What You've All Been Waiting For - the Keith Jackson Challenge

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-04-2000, 02:02 AM

In the same vein as the Bear Bryant Challenge the Big XII Challenge, TheDawgsAreOut presents to you the challenge that honors America's best football conference - the Keith Jackson Challenge (named for the illustrious WSU alumnus who only announces Pac-10 games). Sadly, the beginning of the Keith Jackson Challenge has been put on hold by the conspiracy of my mother's credit card paranoia and the evil, evil NFL. I will at least set it up now. You may be saying to yourselves, "Dawgs, won't it be much easier to play a Keith Jackson Challenge since the Pac-10 perenially produce more NFL talent then any other conference (as proven by the Help file with FOF)." The answer to this is, of course it will be easier playing with such an awesome conference, but given the apparent difficulty of FOF2001 on Wall Street and the fact that I still have yet to play a game of FOF that extends past Week 2 of the regular season, I don't think this will be any problem. Besides, I want to raise some support for the beleaguered Pac-10. This board is littered with Big XII guys from Oklahoma and Texas, plenty of Ohio State men (or The Ohio State, whatever) and then the Virginia Tech guys for the Big East. The Pac-10's support is limited to Radio Friendly ...'s misguided support of the Stanford Cardinal (why not Cardinals?) and Dawgfan, Heavy Reign, and myself representing for the U of W. All those guys from Arizona HS, if you like UA or ASU, I want to hear from you! How about the LA school guys, if you're not in hiding or on www.FirePaulHackett.com. Oregon fans? They've got reason to celebrate! Cal? Wazzu? Anyone out there? Back to business. Based on what I've seen, I see no need for any real major house rules, but I could change at any time. Thus, my two main rules for now.
I. I will release all non-Pac-10 players from the team I take over and start "Empty Cupboard" style in the mold of Quiksand.
II. In addition to the regularly scheduled 10 Pac-10 Teams, players from the University of Idaho are eligible, because the Vandals' 2-2 Pac-10 record the past 2 years makes them an honorary member of the Conference.
Thus, my concern until the re-release of FOF2001 is team selection. If anyone actually gets to the end of this, I'd like some thoughts on what teams would be good. My personal thoughts - taking skill positions as extremely important.
Jaguars - 2 Pro Bowlers in Brunell (UW) and Boselli (USC)
Bengals - skill positions good and young with Smith (UO) and my personal favorite Dillon (UW)
Raiders - seem to have a lot of Pac-10 depth, thinking off hand of Russell (USC) and Kauffman (UW)
Buccaneers - can't argue with perhaps the number 1 Pac-10 alum Keyshawn Johnson (USC)
Patriots - didn't Drew Bledsoe (WSU) used to be good? also have Redmond (ASU) at halfback
Again, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Hmm, top ranked Sooners and once defeated Dawgs. Who else smells a rematch of the '85 Orange Bowl?

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-04-2000, 02:11 PM

Using extremely scientific methods (and despite my hatred of it now, NFL.com), I have come up with the totals of players in the NFL from each Pac-10 Team (and Idaho).
USC-31
Washington-29
UCLA-26
California-26
Arizona State-23
Arizona-20
Stanford-20
Washington State-16
Oregon-11
Idaho-7
Oregon State-2
A total of 211, or about 7 per team, about 1/7 of the total NFL, are therefore eligible for the Keith Jackson Challenge
I understand now why no Beaver Believers would dare to come around here. Using an equally scientific formula of:
3 pts. for a Pro Bowler/qb/hb starter
2 pts. for any other starter
1 pt. for any other player,
the top NFL teams for Pac-10 talent are:
New England: 19
Oakland: 19
Jacksonville: 17
Kansas City: 16.
Obviously the message about the Pac-10 hasn't gotten out to the NFC, mostly because they only have one team geographically inside the conference.

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Hmm, top ranked Sooners and once defeated Dawgs. Who else smells a rematch of the '85 Orange Bowl?

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-11-2000, 04:18 AM

After a one week delay to purchase the game, the Keith Jackson Challenge is up and running. For my team, I’ve selected the Ray-dahs, because they have a good Pac-10 score and, unlike New England, are actually in the region of the west. The going is rough. We’ve got a couple of players to build on. Napoleon Kauffman (UW) makes a solid halfback, and Lincoln Kennedy (UW) gives us one lineman. On the defensive side of the ball, Darrell Russell (USC) is a force who will see double, if not triple, teams all
year long. Eric Allen (ASU) and Darrien Gordon (Stanford) give us a solid corner combo. It’s a rough go in free agency, as the Pac-10’s talent is unevenly divided in the pool, forcing us to extreme measures. Our future drafts are depleted to provide some semblence of an offensive line. By the time I come to linebacker, I give up and sign players from schools “inside the Pac-10 region.” The final school tally:
Washingon-11
Stanford-7
California-6
Arizona State-6
USC-5
Arizona-4
Washington State-3
Oregon-3
Oregon State-2
UCLA-1
Idaho-1
Others-2
My cohesion obviously stands dead last by a large margin, though I think the experience these guys have playing together and against each other in college should count.
QB Rodney Peete 9 9 12 2000
QB Steve Stenstrom 7 8 6 2001
QB Pat Barnes 4 7 4 2001
QB Malcolm Blanchard 0 1 1 2000
RB Napoleon Kaufman 11 11 6 2002
RB Nathan Strong 2 3 1 2000
FB Jon Ritchie 9 9 3 2003
FB Sean Fuller 2 2 1 2000
TE Johnny McWilliams 8 8 5
TE Aaron Pierce 7 9 8 2000
TE Jeremy Brigham 6 7 3 2003
WR Sean Dawkins 12 12 8 2000
WR Justin Armour 9 9 6 2001
WR Ronnie Harris 8 8 8 2001
WR Iheanyi Uwaezuoke 7 7 5 2000
WR Larry Parker 6 9 2 2001
WR Chris Walsh 4 4 9
C Robbie Tobeck 11 11 8 2000
C Charlie Fyffe 0 0 1 2000
G Brian Habib 9 9 12 2000
G Scott Sanderson 7 9 4 2000
G Yusuf Scott 5 8 2 2002
T Lincoln Kennedy 13 13 8 2005
T Siupeli Malamala 5 6 9 2000
T Juan Roque 4 4 4 2000
P Sam Torres 5 8 1 2000
K Jeff Jaeger 4 4 13 2000
DE Regan Upshaw 10 10 5 2000
DE Van Tuinei 8 10 4 2000
DE Ferric Collons 8 8 7 2000
DE Marvin Washington 5 5 12 2000
DT Darrell Russell 18 18 4 2002
DT Chuck Osborne 6 7 4 2000
DT Junior Ioane 5 7 1 2004
DT Andy Johnstone 0 1 1 2000
LB Corey Widmer 10 10 9 2000
LB Randy Kirk 8 8 14 2000
LB Ink Aleaga 7 9 4 2000
LB Ernest Jones 7 7 7 2000
LB James Darling 7 9 4 2000
LB Roger Barton 1 2 1 2000
CB Eric Allen 12 13 13 2004
CB Darrien Gordon 11 11 8 2002
CB Phillippi Sparks 9 9 9 2002
CB Craig Newsome 8 9 6 2000
CB Zach Lester 2 2 1 2000
S Tommy Bennett 11 11 6 2000
S Tim McDonald 10 10 14 2000
S Anthony Newman 10 10 13 2000
S Charles Mincy 9 9 10 2000
S Je'Rod Cherry 7 8 5 2000
Despite these numbers, all hope is not lost - after all, San Diego is in our division, giving us a chance at a victory.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

[This message has been edited by TheDawgsAreOut (edited 11-16-2000).]

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-12-2000, 08:47 PM

2000 Season:
In pre-season, we go 3-1 mostly behind the right arm of Steve Stenstrom, who earns the starting nod over Rodney Peete. At no other position is there really a battle, and our scout is concerned about a great many of our positions. The only major injury is arthroscopic knee surgery for de Ferric Collons, who is out 2-3
months.

Game 1: at Oakland 16, San Diego 10 (1-0)
Kaufman does exactly what nobody has thought him able to do his entire career - carry the load. He runs it 26 times for 112 yards and player of the game honors. Stenstrom throws for 210 yards, 1 td, and 1 int. The defense holds Charger runners to 2.9 yards per carry. We’ll have to earn them from here on out, though.

Game 2: at Indianapolis 51, Oakland 17 (1-1)
We come crashing back to reality. Peyton throws for 315 yards and Edgerrin runs for 105. Kaufman is decent even in defeat, but Stenstrom is awful, completing just 17 of 38 for 180 yards. Eric Allen goes down with a hip pointer.

