8 life’s exposed – A FOF dynasty

[Northwood_DK]

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8 life’s exposed – A FOF dynasty
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With the new 2007 NFL real player file from yabanci now available I guess its time to start up another dynasty. My last dynasty was the “Cinderella and the big four” story from a few months back. I hoped to get some interesting storylines by picking some of the big schools as backbone for the story but unfortunately it didn’t really work. I still like the format and will give it another try but with a slightly different twist. This time I will follow eight players all drafted as the first at their positions in the 2008 draft. I will follow them from the day they work out at the combine and hopefully all the way to Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Each year I will write a short recap of the entire season and a full report of each player’s action during that season. I will act as the GM for the Cleveland Browns but will mostly try to stay out of the story. Before the start of the draft I will trade the Browns first round pick (#2 overall) to Dallas for a seven rounder to make up for the Brady Quinn deal.

Have fun and feel free to comment.

[Northwood_DK]

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QB Walt Chinn
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Home Town: Martinsville, VA Height: 6-0 Weight: 209 Birthday: 4-13-1985
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 6.2 Adjst: 7.1 Dash: 4.73 Sole: 37 Strg: 13 Agil: 7.09 BJmp: 9-10 PSpec: 72 Devl:19 %

Despite coming from a small school Walt Chinn is bye fare the highest rated quarterback at this years combine and is ranked 3rd (tie) among all the players rated in this years draft. He is smart and strong and had the best Agil-test of all quarterbacks in this year. During the workouts at the combine he did great and the only knocks the scouts had was his problems with short passes and accuracy. The Roll-out quarterback from Savannah State will need a lot of time to develop and must sit on the bench a year or two to get use to the speed of the NFL.

The first mock drafts all had him as the #1 overall pick to Houston. The Texans had a terrible 2007 and finished with a 3-13 record. Matt Schaub was sitting on the bench all season behind Saga Rosenfels and was released at the beginning of the 2008 season. The only problem is that they need a quarterback ready to start and that’s not Walt Chinn.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 19/61
Round 1 Pick 1
The Texans waited until the last second to make their pick. For the longest time they hoped to make a trade down a few spots but with the huge amount of almost equally rated defensive line players nobody was interested. That forced the Texans to use the pick and gamble that Walt Chinn can turn in to a franchise quarterback.

2008 Pre-Season:
Walt Chinn and his agent decided to turn down the first contract offer from Houston and by that said no to $41.38mil over six years. The second offer was a five year deal worth $33.05mil and that was still not enough for the #1 overall pick. That also meant that Chinn would miss the Houston training camp. The deal was finally done after camp and Chinn was ready for the first pre-season game. It was a 5-year deal with over 23mil in guarantied money.

He got to play in all the pre-season games with some pretty good results. Especially the last game against the Lions was a good performance. He completed 10 of 11 passes for 1 TD and a 136 passer rating. It was still not enough for the coaches to give him the starting job for the first game of the season and for the home season opener he took place on the sideline as backup for Sage Rosenfels.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 19/59

2008 Season:
The Texans did improve form the year before and finished with an 8-8 record. The improvement was not because of Chinn who didn’t start a single game all year. Sage Rosenfels had a lot better year and finished with a 95.6 passer rating. Walt Chinn did get to throw a few passes. He got to take the field three times during the season in games that was lost early. That gave him a chance to throw the ball 22 times with 10 completions for 125yds. He had one TD and two interceptions (all in same game) and finished with a 40.9 pass rating. Saga still got one year left on his contract and Chinn got a lot of learning to do.

Post Season Rating: 19/59

2009 Pre-Season:
After missing his rookie camp due to a contract holdout Walt Chinn was ready to go this season. Together with last years starter Sage Rosenfels and last years 7th round draft pick Matt Cassel he will also have to compete with Joey Harrington for a place on the roster. Harrington was not offered a new contract in Chicago after winning 8 games the year before. In camp Chinn struggled and his rating didn’t improve as the front office and fans hoped. He got to play in all four pre-season games and did very well. He completed 38 of his 53 71.7%) pass attempts for 2 TDs and just one interception. He of cause made the roster as the #2 quarterback in the depth chart but his ratings is still a huge concern for people in Houston.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 18/59

2009 Season:
This was another long year for Walt Chinn. Sage Rosenfels played solid football all season and lead his team to nine wins. That was just one short of the playoffs but good enough to keep Chinn and Joey Harrington on the bench. The few time the team needed the backup quarterback to step inn they called for Harrington and Walt Chinn didn’t have a single pass attempt all year. Bye now the Texans have paid him over $1mil pr pass attempt and more then $2.5mil pr completion.

