Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

[phenomenal_waffles]

Intro

Spoiler

The real life NFL season starting got me itching to play this beautiful game again, it happens every year really. Head Coach 09 is timeless.

It's the 2007 season and the Broncos go 7-9 in Jay Cutler's first full season as a starter, their worst record since 1999. In this universe, Mike Shanahan is fired a year early despite fielding a competitive team every year save for one since 1995. A controversial move, but crazier things have happened, Tony Dungy was fired from the Bucs after a playoff season, Marty Schottenheimer got canned after a 14-2 season with the Chargers. So the Broncos hire me to give an already talented team that extra edge.

I'd like to write this until at least a Super Bowl win then I'd probably just keep playing but not writing, but we'll see. The longest I've committed to writing a dynasty is one full season so don't cross your fingers, but I haven't played this game in a long time so hopefully I'll stick with this, and maybe I'll somewhat revive this barren wasteland of a coaching dynasty forum while I'm at it.

Stay tuned.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 Offseason

Spoiler

I picked the Analyst personality, kind of resembles me and I've never used it before. I spent my skill points on performance and QB intangibles, as Cutler is pretty inaccurate to start.

I'm using playbooks different from the Broncos' defaults so I don't have the head start on play knowledge. On defense I wanted a small playbook with a good amount of blitzes that I've also never used before, so I went with Spagnuolo Pressure. Didn't have anything particular in mind for offense so my coach can have the backstory of being from the Giants as I roll with the Gilbride Old School book.

Starting in the off-season as it's the most fun part of the game to me. I should also mention that I don't have the update meaning Brett Favre is not on the Jets.

My position philosophies are all balanced. I like to judge individual stats myself while having the best overall players with the highest overalls.

Here were the players that got the franchise tag:



The only player of note on the Broncos that's a free agent is K Jason Elam (90), but he will replaced in free agency. None of my free agents will be retained.

Here's a rundown of my roster at the moment, which will look a lot different when the season starts:

QB: Jay Cutler (80 OVR/87 POT), Patrick Ramsey (71) – Cutler will take some time to reach his potential but he develops in to a top QB. Sometimes the game will suggest you select Joe Flacco with your first round pick when you use the Broncos, but I will not be doing that.

HB: Selvin Young (80/86), Andre Hall (66/77) – Young had 729 yards in 2007 but that's the product of Shanahan's zone blocking. His carrying is also a lowly 65. Someone else will be starting for me at HB.

FB: Mike Bell (68/76) – Bell will actually be a big part of my offense running the ball. He's really a running back but the game has him as a fullback so I'll take advantage of it.

WR: Brandon Marshall (87/92), Brandon Stokley (78), Glenn Martinez (66/77) – Marshall is obviously great, but I'll look to add multiple new receivers.

TE: Daniel Graham (77), Tony Scheffler (69/79), Nate Jackson (69), Chad Mustard (57/61) – Scheffler's catching unfortunately is only 70 so a receiving TE will be added. Graham is okay and has to stick around because of a huge contract that he isn't worth.

LT: Ryan Harris (81/84) – A second round pick from 07, his overall is good but his actual blocking stats aren't. Probably won't play much.

LG: Ben Hamilton (83), Mark Fenton (64) – Hamilton won't play much either but that's because of his injury rating.

C: Tom Nalen (88) – The only sure thing on my line right now, but will most likely retire next year.

RG: Montrae Holland (76), Chris Kuper (76/79) – Pedestrians, could be upgraded.

RT: Erik Pears (77/82), Isaac Snell (72/76) – Also pedestrian.

LE: Tim Crowder (77/82), Jarvis Moss (69/72) – The top two picks of the Broncos' 07 draft, neither will amount to much.

RE: Elvis Dumervil (79/82) – Was great in real life around this time, but never seems to do well for me in the game. Still I'll keep him for realism, but if I'm getting sacks this season it will be because of blitzing.

DT: Marcus Thomas (78/82), Alvin McKinley (70), Kenny Peterson (64), Josh Mallard (59) – DTs are interchangeable in this game.

LOLB: Nate Webster (72/73), Louis Green (66) – Needs an upgrade.

MLB: D.J. Williams (82/86), Jordan Beck (69/74) – Williams is solid.

ROLB: Jamie Winborn (71) – Needs an upgrade.

CB: Champ Bailey (93), Dre' Bly (81) – Two solid players here but CB this is the most important position on defense in this game and I'll add another high overall player.

FS: None. Obviously needs an upgrade.

SS: John Lynch (89) – Was a FS but is much more suited here.

K: None.

P: Sam Paulescu (78/84) - 86 kick power isn't enough.

The roster needs a lot of work if I wanna compete in the AFC, but with $59M in cap space in which the majority of will be spent, improvements will be made.

Season goals are to sign an 85 overall FS, ROLB and LOLB. Two of those will be met.

I RFA tendered CB Domonique Foxworth (77). CB Karl Paymah (71 OVR) and SS Hamza Abdullah (72) could also be tendered but their overalls are too low and can't be retained due to a glitch in the game.

The free agency period is up next.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 Free Agency

Spoiler

2008 Major Free Agent Signings (RFA column means what pick was given up to sign the player)




The Broncos went all in. Everyone that I signed was the best available player at their position (not necessarily in overall but in the stats that matter), and barring injuries all ten of them will most likely be starters.

On the surface it looks like I overspent, but after the cuts I made below I have $19.88M in room left, and more importantly in 2009 I'm slated to have $35.21M. This is a cheap roster even with all those big contracts.

The dead weight I cut consisted of QB Patrick Ramsey (71), TE Nate Jackson (69), RG Montrae Holland (76), RG Chris Kuper (76), DT Alvin McKinley (70), LOLB Nate Webster (54), LOLB Louis Green (66) and ROLB Jamie Winborn (71).

Up next is the 2008 draft. You'll see why it's necessary for me to be a player in free agency based off of the way I go about drafting. Here's what I'm going in with (the trades were done in real life, not by me):

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 Draft

Spoiler

Todd McShay's mock draft has me taking QB Joe Flacco. Hopefully my GM doesn't agree with him because as I alluded to in the last post, the way I do the draft is under most circumstances I will take whoever the GM suggests. If I have an abundance of players at the position the GM is suggesting or the pick is just really stupid I'll differ from him, but otherwise I try as much as possible to draft who he wants. With the player comparisons in this game, it's so easy to manipulate things and just draft all the sleepers and then have this super team that costs nothing, but you won't see that here. Because of this, I also pretty much only do trades for players and not for picks as in the draft I have no idea who my GM will suggest. All of this justifies spending a lot in free agency because if I want a talented team I have to pay the price.

I had the 12th overall pick. In order to avoid this Flacco situation I decided to cheat the system by changing my QB philosophy to strong arm, which turned Cutler in to an 85 overall...and my GM still suggested Flacco.

So after the paragraph that started this post, I go against my rule and say no. It's one thing to trade Cutler like Josh McDaniels did pre-draft, it's another to go in to the season with both young QBs on the roster. It would be different if Cutler was in his thirties, but this is his third season. I classify this as a scenario where the GM is being dumb.

From there I would look to the draft board and take the highest player that filled a need, who ended up being LOLB Jerod Mayo, whom I've never drafted before.

Here's how the first round played out. I listed all the trades that happened during it, but not the ones that happened in real life prior to the draft.