Game 3: at Oakland 21, Denver 17 (2-1)
We get solid offensive performences from our big 3. Kaufman totes the ball 28 times for 157 yards to top the league and earn his second player of the game award, Stenstrom goes 18 of 30 for 243, and Sean Dawkins grabs 7 balls for 127 yards. Terell Davis is held to 48 yards, which is too much for backup Gus
Frerrote to overcome. After 3 games, Kaufman is the league’s leading rusher, and we’re tied for first in our division.

Game 4: at Oakland 31, Cleveland 17 (3-1)
Dawkins is the offensive star, with 6 catches for 151 yards. On the defensive side, Regan Upshaw breaks out with 4 and a half sacks, and earns player of the game honors. The Browns muster just 268 yards of offense. Kaufman and reserve Ron Rivers combine for 169 yards on 25 carries. Going into our bye week, the power rankings move us up from 14th to 7th.

Bye week: By virtue of Kansas City’s victory over Seattle, we move into sole possession of first in the AFC West. Yusuf Scott has to go onto injured reserve, meaning we’ve lost guards (the other Habib) to major injuries in back-to-back weeks. The lack of Pac-10 guards forces us to convert two tackles, ruining the meager ratings they previously had.

Game 5: Oakland 30, at San Francisco 28(4-1)
Kaufman again leads his team to the promised land, carrying 25 times for 122 yards. Thunder and lightning? Who needs ‘em! We got ‘em both in one player. The 49ers rally for 21 points in the 4th quarter, but fall short. Stenstrom goes 26 for 46 for 256 yards. Jon Ritchie was the leading reciever with 8 grabs. The 49ers are held to a mere 224 yards of offense.

Game 6: Oakland 20, at Kansas City 3 (5-1)
The dream lives! We take a 2 game lead in the AFC West by beating the second place team. In his return, Eric Allen picks off 2 Warren Moon passes to earn NFL Defensive Player of the Week honors. The ageless Chief qb is sacked 4 times and picked off 4 more. All told, he completes just 13 of 36 passes.

Game 7: at Oakland 29, Seattle 7 (6-1)
This game is, uh, harder than FOF2, isn’t it? Then what’s going on here? Ink Aleaga, playing his hometown team, picks off 2 balls this week, earning him the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Game 8: at San Diego 45, Oakland 21 (6-2)
Isn’t irony a pain? The one team I thought a guaranteed victory finally derails the Raider express. I’ve also managed to get 4 players disgruntled about playing time. Robert Chancey carries 11 times for 170
yards. In my most painful injury, Kaufman goes down with a hyperextended elbow. Dawkins does catch 5 balls for 170 yards, and Russell 3 sacks in defeat. For some reason unbeknownst to me, Pat Barnes came in for an injured Stenstrom instead of Rodney Peete. Amazingly, he performed well, throwing for all 3 of our touchdowns and 299 yards. Halfway through the season, we’re up 2 games in the AFC West.

Game 9: Kansas City 20, at Oakland 14 (6-3)
The Chiefs cut our lead to one game, and I fear other teams may be realizing that the Raiders have no clothes. Amazingly, the injured Kaufman rushes 19 times for 163 yards. Ink Aleaga records an incredible 15 tackles and another int, earning game MVP honors, but it’s still not enough. The culprit is not hard to find. Kicker Jeff Jaeger misses two field goals, from 47 and 39 yards. Hitting them both would’ve sent the game to ot.

Game 10: at Denver 27, Oakland 17 (6-4)
Dawkins has a season high 8 catches for 195 yards, but the general Raider malaise continues. Kaufman rushes 19 times for 27 yards. Stenstrom throws for a season high 356 yards, but also 5 interceptions. Terell Davis atones for his poor performence in our first meeting with 107 yards rushing. 7 players are now disgruntled about playing time.

Game 11: at New Orleans 34, Oakland 7 (6-5)
The train continues its derailment against the now 10-1 Saints, but we’re amazingly still on track for a playoff bid by virtue of how bad the rest of the AFC West is. Kaufman is back on the wagon, rushing 12 times for 101 yards. Stenstrom has finally managed to play his way out of the starting job by throwing 6 interceptions, giving him a Kitna-esque 11 in two weeks. Hopefully, getting Peete in there and returning home will get us back on track.

Game 12: Atlanta 34, at Oakland 28 (6-6)
And then it was 5. Chris Chandler lights us up to the tune of 376 yards passing. He wins NFL Offensive Player of the Week. Seattle pulls into a first place tie with us. Peete throws 24 for 44 for 328 yards, 3 tds, and 2 ints in his first start, but the defense lost this game. Kaufman goes over 100 yards again, rushing 25 times for 105 yards. Corey Widmer is lost for the year with a dislocated elbow.

Game 13: Oakland 21, at Pittsburgh 14 (7-6)
With a road victory and Seattle’s loss to our last opponent, Atlanta, we retake sole possession of first place. Chaos rules in the AFC West with all 5 teams having a chance to win the division with three weeks left. Darrien Gordon is our third player to pick off 2 balls in a game. Kaufman goes 22 for 95, but Peete
struggles, going 15 of 37 for 246 yards, 2 tds, and 2 picks. Little used Larry Parker catches touchdown passes of 2 and 88 yards. Aleaga, who’s looking more and more like a keeper all the time, has 11 tackles. On the downside, Kaufman fumbles twice. Who cares! The streak is over!

Game 14: at Oakland 31, New York Jets 21 (8-6)
The train continues steaming towards an unlikely playoff bid. Three of the other four AFC West teams lose, giving us a two game cushion and clinching at least a tie for the division championship. However, there is some real bad news. Kaufman dislocates his knee and is lost for the year. Peete has the day of his life: 21 for 32 for a league-high 382 yards and 3 tds. Armour is the key reciever, grabbing 6 balls for 115 yards. Iheanyi Uwaezoke, just getting a start to please him, catches 2 touchdowns.

Game 15: at Seattle 34, Oakland 27 (8-7)
Like any good Pac-10 game, this race is going down to the wire. San Diego and Kansas City lose and are eliminated, but 3 teams have a shot at the division with a week left. A pair of frightening thoughts: we could still earn a first-round bye, and a home division round playoff game, and we could still make the playoffs as a wild card team. That’s how much parity the AFC has. On to the game. Lincoln Kennedy goes down for a while, but besides him and the two players out for the year, everyone’s now healthy. Jay Bellamy continues his stellar season with his third NFL Defensive Player of the Week on the strength of 13 tackles and an interception. The Raiders took a 27-6 lead into the 4th quarter only to see Seattle score 28 unanswered, including an interception return for a td by Bellamy and a punt return for a score by Charlie Rogers. Ron Rivers goes down in the game, forcing us to 3rd string halfback James Hodgins, who can muster only 58 yards on 21 carries. Peete is intercepted 3 times. We’ve got 1 more chance.

Game 16: at Oakland 30, Carolina 13 (9-7)
The Roses, er, the playoffs, are ours! Rivers runs 25 times for 153 yards. He wins Offensive Player of the Week for the NFL. Aleaga has 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks - he’s been my defensive MVP. The Hawks and Broncos both win, so our win was necessary. We host the last wild card team, Pittsburgh in week one of the playoffs. Kennedy’s now out for the year.

Wild Card Round: at Oakland 27, Pittsburgh 16
The dream lives! We get unbelievable performances from two unlikely stars. Backup halfback Hodgins carries 24 times for 149 yards, and oft-injured 3rd wideout PRonnie Harris catches 13 balls for 178 yards and a td. Our defense is unbelievable, and they only score 3 offensive points - getting return tds of an interception and a blocked punt. Peete throws for 298 yards. We head to New England to face ex-Pac-10er Drew Bledsoe and the Patriots in the divisional playoff round.

Divisional Round: at New England 41, Oakland 24
The dream is finally dead, but just a little better than my pessimistic “3 wins would be nice” thoughts before the year. Bledsoe exploits our secondary, throwing for 353 yards and 3 tds. Another Pac-10 guy,ex-Husky Lawyer Milloy, has 2 interceptions. An injured Rivers gets only 16 yards on 8 carries, and we forgo the run early. Peete throws 2 interceptions before being replaced by Stenstrom, who throws a pair of his own. Gracefully, we bow out at last.

New England crushes Cincinatti, 51-3, to earn the right to face New Orleans in the Super Bowl, after the Saints beat the Packers. The Patriots continue their remarkable run with a 23-17 victory to take the whole shebang.

Our performance does not go unrewarded, as Dawkins and Russell are first-team all-Pro. Dawkins leads the league in recieving yardage. Stenstrom finishes second to the bottom in qb rating amongst qualifiers. Despite missing the final two games, Kaufman finishes sixth in the league in rushing.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

[This message has been edited by TheDawgsAreOut (edited 11-16-2000).]