Post Season Rating: 18/59

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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 0, Att 22, Cmp 10, 125yds, 1 TD, 2 Int, 40.9 Rate
2009: GP 16, GS 0, Att 0, Cmp 0, 0yds, 0 TD, 0 Int, 39.6 Rate
Career: GP 32, GS 0, Att 22, Cmp 10, 125yds, 1 TD, 2 Int, 40.9 Rate

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $1.140.000
Salary Year 2: $1.820.000
Bonus Year 1: $23.150.000
Bonus Year 2: $ -
Total: $26.110.000

Awards:
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[Northwood_DK]

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RB Chad Cepeda
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Home Town: Frederick, MD Height: 5-10 Weight: 214 Birthday: 3-22-1984
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 5.9 Adjst: 6.3 Dash: 4.60 Sole: 32 Strg: 10 Agil: 7.24 BJmp: 9-07 PSpec: 21 Devl:70 %

He is the highest rated running back in the draft but his agent have already told him that he must be satisfied if he is drafted in the first round and that he might not even be the first running back off the board. His performances at the combine and his scout reports have been expensive for him. His lack of power inside was not an issue when playing for Missouri but the NFL scouts have a big question mark on him form day one. What might be even worse is his lack of speed to the outside and that he has never been use catch balls is not helping him either. When asked by reporters Chad Cepeda said that he would like to play in New York and hoped to be drafted by the Giants at #20.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 43/59
Round 1 Pick 30
The Giants did draft a running back with the 20th overall pick but it was not Chad Cepeda. Instead they took the guy with the coolest name Ben Arrowsmith from Notre Dame. That left Cepeda in somewhat of a free fall that didn’t stop until the Steelers picked at #30. Pittsburgh decided to give Ben Roethlisberger another weapon and Willie Parker some relieve. He will get to learn from the best as he will be the backup to Willie Parker who was the leagues leading rusher in 2007.

2008 Pre-Season:
$11.41mil over 5 years was not enough for Cepeda to sign a rookie contract. Instead he agreed on a shorter deal worth $9.63mil but over just 4 years. In the four pre-season games he got a lot of carries and averaged almost 20 carries pr game for a total of 318yds. He did have a minor leg injury causing trouble in the pre-season but nothing that could keep him off the field. He will still start out as the backup to Parker but with almost identical current ratings and a lot more upside the Parker it might not be long before the roles is changed and Cepeda is the starter in Pittsburgh.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 45/59

2008 Season:
He might have been the last of our 8 hero’s to be drafted but it didn’t stop Chad Cepeda from having a fantastic rookie season. The played the entire season as the backup to Parker but still managed to rush for 826yds and 9 TDs. He had his best day in week 13 when he rushed for 75yds and 3 TDs. The 4.42avg was exactly the same as the first running back Ben Arrowsmith managed but despite of 13 starts he only managed 5 TDs. The best overall rusher in 2008 was Larry Johnson who rushed for 1844yds with 11 TDs and an impressive 5.39avg. Both Johnson and Frank Gore had 10 +100yds game. Cepeda only had a single +100yds game and that came in the first week of the playoffs when the beat the Patriots. On 17 attempts he rushed for 148yds.
The future looks great for Chad Cepeda. It will be a surprise if he is not the starting running back in Pittsburgh already next season. It will also be interesting to see how long it will take the Offensive rookie of the year to start demanding a new contract.

Post Season Rating: 49/59

2009 Pre-Season:
His rookie of the year award earned him a $2.3mil bonus and a new contract from the Steelers. Many people expected him to take over for Willie Parker as the starter already this year but the Steelers also awarded him with a huge new contract with $12mil bonuses. In the pre-season games Cepeda was asked to work hard and he carried the ball 72 times for 313yds. It was still not enough to move up in the depth chart but he is still expected to carry the ball over 200 times this season.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 44/54

2009 Season:
For the 3rd year in a row the Steelers win +10 games. Once again Chad Cepeda was stuck as the #2 in the depth chart behind Parker. Willie Parker didn’t disappoint and had another +1000yds season. Cepeda once again did what he was asked and rushed for a solid 656yds on just 141 attempts. That was the second most by a running back not to start a game only behind Marion Barber (DAL). He did get injured in week 9 when he picked up a nasty knee injury. It only forced him to the sideline for a single game but his ratings took a hit and he now solely have to relay on his elusiveness.

