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07-05-2010, 04:36 PM
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#1 | ||
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Franchise Foundations I: Oakland Raiders (1960)
I recently got the idea to start a series of FOF dynasties in which I take teams that have been expansion franchises from 1960 on, since that's the earliest roster set we have available. This means..
Ineligible Teams Arizona Cardinals Buffalo Bills Chicago Bears Cleveland Browns Detroit Lions Green Bay Packers Indianapolis Colts New England Patriots New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles Pittsburgh Steelers San Francisco 49ers St. Louis Rams Washington Redskins So for those of you who are fans of those 14 teams, sorry. Their founding date is listed as before 1960, so I won't be playing them. House Rules My Dolphins dynasty got to be too boring after constantly winning, so I'm introducing some house rules to up the challenge a bit. 1. The Dan Marino Draft Rule I can not trade up more than five spots in the first round and I must be in the Top 5 before I can make a play for the #1 overall pick. Trading the slew of picks to move up from 20something to #1 to get Marino was sheer abuse of the AI and it took away some of the enjoyment I got from Dan the Man's dominance. 2. The Realistic Summer League Rule Only rookies drafted in the 4th round and later, or UDFAs, will be eligible for the summer league. 3. The Rex/You're the GM Rule Rex gameplans, of course. But that's always what I use, so that by itself isn't enough to increase the challenge. Instead, I'm going to force myself to use Rex's depth charts as well, with the caveat that I'm allowed to change one offensive and one defensive starter per season. I'd go full Rex on that, but then the AI would do something stupid like sit the future franchise QB in favor of an 8th year mentor on a clearly terrible team or something and it'd drive me insane, so I'm reserving the one a piece rule for my own enjoyment. Eligible Teams 1960 Dallas Cowboys Denver Broncos Kansas City Chiefs New York Jets Oakland Raiders San Diego Chargers Tennessee Titans 1961 Minnesota Vikings 1966 Atlanta Falcons Miami Dolphins 1967 New Orleans Saints 1968 Cincinnati Bengals 1976 Seattle Seahawks Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1995 Carolina Panthers Jacksonville Jaguars 1996 Baltimore Ravens 2002 Houston Texans Each dynasty will continue until I get bored with the team or I run out of draft files to use, whichever comes first. Then the next one starts. Although this isn't a house rule, I'll probably tilt towards maintaining historical affinities. This won't be entirely possible of course, but I like to have players with their old teams when possible. So, why the Raiders? Because Raiders looking good in preseason. Oh, before we begin with the usual roster review. I like a controlled, gradual cap increase so it'll be 0 to 10% raises. There's something very frightening about the initial Raiders roster, so I'll pick this back up later tonight.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-06-2010, 12:59 AM
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#2 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Parilli is indeed the best of these. Flores is on a contract with a bonus structure that would cost me $420,000 in dead space next year and that's with an $11 million salary cap. The owner sees him as the QB of the future. I see him as the guy who's going to be cut right now, cap hit be damned. That felt good. Wachsmuth has great kickholding ability, so I really wanted him as the third QB without having to use my offensive player move on him. He also has pretty good potential, so I want to see what he can do. Code:
That's not a mistake. 8 running backs on the roster. The nice thing about it is, especially with all these short contracts, I can pick and choose who to keep. Crow - Some power, $50k cap hit next year if cut Joyner - Decent hole recognition but that's it. No cap hit, so easy cut. Keyes - Elusive, high Vol and interesting upside. No cap hit, but passes first test. Larcsheid - KR ace and the best looking back of those seen so far. Definite keeper. Lott - $50k cap hit this season, but we can afford it. Cut. McFarlane - Another elusive back. Yawn. No hit. Cut. Reynolds - Some kick return ability saves him from the first round of cuts. Teresa - Best back so far. Keeper. That leaves us with 5 RBs, which is still a little much, but we'll go through the rest of the roster first. Oh, and one true FB. Heh. Oh well, I don't use FBs much anyway. Code:
Prebola will get his chance to develop skills beyond blocking strength and long-snapping as the starter, but I'm not impressed with our TEs overall. Goldstein's an easy cut and yeah. Our WR corps is awful. An area of immediate upgrade need. Code:
Hawkins and Otto are actually worth their huge contracts and I really like Manoukian too, but he's not interested in talking contract extension right now. I'd cut Barry, but he's the o-line leader and doesn't create any conflicts, so I'll hang on to him. Tackle situation looks pretty bleak, but at least our interior looks great for the future, especially if we can re-sign Manoukian. Code:
They'll be replaced next year. Code:
All right, cool. A 4-3 setup, which is what I'm most comfortable with anyway. Unfortunately the talent is... lacking. Fields could be decent, but the rest of the roster is garbage. Cavalli and Armstrong get their pink slips. Code:
Two genuinely good players in Louderback and Dougherty. But WLBs never figure prominently in my systems anyway. So what do we do with a talent like that, even if it means another $200k cap hit next year? That's right class, we trade them! Oakland Raiders receive FL Jimmy Orr Pittsburgh Steelers receive WLB Bob Dougherty Oakland Raiders 1962 4th round pick Oakland Raiders 1963 3rd round pick What this means for the Raiders Orr, starting his 4th season, is one of the best young WRs in the league and he immediately becomes the expansion team's franchise face. Although he doesn't have the greatest endurance, he's an explosive receiver and an exciting #1 threat for an Oakland offense that looked pretty vanilla. But Orr's also in the final year of his contract and not particularly loyal. On the other hand, he doesn't care about being on a winning team, which fits in well with his new surroundings. Losing Dougherty takes away the Raiders' best defender, but let's be honest. A weakside linebacker in his 7th season in a 4-3 system for a first year franchise isn't likely to be around long enough to contribute to or be a part of the team's eventual success. What this means for the Steelers Pittsburgh will still be fine offensively without Orr, because RB John Henry Johnson is still there to run the ball and they have two solid TEs in Pete Brewster and Jack McClairen, to say nothing of split end Preston Carpenter, but in losing Orr, the Steelers lose the home run threat that could stretch defenses. Carpenter's a very good #2 option, don't get us wrong, but the Black and Gold now have to rely even more heavily on a grinding, short yardage game. On the flip side, the picks should be fairly high ones for their rounds, given the deplorable state of Oakland's roster, and Dougherty makes the Steelers an immensely better defense as the new top linebacker in the 3-4 scheme. His excellent all-around ability takes the pressure off of SLB John Roger and offensive line coaches will now have to reckon with a ferocious outside pass-rusher in Dougherty. Winner: Draw It's a trade that really benefits both teams. Oakland gets a key young player to build around, for make no mistake, they will do everything it takes to re-sign Orr, while Pittsburgh becomes a much more balanced team and gets a couple future picks to fill in holes in their roster. What the press doesn't mention is that Babe takes an immediate disliking to Jimmy. Something about a prank involving a water bottle being put somewhere that I don't want to know the details of. Whatever. Babe's only here for a season, because he's too damn stupid to be a mentor and I want a signal-caller in there that can grow with Jimmy. Jon Schroeder not only has the higher upside, but the better all-around balance, so he comes off the inactive list to be our new WLB starter if our head coach lets him. Our OLB situation is now terrible, but that's okay. That's what drafting is for. Code:
I have *very* high hopes for Cannavino, but what is Beach doing as a starter? Say hello to my defensive starter exemption, which sees Harris on the active roster and given a starter spot, and Bravo the conflict-causer cut. Rookie Antonio William, who might develop some return ability, is signed to bring us up to 53 players again, Beach put on inactive. I don't agree at all that Boone isn't starting, but putting him off the inactive list would violate the spirit of the one defensive starter rule, so I'm not going to do it. I'd rather Harris start at RCB than Boone at S I think anyway. So going into the preseason, the starters look like this: Code:
Should be a fun, bad season.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-07-2010, 11:47 AM
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#3 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Preseason
San Francisco 10 Oakland 7 Oakland 9 Tennessee 19 Arizona 43 Oakland 14 Oakland 10 Seattle 16 Yep, an 0-4 preseason. Ugly performances all around, though it looks like RB Tony Theresa could be pretty good and MLB Tom Louderback is an overwhelming favorite for Team MVP. And of course WR Jimmy Orr pulls his groin in the last preseason game and is Doubtful for the opener. As much as I hate to do it, we'll sit him. Reserve RB Wayne Crow has a pulled calf muscle, but he's like a fourth string RB, so I'm not too worried. That's when I realize we suddenly have 60 players again. Oops. Time to go into Options and change that. A bunch of random cuts made that I don't know if they're all the signed players or not and I don't care. Let's just move on. Regular Season Denver 24 Oakland 7 The good news: We picked off 2 passes and QB Babe Parilli had a decent game at 27/48 for 187 yards. The bad news: CB John Harris's 10 tackles came at the expense of 9 times caught and DE Wesley Ramirez's 1.5 sacks were one-off pressures for the most part. MLB Tom Louderback had an okay game - 9 tackles, 7 assists, a half-sack, a hurry, and an interception, despite being caught 5 times. Oakland 20 Kansas City 16 Our first franchise win comes as Jack Larscheid rushes 17 times for 102 yards, K Wes Cherney boots 2 40+ yard FGs and DE Derrick Morton applies the pressure with 5 tackles, 3 assists and 2 sacks. DT Ron Warzeka picks up 1.5 sacks and S Pete Burgess deflects 2 passes. Don't ask me where our pass-rush is coming from. I have no idea. Jimmy Orr is finally up to Probable, but then we lose S Jim Welch to a strained foot ligament. I belatedly notice Welch was an AI signing and a starter. That wasn't intentional, but we'll roll with it. Oakland 10 Buffalo 13 10 tackles, 2 assists, a hurry and a knockdown from MLB Tom Louderback. Otherwise, a dull game. Jimmy Orr had just 4 targets in his Raiders debut, with 2 catches for 32 yards. QB Paul Larson will start the next game, as Babe Parilli is Questionable with a sprained knee. San Diego 40 Oakland 20 Believe it or not, we had a 20-6 halftime lead on our division leaders, but our defense took the second half off, as you can see. In fact, we were up 20-13 at the end of the third quarter, but got outscored 27-0 in the fourth to lose the game. QB Paul Larson set franchise records with 51 attempts and 219 yards passing, but also threw 3 interceptions, a feat matched by Babe Parilli in the Chiefs game. QB Babe Parilli is back up to Probable after a bye week,but the coaches still want Larson in there. I'm tempted to use my one offensive switch to make Parilli the absolute starter the rest of the season except in cases of injury, but nah. Oakland 26 New Orleans 20 (OT) Take a bow, Mr. Paul Larson. You've just become the new Raiders starting QB after a 28/50 for 340 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT Player of the Game performance, including the 6 yard game-winning OT TD. DE Wesley Ramirez had 1.5 sacks and 3 hurries to lead the defense. C Jim Otto tears his knee cartilage and is Out approximately 6 weeks. Norman Bendjya takes over as the starter.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 07-21-2010 at 11:49 PM. |
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07-09-2010, 10:42 AM
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#4 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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So I just loaded up FOF2K7 and for some strange reason, it's all the way back to Week 7. I swear I saved it.
Very discouraging.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-22-2010, 12:51 AM
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#5 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I erased everything after the Week 6 game as per the old save. So let's move forward again. As a result of the interruption, I won't be posting midseason statistics. We're currently 2-3.
New York Jets 31 Oakland 17 11 tackles and 2 assists from MLB Tom Louderback. The rest of the team played awful. Now it's RB Bob Keyes turn to tear his knee cartilage. He's out roughly 4 weeks. Not that he matters. He was the backup FB. Oakland 27 Baltimore 20 An error-free game from QB Paul Larson, 14/20 for 2 TDs, even if the yardage was an uimpressive 167. 10 tackles and 2 assists from MLB Tom Louderback and 2 pass defenses a piece from CB John Harris and CB Walter Beach. FB J.D. Smith breaks his clavicle and is out 6 weeks. FFS. I sign preseason Dallas Cowboys cut FB Walt Kowalcyzk, IR Smith, and call it a day. Atlanta 21 Oakland 20 Giving up a TD with 22 seconds left in the game to let this one slip away and stop us from .500 at the halfway mark. It's even more insulting because it's the Falcons' first win of the year. Nice game by QB Paul Larson - 32/38 for 267 yards, 3 TDs and 0 picks. K Wes Cherney could have won the game for us if he hadn't blown both FG tries. That alone will get his ass canned. MLB Tom Louderback does his usual 11 tackle, QB hurry thing. Carolina 17 Oakland 31 Fantastic game by the offense. QB Paul Larson is 22/36 for 307 yards and we'll forgive his pick. WR Jimmy Orr finally has a 100+ receiving game with 8 catches for 152 yards. In fact, I think it's the first 100+ receiving game in Raiders history.  Go Jimmy Orr! RB Bob Keyes is back to Probable, but he can sit on the inactive list. Oakland 34 Miami 7 Hello, .500! QB Paul Larson continues his on-fire form with 352 yards and 2 TDs to 1 INT on 33/42 passing, WR Donnell Thibodeau his favorite target this game with 7 catches for 107 yards and a TD. DE Derrick Morton racks up 2.5 sacks and a hurry, while CB John Harris gets 2 pass defenses and returns a fumble 47 yards for the game's final score. MLB Randal Ferrari wigs out after somebody steals his tobacco, so he's Out while we commit him to a mental hospital. RB Bob Keyes gets cut because he doesn't give us a cap hit like Wayne Crow does. MLB Gilbert Lutz gets signed off the free agent pile. He's had an interesting rookie year: Week 2 - Cut by Colts Week 7 - Signed by Colts Week 7 - Cut by Colts Week 8 - Signed by Colts Week 8 - Cut by Colts Week 12 - Signed by Raiders Basically, he's a guy the Colts have signed as a fill-in for two games, but now that he's with us, he'll be here the rest of the season. Oakland 10 Denver 38 Just in case we got any bright ideas of having a winning season our first year in existence, the Broncos quickly squash that. 10 tackles, 2 assists from MLB Tom Louderback the lone highlight. Kansas City 20 Oakland 17 A late touchdown made this look closer than what it really was. A ho-hum game statistically although a few defensive players got in on 10+ tackles combined for solo and assists. C Jim Otto is back in the lineup by necessity. I wanted to wait until he was fully healed, but C Norman Bendyja had to go and strain his calf muscle to take himself out for the next game against the AFC West leading Chargers. Oakland 14 San Diego 34 Fantastic game by Tom Louderback - 12 tackles, an assist, a sack and 3 forced fumbles. But has happened too often this season, he was the lone star. LT Ron Sabal hyperextends his knee and is Out 3 weeks. I put him on the IR and sign 5th year LT Jack Klotz, a Week 1 Jets cut. We're not going to make the playoffs, so whatever. New England 27 Oakland 24 Outscored 13-0 in the fourth quarter to again snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Yeah. I hate cliches as I much as I hate losing. WR Jimmy Orr had his second-best catching day as a Raider. 4 catches for 80 yards. And that was with Shin Splints. I put Jimmy Orr on the inactive list. There is no way in hell I'm risking a long-term injury to our best player. Houston 10 Oakland 21 RB Tony Teresa ran 16 times for 90 yards and 3 TDs to win Player of the Game. DT George Fields had 5 tackles, an assist, 1.5 sacks and a hurry. CB Joe Cannavino defended 2 passes and got a pick and so did S Peter Burgess. We can avoid 10 losses in our first season if we beat the Buccaneers next game. Oakland 24 Tampa Bay 20 We narrowly avoid blowing another game, but we get the win as QB Paul Larson is 27/38 for 272 yards and 2 TDs in our lone highlight worth noting. Code:
Tough luck for the Bears and 49ers, who are in the much tougher NFC. Schadenfreude is so oh so sweet as the Steelers miss the playoffs. Guess they really regret trading Orr now. Playoff Notes Broncos upset Chargers in Wildcard Round. Eagles embarrass Lions 31-7. Kansas City puts the beatdown on the Jets. Giants just barely slip past the Panthers 17-13. AFC West is out at the hands of Colts and Browns as expected in Divisional Round. Super Bowl I The hugely favored Indianapolis Colts steamroll everyone to make it to the Super Bowl as the AFC representatives while the Philadelphia Eagles race all the way to the NFC championship game and beat the Packers there. A scorefest follows in the inaugural Super Bowl. Colts RB Lenny Moore rushes 24 times for 127 yards and QB Johnny Unitas is 19/27 for 283 yards and 3 TDs, the bulk of the work going to WR Raymond Berry with 5 catches for 108 yards and a TD. Game, Set, Match Colts. ...Until QB Sonny Jurgensen puts on the game of his life. Jurgensen threw for 518 yards and 6 TDs on 35/47 passing, despite getting sacked 6 times. WR Pete Retzleff caught 8 passes for 181 yards and 2 TDS and WR Tommy McDonald matched the 8 receptions, but with 142 yards and a TD. The Indianapolis Colts went ahead 38-35 with 22 seconds left in the game Steve Myhra's 22 yard field goal and the favorites looked assured to win it. But then Eagles returner Bobby Freeman brought the answering kickoff back 37 yards to the Philadelphia 47 and Jurgensen connected with Retzlaff for 39 yards and the game-tying 30 yard FG by Juan Syzmanski with 4 seconds left to make it 38-38. Indianapolis couldn't produce their own miracle, so to overtime it went. Philadelphia won the coin toss and 10 Jurgensen passes later (with an assist from a 5 yard Colts penalty and a 2 yard run by Ted Dean), WR Jerry Reichow hauled in the 16 yard Super Bowl winner. It was a sensational start to the Super Bowl era. Final - Indianapolis 38 Philadelphia 44 (OT)
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-22-2010, 02:25 PM
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#6 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
What do I hate more than anything else in RBs, boys and girls? That's right, fumbles. So we're going to have a complete overhaul there next year. I might keep Paul Larson. He'll be in his 8th season next year, so he's not a long-term solution. But he had a positive TD/INT ratio on a crap team, so he may be a short-term answer, especially if he picks up a Mentor trait. Lot of drops on the WRs and even though he missed 4 games due to injury, I'm still a bit disappointed in Jimmy Orr's first season in Oakland. George Fields and Wesley Ramirez impressed me and their upside is enough that I'll retain them. Well, Fields is signed through next season, but he might be a longer-term option. Overall though, we need major talent upgrades across the board. We had a very soft schedule against fellow expansion franchises, so the 7-9 mark is a bit deceptive. 1960 Oakland Raiders Season Awards TE Gene Prebola - 1st Team All-Pro TE He had a really good season as seen above, but I'm surprised it was good enough to win All-Pro honors, let alone 1st team. I'll take it though, especially since it was his rookie season. He's the future right now and I won't have to look for a starter in the draft or free agency. It was a great year for MLBs, so I'm not surprised Tom Louderback got snubbed. We hire a new OC and lose our DC, so we go and get the DC from the AFC Champion Indianapolis Colts who just couldn't get a job after his unit's Super Bowl meltdown. Free Agency TE Gene Prebola only wants a one year min-sal deal after his All-Pro season, which is weird, but I'll take it. Week 1 Re-signings/Extensions TE Gene Prebola - 1 year min-sal FB Walt Kowalcyzk - 1 year min-sal G Don Manoukian - 1 year, $130k (Offered him fat bonus because 40/77 guards are worth keeping) DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year, $50k Week 2 Signings WR Jimmy Orr - 5 years, $3.98 mil. (Re-signing) -With how much we gave up for him in trade, we had to get him back. T Jason Jackson - 3 years, $440k (Miami Dolphins) -Signed as a mentor, but good enough that we can move him to the LT spot if need be. Week 2 Losses RB Lew Carpenter - 1 year, $70k* (Detroit Lions) (Green Bay Packers) -Wanted him as a mentor, but he wanted to stay in the NFC North. Boo. WR Del Shofner - 3 years, $1.73 mil. (St. Louis Rams - Re-signing) -We tossed him quite a bit more money, but he wanted to stay with the Rams. Too bad. He and Orr would have made a great 1-2 punch. I'll do more later. Have some cleaning and packing to do. Oh great. Jimmy Orr is a UFA. Hello, bidding war.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-23-2010, 12:31 AM
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#7 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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19 players under contract so far. It's the thing I hate most about expansion dynasties, is all the tedious signing to do.
Week 3 Signings RB Jim Swink - 1 year, $60k* (Kansas City Chiefs) -Mentor signing. Only had 16 rushes last year, but extremely elusive. TE Wayne Davis - 1 year, $70k* (Houston Texans) -Mentor signing. Week 4 Signings QB Paul Larson - 3 years, $610k (Re-signing) -Had to bring him back after the solid season he had. G Scott Betters - 1 year, $70k (Minnesota Vikings) -Mentor signing, but started last year. P Curley Johnson - 4 years, $690k (Dallas Cowboys) -Huge, huge signing. 5th year punter and one of the best in the game. Our ST just got 10,000x better. S Charlie Sumner - 1 year, $70k* (Chicago Bears) -Mentor who takes over as secondary captain. Affinity with Joe Cannavino, our franchise corner in the making. I notice defensive front captain Charley Powell wants a trade, so I just cut his sorry ass, because 21/21 DEs in their 10th season are dime plus dozen. NT Al Crow - 5 years, $1.67 mil. (New England Patriots) -The poor Bears. They thought they had the 2nd Team All-Pro locked up and then I cockblocked them by overpaying. He's actually lightweight at 285, which makes his fit in the 3-4 a little surprising. He'll move to RDT in our 4-3 scheme and team up with George Fields. It's a well-deserved overpay IMO, because he's the first even above average run-stopper on our D-line. Week 4 Losses QB Babe Parilli - 1 year, $70k* (Cleveland Browns) -The Babe got butthurt over losing his job to Paul Larson, so he goes to the Browns where he'll sit behind Len Dawson. Son, you just an overrated pig. Week 6 Signings WR Woodley Lewis - 1 year, $80k* (Dallas Cowboys) -Mentor signing with some KR ability. CB Milt Davis - 3 years, $1.98 mil. (Indianapolis Colts) -Boom! We steal a mentor who is still one of the best ballhawks in the game from the NFL's top team. Here you go Milt. A starting job opposite Cannavino and an incredibly better secondary for us. Week 6 Losses G John Dittrich - 1 year, $60k* (Miami Dolphins) -Led us in pancake blocks as a reserve guard, but he was expendable. DT Volney Peters - 1 year, $80k* (San Diego Chargers - Re-signing) -Damn I hate missing out on mentors. Week 7 Signings DT Dave Hanner - 1 year, $70k* (Green Bay Packers) -Luckily we go get a different one. Oh and our new D-7 leader with little to no effects. 28 players under contract now. We need: QB x 2, FB x 1, WR x 2, C, T, K, DE x 2, MLB, OLB x 2, CB, S x 2 Week 8 Signings S Steve Boone - 1 year min-sal (Re-signing) -High potential, but still raw. QB Tommy O'Connell - 1 year min-sal (Buffalo Bills) -Mentor signing and a great kick holder. #3 QB. WR Harlon Hill - 1 year min-sal (Chicago Bears) -Some return ability. Has conflict with O'Connell so may get cut. OLB Frank Hamilton - 1 year min-sal (Baltimore Ravens) -Mentor with good run defense and probable starter at WLB. CB Johnny Bookman - 1 year min-sal (Cincinnati Bengals) -Depth and just trying to beef up my run defense. S Carl Taseff - 1 year min sal (Chicago Bears) -Mentor with some ability. ILB Hubert Bobo - 1 year, $110k (San Diego Chargers) -There was a ton of competition for him. Special teams god with some other good abilities such as Play Diagnosis. May try bulking him up and moving him outside, as I'd hate to waste his talents as a backup. SLB Harland Svare - 1 year min-sal (New York Giants) -Another great ST guy and a pass-rush ace. Low endurance, though, and can't run defend worth a damn. A situational guy, especially if I move Bobo to SLB from SILB. I hurriedly sped past the rest of FA and forgot to do my interviews in the draft, so we'll be flying blind. I lost a couple of tackles who were on my roster last year, but I don't *think* they were important. Oh well, on to 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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07-23-2010, 09:37 AM
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#8 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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This draft is all about QB Fran Tarkenton, although I expect DE Deacon Jones to go early too, possibly as soon as #2. We pick 12th, which means, according to the Dan Marino rule, we can only go as high as #7 overall.
