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07-17-2007, 12:42 AM
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#51 | ||
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Sample's numbers are insane, I have never seen anyone with a percentage even close to that high. I just checked one of my long dynasties and Ken Riley had a 93.9 in 1975 (dynasty is in 2010) for the single season record. Man that is impressive. At least you lost Unitis in week 6 not 16. How's the rest of your conference looking? You going to rest Unitis the last couple of weeks if you manage a bye?
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07-17-2007, 01:05 AM
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#52 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Just a fun tidbit: Sample was the #5 cornerback in the league in current rating when I got him back in 1961. He's still the #10 cornerback in current rating and is a definite shutdown corner. He's tied for 2nd in all-time pass defenses too. Now, that being said, he broke the 90s in the first half at least one other season to and finished with 86.3% or something like that, so I predict that he'll take a drop here too. Whether it'll be enough to set the record is up in the air. 93.0% is the single-season pass defense record in my universe, set in 1963 by St. Louis's Freddy Glick, one of 4 players to break the 90% milestone in a season thus far in this universe. We hold the #1 record in the AFC right now, but there's a slew of 6-2 and 6-3 teams, including three 6-2 teams in the AFC West! Teams chasing us: Baltimore (6-2) - I told you I loved what they did this offseason and the Ravens are proving me right. Oakland (6-2) Denver (6-2) Kansas City (6-2) New Jersey (6-3) Cleveland (6-3) The Raiders currently own the tiebreaker in the AFC West, but obviously those teams are going to beat up on each other. Johnny Unitas presently leads in QB rating with 112.1, but Bart Starr is right behind him at 102.5 and has an amazing 13 touchdowns to 0 INTs ratio. That's even more incredible considering Starr has garbage for receivers relative to Unitas. Naturally I'm going to sit Unitas until he's fully and completely healthy. I probably won't sit him the last two weeks if we clinch a bye because I don't want him getting rusty, but if the playoff situation doesn't matter any which way, he'll definitely sit the last game.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-18-2007, 12:17 AM
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#53 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Baltimore 10 Miami 24
As fate would have it, we square off against the Starr-led Ravens, only they're starcrossed this game. Baltimore can't find a running game and when Bart Starr tries to do it by himself, this is the result: 17-42 for 169 yards and an INT. Those 5 sacks didn't help him out either. Meanwhile, Ed Brown is the one who looked like a franchise QB today: 31-38 for 300 yards and 3 TDs. Evidently he was justified at being mad about the whole Mickey Slaughter situation. Not to worry, Ed! You'll be our top backup when Johnny U comes back. Naturally Gary Ballman is the big receiver with 9 catches for 122 yards and a TD. Don Brumm continues his terrific year with 2 tackles, 2 sacks, a block, 4 hurries and a knockdown. Johnny Sample imitates Irving Cross with a 33 yard kick return average and Marshall Stark and Don Fleming both defend 3 passes, with Fleming tacking on an interception besides. Miami 17 New Jersey 30 We've been seriously lucky to keep winning without Johnny U and today's the day our luck runs out. Dave Lloyd goes bananas with 15 tackles, an assist and a knockdown and Ross Fitchner records 9 tackles, 4 assists, a sack and a pass defense to be our only stars of the game. Carolina 10 Miami 30 We draw a cupcake in our last game sans Unitas and we cream-puff them behind a balanced offense led by Ed Brown's laser 15-19 for 187 yards and a TD. Dave Lloyd heads up the defense with 9 tackles, an assist, a sack, a block and a pass defense. Tucson 9 Miami 27 The layoff shows, as Johnny Unitas is a mortal 15-24 for 225 yards and a TD in his debut, but it's more than enough to get us the win. Ross Fitchner wins Game MVP with 4 tackles, 3 assists, 2 interceptions and 3 pass defenses. Charlie Frazier strains his quad and is questionable for the next game. We're still not certain of grabbing home-field advantage however, as our 10-2 record is just a game ahead of the 9-3 Kansas City Chiefs. Besides, I really don't want to have to throw in a street free agent at wide receiver unless it's absolutely necessary. Atlanta 6 Miami 34 A creampuff dessert is just what Johnny Unitas needed to shake the cobwebs off as he pummels the pathetic Falcons: 26-35 for 316 yards and 3 TDs. Harry Bonner, speaking of street free agent pickups, grabs 2 interceptions this game to make up half of the 4 we get as a team. He's been a shockingly effective force in the nickel package. Charley Warner is done as a Dolphin after this year. I don't care that he's #1 all time in punt return yardage, he's averaging 6.7 yards this year and looks really lost out there. One more win should be enough to clinch home-field advantage throughout. New Jersey 0 Miami 26 Wow. Neither the offense nor the defense wanted the Jets to spoil our fun again and they lower the boom on the team that's arguably been the most consistently good franchise in our nascent division. Johnny Unitas is 22-40 for 320 yards and 2 TDs to notch his second straight 300+ yard passing game. Charlie Frazier comes out of nowhere to grab 7 balls for 134 yards. ...And of course, with that amazing effort, Charlie Frazier aggravates his quad muscle enough that he's out for the year. Damn it! Fred Dugan moves over to backup flanker, Bob Coolbaugh slides in as the backup split end and chemistry signing Jerry Richardson becomes the emergency 5th receiver. I'm not for certain if that win was enough to clinch home field advantage or not, so I decide to have Johnny Unitas play one more game to ensure the rust stays off and we get that all-important win. Miami 36 New Orleans 7 The Big Easy is an easy place to win, thanks to 4 different players getting an interception, Dick Van Raaphorst blasting 5/5 FGs and Game MVP Henry Jordan finally having a breakout game with 4 tackles, an assist, 3 sacks, 2 hurries and 3 knockdowns. With that win, we have home-field advantage locked up and repeat as AFC East Division Champions!!!!. Johnny Unitas sits the last game, as does Paul Hornung, who has some knee tendinitis bugging him. I'm curious to see what Dan Reeves can do with more carries anyway. He's had a seriously intriguing rookie season. Miami 27 Buffalo 31 The Bills win the booby prize of 9-7 and no playoffs, thereby guaranteeing themselves a crappy 1st round pick unless they got someone else's along the way. Dan Reeves continues to intrigue with his 4.00 average on carries today. Ed Brown was 24-39 for 275 yards, a TD, and an INT, so it's not like he played horribly or anything. Johnny Sample averages 30.2 yards on kick returns. So we've secured home-field advantage and didn't have any major new injuries. Paul Hornung will be 100% by our first playoff game, but that's not the best news. The best news is that Irv Cross is probable and will be able to play for us in the postseason. Our nightmare secondary is back.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-18-2007, 05:36 PM
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#54 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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In AFC Wildcard action, the Cleveland Browns upset the Starr-led Ravens 29-23 and the Blanda-less Oilers beat our division foes, the Jets, 23-17.
I would've loved to have seen a Starr vs. Unitas matchup in the divisional round, but instead we draw the Cleveland Browns, who have consistently been one of the top teams in the league, but who just can't seem to win the Super Bowl. The Browns have a fearsome offense, led by great QB Len Dawson and a little RB they call Jim Brown, who has 6 straight seasons of 1,000+ yards rushing, including this year despite missing 3 games due to injury. Bobby Mitchell is a star WR, with 6 straight years of 1,000+ yards receiving, but the wide receivers outside of him really suck. Cleveland has an extremely solid offensive line that looks a lot like ours. Defense is where things start to break a little bit. DE Verlon Biggs, the #6 overall pick in the draft, had a very good rookie year and NT Wesley Evans is pretty good, as is SILB Lee Roy Jordan, a 3rd year player taken by the Browns is the second round, but the rest of the front seven is mediocre. The secondary is pretty bad, with SS Jimmy Patton the only truly good player. CB Nemiah Wilson, the Browns' 2nd round pick in the most recent draft, will be good some day, maybe even great, but he's not there yet. All in all, I'd count this game as very winnable. Johnny Unitas and our talented receiving corps have the ability to shred that weak secondary and give us enough power to win the shootout this could turn into. Mitchell could be difficult, but the rest of our secondary should eat their receivers alive, which could mean that Cleveland will try and turn this into a low-scoring game, backed by Brown. Incidentally, we're favored by 5. The game turns into a QB duel as Johnny Unitas and Len Dawson are both on the top of their games, but their FG kicker is better than our Dutchman and Paul Hornung fumbles at an inopportune time so we're down 20-14 going into the final quarter. Dick Van Raaphorst finally hits his first FG of the day midway through the 4th and we close the gap to 20-17, but then with just under 4 minutes to go, Dawson finds Bobby Mitchell for 6 yards and points, giving Mitchell 100 receiving yards on the day. 27-17. 30 seconds later, thanks to some brilliant passing by Unitas, Paul Warfield gets a TD reception and we're still very much in this thing at 27-24. We stop them on the ensuing drive and get the ball back at the 2 minute warning. The script is set for another miracle Unitas comeback. But then, 3 plays later, Johnny U throws his first interception of the game. And down we go, 27-24. The crowd is stunned and we're all heartbroken on the sidelines. Our miracle season is over.  Johnny Unitas was great outside of that INT, though. 27-35 for 261 yards and 3 TDs to go with that pick. Len Dawson was his equal and the Game MVP at 25-33 for 274 yards and 2 TDs. Bobby Mitchell had 8 catches for 100 yards and that critical TD, countered on our side by Gary Ballman's 7 receptions for 111 yards and a TD himself. This game came down to turnovers, not only the Unitas interception, but two fumbles by our running backs. It also pointed to the Ks, where Dick Van Raaphorst was just 1-3, whereas Cleveland's K was 2/2. This loss is just absolutely crushing. But it was also a thrilling, beautiful game for fans to watch. Two very evenly matched teams going head to head, where things went just enough the Browns' way to win the game. We have nothing to be ashamed of.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-18-2007, 06:34 PM
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#55 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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This is totally how I think my current Lions season is going to go. Look great during the regular season after years of mediocracy, reach new levels of hope, only to get smoked in the playoffs. Hopefully you can get a couple more good years outta Unitas. I figure kickers blow 2 games a season, unfortunately yours chose to decide this one. How'd he do during the season.
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07-18-2007, 10:20 PM
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#56 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
38/43 (88.4%), 6/9 (66.7%) from 40+, 0/1 from 50+. This compares to 25/34 (73.5%), 3/9 (33.3%) from 40+, 0/2 from 50+ his rookie year. So he's definitely improving. Not quite in Allen Green territory, who finally broke out and kicked 85.7% of his FG, 72.7% from 40+ (16/22) and 4/6 from 50+ (66.7%), but he might get there. Incidentally, Green's year for the Dallas Cowboys was the only time he's even come close to hitting 80%. In fact, when he joined Houston in 1964, the year after we released him, he converted just 71.5% of his field goals. So right now, I'd say the Dutchman looks like one of those guys who'll be pretty accurate most of the time unless you try from anything beyond 50. I can handle that.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-19-2007, 10:48 PM
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#57 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Super Bowl VI
Los Angeles 30 Cleveland 27 What a thriller! In the last 3 minutes of the game, both kickers made a 50+ yard field goal, 53 for the Rams and 54 for the Browns before Lou Michaels of the Rams hit his 2nd field goal in three minutes with 4 seconds remaining in the game, a 23 yard chipshot to give Los Angeles the victory! The win puts the Rams at 1-1 in the Super Bowl (They lost to the Colts in Super Bowl IV), whereas the poor Browns are now 0-3 in the biggest game on earth. There've been a lot of incredible Super Bowls in the six we've seen so far and this is one of them. Extensions I made a few extensions to players about to head into free agency and there's a few others I wanted to extend, but they were playing hardball in negotiations. Nonetheless I did get some done: WLB Albert Gursky 3 years, $250k C Ken Engram 3 years, $340k LT Bob Skoronski 3 years, $810k SLB Jim Houston 4 years, $900k I overpaid somewhat for Houston and Skoronski, but Skoronski's been quite good for us and well, I'm still not sure what made me extend Houston, except maybe that he's still got a bit of upside and he did pretty well in his first year on the strong side. Gursky and Engram were chemistry signings as I like what they bring affinity-wise to the team. The final team stats: Code:
Changing defensive coordinators really was a brilliant move. We didn't make much in the way of changes to our personnel and yet we turn in arguably the top defensive performance in the league. Johnny Sample didn't break any records, but he did tie Freddy Glick for most passes defensed in a season and his 92.1% pass defense is #2 all-time for a season, behind Glick. Dan Lloyd becomes the first player to have 100+ tackles a season for two years in a Dolphins uni and Mark Schau had his usual second-half breakout, but both he and Don Brumm fell short of the double-digit sack mark again. Gary Ballman misses out on double-digit TDs, but does become the first Dolphins receiver ever to post consecutive 1,000 yards receiving seasons and Paul Warfield nearly joins him. I'll take the 9 drops as a pill to swallow for Ballman's productivity and fan favorite status. Warfield did indeed have the kind of rapidly improved season I hoped for and they may both break 1,000 yards next year. Paul Hornung and Bill Cooper aren't the greatest 1-2 punch in the world, but at least they don't fumble much and can find the endzone. Dan Reeves will get a much closer look next training camp. We'll also be eyeing the RBs in the draft to see if we can find someone late in the 1st who can be our starter the next 10 years. Johnny Unitas and Ed Brown may be old, but they played brilliantly this year, especially Brown, who was absolutely fantastic in relief of Johnny U when our star signing got hurt. Our QB situation is -still- muddled for the future, however, so anything's possible. John Seedborg's punting averaged sucked, but he coffin-corners it about a 1/3 of the time, so he may stick around. The Dutchman kicker I discussed in the previous post. On the offensive line, Bob Skoronski and Oronde Bland had their usual steady seasons. Fuzzy Thurston and Sherman Plunkett were absolutely terrible and Jim Simon improved signifantly over last season. Mark Mathias was fantastic, Lloyd McCoy wretched. Dick Koepfer made major strides in development and actually did a little better than Plunkett. Overall, I'd count T and RB as our biggest priorities in the offseason and draft. DE depth will be a concern as well, since Dick Stafford isn't coming back. Season Awards K Dick Van Raaphorst - 2nd Team All-Pro K Heh. Want to know who was 1st Team All-Pro K? That's right, Allen Green. I'm not going to hear the end of that one, I think. Johnny Sample gets screwed hard. So what if he only had 5 interceptions? The guy defended passes left and right and had a terrific pass defense percentage. I can see maybe why he didn't make the 1st Team, cuz both those CBs had double digit interception totals, both the 2nd team guys had 6 and 5 INTs respectively. W.T.F! I'm pissed, I'm seriously pissed about Sample getting punked like that. Stupid, bitch-ass voters. Anyway, Bart Starr wins MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in his new purple and black uniform. DE Carl Eller - New York Giants wins Defensive Player of the Year. Offensive Rookie of the Year is RB Cannonball Butler - Buffalo Bills and Defensive Rookie of the Year goes to DE Roy Hilton - Philadelphia Eagles. Gale Sayers for those wondering, like me, slightly bettered Butler on yardage, YPC and 100+ rushing games, but had 3 fewer TDs and 4 more fumbles. Staff Hiring: Offensive Coordinator Jared Thamilarasan goes from Very Good to Excellent in OL. Defensive Coordinator Royce Womble rolls up a double improvement!, from [b]Average[/b to Good in LB and from Good to Very Good in Young Talent. Head Coach Tyrus Treftz also double improves, from Good to Very Good in Motivation and Discipline. Treftz is also out of contract, so I need to do my damndest to re-sign him, as I love this staff and want to keep it together as long as possible. He wants 3 years, $480k/yr, so I offer him 4 years, $550k. The owner approves that offer wholeheartedly because of the results he's produced and Tyrus signs the contract so fast it's unbelievable. Free agency later tonight or tomorrow after work.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-20-2007, 09:01 PM
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#58 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Very tough choice between Dick Koepfer and Dave Plump for the summer league. They both have about the same amount of gap between their current and potential, but on the other hand Koepfer could start at RT this year or in a couple years, whereas Plump will be sitting behind Ross Fitchner and Don Fleming for quite a while yet, so Koepfer it is.
Shit. Charlie Frazier is an unrestricted free agent. On the bright side, Jim Simon, who I wanted to bring back is a RFA. He's really the only RFA I have an interest in bringing back, too, as Charley Warner, leader in all-time punt return yardage aside, really tanked it last year. Week 1 Re-signings RG Jim Simon 3 years, $260k By the numbers TE, 2 WR, 2 DL, 2 LB - 7 new bodies It's a pretty weak free agent market this year unless you're looking for C, FB, or S, but we'll see what we can pull out of it. Charlie Frazier's the top WR available, much to my chagrin. Week 2 Signings DE Pat Holmes 4 years, $2.24 mill. (Tampa Bay) -A slight overpay for a guy who's only started two years, his rookie season and last year, but he did break 10 sacks last season and he'll take over on the right side for Don Brumm, who will shift to backup until he gets more experience on the left side and can replace Mark Schau. Week 3 Signings WR Gail Cogdill 3 years, $320k (Minnesota) -Mentor split end who turns into the new receivers leader and gives us a Paul Warfield affinity. Basically he's here to fulfill Fred Dugan's old playing and leadership role, while being Bob Coolbaugh's mentor replacement. WR Charlie Frazier 3 years, $300k Re-Signing -Although the money's low and although he's only a backup, retaining Frazier was damn high on my priority list. He's terrific insurance in case something bad happens to somebody and he's a fantastic slot receiver in the event that we all stay healthy. MLB Artie Kondovski 1 year, $90k (Atlanta) -Brilliant run-stopper mentor who will back up Dave Lloyd and take over in goal-line situations. A great depth signing. Week 4 Losses T Sherman Plunkett 2 years, $790k (Green Bay) -Sherman was much maligned during his tenure in Miami, but he did give us a solid tackle overall in his years here. Just like he did when he initially signed that long deal with us, he goes to a team that's in building mode. DT Kelly Reichenberg 1 year, $90k (Indianapolis) -Tried to re-sign him, but he was pissed about the rookie Walter Johnson starting ahead of him so he refused. Too bad for him, as Johnson put in a respectable rookie season and looks to be even better this year. Week 6 Signings TE Bob Crespino 1 year, $90k (New Orleans) -Good blocking tight end who will make a capable backup for Riddick Ingram this year. DT Walter Napier 1 year, $90k (Carolina) -Temporary new defensive front leader who has a couple affinities. Solid reserve guy who can back up both spots. Very much a Penguin Culpepper type. Week 7 Signings OLB Maxie Baughan 4 years, $2.86 mill. (Philadelphia) -The best talent available in free agency this year, he'll slide over to the weak side and allow Albert Gursky to drop back into his more suitable backup role. I can hardly wait to see what this pass-rushing maestro brings to the Dolphins. Week 7 Losses MLB Hubert Bobo 1 year, $90k (San Francisco) -Adequate reserve for us last season, but nothing spectacular. SLB Aaron Spiva 1 year, $80k (Kansas City) -5 year starter for us who was once upon a time the heart of the defense, but then we got a lot more talented in the linebacking corps and soon there just wasn't a place for him, as evidenced by his appearing in just 7 games last season. I'll miss this original Dolphin, but I wish him the best of luck with the Chiefs. Week 8 Signings CB Jim Shorter 1 year, $90k (New Orleans) -Not as brilliant a punt returner as Charley Warner, but a much more capable corner in terms of depth. It's a fair tradeoff, in my opinion. That ends my first stage free agency shopping. Since I filled all my numbers needs, I'll really be able to concentrate on a Best Player Available approach in the draft. We don't have any really glaring holes in my opinion, but we need T depth and an heir to Paul Hornung at RB. Oh yeah, an eventual successor to Johnny Unitas would be nice too. I notice we're just $560k under the cap after our free agent spree, so I do some contract renegotiating to give us breathing room. I get our margin up to $890k, which should be enough for us to sign our draftees, but not much more. Draft coming up next post!
