The Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 1970 Onwards

Izulde · 08-12-2005, 04:58 AM

Okay, in case you guys haven't guessed by now, I absolutely love doing historical dynasties. Well granted, I've only got the Gabriel Arcadia one for TPB, but I decided I want to do one for FOF as well.

To that end, I've decided to use 3ric's 1970 universe beginning point and then import each following year's draft file as the seasons roll around.

Unlike the Gabriel Arcadia dynasty though, this isn't going to be story/character based. I'm just not that comfortable enough with FOF football to pull it off. Maybe as I get into later years and I get more comfortable with the game I can introduce a story, but for now, no.

So why the Bucs? Because they suck. I mean, they *really* suck. It's so bad they just have two players with NFL experience on the squad, SLB Mike Stratton and LDT Mike McBath.

It's like an empty cupboard, only the players are even worse than with that.

Given my inept record with FOF in years past and given how truly bad this team is, I predict many, many, many losing seasons ahead.

But it'll be fun, right?

Right.

Okay let's take a look at this team, section by section.

Quarterbacks:

Marvin Satori: An undrafted rookie, like I suspect most of this team is, he's been designated the starter by whoever my head coach is. Yeah, okay. About the only thing this guy does is run a lot. He's also passable at making clutch passes on third down and dodging the rush.

Clyde Coster: Another undrafted rookie. Like Marvin, he sucks in just about everything. His good points are that he, too, can make those third down passes and has some ability to avoid the rush. He's also got pretty good timing for a street free agent. Sadly, his best quality is as a holder for the kicker. Still, I may start him over Satori.

Chuck Blair: Undrafted rookie? Check. Third-down passing? Check. Scrambler? Check. Decent timing? Check. But guess what? He's actually got potential, unlike the other two guys, especially at reading defenses and throwing the longball. Unless the fourth QB can top him, Chuckie may be our man.

Bubba King: The fourth undrafted rookie QB, like Blair, he shows some potential, only he could conceivably turn out to be a better all-around passer than Chuck, though he sucks hard at the longball. If he develops like he has the potential to, he could turn into the perfect passer for a team wanting to run a short and intermediate passing game. But like I say, just don't expect him to break anything beyond 30 yards, because it ain't happening. For some reason he's on the inactive roster. I say fuck that. Right now he's a scrambler with good timing, a little bit of clutch throwing, and great holding. I'm going to make him the #2 guy behind Chuck I think, and throw that asshat Satori on the inactives.

Whoa I just realized the salary cap is only $10 million. I sure as hell hope that goes up as time goes on. Have I mentioned also that I love the Lock feature? It means the asshole AI won't screw up my depth charts (or so I"m hoping).

Running Backs:

Blaine Robbins: Are any of these guys drafted? I'm going to assume this is a no until I get something one actually was in fact drafted. Anyway, this guy's on the inactive list and I don't know why. He's got good power running ability, has okay speed to the outside, is a very good special teams player, and looks to have some potential as a receiver out of the backfield. Even if Blaine turns out to be the bast back on my roster, I think I know what the focus of my offense is going to be.

Corey Bajawa: You know he's an undrafted rookie so let's just say that they're all undrafted rookies until I say otherwise. Got it? Good. Corey's a decent third-down back with good elusiveness. He has the potential to become a very good third-down back in fact, and shows some ability at figuring out where the holes are. While he has good route-running potential, he doesn't look to be the receiver that Robbins can become.

Gene Crowder: The appointed starter and it actually makes sense this time. He's got decent breakway speed, had some power ability and recognizes holes decently already. Has the potential to become a pretty decent elusive runner and serviceable with hanging on to the football. Right now he shows glimmers of talent in the former and no ability in the latter.

Richie Torrice: Has the same breakway speed as Gene but isn't as good a power runner by a pretty significant degree. Still, he's got about the same hole recognition ability, shows better elusiveness with the potential to become a very good slippery back and has decent speed to the outside. I'm going to have to think about this one. Torrice and Crowder both have their good points and it's tough deciding who should start.

Fullbacks:

Travis Gibson: Good power runner and special teams player and very good clutch receiver out of the backfield. Unfortunately his blocking leaves quite a bit to be desired. The nominal starter.

Dan Gilstorf: Not quite the power runner that Travis is, but shows better blocking ability and hole recognition. I'm suddenly getting the urge to trade for Larry Czonka, who for some reason isn't starting in Miami.

But before I do something stupid like give in to that urge, I'm going to wrap up this first post and catch some sleep if I can.

Wide receiver group to come tomorrow, or more accurately, later today. I think this dynasty is gonna last, and I think it's going to be fun.

Izulde · 08-12-2005, 03:38 PM

Hooray! I got accepted into Wyoming! I'll be busier than hell over the next couple weeks so probably won't be updating my dynasties as much as I'd like to, but we'll see how it goes.

Let's get back to my lovely, terrible Bucs.

Tight Ends:

Wayne Davis: Okay blocking strength, good at yards after the catch, long snapping, and showing courage over the middle. Has some real potential to turn into a very good run blocker and a good routerunner.

Ralph Ishler: Decent deep threat, good blocking strength and long snapping. Shows ability in other areas that Wayne doesn't, but doesn't seem to have all that much upside compared to Davis. Nominally the starter.

Mickey Stokes: Good courage and decent deep threat. His potential is probably the perfect blend of Davis and Ishler, except that he has hardly any blocking strength to speak of. Still, has the possibility of becoming the best receiver out of the bunch when all is said and done.

I think I'm going to keep Ishler at the starter and have Davis as the #2 man. Mickey can stay stuck at #3. While I like my TEs to be receivers, if he's that weak at blocking, he has no place on the current team.

Man with all these one year rookie contracts, I'm really going to have to reconstruct this team at the end of the year. I'm beginning to feel like Quiksand's affinity dynasty.

Flankers:

Maurice Sanford: Oh great. We only have one flanker. I've been playing on making a trade with the Dolphins because the 'Fins were my favourite team as a kid and I especially love these early 70s Dolphins (though I wasn't born until '79) but it looks like I'm going to have to get me a flanker. Good YAC and clutch third down catching ability. That's about it. Has potential to turn into a slightly subpar guy and avoiding drops and could be good at adjusting to the ball with time.

Split Ends:

Darrin Williams: Good deep threat. Has some potential but meh, overall I can see why he's on the inactive list.

Max Freeman: Let's see here. Decent at YAC, shows flashes of ability at clutch third-down receiving and at punt returning. Has the potential to become pretty surehanded, a decent routerunner, and a pretty good YAC guy. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, I'm changing him to a FL.

Before the change: 14/34
After the change: 14/34

Huh, no change. I suppose that isn't bad, but I've seen in QS's dynasty how some guys shoot up somewhat after you change their positions and it's not like Maxie Pad could get any worse. Oh well, moving right along.

Wes Major: Good deep threat and special teamer. Shows flashes of YAC, where he could turn out to be good, and third down receiving. Has the potential to become okay at avoiding drops and could become very good at making adjustments on the fly to crappy QBs.

Martin Poole: A guy who shows flashes at a lot of things and potential at a couple things, namely clutch third-down receiving, courage, and punt returns. I want to try him at TE, but the game won't let me convert his position to that.

Still, not really the guy I see as a SE type, but by the same token, I don't really see him as a FL either, because his route running sucks so bad. While the nominal starter at SE, I like Major a lot better. Hmm, we only have 1 FS on the roster, so I'll say hell with it and convert Martin to that.

Before: 18/32
After: 6/19

Oops. Oh well, it was worth a shot. I didn't really like him anyway, so he'll go bye-bye at the end of the year.

Seth Swanson: On the inactive list, but he shows potential to be a pretty decent stickyhands and route runner. Shows some courage now and could be an all right clutch receiver and adjuster. Yeah, he looks like another FL candidate, so I'll switch.

Before: 13/37
After: Same

Hmm maybe FL and SE are interchangable when switching positions? Just a thought, though I'm sure a lot more research has been done. Incidentally, I've discovered that there's a minimum weight requirement, at least 215 lbs, to be converted to TE, as Seth had that option, whereas Martin didn't at 201 lbs.

Well, that takes care of the receivers and I've got some Wyoming-related errands to run, so I'll take care of the OL and P/K when I get back.

Izulde · 08-12-2005, 10:06 PM

And I'm back!

Shopping was oh so totally blast, but I'm not here to talk about the past.

We've more Bucs to review so let's hop to it.

Centers:

Jason Wagner: Inactive. Very good long snapper and has some potential to turn into a decent center, except that he's weaker than Macaroni Man.

Ethan Conway: The presented listed starter, blocks with a bit more strength than Wagner and could turn into a pretty good run blocker. Never will be much of a pass blocker though. 6'4" 313 lbs. May switch to guard.

Zach Burgess: Strongest blocking center on the team and has potential to be an average guy if he develops to his full potential. Also has the highest endurace.

Left Guard:

Bryant Gosselin: The only LG on the roster, he has decent blocking strength and some endurance. That's about it. Potentialwise he could be a mediocre passblocker. Not impressed with him at all.

Right Guard:

Ralph Williamson: Some strength and a little endurance. Could turn into an okay run blocker.

Lamar Huntley: The listed starter, with average blocking strength and no endurance. Has the potential like Williamson to become an acceptable run blocker.

Ronnie Arrington For some reason is inactive. Has about the same amount of strength as Ralph and more endurance. Ditto the potential for runblocking and passblocking. Williamson and Arrington are going to switch places on active/inactive.

Left Tackle:

Edwin Coles: Decent blocking strength and some endurance. Could turn out to be an okay passblocker.

Right Tackle:

Harold Swanson: Inactive. Some blocking strength, could turn into an average passblocker. What is this guy doing at RT? At 6'6" 347, he's bigger than Edwin, so I'm switching him to LT.

Before: 13/36
After: 11/33

Not too bad a drop and maybe he'll grow into the position.

Trevor Holbert: Inactive. Has no strength to his blocking whatsoever, so that renders his potential to be a pretty good runblocker moot.

Scottie LaPierre: He's from Minnesota. I hate Minnesota. Still, from his potentials, he looks as though he could be a mildly acceptable backup center someday, so I'm going to switch him there and move Conway over to RT.

Scottie Before: 11/40
Scottie After: 10/45

Hah! I *knew* he was better suited to center!

Conway Before: 16/49
Conway After: 7/38

Umm I fucked up. I made him a RG by accident, where he dropped to 95% of his ratings, then to RT, where he fell to 87% of his ratings. Sorry, Ethan! No more Buccaneer time for you!

Charles Lopes: Gets to be the starter according to my head coach because he has blocking strength and endurance in relatively high abundance compared to his tacklemates. Pfft. Whatever. I'm going to inactive his ass.

My punter is actually somewhat acceptable and my kicker sucks. That's all you need to know, since punters and kickers are the Parisian prostitutes of football. You know, a million a franc?

So with that in mind, here's the starting offense after much debate:

QB: Chuck Blair (1)
RB: Gene Crowder (46)
FB: Travis Gibson (42) (Also the main back in passing situations)
TE: Ralph Ishler (86)
FL: Seth Swanson (80)
SE: Wes Major (81) (We only have one SE on the roster now but I'm not worried about that)
LT: Edwin Coles (78)
LG: Bryant Gosselin (73)
C: Zach Burgess (55)
RG: Ronnie Arrington (71)
RT: Ethan Conway (59) (Even after the fuckups of switching, he's still the best RT)

P: Leonard Hutton (5)
K: Cornelius Middleton (12)

PR: Max Freeman (FL)
KR: Richie Torrice (RB) (It's sad when our highest rated KR is 14)
Seth Swanson (FL)

The defense I'll get to either later tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Oh by the way, does anyone have the little helmet icon with the old Buccaneers helmet? The one with orange stripes and the orange pirate logo, used in the days of bright orange as the uniforms? Not only will it fit this dynasty better, but I liked it a lot better than the current logo.

Thanks.

Izulde · 08-13-2005, 11:00 AM

Hrm still no mini-old Bucs helmet luck in finding. (Yeah I know that's awkwardly worded) Oh well, hopefully I'll come across it somewhere else.

I'm going to cram the defensive line in now, real quicklike before work.

Left Defensive End:

Joe Peltier: Best thing that can be said about him is that he has endurance, the best out of the entire team so far. He's also got potential to be something of an ironman in that regard. Sadly for the rest of it, he's terrible and will never be anything more than mediocre. Still the nominal starter.

Chad Gertz: Inactive, but shows great potential as a run defender and a diganoser of plays. At 6'5" 299, he's not really big enough to be a defensive tackle in my eyes but he's evidently considered too fat to be a LB, so what the hell... I'll try switching him to LDT and see what happens.

Before: 9/36
After: 9/38, with huge jumps in pass rush technique and play diagnosis potential. Nice, very nice.

Right End:

Wade Vickers: Could be a good run defender and diagnoser of plays, but 6'2" 248 means he's too damn small to be DT. He actually looks more suited to the secondary. Eh what the hell... let's try switching him to WLB, where he may challenge for a starting spot.

Before: 11/38
After: 10/42

Not bad. He took a small hit in a couple areas and went up in a few others.

J.B. Doggett: Has the potential to be a slightly mediocre player and has the best pass rush strength out of all the DL looked at so far with 32.

Andy Noriega: The nominal starter due largely to his endurance and punishing hitter ratings. Meh, I don't know if he'll stay that way or if Doggett will get the nod.

Left Defensive Tackle:

Mike McBath: Damn this guy hits *hard*. 100 Punishing Hitter rating. Decent pass strength for this squad (at 37) and could be a real diagnoser of plays. Undersized at 6'3" 264. Oh, he's also one of the guys who actually has experience at the major league level, having been around for three seasons, drafted in the 5th round by the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately switching him to DE or LB like I was thinking about doing would drop him in ratings, and I like that 100 Punishing Hitter too much to move him. Definite starter.

Chad Gertz: The recently converted Mr. Gertz comes off the inactive list after we switched Vickers to a LB, since the game will probably bitch at us about being short of DL if we don't. I like him enough that I'll probably make him McBath's top backup.

Mickey Irwin: Good pass rush strength, could become a good pass rusher in time, but unfortunately has zilch for endurance. May get to be a situational guy. 6'1" 288 sounds like a DE to me.

Before: 22/46
After: 22/48

He'll instantly step in as the LDE starter as he represents a major upgrade.

Right Defensive Tackle:

Jack Hickman: Inactive and another guy who looks like a DE candidate with decent pass strength, good endurance, and the potential to become a good pass rusher. Interestingly enough, though he plays on the right side now, he's expected to go up if he switches to LDE and have only minimal change if he moves to RDE. So I'll switch him to LDE and move Irwin to RDE if he doesn't take too big a hit for it.

Before: 19/47
After: 17/49

Even exchange rate, essentially. Mickey makes the switch to RDE with no changes at all. Excellent. Hickman comes off the Inactive list and Noreiga goes on it.

Ben Hill: The starter even before he became our only RDT on the roster and he'd have stayed there anyway. 323 pounder who has decent all-around potential skills and decent pass strength and endurance.

That's it for the defensive linemen and I'm running late for work, so I'm off!

Linebackers and maybe secondary too, to come after work sometime.

Izulde · 08-13-2005, 06:56 PM

Back from work, which kinda sucked today, though Rustie looked damn good in an emerald cami that gave some nice cleavage.

But that's neither here nor there.

More Bucs fun! Linebackers now.

Middle Linebacker:

Ellis Fielder: Very good punishing hitter and good special teams player. Other than that, JAG potential speaking.

Joseph Flanagan: Has a little more potential than Ellis but not nearly as developed, which is why he's listed as Inactive. Nothing special here, folks.

Teddy Baron: Shows some bump and run ability and can hit hard. Some endurance and special teams ability. Overall, I'm not excited about any of our middle linebackers.

Strongside Linebackers:

Mike Stratton: Easily the best player on the team and the only Buccaneer who is anything more than scorecard trivia in terms of fan popularity. With a 49 rating in that area, he's actually recognized. A 9-year veteran and former first round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, he'll be our lone dominant force. Good endurance, good special teams, powerful hitter who has heavy strength in the pass rush. Unfortunately he hasn't even come close to reaching his potential in technique and he may never do so, even though it was once and is still considered to be very high indeed.

Dave Russell: Has potential as a pass rusher and could become a very good special teams guy. Good system guy for a team that has bump and run as their main defensive focus. That won't be our team, though. It seems like too many people use bump and run on here, so I'm going to go with either zone or man-to-man.

Weakside Linebackers:

Ernest Stokes: Originally appointed the starter, he won't last there. Another guy for the bump and run defense with some pass rush strength.

Ronald Miasek: Not developed much but shows more potential than Stokes does. Another guy who seems best fit for the bump and run. Good endurance

Wade Vickers: After his conversion, Wade looks very raw but shows a fair amount of potential. Best suited right now for the bump and run, but long-term he seems fitted best for a man-to-man scheme.

Courtney Euell: The most potential out of all the weakside 'backers in terms of raw run defense and pass rush technique. While ideally fit for a defensive line spot as he has no concept of schemes, at 234 lbs, he's not allowed to become a DL. May win the starting job just on his potential.

And that it's for the linebackers. I'm feeling sleepy so I'm going to go take a nap and do up the secondary when I wake up. Since I'll be more alert and not yawning so much then, I can probably configure my offensive and defensive strategies at that time, too and may even change who my starting QB is.

vex · 08-13-2005, 07:49 PM

That?

CraigSca · 08-13-2005, 07:59 PM

The Bucs really sucked in 1970, so this should be a good read.

CraigSca · 08-13-2005, 08:01 PM

Here's a great site for this kind of stuff: http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/

Kobeck · 08-14-2005, 03:28 AM

Bucs started 0-26 beginning in 1976, but I am sure they would have been even worse had they existed in 1970

Izulde · 08-14-2005, 04:16 AM

Thanks, guys.

Craig, the link you gave worked beautifully! I may change some of the other teams' helmets too, to reflect the era.

And yeah, I'm expecting the Bucs to suck hardcore. I wouldn't surprised if we matched or even exceeded the 0-26 start by the '76 team in their first couple years.

Izulde · 08-14-2005, 03:37 PM

Hooray! New old logo is now in the game! I just had to allow distortion so the 35 x 35 ratio could get in there.

Along comes the secondary now.

Left Cornerback:

Lamar Reese: Decent endurance and hitting. Could become a good play diagnostician. Most developed in the bump and run, but could be a better zone coverage guy in the end.

Ernest Howe: Short and skinny. 5'8" 176. Ironically enough has the most potential at man-to-man, but is of course most developed in bump and run. Hits harder than you might think. Doesn't have a clue as to how to sniff out plays.

Right Cornerback:

Floyd Browning: Raw, like everyone else, but has upside to become a pretty decent corner overall, particularly in a zone scheme. Most exciting is that he has some interception ability and could turn out average in the end.

Rickey Baker: Has potential to be a good run defender and good guy for a zone scenario. Unfortunately also the dumbest guy on the team.

Eric Cook: Inactive and the best kick returner on the squad? He's getting activated. Knows the bump and run scheme pretty well, to the tune of 46 rated, highest on the team thus far. Too bad I'm not using the bump and run. Mildly hard hitter, too.

Barry Hawkins: Roster filler. Too much like the other guys. Let's move along.

Strong Safety:

Daryl Moore: Good hitter with some endurance, interception ability, the highest so far actually, and special teams talent. I like him better as a cornerback, truth be told, so let's switch him over. On second thought, let's not. He's predicted to have a drop in ratings.

Frank Salas: Inactive but he's got potential to be a great play sniffer and is actually a decent playmaker already (new high on interceptions on the team with 46). Not a hard hitter, but I think he may be able to move to CB? He's expected to drop if I move him, but I really think he's best suited as a LCB

Before: 16/42
After: 9/28

...Oops.

Quentin Hammett: Good hitter with some endurance and interception talent. Has potential to become a good zone guy. The nominal starter, which I agree with. Also the secondary leader.

Free Safety:

Kelly Walsh: Good bump and run player and some special teams ability with the potential to get pretty good. Eh, this guy looks like he has value, so I may trade him.

Martin Poole: My mistaken conversion. He sucks, end of story.

Gameplan:

.... Uh okay, this is way more complex than TCY. In fact, I'm completely lost. Right. Well, we're going to suck this season anyway, so it doesn't matter.

But in future seasons, I want to run a Zone Defense and have an I-Formation based offense. That much I know. Power runners, that type of thing. As for a passing game setup, I'm not sure. That I still need to think about.

I shop Kelly Walsh, but nobody wants him. Damn it!

Okay, here's the new preseason lineup.

Offense:

QB: Bubba King (13) (I decided I want to run an intermediate passing game for now)
RB: Gene Crowder (46)
FB: Travis Gibson (42)
TE: Ralph Ishler (86)
FL: Seth Swanson (80)
SE: Wes Major (81)
LT: Edwin Coles (78)
LG: Bryant Gosselin (73)
C: Zach Burgess (55)
RG: Ronnie Arrington (71)
RT: Ethan Conway (59)

P: Leonard Hutton (5)
K: Cornelius Middleton (12)

PR: Max Freeman (FL)
KR: Eric Cook (RCB)
Richie Torrice (RB)

Defense:

LDE:Joel Peltier (70)
LDT: Mike McBath (77)
RDT: Ben Hill (76)
RDE: Mickey Irwin (93)
SLB: Mike Stratton (56)
MLB: Ellis Fielder (53)
WLB: Courtney Euell (96)
LCB: Lamar Reese (35)
RCB: Eric Cook (34)

Our first exhibition game we lose, 26-21, to the Bengals. Closer score than I'd anticipated.

WTF? Why is Coster the QB? Williams is returning kicks? What in the fuck is going on here? Nice game by Stratton with 2 INTs.

@$#%!@%$!$@%@!$#%!@$~@ The fucking thing reset EVERYTHING I did with my depth charts!

UGH!

Izulde · 08-14-2005, 06:07 PM

I yank that reset depth charts option right quick.

The only change in starters is that LDE gets replaced by #90, Jack Hickman.

A couple of injuries in the first preseason game, including Bajawa, who was my top third-down running back. He's out for 9 weeks.

Barry Hawkins gets released to bring my players total to 59.

Our first win as a franchise comes in Game 2 of the exhibition season, as we top the Jaguars 17-10. Bubba King looked pretty good in his first taste of action as the starter. Ditto Seth Swanson at FL.

A heartbreaker of an exhibition loss to our South Florida rivals, the Dolphins, 26-23. Yeah, the games don't count here because it's all about battling for position on the depth chart and whatnot, but I don't care.

The Texans beat us 16-10 in the next exhibition game. Blair plays well enough to re-generate starting QB controversy with King.

Then the official season gets ready to go underway. We make a slew of cuts and get set to open up the season against the Redskins on the road.

I'd code the roster, but frankly there's nobody exciting on this roster outside of the guys I've already mentioned, and it's not letting me just export the roster to Notepad. It's demanding I have a printer.

If you guys want, I can put it up I suppose via my old friend Mr. Printscreen.

Anyway, our first game. The 'Skins blow us out of the water 58-17. The road to 0-26 or more has begun.

Any bright spots to be found on this horrible day? Well, King didn't throw an interception. Major had 5 catches for 123 yards to be our first ever 100+ receiver. Nice to see a split end who can average 24.6 yards a catch. That's about it, though.

Week 2 we play at home against Seattle and...

BUCCANEERS WIN!!! BUCS WIN!!!

Yep that's right, we pulled off the huge, huge, huge 7-6 upset. It took the 1976 real-life Bucs a season and a half to get a win. These 1970 Bucs picked up their first victory in just the second game.

The weird thing is, the Seahawks should have dominated us. And yet, they couldn't convert in the red zone. They had to settle for a couple field goals.

High Points: Bubba going 16 for 30 to have his first game with higher than 50% completion. Bubba with his first career touchdown. Bubba with his first Player of the Game award. Hutton averaging 42.6 yards a punt. Major picked up another 74 yards on 4 receptions. He's quickly become Bubba's favourite target.

Low Points: Everything else just about, though the really annoying part is that for the second straight game, we haven't had a running back so much as break 50 yards. I'm thinking that's going to be a high priority come draft and free agency time.

We come back down to earth in Week 3, losing to the Oakland Raiders 35-7. Ah well, at least we have one win to ourselves, no?

High Points: Maybe Stratton with his 8 tackles. That's about it.

Low Points: Everything else qualifies.

In Week 4, Denver tramples us 35-6. I'm beginning to hate the AFC West and their near-identical scores when facing us.

High Points: Blair goes 4 for 8, 64 yards in backup duty after the head coach, whoever he is, gets disgusted with King's shitty accuracy. Middleton makes a 51-yarder.

Low Points: Again, everything else. Our search for a runner who can get 50 yards continues. Also, RDT Ben Hill, our starter, is listed as out, so Gertz gets a start for the next game...

In which we lose to the Saints 17-7. Damn. So close. Well, sort of.

High Points: We held someone below 35 points for the first time in a few weeks. Hutton with 43.3 average on punts. Stratton being our first double digit tackler with 10 tackles, 3 assists, and 1 sack.

Low Points: Once more everything else. Particularly odius? Bubba's going 9 for 25 and getting sacked 7 times. I've had enough of his inaccuracy. Chuckie's getting the start next game.

Well, maybe that wasn't so smart. In Week 6, we get pummeled by the L.A. Rams 23-3. Yes, the L.A. Rams. I moved them back to Los Angeles and shifted the Cardinals over to St. Louis, but I think I already mentioned that.

High Points: Blair going 20 for 30 in his first start. Yes, he had an interception, but the high completion % is good to see. Middleton with a 51-yard field goal. Swanson with 7 catches for 95 yards, finally starting to show some potential as a possession receiver. Hutton averaging 48.3 yards a punt.

Low Points: This wasn't that bad of a game by us, despite what the final score says. Obviously only scoring 3 points sucked. Oh yeah and we still don't have a runner going for 50 yards or more.

Week 7 brings the Bears' bashing of us to the tune of 38-3. *Sigh*. Looks more and more like that Seattle win in Week 2 was a fluke.

High Points: King coming on and going 4 for 8 in backup duty. Sound familiar? Stratton's 8 tackles and 4 assists.

Low Points: Just about the rest of the game. Bubba's going back in as a starter. I'm getting sick of only scoring 3 points a game.

Bajwa's finally back so I take him off the inactive list. After a moment, I decide to bench Crowder. Yes, Gene is our leading rusher, with 270 yards... after 7 games. I think it's time we gave someone else a chance, like say, Mr. Corew Bajwa.

We take the bye week to help recover from some minor, nagging type injuries. Halfway through the season, we're 1-6, actually ahead of the 0-7 Carolina Panthers.

We drop to 1-7 with a 28-3 loss to the newly minted 7-1 Kansas City Chiefs. I hate the AFC West, like I said. Oh well, let's see what good came out of this.

High Points: Nothing. We played that bad.

Low Points: The whole flipping game. Adding insult to injury is that Corey re-injured his hamstring bad enough that he's gone until next year. Damn it. Back comes Gene.

Wait a minute. Why didn't I think of this before?! I'll look on the Free Agent market! Sure enough, there's a fourth year guy sitting there, named Don Shy, who totally kicks Crowder's ass in every way. He's a former 2nd rounder of the Giants. Now let's see how much he wants to come aboard. Ideally I'd like to sign him to a multi-year deal, simply because everyone else on the damn team is on a one-year contract.

He wants $50,000 for one year. That's actually a pretty fair deal, but I'll see if I can offer him $40,000 for three years. Nope, he just wants a one-year deal. So I offer him $40,000 for the rest of the season, since he's already missed half of it. Turns out $50,000 is the league minimum for players of his experience level. Okay, fine.

He signs. Crowder is pissed off as you can imagine, because now his starting spot is gone. Torrice on the other hand, is delighted to have a real leader in the backfield and a Recognized (42) player. Here you go, Don. You're now the starting RB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you poor bastard.

Wow! Against divison leading 7-1 Atlanta, we put up a hell of a fight before going down 34-24. I'm positively giddy with all the scoring we did in this game. Let's see what the box score says.

High Points: Bubba going 19 for 30 and 2 TDs. Swanson showing flashes of possession ability by nabbing 6 catches for 66 yards. Hutton's punt average of 49.8 yards. Euell with 9 tackles, one shy of the double digit standard.

Low Points: Don only getting 33 yards in his debut and yeah, everything else.

Still, I have faith in Don, so I bump up the starter's share from 1 to 4. I *will* get a back who rushes for more than 50 yards before this season is out, damn it.

And I get it the next game, as Shy Guy rushes for 55 yards. Unfortunately that's nowhere near enough, as the 49ers punch us out 20-7.

High Points: Finally getting a back who got 50+ yards. Fielder getting 10 tackles and a sack. Stratton with 9 tackles and 4 assists.

Low Points: The usual standard, but I found Bubba's 3 interceptions particularly obnoxious.

Remember how Carolina was winless? Remember how they were 0-10 and we were 1-9? Not anymore is that the case, as the Panthers knock us out 7-0. We couldn't score a single damned point. How embarassing, to be shut out by an equally sucky team.

High Points: A new high in yardage rushing, coming from, of all people, Torrice. Though the Shy Guy has been disappointing, our main backup has flourished with him around, as the sub gets 64 yards in this matchup. Stratton with 9 tackles.

Low Points: Bubba is suddenly interception-prone, as he throws 2 picks here. And blah blah everything else.

Next week, we lose 29-0 against Atlanta. Two straight shutouts. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, we need help everywhere, but especially on offense. Only once this year have we broken double digits in the regular season and that was a loss.

High Points: Hutton with 43.3 punting average.

Low Points: I wouldn't even know where to start bitching here. Our top rusher getting 19 yards? Blair throwing an interception in relief duty? Yeah, we sucked hard this game.

And Ben Hill gets hurt again. He's a semi-decent player, but too injury prone for my tastes.

Good news: We break double digits for the second time this season. Bad news: We lose 38-10 to the Chargers.

High Points: Nothing really jumps out at me, except maybe the double digit scoring and Bubba's getting back to a more acceptable TD-INT ratio with 1:1.

Low Points: Our running game continues to suck. Two games we had 50+ yards rushers and have since reverted back to form. Shy Guy, you won't be welcomed back next year.

Just when I've cheerfully given up on the season and am greatly looking forward to that delicious #1 selection, the team decides to something to fuck that up...

THEY WIN!!!!! Whoohoo!

So it fucks up my draft position. I don't care. A win is damn exciting especially when it comes againt a division foe. We upset the Saints 17-9!!

High Points: The running game suddenly woke up. Shy Guy heard about my wanting to boot him out evidently, because he busts out for 86 yards. Torrice has this hero worship thing going on with Don, so he chimes in with 75 yards and a touchdown. Do we suddenly have a running game now?

Low Points: Bubba finally completes over 50% of his passes again, but he has an underwhelming 109 yards. Cleary he isn't the QB of the future, but none of the guys on the roster are. If Shy Guy and Sidekick Torrice keep it up, I just may be looking at QB in the next draft.

WIN STREAK!! WIN STREAK!!! WE HAVE A WIN STREAK IN TAMPA BAY!!!!

Yeah, okay, so it was a 9-7 squeaker of a win over the Panthers, but hell, I'll take it, even if my draft slot looks even crummier now.

High points: Shy Guy with 60 yards rushing. Yeah it may not seem like much, but I consider it a huge upgrade over what we'd been getting earlier in the season and he seems to have helped ignite the team once he learned the offense. Maybe I'll resign him after all. Hutton with 47.6 average on punts. Middleton going 3 for 3 on FGs. Russell with 8 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks. Wait a minute, maybe that's not so good.

Low points: Fuck! I was right. Stratton broke his arm early in the game and is out until next year. Lovely. Well, I'm not going to try and sign someone with only one game left in the year.

Our regular season ends with a 13-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams.

High points: Sanford becomes our second 100+ yards receiving guy with 6 receptions for 109 yards. Hickman getting 5 tackles, 1 assist, and 2 sacks.

Low points: Everything else. Shy Guy's 16 yards rushing was especially disheartening.

So that's the regular season wrap. Postseason and all that other rot to come in the next post.

Here's a snapshot of the final standings:

You know your divison sucks when 7-9 is good enough to be the champs. Check out Dallas and Atlanta. The Cowboys and Falcons totally pwned their divisions.

aran · 08-14-2005, 08:52 PM

Wow.. what a dysmal team! Good season, considering it

. I've seen better teams go winless.

But... Kansas City goes 15-1! WHOA.

Izulde · 08-14-2005, 10:31 PM

Tampa Bay 1970 Season Stats:

Passing:
Bubba King: 15 GP 14 GS 212-436 48.6% 2204 yards 5.05 avg 47 long 7 tds 15 ints 54.6 rating
Chuck Blair: 7 GP 2 GS 37-82 45.1% 365 yds 4.45 avg 33 long 0 tds 4 ints 37.9 rating

Not a very good year from either of these guys. Bubba was the lowest rated QB out of all the qualifying starters in the NFL. I still might bring him back next year though, for the heck of it. Chuckie won't be back.

Rushing:
Richie Torrice 16 GP 0 GS 114 rushes 441 yds 3.86 avg 27 long 3 TDs
Don Shy 8 GP 8 GS 88 rushes 344 yds 3.81 avg 20 long 0 TDs
Gene Crowder: 7 GP 7 GS 78 rushes 270 yds 3.46 avg 17 long 2 TDs

Most of Richie's yards came after the boost he got from Shy Guy's signing. I'll probably keep both those guys around for next year and beyond, until we can get someone better. Besides, Shy Guy was my first signing so I've gotten oddly attached to him. I also really love the nickname Shy Guy. Brings back Super Mario Bros. 3 memories.

Receiving:
Wes Major: 16 GP 14 GS 51 rec 625 yds 12.2 avg 9 drops 2 TDs
Maurice Sanford 16 GP 5 GS 46 rec 547 yds 11.8 avg 12 drops 0 TDs
Seth Swanson: 16 GP 16 GS 43 rec 472 yds 10.9 avg 4 drops 0 TDs
Darrin Williams: 16 GP 1 GS 43 rec 408 yds 9.4 avg 5 drops 3 TDs
Ralph Ishler: 16 GP 15 GS 25 rec 254 yds 10.1 avg 3 drops 2 TDs
Travis Gibson: 16 GP 11 GS 13 rec 96 yds 7.3 avg 0 drops 0 TDs

It looks like the head coach did some screwing around on his own with some of the fullback and receiving starters. Major looks to be a keeper, and though Swanson didn't have any TDs, I'd like to give him another crack. Ishler was decent as the starting TE and Gibson did exactly what I wanted him to as a receiver out of the backfield.

Poole averaged 11.0 yards a punt return, so he may be worth keeping for that, or I may go find someone else in the draft who can fill the role. Nobody exciting as a kick returner, but I didn't expect them to be.

Hutton finished with a respectable 41.2 per yard average on punts. I'll probably resign him. Middleton only made 70% of his field goals. That won't cut it.

I don't feel like writing out the umpteen defensive stats by hand and I really, really wish Jim would create an option where you could just export stats to Notepad with a touch of the button like you can with FBCB. In fact, I'm going to put that in the suggestion thread a little later on.

Lead tackler was Mike Stratton with 83 tackles and 36 assists. Second was Ellis Fielder, good for 73 tackles and 28 assists. Hopefully we'll have someone break the 100 tackle mark one of these years. Jack Hickman led us in sacks with 6.5, followed by Mickey Irwin with 5.5. Chad Gertz was a pleasant pass-rush surprise with 3.0 sacks in just 6 games started, though he did play for all 16 contests.

Backup safety Daryl Moore led the team in interceptions with 3. Pass defense tied with 7 between Eric Cook and Lamar Reese, my two starting corners.

Though I thought Chicago was going to win the Super Bowl, that didn't happen.

Instead, Pittsburgh and Seattle squared off in the Super Bowl, with the Seahawks upending the Steelers 24-13 to win the 1970 NFL title.

1970 Major Awards:

MVP:
FL Ken Burroughs Atlanta Falcons

Super Bowl MVP:
QB Alonzo Fitzgerald Seattle Seahawks

Coach of the Year:
Cornell Donaldson Seattle Seahawks

Offensive Player of the Year:
RB Chuck Mercein New York Jets

Defensive Player of the Year:
MLB Jimmy Gunn Jacksonville Jaguars

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
RB Odell Lawson Cleveland Browns

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
MLB Jimmy Gunn Jacksonville Jaguars

Can you say Mr. Gunn is going to be a very, very scary man? Yes, yes, I think you can!

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards:
P Leonard Hutton All-Pro First Team

Wow. I knew he had a good year, but I didn't know it was good enough to make him an All-Pro. Now I have to resign him, because he was our first All-Pro.

So it's on to the staff hiring phase we go.

Everyone on the team is under contract staffwise and I'm more or less okay with them. No need for overhauls just yet, so I skip all the rest of the stages.

Time to import the draft, if I can figure out how to do that. Okay, downloaded the 1971 draft file off the site and imported it into the game. Let's just hope I did it right.

So... now free agency begins and I have to resign EVERYONE. Joy. This is the reason why I don't do dynasties like Quiksand's Affinity Dynasty, because it'd drive me nuts having to resign everybody every year.

Salary cap jumped from $10 million to $13.7 million in one year. That's nice to see, though I'm still likely to make some boneheaded mistakes on this one.

Nobody is worth the franchise designation, obviously, so let's dive right into it, shall we?

As free agency begins, I find myself wandering over to the draft preview first. We've got the #4 selection and as I look over the players, a lot of the top guys seem to be RB, WR, and defensive backs. I'm going to resign Shy Guy anyway. The highest potential belongs to some tackle named Dan Dierdorf. My guess is he'll wash out and end up as an announcer.

But that's the draft and I'll worry about that when I get to it. The thing now is to go reassemble a team.

I won't bore you with all the mindnumbing details, but I'll let you know who all gets resigned and for what. The dollar amounts will be the total value of the contract, since most of these guys are going to be min sal.

Immediate Re-Signings:
QB Bubba King: 3 years, $200k
RB Richie Torrice: 1 year, $50k
FB Travis Gibson: 2 years, $110k
TE Ralph Ishler: 2 years, $110k
FL Seth Swanson: 3 years, $180k
SE Wes Major: 3 years, $180k
RG Ronnie Arrington: 3 years, $190k
LT Edwin Coles: 3 years, $200k
P Leonard Hutton: 2 years, $110k
LDE Jack Hickman: 1 year, $60k
LDT Mike McBath: 3 years, $270k
RDT Chad Gertz: 2 years, $110k (Switched to RDT after his nice job filling in for Ben Hill there last season. Little change in ratings)
RDT: Ben Hill, 2 years, $110k
WLB Courtney Euell: 3 years, $180k
SS Daryl Moore: 1 year, $50k
SS Quentin Hammett: 3 years, $180k
LCB Lamar Reese: 2 years, $110k

All told 17 players out of 51 were resigned before I even started looking elsewhere. I eliminated a lot of the chaff and concentrated on the players I wanted to keep. My ideal goal is to run a Zone Defense as I said, and most of the defensive guys were bump and run types. Quite a few of the ones I resigned still are B n R developed, but I'm hoping the defensive coordinator will buy a clue and switch the D to Zone more and more as time goes on.

I was happy to get McBath back right away and for relatively cheap. Shy Guy and Stratton are still sitting on the offers I've given them.

A lot of real high-quality guys available on the market, the biggest of whom is RCB Elijah Nevett, formerly of the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. But I'm looking for people who don't give a shit about winning too much and are still good players. I've got a ton of holes to fill here.

Offers Made Stage 1:
RB Don Shy (Tampa Bay)
SLB Mike Stratton (Tampa Bay)
C Don Maples (Houston Texans)
SS Jimmy Warren (Oakland Raiders)

Offers Made Stage 2:
RCB Clancy Williams (Los Angeles Rams)
LDT Dave Rowe (New Orleans Saints)
RCB Willie Brown (Oakland Raiders)

After Stage 2 ended, we had the following signings:
RB Don Shy: 2 years, $200k
SLB Mike Stratton: 3 years, $370k
RCB Wille Brown: 4 years, $740k
RCB Clancy Williams: 4 years, $1.68 mill

This bumped us up to 21 players signed and $12.1 million under the cap. I overpaid for Williams, I admit, but he was a Fan Favourite, so I was hoping he'd boost the income at the ticket office. Brown was a popular player too, and the new secondary leader. I decided to move him over to LCB. He took a few small hits, but nothing to bug about. The perfect guy for my new dream zone defense, too.

One thing was for sure, the quality of this team's secondary had just taken an astronomical leap. I didn't make any new offers in Stage 3.

Week 3 Signings:
LDT Dave Rowe: 3 years, $380k
SS Jimmy Warren: 3 years, $450k

The upgrade of our secondary continued with Jimmy's signing. We were now set at SS. Dave became our new defensive front leader and I couldn't help but think that the Raiders were a little frustrated. We'd stolen their starting strong safety and their nickelback from last season. Their secondary was going to be in for a major overhaul.

Week 4 Offers:
TE Kent Kramer (Minnesota Vikings)
K Gino Cappelletti (New England Patriots)

Week 4 Signings
C Bobby Maples: 4 years, $1.48 mill.
TE Kent Kramer, 3 years, $380k

My two current starting receivers, Swanson and Major, were both ecstatic to see Kent come aboard and become our new position leader. I liked him a lot myself, especially at that price. Bobby's our most expensive signing thus far, but he's worth every damn penny. He may not be the strongest blocker or have the hottest endurance, but he's got blocking technique like you wouldn't believe.

Oh I almost forgot. Rowe's signing means McBath now becomes a backup. With the money I've put into Mr. McBath, I'm not so sure I like that, so I'll see if anybody wants him. Okay, he was a dirt cheap signing, but I'll look around anyway.

Damn, a ton of teams want him. The Bengals, Texans, Saints, Redskins, Colts, Dolphins, Jaguars, Vikings, Patriots, Panthers, Rams, and Ravens all have 99 wantage. That's 12 teams, almost half the league! But I know who I want my trade partner to be. I've coveted one of those 70s Dolphins ever since I started this dynasty.

After looking over the roster, I decide LDE Billy Stanfill would be the best choice. He's one of the guys I recognize the most, along with the obvious of Csonka, Kiick, Griese, Nicky B, etc.

Naturally my favourite childhood team and new favourite team again now that they ditched Wannestadt tells me to get stuffed with that offer. I go looking again, wondering where the hell Mercury Morris went. Then, I spot him. I loved the Dolphins backs of the 70s. Mercury looks like the Dolphins might be better willing to let him go, as he was just a part-timer for them in this universe's 1970.

Damn! Mercury's a fan favourite (No shit) so the Dolphins won't go for it. Ditto with Nicky B.

Ugh. Time to look at the other teams. I check the Colts, since I know former Dolphin QB Earl Morrall's old ass is on there. He'd be a great mentor type for Bubba and whatever young gun I get in the draft. Indy, or what should really be Baltimore, wants just a little bit more for him than just McBath, so I offer up my 1973 7th rounder. They want something a little higher. Okay, how about 1973 6th rounder? Nope. Higher yet. If Earl wasn't a former 'Fin, I'd tell them to go get fucked, but I'm desperate for a former Dolphin. Yeah okay, he didn't go to Miami until 1972 in reality, where he was a backup QB and part of the Perfect Season, but I don't care. He still counts as a Dolphin to me.

It takes McBath and my 1973 5th rounder, but it finally works. Earl Morrall comes to South Florida a year early and for the Other team down there, but guess what? He becomes my instant starter and we're actually looking as though we'll be a respectable team in '72.

In all this trading excitement, I forgot all about free agency. Ironically enough, Cappaelletti just got an offer that's for a year more and significantly nicer from Miami. Yeah okay, like they're going to ditch Garo. Maybe they are.

...That would have been sweet, but eh, what the hell... I'll try and get Stoyanvich when his draft year comes up.

Week 5 Offers:
FB Marv Hubbard (No team)

Week 5 Signings:
FB Marv Hubbard, 2 years $130k

Strictly a roster filler minimum signing, but his blocking could very well knock Gibson out of the starting FB spot.

Week 6 Offers:
WLB Bill Budness (Oakland Raiders)

Week 6 Signings:
K Gino Cappaelletti: 4 years, $1.49 million

Guess he realized there was no way he was going to unseat Garo. That's okay though. He should be a great kicker for me, or at the very least an upgrade over Middleton.

No offers or signings in Week 7.

Week 8 Offers:
SLB J.R. Williamson (New England Patriots)

No Week 8 signings or offers in Week 9.

Week 9 Signings:
SLB J.R. Williamson: 3 years, $390k
WLB Bill Budness: 2 years, $220k

If I were the Patriots, I'd hate me even more than the Raiders. Sure the Patsies were 1-15, but I swiped their starting K and their All-Pro 1st team SLB, the latter gotten for literal peanuts. Williamson will definitely challenge Stratton for the starting job on the strong side. Budness is another former Raider, making it three Oakland guys I've stolen in free agency. Hehe, I'm such a bastard.

From now on, I'm just going to put when I make offers and when signings of note occur. Everything else just doesn't matter and stuff. Oh unless that RCB signs with the 93 rating.

As it turns out, we do nothing else in the first half of free agency.

At the end of it, we've got 29 players signed and are just over $11 million under the cap. Not a bad setup if you ask me.

Let's take a look position by position where we're at going into the draft:

Quarterback:

Earl Morrall: 12 year vet and a slightly above-average all-around quarterback. He's best at the long balls, so that should open up our passing game. Not the greatest at reading defenses or timing his passes, but adequate enough. Specializes in the 2-minute drill, avoiding fumbles, and beating the rush.

Bubba King: Last year's starter, essentially. Still extremely raw, but could turn into an adequate backup.

Final Position Notes: We'll definitely want to think about grabbing somebody here, but we won't spend our first-rounder on one. A later-round selection is quite possible.

Running Back:

Don Shy: Played half the season with us last year. Our line should be improved, so we'll get a chance to see what Shy Guy can do with a full season and a lot better team around him.

Richie Torrice: Last year's leading rusher and somebody that's around just for continuity's sakes.

Final Position Notes: There's a couple of really good RBs in this draft, John Riggins in particular. If Riggins falls, we'll pick him. If not, then eh.. I'm not sure about that one. Riggins I'm really high on though.

Fullback:

Marv Hubbard: While originally just a minimum free-agent signing, the truth he is, he represents an immense upgrade over Gibson, last year's starter. He's the man at FB now.

Travis Gibson: Last year's starter, he's still the guy to slot in when we need a receiver out of the backfield.

Final Position Notes: Not an area of need in the least.

Tight End:

Kent Kramer: Excellent passblocker and route-runner. Really a nice fit for us, I think, provided the head coach and offensive coordinator get him in the mix, since I'm lost on gameplanning and just letting them set things.

Ralph Ishler: Last year's starter makes a good backup TE.

Final Position Notes: Maybe a late-round pickup is in order here, but I'll probably just get some roster filler here.

Flanker:

Seth Swanson: Although a starter last year, when I look at how much we've upgraded the other areas on this team, I realize how much of a crisis we're at in this regard.

Final Position Notes: I'm not going to repeat this for SE, so consider this the same note for both positions. We desperately need someone who can step into a starting role and take over for one of these guys. There really wasn't much available in free agency, so if Riggins doesn't drop, then WR becomes a primary target.

Split End:

Wes Major: Our leading receiver last year, he's still good enough to be a 3rd or 4th receiver for us in a couple years as we upgrade this position. Having Morrall throwing to him will help immensely, I think.

Center:

Bobby Maples: None of the guys we had here last year impressed me at all, so Bobby was signed. A great guy to have in the middle, he'll really help stabilize our line this year.

Final Position Notes: We need a backup here. Possibly a mid-round selection in the draft. Either that or I'll look at the guys left in post-draft free agency, as there were a couple that seemed worth getting.

Left Guard:

We have nobody at LG, so put this as a need area along with WR going into the draft.

Right Guard:

Ronnie Arrington: Started for us last year, and still has some potential. Better suited to be backup, though.

Final Position Notes: WR, LG, and RG. The list of need areas for impact players grows as we go along.

Left Tackle

Edwin Coles: See Arrington above. The same basic concept applies and so do the position notes.

Right Tackle:

Like LG, we're bare in this area. Our whole offensive line except for C needs help badly, it seems.

Punter

Leonard Hutton: Played great for us last year, getting the 1st Team All-Pro nod. We expect good things this year as well.

FPN (I'm abbreviating now cuz I like acronyms): Not an area of concern at all.

Kicker:

Gino Cappelletti: Even if he only hits 76% like he did with the Patsies last year, that's still 6% better than Middleton did. I think he'll have a rebound year myself.

FPN: No worries here.

My eyes are starting to burn and this finishes off the offensive side of the ball, so I'm going to finish the post here.

To summarize:

Dire Needs:
WR, LG, RT

Critical Needs:
RG, LT

Backup Needed:
QB, C

Could Use An Upgrade:
RB

No Worries:
FB, K, P

Defensive side of the ball probably comes tomorrow.

Izulde · 08-14-2005, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aran

Wow.. what a dysmal team! Good season, considering it

. I've seen better teams go winless.

But... Kansas City goes 15-1! WHOA.

Yeah, the team sucked hardcore the first year, but I think we'll be much better come this second season as you'll see from the first offseason post.

I was shocked at Kansas City going 15-1 myself. I don't remember them being that strong in the 70s. I was thinking more along the lines of Dolphins, Bears, Steelers, Packers, that kind of thing.

Izulde · 08-15-2005, 08:31 PM

Now let's take a look at the defensive side of the ball.

Left Defensive End:

Jack Hickman: Our starter here last year and team leader in sacks with 6.5. He's improved immensely over how he looked last year and now he's a serviceable backup type player with the potential to grow into a bona fide starter.

FPN: Could use an impact starter here, as well as a few bodies.

Right Defensive End:

As we presently have no RDE's on the roster, this becomes one of the dire spots.

Left Defensive Tackle:

Dave Rowe: He's tall at 6'6" and pretty big at 293. Not a run defender, but a dominant pass rusher who I may switch to RDE and take the ratings hit on after the draft if we pick up a quality guy there.

FPN: If Rowe stays, then we just need a backup. If he switches over to another position and takes the hit, then we'll look at someone else.

Right Defensive Tackle:

Chad Gertz: Still has potential but hasn't lived up to it. It's questionable whether he ever will, though he filled in okay for Ben Hill after the starter got injured a few times last season.

Ben Hill: Injury-prone starter from last season. I'm not too impressed with him to be perfectly honest, but he's more developed than Gertz.

FPN: Like the WR positions, we could really use a quality player here over the schlep we currently have.

Middle Linebacker:

Seeing as we have no MLB's this becomes yet another dire area.

Strongside Linebacker:

J.R. Williamson: Quite possibly the best run defender in the entire game. Fits best in the zone defense, which is what I'm trying to run here in Tampa, if my head coach and defensive coordinator get the message with the players I'm bringing in. High motor, too. Did I mention he was also a 1st Team All-Pro last year?

Mike Stratton: Last year he was the best player on the team. This year he's no more than a very solid backup veteran. This testifies how much we've upgraded the squad I think.

FPN: Roster filler is probably need, but that I can just get after the draft. By and large, no worries here.

Weakside Linebacker:

Bill Budness: Defensive front leader and a good pass-rusher with a fantastic amount of stamina. Also a smart guy who's good at diagnosing plays. Though he was only a backup for the Silver and Black last season, he'll be a starter in the Orange and White this year and I think he'll be damn good, too.

Courtney Euell: Last year's starter becomes a backup now. Another one with raw potential that has yet to be realized.

FPN: Roster filler again, or possibly even a better backup, but I'd like Courtney to get the chance to try and develop more.

Left Cornerback:

Lamar Reese: Last year's starter. Not a good guy at all, to be honest, and doesn't have much potential.

FPN: Since I moved Willie Brown to FS, this becomes a need area.

Right Cornerback:

Clancy Williams: Though best in a man-to-man defense, he'll be good in a zone. More importantly he brings a pretty good playmaker to the defense, an awesome special teams player, and another one who can diagnose what the other team is doing. A huge upgrade at this positon.

FPN: Backup needed

Strong Safety:

Jimmy Warren: Another guy who's great in zone defense and great at diagnosing plays. We're going to have a real smart and aware secondary this year. Not as good a playmaker as you might want, but hell, he was a starter in Oakland last year. Raid the Raiders defense we did. I think we've got like three former Raiders on our team this year, all on D.

Daryl Moore: Backup last year who may be the odd man out this year. Has potential but hasn't developed it thus far.

Quentin Hammett: Last year, he was the starter. This year he probably figures in the nickel or dime package. Could turn out to be a solid dime guy if he develops to his potential, especially in zone coverage.

FPN: None needed.

Free Safety:

Willie Brown: After moving him again, this time to Free Safety, he took a few considerable hits but still looks like a *very* solid player and the perfect free safety. Extremely hard hitting and a terrific zone guy.