1960 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. QB Fran Tarkenton - Jacksonville Jaguars 2. DE Deacon Jones - Houston Texans 3. QB Norm Snead - Cincinnati Bengals 4. ILB Chuck Allen - Minnesota Vikings 5. T Stew Barber - Buffalo Bills 6. QB Billy Kilmer - Seattle Seahawks Damn. If Kilmer had dropped to the 7th spot, I would have traded up to try and get him. Still a lot of talent on the board overall, though. 7. T Roger Shoals - Washington Redskins 8. CB Jimmy Johnson - Atlanta Falcons 9. DT Ernie Ladd - Baltimore Ravens Ladd was actually rated the #2 overall prospect in this draft class, but the AI hates DTs, so the Ravens get a real gift here. 10. DT Joe Rutgens - Miami Dolphins 11. CB Dave Greyson - New Orleans Saints There's a lot of players I like at #12 still and I'm considering trading down for more picks. So we make a deal with the Patriots, sending 1.12, 4.14 and 7.16 for 1.15, 3.13 and 6.15. It's not more picks, but at least it's better value. 12. CB Pat Fischer - New England Patriots 13. DE Larry Eisenhauer - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14. CB Jim McMillin - Tennessee Titans Okay, so now I'm looking at RB, DE and T. Offensive tackle looks pretty deep still, deep enough that maybe we can grab someone in the second round. RB is thin and we need a starter, but the top RB in the draft doesn't look *that* good. DE is thin too and we really need guys there, so I grab the one I like best. 15. DE Jerry Mays - Oakland Raiders 16. RB Tommy Mason - Dallas Cowboys 17. T John Mattox - New York Jets 18. T Charlie Cowan - Arizona Cardinals 19. DT Houston Antwine - Pittsburgh Steelers 20. CB Herb Adderly - Denver Broncos 21. DT Ken Frost - San Francisco 49ers 22. T John Brown - Atlanta Falcons through Chicago Bears Atlanta 2nd, 6th, and 7th for the Bears 1st. Bears really gave that away too cheaply in my opinion. I'm also a bit surprised to see my personal choice for best RB still on the board. Does the Dan Marino rule apply to trading back into the bottom of the first round? Not sure. But I need a T really badly too, so let's wait and see. 23. OLB E.J. Holub - Carolina Panthers 24. DE Ron McDole - Kansas City Chiefs 25. RB Amos Marsh - Detroit Lions Damn. There goes the RB I was hoping would drop some more. I go ahead and move Jason Jackson to LT because the only good guys left are all more of the RT variety. 26. CB Warren Livingston - New York Giants 27. ILB Myron Pottios - San Diego Chargers 28. S Dainard Paulson - St. Louis Rams 29. DE Ben Davidson - Atlanta Falcons through Cleveland Browns The Dirty Birds give up their 4th round pick this draft, their 1962 1st rounder and their 1963 5th round pick to the Dawgs. That's some serious overpay for a guy I didn't think was that good. Falcons have been going crazy this draft. 30. RB Tom Matte - Green Bay Packers 31. G Leon Donahue - Indianapolis Colts 32. WR Aaron Thomas - Philadelphia Eagles The WR I was starting to eye got snapped up by the Texans with the first pick in the second round, but the offensive tackle I liked was still around so I waited until the Seattle Seahawks came up and traded 2.16 and 3.13 for 2.5 and 4.7 to select T Ed Walsh, who looked like the perfect RT. From the way the tackles flew off the board in the following picks, I knew I made the right move. By the time we picked in the third, things were looking pretty slim and grim, so I took a flier on T Ed Nutting, just on the off-chance he might develop into a surprise. Another WR I wanted in the 4th round went two spots before me to the Browns, so I took RB George Fleming to start a run on running backs. The 5th round has us drafting K Jerry Traynham and I finish off our draft by taking a flier on Arkansas Razorbacks QB Brian Verstegen. He probably won't develop into anything, but I need a third signal-caller and I like collecting rookie QBs. Oh wait. We have another 6th round pick. Let's go with S Wayne Fontes and hope he can talk a certain Barry into wearing silver and black later on down the line. Late Free Agency All rookies sign initial offer sheets except our 1st and 2nd round draft picks. Well damn. There's only 2 C and 2 DE mentors in the whole league and they're high quality starters. We sign a backup FB with decent chemistry, a backup DE who we hope will be smart enough to be a mentor next year, another WR mentor from Cleveland who could be a 4th or 5th WR in A.D. Williams and a backup C. . Former starting RB Tony Teresa goes to Jacksonville. So everybody's all signed as we go to TC. It's my usual low amount of 47 players, but whatever. I like keeping inactive roster spots open. Code:
Not a great class, but we should get a couple starters out of it and some decent backups.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-23-2010, 08:37 PM
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#9 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Larson has no competition now for the starting spot. He's earned the right to lead this team. Verstegen is likely a career backup, but we'll see what happens with him. Code:
Looks like 96 elusive Swink is our starter, with Larscheid, whose fumbles I hate, the #2 man again. Fleming doesn't have much upside IMO, but he's a special teams ace and will contribute immediately there. Flip a coin on our starting FB. Code:
Prebola and Orr for sure. My guess is the coaching staff will go with Hill on the other side. Hope Hardy can break into the 4th WR spot this year and continue his gradual climb up the depth chart. Code:
Jackson-Manoukian-Otto-Hawkins-Walsh unless I miss my guess. Sabal will go on the inactive list because I want to give Nutting as much PT as I can to see if he booms at some point. Code:
Johnson was our biggest FA coup and it's my intention to see him retire a Raider. Traynham wins this year, but he'll be shortleashed. Code:
Our defensive line is much stronger on paper than last season. Mays-Fields-Crow-Ramirez should generate a lot more pressure and I can't wait to see what kind of career Mays has for us. Code:
I forgot to move Bobo over, so I do that now. He drops to 35/39, but that's still much better than what we had there. We bring back MLB Gilbert Lutz to be Louderback's backup. We still need a talent upgrade here, but one position group at a time. This past offseason was all about the D-line. Code:
Hugely improved corner situation when you consider that Harris, a starter last year, is now in either the nickel or dime packages. No idea who the safety starters will be. Overall we're a better team than last year, but the same can probably be said of a lot of franchises. My guess is around another .500 season and mid-tier first round pick. So I run the AI and Larscheid as starting RB? Um, no. Swink starts. I'm peeved that Harris isn't even a dime back, so I use my defensive marker to move him into the dime spot. Code:
Preseason Oakland 23 Seattle 29 2 pass defenses each from MLB Tom Louderback and S Steve Boone. This is a game we probably would have won in the regular season, as our #2 QB was 13/35. Bad mentor, bad. RDT Al Crow ruptures his adductor muscle and is lost for the season. So much for the All-Pro 2nd Team DT we signed to a 5 year, $1.67 mil. deal. Second year DT Salvatore Terry, a Miami Dolphins cut, is signed and becomes the new starting RDT. Huge, huge blow to our defense. Minnesota 17 Oakland 19 Our first ever preseason win is due to K Jerry Traynham hitting 4/4 FGs, including a 52 yarder. That's the way to win your job, Jerry! MLB Tom Louderback with 10 tackles and 2 assists, CB Joe Cannavino with 2 deflections. San Francisco 26 Oakland 17 10 tackles from SLB Hubert Bobo, but what really pumped me up was Jerry Mays's 7 tackles, 3 assists and 2 sacks. This kid definitely looks like the real deal. Oakland 16 Detroit 10 Raiders looking good in preaseason. I've got a good feeling about this year's team. CB Johnny Bookman records 10 tackles, an assist and a pass defense, but he got overshadowed by Player of the Game CB Joe Cannavino with 4 pass defenses and an interception! Now is when the games count.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-24-2010, 12:24 PM
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#10 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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1961 Regular Season
Oakland 14 San Diego 21 Chargers might still be the class of the AFC West. 12 tackles, 2 assists for MLB Tom Louderback and 2 pass defenses for CB Joe Cannavino. Oakland 14 Washington 24 Heh. At least we're consistent so far. Much like last year's games, this one was the result of a 14-0 fourth quarter letdown. QB Paul Larson is 22/32 for 217 yards, 1 TD and 2 INTs, but the positive story is DE Jerry Mays with 5 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks and a knockdown. Jacksonville 10 Oakland 23 Finally our first win on the season. K Jerry Traynham is 3/3, including a 51 yarder, DE Wesley Ramirez is Player of the Game with 3 sacks and a hurry, and CB Joe Cannavino deflects 2 passes. Jack Larscheid returns a kickoff 86 yards for a TD. Oakland 27 Cincinnati 3 RB Jack Larscheid is on form lately, the first Raider back past the century mark this year with 102 yards on 18 carries. CB Joe Cannavino does his usual 2 pass defenses, but S Charlie Sumner bests him with 3 deflections. Baltimore 29 Oakland 20 We really suck in the second half. Outscored 22-0 to again lose and ruin our shot at over .500. Hell, we could be 4-1 right now. SLB Hubert Bobo with 11 tackles, an assist and a sack, MLB Tom Louderback with 10 tackles and 2 assists. DE Jerry Mays hyperextends his elbow and is Out 3 weeks and DT George Fields breaks his wrist and is Out 5 weeks. So we've had 3 of our 4 starting D-Line miss games at the same time this year. Talk about bad dice rolls. Pisses me off because Jerry was in the middle of a really good rookie season. So we hit the street and sign DE Paul Wiggin, who had 9 sacks in 10 starts last year for the Browns, but they were scared off by his hand and ankle injury problems and made him the final cut this year. He starts in Mays's place. NT Joe Katchik,who started for the Jets last year, was signed in free agency by the Ravens and a final cutdown casualty, joins up and becomes a starter as well after moving to LDT. Oakland 3 Cleveland 30 We stunk. Nothing more needed to know than QB Paul Larson's 4 interceptions. It's time for a new QB this offseason. Larson's really been exposed this year and only has one game even over 200 yards so far, I think. Oakland 19 Kansas City 24 Beautiful 58 yard FG by K Jerry Traynham and QB Paul Larson is 23/36 for 256 yards and a TD, but not even DE Wesley Ramirez's 7 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks and 2 hurries can save what was one of our most winnable games. DE Jerry Mays is back up to Probable, so I hustle him back in the lineup. Unfortunately, backup C Reggie Johnson breaks his jaw and will miss at least the next game. 2nd year C Marcus Wright, a backup last year for the Panthers, a training camp invitee for the Colts and Week 3 cut by Indy, becomes our temporary reserve. Pittsburgh 12 Oakland 20 5 tackles, 2 assists, 2 sacks and a hurry from Player of the Game DE Wesley Ramirez and 2 pass defenses and a forced fumble from SLB Hubert Bobo propel us to a rare comeback win over the Steelers. But with victory comes DT Joe Katchik getting a compound leg fracture and being gone for almost an entire calendar year, the second season-ending injury we've had to a DT this season. And to add injury to injury, starting LT Jason Jackson hyperextends his knee and is Out for at least our next game. So I put Katchik on the IR and sign DT Jim Weatherall to be a backup to Dave Hanner, who finally gets his shot to start, because George Fields is still recovering from his broken wrist. I also sign rookie LT Cliff Roberts, a Browns' 5th round pick who was cut, to be a backup to Ed Nutting, who I still think can be somebody and a creeper. I'll do midseason review later. Hungry now.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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07-25-2010, 11:29 AM
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#11 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Nice to see Jack Larscheid learn some ball security. I'm unhappy with the WR drops, though, and their overall lack of production. Hell of a season Wesley Ramirez is having. In 8 games he's already beaten his 16 game total in sacks from last season (7). Having Jerry Mays there to draw the double-team is helping a ton. Milt Davis has been a godsend. Terrific defense out there and he's helping turn Joe Cannavino into an elite CB. I'm enjoying SLB Hubert Bobo's season too. He's adjusted pretty nicely to moving outside. San Diego 27 Oakland 17 RB Jim Swink -just- misses 100 yards with 98 on 17 carries and a TD. MLB Tom Louderback with 14 tackles and 2 assists, S Steve Boone with 13. Too bad we lost. DT George Fields is back to Probable, so in he goes. So, too, does LT Jason Jackson after the bye week. Oakland 10 Denver 24 31/52, 357 yards... and 3 INTs from QB Paul Larson. At least WR Jimmy Orr catches 6 passes for 108 yards to finally get a receiver ove the century mark. Dallas 14 Oakland 42 Don't ask me where the 28-0 second half came from. I'll take it, though, especially over a probable playoff team in the now 8-3 Cowboys. QB Paul Larson throws 4 TDs and an INT despite scrubby yardage. CB Milt Davis was ever-present with 8 tackles, 3 assists, a sack, 2 pass defenses and a pick in a rare CB Player of the Game. CB Joe Cannavino blocked 4 passes, S Charlie Sumner 2. Oakland 26 Buffalo 16 And here's the old QB Paul Larson, 23/47 for 345 yards, 2 TD and an INT, including a beautiful 69 yard TD strike to WR Harlon Hill, who caught 6 passes for 105 yards. K Jerry Traynham connected on 4 of 6 FGs, missing only both 50+ tries. DE Jerry Mays garnered 2 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 knockdowns, while CB Joe Cannavino and CB Milt Davis reprised their respective 4 and 2 pass defenses from last week's game. Oakland 12 Philadelphia 6 Ugly, defensive game, but we have our first three game win streak in franchise history, beating another playoff contender in the Eagles. K Jerry Traynham had all our points with 4/5 FGs, including a 55 yarder. S Charlie Sumner headlined a great secondary day with 3 pass defenses, while CB Milt Davis, CB Joe Cannavino and CB Johnny Bookman all deflected 2, Davis taking an interception in the bargain. Kansas City 16 Oakland 10 And there goes our opportunity for the latest possible .500 we've ever been. Nothing much good, although RB Jim Swink signifies our frustration with 94 yards and a TD on 14 carries. New York 14 Oakland 19 K Jerry Traynham wins his umpteenth Player of the Game award with 4/4 field goals, including one from 52 yards out. DT Salvatore Terry comes up with a rare 1.5 sacks. Honestly, if Traynham isn't named to an All-Pro team this year, I'm going to be pissed. We've got a shot at .500, but we'll need to beat the Broncos to do it. Denver 31 Oakland 24 Another 7-9 season. The Broncos just wanted it a bit more, as they were playing for a division title. Solid game from QB Paul Larson with 273 yards, 3 TDs and an INT on 31/52 passing, TE Gene Prebola just missing 100 with 94 yards and a TD on 10 catches. MLB Tom Louderback defends 2 passes. Code:
Yeah, that's right. We were 0-6 against the rest of the AFC West. Talk about ugly. That kinda thing kills me. Playoff Notes QB Jack Kemp throws for 410 yards, 190 to WR Don Norton, and the Chargers still lose, 27-24 to the Broncos. Miami gets its first playoff win,upsetting the Titans 24-17. Indianapolis eliminates the AFC West for the second year in a row, humiliating Denver 30-3, although the 49ers' 41-3 domination of Dallas is worse yet. Cleveland takes out Miami 28-3 despite QB Len Dawson missing the game, forcing the Browns to start QB Milt Plum and even have QB Babe Parilli throw for all of 7 yards on 2/3 passing  , while Da Bears upset the Packers 22-17 to continue that great rivalry.San Francisco is looking ridiculous, topping the Bears 24-10, while the Browns edge the Colts 27-24. Super Bowl II Cleveland Browns vs. San Francisco 49ers QB John Brodie throws for 413 yards, 2 TDs and an INT on 29/40 passing, but much like Jack Kemp and his Chargers, his team loses. QB Len Dawson is 16/25 for 306 yards, 2 TDs and an INT, WR Bobby Mitchell grabs 4 catches for 120 yards and a TD and RB Jim Brown runs for 104 yards and 2 TDs on 27 carries. Finally, the Cleveland heartache is soothed. Final San Francisco 27 Cleveland 34
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-12-2010, 12:11 AM
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#12 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Can I say Wesley Ramirez is quickly becoming one of my fave guys on the team? Dude overachieves and is fun to watch. Jerry Mays put up pretty darn good numbers in his rookie season despite missing 2 games to injuries. Not a bad year from Paul Larson, although he was better last season strangely enough. Jimmy Orr is an annoying drop-prone fool who's ticking me off. I'm regretting giving him that fat bonus and considering trading him, cap hell be damned. Really nice season from Milt Davis and I don't think I've ever seen a 20 pass defense season before. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good about our defense overall. Still need help at DT and I'm not too hot about our LBs, but it's all coming together. And that makes me doubly happy because I like to build offenses and that's clearly the weakest area right now in pretty much all spots. Oakland Raiders 1961 Season Awards TE Gene Prebola - 1st Team All-Pro TE His second straight 1st Team All-Pro award and you bet your ass he's going to get re-signed to a long, expensive contract. With this kid lining up, I don't need to worry about TE for a good number of years. CB Milt Davis - 1st Team All-Pro CB Poetic justice. Milt got robbed of any All-Pro recognition last year and he finally gets it this year, his first season in the Silver and Black[. I just wish he'd come to our team earlier. Oh well, I'll enjoy his career while it lasts. P Curley Johnson - 2nd Team All-Pro P You can see why I stole him for a 4 year deal from Dallas last FA. I don't like to change kicking specialists too often if I can help it, so he was a great find. Summer League 4th round or later, which means S Wayne Fontes, RB George Fleming, QB Brian Verstegen, or K Jerry Traynham. It comes down to Traynham or Fleming and in the end, I go with the 4th rounder Fleming, who while a ST ace, is somebody I also think could develop into a serviceable #2 back. He got 25 carries last year and should see an increased workload next season. Free Agency Week 1 Re-signings/Extensions CB Joe Cannavino - 6 years, $2.38 mil. -A shutdown corner obviously CB John Harris - 1 year, $50k LG Don Manoukian - 5 years, $3.02 mil. -Should really be moved to RG. TE Gene Prebola - 4 years, $1.19 mil. DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year, $70k Switched our two young guards around and both took a huge hit in current, but that's okay. They'll learn quickly enough and they're more fitted to their new roles. The tough one is DT George Fields. He missed 4 games last year to injury and had a terrible season after a great first year. He wants a multi-year deal, but my gut tells me we should just go for a wholesale rebuild of our interior D-line. By The Numbers QB, RB, FB, TE, WR x 3, C, G, DE, DT x 2, ILB x 2, OLB x 2, CB, S x 2 Week 2 Signings DE John Jelacic - 5 years, $2.84 mil. (New York Giants) -After 2 starts in 1960, exploded with a 10 sack as a full-time starter in 1961. Is he worth the serious coin he just earned? Not sure, but he's a monster run-stopper and will line up opposite Jerry Mays, pushing Wesley Ramirez to a backup role. MLB Tom Louderback - 1 year, $100k (Re-signing) -Okay so I don't really rate him, but he's our leading tackler and now a mentor. We had to bring him back. Week 3 Signings WR Jim Dooley - 1 year, $150k (Chicago Bears) -An overpay, but we had a lot of competition for this mentor who also had a boatload of affinities. Maybe he can straighten the other Jimmy out. Also looks like a probable starter at SE. S Lee Riley - 4 years, $1.29 mil. (Indianapolis Colts) -A mentor and a great player. Will shore up what was an alarmingly weak safety situation that negated our fantastic cornerback duo. Had an amazing 8 picks last year and got snubbed by All-Pro voters. WTH? S Dave Kaiser - 1 year, $90k (Jacksonville Jaguars) -Probably a one year rental, but still a huge upgrade. With him and Riley we now have legit S starters. Week 4 Signings NT Bob Gain - 1 year, $100k (Cleveland Browns) -Not an ideal signing, but he's a mentor and a likely starter. Week 4 Losses RB Jim Swink - 1 year, $60k* (Detroit Lions) -Although it sucks losing a mentor, his running for us sucked even worse last year. OLB Hubert Bobo - 4 years, $1.01 mil. (Seattle Seahawks) -Actually played pretty well for us last year, but I just didn't feel like re-signing him, especially not to this kind of money. Week 6 Signings QB Tommy O'Connell - 1 year, $100k (Re-signing) -Didn't like our captains last year and was disgruntled, but eventually re-signed thanks to Mr. Dooley and the fact that we won't bring back Larscheid. Week 6 Losses DE Paul Wiggin - 1 year, $60k* (Seattle Seahawks) -For some reason the Seahawks love us our defensive guys. Whatever man. OLB Hugh Pitts - 1 year, $60k* (Tennessee Titans) -Not loyal at all, but took less money to stay in Nashville. Would've been a good WLB starter for us, but eh. Week 7 Signings FB Jim Taylor - 4 years, $1.42 mil. (Green Bay Packers) -Normally I don't splash this kind of money for a FB, but Jim's a FB god, in only his 5th season, was 1st Team All-Pro last year, and he's a Packer I remember my dad talking about as being really good. So here, Dad. This one's for you. SLB Rommie Loudo - 1 year, $60k* (Jacksonville Jaguars) -Mentor signing and I hope he doesn't start. Week 8 Signings RB Chris Cook - 1 year, $60k* (Miami Dolphins) -Another former Floridian mentor signing. Week 8 Losses LT Ron Sabal - 1 year, $60k* (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) -Started the first season and gave up 12 sacks. Didn't play a down last year. Won't miss him. At all. Week 9 Signings C Reggie Johnson - Vet min (Re-signing) -Capable backup C since there's no mentors to be had. For the rest of the first half of FA, I sign a TE mentor and lose Harlon Hill, a starting WR last year and our most surehanded one, to, who else? Seattle. And a disappointing starter, CB Johnny Bookman flies to the Dolphins. Oh and some scrub went somewhere that I don't care about. Our DT mentor from last year went to Tampa Bay and another scrub DT went to the Jets. Draft is up next, but I've got a hookah bar hangout planned with some people (the biggest miracle of Las Vegas so far is that I actually have something resembling a real, live social life) so I'm outtie 500.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-14-2010, 01:04 PM
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#13 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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This draft is all about QB John Hadl and QB Roman Gabriel, neither of whom we'll get, but I'm hoping a certain Killer B falls to us at #10.
1962 NFL Draft First Round 1. QB John Hadl - Seattle Seahawks 2. QB Roman Gabriel - Cincinnati Bengals 3. ILB Nick Buoniconti - Jacksonville Jaguars ...Damn. 4. WR Lance Alworth - New Orleans Saints 5. WR Gary Ballman - Minnesota Vikings This is going the worst possible way for us. Ugh. 6. DT Merlin Olsen - Cleveland Browns 7. CB Booker Edgerson - Pittsburgh Steelers 8. G Jim Cadilie - Washington Redskins 9. G Sonny Bishop - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Our DT situation is better than I expected, because Al Crow is back from the IR, but we desperately need youth and this is a horrible draft to be picking at #10 for our other areas of need, so the pick is easy. 10. DT Danny Birdwell - Oakland Raiders 11. ILB Al Miller - Houston Texans 12. DE Ed O'Bradovich - Carolina Panthers 13. S Howie Williams - Buffalo Bills 14. DT Tom Sestak - New England Patriots 15. DT Ray Jacobs - Arizona Cardinals 16. DT Chuck HInton - New York Jets 17. G George Flint - St. Louis Rams 18. RB Bert Coan - New York Giants 19. ILB Larry Onesti - Atlanta Falcons through Kansas City Chiefs The Falcons, who had three first round picks last year, can't stand just sitting and they trade their 2nd rounder in this draft, and their 3rd round picks in 1963 and 1964 to snap this guy up. Yeah, okay. 20. S Bobby Hunt - Baltimore Ravens 21. DE Pat Holmes - Miami Dolphins 22. T John Sutro - Cincinnati Bengals through Detroit Lions The Lions get the Bengals 1st round pick next year, their 1964 3rd round pick, and their 6th round pick in this draft. Price is a little steep, but on the other hand, Sutro was graded as a Top 10 player by talent/value and the best LT on the board, so this could end up being a steal for Cincinnati. A quick peek at the roster shows that Sutro should be a Day One starter charged with protecting fellow 1st rounder Roman Gabriel's backside. Interesting to see if it pans out for the Bengals. 23. CB Bob Suci - Philadelphia Eagles 24. DT George Gross - San Diego Chargers 25. DT Fred Miller - Dallas Cowboys 26. DE Gary Cutsinger - Denver Broncos 27. DE Ike Lassiter - Atlanta Falcons through Tennessee Titans The Falcons are at it again, straight swapping their 1964 1st round pick for this selection. Atlanta better hope all these first round picks pan out for them or things will get real ugly, real fast. 1960: 4-12 1961: 5-11 They'll need more than a win improvement over the next two seasons for all this wheeling and dealing to even be remotely successful. 28. CB Cornell Green - Chicago Bears 29. C Wayne Frazier - Green Bay Packers 30. OLB Mike Stratton - Indianapolis Colts 31. DT John Contoulis - San Francisco 49ers 32. CB John McGeever - Cleveland Browns There's a run on WRs before our pick in the 2nd round, leaving us with gamble prospects at QB, WR and LT and a fairly safe MLB prospect to consider. The MLB could replace Tom Louderback eventually, the LT is probably a backup right now and will likely stay that way unless he gets a random boom. The WR looks terrible the more I look at him and I seem to remember him sucking last time I took him in a historical dynasty. So it's down to the QB, who could be our starter in the future maybe, or the MLB who looks like a sure future starter. Surefire is better than gamble, so we take MLB Garland Boyette. All of the guys we were considering go off the board but the QB at the top of the third round. I know Seattle won't go QB, so I wait until 3.2, where the Chargers are sitting, and make a call. They and the Jaguars, who pick next, aren't going to draft the guy I want, but the Saints, sitting at 3.4, have a very good shot at doing it and 5 points on the value chart isn't worth quibbling over. So we trade our 3rd, 5th, and 6th picks in this draft for 3.2 and Cincinnati's 7th round pick next year, which San Diego formerly owned, and draft QB Harold Stephens. The Saints were so angry they traded out of the spot, picking up Miami's 1964 3rd rounder and an extra 5th and 7th round pick in this draft. Then, with one of their 5th round selections, they selected QB Eddie Wilson. We sit out the 4th, 5th and 6th round due to prior trades and take FB Eddie Green in the 7th round, simply because he was the best player available. Late Free Agency Signings RB Claude King - 1 year, $50k - Houston Texans - Chemistry/3rd RB WR Henry Strickland - 1 year, $50k - Jacksonville Jaguars - KR ace/backup WR WR Ron Commiskey - 1 year, $60k* - Cincinnati Bengals - Chemistry/backup WR G Buck Lansford - 2 years, $250k - New Orleans Saints - Overpaid mentor/backup G OLB Keith Hufnagel - 1 year, $50k - Pittsburgh Steelers - Could contend for starting spot CB Don McDonald - 1 year,$60k* - Philadelphia Eagles - Good depth guy. Losses DT George Fields - 4 years, $670k - New York Giants -Got his payday, so good for him. RB Jack Larscheid - 1 year, $50k - Philadelphia Eagles -Won't miss him or his ineffective running. Code:
Birdwell is a surefire starter and Boyette looks like he should be ready to take over the starting MLB spot next year. Stephens probably isn't our guy of the future, but we'll see what happens.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-28-2010, 04:08 PM
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#14 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Note: We signed S Bobby Smith and CB John Gregory to bring us up to 46 players.
