Straight Outta The Box: Chief Rum Takes Over The FOF 2004 Cards

[Chief Rum]

I am shocked--and even a little disappointed--that I am the first posted dynasty report of FOF2004. What were you guys doing all day while I was working?

I wanted a real test to start things off, and I realized that what could be the ultimate test?

IMO, the Cardinals are the sorriest sack of crap the NFL has to offer. Their owner sucks, their city doesn't support them (not that I blame them), and their roster is talentless. Even the Bengals are looking good now, and the Bears and Lions are looking better for the simple fact that they already drafted their quarterbacks of the future (the Cards ain't even done that).

So, I figure why not take on the Cards in the Valley of the Sun, and, to boot, set the game level at its highest level? Want more? How about I never bought FOF4 and haven't played FOF2001 for a year and a half?

This should be a revelation a minute.

Come join me as I try to do the impossible--and bring the Cardinals back from the dead.

Chief Rum

[RPI-Fan]

Woot!

I'll probably take some notes on my New England Pats dynasty after each season, but not sure.

[Chief Rum]

Some notes on the start up here.

I am using primelord's real name file, and I have renamed the teams to their actual names.

The only bit of unreality I can see at the moment is the coaches and coordinators aren't real (nor do they seem to be based on their real life counterparts). I'll introduce you to the coaches in a little bit.

My settings pretty much have me doing everything. I'm not really a micromanager when it comes to the games (I expect to use the Recommand button a lot, especially early on), but I would rather if errors are made, that I make them and not the computer.

More to come...

CR

[Chief Rum]

I would look forward to it, RPI-Fan. Good luck with your Pats dynasty.

CR

[GoldenEagle]

WOOHOOO!!!

A new CR dynasty!!

[Runs around in circles]

[Chief Rum]

Team Staff

I thought I would start off with the staff, since they will be the most unfamiliar of this Cardinals team.

Head Coach

NAME: Deion McKeever
AGE: 64
SALARY & YRS: $1.76 M/2 years left

Overall: I have Deion coaching my team! Well, not quite. Get a load of this guy. 64 years old. Hello, Marv Levy! What, Chuck Noll wasn't available? Overall, I can't complain. The guy has only three ratings below Average in the 14 ratings he has listed, although he doesn't have too many great ratings either. McKeever has the sixth highest contract among all head coaches in the NFL.

Offense/Special Teams: He is almost average across the board, but he is Very Good with Quarterbacks. That could be key. Unfortunately, one of his Fairs (all three of his below average scores are Fairs) is in Offensive Playcalling.

Defense: His other two poor ratings are in the front seven, the Defensive Linemen and the Linebackers. Ouch. He is Excellent with the Secondary, though--his best overall rating--and Good with Defensive Playcalling.

Intangibles: This is his highest area. He scores Good or better in all categories. He is Good with Young Talent, Motivation and Discipline. Even better, he is Very Good in Injury Avoidance.

Offensive Coordinator

NAME: Charles Lyons
AGE: 41
SALARY & YRS: $1.06 M/2 years left

Overall: Lyons looks pretty solid. He only has one below average rating, a Fair in Injury Avoidance. Even his defensive ratings are solid. I figure this guy is a possible future head coach, although I will have to get a good look at the rest of the league before I am sure. He's at the lower end of the pay scale, as the 18th best paid offensive coordinator in the league.

Offense: Lyons isn't particularly great with any position group. He is Good with receivers and backs, and Average with the line and the quarterback. He is also good with special teams. His best quality is he is Very Good with Offensive Playcalling (I hope Coach McKeever lets him make the calls then).

Intangibles: Other than the Injury Avoidance, once again, Lyons is solid in this category like McKeever. He is Very Good with Young Talent, Good with Motivation and Average with Discipline.

Defensive Coordinator

NAME: Norbert Darius
AGE: 64
SALARY & YRS: $490 K/5 years left

Overall: Five year contract to yet another 64-year-old? Is this guy even going to outlive his contract? Sheesh, at least he is signed up cheap. At under $500 K, Darius is one of the cheapest-signed coordinators int he league, coming in at 29th out of the 32 DCs. He has some good ratings in spots, but is probably the worst of the three coaches overall.

Defense: He matches McKeever with an Excellent in the secondary, so if our defensive backfield fails, it won't apparently be from coaching. He is also Very Good with linebackers, fortifying an area McKeever is weak in. His worst rating is on the defensive line, where he is Average. He also matches that with an Average in Defensive Playcalling. These are two key areas that move him down a little lower than the other two.

Intangibles: Typical hard-boiled old coach, it seems. Good with Discipline, but just Average with Young Talent and Fair with Motivation. He also has a Fair Injury Avoidance like Lyons, and I can't think that will bode well for us.

Lead Scout

NAME: Vincent Caldwell
AGE: 67
SALARY & YRS: $350 K/1 year left

Comments: Wow, another member of the coaching staff of the AARP. In fact, Caldwell is the oldest of the four staff members. Fortunately, he does seem to have some skills, particularly on offense. He is rated Good at judging all three skill position spots and then moves up to Excellent for the line. He is also Excellent with the defensive line, making him a great judge of the guys in the trenches. His Average with Linebackers is his worst rating, and he is Good with the secondary. The only area I really don't like is that Young Talent is Average. Since I figure to be a developing team, I could use a scout with better abilities in this area. Not surprisingly, a scout that skilled costs some moolah--Caldwell is actually the highest paid lead scout in the NFL.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Thanks for the enthusiasm, Golden Eagle. Glad to see you're reading.

CR

[sachmo71]

Go, Chief! Take those Cardinals right outa Arizona!!

[Chief Rum]

Originally posted by sachmo71
Go, Chief! Take those Cardinals right outa Arizona!!

Oh, I will sachmo. The game models this season, so I start off with a trip to Detroit.

Of course, then I have to return to Arizona...

CR

[tucker342]

Good luck Chief! I'll be reading

[Chief Rum]

Funny...I am still looking around and finding new things to look at. Things I forgot about it like franchise value and things like that.

So here's a rundown of some of the facts about the Cardinals and their locale.

"Arizona"

The actual home listed for this team is Arizona--the whole state. This likely helps me a bit with respect to what population levels I am drawing from. Here are some of the charateristics of Arizona:

POPULATION: 2,840,000 (14th overall)
REGION: Southwest (2nd highest growing region)
TEAMS WITHIN 500 mi: 1

Note: There are also categories for 100 and 250 mi, but of course, I am in the middle of nowhere, at least with respect to other NFL teams. The Chargers in San Diego are the only team within 500 miles, at 299. The next closest, Denver, is 596 miles away.

GROWTH: 3.8% (4th overall)
AVG INCOME: $27,800 (about average across the country)
POVERTY RATE: 16.5% (also about average)

ENTERTAINMENT COMPETITION: 74th percentile (15th overall)
TREND-SETTING CITY: 50th percentile (I guess we're average)

WEATHER: No surprise, but it's hot. And then some. We have 164 90+-degree days per year. Wow. It's also pretty dry most of the year.

OVERALL: I have to like what I am seeing. We have little competition from other teams nearby, we are a growing area with an already sizable population base, and we don't have any big bugaboos like a high poverty rate or low income level. Still, we have a high entertainment competition level, so we need to win to compete with our fanbase's other interests.

Interesting sidenote: I am, of course, a big homer for Anaheim, since I live here and all, and currently Anaheim ranks as the highest "Wants Franchise" city. That is very interesting. The rumors of franchises moving to the LA area is very much out there int he real world, and FOF 2004 allows for team movement. Something for the future? Who Knows? Right now, I am committed to Arizona.

Stadium

This is really cool. This is why we buy games like FOF 2004.

Just like in real life, the local government (and no doubt this team itself) are building a stadium for us in the game. It is expected to be ready in 2006. We are the only such team in this situation. I think that is pretty frickin' neat.

For right now, though, we are suffering in a substandard stadium. Here are the details.

CAPACITY: 73,200
OPENED: 1958
STADIUM TYPE: Outdoor/Grass
STADIUM CONDITION: Average
TURF CONDITION: Fair
PARKING LOT CONDITION: Poor

We are also the cheapest show in the NFL. At $161 for the average four-person family, including parking and concessions, we cost the least of all 32 teams. The Jags are next up at $163, and if you're curious, the Jets' levels are an amazing $526. Sheesh.

Franchise Value

I forgot how much I enjoyed this page in past FOF games. I am glad to see Jim has kept this. Here is where the team stands in the key categories.

STADIUM: 34 (Fair)-- 21st in NFL

Note: Kinda frightening that there are 11 worse stadiums in the league, and we're the only ones with a new one on the way.