1. Dolphins Jake Long, LT, Michigan
2. Rams Vernon Gholston, ROLB, Ohio State
Falcons trade 3rd overall pick to Buccaneers for 20th overall, 2nd round (52nd) and 2009 1st round picks
3. Buccaneers Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU (f/ATL)
4. Raiders Chris Long, RE, Virginia,
5. Chiefs Matt Ryan, QB, Boston Coll.
Jets trade 6th overall pick to Falcons for 2nd round (37th), 2009 1st and 6th round picks
6. Falcons Leodis McKelvin, CB, Troy (f/NYJ)
7. Patriots Keith Rivers, ROLB, USC (f/SF)
8. Ravens Derrick Harvey, LE, Florida
9. Bengals Darren McFadden, HB, Arkansas
Saints trade 10th overall pick to Colts for 3rd round (93rd), 2009 1st and 2nd picks
10. Colts Sedrick Ellis, DT, USC (f/NO)
Bills trade 11th overall pick to Eagles for 19th overall and 2009 2nd round picks
11. Eagles Ryan Clady, LT, Boise State (f/BUF)
12. Broncos Jerod Mayo, LOLB, Tennessee
13. Panthers Gosder Cherilus, RT, Boston Coll.
14. Bears Joe Flacco, QB, Delaware
Lions trade 15th overall pick to Cowboys for 22nd overall, 2009 3rd and 4th round picks
15. Cowboys Rashard Mendenhall, HB, Illinois (f/DET)
16. Cardinals Chris Williams, LT, Vanderbilt
Chiefs trade 17th overall pick to Patriots for 2nd round (62nd) and 2009 1st round pick
17. Patriots Dominique Cromartie, CB, Tennessee St. (f/MIN via/KC)
18. Texans Kentwan Balmer, DT, N. Carolina
19. Bills Mike Jenkins, CB, USF (f/PHI)
Falcons trade 20th overall pick to Ravens for 2nd round (38th) and 2009 2nd round picks
20. Ravens Jeff Otah, RT, Pittsburgh (f/TB via/ATL)
Redskins trade 21st overall pick to Seahawks for 25th overall and 2009 4th and 5th round picks
21. Seahawks Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas (f/WAS)
22. Lions Dustin Keller, TE, Purdue (f/CLE via/DAL)
23. Steelers Branden Albert, LG, Virginia
24. Titans Lawrence Jackson, LE, USC
25. Redskins Chris Johnson, HB, E. Carolina (f/SEA)
26. Jaguars Antoine Cason, CB, Arizona
27. Chargers Sam Baker, LT, USC
Cowboys trade 28th overall pick to Falcons for 2nd round (48th), 7th round (217th) and 2009 2nd round picks
28. Falcons John Carlson, TE, Notre Dame (f/DAL)
29. 49ers Kenny Phillips, SS, Miami (f/IND)
30. Rams Tracy Porter, CB, Indiana (f/GB)
31. Giants Brandon Flowers, CB, Virginia Tech
Dolphins trade 32nd overall pick to Browns for QB Ken Dorsey and 2009 2nd round pick
32. Browns Phillip Merling, RE, Clemson (f/MIA)

Here was the rest of my draft:



With the first fifth round pick my GM wanted QB John David Booty and with the last seventh he wanted K Brandon Coutu, but with already drafting QB Josh Johnson and K Rob Bironas, I used those picks for HB depth with Michael Turner being the only viable back on my roster.

I came away with an alright draft. Mayo is a great player in this game and will start immediately, and the two backs I drafted have great potential. I would've liked some of my other high picks to be used on players who could do more for me right away, as Lofton, Johnson and Craig all have players better than them on the depth chart. Scott will turn out to be a wasted pick, and Wilhite is okay for 7th rounder.

Up next is the preseason.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 Preseason

Spoiler

Here's pretty much all you need to know leading in to the regular season.



These games were supersimmed, don't need to go into detail about them.



The players without overalls next to their names were either made up rookies and guys who just had question marks there at the time instead.




Only real notable guy to be cut was HB Selvin Young. I picked up some fun players like HB Jamaal Buckingham and RE Tony Bake (haven't gotten to use Bake since the year the game came out). The UDFAs I signed after the draft were all cut besides ROLB David Vobora. LE Ralph Washington is a made up camp invite that made my roster, and MLB Corbin Watters is a made up player as well.



Expect teams to be able to pass all over me for this first season with my 9 overall DB coach.

For my preseason promise I said I'll make the playoffs. I got the Ozzie Jones draft path, which is the only one I ever get.

My goals for the season:

Crush the Raiders in Week 1
Beat the Raiders on Monday night in Week 1
Win 3 out of first 4 games
Re-sign C Tom Nalen and SS John Lynch
Fire my GM
Have an approval of 85 or more by the end of the season

I don't think I'll be firing my GM unless I have an awful season. I'll negotiate with Nalen and Lynch but I'm not selling out for either of them, they're both a season or two away from retiring.

Here's my schedule for the year:

W1 @ Raiders (MNF)
W2 vs. Chargers
W3 vs. Saints
W4 @ Chiefs
W5 vs. Buccaneers
W6 vs. Jaguars
W7 @ Patriots (MNF)
W8 Bye
W9 vs. Dolphins
W10 @ Browns (TNF)
W11 @ Falcons
W12 vs. Raiders
W13 @ Jets
W14 vs. Chiefs
W15 @ Panthers
W16 vs. Bills
W17 @ Chargers

Here's my opening day depth chart. Starters in bold, currently injured in red, rookies in italics.

QB: Jay Cutler (80/87)/Josh Johnson (68/92)
HB: Michael Turner (84/86)/Mike Hart (64/83)/Xavier Omon (65/88)/Jamaal Buckingham (66/88)
FB: Mike Bell (69/76)
WR: Isaac Bruce (84/85)/Brandon Marshall (87/92)/Brandon Stokley (78)/Roydell Williams (70/84)/Devery Henderson (68/74)/Jerome Mathis (63/72)
TE: Ben Troupe (74)/Bryan Fletcher (64/66)/Daniel Graham (76)/Tony Scheffler (69/79)
LT: Damien Woody (76)/Ryan Harris (82/84)
LG: Ben Hamilton (83)/Steve Sciullo (70)/Rich Seubert (77)/Qasim Mitchell (70/71)
C: Tom Nalen (88)
RG: Stacy Andrews (88/90)
RT: Jordan Gross (92/93)

LE: Tony Bake (66/81)/Tim Crowder (77/82)/Ralph Washington (65)/Jarvis Moss (69/72)/Trevor Scott (64/66)
RE: Elvis Dumervil (80/82)
DT: Tank Johnson (74/75)/Marcus Thomas (78/82)/Terdell Sands (73)/Jason Ferguson (73)
LOLB: Jerod Mayo (83/85)/Angelo Craig (63/82)
MLB: D.J. Williams (82/86)/Curtis Lofton (79/82)/Corbin Watters (77/85)
ROLB: Lance Briggs (90/91)/David Vobora (68/83)
CB: Champ Bailey (93)/Asante Samuel (91)/Dre' Bly (81)/DeMario Minter (72/77)/Jonathan Wilhite (68/82)
FS: Eugene Wilson (90)/Ryan Clark (73)
SS: John Lynch (88/89)

K: Rob Bironas (90/93)
P: Michael Koenen (82/86)
RS: Jerome Mathis (88)/Devery Henderson (74)

I open on Monday Night Football in Oakland. I've had a lot of wacky games against the Raiders in the Madden series/this game in the past, but they're always offensively challenged under Lane Kiffin in this game so I'm expecting a win.

The 2008 season starts soon...

[Aurabolt127]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

keep it up!

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Week 1
@ Oakland Raiders (MNF)

Spoiler

Here's the Raiders' depth chart. I edited mine into the last post if you want to check it out.



LG Ben Hamilton and LE Jarvis Moss are out for me for this game, and DT Terdell Sands will miss a few games. LG Steve Sciullo is starting in Hamilton's place. Those three will probably be regulars on the injury report. Out for the Raiders is just HB Lamont Jordan (67).

I won the toss and took defending with the wind. Besides TE Daniel Graham getting knocked out of the game on the opening kickoff, we got off to as good a start as possible as the first play of the season saw RE Elvis Dumervil sack QB Andrew Walter, who followed that up throwing a pick to FS Eugene Wilson on the next. Starting on Oakland's 23, it wasn't long before QB Jay Cutler threw a 12 yard TD pass to TE Ben Troupe. 7-0 Broncos early in the 1st.

Remarkably, the next drive went exactly the same. Walter took another sack on the first play from LOLB Jerod Mayo, then was intercepted by CB Champ Bailey and my offense took the field at the Oakland 22. A few players later a 12 yard run from Cutler got us to the 2, then FB Mike Bell punched it in for the score. 14-0 Broncos.

Again the Raiders couldn't get anything going and they had to punt. My ensuing drive took us into the 2nd quarter, but it stalled when WR Brandon Stokley dropped a pass on 3rd down, so K Rob Bironas kicked us to a 17-0 Broncos lead.

Walter threw ANOTHER pick, this time to SS John Lynch on the next drive. This game is looking like a huge mismatch of talent when Oakland's offense is on the field. Cutler carried this drive as he has been all game so far, scoring on a 15 yard pass to WR Brandon Marshall. 24-0 Broncos still in the 2nd and this is getting ugly.

We traded punts and an HB Michael Turner fumble with neither capitalizing until I had the ball at the 2:00 warning. Cutler hit Troupe for 33 yards to get us into Oakland territory. A few plays later, WR Isaac Bruce dropped a long near-touchdown so on the last play of the half, Bironas nailed a 53 yarder facing the wind, but a RG Stacy Andrews holding penalty took it off the board, so it remained 24-0 Broncos at halftime.

RT Jordan Gross went down for the game on my next drive and LT Ryan Harris filled in for him. Cutler carried the drive again (running for me is always a challenge early in the season with a rookie head coach) and hit a wide open Marshall for a 50 yard TD. 31-0 Broncos halfway through the 3rd quarter.