FPN: Backup needed.

Final Draft List:

Dire Needs:
FL, SE, LG, RT, RDE, MLB

Critical Needs:
LT, RG, LCB, RDT

Could Use An Upgrade:
RB, LDE

Backup Needed:
QB, C, FS, RCB

No Worries
FB, K, P, SS

Izulde · 08-15-2005, 10:31 PM

So with my final shopping list in hand, I head into my first ever draft. It'll be interesting to see what pans out. I'll list the first round picks, just for the hell of it.

First Round Selections
1. T Dan Dierdorf - Michigan (New England Patriots)
2. CB Leonard Dunlap - Texas (Carolina Panthers)
3. WR Frank Lewis - Grambling (Baltimore Ravens)

Dierdorf getting drafted that high surprised me. True, he has the highest potential of anyone in the draft at 82, but he's extremely raw. Then again, when you go 1-15 like the Patsies did, you can afford to pick a raw guy because he'll still be a huge upgrade.

I waste no time at all in grabbing the guy I didn't think would fall this far.

4. RB John Riggins - Kansas (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
5. RB John Profit - Penn State (Houston Texans)
6. OLB Isiah Robinson - Texas Southern (Tennessee Titans)
7. G Stephen Lawson - Kansas (Jacksonville Jaguars)
8. S Ike Thomas - Oregon (Philadelphia Eagles)
9. WR Elmo Wright - Houston (Washington Redskins)
10. CB Leslie Brumfield - North Carolina (Minnesota Vikings)
11. CB Jack Tatum - Ohio State (New Orleans Saints)
12. CB Conrad Giles - Texas A & M (New York Giants)
13. WR Joel Eberhart - Purdue (San Diego Chargers)
14. S Mo Humes - Nebraska (Indianapolis Colts)
15. WR Dwight Harrison - Texas A & M (Los Angeles Rams)
16. S Tim Anderson - Ohio State (Oakland Raiders)
17. WR Rocky Thompson - Texas (Indianapolis Colts)*

*-Originally the 17th pick was Detroit's, but the Lions traded the pick to Carolina. The Panthers in turn then traded the pick to the Colts, who took Rocky Thompson, the WR I'd been hoping might slip through the cracks to me in Round 2.

Detroit Lions receive:
LDT Ken Hardy

Carolina Panthers receive:
Detroit Lions 1971 1st round draft pick (#17)

Dumb, dumb trade for the Lions. Hardy may be a strong pass rusher and a powerful hitter, but he can't defend the run and doesn't know what technique is. Let's see what Carolina got for it though.

Carolina Panthers receive:
FL Roy Jefferson

Indiapolis Colts receive:
Detroit Lions 1971 1st round pick (#17)

Interesting. The Colts trade an extremely talented receiver who had 1,266 yards receiving for them last year, only to draft another wide receiver, and a SE at that, something they're already stocked at. Still, I have a hunch that Rocky is going to step in as a starter right away for Indy as a rookie and Jefferson will be electric in the Panthers' offense. Not to mention which, he's signed for 6 years at a very reasonable deal and is entering his 6th season. Beautiful manipulation of the system by the Panthers here in both trades. They gave up a guy who wasn't that great a DT and got a terrific WR is what it essentially boils down to. Smart. Very smart.

18. WR J.R. Kaplan - Penn State (Miami Dolphins)
19. G Ernie Janes - Washington (Buffalo Bills)
20. T Bucky Garner - Georgia (San Francisco 49ers)
21. G Tracy Springer - Oklahoma (Cleveland Browns)
22. DE Josh Williamson - UCLA (Cincinnati Bengals)
23. T Wayne Walton - Clemson (New Jersey Jets)
24. S David Ogden - UCLA (St. Louis Cardinals)
25. DE Dixon Burton - Florida (Dallas Cowboys)
26. FB Ricky Wright - Oklahoma (Denver Broncos)
27. S Norm Thompson - Utah (Green Bay Packers)
28. K Lester Becker - USC (Atlanta Falcons)
29. T Vernon Holland - Tennessee State (Chicago Bears)
30. DE Emmitt Einard - Miami (Kansas City Chiefs)
31. OLB Bernie Wallace - Florida (Pittsburgh Steelers)
32. S Mark Carline - Texas A & M (Seattle Seahawks)

No QBs taken so far. I'll let you guys know when the first one is selected.

Tampa Bay picks
Round 2: FL Kendall Joyner - Utah
Round 3: SE Otto Stowe - Iowa State
Round 4: WILB Charles Musso - Colorado
Round 5: LCB Allen Tanner - Clemson
Round 6: RDE Cornell Daniels - Georgia Tech
Round 6: QB Jim Plunkett - Stanford

Joyner was a no-brainer pick in the second round and looked like an immediate starter to me. I suspected a run of WRs was due to happen shortly and it did, three of them going right in a row.

The third round pissed me off. I was all set to draft OLB Courtney Starks out of Ohio State to play on the weak side and then the Los Angeles Rams jumped up the spot ahead of me and grabbed him. Bastards. Ironically enough, they gave up an OLB who wasn't all that great to the Ravens to get him.

There was a SE I sort of liked by the name of Cotton Speyrer. Otto Stowe was another SE that I liked somewhat, mostly for his return abilities, but I wasn't sure if he was worth a high third-rounder, so I decided to trade down.

That's when I discover something. None of the bastards below me want to trade draft picks without adding value to the trade. What the fuck is this shit? Quicksand, how are you able to drop and add extra picks? Do I have to trade out of a round altogether?

Okay, now I'm disgusted. "Your opponent is unwilling to trade draft picks without adding value to the trade." This from the Jets, who are a full 20 frigging picks below me!

This game sucks. You pick-hoarding GM's can all blow me.

So in my disgust, I finally decide to go with Stowe. He's more developed and I need somebody who can return stuff for me.

First QB taken: Peter O'Donnell - Ohio State Round 3, Pick 28 (Atlanta Falcons)

Pretty weak QB draft if the first guy taken was in the late third round. I'm eyeing Jim Plunkett myself as a potential 4th rounder.

But then I get to the 4th round and Cotton's still sitting there, waiting to be drafted. Argh, decisions, decisions!

Other guys I'm looking at are a couple of DEs, Rex Bronson and Daniel Habib, but I think they'll fall to me in Round 5.

Then I spy Charles Musso. Though he's listed as a WILB, I think he can be shifted over to MLB without *too* much trouble. He's got the highest potential of the ILBs left, and he looks like a high-motor guy who would be perfect against the zone. Not a play diagnostician though, so I may shift him to the outside instead.

Denver trades up to get Cotton in Round 4 with the 13th pick. Smart move, I say and a great value at that spot.

Damn. There goes Rex Bronson with the 19th pick in Round 4 to Buffalo. I contemplate moving up for Habib, then decide he isn't worth *that* much to move up and grab him.

Round 5 now. Plunkett continues his free fall for reasons unbeknowst to me. I'm deciding I don't like Habib anymore. A low test score makes me wary, especially when he has high violatility. Cornell Daniels becomes a new late round target at DE.

LG Darnell Villagomez becomes another possible target for Round 6 or 7, but in the end LCB Allen Tanner becomes the 5th round selection. He's a zone guy with a high test score and playmaking ability. Not the greatest endurance, but could turn into a good nickelback down the line.

As a side note, Daniel Habib goes four picks after mine in the 5th round to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Fuck. The Patsies take Villagomez with the first pick in the 6th round. As a result, I take Cornell Daniels and hope his 99 volitality and 32 test score mean he's going to boom. Granted, he'd probably last until the 7th round or even as a street free agent, but after having gotten rooked three times this draft, I'm not about to risk another one.

It isn't until Round 6, Pick 19 that the second QB in the draft is taken, Buddy Ballew out of LSU by the Bills.

This makes me nervous that Plunkett won't last until the 7th round so I decide to try and trade up into the 6th to get him.

For our 7th rounder and Lamar Reese, the 49ers take the deal as they're looking for anybody who might be able to upgrade their secondary. I never much liked Reese anyway and he was due to lose his starting job to Tanner as it was.

I'm not saying Plunkett is going to be our QB of the future, but he might be. Right now, he's definitely our #2 QB and he'll get to learn from Morrall. I like Jim a lot. He's accurate as hell, has good throwing mechanics, is smart... What's not to like?

Two more QBs are taken before what would have been our 7th round pick, so yeah I'm thinking Jim would have been nabbed before our selection came up.

Here's what our rookies look like post-draft:

RB John Riggins 61/70
FL Kendall Joyner 24/61
SE Otto Stowe 30/44
WILB Charles Musso 11/51, then changed to WLB, after which he became 12/52
LCB Allen Turner 9/41
RDE Cornell Daniels 13/27
QB Jim Plunkett 23/64

And that's a wrap for tonight. Late free agency tomorrow. Or who knows? Maybe I'll get in the mood to keep going and do late free agency some time later tonight.

Izulde · 08-16-2005, 04:29 AM

By the way, if there's a particular player you guys want me to track, just let me know and I'll post seasonal updates for them

Izulde · 08-16-2005, 07:34 PM

Ugh. I have to get a menigitis shot today. Yay for being a college student, heh.

In fact, I have to go get it in about 10 minutes, but I'm chomping at the bit to get the late free agency period started, so here goes.

We got rated a C+ in our draft, third from last. Evidently the draftnicks pissed and moaned that we didn't do enough to upgrade our team at the most criticial areas. That's a pretty fair assessment, I think, though I personally would like to think I did a bit better job drafting than the lowest rated C+, but oh well.

Nobody on the Green Page. Damn. Oh wait, yes there is. After I sign him, QB Jim Plunkett appears on the Green Page. Yay!!!!!

I have a feeling Riggins would be on there too, but he's holding out, the bastard. So is Joyner, our second round pick. Everyone else from our draft has signed, though.

Crap. We have 8 weeks to sign people in late free agency? This sucks. Time to get cracking.

Week 1 Offers:
LG Jim Vellone (Minnesota Vikings)
RG Pat Matson (Cincinnati Bengals)
RT Dick Himes (Green Bay Packers)
C Ray Mansfield (New England Patriots)
LDE Don Hultz (Philadelphia Eagles)
RDE Roy Hilton (New York Giants)
RDE Mickey Irwin (Tampa Buccaneers)
RDT Carlton Oats (Philadelphia Eagles)
LDT Gary Larson (Minnesota Vikings)
MLB Dale Lindsey (Cleveland Browns)
MLB Dick Ashber (New Orleans Saints)
MLB Ellis Fielder (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
FS W.K. Hicks (Miami Dolphins)
SLB Brian Stenger (Pittsburgh Steelers)
RCB Billy Thompson (Denver Broncos)
LCB Carl Lockhart (New York Giants)

Week 1 Signings
RDE Mickey Irwin: 1 year, $50k
MLB Ellis Fielder: 1 year, $50k
RG Pat Matson: 2 years, $280k
MLB Dale Lindsey: 3 years, $310k
MLB Dick Absher: 1 year, $90k

Week 3 Signings
FS W.K. Hicks: 2 years, $220k

Week 3 Offers:
LG Jake Kupp (New Orleans Saints)
LT Kim Cox (New England Patriots)
RT Lester Reed (Jacksonville Jaguars)

Week 4 Signings:
RT Dick Himes: 2 years, $160k
LG Jim Vellone: 2 years, $270k
RT Lester Reed: 1 year, $50k
LDE Don Hultz: 1 year, $110k
LDT Gary Larson: 2 years, $220k
RDT Carlton Oats: 2 years, $220k
SLB Brian Stenger: 2 years, $150k

Week 5 Signings:
C Ray Mansfield: 1 year, $110k
LCB Carl Lockhart: 3 years, $310k
RCB Billy Thompson: 2 years, $190k

Elijah Nevett signs in Week 5 with the Carolina Panthers. 4 years, $3.27 million, $880,000 signing bonus and heavily backloaded. Didn't really want to see him sign on with a division rival.

Week 6 Signings:
LG Jake Krupp: 2 years, $290k

Week 7 Signings:
LT Kim Cox: 1 year, $50k
RDE Roy Hilton: 1 year, $90k

Shit! I just now realized in Week 8 that I need bodies at WR and and someone at TE! Damn damn damn.

Week 8 Offers:
TE Milt Morin (Cleveland Browns)
FL Ben Hawkins (Philadelphia Eagles)
FL Bake Turner (New England Patriots)
SE Gene Washington (San Francisco 49ers)
SE George Sauer (Minnesota Vikings)

Week 8 Signings:
TE Milt Morin: 1 year, $90k
FL Ben Hawkins: 3 years, $290k
FL Bake Turner: 2 years, $230k
SE George Sauer: 3 years, $310k
SE Gene Washington 1 year, $60k

Just before training camp, I get Riggins and Joyner to sign so my entire draft class is now on board. Interesting enough, John is the highest pick to be signed as of training camp. 1-3 are still unsigned, as are 5-6, but that the latter two should work out the differences as there's a set range now. Riggins signed for 5 years, $3.69 mill. with a $2.6 mill bonus and Stephen Lawson, the number 7 pick, signed for 5 years, $3.19 mill and a $2.1 mill bonus.

Let's take a look at our rookies after training camp. Here's the before totals again:

RB John Riggins 61/70
FL Kendall Joyner 24/61
SE Otto Stowe 30/44
WLB Charles Musso 12/52
LCB Allen Turner 9/41
RDE Cornell Daniels 13/27
QB Jim Plunkett 23/64

After training camp:

1st round: RB John Riggins 63/70 (+2/+0)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 26/61 (+2/+0)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 33/47 (+3/+3)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/46 (+1/-6)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner 10/34 (+1/-7)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels 15/24 (+2/-3)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 27/64 (+4/+0)

I'm not sure what qualifies as a boom or bust just yet, but judging from this, I'd say Riggins, Joyner, and Plunkett all look like they're going to perform as expected. Musso and Turner look like pretty damn bad busts. Daniels looks like a small bust, but we never expected much out of him anyway. Stowe, judging from the initial returns, could turn out to be the steal of the draft for us as he gets a small boom.

By the way, new Green Page features both Riggins and Plunkett. Nice to see. In draft news, there's still a few first rounders holding out, including number 2 pick CB Leonard Dunlap of the Carolina Panthers. I guess that big splash signing our division foes did of Nevett really put a damper on things.

Riggins also has the highest contract of any first rounder. We really got taken to the cleaners by his agent, who has an 18 in stubborn negotiation. Well damn. That sucks. Oh well, live and learn.

I was going to list the starting lineups going into the preseason but I changed my mind on that. I'll wait until the regular season hits before I announce who the starters are.

The first exhibition game we lost 17-10 to Miami. Plunkett looked god awful out there, but Morrall looked pretty good. Riggins got 68 yards on 10 carries to boot. Stowe had 6 catches on 91 yards, including our lone TD which was excellent to see. He also had 35 yards on a kick return. More and more he was looking like a superb steal in the third round.

Our next exhibiton game was the reverse, a 17-10 win over the Oakland Raiders. I love this one especially since we'd pilfered so many of Oakland's defensive guys in the offseason. Riggins looked not as good this game, but Plunkett went 3 for 4 in backup duty. Morrall was awesome, throwing for 281 yards and 2 TDs. Turner had 6 catches for 104 yards.

Unfortunately in that game, a whole ton of our guys got the damn flu, but we still managed to eke out a 12-10 win over the Jets in Exhibition, Part 3. Plunkett threw an interception, but it was one less than he had in Game 1 and he looked a lot more comfortable with the offense. Stowe is a definite gamer on kick returns. That much has been clear throughout this exhibition season. Bake Turner was turning out to be a steal of a signing as well, if the early returns showed anything.

Kansas City clobbered us 31-10 in the fourth and final game of the preseason. It was another game where Plunkett looked absolutely lost on the field, but Morrall once more seemed sharp.

After the preseason, here's the status of our drafted rookies:

1st round: RB John Riggins 64/70 (+1/+0) (Starter)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 27/61 (+1/+0) (Backup SE)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 35/47 (+2/+0) (Starting SE)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/46 (N/C) (Inactive)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner 10/34 (N/C) (Inactive)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 28/64 (+1/+0) (#2 QB)

Despite his miscues, Jim improved during the preseason, as did John and Kendall. Otto, as you can see, both played the best in the preseason and improved the most.

Okay, now here's our starting lineups for 1971 season!

Offense:

QB Earl Morrall
RB John Riggins
FB Marv Hubbard
FL Bake Turner
SE Otto Stowe
C Bobby Maples
LG Jake Kupp
RG Pat Matson
LT Edwin Coles (A huge need area as you can tell, since he managed to keep his job)
RT Dick Himes
P Leonard Hutton
K Gino Cappelletti

Defense:

LDE Don Hultz
RDE Roy Hilton
LDT Dave Rowe
RDT Carlton Oats
MLB Dale Lindsey
SLB J.R. Williamson (I love being able to get a guy who was First Team All-Pro on our squad)
WLB Bill Budness
LCB Carl Lockhart
RCB Clancy Williams
SS Jimmy Warren
FS Willie Brown

And there you have it! I'll probably do the regular season later tonight.

Izulde · 08-17-2005, 08:35 PM

I *would* have done the 1971 regular season last night/this morning but round about 4 am the reaction to the meningitis vaccine kicked in. It's not fun when you're shivering, shaking, and chattering... and you have to refill the bathtub 3 times in the space of an hour because that's how quickly the water gets cold.

So I finally got to bed about 8:00 am. Got up again at 9:30, went back to bed at 10:30, got up again at 12:30, went back to bed at 1:00 and woke up again at 4:30 and I've been up ever since.

So yeah, I'm still feeling out of it, but I'm chomping at the bit to keep going with this dynasty, so let's roll with '71.

It turns out I have to make four cuts before the season starts after I do my initial preseason trimming, so I do that, including releasing a couple starters from the year before, as well as a backup or two.

Last year we went 3-13 by getting a few fluke wins. My guess is even despite the flukey nature of 1970, we've improved enough as a team that we'll beat last season's win total. Not by much, though. We still have too many gaping holes. 5-11 or 6-10 is my guess for a final record.

Oh, I'm going back and doing this after Week 3, but I wanted to give you an idea of the power rankings anyway, if I can.

After Week 3 (I'm not sure if the team cohesion goes up during the season or not) our cohesion ratings are 48 passing, 48 offensive line, 44 defensive front, 53 secondary. This puts us at or near the bottom in every single category.

Power-rating wise, we rank about the middle of the conference, but again, this is after Week 3. Things may have changed from the beginning of the season. I'll track it better starting next year.

In Game 1, Atlanta proves they're likely still the team to beat in the division as they kill us 27-0. Ouch.

High Points: Hicks and Stowe both averaging over 22 yards on kickoff returns. Hutton with a 43.3 avg on punts. Oats with 10 tackles and an assist and Williamson with 8 tackles and 7 assists.

Low Points: Everything else. Our offense was particularly pungent, with Morrall going 10 for 24 and Plunkett going 1 for 2. The incompletion? An interception. Riggins was our lead rusher... with 21 yards.

Remember last year when we won in Week 2? Guess what? It happens again! This time we don't win in a squeaker; we thump the Jaguars 38-20! Whoot!

High Points: Earl Morrall winning Player of the Game by going 22-32 for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns! Didn't throw an interception either, which was great. Stowe getting 11 yards on his lone punt return. Hicks averaging 27.6 yards on kick returns. Williamson getting 6 tackles, 4 assists, a sack, and an interception he returned for 25 yards. Oats with 5 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks. I have to say, Carlton Oats is a guy who's been a real free agent steal for us so far in the season. He's been playing extremely well, even though he's not 100%, dealing with a nagging injury.

Low Points: Our running game still sucks, as Riggins once again led the team, this time with 39 yards. It'd be really nice to see somebody explode for 100+ yards rushing in a game, it really would.

We put together a win streak, topping the Redskins 31-21 in Week 3. Though it's way early in the season, it's nice to see the 2-1 record and be over .500 for the first time ever!

High Points: It only took us 3 games this year for a back to go over 50 yards rushing, as Riggins picks up 63 here. Hawkins has 8 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown. Nice to see that kind of production out of your backup flanker. Hicks averaging 32 yards a kick return. Hutton with a 44 yard punt average. Stratton roaring back to life with 10 tackles and an interception. Oats continuing his stellar play, despite a bruised rib, as he picks up 7 tackles and 2 sacks.

Low Points: None, really. The first time I can say that about this team. There are a couple after the game, though. J.R. Williamson strains his calf and is out for 4 weeks. Not good to lose a guy of that quality. Making matters even worse, LDT Dave Rowe strains his back and is out for 5 weeks. This is going to seriously hurt our defensive front.

As I expected, we drop the next game because of the injuries to those two key guys, or so I suspect. In any case, the St. Louis Cardinals pummeled us 37-17.

High Points: Riggins sets a new for himself and for us on the season with 74 yards rushing and a touchdown. Plunkett throws for his first career touchdown without throwing an interception in backup duty. Hicks and Stowe both averaging 24 yards a return on KR.

Low Points: Everything else, really. It was just a rough game all around.

Game 5 brings another loss and a close one at that, as we drop a 27-21 decision to the 49ers. It especially sucked because it was an OT loss, a real heartbreaker. We could've won this one, damn it.

High Points: Oh the bittersweet irony! In this most demoralizing of losses, we finally get our first 100+ yard rusher as Riggins carries the ball 29 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. More salt into the wound, as Morrall becomes the first 300+ passer for us in the same game, going 26-44 for 312 yards, 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. Kramer grabs 9 balls for 88 yards and Stowe shows his deep threat capability by burning the San Fran secondary for 5 receptions and 110 yards, a 22.0 average. He also averaged 11 yards on punt returns and 25 yards on kick returns. Hicks did him better on the kick returns, averaging 34. Hutton got his usual stellar performance, 45.5 yards a punt. Stratton got 10 tackles and 3 assists as he started again in relief of Williamson.

Low Points: Besides the nagging feeling of letting one get away that we should have won? Cappalletti's going 0 for 3 on field goals was a huge difference maker in this game. He's only made 42.8% so far this year on FGs and he's supposed to be one of the top kickers in the game. I may end up trading him, as he's not proving to be worth the investment.

Williamson comes back for us in Week 6 against the hated Los Angeles Rams, who robbed us of OLB Starks in Round 3 of the draft. We get a sweet 21-13 win to get to 3-3 and match last year's win total. I hate Los Angeles as a city even more than San Francisco, so for that and the Starks robbery, I'm celebrating this win especially. Nevermind that I probably wouldn't have gotten Stowe if it wasn't for the Rams nabbing Starks.

High Points: Riggins put together his second straight 100+ rushing game, taking the ball 28 times for 103 yards. He's finally starting to show why he was the #4 selection overall in the draft. Stowe average 30 yards on kickoff returns.

Low Points: Biggest one is that Cappaletti missed another field goal and went 0-1 on the day. If he has another subpar game, I'm going to trade his ass and go the rest of the season with some scrub from the free agent pile.

A bye week thankfully comes next, allowing us to recover from a few pesky injuries. During it, I decide to hell with it and put out feelers for Cappaletti. Only I can't. Trade deadline has already passed. Bah!

We suffer a second-half meltdown against the Seahawks in our next game and end up losing 20-13. They shut us out for the entire flipping 2nd half.

High Points: Stowe got 24 yards a kick return. Hutton got 42 yards a punt to complete the inverse of numbers. Cappalletti righting the ship and going 2 for 2 on field goals.

Low Points: The meltdown in the second half. Nobody really played terrible outside of that, but no one played truly great either. Williamson gets hurt again too, and is listed as Out for 3 weeks with a hyperextended elbow after getting 8 tackles.

The losing continues as the Saints pound us 42-28. We better get at least one more win this year, damn it. We're a lot better team than a 3 win squad.

High Points: Riggins picking up another 100+ yard game. 26 carries, 130 yards, and a touchdown. Hicks averaging 27.6 yards a kick return, Stowe 26 even. Rowe setting a new team game sack high with 2.5 to go with his 4 tackles and 4 assists.

Low Points: Cappalletti going cold on field goals again is the biggie. Other than that, another case of no one great, no one sucky really.

Then the floodgates hit. Gibson out for 4 weeks with a strained Achilles tendon. Some other injuries that have our guys questionable. And the big one. Bobby Maples, the center who literally anchors our line, tears his MCL and is out for the entire rest of the year. ARGH! Wait, no. It's more than a year... It's TWO YEARS! He won't be back until 1973! Damn it! There goes the rest of the season.

I go into the free agency pool and sign C Hank Autry, a third-year guy who shows a lot of upside and is a strong blocker with great endurance and long-snapping talent. If he can improve on his sucky technique, he'll be a good one. For now, he'll back up Mansfield.

Crushed by the loss of our main man on the line, we fall to the Falcons 23-13 and drop to 3-6. It doesn't matter. the season's a wash from here on out.

High Points: 21 rushes, 125 yards, and a touchdown. Yep, Riggins is continuing to play superbly now that he's got a handle on the offense. He may even be our first 1,000+ yard rusher if he keeps up at this rate. Stowe 14 yard average on punt return, Hicks 24 on kick returns. Hutton 43 punt. Stratton with 11 tackles and an assist. He seems determined to make a case for his starting over Williamson full-time but it ain't happening.

Low Points: Morrall had an off game. 142 yards and a pick. That was the big culprit, that we just couldn't get our passing game going. Of course, losing Maples has a ton to do with that.

We finally scrape out a win to break the streak in the next game, getting by the Panthers 18-13. We're now 4-6 and we've officially improved on last year's record.

High Points: Riggins rushing 26 times for 118 yards. Hicks averaging 33 yards a kick return and Hutton averaging 45.3 yards a punt. Cappalletti going 4 for 5 on field goals, including a 49 yarder. He just may save his job after all.

Low Points: Morrall continues to struggle since Bobby went down. 13 for 28, 168 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions just isn't going to cut it. We really need to continue working on upgrading our O-line in the offseason.

The most thrilling game in the Buccaneers' short existence happens the next game, as we escape with a 24-23 win over the Texans, by holding them to a FG in the 4th quarter. Now 5-6, we've officially hit my projected win total for the year! It feels good to win a couple games like this.

High Points: Morrall has started learning to work with Mansfield in front of him, as he goes 21-30 for 238 yards, 3 TDs and an interception. Hicks and Stowe do their usual superlative job of kick returning, Hicks with 29.3 and Stowe with 26. Hutton punts well again, good for a 47 average.

We lose to the Lions 24-17 in the next game, as they outscore us 10-3 in the 4th quarter. One thing I've noticed is that we tend to be a really bad second-half team.

High Points: They may have shut him down in yardage (17 carries, 40 yards), but Riggins gets his first multi-TD game, with 2 rushing touchdowns. Hutton averages 44.5 yards a punt and Cappalletti nails a 49 yarder, his only attempt of the day.

Low Points: Simply put, we just couldn't get our offense going the way we wanted. Morrall has gone back to struggling. He's just nowhere near the same guy out there without Maples in front of him. Starting flanker Bake Turner breaks his ribs and is out for 7 weeks. Considering it's highly likely we won't make the playoffs, that means he's essentially out for the rest of the year, so I put him on the IR. It's not a bad thing, really, since it allows Joyner to finally get some more action on the playing field, as he steps in as the #2 flanker behind Hawkins.

In Game 13, we play Morrall's old team, the Colts.. and come away with a 17-12 upset win! Now we're guaranteed of making the 6-10 record that was the high end of my projections at the beginning of the season. Whoohoo!

High Points: The biggest story here is Joyner. He gets 3 catches for 84 yards and an amazing 53 yard touchdown reception. He's waited all season for the chance to prove himself and now he's making the most of every opportunity he's getting. Stowe gets 20 yards on his lone punt return and averages 27.5 on his kick returns. Hutton averages 49 yards on punts. Cappalletti slams home a 52 yarder to be perfect on the day. Warren, our SS, gets 12 tackles and 4 assists. Williamson adds on 9 tackles and 6 assists of his own.

Low Points: Our running game is stalled again. That's the biggest issue, but considering Riggins got 57 yards, I'm not complaining too much when it was a miracle to get 50+ yards rushing from our backs at the beginning of the season. Besides, he only touched the ball 13 times.

Holy shit! Holy shit! We massacre the Panthers 41-20 and improve to 7-7! I don't know how the hell this team is managing to keep on winning when Maples was lost for the season, but I don't care. I'm damn happy for it.

High Points: So he didn't go over the century mark. So what? On 17 carries, Riggins still got a nice 83 yards and 2 TDs. Nice to see that scoring, John! Morrall goes 20-30 for 244 yards, 3 TDs and an interception. Every now and then he finds the touch he needs to have a good game, despite the line woes. But the biggest high point is this:

1Q: 12:26 TBY Otto Stowe 76 yard punt return.

Yep, that's right, a punt return for a touchdown! He got waxed on his other punt return, but so what? More and more am I glad that I grabbed Stowe in the 3rd round after Starks got stolen. He's lifted our return game to unprecedented heights and is a damn electrifying player to watch on the field.

Speaking of returns, on kicks, Hicks averaged 33.5 yards, Stowe 31 yards. Yes, Stowe averaged 8 yards more on punt returns than he did kick returns. Riggins even had a beaut of a 19 yard punt return himself. Rowe wakes up in the pass-rush game, getting 6 tackles and an assist to go with his 2.5 sacks. Williamson leads the way in tackles with 9 solo and 2 assists.

You want to know the scary part? We're actually in the hunt for a playoff spot! Yeah I know, I probably just jinxed myself when I said that, but I don't care. It's still amazing to see all these 7-7 teams who are just behind the 8-6 Detroit Lions, all of us fighting for the two wildcard spots.

Next game, we win again, much to my surprise. In fact, we don't just win, we flipping STEAMROLL the Tennessee Titans 42-16. We're now 8-7 and guaranteed a .500 record!

High Points: Riggins again, this time with 18 rushes for 120 yards and 2 TDs. He's been a key part of our emergence as a bona fide playoff contender this season. Morrall throws for 4 touchdowns. TE Kent Kramer gets 7 catches for 137 yards and a TD as he burns the Titans' secondary all day long. Kramer's been a very nice safety valve target for Morrall to throw to this year and has led us in receptions in quite a few games. Hicks averaging 32.6 yards a kick return. Hultz throwing the other QB for 2 sacks.

Low Points: Morrall also threw 3 interceptions. Stowe was an absolute non-factor this game. Didn't catch a pass, only averaged 5.5 yards a punt return, and had a low for him 21 yard kick return average. Evidently he's still hung over from the euphoria of that punt return for a TD last game. Today, that didn't matter, as others picked up the slack for him.

The playoff picture is still crowded in the NFC with a game to go. As of right now, Detroit is 9-6 and Green Bay holds the tiebreaker in the second wildcard spot with an 8-7 record that is matched by us, the Giants, and the Seahawks. Basically, it looks like we're going to need some help getting into the playoffs. The Packers *have* to lose. That much is certain.

We do our part in the bargain, trouncing the New Orleans Saints 31-17 to finish 9-7 on the year.

High Points: Though just 4 yards short of 100, Riggins still puts in a good game with 23 rushes for 96 yards and 2 TDs. Morrall rediscovers his accuracy and goes 23-28 for 233 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception. Actually, in this universe, Morrall without Maples reminds me a lot of the yet-to-appear Jim Everrett in reality, a real streaky QB. Hicks averages 30.5 yards a kick return.

Low Points: Stowe continues looking anemic on returns after that great play a couple games ago. I'm starting to get worried, but we'll see what happens next year.

And here's how things ended up.

We won, as did the Packers and the Giants. The Lions and the Seahawks lost.

In: Green Bay and Detroit
Out: Us and New York

Ugh. What a damn depressing way to end the season... to come that damn close to a playoff berth and to get hot when our star center and starting flanker go down for the year.

I'm still feeling like crap, so I'll hold off on screencapping the regular season standings until the next post.

Izulde · 08-18-2005, 02:53 AM

I was just about done writing a post when I hit a fucking button that wiped everything out, so now I have to enter everything in all over again!

But I'm not going to do that. I'm too pissed off.

New short version: Indy forgets that it's nice to have a .500 record to try and win the suckiest division with, so Jacksonville gets the division title with a 7-9 record. Atlanta owns our division for the second straight year.

Pittsburgh repeats as the AFC Champions, taking on Chicago in the Super Bowl, where they ream the Bears 41-24 to win the Super Bowl Trophy.

Tampa Bay Stats

Passing
Earl Morall 291-497 58.5% 3421 yds 28 TDs 19 interceptions 82.3 rating
Jim Plunkett: 7-14 50% 78 yds 2 TDs 1 interception 76.7 rating

Morrall finishes midpack in terms of rating and becomes our first 3000+ yards passer. Too many picks for my tastes, but I'll take that 58.5% completion rate and +9 differential of TD:Ints

Rushing:
John Riggins: 306 rushes 1286 yds 4.2 avg 58 long 13 TDs
Don Shy: 112 rushes 408 yds 3.64 avg 20 long 1 TD

Riggins becomes our first 1000+ yard back and that, combined with his 13 TDs and our drastically improved record should be enough to earn him very strong consideration for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Shy Guy was serviceable in backup.

Receiving
Kent Kramer: 66 rec 770 yds 5 drops 7 TDs
Ben Hawkins: 48 rec 722 yds 3 drops 5 TDs
Otto Stowe: 43 rec 597 yds 2 drops 4 TDs
Bake Turner: 34 rec 415 yds 2 drops 3 TDs
Marv Hubbard: 37 rec 263 yds 0 drops 4 TDs
Kendall Joyner: 13 rec 212 yds 2 drops 2 TDs

Kramer turned out to be Morrall's favourite weapon, as the QB and the TE established great chemistry. Not often you see that happening. Hawkins was a nice surprise as the third receiver, and even became the #2 performer on the team when all was said and done. Stowe looked pretty good in his rookie year and Hubbard was a nice safety valve option coming out of the backfield.

Returns:
Otto Stowe: 8.6 PR avg 1 TD 25.8 KR avg
W.K. Hicks: 27.8 KR avg

A huge improvement over last season. Both these guys did what I hoped to get out of them and more. Otto's punt return for a touchdown was a thing of beauty. 76 flipping yards! I'm still loving it.

Kicking:
Gino Cappalletti: 15/22 68.1% 52 long 45/46 PATs
Leo Hutton: 43.1 avg 35/79 inside the 20

Cappalletti's getting traded in the offseason. I'm sure there'll be some team that's suckered in by his talent and will forget that he simply doesn't deliver as consistently as he should in a game situation. Another stellar season from Hutton.

For the defense I'm just going to say that SS Jimmy Warren led us in tackles with 85, 4 more than J.R. Williamson, who, if he hadn't missed 4 games because of injury, probably would have broken the 100+ tackle mark again.

We had three guys tie for the team lead in sacks with 7.5. RDT Carlton Oats, LDT Dave Rowe and LDE Don Hultz. It was a huge drop from them to the next line of guys, though. RDE is definitely an area I'm going to target come free agency.

Interception leader was LCB Carl Lockhart with 4. My perfect zone man who understands the zone system completely. I love him. Still, I'd like to see more interceptions out of the secondary.

1971 Major Awards:

MVP:
RB Chuck Mercein New Jersey Jets

Super Bowl MVP:
QB Wayne Clark Pittsburgh Steelers

Coach of the Year:
Lamont Wolfe St. Louis Cardinals

Offensive Player of the Year:
RB Chuck Mercein New Jersey Jets (Second Consecutive Offensive Player of the Year Award)

Defensive Player of the Year:
SLB Lloyd Wainscott Houston Texans

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
RB John Riggins Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
MLB Claude Armistead Carolina Panthers (He was a 3rd round pick, too)

Tampa Bay Awards:
RB John Riggins - Offensive Rookie of the Year
RDT Carlton Oats - All-Pro 2nd Team Defensive Tackle

While the Riggins award was no surprise, the Oats nod was a pleasant shock. We'd gotten more than our money's worth out of him when we signed him and the best part is, he's still under contract for another year.

I re-hire my lead scout from the past few seasons. He'd done a good enough job for us, I think. After all, Stowe turned out to be a steal and Riggins became the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He'd helped us get a few key acquisitions in free agency, too.

I want to keep going, but I'm paranoid that the browser's gonna freak on me, so I'll post this, import the 1972 draft, and then see if I want to keep going through the offseason.

Izulde · 08-18-2005, 06:45 AM

Unlike last year, when I had to rebuild the team entirely from scratch, this year I've got 42 players under contract at the start of free agency. This will make for a much easier time of it and a lot fewer headaches.

The cap rose again, so it's now at $17.4 million. We're in good shape though, as we're $11.2 million under the cap and have the bucks to be able to land an impact free agent.

As I'm looking over the team, I see our biggest needs are at the following positions: OL, DE, and MLB. I'm tempted to see if we can upgrade our receiving corps too. But first, I definitely need to upgrade the entire offensive line, get some quality defensive ends in, and get a good middle linebacker.

We're picking 21st in the draft right now, so it's not like we're going to have a choice at a really great player unless we move up, something I may try and do, depending on how the first phase of free agency goes.

This year's top free agent is QB Sonny Jurgenson, formerly of the Washington Redskins. He threw for over 4000 yards last year, but had a 20 TD to 22 interception ratio as the 'Skins sucked as a team and he tried to do too much to carry the team. In 1970 though, he was good for a 19 TD to 12 interception ratio while throwing for 3700+ yards, so he's got the talent. We're not interested, though.

Week 1 Offers:
C Frank Marchlewski (Buffalo Bills)
RG Dave Middendorf (New Jersey Jets)
RT Ezell Jones (Green Bay Packers)
MLB Mike Curtis (Indianapolis Colts)

Week 1 Signings:
C Frank Marchlewski: 5 years, $2.67 million
MLB Mike Curtis: 3 years, $690k

Marchlewski will be able to anchor the center spot for at least this season and is good insurance in case Maples never does recover from his injury. At the very worst, I can always try and spin him off for something else if need be. Curtis instantly steps in as the MLB starter, even despite conflict with Bill Budness.

Sonny Jurgenson re-ups with the Redskins for $4.28 million over 2 years. His loss. He should've looked to sign on with a real team.

As it turns out, I get into a small bidding war with that same Washington team over Middendorf. The Dolphins are in the mix as well.

Week 7 Signing:
RT Ezell Jones: 1 year, $150k

It was a weak free agency class all around this year, so I went and grabbed this guy as a cheap upgrade over Hines at RT. This is one area you can bet I'll be watching in the draft.

Week 8 Signing:
RG Dave Middendorf: 2 years, $510k

All right, so I probably overpaid a little bit for him. I still think he's better than incumbent Matson, who can't runblock to save his life. It'll be an interesting battle between the two for the starting job in training camp. At least my OL depth is helped in either case.

And that's all for us in the first half of free agency. Going into the draft, my big concerns are both LT and RT and LDE and RDE. As I paged through the draft, I made the following short list of players I was interested in for my first rounder:

LDE Milt Davis (The top DE in the draft bar none)
LDE Greg Sampson
LT Steve Okoniewski

Everyone else that was available were guys I was lukewarm on and probably wouldn't go after until at least the second round.

1972 Draft First Round Selections:

1. CB Darden Thomas - Michigan (Baltimore Ravens)
2. DT Tommy Gay - Arkansas State (Minnesota Vikings)
3. DT Mike Kadish - Notre Dame (Tennessee Titans)
4. CB Charles Babb - Memphis (Los Angeles Rams)
5. DE Milt Davis - Texas (New England Patriots)
6. DE Walt Patulski - Notre Dame (Carolina Panthers)
7. T Al Benton - Ohio (Green Bay Packers through Washington Redskins)

Benton was one of the guys I looked at for a couple seconds before deciding I didn't want to shortlist him. I was disappointed to see Davis go so high, though. The Packers traded away SLB Fred Carr, a fifth-year guy who had been improving dramatically over the course of the past two seasons in Green Bay and was now a phenomenal player, perfect for a bump and run system. I don't like Benton that high and I think the Packers screwed themselves when they reached up so high to get him.

8. DE Greg Sampson - Stanford (Buffalo Bills)
9. G Conrad Dobler - Wyoming (Miami Dolphins)
10. DE Council Rudolph - Kentucky State (New Orleans Saints through Houston Texans)

I'm down to one guy on my shortlist now. I may try in a little while to trade up for him. The Texans picked up DE Billy Newsome, a guy who's young but still has some upside. His role in New Orleans declined last season, as he became a part-time starter.

11. DE Sherman White - USC (Oakland Raiders)
12. DT Don Croft - UTEP (Cincinnati Bengals)
13. ILB Jim Leclair - North Dakota (Indianapolis Colts)

I wonder why Leclair fell this far. At 81, he had the highest rated future potential in the draft and looked solid now. I would have had him pegged for a potential #1 pick, or at least top 3. The Colts got a major steal on this one.

14. OLB Ed Bradley - Wake Forest (Jacksonville Jaguars)
15. WR Cliff Branch - Denison (Cincinnati Bengals through New Orleans Saints)

Believe it or not, I actually tried to trade up for this pick, but the Saints weren't having it. They held out for Cincy, who gave them WR Speedy Thomas, a guy who was an All-Pro the last two seasons, including First Team last year. Great draft so far for the Saints. They've managed to hold everyone hostage here.

Nobody is willing to take on the salary of Ben Hawkins, which is kind of pissing me off. The guy did well last season and he's still available for cheap. Plus, he's only signed for two years. What gives? The trading up AI for the draft is real screwy, I think.

16. WR Dwight Harrison - Texas A & M (Philadelphia Eagles)
17. S Ron Bolton - Norfolk State (Cleveland Browns)
18. T Steve Okoniewski - Montana (Tampa Bay Buccaneeers)

Well, I did it. Traded with the Broncos. They get my 1st rounder and my 2nd rounder this year. I got their 1st rounder and their 3rd and 5th rounders next year. Did I overpay for moving up? Probably, but I didn't see anyone who grabbed me as a good 2nd round pick in the draft, plus I wanted to replenish the 5th rounder I lost in the Morrall trade.

Besides, if I'd lost Okoniewski this close to getting him, I'd have been pissed at myself.

19. T Jean Barrett - Tulsa (Seattle Seahawks)

And I probably would have lost him right there.

20. T Gordon Gravelle - Brigham Young (San Francisco 49ers)
21. T Lionel Antoine - Southern Illinois (Denver Broncos)

4 straight tackles taken and I'm pretty sure that Okoniewski would have been taken before my pick came up. Gravelle was the only other guy who even remotely had my interest and he went the pick before mine. I have a hunch Okoniewski would have gone to either Denver or Seattle, as all of us were looking at getting a tackle, obviously.

If this sounds like I'm trying to justify the trade I made, I am. But on the other hand, who knows if Okoniewski would have lasted to my pick and furthermore, I was able to last swing a draft-related trade. And it's true that after Okoniewski was gone, there really wasn't anybody I liked all that much in our need areas. Yeah, okay, WR is considered our biggest need area by the game, but I don't see it that way. Stowe is coming along nicely and Joyner is developing gradually.

Besides, by this stage in this draft, only flanker Ty Glover is worth anything in the receivers and he's more of a second-rounder to me than a 1st rounder. And he probably wouldn't have lasted to my spot in the second round, unless I traded down into the very early second round and played the waiting game.

While I'm rambling, it really surprises me that RBs Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell are still on the board. Franco's the best pure runner in the draft, whereas Lydell isn't as good a runner as Franco, but is blessed with unbelievable hands out of the backfield. Both of them are impact type players who should not still be sitting here at this stage in the draft. Either one of them could do a Riggins very easily, especially Harris.

22. DT Roosevelt Manning - Oklahoma (New York Giants)
23. CB Alonzo Mannelly - Minnesota (Detroit Lions)
24. OLB Mel Long - Toledo (Green Bay Packers)
25. DT John Mendenhall - Grambling (San Diego Chargers)
26. OLB Arnie Lang - Wisconsin (Dallas Cowboys)
27. G Jorge Cullen - USC (San Francisco 49ers through Kansas City Chiefs)

Evidently the 49ers liked what they saw in the home state boy enough to give up RDE Tommy Hart, a fantastic passrusher. Nice pickup for the Chiefs and a dumb move on the 49ers behalf, in my opinion.

28. RB Lydell Mitchell - Penn State (New Jersey Jets)

Finally one of the two good backs goes. But why would the Jets take him when they have the guy who's won the Offensive Player of the Year award the last two straight years? A quick check of the roster reveals the answer. Mercein is an 8th year veteran and an excellent all-around back much like Mitchell himself is. Not only that, but Mercein was the only RB on the roster. So the Jets fill two needs here: 1) They get a backup running back who's damn good and 2) Said running back fits the mold of their offense perfectly and is the heir apparent to their all-purpose, award-winning starter. Nice pickup after all.

29. T John Vella - USC (Atlanta Falcons)
30. DT Martin Imhof - San Diego State (St. Louis Cardinals)
31. WR Ty Glover - Oregon (Atlanta Falcons through Chicago Bears)

Great. The Falcons get the last truly decent receiver in the draft. That's just swell. As if they weren't already kicking ass in our division. Curiously enough, they give up another WR in exchange, SE Mike Brunson, a dynamite kick returner averaging 800+ yards receiving the last two years. But now Atlanta has no SEs on their roster and what the hell are they going to do with Glover when they've already got Ken Burrough as the starting flanker, 1970's MVP who still caught 1000+ yards last year? Stupid, stupid, stupid move by the Falcons. Not only do they fuck everyone else who was looking for a promising receiver, no matter how raw, but they fuck themselves in this transaction.

32. CB Jerry Cunningham - Northwestern (San Diego Chargers through Pittsburgh Steelers)

Damn. Here I was all excited, thinking, "Yes yes yes!!! Real life history will repeat itself and Franco will go back to the Steelers!!!!" I'm not a replay guy per se, but when something like that repeats itself in an alternate history universe that you're doing, it's just the coolest thing. It's like it was meant to be then.

But no, the Steelers had to crush my dreams. And what'd they crush them for? Some LCB named Chuck Detwiler who's young, it being his third season, fantastic at run defense with the potential to get better, and a dynamite bump and run guy and special teams player.

He sure as hell isn't worth dashing my hopes, I tell you that much.

So now I have to sit through the second round rather than speeding through it, because I want to see where Franco goes. P.S. I'm glad I got Plunkett the last draft. This year's class for QB is dreadful. In fact, it's so bad, the highest current ability is 14! There are, however, a couple guys worth taking a flyer on in later rounds for their potential, namely Stanley Keith (66) and Shawn Siegel (60).

Wow. Stanley Keith gets grabbed by the Washington Redskins with the 7th pick in Round 2. It makes sense, though. After all, Sonny is in his 15th season and doesn't have much left in the tank and the guys behind him are god-awful. So it was a smart move for the D.C. team, especially if he learns enough from Sonny to develop to his potential.

In a way it's too bad I don't have my second round pick anymore. Because here it is, pick 21 in the 2nd round coming up, and Franco *still* hasn't been drafted. He and Riggins would make a damn good powerhouse team or hell, I could trade him to the Steelers for some nice loot.

Shawn Seigel gets drafted before Franco Harris? Yep, Mr. Siegel's headed to the New York Giants with the 22nd selection in Round 2. Meanwhile, poor Franco continues to sit by a lonely phone. This freefall is reminding me of Allen Davidson in the Octopus League draft.

Here it comes. Pick 32 in Round 2. Franco still on the board and the Steelers with the pick.... Will I get my wish after all?

Fuck. No. They draft some guard named Ron Davis from the ingeniously named Small College. Bastards. As much as I love streaks, I hope your AFC crown run ends this year.

Well, guess what? We're up to my pick in the third round and Franco is STILL sitting there. Am I going to draft him? ....Nah. I'm masochistically enjoying this freefall too much. Besides, I've not only got Riggins, I have more pressing needs to address.

Instead I take FL Will Roberts, out of Utah, who looks like the prototypical flanker. By the time he's done developing, my guess is he'll be an excellent third receiver behind Kendall Joyner, who I still have hopes for.

Here we go again. Round 3, Pick 32. Is the third time going to be the charm?

Nope, the Steelers nab a tackle out of North Texas. Any of the running back poor teams out there are going to feel pretty stupid about passing on Franco, mark my words.

As of pick 21 in Round 4, Franco still hasn't gone. This is sheer lunacy in my book. Could I see him slipping to the second round? Sure. He's rated as 55/60 and some teams probably want more potential out of their first rounders, even though that's still a pretty high number. But no... he continues to drop all the way down to late in fourth round. Guess what buddy? I'm not picking you either. I want to see how far you fall.

Instead I nab TE Bob Christensen from UCLA. Not a super guy at anything, but a good all-arounder who could turn into an okay backup TE, so that I don't have to pay the money to re-sign Milt Morin.

Guess what? It's time for Pick 32 of Round 4!

Damn. Steelers took some DT out of Auburn instead. Down to Round 5 you go, Franco.

Finally! He's finally taken with the 17th pick in the 5th round by the Denver Broncos. Congratulations, Franco!!! Now pay back those bastards who were stupid enough to pass you up all those rounds.

...This is 1972, not 2005. So why the hell do the Broncos already have two great backs on their roster who are way ahead of Franco? And why did Denver pick him up when the two RBs ahead of him are both signed to multi-year deals and sixth year guys? I mean I know IRL the Broncos have become a running back factory, but to see them pulling it off here in this universe by stashing high quality backs is unreal.

Sorry, Franco. No glories untold for you! No passel of Super Bowl Rings, no Hall of Fame enshrinement. (I think he's in the HoF, no?) Instead, you get to be a third-string backup in Denver until your rookie deal runs out. Isn't that great fun?!

For my 5th round selection, I take SS Jorge Matthews out of East Carolina. Something of a reach, I'll admit, but that means I don't have to worry about resigning Moore, who I'm sick of. He's a raw, smart playmaker who could turn into a pretty good rotation guy for us, I think.

Ironically enough, I realize in Round 6 I need a third-string type of back so I can kick Richie Torrice of the team. That means John Sykes from Morgan State gets the call. He's got major fumbling issues, but I'm hoping his high volitality and test score will translate into a late-round steal. Plus, being an elusive back, he's a nice change of pace.

Round 7 hits and I remember I hate Cappalletti and plan to shop him out, so I grab a kicker to take his place.

Tampa Bay Picks With Inital Post-Draft Ratings
Round 1: LT Steve Okoniewski (22/56)
Round 3: FL Will Roberts (11/50)
Round 4: TE Bob Christensen (14/47)
Round 5: SS Jorge Matthews (9/49)
Round 6: RB John Sykes (28/43)
Round 7: K Chester Marcol (20/49)

And we're hated on again in the draft review, getting a C-. Big hairy deal. I had the Offensive Rookie of the Year last year, didn't I? And I only got a C+ rating there.

Only Okoniewski decides to bitch about the contract offer we made. Everyone else signed on the dotted line right away. He's probably hoping to pull a Riggins with an exorbiant contract. Sorry, but it ain't happening, no matter how crappy we are at the LT spot.

On to late free agency.

Week 1 Offers:
LDE Dick Evey (Los Angeles Rams)
RDE L.C. Greenwood (Miami Dolphins)
LDE Don Hultz (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Week 1 Signing:
RDE L.C. Greenwood: 3 years, $460k

Greenwood has some upside to him still and is a definitive upgrade over Roy Hinton, the starter there last year. He originally wanted a two year deal, but I liked him so much I talked him into an extra year.

Week 2 Signing:
LDE Dick Evey: 2 years, $450k

We got good production out of Hultz last year, relatively speaking. But Evey's simply a better player it seems and will probably win the starting job. It'll be close, though.

Week 7 Signing:
LDE Don Hultz: 1 year, $150k

It takes almost the entire period, but finally Don comes back after he doesn't get any other offers he likes. Strange thing, none of my UFAs seemed to have been signed by anyone. Okonieski finally gets his head out of his ass and signs for the offer I gave him the first go round in time for training camp.

Training camp's over now, and I've decided I'm going to track the progress of every player that I've drafted, so I can chart their development through the years. Yeah I know there's a utility for it floating around somewhere, but I like doing this manually strangely enough.

1971 Draftees:
1st round: RB John Riggins 75/76 (+11/+6)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 36/60 (+9/-1)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 42/49 (+8/+2)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/41 (+0/-5)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner 11/20 (+1/-5)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 31/64 (+3/+0)

Riggins gets a tremendous boom. I mean we're talking a phenomenal boom here. Double digit leap in current and another 6 on to future. Oh yeah, he's going to be a damn fine back. Hell, he already is. Kendall may not turn out to be as good a receiver as we'd initially hoped, but he's made great strides since his rookie year, possibly enough that he'll grab the backup flanker spot in earnest this season. Otto continues to improve leaps and bounds beyond what he first appeared to be after the draft. I still consider him my finest steal, though Riggins looks to be the best player out of this particular class by far. Musso and Turner are absolute busts. Plunkett continues his very slow and steady learning of the game.

