 |
06-11-2006, 07:10 PM
|
#351 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
We have one more trade in the works, bringing Brent Sedor yet another target to work with in the passing game. It would be nice to surround him with brilliant young talent to rise up with him, but for now, it looks like we'll be focusing mostly on established veterans.
Tyrone Hastings is an 8th year veteran who has been a solid achiever in his career -- posting 800+ yards receiving in six of his seven seasons in the league. A former first round selection, Hastings has played for Jupiter since the league's first rookie draft, and wears a championship ring from that experience. We like his career Receiver Efficiency rating of just around 8 -- in the area I want to see for a productive starting wideout. He should Join Chesapeake and figure right in as our starting flanker, giving Brent Sedor, hopefully, the reliable target on the outside that he has needed. |
|
|
|
06-12-2006, 03:58 PM
|
#352 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Free Agency Update
After the first two stages of free agency have elapsed, we have landed our first veteran signee. I am an unabashed fan of the run-stopper at defensive tackle, and 8th year DL Toby Tubbs is just such a guy – my scout rates him 80/90 in run defense, and he has posted a career Tackle % of 7.3 – not bad for a defensive tackle. It looks to me like he was the run side of a platoon the last few years in Jersey, and we might end up using him in the same role. Tubbs will cost us $1.2 million this year and next – he’s got half the salary cap “footprint” of Chuck Linquist, a player whom he resembles very closely. Tubbs actually has slightly better ratings overall – my scout rates Tubbs at 43/50, and Linquist at 41/44. Tubbs is also an affinity asset for our defensive front group, which helps things as well. I’m pleased with this first signing -- Tubbs might look very good in a platoon with our long-time star Eugene Bradham as our left-side defensive tackle. WR Tyrone Hastings has joined the team, and we’re pretty excited to have him aboard. My scout rates him at 48/50, and we figure he will slot right in as our starting flanker for this season. His contract is very favorable: only $850K this year, and after that it rises from $2.1m up to $4m in year five. My best guess is we’ll work him hard for the next couple of seasons, even if we do make a big draft day investment at WR, which is still a possibility, especially if our top targets are off the board before our selection comes up. Two good moves in the bag, I think. Next big event is the long-awaited South Carolina liquidation sale. Our division mates have announced an “everything must go” approach to the season ahead, and are auctioning off numerous quality players. Potential big swings in the league balance of power are at stake, I think – we have made bids on several levels, and might pick up one or two immediate impact players. Or we might end up with absolutely nothing. Regardless, it will be interesting to watch how it plays out. |
|
|
|
|
06-13-2006, 07:36 AM
|
#353 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Trade Update
With the South Carolina sell-off now largely resolved, here’s our update. First, the crown jewel of the auction, from both my perspective and several others’ as well. WR Harvey Snyder is a very solid-looking 4th year player, who was a top pick and has developed nicely:  I made an offer or two for Snyder, but in the end (without all the complications) I think it turned into a binary decision – if CHE was willing to give up our pick at 1(6) this year, we’d land Snyder. If not, we wouldn’t. We opted to hold the pick, and Snyder went in a deal that involved pick 1(9) in this draft. So it goes – perhaps he’s the one that got away. We did, however, swing a pretty big deal to land two defensive players who we expect to play major roles for us right away. First, we land linebacker Daryl Ewart:  We have something of a past with Ewart – back six seasons ago when he was in the rookie draft pool, we really liked him, and had a near coin-flip situation between Ewart and Travis Kuykendall. We were sufficiently impressed with Kuykendall’s sub-4.4 speed to use the pick on him, but both players worked out to be very good. Until recently, it would have been a worthy debate on which guy was the better – as both had been very productive and had developed well (I know Kuykendall was one of those guys who was still inching upward in his potential each year). However, Kuykendall had a cataclysmic injury in the middle of the 2009 season, and now he’s about thirty cents on the dollar to the player he once was – so he’s no longer a top-profile player. Ewart, on the other hand, remains a top-tier strong-side linebacker who annually registers well over 100 tackles and can contribute in the pass rush as needed. An injury-driven acquisition, but landing Ewart gives us another fairly young stalwart to add to our defensive front. In the same deal, we also land another defensive player at an injury-driven need position, in CB Lewis Kuehler:  With the late-season injury to the rapidly-improving Dixon Webb last season, we now have a near void at CB beyond restricted free agent Herman Padgett. So, landing Kuehler here is an ideal move for our secondary, especially if Webb never comes back (at 38 weeks on the injury clock, not a bad bet from here). We play a lot of bump and run coverage, and are undecided about how much man-up to use this year – but Kuehler ought to be able to handle things both ways. With luck, he might turn out to be the playmaker that we have lacked in our secondary – his interception rating will be among the highest in our secondary. Coming off two seasons of 20+ PDPct ratings, Kuehler looks like a very nice fit for us at CB alongside Padgett for this year and beyond. We ought to be buying some security here, as well, as both players will be renegotiated and then traded – so we’ll have a multi-year extension on the table for each player, bonus-free. With some luck, that should help us keep things fairly stable in the next several years to come, presumably with both Ewart and Kuehler in featured, starting roles. For the two-player deal, we back up the bank truck, and send away a fleet of good draft picks: This year’s pick at 1(19) Next year’s 2nd round pick The following year’s 2nd and 3rd round picks Yes, it’s a lot to give up, but I think on balance this is a good place to land. For this season, we still have a pretty useful complement of picks to use: 1(6) 2(4) 5(21) 5(22) 7(8) With these additions, and the ones that we’ve already engineered, I think we have our immediate need situation fairly clearly boiled down to three positions: Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Defensive End. I put them on roughly equal footing, really – and I’m pretty confident that we can land a player at one of those positions with our selection at 1(6), or else work out a trade down to find a good fit a little later (there are a few good QB prospects in this draft, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see some activity around those players). At 2(4), we’ll have a shot to either spin the wheel on a player (like we did with WR George Ellis last year) or else pick up a guy who falls farther than we’d have expected. That probably ends our major offseason flurry – we’ve sent away most of the draft picks that we had to make real deals with. We’re pursuing LB John Galvan in free agency, though the urgency there is lessened, obviously, by the acquisition of Ewart (who will most definitely start over Galvan anyway). We also are after a veteran wide receiver – in the hopes of patching over our wideout fleet for the right-away, independent of any additional youth infusion that may be forthcoming. Big moves. |
|
|
|
|
06-13-2006, 01:19 PM
|
#354 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Free Agency Update
After stage three, our major focus of free agency is now complete. We sign WR Robert Torpey to a four year deal, probably overpaying him, but he was by a sizable margin the best fit remaining for us. Torpey is actually a fairly similar player to our other recently-acquired wideout Tyrone Hastings – decent, productive, veteran receiver who gives us a guy to send out right away, and an affinity. Not bad. Torpey is in his 10th year, so we will see some subtle declining, I expect, but WR was such a need position that I felt adding him was really mandatory. Torpey will hit our salary cap this year for some $3 million – but even if this turns out to be a two-year deal with a $1.6 cap-eat at the end, we’ll be okay, I reckon. So, for right now – here’s my basic thinking at the WR position for the year ahead: Flanker: Tyrone Hastings, George Ellis Split End: Robert Torpey, Danny Napiecek Reserves: Justin Berkey, Jake Madison Madison probably comes into this season now “on the bubble” – he’s an affinity guy with some return skills, but I just haven’t found any room for him to get onto the field, even in a WR-strapped season like last year. |
|
|
|
|
06-13-2006, 03:20 PM
|
#355 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
For my own edifiction: 4,375 hits as of this post
|
|
|
|
|
06-13-2006, 03:30 PM
|
#356 | ||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Quote:
Still reading  .
