Blast from the Past - FOF 2001 Dynasty!!! (With a New Team)

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - We defeat the Jets 23-13 at our place. Rookie and 1st round draft pick Eric Carlson was Game MVP with a pick returned for a score and 2nd on the team in tackles. His first professional pick. Backup Bassett also had a pick. Witt had 80 yards, Clements was 29 of 43 for 329 and 1:0, hitting Wagner for a score and 150 yards on 10 catches.

DE Marcon Carlson is out for the season. This UFA we really liked from last year has his scores adjusted downwards, and he had been starting in place of Phil Lee. I toss him on IR.

I cut TE David LeFleur. This frees up some cash, since he‘s not doing much anyway.

I sign DE Kurt Johnson and TE Christian Fields.

Huntley is back from injury and will start next week. Clements is no longer injured.

The remaining 7 games include just 2 home games. We will need to survive it in order to keep our good standing in the AFC.

Week 10 - We win on the road against the Browns 37-24. Clements, fresh from injury, is Game MVP with 4 TD passes to TE Roosevelt Battles, Webster, Paradis, and Wagner, 18 of 29 for 202 and no picks. Witt had just 54 yards. Huntley had a pick coming back from injury too.

Hello Bye week.

Week 11 - BYE

DE Phil Lee is back from injury.

We are currently up by 3 games in the division and have the best record in the AFC.

Week 12 - The Colts just, and I mean just, barely take us down at their place 21-20. Morabito had a pick returned for a score. Paradis caught our other TD. Witt had 88 yards. OG Cloutier had 4 KRB. Clements was injured to questionable again.

Week 13 - Then we lose at the Cardinals 16-31. Sucks, because both were losing teams, and we just dropped two on the road. This does not bode well for the rest of the season. Witt had a 50 yard scamper for our lone TD, and 175 yards on 25 carries. Clements was downright horrible. 13 of 40 for 142, 0;2. Ourch.

We are now just one game ahead of Buffalo, and we have them next week in their place.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We put up a stinker but manage to win 9-3. Ed Gardener was Game Mvp with 100 yards on 8 catches. Witt had 93 yards. Clements was 22 of 29 for 218, 0:1. Lee had a sack and a half plus a recovered fumble. Backup S Burke had a pick.

OG Cloutier tore his calf muscle and is our, plus his stats dropped a bit. I IR him. I sign OG Edgar Broxon. OG Jerome Frederick is also out but I don‘t have enough $ for both to get replaced so I deactivate him. LB Ed Feely is doubtful and I deactivate him for a few weeks.

Week 15 - We lose to Miami 17-38, which was one of our home games, so that sucks double. Clements hit Paradis for a score and Witt had one on the ground. Wagner had 137 yards on 6 catches. S Eric Carlson had a pick. My C is knocked to questionable but I’ll start him.

Week 16 - In a must win game on the road, we manage to just beat the Seahawks 34-32. The Seahawks weren‘t even in playoff contention. Backup CB Martin Scales is Game MVP with a 39 yard pick and return for a score. Huntley and Carlson had picks as well. Torres had 2 sacks. DT Wilber recovered 2 fumbles. Clements hit Paradis and Gardener for scores. Witt had 78 yards on 30 carries, very underwhelming. Paradis had 157 yards on 9 catches, Gardener 134 yards on 7 grabs.

Oh, get this. They scored with 18 second left to be up 32-31. We managed to get the ball downfield either with a special teams effort or passing offense, and Olindo Mare kicked a 40 yard GW FG with 1 second left.

S Nicky Peterson is out with a dislocated knee, which damaged him as well. Junior Burke will be starting in his place.

We have won the 2nd slot in the playoffs, so I rest a few players that are injured.

Week 17 - We host our final game against the Bills and win 28-10. Leon Morabito was Game MVP with 1 56 yard pick returned and another pick. S Jenkins had a pick too. Witt had 94 yards plus a score. Clements was 19 of 29, 230, 0:0. Olindo had 5 Fgs.

We finish the season 11-5.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Weekend:

Oakland defeats Jacksonville 28-10

Tennessee defeats Miami 24-17.



Division Round -

We host the 9-7 Raiders.

WR Woodard is doubtful and I deactivate him.

We CRUSH the Raiders 47-14.

Witt is game MVP with 3 TD runs including one of 89 yards. 153 yards on 23 carries.

Clements was 21 of 33 for 266 1:0 and hit Paradis for a score.

S Eric Carlson had 2 picks. Morabito added a pick.

OT OJ Sellers had 5 KRB.


LB Ed Felly will be back next game. TE Ed Gardener is knocked to questionable, but will be starting for us.


Cincinnati edged out Tennessee 18-15.

[Abe Sargent]

2011 AFC CHAMPIONSHIPS

13-3 Cincinnati Bengals

Host

11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners


We have not done well on the road this season. We were just 4-4 on the road.


And we lose here as well. 19-22.

Witt had our lone TD on the day plus 84 yards.

Clements was not hot, 24 of 40, 212, 0:1.

Mare was 4/5, and had he had that fifth one, we would have taken the game to overtime.

FB Gerhardt fumbled the ball away.




The Super Bowl

Bengals 38
Falcons 28

[Abe Sargent]

Awards:

All-Pro 1st Team: TE Ed Gardener, K Olindo Mare
All-Pro 2nd Team: RB Aaron Witt, WR Donald Wagner, LB Chris Glenn, CB Leon Morabito

Once again I have a rookie make the All-Pro roster but NOT win Rookie consideration over someone who did not make All Pro Things from this season:

Morabito proved he was a smart draft choice despite the signing of two CBs in free agency. Gardener proved he has what it takes. Witt continues to do very well. Wagner was a bit of a surprise. Glenn being here is no surprise

[Abe Sargent]

Stats (Team)

6th best rushing offense by yards. 11th worst passing offense by yards.

We had THE best rushing defense in the league by yards, allowing just 1234 yards (1359 was #2). We allowed the 3rd fewest yards per carry. We had the #9 worst passing offense by yards, but middle of the road for yards per pass.

+16 TO margin

Tied for 9th fewest sacks allowed in the league. Pretty good for a questionable O Line. 16th worst (18th best) sack total in the league. Yuck. With our DEs, that is crazy.

[Abe Sargent]

Stat (Player)

QB Tony Clements - 3408 yards, 21:13 ratio, 84.4 rating, 60.2% completion. Not bad, but we need to increase output if we want to win the big games.

RB Aaron Witt - 1514 yards, 4.3 ypc, 11 rushing TDs. 2nd most rushing yards in league. Tied for 4th most rushing TDs. Someone got 20 , breaking Witt’s record of 18.