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-21-2007, 05:14 AM
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#59 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The 1966 draft class is oddly fitting, given that I'm running the draft the same night I ran my 1904 free agency and the 1st 2 rounds of the draft in my OOTP 6.5 league where I control all the teams (fictional, with modern era settings FWIW).
Really bland free agent class and even more boring draft class. Bland and boring are perfect words to describe the 1966 class in my opinion. Low on name star power at least from my limited knowledge of football history and only a few guys who look really good. G Gale Gillingham and CB Emmitt Thomas are the consensus top two players in the draft and the bottom really drops out after that in my mind. If I had the 1st pick, I'd grab Thomas. If I were picking anything other than #1, I'd trade down as far as I could. The best value in this draft is going to come late in the 1st, I'm thinking. In fact, there's a number of tackle prospects I'm considering at #30. Beyond that, this is seriously looking like a prime opportunity to trade off a bunch of picks and try to get an extra 1st rounder next year. 1966 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. QB George Wilson - Green Bay Packers  This once proud franchise is really going to the dogs. Two straight years of the #1 pick, two straight years of picking a QB. Honestly, they drafted Joe Namath last year. What the fuck are the Packers doing taking a guy who's nowhere near worthy of the #1 pick? Stupid, stupid move....But maybe they'll be dumb enough to give me next year's 1st round pick. We'll wait and see. 2. WR Ben Hawkins - Atlanta Falcons 3. RB Emerson Boozer - Washington Redskins 4. QB Randy Johnson - Indianapolis Colts 5. CB Emmitt Thomas - Pittsburgh Steelers The Steelers get the... steal, heh, of the opening picks here, though to be fair, all of the selections except Hawkins did make sense from a need standpoint. Pittsburgh just happened to get lucky with Thomas falling to them. 6. QB Rick Norton - New York Giants 7. QB Steve Sloan - Atlanta Falcons through New Orleans Saints Wow. I can't believe anybody would be aggressive in this particular draft. The Saints pick up the Falcons' 1968 1st and 3rd round picks, as well as Atlanta's 3rd rounder in this draft. 8. G Gale Gillingham - Carolina Panthers 9. G John Wilbur - Pittsburgh Steelers 10. DE Rich Jackson - Cincinnati Bengals 11. G Tom Mack - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12. ILB Fred Forsberg - Chicago Bears 13. RB Mike Garrett - Minnesota Vikings 14. WR Gary Garrison - Atlanta Falcons through Oakland Raiders The Falcons are the new Jaguars. The Raiders being who they are, they only get Atlanta's 2nd rounders in 1967 and 1968, as well as the Falcons' 4th rounder in '68. Way to screw the market, Oakland.  15. DT Don Davis - Tucson Titans 16. CB Ken Reaves - Atlanta Falcons through Houston Oilers Sheesh! The Dirty Birds give up their 1967 1st rounder and 4th rounder along with their 4th rounder in this draft. Hey, Atlanta? Just so you know, the Jaguars didn't turn into a top team either by going this route. 17. OLB Dan Buffone - Buffalo Bills 18. RB Johnny Roland - Pittsburgh Steelers 19. DE Pete Duranko - Kansas City Chiefs 20. G Pat Matson - New York Giants 21. DE Willie Townes - Detroit Lions 22. CB Goldie Sellers - Dallas Cowboys 23. RB Bobby Burnett - New Jersey Jets 24. RB Craig Baynham - Baltimore Ravens 25. CB Joe Beauchamp - St. Louis Cardinals 26. G Randy Beisler - Philadelphia Eagles 27. G Elmer Collett - Washington Redskins through Houston Oilers The Oilers get the Redskins' 2nd rounder and Washington's 5th rounders in 1967 and 1968. Washington's 2nd rounder is at 2.1, so it's only a 7 slot drop, hence why the relatively low additions. 28. ILB Dan Gulseth - San Francisco 49ers 29. RB Randy Minnear - Denver Broncos Well, here we are at pick #30 with not even a single tackle off the board. Then again, looking at the available tackles, there's just nobody who jumps out at me as a legitimate pick at this point. In fact, the two guys I like best have second round grades. So it's off to go trade shopping. I offer the Packers our 1st round pick this year for their first rounder next year as a starting point for trade negotiations... and they accept it straight up! I'm not complaining, considering what a hard ass the AI normally is in trades, but hot damn! We may get our franchise QB next year after all!30. G Jim Vellone - Green Bay Packers 31. OLB Jeff Staggs - Cleveland Browns 32. G Jim Niland - Washington Redskins through Los Angeles Rams The Rams better me, getting the Redskins' 1967 1st round pick, their 7th round selection this draft, and their 1968 6th rounder. Not that I'm complaining. Green Bay will be worse than Washington this year, I suspect, and I don't hold a high value on late round picks at all. At 2.30, the T I most like is still available, though a few tackles have gone off the board already. A lot more of them, who had 1st round grades, are seriously dropping. They'll drop some more as I take T Jim Battle, as he's not likely to last much longer. There's a ton of allegedly 1st round graded talent still available in the 3rd, which leads to no less than 10 trades in the 3rd round before my pick at 3.30!. That's some serious jockeying for position. We were getting a trade just about every single pick during the mid-round. So what are we left with by the time the swap meet ends? An interesting RB, FB, TE, G and a punt-return guru S who all could go about this time. After a closer look at my roster, I go with the TE and pick TE Tom Mitchell, who looks like he could be good enough to be Riddick Ingram's eventual replacement. None of the players I'm looking at get taken before our next pick at 4.3 (gotten from our trade down in last year's draft). Oh, there's also a certain name K I've very tempted to take. After much hemming and hawing, I go with the S. The RB doesn't seem all that much better than Dan Reeves, the FB isn't a need area and should drop to us at 4.30 and we're already stacked with youth at G, though I'll consider him should he be there still at 4.30. We need a punt return beast and the S looks like a better contributor than Charlie Warner, so S Rodger Bird is the pick. The G goes at 4.7 (Giants) and the RB comes off at 4.19 (Seahawks), leaving me with the FB and the K at 4.30. I really like our Dutchman, to be totally honest, though I blame Dumas's The Black Tulip, as well as an authentic Dutch girl at the University of Minnesota who was my first date at 18 and who I might've ended up having a relationship with if I hadn't sunk into that deep depression I've mentioned before on these boards. So that means I take FB Hoyle Granger, even though it's way too early for him to go. In addition to the reasons for Dutch loyalty, H. Granger = Hermonie Granger. I think you all know the goodness of that.  By 5.30, the K *still* hasn't gone. I suddenly notice that I don't have a 5th receiver, so I go looking for one to resist the temptation to pick ye olde footballe kicker. WR John Roderick, who looks to have some small breakout ability, extraordinarily high intelligence, and a skillset appropriate to a 5th man, becomes our 5th round pick. In the 6th, I notice a RB that I was hoping to be able to pick up late in the draft as he looks like a breakout candidate. Fortunately, he manages to last until 6.30, so I take RB Les Shy. If that K is still available in the 7th, I'm going to take it as a sign and draft his ass. It's official. It's fate. 7.30 K Garo Yepremian - Miami Dolphins ...Just lovely. We have two contract holdouts. First is WR Paul Warfield. His demands are quite reasonable and I want him to be a career-long Dolphin, so I sign him to 5 year, $2.70 mill. contract extension that'll put him on the team for another 3 years past his rookie contract. The other is DE Don Brumm, which I think is pretty ballsy considering he 's lost his starting job for the year. Granted, he's in the final year of his contract and he wants a multi-year deal to stay with the team, but I can't guarantee that he won't be pissed about not starting and Mark Schau is signed for 3 more years at any rate. So Brumm can sit on his ass until he decides to end his holdout. On to late free agency. Week 1 Losses DT Riley Gunnels 1 year, $100k (Buffalo) -Really didn't factor in to our defense last year. Strictly a goal-line player who might've gotten more playing time with us this season since Penguin Culpepper retired, which would explain why I suddenly lost $220k in cap room at the start of free agency, but so it goes. Week 3 Signings WR Fred Dugan 1 year, $100k Re-signing -The rookie we picked up to be our 5th receiver doesn't look so hot, so I've retained Dugan as insurance. Don Brumm is still holding out after training camp. Screw him. Code:
Battle's regression is disappointing, but I'm extremely pleased with Garo and Mitchell's results and cautiously optimistic about Bird and Granger. Roderick and Shy are meh, but that's all right. We've got a big problem at K now. It's more than just the Dutchman vs. the greatest Dolphins kicker of all-time not named Pete Stoyanovich (who will appear in some later draft class). It's that... well, you'll see when I review the team later today or tomorrow. 
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-22-2007, 03:25 PM
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#60 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Unitas will start, Brown the 2nd string and well, probably Slaughter as the 3rd man. The nice thing about having two 1st rounders next year is that I'll be able to find Johnny U's replacement and blow up this entire position once everyone's contract runs out. Berry and Schweickert will sit on inactive and one of them could be cut. Code:
Cooper and Hornung will fight it out for the starting job, whereas Reeves will be the passing guy. Shy is an inactive guy, one who probably won't ever contribute much and who actually may be cut, since he comes with no bonus ramifications. Scales starts, Granger his backup. Code:
I'm surprised at Ingram's drop in ratings, but he's still the better all-around TE than Crespino. Mitchell's a great long snapper and he'll get a couple starts in preseason as I have a good feeling about his ability to step in as the regular season starter next year. Warfield and Ballman start again, Frazier and Cogdill the backups, Dugan the 5th receiver. Roderick gets inactive ticketed with possibly shipped out of town. This is probably the single best wide receiver group I've ever had in this particular universe. Code:
Skoronski-Thurston-Bland-Simon-Koepfer with Mathias, McCoy, and Battle the reserves. Switching Battle over to LT would mean a small drop in ratings and a slight experience reduction, neither of which I'm willing to take at this point. Next season could see one of the two of Battle and Koepfer moving over to the left, though, the small hit be damned, as Skoronski's skills are fading. Nice to see that Simon keeps creeping up, by the way. Code:
See my dilemma at K? The Dutchman shot up considerably in current over last year and yet there's Garo, who looks a lot like Allen Green at the moment: good power, low accuracy. On the other hand, GY has the potential to become an even better version of the Dutchman. Code:
Heh, it looks like Brumm's forced my hand. I sign him to a 4 year, $1.49 mill. contract extension and switch him over to the left side, whereupon he drops to 35/39. ...Shit. Now what? I don't know, but it's definitely not cool. Oh well, they can fight it out for the starting job I guess. Jordan and Johnson will team up in the middle again, Napier their backup. Once Jordan retires, I'll be tempted to switch to a 3-4. Code:
Pretty damn good linebacking corps here with Houston-Lloyd-Baughan the starters, Kondovski and Gursky the reserves. In fact, it's arguably the best set we've had since I've been here. Code:
Sample-Cross-Fitchner-Fleming will be our starter secondary, Shorter the nickel and Plump the dime. Bird needs to be active since he looks like an even punt returner than Warner did. Starks and Walters go on the inactive list. All in all, I really like the makeup of the team this year. We should be able to repeat as division champions and maybe get deeper in the playoffs.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-23-2007, 01:57 AM
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#61 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Preseason
Miami 19 Minnesota 6 Not the most brilliant debut in the world, but Bill Cooper outduels Paul Hornung in Round 1 and Garo Yepremian is 4/5 in FG. Jim Houston wins Game MVP with 2 interceptions. St. Louis 3 Miami 34 Well, lookie here. Johnny Unitas 26-35 for 305 yards and 3 TDs in this preseason laugher, Paul Warfield with 10 catches for 149 yards and a TD. If he can turn in performances like that in the regular season, Warfield will be our new top WR. Garo Yepramin was 2/3, including a missed 50+ yarder. Time to switch to the Dutchman next game to see what he can do. Miami 27 Detroit 0 Our starters and our depth continue to roll to 3-0. Gail Cogdill is proving to be an absolutely great new addition to the receiving corps in preseason, both as a receiver and as a kick returner. Pat Holmes gets 2 tackles, 2 sacks, a block, a hurry and a knockdown in another fine display by a new Dolphin. Dick Van Raaphorst is 2/3 in this game and Bill Cooper has Paul Hornung beat for the starting job at RB. Ross Fitchner will miss the next preseason game and Dan Reeves should be back for the regular season opener. Los Angeles 21 Miami 38 Charlie Frazier grabs 10 receptions for 114 yards, Johnny Sample gets 2 interceptions, returning one back 24 yards for a TD, and Jim Houston and Henry Jordan get in the multi-sack action with 2 and 1.5 respectively. Garo Yepremian wins the kicker job as the Dutchman just doesn't have the leg we're looking for. Don Brumm gets the starting left DE job from Mark Schau. Regular Season Miami 34 New Jersey 17 We open the regular season with a bang over the Jets. Johnny Unitas is 22-29 for 199 yards and 3 TDs and our running game amasses a ton of yardage between the 3 backs, though I forgot to put recommended PT on. Just a solid effort all around. Jim Simon hyperextends his knee and is out for the next game. Mark Mathias will start in his place. Chicago 7 Miami 10 The score's not as close as it looks. The Bears' TD was a fourth quarter interception return that was Johnny Unitas's only miscue of the day: 25-35 for 259 yards, 1 TD and that INT. Pat Holmes led the defensive effort with 2 tackles, an assist, 2 sacks and a knockdown. Dan Reeves is ready to come back, punting Les Shy back to inactive status. Miami 30 Houston 14 The Oilers came in as 2 point favorites in this battle of unbeatens, but Irv Cross set the tone with an opening 82 yard kickoff return for a TD and we never looked back. Cross wound up with 2 kickoff returns for TDs on the day, in fact, the other one for 86 yards. In more craziness, Bill Cooper had a career day, rushing 15 times for 160 yards, our first century rusher in about two years. Garo Yepremian was 3/3 on FG, including a 51 yarder that the Dutchman never would have made. Dave Lloyd had 8 tackles, 4 assists and a hurry. Just a dominating performance by a few key players. Jim Simon's upgraded to Probable, so he'll come back. Miami 37 Buffalo 31 This one -was- as close as it looked, going into OT. We won after Johnny Unitas threw a 35 yarder to Gary Ballman for the clutch TD. Last week it was the special teams and running game that went crazy. This week it's the passing game. Johnny Unitas was 31 of 42 for 432 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. It set a franchise record for passing yardage that may never be broken. Paul Warfield was Unitas's main man, with 16 catches for 198 yards. Don Fleming had 8 tackles and 4 assists in this Classic between us and our archrivals. San Diego 14 Miami 17 Another very close game, this time won in regulation against the fellow undefeated Chargers. Johnny Unitas was Game MVP with a TD pass and, of all things, a TD run. Bill Cooper broke the century mark for the second time this year, 19 rushes for 108 yards. Johnny Unitas is doubtful for two weeks and Ed Brown is questionable. I'm damn sure not going to risk either of them getting hurt, so it's a swapout of Mickey Slaughter the starter, Bob Berry the backup, and Bob Schweickert as 3rd string. Denver 6 Miami 20 Mickey Slaughter surprises everyone by coming up big in this game: 22-32 for 251 yards and a TD en route to MVP honors. Our defense also had an exceptional collobrative effort to keep our undefeated season alive despite the absence of our top two QBs. Both Brown and Unitas are probable, but I'm not going to risk the season just for the sake of staying undefeated. Fuzzy Thurston is out for 8 weeks with a broken arm, though, so Mark Mathias gets called into starting duty again. Luckily we catch a bye week at just the right time and so Johnny Unitas is able to get to 100% and start our next game. Ed Brown's still probable, so Mickey Slaughter is #2, Bob Berry the 3rd stringer. Miami 35 Kansas City 14 Holy shit! Johnny Unitas shatters his own team record. 26-38 for 484 yards and 3 TDs! We have our first ever pair of 100 yard receivers too! Paul Warfield catches 8 passes for 193 yards and a TD and Gail Cogdill has 5 receptions for 124 yards. Dave Lloyd has a great all-round game: 7 tackles, 2 assists, a sack, and a knockdown, and Don Brumm records 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 3 hurries and a safety, the first I've ever seen for one of my players. What an awesome game! Dave Plump is out for at least the next game with a busted toe ligament. Tom Walters takes over his roles. Miami 31 Oakland 21 We polish off the Raiders and finish the first half with a perfect record behind Bill Cooper's 23 rushes for 104 yards and 2 TDs and Johnny Unitas's 32-42 for 367 yards, a TD and an INT. Gary Ballman and Paul Warfield at long last break the 100 yard barrier together: Ballman with 9 catches for 131 yards, Warfield with 9 catches for 118 yards and a TD. We had 4 interceptions on the day, each by a different player and our defense played just well enough for us to win against a Raiders team that played a lot tougher than their 2-5 record indicated. Incidentally, we're the only undefeated team at the halfway point. The Houston Oilers are 7-1, their lone blemish against us and the Dallas Cowboys are also 7-1. A look at a perfect team halfway through: Code:
For the first time, it's not a sensational defense that's pulling us through. Oh sure, our D is still good, particularly given that we're 3rd in pass defense, but it's been the passing game, led by Unitas and our stellar wide receiving corps that's gotten us to this point. I said this was the best group of receivers I've ever assembled and the evidence is bearing that out, Warfield's 8 drops notwithstanding. Still, with 814 yards receiving at the halfway point, I can forgive Paul's drops. Unitas is on pace to break 4,000 yards passing, something he hasn't done since 1963 and Warfield is certain to shatter the Dolphins single season receiving yardage record. Holmes is right in line to become the first Miami pasrusher with 10+ sacks in a season. But as amazing as Unitas and Warfield have been, it's Bill Cooper who's been the real shock. After sitting behind Hornung for a couple seasons, he's taken his starting job back and literally run away with it, putting himself in position to break the 1,000 yard barrier for the second time in his career. Not bad for a 4th round pick, no? It would be really, really awesome if we went undefeated and won the Super Bowl in the year that the real-life Dolphins first played. I'm not saying it's going to happen, because anything can happen in the playoffs, but this is the best team I've ever assembled in any FOF game. And that makes me proud.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-23-2007, 08:37 AM
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#62 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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It sure is one hell of a team. Maybe your only weakness is the lack of a dominant pass rush and possibly your running game is better than it should be through some combo of your insane air attack and luck. Good luck with the rest of the season.
