Front Office Football 2007: SkyDog's Home-Grown Empty Cupboard Dynasty

[Ben E Lou]

2030 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

SUMMER LEAGUE: 4(5) pick C Warren Swift (26/65)
FRANCHISE TAG: QB Johnny Blood, now demanding a trade, gets the tag. I’ll try to get something for him.

FREE AGENCY

DRAFT POOL: We have the #8 pick. A QB and 2 RBs catch my eye, but really neither of the three are the kind of guys I’d trade up into the top 3 to get. If one of them falls farther than #3, I could see myself trading up.

The following RFAs get deals longer than 2 years:
None.

AMATEUR DRAFT

No first round pick this year, and I stand pat.
2(17): SLB Levon Walsh (22/53)—Strong at run defense, pass rushing, and play diagnosis.
3(16): TE Derrick DiMaggio (26/50)—Run-blocking TE who has decent skills across the board.
5(14): SS Dusty Benson (18/42)—Strong combine. Decent-looking at run defense, zone, interceptions.
6(13): MLB Glenn O’Neal (11/32)—Combine stud with low bars.
7(18): QB Preston Holmes (13/34)—Don’t know what I might do with this guy, but he’s 6’2”, 213, and ran a dadgum 4.33.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• FB Ronnie Givens drops 9 points to 43/43.
• Ouch! LDT Marvin Cox drops 14 points, to 65/65.
• SS Brent Slayton, a 5^th round pick last year, gains from 16/43 to 22/49
• RDE Billy Joe Healy drops from 49/49 to 43/43
• No other gains/losses greater than 4 points.

INITIAL POWER RATING: 69

OUTLOOK: 13^th-best power rating in the league, but the best in our division by a slight margin, ahead of the Bucs (68), NO (60), and Carolina (57). If QB Stavrinos continues to make progress, there’s no reason we shouldn’t be in the hunt for another division progress.

[Ben E Lou]

2030 RECAP

2030 Regular Season (7-9)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	13	Carolina Panthers	33	S.Stavrinos 14-39-272	M.Pollock 4-30	I.Hicks 3-91	56,300
Week 2	37	at Syracuse Browns	17	S.Stavrinos 25-39-369	M.Pollock 24-105	D.Cavazos 8-133	49,800
Week 3	13	at Ann Arbor Bears	17	S.Stavrinos 21-37-212	M.Berube 8-38	I.Hicks 6-99	56,600
Week 4	31	at Philadelphia Eagles	6	S.Stavrinos 9-25-156	M.Berube 17-79	I.Hicks 7-137	43,200
Week 5	0	Washington Redskins	26	S.Stavrinos 14-37-176	M.Berube 6-43	D.Cavazos 4-61	58,800
Week 6	13	Miami Buccanneers	7	S.Stavrinos 15-25-180	M.Pollock 21-90	D.Cavazos 2-75	52,900
Week 7	7	at Carolina Panthers	22	S.Stavrinos 21-46-235	M.Pollock 8-24	L.McHugh 5-57	65,800
Week 8	Bye Week
Week 9	37	at Dallas Cowboys	10	S.Stavrinos 21-26-248	M.Pollock 24-66	I.Hicks 5-100	54,300
Week 10	10	New York Giants	33	S.Stavrinos 16-39-172	M.Pollock 18-53	I.Hicks 6-69	63,900
Week 11	19	at New Orleans Saints	7	S.Stavrinos 17-33-327	M.Berube 15-38	I.Hicks 10-170	35,200
Week 12	16	at Rochester Steelers	31	S.Stavrinos 16-30-242	M.Berube 17-65	M.Mounts 5-86	83,200
Week 13	34	Salinas (CA) Cardinals	14	S.Stavrinos 14-25-235	M.Berube 24-75	M.Mounts 4-107	52,900
Week 14	10	Cincinnati Bengals	21	S.Stavrinos 22-31-247	M.Berube 13-57	D.Cavazos 7-94	57,000
Week 15	17	at Miami Buccanneers	20	S.Stavrinos 21-43-323	M.Berube 12-49	M.Mounts 5-109	29,100
Week 16	27	Baltimore Ravens	31	S.Stavrinos 20-33-324	M.Berube 8-44	M.Mounts 9-170	54,600
Week 17	13	New Orleans Saints	10	S.Stavrinos 19-35-226	M.Berube 15-49	I.Hicks 2-70	53,700

Nice season, but we didn't step up to the next level. We're still experiencing seriously difficulty in running the football. We also missed LDE Corwin Fonoti, who suffered a high ankle sprain Week 3, and missed the rest of the regular season. He's 100% now, and won't lose ratings, but he could have helped make a difference.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Stavrinos	543	285	3944	7.26	22	19	75.0
Team	543	285	3944	7.26	22	19	75.0
Opp	485	275	3174	6.54	19	9	81.9

Pretty decent season for the 2nd-year QB. If he can take his game to the level where he's in the 85-90 QB rating range, we'll be in good shape.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Mike Berube	RB	186	677	3.64	4	2
Mel Pollock	RB	181	596	3.29	3	2
Shane Stavrinos	QB	36	91	2.53	1	9
Team	---	435	1436	3.30	8	17
Opp	---	482	1908	3.96	10	28

Ugh. We've continued to be very unlucky with regard to running backs.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Irving Hicks	SE	143	68	1117	16.43	7.81	6	281
Mark Mounts	FL	102	62	931	15.02	9.13	5	206
Donny Cavazos	FL	106	51	818	16.04	7.72	6	201
Mike Berube	RB	39	28	277	9.89	7.10	2	82
Lincoln McHugh	TE	28	17	155	9.12	5.54	1	35

Nice seasons from all three primary receivers.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	85	15	4.0	2	0	4	73.0
Alfred Anthony	WLB	74	23	3.0	3	1	2	76.2
Ian Kaplan	MLB	62	30	0.0	0	1	8	80.7
Derrick Elliott	RDT	59	25	6.0	9	0	0	81.0
Monty de Groh	MLB	43	7	1.0	0	0	0	66.9
Mario Politte	SS	42	18	0.0	0	1	5	81.9
Marvin Cox	LDT	40	24	9.0	17	0	0	82.3
Mike Fulcher	FS	38	17	0.0	0	0	0	75.3
Dan Kirk	RDT	34	13	2.0	1	0	1	82.5
Cedric Garrison	FS	33	11	1.0	1	1	5	81.1
Levon Walsh	SLB	31	7	1.0	0	0	1	74.9
Conrad Franz	LCB	30	11	0.0	0	2	4	78.9
Eddie Patterson	RCB	29	9	0.0	0	1	6	80.5
Willie Stargell	RCB	22	3	0.0	0	0	5	73.8
Shaun Ozga	RDE	22	12	5.0	10	0	1	82.1
Billy Joe Healy	RDE	21	6	3.5	22	0	0	81.8
Brent Slayton	SS	21	10	0.0	0	1	4	84.3
T.J. Hobson	RCB	17	8	0.0	0	1	3	80.8
Tyrell Batishko	LCB	16	4	0.0	1	0	3	73.8

Former undrafted FA SLB Kennedy Cobb puts up another strong season. As was mentioned, Conoti was missed on the DL.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 27.2 18 (T) Rushing Yards 89.8 29 Yards Per Carry 3.30 32 Pass Attempts 33.9 14 Completions 17.8 27 Completion Pct. 52.5 31 (T) Passing Yards 246.5 3 Yards Per Attempt 7.26 6 Yards Per Catch 13.84 1 Total Yards Gained 322.6 8 3rd Down Conversions 38.0 9 Points Per Game 18.6 17 Pass Rush Pct. 8.7 6 Pass Defense Pct. 68.4 9 Turnovers 26 17 (T) Turnover Margin -2 20 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 30.1 25 Rushing Yards 119.3 20 Yards Per Carry 3.96 13 (T) Pass Attempts 30.3 11 Completions 17.2 2 Completion Pct. 56.7 3 (T) Passing Yards 198.4 10 Yards Per Attempt 6.54 20 (T) Yards Per Catch 11.54 30 Total Yards Gained 301.4 12 3rd Down Conversions 35.8 18 Points Per Game 19.1 17 Pass Rush Pct. 8.5 26 Pass Defense Pct. 75.0 32 Turnovers 24 18 (T) Turnover Margin +2 20 (T) {sigh}

Dead last in yards per carry. As I said earlier, we've just GOT to get better at running the football.

[Ben E Lou]

2031 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

SUMMER LEAGUE: With the strong play of SLB Kennedy Cobb, I convert 2^nd-round pick SLB Levon Walsh to MLB and send him overseas. He’s rated 24/57 as an MLB.
FRANCHISE TAG: RDT Dan Kirk gets the tag, although he may get released.

FREE AGENCY

DRAFT POOL: We have the #8 pick. A QB and 2 RBs catch my eye, but really neither of the three are the kind of guys I’d trade up into the top 3 to get. If one of them falls farther than #3, I could see myself trading up.

The following RFAs get deals longer than 2 years:
None.

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(16): RB Jerry Lake (66/66)—Could this guy FINALLY give us a true feature back?! Biggest concern is that his hole recognition isn’t too impressive-looking.
2(15): RT Levon Cowan (23/70)—Solid ratings across the board, and good combine. Concerned about his development, but RT Levon Clements is a mentor.
5(12): RB Andrew Wretzky (25/35)—Strong combine guy, just in case Lake busts.
6(16): LDT Ian Huettner (18/39)—Needed another DT. Could be a decent run-stopper.
7(15): WLB Donnie Hsu (12/20)—Again, a position I needed for depth. Good combine, bad bars.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• 1^st-round pick Jerry Lake improves to 69/70, and the Hole Recognition was very much off. He’s now scouted as great in it.
• 2^nd round pick RT Levon Cowan drops down to 26/61, but still looks like he could be a solid player.
• Three undrafted rookie WRs give me a bit of hope: FL Adrian Sanford (21/57), FL Marvin Richardson (31/53), and FL Ben Tucker (28/54). Tucker is a converted RB who I had trim down. I’d love to see one of these three guys pan out.
• Good timing for Jerry Lake, because RB Berube dropped 11 points to 35/35 in TC, and probably will get cut.
• Same for the young WRs, as 9^th-year man Mark Mounts dropped to 53/53 from 61/61 this year.

