WLC Richmond Confederates

[FishFan]

2017 Richmond Confederates

I began the season, of course, with the Expansion Draft. My Confederates will be ready for war come the beginning of the 2017 Regular Season.

Draft Results

RB Ed Prill, Indianapolis
S Tommy Perry, Colorado
FB Leo Compton, Cincinnati
LB Kerry O'Neal, Green Bay
WR Tim Kippen, St. Louis
T Juan Mason, Minnesota
C Kenyon Edmond, Denver
G Floyd Mayes, San Diego
P Zach Reid, Chicago
DT Mark McClendon, Arizona
DE Toby Westfall, Denver
K Junior Peterson, New York Jets
CB Rod Clouse, New England
QB Grant Judd, Indianapolis
TE Joe Wiegert, Pittsburgh
T Les Howe, Seattle
LB Kahil Vanderclute, Pittsburgh
DE Xavier Townes, New England
TE Jared Myers, New England
LB Gene Koplitz, St. Louis
WR Tommy Canady, Tampa Bay
S Josh Arnold, Dallas
C Scott Newton, Washington
RB Dale Becker, St. Louis
DE Edwin Bishop, Dallas

Not much to discuss here. I basically picked up some roster fillers, althought the defensive backs are not all that bad. I also have a capable FB and TE in Leo Compton and Jared Myers.

2017 Free Agent Period

Just one free agent in the first 10 weeks, huh? Interesting. I throw an offer out ti QB Randal Nelson, who played briefly for the New York Jets back in 2014. My initial offer is for five years, 70.25 mil. He signs right away, leaving my idle for the next ten weeks. In week 10, I offer WR Joseph Dodge a four year, 37.5 mil contract, T Zach Newsome a 16.5 mil, 3 year deal, and C Everett Mahoney a three year, 4.0 mil contract. Dodge comes on board in week 11, Newsome in week 13, and Mahoney in week 14. Mahoney's acceptance ends my activity for this year's FA period.

On to the Amateur Draft....

2017 Amateur Draft

This year's draft is low on defensive talent, especially linemen. So, I draft a OT with my #1 overall pick. Marvin Winters, pending his performance in Training Camp, will anchor the Confederate line for years to come.

Draft Results

T Marvin Winters, Tennessee St. (58/93)
CB Bryce Singleton, Texas (29/61)
RB Irving Witt, Michigan St. (53/70)
DE Ralph Strickland, Texas Christian (29/40)
LB Antonio Grbac, Oregon St. (24/70)
S Donny Guibeaux, Eastern Michigan (24/29)
CB Sedrick Ellison, Michigan St. (23/39)

Overall, a pretty shitty darft. Winters and Witt can be impact players if they make it through Training Camp. Time to fill my roster out with 1 year contracts:

QB Too Tall Greer
RB KC Bauer
FB Sean Singleton
WR Erik Rogers
WR Irving Brennan
WR Heath Evans
T Rex Maurer
G Dave Blackburn
G Pat Wallace
DE Dwight Granata
DT Ernest Arnold
DT Roger Harris
LB Juan Nguyen
LB Terrell Francisco
LB Melvin Manke
CB Wesley Bush
S Joseph Burhart

In financial news, we sell 62,900 season tickets which should lead to a profitable year. We finished up all of our personnel transactions with 58,560,000 under the cap. I should be okay there for years to come.

We go into preseason with the following starting lineups:

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Leo Compton
TE Joe Wiegert
WR Joseph Dodge
WR Erik Rogers
LT Rex Maurer
LG Zack Newsome
C Everret Mahoney
RG Floyd Mayes
RT Marvin Winters

K Junior Peterson
P Zach Reid
KR Tim Kippen

DE Ralph Strickland
DT Mark McClendon
DT Toby Westfall
DE Dwight Granata
LB Kahil Vanderclute
LB Kerry O'Neal
LB Juan Nguyen
CB Bryce Singleton
CB Rod Clouse
FS Tommy Perry
SS Josh Arnold

Defensively, we are pathetic. I will focus on that portion of the team in next year's FA period and draft. I think I have a team that can compete this season, but not a serious contender. The offensive tools are there.

2017 Exhibition Season

We are whalloped in our first exhibition game in franchise history - at the hands of the Green Bay Packers. We improve greatly in the next game, but still lose 23-17. We find ourselves on the wrong end of another shutout, this time at Baltimore. LB Juan Nguyen suffers a sprained neck and will most of the regular season. Gene Koplitz steps into his starting role. In the final exhibition game, we put the hurt on the Titans to walk away with our first win, albeit an exhibition, in franchise history.

2017 Regular Season

Week 1 vs Minnesota(W21-20, 1-0)
Week 2 vs New England(L19-20, 1-1)
Week 3 vs Philadelphia(L14-20, 1-2)
Week 4 at NY Giants(W31-21, 2-2)
Week 5 vs Washington(W31-17, 3-2)
Week 6 vs Carolina(L24-27, 3-3)
Week 7 vs NY Giants(L27-30, 3-4)
Week 8 at Miami(L17-30, 3-5)
Week 9 vs Arizona(L9-34, 3-6)
Week 11 at Philadelphia(W20-17, 4-6)
Week 12 at Dallas(L21-31, 4-7)
Week 13 at Arizona(L14-27, 4-8)
Week 14 at Greensboro(W24-23, 5-8)
Week 15 vs Dallas(L13-38, 5-9)
Week 16 at Manchester(L3-31, 5-10)
Week 17 at Washington(L7-26, 5-11)

Total Season(295-412, 5-11)

In the season opener, the franchise's first official game in history, the Confederates find themselves down 20-0 well into the 3rd quarter. But Randal Nelson does his best Dan Marino imitation and leads Richmond on three drives, all resulting in TD passes. The last one came with 1:18 left and gave the Confederates a 21-20 win. Not a bad start! But, in our second game, we are on the other end of a game winning drive as the Patriots nip the Confederates, 20-19.

We lose one before improving to 3-2 and a half game out of the division lead. A 27-24 setback against Carolina drops us to 3-3. Two more losses send us reeling to 3-5 and looking for answers at the midway point. We've lost everyone and their brother to injury - I've already decided that this coach is gone next year. Randal Nelson will miss the next few starts.

Too Tall Greer, playing for the injured Nelson, snaps the four game losing streak with a pair of TD passes in a 20-17 win over Philly. After another loss, though, we find ourselves at 4-7. We win one of our five remaining games and finish up a dismal 5-11. Not what I was hoping for. Changes will be made next season.

St. Louis goes on to win another Super Bowl, defeating the New York Jets 16-14 in a thriller.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 224-419-8-2796 19 TDs 81.6 Rtg
QB Too Tall Greer 62-131-3-697 5 TDs 66.8 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 171-692 2 TDs
RB KC Bauer 76-233 4 TDs
WR Joseph Dodge 57-996 7 TDs
WR Irving Brennan 51-756 5 TDs
WR Heath Evans 61-737 5 TDs
WR Tim Kippen 32-334 4 TDs
WR Erik Rogers 25-222 2 TDs

K Junior Peterson 21-31 FG 50 Lg
P Zach Reid 41.8 Avg 37 In20

DE Dwigh Granata 19 T 8 A 5.0 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 20 T 6 A 4.0 Sacks
DT Mark McClendon 48 T 19 A 4.5 Sacks
DT Toby Westfall 27 T 12 A 3.5 Sacks
LB Kerry O'Neal 111 T 31 A 6.0 Sacks 5 Dfns
LB Gene Koplitz 80 T 24 A 2.5 Sacks
LB Antonio Grbac 55 T 26 A 2.5 Sacks
LB Kahil Vanderclute 51 T 11 A 3.0 Sacks
CB Sedrick Ellison 25 T 5 A 20.6 PDQ
CB Rod Clouse 40 T 11 A 19.0 PDQ
CB Wesley Bush 35 T 14 A 2 INTs 32.5 PDQ
CB Bryce Singleton 18 T 4 A 2 INTs 37.1 PDQ
S Josh Arnold 50 T 18 A 20.8 PDQ
S Joseph Burhart 58 T 15 A 5 INTs 6 Dfns 45.2 PDQ
S Tommy Perry 32 T 15 A 15.8 PDQ

C Everett Mahoney 34.0 BPct 3 SkA
RT Marvin Winters 31.8 BPct 2 SkA

Confederate Awards

LB Kerry O'Neal All-Pro 1st Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 9
Franchise Value: 32
Profit/Loss: 52
Difficulty: 70

Year-End Score: 35

[This message has been edited by FishFan (edited 01-21-2001).]

[Upstate_New_York]

Hey Fishfan... if you waited, Nelson would have most likely fallen in the 11-20 rounds when I nabbed him

I was shocked to find him there at that point, I gotta say.

[FishFan]

I guess I should have waited. Damn.

Did Nelson lead you to a Super Bowl appearance in your second season?

[FishFan]

2018 Richmond Confederates

A couple of retirements to note: T Les Howe and CB Rod Clouse do not want to come back and play another year for a worthless expansion team. Neither will be missed. In scout/coach news, I offer scout David Peterson a 1.50 mil, 5 year contract and coach Rusty Stokes a 8.5 mil, 5 year deal. Stokes signs right away, but Peterson holds off until the 2nd week before leaving St. Louis for Richmond. We lost 13.46 million last year after a pathetic performance on the field. I raise ticket prices a little across the board(

2018 Free Agent Period

I won't go into much detail on my free agents, most of them were one-year add-ons, anyway. I have 26 signed players heading into the FA Period and will do my best to find four quality guys to bring in from other teams. Here are my UFAs.

Unrestricted Free Agents

T Juan Mason
S Josh Arnold
G Floyd Mayes
C Kenyon Edmond
T Rex Maurer
RB Dale Becker
DT Mark McClendon

I will use the franchise tag on T Rex Maurer and will probably make an attempt at DT Mark McClendon. The rest are garbage. In week 1 of the FA period, I submit a four year, 46.00 mil offer to Desmond Brisby of the Atlanta Falcons. The deal includes a 15 mil bonus that will hopefully intice him to decline larger offers. He comes on board in week 3. On to week 10! I extend a few offers in week 10: LB Phillip Fausel, WR Frankie Craig, and C Dan Bailey. Craig signs with Philly and Fausel signs with Chiacgo in week 11. I pick up a couple of quality reserves in week 13 as DT Gene McGregor and S Keith Maloney sign three year deals to become Confederates. I increase my offer to C Dan Bailey to 4 years, 27.0 mil. Finally, in week 15, Bailey accepts my offer. Some former Confederates have found homes elsewhere: T Juan Mason is headed to Jacksonville, DT Mark McClendon to Chicago, and S Josh Arnold to Green Bay. Good riddance. In week 16, G Floyd Mayes signs with Seattle and C Kenyon Edmond signs with New England.

On to the Amateru Draft...

2018 Amateur Draft

I have my eye on a couple of safeties and a defensive end. One of them should be around for the 5th pick in the draft.

Draft Results

S Rusty Broome, Miami(OH) (48/84)
DE Danny Weldon, Purdue (20/60)
DT Kent King, Indiana (19/75)
LB Gino Rash, N.C. State (27/44)
RB Melvin Morris, Notre Dame (29/30)
WR Stan Perkins, Wisconsin (36/36)
CB Claude McCormick, Case Western Reserve (16/36)

Not a great draft, but a couple of these guys might help us out this year, depending on Training Camp. Before camp, I also sign the following Confederate RFAs:

QB Too Tall Greer
FB Sean Singleton
WR Heath Evans
G Dave Blackburn
DT Ernest Arnold
LB Gene Koplitz

Then, I sign the following players to 1 year contracts:

RB Derrick Pryor
WR Ed Lowe
G Reuben Behrendt
G Drew Schwartz
T Dwight Gaylor
LB Damon Arnold
LB Edward Woodard
CB Marco Grier
CB Louis Hartman

After all is said and done, I have 53 players signed heading into camp and 31.270 mil under the cap. We sold 59,400 season tickets last season - about 3 grand less than last year. We need to play better this season and attract more fans to the stadium.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Leo Compton
TE Joe Wiegert
WR Joseph Dodge
WR Ed Lowe
LT Marvin Winters
LG Zack Newsome
C Dan Bailey
RG Dave Blackburn
RT Rex Maurer

K Junior Peterson
P Zach Reid
KR Tim Kippen

DE Ralph Strickland
DT Desmond Brisby
DT Gene McGregor
DE Toby Westfall
LB Antonio Grbac
LB Kerry O'Neal
LB Kahil Vanderclute
CB Bryce Singleton
CB Sedrick Ellison
FS Rusty Broome
SS Tommy Perry

2018 Exhibition Season

We suffer through a 1-3 exhibition season but are able to score points and was not exposed to any injuries. Defensively, we are still not where we want to be, but we have improved. Offensively, the line is much better, but we could use another WR or two.

