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11-11-2007, 03:56 PM
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#151 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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After the celebrations, it's time to review this season statistically.
Ken Stabler did throw a lot of interceptions this year, but I blame that in part on our poor tackle situation and plan to make the position one of our top priorities in the offseason. Calvin Hill broke 1,000 yards rushing again and Paul Warfield and Roy Jefferson each broke the 1,000 yard receiving barrier and Charlie Pittman continues to really impress as a #2 back. I wouldn't ever want him to be the feature RB, but he continues in our Dolphins tradition of 4th and 5th round finds at RB. Will Lanier is a terrific MLB and George Webster was a pleasant surprise, both in the regular season and the playoffs at WLB, but we're still lacking a SLB. Glen Edwards and Chuck Crist are our present and future at S and of course, we all know the Goldie Sellers story, but I'd like to find a multi-year solution at the other CB spot, possibly a rookie. L.C. Greenwood and Aaron Brown make a terrific pair of ends, but we're still extremely weak at DT. I'm also planning on finding new blood at WR, because our group is getting old. So for right now, my offseason priorities look like this: Better starters at both T spots and SLB as the most critical needs, a young WR a shade below that, and a young starting CB as a much lesser concern. Dolphins Awards QB Ken Stabler - Super Bowl MVP Covered in the previous post. CB Goldie Sellers - 2nd Team All-Pro CB I remember being really, really excited about getting Sellers and raving that he was the perfect fit for our team, but in no way did I expect he would set a franchise single-season record for interceptions, make a clutch Super Bowl-saving pick, or make an All-Pro team. What a fantastic, fantastic signing. I'm thrilled to have him as a Dolphin and hope to keep him until he retires. No changes in statistics for our staff and although I consider a new OC, there's nobody available on the market that holds my interest, so we bypass all that. Last year's 2nd round pick DT Don Croft gets the summer league invitation, as he's going to be given every opportunity possible to win one of the starting DT spots this year after failing to in his rookie season. Needs by the Numbers QB, TE, C, G, T, DE, DT (11 new bodies total) Week 1 Re-signings RB Charlie Pittman - 1 year, $70k* DE Wes Grant - 1 year, $70k* FL Otto Stowe - 1 year, $50k Week 2 Signings QB Ron Meyer - 1 year, $100k* (Houston) -Been a starter, both full and part-time before and is actually pretty good, in my opinion. Underrated and a good fit for our #2 spot. I also like his mentor abilities. P Danny Villaneuva - 1 year, $110k* (New York) -Paul Maguire wanted boku bucks and I'm not quite ready to give our 2nd year P the job yet, so I snagged this guy on a min-sal deal. He's a former 1st Team All-Pro P and I think he'll be decent enough for us. SLB Ed Philpott - 1 year, $80k* (Baltimore) -Until now career-long Raven, a starter ever since his rookie season (1.17 in 1967) who can tackle and play pass defense. Not a pass-rusher, though, which won't be too big a concern, with Greenwood and Brown up front. Week 4 Signings S Rodger Bird - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -I'll keep bringing him back until a better punt returner comes along. End of story. Week 4 Losses DT Ron East - 1 year, $80k* (Carolina) -The Panthers must be desparate for DT help to go and sign East. Enjoy him! Week 5 Signings CB Randy Beverly - 1 year, $100k (Re-signing) -A small bidding war broke out over him, so I had to spend some of the money I saved on min-sal contracts elsewhere to bring Beverly back. Playoff difficulties aside, he was great for us in the regular season and I'd be comfortable with having him start again if need be. Week 6 Signings C Frank Marchlewski - 1 year, $120k (Re-signing) -Every year he asks for a little more than the minimum to re-sign with us and every year he gets his wish, especially after last season when he saved our butts following John Schmitt going down for the season. He's just a fantastic guy to have on the team. Mentor, terrific affinity captain, quality backup.. it's great. Week 6 Losses WR Dick Gordon - 1 year, 100k* (Green Bay) -Contributed virtually nothing last season because of injury, but 4 drops in 3 games, especially as a backup, is a fast way to punch your ticket out of any town one of my teams plays in. T Bob Vogel - 1 year, $180k (Cleveland) -The Browns get desparate and offer a really fat check to a player who frankly has done nothing to deserve it the last few years. Vogel just set himself up very nicely for retirement with this scam. Enjoy his suckitude, Cleveland! DT Garry Pettigrew - 1 year, $100k* (Pittsburgh) -Was a major disappointment as a starter last season, so I'm not all that sorry to see him go. I still think there's a good player lurking in there somewhere, though. NT George Wright - 1 year, $80k* (New England - Re-signing) -Ouch. Low loyalty but he still re-ups with the Patriots. I was really counting on him to be my other starting DT this year too if I didn't get help from the draft. Oh well. MLB Mike Ciccolella - 1 year, $100k* (New England) -Respectable reserve MLB for us last season, but he had a conflict with Ken Stabler, which I'm sure caused some issues, so it's not that big a deal. It does remind me, however, that I need to find myself a new backup MLB. Week 7 Signings DT Bob Rowe - 1 year, $100k (Houston) -Extremely solid DT for the Oilers ever since he came into the league, he provides us a definite starter at DT, one we sorely needed after all the curious raiding on that spot of our sucky guys. I think he'll be a really good pickup. S Richmond Flowers - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -Some other teams started sniffing around him so I quickly snatched him up. Always a solid backup S in the regular season, he really turned it on last year in the playoffs, which is what generated considerable interest in him. One of those 4th round picks I've made who surprises everyone by turning out better than expected. Week 8 Signings G Howard Fest - 2 years, $190k (Re-signing) -I consider him on par with Frank Marchlewski in terms of his value as a backup G, so I put in the extra money to lock him up for a couple of seasons. Not a fantastic player, but one definitely capable of filling in, should something happen to a starter. MLB Jamie Rivers - 1 year, $100k (New York) -Gave up the chance to start elsewhere in order to earn a little bit more money and have a shot at a Super Bowl title with us. A solid starter for the Giants, he'll fit in well as the backup MLB and defensive front leader with us; has a chemistry bonus with Willie Lanier! Week 8 Losses P Paul Maguire - 2 years, $280k (San Diego) -Teams fought over the opportunity to offer him the ridiculous amount of money he was looking for and the Chargers win the sweepstakes. Yeah, I love Paul and he was fantastic for us and everything, but no way to I assign a P that old a two year deal of that kind of cash, including a $60k bonus. Sorry, that just doesn't work. Week 9 Signings TE Kent Kramer - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -Quality backup TE and a fantastic long snapper. No reason not to keep him around, especially on a min-sal deal. T Roger Shoals - 2 years, $240k (Cleveland) -Spent 11 years as the starting LT in Philadelphia before becoming a reserve with the Browns last season. Wanted a ridiculous amount of money and a two year deal, but I talked him down to a reasonable price for 2 years. Still more money than I want to pay, but we need somebody to man the left tackle spot if I don't find someone in the draft and I'm not about to hand it back over to Mr. Bust himself, Ed George. Besides, if need be, I can always cut his ass. $10,000 a year isn't a bad hit at all. That'll do for my shopping before the draft, I think.
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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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11-11-2007, 11:41 PM
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#152 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Congrats on the third title. You did an amazing job of retooling the team after your previous championships. Great work.
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11-12-2007, 05:29 AM
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#153 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks  Though to be fair, I got insanely lucky with the opportunity to draft Stabler. That being said, I'm quite proud of some of the other moves I made.
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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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11-12-2007, 05:55 AM
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#154 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
There's the 1972 stats in detail after I forgot to post them in the last post. Oops! High quality draft this year. The four big names on top of the board are DT Sugar Bear Hamilton, QB Joe Ferguson, T Leon Gray and RB Chuck Foreman, all with 7.0+ adjusted scores. Also be on the look for QBs Don Strock, Dan Fouts (who imported terribly) and Ron Jaworski. 1973 Draft 1st Round 1. RB Chuck Foreman - New Orleans Saints 2. QB Joe Ferguson - San Francisco 49ers 3. QB Don Strock - Seattle Seahawks 4. T Leon Gray - St. Louis Cardinals 5. DT Sugar Bear Hamilton - Washington Redskins 6. ILB Monte Johnson - Philadelphia Eagles 7. OLB Brad Van Pelt - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8. WR Drew Pearson - Minnesota Vikings 9. OLB John Skorupan - New Jersey Jets 10. TE Charlie Young - Kansas City Chiefs 11. QB Dan Fouts - Chicago Bears 12. G Paul Howard - San Diego Chargers 13. RB Terry Metcalf - Oakland Raiders 14. QB Dennis Morrison - Cleveland Browns 15. QB Ron Jaworski - New York Giants 16. WR Johnny Rodgers - Oakland Raiders 17. DT Wally Chambers - Baltimore Ravens 18. OLB Steve King - Buffalo Bills 19. CB Levi Johnson - Houston Oilers 20. G John Hannah - Jackonsville Jaguars 21. OLB Brad Dusek - Detroit Lions 22. RB Cullen Bryant (Carolina Panthers through Los Angeles Rams) This is the longest drought we've ever had with a trade, and the Rams pick up Carolina's 2nd round pick in this draft and the Panthers' 1975 1st and 5th rounders. Not a bad haul for L.A. here. 23. S Burgess Owens - Indianapolis Colts 24. S Dick Jauron - Denver Broncos 25. RB Greg Pruitt - Green Bay Packers 26. S Lyle Blackwood - Carolina Panthers 27. C Guy Morriss - Pittsburgh Steelers 28. OLB Rick Kay - Tucson Titans 29. S Jackie Wallace - Dallas Cowboys 30. ILB Willie Harper - New England Patriots 31. ILB Merv Krakau - Atlanta Falcons It's our turn, but to be honest, none of these guys is really doing anything for us as a 1st round possiblity. There's a couple RTs, but they have low development. On the other hand, there's a CB who looks a lot like Goldie Sellers sitting there and there's another CB who reminds us very much of Johnny Sample. I'm leaning mostly towards one of the two corners, but the Saints and the Seahawks, who hold the first two picks in the 2nd round, are damned eager to snatch them up, so trading down isn't really an option, either. It's too tough a call to decide right now, so I'm going to sit on it a while. After thinking about it, 6'4", 190, which is what the Sample-esque CB is at, is really too thin to be a long-term solution. To me, it smacks more of an Irv Cross type pick, only without the superlative return abilities. He also doesn't have the high intelligence that the playmaker type corner does, nor the breakout possiblity and so CB Rolland Lawrence is our man. 32. CB Rolland Lawrence - Miami Dolphins As expected, the Saints take the Sample-esque corner with the next pick. The 2nd round isn't really any easier, as there's a grand total of one WR left I have even a remote interest in, one T that looks really intriguing as a possible LT, a good looking RT, and a handful of promising DTs. The LT for some reason has me wary, whereas the RT strikes me a potential Week One starter, so RT Ron Mikolajcyzk gets the call. The 3rd round is going by and every single DT option I was looking at is flying off the board. Finally, there's only one left and there's still 10 picks to go. Since there's nobody in the lower rounds of the draft that intrigues me at all, I phone the Colts and give them my 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th round picks in the draft to move up from 3.32 to 3.23 and take DT Bob Maddox. This pisses off the Packers, who wanted him at 3.26, but I don't care. Interestingly enough, my move sets off a run of trades that lasts until the end of the 3rd round, with almost every pick being traded as teams jockey for the last good group of players before the drivel starts piling in. The Patriots and the Bengals, maybe the Raiders were the only teams who didn't overpay to move up, using my trade as a barometer. Wow, Cincy not being dumb... could they possibly be in the hunt for their first playoff berth eventually? They and the Vikings are still the only teams not to have made the playoffs ever in this universe. For my final pick in the draft, I take a flyer in the 4th round on WR Doug Winslow, because there's just something about the guy that makes me like him, though I can't quite put my finger on just why exactly. All-Pro CB Goldie Sellers holds out at the start of free agency, but really he just wanted a little extra money and another year, which I had no problem at all giving him. Late Free Agency Week 1 Signings QB Ron Powell - 1 year, $30k (UDRFA) -He has me curious to see what he can do and to see if he can win the #3 starting job in camp. DT Curt Farrier - 1 year, $110k* (Tucson) -Signed strictly as a mentor. I don't foresee him taking the field at all. Week 3 Signings WR Russell Arneson - 1 year, $30k (UDRFA) -Some really sweet potential, but extremely raw. Considering the glut of WR mentors we have on the team, I'm going to give him a shot to be our fifth receiver. Post Training Camp Code:
Despite the lower draft grade, I really do like this draft. Lawrence should fit in as a backup cornerback right away and could see time in the dime package by mid-season. Mikolajczyk is going to at bare minimum be a backup tackle, possibly a starter depending on how he does in preseason. Maddox looks like the best 3rd round pick since a guy named Gary Ballman and will be the starting RDT from Week One. Winslow is disappointing and Powell and Arneson look like scrubs, but hey, they were fliers anyway.
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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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11-14-2007, 06:24 PM
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#155 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Stabler and Meyer are #1 and #2, obviously. Hunter and Powell will joust in preseason for the #3 spot and to make the team. Code:
Hill and Csonka start, Pittman and Burns the reserves, Mul-key the returner and special teams guru. Code:
Warfield and Jefferson start, naturally. Ballman shifts back over to his original position of flanker to occupy the #3 WR spot. Fourth receiver is looking like Stowe, with Winslow the 5th receiver. Obviously not as strong a group as in previous seasons, but it should still rate as one of the better groups in the league. Mitchell the TE, Kramer the backup. I should probably re-sign Warfield and Jefferson as well. Ballman I can afford to wait on to see if he stays or if he retires, I think. Code:
Shoals-Moorman-Schmitt-Upshaw are more or less set. RT is a battle between Taffoni and Mikolajczyk, though the rookie is probably going to win out because I absolutely hate Taffoni's lack of production last season and besides Mik had a slight boom. You know the reserves by now. Oh yeah, gotta resign Upshaw. He's our best offensive lineman. Code:
Villaneuva and Webster. Parsons gets his chance next year, I've decided. Webster will probably re-signed as well. Code:
Greenwood-Rowe-Maddox-Brown for our front 4. Korver's ass gets cut, while Croft and Farrier fight it out for reserve DT duty. Code:
Philpott-Lanier-Webster, with Rivers and probably Walker as the backups, unless I can free another roster spot for Coleman. Probably not though, as Coleman's a sieve against the run, whereas Walker is a pretty consistent tackler and he's been getting better at his pass defense. Code:
Very tough choices here. Beverly or Lawrence as the starting LCB? Despite the drop, Sellers will be the RCB and Duncan will just have to bitch about it. Ford is actually decent ratings-wise, but I've never had a good feeling about him on the field. No enigmas at safety. Edwards and Crist starters, Flowers and Clarke reserves, Bird the PR man. Overall I feel pretty good about our chances to repeat. We'll probably struggle a little bit with pass protection again, although to be honest, now that I think about it, our receiving corps isn't that much different from last year's, and I've been wanting to give Stowe some expanded PT anyway. Our defense should be improved with the addition of Maddox and Philpott, though I'm not sure how our secondary is going to look with our muddled corner situation.
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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 : 11-14-2007 at 06:25 PM. |
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11-16-2007, 10:18 AM
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#156 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Preseason
Miami 7 Detroit 13 Not a terribly big concern here as our two third-string QBs were fighting it out. Scott Hunter has a slight edge on Ron Powell, but they've still each got a game more to decide it. Gary Ballman had 12 catches for 161 yards and a TD to be a surprising preseason star. St. Louis 32 Miami 22 Ron Powell passes for 230 yards and 2 TDs vs 2 INTs, unlike Scott Hunter, who played horribly all game. The decision's made. Bye-bye, Scott. Hello, Ron! Wes Grant had a nice game with 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks and Gary Ballman picked up 97 receiving yards and a TD. Starting SS Glen Edwards will miss the next preseason game and reserve T Joe Taffoni is gone for the preseason, necessitating Ed George's ressurection to active status. Ken Stabler gets back on the field now too. Minnesota 14 Miami 13 If this were the regular season, I'd be pissed about this loss. As is, I'm merely philosophical about Ron Meyer's 4 interceptions that cost us the game and Ken Stabler's rustiness. Gary Ballman continues to be on fire with 138 yards receiving and a TD. My philosophical attitude changes the moment I learn our star WR Paul Warfield broke his ankle and will be out for approximately 6 weeks. That just put a huge, huge, huge dent in our offense. Miami 28 Seattle 14 On the bright side, we avoid our first-ever winless preseason and Roy Jefferson looks capable of shouldering the WR load with 9 catches for 180 yards and a TD and Jim Duncan got 2 interceptions. On the dark side, Paul Warfield is still out, 5th WR Russell Arneson goes down for roughly 4 weeks with a strained back and FS Chuck Crist is gone for at least Week 1. SE Ron Goodwin, a journeyman, is signed to be the 5th receiver and 2nd year FS Ron Saunders gets inked to be the backup FS. Then I look at Goodwin some more and decide to cut him, using back up TE Kent Kramer as our 5th WR. Hagood Clarke becomes the starting FS, naturally. Here goes nothing... Regular Season Buffalo 23 Miami 14 Our defense sorely misses Chuck Crist and our offense desparately needs Paul Warfield back. The Bills ate our running game alive and Daryl Lamonica threw for 304 yards and 2 TDs. Willie Lanier had 10 tackles and 2 assists and L.C. Greenwood recorded 4 tackles, an assist, 2 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 knockdowns to get our defensive stars off to a good start. Joe Taffoni and Chuck Crist are ready to come back for Week 2, thankfully. Tampa Bay 14 Miami 27 Two big plays proved the difference maker in this one. Reserve SLB Cleo Walker made the first score of the game, returning a fumble 81 yards for a TD and almost two exact quarters later Jim Duncan took a kickoff return back 89 yards for another TD! Our offense is really struggling without Warfield though and this is the worst our running game has looked since an old Paul Hornung was our main back. Starting TE Tom Mitchell hyperextends his knee and is out, forcing us to bring Paul Warfield back, even though he's questionable. We simply need him out there on the field. Russell Arneson gets cut so we can sign warm body second year TE Lee Johnson to be make the minimum roster requirements. Miami 21 Baltimore 24 The game's honestly not as close as the score says. Reserve DE Wes Grant returned a blocked FG back 72 yards for a late 4th quarter TD to pull the margin within 3 and that was all she wrote. Willie Lanier was the lone highlight with 13 tackles and 3 assists. New England 19 Miami 3 This season's going to hell in a hurry. Our whole offense has vanished more or less completely, even with Warfield back, and our defense doesn't have the killer instinct that it did last season. Worse yet, Paul Warfield re-breaks his ankle and won't be back until the second half of the season. Sure, Tom Mitchell's ready to come back, but that won't be enough. Miami 3 Jackonsville 28 Roger Staubach hangs 3 TDs on us and I'm getting really disgusted. Willie Lanier amasses 11 tackles, 7 assists and a sack for a great statistical all-around game. Charlie Pittman will now be starting at RB and I'm shopping Calvin Hill. Hill has been horrible this year and I've been iffy on him to begin with. Unfortunately, we're already past the trade deadline.  This sucks, because I had 3 teams who were maxed out interest in him (The Browns, the Vikings and the Ravens, for what it's worth)Houston 7 Miami 36 Glen Edwards picks off 2 passes, Willie Lanier gets 12 tackles, 2 assists and a hurry and L.C. Greenwood and rookie Bob Maddox each get 1.5 sacks as our defense absolutely swarms all over the Oilers in this beatdown. It's a victory we sorely needed if we have any hope at all of salvaging this season. Miami 38 Buffalo 14 Like night and day. Ken Stabler finally has an authentically good game this year with a 20-27 for 259 yards and 4 TDs performance and our defense manages to contain the beastly Daryl Lamonica. Miami 30 Indianapolis 0 Our defense is on a mission as they record a shutout of the Colts. Charlie Pittman rushes for 104 yards and a TD, justifying my faith in starting him. Incidentally, our three game win streak coincides with the shift in RBs. Glen Edwards returns an interception 52 yards for a TD and SLB Ed Philpott snags 2 interceptions of his own on his way to Player of the Game honors. Willie Lanier hits Indy for 14 tackles and an assist and L.C. Greenwood records 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown. We've clawed all the way back to 4-4, good enough for 2nd place in the AFC East behind the astonishing 6-1 New Jersey Jets. Although we don't have a playoff spot by our name if the season ended today, we're right back in the hunt now. Oh yeah, a guy named Paul Warfield is back to probable again. The first half story Code:
Let's be honest. We're still in this thing because Ken Stabler has cut way down on his interceptions this year and our defense has turned into a bunch of playmakers, with Glen Edwards in particular playing out of his mind. Also give credit to rookie Rolland Lawrence, who's been sensational in pass defense as the starting LCB.
