seasons. Didn't get many carries in Athens, due to run and shoot offense. Will be in the RB mix with Lemke and Lage.

RB Zach Shipp--4.3--Don't know where I'm gonna put all these RB's on the roster, but couldn't pass this guy up. Has averaged around 4.5 ypc over last two seasons a a back with Dallas and Miami. Solid '04 for LSU despite playing in pass-oriented offense.

LT Nicky Schneider--3.0--Signed to 2-year, no-bonus deal. Solid-looking run-blocking potential. 2nd-team All-SEC in '05 for Vols. Will back up at both tackles.

RDE Rusty Hooks--4.2--5th-year man started a couple of years ago for the Steelers. Could start at LDE.

RDT Bryant Gordon--4.9--Three-year starter for the Dolphins. Played at UGA. From Carver in Columbus. 1st-Team All SEC DT. Likely starter at LDT.

SLB Ken Finley--4.7--Spent three years with the Lions, started one. UGA Class of '05. One-year starter for the Dawgs. Will back up.

One year, no-bonus deal.

WLB Scottie Lee--6.0--1(27) pick for Philly in '05. Has started there last three seasons. 1st Team All SEC in '04. Will start

LCB Troy Davison--3.9--Nickel/part-time guy for TB for last two seasons, as he was at LSU for three. Not expected to start, but should make team.

SS Dwayne Sudderth--4.3--Part-time starter for the Rams last year, backup for three previous seasons. Uneventful '04 at USC. No-bonus deal. Will be a backup if he makes team at all.

II have the 2, 6, and 23 picks in Round 1. The three guys that I see as targets are the top DE, the Top S, and the 2nd-best corner. The DE looks like he should go around #4. Being a safety, he's a bit of a crap shoot. The game has him at #7 in adjusted rating, but I'm going to gamble a little and trade down to #12 or so for him. The CB only has a 10 current rating, so he's a guy I'd like to wait until late in the first round to grab if I do get him.

There are several 'Bama players adjusted to >3.0 this year:

RCB Amos Donaldson--5.8--10/68

C Lester Wagner--4.4--31/58

K C.J. Cunningham--3.7--39/68

WILB Roosevelt Dakota--3.5--9/44

RDE O.J. Flannery--3.4--16/36

LCB Burt Liwienski--3.2--11/36

RDT Reuben Newman--3.1--15/33

MLB Burt Lang--3.1--13/37

DRAFT

1(4)--RDE Rex Earnest--45/64--Florida--He was the #16 player in the nation, and the 3rd-ranked DE, from Mandarin HS in Jacksonville, FL. At Mandarin, he had 74 tackles and 11.5 sacks as a 229-pound Senior. He idolized the Gators from the start. Earnest carried a 3.70 GPA, scored 1308 on the SAT, was was named to the Florida HS All State team. As a Gator, he played some as a true Freshman, then started for his final three seasons. Was a First-Team All-American and SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2008 with 67 tackles and 24 sacks. He comes to us as a 266-pounder, better at run stopping than pass rushing, and looking like he'll be an immediate starter at LDE. He drops to 45/62 upon being drafted.

The Safety I wanted went at #9, so I missed out on him. I trade down again.

1(28)--RCB Amos Donaldson--10/68--Alabama--Was in the original TCY player pool, so no HS info. I didn't like his weak run defense ratings (32/51 as a Senior), so I never started him in the secondary. However, he played all 52 games as the nickel back. Picking up 7 INT's and compiling a 20.2 PDPct. If he fully develops to his potential, he'll be very valuable. Until then, he'll be in a familiar role: moved to LCB and playing the nickel position. Drops to 10/65.

2(12)--SLB Ernie Castillo--29/53--Florida--This guy's combine scores were through the roof. Hard to pass him up, even though I'm looking pretty good at SLB. He was recruited out of Leto High in Tampa, the #38 player in the land, and the #2 OLB. Like Rex Earnest, he played as a true freshman, and started for the next three seasons. He gathered 143 tackles, 31 of them for losses, in the three seasons he started. Castillo is a quite intelligent, garnering a 3.79 GPA in Dif EQ's, scoring 33 on the Sol. Test, and being named a three-time Academic All American. He remains at 29/53 upon being drafted, but could increase in ratings if moved to MLB.

4(9)--FB Sammie Gray--30/53--UGA--Never got to start, due to the UGA ran and shoot. Looks like he could be a solid inside runner for us, and very good run and pass blocker. Drops to 30/49 upon being drafted.

4(22)--K C.J. Cunningham--39/68--Alabama--My kicker only hit 58.8% of his FG attempts last year. Cunningham was named to the All-Sec Team 3 times, and a first-teamer as a Senior. He's 39/65 after the draft.

5(26)--LCB Marshall Hatcher--13/42--Tennessee--Two-year starter for the Vols. 2nd-Team All-SEC in '07. Has good coverage potential. Will probably never start, but could be valuable as nickel/dime back. Will move to RCB for now. 12/42 after draft.

7(22)--SS Reggie Taxin--15/48--Tennessee--One-year starter for UT. Might have some decent run-stopping skill. 15/46 after draft.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

RCB Amos Donaldson--5.8--10/68--1(28) by Atlanta

C Lester Wagner--4.4--31/58--2(27) by New England

K C.J. Cunningham--3.7--39/68--4(22) by Atlanta

RDE O.J. Flannery--3.4--16/36--6(26) by Seattle

RDT Reuben Newman--3.1--15/33--6(1) by San Diego

Because I can afford to keep them under the cap, I sign DT Welch and QB Gaylor to 2-year deals. If they fully recover, they'll play in 2010 for me.

I come out of training camp with 8 OLB's under contract, with 6 of them ranging from 51-62 in future potential. I trade away SLB Warren Sanders, who had a mild conflict, and WLB Clay Matthews, for a backup C from Auburn and a 2nd-round draft pick. I also trade WLB Earnest Matthews. I pick up rookie RB George Huffman from Florida, who I immediately switch to FL, where he has some solid potential, along with a 4th-round pick. Finally, I trade TE Jay Word for P Terry Robbins, from LSU, who is rated 65/65.

RATING CHANGES OF NOTE

K Cunningham drops to 40/58, but still should be much better than previous one.

LCB Amos Donaldson drops to 12/56, and I'm now quite concerned about him not living up to anywhere near his potential.

2009 53-MAN ROSTER REPORT

(I ended up cutting FA Signee SLB Ken Finley.)

**--injured

##-inactive

Game 1 starters bolded and underlined.