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
||
|
|
|
06-13-2006, 11:52 PM
|
#357 | |
|
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Illinois
|
Quote:
You got a good player in Tubbs. You were quite fortunate to get him when you did, as I would've put in a strong bid to retain him had I not been out of town for the first (very ill-timed, for me) three stages of free agency. *sigh* |
|
|
|
|
|
06-14-2006, 08:36 AM
|
#358 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: sans pants
|
Quote:
__________________
Superman was flying around and saw Wonder Woman getting a tan in the nude on her balcony. Superman said I going to hit that real fast. So he flys down toward Wonder Woman to hit it and their is a loud scream. The Invincible Man scream what just hit me in the ass!!!!! I do shit, I take pictures, I write about it: chrisshue.com |
|
|
|
|
|
06-14-2006, 08:57 AM
|
#359 | |
|
Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Kennesaw, GA
|
Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
06-14-2006, 11:24 AM
|
#360 | |
|
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Illinois
|
Quote:
I didn't even think of that option - which just goes to show the limitations of my cognitive capacity. Thanks for the offer, Subby. I'll definitely do that next time. P.S. - I hope my previous post didn't come off as pouting about the timing, as that certainly wasn't my intent. I was perfectly willing to roll the dice and hope Tubbs (and my DT Keith Abad) would still be alive in the marketplace when I returned. I gambled and lost, and am perfectly content with the outcome. |
|
|
|
|
|
06-15-2006, 07:13 AM
|
#361 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
What’s Left?
Well, after the flurry of trades, I have updated my projected team draft chart – and right now, we have 53 players we’re already planning to keep. That means we have three draft picks and who-knows-what after the draft (I seem to always fall in love with one or another stiff player in the after-draft rookie pool) who come in and need to displace someone just to make the roster. In free agency, we have one big decision remaining: how aggressively do we pursue LB John Galvan? He has been a staple for our defense for years, and he’d be a solid guy to retain – but as he sits out there, he now looks like he’s probably the biggest impact player left in free agency. He is contemplating offers in the 4 years, $16 million range – meaning he’d be seeing at least $3m+ in bonus money under this league’s rules. That is well above what I had been planning to slot for him – indeed, my current offer is dwarfed by the open market. On the other hand, partially by dumping so many draft picks, we have cap space this year. We can make a $5 million offer under the cap this season – and we’re in real jeopardy of seeing that just go by the wayside. Having some cap space is fine for making renegotiations a bit smoother, but all told, I’d rather be using it than losing it, of course. One option, then, would be to make a fairly serious offer to LB Galvan. I haven’t built anything quite yet, but it’s possible that we go after him more aggressively than we had planned. His role on this team would probably be as our 4th LB, and perhaps in the mix for consideration at DE, so we’d get some use out of him, I reckon. Whether a multi-year deal with a multi-million dollar bonus makes sense for a 10th year guy projecting to be a backup is another matter entirely. Incidentally, here’s the list of current team members who were with Chesapeake in 2005, when we won our league championship: C John Houtz – assumed leadership of the OL group that year, I think WR Justin Berkey – had 952 yards receiving as a full-time starter DE Alvin Hall – our top pick in the initial distribution draft DT Eugene Bradham - standout DT was all-world in 2004 with 16 sacks DE Cornelius Kleinsasser – decent reserve saw time at DE and DT LB John Galvan – full-time starter at strong side for great defense LB Steven Watkins – started at MLB for us in his prime, great tackler SS Mark Carr – was seeing time at both S and CB in those days, as now FB Charles Emerson – got time at FB and HB in his rookie season LT Stanley Tilton – mainly a reserve as a rookie (he was very undeveloped) LB D.J. Dennis – special teams “gunner” as a 2nd year URFA pickup |
|
|
|
|
06-15-2006, 02:33 PM
|
#362 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Draft Update
The rookie draft is underway, and we have pared down our early interest to two picks – those at 1(6) and 2(4). I have my list of six players ready to go, and assuming the top QB is take ahead of us (rather certain) we will be landing a need player for this team. I think it’s unlikely that we will move out of this pick, up or down. …time passes… Well, after Washington traded up from #7 to #4 in order to take the lightning-fast WR Butch Roque, we had two players left on our list for #6. And, while I like a top-tier defensive back as much as the next guy, it’s fairly clear that our real needs are on the offensive side of the ball. We work out a deal with Seal Beach at #5, and send them four minor draft picks to move up that one spot, and take the other of the two standout wide receivers in this draft, WR Burt Pearson:  He’s not perfect. But in my mind, he fits the mold of a tough, physical receiver – he’s one of the fastest guys in the entire draft (not a 4.30 like Roque, but quick and far better in the agility drill) and he was the strongest player at the position in the rookie combine. I had said that all thing equal, I thought these two wideouts were suited to be picked at around #8-12… and I meant that, but things are not equal. This is a league starved for talent at the skill positions, and landing decent-enough defensive backs has been far easier than getting productive wideouts. I hope we won’t be licking in the top ten anytime soon again, so we needed to land our impact receiver while we could. Now, we sit back and hope, hope, hope that he holds up under closer inspection. Last edited by QuikSand : 06-15-2006 at 02:34 PM. |
|
|
|
|
06-18-2006, 10:08 AM
|
#363 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Several Updates
