FOF4: C.J.Wolf and the Miami Dolphins return

[DolphinFan1]

I'm reposting this part of the dynasty. Since the new board went up I had to find my report. Good thing I saved everything on my computer.

FOF4: C.J.WOLF AND THE MIAMI DOLPHINS RETURN

I wake up and look around the room. It looks like I am in a hospital. I don’t know how I got here or why I am here.
“Good, I see you are awake. I’m Doctor Raulphston.” A tall, dark haired man, about forty enters the room. He has a friendly smile and cheerful voice.
“What am I doing here?” I ask him.
“You are here because you have just woken up from suspended animation.”
I look at him incredulously. “What are you talking about?”
“You wouldn’t remember it because of the medication we have to give you to prepare your body for deep sleep.” He replied with seemingly honest sincerity.
“I don’t understand.”
“I’ll try to explain it to you.” He did.
It was a fantastic story. After the finish of the 1980 football season, someone had an idea to clone me. They thought that I did a great job with being the GM of a football team. But when the NFL went under, they thought of another idea. They clone me and then 21 years later revive me. Now the other 31 clones are 21 years old and know as much as me about football. Actually more because as I was in deep sleep they were perfecting their skills. The NFL can’t come back as it was because they can’t get the fan support. But the television revenue is there. So, they create a computer game based on the NFL and have the 31 clones and I run the 32 football franchises. Almost everything is like real football. They play everything on the computer and then reenact all the games on television. We run the teams on the computer like in real life. We have a salary cap and stadium revenue and all that good stuff. But the only cost to the NFL are the 32 GMs’ and the NFL commissioner’s salary. The television contracts take care of that. People like to watch football on television. But they didn’t like to shell out money to go to a game. The other thing is there isn’t any danger of real people getting injured on the field.
They asked me if I was in. I told them I was if I could be the GM of the Dolphins again. They said that they wanted it that way to see if I could defend my title. But like real life, I could get fired and may have to play for another team. When they told me my salary and the fact that we only worked one day a week on the computer, I thought it was a fantastic deal.
So, here I am, ready for another season of football as the GM of the Miami Dolphins. It’s 2002 and I will be using an OPU with the TCY draft files playing on the Wall Street level. I start the season after the allocation draft. Let’s look at our roster:

Current estimate Future estimate Years on contract
QB- Alonzo Bush 12 60 2
QB- Quinn Mahoney 9 34 1
QB- Gus Bryant 9 30 4
RB- William Stephenson 30 56 4
RB- Roger Wolf 19 23 1
RB- Jay Eriksen 28 48 2
RB- Spencer Benton 21 31 2
FB- Gene Blanchard 18 46 1
FB- Brett Jalove 20 49 2
TE- Roosevelt Talley 16 49 3
TE- Alan Wilson 9 23 2
TE- Deion Hansen 17 48 3
FL- Marshall Webster 17 50 2
SE- Robert Farrell 14 24 4
SE- Travis Kosderka 11 24 2
SE- Toby Carlson 19 55 1
SE- Harvey Blassingame 19 34 2
LT- Barry Knight 13 43 1
LT- D.J. Graham 21 57 5
LG- Alan Dodge 9 31 3
LG- Daniel Moore 6 23 3
C- Chuck Malone 19 62 5
C- Julio Kirk 6 19 3
RG- Gene Rodriguez 14 31 4
RG- Jim Vrabel 12 30 1
RT- Sedrick Crisp 8 26 2
RT- Billy Heath 12 31 3
P- Kennedy McKnight 19 26 2
K- Blake Stanfield 22 55 1
DE- Pete Wingfield 12 31 3
DE- William Dix 20 56 4
DE- Jorge Robbins 10 24 2
DE- Chris Lynch 19 24 5
DT- Brett Oliver 18 47 4
DT- D.J. Clifton 11 25 2
DT- Rodney Merrell 14 24 2
DT- Alex Cooper 15 50 4
LB- Howie Bradford 11 26 2
LB- Tommie Brim 16 29 3
LB- A.J. Bruce 15 29 3
LB- Eric Stanton 14 47 1
LB- Rick Shahade 9 20 2
LB- Vernon Burton 19 44 3
LB- Drew O’Neal 11 27 2
CB- Lonnie Hoskins 15 37 3
CB- J.B. Beaman 11 28 1
CB- Benjamin Lyle 17 42 2
CB- Earl Franz 17 56 2
CB- Chris Valle 12 34 2
SS- Greg Sanford 12 26 2
FS- Trevor Henry 9 25 2
FS- Gilbert Benson 17 41 2
FS- Craig Morabito 11 24 2