ROSTER: 18 (Poor)--31st in NFL

Note: You expect different? Cleveland was listed as the only team that is worse (surprised me a little, actually).

FAN SUPPORT: 46 (Good)--32nd in NFL

Note: We aren't just in last. We are way the fark back in last. The next lowest team is the Chargers--at 69! I think the fact our fan support is listed as "Good" is the biggest joke yet. Looks like I am going to have to make these people believe.

ECONOMY: 43 (Good)--16th in NFL

FRANCHISE VALUE: $318,750,000 (29th in NFL)

If it weren't for the uber-poor stadium situations of San Diego, New Orleans and Jacksonville, I would be a shoo-in for last. But stadiums work heavily into it, so I was able to have a higher franchise value than those teams. The highest is the Patriots, at $550,500,000.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Thanks, tucker. Welcome to the thread.

CR

[haji1]

Get going chief, I am in the mood for a good read since marmel sacked his Pacific dynasty.

Make sure you draft a lot of UCLA boys. Ware, Havner, Chillar, Ball, and Leslie would be a good start. Just make sure Dorrell doesn't come with.

[Chief Rum]

lol...wouldn't that be fun.

I'll try to leave Dorrell behind. Mamrel sacked hius Pacific dynasty? That bastard! I hadn't even finished reading it yet, and now he ain't doing it anymore?!? Crimineys!

CR

[Chief Rum]

I will be getting into the roster pretty soon, but there are so many other little things in this game, I am going to go through the menus and just see if I find anything else of note, and put it here.

The Green Page

I have one player on the Green Page, the new page of up and coming prospects. That player is DE Kenny King, a fifth round pick in the 2003 draft and a rookie this season. I am pretty surprised to find him on the list, but I'm not complaining.

Power Ratings

As I suspected, we are indeed the worst rated team on the power rankings for the NFC.

We sit at 38, 3 points behind second-to-last Dallas. Only the Browns in the AFC are worse in the NFL, at 36.

Season Tickets

With our fanbase as apathetic as it is, it's no surprise to me that we only sell 37,000 season tickets. The stadium capacity is 73,200, so we're a good deal short of full capacity.

League's Fastest Man

We placed a player on the fastest man rankings. Rookie WR Anquan Boldin was tied for tenth in the league with Jets receiver Curtis Conway. He ran a 4.32 40. The fastest man was the Ravens WR Ron Johnson, who ran a 4.27 40.

The Cards didn't place anyone in the Strongest Man competition, which was won by Broncos DT Daryl Gardener and Niners T Kwame Harris. They scored a 48to take the prize.

CR

[Chief Rum]

All right, now that we have some of the initial details out of the way, we can start looking at the roster. I won't spend a lot of time here, because since this is real rosters, most of these players will be plenty familiar to you all.

The numbers following the position are the Starter/Reserve ratings. The following ranking is for the starter(s) only.

QB (36/13)--16th best

I suppose I should be happy that Jeff Blake warrants at least average in this league, but I am not holding my breath. Basically, he's a big thrower, and has some nice touch on his deep passes, but he falters quite a bit in the mental aspect of the game.

The backups are Josh McCown and Preston Parsons. McCown is a former third rounder who doesn't look to be developing too quickly. He is a short-game passer with good timing. Parsons went undrafted this past spring and will serve as the third quarterback and kick holder. He has the size and the personality of a starter, but is far short of talent or the mental ability needed for this position.

RB (9/9)--27th best

In real life, Marcel Shipp seems to have taken over the job, but in Jim's rosters, Emmitt Smith still holds the edge. Not that either of them look to be particularly effective at one of the weaker backfield groups in the league.

Smith just doesn't have the inside power or outside speed to be an every down back anymore, although he could be useful as an open field runner on third down. In pure skill, Shipp has a lot going for him, as he is a power back with good athleticism once he gets open. The problem appears to be that he is dumber than a doorknob, and is a fumble waiting to happen. Still, I think I would probably go with him just as often as I would Smith.

Josh Scobey and Damien Anderson are speedy, elusive backs with little future potential. Anderson, who was undrafted two years ago, has some decent skills and should make a fine backup behind the top two, but he'll never start.

FB (68/0)--11th best

James Hodgins looks like one of the best players at his position in the league. He's an effective blocker with room to improve, and a powerful inside runner. He also makes for a very good receiver out of the backfield.

Arizona's problem is there is no backup. That might be the focus of a free agent signing prior to training camp, since none of the running backs appear capable of ably stepping in as a fullback if needed.

TE (28/46)--17th best

This is one of the Cards better positions. Both of the best tight ends would see significant time on most teams in the league. Steve Bush is the fan favorite. He is a decent blocker, who works the inside seams well with good speed and he has courage in the middle of the field and on third down. His problem is he hasn't proven to be too clutch, and has been prone to running bad routes.

The other TE is Freddie Jones, who has yet to revolutionaize the position for the Cards since coming over from the Chargers last year. Jones isn't the blocker or mover that Bush is, but he is a steadier player, who runs solid routes, holds onto the ball and makes the clutch catch.

A pair of second year tight ends serve for further depth. 2002 7th roiund pick Mike Banks brings a little receiving skill, but is no blocker at all. 2002 undrafted free agent Nathan Hodel has actually passed Banks, as he is a more effective pass blocker and is also the better third down receiver.

WR (0/13)--Dead Last

While real life has certainly shown they aren't as bad as this score indicates, this is probably this team's worst position.

One thing this game has done that took injuries to do in real life is that it makes clear that rookie receivers Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson are both the players with the most potential and also the best receivers currently on the team.

As often occurs with young receivers, Boldin and Johnson are much more physically able than mentally prepared for the NFL. Boldin is a field stretcher with a lot of potential, but he has a lot of work to do on running routes and avoiding drops. Johnson isn't quite the physical specimen, but he comes into the league a little more natural in the game, able to adjust to routes better, catch third down passes and go over the middle fearlessly.

The backups are a ridiculous mess of bit parts. Kevin Kaspar, who was cut by the Broncos in the preseason last year, is a strong personality in the locker room, but is a third down receiver with very little skill in third down receiving. Nate Poole is better over the middle but is very limited physically. Bryan Gilmore could develop into a solid possession receiver and does his best work int he slot, but he is far from an established player. Jason McAddley doesn't have Gilmore's mental skills, but he is also effective on third downs and is more physically talented.

C (100/7)--Best In League

Nice to have a very positive position like this.

This is pretty much completely due to the presence of Pete Kendall, one of the best, if not the best center in the league. He can run and pass block with them all, and has great natural blocking strength. He is also a leader and a fan favorite.

Jason Starkey is the backup, and Cards fans will be praying Kendall never gets hurts. Starkey is a former undrafted rookie free agent who has some potential as a run blocker, but his complete lack of ability in the passing game makes him a liability.

G (15/0)--28th best

Former high first rounder Leonard Davis remains the best here, although he is still by far an unfinished product. He is massive and has the strength to back it up. Despite that, he is a better pass blocker than run blocker and will end up grading out much better in passing games in the long run.

Chris Dishman remains the best option at the other guard spot, but only for lack of other choices. He and Starkey have much in common, as he is an okay run blocker, but patches of grass have more mobility in the passing game. He is also undersized and weak.

The lone backup at one of the team's worst and shallowest overall positions is Cameron Spikes. Spikes brings very little to the field, as he has almost no effective technique and has to rely and subpar (but better than his other ratings) blocking strength. What makes him an intriguing character is that he is a leader and a strong personality and half the offense seems to either have an affinity or a conflict with him.

T (2/12)--31st best

It doesn't seem to get better, does it.

There is some reason tot hink there will be improvement here, though, since the Cards have brought in two rookies at the position who could both end up better than the starters (not that that's saying much).

The starters are L.J. Shelton and Anthony Clement. Shelton fits the mold of Starkey and Dishman, as he is a decent run blocker, but has almost no pass blocking skills. He is listed as the left tackle, but I think I will have to play him on the right, since someone with pass block skills needs to protect Blake's backside.

That job will probably go to Clement, who isn't as good a run blocker as Shelton, but has more ability overall, to go with poor--but still top on this team--pass block skills.

The two rookies are almost good enough to start now, and one may compete for a guard spot to get them playing time. 2003 6th round pick Reggie Wells needs a lot of weight work, but he has the potential to be decent in both running and passing situations. Undrafted rookie Kendrick Rogers looks like he will be even better than Wells. He also has ability in both key areas, and he has some blocking strength Wells doesn't have. His issue is that he fatigues too quickly.

P (32/0)--20th best

Scott Player isn't going to scare anyone with his booming kicks, but he gets good hang time and he is solid at directional punting. He is also an able kick holder, if needed.