1972 Draftees:
1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (24/51) (+2/-4)
3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (12/43) (+1/-7)
4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (16/46) (+2/-1)
5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (9/42) (+0/-7)
6th Round: RB John Sykes (28/39) (+0/-4)
7th Round: K Chester Marcol (22/49) (+2/+0)

.... Ouch! Okay, so I deserve that crappy grade I got from the draft people. Everyone and I mean *everyone* here looks like an absolute bust, except for maybe Marcol, who frankly wasn't that good to begin with.

Just to torture myself, I decide to go see how Franco did. Hrm, 56/59. +1/-1. Well that's better in a lot of cases than these guys did, most of whom I don't expect to last very long on the team.

Anyway, I'm tired now, so I'm going to hit Submit Reply, save my game, and go to bed.

3ric · 08-18-2005, 01:35 PM

Coincidence - I've had both Maples and Marchlewski at center in the HFL (I'm San Diego there)

Izulde · 08-18-2005, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3ric

Coincidence - I've had both Maples and Marchlewski at center in the HFL (I'm San Diego there)

Wow, talk about a small world.

That's really awesome, though. By the way, since I don't think I have yet, I just want to take the time to thank you and the other guys who've put out the 1970 universe roster and the subsequent yearly draft files. I'm sure it was a ton of work, but it's made FOF *tons* more fun for me.

Izulde · 08-19-2005, 01:25 AM

I really should be in bed. I have to get up early tomorrow for an acupuncturist appointment and then go to work right after that.

But the tornado warning and thunderstorms woke me up and now I can't go back to sleep. Plus, I'm itching to get further in this dynasty of mine and wanting to get as far as I can before I have to pack the computer itself up for Wyoming.

So here we go with the preseason.

Only before it, I have to straighten out my roster and Mike Stratton, surprisingly enough, turns out to be a guy who becomes expendable. Brian Stenger has improved enough in the offseason to where he's beat out Stratton for the backup SLB slot.

The problem is, nobody's willing to offer me a fair shake on Stratton. They all want blood for the trade and no GM shows a weaker personality than any other and they all spout the same party line.

I'm beginning to despise the trade AI in this game, I really am. I especially fucking hate the "THE AI IS UNWILLING TO TRADE SOMEONE YOU JUST SIGNED EVEN THOUGH IT'S A FRIGGING ROOKIE." bit.

Ugh, this is fucking retarded. Finally I just keep him and throw his ass on the Inactive list.

We lose preseason game 1 34-31 to the Patriots. Plunkett looks like he's finally starting to get a handle on this offense. Evey looks very good in his Bucs debut, getting two sacks.

PS Game 2 is 28-16 defeat at the hands of the Raiders. Plunkett sucked in the passing game, because even though he had a good completion, they were all short passes, evidenced by his 4.7 avg yard stat. Sykes looks better than I figured he'd be, getting 66 yards.

Our first exhibition win comes in Game 3, when we beat the Dolphins 17-16. Stowe grabs 6 catches for 113 yards and a TD. Maybe he'll establish himself as a true quality receiver this year. RT Ezell Jones becomes our first casualty, getting a muscle injury that takes him out for 6 weeks. Great.

We finish the preseason with a 34-17 pasting of the Chargers. Stowe literally runs all over San Diego as he returns a punt *and* a kickoff for a touchdown! Two return TDs! In one game! Too bad it's in a game that doesn't count in the standings. 90 yard kickoff return for the TD and 60 yard punt return for a TD.

At the end of the preseason, Plunkett is still on the Green Page, though the jury's still out on whether he's our QB of the future or not.

Here's the starting lineup for Week 1. Note that because Jones is injured, the wrong RT is going to be listed.

QB: Earl Morrall
RB: John Riggins
FB: Marv Hubbard
FL: Bake Turner
SE: Otto Stowe
LT: Edwin Coles (He's developed into a surprisingly passable left tackle and continues to cling to his starting job despite efforts every year to dislodge him)
LG: Jake Kupp
C: Frank Marchlewski
RG: Dave Middendorf
RT: Dick Himes
P: Leo Hutton
K: Gino Cappalletti (He did well in the preseason so he saved his job)

LDE: Dick Evey
LDT: Dave Rowe
RDT: Carlton Oats
RDE: L.C. Greenwood
SLB: J.R. Williamson
MLB: Mike Curtis
WLB: Bill Budness
LCB: Carl Lockhart
RCB: Clancy Williams
SS: Jimmy Warren
FS: Willie Brown

Team Cohesion Ratings:
Passing: 54 (Still in the bottom half of the league, but up considerably from last year because it's essentially the same guys as last season. 6 point leap is nice)
Offensive Line: 52 (See above. I'm surprised at this, actually. Thought it would be lower but I'll take the 4 point increase)
Defensive Front: 44 (Cohesion stays the same but we're not on the bottom anymore. I thought this would've gone up before OL but oh well)
Secondary: 58 (All four starters are the same and so are the nickel and dime backs which is why we have a 5 point jump here. Still in the lower part of the league, though)

Power-rating wise we're in the lower-middle part of the NFC again, but I think we're good enough to challenge for a playoff spot again.

I should probably try and get some sleep now because I have a long day tomorrow, but if I can't get back to bed, I'll come back and do the regular season for 1972.

Think Miami will repeat history and have a perfect season?

I don't think so either. If any team has a shot at it, I'd say it's the Steelers, yon defending Super Bowl champs.

Izulde · 08-21-2005, 08:26 PM

Just before the regular season starts, I find that I have to make two cuts on the team. Chester Marcol fails in his bid to unseat Cappalletti and so goes bye-bye. He was a 7th round flyer anyway and kickers of that level of quality are ridiculous in terms of the ease in finding a replacement.

RG Ronnie Arrington, an original Buccaneer, is the other guy to get cut.

We show defensive might in Game 1 by waxing the Panthers 21-3. Always nice to open the year with a win.

High Points:
Riggins building on last year by starting the season with 24 carries for 114 yards. Morall throwing for 3 TDs and no picks. Hubbard continuing his preseason success with two of those TD receptions. Hutton with a 46.7 yard punt average.

Low Points:
Morrall only averaging 4.7 yards a pass and finishing with 128 yards passing. Our return game starting off looking rather mediocre as Stowe only averages 3 yards a punt return. Hicks averages 24 yards on kick returns, but I know he can do much better.

We stay perfect in the young season with a 22-16 upset of the Kansas City Chiefs the next game.

High Points:
Morall throwing for 284 yards and 2 TDs to 1 interception. Stowe with a dazzling 52 yard TD reception. Joyner getting 4 catches for 83 yards. Stowe with 26.5 yard average on kick returns. Cappalletti kicking 3 of 4 on FGs, including a 53 yarder.

Low Points:
Riggins absolutely shut down. 14 carries for just 42 yards. A handful of pretty rough injuries, including to FS Willie Brown that will keep him out of next week's game.

Our win streak ends against the 49ers, as we fall 31-23 in San Francisco in Game 3.

High Points:
Stowe just missing the century mark, as he gets 5 catches for 94 yards while averaging 27.5 yards a return. Hicks with a 65 yard kick return as he's thrilled to have his first start for us. Hutton with 45.7 yards a punt. Cappallettii 3 for 3 field goal kicks. Williamson with the first double digit tackle game of the season, 12 tackles and 3 assists.

Low Points:
For the second consecutive game, Riggins is shut down, rushing for just 38 yards. Stowe still looks uncomfortable on punt returns. Is it a sophomore slump?

Speaking of slump, we've started a small losing streak as the Falcons stomp any visions we may have had of division dominance by beating us 27-10 in Game 4.

High Points:
Plunkett going 9-14 with a TD and no interceptions in backup duty. Hicks and Stowe both averaging 28 yards on KRs.

Low Points:
For the first time in a long time, I have to use the everything else tag. That's how bad we sucked it this game.

The news gets worse when I get the post-game medical report. Kupp, Stowe, and Hubbard all get knocked to the Out category from our last, horribly played game.

Despite the plethora of injuries, we work a miracle and get back over .500 with a 24-23 heartracer of a victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

High Points:
Morall throwing 22-34 for 275 yards and 2 TDs vs 1 interception. Joyner averaging 14 yards a punt return in his debut there. He just may have stolen the punt return duties from Stowe. Kick returns he only averaged 23.5 though, so Otto still will probably keep his spot there. Hutton averaging 45 yards a punt. Williamson with 10 tackles and 4 assists.

Low Points:
Riggins gets his high in a couple games, but it's still only 51 yards. Teams are figuring out that to stop us they need to key in on John and dare us to beat them with the pass.

I'm angered by the next game, where the winless Saints pop the ugly 0 zit by thrashing us 43-24, scoring 29 points in the second half.

High Points:
It wasn't John Riggins's fault we lost this game. He ran 23 times for 100 yards and 2 TDs, finally breaking through against a defense again. Plunkett throwing for a TD in his only pass of the game.

Low Points:
Once again, the everything else label applies. We're not playing nearly as well as we did last year and it's frustrating.

As if the loss weren't bad enough, Riggins hyperextended his elbow and is out for at least the next game. Ezdell Jones got himself re-injured as well and is out. Ugh. Oh well, at least we get Kupp back.

This season is starting to go downhill. We drop a 13-10 heartbreaker to the Lions. Say hello to sub .500 for the first time this year. Double ugh.

High Points:
Hicks averaging 30 yards a kick return. Morall 27-37 for 241 yards and a TD with no picks. Brown with 10 tackles and 3 assists.

Low Points:
As expected, our run game was absolutely anemic without Riggins in there. So bad that our lead rusher had 26 yards and that was Sykes, the backup RB, on 5 carries.

After a sorely needed bye week, we get everyone back to near-full strength. Unfortunately, we're up against 7-0 Green Bay. The Packers retain their flawless record by dismantling us 31-8.

High Points:
Hicks averaging 36 yards a kick return.

Low Points:
Um, everything else. What a disappointing season this is turning out to be. Bah!

Joy of joys, we go against the other NFC North powerhouse next week, the Chicago Bears. 31-6 loss later and we're reeling. We've gone from 3-2 to 3-6 and there's no hopes for the playoffs now, realistically speaking.

High Points:
Williamson with 12 tackles and 2 assists.

Low Points:
Quite a few, but most obnoxious is the following: Morrall - 3 interceptions; Plunkett - 1 pass, 1 interception. Also, MLB Mike Curtis is lost for the rest of the season.

Things go from bad to worse when even the lowly Panthers beat us 34-27. Talk about setting fire to a season and watching it go down in flames. Last year is looking more and more like a fluke.

High Points:
Morrall's statline: 28-47 for 368 yards (A new franchise record), 3 TDs, 1 interception. Stowe with 7 catches for 88 yards and 2 TDs. Kramer getting 6 catches good for 109 yards.

Our five game losing streak finally comes to a close as we knock out the San Diego Chargers 20-7.

High Points:
Riggins breaking out again. 29 rushes, 110 yards 1 TD. RCB Williams with 2 interceptions.

Low Points:
Just about everything else. We really didn't play too well this game outside of those two players. We did just good enough to win this game and break the streak. I wouldn't be suprised to run out a losing streak to end the year at 4-12. We're 4-7 now.

But of course we know by now that my team likes to surprise me, like the next game when they sneak a 17-10 win over the New York Giants.

High Points:
Kramer with 7 catches for 85 yards. Though his production seems to have tapered down somewhat from last year (though I could be wrong), he's still an extremely valuable receiver and one of Morrall's favourite targets, something you like to see in a TE. Hicks with 34 yards a kick return. Hutton getting 43 yards a punt. Williamson with 8 tackles, 3 assists, and a sack.

Low Points:
Again, not a game where there were any truly fantastic performances. Joyner's lost his punt return job to Stowe after this game. Hubbard is also out with another injury.

The Broncos bring us back down to earth with a 35-10 smashing. Bye bye whatever faint playoff hopes we may have entertained.

High Points:
Hicks averaging 28 yards a kick return. Hutton with 43.3 yards a punt.

Low Points:
When a couple special teams guys are your high points, it's clear how bad your ass got handed to you. I think that's all I need to say about that.

But we still have our pride to fight for, so a 13-10 win over the Saints pulls us to 6-8 and gives a slim hope for a .500 record on the year. New Orleans has only won 2 games so far this year. They've really gone downhill since 1970 when they were the second team in the division.

High Points:
Morrall going 22-38 for 270 yards and a TD without a pick.

Low Points:
None really, though I'd like to have seen Riggins bust out against this D like he did in the Saints' upset of us.

A 27-7 lowering of the boom on the Oakland Raiders brings us up to 7-8. Just like last year, we're getting too hot too late.

High Points:
Riggins getting 108 yards on 25 rushes. Morrall throwing for 3 TDs. Stowe back in the game averaging 18 yards a punt return.

Low Points:
Hutton has been as erratic as the team itself this year on punts. He may not be resigned when his contract expires. He just doesn't look anything like the punter he used to be.

At 7-8 we have no chance at getting into the playoffs. With Detroit and Chicago posting 10-5 records in the NFC North behind Green Bay (Yes, the NFC North is the dominant division in our conference and has been for some time), all we're playing for in our season finale against the Atlanta Falcons is a .500 record and pride. And yes, Atlanta has once again proven to be the unchallenged superior team in our division.

We're going to get slaughtered, I think. Lockhart is injured so that means Allen Turner is getting his first career start. They'll throw at him all game long and burn him, I bet.

Well, we make it a hell of a game before we finally fall 31-28 to finish 7-9 on the year. At least we've established that we're a competitive squad capable of an average record each season, so maybe last year's 9-7 campaign wasn't such a fluke after all.

High Points:
Morrall 22-39 320 yard 4 TDs 0 picks. We're really going to miss this guy when he finally decides to retire. Plunkett isn't anywhere near ready to take over the reins and Earl has really been pretty good for us. Kramer 7 catches for 96 yards and a TD. Stowe with 3 catches for 104 yards. He really is our deep threat beyond compare. 25 yards average on the KR game, though Hicks betters him by averaging 29 yards a return.

Low Points:
The Falcons focused all their efforts on stopping our run game and it worked. Riggins only got 34 yards and ends up falling short of the 1,000 yard mark on the year, netting 904.

Two new teams face off in the Super Bowl in 1972, the Green Bay Packers versus the Cleveland Browns. As it turns out, the Browns upset the Steelers en route to the AFC title, so they truly deserve their new crown. I'm still picking the Packers to win.

And they do, downing Cleveland 31-21 to grab the Super Bowl trophy back for the NFC.

Indy finally figures out it's a smart idea to go .500 at least to have a shot at winning your division. A lot of the division crowns changed hands this year, leaving only Atlanta as the ones to have been king of the divisions each season we've played thus far. Must be an Atlanta team thing to dominate the division year in and year out, but choke in the postseason every year. Atlanta Braves, we're looking at you.

More details to come hopefully later tonight, before I dismantle the computer and pack it away for Wyoming. If not, then this won't be updated until Friday night at the very earliest.

Izulde · 08-22-2005, 08:57 PM

I'm going to see if I can knock out some of the end-season things for 1972 tonight before I head out in the morning.

Tampa Bay 1972 Stats:

Passing:
Earl Morrall: 305-532 58.3% 3420 yards 22 TDs 17 ints 78.3 rating
Jim Plunkett: 21-32 65.6% 190 yards 3 TDs 2 ints 86.8 rating

Morrall continues to be serviceable as a starter, though he appears to be declining somewhat. Plunkett's accuracy is up immensely as he throws over double the passes this year than last year. He may turn out to be our QB of the future yet.

Rushing:
John Riggins: 245 carries 904 yards 3.68 avg 5 TDs
Don Shy: 118 carries 489 yards 4.14 avg 2 TDs

Riggins suffered a slight sophomore slump as he misses a game, dips below 1,000 yards, and has 8 fewer TDs over his rookie campaign. Shy Guy still works well as a backup. John Sykes was pretty good in his 11 carries, with a 5.54 ypa. He may just surprise after all.

Receiving:
Kent Kramer: 68 catches 674 yards 5 TDs 3 drops
Bake Turner: 44 catches 662 yards 4 TDs 5 drops
Otto Stowe: 43 catches 730 yards 4 TDs 5 drops
Kendall Joyner: 40 catches 485 yards 2 TDs 2 drops

There were other receives naturally, but these guys were our leaders. Kramer continues to be Morrall's favourite receiver out of the tight end slot. Turner didn't improve as much as I'd hoped statistically with a full season. Otto and Kendall both improved significantly on their rookie campaigns and Joyner looks as though he's developing pretty nicely. I expect that next season should be a breakout year for him.

Returns:
Otto Stowe: 8.6 PR avg 22.1 KR avg
Kendall Joyner: 6.2 PR avg 23.5 KR avg
W.K. Hicks: 27.8 KR avg

The return game overall wasn't as strong as it was last year, though it was still pretty good. Hicks is the real deal as a kick returner.

Kicking:
Gino Cappalletti: 22/29 75.8%
Leon Hutton: 42.8 avg 30/78 inside 20

Is Hutton starting to slip up some? Cappalletti rebounds to have a somewhat acceptable season. Some changes may happen in this area in the offseason.

J.R. Williamson is back! Blessed with a full season of play, the 1970 1st Team All-Pro (then with the New England Patriots) sets a career high since this universe started with 123 solo tackles and 46 assists. He also had a sack on the year.

Our pass rush was really anemic last year, even though we got better players. L.C. Greenwood was the team leader with 4. Yep, that's how much of a letdown we've suffered on the front line.

The secondary made some more plays this year, as Hicks and Williams both finished with 3 interceptions to tie for the team lead.

1972 Major Season Awards:

MVP
QB Frank Patrick - Atlanta Falcons

Super Bowl MVP
RB Donny Anderson - Green Bay Packers

Coach of the Year
Tracy Gilmore - Cleveland Browns

Legend of the Game
FS Eddie Meador - Los Angeles Rams

Offensive Player of the Year
RB Odell Lawson - Cleveland Browns (Chuck Mercein's reign ends)

Defensive Player of the Year
SLB Lloyd Wainscott - Houston Texans (Second Consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award, though nowhere near setting the record he did last year of 150 solo tackles)

Offensive Rookie of the Year
RB Lydell Mitchell - New York Jets (Maybe that's why Mercein wasn't Offensive Player of the Year. Mitchell finished with 754 yards)

Defensive Rookie of the Year
MLB Jim LeClair - Indianapolis Colts (I feel justified in thinking this guy should have gone #1 in the draft and that Indy got a real steal)

Tampa Bay Awards:
J.R. Williamson - 2nd Team All-Pro OLB

Nice to see we kept our award streak alive.

That's all for now. Have to shut this down for Wyoming. See you guys Friday night, most like.

Izulde · 08-27-2005, 06:22 AM

I'm back! All moved into my dorm room and everything. I have to be up in a few hours, but I can't sleep, so here we go with as much of the offseason as I can manage before I get tired and grab a nap.

Salary cap is up again, this time to $21.1 million. My defensive coordinator and head coach both have their contracts expiring this year, so if I want to make any changes, now is the time to do it.

Do coaches and coordinators improve in talent as they go on? Let's see, my defensive coordinator is fair in K/P, very good in DL, good at LB and secondary, and fair with young talent. I think I'll re-hire him and see if it does in fact change over time. I've been more or less satisfied with the job he's done on D. Mr. Thurman Bensen is also 39.

My 67 year old head coach is very good at Motivation, Discipline, and Offensive Playcalling, average at Defensive Playcalling and fair at Injury Avoidance. He also has a 19-29 record. Hmm, though I really like the job he's done with the team and he's probably led this team to overachieving in its first few years, I have the urge to go with someone younger. But if I can't find anyone I like well enough in the pool, then I'll try and retain him.

There's a few intriguing veteran coaches who have expired contracts. Our division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, have Paul Sides needing a new deal. He rates as VG/VG/EX/GD/GD. He also wants $840k a year and he's worth every penny. Corey Whitener from the Oakland Raiders also looks extremely attractive. At 48, he's still pretty young. The 22-26 record isn't the greatest, but his VG/VG/G/G/G rating slider is damn nice. Contract demands are $680k, but it's worth the extra money over our current guy and it fits in with the theme that I've been raiding the Raiders ever since I started this game (through no obvious intention, even.)

The other guys in the lineup all either have crappy records, are too expensive, don't have the ratings, or some combination of the three. Nobody from the coordinator ranks looks like anybody I'd hire as a head coach. Then I go through the unemployed ranks, where I spy Donovan McCarthy. He's never coached in the NFL, but he's 40 years old, has ratings of good in all the head coaching criterion and only wants $460k a season, which is actually even cheaper than our current coach.

So it's a tough choice, a very tough choice. In the end though, I think I'm going to go with Whitener. It'll send a message to our fans that we're serious about improving the team and trying to make them a playoff contender.

Thurman Bensen resigns right away. I probably should have looked for another coordinator, but oh well. Too late now. Paul Sides returns to the Falcons for $1.26 million a year for 3 years. Like I said, the man deserves every buck he gets. He's just that good. The only knock on him is that he hasn't led the team to a Super Bowl appearance.

Week 2 goes by and it looks like Whitener's going to be signing with me. Ours is still the only offer on the table and the Raiders just signed his replacement, 63 year old James Fogle, untested at the NFL level, for $1.1 mill. a year for 2 seasons. EX/AV/FA/EX/GD are his ratings. I don't like that fair offensive playcalling much and I don't think he's worth that kind of money.

Sure enough, Corey signs.

Goodbye to Renaldo Endres, who finished with a 19-29 record.

Here's the update to the Buccaneers head coaching history:

1970 Renaldo Endres 3-13
1971 Renaldo Endres 9-7
1972 Renaldo Endres 7-9

I'll update it again once Mr. Whitener either leaves the team or retires.

After importing the draft, I take a look at our unrestricted free agents to decide if anybody is worth getting the franchise player tag. Nope. Some key players that probably need re-signing, but nobody worthy of the franchise label, except maybe FB Marv Hubbard, but I'm not going to stick the franchise label on a flipping fullback.

Flipping through the roster, our need areas are likely going to be LT, RG, RT, P, LDE, RDE, RDT, and MLB. Yeah, Curtis was absolutely destroyed by his injury last season and now is barely fit for backup duty. There's a bunch of other positions where we need backup type guys, but those areas I just listed are the ones where I'm really hunting for a difference maker. Oh, and we also have 34 players under contract.

TE Mike Donohoe of the Atlanta Falcons is the most high-quality player on the market, with an 82 rating.

Week 1 Offers:
FB Marv Hubbard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
FB Travis Gibson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LG Jake Kupp (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LG Jim Vellone (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
SLB Brian Stenger (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
WLB Bill Budness (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
FL John Gilliam (St. Louis Cardinals)
RT Bill Hayhoe (New York Jets)
P Marv Bateman (Seattle Seahawks)
RDT Jim Bailey (Indianapolis Colts)
RDT Jethro Pugh (Dallas Cowboys)
MLB Nick Buoniconti (Oakland Raiders) (The Raider raiding continues as I go after Nicky B, one of my fave 'Phins players from the 70s. This is perfect on so many levels. Even better, he fits my zone system)
RCB Bob Jeter (Atlanta Falcons)
LCB Art McMahon (New England Patriots)
FL Dennis Homan (Green Bay Packers)

Week 1 Signings:
FB Travis Gibson: 2 years, $260k (minimum deal)
FL John Gilliam: 2 years, $400k
LG Jake Kupp: 3 years, $860k
LG Jim Vellone: 1 year, $170k
RT Bill Hayhoe: 3 years, $990k
RDT Jim Bailey: 2 years, $360k
SLB Brian Stenger: 3 years, $570k
RCB Bob Jeter: 2 years, $390k

Week 2 Signings:
FB Marv Hubbard: 3 years, $540k
RDT Jethro Pugh: 3 years, $640k
MLB Nick Buoniconti: 2 years, $1 million

Week 2 Losses:
RB Don Shy: 2 years, $360k (New Orleans Saints) (He wanted too much money from us, so he goes to the Saints for less than what he demanded from our team, but it makes sense, because in NO, he has a very real chance of becoming the starter, something he'd never accomplish here with Riggins around)

Week 3 Signings:
FL Dennis Homan: 3 years, $570k (After I bid on these two guys, I realized Paul Warfield, another former Dolphin, was in the mix, but I really think Kendall is going to take the starting job this year and I wanted to give him every opportunity to do so, hence why I didn't go after Paul)
WLB Bill Budness: 3 years, $560k

Week 3 Outbids:
P Marv Bateman: 4 years, $510k (Jacksonville Jaguars) (The bastards undercut me. I was leading the whole way, too. Never even got a chance to outbid them. Oh well)

Week 4 Offers:
RB Claxton Welch (New Orleans Saints) (Ironically enough, this is the guy who has been the Saints' starting RB the past three seasons and who Shy Guy is likely to replace. Nice, elusive, fast, outside running change of pace back versus John Riggins' power-running.)
P Leonard Hutton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Week 4 Signings:
P Leonard Hutton: 1 year, $120k (Decided to bring him back for one more season)
RB Claxton Welch: 3 years, $510k
LCB Art McMahon: 3 years, $570k

I think that's pretty much going to be it in the first half of free agency for us. We started with $14 mill and some change under the cap and after that trio of signings in Week 4, we're at $10.9 mill under the cap and have 50 players signed. So we're pretty much good to go, it looks like. Maybe a few backups here and there will need to be signed, but that's about it.

Week 10 Losses:
RT Ezell Jones: 3 years, $810k (Buffalo Bills) (The Bills got robbed. He's injury-prone and not that good a lineman)

Week 15 Losses:
RDT Carlton Oats: 2 years, $340k (Washington Redskins) (He won an award with us, but he really was an overachiever that year and didn't do much last season)

Draft time! I have to be up in an hour, so I should probably just wait until later in the day when I have more time to dedicate to this, since the draft is my favourite part of the entire game.

Yeah, I'm going to do that.

I'll get back to this later today.

Izulde · 08-27-2005, 01:43 PM

Just got back from breakfast and it's time to start with the 1973 draft!

My biggest need is clearly at DE. I could use a better RG, too. So I think those are going to be the areas that I'm looking at most closely in the draft. Beyond that, I'll be looking at young guys who can replace some of the aging veterans we have on the team within a season or three.

Quite a few good future guys in the draft. Tops is LDT Dave Butz at 81 future. A lot of the high ceiling guys are pretty raw, though. LDE Barney Chavous looks like a guy I really want. His play diagnosis scouts as bad but the rest of it is really high and he looks like a dominant, high-motor pass-rushing threat, which we really need. Presently he's 37/70. My guess is he won't last until pick #14, though. Not when he's a DE with that kind of potential and the third-most developed player in the draft.

That's right, third-most developed. The rookies in the 1973 class are pretty much a bunch of high-ceiling, raw guys. RB Otis Armstrong is the most developed at 46, with Mr. Butz #2 at 43. Yeah, this is a project class for sure, considering guys in the 50s or higher current were plentiful in the last couple of drafts.

So after targeting my need areas, here's my list:

LDE Barney Chavous
RG Leon Gray

Short list, you say? Well that's about the sum of it. There's not a whole hell of a lot of guys I like in this draft. It may be a situation where I'm looking at trading for future picks.

1973 Draft 1st round
1. DT Dave Butz - Purdue (Los Angeles Rams)
2. DE Barney Chavous - South Carolina (Jacksonville Jaguars)
3. DT Jeff Yeates - Boston College (New Orleans Saints)
4. T Jerry Sisemore - Texas (Tennessee Titans)
5. DE George Shannon - Stanford (New Jersey Jets)
6. T Paul Krause - Central Michigan (San Diego Chargers)
7. OLB Jim Youngblood - Tennessee Tech (Baltimore Ravens)
8. T Ron Mikolajczyk - Florida State (Carolina Panthers)
9. G Dave Reavis - Arkansas (New York Giants)
10. WR Leonard Thompson - Texas Tech (Buffalo Bills)
11. QB Kris Downs - Texas (San Francisco 49ers)
12. QB Ty Paine - Washington State (Houston Texans)
13. DT Joe Ehrmann - Syracuse (Minnesota Vikings)
14. MLB Brad Van Pelt - Michigan State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Surprised by that pick? Well, I'm a little shocked at myself, too. But when my pick came around, I did a search by Future. Brad is one of the top guys left and is more developed than Leon (28/72 vs 22/68). Nicky B is a graybeard and his main back-up does not impress me in the least. Van Pelt looks to be the type that fits in any system and he should be a high-quality linebacker after he learns the trade for a couple seasons from the Killer B.

15. G Leon Gray - Jackson State (Washington Redskins)
16. DE John Matuszak - Florida State (Detroit Lions through Cincinnati Bengals)

Matuszak was another guy I looked at, but I hated his low endurance ratings. The Bengals got themselves a damn good LG in exchange for the pick.

17. S Levi Johnson - Texas (Miami Dolphins)
18. RB Otis Armstrong - Purdue (Indianapolis Colts)
19. RB Sam Cunningham - USC (New England Patriots)
20. ILB Andy Dorris - New Mexico State (Oakland Raiders)
21. OLB Jim Laslavic - Penn State (Dallas Cowboys)
22. DE Derland Moore - Oklahoma (Philadelphia Eagles)
23. ILB Greg Bingham - Purdue (St. Louis Cardinals)
24. CB Lyle Blackwood - TCU (Detroit Lions)
25. DT Dale Farnie - Maryland (Miami Dolphins through Chicago Bears)

Chicago gets a very raw right tackle who still hasn't developed to his full potential after three years in the league.

26. DE Mike Barnes - Miami (Seattle Seahawks)
27. G John Hannah - Alabama (Kansas City Chiefs)
28. RB Leon Crosswhite - Oklahoma (Tennessee Titans through Pittsburgh Steelers)

Tennessee gives up a solid veteran RB to just turn around and draft another RB? Yeah, okay. I think I'm going to stop reporting on the draft trades because they piss me off. You don't see actual pick movement unless the human player initiates it and that really sucks.

29. C Joe DeLamielleure - Michigan State (Denver Broncos)
30. CB Jackie Wallace - Arizona (Miami Dolphins through Atlanta Falcons)

The Dolphins sure are interested in this draft class. That's three first round picks they've had so far. Honestly there's no way I'd nab three people in the first round here. It's too much of a crapshoot draft with so little development out of the players.

31. G Pete Adams - USC (Cleveland Browns)
32. DE Harvey Martin - North Texas (Green Bay Packers)

Okay, no real big names to go and watch, so I'm going to speed ahead to my picks in the remaining rounds.

Second round has me looking at a lot of guys I'd like to maybe draft later. I'll take one of them now and hope that the others fall to me.

Tampa Bay Other Selections:
Round 2: RG Bob Peterson - Utah
Round 3: SS Les Fouse - LSU
Round 4: RDE Wade Montgomery - Michigan
Round 5: TE James Thaxton - Tennessee State
Round 6: SE Ricky Stone - Indiana (I plan to convert him to FL after he's signed)
Round 7: SLB Vincent Stephens - Pittsburgh
Round 7: QB Bert Jones - LSU

All of these guys have the potential to develop into role players at the very least, I think. Peterson may or may not challenge for a starting spot this season. Fouse essentially is Hicks's replacement on the field and in returns. Montgomery looks like a pretty good pass rusher. Yes I drafted a TE last year, but Thaxton looks like he might even be better than Christensen and I needed a backup TE. Ricky looked like the prototype FL and his presence will allow me to shift Ben Hawkins to SE where he belongs. Stephens will probably get moved over to the weak side, as there's no chance he's breaking in on the strong side. Jones was a flyer that allows me to get rid of Bubba King and give Plunkett something to worry about for a QB of the future.

We got a B- for our draft rating, the highest ever! Of course, this *would* be the year only two teams got any kind of C grade, the Redskins and the Texans. Oh well. I'm not worried about it.

Initial Post-Draft Ratings:
1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 28/71
2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 18/46
3rd round: FS Les Fouse 14/39
4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 15/42
5th round: TE James Thaxton 33/61 (A steal that late in the draft)
6th round: FL Ricky Stone 16/52
7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 12/41
7th round: QB Bret Jones 19/42

Brad and James are the lone hold-outs at the start of the late free agency period. Honestly there's no one else I'm looking to pick up at this stage in the game.

Week 5 Losses:
RCB Billy Thompson: 3 years, $590k (San Diego Chargers)

Not a huge loss. He was our nickel back and serviceable, but wanted way too much money.

Week 7 Losses:
FS W.K. Hicks: 3 years, $550k (Miami Dolphins)

I would have liked to have kept him and I suppose I should have waited until now, but I think the new kids I got will provide an even greater kick return boost than he did. If not, oh well, lesson learned for next time.

Thaxton signs in time for training camp, but Brad Van Pelt continues to hold out. Apparently he wants a 4 year deal instead of a 5 year one. Bastard. But then, it looks like quite a few of the first rounders are holding out.

Brad finally signs after training camp, but then J.R. Williamson decides he wants to hold out. Lovely. But maybe it's not so bad, since his contract is due to end after this year anyway. The contract issue gets resolved and he signs a 3 year deal for $1.1 mill. Hey, the guy's been an All-Pro two times on various levels. He deserves it.

Now time to see how my draftees through the classes are progressing, post-camp.

1971 Draftees:
1st round: RB John Riggins 80/80 (+5/+4)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 43/60 (+7/+0)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 51/51 (+9/+2)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/36 (+0/-5)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner 11/26 (+0/+6)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 36/64 (+5/+0)

Some good news from this batch. Riggins is now one of the premiere backs in the league, I'd say. Kendall is rapidly developing into the kind of receiver we projected him to be when we drafted him. Otto continues to far out-pace our initial expectations. Musso is a bust. Allen's a bust too, but he's showing signs of maybe starting to come back to life a bit. Plunkett continues along his slow and steady development curve.

1972 Draftees:
1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (25/46) (+1/-5)
3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (13/38) (+1/-5)
4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (18/46) (+2/+0)
5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (10/37) (+1/-5)
6th Round: RB John Sykes (28/35) (+0/-4)
7th Round: K Chester Marcol (Cut from team prior to 1972 season)

This entire class pretty much is a bust. Bob is about the only one who might be able to hang on with this team long-term. I'm already anticipating some cuts falling here.

1973 Draftees:
1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 27/70 (-1/-1)
2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 20/42 (+2/-4)
3rd round: FS Les Fouse 15/33 (+1/-6)
4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 15/41 (+0/-1)
5th round: TE James Thaxton 36/59 (+3/-2)
6th round: FL Ricky Stone 16/42 (+0/-10)
7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 13/36 (+1/-5)
7th round: QB Bret Jones 23/44 (+4/+2)

Another ugly looking draft class. Brad I'm hoping is just a case of having missed training camp. Montgomery I'm hoping will blossom. Thaxton looks to be taking the Kendall Joyner route (or so I hope). Stone's freefall shocks me. Stephens appears to be another Musso clone and not in a good way. Jones is a surprising mini-boom who may end up replacing Plunkett as the #2 man when it's all over.

We win our first preseason game 24-20 over the Steelers. Despite Sykes's continued ratings drops, he still manages to put up good numbers. It's the weirdest thing. Stowe has a 94 yard kick return for a TD. Wish he'd do that shit more often in the regular season. Hutton and Cappalletti look much improved. All in all, nice to see.

Preaseason game 2 we lose 27-24 to the Texans. Plunkett is throwing way too many interceptions. My guess is that he'll end up the third-stringer by the time his career reaches its full height. Either that or I'll trade his ass. There's a lot of teams out there looking for a good, young QB.

We win by 3 in preseason #3 against the Ravens, 31-28. Plunkett finally has a game with no ints and 2 TDs. Art McMahon, our new dime back, goes down with an injury for 5 weeks.

Exhibition season ends with a blowout 34-14 victory over the Jaguars. Riggins explodes for 102 yards and 3 TDs, showing he's ready for the regular season. Fuck, fuck fuck!! We lose Marchliewski for 5 weeks with a separated shoulder and Coles goes down for 8 weeks with a dislocated knee. Say hello to a very ravaged offensive line.

I'm going to put what my starters would have been without injuries from now on before each opening game and the ones where there's injury preventing them from starting, I'll put in parantheses after the intended starter who is taking their place in the lineup.

QB Earl Morrall
RB John Riggins
FB Marv Hubbard
FL John Gilliam (Gilliam's a huge upgrade over Bake and Kendall isn't *quite* ready)
SE Otto Stowe
LT Edwin Coles (Steve Okoniewski)
LG Jake Kupp
C Frank Marchliewski (Bobby Maples who is a mere husk of the player he once was. Losing two seasons to injury was just too much)
RG Dave Middendorf
RT Bill Hayhoe
K Gino Cappalletti
P Leonard Hutton

LDE Dick Evey
LDT Dave Rowe
RDT Jim Bailey
RDE L.C. Greenwood
SLB J.R. Williamson
MLB Nick Buoniconti
WLB Bill Budness
LCB Carl Lockhart
RCB Bob Jeter (He managed to bump Williams down to the nickel spot)
SS Jimmy Warren
FS Willie Brown

I have 5 cuts to make before the season starts. Here are the draftees that get released:

SS Jorge Matthews - 1972 5th rounder
WLB Charles Musso - 1971 4th rounder

Time for me to go eat lunch. I'll do the regular season later today.

Izulde · 08-27-2005, 04:23 PM

A few more things before I go into the regular season.

Power-rating wise we're still in the lower middle of the NFC, which is the most even conference. Our lowest team is 62, whereas the AFC has 4 teams below even that mark.

Cohesion updates:

Team Cohesion Ratings:
Passing: 56 (+2 and the lower half of the league. Thought this would be higher.)
Offensive Line: 55 (+3 and the lower half of the league.)
Defensive Front: 50 (+6, still the lower half in the league. Nice to see the jump, though.)
Secondary: 61 (+3, also still in lower half of the league, but we're getting closer to the middle.)

All in all, I'd say the team is starting to gel together quite a bit, which is a good thing. Okay now on to the regular season! I'm thinking we'll probably be around 8-8 thanks to our injuries.

We open up with a heartbreaking 25-22 OT loss to the Saints. Ugh. Shy Guy got 2 TDs against us.

High Points:
Stowe is back in the punting return game with 12.5 avg. Hutton is resurgent too, with a 49.5 avg on punts. Cappalletti nails 5 out of 5 field goals, including a 50 yarder. Evey got 2.5 sacks and Williamson rewards me for his new contract with 14 tackles and 4 assists.

Low Points:
Earl Morall's 3 interceptions tells the tale of the game. Riggins finished with 99 yards, 1 frigging yard short of the century mark. I hate being that close and not getting it.

We take out our frustrations in Game 2 by putting away the Dolphins 28-17 to even up our record at 1-1. It was nice to get that win.

High Points:
Morall going 14-23 for 219 yards and 4 TDs versus 1 INT. He needs to have more games like that. Otto Stowe with 7 catches for 100 yards and 3 of those TDs. Otto with 23 yards avg punt return. Homan with 40.5 yard kick return average.

Low Points: None. This was just a really solid game all around.

Game 3 sees us play the mighty St. Louis Cardinals, but ultimately fall 17-12.

High Points:
Kramer getting 9 catches for 106 yards. Homan averaging 26.3 yards a kick return.

Low Points:
Everything else. It was just a really mediocre showing on our efforts, or maybe our competition was just that superior.

To make matters worse, Riggins is out for the next game as is Lockhart, who's gone for 16 weeks with a ligament tear. Good thing I amped up my secondary this offseason, eh?

I'm fully not expecting to win the next game against the Redskins, but we do, thrashing them 25-10 to get back to .500 land.

High Points:
Gilliam with 6 catches good for 118 yards and a TD. Hutton averaging 49 yards a punt. Cappalletti staying in my good graces as he goes 4 for 4, including a 49 yarder. Bailey with 2 sacks.

Low Points:
Our return game is looking a little anemic again. That was really the only true weak spot for us this game.

Dallas gets us for a 23-17 win and we drop to 2-3 despite Riggins being back in the lineup.

High Points:
Stowe getting 18 yards a punt return.

Low Points:
The fact that I only have one high point tells you everything you need to know about the game.

We get Marchliewski back just in time for our first showdown with the Falcons. I'd like to say we pulled off the upset, but instead we got trounced, 23-7.

High Points:
Rowe with 10 tackles, an assist, and 2 sacks.

Low Points:
I have no idea where to begin. Riggins getting 19 rushing yards? Yeah, there's a good place to start. And I don't want to go on from there.

We get back on the winning track by downing the Eagles 31-24.

High Points:
We got the Jekyl version of Earl today as he goes 19-32 for 381 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs. Damn close to 400. Gilliam with 3 catches for 101 yards and a TD. Stowe with 3 catches for 165 yards and 2 TDs. Stowe averaging 35 yards a kick return. Nicky B with 12 tackles, an assist, and a sack.

Low Points:
Riggins hasn't broken the century mark yet this year. Otto still looks uncomfortable on punt returns.

Jethro Pugh is out with an injury. Marchliewski needs ACL surgery and won't be back until late 1974. Is it just me or do I have *really* shitty luck with keeping centers healthy on this team? Christ! Well, there goes the season down the drain.

We need bodies on the D-line, so I dip in the free agent pool and sign RDT Clarence Washington, last seen with the Tennessee Titans.

Surprisingly, we beat the New York Giants 30-16 to once more even our record, this time at 4-4.

High Points:
Riggins finally breaks the century mark with 26 rushes for 102 yards. Gilliam just misses the century mark himself with his 8 catches, 98 yards, and a TD. Stowe *does* break 100 with his 7 catches for 128 yards. Gilliam and Stowe are really turning into quite the capable duo of receivers.

Low Points:
None. It was just a solid all-around effort by the team.

Those fucking Saints. It looks like they're going to end the Falcons' run of division crowns as they just beat us 24-17 to run their record to 6-3. Damn it.

High Points:
Gilliam getting 8 catches and 120 yards. Cappalleti nailing a 52 yard field goal. Williamson getting 12 tackles, 6 assists, and 2 sacks.

Low Points:
Eh, Stowe still can't return punts like he used to. I may have to go and find someone else in the offseason.

Our pride and .500 record are restored with a 24-21 win over the Panthers. Like I said, this is a really even conference we have in the NFC so there's going to be relatively few blowouts.

High Points:
Riggins with 25 rushes for 105 yards and a TD. Gilliam with 6 catches for 127 yards and a TD. Homan averaging 30.3 yards a kick return, Stowe 28 in the same category. Williamson with 9 tackles, 4 assists, and an interception.

Low Points:
Stowe's PR woes continue and Hutton just doesn't seem like the same punter at all anymore.

Hooray! We're finally over .500 for the first time this season as we upset the 8-2 New Jersey Jets by a score of 33-27!

High Points:
Riggins with 19 carries for 198 yards and a TD to go with his 2 catches for 43 yards and a TD. So damn close to the 200 mark! A franchise record, to be sure. Nicky B with 10 tackles. Bob Jeter with 2 interceptions, including one run back 62 yards for a TD! I really like the signing I did of him.

The mighty Bears bring us back to earth by handing us a 20-10 loss. Damn, just when we were tied with those dickhead Saints for 2nd place in the division, too.

High Points:
Gilliam with 5 catches for 112 yards. Nicky B with 13 tackles, 3 assists, and a sack. Williamson with 10 tackles and 3 assists.

Low Points:
Literally everything else. Our run game went nowhere as our high rusher was Welch with 20 yards. The Monsters of Midway keyed in our run game and our passing game just wasn't strong enough to win today.

We get an incredibly important 30-24 win over the Bills in our next game. If we'd lost that one, we basically could have kissed any playoff hopes we might have had goodbye.

High Points:
Stowe with 5 catches for 103 yards. Cappalletti hitting 3 of 3 field goals, including one for 51 yards. Warren with a 64 yard interception return for a TD. I really *have* upgraded the secondary this year, as Jeter picked up another interception this game himself.

Low Points:
Stowe getting negative yards average on the punt return. Our run game was much less stymied this contest, but opponents are still concentrating on defending against the run and daring us to beat them with the pass. It's a smart move, as we're having difficulty pulling it off, even though Gilliam is probably going to be our first 1,000+ receiver ever.

Things are getting really intense now. We and Atlanta are both 7-6 and tied for the division lead. The Saints lost and are a game behind at 6-7. Carolina is 3-10 and is looking forward to another year of a high draft pick.

Our next game is against the Falcons and as I type this, I'm sweating a little and my heart is racing. We win this and we're in the driver's seat for a division title. Lose, and it'll be Atlanta again in power for the crown.

I close my eyes after I hit Sim Entire Week.

I open them... slowly click on the FOF 2K4 window... Oh man... what a tense moment....

27-24 BUCCANEERS!!!!! WE DID IT!!! WE DID IT!!!! WE GOT THE UPSET AND WE'RE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT FOR THE DIVISION TITLE!!!!

High Points:
We won the fucking game! Kramer with 12 catches for 133 yards and a TD. Morrall throwing for 3 TDs, the other 2 of which went to Gilliam and Joyner. Otto getting 11 yards a PR to snap out of his funk. Cappalletti continuing to stay in my good graces by going 2 of 2 including a 54 yarder. He might finally have the All-Pro season everyone's been expecting out of him for years.

Low Points:
Why dwell on the negatives? That was too big a win to think about the bad spots.

I'm worried about a hangover from the euphoria of the victory, but that doesn't happen. We put enough together to scrape out a 17-14 win over the New England Patriots to go 9-6. I'll look at the division picture later after I do the high and low points.

High Points:
Riggins with 22 rushes for 120 yards. Stowe with 28 yards a kick return. Cappalletti with the game-winning 52 yard field goal.

Low Points:
Morrall threw for 2 INTs vs. 1 TD. That was the only true negative I could find.

Okay here's the deal. At 9-6, we're up a game in the division. The Falcons and the Saints are right behind us at 8-6. Atlanta plays New Orleans and we play... the lowly Panthers. Now if we win, and we should, we've got the division and our first ever playoff spot locked up. If we lose, then whoever wins the Saints-Falcons game wins the division.

A quick look at the playoff picture shows we'd better win against the Panthers, because the NFC North appears likely to send the two wild-card entries again.

We take care of business, pounding the Panthers 30-13. No way in hell were we going to be denied the opportunity to send Atlanta's reign crumbling to dust. The Falcons won 13-9 over the Saints, just as a mild asterisk.

High Points:
Riggins 20 rushes, 99 yards (one yard short again) and a TD. Gilliam and Stowe each with a reception TD. So all 3 of the big reasons on offense for our getting the division title got a touchdown. That's really nice to see. Well, our fourth was Morrall, who threw for just over 200 yards and had 2 TDs with no picks. Gino had 3 tries and 3 connections on field goals, his longest being a 54 yarder. His production to his vast potential is a huge reason why we're going to the playoffs as well.

Low Points:
Otto reverted back to his struggles on PRs, but that's something to worry about later.

Whoohoo!

1973 NFC South Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers!!!!!!!!!

We're going to the playoffs!! We're going to the playoffs!!!

My first time ever in FOF 2K4!!!!!

Izulde · 08-27-2005, 08:49 PM

Once again the AFC South is won by a team with a non-winning record. That's four straight seasons the division champion has not posted a winning mark. That's just insane, but it also illustrates how weak that division is. Poor Miami. The Dolphins go 10-6 and they still have to sit home.

We've got the Detroit Lions in our Wild Card Round matchup. I have a funny feeling they're going to clobber us, but let me look at their roster first.

The Lions rely heavily on the long ball, a stalwart O-line, with LG being the lone weak link that maybe we can exploit, and a powerful defense, with an incredible corps of linebackers. The chink in the armour lies in their cornerbacks who are mediocre at best. My guess is they're going to have their linebackers try and shackle Riggins and challenge us to beat them through the air, gambling that their DBs are good enough to shut us down there, too. (Their safeties *are* good though, I have to say)

My guess is that it'll be a close defensive battle and a low-scoring game. Maybe 14-10 or something like that. They may try and attack our porous D-line and have underachieving RB Nick Eddy run it down our throats.

On our side of the ball, we'll rely on Riggins if we can, but if not, we've got Stowe, Kramer, and Joyner who can all stretch the field and go to town against those weak CBs, or so I hope.

Okoniewski has to start at LT again, as Edwin Coles got re-injured in the game against the Panthers.

Here goes. Lions are favoured by 4.

Holy crap! We absolutely massacre them 38-13! Wow, I was *not* expecting that score at all! I'll damn sure take it though.

Rather than do the High and Low points, I'm going to do something a little more in-depth analysis wise about the game.

We jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Then we scored a TD first in the second to take a 17-0 lead and the Lions started panicking, so they were forced to abandon their run game. By halftime, it was 24-3 and we more or less had it in the books. Once they had to fall into the passing game, our secondary kept them on a leash.

Eddy ran just 9 times for 39 yards. Munson, their QB, actually threw for 317 yards and was 27-37, but he only had one TD and an INT besides.

Then there's *our* side. Their linebackers weren't able to stop Riggins as he got the ball 22 times for 196 yards (4 yards short, argh!) and a TD. Morrall had one of his mistake free games in going 19-30, 243 yards, 2 TDs and no picks.

Gilliam led in receiving with 5 catches for 88 yards and the TDs went to Stowe and Kramer. That really has turned into a solid receiving corps. I knew Kramer and Stowe were good, but I never expected Gilliam to lead the WRs like he has.

Stowe also got 10 yards on his only punt return of the day. Hutton averaged 44.6 yards a punt and Cappalletti blasted home his only FG try of the day, a 51-yarder.

Our lead tackler was Williamson who had 8 tackles and 3 assists. Bailey and Greenwood each picked up a sack, while Jeter nabbed an interception. I really am beginning to believe that guys named Jeter are clutch.

We lose Bailey for the next game, which is against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, but on the bright side, Lockhart is coming back, allowing us to get Tanner the hell out of the dime slot.

Green Bay has a scary good offense. Bart Starr's not even the starter anymore. He recognized in preseason that his skills are declining and so he told the coaching staff Rick Norton should be the man at QB. The fact that Bart got his Super Bowl ring as a starter last year played heavily into the decision, I'm sure. A 4,500+ yard season later, Norton is idolized in Tundra Town much like Earl Morrall is in Tampa Bay.

It doesn't get any easier on defense. MLB is the lone point on D where we might be able to do something against them. I think we're due to get slaughtered.

Sure enough, that's what happens as the Packers clobber us 28-7.

We were outclassed in every single facet of the game. The only guy who performed well was Stowe who had 4 catches for 88 yards. Willie Brown had 11 tackles in the secondary and Nicky B had 10 tackles and 1 assist himself.

There's no shame in losing here. The Packers were clearly the dominant team.

The 1973 Super Bowl featured the new AFC champion Denver Broncos versus the defending Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers. Can they do the double Super Bowl wins in '72 and '73 like the Miami Dolphins did IRL?

Oh.My.God.

In quite possibly the most thrilling Super Bowl that will *ever* be played, the Denver Broncos upset the Green Bay Packers 34-33. A one-point game and the Broncos have made an unbelievable history. What an amazing finish to an equally amazing season.

I'm happy with what we did this year. First franchise playoff berth, first franchise division title, and first franchise playoff victory. Not bad at all considering I thought we'd go 8-8.

Now for the team leaders.

Passing:
QB Earl Morrall 320-554 57.7% 3820 yards 25 TDs 13 INTs 84.2 rating

What an incredible year by Earl. Sure his completion percentage dropped for the fourth year in a row and he's showing signs of age, but he set a career and franchise high in passing yardage, nearly topping the 4,000 mark. He also increased his TDs and decreased his INTs from last season to post a career and franchise best +12 differential. His interception totals have dropped each year he's been in Tampa Bay, too. Likewise the 84.2 rating is both career and franchise high. Is it any wonder he's revered by the Bucs faithful?

You'll notice Jim Plunkett didn't throw a single pass in the regular season, though he was 3-8 with a TD in the blowout loss against the Packers in the playoffs. If his contract isn't up, I'm going to trade him in the offseason, I think. I just don't see him as the future.

The team is going to be hurting when Earl retires. Originally I thought he'd play a couple seasons while he mentored Jim and then leave town. I never expected him to become a Buccaneer icon when I traded for this IRL '72 Dolphin backup QB.

Rushing:
RB John Riggins 273 rushes 1216 yards 5 TDs
RB Claxton Welch 107 rushes 424 yards 3 TDs

Despite missing a game, Riggins returns to the 1000+ rushing mark and posts a career high in avg ypc with 4.45. Oh yeah, he also finished second in the league in rushing yardage. Claxton was serviceable as a backup. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Shy Guy finished with 978 yards and 5 TDs for the 8-8 division rival Saints.

