Niagara Rhinos: An Alternate Universe NCAA 14 Dynasty

[rybrady732]

Thats a nice conference W right there! Im not sure if its just me but something about the Rhinos v Buffaloes brings me a laugh.

[Nunyerbiz]

Nunyer's Notes

I honestly have no idea what happened with the South Alabama game. I am 100% sure that it was a home game when I made the schedule in the preseason. Oh well. Cougars and college kids at the homecoming game... going to be a good time.

As far as this game, well it played somewhat opposite to the rest of the season so far. Every other game, HUM rushing seemed maybe slightly too easy while HUM passing was consistently a challenge. As I said before, any time I face man-to-man coverage I'm in trouble. Fante is the only WR capable of separation and even then I throw most of my picks his way when I think he has more of a step then he does. But this game this was reversed. Their front seven was blitzing and shedding blocks and making the running game a tougher slog. In the passing game, they ran a lot of cover 2 and cover 3 looks. I did basically what Nonek said he would do in the scouting report. Lots of hitches and curls and comebacks, finding soft spots in the zones.

On the other side of the ball, Buffalo looked awful through most of the first half, I actually considered restarting the game because I didn't want to blow out one of the highest rated teams in the MAC. Just wouldn't have wanted that from a storyline perspective. Their 1st quarter FG was due to a short field after my first INT and even then I think I pushed them back to a 4th and 18 or something like that. Then in their last possession of the first half, they started marching and played ridiculously better the rest of the way. I went from thinking "this is way too easy" to struggling to hold onto an overtime win... and I can't over emphasize how wide freakin open that guy was when he dropped the OT touchdown. Easily my luckiest moment of the season so far.

[Nunyerbiz]

Nunyer's Notes - addendum

So, shortly after I made my previous post I went to play the South Alabama game. Late in the 1st quarter, the dreaded stuttering returned! It wasn't as bad as the pre-cleaning stuttering, but I didn't waste any time. I immediately ran out and bought a replacement PS3.

In my haste to transfer everything over and making sure it worked and performed properly, I forgot to hit record on the capture software... so no screenshots for South Alabama. I'll do the article from the Niagara Register, they are a low budget local operation that can't afford such luxuries as color photography. That should be posted shortly. I'm also not going to do a scouting report. South Alabama is slightly better than the Rhinos, like a 65 OVR team, they run the spread. This is going to be a quick and dirty week.

After this, we're at the half way point of the season... so I'll do a recruiting update and take a look around the NCAA and MAC following the game recap.

[Nunyerbiz]

Rhinos can't stop the Jaguars, lose 42-35
QB Mickey Bogan leaves the game in 1st quarter and doesn't return

By: Damaso Garcia
October 12th, 2013

The Rhinos weren't able to keep the road momentum going after their overtime win against Buffalo. South Alabama was able to get big plays when they needed them. They took the lead late in the 1st quarter and never looked back. A furious comeback attempt by reserve quarterback Eugene Fordinal came up short. The sophomore did look respectable overall in his first major action of this season, throwing for 287 yards in three quarters of action. Two well thrown deep TD passes to Elton Fante in the 4th quarter made the outcome interesting, but a failed onside kick attempt sealed the loss for Niagara.

South Alabama moved the ball effectively through the air the entire game. Jaguars QB Jon Burke wasn't fazed by consistent blitz pressure, finding open holes in the secondary for big plays while only taking two sacks. The senior averaged over 10 yards per completion, including three consecutive 3rd down conversions in the 4th quarter on their final scoring drive.

Starting quarterback Mickey Bogan left the game during Niagara's second offensive possession. He was driven into the turf on an incomplete pass attempt by Jaguars defensive end Chandler Maxwell. Bogan immediately grabbed his left (non-throwing) shoulder and motioned to the sideline.

"We don't have full confirmation yet. Three different Alabama doctors just laughed at us when we showed them our purple money, so we're going to have to wait until we return to Canada to get a full diagnosis." said Offensive Coordinator Derek Bell. "At this point, we think it was a mild separation. Thankfully it's not his throwing shoulder."

"Eugene came in and got the job done. I couldn't have asked for much more." said Head Coach Nonek. "Both of his interceptions were on drops that our receivers have to start catching. This kid comes in cold off the bench, starts gunslinging like a young Brett Favre and his teammates let him down. Thankfully we don't play next week, but I'm 100% ready to roll with Eugene in week 9 against Ohio. But our receivers need to do a better job of securing the football. My starting HB is a 34-year-old who can't be expected to do much more than 20 carries a game. You don't need blazing speed to be successful in this offense, but you do need good hands."

