Montani Semper Liberi - An FOF2k4 Dynasty - COMPLETE!!!

[Abe Sargent]

Okay, let’s take a look at a very odd thing that happened on defense this year. You are going to love this:

Front Office Football 2004
Defensive Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS Tckl Asst Sack Blkd Hurr  
Greco, Adrian         CB  NOS   16 16 80   21   0.0  0    0      
Ferguson, Dusty       ILB NOS   16 15 75   32   1.0  0    0      
Benedict, Jay         S   NOS   16 16 72   43   0.0  1    1      
Davis, James          OLB NOS   10 10 64   20   2.0  0    1      
Green, Barrett        OLB NOS   16 12 63   25   0.0  0    1      
Logan, Mike           S   NOS   16 11 48   19   0.0  0    1      
Voetberg, Allen       DT  NOS   16 16 43   20   3.5  3    12     
Scott, Darrion        DE  NOS   14 14 40   16   5.5  7    15     
Poston, Alonzo        S   NOS   16 7  39   10   0.0  0    0      
Thomas, Bart          DT  NOS   10 10 35   19   2.0  2    3      
Reynolds, Gino        OLB NOS   6  6  35   8    0.0  1    0      
Lucas, Louis          CB  NOS   15 5  27   6    0.0  0    0      
Browning, John        DT  NOS   15 6  24   9    2.0  1    1      
Mattox, Will          CB  NOS   11 6  24   5    0.0  0    0      
Strickland, Howie     S   NOS   16 0  23   3    0.0  0    0      
Stills, Gary          DE  NOS   16 11 22   17   4.0  3    15     
Bailey, Fred          DE  NOS   16 7  18   8    2.5  1    3      
Ventura, Graham       CB  NOS   5  5  17   6    1.0  0    0      
Tanner, Gary          S   NOS   16 3  17   3    1.0  0    0      
Stargell, Warren      DE  NOS   16 0  14   13   1.5  0    2      

That’s right, sophomore CB Adrian Greco led our team in tackles. IN TACKLES. I’m still trying to decide if that’s good or bad. Dusty Ferguson was second with a nice amount of involvement for such a green player. Jay Benedict was up, but I suspect that may be because I benched Logan for the last few games of the season more than anything else. James Davis was injured. I was very surprised to see Green’s numbers. They dropped significantly.

Darrion Scott led the team in sacks with a measly 5.5 until he was injured with 2 games left in the season. That still would not have been many. Gary Stills had 4. DT Allen Voetberg had 3.5. Rookie Fred Bailey had 2.5. Now, to be fair, Scott and Stills each had 15 hurries, while Voetberg added 12.

[Abe Sargent]

Pass coverage time:

Front Office Football 2004
Pass Coverage Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS Ints IRYd TD   Defn Cght PPly PDPct  
Greco, Adrian         CB  NOS   16 16 7    36   0    7    43   501   19.9   
Mattox, Will          CB  NOS   11 6  2    0    0    3    13   191   20.0   
Logan, Mike           S   NOS   16 11 1    29   0    5    22   333   19.3   
Green, Barrett        OLB NOS   16 12 1    25   0    3    22   277   18.7   
Davis, James          OLB NOS   10 10 1    12   0    2    28   285   17.9   
Ventura, Graham       CB  NOS   5  5  1    28   0    0    11   117   18.2   
Benedict, Jay         S   NOS   16 16 1    21   0    7    29   484   19.3   
Thomas, Bart          DT  NOS   10 10 1    6    0    0    2    236   20.2   
Lucas, Louis          CB  NOS   15 5  1    6    0    1    17   178   18.1   
Ferguson, Dusty       ILB NOS   16 15 1    0    0    6    31   404   18.9   
Browning, John        DT  NOS   15 6  0    0    0    0    1    236   19.9   
Stills, Gary          DE  NOS   16 11 0    0    0    2    2    350   20.1   
Scott, Darrion        DE  NOS   14 14 0    0    0    1    5    344   19.8   
Dotson, Marvin        ILB NOS   16 0  0    0    0    1    6    36    16.7   
Strickland, Howie     S   NOS   16 0  0    0    0    0    5    55    17.3   
Stargell, Warren      DE  NOS   16 0  0    0    0    1    4    141   19.6   
Voetberg, Allen       DT  NOS   16 16 0    0    0    1    1    460   20.0   

Ints - Interceptions, IRYd - Interception Return Yardage, TD - Interception  
Return Touchdowns, Cght - Passes Caught by Covered Receiver, Defn - Passes  
Defensed, PPly - Passing Plays on Field, PDPct - Pass Defense Percentage.   

Adrian Greco with the seven picks equals yay. No other WV player had more than one. Ten players grabbed picks this year, though. Greco and Benedict each had 7 passes defensed.

[Abe Sargent]

Blocking?

Front Office Football 2004
Blocking Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS KRB  KRO  BPct  SkA  PPly SPct RPly OPct  
Braham, Rich          C   NOS   16 16 25   74   33.7  2    604  0.3  370  20.0    
Coady, Jamal          T   NOS   16 16 21   81   25.9  3    607  0.4  370  21.8    
Sciullo, Steve        G   NOS   16 16 18   62   29.0  4    606  0.6  370  16.7    
Mileusnic, Ryan       G   NOS   16 16 17   55   30.9  11   610  1.8  370  14.8    
Leggett, Jonathan     T   NOS   16 9  12   27   44.4  7    322  2.1  201  13.4    
Maloney, Daniel       T   NOS   7  7  7    22   31.8  8    264  3.0  150  14.6    
Hughes, Kent          FB  NOS   16 11 6    18   33.3  1    411  0.2  249  7.2     
Becht, Anthony        TE  NOS   16 15 4    18   22.2  0    421  0.0  303  5.9     
Grueneich, Kenny      TE  NOS   16 4  1    1    100.0 0    87   0.0  59   1.6     
Price, Floyd          G   NOS   9  0  1    4    25.0  1    26   3.8  19   21.0    
Wright, Clay          FB  NOS   15 0  0    1    0.0   0    91   0.0  24   4.1     
   
KRB - Key Run Blocks, KRO - Key Run Block Opportunities, BPct - Key Run  
Block Percentage, SkA - Sacks Allowed, PPly - Passing Plays on Field,  
SPct - Sack Allowed Percentage, RPly - Rushing Plays on Field, OPct - Block  
Opportunity Percentage.   