Receiving:
TE Kent Kramer 79 catches 709 yards 2 TDs 1 drop
FL John Gilliam 71 catches 1157 yards 8 TDs 4 drops
SE Otto Stowe 57 catches 946 yards 8 TDs 4 drops
FL Kendall Joyner 23 catches 307 yards 1 TD 8 drops

Those 8 drops by Kendall concern me. On the other hand, Gilliam becomes our first 1000+ yard receiver like I anticipated and Stowe nearly joins him for our first duo of 1000+ receivers, but alas, it didn't happen. Kramer led the team in receptions again and remains Earl's favourite safety valve target.

I did not expect that type of production out of Gilliam at all. He was a steal of a free agent signing for me. Otto just keeps getting better and better every season. I have a hunch that by the time he's done developing, he might well be one of the better WRs in the league.

Returns:
SE Otto Stowe 6.4 PR avg 23.1 KR avg
FL Dennis Homan 26.8 KR avg

Stowe just isn't cutting it in the PR department anymore. He's still a good KR though. Homan has broken for 2 TD returns so far in this universe but he didn't get one this year and his average was a little low.

Kicking
K Gino Cappalletti 32/36 88.8% 36/36 PATs
P Leonard Hutton 41.3 avg 31/59 inside 20

Now *that's* what I'm talking about. That's the kind of performance I wanted to see out of Gino when I first signed him. Leonard continues to drop down in production. He'll be replaced next season.

Defensively, we were led in tackles by Nicky B with 117 solo and 34 assists. He also had 3 sacks. Right behind him was Williamson with 107 solo, 57 assists, 3 sacks, and 3 interceptions. Man, J.R. has *really* earned that new deal he got. Sackswise, pass-rush specialist RDT Jim Bailey took advantage of the starting opportunity he got to garner 6.5 sacks to lead the team. Second was LDE Dick Evey with 5 sacks as he took advantage of the double-teams Bailey got to get up in there. RCB Bob Jeter, as you've guessed by now, set a franchise record with his team-leading 7 interceptions, one for a TD. That was one steal from the Falcons I've been ecstatic about. He's a great fit for our zone system and he busted his ass in preseason to take the starting RCB job away from Williams. By the stats and the impact, he's shown he deserved it. A *very* key part of our division title this year.

That's all for now. I want to make it to a movie playing out on one of the lawns and it's almost dusk, so I'm headed there now.

Izulde · 08-28-2005, 07:15 PM

This may be fairly short an update as it's nearly time for supper and I have a floor meeting after that.

1973 Major Season Awards:

MVP:
QB Rick Norton - Green Bay Packers

Super Bowl MVP:
QB Al Pastrana - Denver Broncos

Coach of the Year:
Wade Shapiro - Green Bay Packers

Legend of the Game:
LDT Alex Karras - Detroit Lions

Offensive Player of the Year:
QB Rick Norton - Green Bay Packers

Defensive Player of the Year:
MLB Bill Bergey - Houston Texans

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
QB Gary Huff - Seattle Seahawks (A 5th round selection. Had a 17 TD to 24 INT ratio. Demonstrates just how weak the offensive class was in the last draft)

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
LDE Barney Chavous - Jacksonville Jaguars

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards:
J.R. Williamson - All-Pro First Team OLB
Bob Jeter - All-Pro First Team CB
Jim Bailey - All-Pro Second Team DT

Wow, three awards. That's awesome! Jeter led the league in interceptions, by the way. Something I forgot to report in the stats rundown. Bailey was a surprise selection on the second team, but I'm not complaining in the least.

Nice to see that two of the guys we signed in the offseason had All-Pro seasons for us in the first year with the team. Now if only I could draft better than what I've been doing.

I just stumbled on the Franchise Value report by accident. Hey that's a pretty cool sheet. Tracks the stadium, roster, support, city economy, and the franchise value. That's pretty damn cool. I'm going to have to start including that every year now as part of my listings before the regular season begins. Wish I'd known about that sooner so I could have begun tracking it sooner, but oh well.

As far as season tickets go, since you can find that out too by double-clicking on a team, we've sold 60,000+ every year we've been in existence, with our lowest total being last year at 61,400 for a 65,700 capacity stadium. I fully expect that number to go back up after this playoff season.

Moving along, our offensive coordinator's contract is up this year. He's not all that good in my opinion and wants too damn much money, so I'm going to go find myself a new OC, one better, cheaper, and younger.

Brady Ballard of the New York Giants looks great. VG/EX/VG/VG/AV/GD are his ratings, with his average ranking in kickers and punters, something I'm not too terribly fussed about. Sure he wants a lot of money, but you know what? He's worth every single bloody cent. By the end of stage 1, he's signed on for $1.06 million for 3 years.

Okay I'm going to pause here and go eat supper cuz I'm hungry. I'll be back afterwards if I can to do a little more before the hall meeting.

I'm back! After skipping through the rest of the staff stages and importing the 1974 class I click Begin Free Agency and find I have a trade offer in my email. I don't know if it's my first one or not, because I haven't been too good about checking my in-game email until now, but I'm going to start.

The Bills want Frank Marchlewski and they're willing to give me a 6th rounder in the upcoming draft for him. Frank isn't the same player he was after getting injured last year and clearing that $500k cap cost off my books looks extremely tempting. But I want a little more than a 6th rounder. I want at least a 4th rounder. Yet they won't do it, not for that or for a 5th rounder. Ah hell, I'll make the deal. I don't really need the cap room but I want the extra pick.

We've got some key players that have expired contracts, so let's get cracking.

Three players are 80 or higher this year, C Jim O'Brian at 90, TE Mike Donohoe at 82, and RDT Leo Brooks at 80.

Week 1 Offers:
QB Earl Morrall (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
QB Jim Plunkett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
TE Kent Kramer (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LDT Dave Rowe (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
SLB Mike Stratton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LCB Carl Lockhart (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
SS Jimmy Warren (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
C Jim O'Brian (Tennessee Titans)
LT Edwin Coles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LDE Bill Stanfill (Miami Dolphins)
WLB Chris Hanberger (Washington Redskins)

Week 1 Signings:
QB Jim Plunkett: 3 years, $480k
C Jim O'Brian: 5 years, $7.45 mill.
LDT Dave Rowe: 3 years, $880k
SLB Mike Stratton: 1 year, $230k
LCB Carl Lockhart: 2 years, $480k

Most of these guys are returnees from last year. Jim I'm going to try and trade sometime next year because of how anal the game is about trading players just signed. O'Brian is my most expensive signing to date and arguably my most important. If he can stay healthy, he'll be our anchor in the middle for the entireity of his contract.

Week 2 Signings:
QB Earl Morrall: 2 years, $1.90 mill.
LDE Bill Stanfill: 5 years, $5.50 mill.
WLB Chris Hanberger: 3 years, $960k
SS Jimmy Warren: 3 years, $750k

I'm shocked that Stanfill signed with us. The Minnesota Vikings were offering him a ton more money, an extra year, and a voidable option for that last year. I thought for sure he was going to sign with them, but he announced in the press conference that he wanted to be with a winning team. That's one thing the Vikings aren't, as they've been the doormat team in the powerhouse NFC North division every year so far and they've yet to even reach .500.

Time for the floor meeting.

Week 3 Signings:
LT Edwin Coles: 3 years, $1.20 mill.

Week 3 Losses:
P Leonard Hutton: 1 year, $160k (Washington Redskins)

Edwin's actually turned into a serviceable LT, even if he's a bit injury-prone. All the LTs who were better than him wanted too damn much money for my tastes. Leo goes to ply his declining skills in the nation's capital. No biggie.

Week 5 Signings:
TE Kent Kramer: 3 years, $930k

Week 5 Losses:
RG Dave Middendorf: 3 years, $1.08 mill. (Seattle Seahawks)

Morrall's favourite target returns to him in Kramer. I was a little disappointed to lose Middendorf, as I was waiting him out to see his contract demands go down, but that didn't happen, so he heads to the West Coast.

Week 6 Offers:
RG Chuck Hutchinson (Green Bay Packers)

Week 7 Signings:
RG Chuck Hutchinson: 5 years, $4.00 mill.

Yeah so I overpaid for him, but he was the best RG left and I didn't think there was anybody in the draft falling to my level who would be worth my time, ergo the slight overrun in value.

Week 8 Losses:
SE Ben Hawkins: 2 years, $420k (Minnesota Vikings)

Ben was never really that great a receiver to be totally honest, so I'm not too torn up over losing him. I can always find another backup SE in the draft if need be.

Week 11 Losses
LDE Dick Evey: 1 year, $320k (New Orleans Saints)

Dick cashes in his 5 sack season from last year for an above minimum-wage paycheck with our division rivals. That's all well and good for him, I say. With Bill's signing, Evey was more than expendable.

Week 16 Losses:
LG Jim Vellone: 2 years, $520k (Carolina Panthers)

Another division foe poaches one of our players. Jim was a good backup player for us, but while I was waiting for his demands to drop, I forgot to check back, so we lost him. No worries. I can always get a replacement in the draft if need be.

Speaking of the draft, that's coming up the next post, whenever I do it.

Izulde · 08-31-2005, 12:00 AM

Let's blow the dust off this thing and get it fired back up.

I've been insanely busy with classes and errands so I haven't been around all that much, and my schedule only looks to get worse as the semester wears on with extracurricular commitments I'm planning on taking on.

Going into the draft, I don't see any real pressing immediate needs to be filled. What I *do* need, however, is to find guys who will be able to supplant the greybeards we have on the team, especially at the two S positions and LG.

MLB may be an area for concern as well, as Brad looks like the perfect bump and run guy, but hasn't really learned the nuances of our zone game just yet, so we may trade him to somebody who really needs a young MLB for a 1st round pick.

Other areas of interest are QB, where I'm not convinced either one of Plunkett or Jones is the answer to replace Morrall when he retires.

Beyond that, it'll be a case of best player available for our system.

Looking over the players, RT Henry Lawrence is unquestionably the top guy in the draft. 87 future potential and 39 current. He's going to be anchoring someone's line this season, that's for damn sure. MLB Jack Lambert looks like an amazing guy too.

I see a few Safeties that may be worth looking at as well.

I've just formulated a plan. Now I just have to wait and see if it'll pan out.

1973 First Round Picks:
1. T Henry Lawrence - Florida A&M (Jacksonville Jaguars)
2. DE Too Tall Jones - Tennessee State (New York Giants)
3. OLB Randy Gradishear - Ohio State (Baltimore Ravens)
4. ILB Jack Lambert - Kent (Carolina Panthers)

I tried and tried and tried to get a deal done with the Panthers, because I knew they'd take Lambert otherwise, but they were just too stubborn and demanded too much. So I let him go with considerable regret. Oh well, maybe Van Pelt will pan out after all.

5. DT Carl Barzilawskas - Indiana (Tennessee Titans)
6. DT Richard Bishop - Louisville (Indianapolis Colts)
7. G Robert Pratt - North Carolina (New Orleans Saints through Los Angeles Rams)
8. T Darrell Jennings - Nebraska (Philadelphia Eagles)
9. DT Bill Kollar - Montana (Cincinnati Bengals)
10. S Doug Nettles - Vanderbilt (Houston Texans)

There goes the guy that I was eyeing with our 21st pick. Therefore you may see me trading out of the first round as there's no one else I'm exceptionally thrilled with who's likely to fall that far, unless maybe a couple of the system safeties I'm watching drop.

In the meantime though, it's off to supper with me. I'll do a little bit more afterwards before my night class.

Back to do some more for about 20 minutes.

11. QB Junior Hjerppe - Georgia Tech (Washington Redskins)

Like us, the Redskins seem eternally in search of a successor to their talented old man QB.

12. C Mike Webster - Wisconsin (Minnesota Vikings)
13. WR Billy Johnson - Widener (Denver Broncos through Seattle Seahawks)
14. DT Charlie Davis - TCU (Oakland Raiders)
15. G John Hicks - Ohio State (New England Patriots)
16. T Gino Manning - West Virginia (Buffalo Bills)
17. WR Lynn Swann - USC (San Francisco 49ers)

One of my favourite non-Dolphins 70s players goes to the Left Coast in this universe. Interesting.

18. DE Lee Irwin - Vanderbilt (New Orleans Saints)
19. DT Glenn Walters - Small College (Atlanta Falcons)
20. QB Norm Elston - Oregon State (Jacksonville Jaguars through San Diego Chargers)
21. QB Danny White - Arizona State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

I couldn't help myself. I really see this kid turning into something special, I really do. Besides, this gives me the freedom to trade Jim away.

22. TE Dave Casper - Notre Dame (Miami Dolphins)
23. QB Kennedy White - West Virginia (Chicago Bears)
24. DE Fred Cook - Southern Missippi (Los Angeles Rams through Detroit Lions)
25. T Dave Simonson - Minnesota (New Jersey Jets)
26. WR Nate Moore - Florida (Dallas Cowboys)
27. G Dave Lapham - Syracuse (Cleveland Browns)
28. T Steve Riley - USC (Pittsburgh Steelers)
29. RB Dennis Morgan - Western Illinois (St. Louis Cardinals)
30. T Drew Choate - Arizona (Kansas City Chiefs)
31. T Leroy Calavicci - Tennessee (Green Bay Packers)
32. ILB Matt Blair - Iowa State (Denver Broncos)

That's a wrap for the first round and I need to head to class now. Interesting note: ILB Greg Bingham, selected in the 1st round last year (#23) with the St. Louis Cardinals, refused to sign with them and is now in this year's draft. Thus far, he has yet to be selected.

He finally goes in Round 2, Pick 17 to the San Francisco 49ers. Hope they have better luck signing him.

The guy I really wanted to draft in the second round got taken ahead of me, but fortunately one of the safeties I liked okay is still remaining and so I take him. Welcome aboard, Pete Wessel.

In the third round, I see a CB I really like, but I think it's a bit early for him to go, so I decide to roll the dice and pick up a RDT that I think I can shift over to LDT.

Well fuck. I should have taken the CB like I wanted. He was a real playmaker. Damn it! This is what I get for continuing the draft after class. Disgusted with myself, I grab a system guy in the 4th who isn't a playmaker, but is a kick return guru.

By Round 5, I'm just taking flyers on guys and that's the way the rest of this draft is going to be.

Tampa Bay Selections:
Round 1: QB Dan White (Arizona State)
Round 2: SS Pete Wessel (Northwestern)
Round 3: RDT Marcus Feliciano (Washington State)
Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler (Air Force)
Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe (Missippi State)
Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller (Colorado State)
Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers (Colorado State)
Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin (Syracuse)

Seth Rogers was obviously a name pick.

The other guys here, I thought they could fill a role on the team at some point. Hell, they may even break out.

Anyway, here's their post-draft ratings.

1974 Draftees:
Round 1: QB Dan White 17/55
Round 2: SS Pete Wessel 19/51
Round 3: RDT Marcus Feliciano 18/44
Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler 11/42
Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe 9/43
Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller 26/37
Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers 17/40
Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin 18/51

Draft Grade: B

Hey we're getting better! And we're moving up the ranks, too.

Jesus Christ. I have a bunch of hardasses this year. White, Wessel, Wheeler, and Wolfe all decide to get cute on me. That's the last time I draft that many W-last names in a class.

Danny White is the only one who holds out still and misses training camp. Not a smart move, buddy. You've already got some stiff competition and I won't hesitate to trade your ass.

Trade offers come in for Hayhoe, Plunkett, and Joyner. Let's take a look at them.

The Colts are offering me a second rounder for Hayhoe. Tempting, but no. We're too weak on the line as it is.

Hahaha YESSSSS!!!! The Baltimore Ravens are offering me a 1st rounder for Plunkettt! I don't even have to think twice about that one.

Or wait, maybe I do... What's his ratings again after the camp? Let me go look at all the draft classes. The Bears, by the way, are proposing a 2nd rounder for Joyner. Not a chance in hell.

1971 Draftees:
1st round: RB John Riggins 80/80 (+0/+0)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 57/61 (+14/+1)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 56/56 (+5/+5)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso (Cut before the 1973 season: Non-contributor)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner (Not re-signed after 1973 season: Occasional dime back)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 41/64 (+5/+0)

Two more players from this draft class are gone, but the remaining ones are looking very nice indeed. Riggins seems to have hit his ceiling. Joyner learned an incredible amount from Gilliam last year and has shot up immensely to where he's about where we figured his potential would be. Otto still keeps improving, though Kendall might finally be the better receiver like originally projected. Who know they would end up this close to each other in ability though? Wow. Plunkett keeps up the turtle method of slow and steady, but guess what? A first rounder is being dangled in front of me for him. Bye-bye Jimmy! You're outta here! Go fly with the Ravens!

1972 Draftees:
1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (30/43) (+5/-3)
3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (9/28) (-4/-10)
4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (20/45) (+2/-1)
5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (Cut from team before 1973 season)
6th Round: RB John Sykes (27/33) (-1/-2)
7th Round: K Chester Marcol (Cut from team prior to 1972 season)

Unlike the 1971 class, which has a few damn good players that I dug up, this one just flat out sucks in every way possible. Roberts is an especially huge bust who is only around because I don't want any cap penalties. Okoniewski might end up being an acceptable backup, but that's about it. Oh, Christensen may be an okay third stringer, too.

1973 Draftees:
1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 40/69 (+13/-1)
2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 21/39 (+1/-3)
3rd round: FS Les Fouse 23/41 (+8/+8)
4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 16/39 (+1/-2)
5th round: TE James Thaxton 38/57 (+2/-2)
6th round: FL Ricky Stone 16/36 (+0/-6)
7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 14/32 (+1/-4)
7th round: QB Bret Jones 28/46 (+5/+2)

Now this draft class is starting to surprise me. I figured Van Pelt might snap out of it after he finally get a full training camp under his belt, but I didn't expect the leap that happened. True, his future is continuing a slow fall, but maybe it'll pick up back to what it was like Kendall's did. Having Nicky B around has helped Brad immensely. The real shocker here is Fouse. After looking totally lost last year and seeming to be just another bust, he's had an epiphany in training camp after Willie Brown gave him lots of extra mentoring and help. I guess Willie doesn't want his legacy tarnished by having a bad player succeed him. I'll take it though. Bret is a lot like Jim. Steady learning of the game under Morrall's tutelage, but even better than Jim, he's actually growing in potential. Still a long way to go before he hits Plunkett's level, though.

1974 Draftees:
Round 1: QB Dan White 17/53 (+0/-2)
Round 2: SS Pete Wessel 20/42 (+1/-9)
Round 3: RDT Marcus Feliciano 19/41 (+1/-3) I then changed him to RDE where he became 17/43 (-2/+2) so we'll see how that one goes.
Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler 12/35 (+1/-7)
Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe 12/41 (+3/-2)
Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller 26/35 (+0/-2)
Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers 18/35 (+1/-5)
Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin 19/44 (+1/-8)

Ugh. Looks like a pretty bad class over all. White may do the same thing Van Pelt did this year and rebound next year. Feliciano also could break out once he adapts to his new position. Outside of that, though, this class is looking as ugly as the 1972 group.

Izulde · 08-31-2005, 04:29 PM

I have about half an hour before my next class, so I'm going to get through the preseason if possible.

But first, I want to examine the particulars of Baltimore's QB situation.

With the addition of Jim, they now have 5 QBs on their roster. The one with the most experience is actually two guys, Jim and Andrew Levine, both entering their fifth year. Second year man Joe Ferguson is nominally the starter during preseason, though I fully expect Plunkett to win the job by the regular season, as he's clearly the best QB on the roster. Two rookies round out the position, with none of the signal callers except Jim having been drafted. No wonder the Ravens were so willing to give up 1st round pick for Mr. Plunkett.

So on we go to the preseason. Well I'm not going to have time to run the games before I have to head off to class, but seeing Baltimore's depth chart has given me the idea to give the young guys as much playing time as possible in at least the first two games and then gradually work in the veterans the last couple games.

Game 1 of preseason is a 20-14 win over the Bengals. Both young QBs looked good and Welch runs for 123 yards and a TD.

Game 2 is a 14-6 loss to the Titans. Danny White is definately outplaying Jones and will go into the season as the #2 man. Now it's time to put in our regular starters for the last couple games.

Our third preseason matchup is a 42-31 defeat at the hands of the Steelers. Stowe and Joyner are both exceptional in the loss.

We close out the exhibition section with a 17-7 win versus Houston, highlighted by Riggins rushing for 103 yards.

I'll do the rest of the stuff later. Like starting lineup, cohesion, power rating, etc.

Izulde · 09-02-2005, 11:17 PM

First things first: The starting lineup. A lot of it will stay the same, some will have changed.

QB: Earl Morrall
RB: John Riggins
FB: Marv Hubbard
FL: Kendall Joyner (finally wins the starting job)
SE: Otto Stowe
LT: Edwin Coles
LG: Jake Kupp
C: Jim O'Brian
RG: Chuck Hutchinson
RT: Bill Hayhoe
P: Billy Joe Roller
K: Gino Cappalletti

LDE: Bill Stanfill
LDT: Dave Rowe
RDT: Jim Bailey
RDE: L.C. Greenwood
SLB: J.R. Williamson
MLB: Brad Van Pelt (A year's tutelage under Nicky B was enough to win him the job)
WLB: Chris Hanberger
LCB: Carl Lockhart
RCB: Bob Jeter
SS: Jimmy Warren
FS: Willie Brown

Team Cohesion Ratings:
Passing: 61 (+5, good enough for mid-league. We're going to take a huge hit once Earl retires, though.)
Offensive Line: 57 (+2 and in the lower half. This despite changing Cs (again) and RGs.)
Defensive Front: 53 (+3, in the lower third.)
Secondary: 59 (-2, due largely to the change in backups at the S positions. In the lower third.)

We're ranked in the middle of the NFC in terms of power rankings and some publications are considering us a contender for repeating our playoff appearance. I can agree with that. So we'll shoot for making the playoffs again this year.

Somehow we've lost $210k in cap room next year even though the only guy I cut who was supposed to cost any room was FL Ricky Stone, at $10k. Oh well.

Our NFC South title defense opens with a 27-20 loss to the Falcons, who were angry over our snapping their title streak last season.

High Points:
Riggins with 23 rushes for 148 yards and a TD. Stowe with 6 catches for 100 yards. Williamson with 11 tackles and 5 assists.

Low Points:
Our entire special teams. Kicking, punting, returning... they all were horrible.

Chris, our new starting WLB gets a herniated disk and estimated out 3 weeks.

We pull things together though and get a 28-24 win over the Ravens to even us up at 1-1, and yes, as I predicted, Plunkett was given the starting QB job for the Ravens.

High Points:
Morrall good for 3 TDs and no picks. Riggins getting his second straight 100-yard game, this time just barely getting it. Plunkett getting intercepted twice. Kendall with 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs. Roller actually getting over 40 yards a punt with 42.2.

Low Points:
Our punt return game still is horrible. I need a new PR.

Another close one in Game 3, this one a 26-21 loss to the Cowboys. It really depresses me to suddenly be unable to close out close games like we used to. The only good thing to report is Brown with 11 tackles and 3 assists.

That's how bad we played the rest of the game. Meh, I'll finish the season later. Suddenly don't feel like doing it all in one go.

Izulde · 09-04-2005, 03:55 PM

Since I'm supposed to be doing laundry right now, I've decided to update this dynasty instead, because I've never done laundry before and I don't really want to do it now.

We get hammered in Week 4 34-12 by the St. Louis Cardinals and suddenly we're looking nothing like last year's 10-6, playoff game winning team.

High Points:
Dennis Homan with an incredible 98 yard kickoff return for a TD.

Low Points:
Everything else.

We finally get back on track with a 24-21 win over the 49ers and I'm beginning to think we can do this after all.

High Points:
Riggins snapping out of his funk and going 25 times for 129 yards and 2 TDs. Stowe with 3 catches for 108 yards and a 21 yard PR average. Roller with a 49 yard punt average. Jeter with an 8 yard fumble return for a TD.

Low Points:
Sadly, Morrall looks like only a flimsy outline of his former greatness this season. My guess is he's on his way out.

Another close game in the 6th contest of the season, this one a 28-23 loss to the Rams. So close and yet so far away. It's been a damn frustrating year thus far.

High Points:
None, really. It was pretty much all either average performances or low points. It was a case of the game not being as close as the score indicated.

The frustration continues as we drop one 26-21 to the Seahawks of Seattle. Why are we having such horrible luck here? I know Morrall's off-kilter season has a lot to do with it, but with the improvements I've made on the line and with the team overall, you'd think that'd translate into more wins.

High Points:
Greenwood with 2 sacks. Morrall throwing for 2 TDs and 0 picks.

Low Points:
Everything else.

Well, there goes the season. Stowe pulls his quadrecep muscle and is estimated out 4 weeks. That's one injury we can ill afford.

And yet, this team always surprises me when it comes to adversity. They do it once more with a crucial 27-24 upset of the New Orleans Saints. This gets us to be 3-5 at the halfway mark. We're going to have to kick some serious ass in the second half of the year if we want to do something.

High Points:
Riggins 23 times for 110 yards. Kramer with 2 TDs. Williamson with a 31 yard int return for a TD.

Low Points:
Morrall throwing for 5 INTs. Shy Guy rushing for 114 yards on us.

Oh now this is just ridiculous! Now Joyner is out for 3 weeks with an injury of his own. Our two best young WRs, our starters, both injured at the same time. Stupid, stupid game. I hateses you.

The Falcons top us 17-14 and we're sinking fast. Atlanta really got pissed off about last season's stealing of the crown we pulled on them and they've been taking it out on the division this year by running away with it up to this point. They're now 7-2.

High Points:
Riggins with 2 TDs, one rushing, one receiving. Wheeler with a 46 yard KR.

Low Points:
Everything else.

Great, now the superstar C we signed, Jim O'Brian, is out 4 weeks with an injury. Have I mentioned yet how bad our luck is with Cs being injured?

Ugh, that's it. I'm going to take another pause here. This season is *really* irritating me on so many levels.

Izulde · 09-12-2005, 01:30 AM

We take out our frustrations on the Carolina Panthers, furiously pounding them 34-11.

High Points:
Riggins rushing 23 times for 105 yards. Morrall throwing for 4 TDs and 0 sacks. Roller averaging 43.5 yards a punt. He's turning out better than I expected. Stanfill with 2 sacks.

Low Points:
Our return game is terrible.

Fouse is out for 6 weeks and I receive a new injury. Wessel has arthritis and is out for an unknown amount of time. WTF? He's still in his 20s and he has arthritis?! I don't even want to know how he got it.

We get back Stowe and Joyner for our next game and nip the Bengals 26-20. While the season is probably lost for the playoffs, we should be able to get at least a .500 record.

High Points:
Riggins rushing for 141 yards and a TD. Stowe averaging 10 yards on the punt return and 27.2 yards on the kick return to respark our return game. Cappaletti going 4 for 4 on FGs. Williamson with 12 tackles and an interception.

Low Points:
None really.

Despite a hard-fought battle, we fall to the mighty Green Bay Packers 24-19 to send us to 5-7 and virtually eliminate any chance at the playoffs for us.

High Points:
Williamson with 15 tackles and 5 assists.

Low Points:
Everything else.

Another tough game, this time a heartbreak as we lose 20-17 to the 10-1, now 11-1 Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the best we can hope for is .500.

High Points:
Williamson with 12 tackles and 2 assists.

Low Points:
Everything else.

We lose Bailey for at least the next game, but I'll probably just sit him the rest of the season to avoid his getting hurt worse, since we have nothing left to play for. Our next win is a 20-17 squeaker over those god awful Carolina Panthers.

High Points:
Stowe with 8 catches for 94 yards and a TD and a 15.6 punt return average. Van Pelt showing some of his promise with a nice all-around game of 7 tackles, 2 assists, and a half a sack.

Low Points:
Roller was just awful puntingwise.

We upset a probable playoff team in our next game as we take down the formerly 10-4 Cleveland Browns by the score of 30-27. We've been in tight games all season, it seems.

High Points:
Kramer with 9 catches for 97 yards and a TD. Though I haven't looked at the stats yet, my guess is he'll once again have proven to be Morrall's favourite target. Stowe with 21 yards on PR avg.

Low Points:
None, really.

We close the year out with an annoying 26-23 loss to the Saints that, had we won, would have put us second in the division. But alas we're 7-9 and in third. I hate New Orleans.

High Points:
Joyner with 5 catches for 95 yards and a TD. Williamson with 10 tackles, 2 assists, a sack, and an INT. Rowe with 7 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks.

Low Points:
Stowe was meh in the return game and Riggins was held to 63 yards.

So that concludes the 1974 regular season! Here's the final standings.

Some notes: We have our first ever AFC South + .500 division champions! Way to go, Colts!

Poor Redskins fans. D.C. gets screwed out of a playoff berth thanks to the still mighty NFC North.

Many of the same teams remain dominant. The only question is what will happen in the postseason, where anything can happen at all.

Will Minnesota ever rise above being the NFC North doormat?

Izulde · 09-12-2005, 04:49 AM

Passing:
QB Earl Morrall 323-558 57.8% 3760 yards 24 TDs 13 INTs 83.0 rating

Old Man Morrall continues to put up very good numbers in spite of the fact that he's getting really, really old. I expect him to retire before too long, but for now he's having fun playing the game and being idolized here in Tampa Bay.

Danny White threw for 2 passes in 1 game, completing a 3 yarder.

Oh, and in Jim Plunkett news, he completes 54.3% of his passes for 2574 yards and 7 TDs vs 12 INTs, all in 13 games, as he was injured earlier in the year and missed 3 games. Think Baltimore is kicking themselves now for giving up what will be either the #3 or #4 pick in the draft? Yeah I'd say so.

Rushing:
RB John Riggins 298 rushes 1405 yards 12 TDs
RB Claxton Welch 80 rushes 298 yards 1 TDs

Riggins has his best season since his rookie campaign and sets career highs in rushes, yards and yards/carry. Because of his emergence, Welch, formerly a star for the Saints, is now marginalized to backup duty.

Speaking of Saints and RBs, Shy Guy has 1070 yards and 2 rushing TDs for Claxton's old team.

Receiving:
TE Kent Kramer 82 catches 797 yards 7 TDs 4 drops
FL John Gilliam 36 catches 525 yards 1 TDs 2 drops
SE Otto Stowe 46 catches 768 yards 3 TDs 3 drops
FL Kendall Joyner 53 catches 802 yards 6 TDs 3 drops

Kendall shows a lot better hands this year and does quite well in his first season as a starter. Morrall continues to rely on Kramer however, and with good reason, as Kent is one of the top TEs in the league and also one of the most underrated. Still, I'd like to see a 1,000+ yard receiver again, preferably one I've homegrown. Joyner and Stowe, I'm looking at you. Truth is, they probably would have gotten it and we'd likely have been in the playoffs if they hadn't had to have missed games because of injuries.

Damn injury bug.

Returns:
SE Otto Stowe 9.0 PR avg 24.8 KR avg
FL Dennis Homan 28.6 KR avg 1 TD

Homan continues to be a dominant kick return and adds to his TD legacy. Stowe increases his PR and KR averages considerably, and there's reason to think our return game may well be restored.

Kicking
K Gino Cappalletti 27/29 93.1% 36/38 PATs
P Billy Joe Roller 39.0 avg 27/82 inside 20

Cappalletti maintains his superior FG form, but I don't like those two missed extra points. And we aren't going to even talk about Mr. Roller.

J.R. Williamson once again led our defense. With 135 tackles, 46 assists, 2.5 sacks, and 4 ints, 1 for a TD, it's obvious to see why he's considered one of the best OLBs in the league year in and year out. And yet in spite of all his accolades, his popularity is Needs Scorecard (15)? I don't understand it.

Brad Van Pelt was second with 95 tackles, 26 assists, and 2 sacks. Our pass rush was led by L.C. Greenwood with 8, followed close behind by Billy Stanfill with 7.5. The two former Dolphins have really added punch to our sack attack.

Williamson actually led the team in INTs, strangely enough.

Atlanta pulls off a huge upset in the first round of the playoffs when they knock off the two-time defending NFC Champion Green Bay Packers 22-20. They run all the way to the NFC title game, where they're beaten by Dallas 20-17.

And so it's the Dallas Cowboys versus the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1974 Super Bowl after KC upsets the Steelers in the AFC matchup. I'm thinking Chiefs.

But no! Dallas gets a barnburner of an upset, winning 28-26! The Super Bowl Trophy returns back to the NFC, sports fans!

1974 Major Season Awards:

MVP:
QB Joe Namath - New York Jets

Super Bowl MVP:
QB Roger Staubach - Dallas Cowboys

Coach of the Year:
Nick Flannery - Chicago Bears

Legend of the Game:
LDT Charley Krueger - San Francisco 49ers

Offensive Player of the Year:
RB Eddie Ray - Kansas City Chiefs

Defensive Player of the Year:
SLB J.R. Williamson - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
RB Bo Matthews - Green Bay Packers (3rd round selection who rushed for 1000+ yards, barely, and had 10 TDs)

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
MLB Jack Lambert - Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards:
J.R. Williamson - Defensive Player of the Year
J.R. Williamson - All-Pro First Team OLB

Williamson is without a doubt one of my most valuable signings ever. Though he isn't listed as a mentor yet, he's still the heart and soul of the entire Buccaneers defense.

Going into the Staff Hire Phase, we need a new scout because his contract has expired and frankly, ours sucks. I decide to try and poach none other than the Atlanta Falcons' scout, who's a good all-around bloke in such matters. Sadly, the bastard resigns with his former team.

So then I try and get the St. Louis Cardinals scout, who looks okay and possibly able to be nabbed. We get him and things are all good to go.

Free agency period up next, but I'm too tired to do that right now. Besides, I still need to import the 1975 draft.

Chris Jones · 09-13-2005, 08:32 AM

I see Brad Van Pelt is playing pretty well for you. I drafted him with my 1st pick in 1973, but the SOB held out our until week 2 of the regular season. I almost was going to release him.

I was so mad that the following draft, I drafted Jack Lambert the following season with my 1st pick.

As it turns out, Lambert is also holding out as we enter pre season. My former starting MLB and All-Star Willie Lanier has retired and it looks like Van Pelt will enter 1974 as the starter.

Hope he fairs as well as your version did.

Izulde · 09-13-2005, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Jones

I see Brad Van Pelt is playing pretty well for you. I drafted him with my 1st pick in 1973, but the SOB held out our until week 2 of the regular season. I almost was going to release him.

I was so mad that the following draft, I drafted Jack Lambert the following season with my 1st pick.

As it turns out, Lambert is also holding out as we enter pre season. My former starting MLB and All-Star Willie Lanier has retired and it looks like Van Pelt will enter 1974 as the starter.

Hope he fairs as well as your version did.

If Lanier was a mentor, then my guess Van Pelt should do okay for you. I had problems with Brad holding out too, but he only missed all of training camp and not any regular season action. He still had to take a year to learn behind Nicky B, though, before he became the starter.

Ironically enough, I tried my damndest to draft Jack Lambert myself but no one would trade down.

Izulde · 09-13-2005, 06:47 PM

Nicky B retires after the 1974 season and we get another 2nd round offer for RT Bill Hayhoe, this time from the AFC Kansas City Chiefs. Thanks but no thanks.

We're a little over $14 million under the cap, but a lot of our top guys are now have an expired contract, so it's time to make some decisions.

The biggest names on the market are C Mike Oriard (98) LDE Randy Marshall (85) and MLB Ed Money (81)

Week 1 Offers:
FL Kendall Joyner (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
SE Otto Stowe (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
FL John Gilliam (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
K Gino Cappalletti (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
RDT Jim Bailey (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
RCB Bob Jeter (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
FS Willie Brown (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
MLB John Garlington (Tennessee Titans)
LCB Ricky Stevenson (Seattle Seahawks)
WLB John Bramlett (Washington Redskins)

Week 1 Signings:
FL John Gilliam: 2 years, $560k
RDT Jim Bailey: 2 years, $570k
LCB Ricky Stevenson: 4 years, $4.62 mill.

Gilliam gets us our third WR back and he may in fact return to being the starter at FL, thanks to the nasty bidding war we're in with the Patriots over Kendall Joyner. Bailey will once more man the RDT starter spot, and Stevenson, though damn expensive, immediately becomes the starter at LCB and moves aging Lockhart down to the nickel slot.

Week 2 Signings:
WLB John Bramlett: 2 years, $610k
FS Willie Brown: 2 years, $620k

Brown returns as our FS and Bramlett should be an upgrade over the disappointing signing Chris Harnberger of last year.

Week 3 Signings:
FL Kendall Joyner: 4 years, $4.43 mill.
MLB John Garlington: 3 years, $1.00 mill.

Week 3 Losses:
SLB Mike Stratton (Houston Texans)

Joyner spurns a longer, somewhat more lucrative deal with the Patriots to resign with us, but unfortunately we're now in a bidding war with the Baltimore Ravens over Stowe and Cappalletti. Stratton was one of my favourite players, but there was just no room for him on the roster anymore, what with Williamson and the younger, better backup on the strong side. In Houston he'll get a chance to revive his career. Garlington is just a backup MLB to replace Nicky B.

Week 5 Signings:
SE Otto Stowe: 4 years, $4.82 mill.
RCB Bob Jeter: 2 years, $620k

Week 5 Losses:
RCB Clancy Williams (San Francisco 49ers)

Stowe has outplayed Joyner and would deserve the higher wage in any case, but a massive bidding war where a lot of teams jumped on him also caused me to jack up the price. That's fine. We've got our top 3 WRs back and that's critical. Jeter will stay in the RCB slot and Williams goes to San Fran, where he'll actually get a chance to play. With us, Clancy would have been a nickel back at best.

Week 6 Losses:
RDE L.C. Greenwood (Minnesota Vikings)

Greenwood parlays his 8 sack season into a pretty hefty contract from the Minnesota Vikings who are desperate to break out of the NFC North jail. That's all well and good for them. To me, even with his mentor status, he wasn't worth that kind of money.

Week 7 Offers:
LDE Dave Long (Indianapolis Colts)

Week 8 Signings:
LDE Dave Long: 3 years, $950k

Gotten expressly for the fact that he can mentor DEs as I'm planning on taking one with my first pick in the draft.

I love having the #3 and #13 selections.

Week 9 Losses:
K Gino Cappalletti (Baltimore Ravens)

He signs on with Baltimore for less money and the same amount of years that we were offering. I think Jim Plunkett had something to do with this, because I heard a rumour that our former QB of the future called Gino and convinced him to become a Raven. Oh well.

Week 10 Offers:
K Brian McDonald (St. Louis Cardinals)

Week 12 Signings:
K Brian McDonald: 2 years, $700k

The poor Patriots. I overpaid for him, but New England is desperate for a kicker and so they gave him a 5 year deal offer like he wanted, but it just wasn't enough. That's two kickers they've lost out on now.

And with that, we're all set for the draft! The big name here is none other than Sweetness himself, Walter Payton. Too bad I already have John Riggins, or he'd be a damn tempting choice.

1975 Draft Round One Selections

1. DE Fred Dean - Louisiana Tech (Jacksonville Jaguars)
2. G Ken Huff - North Carolina (Minnesota Vikings)
3. DE Randy White - Maryland (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

I really wanted Dean, but White should be damn good, too. He was also the last worthwhile DE on the board. I thought for sure Payton would go in the first two picks, but I guess not.

4. DT Rubin Carter - Miami (FL) (Houston Texans)
5. QB Jon Graham - Colorado State (Carolina Panthers)
6. DT Mike Fanning - Notre Dame (Cincinnati Bengals)
7. WR Rick Upchurch - Minnesota (Los Angeles Rams)
8. ILB Robert Brazile - Jackson State (Oakland Raiders)
9. DE Gary Burley - Pittsburgh (Tennessee Titans)
10. DT Louis Kelcher - SMU (New England Patriots)
11. RB Walter Payton - Jackson State (New York Giants)

I'm calling it right now that the Giants are going to the playoffs this coming year. There's no way Sweetness should have dropped this far, but the fans in New York are damn glad that he did.

12. T Doug France - Ohio State (New Jersey Jets)
13. DE Mark Mullaney - Colorado State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

White will line up on the left side and may even supersede the mentor I've got for him there. Mullaney in all probability backs up Bill Stanfill, who I shifted over to RDE in anticipation of the move. I have a hunch these two are going to be a lot like my Joyner/Stowe combination a few years back.

14. OLB Bob Breunig - Arizona State (New Orleans Saints)
15. DE Mack Mitchell - Houston (Seattle Seahawks through Philadelphia Eagles)
16. DE Cleveland Elam - Tennessee State (Miami Dolphins)
17. T Pat Donovan - Stanford (Buffalo Bills)
18. T Mike Horton - UCLA (Indianapolis Colts)
19. DT Cornelius Walker - Rice (San Diego Chargers)
20. QB Steve Grogan - Kansas State (San Francisco 49ers)
21. DT Pete Cusick - Ohio State (St. Louis Cardinals)
22. T Al Simpson - Colorado State (Washington Redskins)
23. QB Mitch Anderson - Northwestern (Cleveland Browns)
24. S Neil Colzie - Ohio State (Green Bay Packers)
25. OLB Glen Cameron - Florida (Atlanta Falcons)
26. CB Rick Davis - Alabama (Denver Broncos)
27. RB Cole Wolfe - Illinois (Detroit Lions)
28. T Warren Farrell - Utah (Seattle Seahawks)
29. RB Burton Laidlaw - Stanford (Chicago Bears)
30. DT Gary Johnson - Grambling (San Diego Chargers through Pittsburgh Steelers)
31. DE Charles Smith - North Carolina (Kansas City Chiefs)
32. RB Ron Meyer - Purdue (Dallas Cowboys)

Once again, no one special I want to watch, so I'll fast forward.

Actually on second thought, I'll take a break and go eat supper, then do the rest of the draft in another post.

Izulde · 09-16-2005, 02:22 AM

So I'm really, really, really hungry, right? But I have the urge to continue a dynasty that doesn't take much energy, so here goes with the rest of the draft.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Selections:
Round 1: DE Randy White
Round 1: DE Mark Mullaney
Round 2: FS Joe Shields (Indiana)
Round 3: RDT Bubba Bridges (Colorado)
Round 4: C Van Haas (Miami (OH) )
Round 5: RB Arnold Weber (Stanford)
Round 6: K Arnold Parker (LSU)
Round 7: RG Chester Ayers (Pittsburgh)

Shields is a project, but he's got some really good upside that's worth exploring I think and even more importantly, he's a system guy, something that's hard to find with our zone setup.

RDT Jimmy Webb was a guy I'd wanted for my 3rd rounder, but he got snatched up by the Seahawks late in the 2nd round, so I went with Bridges, who could be a breakout type player.

In round 4 I was torn between two C's, Haas and Grant Evans. In the end, Haas looked just ever so slightly better, so I went with him. Ironically enough, Grant got picked right before me in Round 5 by the New Jersey Jets.

Since I didn't re-sign Sykes, I needed a third back and Weber looks like he could become a damn good third down back to give Riggins a break and hopefully extend John's career.

Our kicker situation is fairly unsettled, with only a mediocre guy in there right now, so I picked up Parker in the 6th. He could turn out to be a decent K, especially if he booms at all.

Ayers is just a random project who likely won't break out, but stranger things have happened.

1975 Post-Draft Ratings:
Round 1: DE Randy White 34/66
Round 1: DE Mark Mullaney 25/63
Round 2: FS Joe Shields 18/57
Round 3: RDT Bubba Bridges 17/42
Round 4: C Van Haas 24/44
Round 5: RB Arnold Weber 29/41
Round 6: K Arnold Parker 19/54
Round 7: RG Chester Ayers 6/39

Our draft grade slots in as a B-.

After the free agency period starts, White, Mullaney, and Shields all hold out but the rest all sign. In other news, J.R. Williamson is also holding out, as I figured he would after doing that bang-up job. Frankly, I'll probably pay him whatever he wants. He's just that valuable.

There's also two trade offers. One from the San Diego Chargers for John Riggins, the other from the Baltimore Ravens for RG Chuck Hutchinson. Honestly, what is it with the Ravens rebuilding themselves with former Buccaneers? It fascinates me to no end.

The Chargers offer me a good C and a 1st round pick. Thanks, but no thanks. I'm set at center already.

Baltimore's offering me a good C too, and a 2nd round pick for Hutchinson. Mildly tempting, but no thanks. I'm shooting for the playoffs this year if I can help it.

Williamson gets his contract reworked to his satisfaction and we're ready to roll with the late season free agency.

Week 1 Offers:
FB Travis Gibson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LDT Waddey Harvey (Buffalo Bills)

Week 2 Signings:
FB Travis Gibson: 2 years, $380k

He's still too valuable a receiver out of the backfield to let go, especially seeing as how he comes at such a cheap price.

Week 3 Signings:
LDT Waddey Harvey: 3 years, $900k

The move allows me to shift Dave Rowe over to RDT and probably spells the end of Jim Bailey on our team, as it creates too crowded a situation on the line and Pugh is our defensive front leader, so he stays for continunity's sake.

All the rookies get signed before the start of training camp, and for once my cap situation is starting to look a little precarious, as we're only $6.27 million under the cap now.

After training camp, another trade offer comes in the mail for Chuck Hutchinson. He's really a popular fellow. But they're just offering me a 2nd rounder, so to hell with them.

It's time for the annual post-training camp evaluations!

1971 Draftees:
1st round: RB John Riggins 81/81 (+1/+1)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 56/61 (-1/+0)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 58/58 (+2/+2)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso (Cut before the 1973 season: Non-contributor)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner (Not re-signed after 1973 season: Occasional dime back)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett (Traded to Baltimore prior to 1974 season: #2 QB)

Maybe it's a new scout, but there's a few minor changes here, as they're all pretty much veteran players by now and I expect they'll stay more or less the same until they start declining, but I'll post on them faithfully unless there's no changes. Ironically enough, Jim is now 57/65 according to the Ravens' scout after a full season of starting in Baltimore and in fact, would replace Morrall most likely this year were he here in Tampa Bay, as Earl's skills are taking a free-fall. An excellent draft class all around.

1972 Draftees:
1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (35/44) (+5/+1)
3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (10/23) (+1/-5)
4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (21/45) (+1/+0)
5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (Cut from team before 1973 season)
6th Round: RB John Sykes (Unsigned after 1974 season: 3rd string back)
7th Round: K Chester Marcol (Cut from team prior to 1972 season)

Okoniewski is becoming a good backup, but definately not worth a first round pick or even starting material. The rest of this draft is horrible. Roberts is the single biggest flop of a pick I've ever had. No value whatsoever.

1973 Draftees:
1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 54/67 (+14/-2)
2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 23/38 (+2/-1)
3rd round: FS Les Fouse 22/36 (-1/-5)
4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 16/38 (+0/-1)
5th round: TE James Thaxton 42/55 (+4/-2)
6th round: FL Ricky Stone (Unsigned after 1974 season: Non-contributor)
7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 15/28 (+1/-4)
7th round: QB Bret Jones 34/48 (+6/+2)

Van Pelt continues to laser-beam his way to being an excellent MLB, even though his ceiling keeps dropping. Peterson looks to be like Okoniewski, an okay backup that was drafted too high. Fouse freefalls again after last year's rebound. Thaxton is quickly turning into a good tight end who will be a very capable starter once Kramer either declines or leaves the team. Nice steal for a 5th rounder. Jones continues to develop well, but doesn't look like starter material.

1974 Draftees:
Round 1: QB Dan White 21/52 (+4/-1)
Round 2: SS Pete Wessel 20/27 (+0/-15)
Round 3: RDE Marcus Feliciano 20/41 (+1/-0)
Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler 17/25 (+5/-10)
Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe 15/40 (+3/-1)
Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller 28/30 (+2/-5)
Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers 21/32 (+3/-3)
Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin 19/29 (+0/-15)

A horrible class, almost as bad as the 1972 draft selections. White and Feliciano are the only ones who might be able to do anything. Arthritis has absolutely destroyed Wessel's career.

1975 Draftees:
Round 1: DE Randy White 36/66 (+2/+0)
Round 1: DE Mark Mullaney 27/59 (+2/-4)
Round 2: FS Joe Shields 21/50 (+3/-7)
Round 3: RDT Bubba Bridges 18/41 (+1/-1)
Round 4: C Van Haas 26/43 (+2/-1)
Round 5: RB Arnold Weber 30/41 (+1/-0)
Round 6: K Arnold Parker 22/54 (+3/-0)
Round 7: RG Chester Ayers 7/37 (+1/-2)

A mixed lot with this draft class. White looks like he could be the real deal, Mullaney may bust. Shields might bust. Haas could be okay. Weber looks like a potential steal as does Parker.

Izulde · 09-17-2005, 11:25 PM

Before the exhibition season starts, Jim Bailey gets traded to the New England Patriots for a 2nd round pick. Probably a stupid move on my part, since he may well have turned into a mentor later on down the road, but eh, I'm not going to be fussed about it.

Our first exhibition game is a 31-24 loss to the Jets. Danny White plays exceptionally well and he's going to make it very hard for Jones to steal the #2 spot away.

Game 2 of the preseason yields a 26-21 win over the Chargers. Jones looks very good in this one and Parker is making the most of the kicking opportunities he's getting. Weber looks decent here too. I've decided not to switch over to our actual starters until the last game.

We get clobbered 42-20 by the Bills in the third exhibition game. Jones breaks his clavicle and is out for 8 weeks. Great, just great. Just when he was looking like a solid #2 guy. Brian Sipe, a 4th year quarterback who went undrafted and whose only playing time came in 1973 when he took snaps in 3 games for the Philadelphia Eagles, is signed to be the third stringer.

Bad news. With all our starters in, KC massacres us 41-14 in the final showing. White looks god awful in the contest, but he's still got a lock on the #2 spot.

Cutting time. 7 players have to go bye-bye. Goodbye Will Roberts and Skip Goodwin. See you later, Wade Montgomery. Bye, Vincent Stephens. Nice knowing you Les Fouse. Ta-ta, Dale Wolfe. You didn't make the team, Chester Ayers.

Sad that all of them are players that I've drafted, but what can you do? That's just the nature of the game.

Here are the 1975 Opening Day Starters:

QB Earl Morrall
RB John Riggins
FB Marv Hubbard
TE Kent Kramer
FL Kendall Joyner
SE Otto Stowe
LT Edwin Coles
LG Jake Kupp
C Jim O'Brian
RG Chuck Hutchinson
RT David Hayhoe
K Arnold Parker (He played so well in the preseason I couldn't not give him the job)
P Billy Joe Roller

LDE Dave Long
LDT Waddey Harvey
RDT Dave Rowe
RDE Bill Stanfill
SLB Brian Stenger (He outplayed Williamson in the preseason. Yeah, I know, it's crazy that I'm benching last year's Defensive Player of the Year, but Stenger's been waiting for his chance for years now)
MLB Brad Van Pelt
WLB John Bramlett
LCB Ricky Stevenson
RCB Bob Jeter
FS Willie Brown
SS Jimmy Warren

Team Cohesion Ratings:
Passing: 59 (-2, which I don't understand. We've the same starters and basically the same backups, but whatever. Still mid-league.)
Offensive Line: 60 (+3 and now mid-league.)
Defensive Front: 48 (-5, in the lower third. Changes everywhere mean a big hit in cohesion.)
Secondary: 58 (-1, thanks to a shuffling of who goes where. Roughly the middle of the league.)

In terms of power rating, we're still in the lower half of the NFC. If we were in the AFC, we'd be midtable, but I'm not too concerned. I think we can get a playoff berth this year, possibly.

Our first game is against the forever lowly Panthers. We win 23-20, but the closeness of the score has me nervous.

High Points:
Homan tacking on another kickoff return TD to his legacy, as he races one all the way from endzone to endzone. 100 yards, baybee! Parker justifying my faith in him by going 3 for 3 on field goals. Van Pelt with 12 tackles and 2 assists.

Low Points:
Riggins getting just 59 yard rushing. Morrall throwing for 2 interceptions and no TDs. He was also 10 for 21 and only had 113 yards passing. If this keeps up, we'll have to rely on special teams and D to win games for us. Not a good sign.

My worries about the offense go away when we obliterate the Jaguars 41-16 in game 2. Yeah, it's just Jacksonsville, but it's still nice to see.

High Points:
Riggins breaking out with 29 rushes for 145 yards and 2 TDs. Morrall throwing for 358 yards on 30-35 passing. 3 TDs, 1 INT. Parker continuing perfection from FG range, including a 44 yarder.

Low Points:
None.

Our win streak comes to an end after the Eagles thrash us 35-21. Bah.

High Points:
Stenger with 12 tackles, 2 assists, and an interception, validating his replacement of Williamson.

Low Points:
Everything else.

A frustrating 16-10 setback to the hated Falcons evens us at 2-2. Not fun, especially against those dirty birds in Atlanta.

High Points:
Parker still perfect on field goals. Stanfill with 2 sacks.

Low Points:
Everything else. Morrall just can't cut it anymore, unfortunately.