Code:
It'll be yet another year of Larson as our starting QB. O'Connell's the #2 it looks like, with Stephens the #3. I may use my one offensive move to make Stephens #2 if the AI doesn't put him there though. Code:
Biggest preseason battle: who becomes the starting RB. I'd probably give the edge to Cook if it were up to me, with Fleming the backup, but we'll see. I love having Taylor at FB. Code:
Prebola, Orr and Dooley unless I miss my guess, as the starters. Jimmy really needs to prove he can bring it or I'll start shopping him, cap hit be damned. I sign affinity matchup 3rd year TE Trevor Cogswell to give us a backup there. Could use a WR reserve too, but we'll wait and see what FA brings. Code:
Jackson-Hawkins-Otto-Manoukian-Walsh I think. Walsh allowed 12 sacks in his rookie season. That can't happen again. Nutting is looking like a first class bust. I feel like we haven't made any progress at all in solving our tackle dilemma. Code:
These two have their jobs for as long as they want them, as far as I'm concerned. Code:
Mays-Crow-Birdwell-Jelacic. I'm *very* excited about our defensive front four this year. It should be the best it's ever been and it might help lead us to a playoff spot. Code:
Not a good LB situation overall, but I still believe Boyette will understudy Louderback for a year, then take over for him next season. The OLB situation is awful. Code:
Kaiser took a pretty big age hit this training camp, but he and Riley still improve our secondary starting wise. The depth simply isn't there at the safety spots but I do like our corner depth. Stephens does beat out O'Connell for the #2 spot in training camp and Fleming wins the starting RB spot much to my pleasant surprise. Guess I made the right choice in sending him to summer league. Preseason Arizona 41 Oakland 17 Got skunked in first game, but George Fleming ran for 87 yards on 7 carries. Granted, most of that was a 60 yard TD run, but still encouraging. Oakland 7 Chicago 26 2 pass defenses from Tom Louderback, but overall, we just sucked. Seattle 16 Oakland 31 Finally, a good game. 2 interceptions and a pass defense by Joe Cannavino and an 87 yard kickoff return by Harry Strickland really turned the tide for us in this one. Oakland 24 Minnesota 3 Great way to go into the regular season. Harold Stephens is perhaps an undeserving Player of the Game, but 14/16 for 135 yards and a TD is an encouraging sign for the rookie. 3 pass defenses from Lee Riley is a good sign. DT Bob Gain sprains his achilles tendon and will miss the opener at least. We'll look for his replacement and see what preseason cuts we want to sign next time.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-28-2010, 10:43 PM
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#15 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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6th year DT Tom Saidock, a preseason Browns cut, is signed as the fill-in backup. No one else is picked up.
Regular Season Kansas City 20 Oakland 24 A 79 punt return for a TD by post-training camp signee John Gregory opened scoring and a very solid 26/33 for 280 yards, 1 TD 1 INT outing from Paul Larson won him Player of the Game. Lee Riley returned an interception 27 yards for a TD and our D-line played as great as expected. Jerry Mays had 2 sacks, a hurry, a knockdown and a forced fumble, John Jelacic recorded 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries, 2 knockdowns and 2 forced fumbles, and rookie Danny Birdwell picked up 1.5 sacks and a hurry in his first NFL game. SLB Rommie Loudo had a solid all-around game of 7 tackles, 2 assists, a sack, 2 pass defenses, and a fumble recovery. Unfortunately, starting C Jim Otto got heat exhaustion so severely he'll miss next week's game. Cue up C Ed Beatty, a 9th year final cut by the Saints, to back up Reggie Johnson. San Francisco 31 Oakland 24 At least we made it respectable against our Bay Area rivals and might even have won if not for QB Paul Larson's 3 picks. DT Bob Gain is back, but C Jim Otto didn't take care of himself, so he misses another game. Oakland 20 Buffalo 0 I think that's the first time we've shut out an opponent in franchise history! DE John Jelacic wins Player of the Game with a team-high 7 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 hurries, a knockdown and a fumble recovery. CB Joe Cannavino intercepted 2 passes and DT Al Crow squeezed in 2 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown. C Jim Otto is back at just the right time. Oakland 20 Jacksonville 13 We nearly blow this one in the fourth quarter, but the defense manages not to break even though it bent a whole ton. Funny thing is, we shut them out the first three quarters, meaning we had 7 straight quarters of not allowing a point. RB George Fleming has the first 100+ yard rushing game of his career, 23 carries for 124 yards. 2 pass defenses from SLB Rommie Loudo, who is having an unexpectedly good early season. Oakland 34 Houston 13 You can say we've had a real soft schedule so far, and you'd be right. But we've still won 3 straight games. QB Paul Larson wins Player of the Game: 20/29 for 277 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. The defense is led by DE John Jelacic's 2 sacks and 2 knockdowns, as he's fast proving last year wasn't a fluke and we were right to gamble on giving him the money. S Lee Riley deflects 2 passes. Oakland 24 San Diego 17 HUGE early season win as we were tied atop the AFC West at 4-1. To go into the Chargers' home turf and win one is an awesome feeling. DE Jerry Mays is PotG with 2 sacks, a knockdown and a forced fumble and S Dave Kaiser defends 2. I was right about our defensive line really being the key to our success this year. CB Don McDonald picks up a high ankle sprain and is Out 6 weeks. Uber-ballhawk Doyle Nix, who was an All-Pro 2nd Team selection in 1960, is signed to take his place in the nickel and dime packages. Indianapolis 34 Oakland 7 Lest we get any ideas, the Colts come in and stop our four game win streak, crushing us. RB Claude King ran 7 times for 92 yards and QB Harold Stephens got his first NFL action, going 2/9 for 16 yards. But even with DE Jerry Mays having an amazing individual game of 8 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and 2 knockdowns, we got skunked. Oakland 21 Kansas City 24 The Chiefs get revenge for the Week 1 loss, even though S Lee Riley got 2 pass defenses and suddenly our promising season looks a bit iffy. Still, at 5-3, we're tied with San Diego atop the division and if the season ended today, we'd both go to the playoffs. I may make the executive decision to sit RB George Fleming. He's been running with a strained hamstring and RB Claude King has looked decent as his backup.
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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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09-18-2010, 07:49 PM
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#16 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
QB Paul Larson has been serviceable, RB George Fleming could be our first franchise 1,000 yard rusher and our WRs have been much less drop-prone. I love our defensive line, with DE Jerry Mays and DE John Jelacic both about to break 10 sacks, and DT Al Crow and DT Danny Birdwell getting in on the mix too. Still, except for our D-line, we are what we are, a slightly above average team that doesn't have an offensive playmaker. Tennessee 27 Oakland 17 And our losing skid hits three games. S Lee Riley had 2 picks, but our inability to score against anybody but fellow expansion teams is killing us. Denver 20 Oakland 31 A critical win, as we were 5-4 and the Broncos 4-5 before this contest. RB George Fleming rushes 19 times for 112 yards and a TD, but it's QB Paul Larson's 21/30 for 277 yards, 2 TDs and an INT that gets Player of the Game. Oakland 30 Seattle 13 A beautiful 90 yard punt return by John Gregory for a TD broke this game open. Paul Larson wins PotG with a 15/23 for 230 yards and 2 TDs outing. DE Jerry Mays (1.5 sacks, 3 hurries, 3 knockdowns) and DE John Jelacic (1.5 sacks, 2 hurries, 2 knockdowns0 power the defense along with CB Milt Davis's 2 pass deflections. DT Al Crow hyperextends his elbow and is out 3 weeks. DT Bob Gain will take his place in the lineup. Cincinnati 23 Oakland 20 This one hurts. The Bengals scored the winning TD with just 2 seconds left on the clock. S Dave Kaiser deflected 2, but the real story here is RB George Fleming fumbling 3 times. He won't be starting next year if I can help it. Even worse: That was the Bengals' first win of the season. DT Al Crow put in a lot of work and is ready to go before our next game. Oakland 24 Arizona 22 Crazy finish to this one, just like last game. It's tied 22-22 when, with 58 seconds left on the clock and a fear in Raider Nation that we'll blow it again on a last second drive, the referee whistles the Cardinals for intentional grounding in the endzone. Safety and the win to guarantee that we'll finish at least .500 for the first time in franchise history, after two straight 7-9 seasons. Paul Larson Player of the Game - 29/51 for 295 yards, but except for the safety and a rushing TD, all our scoring came on K Jerry Traynham field goals. 5/6 and 1/2 from 40+. Great game from S Lee Riley with 3 pass defenses and an interception. Oakland 22 Denver 19 (OT) How big was this win? So big that it did the following: 1. Guaranteed our first winning season in franchise history (3rd year) 2. Eliminated the Broncos from the AFC West race. Once again, it was K Jerry Traynham's leg doing most of the damage, including the game winner. A well-deserved Player of the Game, kicking 5/5 attempts, 3/3 from 40+ with a high of 46. WR Jimmy Orr finally had a 100+ receiving game, 9 catches for 159 yards and a TD. CB Don McDonald is back to full health, so he slides in for the tired Doyle Nix. St. Louis 26 Oakland 20 There's no shame in losing to a 12-2 team, but we got outscored 13-0 in the fourth quarter to blow the game. Hell of an effort by QB Paul Larson - 27/37 for 387 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. WR Jimmy Orr is hot all of a sudden, 5 catches for 141 yards and a TD. 2 pass defenses by Don McDonald, showing little rust. Our season all comes down to this. The final game against San Diego. Winner gets the AFC West title and the playoff berth. Loser goes home. San Diego and Denver have both made the playoffs two years in a row. We already eliminated the Broncos' streak. Can we do the same to the Chargers? I close my eyes. San Diego 27 Oakland 17 Ugh. What a heartbreaking way to end our first winning season. The Chargers got out to a 24-10 halftime lead and with our troubles in the second half this season, it's no wonder we couldn't catch up. 2 pass defenses by Milt Davis, but honestly, we got beat in every facet of the game. Just couldn't handle the nerves, I guess. Code:
San Diego gives the Titans a hell of a fight, but fall 44-38 in the end. Super Bowl III Green Bay Packers vs. Cleveland Browns -Cleveland hopes for a repeat and won a 47-41 OT AFC Championship thriller against the Colts. Lee Dawson threw for 587 yards and 4 TDs to 1 INT, Johnny Unitas 461 yards and 5 TDs to 2 INTs. That's not counting Jim Brown's 30 carries for 165 yards and 2 TDs, including the gamewinner. Meanwhile, Green Bay finally broke through to the Super Bowl, beating St. Louis 35-24 in a surprisingly bland game. The Browns become the first repeat champions in Super Bowl history, riding QB Lee Dawson's 23/36 for 261 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT, as the Packers concentrated on shutting down Jim Brown, leaving the passing lanes open. The game was never as close as the final score appeared. Final - Green Bay 21 Cleveland 24
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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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09-19-2010, 03:32 AM
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#17 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I'm thoroughly depressed right now. We missed the playoffs, UNLV got its ass kicked by Idaho tonight (well in the process of getting its ass kicked) and my stomach is rebelling against all the coffee I drank.
So I'm going to update twice in a day. I'd update the FOFC-FBCB dynasty, but I'm too tired for that. FOF is always the easiest dynasty to update because of how I handle it. Code:
QB Paul Larson just misses the 4,000 yard passing mark in the same year we post our first winning record, get our first 1,000 yard rusher and 1,000 yard receiver. We also have our first pair of double-digit sack defensive players in DE Jerry Mays and DE John Jelacic. Nice to see WR Jimmy Orr finally start earning some of his money. Fantastic season by S Lee Riley, too. Oakland Raiders 1962 Season Awards FB Jim Taylor - 1st Team All-Pro FB Nice to see Taylor's rich contract pay off immediate dividends. The do everything except run FB, because FOF annoyingly makes the FB a useless running position. TE Gene Prebola - 2nd Team All-Pro TE Ironically enough, Prebola's best year makes him 2nd Team for the first time. No matter. He's still one of the top TEs in the game and a key part of our offense. Because of the 4th round or later summer league rule, the only eligible second year player is FB Ernie Green. By the Numbers RB x 1, TE x 1, WR x 4, C x 1, DE x 1, DT x 1, MLB x 1, OLB x 3, CB x 2, S x 2 Week 1 Re-signing/Extension WR Henry Strickland - 1 year min-sal. CB John Harris - 1 year min-sal. CB John Gregory - 1 year min-sal. WLB Keith Hufnagel - 1 year min-sal. TE Trevor Cogswell - 1 year min-sal. DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year, $80k S Bobby Smith - 1 year, $50k CB Milt Davis - 2 years, $690k LT Jason Jackson - 4 years, $910k Davis and Jackson get their extensions because they're mentors at critical positions and I wanted to lock them up. Week 2 Signings C John Simerson - 1 year min-sal (Miami Dolphins) -Good chemistry captain and mentor. CB Lenny Lyles - 1 year, $140k (Indianapolis Colts) -Great KR and solid coverage guy only wanted a cheap salary so I doubled it to get him in Oakland. He should have asked for more. All-Pro in 1961. CB Dave Whitsell - 5 years, $4.03 mil. (Detroit Lions) -All-Pro last year and a real ballhawk. The heir apparent to Milt Davis and could unseat him this year. He's that good. TE Willie Andrews - 1 year min-sal re-sign -Mentor. WR Jim Dooley - 1 year, $100k re-signing -Loved what he did for us last year and he's a mentor. Week 4 Signings MLB Danny Garrett - 1 year $90k (Pittsburgh Steelers) -We're giving Garland Boyette the starting MLB spot, but he needs a mentor. OLB Don Shinnick - 4 years, $3.22 mil. (Indianapolis Colts) -We got into a real bidding war over this guy, so I offered him almost as much in 4 years as what teams were offering in 5. An elite player by the scouts, he should flourish in our system. 7th year mentor, so he can school his replacement, too. S Freddy Glick - 4 years, $1.14 mil. (Pittsburgh Steelers) -Dave Kaiser was something of a disappointment last year, so Glick comes in to take the FS pot and Lee Riley moves over to SS. Week 4 Losses RB John Henry Johnson - Green Bay Packers (Pittsburgh Steelers) WR Rich Kreitling - Chicago Bears (Cleveland Browns) We continue to strike out on offensive players even as we stockpile a better defense. JHJ was a mentor in addition to a lock to take the starting RB spot and Kreitling would have been our #3 WR. Week 5 Losses MLB Tom Louderback - Philadelphia Eagles -If he'd have come back, he would have lost his starting gig to Boyette, so we let him go and now he lands with the Eagles on a 1 year deal, where he can fight for the starting spot. Week 6 Signings QB Tommy O'Connell - 1 year min-sal re-signing -Mentor RB Willie Gallimore - 1 year min-sal (Denver Broncos) -Mentor who can return kicks Week 6 Losses S Dave Kaiser - New York Jets -Won't miss him. Week 7 Signings RB Chris McBath - 1 year min-sal (Carolina Panthers) -A consolation prize, he's a lot less fumble-prone and was pissed about losing his starting spot to Bob Gaiters last year. He should be our top back unless we find somebody in the draft. Week 7 Losses WR Billy Howton - Dallas Cowboys (Re-signing) -Tried to get him to beef up our WR corps, but he stayed loyal to Dallas. Week 8 Signings OLB Rommie Loudo - 1 year min-sal Re-signing -Will fight for the starting WLB spot but probably is a mentor reserve. Week 8 Losses T Bob Skoronski - 2 years, $320k - Green Bay Packers (Cleveland Browns) -Goes back to Green Bay after helping the Browns repeat as Super Bowl champs. Would have been a starting RT for us,but oh well. Week 9 Signings T Booker Holland - 3 years, $430k (San Francisco 49ers) -He'll push Ed Walsh for the starting RT spot and at least be a capable reserve if nothing else. Week 9 Losses DT Bob Gain - 1 year, $100k (San Francisco 49ers) -Bastard Bay Area buffoons stole our DT mentor. Week 10 Signings DT Joe Katchick - 1 year min sal (Arizona Cardinals) -Fortunately there was another mentor hanging around for the stealing. Week 11 Signings WR Bob Coolbaugh - 1 year, $60k (Cleveland Browns) -A solid pickup this late in free agency IMO. The former 4th round pick should figure in nicely as our #3 WR. Next it's on to the draft. As per usual to increase the challenge, I haven't interviewed anyone. I've done pretty well in the first round at least, although the later rounds have been mixed to say the least. Oh and final score - UNLV 7 Idaho 30
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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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09-22-2010, 01:12 AM
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#18 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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There's a great WR who I hope falls to #14 so I can trade up from my #19 spot to get him, though it doesn't look likely. QB Daryle Lamonica is the best player in the class, but the Jaguars, who have #1 pick, already have Fran Tarkenton. They wouldn't be that stupid, would they?
1963 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. QB Daryle Lamonica - Jacksonville Jaguars Heh. Yep. Then again, Tarkenton has really struggled his first two seasons. 3,400+ yards with 11 to 25 and 17 to 20 TD to INT ratios. Maybe the Jaguars want to trade him? No because of dead cap space.  2. WR Homer Jones - Detroit Lions Well shit. This draft went to hell in a hurry. 3. OLB John Campbell - Atlanta Falcons 4. T Bob Reynolds - Minnesota Vikings 5. ILB Dennis Gaubatz - Houston Texans 6. OLB Bobby Bell - Seattle Seahawks 7. G Dave Herman - Miami Dolphins 8. OLB Andy Russell - New York Giants 9. DE Lionel Aldridge - Carolina Panthers 10. S Jerry Logan - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 11. ILB Lee Jordan - Kansas City Chiefs 12. S George Saimes - Washington Redskins 13. DE Chuck Walker - New England Patriots 14. DT Jim Dunaway - Dallas Cowboys There's only one RB worth drafting in my opinion and although we could have traded up at 14 to get him, it looks like he'll go at 16 to the Broncos unless we trade with the Jets. It'd cost approximately our #19 and a future 3rd round pick to do it. Is it worth it? No. There's quite a few OTs in this draft and we need those, too. 15. DT Jim Kanicki - New York Jets 16. TE John Mackey - Denver Broncos Well, that's a surprise. Now we'll definitely sit tight. 17. TE Jackie Smith - New Orleans Saints 18. OLB Dave Robinson - Buffalo Bills The RB is still on the board and still the buttload of tackles. Anybody want to trade up? Baltimore, a spot behind us, does. They hand us their 5th round pick to move up one. 19. G Ed Budde - Baltimore Ravens Nothing's changed obviously, so we trade down again, this time sending 1.20, the two 5th round picks and our 6th round pick to the Eagles for 1.23 and their third round pick. 20. G Ernie Park - Philadelphia Eagles 21. DT Buck Buchanan - San Diego Chargers So far none of our guys are off the table, though the Bears look ready to take our RB. That's fine. Then we'll just take the best LT on the board. 22. RB Joe Auer - Chicago Bears Problem solved. 23. LT Bob Vogel - Oakland Raiders 24. CB Dick Westmoreland - Arizona Cardinals 25. CB Willie Brown - Atlanta Falcons through Tennessee Titans Atlanta paid their 1965 1st, 2nd, *and* 3rd round picks for Brown. Damn that seems overpaying, but what do I know? 26. T Lane Howell - San Francisco 49ers 27. CB Billy Baird - Detroit Lions 28. OLB Lee Roy Caffey - Indianapolis Colts 29. DT Dave Costa - Pittsburgh Steelers 30. T Tony Liscio - St. Louis Rams 31. CB Kermit Alexander - Green Bay Packers 32. T Dave Hill - Cleveland Browns Our fans are screaming about how we let Auer slip through our fingers, but I'm not too worried about it. I think Vogel, once he develops, will be our franchise LT. There's still two good looking tackles on the board, so we'll see where one goes, then I'll trade up for the other. That happens at 2.15, so I trade up to 2.16 by sending 2.21 and a 4th for 2.16 and next year's 7th round pick with the Saints, drafting LT Daryl Sanders. He and Vogel can fight it out for the LT spot, with the loser moving to RT. Things have been pretty well picked over by the 3rd round, but I get some help for our WR corps with WR Ray Poage, who has phenomenal looking big play receiving ability, something we don't have on our team outside of Jimmy Orr. There's another WR I really like, but we cashed out our ability to move any more in this draft, so we watch Art Graham go late in the 4th round. The 7th round is ugly, so I take a flier on WR Roger Gill and QB John Jones, just because I like drafting QBs. Oh look, the Packers want FB Jim Taylor back for a 5th round pick. I laugh in their faces. We have 53 players under contract, a record amount for me in a historical dynasty, so we skip late free agency. RB Claude King goes to Miami, DT Tom Saidock to Indianapolis. I notice QB Babe Parilli keeps finding work. He meandered from us to Cleveland to Jacksonville and now to New England. Oh now *this* is interesting. Green Bay once again wants FB Jim Taylor back. Now they're offering not only a 5th round pick, but 4th year MLB Quinn Bradley. I'll sit on it. Meanwhile: Code:
That huge jump from Poage looks promising. Really liked Vogel's development, too. Sanders is unfortunately busty looking. Oh and new house rule. I reserve the right to change one player per goal-line, nickel and dime package without using my one offensive and defensive change. I just noticed Rex occasionally makes a really dumb package pick IMO. This is going to be an interesting season.
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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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09-25-2010, 04:04 AM
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#19 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Is This Finally Raiders' Playoff Year?
 Rookie LT Bob Vogel appears to finally be Oakland's answer at the spot 7-9. 7-9. 9-7 and just missing the playoffs. It's been a competitive, but just short first three seasons for the Oakland Raiders, but after a number of blockbuster free agent pickups and what appear to be a couple of draft day steals, the team is favored to win a wild card spot this season. Code:
Paul Larson kept the starting spot in training camp, but he'll continue to be pressed hard by Harold Stephens, who Raiders brass believe could still be their QB of the future. John Jones will be the first cut if the Raiders need to release someone. Code:
The never-ending carousel continues at RB, where Chris McBath takes over for the at times too fumble-prone George Fleming. Green Bay tried hard over the summer to bring Jim Taylor back, but despite being tempted by the Packers' second offer, Izulde Jestor decided to keep the league's top fullback. Code:
Gene Prebola is, of course, one of the league's best tight ends. Jimmy Orr finally broke 1,000 yards last year and Larson gets more help with the addition of Bob Coolbaugh, who won two rings with the Browns, via free agency and Ray Poage, the late 3rd round pick in the draft, who turned a lot of heads in camp and upset Jim Dooley for the starting split end spot. This group of receivers should lead to Larson's best season yet. Code:
Raiders management has said point-blank that this is Ed Walsh's last chance to prove himself worthy of a contract. Daryl Sanders was a puzzling draft pick after Bob Vogel fell into Oakland's laps, but Vogel himself at last gives the Raiders an outside tackle equally worthy of their stellar and criminally unrecognized interior. Code:
Curley Johnson's here as long as he wants to be, but Jerry Traynham's occasional accuracy issues could have Oakland going another direction next offseason. Code:
The Raiders have one of the best starting defensive lines in the league, and their depth isn't too bad either. Al Crow's age is a concern, but it should be another stellar year for the position group that was Oakland's best last year. Code:
Garland Boyette steps into some pretty big shoes, replacing Tom Louderback, the franchise leader in career tackles. But the front office was so strong in its belief of Boyette's ability that they let him walk. Don Shinnick got paid in free agent market. Now the Raiders have to hope he's as successful a signing as Jelacic was last year. Code:
Although Shinnick got most of the press, Dave Whitsell and Freddy Glick were also high-profile free agent signings designed to bolster a secondary that, while good, was not great. Now with those two signings and the other money the Raiders have poured into this outfit, it should be at least very good. Unless, of course, there's injuries to the starting safeties. Overall Outlook Oakland was very close to the brink last year and those few big ticket free agent signings and some smart drafting should prove enough to get the Raiders in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. However, they still lack a quarterback and running back who have shown the ability to carry the team deep. ***End Article*** Preseason Dallas 21 Oakland 28 2 pass defenses by Lee Riley, but the real story for my money is Harold Stephens throwing 18/26 for 158 yards, 2 TDs and an INT. Maybe he can be the guy after all. Oakland 17 Tampa Bay 14 2 interceptions by Don Shinnick and 2 pass defenses and another interception by Lee Riley are what save our bacon in this ugly, defensive brawl. QB Harold Stephens strains his Achilles tendon and will miss our next preseason game. Oakland 16 New York 6 4 interceptions on the night, 2 by Dave Whitsell. Don Shinnick defends 2 passes. Our pass defense is looking absolutely nasty this season. Atlanta 10 Oakland 20 Bob Coolbaugh stars, catching 7 passes for 111 yards and a TD while Danny Birdwell gets 1.5 sacks. Oakland Raiders looking good in preseason. They perfect at 4-0. But now the games count. Regular Season Denver 17 Oakland 41 Holy crap! I think we just set a franchise record! RB Chris McBath just misses the century mark, rushing 20 times for 94 yards. QB Paul Larson wins PotG, going 24/29 for 289 yards and 3 TDs. WR Bob Coolbaugh was the main beneficiary, catching 8 balls for 110 yards and a TD. No interceptions, but S Freddy Glick and CB Joe Cannavino each deflected a couple passes. Oakland 20 Detroit 32 We come back to earth against the Lions as WR Ray Poage's near-miss of 7 catches for 96 yards is completely undone by QB Paul Larson's 3 interceptions. SLB Don Shinnick racks up 11 tackles and 4 assists. Oakland 23 Tennessee 17 (OT) Important road win is engineered by RB George Fleming's 18 carries for 113 yards and the game-winning TD. QB Paul Larson throws another 2 picks, making him 1 TD to 5 INTs the last two games. S Freddy Glick defends 2, but I'm wondering where our pass rush has gone. New England 14 Oakland 21 Paul Larson vs. Babe Parilli and the two QBs played to approximately a draw, each throwing for 2 TDs. S Freddy Glick forced 2 fumbles, but I'm most happy about our restored pass rush. DE John Jelacic and DE Jerry Mays each had 2 sacks, Jelacic adding a block and a hurry, Mays a hurry and 3 knockdowns. RT Ed Walsh strains his deltoid muscle and will be out approximately 4 weeks. RT Booker Holland takes over as the starter. Kansas City 7 Oakland 19 Another great game by the defense, signified by DE Jerry Mays with 2.5 sacks, a hurry and 3 knockdowns, and CB Joe Cannavino with 2 pass defenses and an interception. K Jerry Traynham was also 4/4, 2/2 from 40+ range. Oakland 35 Buffalo 10 4 interceptions, 2 each by S Lee Riley and SLB Don Shinnick, put us in cruise control. Riley returned one of those picks back 59 yards for a TD. Shinnick won Player of the Game, getting a sack and a knockdown. CB Joe Cannavino defended 3 pa]bsses as our defense continues to steamroll. RT Ed Walsh is back to probable, but he's lost his starting gig and I'm not happy with his performance overall anyway, so he'll sit. Oakland 23 New York Jets 16 DE Jerry Mays blew up this game with 8 tackles, an assist, 2 sacks and a block. CB Dave Whitesell racked up 9 tackles and 2 pass defenses. Yeah, we haven't had an offensive star in a long time, but that's okay. The team's playing the way it was built. Miami 16 Oakland 17 The Dolphins give us all we can handle, but QB Paul Larson bails us out with 293 yards and a TD on 21/25 passing, his main target WR Jim Dooley with 7 catches for 143 yards and a TD. WR Jimmy Orr just missed 100 yards, finishing with 97 on 4 catches. CB Dave Whitesell again stopped 2 passes. So we're 7-1 at the halfway mark, but our archrivals, the San Diego Chargers, are a perfect 8-0 along with the Green Bay Packers. At the very least, though, we should have an excellent shot at the playoffs, because the closest team to us in the wildcard race is 5-3 Tennessee. Some discouraging news on the injury front, though. WR Ray Poage pulled his calf muscle and will be out roughly 6 weeks.