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07-23-2007, 10:39 PM
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#63 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks. I just realized I've been starting the roookie Tom Mitchell at TE when I didn't intend to. I've also accidentally been starting Ken Engram over Oronde Bland, both from the preseason. Oops.Fortunately, only Bland's upset and I'm able to rectify that right quick. Be interesting seeing how the rest of the year goes.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-23-2007, 11:18 PM
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#64 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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New England 10 Miami 34
As a side note, I decided to keep Tom Mitchell as the TE starter, because he's got better potential. We cruise to an easy win here behind Johnny Unitas's 22-33 for 337 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. Gary Ballman and Charlie Frazier both top the century mark at 6 catches for 110 yards and a TD for Ballman and 5 catches for 100 yards and 2 TDs for Frazier. Pat Holmes tears into the Patriots for 5 tackles, 1 assist, 3 sacks, a block, 4 hurries, and 5 knockdowns. Guess he's been reading in the press about how we don't have a dominant pass rush. New Jersey 13 Miami 30 Think you can stop the Dolphins train? Not when Johnny Unitas throws 344 yards on 27-37 passing with 3 TDs and an INT and not when our top two receivers both break 100 yards: Gary Ballman with 9 catches for 110 yards and a TD and Paul Warfield with 7 catches for 152 yards. This passing game is so scary, it makes the real-life Marino-Clayton-Duper-Edmunds years look tame in comparison (though to be fair, Ferrell was overrated at TE). Miami 19 Minnesota 7 This game came down to Garo Yepremian nailing 4 of 5 FGs and Rodger Bird averaging 17.3 yards a punt return, along with a team effort on defense. Not a pretty win by any means, but enough to keep our undefeated season alive. Baltimore 20 Miami 41 This loss put a major hurt on Bart Starr's Ravens' playoff hopes, as it drops them to 5-7. This victory comes on Bill Cooper's 2 rushing TDs, Johnny Unitas's efficient 16-22 for 222 yards and 3 TDs passing on offense and Irv Cross's 2 interceptions and Pat Holmes's 3 tackles, 1 assist, 2.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown on defense. With those sacks, Holmes becomes the first player in franchise history to reach double digits in sacks! Congratulations, Pat! Charlie Frazier and Don Fleming are questionable for the next game and Tom Walters is out. Frazier and Fleming will play and Dave Plump, who I forgot to check and see that he was healthy, so he's disgruntled, will take his old roles back. Bob Crespino is pissed that Mitchell's starting, but he'll just have to deal. Detroit 7 Miami 33 23-32 for 271 yards, 3 TDs and an INT for our main man, Johnny Unitas, in this laugher. Garo Yepremian was 3/3, including a 50 yarder and we just plain and simple kept the Lions out of the end zone. Dave Lloyd is doubtful for our next game, but I'm confident enough in our backup that he'll play on. Fuzzy Thurston's ready to come back as well, since he's upgraded to probable. Buffalo 38 Miami 41 Another dramatic classic between the AFC East archrivals, with Garo Yepremian kicking the game-winner with just 4 seconds left in the game. Johnny Unitas was on a tear: 30-47 for 349 yards and a record 5 TDs. Gail Cogdill was the main beneficiary with 7 catches for 109 yards. 14-0 and we're guaranteed home-field advantage, even if we lose both games. Good time to sit my guys, right? Wrong! I want the undefeated record, damn it! Miami 28 Green Bay 31 If I told you that Johnny Unitas was going to throw for over 400 yards and Paul Warfield and Gary Ballman would have 192 yards and 176 yards and 2 TDs respectively, you'd say it's another blowout win, right? Not this time. Garo Yepremian shanks 2 field goals and instead of celebrating one step away from an undefeated season, we're left with the heartbreak of 14-1 in a damn close game, against a team whose 1st round pick next year we own, no less. Remember how I said the Packers were stupid for drafting another QB with the #1 overall pick? Well, they were, only Joe Namath is really turning it on this year and they're currently 10-5, sitting atop the NFC North. So much for my giddy dreams of a top 10 pick. I throw in as many scrubs as possible for the last game, since it doesn't matter anymore. Miami 7 New England 17 Ross Fitchner was the only highlight of this game with 10 tackles, a sack, and 2 defensed passes. The Packers won the division with an 11-5 record. Oh well, as long as it's higher than the 30th pick, I'm not going to mind too terribly much. Of course, it won't give me much of a package then, but I'll see who's there and what I can put together. For now, there's the postseason to think about and the playoff dreams that come with it.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-24-2007, 01:23 PM
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#65 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Wildcard Round
Denver 27 Pittsburgh 17 Detroit 16 Los Angeles 10 Indianapolis 13 San Diego 10 San Francisco 31 Atlanta 6 We draw, of all teams, the Colts in the divisional round. Johnny U's former team's offense starts and ends with Gale Sayers, who in just his second season is already #2 on the Colts' career rushing total, as well as 3rd on the Colts' career all-purpose yardage list. He ran for 1,539 yards and 10 TDs in the regular season, along with 2 punt return TDs and a kick return TD. Their QB is terrible, a journeyman who got his first starting time this year with Indianapolis and their receivers are the very definition of mediocre. Offensive line is solid both in starters and in depth, including original Dolphin Bob Breunig at LG. Indy's defensive line is essentially a mirror image of our own and their linebacking corps and defensive backfield are adequate without being spectacular. In short, this should be a runaway victory for us, even though we're only favored by a TD. We strike first with an early field goal by Garo Yepremian and they respond with a FG of their own towards the end of the first. Then Johnny Unitas hits Paul Hornung from 6 yards out for a TD and we never look back. Miami 20 Indianapolis 9 Indianapolis's offense was exactly how I predicted it would go. Gale Sayers rushed 19 times for 119 yards and Joe Kapp, the QB I mentioned, was 13/40 and was intercepted 3 times, twice by Johnny Sample, who won Game MVP honors for those brilliant interceptions and his 2 passes defensed. We countered with our 100 yard rusher as Bill Cooper ran 22 times for 101 yards, but he also fumbled four times as the Colts' D hit him hard time and time again. Johnny Unitas was efficient but not brilliant in his 17-25 for 193 yards and 2 TD performance. We've made it through to the AFC Championship!!! But Fuzzy Thurston wrecks his calf muscle and is lost for the rest of the year. Mark Mathias will have to start again.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-24-2007, 08:10 PM
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#66 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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AFC Championship
The Denver Broncos will be a lot tougher test than the Colts were. It all starts with Roman Gabriel, who, talentwise, is close to the equal of Johnny U (68/74). That being said, the 5th year QB hasn't had Unitas's kind of success on the field, never breaking 3,000 passing yards a season, in part because the Broncos only have one good receiver, Lionel Taylor, a two-time All-Pro 2nd Team WR. The rest of his targets are crap. Tom Matte has been the Broncos' starting RB since he was a first round pick in 1961 and he's a solid, but not spectacular back, in spite of his winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in '61. He had his worst year ever this season, rushing for just 884 yards and 4 TDs, career lows. The real success of the offense comes down to their fantastic line, which has great players all along the starting five: LT Eldon Danehauer, LG Ken Adamson, C Jerry Sturm, RG Jim Skaggs and RT George Preas form a unit that makes our pretty good line look pretty weak in comparison. Defensive line is a real weak point for the Broncos, with DT Orville Trask, a 1st Team All-Pro in 1964, the lone standout. They've got a very good linebacking corps, the equal of ours in fact, and CB Ed Sharockman and S Goose Gonsoulin are All-Pros in a fantastic secondary that again, equals ours. This is going to be a seriously tough matchup. I think this game's going to come down to whoever gets the right breaks at the right time, as we're pretty even talentwise, unless our superior edge at wide receiver is enough to make the difference. We'll see. We're favored by 7, for what it's worth. ...And it turns out to not even be a contest. Garo Yepremian boots a 50 yarder on the first drive of the game and a 24 yard TD pass from Johnny Unitas to Paul Warfield puts us up 10-0 in the 2nd quarter. Our defense savages the Broncos' offense and they don't even come close as we blow them out 27-3. Johnny Unitas takes home AFC Championship MVP honors for his 17-22 for 248 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT performance, but it really should have gone to Paul Warfield, who snagged 7 passes for 119 yards and the 2 TDs that Unitas threw. John Seedborg helped out as well with his best game as a Dolphin: 5 punts for a 45.6 yard average and 3 touchbacks, killing Denver in the field position game. The 1966 Miami Dolphins are the AFC Champions!!! WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!!!!
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 07-24-2007 at 08:11 PM. |
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07-24-2007, 08:46 PM
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#67 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Let me guess, you're playing the Packers so you can get the 31st and 32nd pick. Good luck in the big game, it's amazing how only a couple of moves can put you over the top. Alot of times you think you only need to make a couple of moves and it turns out that you were alot worse than you thought. Raiders anyone?
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07-24-2007, 10:43 PM
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#68 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Believe it or not, that very scenario passed through my mind. Fortunately, Green Bay got knocked out in the divisional round.And yeah, I knew we had a good team that was only lacking a franchise QB to do well. I guess picking up the starter upgrade at DE and the depth increase at WR really made this team. I can't really say for sure what impact Maxie's had on the team at OLB, but I know Pat Holmes and Gail Cogdill at starting RDE and backup WR respectively have been a big, big reason of why we've done so well this year. Thanks for the luck.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-27-2007, 12:53 AM
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#69 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Super Bowl VII Preview
Miami Dolphins vs. Dallas Cowboys Miami Out List WR Gary Ballman (Starter) LG Fuzzy Thurston (Starter) Dallas Out List NT Sam Silas (Reserve) SILB Gabe Jackson (Reserve) Position Breakdown Quarterback Miami has Johnny Unitas, the legendary QB who, even in his 12th season, is still one of the top 5 signalcallers in the league, coming off a regular season in which he threw for 4,146 yards and 33 TD vs 8 INT. Johnny U is also a two-time Super Bowl MVP with championship rings in 1961 and 1963 with the Indianapolis Colts. The Cowboys counter with Don Meredith, a 7th year veteran who's been Dallas's starting QB since the league began play in 1960. A good, but not great quarterback, he set a career high in TDs this year with 25 en route to passing for 3,353 yards and 15 INTs against those 25 TDs. Advantage: Dolphins Running Back A 4th round steal in the 1961 rookie draft, Bill Cooper has been an integral part of the Dolphins running game since his rookie year. A steady, but not flashy runner, he regained his starting job this season and rushed for a career high 1,104 yards, along with 7 TDs. Paul Hornung has been a faded star since coming to Miami via free agency in 1964, but he's still a solid backup and a good third-down back. 2nd year man Dan Reeves is the passing down back. Dallas signed speedy back Don Perkins to a lavish, multi-year deal in free agency this past offseason and thus far, the contract has paid off huge dividends. Last year's 1st Team All-Pro RB had an equally fantastic regular season his first year in Dallas, rushing for career highs in yardage and TDs with 1,583 and 11 respectively. He also had a mind-boggling 5.01 average yards a carry. Bill Triplett is a respectable reserve and 3rd down running back. Advantage: Cowboys Wide Receiver Even without Gary Ballman Miami still features a deadly pair of receivers in Paul Warfield, the third year pro who had a breakout season of 1,522 yards and 8 TDs this year, establishing him as of the top young rising stars in the league and Gail Cogdill, one of the best reserve receivers in the NFL, who will now have to step up as the starting split end in place of Ballman. Former 1st round pick Charlie Frazier is a dynamite force as the third receiver, a surehanded player who could start for many of the teams in the league. Once one of the most feared receivers in the league, age appears to have caught up to 11 year vet Fred Clarke, as he had his worst season ever this year, with just 568 receiving yards and only 3 TDs. Free agent pickup Bernie Casey, on the other hand, blossomed as a starter this year, with 1,193 yards and 8 TDs. Second year receiver Fred Biletnikoff is steadily improving and looks to have been a great find in the 4th round a year ago. Bo Roberson is a former starter with the Giants and Bills who appears to have struggled in his first year as a reserve. Advantage: Dolphins Tight End 3rd round selection Tom Mitchell has been adequate as a starter in his rookie year, but is still quite green and looks to be more of a blocker than a pass-catching tight end for the Dolphins. 9th year vet Willard Dewveal is one of the most underrated tight ends in the game, a terrific, do-everything player for the Cowboys who can both catch passes and block with authority. Advantage: Cowboys Center The Dolphins have one of their few original players in Oronde Bland at center, a steady and consistent player who runblocks well and very rarely gives up a sack. Backup Ken Engram is almost as good at pass protection and is a team captain, one of the squad's most influential players. Dallas has bad boy Mike Connolly in the middle, a fiery, strong player known just as much for his off the field drunken antics as he is his trademark Hammer Slam pancake blocks. He's averaged 13 pancake blocks a season and is widely regarded as one of the most feared centers in the league. Sidney Young is a smart reserve who overchieves relative to his talent. Advantage: Cowboys Guard Miami's offensive line suffered a huge blow when it lost Fuzzy Thurston for the season in the divisional round. Mark Mathias is best served as a reserve and despite the Dolphins' staff's infatuation with him, Jim Simon is only a borderline starter on the right side. Lloyd McCoy is a subpar backup. Billy Neighbors is a classic underachiever on the left side for the Cowboys, whereas Marv Terrell proved a great free agent find in his first year as a starter. Backup Tom Nomina is essentially a clone of Mathias. Advantage: Cowboys Tackle Greybeard Bob Skoronski is losing a step, but is still a solid left tackle. RT Dick Koepfer is a vastly improved run-blocker from his rookie season a year ago, but gives up too many sacks. Rookie Jim Battle had an adequate first year and shows signs of being a better all-around right tackle than Koepfer. Bob Vogel is a young, good left tackle, the kind half the teams in the league would kill for. Riley Mattson has greatly improved his pass protection since coming to Dallas, but still isn't exceptional by any means. Reserve Dan James is a one-dimensional player, strictly a passblocker. Advantage: Draw Kickers/Punters Miami found the replacement for Allen Green in rookie Garo Yepremian, who converted 80% of his FGs from 50+ yards (4/5) and will only get more accurate as he gains more experience. John Seedborg doesn't have the strongest leg in the game, but he has a knack for pinning kicks inside the opponents' 20 yard line. Dave Braziel has really gone downhill since he left the Packers, with only minimal accuracy and power. Pat Studstill has a cannon leg, but doesn't have the placement talent that Seedborg does. Advantage: Dolphins Defensive Ends Don Brumm struggled in his first year on the left side, but Pat Holmes was a force on the right after coming over in free agency, ringing up 13.5 sacks, 4 blocks, 23 hurries and 18 QB knockdowns. Original Dolphin Mark Schau reacted badly to demotion this year, but is still a high quality backup. Mel Branch had a career high 9 sacks in the regular season and second year RDE Chuck Hurston is on the verge of greatness. Backup Kelvin Duffy is simply awful. Advantage: Draw Defensive Tackles Age is starting to catch up to Henry Jordan, but the two-time All-Pro is still one of the most feared DTs in the AFC. Second year pro Walter Johnson has learned well from Jordan and is developing into an equally powerful force in the middle. Backup Walter Napier is a run-stuffing beast, but not much of a pass-rusher. Karl McKnight had major problems switching to a 3-4 D after having played his entire career in 4-3 defenses. Walt Barnes is a promising young rookie who's still too green to take over the starting spot yet. Advantage: Dolphins Linebackers Dave Lloyd is one of the best MLBs in the NFL. Jim Houston set a career high in sacks and hurries this season as he grew acclimated to the strong side. Maxie Baughan, the Dolphins' highest priced free agent addition, struggled after moving to the weak side, posting career lows in virtually every category. Artie Kondovski is the top backup MLB in the league, one who should've gotten a starting opportunity by now. Albert Gursky is an adequate reserve. Dallas is strong and deep all across the board at linebacker, both in starters and the reserves. The biggest star is 4th year SLB Johnny Baker who exploded this season with a sensational breakout of 82 tackles, 26 assists, and 12 sacks. There are no real weak links in this Cowboys 'backer corps. Advantage: Cowboys Cornerbacks Johnny Sample is easily one of the league's top 5 cornerbacks and Irv Cross had a career high 4 interceptions in the regular season. Jim Shorter also had a career high with 5 interceptions and an 82% PD, as he blossomed in the nickel role. Third year man Jimmy Warren is a rising star, a ferocious competitor known for his highlight hits and ability to knock passes away. Don Bishop crashed back down to earth after a sensational, career year last season. Kendall Reeves is a pedestrian free agent pickup, a nickel back best suited for goal-line packages. Advantage: Dolphins Safeties Miami has one of the top starting safety tandems in the league in Ross Fitchner and Don Fleming, career-long teammates. Only the St. Louis Cardinals better the Dolphins in safety starters. Tom Walters is JAG, but Dave Plump is Fleming's heir apparent, quietly learning from the masters ahead of him. Bill Butler and Paul Martha are highly praised by scouts around the league, but their performance on the field indicates they're the most overrated pair of safeties in the NFL. Jerry Stovall is a better player than Martha and should have his spot at free safety. Advantage: Dolphins Keys to the Game: Miami * Turn the game into a track meet and take advantage of superiority at QB and WR. * Stack up against the run and force the Cowboys to go to the air. * Protect Johnny Unitas and give him time to throw. Keys to the Game: Dallas * Slow the pace of the game as much as possible. Play smart, ball-control offense by going to the run and short passes. * Mix up the blitz packages and take advantage of Miami's weakness at guard and RT to get to Unitas. * Double team Paul Warfield on 2 WR sets. Avoid blitzing the DBs against Miami's 3 Wide sets or Charlie Frazier will burn you.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-28-2007, 12:14 AM
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#70 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I'm nervous, damn nervous.