2018 Regular Season

Week 1 at Arizona(W27-10, 1-0)
Week 2 vs Tennessee(W24-3, 2-0)
Week 3 at Philadelphia(W25-24, 3-0)
Week 4 vs Washington(W17-13, 4-0)
Week 5 vs Dallas(L3-9, 4-1)
Week 6 vs Greensboro(W16-14, 5-1)
Week 7 vs Arizona(L13-35, 5-2)
Week 8 at Dallas(W24-10, 6-2)
Week 9 vs NY Giants(L10-40, 6-3)
Week 10 at Washington(L14-17, 6-4)
Week 12 at NY Giants(W26-13, 7-4)
Week 13 at Cleveland(W20-10, 8-4)
Week 14 at Green Bay(L10-16, 8-5)
Week 15 vs Baltimore(W21-17, 9-5)
Week 16 vs Philadelphia(W35-10, 10-5)
Week 17 at Atlanta(W28-24, 11-5)

Season Total(313-265, 11-5)
Divisional Playoff vs Arizona(W17-16, 12-5)
NFC Championship vs New Orleans(W17-0, 13-5)
Super Bowl vs Indianapolis(L7-14, 13-6)

Rookie saefty Rusty Broome gets his paws on five opposing passes in his first two professional games and helps lead the Confederates to a 2-0 start. I hope my opponents keep testing the youngster. Then, in week 3, LB Gene Koplitz returns an interception 51 yards with 4:08 to play which proves to be the game winning TD in s 25-24 win in Philly. I am totally stunned when we win in week 4 to start the season 4-0. RB Irving Witt gains 182 yards in the victory. Dallas finally figures us out and knock us from the unbeaten ranks, 9-3, in week 5. In week 6, we lose K Junior Peterson for a couple of months. This forces us to sign K Dominic Carr and release C Scott Newton. We reach the midway point with a 6-2 record and a 1.5 game lead in the NFC East.

We begin the 2nd half of the season by taking one on the chin against the G-Men, 40-10, and follow that up with a 17-14 loss in Washington. We are now 2-4 after our 4-0 start. Witt gets us back on track with a 192 yard performance in New York. We are now 7-3, but a game out of the NFC East lead. We lose on the road in Green Bay and fall to 8-5. I'd like to see this team rebound and win out. We've lost Kerry O'Neal and Toby Westfall for the year, though. We win our home games, including a huge 35-10 win over Philadelphia. That win put us in a three-way tie for the division lead with Arizona and Washington. In the finale, at Atlanta, the Confederates do their best imitation of Sherman's March, storming to a 28-7 lead and held on to win 28-24. Both Arizona and Washington lost, giving us the outright division championship! I did not expect this so soon. The Cardinals will be out first playoff opponent.

Irving Witt runs for 121 yards and a score and Nelson throws for 216 yards and a TD, but the Confederates rely on the leg of Junior Peterson, who knocks home a 26 yd FG with 1:12 left to give the Confederates the 17-16 win over the Cardinals. The win was preserved on Rusty Broome's interception on the ensuing Cardinal drive. The Saints are up next.

I don't believe it. The Saints come in at 11-7, but are no match for the 12-5 Confederates. We use a ball control offense and stingy defense to reach the Super Bowl in our second season. We shutout the Saints 17-0 and will face the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl! In a very boring Super Bowl, the Colts get the early 14-0 lead and hold on for a 14-7 win. Witt, hampered by turf toe in the finale, managed just 59 yards on 21 carries. Nevertheless, not a bad season for a team that is not even as good as it's going to get! The only bad thing - we will not have a good draft position to snag some great young talent. I will have to use my four FA picks wisely.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 257-434-7-3043 14 TDs 84.6 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 316-1407 12 TDs
RB Derrick Pryor 85-280 4 TDs

WR Joseph Dodge 81-1137 2 TDs
WR Ed Lowe 67-750 8 TDs

K Junior Peterson 9-17 FGs 49 Lg
K Dominic Carr 7-12 FGs 50 Lg
P Zach Reid 42.3 Avg 37 In20

DE Ralph Strickland 25 T 6.5 Sacks
DE Danny Weldon 21 T 4.0 Sacks
DT Desmond Brisby 39 T 11.5 Sacks 3 Blk 6 Hurr
DT Gene McGregor 32 T 6.5 Sacks

LB Antonio Grbac 85 T
LB Kerry O'Neal 82 T 3.0 Sacks
LB Kahil Vanderclute 82 T

CB Bryce Singleton 38 T 2 INTs 25.4 PDQ
CB Marco Grier 41 T 2 INTs 26.9 PDQ
CB Sedrick Ellison 27T
FS Rusty Broome 68 T 40 A 10 INTs 7 Dfns 52.3 PDQ
SS Tommy Perry 74 T 2 INTs 6 Dfns 25.6 PDQ

C Dan Bailey 37.6 BPct 2 SkA
T Marvin Winters 34.4 BPct 8 SkA
T Rex Maurer 37.7 BPct 5 SkA

Confederate Awards

S Rusty Broome - Defensive POY, Defensive ROY, All-Pro 1st Team
C Dan Bailey - All-Pro 1st Team
T Marvin Winters - All-Pro 1st Team

To improve for next year, I will look for a CB, LB, G, and WR. I feel I can go another year with my current DL and the QB, RB combination has proven they can do the job.

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 95
Franchise Value: 37
Profit/Loss: 41
Difficulty: 70

Year-End Score: 54

[This message has been edited by FishFan (edited 01-21-2001).]

[This message has been edited by FishFan (edited 01-21-2001).]

[FishFan]

2019 Richmond Confederates

No retirements to report in 2019 - I guess everyone wants to take another shot at the Super Bowl in 2019. I am happy with my scout/coach, so I breeze through that stage of the game. My franchise value has moved into the top 15 following the Super Bowl appearance - support is up to 75. My stadium is the only thing holding me back! Unfortunately, I lost 71 million last year despite the trip to the Super Bowl. I must sell more tickets. My costs for both coach and scout were up more than 100%. I raise my ticket prices to 85-85-107-160-5200-265000 in an effort to balance my budget.

2019 Free Agent Period

Interestingly, I do not have any Unrestricted free agents this year. I have 39 players signed and I am currently 35 mil under the cap. I need to sign seven players and draft seven players. Among the RFAs, only Kahil Vanderclute and Ed Lowe will get a look.

Nobody to use the franchise tag on, so I jump right into the FA period. My scout tells me I need a starting guard, cornerback, and defensive end. Throw a receiver into that group, and I'll agree with him. There are three guys worth looking at: DE Marlon Fulcher, DE Steve Redd, and WR Scottie Williams. G Matt Russell would be worth taking a look at in the later stages, if he makes it. For the time being, I offer Scottie Williams a four year, 37.75 mil contract. I have a feeling it will take much more to bring him to Richmond. In fact, Williams receives offers approaching 50 mil for 4 years, so I withdraw my offer and turn to Steve Redd. No team has expressed interest in him so I throw a 35 mil, 4 year deal his way to see if he bites. Unfortunately, Redd signed with Baltimore in week 3. I turn back to Williams and offer him a 46.25 mil, 4 year deal. The Colts, his current team, offer him just 29 mil for three years. His loyalty is also very low. He inks with the Confederates in week 4! That gives me a great WR duo to go along with a power ground game. I could really open up the offense this season. Fast forward to week 10. I submit a 26 mil, 3 year deal to DE Broderick Lester, but he ended up signing with San Diego in week 11 for slightly less. I do negotiate a 13.25 mil, 2 year deal with CB Larry Woods in the final week of the FA period. A bittersweet FA period for the Richmond Confederates.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2019 Amateur Draft

My focus this year will be on my offensive line and linebackers. I need a guard that can play and a linebacker to anchor the group. I have niether right now. Other than that, I will go after quality backups at every position.

Draft Results

G Pete Lynch, Fresno St. (33/74)
CB Scottie Rhodes, East Carolina (37/37)
RB Bryce Alfonso, SW Missouri St. (48/48)
G Percy Whiting, Arizona (37/48)
LB CJ Lamb, East Carolina (25/25)
WR Dexter Clayton, Texas Southern (25/37)
LB Clyde Jones, Montana St. (2/4)

I was not very happy with this draft. I found a guard, but am still lacking at LB. Hopefully, one of my guys will have a breakout year. I sign the following Confederate RFAs:

G Drew Schwartz
LB Kahil Vanderclute

I also sign the following players to one year deals:

RB Greg Battle
QB Shaun Clancy
T Ty Levine

This is the first season that I cut it close on the salary cap. I have 53 signed players and only 3.5 mil under the cap. We sell 65,800 season tickets which could lead to more profitability this season. Pete Lynch bombed, leaving my guard situation up in the air once again. In fact, after training camp, none of my first year players rated higher than 47(future). Ouch. My linebacker crew is probably the worst in the league.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Leo Compton
TE Joe Wiegert
WR Joseph Dodge
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Rex Maurer
C Dan Bailey
RG Drew Schwartz
RT Zack Newsome

K Junior Peterson
P Zach Reid
KR Dexter Clayton

DE Danny Weldon
DT Desmond Brisby
DT Gene McGregor
DE Ralph Strickland
LB Antonio Grbac
LB Kahil Vanderclute
LB Kerry O'Neal
CB Bryce Singleton
CB Larry Woods
FS Rusty Broome
SS Tommy Perry

2019 Exhibition Season

We go 2-2 in a mediocre exhibition season, but avoid the major injuries. Nelson had a horrible preseason and I may have to revisit my offensive philosophy. I am trying to open it up a bit.

2019 Regular Season

Week 1 vs Kansas City(W30-17, 1-0)
Week 2 at Philadelphia(W31-28, 2-0)
Week 3 vs Dallas(W31-21, 3-0)
Week 4 vs Arizona(W37-0, 4-0)
Week 5 vs Colorado(W34-7, 5-0)
Week 6 at Dallas(W38-21, 6-0)
Week 7 at New Orleans(L10-31, 6-1)
Week 9 vs Philadelphia(W33-27, 7-1)
Week 10 at NY Giants(L7-21, 7-2)
Week 11 at San Diego(L10-17, 7-3)
Week 12 at Arizona(W26-0, 8-3)
Week 13 at Washington(W24-17, 9-3)
Week 14 vs NY Giants(W27-0, 10-3)
Week 15 at Green Bay(L7-27, 10-4)
Week 16 vs Portland(L12-17, 10-5)
Week 17 vs Washington(L13-22, 10-6)

Season Totals(370-273, 10-6)
Wild Card vs San Francisco(W29-14, 11-6)
Divisional Playoff at St. Louis(L3-30, 11-7)

Nelson opens up the 2019 season with one of his better performances after a lackluster preseason. The star QB completes 23 of 28 passes for 273 yards and a pair of scores as the Confederates defeat the Chiefs 30-17. Unfortunately, one of the star WR Joseph Dodge is hurt and will miss the next several games. He may return after the bye week if I am lucky. Nelson turns in another great performance in week 2. 20 for 27, 264 yards, 4 TDs. After a 31-21 win in week 3, the defense turns it on in a 37-0 win against the Cardinals. T Marvin Winters will miss the next few games with a broken finger. We finally lose in week 7 as Randal Nelson goes down with an injury he'll miss a few games, but Dodge and Winters return to the lineup.

We lose two of the next three before Nelson returns to the lineup. The Confederates still hold a one game lead over the Cardinals for the NFC East title. In his return, Richmond defeat the Cardinals 26-0 and then down 7-4 Washington to take control of the NFC East with a two game lead. We record our third shutout of the year with a 27-0 win over the G-Men. Interestingly, the Steelers are 13-0. Shoulder tendonitis hits Nelson again. He'll sit out a few games again. Time for the defense to step up. We lose the next two and WR Joseph Dodge again. Things are not looking good. If we can win our finale, we can get a bye and heal these guys for an extra week. We lose, however, but still win the divisiona and will host the 49ers in a wild card game.

I sacrifice the health of Nelson and Dodge by playing them in the Wild Card game. Nelson responds by completing 22 of 34 passes for 256 yards and 3 TDs. Dodge catches seven of those passes for 110 yards and a score. The Confederates open up a 17-7 lead and cruise to a 29-14 win. The Rams are up next. To make a long story short, we get pounded, 30-3. Season over.

In a battle of Florida, Tampa Bay and Miami meet in the Super Bowl. The Fish do their thing and whip up on the Bucs, 45-18.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 199-288-7-2110 12 TDs 93.8 Rtg (9-1 in starts)
QB Too Tall Greer 143-268-9-1493 9 TDs 63.8 Rtg (1-5 in starts)

RB Irving Witt 283-1450 14 TDs
RB Bryce Alfonso 68-318 1 TD

WR Scottie Williams 105-1170 9 TDs
WR Heath Evans 58-720 3 TDs
WR Joseph Dodge 43-533 2 TDs
WR Stan Perkins 42-462 2 TDs

K Junior Peterson 23-31 FG 49 Lg
P Zach Reid 41.4 Avg 33 In20

DE Toby Westfall 10.0 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 37 T 5.5 Sacks
DT Desmond Brisby 39 T 8.0 Sacks

LB Kahil Vanderclute 98 T 3.0 Sacks
LB Kerry O'Neal 61 T
LB Antonio Grbac 58 T 3.5 Sacks

CB Larry Woods 41 T 2 INTs
CB Bryce Singleton 36 T 3 INTs 24.6 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 89 T 2 INTs 8 Dfns 27.4 PDQ
S Keith Maloney 41 T 7 INTs 56.7 PDQ
S Tommy Perry 26 T 7 Dfns 31.1 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 44.6 BPct 7 SkA
C Dan Bailey 38.8 BPct 5 SkA
G Drew Schwartz 35.2 BPct
T Zack Newsome 34.8 BPct

Confederate Awards

WR Scottie Williams - All-Pro 2nd Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 76
Franchise Value: 49
Profit/Loss: 41
Difficulty: 69

Year-End Score: 54

[FishFan]

2020 Richmond Confederates

Again, no retirements in 2020; everyone will be back after a disappointing 2019 campaign. No concerns about my scout/coach, so I breeze through that hiring period. My franchise value has improved to 11th overall as support rises to 79 and my roster to 86. My stdium is holding me back - what a dump. We lose again this season, but only 60 mil - I need to start worrying about my bottom line. I raise my ticket prices to 85-84-108-161-5300-271000 and I magically have 20 VR Boxes, which I set at 250000. That should put me in the black next season! Nothing else to report, so I head to the FA period.