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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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09-25-2010, 12:30 PM
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#20 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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WR Jim Dooley will start at SE in place of the injured Ray Poage.
Code:
QB Paul Larson is his usual self, but what I find surprising is that RB George Fleming already has as many rushing TDs in the first half of the season as the #2 man that he did as a full-time starter last year. Larson's using #3 WR, Bob Coolbaugh, a lot this year. I absolute love DE Jerry Mays and our secondary is the best it's ever been. DE John Jelacic's numbers are way down from last season, which is a bit disappointing. Oakland 9 San Diego 21 We're still not up to the hated Chargers' level. SLB Don Shinnick defends 2 passes, but until QB Jack Kemp leaves town, we'll have a tough time winning the division. Oakland 20 Denver 19 K Jerry Traynham boots a 19 yard FG with 4 seconds left to give us the critical win over Denver. If we'd lost, both teams would be 7-3. RB Chris McBath runs 14 times for 95 yards and a TD, while QB Paul Larson is 21/33 for 278 yards and a TD in getting PotG. I'd have given MVP to WR Jimmy Orr's 8 catches for 136 yards and a TD. Great all-around game from SLB Don Shinnick with 9 tackles, 2 assists, a sack and a forced fumble. S Freddy Glick and S Lee Riley both stop 2 passes. Minnesota 6 Oakland 34 2 fumble returns for TDs in this laugher - DT Al Crow for 23 yards and then a minute later, CB Milt Davis for 20 yards. How easy was this win? QB Harold Stephens got in the game and was 4/4 for 26 yards. S Lee Riley's 2 pass defenses were good, RB Chris McBath's 3 fumbles not. It was just a fumble-crazy game because of well, I don't know what. It's not like it was raining. We celebrate the win that clinches a winning season for the second straight time, but then we get horrible news. DE Jerry Mays - Broken Foot - Out 9 Weeks If he managed to come back at all, it'd be for the Super Bowl. That slim hope is enough for me to just cut QB John Jones and sign journeyman mentor DE Paul Miller. DE John Jelacic shifts over to the LDE spot and DE Wesley Ramirez, my favorite original Raider in this universe, returns back to the starting lineup. The Chargers finally lost, 20-16 to the Bears. They're now 10-1, but Green Bay is 11-0. Pittsburgh 31 Oakland 12 Near-misses galore. QB Paul Larson 27/37 for 292 yards and an INT, just missing 300 yards. WR Jim Dooley 5 catches for 94 yards. K Jerry Traynham making all our points in 4/4 field goals, as we just couldn't punch through in the red zone. Green Bay 31 Oakland 26 The Packers avenge our failure to trade them FB Jim Taylor back by going to 13-0. Great game by QB Paul Larson with 324 yards and a TD on 25/36 passing, but he was outdueled by a certain Starr. K Jerry Tranyham was again 4/4, including a 53 yarder. S Lee Riley hammered in 12 tackles, 2 assists and a pass defense. WR Ray Poage is back to Probable, but he's temporarily lost his starting spot to Jim Dooley. San Diego 35 Oakland 21 Unbelievable. We've gone from 7-1 to 9-5. 11 tackles and 8 assists for MLB Garland Boyette and 2 pass defenses for S Freddy Glick can't disguise the fact that we got dominated in every facet today. The score doesn't indicate just how badly we got our asses kicked. Green Bay's 14-0. We're barely hanging on to that second wildcard spot and our sweep of Denver is really saving us so far, as the Broncos are also 9-5. Oakland 30 Chicago 7 Finally we snap the losing streak and probably punch our playoff ticket. We intercepted the Bears 6 times. SLB Don Shinnick with 3 picks, CB Joe Cannavino with 2, including a 16 yard return for a TD and one by MLB Garland Boyette. Cannavino and CB Dave Whitsell also defended 2 passes. The Packers lost their first game of the year, 27-6 to the Chargers. No perfect season. Oakland 17 Kansas City 10 It was an ugly win against one of the league's worst teams, but we'll take it. CB Joe Cannavino is once again a star with 2 pass defenses and an INT, a deflection total matched by CB Dave Whitsell and S Freddy Glick. THE OAKLAND RAIDERS ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY!!! YEAR #4!!!! Code:
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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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10-03-2010, 04:38 PM
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#21 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Raiders Finally Rumble To Playoffs
 SLB Don Shinnick was a key factor in the Raiders' postseason run After three seasons of getting close, but falling just short, the Oakland Raiders have at last made it to the NFL playoffs in their fourth season of existence. Their 11-5 regular season record was good enough for 2nd in the AFC West and they've got a date with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Cleveland Browns as a reward. But the Browns limped to a 9-7 record en route to the AFC North crown and some think they might be vulnerable. Quarterback He doesn't get nearly enough credit, but Paul Larson is one of Oakland's most valuable players. Although he just missed 4,000 yards again, he set career highs in yardage (3,982), completion percentage (65.0), average yards per completion (11.51) TD to INT ratio (22/13) and QB rating (91). He's exactly the kind of unsung veteran QB a team wants providing a steadying influence. Len Dawson, on the other hand, is one of the best QBs in the game. The Super Bowl II MVP passed for 4,209 yards, 35 TDs and 12 INTs this season, setting a career high in scoring throws. Advantage: Browns Running Back This isn't even worthy of a discussion. Jim Brown vs. the timeshare of Chris McBath and George Fleming is an easy one to call. Advantage Browns Wide Receivers Jimmy Orr didn't repeat his 1,000 yard season, but he came close with 909. Bob Coolbaugh is one of the best #3 WRs in the league and led the Raiders in receiving TDs with 8. TE Gene Prebola's production dipped this year, but he's still an All-Pro and one of the top receiving tight ends in the game. It's positively criminal that Bobby Mitchell hasn't won an All-Pro award yet. He's arguably the single best WR in all of football. Save for him and Brown, though, there aren't many options in the Cleveland passing attack. TE Leon Clarke is an excellent blocker, however. Advantage: Draw Offensive Line Oakland's always had a great interior offensive line with LG Wayne Hawkins, C Jim Otto, and RG Don Manoukian, but it wasn't until this offseason that the Raiders finally found answers at the tackle spots. First round pick (#23 overall) LT Bob Vogel put in the best outing by a Raiders LT ever (6 sacks allowed) and RT Booker Holland proved a free agency steal, outperforming 2nd round disappointment Ed Walsh and posting a very solid season. LT Dick Schafrath is a phenomenal player and two-time All-Pro, as is LG Gene Hickerson. In fact, the whole Browns offensive line (also including C John Morrow, RG John Wooten and RT Dan LaRose is an excellent unit. These are two very, very good o-lines and it's a shame none of the Raiders interior men don't have All-Pro recognition. They deserve it. Advantage: Draw Defensive Line LDE Jerry Mays is Questionable with a broken foot, but sources say he's determined to suit up and play. That's bad news for the Browns, as he and RDE John Jelacic are a fearsome pass-rush duo. DT Danny Birdwell and DT Al Crow complete a very solid front four in the 4-3 scheme. NT Floyd Peters is perfect for Cleveland's 3-4 scheme and an All-Pro, but the Browns' DEs, John Brown and Hatch Rosdahl, scare absolutely no one. Advantage: Raiders Linebackers SLB Don Shinnick was a marquee free agent pickup and he delivered. 86 tackles, 3 sacks, and a career high 5 interceptions, one of three Raiders players to accomplish the feat. MLB Garland Boyette rewarded GM Izulde Jestor's faith in him with 103 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 interceptions in his second season, his first as a full-time starter. WLB Keith Hufnagel is the weak link. SLB Galen Fiss is an excellent all-around OLB, similar to Shinnick. SILB Carl Sharber racks up tackles, but is a liability in pass defense and WILB Bob Schmitz is non-descript. WLB Jim Houston was the Defensive Player of the Year last season and while he didn't post as eye-popping a numbers this year, he's still one of the game's best OLBs. Advantage: Draw Secondary LCB Joe Cannavino had his best season as a pro, with 5 interceptions and an 83.9% pass defense. RCB Dave Whitsell was an All-Pro free agent pickup and FS Freddie Glick was another high profile defensive free agent acquisition who had a fine season. SS Lee Riley was his usual terrific self with 5 interceptions and an 85.3% pass defense rate, but he looked tired as the season wore on and started to fade a bit. LCB Bernie Parrish is a quality player, although not the shutdown corner some scouts seem to think he is. RCB John McGeever, the Browns 1st round pick last year, is one of the league's top young corners. SS Don Fleming is a solid all-around safety, but the Browns' biggest surprise this season was FS Tyrone Starks, the 4th year player who came out of nowhere to have 6 interceptions in his first year as a starter after coming over in free agency. Advantage: Draw Special Teams K Jerry Traynham has a cannon, but questionable accuracy. P Curley Johnson is still one of the best. P Sam Baker is decent and K Mo Nejedly profiles similar to Traynham, although he's 9/10 in the postseason for different teams. Advantage: Draw Keys for the Game 1. Battle between Cleveland's offensive line and Oakland's defensive seven. The Raiders rightfully pride themselves on their great defensive front and if the Browns want to continue on their threepeat quest, they're going to have to contain Oakland's pass rush. 2. The Raiders need to attack the middle of the field with a short passing game Cleveland's interior linebackers are weak against the pass, so attacking that part of the field should yield great results. Slowing down the pace of the game is huge for Oakland, as they simply don't have the firepower to win a shootout. 3. Cleveland should get the ball to Jim Brown as much and as often as possible. Let's face it. The Raiders' secondary is too strong and too opportunistic to risk attacking head-on, especially with Bobby Mitchell the only reliable receiver. Give it to Brown and let him work his magic. Overall Thoughts/Prediction This is going to be a very, very close game. Going 9-7 took a lot of the mystique off the Browns and Oakland's stellar defense, especially with Jerry Mays insisting on playing, is perfectly tailored to challenge Cleveland. In the end, the Browns' homefield advantage and Jim Brown will make the difference. Although Cleveland's not likely to threepeat, their dreams won't die here. Odds: Cleveland by 2 We opened up the scoring with a 7 yard TD run by RB Chris McBath. Kendrick Gardener answered with a 96 yard return on the ensuing kickoff for the tying TD and the Browns tacked on 10 more points to make it a 17-10 halftime lead, our later points coming with 11 seconds left on the first half clock. Scoreless third quarter and in the fourth, the Browns kick a FG to make it 20-10. With 3:33 left in the game, Paul Larson rainbowed it to Bob Coolbaugh for a 31 yard TD and a 20-17 score to give us hope. We three and outed the Browns and had the ball on our 14 with 1:54 left. Paul Larson drove us to the Cleveland 48 before the clock ran out. Final: Oakland 17 Cleveland 20 Heartbreaking way to lose our first playoff game. QB Paul Larson did well at 23/41 for 331 yards, a TD and an INT and WR Bob Coolbaugh racked up 6 catches for 113 yards and a TD. P Curley Johnson averaged 53.3 yards a punt and downed 2 of 4 inside the 20. CB Lenny Lyes defended 2 passes, but the Browns did a terrific job of stopping our pass rush. RB Jim Brown didn't have a great day, just an okay one. 20 carries for 70 yards. QB Len Dawson won Player of the Game at 28/42 for 285 yards and a TD. San Diego ended the Browns AFC West dominance and the threepeat hopes with a 43-29 stomper, then upset the Colts 42-34. Super Bowl IV - Arizona Cardinals vs. San Diego Chargers The Cardinals stunned the Packers 20-14 in Lambeau to guarantee two brand new Super Bowl appearance teams. Then Arizona outscored the Chargers 14-6 in the second half to steal a 31-27 Super Bowl victory. QB Charley Johnson won MVP with 314 yards and 3 TDs on 23/30 passing, but QB Jack Kemp acquitted himself well, too, with 323 yards and 3 TDs on 31/48. It was a Southern name fest for Cardinals highlights. RB John David Crow ran 12 times for 107 yards and a TD and WR Bobby Joe Conrad caught 8 passes for 121 yards. DE Terry Day led the Arizona defense with 2 sacks and a QB hurry. Final - Arizona 31 San Diego 27
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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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10-07-2010, 11:48 AM
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#22 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Love reading this. I really enjoy keeping up on how these files are getting used. Good luck going forward.
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10-07-2010, 09:23 PM
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#23 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks.  The historical rosters are, IMO, the greatest thing ever to happen to FOF.
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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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10-08-2010, 12:24 AM
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#24 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Some great defensive seasons. I just wonder how it would have been if DE Jerry Mays was healthy all year. The offense continues to be the weak link of the team. Our revolving door at RB will get another spin this offseason. Biggest question: Is Paul Larson our guy at QB? He's been consistently pretty good and had a very solid playoff game. It's really hard to say. He'll be 32 next season. Part of me wants to say he'll be the man once we get a running game going; another part of me says it's time to part ways. Tough, tough call. 1963 Oakland Raiders Season Awards FB Jim Taylor - All-Pro 2nd Team Fullback Glad I didn't trade him to the Packers. I'm stunned Taylor's it. Not a single other award. Way to dis our secondary, voting assholes. Staff Hiring Despite my owner's skinflint attitude, I manage to extend my DC for less money than he wanted. I was sick of my OC, so I hired a 44 year old hotshot to take his place. WR Roger Gill is the only eligible summer league player. Hope you enjoy France, Roger, because you're not likely to be in Oakland much longer. Free Agency QB x 2, RB x 2, TE, WR x 2, C, G, K, DE, DT, MLB, OLB x 2, CB, S x 2 Week 1 WR Bob Coolbaugh - 2 years, $150k S Bobby Smith - 1 year minsal P Curley Johnson - 4 years, $660k DE Jerry Mays - 4 years, $2.82 mil. K Jerry Traynham - 1 year min-sal From now on, (M) in a signing means Mentor and if that's their only attribute, no comment offered. Week 2 QB Paul Larson - 3 years, $780k - Re-sign -Reasonable rate for a proven guy. We had to bring him back. QB Tommy O'Connell - 1 year min-sal re-sign (M) RB Willie Gallimore - 1 year minsal resign (M) WR Raymond Berry - 2 years, $2.11 mil. (Indianapolis Colts) (M) -He may be in his 11th season, but Berry is a multi-time All-Pro and Fastest Man award winner. He's also one of 2 WRs in this short league history to have over 2,000 receiving yards in a single season. The other was Charley Hannigan of the Titans. Both accomplished this feat in 1962. DT Joe Katchik - 1 year minsal resign (M) OLB Rommie Loudo - 1 year minsal resign (M) Week 3 MLB Danny Garrett - 1 year minsal resign (M) Week 3 Losses RB Clem Daniels - 5 years, $2.13 mil. (Kansas City Chiefs - Re-signing) -A 64/71 back is the #2 RB on his team and he hits free agency. Great opportunity for people to snag him, right? Wrong. He absolutely loves KC and doesn't want to ever leave them, even though they're a crappy team and he's not starting. Have fun getting your ass kicked some more, Clem. Week 4 WR Jim Dooley - 1 year minsal resign (M) -After Berry's signing, he'll get demoted to #5 WR, but I still really like him. A very dependable veteran. DE Paul Miller - 1 year minsal resign (M) Week 4 Losses CB Lenny Lyles - 1 year minsal (Detroit Lions) -Major disappointment as the nickel back last season. Not sorry to see him go, really. Week 5 DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year minsal resign -Okay, so he's not a great player or a mentor yet. He's still one of my favorite original Raiders in this universe. S Herman Finley - 1 year minsal (Dallas Cowboys) -Plays better than his ratings and this hard-hitting 5th year player intrigues me for reasons I can't explain. Call it a hunch. Week 7 T Jim Parker - 3 years, $4.18 mil. (Indianapolis Colts) (M) -A four time All-Pro 1st Team T. Had 18 pancake blocks last year. He's actually a better run-blocker than pass-blocker and we already have Bob Vogel as our future there, so we'll move Jim to RT. S Jerry Norton - 1 year, $180k (Arizona Cardinals) (M) -Very football smart player (100 Play Diagnosis). Will challenge Lee Riley for a starting spot. We're now $1.86 million under the cap after all these huge signings. To make matters worse, we already have $12.3 mil. of the current $14.5 mil. cap space committed next year. I've never played this close to the cap before, so it'll be interesting seeing what happens. As a result of the impending cap crunch, I scale back our offer to TE Dee Mackey. He re-signs with Indianapolis for fairly cheap anyway and CB Jim Shofner spurns me for a min-sal to stay with the Titans. We're at 44 players, so I say screw it and decide to see how the draft plays out. WR Henry Strickland and OLB Keith Hufnagel take minsals from Houston and Miami.
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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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10-08-2010, 01:51 AM
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#25 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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The draft is always my favorite part, free agency the least, so I'm going to just plow ahead.
Our biggest needs are QB and RB. RB goes two deep before it starts sucking, and QB has 3 interesting prospects. Oddly enough, QB Roger Staubach isn't the consensus #1. In fact, he's listed at #13. Unfortunately, we pick at #26 and his chances of falling to #21 to fit the Marino Rule are slim to none. 1964 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. RB Leroy Kelly - Houston Texans 2. ILB Dan Conners - Seattle Seahawks 3. QB Roger Staubach - Kansas City Chiefs ...Talk about insult pounded on injury. I don't want to have to play him in the division the next umpteen years. 4. DT Carleton Oats - Tennessee Titans 5. CB Butch Byrd - Cincinnati Bengals 6. QB Dick Shiner - Carolina Panthers. Hehe. Dick Shiner. 7. WR Bob Hayes - Miami Dolphins 8. CB Mel Renfro - New York Giants 9. CB Speedy Duncan - Washington Redskins 10. S Paul Krause - Buffalo Bills 11. DE Garry Philbin - Baltimore Ravens A real steal by the Ravens here. Philbin was a Top 5 talent and for him to fall here is incredible. 12. DE Larry Hand - Minnesota Vikings 13. OLB Dave Wilcox - New England Patriots 14. T Steve Wright - New Orleans Saints 15. RB Mack Lee Hill - Tampa Bay Buccaneers ...Well, at least it wasn't a division rival. 16. G Howard Mudd - Dallas Cowboys 17. DE Carl Eller - Jacksonville Jaguars 18. DT Thom Keating - Pittsburgh Steelers 19. WR Charley Taylor - Chicago Bears 20. DT Robert Brown - New York Jets 21. DE Ben McGee - Cleveland Browns 22. OLB Mike Morgan - St. Louis Rams 23. T Bob Brown - Denver Broncos 24. RB Dave Kopay - Tennessee Titans 25. S Kenny Graham - Tennessee Titans through Philadelphia Eagles ..Wow. The Titans paid 3 first round draft picks. Two 1965 1sts they got from somewhere and a 1966 first. They must have absolutely LOVED Graham. So it's our turn. Best player available is a cornerback. Best by need is a QB who I'm unsure about. And then it happens. I see my favorite WR of this era still sitting there. Game over. 26. WR Paul Warfield - Oakland Raiders WR Jimmy Orr immediately goes on the block. Only there's not many teams who have something we consider of value. The Seahawks have an angry, trade-demanding QB Billy Kilmer, who's been passed over for QB John Hadl, but they won't trade Kilmer because of dead cap space. We haggle back and forth with the Packers over RB Tom Matte but can't come to an agreement. So I'll keep him and play the waiting game. 27. S Joe Scarpati - Detroit Lions 28. CB W.K. Hicks - San Francisco 49ers 29. CB Willie Mitchell - Indianapolis Colts 30. CB Monk Bailey - Green Bay Packers 31. CB Sherman Lewis - Jacksonville Jaguars 32. ILB Ted Davis - Arizona Cardinals So that #3 QB still hasn't gone off the board. Seattle's refusing to even talk trade for the top pick in the 2nd. Until they trade it to the Ravens. Whatever. A couple picks later, I have to pull the trigger or the Panthers will snatch him up. I send 2.25, 3.24, 7.14, and my 1966 4th round pick to the St. Louis Rams for 2.4 and take QB Tommy Wade. As it turns out the next QB didn't go till 3.16 and he was rated a smidgen below Wade, so maybe I could have gotten him without overpaying to move up. Oh well. In the 4th round, I take a flyer on combine warrior T Roger Pillath. Looks like he could be a respectable RT some day. TE Chuck Logan is the 5th round pick, a ST/LS looking ace. I make it two straight Northwestern grads turned Raiders by selecting C George Burman in the 6th. Our final pick is K Dick Van Raaphorst to give Jerry Traynham some competition. Late FA Signings TE mentor resigning C mentor resigning OLB mentor/backup resigning OLB Doug Pellegrini's still got game, too. Late FA Losses T Ed Walsh - 1 year minal to Houston -Good riddance. RB Chris McBath - 1 year minsal to Detroit -Don't miss him one bit. RB Ed Olshansky - 1 year minsal to Tennessee (Arizona) -That was unfortunate. I need somebody to push George Fleming. Training Camp The Bears offer me some scrub C and a 3rd round pick for MLB Garland Boyette. I tell them to get lost. Code:
Despite the prodigal drop by Wade, there's essentially a 3 way fight for the starting QB job, which I'll profile tomorrow. Love Warfield's boom and I'm thrilled my hunch on Pillath was right, even though I forgot to switch him to RT until after camp. Even better, he fits the summer league 4th round or later rule so I can send him to camp. Tough draft for teams to get good grades this year. Only 3 of any kind of A.