PLAYER	POS	EXP	CUR	FUT	CNTRCT	COMMENTS
**Gaylor, Artie	QB	4	54	58	2 yr	On IR. Was showing signs of being a very good QB. Here's hoping he can return.
##Davison, Ralph	QB	4	41	42	2 yr	Had an unimpressive preseason, but looks like he might be a decent backup one day.
Goldman, Dusty	QB	5	39	42	3 yr	Just ok bar ratings, but 84.8 passer rating last season, and strong preseason.
Maxfield, Bobby	QB	3	34	45	2 yr	Had a half-decent year as starter for most of last season. #3 on the depth chart for now.
**Hicks, Louie	QB	5	31	40	1 yr	Looks like he has potential, but also on IR.
Daniels, Darrell	QB	3	31	49	2 yr	Had a pretty solid preseason. #2 this year, but has yet to play a regular season snap.
Lage, Marcus	RB	5	44	47	2 yr	Mentor. RB2, 3rd-down back. Can catch it out of the backfield quite well.
**Shannon, Ernie	RB	5	43	46	3 yr	Could be decent, but stashed on IR with 5-wk injury to to RB glut.
##Shipp, Zach	RB	5	43	43	3 yr	Backfield leader, solid past two seasons as backup in Dal and Mia
Lemke, Fabien	RB	5	41	41	3 yr	Has been our starter from Day 1. Now with a decent line, time to produce.
Douglas, Warren	RB	2	40	53	1 yr	Former undrafted free agent is coming on strong. Wil be RB3, with starter PT set to 1.
Carpenter, Bert	FB	5	46	46	2 yr	Very good run blocker.
Gray, Sammie	FB	1	32	48	4 yr	Also could develop into strong run blocker.
Meidinger, William	TE	4	56	56	1 yr	Great run blocker. Can catch it if thrown to him, but not great at getting open.
Conwell, Sedrick	TE	5	47	52	2 yr	Great run blocker. Good on third down.
**Wahle, Jermaine	TE	4	46	47	2 yr	Stashed away on IR to save a roster spot. Good run blocker and can get open.
##Mannelly, Michael	FL	2	57	61	4 yr	Sill start by Week 4 at latest. Minor injury has him Out.
Moln, Kyle	FL	5	48	53	5 yr	Former undrafted FA will move to WR3 when Mannelly returns.
Huffman, George	FL	1	19	51	4 yr	Acquired via trade. Switched from RB, and has some very good potential as a receiver.
Boone, Herb	SE	5	56	56	2 yr	One of the fastest men in the league. Definite deep threat.
Basnight, Donovan	SE	3	33	46	2 yr	Pretty solid ratings for a fourth WR. Could contribute.
Tolbert, Brenden	C	3	37	48	1 yr	Beter at pass blocking than run blocking.
##Gietka, Conrad	C	4	34	36	1 yr	Ditto Tolbert
Wilkerson, Bruce	C	2	26	41	3 yr	About equal run and pass blocking, so gets the start.
Ahrens, Lawrence	LG	4	58	58	4 yr	Has developed into a solid starter.
##Hitchcock, Sherman	RG	2	47	63	2 yr	Will be back by Week 4 at latest to start. Minor injury. Another solid one.
Garner, Matt	RG	3	32	35	2 yr	Not really starter material, but will be decent backup for Hitchcock.
Nelson, Gino	RG	3	24	41	2 yr	Another decent backup.
Pleasant, Earnest	LT	4	73	73	2 yr	Rated 96 in pass blocking. Only allowed 3 sacks last season in 16 starts.
Schneider, Nicky	LT	4	27	44	2 yr	Run-blcoking backup.
Babic, Wes	RT	3	56	56	3 yr	Hopefully he can improve on the 9 sacks he allowed last season. Balanced.
Bennett, Peter	RT	5	35	42	1 yr	Better at pass blocking (36/45) and strength (58). Good little backup.
**Robbins, Terry	P	5	65	65	2 yr	Will be back by Week 5. Minor injury.
Cunningham, C.J.	K	1	42	58	4 yr	Will have to punt and kick for the first few weeks.
Earnest, Rex	LDE	1	48	61	5 yr	Looks like he could be an outstanding run stopper, and solid pass rusher.
McLaughlin, Ken	LDE	2	39	48	3 yr	Pass-rush specialist. (45/78 technique, 82 strength)
Hagood, Allen	RDE	5	48	51	1 yr	Also a pass rusher. (85/90 technique, 44 strength)
Hooks, Rusty	RDE	5	42	48	3 yr	Better at run stopping than rushing the QB.
**Welch, Tommy	LDT	5	44	47	2 yr	On IR. Very solid run stopper if he can return to form next year.
Gordon, Bryant	RDT	4	47	52	3 yr	52/62 against the run.
Brandon, Scott	RDT	4	43	45	2 yr	76/86 against the run. Former undrafted FA. Has started for 3 seasons.
Melsha, Billy Joe	RDT	5	33	43	1 yr	Pass-rush specialist for Brandon (54/84 technique, 56 strength)
Lynn, Matthew	MLB	5	51	51	5 yr	Two-time 1st Team All Pro.
Ingram, Bennie	MLB	2	50	60	2 yr	Would be a starter on most teams, and may be before the year is out.
Godfrey, Mickey	SLB	3	47	51	1 yr	Struggles in pass coverage, but very good agisnt the run.
Castillo, Ernie	SLB	1	33	53	3 yr	Could be better than Godfrey eventually. 41/87 run defense.
Lee, Scottie	WLB	5	57	62	2 yr	My first signifcant FA signee.
Copeland, Ike	WLB	5	38	40	1 yr	I use him as pass-rush DE mainly. 86 technique, 76 strength.
Hedges, Andy	LCB	2	50	73	4 yr	2nd-Team All Pro as a rookie last year. Looks like he has all the tools.
Davison, Troy	LCB	3	39	48	3 yr	Pretty balanced at run and pass defense. Good backup.
Donaldson, Amos	LCB	1	12	56	5 yr	If he can develop, he'll be quite valuable, but he's dropped in potential since draft.
Lange, Leroy	RCB	5	46	53	3 yr	Not great, but not bad, either.
##Hatcher, Marshall	RCB	1	15	42	3 yr	Has some coverage potential, and could therefore be nickel or dime guy soon.
Thornton, Doug	SS	5	49	54	1 yr	Pretty good all-around SS. Better at pass coverage than run support, though.
Sudderth, Dwayne	SS	5	41	51	2 yr	Similar to Thornton, just slightly lower ratings.
**Hudson, Dusty	SS	4	41	47	3 yr	On IR with minor injury to save roster spot.
Benton, Peter	SS	4	40	42	1 yr	Balanced run and pass guy.
Craig, J.B.	FS	2	49	55	3 yr	Balanced run and pass. High interception rating.
##Taxin, Reggie	FS	1	15	43	3 yr	7(22) pick has some potential if he pans out.