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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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11-16-2007, 03:21 PM
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#157 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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RT Joe Taffoni and SLB Cleo Walker are complaining about PT, but they can just put a sock in it, especially since they're only disgruntled.
Midseason Contract Extensions WR Paul Warfield - 3 years, $1.82 mill. RG Gene Upshaw - 5 years, $3.21 mill. Roy Jefferson's contract is up after this season too, but he wanted even more money and a longer contract than Warfield. Considering he's been a huge underachiever relative to his contract in a Dolphins uniform, telling him no wasn't too hard. A bye week later and the Jets are 7-1, with all 3 of the other AFC East teams at 4-4. The Ravens are 6-3, the Steelers 5-3, in the AFC North, to currently hold both playoff spots. The second half is going to be crazy this season, it seems. Tucson 23 Miami 13 The Titans exact revenge for last year's AFC Championship loss and all but sink our playoff hopes. L.C. Greenwood played great with 8 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks and a knockdown, but everyone else was frankly quite uninspiring. I'm not sure what's wrong with the team this year. Goldie Sellers tears cartilage in his knee and is gone for 6 weeks. Jim Duncan steps in as the starter. New Jersey 21 Miami 41 Although our playoff chances are slim to none, it was nice to see Ken Stabler put the hurt on the Jets here: 23-28 for 239 yards and 4 TDs. Paul Warfield was the main hookup with 11 catches for 136 yards and 2 TDs. Willie Lanier played splendidly with 11 tackles, 3 assists and a sack. Miami 24 Carolina 30 (OT) This is the kind of loss that's a real kick in the teeth. If we'd won, maybe we could have started building momentum to make a late-season run for the playoffs. Instead, the Panthers score 10 points with 1:28 left in the game to force the OT and then score first in sudden death. Willie Lanier notched 17 tackles and 2 assists and L.C. Greenwood posted an 8 tackle, one assist,1.5 sack, one hurry line, but they'd both hand in that glittering performance for a win here. Oakland 3 Miami 26 No joy in this win, as the Raiders have just 1 victory this whole entire season. Calvin Hill rushes for 139 yards and a TD, but Tim Webster shanks 3 FGs and this game is more about showing both what might've been and what the reality of this dismal season is. Miami 27 Atlanta 13 Or is there life yet? We hammer our Super Bowl opponents behind Ken Stabler's 26-37 for 251 yard, 3 TD, 1 INT performance, most of the receiving work by Roy Jefferson (9 catches, 134 yards). Can we still make the playoffs? The next game will decide it. New England's 8-5 and playoff bound. We're 7-6 and homeward bound. Beat them, and the door opens a little more. Lose and it's closed for the rest of the year. Miami 16 New England 10 Count that door open!!!! Tim Webster goes back to the Wonder role, kicking 3/3 FGs and Calvin Hill rushes in the game-winning TD in the 4th. Roy Jefferson gobbled up 8 passes for 115 yards as he continues putting on a show for other GMs around the league and Willie Lanier had 10 tackles and an assist. Goldie Sellers is ready to return, but Charlie Pittman is doubtful, so I start Calvin Hill and put Herb Mul-key in as the #2 back. It's a gamble, but one I feel may pay off. Sellers, by the way, is now demoted to nickel status, as Jim Duncan has been playing superbly. New Orleans 13 Miami 42 Holy cow!!!! Ken Stabler has one of his finest days ever: 26-33 for 331 yards and 4 TDs, Paul Warfield putting on an amazing 10 catch, 163 yard, 3 TD receiving performance. Let's not discount Herb Mul-key shocking everyone by running 10 times for 80 yards in his rushing debut, either. This is the most incredible late-season beating I've ever seen and the Saints are bad, but not -that- bad. One game left. The Patriots got destroyed 24-6 by the Buccaneers. Cleveland has the #1 wild-card spot sewn up at 10-5. Then there's the following: Miami: 9-6 New England: 8-7 Pittsburgh: 8-7 Houston: 8-7 Denver: 8-7 Concentrating solely on the AFC East, the Patriots play the 4-11 Bills. We play.... the 12-3 Jets, who are hungry to avenge their loss to us earlier in the year. Herb Mul-key hyperextended his knee and will miss at least the final game of the regular season, should we make the playoffs, but Charlie Pittman's ready to return. Calvin Hill gets the start at RB, because Pittman's only probable. Backup FB Leon Burns takes Mul-key's gunner spot, Goldie Sellers the two #2 returner spots. It's all down to this.... Miami 24 New Jersey 14 WE DID IT!!!!!! Ken Stabler wins Game MVP by putting on his second straight 300 yard game: 22-38 for 308 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. Otto Stowe showed his magic with 6 catches for 93 yards and, most importantly, the go-ahead TD late in the 2nd quarter. Rookie Rolland Lawrence sets a new franchise record by getting an interception in his third straight game. I'm looking smarter and smarter a GM for picking him. We're back in the playoffs to defend our Super Bowl title!!!!!! But we'll have to do it without Jim Duncan, lost for the season with torn knee cartilage. He's not only our #1 kick returner, but over the years, he's blossomed into a surprisingly good CB, better than I thought he'd be after his first couple of seasons. He's definitely a legitimate starter, not bad for the last pick of the 3rd 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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11-17-2007, 09:53 AM
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#158 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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For our incredible second half, we win the right to play the San Diego Chargers in the wild card round.
Fran Tarkenton has been an incredibly solid QB since he was taken with the #1 overall pick in this universe's first rookie draft in 1961. A 13 year veteran, he's thrown for over 3,000 passing yards the last straight 8 seasons and has at least 20 passing TDs the last 4 consecutive years. The feats are all the more impressive this season, since he has no running game to back him up and Darryl Stingley and Isaac Curtis, his starting WRs, are both rookies (3rd and 2nd round respectively). The Chargers' offensive line is a lot like ours - a good C, fantastic G, San Diego's being a rookie named Paul Howard, their 1st round selection, and mediocre OTs. Curiously enough, former Dolphins' 2nd round pick Jim Battle is their starting LT and did a surprisingly effective job despite the position shift. 2nd year DT Mike Kadish is a rising star, a perfect fit for the Chargers' 3-4 defense and SILB Bill Bergey is a two-time 1st Team All-Pro ILB. SLB Mel Rogers is a sack artist and CB Al Nelson is an effective cover corner. San Diego also boasts a pair of young safeties almost as good as our own in SS Mike Wagner (3rd year) and FS Charlie Waters (2nd year). Both were 2nd round picks as opposed to our guys, who were 1st rounders. If there's a weakness in San Diego's impressive defense, it's that their ends scare absolutely no one and Nelson is the only cornerback really worthy of his uniform. Provided Ken Stabler can get time to throw, we've got a good chance at coming out on top in this battle featuring two quite similiar teams. Vegas is seeing the similarity as well, favoring us by a single point. It turns out not to even be close. Ken Stabler throws two very quick TDs to put us up 14-0 early in the 1st quarter and that was pretty much the ballgame right there. Stabler won Game MVP for his 23-40, 266 yard, 3 TD performance and Roy Jefferson put on a primetime performance with 7 catches for 117 yards and 2 TDs. Tim Webster contributed a wonderful 3/3 FGs and Bob Rowe provided rare pressure from the DT spot with 1.5 sacks and 2 hurries. It should be noted that though L.C. Greenwood was held sackless, he had 5 QB hurries to really harrass Fran Tarkenton. Miami 30 San Diego 13 It's on 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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11-18-2007, 08:59 AM
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#159 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We face the New Jersey Jets in the divisional round.
QB Greg Landry, a 1968 4th round pick of the Detroit Lions, surprised everyone by not only winning the starting QB job for the Jets this year, but throwing for 3,205 yards and an astonishing 25 TD/14 INT ratio. Jim Kiick is, like Calvin Hill, a solid but not great RB. WR J.D. Hill broke the 1,000 yard receiving barrier with 10 TDs in his third season and looks to be on the fast track to superstardom. The real reason for the Jets' offensive success, though, is their offensive line. Ron Yary, Jim Harvey, Mike Evans, George Daney, and Bob McKay form a solid unit that's arguably the best starting five in the league. P Julian Fagan and K Mark Moseley make a solid ST combo. New Jersey does have its weak points, though. Hill is their only legitimate wide receiver and the front 3 of their 3-4 is riddled by underachievers. On the other hand, SILB Tommy Nobis, rookie SLB John Skorupan and WLB John Bunting form a dangerous 3/4ths of the 3-4, CB Clancy Williams and Mike Bass make a solid DB pairing and SS Thom Darden, in just his second season, is arguably the best strong safety in the entire NFL. This is no longer the doormat team that it used to be. In fact, I'd say that this is going to come down to the defenses, as I think we'd be able to stop their offense, even given their great o-line, but by the same token, that's one scary looking defense against the pass, which is still our strength. Bookies are calling this close as well, with the Dolphins favored by 2. Once again, it's not even close. This time, J.D. Hill abuses our lack of a lockdown corner, catching 4 passes for 108 yards, including a breathtaking 59 yarder for a TD. Mark Moseley hits all 3 field goals in the second half to put us away and we're left to face the heartache of losing. Our lone star was L.C. Greenwood, who had 7 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Ken Stabler got sacked 6 times and was never able to establish a consistent rhythm and our running game was decimated by the Jets' speedy defense. Miami 13 New Jersey 30 Despite the disappointing loss, though, I'm proud of this team. They overcame a lot of injuries and adversity to go from 4-4 and looking like they might suffer a post-Super Bowl hangover all the way to the Divisional Round of the playoffs. But like the real life 1973 Dolphins team actually being more talented than the perfect '72 team, I can't help but think what might have been.
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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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11-19-2007, 08:58 AM
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#160 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Super Bowl XIV
New York 17 Cleveland 12 It's heartbreak again on Lake Erie, as Browns QB Wayne Clark throws 3 costly interceptions, while Giants counterpart QB Steve Ramsay passes for 2 TDs on his way to Super Bowl MVP honors. This one was all Giants D, though, as they not only picked Clark off 3 times, but they got consistent pressure on him. This makes Cleveland not only the team to go to the most Super Bowls in this universe, with 5, but they've gone 0-5 in the Super Bowl. So close, yet so far. Dolphins Final Season Statistics Code:
Splendid season from Ken Stabler, especially not having Paul Warfield for much of it. Roy Jefferson got his 1,000 yards, but those drop numbers are far too high, especially considering his TD production. I really need a franchise RB and will be looking to trade Calvin Hill this offseason for a draft pick or two. The real star of this team was the defense. Willie Lanier had an absolutely incredible season, Glen Edwards and Chuck Crist continued their strong play at the safety spots and Rolland Lawrence electrified the league in his rookie season with 7 interceptions, tying Goldie Sellers's franchise season mark. Oh yeah, L.C. Greenwood also continued to rack up the sacks. 1973 Dolphins Awards QB Ken Stabler - MVP and 1st Team All-Pro QB  I knew Stabler had a fantastic season, but I never expected him to get the MVP award! It makes sense, though, for without him playing so brilliantly despite the mess of our wide receiving corps for much of the year, we never would've made the playoffs, much less made it to the divisional round. A fine, fine achievement for a QB that's just starting to come into his own.MLB Willie Lanier - 1st Team All-Pro ILB Lanier never won an All-Pro award with the Bengals, but since coming to Miami, he's won two: a 2nd Team All-Pro nod and now this, the rightfully deserved 1st Team bid. He was a contender for Defensive Player of the Year, too, I imagine. Just an absolute beast of a year. He's one signing I've been ecstatic with, the Johnny Unitas of the defense. Other Major Awards Super Bowl MVP QB Steve Ramsay (New York Giants) Legend of the Game QB Sonny Jurgeson (Philadelphia Eagles) - 17 year veteran has a ton of career passing records thanks to his incredible longevity, but has just one All-Pro mark, and that was a 2nd Team one at that. Offensive Player of the Year RB Rocky Bleier (Dallas Cowboys) Defensive Player of the Year DE Jim Mitchell (Jacksonville Jaguars) Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Chuck Foreman (New Orleans Saints) Defensive Rookie of the Year SLB John Skorupan (New Jersey Jets) We also have our first Hall of Fame inductee: RB Jim Brown, the eternal Cleveland Brown, who still holds the career record in rushing TDs and is in the top 3 all-time of Rushing Yards, 100+ Rushing Games, and Yards from Scrimmage. A 6-time All-Pro and winner of the 1960 MVP and Offensive Player of the Year awards, he was truly a great, great RB, the kind I'd kill to have on our team. Staff Hiring Bad news. All of my staff, save my Lead Scout is out of contract. I predict a Cowboys-style raid. Staff Attribute Changes Lead Scout Dexter Carmody: Good to VG in QB OC Edwin Buckley: VG to Excellent in QB Average to Good in YT Head Coach Dave Hanner: VG to Good in Offensive Play-calling Some tough choices to make here, especially since the bastard owner is once again low-balling me in terms of the money I can offer.  Royce Womble stays faithful to the aqua and orange, taking a 4 year, $420,000 deal to stay with us even though he could've commanded big money elsewhere. Edwin Buckley returns as well, at $550,000 a year, for 3 years. I probably should've looked elsewhere, but his improvement this offseason gave me hope for him. And finally, the Dave Hanner era in Miami is over. His downgrade has me worried and I found someone better. So say hello to: Head Coach Harris Wilcox (59) MT: Good DI: Good OC: Excellent DC: Good IA: Good He signed a 4 year, $450,000 per year deal, moving up from the college ranks to become the new Dolphins head coach. By the way Tyrus Treftz inked a $810,000 per year, 5 year deal to stay with the Cowboys as he hunts for a Super Bowl in Dallas. Bastard. I hope he never gets it. Jared Thamilarasan, the wunderkind OC, on the other hand, flipped Texas teams, going from Dallas to Houston for $520,000 a year and 5 years. It's times like this that I regret my house rule of either being a new coach, or only having been a part of the Dolphins staff. Don't feel too bad for Dave Hanner, though. He's the new head coach of the Kansas City Chiefs, at a cool $510,000 a year for 3 years. He'll be able to do a rebuilding project there, as the Chiefs have only been to the playoffs once in this universe, 1971, where they were defeated in the wild card round. It's a coin-flip between Rolland Lawrence and Ron Mikolajczyk as to who goes to the Summer League, but I don't want to mess with Lawrence's mojo and we need more help at tackle anyway, so Ron gets the call over Rolland. Needs by the Numbers QB x 2, TE, WR x 2, C, T, K, DE, DT, OLB, CB (16 new players) Calvin Hill Watch After shopping him, the Browns, Ravens, and Eagles are all very interested in landing him. Where will he go and for how much? Wait until next update to find out!