K (0/0)--Dead Last

It's hard to believe Bill carries some of the same genes as his brother Martin, the fine kicker for the Buccs. There just isn't anything this guy does well. He has very little range or accuracy on his field goals, and his best quality--kickoff distance--would be considered paltry for most other kickers. I'm going to have to scour free agency for competition for this one.

DE (20/44)--31st best

The biggest addition from a draft that looks like it will add some talent to this team might be Green Page prospect DE Kenny King. King is already easily the best end on the team, and his potential is just huge. All this for a fifth rounder? Yay, X-factor.

King has a lot of work to do on his technique, both against the rush and on the pass rush, and his play resignation skills are horrendous right now. But the young man simply possesses terrific pass rush strength and is an elite-level hitter. He may never be a mental giant in the trenches, but when this guy develops, he will be a force.

King's surprising arrival has pushed first round pick Calvin Pace to the back a bit, but Pace is also a likely candidate to start with tremendous upside. He isn't very good against the run, and likely never will be, as he is very undersized for a defensive lineman, even an end. But he has the pass rush potential to become a domiannt force rushing the passer, and he has the mental game King doesn't.

King and Pace merely add tremendous talent to a group of young ends that already had some nice looking youngsters on the rise. Kyle Vanden Bosch is the best skilled end on the team right now (until the kids pass him up), and he also has some very good potential. Since he plays both the run and the pass with equal (and decent effectiveness), he will probably get a starting spot before giving way on pass downs.

Dennis Johnson and Fred Wakefield are practically carbon copies of each other, as they are both solidly strong and good hitters, and they both tend more toward rushing the passer than stopping the run.

DT (37/48)--21st best

As at defensive end, there are some potential developing stars in this group.

The best of the group is actually at his peak right now. Russell Davis is the line's best combo rusher and run defender. He is also strong in the pass rush and hits hard. His play recognition skills need a lot of work.

Veteran Barron Tanner will try to fight off former first round pick Wendell Bryant at the other tackle position. Tanner grades out better right now, while Bryant has slightly more potential. Tanner levels runners up the middle hard, and he is a very accomplished run blocker, even better than Davis. But he gives very little push in the pass rush, and doesn't recognize plays well. Bryant is a much more well-rounded player who is a better pass rusher than run stuffer.

Derrick Ransom and Marcus Bell provide depth. Ransom is actually the best dual threat tackle after Davis, as he rushes the passer than Tanner and defends the run better than Bryant. He gives up strength at the point of attack, though. Bell is strickly backup backup filler, although he has the potential to develop into a decent run stuffer.

MLB (55/0)--17th best

On a defense with very little true standouts, Ronald McKinnon is a blessing. After Kendall, he is probably the best overall player on the team and is the leader of the defense. Just about the only thing McKinnon doesn't do is rush the passer with any true technique, and he hides that by simply running over tight ends and running backs with freakish strength in the rush. He is excellent against the run, tested and experienced in recognizing plays, and he hits like a rock. He is uncomfortable in man, but he can play the bump and run and he is solid in zone defenses.

If McKinnon goes down, the Cards will be hurting, since James Darling is not an answer as the backup. He is technically better in the pass rush than McKinnon, is decent against the run and he is effective in recognizing plays. But he has almost no natural ability and is lost in pass defense.

OLB (29/29)--21st best

The Cardinals didn't just luck out with King. They also nabbed SLB Gerald Hayes in the 3rd round. Hayes came out much better than expected, and is already good enough to start from day one. He is potentially one of the most technically proficient linebackers in the game. He has the same freakish pass rush strength McKinnon displays, and he hits so hard, helmets will be sent flying into the stands. Right now his pass defense and play recognition are both very subpar, but when this guy is fully developed he will have few holes.

Raynoch Thompson is the incumbent on the strong side. He is very strong against the run, and has some skills in pass defense. But overall he is subpar against the pass, and gets very little results in the pass rush. He has settled into being a solid vet who can pick out the plays, and he is horse when it comes to playing time.

2002 2nd round pick Levar Fisher still has a ways to g0o, although he has the potential to be a solid player. He can play the physical stuff, doing bump and run well and hitting hard, but he is very limited atheltically, and next to useless against the passing game. LeVar Woods is Fisher's alter-ego, as he is pretty weak against the run, but he can mount a pass rush on occasion.

CB (21/0)--22nd best

There's no doubt who is the best in this group. Veteran Duane Starks is a fine man defender and a very solid physical corner. He diagnoses plays well, hits very hard and has soft hands for the picks. He is surprisingly ineffective against the run, however, and his zone defense could use some work.

David Barrett is probably the best of a very pedestrian remaining corner corps. Barrett is better in the zone than in man, although he falls short of Stark in both defensive sets. He is a solid run defender, and has better overall skills by far than any other corner on the team after Starks.

2001 2nd round pick Michael Stone looks likely to be the nickel back. He is horrible in zone defense, but is okay in man and bump and run, and he has room to grow. He also has the potential to be the best run defending corner on the team.

The rest of the group is mostly forgettable. Jacoby Rinehart and Renaldo Hill are both developing zone corners with good bump and run skills. Emmanuel McDaniel brings very little technical skill, but he can read the plays off the line, he hits strongly and he holds up against the run.

S (38/4)--22nd best

The Cards feature a pair of solid safeties at least, even if they are short of depth. FS Dexter Jackson is one of the best players on the team, and provides a fine security blanket on the back end of the defense. He is very good in zone and in bump and run coverage, he recognizes plays with the skill of a crafty veteran, and his hits literally crush the life out of receivers. He is also solid coming up against the run. His man coverage could use a lot of work, though.

SS Adrian Wilson is not far behind Jackson and might end up better. He has the potential to stand up the run and drop any ball carrier with force, reminiscent of Steve Atwater, and he could have shutdown corner level skills in man-to-man. He isn't there yet, though, and now sits as a solid, second-fiddle safety to Jackson.

The backups are extremely ordinary. Quentin Harris plays the physical game well, but is lacking in technique. Justin Lucas has better skills, but doesn't have the physical talent to escape backup status.

Did I say short?

CR

[Chief Rum]

It was time for me to make some moves on the free agent market to shore up some weak spots. There were very few solutions out there, of course, but I think I was able to help out my depth at spots.

I was five players under the exhibition season 60-man roster limit. I found nine players I wanted to sign, so I had to drop four to get under the roster limit.

Money isn't an issue because I had almost $19 M to spend on new players. The Cards' cap hit came in under $50 M, while the cap is currently at $75 M for the league.

Here are the players I signed:

FB Rex Summers
WR Joe Ritchie
C Jared Swift
G Britt Sanderson
G Deon Hodges
K Graham Bolvin
CB Corey Grier
S Larry Hannah
S Marques Anderson

To make room under the roster limit, I released:

G Cameron Spikes
K Bill Gramatica
CB Emmanuel McDaniel
S Justin Lucas

Comments: Almost all of the above nine players signed are undrafted rookies this year. The lone exception is two-year man Marques Anderson. Also, almost all have the potential to end up far better than they are now (although few have the look of an actual future starter). Summers will back up Hodgins at fullbac (you'll recall I didn't have a backup FB at all). Ritchie was signed exclusively for his return duties. Swift gives me a guy with some skills in both run and pass blocking, and he will be the long snapper. Sanderson and Hodges are both guards with upside and could challenge Chris Dishman at one guard spot. Bolvin takes over for Gramatica and figures to improve. Grier has more upside, although the corner position remains a tremendously weak one. Hannah was signed purely for special teams work and he will be a gunner. Anderson was the top signee. He will be the top gunner on the team and a big improvement over my previous two backup safeties.

As for the releasees, Gramatica was easy--Bolvin was clearly better. McDaniel was replaced by Grier. The addition of both Hannah and Anderson made Lucan expendable. And the most interesting was the release of Spikes, who was the offensive line leader, despite being clearly the worst lineman on the team (and maybe even the worst player). Pete Kendall took over the leader spot, causing some changes in affinity and conflict for some other players.

Most interesting was a conflict between Blake and Kendall. Blake, I know you're the only semi-legit passer we have, but I assure you, if it comes down to you and Kendall, see ya, Blake.

CR

[JAG]

CR-

Fun stuff. Good choice of teams to start with...nothing like a big challenge!

[MizzouRah]

Nice read thus far! Since I'm waiting a tad on getting the game, it'll be nice to read this dynasty!!


Todd

[JeeberD]

Good stuff so far! Hope Emmitt has a decent season for you, but I'm not holding my breath...

[Chief Rum]

JAG: Little challenges seem too easy. I figured I would shoot for the top. We'll see if I regret it, though.