I've never made it to a Super Bowl in any version of FOF where I actively controlled the team, much less won it. I know this probably isn't a big deal to those of you who win Super Bowls by the truckloads in SP mode, but this is a big, big deal for me. It'd be even sweeter if I won here because, as I said, 1966 is the real-life Dolphins' first year of existence. We're favored by 2. I close my eyes and click Sim Week. I don't look at the score as I click Log and scroll down to the actual start of action. The Cowboys win the toss and elect to receive. The ball's returned to the 28 yard line. A holding penalty ruins what would've been a a first down run by Don Perkins and Irv Cross intercepts the ball on 3rd and 13, returning it back to our 40 yard line! We exchange a pair of 3 and outs and then Johnny Unitas puts together a series of great passes, including a 52 yard bomb to Gail Cogdill that takes us down to the Cowboys 4 yard line. Two plays later, a 3 yard pass falls into Bill Cooper's hands for the TD and we strike first! Miami 7 Dallas 0 - 8:19 1st Quarter Dallas gets another 3 and out and then we put together a long drive, where Johnny Unitas's brilliant passes are ruined by no less than 5 penalties in the same bloody drive. Worse yet, Charlie Frazier gets hurt, but they don't know the extent of the injury right away. Our defense stifles Dallas to another 3 and out though, and we're driving again as the first quarter comes to a close. End 1st Quarter: Miami 7 Dallas 0 Bill Cooper fumbles on the first play of the second quarter and the Cowboys recover on their own 48. Some tough Don Perkins runs and a great pass from Don Meredith to Bo Roberson has Dallas on the verge of scoring, but Irv Cross gets his second interception of the game at our 3 yard line to snuff out the threat. We then churn out another long drive with a lot of highlight plays, including Johnny Unitas's 36 yard pass to Gail Cogdill to get us out of the danger zone, an 18 yard run by Bill Cooper to put us in field goal range thanks to a great run block by Jim Battle and a 13 yard scramble by Johnny Unitas himself to get us inside the 20. Unfortunately, there are also some real boneheaded plays. Paul Warfield drops 2 passes and gets an offensive pass interference call (one of 3 penalties on the drive) on him to boot, one that took us from 2nd and goal lon the 4 yard line all the way back to 2nd and goal from the 14 yard line. We weren't able to convert for the TD and had to settle for a 23 yard FG by Garo Yepremian. Miami 10 Dallas 0 - 4:13 2nd Quarter Don Meredith and Bernie Casey put on a Unitas and Warfield impersonator clinic during the next drive, connecting on two straight passes for a combined 44 yards. Fortunately, our defense stiffens up at the right time, limiting them to a 32 yard FG by Dave Braziel with just under a minute left in the half and that's the score as we head into the locker room. Miami 10 Dallas 3 - Halftime At this particular point in the game, I'd make Irv Cross the MVP. His two interceptions really saved our butts thus far, but there's still a whole half to go and there's only one possession's difference between us. Bill Cooper atones for his opening 2nd quarter fumble by bursting through for a 17 yard gain to start the second half. My heart jumps up into my throat when I see Miami's Johnny Unitas was hurt on the play during the next line, but fortunately it's a minor injury. We follow this scare up with another 2 straight penalties (Note to self: Post in Mythbusters about excess user team penalties for them to look into it.) and so have to punt. Dallas starts marching down the field with a small change grinding drive when Don Meredith forgets his name isn't Johnny Unitas and he throws a Hail Mary from the Cowboys' 29 to our 29. Jim Shorter jumps up and snags the ball for an interception of his own, giving Meredith his 3rd interception of the game so far. We counter with a time-chewing drive of our own, highlighted by a 9 yard run by Dan Reeves (all 3 of our RBs got at least one carry on the possession) and 2 key run blocks by Jim Simon, who was pissed at all the negative press around him in the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. One of those blocks came on the 6 yard run by Bill Cooper for the TD! This may be Dallas's breaking point. Miami 17 Dallas 3 - 2:28 3rd Quarter The Cowboys finally get hit with two straight penalties to open their next possession, but manage to get enough yards to keep the drive alive and they're in Miami territory when Dave Lloyd lowers the boom and forces Bill Triplett to fumble, Lloyd scooping up the fumble himself on our 37. The third quarter ends midway through Dallas's drive, with the score still Miami 17 Dallas 3. We make just enough headway on the ensuing drive for Garo Yepremian to blast a 52 yarder through the uprights. You wouldn't see the Dutchman make that kind of awesome kick. Jim Simon continues his great play with another key run block on the drive, flattening Paul Martha for a pancake block. Miami 20 Dallas 3 - 9:07 4th Quarter This is exactly the situation the Cowboys didn't want to get into. Now they're forced to desperation mode where they have to rely on their passing game to have any hope of winning. Don Meredith already is having nightmares about Irv Cross. Let's see what happens when you have a deep, great secondary going up a panicked QB. From Dallas's next possession: 2nd and 3: Intended for Bo Roberson. Jim Shorter defended the pass. 3rd and 3: Intended for Bernie Casey. Jim Shorter defended the pass. 4th and 3: Intended for Frank Clarke. Tom Walters defended the pass (Defensive Pass Interference) 1st and 10: Intended for Frank Clarke. Tom Walters defended the pass. 3rd and 5: Intended for Fred Biletnikoff. Dave Plump defended the pass. Needless to say, Dallas turned it over on downs. 5:08 left in the game and Ed Brown's getting some playing time. It looks like this thread's finally played out, folks. After our 3 and out, Pat Holmes hurries Don Meredith into 3 straight bad throws on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th down. Did I mention that I love picking that guy up in free agency? He and Cogdill were definitely our biggest pickups of the offseason. This puts us on the Dallas 20 yard line with just over 2 minutes to play. We put on some runs and the Cowboys get frustrated, leading Bill Butler of Dallas to positively rip Bill Cooper's helmet off after a tackle, earning him an Unsportsmanlike Conduct call. We settle for a 25 yard field goal from Garo Yepremian and are happy to do so, because we've got this thing locked up. Miami 23 Dallas 3 - 2:10 4th Quarter And that's all she wrote, as Dallas turns the ball over on downs and Ed Brown takes a couple knees. WE DID IT!!! WE DID IT!!!! WE WON THE SUPER BOWL!!!! GO DOLPHINS!!! GO DOLPHINS!!!!! GOOOOO DOLPHINS!!!! Bill Cooper rushed 19 times for 94 yards and had the 2 combined TDs and Gail Cogdill put on a brilliant performance in relief of Gary Ballman, posting a Ballman-esque 10 catches for 204 yards. Irv Cross had 2 interceptions, John Seedborg punted a 46.8 yard punt average, with one inside the 20 and Garo Yepremian was 3/3 on field goals. Pat Holmes was in Don Meredith's face all day, with 4 tackles, an assist, a sack, 5 hurries and a knockdown. But the real hero of the game was the man who's done it before, who lifted us up from a one and done playoff team to a legitimate Super Bowl contender. The man who even in these, the twilight years of his career, is still one of the greatest men to play the game. Your Super Bowl MVP is none other than Johnny Unitas. 26 of 34 for 310 yards and a TD, giving him his third Super Bowl ring and first with Miami. I found out after the game that he sprained his neck just after halftime in that scare and is listed as Questionable for the next 3 weeks. That makes his MVP award all the more special, because he played through the pain, at a time when the game was still just a touchdown's difference. Oh how sweet this is. But this all wouldn't have been possible if it wasn't for me, the GM that put this team together. So let's see where the starters and key reserves of this Super Bowl championship team came from. 1966 Miami Dolphins Starting Lineup QB Johnny Unitas (FA - 1965) RB Bill Cooper (1961 Draft - 4th round, 7th pick) FB Charlie Scales (FA - 1965) TE Tom Mitchell (1966 Draft - 3rd round, 30th pick) FL Paul Warfield (1964 Draft - 1st round, 22nd pick) SE Gary Ballman (1962 Draft - 3rd round, 26th pick) LT Bill Skoronski (FA - 1962) LG Fuzzy Thurston (FA - 1963) C Oronde Bland (Original Dolphin) RG Jim Simon (1963 Draft - 5th round, 12th pick) RT Dick Koepfer (1965 Draft - 2nd round, 19th pick) LDE Don Brumm (1963 Draft - 2nd round, 11th pick) LDT Henry Jordan (FA - 1963) RDT Walter Johnson (1965 Draft - 1st round, 23rd pick) RDE Pat Holmes (FA - 1966) SLB Jim Houston (FA - 1963) MLB Dave Lloyd (FA - 1963) WLB Maxie Baughan (FA - 1966) LCB Johnny Sample (FA - 1961) RCB Irv Cross (1961 Draft - 1st round, 10th pick) SS Ross Fitchner (FA - 1963) FS Don Fleming (FA - 1963) P John Seedborg (1964 Draft - 7th round, 22nd pick) K Garo Yepremian (1966 Draft - 7th round, 30th pick) 1963 was a big year in terms of landing starters. That's the offseason when we really overhauled our defense and it paid off great, as you can see. 1966 Miami Dolphins Key Reserves RB Paul Hornung (FA - 1964) TE Riddick Ingram (Original Dolphin) FL Charlie Frazier (1962 Draft - 1st round, 22nd pick) SE Gail Cogdill (FA - 1966) C Ken Engram (Original Dolphin) LG Mark Mathias (FA - 1961) RT Jim Battle (1966 Draft - 2nd round, 30th pick) LDE Mark Schau (Original Dolphin) LDT Walter Napier (FA - 1966) MLB Artie Kondvoski (FA - 1966) WLB Albert Gursky (1962 Draft - 4th round, 25 pick) LCB Jim Shorter (FA - 1966) SS Tom Walters (1964 Draft - 3rd round, 23rd pick) FS Dave Plump (1965 Draft - 3rd round, 18th pick) SS Rodger Bird (1966 Draft - 4th round, 3rd pick) What a fantastic team and what a way to get our first Super Bowl championship.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-28-2007, 09:52 AM
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#71 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Wow, way to go. That was quite a game. Now can you do it again?
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07-28-2007, 01:07 PM
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#72 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks! Repeating is going to be tough. I predict another salary cap crunch coming up this offseason and with two 1st round picks, I'll have to do some creative renegotiations again. I'm also not certain who all we're losing or potentially losing in free agency just yet other than Ed Brown who certainly won't be back.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-28-2007, 07:25 PM
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#73 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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In the midst of my delerious glee at winning the Super Bowl, I forgot to post the Team Summary, so here it is.
Code:
Johnny U got his 4,000+ yard season, Cooper his 1,000 yard+ one. Warfield and Ballman became the first pair of 1,000 yard+ receivers in team history, with Warfield setting a franchise record along with Johnny U in yardage. Come to think of it, Cooper may have set his own single season team record for rushing yardage. Ballman also becomes the first Dolphin to have double digit TD receptions. Unfortunately, Gary doesn't have a ring, even though he was active for the Super Bowl, because he was Out. Hopefully someone out there can get us a player card editor because that still really, really bothers me.Frazier was a real end zone target this year and we all know about Cogdill's Super Bowl exploits. We got a lot more sack production out of the secondary this year than we ever have and that's not counting the great job they did in pass defense. Sure we gave up a lot of passing yardage in the second half, but that was more a function of teams trying to play catchup with us than anything else. The 1st in pass defense percentage tells the real story. Cross finally had the kind of career year people have been expecting out of him for a long time and his 2 critical Super Bowl interceptions went a long way to silencing his critics who claim he wasn't worth a Top 10 pick. Incidentally, Cross had a 97.6% Pass Defense in the playoffs and Johnny Sample was literally perfect with a 100% Pass Defense in our Super Bowl run. What a great find Holmes turned out to be, the kind of impact player on the level of Jordan, who though fading, was still a powerful force in the middle along with Johnson. I wonder if we'll see any retirements. Ah well, time to head on and see how we did in the awards. As one might expect from the Super Bowl champions, we get quite a few season awards this year. Dolphins Season Awards QB Johnny Unitas NFL MVP Super Bowl MVP Offensive Player of the Year 1st Team All-Pro QB Head Coach Tyrus Treftz Coach of the Year WR Paul Warfield 1st Team All-Pro WR K Garo Yepremian 2nd Team All-Pro K SS Ross Fitchner 2nd Team All-Pro S I expected the Unitas and Treftz nods, but Warfield getting a 1st Team selection and Yepremian and Fitchner's selections were extremely pleasant surprises. Nobody retires after our Super Bowl championship. Staff Hiring Lead Scout Leon Garibay goes from Average to Fair in Defensive Linemen, so we'll be on the lookout to replace him. Offensive Coordinator Jared Thamilarasan goes from Good to Very Good in Kickers/Punters and he's out of contract. We'll fight like hell to retain him, though. Defensive Coordinator Royce Womble has the first ever 4 area increase I've seen! -Good to VG in Kickers/Punters -Good to VG in Defensive Line -Average to Good in Linebackers -Good to VG in Young Talent I'm happier than ever that I gambled by bringing him in. Head Coach Tyrus Treftz improves from Very Good to Excellent in Defensive Playcalling. Despite the fact that our owner only let us offer $580k a year compared to the $660 he wanted, we sign Thamilarasan to a new 4 year contract and land a new Lead Scout for $60k a year at 3 years. Lead Scout Edwin Turnbull - 43 QB: Good RB: Average WR: Good OL: Average KP: Good DL: Average LB: Good DB: Average YT: Good I briefly consider raising ticket prices, as we're ranked 21st out of 30 in terms of average cost for family of four and our fan loyalty is through the roof, but then I notice that our stadium's in pretty bad shape, so I decide to keep costs low in hopes of garnering support for a new stadium when the time is right. (Support's a shade under 50% right now) It's a toss-up between Garo Yepremian and Tom Mitchell as to who goes to the Summer League, but Garo has a wider gap between current and future and will make the biggest impact on the team, so he's the selection. Free agency I'll do later tonight or tomorrow. Feeling tired and a nap sounds good right about now.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-29-2007, 12:56 AM
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#74 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We've got salary cap hell.
$50,000 under the salary cap. We can't even afford our draft picks this year. Negotiations lead to extensions in a few cases, as we're sitting in excellent financial shape after this season and can afford to extend. Extensions LCB Johnny Sample: 2 years, $630k LDT Henry Jordan: 2 years, $960k Also, QB Bob Schweikert is released, putting us at $910k under the salary cap, with $230k the max for a new player. Position Needs: TE, P, DT, MLB, CB The good news is that we're shopping for depth in all these cases and not starters, except P. Week 1 Re-Signings P John Seedborg: 1 year, $70k It's actually a veteran minimum deal and he'll be an okay stopgap. I'm putting out a bunch of vet min sal contracts out there, one year stopgaps to tide us over until we can better restructure the team. Week 2 Signings TE Sammie Hicks: 1 year, $100k* (Baltimore) -* denotes that it's actually only $50k under cap because of non-bonus veteran rules etc. Dynamite run-blocker who'll fit in well as a backup to Tom Mitchell. Also a chemistry guy, with affinity with Gail Cogdill. DT John Baker: 1 year, $100k* (Los Angeles) -10 year veteran mentor who's a great backup DT. I'm really pleased to land him, especially since he won a ring with the Rams a couple years ago. Week 4 Signings CB Kendall Reeves: 1 year, $100k* (Dallas) -Not the most electrifying player in the world, but he's a big-time chemistry guy as our new secondary leader and is a mentor to boot. I find it highly amusing that he played against us in the Super Bowl. Talk about if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Week 8 Losses DT Walter Napier: 1 year, $100k* (Tucson) -Did pretty well as a defensive front leader and backup for us last season, but I liked Baker's skill set and production a lot better. Week 9 Signings MLB Artie Kondovski: 1 year, $100k* Re-Signing -Brought back the guy who's one of my favorite backups on the team as he turned down more money from the Vikings to stay with us. That's the end of free agent shopping for us. We're now $660k under the cap, and -$20k as far as adding new players, so we may have to do another contract negotiation to get under the cap for our rookies. We've got 46 players under contract. Wait, we have some more negotiation to do because I suddenly realized we forgot someone very important. Week 9 Extension QB Johnny Unitas: 3 years, $3.22 mill. Week 10 Signings RB Bill Cooper: 1 year, $80k* Re-signing -Can't believe I almost left behind our starting RB, the only one to ever reach 1,000 yards rushing in Dolphins history (twice). Not to mention he's a mentor! Week 10 Losses SE Fred Dugan: 1 year, $110k* (Cincinnati) -I hate to lose this guy. He was a great mentor and a solid backup receiver for us, but life goes on. Draft up next, which I may do tonight yet.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-29-2007, 01:45 PM
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#75 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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You wouldn't think a Super Bowl champion that's returning all of its starters would have any holes to fill, but we do.