2020 Free Agent Period

I have eight Unrestricted Free Agents this year, but no stud that I need to keep.

Unrestricted Free Agents

K Junior Peterson
FB Leo Compton
C Everett Mahoney
T Zack Newsome
TE Jared Myers
WR Tommy Canady
DE Xavier Townes
DE Toby Westfall

I use the franchise tag on T Zack Newsome, who has emerged as the starting RT over Rex Maurer, who may get the axe this season if one of my guards develops. I have a couple of RFAs that I would like to resign: DE Ralph Strickland, LB Antonio Grbac, and CB Bryce Singleton. In week 1, I go after my biggest need and offer G Tom Corbitt a 3 year, 18.5 mil contract. After Corbitt receives a few other offers, I up mine to 20 mil for the same duration in week 3. Unfortunately, he signs with Tampa Bay in week 5. I turn my attention to LB Victor Newell and offer him a 4 year, 28.5 mil deal. He signs right away, although his former team, Dallas, offered more for less years. Fast forward to week 10....

A quick update: DE Toby Westfall signed with Manchester in week 8 and C Everett Mahoney signed with Baltimore in week 9. I cut a couple of veterans to free up some cap room. Gone are S Tommy Perry (a 4.5 mil savings) and T Rex Maurer (a 6.0 mil savings). The cuts will cost me a total of 1.6 mil this season and 750K next season. In week 10, I offer safety Aaron Hanson a 4 year, 30 mil contract. FB Leo Compton heads to Green Bay in week 11 and K Junior Peterson signs with Minnesota in week 13. I add a million to the bonus offer to Hanson as added incentive to sign. He bites on it the following week, but I lose TE Jared Myers to Buffalo and DE Xavier Townes to Minnesota. I make another roster cut, releasing LB Gene Koplitz to save 3.55 mil towards the cap this season. Then, I offer LB Colin Garrison a three year, 8.19 mil contract in week 14. He, too, signs right away. Then, I sign FB Vernon Necaise to a 2 year, 1.94 mil contract in week 16, thus ending my FA activity.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2020 Amateur Draft

I need to improve on my defensive line and cornerbacks in the draft because I may not be able to re-sign some of my RFAs. I will be cutting it close on my cap room this season.

Draft Results

CB Nicky Burks, Arizona St. (38/38)
G Sean Carlisle, Wisconsin (19/64)
CB Scottie Moseley, Virginia Tech (20/57)
DE Patrick Ditka, Wake Forest (16/37)
TE Steve Kirby, Texas A&M (22/59)
RB Desmond Appleton, Kansas St. (21/32)
C Hardy Lowe, Penn St. (16/46)

Again, I was not happy with this draft. There just did not seem to be enough talent this year. Afterwards, I released CB Larry Woods to clear up more than 5.5 mil in cap room and then signed RFA DE Ralph Strickland to a 4 year, 32 mil contract.

I also sign the following players to one year deals:

QB Desmond Rapp
WR Keith Williams
T Herman Andersen
T Riddick Wallen
K Jack Reel
CB Nate Morton
CB Emmanuel Harrison
S Lawrence Copeland

After Training Camp, we re-sign one of our RFAs, CB Bryce Singleton(2.55, 1 year), and release Emmanuel Harrison. After all transactions, we are 2.8 mil under the cap with 53 signed players. We sell 69,900 season tickets this year, so hopefully we will turn a profit this year. I am a little concerned about the amount of turnover this year, but our core group is returning. We should compete.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Sean Singleton
TE Joe Wiegert
WR Joseph Dodge
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Percy Whiting
C Dan Bailey
RG Drew Schwartz
RT Zack Newsome

K Jack Reel
P Zach Reid
KR Dexter Clayton

DE Danny Weldon
DT Desmond Brisby
DT Gene McGregor
DE Ralph Strickland
LB Kerry O'Neal
LB Victor Nowell
LB Kahil Vanderclute
CB Bryce Singleton
CB Nicky Burks
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2020 Exhibition Season

Another 1-3 exhibition - we do not play well in preseason. We lost a couple of reserves to injuries: LB Colin Garrison and CB Scottie Rhodes. Both will miss 3-5 weeks.

2020 Regular Season

Week 1 at Washington(L17-42, 0-1)
Week 2 vs San Francisco(W41-10, 1-1)
Week 3 vs Dallas(W14-13, 2-1)
Week 5 vs NY Giants(W17-13, 3-1)
Week 6 at Arizona(L21-31, 3-2)
Week 7 vs Washington(W21-20, 4-2)
Week 8 at Philadelphia(L10-13, 4-3)
Week 9 vs Miami(W24-17, 5-3)
Week 10 at NY Giants(W27-14, 6-3)
Week 11 at Dallas(W26-23, 7-3)
Week 12 at New England(W34-23, 8-3)
Week 13 at St. Louis(L21-24, 8-4)
Week 14 vs Philadelphia(L31-35, 8-5)
Week 15 vs Arizona(W38-20, 9-5)
Week 16 vs Tampa Bay(W24-21, 10-5)
Week 17 at Indianapolis(L16-18, 10-6)

Season Total(382-337, 10-6)
Wild Card Game at New Orleans(L13-17, 10-7)

We get blasted by the Redskins, 42-17, to open up the 2020 campaign. Coach Stokes rips the team publicly after the game. The Confederates reposnd to their coach's tirade with a 41-10 win over the 49ers in week 2. After a week 3 win, Richmond limps into a fortunate early bye week. We need to heal. We defeat the Giants, but fall to the undefeated Arizona Cardinals, who improve to 6-0. We get a measure of revenge over the Redskins as Randal Nelson finds Scottie Williams on a 29 yard scoring strike with :03 left to give the Confederates the 21-20 win. Our offense seems to be sputtering as we lose to the Eagles 13-10. We need a quick fix. We down the defending Super Bowl champs, the Miami Dolphins, 24-17, to reach the midway point at 5-3. I would love to go 8-0 from here on out.

We begin a four game road trip be winning the first two games, one at New York and one at Dallas. We finish the pivotol road trip with a 34-23 win in New England before suffering a 24-21 loss in St. Louis. We are now 8-4 and two games behind 10-2 Philadelphia with Arizona in 2nd at 9-3. In a classic shootout, the Eagles put a damper in our playoff hopes, nipping us 35-31. Randal Nelson had 3 TD passes, but threw two key interceptions that halted possible scoring drives. We rebound with a huge win over Arizona, 38-20, as Nelson again throw 3 TD passes. We solidify a playoff spot with a win over 8-6 Tampa Bay to improve to 10-5. Another win may even get us a home wild card game. However, we drop our finale, 18-16 to the Colts. We will travel to New Orleans for our wild card game.

Our Super Bowl dreams are short-lived. The Saints defense keeps Nelson in check holding him to 13 of 25 for 130 yards and just one score. This coming after Nelson was the highest rated QB during the regular season. We had a 10-7 halftime lead, but 10 straight Richmond points and a stingy defense kept the Confederates at bay. Oh well, maybe next season. The Eagles throttle the Colts, 41-34 in a great Super Bowl matchup.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 298-481-7-3698 25 TDs 96.9 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 272-1331 12 TDs
RB Bryce Alfonso 78-269 3 TDs

WR Scottie Williams 84-1137 9 TDs
WR Heath Evans 52-556 4 TDs
WR Joseph Dodge 74-1139 8 TDs

K Jack Reel 22-29 FG 51 Lg
P Zach Reid 40.5 Avg 25 In20

DE Danny Weldon 28 T 9.0 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 25 T 7.0 Sacks
DT Desmond Brisby 34 T 6.5 Sacks
DT Kent King 27 T 5.0 Sacks

LB Kahil Vanderclute 75 T 2.0 Sacks
LB Kerry O'Neal 72 T
LB Victor Newell 123 T 2.0 Sacks 12 Dfns

CB Nicky Burks 29 T 1 INT 19.1 PDQ
CB Bryce Singleton 31 T 1 INTs 4 Dfns 23.9 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 47 T 4 INTs 7 Dfns 46.0 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 64 T 4 INTs 9 Dfns 37.2 PDQ
S Keith Maloney 47 T 2 INTs 23.2 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 38.8 BPct 4 SkA
C Dan Bailey 30.2 BPct 2 SkA
G Drew Schwartz 21.0 BPct 3 SkA
T Zack Newsome 35.0 BPct 12 SkA
G Percy Whiting 35.1 BPct 6 SkA

Confederate Awards

QB Randal Nelson - All-Pro 1st Team
WR Scottie Williams - All-Pro 1st Team
T Marvin Winters - All-Pro 1st Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 66
Franchise Value: 50
Profit/Loss: 33
Difficulty: 73

Year-End Score: 50

[FishFan]

2021 Richmond Confederates

A couple of retirements to note this season: S Keith Maloney and WR Joseph Dodge have both decided to call it quits. Both retirements come a little premature. Dodge battled injuries in 2019, but was healthy throughout 2020 before dislocating his shoulder in the playoffs. He was coming off a great season in which he caught 74 passes for 1139 yards. After playing in New England and Green Bay, Dodge joined the Confederates in 2017 and had three successful seasons. He finished his career with 29 TD receptions. S Keith Maloney, like Dodge, played just eight seasons in the NFL. After a five year stint in Washington, Maloney came on as a reserve safety in 2018. He had a great season in 2019 when he picked off seven passes in a backup role. Both players will be missed.

Again, no scout/coach news, so I blow through that phase of the game. My franchise value fell a bit, despite support hanging around at 80. I lost more cash this year, which frustrates me since we should have had more suite revenue. Oh well. My ticket prices remain stagnant this season, unfortunately.


2021 Free Agent Period

With only 27 signed players entering the FA period, expect a lot of movement. Unfortunately, I only have about 50 mil under the cap. This will be a tight year.

Unrestricted Free Agents

P Zach Reid
TE Joe Weigert
DT Gene McGregor
LB Kahil Vanderclute
QB Too Tall Greer
RB Irving Witt
FB Sean Singleton
G Dave Blackburn
CB Bryce Singleton

Of course, I use the franchise tag on my RB Irving Witt. He needs to come back next season. I get a trade offer from the Denver Broncos before the FA period begins. They want my nickel back, Scottie Rhodes, for a 2nd Round Draft pick. I jump on the deal.

In the opening week of the FA period, I offer San Diego's LB Butch Ballard a 4 year, 31.5 mil contract. He comes on board in week 5. In week 10, I offer DE Colin Bishop a three year, 28.75 mil deal and P Mercury Strand a two year, 3.06 mil contract. Bishop surprsingly spurns higher offers to come to Richmond in week 11. Also in week 11, I offer G John Maloney a three year, 15.2 mil deal. I nail down both Strand and Maloney in week 13, ending my activity during this FA period. Weigert, Reid, and Singleton all sign with other teams during the late stages of the period.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2021 Amateur Draft

I will focus on finding talent at any position this year, with an emphasis on WRs and CBs. I have had a lot of trouble retaining players at these positions.

Draft Results

WR CJ Durham, Arizona (55/86)
CB Kevin Anthony, Mississippi (44/59)
WR Derrick Everett, Maryland (46/46)
FB Ernest Lynch, Michigan (50/50)
LB Rick Flannery, Kentucky (22/52)
S Gabe Wilson, Purdue (23/54)
T Cary Kochansky, Indiana St. (11/46)
QB Eddie Wiggins, Mississippi (8/47)

This is a much better draft for the Confederates, pending Training Camp performances. Durham can be a stud and all of these guys can settle in as starters eventually and reserves right away. My cap situation is dangerous. I enter Training Camp with 48 players and ony 580K under the cap. Decisions will be made following Training Camp.

I signed DT Kent King before TC and G Pete Lynch was released prior to Training Camp, as well.

I signed the following players to one-year deals before Training Camp:

QB Irving Turner
RB Wendell Ewart
WR Artie Sarmiento
WR Christian Falvey
G Lionel Singletary
T Kevin Rodgers
DT Kevin Klekamp
LB Thomas Gilchrist
CB Jack Mamula

After Training Camp, I reluctantly release WR Heath Evans as he becomes a cap casualty. He will save me 6.5 in cap costs this season. The following six players were signed to one year deals:

TE Bryce Hare
WR Lee Conley
LB Brenden Fitzgerald
CB Artie Meier
S Chad Emerson

I sold 70,900 season tickets. That will not be enough to cover my expenses this season....again. I received 5 trade offers before the season, but they were all bunk.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Earnest Lynch
TE Steve Kirby
WR CJ Durham
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG John Maloney
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Zack Newsome

K Jack Reel
P Mercury Strand
KR Artie Meier/Chad Emerson

DE Danny Weldon
DT Desmond Brisby
DT Kent King
DE Colin Bishop
LB Victor Nowell
LB Butch Ballard
LB Kerry O'Neal
CB Kevin Anthony
CB Nicky Burks
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2021 Exhibition Season

The big news of the exhibition season was the loss of DE Danny Weldon. He will miss the forst 2-3 months of the season and Ralph Strickland will step into the vacated starting role. Other than that, Richmond goes 1-3 with most of their reserves seeing a lot of action.