We're mediocre at pretty much every position this year. I could see us improving on last year, and winning 6-8 games.

RESULTS

2009 Regular Season (4-12)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	17	at Carolina Panthers	20	D.Goldman 11-28-181	F.Lemke 16-79	K.Moln 5-80	67,400
Week 2	12	at New York Jets	13	D.Goldman 18-36-223	F.Lemke 14-46	H.Boone 5-119	91,600
Week 3	16	at Arizona Cardinals	41	D.Goldman 11-28-166	F.Lemke 7-62	M.Mannelly 6-98	38,500
Week 4	24	at Philadelphia Eagles	19	D.Goldman 20-35-231	F.Lemke 18-119	H.Boone 5-74	66,900
Week 5	23	Washington Redskins	41	D.Goldman 17-33-289	F.Lemke 7-43	M.Mannelly 4-82	41,100
Week 6	12	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	34	D.Goldman 14-35-177	F.Lemke 8-48	D.Basnight 7-76	63,800
Week 7	24	Carolina Panthers	38	D.Goldman 26-40-362	M.Lage 7-32	D.Basnight 3-100	39,100
Week 8	Bye Week
Week 9	3	at Dallas Cowboys	37	D.Goldman 13-28-107	F.Lemke 12-52	M.Mannelly 5-46	73,700
Week 10	26	New York Giants	34	D.Goldman 19-36-350	F.Lemke 9-32	M.Mannelly 5-139	33,400
Week 11	22	New Orleans Saints	24	D.Goldman 11-23-120	M.Lage 8-28	H.Boone 7-86	41,900
Week 12	16	at New England Patriots	40	D.Goldman 9-23-155	F.Lemke 21-66	H.Boone 4-105	67,300
Week 13	14	Minnesota Vikings	38	D.Goldman 11-25-141	M.Lage 7-44	D.Basnight 2-45	32,700
Week 14	19	Miami Dolphins	14	D.Goldman 18-31-204	M.Lage 12-71	H.Boone 4-117	27,500
Week 15	22	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	12	D.Goldman 16-30-204	F.Lemke 20-73	K.Moln 3-57	33,400
Week 16	9	Buffalo Bills	35	D.Goldman 11-17-122	F.Lemke 11-40	M.Mannelly 4-60	41,100
Week 17	20	at New Orleans Saints	17	D.Goldman 15-26-257	F.Lemke 14-55	H.Boone 6-97	67,400

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Dusty Goldman	474	240	3289	6.93	16	11
Team	502	253	3475	6.92	19	13

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Fabien Lemke	RB	200	843	4.21	4
Marcus Lage	RB	123	516	4.19	6
Dusty Goldman	QB	32	121	3.78	0
Team	---	381	1597	4.19	11

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Herb Boone	SE	111	55	1091	19.8	305	8
Michael Mannelly	FL	104	51	774	15.1	145	3
Donovan Basnight	SE	87	42	521	12.4	38	2
George Huffman	FL	59	24	370	15.4	44	4
Marcus Lage	RB	31	20	139	6.9	65	0
Team	---	500	253	3475	13.7	728	19

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
J.B. Craig	FS	87	27	0.0	1	2	11
Ernie Castillo	SLB	78	16	3.0	4	1	3
Matthew Lynn	MLB	67	21	0.0	1	0	4
Doug Thornton	SS	66	21	0.0	0	1	5
Bennie Ingram	MLB	62	18	2.0	1	0	2
Leroy Lange	RCB	52	9	0.0	0	0	7
Andy Hedges	LCB	51	16	0.0	0	1	6
Troy Davison	LCB	50	10	1.0	1	0	9
Scott Brandon	RDT	45	13	0.5	2	0	0
Bryant Gordon	RDT	44	18	0.5	6	0	0
Rex Earnest	LDE	42	17	3.5	9	0	0
Billy Joe Melsha	RDT	28	17	0.0	6	0	0
Ike Copeland	WLB	28	20	2.0	6	0	0
Rusty Hooks	RDE	23	15	1.5	4	0	0
Dwayne Sudderth	SS	23	9	0.0	0	0	4
Alan Cote	WLB	20	7	0.0	1	0	2
Scottie Lee	WLB	17	8	0.0	2	0	0
Ken McLaughlin	LDE	17	10	2.0	6	0	0
Team	---	916	288	17.0	52	6	56

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 381 31 Rushing Yards 1597 29 Yards Per Carry 4.19 7 Pass Attempts 502 27 Completions 253 32 Passing Yards 3475 23 Yards Per Attempt 6.92 18 3rd Down Conversions 30.4 32 Points Per Game 17.4 23 Turnovers 19 5 (T) Turnover Margin -7 23 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 547 32 Rushing Yards 2365 32 Yards Per Carry 4.32 28 (T) Pass Attempts 487 4 Completions 329 30 Passing Yards 3752 24 Yards Per Attempt 7.70 31 3rd Down Conversions 48.1 28 Points Per Game 28.5 32 Turnovers 12 31 Turnover Margin +7 9 (T)

KEY INJURIES

No huge ones, but a host of minor stuff. I don't think we *ever* played our projected "best 11" on defense on all year long due to 4-game injuries here, 6-game injuries there, etc. Only one guy went on IR: RDE Allen Hagood with a torn Quad in Week 5, but only 3 defensive players started all 16 games.

Overall, I was a little disappointed, but I guess I shouldn't have expected quite so much, given that we had a new QB, and are still near the bottom in cohesion in every category. The good news is that we may have QB Artie Gaylor back for next season. He's Out (13) at the moment, so I'll know what I'm dealing with when the new season starts.

NOTABLE ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

RDE O.J. Flannery, drafted 6(26), got 4 starts for Seattle, and had 3.5 sacks on the season. His bars are looking pretty good for a late-round pick. He could become something.

[Ben E Lou]

2010

Staff stays as-is. Still quite strong.

Unfortunately, QB Artie Gaylor drops to 33/37, and LDT Tommy Welch to 24/26.

TE William Meidinger gets the franchise tag.

Something interesting to note about building a team with this version of the game using these rules: the standard practice of just cutting guys like Artie Gaylor may not be smart. I have five QB's under contract, all of them mediocre-at-best-looking. There are also three SEC rookies in the draft pool (including Kendall Durham) with potential ratings in the 50's. Who to keep? Who to sign? Who to piss off by cutting? Since I can't get a stand-out this year, and the pool is limited, it seems to make sense that I would want to limit my cuts. As far as the future at QB, LSU did sign a QB for the 2010 season who is rated 9/100, so Lamar Raymond could be in the mix one day. Also, Mississippi State has 29/93 rated Joel Hentrich, who is scheduled to be available in the 2012 draft. Finally, Florida's Brent Dinkins (84/88) looks like more of a long-shot for 2012.