We get back on the winning side of the equation with a 20-15 win over the Purple Men of Minnesota.

High Points:
Riggins with 3 TDs, 2 rushing, 1 receiving. Bramlett with 10 tackles and an assist.

Low Points:
Morrall throwing for 3 interceptions.

Ugh. That 19-10 loss to the Saints leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. We should have kicked their asses and firmly secured second place in the dvision, but instead we lose.

High Points:
Stenger with 11 tackles, 2 assists, and a sack. Parker perfect still.

Low Points:
Everything else.

Lockhart's out, but Jones is back in. Just on a hunch, I'm going to have Bert start our next game. Danny gets sent to the inactive roster, as Sipe simply looks better than him. I haven't forgotten the 3 interceptions in 6 passes earlier in the season by Mr. White.

The bad news is we lost 13-10 in Bert's debut. The good news is that it was a damn hard fought game against the mighty Lions, who were 4-1 going in.

High Points:
Joyner with 8 catches for 111 yards. Stenger with 9 tackles and a sack. Van Pelt with 7 tackles, 3 assists, and an interception returned 24 yards.

Low Points:
Everything else, though Jones wasn't that bad in his debut, to be honest. 234 yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions against a tough Detroit D.

At the halfway mark, we're 3-5 after the Packers have their way with us in a 36-21 victory for them.

High Points:
Homan returns a kickoff 80 yards for a TD. Jones throws nary an interception.

Low Points:
Everything else.

Riggins is really struggling this year for some reason compared to his usual self. It's not something I'm used to seeing.

Part of it is that we have a tough schedule. Our next opponent is yet another NFC North team, the Chicago Bears.

Over in Baltimore, Plunkett's Ravens are 6-3, due largely to Jim's passing. But unfortunately for them, he got his hamstring wrecked a couple of days ago and is done for the season. This after he got up to 66/66 ratings.

And to think he could have been starting here in Tampa Bay this season...

Oh well. Second half to come sometime next week.

Izulde · 09-23-2005, 04:28 AM

Despite a valiant effort, we fall to the third NFC North powerhouse team, by the narrow score of 34-31. Damn those Bears!

High Points:
Homan gets another kickoff return TD, this one good for 99 yards. He's electric! Doobeeboobeedoo! Parker retains perfection. Riggins gets 97 yards rushing.

Low Points:
Everything else.

The season hits its absolute lowest point when we fall 22-16 to the Carolina Panthers. We're falling apart fast here.

High Points:
Riggins finally breaks the century mark at 101 yards rushing for the first time in forever. Parker hits 3 of 3 FGs, including a 49 yarder. Stanfill gets 2.5 sacks.

Low Points:
All else is bad.

We finally get a win, but it's a hairdsbreath 27-24 win over the even lowlier Houston Texans. Yeah, I'm not feeling too hot about this year. Bert Jones is struggling, but then Plunkett struggled last year too.

High Points:
Riggins rushes for 103 yards and a TD. Jones is 25-35 for 314 yards and 2 TDs vs 1 int. I think that's the first 300+ yard game of his career. Stenger gets 10 tackles, 2 assists, and a sack. Homan averages 33 yards a return.

Low Points:
Parker misses his first FG of the season, but still goes 2-3.

We start a late season rush towards respectability, knocking off the 49ers 34-31. The team always does this to me. They do crappy and then start putting it together at the end of the year.

High Points:
Riggins gets 121 yards and a TD. Jones throws for 3 TDs and 1 int. Parker gets back in the swing of things hitting 2 of 2.

Low Points:
None really.

A 23-17 loss to the then 2-10 Colts dispells any hope I may have had that we could run things out and make a challenge for the playoffs. UGH!

High Points:
Riggins leads the way again, 104 yards and 2 TDs. Brown has 2 ints.

Low Points:
Jones has an awful game, throwing for 135 yards and a pick. Parker misses a FG. Stowe gets creamed on punt returns. Yeah, this ain't looking good, folks.

The Saints march in and destroy us 31-13. At best, we can finish 7-9 on the year, though I'm privately hoping we tank. I want a high draft pick.

High Points:
Another century mark game for Riggins, this time barely as he gets 100 yards and a TD. Parker returns to perfection with hitting 2 of 2. Stenger gets 7 tackles, a sack, and an INT. He's really proving that I made the right decision in starting him over Williamson.

Low Points:
Everything else.

Oh lovely. LDT Waddey Harvey has a degenerative hip condition. You know what that means. Out until 1977 season and he's just going to be a ghost of a shell player. These types of injuries are getting extremely annoying, but at least it wasn't my C this time. I sign RDT Greg Lens. Why? To fill the spot, I suppose.

31-28 loss to the Titans and we're officially guaranteed of a double-digit losing season. Oh whee.

High Points:
Jones throws 3 TDs. Joyner catches 2 of those TDs and gets 100 yards receiving besides.

Low Points:
Everything else.

We close out the year losing 26-14 to the Falcons. To hell with the high and low points. It's been a damn disgusting season.

Full standings to come tomorrow. I'm too irritated to want to continue right now. How the hell is it that everyone else can build a dynasty and all I can manage is a fluke postseason appearance? Ah well, it's keeping this dynasty challenging at least.

Izulde · 09-25-2005, 08:20 PM

The stranglehold of the NFC North on wildcard spots is finally broken, but it wasn't easy for the Eagles to sneak past the Packers and Lions. A third NFC South team joins the playoffs for the first time, those bastard Saints.

I see the AFC South is back to .500 being the benchmark for the playoffs. What a god-awful division.

In what is becoming a familiar trend for this dynasty, we have a repeat conference champion, as the Kansas City Chiefs once again represent the AFC. We almost had a rematch of last year's Super Bowl, but the San Francisco 49ers continue their playoff magic by upsetting the Dallas Cowboys 17-16 in the NFC title game. The 49ers also upset the Falcons by a point, 25-24.

Kansas City nips past the 49ers 23-20 to be the 1975 Super Bowl champions! This also is in line with the trend in the dynasty, where the repeat conference champion wins one of two Super Bowls.

MVP:
QB Terry Bradshaw - Pittsburgh Steelers

Super Bowl MVP:
QB Mike Livingston - Kansas City Chiefs

Coach of the Year:
Oscar Walkley - Kansas City Chiefs

Legend of the Game:
LT Forrest Gregg - Green Bay Packers

Offensive Player of the Year:
RB Eddie Ray - Kansas City Chiefs (Back-to-back OPotY Awards)

Defensive Player of the Year:
SLB Brian Stenger - Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Offensive Rookie of the Year:
RB Walter Payton - New York Giants

Defensive Rookie of the Year:
MLB Robert Brazile - Oakland Raiders

Other Tampa Bay Awards:
SLB Brian Stenger - First Team All-Pro OLB

Stenger continues our streak of award winners and validates my displacing of Williamson with him. Brian's waited years for his chance to start and finally got this year, winning back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards for the team.

I knew Payton would make people pay for passing him up and he proved me right here by winning the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

Going into staff hiring, our defensive coordinator and our head coach are both up for contract. I'm going to try and find replacements for both, as the team has really gone downhill the last few seasons and we really need a shakeup.

My first target for head coach is Julio Barkshadt of the Philadelphia Eagles. Ratingswise he looks to be a huge improvement over Whitener and he's been to two playoffs already, even if he does have a sub-.500 record.

At defensive coordinator, I'll go after Jackie Lyons of the Washington Redskins. Yeah the team sucks, but I have a feeling he's going to be a good fit for us.

Sadly, Barkshadt goes to the Dallas Cowboys, leaving me to scramble around for a replacement. In the end, we re-sign Whitener for another 3 years because he's cheap, loyal, still a pretty good coach, and he led us to our only playoff appearance. And yes, at this stage in the game, all the better coaches had been snapped up.

Oh and Lyons tells us to shove our offer after sitting on his ass until the last stage without accepting. We now can only offer $750,000 for a defensive coordinator. Yeah, this is gonna suck the big one.

In the end, we still get a better defensive coordinator than what we had, as Melvin Donaldson, formerly of the Oakland Raiders, is rated G/VG/VG/EX/AV. At the cheaper price, I'm thrilled for it. Let's hope that portends good things for the season ahead.

So we trudge ahead to free agency then. A ton of key players have their contracts up, so we have some tough choices to make here.

And I just realized I forgot to put in the stats from the 1975 season. Damn it. Oh well, I'll reconstruct it later. I'm actually hungry right now, so I should go eat.

Yeah, I'll do that.

Izulde · 10-08-2005, 06:51 PM

I've decided to forgo the last season stats because it'd be too much work to reconstruct them. So I'll just say Stenger was phenomenal, Riggins was good, and Morrall continues to go downhill.

As I said, we've got some big decisions to make this year, choices that will decide in what direction the team is headed. We're $14 mill. under the cap, but a lot of that is going to evaporate this year. So here goes. LG Jim Schmedding of the San Diego Chargers, LDT George Seals of the Chicago Bears, and our own RB John Riggins are the top 3 prizes in free agency this year.

Week 1 Offers:
QB Earl Morrall (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
RB John Riggins (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
RB Claxton Welch (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
TE Bob Christensen (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
FL Dennis Homan (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
RDT Jethro Pugh (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
SLB Brian Stenger (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LDT George Seals (Chicago Bears)
RCB Dean Brown (Seattle Seahawks)
QB Peter O'Donnell (Atlanta Falcons)

Week 1 Signings:
RB Claxton Welch: 2 years, $630k
TE Bob Christensen: 1 year, $210k

We've got two backups back. Should the unthinkable happen and we lose Riggins, Welch will be a serviceable starter.

Week 2 Offers:
RT Bill Hayhoe (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Week 2 Signings:
QB Earl Morrall: 2 years, $1.42 mill.
RB John Riggins: 4 years, $10.12 mill.
RDT Jethro Pugh: 2 years, $670k
SLB Brian Stenger: 3 years, $2.93 mill.
WLB Bill Budness: 1 year, $300k
LCB Carl Lockhart: 2 years, $600k
RCB Dean Brown: 3 years, $1.24 mill.

A lot of key players came back this period. Riggins demanded a high contract and he got one. Frankly, he deserves it. Brown is a major upgrade to our secondary and immediately takes over the right corner slot.

Even after this, we're still $8.9 mill. under the cap. I think I'll go after a big guy now.

Week 4 Offers:
LG Jim Schmedding (San Diego Chargers)

Week 5 Offers:
FB Marv Hubbard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Week 5 Signings:
QB Peter O'Donnell: 3 years, $2.32 mill.
FB Marv Hubbard: 4 years, $1.90 mill.
RT Bill Hayhoe: 5 years, $6.01 mill.

Peter's a 6 year veteran who was drafted by the Falcons late in the 3rd round in the 1971 draft. He's never really gotten a chance to prove himself, though he played exceptionally well when he started 5 games for Atlanta last year. Hence, he gets a contract from us and will start this year, as Jones demands too much money and thus won't be resigned. Hayhoe and Hubbard are mainstays on the team who will return to their respective roles.

Week 6 Losses:
LG Jim Schmedding (Oakland Raiders) 4 years, $9.69 mill.

Well, we offered him over $10 mill, but in the end he decided he fit the Silver and Black the best. Rough loss for us, so we'll have to see what else is available. Either that, or dip into the draft.

Week 7 Offers:
LG Jake Kupp (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Week 7 Signings:
FL Dennis Homan: 3 years, $1.08 mill.
LDT George Seals: 3 years, $5.20 mill.

Week 7 Losses:
CB Art McMahon (Houston Texans)

Homan returns to be our backup deep threat. Seals is a massive signing that will let us move Rowe to backup duty. McMahon wasn't anything more than a dime back, so his loss doesn't mean much.

Week 9 Signings:
LG Jake Kupp: 1 year, $390k

Kupp returns for one more year, but don't look for him to stay with us past this season.

So with $4.7 mill under the cap, we head into the draft. Huh, Bert Jones is still on the team and has 3 years remaining on his contract. I don't remember resigning him. In fact, I know I didn't this season. Maybe I did earlier or something.

Well, I'll do the draft later. Cough is kicking up again. Damn virus.

WLB Bill Budness (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LCB Carl Lockhart (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Izulde · 10-09-2005, 09:34 AM

WR Steve Largent looks like the clear #1 pick to me, rated at 50/76. As far as I'm concerned, there's no real pressing need areas on the team. It'll probably be a case of best player available.

1976 1st Round Draft Picks
1. DE Lee Roy Selmon - Oklahoma (Washington Redskins)
2. DE Mack Mitchell - Houston (Oakland Raiders)
3. T Joe Devlin - Iowa (Houston Texans)
4. RB Archie Griffin - Ohio State (Los Angeles Rams)
5. T Jackie Slater - Jackson State (San Diego Chargers)
6. G Glenn Bujnoch - Texas A & M (Minnesota Vikings)
7. DT Bob Bryant - Illinois (Carolina Panthers)
8. S Gary Fencik - Yale (Indianapolis Colts)
9. QB Nate Najera - Mississippi (Cincinnati Bengals)
10. S James Hunter - Grambling (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Okay, so I have a really big need area at S. Willie Brown is getting up there in years and there's nobody behind him that I have faith in. Sorry, but you get to fall a little more, Steve.

11. CB Gary Barbaro - Nicholls State (St. Louis Cardinals)
12. DE Karl Meier - Notre Dame (New England Patriots)
13. WR Steve Largent - Tulsa (Miami Dolphins through Philadelphia Eagles through Tennessee Titans)

Largent finally goes, after two trades were made. Wow, amazing. The Titans got ripped as they got a LT with great pass blocking and strength, but 0 run blocking and a 4 endurance. Not much good he's going to do. The Eagles picked up G Bob Kuechenberg, a phenomenal player, from the Dolphins, so they made out well.

14. WR Henry Marshall - Missouri (Baltimore Ravens)

Bet they're pissed that they just missed out on Largent.

15. RB Mike Pruitt - Purdue (Jacksonville Jaguars)
16. DE Kim Bokamper - San Jose State (New York Giants)
17. DT Mike Dawson - Arizona (Seattle Seahawks)
18. ILB Reggie Williams - Grambling (Detroit Lions)
19. T Pat Donovan - Stanford (Green Bay Packers)
20. CB Mike Haynes - Arizona State (Dallas Cowboys through Philadelphia Eagles)

Boy, the Eagles sure don't want to draft this time around. They must be loading up for a Super Bowl run.

21. G Tom Glassic - Virginia (Miami Dolphins)
22. T Mark Concar - Colorado (New Jersey Jets)
23. G Wes Hamilton - Tulsa (New Orleans Saints)
24. G Rod Walters - Iowa (Cleveland Browns)
25. T Ross Bolinger - San Jose State (Buffalo Bills)
26. DT Lee Watt - Air Force (Atlanta Falcons)
27. WR Pat Tilley - Louisiana Tech (Dallas Cowboys)
28. T Brad Oates - BYU (Denver Broncos)
29. G Matt Binn - West Virginia (Chicago Bears)
30. T Rick Blades - Marshall (Pittsburgh Steelers)
31. S Sedrick Monds - Nebraska (San Francisco 49ers)
32. RB Joe Washington - Oklahoma (Kansas City Chiefs)

Tampa Bay 1976 Draftees:
Round 1: S James Hunter (Grambling)
Round 2: FB Tony Galbreath (Missouri)
Round 2: FL Aundra Thompson (Small College)
Round 3: P Brett Flanigan (UCLA)
Round 4: ILB Blaine Rosenberg (Rutgers)
Round 5: QB Louie Anthony (Oregon State)
Round 6: LG Kendrick Hancock (Mississippi)
Round 7: RT Brian Madison (Arizona)

I get a joke offer from the Falcons after the draft for Bill Stanfill. Not happening.

Tampa Bay 1976 Draftees:
Round 1: FS James Hunter (23/63)
Round 2: FB Tony Galbreath (39/63)
Round 2: FL Aundra Thompson (20/46)
Round 3: P Brett Flanigan (41/70)
Round 4: ILB Blaine Rosenberg (23/48 after shifted to WLB)
Round 5: QB Louie Anthony (13/46)
Round 6: LG Kendrick Hancock (10/37)
Round 7: RT Brian Madison (10/26)

Izulde · 11-14-2005, 12:07 AM

Time to dust this off again.

We go through Late Free Agency without signing or losing anyone. All the rookies get signed before training camp as well, and we're still $3.35 million under the cap. Good news.

Post training camp evals.

1971 Draftees:
1st round: RB John Riggins 76/76 (-5/-5)
2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 57/62 (+1/+1)
3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 58/58 (+0/+0)
4th round: WLB Charles Musso (Cut before the 1973 season: Non-contributor)
5th round: LCB Allen Turner (Not re-signed after 1973 season: Occasional dime back)
6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season)
6th round: QB Jim Plunkett (Traded to Baltimore prior to 1974 season: #2 QB)

Ouch! Not sure what caused the sudden drop with Riggins here. Stowe seems to have maxed out and Joyner keeps improving little by little.

1972 Draftees:
1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (36/43) (+1/-1)
3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (Not brought back 1976; an absolute bust)
4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (23/45) (+2/+0)
5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (Cut from team before 1973 season)
6th Round: RB John Sykes (Unsigned after 1974 season: 3rd string back)
7th Round: K Chester Marcol (Cut from team prior to 1972 season)

The wretchedness of this draft class continues. Once the 1972 class bites it, I think we're in serious trouble. Christensen and Okoniewski are backup guys at best.

1973 Draftees:
1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 63/64 (+9/-3)
2nd round: RG Bob Peterson (Allowed to walk 1976. Backup player)
3rd round: FS Les Fouse 22/36 (Not brought back 1976. Little-used)
4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 16/38 (Not brought back 1976. Never saw field)
5th round: TE James Thaxton 48/55 (+6/+0)
6th round: FL Ricky Stone (Unsigned after 1974 season: Non-contributor)
7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 15/28 (Not brought back 1976: Non-contributor)
7th round: QB Bret Jones 44/49 (+10/+1)

Van Pelt's ceiling drops some more, to where he's pretty much looking like he's as good as he's going to get. I'll take that. He's an extremely solid guy at MLB and he's improved drastically every year since missing that first training camp. Thaxton has improved so much that I'm going to try trading Kramer to a team that needs a TE. He's earned the chance to start, I think. Bret takes an astronomical leap and will definitely be involved in the free-for-all we have going at starting QB. There's no established QB on this team. We have 3 guys all rated in the mid-40s: Earl Morrall, Peter O'Donnell, and Bert Jones. This class has turned out pretty nicely all in all, after what it originally looked like.

1974 Draftees:
Round 1: QB Dan White 23/52 (+2/+0)
Round 2: SS Pete Wessel 23/26 (+3/-1)
Round 3: RDE Marcus Feliciano 21/39 (+1/-2)
Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler 18/24 (+1/-1)
Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe 15/40 (Not resigned 1976: Non-contributor)
Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller 24/28 (-4/-2)
Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers 21/31 (+0/-1)
Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin 19/29 (Cut before 1975 season: Non-contributor)

You know, this class wouldn't be so bad excepting for the fact that Wessel got arthritis and it killed what looked like a very promising career. The rest of this class is pretty much garbage. I may trade Danny White to clear out the logjam of QBs we have, even though he'll probably blossom elsewhere like Plunkett did. I seem to have trouble with even-number year drafts.

1975 Draftees:
Round 1: DE Randy White 44/65 (+8/-1)
Round 1: DE Mark Mullaney 37/56 (+10/-3)
Round 2: FS Joe Shields 26/45 (+5/-5)
Round 3: RDT Bubba Bridges 20/40 (+2/-1)
Round 4: C Van Haas 27/41 (+1/-2)
Round 5: RB Arnold Weber 32/41 (+2/-0)
Round 6: K Arnold Parker 28/53 (+6/-1)
Round 7: RG Chester Ayers 7/37 (Cut prior to 1975 season: Non-contributor)

I do pretty well in odd numbered years, it seems and this class is bearing that out. Randy and Mark both make fantastic jumps and despite the drop in their ceilings, both of them will be starters on the defensive line this year. Shields and Bridges are iffy, but Haas looks like a respectable backup center, as does Weber as a backup RB. Parker's great season last year shows in the jump he made and he'll stay as our K. All in all, a very solid class.

1976 Draftees:
Round 1: FS James Hunter (25/59) (+2/-4)
Round 2: FB Tony Galbreath (41/60) (+2/-3)
Round 2: FL Aundra Thompson (21/44) (+1/-2)
Round 3: P Brett Flanigan (41/64) (+0/-6)
Round 4: WLB Blaine Rosenberg (25/44) (+2/-4)
Round 5: QB Louie Anthony (14/40) (+1/-6)
Round 6: LG Kendrick Hancock (12/35) (+2/-2)
Round 7: RT Brian Madison (11/26) (+1/-0)

Looks like the curse of the even numbered classes continues. I've got a bad, bad feeling about how this group is going to turn out. Flanigan does become our starting P, though.

Izulde · 11-15-2005, 01:37 AM

Well, we actually wound up with a B for our draft and ended up in the middle of the pack. Not bad. No Green Page players, though that doesn't shock me too much.

Morrall gets first shot at getting his starting job back in the preseason. Jones is the #2 man, with O'Donnell #3. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out. And Thaxton legitimately wrests the starting job away from Kramer, who now, along with Danny White, hits the trading rumour mill.

I shuffled White off to the Steelers for a 4th round pick in '97. Yeah, after just two years, he fell that far in value from a 1st rounder to a 4th rounder. Oh well, he'll fit in as their 3rd string QB. Nobody wants Kramer, so I'm basically stuck with him.

Jones completely outplays Morrall in the preseason and goes in as the starter, like he was for most of the second half of last season. Here's the opening day lineup:

QB Bert Jones*
RB John Riggins*
FB Marv Hubbard
TE James Thaxton*
FL Kendall Joyner*
SE Otto Stowe*
LT Edwin Coles**
LG Jake Kupp
C Jim O'Brian
RG Chuck Hutchinson
RT Bill Hayhoe
LDE Randy White*
LDT George Seals
RDT Dave Rowe
RDE Bill Stanfill
SLB Brian Stenger
MLB Brad Van Pelt*
WLB Chris Hanberger
LCB Ricky Stevenson
RCB Derek Brown
SS Jimmy Warren
FS Willie Brown
P Brett Flanigan*
K Arnold Parker*

*=Acquired through draft
**=Original Buccaneer

I just figured I would throw that in for my own amusement and edification. It seems like I've had the most luck in the draft with the skill positions, and we'll definitely see FB be filled with a draftee of mine once Hubbard departs the team.

The offensive line I can't seem to find anybody, and I can't seem to find anybody on D either, with the exception of the DE spots, where White is already starting and Mullaney may take over soon. Oh and MLB where Van Pelt has become quite good for us.

Team Cohesion Ratings:
Passing: 73 (+12, putting us in the upper half of the league. I suspect the astronomical leap comes from Hubbard and the Riggins/Joyner/Stowe trio from the 1971 class having played together for so long.)
Offensive Line: 57 (-3 and mid-league. The drop doesn't surprise me. We can't keep a consistent o-line or a quality one to save our lives. Damn center injuries.)
Defensive Front: 54 (+6, mid-league. The wholesale changes from last year didn't take long to recover from, as the unit has apparently gelled together quite quickly, even with adding that behemoth LDT George Seals from the mighty Chicago Bears. )
Secondary: 63 (+5, and down to the lower third of the league. Guess everyone else's secondary got it together last season too.)

In the power rankings, we're right in the middle of the NFC, and with the addition of Seals, there's hope that we can challenge for a playoff spot.

Izulde · 11-15-2005, 02:04 AM

Draftee Cuts Before Regular Season:
P Billy Joe Roller
RDE Marcus Feliciano
CB Gilbert Wheeler

Brian McDonald was long since beat out by Arnold Parker for the K job and Travis Gibson was made expendable at FB with the drafting of Tony Galbreath, making his removal an easy choice.

We open our season with a nice, narrow 27-24 win over the division rival New Orleans Saints on the road.

High Points:
Riggins rushing 22 times for 133 yards and a TD. Joyner with 6 catches for 111 yards.

Low Points:
None really, unless you count Edwin Coles getting hurt and definitely out for the next game.

Probably because of that injury, we lose by the annoying score of 27-24 vs. the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2.

High Points
Homan averaging 33.2 yards/KR. Van Pelt with 10 tackles, an assist, and INT. Rowe with 2.0 sacks.

Low Points:
Passing game never really gets off the ground and John Gilliam, our #3 receiver, is out for the entire season. Off inactive comes Aundra Thompson, the raw second raw draft pick, to step into the role of #4 receiver.

The fun doesn't get any better when we get pounded 30-17 by an NFC North powerhouse, in the case, the Detroit Lions.

High Points:
Seals with 12 tackles and 2 assists.

Low Points:
Everything else, including the following injuries: Riggins, Stevenson, Mullaney, and Lockhart. So there goes our starting RB, our starting LCB, our backup RDE, and our nickelback and backup LCB. Injuries are assraping us this season and it's pissing me off. I'm changing the setting after this season. So we sign street FA LCB Curtis Johnson.

Thanks to all these injuries, we fucking lose to 0-3 Washington 22-17 the next game. I'm pissed.

High Points:
Stowe with 8 catches for 129 yards. Van Pelt with 17 tackles, 6 assists, and a sack. Stenger with 10 tackles, 2 assists, and a sack.

Low Points:
Losing the damn game. And bloody FUCK! Now we lose Dave Rowe, our starting RDT, too!

Fuck this shit. *saves and quits playing for the night*

08-13-2005, 06:56 PM	#5
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Back from work, which kinda sucked today, though Rustie looked damn good in an emerald cami that gave some nice cleavage. But that's neither here nor there. More Bucs fun! Linebackers now. Middle Linebacker: Ellis Fielder: Very good punishing hitter and good special teams player. Other than that, JAG potential speaking. Joseph Flanagan: Has a little more potential than Ellis but not nearly as developed, which is why he's listed as Inactive. Nothing special here, folks. Teddy Baron: Shows some bump and run ability and can hit hard. Some endurance and special teams ability. Overall, I'm not excited about any of our middle linebackers. Strongside Linebackers: Mike Stratton: Easily the best player on the team and the only Buccaneer who is anything more than scorecard trivia in terms of fan popularity. With a 49 rating in that area, he's actually recognized. A 9-year veteran and former first round pick of the Minnesota Vikings, he'll be our lone dominant force. Good endurance, good special teams, powerful hitter who has heavy strength in the pass rush. Unfortunately he hasn't even come close to reaching his potential in technique and he may never do so, even though it was once and is still considered to be very high indeed. Dave Russell: Has potential as a pass rusher and could become a very good special teams guy. Good system guy for a team that has bump and run as their main defensive focus. That won't be our team, though. It seems like too many people use bump and run on here, so I'm going to go with either zone or man-to-man. Weakside Linebackers: Ernest Stokes: Originally appointed the starter, he won't last there. Another guy for the bump and run defense with some pass rush strength. Ronald Miasek: Not developed much but shows more potential than Stokes does. Another guy who seems best fit for the bump and run. Good endurance Wade Vickers: After his conversion, Wade looks very raw but shows a fair amount of potential. Best suited right now for the bump and run, but long-term he seems fitted best for a man-to-man scheme. Courtney Euell: The most potential out of all the weakside 'backers in terms of raw run defense and pass rush technique. While ideally fit for a defensive line spot as he has no concept of schemes, at 234 lbs, he's not allowed to become a DL. May win the starting job just on his potential. And that it's for the linebackers. I'm feeling sleepy so I'm going to go take a nap and do up the secondary when I wake up. Since I'll be more alert and not yawning so much then, I can probably configure my offensive and defensive strategies at that time, too and may even change who my starting QB is. __________________ 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)

08-13-2005, 07:59 PM	#7
CraigSca Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Not Delaware - hurray!	The Bucs really sucked in 1970, so this should be a good read. __________________ She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! She loves you, yeah! how do you know? how do you know?

08-13-2005, 08:01 PM	#8
CraigSca Pro Starter Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Not Delaware - hurray!	Here's a great site for this kind of stuff: http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/ __________________ She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! She loves you, yeah! how do you know? how do you know?

08-14-2005, 04:16 AM	#10
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Thanks, guys. Craig, the link you gave worked beautifully! I may change some of the other teams' helmets too, to reflect the era. And yeah, I'm expecting the Bucs to suck hardcore. I wouldn't surprised if we matched or even exceeded the 0-26 start by the '76 team in their first couple years. __________________ 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)

08-14-2005, 03:37 PM	#11
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Hooray! New old logo is now in the game! I just had to allow distortion so the 35 x 35 ratio could get in there. Along comes the secondary now. Left Cornerback: Lamar Reese: Decent endurance and hitting. Could become a good play diagnostician. Most developed in the bump and run, but could be a better zone coverage guy in the end. Ernest Howe: Short and skinny. 5'8" 176. Ironically enough has the most potential at man-to-man, but is of course most developed in bump and run. Hits harder than you might think. Doesn't have a clue as to how to sniff out plays. Right Cornerback: Floyd Browning: Raw, like everyone else, but has upside to become a pretty decent corner overall, particularly in a zone scheme. Most exciting is that he has some interception ability and could turn out average in the end. Rickey Baker: Has potential to be a good run defender and good guy for a zone scenario. Unfortunately also the dumbest guy on the team. Eric Cook: Inactive and the best kick returner on the squad? He's getting activated. Knows the bump and run scheme pretty well, to the tune of 46 rated, highest on the team thus far. Too bad I'm not using the bump and run. Mildly hard hitter, too. Barry Hawkins: Roster filler. Too much like the other guys. Let's move along. Strong Safety: Daryl Moore: Good hitter with some endurance, interception ability, the highest so far actually, and special teams talent. I like him better as a cornerback, truth be told, so let's switch him over. On second thought, let's not. He's predicted to have a drop in ratings. Frank Salas: Inactive but he's got potential to be a great play sniffer and is actually a decent playmaker already (new high on interceptions on the team with 46). Not a hard hitter, but I think he may be able to move to CB? He's expected to drop if I move him, but I really think he's best suited as a LCB Before: 16/42 After: 9/28 ...Oops. Quentin Hammett: Good hitter with some endurance and interception talent. Has potential to become a good zone guy. The nominal starter, which I agree with. Also the secondary leader. Free Safety: Kelly Walsh: Good bump and run player and some special teams ability with the potential to get pretty good. Eh, this guy looks like he has value, so I may trade him. Martin Poole: My mistaken conversion. He sucks, end of story. Gameplan: .... Uh okay, this is way more complex than TCY. In fact, I'm completely lost. Right. Well, we're going to suck this season anyway, so it doesn't matter. But in future seasons, I want to run a Zone Defense and have an I-Formation based offense. That much I know. Power runners, that type of thing. As for a passing game setup, I'm not sure. That I still need to think about. I shop Kelly Walsh, but nobody wants him. Damn it! Okay, here's the new preseason lineup. Offense: QB: Bubba King (13) (I decided I want to run an intermediate passing game for now) RB: Gene Crowder (46) FB: Travis Gibson (42) TE: Ralph Ishler (86) FL: Seth Swanson (80) SE: Wes Major (81) LT: Edwin Coles (78) LG: Bryant Gosselin (73) C: Zach Burgess (55) RG: Ronnie Arrington (71) RT: Ethan Conway (59) P: Leonard Hutton (5) K: Cornelius Middleton (12) PR: Max Freeman (FL) KR: Eric Cook (RCB) Richie Torrice (RB) Defense: LDE:Joel Peltier (70) LDT: Mike McBath (77) RDT: Ben Hill (76) RDE: Mickey Irwin (93) SLB: Mike Stratton (56) MLB: Ellis Fielder (53) WLB: Courtney Euell (96) LCB: Lamar Reese (35) RCB: Eric Cook (34) Our first exhibition game we lose, 26-21, to the Bengals. Closer score than I'd anticipated. WTF? Why is Coster the QB? Williams is returning kicks? What in the fuck is going on here? Nice game by Stratton with 2 INTs. @$#%!@%$!$@%@!$#%!@$~@ The fucking thing reset EVERYTHING I did with my depth charts! UGH! __________________ 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)

08-12-2005, 03:38 PM	#2
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Hooray! I got accepted into Wyoming! I'll be busier than hell over the next couple weeks so probably won't be updating my dynasties as much as I'd like to, but we'll see how it goes. Let's get back to my lovely, terrible Bucs. Tight Ends: Wayne Davis: Okay blocking strength, good at yards after the catch, long snapping, and showing courage over the middle. Has some real potential to turn into a very good run blocker and a good routerunner. Ralph Ishler: Decent deep threat, good blocking strength and long snapping. Shows ability in other areas that Wayne doesn't, but doesn't seem to have all that much upside compared to Davis. Nominally the starter. Mickey Stokes: Good courage and decent deep threat. His potential is probably the perfect blend of Davis and Ishler, except that he has hardly any blocking strength to speak of. Still, has the possibility of becoming the best receiver out of the bunch when all is said and done. I think I'm going to keep Ishler at the starter and have Davis as the #2 man. Mickey can stay stuck at #3. While I like my TEs to be receivers, if he's that weak at blocking, he has no place on the current team. Man with all these one year rookie contracts, I'm really going to have to reconstruct this team at the end of the year. I'm beginning to feel like Quiksand's affinity dynasty. Flankers: Maurice Sanford: Oh great. We only have one flanker. I've been playing on making a trade with the Dolphins because the 'Fins were my favourite team as a kid and I especially love these early 70s Dolphins (though I wasn't born until '79) but it looks like I'm going to have to get me a flanker. Good YAC and clutch third down catching ability. That's about it. Has potential to turn into a slightly subpar guy and avoiding drops and could be good at adjusting to the ball with time. Split Ends: Darrin Williams: Good deep threat. Has some potential but meh, overall I can see why he's on the inactive list. Max Freeman: Let's see here. Decent at YAC, shows flashes of ability at clutch third-down receiving and at punt returning. Has the potential to become pretty surehanded, a decent routerunner, and a pretty good YAC guy. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, I'm changing him to a FL. Before the change: 14/34 After the change: 14/34 Huh, no change. I suppose that isn't bad, but I've seen in QS's dynasty how some guys shoot up somewhat after you change their positions and it's not like Maxie Pad could get any worse. Oh well, moving right along. Wes Major: Good deep threat and special teamer. Shows flashes of YAC, where he could turn out to be good, and third down receiving. Has the potential to become okay at avoiding drops and could become very good at making adjustments on the fly to crappy QBs. Martin Poole: A guy who shows flashes at a lot of things and potential at a couple things, namely clutch third-down receiving, courage, and punt returns. I want to try him at TE, but the game won't let me convert his position to that. Still, not really the guy I see as a SE type, but by the same token, I don't really see him as a FL either, because his route running sucks so bad. While the nominal starter at SE, I like Major a lot better. Hmm, we only have 1 FS on the roster, so I'll say hell with it and convert Martin to that. Before: 18/32 After: 6/19 Oops. Oh well, it was worth a shot. I didn't really like him anyway, so he'll go bye-bye at the end of the year. Seth Swanson: On the inactive list, but he shows potential to be a pretty decent stickyhands and route runner. Shows some courage now and could be an all right clutch receiver and adjuster. Yeah, he looks like another FL candidate, so I'll switch. Before: 13/37 After: Same Hmm maybe FL and SE are interchangable when switching positions? Just a thought, though I'm sure a lot more research has been done. Incidentally, I've discovered that there's a minimum weight requirement, at least 215 lbs, to be converted to TE, as Seth had that option, whereas Martin didn't at 201 lbs. Well, that takes care of the receivers and I've got some Wyoming-related errands to run, so I'll take care of the OL and P/K when I get back. __________________ 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)

08-12-2005, 10:06 PM	#3
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	And I'm back! Shopping was oh so totally blast, but I'm not here to talk about the past. We've more Bucs to review so let's hop to it. Centers: Jason Wagner: Inactive. Very good long snapper and has some potential to turn into a decent center, except that he's weaker than Macaroni Man. Ethan Conway: The presented listed starter, blocks with a bit more strength than Wagner and could turn into a pretty good run blocker. Never will be much of a pass blocker though. 6'4" 313 lbs. May switch to guard. Zach Burgess: Strongest blocking center on the team and has potential to be an average guy if he develops to his full potential. Also has the highest endurace. Left Guard: Bryant Gosselin: The only LG on the roster, he has decent blocking strength and some endurance. That's about it. Potentialwise he could be a mediocre passblocker. Not impressed with him at all. Right Guard: Ralph Williamson: Some strength and a little endurance. Could turn into an okay run blocker. Lamar Huntley: The listed starter, with average blocking strength and no endurance. Has the potential like Williamson to become an acceptable run blocker. Ronnie Arrington For some reason is inactive. Has about the same amount of strength as Ralph and more endurance. Ditto the potential for runblocking and passblocking. Williamson and Arrington are going to switch places on active/inactive. Left Tackle: Edwin Coles: Decent blocking strength and some endurance. Could turn out to be an okay passblocker. Right Tackle: Harold Swanson: Inactive. Some blocking strength, could turn into an average passblocker. What is this guy doing at RT? At 6'6" 347, he's bigger than Edwin, so I'm switching him to LT. Before: 13/36 After: 11/33 Not too bad a drop and maybe he'll grow into the position. Trevor Holbert: Inactive. Has no strength to his blocking whatsoever, so that renders his potential to be a pretty good runblocker moot. Scottie LaPierre: He's from Minnesota. I hate Minnesota. Still, from his potentials, he looks as though he could be a mildly acceptable backup center someday, so I'm going to switch him there and move Conway over to RT. Scottie Before: 11/40 Scottie After: 10/45 Hah! I knew he was better suited to center! Conway Before: 16/49 Conway After: 7/38 Umm I fucked up. I made him a RG by accident, where he dropped to 95% of his ratings, then to RT, where he fell to 87% of his ratings. Sorry, Ethan! No more Buccaneer time for you! Charles Lopes: Gets to be the starter according to my head coach because he has blocking strength and endurance in relatively high abundance compared to his tacklemates. Pfft. Whatever. I'm going to inactive his ass. My punter is actually somewhat acceptable and my kicker sucks. That's all you need to know, since punters and kickers are the Parisian prostitutes of football. You know, a million a franc? So with that in mind, here's the starting offense after much debate: QB: Chuck Blair (1) RB: Gene Crowder (46) FB: Travis Gibson (42) (Also the main back in passing situations) TE: Ralph Ishler (86) FL: Seth Swanson (80) SE: Wes Major (81) (We only have one SE on the roster now but I'm not worried about that) LT: Edwin Coles (78) LG: Bryant Gosselin (73) C: Zach Burgess (55) RG: Ronnie Arrington (71) RT: Ethan Conway (59) (Even after the fuckups of switching, he's still the best RT) P: Leonard Hutton (5) K: Cornelius Middleton (12) PR: Max Freeman (FL) KR: Richie Torrice (RB) (It's sad when our highest rated KR is 14) Seth Swanson (FL) The defense I'll get to either later tonight or sometime tomorrow. Oh by the way, does anyone have the little helmet icon with the old Buccaneers helmet? The one with orange stripes and the orange pirate logo, used in the days of bright orange as the uniforms? Not only will it fit this dynasty better, but I liked it a lot better than the current logo. Thanks. __________________ 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)

08-13-2005, 11:00 AM	#4
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Hrm still no mini-old Bucs helmet luck in finding. (Yeah I know that's awkwardly worded) Oh well, hopefully I'll come across it somewhere else. I'm going to cram the defensive line in now, real quicklike before work. Left Defensive End: Joe Peltier: Best thing that can be said about him is that he has endurance, the best out of the entire team so far. He's also got potential to be something of an ironman in that regard. Sadly for the rest of it, he's terrible and will never be anything more than mediocre. Still the nominal starter. Chad Gertz: Inactive, but shows great potential as a run defender and a diganoser of plays. At 6'5" 299, he's not really big enough to be a defensive tackle in my eyes but he's evidently considered too fat to be a LB, so what the hell... I'll try switching him to LDT and see what happens. Before: 9/36 After: 9/38, with huge jumps in pass rush technique and play diagnosis potential. Nice, very nice. Right End: Wade Vickers: Could be a good run defender and diagnoser of plays, but 6'2" 248 means he's too damn small to be DT. He actually looks more suited to the secondary. Eh what the hell... let's try switching him to WLB, where he may challenge for a starting spot. Before: 11/38 After: 10/42 Not bad. He took a small hit in a couple areas and went up in a few others. J.B. Doggett: Has the potential to be a slightly mediocre player and has the best pass rush strength out of all the DL looked at so far with 32. Andy Noriega: The nominal starter due largely to his endurance and punishing hitter ratings. Meh, I don't know if he'll stay that way or if Doggett will get the nod. Left Defensive Tackle: Mike McBath: Damn this guy hits hard. 100 Punishing Hitter rating. Decent pass strength for this squad (at 37) and could be a real diagnoser of plays. Undersized at 6'3" 264. Oh, he's also one of the guys who actually has experience at the major league level, having been around for three seasons, drafted in the 5th round by the New Orleans Saints. Unfortunately switching him to DE or LB like I was thinking about doing would drop him in ratings, and I like that 100 Punishing Hitter too much to move him. Definite starter. Chad Gertz: The recently converted Mr. Gertz comes off the inactive list after we switched Vickers to a LB, since the game will probably bitch at us about being short of DL if we don't. I like him enough that I'll probably make him McBath's top backup. Mickey Irwin: Good pass rush strength, could become a good pass rusher in time, but unfortunately has zilch for endurance. May get to be a situational guy. 6'1" 288 sounds like a DE to me. Before: 22/46 After: 22/48 He'll instantly step in as the LDE starter as he represents a major upgrade. Right Defensive Tackle: Jack Hickman: Inactive and another guy who looks like a DE candidate with decent pass strength, good endurance, and the potential to become a good pass rusher. Interestingly enough, though he plays on the right side now, he's expected to go up if he switches to LDE and have only minimal change if he moves to RDE. So I'll switch him to LDE and move Irwin to RDE if he doesn't take too big a hit for it. Before: 19/47 After: 17/49 Even exchange rate, essentially. Mickey makes the switch to RDE with no changes at all. Excellent. Hickman comes off the Inactive list and Noreiga goes on it. Ben Hill: The starter even before he became our only RDT on the roster and he'd have stayed there anyway. 323 pounder who has decent all-around potential skills and decent pass strength and endurance. That's it for the defensive linemen and I'm running late for work, so I'm off! Linebackers and maybe secondary too, to come after work sometime. __________________ 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)

08-14-2005, 03:28 AM	#9
Kobeck n00b Join Date: May 2005	Bucs started 0-26 beginning in 1976, but I am sure they would have been even worse had they existed in 1970

08-14-2005, 06:07 PM	#12
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I yank that reset depth charts option right quick. The only change in starters is that LDE gets replaced by #90, Jack Hickman. A couple of injuries in the first preseason game, including Bajawa, who was my top third-down running back. He's out for 9 weeks. Barry Hawkins gets released to bring my players total to 59. Our first win as a franchise comes in Game 2 of the exhibition season, as we top the Jaguars 17-10. Bubba King looked pretty good in his first taste of action as the starter. Ditto Seth Swanson at FL. A heartbreaker of an exhibition loss to our South Florida rivals, the Dolphins, 26-23. Yeah, the games don't count here because it's all about battling for position on the depth chart and whatnot, but I don't care. The Texans beat us 16-10 in the next exhibition game. Blair plays well enough to re-generate starting QB controversy with King. Then the official season gets ready to go underway. We make a slew of cuts and get set to open up the season against the Redskins on the road. I'd code the roster, but frankly there's nobody exciting on this roster outside of the guys I've already mentioned, and it's not letting me just export the roster to Notepad. It's demanding I have a printer. If you guys want, I can put it up I suppose via my old friend Mr. Printscreen. Anyway, our first game. The 'Skins blow us out of the water 58-17. The road to 0-26 or more has begun. Any bright spots to be found on this horrible day? Well, King didn't throw an interception. Major had 5 catches for 123 yards to be our first ever 100+ receiver. Nice to see a split end who can average 24.6 yards a catch. That's about it, though. Week 2 we play at home against Seattle and... BUCCANEERS WIN!!! BUCS WIN!!! Yep that's right, we pulled off the huge, huge, huge 7-6 upset. It took the 1976 real-life Bucs a season and a half to get a win. These 1970 Bucs picked up their first victory in just the second game. The weird thing is, the Seahawks should have dominated us. And yet, they couldn't convert in the red zone. They had to settle for a couple field goals. High Points: Bubba going 16 for 30 to have his first game with higher than 50% completion. Bubba with his first career touchdown. Bubba with his first Player of the Game award. Hutton averaging 42.6 yards a punt. Major picked up another 74 yards on 4 receptions. He's quickly become Bubba's favourite target. Low Points: Everything else just about, though the really annoying part is that for the second straight game, we haven't had a running back so much as break 50 yards. I'm thinking that's going to be a high priority come draft and free agency time. We come back down to earth in Week 3, losing to the Oakland Raiders 35-7. Ah well, at least we have one win to ourselves, no? High Points: Maybe Stratton with his 8 tackles. That's about it. Low Points: Everything else qualifies. In Week 4, Denver tramples us 35-6. I'm beginning to hate the AFC West and their near-identical scores when facing us. High Points: Blair goes 4 for 8, 64 yards in backup duty after the head coach, whoever he is, gets disgusted with King's shitty accuracy. Middleton makes a 51-yarder. Low Points: Again, everything else. Our search for a runner who can get 50 yards continues. Also, RDT Ben Hill, our starter, is listed as out, so Gertz gets a start for the next game... In which we lose to the Saints 17-7. Damn. So close. Well, sort of. High Points: We held someone below 35 points for the first time in a few weeks. Hutton with 43.3 average on punts. Stratton being our first double digit tackler with 10 tackles, 3 assists, and 1 sack. Low Points: Once more everything else. Particularly odius? Bubba's going 9 for 25 and getting sacked 7 times. I've had enough of his inaccuracy. Chuckie's getting the start next game. Well, maybe that wasn't so smart. In Week 6, we get pummeled by the L.A. Rams 23-3. Yes, the L.A. Rams. I moved them back to Los Angeles and shifted the Cardinals over to St. Louis, but I think I already mentioned that. High Points: Blair going 20 for 30 in his first start. Yes, he had an interception, but the high completion % is good to see. Middleton with a 51-yard field goal. Swanson with 7 catches for 95 yards, finally starting to show some potential as a possession receiver. Hutton averaging 48.3 yards a punt. Low Points: This wasn't that bad of a game by us, despite what the final score says. Obviously only scoring 3 points sucked. Oh yeah and we still don't have a runner going for 50 yards or more. Week 7 brings the Bears' bashing of us to the tune of 38-3. Sigh. Looks more and more like that Seattle win in Week 2 was a fluke. High Points: King coming on and going 4 for 8 in backup duty. Sound familiar? Stratton's 8 tackles and 4 assists. Low Points: Just about the rest of the game. Bubba's going back in as a starter. I'm getting sick of only scoring 3 points a game. Bajwa's finally back so I take him off the inactive list. After a moment, I decide to bench Crowder. Yes, Gene is our leading rusher, with 270 yards... after 7 games. I think it's time we gave someone else a chance, like say, Mr. Corew Bajwa. We take the bye week to help recover from some minor, nagging type injuries. Halfway through the season, we're 1-6, actually ahead of the 0-7 Carolina Panthers. We drop to 1-7 with a 28-3 loss to the newly minted 7-1 Kansas City Chiefs. I hate the AFC West, like I said. Oh well, let's see what good came out of this. High Points: Nothing. We played that bad. Low Points: The whole flipping game. Adding insult to injury is that Corey re-injured his hamstring bad enough that he's gone until next year. Damn it. Back comes Gene. Wait a minute. Why didn't I think of this before?! I'll look on the Free Agent market! Sure enough, there's a fourth year guy sitting there, named Don Shy, who totally kicks Crowder's ass in every way. He's a former 2nd rounder of the Giants. Now let's see how much he wants to come aboard. Ideally I'd like to sign him to a multi-year deal, simply because everyone else on the damn team is on a one-year contract. He wants $50,000 for one year. That's actually a pretty fair deal, but I'll see if I can offer him $40,000 for three years. Nope, he just wants a one-year deal. So I offer him $40,000 for the rest of the season, since he's already missed half of it. Turns out $50,000 is the league minimum for players of his experience level. Okay, fine. He signs. Crowder is pissed off as you can imagine, because now his starting spot is gone. Torrice on the other hand, is delighted to have a real leader in the backfield and a Recognized (42) player. Here you go, Don. You're now the starting RB for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, you poor bastard. Wow! Against divison leading 7-1 Atlanta, we put up a hell of a fight before going down 34-24. I'm positively giddy with all the scoring we did in this game. Let's see what the box score says. High Points: Bubba going 19 for 30 and 2 TDs. Swanson showing flashes of possession ability by nabbing 6 catches for 66 yards. Hutton's punt average of 49.8 yards. Euell with 9 tackles, one shy of the double digit standard. Low Points: Don only getting 33 yards in his debut and yeah, everything else. Still, I have faith in Don, so I bump up the starter's share from 1 to 4. I will get a back who rushes for more than 50 yards before this season is out, damn it. And I get it the next game, as Shy Guy rushes for 55 yards. Unfortunately that's nowhere near enough, as the 49ers punch us out 20-7. High Points: Finally getting a back who got 50+ yards. Fielder getting 10 tackles and a sack. Stratton with 9 tackles and 4 assists. Low Points: The usual standard, but I found Bubba's 3 interceptions particularly obnoxious. Remember how Carolina was winless? Remember how they were 0-10 and we were 1-9? Not anymore is that the case, as the Panthers knock us out 7-0. We couldn't score a single damned point. How embarassing, to be shut out by an equally sucky team. High Points: A new high in yardage rushing, coming from, of all people, Torrice. Though the Shy Guy has been disappointing, our main backup has flourished with him around, as the sub gets 64 yards in this matchup. Stratton with 9 tackles. Low Points: Bubba is suddenly interception-prone, as he throws 2 picks here. And blah blah everything else. Next week, we lose 29-0 against Atlanta. Two straight shutouts. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Yep, we need help everywhere, but especially on offense. Only once this year have we broken double digits in the regular season and that was a loss. High Points: Hutton with 43.3 punting average. Low Points: I wouldn't even know where to start bitching here. Our top rusher getting 19 yards? Blair throwing an interception in relief duty? Yeah, we sucked hard this game. And Ben Hill gets hurt again. He's a semi-decent player, but too injury prone for my tastes. Good news: We break double digits for the second time this season. Bad news: We lose 38-10 to the Chargers. High Points: Nothing really jumps out at me, except maybe the double digit scoring and Bubba's getting back to a more acceptable TD-INT ratio with 1:1. Low Points: Our running game continues to suck. Two games we had 50+ yards rushers and have since reverted back to form. Shy Guy, you won't be welcomed back next year. Just when I've cheerfully given up on the season and am greatly looking forward to that delicious #1 selection, the team decides to something to fuck that up... THEY WIN!!!!! Whoohoo! So it fucks up my draft position. I don't care. A win is damn exciting especially when it comes againt a division foe. We upset the Saints 17-9!! High Points: The running game suddenly woke up. Shy Guy heard about my wanting to boot him out evidently, because he busts out for 86 yards. Torrice has this hero worship thing going on with Don, so he chimes in with 75 yards and a touchdown. Do we suddenly have a running game now? Low Points: Bubba finally completes over 50% of his passes again, but he has an underwhelming 109 yards. Cleary he isn't the QB of the future, but none of the guys on the roster are. If Shy Guy and Sidekick Torrice keep it up, I just may be looking at QB in the next draft. WIN STREAK!! WIN STREAK!!! WE HAVE A WIN STREAK IN TAMPA BAY!!!! Yeah, okay, so it was a 9-7 squeaker of a win over the Panthers, but hell, I'll take it, even if my draft slot looks even crummier now. High points: Shy Guy with 60 yards rushing. Yeah it may not seem like much, but I consider it a huge upgrade over what we'd been getting earlier in the season and he seems to have helped ignite the team once he learned the offense. Maybe I'll resign him after all. Hutton with 47.6 average on punts. Middleton going 3 for 3 on FGs. Russell with 8 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks. Wait a minute, maybe that's not so good. Low points: Fuck! I was right. Stratton broke his arm early in the game and is out until next year. Lovely. Well, I'm not going to try and sign someone with only one game left in the year. Our regular season ends with a 13-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams. High points: Sanford becomes our second 100+ yards receiving guy with 6 receptions for 109 yards. Hickman getting 5 tackles, 1 assist, and 2 sacks. Low points: Everything else. Shy Guy's 16 yards rushing was especially disheartening. So that's the regular season wrap. Postseason and all that other rot to come in the next post. Here's a snapshot of the final standings: You know your divison sucks when 7-9 is good enough to be the champs. Check out Dallas and Atlanta. The Cowboys and Falcons totally pwned their divisions. __________________ 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)

08-14-2005, 08:52 PM	#13
aran High School Varsity Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Jersey, USA	Wow.. what a dysmal team! Good season, considering it . I've seen better teams go winless. But... Kansas City goes 15-1! WHOA.