Braham led the team, but this was obviously a down year for my crew. Coady actually had KRB. Sciullo had a down year in KRB as well. Rookie G Mileusnic was a sieve, allowing 11 sacks, while also rookie Daniel Maloney allowed 8.

Logan had 3 FF, Benedict and Voetberg each had 2.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards as Given Out by Me:

Rookie of the Year: RB Edgar Guthrie gave us a running threat for the first time ever (well, sicne Duece, but he doesn’t count). Here’s to many years of Guthrie’s domination.

Special Teams Player of the Year? This is hard to pick. P Newsome, although better than Hanson, was no great shakes. Rob Sellers return average dropped seven yards. Vanderjagt was only 75% in FGs. There were no major tacklers like last year when Sununu broke out. Who do I choose? I guess I’ll take Vanderjagt for not sucking so much.

Defensive Player of the Year: CB Adrian Greco. He led the team in tackles. He had 7 picks. He led the team in passes defensed. He was the only player in several years to be named an all pro. The guy looked good.

Offensive Player of the Year: RB Edgar Guthrie simply gave us too much of a nice running dimension not to mention. Let’s see if we can’t get that ypc up a yard this year.

Team MVP: Adrian Greco. I love that this guy was drafted as a safety, we hopped him to corner, and he’s never let us down. He had a remarkable year for us, and I can only hope that it continues.



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Team Performance – 8
Franchise Value – 35
Profit/Loss – 55
Roster Strength – 88

Score – 41

Franchise Value:

9th worst stadium
13th strongest roster (seriously, it jumped from 2 to 73 in one year – how’s that happen?)
Worst support by far
12th worst economy
Second lowest value as Arizona has a bad year and dipped below us.
We lost 63 million this year! (Stadium costs were 36m of that)


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

None of our players retired, not even Rich Braham.

I hire a new scout and renew my D coordinator’s job for five years.

I don’t have any major players that are free agents.

Remembering last year, I go ahead and make a few offers to my lower quality free agents:

SS Gary Tanner
TE Kenny Grueneich
DE Warren Stargell



Then I take a look at the free agents available.......



-Anxiety

[Tellistto]

Mmm, maybe this means someone good is in the FA pool, looking forward to finding out!


Tell

[Abe Sargent]

This year is a free agent BONANZA!

I make an offer to the following free agents:

FB Matt Sununu was signed for just one year, so now he’s free.
P Todd Sauerbrun. He’s old, and who cares?
SE Jerry Porter, Oh yes, come to poppa
LDE Herman Burnett, a second round pick for the Cards three years ago is now testing the waters.
LCB Pacman Jones, The players are coming to their home
RCB Lance Frazier, let’s bring this boy back to the fold as well as Matt.
LG Keith Williams, a decent backup G taken by the Lions several years ago is now a free man.

Oh the treasure has been found!!!



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

I extend Ed Pilcher’s contract for three years. He’s gonna make mega bucks.
Rich Braham’s by a season just in case he sticks around.
Barrett Green’s by two years in the hope that he’ll regain his stride.
QB Edgar McWilliams by a year
QB Broderick Wynn by a year

I’ll need ta renegotiate Bulger’s soon, he’s in his last year.

By week five, all of these players have signed with us!!!!

I’m getting close to the cap. I’m at 6 million under, and we need more space for our rookie class. Let me take a look and see if we even have a rookie class:


WVU players 40+ in potential:

FB Darnell Owens, 19/44
RB Herman Sparks, 30/41

That’s it for WVU. Ick.

Marshall players with 40+ in potential:

SLB Ethan Hammond, 27/60

Other Schools:

LDT Zack Martin, 18/44, West Virginia Wesleyan


He’s a good player, but I’m going to need more. Let’s see about hometown guys:

WV natives with 40+ potential:

TE Antoine Peltier, 32/63 (Wayne, WV via California)
LG Alvin McKenzie, 23/54 (Ashton, WV via Syracuse)
QB Philip Shapiro, 10/49 (Brenton, WV via Boston College)
LDE Tommie Schroeder, 28/48 (Weston, WV via Miami)



Although the TE iz nice, and another starting G would not be a bad thing, this is hardly a good class. Possibly my worst one yet. I want to walk away from this draft with the TE and G, and I can survive if any of the others are taken. There are only 7 total players here. I have 13 picks, including our fourth overall. I wonder if Denver wants to trade their DE now?

They just redid Weaver’s contract and now he costs too much amortization to trade. I may never get this guy. I never got Randy Moss, for example.

I trade our first round pick to the Texans for their first rounder in each of the next two years.

We now have enough room for our rookie class, but barely.

I renegotiate DT Bart Thomas’s contract and add two years, thus lowering our cap hit this year and extending him for a while.

I head to the draft.



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

The Draft



Cleveland takes a big DE with their first pick.

With the fourth pick in the second round, I take our TE Peltier. Without trading, I’m not going to be able to get both players. Each is the second highest rated player at their position. Time for me to get on the horn. I trade my 3rd pick 13 and fourth round pick 4 to the Colts for their 18th pick in the second round.

We take McKenzie. This is the third straight draft where we’ve traded up for a G. We’re like the Detroit Lions of Guards. I’m thinking about hopping one to Center for when Braham retires.

Third round, anybody else get taken?

SLB Ethan Hammond is long gone.

That leaves no player in the 50s or higher. I trade my third round picks for next year’s picks.

I skip ahead to the fifth round:

Who is still around?