From there the game began to wind down as I attempted to run out the clock, albeit with little success. Cutler threw one last TD in the 4th, a 22 yarder to Stokley, and Lynch got himself another INT on the Raiders' last drive which actually got into the redzone, albeit with my backups subbed in. Broncos win 38-0.

J. Cutler 16-23 254 yds 4 TD 145.7 rtg
M. Bell 8-23 1 TD
M. Turner 21-20 1 fumble (jesus)
B. Marshall 7-123 2 TD
B. Troupe 6-93 1 TD
J. Mayo 4 TKL 4 TFL 3 SCK 1 DEFL
T. Bake 3 TKL 1 TFL 2 SCK
J. Lynch 2 TKL 2 INT 1 DEFL
C. Bailey 1 INT
E. Wilson 3 TKL 1 INT 1 DEFL
D. Williams 4 TKL 1 TFL 1 FF
8 Total Sacks
310 yds Offense
1 Turnover
1 Penalty 10 yds
44:08 TOP

A. Walter 12-30 95 yds 4 INT 9.0 rtg
J. Fargas 3- -3 yds
Z. Miller 5-44 1 drop
J. Higgins 1-5 3 drops
D. Carter 3 drops
M. Wilson 3 sacks allowed
K. Morrison 14 TKL 4 TFL 1 FR
S. Williams 1 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK
T. Kelly 6 TKL 2 TFL 1 FF
1 Total Sack
60 yds Offense
4 Turnovers
1 Penalty 10 yds
15:48 TOP

1st, DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Troupe 4 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 7-0 DEN
1st, DEN TD M.Bell 1 yd run (R.Bironas kick) 14-0 DEN
2nd, DEN FG R.Bironas 45 yd field goal 17-0 DEN
2nd, DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Marshall 15 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 24-0 DEN
3rd, DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Marshall 50 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 31-0 DEN
4th, DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Stokley 22 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 38-0 DEN

Forgot that when you exit the game the times of the scores aren't recorded in the box score so I only have the quarters listed.

So the Broncos definitely showed up for this game, but it doesn't really determine much about my team, the Raiders are pretty awful. I don't like not being able to run the ball but with time and upgrades to my coaching staff it will eventually get better.

A few notable starters around the league:

Bills QB: Daunte Culpepper (76) over Trent Edwards (79)
Chiefs QB: Damon Huard (78) over Matt Ryan (79)
Dolphins QB: Brian Brohm (77)
Falcons QB: Trent Green (79)
49ers QB: Byron Leftwich (72) over Alex Smith (76)
Packers QB: Joey Harrington (74) over Aaron Rodgers (76)
Ravens QB: Kerry Collins (78)

And here's a look at Week 1:



Eagles CB Sheldon Brown (85), Steelers HB Willie Parker (83), Giants C Shaun O'Hara (84), Panthers LE Julius Peppers (87) are on injured reserve. Brown was just put on, the others were before the regular season started.

Two days before my next game Isaac Bruce went down, so with Ben Hamilton coming back from his injury, I cut LG Qasim Mitchell (71) and signed rookie WR Aaron Walls (70/86).

On to week two I head to my home field where I have one of the tougher games of the season with my coaching staff still pretty weak against a good San Diego Chargers team. Coming off a shutout, my defense will really be put to the test against all the weapons they have.

Spoiler

Here's a bonus feature, a chance at reading what would have been in my next game against the Chargers. You'll notice it cuts off at a thrilling point in the game. That's because my Xbox froze. :/

Spoiler

Winds are blowing again so after winning the toss I chose to defend with it. The Chargers chose to kick so I got the ball to start. A delay of game penalty was followed by a 28 yarder from QB Jay Curtler to Stokley to get into San Diego territory, but LG Ben Hamilton went down for the game on the play, so he's played a total of two plays in two games. An FS Eric Weddle sack nearly halted my drive, but again with a long pass Cutler hit WR Brandon Marshall for 21 yards. I ran FB Mike Bell on back to back plays after that (assuming HB Michael Turner just won't have much luck this game against the Chargers' 3-4 defense), but then he went down for the game as well, so HB Jamaal Buckingham fills in for him. I would get to the Chargers' 1 yard line, but of course on a 2nd down play Turner would be stuffed behind the line and I had to pass on 3rd, which Buckingham caught, but out of bounds. K Rob Bironas kicked the 20 yd field goal to put us up 3-0.

An MLB D.J. Williams sack on 3rd down halted San Diego's drive, but mine stopped when Stokley let a pass hit him in the chest so we traded punts into the 2nd quarter. One of the weirdest plays I've seen in this game occurred on the next Chargers' drive on it's first play, as RE Tony Bake broke from the huddle, lined up normally, then took a few steps BEHIND the offensive tackle he was lined up against, then went back to his normal stance. The ball was snapped and of course he was called offside. I assume this is the result of terribly low awareness/learning or something. More punt trading and little action was interrupted on a drive where Cutler connected with TE Ben Troupe on a couple of long passes as we headed to the 2:00 warning. After some Buckingham runs, another pass to Troupe got us to the San Diego 6. Stokley dropped a TD pass on the next play, followed by an incompletion and an awful pass picked off by CB Antonio Cromartie. Still 3-0 at halftime.

Rivers couldn't get anything going to start the 2nd half, and on my next drive I actually pulled off some decent runs en route to a Cutler to TE Bryan Fletcher 17 yd TD. The first play of the next Chargers' drive however was an 80 yard LT run to make it 10-7 Broncos as we give up our first points of the season.

Cutler was having none of it though, steadily moving my offense down the field and converting a number of 3rd downs before a 17 yarder to WR Roydell Williams got us to the SD 7. Buckingham lost 4 yards on the next play, followed by Cutler taking a sack from ROLB Shawne Merriman despite 3 open receivers on the play. Bironas kicked a 23 yarder and it's 13-7 Broncos in the 4th.

On the next drive Rivers hit WR Vincent Jackson for 20 yards to get into Broncos territory and CB Asante Samuel dropped an INT a few plays later that I would've like to have. I got them to 4th down in field goal range, but a holding penalty was called on them and I took a gamble by accepting it, giving them another chance with a 3rd and 18 at my 39 hoping to keep them out of field goal range, but of course Rivers threw a 24 yard laser beam to Jackson on that play. The next play was a 12 yarder to TE Antonio Gates that got them to my 3. I stuffed LT but called for a facemask, and LT broke a tackle on the next play to put the Chargers up 14-13 with 5:21 left, and my gamble is looking costly now.

The next drive saw Cutler evade a sack and convert a clutch 3rd down pass to Troupe to get us past midfield, and from here I would attempt to wind down the clock and kick a game-winning field goal. Two Buckingham runs got us a 1st down and we headed to the 2:00 warning just outside of field goal range. I continued to feed Buckingham as there was no way I was gonna give it to Turner and let him get tackled for a loss. I faced a 3rd and 3 with 1:28 left, San Diego with a timeout remaining

[Aurabolt127]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

Ugh. That sucks....

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Week 2
vs. San Diego Chargers (1-0)

Spoiler

Chargers depth chart:



Besides WR Isaac Bruce being out, DT Terdell Sands will probably miss two more games, while RT Jordan Gross and TE Daniel Graham will miss this week after going down against Oakland. Brandon Stokley starts in place of Bruce, Ryan Harris starts in place of Gross. Out for the Chargers are HB Musa Smith (74), TE Brandon Manumaleuna (67) and ROLB Kendrell Bell (72), so no one significant.

Round 2 of this game starts with the Chargers winning the toss and receiving. They go 3 and out on the first drive and a WR Jerome Mathis punt return has us starting on the San Diego 41. HB Michael Turner and FB Mike Bell inch my offense up field, but a DT Jamal Williams sack and TE Ben Troupe dropping a pass on 3rd down halts my drive, so K Rob Bironas kicks a 37 yard field goal. 3-0 Broncos.

QB Philips Rivers completes a 20 yarder to WR Chris Chambers on the next drive, and then a 45 yarder to TE Antonio Gates which saw him break a tackle en route to a touchdown. A few plays into my following drive QB Jay Cutler hit Mike Bell for 62 yards on a play action pass for a score, and it's 10-7 Broncos in this back and forth game.

Trading punts into the 2nd quarter, Rivers hit Chambers on a clutch 3rd down pass, but HB Ladainian Tomlinson fumbled on the next play which was recovered by DT Tank Johnson. We'd capitalize on the turnover when Cutler hit Troupe for 65 yards and a score to make it 17-7 Broncos, but on the play we lost C Tom Nalen for the game, so LG Steve Sciullo filled in.