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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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11-19-2007, 12:10 PM
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#161 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Philadelphia Eagles receive:
RB Calvin Hill Miami Dolphins receive: WR Frank Lewis What this means for the Eagles With QB Sonny Jurgeson's retirement, Philadelphia was going to be concentrating on their running game, anyway. What Calvin Hill brings to the table is a proven NFL starting RB who can be the Eagles' 3rd down back, passing back, and solid #2 RB behind 3rd year rising star RB Lawrence McCutcheon. On the negative side, dealing away Frank Lewis means that Philadelphia lost their best WR, leaving Eddie Bell as the only WR under contract with the team. On the other hand, Lewis was in the last year of his rookie contract and made no secret of his desire to leave the rebuilding Eagles for a winning team. What this means for the Dolphins G.M. Tim Moungey has been trying for a few years now to bring in some young, quality talent to a fearsome, but aging WR group and in acquiring Frank Lewis he's done exactly that. Lewis has improved steadily each of his 3 seasons in the NFL and the 4th year receiver figures to flourish with Ken Stabler throwing to him. More importantly, he gives the Dolphins flexibility in their offseason plans. While Miami is still believed to be looking for Paul Warfield's heir apparent in the draft, Lewis can, at absolute worst, be the team's #3 receiver and future starting split end, or, if the Dolphins' draft plans don't pan out, the starter at split end immediately. Losing Calvin Hill does hurt the Dolphins, but not as much as Lewis upgrades the receiving corps. What this means for Calvin Hill Winning has never been first and foremost on Hill's mind and even if it were, he has a Super Bowl ring already. His career gets a fresh start in Philadelphia after Miami's front office, notably G.M. Tim Moungey soured on him. Free from the starting RB controversy that surrounded him and Charlie Pittman in Miami, he'll be able to take the #2, third down, and receiving RB roles that are much more suited to his skill set. What this means for Frank Lewis Lewis has never been on a winning team. The last time Philadelphia went to the playoffs was 1970, the year before he was drafted. Since then, the Eagles have gone 5-11, 6-10, and 6-10 and they look to be under a prolonged rebuilding project after Jurgeson's retirement. He now flies to Miami, where he has one of the best QBs in the game throwing to him in Stabler, on one of the winningest franchises in the NFL. In fact, Lewis was so enthused at hearing that he'd been traded to Miami that he signed a 5 year, $1.22 million contract extension with the Dolphins two days later. Free Agency Week 1 Re-signings/Extensions K Tim Webster: 1 year, $70k* CB Charlie Ford: 1 year, $70k* WR Otto Stowe: 1 year, $70k* SS Glen Edwards: 4 years, $1.34 mill. MLB Willie Lanier: 4 years, $2.34 mill. LG Mo Moorman: 3 years, $650k Week 2 Signings RB Jim Kiick - 1 year, $110k (New Jersey) -Say goodbye to our RB troubles for at least this season! Double bonus points for his being an RL Dolphin, as well as a University of Wyoming Cowboy.  Granted, he's a one-year rental until we find something better, but he's the perfect fit for us right now.WR Gary Ballman - 1 year, $110k* (Re-signing) -You've got to be crazy if you thought I wasn't going to re-sign my favorite 3rd round pick ever. His skills are really eroded as you'd expect a 13th year WR's to be, but as long as he feels like playing, he'll be a Dolphin, even if it's only as the 5th receiver. C Tom Banks - 4 years, $1.19 mill. (New England) -Meet our new starting C for the next 4 years, stolen from the Patriots. John Schmitt's getting old and it was time to find his heir, only in this case, the replacement turned out even better than he did. Unfortunately, this means I won't be bringing back Frank Marchlewski, so the chemistry effects will be interesting to see. LT Levery Carr - 2 years, $340k (Philadelphia) -Another former Eagle signs on board with us. He played extremely well as the starting LT in Philadelphia last season and I really think he's an underrated player. In any case, there wasn't much out on there on the market, so I grabbed who I thought looked the best. DT Mike Rengel - 1 year, $80k* (New York) -Got put on the IR list during the Giants' postseason run so he doesn't officially have a ring. Intriguing possibility for a starting DT, as he's been solid the last 4 seasons as a starter in New York. I liked the looks of him better than Bob Rowe. Week 2 Losses WR Roy Jefferson - 4 years, $1.9 mill. (Chicago) -I'm really ticked at Jefferson. This is a really cheap deal for a receiver that's still one of the best in the league. Then I realize this is still the smartest move for us. Sure, the Bears landed him, but they also handed over a $920,000 signing bonus to a 10th year WR. Sorry, but very few players that old would get that kind of cash from me and the underachieving Jefferson isn't one of them. DE Dennis Wirgowski - 1 year, $100k (Buffalo) (Atlanta) -For $10k more, the Bills steal the guy I was hoping would be my backup DE this year. Slightly annoying, but not a major blow to our offseason plans or anything. Week 3 Signings DE Royce Berry - 1 year, $80k* (Denver) -Our secondary target after Wirgowski got snatched up. Nothing exceptional, as he's about on par with Wes Grant, our former backup DE. He'll do, as he's adequate. Week 3 Losses TE Stu Voight - 1 year, $80k* (Oakland) (Re-Signing) -I really wanted this guy to come be my new starting TE, but he stayed loyal to the Silver and Black. Again, annoying, but not a dealbreaker in terms of our offseason, to say the least. Week 4 Signings RB Charlie Pittman - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -Hey, he's a new RB mentor in addition to being a solid backfield captain and #2 RB. I'm happy to still have him on the team, even though his skills are already starting to dip a bit. For a min-sal deal, I'll take that, especially for a season-by-season situation. Week 4 Losses P Danny Villaneuva - 1 year, $110k* (Houston) Yeah he did well for us last year, but I really should see what that P I drafted is like first before I start throwing more money and roster spots at 15th year punters. Week 5 Losses C Frank Marchlewski - 1 year, $100k* (Minnesota) -And so the Marchlewski era in Miami comes to an end. I'm honestly quite sorry to see him go, even though it was getting to the point where it was time he found a new place to play. Our new offensive line leader is new LT Levery Carr, who doesn't impact anybody either way. Oh well, better than conflicts. DE Wes Grant - 1 year, $80k* (Baltimore) -Talented guy, but no endurance, and after it dropped from 20 to 11 this offseason, I decided it was time to look elsewhere for a backup. Good luck with the Ravens, Wes! DT Bob Rowe - 1 year, $100k* (Pittsburgh) -A pretty big disappointment last season for us, outside of his 1.5 sack showing in the wild card game against the Chargers. Have fun with that, Steelers. Week 6 Signings MLB Jamie Rivers - 1 year, $120k (Re-Signing) -I had to pay a little extra money and lose the veteran cap exemption to bring him back, but you're nuts if you don't think I'm bringing back the guy who has an affinity with Willie Lanier and is a solid backup MLB to boot. CB Jim Duncan - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -Okay, so he gets eaten alive in the playoffs. He's still a good cornerback to have around, not to mention one of the most dangerous kickoff returners in the league. I'd like to have him be the nickel or dime back, but that all depends on if I can find an upgrade. Week 7 Losses TE Bob Klein - 1 year, $80k* (Houston - Resigning) -Ugh. That's twice now I've been bitten in my search for a new starting TE. Damn those loyal guys! RT Joe Taffoni - 3 years, $520k (Houston) -I was amused to see a fierce bidding war erupt over Taffoni's services and in the end, it was the Texans who won out. I think they're trying to turn themselves into Dolphins Texas or something. Pretty funny to see, especially since Joe T. was terrible in Miami. CB Randy Beverly - 1 year, $100k* (Cincinnati) -Nice guy who was fantastic for us his first season, but then after I re-signed him, he was league-average. The Bengals can have him. CB Lloyd Mumphord - 1 year, $80k* (Jacksonville re-signing) -Ugh x 2. This is the guy I wanted as my new upgrade starting CB, but he spits out the extra money we offered him to stay with the Jaguars. Talk about an ugly week. 4 lost players, 2 of whom I really wanted to get. Week 8 Signings SLB Ed Philpott - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -He is what he is, a solid tackler and cover man with no pass rush skills and a mentor. You could do worse for a min-sal deal or a starter. S Rodger Bird - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -The all-time career leader in punt return yardage is damn well staying in a Dolphins uniform. Week 9 Signings TE Billy Masters - 1 year, $100k* (New Orleans) -Not a great tight end by any stretch of the imagination, but passable and one with an affinity with receivers leader Kent Kramer. Except there's one small problem: Kramer's out of contract. Ah well, Masters is an improvement as a backup TE anyway. S Richmond Flowers - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -He's a solid backup S and that's really all I ask out of him. Week 10 Signings QB Ron Meyer - 1 year, 100k* (Re-signing) -Eh, he's a mentor and a respectable enough kickholder. He'll do to stay as my #2. That'll be it for my free agency shopping. Time to go draft searching. Week 12 Losses DT Curt Farrier - 1 year, 110k* (Carolina) -Was pissed about not starting last season in place of Bob Rowe, which I can't exactly blame him for. He did an absolutely fantastic job of tutoring Bob Maddox though, to the point where last year's 3rd round pick is our top DT and a respectable one at 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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11-19-2007, 01:32 PM
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#162 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Draft time.
We've the #26 pick in the 1st round, but don't expect us to stay there. Pretty much my whole strategy in the 1st revolves around one guy who, if he drops out of the Top 10, I'm trading up to grab him no matter what it costs me. The problem is he's #2 in his position group and this draft is top heavy at T, QB, DE, and CB and if you're not a team that has any of those areas as needs, you're not going to go that route. LT Jim Nicholson and OLB Matt Blair are the top two players in the draft, but there's a slew of other great players available, including a certain QB who imported in far less stellar than one might expect. Here goes nothing. 1974 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. T Jim Nicholson - Oakland Raiders 2. OLB Matt Blair - Atlanta Falcons 3. QB Larry Cipa - New Orleans Saints 4. ILB Randy Gradishar - Buffalo Bills 5. ILB Jack Lambert - Indianapolis Colts 6. ILB Frank LeMaster - Los Angeles Rams 7. CB Jeris White - San Diego through Kansas City The Chiefs give this away far too cheaply, for the Chargers' 1976 1st, 3rd, and 7th rounders. K.C.'s going to be staying in the basement with deals like that, even with Dave Hanner coaching them. 8. S Donnie Shell - San Francisco 49ers 9. CB Rick Byas - Detroit Lions 10. QB Bill Troup - Philadelphia Eagles I said I was going to trade up, but honestly, I can afford to hold off a few more picks here. There's still a lot of talent up on the board. 11. DE Too Tall Jones - Minnesota Vikings 12. CB Doug Nettles - Oakland Raiders 13. ILB Ed O'Neill - Jacksonville Jaguars Okay, now it's time to move up. The Cardinals look a sure-fire bet to take from the position group I want and I can't risk losing my guy, so I contact Green Bay. I dangle my 1st and 2nd round picks in this draft for their #14. They want more. I offer them my 1st and 2nd rounder in this draft, plus next year's 3rd rounder and this deal they take. It's a stiff price to pay, but on the one hand, I have a history of bad luck with 2nd round picks other than L.C. Greenwood and on the other hand, it's actually cheaper than what I thought it was going to cost me. I hurry in the pick. 14. WR Lynn Swann - Miami Dolphins Our future at WR is now secured between Frank Lewis and our newly drafted rookie. 15. WR Billy Johnson - St. Louis Cardinals The Cardinals were quite happy to take the other top-flight WR, though I'd bet Swann has a better career. 16. ILB Charles Anthony - Tucson Titans 17. RB Delvin Williams - New England Patriots 18. G Tom Condon - Denver Broncos 19. T Keith Fahnhorst - Pittsburgh Steelers 20. DE John Dutton - Houston Oilers 21. RB Eric Torkelson - Chicago Bears 22. RB Rod McNeil - New Jersey Jets through Carolina Panthers Desperate to land a RB after a run starts on them, the Jets ship off their 1976 1st, 2nd and 3rd rounders to the Panthers in order to grab McNeil. Overpaid in my opinion, but they're hoping to keep their success from last season going. 23. T Jeff Sevy - San Diego Chargers 24. DE Fred Cook - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25. T Steve Riley - Seattle Seahawks 26. DT Steve George - Green Bay Packers 27. CB Danny Colbert - Dallas Cowboys 28. OLB Marv Kellum - Baltimore Ravens 29. T Claude Minor - Cincinnati Bengals through Washington Redskins The Bengals trade their 3rd and 7th round picks in this draft, along with next year's 1st rounder to take the last remaining stellar T in the draft. He's a RT naturally, but he'll fit in well on the line of a team that's one of just 2 never to make the playoffs in the 14 seasons in this universe. 30. WR Ike Harris - Cleveland Browns 31. TE George Latta - Cleveland Browns Smart move by the Browns to go and get Wayne Clark some receiving help, but I think they'd have been better off finding a new QB. Oh well, their choice! 32. ILB Sam Hunt - New York Giants Joe Theismann finally gets taken at 3.19 by the Oakland Raiders. The CB I would've taken in the 2nd round gets snapped up by our archival Buffalo in at 3.4, so I take DT Randy Crowder with our 3rd round pick to see if we can strike gold twice in two seasons. There's one CB left who I even have the remotest interest in when our turn comes up in the 4th round and so CB Randy Poltl becomes the newest Dolphin. In the 5th, I'm torn between a TE and an OLB. I go with OLB Mike Varty, because our depth at the position is really weak for one, and for two, he looks like the better breakout option. Luck's with me! The TE is still around in the 6th and so I take TE J.V. Cain. Our 7th round pick is RB Gary Hayman, who looks to have 3rd round type-talent and be an excellent passing down, 3rd down, KR and ST back and if he isn't, it's only a 7th round pick. Late Free Agency Week 3 Signings QB Scotty Glacken - 1 year, $100k* (Green Bay) -Strictly a #3 QB signed because he has double affinities. DT Dick Ardnt - 1 year, $120k (Cincinnati) -I had to overpay to get him, but he's a mentor. Same deal as with Farrier last season. If he doesn't pan out, he's the first to go. Rookies Post-TC Code:
I'll be the first one to admit I had a heart attack when I saw Swann's 26/36 rating, but then he boomed more properly like I expected. He'll be the #3 receiver this year, for sure. Crowder it's a little hard to get a read on, nor is it certain where he'll end up. Poltl looks like one of many mid-round CBs I've drafted over the years. Varty's boom is absolutely fantastic and unexpected. He'll be the backup OLB this season, but don't be surprised if he sneaks in a starting job before the year's out. Cain and Hayman dropped like I figured they would, but Cain still could end up in a TE mix and I wouldn't count Hayman out of the RB picture either.
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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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11-21-2007, 04:45 PM
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#163 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Stabler, Meyer, Glacken obviously, with once again our entire season pretty much riding on Stabler's ability to stay healthy. Code:
In a shocking turn of events, it looks like Hayman might be our best back, but Kiick is going to get the start, with Hayman the #2, 3rd down and passing back until we see what he's really made of. Mul-key takes his usual returner/ST role, while Pittman gets to sit on the inactive list. Incidentally, Hayman is also a ST demon, but I don't want to spread him too thinly. Csonka and Burns the FBs, though Burns will be replaced next season. Code:
Masters is our best TE, but he's getting cut. Why? Because he has an Extreme Conflict with Lynn Swann and a conflict with Gary Ballman and that just ain't gonna fly. This means that Warfield, in addition to being our starting flanker, is now our receivers captain, with an exceptional affinity with Stowe. Yay! Mitchell starts at TE and the rookie Cain will get #2 spot. Surprising that both our 6th and 7th round picks will play significant roles on the team, though I can't tell if that's because it was that deep a draft or if it's a problem with the roster. In any case, Warfield and the newly traded for Lewis are the receiver starters, rookie Swann and Ballman the backups and Stowe the 5th receiver. Winslow gets punted to inactive. Code:
Carr-Moorman-Banks-Upshaw-Mikolajczyk as the starting 5, Fest the reserve G, George the reserve T, Schmitt the backup C. I feel like that unit can hang together for a few more years at least to give us a capable o-line, but naturally I'm always looking to upgrade, especially at LT, where #6 overall pick George was an absolute bust and where we've never had a legitimate solid guy. Code:
Parsons has a lot of rust on him from sitting two years, and Webster hasn't been as consistent the last couple seasons, but Wonder still finds a way to get it done in the playoffs. Code:
Mildly interesting dilemma at DE, but let's be honest here. Greenwood and Brown play extremely well off of each other and there's no way in hell I'm disrupting that chemistry, so sorry Berry, but you take a reserve role. Rengel and Maddox are the definitive DT starters, but who to back them up? There's not much to distinguish the three candidates, so I'll probably go with the rookie Crowder, who had a small boom and has some upside. Code:
Philpott-Lanier-Webster, with Rivers, Graham and Varty the backups. What's that you say? Graham? That's right! I changed him over to SLB and he went to 11/38. He's quite raw at the position, but let's be honest, he's never going to get a shot at MLB and if he improves quickly enough in the preseason, he'll be the backup SLB for this year. Code:
Lawrence and Duncan start, Sellers and Ford the backups. Poltl goes on inactive list. Edwards and Crist the starters at S, Clarke and Flowers the reserves, Bird the PR maestro. Overall, I feel better about our WR and offensive line situation than last year. Our running game probably went down a notch, as did our special teams. Defense probably went down a little too, but if our rookies and new position guys can improve quickly enough, we should have a shot at getting hot down the stretch. All in all, I'd say we look like a playoff team again, but not a Super Bowl contender.