RB Sparks is off the board.
DE Schroeder is off the board



I take DT Zack Martin.

There are no players left except for the QB and FB in the sixth. I need neither. I have three FBs on my roster right now, so I take Shapiro. I trade the remainder of my picks.

SLB Hammond went to Minnesota
RB Sparks went to Indy
DE Schroeder went to Seattle in the early second round, wow.

So we only added four players. As such, we got a C- grade. Go figure.



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

I move to late free agency. I sign all four rookies immediately, excellent!

I make an offer to Chris Henry, but not Rob the Bust. I also choose not to offer a contract to MLB Marvin Dotson and OT Chris Shiel. They want too much money.

I make offers to:

Undrafted rookie RT Pat Madison
MLB Rodney Rainwater (from West Liberty)


They all sign. I now have 3.5 million under the cap. Marc Bulger, here I come…

I extend Marc’s contract by two years. I now have exactly one million dollars left, and that’s enough for a player or two to sub in for injuries in case I need it. I take a look at my roster pre-camp.

I hop McKenzie to Center.

[Abe Sargent]

Post-camp, let’s take a look at some of the changes to some of my players, including the rookies in draft order:

TE Peltier: I just got rid of Rob Sellers the Bust, so I guess I needed another. Met Antoine Peltier who busted down to a 13/24 from a 32/63.

C McKenzie: At a 23/48, he’s about what I expected.

DT Zack Martin: A weak 20/37 backup.

QB Philip Shapiro: A 13/40 body.

RB Edgar Guthrie: I was hoping that he’d pick up a little more ability after a solid first season. No can do. In fact, he busted down to a 49/53.

RG Ryan Mileusnic: He was very raw last year, and I feared the worst when he allowed bunches of sacks. However, he is looking very developed from last year’s trials (46/69)

RCB Adrian Greco has already peaked at a 58/59.

DT Allen Voetberg – Also almost peaked at a 49/53.

RT Jamal Coady had gotten better to a 92/92 player.

C Rich Braham lost a step, which makes McKenzie’s conversion all the more important.

FS Jay Benedict seriously busted down to a 37/41 from a guy in the 50s.

Logan, Becht, Green and Stills all lost a step this year.

I release:

P Deion Newsome
C Chris Massey
TE Sammie Gordon
RG John Wade
DE Warren Stargell
RCB Vincent Gambini
QB Philip Shapiro
SS Mike Logan


I also move Derrick Duhart over to Flanker.

Some major players were released today. I’m going with SS Poston over an aging Logan, that meant Logan needed to fill another role. My backup safeties are good at special teams, where Logan blows, so he couldn’t fit into the role, ergo he was released. John Wade was deemed redundant. Massey has been with me for a while, as has Stargell.

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Alright, Roster time, we have some changes:

Front Office Football 2004
New Orleans Saints Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Bulger, Marc            11  QB    QB    11   60                61                3 yrs
McWilliams, Edgar       19  QB          3    17                48                2 yrs
Wynn, Broderick         17  QB          4    39                44                2 yrs
Guthrie, Edgar          32  RB    RB    2    49                53                4 yrs
Foley, Johnny           25  RB          6    30                32                2 yrs
Schultz, Amos           44  RB          3    21                32                1 yr.
Gomez, Tyrone           39  RB          2    18                26                1 yr.
Hughes, Kent            20  FB    FB    5    41                45                3 yrs
Sununu, Matt            49  FB          6    33                38                1 yr.
Becht, Anthony          86  TE    TE    11   41                41                2 yrs
Grueneich, Kenny        6   TE          6    26                36                2 yrs
Peltier, Antoine        85  TE          1    13                24                3 yrs
Pilcher, Edwin          83  FL    FL    4    52                54                4 yrs
Duhart, Derrick         82  FL          3    18                31                1 yr.
Porter, Jerry           88  SE    SE    11   45                45                2 yrs
Glassner, Jermaine      15  SE          6    37                39                1 yr.
Henry, Chris            80  SE          6    25                29                1 yr.
Braham, Rich            58  C     C     16   47                47                2 yrs
McKenzie, Alvin         75  C           1    23                47                4 yrs
Williams, Keith         73  LG          3    27                42                1 yr.
Sciullo, Steve          63  LG    LG    8    37                37                2 yrs
Mileusnic, Ryan         66  RG    RG    2    46                69                4 yrs
Price, Floyd            64  RG          3    29                43                2 yrs
Maloney, Daniel         65  LT          2    15                45                2 yrs
Leggett, Jonathan       62  LT    LT    4    22                30                3 yrs
Coady, Jamal            60  RT    RT    4    92                92                2 yrs
Madison, Pat            72  RT          1    17                34                1 yr.
Sauerbrun, Todd         5   P           16   84                87                2 yrs
Vanderjagt, Mike        12  K           13   63                63                2 yrs
Scott, Darrion          70  LDE   LDE   7    56                61                3 yrs
Burnett, Herman         94  LDE         4    30                40                1 yr.
Bailey, Fred            98  RDE         2    23                45                2 yrs
Stills, Gary            71  RDE   RDE   11   34                34                2 yrs
Thomas, Bart            95  LDT   LDT   4    50                64                4 yrs
Martin, Zack            99  LDT         1    20                37                3 yrs
Voetberg, Allen         90  RDT   RDT   3    46                53                2 yrs
Browning, John          77  RDT         14   32                32                1 yr.
Ferguson, Dusty         50  MLB   MLB   2    23                43                3 yrs
Rainwater, Rodney       56  MLB         3    13                20                1 yr.
Davis, James            96  SLB   SLB   8    49                49                3 yrs
Reynolds, Gino          92  SLB         2    20                43                2 yrs
Green, Barrett          97  WLB   WLB   11   39                43                3 yrs
Rutulante, Clifton      53  WLB         3    25                39                2 yrs
Jones, Pacman           34  LCB   LCB   6    62                62                5 yrs
Ventura, Graham         47  LCB         5    41                42                2 yrs
Lucas, Louis            35  LCB         3    22                35                2 yrs
Greco, Adrian           33  RCB   RCB   3    58                59                3 yrs
Frazier, Lance          30  RCB         7    35                37                2 yrs
McGregor, Wendell       27  RCB         4    14                27                1 yr.
Poston, Alonzo          29  SS    SS    2    25                54                2 yrs
Tanner, Gary            26  SS          5    31                36                2 yrs
Benedict, Jay           38  FS    FS    5    37                41                2 yrs
Strickland, Howie       48  FS          6    26                36                1 yr.
   