Gates and Chambers carried the Chargers' offense downfield, and a 13 yard LT run got them into the redzone as we hit the 2:00 warning. HB Darren Sproles finished off the drive with a 9 yard TD run. I got the ball with 1:31 left, but 3 straight incompletions including an overthrow on a sure touchdown to Troupe forced me to punt. RG Stacy Andrews also went down on the drive so LG Rich Seubert fills in. SS John Lynch dropped an INT on the first play of their drive, followed by 2:00 offense robo-QBing and a pass interference penalty leading to a Rivers to Gates 18 yard TD. 21-17 Chargers at halftime.

Troupe fumbled on my 2nd half opening drive and the Chargers started on my 39, and Rivers scored with ease a few plays later on a 22 yarder to Gates. I needed to get something going after giving up 3 touchdowns on 3 drives, and Cutler came through by hitting WR Brandon Marshall on a 51 yard catch and run getting us to SD's 5. On 3rd down Cutler punched it in on a sneak to make it 28-24 Chargers.

A few drives later into the 4th quarter CB Champ Bailey dropped what would have been a pick-6, but my defense held on the drive. When I got the ball Cutler was sacked twice in a row, followed by a completion to Marshall that came up short but an FS Eric Weddle facemask bailed me out. A 20 yarder to Marshall got us past midfield, and a few plays later on a 3rd down Cutler missed an open Troupe so I brought out Bironas to kick a 49 yard field goal. 28-27 Chargers with 6:48 left in the game.

My defense held the Chargers on the next drive. When I took the field, I accidentally subbed in my 3rd string team so I had to burn a timeout. Hopefully that won't come back to bite me. Starting at my 46 I attempted to work my way into field goal range and run out the clock in the process. ROLB Shawne Merriman sacked me a few plays in, but then Stokley went big, catching a pass and darting 44 yards upfield for a TD. Mike Bell was stuffed on the 2 point conversion though, so it was 33-28 Broncos with 1:54 left. Not an ideal scenario here, as it allows Rivers and Gates to take the field again and inevitably score on me, and then leave me with little time to respond.

So of course 3 plays into the next drive Gates destroyed FS Eugene Wilson and scored on a 72 TD yard pass. I got to LT on a toss play 2 point conversion attempt however, so it was 34-33 Chargers. Mathis brought the kick return to my 38, and Cutler took the field with 1:21 to go. Cutler completed passes of 13 and 6 yards yards to WR Roydell Williams get us past midfield, but then on the next play he was sacked by LOLB Shaun Phillips, who forced a fumble recovered by MLB Stephen Cooper. Rivers would only have to kneel since I wasted that timeout earlier, which if I had kept could have given me one last chance with a hail mary, but alas, the Chargers win 34-33.

J. Cutler 15-25 343 yds 3 TD 143.8 rtg 1 rush TD 1 fumble
M. Bell 10-36 rush 2-70 1 TD rec
M. Turner 6-20
B. Marshall 3-87
B. Troupe 3-84 1 TD
D. Williams 13 TKL 7 TFL 2 SCK
J. Mayo 5 TKL 3 TFL 1 SCK 1 FF
C. Bailey 7 TKL 4 DEFL
4 Total Sacks
366 yds Offense
2 Turnovers
6 Penalties 43 yds
26:55 TOP

P. Rivers 20-34 364 yds 4 TD 134.8 rtg
L. Tomlinson 28-79 1 fumble
C. Chambers 9-124
A. Gates 5-163 4 TD 1 drop
J. Williams 10 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK 1 DEFL
S. Merriman 7 TKL 4 TFL 4 SCK
S. Phillips 3 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK 1 FF
7 Total Sacks
430 yds Offense
1 Turnover
2 Penalties 25 yards
33:03 TOP

1st, 7:49 DEN FG R.Bironas 37 yd field goal 0-3 DEN
1st, 4:34 SD TD P.Rivers-A.Gates 45 yd pass (N.Kaeding kick) 7-3 SD
1st, 3:12 DEN TD J.Cutler-M.Bell 62 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 7-10 DEN
2nd, 7:36 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Troupe 65 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 7-17 DEN
2nd, 1:38 SD TD D.Sproles 9 yd run (N.Kaeding kick) 14-17 DEN
2nd, :25 SD TD P.Rivers-A.Gates 18 yd pass (N.Kaeding kick) 21-17 SD
3rd, 10:23 SD TD P.Rivers-A.Gates 22 yd pass (N.Kaeding kick) 28-17 SD
3rd, ??? DEN TD J.Cutler 1 yd run (R.Bironas kick) 28-24 SD (didn't record in box score)
4th, 6:48 DEN FG R.Bironas 48 yd field goal 28-27 SD
4th, 1:54 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Stokley 44 yd pass (run failed) 28-33 DEN
4th, 1:26 SD TD P.Rivers-A.Gates 72 yd pass (run failed) 34-33 SD

This one hurts considering I probably would have won the first attempt at this game before my Xbox froze. Rivers had no trouble passing against me, but it's something I have to deal with in year one with the Broncos due to my awful DB coach. And Gates can be pretty unstoppable in this game from what I've experienced, so it was up to me to outscore them and I failed to do so.

After the game the injury report tells me Stacy Andrews will miss a week, Isaac Bruce will miss seven to nine weeks, and Tom Nalen will miss two months. In need of some offensive line help, I cut DT Jason Ferguson (73) and MLB Corbin Watters (77/85) and signed LG Luke Neysmith (72/88) and C Wade Smith (76/78). Watters made my 53 man roster for a reason with his high potential my LB group is pretty crowded with decent players so he found himself odd man out.

Week 2:



For the second week in a row a starter was injured in practice a couple days before the game, as LG Ben Hamilton went down. I had to cut LE Ralph Washington (65/75) who was another guy who could develop into an alright player despite a low overall. With Tim Crowder and Jarvis Moss backing up Elvis Dumervil and Tony Bake, I decided he was expendable and brought LG Qasim Mitchell (71) back. I'll be going into my next game with both starting guards and my center out.

We remain in Denver this week as the Saints come to town, and hopefully Brees doesn't torch us like Rivers did. In previous seasons with the Broncos I've found that this is the game where I can actually run the ball to an extent. Cutler has played as good as I could ask for so far, but I signed Michael Turner for a reason. We'll see if he get's going finally.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Week 3
vs. New Orleans Saints (1-1)

Spoiler

Saints depth chart:



WR Isaac Bruce and C Tom Nalen will be out for a while so I'll stop mentioning them until they come back, but besides them, DT Terdell Sands, RG Shawn Andrews, and LG Ben Hamilton will miss this game. Starting for Hamilton at LG is Rich Seubert, and at RG for Andrews is Steve Sciullo. C Wade Smith will fill in for Nalen for a couple of months. Out for the Saints are DT Hollis Thomas (76), DT Ted Washington (81), C Justin Hartwig (81), WR Terrance Copper (67) and RE Buddy Jackson (71).

Donning my orange crush jerseys this game, I lose the toss and the Saints open up on offense. We force a quick 3 and out which included SS John Lynch dropping and interception. From there QB Jay Cutler completed a few passes to TE Ben Troupe and WR Brandon Marshall as I made my way up field, and Cutler capped off the drive with a 15 yard TD to Troupe. 7-0 Broncos.

Punts were traded until halfway through the 2nd quarter where Cutler threw his first INT of the year right into double coverage as he was picked off by FS Erik Coleman, and the Saints took over at my 28. Luckily I was able to hold them to a field goal. My next drive got us to the 2:00 warning and it saw Cutler complete a 23 yarder to Marshall on a 3rd down. A few plays later WR Brandon Stokley went down for the game, so WR Roydell Williams moved from the slot to the outside. Because I didn't want the Saints to get the ball back and score before the half like the last game, I played conservatively and winded down the clock, to the point where I ran out of time on the drive and had to kick a 41 yard field goal. 10-3 Broncos at the half.

Punts were traded to start the 2nd half until CB Asante Samuel broke the pattern by picking off QB Drew Brees and my offense took the field on the Saints' 43. Cutler hit Troupe for 17 yards on a 3rd down pass, followed by a HB Michael Turner 13 yard run, and then a 13 yard TD pass to Troupe. When Brees took the field again it only took a couple plays for FS Eugene Wilson to pick him off, and 3 plays later it was Cutler to Marshall for an 18 yard TD to put the Broncos up 24-3.

Brees was not impressed with the recent events and stormed his way downfield without missing a throw. With the help of a pass interference penalty on a 3rd down, Brees scored on an 11 yard pass to WR Marques Colston right over CB Champ Bailey via that one handed catch animation. 24-10 Broncos now in the 4th.