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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 : 11-21-2007 at 04:46 PM. |
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11-22-2007, 06:33 PM
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#164 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Preseason
Detroit 13 Miami 26 Gary Hayman rushes for 93 yards in his Dolphins debut and will get the starting nod for the next preseason game. Lynn Swann appears to be gelling with Ken Stabler early, hooking up with him for a 28 yard TD. Bob Parsons averaged 54 yards a punt and Tim Webster was Player of the Game with 4/4 FGs. L.C. Greenwood and Aaron Brown each had 1.5 sacks, Greenwood tacking on 2 tackles, an assist, a hurry and 3 knockdowns, Brown with 3 tackles, a hurry and a knockdown. All in all, a -very- encouraging start. RG Gene Upshaw strains his foot and is out 3 weeks and LCB Rolland Lawrence will miss the rest of preseason with an appendectomy. Howard Fest and Charlie Ford take their place as starters respectively. Miami 38 Los Angeles 7 L.C. Greenwood took home Player of the Game honors with 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 7 hurries and a knockdown and Bob Maddox added 2 tackles, 2 assists, and 1.5 sacks as we just absolutely beat down the Rams behind solid, solid team effort. Green Bay 17 Miami 10 Tough preseason loss to the Packers. Ken Stabler had a rough game: 10-21 for 64 yards and an interception. That's fine. I'd rather he get the junk out of his system early in the year, so he can play well in the regular season. Gene Upshaw's up to Probable and I'm going to start him the final preseason game to kick the rust off of him. Miami 14 St. Louis 38 Ken Stabler looked sharp in the final tune-up: 13-21 for 217 yards and a TD and Lynn Swann had 6 catches for 118 yards. Bob Maddox picked up 6 tackles, 4 assists and 1.5 sacks. DE Jack Youngblood just killed us: 8 tackles, 5 sacks, 4 hurries and 4 knockdowns, as we gave up 9 sacks as a team. That's some ugly, ugly stuff, but it'll hopefully improve in the regular season. On to the regular season! And I make damn sure I hit recommend this time. Regular Season Miami 27 New England 17 Ken Stabler gets Game MVP for his 21-35 for 286 yard, 3 TD, 1 INT performance. He did an excellent job of distributing the ball. Glen Edwards had 10 tackles and an assist to highlight the defense as we kick off the season with a solid victory. Jim Duncan strains his calf muscle, further weakening our secondary. Fortunately he'll only miss one game. Goldie Sellers gets the start in his place and Herb Mul-key moves in as the top kick returner. Miami 10 Chicago 19 One of those tough losses that happens every now and then. Paul Warfield played brilliantly, with 8 catches for 168 yards and a TD and Willie Lanier put up 13 tackles and 4 assists. Considerng the Bears are a decent team and we're missing both our starting corners, I'm pretty amazed the score was that close. Sheesh! We get our starting corners back only to lose Goldie Sellers for 2 weeks to a strained foot ligament and Randy Poltl to the same injury for 4 weeks. Oh well, better the backups than the starters. Denver 11 Miami 30 Super Ken Stabler shows up, getting a rare 300+ game with a 23-29 for 336 yards and a TD performance, good for Player of the Game. Paul Warfield continues his lights out play with 9 catches for 187 yards. L.C. Greenwood had 3 tackles, an assist, 1.5 sacks, a block, a hurry and 2 knockdowns, but Mike Rengel was just as impressive with 4 tackles, 2 sacks and a knockdown. LG Mo Moorman's doubtful with an abdominal strain, but I'm going to ask him to play through it as we need the offensive line to stay gelled together. Miami 31 Cincinnati 6 Another fine performance from Ken Stabler, this one 17-22 for 283 yards and 3 TDs. Both Paul Warfield and Lynn Swann were just short of 100 receiving yards, with the rookie Swann grabbing 2 TDs, including an impressive 52 yarder. Charlie Ford was terrific in the nickel role, with 2 interceptions. Backup S Hagood Clarke hyperextends his elbow and is out 3 weeks, but Goldie Sellers is ready to return. Buffalo 13 Miami 31 Gary Hayman showed why he won the starting RB job despite being a 7th round pick today when he rushed for 131 yards and 2 TDs on just 16 carries, but Ken Stabler won Player of the Game with a 19-28 for 269 yards and 2 TDs line. Another new Dolphin, Frank Lewis, had 8 catches for 135 yards and a TD, making people say Roy who? (Incidentally, Jefferson was held to 4 catches for 47 yards in our game against the Bears). Charlie Ford also got an interception in his second straight game. Howard Fest goes down with a strained foot ligament, requiring us to bring in G Harvey Mudd, an 11th year vet, who started for Cincinnati and Denver the past two seasons, to serve as the stopgap backup. Mudd's got an affinity with our offensive line captain, which is a nice bonus. Miami 42 Cleveland 34 Holy shootout, Batman! Well, not a shoot-out per se... just high-scoring. Gary Hayman keeps his hot play up with 90 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs, meaning PotG Ken Stabler got a light workout: 15-25 for 184 yards and 3 TDs. Gene Upshaw is doubtful with an abdominal strain, but with Howard Fest still out, I can't afford to replace him in the lineup. Hagood Clarke is back to probable, however. Pittsburgh 20 Miami 27 A heart-pounding game that wasn't decided until Gary Hayman churned his way across the line for the goal-line go-ahead score with 1:18 left in the game. Ken Stabler wins Player of the Game again: 20-30 for 211 yards and 2 TDs. The boo birds that were calling for his head a couple seasons ago sure have shut up fast. Willie Lanier has a fantastic all-around game with 9 tackles, 6 assists, a sack and a knockdown. Gary Ballman's out with a strained elbow tendon, but he can hopefully heal up enough during the bye week to play. Charlie Ford, on the other hand, looks to be gone for a significant chunk of time: Torn knee cartilage has him potentially on the shelf for 7 weeks. Randy Poltl becomes the backup LCB and Goldie Sellers takes over nickel duties. Just as I'd hoped, Gary Ballman is back up to probable after the bye week and more importantly, Howard Fest is ready to come back. I'll keep Harvey Mudd around though, just in case we have need of him. New England 25 Miami 34 Talk about your big plays! This game was chock full of them, including a 36 yard TD run by Gary Hayman to open scoring, a safety by the Patriots, an 82 yard kickoff return for a TD by Patriot Cecil Turner, and, best of all, an incredible 18 yard TD pass from Ken Stabler to Paul Warfield with 18 seconds left on the game clock to seal the victory. Gary Hayman had 16 rushes for 108 yards and the TD, but Ken Stabler was PotG yet again, thanks to a 17-32 for 205 yards and 3 TDs line. Unfortunately starting WLB George Webster breaks his tibia and is gone for roughly 6 weeks and neither rookie Mike Varty, who has been dreadful against the pass as a reserve, nor Dennis Coleman, who hasn't played a down this season, is ready to step in the starting lineup in his place. This means we'll have to look in free agency. But for now, let's bask in the fact that we're 7-1 at the break and the fact that the Jets lost this week to put them half a game behind us at 7-2. Want to know how lopsided the division is? Buffalo's 2-7 and the Patriots are 1-8. Want to know how top-heavy the AFC as a whole is? Indianapolis is 6-2 and if the season ended today, they wouldn't be going to the playoffs. Halfway Point Code:
Raise your hand if you miss Calvin Hill. Anybody? No, we don't either. I think we can file that 18 TD to 1 INT ratio at the halfway point by Ken Stabler as absolutely sick. For what few critics of his remain, I'd like to point out that Stabler's also on pace to break 4,000 yards for the season for the first time in his career. Another thing I didn't expect was Gary Hayman to not only be on pace to break 1,000 yards rushing in his rookie year (Hell I didn't expect him to win the starting RB job in preseason), but he's also on pace to absolutely shatter the team single-season record in rushing TDs. Oh yeah, the old Paul Warfield is back with a venegance, Frank Lewis is every bit as good as Roy Jefferson at a fraction of the price and Lynn Swann is learning very, very quickly how to play this game. Now, what do we attribute to this phenomenon? I'd say it's a combination of hiring Harris Wilcox, the offensive playcalling guru and getting rid of Calvin Hill. Not only did trading Hill bring in Frank Lewis, but Hill had a ridiculously high route running skill, which took away passes from our receiving corps. Oh yeah, adding Swann certainly helped too. On the defensive side of the ball, Willie Lanier is well in line to break the 100+ tackle mark again and L.C. Greenwood continues to be a beastly pass-rusher, even though he's just short of hitting 10+ sacks for the season at his current rate. Although our defense isn't really posting mind-boggling statistics, Royce Womble has his boys playing extremely well, particularly since we don't have a true shut-down corner, or any truly good linebackers outside of Mr. Lanier.
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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 : 11-22-2007 at 06:34 PM. |
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11-24-2007, 07:44 AM
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#165 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Jim Kiick is understandably disgruntled about losing his starting job to a 7th round rookie, but Gary Hayman's been the surprise sensation of the season and a super story for the press to cover. Sorry, Jim, but you'll have to stay in the #2 spot.
Dennis Coleman finally gets cut, as we have the cap room to eat the dead space he'll give us this year. 5th year WLB Ross Brupbacher is signed to be the emergency starter while George Webster is out. Although Brupbacher has never been a starter, he's looked decent enough as a reserve to fill in until Webster gets healthy again. Baltimore 9 Miami 7 A ton of yardage on both sides, but neither one of us was able to score for some reason. The Ravens' K, Bob Jencks nailed all 3 FGs to give Baltimore the win, despite Aaron Brown's 3 tackles, 2 assists, 2 sacks, block and hurry and Mike Rengel's tackle, 2 assists and 1.5 sacks. Miami 6 New Jersey 29 Ouch! We get reamed and the Jets power ahead to the division lead. Ken Stabler was god-awful: 14-42 for 181 yards and an INT as Jets K Mark Moseley belted 5/5 FGs to beat us single-handedly. Willie Lanier had 13 tackles, 2 assists and a hurry in the lone noteworthy Dolphins performance. Honestly, I'm not sure what's with our offense all of a sudden, but it needs to get sorted out and fast. Minnesota 20 Miami 45 Oh, there's where our offense went! Though to be fair, a lot of credit goes to the defense. Rolland Lawrence returned an interception 92 yards for a TD and Bob Maddox picked up a fumble and rumbled downfield 14 yards for a TD of his own. Ken Stabler won Game MVP with a 12-21 for 187 yards and 3 TDs, but really this game was about Royce Womble's boys. Ed Philpott racked up 12 tackles, 3 assists and a hurry and Aaron Brown was magnificient with 9 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks, a block, 3 hurries and a knockdown as we pulverized one of the league's sorriest franchises. Gary Hayman's questionable, so we'll give Jim Kiick the start and move Hayman to the #2 spot. Miami 28 Tucson 26 The game wasn't as close as the score indicates, as the Titans scored a TD with just over a minute left to draw within two. Ken Stabler was on form today at 16-27 for 254 yards and 4 TDs vs 1 INT, good enough to net him Player of the Game honors. Aaron Brown continued his second half surge with 4 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 2 hurries. Miami 20 Detroit 17 Again, our opponents score a late TD to make it look close, this time with 9 seconds left on the game clock. These sudden late scores have me a little worried, but as long as we keep on winning, it's okay. Ken Stabler again won PotG: 21-30 for 273 yards and 2 TDs. He's really showing that last season's surprise MVP award was no fluke. Paul Warfield gobbled up 7 balls for 120 yards and Willie Lanier had 10 tackles and 2 assists. Charlie Ford is back to probable, as is Gary Hayman. George Webster is questionable. I decide to sit Webster, even though we have a season-defining game coming up, but Hayman will start again and Ford steps back into the reserve LCB and nickel back role. New Jersey 0 Miami 27 Our defense was pissed about the Jets hammering us last time, so what do they do? Go out and shut out New Jersey! Willie Lanier had an 11 yard fumble return for a TD in addition to his 9 tackles. Gary Hayman and Jim Kiick both had 95 yards rushing exactly, leaving Ken Stabler little to do as his 11-21 for 76 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT line testifies. Rolland Lawrence picked off 2 passes and Ross Brupbacher thanked me for letting him start again by getting an interception of his own. L.C. Greenwood provided notable defense as well with 2 tackles, a sack, 5 hurries and a knockdown. Despite the victory, the Jets still hold the tiebreaker advantage over us. We're both 11-3, a situation matched in the AFC North, where the Steelers and Ravens hold the same record. The AFC South has the Jaguars and the Oilers both at 9-5, while Dave Hanner's worked a miracle in Kansas City, leading the Chiefs to a current 10-4 mark and a clinched AFC West title. (The rest of the division is presently 5-9). Green Bay 10 Miami 28 Craziest play of this game? 3Q: 07:01 MIA - Gene Upshaw 18 fumble return (Tim Webster extra point) What happened was, super-stud special teamer Herb Mul-key hammered the hell out of Greg Pruitt, the Packers' PR. Gene Upshaw recovered the ensuing fumble and waddled his ass down the field 18 yards for the TD. That play really made me smile. Otherwise, 3 interceptions by the good guys, 2 TDs by Ken Stabler and L.C. Greenwood's 2 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 blocks and 2 hurries tells the tale of how we won this one pretty handily. We draw the Bills in our last game, the Jets the Patriots. If New England can pull off the upset and we can win, we get the division title. Otherwise, we'll have to slog through the wild-card route. Miami 20 Buffalo 6 Well, we did our part. Paul Warfield had 7 catches for 106 yards and 2 TDs and our defense sacked Daryle Lamonica 10 times, a franchise record. To wit: PotG Mike Rengel with 6 tackles, an assist, 3.5 sacks and 2 hurries, L.C. Greenwood with 6 tackles, 2.5 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown, Willie Lanier with 5 tackles, 4 assists, 1.5 sacks, 3 hurries and 2 knockdowns and Aaron Brown with 3 tackles, 2 sacks and a knockdown (Rookie Randy Crowder had the other half-sack). Was it enough? ....No. New Jersey 14 New England 3 That's not even the worst part. Despite finishing with an identical 13-3 record to the Ravens, Baltimore beat us in the regular season so they get the #1 wildcard spot. We get the #2 wildcard and a very ironic matchup in the first 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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11-25-2007, 03:20 PM
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#166 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Dave Hanner has worked such a miracle in Kansas City that we play the Chiefs in the wild-card round.
Hanner turned Leo Hart into a decent enough QB, but Hart got hurt, so 6th year scrub Terry Hanratty is the emergency starter. He sucks and he's got two extreme conflicts with team leaders, but he pulled off a victory in the last game of the season. Duane Thomas is just sick at RB. He's never had less than 1,300 yards rushing a season. This year he had almost 1,700 yards and 14 TDs in the regular season. TE Charlie Young, FL Mac Haik, and SE Karl Noonan are all solid, to say nothing of Dick Witcher. Conrad Dobler is incredible at RG, but LT Roger Finnie has been an underachiever relative to his talent ever since he entered the NFL. K George Hunt has a dangerous leg and Pete Duranko and Manny Fernandez form a respectable pair on the left side of the D-line at DE and DT respectively. The Chiefs have as solid a corps of starting linebackers as anyone else in the league, notably MLB Ron Hornsby who played great in his first season as a full-time starter his year. However, Kansas City's secondary isn't that good, which plays to our strengths. Vegas has us favored by a single point, but even though we're on the road and this is a pretty decent team coached by our former head coach hungry to beat us, I'd say we can cover the spread and then some, provided our man behind center gets time to throw the ball. As it turned out, Vegas was right to call it a close one. The Chiefs concentrated on shutting down Paul Warfield, forcing Ken Stabler to spread the ball out more often. Although Stabler was 25-35 for 229 yards and a TD, he was sacked 5 times, fumbled 3 times and appeared to have trouble against a defense that knows our offense quite well. But a couple of Tim Webster field goals and a 4th quarter rushing TD by Gary Hayman that put us ahead for good and earned him Player of the Game honors, combined with stout defense on our part secured us through to the divisional round. Miami 20 Kansas City 14
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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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11-26-2007, 09:51 AM
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#167 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The divisional round gives us a matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are the winningest franchise in this universe with a current 163-77 all-time record (.679 percentage), and have been to the playoffs 11 times, second only to our 12.
Unfortunately, they're also 5-11 in the playoffs and have yet to make a Super Bowl, much less win it all. Don Horn is a very solid QB. Not the type to go out and throw a lot of yardage, with only 3,000+ yards in 2 of his 6 seasons as the Steelers' signal-caller, but by the same token, he's very good at not throwing interceptions and has a sterling TD/INT ratio just about every season. RB Jimmy Thomas rushed for 1,300 yards and 11 TDs in his first season as a starter since his rookie year in 1969 and was a key pickup in free agency for Pittsburgh. The wide receiving corps is pretty pedestrian, save for SE Bob Chandler, who came close to breaking 1,000 yards receiving this season. 2nd year C Guy Morriss is already one of the best in the league and John Wilbur is a terrific LG. RG is a weakness and the tackles are getting old, but overall, this is an exceptional offensive line. The defensive front 7 are all mediocre to terrible, with the exception of SLB Tom Macleod, who in his second season, first as a starter, exploded with 13 sacks. Emmitt Thomas and Bobby Howard are a lot like Johnny Sample and Irv Cross used to be for us at CB--Not much for interceptions, but good luck trying to complete a pass against them. Making matters even worse, Bryant Salter and Tommy Myers are a deadly pair of safeties. Myers in particular was other-worldly this season, with 9 interceptions, 2 returned for TDs and an 83.6% pass defense. The fact that the Steelers secondary is so damn strong makes this a really tough battle. If we were a running team, this wouldn't even be close, as we'd eat that porous line alive. But we aren't and we're also again on the road, both of which have Pittsburgh favored by 1. Can we beat them? Sure, but this is going to come down to the defenses and it's going to be really close. It's not even close. Jimmy Thomas rips through our defense for 115 yards and a TD and their short-yardage RB, Charlie Davis, punches in 3 TDs on the ground. Ken Stabler was sacked 6 times, as Pittsburgh's secondary played our receivers so well, he had difficulty locating anyone open and finished 25-46 for 259 yards and an INT. It also didn't help that we got behind early and so had to completely abandon any attempt at a running game. Our lone star: Willie Lanier with 11 tackles and 3 assists. We finished the season about where I expected we would. We're still just too weak at LT and at OLB to reasonably expect to challenge for the Super Bowl title year in and year out. Maybe this is Pittsburgh's year. In any case, ours is done. Miami 6 Pittsburgh 28
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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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11-27-2007, 10:28 AM
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#168 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Super Bowl XV
The defending Super Bowl Champion New York Giants make it back to the big game and try to become the only other team since the 1966 and 1967 Miami Dolphins to win two straight Super Bowls. It doesn't happen, as Pittsburgh's superlative secondary continues their mindboggling play. CB Emmitt Thomas had 2 interceptions and returned a fumble 43 yards for a TD and SLB Tom Macleod won the MVP award with 8 tackles and a timely sack and block that changed the momentum of the whole game. Still, the Giants can take consolation in the fact that they're the only team besides the Dolphins to have appeared in two straight Super Bowls. New York 7 Pittsburgh 30 Final Dolphins Statistics Code:
That turnover ratio is absolutely beautiful and our defense was fantastic this season: Lanier, Greenwood, Brown, Crist... they were all absolutely brilliant in their play. We definitely need some help at OLB though and we still lack the sort of top-flight shutdown corner we once had in Johnny Sample. Ken Stabler put together a magnificient season, even more incredible when you consider we didn't throw the ball all that much overall. Our receivers were great, in particular Warfield back to his old form, Lewis an excellent acquisition, and Swann quite promising. Hayman would've made the 1,000 yard mark if it wasn't for injuries. 1974 Dolphins Season Awards QB Ken Stabler - MVP and 1st Team All-Pro QB Stabler wins his second straight MVP award, though honestly, I'm still kind of iffy about him. He's not all that consistent and he gets sacked a ton because he can't avoid the rush worth a damn. That being said, he's becoming an extraordinarily efficient QB and with this past season (105.1 rating!), he finally passed Unitas in career Dolphins QB yardage, as well as in QB rating. DT Mike Rengel - 1st Team All-Pro DT Not bad for a one year signing! Rengel was the biggest FA surprise of this offseason, turning in an amazing season that no one could've anticipated before this year. 9.5 sacks out of the DT spot is incredible, especially in a 4-3 D like we run. That said, I don't know if I'll re-sign him. Seems too much a flash in the pan. MLB Willie Lanier - 1st Team All-Pro ILB Lanier wins his second straight 1st Team All-Pro award and shows absolutely no signs of slowing down any time soon. He's the heart and soul of our defense and it's no exaggeration to say that without him, we wouldn't have won the Super Bowl in '72, nor would we be consistently appearing in the divisional round the last couple seasons. FL Paul Warfield - 2nd Team All-Pro WR After Warfield's injury troubles last season, a lot of people wanted to write him off as finished, but Paul came roaring back this year to have his highest yardage total since 1970 and his most TDs and fewest 16 games drops since 1971. His skills are gradually starting to decline, but the descent is so gradual that it's hard to notice it. DE Aaron Brown - 2nd Team All-Pro DE Brown doesn't get anywhere near the recognition he deserves, with all the attention and superlatives reserved for L.C. Greenwood, but Aaron's a critical part of our defense and he and L.C. have a chemistry together that, while not official, certainly plays out in the statistics. It's nice to see him finally get some accolades he so richly deserves. Other Major Awards Offensive Player of the Year RB Duane Thomas - Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Player of the Year DE Vern Den Herder - Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Delvin Williams - New England Patriots Defensive Rookie of the Year MLB Frank LeMaster - Los Angeles Rams
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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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11-28-2007, 09:12 AM
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#169 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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It's now 1975, which means I can submit a stadium proposal! Yay!