$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.  
   
Players Under Contract: 53
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 53
   
Salary Cap: $109,500,000
Cap Room: $3,720,000
Maximum for New Player: $4,030,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $920,000
   
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $450,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $114,190,000

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s take a look at some starters:

QB Marc Bulger – Had another great year. I was really hoping that the upgrade to Porter, even and aging one, and the new TE would help him out. Now that Te is a bust, and it’s up to Porter to save the day.

RB Edger Guthrie – Let’s only hope that he doesn’t bust on the field as well.

TE Anthony Becht – How much more does this guy have in the tank?

FL Edwin Pilcher – Still our best WR. He’s lifted his game each year. Does he have yet another gear in him?

SE Jerry Porter – We got him, but age has taken its toll on him. He’s still an improvement over Glassner.

LT Jonathan Leggett – We’ll start with Leggett, but he’ll have a short leash.

LG Steve Sciullo – Let’s see him regain his form from two years ago.

C Rich Braham – Will probably start this year, then make way for the rookie.

RG Ryan Mileusnic – Has developed very nicely and should show a big improvement on the field.

RT Jamal Coady – Show me on the field.

K Mike Vanderjagt – Age needs to show wisdom, my friend

P Todd Sauerbrun – Second best player on the team after Coady. He’s Rich Braham old, though.

LDE Darrion Scott – Was actually leading the team in sacks last year, but was still well below potential.

LDT Bart Thomas – I was happy with Bart’s growth in his third year, but I want to continue to see more.

RDT Allen Voetberg – Okay Allen, you’ve essentially peaked. Let’s see what your performance is like.

RDE Gary Stills – He’ll have a quick hook if he can’t wreak havoc.

SLB James Davis – With Green’s age and Ferguson’s lack of development, Davis is our best OLB.

MLB Dusty Ferguson – He’s the returning Def Rookie OTY for the league, but he’s still green.

WLB Barrett Green – Needs to regain his attitude.

LCB Pacman Jones – Between Jones and Greco, we actually have two solid corners. Best player on our secondary. Hell, best player on our defense.

RCB Adrian Greco – Keep up last year’s pressure.

SS Alonzo Poston – Good luck with the starting gig all wrapped up.

FS Jay Benedict – Just don’t mess up until I can find a replacement.

[Abe Sargent]

I really have high hopes for this season, considering our new influx of talent via free agency in several key areas. Let’s see what happens:


We go 3-1 in the preseason, including a 51-45 overtime game against the Browns. DE Darrion Scott is out with a foot injury for a week or two.

Our Schedule:

Front Office Football 2004
New Orleans Saints 2010 Regular Season Schedule
   
  Week    Opponent                              Result    Attendance Weather  
Week 1    at Carolina Panthers                    
Week 2    at Pittsburgh Steelers                  
Week 3    at Minnesota Vikings                    
Week 4    ST. LOUIS RAMS                          
Week 5    OPEN                                    
Week 6    at San Francisco 49ers                  
Week 7    SEATTLE SEAHAWKS                        
Week 8    CAROLINA PANTHERS                       
Week 9    at Tampa Bay Buccaneers                 
Week 10   at Arizona Cardinals                    
Week 11   ATLANTA FALCONS                         
Week 12   at Cleveland Browns                     
Week 13   DALLAS COWBOYS                          
Week 14   BALTIMORE RAVENS                        
Week 15   at Atlanta Falcons                      
Week 16   CINCINNATI BENGALS                      
Week 17   TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS                    
   
Home Games in ALL CAPS
   
Season Tickets Sold: 25,500
Stadium Capacity: 72,700

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Once again we start a season with three road games. Two years ago we won the division starting off this way, so let’s see if our luck continues…


Week One – 30-20 over the Panthers in their own house. Pacman Jones with an 89 yard punt return. Whoot! He’s already made an impact. I believe this may be the first WV player I’ve had with a return for a TD on special teams. Well, that may not be true. I had a guy force a fumble, recover it and return it on a special teams play, but you know what I mean. Oh yeah, the rest of the game. Pilcher and Becht caught the other two TDs and Vanderjagt hit three FGs. Guthrie had 129 yards rushing on the ground. Pilcher caught 112 yards in the air. Adrian Greco rung up two picks. Stills and Burnett, DE starting in place of Scott, each had 1.5 sacks. Coady established dominance with five KRB. Maloney and Sciullo each added three KRB. We just dominated.

Week Two – Darrion Scott is upgraded to probable, but I’ll leave him deactivated and see what Burnett can do with another game. We travel to the Steel City and upend the Steelers 19-10. Backup TE Grueneich and Jerry Porter caught TD passes in this one. Guthrie rushed for a career high 170 yards on an amazing 38 carriers. Pilcher had 106 yards. Coady added 3 KRB. Burnett had another half a sack.

Week Three – What do I do at DE? Scott is the better player by far, but he has had 15.5 sacks in four seasons with us, or around 4 a season. Burnett, on the other hand, has two already. I reactivate Scott, but I figure that Burnett has earned this shot. Scott will ride along as the backup. We travel to Minnesota and bitchsmack around the Vikings to the tune of 42-27. Guthrie rushed for two scores on 121 yards. Bulger’s 323 yard 4 TD day was pretty good. Pilcher, Becht, backup FB Sununu and Porter all caught TD passes from Bulger today. James Davis and Greco each claimed a pick. We had four sacks on the day, none by Burnett although Scott had one spelling Burnett. The sophomore Mileusnic and Braham each had three KRB. Once again, we start a season 3-0 on the road.