SackAttack · 11-12-2000, 09:16 PM

Might be a little easier to read if you put some space in between each week's game.

Josh

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-13-2000, 12:46 AM

Good call, Sack, although I don't think I'm even going to do a game by game report anymore because, frankly, it's too long. Without further ado,:
2001 Preseason
Herb’s improved UI incarnation rates us thusly:
Performance: 74
Franchise Value: 75
Profit: 73
Difficulty: 72
Overall:73
Not bad for a team which released Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, and Charles Woodson prior to the season. We hire a new coach in free agency. Ricky Jasso is 36 years old and rated very good in the places I find most important - young talent and quarterbacks. A good in halfbacks makes him important enough for me to sign him to the 6th highest contract in the league. The first step in my plan to move the team back to LA is a failed stadium proposal. Despite only 6% interest in a new stadium, we propose a 75,000 seat
outdoor stadium with 15,000 club seats and 375 luxury boxes. The stadium will cost over 500 million, of which we plan to contribute nada. Eric Allen is dealt to the Chargers for a third round draft pick, and we’re looking hard to move up to have a chance at a qb from UCLA with a future potential of 7.4. I balk, however, when I can’t trade my first-round pick, the Chargers third and one I traded for in pre-season, and a future first-rounder for the #2 pick to San Fran who obviously is eying the qb themselves. Oh, yeah, we only have 13 million under the cap thanks to the bonus effect. We make offers on only 3 free agents due to the cap situation: rb Corey Dillon, wr Sean Dawkins, and s Reggie Tongue. Dawkins re-ups with us
in stage 3, but Dillon and Tongue both return to their old teams for less money in stage 8. I don’t really have the cap room or the ability to go after anyone else. I currently have 10.5 million in cap room and 15 players signed.
The Draft:
Rnd 1 - Ernie Sawyer, S, Oregon State
Rnd 3 - Quentin Passmore, QB, Arizona
Rnd 3 - Kelvin Harness, WR, Oregon
Rnd 3 - Wesley Pringle, C, Arizona
Rnd 4 - Wayne Clayton, LB, Arizona State
Rnd 5 - Ike Finks, K, Arizona
Rnd 6 - Matt Rodgers, DE, Oregon State
Rnd 7 - Harry Harper, S, Oregon
Failing to trade up for the qb, picked by division rival Seattle, here’s what I was left with. The stadium vote fails with 2/3 of voters against it. I fill out the rosters with rookie free agents, for the most part.
Darrien Gordon and Phillipi Sparks are cap casualties. Then, a miracle occurs. Looking for a 4th qb, I find in the free agent market that Leo Branch, my desired qb from UCLA has been cut. I immediately release Pat Barnes and sign Branch up. My future looks much better with him, and Lawyer Milloy, who
inexplicably has become a free agent. After training camp, I hold my breath and find that neither Branch nor any of my own free agents has busted. Some of my rookie free agents look like they may be alright, but this is likely going to be a long year. Preseason finds us 0-4, with the youngins both getting injured. Branch and Sawyer both will begin the year on the inactive list. Kaufman and Dawkins, the key returners, look unimpressive in the preseason games, but I believe truly that they'll pick up their play once the lights come on. Again, the Chargers will certainly keep us from 0-16.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-16-2000, 08:28 PM

2001 Regular Season
We lose in week one to the Seahawks, 24-21, despite the fact that Kaufman and Dawkins were back to their old form, with Kaufman rushing for 114 yards and Dawkins catching passes good for 139 yards and 2 tds. In his Raider debut, Milloy had 12 tackles and an int. Branch returns for week two, a loss at San Diego, 13-3. A discouraging trend emerges as Branch hurts his knee. Russell is also out 3-5 weeks with a stretched knee ligament. Branch leaves after throwing just 4 passes, and Stenstrom throws two ints.

In week 3, we get on the board with a 45-31 shootout win versus Washington. On the bad side, Branch aggrevates his knee injury and is out 3-5 weeks. Kaufman runs for an unbelieveable 227 yards and 4 tds. He wins NFL Offensive Player of the Week. It is the new NFL record for rushing yards. In week 4, we lose to the Ravens, 13-10. Passmore is forced into the game thanks to an injury to Stenstrom (out 3-5 weeks) and he does not live up to his name, going just 2 for 9. In week 5, we take out Denver behind Passmore, 17-10. Passmore goes 16 for 30 and is intercepted just once. He doesn’t lose the game, and you can’t argue with that for a 3rd stringer. Another key guy, Lincoln Kennedy, goes down just 2 offensive plays
into the game.

Following the bye week, Russell returns. In a disappointing showing, we lose week 7 to the Jets, 38-6. Testaverde destroys us, going 30 for 37. Passmore goes just 11 for 26 for 167 yards. Aleaga is having a tremendous season. He’s tops in the league in solo tackles, tied for first in total tackles, and fourth in tackle percentage. Kaufman is third in the league in rushing yards, and first in rushing tds. In week 8, we lose at the Giants, 27-6, as they go to 6-2. Our first-rounder, Sawyer, picks off his first career pass and continues generally strong play. In week 8, Branch returns but we still lose 35-10 to the 7-1 Buffalo Bills. Kaufman does get 155 yards. Branch completes only 11 of 27 for 108 yards.

Halfway through the season, we’re 2-6 and in last place in the division. Right on track to what I expected. Kaufman is now second in rushing yards and remains first in tds. Aleaga is first in both solo and total tackles. In week 10, we go down to the Chargers again, 20-16. Kaufman runs for 145 yards and Branch plays perhaps his best game, going 17 for 30 for 289 yards. He finds the right guy, Dawkins, who has 173
yards recieving on 7 catches. In week 11, we lose our fifth in a row to the Cowboys, 23-20 at home. Aleaga has 11 tackles and 3 sacks and wins NFL Defensive Player of the Week. Russell adds 2.5 sacks of his own. Kaufman has an off day, but Branch throws for a career high 3 tds. In week 12, we get back to the W column by beating Kansas City, 20-7. Leo Branch throws 19 for 29 for 297 yards and 2 tds. Dawkins is the recipient, catching 9 balls for 212 yards and 2 tds. Milloy has 13 tackles and 2 ints. In week 13 we build a real live winning streak with a 20-17 win at Seattle. Kaufman rushes for 178 yards. Branch throws for 2 tds. We have two season-ending injuries, with dt Junior Ioane and cb Irving Holland going on ir, and Stenstrom being cut to make cap room to sign replacements. He wouldn’t have returned
next year anyway.

The streak is snapped in Kansas City, as we lose 16-10. Kaufman rushes for just 59 yards, and Branch goes just 14 for 32. In week 15, we are crushed at New England, 43-14. Of note, Sawyer has 18 tackles and an interception. He’s lived up to expectations. Branch throws 25 for 47 for 298 yards, but also 3 interceptions. Kaufman gets just 77 yards, and my attempt to get him the league lead in rushing is derailed. We lose our final game to finish up 4-12, 29-10 to the Broncos. We’ll have the third pick in the
draft. Unfortunately, we’re without our picks in the first two rounds.

Ink Aleaga finishes the year as the NFL’s leader in total and solo tackles, and finishes second in tackle percentage. Lawyer Milloy finishes second in the NFL in both categories as well. Kaufman ends up third
in rushing yards and second in tds. Dawkins ends up second in receiving yards and first in tds. Branch plays and starts in 11 games. He completes just 47.4 % of his passes for 1893 yards, but throws 11 tds to only 9 ints. His 68.3 rating is adequate. 1st round pick Ernie Sawyer has 5 ints and a team-leading PDQ of 35.1 He records 119 total tackles in just 13 games.

The Packers defeat the Ravens 24-17 to avenge their Super Bowl loss of a year ago. The Raiders are not unrewarded in the awards. Ink Aleaga is a first team all-Pro linebacker, and Dawkins, Milloy, and tackle
Lincoln Kennedy make second team all-Pro. Sawyer misses out on droy to fellow safety Shaun Scott of Baltimore, who intercepts 6 passes and records 93 tackles.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

[This message has been edited by TheDawgsAreOut (edited 11-16-2000).]