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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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10-09-2010, 05:08 AM
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#26 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Three-Way QB Fight Headlines Preseason
 QB Paul Larson is the incumbent  QB Tommy Wade (circled in orange) with the 1963 National Champion Texas Longhorns Fresh off the franchise's first playoff appearance and entering their fifth season of existence, the Oakland Raiders face a starting quarterback controversy as epic as their lavish free agent spending the last two offseasons. With as much money as the ownership and front office has poured into the team, anything less than a playoff victory, or perhaps a division crown, would be a major disappointment. Orr, 4th Round Pick Dealt To Vikings For Powell, 3rd round pick  WR Jimmy Orr was something of a disappointment in Oakland Jimmy Orr knew his days with the Oakland Raiders were numbered after the team drafted WR Paul Warfield in the first round. What he didn't expect was to find himself gone so quickly. Just after the end of training camp, Raiders GM Izulde Jestor called Orr and told him he was being traded to the Minnesota Vikings. Oakland is also sending their 4th round pick in the next draft and are getting 4th year RB Preston Powell and the Vikings' 3rd round pick in the next draft in exchange. Orr, 29, and entering his 8th season, had just one 1,000 year season in Oakland and was widely considered a major disappointment as the Raiders' #1 WR. He'll get a new chance in Minnesota, where he'll start alongside Gary Ballman and give the Vikings one of the league's more potent 1-2 punches at WR, at least on paper. Powell, 30, has seen his rushing yardage increase with each season, and is one of the most secure RBs in the league with the ball. He addresses Oakland's biggest hole, although he may only be a stopgap measure, given his age. The biggest value for the Raiders is in the much better draft pick and in the cash they save by dealing Orr, especially while he still commanded some interest on the trade market. Position Breakdown Code:
Larson looked like he lost a step in training camp while Wade, the quarterback of the national champion Texas Longhorns, doesn't appear to have quite the upside the Raiders initially thought. Stephens looked the sharpest, but the coaching staff considers him another Larson at best. Look for the three QBs to fight it out in preseason. It's anybody's guess who wins out, although Wade does have the high cost associated with his drafting and he's in a perfect position as a rookie starter if it comes to that. Code:
Fleming is the real reason why the Raiders made that Orr trade. Although he remains the only 1,000 yard rusher in Oakland history, he proved much more effective as a #2 back. It'll be interesting seeing how Powell does behind an offensive line that trumps what he had in Minnesota. Code:
Berry/Warfield/Coolbaugh/Poage is a terrific and likely underrated group of WRs and Prebola is still a dynamite TE. Poage is still looking for his first career TD reception despite being a starter for much of last season. Let's hope he gets it this year. Code:
We'll put up the Raiders' starting five of Vogel-Hawkins-Otto-Manoukian-Parker against any offensive line in the league. That's how good they are. Pillath was the training camp breakout, but he's going to find playing time tough in the crowded o-line. Code:
Traynham easily beats out DVR and Johnson is still one of the unsung best. Code:
Jelacic looked slow in camp, proof that his 5 sacks last year may have signaled a decline. This is still a solid enough group, but Mays needs to stay healthy the whole season. Code:
Shinnick was one of the best players on the team last year and Boyette made Jestor look like a genius after replacing Tom Louderback as the starter. Depth is alarmingly weak, however. Health is critical. Code:
The secondary is starting to look a little long in the tooth and they're in need of a youth infusion, but one of the league's most opportunistic defensive backfields last season should be so again this year. Prediction Some are calling the Raiders a dark horse to win the AFC, although the Cleveland Browns remain the favorites. It should be a very tight race between San Diego and Oakland for the AFC West crown, no matter who the quarterback is. ***End Article*** Preseason Washington 6 Oakland 13 Tommy Wade: 19/25 - 183 yards Harold Stephens: 3/5 - 25 yards, 1 TD Impressive numbers by Wade after he was named the starter. He just might win the job after all. Stephens gets knocked out pretty early. DE Jerry Mays looked sharp - 8 tackles, 2 sacks, a hurry, 2 knockdowns, and a forced fumble. Oakland 10 Carolina 9 Tommy Wade: 9/14 - 87 yards - 1 INT Paul Larson: 11/14 - 65 yards - 1 TD Tough call so far. I do really like Wade's accuracy to this point, though. Dallas 3 Oakland 24 Paul Larson: 8/10 - 75 yards - 1 TD Tommy Wade: 13/16 - 226 yards - 1 TD, 1 INT It's official. Despite the INT, Wade's won the starting job. Larson is a good #2 QB, but his short passing game isn't going to win us games. Not with our weak rushing attack. WR Raymond Berry blew up with 7 catches for 138 yards and a TD. DE Jerry Mays racked up 3 sacks, a hurry and 3 knockdowns, and CB Dave Whitsell defended 2 and picked off 1. Oakland 28 New Orleans 14 Paul Larson and Tommy Wade each throw 2 TDs and no picks. CB Joe Cannavino intercepts 2 passes. Our 2 deflectors are CB Milt Davis and S Lee Riley. For the second year in a row, the Raiders go undefeated in preseason. Regular Season San Diego 10 Oakland 20 Marquee matchup with our archrivals to open the season and QB Tommy Wade has a great pro debut: 290 yards and an INT on 26/31 passing to win Player of the Game despite the pick. WR Paul Warfield caught 8 passes for 112 yards in a fun 2nd round rookie to first round rookie connection. DE John Jelacic highlighted the defense with 1.5 sacks and a hurry. Love starting off with a win. Nickel CB Milt Davis hyperextends his elbow and will miss at least the next game. K Dick Van Raaphorst is cut and we sign CB Trent Menedez, a 5th year final cut by the Giants, to take Davis's place. Oakland 20 New Orleans 26 We throw this one away, outscored 0-13 in the fourth quarter. QB Tommy Wade had a rookie game, 25/36 for 259 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs, although WR Raymond Berry had 7 catches for 104 yards and a TD. SLB Don Shinnick was everywhere with 10 tackles, an assist, a sack, and a pass defense. CB Trent Menendez defended 2 passes in his debut. Wade cost us this one as 2 of his picks were in that fourth quarter, but that's the lumps of a rook QB. Oakland 29 Tennessee 21 3 TD passes of 20+ yards and his first 300 yard game. QB Tommy Wade sparkled today as you can see. His final numbers were 26/38 for 304 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. WR Raymond Berry was his favorite target, 5 catches for 130 yards and a TD. S Lee Riley intercepted 2. CB Milt Davis is back to probable, but LT Bob Vogel separates his shoulder and is Out roughly 4 weeks. RT Jim Parker will temporarily slide over to LT, with RT Booker Holland regaining his old starting spot. Oakland 19 Cincinnati 7 Ugly game all around, but we were saved by our defense. CB Joe Cannavino wins Player of the Game with 2 picks and our pass rush came in full force today. DT Al Crow had 2 sacks and a knockdown, DE John Jelacic 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown. Baltimore 24 Oakland 25 Talk about the skin of a teeth win. Good K Jerry Traynham showed up today, booting 4/4 through the uprights, including a 55 yarder, en route to PotG honors. That really was the difference. T Jim Parker gets Turf Toe, but he has to play on. I don't trust anyone else guarding our future. Oakland 18 Cleveland 28 I expected this loss. We're not on the still-undefeated Browns' level yet. Very good game by QB Tommy Wade with 314 yards, 2 TDs and an INT on 29/46 passing. TE Gene Prebola had his best game maybe ever with 7 catches for 109 yards and a TD. MLB Garland Boyette with 12 tackles and 3 assists, CB Joe Cannavino with 2 pass defenses. LT Bob Vogel is back to Probable and it couldn't have come at a better time, with a divisional game up next. Kansas City 38 Oakland 14 ...Wow. QB Billy Wade outduels QB Tommy Wade by not all that much, but the real reason we lost was because we lost all 4 of our fumbles. Not cool. Not cool at all. Pittsburgh 10 Oakland 17 Much needed bounceback win that didn't feature any stars, but was simply workmanlike. So we're now 5-3 at the break, a half-game behind 5-2 Denver and San Diego in what is a furious and exciting fight for the AFC West. San Francisco is the lone unbeaten team left at 7-0.
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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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10-09-2010, 08:15 AM
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#27 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I'm tired, but I can't sleep. So I might as well keep going with this.
Code:
I'll take those numbers from a raw, 2nd round rookie who's been thrown into the fire. Wade's also take 19 sacks, which is a few too many for my liking. Our running game continues to suck and RB Preston Powell has as many fumbles in 8 games as he did all last season. More, in fact. Our defense also isn't as solid as it was last year, which is a big part of the problem. QB Paul Larson and QB Harold Stephens are both grumbling about Tommy Wade as the starter. Larson has some merit, Stephens can shut up. Oakland 34 San Diego 31 There aren't words enough to describe just how huge this win was. A world of difference between 6-3 and 5-4 in a race this close. QB Jack Kemp kicked our asses and was PotG with 287 yards and 4 TDs to 0 picks, but S Freddy Glick defended 4 passes and Bobby Smith ran a kickoff back 98 yards for a TD. It was a win we didn't deserve, but we'll take it. LG Wayne Hawkins hyperextends his elbow and will miss our next game at minimum. We cut 6th round pick C George Burman and sign street free agent G Earl White, who takes the RG spot while G Dan Manoukian slides over to the left side. White was a preseason cut by the Broncos, which becomes important because we've got division-leading Denver next. Denver 17 Oakland 21 Another fantastic, close division win. The Broncos scored all 17 of their points in the second quarter and had a 17-14 halftime lead. No standouts here, just a great group win that gives us the tiebreaker edge over Denver for the division. 49ers are 10-0, by the way. Atlanta 19 Oakland 17 As many close ones as we've won this season, I'm not too upset about a narrow loss. S Lee Riley defended 2 and QB Tommy Wade was PotG in a losing effort - 25/37 for 228 yards and 2 TDs. G Wayne Hawkins is back to probable, but now WR Paul Warfield hyperextends his knee and is out roughly 3 weeks. WR Ray Poage takes over as the starter. I also discover that LT Bob Vogel hasn't been starting like he should, so I rectify that. New England 13 Oakland 27 Finally, a solid win. MLB Garland Boyette is the hero here, with 11 tackles, an assist, a sack, and a pass defense. San Francisco finally loses and is 11-1. Carolina 13 Oakland 19 We guarantee our fourth straight winning season via QB Tommy Wade's 23/29 for 247 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT outing. K Jerry Traynham hits 4/5 FGs, including 2/2 from 50+. WR Paul Warfield is back to Probable, yay! Oakland 23 Kansas City 7 Sweet revenge against the Chiefs. QB Tommy Wade definitively wins this War of the Wades, firing 26/39 passes for 293 yards and 2 TDs. TE Gene Prebola just misses the century mark with 5 catches for 91 yards and a TD. Our pass-rush feasted on Kansas City QBs. DE Jerry Mays led the way with 3.5 sacks, a block, a hurry, and 2 knockdowns. DE John Jelacic grabbed 2 sacks, a block, and 2 hurries. OLB Don Shinnick finished it off with 1.5 sacks. We're 10-4, along with Denver and Tennessee. Cleveland's 11-3. 8-6 Miami has little chance of getting a first round bye if they win the AFC East. Oakland 35 Tampa Bay 20 Crazy game. RB Preston Powell has the first 100 yard rushing mark of the season, 19 carries for 108 yards and a TD. RB George Fleming got the ball 17 times for 78 yards and a TD as we crammed it down Tampa Bay's throat. DE Jerry Mays continued his late season surge with 2 sacks, 2 blocks, 3 hurries and 2 knockdown and the following players had 2 pass defenses: S Lee Riley, OLB Don Shinnick, and CB Dave Whitsell, who also had an INT. Atlanta upsets Denver, just like they did us. Cleveland and Tennessee both lose and suddenly we've got the driver's seat for a first round bye. Oakland 17 Denver 23 (OT) Classic barnburner that ends with Hagood Clarke returning a punt 72 yards for a TD in OT. QB Tommy Wade struggled with a knee injury, throwing 3 interceptions for his worst game as a pro. WR Raymond Berry got 114 yards on 8 catches, though, and WR Paul Warfield nearly made it a double with 5 catches for 98 yards and a TD. S Lee Riley defended 2. That win gives the Broncos the division. We tied in head-to-head and in division records, but we had the better conference record, so I guess they had the better in-common games record? Yep, they did. They beat the Saints and we lost to New Orleans. Otherwise we would have won based on conference record. So we're back in the playoffs with a repeat 11-5 record. The team we're playing? The Miami Dolphins.
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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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10-09-2010, 11:26 PM
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#28 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Can Favored Raiders Finally Win In The Playoffs?
 DE Jerry Mays is the star of the Raiders' defensive line All the wins in the world and all the money spent on the Oakland Raiders won't matter a whit if the Silver and Black can't beat fellow fifth year franchise Miami in the wild-card round of the playoffs. On paper, it looks to be an easy win for the Raiders, but anything can happen in football. Quarterback - Advantage: Draw QB Tommy Wade was a rookie revelation and got better as the season wore on, finishing with 3,700+ yards and a 23 TD to 19 INT ratio. QB Arnie Todd is in his second year as the Dolphins QB after coming over in a 1962 offseason trade with the Saints. A bad year last season got replaced by a 3,458 yard, 22 TD to 16 INT year this season. Running Back - Advantage: Dolphins RB Keith Lincoln was the 1961 Offensive Rookie of the Year and has rushed for over 1,000 yards in 3 of his 4 seasons, including this year, when he posted a career-high 1,300+ yards with 10 TDs. Also had 773 receiving yards and 8 TDs as a receiver. Extremely fumble prone, though. Former Raider Jack Larscheid is the backup. Preston Powell and George Fleming are nothing special. Wide Receiver - Advantage: Raiders Raymond Berry and Paul Warfield make a dangerous 1-2 punch and TE Gene Prebola should be back in All-Pro conversation. Berry is the Raiders' first 1,000 yard receiver since recently traded Jimmy Orr. Bob Hayes, a rookie like Warfield, had a very solid first year and is a true #1, but Chuck Bullard is about equal to Bob Coolbaugh, Oakland's #3 WR. Offensive Line - Advantage: Raiders Oakland's front five is one of the better units in the league, whereas the Miami Dolphins have lost LT Mercury Gulbrandsen to a potentially career-ending degenerative hip condition. Defensive Line - Advantage: Raiders DE Jerry Mays and DE John Jelacic are scary, DT Al Crow and DT Danny Birdwell unsung. This is all you need to know about the disparity. Mays's 12.5 sacks is more than Miami starting DE Clark Miller and DE Pat Holmes combined. Linebackers - Advantage: Raiders SLB Don Shinnick and MLB Garland Boyette by themselves outduel the entire Dolphins 'backer corps of SLB Vince Coleman, SILB Fred Zereoue, WILB Dave Lloyd, and former Oakland Raider WLB Keith Hufnagel. Secondary - Advantage: Raiders S Lee Riley should have an All-Pro award by now and S Freddy Glick is excellent, too. CB Joe Cannavino doesn't get many picks, but he's a solid cover corner, as is CB Dave Whitsell. S Junior Phillips racked up 141 regular season tackles, but CB Johnny Sample is the true star for the Dolphins. Not much around them, though. Oakland is missing CB Milt Davis, but CB Trent Menedez looked capable in relief earlier in the year. Special Teams - Advantage: Raiders P Curley Johnson trumps P B.J. Hoehner to settle the split between K Jerry Traynham and K Sam Brady Outlook The Miami Dolphins need to let Keith Lincoln and Bob Hayes the ball, as they're the two playmakers. The Raiders, on the other hand, should try and make this a game of aerial assaults, as Oakland's defense is far superior in every facet to Miami's. Even with home field advantage for the Dolphins, it should be a cakewalk for the Raiders. Raiders by 6 Uneven game by QB Tommy Wade, as he threw for 323 yards on 30/47 passing with a TD.. but with 3 interceptions. WR Raymond Berry caught 7 passes for 112 yards. CB Joe Cannavino and S Lee Riley deflected 2 passes each. But in the end, we couldn't stop RB Keith Lincoln, who ran 28 times for 122 yards and had 9 catches for 76 yards and a TD. The final insult? RB Jack Larscheid crossing the goal-line for the OT victory TD. Two years, two narrow wild-card defeats. Oakland 17 Miami 23 (OT) Denver gets to the AFC Championship game, where the Browns edge them 20-15 to make it to their 3rd Super Bowl in 4 years. Super Bowl V - Cleveland Browns vs. San Francisco 49ers With 3 minutes remaining, the Browns are up 20-7 and it's looking like a third ring. Then QB John Brodie leads the 49ers on two scoring drives in the final 3 minutes thanks to an implosion of a Lew Luce fumble and a Len Dawson interception. Two TD drives in 3 minutes to rally San Francisco to the most epic comeback in Super Bowl history. Needless to say QB John Brodie's second and third TD passes give him the Super Bowl MVP. Cleveland's run might be coming to an end after this one. Cleveland 20 San Francisco 21 Code:
Silver lining? We get a pretty high 3rd round pick as a result of the Jimmy Orr trade. Still damned frustrating.
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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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10-11-2010, 12:36 AM
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#29 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
QB Tommy Wade had a pretty good rookie season and will, I think, be the QB for quite a while. We still need a legitimate RB, as Preston Powell proved he wasn't the answer. Our defense is starting to get a little old in places, so we may need to start building there, too. 1964 Oakland Raiders Season Awards FB Jim Taylor - All-Pro 1st Team FB The usual for Taylor, whose talents are being wasted by our inability to find a decent tailback. TE Gene Prebola - All-Pro 2nd Team TE After an absence, Prebola's back in the All-Pro mix. Without question one of the best original Raiders. We change head coaches, saying goodbye to Sam Horne and hiring 33 year old hotshot Tom Yewcic. It's a gamble, but one worth taking. We lose our scout to division rival Denver and go with youth again, hiring 34 year old Ricky Lane. Sam Horne got a 5 year contract to coach the Cincinnati Bengals, who are the league's worst team overall at 13-67 in this universe. RT Roger Pillath gets a trip to France. Free Agency RB x 2, C, G, K, DE, DT, MLB x 2, OLB x 2, CB x 2, S x 2 Week 1 MLB Garland Boyette - 5 years, $1.42 mil. FB Ernie Green - 1 year minsal TE Gene Prebola - 5 years, $2.61 mil. FB Jim Taylor - 3 years, $840k T Booker Holland - 3 years, $450k Prebola was a bit expensive, but oh well. The renegotiations give us $3.1 million of cap space to work with. Note: renegotiations only apply to players whose contracts will expire next season, as my own house rule of sorts. Week 2 Signings WR Boyd Dowler - 5 years, $4.63 mil. (Green Bay Packers) -1963 All-Pro 1st Team WR was the biggest catch on a pretty nice FA market. 7th year vet and already a mentor. Signing him means we can let Raymond Berry walk after next season. MLB Tom Louderback - 1 year minsal (Tennessee Titans) -Still the team career leader in tackles and assists, the original Raider and mentor comes back to be Garland Boyette's backup. WLB Gorden Kelley - 1 year mnsal (Green Bay Packers) -Our run defense was weak last year and getting Kelley, a talented run-stopper and new starter, will be huge towards that end. CB Ben Scotti - 1 year minsal (Washington Redskins) -Will fight for a starting spot and be a huge improvement in our depth at least. S Benjamin Lay - 1 year minsal (Green Bay Packers) -We're starting to look like Green Bay West out here. Lay's another ace run-stopper and, like Scotti, he'll be in the mix for the starting lineup. Week 4 Signings QB King Hill - 1 year minsal (Detroit Lions) -Felt like changing up mentors. RB Tom Matte - 1 year minsal (Green Bay Packers) -Another Packer. We tried to trade Jim Otto for him last year, so to get him in FA is exciting. He goes from being stuck behind Paul Hornung, who took a 3 year, $1.13 mil. contract from the Colts, to a #1 RB and hopefully the answer to our running game woes. Week 5 TE Willie Andrews - 1 year minsal re-signing -Mentor retention. DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year minsal re-signing -Now a mentor! Week 6 RB Dick Christy - 1 year minsal (Tennessee Titans) -Not only a mentor, but an excellent PR and KR. Had a career high 1,010 yards and 14 TDs last year with the Titans. Week 7 K Jerry Traynham - 1 year minsal resigning -Once again there was nobody better on the market, so he gets inked for another year back. S Bobby Smith - 1 year minsal resigning -Between him and Christy, our kick return game should be excellent. DT Rashod Franks - 1 year minsal (Chicago Bears) -Mentor, but this must be a fictional player, because he's listed as a UNLV alum. UNLV didn't start their football program until 1968. I want to cut him just for that reason. ...I think I will. S Jerry Norton, the big bust, signs with Carolina while disappoint RB Preston Powell goes to the rival 49ers, both on 1 year minsals. We strike out on OLB Bill Jobko, who re-signs with St. Louis. Week 9 we sign OLB Ed Cooke from the Patriots on a 1 year minsal. ST ace, which is why we got him. OLB Doug Pelligrini, upset with his lack of PT with us, goes to the Chargers on a minsal. Week 10 G Earl White goes to Indianapolis and we're all set for 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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10-11-2010, 01:40 AM
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#30 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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On to the draft, even though I'm tired and feeling a bit of sorts.
Couple of great OTs on top of the board, but of course the guys everybody's talking about are QB Joe Namath and RB Gale Sayers. Our shrewd FA moves mean we can afford to go BPA at #25. 1965 NFL Draft 1. QB Joe Namath - Cincinnati Bengals 2. RB Gale Sayers - Seattle Seahawks 3. CB Kent McCloughlan - Baltimore Ravens 4. T Norm Evans - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5. CB Clancy Williams - Jacksonville Jaguars 6. ILB Dick Butkus - Carolina Panthers 7. DT Walter Johnson - Pittsburgh Steelers through Washington Redskins The Steelers trade up to #7 and also give up their 3rd round pick in this draft and their 1967 1st round selection. Awesome move in getting Johnson, one of the best players on the board. 8. WR George Sauer - Minnesota Vikings 9. T Glen Ray Hines - Philadelphia Eagles 10. T Ray Neely - New England Patriots 11. CB Miller Farr - New York Jets 12. ILB Marty Schottenheimer - St. Louis Rams 13. ILB Al Atkinson - Washington Redskins 14. DE Roy Hilton - New Orleans Saints 15. QB Craig Morton - Buffalo Bills 16. T Maxie Williams - Kansas City Chiefs 17. OLB John Bramlett - Miami Dolphins 18. WR Roy Jefferson - New York Giants 19. G Glenn Reslett - San Diego Chargers 20. ILB Mike Curtis - Indianapolis Colts 21. WR Fred Biletnikoff - Green Bay Packers 22. ILB Dale Lindsey - Chicago Bears 23. CB Al Nelson - Houston Texans 24. OLB Gus Otto - Philadelphia Eagles I feel like there's a number of different directions I could go here, but DE makes the most sense to me because of John Jelacic's advancing years. There's two possibilities, but I like one as a younger and safer pick. 25. DE Steve De Long - Oakland Raiders 26. DE Chuck Hurston - Arizona Cardinals 27. OLB Harold Wells - Denver Broncos 28. G Bob Kowalkowski - Detroit Lions 29. CB Earsell Mackbee - Philadelphia Eagles 30. CB Mike Howell - Dallas Cowboys 31. OLB Chris Hanburger - Cleveland Browns 32. WR Otis Taylor - San Francisco 49ers Most of my top targets go off the board early in the 2nd round, so I take DT Frank Cornish, because while there's a lot of good looking guard and center prospects, our guys there are still in their prime, whereas DT Al Crow is due to hit the wall very, very soon. Offensive line prospects start flying off the board and really, there's no sense in not grabbing a player while he's there, so C Ed Flanagan is the pick with our Minnesota 3rd rounder. CB Danny McIlhany becomes our second 3rd round selection. Pickings are slim in the 5th, but RB Larry Todd could have value as a kick returner and special teams guy. P Colin Ridgway is our 6th round pick, just in case Curley Johnson goes south. In the 7th round, special teams ace status gets FB Bob Briggs drafted. I sign a couple mentors in late free agency. Re-signings, actually. Code:
I'm ecstatic about Flanagan's boom. And it appears I made some very, very wise choices in drafting as you'll see with the season preview later this week.
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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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10-11-2010, 02:05 PM
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#31 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Veteran Declines Temper Season Hopes
 DE Jon Jelacic shockingly looked the worst of all the Raiders' DEs in training camp The Oakland Raiders' sixth season opens with a curious mix of optimism and pessimism. QB Tommy Wade continues to show improvement, but numerous veterans, including DE Jon Jelacic, came in looking like Father Time struck them down during the offseason. Still, many pundits consider this Raiders team capable of making the AFC Championship, where they'd be destroyed by the still dynastic Cleveland Browns. The breakdown: Code:
Wade had a solid rookie season and there's every reason to believe he'll improve on it this year. Stephens regains the #2 spot and Raider original Larson will fight Hill for the 3rd spot. Code:
The Raider RB curse continues. Matte appears to have flamed out quickly, and it's questionable whether he can beat out Christy for the starting spot. Code:
Berry looked quite a bit slower in camp, but he's a perfect #3 to the younger duo of Dowler and Warfield. In fact, this group of Prebola-Dowler-Warfield-Berry-Poage-Coolbaugh might just be the single best receiving corps in the NFL. At the very least, they're a huge part of why the Raiders should at last get their first playoff win. Code:
Flanagan was the camp breakout and he provides excellent insurance in case there's an injury to Otto. In fact, it's not unreasonable to assume he could see time at the guard spots too. Pillath will be a starter someday, but for now, he'll continue to learn from Parker. Oakland needs a true backup guard. Note: After this review, Holland was moved to the G spot and will serve as a backup Code:
No change here from the starters; Ridgway is just insurance. Code:
Jelacic's abrupt twilight means De Long was drafted in just the nick of time. Ditto Cornish for Crow's falloff. This also marks the first time in team history that the defensive line starters are entirely Izulde Jestor draftees. More specifically, Mays, Birdwell, and De Long are all first round picks, Cornish a 2nd round selection. Code:
Linebacking corps has good starters, but depth is a bit of a worry. Code:
Cannavino looked a little slow in camp as well, but he'll still start. Whitsell fell off a cliff and Riley declined as well. The starters will be interesting to see. WR Roger Gill was cut. Preseason Arizona 17 Oakland 6 Our 10 game exhibition win streak is snapped. 3.5 sacks by DE Jerry Mays, but everyone else struggled. Oakland 14 Chicago 21 3 pass defenses and an INT by S Freddy Glick and 10 tackles by MLB Garland Boyette. Incidentally, QB Harold Stephens has 4 interceptions in 2 preseason games. Oakland 13 Seattle 16 1.5 sacks, 4 hurries and 4 knockdowns by DE Jerry Mays, but there's a QB controversy developing. QB Paul Larson looked very sharp as the new #2 and [b]QB Tommy Wade's pedestrian preseason performance could mean a change. CB Joe Cannavino is lost for the year with ACL surgery. In fact, he'll be out 60 weeks. Devastating news. CB Ben Scotti moves to LCB and we sign CB Harold Araguz. CB Dave Whitsell becomes the new starting RCB. Minnesota 37 Oakland 16 Our first ever winless preseason. 1.5 sacks, a block and 3 knockdowns by DE Jerry Mays. QB Paul Larson again outperforms QB Tommy Wade, but also fumbles twice. Those turnovers make Wade the #1 for now, but on a short hook. Regular Season Kansas City 16 Oakland 31 Redemption City. CB Dave Whitsell runs an interception back 30 yards for a TD and QB Tommy Wade throws 3 TDs to 1 pick. DE Steve De Long is a stunning PoTG in his pro debut with 2 sacks and 2 hurries. DE Jerry Mays picks up 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries, 2 knockdowns and a forced fumble, and MLB Garland Boyette and S Lee Riley each defend 2 passes. Washington 20 Oakland 24 This time it's MLB Garland Boyette who returns an interception 43 yards for a TD. RB Dick Christy tears apart the Redskins defense with 146 yards on 27 carries, which I think is the highest single-game yardage total ever by an Oakland back. SLB Don Shinnick defended 2 passes while QB Tommy Wade was a near-flawless 21/24 for 194 yards and 2 TDs. Buffalo 22 Oakland 21 Heartbreaking 4th quarter meltdown. Impossible to take any pleasure in MLB Garland Boyette's 11 tackles and 4 assists or S Freddy Glick's 3 pass defenses. Oakland 34 Jacksonville 17 We pound out our frustrations on the Jaguars. RB Dick Christy earns Player of the Game, rushing 23 times for 106 yards and a TD, an amazing feat for a Raider runner to have 2 100+ yard games in a season. CB Dave Whitsell defends 2 passes. Oakland 6 Houston 10 Ugly game. Even uglier 4th quarter collapse. QB Tommy Wade throws an astounding 5 interceptions, negating S Freddy Glick's 2 picks. San Diego 28 Oakland 31 We very nearly blow this one, too, but QB Tommy Wade redeems himself with a 31/38 for 399 yards, 3 TD and an INT performance. WR Paul Warfield catches 7 for 108 and a TD, TE Gene Prebola 6 for 104 for our first pair of 100+ receivers in a game ever. The win was even more important because it tied the Chargers and us atop the AFC West at 4-2. Indianapolis 24 Oakland 11 Flat play dooms us. WR Boyd Dowler did catch 9 for 120 and a TD, though. C Jim Otto gets a concussion and will miss the next game, so C Ed Flanagan isn't a luxury after all. He's a starter. Oakland 33 Kansas City 14 With every single AFC West team at 4-3 heading into this week, every divisional game is a must. Fortunately, we plow the Chiefs here, RB Dick Christy just missing the century mark but getting Player of the Game with 92 yards and 2 TD on 26 carries. QB Tommy Wade was 24/35 for 316 yards and an INT, the bulk of his work going to WR Paul Warfield with 6 catches for 117 yards. S Lee Riley defended 2 passes. 3 AFC West teams are all 5-3, with the Chiefs 4-4. It's your typical brawl in a tough division again, it looks like. Cleveland's living up to their preseason hype as the only undefeated team at 9-0.