We need, among other things, a homerun RB, a LG to replace Fuzzy Thurston after this year, a LT to replace the ancient Bob Skoronski as well as heirs at QB, C, reserve DE, DT, all 3 LB slots, and LCB. A better 5th receiver would be nice as well. So basically we're looking to upgrade at RB, replace the entire left side of our OL, and start building for the future. This is an excellent draft for top flight cornerbacks, but the genuine blue-chip talent drops pretty quickly after the first 6 or so picks. If you're looking for skill position players in the draft, forget about it. It's by and large 2nd round or lower type talent here. There's a certain young man who's the top QB available, but he looks terrible and I've always considered him an extremely overrated QB, so we won't be taking him. The big names are ILB Willie Lanier and CB Zeke Moore as far as most hyped prospects go. We have the 29th and 32nd picks, but see absolutely no reason to move up. A trade certainly remains a possibility, but I'm going to see how the 1st round shakes out first. 1967 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. ILB Willie Lanier - Cincinnati Bengals 2. DT Alan Page - Minnesota Vikings 3. CB Zeke Moore - Jacksonville Jaguars 4. RB Mel Farr - Seattle Seahawks 5. CB Bobby Bryant - Cleveland Browns 6. CB Lem Barney - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7. CB Leroy Mitchell - Carolina Panthers 8. OLB Pete Barnes - Kansas City Chiefs 9. G Larry Little - Buffalo Bills 10. CB Larry Carwell - New York Giants 11. S Mike Weger - Oakland Raiders 12. OLB Paul Naumoff - New England Patriots 13. S Ken Houston - Philadelphia Eagles 14. RB Floyd Little - St. Louis Cardinals 15. T Rayfield Wright - Chicago Bears 16. RB Dickie Post - New Orleans Saints 17. OLB Ed Philpott - Baltimore Ravens 18. DE Bubba Smith - Tucson Titans 19. ILB Frank Nunley - New Jersey Jets 20. RB Clint Jones - Los Angeles Rams 21. T Bob Rowe - Houston Oilers 22. OLB Chip Myrtle - Pittsburgh Steelers 23. OLB Jim Lynch - Los Angeles Rams 24. T Tom Cichowski - Indianapolis Colts 25. RB Travis Williams - Detroit Lions 26. CB Charlie Stukes - San Francisco 49ers 27. RB Don McCall - Denver Broncos 28. G Dick Hart - San Francisco 49ers A very quiet 1st round with no major surprises and no trades to speak of. There's one guy I've been eyeing for this selection and he managed to fall down to this level. He'll be a mainstay for at least the next 10 years, so I snatch him up so fast his head spins round. 29. G Gene Upshaw - Miami Dolphins 30. DT Dave Rowe - Houston Oilers 31. CB Ben Davis - Dallas Cowboys Interesting side note: Oronde Bland has become the new offensive line captain, despite Ken Engram's still being there and Jim Simon has an Extreme Conflict with him, as does Lloyd McCoy. Just-drafted Upshaw, on the other hand, has an Exceptional Affinity. So it appears the changing of the guard may happen sooner than I thought, even though Upshaw is still quite raw. There's a tough call to make with this 32nd pick. Do we trade it away for a future 1st rounder, or do we gamble with one of the guys who look like they could break out? There's a player I feel who could break out to be the answer at LT, possibly as soon as this season. On the other hand, he's a second round talent, really and should drop some more. So I decide to go trading. My first few offers to teams get turned down as they want more value, but then the Minnesota Vikings are only too happy to accept the 32nd pick in exchange for their next year's 1st rounder. 32. S Jon Charles - Minnesota Vikings There's a flurry of trades in the second round as if to make up for the lack of first round action to the point where something like 10 straight picks are traded off. Round about the 23rd pick, I'm getting nervous that the guy I eyed is about to be picked up. This leads me to contact Indianapolis about a trade. I offer them my 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th rounders to move up, which is overpaying a little bit according to the NFL Draft Value chart I use, but there's nobody in the lower rounds I was really fond of and if this guy's the answer, then I need LT Dick Cunningham. The trading frenzy finally stops at 2.28, which leads me to go look and see what all teams gave up and see how we did comparatively. ...It turns out we overpaid by a fair bit, but on the other hand, we didn't surrender any 3rd rounders, which every other team did, so go figure. Indianapolis flips that 32nd pick of ours into a 1969 2nd rounder from Carolina and the Panthers select some DE. Nice haul by the Colts there. ...I can't help but die of laughter when the first QB finally goes in the 3rd round. 3.7 QB Bob Griese - Buffalo Bills That's right, Griese, the signal-caller during the Super Bowl years of '72 and '73, the overrated QB I was talking about, will don our archrivals' uniform. Talk about hilarious! The C I was hoping to land in the 3rd got taken before our pick comes up, so I go with a fellow I think could be our nickel back sooner or later and who could break out in CB Carl Ward. Late free agency here we come. Week 2 Losses WR Jim Colclough - 1 year, $100k* Detroit Lions (Green Bay Packers) -Would've been a great fifth receiver and mentor for us, but he wants to stay where it's cold. Week 3 Signings WR Eric Cedeno - 1 year, $100k* (Indianapolis Colts) -Mentor wide receiver who becomes our new receivers captain and a chemistry guy with Charlie Frazier and Mickey Slaughter. Respectable 5th receiver. Code:
It's a sign of just how weak the draft was that with only 3 players and 2 of them looking like busts, we were able to get a B+ grade and the #9 ranked draft class. Lot of C+, C and C- grades from this draft, the most I've ever seen. Upshaw is even better than I predicted he'd be. He instantly turns into our RG starter and he'll sit there for the next 10 years. Jim Simon moves to backup, but he's good enough to move to LG after Fuzzy Thurston leaves town.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-29-2007, 03:24 PM
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#76 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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You'll have to keep us up to date on Griese's progress in Buffalo to see if you made the right decision.
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07-29-2007, 11:19 PM
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#77 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Will do. I forgot to grab his initial post-draft ratings, but after training camp, he's sitting at 13/38, well behind 5th year man Daryle Lamonica (56/56, #2 overall pick in the 1963 draft, who showed signs of breaking out last year in his 2nd season as a starter) and 9th year journeyman vet Joe Kapp (27/41), who embarassed as the Colts' starting QB last year. Things don't look good for Bob right now and I don't think they'll get any better unless he starts making major strides. No mentor QBs on the Bills' roster yet, though I think Lamonica stands an outside chance of becoming one.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-29-2007, 11:41 PM
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#78 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Osaka, Japan via Honolulu, Hawaii via Birmingham, Alabama
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Congrats on that Super Bowl!
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U of Hawaii | U of Alabama | Montreal Impact | Montreal Canadiens | West Ham | West Indies cricket | Portland Trail Blazers |
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07-30-2007, 02:22 PM
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#79 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thank you!
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-30-2007, 02:48 PM
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#80 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Unitas continues his drop, but he's still a terrific QB. Berry likes to pretend he's a better quarterback than Slaughter, but such is not the case. Case in point: 12 points difference, but Berry has 70 experience vs 40 for Slaughter. Furthermore, Mickey's just flat-out outplayed Bob at every opportunity. Code:
I'll be so glad when Hornung's contract comes off the books. Worst free agent signing I've ever made. Cooper will start again and I'm going to make Reeves the backup this year. He's shown enough in his first two seasons to seriously intrigue me. Hornung will be the 3rd down back only this season, maybe a special teams gunner too. Shy sits on the inactive list. Scales is still an adequate FB, but Granger doesn't look like he's going to pan out ever. Oh well, not a big deal. Code:
Hicks and Mitchell are going to fight it out in preseason for the starting TE job. No problems at WR though, with Warfield and Ballman starting, Frazier and Cogdill the backups and Cedeno the 5th receiver. Roderick gets to be on the practice squad. I really want Ballman to get a ring this year. I'm pissed that he got left out of the ceremony last season. Incidentally, Warfield is the 4th best receiver in the NFL by current. Code:
Skoronski-Thurston-Bland-Upshaw-Battle will be the starting five, as Battle is a more balanced blocker than Koepfer and with better endurance besides. Who the active reserves are going to be is a real tossup right now. I think Cunningham's a lot better than what his numbers show, he just needs the playing time. I'll sit Alford for sure, McCoy too, as I'm not liking that Extreme Conflict. Mathias, Simon, and Cunningham will all be active backups; Koepfer is on the bubble. Code:
I'm fine with both of these players. Seedborg's directional knack makes him more worthwhile than his raw numbers would suggest. Code:
No issues here. Brumm-Jordan-Johnson-Holmes, with Schau and Baker in reserve. Code:
I really need to upgrade the strong side, but we'll go with the same Houston-Lloyd-Baughan starters as last year, with Kondvoski and Gursky the backups again. Code:
We need a serious infusion of talented youth here. None of the young bodies really cut it, though Plump I suspect of being better than his current rating suggets. Bird is strictly backup material and punt return extraordinnare and I don't hold out hope for Ward. So for another year, we'll go with the Fantastic Four of Sample-Cross-Fichtner-Fleming. Only the fact that our nickel back keeps changing keeps us from a higher cohesion rating in the secondary than we have (89, 8th in the league). We've definitely got the stuff for another playoff run, but this team's getting older and didn't improve significantly in the offseason, save for Upshaw. A Super Bowl defense is possible, but I wouldn't bet the farm on us this year.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-30-2007, 10:34 PM
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#81 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Preseason
Miami 37 Atlanta 10 Bill Cooper runs for 2 TDs and Garo Yepremian is 3/3 for FG, including a 51 yarder. Sammie Hicks tops Tom Mitchell and the closer I look at them, the more Hicks stands out to be as the one who should start. Mitchell, ironically, injures his Achilles tendon and may miss the rest of preseason, ditto Mark Schau, who breaks his foot. Fortunately I have two open spots on the team, so no changes need to be made in order to sign TE mentor Marvin Baker and affinity rookie Andrew Weathersby. Want to know how bad the free agent market is? Baker and Weathersby were among the top free agents and their ratings are 14 and 5 respectively. Ouch, no? Dallas 7 Miami 16 No standout performances at all here, save for Dave Lloyd who wins Game MVP honors with 7 tackles, 3 assists, a sack and a knockdown. Tom Mitchell is now probable, but he'll sit another game. Johnny Unitas will start the last two preseason games. Gene Upshaw hyperextends his knee and will miss the rest of the preseason. Jim Simon will start in his place at RG, Lloyd McCoy his backup. Tampa Bay 27 Miami 31 Tough game against our in-state foes, but it's only preseason and we still won. Gary Ballman gets 5 catches for 93 yards, pretty good for preseason. Johnny Unitas is flawless at 12 for 16 for 177 yards and 2 TDs. Walter Johnson notched 4 tackles, 2 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown. Tom Mitchell is ready to come back, so Baker goes on inactive. Miami 7 Philadelphia 31 A surprise upset by the Eagles and a sour ending note to the preseason. Johnny Unitas and Mickey Slaughter combined for 5 interceptions, ruining Dave Lloyd's 12 tackle, 3 assist showcase. Gene Upshaw is still questionable as we go into Week 1 so I decide to sit him. No sense is risking a great player's career for a couple regular season games that we can easily make up should we lose. I didn't think this was going to end up being the case, but Dick Cunningham improved 2 points just in preseason and I think he played well enough to deserve the starting spot, so in the biggest shock of the exhibition period, Cunningham becomes our starting LT. Mark Schau is ready to come back thankfully. Our backup situation at DE was looking really hairy with a 5 rated guy there. Regular Season Buffalo 16 Miami 30 We open the year with a very comfortable win over our archivals. Johnny Unitas is Game MVP at 22-31 for 249 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. Gary Ballman has 7 catches for 104 yards. Johnny Sample returns an interception 23 yards for a TD. But the real fireworks were in the kicking game. Garo Yepremian and former Dolphins K Allen Green were both 3/3, with Green nailing a 50 yarder and Yepremian bettering him. To wit: 1Q Garo Yepremian 54 yard field goal 1Q Garo Yepremian 50 yard field goal 4Q Garo Yepremian 50 yard field goal. That's right. 3/3 from 50+ range. Absolutely amazing. Gene Upshaw is upgraded to Probable, so he'll start. Ross Fitchner is questionable after getting tendinitis in the knee, so Tom Walters will start, Rodger Bird the backup. Miami 31 Dallas 28 In the Super Bowl rematch, we top the favored Cowboys pretty easily. The score only looks as close as it does because they got a late fumble return for a TD. Johnny Unitas was once again the hero: 25-33 for 332 yards and 3 TDs. Paul Warfield had 10 catches for 136 yards and a TD, and running mate Gary Ballman put on a deep threat clinic with 5 catches for 131 yards and a TD. Ross Fichtner is up to probable, so he's back in the game. San Diego 14 Miami 9 A great day for the passing game again as Johnny Unitas is 24-39 for 315 yards and a TD, Gary Ballman the deep man again with 5 catches for 129 yards, but the weakness in our running game was exposed today and it killed us. Dave Lloyd had 13 tackles and 5 assists in a rare individual standout for the defense thus far in the young year. Sammie Hicks is doubtful and Fuzzy Thurston is questionable. They'll both sit, Tom Mitchell and Mark Mathias their replacements. Miami 17 New England 20 ...I don't get this upset at all. The Patriots pick up their first win of the year against us on 2 FGs in the last 2 minutes of the game. I'm freaking pissed. Paul Warfield has 6 catches for 115 yards and Dave Lloyd picks up 10 tackles, an assist and 2 sacks, but that's all she wrote for good performances this game. Sammie Hicks is fully healed and Fuzzy Thurston is probable, so back on the field they come after that embarassing loss to New England. Miami 27 Jacksonville 20 We finally break the losing streak, but it was a come from behind victory only secured by Bill Cooper's 8 yard TD run with under a minute to play. Paul Warfield does his usual heroics with 7 catches for 100 yards and Irv Cross started the game with an electrifying 87 yard kickoff return for a TD, but I'm wondering what the hell is wrong with this team. Walter Johnson puts on a great game with 5 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks. The revolving door at LG can't be helping as Fuzzy Thurston is questionable again. Sad thing is, he's signed on for another year after this one. Sigh. On comes Mark Mathias. Houston 17 Miami 10 This is freaking disgusting. Johnny Unitas has been looking seriously mortal and our running game isn't cutting it at all. Dave Lloyd amasses 11 tackles and 4 assists in our lone highlight. Fuzzy Thurston's probable and it couldn't come at a better time as Mark Mathias is now out. Irv Cross is questionable too, so he'll sit while Kendall Reeves takes his turn as a starter and Gail Cogdill assumes primary kick return duties. There's no way in hell we should be 3-3 right now. We're a lot better than that. Miami 21 Buffalo 38 God motherfucking asscrotchet DAMN IT!!! We couldn't afford to lose this game to our archrivals, who were 4-2 and on top of the division, so of course we blow it. Is there some fucking stupid ass Super Bowl hangover season code in this damn game?! Paul Warfield tags 7 balls for 115 yards and Rodger Bird returns a punt 77 yards for a TD. Jim Houston gets 10 tackles and an assist and this season is going downhill fast. Irv Cross goes to Probable and his ass is on the field so fast his head spins, but then, this season being what it is Dave Lloyd will miss the next game.  MLB Les Vahata, mentor and new defensive front captain for all of 1 or 2 games, , is signed to back Artie Kondovski while Lloyd is out. At least I have the sadistic pleasure of cutting John Roderick to make room for Vahata.Indianapolis 17 Miami 31 This is the kind of morale-building win we needed. An efficient game from Johnny Unitas, 2 interceptions by our secondary and Walter Johnson having his finest day as a pro with 8 tackles, 4 assists, 1.5 sacks, a block, a hurry and a knockdown bring us to .500 at the halfway point. We've also got a bye week coming up that we very much need. Buffalo's still atop the division at 5-2 and Oakland is only a game up for the second wild-card spot at 5-3. This season is still very much salvageable, but we need to snap out of the funk we're in and get it done. On the bright side, Minnesota is one of three teams at the bottom of the league with a 1-6 record. KUTGW, Vikings! Let's look at the tape. Code:
Some things jump out immediately: Our running game is putrid (rather like the Marino-era Dolphins in real life) and our defense has taken a turn for the worse, especially the pass defense, which those of you've been reading this all along know has traditionally been our money area. Another telling statistic: Pat Holmes, such a big part of our season last year, is still waiting on his first sack, although Walter Johnson is having an awesome season to partially atone for it. The one area that isn't troubling is our passing game. Unitas may be fading, but he still has it and Warfield is truly an elite receiver now. Ballman's on a mission to get that ring he was unjustly denied last year. I think I'll start Bob Skoronski at LT from here on out. Maybe having a veteran there will alleviate some of the pressure. Besides, he's pissed about not starting and I don't really blame him, to be honest. The season's still very salvageable. Playoffs and the division crown are both within reach, but our margin for error is pretty slim.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-30-2007, 11:25 PM
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#82 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Is Griese starting in Buffalo? It looks like you got to the big game in the right season, it's amazing how fast a team can look old, which your running game and pass rush sure look. Even between Johnson and Holmes you haven't gotten alot of heat with only 18.5 pressures, when you should be looking at closer to 30 combined for your top two guys.
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07-31-2007, 11:43 AM
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#83 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Nope, it's still Lamonica starting, though Griese is up to 15/38 as of right now. And yes, our running game does look ancient right now. I'm somewhat tempted to give Reeves the starting job, but I won't. Pass rushing has traditionally been a weakness for us, as I've never had a topflight DE to date. Schau was good for a few years, but never dominant and Brumm has been awful since switching over to the left side. So while the team is still good overall, I think, we've got a lot of holes to fill, more than we did last year. You're right about us catching lightning in a bottle last year, it seems. I'd just hate to think our Super Bowl victory was a fluke. On the other hand, we're primed to reload this next offseason with the cap room we'll get and the draft picks we'll have.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-31-2007, 03:05 PM
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#84 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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In the attitude advisory report, Bob Skoronski is angry as I said before, but he'll start so his fury should go away. Dick Koepfer is disgruntled, which is fair, since he and Jim Battle are pretty equal, but the curious one is Dave Plump, who seems to think he should be starting over Don Fleming. Sorry Dave, it ain't happening.