At any rate, due to the fact that I'd prefer not to have to cut a bunch of guys, and I enter free agency with 51 under contract, I am much more picky about who I sign this year, and the same will be true for the draft. No longer will I take 70+ players into camp then starting cutting them. In fact, I'd like to take <60 this year if I can.

First off, I deal away a few guys for draft picks, either in anticipation of signees at their position, or to remove players who weren't playing, but were causing conflicts: QB Darrell Daniels, QB Dusty Goldman, FB Sammie Gray Here are my signees:

Here are the new signees:

QB Lionel Weber--4.9--47/48--Could this former Dawg be the solution to our QB issues? He's a fourth-year pro, having started for Dallas since his rookie season. He had a 97.4 passer rating last season. I'm going with him for now.

SLB Floyd Walton--8.7--80/80--Had to pay big bucks to get him, but he's a true stud who has averaged nearly 100 tackles in four seasons. Played his college ball in The Swamp.

C Neal Carrillo--6.9--63/63--Shores up the only position that I was concerned about on the offensive line. 5th-year man from UGA.

That's it. Just three new FA's this year. I'll probably also start using my draft picks much more judiciously as well.

I have picks #6 and #10 in the first round, and five 2nd-rounders. Two of the three best SEC players available are not at positions-of-need. Sounds like it is time to make some trades. The one guy that is attractive to me is LDE Jesse Hatcher of LSU, but this is a DE-heavy draft. Hatcher, rated 31/62, only has the 6th-best adjusted rating among DE's, and the 30th-best overall, so it is fairly reasonable to guess that I could grab him early in the 2nd round. I'll definitely wait until at least four of the higher-rated ones are taken, as they appear to be clearly better than Hatcher.

I decide to do a little searching of other teams' rosters for 6th-year-and-under SEC players, to see if there's anyone I want to trade a pick or two for, since I have so many to deal. I'm able to wrestle former UGA star FL Vince Steed away from the Niners. Steed is rated 56/70, and looks like he'll be our best receiver. I also make an upgrade at WLB, trading Scottie Lee and a 2nd-rounder to Carolina for WLB Korey Ontiveros, a 69/69 player. We also upgrade at both safeties, trading away J.B. Craig and a 3rd-rounder for FS Andy Shelton (62/65), and Doug Thornton and a 2nd-rounder for SS Britt Kinney (64/64). Before we even draft, it looks like we've improved the team using our draft picks.

Here are the 'Bama players adjusted to >3.0 this year. Because this is the first class of actual recruited players, I'll write a little bio on each one.

SE Brady Woods--(38/60): Woods was recruited by 'Bama, LSU and UT out of Clearwater HS in Clearwater, FL. He was rated 90- by our scout, and was considered the #144 player, and #10 WR, in the nation. The 6'1", 185-pounder was an all-state player at Clearwater High, catching 69 passes for 2005 yards and 7 TD's as a HS Senior, and he also had 53 tackles, 5 sacks, and 4 INT's. Frankly, he surprised me by signing with me. He arrived in Tuscaloosa weighing 192 pounds, and red-shirted as a 27/77-rated freshman in 2005. The redshirt year was good to him, seeing him climb in ratings to 48/77. He started the year at WR3, but dislocated his shoulder in a week 2 loss at Washington, came back at midseason, but then required shoulder surgery after a week 14 blowout win against Auburn, causing him to miss the rest of the year. He finished out 2006 with 14 catches for 305 yards. 2007 saw the now-205 pound Woods given a starting job from Week 1 on, and he responded very well, catching 61 passes for 988 yards and 12 TD's, good for 2nd Team All SEC honors. With the hiring of a new scout, Woods's ratings jumped, too, to 52/91 by season's end. I had very, very high hopes for him in 2008. He reached the weight that would prove to be his max: 207. he was part of a very strong-looking WR corps, but he had a minor knee injury in Week 2, I brought him back too early, feeling like I needed him against UGA, and he ended up having to have season-ending surgery, so he only played in 3 games that year. In 2009, he broke his arm, causing him to miss 7 starts. Woods finished his career with 116 catches, 1915 yards, and 22 TD's, good for 2nd-best in our short history in all three categories. I changed scouts several times during his career, and he's a case study on TCY ratings variability: he had a future potential ranged from 69 to 91 during the course of his career. As a pro, he looks like he'll be an interesting player: a possession receiver with a penchant for dropping the ball. He's great on third down and getting open, but has very low ratings in "avoid drops". He ran the 40 in 4.44 at the combine, and turned in one of the best agility drill times of the entire class: 6.79 seconds. He only got 5 reps on the bench press.

QB Kendall Durham--(19/50): I targeted Durham, considered the #35 QB in the land and #440 player overall, from the very first week of recruiting in '04. He played at Baltimore CC, and was a dual-threat QB there, throwing for 2312 yards and 12 TD's, and rushing for 721 yards and 9 TD's. He committed the same week that Brady Woods did. Durham gained 6 pounds between his senior year and his arrival in Tuscaloosa, and showed up at 6'0", 195 pounds as a 12/62 player, after having been a 72- recruit. He redshirted in '05, and sat the bench behind Darrel Daniels in '06. By '07, he was up to 215 pounds, and a 46/72 starter. Despite carrying the ball (not including sacks) nearly 7 times a game over the course of his career, Durham never missed a start the next three years. He threw for a total of 9,233 yards, 87 TD's, and 52 INT's, good for a 137.0 rating. He was SEC MVP, 1st Team QB, and Top Offensive Play in both '08 and '09, and 2nd Team All SEC in '07. He finished his career as the all-time SEC leader in completions and passing yards. He was rated 66/85 as a Senior, and maxed out his weight at 219. As a pro, he is considered a roll-out passer, and has pretty decent ratings in most categories, although a 98 volatility rating makes him an interesting risk. He had the second-fastest 40-yard dash among QB's (4.42), and also a solid 14 reps in the bench press.

DE Dana Gillespie (22/44): Gillespie hails from the home of Bubba Blue: Bayou le Batre. He came to us as a 78+ rated recruit, the #259 player in the land, and #38 DE. He redshirted in '05, and was almost up to max weight as a 251-pounder by '06. (He's 256 now.) He was ready to start in '06. He was another very durable one, starting all 52 games of his career. He finished his career at 'Bama with 167 tackles, 47.5 sacks, and 57 hurries. He was name All SEC in '08 and '09, and he's the all-time Bama leader in sacks, and tackles for losses (76).