2021 Regular Season

Week 1 at Washington(W17-14, 1-0)
Week 2 at Baltimore(W38-10, 2-0)
Week 3 vs Philadelphia(L13-19, 2-1)
Week 4 at Arizona(L17-20, 2-2)
Week 6 vs Tennessee(W17-16, 3-2)
Week 7 vs Washington(W13-7, 4-2)
Week 8 at Cleveland(W10-0, 5-2)
Week 9 vs Dallas(W32-0, 6-2)
Week 10 at Tampa Bay(W24-19, 7-2)
Week 11 vs Minnesota(W31-3, 8-2)
Week 12 at Philadelphia(L10-34, 8-3)
Week 13 vs NY Giants(W44-14, 9-3)
Week 14 vs Atlanta(W42-14, 10-3)
Week 15 at Dallas(W36-18, 11-3)
Week 16 at NY Giants(W34-3, 12-3)
Week 17 vs Arizona(W12-10, 13-3)

Season Totals(390-201, 13-3)
Divisional Playoff vs St. Louis(L16-17, 13-4)

The Confederates open the season with a 17-14 win over the Redskins in a Monday Night game. Nelson throws 2 TD passes and WR Scottie Williams catches 11 balls for 148 yards. We turn our offense loose in week to, rolling past the Ravens 38-10. Defensively, we look tough in the early going. We not only lose our week 3 game, but also WR CJ Durham. The rookie bangs up his shoulder and will miss a few weeks of action. The injuries begin to pile up after a 20-17 loss to the Cardinals. We are now 2-2 and not as intimidating as we once were. After the bye week, we nip the Titans 17-16, but I am still not real happy with our offensive performance. Our defense comes up big again with a 13-7 win over the Redskins. The win puts us in a 1st place tie with the Eagles in the NFC East. The bad news - we lose DE Colin Bishop for 2-3 months. We record our first shutout of the season with 10-0 win at Cleveland in week 8. A second straight shutout gives the Confederates their fourth straight win and a 6-2 mark at the midway point.

The 2nd half begins on a positive note with a 24-19 road victory. We are now 7-2 and hold a two game lead over Phiily and Arizona in the East. After another win, Philly finally snaps out six game win streak as they complete the season sweep over Richmond. We are still two games in the lead in the East, but injuries are mounting quickly. DE Bishop, DT Brisby, S Hanson, DE Strickland, DT Arnold, DT King, S Broome, DB Necaise, and DE Ditka are all missing action this week. Our offense finally gets it going and puts together three 35+ point performances in a row. The wins take us to 11-3 and one win away from another East Championship. A 34-3 win over the Giants clinches the division championship. We close out the season with a 12-10 win over the Cardinals.

In the divisional playoff, St. Louis steals a win away from the Confederates when Alonzo Wallis hits Jackie Garrett on a 28 yd TD pass with :48 seconds left. The TD gave the Rams a 17-16 lead and Richmond could do nothing with the ball afterwards. I disappointing ending to a great regular season.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 242-380-5-3058 20 TDs 100.7 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 198-778 4 TDs
RB Bryce Alfonso 159-694 7 TDs

WR Scottie Williams 81-1039 5 TDs
WR CJ Durham 63-993 10 TDs
WR Derrick Everett 52-602 3 TDs

K Jack Reel 29-41 FG 51 Lg
P Mercury Strand 40.5 Avg 24 In20

DE Danny Weldon 13 T 3.0 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 34 T 6.5 Sacks
DE Colin Bishop 9 T 5.5 Sacks
DE Patrick Ditka 18 T 4.0 Sacks
DT Desmond Brisby 30 T 5.0 Sacks
DT Kent King 28 T 1.5 Sacks

LB Butch Ballard 100 T 1.5 Sacks
LB Kerry O'Neal 28 T
LB Victor Newell 73 T 8.0 Sacks 12 Dfns

CB Nicky Burks 34 T 3 INT 11 Dfns 39.0 PDQ
CB Kevin Anthony 33 T 3 INTs 7 Dfns 54.8 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 64 T 6 INTs 18 Dfns 58.1 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 68 T 7 INTs 15 Dfns 37.2 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 26.0 BPct 9 SkA
C Dan Bailey 39.0 BPct 3 SkA
T Zack Newsome 22.6 BPct 9 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 31.1 BPct 7 SkA
G John Maloney 27.5 BPct 5 SkA

Confederate Awards

C Dan Bailey - All-Pro 1st Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 90
Franchise Value: 56
Profit/Loss: 35
Difficulty: 58

Year-End Score: 58

[FishFan]

2022 Richmond Confederates

No retirements to report this season - I should have a good core returning for 2022. Both my scout and coach are entering their final year on their contract.

My Franchise Value stands at $1,078,580,000, which is good for 11th in the NFL. I did a little better this season with my balance sheet, losing just 80 mil instead of 84 mil. I wonder how long before I start getting nasty emails from the owner. My ticket prices remain consistent at 86-83-107-160-5400-275000. Support has climbed to 87.

2022 Free Agent Period

I have 30 signed players and 50 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

QB Randal Nelson
C Dan Bailey
DT Desmond Brisby
G Drew Schwartz

I franchise Randal Nelson and hope to resign Bailey and Brisby. I received a couple of intriguing trade offers that could have gave me two top 5 draft picks, but I did not want to compromise the present for the future. It would have meant giving up my OL and DL anchors. My intitial offer to Bailey is for 39.5 mil over 4 years, but I'll probably have to increase this one. I also off Carolina LB Tom Phan a 4 year, 34.8 mil contract. Phan agrees to a 4 year, 38.25 mil contract with the Confederates in week 3. Welcome aboard. Bailey accepted his deal in week 5. DT Desmond Brisby spurned the Confederates and signed with Portland in week 9. I offered G Louie Castellanos a 4 year, 34 mil deal in week 10. He comes on board the following week. His signing will force me to make some roster cuts before the draft.

I released longtime LB Kerry O'Neal to save 3.5 mil in cap room. He was a godd LB, but forced out after many FA acquisitions. I also released LB Colin Garrison.
On to the Amateur Draft...

2022 Amateur Draft

My focus in this draft will be defense and reserves, as usual.

Draft Results

DT Tracy Kramer, Texas A&M (35/51)
RB Cornell Heath, Nebraska (52/52)
TE Blaine Poole, Brigham Young (25/59)
S Mitch Heilman, Central Florida (26/48)
WR Hugh Page, Wisconsin (20/22)
LB Britt Talley, UCLA (40/40)
WR Rob Simmons, Northern Arizona (31/31)

Not a bad draft, but I am not expecting much from this group. Could play key reserves over the next few seasons.

I signed the following players to one-year deals:

FB Lenny Connell
RB Darrell Robertson
TE Colin Huffman
QB Jeffrey Gamez
WR Randy Benton
G Cory Lee
T Edwin Huerta
DE Ernest Cortez
DT Charles Cancilla
LB Travis Winslett
CB Toby Fierro
CB Stanley Pritchett
RB Tracy Myers

I sold 73,600 season tickets, just 4K shy of a season long sellout.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Earnest Lynch
TE Colin Huffman
WR CJ Durham
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Zack Newsome

K Jack Reel
P Mercury Strand
KR Rob Simmons

DE Denny Weldon
DT Tracy Kramer
DT Kent King
DE Colin Bishop
LB Butch Ballard
LB Tom Phan
LB Victor Newell
CB Kevin Anthony
CB Nicky Burks
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2022 Exhibition Season

We enjoy one of our better exhibition seasons, going 3-1 after dropping the final game 24-14 to the Browns. We also avoid all major injuries. Things are looking up.

2022 Regular Season

Week 1 at Oakland(L7-28, 0-1)
Week 2 vs Arizona(W24-17, 1-1)
Week 3 at NY Giants(L13-31, 1-2)
Week 4 at Washington(L28-35, 1-3)
Week 5 at San Diego(L3-29, 1-4)
Week 6 vs NY Giants(W27-24, 2-4)
Week 7 vs St. Louis(W35-20, 3-4)
Week 9 at Arizona(W16-14, 4-4)
Week 10 vs Dallas(W20-12, 5-4)
Week 11 vs Seattle(W14-10, 6-4)
Week 12 vs Washington(W24-12, 7-4)
Week 13 vs Philadelphia(W37-21, 8-4)
Week 14 at Dallas(L0-22, 8-5)
Week 15 vs Green Bay(W29-27, 9-5)
Week 16 at Carolina(L3-30, 9-6)
Week 17 at Philadelphia(L17-29, 9-7)

Season Totals(297-361, 9-7)

We drop our opener to the Raidas, but down Arizona 24-17 in week 2. Also during week 2, we lose T Zack Newsome, DT TRacy Kramer, and CB Stanley Pritchett to injuries. We drop a week three contest to the Giants and we do not look very good at all. Another road loss in Washington leaves the Confederates searching for answers. We fall to 1-4 and have not had any further injuries. What happened? We return home and get a much needed win over the 4-1 Giants. We follow that up with a win over 4-1 St. Louis to head into the bye week at 3-4. We claw back to .500 with a 16-14 win over the Cardinals. At the halfway mark, we are two games out of the division lead.

We run our win streak to five in a row after a couple of ugly wins. Randal Nelson is mired in his worst season to date. LB Tom Phan goes down for the year with a knee injury in a week 12 win over Washington. The good news is we've moved within a game of the NFC East lead. After a 37-21 win over Philly, we have our seven game win streak snapped with a 22-0 loss in Dallas. We have not played well on the road this year(1-5 so far). A week 15 win puts the Confederates in a tie for the division lead with the Giants and Cowboys. We fall to Carolina 30-3 on the road, of course. But, both New York and Dallas lost as well. What an opportunity squandered, though. Among the injured heading into the final week: QB Randal Nelson, WR CJ Durham, WR Scottie Williams, Dt Ernest Arnold, DT Kent King, DT Tracy Kramer, LB Tom Phan, LB Britt Talley, and S Gabe Wilson. We lose our finale 28-17 and miss out on the playoffs. Injuries and poor performance played a big factor. What a disappointing season. The real reason: Richmond's 1-7 record on the road.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 219-390-14-2683 18 TDs 77.9 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 183-872 5 TDs
RB Heath Cornell 98-396 3 TDs

WR Scottie Williams 71-885 2 TDs
WR CJ Durham 68-968 11 TDs
WR Derrick Everett 33-360 1 TD

K Jack Reel 20-27 FG 51 Lg
P Mercury Strand 40.4 Avg 30 In20

DE Danny Weldon 36 T 7.5 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 26 T 6.5 Sacks
DE Colin Bishop 30 T 4.5 Sacks
DT Kent King 43 T 2.5 Sacks
DT Ernest Arnold 24 T 2.0 Sacks

LB Butch Ballard 85 T
LB Victor Newell 98 T
LB Tom Phan 63 T

CB Nicky Burks 34 T 4 INT 5 Dfns 36.6 PDQ
CB Kevin Anthony 20 T 3 Dfns 21.7 PDQ
CB Scottie Moseley 30 T 2 Dfns 18.6 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 94 T 5 INTs 8 Dfns 37.5 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 72 T 2 INTs 6 Dfns 23.6 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 45.0 BPct 7 SkA
C Dan Bailey 25.6 BPct 4 SkA
T Zack Newsome 34.2 BPct 3 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 22.0 BPct 2 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 35.9 BPct 9 SkA

Confederate Awards

None

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 63
Franchise Value: 57
Profit/Loss: 37
Difficulty: 72

Year-End Score: 53

[FishFan]

2023 Richmond Confederates

Only one retirement - DE Colin Bishop hung it up after nine years in the league and two years as a Confederate. Bishop suffered a serious injury in 2021 that really affected his skills. He never lived up to the hype that generated when he was signed prior to the 2021 season. He collected just 10 sacks in his two seasons with Richmond and was relegated to backup duty in 2022. More importantly, it frees up about 10 mil in cap room.

I also have both my coach and scout to re-sign. I offer Coach Stokes a 12.5 mil, five year deal. He compiled a 56-31 record in his first five year stint. I offered Scout Patterson a 1.25 mil, 5 year deal. Patterson signs his offer sheet right away, but Stokes looks for more. I stand firm and Stokes finally gives in and signs the following week. I welcome both back for another 5-year run.

My Franchise Value falls to 12th with my stadium holding me back. I also shaved a little more off that negative balance, losing just 71 mil, down from 80 mil the previous year. No threats from ownership yet. Washington's ticket prices skyrocket this year, so I decide to bump mine up after years of modest growth. They now stand at 118-113-140-150-7000-325000.