Week Four – We host and defeat the Saints 38-24. Becht, Porter and Pilcher each caught TDs. Foley and Guthrie each rushed for a score. Guthrie had 112 yards rushing. Bulger had 303 yards passing, the 3 TDs and no picks. Porter had 103 yards. James Davis grabbed another pick. DT Bart Thomas led the game with 6 tackles, an assist, and 2 sacks. Coady had 4 KRB and Braham had 3. Bulger is the NFL Offensive Player of the Week.



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Week Five – I’m moving Scott back to the starting DE position. Maybe his bench time will recalibrate his attitude. We have a bye this week, which is good because Coady was a bit banged up last week. We are playing at a very high level, and I can only hope it continues.

Week Six – After five weeks, we are the only undefeated team in the league. I bench Coady for a week because he’s still doubtful. We travel to San Francisco and win 20-17. Vanderjagt kicked a FG with 2 seconds on the clock to win it for us. Glassner caught a TD and Guthrie added another on the ground as well as 106 yards of rushing. Bulger went 25 of 33 for 344 yards, no picks, and hit Pilcher 8 times for 166 yards. Braham added 4 KRB to his total.

Week Seven – We have several troublesome injuries. First, RG Mileusnic is out for a week or three. Floyd Price will start in his place. Coady is questionable and joining him is Voetberg. With my G out, I feel the need to bring Coady back a week early. I decide to deactive Voetberg for a week and start Browning. We edge out Seattle 16-13. Guthrie rushes for our only TD on the day. Bulger had 296 yards and no ints. Pilcher caught 9 passes for 185 yards. Greco grabbed his fourth pick of the season. We had no sacks on the day.


I want to stop for a second a look at a few stats in the first six games of the season

Bulger is 5th in passing yards in the league, #1 in QB rating at 120.3. He has a 12:1 TD:Int ratio.

Guthrie is currently 2nd in rushing yards at 725.

Pilcher is number two in receiving yards at 750. (TO is number one)

Greco is tied for second with 4 picks.

Those are some good stats as of right now. If we can continue this – who knows what will happen. Maybe even a playoff win.


Week Eight – We host the Panthers and beat them 28-10. Porter caught two TDs and Guthrie rushed for another. Pacman Jones got a pick and returned in for a score. Guthrie had 169 yards on the ground with 32 carries. Bulger had an efficient day with just 189 yards, no picks. Greco got a pick and led the day in tackles.

Week Nine – We travel to Tamp and suffer our first loss of the season 23-28. Henry and Glassner caught TD passes. Guthrie only had 53 yards rushing, his lowest total of the season. Sciullo had 3 KRB. Bulger threw his second pick of the year alongside two TD passes and 246 yards. Ah well, all teams lose.

FB Kent Hughes, our FB, is out for the season with a torn ligament. I sign former Saint and WV player Clay Wright and elevate Matt Sununu to the starting role.

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Week Ten – QB Bulger is questionable, but I believe I have to start him. We travel to Arizona and dismember the Cardinals 30-24. Pilcher and Porter caught TDs and Guthrie rushed for one with his 170 yards on 27 carries. Bulger was a livid 387 yards, no picks. Pilcher had 140 yards while Porter had 153. Braham had 6 KRB.

Week Eleven – We host the Falcons and win another stinkfest 13-3. Pacman Jones returned a punt 58 yards for a score. He has had 2 PR and Int return for TD in this debut season with us. Quite a weapon. Guthrie had 133 yards on 28 carries. Bulger was weakened with a measly 12 out of 26 for just 113 yards and no picks. C McKenzie had 6 KRB and was named player of the game. Leggett had 3.

C Rich Braham is out for a few weeks with a dislocated shoulder, but Mckenzie looked very good spelling him so I’ll start him with few qualms.

Week Twelve – Yet another stinkfest as we head to Cleveland and hand on to win 13-12. Foley rushed for our solitary TD on the day. Pilcher had 106 yards. Greco got his 6th pick of the year. McKenzie had another 3 KRB.

Week Thirteen – We lose to the feisty Cowboys 23-33. Guthrie rushed for a score and Pilcher added a TD reception with his 164 yards. Porter had 105 yards. Bulger had 349 on the day. Graham Ventura added a pick.


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Week Fourteen – OT Jonathan Leggett is out for the season with a torn ACL. I place him on IR. I want to bring Chris Massey back to the team, but he won’t sign with me, despite the fact that we are 10-2. I sign RT Ryan Tucker as a backup. We host and lose to the Ravens 17-13. Guthrie was held to 47 yards. Bulger had 226 and no picks and hit Henry for a TD. DT Thomas had another 2 sack day. Greco added a pick. Pacman had a pick. We are now 10-3 and in second place in the NFC, behind the 11-2 Eagles.

Week Fifteen – We travel to Atlanta and reclaim our winning ways 31-16. Guthrie rushed for two scores and caught a third. Pilcher added 108 yards and a TD to his totals. Bulger grabbed an even 250 yards, 2 TDs, and no picks.

We have a couple of injuries to our DE corps. DE Bailey is out for several weeks. Burnett was knocked to doubtful.

Week Sixteen – The Bengals come to town and defeat us with a last second FG 23-20. FB Sununu and recent signee backup FB Clay Wright caught Bulger passes. Porter had 103 yards receiving. Coady had 3 KRB.

Braham is back in the lineup.

Week Seventeen – I’ll play despite the fact that we’ve wrapped up second place in the NFC and have a bye. The Bucs come into town and beat us 26-21. Guthrie had 110 yards on the ground. Greco added his 8th regular season pick. Coady had 4 KRB. And we lost. Sad.


We have a bye in the first week of the playoffs as the number two seed.