The Rhinos have an open date on the schedule next week before going right back on the road. They travel to Athens, Ohio on October 26th to face the 1-5 Bobcats. Then the following week it's over to hilariously named Kalamazoo to play the Western Michigan Broncos. Niagara will then wrap up the season with three of their final four games at home.

[Deuce2223]

Despite the loss it's good to see your backup QB has at least some skill to keep you in games. Also nice to see the Old Man put together another nice 100 yd game.

My GSU receivers currently have been battling a case of the 'Yips=Drops".. Hopefully they can get it under control.

[Nunyerbiz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

Despite the loss it's good to see your backup QB has at least some skill to keep you in games. Also nice to see the Old Man put together another nice 100 yd game. My GSU receivers currently have been battling a case of the 'Yips=Drops".. Hopefully they can get it under control.

The yips / throw your controller at the screen when it happens / drops happen in waves with this team. I'll have a game where I'll get 1 or 2, then a game when I get 6 or 8. I was happy with the backup's play. Functionally speaking, he is very close to Bogan in THP/THA. He is slightly less accurate and uncorked a few under no pressure that were a mile off the mark... But also had four perfect long balls, two that went for TDs, two that were dropped with one of those becoming an INT.

[Nunyerbiz]

MID SEASON TEAM REPORT CARD

Date: 15-OCT-13
Location: Greater Niagara Senior Activity & Recreation Center, Lawrence Welk Conference Room
Attendees: HC Nonek, OC Bell, DC Johnson, Recording Secretary Zelinski
(Moonboots is still off the grid, it's been like 10 days. We're starting to get worried. - M.Zelinski)

Summary: This is a report on the overall progress of the Niagara Rhinos football program.
Record: Niagara is currently 2-4, 2-1 in the MAC
L - 21-44 at #19 Michigan (currently ranked #5)
L - 7-70 at #14 Florida State (currently unranked)
W - 28-16 at UMass
L - 24-38 vs Akron
W - 42-35 (OT) at Buffalo
L - 35-42 at South Alabama

Quarterback Grade: C+

Mickey Bogan / 102-for-185, 1130 yards, 11 TD, 15 INT
Bogan is currently banged up with a bad left shoulder. Doctors are advising that he avoids contact for another 10-14 days, so we're likely starting Eugene against Ohio, but Mickey is our #1 when he's healthy. So far this season his decision making has been questionable at times, but his receivers have not always helped him out. The specialty of our current Strength and Conditioning coach is chair aerobics and mall walking, so we aren't doing much to improve his arm strength, but that needs to be our focus going forward. He sees the deep throws but comes up just short too often.

Running Back Grade: B+

Stevie Browning / 100 rushes, 530 yards, 5 TDs, 5.2 YPC
Malcolm Holly / 44 rushes, 181 yards, 2 TDs, 4.1 YPC
Marlon Childs / 34 rushes, 158 yards, 2 TDs, 4.6 YPC
Once we look past Stevie, there is no speed in this backfield. Assuming Moonboots isn't currently being interrogated at Guantanamo Bay, we hope he can find us something here for next season. We'll have Holly and Childs returning, and both have been capable, but can't really stretch a defense. That said, all production here has been above our expectations. When the going gets tough, we can emphasize the Run part of Run and Shoot. Moonboots did land us a FB that looks to be a solid blocker, so we're investigating ways to get him involved next year. We might introduce some I-Form based looks.

Wide Receivers: C-

Elton Fante / 33 rec, 561 yards, 6 TDs, 17.0 YPC, 11 drops
Brant Whitehead / 27 rec, 264 yards, 3 TDs, 9.7 YPC, 5 drops
Ralph Ware / 17 rec, 186 yards, 3 TDs, 10.9 YPC, 4 drops
Warren Dockery / 12 rec, 132 yards, 0 TD, 11.0 YPC, 3 drops
We all know Fante can stretch the field but those 11 drops have led to at least 4 interceptions. Maybe more than four, I can't be sure, because we use an old VHS camcorder to make game tape and don't have a working VCR to review it. For as chubby and slow as he is, Whitehead has become as reliable of a possession guy as we have. The next three guys on the WR depth chart all graduate this year. No solid leads on replacements coming from the recruiting trail. This isn't looking good.

Tight Ends: B
Our tight ends aren't asked to do much, so not a lot of time will be spent here. Richie Freeman has thrown some nice blocks this season and has caught all six passes thrown his way. No complaints.