Well, first, some disheartening news. We have gotten WR Burt Pearson into pre-training camp, and the first look is a little disappointing – our scouts have ratcheted down his future potential rating from 71 to 68, a meaningful drop. He still projects as a very solid player, but I hate to see that kind of drop in his first look. Stay tuned there. We have made an acquisition at the WR position, with a multi-step plan in mind. We have signed veteran WR Charles Renaud to a multi-year deal. Renaud is here, quite simply, because Burt Pearson is here. First of all, Renaud is a mentor at the WR position, which we needed after the departure of Jimmy Castellano this offseason. So, that should help anyway. Now, we have to deal with chemistry – Pearson is a conflict with our current group leader, TE Joel Connell. So, here’s the plan: we cut loose Connell, and 12th year man Renaud will become our group leader, and he will have an affinity with seven players in the group, and no conflicts. We’re basically back to where we were with this switch, plus we can keep Renaud active as a guy for returns and a reserve wideout. At the moment, that pushes up to eight wide receivers on the roster. Among the returning players, I suspect that Jake Madison will probably go, and now that Clyde Rego is no longer an affinity contributor, his spot (at TE) might be in jeopardy as well. Danny Napiecek signed a very affordable deal last year, and that might keep him around – though I have trouble seeing him getting onto the field a lot this year (and hopefully beyond). In the draft, I had a number of skill position players queued up to be taken with our selection at 2.4, but alas, the rest of the league was on the same page as me, and I was surprised and disappointed to see the whole list get exhausted before us. So, we dealt the pick away, acquiring a future 2nd and 3rd to help replenish some of the picks we dealt away earlier this offseason. Looks like our draft is actually over, but we’ll probably make our usual foray into the after-draft URFA market. Still no update on LB John Galvan. We have in an offer, but no movement yet. |
|
|
|
|
06-19-2006, 12:09 PM
|
#364 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Galvan Signs
We came into this year’s free agency figuring that LB John Galvan, though a longtime figure for our defense, simply wasn’t a $5 million player. Using the franchise tag on him woulc have occupied that much cap space, which didn’t make any sense – so we left him uncapped, and figured to battle for him anyway. Here we are, waiting out the last few stages of free agency, hoping to see him sign with us, rather than head off elsewhere. And this is after we have traded for a younger, better player who will surely be his replacement at the string-side linebacker position. Heh. This week, Galvan makes up his mind: Code:
So, the drama ends, and Galvan re-ups with us here in Chesapeake. At $5 million a year. Alas, thing unfolded a little bit unexpectedly this season for us, as we missed on a couple of big money free agents, and we ended up trading away two early draft picks for players on cheap contracts. The result is a lot of cap space – the $5m cap hit this season for Galvan is very well in hand – it’s the future years that might pose a problem. Anyway, Galvan steps right back into the mix for us at both LB and perhaps DE, where he might end up being pretty effective in getting to the passer for us. At this point, we are sitting on 52 players under contract, one unsigned rookie, and probably 4 restricted free agent players we expect to sign once their demands bottom out. And we have $3.4 million in available cap space, and expect to see even more freed up once we work out a new deal with DE Alvin Hall, who’s eating over $12m right now. We’ll need a bit of cap space for the new contract with CB Herman Padgett, so having a bit of space will come in handy – but this is a little bit silly, honestly. Poor management, once again. |
|
|
|
|
06-20-2006, 10:42 AM
|
#365 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Schedule for 2011
For the coming year, here’s our docket: Code:
Well, amidst the usual vagaries of semi-random schedule-making, we seem to have drawn a total murderer’s row for our final few games this season. The top two records in the other conference draw are both saved for late, and both are on the road – ouch. We have had a recent history of making a good run in the mid-to-late season, followed by a massive choke to give it all away. This year sets up for more of the same, I fear – just by the numbers, we could get on a nice little roll in weeks 7 through 13 or so, and perhaps put ourselves into a good spot – and then drop our final four games and end up back to 8 or 9 wins again. Ugh. |
|
|
|
|
06-21-2006, 09:24 AM
|
#366 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Trade and Draft Update
We worked out a minor trade, sending away veteran DL Chuck Linquist and landing a 4th round pick in this year’s rookie draft. Linquist has been a solid contributor for us, playing mostly as a run-stopping defensive tackle, but with the acquisition of Toby Tubbs, we have a slightly better-suited affinity guy for much the same role, and can let go of Linquist and his inflated salary of $2.4 million. With the fourth round pick, we pick up an intriguing prospect at QB, Alex Gerhardt. Here is the scouting summary: Code:
He’s got super-high volatility, and a pretty strong combine – if he pans out to be a 36/36 guy, this doesn’t really work out for us. But if he manages to boost that future potential in these early stages, then this will have panned out nicely for us. The mix of skills, though limited, is in the right place, honestly – avoiding interceptions, avoiding the rush and reading defenses are pretty high on my list. Gerhart is also, incidentally, a double affinity guy for our offense – so he might have some incidental contribution regardless. |
|
|
|
|
06-21-2006, 10:26 AM
|
#367 | |
|
Head Coach
Join Date: Jul 2001
|
Quote:
Bulletin Board. A game against Duluth is supposed to kick off a winning streak in Chesapeake. Sedor better watch his back in this one  In all seriousness, my sucess in the South Carolina sweepstakes makes this a completely different Duluth team. We picked up 8 starters, of which at least 6 of which would start on almost any team. I fully expect to be in the playoffs this year. |
|
|
|
|
|
06-26-2006, 07:49 AM
|
#368 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Draft Update
We failed in our meager attempt to get back into the draft – I wanted to land a promising affinity safety in round five, but he was selected very shortly after I put out word of my interest, so we missed out. He wasn’t a good skill fit for us anyway (lousy at bump coverage) but he did have a great combine and would have been a chemistry plus. So, the drat ends today, and we get to the rounding out phase next. I usually invite a ton of undrafted rookies, but this year might be different –- with no injuries in preseason, I’ll end up cutting nearly everyone I sign at this point. I might be incrementally better off leaving some of the outsiders I kinda like unsigned, so I could theoretically sign them mid-season if we have injury problems freeing up a roster slot. Slightly different thinking, resulting from the league effort to “move things along” during the pretend games. (We’re playing them all at one, with injuries turned off, to speed up the offseason stages a bit) We’ll see if I am truly able to contain myself. |
|
|
|
|
06-26-2006, 08:13 AM
|
#369 | ||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Quote:
What's the over/under on this?