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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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10-11-2010, 11:26 PM
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#32 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Turnovers are killing us, despite the surprising appearance of a running game, a solid passing game, and DE Steve De Long taking advantage of Jerry Mays double-teams to pick up 6 sacks in his first half-season. QB Tommy Wade needs to cut down on the picks or we'll be hunting for a new QB again. Tennessee 34 Oakland 24 Outscored 17-0 in the second half. No star performances. Very frustrating. C Jim Otto is back, but RG Wayne Hawkins breaks his clavicle and is Out 6 weeks and SLB Don Shinnick will miss the next game with a concussion. We cut RB Larry Todd and sign mentor G Roy Hord. G Dan Manoukian slides to the left side, Booker Holland takes the starting RG spot. We also cut TE Chuck Logan and sign OLB Doug Pelligrini back, who was a final cut by the Chargers. He takes the WLB spot while OLB Gorden Kelley moves to the strong side. Oakland 10 Denver 23 Our season's quickly going to hell. We aren't functioning as a team at all. In comes SLB Don Shinnick, but QB Tommy Wade hyperextended his elbow early in the Broncos game and is Out 3 weeks. We don't see QB Harold Stephens as capable of doing anything, so we'll turn to Paul Larson, our ancient warhorse. Oakland 38 Dallas 28 24/33 for 361 yards, 5 TDs and an INT. Hello, QB Paul Larson. WR Boyd Dowler catches 5 passes for 103 yards and a TD, DT Danny Birdwell gets 2 sacks and SLB Don Shinnick defends 2 passes. Oakland 17 Pittsburgh 14 2 pass defenses each from S Lee Riley and SLB Don Shinnick. 2-0 under Larson. Maybe I should have made the switch sooner. Philadelphia 16 Oakland 17 A comeback win courtesy of S Freddy Glick's 3 pass defenses and 2 forced fumbles. 3-0 and even though QB Tommy Wade is back to full health, it's Paul Larson's team again. Denver 7 Oakland 31 Enormous divisional win. RB Dick Christy gets 139 yards on 18 carries, 1 rushing TD and 2 receiving TDs. WR Paul Warfield catches 5 for 105 yards. SLB Don Shinnick is a force with 7 tackles, an assist, 2 sacks, a knockdown, a pass defense and 2 forced fumbles. DE Steve De Long gets 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and 3 knockdowns. Three 9-5 teams in the AFC West and RG Wayne Hawkins returns. Only 5-9 Kansas City is officially eliminated from anything. Oakland 23 New York 14 QB Paul Larson is MVP at 20/27 for 227 yards and 2 TDs. CB Dave Whitsell defends 3 passes. The Broncos lost to Dallas and at 10-5, we've clinched a playoff spot. And, in what is an all-too familiar scenario, we're playing the Chargers the last game of the season for the AFC West crown. Oakland 27 San Diego 16 Oh sweet, sweet victory! Willie Andrews returns a fumble 5 yards for a TD and DE Steve De Long adds to his awesome rookie year with 1.5 sacks and 4 hurries. In their 6th season, the Oakland Raiders finally win the AFC West!!!!!!!!! That we did it with QB Paul Larson makes it all the sweeter. Unfortunately, we have to rematch the Chargers in the wildcard 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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10-12-2010, 02:21 PM
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#33 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Bitter Divisional Rivals Clash Again
12th year veteran QB Paul Larson found his old magic down the stretch Paul Larson smiles when asked to reflect on the Raiders' 6 game win streak that won the franchise's first AFC West title. "It's great. Something I'll be able to tell my grandkids about and to say, hey, not to give up, because Grandpa didn't and he did a great thing." Larson admits it was difficult to go through last season, watching second round rookie Tommy Wade take over the starting QB spot. "I hated it and wanted to be the one back out there, but he beat me fair and square in preseason. So I made sure I worked in the offseason and although I knew I wasn't going to start, because he got better as the year went on last year, I wanted to make sure I was at least #2." Make sure Larson did, beating out Harold Stephens for the backup position. Then when Wade went down with an injury against the Denver Broncos, Larson got his job back for the next few weeks. And then he won three straight games. It was official; Wade was out, Larson back in. He led the Raiders to six straight victories, taking Oakland from a shockingly pedestrian 5-5 to 11-5 and the team's first AFC West title, beating the San Diego Chargers in San Diego the last week of the season. Now he'll try to gun for the franchise's first playoff victory in three tries, taking on those same Chargers in Oakland, in what is becoming one of the great rivalries of the West's football landscape. Quarterback Paul Larson threw for 12 TDs and just 2 INTs over those last six games. Although many considered his skills diminished, his rapport and familiarity with the Raiders system and its players can't be denied. QB Jack Kemp is one of the best in the league, unbelievably without an All-Pro award. Advantage: Chargers Running Back Dick Christy was the biggest surprise of the Raiders' season, rushing for 1,084 yards and 10 TDs. Like Larson, many considered him diminished, despite having rushed for 1,010 yards and 14 TDs in Tennessee last year. He's one of those players who seems to have gotten better with age. RB Paul Lowe, the 1960 Offensive Rookie of the Year, has 3 straight seasons of 1,300+ yards to his credit and is magnificient. Advantage: Chargers Wide Receiver WR Boyd Dowler and WR Paul Warfield just missed becoming the first pair of 1,000 yard receiving teammates in franchise history, both finishing with 900+ yards. TE Gene Prebola is an All-Pro fixture and WR Raymond Berry and WR Ray Poage could start for a lot of teams. TE Dave Kocourek battles it out with Prebola for All-Pro recognition each season and WR Don Norton is a very good receiver in his own right. But WR Bryan Kelly and WR Bill Miller are merely decent, about on the level of Oakland's 5th WR, Bob Coolbaugh. Advantage: Raiders Offensive Line Oakland doesn't have any real weaknesses on its offensive line, but neither do they have any standouts as such, as RT Jim Parker has clearly declined from his prime. The Chargers, on the other hand, have a very solid unit of their own, a fierce, run-blocking outfit that plays extremely well together and knows one another, even rookie RG Glenn Reslett. Advantage: Draw Defensive Line DE Jerry Mays had a career low 5.5 sacks, but he was double-teamed constantly, allowing DT Danny Birdwell to get a career high 9 sacks. DE Steve De Long should win Defensive Rookie of the Year, as his 14.5 sacks rank third in the entire league. DE Ron Nery was the 1961 Defensive Player of the Year and is still an extremely dangerous pass-rusher, the equal to the Raiders' celebrate ends. Third year NT Buck Buchanan broke out this season and has now established himself as one of the best 3-4 DTs in the league. DE Lloyd Voss is the forgotten man, the Chargers' equivalent to rookie DT Frank Cornish, although Cornish is better than Voss. Advantage: Draw Linebackers SLB Don Shinnick is one of the best all-around OLBs in the NFL. MLB Garland Boyette is a tackle machine with decent all-around ability and WLB Gorden Kelley is good, when he gets on the field. SLB Emil Karas is similiar to Shinnick. SILB Myron Pottios gets tackles, but is a liability in the passing game. WILB Fred Wittingham isn't much, but WLB Jackie Burkett is a pass-rusher to be feared and a virtual lock for All-Pro status the last two seasons. Advantage: Draw Secondary CB Dave Whitsell is another one of Oakland's veterans who defy age. CB Ben Scotti isn't anything special. S Lee Riley is still good, but clearly lost a step. It's S Freddy Glick that really led this unit after CB Joe Cannavino was lost for the year with ACL knee surgery. CB Dick Harris was an All-Pro in 1963, but is arguably the most overrated cornerback in the game. CB Jim Shofner is very ordinary. S Bob Zieman is very much like Riley, albeit younger and S Rico Yost impresses no one. Advantage: Raiders Kickers K Jerry Traynham keeps finding ways to keep his job. P Curley Johnson is still Mr. Dependable. K George Blair is overrated, but more accurate than Traynham and P Paul Maguire is a young Johnson. Advantage: Chargers Overall Thoughts Tough game to call. It's a bitter, intense rivalry that's further supported by the NorCal/SoCal divide. Realistically, though, this game should be San Diego's to lose. QB Jack Kemp is far too talented to let his Chargers lose to a gritty Raiders outfit, no matter how stellar Oakland's fleet of receivers. Line: San Diego by 2 We lead 21-17 at the half and everyone's pumped. Then RB Paul Lowe takes over in the second half. We're outscored 28-0 in the second half and.. yeah. Lowe is PotG with 22 carries for 124 yards and 3 TDs. MLB Garland Boyette's 10 tackles and 5 assists were the lone highlight on our side, as we got completely exposed. Final - San Diego 45 Oakland 21 Super Bowl VI - Cleveland Browns vs. Chicago Bears The Browns tore through the AFC like it was nothing (37-13 over San Diego, 41-13 over Tennessee). Chicago stunned San Francisco 27-0 in the NFC Championship to spoil a Super Bowl V repeat. Cleveland is only favored by 7, but that elusive third ring should finally show up. But defense wins championships. DE Jerry Brown is a rare Super Bowl MVP with 2 sacks, 4 hurries and a forced fumble as he rattled QB Len Dawson all night long. The Bears had just enough offense to pull off their first Super Bowl win. Final - Chicago 20 Cleveland 10 Four AFC Championships and 2 Super Bowl rings should be enough for the Browns, but I can understand how much it hurts. But hell, we're still 0 for 3 in our quest for a playoff win. Code:
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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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10-13-2010, 11:41 PM
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#34 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Hell of a 6 games by Paul Larson and Steve De Long's rookie year still amazes me. Got to love Dick Christy's fighting off Father Time one more year, although he was terrible in the playoffs. So basically, we're again shopping for a QB and a RB starter. And of course there's aging on the defense to keep an eye on... Oakland Raiders 1965 Season Awards DE Steve De Long - Defensive Rookie of the Year - All-Pro 2nd Team DE I'm thrilled to see this. I've never had a DROTY in any of my FOF games, I don't think. The fact that he was a late first round pick makes it even better. If nothing else, I've been very good at drafting defensive linemen so far in this dynasty. FB Jim Taylor - All-Pro 1st Team FB A standard award. P Colin Ridgway goes to France, because I'm still wary of age hits to Curley Johnson Free Agency QB, RB x 2, TE, WR x 2, K, DT, MLB, OLB x 2, CB x 2, S x 3 Week 1 G Wayne Hawkins - 3 years, $1.7 mil. G Dan Manoukian - 3 years, $2.09 mil. SLB Don Shinnick - 2 years, $1.09 mil. DT Danny Birdwell - 4 years, $1.79 mil. LT Bob Vogel - 4 years, $4.18 mil. I overpaid for Vogel, but quality LTs are so damn hard to find, I decided he was worth it. There's a lot of guys I was uncertain about, so I didn't extend them. I was even a little unsure about our two guards, but decided to keep them in the end. Week 2 Signings QB Billy Kilmer - 2 years, $610k (Seattle Seahawks) -I've tried repeatedly to get him over the years and now he finally lands with the Raiders. His completion percentage and TD to INT ratio are a bit alarming, but he's never been given the opportunity to be a full-time starter. We'll gamble on him. RB Jim Brown - 2 years, $820k (Cleveland Browns) -Yes, he's in his 10th season and a fraction of what he was. But come on, he's Jim Brown! WR Raymond Berry - 2 years, $360k resigning -Even if he falls off a cliff, he's still an immense value to me at this price. WLB Gorden Kelley - 1 year, $100k resigning -Solid for us last year. Week 1 Losses S Benjamin Lay - 1 year minsal (Indianapolis Colts) -Didn't impress me at all last season. Not sorry to see him go. Week 4 WR Bob Coolbaugh - 1 year $90k resigning -Dependable receivers are always good. CB Bennie Macrae - 1 year $120k (Green Bay Packers) -Yes, we sign a lot of Packers defensive players, but they work. Macrae could be a starter. S Dale Hackbert - 1 year $120k (Cleveland Browns) -Bit of a dice roll, as he's looked iffy in the playoffs and was downright awful early in his career there. But it's only for a year. Week 4 Losses DT Kris Cochran - 1 year $90k Kansas City Chiefs resigning -Offered him a little more money, but he wanted to keep his starting gig with the Chiefs rather than be a backup for us. Week 5 K Jerry Traynham - 1 year minsal resigning -Wins out again but maybe not for long... CB Ben Scotti - 1 year $120k resigning -Probably due for a veteran drop, but the market was really bare this year. Week 7 DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year $110k resigning -Got a fair bit of interest this year, so had to overpay to keep him locked up. Week 8 DT Ken Frost - 1 year $120k (Arizona Cardinals) -Former first round pick never panned out, but he's a mentor now and good enough to back up. Week 9 RB Dick Christy - 1 year minsal resigning -Mentor and proved himself last year. MLB Tom Louderback - 1 year minsal resigning -Might as well give a last shot as a reserve. OLB Jack Rudolph - 1 year minsal (New England Patriots) -Was the league's first Defensive Rookie of the Year. Still a very capable player and a huge improvement in our reserve situation. Week 9 Losses FB Ernie Green - 1 year minsal (New England Patriots) -Green was never our guy of the future and Bob Briggs is a ST demon. On to 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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10-14-2010, 12:29 AM
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#35 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I'm even more glad I got Kilmer in FA, because this is probably the weakest and most boring class out of all the ones to date. CB Emmitt Thomas is the clear-cut #1. After that it's really open.
1966 NFL Draft 1st Round 1. CB Emmitt Thomas - Jacksonville Jaguars 2. QB Jim LeClair - Atlanta Falcons 3. QB Randy Johnson - Baltimore Ravens 4. QB Tim Van Galder - Buffalo Bills 5. QB Scotty Glacken - Kansas City Chiefs 6. RB Mike Garrett - New York Giants Giants fans immediately run out and kiss the fans in Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo and Kansas City. None of those QBs merits a Top 5 pick, even in this fairly ho-hum class. Garrett was a Top 3 by talent, so the Giants luck out here. In fact, you'll see a lot of steals relative to their class value because of the moronic moves by 2-5. 7. CB Goldie Sellers - Houston Texans 8. G John Wilbur - Green Bay Packers 9. WR Dick Witcher - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 10. DE Rich Jackson - Minnesota Vikings 11. G Gale Gillingham - Washington Redskins 12. DT Houston Ridge - New Orleans Saints 13. DE Pete Duranko - Pittsburgh Steelers 14. WR Ben Hawkins - Seattle Seahawks 15. CB Ken Reaves - Dallas Cowboys 16. DT Joe Szczecko - New York Jets 17. DE Jack Gregory - San Francisco 49ers through Miami Dolphins 3rd round pick in this draft, plus 2nd and 3rd round picks in 1968 draft. Fair price. 18. CB Bobby Neff - Indianapolis Colts 19. OLB Dan Boffone - Cincinnati Bengals 20. ILB Don Gulseth - Detroit Lions 21. RB Brian Piccolo - New England Patriots 22. G Randy Beisler - Philadelphia Eagles 23. G Pat Matson - Arizona Cardinals 24. S Mel Phillips - Carolina Panthers 25. DT Garry Pettigrew - San Diego Chargers There's exactly one RB left I consider even remotely worth drafting in the first round and nobody else really excites me as a first round pick relative to our needs, so I call the Broncos up, who are also looking for a RB and see if they want to trade. They accept our 5th round pick to switch spots. 26. RB Emerson Boozer - Oakland Raiders 27. RB Craig Baynham - Denver Broncos 28. DT Don Davis - San Francisco 49ers Great rebuilding of their D-line by the 49ers in this draft. 29. ILB Fred Forsberg - Philadelphia Eagles 30. ILB Tommy Nobis - St. Louis Rams 31. G Bruce Van Dyke - Cleveland Browns 32. T Steve Smith - Chicago Bears Smith had Top 10-15 talent, but endurance concerns dropped him all the way down here. Could be a good pickup for Chicago. Pickings are already looking slim in the second round and I debate on whether or not to draft a safety who appears to be the lone decent player left with anything close to 2nd round value. Nobody wants to trade me their 2nd round pick next year, so I go ahead and take S Brig Owens. Kickers start flying off the board in the third round, so I trade my remaining draft picks (3rd, 6th, 7th - I'd traded my 4th in an earlier year) and my 7th round pick next year to move up to 3.22 and take K Garo Yepremian. I signed a safety mentor and a backup TE great on special teams in late free agency. Code:
Not thrilled with how this draft turned out, but we'll work with it. Hopefully Boozer's a creeper.
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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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10-14-2010, 03:11 AM
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#36 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Kilmer's Chance Arrives With Raiders
 Can QB Billy Kilmer be the one to break Oakland's playoff futility? Don't blame QB Billy Kilmer for being angry at the Seattle Seahawks. He spent 5 seasons in the Pacific Northwest, four of them watching John Hadl, the top overall pick taken a year after him, compile a 17-47 record with 75 TDs to 88 INTs and never reaching 3,700 yards, totals produced by both Paul Larson and Tommy Wade in recent years. "They never gave me a chance and now they're going to pay," Kilmer said after signing a two year deal with the Raiders in the offseason. Oakland's coaching staff reported Kilmer came into training camp fired up and impassioned, showing a flair and timing that impressed his teammates. "He came in angry and hurt," said FB Jim Taylor, "But he also talked to Paul (Larson) every day of camp, asking him about the system, the receivers, everything. It was great to see the two of them bonding." Skeptics will point to Kilmer's 40% completion rate and 2 TDs to 4 INTs during his Seattle years as reasons why the latest new Raiders QB will flame out. Others will say 70 passes is far too small a sample size to judge. Regardless, Oakland's season will come down to Kilmer's play. Code:
Larson became a mentor in the offseason and used it effectively to educate Kilmer. The Raiders legend will still be the #2 QB, because Wade lost everyone's confidence through an interception-filled year last season. Code:
The Raiders will probably go with first round pick Boozer as the #1 back, the better to preserve Brown's legs. How much long can Taylor hold up? Even with the age issues, this is the best Oakland's RB situation has looked on paper... ever. Code:
Kilmer not only gets to start, he has a wealth of weapons to choose from in the Raiders' receiving corps. Fifth WR Coolbaugh could start for a good number of teams. That's how deep it is. Code:
Parker was criticized for his poor play since coming to Oakland and he came in to camp impassioned and ready to prove his worth. This could be Otto's last season in Oakland, because the staff loves Flanagan. Ed. Note - John Simerson was signed before the preseason opener as a mentor. There's nobody there to push Hawkins or Manoukian yet, but Pillath is waiting in the wings and may be a deciding factor in whether or not Parker is re-signed. Code:
Traynham or Yepremian? That's the battle going on right now. Code:
The Raiders pride themselves on their defensive line. It's a pretty darn good one, although the depth is a little bit weak. Mays also isn't going to be around forever. Code:
Best depth at OLB in a long time. If Boyette goes down, though, watch out. Louderback wasn't that good to begin with and now he's ancient. Code:
There's a *very* slim chance Cannavino comes back for the playoffs, but for now it looks like Scotti and McRae, with Whitsell the nickel. McIlhany hasn't improved, which is disappointing. S Lee Riley retired this offseason, so they'll have to forge ahead with Hackbart and holdover Glick. Overall Thoughts No excuses for Oakland this year. Getting Kilmer has made them *the* favorites to not only win the AFC West and finally win a playoff game, but to win it all. The Chargers will again be their toughest competition, but most say it's not even close. ...Wow, talk about pressure. Preseason Minnesota 24 Oakland 26 Game over. K Garo Yepremian hits 4/5 FGs including 2/2 from 50+ to win Player of the Game. I'm still keeping Jerry Traynham as a mentor to Garo. Oakland 14 Arizona 26 We stunk. QB Tommy Wade is going to get his shot to win the #2 job now. Oakland 37 St. Louis 17 I'll just mention that QB Billy Kilmer has been pretty damn accurate this postseason and our running game has new life. No statistical stars to note; total team effort. Chicago 10 Oakland 34 3 TDs by QB Tommy Wade and he's officially #2. 2 pass defenses by CB Bennie McRae and S Dale Hackbart with McRae getting an INT in the bargain. CB Bennie McRae was so excited about the pick, he gave himself a Concussion. Out 4 weeks. We scoop the street and snap up CB Larry Glueck. CB Dave Whitsell is temporarily the new starting RCB. Regular Season Denver 24 Oakland 17 Ugh. Very uneven debut by QB Billy Kilmer - 23/51 for 263 yards, 2 TDs and 3 INTs. Just a bad game all around by our team. Hope it's just working the kinks out. Oakland 21 San Francisco 33 Our pass defense is crap with all our secondary injuries, which is making -us- crap right now. Oakland 42 Cleveland 38 *This* is the QB Billy Kilmer we were looking for. ...Sort of. 19/33 for 332 yards, 6 TDs and 3 INTs. I'm thinking of trading him. 10 tackles, 2 assists and a sack by QB Ben Scotti Oakland 14 New England 20 Another 2 picks and another sorry game. Okay, Billy, you're gone. ...Only nobody will take him because I just signed him in the offseason. FML. Oakland 37 Kansas City 7 16/29 for 272 yards and 4 TDs is the best we've seen out of QB Billy Kilmer. CB Dave Whitsell defends 2 passes, but our passrush is nonexistant this year. CB Bennie McRae is back. Buffalo 17 Oakland 28 Maybe he just needed an adjustment period. QB Billy Kilmer wins his second straight PotG at 25/39 for 273 yards and 3 TDs. WR Paul Warfield is the warhorse with 5 catches for 105 yards and a TD. CB Bennie McRae defends 2 in his first game back. Oakland 40 New York Jets 24 Fun game. QB Billy Kilmer is 26/38 for 317 yards and a TD, 7 catches and 109 yards going to WR Raymond Berry. DT Danny Birdwell wakes up the pass-rush with 2 sacks and 2 blocks while CB Bennie McRae deflects 2 passes. Miami 17 Oakland 14 A real kick in the teeth. 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a knockdown by DE Jerry Mays don't mean a whole hell of a lot when we lose by 3 stinking points. So we're 4-4 at the midway point, tied with the Broncos and Chargers for the AFC West lead. 1-6-1 Kansas City is far, far behind. But wait. There's more. CB Bennie McRae - Broken Tibia - Out - 9 weeks MLB Garland Boyette - Torn Knee Ligament - Out - 11 Weeks F.M.L.
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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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10-14-2010, 01:13 PM
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#37 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Let's see if we can salvage this season. I cut P Colin Ridgway although I didn't realize I didn't need to. MLB John Carrell and CB Pete Jacquess get inked for the rest of the season. MLB Tom Louderback and CB Dave Whitsell take over the respective spots.
San Diego 31 Oakland 33 It feels awesome to beat the Chargers, especially since K Garo Yepremian kicks 4/4 field goals, including the game winner with 11 seconds left. QB Billy Killmer won Player of the Game: 30/43 for 436 yards, 3 TDs and an INT. WR Boyd Dowler catches 8 passes for 115 yards and a TD, WR Paul Warfield 6 for 108 and 2 TDs. Oh shoot. I forgot to post the halfway summary, so here's the 9 game one instead. Code:
Our defense has been pretty bad this year relative to most years. Our pass rush in particular has vanished, as has our ability to generate turnovers. The numbers by QB Billy Kilmer look good on paper, but he cost us a lot of games early in the year. Oakland 21 Denver 24 Well damn. Tiebreaker edge now goes to Broncos. We needed this game and we just fucked it all. 9 catches for 109 yards by WR Boyd Dowler and 5 catches for 124 yards and a TD by WR Paul Warfield, so at least the receivers are clicking. 4 pass defenses by CB Dave Whitsell, 2 by S Dale Hackbart. Seattle 34 Oakland 28 QB Billy Kilmer really wanted to beat his old team and he got a little overager at 21/36 for 289 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs, while QB John Hadl didn't allow a pick in leading the Seahawks to 7-4. We're below .500 at the latest point in the season ever, and it stinks. Tennessee 16 Oakland 23 Comeback victory over one of the league's better teams. Nice to have one of those. QB Billy Kilmer is the man again with 300 yards and a TD on 24/35 passing. WR Boyd Dowler catches 6 passes for 118 yards. But oh, what a price. CB Ben Scotti is done for the season and needs ankle surgery. And QB Billy Kilmer strains his Achilles tendon and is out for the next game. The bright side? CB Joe Cannavino is back. So it's up to QB Tommy Wade. Man, that's scary. Arizona 35 Oakland 14 Horrible. I'm throwing QB Paul Larson back in. Oh, great. WR Boyd Dowler with an ankle sprain. Could be Out the rest of the regular season. WR Hugh Lewis is the new 5th receiver. Oakland 10 San Diego 19 S Dale Hackbart: 11 tackles, 3 assists. WLB Gorden Kelley: 10 tackles, 1 assist. We just have too many injuries. QB Billy Kilmer comes back. Best we can finish is .500 and we're essentially out of the playoffs, I think. Oakland 15 St. Louis 34 Ugh. I don't care about DT Frank Cornish's 2 sacks. Not when QB Billy Kilmer throws 4 picks. We've officially pooched ourselves out of the playoffs, out of .500, out of everything. DT Danny Birdwell and MLB Tom Louderback will miss the final game because of injuries. Wow, this year SUCKS. I sign a couple scrubs. Kansas City 10 Oakland 41 We pound out all our frustrations of this season on the Chiefs. RB Emerson Boozer rams in 3 TDs andWR Paul Warfield gets 5 catches for 119 yards as our highlights. Last time we finished 7-9? 1960, our first year of existence. Our first round pick in that following draft was DE Jerry Mays, who I'd say has turned out pretty good. I"m running a little late, so I'll dispense with the playoffs. I'm a bit too disgusted to run them now 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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10-14-2010, 01:37 PM
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#38 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: TX
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good read. seems Kilmer was interception prone afterall
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10-14-2010, 06:08 PM
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#39 | |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Quote:
Thanks. And yeah, his overall stats actually look pretty good on paper, but way too many games lost because of his boneheadedness. I'm definitely going to try trading him this offseason.