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-16-2000, 08:45 PM

2002 Preseason
Our performance is analyzed as:
Performance: 8
Franchise Value: 68
Profit: 68
Difficulty: 69
Year-End Score: 54

A troubling thing happens to my master plan, as the NFL expands with the LA Lone Stars, derailing my plan to move to LA. They’ll be in the AFC West and hopefully 2 easy wins. We submit a plan to move to Portland, and lose nobody in the expansion draft. The Chiefs offer us a 5th rounder for Branch and we stop laughing just enough to politely decline. We also decline a 6th rounder for Jon Ritchie. We are now up to almost 35 million of cap room. We go hard into free agency, making offers to te Cam Cleeland, g
Benji Olson, c Olin Kreutz, k Ryan Longwell, and lbs Teddy Bruschi and Kailee Wong. Olson and Kreutz re-up with their old teams, and we search again, making offers to wr Pat Johnson, and g Kevin Gogan, as well as dt Chad Eaton. All three join the Raiders. We still have 20 million in cap room, but unfortunately only 6 draft picks, none until the third round. The price for Jon Ritchie increases - the Lone Stars offer us a fifth rounder for him. We decline again, noting the paucity of fullbacks in the draft. The best player is a Pac-10 guy, a linebacker from Cal, but we won’t be seeing him.

Draft Report:
Rnd 3 - Henry Sherman, QB, Stanford
Rnd 4 - Cornell Duran, DE, Idaho
Rnd 5 - Ricardo Zahursky, DT, Southern California
Rnd 6 - Grady Rottinghaus, CB, Oregon State
Rnd 7 - B.J. Stephenson, WR, Southern California
Rnd 7 - Eddie Herndon, P, Arizona

I’ve begun to face the dillema of trusting my scout. Rottinghaus was rated terribly by my scout, but well at the combine, so I decided to take a chance on him. Stephenson was the opposite, but I went with him too.
The referendum passes in Portland, so we’re headed there in 2007! Sherman, the third rounder has very good potentials, and, after training camp, I find that he’s passed up Branch. I sign rookie free agents to fill my roster, and lo and behold, another find at qb. Bart Stowe, a rookie from Stanford, looks like a definite keeper. He’s signed, and I have 3 qbs that appear to have great futures. Napoleon Kaufman, in the final year of his deal, is resigned to a 3 year, 9 million deal.

Our starters, and the scout’s evaluation of them:
qb Leo Branch 40 68 UCLA
hb Napoleon Kaufman 51 51 Washington
fb Jon Ritchie 43 44 Stanford
te Cameron Cleeland 66 72 Washington
wr Sean Dawkins 58 58 California
Pat Johnson 50 53 Oregon
c Wes Pringle 27 31 Arizona
g Yusuf Scott 25 25 Arizona
Kevin Gogan 24 24 Washington
t Lincoln Kennedy 67 69 Washington
Bart Zimmerman 11 34 Arizona
p Eddie Herndon 51 72 Arizona
k Ryan Longwell 44 44 California
de Cornell Duran 17 41 Idaho
Jay Owens 14 48 Stanford
dt Darrell Russell 89 89 USC
Jeremy Staat 38 58 Arizona State
lb Teddy Bruschi 60 70 Arizona
Ink Aleaga 43 56 Washington
Kailee Wong 36 44 Stanford
cb Daylon McCutcheon 38 41 USC
Brian Kelly 32 39 USC
s Lawyer Milloy 85 85 Washington
Earnie Sawyer 48 68 Oregon State

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-16-2000, 08:47 PM

2002 Regular Season
We complete the preseason at 1-3, without major injury. Sherman wins the qb job over Branch with a solid effort in 3 of the 4 preseason games. In game 1, we are blown out at Kansas City, 26-3. Kaufman gets just 51 yards, and with a rookie qb, we’re doomed. We lose on the road again in week 2, 26-16 at San Diego. Kaufman rushes 17 times for 16 yards. He needs to get on track. Sherman is 13 of 21 for 171 yards. A bad sign: our safeties combine for 33 tackles. We return home to get beat by the now 3-0 Lone Stars, 20-10. Kaufman gets back on track, running for 142 yards in the loss. Jason Garrett lights up our secondary to the tune of 328 yards passing.

The Jets make it 4, beating us 9-3 in the Colliseum. Kaufman can manage only 60 yards on 22 carries. Sherman completes 16 of 29, but for only 138 yards. Leo Branch is disgruntled, and I’m finally making the call to him in the bullpen. Seattle deals us our 9th straight loss, 26-23. Branch does throw for 286 yards and 2 tds on 21 for 38. Kaufman’s miserable play continues, as he rushes for just 45 yards. Tennesee deals us our 10th straight loss, and 4th in a row at home, 37-27. Branch throws for 337 yards and 3 tds, but also 2 ints. Pat Johnson catches 9 balls for 167 yards. Kaufman gets just 53 yards on the ground. I’m beginning to regret extending his contract. The few remaining fans in Oakland rejoice as the Raiders finally erase the goose egg in the W column with a 24-17 victory over the Broncos. Branch throws for another 270 yards, and has firmly entrenched himself as the starter. Johnson has another 176 yards recieving, taking over nicely for Sean Dawkins. Kaufman runs 16 times for 3 yards. A change may be in order. We return to losing ways against our new archnemesis, LA, 36-26. Bruschi wins Defensive Player of the Week with 9 tackles and an int. LA scores 26 unanswered in the 4th quarter to pick up the W. Yikes. Our offense is miserable, mustering just 270 total yards. Kaufman has a good game for this year, running for 68 yards. We only stay in the game by intercepting 3 passes.

After a bye week, we lose again, 20-19 to San Diego. Branch’s 259 yards passing put him back on the Top Performers list. Kaufman gets 114 yards to break out at last. Our defense allows 6 yards per carry. In week 11, we lose another squeaker, 26-24 at Seattle. Kaufman’s on track for sure, with 175 yards on just 14 carries. Branch throws for just 134 yards, but 2 tds against no ints. Tampa Bay drops us to 1-10 with a 17-6 victory. Kaufman’s back to his old ways, rushing for just 20 yards. Branch only gets 243 yards on 43 attempts. In week 13, Pittsburgh drills us, 33-3. We’re now 1-15 over our last 16 games. That’s not gonna be good for business. That’s not gonna be good for anybody. Branch is injured in the game, and likely out for the year. We’ll take a look at the third stringer, Stowe, for the rest of the season.

33-3 seems to be a popular score, as Detroit beats us by the same final to drop us to 1-12. Skip Hicks gets the start and rushes 15 times for 25 yards, outdoing Kaufman, who rushes 9 for -7. Someday, Stowe may be a great qb, but for now he’s more Bart Simpson than Bart Starr. He completes 12 of 33 passes for 105 yards and 4 ints. At Denver, we at least beat 3, losing 34-8. Rookie 7th rounder B.J. Stephenson has a career day, grabbing 8 balls for 137 yards. Kaufman gets just 25 yards on the ground. Stowe goes 16 for 39 for 199 yards, 1 td, and 1 int. We lose to Kansas City at home 15-10 to drop us to 1-15. Stowe goes 16 for 30 for 255 yards and a td. Minnesota caps off the 1-15 season with a 17-9 victory. Kaufman does get 119 yards. Branch struggles, throwing 2 ints.

The numbers are not pretty:
Branch - 170 of 327 (52%), 2113 yards, 11 tds, 12 ints
Kaufman - 246 for 953 (3.8 avg.), 3 tds
Stephenson - 48 for 619, 3 tds
Bruschi - 137 tackles
Russell - 7.0 sacks
Sawyer - 6 int, 42.4 PDQ.
Dallas defeats Tennesee, 34-3, to earn the 3rd NFL Championship. Darrell Russell is a first-team all-Pro defensive tackle, and Teddy Bruschi makes the second team at linebacker.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-17-2000, 12:45 AM

2003 Off-season
Herb's Ratings:
Performance - 0
Franchise Value - 55
Profit/Loss - 34
Difficulty - 74
Overall - 35

We retain our scout and coach, as both are under contract. Darrell Russell is franchised, and agrees to a 3 year, 15.6 million dollar contract. Seeing little Pac-10 talent worthy of the 1st pick, we deal it for the 12th pick in both the first and second rounds, replacing our own departed second rounder. We fill 3 major holes with g Mark Schlereth (1 year, 3.5 million), de Dorian Boose (3, years, 12.3 million) and cb Craig Newsome in a return engagement (2 years, 7.5 million). We laugh at the offer of the 23 pick and a player for Darrell Russell. A third rounder for Leo Branch gives us more pause, but, for the moment, he's our starter.

Amateur Draft Report:
Rnd 1 - Brian Browne, C, Oregon
Rnd 2 - A.J. Crawford, CB, Oregon
Rnd 3 - Louie Patterson, LB, Washington
Rnd 5 - Ronald Ackerman, G, Arizona State
Rnd 6 - Jake Barnes, RB, Arizona State
Rnd 7 - Kelly Wolfe, T, Oregon

The draft is awful, and we go for need. Bowne helps our continued solidification of the line, and Crawford should help at a weak corner position. After camp, we add some starters at weak positions, g Edwin Mulitao, t Travis Claridge, cb Brian Kelly, and de Morris Lattimore, a real find. Bowne is a complete and total bust, and to clear up some cap room, we bite the bullet and cut him in training cap.