Mizzourah: It seems to play very well, even without being patched yet. Jim is nothing if not consistent. One of the funniest things I have found, BTW, that I think you'll find interesting, is that Warner seems to be clearly better than Bulger for our beloved Rams. I don't know if it was simply done early in the season, or if that is the opinion of the guys who put it together (probably Jim himself). Of course, I am of the opinion that Warner is better than Bulger, but he's got a screw loss right now in his head that needs to be tightened up again.

JeeberD: I don't think there's any doubt Emmitt will see some time here, Jeeber. He has a lot more elusiveness and open-field ability than Shipp, who looks a little like a one-trick pony (but, boy, can he run inside...). I hate to say it, because I can't stand running back by committee, but I really think these guys will splitting time, giving the defense different looks. Funniest things I saw? Shipp is the backfield leader, not the all-time rushing leader, and under Fan Popularity, Emmitt is listed as "Need Scorecard." Yeah....right....

CR

[Chief Rum]

I have my ideas for how I want my football teams to play, of course, but I have found that, unless you're incredibly lucky, you don't end up with a team that fits your philosophy too well when you first start a game.

As such, rather than trying to fit the square peg into the round hole, I'm going to try to adapt a philosophy that suits this team best, and move it gradually to a system I am more comfortable with.

On offense, I feel that my best chance to move the ball is on the ground. Shipp may not be a great outside runner, but he can move the pile. And Smith should be nice for a change of pace. Also, I don't have much confidence in the passing game.

As for that passing game, I have very little in the way of steady receivers, and a quarterback who is much better throwing long than displaying anything resembling touch on short passes. So when I do pass, I will probably be rather vertical.

Defensively, I have good depth int he front seven, and they all seem to be big time hitters. That tells me I should play this one aggressive. Overall, this team isn't particularly smart defensively, so by playing aggressive, I should be able to counter the need for too much play recognition. Of course, I'll beburned by play action fakes and the like, but what can I do? Hopefully, I'll force many turnovers and rack up the sacks.

In the secondary, I will probably go with a bump and run philosophy. Starks is a fine, physical corner and my starting safeties are big and nasty. I may need to double-cover corner 2, since Barrett and anyone likely to replace him aren't very good at al. I wish I could say I would go with a flat zone or man-to-man, but I simply have too much variance in my players to make either work. If I go with one, then I'll have a fine man defender playing zone instead, or the other way, vice versa.

CR

[MizzouRah]

Mizzourah: It seems to play very well, even without being patched yet. Jim is nothing if not consistent. One of the funniest things I have found, BTW, that I think you'll find interesting, is that Warner seems to be clearly better than Bulger for our beloved Rams. I don't know if it was simply done early in the season, or if that is the opinion of the guys who put it together (probably Jim himself). Of course, I am of the opinion that Warner is better than Bulger, but he's got a screw loss right now in his head that needs to be tightened up again.

That's good to hear CR. I just want to wait until the TCY -> FOF 2004 import is fixed as I'm at the end of my Missouri TCY season.

I was goint to start Warner over Bulger anyway. I'll play whoever is playing better at the time. Have a bad game or two and I'm back to the other QB. I don't believe all this 'hurting ones confidence' crap.

More, we want more CR!


Todd

[WussGawd]

Good luck. Just for fun, last night I fast-simmed my way through the 2003 season with the Cruds. They edged the Lions 16-13 in the opener, then proceeded to drop 15 in a row.

[sachmo71]

Chief, isn't Larry Foster on the team at WR?

[Chief Rum]

Likely Preseason Battles

Here are the position battles I am anticipating.

QB: We only have three quarterbacks, and no one is threatening to overtake Blake. This won't be an issue.

RB: My plan is running back by committee, but both Shipp and Smith will have the opportunity to establish themselves over the other. Scobey and Anderson might be fighting for a third spot, while the odd man out could get his pink slip.

FB: Like QB, we have the bare minimum here, so these guys aren't worried about their spots. Hodges is also not a possibility to be overtaken by Summers.

TE: This will be an interesting battle in preseason, as Jones and Bush fight it out for the top tight end spot. Both will see plenty of playing time, however. The iffy spots are for the next two. It seems likely I would only keep three tight ends, but I have four, so Hodel and Banks may have to fight each other for that last spot.

WR: I have seven receivers right now, and I think I can only afford to carry five. One spot is locked is set for Ritchie, the mewly-signed return man, and Boldin and Johnson are in no danger. That leaves two spots for the four remaining receivers, none of whom truly stand out from any of the others.

C: I plan to keep all three centers. Kendall starts, and Starkey is the primary backup. Swift is the long snapper. If I have to make a cut here, it will be between Starkey and Swift, but I don't think I will have to.

G: I have already changed this position a lot, and there figures to be a lot more changes coming. Davis is a lock to start at one guard, but Dishman will be competing with recently-signed Sanderson and Hodges, along with both of the backup tackles, Rodgers and Wells, for his starting spot. It is very much in the air if I will keep three non-center lineman backups or four. If I keep three, then there will be backup fights as well.

T: Shelton and Clement will both be receiving challenges from Rodgers and Wells. I don't expect any of them to be cut, but of course, the issue of how many line backups I keep affects things here as well. Really, outside of Davis and Kendall, there are no truly settled spots on the line.

P: Player is decent and has no competition. No battles here.

K: I was planning on having Bolvin and Gramatica compete, but I needed the spot and decided to keep Bolvin. So he has no competition. Of course, if he does badly, I will have no qualms in cutting him and signing another kicker, of which there are several free agents that aren't too far off from his skill level, now or in the future.

DE: I have five defensive ends, but only really need four. All five look like solid players. This could be iffy. If I can afford to keep five, then I will. Maybe I will use the fifth in a backup role as a linebacker. I don't know for sure. If I need to cut someone, though, I will likely pursue a trade rather than outright cutting the odd man out. The starting spots are also relatively open, although I suspect it will be King and Vanden Bosch, with Pace (at least) serving on passing downs.

DT: I have similar problems here, with five decent to good tackles for a probably four spots. I would also look to do a deal here, if I had to cut someone. If I couldn't pursue a deal and needed to cut someone, Marcus Bell, a DT, would likely get the first cut.

ILB: There is no meaningful competition here. McKinnon is the starter, and until he shows he is absolutely worthless, Darling will be the backup. If he were bad enough, I might look to move one of the outside backs inside as backup, since Hayes and Thompson both look like starters, but seem to lack the skills to handle the weak side.

OLB: I typed up the MLB part without really looking at the WLB, both of whom suck (that I already knew, I just didn't look with enough detail). As it turns out, Hayes or Thompson, while certainly not WLB types, are still better than the actual WLB I have. As such, it is likely Hayes will start at WLB. Darling, and the two WLB, Fisher and Woods would compete for backup spots. I may (and want to) keep six linebackers, but I may not get the choice and have to cut one. There is also the possibility that neither Thompson nor Hayes will take to the weakside. That could throw a wrench into the works. Obviously, linebacker is going to be an interesting position to watch.

CB: Let's face it. I have one legit corner and a bunch of crap after him. I need four corners, so it would seem likely I will keep at least four. I currently have six on roster. There is a wildcard, though--I may choose to play recent signee Marques Anderson somewhere. I got him for special teams play, but he might be able to do work as the nickel or dime back (he's certainly more of a cover guy than a run-stuffing safety). Anderson might even get a shot at Barrett's starting spot. If Anderson were to show an ability to handle a role as a cover corner in any of our packages, I might drop two natural corners, instead of one. Anderson's situation could have a bearing on both the corner group and the safeties.

S: The starters are safe, and I am pretty sure Anderson and Hannah make the team (the latter for his gunner skills). That means the fifth safety, Quentin Harris, will be playing for a job. Harris is a better safety than Hannah, but Hannah's special teams work would likely keep him on the team and force me to cut Harris if I didn't have room on the team for him.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Mizzourah: Yeah, stupid confidence crap. More coming...

WussGawd: Boy, even uglier than I thought. Thanks for the heads up. I guess I will figure if I get even one win, I should be thankful. Do I get coach of the year awards if I manage as much as four?

sachmo: Thanks, sachmo. I just spent ten minutes trying to find the guy and confirm what i thought I read some time ago. After looking at different sites, I finally confirmed what I thought I remembered--in early October, the Cards reached an injury settlement with Foster (allowing them to cut him). Foster, of course, was set to start for the Cards, but he got hurt in the first game of the season, Boldin came in and set rookie debut records, and the rest is history. It was really odd--Yahoo didn't list him in the transactions or on the roster, and ESPN and NFL.COM themseleves insisted the guy was still a Cardinal, despite the fact he wasn't present on either of their rosters. There were no transactions listed regarding him for them either. Weird. It shouldn't have taken me so long to find him. What this says, of course, is that the rosters given us here have beenchanged somewhat from the initial season rosters. Whether this was primelord's doing or Jim had updated the rosters prior to primelord's name-changing, you would have to ask them.