FB Mike Bell went down on my next drive, so HB Jamaal Buckingham played FB for the rest of the game. Cutler and Troupe continued their dominance with a few completions including a 20 yarder. A holding penalty nearly halted it, but Cutler didn't care and followed it with a 27 yard TD on a deep post to Marshall. 31-10 Broncos with under 5:00 left.

Samuel nearly had another INT on the next drive which saw Brees continue in his groove, working his way downfield before HB Reggie Bush punched in a 2 yard TD. They managed to recover an onside kick when my players decided to just dance around the ball. A few plays into their drive I got them to a 4th down, but Brees hit TE Ben Hartsock 21 yards downfield to get them to my 6, and then 4 plays later TE Mark Campbell caught a TD to get the Saints within 7.

With 20 seconds left they'd need another onside kick recovery...




...but RT Jordan Gross recovered it. Buckingham got a 1st down, and a few kneels later, Broncos win 31-24.

J. Cutler 18-24 222 yds 4 TD 1 INT 125.4 rtg 1 fumble
M. Turner 20-82
B. Marshall 7-101 2 TD
B. Troupe 8-90 2 TD 1 drop
D. Williams 10 TKL 5 TFL 2 SCK 1 FF
E. Wilson 4 TKL 1 INT 1 DEFL
A. Samuel 6 TKL 1 INT 2 DEFL
D. Bly 4 TKL 1 FF
2 Total Sacks
319 yds Offense
2 Turnovers
4 Penalties 35 yds
40:08 TOP

D. Brees 25-47 231 yds 2 TD 2 INT 63.3 rtg
R. Bush 9-33 1 TD 2 fumbles rush 7-66 rec
M. Campbell 5-48 1 TD 1 drop
J. Nelson 5-21 3 drops
J. Vilma 12 TKL 5 TFL 1 FF
K. Clancy 7 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK 1 FR
R. Morris 6 TKL 1 SCK
E. Coleman 6 TKL 1 INT
4 Total Sacks
259 yds Offense
2 Turnovers
4 Penalties 35 yds
19:50 TOP

1st, 7:16 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Troupe 9 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 0-7 DEN
2nd, 6:52 NO FG J.Hall 41 yd field goal 3-7 NO
2nd, :02 DEN FG R.Bironas 41 yd field goal 3-10 DEN
3rd, 4:09 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Troupe 8 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 3-17 DEN
3rd, 1:56 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Marshall 14 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 3-24 DEN
4th, 11:42 NO TD D.Brees-M.Colston 11 yd pass (J.Hall kick) 10-24 DEN
4th, 4:52 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Marshall 27 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 10-31 DEN
4th, 2:24 NO TD R.Bush 2 yd run (J.Hall kick) 17-31 DEN
4th, :22 NO TD D.Brees-M.Campbell 6 yd pass (J.Hall kick) 24-31 DEN

Cutler leads the league in touchdown passes and QB rating right now. I'm not sure whether it's an anomaly or the Gilbride Old School playbook, but it's not often that my passing game is this good this early. Usually the pedestrian coaching staff and Cutler's 79 throw accuracy (which is already up to 81) leads to a lot of early interceptions and generally shakiness in the passing game, but that hasn't been the case through three games.

Week 3:



Up next the Broncos head to Kansas City to face the Chiefs. I'm looking forward to this one as they play a cover 2 defense, which in this game means running the ball will be the easiest it can be. Maybe Cutler will settle down and let Turner do some of the scoring.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Week 4
@ Kansas City Chiefs (1-2)

Spoiler

Chiefs depth chart



My injury report has cleared up considerably, as besides the two with long term injuries, just LG Ben Hamilton will miss this game. LG Steve Sciullo, who's basically a starter because of how banged up my line always is, fills in. The Chiefs have a bunch of injuries including multiple starters. SS Greg Wesley (76), LG Brian Waters (87), LT Damion McIntosh (78), the recently IR'd HB Larry Johnson (87), RE Quentin Groves (79), TE Jermichael Finley (69) and RE Ebenezer Ekuban (73) will miss this game. Johnson is the Chiefs' bread and butter so I lucked out there.

I won the toss and took the wind to start. Immediately QB Damon Huard hits TE Tony Gonzalez for 35 yards and Chiefs aren't messing around. Luckily my D managed to hold with a DT Marcus Thomas sack on a 3rd down. When I got the ball, it only took a few plays for HB Michael Turner to strike, breaking one off for 51 yards and TD on a run up the middle. 7-0 Broncos early.

On the next drive, CB Asante Samuel went for an INT but forgot to use his hands, but my defense forced a 3 and out. I got the ball back and Turner ran for 14 and 19 yards on back to back plays. A few plays later when HB Xavier Omon got a carry for 10 yards, I had already rushed for 100 with 2:51 left in the 1st quarter. On the first and only pass of the drive, QB Jay Cutler hit WR Brandon Marshall on a post route for 19 yards and a TD. 14-0 Broncos.

Into the 2nd quarter, Huard hit HB Kolby Smith for 20 yards early in the drive, but couldn't get much going after that and had to punt. Turner with no plans of slowing down had an 18 yard run on the drive as he passed 100 on the day. As a team we got our 150th rushing yard before being held to 4th down, so K Rob Bironas booted a 44 yarder. 17-0 Broncos with 6:00 to go in the half.

Back to back sacks stalled the Chiefs' next drive, and we took over at their 46. The drive started with a run that got us to the 30 from Turner that was called back on a RT Jordan Gross clipping penalty. A couple plays later we faced a 3rd and 16 because of it, but Cutler was able to connect with Marshall when he got behind the cover 2 MLB and scored on a 53 yard completion. Somewhere on this drive FB Mike Bell was knocked out of the game though, so HB Jamaal Buckingham fills in. Huard started the next drive taking 2 sacks in a row once again, and when they couldn't convert on 3rd down, it gave me another chance at scoring with 1:18 and a timeout left starting at my 42. 2 plays in Turner picked up 13 on a run, but the game's clock management AI had Cutler attempting to run out the clock rather than hurry up. I accepted it, and called my timeout with a second left, then threw an unsuccessful hail mary. 24-0 Broncos at halftime.

My running game continued it's dominance as I attempted to wind down the clock because of my big lead, as a HB Mike Hart run got us our 200th rushing yard. The drive ended with a 34 yard Bironas field goal as I chewed around 10 minutes of the 3rd quarter. The Chiefs were finally able to get a break when Turner fumbled on my next drive and they started at my 34. A WR Dwayne Bowe 16 yard catch got them to the 12, and few plays later Gonzalez caught a TD pass and Chiefs were finally on the board. 27-7 Broncos now in the 4th.

The Chiefs forced me to punt soon after and like the Saints in the last game, their offense started rolling late. HB Chris Brown ripped off a 26 yarder to get to my 11, followed by a Huard to Bowe TD pass. They couldn't recover the ensuing onside kick, but Bironas missed a 45 yard field goal after so the Chiefs resumed on offense with 1:52 left, not dead yet. Immediately Bowe caught a 14 yarder, and then Asante Samuel decided he wasn't in the mood to tackle and allowed WR Jabar Gaffney to catch a curl and take off for 51 yards for a TD. 27-21 Broncos with 1:30 left and all of the sudden we have a game here.

And then they recovered the onside kick.

The robo-QBing continued as Huard started with a 13 yarder to Bowe, and then they converted 4th downs twice in a row on passes to Kolby Smith and Gonzalez. With 20 seconds left at my 25 yard line, they burned their last timeout and began to call hail marys. CBs Champ Bailey and Asante Samuel dropped interceptions on back to back plays, and on 4th down on the last play of the game, Huard lobbed it up to Bowe who CAUGHT the pass!...












...but he was down at the 2 yard line. Escaping by the skin of our teeth, the Broncos win 27-21.