WR Donald Wagner, 94 catches, 1277 yards, 3 TDs. 2nd most receiving yards in league (Top four in league were Someone random, Wagner, Marvin Graham and Herman Swinger, three of those I drafted)
WR Moe Paradis, 81 grabs, 1030 yards, 6 Tds.
TE Ed Gardener, 55 for 597, 4 scores.
WR Matthew Webster, 42 for 371, 7 scores

Fackleman had a KR and PR TD. 5th highest PR average in league. 3rd highest KR. Fumbled EIGHT times.

Mare had 44 Fgs with a long of 57 yards. Washington was 6th in punting average. 37 of 80 inside 20.

Despite a slow start, Christian Torres ended the year with 10 sacks. Phil Lee, 12 starts, had 8.

LB Chris Glenn had 3 sacks, 98 solo tackles, 31 assists, and a fumble recovery + 8 pasdef, leading the team.

6 more picks by Morabito. Jack Huntley had 5. S Nicky Peterson had 4. Eric Carlson and CB Crownheart had 3 each.

DT Roosevelt Wilber led the league with 4 fumble recoveries.

OG Cloutier had 25 KRB. C Wright notched 24.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: TE Ed Gardener - I was very happy with his contributions from the TE position. No TE had more receiving yards than him this year. He did very well, and took over two games, plus he was Game MVP once. Good job!
Defensive Player of the Year: CB Leon Morabito - In a follow up to his previous year, he still was a force in the secondary, and thus he wins an award this year, like last, but a different one.
Special Teams Player of the year: K Olindo Mare - We a large number of FGs, and long range, he dominated in the air.
Rookie of the Year: WR Donald Wagner - He got All Pro, so there is something. He was 2nd in receiving yards, and that is another. We have a lot to look forward too with Wagner on our team.
Heart Award: WR Matthew Webster, this late 7th round draft pick led our team with 7 Tds - tied for 13th most receiving Tds in the league (tied with 11 other players, to be fair). He had to start when Paradis was down, and otherwise was a very serviceable 3rd option. I’m sad that I can only have him for one more year before his contract is up, and he demands too much money.

[Abe Sargent]

Score - Performance 81, Franchise Value 48, Profit - 28, Difficulty - 80 - Total Score - 51

Hall of Fame - Victor Green, Dawayne Washington


None of our players retired (but Samari Rolle did)

We have 34 players under contract.

The Rail Runners:

14th most valuable franchise in league
9th worst stadium
Best roster
10th lowest support
14th best economy

We lost a ton of $$ last year and need to work on that for this year.

We pick 31st again.

[Abe Sargent]

San Antonio offers us a starting caliber OG and their 3rd rounder for OJ Sellers, our OT in the last year of his contract. I agree.

I trade WR Paradis to the Patriots for their 3rd and 6th this year.

I trade Phil Lee to the Giants for their late 3rd rounder . He seems to be slipping, so let’s trade him while we can still get value for him.

I trade CB jack Huntley to the Seahawks for their 2/13 pick. We cannot afford to keep three top flight CBs anymore.

I extend by two the years we have newly acquired OG Orlando Wells under contract.

I trade OG Cloutier to the Colts for their 2/14 pick. He dropped in value after th injury and was not longer worth starting money.

I trade DE Marco Coleson to the Skins for their 7th rounder this year.

I trade QB Scott Johann to the Skins for their 3rd rounder


Starters I need: WR, OG maybe, OT, DE, LB

And I have plenty of money to go shopping

I submit offers to:

OT Claude Sawyer
OG Dale Glover


I don’t like the players at the other positions. I would make an offer to O’Neal, but this is his 10th year for us and….nah. Let’s do it.

I make an offer to bring back Conrad O’Neal

Week 1 - O’Neal signs with us, but Sawyer does not.

I go after OT Marcus Severson

Week 3 - Severson comes to us.

Week 5 - We get Glover to join us too.

We are 19 under the cap and I stop spending.

I get an intriguing offer at the end of free agency. We get an offer for the 1/10 pick for recent signee OG Glover. I would LOVE to do it, but it seems a bit too unlikely for my tastes, so I decline the trade.
Team Needs:

Starter: DE, WR

RBx3, Qbx2, TE, WR, C, OT, DEx2, DT, LBx2, CBx3, S

[Abe Sargent]

2012 NFL Amateur Draft


Our pick arrives.

I decide to take one of the starters I need.

The 2nd round arrives and it’s time to play some BAP.


Draft Recap:

1 - WR Jerome Baker, Clemson
2/13 - DE Andrew Kadanoff, Mississippi
2/14 - CB Tim Harris, St. Francis
2/31 - QB Wayne Webb, Michigan State
3/5 - OT Ellis Marshall, Humbold State
3/9 - LB Monty Joseph, Wake Forest
3/16 - RB Oliver Bailey, Wake Forest
3/30 - DT Matt Moore, Johnson C. Smith
3/31 - C Wally Covington, King’s Point
4/26 - WR Xavier Ornelas, Memphis - Returner
4/31 - TE Austin Donovon, Indiana
5 - DE Andre Harnett, Michigan
6/9 - RB Alonzo Aldridge, San Jose State
6/31 - LB Rob Neele, Mississippi
7/5 - QB Eric Fields, Clemson
7/31 - FB Walt Devine, Wisconsin



We now have 47 players under contract.

I trade OG Kacyvinski for the Bills’s 4th and 7th next year. He was in the last year of his contract, I need to free up some cap space, and he was not starting.

I sign OG Daniel Schwantz, UFA from Baylor, CB Mitchell Bradley (Miami, Florida), S Grant Hammond, VA, RB Lenny Hurd, Kansas, DE Bubba Overlease, Boston College

I extend Clements’s contract by a year, freeing up some money for this year.

Let’s go camping.

[Abe Sargent]

We sold 47,300 tickets

I sign UFA WR Robert Talley from Vanderbilt and UFA CB Casey Bartell from California.



Let’s look at my draftees:

WR Jerome Baker 62/87
LB Monty Joseph 34/74
C Wally Covington 40/70
QB Wayne Webb 39/66
DE Andre Kadanoff 24/64
WR Xavier Ornelas 41/62
OT Ellis Marshall 21/60
RB Oliver Bailey 42/59
CB Tim Harris 32/56
QB Eric Fields 28/55
RB Alonzo Aldridge 32/48
DT Matt Moore 14/46
LB Rob Neele 15/46
TE Austin Donovan 27/38
DE Andre Harnett 18/33
FB Walt Devine 24/28


As you can see, our draft has many bright spots and many low spots. Makes sense for a draft with 16 picks. DT Matt Moore busted some. I knew Webb was solid when I took him in the second, and know I have a good backup for four years. Baker looks hot. LB Joseph was a 3rd rounder and obviously looks good.