Offensive Line: A-
Collectively, this group has really impressed. What looked like a weakness on paper is arguably the strongest single unit on our team. In a few of those games, they lined up against some top notch talent and held their own. As a group, they are responsible for allowing only six sacks over six games. Part of that is due to Bogan being a decent escape artist, but combined with our rushing success, this group deserves praise. Last contact with our "scout" promised that some replacements are inbound, as we lose two starters from this unit to graduation.

Defensive Line: C
In our flavor of the 3-4, these guys are really just there to occupy blockers and control gaps to allow the linebackers to run free and make plays. That said, our three starting down lineman have registered 9 of our teams 14 sacks. Their pass rush success has been admirable. Unfortunately, they have been weak against the run and haven't been good at containing mobile QBs in the pocket.

Linebacker: C

Freddie Benson / 37 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 sacks
Tyrell Hargrove / 22 tackles, 1 TFL, 0 sacks
Dennis Lake / 18 tackles, 4 TFL, 0 sacks
Only the play of Freddie Benson raises this group out of C-/D+ territory. He's been flying to the ball all season. Lake has made a few nice plays in the backfield but has looked lost on occasion in coverage. We get all three of these guys back next year and I think all three have been slowly improving as the season wears on, but it hasn't always been pretty. Last update from Moonboots indicated that there would not be any legit impact LBs in the recruiting class. We do have some reserve depth / redshirt players that might step up next season as well.

Cornerback: D+

Micah Austin / 18 tackles, 1 TFL, 0 INT
Rob Richie / 17 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 INT
Jarod Cooley / 25 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT
Both Austin and Richie as the starters and Cooley as the slot have been good tacklers and run support guys. Unfortunately that's where the positives stop. None of these guys have the speed or agility to cover top receivers. Only Cooley comes back next season and his natural position is safety. Moonboots has promised cornerbacks, but states that none of them will be extreme difference makers. Like the WR situation on offense, this is the ugly part of our defense for the near future.

Safety: B+

Dabney Britt / 42 tackles, 5 TFL, 1 INT, 1 Sack, 1 FF
Russ Tillman / 37 tackles, 2 TFL, 0 INT, 0 Sack, 3 DEF
We expected them to be the garbage men, cleaning up whatever trash gets past the front seven. In that regard, they have done very well. Both of these guys keep their nose around the football. We call a lot of blitz plays for them in run situations and they've probably been our two most disruptive players besides Freddie Benson. Both come back as seniors next year, which is a relief. We need some talent in the defensive backfield.

Special Teams: C-
Gallup is reliable at PATs, but is hopeless as a FG kicker. I have no faith in him outside of about 35 yards. Goldie Pearson has been serviceable. Hasn't bobbled any long snaps or had any major shanks.

In the return game, O'Shaugnessy occasionally finds a seem. His long KR is 48 yards and he had a 71 yarder called back on a baloney clipping penalty. He's only a freshman and come next year, he'll probably have to see more time at HB, as he will be our only speed at the position. Needs a quicker first step, but has looked decent in limited snaps as a 3rd down shotgun substitution.

[Nunyerbiz]

From: montalban.elizondo ([email protected])
To: Nonek, Reinhold ([email protected])

Subject: Greetings from Paraguay!

Hola Headmaster Nonek!

My name is Elizondo Montalban and I am a perfectly legitimate businessman from the tropical central american island of Paraguay. I was just writing you this email to tell you I am big fan of your Rhinoceros Americano Futbol Squad! I do many legitimate business in Canada and enjoy watching the large men run around and fall down. I hope to see a match in my person next time I am in Canada for legitimate business that I do with spreadsheets and debits and hedge equity fund.

But it is very cold in Canada. That is why when I am there I wear MOONBOOTS. They keep my foots warm. When I leave Canada I make sure my MOONBOOTS ARE SAFE IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION. I also make sure my MOONBOOTS HAVE AN UNTRACEABLE SATELLITE PHONE PURCHASED ON THE CHINESE BLACK MARKET. That way my MOONBOOTS CAN CONTACT ME VIA AN UNTRACEABLE SATELLITE PHONE PURCHASED ON THE CHINESE BLACK MARKET WHEN THE COAST IS CLEAR. So my advise for the future success of your Rhinocerouses is to READ TEXTS FROM THE UNTRACEABLE SATELLITE PHONE PURCHASED ON THE CHINESE BLACK MARKET when you receive them.

I hope this message reaches you well. Your supporter and perfectly legitimate businessman from the island paradise of Paraguay,

Elizondo Montalban