In pre-season, we go 1-3, losing all three times on the road, despite resting virtually all key players. Kaufman sustains our only serious injury, but he'll be ready to go opening day. Our punter is injured, forcing us to cut a player for a backup punter. Ouch. Our roster is now rated a 56, so I'm hoping to get at least 6 wins.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-17-2000, 12:50 AM

2003 Regular Season

Game 1: Miami 22, at Oakland 16 (OT) (0-1)
And then it was 10. Longwell kicks a 40 yarder with 7 seconds left to send it to ot, but the 'Fins still pull it out. Branch is injured early, and Sherman throws for 217 yards, but 2 ints. Harwell does nothing at halfback, with Kaufman not playing due to too low willingness to use injured players. Dawkins and Johnson both have 7 catches, but Johnson is now injured. Milloy has 18 tackles defensively.

Game 2: Oakland 24, at Cleveland 10 (1-1)
The monkey is officially off our back. An injured Branch shakes it off to throw 17 for 20 for 230 yards and 2 tds. We haven't seen qb play like that ... ever. Harwell gets 73 yards on 13 carries in relief of Kaufman, who aggrevates his broken finger. Skip Hicks returns to allow Kaufman to rest.

Game 3: at Oakland 35, San Diego 10 (2-1)
Break up the Raiders! Two in a row and we pass last year's season win total in week three. Branch throws 25 for 37 for a league high (tied) 287 yards and 4 tds. I hope and believe he's turned the corner. Dawkins has 11 catches for 130 yards and 3 of the tds. If he can stay healthy, he's just another reason we should be much improved. This week, the spinner lands on 6th rounder Barnes to have a good day at halfback, picking up 77 yards on 13 carries. Chad Eaton is injured now, out 3 to 5 weeks.

Game 4: at Kansas City 21, Oakland 3 (2-2)
Branch struggles in a tough Arrowhead stadium, completing just 13 for 31 for 145 yards and an int. Defensively, Aleaga has a banner day with 17 tackles.

Game 5: at Atlanta 21, Oakland 16 (2-3)
Branch has a fine day, 22 for 36 for 268 yards and a td. Dawkins has 7 catches for 137 yards and a td. Kaufman goes 18 for 68 in his return from injury.

Game 6: Oakland 28, at Los Angeles 16 (3-3)
The newly renamed arcchenemy Ruff Ryders get hit by a burst of Napoleon Kaufman. Finally healthy, the ex-Husky rushes 21 times for 146 yards in his hometown. Dawkins catches 8 balls for 112 yards and 2 tds. Ink Aleaga gets 17 tackles and 2 sacks. He wins Defensive Player of the Week. Branch throws 17 for 28 for 196 and 3 tds. His td/int ration this season: 10 to 1. Eaton and Pat Johnson return from injury.

Game 7: at Seattle 15, Oakland 13 (3-4)
Seattle gets a game winning kick with 7 seconds left. Branch goes 20 for 37 for 220 and a touch. Kaufman gets just 20 for 42. We allow Seattle's star 3rd round pick Phil McDaniel 232 yards on 27 carries, and you can't win with that. Johnson reaggrevates his bruised sternum, and big Lincoln Kennedy and Darrell Russell also go down - not a good sign.

Game 8: at San Diego 27, Oakland 7 (3-5)
Kaufman gets 127 yards on 15 carries. Dawkins has 7 catches for 135 yards. Injuries kill us, meaning next week's bye week is well placed. Branch is knocked out early in the second half, after going 11 for 21 for 106 yards and 2 ints, one on the play he was injured on. Sherman replaces him, and gives a head scratching line: 12 for 27 for 241 yards, 1 touch, and 5 interceptions in under a half of play. All 7 team ints come in the 11 drives of the second half. Just one of those days. The injuries also don't help. At the half, we're halfway to my goal of 6 wins despite playing just 3 home games, and being beset by injuries to key players. Branch is 4th in the league in qb rating (92.3). Kaufman seems to be back from the terrible season a year ago, with 426 yards despite being injury plauged. Dawkins is first in the league in recieving yards by a long margin (891). Ink Aleaga has also returned to his spot atop the league in solo and total tackles. Some bad news - we still haven't played division leader Denver (6-1). On the other hand, of course, we still have a chance to help ourselves, right?

Game 9: at Oakland 34, Kansas City 10 (4-5)
We pull even with the Chiefs by beating them. Two guys return after the bye week, Russell and Kaufman. Sawyer also gets the call despite also being questionable. Branch has another fine day - 19 for 31 for 214 and 3 tds. Kaufman has 28 carries for 140 yards. Cleeland gets 6 catches while only being targetted 6 times - he's had a fine year. Lattimore and Ioane both have 1.5 sacks. Newsome also gets some love with his 3rd int of the year, far better than any corner last year.

Game 10: at Oakland 23, New Orleans 20 (5-5)
Another solid win over the previously 6-3 Saints evens our record. Longwell wins it on a fg with 5 seconds left. Kaufman is anemic, picking up just 25 yards on 20 carries. Branch is 14 for 29 for 166, 1, 1, but most importantly he pulls out the game. On the negative side, Russell aggrevates his injury and is now out until the playoffs. Little used reserve rookie corner A.J. Crawford has an int return for a td, and gets a shout out here. Nobody can replace Russell, but Jason Fisk will attempt the task.

Game 11: at Oakland 34, Denver 7 (6-5)
A huge win over the division's leaders gives us - whaddya call it again? oh, yes - a winning streak! Sure, Denver has a laundry list of injuries, but I'm not thinking about that now - we're only 2 games out of the division lead, and in the thick of the playoff hunt. Branch goes 23 for 32 for 249 and a td. Kaufman runs 32 times for 174 yards and 3 tds. He wins Offensive Player of the Week. Reserve de Jay Owens gets 2 and a half sacks.

Game 12: at Oakland 14, Seattle 14 (6-5-1)
Don't adjust your screen, kids. That's right - the unthinkable - a tie with division rival Seattle. We lose a chance to move up on Denver, who loses to 2-10 LA, but, we do remain tied with Seattle. I think we're two pretty even teams at this point. Kaufman has 37 carries for 152 yards and a td. Seattle, for the second time against us, is clutch late, sending the game into ot with a fg with 3 seconds left. They go on an 11-0 4th quarter run, just like a real Pac-10 team from Seattle. Branch has an off day, 18 for 32 for 165, 1 td, and 2 ints. Longwell is the goat - he misses 3 field goals. In ot, they miss a 40 yarder and we a 36 yarder as time expires. Ouch.

Game 13: Oakland 24, at Denver 16 (7-5-1)
The slumping Broncos lose their 4th in a row, as we continue our 5 game unbeaten streak (odd to say that, ain't it) to pull within a half game of the division lead, though Seattle is also tied with us and holds the tiebraker. If only Longwell could've hit that field goal ... . Branch has a huge day - 24 of 34 for 332 and 2 tds. Kaufman picks up another 122 on 24 carries. Last year's miserable season is forgotten. Lattimore records three sacks. Johnson is injured yet again.

Game 14: Carolina 9, at Oakland 3 (7-6-1)
We finally lose in the second half, and this one hurts, as we are eliminated from contention in the AFC West. Our hopes are not realized, as Seattle and Denver do not tie, with Seattle winning to now control their own destiny. The injury list grows. Branch is 17 for 26 for 200 yards, but 2 ints. Kaufman is injured after garnering 47 yards on 10 carries, and Harwell gets just 19 on 12. Cleeland has a huge day - 7 catches for 89 yards.

Game 15: at Jacksonville 20, Oakland 17 (7-7-1)
Our injury-riddled squad loses a heartbreaker to 4-11 Jacksonville. Kaufman gets just 25 yards on 13 carries. Branch is injured late, though Sherman fills in admirably. Harness has a career high 9 catches for 70 yards. We still have a slim outside chance of a playoff birth - though, depending on matchups, it may require another tie. How could Longwell miss that field goal?

Game 16: at Oakland 23, Los Angeles 13 (8-7-1)
We finish the season off the right way and wonder what could have been, finishing 1/2 game out of a playoff spot, and would've won a three-way tie for the division title had Longwell's field goal at the gun merely split the uprights. Branch goes out well - 25 for 42, 259 yards, 2 tds. Kaufman gets 153 yards on 23 carries in an attempt to atone for a poor game at Jacksonville. Lincoln Kennedy earns our first ever o-line mention on Top Performers with 5 key run blocks. We finish in 3rd place in the AFC West.