DRAFT

1(23)--LDE Jesse Hatcher--31/62--LSU--The other five DE's were already gone at this point, so I traded to grab this pick. Hatcher missed what would have been his final season in 2009 due to academic problems. He racked up 16.5 sacks in '08. When recruited out of East Beauregard High in De Ridder, LA, he was considered the #19 player in the nation, and the #5 DE.

3(6)--QB Malcolm Murphy--19/55--UGA--This kid outta Chestnut Ridge, PA was the #50 player in the land when recruited, and the #10 QB. At UGA, he was stuck behind some better QB's, so he only played one season on a bad team with marginal results. However, he's got talent and potential. He had a good showing at the combine, and has some promising-looking draft bars. Of the QB's remaining in the draft pool at this point, he looks like the best option overall--not just from the SEC. His drafting may mean the cutting of Artie Gaylor.

3(10)--C Tyrell Fender--29/51--Tennessee--Fender was a 2-year starter for UT, and 2-time All SEC Academic team. He had an impressive combine, and considering that I only have one good center under contract, it makes sense to grab this Jersey City, NJ native.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

SE Brady Woods--2(14) by New York Jets

RDE Dana Gillespie--5(30) by Buffalo

I head to training camp this year with only 59 players--far less than in any other season. For the first time, I feel like most of my positions are set for a bit.

RATING CHANGES OF NOTE

QB Malcolm Murphy drops to 21/48, but still looks like he could be a decent QB one day.

RG Matt Garner has a huge jump from 30/35 last year to 54/55 now. Nice! Gives us a very good option for a third guard.

STARTING LINEUP

(Players marked with an asterisk (*) are full-time Atlanta starters for the first time this year.)

Player	#	Pos	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct
*Weber, Lionel	17	QB	4	48	48	4 yrs
Lemke, Fabien	38	RB	6	41	42	4 yrs
Carpenter, Bert	23	FB	6	46	46	1 yr.
Meidinger, William	84	TE	5	56	56	5 yrs
*Steed, Vince	89	FL	4	60	70	5 yrs
Boone, Herb	87	SE	6	57	57	5 yrs
Pleasant, Earnest	75	LT	5	71	71	1 yr.
Ahrens, Lawrence	61	LG	5	57	57	3 yrs
*Carrillo, Neal	50	C	5	64	64	5 yrs
Hitchcock, Sherman	60	RG	3	57	64	1 yr.
Babic, Wes	64	RT	4	61	61	2 yrs
Earnest, Rex	72	LDE	2	53	60	4 yrs
Brandon, Scott	93	RDT	5	44	45	1 yr.
Gordon, Bryant	79	RDT	5	46	52	2 yrs
Hooks, Rusty	98	RDE	6	49	49	2 yrs
*Walton, Floyd	96	SLB	5	80	80	5 yrs
*Ingram, Bennie	54	MLB	3	55	60	1 yr.
*Ontiveros, Korey	52	WLB	6	69	69	2 yrs
Hedges, Andy	31	LCB	3	67	73	3 yrs
Lange, Leroy	49	RCB	6	46	53	4 yrs
*Kinney, Britt	36	SS	6	67	67	3 yrs
*Shelton, Andy	43	FS	6	62	64	3 yrs
Robbins, Terry	7	P	6	66	66	2 yrs
Durham, Marc	16	K	5	61	67	1 yr.

This is not a bad-looking squad by any means, although our cohesion stinks. Our preseason power rating is 71, and our roster rating is 61. We look like a solid team, maybe even a playoff team if new QB Lionel Weber can have a solid season.

RESULTS

2010 Regular Season (12-4)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	26	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	20	L.Weber 20-33-314	F.Lemke 20-98	H.Boone 5-115	36,800
Week 2	23	Cleveland Browns	17	L.Weber 27-46-340	F.Lemke 28-105	D.Basnight 6-131	38,200
Week 3	31	at Detroit Lions	20	L.Weber 23-30-265	F.Lemke 19-51	M.Mannelly 4-105	51,600
Week 4	20	Seattle Seahawks	35	B.Maxfield 16-31-195	W.Douglas 12-78	M.Mannelly 4-80	38,200
Week 5	Bye Week
Week 6	24	at Arizona Cardinals	7	B.Maxfield 15-20-152	W.Douglas 18-49	V.Steed 5-65	38,100
Week 7	21	at Carolina Panthers	6	L.Weber 19-31-228	F.Lemke 18-83	V.Steed 6-70	69,900
Week 8	14	at San Francisco 49ers	9	L.Weber 18-31-214	F.Lemke 19-76	H.Boone 5-67	70,400
Week 9	13	St. Louis Rams	10	L.Weber 22-39-244	F.Lemke 18-71	H.Boone 4-65	45,300
Week 10	17	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	L.Weber 14-27-209	W.Douglas 15-85	M.Mannelly 4-99	62,500
Week 11	10	at New Orleans Saints	23	B.Maxfield 20-35-229	F.Lemke 15-66	V.Steed 5-77	69,700
Week 12	0	Pittsburgh Steelers	24	B.Maxfield 4-12-95	W.Douglas 4-11	M.Mannelly 1-47	45,300
Week 13	45	Philadelphia Eagles	20	B.Maxfield 16-21-213	F.Lemke 24-103	V.Steed 7-111	45,300
Week 14	24	at Cincinnati Bengals	17	L.Weber 21-37-310	F.Lemke 15-84	V.Steed 5-98	58,400
Week 15	14	New Orleans Saints	15	L.Weber 12-27-118	F.Lemke 16-96	V.Steed 3-51	45,300
Week 16	17	at Baltimore Ravens	14	L.Weber 23-44-238	F.Lemke 14-58	S.Conwell 3-74	57,000
Week 17	29	Carolina Panthers	24	L.Weber 14-30-195	W.Douglas 13-69	V.Steed 4-75	45,300
2010 Playoffs				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Division	10	San Francisco 49ers	12	L.Weber 16-28-205	F.Lemke 17-65	V.Steed 3-77	45,300

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Lionel Weber	382	217	2698	7.06	14	14
Bobby Maxfield	119	71	884	7.42	4	4
Team	515	299	3691	7.16	21	18

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Fabien Lemke	RB	244	988	4.04	12
Warren Douglas	RB	170	668	3.92	5
Marcus Lage	RB	35	188	5.37	0
Team	---	488	1959	4.01	17