53-MAN ROSTER

Player	#	Pos	Start	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct
Stavrinos, Shane	15	QB	QB	3	33	43	3 yrs
**Holmes, Preston	3	QB		2	14	34	2 yrs
Warren, Gino	11	QB		2	12	39	1 yr.
Lake, Jerry	43	RB	RB	1	69	70	4 yrs
Pollock, Mel	30	RB		4	40	40	2 yrs
Wretzky, Andrew	25	RB		1	26	37	3 yrs
Givens, Ronnie	33	FB	FB	7	43	43	3 yrs
##Fisher, Alex	20	FB		1	20	49	1 yr.
McHugh, Lincoln	84	TE	TE	5	43	43	1 yr.
DiMaggio, Derrick	85	TE		2	32	46	2 yrs
Mounts, Mark	89	FL	FL	9	53	53	3 yrs
Cavazos, Donny	18	FL		8	48	48	2 yrs
Tucker, Ben	32	FL		1	33	54	1 yr.
Richardson, Marvin	10	FL		1	32	53	1 yr.
##Sanford, Adrian	86	FL		1	23	57	1 yr.
Hicks, Irving	83	SE	SE	7	67	67	2 yrs
##Schwartz, Zach	87	SE		4	36	42	2 yrs
Gomez, Willie	81	SE		1	27	39	1 yr.
Harrison, Scott	50	C	C	5	50	50	1 yr.
Swift, Warren	56	C		3	36	55	1 yr.
Melnik, Steven	58	C		4	33	55	2 yrs
Jefferson, Andre	67	LG	LG	5	69	69	1 yr.
Young, Levon	78	RG	RG	3	66	66	1 yr.
Erickson, Mike	63	RG		7	44	44	2 yrs
Pigeon, Thurman	74	LT	LT	3	89	89	3 yrs
Clements, Levon	64	RT		6	45	45	2 yrs
Fulton, Hugh	79	RT		9	38	38	2 yrs
Cowan, Levon	60	RT	RT	1	27	61	3 yrs
Graham, Drew	5	P		3	38	53	1 yr.
Rogers, Butch	19	K		5	61	61	1 yr.
Fonoti, Corwin	77	LDE	LDE	6	84	84	4 yrs
Healy, Billy Joe	98	RDE	RDE	8	40	40	3 yrs
Ozga, Shaun	70	RDE		4	36	43	1 yr.
##Mularkey, Erik	59	RDE		1	22	45	1 yr.
Cox, Marvin	99	LDT	LDT	8	62	62	5 yrs
##Huettner, Ian	95	LDT		1	21	39	3 yrs
Elliott, Derrick	76	RDT	RDT	6	56	56	5 yrs
Kirk, Dan	92	RDT		7	44	44	6 yrs
Walsh, Levon	55	MLB	MLB	2	29	58	2 yrs
Jarboe, Cedric	52	MLB		1	19	50	2 yrs
Cobb, Kennedy	96	SLB	SLB	5	40	40	4 yrs
##Giles, Tyrus	54	SLB		1	10	36	2 yrs
Anthony, Alfred	53	WLB	WLB	8	37	37	1 yr.
Hsu, Donnie	93	WLB		1	15	24	3 yrs
Franz, Conrad	39	LCB	LCB	8	59	59	2 yrs
Batishko, Tyrell	31	LCB		4	37	39	1 yr.
Northern, Greg	42	LCB		1	22	45	1 yr.
Patterson, Eddie	44	RCB	RCB	10	71	71	2 yrs
##Slayton, Brent	49	SS		3	34	44	1 yr.
Benson, Dusty	24	SS		2	26	42	2 yrs
Blankenship, Wesley	29	SS	SS	1	24	53	1 yr.
Fulcher, Mike	23	FS		8	49	49	2 yrs
Garrison, Cedric	38	FS	FS	4	48	48	2 yrs

Pretty solid team this year. I’m hoping the presence of a bona fide running game will put us in the conference elite.

INITIAL POWER RATING: 56

OUTLOOK: Our Power Rating looks low, but it’s actually the 8^th-best in the league. The NY Giants are rated 25 points better than the #2 Seahawks. As far as the NFC South goes, Carolina is at 50, the Aints are at 34, and the Bucs are at 21. We’re the division favorites.

[Ben E Lou]

2031 SEASON RECAP

2031 Regular Season (8-8)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	30	Miami Bucanneers	3	G.Warren 12-20-232	J.Lake 27-76	I.Hicks 6-139	56,300
Week 2	20	at Houston Texans	27	G.Warren 20-35-245	J.Lake 16-65	D.Cavazos 7-110	62,400
Week 3	24	Minnesota Vikings	10	G.Warren 11-21-113	M.Pollock 16-67	I.Hicks 4-57	55,500
Week 4	0	Seattle Seahawks	13	G.Warren 12-29-127	J.Lake 10-46	I.Hicks 5-95	56,300
		BYE WEEK
Week 6	26	at Salinas (CA) Cardinals	20	S.Stavrinos 18-26-196	J.Lake 22-44	B.Wheeler 5-66	46,300
Week 7	0	Carolina Panthers	27	S.Stavrinos 11-28-72	J.Lake 9-39	D.DiMaggio 1-25	63,900
Week 8	3	at San Francisco 49ers	22	S.Stavrinos 9-21-91	J.Lake 6-19	I.Hicks 4-79	39,800
Week 9	28	St. Louis Rams	34	S.Stavrinos 21-28-207	J.Lake 15-89	M.Mounts 8-90	57,900
Week 10	27	at Miami Buccanneers	7	S.Stavrinos 22-26-187	J.Lake 25-99	I.Hicks 7-98	25,900
Week 11	23	New Orleans Saints	30	S.Stavrinos 32-47-305	J.Lake 15-68	I.Hicks 8-116	52,100
Week 12	24	at Tennessee Titans	20	S.Stavrinos 21-29-284	J.Lake 20-59	M.Mounts 6-159	65,900
Week 13	7	at Washington Redskins	20	G.Warren 14-20-121	J.Lake 14-44	I.Hicks 3-46	56,200
Week 14	24	Jacksonville Jaguars	21	S.Stavrinos 15-21-98	J.Lake 20-83	I.Hicks 2-22	52,900
Week 15	7	at New Orleans Saints	24	S.Stavrinos 18-27-264	J.Lake 10-36	I.Hicks 6-164	30,000
Week 16	23	San Antonio Colts	10	S.Stavrinos 10-16-86	M.Pollock 21-128	I.Hicks 2-24	63,900
Week 17	17	at Carolina Panthers	14	S.Stavrinos 23-34-266	J.Lake 16-56	I.Hicks 5-74	65,800

We had a few key injuries that held us back, but overall it feels like we have a more stable team. The biggest injury is the first injury in this franchise that will likely derail the career of a key player: LDE Corwin Fonoti, who appeared to be heading for the Hall Of Fame, suffered a Very Serious knee injury in Week 10, and is going to have to have reconstructive surgery. If he doesn't retire, it appears that he will miss a good part of next season. QB Stavrinos and LT Pigeon missed four starts each as well. The offensive line suffered minor dings all year long. No one was out more than 5 games, but rare was the week when all five projected preseason starters actually started.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Stavrinos	313	206	2201	7.03	11	9	85.9
Gino Warren	135	73	894	6.62	5	7	65.5
Team	448	279	3095	6.91	16	16	79.7
Opp	507	309	3204	6.32	18	12	81.2

In his third year, Stavrinos continues to improve. If he can bump that rating up into the low 90s consistently, he'll be our starter for a long time.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Jerry Lake	RB	258	974	3.78	7	9
Mel Pollock	RB	152	579	3.81	3	6
Shane Stavrinos	QB	37	99	2.68	2	5
Team	---	469	1719	3.67	12	35
Opp	---	464	1699	3.66	12	25

Lake started off very slowly, with his ypc in the low 3s. Overall our backs performed better than our line.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Irving Hicks	SE	116	68	1130	16.62	9.74	3	210
Mark Mounts	FL	82	45	648	14.40	7.90	5	120
Jerry Lake	RB	50	38	172	4.53	3.44	2	66
Burt Wheeler	TE	44	31	276	8.90	6.27	3	50
Ronnie Givens	FB	27	23	112	4.87	4.15	0	63
Ben Tucker	FL	45	21	228	10.86	5.07	1	11

It looks like Mark Mounts has seen his best days already. The good news is that Ben Tucker (yeah, I know) put up some very nice ratings gains this year. The undrafted FA is up to 43/54, and is looking like a long-term solution at WR3 at the worst, and maybe even a starter.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PRPct
Levon Walsh	MLB	93	37	1.5	3	1	4	76.0
Alfred Anthony	WLB	91	22	3.0	2	1	3	72.7
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	66	18	4.0	2	1	6	74.9
Derrick Elliott	RDT	53	20	6.5	3	0	1	82.7
Cedric Garrison	FS	53	18	1.0	0	2	4	78.7
Conrad Franz	LCB	49	9	0.0	0	1	12	77.1
Billy Joe Healy	RDE	46	14	9.5	14	0	0	79.3
Wesley Blankenship	SS	42	8	0.0	0	3	1	79.2
Eddie Patterson	RCB	34	18	0.0	0	3	7	81.8
Marvin Cox	LDT	34	15	4.5	18	0	0	82.5
Dan Kirk	RDT	31	15	2.0	2	0	0	82.5
Brent Slayton	SS	29	13	0.0	1	0	3	77.7
Tyrell Batishko	LCB	27	5	0.0	0	0	5	77.0
Shaun Ozga	RDE	24	13	4.5	7	0	0	81.7
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	23	14	5.5	20	0	0	81.1
Cedric Jarboe	MLB	18	7	0.0	0	0	0	74.2
Donnie Hsu	WLB	17	2	0.0	1	0	0	71.7

Nice to finally have my MLB lead the team in tackles. Overall, no big complaints about the defense, even with Fonoti only around for half of the year.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 29.3 12 Rushing Yards 107.4 21 Yards Per Carry 3.67 29 Pass Attempts 28.0 30 Completions 17.4 30 Completion Pct. 62.3 9 (T) Passing Yards 193.4 24 Yards Per Attempt 6.91 7 (T) Yards Per Catch 11.09 10 Total Yards Gained 283.8 26 3rd Down Conversions 38.7 8 Points Per Game 17.7 22 (T) Pass Rush Pct. 8.6 7 Pass Defense Pct. 63.7 28 Turnovers 29 19 (T) Turnover Margin -10 26 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 29.0 23 Rushing Yards 106.2 8 Yards Per Carry 3.66 2 Pass Attempts 31.7 10 Completions 19.3 14 Completion Pct. 60.9 14 (T) Passing Yards 200.3 13 Yards Per Attempt 6.32 13 Yards Per Catch 10.37 12 Total Yards Gained 288.8 8 3rd Down Conversions 35.8 17 Points Per Game 18.9 13 Pass Rush Pct. 5.4 1 Pass Defense Pct. 66.9 14 (T) Turnovers 19 27 (T) Turnover Margin +10 26 (T)

Rushing offense improved as the year went on, and I expect it to continue to improve. The defense was solid once again. Overall, it looks like things are looking up.

[Ben E Lou]

2032 OFFSEASON

PRELIMINARIES

RETIREMENTS: None. Fonoti doesn't go, and he should be ready to play around Week 11 or so.

SUMMER LEAGUE: RT Lavon Cowan (34/60) gets sent over to Europe for some seasoning.

FRANCHISE TAG: C Scott Harrison

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(15): TE Stanley Callaghan (50/83)--Looks like an all-around stud. Didn't show up for the combines.
2(14): LCB Richie Stokes (29/59)--Good bars and combine. Good at M2M, BnR, run defense, diagnosis, INTs. Could be a return man, too.
3(13): SE Malcolm Keen (30/57)--This guy is slow (4.68), but graded out well in other combine-related things, and has intriguing bars.
4(18): FB Steven Rodgers (36/56)--His primary assignment: block for Jerry Lake.
5(17): QB Alan Buchanan (9/58)--Big ol' boy! 6'6", 246 pounds, and could be a good short-passing QB.
6(16): LCB Dwayne Wyrick (14/36)--Good combine.
7(15): FS Benjamin Ostroski (22/51)--He has solid bars, and scored a 42 on his Solecismic test.