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
||
|
|
|
|
06-26-2006, 08:22 AM
|
#370 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Likely about 5 1/2.
At this point, I honestly have between 52 and 55 players that I know I want to keep on the roster... so I'm going to have to make a difficult cut as it stands. Every undrafted rookie I sign who looks interesting enough to keep ends up costing me one more player that I actually want on the team. My wisest strategy would be to not even submit files during these stages. I am quite certain that will not happen. (Well, we need to re-sign some RFAs anyway, so while we're there, it can't really hurt to have a quick look at the rookies, right???) Make it 7 1/2. |
|
|
|
|
06-26-2006, 08:32 AM
|
#371 | ||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Quote:
Vegas is SO fickle... Might want to make it 9 1/2...
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
||
|
|
|
|
07-03-2006, 10:11 AM
|
#372 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Late Free Agency and Camp Update
Well, bucking my usual form, I was able to restrain myself from pursuing a number of rookie free agent players. We’ll have a look in training camp at a few rookie tight ends, and if anyone earns a roster spot – well, we will figure out how to deal with that after the preseason, I reckon. We also have re-signed LB D.J. Dennis, a longtime Chili Dog who went unclaimed through early free agency, and should help us again on special teams and as a reserve ‘backer. Following training camp, we have a few movers among our young players. QB Alex Gerhardt has definitely secured the slot as our #3 QB, and we have dealt away veteran QB Rodney Beach for a future draft pick. Beach would have been nice to mentor Gerhardt, but candidly, we’re going to have a roster slot crunch as it is. My best guess is that veteran Clyde Rego will retain his job as the #3 option at TE, despite his decline in skills and loss of affinity. He’s decent, he’s been with us for years, and none of the youngsters showed us much. TE Frank Gonzalez bumped up in camp a bit, but a bump to a rating of 20/45 doesn’t suggest he’ll ever really be much of a player – plus, he has a lot of his skill in places like “courage” which impress me less than other things. QB Brent Sedor has gained one more formation for this season – the 5WR spread. I doubt we will find ourselves using that very often, but I hope that’s a sign that he is on his way toward mastering the multiple-WR sets that can play a role in a wide-open attack down the road. Not much to report here – I’m still mulling over what to do to get down to 53 players, even before considering any free agents who might get released between now and then. |
|
|
|
|
07-05-2006, 02:49 PM
|
#373 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Preseason Underway
Since we’ve wiped out injuries from the league’s preseason – I guess I have no choice but to focus on the actual games, for once. With nothing to report lately anyway, UI suppose there’s little to no opportunity cost for doing so. Code:
Tough loss, but the key players I’m watching played fairly well. The running game was solid, and Alex Gerhardt seemed comfortable in the offense, where he actually got to play the entire game, to my surprise. Code:
A solid win in our opener, with rookie QB Gerhardt looking pretty good, and Chuck Chatterly trying to earn himself a roster spot at RB. Backup QB Harry Ross picked apart their reserve secondary. In both games, rookie WR Burt Pearson was a minor factor, which is some cause for worry. But I’ve never really made decisions based on exhibition game stats, and I’m not going to start doing so now. |
|
|
|
|
07-06-2006, 02:03 PM
|
#374 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Preseaon Wraps Up
So, we play out the last two pretend games – here are the summaries: Code:
A really solid game for rookie QB Alex Gerhardt, who gets to play the entire game (for reasons I still don’t understand at all). I’m delighted with his on-field performance, and with his running style and development potential, he looks like a great guy to pencil in as a future backup to Sedor. Code:
We are obliged to cut down to 53 players (plus the one on IR) for the season opener, and the last few cuts will be difficult. The walking papers go to: TEs Frank Gonzalez, Jonathan Alston, and Ty Sims – as Clyde Rego holds the #3 TE slot G Kenyon Alonso – tough to break into the lineup with a settled group already CB Henry Birkland – no young corners left to mentor, and no market for him RB Chuck Chatterly – special teams skills keep Alex Sherman as our #3 RB DE Dexter Gerhardt – just not enough skill to go along with that affinity |
|
|
|
|
07-14-2006, 05:51 AM
|
#375 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
The seasosn is underway, I'm just behind in posting, after being out of town a bit lately. I'll plan to update on Monday, I think.