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Vince Steed	FL	129	69	958	13.8	205	7
Herb Boone	SE	106	57	844	14.8	167	4
Marcus Lage	RB	51	38	260	6.8	134	2
Michael Mannelly	FL	58	33	624	18.9	53	3
Donovan Basnight	SE	68	31	401	12.9	30	3
Sedrick Conwell	TE	24	18	267	14.8	41	1
Warren Douglas	RB	21	16	76	4.7	32	0
Team	---	514	299	3691	12.3	750	21

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
Bennie Ingram	MLB	106	31	2.0	0	1	2
Floyd Walton	SLB	95	27	7.5	1	3	12
Britt Kinney	SS	86	38	0.0	0	2	10
Korey Ontiveros	WLB	75	26	3.0	7	0	3
Andy Shelton	FS	71	29	0.0	0	5	10
Andy Hedges	LCB	42	11	0.0	0	0	5
Leroy Lange	RCB	37	11	0.0	1	0	4
Troy Davison	LCB	37	12	0.5	0	0	2
Scott Brandon	RDT	31	11	2.0	2	0	0
Rex Earnest	LDE	26	17	1.0	6	0	0
Rusty Hooks	RDE	24	9	3.0	2	0	0
Dwayne Sudderth	SS	24	9	0.0	0	1	2
Ken McLaughlin	LDE	24	4	12.0	23	0	0
Billy Joe Melsha	RDT	23	13	5.0	6	1	0
Matthew Lynn	MLB	18	0	1.0	0	0	0
Bryant Gordon	RDT	18	11	2.0	7	0	0
Ernie Castillo	SLB	17	5	2.5	1	1	1
Team	---	877	283	43.0	57	15	55

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 488 6 (T) Rushing Yards 1959 10 Yards Per Carry 4.01 13 Pass Attempts 515 20 Completions 299 21 (T) Passing Yards 3691 8 Yards Per Attempt 7.16 7 3rd Down Conversions 45.0 9 Points Per Game 20.5 11 Turnovers 22 13 (T) Turnover Margin +4 11 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 451 14 (T) Rushing Yards 1727 10 Yards Per Carry 3.82 11 (T) Pass Attempts 504 6 (T) Completions 316 23 Passing Yards 3470 14 Yards Per Attempt 6.88 21 3rd Down Conversions 37.6 4 Points Per Game 17.1 4 Turnovers 26 12 (T) Turnover Margin -4 21 (T)

KEY INJURIES

FL Kyle Moln, who was set to be the WR3, suffered MCL Damage in the preseason, and missed the entire year on IR.

K C.J. Cunningham tore his ACL in preseason and missed the entire year. My kicker????

LT Earnest Pleasant tore his quad on week 4, and missed the rest of the season.

FB Bert Carpenter also suffered a torn quad, in week 8, and missed the balance of the year.

RG Sherman Hitchcock went on IR late in the season, making Matt Garner's big ratings increase even more timely.

Well, looks like we got over the hump in a *BIG* way this year. Every facet of the team improved, and we've definitely got some room to grow at QB. I'm feeling pretty good to have made the playoffs in year 6 of Empty Cupboard, restricted to only one conference. In addition, we've got 49 players under contract through next season, so there won't need to be a ton of turnover. Things are finally looking up for the pro end of this challenge!

NOTABLE ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

Baltimore had two QB's get injured during the season, and ended up signing hometown boy QB Kendall Durham. He got to start one game, and actually played well off the bench against us: 19 for 29, 189 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT's.

Rookie RDE Dana Gillespie started 13 games for Buffalo, getting 22 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

4th-year QB Darrell Daniels started all 16 games for Seattle, and went 8-8, putting up a 76.9 QB rating on the year.

TEAM PERFORMANCE: 83

FRANCHISE VALUE: 37

PROFIT/LOSS: 62

ROSTER STRENGTH: 84

YEAR-END SCORE: 66

[Ben E Lou]

2011

I re-sign my existing scout. Everything else stays the same--pretty strong.

FB Bert Carpenter, coming off of a torn quad, drops from 46/46 to 22/23.

FL Kyle Moln, drops from 48/52 to 26/29 due to his MCL damage last year.

LT Earnest Pleasant also suffers a big ratings drop due to a torn quad, from 71/71 to 40/42.

No one is given the franchise tag.

I trade away a few guys for draft picks. I've got a good bit of depth, so much so that it is causing cap problems, for example, I start free agency with four QB's under contract:

Lionel Weber--3yrs--$2.5M cap cost--46/47

Bobby Maxfield--1yr--$2.94M cap cost--36/44

Morris Bagley--1yr--$440K cap cost--23/50

Malcolm Murphy--2yrs--$880K cap cost--20/45

In this case, I decide that Bagley and Murphy should be adequate as backups for Weber, so I can deal Maxfield. I can use the picks, and the extra cap room. Other players traded away under similar circumstances are: C Tyrell Fender and SS Dwayne Sudderth.

I also cut the following guys. No one was willing to trade for 'em: RB Ernie Shannon, FB Bert Carpenter, FL Kyle Moln, RCB Marshall Hatcher.

Those deals leave me with around $13M in cap room for free agency: enough to help with my positions of need: FB, LT, K, LDT, although there's no decent SEC FB available. All those #$(^*%$ run-and-shoot and single-back teams in the SEC. Anyway, here are the signees this year:

K Randall Bates--8.2--72/81--2nd-year man who kicked at Mississippi State. Breakout player this year. Nice!

LDT Sherman Packard--5.1--50/50--This 5th-year man from LSU is a great interior pass rusher, nothing impressive against the run. We needed a starter, though, and he'll fit the bill.

LT Earnest Pleasant--I re-sign him to a three-year deal.

First off, here are the 'Bama players adjusted to >3.0 this year.

WLB Vince Heck--Heck was definitely considered a "stretch" recruit, rated 88+ from Allen Park, MI. He was the #6 OLB in the nation, the #121 player overall. He was really our first blue-chip commitment. He was a 209-pounder in high school, and grew to 219 by the time he arrived in Tuscaloosa. After a red-shirt season in '06, Heck played in all 13 games in '07, then became a 3-year starter, earning All-SEC honors once, and growing to his current weight of 247 pounds in the process. He's rated 34/53 in the draft, the 7th-best OLB in the class, according to my scout.

WILB Andy Copeland--Copeland was recruited alongside Heck, rated 73+, and #177 player in the land, and #9 ILB. Like Heck, he became a starter in '08. He was 2-time All-SEC, and in his final season, was named the top defensive player in the land. This kid outta Buffalo, NY racked up 42 tackles for losses as a Senior, an NCAA record. He's rated 17/51 going into the draft, the #9 ILB in the draft.