Notes: K- Stanfield is a FA signing. Our K we drafted wasn’t very good.
QB- Bryant looks like a bust. He was drafted in the 4th round, but it looks like Bush is the better QB. What’s worse is Bryant has a 4 year deal which this year is worth 4.5 million. We may have to release him in the off-season to create some cap room.
RB- Stephenson was a 1st round draft pick and he looked good in training camp. But he is making 8 million this year. Maybe we can renegotiate that next year.
LT- Graham is making 5.7 million this year. Let’s hope he’s worth that. He has a 5 year deal.
C- Malone is making 5.1 million and let’s hope he’s worth it also.
DE- Lynch is making 3.7 million and a 5 year deal. That may have to be looked at also.

We sold 73,400 season tickets out of a capacity of 74,900.

I will be running a 4-3 defense and trying to build a running team around our 1st round pick, Stephenson.



Here is our starting lineup:

QB- Bush RB- Stephenson FB- Jalove TE- Talley FL- Webster SE- Carlson
LT- Graham LG- Dodge C- Malone RG- Vrabel RT- Heath

DE- Dix DT- Oliver DT- Cooper DE- Wingfield DE pass rusher - Robbins
OLB- Bradford OLB- Burton MLB- Stanton
CB- Franz CB- Lyle SS- Sanford FS- Benson Nickel Back- Valle

Inactives rotated to start the season:

RB- Benton/Wolf One per week
TE- Hanson/Wilson One per week
SE- Farrell/Kosderka One per week
OL- Knight/Moore
Rodriguez/Crisp Two per week
LB- O’Neal/Brim/Shahade One per week
CB- Hoskins/Beaman One per week

Miami Dolphins 2002 Exhibition Season

Week 1 Bye
Week 2 @ Tampa Bay L 13-16 in O.T.
Week 3 VS. New Orleans W 27-8
Week 4 @ Houston W 17-14 in O.T.
Week 5 VS. Chicago L 15-30

Week 2 :
K- Stanfield hit two 53 yard FG’s in the loss @ T.B. But he missed a 42 yarder in the 1st quarter and a 44 yarder with 32 seconds to go in the 4th quarter. We could have won the game. After that first game, I miss our K from 1980, Osborne. Why couldn’t they clone him also?

Week 3:
QB- Bush looked good in a half of action. He was 15/22 for 150 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.
K- Stanfield was better as he was 2 for 2 on FG (24,44).
DE- Dix had 2 sacks and has 4 in 2 preseason games.
OLB- Burton was injured in the game. He has turf toe and will play next week.

Week 4:
QB’s- Bush and Mahoney look decent in the passing game.
RB’s- All our RB’s have little endurance. Will be using RB by committee to keep them fresh.
K- Stanfield missed a 46 yard FG, but hit a 36 yarder in O.T.
CB- Franz looks good in preseason, had an INT in the 4th quarter.
There have been no standouts at the OL position so far. That could be a problem this year in the running game.
We had a couple of injuries to the OL in the game. LT- Knight has knee tendinitis and will be less than 100% for about 5 weeks. Also, RG- Vrabel will be out up to 7 weeks with a sprained lateral knee ligament.

Week 5:
Our starters only played about a quarter. No need to have any further injuries before the regular season. None of our QB’s looked good. Bush threw 2 INT’s and Mahoney threw one on his first series. There were some positives in the game. Backup CB- Beamon had a fumble recovery on the opening kickoff which gave us the ball deep in Chicago territory to start the game. We turned it into a TD. Also, backup LB- Brim had 3 sacks. There were a few negatives in the game. We were 1/13 on 3rd down conversions. LB- Shahade had an unsportsmanlike penalty for throwing his helmet. He was ejected. I will have to watch that this season to see if he is a problem. I won’t tolerate it.
On the injury front, LT- Knight is healing faster than expected. He may be back to full strength in about 3 weeks. The news isn’t so good on RG- Vrabel, he isn’t recovering very well and may miss 7 more weeks.