08-14-2005, 10:31 PM	#14
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Tampa Bay 1970 Season Stats: Passing: Bubba King: 15 GP 14 GS 212-436 48.6% 2204 yards 5.05 avg 47 long 7 tds 15 ints 54.6 rating Chuck Blair: 7 GP 2 GS 37-82 45.1% 365 yds 4.45 avg 33 long 0 tds 4 ints 37.9 rating Not a very good year from either of these guys. Bubba was the lowest rated QB out of all the qualifying starters in the NFL. I still might bring him back next year though, for the heck of it. Chuckie won't be back. Rushing: Richie Torrice 16 GP 0 GS 114 rushes 441 yds 3.86 avg 27 long 3 TDs Don Shy 8 GP 8 GS 88 rushes 344 yds 3.81 avg 20 long 0 TDs Gene Crowder: 7 GP 7 GS 78 rushes 270 yds 3.46 avg 17 long 2 TDs Most of Richie's yards came after the boost he got from Shy Guy's signing. I'll probably keep both those guys around for next year and beyond, until we can get someone better. Besides, Shy Guy was my first signing so I've gotten oddly attached to him. I also really love the nickname Shy Guy. Brings back Super Mario Bros. 3 memories. Receiving: Wes Major: 16 GP 14 GS 51 rec 625 yds 12.2 avg 9 drops 2 TDs Maurice Sanford 16 GP 5 GS 46 rec 547 yds 11.8 avg 12 drops 0 TDs Seth Swanson: 16 GP 16 GS 43 rec 472 yds 10.9 avg 4 drops 0 TDs Darrin Williams: 16 GP 1 GS 43 rec 408 yds 9.4 avg 5 drops 3 TDs Ralph Ishler: 16 GP 15 GS 25 rec 254 yds 10.1 avg 3 drops 2 TDs Travis Gibson: 16 GP 11 GS 13 rec 96 yds 7.3 avg 0 drops 0 TDs It looks like the head coach did some screwing around on his own with some of the fullback and receiving starters. Major looks to be a keeper, and though Swanson didn't have any TDs, I'd like to give him another crack. Ishler was decent as the starting TE and Gibson did exactly what I wanted him to as a receiver out of the backfield. Poole averaged 11.0 yards a punt return, so he may be worth keeping for that, or I may go find someone else in the draft who can fill the role. Nobody exciting as a kick returner, but I didn't expect them to be. Hutton finished with a respectable 41.2 per yard average on punts. I'll probably resign him. Middleton only made 70% of his field goals. That won't cut it. I don't feel like writing out the umpteen defensive stats by hand and I really, really wish Jim would create an option where you could just export stats to Notepad with a touch of the button like you can with FBCB. In fact, I'm going to put that in the suggestion thread a little later on. Lead tackler was Mike Stratton with 83 tackles and 36 assists. Second was Ellis Fielder, good for 73 tackles and 28 assists. Hopefully we'll have someone break the 100 tackle mark one of these years. Jack Hickman led us in sacks with 6.5, followed by Mickey Irwin with 5.5. Chad Gertz was a pleasant pass-rush surprise with 3.0 sacks in just 6 games started, though he did play for all 16 contests. Backup safety Daryl Moore led the team in interceptions with 3. Pass defense tied with 7 between Eric Cook and Lamar Reese, my two starting corners. Though I thought Chicago was going to win the Super Bowl, that didn't happen. Instead, Pittsburgh and Seattle squared off in the Super Bowl, with the Seahawks upending the Steelers 24-13 to win the 1970 NFL title. 1970 Major Awards: MVP: FL Ken Burroughs Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl MVP: QB Alonzo Fitzgerald Seattle Seahawks Coach of the Year: Cornell Donaldson Seattle Seahawks Offensive Player of the Year: RB Chuck Mercein New York Jets Defensive Player of the Year: MLB Jimmy Gunn Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Odell Lawson Cleveland Browns Defensive Rookie of the Year: MLB Jimmy Gunn Jacksonville Jaguars Can you say Mr. Gunn is going to be a very, very scary man? Yes, yes, I think you can! Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards: P Leonard Hutton All-Pro First Team Wow. I knew he had a good year, but I didn't know it was good enough to make him an All-Pro. Now I have to resign him, because he was our first All-Pro. So it's on to the staff hiring phase we go. Everyone on the team is under contract staffwise and I'm more or less okay with them. No need for overhauls just yet, so I skip all the rest of the stages. Time to import the draft, if I can figure out how to do that. Okay, downloaded the 1971 draft file off the site and imported it into the game. Let's just hope I did it right. So... now free agency begins and I have to resign EVERYONE. Joy. This is the reason why I don't do dynasties like Quiksand's Affinity Dynasty, because it'd drive me nuts having to resign everybody every year. Salary cap jumped from $10 million to $13.7 million in one year. That's nice to see, though I'm still likely to make some boneheaded mistakes on this one. Nobody is worth the franchise designation, obviously, so let's dive right into it, shall we? As free agency begins, I find myself wandering over to the draft preview first. We've got the #4 selection and as I look over the players, a lot of the top guys seem to be RB, WR, and defensive backs. I'm going to resign Shy Guy anyway. The highest potential belongs to some tackle named Dan Dierdorf. My guess is he'll wash out and end up as an announcer. But that's the draft and I'll worry about that when I get to it. The thing now is to go reassemble a team. I won't bore you with all the mindnumbing details, but I'll let you know who all gets resigned and for what. The dollar amounts will be the total value of the contract, since most of these guys are going to be min sal. Immediate Re-Signings: QB Bubba King: 3 years, $200k RB Richie Torrice: 1 year, $50k FB Travis Gibson: 2 years, $110k TE Ralph Ishler: 2 years, $110k FL Seth Swanson: 3 years, $180k SE Wes Major: 3 years, $180k RG Ronnie Arrington: 3 years, $190k LT Edwin Coles: 3 years, $200k P Leonard Hutton: 2 years, $110k LDE Jack Hickman: 1 year, $60k LDT Mike McBath: 3 years, $270k RDT Chad Gertz: 2 years, $110k (Switched to RDT after his nice job filling in for Ben Hill there last season. Little change in ratings) RDT: Ben Hill, 2 years, $110k WLB Courtney Euell: 3 years, $180k SS Daryl Moore: 1 year, $50k SS Quentin Hammett: 3 years, $180k LCB Lamar Reese: 2 years, $110k All told 17 players out of 51 were resigned before I even started looking elsewhere. I eliminated a lot of the chaff and concentrated on the players I wanted to keep. My ideal goal is to run a Zone Defense as I said, and most of the defensive guys were bump and run types. Quite a few of the ones I resigned still are B n R developed, but I'm hoping the defensive coordinator will buy a clue and switch the D to Zone more and more as time goes on. I was happy to get McBath back right away and for relatively cheap. Shy Guy and Stratton are still sitting on the offers I've given them. A lot of real high-quality guys available on the market, the biggest of whom is RCB Elijah Nevett, formerly of the AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. But I'm looking for people who don't give a shit about winning too much and are still good players. I've got a ton of holes to fill here. Offers Made Stage 1: RB Don Shy (Tampa Bay) SLB Mike Stratton (Tampa Bay) C Don Maples (Houston Texans) SS Jimmy Warren (Oakland Raiders) Offers Made Stage 2: RCB Clancy Williams (Los Angeles Rams) LDT Dave Rowe (New Orleans Saints) RCB Willie Brown (Oakland Raiders) After Stage 2 ended, we had the following signings: RB Don Shy: 2 years, $200k SLB Mike Stratton: 3 years, $370k RCB Wille Brown: 4 years, $740k RCB Clancy Williams: 4 years, $1.68 mill This bumped us up to 21 players signed and $12.1 million under the cap. I overpaid for Williams, I admit, but he was a Fan Favourite, so I was hoping he'd boost the income at the ticket office. Brown was a popular player too, and the new secondary leader. I decided to move him over to LCB. He took a few small hits, but nothing to bug about. The perfect guy for my new dream zone defense, too. One thing was for sure, the quality of this team's secondary had just taken an astronomical leap. I didn't make any new offers in Stage 3. Week 3 Signings: LDT Dave Rowe: 3 years, $380k SS Jimmy Warren: 3 years, $450k The upgrade of our secondary continued with Jimmy's signing. We were now set at SS. Dave became our new defensive front leader and I couldn't help but think that the Raiders were a little frustrated. We'd stolen their starting strong safety and their nickelback from last season. Their secondary was going to be in for a major overhaul. Week 4 Offers: TE Kent Kramer (Minnesota Vikings) K Gino Cappelletti (New England Patriots) Week 4 Signings C Bobby Maples: 4 years, $1.48 mill. TE Kent Kramer, 3 years, $380k My two current starting receivers, Swanson and Major, were both ecstatic to see Kent come aboard and become our new position leader. I liked him a lot myself, especially at that price. Bobby's our most expensive signing thus far, but he's worth every damn penny. He may not be the strongest blocker or have the hottest endurance, but he's got blocking technique like you wouldn't believe. Oh I almost forgot. Rowe's signing means McBath now becomes a backup. With the money I've put into Mr. McBath, I'm not so sure I like that, so I'll see if anybody wants him. Okay, he was a dirt cheap signing, but I'll look around anyway. Damn, a ton of teams want him. The Bengals, Texans, Saints, Redskins, Colts, Dolphins, Jaguars, Vikings, Patriots, Panthers, Rams, and Ravens all have 99 wantage. That's 12 teams, almost half the league! But I know who I want my trade partner to be. I've coveted one of those 70s Dolphins ever since I started this dynasty. After looking over the roster, I decide LDE Billy Stanfill would be the best choice. He's one of the guys I recognize the most, along with the obvious of Csonka, Kiick, Griese, Nicky B, etc. Naturally my favourite childhood team and new favourite team again now that they ditched Wannestadt tells me to get stuffed with that offer. I go looking again, wondering where the hell Mercury Morris went. Then, I spot him. I loved the Dolphins backs of the 70s. Mercury looks like the Dolphins might be better willing to let him go, as he was just a part-timer for them in this universe's 1970. Damn! Mercury's a fan favourite (No shit) so the Dolphins won't go for it. Ditto with Nicky B. Ugh. Time to look at the other teams. I check the Colts, since I know former Dolphin QB Earl Morrall's old ass is on there. He'd be a great mentor type for Bubba and whatever young gun I get in the draft. Indy, or what should really be Baltimore, wants just a little bit more for him than just McBath, so I offer up my 1973 7th rounder. They want something a little higher. Okay, how about 1973 6th rounder? Nope. Higher yet. If Earl wasn't a former 'Fin, I'd tell them to go get fucked, but I'm desperate for a former Dolphin. Yeah okay, he didn't go to Miami until 1972 in reality, where he was a backup QB and part of the Perfect Season, but I don't care. He still counts as a Dolphin to me. It takes McBath and my 1973 5th rounder, but it finally works. Earl Morrall comes to South Florida a year early and for the Other team down there, but guess what? He becomes my instant starter and we're actually looking as though we'll be a respectable team in '72. In all this trading excitement, I forgot all about free agency. Ironically enough, Cappaelletti just got an offer that's for a year more and significantly nicer from Miami. Yeah okay, like they're going to ditch Garo. Maybe they are. ...That would have been sweet, but eh, what the hell... I'll try and get Stoyanvich when his draft year comes up. Week 5 Offers: FB Marv Hubbard (No team) Week 5 Signings: FB Marv Hubbard, 2 years $130k Strictly a roster filler minimum signing, but his blocking could very well knock Gibson out of the starting FB spot. Week 6 Offers: WLB Bill Budness (Oakland Raiders) Week 6 Signings: K Gino Cappaelletti: 4 years, $1.49 million Guess he realized there was no way he was going to unseat Garo. That's okay though. He should be a great kicker for me, or at the very least an upgrade over Middleton. No offers or signings in Week 7. Week 8 Offers: SLB J.R. Williamson (New England Patriots) No Week 8 signings or offers in Week 9. Week 9 Signings: SLB J.R. Williamson: 3 years, $390k WLB Bill Budness: 2 years, $220k If I were the Patriots, I'd hate me even more than the Raiders. Sure the Patsies were 1-15, but I swiped their starting K and their All-Pro 1st team SLB, the latter gotten for literal peanuts. Williamson will definitely challenge Stratton for the starting job on the strong side. Budness is another former Raider, making it three Oakland guys I've stolen in free agency. Hehe, I'm such a bastard. From now on, I'm just going to put when I make offers and when signings of note occur. Everything else just doesn't matter and stuff. Oh unless that RCB signs with the 93 rating. As it turns out, we do nothing else in the first half of free agency. At the end of it, we've got 29 players signed and are just over $11 million under the cap. Not a bad setup if you ask me. Let's take a look position by position where we're at going into the draft: Quarterback: Earl Morrall: 12 year vet and a slightly above-average all-around quarterback. He's best at the long balls, so that should open up our passing game. Not the greatest at reading defenses or timing his passes, but adequate enough. Specializes in the 2-minute drill, avoiding fumbles, and beating the rush. Bubba King: Last year's starter, essentially. Still extremely raw, but could turn into an adequate backup. Final Position Notes: We'll definitely want to think about grabbing somebody here, but we won't spend our first-rounder on one. A later-round selection is quite possible. Running Back: Don Shy: Played half the season with us last year. Our line should be improved, so we'll get a chance to see what Shy Guy can do with a full season and a lot better team around him. Richie Torrice: Last year's leading rusher and somebody that's around just for continuity's sakes. Final Position Notes: There's a couple of really good RBs in this draft, John Riggins in particular. If Riggins falls, we'll pick him. If not, then eh.. I'm not sure about that one. Riggins I'm really high on though. Fullback: Marv Hubbard: While originally just a minimum free-agent signing, the truth he is, he represents an immense upgrade over Gibson, last year's starter. He's the man at FB now. Travis Gibson: Last year's starter, he's still the guy to slot in when we need a receiver out of the backfield. Final Position Notes: Not an area of need in the least. Tight End: Kent Kramer: Excellent passblocker and route-runner. Really a nice fit for us, I think, provided the head coach and offensive coordinator get him in the mix, since I'm lost on gameplanning and just letting them set things. Ralph Ishler: Last year's starter makes a good backup TE. Final Position Notes: Maybe a late-round pickup is in order here, but I'll probably just get some roster filler here. Flanker: Seth Swanson: Although a starter last year, when I look at how much we've upgraded the other areas on this team, I realize how much of a crisis we're at in this regard. Final Position Notes: I'm not going to repeat this for SE, so consider this the same note for both positions. We desperately need someone who can step into a starting role and take over for one of these guys. There really wasn't much available in free agency, so if Riggins doesn't drop, then WR becomes a primary target. Split End: Wes Major: Our leading receiver last year, he's still good enough to be a 3rd or 4th receiver for us in a couple years as we upgrade this position. Having Morrall throwing to him will help immensely, I think. Center: Bobby Maples: None of the guys we had here last year impressed me at all, so Bobby was signed. A great guy to have in the middle, he'll really help stabilize our line this year. Final Position Notes: We need a backup here. Possibly a mid-round selection in the draft. Either that or I'll look at the guys left in post-draft free agency, as there were a couple that seemed worth getting. Left Guard: We have nobody at LG, so put this as a need area along with WR going into the draft. Right Guard: Ronnie Arrington: Started for us last year, and still has some potential. Better suited to be backup, though. Final Position Notes: WR, LG, and RG. The list of need areas for impact players grows as we go along. Left Tackle Edwin Coles: See Arrington above. The same basic concept applies and so do the position notes. Right Tackle: Like LG, we're bare in this area. Our whole offensive line except for C needs help badly, it seems. Punter Leonard Hutton: Played great for us last year, getting the 1st Team All-Pro nod. We expect good things this year as well. FPN (I'm abbreviating now cuz I like acronyms): Not an area of concern at all. Kicker: Gino Cappelletti: Even if he only hits 76% like he did with the Patsies last year, that's still 6% better than Middleton did. I think he'll have a rebound year myself. FPN: No worries here. My eyes are starting to burn and this finishes off the offensive side of the ball, so I'm going to finish the post here. To summarize: Dire Needs: WR, LG, RT Critical Needs: RG, LT Backup Needed: QB, C Could Use An Upgrade: RB No Worries: FB, K, P Defensive side of the ball probably comes tomorrow. __________________ 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)

08-15-2005, 08:31 PM	#16
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Now let's take a look at the defensive side of the ball. Left Defensive End: Jack Hickman: Our starter here last year and team leader in sacks with 6.5. He's improved immensely over how he looked last year and now he's a serviceable backup type player with the potential to grow into a bona fide starter. FPN: Could use an impact starter here, as well as a few bodies. Right Defensive End: As we presently have no RDE's on the roster, this becomes one of the dire spots. Left Defensive Tackle: Dave Rowe: He's tall at 6'6" and pretty big at 293. Not a run defender, but a dominant pass rusher who I may switch to RDE and take the ratings hit on after the draft if we pick up a quality guy there. FPN: If Rowe stays, then we just need a backup. If he switches over to another position and takes the hit, then we'll look at someone else. Right Defensive Tackle: Chad Gertz: Still has potential but hasn't lived up to it. It's questionable whether he ever will, though he filled in okay for Ben Hill after the starter got injured a few times last season. Ben Hill: Injury-prone starter from last season. I'm not too impressed with him to be perfectly honest, but he's more developed than Gertz. FPN: Like the WR positions, we could really use a quality player here over the schlep we currently have. Middle Linebacker: Seeing as we have no MLB's this becomes yet another dire area. Strongside Linebacker: J.R. Williamson: Quite possibly the best run defender in the entire game. Fits best in the zone defense, which is what I'm trying to run here in Tampa, if my head coach and defensive coordinator get the message with the players I'm bringing in. High motor, too. Did I mention he was also a 1st Team All-Pro last year? Mike Stratton: Last year he was the best player on the team. This year he's no more than a very solid backup veteran. This testifies how much we've upgraded the squad I think. FPN: Roster filler is probably need, but that I can just get after the draft. By and large, no worries here. Weakside Linebacker: Bill Budness: Defensive front leader and a good pass-rusher with a fantastic amount of stamina. Also a smart guy who's good at diagnosing plays. Though he was only a backup for the Silver and Black last season, he'll be a starter in the Orange and White this year and I think he'll be damn good, too. Courtney Euell: Last year's starter becomes a backup now. Another one with raw potential that has yet to be realized. FPN: Roster filler again, or possibly even a better backup, but I'd like Courtney to get the chance to try and develop more. Left Cornerback: Lamar Reese: Last year's starter. Not a good guy at all, to be honest, and doesn't have much potential. FPN: Since I moved Willie Brown to FS, this becomes a need area. Right Cornerback: Clancy Williams: Though best in a man-to-man defense, he'll be good in a zone. More importantly he brings a pretty good playmaker to the defense, an awesome special teams player, and another one who can diagnose what the other team is doing. A huge upgrade at this positon. FPN: Backup needed Strong Safety: Jimmy Warren: Another guy who's great in zone defense and great at diagnosing plays. We're going to have a real smart and aware secondary this year. Not as good a playmaker as you might want, but hell, he was a starter in Oakland last year. Raid the Raiders defense we did. I think we've got like three former Raiders on our team this year, all on D. Daryl Moore: Backup last year who may be the odd man out this year. Has potential but hasn't developed it thus far. Quentin Hammett: Last year, he was the starter. This year he probably figures in the nickel or dime package. Could turn out to be a solid dime guy if he develops to his potential, especially in zone coverage. FPN: None needed. Free Safety: Willie Brown: After moving him again, this time to Free Safety, he took a few considerable hits but still looks like a very solid player and the perfect free safety. Extremely hard hitting and a terrific zone guy. FPN: Backup needed. Final Draft List: Dire Needs: FL, SE, LG, RT, RDE, MLB Critical Needs: LT, RG, LCB, RDT Could Use An Upgrade: RB, LDE Backup Needed: QB, C, FS, RCB No Worries FB, K, P, SS __________________ 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)

08-15-2005, 10:31 PM	#17
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	So with my final shopping list in hand, I head into my first ever draft. It'll be interesting to see what pans out. I'll list the first round picks, just for the hell of it. First Round Selections 1. T Dan Dierdorf - Michigan (New England Patriots) 2. CB Leonard Dunlap - Texas (Carolina Panthers) 3. WR Frank Lewis - Grambling (Baltimore Ravens) Dierdorf getting drafted that high surprised me. True, he has the highest potential of anyone in the draft at 82, but he's extremely raw. Then again, when you go 1-15 like the Patsies did, you can afford to pick a raw guy because he'll still be a huge upgrade. I waste no time at all in grabbing the guy I didn't think would fall this far. 4. RB John Riggins - Kansas (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) 5. RB John Profit - Penn State (Houston Texans) 6. OLB Isiah Robinson - Texas Southern (Tennessee Titans) 7. G Stephen Lawson - Kansas (Jacksonville Jaguars) 8. S Ike Thomas - Oregon (Philadelphia Eagles) 9. WR Elmo Wright - Houston (Washington Redskins) 10. CB Leslie Brumfield - North Carolina (Minnesota Vikings) 11. CB Jack Tatum - Ohio State (New Orleans Saints) 12. CB Conrad Giles - Texas A & M (New York Giants) 13. WR Joel Eberhart - Purdue (San Diego Chargers) 14. S Mo Humes - Nebraska (Indianapolis Colts) 15. WR Dwight Harrison - Texas A & M (Los Angeles Rams) 16. S Tim Anderson - Ohio State (Oakland Raiders) 17. WR Rocky Thompson - Texas (Indianapolis Colts)* -Originally the 17th pick was Detroit's, but the Lions traded the pick to Carolina. The Panthers in turn then traded the pick to the Colts, who took Rocky Thompson, the WR I'd been hoping might slip through the cracks to me in Round 2. Detroit Lions receive: LDT Ken Hardy Carolina Panthers receive: Detroit Lions 1971 1st round draft pick (#17) Dumb, dumb trade for the Lions. Hardy may be a strong pass rusher and a powerful hitter, but he can't defend the run and doesn't know what technique is. Let's see what Carolina got for it though. Carolina Panthers receive: FL Roy Jefferson Indiapolis Colts receive: Detroit Lions 1971 1st round pick (#17) Interesting. The Colts trade an extremely talented receiver who had 1,266 yards receiving for them last year, only to draft another wide receiver, and a SE at that, something they're already stocked at. Still, I have a hunch that Rocky is going to step in as a starter right away for Indy as a rookie and Jefferson will be electric in the Panthers' offense. Not to mention which, he's signed for 6 years at a very reasonable deal and is entering his 6th season. Beautiful manipulation of the system by the Panthers here in both trades. They gave up a guy who wasn't that great a DT and got a terrific WR is what it essentially boils down to. Smart. Very smart. 18. WR J.R. Kaplan - Penn State (Miami Dolphins) 19. G Ernie Janes - Washington (Buffalo Bills) 20. T Bucky Garner - Georgia (San Francisco 49ers) 21. G Tracy Springer - Oklahoma (Cleveland Browns) 22. DE Josh Williamson - UCLA (Cincinnati Bengals) 23. T Wayne Walton - Clemson (New Jersey Jets) 24. S David Ogden - UCLA (St. Louis Cardinals) 25. DE Dixon Burton - Florida (Dallas Cowboys) 26. FB Ricky Wright - Oklahoma (Denver Broncos) 27. S Norm Thompson - Utah (Green Bay Packers) 28. K Lester Becker - USC (Atlanta Falcons) 29. T Vernon Holland - Tennessee State (Chicago Bears) 30. DE Emmitt Einard - Miami (Kansas City Chiefs) 31. OLB Bernie Wallace - Florida (Pittsburgh Steelers) 32. S Mark Carline - Texas A & M (Seattle Seahawks) No QBs taken so far. I'll let you guys know when the first one is selected. Tampa Bay picks* Round 2: FL Kendall Joyner - Utah Round 3: SE Otto Stowe - Iowa State Round 4: WILB Charles Musso - Colorado Round 5: LCB Allen Tanner - Clemson Round 6: RDE Cornell Daniels - Georgia Tech Round 6: QB Jim Plunkett - Stanford Joyner was a no-brainer pick in the second round and looked like an immediate starter to me. I suspected a run of WRs was due to happen shortly and it did, three of them going right in a row. The third round pissed me off. I was all set to draft OLB Courtney Starks out of Ohio State to play on the weak side and then the Los Angeles Rams jumped up the spot ahead of me and grabbed him. Bastards. Ironically enough, they gave up an OLB who wasn't all that great to the Ravens to get him. There was a SE I sort of liked by the name of Cotton Speyrer. Otto Stowe was another SE that I liked somewhat, mostly for his return abilities, but I wasn't sure if he was worth a high third-rounder, so I decided to trade down. That's when I discover something. None of the bastards below me want to trade draft picks without adding value to the trade. What the fuck is this shit? Quicksand, how are you able to drop and add extra picks? Do I have to trade out of a round altogether? Okay, now I'm disgusted. "Your opponent is unwilling to trade draft picks without adding value to the trade." This from the Jets, who are a full 20 frigging picks below me! This game sucks. You pick-hoarding GM's can all blow me. So in my disgust, I finally decide to go with Stowe. He's more developed and I need somebody who can return stuff for me. First QB taken: Peter O'Donnell - Ohio State Round 3, Pick 28 (Atlanta Falcons) Pretty weak QB draft if the first guy taken was in the late third round. I'm eyeing Jim Plunkett myself as a potential 4th rounder. But then I get to the 4th round and Cotton's still sitting there, waiting to be drafted. Argh, decisions, decisions! Other guys I'm looking at are a couple of DEs, Rex Bronson and Daniel Habib, but I think they'll fall to me in Round 5. Then I spy Charles Musso. Though he's listed as a WILB, I think he can be shifted over to MLB without too much trouble. He's got the highest potential of the ILBs left, and he looks like a high-motor guy who would be perfect against the zone. Not a play diagnostician though, so I may shift him to the outside instead. Denver trades up to get Cotton in Round 4 with the 13th pick. Smart move, I say and a great value at that spot. Damn. There goes Rex Bronson with the 19th pick in Round 4 to Buffalo. I contemplate moving up for Habib, then decide he isn't worth that much to move up and grab him. Round 5 now. Plunkett continues his free fall for reasons unbeknowst to me. I'm deciding I don't like Habib anymore. A low test score makes me wary, especially when he has high violatility. Cornell Daniels becomes a new late round target at DE. LG Darnell Villagomez becomes another possible target for Round 6 or 7, but in the end LCB Allen Tanner becomes the 5th round selection. He's a zone guy with a high test score and playmaking ability. Not the greatest endurance, but could turn into a good nickelback down the line. As a side note, Daniel Habib goes four picks after mine in the 5th round to the Philadelphia Eagles. Fuck. The Patsies take Villagomez with the first pick in the 6th round. As a result, I take Cornell Daniels and hope his 99 volitality and 32 test score mean he's going to boom. Granted, he'd probably last until the 7th round or even as a street free agent, but after having gotten rooked three times this draft, I'm not about to risk another one. It isn't until Round 6, Pick 19 that the second QB in the draft is taken, Buddy Ballew out of LSU by the Bills. This makes me nervous that Plunkett won't last until the 7th round so I decide to try and trade up into the 6th to get him. For our 7th rounder and Lamar Reese, the 49ers take the deal as they're looking for anybody who might be able to upgrade their secondary. I never much liked Reese anyway and he was due to lose his starting job to Tanner as it was. I'm not saying Plunkett is going to be our QB of the future, but he might be. Right now, he's definitely our #2 QB and he'll get to learn from Morrall. I like Jim a lot. He's accurate as hell, has good throwing mechanics, is smart... What's not to like? Two more QBs are taken before what would have been our 7th round pick, so yeah I'm thinking Jim would have been nabbed before our selection came up. Here's what our rookies look like post-draft: RB John Riggins 61/70 FL Kendall Joyner 24/61 SE Otto Stowe 30/44 WILB Charles Musso 11/51, then changed to WLB, after which he became 12/52 LCB Allen Turner 9/41 RDE Cornell Daniels 13/27 QB Jim Plunkett 23/64 And that's a wrap for tonight. Late free agency tomorrow. Or who knows? Maybe I'll get in the mood to keep going and do late free agency some time later tonight. __________________ 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)

08-16-2005, 04:29 AM	#18
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	By the way, if there's a particular player you guys want me to track, just let me know and I'll post seasonal updates for them __________________ 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)

08-16-2005, 07:34 PM	#19
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Ugh. I have to get a menigitis shot today. Yay for being a college student, heh. In fact, I have to go get it in about 10 minutes, but I'm chomping at the bit to get the late free agency period started, so here goes. We got rated a C+ in our draft, third from last. Evidently the draftnicks pissed and moaned that we didn't do enough to upgrade our team at the most criticial areas. That's a pretty fair assessment, I think, though I personally would like to think I did a bit better job drafting than the lowest rated C+, but oh well. Nobody on the Green Page. Damn. Oh wait, yes there is. After I sign him, QB Jim Plunkett appears on the Green Page. Yay!!!!! I have a feeling Riggins would be on there too, but he's holding out, the bastard. So is Joyner, our second round pick. Everyone else from our draft has signed, though. Crap. We have 8 weeks to sign people in late free agency? This sucks. Time to get cracking. Week 1 Offers: LG Jim Vellone (Minnesota Vikings) RG Pat Matson (Cincinnati Bengals) RT Dick Himes (Green Bay Packers) C Ray Mansfield (New England Patriots) LDE Don Hultz (Philadelphia Eagles) RDE Roy Hilton (New York Giants) RDE Mickey Irwin (Tampa Buccaneers) RDT Carlton Oats (Philadelphia Eagles) LDT Gary Larson (Minnesota Vikings) MLB Dale Lindsey (Cleveland Browns) MLB Dick Ashber (New Orleans Saints) MLB Ellis Fielder (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) FS W.K. Hicks (Miami Dolphins) SLB Brian Stenger (Pittsburgh Steelers) RCB Billy Thompson (Denver Broncos) LCB Carl Lockhart (New York Giants) Week 1 Signings RDE Mickey Irwin: 1 year, $50k MLB Ellis Fielder: 1 year, $50k RG Pat Matson: 2 years, $280k MLB Dale Lindsey: 3 years, $310k MLB Dick Absher: 1 year, $90k Week 3 Signings FS W.K. Hicks: 2 years, $220k Week 3 Offers: LG Jake Kupp (New Orleans Saints) LT Kim Cox (New England Patriots) RT Lester Reed (Jacksonville Jaguars) Week 4 Signings: RT Dick Himes: 2 years, $160k LG Jim Vellone: 2 years, $270k RT Lester Reed: 1 year, $50k LDE Don Hultz: 1 year, $110k LDT Gary Larson: 2 years, $220k RDT Carlton Oats: 2 years, $220k SLB Brian Stenger: 2 years, $150k Week 5 Signings: C Ray Mansfield: 1 year, $110k LCB Carl Lockhart: 3 years, $310k RCB Billy Thompson: 2 years, $190k Elijah Nevett signs in Week 5 with the Carolina Panthers. 4 years, $3.27 million, $880,000 signing bonus and heavily backloaded. Didn't really want to see him sign on with a division rival. Week 6 Signings: LG Jake Krupp: 2 years, $290k Week 7 Signings: LT Kim Cox: 1 year, $50k RDE Roy Hilton: 1 year, $90k Shit! I just now realized in Week 8 that I need bodies at WR and and someone at TE! Damn damn damn. Week 8 Offers: TE Milt Morin (Cleveland Browns) FL Ben Hawkins (Philadelphia Eagles) FL Bake Turner (New England Patriots) SE Gene Washington (San Francisco 49ers) SE George Sauer (Minnesota Vikings) Week 8 Signings: TE Milt Morin: 1 year, $90k FL Ben Hawkins: 3 years, $290k FL Bake Turner: 2 years, $230k SE George Sauer: 3 years, $310k SE Gene Washington 1 year, $60k Just before training camp, I get Riggins and Joyner to sign so my entire draft class is now on board. Interesting enough, John is the highest pick to be signed as of training camp. 1-3 are still unsigned, as are 5-6, but that the latter two should work out the differences as there's a set range now. Riggins signed for 5 years, $3.69 mill. with a $2.6 mill bonus and Stephen Lawson, the number 7 pick, signed for 5 years, $3.19 mill and a $2.1 mill bonus. Let's take a look at our rookies after training camp. Here's the before totals again: RB John Riggins 61/70 FL Kendall Joyner 24/61 SE Otto Stowe 30/44 WLB Charles Musso 12/52 LCB Allen Turner 9/41 RDE Cornell Daniels 13/27 QB Jim Plunkett 23/64 After training camp: 1st round: RB John Riggins 63/70 (+2/+0) 2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 26/61 (+2/+0) 3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 33/47 (+3/+3) 4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/46 (+1/-6) 5th round: LCB Allen Turner 10/34 (+1/-7) 6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels 15/24 (+2/-3) 6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 27/64 (+4/+0) I'm not sure what qualifies as a boom or bust just yet, but judging from this, I'd say Riggins, Joyner, and Plunkett all look like they're going to perform as expected. Musso and Turner look like pretty damn bad busts. Daniels looks like a small bust, but we never expected much out of him anyway. Stowe, judging from the initial returns, could turn out to be the steal of the draft for us as he gets a small boom. By the way, new Green Page features both Riggins and Plunkett. Nice to see. In draft news, there's still a few first rounders holding out, including number 2 pick CB Leonard Dunlap of the Carolina Panthers. I guess that big splash signing our division foes did of Nevett really put a damper on things. Riggins also has the highest contract of any first rounder. We really got taken to the cleaners by his agent, who has an 18 in stubborn negotiation. Well damn. That sucks. Oh well, live and learn. I was going to list the starting lineups going into the preseason but I changed my mind on that. I'll wait until the regular season hits before I announce who the starters are. The first exhibition game we lost 17-10 to Miami. Plunkett looked god awful out there, but Morrall looked pretty good. Riggins got 68 yards on 10 carries to boot. Stowe had 6 catches on 91 yards, including our lone TD which was excellent to see. He also had 35 yards on a kick return. More and more he was looking like a superb steal in the third round. Our next exhibiton game was the reverse, a 17-10 win over the Oakland Raiders. I love this one especially since we'd pilfered so many of Oakland's defensive guys in the offseason. Riggins looked not as good this game, but Plunkett went 3 for 4 in backup duty. Morrall was awesome, throwing for 281 yards and 2 TDs. Turner had 6 catches for 104 yards. Unfortunately in that game, a whole ton of our guys got the damn flu, but we still managed to eke out a 12-10 win over the Jets in Exhibition, Part 3. Plunkett threw an interception, but it was one less than he had in Game 1 and he looked a lot more comfortable with the offense. Stowe is a definite gamer on kick returns. That much has been clear throughout this exhibition season. Bake Turner was turning out to be a steal of a signing as well, if the early returns showed anything. Kansas City clobbered us 31-10 in the fourth and final game of the preseason. It was another game where Plunkett looked absolutely lost on the field, but Morrall once more seemed sharp. After the preseason, here's the status of our drafted rookies: 1st round: RB John Riggins 64/70 (+1/+0) (Starter) 2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 27/61 (+1/+0) (Backup SE) 3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 35/47 (+2/+0) (Starting SE) 4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/46 (N/C) (Inactive) 5th round: LCB Allen Turner 10/34 (N/C) (Inactive) 6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team) 6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 28/64 (+1/+0) (#2 QB) Despite his miscues, Jim improved during the preseason, as did John and Kendall. Otto, as you can see, both played the best in the preseason and improved the most. Okay, now here's our starting lineups for 1971 season! Offense: QB Earl Morrall RB John Riggins FB Marv Hubbard FL Bake Turner SE Otto Stowe C Bobby Maples LG Jake Kupp RG Pat Matson LT Edwin Coles (A huge need area as you can tell, since he managed to keep his job) RT Dick Himes P Leonard Hutton K Gino Cappelletti Defense: LDE Don Hultz RDE Roy Hilton LDT Dave Rowe RDT Carlton Oats MLB Dale Lindsey SLB J.R. Williamson (I love being able to get a guy who was First Team All-Pro on our squad) WLB Bill Budness LCB Carl Lockhart RCB Clancy Williams SS Jimmy Warren FS Willie Brown And there you have it! I'll probably do the regular season later tonight. __________________ 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)

08-17-2005, 08:35 PM	#20
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I would have done the 1971 regular season last night/this morning but round about 4 am the reaction to the meningitis vaccine kicked in. It's not fun when you're shivering, shaking, and chattering... and you have to refill the bathtub 3 times in the space of an hour because that's how quickly the water gets cold. So I finally got to bed about 8:00 am. Got up again at 9:30, went back to bed at 10:30, got up again at 12:30, went back to bed at 1:00 and woke up again at 4:30 and I've been up ever since. So yeah, I'm still feeling out of it, but I'm chomping at the bit to keep going with this dynasty, so let's roll with '71. It turns out I have to make four cuts before the season starts after I do my initial preseason trimming, so I do that, including releasing a couple starters from the year before, as well as a backup or two. Last year we went 3-13 by getting a few fluke wins. My guess is even despite the flukey nature of 1970, we've improved enough as a team that we'll beat last season's win total. Not by much, though. We still have too many gaping holes. 5-11 or 6-10 is my guess for a final record. Oh, I'm going back and doing this after Week 3, but I wanted to give you an idea of the power rankings anyway, if I can. After Week 3 (I'm not sure if the team cohesion goes up during the season or not) our cohesion ratings are 48 passing, 48 offensive line, 44 defensive front, 53 secondary. This puts us at or near the bottom in every single category. Power-rating wise, we rank about the middle of the conference, but again, this is after Week 3. Things may have changed from the beginning of the season. I'll track it better starting next year. In Game 1, Atlanta proves they're likely still the team to beat in the division as they kill us 27-0. Ouch. High Points: Hicks and Stowe both averaging over 22 yards on kickoff returns. Hutton with a 43.3 avg on punts. Oats with 10 tackles and an assist and Williamson with 8 tackles and 7 assists. Low Points: Everything else. Our offense was particularly pungent, with Morrall going 10 for 24 and Plunkett going 1 for 2. The incompletion? An interception. Riggins was our lead rusher... with 21 yards. Remember last year when we won in Week 2? Guess what? It happens again! This time we don't win in a squeaker; we thump the Jaguars 38-20! Whoot! High Points: Earl Morrall winning Player of the Game by going 22-32 for 247 yards and 4 touchdowns! Didn't throw an interception either, which was great. Stowe getting 11 yards on his lone punt return. Hicks averaging 27.6 yards on kick returns. Williamson getting 6 tackles, 4 assists, a sack, and an interception he returned for 25 yards. Oats with 5 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks. I have to say, Carlton Oats is a guy who's been a real free agent steal for us so far in the season. He's been playing extremely well, even though he's not 100%, dealing with a nagging injury. Low Points: Our running game still sucks, as Riggins once again led the team, this time with 39 yards. It'd be really nice to see somebody explode for 100+ yards rushing in a game, it really would. We put together a win streak, topping the Redskins 31-21 in Week 3. Though it's way early in the season, it's nice to see the 2-1 record and be over .500 for the first time ever! High Points: It only took us 3 games this year for a back to go over 50 yards rushing, as Riggins picks up 63 here. Hawkins has 8 catches for 150 yards and a touchdown. Nice to see that kind of production out of your backup flanker. Hicks averaging 32 yards a kick return. Hutton with a 44 yard punt average. Stratton roaring back to life with 10 tackles and an interception. Oats continuing his stellar play, despite a bruised rib, as he picks up 7 tackles and 2 sacks. Low Points: None, really. The first time I can say that about this team. There are a couple after the game, though. J.R. Williamson strains his calf and is out for 4 weeks. Not good to lose a guy of that quality. Making matters even worse, LDT Dave Rowe strains his back and is out for 5 weeks. This is going to seriously hurt our defensive front. As I expected, we drop the next game because of the injuries to those two key guys, or so I suspect. In any case, the St. Louis Cardinals pummeled us 37-17. High Points: Riggins sets a new for himself and for us on the season with 74 yards rushing and a touchdown. Plunkett throws for his first career touchdown without throwing an interception in backup duty. Hicks and Stowe both averaging 24 yards a return on KR. Low Points: Everything else, really. It was just a rough game all around. Game 5 brings another loss and a close one at that, as we drop a 27-21 decision to the 49ers. It especially sucked because it was an OT loss, a real heartbreaker. We could've won this one, damn it. High Points: Oh the bittersweet irony! In this most demoralizing of losses, we finally get our first 100+ yard rusher as Riggins carries the ball 29 times for 111 yards and a touchdown. More salt into the wound, as Morrall becomes the first 300+ passer for us in the same game, going 26-44 for 312 yards, 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. Kramer grabs 9 balls for 88 yards and Stowe shows his deep threat capability by burning the San Fran secondary for 5 receptions and 110 yards, a 22.0 average. He also averaged 11 yards on punt returns and 25 yards on kick returns. Hicks did him better on the kick returns, averaging 34. Hutton got his usual stellar performance, 45.5 yards a punt. Stratton got 10 tackles and 3 assists as he started again in relief of Williamson. Low Points: Besides the nagging feeling of letting one get away that we should have won? Cappalletti's going 0 for 3 on field goals was a huge difference maker in this game. He's only made 42.8% so far this year on FGs and he's supposed to be one of the top kickers in the game. I may end up trading him, as he's not proving to be worth the investment. Williamson comes back for us in Week 6 against the hated Los Angeles Rams, who robbed us of OLB Starks in Round 3 of the draft. We get a sweet 21-13 win to get to 3-3 and match last year's win total. I hate Los Angeles as a city even more than San Francisco, so for that and the Starks robbery, I'm celebrating this win especially. Nevermind that I probably wouldn't have gotten Stowe if it wasn't for the Rams nabbing Starks. High Points: Riggins put together his second straight 100+ rushing game, taking the ball 28 times for 103 yards. He's finally starting to show why he was the #4 selection overall in the draft. Stowe average 30 yards on kickoff returns. Low Points: Biggest one is that Cappaletti missed another field goal and went 0-1 on the day. If he has another subpar game, I'm going to trade his ass and go the rest of the season with some scrub from the free agent pile. A bye week thankfully comes next, allowing us to recover from a few pesky injuries. During it, I decide to hell with it and put out feelers for Cappaletti. Only I can't. Trade deadline has already passed. Bah! We suffer a second-half meltdown against the Seahawks in our next game and end up losing 20-13. They shut us out for the entire flipping 2nd half. High Points: Stowe got 24 yards a kick return. Hutton got 42 yards a punt to complete the inverse of numbers. Cappalletti righting the ship and going 2 for 2 on field goals. Low Points: The meltdown in the second half. Nobody really played terrible outside of that, but no one played truly great either. Williamson gets hurt again too, and is listed as Out for 3 weeks with a hyperextended elbow after getting 8 tackles. The losing continues as the Saints pound us 42-28. We better get at least one more win this year, damn it. We're a lot better team than a 3 win squad. High Points: Riggins picking up another 100+ yard game. 26 carries, 130 yards, and a touchdown. Hicks averaging 27.6 yards a kick return, Stowe 26 even. Rowe setting a new team game sack high with 2.5 to go with his 4 tackles and 4 assists. Low Points: Cappalletti going cold on field goals again is the biggie. Other than that, another case of no one great, no one sucky really. Then the floodgates hit. Gibson out for 4 weeks with a strained Achilles tendon. Some other injuries that have our guys questionable. And the big one. Bobby Maples, the center who literally anchors our line, tears his MCL and is out for the entire rest of the year. ARGH! Wait, no. It's more than a year... It's TWO YEARS! He won't be back until 1973! Damn it! There goes the rest of the season. I go into the free agency pool and sign C Hank Autry, a third-year guy who shows a lot of upside and is a strong blocker with great endurance and long-snapping talent. If he can improve on his sucky technique, he'll be a good one. For now, he'll back up Mansfield. Crushed by the loss of our main man on the line, we fall to the Falcons 23-13 and drop to 3-6. It doesn't matter. the season's a wash from here on out. High Points: 21 rushes, 125 yards, and a touchdown. Yep, Riggins is continuing to play superbly now that he's got a handle on the offense. He may even be our first 1,000+ yard rusher if he keeps up at this rate. Stowe 14 yard average on punt return, Hicks 24 on kick returns. Hutton 43 punt. Stratton with 11 tackles and an assist. He seems determined to make a case for his starting over Williamson full-time but it ain't happening. Low Points: Morrall had an off game. 142 yards and a pick. That was the big culprit, that we just couldn't get our passing game going. Of course, losing Maples has a ton to do with that. We finally scrape out a win to break the streak in the next game, getting by the Panthers 18-13. We're now 4-6 and we've officially improved on last year's record. High Points: Riggins rushing 26 times for 118 yards. Hicks averaging 33 yards a kick return and Hutton averaging 45.3 yards a punt. Cappalletti going 4 for 5 on field goals, including a 49 yarder. He just may save his job after all. Low Points: Morrall continues to struggle since Bobby went down. 13 for 28, 168 yards, 1 TD and 2 interceptions just isn't going to cut it. We really need to continue working on upgrading our O-line in the offseason. The most thrilling game in the Buccaneers' short existence happens the next game, as we escape with a 24-23 win over the Texans, by holding them to a FG in the 4th quarter. Now 5-6, we've officially hit my projected win total for the year! It feels good to win a couple games like this. High Points: Morrall has started learning to work with Mansfield in front of him, as he goes 21-30 for 238 yards, 3 TDs and an interception. Hicks and Stowe do their usual superlative job of kick returning, Hicks with 29.3 and Stowe with 26. Hutton punts well again, good for a 47 average. We lose to the Lions 24-17 in the next game, as they outscore us 10-3 in the 4th quarter. One thing I've noticed is that we tend to be a really bad second-half team. High Points: They may have shut him down in yardage (17 carries, 40 yards), but Riggins gets his first multi-TD game, with 2 rushing touchdowns. Hutton averages 44.5 yards a punt and Cappalletti nails a 49 yarder, his only attempt of the day. Low Points: Simply put, we just couldn't get our offense going the way we wanted. Morrall has gone back to struggling. He's just nowhere near the same guy out there without Maples in front of him. Starting flanker Bake Turner breaks his ribs and is out for 7 weeks. Considering it's highly likely we won't make the playoffs, that means he's essentially out for the rest of the year, so I put him on the IR. It's not a bad thing, really, since it allows Joyner to finally get some more action on the playing field, as he steps in as the #2 flanker behind Hawkins. In Game 13, we play Morrall's old team, the Colts.. and come away with a 17-12 upset win! Now we're guaranteed of making the 6-10 record that was the high end of my projections at the beginning of the season. Whoohoo! High Points: The biggest story here is Joyner. He gets 3 catches for 84 yards and an amazing 53 yard touchdown reception. He's waited all season for the chance to prove himself and now he's making the most of every opportunity he's getting. Stowe gets 20 yards on his lone punt return and averages 27.5 on his kick returns. Hutton averages 49 yards on punts. Cappalletti slams home a 52 yarder to be perfect on the day. Warren, our SS, gets 12 tackles and 4 assists. Williamson adds on 9 tackles and 6 assists of his own. Low Points: Our running game is stalled again. That's the biggest issue, but considering Riggins got 57 yards, I'm not complaining too much when it was a miracle to get 50+ yards rushing from our backs at the beginning of the season. Besides, he only touched the ball 13 times. Holy shit! Holy shit! We massacre the Panthers 41-20 and improve to 7-7! I don't know how the hell this team is managing to keep on winning when Maples was lost for the season, but I don't care. I'm damn happy for it. High Points: So he didn't go over the century mark. So what? On 17 carries, Riggins still got a nice 83 yards and 2 TDs. Nice to see that scoring, John! Morrall goes 20-30 for 244 yards, 3 TDs and an interception. Every now and then he finds the touch he needs to have a good game, despite the line woes. But the biggest high point is this: 1Q: 12:26 TBY Otto Stowe 76 yard punt return. Yep, that's right, a punt return for a touchdown! He got waxed on his other punt return, but so what? More and more am I glad that I grabbed Stowe in the 3rd round after Starks got stolen. He's lifted our return game to unprecedented heights and is a damn electrifying player to watch on the field. Speaking of returns, on kicks, Hicks averaged 33.5 yards, Stowe 31 yards. Yes, Stowe averaged 8 yards more on punt returns than he did kick returns. Riggins even had a beaut of a 19 yard punt return himself. Rowe wakes up in the pass-rush game, getting 6 tackles and an assist to go with his 2.5 sacks. Williamson leads the way in tackles with 9 solo and 2 assists. You want to know the scary part? We're actually in the hunt for a playoff spot! Yeah I know, I probably just jinxed myself when I said that, but I don't care. It's still amazing to see all these 7-7 teams who are just behind the 8-6 Detroit Lions, all of us fighting for the two wildcard spots. Next game, we win again, much to my surprise. In fact, we don't just win, we flipping STEAMROLL the Tennessee Titans 42-16. We're now 8-7 and guaranteed a .500 record! High Points: Riggins again, this time with 18 rushes for 120 yards and 2 TDs. He's been a key part of our emergence as a bona fide playoff contender this season. Morrall throws for 4 touchdowns. TE Kent Kramer gets 7 catches for 137 yards and a TD as he burns the Titans' secondary all day long. Kramer's been a very nice safety valve target for Morrall to throw to this year and has led us in receptions in quite a few games. Hicks averaging 32.6 yards a kick return. Hultz throwing the other QB for 2 sacks. Low Points: Morrall also threw 3 interceptions. Stowe was an absolute non-factor this game. Didn't catch a pass, only averaged 5.5 yards a punt return, and had a low for him 21 yard kick return average. Evidently he's still hung over from the euphoria of that punt return for a TD last game. Today, that didn't matter, as others picked up the slack for him. The playoff picture is still crowded in the NFC with a game to go. As of right now, Detroit is 9-6 and Green Bay holds the tiebreaker in the second wildcard spot with an 8-7 record that is matched by us, the Giants, and the Seahawks. Basically, it looks like we're going to need some help getting into the playoffs. The Packers have to lose. That much is certain. We do our part in the bargain, trouncing the New Orleans Saints 31-17 to finish 9-7 on the year. High Points: Though just 4 yards short of 100, Riggins still puts in a good game with 23 rushes for 96 yards and 2 TDs. Morrall rediscovers his accuracy and goes 23-28 for 233 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception. Actually, in this universe, Morrall without Maples reminds me a lot of the yet-to-appear Jim Everrett in reality, a real streaky QB. Hicks averages 30.5 yards a kick return. Low Points: Stowe continues looking anemic on returns after that great play a couple games ago. I'm starting to get worried, but we'll see what happens next year. And here's how things ended up. We won, as did the Packers and the Giants. The Lions and the Seahawks lost. In: Green Bay and Detroit Out: Us and New York Ugh. What a damn depressing way to end the season... to come that damn close to a playoff berth and to get hot when our star center and starting flanker go down for the year. I'm still feeling like crap, so I'll hold off on screencapping the regular season standings until the next post. __________________ 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)