Post Season Rating: 45/45

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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 0, 187 Att, 826Yds, 9 TDs, 24 Ctch, 121yds, 2 TDs, 2 Fum
2009: GP 15, GS 0, 141 Att, 656Yds, 3 TDs, 20 Ctch, 95yds, 0 TDs, 3 Fum
Career: GP 31, GS 0, 328 Att, 1482Yds, 12 TDs, 44 Ctch, 216yds, 2 TDs, 5 Fum

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $790.000
Salary Year 2: $470.000
Bonus Year 1: $2.790.000
Bonus Year 2: $2.287.500
Total: $6.337.500

Awards: 2008 PoW mention:4, 2008 Offensive rookie of the year, 2009 PoW mention:2

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[Northwood_DK]

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WR Renaldo Izzard
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Home Town: Huntington, IN Height: 6-0 Weight: 204 Birthday: 5-7-1985
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 5.6 Adjst: 5.8 Dash: 4.44 Sole: 28 Strg: 24 Agil: 6.94 BJmp: 8-07 PSpec: 65 Devl:17 %

2008 is not a good year for teams looking for wide receivers. The player from Nebraska blew away all competition at the combine and posted Top-5 scores in almost every test. He is incredible strong for a receiver and his 24 bench presses impressed a lot of people. The scouts also liked his hands and gave him thumps-up for everything beside big-play-receiving. The reason most mock drafts had him dropping out of the first round is of cause that with his just 17% developed and high Vol-rating he is a bit of a gamble. Web-sides have reported that he has been worked out at closed sessions by both Atlanta and Minnesota and that they might be willing to draft him at #21 or #15.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 36/72
Round 1 Pick 15
The two next picks (OAK, BUF) were also linebackers and the Bears picked the 3rd quarterback at #13. Dallas then made a stupid move and drafted another DT with the second pick, after already picking up Wes Sheldon earlier in the draft. They had the chance to pick the best receiver in the draft to play a year with Owens and Terry Glenn before they retire but as many people predicted Izzard Renaldo instead ended up in Minnesota with the 15th overall pick. He will join a sad group of receivers and have the chance to be the starter already this year but if QB Travaris Jackson is good enough to get him the ball is a big question.

2008 Pre-Season:
$18.14mil was the first offer from the Vikings but that was not enough. They came back with the same offer the second time around but the answer was the same and Izzard decided not to report to camp. He turned down another contract after camp and then one more during the pre-season. It took all the way to pre-season week 5 for them to agree on a deal. $13.5mil over 4-years was the final result of the holdout. The ink on the contract was hardly dry before his dressed up in uniform to play the final pre-season game of the season against the Titans. He was on the field for a total of 17 plays and caught 3 of 4 balls thrown his way for a total of 29yds.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 36/68

2008 Season:
For a first round pick and being the first receiver drafted Renaldo Izzard had a pretty unimpressive first season. Without the time in training camp Izzard got off to a really slow start and only had 8 catches in the four first games. By the end of the season he still ended up being the favourite target for quarterback Travaris Jackson and was targeted a total of 100 times. He “only” cached 55 of them for 632yds and 4 TDs. He picked up just 57YAC and was also leading the team in dropped balls (5).

Post Season Rating: 53/68

2009 Pre-Season:
As the #1 flanker in the Vikings depth chart Renaldo Izzard did not see much action during the pre-season. A total of 6 catches was all he managed on his time on the field. The competition for a place in the starting line-up will be a bit tougher in Minnesota this season as they brought inn three new receivers before the season. Drew Carter, Edell Shepherd and Andre Davis will all make the final roster together with Izzard and Sidney Rice.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 49/62

2009 Season:
Izzard developed just as the Vikings hoped during his second season in the league. It didn’t start out to well as he injured his knee already in the first game of the season. He was back on the field for week 3 only to re injure the knee once again. Luckily the injury was nothing seriously and he managed to start 13 games during the regular season. The team focused on running the ball and with running backs touching the ball over 500 times 14 players had to sharer just 441 passes. Renaldo Izzard was just the 3rd target player on the team and finished the season with a disappointing 489yds and 4 TDs. On the back of Adrian Peterson the team made the playoffs and Izzard had a fine day with 4 catches for 63yds. It was not enough to help his team avoid the upset loss to Carolina in the second round of the playoffs.