Go C-Dogs! |
|
|
|
|
07-17-2006, 08:32 AM
|
#376 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 1: Chesapeake at Dodge City
We start things off with a visit to our hated rivals, the Vigilantes. We typically expect the Vigs to make a big effort to run against us, but I’m going with a fairly balanced defensive gameplan this go around, as their feature back is in his waning years, and I suspect they are trying to find more balance. Code:
Pretty typical rivalry game – ours are usually pretty close and fairly low scoring. We have to be pleased with the results from our ground game here – after a pretty shaky season last year, Craps Copley might actually succeed for us as the first-and-ten back after all. |
|
|
|
|
07-17-2006, 08:32 AM
|
#377 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 2: Ettamogah at Chesapeake
On paper, we ought to have this team in hand, but they are pretty unfamiliar to us. For a home opener, we’d like to see things click here and get us off to a solid 2-0 start. Code:
Damn. Solid effort, even by the second string. QB Alex Gerhardt even got in on the action, getting a lot of action and playing well. But the C-Dogs defense was clearly in command of this one from the start. |
|
|
|
|
07-17-2006, 08:33 AM
|
#378 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 3: Washington (0-2) at Chesapeake (3-0)
So, we are at home again, to Subby’s team who is following the same path we are (building around a young QB-WR combo). They are a year behind us, and I like our supporting cast a shade better – we’ll hope to see our defense come through again. Code:
Another very strong effort by our ground game, as we control the ball very nicely here. Through three games, we are among the league leaders in running the ball (2nd in both total yards and yards per carry) and stopping the run – that’s a formula that has worked well for a lot of good teams in the past, both in FOF and the NFL. I’m pleased thus far. We get week 4 off with a bye, and will rest up our weary and banged up secondary. |
|
|
|
|
07-19-2006, 02:45 PM
|
#379 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 5: Myrtle Beach (1-3) at Chesapeake (3-0)
We’re hosting a team that has dangled their long-time starting QB on the trade wire this week – that’s an odd sign. Myrtle Beach lost their stud RB (4th year guy, picked #1 overall in his draft the year before Sedor) last year to an injury, and now they have a decent but not imposing assemblage of offensive talent. They look pretty tough up the middle, so I don’t expect we will romp on them with our running game, but we’ll try to take advantage on the outer edges a little bit with some short passing. We are made only 2 point favorites at home, which seems odd to me… but we’ll do our best to prove them wrong. Code:
So, it’s really not a grand victory – but the mercy TD at the end did make it look closer than it really was. We were again pretty efficient on offense, and pretty stout on defense, and had the game pretty well in hand (mostly with four interceptions). As it should be, playing at home against a struggling rival. Through our first four games, here’s the team summary: Code:
It’s not a huge sample size, and it is a bit pillowed by one giant win in there, but still – we have to like hat we are seeing. Notable performances thus far: * Brent Sedor – QB rating is up to about 85, and he has made fewer mistakes then last year, solid signs of a maturing QB, but I’m really not ready to open things up too much * Craps Copley – playing well in the first-and-ten role, and getting solid support from the offensive line again (we’re at 43% on KRBs, and only 4 sacks in four games) * Receiving Corps – lots of new faces here, most are fitting in well (I’m troubled by Robert Torpey, but overall returns look good and younger players are coming along * Defensive Front – getting decent pressure and stopping the run well, that’s all we ask of them * Secondary – a little disappointing, but new addition Kuehler did miss two games with an injury – he’ll be back and might be the catalyst So, we’re 4-0… to the record has to speak first. But is this team really already a serious big threat? Tough to say – we did add two very solid veteran players, and our young guys are continuing to develop. I do feel that the arrow is pointed up – but it’s not clear to me that we’re really “there” already. Next week, at Portland… that should help tell the story. They are 4-1 now, and a win for the C-Dogs next week would put us two games up in the loss column – that would be HUGE. |
|
|
|
|
07-19-2006, 04:12 PM
|
#380 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Wow, totally missed that you were updating this again.. congrats on 4-0!
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
07-21-2006, 07:47 AM
|
#381 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
4-0 is huge, but winning in Portland (sim is at noon today) would be monumental.
|
|
|
|
|
07-21-2006, 05:16 PM
|
#382 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 6: Chesapeake (4-0) at Portland (4-1)
Well, here it is – the chance for us to stake our early season claim to the division title. Portland has won it three years running while we have been down – and with a win at their place, we could essentially gain a two-game edge on them. Early season games don’t get much bigger. We don’t tinker much with the game plan, and have re-activated CB Lewis Kuehler – past that, we’re ready to try to line up and see who’s better. Code:
So, we have a fairly weird game – really a pretty controlled, defensive struggle through three quarters with 17 total points on the board. Then all hell breaks loose in the fourth quarter, as we see them rally from 11 points down with 10 minutes left to tie things up. But they left too much time on the clock – we drove for the winning field goal to win it in the final minute and sent the Portland fans home sad. Wow. And with that, Chesapeake stand at 5-0, and we have the division lead firmly to ourselves. Here are the conference standings at this point in the season: Code:
Hell Creek is a perennial power in the conference, so it’s no shock to see them running hot as well. Calverton remains a crazy flying circus, and they are scoring a lot of points themselves. We stand at +68 in the points margin, and at 5-0 we are off to a great start. We have a long way to go to lock anything up, but we couldn’t have asked for a better start. Break out the brass to welcome home the conquering heroes! |
|
|
|
|
07-24-2006, 11:42 AM
|
#383 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 7: Duluth (2-3) at Chesapeake (5-0)
Back home, against a non-conference foe, this might be a trap game, but we’re finally getting some respect in the betting lines – we are made 10 point favorites here. I decide it’s a good time to see what this offense can do, and I loosen the throttle a bit for Sedor, hoping to see him spread the ball a bit more and get it downfield some. Code:
Well, so much for the pass-heavy gameplan. Either it didn’t take, or the dice kept coming up run, since this is pretty much the result we’re used to seeing at game’s end anyway. And, so much for the unbeaten record. We can’t hold our lead in the fourth quarter, and give this one away before the home crowd, no other way to look at it. We were really in command here, until two late interceptions turned into the ten points they needed to salt this one away. Odd… my gameplan intended for us to throw early when the game was close, and to lay off later if we were ahead… looks like we did the opposite. **shurg** I’m a little concerned about our downfield passing game – here’s a closer look for this one game: Code:
I guess the spread here isn’t too bad – we continued to go after the underneath stuff pretty aggressively, but with pretty good effect. WR Robert Torpey remains by far the least productive member of the receiving corps – he’s caught only 11 of 34 balls thrown his way. On a pretty fat free agent contract, I was hoping for a guy there who could be pretty reliable – I am not really pleased with these results at all. I think 2nd year man George Ellis is going to get a look in the starting split end role soon – he’s hauled in 8 out of 12 targets this year. We also have some shuffling to do – MLB Doug McKenzie and LT Horace Kolodzik, both key players for us, are each going to miss several games. This was a bad week in Chesapeake – not only for the loss on the field, but for weakening us for the next month or so with these two serious casualties. |
|
|
|
|
07-27-2006, 07:57 AM
|
#384 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 8: Chesapeake (5-1) at Davis (4-2)
We can’t be upset about standing at 5-1m but the nature of the loss does sting a bit. So we hit the road and face Davis this week, and will look to tweak the passing game a bit more, trying to find a combination that works a bit better, especially downfield. Code:
Well, this was a far better performance, oddly enough, and probably one of Sedor’s best games. We put it away late after our defense played very well throughout, and ended up with a very nice overall box score here. Interestingly, after being demoted from the starting split end position, WR Robert Torpey steps forth and leads the team in receptions and yardage this week – hard to figure, but I guess we’ll leave it like this for now. The two starters (Hastings and Ellis) each have fairly low settings for playing time, and the reserves behind them (now Pearson and Torpey) got almost as many pass plays on the field as the starters – a fair distribution given the mix of talent we have now, I think. Code:
Anyway – a good win this week, good effort by the reshuffled defensive front… DL Eugene Bradham played well in his first start after missing basically two years to injury… LB Daryl Ewart filled the MLB hole nicely in the absence of Doug McKenzie… LT Stanley Tilton was one down note, yielding three sacks in his inglorious return to the LT slot he had filled for years for us… good game from DB Mark Carr, playing as a nickel back and seeing a good deal of action on the field as well. Last edited by QuikSand : 07-27-2006 at 07:58 AM. |
|
|
|
|
07-27-2006, 08:47 AM
|
#385 |
|
Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Kennesaw, GA
|
Impressive win
|
|
|
|
|
07-28-2006, 03:37 PM
|
#386 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 9: Chesapeake (6-4) at Wheeling (3-4)
We are again on the road, out of our division, and up against a team with a solid track record. We need to stay sharp, and we will try to be pretty balanced on offense this week, hoping to see good production from all sides. Code:
I guess this was a bend-don’t-break victory for us – they held the ball for 35 minutes, had only two turnovers, but still only scored 12 points? Crazy. Our offense was not impressive – take away the one 70 yard scamper from Copley and he was largely ineffective, and our passing game was efficient but only 12 completions isn’t that big a day period. MVP of the game probably should have been LB Ewart. We’ll certainly take it, and a win on the road is worth booking – but this wasn’t our best effort. At 7-1, we have reached our halfway point – we’ll have a quick look at the season summary here: Code:
Sedor is taking another step forward – probably due to some development and the improved supporting cast around him. That’s really the big thing we needed to see this year. We remain among the most productive running teams in the league as well, behind an offensive line that is becoming (way ahead of schedule) a centerpiece to this team: Code:
Every single OL has his KRB% up over 33%… and as a team we are approaching 39% -- that’s going to help things out an awful lot. 16 sacks isn’t outstanding, but it’s solid – this unit is certainly helping make things tick, and Kolodzik’s anticipated return ought to help us even more (especially with the pass protection). On defense, Alvin Hall has had some big games, and his 8.5 sacks halfway through is impressive. We are causing more turnovers than in past years, and I think that was the final missing piece to seeing top tier defensive numbers from this group. Top five in yards per carry and yards per attempt, plus causing three turnovers a game = a defense that can win games on its own, if need be. That’s what we are looking for. Adding two very solid veterans certainly helped, and everyone else stepping into his role nicely has brought things together really well. The signing of LB Galvan is looking like a good move, as he has been very productive in a swing DE/LB role this far. |
|
|
|
|
07-31-2006, 01:41 PM
|
#387 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 10: South Carolina (0-8) at Chesapeake (7-1)
This week we get to return home and face the uber-tanking division rivals from South Carolina. This offseason, following a very solid run to the playoffs last year, South Carolina’s owner essentially offered to give up his team as he was no longer enjoying the league. He retracted that offer, but then decided that it would provide more personal entertainment for him to simply gut the already-solid team and rebuild almost completely. After some discussions with the league powers that be regarding the sportsmanship of said proposed actions, this was apparently greenlighted, and he sold off nearly all his players for draft picks (including a couple players to us). So, the yield from their rookie harvest is on the field this year – an 0-8 club that is angling for the top pick in next year’s draft to go along with their current legion of rookies. So, that’s why we’re 16 point favorites this week. The C-Dogs have been tinkering a bit with the air game lately, and we’ll probably continue with that at home this week. Code:
So, we manage to escape the ultimate trap game and come away with a win. I might have to look at the game logs here to see exactly why we didn’t score more than 23 points on the day (with our defense playing great, and our offense doing pretty well and committing only one turnover, I’d have expected better) but that’s a matter to be resolved in time. We’ll take the win, and try to keep things churning for next week hosting Dodge City. A result both teams can be happy about! Huzzah! |
|
|
|
|
08-02-2006, 11:42 AM
|
#388 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 11: Dodge City (4-5) at Chesapeake (8-1)
Home again, and taking on division rivals (and long-time nemesis) Dodge City. They seem to be having a frustrating year, and with all due respect – we’d be glad to help them in their pursuit of an improved draft position next year. historically, these are tight games, too. They have been a run-first team for a long time, but I don’t have a stilted defense in for this week, we will rely on personnel to stop FB Robert Roger and company. Code:
Looks like a pretty solid start – we led 28-10 at the half, but then we apparently forgot what had worked for us. A last second FG was needed to secure the win, after we gave up the big 18 point comeback. Another FOF thriller! For our offense, it was like seeing two completely different teams… I have heard this referenced as the “flipped switch” elsewhere. Here’s our first half drive chart: Code:
And then, in the second half… Code:
Night and day. Or vice versa, I guess. In any event – we’ll take a division win any way we can get it. It looks like LB Doug McKenzie will be good to go for next week, so we will be able to restore some normalcy to the defensive lineup – not that we have any complaints with Ewart’s play at the MLB the last few weeks, by any means. We have apparently lost our punter to tonsillitis… we’ll have to work something out there, I guess. But past that, the injury front looks fairly calm. A few dings and dents, but we’ve dodged serious problems thus far this season, other than Dixon Webb getting blown up as last year closed out (and being on the shelf for this whole season). |
|
|
|
|
08-04-2006, 01:30 PM
|
#389 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 12: Annawan (5-5) at Chesapeake (9-1)
This week, we head out for the first of two games against non-conference opponents. Annawan is basically a ground-game team, so we will try to be prepared for a tough one to be fought in the trenches. Hopefully, the OL and Craps Copley will be up to the task, and we can get the running game going again this week in anticipation of the road stretch ahead. Code:
We hold a committed run-first team to 3.1 yard per carry, and we ought to win fairly easily. The defense certainly did its job this go-round – didn’t create big plays, but holding the other side to one field goal is going to win a lot of games by itself. Any time I see a second QB in the box score, I hold my breath for Sedor – but he’s fine. The passing game this week was pretty anemic (4 yards per attempt is pretty bad) but we didn’t give this one away, and will take a win, once again. The division and conference situation is taking real shape this deep into the season: Code:
So, from here it looks like Hell Creek, Portland, and Chesapeake are the likely bidders for the two bye week slots, with the loser of the Chesapeake/Portland division having to settle for seed #5 and a road opener. Past that, there’s a mix of teams battling for their divisions and a big mess for the wild card. We have four out of five on the road from here on out, but the one home game is Portland. We obviously control our own destiny, but it would certainly be nice to keep stringing together a few more solid wins on the way to the playoffs. The next two weeks we visit 6-5 Seal Beach and 5-6 Cap City – getting two road wins against those two would put us in great position for the home stand against Portland. |
|
|
|
|
08-08-2006, 06:58 AM
|
#390 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 13: Chesapeake (10-1) at Seal Beach (6-5)
On the road against a winning team, this looks like a fairly tough spot. We will try to keep the ball in our possession, and get a good effort from the defense to get a road win here. Code:
Well, we got our good effort all around this week, and put together a very solid game all told. 168 yards rushing is very solid, and Craps Copley remains very productive for us in the first-and-ten back role on this team. The pass game was at peak efficiency – Sedor had a nearly immaculate game. The line played its best game ever, I suspect – we had a remarkable 15 key run blocks, and zero sacks (and only two hurries). A little closer look at Sedor’s day suggests that he was basically on fire the whole afternoon: Code:
So, he drops back 27 times, and gets hardly any pressure. Twice he is hurried into a bad throw, and twice the defense comes up with a block to defense the pass. And that’s it. The other 23 passes end up safely in our guys’ arms for positive plays. Unreal day – maybe not a maxed-out passer rating (not enough TDs?) but still pretty much all you could possibly ask. We have some pass-happy teams in the FOFL (shocking!) so he’s not in the top tier of the league leaders, but he’s up to a passer rating over 90 for the season, and probably past the threshold of being an asset to the team, rather than just a guy not making mistakes. For the year, he’s 20/9 in TD/Int ratio, and that’s good enough to win a lot of games. With this defense and O-line playing this well, even more so. |
|
|
|
|
08-09-2006, 11:55 AM
|
#391 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 14: Chesapeake (11-1) at Capital City (6-6)
This shapes up a bit as a trap game for us – big win last week, and next week we host the big rival in the division. This week, we’re on the road against an unfamiliar foe. We’ll try to maintain the consistent play we’ve been seeing, but I’m worried. Code:
(Honestly, that lead-in was written before the game results were posted) Give up one hug play and fall behind early, abandon your bread and butter, and let the other guys move the ball at will. Sounds like a fine recipe for a road loss. Ugh. Nothing to highlight there – we just played badly, especially on defense. And now we come into the biggest regular season matchup we’ve had in a while, which almost certainly has a bye week in the offing for the winner. We host 11-2 Portland, the two-time defending division champions, and the winner likely comes away with the #1 or #2 seed, while the loser is left to work through the wild card bracket from #5. If we’re thinking we might be good enough to win it all – getting a bye and a home opener is a huge, huge difference maker for us. Big, big game. |
|
|
|
|
08-12-2006, 08:09 AM
|
#392 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 15: Portland (11-2) at Chesapeake (11-2)
All right, the setup is complete. Huge game, basically the difference between a bye week to rest up and play at home, versus a road game opener in the wild card round. My guess is the loser here has his chances of getting to the title game cut by about 2/3. We are sending out a pretty vanilla game plan for this week – the offense should be fairly balanced. We fully expect to see nicked-up QB Benjamin Fuller out there for Portland, of course. Code:
Well, it’s a somewhat disappointing tale of two halves here. We are thoroughly outplayed inn the first half, and Portland looks to be clearly the better team. But, just after halftime, they have to make a QB switch (and by “have to” I mean “weirdly decide to”) and they send in the much-lesser backup. The results couldn’t be more stark: Code:
Their 21-13 halftime lead crumbles behind the mistake-prone Werenka, and our offense comes alive to get the two touchdowns it needs to put this one into our column. Candidly, it’s a tough way to get a win – but this is a big, big win. Settling for the wild card this year would have been a major letdown after starting out 10-1… so we’ll gladly take the win any way we can do so. Great game from Craps Copley, who carried more load than usual and topped 1,000 yards for the season (for the first time in his 10-year career), and from WR George Ellis, who is starting to become a favorite target for Sedor. Incidentally, looking a little more closely at Sedor (who had disappointing numbers on the day) here’s what we see as really happening: Code:
So, the Portland defense was playing really well – they get two picks, they defense nine and bat down one, and they hurry him into seven bad throws. All told, that’s 20 passes that we can attribute bad results to the defense – leaving only one bad throw (presumanly a pick) and one receiver drop that we can blame on the air game here (other than the line, who yielded pressure). We get out of the game with, basically, a clean bill of health, too. Two road games remain, and unless we lose both of them, we’re bound for a bye week. Our record is identical to that of Hell Creek, so I don’t know what the tiebreaker system would be. As things stand, our division would once again get both wild cards, with 8-6 Dodge City right back into the picture again. |
|
|
|
|
08-12-2006, 12:27 PM
|
#393 |
|
High School JV
Join Date: Oct 2000
|
Note to self: Never ever set QB playing time below 5 again.