CR

[sachmo71]

Sorry to make you work! I'm pretty sure Prime said he changed nothing but names in the roster file...

[Chief Rum]

No problem, Chris. I actually enjoyed it (other than revealing how maddeningly un-updated some supposedly top sports sites are). Since I can use receiver help and Foster was good enough to earn a starting nod through a preseason, it was worth it for me to try and find it what the heck happened to him.

I guess Jim had some pretty recent roster changes then, since I have found several September changes reflected in the game.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Preseason Schedule

Week	Opponent

One	Open
Two	DALLAS
Three	at San Diego
Four	CHICAGO
Five	at Minnesota

CR

[MizzouRah]

Go Cardinals!


Todd

[Blade6119]

well...maybe i should come to some of your home games...i live here in phoenix and my friend has season tickets...hes taken me to three games(1 pre-season, two regular), and they have won all three...ironically i was there for their only two reg. season wins(GB and SF), so send me some tickets and you shall be rewarded

[Chief Rum]

Mizzourah: Curious. You old enough and been in Missouri (or a Missouri/St. Louis fan) long enough to root for the Cards when they were in St. Louis?

Blade: Can do! The tickets are in the mail.

CR

[MizzouRah]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
Mizzourah: Curious. You old enough and been in Missouri (or a Missouri/St. Louis fan) long enough to root for the Cards when they were in St. Louis?

Blade: Can do! The tickets are in the mail.

CR

Yes! I was a kid going to every home game with my dad. My step mom would pack us hot chocolate on those cold days!!

Remember kicker Steve Little and the missed field goal?

Jim Hart, OJ Anderson, Roy Green, Dierdorf, etc.... those are distant memories compared to the Rams. LOL!


Todd

[Chief Rum]

Exhibition Games

Arizona 28, Dallas 21

This wasn't as great a game as you might think. It appears our starters were in against their reserves, allowing us to use three late touchdowns to comeback for the win.

Blake was surprisingly accurate, even on short passes, so he might be able to handle a shorter passing game after all. He also didn't throw any INT. Smith and Shipp both did well, particularly Shipp in a reserve role (7 car, 93 yd).

Boldin really stood out in receiving (5 rec, 118 yd, 2 td). The line allowed just two sacks and got good push int he running game.

The defense wasn't too great at stopping the Cowboys, although they did get three sacks and intercepted two passes.

No injuries were reported.

San Diego 13, Arizona 10 (OT)

They play overtime in the preseason?!?

Blake was still accurate and didn't throw any INT again. The offense's problem was the running game, which averaged a measly 2.1 ypc. Shipp got the start and played awful.

Blake should good ability going to different receivers, with 6 to Boldin, 5 to Jones (getting a leg up for the starting tight end job), 4 to Johnson (rebound from poor first preseason game), and 4 to FB Hodgins, who is proving to be a decent option in the offense.

The line had three sacks, but all came from Wells, getting a shot at T. That isn't going to help his shot at a starting spot there.

The defense was solid, if not spectacular. A 46-yard run by Chatman made the run defense look worse than it was, which was fairly solid. The long passing game was ineffective for the Chargers, and we had 2 sacks, 2 INT and forced a fumble.

We did get some bad news with injuries. Johnson will be hobbled by knee tendinitis for the rest of the preseason, and we have some other small one-week injuries. But the big one was top corner Duane Starks, who strained an elbow and will be out for the first month of the regular season.

Arizona 24, Chicago 14

Do I play any legit teams this preseason? How am I supposed to know how bad this team is when I play guys like Dallas, Chicago and San Diego?

I have been having problems with the depth charts, trying to get some good preseason time for players, so I actually started backups at many spots in this one. I also play-called the game (went in and had the coach call all the plays--I just raced through), instead of simming it. There seemed to be some effect, but I have no idea what I did exactly that changed things.

McCown got the start under center, but he did poorly and only threw five passes. Parsons took over and played very well. He was accuarte, didn't throw any interceptions and threw for two scores. He even got the game MVP. In my mind, that likely clinches him as the #2 passer. Blake also played a little and went 6-for-6.

Shipp had another bad game, but got the most carries, despite being listed third on the depth chart. Anderson got the start and did well, and Smith broke an 83-yard run to have a very good day.

I sat the limping Johnson and started McAddley, and he had a solid day. Gilmore and Bush also caught some passes, and Boldin caught his usual 5.

The line was hit and miss. The running game was solid, and we had several key run blocks. But we allowed five sacks, and Hodges allowed two in reserve guard work. Like Wells, that doesn't bode well for him in starting or getting much playing time.

I feel the Bears' offense stunk more than our defense did good. We didn't get any sacks ro force any turnovers, and they still rushed at a good clip. But they got less than 300 yards, because of what I think was a very conservative passing offense that just didn't work.

I had a lot of muscle strains and pulls in this one, it seems. Projected tackler starter Shelton strained a calf muscle and will probably miss the next two weeks (inluding the season opener). Young DT Bryant hyperextended his elbow and will also be out about two weeks. Reserve receiver Kevin Kaspar has a strained triceps, and will be questionable for three weeks.

Minnesota 17, Arizona 17

Now, things have moved into the sublime. Not only did we play the overtime, we ended it in a tie (which is prbably what it should have done at the end of regulation...oh well).

Recommend on playing time doesn't seem to work, but at least I am getting some variation in my depth chart now. Of course, this is the final preseason game, so who cares?

McCown got the start again and this time played much better, going 11-for16 with a touchdown and no INT. Parsons came in and did almost as good, though (19-for-27, no INT). McCown did get the score, and generally threw for further per completion. Is it enough to put him back in the miux for the #2 spot? I don't know.

Scobey had a pedestrian game in his shot at starting, but he was steady. Anderson didn't fare much better behind him. So I'm going to have to take a closer look at the numbers to see if I will cut any of my two reserve running backs. Shipp did well in limited work and scored a touchdown, which was nice to see with his poor performances in Games 2 & 3.

Poole and Gilmore combined for 13 catches and a score, so this will only make my decision at the overloaded wide-receiver spot that much harder. Banks and Hodel each had two catches, so the third tight end spot is still far from settled.

For the second straight game, the line showed some good skills, with plenty of key runblocks and only two sacks allowed (by Hodges and Sanderson).

The defense had four sacks, including two by Vanden Bosch in a passing down role. They forced two turnovers and limited the Vikings to just 78 yards rushing.

My preseason opponents may have taken it easy on me, but the injury Gods didn't. Ouch.

I had several big injuries, but the biggest is just huge. Hodgins suffered a broken foot and will be out nine weeks. In fact, I will have to decide whether to keep him on the roster and not put him on IR, because that's a long time to hold a spot for a guy.

Hodges, one of the two guards I signed for depth and possible starting spots, suffered a back injury and had to undergo surgery. He will be out for all of 2003. Continuing the bad luck on the line, reserve tackle and potential starter Wells dislocated his elbow, and will also miss nine weeks.

Most of the other injuries are minor, although Starks remains out for at least the first six weeks of the season. Kendall suffered a minor injury, but he is considered probable. Some key 9injuries last week, like Shelton and Bryant, have upgraded to probable and will play in Week One.

The injuries, of course, only muddy an already difficult situation of getting down to 46. I will have to make some tough decisions, and see if I can get a good full back off the waiver wire.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Mizzourah: I followed the Rams, but I wasn't really a big NFL fan yet. I do remember the Cards in St. Louis, but the first name that comes to me there is Neil Lomax.

Yeah, I remember all those guys you mentioned, though.

CR

[MizzouRah]

Ol' Neil Lomax, ahh yes, remember him too.


Todd

[Chief Rum]

Thanks to having to add up preseason stats myself, it took me a long while to egt ready do cuts and what not. Ugh...that will be my first request of Jim when he patches the game (put preseason stats somewhere--you don't even have to keep track of them long term).

QB

Blake was never in trouble in the first place, but he played very well in the preseason. He went 54-76, for 626 yards, and 4 scores against no INT. In fact, no Arizona passer through an interception. Parsons and McCown seem practically interchangeable, but I feel Parsons had a slightly better preseason, so he gets the #2 job. With just three quarterbacks on the roster, no one will get cut.

RB

After a hot first game, Shipp never really broke out. Smith, meanwhile, remained quite solid, and ran for more yards than Shipp in one less game, 209-155. Smith also showed he can occasionalyl catch the ball, while Shipp looked very poor. So Smith will get the start, while Shipp will see a lot of time. Anderson was justa touch better than Scobey and gets the edge for the third running back spot.