08-18-2005, 02:53 AM	#21
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I was just about done writing a post when I hit a fucking button that wiped everything out, so now I have to enter everything in all over again! But I'm not going to do that. I'm too pissed off. New short version: Indy forgets that it's nice to have a .500 record to try and win the suckiest division with, so Jacksonville gets the division title with a 7-9 record. Atlanta owns our division for the second straight year. Pittsburgh repeats as the AFC Champions, taking on Chicago in the Super Bowl, where they ream the Bears 41-24 to win the Super Bowl Trophy. Tampa Bay Stats Passing Earl Morall 291-497 58.5% 3421 yds 28 TDs 19 interceptions 82.3 rating Jim Plunkett: 7-14 50% 78 yds 2 TDs 1 interception 76.7 rating Morrall finishes midpack in terms of rating and becomes our first 3000+ yards passer. Too many picks for my tastes, but I'll take that 58.5% completion rate and +9 differential of TD:Ints Rushing: John Riggins: 306 rushes 1286 yds 4.2 avg 58 long 13 TDs Don Shy: 112 rushes 408 yds 3.64 avg 20 long 1 TD Riggins becomes our first 1000+ yard back and that, combined with his 13 TDs and our drastically improved record should be enough to earn him very strong consideration for Offensive Rookie of the Year. Shy Guy was serviceable in backup. Receiving Kent Kramer: 66 rec 770 yds 5 drops 7 TDs Ben Hawkins: 48 rec 722 yds 3 drops 5 TDs Otto Stowe: 43 rec 597 yds 2 drops 4 TDs Bake Turner: 34 rec 415 yds 2 drops 3 TDs Marv Hubbard: 37 rec 263 yds 0 drops 4 TDs Kendall Joyner: 13 rec 212 yds 2 drops 2 TDs Kramer turned out to be Morrall's favourite weapon, as the QB and the TE established great chemistry. Not often you see that happening. Hawkins was a nice surprise as the third receiver, and even became the #2 performer on the team when all was said and done. Stowe looked pretty good in his rookie year and Hubbard was a nice safety valve option coming out of the backfield. Returns: Otto Stowe: 8.6 PR avg 1 TD 25.8 KR avg W.K. Hicks: 27.8 KR avg A huge improvement over last season. Both these guys did what I hoped to get out of them and more. Otto's punt return for a touchdown was a thing of beauty. 76 flipping yards! I'm still loving it. Kicking: Gino Cappalletti: 15/22 68.1% 52 long 45/46 PATs Leo Hutton: 43.1 avg 35/79 inside the 20 Cappalletti's getting traded in the offseason. I'm sure there'll be some team that's suckered in by his talent and will forget that he simply doesn't deliver as consistently as he should in a game situation. Another stellar season from Hutton. For the defense I'm just going to say that SS Jimmy Warren led us in tackles with 85, 4 more than J.R. Williamson, who, if he hadn't missed 4 games because of injury, probably would have broken the 100+ tackle mark again. We had three guys tie for the team lead in sacks with 7.5. RDT Carlton Oats, LDT Dave Rowe and LDE Don Hultz. It was a huge drop from them to the next line of guys, though. RDE is definitely an area I'm going to target come free agency. Interception leader was LCB Carl Lockhart with 4. My perfect zone man who understands the zone system completely. I love him. Still, I'd like to see more interceptions out of the secondary. 1971 Major Awards: MVP: RB Chuck Mercein New Jersey Jets Super Bowl MVP: QB Wayne Clark Pittsburgh Steelers Coach of the Year: Lamont Wolfe St. Louis Cardinals Offensive Player of the Year: RB Chuck Mercein New Jersey Jets (Second Consecutive Offensive Player of the Year Award) Defensive Player of the Year: SLB Lloyd Wainscott Houston Texans Offensive Rookie of the Year: *RB John Riggins Tampa Bay Buccaneers* Defensive Rookie of the Year: MLB Claude Armistead Carolina Panthers (He was a 3rd round pick, too) Tampa Bay Awards: RB John Riggins - Offensive Rookie of the Year RDT Carlton Oats - All-Pro 2nd Team Defensive Tackle While the Riggins award was no surprise, the Oats nod was a pleasant shock. We'd gotten more than our money's worth out of him when we signed him and the best part is, he's still under contract for another year. I re-hire my lead scout from the past few seasons. He'd done a good enough job for us, I think. After all, Stowe turned out to be a steal and Riggins became the Offensive Rookie of the Year. He'd helped us get a few key acquisitions in free agency, too. I want to keep going, but I'm paranoid that the browser's gonna freak on me, so I'll post this, import the 1972 draft, and then see if I want to keep going through the offseason. __________________ 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)

08-18-2005, 06:45 AM	#22
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Unlike last year, when I had to rebuild the team entirely from scratch, this year I've got 42 players under contract at the start of free agency. This will make for a much easier time of it and a lot fewer headaches. The cap rose again, so it's now at $17.4 million. We're in good shape though, as we're $11.2 million under the cap and have the bucks to be able to land an impact free agent. As I'm looking over the team, I see our biggest needs are at the following positions: OL, DE, and MLB. I'm tempted to see if we can upgrade our receiving corps too. But first, I definitely need to upgrade the entire offensive line, get some quality defensive ends in, and get a good middle linebacker. We're picking 21st in the draft right now, so it's not like we're going to have a choice at a really great player unless we move up, something I may try and do, depending on how the first phase of free agency goes. This year's top free agent is QB Sonny Jurgenson, formerly of the Washington Redskins. He threw for over 4000 yards last year, but had a 20 TD to 22 interception ratio as the 'Skins sucked as a team and he tried to do too much to carry the team. In 1970 though, he was good for a 19 TD to 12 interception ratio while throwing for 3700+ yards, so he's got the talent. We're not interested, though. Week 1 Offers: C Frank Marchlewski (Buffalo Bills) RG Dave Middendorf (New Jersey Jets) RT Ezell Jones (Green Bay Packers) MLB Mike Curtis (Indianapolis Colts) Week 1 Signings: C Frank Marchlewski: 5 years, $2.67 million MLB Mike Curtis: 3 years, $690k Marchlewski will be able to anchor the center spot for at least this season and is good insurance in case Maples never does recover from his injury. At the very worst, I can always try and spin him off for something else if need be. Curtis instantly steps in as the MLB starter, even despite conflict with Bill Budness. Sonny Jurgenson re-ups with the Redskins for $4.28 million over 2 years. His loss. He should've looked to sign on with a real team. As it turns out, I get into a small bidding war with that same Washington team over Middendorf. The Dolphins are in the mix as well. Week 7 Signing: RT Ezell Jones: 1 year, $150k It was a weak free agency class all around this year, so I went and grabbed this guy as a cheap upgrade over Hines at RT. This is one area you can bet I'll be watching in the draft. Week 8 Signing: RG Dave Middendorf: 2 years, $510k All right, so I probably overpaid a little bit for him. I still think he's better than incumbent Matson, who can't runblock to save his life. It'll be an interesting battle between the two for the starting job in training camp. At least my OL depth is helped in either case. And that's all for us in the first half of free agency. Going into the draft, my big concerns are both LT and RT and LDE and RDE. As I paged through the draft, I made the following short list of players I was interested in for my first rounder: LDE Milt Davis (The top DE in the draft bar none) LDE Greg Sampson LT Steve Okoniewski Everyone else that was available were guys I was lukewarm on and probably wouldn't go after until at least the second round. 1972 Draft First Round Selections: 1. CB Darden Thomas - Michigan (Baltimore Ravens) 2. DT Tommy Gay - Arkansas State (Minnesota Vikings) 3. DT Mike Kadish - Notre Dame (Tennessee Titans) 4. CB Charles Babb - Memphis (Los Angeles Rams) 5. DE Milt Davis - Texas (New England Patriots) 6. DE Walt Patulski - Notre Dame (Carolina Panthers) 7. T Al Benton - Ohio (Green Bay Packers through Washington Redskins) Benton was one of the guys I looked at for a couple seconds before deciding I didn't want to shortlist him. I was disappointed to see Davis go so high, though. The Packers traded away SLB Fred Carr, a fifth-year guy who had been improving dramatically over the course of the past two seasons in Green Bay and was now a phenomenal player, perfect for a bump and run system. I don't like Benton that high and I think the Packers screwed themselves when they reached up so high to get him. 8. DE Greg Sampson - Stanford (Buffalo Bills) 9. G Conrad Dobler - Wyoming (Miami Dolphins) 10. DE Council Rudolph - Kentucky State (New Orleans Saints through Houston Texans) I'm down to one guy on my shortlist now. I may try in a little while to trade up for him. The Texans picked up DE Billy Newsome, a guy who's young but still has some upside. His role in New Orleans declined last season, as he became a part-time starter. 11. DE Sherman White - USC (Oakland Raiders) 12. DT Don Croft - UTEP (Cincinnati Bengals) 13. ILB Jim Leclair - North Dakota (Indianapolis Colts) I wonder why Leclair fell this far. At 81, he had the highest rated future potential in the draft and looked solid now. I would have had him pegged for a potential #1 pick, or at least top 3. The Colts got a major steal on this one. 14. OLB Ed Bradley - Wake Forest (Jacksonville Jaguars) 15. WR Cliff Branch - Denison (Cincinnati Bengals through New Orleans Saints) Believe it or not, I actually tried to trade up for this pick, but the Saints weren't having it. They held out for Cincy, who gave them WR Speedy Thomas, a guy who was an All-Pro the last two seasons, including First Team last year. Great draft so far for the Saints. They've managed to hold everyone hostage here. Nobody is willing to take on the salary of Ben Hawkins, which is kind of pissing me off. The guy did well last season and he's still available for cheap. Plus, he's only signed for two years. What gives? The trading up AI for the draft is real screwy, I think. 16. WR Dwight Harrison - Texas A & M (Philadelphia Eagles) 17. S Ron Bolton - Norfolk State (Cleveland Browns) 18. T Steve Okoniewski - Montana (Tampa Bay Buccaneeers) Well, I did it. Traded with the Broncos. They get my 1st rounder and my 2nd rounder this year. I got their 1st rounder and their 3rd and 5th rounders next year. Did I overpay for moving up? Probably, but I didn't see anyone who grabbed me as a good 2nd round pick in the draft, plus I wanted to replenish the 5th rounder I lost in the Morrall trade. Besides, if I'd lost Okoniewski this close to getting him, I'd have been pissed at myself. 19. T Jean Barrett - Tulsa (Seattle Seahawks) And I probably would have lost him right there. 20. T Gordon Gravelle - Brigham Young (San Francisco 49ers) 21. T Lionel Antoine - Southern Illinois (Denver Broncos) 4 straight tackles taken and I'm pretty sure that Okoniewski would have been taken before my pick came up. Gravelle was the only other guy who even remotely had my interest and he went the pick before mine. I have a hunch Okoniewski would have gone to either Denver or Seattle, as all of us were looking at getting a tackle, obviously. If this sounds like I'm trying to justify the trade I made, I am. But on the other hand, who knows if Okoniewski would have lasted to my pick and furthermore, I was able to last swing a draft-related trade. And it's true that after Okoniewski was gone, there really wasn't anybody I liked all that much in our need areas. Yeah, okay, WR is considered our biggest need area by the game, but I don't see it that way. Stowe is coming along nicely and Joyner is developing gradually. Besides, by this stage in this draft, only flanker Ty Glover is worth anything in the receivers and he's more of a second-rounder to me than a 1st rounder. And he probably wouldn't have lasted to my spot in the second round, unless I traded down into the very early second round and played the waiting game. While I'm rambling, it really surprises me that RBs Franco Harris and Lydell Mitchell are still on the board. Franco's the best pure runner in the draft, whereas Lydell isn't as good a runner as Franco, but is blessed with unbelievable hands out of the backfield. Both of them are impact type players who should not still be sitting here at this stage in the draft. Either one of them could do a Riggins very easily, especially Harris. 22. DT Roosevelt Manning - Oklahoma (New York Giants) 23. CB Alonzo Mannelly - Minnesota (Detroit Lions) 24. OLB Mel Long - Toledo (Green Bay Packers) 25. DT John Mendenhall - Grambling (San Diego Chargers) 26. OLB Arnie Lang - Wisconsin (Dallas Cowboys) 27. G Jorge Cullen - USC (San Francisco 49ers through Kansas City Chiefs) Evidently the 49ers liked what they saw in the home state boy enough to give up RDE Tommy Hart, a fantastic passrusher. Nice pickup for the Chiefs and a dumb move on the 49ers behalf, in my opinion. 28. RB Lydell Mitchell - Penn State (New Jersey Jets) Finally one of the two good backs goes. But why would the Jets take him when they have the guy who's won the Offensive Player of the Year award the last two straight years? A quick check of the roster reveals the answer. Mercein is an 8th year veteran and an excellent all-around back much like Mitchell himself is. Not only that, but Mercein was the only RB on the roster. So the Jets fill two needs here: 1) They get a backup running back who's damn good and 2) Said running back fits the mold of their offense perfectly and is the heir apparent to their all-purpose, award-winning starter. Nice pickup after all. 29. T John Vella - USC (Atlanta Falcons) 30. DT Martin Imhof - San Diego State (St. Louis Cardinals) 31. WR Ty Glover - Oregon (Atlanta Falcons through Chicago Bears) Great. The Falcons get the last truly decent receiver in the draft. That's just swell. As if they weren't already kicking ass in our division. Curiously enough, they give up another WR in exchange, SE Mike Brunson, a dynamite kick returner averaging 800+ yards receiving the last two years. But now Atlanta has no SEs on their roster and what the hell are they going to do with Glover when they've already got Ken Burrough as the starting flanker, 1970's MVP who still caught 1000+ yards last year? Stupid, stupid, stupid move by the Falcons. Not only do they fuck everyone else who was looking for a promising receiver, no matter how raw, but they fuck themselves in this transaction. 32. CB Jerry Cunningham - Northwestern (San Diego Chargers through Pittsburgh Steelers) Damn. Here I was all excited, thinking, "Yes yes yes!!! Real life history will repeat itself and Franco will go back to the Steelers!!!!" I'm not a replay guy per se, but when something like that repeats itself in an alternate history universe that you're doing, it's just the coolest thing. It's like it was meant to be then. But no, the Steelers had to crush my dreams. And what'd they crush them for? Some LCB named Chuck Detwiler who's young, it being his third season, fantastic at run defense with the potential to get better, and a dynamite bump and run guy and special teams player. He sure as hell isn't worth dashing my hopes, I tell you that much. So now I have to sit through the second round rather than speeding through it, because I want to see where Franco goes. P.S. I'm glad I got Plunkett the last draft. This year's class for QB is dreadful. In fact, it's so bad, the highest current ability is 14! There are, however, a couple guys worth taking a flyer on in later rounds for their potential, namely Stanley Keith (66) and Shawn Siegel (60). Wow. Stanley Keith gets grabbed by the Washington Redskins with the 7th pick in Round 2. It makes sense, though. After all, Sonny is in his 15th season and doesn't have much left in the tank and the guys behind him are god-awful. So it was a smart move for the D.C. team, especially if he learns enough from Sonny to develop to his potential. In a way it's too bad I don't have my second round pick anymore. Because here it is, pick 21 in the 2nd round coming up, and Franco still hasn't been drafted. He and Riggins would make a damn good powerhouse team or hell, I could trade him to the Steelers for some nice loot. Shawn Seigel gets drafted before Franco Harris? Yep, Mr. Siegel's headed to the New York Giants with the 22nd selection in Round 2. Meanwhile, poor Franco continues to sit by a lonely phone. This freefall is reminding me of Allen Davidson in the Octopus League draft. Here it comes. Pick 32 in Round 2. Franco still on the board and the Steelers with the pick.... Will I get my wish after all? Fuck. No. They draft some guard named Ron Davis from the ingeniously named Small College. Bastards. As much as I love streaks, I hope your AFC crown run ends this year. Well, guess what? We're up to my pick in the third round and Franco is STILL sitting there. Am I going to draft him? ....Nah. I'm masochistically enjoying this freefall too much. Besides, I've not only got Riggins, I have more pressing needs to address. Instead I take FL Will Roberts, out of Utah, who looks like the prototypical flanker. By the time he's done developing, my guess is he'll be an excellent third receiver behind Kendall Joyner, who I still have hopes for. Here we go again. Round 3, Pick 32. Is the third time going to be the charm? Nope, the Steelers nab a tackle out of North Texas. Any of the running back poor teams out there are going to feel pretty stupid about passing on Franco, mark my words. As of pick 21 in Round 4, Franco still hasn't gone. This is sheer lunacy in my book. Could I see him slipping to the second round? Sure. He's rated as 55/60 and some teams probably want more potential out of their first rounders, even though that's still a pretty high number. But no... he continues to drop all the way down to late in fourth round. Guess what buddy? I'm not picking you either. I want to see how far you fall. Instead I nab TE Bob Christensen from UCLA. Not a super guy at anything, but a good all-arounder who could turn into an okay backup TE, so that I don't have to pay the money to re-sign Milt Morin. Guess what? It's time for Pick 32 of Round 4! Damn. Steelers took some DT out of Auburn instead. Down to Round 5 you go, Franco. Finally! He's finally taken with the 17th pick in the 5th round by the Denver Broncos. Congratulations, Franco!!! Now pay back those bastards who were stupid enough to pass you up all those rounds. ...This is 1972, not 2005. So why the hell do the Broncos already have two great backs on their roster who are way ahead of Franco? And why did Denver pick him up when the two RBs ahead of him are both signed to multi-year deals and sixth year guys? I mean I know IRL the Broncos have become a running back factory, but to see them pulling it off here in this universe by stashing high quality backs is unreal. Sorry, Franco. No glories untold for you! No passel of Super Bowl Rings, no Hall of Fame enshrinement. (I think he's in the HoF, no?) Instead, you get to be a third-string backup in Denver until your rookie deal runs out. Isn't that great fun?! For my 5th round selection, I take SS Jorge Matthews out of East Carolina. Something of a reach, I'll admit, but that means I don't have to worry about resigning Moore, who I'm sick of. He's a raw, smart playmaker who could turn into a pretty good rotation guy for us, I think. Ironically enough, I realize in Round 6 I need a third-string type of back so I can kick Richie Torrice of the team. That means John Sykes from Morgan State gets the call. He's got major fumbling issues, but I'm hoping his high volitality and test score will translate into a late-round steal. Plus, being an elusive back, he's a nice change of pace. Round 7 hits and I remember I hate Cappalletti and plan to shop him out, so I grab a kicker to take his place. Tampa Bay Picks With Inital Post-Draft Ratings Round 1: LT Steve Okoniewski (22/56) Round 3: FL Will Roberts (11/50) Round 4: TE Bob Christensen (14/47) Round 5: SS Jorge Matthews (9/49) Round 6: RB John Sykes (28/43) Round 7: K Chester Marcol (20/49) And we're hated on again in the draft review, getting a C-. Big hairy deal. I had the Offensive Rookie of the Year last year, didn't I? And I only got a C+ rating there. Only Okoniewski decides to bitch about the contract offer we made. Everyone else signed on the dotted line right away. He's probably hoping to pull a Riggins with an exorbiant contract. Sorry, but it ain't happening, no matter how crappy we are at the LT spot. On to late free agency. Week 1 Offers: LDE Dick Evey (Los Angeles Rams) RDE L.C. Greenwood (Miami Dolphins) LDE Don Hultz (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) Week 1 Signing: RDE L.C. Greenwood: 3 years, $460k Greenwood has some upside to him still and is a definitive upgrade over Roy Hinton, the starter there last year. He originally wanted a two year deal, but I liked him so much I talked him into an extra year. Week 2 Signing: LDE Dick Evey: 2 years, $450k We got good production out of Hultz last year, relatively speaking. But Evey's simply a better player it seems and will probably win the starting job. It'll be close, though. Week 7 Signing: LDE Don Hultz: 1 year, $150k It takes almost the entire period, but finally Don comes back after he doesn't get any other offers he likes. Strange thing, none of my UFAs seemed to have been signed by anyone. Okonieski finally gets his head out of his ass and signs for the offer I gave him the first go round in time for training camp. Training camp's over now, and I've decided I'm going to track the progress of every player that I've drafted, so I can chart their development through the years. Yeah I know there's a utility for it floating around somewhere, but I like doing this manually strangely enough. 1971 Draftees: 1st round: RB John Riggins 75/76 (+11/+6) 2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 36/60 (+9/-1) 3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 42/49 (+8/+2) 4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/41 (+0/-5) 5th round: LCB Allen Turner 11/20 (+1/-5) 6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season) 6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 31/64 (+3/+0) Riggins gets a tremendous boom. I mean we're talking a phenomenal boom here. Double digit leap in current and another 6 on to future. Oh yeah, he's going to be a damn fine back. Hell, he already is. Kendall may not turn out to be as good a receiver as we'd initially hoped, but he's made great strides since his rookie year, possibly enough that he'll grab the backup flanker spot in earnest this season. Otto continues to improve leaps and bounds beyond what he first appeared to be after the draft. I still consider him my finest steal, though Riggins looks to be the best player out of this particular class by far. Musso and Turner are absolute busts. Plunkett continues his very slow and steady learning of the game. 1972 Draftees: 1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (24/51) (+2/-4) 3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (12/43) (+1/-7) 4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (16/46) (+2/-1) 5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (9/42) (+0/-7) 6th Round: RB John Sykes (28/39) (+0/-4) 7th Round: K Chester Marcol (22/49) (+2/+0) .... Ouch! Okay, so I deserve that crappy grade I got from the draft people. Everyone and I mean everyone here looks like an absolute bust, except for maybe Marcol, who frankly wasn't that good to begin with. Just to torture myself, I decide to go see how Franco did. Hrm, 56/59. +1/-1. Well that's better in a lot of cases than these guys did, most of whom I don't expect to last very long on the team. Anyway, I'm tired now, so I'm going to hit Submit Reply, save my game, and go to bed. __________________ 2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Last edited by Izulde : 08-18-2005 at 06:47 AM.

08-18-2005, 01:35 PM	#23
3ric College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Sweden	Coincidence - I've had both Maples and Marchlewski at center in the HFL (I'm San Diego there) __________________ San Diego Chargers (HFL) - Lappland Reindeers (WOOF) - Gothenburg Giants (IHOF) Indiana: A TCY VC - year 2044 - the longest running dynasty ever on FOFC!

08-19-2005, 01:25 AM	#25
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I really should be in bed. I have to get up early tomorrow for an acupuncturist appointment and then go to work right after that. But the tornado warning and thunderstorms woke me up and now I can't go back to sleep. Plus, I'm itching to get further in this dynasty of mine and wanting to get as far as I can before I have to pack the computer itself up for Wyoming. So here we go with the preseason. Only before it, I have to straighten out my roster and Mike Stratton, surprisingly enough, turns out to be a guy who becomes expendable. Brian Stenger has improved enough in the offseason to where he's beat out Stratton for the backup SLB slot. The problem is, nobody's willing to offer me a fair shake on Stratton. They all want blood for the trade and no GM shows a weaker personality than any other and they all spout the same party line. I'm beginning to despise the trade AI in this game, I really am. I especially fucking hate the "THE AI IS UNWILLING TO TRADE SOMEONE YOU JUST SIGNED EVEN THOUGH IT'S A FRIGGING ROOKIE." bit. Ugh, this is fucking retarded. Finally I just keep him and throw his ass on the Inactive list. We lose preseason game 1 34-31 to the Patriots. Plunkett looks like he's finally starting to get a handle on this offense. Evey looks very good in his Bucs debut, getting two sacks. PS Game 2 is 28-16 defeat at the hands of the Raiders. Plunkett sucked in the passing game, because even though he had a good completion, they were all short passes, evidenced by his 4.7 avg yard stat. Sykes looks better than I figured he'd be, getting 66 yards. Our first exhibition win comes in Game 3, when we beat the Dolphins 17-16. Stowe grabs 6 catches for 113 yards and a TD. Maybe he'll establish himself as a true quality receiver this year. RT Ezell Jones becomes our first casualty, getting a muscle injury that takes him out for 6 weeks. Great. We finish the preseason with a 34-17 pasting of the Chargers. Stowe literally runs all over San Diego as he returns a punt *and* a kickoff for a touchdown! Two return TDs! In one game! Too bad it's in a game that doesn't count in the standings. 90 yard kickoff return for the TD and 60 yard punt return for a TD. At the end of the preseason, Plunkett is still on the Green Page, though the jury's still out on whether he's our QB of the future or not. Here's the starting lineup for Week 1. Note that because Jones is injured, the wrong RT is going to be listed. QB: Earl Morrall RB: John Riggins FB: Marv Hubbard FL: Bake Turner SE: Otto Stowe LT: Edwin Coles (He's developed into a surprisingly passable left tackle and continues to cling to his starting job despite efforts every year to dislodge him) LG: Jake Kupp C: Frank Marchlewski RG: Dave Middendorf RT: Dick Himes P: Leo Hutton K: Gino Cappalletti (He did well in the preseason so he saved his job) LDE: Dick Evey LDT: Dave Rowe RDT: Carlton Oats RDE: L.C. Greenwood SLB: J.R. Williamson MLB: Mike Curtis WLB: Bill Budness LCB: Carl Lockhart RCB: Clancy Williams SS: Jimmy Warren FS: Willie Brown Team Cohesion Ratings: Passing: 54 (Still in the bottom half of the league, but up considerably from last year because it's essentially the same guys as last season. 6 point leap is nice) Offensive Line: 52 (See above. I'm surprised at this, actually. Thought it would be lower but I'll take the 4 point increase) Defensive Front: 44 (Cohesion stays the same but we're not on the bottom anymore. I thought this would've gone up before OL but oh well) Secondary: 58 (All four starters are the same and so are the nickel and dime backs which is why we have a 5 point jump here. Still in the lower part of the league, though) Power-rating wise we're in the lower-middle part of the NFC again, but I think we're good enough to challenge for a playoff spot again. I should probably try and get some sleep now because I have a long day tomorrow, but if I can't get back to bed, I'll come back and do the regular season for 1972. Think Miami will repeat history and have a perfect season? I don't think so either. If any team has a shot at it, I'd say it's the Steelers, yon defending Super Bowl champs. __________________ 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)

08-21-2005, 08:26 PM	#26
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Just before the regular season starts, I find that I have to make two cuts on the team. Chester Marcol fails in his bid to unseat Cappalletti and so goes bye-bye. He was a 7th round flyer anyway and kickers of that level of quality are ridiculous in terms of the ease in finding a replacement. RG Ronnie Arrington, an original Buccaneer, is the other guy to get cut. We show defensive might in Game 1 by waxing the Panthers 21-3. Always nice to open the year with a win. High Points: Riggins building on last year by starting the season with 24 carries for 114 yards. Morall throwing for 3 TDs and no picks. Hubbard continuing his preseason success with two of those TD receptions. Hutton with a 46.7 yard punt average. Low Points: Morrall only averaging 4.7 yards a pass and finishing with 128 yards passing. Our return game starting off looking rather mediocre as Stowe only averages 3 yards a punt return. Hicks averages 24 yards on kick returns, but I know he can do much better. We stay perfect in the young season with a 22-16 upset of the Kansas City Chiefs the next game. High Points: Morall throwing for 284 yards and 2 TDs to 1 interception. Stowe with a dazzling 52 yard TD reception. Joyner getting 4 catches for 83 yards. Stowe with 26.5 yard average on kick returns. Cappalletti kicking 3 of 4 on FGs, including a 53 yarder. Low Points: Riggins absolutely shut down. 14 carries for just 42 yards. A handful of pretty rough injuries, including to FS Willie Brown that will keep him out of next week's game. Our win streak ends against the 49ers, as we fall 31-23 in San Francisco in Game 3. High Points: Stowe just missing the century mark, as he gets 5 catches for 94 yards while averaging 27.5 yards a return. Hicks with a 65 yard kick return as he's thrilled to have his first start for us. Hutton with 45.7 yards a punt. Cappallettii 3 for 3 field goal kicks. Williamson with the first double digit tackle game of the season, 12 tackles and 3 assists. Low Points: For the second consecutive game, Riggins is shut down, rushing for just 38 yards. Stowe still looks uncomfortable on punt returns. Is it a sophomore slump? Speaking of slump, we've started a small losing streak as the Falcons stomp any visions we may have had of division dominance by beating us 27-10 in Game 4. High Points: Plunkett going 9-14 with a TD and no interceptions in backup duty. Hicks and Stowe both averaging 28 yards on KRs. Low Points: For the first time in a long time, I have to use the everything else tag. That's how bad we sucked it this game. The news gets worse when I get the post-game medical report. Kupp, Stowe, and Hubbard all get knocked to the Out category from our last, horribly played game. Despite the plethora of injuries, we work a miracle and get back over .500 with a 24-23 heartracer of a victory over the Minnesota Vikings. High Points: Morall throwing 22-34 for 275 yards and 2 TDs vs 1 interception. Joyner averaging 14 yards a punt return in his debut there. He just may have stolen the punt return duties from Stowe. Kick returns he only averaged 23.5 though, so Otto still will probably keep his spot there. Hutton averaging 45 yards a punt. Williamson with 10 tackles and 4 assists. Low Points: Riggins gets his high in a couple games, but it's still only 51 yards. Teams are figuring out that to stop us they need to key in on John and dare us to beat them with the pass. I'm angered by the next game, where the winless Saints pop the ugly 0 zit by thrashing us 43-24, scoring 29 points in the second half. High Points: It wasn't John Riggins's fault we lost this game. He ran 23 times for 100 yards and 2 TDs, finally breaking through against a defense again. Plunkett throwing for a TD in his only pass of the game. Low Points: Once again, the everything else label applies. We're not playing nearly as well as we did last year and it's frustrating. As if the loss weren't bad enough, Riggins hyperextended his elbow and is out for at least the next game. Ezdell Jones got himself re-injured as well and is out. Ugh. Oh well, at least we get Kupp back. This season is starting to go downhill. We drop a 13-10 heartbreaker to the Lions. Say hello to sub .500 for the first time this year. Double ugh. High Points: Hicks averaging 30 yards a kick return. Morall 27-37 for 241 yards and a TD with no picks. Brown with 10 tackles and 3 assists. Low Points: As expected, our run game was absolutely anemic without Riggins in there. So bad that our lead rusher had 26 yards and that was Sykes, the backup RB, on 5 carries. After a sorely needed bye week, we get everyone back to near-full strength. Unfortunately, we're up against 7-0 Green Bay. The Packers retain their flawless record by dismantling us 31-8. High Points: Hicks averaging 36 yards a kick return. Low Points: Um, everything else. What a disappointing season this is turning out to be. Bah! Joy of joys, we go against the other NFC North powerhouse next week, the Chicago Bears. 31-6 loss later and we're reeling. We've gone from 3-2 to 3-6 and there's no hopes for the playoffs now, realistically speaking. High Points: Williamson with 12 tackles and 2 assists. Low Points: Quite a few, but most obnoxious is the following: Morrall - 3 interceptions; Plunkett - 1 pass, 1 interception. Also, MLB Mike Curtis is lost for the rest of the season. Things go from bad to worse when even the lowly Panthers beat us 34-27. Talk about setting fire to a season and watching it go down in flames. Last year is looking more and more like a fluke. High Points: Morrall's statline: 28-47 for 368 yards (A new franchise record), 3 TDs, 1 interception. Stowe with 7 catches for 88 yards and 2 TDs. Kramer getting 6 catches good for 109 yards. Our five game losing streak finally comes to a close as we knock out the San Diego Chargers 20-7. High Points: Riggins breaking out again. 29 rushes, 110 yards 1 TD. RCB Williams with 2 interceptions. Low Points: Just about everything else. We really didn't play too well this game outside of those two players. We did just good enough to win this game and break the streak. I wouldn't be suprised to run out a losing streak to end the year at 4-12. We're 4-7 now. But of course we know by now that my team likes to surprise me, like the next game when they sneak a 17-10 win over the New York Giants. High Points: Kramer with 7 catches for 85 yards. Though his production seems to have tapered down somewhat from last year (though I could be wrong), he's still an extremely valuable receiver and one of Morrall's favourite targets, something you like to see in a TE. Hicks with 34 yards a kick return. Hutton getting 43 yards a punt. Williamson with 8 tackles, 3 assists, and a sack. Low Points: Again, not a game where there were any truly fantastic performances. Joyner's lost his punt return job to Stowe after this game. Hubbard is also out with another injury. The Broncos bring us back down to earth with a 35-10 smashing. Bye bye whatever faint playoff hopes we may have entertained. High Points: Hicks averaging 28 yards a kick return. Hutton with 43.3 yards a punt. Low Points: When a couple special teams guys are your high points, it's clear how bad your ass got handed to you. I think that's all I need to say about that. But we still have our pride to fight for, so a 13-10 win over the Saints pulls us to 6-8 and gives a slim hope for a .500 record on the year. New Orleans has only won 2 games so far this year. They've really gone downhill since 1970 when they were the second team in the division. High Points: Morrall going 22-38 for 270 yards and a TD without a pick. Low Points: None really, though I'd like to have seen Riggins bust out against this D like he did in the Saints' upset of us. A 27-7 lowering of the boom on the Oakland Raiders brings us up to 7-8. Just like last year, we're getting too hot too late. High Points: Riggins getting 108 yards on 25 rushes. Morrall throwing for 3 TDs. Stowe back in the game averaging 18 yards a punt return. Low Points: Hutton has been as erratic as the team itself this year on punts. He may not be resigned when his contract expires. He just doesn't look anything like the punter he used to be. At 7-8 we have no chance at getting into the playoffs. With Detroit and Chicago posting 10-5 records in the NFC North behind Green Bay (Yes, the NFC North is the dominant division in our conference and has been for some time), all we're playing for in our season finale against the Atlanta Falcons is a .500 record and pride. And yes, Atlanta has once again proven to be the unchallenged superior team in our division. We're going to get slaughtered, I think. Lockhart is injured so that means Allen Turner is getting his first career start. They'll throw at him all game long and burn him, I bet. Well, we make it a hell of a game before we finally fall 31-28 to finish 7-9 on the year. At least we've established that we're a competitive squad capable of an average record each season, so maybe last year's 9-7 campaign wasn't such a fluke after all. High Points: Morrall 22-39 320 yard 4 TDs 0 picks. We're really going to miss this guy when he finally decides to retire. Plunkett isn't anywhere near ready to take over the reins and Earl has really been pretty good for us. Kramer 7 catches for 96 yards and a TD. Stowe with 3 catches for 104 yards. He really is our deep threat beyond compare. 25 yards average on the KR game, though Hicks betters him by averaging 29 yards a return. Low Points: The Falcons focused all their efforts on stopping our run game and it worked. Riggins only got 34 yards and ends up falling short of the 1,000 yard mark on the year, netting 904. Two new teams face off in the Super Bowl in 1972, the Green Bay Packers versus the Cleveland Browns. As it turns out, the Browns upset the Steelers en route to the AFC title, so they truly deserve their new crown. I'm still picking the Packers to win. And they do, downing Cleveland 31-21 to grab the Super Bowl trophy back for the NFC. Indy finally figures out it's a smart idea to go .500 at least to have a shot at winning your division. A lot of the division crowns changed hands this year, leaving only Atlanta as the ones to have been king of the divisions each season we've played thus far. Must be an Atlanta team thing to dominate the division year in and year out, but choke in the postseason every year. Atlanta Braves, we're looking at you. More details to come hopefully later tonight, before I dismantle the computer and pack it away for Wyoming. If not, then this won't be updated until Friday night at the very earliest. __________________ 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)

08-22-2005, 08:57 PM	#27
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I'm going to see if I can knock out some of the end-season things for 1972 tonight before I head out in the morning. Tampa Bay 1972 Stats: Passing: Earl Morrall: 305-532 58.3% 3420 yards 22 TDs 17 ints 78.3 rating Jim Plunkett: 21-32 65.6% 190 yards 3 TDs 2 ints 86.8 rating Morrall continues to be serviceable as a starter, though he appears to be declining somewhat. Plunkett's accuracy is up immensely as he throws over double the passes this year than last year. He may turn out to be our QB of the future yet. Rushing: John Riggins: 245 carries 904 yards 3.68 avg 5 TDs Don Shy: 118 carries 489 yards 4.14 avg 2 TDs Riggins suffered a slight sophomore slump as he misses a game, dips below 1,000 yards, and has 8 fewer TDs over his rookie campaign. Shy Guy still works well as a backup. John Sykes was pretty good in his 11 carries, with a 5.54 ypa. He may just surprise after all. Receiving: Kent Kramer: 68 catches 674 yards 5 TDs 3 drops Bake Turner: 44 catches 662 yards 4 TDs 5 drops Otto Stowe: 43 catches 730 yards 4 TDs 5 drops Kendall Joyner: 40 catches 485 yards 2 TDs 2 drops There were other receives naturally, but these guys were our leaders. Kramer continues to be Morrall's favourite receiver out of the tight end slot. Turner didn't improve as much as I'd hoped statistically with a full season. Otto and Kendall both improved significantly on their rookie campaigns and Joyner looks as though he's developing pretty nicely. I expect that next season should be a breakout year for him. Returns: Otto Stowe: 8.6 PR avg 22.1 KR avg Kendall Joyner: 6.2 PR avg 23.5 KR avg W.K. Hicks: 27.8 KR avg The return game overall wasn't as strong as it was last year, though it was still pretty good. Hicks is the real deal as a kick returner. Kicking: Gino Cappalletti: 22/29 75.8% Leon Hutton: 42.8 avg 30/78 inside 20 Is Hutton starting to slip up some? Cappalletti rebounds to have a somewhat acceptable season. Some changes may happen in this area in the offseason. J.R. Williamson is back! Blessed with a full season of play, the 1970 1st Team All-Pro (then with the New England Patriots) sets a career high since this universe started with 123 solo tackles and 46 assists. He also had a sack on the year. Our pass rush was really anemic last year, even though we got better players. L.C. Greenwood was the team leader with 4. Yep, that's how much of a letdown we've suffered on the front line. The secondary made some more plays this year, as Hicks and Williams both finished with 3 interceptions to tie for the team lead. 1972 Major Season Awards: MVP QB Frank Patrick - Atlanta Falcons Super Bowl MVP RB Donny Anderson - Green Bay Packers Coach of the Year Tracy Gilmore - Cleveland Browns Legend of the Game FS Eddie Meador - Los Angeles Rams Offensive Player of the Year RB Odell Lawson - Cleveland Browns (Chuck Mercein's reign ends) Defensive Player of the Year SLB Lloyd Wainscott - Houston Texans (Second Consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Award, though nowhere near setting the record he did last year of 150 solo tackles) Offensive Rookie of the Year RB Lydell Mitchell - New York Jets (Maybe that's why Mercein wasn't Offensive Player of the Year. Mitchell finished with 754 yards) Defensive Rookie of the Year MLB Jim LeClair - Indianapolis Colts (I feel justified in thinking this guy should have gone #1 in the draft and that Indy got a real steal) Tampa Bay Awards: J.R. Williamson - 2nd Team All-Pro OLB Nice to see we kept our award streak alive. That's all for now. Have to shut this down for Wyoming. See you guys Friday night, most like. __________________ 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)

08-27-2005, 06:22 AM	#28
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I'm back! All moved into my dorm room and everything. I have to be up in a few hours, but I can't sleep, so here we go with as much of the offseason as I can manage before I get tired and grab a nap. Salary cap is up again, this time to $21.1 million. My defensive coordinator and head coach both have their contracts expiring this year, so if I want to make any changes, now is the time to do it. Do coaches and coordinators improve in talent as they go on? Let's see, my defensive coordinator is fair in K/P, very good in DL, good at LB and secondary, and fair with young talent. I think I'll re-hire him and see if it does in fact change over time. I've been more or less satisfied with the job he's done on D. Mr. Thurman Bensen is also 39. My 67 year old head coach is very good at Motivation, Discipline, and Offensive Playcalling, average at Defensive Playcalling and fair at Injury Avoidance. He also has a 19-29 record. Hmm, though I really like the job he's done with the team and he's probably led this team to overachieving in its first few years, I have the urge to go with someone younger. But if I can't find anyone I like well enough in the pool, then I'll try and retain him. There's a few intriguing veteran coaches who have expired contracts. Our division rivals, the Atlanta Falcons, have Paul Sides needing a new deal. He rates as VG/VG/EX/GD/GD. He also wants $840k a year and he's worth every penny. Corey Whitener from the Oakland Raiders also looks extremely attractive. At 48, he's still pretty young. The 22-26 record isn't the greatest, but his VG/VG/G/G/G rating slider is damn nice. Contract demands are $680k, but it's worth the extra money over our current guy and it fits in with the theme that I've been raiding the Raiders ever since I started this game (through no obvious intention, even.) The other guys in the lineup all either have crappy records, are too expensive, don't have the ratings, or some combination of the three. Nobody from the coordinator ranks looks like anybody I'd hire as a head coach. Then I go through the unemployed ranks, where I spy Donovan McCarthy. He's never coached in the NFL, but he's 40 years old, has ratings of good in all the head coaching criterion and only wants $460k a season, which is actually even cheaper than our current coach. So it's a tough choice, a very tough choice. In the end though, I think I'm going to go with Whitener. It'll send a message to our fans that we're serious about improving the team and trying to make them a playoff contender. Thurman Bensen resigns right away. I probably should have looked for another coordinator, but oh well. Too late now. Paul Sides returns to the Falcons for $1.26 million a year for 3 years. Like I said, the man deserves every buck he gets. He's just that good. The only knock on him is that he hasn't led the team to a Super Bowl appearance. Week 2 goes by and it looks like Whitener's going to be signing with me. Ours is still the only offer on the table and the Raiders just signed his replacement, 63 year old James Fogle, untested at the NFL level, for $1.1 mill. a year for 2 seasons. EX/AV/FA/EX/GD are his ratings. I don't like that fair offensive playcalling much and I don't think he's worth that kind of money. Sure enough, Corey signs. Goodbye to Renaldo Endres, who finished with a 19-29 record. Here's the update to the Buccaneers head coaching history: 1970 Renaldo Endres 3-13 1971 Renaldo Endres 9-7 1972 Renaldo Endres 7-9 I'll update it again once Mr. Whitener either leaves the team or retires. After importing the draft, I take a look at our unrestricted free agents to decide if anybody is worth getting the franchise player tag. Nope. Some key players that probably need re-signing, but nobody worthy of the franchise label, except maybe FB Marv Hubbard, but I'm not going to stick the franchise label on a flipping fullback. Flipping through the roster, our need areas are likely going to be LT, RG, RT, P, LDE, RDE, RDT, and MLB. Yeah, Curtis was absolutely destroyed by his injury last season and now is barely fit for backup duty. There's a bunch of other positions where we need backup type guys, but those areas I just listed are the ones where I'm really hunting for a difference maker. Oh, and we also have 34 players under contract. TE Mike Donohoe of the Atlanta Falcons is the most high-quality player on the market, with an 82 rating. Week 1 Offers: FB Marv Hubbard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) FB Travis Gibson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) LG Jake Kupp (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) LG Jim Vellone (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) SLB Brian Stenger (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) WLB Bill Budness (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) FL John Gilliam (St. Louis Cardinals) RT Bill Hayhoe (New York Jets) P Marv Bateman (Seattle Seahawks) RDT Jim Bailey (Indianapolis Colts) RDT Jethro Pugh (Dallas Cowboys) MLB Nick Buoniconti (Oakland Raiders) (The Raider raiding continues as I go after Nicky B, one of my fave 'Phins players from the 70s. This is perfect on so many levels. Even better, he fits my zone system) RCB Bob Jeter (Atlanta Falcons) LCB Art McMahon (New England Patriots) FL Dennis Homan (Green Bay Packers) Week 1 Signings: FB Travis Gibson: 2 years, $260k (minimum deal) FL John Gilliam: 2 years, $400k LG Jake Kupp: 3 years, $860k LG Jim Vellone: 1 year, $170k RT Bill Hayhoe: 3 years, $990k RDT Jim Bailey: 2 years, $360k SLB Brian Stenger: 3 years, $570k RCB Bob Jeter: 2 years, $390k Week 2 Signings: FB Marv Hubbard: 3 years, $540k RDT Jethro Pugh: 3 years, $640k MLB Nick Buoniconti: 2 years, $1 million Week 2 Losses: RB Don Shy: 2 years, $360k (New Orleans Saints) (He wanted too much money from us, so he goes to the Saints for less than what he demanded from our team, but it makes sense, because in NO, he has a very real chance of becoming the starter, something he'd never accomplish here with Riggins around) Week 3 Signings: FL Dennis Homan: 3 years, $570k (After I bid on these two guys, I realized Paul Warfield, another former Dolphin, was in the mix, but I really think Kendall is going to take the starting job this year and I wanted to give him every opportunity to do so, hence why I didn't go after Paul) WLB Bill Budness: 3 years, $560k Week 3 Outbids: P Marv Bateman: 4 years, $510k (Jacksonville Jaguars) (The bastards undercut me. I was leading the whole way, too. Never even got a chance to outbid them. Oh well) Week 4 Offers: RB Claxton Welch (New Orleans Saints) (Ironically enough, this is the guy who has been the Saints' starting RB the past three seasons and who Shy Guy is likely to replace. Nice, elusive, fast, outside running change of pace back versus John Riggins' power-running.) P Leonard Hutton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) Week 4 Signings: P Leonard Hutton: 1 year, $120k (Decided to bring him back for one more season) RB Claxton Welch: 3 years, $510k LCB Art McMahon: 3 years, $570k I think that's pretty much going to be it in the first half of free agency for us. We started with $14 mill and some change under the cap and after that trio of signings in Week 4, we're at $10.9 mill under the cap and have 50 players signed. So we're pretty much good to go, it looks like. Maybe a few backups here and there will need to be signed, but that's about it. Week 10 Losses: RT Ezell Jones: 3 years, $810k (Buffalo Bills) (The Bills got robbed. He's injury-prone and not that good a lineman) Week 15 Losses: RDT Carlton Oats: 2 years, $340k (Washington Redskins) (He won an award with us, but he really was an overachiever that year and didn't do much last season) Draft time! I have to be up in an hour, so I should probably just wait until later in the day when I have more time to dedicate to this, since the draft is my favourite part of the entire game. Yeah, I'm going to do that. I'll get back to this later today. __________________ 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)

08-27-2005, 01:43 PM	#29
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Just got back from breakfast and it's time to start with the 1973 draft! My biggest need is clearly at DE. I could use a better RG, too. So I think those are going to be the areas that I'm looking at most closely in the draft. Beyond that, I'll be looking at young guys who can replace some of the aging veterans we have on the team within a season or three. Quite a few good future guys in the draft. Tops is LDT Dave Butz at 81 future. A lot of the high ceiling guys are pretty raw, though. LDE Barney Chavous looks like a guy I really want. His play diagnosis scouts as bad but the rest of it is really high and he looks like a dominant, high-motor pass-rushing threat, which we really need. Presently he's 37/70. My guess is he won't last until pick #14, though. Not when he's a DE with that kind of potential and the third-most developed player in the draft. That's right, third-most developed. The rookies in the 1973 class are pretty much a bunch of high-ceiling, raw guys. RB Otis Armstrong is the most developed at 46, with Mr. Butz #2 at 43. Yeah, this is a project class for sure, considering guys in the 50s or higher current were plentiful in the last couple of drafts. So after targeting my need areas, here's my list: LDE Barney Chavous RG Leon Gray Short list, you say? Well that's about the sum of it. There's not a whole hell of a lot of guys I like in this draft. It may be a situation where I'm looking at trading for future picks. 1973 Draft 1st round 1. DT Dave Butz - Purdue (Los Angeles Rams) 2. DE Barney Chavous - South Carolina (Jacksonville Jaguars) 3. DT Jeff Yeates - Boston College (New Orleans Saints) 4. T Jerry Sisemore - Texas (Tennessee Titans) 5. DE George Shannon - Stanford (New Jersey Jets) 6. T Paul Krause - Central Michigan (San Diego Chargers) 7. OLB Jim Youngblood - Tennessee Tech (Baltimore Ravens) 8. T Ron Mikolajczyk - Florida State (Carolina Panthers) 9. G Dave Reavis - Arkansas (New York Giants) 10. WR Leonard Thompson - Texas Tech (Buffalo Bills) 11. QB Kris Downs - Texas (San Francisco 49ers) 12. QB Ty Paine - Washington State (Houston Texans) 13. DT Joe Ehrmann - Syracuse (Minnesota Vikings) 14. MLB Brad Van Pelt - Michigan State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) Surprised by that pick? Well, I'm a little shocked at myself, too. But when my pick came around, I did a search by Future. Brad is one of the top guys left and is more developed than Leon (28/72 vs 22/68). Nicky B is a graybeard and his main back-up does not impress me in the least. Van Pelt looks to be the type that fits in any system and he should be a high-quality linebacker after he learns the trade for a couple seasons from the Killer B. 15. G Leon Gray - Jackson State (Washington Redskins) 16. DE John Matuszak - Florida State (Detroit Lions through Cincinnati Bengals) Matuszak was another guy I looked at, but I hated his low endurance ratings. The Bengals got themselves a damn good LG in exchange for the pick. 17. S Levi Johnson - Texas (Miami Dolphins) 18. RB Otis Armstrong - Purdue (Indianapolis Colts) 19. RB Sam Cunningham - USC (New England Patriots) 20. ILB Andy Dorris - New Mexico State (Oakland Raiders) 21. OLB Jim Laslavic - Penn State (Dallas Cowboys) 22. DE Derland Moore - Oklahoma (Philadelphia Eagles) 23. ILB Greg Bingham - Purdue (St. Louis Cardinals) 24. CB Lyle Blackwood - TCU (Detroit Lions) 25. DT Dale Farnie - Maryland (Miami Dolphins through Chicago Bears) Chicago gets a very raw right tackle who still hasn't developed to his full potential after three years in the league. 26. DE Mike Barnes - Miami (Seattle Seahawks) 27. G John Hannah - Alabama (Kansas City Chiefs) 28. RB Leon Crosswhite - Oklahoma (Tennessee Titans through Pittsburgh Steelers) Tennessee gives up a solid veteran RB to just turn around and draft another RB? Yeah, okay. I think I'm going to stop reporting on the draft trades because they piss me off. You don't see actual pick movement unless the human player initiates it and that really sucks. 29. C Joe DeLamielleure - Michigan State (Denver Broncos) 30. CB Jackie Wallace - Arizona (Miami Dolphins through Atlanta Falcons) The Dolphins sure are interested in this draft class. That's three first round picks they've had so far. Honestly there's no way I'd nab three people in the first round here. It's too much of a crapshoot draft with so little development out of the players. 31. G Pete Adams - USC (Cleveland Browns) 32. DE Harvey Martin - North Texas (Green Bay Packers) Okay, no real big names to go and watch, so I'm going to speed ahead to my picks in the remaining rounds. Second round has me looking at a lot of guys I'd like to maybe draft later. I'll take one of them now and hope that the others fall to me. Tampa Bay Other Selections: Round 2: RG Bob Peterson - Utah Round 3: SS Les Fouse - LSU Round 4: RDE Wade Montgomery - Michigan Round 5: TE James Thaxton - Tennessee State Round 6: SE Ricky Stone - Indiana (I plan to convert him to FL after he's signed) Round 7: SLB Vincent Stephens - Pittsburgh Round 7: QB Bert Jones - LSU All of these guys have the potential to develop into role players at the very least, I think. Peterson may or may not challenge for a starting spot this season. Fouse essentially is Hicks's replacement on the field and in returns. Montgomery looks like a pretty good pass rusher. Yes I drafted a TE last year, but Thaxton looks like he might even be better than Christensen and I needed a backup TE. Ricky looked like the prototype FL and his presence will allow me to shift Ben Hawkins to SE where he belongs. Stephens will probably get moved over to the weak side, as there's no chance he's breaking in on the strong side. Jones was a flyer that allows me to get rid of Bubba King and give Plunkett something to worry about for a QB of the future. We got a B- for our draft rating, the highest ever! Of course, this would be the year only two teams got any kind of C grade, the Redskins and the Texans. Oh well. I'm not worried about it. Initial Post-Draft Ratings: 1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 28/71 2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 18/46 3rd round: FS Les Fouse 14/39 4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 15/42 5th round: TE James Thaxton 33/61 (A steal that late in the draft) 6th round: FL Ricky Stone 16/52 7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 12/41 7th round: QB Bret Jones 19/42 Brad and James are the lone hold-outs at the start of the late free agency period. Honestly there's no one else I'm looking to pick up at this stage in the game. Week 5 Losses: RCB Billy Thompson: 3 years, $590k (San Diego Chargers) Not a huge loss. He was our nickel back and serviceable, but wanted way too much money. Week 7 Losses: FS W.K. Hicks: 3 years, $550k (Miami Dolphins) I would have liked to have kept him and I suppose I should have waited until now, but I think the new kids I got will provide an even greater kick return boost than he did. If not, oh well, lesson learned for next time. Thaxton signs in time for training camp, but Brad Van Pelt continues to hold out. Apparently he wants a 4 year deal instead of a 5 year one. Bastard. But then, it looks like quite a few of the first rounders are holding out. Brad finally signs after training camp, but then J.R. Williamson decides he wants to hold out. Lovely. But maybe it's not so bad, since his contract is due to end after this year anyway. The contract issue gets resolved and he signs a 3 year deal for $1.1 mill. Hey, the guy's been an All-Pro two times on various levels. He deserves it. Now time to see how my draftees through the classes are progressing, post-camp. 1971 Draftees: 1st round: RB John Riggins 80/80 (+5/+4) 2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 43/60 (+7/+0) 3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 51/51 (+9/+2) 4th round: WLB Charles Musso 13/36 (+0/-5) 5th round: LCB Allen Turner 11/26 (+0/+6) 6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season) 6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 36/64 (+5/+0) Some good news from this batch. Riggins is now one of the premiere backs in the league, I'd say. Kendall is rapidly developing into the kind of receiver we projected him to be when we drafted him. Otto continues to far out-pace our initial expectations. Musso is a bust. Allen's a bust too, but he's showing signs of maybe starting to come back to life a bit. Plunkett continues along his slow and steady development curve. 1972 Draftees: 1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (25/46) (+1/-5) 3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (13/38) (+1/-5) 4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (18/46) (+2/+0) 5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (10/37) (+1/-5) 6th Round: RB John Sykes (28/35) (+0/-4) 7th Round: K Chester Marcol (Cut from team prior to 1972 season) This entire class pretty much is a bust. Bob is about the only one who might be able to hang on with this team long-term. I'm already anticipating some cuts falling here. 1973 Draftees: 1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 27/70 (-1/-1) 2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 20/42 (+2/-4) 3rd round: FS Les Fouse 15/33 (+1/-6) 4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 15/41 (+0/-1) 5th round: TE James Thaxton 36/59 (+3/-2) 6th round: FL Ricky Stone 16/42 (+0/-10) 7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 13/36 (+1/-5) 7th round: QB Bret Jones 23/44 (+4/+2) Another ugly looking draft class. Brad I'm hoping is just a case of having missed training camp. Montgomery I'm hoping will blossom. Thaxton looks to be taking the Kendall Joyner route (or so I hope). Stone's freefall shocks me. Stephens appears to be another Musso clone and not in a good way. Jones is a surprising mini-boom who may end up replacing Plunkett as the #2 man when it's all over. We win our first preseason game 24-20 over the Steelers. Despite Sykes's continued ratings drops, he still manages to put up good numbers. It's the weirdest thing. Stowe has a 94 yard kick return for a TD. Wish he'd do that shit more often in the regular season. Hutton and Cappalletti look much improved. All in all, nice to see. Preaseason game 2 we lose 27-24 to the Texans. Plunkett is throwing way too many interceptions. My guess is that he'll end up the third-stringer by the time his career reaches its full height. Either that or I'll trade his ass. There's a lot of teams out there looking for a good, young QB. We win by 3 in preseason #3 against the Ravens, 31-28. Plunkett finally has a game with no ints and 2 TDs. Art McMahon, our new dime back, goes down with an injury for 5 weeks. Exhibition season ends with a blowout 34-14 victory over the Jaguars. Riggins explodes for 102 yards and 3 TDs, showing he's ready for the regular season. Fuck, fuck fuck!! We lose Marchliewski for 5 weeks with a separated shoulder and Coles goes down for 8 weeks with a dislocated knee. Say hello to a very ravaged offensive line. I'm going to put what my starters would have been without injuries from now on before each opening game and the ones where there's injury preventing them from starting, I'll put in parantheses after the intended starter who is taking their place in the lineup. QB Earl Morrall RB John Riggins FB Marv Hubbard FL John Gilliam (Gilliam's a huge upgrade over Bake and Kendall isn't quite ready) SE Otto Stowe LT Edwin Coles (Steve Okoniewski) LG Jake Kupp C Frank Marchliewski (Bobby Maples who is a mere husk of the player he once was. Losing two seasons to injury was just too much) RG Dave Middendorf RT Bill Hayhoe K Gino Cappalletti P Leonard Hutton LDE Dick Evey LDT Dave Rowe RDT Jim Bailey RDE L.C. Greenwood SLB J.R. Williamson MLB Nick Buoniconti WLB Bill Budness LCB Carl Lockhart RCB Bob Jeter (He managed to bump Williams down to the nickel spot) SS Jimmy Warren FS Willie Brown I have 5 cuts to make before the season starts. Here are the draftees that get released: SS Jorge Matthews - 1972 5th rounder WLB Charles Musso - 1971 4th rounder Time for me to go eat lunch. I'll do the regular season later today. __________________ 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)