Dolphins Stadium is in average shape, with fair turf and poor parking condition. It also has 75,000 seating capacity, with 10,200 club seats and 195 luxury boxes. The average attendance last year was 61,600 and it honestly never got much above 70,000, even in our greatest years. Support for stadium work is fantastic, as a lot of people have complained about the parking situation. I'd love to get a brand new stadium in place altogether, so I make a plan to contract a high-quality construction firm, with 72,000 seats, 12,000 club seats and an even 200 luxury boxes. The price tag is a cool $39 million. The team offers to put up $10 million of it, which would leave the fine citizens of Miami on the hook for almost $30 million, but hey, this is one of two franchises to win 3 Super Bowls, darn it. We deserve it! Staff Changes and Hiring Lead Scout Dexter Carmody QB: VG to Good WR: Good to Average He's out of contract anyway, but the double drop is more than enough to eliminate him even if he was still under a deal. Unfortunately, I stupidly offered him a contract extension without checking his drops first. AAAARGGGGHHH! OC Edwin Buckley OL: Fair to Average Buckley improves in his worst area, making my re-signing of him a worthwhile move, though I worried I'd made a mistake at the time. DC Royce Womble DB: VG to Excellent Womble continues to be the best guy on my whole staff, as well as the longest-running Dolphins staff member. This year is his 10th season as our defensive coordinator and he's only 44. Seriously, I absolutely love this guy. I get lucky and the Seattle Seahawks pay Carmody $50,000 a year for 5 years to be their scout. This frees me to go after the guy I liked the best, but the Jets scoop him out from underneath me for a mere $10,000 a year more. This means I have to pick through the garbage that's left, so I pick the least ugly looking scout. Lead Scout William McGinnis (54) QB: Average RB: Good WR: Fair OL: Good KP: Fair DL: Average LB: Good DB: Good YT: Good That said, he's not bad for a one year rental, actually. Our positions of need are going to be LT, OLB and CB anyway, so he fits in well with our offseason plans. As we're already the #2 highest price for a family of four and I'm trying to get the stadium referendum passed, I don't touch ticket prices. There's a number of candidates worth considering for the summer league, but our 6th rounder from last season, TE J.V. Cain gets the nod, as I really want him to try and lock down the starting TE spot this season. Position Needs by the Numbers QB x 2, FB, TE, C, G, T, P, K, DE, MLB, FS, SS (16 overall) I'm really, really going to be looking at LT, OLB, and CB, obviously. Most of our position needs are reserve spots. RB might get a look, too, as I'm not sure Gary Hayman won't fizzle out. Week 1 Re-Signings/Extensions Oh yes, before I do this, I have to mention something. A dear old friend and career-long Dolphin finally retired this season. That's right, Gary Ballman hung it up after 13 seasons and a marvelous career for a 3rd round pick. He finishes 2nd in Dolphins career history in receptions, yards from scrimmage, all-purpose yards and 4th in YPC and points scored. He won two Super Bowl rings (1967, 1972 - missed the 1966 game because of an injury) and an All-Pro award (1st Team - 1967). His peak years were from 1964-1967, when he had 1,000+ yards receiving each season and had not a foot injury cost him all of 1968, he might not've started his decline after that. As it was, he was our starting SE from 1963-1969 (minus 1968) and again in 1973. From 1970 on, he was mainly our fourth receiver and a mentor for the young guys that came in, most recently Lynn Swann. Here's a look at his career statistics in full. Not bad for a guy who was taken at 3.26 in the 1962 draft, eh? He certainly superseded Charlie Frazier, who we took in the 1st round of the same draft. Ballman's easily one of my favorite players in this entire dynasty so far and I'll be sure to look for him in future historical dynasties. On to the free agency! P Bob Parsons - 1 year, 70k* WR Paul Warfield - 2 years, $1.12 mill. FS Chuck Crist - 4 years, $1.51 mill. DE L.C. Greenwood - 3 years, $2.3 mill. FB Larry Csonka - 3 years, $680k Re-signing Warfield may have been a small mistake, as I have Swann waiting in the wings, but I can't bear the thought of Paul going to play for another team, so I'll pay the little extra money. Week 2 Signings WR Dennis Homan - 1 year, $100k* (Seattle) -Solid reserve SE to have. Won't remind anyone of Gary Ballman obviously, but he has an Exceptional Affinity with Paul Warfield and comes cheap. G Howard Fest - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -This year, I don't have to sweat it out. He signs right back on the dotted line as he senses this team could have serious Super Bowl aspirations next year. S Gus Hollomon - 1 year, $100k* (Detroit) -Has been an average starter his entire time in the NFL, so he should make a great backup, certainly better than the muchly eroded Hagood Clarke. This free agency period isn't necessarily about finding that big star player. It's about filling in the gaps in depth. Week 3 Signings CB Jim Duncan - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -I'm still really, really comfortable with him as a starting corner and kick returner, much in the same mold as Irv Cross all those years ago. Only Cross started from Week One and was a top 10 pick, whereas Duncan very quietly developed and was the last pick in the 3rd round. Week 3 Losses DE Bill Gregory - 1 year, $110k (San Francisco Re-signing) -I offered him a 3 year deal and the chance to replace one of our DEs when they retire, but he spurned me to stay with the 49ers. Darn, he would've made a great reserve. Week 4 Signings DE Rolf Krueger - 1 year, 80k* (New England) -Had 10.5 sacks two years ago for the Patriots and looks like a decent roll of the dice for a reserve. Not exceptional by any means, but should have the endurance to back up both DE spots. S Pete Richardson - 1 year, $80k* (Minnesota) -As much as I like Richmond Flowers, he got owned hard in the playoffs last year, leading me to believe his time is done. Richardson's been okay in the postseason and he's one of those guys who's never been a reserve before. Unfortunately, he has a conflict with new DB leader Hollomon, so I may have to cut him. Week 4 Losses DE Royce Berry - 1 year, $100k (San Francisco) -Was a real disappointment last year in my opinion, so the 49ers can take him at higher than min-sal. I think the only reason they did this was because they were pissed I tried to gank Gregory from them. Week 5 Signings RB Leo Bouggess - 1 year, $80k* (New Jersey) -Ran for 1,386 yards and 10 TDs with the Jets last season. May or may not be our starter this year, as it depends on Hayman's development. The good news is that he's a mentor, so he'll be able to boost his rival up in any case. K Tim Webster - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -Found his kicking stroke again last year as he converted 80% of his FGs without sacrificing any distance ability and honestly, there's no one I trust more in the playoffs: 90.5% career average, 7/7 from 40+ land in the postseason. There's a reason why I nickname him Wonder. MLB Jamie Rivers - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -Just keep making Will Lanier happy and you'll always have a job here, Jamie. Worth noting that he's disgruntled, I suppose. Not sure what that's all about. Week 5 Losses DT Mike Rengel - 3 years, $830k (Cleveland) -Rengel cashes in huge on his All-Pro nomination, scooping up a fat check from the Browns. Not bad for a guy who was having to go from min-sal contract to min-sal contract before he broke out last season. Week 6 Signings TE Pete Lammons - 1 year, $100k* (San Diego) -Just in case J.V. Cain isn't ready to be the starting TE, I picked up Lammons, a mentor who's an average all around TE. It's not a position that features very heavily in our offense, so it's all good. OLB Ed Philpott - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -We really do need to upgrade at OLB, but for now, Philpott was the best available at the strong side in free agency, so he'll suit up once again for the Dolphins. Week 6 Losses S Hagood Clarke - 1 year, $110k* (San Francisco) -Okay, now this is getting a little silly. The 49ers are going after our scrub defensive players? Yeah, you go on and do that, San Fran. Let me know how it works out when you're sitting at home come December. Week 7 Signings C Rich Coady - 1 year, $80k* (Atlanta) -Young C mentor and new offensive line captain. I wouldn't want him to start necessarily, but he makes a very capable backup. Ironically enough, Frank Marchlewski was available again, but wanted way more money than what I was willing to pay. CB Willie Alexander - 5 years, $2.3 mill. (Seattle) -Remember how I said this free agency was about filling the gaps and not getting a star player? Well, say hello to a star player in Alexander! Sure his overall rating isn't that great, but his bars are superb and the statistics bear out the fact that he's a great, relatively young (5th year) corner. I had to get into a major bidding war for him. He'll start immediately and allows us the luxury of pushing Rolland Lawrence to a much more suitable nickel spot, cuz frankly, Lawrence can't defend the run worth a damn and Alexander specializes in it. Week 8 Signings DT Diron Talbert - 1 year, $130k (Washington) -I saw this guy sitting in the free agent pool with a ton of teams fighting over him. He's a terrific pass-rusher and would go great with our DE demons Greenwood and A. Brown, so I paid a little extra money and he gleefully signed on the dotted line. He'll plug in the hole left by Rengel and should do quite well. OLB Clyde Werner - 1 year, $80k* (Baltimore) -I wanted to get somebody to challenge George Webster and Werner looked like he could do it. In any case, it's a big improvement in our LB depth and will allow me to do some tinkering with the position group if need be. S Tom McCauley - 1 year, $80k* (New Orleans) -Say hi, Tom and say bye, Pete. Richardson's conflicting ass gets cut immediately in favor of the much more cheerful McCauley, who's just as good a backup, in my opinion. Week 8 Losses S Richmond Flowers - 1 year, $80k* (Detroit) -Speaking of backups, I'm happy to report that Flowers was able to catch on with the Lions. I did hate to let him go, but after how horrible he looked in the playoffs last year and wanting to upgrade the situation anyway, I had no other choice. He's been a pretty good player for a 4th round pick altogether, though and I'm glad to see he'll get a chance to extend his NFL career with the Lions. Week 9 Signings DT John Little - 1 year, $80k* (Houston) -Well, now this is a nice surprise. I figured for sure he was going to the Titans, part of my motivation for grabbing Talbert. While I do believe Talbert will still start, Little gives us the best backup we've had at the position in years. This spells doom for our young guys, but honestly, I'm not sold on them anyway. Week 10 Signings FB Henry Dyer - 1 year, $100k* (San Francisco) -This wasn't done to spite the 49ers. It was a plan in case I didn't find a backup FB in the draft. I grabbed the best blocking FB that was left in free agency and he just happened to be a 49er. Although we still need a reserve T, I'll see if I can find one in the draft rather than overpay for somebody in this free agency period or go hunting in the second half, when the prices are a lot more reasonable.
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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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11-28-2007, 09:53 AM
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#170 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The Trade That Shocked The NFL
On one side, you have the two-time defending NFL MVP QB, a hero to the fans of his team. On the other side, you have the #1 overall pick in this year's draft and the chance to select the greatest RB since a man they call Jim Brown. The two crossed paths today as the Miami Dolphins stunned the league by sending twice reigning MVP QB Ken Stabler along with the 1.29 pick in this year's draft and their first rounders for the next two seasons to the New Orleans Saints in exchange for the #1 overall pick, which Miami's front office has made no secret of that it will be RB Walter Payton out of Jackson State. The trade prompted cries of outrage from Dolphins fans across the country furious at trading a beloved QB long considered one of the best in the league. "I just don't understand it. Why the heck do you trade a guy who's won the MVP award the last two years and a bunch of first rounders? Kenny won us the Super Bowl just a couple years ago. It makes me not want to be a Dolphins fan anymore", said Julio Gonzalez, a Miami bartender. Dolphins G.M. Tim Moungey was quick to react to the criticism. "I understand the fans' anger and frustration, and while Ken is certainly a talented player who has a done lot for this city and this Dolphins organization, we felt it was time to go in another direction. We wish him the best of luck with the Saints and we believe our fans will see that we're as strongly committed to maintaining the proud winning tradition this franchise has always been known for." News of the trade prompted a flurry of Saints' merchandise sales all throughout Louisiana, with impromptu celebrations held throughout the streets of New Orleans. "We're going to the Super Bowl, baby!" shouted one fan as he danced with his coworkers outside an office building. While a Super Bowl appearance may still be out of teach, the deal electrified a long-suffering franchise, one with a career .337 winning percentage, 3rd worst in the league, and with just one playoff appearance, in 1967. The Saints lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 22-16 in the wild-card round. For the Dolphins, the trade gives them the opportunity to have the first true franchise RB in team history, although trading away the team's most popular player could spell doom for the new stadium referendum set for the April elections. ***** All right, so everybody and their brother is pissed at me. I don't care. I was sick at the idea of Stabler owning all our team passing records, which he was fast on the verge of doing. At least this way, there's a chance we could get another super QB someday who has a reasonable chance of smashing every damn last one of those records. Of course, this trade also means that I have to go QB hunting and at this late stage in free agency, there's not much left to choose from. Week 11 Signings QB Ron Meyer - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -Hey, he's a mentor and he's shown flashes of talent in preseason before. There are worse stopgap options we could go with, particularly since he has three affinities with team leaders. That -will- end my pre-draft shopping. I still need to find two more bodies at QB, but one will come in the draft, the other in second free agency period.
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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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11-28-2007, 11:43 AM
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#171 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1975 NFL Draft
There's going to be no surprises about the #1 overall pick, obviously. But there's a lot of talk about who's going to go after that. RB Walter Payton, QB Steve Bartkowski, DT Randy White, and CB Louis Wright are all getting heavy press, along with QB Steve Grogan. 1975 1st Round 1. RB Walter Payton - Miami Dolphins 2. QB Steve Bartowski - Washington Redskins 3. CB Louis Wright - Buffalo Bills 4. OLB Thomas Henderson - San Francisco 49ers 5. RB Rickey Young - Minnesota Vikings 6. QB Steve Grogan - Philadelphia Eagles 7. CB Dave Brown - Green Bay Packers 8. G Robert Jackson - Los Angeles Rams 9. OLB Dallas Hickman - San Diego Chargers 10. DT Randy White - Cleveland Browns 11. ILB Ralph Ortega - Denver Broncos 12. ILB Bruce Elia - New England Patriots 13. G Dennis Harrah - Oakland Raiders 14. DE George Martin - Dallas Cowboys 15. WR Freddie Solomon - Los Angeles Rams 16. ILB Richard Wood - Washington Redskins 17. ILB Tom Hicks - Tucson Titans 18. S Ken Schroy - Atlanta Falcons 19. DT Cleveland Elam - Indianapolis Colts 20. RB Mike Franckowiak - Detroit Lions 21. DE Leroy Jones - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 22. RB Stan Fritts - Jacksonville Jaguars 23. OLB Robert Braziel - Seattle Seahawks 24. G Herbert Scott - Houston Oilers 25. DT Jimmy Webb - St. Louis Cardinals 26. S Steve Foley - Kansas City Chiefs 27. ILB Bob Breunig - Chicago Bears 28. OLB Dale Mitchell - Baltimore Ravens It's the year of the LB, obviously. The Saints have our pick next. Had we stayed put and drafted here, I'd have grabbed OLB Drew Mahalic. 29. OLB Drew Mahalic - New Orleans Saints Wow, just wow. They took exactly who I would've taken! Talk about eerieness, especially since I think the Saints had more pressing needs. 30. DE Mack Mitchell - New Jersey Jets 31. WR Willie Miller - New York Giants 32. DE Jeff Merrow - Pittsburgh Steelers By the time our 2nd round pick rolls around, I've narrowed down our options to OLB or T. There's a few OLB options that look like they could start for us, none of which will last to the 3rd round. There's also a T that intrigues me, but then I take a closer look at his combine and decide he's not worth the effort. So after hemming and hawing, I take OLB Rod Shoate. A terribly low Vol score (7), but considering what horrible luck I have drafting in that position group, going with a safe pick seems the best option. We don't pick again until the 4th because I traded away our 3rd round pick last year so I could move up to grab Lynn Swann. I take P Neil Clabo because I'm not sold on Bob Parsons and the players I'm looking at that are left don't seem quite good enough. If they're around in the 5th, I'll flyer on them, though. Both players are still there on the 5th, but I notice the one QB I was thinking about taking is still around as well. Then again, closer inspection tells me he's not worth it here, so I instead grab ILB Greg Collins, who has an affinity and who could possibly break out. Finally, in the 6th, I take QB Don Milan, who is actually one of the two QBs I was most strongly considering for my filler. He's a breakout candidate and highly intelligent. More importantly, he can avoid a freaking sack. The FB I wanted with my 7th round pick goes before my turn comes up, so I take a flyer on C Ralph Perretta as a breakout possibility. I get an email shortly after the trade regarding the stadium vote. Stadium Referendum In Favor - 1,480,165 - 50.2% Against - 1,464,774 - 49.7% Referendum Passed YES!!!!! WE'RE GETTING A NEW STADIUM!!!!!!!!!!!! Honestly, I'm shocked that it passed. Between the fact that we're only contributing a 1/4th of the bill and that we pissed off so many people with the Ken Stabler trade, I thought there was no way in hell that it'd go through, but it did! And in ironically fitting news, I'm also informed that QB Johnny Unitas, our savior of the Super Bowl years, has made the Hall of Fame! Congratulations, Johnny U!!!! I just now realized I never posted Gary Ballman's career card, so here it is.  Johnny Unitas What more can be said about the man that hasn't already throughout this universe? I think I'll let his awards and numbers speak for themselves. Super Bowls Rings: 4 1966 MVP, Super Bowl MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, All-Pro First Team QB (Miami) 1963 Super Bowl MVP (Indianapolis) 1962 All-Pro Second Team QB (Indianapolis) 1961 Super Bowl MVP, All-Pro 2nd Team QB (Indianapolis) 1960 All-Pro 1st Team QB (Indianapolis) Indianapolis Colts Records Quarterback Rating -1st Attempts - 1st Completions - 1st Completion % -1st Passing Yards -1st YPA - 1st Passing TDs - 1st 300 Yards Passing - 1st Miami Dolphins Records Quarterback Rating - 2nd Attempts - 2nd Completions - 2nd Completion % -1st Passing Yards -2nd YPA -1st Passing TDs - 2nd 300 Yards Passing -1st All-Time Records Quarterback Rating - 2nd YPA - 1st 300 yards Passing - 3rd (T) Two-Mile Club Appearances 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967, 1968  What a magnificient QB. I'm glad he still has some of our team records, which makes me even happier that I traded Stabler. Second Half Free Agency Week 1 Signings QB Manch Wheeler - 2 years, $360k (Chicago) -Popular player and mentor who, even in his 14th season, still has the ability to get it done. A possible, maybe even probable starter for us. Has an affinity with our WRs captain. Week 1 Losses C John Schmitt - 1 year, $120k (Atlanta) -Still has the skills to be a competitive C in this league and is a mentor besides. Good pickup for the Falcons, though we had better options, so we said goodbye to a guy who was a starter for 5 seasons. Week 2 Signings MLB Bill Budness - 1 year, $110k* (Baltimore) -Mentor and career-long Raven who never quite lived up to the hype that made him the #3 overall pick and Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1964. Could potentially make the team, but far more likely to get cut. Week 3 Signings T Dick Cunningham - 2 years, $340k (San Diego) -A former Dolphin returns home as our 1967 2nd round pick comes back after a tour of duty around several teams in the league. He almost re-signed with the Chargers, but a little extra money returned him to the Aqua and Orange to fight for the starting LT job he once held for us. Week 3 Losses T Bob Duncum - 3 years, $520k (Detroit Re-signing) -I was only willing to offer him a one year deal, but the Lions take him back for 3 years and way too much money. Yeah, okay, enjoy that, Detroit. Code:
I'm only a little worried about Payton's drop. I'll attribute it to scouting error. Shoate's decline is definitely disappointing, but he still looks like he can be a starting OLB for us someday, even with the drop. Clabo will fight with Bob Parsons for the starting P job. Collins disappointed. Milan looks unfortunately like a scrub, while Perretta pleasantly upticked.