2023 Free Agent Period

I have 32 signed players and 35 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

T Zack Newsome
DT Ernest Arnold
DE Danny Weldon

I place the tag on Newsome to keep my O-Line together and will make half-assed attempts to resign Arnold and Weldon. They will probably command to much $$$$. I make one offer to DT Sedrick Kaye to shore up my run defense. This will probably be the only FA I pursue. That didn't take long - Kaye signed with Tampa Bay in week 2. DE Weldon signed with New Orleans in week 3. I sit idle as the rest of the NFL finishes up the FA period There were just not enough players worth spending stupid money for.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2023 Amateur Draft

I need to find guys that can play immediately at the DE and DT positions. Everything else will be the best available.

Draft Results

DE Jamal Dragon, Toledo (29/59)
LB Andrew Graham, Auburn (52/52)
CB Reuben Holly, California (17/46)
DE Blaine Gerhardt, Missouri Western (17/37)
QB Curtis Winslett, Okalhoma St. (29/65)
RB TJ Lindsay, West Virginia (17/17)
CB Jimmy Lake, Tarleton St. (19/23)

I think I got a steal in the 5th round with QB Winslett. He will be a quality backup to Nelson and if Nelson leaves, could possibly start. Dragon will start this year, but the rest will play reserve roles.

After the draft, I resign CB Nicky Burks to a three year deal and sign the following FAs to one year deals:

QB Vernon Bradley
RB Horace Elliott
TE Ricky Delgado
WR Brad Walczak
G Vinny Mobley
T Dixon Kunkel
DE Frankie Labbe
DT Leslie Lester
DT Martin Keith
LB Jared Bullock
S Claude Hitchcock
C Ryan Dragonajtys

I sold 71,900 season tickets, which coupled with my raise in ticket prices, should put me in the black for the first time.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Earnest Lynch
TE Blaine Poore
WR CJ Durham
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Zack Newsome

K Jack Reel
P Mercury Strand
KR Rob Simmons

DE Jamal Dragon
DT Tracy Kramer
DT Kent King
DE Ralph Strickland
LB Butch Ballard
LB Tom Phan
LB Victor Newell
CB Kevin Anthony
CB Nicky Burks
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2023 Exhibition Season

After a 3-1 preseason, the mood in the clubhouse is much different than last year's somber atmosphere after missing the playoffs with a 9-7 record. Hopefully, we will return to form this season.

2023 Regular Season

Week 1 at NY Giants(L11-17, 0-1)
Week 2 vs Arizona(W52-35, 1-1)
Week 3 at Manchester(L17-20, 1-2)
Week 4 vs Dallas(W48-0, 2-2)
Week 5 at Indianpolis(L17-24, 2-3)
Week 6 vs Greensboro(W19-7, 3-3)
Week 7 vs NY Giants(W38-10, 4-3)
Week 8 vs Buffalo(L14-16, 4-4)
Week 10 vs Carolina(W28-21, 5-4)
Week 11 at Dallas(L11-29, 5-5)
Week 12 vs Washington(W45-16, 6-5)
Week 13 vs Philadelphia(W34-20, 7-5)
Week 14 at Arizona(L7-21, 7-6)
Week 15 at Washington(L6-34, 7-7)
Week 16 at Chicago(L24-31, 7-8)
Week 17 at Philadelphia(L17-38, 7-9)

We pick up right where we left off last year - losses and injuries. We lose to the Giants in the opener and LB Victor Nowell is nicked up. Great. After Coach Stokes rips into the team following the week 1 debacle, the team responds with a 52-35 win over the Cardinals. In a Monday Night game, the Ice Weasels come. They hand us our 2nd loss, 20-17. We are officially mired in mediocrity. Another tirade from Coach Stokes sparks the team to a 48-0 romp over Dallas, but once again, we do not look like a very good road team at all. In the blowout shutout, Nelson throws 4 TD passes, all to WR CJ Durham, who is having an excellent year so far. We fall to 2-3 after another road loss. We win the next two at home, but lose LB Butch Ballard and S Rusty Broome to injuries for 2-3 months. We stumble against the Bills and enter the bye week at 4-4. A four-game road trip looms at the end of the season. Things do not look good right now. Durham is enjoying an amazing season so far. He has 59 catches for 996 yards and 8 TDs, which all lead the NFL at this point.

Of course, Durham is hurt in week 9. Also, my top CB probably played in his last football game after rupturing his Achilles tendon. He is scheduled to return in late 2024. Frustration has settled in. The following week, we lose to 1-8 Dallas on the road, of course. We win two at home before embarking on our critical four game road trip. We are 0-4 on the road at this point. Our first game results in aa 21-7 loss to the 3-9 Cardinals. Why can't we win on the road?!? In our 2nd game of the road swing, we fall to the 6-7 Redskins 34-6. Then, our playoff hopes are squashed with a 31-24 loss to the 9-5 Bears. We finish the season in style with a 38-17 loss to the Eagles. We are 1-15 in the last two seasons on the road; 15-1 at home. Damn, we suck.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 301-499-17-3707 24 TDs 85.1 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 205-971 7 TDs
RB Cornell Heath 127-541 3 TDs

WR Scottie Williams 84-1035 4 TDs
WR CJ Durham 71-1119 9 TDs
WR Derrick Everett 54-748 3 TDs

K Jack Reel 19-33 FG 51 Lg
P Mercury Strand 40.4 Avg 24 In20

DE Danny Weldon 50 T 10.5 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 30 T 4.0 Sacks
DT Kent King 33 T 3.0 Sacks
DT Tracy Kramer 22 T 3.0 Sacks

LB Butch Ballard 57 T
LB Victor Newell 59 T 4.0 Sacks
LB Tom Phan 87 T 3.0 Sacks

CB Nicky Burks 29 T 2 INTs 1 Dfns 24.8 PDQ
CB Kevin Anthony 23 T 3 Dfns 25.4 PDQ
CB Scottie Moseley 28 T 1 INTs 3 Dfns 45.6 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 58 T 2 INTs 4 Dfns 33.6 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 76 T 2 INTs 11 Dfns 33.0 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 29.5 BPct 4 SkA
C Dan Bailey 34.3 BPct 4 SkA
T Zack Newsome 44.2 BPct 6 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 39.7 BPct 5 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 32.7 BPct 5 SkA

Confederate Awards

None

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 25
Franchise Value: 59
Profit/Loss: 37
Difficulty: 72

Year-End Score: 45

[FishFan]

2024 Richmond Confederates

With no retirements to report and my coach and scout one year into five year contracts, I breeze right through the first stage of the game.

My Franchise Value climbs back up to 11th despite the 5th worst stadium in the league. Even with the increase in ticket prices last season, I still lost 66 mil to the bottom line. I need to sell more tickets. I raise the prices to 119-115-142-195-7700-365000 after a season that saw my stadium fill to 95% capacity. Support is up to 85, but the community does not want to foot the bill for a new stadium just yet.

2024 Free Agent Period

I have 32 signed players and 27 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

S Aaron Hanson
G John Maloney
K Jack Reel
CB Scott Moseley

I use the franchise tage on S Aaron Hanson and will stay well away from the other guys. My CB position will be the focus point of this offseason with Kevin Anthony coming of a serious injury and won't be back until late this year and Moseley demanding to much cash. That leaves Nicky Burks to hold up the cornerback position. I get a trade offer from the New England PAtriots. They want FB Ernest Lynch for the 18th pick in the 3rd round of the draft. I decide to go for this one after numerous offers seeking Lynch for 5th and 6th round picks. My cap situation leaves me handcuffed during the FA period. I watch as John Maloney ends up in Carolina - the others do not find homes elsewhere during the FA period.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2024 Amateur Draft

I will look to fill my need at CB and pick up a WR that can step into a starting role if I am unable to resign both Williams and Durham next season.

Draft Results

CB Mario Montgomery, Duke (52/52)
WR Spencer Kellum, Louisiana-Monroe (32/56)
DT Wade Nichols, Bemidi State (15/45)
RB Dale Newsome, Northwestern (42/46)
G Andy Conway, Central Michigan (17/59)
LB Jermaine Geathers, Oregon (29/36)
WR Eddie Blackburn, Illinois (32/32)
T Dave Stanton, California (23/30)

Not a bad draft, but not a great one, either. Montgomery will start right away out of neccesity and Kellum could start next year if Durham or Williams do not return. The rest are decent to poor backups. I resign K Jack Reel to a two year deal and sign the following FAs to one year deals:

QB Patrick Jones
FB Sammie Cassidy
TE Todd Woodson
WR Britt Fitzgerald
C Dan Emmons
G Mo Sturdivant
T Neal Stoner
DE Lewis Bradley
DT Harvey Stanton
LB Neil Odom
CB Antonio Fredrickson
S James Preston

I sold 70,800 season tickets this year which is down about a thousand from last year. If we can figure out how to win on the road, we should be able to sell out most contests this year.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Irving Witt
FB Irv Reilly
TE Blaine Poore
WR CJ Durham
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Zack Newsome

K Jack Reel
P Mercury Strand
KR Mario Montgomery

DE Jamal Dragon
DT Tracy Kramer
DT Kent King
DE Ralph Strickland
LB Butch Ballard
LB Tom Phan
LB Victor Newell
CB Mario Montgomery
CB Nicky Burks
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2024 Exhibition Season

Injuries begin to mount early in the preseason despite my coach's EXCELLENT rating at Avoid Injury. QB Randal Nelson, FB Irv Reilly, and S James Preston miss the entire preseason due to injuries. I have to release S Mitch Heilman and sign FB Toby Taylor and S Robert Downs just to stay under the cap. DE Ralph Strickland is injured in the final preseason game and the Confederates wrap it up with a 1-3 record. Nelson will be back to lead the team in the season opener. This year does not look good already. With 5 of our first 6 games on the road, we will be tested early and often.

2024 Regular Season

Week 1 vs Pittsburgh(W36-34, 1-0)
Week 2 at NY Giants(W36-7, 2-0)
Week 4 at Dallas(W27-3, 3-0)
Week 5 at Philadelphia(W27-20, 4-0)
Week 6 at Cleveland(W28-9, 5-0)
Week 7 at Arizona(W21-16, 6-0)
Week 8 vs Philadelphia(W29-15, 7-0)
Week 9 vs Washington(W24-17, 8-0)
Week 10 vs Dallas(W30-17, 9-0)
Week 11 vs NY Giants(W31-10, 10-0)
Week 12 vs Green Bay(W23-9, 11-0)
Week 13 at Jacksonville(W14-9, 12-0)
Week 14 vs Arizona(W35-6, 13-0)
Week 15 at Washington(L18-28, 13-1)
Week 16 vs Atlanta(W31-21, 14-1)
Week 17 at New Orleans(L10-38, 14-2)

Season Totals(420-259, 14-2)
Divisional Playoff vs St. Louis(W41-24, 15-2)
NFC Championship vs Greensboro(W27-19, 16-2)
Super Bowl vs Oakland(W28-25, 17-2)

We start the season off on the right foot, beating Pittsburgh 36-34. Defensively, we need to solve some problems. In our first of five straight road games, we rout the Giants 36-7. Could this be a good sign? After an early bye week, the Confederates win another road game, this one 27-3 over the Cowboys. We have returned to a ball control, run-oriented offense and it looks like it is working so far. We down 3-1 Philly to take our third straight road game and improve to a 4-0, surprising start. We close out the five game road trip with a pair of victories to improve to 6-0. As an added bonus, all injured players are back in the lineup except for FB Irv Reilly. We return home and treat our faitful fans to a 29-15 win over Philly, completing the sweep over the Eagles. We complete the perfect first half with a 24-17 win over the Redskins, which gives us a three game lead over the Giants for the NFC East lead.

We improve our record to 10-0 and increase our division lead to four games with a couple of blowout wins over the Cowboys and Giants. But, we lose T Zack Newsome, WR CJ Durham, and CB Nicky Burks to injuries in week 11. In our closest game to date, the Confederates edge the Jaguars 14-9 as Randal Nelson hits Scottie Williams on the go ahead TD late in the 3rd quarter. The win clinched the NFC East championship. Our first title since 2021. Our hopes of a perfect season come to an end in a 28-18 loss to the Redskins in week 15. We were without CB Nicky Burks, DE Jamal Dragon, and DT Kent King. We will take it easy on most of our starters if we win our next game and clinch home field. We down the Falcons 31-21 and will rest some key players in our finale.

The Rams will come to Richmond for a Divisional Playoff against the Confederates. Richmond puts up their best offensive output of the year with a 41-24 win to advance to the NFC Championship against Greensboro. Irving Witt and Cornell Heath combine for 261 rushing yards and 4 TDs in the rout. In the conference championship, the Confederates go to the air as Randal Nelson throws for 268 yards and a pair of scores. His performance helps Richmond reach their 2nd Super Bowl in franchise history, beating the Swamp Ducks 27-19. The Oakland Raiders will provide the competition in the Super Bowl.