Well, we went 2-2 in the preseason and we performed about as I expected. Our QB- Bush has shown some flashes that he can be a good QB. Our RB situation is ok. The only thing that concerns me about that is their endurance. Our 3 top RB are doing well, but they tire easily. Let’s hope they can play off each other and have a good year. One other area of concern is the OL. We weren’t very deep and talented there to begin with, and the injuries may hurt us. No one has played great on the OL for run or pass blocking. That may be our number one priority in the off-season.

The 2002 Miami Dolphins regular season

Week 1 Detroit @ Miami Final Score: Miami 9 Detroit 6

Game highlights: K- Stanfield was 3 for 4 on FG. Hit the game winner from 36 yards with no time remaining. QB- Bush was 19/31 for 182 yards with 0 TD and 1 INT. He was 3/4 for 64 yards on the final drive. FL- Webster had 5 catches for 75 yards. The OL only gave up one sack. We had a 35 to 25 minute T.O.P. edge.

Lowlights: K- Stanfield missed a 41 yard FG early in the 3rd quarter when the score was still 6-3 Detroit. Recovered a fumble at the Detroit 8 yard line late in the first half, but couldn’t punch it in. Had to settle for a FG. Had 6 drives with 3 plays or less. QB- Tubbs threw an ill-advised pass late in the first half with the score tied 3-3. Detroit intercepted it and got a FG at the end of the half to go ahead 6-3.

Game notes: A couple of injuries will result in changes to the starting lineup for next week. LT- Graham has a bruised shoulder, but he should play. RDT- Cooper has a hyperextended elbow and will miss about 2 weeks. DT- Merrell will start in his place. LT- Knight is recovering and is about 2 weeks from full strength. But with Graham not being 100% he will play some. RG- Vrabel is still about 6 weeks from returning. We are getting thin at the OL positions.

Miami player of the week nominees: OLB- Burton 5 tackles and 2 sacks.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Glenn Hutton - TB 21/37 for 285 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT
Defensive player of the week: DT- Jerome Rodgers - GB 7 tack, 1 assist, 3.5 sacks and 1 pass def.

Week 2 Miami @ Indianapolis Final Score: Indy 13 Miami 10

Game highlights: Defense had 4 sacks for 30 yards. DE- Wingfield had a sack, forced fumble and fumble recovery all on the same play in the 1st quarter. We had one impressive drive in the game. It was 12 plays for 71 yards and a 5 yard TD run by RB- Erikson. Fake FG on a 4th and 1 from Indy’s 22 worked.

Lowlights: LT- Graham allowed 2 sacks. His shoulder was bothering him. We lost the turnover battle 2-1 and were 4/15 on 3rd down conversions.

Game notes: We had a chance to tie or win the game on our last drive. We managed to get to Indy’s 37 before a sack and 3 incomplete passes ended that chance. One new injury during the game. RT- Heath sprained his lateral knee ligament and is questionable. That’s the same injury RG- Vrabel is suffering from. He is still about 5 weeks from returning. LT- Knight and DT- Cooper are still not 100%, but are well enough to play.

Miami player of the week nominees: RB- Erikson 12 rushes for 89 yards and a TD.
Offensive player of the week: QB - Carlton Flannery - Arizona 28/44 for 256 yards with 3 TD and 2 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- Rusty Fraser - Pittsburgh 5 tack, 2 assists, 2 sacks, 1 INT and 1 pass defended.

Week 3 N.Y.Jets @ Miami Final Score: Miami 35 Jets 16

Game highlights: We won the turnover battle 5-3. 6 sacks by the defense. We outscored the Jets 35-6 after being down 10-0. QB- Bush was impressive with a 15/21 for 153 yards, 2 TD’s and 1 INT day. RG- Rodriguez had a nice game filling in for the injured Vrabel with 4 for 6 on run blocks and only 1 sack allowed.

Lowlights: We committed 9 penalties for 70 yards. Spotted the Jets a 10-0 lead. Running game struggled with a 2.9 Y.P.C. for the team.