Miami 24 Tucson 7 If there's one player who has reason more than any other to want to get back to the Super Bowl, it's Gary Ballman and he proved it today. All 9 passes thrown his way, he caught, for 182 yards and a TD on his way to Game MVP honors. Pat Holmes finally gets on the sack board with a tackle, an assist, 1.5 sacks, a block and 3 hurries. Miami 14 New Jersey 10 Extremely critical victory over the Jets, who had the tiebreaker advantage over us. The come from behind win came courtesy of Irv Cross, who raced up the field 97 yards with just under 5 minutes in the game for a KR TD. Johnny Unitas was 18-32 for 316 yards, a TD and an INT. Don Brumm gets in the multi-sack game with 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks, a block, and 2 hurries. Dave Lloyd comes back to give our D a much needed boost, but Maxie Baughan is questionable with a pulled hamstring and 5th receiver Eric Cedeno is out with a separated shoulder. Baughan will play on as we're in the thick of a playoff and division hunt. Oscar Lofton, an 8 year vet released by the Seahawks earlier this year, becomes the stopgap 5th receiver and C Mike Alford is cut. Philadelphia 9 Miami 23 A solid running game today as Bill Cooper and Dan Reeves run for 89 and 75 yards respectively, Tyrus Treftz going with a balanced rushing attack. Dave Lloyd gets an interception in his first game back and Don Brumm continues his hot streak with 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, and 3 hurries. We're now tied with Buffalo for the division lead at 7-4, but they hold the tiebreaker advantage. There's also a bunch of 7-4 teams all fighting for the last playoff spot. As of right now, we're out. Miami 0 Pittsburgh 20 Shut out by the Steelers. ARGH! Dave Lloyd with 13 tackles, 3 assists and a hurry. Johnny Unitas completed 25 of 50 passes, but it wasn't enough to even get us on the scoreboard. Albert Gursky is doubtful, but at this point, I'm throwing everyone into the fire unless they're definitely out. Miami 35 New York 34 Our running game continues to blow, but Johnny Unitas bails us out with a 28-45, 425 yard, 5 TD, 2 INT performance. Gary Ballman has 13 catches for 187 yards and 3 TDs, Paul Warfield 8 balls for 137 yards and a TD. We're guaranteed a .500 record after that nailbiter win that was again a come from behind effort. Of course, not even a win can come easy. Charlie Frazier misses the next game, though Eric Cedeno comes back. But the biggest blow is Bill Cooper who has a compound leg fracture and won't be back until Late 1968. His fine career with the Dolphins looks to sadly be over. Cooper goes on IR, Dan Reeves starts and RB mentor and Bills castoff Larry Garron is signed to be the top backup and split passing downs with Reeves. New England 9 Miami 26 We punish the Patriots for their temerity in upsetting us earlier in the year. Gary Ballman has 6 catches for 122 yards and Garo Yepremian hits 4/5 FGs, including a franchise record 57 yarder. Walter Johnson paces the pass rush with 4 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 knockdowns. Washington 7 Miami 27 With a ton of teams at 9-5, we really needed this win and we get it, lowering the boom on the Redskins. Johnny Unitas is 26-33 for 306 yards, 2 TDs and an INT, Gary Ballman again the end-zone man with 10 catches for 129 yards and both TDs. Paul Warfield catches 8 passes for 110 yards himself as our dynamite duo at WR does it again. Johnny Sample gets 2 interceptions, returning one back for a TD and Don Fleming has 10 tackles, 2 assists, a pass defense, and an interception. Don Brumm picks up 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown, continuing his second-half Mark Schau-esque surge. Unbelivably, we're still not in the playoffs at 10-5, as we're the odd man out in the 3 way tie of 10-5. We need to win and one of Houston or Oakland to lose. At least we get Charlie Frazier back. New Jersey 28 Miami 34 The Jets came in bound and determined to play the spoiler role, but they weren't quite able to pull it off as Larry Garron surprises everyone by rushing for 2 TDs. Paul Warfield catches 7 passes for 121 yards, but the Game MVP was none other than Pat Holmes. Chained all season long, he had a breakout game today with 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown. Oakland loses so we're in the playoffs! Even better, Buffalo loses, so we repeat as the AFC East Champions!. Unfortunately, we lose the tiebreaker for a first round bye, so we're playing in the wild card round. But that's okay. The important thing is, the defending Super Bowl champions have made the playoffs after a rough first half.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-01-2007, 06:11 PM
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#85 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We draw a very familiar opponent in the Wild Card round, none other than the Houston Oilers, who we're 0-2 against in the playoffs.
Norman McNeil is no George Blanda and he's particularly notorious for being interception-prone, which will be huge against our secondary. I said in the 1964 draft that if Paul Warfield hadn't fallen to me, I would've taken Mack Lee Hill, who's rushed for over 1,200 yards in his first 3 seasons and over 1,000 yards this year, his 4th season. He's hit double digit TDs as well and is adequate in ball protection. Nice to know that I still have a nose for picking RBs in the draft. Billy Cannon, Charley Hennigan and Bill Groman are still around and still brilliant receivers, giving the Oilers the firepower to match up with ours at that position. Their offensive line is just sick, it's so good, though their kickers leave much to be desired. Don Floyd is the all-time sacks leader and had 15.5 this preseason. Fortunately, the rest of the defensive line features two rookies who are still developing at the DT spots and Tim Powell, a third year player who... well damn, he got 12.5 sacks in his first year as a starter. Wahoo McDaniel is a force at MLB, but the rest of the linebacking corps is nothing frightening. Houston's secondary is scary, however, with a trio of fairly talented cornerbacks and SS Jim Norton, the 1960 Defensive Rookie of the Year and 4-time 1st Team-All Pro. In short, this game isn't going to be easy. Either one of us could win as the Oilers really do have a talented ballclub. So talented, in fact, that Houston's favored by 4. But it turns out to not even be close. Dan Reeves runs for the first 2 TDs of the game en route to a 30 carry, 113 yard performance, his finest for Miami and at just the right time. Johnny Unitas is a laser at 23-28 for 240 yards and 2 TDs. Walter Johnson records 2 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 knockdowns to pace the defense. Most telling defensive statistic: Houston's two QBs combined for less than 50% completion of their passes at 15/32. Final Score: Houston 7 Miami 34 We've excised the Oiler curse and are back to the divisional round!
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-02-2007, 01:04 PM
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#86 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Although we had a remarkably easy time of it against the Houston Oilers, that won't be the case against our foes in the Divisional Round, the San Diego Chargers.
Fran Tarkenton, the #1 overall pick in the first ever rookie draft, 1961, has blossomed into a truly great QB (73/73), one who's really entered the prime of his career and has thrown for over 3,000 yards the last two seasons, with 20+ TDs and single digit interceptions in that same time span. Unfortunately for Tarkenton and the reason why he hasn't been an All-Pro yet, he has some real scrubby receivers. Marv Fleming is a blocking machine and not a pass catcher at TE, Don Norton is one of the worst starting flankers in the league and Otis Taylor just had his first year as a starter this season. For the running game, Paul Lowe has rushed for over 1,000 yards every year in this universe except 1960. I'd call him underrated, but he's notorious for his fumbleitis, breaking double digit cough-ups in two years. What Tarkenton does have is a pair of extremely gifted tackles in LT Ernie Wright, who's made the last 4 All-Pro teams and RT Ron Mix, an All-Pro 3 of the last 4 years. However San Diego's starting guards are even worse than ours and one of them, along with their first string C, are Red Flag players. You know a P is bad when he consistently averages in the mid to high 30s, but for some reason the bum still has his job. K George Blair is one of the most underrated in the league, however. The Chargers run a 3-4 and have absolutely horrible DEs, their starters so bad they'd be cut from our team. NT Tom Keating is a bright young star, however, and just made the All-Pro team last season (2nd Team) and looks to make the 1st Team this year after a 14 sack regular season. SILB Mike Lucci is the best of a mediocre to poor linebacking corps, but San Diego's secondary is impressive, spearheaded by 1965's Fastest Man Dick Harris at CB and 2-time All-Pro SS Charlie McNeil. A major injury blow for the Chargers occurred in Week 1 when CB Mel Renfro was lost for the year due to reconstructive knee surgery, but they played well even without him. Can we win this game? Of course, but it's not going to be easy. Tarkenton is the equal of Unitas in talent, their secondary equivalent to ours and their offensive line somewhat better. They're favored by 2. It's as tight a game as I and the oddmakers figured, with the score tied at halftime and at the end of the 3rd quarter at 10-10 and 17-17 respectively. And then... well I'll tell you at the end of the post. I'll mention the individual highlights first. Johnny Unitas was 26-37 for 332 yards and 2 TDs, Paul Warfield catching 9 passes for 129 yards. Early in the fourth quarter, Unitas found Gary Ballman from 9 yards out for the TD and we hold on for the victory! Unitas was Game MVP as you can imagine, but the real reason we won this game was absolute mastery in a total team effort on defense. Fran Tarkenton completed just 50% of his passes and we held the Chargers to 58 total yards rushing as a team, Walter Johnson and Henry Jordan doing a fantastic job of stuffing up the middle. Miami 24 San Diego 17 We're going back to the AFC Championship!!!
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-06-2007, 12:08 AM
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#87 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Things are tough as we attempt to get back to the Super Bowl, as you might expect at this point in the playoffs. We're facing off against the Cleveland Browns, they of the 0-3 Super Bowl record, who are returning to the playoffs after missing out last season and losing Super Bowl VI to the Los Angeles Rams.
Len Dawson's numbers may have declined the last couple of years, but the 11 year vet is still one of the top QBs in the game and a worthy equal to Johnny Unitas. Unlike Tarkenton, he's actually delivered on his ability with two All-Pro appearances, the last in 1965, along with the 1963 MVP Award. The almighty Jim Brown is showing his age as well, as the 11th year runner posted his first sub-4.00 YPC in a season this year (3.93) and had his string of consecutive 1,000+ yard seasons broken last year with 954 rushing yards. That being said, he rebounded for 1,151 yards and 9 TDs in the regular season and had a career low in fumbles with 1. Not bad at all for a position that traditionally has the shortest shelf life in the NFL. TE Milt Morin is in just his 2nd season, but he's already emerged as one of the top pass-catching tight ends in the league and is an extremely valuable safety valve for Dawson. Bobby Mitchell is another greybeard at 10 years of experience, but he's never had below 1,000 yards receiving in a season. Unfortunately for the Browns, he and Morin are the only reliable receivers on Cleveland's roster, as everyone else is just filler. Dick Schafrath, Ed Budde and John Schmitt form a terrific left side of the line at LT, LG, and C respectively, but there's gaping holes on the right side that we should be able to take advantage of. Curley Johnson is the best punter in the game, as evidenced by his two consecutive 1st Team All-Pro P selections the last two years. The defensive front is Cleveland's biggest weakness. They run a 3-4, but have an awful defensive line and their best linebacker, SILB Bob Matheson, is a rookie who's still growing into his considerable potential and has an Extreme Conflict with the front seven leader besides. The Browns redeem themselves in the secondary, though. Rookie Bobby Bryant and second year man Tony King form an exceptional pair of young, talented cornerbacks who look like they could become the next great duo. Safety is a weak spot, however, especially since starting SS George Saimes, who broke out in the regular season, will miss this game. It'll be another rough ride, but this game is extremely winnable. The Browns have a pretty porous defense, which should translate into a high scoring affair, given their offensive weapons and ours. We're favored by 2, in a reversal of the last game. Cleveland goes up 17-14 at the half, thanks to some absolutely stellar passing by Len Dawson and some amazing runs by Jim Brown, but then our coaching staff makes some adjustments at the break and the second half, particularly the 3rd quarter is all Miami. In actuality, it's all Johnny Unitas, who throws for 3 TD passes in the second half on his way to winning Game MVP honors with a beautiful line of 27-34 for 327 yards, 5 TDs and 0 INTs, 146.3 rating, which may be a new franchise playoff record. Gary Ballman can smell the ring in front of him and like he has all season long, comes up huge with 10 catches for 162 yards and a TD. Johnny U's 3rd quarter firestorm took the Browns out of their gameplan. They'd intended to keep relying on Brown, but were forced to go to the air and that wasn't going to work with Cleveland's handicap at WR and our formidable secondary. Dawson threw 2 second half interceptions and misfired on a lot of passes, ending the Browns' hopes of ending the Super Bowl curse. Miami 35 Cleveland 24 We're going back to the Super Bowl!!!! We have a shot at our second straight championship!!!!! I really, really want this ring for Gary Ballman.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-08-2007, 02:17 AM
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#88 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Super Bowl VIII Preview
Miami Dolphins vs. San Francisco 49ers The Miami Dolphins become the first team in NFL History to make it to two consecutive Super Bowls and are the defending champs. San Francisco appears in its second bowl game in team history. They lost to Johnny Unitas's Indianapolis Colts 34-31 in Super Bowl II. Miami Dolphins Out List RB Bill Cooper (Starter) FS Don Fleming (Starter) San Francisco 49ers Out List WILB Greg Keshishyan (Starter) CB Bobby Boyd (Reserve) Position Comparison Quarterback You wouldn't guess that Johnny Unitas is in his 13th season. The Dolphins great still looks like a legend in his prime, with 4,234 passing yards, 23 TDs and 9 INTs during the regular season and an incredible 134.2 QB rating in this postseason run, with 9 TDs and 0 INTs. 3 Super Bowl games, 3 rings, 3 Super Bowl MVPs. Johnny U beat the 49ers in Super Bowl II. Can he repeat the magic one more time? John Brodie is no youngster himself, an 11 year veteran who has only been a starter for 3 years as he played behind a man they called Y.A. Tittle. Despite the short time leading the 49ers attack, he's been absolutely sensational, posting two straight 4,000+ yard seasons. Last year, he was the 2nd Team All-Pro QB behind Unitas and this year, Brodie threw for 4,406 yards, 34 TDs and 8 INTs. All that John lacks to be compared to Unitas's stature is postseason success and taking San Franciso to the Super Bowl goes a long way to that end. Advantage: Draw Running Back When Miami lost Bill Cooper for the year in Week 15, many people thought the Dolphins' playoff hopes were over, but third year RB Dan Reeves has been far more effective in the postseason than anyone could have hoped for, rushing for 255 yards in the run to the Super Bowl, including a masterful 113 yard, 2 TD performance in the Wild Card round against the Houston Oilers. Larry Garron, the late season replacement signed to back Reeves, has proven a fantastic find. The 8th year vet's blazing speed gave the Dolphins an excellent change of pace back and he's been an invaluable safety valve for Unitas in the playoffs. The 49ers also have a third year back starting in the big game, hard-running overachiever Gene Foster, who's run for over 1,000 yards in each of his first three pro seasons. He ran for a career high 1,203 yards and 14 TDs in the regular season and also caught 40 passes for 274 yards. Larry Ferguson is a pedestrian backup with the critical ability to hang on to the football. Advantage: 49ers Wide Receivers Miami hosts block maestro Sammie Hicks at TE, but he's only a minor part of the receiving game. The lion's share of passes go to 1st Team All-Pro Paul Warfield, who experienced a slight dropoff from last year, but still had 100 receptions for 1,428 yards and 5 TDs while majorly cutting his drops. The vastly underrated Gary Ballman mans the other side and he had a career year in the regular season, with 100 catches for 1,509 yards and 11 TDs, his 4th straight year of at least 1,000 yards receiving. He's hungry to win the Super Bowl ring he didn't get last season after being forced to miss the title game due to injury. Charlie Frazier continues to be one of the best backup wide receivers in the game. Gail Cogdill, such a hero last year in the playoffs and the Super Bowl, appears to have fallen off the map in the Dolphins' passing game. San Francisco's Gene Prebola is one of the most underrated tight ends in the league, able to both catch passes and block. Roy Jefferson is only in his third year, but the young star has over 1,100 yards in each of his 3 seasons and he's caught at least 8 TD passes a year. Charley Taylor, in his fourth season, has been even more spectacular since taking over the split end job for good two years ago. With at least 1,300 yards and 10 TDs in the last two seasons, he's dynamite and Taylor proved it beyond a doubt this year when he had career highs of 1,504 yards and 14 TDs in the regular season with just 4 drops. He reminds people a lot of a younger version of Warfield and Ballman. Unfortunately for the 49ers, there's only warm bodies in the way of backups. Should Jefferson or Taylor go down in the game, there's no one who can fill the void like Frazier can for the Dolphins. Advantage: Dolphins Offensive Line With 2 rookies and a second year player on the starting line when the Dolphins broke camp, cohesion problems were bound to occur and many blame the offensive line's poor play for Miam's struggles in the first half of the season. Then, the aging Bob Skoronski was handed his starting job back at LT and rookie RG Gene Upshaw continued his rapid progress in the second half. Instantly, the line gelled and played fantastically better in the second half and have done well as a unit in the playoffs thus far. Skoronski's physical skills may be eroded, but the 12th year vet is a brilliant strategist, relying on his experience and intelligence to be the most reliable player on the Dolphins' line. LG Fuzzy Thurston was finally healthy for most of a season, which did much to improve the performance of the offensive line. C Oronde Bland, however, had his worst performance ever in a Dolphins uniform, both in the regular season and the playoffs. His contract is up this season and he may well not be back next year. Upshaw struggled in pass protection in the first half of the regular season, but has been on fire since then and is averaging 40% on run blocks in the playoffs, with 0 sacks allowed and a pancake block. He'll be a great guard for the next 10 years. RT Jim Battle is arguably the weakest link in the line, a good run blocker, but a sieve in pass protection. The 49ers build their line on a group of physically strong blockers who are solid all-around players without being exceptionally great or weak in any area. The one exception is RT Joe Carallo, who is an even bigger hole in the passing game than Battle. Most telling statistic for San Francisco's line philosophy: LT Monte Clark, with 6 pancake blocks in the regular season, has more than all of Miami's offensive line together. Advantage: 49ers Defensive Line Miami's pass rush, anemic in the first half, bloomed in the second half. DE Don Brumm bounced back from a rough year and a half of adjustment to the left side to record 8 sacks. On the opposite Pat Holmes regressed from his 13.5 sack a year ago. Truthfully, the DEs are only adequate for the Dolphins, though reserve Mark Schau is a great backup option. The real strength of Miami's defensive line is in the tackles, with the ageless Henry Jordan still a force and third year pro Walter Johnson getting better and better with each passing season. In fact, in the regular season Johnson had 54 tackles, almost double his previous career high, and 8 sacks, another career high, tying him for the team lead. Ben Davidson is extraordinarily gifted at LDE for the 49ers, but he's notorious for his inconsistency and underachievement relative to his talent. RDE Dick Evey is just another body. Injury problems limited NT Jim Colvin to 11 starts in the regular season, but he's a vacuum in the middle of the line, a real tackle machine who hits runners hard. Advantage: Dolphins Linebackers Dave Lloyd is one of the most underappreciated MLBs in the league. The guy does nothing but perform fantastically year in and year out and he doesn't get the recognition he deserves. SLB Jim Houston overachieves relative to his mediocre talent, contrary to WLB Maxie Baugham, who has been a major disappointment since signing a lucrative free agent deal with the Dolphins in 1966 free agency. Artie Kondovski is a run-stopping force at backup MLB. Albert Gursky is adequate reserve on the outside, but nothing more. San Franciso has a bunch of stiffs at linebacker, the noteable exceptions being second year WLB Crawfish Guidry, who is a terrific player against both the run and the pass and SLB Roy Winston, who stunned everyone with a 9.5 sack season in his first year as a starter after signing with the 49ers in free agency. Advantage: Draw Secondary There's no question that Johnny Sample is he most underappreciated cornerbacks in all of football. The all-time passes defensed leader has never made the Pro Bowl and is considered on the decline by scouts. All he did was intercept a career high 6 passes in the regular season, returning 2 for TDs while putting up his usual consistent tackle numbers and phenomenal pass defense both in the regular season and the playoffs. Running mate Irv Cross never did live up to the lofty expectations that made him the #10 overall pick in the 1961 draft, but he's still a respectable corner and one of the greatest kick returners in the game. Nickelback Kendall Reeves is just another guy. The loss of FS Don Fleming for the Super Bowl is huge, although Dave Plump is one of the better reserve free safeties in the NFL. SS Ross Fichtner is a terrific tackler and good in the pass defense to boot. Rookie Charlie Stukes still has some growing to do, but the 1st rounder flashed some exciting ability during the regular season and looks like he could be a shutdown corner someday. Left corner Warren Livingston is extremely overrated. SS Dave Baker is one of the best strong safeties in the league, even better than Fichtner, but FS Jim Welch is nowhere near starter-level. Advantage: Dolphins Line: San Francisco favored by 6
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-08-2007, 03:12 PM
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#89 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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If we win this game, it'll be because of our advantage on defense, I'm thinking.