-Anxiety

[Tellistto]

Very nice season that was, hopefully the winning ways returned during the playoff run. Those injuries seem to be adding up a bit, hopefully that bye week came in handy to get one or two back on the field. Go Saints(soon to be something else)!

Tell

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Tellistto

Very nice season that was, hopefully the winning ways returned during the playoff run. Those injuries seem to be adding up a bit, hopefully that bye week came in handy to get one or two back on the field. Go Saints(soon to be something else)!

Tell

I guess we'll see, eh?

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Playoffs, Week Two:

Pilcher is doubtful. He is deactivated. Glassner will start in his place. We have four players questionable, including Chris Henry, DT Browning, and the two DEs. They’ll all play.

We host San Francisco. We’ve already beaten them at home this year. Now they are traveling to our house, so maybe we’ll continue the trend.


21-12, we win.

Jermaine Glassner caught a TD pass.
Edgar Guthrie caught a TD pass.
Bulger was 18 for 31 for 245 yards, 2 TDs and a pick.
MLB Ferguson got a pick.
Nickelback and former start Graham Ventura caught a pick and returned it 84 yards for a TD. Voetberg got two sacks.
Coady had 3 KRB.
James Davis forced two fumbles.

Good game.


Davis is out with a torn ACL. Pilcher has been upgraded to questionable and he’ll play. We travel to Philadelphia.



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

NFC Championship:

New Orleans 24
Phily 17

Jerry Porter 20 yard TD pass from Bulger
Vanderjagt 51 yard FG
Jerry Porter 10 yard TD pass from Bulger
Anthon Becht 9 yard RD pass from Bulger

= 24 points


Edgar Guthrie – 31 carries for 99 yards
Marc Bulger – 25 of 30 for 286 yards, 3 TDs, no picks.
Porter – 9 catches for 98 yards and 2 TDs
Pilcher – 7 catches for 90 yards

SS Poston – 1 pick



San Diego defeated Pitt 13-6

[Abe Sargent]

2010 Season Super Bowl featuring


Your AFC Champion 14-5 San Diego Chargers

Against

Your NFC Champion 13-5 New Orleans Saints


Preview:

QB: A wash
RB: In Favor of the Chargers
WR: In Favor of the Chargers
O Line: Tie
D Line: IFOT Chargers
LB: IFOT Chargers
Sec: IFOT Chargers
Special Teams: In Favor of the Saints
NO WR vs SD CB: IFOT Chargers
NO CB vs SD WR: IFOT Saints
NO Blockers vs SD Def Front Seven: IFOT Chargers
NO Def Front Seven vs SD Blockers: IFOT Chargers

Point Spread – San Diego by 3.



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Full Scoring Summary:

Vanderjagt hits 27 yard FG in early first quarter – Saints 3-0
Kaeding hits 28 yard FG at end of first quarter – Tie 3-3
Edgar Guthrie with 2 yard run in early second quarter: Saints 10-3
Vanderjagt hits FIFTY-SEVEN yard FG with 21 seconds in the half. Saints 13-3 at the half.
Vanderjagt hits 37 yard FG late in third quarter. Saints 16-3.
LaDainian Tomlinson 5 yard run TD early in fourth quarter. Saints 16-10
Fernando Ballard 10 yard pass from Philip Rivers with 6:34 on game. Chargers 17-16.
Edgar Guthrie 12 yard run with 2:59 on clock. Saints 23-17.
Vanderjagt hits 45 yard FG with 12 seconds on clock. Saints 26-17.

We win 26-17.

Game MVP – Marc Bulger

Guthrie – 28 carries for 127 yards and two TDs.
Marc Bulger – 25 of 38 for 240 yards and a pick.
No receiver had more than 65 yards.
Adrian Greco – Pick
Jamal Coady - 4 KRB
Rich Braham – 3 KRB



Season Awards:

Super Bowl MVP – QB Marc Bulger
All League First Team WR – Edwin Pilcher
All League Second Team OT – Jamal Coady
All League Second Team DT – Bart Thomas

[Abe Sargent]

Stats:

Bulger was at 65.4% completion for 4123 yards and a laser like 25:5 TD:Int ratio. QB ratio was 102.3. 2 fumbles.

Guthrie had 407 carries for 1692 yards with a 4.15 average. He rushed for 12 TDs. He caught another. He was robbed of an award. He had the second highest rushing yardage in the league and was tied for most rushing TDs.


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Receiving:

Front Office Football 2004
Receiving Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS Targ Ctch Yards Avg   YAC   Lg   TD  
Pilcher, Edwin        WR  NOS   16 16 149  98   1653  16.8  315   66   6      
Porter, Jerry         WR  NOS   16 13 103  65   871   13.4  147   49   6      
Henry, Chris          WR  NOS   16 3  70   41   507   12.3  88    34   2      
Glassner, Jermaine    WR  NOS   16 1  61   39   442   11.3  86    39   2      
Becht, Anthony        TE  NOS   16 15 46   33   294   8.9   48    32   3      
Hughes, Kent          FB  NOS   8  7  14   13   89    6.8   58    14   0      
Guthrie, Edgar        RB  NOS   16 16 33   23   85    3.6   54    17   1      
Grueneich, Kenny      TE  NOS   16 3  16   8    80    10.0  14    17   1      
Sununu, Matt          FB  NOS   16 6  15   11   79    7.1   20    13   3      
Wright, Clay          FB  NOS   8  0  5    4    19    4.7   18    13   1      
Foley, Johnny         RB  NOS   16 0  1    1    7     7.0   2     7    0     

Pilcher really did have a next level in him. I had my fifth WR deactived for almost the entire season, so you don’t see Duhart on there. Bulger, with just four wideouts, hit nine receivers for TDs.


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Pacman Jones bumped our KR average up seven yards from 17.something to 24.1.

Sauerbrun had a 42.5 punting average. Vanderjagt was 29 of 38 in FGs and 41 of 41 in PATs.