A defensive battle breaks out in the first half of the championship game with the Raiders scoring the lone points on a short field goal. About midway through the 3rd quarter, the Raiders score again on a 1 yd TD pass to take a 10-0 lead, which stands through the end of the quarter. Early in the 4th, the Confederates get something going offensively. A 12 yd TD pass from Randal Nelson to CJ Durham caps off an eight minute drive and cuts the lead to 10-7. A couple of penalties kill the next Raider drive and the Confederates get a break following a 25 yard punt that gives Richmond great field position. Nelson hits Scottie Williams and Durham on passes of 10 and 21 yards before Cornell Heath breaks off a 10 yard run. That takes the Confederates down to the OAK16. Three plays later, Irving Witt breaks througha hole and rumbles 12 yards for the score! 14-10, Richmond with 10:02 left to play. On the 2nd play of the ensuing drive, rookie CB Mario Montgomery gets his paws on a Raider pass at the OAK28! After a 10 yd pass to Williams and a 17 yd run from Witt, Nelson calls his own number and scores from 3 yds out to put Richmond up 21-10 with 7:51 left. The teams exchange punts giving Oakland possession with 5:17 left and down 11 points. The Raiders are not done, though. Two 26 yard Pineda passes to Maddux helps set up a 5 yd TD pass to Rivers. After the 2-point conversion was successful, it's suddenly a three point ballgame, 21-18. The Confederates run some time off the clock and set up a punt situation with 2:50 left. Then, the unthinkable happens. Mercury Strand's kick was blocked and recovered by Oakland at the RIC25. It only take Oakland two plays to capitalize, scoring on a 12 yd TD pass to Barlow. Just like that, the Raiders are on top 25-21 with 2:09 left. QB Randal Nelson goes to work in the two-minute offense. On the first play, he finds a streaking CJ Durham for 34 yards down the sideline. Why are the Raiders playing the prevent defense??? Nelson is forced to scramble on two consecutive plays, but picks up a first down at the OAK38 with 1:03 left. He then finds Durham again, this time for 22 yards down to the 16 yard line. Durham gets out of bounds to stop the clock with :57 left. Nelson's next pass is blocked at the line and nealry intercepted. On the next play, Nelson floats one into the corner of the endzone for Scottie Williams. Williams goes up over the defender to make the grab, has the presence of mind to get both feet down in the endzone, and scores the go ahead TD with :45 left! Richmond 28, Oakland 25! From the Oakland 26, Pineda is forced to throw his first pass away and his 2nd gets blocked at the line. In a last chance effort, Pineda uses his cannon arm to throw one to the endzone. LB Tom Phan picks it off in the endzone to secure Richmond's first Super Bowl win, 28-25! QB Randal Nelson is named Super Bowl MVP with his 23 for 38, 332 yard performane. CJ Durham caught seven of those balls for 149 yards in a big game.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 248-377-9-3053 20 TDs 98.3 Rtg

RB Irving Witt 258-1145 11 TDs
RB Cornell Heath 156-776 8 TDs

WR Scottie Williams 57-645 4 TDs
WR CJ Durham 61-896 5 TDs
WR Derrick Everett 40-525 3 TDs

K Jack Reel 28-37 FG 54 Lg
P Mercury Strand 41.5 Avg 28 In20

DE Jamal Dragon 15 T 7.5 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 29 T 2.0 Sacks
DE Blaine Gerhardt 39 T 3.0 Sacks
DT Kent King 22 T 4.5 Sacks
DT Tracy Kramer 25 T 4.0 Sacks

LB Butch Ballard 73 T
LB Victor Newell 78 T 2.0 Sacks
LB Tom Phan 95 T 6.0 Sacks

CB Nicky Burks 13 T 1 INTs 1 Dfns 26.3 PDQ
CB Mario Montgomery 43 T 9 INTs 3 Dfns 43.3 PDQ
CB Reuben Holly 28 T 2 INTs 4 Dfns 45.6 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 73 T 4 INTs 11 Dfns 30.3 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 73 T 2 INTs 16 Dfns 35.4 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 37.7 BPct 1 SkA
C Dan Bailey 31.5 BPct 2 SkA
T Zack Newsome 19.5 BPct 5 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 36.3 BPct 4 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 38.6 BPct 8 SkA

Confederate Awards

QB Randal Nelson NFL MVP, OFF POY, Super Bowl MVP, All-Pro 1st Team
C Dan Bailey All-Pro 1st Team
G Louie Castellanos All-Pro 1st Team
T Marvin Winters All-Pro 1st Team
CB Mario Montgomery All-Pro 1st Team
LB Tom Phan All_Pro 2nd Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 100
Franchise Value: 59
Profit/Loss: 51
Difficulty: 71

Year-End Score: 66

[FishFan]

2025 Richmond Confederates

Again no one retires in 2025. I guess once everyone got a taste of winning, they want to come back for more. My coach and scout are locked into place and we are ready to go onto the FA period.

After the Super Bowl win, my Faranchise Value improves to 10th in the NFL. Support rises to 93 with the win, as well. We also lost just over 1 mil after years and years of losing 60 mil plus per year. I raise my ticket prices slightly to 121-117-145-196-8000-373000 after a season that saw my stadium fill to 95% capacity.

2025 Free Agent Period

I have 31 signed players and 30 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

LB Butch Ballard
S Aaron Hanson
DT Kent King
G Sean Carlisle
FB Irv Reilly
WR Derrick Everett

Since I have already franchised Aaron Hanson once in my career, I tag G Sean Carlisle. I am gonna have to foot a rather large bill for Randal Nelson next year, so I am not going to go all out this year. I may have to say goodbye to some key players, including Kent King and Aaron Hanson. We'll see. In week one of the FA period, I submit an offer to LB Riddick Brown for 34 mil over 4 years. I also submit a one year offer to Hanson (no, not the music group) for 6.5 mil. Brown heads to Philly in week 3. I turn my linebacking needs to Mel Manning, who did not play anywhere last season, but has put up solid numbers throughout his five year career. I raise my outstanding offers to Hanson (to 2 years, 14 mil) and Manning (to 4 years, 32.5 mil) in an effort to get them signed soon. They both come on board the following week, week 8. FB Irv Reilly signs a two year deal with San Francisco in week 11 while DT Kent King goes unsigned as no team bit on his 12 mil a year salary demands.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2025 Amateur Draft

I could use a DT and a TE early in this draft. The rest will be filled with reserves.

Draft Results

DT Scottie McElroy, Georgia Tech (23/67)
TE Antonio Price, Washington St. (31/74)
S Willie Henson, Ark.-Monticello (35/55)
LB Ronald Hegamin, South Carolina (36/36)
WR Lester Bridges, Minnesota-Morris (40/43)
RB Bryan Newman, Louisiana-Lafayette (31/31)
CB George Gonzalez, Harding (19/19)

Not a very good draft, but I did not need much. Once I free up some cap room, I can try to improve the defense a little bit, but until then I'll try to win again with what I've got. I then sign the following FAs to one year deals:

QB Willie Wertlieb
TE Arnie Shaw
WR Keith Whitfield
G David Bradley
T Ross McWilliams
DE Earl Wooden
DT Andy Emmons
LB Cornell Delgado
S Bernie Strobel


I sold 75,300 season tickets this year - near a sellout (77,600). Rookie LB Ronald Hegamin showed some promis in Training Camp and coule end up starting for this club in a year or two. Second-year RB Dale Newsome also improved this year and could see more playing time this season. I wished I had accepted an earlier offer for RB Cornell Heath which would have freed up three mil on cap room and gave me a 2nd round draft pick.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Dale Newsome
FB Sammie Cassidy
TE Antonio Price
WR CJ Durham
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Zack Newsome

K Jack Reel
P Mercury Strand
KR Mario Montgomery

DE Jamal Dragon
DT Tracy Kramer
DT Andy Emmons
DE Ralph Strickland
LB Victor Nowell
LB Tom Phan
LB Mel Manning
CB Mario Montgomery
CB Nicky Burks
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2025 Exhibition Season

RB Irving Witt's endurance took a major hit this past season which may lead to him being used as a third-down back only. Dame Newsome will work with the #1 offense in the preseason. Other than that, we go 2-2 in preseason and lose DE Ralph Strickland, DT Andy Emmons, and WR Lester Bridges for a short time to injuries.

2025 Regular Season

Week 1 vs Seattle(W35-7, 1-0)
Week 2 at Arizona(L27-31, 1-1)
Week 3 vs Washington(W31-3, 2-1)
Week 4 vs Philadelphia(W34-16, 3-1)
Week 5 vs Oakland(W21-14, 4-1)
Week 6 at Washington(W42-16, 5-1)
Week 7 at St. Louis(W20-16, 6-1)
Week 9 vs Arizona(W31-3, 7-1)
Week 10 at Dallas(W28-21, 8-1)
Week 11 at Kansas City(W31-24, 9-1)
Week 12 at Philadelphia(L17-51, 9-2)
Week 13 at NY Giants(L14-23, 9-3)
Week 14 vs Dallas(T17-17, 9-3-1)
Week 15 at Greensboro(L3-30, 9-4-1)
Week 16 vs Carolina(W41-13, 10-4-1)
Week 17 vs NY Giants(L6-10, 10-5-1)

Season Totals(398-295, 10-5-1)
Wild Card Game at NY Giants(

We begin our title defense in style with a 35-7 win over the Seahawks. Dale Newsom gains 97 yards on 19 carries and scores a couple of TDs in his debut as a starter. Unfortunately, we drop our second game on the road to Arizona. Hopefully, this is not going to be a repeat of 2023, an 0-8 year on the road. The Confederates rebound as Randal Nelson throws four TD passes in a 31-3 romp over the Redskins in Richmond. We defeat the undefeated Eagles, also in Richmond, 34-16 to move into a tie for the NFC East lead. Another win over reeling Oakland miproves the Confederates to 4-1. We win our first road game with an impressive offensive showing, scoring 42 points in Washington to complete the sweep over our biggest rival. Nelson throws for three TDs and Newsome runs for three TDs in the rout. The bad news - CB Nicky Burks breaks a wrist and will be out until the playoffs. We head into the bye week a 6-1 after a 20-16 win at St. Louis. We exact revenge on the Cardinals, beating them 31-3 after they upended us in week 2, 31-27. Nelson enjoys another 4 TD performance as he finishes the first half of the season with 2102 yards, 20 TDs, and a 116.9 rating.

After a road win in Dallas, the Confederates defeat the 7-2 Chiefs in Arrowhead, 31-24, in what could have been a Super Bowl preview. The win gave Richmond a two game lead in the NFC East standings. In a key divisional matchup in Philly, the Eagles blow us out, 51-17. Coach Stokes goes off on the team after the game. Nelson was hurt after going 9 for 11, but should start next week. We follow that embarrasment up with a 23-14 loss at New York and fall into a first place tie with those same Giants. Fortunately, we have three of our four remaining games in Richmond. Nelson reaggravates his injured knee and will sit out against the Cowboys. The game results in a 17-17 tie. Vincent Snyder leads Greensboro to a 30-3 win and suddenly, we are hanging on to our playoff hopes. We are able to clinch a playoff spot with a 41-13 win over 9-5 Carolina. We drop our finale 10-6 to the NY Giants to finish the year with a 10-5-1 record.

The Giants try to beat us for a third time in the Wild Card round in New York. They do the job easily, in a 29-3 rout. What a disappointing end to what should have been a great year.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 250-379-11-3410 29 TDs 107.9 Rtg

RB Dale Newsome 366-1604 18 TDs
RB Cornell Heath 38-140

WR Scottie Williams 90-1123 8 TDs
WR CJ Durham 92-1472 9 TDs
WR Spencer Kellum 44-490 3 TDs
TE Antonio Price 27-368 5 TDs

K Jack Reel 16-26 FG 51 Lg
P Mercury Strand 42.1 Avg 35 In20

DE Jamal Dragon 33 T 10.5 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 24 T 8.0 Sacks
DE Blaine Gerhardt 10 T 4.0 Sacks
DT Wade Nicols 11 3.5 Sacks
DT Tracy Kramer 22 T 6.0 Sacks

LB Ronald Hegamin 53 T
LB Victor Newell 76 T 2.0 Sacks
LB Tom Phan 75 T 2.5 Sacks

CB Nicky Burks 14 T 1 INTs 4 Dfns 36.9 PDQ
CB Mario Montgomery 39 T 2 INTs 4 Dfns 25.3 PDQ
CB Reuben Holly 36 T 5 INTs 2 Dfns 35.6 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 84 T 7 INTs 11 Dfns 44.6 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 67 T 1 INTs 13 Dfns 28.7 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 38.6 BPct 8 SkA
C Dan Bailey 37.5 BPct 3 SkA
T Zack Newsome 41.8 BPct 8 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 31.1 BPct 5 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 33.7 BPct 7 SkA

Confederate Awards

WR CJ Durham All-Pro 1st Team
QB Randal Nelson All-Pro 2nd Team
C Dan Bailey All-Pro 2nd Team
S Rusty Broome All-Pro 2nd Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 72
Franchise Value: 72
Profit/Loss: 33
Difficulty: 70

Year-End Score: 59

[FishFan]

2026 Richmond Confederates

The best thing that could have happened, happened when RB Irving Witt retired, taking his 8 mil salary with him. Witt played nine years, ran for 8645 yards and scored 67 TDs. He has had four 1000 yard seasons, but his endurance fell to just about nothing and only touched the ball once in 2025. He decided he had enough and called it quits. There is nothing to report from the scout/coach hiring period.

My franchise value climbs to 6th in the league as support increases to 96. We need to win it all again to solidify ourselves as a top NFL franchise. After spendin nearly 100 million on player bonuses last season, we were once again in the red, losing 80 mil. Our ticket revenue was down slightly, as well. I keep my ticket prices the same as last year.