Post Season Rating: 60/62

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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 16, 100 Targ, 55 Ctch, 632yds, 4 TDs, 5 Drp, 3 Fum
2009: GP 13, GS 13, 67 Targ, 38 Ctch, 489yds, 4 TDs, 3 Drp, 1 Fum
Career: GP 29, GS 29, 167 Targ, 93 Ctch, 1121yds, 8 TDs, 8 Drp, 4 Fum

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $950.000
Salary Year 2: $1.520.000
Bonus Year 1: $6.440.000
Bonus Year 2: $ -
Total: $8.910.000

Awards:

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[Northwood_DK]

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LT Korey Cooper
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Home Town: Clearfield, UT Height: 6-3 Weight: 300 Birthday: 1-21-1986
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 6.4 Adjst: 7.1 Dash: 5.01 Sole: 25 Strg: 42 Agil: 7.48 BJmp: 7-05 PSpec: NA Devl:20%

Korey Cooper is a player that doesn’t have to worry about not being drafted in the first round. As the 3rd highest rated player in this year draft he is looking for a huge pay-day and it will be a major surprise if he is not drafted in the Top-10. Some have even suggested that Houston will take him with the first overall pick and finally start putting an O-line together. He is one of the youngest and strongest players in the entire draft and has an almost perfect scouting report. Only question mark is his endurance that might keep him on the sideline more then the teams would like.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 30/78
Round 1 Pick 7
The Ravens drafted a quarterback, Miami took the second cornerback and the Jets took a DT at number six. That gave the Lions great value at number seven when they had Korey Cooper falling in their lap. They might want to move him or Jeff Backus to RT but what ever they decide to do he will see a lot of playing time already in his rookie season.

2008 Pre-Season:
Cooper also turned down his first contract offer. That was a 6-year deal worth $24.23mil. They did come back with another offer before camp but the 250.000 extra was not enough to get him to sign and Cooper would also miss his rookie camp. After camp the added another $3mil to the deal but kept the 6-years and the result was again a negative from Cooper. They finally have to offer him the 5-year deal he wanted and by pre-season week 5 the deal was done. The lack of training and getting use to the speed of the NFL clearly showed in the last and only pre-season game Korey Cooper got to play. He was on the field for a total of 27 plays without contributing anything but allowing a sack.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 29/74

2008 Season:
The O-line in charge of looking after Aaron Brooks and keeping him healthy had a rough season. In the 16 games he started he was sacked a total of 49 times (4th most of all quarterbacks in the league). Rookie Korey Cooper did the best he could and was the only of the Lions O-line players to start all 16 games. His ratings did improve during the season and his strength is good enough to compete with the best in the league He still got some work to do with the run and pass blocking before next season and it must be a huge concern that most of the players on the O-line will be out of contract or possible retired next season.

Post Season Rating: 42/74

2009 Pre-Season:
Cooper also got a new deal as he agreed to rework his rookie contract. That secured him another $1.08mil in bonuses but also lowered his base-salary for the 2009 season to a league minimum $470.000. He didn’t play much in the pre-season games but the few times he was on the field he didn’t impress anyone.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 43/72

2009 Season:
The Lions and Korey Cooper won 9 games but losses in week 16 and 17 against the Bengals and Vikings left them just outside the playoffs again. Cooper again played in all 16 games and recorded 29 KRBs on 59 KRO. That gave him a decent 39.0 BPct he still gave up a lot of sacks (8) and his 1.7 SPct was a problem.

Post Season Rating: 53/72

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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 16, KRB 11, KRO 35, Pnck 0, SkA 10
2009: GP 16, GS 16, KRB 23, KRO 59, Pnck 0, SkA 8
Career: GP 32, GS 32, KRB 34, KRO 90, Pnck 0, SkA 18

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $980.000
Salary Year 2: $470.000
Bonus Year 1: $10.950.000
Bonus Year 2: $1.080.000
Total: $13.480.000

Awards:

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[Northwood_DK]

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DT Wes Sheldon
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Home Town: Kansas City, KS Height: 6-2 Weight: 297 Birthday: 11-16-1986
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 7.0 Adjst: 7.6 Dash: 4.90 Sole: 34 Strg: 43 Agil: 7.30 BJmp: 9-00 PSpec: NA Devl:26%

This years draft is loaded with great D-line players and seven of the eleven highest rated players are all DEs or DTs. And on top of the pile we find Wes Sheldon, the highest rated player in this year’s draft. The mock drafts all have him in the Top-3. At the combine he did excellent at all the tests and the scouts all liked what they saw. His only weakness is with play diagnosis and that is something they all expect him to learn quickly. Its also speculated that he might be holding out if drafted by Dallas with the second overall pick. His agent is the highest rated agent in the league Omar Kelly who represents 173 players in the league but none playing for the Cowboys.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 43/84
Round 1 Pick 2
With both the second overall pick (from the Brady Quinn deal) and the 14 overall pick Dallas had the possibility of a great day at the draft (they completely messed that up if you see Renaldo Izzard pick above) and a chance to add two impact players. With only five D-line players already under contract if was expect that one of the picks would be used on a D-line player and the selection of Wes Sheldon made perfect sense. He will play next to Brian Young that came over as a FA from New Orleans during the off-season. Now they just need to get him signed and ready for training camp.