Defense:

Front Office Football 2004
Defensive Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS Tckl Asst Sack Blkd Hurr  
Davis, James          OLB NOS   16 16 78   35   1.0  1    1      
Thomas, Bart          DT  NOS   16 16 78   18   6.5  2    9      
Greco, Adrian         CB  NOS   16 16 65   12   0.0  0    0      
Ferguson, Dusty       ILB NOS   16 15 64   23   1.0  1    0      
Green, Barrett        OLB NOS   16 15 61   22   2.0  1    1      
Jones, Pacman         CB  NOS   16 16 61   15   1.0  0    0      
Benedict, Jay         S   NOS   16 16 46   18   0.0  0    0      
Poston, Alonzo        S   NOS   16 16 43   26   0.0  0    0      
Voetberg, Allen       DT  NOS   15 15 38   17   5.5  3    13     
Stills, Gary          DE  NOS   16 16 33   10   8.0  5    9      
Strickland, Howie     S   NOS   16 0  27   1    0.0  0    0      
Ventura, Graham       CB  NOS   16 1  22   11   0.5  1    1      
Reynolds, Gino        OLB NOS   16 0  22   1    0.0  0    0      
Scott, Darrion        DE  NOS   13 10 19   12   4.0  4    6      
Rutulante, Clifton    OLB NOS   16 0  19   5    0.0  0    0      
Tanner, Gary          S   NOS   16 0  18   0    0.0  0    0      
Browning, John        DT  NOS   16 1  15   2    1.5  1    1      
Frazier, Lance        CB  NOS   16 1  15   6    0.0  0    0      
Burnett, Herman       DE  NOS   14 6  12   5    2.5  1    4      
Foley, Johnny         RB  NOS   16 0  9    0    0.0  0    0      
Bailey, Fred          DE  NOS   14 0  7    4    0.5  0    2      
Sununu, Matt          FB  NOS   16 6  6    0    0.0  0    0      
Lucas, Louis          CB  NOS   4  0  4    0    1.0  0    0      

Davis and Thomas led the team in tackles. This was a breakout year for Thomas with his 6.5 sacks. Stills led the team with 8 sacks. Scott only grabbed 4 although Burnett didn’t do well when he started getting just 2.5 on the season. Scott didn’t even get to the QB this year with just 6 hurries. Voetberg led the team in hurries with 13 as well as getting 5.5 sacks. My DTs got great pressure this year.





-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

How about pass coverage?

Front Office Football 2004
Pass Coverage Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS Ints IRYd TD   Defn Cght PPly PDPct  
Greco, Adrian         CB  NOS   16 16 8    62   0    11   42   520   20.5   
Davis, James          OLB NOS   16 16 2    36   0    10   42   514   19.2   
Jones, Pacman         CB  NOS   16 16 2    53   1    15   40   519   19.9   
Ventura, Graham       CB  NOS   16 1  1    12   0    5    10   230   20.4   
Browning, John        DT  NOS   16 1  0    0    0    1    2    105   20.0   
Green, Barrett        OLB NOS   16 15 0    0    0    3    19   275   18.6   
Stills, Gary          DE  NOS   16 16 0    0    0    0    5    365   19.6   
Scott, Darrion        DE  NOS   13 10 0    0    0    0    2    302   19.9   
Frazier, Lance        CB  NOS   16 1  0    0    0    1    8    100   18.2   
Strickland, Howie     S   NOS   16 0  0    0    0    2    8    94    18.8   
Tanner, Gary          S   NOS   16 0  0    0    0    2    9    124   18.8   
Benedict, Jay         S   NOS   16 16 0    0    0    11   30   442   19.5   
Burnett, Herman       DE  NOS   14 6  0    0    0    0    2    230   19.8   
Thomas, Bart          DT  NOS   16 16 0    0    0    1    4    510   19.9   
Voetberg, Allen       DT  NOS   15 15 0    0    0    1    7    445   19.7   
Rutulante, Clifton    OLB NOS   16 0  0    0    0    1    10   116   18.0   
Lucas, Louis          CB  NOS   4  0  0    0    0    0    2    12    15.0   
Bailey, Fred          DE  NOS   14 0  0    0    0    0    2    149   19.6   
Ferguson, Dusty       ILB NOS   16 15 0    0    0    5    28   317   18.3   
Reynolds, Gino        OLB NOS   16 0  0    0    0    0    3    41    17.9   
Poston, Alonzo        S   NOS   16 16 0    0    0    4    26   408   18.7   
   
Ints - Interceptions, IRYd - Interception Return Yardage, TD - Interception  
Return Touchdowns, Cght - Passes Caught by Covered Receiver, Defn - Passes  
Defensed, PPly - Passing Plays on Field, PDPct - Pass Defense Percentage.   

Greco grabbed 8 picks and had 11 passes defensed and yet didn’t make All Pro. He was jobbed.

Pacman led the team with 15 passes defensed.

Also with 11 passes defensed was Jay Benedict. James Davis had 10.


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

The Blocking of the Defense

Front Office Football 2004
Blocking Statistics
   
  Player              Pos Team  GP GS KRB  KRO  BPct  SkA  PPly SPct RPly OPct  
Coady, Jamal          T   NOS   15 15 34   98   34.6  3    502  0.5  463  21.1    
Braham, Rich          C   NOS   11 11 25   73   34.2  1    347  0.2  335  21.7    
Sciullo, Steve        G   NOS   16 16 19   64   29.6  4    491  0.8  450  14.2    
Mileusnic, Ryan       G   NOS   15 15 19   73   26.0  1    488  0.2  444  16.4    
McKenzie, Alvin       C   NOS   16 5  14   35   40.0  3    184  1.6  163  21.4    
Maloney, Daniel       T   NOS   10 8  13   29   44.8  2    222  0.9  242  11.9    
Becht, Anthony        TE  NOS   16 15 9    20   45.0  0    397  0.0  413  4.8     
Leggett, Jonathan     T   NOS   12 8  9    22   40.9  2    252  0.7  216  10.1    
Sununu, Matt          FB  NOS   16 6  5    16   31.2  2    185  1.0  200  8.0     
Hughes, Kent          FB  NOS   8  7  5    14   35.7  2    141  1.4  165  8.4     
Grueneich, Kenny      TE  NOS   16 3  3    7    42.8  0    138  0.0  197  3.5     
Price, Floyd          G   NOS   9  1  2    5    40.0  0    53   0.0  55   9.0     
Williams, Keith       G   NOS   16 0  2    9    22.2  2    48   4.1  52   17.3    
Madison, Pat          T   NOS   7  1  2    8    25.0  1    74   1.3  63   12.6    
Wright, Clay          FB  NOS   8  0  1    4    25.0  1    35   2.8  43   9.3     
Tucker, Ryan          T   NOS   4  0  0    3    0.0   0    24   0.0  12   25.0    
   