A LOOK BACK (2022 Draft)

Now that I'm in my 11th season, I'll start reporting on the players selected in the amateur draft 10 years ago, both for fun, and to force me to do some more studying on drafting. I'll post the comments as they were, and then add comments to report on how their careers went.

The 2022 Draft...

1(2): RCB Eddie Patterson (75/75)—This guy is a shut-down corner who has very high combine ratings and scored a 55 in the position drill. As far as the QB, he didn’t go 1(1). The Bengals took a can’t-miss looking DE, the highest-rated player. However, given that this is an Empty Cupboard career, I figure I’ll be up near 1(1) for at least a few seasons and a better QB than Jerry Rasmic will come along. I’ll check in on Rasmic’s development periodically, though. He went #4 overall to Indianapolis. Now entering his 11th season, Patterson has had an impressive career, all as a Falcon. He has 26 career interceptions, and a career PDPct of 82.3. Good thing I didn't pick Jerry Rasmic. He started a total of 16 games in seven years in the league, before retiring at age 30.
4(1): FL Slick Willie Martinez (16/36)—He’s a red flag player with a solid combine and a fun name. I couldn’t resist. Slick Willie played three seasons with us, and was cut in the preseason prior to his fourth. No one picked him up. He finished his career with 120 catches for 1152 yards and 6 TDs.
6(1): QB Ralph Diaz (23/40 )—Diaz only did his position drill, and has the second-highest score in the draft class (83). He’s got 89 Volatility and is 42% developed. He’ll get a shot for at least a year to show me if he has some promise. Diaz is still going strong in Year 11. He's a 53/53 guy now, and has been Seattle's starting QB for three years since we traded him in a package to get a high first round pick. He has led the Seahawks to the playoffs once in those three seasons, and has a career 79.7 QB Rating, but has been at 97.7 and 86.1 the last two years. He was a definite late-round gem who I perhaps should have kept around longer.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• First-round pick TE Stanley Callaghan improves from 50/83 to 54/84.
• QB Alan Buchanan drops from 9/58 to 8/50.
• QB Shane Stavrinos posts his first potential rating gain since he was drafted, going from 35/41 to 36/42.
• WR3 Donny Cavazos drops from 48/48 to 42/42, leaving the door wide open for 2nd-year undrafted FA Ben Tucker, who improved from 41/53 to 43/54.
• RDE Billy Joe Healy drops to 33/33 from 40/40.
• RCB Eddie Patterson, in year 11, drops from 69/69 to 62/62.

Well, I got into the preseason, got excited about my team, and forgot to do the power rating and beginning-of-year stuff. So, here's the regular season recap:

2032 Regular Season (11-5)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	14	New Orleans Saints	17	S.Stavrinos 20-27-154	J.Lake 15-73	M.Keen 2-27	47,900
Week 2	16	San Diego Chargers	10	S.Stavrinos 18-20-93	J.Lake 21-70	S.Callaghan 5-27	44,700
Week 3	14	at San Francisco 49ers	16	S.Stavrinos 27-37-221	J.Lake 13-43	M.Mounts 4-44	29,900
Week 4	7	at Miami Buccaneers	21	S.Stavrinos 20-35-249	J.Lake 17-88	M.Keen 4-53	27,500
Week 5	3	Carolina Panthers	20	S.Stavrinos 19-32-128	J.Lake 16-61	B.Tucker 1-27	51,500
Week 6	13	Minnesota Vikings	3	S.Stavrinos 22-30-189	M.Pollock 15-44	B.Tucker 4-59	45,500
Week 7	37	at Chicago Packers	19	S.Stavrinos 20-35-172	J.Lake 26-113	M.Mounts 7-79	43,100
Week 8	23	Detroit Lions	17	S.Stavrinos 18-27-264	J.Lake 17-55	M.Keen 3-72	47,100
Week 9	20	at Ann Arbor Bears	6	S.Stavrinos 17-28-165	J.Lake 23-200	B.Tucker 3-54	56,400
Week 10	30	at New Orleans Saints	10	S.Stavrinos 15-24-168	J.Lake 28-88	I.Hicks 5-65	38,200
Week 11		BYE WEEK
Week 12	45	Oakland Raiders	20	S.Stavrinos 17-25-211	J.Lake 22-99	B.Tucker 6-101	61,600
Week 13	31	Philadelphia Eagles	37	S.Stavrinos 15-31-258	J.Lake 16-77	M.Mounts 6-106	62,400
Week 14	27	at Kansas City Chiefs	20	S.Stavrinos 26-39-208	M.Pollock 10-43	B.Tucker 4-63	65,300
Week 15	31	at Carolina Panthers	10	S.Stavrinos 20-29-289	J.Lake 23-84	M.Mounts 4-110	66,200
Week 16	26	at Denver Broncos	7	S.Stavrinos 15-26-193	M.Pollock 12-72	B.Tucker 3-97	60,500
Week 17	20	Miami Buccaneers	17	S.Stavrinos 21-33-185	J.Lake 20-88	I.Hicks 6-55	62,400

Nice! Very encouraging year, as both Shane Stravinos and Jerry Lake step up their games to lead the offense while the defense remains strong, and gets a midseason shot in the arm with the full-strength return of LDE Corwin Fonoti against Oakland. We were 6-4 at that point, but close with a 5-1 record with Fonoti. We win the division and get the #2 conference seed.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Stavrinos	478	310	3147	6.58	27	15	89.3
Team	478	310	3147	6.58	27	15	89.3
Opp	522	291	2855	5.47	15	18	66.5

Despite his pedestrian ratings, Stavrinos steps it up one more level. I doubt he'll ever be a superstar, but if he can keep up this kind of production, he'll probably be our QB for a long time.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Jerry Lake	RB	312	1285	4.12	8	7
Mel Pollock	RB	138	578	4.19	2	5
Shane Stavrinos	QB	41	121	2.95	0	5
Team	---	494	1983	4.01	10	25
Opp	---	411	1608	3.91	9	24

Yes! A running game! Jerry Lake shouldered a nearly 20-carry-per-game load, and was quite productive in the process. Nice!

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Mark Mounts	FL	87	51	642	12.59	7.38	5	97
Jerry Lake	RB	55	44	245	5.57	4.45	3	65
Ben Tucker	FL	79	44	685	15.57	8.67	6	86
Irving Hicks	SE	62	42	500	11.90	8.06	7	71
Stanley Callaghan	TE	47	33	251	7.61	5.34	2	19
Malcolm Keen	SE	52	28	322	11.50	6.19	0	38
Ronnie Givens	FB	24	22	143	6.50	5.96	2	46

Stavrinos certainly spread the ball around as our best receiver, Irving Hicks, struggled with minor injuries throughout the year.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Levon Walsh	MLB	102	38	5.0	6	1	4	75.4
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	67	25	1.0	3	1	6	77.7
Alfred Anthony	WLB	63	21	1.0	2	1	2	75.7
Wesley Blankenship	SS	50	17	0.0	0	0	4	78.6
Richie Stokes	LCB	46	10	0.5	1	6	10	82.1
Marvin Cox	LDT	45	9	5.5	13	0	1	81.7
Conrad Franz	LCB	41	7	0.0	1	3	7	80.5
Cedric Garrison	FS	38	11	0.0	1	1	2	78.3
Greg Northern	LCB	38	10	0.0	0	3	7	81.4
Derrick Elliott	RDT	34	20	3.5	6	0	0	81.4
Donnie Hsu	WLB	30	6	0.0	1	1	1	72.8
Billy Joe Healy	RDE	24	10	2.5	7	0	0	80.6
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	24	9	6.0	16	0	1	82.5
Mike Fulcher	SS	23	14	0.5	0	1	1	81.4
Eddie Patterson	RCB	20	9	2.0	0	0	4	79.8
Dan Kirk	RDT	16	10	3.5	5	0	0	82.5

Walsh is now emerging as the kind of MLB we all like to have, and the defense as a whole had a very good year, as is evidenced by the stats below...

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 30.9 10 Rushing Yards 123.9 13 Yards Per Carry 4.01 15 Pass Attempts 29.9 24 Completions 19.4 16 Completion Pct. 64.9 5 (T) Passing Yards 196.7 20 Yards Per Attempt 6.58 13 Yards Per Catch 10.15 25 Total Yards Gained 305.6 18 3rd Down Conversions 38.1 7 Points Per Game 22.3 6 Pass Rush Pct. 9.3 4 Pass Defense Pct. 70.3 8 (T) Turnovers 27 20 (T) Turnover Margin -2 19 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 25.7 6 Rushing Yards 100.5 6 Yards Per Carry 3.91 9 Pass Attempts 32.6 24 Completions 18.2 8 (T) Completion Pct. 55.7 2 (T) Passing Yards 178.4 2 Yards Per Attempt 5.47 2 Yards Per Catch 9.81 4 Total Yards Gained 265.1 1 3rd Down Conversions 31.7 5 Points Per Game 15.6 3 Pass Rush Pct. 6.6 9 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 63.5 6 Turnovers 25 15 (T) Turnover Margin +2 19 (T)

Yup, #1 in total defense, #3 in scoring defense. Defense has been a constant for the past few years, so having the offense step it up to 6th in ppg is clearly what made the difference this year. Playoffs coming this evening.

[Ben E Lou]

DIVISION PLAYOFFS (vs. Detroit)
We're six-point favorites at home against the Lions, an offensive-minded team with one of the league's worst secondaries. Stavrinos if 16 for 21 for 160 yards with 2 Tds and 1 INT, and Corwin Fonoti has 1.5 sacks, 5 hurries, and SEVEN knockdowns to win POG honors in our 23-21 victory.

NFC CHAMPIONSHIP (at Philly)
The 15-2 Eagles were the class of the league this year: first in ppg, 2nd-fewest points allowed per game. They end our season 31-17, but I'm still very happy about where this team is right now.

AWARDS
K Butch Rogers is 2nd Team All-League. He was 33 for 44 in FGs, including 5 for 8 from outside the 50. He set a team record with 135 points scored.

[Ben E Lou]

2033 OFFSEASON

RETIREMENTS

Ah, time to add a new section to each season's post. We experience the first retirements of players who are still on the team.

RDE Billy Joe Healy--Healy was drafted 5(6) in 2024, a 20/37 player. His ratings maxed at 49/49 over the course of his career. he had 10.5 sacks in 2027, and 9.5 in 2031. '27 was his best overall season, with 10.5 sacks, 7 blocked passes, 21 hurries, 3 QB knockdowns, and 8.8 PRPct, and an 8.8 TkPct. He finishes his career 5th in Falcon history in sacks, 3rd in hurries, and 2nd in block passes. He was named player of the week twice, and mentioned 18 times. Overall, he had a very solid 9-year career for a 5th-round choice.

RG Mike Erickson--Selected 2(11) in 2025 as a 21/40 RT, Erickson made a successful switch to RG in his fourth season. His ratings would eventually climb to 47/47 as a guard. He was a full-time starter for 3 seasons, but played at least 400 plays in every year of his 8-year career. He retires with a 27.2 career BPct, and a 1.6 SPct.