On the other hand, Matt Moore was a 3rd rounder too. UFA RB Lenny Hurd is better than either of the two RBs I drafted, so I obviously missed some talent in the draft. TE Austin Donovan in the 4th is a minor player.


We have the 4th best QB in the league, 9th best reserves. 6th best RB and best reserves. 3rd best FB. Best TE. 3rd best WR starters and reserves. 6th best C. 11th best OG. 13th best OT and 7th best reserves. Best P. 3rd best K. 16th best DE. Best DT and 3rd best reserves. Best LB, and best reserves. Best CB and 6th best reserves. 8th best S and 4th best reserves.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2012 Albuquerque Rail Runners

QB Tony Clements - Remember when, many years ago, I was wondering who to start when I traded Allard. I am glad I chose Clements.
RB Aaron Witt - Hit his 10th year in the league this year. I hope he can still run at the top level.
FB Danny Gerhardt - Still looks like a solid FB.
WR Donald Wagner - The sophomore fresh off an All Pro Year should be a good target
WR Jerome Baker - I really am enamored with the WR we got this year. Reminds me of Marvin Graham
TE Ed Gardener - Fresh off an All Pro year.
C Gerald Wright - Had a disappointed year last year, and the rookie has a better potential, so Wright needs to step it up in order to retain this position long term.
OG Orlando Wells - This 7 year veteran was accidentally acquired in a trade that got us a nice pick. We drafted him in the 4th round 6 years ago for San Antonio and he has been playing there ever since, until we acquired him in a trade, and now, once again, he is playing for me.
OG Dale Glover - One of our FA trio, this 6 year vet is solid, and hopefully will have a good year.
OT Marcus Severson - Another of the FA trio brought in, This 7 year vet is not the best OT ever, but he is starting caliber quality.
OT Mark Stevenson - Our own draftee did not do that well last year, but we will see if another year of growth can help.
P Steve Washington - He is hot
K Olindo Mare - 16 years means he’ll retire eventually. That’ll suck.
DE Christian Torres - We need him to revert to form and get lots of sacks instead of the 10 he had previously.
DE Andrew Kadanoff - The rookie will be starting for us.
DT Ross Matthews - I still love this guy
DT Roosevelt Wilbur - Run stopping specialist
LB Conrad O’Neal - The 3rd of the FA trio but we know him well. 10th year though.
LB Chris Glenn - Coming off a All Pro year.
LB Ed Feely - Just adequate.
CB Leon Morabito - Just absolutely amazing in every way
CB Stephen Crownheart - The other guy
S Eric Carlson - Let’s see if the sophomore can improve his game
S Nicky Peterson - Not as good as he was last year with the injury, but still, barely, better than Burke.

KR/PR is Xavier Ornelas


I am currently 2.6 million under the cap.


4 of our first 5 games are on the road, then our BYE week followed by two outta three on the road. However, by week 10, we will have 6 of our last 8 games at home. If we are in contention despite the large number of away games, then we can run away with it, I suspect.

[Abe Sargent]

Where are my QBs in the league?

Tony Clements is in his 6th year, has a Super Bowl victory the one year I was not his GM, and has been in the playoffs 5 out of 5 years as a starting QB. QB ratings in the mid 80s every year.

QB Jerome Allard, our 1/1 pick of the San Antonio franchise is in his 11th year. He is the QB of the Arizona Cardinals. He won two Super Bowls with our franchise, but his values dropped leading us to trade him. He has never gotten an award other than the one Super Bowl MVP he has from his time with us. They got him the right receiver, much like Marvin Graham, and that receiver had 1700 yards two years ago and 1300 last year.

QB Rex Alcott - Has been the starter of the Broncos the last two years where he continues to under perform. Since he was a FA signing who only played for me a year, you might not consider him one of my QBs.

QB Artie Switzer - This 6 year vet is currently a backup for 15 year vet Peyton Manning in Indianapolis. He has one year as a full start for the Colts in 2010, when he had a QB rating of 74.0.

QB Marlon Strickland - This 7 year vet is currently on Seattle’s roster. He has not played since seeing a couple of series for us in our inaugural year when Alcott was dinged. He has never started more than three games, but he had a QB Rating of 93.3 for those games for Kansas City.

QB Scott Johann - This 4 year man is currently employed by the Redskins. He may be their starter this year, although I do not know for sure.

[Abe Sargent]

We go 3-1 in the preseason

OG Dale Glover is doubtful and will be benched. Same with WR Matthew Webster.


Week 1 - We win in our first outing, 30-24 over New England. Clements was Game Mvp with a TD pass to rookie Xavier Ornelas, two to rookie Jerome Baker, and a fourth to backup FB Walt Devine in OT for the win. Witt was injured so RB Bailey stepped up and had 83 yards on 12 carries. Clements did have 2 picks, so beware. Torres had a pair of sacks and Kadanoff had one in his debut. Wright had 4 KRB.

FB Danny Gerhardt is doubtful and will be deactivated for the next game.


Week 2 - We lose to the Colts 20-23 in OT. OT taketh and it giveth away. Fackleman had a 92 yard KR return for a score on the first play of the game. Ornelas caught a TD . Witt had 123 yards on 21 carries. Clements was 23 of 40 for 290, 1:0. Baker had 139 yards on 10 catches. Witt, Clements and Fackleman all fumbled the ball.

Week 3 - We edge the Jets 30-27. Clements is Game MVP with TD passes to Gardener and Wagner. Witt is held to 63 yards. Wright had 4 KRB

Week 4 - We crush the Raiders 34-11. Game MVP is TE Ed Gardener, with a 76 yard and 35 yard scores, 174 yards on 7 catches. Wagner had 163 yards and a 93 yard score on 6 catches. Wright had another 4 KRB. S Peterson and Carlson each had picks.

WR Matthew Webster is back from his injury.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We defeat the Vikings 23-10. Witt had a TD run but Wagner is Game MVP with 85 yards and a score. All three Qbs played in this game. Both Clements and Webb were knocked out and 3rd string QB Eric Fields is the one who hit Wagner for the score. OT Severson had 4 KRB.

Week 6 - BYE

FB Gerhardt will be back next week. OG Glover will be back as well.

Week 7 - We crush Miami 41-24 at our place. Witt is game MVP with a 17 and 31 yard runs for scores, 183 yards on 23 carries. Clements hit Baker, Wagner and UFA WR Robert Talley for scores. Baker had 116 yards on 7 grabs. S Eric Carlson had a pair of picks. Morabito added a pick

Rookie Jerome Baker is knocked to doubtful and is benched.

Week 8 - We defeat the Lions 23-17. DE Torres is Game MVP with 3 sacks. LB O Neal added 3 sacks as well. Carlson and backup Bartell got picks. OT Severson had 4 KRB. Xavier Ornelas opened the game with a KR TD. Witt had a rushing TD, and Clements hit Webster for the 2 point conversion. Witt had 97 yards.