2008 Pre-Season:
Dallas was willing to pay Wes Sheldon $31.75mil but it was not enough to get him to sign his rookie contract. They added almost $4mil to the next offer and that got the deal done and Sheldon ready to camp. Dallas who had made a strange move in the draft and used two first round picks on DTs had another surprise when camp opened. Both Wes Sheldon and the other rookie DT was asked to play NT. Sheldon picked it up straight away and had a tremendous training camp and took a huge ratings jump. Already before the first pre-season game the teams Hd announced that he had a real chance to win the starting job and when the pre season was over 9-year veteran Bryan Young found himself disgruntled on the sideline. Wes Sheldon on the other hand found himself in the starting line-up for week 1 and on top of the green page.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 60/74

2008 Season:
The Cowboys disappointed and finished last in the division for the season year in a row with a 6-10 record. The people in Dallas had really started to question owner Jerry Jones when he decided not to re-sign Tony Romo after the 2007 season (he went to San Francisco to backup for Alex Smith) and instead promoted 17-year veteran Brad Johnson to be the starter in 2008. But his decision to draft Wes Sheldon nobody questioned. He kept getting better as NT as the season went along and was even selected PoW in week 3 when he had 6 tackles and 2 sacks. He was the starter in all 16 games and kept veteran Brian Young on the sideline for the entire season. The numbers he put up was not fantastic but for a rookie playing in a 3-4 system they were very good.

Post Season Rating: 67/83

2009 Pre-Season:
The only thing Dallas needed to do to be a championship contender was to find an average quarterback that could run the offense without making to many mistakes. They decided on Rex Grossman!! The rest of the team looks stellar and Wes Sheldon is the highest rated of them all. He only played in two of the four pre-season games with solid performances in both.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 81/84

2009 Season:
Despite having Rex Grossman as the quarterback Dallas and Wes Sheldon had a solid season. They had to settle for a wild card as they could not catch the Eagles who finished the season with 13 wins. In the wild card game against Seattle Sheldon got his first taste of playoff football and recorded 5 tackles and a sack in the win. In the next game against division rivals Eagles Wes Sheldon was unlycky and separated his schoulder early in the geame. The injury is not big and he will be back next season.

Post Season Rating: 89/89


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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 16, 39 Tckl, 17 Asst, 3.5 Sack, 9 Hurr, 6,4 TkPct
2009: GP 16, GS 16, 55 Tckl, 28 Asst, 6.5 Sack, 13 Hurr, 9.6 TkPct
Career: GP 32, GS 32, 94 Tckl, 45 Asst, 10.0 Sack, 22 Hurr, 8.0 TkPct

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $1.140.000
Salary Year 2: $1.820.000
Bonus Year 1: $21.850.000
Bonus Year 2: -
Total: $24.810.000

Awards: 2008 PoW mention: 1, 2008 PoW Win: 1, 2009 PoW mention: 5

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[Northwood_DK]

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WLB Everett Johnston
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Home Town: Lillington, NC Height: 5-11 Weight: 232 Birthday: 5-11-1984
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 6.7 Adjst: 6.4 Dash: 4.42 Sole: 28 Strg: 28 Agil: 7.04 BJmp: 9-03 PSpec: 29 Devl:52%

Just outside the top-10 we find the highest rated linebacker Everett Johnston from Purdue. He is clocked with the second fastest 40-dash time of all players in this years draft and showed some tremendous pass rush strength. He still need to work on his pass rush skills but his lack of technique will be compensated by speed. He can play all kind of defenses and only his seize raised a question mark at the combine. At Purdue he line-up manly as the WLB but if needed he can switch to SLB without trouble. It’s not unlikely that he will be the big winner on draft day as more then half the league have linebacker as their biggest need.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 41/63
Round 1 Pick 10
With Watson gone Green Bay didn’t know what to do with the 10th pick and when Denver, who had just picked, called they were not slow to sell them the pick. Denver paid a 5th round pick this year and first round picks in both 2009 and 2010. For that lofty price they got to pick Everett Johnston with the #10 overall pick. In Denver he will join a solid group of linebackers including D.J Williams, Nate Webster, Ian Gold and of cause Boss Bailey.

2008 Pre-Season:
Quickly agreed on a five year contract and got ready to camp. Despite playing a 4-3 defends the Broncos planed to take eight linebackers in to the regular season and a lot of players had to sharer playing time in the pre-season. Johnston collected a total of 15 tackles in the 4 pre-season games. He looked to have secured a place in the starting line-up but a ribcage injury in the last pre-season game made his start in week 1 a game day decision.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 44/60

2008 Season:
He did get to start in the first game of the season against Oakland and had 4 tackles. He also started the next two weeks before being sidelined in week 4. He was back as a starer the week after but moved in and out of the starting lineup for the rest of the season. He was dressed and played in all 16 games but only managed 31 tackles and 13 assists on the 350 plays he was on the field. The Broncos front office must be a bit concerned that his current rating did not improve more then 3 points during the season despit starting 12 games.

