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twothree · 09-11-2008, 01:07 AM

I just won 27-24 playing as the Vikings hosting the Colts in week 2 of a test career in which I am playing out each game. No sim or super-sim.

I started the career in the off-season as the Vikings and one of the goals given to me was to sign an 85+ overall tight end to my team. Since this is a test career while waiting for the patch, I ended up trading my 1st and 2nd round picks in 2009 for the Colts tight end Dallas Clark. This was a terrible trade for me in terms of value, but I was mortgaging the future since I wasn’t planning to play more than one season. Yet, the trade may have made the difference in my week two game against the Colts.

I went 2-2 in the preseason and got destroyed by the Cowboys 56-14 in the very last preseason game. My owner said he wanted to make the playoffs, I promised him a season of misery with the Vikings ending up under .500. He wasn’t very happy. I managed to win my first game at Green Bay against a team that had Daunte Culpepper in at QB. I guess in this universe the Packers gave him enough money and a chance to compete for the starting spot, so he didn’t retire. I got a two touchdown lead in the first half by exploiting their secondary on almost every down, and barely held on for the win, but that’s another story.

The story I would like to tell is about a monster game in which the Colts put up 568 yards of total offense in a losing effort against my 296 yards of total offense. Peyton Manning destroyed my secondary. Destroyed. He went 24 for 37 for 428 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception for a QB rating of 120.0. I saw him connect with Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison deep down the middle of the field time and time again. According to one of the stats tracked by the game, Manning only threw into coverage 10% of the time and he never threw into double coverage. His receivers were almost always open.

Then there was RB Joseph Addai, who gained 144 yards on 20 attempts (7.2 average). Addai had 8 broken tackles and gained 97 of those yards after contact. The Colts had one series late in the third quarter with my team up 20-17 where they gave Addai the ball 6 plays in a row and he just carried my defenders on his back while he marched his team down the field. However, the 7th time in a row was not so lucky for the Colts, because this time while he was stood up, someone on my defense stripped him of the ball.

And that is what won this game, turnovers. With the last key turnover being early in the fourth quarter with the score still 20-17. The gameplan I practiced before this match-up focused heavily against the pass, and I had one boost to a zone pass defense play left, which I used. The result, SS Darren Sharper picked off a redzone pass in the endzone to one of the Colts tight ends and returned it 103 yards for the winning touchdown. If Dallas Clark had been there, he would have been just another uncovered receiver catching a touchdown pass from Manning. Clark also ended up catching a key 3rd and 10 pass for me for a first down that let the clock run out for the victory.

Fun game. Now onto week 3.

09-11-2008, 01:07 AM	#489
twothree College Prospect Join Date: May 2005	I just won 27-24 playing as the Vikings hosting the Colts in week 2 of a test career in which I am playing out each game. No sim or super-sim. I started the career in the off-season as the Vikings and one of the goals given to me was to sign an 85+ overall tight end to my team. Since this is a test career while waiting for the patch, I ended up trading my 1st and 2nd round picks in 2009 for the Colts tight end Dallas Clark. This was a terrible trade for me in terms of value, but I was mortgaging the future since I wasn’t planning to play more than one season. Yet, the trade may have made the difference in my week two game against the Colts. I went 2-2 in the preseason and got destroyed by the Cowboys 56-14 in the very last preseason game. My owner said he wanted to make the playoffs, I promised him a season of misery with the Vikings ending up under .500. He wasn’t very happy. I managed to win my first game at Green Bay against a team that had Daunte Culpepper in at QB. I guess in this universe the Packers gave him enough money and a chance to compete for the starting spot, so he didn’t retire. I got a two touchdown lead in the first half by exploiting their secondary on almost every down, and barely held on for the win, but that’s another story. The story I would like to tell is about a monster game in which the Colts put up 568 yards of total offense in a losing effort against my 296 yards of total offense. Peyton Manning destroyed my secondary. Destroyed. He went 24 for 37 for 428 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception for a QB rating of 120.0. I saw him connect with Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison deep down the middle of the field time and time again. According to one of the stats tracked by the game, Manning only threw into coverage 10% of the time and he never threw into double coverage. His receivers were almost always open. Then there was RB Joseph Addai, who gained 144 yards on 20 attempts (7.2 average). Addai had 8 broken tackles and gained 97 of those yards after contact. The Colts had one series late in the third quarter with my team up 20-17 where they gave Addai the ball 6 plays in a row and he just carried my defenders on his back while he marched his team down the field. However, the 7th time in a row was not so lucky for the Colts, because this time while he was stood up, someone on my defense stripped him of the ball. And that is what won this game, turnovers. With the last key turnover being early in the fourth quarter with the score still 20-17. The gameplan I practiced before this match-up focused heavily against the pass, and I had one boost to a zone pass defense play left, which I used. The result, SS Darren Sharper picked off a redzone pass in the endzone to one of the Colts tight ends and returned it 103 yards for the winning touchdown. If Dallas Clark had been there, he would have been just another uncovered receiver catching a touchdown pass from Manning. Clark also ended up catching a key 3rd and 10 pass for me for a first down that let the clock run out for the victory. Fun game. Now onto week 3.