We have a one game lead over the Bills and are heading to them. This is the final game of our massive away game stretch of the schedule.

Week 9 - We win 44-3. CB Stepehn Crownheart is Game MVP with three picks, one returned for a score. Witt had three rushing TDs, 99 yards on 22 carries. Wagner had 117 yards on 6 catches plus a score. Talley got another score. Morabito had a pick as well. Clements fumbled twice, but both were recovere by Ots.

LB Ed Feely is knocked to questionable as is nickelback and rookie CB Tim Harris. I deactivate both for now.

Now we begin the easy part of our schedule with a 9-1 record. Blistering!

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 - 31-27 over the Bears. Witt is Game MVP with 168 yards on 24 carries and a TD. Ornelas caught a pair of TD passes. Kadanoff and Torres each had 2 sacks. Wright had 4 KRB. OG Dale Glover is out for a couple of months with a pulled groin. I IR him. I hire OG Billy Boggs to finish out the year.


Week 11 - We crush the Dolphins 40-13 on the road. CB Morabito is Game MVP with a pick for a score. S Peterson also had a pick. Severson had 4 KRB. Witt had 140 yards and 2 Tds on 23 carries. Clements hit TE Ed Gardener for a score.

The game caused a lot of injuries, however. Clements is out and Webb will be starting for us. TE Gardener is questionable and he will start. Ed Feely is back.


Week 12 - We edge the Patriots 34-31. Webster catches a Webb pass 80 yards for a score, plus a 16 yarder for one later and a 2 point conversion as well. Witt had 92 yards. Webb was 18 of 34 for 250, 2:2. Wagner had 105 yards on 5 catches. Feely had a pick in his first game back and backup S Burke had one as well. Webb fumbled 2x. Ouch.

DT Roosevelt Wilbur is questionable so I deactivate him for a few games. CB Crownheart is also questionable, as is S Nicky Peterson. I deactivate Peterson and start Burke in his place.


Week 13 - We barely manage to defeat the 3 win Jets at our place 34-31. Mare kicked an OT GW FG for us. Witt was Game MVP with 2 short yardage TDs, 153 yards on 24 carries. Webb was 21 of 37 for 170 2:1. Low yardage but everything else good. Talley and Ornelas caught the scores. Burke had another pick and led the team in tackles. Severson had 4 KRB. LB Glenn and CB Crownheart had fumble recoveries.

WR Talley is now questionable. S Eric Carlson is now questionable as well.

Our team is getting hammered with injuries.

WR Jerome Baker is back and I bench Talley for him.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We edge Buffalo 20-17. Witt was our Game MVP with 163 yards on 24 carries plus a score. Webb had a subpar game, but hit Wagner for a score. DT Meadows had a sack and a half. Witt was also NFL Offensive Player of the Week.

Now CB Casey Bartell has been knocked to doubtful. Tim Harris is healed, so I swap them on the roster.

Week 15 - We defeat the Titans 17-3 at our place. Backup LB Rob Neele is game MVP with a pick returned for a score. FB Gerhardt caught our lone offensive TD. Morabito had a pick. Kadanoff had 2 sacks. Meadows had 2.5. Witt had 90 yards.

LB Ed Feely has been knocked to doubtful and is deactivated again. DT Wilber is good and back. S Nicky Peterson is felling hale and hearty and is back.

We are fighting 13-1 Denver for the #1 spot in the playoffs. Considering my QB issue, I cannot let up the pressure because I need every advantage we can get.

I expect to lose next week, away at the 9-5 Bengals with Webb as my QB.

Week 16 - We lose 17-21. Denver won so it looks like we are locked into the #2 spot. Ah well. S Burke had a pick for a score and Kadanoff recovered a fumble and rumbled it 74 yards back for a score. If we could have scored just one TD on offense, we would have won. Witt was held to 35 yards. Glenn and Torres also recovered fumbles.

Talley is back from injury.

Week 17 - We crush the Colts 31-17. Well, I think of it as a crush. Witt is Game MVP with 2 rushes for scores, 218 yards on 27 carries. Rar! Webb hit Wagner for a score. Glenn, Peterson, Burke and Carlson each had picks. Severson added 6 KRB. Witt was NFL Offensive Player of the Week.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card:

We have a bye

Cincy over KC 19-14.

Jacksonville over Settle 21-6.


Division Round.,

Clements is still doubtful so Webb, Webb will start.


We host the Jaguars.

14-2 Rail Runners vs. 11-5 Jaguars



We win 19-13.

Whew. I was worried.

Matthew Webster caught a pair of passes from Wayne Webb, the final one in OT for the win.

Witt had 93 yards on 20 carries.

Webb - 19 of 39, 223, 2:2.

Crownheart had a pick.

Hartnett had 2 sacks.

Denver won 38-10.

[Abe Sargent]

AFC Championship:


The 14-2 Albuquerque Rail Runners travel to Denver to face the

14-2 Denver Broncos


Clements is questionable. Play a questionable Clements or Webb. Either is rolling the dice.

I start Clements.


We manage to win 16-13.

DT and our first draft pick Ross Meadows was Game MVP. The player of our franchise took us the Super Bowl with 2.5 sacks and a team leading 8 tackles. Mare kicked the GW FG with 6 seconds left on the clock. Witt had 99 yards on 23 carries and a score. S Nicky Peterson with a pick.


Clements - 17 of 29, 213, 0:1.


Ed Feely is probable and will start in the Super Bowl

[Abe Sargent]

The 2012 Super Bowl

Featuring

The 14-2 Albuquerque Rail Runners, your AFC Champion

vs.

The 13-3 Dallas Cowboys, your NFC Champion


Someone on my team has a chance to imprint their name in Super Bowl lore forever. Aaron Witt? Tony Clements? One of my Wideouts? One of my Secondary? Maybe even Ed Gardener?

We win 49-21.

Scores:

Ed Gardener, 93 yard score
Jerome Baker, 25 yard score
Stephen Crownheart, 25 yard pick and score
Junior Burke, 31 yard pick and score
Donald Wagner, 52 yard score
Ed Gardener, 7 yard score
Wagner, 6 yard score

Game MVP Stephen Crownheart: 2 picks
Hartlett, Bradley, Peterson also had picks.


Witt had just 28 yards on 19 carries.

Clements, who SHOULD have been Super Bowl MVP:

23 of 32, 397, 5:0.

Come on now.

Wagner, Baker and Gardener each had 100 yard receiving days.

Good Game! Good Season!