J. Cutler 4-6 83 yds 2 TD 149.3 rtg
M. Turner 22-173 1 TD 1 fumble
B. Marshall 2-72 2 TD
J. Mayo 9 TKL 6 TFL 4 SCK 1 DEFL
M. Thomas 4 TKL 3 TFL 1 SCK
6 Total Sacks
321 yds Offense
1 Turnover
1 Penalty 15 yds
38:04 TOP

D.Huard 26-37 310 yds 3 TD 122.5 rtg
C. Brown 8-35
D. Bowe 6-88 1 TD
T. Gonzalez 7-75 1 TD
J. Gaffney 2-65 1 TD 1 drop
K. Smith 7-50 1 drop
T. Gooden 10 TKL 2 TFL 1 FF
T. Hali 7 TKL 1 FR
320 yds Offense
1 Penalty 5 yds
21:56 TOP

1st, 7:59 DEN TD M.Turner 51 yd rush (R.Bironas kick) 7-0 DEN
1st, :40 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Marshall 19 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 14-0 DEN
1st, 6:01 DEN FG R.Bironas 44 yd field goal 17-0 DEN
1st, 1:52 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Marshall 53 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 24-0 DEN
3rd, 4:50 DEN FG R.Bironas 34 yd field goal 27-0 DEN
4th, 14:45 KC TD D.Huard-T.Gonzalez 5 yd pass (M.Andersen kick) 27-7 DEN
4th, 3:15 KC TD D.Huard-D.Bowe 11 yd pass (M.Andersen kick) 27-14 DEN
4th, 1:30 KC TD D.Huard-J.Gaffney 51 yd pass (M.Andersen kicK) 27-21 DEN

The first three quarters of this game were very satisfying. The last was not. After a second week in a row of allowing the robo-QB to destroy my defense, I hope this doesn't become a habit because one of these times I'll lose because of it.

Week 4:



A look at the standings through a quarter of the season:

AFC North
Steelers 3-1
Bengals 3-1
Ravens 2-2
Browns 0-4

AFC South
Colts 3-0
Jaguars 2-2
Texans 2-2
Titans 2-2

AFC East
Patriots 3-0
Dolphins 2-1
Bills 1-3
Jets 0-4

AFC West
Chargers 4-0
Broncos 3-1
Raiders 1-3
Chiefs 1-3

NFC North
Packers 3-1
Lions 2-1
Bears 1-3
Vikings 1-3

NFC South
Buccaneers 3-1
Saints 2-2
Falcons 1-3
Panthers 0-4

NFC East
Eagles 4-0
Giants 2-1
Redskins 2-2
Cowboys 2-2

NFC West
Seahawks 3-0
Cardinals 2-2
Rams 1-3
49ers 0-4

Next week we go back to Denver to host the Head Coach 09 juggernaut Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Out of the games remaining on my schedule this easily one of the toughest, maybe only under the Patriots and equal to the Chargers. When I play the Bucs I can never assume how the game will turn out, so we'll just have to wait and see...

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Week 5
vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1)

Spoiler

Buccaneers depth chart:



My only injuries for this game are Nalen and Bruce who are still out for a while. Out for the Bucs are LT Luke Petitgout (81), LOLB Ryan Nece (74), DT Anthony McFarland (70), WR Ike Hilliard (79) and DT Glenn Dorsey (87).

The Bucs pinned me at my own 1 after punting on their 2nd drive, but FB Mike Bell took a fullback dive for 14 yards to give me some breathing room. QB Jay Cutler to WR Brandon Marshall carried my drive until the Bucs defense held, so K Rob Bironas kicked a 45 yard field goal to give us the lead. Broncos 3-0 in the 2nd quarter.

A LE Antwan Odom facemask penalty got my next drive to the 50 yard line, and then a HB Michael Turner run that got the 37 ended when he coughed up the ball and RE Gaines Adams recovered. HB Shaun Alexander had a 14 yard run on the drive called back on a C Jeff Faine holding penalty, and on the next play CB Asante Samuel intercepted QB Jeff Garcia and took it to the house. 10-0 Broncos.

The Bucs started their next drive hot when Garcia hit WR Joey Galloway for 28 yards, and then a few plays later Garcia scrambled for 14 yards on a 3rd down to get into Broncos territory. They converted a 3rd and 13 on a WR Maurice Stovall 18 yard gain, and now the Bucs are playing to their strengths. From my experience playing them, they love to take advantage of the bad CB-WR interaction AI in this game where defenders are basically useless unless they are behind the receiver and can bat the ball down. Speak of the devil, TE Alge Crumpler hit the unstoppable one handed catch animation on a 15 yard TD catch. On my next drive, because of what I just alluded to as well a robo-QBing, I played conservative going into the half by trying to run out the clock, but all for naught when Cutler threw a pick to CB Ronde Barber. Starting at my 49 with 23 seconds to go, Garcia was able to Stovall for 18 yards, followed by a 16 yarder to Galloway, both passes right over the heads of my elite secondary. After a K Matt Bryant 31 yard field goal, it was a 10-10 tie at halftime. I dominated the half save for the last 3 minutes, and the passing AI nixed that and now it's a tie game, just what I needed against a team as good as Tampa Bay.

My 2nd half opening drive started sour due to penalties and a long dropped pass by WR Roydell Williams, but Brandon Marshall went big with a 30 yard catch on a 3rd and 17. The Bucs denfese held after WR Brandon Stokley dropped a pass of his own, but Bironas nailed a 51 yarder. 13-10 Broncos. (Stokley left the game a few drives later, so Williams moved outside).

After trading punts, Garcia began to take advantage of how easy it is for him to pass, hitting Stovall for 15 yards on a 3rd down, and then a 16 yarder. On a 3rd and 14 Crumpler caught a 17 yarder, and at this point there's no reason for them to run because their passing game is flawless as long as they go deep. A couple of plays later Galloway caught an 18 yarder as I scheduled the firing of my DB coach after the season, but somehow Shaun Alexander fumbled the ball inches away from the endzone on a run, and DT Tank Johnson recovered as we entered the 4th quarter.

Facing a 3rd down on my next drive, TE Ben Troupe caught a 20 yarder as things continued to go my way. A few plays later Roydell Williams caught a 14 yarder to get us past midfield, and then followed up with a 12 yarder on a 3rd down play action pass. My offense came through again on the next 3rd down when a Cutler scramble got us to the Tampa Bay 12. Some Mike Bell runs got us to the 2:00 warning, as well as the 2 yard line. 2 plays later on a fullback dive, HB Jamaal Buckingham got what hopefully would be the game winning score. 20-10 Broncos.

With 1:54 left, the Buccaneers had ample time to work some magic and finish what the Saints and Chiefs in the last 2 games tried to start. Following a 17 yarder to Crumpler, LOLB Jerod Mayo got to Garcia on a 3rd down, but Stovall was able to convert on a 13 yarder right after. They were taking a long time to gain yards after MLB D.J. Williams sacked Garcia on a failed fake spike play as the clock ticked under 30 seconds. A 28 yard pass to WR Michael Clayton furthered the drive, but at this point the clock was under 10 seconds. A hail mary attempt failed as time expired, and the Broncos win 20-10.

J. Cutler 10-13 140 yds 1 INT 79 rtg
M. Turner 19-58 1 fumble
M. Bell 8-48
B. Marshall 4-70
E. Wilson 9 TKL 1 DEFL
D. Williams 8 TKL 4 TFL 1 SCK 1 FF
A. Samuel 2 TKL 1 INT 1 DTD
4 Total Sacks
260 yds Offense
2 Turnovers
1 Penalty 10 yds
36:20 TOP

J. Garcia 20-31 257 yds 1 TD 1 INT 87.7 rtg
S. Alexander 16-28 1 fumble
M. Stovall 6-82 3 drops
C. June 11 TKL 3 TFL
B. Ruud 10 TKL 3 TFL
R. Barber 1 INT
J. Phillips 6 TKL 1 DEFL 1 FF
G. Adams 4 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK 1 FR
2 Total Sacks
285 yds Offense
2 Turnovers
3 Penalties 35 yds
23:34 TOP

2nd, 13:04 DEN FG R.Bironas 45 yd field goal 0-3 DEN
2nd, 8:39 DEN TD A.Samuel 50 yd INT return (R.Bironas kick) 0-10 DEN
2nd, 2:44 TB TD J.Garcia-A.Crumpler 15 yd pass (M.Bryant kick) 7-10 DEN
2nd, :01 TB FG M.Bryant 30 yd field goal 10-10 TIE
3rd, 8:13 DEN FG R.Bironas 50 yd field goal 10-13 DEN
4th, 1:55 DEN TD J.Buckingham 2 yd run (R.Bironas kick) 10-20 DEN

My defense and special teams definitely came through in a big way this game, making plays that I'm not sure my offense could have made. Asante Samuel's touchdown and Shaun Alexander fumbling practically in the endzone, plus Bironas kicking two long field goals made up for my offense which until my last drive of the game wasn't doing much.

The injury report tells me Brandon Stokley will miss the next game, so LG Qasim Mitchell (71) finds himself cut again, and in his place I signed WR Bryant Johnson (71/72).

Week 5:



Rivers threw three TDs and Nate Kaeding kicked a 53 yard field goal in the fourth quarter to force OT in a comeback win against the Dolphins to remain undefeated.

I ended up not needing to sign Johnson and cut Mitchell, as WR Isaac Bruce got the miraculous recovery game changer and of course after that, LG Ben Hamilton went down in practice with a dislocated finger and will miss the next game. I still have eight healthy lineman so I don't need to reverse those transactions yet at least. DT Terdell Sands also went down a few days before the next gameday.