2026 Free Agent Period

I have 32 signed players and 50 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

C Dan Bailey
K Jack Reel
CB Nicky Burks
RB Cornell Heath
DT Tracy Kramer

I use the franchise tag on C Dan Bailey and will disreagrd the other guys, unless I get desperate enough to bring CB Nicky Burks back for another year. In week 1 of the FA period, I offer DT Harvey Cooper 46.5 mil over four years. Burks receives an offer from Philly for 30.9 over two years - dumb move by the defending Super Bowl Champs. Coper signs with Denver in week 4, a big blow to my strategy. There's really nobody else that I would like to spend stupid money on, so I will reserve some of the extra cap room for next season. I offer 17 year veteran K Freddie Tatum a 2 year, 3.87 contract to replace the erratic Jack Keel. I will look for a youngster to groom into my longterm guy. Tatum signs in week 5 as DT Tracy Kramer receives a 63 mil contract offer from Pittsburgh. I can not some close to that one, either. I offer Kramer a one year deal worth 11.5 mil just to get a body back there. I am not interested in keeping him around longterm, though. Burks ends up taking a three year deal with Detroit and RB Cornell Heath signs with Manchester in week 7. Kramer accepts a deal worth nearly 60 mil from the Bears in week 8 and Jack Reel signs with Portland in week 10. I will address my DT and CB needs in the draft this year or in the offseason next year.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2026 Amateur Draft

I could use another CB to replace Burks and a DT to replace Kramer, but if there is something else out there better, I'll take it.

Draft Results

CB Lenny Verba, Baylor (40/40)
DT Lee "The Assasin" Harvey, Northern Illinois (14/69)
RB Phil Erlitz, Miami(FL) (36/46)
LB Jim Hancock, Notre Dame (46/46)
S Warren Jones, Pennsylvania (27/43)
QB Oscar Wayne, UCLA (19/60)
WR Wendell Givens, Washington (35/36)

Again, a so-so draft with Verba a necessity pick and Harvey a youngster who will not play for a couple of years. A solid group of reserves, though. After this season, I will have 13 players with 10+ years of service and could be hammered by retirements. This could be one of the last chances I get at a Super Bowl in a few years. After the draft, I sign T Ross McWilliams to a three year deal and sign the following FAs to one year deals:

QB Jimmie Walczak
RB Tim Ferguson
TE Fred McCarthy
WR Bryce Jochen
G Eugene Colson
DE Will Lester
DE Floyd MacKenzie
DT Alex Davidson
LB Jay Thomason
CB Tyrell Young
CB Nathan Smith

After Training Camp, I get a nice surprise from LB Jim Hancock and DE Will Lester - both improved greatly. Secnd year DT Scottie McElroy also had a big bump, which may have eliminated the need to sign a stud next year. To top things off, I sell 1500 tickets shy of a season long sellout. This should be a good year for me, financially speaking.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Dale Newsome
FB Sammie Cassidy
TE Antonio Price
WR CJ Durham
WR Scottie Williams
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Zack Newsome

K Freddie Tatum
P Mercury Strand
KR Bryce Jochen

DE Jamal Dragon
DT Scottie McElroy
DT Wade Nichols
DE Ralph Strickland
LB Victor Nowell
LB Tom Phan
LB Mel Manning
CB Mario Montgomery
CB Lenny Verba
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2025 Exhibition Season

After a 3-1 preseason and no major injures, hopes are sky high in Richmond. Hopefully, Nelson will lead us to the promis land once again!

2026 Regular Season

Week 1 vs Philadelphia(L9-13, 0-1)
Week 2 at Arizona(L3-20, 0-2)
Week 3 vs New England(W27-14, 1-2)
Week 4 at NY Giants(W24-13, 2-2)
Week 5 vs Indianapolis(W31-13, 3-2)
Week 6 at Tampa Bay(L17-29, 3-3)
Week 7 at Philadelphia(W34-17, 4-3)
Week 8 at NY Jets(L12-30, 4-4)
Week 10 at St. Louis(W20-9, 5-4)
Week 11 vs NY Giants(W24-14, 6-4)
Week 12 at Washington(W45-17, 7-4)
Week 13 at Dallas(W26-21, 8-4)
Week 14 vs Arizona(W38-35, 9-4)
Week 15 vs Washington(W24-8, 10-4)
Week 16 vs Green Bay(L7-20, 10-5)
Week 17 vs Dallas(L27-38, 10-6)

Season Totals(368-311, 10-6)
Wild Card Game vs St. Louis(W49-9, 11-6)
Divisional Playoff at Minnesota(W28-20, 12-6)
NFC Championship at Portland(L30-33, 12-7)

In our opener, against defending champ Philly, we succumb to a stingy defense 13-9. The loss devastates an optimistic home crowd. After a 2nd straight loss, the media begins to point fingers. We put one in the win column in week 3, beating the Patriots, 27-14. A 24-13 win in New York evens the Confederate record at 2-2. We split our next two games before handing the Eagles a 34-17 win in Philadelphia to head into the bye week at 4-3. A loss to the Jets sets us back to .500 at 4-4. How disappointing.

We win at St. Louis to climb back above .500 and 5 of our last 7 games are at home. A Monday night game in Washington ends in a 45-17 Confederate rout. The win puts us in a 1st place tie with Dallas - we still play them twice this year. The first contest results in a 26-21 win in Dallas as Richmond takes sole possession of the NFC East lead. Unfortunately, Randal Nelson will sit out a few games to nurse a broken foot. We follow that game up with a wild one against the Cardinals. Backup QB Jimmie Walczak goes 26 for 36 and 297 yards, scoring twice. Dale Newsome also ran for 134 yards and 3 TDs as Walczak engineers a comeback to win 38-35. A gimmie against Washington puts us at 10-4 and two games ahead of Dallas for the NFC East crown. S Rusty Broome picks off four passes in the win also. In a 20-7 loss to Green Bay, we lose CB Mario Montgomery, DE Ralph Strickland, and DT Scottie McElroy to injuries. We need a win over Dallas to have a shot at a 1st round bye, but we have already clinched the division title. Nelson will play in this, the finale. Dallas roughs up our wounded defense, 38-27. Looks like another early exit from the playoffs this year. We will host the Rams in the Wild Card Round.

RB Dale Newsome puts the Confederates on his back and carry them through a 1st round playoff win. The back runs for 172 yards on 23 carries and scores four times. Nelson backs him up with a pair of TD including a 77 yard play to Spencer Kellum. The Vikings are up next in the Divisional Playoff. Randal Nelson leaves this game with a concussion and the Confederates trailing 17-7. Dale Newsome cuts into the lead early in the 4th quarter with a 9 yd TD run. After a Viking FG puts Minnesota up 20-14. With under five minutes to play, backup Jimmie Walczak engineers another TD drive, this time finding little-used WR Wendell Givens on a 5 yd pass play. The TD puts the Confederates up 21-20 with 2:46 left. The Vikings throw 3 incompletions to set up a punt with 2:00 left. Rookie DE Will Lester blocks the punt which is picked up by Tyrell Young. He sprints the 15 yards into the end zone to give the Confederates a 28-20 win! 14-3 Portland is up in the Conference Championship. Richmond's great playoff run comes to an end with a 33-30 loss to Portland. Former Confederate K Jack Reel hits a 19 yd FG as time expires after Nelson had found CJ Durham on a 37 yd scoring play a minute and a half earlier. Richmons seemed to outplay the White Stugeon, but could not get the lucky bounces.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 234-395-12-3265 19 TDs 89.2 Rtg
QB Jimmie Walczak 55-96-0-626 5 TDs 94.3 Rtg

RB Dale Newsome 326-1423 13 TDs
RB Phil Erlitz 80-269 2 TDs

WR Scottie Williams 47-555 4 TDs
WR CJ Durham 83-1373 8 TDs
WR Spencer Kellum 50-730 5 TDs
TE Antonio Price 28-342 2 TDs

K Freddie Tatum 20-26 FG 52 Lg
P Mercury Strand 39.0 Avg 38 In20

DE Jamal Dragon 35 T 16.5 Sacks
DE Ralph Strickland 24 T 6.0 Sacks
DE Will Lester 19 T 4.5 Sacks
DT Lee Harvey 24 T .5 Sacks
DT Wade Nicols 28 T 2.5 Sacks
DT Scottie McElroy 17 T .5 Sacks

LB Mel Manning 74 T 1.5 Sacks
LB Victor Newell 81 T 1.5 Sacks
LB Tom Phan 99 T 2.0 Sacks

CB Lenny Verba 37 T 3 INTs 7 Dfns 33.1 PDQ
CB Mario Montgomery 33 T 3 INTs 4 Dfns 30.1 PDQ
S Warren Jones 23 T 1 Dfns 17.6 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 80 T 8 INTs 16 Dfns 56.2 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 65 T 5 INTs 6 Dfns 36.0 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 31.2 BPct 5 SkA
C Dan Bailey 28.5 BPct 6 SkA
T Zack Newsome 32.0 BPct 6 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 37.9 BPct 5 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 33.6 BPct 6 SkA

Confederate Awards

S Rusty Broome Defensive POY, All-Pro 1st Team
WR CJ Durham All-Pro 1st Team
DE Jamal Dragon All-Pro 1st Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 76
Franchise Value: 77
Profit/Loss: 55
Difficulty: 70

Year-End Score: 69

[FishFan]

2027 Richmond Confederates

WR Scottie Williams retired after the 2026 season. He will be a tough competitor to replace. After spending five years in Indianapolis, Williams joined the Confederates via free agency in 2019. He quickly made an impact, catching 105 balls for 1170 yards in his first season in Richmond. He is a five-time All-Pro selection and has collected 13,156 receivng yards over his 13 year career. He finished third on the career list in receptions(1,057), 4th in yards(13,156) and 12th in TDs(67). Playing alongside CJ Durham, they combined to be the most feared pair of WRs in the league.

My franchise value falls a few spots to 9th in the league, but support rises near perfection to 99. For the first time in franchise history, we are in the black, making 32 mil last season. We were able to cut costs by 19% while revenues increased by 11%. For the 2nd straight season, I keep ticket prices where they are at.

2027 Free Agent Period

I have 35 signed players and 40 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

P Mercury Strand
DE Ralph Strickland

I franchise Strickalnd even though I probably will not resign him. He has been injury prone the last few years and I'd rather throw some cash at Will Lester, who has emerged as a solid pass rusher. I make an offer for DT Terry Vasquez, who would really complete my defense. He is a 6th year man who is excellent against the run. I will go above and beyond to sign this guy. My initial offer is for 5 years, 75 mil. He signs right away, as expected. In week 10, I sign reserve FB Richie Glover to a 1.5 mil a year deal. Then in week 14, I signed P Antonio Timpson to a 3 year deal worth 1.5 mil per. This signing ends my FA activity for the year.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2027 Amateur Draft

This year, I will look for a solid WR, FB, and CB to compliment those positions. I think everything else is in place for a serious run. Time is running out on Randal Nelson, however, as he enters his 15th season.

Draft Results

WR Junior Watson, Western Kentucky (60/60)
FB Brock Loseth, Tennessee (23/60)
CB Jon Nichols, Southern Cal (30/40)
DE Leon Blake, Oregon St. (24/41)
LB Charlie Wells, Lehigh (30/62)
RB Shane Lake, Florida St. (36/46)
QB Alan Hulbert, Rutgers (12/12)

A pretty good draft, actually. We landed the positions we needed to fill and got a couple of steal late, in LB Charlie Wells and RB Shane Lake. After the draft, I released FB Toby Taylor and re-signed DE Will Lester. Then, I signed the following FAs to one year deals:

TE Preston Small
WR Oscar Wilcox
G Preston Schwartz
G Hunter Pearson
T Deron Dennis
DE Quentin Van Pelt
LB Korey Grewal
CB Johnnie Madsen

Everybody made it through Training Camp intact, with QB Alan Hulbert getting a little bump. To top things off, I sold out my stadium with season ticket sales. Show me the money.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Dale Newsome
FB Richie Glover
TE Antonio Price
WR CJ Durham
WR Junior Watson
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Ross McWilliams

K Freddie Tatum
P Antonio Timpson
KR Johnnie Madsen

DE Jamal Dragon
DT Terry Vasquez
DT Scottie McElroy
DE Will Lester
LB Victor Nowell
LB Tom Phan
LB Mel Manning
CB Mario Montgomery
CB Lenny Verba
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2027 Exhibition Season

A 1-3 preseason raises some questions, and with seven of our first nine games on the road, we will be tested early. We need to get out the gate with a few wins before we settle into a midseason 4-game road trip. No major injuries coming out of preseason will help a little.