QB Glen Harrison--Harrison, from Covington, KY's Scott High School, was the #366 player in the country, and the 25th-best QB. He became a starter as a 5th-year Senior, and performed well enough to lead 'Bama to an SEC title, but he was nothing special, either. He's rated 7/39 in the draft.

SEC PLAYERS IN THE TOP TEN IN THEIR POSITION GROUP

QB Andrew Neal, Florida, 16/49, #10 QB

RB Corwin Malone, UGA, 62/67, #1 RB

RB Dexter O'Neill, Florida, 47/58, #6 RB

TE Bryan Stinnett, LSU, 18/56, #6 TE

C Kerry Winslett, 28/74, Auburn, #1 C

LG Todd Jenkins, 25/87, USC, #1 G

LT Will Hennings, 25/48, USC, #9 T

P Jimmy Checovetes, 23/57, Mississippi St. #10 P

MLB Herb Fordham, 30/49, Florida, #6 ILB

WILB Andy Copeland, 17/51, Alabama, #10 ILB

WLB Vince Heck, 34/53, Alabama, #7 OLB

RCB Henry Dubose, 36/66, UGA, #1 CB

FS Corey Hanson, 22/55, Kentucky, #5 S

FS Brady Heath, 21/51, UGA, #6 S

I have the 1(14) and 1(29) picks in this draft, among others. The only top-tier player that would be a fit in my current roster is RCB Henry Dubose, although I am open to making some trades to free up space for Todd Jenkins, if he falls a bit. Jenkins is listed as the #8 player in terms of adjusted ratings, but if he falls to around 12 or so, I'd be willing to trade up to grab him. Dubose may be the best CB, but he's not very high on the overall list. Still, he looks like a solid pick at #14.

---------------

Well, Malone went #1 overall to Tampa Bay, and Jenkins with 5th overall to Arizona. Dubose did fall to #14, so I grabbed him.

DRAFT

1(14)--RCB Henry Dubose--36/66--UGA--This kid grew up just a few miles from the Georgia Dome, and attended Banneker High School in College Park before heading to Athens, where he was a three-year starter and two-time All-SEC performer. Dubose really impressed at the combine, running a 4.41 and completing the agility drill in 6.76 seconds. I don't expect many receivers to outrun this guy, and he has a chance to start this season.

1(29)--C Kerry Winslett--28/74--Auburn--He came all the way from San Diego to attend Auburn, where he was a four-year starter. He gives us nice depth at center for now, and should eventually start.

2(29)--LT Will Hennings--25/48--USC--The Gamecocks signed him from Tulsa's Washington High School. He was a four-year starter for USC, three time All-SEC, and three-time Academic All-American. He's another guy who has a shot at starting for me eventually. He increases to 26/52 immediately after being drafted, too.

3(19)--RB Dexter O'Neill--47/58--Florida--This guy is dumb as dirt. I mean, REALLY dumb. He was the SEC's top offensive freshman as a true frosh straight from Owensboro, KY. He ran for 961 yards and 13 TD's that year, but managed to be academically inelgible for '08, '09 and '10. He finally gave up with 2 years of eligibility left and entered the draft this season. Not surprisingly, he only scored 11 on the Solecismic test, one of the lowest scores in the entire draft class. That being said, his football skills look pretty good. Some guys just weren't made for college, I guess. He should compete for playing time pretty quickly.

4(14)--MLB Herb Fordham--30/49--Florida--Fordham started at Florida right out of Crestview High as a true freshman, and never missed a start in four seasons for the Gators. He's best at stopping the run. With last year's starting MLB Bennie Ingram being an RFA asking for big bucks this year, Fordham should have a roster spot waiting for him, as Matthew Lynn is currently slated to move back in and start. Fordham should be his backup, with Ingram being allowed to sign elsewhere.

4(27)--FS Brady Heath--21/51--UGA--Heath grew up just a few miles down Indian Creek Rd. from the T-U-C, down in Clarkston, GA. (BTW, I *HATE* TCY's random high school ratings and am looking forward the more realistic ones in BBCF. Hopefully Jim will do this in TCY2 at some point, too. Clarkston hasn't had a winning season in at least a decade, yet they're rated 83 in Athletic Prep in my TCY career. BLECH!!!) At any rate, Heath is another real idiot. We're talking jbmagic level stupidity. The guy only got to play two seasons, and turned in a whopping 0.92 GPA. He did make 1st Team All SEC in his last season on the field, which was '09. He'll be moved to strong safety, where he'll back up Britt Kinney.

ALABAMA PLAYERS DRAFTED AROUND THE LEAGUE

WLB Vince Heck--3(16) by Cincinnati

I make a few signings of undrafted FA's. Most notably, I couldn't resist grabbing WILB Andy Copeland, who starred for me at 'Bama. It turns out that he'd get a ratings increase from moving to OLB, so I switch him, and he'll have a good chance to make the team as a backup SLB

RATING CHANGES OF NOTE

Last year's 1(28) pick, LCB Amos Donaldson, continues his fade into oblivion. He's down to 6/24 and I go ahead and cut him, since someone needed to be dropped to get me down to 60 players.

MLB Herb Fordham is up to 33/55 from his 30/49 draft numbers.

PRESEASON COMMENTS

Only one big injury: LDE Ken McLaughlin tore his rotator cuff and is done for the year. He was the pass-rush specialist, getting 12 sacks and 23 hurries last year while only starting one game. His menacing presence will be missed. All other injuries in preseason were minor, or to backups.

STARTING LINEUP

(Players marked with an asterisk (*) are full-time Atlanta starters for the first time this year.)

Player	#	Pos	Exp	Current Estimate	Future Estimate	Contract	On Team
Weber, Lionel	17	QB	5	46	47	3 yrs.	2010
Lemke, Fabien	38	RB	7	40	41	3 yrs.	2005
*Lima, Brady	47	FB	4	21	43	2 yrs.	2010
*Delgado, Norman	88	TE	6	58	62	2 yrs.	2011
Steed, Vince	89	FL	5	70	70	4 yrs.	2010
Boone, Herb	87	SE	7	57	57	4 yrs.	2005
Pleasant, Earnest	75	LT	6	41	42	3 yrs.	2006
Ahrens, Lawrence	61	LG	6	56	59	2 yrs.	2006
Carrillo, Neal	50	C	6	64	64	4 yrs.	2010
*Garner, Matt	68	RG	5	54	55	2 yrs.	2007
Babic, Wes	64	RT	5	59	59	4 yrs.	2007
Earnest, Rex	72	LDE	3	58	60	3 yrs.	2009
*Packard, Sherman	91	LDT	5	51	51	3 yrs.	2011
Gordon, Bryant	79	RDT	6	45	51	1 yr.	2009
Hooks, Rusty	98	RDE	7	48	48	1 yr.	2009
Walton, Floyd	96	SLB	6	80	80	4 yrs.	2010
Lynn, Matthew	90	MLB	7	53	53	3 yrs.	2005
Ontiveros, Korey	52	WLB	7	70	70	1 yr.	2010
Hedges, Andy	31	LCB	4	67	72	3 yrs.	2008
*Dubose, Henry	28	RCB	1	47	71	4 yrs.	2011
Kinney, Britt	36	SS	7	68	68	2 yrs.	2010
Shelton, Andy	43	FS	7	63	66	2 yrs.	2010

17 starters are back from last season's 12-4 campaign. Things are looking rosy for this season.