Statistical Leaders:
qb Leo Branch 289 for 476 (60.7%), 22 tds, 13 ints, 85.8 rating (6th NFL)
hb Napoleon Kaufman 275 carries for 1264 yards (4.5 avg) (7th NFL), 6 tds
wr Sean Dawkins 86 catches for 1436 yards (16.6 avg) (2nd NFL), 12 tds (1st NFL)
lb Ink Aleaga 139 tackles, 97 solo (t11th NFL), 17.2 tckl %
de Morris Lattimore 50 tackles, 14 sacks (8th NFL), 7.9 pr % (2nd NFL)
cb Craig Newsome 4 ints, 39.5 pdq (14th NFL)
c Wesley Pringle 32 krb (t8th NFL)

Indianapolis defeats Tampa Bay, 29-27, to win the Super Bowl. te Cam Cleeland (69 catches, 719 yards) and wr Sean Dawkins make all-Pro 1st Team. Lincoln Kennedy is the second team tackle. We head into 2004 very optimistically.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-18-2000, 01:41 AM

2003 Off-Season
Herb's Ratings:
Performance - 45
Team Value - 50
Profit/Loss - 39
Difficulty - 77
Overall - 47

Ricky Jasso, the second-youngest coach in the NFL, re-ups for 5 years at 1.7 million. His record's awful, but that's more my fault than his. We go into free agency with only 23 players under contract, and Lawyer Milloy as our franchise player. My first indication of the draft is that this year has a ton of Pac-10 talent, an infusion we could use. Unfortunately, we're only 25 million under the cap, and there are a lot of my own free agents I'd like to keep. Milloy is re-signed for 3 years and 10.5 million. In week 1, we make offers to 5 of our own free agents: fb D.J. Edmondson, g Mark Schlereth and Edwin Mulitao, de Morris Lattimore, and lb Ink Aleaga. Edmonson re-signs in week 2. Mulitao is back in the fold week 4, along with Aleaga. Lattimore's demands continue going down, and I adjust accordingly and cheer in my head. He signs in week 5, before he's forced to go even lower. Stil pretty good for a guy who wasn't even in anybody's training camp last year. Schlereth finally re-ups the next week, and we're done, with 9 million of cap room left. Jon Ritchie becomes my first real free agent to go elsewhere, getting a 4.6 million, 2 year deal from Philadelphia.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Jamal Austin, DE, Washington
Rnd 2 - Joey Copeland, CB, Washington State
Rnd 3 - Dale Whiting, LB, Stanford
Rnd 4 - Sammie Palmer, QB, Stanford
Rnd 5 - Marco Herndon, WR, Arizona
Rnd 6 - Billy Joe Wilkins, FB, Southern California
Rnd 7 - George Rives, C, Southern California

Austin and Copeland both look like they could be of real help this year if they don't go bust. Fearful of such things, I negotiate down both their bonuses. After all, I'm really paying for last year's mistake this year. Sean Dawkins and Craig Newsome both renegotiate for 2 more years and some cap relief. We fill out the roster with the usual assortment of rookie free agents, including one of note. dt Casey Tuiososopo of Washington gets a 7 year deal. Yes, I know it's cheating, but it's as close to Marques as I'm gonna get in this game, so what the heck.

We sell only 19,500 season tickets. Ouch. I guess the folks from Portland just aren't coming down to watch their future stars. The first other team to attempt to move is the Dallas Cowboys, who attempt to oversatuerate the Pac-10 pro market by moving to Spokane. Sadly, their attempt fails. We shoot down trade offers of a 2nd rounder and Rashaan Sheehee (the first guy we could've kept) for Lattimore and a 4th rounder for Edmondson. Austin and Copeland come through with flying colors - Austin has an 85 future potential, second best on the team. The rest of the draft looks pretty solid as well, especially rounds 3-5. In camp, we pick up corner Isaac DiMaggio, a man we've long eyed, and sign him to a three year deal. The roster goes to 53 with 80,000 to spare. We finish 1-3 in preseason, and I am disappointed. Aleaga goes out long term, and Austin becomes our second first round pick to be injured at the beginning of the season (worse still considering one first rounder didn't even make it to opening day and we didn't have a first the other year).

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-18-2000, 01:46 AM

2004 Regular Season
Game 1: at Oakland 33, Indianapolis 21 (1-0)
A huge season opening win against the defending champs. Branch is his now usual workmanlike self, 20 for 33, 234, 2 tds. Kaufman is the Man. 26 for 204 and a td.

Game 2: New York Giants 12, at Oakland 7 (1-1)
Injuries are mounting already. A full 1/4 of the roster is at least somewhat injured. Kaufman is not to blame, getting 185 yards and a td on 23 carries. The G-Men get a 59 yard interception return with 19 seconds left to win what was a game that we lead 7-6. Why we were passing with 19 seconds left is beyond me. Branch was mediocre at best, 16 for 32, 198 yards, 2 ints.

Game 3: Oakland 26, at Arizona 20 (OT) (2-1)
Kaufman has his second 200+ yard game of the year, rushing 28 times for 222 yards and a td. He's named Offensive Player of the Week. Earnie Sawyer has a huge 72 yard interception return for a td to win it 2 minutes into ot, for our first ot win in three tries (1-1-1). Branch struggles again, throwing for just 181 yards and 3 ints, 2 more than in entire first half a year ago. Russell has a nice day with two sacks.

Game 4: Oakland 38, at Los Angeles 23 (3-1)
For the third straight time, we dump our rivals to the south. Kaufman has his THIRD 200+ yard effort of the year, rushing 34 times for 285 yards and 3 tds. For the second straight week, he is Offensive Player of the Week (only two guys have won it this year, the other Washington's Johnny Spicer). Branch, however, struggles again, completing only 13 of 29. Now, a much-needed week off to rest our injuries. Some notes on Kaufman's season thus far. Through only 4 games, he already ranks about 75 all-time in single-season rushing with 896 yards. He also has 6 tds, matching last year's total. His career yardage is now number 2 all-time.

Game 5: at Oakland 27, Denver 0 (4-1)
A huge shutout win. San Diego loses their second straight, so we take sole possession of first in the AFC West. Branch is back on the wagon - 22 for 31 for 240 and a td. Kaufman is injured after picking up just 11 yards, but Barnes picks up right where Kaufman left off, picking up 90 yards on 11 carries. Our defense comes up with 4 interceptions.

Game 6: Oakland 24, at Kansas City 17 (5-1)
Our fourth win in a row gives us a two game lead, although it's still very early. Kaufman gets another 161 and a td on 25 carries. Johnson catches two tds on 7 total catches for 86 yards. Branch is injured after completing 7 of 11, but rookie Palmer is impressive, completing 14 of 19 for 134 yards and a td. Kaufman does fumble twice.

Game 7: Oakland 26, at Seattle 0 (6-1)
Wow. A shutout on the road. This team is really coming together before my eyes. Kaufman has his fourth 200+ yard effort, getting 209 and 2 tds on 33 carries. He wins his third Offensive Player of the Week. At times, partially because of his low ratings and a terrible 2002 season, I've questioned Nap. No longer. He is the Man, and if we are to go to "the promised land", I want it to be with him. Branch has an awful day - 11 for 26, 152 yards, and an int. Milloy has 11 tackles and a pick.

Game 8: at Miami 31, Oakland 24 (6-2)
I sensed trouble in this matchup with the 1-6 Fins, and I was right. It's almost impossible to win three straight road games in this league. The defense loses this one. Kaufman still gets 131 yards on 18 carries, and Branch throws for 202 yards and 2 tds. Halfway through the season, Kaufman's numbers: 190 carries, 1408 yards (7.4 avg), 10 tds. He's 147 yards from a career single season high. This year, that's one decent game.

Game 9: at Oakland 35, Los Angeles 0 (7-2)
The d pitches its third shutout of the year as we really take it to rivals LA. Branch has a huge day - 20 for 28, 315 yards, 3 tds. Kaufman has another 100 yard day, though 14 carries for 106 yards is almost disappointing now. Johnson has a career day - 10 catches for 153 yards and 2 tds. Amazingly, he isn't injured either. Disgruntled Marco Herndon has 7 catches for 88 yards and a td - the right way to get playing time.

Game 10: at San Diego 17, Oakland 14 (7-3)
San Diego gets a game winning td with just over a minute on the clock. Johnson has another big day - 5 catches for 177 yards and another 2 tds. First rounder Jamal Austin finally busts out with 3 sacks. Kaufman gets just 65 yards on 18 carries. Branch completes just 17 of 34, but for 280 yards and 2 tds. A missed 27 yard field goal by Longwell looms large. After the game, Kaufman is signed to a contract which will keep him in Oakland until there's no reason or team there. He'll also be around in 2007, our first year in Portland.