As far as what these mean to the team, Healy was a starter, Erickson a backup.

PRELIMINARIES

SUMMER LEAGUE: LCB Richie Stokes (42/54)

FRANCHISE TAG: RDE Shaun Ozga--...because of Healy's retirement.

A LOOK BACK (2023 Draft)

1(1): QB Johnny Blood (18/68)—Was absolutely phenomenal at is position drill, scoring a 91. Here’s hoping he pans out. He didn't pan out. Blood started 8 games in each of his first three seasons, but couldn't get his QB rating above 78.2 during that time. He became our backup from '26-'29, and was released in 2030. New York signed him for one year as a backup. He then went to Cincy for 2031 and 2032, starting 25 games during those two years. He was on his way to his first very good season last year before a serious ankle injury shut him down for the year. He had a 99.2 QB rating and 17 TD passes in 9 games. For his career, he has an 81.0 rating. He is a free agent this year.
2(2): SE Mark Mounts (36/63)—He had a great combine, and has good bars to boot. He gives Johnny Blood a decent target while we see if Slick Willie can pan out. 10 years later, and Mounts is still a Falcon. He's the all-time Atlanta receiving leader, with 674 catches for 8814 yards over the course of his career
4(2): LT Hugh Fulton (20/53)—Solid bars all around. If he lives up to that potential, he could be our starting LT for years. Fulton was an 8-year starter for us at LT and RT, putting up a career BPct of 26.9, and SPct of 1.3. His best season was 2027, when he recorded 27 KRbs, and allowed only 4 sacks in 444 pass plays. He was released last season, and didn't pick up with anyone.
7(1): MLB K.C. Stauder (20/43)—He’s a question mark, but will certainly start at least this year. And that was the only year in which he was the starter. He recorded 86 solo tackles in 2023, and only started 4 more games over the next three years. He was released after training camp in 2027, wasn't picked up, and retired after that year.

2033 AMATEUR DRAFT

1(30): FL Pat Robinson (23/50)--FL Mark Mounts is past his prime, SE Irving Hicks is getting there, and youngsters Ben Tucker and Malcolm Keen look solid, but not like feature WR's, either. Robinson, however, looks like he could be a stud. Scout says he's best at big-play receiving and avoiding drops. He's got speed to burn (4.34), and a ridiculous shuttle run (6.75).

2(29): RDE Lance Cash (19/40)--Another guy with all indications that he'll be much better than his ratings.

3(28): WILB-->LDE Benjamin McWilliams (25/52)--I could use two new DEs, and this guy was a 275-pound ILB with lots of signs that he could be a good DE. Indeed, his ratings moved from 20/46 to 25/52 upon position switching him.

4(30): QB Donald Rivera (7/54)--I didn't interview this guy, but his bars and his performance at the combine intrigued me, considering he was still around at this point and I could use a third QB.

5(29): RG Earl McElmurry (19/42)--Combine stud with strong intangibles.

6(28): LG Quentin Dawson (13/46)--Ditto McElmurry

7(30): SE Clifton Sampson (23/34)--This was a case of not really a need, but a guy who was hard to ignore at such a late point in the draft.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• First-round pick FL Pat Robinson goes from 32/50 to 34/54.
• 4th-round pick QB Donald Rivera drops to 7/47 from 7/54.
• Both RB Mel Pollock and FB Ronnie Givens drop 8 and 11 points, respectively, and both are cut, making RB Lake the position leader.
• The defensive front is a concern. LDE Corwin Fonoti appears to begin his decline, in his 8th season. He drops from 85/85 to 77/77. LDT Marvin Cox, now a 10th-year man, falls another 8 points to 49/49. (He was at 85/85 at his highest, too.) Also, WLB Alfred Anthony, who had been playing above his 38/38 ratings, drops to 24/24.
• On the flip side, Donnie Hsu, a guy I drafted rated 12/20, continues to climb. He's up to 28/32, and is my best option to start at WLB.
• Former stud RCB Eddie Patterson is on his last legs. The former 84/84 player drops 11 more points to 50/50, and is in his 12th season. I can't help but think this is his last.

I make a cut at TE that changes chemistry around, and in the ensuing fallout, a few other guys get cut to get chemistry back up to snuff, and a few rookies get signed. The only name that you might miss among the cuts is this year's 4th-round draft choice, QB Donald Rivera. He had an extreme conflict with RB Jerry Lake. Considering that Lake has over 2,600 yards from scrimmage in his two seasons with us, it wasn't difficult to decide which one of the two needed to go.

53-MAN ROSTER AND SEASON OUTLOOK

Player	#	Pos	St	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct
Stavrinos, Shane	15	QB	QB	5	40	40	4 yrs
Holmes, Preston	7	QB		4	14	35	1 yr.
Buchanan, Alan	14	QB		2	10	46	2 yrs
Lake, Jerry	43	RB	RB	3	77	77	2 yrs
Rhodes, Raymond	36	RB		2	33	44	1 yr.
McNeil, Floyd	27	RB		1	31	42	2 yrs
##Wretzky, Andrew	25	RB		3	30	41	1 yr.
Rodgers, Steven	28	FB	FB	2	38	48	2 yrs
Callaghan, Stanley	80	TE	TE	2	78	84	3 yrs
DiMaggio, Derrick	85	TE		4	37	37	1 yr.
Ficek, Clyde	82	TE		1	23	43	1 yr.
Tucker, Ben	32	FL	FL	3	49	49	1 yr.
Mounts, Mark	89	FL		11	46	46	2 yrs
Robinson, Pat	87	FL		1	38	54	4 yrs
Hicks, Irving	83	SE	SE	9	62	62	3 yrs
Keen, Malcolm	88	SE		2	53	54	2 yrs
##Sampson, Clifton	81	SE		1	26	32	3 yrs
Harrison, Scott	50	C	C	7	49	49	3 yrs
##Swift, Warren	56	C		5	44	52	1 yr.
Melnik, Steven	58	C		6	41	54	1 yr.
Jefferson, Andre	67	LG	LG	7	58	58	6 yrs
##Dawson, Quentin	66	LG		1	19	45	3 yrs
Young, Levon	78	RG	RG	5	66	66	4 yrs
McElmurry, Earl	73	RG		1	23	42	3 yrs
Pigeon, Thurman	74	LT	LT	5	85	85	1 yr.
Cowan, Levon	60	RT	RT	3	45	45	1 yr.
Clements, Levon	64	RT		8	41	41	2 yrs
Carlson, C.J.	68	RT		2	26	28	1 yr.
Stokley, Gary	2	P		1	42	44	1 yr.
Rogers, Butch	19	K		7	60	60	1 yr.
Fonoti, Corwin	77	LDE	LDE	8	77	77	3 yrs
McWilliams, Benjamin	94	LDE		1	26	53	4 yrs
Ozga, Shaun	70	RDE	RDE	6	44	44	5 yrs
Cash, Lance	90	RDE		1	21	42	3 yrs
Cox, Marvin	99	LDT	LDT	10	49	49	3 yrs
##Huettner, Ian	95	LDT		3	28	39	1 yr.
Elliott, Derrick	76	RDT	RDT	8	57	57	3 yrs
Kirk, Dan	92	RDT		9	37	37	4 yrs
Walsh, Levon	55	MLB	MLB	4	59	59	3 yrs
Jarboe, Cedric	52	MLB		3	23	35	1 yr.
Cobb, Kennedy	96	SLB	SLB	7	38	38	2 yrs
Hsu, Donnie	93	WLB	WLB	3	28	32	1 yr.
Anthony, Alfred	53	WLB		10	24	24	2 yrs
##Bliss, Derek	57	WLB		1	20	37	1 yr.
Franz, Conrad	39	LCB	LCB	10	48	48	2 yrs
Stokes, Richie	47	LCB		2	42	51	2 yrs
Northern, Greg	42	LCB		3	30	34	1 yr.
Tirtha, Chester	37	LCB		1	20	34	1 yr.
Patterson, Eddie	44	RCB	RCB	12	50	50	2 yrs
Blankenship, Wesley	29	SS	SS	3	39	43	1 yr.
Garrison, Cedric	38	FS	FS	6	47	47	4 yrs
##Ostroski, Benjamin	45	FS		2	26	40	2 yrs
McDonald, Walt	24	FS		1	23	52	2 yrs

We begin the season with a 74 Power Rating, third-best in the NFC South behind Carolina (88) and the Bucs (85). The defense looks like it is going to suffer due to aging, and the offense is a bit transitional as well. Still, behind the legs of Jerry Lake and the arm of Shane Stravrinos, I expect to contend for a division championship.

[Ben E Lou]

2033 RECAP

2033 Regular Season (10-6)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	26	at Carolina Panthers	3	S.Stavrinos 15-22-147	J.Lake 28-119	B.Tucker 6-75	66,200
Week 2	17	at Orlando Jets	30	S.Stavrinos 21-37-303	J.Lake 19-35	I.Hicks 3-74	59,400
Week 3	20	Detroit Lions	28	S.Stavrinos 19-35-211	J.Lake 16-43	B.Tucker 6-97	55,800
Week 4	10	at Philadelphia Eagles	41	S.Stavrinos 16-23-180	J.Lake 13-46	P.Robinson 3-56	49,100
Week 5	45	Washington Redskins	9	S.Stavrinos 25-34-336	R.Rhodes 15-44	P.Robinson 4-87	49,200
Week 6	27	at Miami Buccaneers	25	S.Stavrinos 18-31-279	J.Lake 19-69	B.Tucker 6-129	31,600
Week 7	28	Carolina Panthers	7	S.Stavrinos 12-18-124	J.Lake 40-140	P.Robinson 2-27	52,400
Week 8		BYE WEEK
Week 9	35	at Dallas Cowboys	17	S.Stavrinos 21-29-236	J.Lake 22-121	P.Robinson 9-146	62,100
Week 10	17	New York Giants	3	S.Stavrinos 16-24-229	J.Lake 18-65	I.Hicks 3-107	62,500
Week 11	10	New Orleans Saints	3	S.Stavrinos 21-38-269	J.Lake 19-24	B.Tucker 7-85	62,500
Week 12	36	at New England Patriots	10	S.Stavrinos 15-22-228	R.Rhodes 15-82	P.Robinson 3-102	48,700
Week 13	16	at Seattle Seahawks	17	S.Stavrinos 9-25-138	J.Lake 13-49	P.Robinson 2-43	56,400
Week 14	26	Akron Dolphins	7	S.Stavrinos 21-32-273	J.Lake 18-34	S.Callaghan 5-72	62,500
Week 15	20	Miami Buccaneers	27	S.Stavrinos 13-29-195	R.Rhodes 5-12	P.Robinson 3-64	62,500
Week 16	10	Buffalo Bills	14	S.Stavrinos 20-38-165	R.Rhodes 10-35	S.Callaghan 4-36	62,500
Week 17	28	at New Orleans Saints	7	S.Stavrinos 16-25-204	J.Lake 16-60	B.Tucker 5-56	36,600

We win the NFC South despite the third-best power rating in the division, and go 5-1 in the division to make it happen, despite troubles with the running game.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Stavrinos	462	278	3517	7.61	29	20	86.8
Team	469	281	3538	7.54	29	21	85.4
Opp	582	336	3295	5.66	16	19	69.3