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:

Super Bowl MVP - CB Stephen Crownheart
NFL MVP - RB Aaron Witt
NFL Offensive Player of the Year - RB Aaron Witt
All Pro 1st Team - RB Aaron Witt, TE Ed Gardener, OT Marcus Severson, DT Ross Meadows
All Pro 2nd Team - P Steve Washington, K Olindo Mare, CB Leon Morabito

Several things here. Ed Gardener and Leon Morabito have proved they are tops. Mare needs to retire, and I’ll show you why in a bit. Washington was no surprise. I love Meadows, and he got his first All Pro nod. Witt obviously dominated.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

3rd best rushing offense by yards, best by ypc. 15h best by passing yards. 6th best rushing defense by yards, tied for 4th best by ypc allowed. 3rd worst passing defense by yards, 6th by yards per completion. +12 TO margin. Notched 47 sacks, 3rd highest in the league. Allowed 39, 11th worst.

[Abe Sargent]

Individual stats:

RB Aaron Witt - 1788 yards, 15 rushing Tds, 5.2 ypc

QB Tony Clements - 10 starts, 2355 yards, 62.5%, 18:10, 95.7. When he went down, Clements was having his best regular season ever.
QB Wayne Webb - 1240 yards, 55.1%, 7:6, 68.8 rating. As expect for a rookie pressed into service.

WR Donald Wagner - 988 yards, 7 Tds.
WR Jerome Baker - 10 starts, 49 grabs, 757 yards, 3 scores
TE Ed Gardener - 51 for 692, 4 TD
WR Xavier Ornelas - 45, 398, 5
WR Matthew Webster - 6 starts, 32 for 352, and 2 scores.
Talley had 3 scores and FB Walt Devine had one

Xavier Ornelas has 2 KR TD and the highest KR average in the league. 3 fumbles on 74 returns, which is not bad.


K Olindo Mare - 33 of 37, long of just 49. 46 of 49 PAT. Yes, he missed 3 PAT
P Steve Washington - 39 of 85 inside the 20

DE Torres led the team with 13.5 sacks.
DT Ross Meadows had 9 sacks
DE Andrew Kadanoff had 9 as well
LB O’Neal had 5

These are solid numbers.

S Eric Carlson had 5 picks. Morabito and Burke each had 4. Peterson and Crownheart had 3.

OT Marcus Severson had 36 KRB. C Wright had 32. OG Orlando Wells had 27. Those guys did solidly.

[Abe Sargent]

Players on my team that have gotten an All Pro Award while I have been their GM:

RB Aaron Witt, TE Ed Gardener, WR Donald Wagner, C Gerald Wright, OT Marcus Severson, K Olindo Mare, P Steve Washington, DT Ross Matthews, LB Conrad O’Neal, LB Chris Glenn, CB Leon Morabito

Players who have gotten an All pro Award earlier in their career:

CB Stephen Crownheart, DE Christian Torres

That’s 11 of my starters have been all-pro at some time or other, plus my K and P.

Strong roster..

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: OT Marcus Severson. Sure, Witt had a great year, but he’s had them before for us. This guy opened up plenty of holes for Witt. Before he joined us, this 7th year veteran had started a bunch of years, and never came close to sniffing All-Pro, but on our team, he jelled and open up hole after hole.
Defensive Player of the Year: DT Ross Matthews - We took him with the intention that he become one of the best DTs in the game, then our scout switched and Ross’s evaluation dropped. However, it rose back the last couple of years and now sits comfortably in the 80s. Ross had grown, and his game has arrived. IF he can retain this level of play, I will be tickled pink.
Special Teams Player of the Year: WR Xavier Ornelas. Mare and Washington are good choices, but Ornelas has two returns for scores, led all qualifiers in KR average, and fumbled a lot less than his predecessors.
Rookie of the Year: DE Andrew Kadanoff - I love his energy. 9 sacks for the guy opposite Christian Torres makes me happy. 3 fumble recoveries and two returned for scores. He also led the D Line in tackles.
Heart Award: S Junior Burke - Not only the 6th round pick, but the third S taken by us two drafts ago. Yet, despite juts four starts, he managed to grab 4 picks, tied for 2nd most on our team. I love him from the backup position, because he can come in, damage people, and get picks.


Important Players with Contracts Going Up - FB Danny Garhardt, WR Matthew Webster,

[Abe Sargent]

Score:

Performance: 100
Value: 49
Profit: 42
Difficulty: 78

Total Score: 60

Our head coach retired.

Hall of Fame inductees:

Brett Farve
Willie Roaf
Tom Nalen
Ray Lewis (who was on our team for a while)

None of our players retired

[flere-imsaho]

CHEER!!!

[Abe Sargent]

A Glimpse at the Rail Runners:

10th most valuable franchise
10th worst stadium
Best roster
13th worst support
14th best economy




We miss out on the first Coach I want.

I get outbidded on the second

We sign a guy for really cheap:

Head Coach

Henry Hays
5 year deal
46 (2nd youngest head coach in league)
3rd cheapest in league

Excellent - Avoid Injury
Very Good - Def Play Call, Discipline, Motivation, QB, WR, DB
Good - Off Play Call, Young Talent
Fair - RB, O Line, K
Poor - D Line, LB


We have 41 players under contract and are 7.8 million over the cap.

[Abe Sargent]

I have several players in the final year of contracts that are making a ton of money. Let’s negotiate:

DE Christian Torres agrees to extend his deal by a year.
P Steve Washington extends his deal by a year
LB Chris Glenn extends by two years

I trade LB Ed Feely to the Patriots for their 3 and 4 this year. He is in the final year of his rookie year and since he busted a bit, we can trade him and have a starter on our roster for his position.

I trade CB Stephen Crownheart to the Steelers for their 6th rounder this year.

This will help to keep this team together. See, I have a lot of players who have finished their rookie contracts at the end of next year that I want to retain: Leon Morabito, Ed Gardener, Ross Matthews plus Aaron Witt, Gerald Wright, Olindo Mare are all up.

I extend QB Tony Clements by another year.

I sign DT Ross Matthews to a new 4 year deal replacing his current rookie one. Awesome. He is the rock of our team.

Only 4 players have been on our team since 2009. Matthews, Conrad O’Neal, C Gerald Wright, and Aaron Witt.

I trade OT Mark Stevenson to the Eagles for their 4/25 pick.

I trade DT Xavier Dawson to the Redskins for their 2 and 4 picks next year.

I get Leon Morabito to sign a new 4 year deal but it causes his cap hit this year to jump.

I extend C Gerald Wright’s deal by a year .

I release OT Tyrone Sutter

I extend TE Ed Gardener’s deal by several years.

I extend Mare’s contact by one year, just in case he should decide to return next year.

I trade S Nicky Peterson to the Rams for their 4/17 selection this year.

I now have 35 players under contract and 14 draft picks, for a total of 49 total picks/players.