FB

This is a problem area with the injury of Hodgins. Summers is the lone remaining fullback by default, and he didn't get much playing time at all in the preseason. I will have to get another fullback, but I am delaying for the moment if I will cut someone else for that or put Hodgins on IR.

TE

Jones' receiving ability is simply stronger than Bush's superior blocking. The four preseason games seem to bear that out, with Jones catching twice as many balls in less pass plays.But Bush's blocking and special teams ability ensures he will be a critical member of the team. Neither Banks nor Hodel established themselves, so I have to make this decision based on money. Banks, with the multi-year contract, gets the third tight end spot.

WR

I didn't see anything to remove me from the notion that Boldin and Johnson should be starting. The other receivers will make it tough, though. The only receivers who didn't really stand out were Kaspar (who had an injury in his second game), and Richie (who was pretty poor at returning, which is what his job is supposed to be). I have very little in the way of returnees, but in the end, it's more important to me to have four good receivers. So I am going with the best receivers and screw the return game until a better option comes along. That means Gilmore gets the third receiver spot, and McAddley gets the fourth because of his multi-year contract.

C

The only battle here to settle was for the backup spot. Kendall is locked intohis starting spot. Neither Swift nor Starkey really stood out. I have to keep one essentially, and the other may have to compete with the rest of the line backups for a spot. Swift has better potential, and is an excellent spot snapper, so he gets the edge.

G

Hodges' injury eliminates the need for any cuts here. Davis, Sanderson, and Dishman are all assured spots. Dishman held up surprisingly well in the passing game, and still hit on his run blocks, so he will get the start over Sanderson, who gave up three sacks in the preseason.

T

Of the four tackles, Wells was the only moving in any direction, and it was in a southerly one. Since he ended up getting hurt, this position is similar to the guard spot, with the three tackles assured of spots. I am not even certain of who should start, but will go with Clement at LT, because of his solid performance in pass protection. Shelton and Rodgers are a toss up to me, but I will probably go with Shelton because he is a better run blocker for the RT spot.

P

Player wasn't great, but he'll work for now.

K

Despite Bolvin being the only kicker on the team, I have to consider ways to replace him. He went 3-for-7 in the preseason and his longest field goal was for 29 yards. He did make all ten of his point after attempts. If someone better comes along, though, I may ditch him quickly.

DE

Pace and King are untouchable as very good-looking young defensive ends, although Pace wasn't very impressive. Vanden Bosch clearly showed he deserved a spot and probably to start. That means if a defensive end has to be cut, it will have to be between Wakefield and Johnson. Since Wakefield both played slightly better in the preseason and he is signed cheaply for longer, he is almost certainly the guy who will be kept. Johnson might be kept instead of a fourth defensive tackle.

DT

Davis, Ransom and Bryant are clearly the better defensive tackles, but Bell and Tanner aren't bad for bit parts. Tanner did very little to establish himself, while Bell actually did okay in limited time--just not good enough. Those two and Johnson are in a mix for whether or not they will be cut or shopped around.

MLB

There was no position battle of note here. McKinnon wasn't going to lose his starting spot, and Darling was assured a roster spot because he is the only other middle linebacker on the suqad. Fortunately, both played very well in the preseason. I may use Darling some as a strong side backup.

OLB

Hayes and Thompson both did well as starters and are in no risk of losing their jobs. Woods did slightly better than Fisher, but Fisher's potential probably earns him the spot over Woods. I may keep all four.

CB

Starks is easily our best corner, and we can't put him on IR (he's only hurt for six weeks). So we have to carry five corners, or maybe four, but use Anderson in one of the corner spots. Anderson's presence makes the corner and safety positions joined together. I think Anderson's presence will allow me to go with four corners. Starks gets one spot, and Barrett played well enough to get another spot. Stone was clearly the worst of the six corners on roster, and Rhinehart loses out in a tough battle for the fourth spot. Grier and Hill get the last two spots, and Grier may start at one corner spot until Starks returns.

S

Jackson and Wilson are starters without question, and Anderson quickly established himself as a key player. He will compete with Grier for the starting spot at the second corner position. The fourth safety spot goes to Hannah, because he has some safety potential and he is a special teams ace.

The Cuts

I added up the numbers, and quite simply, I don't have any leeway with this roster after all. So just about everyone on the edge of being kept will have to be cut or otherwise deactivated from the roster.

Here are the players on 60-man who will not be on the 46-man roster.

RB Josh Scobey
FB James Hodgins (IR)
TE Nathan Hodel
WR Kevin Kaspar
WR Nate Poole
WR John Richie
C Jason Starkey
G Deon Hodges (IR)
T Reggie Wells (IR)
DE Dennis Johnson
DT Barron Tanner
OLB Levar Woods
CB Jacoby Rhinehart
CB Michael Stone
S Quentin Harris

I can keep seven of these players on the roster, but inactive. Hodges is on IR for sure. So that means I can keep seven of the remaining 14.

I have decided it would be best to move Wells to the IR as well, but keep Hodgins inactive.

Here is who I will keep:

Hodgins
Tanner
Stone (he will be active and replace Starks until Starks is healthy)
Starkey
Woods
Kaspar
Poole

I will try to deal Johnson for a draft pick if I can.

I succeeded in dealing Dennis Johnson to the Cowboys. I shipped him and a 2005 6th rounder to Dallas for their 2004 3rd rounder.

I outright released the rest of the players.

I then signed undrafted rookie FB Renaldo Giles to serve as my backup fullback, bringing me to 46 active players.

CR

[Chief Rum]

2003 Schedule

  Week    Opponent                              

Week 1    at Detroit Lions                        
Week 2    SEATTLE SEAHAWKS                        
Week 3    GREEN BAY PACKERS                       
Week 4    at St. Louis Rams                       
Week 5    at Dallas Cowboys                       
Week 6    BALTIMORE RAVENS                        
Week 7    OPEN                                    
Week 8    SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS                     
Week 9    CINCINNATI BENGALS                      
Week 10   at Pittsburgh Steelers                  
Week 11   at Cleveland Browns                     
Week 12   ST. LOUIS RAMS                          
Week 13   at Chicago Bears                        
Week 14   at San Francisco 49ers                  
Week 15   CAROLINA PANTHERS                       
Week 16   at Seattle Seahawks                     
Week 17   MINNESOTA VIKINGS                       
   
Home Games in ALL CAPS

CR

[sachmo71]

Good luck, Chief!

[SunDancer]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
I have my ideas for how I want my football teams to play, of course, but I have found that, unless you're incredibly lucky, you don't end up with a team that fits your philosophy too well when you first start a game.

As such, rather than trying to fit the square peg into the round hole, I'm going to try to adapt a philosophy that suits this team best, and move it gradually to a system I am more comfortable with.

CR

What would you like to move towards? I like to do this as well, but how will you "build" the team to your system and philosophy. I like to do this, but unsure how. By the way CR, is it ok I borrow your posting format for my dyansty report?

[Chief Rum]

sachmo: Thanks.

Sun Dancer: I generally like to have an aggressive defense with tough man on the corners. I like to really bring it, clogging the running lanes and taking out the quarterback.

On offense, I am much like the Rams (in philosophy). I like an accurate passing attack featuring a quarterback with poise and quick and speedy wideouts, and a running game that has much variation in where it runs and how it does it.

Fee free and use my posting format, if you like, although I can't really say I am settled on one. I would also point you toward GoldenEagle's dynasty, where he is using a much quicker posting format. For some people, that works better than my slower, detailed approach.

CR

[Chief Rum]

All right, guys. I lost Internet connectivity for a bit Sunday night and Monday day, and then I worked last night, so I haven't been able to update this. But without the Internet, I was left looking for something to do Sunday night, so I played the game and moved forward. Point being, I am now at training camp 2004!

I did several saves along the way, so hopefully I will still be able to provide all the information for the 2003 season that I generally plan to. But don't be surprised if I sound vague about an injury (for instance, what kind of injury it was) or I'm not clear about other stuff.

Back to 2003!

CR

[Chief Rum]

Week One: Arizona at Detroit

First week of the season and we are already battered by injuries. Our best corner and two key members of our O-line depth are out, as is our fullback. The linemen are out for the season, and our replacements for the corner and the fullback are drastically worse than what we have in place.

Nonetheless, we go into this game with hope, since we're playing the Lions.

We kept it close early on, as neither offense really came out rolling. We were down 7-3 at halftime. The Lions turned on the jets in the second half, though, and blew us out 28-3.