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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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10-17-2010, 01:38 AM
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#40 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
7-9 is actually about right for the team. Yes, we had major injury problems, especially in the secondary, but there's only so much you can pin on that. Our defense is getting old and we still haven't solved the problems at QB and RB. We're due for a few mediocre years, I think, unless we find some major steals in free agency or the draft. Code:
Denver upsets San Diego in the opening round and Cleveland gets stunned by Buffalo. Tennessee barely ekes past the Broncos in the divisional round, then whips Baltimore in the AFC Championship, while Arizona murders everyone en route to the Super Bowl. Super Bowl VII - Tennessee Titans vs. Arizona Cardinals I'm predicting the Cardinals win big, even though the Titans are 4 point favorites. Arizona gets 3 interceptions off of QB Ed Chlebek, but a 76 yard punt return for a TD by Frank Jackson and a monster performance by WR Charley Hennigan with 12 catches for 147 yards and the game-winning TD en route to Super Bowl MVP honors decide a shockingly low-scoring game. Tennessee 17 Arizona 10 The Cardinals are denied their second ring (They won Super Bowl IV 31-27 over the Chargers), while the Titans get the trophy in their first appearance. Oakland Raiders 1966 Season Awards RB Emerson Boozer - Offensive Rookie of the Year Wow. I know it was a weak class, but to see Boozer give us our second straight Rookie of the Year award is a stunner. And pretty cool, to be honest. Maybe he's better than I think. WR Raymond Berry hangs it up, making him our second important veteran in as many years to retire. I'll miss him as our third WR. Tied for 2nd all time in receiving TDs and even in the three years he had with us, he ranks in the Top 5 in a lot of team categories. That will change, of course. Sadly, no one is eligible for France this year under house rules. Free Agency QB, TE, WR x 3, C, T, DE, DT, MLB, OLB x 2, CB, S x 3 Week 1 DE Jerry Mays - 4 years, $3.15 mil. T Roger Pillath - 3 years, $540k WR Paul Warfield - 4 years, $3.6 mil. Free Agency Kilmer Flies To Falcons For 2nd Round Pick  QB Billy Kilmer lasted just a season in Oakland The Oakland Raiders announced today the trade of QB Billy Kilmer to the Atlanta Falcons for Atlanta's 1968 2nd round draft pick. Kilmer, entering his 7th season, posted excellent statistical numbers in his lone year as the Raiders' starter, completing 59.7% of his passes for 3,962 yards, 33 TDs and 21 INTs in 14 games. But he was also sharply criticized for his tendency to throw multiple interceptions in off games and it was that inconsistency that ultimately led to the deal. "It's going to be fun", Kilmer said. "I've spent my whole adult life on the West Coast, so getting a chance to see what life is like in another part of the country is exciting." Kilmer was taken by the Seattle Seahawks with the 6th overall pick in the 1961 draft, then superseded by QB John Hadl, taken first overall the very next year. The former UCLA graduate and Topeka, Kansas native takes over as Atlanta's starting quarterback and will help groom 2nd year, 2nd overall pick Jim LeClair as the Falcons' QB of the future. Although the value back for the Raiders was considerable, Oakland GM Izulde Jestor is notorious for high-profile 2nd round busts, such as T Ed Walsh, T Daryl Sanders, and QB Tommy Wade. ***End Article*** The Falcons are also one of the most trade-happy teams in this universe, as we've seen throughout the first round. Speaking of which, I should do a 7th year update of 1961's first round. 1961 NFL Draft First Round 7 Year Review 1. QB Fran Tarkenton - Jacksonville Jaguars -1963 Offensive of the Player. Has two 4,000+ yard seasons, but a 23-62-1 record because Jacksonville is a terrible team. They also drafted QB Daryle Lamonica a few years later. 2. DE Deacon Jones - Houston Texans -No All-Pro awards and only one season with 10 or more sacks. Consistently good, but not great. 3. QB Norm Snead - Cincinnati Bengals -Appeared in one game in 1961 season and threw 5 passes, completing 2 for 8 yards. Cut after 1962 and retired at some point with nary a pass more thrown. Monster bust. 4. ILB Chuck Allen - Minnesota Vikings -1961 Defensive Rookie of the Year and 3 time All-Pro (1962, 1964, 1965). Has never had fewer than 112 tackles in a season and is already 2nd all-time in tackles. Hall of Fame potential. 5. T Stew Barber - Buffalo Bills -Not flashy, but a solid LT and the starter for the last 6 seasons. 6. QB Billy Kilmer - Seattle Seahawks -You know his history already. 7. T Roger Shoals - Washington Redskins -Career has pretty much mirrored Barber's. 8. CB Jimmy Johnson - Atlanta Falcons -A pretty good corner, but injuries have kept him from being great. He's missed a good number of games over the last several years. 9. DT Ernie Ladd - Baltimore Ravens -All-Pro 1st Team from 1962-1964. Shows no signs of slowing down and is still one of the most feared NTs in the league. Ranks first or second in a lot of Baltimore's career defensive categories. Could make a case for Hall of Fame, especially if he gets Legend of the Game. 10. DT Joe Rutgens - Miami Dolphins -Very mediocre career as a 6 year starter in the Dolphins' 3-4. Only scout love has kept him there this long. 11. CB Dave Grayson - New Orleans Saints -Ballhawk who's tied for 9th all-time in career interceptions. Also has shown great kick return skills, even though he's only handled those duties for a couple of seasons in his career. No All-Pro awards, but he's still a great corner. 12. CB Pat Fischer - New England Patriots -Not quite the ballhawk that Grayson has been and not as good a cover defender. However, he was a terrific kick returner for the first three years of his career and still could be so if he had the opportunity. Merely decent as a corner, though. 13. DE Larry Eisenhauer - Tampa Bay Buccaneers -Very solid defensive end, with more career sacks than Jones. 14. CB Jim McMillin - Tennessee Titans -Very pedestrian career and missed the Super Bowl because of a knee injury, so no ring. Reduced to nickel duties this season and was cut, so he may well end up elsewhere next year. 15. DE Jerry Mays - Oakland Raiders -Arguably the best of the three DEs profiled so far, although like them, he hasn't won an All-Pro award. Had three straight years of 10+ sacks from 1962-1964, including 15.5 in 1962. 16. RB Tommy Mason - Dallas Cowboys -#1 all-time in all-purpose yardage. Handled punt return and kick returns his first three years and has 6 straight seasons of 1,100+ rushing yards. Also notoriously fumble-prone, with just two seasons of fewer than 10 cough-ups. 17. T John Mattox - New York Jets -6 year starter, but ordinary. 18. T Charlie Cowan - Arizona Cardinals -Finally starting to run-block well, but gives up quite a few sacks. 19. DT Houston Antwine - Pittsburgh Steelers -Didn't become a starter until his 3rd season and was average. Par-time starter his 4th year. Has been a decent 4-3 DT starter for Tennessee and Chicago the last two years and is in free agency again. 20. CB Herb Adderly - Denver Broncos -One of the most underrated corners in the league. An excellent player and another kick return ace in a first round full of them. Still going strong. 21. DT Ken Frost - San Francisco 49ers -Never a full-time starter and has a career 1.5 sacks. Still finds work as a journeyman backup DT, however. 22. T John Brown - Atlanta Falcons through Chicago Bears -Consistently gives up 10+ sacks, but he's been a better than expected runblocker. Really should be playing RT. And yeah. I'm going to stop reviewing. It's giving me a headache. I'll profile just the Raiders' picks from here on out. Oakland Raiders Mays you know. 2.5 T Ed Walsh Traded up to get him and hoped he'd be the RT of the future. Started his first two seasons and was pretty bad, then got relegated to backup duty his third. He went on to be a starter for a year in Houston and has spent the last two seasons as a backup in Dallas, where he played the best he ever has. A free agent again and likely journeyman. 3.15 T Ed Nutting Hoped for a steal at LT. Played in 47 games through 4 seasons, but never made a starting spot. Journeyman backup in Pittsburgh and Baltimore the last two seasons. 4.7 RB George Fleming Before Dick Christy last year, he was the only Raiders back to break 1,000 yards rushing. Was the top backup the next two years and still ranks as the team's career leader in rushing yards and TDs. Special teams work in Cleveland as a gunner and kick returner two years ago, and a return as a backup rusher for Green Bay this season. Also returned kicks. 5.1 K Jerry Traynham You all know him. He'll kick somewhere else next year, though. 6.12 QB Brian Verstegen Never saw the field in the NFL. 6.15 S Wayne Fontes Appeared in a total of 36 plays in two seasons and never played another down. Best Player DE Jerry Mays Biggest Bust T Ed Walsh Best Value RB George Fleming Okay on to free agency proper. Week 2 C Jay Bernard - 1 year minsal (Atlanta Falcons) -Mentor signing MLB John McLemore - 1 year minsal (Houston Texans) -Mentor signing OLB Gorden Kelley - 3 years, $1.44 mil. resigning -Quality linebacker I felt we had to retain. Mentor, too. CB Bennie McRae - 5 years, $2.67 mil. resigning -I may regret this, given his injury problems last year, but CB is a weak spot for us and we need him. Week 2 Losses WR Ray Poage - 1 year, $110k (Cleveland Browns) -As much as I liked Ray as one of my boom players, he had too many drops for my liking. Plus, he was never going to see a starting spot with us, so I just let him go. Week 3 DT Dave Frost - 1 year minsal resigning -Mentor and backup CB Roger Donahoo - 1 year, $120k (Tennessee Titans) -Should help our nickel depth. S Freddy Glick - 3 years, $1.26 mil. re-signing -Our most consistent, reliable secondary player. Week 3 Losses WR Gail Cogdill - 4 years, $1.86 mil. (Detroit Lions resigning) -Didn't want to be a backup for us. C Jim Otto - 5 years, $3.86 mil. (Houston Texans) -I was debating on whether to bring him back, but then when I saw the prices he was commanding, I said forget it. Fans are pissed I let an Idolized player walk. T Jim Parker - 2 years, $2.52 mil. (Miami Dolphins) -Probably should have kept him, but oh well. It felt like he never lived up to his huge contract. T Dave Hill - 5 years, $1.94 mil. (Cleveland Browns resigning) -This one hurts. I was counting on him as my new starting RT and he re-ups with the Browns instead. Week 4 Signings WR Bob Coolbaugh - 1 year minsal resigning -I love reliable options at WR. DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year $130k resigning -Earns money with his mentor work and solid play. S Dale Hackbart - 4 years, $1.7 mil. resigning -Our best player in the secondary last year. Week 5 WR Bill Groman - 1 year minsal (Cincinnati Bengals) -Big-play ace with some PR ability. Good guy to have for a 4th or 5th receiver spot. Week 6 TE Leon Clarke - 1 year, $130k (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) -Got into a bidding war for the mentor/blocker. Too valuable to pass up. Week 6 Losses K Jerry Traynham - 1 year minsal (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) -With Garo, we don't need Jerry. DE John Jelacic - 1 year, $160k (Carolina Panthers) -After doing nothing for us the last two seasons, John somehow gets a great paycheck from the Panthers. Wow, they must be desperate. S Richie McCabe - 1 year, $120k (Baltimore Ravens) -This one I can understand because he's good in run support and a mentor. Week 7 Hello, mentor OLB Roger LeClerc of the Atlanta Falcons. Goodbye, mentor OLB Jack Randolph to the Arizona Cardinals. LeClerc is a run-stopping beast with special teams skills. WR Hugh Lewis gets a minsal from the Redskins. In Week 9, emergency signing DT Geoff Drake gets a one year minsal from the Ravens. Off we go to 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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10-17-2010, 08:13 AM
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#41 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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We're picking 10th, which means we can move up to #5. QB Bob Griese should be the first or second player taken, but it's defense where this draft shines.
1967 NFL Draft First Round 1. CB Zeke Moore - Kansas City Chiefs 2. ILB Willie Lanier - New York Giants 3. DT Allan Page - Dallas Cowboys 4. QB Bob Griese - Houston Texans Wow. The Chiefs and Cowboys I can understand, because Kansas City is still grooming Roger Staubach and Don Meredith is still solid for Dallas, but the Giants really needed Griese, rather than continue their love affair with god-awful Richie Nelson. Great gift for the Texans here. In a moment of full confession, I wouldn't have traded up for Griese if he fell to #5. I think he's the most overrated QB in Dolphins history and one of the top 5 most overrated QBs of all time. It irks me that he has the perfect record. Anyway, we won't trade up. It's too deep a draft. 5. QB Bob Davis - Minnesota Vikings 6. S Mike Weger - Jacksonville Jaguars 7. CB Lem Barney - Seattle Seahawks through Tampa Bay Buccaneers Barney was a CB I eyed, and the Seahawks get to jump up 13 spots for an extra 4th and 6th round pick. Talk about cheap. 8. OLB Paul Naumoff - Atlanta Falcons 9. S Ken Houston - Cincinnati Bengals A fantastic RB and DE, a solid CB, a good DT, OLB, and ILB... There's 6 players worth taking at this spot. If we drop down, the Jets will take the DE, the Dolphins will take the DT, the Saints will take either the OLB or the ILB, and the Packers will take either the RB or the ILB, pending who the Saints pick. So we could drop down 4 spots and still get one of two of our guys. Either the CB or the RB, or the CB or the ILB, or, if we allow the Packers to move up, either the CB or the OLB. CB or OLB actually makes the most sense, given our age in those spots, but the RB or the DE represent the maximum value. Boozer For Nettles In Stunning Swap  Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Emerson Boozer was unexpectedly traded In a deal no one expected, the Oakland Raiders traded 2nd year RB Emerson Boozer to the Dallas Cowboys for 3rd year CB Jim Nettles. Boozer, the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year, immediately becomes the Cowboy's #1 RB, while Nettles will be in the mix for a starting spot at CB and provide immediate youth at one of the Raiders' most graybearded position groups. ***End*** With that, our choice is clear. 10. RB Floyd Little - Oakland Raiders 11. DE Bubba Smith - New York Jets 12. DT Dave Rowe - Miami Dolphins 13. OLB Ron Porter - New Orleans Saints 14. T Rayfield Wright - Green Bay Packers 15. CB Bobby Bryant - San Francisco 49ers 16. CB Charlie Stuukes - New England Patriots 17. CB Errol Prisby - Carolina Panthers 18. T Joe Taffoni - St. Louis Rams 19. S Garry Lyle - Indianapolis Colts 20. ILB Frank Nunley - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Great value pick for the Bucs here. Nunley was Top 15, borderline Top 10 worthy. 21. OLB Billy Andrews - Washington Redskins 22. CB Randy Beverly - Philadelphia Eagles 23. CB Leroy Mitchell - San Diego Chargers 24. DT Ron East - Cleveland Browns 25. ILB Jamie Rivers - Denver Broncos 26. OLB George Webster - Washington Redskins 27. CB Elijah Nevett - Detroit Lions 28. DE Lloyd Phillips - Chicago Bears 29. OLB Pete Barnes - Buffalo Bills 30. OLB Jim Lynch - Baltimore Ravens 31. G Larry Little - Arizona Cardinals 32. RB Clint Jones - Tennessee Titans G Gene Upshaw, who I planned on taking with our 2nd round pick, got grabbed a pick before ours, by the Cardinals. So it becomes a case of QB gamble, continue beefing our secondary with a S, or RT. Tough decision. But I think I see another RT prospect who should be there in the third and I don't want QB Tommy Wade in there again, so it's hello, future polarizing Ol' Ballcoach, QB Steve Spurrier. [b]T Rocky Freitas[b] is indeed still there in the third and we take him. 4th round comes down to S or WR, and WR John Love's KR talents are just enough to get him the pick. Then we trade our 5th, 6th, and 1968 5th round picks to the Saints to move up to 4.15 and take S Chuck Latourette. Late Free Agency RB Dicky Christy is re-signed for his return and mentor work and I pluck S Jeremy Wells from the Jaguars to be a mentor. S Hagood Clarke, formerly of the Broncos, spurns us for the Packers. QB Paul Larson gets a Lifetime Achievement contract of 2 years, $320k and mentor T David Howard of the Seahawks signs a minsal. Former backup TE Reggie Coralan goes to the Packers on the last day of free agency as a minsal. Code:
Disappointing training camp results, but Little is already the best RB we've ever had here and he hasn't even stepped on the field.
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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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10-17-2010, 10:19 AM
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#42 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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A True Raiders Running Game
 RB Floyd Little turned heads in training camp At first, Oakland observers and Raiders fans thought GM Izulde Jestor mad to trade the Offensive Rookie of the Year. But then they got a look at first round pick Floyd Little in camp. "He's as fast as Emerson was, but he's the best I ever seen at finding the hole," raved DE Jerry Mays. Little not only has a preternatural ability to find the open space, he's a superlative special teams player, both in the coverage game and as a kick and punt returner. In short, he's the most explosive player the Raiders have ever had. Ever. How Oakland does this season ultimately rests on the shoulders on this 5'10, 196 lb. tailback. Code:
It's an open competition in preseason for the starting QB spot. Spurrier looked the most accurate in camp and has the best upside, so he has the inside track. Code:
Age is finally catching up with Taylor, but he's got enough left to still be a great lead blocker for the rookie. Brown still has a little something left in the tank. Code:
This is still a respectable WR group, although the depth isn't nearly what it once was after Raymond Berry's retirement. How much longer can Prebola and Dowler hold up? Code:
Fans are still furious management let Jim Otto walk, but the front office and the coaches believe in Flanagan. Pillath likewise gets his shot at starting RT, after the Raiders decided they couldn't afford Jim Parker's return. Manoukian could be the next to go. Code:
How much longer can Johnson keep up his great form? Yepremian was a very good draft pick and should be here for his entire career. Code:
Worrisome to see Mays drop after signing a lucrative contract extension. Still, the front four will hold together for another season or two before replacements need to be found. But now solid rather than dominant. Code:
Raiders need to get younger here. This could be Shinnick's last season in Oakland. Still an okay group. Code:
Trading for Nettles was very smart, as Cannavino is just a shell of his former self. He never did come back after losing almost two full seasons to ACL surgery. Depth here is very weak. Code:
Hackbart and Glick are still good, but the long contracts were puzzling. Overall Review The defense should be better than last season, assuming the secondary can stay healthy. But can the Raiders make the playoffs with a rookie QB, a rookie RB, shallower depth at WR, and a changed up offensive line? The oddsmakers seem to think so, putting Oakland as AFC West favorites and the #2 team in the conference behind traditional power Cleveland. Preseason Oakland 17 Dallas 14 Much-hyped Floyd Little vs. Emerson Boozer battle turned out not so much, primarily because Boozer is the #2 RB in Dallas behind Tommy Mason. S Freddy Glick with 2 pass defenses, CB Roger Donahoo with 11 tackles. QB Steve Spurrier - 8/11 - 84 yards QB Tommy Wade - 11/20 - 104 yards - 1 TD 1 INT Round 1 - Spurrier. Now for Paul Larson to be the #2 man. Atlanta 7 Oakland 33 K Garo Yepremian nails 4/4 FGs, but it's PotG DE Steve De Long's 3 sacks, block, 2 hurries, and knockdown that draw rave reviews. DT Danny Birdwell also got 2 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown. QB Steve Spurrier - 6/7 - 57 yards - TD QB Paul Larson - 16/19 - 121 yards - TD - INT QB Billy Kilmer - 15/29 - 186 yards - TD - 2 INT We're set for our #1 and #2; it's just a matter of what order. I'm so, so glad we got rid of Kilmer. MLB Garland Boyette strains his adductor muscle and is Out 5 weeks. Street agent MLB Doug Huard is signed, with MLB Jon McLemore the starter. Philadelphia 14 Oakland 16 2 sacks each by DE Jerry Mays and DT Danny Birdwell, with Mays getting a block, hurry and knockdown, Birdwell a knockdown. S Freddy Glick defends 3. Oakland 9 Carolina 24 5 interceptions by QB Paul Larson cost us this one, although WR Boyd Dowler caught 5 passes for 102 yards. 1.5 sacks, 3 hurries and a knockdown by DE Jerry Mays. Regular Season Oakland 22 San Diego 25 ARGH! We gave up the game-winning TD with 35 seconds left. 15 carries for 90 yards in RB Floyd Little's debut, while QB Steve Spurrier was 25/42 for 247 yards, a TD and 2 INTs. K Garo Yepremian hit 5/5 FGs, 2/2 from 50+. Oakland 16 Detroit 24 29/43 for 315 yards and an INT by QB Steve Spurrier. WR Paul Warfield caught 9 for 105, WR Boyd Dowler 5 for an even 100. MLB Garland Boyette is finally back to Probable, so let's see if we can save our season. Oakland 21 New York Jets 38 We got killed. Oakland 21 Cincinnati 24 Unbelievable that we haven't won a game. Our defense is horrible and RB Floyd Little has been a major disappointment. Baltimore 7 Oakland 29 -Finally- a win. Credit this one to K Garo Yepremian's 5/5 field goals, DE Jerry Mays's 2 sacks, block, hurry and knockdown, and CB Roger Donahoo's 3 pass defenses. Oakland 13 Cleveland 30 10 catches for 125 yards out of WR Paul Warfield don't mean much. Nor do S Dale Hackbart's 2 pass defenses. Oakland 31 Kansas City 24 Nice comeback win over the Chiefs. QB Steve Spurrier gets his first Player of the Game at 23/28 for 285 yards and 3 TDs. MLB Garland Boyette picks up 11 tackles and an assist, and CB Bennie McRae defends 3 passes. Pittsburgh 19 Oakland 16 (OT) RB Jim Brown finds old life, carrying 15 times for 109 yards, but QB Steve Spurrier has his worst day as a pro, throwing 4 interceptions. Who cares about S Dale Hackbart's 11 tackles? I don't. Not when we're 2-6. Browns 7-0, Cowboys 8-0.
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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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10-17-2010, 03:02 PM
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#43 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Throw out Steve Spurrier's one bad game and he's 9 TDs to 4 INTs. Basically, we're struggling because Floyd Little and our pass defense have been terrible. We're not really a 2-6 team. We're more like a .500 team in my opinion. San Diego 10 Oakland 16 Good revenge for Week 1. WR Paul Warfield has 9 catches for 103 yards, DE Jerry Mays is Player of the Game with 3 sacks, 5 hurries and a knockdown, and CB Jim Nettles defends 2 passes. Devastating blow. DE Steve De Long gets an Inguinal Hernia and is lost for the season. DE Dick Davis is the street signing and DE Wesley Ramirez starts again. By the way, 5-4 San Diego leads the AFC West. It's another knockdown brawl for the division title. Oakland 24 Denver 41 Or it was. 7 catches, 111 yards and a TD for WR Boyd Dowler and 2 pass defenses for S Freddy Glick. TE Gene Prebola hyperextends his elbow and is Out 3 weeks. TE Vern Burke gets signed but it's TE Leon Clarke who starts. Minnesota 10 Oakland 20 Here's a fast one pulled on me. QB Tommy Wade gets the start and goes 23/28 for 227 yards and 2 TDs on his way to Player of the Game. DE Jerry Mays with 2.5 sacks, 2 blocks, a hurry and 2 knockdowns. That won't happen again. TE Gene Prebola is back to Probable. Jacksonville 14 Oakland 16 DE Jerry Mays carried us with 1.5 sacks, a hurry and 3 knockdowns, in this battle of underachieving teams. Now DT Frank Cornish is done for the year with a broken foot. DT Christian Furrer is the latest scrub signing, backing up new DT Ken Frost. Green Bay 23 Oakland 10 There goes whatever slim hope we had at a 9-7 season and a wildcard berth. 9 tackles, 4 assists and a sack by MLB Garland Boyette and 2 pass defenses by S Dale Hackbart. Kansas City 10 Oakland 12 All hail K Garo Yepremian, who literally wins this game for us with his 4/4 leg. OLB Don Shinnick wins Player of the Game, though, with 8 tackles, 2 assists and 2 sacks, while CB Bennie McRae and S Dale Hackbart each defend 2. Oakland 20 Chicago 6 Well, we're guaranteed to equal last year's 7-9 mark at least. QB Steve Spurrier is Player of the Game at 21/28 for 257 yards and an INT. He's had real problems putting it in the endzone, so he may be our umpteenth 2nd round QB bust. Unfortunately, we're officially eliminated from the playoff race, so we're playing for .500 pride against the Broncos. Denver 21 Oakland 31 I said I thought we were a .500 team. QB Steve Spurrier goes 20/31 for 243 yards and 3 TDs, WR Paul Warfield his favorite target with 7 catches for 114 yards and 2 TDs. S Dale Hackbart defends 3 passes and gets an INT. We also knocked Denver out of the playoffs with the win. San Diego upset defending champion Tennessee in the divisional round, but got their butts handed to them by Cleveland in the AFC Championship. Super Bowl VIII - Cleveland Browns vs. Washington Redskins What really hurt about this game wasn't seeing Cleveland win their third Super Bowl. It was watching WR Ray Poage catching 9 passes for 137 yards and a TD, drawing consideration for MVP honors that ultimately went to QB Len Dawson. Cleveland 24 Washington 13 In fact, WR Ray Poage had 112 catches for 1,445 yards and 8 TDs in the regular season. Never should have let him go. 