RESULTS

2011 Regular Season (12-4)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	18	at New Orleans Saints	15	L.Weber 16-28-202	W.Douglas 16-52	H.Boone 4-66	62,400
Week 2	21	Houston Texans	27	L.Weber 20-34-299	W.Douglas 27-169	H.Boone 5-143	34,500
Week 3	12	at Washington Redskins	14	L.Weber 15-25-159	W.Douglas 25-133	W.Meidinger 1-49	78,400
Week 4	28	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	13	L.Weber 16-27-259	W.Douglas 28-86	V.Steed 4-93	32,300
Week 5	34	at Carolina Panthers	30	L.Weber 12-21-152	W.Douglas 23-87	V.Steed 2-49	68,300
Week 6	42	Minnesota Vikings	32	L.Weber 20-30-252	W.Douglas 19-131	V.Steed 4-72	36,000
Week 7	26	at Green Bay Packers	24	L.Weber 14-24-201	W.Douglas 17-35	V.Steed 4-71	70,600
Week 8	21	Detroit Lions	14	L.Weber 20-28-152	F.Lemke 8-68	H.Boone 6-80	42,300
Week 9	31	at Chicago Bears	24	L.Weber 21-32-263	W.Douglas 22-73	V.Steed 8-94	56,100
Week 10	17	New Orleans Saints	14	L.Weber 24-36-280	F.Lemke 22-87	M.Mannelly 7-96	40,200
Week 11	Bye Week
Week 12	27	Tennessee Titans	13	L.Weber 18-29-228	F.Lemke 16-39	D.Basnight 3-70	42,300
Week 13	17	San Francisco 49ers	10	L.Weber 22-38-183	F.Lemke 20-82	H.Boone 5-67	42,300
Week 14	14	at Jacksonville Jaguars	30	L.Weber 13-26-295	F.Lemke 10-26	M.Mannelly 3-137	67,200
Week 15	30	Carolina Panthers	24	L.Weber 23-36-268	W.Douglas 15-50	M.Mannelly 5-115	42,300
Week 16	14	at Indianapolis Colts	30	L.Weber 12-21-125	D.Andersen 9-43	D.Basnight 4-92	72,200
Week 17	35	at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	16	L.Weber 25-34-312	D.O'Neill 12-71	M.Mannelly 7-182	59,900
2011 Playoffs				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Division	41	New York Giants	10	L.Weber 19-28-199	F.Lemke 24-91	M.Mannelly 7-95	42,300
Conf.	13	at St. Louis Rams	21	L.Weber 12-25-83	D.O'Neill 13-51	H.Boone 4-41	65,600

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int
Lionel Weber	469	291	3630	7.73	31	15
Team	479	297	3726	7.77	32	15

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD
Warren Douglas	RB	247	1004	4.06	6
Fabien Lemke	RB	119	481	4.04	3
Dexter O'Neill	RB	59	268	4.54	3
Team	---	510	2045	4.00	13

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	YAC	TD
Herb Boone	SE	105	62	904	14.5	198	5
Michael Mannelly	FL	74	50	897	17.9	232	4
Vince Steed	FL	81	44	672	15.2	125	8
Marcus Lage	RB	60	39	376	9.6	100	5
Norman Delgado	TE	39	29	268	9.2	92	6
Warren Douglas	RB	25	17	94	5.5	34	1
Team	---	479	297	3726	12.5	881	32

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd
Britt Kinney	SS	86	36	0.0	0	2	11
Andy Shelton	FS	71	30	0.0	0	3	9
Matthew Lynn	MLB	71	30	1.0	1	0	4
Andy Hedges	LCB	65	14	0.0	0	5	15
Floyd Walton	SLB	63	18	3.0	4	1	10
Henry Dubose	RCB	49	17	0.0	0	7	4
Korey Ontiveros	WLB	46	20	1.0	0	0	4
Rex Earnest	LDE	40	8	7.0	12	0	1
Sherman Packard	LDT	37	12	7.0	23	0	0
Ernie Castillo	SLB	37	11	3.0	3	0	2
Bryant Gordon	RDT	36	13	3.0	2	0	0
Billy Joe Melsha	RDT	29	2	4.0	11	0	0
Troy Davison	LCB	28	7	1.0	1	0	3
Rusty Hooks	RDE	27	7	6.0	6	0	0
Herb Fordham	MLB	26	10	0.0	1	0	0
Jesse Hatcher	LDE	25	12	4.0	6	0	0
Mickey Godfrey	SLB	17	9	0.0	1	0	1
Team	---	842	262	40.0	71	18	68

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes 510 4 Rushing Yards 2045 6 Yards Per Carry 4.00 16 (T) Pass Attempts 479 31 Completions 297 27 Passing Yards 3726 15 Yards Per Attempt 7.77 4 3rd Down Conversions 42.7 18 (T) Points Per Game 24.1 4 Turnovers 22 12 (T) Turnover Margin +4 10 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes 440 12 Rushing Yards 1597 4 Yards Per Carry 3.62 2 Pass Attempts 558 26 Completions 325 20 (T) Passing Yards 4125 31 Yards Per Attempt 7.39 27 3rd Down Conversions 43.2 19 Points Per Game 20.6 21 Turnovers 26 8 (T) Turnover Margin -4 22 (T)

KEY INJURIES

FL Vince Steed suffered ACL Damage in Week 12, and missed the rest of the season.

Looks like we're a bona fide playoff team now. Very nice performance. Hopefully this young team can continue to improve and bring us a title soon.

NOTABLE ALABAMA PLAYERS' PERFORMANCES ELSEWHERE

WLB Vince Heck started 14 games for Cincy, picking up 50 tackles, 25 assists, and a sack.

QB Darrell Daniels started 7 game for Philly, and had a 75.8 passer rating for the season.

TEAM PERFORMANCE: 81

FRANCHISE VALUE: 35

PROFIT/LOSS: 64

ROSTER STRENGTH: 83

YEAR-END SCORE: 66