2027 Regular Season

Week 1 at Cleveland(W36-3, 1-0)
Week 2 at Philadelphia(W21-13, 2-0)
Week 3 at NY Giants(W20-17, 3-0)
Week 4 vs Cincinnati(W38-16, 4-0)
Week 5 vs Washington(W21-3, 5-0)
Week 6 at Arizona(L10-13, 5-1)
Week 8 at Washington(W27-21, 6-1)
Week 9 at Dallas(W20-17, 7-1)
Week 10 at Carolina(L16-22, 7-2)
Week 11 vs Philadelphia(W34-7, 8-2)
Week 12 vs NY Giants(L17-34, 8-3)
Week 13 at Minnesota(W9-3, 9-3)
Week 14 vs Dallas(W47-6, 10-3)
Week 15 vs Portland(W13-7, 11-3)
Week 16 vs Pittsburgh(L6-21, 11-4)
Week 17 vs Arizona(W23-17, 12-4)

Season Totals(358-220, 12-4)
Divisional Playoff vs Philadelphia(L20-26, 12-5)

We open the season on the road in Cleveland for a Monday night contest. Our offense comes out firing as we cruise to a 36-3 victory. Five Freddie Tatum FGs and three Dale Newsome TD runs is all the Confederates needed in this one. More importantly, the defense held Cleveland to just 175 total yards and 55 on the ground. A couple of road division wins puts us at 3-0 early heading into our home opener. We treat the Richmond faitful to a 38-16 win over the Bengals as Dale Newsome runs for 163 yards and a pair of scores. Nelson chips in with 256 yards and two TD passes. Another 21-3 home win sends the Confederates off on a critical four game road swing. Playing without CJ Durham and Rusty Broome, the Confederates fall on the road to Arizona, 13-10. The Cardinals improve to 5-0 and take a half game lead in the NFC East. After the bye week, we travel to Washington and beat up on the Redskins, 27-21 to move into a tie for first place. The bad news is, we lose Lester Bridges for the remainder of the regular season to a broken jaw. We reach the midway point at 7-1 and in sole possession of first place, but we lose Jamal Dragon for the rest of the regualr season, as well.

We finish up the road trip with a 22-16 loss, which gave us a 2-2 record in the four away games. We will now settle in Richmond, where we will play six of our last seven games. We take care of Philly, 34-7, and take a two game lead in the NFC East over the Cardinals, who have stumbled to 6-4 after their 5-0 start. Then, we suffer what is possibly the most humiliating loss in franchise history. The 2-8 NY Giants come into Richmond and manhandle us, 34-17. Ouch. Coach Stokes is beside himself. Of course, Randal Nelson was hurt after completing 3 of his first four passes and backup Oscar Wayne could not get the job done. We then travel to Minnesota and barely beat a 2-9 Viking team, 9-3. What is wrong? Nelson will miss a few games with his deep thigh bruise. Dale Newsome is also hurt and will sit out a few games. Despite the injuries, we rout the Cowboys 47-6 as Shane Lake runs for 98 yards and Oscar Wayne completes 11 of 14 passes for 140 yards and two TDs. We follow that win up with a 13-7 vicotry over Portland and keep our two game lead over the Redskins. Against 11-3 Steelers, with half our offense out with injuries, we lose 21-6 to fall to 11-4. However, we have already clinched the division title and a first round bye. Another win will give us home field throughout. We will play without Randal Nelson, Lester Bridges, Louie Castellanos, Jamal Dragon, and Junior Watson who are all nursing injuries. Playing hurt are CJ Durham, Scottie McElroy, Oscar Wilcox, and Dale Newsome. We get the much needed win and a bye week as Phil Erlitz runs for 159 yards and Oscar Wayne throws for 225 and a pair of scores.

We finally get everyone healthy for the playoff game, but we go and blow it, 26-20, to the damn Eagles. I am royally pissed. What a huge disappointment. This will be horrible if it is Nelson's last season. We were by far the best damned team in the league, but too many injuries from a coach that is EXCELLENT in Avoid Injury. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn.


Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 192-293-4-2317 10 TDs 95.3 Rtg
QB Oscar Wayne 107-180-6-1181 6 TDs 76.1 Rtg

RB Dale Newsome 271-1115 13 TDs
RB Phil Erlitz 107-418 2 TDs

WR Junior Watson 30-257 0 TDs
WR CJ Durham 50-827 3 TDs
WR Spencer Kellum 73-936 6 TDs
TE Antonio Price 40-479 1 TDs

K Freddie Tatum 31-40 FG 52 Lg
P Antonio Timpson 42.7 Avg 24 In20

DE Jamal Dragon 4 T 6.0 Sacks
DE Leon Blake 8 T 5.5 Sacks
DE Will Lester 38 T 7.5 Sacks
DT Lee Harvey 19 T 4.5 Sacks
DT Terry Vazquez 36 T 11.5 Sacks
DT Scottie McElroy 31 T 4.5 Sacks

LB Mel Manning 63 T 1.0 Sacks
LB Victor Newell 55 T 3.5 Sacks
LB Tom Phan 90 T 2.0 Sacks

CB Lenny Verba 33 T 4 INTs 4 Dfns 35.2 PDQ
CB Mario Montgomery 36 T 6 INTs 5 Dfns 41.5 PDQ
S Willie Henson 44 T 2 Dfns 35.2 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 37 T 2 INTs 5 Dfns 34.6 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 75 T 2 INTs 8 Dfns 27.7 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 31.8 BPct 5 SkA
C Dan Bailey 45.5 BPct 2 SkA
T Ross McWilliams 38.0 BPct 5 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 38.5 BPct 3 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 28.5 BPct 3 SkA

Confederate Awards

C Dan Bailey All-Pro 1st Team
G Sean Carlisle All-Pro 2nd Team
T Marvin Winters All-Pro 2nd Team
DT Terry Vasquez All-Pro 2nd Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 87
Franchise Value: 77
Profit/Loss: 49
Difficulty: 73

Year-End Score: 70

[FishFan]

2028 Richmond Confederates

No retirements to report this season, but I need to resign both my scout and coach. Scout David Peterson accepts a 5 year, 1.25 mil contract to stay on for five more years, but Coach Stokes gets a couple of other offers. Rusty Stokes finally agrees to a heft 14.5 mil, 5 year deal which keeps him in Richmond thru 2032. He currently has the best winning percentage of any coach with at least 100 wins.

My franchise value climbs back up to 6th in the league and Support hits 100 for the first time. I should have no problems getting a new stadium once this dump's lease has expired. We also stay in the black for the 2nd straight year, making $760,000 this fiscal year. And, once again, we keep ticket prices at the same level as last year.

2028 Free Agent Period

I have 32 signed players and 40 mil under the cap heading into the FA period.

Unrestricted Free Agents

K Freddie Tatum
RT Zack Newsome
LB Victor Newell
LB Tom Phan
C Dan Emmons
WR Spencer Kellum
DT Wade Nichols

It will be an interesting free agency period with four quality LBs without a contract (two are RFAs). I decide to franchise WR Spencer Kellum to keep a very good WR corps together. I offer my own LB, Tom Phan, a 3 year, 25.56 mil contract in week one in the FA period. I will probably not go after any new FAs until the later stages. He finally accepts a 26.99 mil deal for the same duration in week 5. LB Victor Nowell signed with Colorado Springs in week 9 and K Freddie Tatum is sitting on a 2.29 mil contract offer from the Confederates. He finally spurns higher offers to remain in Richmond for his 19th season.

On to the Amateur Draft...

2028 Amateur Draft

I am not really in need of any particular position - I will probably take the best available players at each pick.

Draft Results

C Van Kornblatt, Tennessee (33/72)
S Luke Seiler, New Mexico (27/75)
TE Lamar Strong, Syracuse (49/49)
DT Ian Flannery, Wisconsin (22/61)
WR Corey Garrison, Rice (32/36)
LB Bryant Newsome, Michigan St. (23/23)
CB Ellis Brooks, Kansas (20/23)

A pretty good draft, again. I got both the guys I wanted in round one when Seiler slipped to the late 2nd round. If one of the lower guys can emerge in Training Camp, it will be a very good draft. Afterwards, I an interesting trade offer for DE Jamal Dragon. The Tampa Bay Bucs will part with a 1st round pick next season and a TE. I decide to take a chance and pull the trigger on the deal. I also sign LB Jim Hancock before signing the following FAs to one year deals:

RB Mack Fordyce
WR Russell Mast
G Tyrus Long
G Jeremy Judkins
T Wes Gaylor
T RJ Tubbs
DE Cedric Bailey
DE Andre Doss
LB Rickey Richard
CB OJ Nevers
CB Ricky Perrin

DT Ian Flannery busts in his first Training Camp and DT Scottie McElroy dropped big time after his fourth Training Camp. That's the first time I had a guy bust after four Training Camps. WOW. I sell out my stadium before the season for the 2nd straight year and then released the DT bust Scottie McElroy. That leaves me with six defensive linemen for the entire season. If injuries occur here, I'll have to add some guys. I do have a third TE that I normally do not carry, however.

Starting Lineups

QB Randal Nelson
RB Dale Newsome
FB Brock Loseth
TE Antonio Price
WR CJ Durham
WR Junior Watson
LT Marvin Winters
LG Louie Castellanos
C Dan Bailey
RG Sean Carlisle
RT Ross McWilliams

K Freddie Tatum
P Antonio Timpson
KR Mario Montgomery

DE Jamal Dragon
DT Terry Vasquez
DT Lee Harvey
DE Leon Blake
LB Mel Manning
LB Tom Phan
LB Jim Hancock
CB Mario Montgomery
CB Lenny Verba
FS Rusty Broome
SS Aaron Hanson

2028 Exhibition Season

We finish 3-1 in the preseason and suffer just one serious injury as CB Lenny Verba sprains his neck early in preseason and will be out through the first couple of games of the regular season.

2028 Regular Season

Week 1 at Colorado(W34-31, 1-0)
Week 2 vs Arizona(W22-9, 2-0)
Week 3 at NY Giants(L9-35, 2-1)
Week 4 at Philadelphia(W17-10, 3-1)
Week 5 at Denver(W21-15, 4-1)
Week 6 vs NY GIants(L0-10, 4-2)
Week 7 vs San Francisco(L3-19, 4-3)
Week 9 at Arizona(L27-37, 4-4)
Week 10 vs Dallas(W33-6, 5-4)
Week 11 vs Seattle(W26-19, 6-4)
Week 12 vs Philadelphia(L10-23, 6-5)
Week 13 vs Washington(L13-17, 6-6)
Week 14 at Dallas(L28-45, 6-7)
Week 15 vs Greensboro(L20-31, 6-8)
Week 16 at New Orleans(L9-14, 6-9)
Week 17 at Washington(L10-34, 6-10)

We get off to a good start offensively, beating the Black Squirrels and their wily GM QuikSand, 34-31. Nelson throws four TD passes in the road win. In our home opener, Freddie Tatum kicked five FGs and Nelson found CJ Durham on a 5 yd scoring strike to give Richmond a 22-0 lead that held up, 22-9. We drop our first game of the season in week 3, 35-9 to the Giants., but follow it up with a 17-10 win over 3-0 Philadelphia. Nelson breaks his hand in the win and will miss the next several games. Hopefully, he will return for following the bye week. Our third string QB can not generate any points in a 10-0 loss that drops the Confederates to 4-2. We then lose to the 49ers at home to fall to 4-3 on the year. Injuries have beaten us year in and year out. Nelson returns following the bye week, but the defense fails us in a 37-27 loss at Arizona.

We begin the 2nd half with a 33-6 win over Dallas to get back on track. A win in week 11 against a formidable opponent moves us within two games of the division lead. DT Terry Vasquez goes down for the year, really hurting our run defense. It's an injury that he may not ever recover from 100%. Typical Richmond Confederate sign a big FA only to see him injure himself beyond repair routine. We lose to Philly, squashing any hope for a division championship and really hampering our playoff chances. We drop the next two - we're dead.

Key Individual Stats

QB Randal Nelson 211-378-16-2630 14 TDs 72.2 Rtg
QB Alan Hulbert 60-117-4-489 0 TDs 47.9 Rtg

RB Dale Newsome 231-932 7 TDs
RB Phil Erlitz 60-272 2 TDs

WR Junior Watson 30-337 3 TDs
WR CJ Durham 47-734 3 TDs
WR Spencer Kellum 34-436 3 TDs
WR Wendell Givens 50-493 1 TD

K Freddie Tatum 33-39 FG 53 Lg
P Antonio Timpson 42.6 Avg 27 In20

DE Lewis Keene 11 T 1.0 Sacks
DE Leon Blake 27 T 3.5 Sacks
DE Will Lester 38 T 9.0 Sacks
DT Lee Harvey 29 T 4.0 Sacks
DT Terry Vazquez 20 T 5.0 Sacks

LB Mel Manning 91 T 2.0 Sacks
LB Jim Hancock 43 T 1.0 Sacks
LB Tom Phan 100 T 1.0 Sacks

CB Lenny Verba 17 T 11.8 PDQ
CB Mario Montgomery 39 T 3 INTs 6 Dfns 35.8 PDQ
S Willie Henson 35 T 1 INT 1 Dfns 21.8 PDQ
S Rusty Broome 70 T 5 INTs 7 Dfns 41.6 PDQ
S Aaron Hanson 46 T 2 INTs 8 Dfns 37.8 PDQ

T Marvin Winters 38.4 BPct 5 SkA
C Dan Bailey 29.1 BPct 5 SkA
T Ross McWilliams 42.5 BPct 7 SkA
G Sean Carlisle 24.1 BPct 2 SkA
G Louie Castellanos 41.9 BPct 8 SkA

Confederate Awards

K Freddie Tatum All-Pro 2nd Team

Herb Scores

Team Performance: 18
Franchise Value: 69
Profit/Loss: 36
Difficulty: 73

Year-End Score: 47

[FishFan]

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