[Abe Sargent]

Needs:

Starter: FB, S
Backup: QB perhaps, RB, TE, WRx2, OGx2, OTx2, DE, DT, LB, CBx3, S


I will not be chasing any FAs.



The 2013 NFL Amateur Draft

Remember we are picking 34th in each round.

Our turn comes, and one of the best S have not been taken yet, so I grab him.

The end of the second round brings a lot more interesting decisions to make about our team. There looks ot be a really strong RB, starter level easily, still in the pool. With Witt in the final year of his contract and 11th year professionally, this is a perfect time to draft his successor.

Next up, BAP, grabbing the best CB and best TE on the board when the pick comes.

Draft Recap

1 - S Travis Westbrook, Wisconsin
2 - RB Heath Shepherd, Georgia Tech
3/14 - CB Kenny Minton, Western Carolina
3/24 - TE Mitchell Spence, Indiana
4/14 - DE Scottie Watt, West Chester
4/17 - FB Carl Sierra, Indiana
4/19 - WR Lonnie Schwartz, Fordham
4/25 - C Marty Brennan, Northwestern
4/34 - LB Brad Harmon, Clemson
5 - OG Howard Booker, Illinois
6/3 - OT Willie Rasmussen, Michigan
6/34 - QB Andrew Browning, Oregon State
7/19 - OG Ron Wilkins, Fresno State
7/34 - DT Darren Lindell, Illinois


Post draft I still need a few players:

UFA:

CB Adrian Peterson, East Carolina U
S Roosevelt Reynolds, Indiana
OT Kerry Ahern, Louisiana State
WR Marco Ellard, Kansas
CB Sammie Broxon - Louisville


Training Camp, here we come.

[Abe Sargent]

We sell 53,500 ticks.

I cut QB Eric Fields.



Let’s look at our rookies in quality order:

TE Mitchell Spence - 58/84
RB Heath Shepherd - 61/82
S Travis Westbrook - 45/77
DE Scottie Watt - 22/72
QB Andrew Browning - 26/64
OG Ron Wilkins - 14/62
FB Carl Sierra - 35/60
C Monty Brennan - 28/57
WR Lonnie Schwartz - 32/56
CB Kenny Minton - 20/56
OG Howard Booker - 20/53
OT Willie Rasmussen - 20/48
DT Darren Lindell - 24/45
LB Brad Harmon - 16/23

Our best picks were mid rounders, and some of the picks I grabbed earlier are not as good. 7th rounder OG Wilkins is much better than 5th rounder OG Howard Booker. LB Harmon was a bust. CB Minton was much father behind.

See what I said about Shepherd and starting? Witt, by the way, is 60/60, so Shepherd is simply better.

I trade Aaron Witt to the Jaguars for their 6th pick next year. Now Witt can still start somewhere.

I sign UFA Alfred Coffey from Virginia for a year.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2013 Albuquerque Rail Runners

QB Tony Clements - The king
RB Heath Shepherd - The new star
FB Carl Serra - Just a guy
TE Ed Gardener - Best TE in the league?
WR Jerome Baker - Very good
WR Donald Wagner - Strong
C Gerald Wright - Adequate.
OG Orlando Wells - Decent enough
OG Dale Glover - A bit weaker after the injury last year.
OT Marcus Severson - A good signing last year, let’s see him continue
OT Ellis Marshall - Let’s go with the sophomore 3rd rounder
P Steve Washington - Love ‘im
K Olindo Mare - A fixture for my teams, a rock, 17th year
DE Christian Torres - Keep it going buddy
DE Andrew Kadanoff - You too
DT Ross Matthews - Sometimes I think he’s my favorite player on the squad.
DT Roosevelt Wilbur - Adequate
LB Monty Joseph - We are starting him on the SLB position where his skills are better suited.
LB Chris Glenn - Awesome
LB Conrad O’Neal - 11th year, moved to WLB
CB Leon Morabito - Obviously awesome
CB Tim Harris - Let’s see what he can bring
S Eric Carlson - Keep it coming
S Travis Westbrook - A new rookie S starting for the team

KR/PR - WR Xavier Ornelas

[Abe Sargent]

7th best QB, 4th best reserves. 5th best RB starter (already), 2nd best reserves. Best TE, 4th best reserves. Best top two WR and best reserves. 7th best C. 7th best OG, 3rd best reserves. 16th best OT, 10th best reserves. Best P, 5th best K. 5th best DE, 2nd best reserves. Best DT. Best LB. 3rd best CB. 6th best S.


Again, a strong roster. And no free agents this year. Our only influx of talent was the draft.

Seems like our team may have reached equilibrium.

I think this is one of the strongest rosters I’ve fielded in FOF2001.


How many of our starting 22 have we drafted?

17 of 22. The only non draftees here are LB O’Neal, LB Glenn, DE Torres, OT Severson and OG Glover.




2-2 in preseason

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 - We defeat the Bills in our place 34-3. RB Heath Shepherd was Game MVP with 2 TD runs, 140 yards on 26 carries. Clements hit Ed Gardener and Jerome Baker for scores, 17 of 29 for 222 and 2:0. Kadanoff had two sacks. Westbrook had a pick in his debut game. OG Glover notched 5 KRB. CB Harris is dinged to questionable. I deactivate him for a few weeks.

Week 2 - We lose on the road to the Jets 20-24. Shepherd ran for a score and Clements hit Wagner for another. Shepherd was held to 54 yards. Clements had 207 and 1:1 ratio. Morabito grabbed a pick. LB Joseph had a pair of sacks. Ed gardener is questionable as is OT Severson. I will start Gardener but I deactivate Severson.

Week 3 - We survive the Dolphins on the road 10-9. Andrew Kadanoff was Game MVP with 1.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. Meadows had 2 sacks. Shepherd was held to 34 yards on 20 carries and a fumble. Clements hit FB Carl Serra for a score. Backup CB Broxon is doubtful so I bring back CB Harris early from his injury.

Week 4 - We give the Jaguars their first loss at our place, 24-10. Shepherd was game MVP going up against Aaron Witt for Jacksonville. He had a 1 yard score, 155 yards on 23 carries. Clements hit Xavier Ornelas twice for scores. Wagner had 111 yards on 7 catches. Kadanoff added 3.5 sacks. S Carlson and CB Harris each had picks while Morabito had 2. Both OGs Wells and Glover had 4 KRB. We held Aaron Witt to 21 yards.

FB Carl Serra is out VERY LONG TERM with Tobacco Withdrawal Syndrome. I toss him on IR and sign Danny Gerhardt to finish the year for us.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 - We win against the winless Dolphins at our place, 24-20. Our Game MVP is Oliver Bailey , backup RB, with three TD runs and 141 yards on 21 carries. Both Wright and Marshall had 4 KRB.

Our next three games are all on the road.