Stravrinos threw more INTs than in any year save his first, but overall still had a nice season, highlighted by a career-high 29 TD passes.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Jerry Lake	RB	287	929	3.24	5	7
Raymond Rhodes	RB	142	609	4.29	5	1
Shane Stavrinos	QB	36	122	3.39	0	2
Team	---	471	1677	3.56	10	22
Opp	---	412	1895	4.60	9	34

Real struggles with the running game this year. I felt like Lake would eventually "snap out of it," but he never did. He did have a few flashes, but was inconsistent. Still, I remain inclined to give him the rock in the playoffs.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Ben Tucker	FL	100	59	742	12.58	7.42	7	49
Pat Robinson	FL	99	51	855	16.76	8.64	6	186
Stanley Callaghan	TE	52	40	480	12.00	9.23	2	75
Irving Hicks	SE	73	35	570	16.29	7.81	6	160
Malcolm Keen	SE	57	31	315	10.16	5.53	3	27
Jerry Lake	RB	36	29	218	7.52	6.06	1	49

Well, the receivers did well enough, especially Robinson. He got a lot of balls thrown his way for a WR3, which makes me wonder if something is wrong with Hicks, or if Robinson is just a beast who took his catches away when he was in the game.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Levon Walsh	MLB	123	40	2.5	1	4	6	78.1
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	64	23	4.0	7	0	5	75.2
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	60	25	21.5	27	0	1	82.1
Donnie Hsu	WLB	48	22	1.5	1	1	5	75.7
Wesley Blankenship	SS	44	13	1.0	1	1	1	78.7
Shaun Ozga	RDE	43	12	8.0	23	0	0	80.6
Cedric Garrison	FS	42	14	1.0	2	1	5	79.7
Eddie Patterson	RCB	40	14	0.5	0	0	3	72.5
Conrad Franz	LCB	38	12	0.0	0	3	9	82.4
Derrick Elliott	RDT	38	11	4.0	4	0	1	82.6
Richie Stokes	LCB	38	9	0.0	0	5	3	79.9
Cedric Jarboe	MLB	25	9	0.5	0	0	1	69.5
Derek Bliss	WLB	23	4	1.0	1	0	3	74.3
Walt McDonald	FS	22	4	0.0	0	2	5	84.9
Dan Kirk	RDT	21	11	3.0	0	0	0	82.5
Marvin Cox	LDT	19	11	2.0	8	0	0	82.2
Greg Northern	LCB	19	4	0.0	0	1	3	77.2

Apparently, someone forgot to tell Corwin Fonoti that his ratings dropped 8 points in training camp. The 8-year veteran posted career highs in tackles, assists, sacks, and QB knockdowns to lead the defense. CB Eddie Patterson, however, appears to be pretty much done. Given the great service he gave the team, I really hope he hangs 'em up after this year. He won't be starting in the playoffs, and I'd hate to have to cut him next year.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 29.4 13 Rushing Yards 104.8 27 Yards Per Carry 3.56 31 Pass Attempts 29.3 27 Completions 17.6 26 Completion Pct. 59.9 18 (T) Passing Yards 221.1 15 Yards Per Attempt 7.54 2 Yards Per Catch 12.59 1 Total Yards Gained 313.1 19 3rd Down Conversions 39.1 8 Points Per Game 23.2 2 Pass Rush Pct. 10.2 1 Pass Defense Pct. 66.3 17 Turnovers 31 25 (T) Turnover Margin +7 7

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 25.8 12 Rushing Yards 118.4 22 (T) Yards Per Carry 4.60 30 (T) Pass Attempts 36.4 31 Completions 21.0 25 (T) Completion Pct. 57.7 7 (T) Passing Yards 205.9 13 (T) Yards Per Attempt 5.66 2 Yards Per Catch 9.81 4 Total Yards Gained 302.3 12 3rd Down Conversions 36.5 20 (T) Points Per Game 15.5 5 Pass Rush Pct. 6.1 6 Pass Defense Pct. 73.6 30 Turnovers 38 1 Turnover Margin -7 7

The offense was interesting. Next-to-last in yards per carry, middle of the pack in passing yards, and below average in total yards, yet second in points per game. The defense is no longer the top-tier unit it was for a few years, but is still quite strong, and was opportunistic this season.

POSTSEASON RESULTS

Wild-Card Round: We spank the Niners 28-0 in front of the home folks as RB Jerry Lake looks like the stud we think he should be, carrying 25 times for 115 yards and a TD. Stavrinos didn't have to throw much, but he threw well, connected on 18 of 22 passes for 185 yards and 2 TDs.

Divisional Round: We upset the Cowboys on the road in overtime! Lake again has a nice day, carrying 22 times for 124 yards, and Stavrinos torches the Cowboy secondary to the tune of 29 for 45 for 342 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT.

NFC Championship: Another upset win on the road, this time over the Cardinals! Stavrinos goes 18 for 33 for 236 yards with a TD and 0 INTs hwile Lake struggles for 77 yards on 25 carries. Fonoti is the player of the game with 2.5 sacks, 3 hurries, and 3 QB knockdowns. On to our first Super Bowl!

Super Bowl: We win our first championship handily over the Akron Dolphins (hehehe) by a 28-3 count. Stavrinos wins the MVP with a 20 for 26, 329-yard, 3-TD performance. WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!!

AWARDS/RECORDS

LDE Corwin Fonoti wins Defensive Player Of The Year for the 2nd time in his career, and of course is also first-team All-Pro. His 21.5 sacks are also an all-time league record, breaking the 26-year-old mark of 20.5. Nice!

QB Shane Stavrinos sets a Falcon record with 29 TD passes for the year.

We set a team record with 15.5 points per game allowed.

K Butch Rogers becomes the all-time Falcon leading scorer this year. He has 773 points.

END-SEASON COMMENTS

This was NOT a year in which I was expecting to have a shot at winning it all, and not much in the regular season indicated that we were championship material. However, Stavrinos was just lights-out in the postseason, putting up a 112.2 QB rating over four games to lead us to glory!

[MizzouRah]

Nice job on the Super Bowl win!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Nice job on the Super Bowl win!

Thanks! Here's the next offseason:

2034 OFFSEASON

RETIREMENTS

Only one this year, and I'm glad he didn't force me to cut him...

RCB Eddie Patterson--Patterson was the first guy I drafted when I took this team over. He was the 1(2) pick back in '22, and was an immediate starter, of course. Patterson had a good career, but never really lived up to the greatness that his 2nd season seemed to promise: 6 INTs, 6 passes defensed, only 18 catches allowed, 91.0 PDPct. That season would be his best. Still he was a strong performer for 11 years, then tailed off in his final season. He picked off 26 passes, broke up 77, and had a career 81.1 PDPCt. He was a first-team All Pro in 2027, was POG once, mentioned for POW 17 times, and is second in Falcon history in both INTs and passes defensed. By the playoffs last year, he had been demoted to nickel back in favor of young Richie Stokes, so I don't think his loss will have a huge impact on the secondary.

PRELIMINARIES

SUMMER LEAGUE: LDE Benjamin McWilliams (27/53)

FRANCHISE TAG: Not used this year.

A LOOK BACK (2024 Draft)

1(6): DT Marvin Cox (61/84)—Picks 1,2 & 5 went on QB’s, and #3 and #4 went to a RB and CB, respectively, leaving me with the pick of the litter on the defensive line, and Cox looks like the best option. Cox's ratings got as high as 85/85, and he has had a very solid career to date, collecting 54.5 sacks and 141 hurries in 10 seasons. He has been a DL anchor for one of the league's best defenses, has 3 POGs, and one All-Pro award. Now rated 50/50, he still is a starter for us.
2(7): SS Mario Politte (18/56)—If he pans out, he’ll be excellent in run support and in zone defense. Politte's ratings topped out at 46/46. He was a seven-year starter for us, and registered 88 solo tackles in '26. We cut him during 2031 free agency. He played a year as a backup for Baltimore, was cut by them at the end of the year, then retired.
3(6): LG Rico Mugica (28/48)—Trying to get at least one side of the offensive line decent at run blocking. Mugica started for three undistinguished years for us before being cut in 2027. No one else signed him, and he retired a couple of years later.
4(7): RT Blake Lyon (19/38)—Had a great combine and is HUGE (6’7”, 351 pounds). Was a backup for one season with us before being cut. Picked up midseason by Buffalo in 2025 and started four games. Unsigned after that.
5(6): LDE Billy Joe Healy (20/37)—No standout ratings, but good combine numbers. Healy was a nice find for this point in the draft. His ratings got as high as 49/49, and he started a total of 125 games for us, collecting 50.5 sacks and 127 hurries in his 9-year career. His best season was 2027, in which he had 10.5 sacks, 7 blocked passes, and 21 hurries. Healy retired after 2032 5th in Falcon history in sacks, 3rd in hurries, and 4th in blocked passes.
6(7): LCB Conrad Franz (21/43)—Didn’t record any combine numbers, but had a great position drill and looks the part, ratings-wise. Speaking of nice finds, this guy was a GREAT find, and is still a Falcon! His ratings got as high as 60/60, and he has started 117 games in 10 seasons so far. He's second in Falcon history in interceptions, and has a career 79.9 PDPct.
7(6): RB Perry Zeyen (24/24)—Just had to see what this guy might be all about. 6’1”, 243 pounds, 4.63 in the 40. 10’1” broad jump, but only got a 3 in his position drill. Had a 5.1 adjusted rating, but fell all the way to here. Played one season for us, was cut, and never was signed by anyone else.

The cap becomes an issue for the first time in this dynasty, and as a result, I cut three of my over-the-hill former starters: WLB Alfred Anthony, FL Mark Mounts, and RDT Dan "Captain" Kirk. Mounts was the best Falcon of this trio. He leaves as the all-time Falcon leader in receptions, with 678.

AMATEUR DRAFT

A shut-down corner shows up in the draft pool, along with a few other studs, allowing the corner to still be there at #4. I couldn't resist trading future picks to grab him.

1(4): RCB Edwin McGee (59/85)--Looked like a super-stud at the combine. Looking to build the next generation of defense around him. All of his bars except for returns are very high.

1(32): RDT Drew Flynn (30/46)--Combine stud who should outgrow his ratings.

2(32): QB Shane Austin (16/59)--Austin has nice bars, and strong performances in a couple of key combine areas. According to his bars, he can throw the deep ball well.

3(32): SLB Mercury Workman (24/41)-Strong run defense and, of course, combine performances.

4(32): RDT Ray Herndon (16/47)--Run-stopping DE

5(32): FB Harvey Norton (26/40)--Scout says his run blocking stinks, but I have reason to believe otherwise.

6(32): SE Pete Patterson (25/42)--At the worst, he's got some nice kick return skills. However, I believe there's more to his bars than meets the eye.

7(32): RT Calvin "Mr. Irrelevant" Devine (21/33)--Strong, nimble-footed offensive tackle.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• First-round pick RCB Edwin McGee goes from 59/85 to 65/85.
• 1(32) pick Drew Flynn increases from 30/46 to 31/51.
• 2nd-round pick QB Shane Austin drops from 16/59 to 16/50.
• Undrafted FA FS Mack Cowles increases from 18/33 to 22/38

LCB Conrad Franz suffers ACL damage in preseason and will miss the entire year.