Re-signings are now possible, so some notable ones around the league:

Titans RT David Stewart
Colts CB Kelvin Hayden
Jaguars MLB Mike Peterson
Raiders CB Nnamdi Asomugha
Falcons LOLB Michael Boley
Ravens MLB Ray Lewis
Chargers C Nick Hardwick
Bears C Olin Kreutz
Jaguars QB David Garrard
Rams HB Steven Jackson

We remain in Denver this week to host the Jacksonville Jaguars. This one won't be easy as they have a pretty tough defense and they love taking advantage of you with the deadly play action pass in this game. The Chargers keep on winning, so I must as well in order to keep up with them and win the division.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Week 6
vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2)

Spoiler

Jaguars depth chart:



WR Brandon Stokley, DT Terdell Sands and LG Ben Hamilton miss this week for me. WR Isaac Bruce returns to the starting lineup and LG Steve Sciullo starts for Hamilton as he's used to doing at this point. Out for the Jaguars are QB Todd Bouman (65) and RE Reggie Hayward (74).

20 MPH winds for this game in Denver, and it starts off in ridiculous fashion. On the first play of the game, HB Maurice Jones-Drew takes a handoff on a stretch play while my entire defense stands still for a few seconds, for 80 yards and a score so we're losing immediately. WR Devery Henderson takes the ensuing kickoff to my 49, but then HB Michael Turner fumbles on my first play and the Jags recover. Then, on the very next play, MJD fumbles it right back, recovered by LE Tony Bake and we start in Jags' territory. WR Brandon Marshall catches a 21 yarder to get us going. C Wade Smith gets injured and is replaced by LG Rich Seubert, but Turner was able to cap off the drive with a 2 yard TD. 7-7 in the 1st.

QB Jay Cutler ripped off a 14 yard scramble on a 3rd down on my next drive. I reached a 4th and 1 at the Jags' 30 but with the harsh winds I didn't want to risk missing a field goal, so I called a QB sneak which converted. WR Roydell Williams caught a 14 yarder on the next 3rd down, and then Cutler finished the drive hitting TE Ben Troupe on a 3rd and 3 play action pass. Broncos up 14-7 in the 2nd.

After some punt trading, my D made a big play as Garrard was hit while he threw and CB Dre' Bly capitalized, picking it off. Starting in Jags territory, FB Mike Bell picked up most of the yards on the drive en route to scoring on a 2 yard TD. 21-7 Broncos at the end of the half, and I'm having a lot more success on offense then I usually do against the Jags.

Into the 2nd half, I had to punt on my opening drive, and when the Jags got the ball MJD fumbled once again but they were able to recover it. Garrard hit WR Reggie Williams on a 19 yard streak to get into my territory. Jones-Drew took a run for 13 yards a few plays later, and WR Matt Jones capped the drive catching a 15 yarder, breaking 2 tackles on play action pass. Cutler had another 3rd down 14 yard scramble on my next drive, and connected with Troupe for 23 yads to get us into the redzone, but the Jags D held from there, so K Rob Bironas kicked a 24-14 Broncos lead as we headed to the 4th quarter.

Garrard and his offense took the field and Jones caught a 21 yarder early, but from there a MLB D.J. Williams sack and stereo CB Champ Bailey and Asante Samuel dropped INTs halted their drive, the latter being on a 4th and 10 despite being in field goal range, which was quite a questionable playcall. I capitalized on a drive carried by Marshall and Isaac Bruce (who caught a 25 yarder along the way), although Seubert went down and rookie LG Luke Neysmith had to fill in at center. I called a bootleg play action pass on a 3rd and goal, and with 3 open targets on the right side of the field, Cutler decided to throw to the only guy who wasn't open and the pass was incomplete. So Bironas kicks a field goal, and it's 27-14 Broncos with 3:26 to go.

The game was far from over as the games against Chiefs and Saints have shown this season, but Garrard fumbling on a scramble on the next drive, recovered by Samuel wouldn't help matters. Their defense held, but when they got another chance they went 4 and out. Cutler would kneel, and the Broncos win 27-14.

J. Cutler 10-19 134 yds 1 TD 92.8 rtg (6-30 rush)
M. Turner 22-66 1 TD 1 fumble
M. Bell 19-62 1 TD
B. Troupe 4-45 1 TD 1 drop
D. Williams 4 TKL 2 TFL 2 SCK
D. Bly 3 TKL 1 INT
J. Lynch 6 TKL 1 FF
T. Bake 4 TKL 2 TFL 1 FF 1 FR
4 Total Sacks
278 yds Offense
1 Turnover
43:18 TOP

D. Garrard 14-27 155 yds 1 TD 1 INT 66.1 rtg 1 fumble
M. Jones-Drew 10-107 1 TD 2 fumbles
M. Jones 5-61 1 TD
M. Peterson 12 TKL 2 TFL 1 FF
C. Ingram 11 TKL 4 TFL 1 SCK
2 Total Sacks
250 yds Offense
3 Turnovers
16:37 TOP

1st, 14:53 JAX TD M.Jones-Drew 80 yd run (J.Scobee kick) 7-0 JAX
1st, 8:44 DEN TD M.Turner 2 yd run (R.Bironas kick) 7-7 TIE
2nd, 9:07 DEN TD J.Cutler-B.Troupe 3 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 7-14 DEN
2nd, :25 DEN TD M.Bell 2 yd run (R.Bironas kick) 7-21
3rd, 9:06 JAX TD D.Garrard-M.Jones 15 yd pass (J.Scobee kick) 14-21 DEN
3rd, :33 DEN FG R.Bironas 21 yd field goal 14-24 DEN
4th, 3:26 DEN FG R.Bironas 20 yd field goal 14-27 DEN

Not much to say about this game, my team did well in all facets of play, which I'm going to need more of for the next one, my toughest of the season.

Looking at the injury report, C Wade Smith will miss the next game so in need of a center, I cut WR Bryant Johnson (67/69) who for whatever reason saw his overall take a dip since signing with me, and signed C P.J. Alexander (75).

Week 6:



The Bears scored all their points in the second half and OT to win.

I was able to re-sign FB Mike Bell (71) for 2 years/$780k. Other notable ones around the league:

Seahawks LOLB Leroy Hill
Texans CB Dunta Robinson
Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez
Chargers RG Mike Goff
Giants LE Michael Strahan
Bears WR Bernard Berrian
Saints RE Will Smith
Raiders RT Mark Wilson
Vikings C Matt Birk
Saints RG Jahri Evans

This week the Broncos play on Monday Night Football in their biggest game of the season: at the New England Patriots. They're 5-0 and Brady is playing as well as ever so we're certainly not the favourites going in. I'm gonna have to pull out all the stops to win this one.

[JG80]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

Really enjoying this.


Sent from Nawlins.

[phenomenal_waffles]

Re: Denver Broncos (NFL Head Coach 09)

2008 - Weeks 7 & 8
@ New England Patriots (5-0) (MNF)

Spoiler

If there's a team that has the Patriots' number, it would be the Denver Broncos. In their 2001 Super Bowl season, they lost 31-20 at Mile High. In 02 it was a 24-16 loss in Foxborough. Brady's only success against the Broncos was the intentional safety game, a Monday Night Football 30-26 win in Denver. Since then, it's been all Broncos, two wins the 05 season with scores of 28-20 and 27-13 (Brady's only playoff loss) both in Denver, and most recently in Foxborough, a 17-7 win on Sunday Night Football in the 06 season. Of course, none of these games had me as the head coach or Jay Cutler as the quarterback. They were also before the Patriots had the offense that they do now. Regardless, it's the 5-1 Broncos vs. the 5-0 Patriots in the bright lights of primetime, in a game that will have big implications on who's who in the AFC.

Patriots depth chart:



My center position is down to a 3rd stringer starting with Wade Smith out, while the Patriots' MLBs are banged up with Adalius Thomas (92), Junior Seau (85) and Tedy Bruschi (88) out.

The Patriots won the toss and elected to kick. A LT Damien Woody clipping penalty had us facing a 2nd and 17, but QB Jay Cutler completed an 18 yarder to WR Brandon Marshall on the next play. Cutler decided to try and audible a few plays later resulting in a delay of game and a 2nd and 16 and the drive stalled soon after. 2 penalties on my 1st drive are not what I need against the best team in the league. Luckily QB Tom Brady threw 3 straight incompletions after, the latter being a dropped INT from FS Eugene Wilson. I should note that I'm playing this game a lot differently than others, playing a lot of press coverage on defense to counter how good the Patriots are at passing, and on offense I'm taking a while to call plays to try and limit the time Brady has with the ball. LOLB Mike Vrabel sacked Cutler on my following drive, but Cutler came through on a 3rd down hitting WR Brandon Stokley for 14. We were able to work our way to the Patriots' 24, and on a drive where Cutler had been throwing to Marshall consistently, Cutler decided to change it up despite his top target being open, throwing a pass right into the hands of CB Ellis Hobbs who returned it for a touchdown. 7-0 Patriots in the 2nd quarter.