Same setup as last time with regards to simming. San Francisco gets the ball first on their own 16. John Brodie scrambles for 9 yards and throws a 34 yard pass to Zack Kaplan, but then the 49ers get hit with a holding penalty that sets them back as they near the 50 yard line and a Walter Johnson sack ends the burgeoning threat. Unfortunately, Johnny Unitas gets intercepted on our very first play of the game by Dave Baker and it's returned to our 28 yard line. A few great passes by John Brodie and two short runs by Larry Ferguson later and San Fran draws first blood. San Francisco 7 Miami 0 8:21 1st Quarter Irv Cross returns the ensuing kickoff to the 50 yard line, but we go 3 and out and punt it away. John Brodie then goes 6 of 7 on the drive that follows and another short Larry Ferguson run results in a TD. We're floundering and floundering fast. San Francisco 14 Miami 0 14:24 2nd Quarter The teams exchange a pair of 3 and out series, when Dan Reeves rushes for 12 yards and our offense is suddenly showing signs of life as Johnny Unitas finally starts getting untracked, completing three straight passes, including a 20 yarder to Paul Warfield for the TD! We're back in the game now. San Francisco 14 Miami 7 5:59 2nd Quarter San Francisco threatens again as their offense is running extremely well, but then another timely Walter Johnson sack again snuffs out the danger and we get the ball back around the 2 minute warning. We drive down to the San Francisco 32, but aren't able to get the FG try off in time before the half expires. There's a lot of double coverage going on here, which I find interesting. Dave Baker gets hurt on the drive and it looks like a bad knee injury. He may not be back the rest of the game. San Francisco 14 Miami 7 Halftime Not the greatest of first halves, but we'll take it as we're still in this thing. ...And of course we get a holding penalty and Johnny Unitas gets sacked to make a 3 and out. Once more the 49ers push down the field and it's looking like they're going to score, but another key sack, this time by Pat Holmes, pushes them out of field goal range and we're still alive. Sadly, it's yet another 3 and out as San Francisco's defense is just playing with absolute fire and intensity right now. My heart's in my throat as John Brodie puts together another run of brilliantly executed passes, bringing them down to our 3 yard line, but then Albert Gursky bursts through the line to slam Gene Foster so hard he fumbles the ball. Dave Lloyd picks it up and in one of the most amazing plays in Super Bowl history, returns it 99 yards down the field for the TD!!!!!!!! The tie is in effect!!! The 3rd quarter ends with that scoreline. San Francisco 14 Miami 14 End 3rd But of course, Gene Foster then goes apeshit on the next drive, with 3 runs of 10 yards or more, including an 11 yard rumble for the TD. Way to make up for your fumble, Gene. San Francisco 21 Miami 14 9:05 4th Quarter We're starting to run out of time and we've honestly been lucky to score the points we have. Three incomplete passes later, we punt again. Johnny Unitas is having the worst game of his career at the worst possible time. Two penalties on the 49ers next drive kill them and we get the ball at midfield, an excellent opportunity before us to tie it up again. We put together a series of short run and pass plays and escape a 4th and 3 with a little Johnny Unitas to Paul Warfield magic just before the two minute warning. First play after we get back from the 2:00 mark, Johnny Unitas again finds Paul Warfield, for 13 yards and the TD!!! We're tied again!!!! San Francisco 21 Miami 21 2:00 left in the game Inspired by the miracle, Johnny Sample and Dave Plump defend two passes and Don Brumm hurries John Brodie into a bad throw on 3rd down to force a 3 and out. With 1:04 left in the game, Johnny Unitas gets the ball back on our 44. Can he do it? 1st and 10 - Miami 44: Johnny Unitas to Paul Warfield 33 yards. 1st and 10 - SF 23: Johnny Unitas to Gary Ballman 11 yards. A holding penalty puts us back to the 22, but then Johnny Unitas connects with Paul Warfield for 21 yards, a shoestring tackle by the S Oliver Mathis all that prevents us from the go-ahead TD! We're on the 1 yard line, 4 seconds left in the game. Out trots Garo Yepremian for the 18 yard FG attempt. If he makes it, we become the first repeat Super Bowl champions in NFL history and Gary Ballman gets his ring. If he misses, we go into OT, where anything can happen. Nothing but upright. Final Score: Miami 24 San Francisco 21 The stadium explodes and we're all screaming and jumping for joy. I'm screaming and jumping for joy. We've done it!!!! We've done it!!! We've won the Super Bowl for the second year in a row!!!! DT Walter Johnson is named Super Bowl MVP and rightly so. 5 tackles, an assist, a forced fumble, a hurry... but most importantly, those two crucial sacks that killed San Francisco drives. I think back to that 1965 draft and I can't help but smile. If you remember, I was debating between Johnson and another DT for the first round pick. The other guy looked to have more upside, but Walter was more NFL ready, so I took him. And now, three years later, I have a DT who's gotten better and better with each year and who was just named the Super Bowl MVP, an extremely rare occassion for a defensive lineman. I'm grinning all the more when I see Championship Ring: 1 by Gary Ballman's name. It's for him that I most wanted this Super Bowl and I'm ecstactic to see him get it. You have to feel sorry for John Brodie and the 49ers though. It's the second time they've had their hearts broken in the Super Bowl. Brodie was 26-35 for 307 yards and Roy Jefferson had 9 catches for 131 yards, Zach Kaplan 7 for 105. But we're the winners. We're the ones who have our banner flying. This is the single sweetest championship I've ever had in a sports sim. When we were 4-4, I thought we were done. We looked old, we looked mortal and our playoff prospects looked grimmer than I wanted to admit. But then we caught on fire and surprised everyone by marching to the Super Bowl and winning again. In fact, the Super Bowl was emblematic of our regular season. Johnny Unitas struggled, our running game was going nowhere and our defense was suddenly underachieving. But we turned it all around at just the right moment and Johnny U found his Super Bowl magic one more time precisely when we needed him to. Oh, how beautiful it is.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 08-08-2007 at 03:15 PM. |
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08-08-2007, 04:12 PM
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#90 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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That is possibly one of the finest games I've seen. If that actually happend in a superbowl it would be one of the best, maybe even the best ever rivaled by what the second 49ers Bengals one, Broncos-Packers? Really you were getting it handed to you the entire game and somehow, you pull it out of the fire. That fumble return was rediculous, unbelievable, if you were a Niners fan watching on tv you'd have thrown your shoe through a wall or something. Now can you pull off the big one, become the only team to win three in a row? It'll be quite the challange considering the team is getting pretty old and the lack of any real running game.
Good luck to you sir. |
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08-08-2007, 08:29 PM
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#91 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks I really did jump up and down and scream in delight when I got to the end of the log and saw we won. I thought sure the way things were going we'd lose.I agree that Dave Lloyd fumble return is going to be one of those plays that gets mentioned and remembered a lot, probably even a youtube video today. The team's liable to undergo some major changes in the offseason. We've got a slew of free agents coming up and a significant portion of the offseason depends on what Johnny U does. In fact, I think it's fairly safe to say that we're at a pretty major crossroads right now. Luckily, I have not only our own #32 pick, but the Vikings' pick in the upcoming draft. So we'll see what kind of players are available (No, I don't want to know... that's part of the fun of this for me, finding out when exactly certain players become available) draftwise. I've already made a short list of top priorities for this offseason. In fact, they're three in number right now. #1. Find an heir to Johnny Unitas. #2. Upgrade at RB #3. Locate Bob Skoronski's replacement at LT.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-08-2007, 10:31 PM
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#92 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We did as well as we did because of our passing game and, in a rare change from the years that our pass defense led us, our run defense. Johnny Unitas and his band of merry receivers, Paul Warfield, Gary Ballman and Charlie Frazier were as fantastic as ever and Walter Johnson was sensational in the middle. Johnny Sample had his usual superb season and Pat Holmes bounced back in a big way in the second half, as did Don Brumm. Dave Lloyd also had his typical great season and Jim Houston was an unexpected surprise. John Seedborg had his usual consistent season, but Garo Yepremian connected on just 62.9% of his FG, 50% from 40+ range and 42.9% from 50+. It's something to keep an eye on... I've already mentioned my top priorities for the offseason, but I'd really like to inject some more starter quality youth on defense, particularly at CB and all 3 linebacker slots. We'll probably target a linebacker in the draft, potentially with our #32 pick, as my current intention is to spend our Vikings pick on QB, RB or LT if we don't address those needs in free agency. Miami Dolphins Awards DT Walter Johnson Super Bowl MVP WR Gary Ballman 1st Team All-Pro WR What a terrific year for Ballman. Gets his ring and on the All-Pro team all in the same season. I'm honestly surprised that we didn't get more nods, but c'est la vie. MVP QB John Brodie - San Francisco 49ers Offensive Player of the Year QB John Brodie - San Francisco 49ers Defensive Player of the Year SLB Chris Hanburger - Washington Redskins Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Dickie Post - New Orleans Saints Defensive Rookie of the Year SS Ken Houston - Philadelphia Eagles Staff Hiring Lead Scout Edwin Turnbull WR: Good to Average Offensive Coordinator Jared Thamilarasan QB: Good to VG Defensive Coordinator Royce Womble KP: VG to Good DB: Good to VG Womble is out of contract, so we'll be surfing the market to see what's there. Turnbull, who I wasn't impressed with in the first place, is gone. There's some great DC talent out there, but most are former coordinators of other teams, which violates my rule of home-grown staff and the top newbies are all clones of Womble, so it's better just to keep continuity and cohesion than change it up. Womble immediately inks a 3 year, $400k per year deal, but the Scout I'm trying to get has 6 offers on the table, including an offer that's so high my owner won't allow me to match it. There's no one else who matches my house rule that I feel comfortable with, so we get Turnbull for another year. LT Dick Cunningham is the easy choice for the Summer League, because if he improves enough, he'll get another shot at the starting tackle spot and hopefully play better this time if we don't get an improvement. Fan loyalty is maxed out and public support for a new stadium is pretty good, but it's a long way off to 1975, so I'm not going to mess with ticket prices. Going into free agency, we have 30 players under contract and we're $2.5 million under the cap, $1.5 which can be used to sign new players. Fortunately, most of the guys who have expired contracts are backups, with the exception of Bob Skoronski, Oronde Bland and most of the time he's been with us, Bill Cooper. Position Needs QB (x 2), TE, C, P, DT, MLB, OLB - 14 new bodies altogether Week 1 Re-signings FS Dave Plump: 1 year, $50k Week 2 Signings RB Bill Cooper - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -I couldn't stand to let him go to another team, especially not when there wasn't anybody really great ahead of him, so back he comes. TE Billy Cannon - 3 years, $800k (Houston) -Former 2nd Team All-Pro TE who can both block and receive. He becomes the immediate starter and provides yet another weapon for Unitas. The fact that he's a mentor is nice too, as Tom Mitchell still has some potential to be filled. C John Schmitt - 3 years, $320k (Cleveland) -I can't believe I got him this cheaply. While he's most noted for his exceptional pass blocking, he's not far off from Oronde Bland in terms of run-blocking. Just a solid, solid player who's a pretty big improvement over Bland if you want to know the truth. CB Billy Baird - 4 years, $1.37 mill. (Atlanta) -Say hello to our new starting RCB. A phenomenal player who only got to start one season in all the years he played for the Falcons, he makes our secondary scary again, for Irv Cross now slides down to the nickel slot. He's also a 6th year player whose original position is on the left side, making him the heir apparent to Johnny Sample. SS George Saimes - 3 years, $1.05 mill. (Cleveland) -Exploded last year with 81 tackles and has the talent to be able to supplant Ross Fitchner as a starter right now. Gives us the luxury of 3 great safeties, which means that somebody's likely to be unhappy, but we'll manage it somehow. Another 6th year player and insurance against aging. Week 3 Signings P Paul Maguire - 1 year, $100k* (Detroit) -Two All-Pro appearances says it all. A terrific punter and one I'm very excited to rent for a year. Week 4 Signings DT Gary Larson - 1 year, $80k* (Buffalo) -Very intriguing 5th year player scabbed from our rivals who might well be the heir to Henry Jordan on the left side. I like this pickup and I'm glad I took the time to look at him once the other player I tabbed got a higher offer. Week 5 Losses P John Seedborg - 1 year, $80k* (New Jersey) -Seedborg goes to our division foes. The Jets will be pretty happy with him, I think. Although I bitched about him a lot, he really was a pretty good punter all in all. Week 6 Signings C Winston Berosik - 1 year, $100k* (St. Louis) -9th year veteran mentor who's a terrific backup C to have. Reminds me a lot of Ken Engram before Engram started declining. MLB Garland Boyette - 3 years, $320k (Seattle) -Missed the 1964 season to a drug suspension, so he's a bit of a gamble, but he was a great starter in the middle for the Seahawks and he'll be an excellent backup and possible stop-gap for when Dave Lloyd is done. SLB Dave Meggyesy - 3 years, $310k (Indianapolis) -I'm absolutely thrilled to get this 6th year man. An extremely solid all-around player who steps in as our new starter at SLB, allowing us to push Jim Houston to a reserve role. Week 6 Contract Extensions DT Walter Johnson - 3 years, $950k -I wasn't going to let our Super Bowl MVP walk next year, so I quickly signed him to an extension. His asking price was quite reasonable in my opinion. RG Jim Simon - 2 years, $180k -Tacking on another year as he's a great backup to have. That's it for this first half of free agency as far as my signings and extensions go. There's a lot of other players who have one year left on their contracts, including some pretty major names, but I'm going to hold off on them until I see what they or those who have been brought in as possible replacements for them bring us next season. One guy who I probably won't be able to re-sign next year is Charlie Frazier, who when I inquired about an extension demanded starter money, but frankly, though he's good enough to be a starter, he won't ever be more than the third receiver while Paul Warfield and Gary Ballman are around. I'll finish reporting the rest of free agency in the next post, to tell you if we lost any other guys. I've got a lot of interviewing to do before the draft hits. But I leave you with this wonderful, wonderful bit of news. We have the #1 overall pick in the upcoming draft.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-08-2007, 11:09 PM
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#93 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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I think this is an exciting draft to have it and there should be 3 worthy players. |
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08-09-2007, 03:20 AM
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#94 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Three players are exactly who we're having trouble deciding between in the draft, but more on that in a bit.