Blake was under seige all day. He was sacked five times and hurried five others. That and five passes defensed meant Blake was returning to his old form. Sure enough, he did what he never did int he preseason--threw a lot of interceptions, four to be exact. Bryant Johnson also fumbled the ball, so we had five turnovers to the Lions' none. That's hard to overcome.

We actually outgained the Lions 310-301, not that it mattered.

QB Blake: 16-for-33 for 232 yards, 0 td, 4 int
RB Smith: 57 yards (3.3 ypc), 4-54 yd rec
WR Johnson: 3 rec, 76 yd, 0 td

Boldin was disappointingly quiet, with 2 catches for 24 yards.

LB McKinnon had 9 tackles to lead the defense, which got just one sack, but overall, did well with the short fields the turnovers forced them to work with.

No one really stood out for the Lions on offense, since they didn't have to do much to get in position to score. DT Dan Wilkinson destroyed the line for 2.5 sacks, and LT Clement allowed three of the sacks. Safety Brian Walker intercepted a ball, forced Johnson's fumble, and defensed three passes.

Other Games

Home team in CAPS

Atlanta 20, DALLAS 9: Michael Vick (17-27, 245, 2 td) to Peerless Price (6-149-1) broke this one open in the second half.

PITTSBURGH 17, Baltimore 10: Jerome Bettis (93 yd) and Tommy Maddox (17-24, 226 yd, 1 td, 43 yd rush) were enough to edge out the Ravens in a close one.

SAN FRANCISCO 26, Chicago 24: The Bears scored two touchdowns in the last three minutes of the game to make it close, falling just a failed Stanley Pritchett conversion short of a tie ball game. Kevan Barlow ran for 104 yards.

Denver 27, CINCINNATI 3: The Broncos' Clinton Portis (135 yd, 1 td) ran all over the Bengals, and the home team didn't help itslef by throwing three interceptions either.

MIAMI 24, Houston 17: This wasn't nearly as close at it seemed. The Titans got scores off of an Andre Johnson punt return and an Aaron Glenn interception return. They only got 9 first downs against Miami's D. DT Tim Bowens got 3 sacks.

CLEVELAND 31, Indianapolis 28: Kelly Holcomb (25-40, 348, 4 td, 1 int) completed a 32-yard scoring pass to Kevin Johnson with 48 seconds left to win this one. The Browns had to execute a two-minute offense after the Colts scored with 2:17 left in the game to take the lead. Edgerrin James had 123 yd in a losing effort.

Jacksonville 41, CAROLINA 13: It's all about Donovan Darius. The safety intercepted three passes and returned two of them for scores. Fred Taylor (89 yd, 3 td) did the rest. The Panthers only had 9 first downs.

Minnesota 21, GREEN BAY 14: It wasn't as close as it looked, since Brett Favre completed a 79-yard scoring strike to Donald Driver in the final minutes. Randy Moss (11 rec-111 yd-1 td) was the man. Favre threw for 353 yd, but also 2 int and only 50% comp.

BUFFALO 24, New England 17: Another that wasn't as close as it seemed. Tom Brady was sacked 6 times and threw 2 int. Travis Henry led the way for the Bills with 101 rush yd.

WASHINGTON 18, NY Jets 6: Patrick Ramsey (21-30, 173 yd, 1 td, 1 int) and Laveranues Coles (6 rec, 70 yd., 1 td) were quietly effective in a low-scoring game. The Skins sacked Chad Pennington 5 times.

SEATTLE 22, New Orleans 19: Trent Dilfer (17-30, 263 yd, 3 td, 3 int) finished an up-and-down game on top, leading the Seahawks to two fourth quarter scores to get the win. Yes, Dilfer is starting for the Hawks.

TENNESSEE 23, Oakland 12: As has been stated: FOF loves Steve McNair (21-32, 165 yd, 2 td, 0 int). His top receiver was TE Frank Wycheck (9 rec, 65 yd. 1 td). Raiders put up goo dyardage, but just couldn't score.

KANSAS CITY 31, San Diego 7: The Chiefs' D kept Ladainlian Tomlinson to just 11 yd on 13 car. Trent Green (23-32, 263 yd, 2 td, 0 int) ran the offense with ease.

St. Louis 24, NY GIANTS 20: The Rams came back from a 17-7 deficit to beat the Giants down the stretch. Torry Holt had 9 rec, 169 yd, and 1 td and, yes, it was Kurt Warner throwing to him. Tiki Barber gained 146 rush yd for New York.

Tampa Bay 31, PHILADELPHIA 10: Four turnovers against a tough defense is an easy way to lose, even at home. Michael Pittman (81 rush yd) and Thomas Jones (80 yd) tag-teamed to lead the Buccs' attack.

Injuries

I managed to get through Week One without any injuries, and saw some guys get healthy (although no one who didn't play in Week One).

CR

[Chief Rum]

Week Two: Seattle at Arizona

Jeff Blake started this one off by completing a 79-yard scoring bomb to slot receiver Jason McAddley in the first series of the game. We built up a 10-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game. And that was our highlight for the game.

The Hawks came storming back and went 41-6 the rest of the way. Final score, 41-16.

Once again, Blake spent much of the game on his back (6 sacks allowed). In fact, four of our five starting linemen allowed at least one sack, and one reserve allowed one, too. Blake continued to compund his problems, throwing three interceptions as well, putting him at seven on the young season.

We only had 12 first downs and 264 yd against the Hawks. They racked up 411 yards, and Trent Dilfer didn't need to lead a fourth quarter comeback to win this one.

QB Blake: 9-for-23 for 170 yd, 1 td, 3 int
RB Smith: 82 rush yd. (5.1 ypc)
WR McAddley: 2 rec, 93 yd., 1 td

No receiver had more than two catches. Smith was surprisingly effective running the ball, but after we were down, it didn't really matter much any more.

LB McKinnon had 10 tackles to lead the way again, and DT Wendell Bryant had 1.5 sacks. One good thing was kicker Graham Bolvin, who seemed rather hit-and-miss in the preseason. He kicked 40, 42, and 43 yard FGs today and didn't miss a kick.

Dilfer (19-23, 227 yd, 3 td, 0 int) was on fire, and so was his main target Bobby Engram (4 rec, 111 yd, 3 td). Shaun Alexander had 85 rush yd.

Other Games

Home team in CAPS

JACKSONVILLE 34, Buffalo 17: The Jags continue to look good on both sides of the ball. They got 462 yards of offense today. Fred Taylor (157 rush yd, 1 td) did well again, and so did Mark Brunell (18-31, 277 yd, 3 td, 2 int). Four Jags defenders had at least one sack.

TAMPA BAY 24, Carolina 16: Brad Johnson (20-23, 252 yd, 3 td, 0 int) was amazing, leading the Buccs to a strong victory. Kevin Dyson (8 rec, 126 yd) did well in a losing cause.

MINNESOTA 27, Chicago 13: The Bears got within a score with six minutes left when Daunte Culpepper (23-30, 278 yd, 2 td, 1 int) connected with Randy Moss (5 rec, 116 yd, 2 td) on an 83-yard bomb to put them away.

OAKLAND 25, Cincinnati 10: The Bengals had almost 100 more yards of offense than the Raiders, but were undone by 4 turnovers, including 3 int by Jon Kitna. Charlie Garner (90 rush yd. 1 td) was the man for the Raiders.

BALTMORE 20, Cleveland 7: He didn't break any rushing records, but Jamal Lewis (121 rush yd, 1 td) was the offense for the Ravens. But this game was about the defense. The Ravens kept the Browns to 241 yards and sacked Kelly Holcomb 5 times.

NY GIANTS 41, Dallas 7: No Bill Parcells here, that's for sure. The Giants outgained the Boys by almost 200 yd. Kerry Collins (24-34, 377 yd, 5 td, 0 int) was great.

Denver 23, SAN DIEGO 21: The Chargers scored with 17 seconds left in the game to make this game look closer than it was. Clinton Portis (26 yd) had an off day, but Jake Plummer (25037, 372 yd, 2 td, 0 int) was all the Broncos needed.

GREEN BAY 26, Detroit 21: The Lions really tested the Packers before falling late. Ryan Longwell's 48 yard FG with two minutes left put the Pack up 23-21. On the following Lions drive, KBG batted down two straight passes, and Darren Sharper defensed another. Then the Lions lost the ball (and the game) when TE Mikhael Ricks dropped a fourth down pass from Joey Harrington. Tough way to lose (and in 50-degree weather with driving rain and on Lambeau, of all places).

Houston 20, NEW ORLEANS 13: The Titans' D really tightened up on the Saints to pull off a surprising victory. They sacked Aaron Brooks(13-34, 2 int) 5 times, forced 3 turnovers and limited the Saints to 225 yd of offense. The Saints best scoring attack was a 94-yard Dale Carter kickoff return.