Game notes: CB- Lyle had a 97 yard interception return for a TD in the 3rd quarter. We sustained some more injuries. FB- Blanchard has a sprained knee and will miss about 3 weeks. RCB- Franz had a deep thigh bruise and will play. MLB- Stanton strained his deltoid muscle and will be sidelined about 3 weeks. LB- Bruce will start in his place. He filled in nicely this week after Stanton went down. LT- Knight is almost 100% and will play because of the injuries to the OL. RG- Vrabel and RT- Heath are still about 4 weeks from returning.

Miami player of the week nominee: LB- Bruce 6 tackles, 2 sacks and 1 INT
Offensive player of the week: RB- Edgar Neigebauer - Washington 22 rushes for 133 yards with 2 TD
Defensive player of the week: DE- Pete Gardner - Philadelphia had 6 tackles and 3 sacks.

Week 4 Miami @ Kansas City Final Score: Kansas City 13 Miami 3

Game highlights: We didn’t have very much to cheer about. We did only commit 2 penalties for 10 yards. The defense only gave up 13 points.

Lowlights: I’ll try to keep this short, although this could take a while. We were only 2/13 on 3rd down conversions. We lost the T.O.P. battle 34 minutes to 26 and our starting field position was our own 19 yard line. K- Stanfield was 1 for 3 on FG. He could have gotten us back in the game. We just didn’t play well on offense.

Game notes: DT- Cooper was ok in his first game at 100% following his most recent injury. He had 4 tackles, 1 assist and 2 hurries. We sustained yet another injury to our already banged up OL. LT- Graham bruised his ribcage, but should play next week. I don’t have much of a choice. LT- Knight is still not 100% but he will play some. RG- Vrabel is still 3 weeks away and RT- Heath is still 2 weeks away for returning. FB- Blanchard and LB- Stanton are both also 2 weeks away. We need to heal these players fast.

Miami player of the week nominee: LB- Burton 6 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack and 1 pass defensed.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Bobby Speer- Buffalo 30/40 for 257 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DT- David Moore - N.Y.GIants 8 tackles, 4 assists and 3 sacks.

Week 5 New England @ Miami Final Score: Miami 21 New England 7

Game highlights: Defense allowed no points. N.E. TD came on a PR fumble. We rushed 42 times for 161 yards and had 5 sacks by the defense. We won the ugly turnover battle 7-5. A sack by DT- Clifton resulted in a fumble recovered by DE- Dix for a 19 yard TD.

Lowlights: QB- Bush threw 3 INT. K- Stanfield was 0-2 on FG. He missed from 38 and 40.

Game notes: LT- Knight and FB- Blanchard are fully recovered from their recent injuries. But DT- Oliver will be out for at least 3 weeks with a strained foot ligament. RG- Vrabel is still 2 weeks away and LB- Stanton is 1 week away. LT- Graham is almost 100% and will play.

Miami players of the week nominees: WR- Carlson 5 rec. for 84 yards and a TD.
C- Malone was 4/12 on run blocks and 0 sacks allowed.
CB- Lyle had 3 tackles, 1 assist, 1 sack and 1 pass defended.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Bryant Gunn- Tennessee 23/36 for 202 yards with 0 TD and 1 INT
Defensive player of the week: DE- David Zeier- Carolina 4 tackles, 2 assists, and 4.5 sacks.

Week 6 Miami @ Denver Final Score: Miami 10 Denver 9

Game highlights: Defense continues to play well only allowing 3 FG. We were 8/17 on 3rd down conversions. QB- Bush was very efficient as he was 16/19 for 168 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT. K- Stanfield was 1/1 on FG. LB- Bradford had 2 forced fumbles.

Lowlights: SE- Blassingame fumbled the ball after a reception for a 1st down. The game was still scoreless at the time. Fortunately, held Denver to a FG.

Game notes: We are extremely close to getting everyone healthy. There were no new injuries in the game. We get LB- Stanton and LT- Graham back at 100%. LG- Vrabel is close to 100% and will play some next week. DT- Oliver is out at least 2 more weeks. So, we should be ok after Buffalo and the bye week.
We are 4-2 and one game behind Buffalo in our division with the big showdown against them this week. Let’s hope we can keep it going.

Miami player of the week nominee: LT- Graham had 4/11 on run blocks with 0 sacks allowed.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Richie Knight- Cincinnati was 22/31 for 225 yards with 3 TD and 1 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- Pat Barham- San Francisco had 9 tackles, 1 assists and 3 sacks.