08-27-2005, 04:23 PM	#30
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	A few more things before I go into the regular season. Power-rating wise we're still in the lower middle of the NFC, which is the most even conference. Our lowest team is 62, whereas the AFC has 4 teams below even that mark. Cohesion updates: Team Cohesion Ratings: Passing: 56 (+2 and the lower half of the league. Thought this would be higher.) Offensive Line: 55 (+3 and the lower half of the league.) Defensive Front: 50 (+6, still the lower half in the league. Nice to see the jump, though.) Secondary: 61 (+3, also still in lower half of the league, but we're getting closer to the middle.) All in all, I'd say the team is starting to gel together quite a bit, which is a good thing. Okay now on to the regular season! I'm thinking we'll probably be around 8-8 thanks to our injuries. We open up with a heartbreaking 25-22 OT loss to the Saints. Ugh. Shy Guy got 2 TDs against us. High Points: Stowe is back in the punting return game with 12.5 avg. Hutton is resurgent too, with a 49.5 avg on punts. Cappalletti nails 5 out of 5 field goals, including a 50 yarder. Evey got 2.5 sacks and Williamson rewards me for his new contract with 14 tackles and 4 assists. Low Points: Earl Morall's 3 interceptions tells the tale of the game. Riggins finished with 99 yards, 1 frigging yard short of the century mark. I hate being that close and not getting it. We take out our frustrations in Game 2 by putting away the Dolphins 28-17 to even up our record at 1-1. It was nice to get that win. High Points: Morall going 14-23 for 219 yards and 4 TDs versus 1 INT. He needs to have more games like that. Otto Stowe with 7 catches for 100 yards and 3 of those TDs. Otto with 23 yards avg punt return. Homan with 40.5 yard kick return average. Low Points: None. This was just a really solid game all around. Game 3 sees us play the mighty St. Louis Cardinals, but ultimately fall 17-12. High Points: Kramer getting 9 catches for 106 yards. Homan averaging 26.3 yards a kick return. Low Points: Everything else. It was just a really mediocre showing on our efforts, or maybe our competition was just that superior. To make matters worse, Riggins is out for the next game as is Lockhart, who's gone for 16 weeks with a ligament tear. Good thing I amped up my secondary this offseason, eh? I'm fully not expecting to win the next game against the Redskins, but we do, thrashing them 25-10 to get back to .500 land. High Points: Gilliam with 6 catches good for 118 yards and a TD. Hutton averaging 49 yards a punt. Cappalletti staying in my good graces as he goes 4 for 4, including a 49 yarder. Bailey with 2 sacks. Low Points: Our return game is looking a little anemic again. That was really the only true weak spot for us this game. Dallas gets us for a 23-17 win and we drop to 2-3 despite Riggins being back in the lineup. High Points: Stowe getting 18 yards a punt return. Low Points: The fact that I only have one high point tells you everything you need to know about the game. We get Marchliewski back just in time for our first showdown with the Falcons. I'd like to say we pulled off the upset, but instead we got trounced, 23-7. High Points: Rowe with 10 tackles, an assist, and 2 sacks. Low Points: I have no idea where to begin. Riggins getting 19 rushing yards? Yeah, there's a good place to start. And I don't want to go on from there. We get back on the winning track by downing the Eagles 31-24. High Points: We got the Jekyl version of Earl today as he goes 19-32 for 381 yards, 4 TDs and 2 INTs. Damn close to 400. Gilliam with 3 catches for 101 yards and a TD. Stowe with 3 catches for 165 yards and 2 TDs. Stowe averaging 35 yards a kick return. Nicky B with 12 tackles, an assist, and a sack. Low Points: Riggins hasn't broken the century mark yet this year. Otto still looks uncomfortable on punt returns. Jethro Pugh is out with an injury. Marchliewski needs ACL surgery and won't be back until late 1974. Is it just me or do I have really shitty luck with keeping centers healthy on this team? Christ! Well, there goes the season down the drain. We need bodies on the D-line, so I dip in the free agent pool and sign RDT Clarence Washington, last seen with the Tennessee Titans. Surprisingly, we beat the New York Giants 30-16 to once more even our record, this time at 4-4. High Points: Riggins finally breaks the century mark with 26 rushes for 102 yards. Gilliam just misses the century mark himself with his 8 catches, 98 yards, and a TD. Stowe does break 100 with his 7 catches for 128 yards. Gilliam and Stowe are really turning into quite the capable duo of receivers. Low Points: None. It was just a solid all-around effort by the team. Those fucking Saints. It looks like they're going to end the Falcons' run of division crowns as they just beat us 24-17 to run their record to 6-3. Damn it. High Points: Gilliam getting 8 catches and 120 yards. Cappalleti nailing a 52 yard field goal. Williamson getting 12 tackles, 6 assists, and 2 sacks. Low Points: Eh, Stowe still can't return punts like he used to. I may have to go and find someone else in the offseason. Our pride and .500 record are restored with a 24-21 win over the Panthers. Like I said, this is a really even conference we have in the NFC so there's going to be relatively few blowouts. High Points: Riggins with 25 rushes for 105 yards and a TD. Gilliam with 6 catches for 127 yards and a TD. Homan averaging 30.3 yards a kick return, Stowe 28 in the same category. Williamson with 9 tackles, 4 assists, and an interception. Low Points: Stowe's PR woes continue and Hutton just doesn't seem like the same punter at all anymore. Hooray! We're finally over .500 for the first time this season as we upset the 8-2 New Jersey Jets by a score of 33-27! High Points: Riggins with 19 carries for 198 yards and a TD to go with his 2 catches for 43 yards and a TD. So damn close to the 200 mark! A franchise record, to be sure. Nicky B with 10 tackles. Bob Jeter with 2 interceptions, including one run back 62 yards for a TD! I really like the signing I did of him. The mighty Bears bring us back to earth by handing us a 20-10 loss. Damn, just when we were tied with those dickhead Saints for 2nd place in the division, too. High Points: Gilliam with 5 catches for 112 yards. Nicky B with 13 tackles, 3 assists, and a sack. Williamson with 10 tackles and 3 assists. Low Points: Literally everything else. Our run game went nowhere as our high rusher was Welch with 20 yards. The Monsters of Midway keyed in our run game and our passing game just wasn't strong enough to win today. We get an incredibly important 30-24 win over the Bills in our next game. If we'd lost that one, we basically could have kissed any playoff hopes we might have had goodbye. High Points: Stowe with 5 catches for 103 yards. Cappalletti hitting 3 of 3 field goals, including one for 51 yards. Warren with a 64 yard interception return for a TD. I really have upgraded the secondary this year, as Jeter picked up another interception this game himself. Low Points: Stowe getting negative yards average on the punt return. Our run game was much less stymied this contest, but opponents are still concentrating on defending against the run and daring us to beat them with the pass. It's a smart move, as we're having difficulty pulling it off, even though Gilliam is probably going to be our first 1,000+ receiver ever. Things are getting really intense now. We and Atlanta are both 7-6 and tied for the division lead. The Saints lost and are a game behind at 6-7. Carolina is 3-10 and is looking forward to another year of a high draft pick. Our next game is against the Falcons and as I type this, I'm sweating a little and my heart is racing. We win this and we're in the driver's seat for a division title. Lose, and it'll be Atlanta again in power for the crown. I close my eyes after I hit Sim Entire Week. I open them... slowly click on the FOF 2K4 window... Oh man... what a tense moment.... 27-24 BUCCANEERS!!!!! WE DID IT!!! WE DID IT!!!! WE GOT THE UPSET AND WE'RE IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT FOR THE DIVISION TITLE!!!! High Points: We won the fucking game! Kramer with 12 catches for 133 yards and a TD. Morrall throwing for 3 TDs, the other 2 of which went to Gilliam and Joyner. Otto getting 11 yards a PR to snap out of his funk. Cappalletti continuing to stay in my good graces by going 2 of 2 including a 54 yarder. He might finally have the All-Pro season everyone's been expecting out of him for years. Low Points: Why dwell on the negatives? That was too big a win to think about the bad spots. I'm worried about a hangover from the euphoria of the victory, but that doesn't happen. We put enough together to scrape out a 17-14 win over the New England Patriots to go 9-6. I'll look at the division picture later after I do the high and low points. High Points: Riggins with 22 rushes for 120 yards. Stowe with 28 yards a kick return. Cappalletti with the game-winning 52 yard field goal. Low Points: Morrall threw for 2 INTs vs. 1 TD. That was the only true negative I could find. Okay here's the deal. At 9-6, we're up a game in the division. The Falcons and the Saints are right behind us at 8-6. Atlanta plays New Orleans and we play... the lowly Panthers. Now if we win, and we should, we've got the division and our first ever playoff spot locked up. If we lose, then whoever wins the Saints-Falcons game wins the division. A quick look at the playoff picture shows we'd better win against the Panthers, because the NFC North appears likely to send the two wild-card entries again. We take care of business, pounding the Panthers 30-13. No way in hell were we going to be denied the opportunity to send Atlanta's reign crumbling to dust. The Falcons won 13-9 over the Saints, just as a mild asterisk. High Points: Riggins 20 rushes, 99 yards (one yard short again) and a TD. Gilliam and Stowe each with a reception TD. So all 3 of the big reasons on offense for our getting the division title got a touchdown. That's really nice to see. Well, our fourth was Morrall, who threw for just over 200 yards and had 2 TDs with no picks. Gino had 3 tries and 3 connections on field goals, his longest being a 54 yarder. His production to his vast potential is a huge reason why we're going to the playoffs as well. Low Points: Otto reverted back to his struggles on PRs, but that's something to worry about later. Whoohoo! 1973 NFC South Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers!!!!!!!!! We're going to the playoffs!! We're going to the playoffs!!! My first time ever in FOF 2K4!!!!! __________________ 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)

08-27-2005, 08:49 PM	#31
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Once again the AFC South is won by a team with a non-winning record. That's four straight seasons the division champion has not posted a winning mark. That's just insane, but it also illustrates how weak that division is. Poor Miami. The Dolphins go 10-6 and they still have to sit home. We've got the Detroit Lions in our Wild Card Round matchup. I have a funny feeling they're going to clobber us, but let me look at their roster first. The Lions rely heavily on the long ball, a stalwart O-line, with LG being the lone weak link that maybe we can exploit, and a powerful defense, with an incredible corps of linebackers. The chink in the armour lies in their cornerbacks who are mediocre at best. My guess is they're going to have their linebackers try and shackle Riggins and challenge us to beat them through the air, gambling that their DBs are good enough to shut us down there, too. (Their safeties are good though, I have to say) My guess is that it'll be a close defensive battle and a low-scoring game. Maybe 14-10 or something like that. They may try and attack our porous D-line and have underachieving RB Nick Eddy run it down our throats. On our side of the ball, we'll rely on Riggins if we can, but if not, we've got Stowe, Kramer, and Joyner who can all stretch the field and go to town against those weak CBs, or so I hope. Okoniewski has to start at LT again, as Edwin Coles got re-injured in the game against the Panthers. Here goes. Lions are favoured by 4. Holy crap! We absolutely massacre them 38-13! Wow, I was not expecting that score at all! I'll damn sure take it though. Rather than do the High and Low points, I'm going to do something a little more in-depth analysis wise about the game. We jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Then we scored a TD first in the second to take a 17-0 lead and the Lions started panicking, so they were forced to abandon their run game. By halftime, it was 24-3 and we more or less had it in the books. Once they had to fall into the passing game, our secondary kept them on a leash. Eddy ran just 9 times for 39 yards. Munson, their QB, actually threw for 317 yards and was 27-37, but he only had one TD and an INT besides. Then there's our side. Their linebackers weren't able to stop Riggins as he got the ball 22 times for 196 yards (4 yards short, argh!) and a TD. Morrall had one of his mistake free games in going 19-30, 243 yards, 2 TDs and no picks. Gilliam led in receiving with 5 catches for 88 yards and the TDs went to Stowe and Kramer. That really has turned into a solid receiving corps. I knew Kramer and Stowe were good, but I never expected Gilliam to lead the WRs like he has. Stowe also got 10 yards on his only punt return of the day. Hutton averaged 44.6 yards a punt and Cappalletti blasted home his only FG try of the day, a 51-yarder. Our lead tackler was Williamson who had 8 tackles and 3 assists. Bailey and Greenwood each picked up a sack, while Jeter nabbed an interception. I really am beginning to believe that guys named Jeter are clutch. We lose Bailey for the next game, which is against the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, but on the bright side, Lockhart is coming back, allowing us to get Tanner the hell out of the dime slot. Green Bay has a scary good offense. Bart Starr's not even the starter anymore. He recognized in preseason that his skills are declining and so he told the coaching staff Rick Norton should be the man at QB. The fact that Bart got his Super Bowl ring as a starter last year played heavily into the decision, I'm sure. A 4,500+ yard season later, Norton is idolized in Tundra Town much like Earl Morrall is in Tampa Bay. It doesn't get any easier on defense. MLB is the lone point on D where we might be able to do something against them. I think we're due to get slaughtered. Sure enough, that's what happens as the Packers clobber us 28-7. We were outclassed in every single facet of the game. The only guy who performed well was Stowe who had 4 catches for 88 yards. Willie Brown had 11 tackles in the secondary and Nicky B had 10 tackles and 1 assist himself. There's no shame in losing here. The Packers were clearly the dominant team. The 1973 Super Bowl featured the new AFC champion Denver Broncos versus the defending Super Bowl champs, the Green Bay Packers. Can they do the double Super Bowl wins in '72 and '73 like the Miami Dolphins did IRL? Oh.My.God. In quite possibly the most thrilling Super Bowl that will ever be played, the Denver Broncos upset the Green Bay Packers 34-33. A one-point game and the Broncos have made an unbelievable history. What an amazing finish to an equally amazing season. I'm happy with what we did this year. First franchise playoff berth, first franchise division title, and first franchise playoff victory. Not bad at all considering I thought we'd go 8-8. Now for the team leaders. Passing: QB Earl Morrall 320-554 57.7% 3820 yards 25 TDs 13 INTs 84.2 rating What an incredible year by Earl. Sure his completion percentage dropped for the fourth year in a row and he's showing signs of age, but he set a career and franchise high in passing yardage, nearly topping the 4,000 mark. He also increased his TDs and decreased his INTs from last season to post a career and franchise best +12 differential. His interception totals have dropped each year he's been in Tampa Bay, too. Likewise the 84.2 rating is both career and franchise high. Is it any wonder he's revered by the Bucs faithful? You'll notice Jim Plunkett didn't throw a single pass in the regular season, though he was 3-8 with a TD in the blowout loss against the Packers in the playoffs. If his contract isn't up, I'm going to trade him in the offseason, I think. I just don't see him as the future. The team is going to be hurting when Earl retires. Originally I thought he'd play a couple seasons while he mentored Jim and then leave town. I never expected him to become a Buccaneer icon when I traded for this IRL '72 Dolphin backup QB. Rushing: RB John Riggins 273 rushes 1216 yards 5 TDs RB Claxton Welch 107 rushes 424 yards 3 TDs Despite missing a game, Riggins returns to the 1000+ rushing mark and posts a career high in avg ypc with 4.45. Oh yeah, he also finished second in the league in rushing yardage. Claxton was serviceable as a backup. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, Shy Guy finished with 978 yards and 5 TDs for the 8-8 division rival Saints. Receiving: TE Kent Kramer 79 catches 709 yards 2 TDs 1 drop FL John Gilliam 71 catches 1157 yards 8 TDs 4 drops SE Otto Stowe 57 catches 946 yards 8 TDs 4 drops FL Kendall Joyner 23 catches 307 yards 1 TD 8 drops Those 8 drops by Kendall concern me. On the other hand, Gilliam becomes our first 1000+ yard receiver like I anticipated and Stowe nearly joins him for our first duo of 1000+ receivers, but alas, it didn't happen. Kramer led the team in receptions again and remains Earl's favourite safety valve target. I did not expect that type of production out of Gilliam at all. He was a steal of a free agent signing for me. Otto just keeps getting better and better every season. I have a hunch that by the time he's done developing, he might well be one of the better WRs in the league. Returns: SE Otto Stowe 6.4 PR avg 23.1 KR avg FL Dennis Homan 26.8 KR avg Stowe just isn't cutting it in the PR department anymore. He's still a good KR though. Homan has broken for 2 TD returns so far in this universe but he didn't get one this year and his average was a little low. Kicking K Gino Cappalletti 32/36 88.8% 36/36 PATs P Leonard Hutton 41.3 avg 31/59 inside 20 Now that's what I'm talking about. That's the kind of performance I wanted to see out of Gino when I first signed him. Leonard continues to drop down in production. He'll be replaced next season. Defensively, we were led in tackles by Nicky B with 117 solo and 34 assists. He also had 3 sacks. Right behind him was Williamson with 107 solo, 57 assists, 3 sacks, and 3 interceptions. Man, J.R. has really earned that new deal he got. Sackswise, pass-rush specialist RDT Jim Bailey took advantage of the starting opportunity he got to garner 6.5 sacks to lead the team. Second was LDE Dick Evey with 5 sacks as he took advantage of the double-teams Bailey got to get up in there. RCB Bob Jeter, as you've guessed by now, set a franchise record with his team-leading 7 interceptions, one for a TD. That was one steal from the Falcons I've been ecstatic about. He's a great fit for our zone system and he busted his ass in preseason to take the starting RCB job away from Williams. By the stats and the impact, he's shown he deserved it. A very key part of our division title this year. That's all for now. I want to make it to a movie playing out on one of the lawns and it's almost dusk, so I'm headed there now. __________________ 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)

08-28-2005, 07:15 PM	#32
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	This may be fairly short an update as it's nearly time for supper and I have a floor meeting after that. 1973 Major Season Awards: MVP: QB Rick Norton - Green Bay Packers Super Bowl MVP: QB Al Pastrana - Denver Broncos Coach of the Year: Wade Shapiro - Green Bay Packers Legend of the Game: LDT Alex Karras - Detroit Lions Offensive Player of the Year: QB Rick Norton - Green Bay Packers Defensive Player of the Year: MLB Bill Bergey - Houston Texans Offensive Rookie of the Year: QB Gary Huff - Seattle Seahawks (A 5th round selection. Had a 17 TD to 24 INT ratio. Demonstrates just how weak the offensive class was in the last draft) Defensive Rookie of the Year: LDE Barney Chavous - Jacksonville Jaguars Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards: J.R. Williamson - All-Pro First Team OLB Bob Jeter - All-Pro First Team CB Jim Bailey - All-Pro Second Team DT Wow, three awards. That's awesome! Jeter led the league in interceptions, by the way. Something I forgot to report in the stats rundown. Bailey was a surprise selection on the second team, but I'm not complaining in the least. Nice to see that two of the guys we signed in the offseason had All-Pro seasons for us in the first year with the team. Now if only I could draft better than what I've been doing. I just stumbled on the Franchise Value report by accident. Hey that's a pretty cool sheet. Tracks the stadium, roster, support, city economy, and the franchise value. That's pretty damn cool. I'm going to have to start including that every year now as part of my listings before the regular season begins. Wish I'd known about that sooner so I could have begun tracking it sooner, but oh well. As far as season tickets go, since you can find that out too by double-clicking on a team, we've sold 60,000+ every year we've been in existence, with our lowest total being last year at 61,400 for a 65,700 capacity stadium. I fully expect that number to go back up after this playoff season. Moving along, our offensive coordinator's contract is up this year. He's not all that good in my opinion and wants too damn much money, so I'm going to go find myself a new OC, one better, cheaper, and younger. Brady Ballard of the New York Giants looks great. VG/EX/VG/VG/AV/GD are his ratings, with his average ranking in kickers and punters, something I'm not too terribly fussed about. Sure he wants a lot of money, but you know what? He's worth every single bloody cent. By the end of stage 1, he's signed on for $1.06 million for 3 years. Okay I'm going to pause here and go eat supper cuz I'm hungry. I'll be back afterwards if I can to do a little more before the hall meeting. I'm back! After skipping through the rest of the staff stages and importing the 1974 class I click Begin Free Agency and find I have a trade offer in my email. I don't know if it's my first one or not, because I haven't been too good about checking my in-game email until now, but I'm going to start. The Bills want Frank Marchlewski and they're willing to give me a 6th rounder in the upcoming draft for him. Frank isn't the same player he was after getting injured last year and clearing that $500k cap cost off my books looks extremely tempting. But I want a little more than a 6th rounder. I want at least a 4th rounder. Yet they won't do it, not for that or for a 5th rounder. Ah hell, I'll make the deal. I don't really need the cap room but I want the extra pick. We've got some key players that have expired contracts, so let's get cracking. Three players are 80 or higher this year, C Jim O'Brian at 90, TE Mike Donohoe at 82, and RDT Leo Brooks at 80. Week 1 Offers: QB Earl Morrall (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) QB Jim Plunkett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) TE Kent Kramer (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) LDT Dave Rowe (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) SLB Mike Stratton (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) LCB Carl Lockhart (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) SS Jimmy Warren (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) C Jim O'Brian (Tennessee Titans) LT Edwin Coles (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) LDE Bill Stanfill (Miami Dolphins) WLB Chris Hanberger (Washington Redskins) Week 1 Signings: QB Jim Plunkett: 3 years, $480k C Jim O'Brian: 5 years, $7.45 mill. LDT Dave Rowe: 3 years, $880k SLB Mike Stratton: 1 year, $230k LCB Carl Lockhart: 2 years, $480k Most of these guys are returnees from last year. Jim I'm going to try and trade sometime next year because of how anal the game is about trading players just signed. O'Brian is my most expensive signing to date and arguably my most important. If he can stay healthy, he'll be our anchor in the middle for the entireity of his contract. Week 2 Signings: QB Earl Morrall: 2 years, $1.90 mill. LDE Bill Stanfill: 5 years, $5.50 mill. WLB Chris Hanberger: 3 years, $960k SS Jimmy Warren: 3 years, $750k I'm shocked that Stanfill signed with us. The Minnesota Vikings were offering him a ton more money, an extra year, and a voidable option for that last year. I thought for sure he was going to sign with them, but he announced in the press conference that he wanted to be with a winning team. That's one thing the Vikings aren't, as they've been the doormat team in the powerhouse NFC North division every year so far and they've yet to even reach .500. Time for the floor meeting. Week 3 Signings: LT Edwin Coles: 3 years, $1.20 mill. Week 3 Losses: P Leonard Hutton: 1 year, $160k (Washington Redskins) Edwin's actually turned into a serviceable LT, even if he's a bit injury-prone. All the LTs who were better than him wanted too damn much money for my tastes. Leo goes to ply his declining skills in the nation's capital. No biggie. Week 5 Signings: TE Kent Kramer: 3 years, $930k Week 5 Losses: RG Dave Middendorf: 3 years, $1.08 mill. (Seattle Seahawks) Morrall's favourite target returns to him in Kramer. I was a little disappointed to lose Middendorf, as I was waiting him out to see his contract demands go down, but that didn't happen, so he heads to the West Coast. Week 6 Offers: RG Chuck Hutchinson (Green Bay Packers) Week 7 Signings: RG Chuck Hutchinson: 5 years, $4.00 mill. Yeah so I overpaid for him, but he was the best RG left and I didn't think there was anybody in the draft falling to my level who would be worth my time, ergo the slight overrun in value. Week 8 Losses: SE Ben Hawkins: 2 years, $420k (Minnesota Vikings) Ben was never really that great a receiver to be totally honest, so I'm not too torn up over losing him. I can always find another backup SE in the draft if need be. Week 11 Losses LDE Dick Evey: 1 year, $320k (New Orleans Saints) Dick cashes in his 5 sack season from last year for an above minimum-wage paycheck with our division rivals. That's all well and good for him, I say. With Bill's signing, Evey was more than expendable. Week 16 Losses: LG Jim Vellone: 2 years, $520k (Carolina Panthers) Another division foe poaches one of our players. Jim was a good backup player for us, but while I was waiting for his demands to drop, I forgot to check back, so we lost him. No worries. I can always get a replacement in the draft if need be. Speaking of the draft, that's coming up the next post, whenever I do it. __________________ 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)

08-31-2005, 12:00 AM	#33
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Let's blow the dust off this thing and get it fired back up. I've been insanely busy with classes and errands so I haven't been around all that much, and my schedule only looks to get worse as the semester wears on with extracurricular commitments I'm planning on taking on. Going into the draft, I don't see any real pressing immediate needs to be filled. What I do need, however, is to find guys who will be able to supplant the greybeards we have on the team, especially at the two S positions and LG. MLB may be an area for concern as well, as Brad looks like the perfect bump and run guy, but hasn't really learned the nuances of our zone game just yet, so we may trade him to somebody who really needs a young MLB for a 1st round pick. Other areas of interest are QB, where I'm not convinced either one of Plunkett or Jones is the answer to replace Morrall when he retires. Beyond that, it'll be a case of best player available for our system. Looking over the players, RT Henry Lawrence is unquestionably the top guy in the draft. 87 future potential and 39 current. He's going to be anchoring someone's line this season, that's for damn sure. MLB Jack Lambert looks like an amazing guy too. I see a few Safeties that may be worth looking at as well. I've just formulated a plan. Now I just have to wait and see if it'll pan out. 1973 First Round Picks: 1. T Henry Lawrence - Florida A&M (Jacksonville Jaguars) 2. DE Too Tall Jones - Tennessee State (New York Giants) 3. OLB Randy Gradishear - Ohio State (Baltimore Ravens) 4. ILB Jack Lambert - Kent (Carolina Panthers) I tried and tried and tried to get a deal done with the Panthers, because I knew they'd take Lambert otherwise, but they were just too stubborn and demanded too much. So I let him go with considerable regret. Oh well, maybe Van Pelt will pan out after all. 5. DT Carl Barzilawskas - Indiana (Tennessee Titans) 6. DT Richard Bishop - Louisville (Indianapolis Colts) 7. G Robert Pratt - North Carolina (New Orleans Saints through Los Angeles Rams) 8. T Darrell Jennings - Nebraska (Philadelphia Eagles) 9. DT Bill Kollar - Montana (Cincinnati Bengals) 10. S Doug Nettles - Vanderbilt (Houston Texans) There goes the guy that I was eyeing with our 21st pick. Therefore you may see me trading out of the first round as there's no one else I'm exceptionally thrilled with who's likely to fall that far, unless maybe a couple of the system safeties I'm watching drop. In the meantime though, it's off to supper with me. I'll do a little bit more afterwards before my night class. Back to do some more for about 20 minutes. 11. QB Junior Hjerppe - Georgia Tech (Washington Redskins) Like us, the Redskins seem eternally in search of a successor to their talented old man QB. 12. C Mike Webster - Wisconsin (Minnesota Vikings) 13. WR Billy Johnson - Widener (Denver Broncos through Seattle Seahawks) 14. DT Charlie Davis - TCU (Oakland Raiders) 15. G John Hicks - Ohio State (New England Patriots) 16. T Gino Manning - West Virginia (Buffalo Bills) 17. WR Lynn Swann - USC (San Francisco 49ers) One of my favourite non-Dolphins 70s players goes to the Left Coast in this universe. Interesting. 18. DE Lee Irwin - Vanderbilt (New Orleans Saints) 19. DT Glenn Walters - Small College (Atlanta Falcons) 20. QB Norm Elston - Oregon State (Jacksonville Jaguars through San Diego Chargers) 21. QB Danny White - Arizona State (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) I couldn't help myself. I really see this kid turning into something special, I really do. Besides, this gives me the freedom to trade Jim away. 22. TE Dave Casper - Notre Dame (Miami Dolphins) 23. QB Kennedy White - West Virginia (Chicago Bears) 24. DE Fred Cook - Southern Missippi (Los Angeles Rams through Detroit Lions) 25. T Dave Simonson - Minnesota (New Jersey Jets) 26. WR Nate Moore - Florida (Dallas Cowboys) 27. G Dave Lapham - Syracuse (Cleveland Browns) 28. T Steve Riley - USC (Pittsburgh Steelers) 29. RB Dennis Morgan - Western Illinois (St. Louis Cardinals) 30. T Drew Choate - Arizona (Kansas City Chiefs) 31. T Leroy Calavicci - Tennessee (Green Bay Packers) 32. ILB Matt Blair - Iowa State (Denver Broncos) That's a wrap for the first round and I need to head to class now. Interesting note: ILB Greg Bingham, selected in the 1st round last year (#23) with the St. Louis Cardinals, refused to sign with them and is now in this year's draft. Thus far, he has yet to be selected. He finally goes in Round 2, Pick 17 to the San Francisco 49ers. Hope they have better luck signing him. The guy I really wanted to draft in the second round got taken ahead of me, but fortunately one of the safeties I liked okay is still remaining and so I take him. Welcome aboard, Pete Wessel. In the third round, I see a CB I really like, but I think it's a bit early for him to go, so I decide to roll the dice and pick up a RDT that I think I can shift over to LDT. Well fuck. I should have taken the CB like I wanted. He was a real playmaker. Damn it! This is what I get for continuing the draft after class. Disgusted with myself, I grab a system guy in the 4th who isn't a playmaker, but is a kick return guru. By Round 5, I'm just taking flyers on guys and that's the way the rest of this draft is going to be. Tampa Bay Selections: Round 1: QB Dan White (Arizona State) Round 2: SS Pete Wessel (Northwestern) Round 3: RDT Marcus Feliciano (Washington State) Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler (Air Force) Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe (Missippi State) Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller (Colorado State) Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers (Colorado State) Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin (Syracuse) Seth Rogers was obviously a name pick. The other guys here, I thought they could fill a role on the team at some point. Hell, they may even break out. Anyway, here's their post-draft ratings. 1974 Draftees: Round 1: QB Dan White 17/55 Round 2: SS Pete Wessel 19/51 Round 3: RDT Marcus Feliciano 18/44 Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler 11/42 Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe 9/43 Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller 26/37 Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers 17/40 Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin 18/51 Draft Grade: B Hey we're getting better! And we're moving up the ranks, too. Jesus Christ. I have a bunch of hardasses this year. White, Wessel, Wheeler, and Wolfe all decide to get cute on me. That's the last time I draft that many W-last names in a class. Danny White is the only one who holds out still and misses training camp. Not a smart move, buddy. You've already got some stiff competition and I won't hesitate to trade your ass. Trade offers come in for Hayhoe, Plunkett, and Joyner. Let's take a look at them. The Colts are offering me a second rounder for Hayhoe. Tempting, but no. We're too weak on the line as it is. Hahaha YESSSSS!!!! The Baltimore Ravens are offering me a 1st rounder for Plunkettt! I don't even have to think twice about that one. Or wait, maybe I do... What's his ratings again after the camp? Let me go look at all the draft classes. The Bears, by the way, are proposing a 2nd rounder for Joyner. Not a chance in hell. 1971 Draftees: 1st round: RB John Riggins 80/80 (+0/+0) 2nd round: FL Kendall Joyner 57/61 (+14/+1) 3rd round: SE Otto Stowe 56/56 (+5/+5) 4th round: WLB Charles Musso (Cut before the 1973 season: Non-contributor) 5th round: LCB Allen Turner (Not re-signed after 1973 season: Occasional dime back) 6th round: RDE Cornell Daniels (Cut from team prior to 1971 season) 6th round: QB Jim Plunkett 41/64 (+5/+0) Two more players from this draft class are gone, but the remaining ones are looking very nice indeed. Riggins seems to have hit his ceiling. Joyner learned an incredible amount from Gilliam last year and has shot up immensely to where he's about where we figured his potential would be. Otto still keeps improving, though Kendall might finally be the better receiver like originally projected. Who know they would end up this close to each other in ability though? Wow. Plunkett keeps up the turtle method of slow and steady, but guess what? A first rounder is being dangled in front of me for him. Bye-bye Jimmy! You're outta here! Go fly with the Ravens! 1972 Draftees: 1st Round: LT Steve Okoniewski (30/43) (+5/-3) 3rd Round: FL Will Roberts (9/28) (-4/-10) 4th Round: TE Bob Christensen (20/45) (+2/-1) 5th Round: SS Jorge Matthews (Cut from team before 1973 season) 6th Round: RB John Sykes (27/33) (-1/-2) 7th Round: K Chester Marcol (Cut from team prior to 1972 season) Unlike the 1971 class, which has a few damn good players that I dug up, this one just flat out sucks in every way possible. Roberts is an especially huge bust who is only around because I don't want any cap penalties. Okoniewski might end up being an acceptable backup, but that's about it. Oh, Christensen may be an okay third stringer, too. 1973 Draftees: 1st round: MLB Brad Van Pelt 40/69 (+13/-1) 2nd round: RG Bob Peterson 21/39 (+1/-3) 3rd round: FS Les Fouse 23/41 (+8/+8) 4th round: RDE Wade Montgomery 16/39 (+1/-2) 5th round: TE James Thaxton 38/57 (+2/-2) 6th round: FL Ricky Stone 16/36 (+0/-6) 7th round: WLB Vincent Stephens 14/32 (+1/-4) 7th round: QB Bret Jones 28/46 (+5/+2) Now this draft class is starting to surprise me. I figured Van Pelt might snap out of it after he finally get a full training camp under his belt, but I didn't expect the leap that happened. True, his future is continuing a slow fall, but maybe it'll pick up back to what it was like Kendall's did. Having Nicky B around has helped Brad immensely. The real shocker here is Fouse. After looking totally lost last year and seeming to be just another bust, he's had an epiphany in training camp after Willie Brown gave him lots of extra mentoring and help. I guess Willie doesn't want his legacy tarnished by having a bad player succeed him. I'll take it though. Bret is a lot like Jim. Steady learning of the game under Morrall's tutelage, but even better than Jim, he's actually growing in potential. Still a long way to go before he hits Plunkett's level, though. 1974 Draftees: Round 1: QB Dan White 17/53 (+0/-2) Round 2: SS Pete Wessel 20/42 (+1/-9) Round 3: RDT Marcus Feliciano 19/41 (+1/-3) I then changed him to RDE where he became 17/43 (-2/+2) so we'll see how that one goes. Round 4: LCB Gilbert Wheeler 12/35 (+1/-7) Round 5: LT Dale Wolfe 12/41 (+3/-2) Round 6: P Billy Joe Roller 26/35 (+0/-2) Round 6: RDE Seth Rogers 18/35 (+1/-5) Round 7: FL Skip Goodwin 19/44 (+1/-8) Ugh. Looks like a pretty bad class over all. White may do the same thing Van Pelt did this year and rebound next year. Feliciano also could break out once he adapts to his new position. Outside of that, though, this class is looking as ugly as the 1972 group. __________________ 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)

08-31-2005, 04:29 PM	#34
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	I have about half an hour before my next class, so I'm going to get through the preseason if possible. But first, I want to examine the particulars of Baltimore's QB situation. With the addition of Jim, they now have 5 QBs on their roster. The one with the most experience is actually two guys, Jim and Andrew Levine, both entering their fifth year. Second year man Joe Ferguson is nominally the starter during preseason, though I fully expect Plunkett to win the job by the regular season, as he's clearly the best QB on the roster. Two rookies round out the position, with none of the signal callers except Jim having been drafted. No wonder the Ravens were so willing to give up 1st round pick for Mr. Plunkett. So on we go to the preseason. Well I'm not going to have time to run the games before I have to head off to class, but seeing Baltimore's depth chart has given me the idea to give the young guys as much playing time as possible in at least the first two games and then gradually work in the veterans the last couple games. Game 1 of preseason is a 20-14 win over the Bengals. Both young QBs looked good and Welch runs for 123 yards and a TD. Game 2 is a 14-6 loss to the Titans. Danny White is definately outplaying Jones and will go into the season as the #2 man. Now it's time to put in our regular starters for the last couple games. Our third preseason matchup is a 42-31 defeat at the hands of the Steelers. Stowe and Joyner are both exceptional in the loss. We close out the exhibition section with a 17-7 win versus Houston, highlighted by Riggins rushing for 103 yards. I'll do the rest of the stuff later. Like starting lineup, cohesion, power rating, etc. __________________ 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)

09-02-2005, 11:17 PM	#35
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	First things first: The starting lineup. A lot of it will stay the same, some will have changed. QB: Earl Morrall RB: John Riggins FB: Marv Hubbard FL: Kendall Joyner (finally wins the starting job) SE: Otto Stowe LT: Edwin Coles LG: Jake Kupp C: Jim O'Brian RG: Chuck Hutchinson RT: Bill Hayhoe P: Billy Joe Roller K: Gino Cappalletti LDE: Bill Stanfill LDT: Dave Rowe RDT: Jim Bailey RDE: L.C. Greenwood SLB: J.R. Williamson MLB: Brad Van Pelt (A year's tutelage under Nicky B was enough to win him the job) WLB: Chris Hanberger LCB: Carl Lockhart RCB: Bob Jeter SS: Jimmy Warren FS: Willie Brown Team Cohesion Ratings: Passing: 61 (+5, good enough for mid-league. We're going to take a huge hit once Earl retires, though.) Offensive Line: 57 (+2 and in the lower half. This despite changing Cs (again) and RGs.) Defensive Front: 53 (+3, in the lower third.) Secondary: 59 (-2, due largely to the change in backups at the S positions. In the lower third.) We're ranked in the middle of the NFC in terms of power rankings and some publications are considering us a contender for repeating our playoff appearance. I can agree with that. So we'll shoot for making the playoffs again this year. Somehow we've lost $210k in cap room next year even though the only guy I cut who was supposed to cost any room was FL Ricky Stone, at $10k. Oh well. Our NFC South title defense opens with a 27-20 loss to the Falcons, who were angry over our snapping their title streak last season. High Points: Riggins with 23 rushes for 148 yards and a TD. Stowe with 6 catches for 100 yards. Williamson with 11 tackles and 5 assists. Low Points: Our entire special teams. Kicking, punting, returning... they all were horrible. Chris, our new starting WLB gets a herniated disk and estimated out 3 weeks. We pull things together though and get a 28-24 win over the Ravens to even us up at 1-1, and yes, as I predicted, Plunkett was given the starting QB job for the Ravens. High Points: Morrall good for 3 TDs and no picks. Riggins getting his second straight 100-yard game, this time just barely getting it. Plunkett getting intercepted twice. Kendall with 4 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs. Roller actually getting over 40 yards a punt with 42.2. Low Points: Our punt return game still is horrible. I need a new PR. Another close one in Game 3, this one a 26-21 loss to the Cowboys. It really depresses me to suddenly be unable to close out close games like we used to. The only good thing to report is Brown with 11 tackles and 3 assists. That's how bad we played the rest of the game. Meh, I'll finish the season later. Suddenly don't feel like doing it all in one go. __________________ 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)

09-04-2005, 03:55 PM	#36
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Since I'm supposed to be doing laundry right now, I've decided to update this dynasty instead, because I've never done laundry before and I don't really want to do it now. We get hammered in Week 4 34-12 by the St. Louis Cardinals and suddenly we're looking nothing like last year's 10-6, playoff game winning team. High Points: Dennis Homan with an incredible 98 yard kickoff return for a TD. Low Points: Everything else. We finally get back on track with a 24-21 win over the 49ers and I'm beginning to think we can do this after all. High Points: Riggins snapping out of his funk and going 25 times for 129 yards and 2 TDs. Stowe with 3 catches for 108 yards and a 21 yard PR average. Roller with a 49 yard punt average. Jeter with an 8 yard fumble return for a TD. Low Points: Sadly, Morrall looks like only a flimsy outline of his former greatness this season. My guess is he's on his way out. Another close game in the 6th contest of the season, this one a 28-23 loss to the Rams. So close and yet so far away. It's been a damn frustrating year thus far. High Points: None, really. It was pretty much all either average performances or low points. It was a case of the game not being as close as the score indicated. The frustration continues as we drop one 26-21 to the Seahawks of Seattle. Why are we having such horrible luck here? I know Morrall's off-kilter season has a lot to do with it, but with the improvements I've made on the line and with the team overall, you'd think that'd translate into more wins. High Points: Greenwood with 2 sacks. Morrall throwing for 2 TDs and 0 picks. Low Points: Everything else. Well, there goes the season. Stowe pulls his quadrecep muscle and is estimated out 4 weeks. That's one injury we can ill afford. And yet, this team always surprises me when it comes to adversity. They do it once more with a crucial 27-24 upset of the New Orleans Saints. This gets us to be 3-5 at the halfway mark. We're going to have to kick some serious ass in the second half of the year if we want to do something. High Points: Riggins 23 times for 110 yards. Kramer with 2 TDs. Williamson with a 31 yard int return for a TD. Low Points: Morrall throwing for 5 INTs. Shy Guy rushing for 114 yards on us. Oh now this is just ridiculous! Now Joyner is out for 3 weeks with an injury of his own. Our two best young WRs, our starters, both injured at the same time. Stupid, stupid game. I hateses you. The Falcons top us 17-14 and we're sinking fast. Atlanta really got pissed off about last season's stealing of the crown we pulled on them and they've been taking it out on the division this year by running away with it up to this point. They're now 7-2. High Points: Riggins with 2 TDs, one rushing, one receiving. Wheeler with a 46 yard KR. Low Points: Everything else. Great, now the superstar C we signed, Jim O'Brian, is out 4 weeks with an injury. Have I mentioned yet how bad our luck is with Cs being injured? Ugh, that's it. I'm going to take another pause here. This season is really irritating me on so many levels. __________________ 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)

09-12-2005, 01:30 AM	#37
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	We take out our frustrations on the Carolina Panthers, furiously pounding them 34-11. High Points: Riggins rushing 23 times for 105 yards. Morrall throwing for 4 TDs and 0 sacks. Roller averaging 43.5 yards a punt. He's turning out better than I expected. Stanfill with 2 sacks. Low Points: Our return game is terrible. Fouse is out for 6 weeks and I receive a new injury. Wessel has arthritis and is out for an unknown amount of time. WTF? He's still in his 20s and he has arthritis?! I don't even want to know how he got it. We get back Stowe and Joyner for our next game and nip the Bengals 26-20. While the season is probably lost for the playoffs, we should be able to get at least a .500 record. High Points: Riggins rushing for 141 yards and a TD. Stowe averaging 10 yards on the punt return and 27.2 yards on the kick return to respark our return game. Cappaletti going 4 for 4 on FGs. Williamson with 12 tackles and an interception. Low Points: None really. Despite a hard-fought battle, we fall to the mighty Green Bay Packers 24-19 to send us to 5-7 and virtually eliminate any chance at the playoffs for us. High Points: Williamson with 15 tackles and 5 assists. Low Points: Everything else. Another tough game, this time a heartbreak as we lose 20-17 to the 10-1, now 11-1 Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the best we can hope for is .500. High Points: Williamson with 12 tackles and 2 assists. Low Points: Everything else. We lose Bailey for at least the next game, but I'll probably just sit him the rest of the season to avoid his getting hurt worse, since we have nothing left to play for. Our next win is a 20-17 squeaker over those god awful Carolina Panthers. High Points: Stowe with 8 catches for 94 yards and a TD and a 15.6 punt return average. Van Pelt showing some of his promise with a nice all-around game of 7 tackles, 2 assists, and a half a sack. Low Points: Roller was just awful puntingwise. We upset a probable playoff team in our next game as we take down the formerly 10-4 Cleveland Browns by the score of 30-27. We've been in tight games all season, it seems. High Points: Kramer with 9 catches for 97 yards and a TD. Though I haven't looked at the stats yet, my guess is he'll once again have proven to be Morrall's favourite target. Stowe with 21 yards on PR avg. Low Points: None, really. We close the year out with an annoying 26-23 loss to the Saints that, had we won, would have put us second in the division. But alas we're 7-9 and in third. I hate New Orleans. High Points: Joyner with 5 catches for 95 yards and a TD. Williamson with 10 tackles, 2 assists, a sack, and an INT. Rowe with 7 tackles, 2 assists, and 2 sacks. Low Points: Stowe was meh in the return game and Riggins was held to 63 yards. So that concludes the 1974 regular season! Here's the final standings. Some notes: We have our first ever AFC South + .500 division champions! Way to go, Colts! Poor Redskins fans. D.C. gets screwed out of a playoff berth thanks to the still mighty NFC North. Many of the same teams remain dominant. The only question is what will happen in the postseason, where anything can happen at all. Will Minnesota ever rise above being the NFC North doormat? __________________ 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)

09-12-2005, 04:49 AM	#38
Izulde Head Coach Join Date: Sep 2004	Passing: QB Earl Morrall 323-558 57.8% 3760 yards 24 TDs 13 INTs 83.0 rating Old Man Morrall continues to put up very good numbers in spite of the fact that he's getting really, really old. I expect him to retire before too long, but for now he's having fun playing the game and being idolized here in Tampa Bay. Danny White threw for 2 passes in 1 game, completing a 3 yarder. Oh, and in Jim Plunkett news, he completes 54.3% of his passes for 2574 yards and 7 TDs vs 12 INTs, all in 13 games, as he was injured earlier in the year and missed 3 games. Think Baltimore is kicking themselves now for giving up what will be either the #3 or #4 pick in the draft? Yeah I'd say so. Rushing: RB John Riggins 298 rushes 1405 yards 12 TDs RB Claxton Welch 80 rushes 298 yards 1 TDs Riggins has his best season since his rookie campaign and sets career highs in rushes, yards and yards/carry. Because of his emergence, Welch, formerly a star for the Saints, is now marginalized to backup duty. Speaking of Saints and RBs, Shy Guy has 1070 yards and 2 rushing TDs for Claxton's old team. Receiving: TE Kent Kramer 82 catches 797 yards 7 TDs 4 drops FL John Gilliam 36 catches 525 yards 1 TDs 2 drops SE Otto Stowe 46 catches 768 yards 3 TDs 3 drops FL Kendall Joyner 53 catches 802 yards 6 TDs 3 drops Kendall shows a lot better hands this year and does quite well in his first season as a starter. Morrall continues to rely on Kramer however, and with good reason, as Kent is one of the top TEs in the league and also one of the most underrated. Still, I'd like to see a 1,000+ yard receiver again, preferably one I've homegrown. Joyner and Stowe, I'm looking at you. Truth is, they probably would have gotten it and we'd likely have been in the playoffs if they hadn't had to have missed games because of injuries. Damn injury bug. Returns: SE Otto Stowe 9.0 PR avg 24.8 KR avg FL Dennis Homan 28.6 KR avg 1 TD Homan continues to be a dominant kick return and adds to his TD legacy. Stowe increases his PR and KR averages considerably, and there's reason to think our return game may well be restored. Kicking K Gino Cappalletti 27/29 93.1% 36/38 PATs P Billy Joe Roller 39.0 avg 27/82 inside 20 Cappalletti maintains his superior FG form, but I don't like those two missed extra points. And we aren't going to even talk about Mr. Roller. J.R. Williamson once again led our defense. With 135 tackles, 46 assists, 2.5 sacks, and 4 ints, 1 for a TD, it's obvious to see why he's considered one of the best OLBs in the league year in and year out. And yet in spite of all his accolades, his popularity is Needs Scorecard (15)? I don't understand it. Brad Van Pelt was second with 95 tackles, 26 assists, and 2 sacks. Our pass rush was led by L.C. Greenwood with 8, followed close behind by Billy Stanfill with 7.5. The two former Dolphins have really added punch to our sack attack. Williamson actually led the team in INTs, strangely enough. Atlanta pulls off a huge upset in the first round of the playoffs when they knock off the two-time defending NFC Champion Green Bay Packers 22-20. They run all the way to the NFC title game, where they're beaten by Dallas 20-17. And so it's the Dallas Cowboys versus the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1974 Super Bowl after KC upsets the Steelers in the AFC matchup. I'm thinking Chiefs. But no! Dallas gets a barnburner of an upset, winning 28-26! The Super Bowl Trophy returns back to the NFC, sports fans! 1974 Major Season Awards: MVP: QB Joe Namath - New York Jets Super Bowl MVP: QB Roger Staubach - Dallas Cowboys Coach of the Year: Nick Flannery - Chicago Bears Legend of the Game: LDT Charley Krueger - San Francisco 49ers Offensive Player of the Year: RB Eddie Ray - Kansas City Chiefs Defensive Player of the Year: SLB J.R. Williamson - Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Bo Matthews - Green Bay Packers (3rd round selection who rushed for 1000+ yards, barely, and had 10 TDs) Defensive Rookie of the Year: MLB Jack Lambert - Carolina Panthers Tampa Bay Buccaneers Awards: J.R. Williamson - Defensive Player of the Year J.R. Williamson - All-Pro First Team OLB Williamson is without a doubt one of my most valuable signings ever. Though he isn't listed as a mentor yet, he's still the heart and soul of the entire Buccaneers defense. Going into the Staff Hire Phase, we need a new scout because his contract has expired and frankly, ours sucks. I decide to try and poach none other than the Atlanta Falcons' scout, who's a good all-around bloke in such matters. Sadly, the bastard resigns with his former team. So then I try and get the St. Louis Cardinals scout, who looks okay and possibly able to be nabbed. We get him and things are all good to go. Free agency period up next, but I'm too tired to do that right now. Besides, I still need to import the 1975 draft. __________________ 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)

09-13-2005, 08:32 AM	#39
Chris Jones n00b Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Baldwinsville, NY	I see Brad Van Pelt is playing pretty well for you. I drafted him with my 1st pick in 1973, but the SOB held out our until week 2 of the regular season. I almost was going to release him. I was so mad that the following draft, I drafted Jack Lambert the following season with my 1st pick. As it turns out, Lambert is also holding out as we enter pre season. My former starting MLB and All-Star Willie Lanier has retired and it looks like Van Pelt will enter 1974 as the starter. Hope he fairs as well as your version did. __________________ Home of the FOF NCFL