Week 6 - We lose to the 4-2 Patriots in New England 17-30. Lonnie Schwartz caught a Clements pass as did Michael Spence. Ornelas had 116 yards on 6 catches. Both WR Baker and RB Shepherd gave up the ball on fumbles.

We come out with a passel of injuries. LB Monty Joseph questionable, S Travis Westbrook the same, OG Wells ditto, DE Torres likewise, and then a few probables. OT Severson is back from injury.

I bench Wells and Westbrook.

Week 7 - We lose at the 5-2 Denver Broncos 24-7. Heath Shepherd had our lone TD on the day, a 35 rush., plus 101 yards. Baker had 100 yards himself. No sacks, no picks, no fumble recovers, but Clements fumbled twice and tossed a pick.

LB Chris Glenn is questionable.

Week 8 - We get lucky and manage to beat the now 5-3 Bengals. We had 3 road games all against good teams. It was rough. We won 27-21. Game MVP was S Junior Burke with a 66 yard pick for a td in the 1st quarter, and led the team with 8 tackles. Shepherd had 85 yards. Clements opened yup the passing game well with 19 of 28 for 260, 2:0. He hit Wagner and Ornelas for scores, but Shepherd had 100+ yards receiving.

LB Monty Joseph is back so Glenn is benched. OG Wells is backs.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 9 - Our chance to come back is lost at home vs. the 49ers when we lose 21-24, but the 8-1 49ers handled us. Baker catches 2 TD passes, Wagner the other. Clements tossed a pick that was returned for a score and we allowed a PR TD. Either stopped and we win. Shepherd was held to 48 yards on 14 carries. Baker had 127 yards in addition to his 2 scores. Harris and Morabito each had picks. Torres had a double sack day.

RB Shepherd is questionable and I bench him.

Week 10 - We lose at home again, this time to the 7-2 Jets to go to 5-5. We cannot lose games at home, and have dropped 4 of our last five games. Clements hit Gardener and Bakerx2. One Baker TD was a 78 yard play. Baker finished with 116 yards. Harris had a pick.

Week 11 - BYE

RB Shepherd is back. S Westbrook is back.


Week 12 - We travel to Buffalo and defeat the Bills 21-16. Shepherd is Game MVP with 115 yard on 20 carries, Clements hit Ornelas twice and Schwartz for another score. S Carlson got a pick. Torres grabbed a trio of sacks. Wright had 4 KRB. LB Glenn will be back next week.

Week 13 - We defeat the Patriots at our place 20-13. Shepherd is Game MVP with a 21 yard scamper for a score, 223 yards on the day on 28 carries. Baker had 141 yards on 8 catches. Wagner caught a Clements toss. Kadanoff had another 2 sacks. Wells had 6 KRB while Severson added 4. Shepherd was NFL Offensive Player of the Week.

LB Chris Glenn is out for the season with Broken Ribs. It drops his skills some. I toss him on IR and sign LB Bubba Doughty for the rest of the season. Conrad O’Neal is moving to the middle, and Doughty will be on the WLB side.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 - We go on the road and beat the .500 Saints 33-22. Shepherd is Game MVP with 98 yards on 27 carries and 2 TDs. Clements hits Gardener for a score while Shepherd adds 105 yards catching on 7 grabs. Torres has a sack and a half. Harris has a pick. OG Glover adds 4 KRB. DT Wilbur is out for a while, and his numbers drop a bit as well. I deactivate him. Rookie Lindell will start in his place. Wagner will rest for a week for me.

Week 15 - We win our final road game of the season against the 4 win Colts 27-19. Game MVP is S Eric Carlson with 2 picks and 12 tackles. Clements hit Shepherd for an aerial score. Oneal is doubtful

Right now, at 9-5, we are in the 6 spot for the playoffs. We are way behind many teams. This is just a really strong year for the AFC right now. There are three 10-4 teams, a, 11-3 and a 12-2. At least our final two games are at home. Both are against losing teams, we can try and get some wins against.

Week 16 - We defeat the Corpus Christi Cyberhawks 28-24. Clements hits Gardener and Gerhardt for scores, but the Game MVP is Shepherd again with a 48 yard TD run, a 10 yard TD run, 106 yards on 14 carries. Meadows grabbed 1.5 sacks, and Doughty had a pick.

Brad Harmon ,the rookie LB is out with a broken jaw, and he no longer has any skills at all. I IR him and sign LB Lee Dawkins to a one year deal. WR Wagner is probable and I am bringing him back. We are 10-5 as is the Jets. We need to win this week, and we have a shot at the division title. Plus, Buffalo is right behind us at 9-6.

Week 17 - We win 31-17 over the Colts. Shepherd is again Game MVP> 2 TD runs, 145 yard,s 25 carries. Clements hit Gardener for a score. Ornelas had 113 yards on 5 catches. Carlson had a pick.

Whew! We won the division at the Jets lost and then got a bye on tiebreakers. We are 11-5 and the #2 seed. We were once 5-5 and spinning out of control.

[Abe Sargent]

Wild Card Weekend

Jets defeat Jaguars 13-10.

San Antonio 45 over Tennessee 20.

We now host my old team the Lone Stars.



Division Weekend:

11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners vs. the 13-3 San Antonio Lone Stars.

Whichever team wins I win and lose. Sorta.


We make a statement. 39-0 on a team that hung 45 on Tennessee last week.


Shepherd is Game MVP with 2 TD runs, 133 yards on 20 carries.

Clements had 26 of 37 for 261, 2:0

Jerome Baker was 102 yards, 10 catches, 1 TD
Wagner caught other TD

Torres had 2.5 sacks

Backup CB Broxon, Morabito, and Greene had picks

The Jets win 20-10 over the 13-3 Seahawks.

So, in a week where the Winner and WC of the AFC West was going up against the Winner and WC of the AFC East, with the AFC East teams each with worse records, the AFC East teams come up winners to set up a division showdown next week.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2013 AFC Championship

The 11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners seek to repeat their Super Bowl victory from a year ago, but to do that, they will have to go through division foe…

The 10-6 New York Jets, who swept the Rail Runners earlier this years.

Reminds us of the 1999 AFC Championship with a 14-2 Jaguars against the 13-3 Titans, both in conference, but the Titans had swept the Jags in regular season play.


We manage to win 31-28.

Clements hit Ornelas, Wagner, Mitchell Spence, and Wagner again.

Shepherd was Game MVP with 207 yards on 21 carries.

Wagner had 157 yards on 7 catches.

Torres added 2 sacks.

Dawkins had our sole pick.

OT Sevreson added 5 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2013 Super Bowl


The 11-5 Albuquerque Rail Runners seek to do the double

The 11-5 Chicago Bears stand in their way

One will claim glory, the other will claim a footnote.