WR Jerome Mathis took the ensuing kickoff to the Patriots 41, but then FB Mike Bell fumbled on the next play, recovered by CB Domonique Cromartie. Turnovers on back to back plays, again just what I need against Tom Brady. A few plays later, Brady hit TE Benjamin Watson, who broke a tackle and ran 48 yards for a TD. 14-0 Patriots.

We traded punts as sacks continuously ruined my drives. Backed up on his own 13, Brady threw a pass right to Wilson who once again dropped a pick, this one would have easily been for a TD. We're not seizing opportunities and we're wasting away our own so far. Again they punted however, and when I got the ball back, we reached the 50 yard line at the 2:00 warning. TE Ben Troupe caught a 15 yarder, and a few plays later it was Marshall who caught one for 16 as we got to the redzone. A Cutler scramble got us to the 3 yard line, and then he followed it up with a TD pass to HB Jamaal Buckingham to give us some momentum going into halftime. 14-7 Patriots.

Brady converted a 3rd down to WR Arman Shields for 16 yards on their 2nd half opening drive. A few plays later CB Champ Bailey had a floater go right to him but he didn't react to it. My defense was able to hold from there though. C P.J. Alexander went down on the last drive of the 2nd half, so down 3 centers, ol' reliable LG Steve Sciullo fills in when my offense takes the field. Sacks looked like they were gonna kill my drive again, but then on a miraculous 3rd and 17, Cutler bombed it to Marshall way downfield on a deep post who made the catch over his coverage for 44 yards into NE territory. Marshall caught another one on the drive, and Cutler capped it off on a 4 yd TD pass to HB Mike Hart, and the game was tied 14-14 late in the 3rd.

My defense looked like it was gonna hold the Patriots once again on the next drive, but on a 3rd and 9 Brady completed a 23 yarder to WR Daquan McDaniels as they entered Broncos territory, then a few plays later Watson caught one for 17. The drive was finished when Brady found an unconvered WR Malcom Kelly for a 14 yard TD. 21-14 Patriots in the 4th.

With time winding down it was almost necessary for me to score on my next drive. HB Michael Turner who was getting nothing all game had a couple of decent runs on the drive, and Buckingham caught a 16 yarder on a streak out of the backfield to get to the NE 31. A Cutler scramble and runs from Buckingham and Hart had as at 3rd and inches at the 2:00 warning, converted on a QB sneak that got us to the 4 yard line. 2 plays later, Mike Hart scored a game tying 1 yard TD with 36 seconds left. The Patriots would run out the rest of the 4th quarter, and it was 21-21 at the end of regulation.

On to overtime, the Patriots won the toss and Brady started off with a couple short completions followed by a 10 yarder to Watson on 3rd down. WR Wes Welker then dropped the next pass attempt, and then Shields caught a 7 yarder. On 3rd and 3, they called a run play and HB Laurence Maroney was stuffed for a loss of 2, so we would get our chance.

Our drive started off with Cutler throwing a pass right into the hands of Mike Vrabel, who luckily dropped it. Buckingham then got back to back carries, but on the 2nd one did the classic run parallel to the line of scrimmage even though you could easily just reach your arm over and get a 1st down on a 3rd and 2, and was tackled short. I got the go for it defining moment, but I decided to trust my defense and punt the ball. Champ Bailey was called for a pass interference on the 1st play of their drive, followed by WR Randy Moss bailing me out by dropping a rocket catch way downfield. Maroney was stuffed on the next play, and then Brady overthrew Welker on a deep pass, so we lucked out again and got the ball back.

Cutler started off with a dart to Stokley for 18 yards, but then Turner was stuffed on a toss for a horrible loss of 6 yards. Troupe then came through catching a 15 yarder, and facing a 3rd and 1, a QB sneak converted and got us just outside of field goal range. A couple of runs later got us to a 3rd and 6 at the NE 37, and I faced an interesting playcall. Try a pass and risk an incompletion and be outside of field goal range, or call another run in hopes of at least inching closer and making a long field goal try a bit shorter. I also wasn't sure where the wind was blowing because in the coin toss screen in OT, it doesn't show you the wind. I decided to call a play action pass, and when I needed him the most, Cutler completed the pass to Stokley for 11 yards. A false start penalty backed us up on the next play, and then I lost 2 yards on a Turner run, which would be his last carry as I wasn't in the mood for getting tackled behind the line, not at this moment of the game. The next two plays were FB dives to Mike Hart, my back with the best carry rating as there was no way I was fumbling here, and I called a timeout with 3 seconds left at the 25 yard line.

I brought out K Rob Bironas for a walk-off 42 yarder. The snap was good, the kick was up, but those mystery winds directed it wide right as it grazed the goal post...

















and was good. Broncos win 24-21.

J. Cutler 17-22 225 yds 2 TD 1 INT 120.4 rtg (5-34 rush)
J. Buckingham 10-50 rush 2-19 1 TD rec
M. Turner 12-4
B. Marshall 7-121
J. Lynch 7 TKL
J. Mayo 4 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK
1 Total Sack
325 yds Offense
2 Turnovers
4 Penalties 31 yds
53:25 TOP

T. Brady 17-32 180 yds 2 TD 90.6 rtg
K. Faulk 1-9
L. Maroney 7-5
B. Watson 4-85 1 TD 1 drop
R. Harrison 11 TKL 3 TFL
J. Sanders 11 TKL
M. Vrabel 6 TKL 3 TFL 2 SCK 2 DEFL
E. Hobbs 2 TKL 1 INT 1 DTD
T. Warren 6 TKL 1 TFL 1 SCK 1 1FF
5 Total Sacks
187 yds Offense
21:33 TOP

1st, :00 NE TD E.Hobbs 82 yd INT return (J.Hanson kick) 0-7 NE
2nd, 12:53 NE TD T.Brady-B.Watson 48 yd pass (J.Hanson kick) 0-14 NE
2nd, :19 DEN TD J.Cutler-J.Buckingham 3 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 7-14 NE
3rd, :44 DEN TD J.Cutler-M.Hart 4 yd pass (R.Bironas kick) 14-14 TIE
4th, 10:44 NE TD T.Brady-M.Kelly 13 yd pass (J.Hanson kick) 14-21 NE
4th, :36 DEN TD M.Hart 1 yd run (R.Bironas kick) 21-21 TIE
OT, :00 DEN FG R.Bironas 42 yd field goal 24-21 DEN

The Broncos deal the Patriots their first regular season loss since December 10th, 2006 in quite a unique game. 187 total yards from the New England Patriots is unreal, Moss and Welker combined for three catches and thirteen yards. No turnovers on their part yet I committed two. No penalties for them either and I had four. The score could have easily been reversed and it came down to the very last possible second, but my offense made plays when they were needed the most on that last drive. Tom Brady moves to 1-6 all time against Denver.

I get the injury alert that P.J. Alexander cracked a bone in his leg and will miss five to six weeks, but luckily Wade Smith will be back for the next game.

Week 7:



Tyler Palko was starting for the injured Drew Brees, as well as their injured backup Brian St. Pierre, and threw four picks. The Panthers scored the last thirteen points of the game, the last touchdown being a Panthers interception return.

P Michael Koenen (82/86) re-signed with me this week for 2 yrs/$1.4M

Week 8 (Bye week):



21-0 for the Chargers in the second half to beat St. Pierre's Saints. There was no Sunday night game because of baseball playoffs.

This week I re-signed HB Jamaal Buckingham (69/88) for 2 yrs/$780k, WR Devery Henderon (66/74) for 2 yrs/$800k and TE Bryan Fletcher (65/67) for 2 yrs/$800k.

Major re-signings around the league:

Eagles FS Brian Dawkins
Ravens ROLB Terrell Suggs
Jaguars C Brad Meester
Bengals RE Justin Smith
Bears FS Mike Brown
Jets SS Kerry Rhodes
Steelers LT Marvel Smith
Vikings SS Darren Sharper
Cowboys LT Flozell Adams
Cowboys MLB Zach Thomas
Giants HB Brandon Jacobs

For my next game, the Brian Brohm-lead Miami Dolphins come to Denver, hoping to catch the Broncos off guard after an emotional five quarter long game in New England.