Miami 30, NY Jets 24 (OT): The Jets were up 21-6 going into the fourth quarter when it all went to shit. The Fins got a field goal and two scores, to the Jets' field goal to tie it up. The final regulation score was a 27-yard strike from Jay Fiedler to James McKnight as time expired, and then a successful two-point conversion pass to Derrious Thompson to force the overtime. In OT, the Dolphins finally completed the comeback with a 7-yard scoring run by Rob Conrad with just 40 seconds left in the period.

PHILADELPHIA 13, New England 10: This game was closer than it should have been, since New England had just 236 total yd. of offense. Donovan McNabb was 25-for-41 for 259 yd, with 1 td and 1 int.

Pittsburgh 21, KANSAS CITY 17: Going into the fourth quarter, the Chiefs led 10-0, and even with two minutes left, the score was just 10-7. The two teams put up three scores in the final minutes, though, with the Steelers scoring two touchdowns in 25 seconds to overcome a 17-7 deficit at the 1:55 mark. Both scores featured long shots from Tommy Maddox to Plaxico Burress, who got 94 total rec. yd. on the two scores. Burress finished with 7 rec, 188 yd, 2 td.

ST. LOUIS 28, San Francisco 14: This one was tight at halftime (14-13, SF), but it was all Rams in the second half. Kurt Warner (21-36, 355 yd, 3 td, 1 int) led the way, throwing many of those passes to Torry Holt (7 rec, 163 yd, 2 td).

Tennessee 26, INDIANAPOLIS 17: Gary Anderson kicked accounted for 14 of the Titans' points, including four field goals with a 55-yarder in the final minutes to put the Colts away. Possible changing of the guard? Chris Brown had 97 rush yd, to Eddie George's 24.

ATLANTA 27, Washington 16: What a difference a Vick makes, eh? Michael Vick went 13 for 20 for 253 yd, with 2 td and 1 int. His big target was Quentin McCord (7 rec, 144 yd, 1 td).

Injuries

Once again, I didn't suffer any major injuries this week. Hodgins and Starks are still weeks away, though.

CR

[MizzouRah]

CR,

Are you simming or calling plays?


Todd

[Chief Rum]

I am simming. I can't stand calling plays (and surprise, surprise, I'm no good at it either. ).

CR

[sachmo71]

Originally posted by Chief Rum



Other Games

MIAMI 24, Houston 17: This wasn't nearly as close at it seemed. The Titans got scores off of an Andre Johnson punt return and an Aaron Glenn interception return. They only got 9 first downs against Miami's D. DT Tim Bowens got 3 sacks.


CR

I do that all the time, too, Chief.

[sachmo71]

Dola...

What did you set your injury level to?

[Chief Rum]

Week Three: Green Bay at Arizona

You know things are going good when you're up 24-3 halfway through the second quarter.

Obviously, the Packers have some issues, after losing to the Vikings and almost the Lions as well.

Meanwhile, everything that didn't work for us, finally did this week. Or at least so it seemed. After the early lead, we pretty much played it conservative and kept them out of the zone. We traded a field goal each the rest of the way to finish up 27-6.

It was like the Detroit game, except we were Detroit. The Packers outgained us 346-299, but we had 5 sacks to their 1 and 1 turnover to their 4. It was nice to see low numbers in sacks allowed and turnovers.

Bolvin had another solid game, hitting two 52-yard field goals. That seems to be another notch entirely, and it's nice to see him continue to do well.

The key to the game, besides an opportunistic defense, was the return of strong play from Blake. He hit for a good percentage and didn't throw an interception. That's a big step forward. Anquan Boldin also finally woke up after catching just three passes in the first two games.

QB Blake: 16-for-24, 174 yd, 1 td, 0 int
RB Smith: 103 rush yd (3.8 ypc)
WR Boldin: 4 rec, 71 yd, 1 td

McKinnon continues to be the defensive star on this team. He led the team in tackles (8) for the third straight game, and also interecpted a pass.

As it turns out, it was pretty easy to figure out the problem for the Packers. Brett Favre left the game with an injury after throwing just 4 passes (he completed 3 of them). His replacement, Will Pederson, was atrocious (17-36, 224 yd, 0 td, 3 int).

Other Games

Home Team in CAPS

SAN DIEGO 24, Baltimore 21: The Chargers used two fourth quarter scores to come back against the Ravens, in a game in which neither team broke 300 yd. in total offense. Jamal Lewis had 78 rush yd., but the Baltimore attack was derailed by 4 Kyle Boller int. Drew Brees 3 td to lead the way for the Bolts.

Buffalo 10, MIAMI 6: Buffalo put up an impressive defensive effort on the Dolphins, holding them to just 201 yd. total offense. Drew Bledsoe (30-47, 287 yd, 1 td, 0 int) did just enough to get the win.

SAN FRANCISCO 27, Cleveland 17: This game was in the bag when the Browns scored a late touchdown with 36 seconds left in the game. The Browns had 4 turnovers, and Tim Couch, playing in place of the injured Kelly Holcomb, threw 3 int to keep Cleveland out of it. Jeff Garcia (16-22, 284 yd, 3 td, 0 int) and Terrell Owens (8 rec, 204 yd, 2 td) were a terrific combo.

INDIANAPOLIS 35, Jacksonville 23: The Jags aren't able to maintain their opening 2-0 against the Colts. The score had been tied at 21-17, Colts since halftime, but Edgerrin James scored two fourth quarter touchdowns to put it away. The two teams combined for 954 yd of offense, in a game which featured the debut of rookie Bryon Leftwich (33-45, 391 ys, 3 td, 1 int). Fred Taylor, who had been playing well early this season, had just 17 yards. James capped off an amazing day (119 yd, 4 td) to lead the Colts to victory.

Kansas City 25, HOUSTON 20: Houston dominated in offense, putting up 459 yd to the Chiefs' 319, but 4 turnovers did them in, including 3 int by David Carr. The Chiefs hit them with a three-man attack: Priest Holmes (94 rush yd, 1 td), Trent Green (19-26, 211 yd, 2 td, 0 int), and Tony Gonzalez (7 rec, 82 yd, 1 td).

DETROIT 33, Minnesota 17: This wasn't a game to write home about. There were 9 turnovers, 6 of them by the Vikings, and only 22 total first downs. Despite gaining just 225 yd. of total offense in the game, the Lions built up a 33-0 halftime lead with help from no less than 5 int from Daunte Culpepper, who was replaced in the second half by Gus Frerotte.

NEW ENGLAND 13, NY Jets 3: The Pats get their first win, and the season just gets worse for the Jets. The only touchdown in this game came on an interception return. Does that tell you something? Just 420 yd of total offense in this game by either team, including a miserable 184 yd by New England.

New Orleans 20, TENNESSEE 13: The Titans should have won this game, with big edges in yards (384-219) and turnovers forced (2-0), but it was the Saints that used a fourth quarter Deuce McAllister screen pass to secure a hard victory. Rookie Donovan Stargell (16-26, 154 yd, 1 td, 1 int) did well in place of the injured Aaron Brooks.

NY Giants 17, WASHINGTON 9: The Giants overcame 5 int to hold off the Skins. Tiki Barber had 98 rush yd., and S Omar Stoutmire returned a Patrick Ramsey int for a key touchdown.

Oakland 31, DENVER 17: The Raiders jumped off to a 17-0 lead, with help from a 3-yard fumble return by DE Trace Armstrong. The Broncos and Raiders essentially traded points the rest of the way. Charlie Garner (82 rush yd, 1 td) was the Raiders' top performer, while Rod Smith caught 9 passes for 154 yd. for the Broncos.

Pittsburgh 27, CINCINNATI 6: Jon Kitna threw 3 int to help the Steelers dominate the Bengals in this one. Tommy Maddox (12-16, 146 yd, 2 td, 1 int, 54 rush yd) was again the leader for the Steelers. Plaxico Burress also caught 2 td for the second straight week. CB Dewayne Washington had 2 int, and DE Kimo Von Oelhoffen had 3 sacks.

St. Louis 24, SEATTLE 23: The Hawks got within one early in the fourth quarter, but were never able to close the gap. Kurt Warner (25-39, 326 yd, 3 td, 1 int) and Torry Holt (9 rec, 154 yd) had another strong game.

Tampa Bay 20, ATLANTA 9: Thomas Jones (103 yd, 1 td) led the way for the Buccs, and S John Lynch (10 tackles, 1 int) keyed a strong defensive effort to put the lid on Michael Vick (20-43, 199 yd, 1 td, 2 int).

Injuries

We have been lucky so far with injuries, at least in the regular season. Starks and Hodgins are one more week closer to being healthy.

CR