Week 7 Buffalo @ Miami Final Score: Buffalo 26 Miami 0

Game highlights: There isn’t much to say here. We had 4 sacks by the defense. LT- Graham was 4/7 with 0 sacks allowed.

Lowlights: We had 3 punts and a FG try blocked. 4 blocked kicks? The defense was in a hole all day. It’s amazing we only lost 26-0. QB- Bush didn’t play well, 11/27 for 127 yards and 2 INT. I let the other 2 QB’s get some work in when it was clear we had lost. K- Stanfield missed 2 more FG.

Game notes: We didn’t suffer any injuries and will have everyone back after the bye week. Well, after this performance I see a couple areas to address during the off-season next year. Our special teams will get extra work in training camp and we will look at drafting or signing a FA punt/kick returner. I also may look at a new kicker soon. It looks like my FA signing of Stanfield isn’t looking so good.

Miami player of the week nominee: None and rightfully so.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Carlton Flannery- Arizona 26/43 for 335 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- Adam Jordan- Jacksonville 5 tackles and 4 sacks.

Week 8 Bye Week

Offensive player of the week: QB- Melvin Kitna- Philadelphia 23/29 for 217 yards with 4 TD 0 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- Graham Barton- New England 5 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Week 9 Miami @ Green Bay Final Score: Miami 27 Green Bay 17

Game highlights: We intercepted the ball 4 times, two were for TD (72,81). K- Stanfield was 2/2 on FG. He must have seen my report on his possible release. Good, maybe it will light a fire under him. QB- Bush was the player of the game. He was 13/21 for 183 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT. SE- Carlson had 4 catches for 79 yards and a TD. We had 4 sacks by the defense.

Lowlights: We were only 2/13 on 3rd down conversions. We lost the T.O.P. battle 34 minutes to 26. That’s because our first 5 drives were 3 and outs and we scored twice on defense.

Game notes: We did suffer one serious injury. LT- Knight dislocated his shoulder. He is expected to miss 9 weeks. That would put his return sometime during the playoffs. I will watch his recovery during the next few weeks. If he isn’t progressing fast enough to help us, I will have to put him on IR and sign someone. But of course, we have to make the playoffs or it won’t mean anything.

Miami players of the week nominees: CB- Chris Valle 4 tackles and 2 sacks.
CB- Benjamin Lyle 6 tackles, 2 assists, 1 sack and 1 pass defended.
FS- Gilbert Benson 4 tackles, 2 assists, 1 INT (TD) and 1 pass defended.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Dustin Malone- Houston 26/33 for 222 yards with 3 TD and 0 INT
Defensive player of the week: DE- Rich Crawford- Baltimore 4 tackles, 1 assist and 3 sacks.


Miami Dolphins 2002 Mid-Season Report

Record 5-3 2nd in AFC East (Buffalo 7-2) Currently we are a wild card.

Team Stats Offense: Rank: Team Stats Defense: Rank:

112.7 rushing yards a game 11th in the league 97.1 rushing yards a game 10th in the league
158.5 passing yards a game 26th in the league 154.1 passing yards a game 5th in the league
14.3 points per game 18th in the league 13.3 points per game 11th in the league
30.1 3rd down conversions 14th in the league 29 sacks T- 8th in the league
+4 turnover margin 8th in the league We are also 1st in the league in penalties against

Individual stats:

QB- Bush 116/203 57.1% 1213 yards 5 TD 8 INT
RB- Stephenson 118 rushes 392 yards (3.32) 3 TD 10 rec. 58 yards receiving 3 fumbles
RB- Eriksen 113 rushes 418 yards (3.69) 1 TD 16 rec. 77 yards receiving 3 fumbles
FL- Webster 22 catches 259 yards 2 TD
SE- Carlson 20 catches 317 yards 2 TD
SE- Blassingame 12 catches 226 yards 1 TD

PR- Franz 3.1 KR- Blassingame 18.7 KR- Eriksen 16.3
K- Stanfield 8/15 FG with a long of 53 and 13/13 on PAT
P- McKnight has a 36.5 average which is last in the league

Team leaders:

Sacks: LB- Burton 3.5 CB- Valle 3.0
Tackles: LB- Bradford 37 S- Benson 34
Interceptions: CB- Lyle 3
Passes defended: CB- Franz 5 S- Benson 5
Run blocks: LT- Graham 18/64 6 sacks allowed
C- Malone 11/47 2 sacks allowed
RG- Rodriguez 10/33 2 sacks allowed

Forced fumbles: LB- Bradford 5

Next: The second half of the 2002 season

[DolphinFan1]

I think this is where I was in my dynasty report when they redid the board. Keep reading. I should have regular updates.