Post Season Rating: 47/60

2009 Pre-Season:
Their will be extra pressure on Everett Johnston this season as Ian Gold looks to be injured again and questionable for most of the season. The team still looks pretty solid and Patrick Ramsey is still keeping Cutler on the bench. Johnston recorded 9 tackles in the three pre-season games he played. The team lost all four pre-season games.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 51/58

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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 11, 31 Tckl, 13 Asst, 1.0 Sack, 0 Hurr, 13.0 TkPct
2008:
Career: GP 16, GS 11, 31 Tckl, 13 Asst, 1.0 Sack, 0 Hurr, 13.0 TkPct

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $870.000
Salary Year 2: $1.340.000
Bonus Year 1: $9.400.000
Bonus Year 2: -
Total: $11.610.000

Awards:

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[Northwood_DK]

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FS Floyd Watson
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Home Town: Sierra Vista, AZ Height: 6-0 Weight: 203 Birthday: 10-21-1984
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 6.5 Adjst: 6.1 Dash: 4.44 Sole: 26 Strg: 27 Agil: 7.13 BJmp: 7-08 PSpec: 44 Devl:53%

Floyd Watson is the fastest and strongest S in this year’s draft. The daft class for safeties is not very deep and only two players got a adjusted rating over 5.0. Houston and Green Bay are the only two teams looking for a safety. With Houston drafting first and the Packers 10th most mock drafts have Watson as an early second round pick where he will be good value. That will also make the most sense for the team drafting him as they have to be concerned about his high Vol-rating and low endurance.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 53/72
Round 1 Pick 9
The Dolphins traded back in to the top-10 thru the Jaguars to pick one of the DTs still available at #8 and that left the Broncos on the clock. They surprised a lot of people including Floyd Watson when they drafted the young FS a lot earlier then expected. They already have Nick Ferguson under contract and a young prospect in Alvin Sganga.

2008 Pre-Season:
Watson did not waist any time signing his rookie contract and agreed on a 5-year deal worth $18.66mil. It quickly became clear that he would be moved to SS to make room for both him and Nick Ferguson in the starting line-up. He played very well in the preseason and recorded 12 tackles and 1 assist in the week 4 game. In the final pre-season game against the Saints Floyd Watson was hurt on the last play of the first half and never returned to the game. It turned out to be a dislocated shoulder and Watson was sidelined for at least five games and would have to start the season as inactive.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 58/71

2008 Season:
Watson missed the four first weeks of the season with the shoulder injury but went straight in to the starting line-up when he got back to 100%. The fans in Denver liked what they saw and Watson responded with 54 tackles and 19 assists in the 12 games his played in the regular season. He also managed to intercept Drew Brees and Byron Leftwich. In the playoff game against the Patriots he had a career high 11 tackles but it didn’t help as they lost in OT.

Post Season Rating: 63/71

2009 Pre-Season:
Beside of Champ Bailey and Floyd Watson the Denver secondary looks very shaky. Watson is the only SS on the roster and one of just three safeties. He will have to stay healty this year and produce a lot more then last year for the teams to advance.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 68/70

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Stats:
2008: GP 12, GS 12, 2 Int, 8 Defn, 54 Tckl, 19 Asst, 81.9 PDPct , 11.0 TkPct
2008:
Career: GP 12, GS 12, 2 Int, 8 Defn, 54 Tckl, 19 Asst, 81.9 PDPct , 11.0 TkPct

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $870.000
Salary Year 2: $1.340.000
Bonus Year 1: $9.600.000
Bonus Year 2: -
Total: $11.810.000

Awards: PoW mention: 1

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[Northwood_DK]

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CB Ronald Breen
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Home Town: West Jefferson, NC Height: 5-6 Weight: 184 Birthday: 2-17-1983
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History:
Combine:
Grade: 6.8 Adjst: 7.0 Dash: 4.43 Sole: 29 Strg: 13 Agil: 6.93 BJmp: 8-11 PSpec: 57 Devl:61%

The last of the players we will follow in this dynasty is Ronald Breen. The 6th highest rated player in the draft coming out of San Diego can really move. He had the 3rd best 40yds dash and the second best Agil-test of all players in the draft. He also got an excellent scout report and no real weaknesses in his game. That together with being 61% developed should make him a top-5 pick in the draft if not for his one weakness. The only weakness he has is something he can do nothing about. Ronald Breen is only 5-6, 184 pounds and will get blown away by the big physical receivers in the league. The different mock drafts can’t agree who much his seize will cost him and have him going off the board everywhere from in the top-3 to mid first round.