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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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10-21-2010, 02:41 AM
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#44 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
Our YPC and turnovers forced were both terrible. Floyd Little's 10 fumbles were alarming. Our pass defense was pretty bad too. We need to make over our secondary, that's for sure. 1967 Oakland Raiders Season Awards QB Steve Spurrier - Offensive Rookie of the Year Second season in a row we win ORotY. I don't know if Spurrier's the long-term answer, but he's earned himself another year to prove himself. K Garo Yepremian - All-Pro 1st Team K 12/18 from 50+ in his first two seasons. And a real-life Dolphin. Yeah, he'll stay here until his leg falls off. DE Jerry Mays - All-Pro 2nd Team DE Mays finally wins his first All-Pro award. Great to see him at last get this recognition. He's been a very valuable player for us. Heh. T Ed Nutting was named All-Pro 1st Team LT. Went to Pittsburgh after we didn't re-sign him, then to Baltimore, then back to Pittsburgh where he won the award in his first season as a starter. WR John Love goes to the country of love for the summer. Significant Oakland Raiders Retirements CB Joe Cannavino QB Paul Larson SLB Don Shinnick FB Jim Taylor CB Dave Whitsell Wow. That's not all our retired players, even. All these guys were key players for us for a good number of years. I'm going to miss Larson and Shinnick the most. Larson for obvious reasons, Shinnick because he was my first huge free agent splash and he gave us 5 great to solid seasons as the starting SLB, finishing 2nd in franchise history in tackles and assists and 6th in sacks, despite playing his first three years with the Colts. Free Agency QB x 2, RB x 2, FB x 2, TE, WR x 2, C x 2, G, P, DE, DT x 2, MLB, OLB x 2, CB x 2 Week 1 C Ed Flanagan - 5 years, $1.61 mil. DT Frank Cornish - 1 year, $80k FB Bob Briggs - 1 year minsal CB Danny McIlhanny - 1 year minsal Week 2 DE Wesley Ramirez - 1 year, $130k resigning S Hagood Clarke - 1 year, $110k (Green Bay Packers) -Tried to get him last year but he chose the Pack. We finally get him this season and I think he could be a playmaking anchor back there. Week 3 QB Bryant Berstein 1 year minsal (M) (Cincinnati Bengals) -Also a great kickholder WR Bob Coolbaugh - 1 year $120k resigning -Paid extra money because he's a mentor. Week 3 Losses CB Billy Baird - 1 year $110k (San Francisco 49ers) (Detroit Lions) -Losing to our Bay Area rivals hurts, especially since Baird looks the goods. WR Art Graham - 1 year $100k (San Francisco 49ers) (Pittsburgh Steelers) -Beat out twice in the same week by our archrivals kills me. Ray Poage got a 4 year, $2.61 mil. deal from the Vikings. I don't know why I didn't pay out to bring him back. Guess it galled too much to have let him go in the first place. Real nice WR group Minnesota's going to have next season with Ray, George Sauer and Gary Ballman. Now if the Vikes only had a QB to throw the ball to them who was beter than Riddick Crawford, who's been league-average and the starter since 1963. Week 4 Signings TE Fred Abanas - 1 year minsal (Baltimore Ravens) -I wanted a decent backup TE, so Abanas it was. MLB Wahoo McDaniel - 1 year, $160k (Chicago Bears) -Had to outbid the 49ers to get him, but after the disaster that happened when Garland Boyette got hurt a year or two ago, I didn't want to risk it again. Besides, another former Dolphin. Week 5 Signings RB Bert Coan - 1 year minsal (M) (New York Giants) CB Ed Sharockman - 1 year $100k (Arizona Cardinals) -Ballhawk, which we desperately need. Should fight for a starting spot, if not outright win it. Not a bad consolation prize at all. Week 5 Losses CB Roger Donnahoo - 1 year minsal (Minnesota Vikings) -Didn't help us get turnovers last year and was a major disappointment. Week 6 Signings P Curley Johnson - 3 years $670k resigning -Overpaid and we'll probably lose some of that bonus money, but we're just too comfortable with him back there still. Week 6 Losses FB Bill Thornton - 1 year minsal (San Francisco 49ers) (New Orleans Saints) -Seriously? Third fucking FA we've lost to the Whiners this offseason. That really burns my ass. RB Jim Brown goes off to the Minnesota Vikings on a minsal. I love the man, but he had 6 fumbles last year and it was time to say enough, no matter how much the fans loved him. WR Bill Groman takes a minsal from the Browns, who seem to have luck with our former WRs. DT Ken Frost minsals to the Steelers. And it's on to 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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10-21-2010, 03:51 AM
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#45 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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I'll do the draft right away, because FA is so tedious, I want to end on a fun note.
Wow, this is a good looking draft at the top. QB Ken Stabler will probably go first. We hold the #14 pick, which means we could move up to #9. We also have picks 9 and 13 in the 2nd round, thanks to Atlanta's 6-10 finish last year. 1968 NFL Draft First Round 1. QB Ken Stabler - Denver Broncos through Cincinnati Bengals ...Wow. WOW! This is the first time I've ever seen #1 traded in all my seasons of FOF. What did Denver pay? 1968 2nd round pick 1970 3rd round pick 1970 4th round pick ...W.T.F?! Cincy has the most cap space at $8.3 million and 30 players under contract. There's no god damned reason for them to being trade away the #1 pick so fucking cheaply. WHAT THE FUCK?! And to a god damned motherfucking AFC West team. Suck my fat hairy pink cock, you dicksmurfing Bungles! 2. QB Greg Landry - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3. T Russ Washington - Carolina Panthers 4. T Art Shell - Seattle Seahawks 5. DT Manny Fernandez - Kansas City Chiefs 6. RB Paul Robinson - Buffalo Bills 7. T Dick Himes - New York Jets 8. WR Harold Jackson - Jacksonville Jaguars 9. RB Essex Johnson - Baltimore Ravens 10. RB Rocky Bleier - Atlanta Falcons I send 1.14, 4.16, my 1969 4th round pick and my 1970 6th round pick to the Bears to move up 3 spots. You know, because Chicago isn't fucktarded like Cincinnati. 11. OLB Al Beauchamp - Oakland Raiders 12. S Charlie West - New Orleans Saints 13. DE Elvin Bethea - Houston Texans Great value for Houston here. Bethea was one of the top-rated players on the board. 14. S Bob Atkins - Chicago Bears 15. RB Robert Holmes - San Francisco 49ers 16. TE Charlie Sanders - St. Louis Rams 17. OLB John Douglas - Minnesota Vikings 18. CB John Dockery - Denver Broncos Fuck you, assholes. Get the #1 pick for nothing and then get the draft's best CB. 19. QB Mike Livingston - Philadelphia Eagles 20. QB Ronnie Lee South - New England Patriots 21. ILB Edgar Chandler - Detroit Lions 22. DT Curley Culp -Pittsburgh Steelers 23. S Charlie Greer - Miami Dolphins 24. RB Warren McVea - Arizona Cardinals 25. DE Coy Bacon - Indianapolis Colts 26. T Doug Crusan - New York Giants 27. RB Jim Kiick - San Diego Chargers 28. ILB Jim Cheyunski - Tennessee Titans 29. DT Bill Kindricks - Minnesota Vikings through Dallas Cowboys 1969 2nd, 1970 2nd and 4th. I ain't saying a damn thing. 30. CB Daryl Johnson - Green Bay Packers 31. DT Bill Staley - Washington Redskins 32. DT Carlton Dabny - Cleveland Browns WR Marlin Briscoe becomes the pick with our Atlanta selection and S George Atkinson is our second second round pick, with an eye to possibly moving him to CB. We grab FB Larry Csonka in the third, even though that means sacrificing an intriguing CB, since we have no 4th round pick. DE Claude Humphrey is our 5th round flyer and I'm hoping he can develop into a Wesley Ramirez type adequate backup. No pick in the 6th, so our 7th round pick is CB Freddie Summers. We sign a bunch of mentors in late free agency and miss out on QB Ed Chlebek, who goes to Cleveland instead, and we also miss on a backup guard we wanted. Frustrating damn offseason continues, but whatever. We bring back QB Tommy Wade instead. A record 3 trade offers after training camp, most I've ever seen. Carolina Panthers want DT Danny Birdwell Faggoty ass Broncos want DE Steve De Long Jets want MLB Garland Boyette 5th round pick for Birdwell? Get fucked. S Al Rudolph and a 2nd round pick for De Long? Get fucked. Bring a first round pick or don't ring at all. OLB John Tracy and a 3rd round pick for Boyette? Hmm. That's interesting. Tracy would really help out our LB depth for a season or two and the 3rd round pick will come in handy. Plus, that means I can start Wahoo McDaniel again. Accepted. Code:
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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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10-23-2010, 01:47 AM
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#46 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Raiders Trendy Preseason AFC West Pick; GM Not So Sure
 First round pick SLB Al Beauchamp has big shoes to fill This offseason, more than any other in Oakland Raiders' history, signified a changing of the guard. Retirements by such early Raiders legends as QB Paul Larson, FB Jim Taylor, and SLB Don Shinnick have left the team and the fanbase searching for its new generation of stars. Despite the turnover, the Raiders are the preseason pick to win the AFC West, based on projected improved play from QB Steve Spurrier and RB Floyd Little, who begin their second season. Management, however, doesn't seem as optimistic, viewing another 8-8 season as a far more likely proposition. Code:
The job is Spurrier's to lose after he won Offensive Rookie of the Year. Oakland's coaching staff hopes he'll become similar to Larson - a reliable QB who may not put up flashy numbers, but who finds ways to win. Wade will probably be the #2, based on his familiarity with the Raiders system. Code:
Little can not afford another 10 fumble season. Csonka faces the unenviable task of replacing Taylor, although he looked sharp in camp. Code:
Prebola is one of the few original Raiders left. They have to think about his replacement soon. Look for Briscoe to get on the field in 4 WR sets. He looks like the next Ray Poage, a non 1st round-rookie WR drafted by the Raiders who blossoms. Code:
People thought GM Jestor was crazy for letting Jim Otto walk, but Flanagan looked great last year with 6 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed. Hawkins and Manoukian could be allowed to walk this offseason, even though there's no one in the pipeline to replace them. Vogel and Pillath absolutely have to stay healthy. Code:
One of the best P/K combos in the league. Code:
Mays definitely looked slower after winning his first Pro Bowl bid, but this defensive line is still very solid all across the board. They need to start thinking about replacements for Mays and Birdwell, however. Code:
McDaniel vs. Tracy is going to be one of the most interesting position battles. A lot is riding on Beauchamp being worthy of Shinnick's successor, especially after Oakland paid big to move up and get him. Code:
Numbers-heavy secondary is looking like Nettles and McRae as the starting corners, Clarke and Glick as the safeties. Overall, though, this unit definitely seems on the decline from the playoff years. Preseason Dallas 3 Oakland 20 2 sacks, a block, 2 hurries, 2 knockdowns and 2 forced fumbles has people saying DE Jerry Mays still has it. CB Jim Nettles defends 2 passes. Oakland 20 New Orleans 27 We collapses in the fourth quarter despite SLB Al Beauchamp's 10 tackles and 2 assists. QB Tommy Wade is getting moved to #2 QB. WR Marlin Briscoe tears his knee cartilage and is Out 4 weeks. WR Luther Hayes is signed as the new 5th WR. Washington 10 Oakland 29 K Garo Yepremian hits 5/5 FGs, including a 50 yard and 58 yarder. CB Jim Nettles leads the defense with 2 interceptions and has looked much better this preseason than he did all last year. Oakland 28 Carolina 17 QB Tommy Wade clinches the #2 spot with a 19/23, 238 yard, 2 TD outing. WR Boyd Dowler catches 7 passes for 140 yards and 2 TDs. CB Bernie McRae tackles 10 with an assist and our pass rush sparkles. 2 sacks, a block and a knockdown from DT Danny Birdwell and 1.5 sacks, 3 hurries and 3 knockdowns from DE Jerry Mays. DE Jerry Mays hyperextends his knee and will miss the season opener, possibly Out as much as 3 weeks. DE Wesley Ramirez steps in as a starter once again. Regular Season Kansas City 7 Oakland 32 Fantastic way to start the season. QB Steve Spurrier is Player of the Game, 25/37 for 322 yards and 2 TDs, WR Paul Warfield his main man with 7 catches for 103 yards. K Garo Yepremian was a flawless 6/6 in FGs, including a 52 yarder. DT Danny Birdwell took over for Mays, recording 2.5 sacks and CB Ed Sharockman defended 2 passes. WR Marlin Briscoe is back to Probable. Oakland 37 New Orleans 31 (OT) One of the most exciting games in Raiders history sees QB Steve Spurrier light up the Saints for 364 yards and 4 TDs on 30/40 passing. He again sought out WR Paul Warfield, who caught 11 balls for 152 yards and a TD. WR Boyd Dowler, by the way, had his second straight 97 yards receiving game. DE Jerry Mays is back to Probable right at the same time that Wesley Ramirez strains his deltoid muscle and is Out 2 weeks. DE Claude Humphrey is seeing far more playing time than anyone thought he would. Baltimore 0 Oakland 27 Is this the first shutout in Raiders history? If not, it's one of the only ones. DE Jerry Mays returned in style with 2 sacks and S Dale Hackbart defended 2 passes as we win this one with a grinding team effort. Oakland 27 Jacksonville 13 WR Boyd Dowler needed just 3 catches to get 105 yards and a TD, but the story of this win was defense. PotG DE Steve De Long racked up 1.5 sacks, a block, 5 hurries and 4 knockdowns, and S Freddy Glick, CB Bennie McRae and CB Jim Nettles defended 3, 2 and 2 passes respectively, with McRae also spearing a pick. LG Wayne Hawkins strains his Achilles tendon and is Out a week. G Bob Talimini is signed as a stopgap. Oh, and DE Wesley Ramirez is back to full health. Houston 28 Oakland 16 Our first loss of the season as we're outscored 14-3 in the second half. WR Boyd Dowler with 8 catches for 100 yards. 1.5 sacks each from DE Jerry Mays and DE Steve De Long with 4 and 1 knockdowns respectively. RB Floyd Little fumbled 3 times, really hurting us. G Wayne Hawkins is back. Oakland 30 San Diego 14 Always good to destroy our archrivals on their home turf. QB Steve Spurrier is 24/34 for 304 yards, a TD and an INT and WR Paul Warfield has 8 catches for 108 yards and a TD. DE Jerry Mays earns Player of the Game with 2.5 sacks, a hurry and a knockdown, but S Hagood Clarke's 3 pass defenses and CB Bennie McRae's 2 pass defenses also merit mention. Indianapolis 24 Oakland 26 WR Bobby Neff's 87 yard kickoff return for a TD with 3:05 left gave the Colts hope, but we managed to run time out. WR Boyd Dowler caught 8 passes for 118 yards and K Garo Yepremian wins Player of the Game with 4/4 field goals. Oakland 22 Kansas City 24 Watching S Freddy Glick's 66 yard fumble return for a TD was exciting. Watching Chiefs K Bruce Gossett hit the 20 yard game winner with 6 seconds left on the clock was heartbreaking. QB Steve Spurrier won Player of the Game courtesy of 31/48 for 279 yards, 2 TDs and an INT, but our running game was nonexistant. WR Paul Warfield caught 10 for 101 and a TD. WLB Gorden Kelley had 10 tackles and 2 assists and S Freddy Glick defended 2 passes. That upset loss to the Chiefs puts us at 6-2 at the halfway mark, a game behind those asshole 7-1 Broncos, who rode 17th year QB Ed Brown to a 10 TD, 1 INT first five games before handing the ball to #1 pick QB Ken Stabler, who just happens to be 3-0. I'm still pissed at the Bengals for that bullshit trade.
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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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10-23-2010, 03:06 PM
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#47 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Code:
I'd like to nominate Jim Nettles for most improved player of the year. He's really rebounded from a terrible 1967. In fact, everybody looks better all around, although RB Floyd Little's 6 fumbles don't make me happy. Oakland 28 Tennesee 27 A rare comeback victory, led by two TDs in the last six minutes, the final one occurring with 1:04 left. WR Paul Warfield catches 11 for 118 yards and 2 TDs. DE Steve De Long picks up 1.5 sacks, a block, 2 hurries and a knockdown and S Freddy Glick defends 2 passes. SS Hagood Clarke breaks his arm before the biggest game of the season to date and is Out 5 weeks. S Brig Owens takes over the starting spot. Oakland 35 Denver 12 CB Jim Nettles continues his resurgence with 2 pass defenses and an interception, but it's G Dan Manoukian as a rare o-lineman Player of the Game with 6 KRBs and a pancake block. The two guards are going to make the offseason decision a hard one for me. Most importantly, we shove the Broncos a game behind us in the AFC West race. Atlanta 20 Oakland 23 We're now guaranteed a winning record! This was another close game with QB Steve Spurrier leading the way at 23/35 for 304 yards and 2 TDs, but WR Paul Warfield really should have gotten PotG instead - 8 catches for 171 yards and 2 TDs. Oakland 27 New York Jets 21 10 wins a lock for the first time since 1965. S Freddy Glick was the only real statistical highlight with 2 pass defenses, although P Curley Johnson did average 52.3 yards a kick. Carolina 6 Oakland 33 Coolest play: Seeing John Tracy, part of the Garland Boyette trade, recover a blocked punt in the endzone for a TD. CB Bennie McRae was Player of the Game with 2 interceptions to stop the Panthers from dreaming of an upset. Backup DE Wesley Ramirez strains his calf muscle and is Out a week, but the more serious injury is DT Danny Birdwell, who needs ACL knee surgery and is gone until 1970. DT Dave Daniels, a Week 9 cut by the Seahawks, is signed, with DT Walter Barnes sliding in the RDT spot. Huge, huge blow. And again, it's before a Broncos game. Denver 27 Oakland 20 We just had too many injuries to overcome on defense and wore out in the last quarter. 8 catches, 114 yards for WR Paul Warfield. 11 tackles, an assist, an INT for SLB Al Beauchamp. Broncos are now back in the divisional race. Small miracle. S Hagood Clarke is back to Probable. Oakland 12 Tampa Bay 17 Crashing and burning. Punchless game on both sides of the ball. QB Steve Spurrier gets a turf toe injury, so it's QB Tommy Wade getting the start in the last game. We've already clinched the #1 seed in the AFC if we win, because the rest of the AFC is looking at 9 wins max, outside of us and Denver. San Diego 14 Oakland 28 The Chargers came in determined to play spoiler, but then RB Floyd Little runs the opening kickoff back 94 yards for a TD to set the tone for the rest of the game. QB Tommy Wade looked great, going 27/31 for 238 yards and 2 TDs. CB Bennie McRae got 2 interceptions and S Freddy Glick defended 2 passes. We go a franchise record 12-4 and win our second AFC West title, along with the #1 seed in the playoffs! The bye week is huge, not least because DE Jerry Mays hyperextends his knee and is Out 3 weeks. Here's to hoping he'll be ready after the wildcard round. Ditto QB Steve Spurrier, still recovering from Turf Toe.
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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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10-24-2010, 02:26 AM
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#48 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Raiders Seek First Playoff Win Against Upstart Jaguars
 Oakland will need CB Bennie McRae to continue his career season if they hope to advance For the first time, the Oakland Raiders are in the divisional round. But they're still 0-3 in franchise history in the playoffs. They're facing the Jacksonville Jaguars, who stunned the Denver Broncos 14-13 in the opening round. The Raiders will again be without QB Steve Spurrier, still out with a turf toe injury, and they'll be forced to hope QB Tommy Wade can rebound from his nightmare 1964 performance, when he threw 3 interceptions. He'll have the help of 1,100+ yard teammates WR Boyd Dowler and WR Paul Warfield and RB Floyd Little, who reduced his fumbles from last season and rushed for 1,092 yards. DE Jerry Mays, DE Steve De Long, CB Bennie McRae, and S Freddy Glick will lead Oakland on the defensive end, although Mays is hampered by an injury. Jacksonville will rely on QB Fran Tarkenton, who had his best season since winning Offensive Player of the Year in 1963, with 4,041 yards, 29 TDs and 7 INTs. Rookie WR Harold Jackson formed an immediate bond with Tarkenton, catching 78 passes for 1,216 yards and 5 TDs. Defensively, the Jaguars boast DE Carl Eller, a 1st Team All-Pro last season who had a career high 18 sacks this season, 100+ tacklers MLB Nick Buoniconti and S Mike Weger, and ballhawk CB Emmitt Thomas. The matchup, despite what the star power says, actually favors the Raiders, who have multiple receiving threats and a talented running back, as opposed to the Jaguars who have one legitimate WR and a running back by committee setup. The same is true on defense, where the Jaguars have no good LBs other than Nicky B and no good DEs outside of Eller. Jacksonville does, however, have a strong secondary. In terms of the offensive lines, it's no question. The Raiders' is infinitely better than Jaguars', who will have their hands full trying to contain Oakland's defensive line, even with Mays's injury and the absence of DT Danny Birdwell. Final Prediction: Oakland by 10 That seems awfully high a point spread to me. The Jaguars are a much more dangerous team than their 9-8 record suggests. Jacksonville jumps out to a 14-0 lead by early in the second quarter and things are looking bad. We close the gap to 17-10 by halftime, the last on a 49 yard field goal by K Garo Yepremian with 1:41 left. Then CB Bennie McRae intercepts QB Fran Tarkenton on the opening drive of the second half and although we only got a field goal out of it to make 17-13, that turnover fired up the defense and we shut them out for the entire second half. RB Floyd Little ran for the go-ahead TD one second before the end of the third quarter and QB Tommy Wade added the insurance TD with 4:53 left on a 5 yard strike to backup TE Fred Arbanas. QB Tommy Wade won Player of the Game with a 21/25 for 215 yards and 2 TD performance, exorcising the ghost of 1963. Although we didn't have any real statistical stars, this victory was about players stepping up and making big plays when we needed them to. Final - Jacksonville 17 Oakland 27 THE OAKLAND RAIDERS WIN THEIR FIRST PLAYOFF GAME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY AND ARE GOING TO THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP!!! But it comes a terrible cost. RG Dan Manoukian pulls his quadraceps muscle and is done for the year.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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10-24-2010, 04:16 PM
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#49 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Can Raiders Claim First AFC Crown?
 MLB Garland Boyette has revenge on his mind in tonight's AFC Championship game Funny how fate works. MLB Garland Boyette gets traded to the New York Jets and now he'll face his old team, the Oakland Raiders, in the AFC Championship. Neither team has made it to the Super Bowl, so the AFC is guaranteed a first-time champion. Raiders QB Tommy Wade looked extremely efficient against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland will again rely on its WR corps to step up with big plays and for RB Floyd Little to stay turnover-free. CB Bennie McRae will need to shut down Jets veteran WR Don Maynard, but WR Art Powell is deadly as well, giving New York a pair of WRs to rival Boyd Dowler and Paul Warfield. RB Don Perkins was Player of the Game in the Jets' 41-21 upset over the Cleveland Browns and will have to be accounted for. Boyette and S Karl Kassulke each racked up over 100 tackles, but the Jets defense overall is relatively weak, with no real pass rush to speak of and no exceptional coverage men outside of S Paul Martha. QB Milt Plum is league-average, but then so is Wade, so it's a draw there. That lack of balanced defense will prove the Jets' undoing in what should otherwise be a close, exciting matchup. Line: Raiders by 8 I feel that's an accurate line, so we'll see what happens. QB Tommy Wade opens scoring with a beautiful 32 yard TD pass to WR Paul Warfield with 10:01 left in the first. The Jets answer with a yard run by RB Jim Stiger, but then RB Floyd Little fires back with a 3 yard TD run on the first play of the second quarter and we tack on a FG to go into the half up 17-7. We shut them out in the third quarter and add an insurance 12 yard Wade to WR Boyd Dowler TD, and that's all we need, even though the Jets get a 67 yard TD run from Stegner early in the 4th to give them a small breath of hope. Another solid outing by QB Tommy Wade at 25/31 for 244 yards and 2 TDs. WR Boyd Dowler played fantastic with 9 catches for 132 yards and a TD. But it was S Hagood Clarke who won Player of the Game, absolutely killing it everywhere on the field with 9 tackles, an assist, 1.5 sacks, a knockdown, 2 pass defenses and 2 interceptions. In fact, that might have been the greatest defensive performance in Raiders history. Clarke was joined on the 2 pass defense team by CB Jim Nettles, S Freddy Glick, and WLB Gorden Kelley. Final - New York Jets 14 Oakland Raiders 27 THE OAKLAND RAIDERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! QB Steve Spurrier is still hampered by a turf toe injury, so we'll be rolling with QB Tommy Wade all the way. By the way, MLB Garland Boyette recorded 9 tackles, an assist, and a sack.
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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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10-26-2010, 12:35 PM
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#50 |
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College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: calgary, AB
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Super exciting, good luck in the big game!
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