KRB - Key Run Blocks, KRO - Key Run Block Opportunities, BPct - Key Run  
Block Percentage, SkA - Sacks Allowed, PPly - Passing Plays on Field,  
SPct - Sack Allowed Percentage, RPly - Rushing Plays on Field, OPct - Block  
Opportunity Percentage.   

I don’t think Coady had that great a year, to be honest. He was still our team leader in KRB, but I’ve seen lots better. There were no major holes in the pass protection this year, and I suspect that helped Bulger and the passing game.

Voetberg led the team with 3 FF.


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Analysis:


I won the Super Bowl with the following lousy starters:

FB 37/38
LT 20/45
LG 37/37
RDE 34/34
SLB 24/43
MLB 26/43
WLB 39/43
SS 34/54
FS 37/41


Our only true stud is an underachieving Right Tackle and maybe you’d consider our Punter one as well. Has there ever been a weaker champion?

These nine starters average a current rating of just 32. All 22 starters had an average current rating of 46.

Wow. I did not expect this for this season.


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Rookie of the Year: Well, since our TE busted, and we cut one of our four draftees, and we deactivated the DT for most of the season, C McKenzie wins by default. He did look good in a few games. Congrats McKenzie

Special Teams Player of the Year: CB Pacman Jones. Two returns for score and a significant increase in our starting position. Thanks Pacman.

Defensive Player of the Year: DT Bart Thomas. He really showed that he could play well. With 75 tackles and 6.5 sacks, Thomas was a force on the field, shedding blockers and wreaking havoc.

Offensive Player of the Year: WR Edwin Pilcher. With the second highest receiving total in the league, Edwin had been increasing in impact each of his first four years, and this year he exceeded even again. Edwin has proven himself an elite receiver on the field, even if he isn’t in the weight room.

Team MVP: There are several good choices here. RB Guthrie was second in the league in rushing. Bulger had a great year. Coady finally got it together. Bart Thomas exploded. Greco stole everything that wasn’t locked down from opposing QBs. Pacman made a real impact, not just in coverage, but in special teams. However, I think Ed Pilcher’s continuing growth and dominance had proven himself to be a threat on every play. Here’s to you, Ed!


-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

Team Performance – 83 (I won the Super Bowl with a lousy team, what more could you want?)
Franchise Value – 32
Profit/Loss – 60
Roster Strength – 87

Total Score – 64

[Abe Sargent]

I must admit that in several major ways I feel a bit cheated. My team was on a hot streak in the beginning but I thought the collapse at the end of the season where we lost four out of our last five showed that the team couldn’t handle it and that we were coming back down to earth. Then, bang, bang, bang, we are hoisting the trophy.

I doubt this team even cracked the top ten rosters in the league. I expected this challenge to be hard. And yet, here I am, six seasons later and I already have a trophy. What more should I quest for? I got what I wanted to find out – an all WV team can win the Super Bowl. What goal is left? A perfect season? Repeat the championship? Try to survive once the team moves to Huntington?



-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

I’m going to do some of my preseason info, because I want to see where the franchise stands:

Our Stadium has risen to 11th worst
We have the 14th best roster
The worst support, although it has grown considerably during our Super Bowl run.
12th worst economy
7th lowest franchise value. We jumped big time here.
Attendance rose an average of 6000 people to put us at second worst.
We lost 50 million.


DT John Browning retired but Braham and Sauerbrun are still around.

We are 780k over the cap, but we have several major players in the last year on their contract that will probably reup and allow that number to turn positive and rise easily.

I rehire our Off Coord for five more years.

I head into free agency

Chad Pennington is available but I’m happy with Bulger

There’s only 3 40+ rookies in the pool from WV schools, two in their 40’s and a nice 56 potential FS, which is a position I need to upgrade to. A quick scan to find natives shows Another Solid Guard at 29/60, a 17/57 QB, and five other players in the 40s.

Feh. This isn’t worth playing anymore, it’s become too easy, too rote.



-Anxiety

[Tellistto]

I guess the term "Against all odds" really does mean something. Great Super Bowl win with that group of players, I guess it really is about team, huh?

Tell

[Izulde]

Good dynasty while it lasted, though unfortunately a bit anticlimatic.

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks to both of you!

-Anxiety

[Abe Sargent]

In case you were wondering, here were my three best moves, in retrospect, in order:

3). Signing Marc Bulger. I had drafted a first round QB and committed to him, so going with Marc was a huge cap hit to my QBs. It wasn't teh hardest decision I made, but it was one of the best.

2). Drafting Adrian Greco and then moving him to CB, and choosing the other CB spot that Pacman didn't play, just in case I got Pacman some day. That draft was really complex, and I could have kept Greco at his normal safety position with justification. I drafted him earlier in the first than I probably could have. This turned out beautifully.

1). Drafting Edwin Pilcher. He was just a house and a half, and caught balls for mad yardage after Bulger joined the team. There was a better CB on the board and I felt Pilcher was a reach at that spot (for what I would normally take there). Nevertheless, massive yardage ensued.

-Anxiety