Week 10 Miami @ N.Y.Jets Final Score: Jets 26 Miami 0

Game highlights: I have to really look hard to find something good about this game. The OL only allowed 1 sack. C- Malone was 4/7 on key run blocks with 0 sacks allowed.

Lowlights: Everything. QB- Bush was horrible. He was 10/32 for 91 yards and 5 INT. We committed 11 penalties for 60 yards. K- Stanfield missed his only FG attempt. Jets fumbled 3 times but recovered all of them.

Game notes: We didn’t suffer any more injuries.

Miami player of the week nominee: LB- Bruce had 6 tackles, 1 assist and 1 pass defended.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Kurt Tyler- Jets 16/30 226 yards with 2 TD and 0 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- David Zeier- Carolina 4 tackles and 3 sacks.

Week 11 Baltimore @ Miami Final Score: Miami 17 Baltimore 14

Game highlights: QB- Bush responded from his awful performance last week and played like we need him to. He was 15/20 for 247 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT. SE- Kosderka had 4 catches for 90 yards with 1 TD. FL- Webster had 3 catches for 65 yards and a TD. P- McKnight only punted 4 times, but 3 he put inside the 20. C- Malone was 5/10 on run blocks with 0 sacks allowed. We had 8 sacks by the defense. We were 7/13 on 3rd down conversions.

Lowlights: We probably should have scored more points. We also let them go right down the field and score a TD after our 1st TD.

Game notes: We had another serious injury. Backup DT- Merrell was lost for the year with MCL damage to the knee. I put him on IR and signed a FA. Keith Blackwell will backup Oliver and Cooper. Because I rotate my D-line this is a significant injury. Let’s hope Blackwell can fill in when needed. Also, LT- Knight is still 7 weeks away. I am still holding off putting him on IR. If he returns for the playoffs he can help us.

Miami player of the week nominees: QB- Bush, SE- Kosderka and C- Malone.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Timothy Andrulis- Minnesota 31/47 for 262 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- Ralph Hojnacki- Oakland 5 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Week 12 San Diego @ Miami Final Score: San Diego 14 Miami 13

Game highlights: S.D. came in @ 5-5 while we are at 6-4. Started out promising with us going in at half-time with a 10-7 lead. The defense had 7 sacks and we were 8/16 on 3rd down conversions. QB- Bush was solid with 17/24 for 162 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.

Lowlights: K- Stanfield was 2/3 on FG. But the one he missed was at the end of the game which would have given us the win. It was from 43 yards out. He should have hit it. I am defiantly looking for a K in the off-season. We lost 3 turnovers. Both RB- Eriksen and RB- Stephenson fumbled. Eriksen’s went for a S.D. TD.

Game notes: We are now 6-5 with Buffalo 9-2. We play Buffalo next week, but being 3 games out with 5 to play it will be very hard to win the division. We needed this win. Now we will be playing for our playoff lives and try to land a wildcard.

Miami player of the week nominee: CB- Valle had 4 tackles and 2 sacks.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Bobby Speer- Buffalo 23/33 for 216 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.
Defensive player of the week: De- Deion McConnell- New Orleans 6 tackles, 2 assists and 3.5 sacks.

Week 13 Miami @ Buffalo Final Score: Miami 28 Buffalo 10

Game highlights: In a team effort, we came up big. We got 6 sacks by the defense and won the turnover battle 3-1. We were 6/16 on 3rd down conversions and had 3 rushing TD’s. We were 4/4 in the redzone.

Lowlights: The game was too close for my taste until late in the 4th quarter.

Game notes: We had two significant injuries in the game. DT- Cooper will be out at least 3 weeks with a hyper extended knee. Also we lost CB- Lyle for about 2 weeks with the same injury.