53-MAN ROSTER AND SEASON OUTLOOK

Player	#	Pos	Start	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct	Comments
Stavrinos, Shane	15	QB	QB	6	39	39	3 yrs	His ratings aren't too impressive, but it's hard to argue with a 49-35 record, 85+ QB ratings 3 straight years, and a Super Bowl.
Austin, Shane	11	QB		1	17	50	4 yrs	The 2(32) pick played very, very well in the preseason, with QB ratings over 100 in three of his four games.
Dodge, Frank	17	QB		1	16	41	2 yrs	Roster filler.
Lake, Jerry	43	RB	RB	4	79	79	1 yr.	Has been erratic, but has shown flashes of brilliance. I'd really like for him to show me something this year before I give him a long-term deal.
Janikowksi, Don	30	RB		1	35	47	1 yr.	Undrafted FA signee who looks like he could contribute.
##Rhodes, Raymond	36	RB		3	31	44	2 yrs	Rushed for 609 yards and 4.29 ypc in a backup role last year. Affinity with Lake.
McNeil, Floyd	27	RB		2	30	38	1 yr.	Solid return man. Averaged 8.1 yards per punt return as a rookie.
##Rodgers, Steven	28	FB		3	39	39	1 yr.	Hasn't been anywhere near the run blocker I hoped he'd be, with his 20.8 BPct.
Csonka, Wayne	46	FB	FB	1	25	45	1 yr.	Love that last name for a FB, and hope he can realize some of that 22/64 run blocking potential.
Callaghan, Stanley	80	TE	TE	3	88	88	2 yrs	Caught 40 passes for 480 yards, and was a very good run blocker as well. 9.23 yards per target last year.
DiMaggio, Derrick	85	TE		5	36	36	1 yr.	DiMag is a solid run blocker and special teams guy
Ficek, Clyde	82	TE		2	25	40	1 yr.	Good potential as a run blocker
Robinson, Pat	87	FL	FL	2	53	58	3 yrs	Late first round pick last year had 855 receiving yards as a rookie, and I expect bigger things from him as he continues to mature.
Tucker, Ben	32	FL		4	47	47	2 yrs	Converted him from RB as a rookie, and the former undrafted FA is definitely a key part of our WR rotation. Averaged 10.14 yards per target in the postseason.
Hicks, Irving	83	SE	SE	10	58	58	2 yrs	Aging mentor is on the back side of his career, but still is a big-play threat. He averaged 16.29 yards per reception last year, 3rd-best in his career.
Keen, Malcolm	88	SE		3	57	57	1 yr.	Despite his nice ratings, this guy has yet to put up numbers. However, had 129 yards on 6 catches in the FO Bowl. Sign of things to come?
Patterson, Pete	89	SE		1	24	37	3 yrs	Nice combine performance, but dropped a few points in training camp.
##Harrison, Scott	50	C		8	48	48	4 yrs	He has never been much more than mediocre, and has a three-week injury to start the season. Maybe Melnick can step up in his absence.
Melnik, Steven	58	C	C	7	41	46	1 yr.	He's Unhappy about playing time, but now gets a shot to start for a few games and show what, if anything, he can do.
Jefferson, Andre	67	LG	LG	8	56	56	5 yrs	64 straight starts at LG for us. His numbers, though, are really only a little above average.
Dawson, Quentin	66	LG		2	23	45	2 yrs	Probably nothing better than roster filler.
Young, Levon	78	RG	RG	6	67	67	3 yrs	I like to run behind this guy, and he does a pretty good job. He had a 36.0 BPct last year, 4 pancackes, and 4 sacks allowed.
McElmurry, Earl	73	RG		2	33	42	2 yrs	Nice job run blocking as a backup last year, with a 35.7 BPct. However, gave up 2 sacks in 168 pass plays.
Pigeon, Thurman	74	LT	LT	6	88	88	4 yrs	His dropoff from 42.0 in '32 to 23.7 in '33 had a bit to do with our rushing woes. He was on point in the postseason, though.
##Cowan, Levon	60	RT		4	46	46	3 yrs	So far, he hasn't been what I've hoped for. Gave up 10 sacks last year, and only had a 27.9 BPct. Has a 6-week injury to start the season.
Clements, Levon	64	RT	RT	9	42	42	2 yrs	Never a full-time starter, Clements has a lifetime BPct and 2.1 SPct. Ugh. I might go with Mr. Irrelevant Calvin Devine pretty early on.
Devine, Calvin	65	RT		1	23	33	3 yrs	With Cowan injured and Clements (a mentor) having been very unimpressive, the 7(32) pick will probably get a chance to show what he can do.
Stokley, Gary	2	P		2	46	46	1 yr.	Put 37% of his punts inside the 20 last year.
Rogers, Butch	19	K		8	59	59	1 yr.	He's 17 for 33 lifetime from 50 and beyond, and hits 86% of his chances from inside of 40.
Fonoti, Corwin	77	LDE	LDE	9	72	72	2 yrs	This guy has overcome two significant injuries in his career, and still had a record-setting year just last season.
McWilliams, Benjamin	94	LDE		2	28	52	3 yrs	I'd like to get this guy some development, but it's hard to get Fonoti off the field with the way he has been performing. McWilliams will back up at RDE some this year.
Ozga, Shaun	70	RDE	RDE	7	43	43	4 yrs	Quietly had his best year last year in the shadow of Fonoti: 8 sacks, 23 hurries, 6 passes blocked, 6.8 PRPct.
Cash, Lance	90	RDE		2	26	44	2 yrs	Could end up being the odd man out for playing time, barring injury.
Cox, Marvin	99	LDT	LDT	11	50	50	3 yrs	His endurance has really declined with age. Played in 12 games, but only participated in 46 snaps per game.
##Huettner, Ian	95	LDT		4	35	40	1 yr.	Run-stopping specialist.
Elliott, Derrick	76	RDT	RDT	9	53	53	3 yrs	His personal numbers don't look that great, but he played a bunch of snaps on a top defense.
Flynn, Drew	92	RDT		1	33	51	4 yrs	With Cox's endurance issues, he'll play some LDT this year to help along his development.
Herndon, Ray	75	RDT		1	22	42	4 yrs	Barely made the team. Dropped 5 future points in training camp. Not likely to stick around for long.
Walsh, Levon	55	MLB	MLB	5	60	60	5 yrs	123 solo tackles last year, playing on a good defensive team. Nice! Former 2nd-round pick is looking like a long-term starter.
##Ingram, Devin	59	MLB		1	13	18	1 yr.	Great combine. Weak ratings. Let's see what happens.
Cobb, Kennedy	96	SLB	SLB	8	37	37	1 yr.	This former undrafted FA has started for 7 seasons, and has ranged from 64 to 85 solo tackles in each of the last five.
Workmon, Mercury	53	SLB		1	24	41	3 yrs	3rd-round pick is an excellent run defender, at least on paper.
Mills, Nathan	98	SLB		1	19	27	1 yr.	Undrafted FA who could be a "creeper."
Hsu, Donnie	93	WLB	WLB	4	31	34	1 yr.	Was rated 15/24 when I signed him as an undrafted FA. Had 48 solos in only 549 plays last year (13.0 TkPct). Pretty impressive.
Stokes, Richie	47	LCB	LCB	3	47	47	1 yr.	Has 11 interceptions in two seasons, mainly as a nickel back. This will be his first year as a full-time starter, but he started in the postseason and had an 82.7 PDPct.
%%Franz, Conrad	39	LCB		11	41	41	1 yr.	Out for the year (and probably his career) with ACL damage in the preseason.
Northern, Greg	42	LCB		4	32	34	1 yr.	Roster filler type player who will probably have to play some nickel now.
McGee, Edwin	35	RCB	RCB	1	70	85	5 yrs	#4 overall pick gets thrown directly into the fire.
Walton, Matt	20	RCB		1	17	27	1 yr.	Undrafted FA combine stude who went from 13/21 to 17/27 in training camp. He'll play dime, and maybe nickel if Northen doesn't cut the mustard.
Blankenship, Wesley	29	SS	SS	4	42	42	1 yr.	Former undrafted FA with marginal scouted skills, but he seems to get it done well enough.
Garrison, Cedric	38	FS	FS	7	48	48	3 yrs	Great play diagnosis.
McDonald, Walt	24	FS		2	28	48	1 yr.	Former undrafted FA had an 84.9 PDPct last year in a backup role.
Ostroski, Benjamin	45	FS		3	27	35	1 yr.	Roster filler.
##Cowles, Mack	49	FS		1	24	38	1 yr.	Undrafted FA went from 16/33 to 22/38. I'll be watching this guy.

Our 66 power rating is 5th in the league, but 2nd in the division. Carolina is at 100. We definitely consider ourselves contenders.

[Ben E Lou]

2034 RECAP

2034 Regular Season (7-9)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	45	Miami Buccaneers	12	S.Stavrinos 17-22-350	J.Lake 17-74	I.Hicks 4-122	60,000
Week 2	14	Syracuse Browns	6	S.Stavrinos 16-36-205	J.Lake 21-116	I.Hicks 5-63	64,200
Week 3	12	Dallas Cowboys	13	S.Stavrinos 22-41-242	J.Lake 14-31	I.Hicks 5-70	62,500
Week 4	10	Seattle Seahawks	20	S.Stavrinos 21-39-191	D.Janikowksi 8-46	M.Keen 5-52	60,000
Week 5	Bye Week
Week 6	10	at Salinas (CA) Cardinals	13	S.Stavrinos 18-34-186	J.Lake 15-59	B.Tucker 9-129	49,600
Week 7	27	at Carolina Panthers	28	S.Stavrinos 20-31-222	J.Lake 16-49	S.Callaghan 3-55	66,100
Week 8	10	at San Francisco 49ers	3	S.Stavrinos 15-20-159	J.Lake 20-89	D.DiMaggio 2-35	32,500
Week 9	17	St. Louis Rams	3	S.Stavrinos 12-19-105	J.Lake 29-136	I.Hicks 2-31	63,400
Week 10	7	at Miami Buccaneers	27	S.Stavrinos 16-29-148	J.Lake 16-133	B.Tucker 5-68	24,300
Week 11	20	at New Orleans Saints	13	S.Stavrinos 16-24-279	J.Lake 19-70	P.Robinson 4-92	25,300
Week 12	28	Rochester Steelers	21	S.Austin 20-31-317	J.Lake 29-49	I.Hicks 4-82	62,500
Week 13	31	at Ann Arbor Bears	34	S.Austin 11-23-211	J.Lake 16-47	I.Hicks 1-65	54,600
Week 14	14	at Cincinnati Bengals	13	S.Austin 15-30-228	J.Lake 28-114	P.Robinson 5-148	58,500
Week 15	10	New Orleans Saints	16	S.Austin 12-28-128	J.Lake 21-88	P.Robinson 5-67	62,500
Week 16	13	at Baltimore Ravens	20	S.Austin 15-40-210	J.Lake 25-110	P.Robinson 4-82	41,500
Week 17	13	Carolina Panthers	20	S.Austin 17-35-186	J.Lake 19-122	P.Robinson 5-64	65,800