O’Neal, at probable, will start the game.

We win 24-10.


Shepherd was the Super Bowl MVP, naturally, with a 7 yard TD run, 111 yards on 28 carries. Clements hit Gardener for a score and rushed for his own TD> Backup safety Burke had a pick. Reynolds had one too. Torres added 1.5 sacks. Severson had 4 KRB.

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:

Super Bowl MVP - RB Heath Shepherd
NFL MVP - RB Heath Shepherd
NFL Offensive Player of the Year - RB Heath Shepherd
NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year - RB Heath Shepherd
1st Team All-Pro - RB Heath Shepherd, TE Ed Gardener, DE Andrew Kadenoff, S Eric Carlson,
2nd Team All Pro - DT Ross Meadows


Kadenoff and Carlson got another nod, Meadows proves he is a top flight DT. Heath Shepherd has arrived. Ed Gardener continues to dominate. Morabito’s first year not getting All Pro.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Stats:

8th best rushing offense by yards, tied for 2nd best in terms of ypc. 8th best passing offense by yards, 3rd best by yards/ pass. 11th worst rushing defense by yards, tied for 10th worst ypc. 15th best passing defense by yards, tied for 10th worst yards allowed per pass. -3 TO. 10th in sacks. 13t his most sacks allowed.

Several problems. I never have a negative TO margin. That’s crappy. I rarely fall outside the top ten fewest sacks allowed, that’s crappy.

Let’s took a look at the players:

[Abe Sargent]

Player Stats:

QB Tony Clements, 3738 yards, 61.3%, 25:11 ratio, 91 rating. This is his best professional year. 5th highest QB rating among qualifiers and 3rd among Qbs with 14 or more starts. 5th most passing yards. Only three QBs with 16 starts had fewer picks. This was a good season for him from every angle. Fumbled 7 times though.

RB Heath Shepherd - Who won the maximum five awards this year. 1374 rushing yards (2nd in league), 12 rushing Tds (tied for 1st with two other players), 4.6 ypc. Here is what put him over the top - 472 yards receiving, 1 TD. The other top RB are just runners, not catchers too. Fumbled 6 times though.

WR Jerome Bailey - 940 yards, 69 grabs, 5 Tds - This is very disappointing for a 16 game start.
WR Donald Wagner - 735 yards, 4 Tds, 54 touches. As is this for 14 starts.
WR Xavier Ornelas - 647 yards, 54 grabs, 5 TD - good for a 3rd WR.
TE Ed Gardener - 57 grabs for 615 yards, 5 TDs.


With a guy who tossed 3738 yards, it is embarassing to not have a single receiver with 1000+ yards, especially when one started 14 games and the other all16.

Ornelas had a PR TD, but poor averages. Fumbled 4 times.

Mare was 17 of 25. Made all of his PATs though.
P Washington had 35 of 86 in the 20, and has increased his punting average a bit.

S Eric Carlson was 5th in the league in tackles and led all defensive backs with 103 tackles.

DE Andrew Kadanoff had 13.5 sacks which was 4th most in the league.
DE Torres had 9.5 sacks
DT Matthews had 9 sacks

S Eric Carlson had 5 picks.
Morabito and Harris each had 4


OG Glover and OG Wells each had 32 KRB.

We only recovered three fumbles defensively this year. That’s why our TO margin dropped.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:

Offensive Player of the Year: QB Tony Clements. In a year when the attention is on Shepherd, and he will get an award in a bit, Clements had the best year of his life, and for a guy who now has three rings, that is saying something.
Defensive Player of the Year: S Eric Carlson. He has fully shown faith in the 1st round pick I invested in him. Tackles and picks were both top on the team and led the team in passes defensed with 9. That’s three major categories to lead in, so there is no question that Carlson is my DPOTY.
Special Teams POTY: P Steve Washington - Everybody was down except for Washington, who increased his yards/punt more than one yard over last’s year’s number.
Rookie of the Year: RB Heath Shepherd. We can’t say anything that has not already been said.
Heart Award: FB Danny Gerhardt -This guy was cut from our team and signed back as a patch mid year. He still ended with 12 KRB out of 20 KRO for a high percentage there, caught a TD pass from Clements, had a lower sack percentage than three starting O Linemen, and was a solid performer for us.


Player of Import Leaving Us Next Year:

WR/KR/PR Xavier Ornelas
FB Danny Gerhardt
S Junior Burke


Marvin Graham won another All pro award

[flere-imsaho]

AWESOME!!!

[Abe Sargent]

I KNOW!! Totally cool.

[Abe Sargent]

Score:

Performance - 100
Value - 51
Profit - 63
Difficulty - 77

Total Score - 68


I slashed our coaching budget and we saw results in score as a result.


Hall of Fame - Chad Bratze, Ty Law, Larry Allen


We have 41 -players under contract and re 6 million over the cap. A good place to be sitting.

Mare is returned for an 18th year. His numbers are starting to decline.

Franchise Value - 12th
11th worst stadium
Best roster
17th worst support
14th best economy

[Abe Sargent]

We hit free agency:

Players in the final year of their contract of note:

P Washington
K Mare
OT Marcus Severson
OG Wells
OG Glover
LB O’Neal
DE Torres
C Wright
WR Donald Wagner
DE Kabanoff
DT Roosevelt Wilbur
OT Marshall
LB Monty Joseph

Literally, I have 11 of my starters from last year up this year, plus my K and P. I have a lot of finagling to begin to do.

[Abe Sargent]

I need to figure what to do with who

For example, O’Neal had been with me for five years and is now in his 12th year. Do I want to bring him back for another contract go around? I can extend it by two more years, but that may be bad for us.

DE Torres has been with us for 3 years and he has had 10 sacks, 13.5 sacks, and 9.5 sacks. Before he joined us, he had (going back), 25.5 sacks, 13.5 sacks and then reaches his early years. Am I getting 9 million dollars worth of investment for him?

OG Wells I drafted but now he is in his 9th year. Worth 6 million a year to keep him?

I love C Gerald Wright. Same draft Class as Ross Matthews, our first one. Both of the backup Cs have better potential, and he is going for 5.5 million, but he is a draftee from my inaugural class who is not playing poorly and had an All-Pro year. Time to reextend or give the spot to the next guy?

Some of the players leaving rookie contracts will cost a lot to keep, like WR Donald Wagner, LB Monty Joseph, DT Wilber and LB Kadanoff.

Do I trade them, play them and lose them, or resign them to major deals?

OT Severson is another that costs me 8-9 million a year to keep for a 9th year vet. He had a much worse record this year than he did two years ago with his All Pro year. If he had another, I would have resigned, him, but as is, it ‘s a place to find some cash.

Literally, my entire Oline is up, and I could be facing a completely new Oline.