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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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11-29-2007, 01:59 PM
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#172 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Now that's what we call an ugly QB situation. Wheeler will be our main starter obviously, though I may sit him the first two preseason games to give Meyer and Milan some reps. Milan certainly isn't our QB of the future, but maybe he can turn into a half-assed okay backup. Code:
We're going to ride Payton hard all season long. Bouggess will be the #2 man and both Hayman and Mul-key could see time on ST, but if I have to put one of them on inactive, it'll be Hayman, as Mul-key is much more versatile, able to return kicks and punts in addition to special teams prowess. Csonka and Dyer 1,2 at FB naturally. Code:
I've switched Warfield over to SE after examining the roster a little more closely. This will free us up to have Swann and Warfield both starting. Lewis has better hands than Homan, so he'll switch over to FL, with the intent of changing him back over to SE once Warfield retires. Yeah, it's a lot of switching around, but I think it'll be worth in the end. Actually, I take back what I said earlier about Wheeler resting. He'll play all four preseason games and we'll switch out the #2 QB each game. I'm going to start Cain over Lammons, simply because I have a feeling about him. Code:
Carr-Moorman-Banks-Upshaw-Mikolajczyk as the starters, Coady, Fest, and Cunningham the respective reserves. This unit's starting to look a little old in terms of our best players and we may be hit hard the next few years, with no 1st rounder to replenish the blood. Code:
Clabo and Parsons each get 2 preseason games to impress me. Webster maintains his job. Code:
What do you do when a 2nd team All-Pro DE starts showing his age? Still play him! Krueger could pass him up by midseason, but for now, I'm not going to mess with the chemistry that Brown and Greenwood have shown through the years. Code:
Talbert and Maddox start, with Little the reserve. I'll try to free up a spot for Crowder, as I still have some faith in his ability. Croft parks his butt on inactive and goes bye-bye at the end of next season. Code:
I changed Shoate over to the strong side and he dropped to 24/60. I'm going to give him every chance possible to beat out Philpott for the starting SLB spot. Lanier occupies the middle again naturally and Werner slots in on the weak side. Rivers is a backup at MLB, but for the OLB spots, it's hard to say if I'll go with one player or two. If Shoate loses the battle, I'll probably have him play both spots to maximize his playing time. If he wins, it'll be Philpott the backup on the strong side, Webster the reserve on the weak side. Code:
I changed Lawrence to the right side and shifted Duncan over to the left side, allowing me to have Alexander and Lawrence the starting CBs, Duncan backing Alexander up and Sellers the reserve for Lawrence. Edwards and Crist start at S, McCauley and Hollomon the reserves. This is going to be a -very- interesting team to watch this season. While I can't say for sure that we've made the moves to be a Super Bowl team, at the very least we should be at the same level we were last season: Playoff quality, but probably just short of Super Bowl talent.
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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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12-01-2007, 01:23 PM
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#173 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Troy, Mo
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Gutsy move.
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12-02-2007, 01:04 PM
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#174 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Yeah I know. I'm still wondering if I made the right move and I'll really be wondering it if Stabler transforms the 'Aints into a legitimate playoff team. On the other hand, if Sweetness turns out to be everything that he's been cracked up to be, we could be looking at one or two more Super Bowls in his career.
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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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12-02-2007, 05:17 PM
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#175 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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MLB Bill Budness and 5th round pick MLB Greg Collins both get the axe before the preseason.
Exhibition Atlanta 10 Miami 34 A fantastic rushing performance as Walter Payton has 93 yards in his debut, with Lee Bouggess contributing 72 yards and 2 TDs. This is definitely a ground attack team now. L.C. Greenwood wins Player of the Game with 3 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a knockdown. Rolf Krueger is putting a claim in for the starting RDE job, with 1.5 sacks and 2 hurries. Rod Shoate went a long way to proving he deserves the starting SLB job with 4 tackles, an interception and a sack. Miami 27 Washington 17 A special teams dream and defense dream, with a Bob Maddox 72 yard fumble return for a TD, a Chuck Crist 88 yeard interception return for a TD and this curious line: 4Q: 04:09 MIA - Doug Winslow 4 pass from Bob Parsons That's right, a fake FG attempt for a TD. In other news, Manch Wheeler has looked awful the first two preseason games. Ron Meyer's been good in one and bad in another, so I may give Meyer the start next game and let Don Milan be #2. L.C. Greenwood had another 1.5 sacks, as our defense is looking splendid thus far. Goldie Sellers is out for the next game and Ron Meyer is questionable the next 4 weeks. Great, we'll stick with Manch Wheeler then and Don Milan will be the 2nd string QB. Randy Poltl is the new backup RCB. Miami 26 New Orleans 0 Manch Wheeler looked much more comfortable this game and Don Milan wasn't half-bad. Ken Stabler wasn't in the game for very long, only making 6 pass attempts before they pulled him in front of Larry Cipa who promptly went a hilarious 11-41 for 94 yards and 4 interceptions. Tim Webster made 4/5 FGs and Rolph Krueger and Bob Parsons have officially sewn up starting jobs. Goldie Sellers comes back. Philadelphia 10 Miami 14 Paul Warfield was the star of this one. Not only did he catch a 31 yard TD pass from Manch Wheeler, but he returned a fumble 69 yards for a TD to score all of our points. Diron Talbert paced the defense with 4 tackles, an assist, 2.5 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown. Starting LCB Willie Alexander separated his shoulder and is out roughly 4 weeks. Ironically enough, Bob Parsons pulls his calf muscle and is due to be gone for 5 weeks as well. Suddenly I feel smart for drafting Neil Clabo, who becomes the punter. Jim Duncan takes over starting LCB duties. We'll see how he handles the new side. Ron Meyer is back to probable, by the way, meaning we won't have a total trainwreck at QB, should something happen to Manch Wheeler. I hit recommend and off we go. Regular Season New Jersey 13 Miami 20 Say hello to Player of the Game Walter Payton, who, in his official Dolphins debut, ran for 107 yards on just 20 carries. He didn't score, but he was fantastic nonetheless. Paul Warfield just missed the century mark himself, with 7 catches for 94 yards and a TD. Willie Lanier was on fire with 10 tackles, 7 assists, and half a sack to be the Man on defense as always. Miami 17 Dallas 41 Ugly, ugly, ugly game. We need Willie Alexander back. Charley Johnson ate us up for 351 yards passing and 4 TDs on a 25-29 day. Willie Lanier did set a new Dolphins record, though with 18 tackles and 2 assits. We can't afford to get behind early, it seems. Manch Wheeler is just not the man for that. Chuck Crist is out 2 weeks, further damaging our secondary. Gus Holloman steps in as the starting FS. Miami 14 Baltimore 10 Walter Payton capped the come-back with an electrifying 24 yard TD run in the 4th quarter to win us the game. Although he missed the century mark with 91 yards, he played well and won Player of the Game. Chuck Crist is back up to probable and Willie Alexander is questionable. Crist will come back in, Alexander will sit. I can't risk losing our top corner for the whole season after all. Buffalo 10 Miami 35 Our offense finally wakes up and I'm grinning after this beatdown of our rivals. For the first time since 1960, we have not one, but two RBs with 100+ yards rushing. Walter Payton had 111 yards rushing and 2 TDs on 332 carries and Lee Bouggess ran the ball 17 times for 116 yards and 2 TDs. Paul Warfield got in on the fun as well, with 7 catches for 102 yards and a TD. Even better, Willie Alexander is probable. Rich Coady breaks his tumb and is out 4 weeks, which means rookie C Ralph Perretta gets his first NFL snaps as a backup. Oh yeah, Bob Parsons is probable, but we'll let Neil Clabo continue to stay where he is. Miami 0 San Diego 27 Ouch. I can't remember the last time we were shut out. Willie Lanier had 11 tackles and an assist and Aaron Brown had 4 tackles and 2 sacks, but that was the extent of our success on the day. Bob Parsons will be our P again after Neil Clabo blew it in the last game. Denver 10 Miami 31 A refreshing victory as Walter Payton rushes 28 times for 142 yards and a TD and Willie Alexander returns an interception 53 yards for a TD. Bob Maddox highlighted the defense with 5 tackles, 3 assists, 1.5 sacks and a hurry. Kansas City 16 Miami 7 Manch Wheeler was 16-42 for 161 yards and 2 interceptions. That's all you really need to know about this game. Oh yeah, Rolf Krueger's 4 yard fumble return for a TD was our lone score. Dave Hanner got his revenge this game. Rich Coady is back to probable, but Gus Holloman tears up his knee and is out approximately 4 weeks, meaning Tom McCauley has to pull double duty as a S backup. Miami 3 Oakland 17 Glen Edwards had 10 tackles and 3 assists. Manch Wheeler threw 3 interceptions and I think it's time for a QB change. We're 4-4 at the halfway point, behind both the Patriots and the Jets, who are 5-3. We're definitely still in the playoff hunt, though as the AFC is pretty even in terms of a conference this year. The halfway stats: Code:
This is why I don't like having an offense that relies so much on the run. You get behind early, if you've got bad QBs, you're hosed trying to catch up. I don't know why we aren't running the ball more, I really don't. That being said, Payton looks like he was worth the cost to get him and Warfield continues to defy age and our terrible QB situation to put up good numbers. Lanier is a beast as ever and Brown is still going strong. I'm sorely tempted to start Don Milan, even though he's rated 5/17 or go looking in free agency. Harold Stephens, the Patriots' QB the last two seasons, is there. What do you guys think?
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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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12-14-2007, 12:34 PM
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#176 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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After a lot of thought over the past several days, I've decided to switch QBs and go with Ron Meyer and his triple affinities for the rest of the season. SLB Ed Philpott, DT John Little and SLB Tom Graham are all unhappy or disgruntled about their PT, but they'll just have to deal with it.
Miami 14 New England 3 Mass-critical away win highlighted by Walter Payton's 30 rushes for 111 yards and a TD, but Rolland Lawrence was the Game MVP with 4 tackles, an assist, 2 pass defenses and 2 very timely interceptions. #2 RB Lee Bouggess strains his calf muscle and will miss at least the next game, resulting in Gary Hayman's return to active duty and the #2 RB spot. Miami 9 New Jersey 34 Walter Payton rushes 16 times for 116 yards, but fumbles twice as part of a set of 5 team fumbles and an interception, giving the Jets short field to work with. Glen Edwards had 11 tackles and 3 assists to lead the defense. Philadelphia 10 Miami 6 Ron Meyer throws 3 interceptions and we just couldn't get anything going on offense, spoiling a 3 sack day by L.C. Greenwood. I'll be switching back to Manch Wheeler for the rest of the year. Lee Bouggess is ready to come back. Jacksonville 10 Miami 16 Well, I forgot to change QBs, but it turns out not to matter, as Tim Webster boots in 3/4 field goals and Paul Warfield breaks his scoring drought with a 14 yard TD pass from Ron Meyer. S Gus Holloman is back in the game now, too. Miami 20 New York 7 Walter Payton rushes 32 times for 108 yards but the Player of the Game was Manch Wheeler, who was 17-24 for 218 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. One of those TD passes was a beautiful 88 yard catch and run to Pete Lammons, our popular receivers captain and TE. Miami 13 Buffalo 23 That's it. Our season's over. A 17-0 4th quarter score is what tips this in the Bills' favor. Walter Payton sets a franchise single-game record with 170 yards on 24 carries, with 1 rushing TD, but Manch Wheeler throws 3 INTs. Willie Lanier recorded 11 tackles, an assist and a block. Just because it isn't raining enough, CB Rolland Lawrence breaks his fibula and is gone for the rest of the year. Goldie Sellers steps in as the starting RCB. Since we're eliminated from the playoffs at 7-7, I go ahead and start the rookie QB Don Milan the rest of the way. Washington 6 Miami 35 Walter Payton rushes 35 times for 154 yards and 3 TDs and Don Milan, of all people, wins Game MVP, with a 20-23 for 222 yards and 2 TD performance. Maybe this kid's going to be worth a closer look after all. Rolf Krueger records 2 sacks, and John Little has 1.5 himself. Bob Maddox and Goldie Sellers both go down with ankle injuries for our last game of the year, earning DT Randy Crowder the start and forcing me to sign CB Rocky Turner to be our starting right corner for the last game of the season. New England 3 Miami 12 Tim Webster hits all 4 FGs. The Patriots kicker hits 1. That's all the scoring. Walter Payton wins Game MVP, rushing 24 times for 113 yards and Don Milan continues to be astonishingly accurate: 20-26 for 184 yards and an INT. Willie Lanier led the defense with 10 tackles, 6 assists, and a sack. And so we finish the dreaded 9-7 with no playoff berth. On the other hand, it doesn't matter, because we don't have a 1st round pick the next two years anyway. Although Walter Payton crushed the franchise single-season rushing record, I'm not so sure about the trade I made to get him now. On the other hand, the fact that we went 9-7 despite having an absolute black hole at QB all season long tells me that if we get something even close to an average QB somewhere in the offseason, we'll have a good shot at getting back to the postseason next year. Oh yeah, the Saints went 6-10 and Ken Stabler had his worst full year ever: 265/506 (52.4%) for 2,754 yards, 19 TDs and 9 INTs. He also didn't have a single 300 yard game all season long. This despite the fact that while New Orleans's receivers, while nowhere near our level, are still not that bad a set. That makes me feel a little better.
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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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12-14-2007, 02:37 PM
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#177 | |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Quote:
Wow, hope it works out since Walter's one of my favourite players. |
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12-15-2007, 11:50 AM
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#178 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Early returns are mixed. A lot of it is going to depend on who we can find to plug the hole in at QB over the next few years.
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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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12-15-2007, 12:30 PM
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#179 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Bath, ME
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How do your rookies look rating-wise at the end of the season? Did Walter or the QB increase any?
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12-15-2007, 01:42 PM
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#180 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Walter - 69/76 Don Milan - 6/17
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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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12-15-2007, 01:59 PM
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#181 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Super Bowl XVI
A pair of surprise teams made it to the Super Bowl in the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Oilers, and a turnover heavy game resulted in several short fields and a higher-scoring game than this battle of defenses should've produced. In the end, two 4th quarter FGs by Bill Bell were sufficient to give Archie Manning and the Oilers their first Super Bowl title since 1964. Carolina 17 Houston 27 The Dolphins' end season statistics Code:
If we can find ourselves a decent QB, our offense will be pretty darn scary. Walter Payton's as good as advertised, though I wouldn't mind seeing him cut down those fumble numbers. Our defense wasn't as spectacular this year, though L.C. Greenwood and Willie Lanier remain forces. It's looking like our priority for the offseason will be: QB, OT, and DE in roughly that order. 1975 Dolphins Seasons Awards RB Walter Payton - Offensive Rookie of the Year A foregone conclusion, really, as he was more or less the sole focus of our offense this year, since we had an absolute zero under center. I'm looking forward to many more successful seasons from Sweetness. CB Rolland Lawrence - 2nd Team All-Pro CB Although he missed the last two games, he was a force at CB playing against the #2 receivers of most teams. Willie Alexander's signing becomes even more important for the reduced pressure it put on Lawrence. Other Major Awards MVP QB Mike Livingston - Los Angeles Rams (was a 4th round pick to boot!) Super Bowl MVP DE Larry Horton - Houston Oilers Offensive Player of the Year RB Rocky Bleier - Dallas Cowboys (a puzzling pick to be sure) Defensive Player of the Year DE Vern Den Herder - Jacksonville Jaguars (2 time defending DPotY) I'd move on to staff hiring but I've got a headache, so I'll do it later tonight, after supper most likely.
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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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12-15-2007, 08:07 PM
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#182 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Cincinnati, OH
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I love Payton..my favorite player...but DAMN! A franchise QB, and multiple #1 picks...that is a STEEP price to pay for anybody...except maybe Herschel Walker (which I think should be on your team in another decade..)
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12-16-2007, 11:25 AM
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#183 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Yeah, it was definitely a steep price, though to be honest, it didn't cost us this year at all. In fact, it wound up saving us money as you'll find out in the next post. And the fact of the matter is, I'd grown to really, really dislike Ken Stabler. He got sacked way too often and he just didn't project the Johnny Unitas aura to me. The fact that his numbers went significantly south after going to New Orleans shows I may have been right in trading him after all.