Game 11: at Baltimore 31, Oakland 21 (7-4)
A second loss in a row on the road to a tough Baltimore team. We'll only leave the not-so-friendly confines of the Oakland-Alameda Colliseum once more this year. Kaufman doesn't let up with the signing bonus in hand, with 21 carries for 156 yards and 2 tds. Branch throws for just 163 yards and 2 ints. Johnson has another 8 catches for 84 yards.

Game 12: at Oakland 21, Philadelphia 15 (8-4)
We finally get off the schneid with a huge home victory, giving us momentum going into a huge game against the Chargers. Pat Johnson has another 100 yard day on 6 catches, with 2 tds. Ink Aleaga is finally back, and he proves it with 13 tackles and a sack. Only 30,900 are present, raising the age-old question - "If a team wins a game but nobody sees it, do they really win at all?" Kaufman has just 5 carries for 17 yards, and Barnes struggles. Branch is just 15 for 33 and throws 2 tds and ints.

Game 13: at Oakland 24, San Diego 21 (9-4)
We clinch our second division title with a huge win. Now, just 1 game back of the other division leaders, we begin to hope for a bye week, especially holding the tiebreaker over Indy. Two big injuries - Johnson's likely done for the regular season, and Russell's finished period, leaving a huge hole at defensive tackle. Branch is 23 for 33 for 275 and a td. Kaufman has 25 carries for 151 yards and 2 tds. Before leaving, Johnson has another huge day - 10 catches for 118 yards and a td. Defensively, Lattimore has 2 sacks.

Game 14: at Oakland 28, Kansas City 17 (10-4)
With Indy's loss, we'd have a bye if the playoffs started today. Kaufman and Milloy both go out until the playoffs. Jake Barnes has a big day filling in - 21 carries for 102 yards and a td. They threaten late, but Sawyer has a 92 yard interception return to the house to seal it. Branch is 15 for 31 for 223 and a td. Brazil returns at safety to replace Milloy, and Russell goes on IR.

Game 15: at Denver 10, Oakland 7 (10-5)
The injuries have suddenly come in droves. Dawkins is out until the playoffs, and Lattimore is finished. Indy loses as well, so we still have a shot at the much needed bye week. Barnes has 18 carries for 148 yards. He was one awesome 5th round pick.

Game 16: Seattle 19, at Oakland 17 (10-6)
Indy wins. We lose. So, the M*A*S*H unit will have to get ready for next week, and a ton of questionable, even doubtful players will see time. 7guys are officially done for the year - so our inactive list is pretty easy to figure out. Seattle wins it on a field goal with 33 seconds left - they seem to have a knack for these late comebacks against us. Branch is an uninspiring 22 for 33 for 181 and a touch.

Wild Card Round: at Oakland 41, New England 35 (11-6)
Branch has the best day of his career: 27 for 35, 389 yards, 4 tds. Herndon and Johnson combine to catch all the tds, 17 passes, and 272 yards worth. We need 'em all, because Bledsoe puts up 412 yards against the depleted secondary. He's beat us before in the playoffs, but this year we got 'em. An injured Kaufman rushes 19 times for 55 yards. Only 40,000 some odd people attend, sorry for a playoff game. Defensively, Austin has 2 sacks and an interception.

Division Round: at Indianapolis 27, Oakland 17 (11-7)
The dream finally comes to an end at the accurate hand of Peyton Manning. Branch has another valiant effort - 22 for 38, 264 yards, and a td. The constantly improving Austin has 3 sacks and a bright future. An injured Kaufman can muster only 22 yards on 13 carries.

Season Statistical Leaders:
qb Leo Branch 270-481 (56.1%), 3351 yards, 19 td, 16 int, 77.1 rating
hb Napoleon Kaufman 276-1912 (2nd NFL) (6.9 avg, 1st NFL), 15 td (2nd NFL)
wr Pat Johnson 69-1105 (16.0 avg, 3rd NFL), 12 td (1st NFL), 2 drops
lb Tito Hopper 129 tackles (t10 NFL), 99 solo (8th NFL), 16.2 tckl%
cb Brian Kelly 4 int, 34.7 pdq

Off/Def/League
Rush 5.7/3.5/3.7
Pass 6.9/6.1/6.7

Those 4 numbers look pretty good compared to the league average. Washington defeats Cincinatti, 19-14, to win the Super Bowl. Only Darrell Russell is honored in the post-season, taking home 1st team defensive tackle. Kaufman is completely robbed.

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Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-23-2000, 01:07 PM

2005 Pre-season
Herb's ratings:
Performance - 78
Team Value - 48
Profit/Loss - 40
Difficulty - 78
Overall - 54

Kicker Ryan Longwell retires after the season. As our scout is 70 and his contract is up, we decide to look elsewhere. We hire Tom Liwenski, no spring chicken himself at age 58. He has an Exc in young talent, and thus gets the call. He decides that he can't stand my favorite de, second year man Jamal Austin, who goes from a future 85 to 58. Hopefully Liwenski is just dyslexic. Free agency is to be hell upon us this year. My beloved qb Leo Branch and first ever draft pick, s Ernie Sawyer, are both free agents sure to command astronomical salaries. Three of my top linebackers are also free agents. Also a restricted free agent is halfback Jake Barnes, who had some fine performances filling in for Nap last year, but whom my new scout rates just a 34. In the end, I franchise Branch, who I simply can't afford to lose, especially with two other qbs free agents sure to seek greener pastures. We accept the Bills' offer of the third pick of the second round for corner Joey Copeland, with an eye to a corner in the draft from Wazzu who is almost maxed out, and doesn't have any return ability, making him an unlikely bust. In week one, offers go out to Sawyer, Teddy Bruschi, Tito Hopper, and wide reciever Pat Johnson (missed in my fa roundup). Good news in the kicker market, as a decent Pac-10 guy is available. In fact, it's the guy I failed to get oh so many years ago in my first draft, when I had to settle for his backup.

Skip Brooks signs up in week 1 for a 3 year, 3 million contract. In week two, Bruschi is back for 2 years and 7 million. Hopper returns in week 3 for 3 years and 12.5 million. In week 5, Sawyer finally realizes I'm basically stealing from him with each passing week, and signs for 3 years and 8.25 million. Someone finally gets a foriegn bid, as Pittsburgh moves past my week offer to Johnson in a surprising development. Johnson accepts our new 4 year, 27 million bid in week 7 and we are about finished with free agents in the 20 step period. We now have 31 players and 15 million to play with - but that of course does not include Branch, who we must still deal with. He is soon, however, signed to a 3 year, 19.5 million contract. Very respectable given that Matt Hasselbach just got 44 million over 5 years from the Ruff Ryders.

Rejoicing is heard in the Oakland front office as the corner, Justin Mahnken lasts and they jump all over him. In round 2, we see a safety who is the epitome of a Quiksand bust. Identical 27s in return. He goes to Cleveland two picks after ours, and we'll see if he truly is El Busto.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Justin Mahnken, CB, Washington State
Rnd 2 - Deon Caldwell, RB, Washington
Rnd 2 - Victor Everett, WR, Oregon
Rnd 3 - Butch Mills, S, Arizona State
Rnd 4 - Bob Jarvis, C, Washington
Rnd 5 - Derrick Blaine, T, California
Rnd 6 - Roy Boyd, DT, Arizona State
Rnd 7 - Larry Middleton, S, Washington

Prior to camp, my scout rates safety Ed Maynard of Idaho thusly:
28/64, 29/72, 32/74, 54, 27, 27, 45. We'll see what happens.

My own corner Mahnken makes it through camp with flying colors. Everett and Blaine have moderate break outs, though Caldwell and Mills don't have the ones I'd hoped for. We sell just 18,500 season tickets in our penultimate season in Oakland.

Ed Maynard's new numbers (as he resides on the inactive list):
2/17, 4/34, 6/69, 42, 1, 1, 31.
The numbers don't lie - though he's not quite the Bust I'd thought he would be. He can still play some solid zone defense - still not worth a second rounder, and not as good as my own 3rd rounder Mills. Darrell Russell signs a 2 year extension, and Lincoln Kennedy a one year one to give us some cap relief. We get to 53 with room to spare.