Miami player of the week nominee: None, but like I said it was a team win.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Jimmie Grant- St. Louis 27/48 for 294 yards with 2 TD and 2 INT
Defensive player of the week: DE- Aundray Puckett- San Diego 6 tackles and 5 sacks. (New single game record for sacks)

Week 14 Chicago @ Miami Final Score: Chicago 13 Miami 3

Game highlights: Chicago came in at 10-2 while we stand at 7-5. RB- Eriksen had his best game all year. He rushed for 108 yards on 17 carries. The defense held Chicago scoreless until late in the 2nd quarter despite 3 straight interceptions by Bush. Lt Graham was 5/7 on run blocks with 0 sacks allowed.

Lowlights: QB- Bush looked like he belonged in pee-wee football. He was terrible at 13/29 for 149 yards and 6 interceptions. This loss will really hurt us in a playoff run.

Game notes: Well, now at 7-6 we are in a 6 way tie for 2 wild card spots. Currently we are out of it. We also suffered 2 more injuries. LB- Bradford bruised his ribcage but should play next week. LB- Bruce suffered a sprained knee and is questionable. LT- Knight is recovering a little faster than expected and should be ready by the 1st week of the playoffs should we make it. DT- Cooper is still questionable, but CB- Lyle is recovered enough to play next week. He’s not 100% but we need everyone we can.

Miami players of the week nominees: RB- Eriksen and LT- Graham.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Dustin Malone- Houston 23/28 for 218 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT
Defensive player of the week: LB- Danny Hatley- Jets 10 tackles, 3 assists, 2 sacks and 1 pass def.

Week 15 Oakland @ Miami Final Score: Miami 16 Oakland 6

Game highlights: QB- Bush made up for last week’s debacle with a mistake free performance. He didn’t light it up, but he didn’t cost us the game either. He was 13/18 for 185 yards and 0 INT. RB- Eriksen is coming on late in the season. He rushed 19 times for 84 yards and a TD. His endurance isn’t up there yet, or he would get more carries. K- Stanfield had a good game as he was 3/3 on FG and 1/1 on PAT. P- McKnight had 3 punts out of 5 go inside the 20.

Lowlights: RB- Stephenson fumbled in the redzone when the game was very close.

Game notes: We are 8-6 and are a 6th seed if the season ended right now. Buffalo has clinched the division with a 10-3-1 record. We need to keep winning. We came out of the game without any injuries. We get CB- Lyle and LB- Bradford back at 100%. DT- Cooper will play as he is close to 100%. LB- Bruce is still about a week or two away. LT- Knight is still 3 weeks away.

Miami players of the week nominees: RB- Eriksen, K- Stanfield and C- Malone 3/14 with 0 sacks.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Alonzo Bennett- Giants 26/35 for 244 yards with 2 TD and 0 INT.
Defensive player of the week: LB- Harvey Lowe- Washington 11 tackles, 3 assists and 2 sacks.

[DolphinFan1]

Week 16: Miami @ Minnesota..................... Final Score: Minnesota 22 Miami 14

Game highlights: Trailing 6-0 with 9:00 to go in the 1st half, we go on a 16 play 68 yard drive and take the lead and 8:22 off the clock. We blocked a punt and on the next play get a 31 yard TD bomb from QB- Bush to SE- Carlson. That gave us a 14-6 lead at the time. RB- Eriksen was solid again as he was 20/84 with a TD. We were 7/17 on 3rd downs.

Lowlights: We simply got torched in the second half in the air. Their SE- Barlow had 8 catches for 100 yards. Most of the time I had him double covered. Bush was pathetic again as he was 8/22 for 97 yards. We lost to a team that was 2-12 coming in. Now our playoff hopes ride on us winning at N.E. next week and hoping a couple teams lose.

Game notes: A couple of new injuries. LB- Stanton was lost for a couple weeks with a strained adductor muscle. LB- O’Neal is suffering from knee tendinitis but will play. LB- Bruce and DT- Cooper are still not 100% but will play. LT- Knight is almost ready to play. If we make the playoffs, he should be ready.

Miami players of the week nominees: RB- Eriksen and LB- Bradford had 6 tackles, 1 sack and 2 passes defended.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Timothy Andrulis- Minnesota was 25/32 for 236 yards with 1 TD and 0 INT against us.
Defensive player of the week: DT- Deion Branch- Detroit 7 tackles and 2.5 sacks.