Portland was the better team for a half, but in truth the Chilli Dogs have been the better team this season, so we don't feel all that bad about settling for a wild card spot. |
|
|
|
|
08-14-2006, 12:11 PM
|
#394 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Very gracious of you, but still a rough way to lose a big game.
|
|
|
|
|
08-14-2006, 12:11 PM
|
#395 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 16: Chesapeake (12-2) at Mars (8-6)
We need to stay focused here, and play well against a team that has only recently slid out of the league’s very elite teams. Still a solid opponent, though, and we need to keep our act together here for certain. The #1 seed beckons. Code:
Well, we did run the ball quite a lot, and put together a pretty solid offensive day. Sedor continues to make the running game part of his arsenal, even when I’d candidly rather he didn’t do so. 60 yards this week is solid, and he has nearly 600 for the season. So, we are now officially division champions, and we have a bye week locked up. We remain in an identical posture with Hell Creek (who by the numbers have been the best team in the league this year) in the standings, and since we play the tanking South Carolina team next week, we really have little motivation to do much there. I haven’t decided what sort of gameplan we’ll roll out, but we will be looking forward to our postseason shot this year, after sitting things out for three seasons in a row. w00t! We’re in! |
|
|
|
|
08-19-2006, 05:14 PM
|
#396 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 17: Chesapeake (13-2) at South Carolina (1-14)
Unceremonious wrap-up game, we’re prohibitive favorites on the road, and just hope to stay in game shape for the postseason. Code:
South Carolina throw all day on us, and do so fairly effectively – but we keep this one in hand anyway, and wrap up the season at 14-2. We have our bye week, and it’s too tough right now to determine whether we are the #1 or #2 seed, so we’ll just sit back and enjoy the week off. Portland and Dodge City, from our division, make the wild card slots, and will play in the opening week. If we are the #1 seed, we likely see one of them afterwards, if they can advance. |
|
|
|
|
08-19-2006, 05:14 PM
|
#397 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Season Ending Analysis
Here’s the season-end team summary page, to wrap up the main statistics for the year: Code:
So, the nutshell on this team for the season is basically this: as our young QB continues to mature, we were very tough running the ball, and very tough against the run. While only pretty average both conducting and stopping the passing game, we were the #1 team in the league in causing turnovers, a big turnaround from last season, and a key element in our stepping into the elite of the league. The offensive line was again a key to the offense, and this group is developing together very, very nicely. Here are their key stats: Code:
Basically, the starting five have all become above-average performers, with C Winston Turnbull once again putting together an award-worthy season, but with four out of five starters well over 30% in completing key run blocks, and nobody really lagging in pass protection, either. RT Jerry Burns was the relative weak link, but a 25/1.0 season from a tackle isn’t even bad. So, this group helps explain, in large part, how RB Craps Copley managed to put together his first 1,000+ yard season in the FOFL. The other group we have been trying to build up has been the secondary – here’s a closer look there: Code:
Venerable Mark Carr managed the top rating this year, disappointing, but kind of appropriate. Among the starters, it’s good to see safeties McCartney and Schwantz both step into productive efforts in the pass coverage, with McCartney becoming quite the playmaker. CBs Kuehler and Padgett were fine, but not great – Kuehler is the most talented guy of this lot, and hopefully will continue to lead the coverage schemes and see those passes defensed totals improve in time. |
|
|
|
|
08-21-2006, 08:21 AM
|
#398 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Wild Card Update
In the wild card games, both Portland and Dodge City lose in their road openers, so we will face a division winner in our first playoff game. It turns out we draw Norwich, who have been among the league’s upper echelon of solid teams in the last several years. They are in the playoffs for the fourth straight season this year, and have the league championship only two seasons ago in their memories. Solid playoff opponent. Here’s their snapshot for the season: Code:
QB Jeremy Fowler is a league legend, leading his teams to four title games in eight seasons – and he’s almost certainly in his final season. We expect to see a lot of Skip Wilkins – another decent rusher who seems to benefit from a good system, like our own Craps Copley, but he does get a good deal of underneath work in the passing game as well. WR Horace Cockfield leads a solid receiving corps, as this offense is capable of balance. I think our main hope is probably that our inside running game will be effective – Norwich yielded over 4 yards a carry on the season, and we should put their front to the test. If we can exceed that mark, that gives us a strong foundation for the game. Also, it looks like this team can be pushed into making mistakes – so we will try to cause turnovers and make big plays as well. Nothing out of the ordinary here – this is a solid, balanced team, and we won’t need to gadget-up our game plan to take them on, I don’t think. #1 seed Hell Creek (conference champs in four of the last five seasons) are playing host to 8-8 division champion Myrtle Beach, so there’s a pretty solid chance that the winner of our game heads to Hell Creek for the final showdown. We are made four point favorite this week (seems a little short to me, but they have more playoff experience than we do, and come off a sound win over Dodge City last week) and will hope to play to form and earn our shot at the big game. |
|
|
|
|
08-21-2006, 12:35 PM
|
#399 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Divisional Playoff: Norwich at Chesapeake
Enough said in the build-up – here’s the essential box score: Code:
We get exactly what we wanted here – we made our first half opportunities count and put up 17 points, we basically held their running game in check all day, and we controlled the clock and the line of scrimmage. Textbook Chili Dog win – losing the turnover battle 2-0 was the only downside, but we overcame that with the ground game edge, I think. Elsewhere, Hell Creek crushed Myrtle Beach 34-7 to move on and host the conference championship game. Hudson Valley, the league’s defending champions, will host Mars (who have won twice themselves) in the other matchup. Of the four remaining teams this year, we will collectively account for 5 of 9 of the league titles after this season, and 11 of the 18 slots in the title game. Our injury list looks okay – TE Stacey Jan has a toe injury, but will play, and he’s the only active player on our injured list. We will hope to give Hell Creek our best effort, and we’re getting some respect at the betting windows, with only a 2 point spread at their place. |
|
|
|
|
08-21-2006, 03:20 PM
|
#400 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Texas
|
I'm still reading along. Great season btw. Congratz on the playoff win. Glad to see all the moves paying off.
__________________
XBox360 GamerTag - Tonyr76 Former HTer |
|
|
|
 |
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