Draft:
Post Draft Rating: 66/77
Round 1 Pick 3
With just five D-line players under contract everybody expected the Chiefs to take carer of that problem with the 3rd overall pick in the draft. Instead they shocked everybody and drafted Ronald Breen. It was not only way earlier then what he was projected but also not really a need for the Chiefs. They have Will Allen and Patrick Surtain on the roster already but it looks like one of them will spend some time on the bench this season.

2008 Pre-Season:
When picked 3rd Ronald Brenn wants to get paid and paid big. The $30.4mil contract offer from Kansas City was returned unsigned. When they added $3mil more then deal was done in time for him to attend training camp. In the pre-season he had a sack and a pick but not much more and despite his huge contract and great ratings it’s clear that he have a lot to learn. He might be able to learn from Patrick Surtain who out-played him in every pre-season game.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 70/75

2008 Season:
All the scouts that said before the draft that Ronald Breen was too small to play professional football have to apologize to the young player today. Of all the players coming out of the 2008 draft Breen now have the highest both current and future rating. In his rookie season he started all 16 games and was on the field for over 1000 plays. He was one of six Chiefs players with over 50 tackles. He didn’t have any interceptions in his first year but he was second on the team in passed defended with 14 only behind veteran Patrick Surtain. His TkPct and PDPct were not impressive but he will only get better in the years to come. The team won 10 games but didn’t make the playoffs this year. They had a struggling Rex Grosman as quarterback to start the season until he had a possible career ending ankle injury. Damon Huard took over but fell just one game short despite a 98.1 passer rating.

Post Season Rating: 83/83

2009 Pre-Season:
Damon Huard will be the starter at opening day in Kansas City after Rex Grossman was not offered a new contract. They have too many holes to be a serious contender this season but Ronald Breen will be the cornerstone in the secondary. His pre-season performance was solid and he made a lot of tough tackles but he still struggles defending the pass.

Pre Week 1 Rating: 81/81

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Stats:
2008: GP 16, GS 16, 0 Int, 14 Defn, 51 Tckl, 15 Asst, PDPct 78.7, 6.6 TkPct
2008:
Career: GP 16, GS 16, 0 Int, 14 Defn, 51 Tckl, 15 Asst, PDPct 78.7, 6.6 TkPct

Career earning:
Salary Year 1: $1.140.000
Salary Year 2: $1.820.000
Bonus Year 1: $20.500.000
Bonus Year 2: -
Total: $23.460.000

Awards:

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[Northwood_DK]

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2007 Season
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2007 History:
The 2007 season was dominated by a strong AFC division. The Steelers finished the season with just a single loss (to the Bengals in week 3) and had the league leading rusher in Willie Parker. The 15-1 record was still not enough to earn them the home field advantage as the Patriots behind Tom Brady had the prefect regular season and finished 16-0. Brady had the leagues highest passer rating (104.6) and passed for 4300yds with 28TDs and jus 6 Ints.

The Colts struggled a bit and only came in via a wildcard. In the NFC it was a lot closer. Redskins and Seahawks got the bye weeks both with 11-5 records. Both teams were carried by their running backs and both Alexander and Portis had over 1500yds and 10 TDs on the ground.

The Bears had a rough year. Grosman was injured in the first game of the season and Brian Griese was not good enough to take them to the playoffs.

In the first week of the playoffs all the road teams won. The second week Pittsburgh’s hope was broken when the lost to the Bengals while the Patriots eliminated Manning and the Colts. Rams and Washington also advanced. In the conference finals New England had no problems with the Bengals and won easily in a snow-game in New England while the Rams beat Washington in OT.

The Super Bowl was played in Riverside, CA and in front of 77.800 fans the New England Patriots took home another title. Tom Brady was once again the big player with 4TDs and a passer rating of 140.

Playoffs: NED/PIT/TEN/SDO//CIN/IND – WAS/PHI/MIN/ATL//PHI/STL
Super Bowl: 28 Patriots - Rams 14
MVP: Tom Brady - Patriots
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[Northwood_DK]

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2008 Off season
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Several teams lost key players to retirement during the off season. The Super Bowl Champions lost three linebackers Vrabel, Seau and Bruschi and Green Bay finally said goodbye to Brett Favre. Warren Sapp, Warrick Dunn, Tony Gonzalez, Isaac Bruce and Rod Smith were among the other familiar names to quit the league.