Week 9 Losses DT John Baker - 1 year, $100k* (Dallas) -Was a good backup DT for us last year, but we upgraded there, so not a big loss at all. Week 11 Losses RG Lloyd McCoy - 1 year, $80k* (Green Bay) -Never panned out like we hoped he would and with Gene Upshaw and Jim Simon on the roster, he became more than superfluous. On to the draft! I was going to wait to do this, but my sister's in town for a few days starting tomorrow, I can't sleep and I keep thinking about this #1 overall pick of ours and the 3 guys we're trying to decide between. Mock drafts are pretty evenly split between the three guys, so let's look at a draft that purports each one. Sports Illustrated QB Ken Stabler - Alabama The Dolphins signified a youth movement this offseason as they signed some key free agents who will eventually replace, if not start over right now, some veterans from their two Super Bowl contenders. Stabler fits this youth movement. Yes, he's extremely raw, but Johnny Unitas is signed for two more seasons and can mentor the heir apparent. Stabler's blessed an extraordinary amount of potential and has the accuracy that Miami's GM covets in his QBs. He also had the highest prospect score in the whole entire draft class. This is the Dolphins' chance to banish the mistakes of Mickey Slaughter and Bob Berry. They can't afford to miss it. Sporting News LT Russ Washington Miami's biggest hole is at LT and Washington has the talent to be the cornerstone there for the next 10 years. More importantly, he's polished enough to be a Week One starter, one who could greatly improve the Dolphins' chances of winning their third straight Super Bowl title. Playboy Magazine RT Art Shell The Dolphins' weakness on offensive line was exposed during the Super Bowl and though they signed John Schmitt in free agency, center wasn't the problem for Miami anyway. Russ Washington is a popular pick in other mock drafts, but he performed terribly on the Sol Test and the Dolphins GM is notorious for demanding a smart player at that critical position. Shell reminds scouts a lot of Gene Upshaw, Miami's 1st round pick last year, only in a tackle's body. Not only would Shell be a Week One starter, but between him and Upshaw, the Dolphins wouldn't have to worry about the right side of the line for the next decade. As you can see, there's compelling arguments for each pick. But then I remind myself that we only started winning and winning big when we got Johnny U and furthermore, the chance to get a possible franchise QB like Stabler only comes once in a decade, maybe even less. Bob Skoronski's proven that you don't need a top-shelf LT to win a Super Bowl, but Unitas has proven that you can't win it all without a great QB. And I would never spend the #1 overall pick on a right tackle unless it was unquestionably the biggest area of need on the team. So I make the choice. 1968 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. QB Ken Stabler - Miami Dolphins Incidentally, this draft is just sick with talent. There's a lot of players I like who could help us out right away, who I'm hoping to get in later rounds. There's two other big names besides the three I mentioned who should go soon: DE Elvin Bethea, the highest graded player in the draft (I hate his endurance though) and DT Manny Fernandez, who looks like a franchise DT. 2. DE Elvin Bethea - Indianapolis Colts 3. QB Bob Lee - Jacksonville Jaguars 4. QB Gary Beban - Cincinnati Bengals 5. T Russ Washington - Chicago Bears Great pickup for Chicago. Lee actually looks like a great QB, too... Beban, not so much. 6. QB Harry Theofiledes - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 7. DE Larry Cole - Philadelphia Eagles 8. T Art Shell - Green Bay Packers If he'd dropped much lower, I was seriously considering putting together a package to move up and grab him. Very nice job by the two NFC North archrivals here. 9. DT Manny Fernandez - Kansas City Chiefs KC would like to thank all the teams who threw away their pick on QBs who aren't going to pan out. 10. DE Coy Bacon - New England Patriots 11. DE Tim Rossovich - Washington Redskins 12. RB Paul Robinson - New York Giants 13. T Ron Yary - New Jersey Jets 14. S Bob Atkins - Seattle Seahawks 15. OLB Terry Miller - Pittsburgh Steelers 16. DT Bill Staley - Los Angeles Rams 17. DE Claude Humphrey - Carolina Panthers 18. WR Marlin Briscoe - Baltimore Ravens 19. DE Marvin Upshaw - New Orleans Saints 20. S George Atkinson - New Orleans Saints 21. RB Rocky Bleier - Dallas Cowboys 22. WR Harold Jackson - Denver Broncos 23. ILB Jim Cheyunski - Oakland Raiders 24. OLB Al Beauchamp - St. Louis Cardinals 25. DT Curley Culp - Cleveland Browns 26. TE Bob Trumpy - Buffalo Bills 27. CB John Dockery - Houston Oilers 28. S Dick Anderson - Tucson Titans 29. ILB Edgar Chandler - San Diego Chargers 30. DE Tommy Hart - Detroit Lions 31. OLB Dwight Lewis - San Francisco 49ers A lot of players to choose from here, including 3 LT I was looking at. None of these guys are going to survive to my second round pick, but on the other hand I don't know if any of them is the answer. There's a replacement LG for Fuzzy Thurston who looks really good too. I also like a DE, though I'm less high on him. On the other hand, Dick Cunningham could turn out to be the real deal this year and if nothing else, I can always re-sign Bob Skoronski for one more season. That decides it. 32. G Mo Moorman - Miami Dolphins The two tackles I was looking most closely at come off the board at 2.2 and 2.8, with the third tackle going at 2.9. No worries as there's players I have my eye on for our pick in the second round, including one of my favorite RL Dolphins. That DE I was eying is still on the board when our second round pick comes up, along with that Dolphin and the RB I was most interested in drafting. There's also a MLB who attracted my attention. Some tough choices to make here to be sure. I throw the MLB out because we're established there thanks to our free agency moves. We desparately need a RB and I'd love to pick up that Dolphin. We could also use a lot better backup DE than Mark Schau, who's a shell of what he once was. Looking more closely at the roster, the DE has a skill set very similiar to Don Brumm's, though he has the potential to be a much better run defender with better pass rush technique. The RB looks like an immediate second string, but on the other hand, he's more likely to bust than boom with that worrisome 4.80 40. So it's down to the DE and the Dolphin. In that case, it's clear. I take the Dolphin, who is one of my favorites of all time, though Marino is still my favorite. I take FB Larry Csonka and immediately plot to move him to RB. Hell, his 40 time is 4.58, better than any of the RBs and with a 37 strength and 7.16 Agility, also crushing the RBs, he might well make the switch. The only reason I considered not taking him is because I don't know how he'll handle moving to RB. But it's damned sure worth a try. Good thing I took him. Two FBs go early in the third round and I'll be perfectly honest.. I'd have been pissed if I missed out on Csonka. Even if he won't switch over to RB well, he'll still be in my lineup as FB until he retires. Fuck! Just as I'm about to move up to grab the DE who's still sitting there at 3.24, the Chiefs snap him up. Guess I should've moved faster. Ah well. By the time we do pick, I'm down to a DT and a CB as my top choices, my craving for RB greatly diminished. That MLB I was considering back in the 2nd round is still on the board too, but there's someone I like equally as well who should be there in the 4th. I decide to gamble on the CB, who could break out and pick Jim Duncan, who could see time as a punt returner in his rookie year.The MLB I expected to drop to the 4th round is still there and so I pick Rudy Barber, who might possibly break out. He's also good insurance in case Garland Boyette gets suspended again. In the 5th round, I start getting nervous that the WR I was looking at is going to get taken and besides all the RBs I wanted are gone, but everyone wants my 6th round pick in addition to the 5th rounder and I'm not quite willing to do that. Fortunately, this time it pays to sit tight and I'm able to grab WR Jerry Daanen for our 5th round pick. He looks like a breakout candidate and he should be our 5th receiver. I'm about to take a flyer on a raw but intriguing DT in the 6th when I swerve and take DE Harry Gunner, who looks like a potential replacement for Mark Schau as a reserve. I normally don't take players who have that low a Sol score and the 59% development suggests he's got a limited ceiling, but hell, it's a 6th rounder. Mr. Irrelevant is OLB Dave Ogas, who I drafted only because he runs a 4.64 40, which I thought was pretty damn good for this point in the draft. He's also got a 90 Vol, so maybe he'll turn into something. Going into the second half of free agency, we still need a warm body at QB, plus there's some other areas I'd like to shore up if possible. Week 1 Signings DE Dick Evey - 1 year, $80k* (San Francisco) -Got a sack of Johnny Unitas in the Super Bowl and he's a pretty good backup DE, though not starter quality. I almost signed him to a longer deal, but I wanted to see how he and the rookie we got pan out first. Week 3 Signings QB Curtis Montgomery - 1 year, $100k* (Atlanta) -Strictly a mentor and third string body. LT Bob Skoronski - 1 year, $110k* (Re-signing) -He'll come back for one more season, likely his last. Week 3 Losses RB Abner Hayes - 2 years, $1.19 mill. - New York Giants (Kansas City Chiefs) -Great short-term solution RB and he turns us down for the Giants. Bah! Am I doomed never to have a franchise RB? Said he preferred the cold weather and didn't like the heat in Miami. Week 4 Signings RB Gene Foster - 1 year, $70k* (San Francisco) -Definitely worth taking a flyer on a guy who's run for over 1,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. He'll battle Bill Cooper for the starting job and we'll get a chance to see if it was him or the 49ers offensive line that made him so good. Pre-Training Camp Extension MLB Dave Lloyd - 3 years, $700k -The extension turned out to be a necessity because we needed to free up cap room to sign our rookies. #1 overall picks don't come cheap, you know. Speaking of which.... Code:
Stabler's drop is slightly worrisome, but Moorman does indeed look like the heir to Fuzzy Thurston. Csonka would have 74% of his ratings if he switched to RB and I just can't bring myself to do it, especially not after signing Gene Foster. Hopefully our old head coach will find a way to use him. I'm cautiously optimistic about Duncan, who will take on kickoff return duties in the preseason to give him some experience. The rest of the guys are pretty much fodder.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-09-2007, 09:05 AM
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#95 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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I think you should seriously consider leaving Csonka at FB then starting him at RB. The three I thought you'd be picking between were Shell, Stabler and Bethea. I would have thought passing on Bethea would be real tough because he could really anchor your defense for a long time, but the endurance is worrysome and QB is so very important and you may not get another chance like this.
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08-09-2007, 09:07 AM
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#96 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Dola: I say you should consider playing him at RB because he's looking at ~60 carries a season even if you set the FB run percentage to the max.
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08-09-2007, 06:29 PM
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#97 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I place such a premium on endurance for my starters that Bethea was honestly never really in the running. It was a tough choice to give up Shell, though, especially after looking at Stabler's raw numbers.
But then again, that's damned sexy potential, Unitas-like even. Your idea about starting Csonka at RB is a good one and I'll try it out. Code:
I think it's safe to say that our season rests entirely on the arm of Unitas. He goes down, everything else goes down the tubes with him. Code:
This is an interesting dilemma here. Foster's got the statistical pedigree, Cooper has the ratings, but Csonka looks like a better RB than either of them, especially after slimming down to 226 from his original playing weight of 238. So it'll be Csonka starting with Foster the backup and Reeves the 3rd down and passing down back. We'll probably bring another FB as Granger simply isn't suited for our scheme, to be perfectly honest. Code:
This is the best shape we've been in at TE in years. Cannon will start, along with Warfield and Ballman, with Frazier and Cogdill their respective backups. Daanen, despite his low current, will be our 5th receiver, as I really like his potential to develop into a solid reserve WR. Code:
Cunningham is going to be given every chance possible in the preseason to win the starting LT job from Skoronski. Thurston-Schmitt-Upshaw-Battle will form the other four spots on the line. If Moorman can develop under Thurston's tutelage, he'll be a starter next year. We may be shopping for a new RT as well. Code:
It's make or break year for Garo, I think. Code:
Talk about a worrisome situation. Holmes might get switched over to the left side, allowing him and Evey to be the starters, or I may stick with Brumm and Holmes as the starters and let Evey, who frankly has never been impressive as a starter with the 49ers, sit as a reserve. One thing's for sure, Schau won't be back next year. Code:
A happy situation here. Jordan and Johnson will start again, though Larson could end up replacing Jordan in the starting lineup if need be. Code:
Meggyesy-Lloyd-Baughan across the border, with Boyette and Houston the backups. I'm extremely intrigued by Barber's potential and I'll probably give him a couple starts in the preseason game. In fact, I'm planning on giving a lot of our raw rookies preseason starts the first two games... Stabler, Csonka, Deenan, Moorman, Meggyesy, probably Duncan too. Code:
Sample and Baird will start, with Cross the nickel. First time since 1961 that it won't be Sample and Cross as the starters. Duncan looks like a possible ballhawk who could grow into a nickel or dime role with time. Code:
For the first time since 1960, Fichtner and Fleming will not start together. Instead, it'll be Saimes and Fleming, with Fichtner and Plump the reserves. Bird is here strictly for his punt return talents. On paper, we're a significantly improved team from a year ago. We've upgraded at linebacker and secondary pretty majorly, have a stronger corps of runners and are tenatively improved on the offensive line. The pieces appear to be there for another Super Bowl run, but it may take time for everything to gel together.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-09-2007, 11:01 PM
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#98 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We sell out our season tickets, which is always nice.
6th round pick DE Harry Gunner is cut to make room for FB mentor Theron Sapp, who takes over as the starting FB. Preseason Carolina 24 Miami 30 We start off the preseason with a narrow win over the Panthers, as we have a slew of raw rookies in the starters spots. Gene Foster looks terrible in backup duty and so Bill Cooper will get a backup chance. Ken Stabler was 7 of 10 for 60 yards and a TD in his Dolphins debut, but Curtis Montgomery was the MVP at 12-23 for 220 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. Don Brumm put a stamp on keeping his job with 6 tackles, 4 assists, and 1.5 sacks, but Dick Evey kept it close with 5 tackles and 1.5 sacks of his own. Miami 26 Washington 21 You know we're a good team when we're winning in exhibition games with only half our regular startes in. Ken Stabler continues to play pretty well. Larry Csonka was awful, but he'll get one more shot. Jerry Daanen was absolutely amazing, with 8 catches for 144 yards, but Garo Yepremian got the Game MVP at 4/6 in FG, including 2/3 from 50+ range. Backup FS Dave Plump breaks his foot and will miss the next preseason game. All the regular starters go back in now. New Orleans 17 Miami 27 Larry Csonka has his second straight bad game, so the experiment of him at RB is over. Bill Cooper will start the final preseason game, with Dan Reeves backing. Csonka slides over to starting FB. [b]Ken Stabler[//b] had a pretty rough game at 16-29 for 187 yards, a TD and 2 INTs, but that's to be expected. Gary Ballman acquires a turf toe injury, making him doubtful, but he'll play through it because he's tough. Miami 9 Dallas 0 We go undefeated in the preseason in this ugly, ugly win. Dan Reeves outplays Bill Cooper and will be our starting RB to begin the year. Neither Ken Stabler nor Johnny Unitas looked particularly on this game, which is troubling. Theron Sapp is out after dislocating his shoulder, so Hoyle Granger will assume backup and passing down duties at FB. Dave Plump is back at reserve FS. Regular Season Miami 17 New England 14 Our struggles in the preseason continue on into the regular season as Johnny Unitas throws 2 interceptions and has to play come from behind in the fourth quarter, which he does, getting the win on an 8 yard TD pass to Jerry Daanen of all people. No individual stars this game. Injuries start piling up as Johnny Sample hyperextends his elbow and is estimate out 3 weeks. In a major blow to our receiving corps, Gail Cogdill tears his deltoid muscle and he's lost for the year. Cogdill gets put on IR and Mike Miller, a journeyman SE, gets signed to back up Gary Ballman. Billy Baird moves to the left corner spot, Irv Cross elevated back to the starting right corner side. Suddenly our corner situation looks pretty perilious, but I think we can fight through it. San Francisco 14 Miami 41 Surprisingly, we absolutely massacre the 49ers in a rematch of the Super Bowl, sending SF to an 0-2 record to open the year. Dan Reeves rushes 25 times for 104 yards and a TD. Johnny Unitas is a laser beam MVP at 20-23 for 187 yards and 3 TDs. Walter Johnson picks up 2 tackles, an assist, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown. Miami 27 Tucson 20 Despite our injury problems, we're still finding ways to win, mostly Johnny Unitas who is 31-41 for 374 yards and 2 TDs in his finest regular season performance on the year. Paul Warfield becomes our first century receiver this season with 9 catches for 148 yards and a TD. Don Brumm hits the Titans for 3 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Johnny Sample is up to Probable and so he'll be coming back this week. Miami 24 Cincinnati 7 The Bengals were also undefeated going into this game, but we trounce them behind Dan Reeves's 21 rushes for 95 yards and 2 TDs and Paul Warfield's 11 catches for 165 yards and a TD. Johnny Unitas's 22-29 for 246 yards and a TD vs INT doesn't hurt either. Ross Fichtner is Doubtful and Jim Battle is Questionable, but since neither one would be terribly critical if we lost them, they'll play through their injuries. Buffalo 0 Miami 24 He's waited a long time for his chance to be a starter and now that he's gotten it, Dan Reeves is making the most of it as he runs 25 times for 100 yards even and a TD this game. Johnny Unitas is Game MVP by throwing 235 yards and 2 TDs on 23-29 passing. Henry Jordan, who's been put in a reserve role, picks up 2 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown, while Pat Holmes does some pressuring of his own with a tackle, an assist, 1.5 sacks, 3 blocks, a hurry and a knockdown. Don Fleming misses at least the next game with a strained foot ligament. Dave Plump gets the start with Ross Fitchner backing him up. Miami 31 Cleveland 20 If you'd told me we'd have the injuries we've had and that we'd still go on a major tear to start the year, I'd have said you were crazy. Sure this team's improved a fair bit from last year, but I didn't think it was -that- good. Johnny Sample finally gets a little recognition with a Game MVP as he returned an interception 79 yards for a TD with just under 2 minutes left to seal the deal for us. He also defended a pass and wasn't burned a single time. No stars other than that. Don Fleming is now ready to come back. Pittsburgh 13 Miami 14 The Steelers throw a major scare into us, but we stay undefeated thanks to Paul Warfield catching 5 passes for 129 yards and a TD and Game MVP Billy Baird picking off 2 interceptions. Dave Lloyd had 10 tackles and 4 assists and Walter Johnson was right behind him with 10 tackles and an assist himself. Baird also defended 2 passes. We get a nice breather of a bye week that allows us to heal some nagging injuries and get over the near shock of losing our improbable undefeated season. New England 20 Miami 10 You knew we had to lose at some point and here it comes. Johnny Unitas was off all game long and threw 2 costly interceptions and that was all she wrote. There's absolutely nothing to stress out about, though. At 7-1, we'd get out of the wild card round. The Baltimore Ravens would have home field advantage throughout the playoffs right now at 8-0, as Bart Starr actually has wide receivers to throw to now. Even better, the next closest team to us in the AFC East are the Jets, who are 4-5, so we're so far in the driver's seat for yet another division title that it's not even funny. The halfway stats: Code:
We're winning as much as we are because Dan Reeves is the new Bill Cooper and our total team defense, while not having any individual stars this year, is playing absolutely fantastically as a unit. Oh yeah, Paul Warfield is a beast at WR as usual. Gary Ballman has been so bothered by his turf toe that he hasn't caught a pass yet. If he ever gets back to good health, we'll be even scarier. Oh yeah, one other huge, huge reason we're winning: our offensive line play. Dick Cunningham and Jim Battle have both figured out how to do this thing called pass block, John Schmitt is a hell of a lot better than Oronde Bland ever was in center and Mo Moorman is on the fast track to being ready to replace Fuzzy Thurston as the starting LG next year. There's no more emblematic player of the offensive line play's improvement than Gene Upshaw, however. Last year, he had a 31.9% KRB with 0 pancake blocks and 9 sacks allowed. Through 8 starts this season: 46.0% KRB, 4 pancake blocks, which is more than our entire line has had in a year a lot of seasons, and 0 sacks allowed. His scouted ratings: Overall: 91/91 Run Blocking: 100 Pass Blocking: 87 Blocking Strength: 82 Endurance: 89 I've never drafted a player that terrific before. Makes me feel pretty damned proud.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-10-2007, 12:28 AM
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#99 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Upshaw is stellar, but what is up with your guys and fumbles? Butter instead of stickum?
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08-10-2007, 05:18 AM
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#100 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Fumbles Dan Reeves - 3 Billy Cannon - 2 Johnny Unitas - 2 Rodger Bird - 2 Paul Warfield - 1 Bill Cooper - 1 Jim Duncan - 1 Charlie Frazier - 1
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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