Stavrinos was strugging this year, and then went down with an ACL injury. Rookie backup Shane Austin performed rather admirably for a rook, but it was not enough to overcome that, and a few other injury losses.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Stavrinos	295	173	2087	7.07	9	17	66.6
Shane Austin	187	90	1280	6.84	10	8	70.7
Team	482	263	3367	6.99	19	25	68.2
Opp	513	302	3050	5.95	8	19	65.6

Stravrinos was having a bad year and then went down. Austin actually performed a little better, and quite well for a rookie. He's going to have to get a hard look next season.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Jerry Lake	RB	311	1304	4.19	7	3
Don Janikowksi	RB	133	492	3.70	2	2
Team	---	480	1934	4.03	9	22
Opp	---	497	1912	3.85	14	27

Lake put up a solid season. Our ALY was 3.84, and he was quite a bit better than that. However, we can't afford the extension he wants under the cap, so I'll have to franchise him next year.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Ben Tucker	FL	97	44	602	13.68	6.21	2	97
Jerry Lake	RB	65	42	218	5.19	3.35	4	52
Pat Robinson	FL	82	41	762	18.59	9.29	4	142
Irving Hicks	SE	71	39	621	15.92	8.75	3	124
Malcolm Keen	SE	72	38	438	11.53	6.08	1	44
Stanley Callaghan	TE	36	23	340	14.78	9.44	2	78
Derrick DiMaggio	TE	23	16	254	15.88	11.04	2	21

We really seem to be lacking a feature WR now, and it's hurting our passing game.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Levon Walsh	MLB	144	47	2.0	0	2	7	78.0
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	79	25	5.0	2	3	4	75.3
Wesley Blankenship	SS	69	33	0.0	0	4	2	80.9
Donnie Hsu	WLB	45	11	0.0	1	1	1	72.9
Edwin McGee	RCB	44	9	0.0	0	3	10	81.4
Marvin Cox	LDT	41	18	5.5	11	0	0	81.2
Derrick Elliott	RDT	41	12	3.5	10	0	0	82.2
Richie Stokes	LCB	37	7	0.0	0	1	10	79.2
Nathan Mills	SLB	35	12	0.0	1	0	2	75.9
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	34	20	9.5	16	0	1	81.7
Shaun Ozga	RDE	33	10	5.5	18	0	0	81.1
Cedric Garrison	FS	32	9	0.0	0	0	7	80.5
Ian Huettner	LDT	26	10	1.0	2	0	0	81.7
Greg Northern	LCB	23	2	0.0	0	4	0	83.0
Benjamin Ostroski	FS	23	2	0.5	0	0	2	76.1
Mercury Workmon	SLB	22	10	0.5	1	0	1	74.3
Walt McDonald	FS	16	17	0.0	0	1	3	81.4

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 30.0 12 Rushing Yards 120.9 14 Yards Per Carry 4.03 20 (T) Pass Attempts 30.1 26 Completions 16.4 30 Completion Pct. 54.6 32 Passing Yards 210.4 17 Yards Per Attempt 6.99 11 Yards Per Catch 12.80 1 Total Yards Gained 314.7 15 3rd Down Conversions 33.9 24 Points Per Game 17.6 23 Pass Rush Pct. 8.1 10 Pass Defense Pct. 69.2 13 (T) Turnovers 36 30 Turnover Margin -4 20 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 31.1 29 Rushing Yards 119.5 19 (T) Yards Per Carry 3.85 2 Pass Attempts 32.1 14 (T) Completions 18.9 8 Completion Pct. 58.9 10 (T) Passing Yards 190.6 2 Yards Per Attempt 5.95 5 Yards Per Catch 10.10 1 Total Yards Gained 295.2 7 (T) 3rd Down Conversions 31.1 2 Points Per Game 16.4 7 Pass Rush Pct. 7.5 18 Pass Defense Pct. 78.1 32 Turnovers 32 4 (T) Turnover Margin +4 20 (T)

As you can see, our defense is still one of the better ones in the league, and Levon Walsh has become a beast in the middle.

PLAYOFF RESULTS

None for us.

AWARDS/RECORDS

MLB Levon Walsh is a First Team All-Pro. He racked up 144 solo tackls, 47 assists, 2 sacks, 2 knockdowns, 2 interceptions, forced three fumbles, and had 7 passes defensed. His tackle and assist totals were Falcon records.

RG Levon Young won 2nd Team All-Pro honors, with 36 KRB in 69 chances (52.2%!), 3 pancakes, and only 3 sacks allowed.

END-SEASON COMMENTS

As has been the case quite often in this dynasty, offense needs to be addressed once again.

[RedKingGold]

Did I really see "Ben Tucker" as one of the top receivers?

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Did I really see "Ben Tucker" as one of the top receivers?

Shirley, that's just a coincidence.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Shirley, that's just a coincidence.

Maybe you're right.

And don't call me Shirley (I prefer Over, Under, Well, or Done).

[Dutch]

lol

[Ben E Lou]

I already mentioned it...

Originally Posted by SkyDog

It looks like Mark Mounts has seen his best days already. The good news is that Ben Tucker (yeah, I know) put up some very nice ratings gains this year. The undrafted FA is up to 43/54, and is looking like a long-term solution at WR3 at the worst, and maybe even a starter.

[Ben E Lou]

2035 OFFSEASON

RETIREMENTS

LCB Conrad Franz--Conrad was drafted with the 6(7) pick back in '24. He spent 2024 mainly as our nickel back, but then became a full-time starter in 2025, a role that he wouldn't relinquish until an injury forced him to the bench in 2034. He struggled for his first two seasons as a starter, but then really put it together in 2027, picking off 6 passes and putting up an 82.5 PDPct. Five of his next seasons saw his PDPct above 80. He tore his ACL in 2034's preseason, and retired after that year as the #2 all-time Falcon in interceptions. Pretty solid for a 6th-round pick.

FS Cedric Garrison--Garrison was selected with the 3(12) pick in 2028, and became a starter in 2029. He had a pretty solid career, putting up an 80.5 career PDPct, but it was cut short due to the dreaded repetitive concussion syndrome, causing him to retire after his seventh season.

PRELIMINARIES

SUMMER LEAGUE: QB Shane Austin (20/50)

FRANCHISE TAG: RB Jerry Lake

A LOOK BACK (2025 Draft)

1(12): SE Irving Hicks (41/63)—He runs a 4.37, and looks like a serious deep threat, and appears to be the perfect complement to FL Mark Mounts, who has already shown himself to be a great possession receiver. Hicks is still a Falcon, in his 11th year. His ratings topped out at 69/69, and he's at a robust 58/58 still today. He had five straight 900-yard receiving years in his prime, his best being 2031, when he caught 68 passes for 1130 yards, and 21 catches over 20 yards. He's the #2 receiver in Falcon history.
2(11): RT Mike Erickson (21/40)—Looking to help improve the offensive line. Erickson was moved to RG, where he maxed out at 47/47. He was a full-time starter from 2026-2028, and a backup for the rest of his 8-year career, all as a Falcon.
3(3): FB Ronnie Givens (43/64)—Traded up to grab this guy, after the other FB I was looking at went. Givens was a no-show at the combines, but I like his scouted skills. Givens had a 10-year career in which his ratings got up to 52/52. He was a 2nd Team All-Pro in 2027, catching 41 passes and rushing for over 100 yards. He was cut in 2033, but played one more season, with the Vikings, before retiring.
4(14): LG Steven McCaslin (31/45)—Very intelligent and strong guy who I immediately move to center, since I have two decent or better guards. He only drops to 28/44. He started at center as a rookie, and had a 33.3 BPct but allowed 7 sacks. He tore his MCL in Week 4 of 2026, and was cut the following season.
5(13): RDT Dan “Captain” Kirk (23/53)—Looks like he could be a pretty good run defender. Has low endurance. He started in his second and third seasons, and stuck around as a backup for six more after that. Captain Kirk's low endurance limited him to a max of 558 total plays in any season. Still, he had a very solid 10.8 career tackle percentage. His ratings made it to 49/49. Pretty good 5th round pick.
6(12): RB Mike Berube (33/48)—Looks pretty good in elusiveness, hole recognition, and pass-catching skills. A 51/51 player at the height of his career, Berube was our starting tailback for all or part of six seasons. He had a career 3.79 yards per carry, though, and never really seemed to live up to his ratings.
7(11): SLB Tito Emmons (16/25)—Had a good combine, but has horrid bars, but quite high in pass rush technique and pass rush strength. If nothing else, he might be a good blitz guy. Definitely worth a look in the 7^th round. His ratings climbed to 29/32 by year 3, but I just didn't have room on the roster for him, and cut him

At the beginning of free agency, FL Pat Robinson has a nice ratings bump up to 63/63.

AMATEUR DRAFT

A shut-down corner shows up in the draft pool, along with a few other studs, allowing the corner to still be there at #4. I couldn't resist trading future picks to grab him.

2(9): FG Alvin Isaac (49/76)--Looks like an all-around FB who can run block, tote the rock in short yardage situations, and catch the football as well.
3(13): RDT Wesley Horn (20/57)--He's a monster at 6'5", 337 pounds, but has surprising athletic ability. He's a bit of a project player, but we've got Marvin Cox to mentor him.
4(12): FS Chris Arvold (23/44)--Pretty solid all-around combine. Has punt return skills.
5(11): QB Marc Clem (18/43)--Very intelligent, strong leadership skills, good bars in some key areas.
6(10): FL Jerry Farber (21/59)--I wasn't strongly looking for a WR, but it was hard to resist this guy. He didn't do the athletic drills, but he got a 50 on his Solecismic test and a 62 position drill as well. If nothing else, he also looks like he's got solid kick returning skills.
7(9): RG Dana Dodge (18/41)--Didn't work out at the combines, but some intriguing bars and a 48 on his Solecismic test.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• RB Jerry Lake drops from 79/79 to 69/69.
• Undrafted rookie FA RB J.R. Overhauser jumps from 23/32 to 27/38.
• RDT Wesley Horn drops from 20/57 to 22/50