Next: The final week of the 2002 season. Can we make the playoffs?

[DolphinFan1]

Week 17 Miami @ New England........................Final Score: Miami 29 New England 15

Game highlights: In a game where we didn’t know if a win would be enough, we did our part. On the 1st play of the game N.E. fumbled and we recovered at the N.E. 38. 4 plays later we were up 7-0. We took a 14-6 lead in at half-time. Then trailing 15-14 with about 5 minutes to go in the game, our defense goes berserk. CB- Lyle gets a 60 yard interception return for a TD. We miss the 2 point conversion. We lead 20-15. Then a couple plays later, Lyle again gets a interception return for a TD, this time from 42 yards. We lead 26-15. Then DE- Dix gets a sack and a fumble recovery at N.E. 12 yard line. We get a FG to end the scoring at 29-15. We had 6 sacks by the defense and won the turnover battle 4-1. RB- Eriksen had 18 rushes for 82 yards and 2 TD.

Lowlights: We had 9 penalties for 50 yards. We blew a 14-6 lead late in the 3rd quarter. But the defense stepped up in the 4th.

Game notes: We won, but missed the playoffs. The last spot went to K.C. They had a 9-7 record too, but they beat us in week 4: 13-3.

Miami player of the week nominees: RB- Eriksen, DE- Dix 6 tackles and 2 sacks and CB- Lyle had 7 tackles, 2 INT for TD.
Offensive player of the week: QB- Harris Anderson - Jacksonville 25/39 for 242 yards with 3 TD and 0 INT.
Defensive player of the week: DE- Levon Hannam- K.C. 7 tackles, 1 assist and 4 sacks.

How Lyle didn’t get defensive player of the week I’ll never know. I thought with 2 Interceptions returned for TD’s would be enough. Well, we didn’t make the playoffs, but at least we finished the last game strong. Now it’s to work on our weaknesses for next year.

Next: 2002 end of year stats

[DolphinFan1]

Miami Dolphins 2002 End of year stat leaders

Record 9-7...........2nd in AFC East.......(Buffalo 11-4-1)

Team Stats Offense:.....................Rank Team Stats Defense:....................Rank

121.6 rushing yards a game.........8th in the league.......99.2 rushing yards a game..........8th in the league
156.3 passing yards a game.......27th in the league.....164.3 passing yards a game.........6th in the league
14.6 points per game..................T-14 in the league.....14.1 points per game..................T-14 in the league
35.3 3rd down conversions......... 1st in the league .....66 sacks.................................2nd in the league
-10 turnover margin ...................T-28 in the league. 2nd in the league in penalties against

Individual stats:

QB- Bush...........219/397....55.1%........2438 yards.......10 TD................22 INT
RB- Eriksen...........255 rushes........1020 yard..(4.0)..........6 TD.................5 fumbles
RB- Stephenson....216 rushes..........715 yards..(3.3)..........5 TD..................6 fumbles
FL- Webster............48 catches.........567 yards..........4 TD
SE- Carson..............35 catches.........556 yards..........4 TD
SE- Blassingame......21 catches.........382 yards.........1 TD
TE- Talley..................28 catches.........252 yards

PR- Franz....2.6......KR- Eriksen.....19.0....P- McKnight has a 38.1 average which is 28th in the league
K- Stanfield....16/27 FG with a long of 53 and 25/25 on PAT

Team leaders:

Sacks: CB- Valle 7.0 CB- Hoskins 6.5 DE- Dix 5.5 LB- Bruce 5.0
Tackles: S- Benson 64 LB- Bradford 63
Interceptions: CB- Lyle 5 (3 for TD)
Passes defended: CB- Franz 9 S- Benson 8
Run blocks: T- Graham 36/115 7 sacks allowed
C- Malone 22/113 4 sacks allowed

Winner of the Front Office Bowl 2002 is the Chicago Bears. The defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 21-17.

My end of year rating: Performance 45, Value 62, Profit 73, Roster 75 for a score of 62.
Not bad seeing as I thought we had little talent.

Three of our players made the season awards list:

C- Malone, OT- Graham and CB- Lyle made the 1st team list.

[DolphinFan1]

Stay tuned...I will be starting the 2003 season soon.

[Noop]

I'm reading


noop