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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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12-16-2007, 11:29 AM
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#184 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Staff Hiring
Offensive Coordinator Edwin Buckley RB: Good to VG Scouting Director Emmitt McGee (60) QB: Excellent RB: Good WR: Average OL: Average KP: Average DL: Good LB: Good DB: Good YT: Average McGee's probably a one-year stop-gap to help us plug in the hole we've got at QB, but if we get the right signal-caller the switch will have been more than worth it. P Neil Clabo wins the summer league award, as I really want him to be a top-quality P as soon as possible. By the Numbers QB, FB, TE, WR x 2, G, T, K, DE x 2, DT, MLB, OLB, CB, S x 2 (18 new players overall) Lot of shopping to do, but fortunately we're got over $4 million to play with in cap room. Week 1 Re-signings/Extensions RT Ron Mikolajczyk - 1 year, $100k LG Mo Moorman - 3 years, $720k SE Paul Warfield - 2 years, $980k RDT Bob Maddox - 3 years, $590k RCB Rolland Lawrence - 6 years, $1.74 mill. Week 2 Signings K Tim Webster - 1 year, $90k (Re-Signing) -As long as he stays solid, Wonder will stay a Dolphin. WLB Clyde Werner - 1 year, $90k (Re-signing) -Wasn't anything better available on the free agent market, so back he comes. Week 3 Signings QB Steve Ramsey - 2 years, $420k (New York) -Led the Giants to two straight Super Bowls and was the MVP in one of them, so why not try him out as a short-term solution? Thrown for over 3,000 yards each of the last three seasons. Last year's 13 TD to 17 INT ratio may prove slightly worrying, but he was the best of the lot available. WR Walker Gillette - 1 year, $90k (Los Angeles) -Solid backup SE to have. I'm all about giving Ramsey or whoever our QB is next year the most complete set of WRs possible. CB Walt Sumner - 1 year, $130k (Seattle) -Got into a bidding war with Minnesota over him. A solid nickel back. Not flashy, but decent. Week 4 Signings C Rich Coady - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -Not sure why I brought him back as there's probably better backup C's on the market. Oh well. It's just for one year. Week 4 Losses DE Rolf Krueger - 1 year, $100k* (Atlanta) -The Falcons are more than welcome to him. After a hot preseason, he got real cold in the regular season and wound up losing his starting spot to Aaron Brown. Week 5 Signings G Howard Fest - 1 year, $120k (Re-signing) -Had to overpay to bring him back thanks to the Panthers. Not quite as good as he used to be, but still a nice security blanket at guard. MLB Jamie Rivers - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -The day Willie Lanier retires is the day Rivers is no longer useful to us. FS Gus Holloman - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) -Respectable defensive backfield captain and reserve FS and goal-line package guy, especially for the price. SS Tony Greene - 1 year, $90k (Indianapolis) -I'm really excited about him as a depth signing. Played well as a starter for the Colts and instantly steps in as the dime safety on our squad. May be the most critical pickup we make this offseason in some ways. Week 6 Signings LT Levery Carr - 1 year, $160k (Re-signing) -There's never any good LT options in free agency, so we were forced to bring Carr back. DE Julius Adams - 5 years, $2.2 mill. (Denver) -I hated having to open up the pocketbook like this, but the fact of the matter is, Aaron Brown is on his last legs and Adams was the best of a pretty mediocre lot in free agency as far as a long-term replacement goes. That's not to say Adams is terrible. He's a great run defender and an average pass-rusher. Week 6 Losses DT Diron Talbet - 1 year, $110k* (Cleveland) -A pretty big disappointment for us last year, the Browns can take him without our feeling depressed about it. Week 8 Signings WR Dennis Homan - 1 year, $100k* (Re-signing) He'll slot in as our 5th WR this season and he was decent last year. Week 8 Losses P Bob Parsons - 1 year, $80k* (San Francisco) -Not a big deal. We wanted to see what Clabo can do anyway. Week 9 Signings TE Mack Alston - 1 year, $90k (Dallas) -Solid TE and new WRs leader who doesn't really excite anyone. He'll become our starter and provide another target for our new QB. DE Aaron Brown - 1 year, $110k* (Re-Signing) -The old man comes back for one more year to be our backup DE. Week 9 Losses DT John Little - 1 year, $80k* (Baltimore) -Average fill-in guy at backup DT. Ravens can take him. DT Jim Osborne - 1 year, $90k (San Diego Re-signing) -Bastard! He toyed with us for weeks and weeks before going back to the Chargers. This puts us in bad shape for DT and makes the position a priority in the draft. OLB Ed Philpott - 1 year, $110k (Detroit) -The emergence of Rod Shoate meant Philpott's days as a starter were done, so off he goes to the Lions. Not a bad player by any means, but not a great one, either. OLB George Webster - 1 year, $100k* (Philadelphia) -Like Philpott, saw his value to the team decline as we brought in better talent. Pretty bad in pass coverage, if you want to know the truth, so I'm not sorry to see him go. Week 10 Signings DT Dave Roller - 1 year, $80k* (Pittsburgh) -Not a bad one year rental to have at all. Steps in as the starting LDT. On to the draft! I can count on one hand the number of players who really thrill me in this draft that we'd have a realistic shot at late in the 2nd round. After that, it's all a bunch of crap. This is really a bad draft to get hosed out of the 1st round, as there's simply not much talent available in the later rounds. T Jackie Slater is pretty much the consensus #1 pick in this draft. 1976 NFL Draft - 1st Round 1. OLB Linden King - Philadelphia Eagles 2. CB Mike Haynes - Washington Redskins 3. T Jackie Slater - Atlanta Falcons Falcons fans everywhere would like to thank the Eagles and the Redskins for their stupidity. 4. RB Chuck Muncie - Tucson Titans 5. ILB Dan Lloyd - Kansas City Chiefs 6. DE Lawrence Pilers - Pittsburgh Steelers 7. DT Mike Dawson - Cincinnati Bengals 8. CB Mario Clark - New Orleans Saints 9. ILB Bob Horn - New York Giants 10. OLB Mike Hegman - Indianapolis Colts 11. WR Theo Bell - San Francisco 49ers 12. ILB Harry Carson - Baltimore Ravens 13. RB Joe Washington - Cleveland Browns through Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Bucs get the Browns' 2nd round pick in this draft, plus their 1978 2nd and 4th rounders. That's actually not all that bad a deal for Tampa Bay, given how poor the draft pool is this year, but on the other hand, there's some very good talents still on the board that I find it hard to believe the Bucs passed on. 14. OLB Woodrow Lowe - Oakland Raiders 15. OLB Larry Gordon - Green Bay Packers 16. G Bob Simmons - New Jersey Jets through Chicago Bears The Jets give up their 2nd round picks for 1977 and 1978 to land a guy I really like myself. Smart move by New Jersey to take advantage of the buyers' market this year and really bolster their offensive line. 17. DT John Woodcock - Dallas Cowboys 18. QB Dave Mays - Tucson Titans through New England Patriots Damn it! The Patriots successfully rip off the Titans, getting Tucson's 1977 and 1978 1st rounders, in addition to their 4th round pick in this draft. This was especially a dumbass move for the Titans, as none of the QBs in this draft is anywhere close to a franchise player.19. S Mike Reinfeldt - New Jersey Jets through New Orleans Saints The Jets surrender their 1st round pick next year, their 3rd rounder in 1978, and this year's 5th round pick to improve their secondary. Evidently they're really hungry to go deep in the playoffs and want to lock down the AFC East for the next few years. Incidentally, this was also the pick that would've been ours and if I'd had it, I would've taken a certain WR. 20. CB Pat Thomas - Kansas City Chiefs 21. T Joe Devlin - Cleveland Browns 22. TE Bennie Cunningham - Minnesota Vikings 23. S Gary Fencik - Detroit Lions 24. DT James White - Jacksonville Jaguars 25. S Scott Perry - Buffalo Bills 26. ILB Carl Ekern - Seattle Seahawks 27. DE Ben Williams - Denver Broncos 28. S Cedric Brown - St. Louis Cardinals 29. OLB Donnie Thomas - Los Angeles Rams 30. DT Willie Lee - Carolina Panthers 31. TE David Hill - Carolina Panthers 32. RB Herb Lusk - Houston Oilers That certain WR is -still- sitting there at the top of the 2nd round, when he should've been a 1st rounder. Amazed, and unable to resist the possibility of grabbing another rising young star for our offense, I call up the Eagles to see what they say. They won't deal for a reasonable situation, but wind up taking a CB anyway. Atlanta won't listen either, but luckily the WR they take isn't the one I wanted. Tucson finally bites, taking our 3rd, 5th and 6th rounders in this draft and our 2nd and 4th round picks in 1978, allowing me to take WR Steve Largent at 2.3! With Largent, Lynn Swann, and Frank Lewis, we've got a corps that will ensure our aerial supremacy long after Paul Warfield's retired. QB Scott Bull becomes our second 2nd round pick, as he's the only QB that looked remotely like he was worth anything in this draft to me. It turned out to be a good thing I made the pick when I did because there's no way he would've lasted to the 4th round. A flurry of QBs went in the third and he certainly would've been among them. Things have already started thinning out rapidly by the 4th, but I see enough in C Ralph Hill to take a flyer on him. Another flyer gets taken with our last pick, in the 7th, with TE Richard Osborne. Late Free Agency Week 1 Signings FB Bobby Anderson - 1 year, $80k* (Carolina) -A good backup FB for Larry Csonka. Week 3 Signings RB Herb Mul-Key - 1 year, $80k* (Re-signing) -Extremely good value for his ST work. He'll have a place on the Dolphins for as long as he can keep that up. RB Otis Armstrong - 1 year, $110k (Indianapolis) -Terrific #2 back, only in his 4th season. A serious 1973 ACL injury that cost him the last four games is what scared a lot of teams off of him, but he showed with the Colts last year that he can produce. TE Pete Lammons - 1 year, $110k* (Re-signing) -Strictly a mentor signing. Will be cut after training camp most likely. Week 3 Losses RB Lee Bouggess - 1 year, $80k* (Houston) -Solid #2 back for us last year and would've been re-signed if the more attractive Armstrong wasn't available. I wish him good luck. DT Joe Ehrman - 1 year, $80k (Kansas City Re-signing) -Turned down some seriously good money from us to stay with the Chiefs. Why he'd do that when he has low loyalty is beyond me, but it hosed us out of a new starting LDT. Code:
So Bull doesn't look like the QB we'd hoped we were getting. He'll get his chances in preseason though, as I intend to have him as the #2 QB all throughout. Hill and Osborne are what they are, scrubs in a pathetically weak draft. Largent, on the other hand, should've gone in the 1st round. Like I said, I'd have taken him at #19 in the 1st if we'd still retained that pick, so to get him at 2.3 testifies just how moronic the other GMs were.
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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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12-16-2007, 12:07 PM
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#185 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Troy, Mo
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RB Chuck Muncie - Tucson Titans
Chuck was my pick at #15 in 1976, although he was a bust (35/37 this year) |
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12-16-2007, 04:33 PM
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#186 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Not sure what he was after the draft, but after TC, he's 38/48, so a slight tick better than in your case it looks like, but certainly not worth the #4 overall pick in the 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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12-16-2007, 04:57 PM
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#187 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Ramsey's our starter and Bull will be given every chance possible to be the #2 QB this year. It'll tick Wheeler off, but I really don't care. Milan may have been 2-0 last season, but he's not going to get a further look with us. Code:
Payton looking good in preseason. He and Csonka start obviously, Anderson and Armstrong the A team backups. Mul-key is here for special team talents and Hayman, our flash in the pan, goes on inactive or gets cut. Code:
Lammons and Osborne will both be cut most likely. Cain vs Alston is a real tough call to make, though I'm leaning towards Cain. The future is now at WR, where Swann and Largent will start, Lewis and Warfield the reserves and Gillette the 5th receiver. Can you say stacked? I knew you could! Code:
Carr-Moorman-Banks-Upshaw-Mikolajczyk the starting 5, with Coady, Fest, and Cunningham the reserves. This unit's starting to look awfully long in the teeth and we really need to get some quality young blood in here. Look for us to really target the offensive line heavily the next few years, especially at guard. Code:
Looking forward to seeing what these two guys bring to the table. Code:
Greenwood-Roller-Maddox-Adams with Brown and Crowder as double-duty backups. Yes, Adams has a ridiculously long and expensive contract, but DE talent is in extraordinarily short supply and he gives us a major boost at the position group. Code:
Oops. Guess I should have looked more closely at OLB. In any case, Shoate-Lanier are set, but Werner and Varty is a tough call, though I'll likely go with Werner. It appears last season's gamble of starting Shoate paid off, because he looks primed to have a really good season this year. Need to find new blood at MLB too, because Lanier isn't going to last forever. Code:
Should've found another backup CB as well. While Sumner makes a quality backup, I like Poltl to get as little PT as possible. Ah well, it'll be Alexander-Lawrence-Edwards-Crist as the starting four in backfield, Sumner as the nickel, Greene and Hollomon the backup safeties, with Greene the dime back. All in all, it's hard to tell how I feel about this team. Sure, we made enough improvements in our offense that we should be able to outscore most teams, but our defense is looking awfully old, even with the key additions we made in free agency. Do we have enough to go Super Bowl challenging? According to the preseason mags, yes. They've got us ranked as one of the top 5 teams in the league and runaway favorites for the AFC East. Though to be honest, this is largely because Daryle Lamonica is in a holdout with the Buffalo Bills. If and when he ends his holdout, it becomes a whole new ballgame.
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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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12-17-2007, 08:26 AM
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#188 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Preseason
Carolina 23 Miami 10 Rusty showing all around by our boys, though Paul Warfield did have 99 receiving yards. I just now realized that I forgot to re-sign Jim Duncan, who's playing for the Panthers now and got an interception off of us. Oops. Miami 7 Dallas 19 Our struggles on offense continue, for some reason. Walter Payton has been just terrible the first two games, averaging 2.5 YPC. Special teams genius Gary Hayman rips up his elbow tendon and is out roughly 5 weeks. Not that big a deal, since we'll just move further on down to the next guy, who turns out to have an 83 ST rating. New Orleans 30 Miami 24 Man, am I glad preseason games don't count for anything! Scott Bull has looked as raw as you might expect a rookie of his stature to be and Steve Ramsey hasn't looked that great, either. Walter Payton's finally starting to get a little untracked, though. Interesting note: Ken Stabler broke his fibula last week and after the 3rd preseason game, he's due out another 6 weeks, meaning the Saints are going to have to play the first few games without him. Miami 37 Washington 14 We beat up on the helpless Redskins to avoid a winless preseason. Willie Lanier returns an interception 5 yards for a TD, Walter Payton rushes for 104 yards and a TD, a 21 yard burner, and Tim Webster nails 3/3 FGs, including a 42 yarder. Otis Armstrong breaks his ribs and will miss the first four games of the season. 3rd year Houston Oilers castoff RB Charley Young is signed to be an emergency #2 back as Gary Hayman is still out and Herb Mul-key is nobody's idea of a legit RB. I hit recommend and we're off to the races! Regular Season Miami 30 Buffalo 3 A sweet, sweet crushing victory over our archrivals to open the year. Walter Payton smashes the Dolphins single-game rushing record with 33 runs for 205 yards and a TD. Willie Lanier records 13 tackles and 4 assists and Steve Ramsey does enough not to lose the game at 15-21 for 196 yards, a TD and an INT. Tim Webster was also 3/3 on FGs. Making this game even better was that Daryle Lamonica ended his holdout in time for the regular season, but couldn't get anything going. Side note: Sweetness's 200+ yard game was the 13th in this universe's history and the record is 268 yards, held by Lenny Moore of the Colts in a 1962 game against the Oakland Raiders. Interestingly enough, the 2nd highest Dolphins total was also Payton, also against the Bills, last season. The highest non-Walter Dolphins game rushing total? Bill Cooper, with 160 yards, all the way back in 1966 against the Houston Oilers. Speaking of RBs, Gary Hayman's back up to Probable, so he'll slide in to his ST role. Charley Young actuallly really pretty good last game, with 7 rushes for 38 yards and no fumbles. I'll take a 5.43 rushing average, thanks. San Francisco 3 Miami 19 This is Tim "Wonder" Webster. This is Tim "Wonder" Webster booting 4/4 FGs and Rolland Lawrence returning an interception 87 yards for a TD to put the icing on the 49er beatdown cake. Lynn Swann has 5 catches for 99 yards, just missing the century mark. Willie Lanier hit the Niners for 10 tackles, 2 assists and a sack and Julius Adams starts earning that long contract with 3 tackles, 2 sacks and Player of the Game honors. Miami 21 Oakland 5 Yep, the Raiders got a safety, thanks to a blocked punt in the endzone, but it turned out not to matter. Walter Payton rushes 24 times for 111 yards and Steve Ramsey throws for 2 TDs and 0 picks as we just destroy Oakland. Otis Armstrong is back to Probable, so back as the #2 back he comes. Miami 36 New England 7 The giddy roller coaster ride continues as Otis Armstrong rips off a 24 yard TD run to open up the scoring, Tim Webster nails 5/5 FGs and Steve Ramsey has his most productive day as a Dolphin: 26/35 for 278 yards, 2 TDs and an INT, earning him PotG honors.. Frank Lewis is our first receiver to break the century mark, with 4 catches for 103 yards and a TD, most of them coming on a gorgeous 65 yard TD reception in the third quarter. For the defense, Old Man Aaron Brown had 2 tackles and 2 sacks, showing there's still life in him yet. Miami 27 Jacksonville 10 You knew it had to happen sooner or later. After four straight games of holding the opponents under 10 points, we finally give up exactly that, 10. But considering it's against a Roger Staubach-led team, that's nothing to be ashamed of. Walter Payton scored 3 short-yardage rushing TDs, but it was Steve Ramsey who earned Player of the Game with his 22-27 for 273 yards performance. Willie Lanier led the defense with 11 tackles, 4 assists, a hurry and a knockdown. Houston 21 Miami 3 Archie Manning and the defending Super Bowl champion Houston Oilers ruin our chances for a perfect season. We couldn't get anything going on offense, so we took a look at Scott Bull in garbage duty. He was a dreadful 1/7 for 11 yards. Nothing much to say about this game, really. It was just an out and out ass-kicking. Buffalo 21 Miami 27 Breathe easy. The game was nowhere near as close as the score looks. A last second 4th quarter TD is the only reason Buffalo appeared to make this a real game. Steve Ramsey dissected the defense with a 21/29 for 217 yard, 2 TD performance, winning him Player of the Game. Scott Bull got another look in crunch time and was 4/5 for 42 yards. So maybe he could be our QB of the future after all. And then my heart breaks. Our entire season flushes down the drain. No, it isn't Chuck Crist's separated shoulder shelving him for 6 weeks that does it. It's this: QB Steve Ramsey: Ankle Surgery - Out - Full Strength in 1977 I can't do it. I can't go back to Manch Wheeler and his interception-prone ways. It's going to have to be Scott Bull the rest of the way... hope that Walter Payton, our gifted receivers, and our defense can carry us and that Bull can either turn out brilliant or Ramsey can get back in time for the postseason. If indeed we have a postseason. Fuck! It was such a great story, too... Ramsey with the chip on his shoulder after the Giants dismissed him, disregarding the two Super Bowls he led them to and playing incredibly for us... Aargh! In any case, 10th year vet mentor S Rich Volk is signed to be the backup SS, Tony Greene moved over to FS to fill in for Chuck Crist as he's our best reserve S. Indianapolis 24 Miami 19 ...And so it begins. Well, to be fair, O.J. Simpson ran for 158 yards and Scott Bull wasn't all that bad at 21/37 for 213 yards and a TD. Tim Webster was also 4/4 on FGs including 3/3 from 40+ range. Walt Sumner averaged 17.5 yards a punt return, Herb Mul-key 31.8 yards a kick return... and the Colts -are- a really good team, but I can't help but have this creeping feeling that our season is pretty much finished. Here's the situation: We're tied with the Jets atop the AFC East at 6-2, though they hold tiebreaker advantage over us for some reason. The 6-3 Baltimore Ravens hold the #2 wild-card spot and the team behind them is the 5-4 Colts, who just beat us. Scott Bull is 16/52 and Manch Wheeler is now angry that he's not starting. A once-promising season is in danger of going up in smoke. The halfway tale of the tape: Code:
It's amazing just how good Steve Ramsey was for us. He kept the ball from being picked off, distributed well to his receivers and was just all-around the perfect game managing QB. Walter Payton is having another fine season and our WRs only have such low statistics because there's so many options for our QBs to throw to. Chuck Crist's absence really hurts as you can see. Rod Shoate just keeps getting better and better and Rolland Lawrence is off to another dynamite season. Don't get me wrong, even without Ramsey, we're still a good team. It's just that with him, we looked like Super Bowl contenders. Without him, we're likely a one and done playoff team, if even that. Everything hinges on Scott Bull's development. That's not a promising prospect.