53-MAN ROSTER AND SEASON OUTLOOK

Player	#	Pos	Start	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct
Stavrinos, Shane	15	QB		7	38	38	2 yrs
Austin, Shane	11	QB	QB	2	23	46	3 yrs
Clem, Marc	18	QB		1	19	39	3 yrs
Lake, Jerry	43	RB	RB	5	69	69	4 yrs
McNeil, Floyd	27	RB		3	31	34	2 yrs
Janikowksi, Don	30	RB		2	36	45	1 yr.
Jorbin, Brad	38	RB		1	21	28	1 yr.
Overhauser, J.R.	21	RB		1	27	38	1 yr.
Isaac, Alvin	48	FB	FB	1	54	75	3 yrs
##DiMaggio, Derrick	85	TE		6	36	36	1 yr.
Callaghan, Stanley	80	TE	TE	4	87	87	3 yrs
Ficek, Clyde	82	TE		3	27	39	2 yrs
Tucker, Ben	32	FL		5	47	47	3 yrs
Robinson, Pat	87	FL	FL	3	63	63	2 yrs
Robertson, Edwin	33	FL		1	25	53	2 yrs
Farber, Jerry	84	FL		1	24	55	3 yrs
Hicks, Irving	83	SE	SE	11	58	58	2 yrs
##Keen, Malcolm	88	SE		4	47	47	2 yrs
Harrison, Scott	50	C	C	9	48	48	3 yrs
##Melnik, Steven	58	C		8	40	40	1 yr.
Webster, Travis	51	C		1	36	58	1 yr.
Jefferson, Andre	67	LG	LG	9	54	54	4 yrs
Dawson, Quentin	66	LG		3	27	45	1 yr.
Young, Levon	78	RG	RG	7	60	60	2 yrs
##McElmurry, Earl	73	RG		3	41	41	1 yr.
Pigeon, Thurman	74	LT	LT	7	86	86	3 yrs
##Clements, Levon	64	RT		10	37	37	2 yrs
Cowan, Levon	60	RT	RT	5	43	43	2 yrs
Devine, Calvin	65	RT		2	28	33	2 yrs
Stokley, Gary	2	P		3	49	49	1 yr.
Rogers, Butch	19	K		9	57	57	2 yrs
Fonoti, Corwin	77	LDE	LDE	10	69	69	2 yrs
McWilliams, Benjamin	94	LDE		3	33	53	2 yrs
Ozga, Shaun	70	RDE	RDE	8	43	43	3 yrs
Cash, Lance	90	RDE		3	35	48	1 yr.
Cox, Marvin	99	LDT	LDT	12	48	48	2 yrs
##Huettner, Ian	95	LDT		5	39	40	1 yr.
Elliott, Derrick	76	RDT	RDT	10	53	53	3 yrs
Flynn, Drew	92	RDT		2	40	54	3 yrs
Horn, Wesley	71	RDT		1	22	50	4 yrs
Walsh, Levon	55	MLB	MLB	6	59	59	4 yrs
Ingram, Devin	59	MLB		2	14	18	2 yrs
Cobb, Kennedy	96	SLB		9	31	31	2 yrs
##Mills, Nathan	98	SLB		2	23	29	2 yrs
Workmon, Mercury	53	SLB	SLB	2	29	44	2 yrs
Hsu, Donnie	93	WLB	WLB	5	33	33	1 yr.
Northern, Greg	42	LCB		5	33	33	1 yr.
Stokes, Richie	47	LCB		4	37	37	2 yrs
McGee, Edwin	35	RCB	LCB	2	87	87	4 yrs
Walton, Matt	20	RCB	RCB	2	22	30	2 yrs
Blankenship, Wesley	29	SS	SS	5	40	40	1 yr.
McDonald, Walt	24	FS	FS	3	30	43	1 yr.
%%Cowles, Mack	49	FS		2	26	39	2 yrs
Boone, Mitchell	37	FS		1	15	27	1 yr.

Rookie RB Overhauser had two 100-yard games in preseason, and 2nd-year QB Shane Austin saw some nice gains. I'm going to go with Austin as our starting QB, with Stavrinos as his mentor. I'm going to fully implement the Run-N-Stun this year, with a heavy emphasis on the "Run" with Lake and Overhauser. Our 75 power rating is 10th-best in the league. Carolina is best in the division at 92. There's great roster parity this year: 14 teams are at 70 or better. If things fall our way, the playoffs are definitely within reach.

[Ben E Lou]

2035 RECAP

2035 Regular Season (11-5)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Att
Week 1	13	at New Orleans Saints	14	S.Austin 12-21-125	J.Lake 19-81	P.Robinson 3-45	32,000
Week 2	27	Houston Texans	17	S.Austin 13-24-193	J.Lake 16-52	P.Robinson 4-61	51,800
Week 3	31	Salinas (CA) Cardinals	16	S.Austin 15-22-221	J.Lake 21-208	B.Tucker 3-54	58,500
Week 4	20	Miami Buccaneers	21	S.Austin 13-27-187	J.Lake 17-96	S.Callaghan 4-62	62,600
Week 5	35	at Carolina Panthers	17	S.Austin 18-31-320	J.Lake 20-65	I.Hicks 6-122	66,400
Week 6	20	Minnesota Vikings	10	S.Austin 14-23-244	J.Lake 16-53	I.Hicks 4-82	64,300
Week 7	17	at Chicago Packers	21	S.Austin 13-28-225	J.Overhauser 9-43	I.Hicks 3-53	49,900
Week 8	21	Detroit Lions	13	S.Austin 10-22-152	J.Overhauser 9-77	I.Hicks 3-66	61,900
Week 9	45	at Ann Arbor Bears	23	S.Austin 15-24-261	J.Lake 20-83	P.Robinson 2-86	55,500
Week 10	34	New Orleans Saints	10	S.Austin 13-19-173	J.Lake 26-89	I.Hicks 4-57	64,300
Week 11	Bye Week
Week 12	33	Tennessee Titans	0	S.Austin 22-32-307	J.Overhauser 16-74	I.Hicks 8-140	64,300
Week 13	24	at New York Giants	17	S.Austin 15-21-232	J.Overhauser 13-67	B.Tucker 7-113	45,100
Week 14	13	at Jacksonville Jaguars	20	S.Austin 16-26-221	J.Lake 15-60	P.Robinson 2-64	67,100
Week 15	20	Carolina Panthers	27	S.Austin 11-25-242	J.Overhauser 10-115	P.Robinson 4-113	64,300
Week 16	24	at San Antonio Colts	14	S.Austin 11-20-156	J.Overhauser 20-113	B.Tucker 2-32	60,700
Week 17	20	at Miami Buccaneers	17	S.Austin 14-24-194	J.Lake 22-72	B.Tucker 6-103	42,900
2035 Playoffs				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Att
W. Card	30	at Minnesota Vikings	13	S.Austin 17-30-246	J.Lake 20-50	I.Hicks 6-75	50,300
Division	10	at St. Louis Rams	34	S.Austin 4-19-69	J.Lake 13-62	P.Robinson 2-61	59,400

Our heavy-run Run-N-Stun proved to be a good strategy for this team. Miami won the division at 12-4, but our finish was definitely solid, and losing to St. Louis in the playoffs was not much to be ashamed of. They went 14-2, and steamrolled through three teams in the postseason by a combined count of 109-41 en route to the championship.

Passing		Att		Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Austin		389		225	3453	8.88	29	12	99.2
Team		394		228	3503	8.89	30	12	100
Opp		587		347	3592	6.12	18	18	74.2

It certainly appears that we have found our next QB. Austin's ratings haven't gone up a ton yet (32/46 currently, from 20/50 entering free agency), but it looks like something clicked for him, be it summer league, mentorship, or a combination of both. If he can keep this kind of performance up, he'll be our QB for the next decade or so.

Rushing		Pos		Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Jerry Lake		RB		308	1191	3.87	6	7
J.R. Overhauser		RB		187	929	4.97	6	6
Team		---		541	2321	4.29	13	27
Opp		---		369	1468	3.98	12	25

We had a nice season running the football. Overhauser's preseason numbers clearly were no fluke. He had three 100-yard games over the course of the regular season despite never starting a game. Lake only has one year left on his big contract after this year. At this point, the best plan looks like to have them split time in 2036, and try to franchise-and-trade Lake in '37 if Overhauser has another good year in '36.

Receiving		Pos		Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Irving Hicks		SE		103	52	830	15.96	8.06	7	87
Pat Robinson		FL		81	44	860	19.55	10.62	9	167
Ben Tucker		FL		59	35	524	14.97	8.88	4	31
Stanley Callaghan		TE		29	23	362	15.74	12.48	2	54
Jerry Farber		FL		37	17	240	14.12	6.49	4	17
Jerry Lake		RB		22	16	208	13.00	9.45	1	8

Considering that Austin only had two games where he threw more than 28 passes, these numbers actually look pretty good. If we had thrown 500 passes, Hicks and Robinson both probably would have surpassed 1,000 yards. Also, I've noticed that 10 yards per target is a *VERY* good benchmark for receivers to hit. Only seven hit it this season, and two were Falcons.

Defense		Pos		Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Levon Walsh		MLB		107	37	3.5	4	1	8	77.4
Wesley Blankenship		SS		64	18	0	0	2	4	77.5
Donnie Hsu		WLB		59	14	2	2	1	3	73.4
Kennedy Cobb		SLB		55	9	1	3	0	3	71.4
Matt Walton		RCB		45	13	0	1	5	5	78.3
Mercury Workmon		SLB		41	19	2.5	1	1	3	77.7
Corwin Fonoti		LDE		36	11	10	21	0	0	81.4
Walt McDonald		FS		36	10	0	0	0	4	77.5
Richie Stokes		LCB		31	7	0	0	3	8	80.1
Edwin McGee		RCB		30	8	0	0	1	10	81.7
Marvin Cox		LDT		29	14	3.5	6	1	0	82.7
Mitchell Boone		FS		26	16	0	1	2	2	79.3
Shaun Ozga		RDE		23	9	4	7	0	0	82.5
Derrick Elliott		RDT		20	8	3	9	0	0	82.5
Lance Cash		RDE		20	5	5	7	1	1	84.8
Nathan Mills		SLB		20	5	0	1	0	2	70.1
Drew Flynn		RDT		18	9	0.5	2	0	0	81.4
Devin Ingram		MLB		18	1	0	0	0	2	77.1

Atlanta	Team	Rank	Opponents	Team	Rank
Rushes per Game	33.8	2	Rushes per Game	23.1	3
Rushing Yards	145.1	1	Rushing Yards	91.8	2
Yards Per Carry	4.29	9	Yards Per Carry	3.98	8
Pass Attempts	24.6	32	Pass Attempts	36.7	30
Completions	14.3	32	Completions	21.7	30
Completion Pct.	57.9	24 (T)	Completion Pct.	59.1	11 (T)
Passing Yards	218.9	12	Passing Yards	224.5	23 (T)
Yards Per Attempt	8.89	1	Yards Per Attempt	6.12	7
Yards Per Catch	15.36	1	Yards Per Catch	10.35	6
Total Yards Gained	347.4	5	Total Yards Gained	301.3	12
3rd Down Conversions	41.1	2	3rd Down Conversions	35.5	17
Points Per Game	24.8	4	Points Per Game	16.1	5
Pass Rush Pct.	9.3	4	Pass Rush Pct.	6.2	4
Pass Defense Pct.	64.3	25	Pass Defense Pct.	72.8	26
Turnovers	21	7 (T)	Turnovers	28	9 (T)
Turnover Margin	7	7	Turnover Margin	-7	7

Corwin Fonoti's numbers actually improved a bit from last year. The 10-year vet looks like he still has plenty left in the tank. Of all the numbers, the one that matters most to me defensively is ppg, and we were 5th in that despite a number of bumps and bruises along the way in the secondary.

AWARDS/RECORDS

RB Jerry Lake's 208-yard game against the Cardinals set a team record.

QB Shane Austin set a team record with 8.88 yards per passing attempt.

FL Pat Robinson's 19.55 yards per catch were a team record.

RB Floyd McNeil had a team-record 482 punt return yards (9.8 per). What's most impressive about that number is that he had no TDs to pad his numbers. He was just very consistent in helping our filed position.

END-SEASON COMMENTS

I'm pretty happy with things overall at this point, especially if Shane Austin is as good as his numbers this year might indicate.

[dj_morton]

Great Dynasty so far!