The happiest player this off season is Terrell Suggs (BAL). After being franchised by the Ravens, the 6-year veteran managed to get a new 5-year deal worth $88mil with close to $50mil in guarantied bonus money. Byron Leftwich (JAX) also singed a huge new deal. The biggest free agent signing came from San Francisco who agreed on a 5-year deal worth $34mil to keep Isaac Sopoaga with the 49ers.

Lance Briggs decides to move to New York Jets and signed a 5-year deal worth close to $30mil.

That take us all the way to the 2008 NFL combine and its time to meet the eight players we will follow thru their careers.
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[Balldog]

Cool!

[Northwood_DK]

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2008 season
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With all players finally signed to contracts and the pre-season done we are ready for the first real season for our eight young heroes.

The 2008 season did not see any undefeated teams and the Patriots had to sneak in to the playoffs on a wild card. The best record in the league belonged to the Steelers who won 14 games in the regular season. Eight teams in the AFC finished with 10 or more wins and both the Bengals and Chiefs missed the playoffs with 10 wins. In the NFC only three teams had 10 or more wins. The Bears got 10 wins with Joey Harrington as the quarterback and in the South both Panthers and Saints had +10 wins. San Francisco managed to slide in to the playoffs on an 8-8 record.

In the first round of the playoffs New England travelled to Denver and won in OT on a 19yds TD pass from Tom Brady to Chad Jackson. They were the only road team to win as Seahawks, Eagles and Jets all advanced. In the next round Jets and Patriots were blown away by the Colts and Steelers and in the NFC both the home team lost and allowed Eagles and Seahawks to advance.
Colts made their way to the Super Bowl when Manning connected with Reggie Wayne for a 69yds TD with just 0:57 left on the clock. In the other game McNabb scored 41 points in a lopsided win over Seattle.
The Super Bowl was played in the rain in Augusta, GA and was another one-sided performance. The big performance of the day came from Marvin Harrison who had 9 catches for 119yds with 3 TDs. It was close at halftime but the second half all belonged to the Colts that took home another trophy. Now its time to go back up and see what our eight rookies managed to do in their first year in the league.

Playoffs: PIT/IND/DEN/NYJ//TEN/NED – CAR/CHI/SEA/PHI//NOS/SFO
Super Bowl: 37 Colts - Eagles 13
MVP: Peyton Manning - Colts
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[Northwood_DK]

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2009 Off season
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With all the player-cards updated thru 2008 we move to the 2009 off/pre-season.

Again several high profile players decided to retire. Among them are Kurt Warner, Reuben Droughs, Marvin Harrison, Terry Glenn, Jason Taylor, Patrick Surtain and Ray Lewis. The biggest names to hit FA are FS Erik Coleman who played in Phile in 2008 and Reche Caldwell who played for the Dolphins last season. Several players also got huge new contract and Buffalos Lee Evans had the biggest pay-day with almost $25mil in bonuses alone for a new 5-year deal. The Eagles made a somewhat questionable move when they gave 11-year veteran McNabb a new 5-year 61mil deal with close to $15mil in guarantied money.

The first pick in the draft belonged to Atlanta. They drafted a running back named Dana Davis. He will replace Warrick Dunn who retired before the season. The biggest signing bonus went to the 3rd overall pick DE Joseph Hodges drafted by the Browns. He was the only of the player in the first round to sign a 6-year deal and got $27mil in bonuses.

During the pre-season Dallas lost Roy William for the year to a MCL knee injury and the Ravens will be without Willis McGahee for the year with a broken leg.

Houston, Patriots the Vikings all went undefeated in the pre-season while the Broncos are still looking for their first win. Let’s get ready to the regular season.

Next I will update all player cards with pre-season comments.
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[Northwood_DK]

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2009 season
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The Eagles made it back to the Super Bowl in 2009 after loosing to the Colts the year before. This year they were not to be denied as they beat the Patriots in the final game of the season. David Akers won the game MVP after going 6 for 6 on with a 44 yarder as his longest FG. Also Brian Westbrook deserved a mention with his 155yds rushing.

Peyton Manning (IND) also repeated and won his second league MVP, passing for an impressive 4766yds with 43TDs and just 10 interceptions. That was 11 TDs more then #2 on the list Carson Palmer (CIN). The rushing title was taken by Adrian Peterson (MIN) with 1528yds and Andre Johnson (HOU) lead the league with 1564yds receiving.

Next up will be an update of what happened to our eight players in their second year in the league.

Playoffs: PIT/IND/NED/OAK//CIN/MIA – PHI/MIN/CAR/SEA//DAL/CHI
Super Bowl: 39 Eagles - Patriots 13
MVP: Peyton Manning - Colts
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