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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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12-17-2007, 03:02 PM
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#189 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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WLB Clyde Werner and FS Gus Holloman are disgruntled, along with angry QB Manch Wheeler. Werner has a point and gets moved into the starting spot. Holloman's 64.1% PD tells me no way in hell. Wheeler's too interception prone so he can just stuff it.
Miami 3 Tucson 17 ...On the other hand, when Scott Bull throws 4 interceptions, maybe it's time to reconsider. Willie Lanier was the only highlight of this game with 10 tackles, 2 assists, and a knockdown. I surrender and name Manch Wheeler the starter for the rest of the year. Bull simply isn't ready. Miami 30 New Jersey 36 OT Ugh! I hate this loss. Manch Wheeler is 22/40 for 337 yards and a TD and Clyde Werner returns an interception 40 yards for a TD. Rod Shoate has 12 tackles and Willie Lanier has 11 tackles and 5 assists. Bob Maddox picks up 6 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks and 3 hurries and we still lose. To the frigging JETS! This just gave them the bloody division. Chuck Crist is questionable, but we're bringing him back anyway, particularly since Lynn Swann hyperextends his elbow and will miss at least the next game. Miami 23 St. Louis 14 We finally snap our three game losing skid thanks to Walter Payton rushing 26 times for 117 yards and a TD and Otis Armstrong putting up 107 rushing yards and a TD on just 11 carries, negating Manch Wheeler's 2 interceptions. L.C. Greenwood led the defense with 4 tackles, 2 sacks, a block, 3 hurries and a knockdown. Chuck Crist re-separates his shoulder and is out. Lynn Swann is back up to questionable, but we're not likely to beat the 10-1 Bengals in any case, so I keep him on the shelf. Cincinnati 10 Miami 16 Put this one down to a miracle and Tim "Wonder" Webster's 3 field goals (though he did miss two). Oh yeah, Manch Wheeler also continued his mission to prove he doesn't suck by making Player of the Game on a 25/35 for 293 yard, 1 TD performance. Not that anybody believes he doesn't suck, of course. We're just happy he's still pissed off and playing to prove something. I'll admit, this is one upset I did -not- see coming. This puts us into a tie with those dastardly Jets for the AFC East lead at 8-4. Lynn Swann is now Probable again, so he can slide back in as the starting FL. Los Angeles 7 Miami 19 Greatest play of the game: Willie Alexander sacking Mike Livingston in the endzone for a safety with 4 minutes left. Player of the Game: Walter Payton with 24 rushes for 100 yards even. Continuing to surprise: Manch Wheeler with 23/34 for 242 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs. Frank Lewis gets a stress fracture in his foot and is out 5 weeks. I'm feeling better and better about my decision to beef up the wide receiving corps after the injuries we've had. Paul Warfield slides in as the backup flanker. New England 0 Miami 30 Raise your hand if you thought we'd goose-egg the Patriots with Manch Wheeler at QB. ....Yeah, I didn't see this coming either. Wheeler threw a 76 yard TD pass to backup TE Mack Alston and Dave Roller one of our starting DTs, blocked a punt in the endzone for a TD. Walter Payton ran 28 times for 117 yards, but Manch Wheeler wins Player of the Game for his 12/16, 195 yard, TD pass showing. Of course, you have to credit the secondary with 4 interceptions, including 2 from ballhawk emergency starting FS Tony Greene. L.C. Greenwood also had 5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 knockdowns. Chuck Crist is up to Probable! Just in time to keep our season going! (I hope). Miami 34 Seattle 14 30 times did Walter Payton carry the football and for these efforts, he ran for 129 yards and a rushing TD on his way to Player of the Game honors. Otis Armstrong contributed 2 rushing TDs himself and Manch Wheeler managed not to throw an interception. With that win, we're 11-4 and a playoff spot is guaranteed! But the Jets are also 11-4. Guess who we play the last game of the season? That's right. New Jersey. Come on guys, win this damn game! New Jersey 3 Miami 20 It's a testament to just how this season's gone that the first two scores are none other than Manch Wheeler TD passes and in fact, Wheeler was solid all game, but the Jets stacking up against the run and holding Walter Payton to 47 rushing yards on 24 carries probably has a lot to do with that. L.C. Greenwood picked a great time to have his best day ever: 7 tackles, an assist, 3.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown. If you'd have told me before the season we'd end up 12-4 and the 1976 AFC East Division Champions!!!! , I probably would've believed you.If you'd told me that after Steve Ramsey went down for the year, we would go 6-2 in the second half of the season and win the division, I'd have called you crazy. But here it is and here we are. And the season's getting even crazier, because.... We play the Jets in the wild-card 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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12-18-2007, 03:11 PM
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#190 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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For all the traditional rivalry with the Buffalo Bills, it's been the New Jersey Jets who have been our biggest AFC East rivals in this universe, with their .544 win % and 8 playoff appearances. The Bills and Patriots have only been to the playoffs 3 times a piece and both have a sub-.500 all-time record.
That Miami-New Jersey rivalry continues with this matchup. QB Alan Pastrana went down in Week 10, so the Jets have been forced to ride the arm of former Dallas Cowboys' 5th round pick and 3rd year QB Kim McQuilken. McQ's been suprisingly decent: 61.3% for 1,475 yards and 7 TDs vs 5 picks in 7 games, posting a 4-3 record in the process, but he's nowhere near the level of Pastrana. RB Rod McNeill is better than the scouting reports on him suggest as he's run for at least 820 yards each of his three years and just missed the 1,000 yard mark by 2 yards this regular season. He also has 11 rushing TDs. WR J.D. Hill is a superlative flanker, on the level of our boys and perhaps even better, with 4 straight seasons of 1,000+ yards and 10+ TDs, but the rest of the receiving corps frightens no one. LT Dave Foley, LG Jim Harvey, C Ted Fritsch, rookie RG Bob Simmons, and RT Bob McKay are an absolutely dominating unit and the single pass starting offensive line in the entire AFC, if not the whole NFL. They're living proof of the importance of building the o-line. P Julian Fagan is an underachiever, but K Mark Moseley is a leg to be feared and respected. DE Sherman White and rising 2nd year DE Mack Mitchell are a pair to be feared, on the level of L.C. Greenwood and Aaron Brown a few years ago, but NT Phil Olsen is just a body. SILB Tommy Noblis is a tackle machine and SLB John Skorupan is arguably the scariest at his position in the NFL, as the 4th year pro and 1973 Defensive Rookie of the Year just keeps getting better and better, earning two All-Pro nods the last two seasons, but the weak side is just that, weak. We caught a huge break when CB Mike Bass went out in Week 15, as he's an All-Pro quality cornerback. Instead we'll be facing a couple of old players who used to be good, but are mediocre now, including none other than Randy Beverly, the former Dolphin who's been team-jumping the last few years. SS Thom Darden is the Chuck Crist of the Jets' defense, the kind of safety that gives you nightmares to go up against. FS Ike Thomas is a major overachiever, using veteran savvy and a high innate football intelligence to play far above what his physical gifts say he should be capable of. You almost have to feel sorry for the Jets' defensive coordinator. He did the right thing in shutting down Walter Payton last week and daring Manch Wheeler and our All-World WR posse to beat them. The problem is, they did. It's not going to be easy to try and contain Sweetness twice, either. This is an extremely winnable game for us. Vegas thinks so, too, favoring the Dolphins by 5. It was a fight for the ages. The Jets went up 14-0 in the second quarter, but we come back to get a TD on an 18 yard pass from Manch Wheeler to Walter Payton and tie it up early in the 3rd with another Manch Wheeler to Walter Payton TD pass, this time for 45 yards. Then, with the clock reading 00:08 in the 4th quarter, Tim "Wonder" Webster steps up for a 41 yard FG..... and nails it!!!! Dolphins win! Dolphins win!!! Walter Payton won Player of the Game, rushing 13 times for 59 yards and catching 6 passes for 93 yards and those TDs. Manch Wheeler played a turn-over free game, with 19/31 for 254 yards and the 2 TDs. New Jersey 14 Miami 17 Frank Lewis is back up to probable, meaning he'll be back next game. But there's bad news. Paul Warfield is doubtful with a pulled groin and it's going to be a tough choice to make whether to play him or not, even though he's only the reserve SE and we're well-off enough at WR that we could sit him most likely. But the real ballpuncher is that the heart of our defense, MLB Willie Lanier, is gone for next game. While he'd be back for the AFC Championship if we make it that far, his absence leaves a gaping hole in the middle.
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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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12-23-2007, 10:12 AM
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#191 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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MLB Jim Sniadecki, an 8th year vet, cut by the Titans in Week 16, so he's therefore ready to go, is signed to be the emergency starting MLB for our divisional game. SS Rich Volk is released to make room for Sniadecki.
Our matchup in the divisional round is versus the defending Super Bowl champion Houston Oilers. Not the easiest matchup by any means. 6th year QB Archie Manning already has two 4,000+ yard, 30+ TD seasons to his credit (1974, 1975) and threw for 3,723 yards and 28 TDs/20 INTs this season. He was also a 1st Team All-Pro QB last year and invokes favorable comparisons to the legendary George Blanda. Rookie RB Herb Lusk ran for 1,022 yards and 8 TDs while fumbling just 4 times. Not a bad player at all for the last pick in the first round. He's really given the Oilers a second dimension to their offense and he's not done developing yet. FL Bob Hayes may be a 13th year vet akin to Paul Warfield, but he's had 1,000+ yards receiving the last 9 straight years and is a four time All-Pro selection, three of the four with the First Team. The offensive line is very good, led by C John Fitzgerald, who might well be the best center in the league. Fortunately, the tackles are the weak links, particularly LT Jon Kolb, so our DEs might have a chance at a great game. DT Dave Rowe had 10 sacks this season, fellow DT Cody Jones 7, making up the absolute waste of space on the end spots. MLB Jim LeClair is scary good and SLB Ted Hendricks is extremely talented. Thankfully WLB Ken Hutcherson is worthless. We catch a huge, huge, HUGE break with regards to the secondary as CB Levi Johnson, an All-Pro type CB is out with an injury as is otherworldly SS Hugo Hollas. CB Don Martin, Johnson's replacement, is merely decent, and SS Carl Capria, Hollas's sub, is a 3rd year player who's still quite raw and just can't seem to put it together. FS Randy Logan is great, the other starting CB serviceable. Can we win this game? Yeah, we definitely can. Sure we're missing Willie Lanier and I've decided to sit Paul Warfield, but the Oilers are missing the two best players in their secondary, which spells trouble against our receivers, who are deadly even without Warfield. The bookies have this one as a tight one, the defending Super Bowl champs favored by a single point. It's an assessment I agree with. And then there was the coming out party. Walter Payton shreds through the Oilers' defense 30 times for 164 yards and 2 TDs en route to winning Player of the Game. Walker Gillette, filling in for Paul Warfield in the backup SE spot, pulls a Warfield in grabbing 4 catches for 106 yards and 2 TDs. Manch Wheeler goes 16/28 for 258 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs, being sacked only once as our line held up great all game. [b]L.C. Greenwood had 2 tackles, an assist, 2 sacks, a block and hurry and Tim "Wonder" Webster nailed a 50 yarder. Miami 31 Houston 18 We're going back to the AFC Championship Game! But then a horrible thing happens. QB Manch Wheeler, under the stress of the postseason and all the criticism he's had to face all season long, flips out in his hotel room. A trip to a psychiatrist later and the diagnosis is grim: Severe Anxiety. He's out for the AFC Championship. Steve Ramsey is still out with ankle surgery. That means... either the rookie Scott Bull or 2-0 last season Don Milan.
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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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12-23-2007, 07:01 PM
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#192 |
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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Troy, Mo
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Should be an interesting next game.
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12-26-2007, 07:35 PM
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#193 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
No kidding! I haven't played it because I have no idea who in the heck to start.
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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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12-28-2007, 09:18 AM
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#194 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Before we reveal our starting QB for the game, let's take a look at our opponents for this 1976 AFC Championship Game: The Baltimore Ravens.
QB Leo Hart is listed as the starter, but he's also listed as Out. He's a surprisingly solid QB, having unexpectedly won the starting QB job as a 6th rounder for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1971. With 3,000+ yards every year he's been in the leagues and a positive TD/INT career ratio, he's what we call a late-round gem. If he can't start, which he shouldn't be able to, the job falls to 9th year vet King Corcoran and the only thing he royally does is suck. The Ravens don't have a running game to speak of, but FL Marlin Briscoe is a real threat at WR. Baltimore's offensive line is good on the interior, absolutely wretched at T, most notably LT Maxie Williams, an All-Pro fixture in the late '60s, who has given up at least 10 sacks the last four seasons, including 20 sacks two years ago. It's defense that Baltimore starts shining. LDE Sweeny Williams and RDE Tony McGee are a pair of bookends equally as good as our old tandem of L.C. Greenwood and Aaron Brown. LDT Wally Chambers is one of the best DTs in the league, with the 4th year player having earned 1st Team All-Pro DT honors the last two years, with a mindboggling 15.5 sacks as a DT last year. RDT Mike Barnes is an impressive force as well and in fact, it's widely acknowledged that the Ravens have the best defensive line in the NFL, period. Rookie MLB Harry Carson had 113 tackles in his first year. Fellow rookie SLB Reggie Williams and 2nd year WLB Dale Mitchell are average, but the three together are an interesting young group, just not all that great yet. The Thomas boys, Skip Thomas and Earlie Thomas man the corner spots and are decent, though Skip is definitely better than Earlie. SS Al Matthews is a punishing hitter and a terrific pass defender, but Baltimore's sorely missing FS Jeff Severson, who's out with an injury. As for us, we're starting QB Don Milan and putting Questionable SE Paul Warfield in as the 5th receiver. Why Milan? He has a 76 Sense Rush rating versus Scott Bull's 26 and against that Baltimore front four, we need a guy who can avoid the sack and pressure as much as possible. Can we win this game? Yeah, but it's going to come down to who can take advantage of the breaks. This is going to be an ugly defensive battle by the looks of things. Vegas agrees the game's going to be close, favoring the Ravens by 1. The early game opens with a 2 yard TD pass from King Corcoran to Marlin Briscoe and I'm dreading a long day. But then the defenses settle in and we tie it on the first play of the second quarter as Don Milan throws a 14 yard TD pass to backup TE Mack Alston. The 3rd quarter's scoreless and in the 4th quarter we exchange a pair of FGs. Then, with just under 3 minutes left in the game, reserve RB Otis Armstrong punches it in from 2 yards out and we win! It was a victory where credit went to the reserves, with Don Milan winning Game MVP thanks to his usual accurate game: 15/19 for 153 yards and a TD. More importantly, he was only sacked twice. But the stars were also in force. Walter Payton ran 24 times for 143 yards and L.C. Greenwood had 4 tackles, 2 assists, a sack, a block and 4 hurries. It's a miracle. A true miracle, but it's happened. WE'RE THE 1976 AFC CHAMPIONS AND WE'RE GOING BACK 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) |
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12-28-2007, 10:59 AM
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#195 |
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Pro Rookie
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Macomb, MI
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I must say this is quite an impressive read, well done and congrats on another Super Bowl appearance.
Last edited by Balldog : 12-28-2007 at 11:02 AM. |
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12-28-2007, 07:07 PM
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#196 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks I'm stunned myself at the development. Looks like that trade for the #1 overall pick and the chance to draft Sweetness was worth it after all
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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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12-28-2007, 09:08 PM
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#197 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: South Florida
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This continues to be a really engaging dynasty. Good job.
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12-29-2007, 02:40 AM
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#198 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks I think a large part of it is that there's always some new story that's cropping up as I play or some new challenge.
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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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01-01-2008, 02:21 PM
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#199 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Wow, I still can't believe that Manch led you to the title game, then Barrett Robbins it and is gone, now you're stuck with scrap and the new guy. Maybe you can convince Unitas to come out of retirement?
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01-01-2008, 10:40 PM
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#200 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Well, as it turns out, the Manch saga isn't over yet. I'm also secretly convinced Don Milan is being heavily masked, because he plays a hell of a lot better than a 6/17 guy and has the statistics and the 3-0 record to prove 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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