At this time, I'm going to do some extensive team breakdowns to fit the FOFCentral.com spirit.
College Breakdown:
Arizona - 7
Arizona State - 9
California - 4
Idaho - 1
Oregon - 3
Oregon State - 3
Southern California - 6
Stanford - 3
UCLA - 3
Washington - 13 (including all 3 halfbacks)
Washington State - 1

Time with Oakland (note: this does not take into account 2nd tours of duty, etc., of which I have many because of the nature of this challenge)
10+years: 3
7-9 years: 1 (these 3 represent the 3 pre-existing Raiders still around, Kaufman, Kennedy, and Russell)
4-6 years: 6
2-3 years: 12
1 year: 10
0 years: 21

Draft Position:
Top Ten: 2 (both inherited Raiders)
Other First: 8
Second: 9
Third: 6
Fourth: 5
Fifth: 4
Sixth: 2
Seventh: 4
Tenth: 1 (Mark Schlereth)
Not Drafted: 11

Acquired:
Draft: 21
20-Step Free Agency: 5
Other Free Agency: 26

Experience:
10+: 7
7-9: 6
4-6: 12
2-3: 12
Rookies: 16

Payroll Breakdown Avg. of position Percentage of total salary
qb 7.26 million 1.88 million 8.6%
hb 4.2 million 1.4 million 5.0%
fb 2.75 million 1.38 million 3.2%
te 4.8 million 1.6 million 5.7%
wr 9.37 million 1.56 million 11.1%
c 680 thousand 340 thousand 0.8%
g 7.57 million 1.89 million 8.9%
t 4.62 million 1.54 million 5.9% offense: 49.2%
p 700 thousand 700 thousand 0.8%
k 820 thousand 820 thousand 1.0%
de 8.42 million 2.11 million 9.9%
dt 6.64 million 1.33 million 7.8%
lb 10.19 million 1.7 million 12.0%
cb 8.44 million 1.69 million 10.0%
s 6.38 million 1.6 million 7.5% defense: 47.2%
total 84.78 million 1.6 million

We finish pre-season at 1-3 (a curious thing - why do we always play just 1 home game - just bugs me). No major injuries makes me pleased.

------------------
UW 51, WSU 3! Wow! It's about time we played a good 4 quarter game! Pasadena, here we come!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-23-2000, 01:12 PM

2005 Regular Season
Game One: Seattle 25, at Oakland 18 (0-1)
Never good to begin the season with a loss at home to a team that is sure to give us fits all year. Seattle always seems to have our number. Branch goes 29 for 50 for 327 yards and a td. Kaufman rushes an uninspiring 18 times for 58 yards.

Game Two: at Los Angeles 26, Oakland 0 (0-2)
This season appears to be going down the drain in a hurry. The Ruff Ryders beat us for the first time in their last 5 tries, and its ugly. The curse of the contract extension has again struck Kaufman - this week he gets just 34 yards on 15 carries. Branch is 7 of 24, but much of the blame must go on the recievers who drop 5 of his throws. We need a shakeup in the awful secondary, so AJ Crawford will get the start this week over Mahnken.

Game Three: at Oakland 24, Detroit 13 (1-2)
The comeback is on. Kaufman has a solid day - 24 for 133 and a td. Branch is off again, completing just 12 of 34 for 133 yards, but does throw 2 tds. The pass rush is the defensive story, as Russell's two sacks lead the team to six overall. The perfect anecdote for a terrible secondary.

Game Four: Oakland 35, at Chicago 7 (2-2)
We are officially back on track. Branch is also back on track with a 17 of 32, 252, 1 td performance. Kaufman goes off for 194 yards and 3 tds on 27 carries. Oddly, we score all our points in the first half, 28 of 'em in the second quarter. Cleeland has a fine day with 4 receptions for 105 yards and a touch. We get 4 ints defensively, one from each of my active safties and one from Crawford.

Game Five: Indianapolis 25, at Oakland 22 (2-3)
Even a bye can't help us against the now 5-0 Colts. Branch has a nice day - 13 of 26 for 248 and 3 tds. Dawkins is his main man with 7 catches for 116 yards and 2 tds. Aleaga has a monster day with 17 tackles. The key to this game - time of possession. They hold the ball for over 40 minutes, and it's hard to score when you don't have the rock.

Game Six: at Denver 31, Oakland 7 (2-4)
Ok, guys. At some point, isn't this team supposed to improve? I don't know what else to do. DiMaggio and a reserve de go out for the year. Both Milloy and Sawyer are seriously injured. Branch goes down early in the game, and struggle would be a kind word for the performance of Sherman. Kaufman continues his annoyingly inconsistent play. He needs to step up, put this team on his back, and lead it if we're going to do anything this year.

Game Seven: Oakland 27, at San Diego 14 (3-4)
A win's a win at this point, it doesn't matter who it's against. Branch is an excellent 33 of 45 for 293 and 2 tds. Kaufman totes the ball 19 times for a buck sixty five and a td. Aleaga has another fine day with 2 interceptions

Game Eight: Oakland 17, at New England 13 (4-4)
A huge win evens our record at the midway point and gives us our fourth consecutive two game streak (2 l, 2 w, 2 l, 2 w) in an up and down season. Rookie Mahnken has two ints, and earns Defensive Player of the Week. He wins the game with a 99 yard interception return for a td with 3:08 left. Talk about a huge play, as we go from potentially down 10 to up 4 in a matter of seconds. Heady play from a rook. Branch is a quietly effective 10 of 17 for 177 yards and a td

Game Nine: at Oakland 30, Los Angeles 0 (5-4)
We return the favor of the Ruff Ryders' shutout in LA as we prove that their dawgs do stop, they do drop, but they don't shut [our wideouts] down or open up shop [on our qb]. Combined with Denver's loss and Seattle's bye, we pull into the traffic jam of a 4 way tie for first in the AFC West. Kaufman carries for 131 and a td. Lattimore [Erik Flowers] has a fine day with 6 solo tackles and 3 sacks. For the second straight week, Mahnken returns an int for a td, though not as dramatically this time. Branch is solid - 23 of 36 for 276 and a td. Dawkins catches 8 balls for 114 yards.

Game Ten: at Oakland 34, Green Bay 26 (6-4)
This win over the 7-3 Pack will probably look better than it should because Green Bay is reeling; they've lost 3 of 4 (beating Denver, thankfully) since losing Brett Favre to injury. We pull into a more simplified two-way tie for the lead with Seattle, who we've still got to go to. Branch is solid again - 17 of 27 for 221 and 3 tds. Green Bay's backup qb has a tough day - he's sacked 4 times and picked off 3 times by our d. Milloy, playing hurt, has 2 of the ints.

Game Eleven: at Kansas City 24, Oakland 14 (6-5)
Our battered roster simply can't compete, so we find ourselves a game back of Seattle and facing trouble in the tiebreaker because of a poor in-division record. By this point, we're actually listing guys who aren't injured. Kaufman keeps us in the game with 124 yards and a td. Branch is also clearly good enough to win - 16 of 27 for 220 yards and a td. The defense has been far more hurt by injuries, and plays like it, allowing 343 passing yards to Charlie Batch.

Game Twelve: at Oakland 38, Denver 14 (7-5)
The Chiefs continue to play spoiler at Arrowhead, beating the Hawks to move us into a first place tie which we lose by virtually every tiebreaker imaginable. Branch has another fine day - 21 of 39, 276, 2 tds. Kaufman gets 119 and a td on 26 carries. Dawkins has 7 catches for 124 yards. Gus Frerotte is harassed into 4 ints, 2 of which are returned for tds. Rookie Mahnken has 2 of them as he continues his rapid development at corner.

Game Thirteen: at Oakland 45, Kansas City 20 (8-5)
The Hawks fall again, and we are all alone in first place. And who's on our schedule next? You guessed it, the Seahawks. And who's managed to injure himself before this huge game? Obviously Leo Branch. In Branch's absense, Kaufman carries us, with 220 yards and 3 tds on 27 carries. He wins Offensive Player of the Week. Johnson also has 7 catches for 118 yards and a touch. Sherman has a fine day in relief of Branch, completing 12 of 14 for 160 yards, although our first interception in a long time. Russell adds 2 sacks.

Game Fourteen: at Seattle 27, Oakland 17 (8-6)
We now need them to lose to have a shot, as the Hawks have our number again. The numbers aren't pretty. We turn the ball over 6 times, 4 of them ints, and fumble it four times, losing them twice. Kaufman musters just 46 yards on 17 carries. Sherman is 14 for 35 in addition to the ints. Linebacker Louie Patterson does have a career day in his college town, with 10 tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception.

Game Fifteen: Oakland 24, at Minnesota 6 (9-6)
An unbelievable turn of events. We defeat the 9-6 Vikings on the road, and the Hawks fall to the 3-13 Chargers. What does it all mean? Win and we're in. Lose and Denver and Seattle both lose - we're in. No chance of a Wild Card, however, it's the Division or nothing. Back to the win over Minnesota, Branch shakes off the injury to throw for 346 yards and 3 tds on 22 of 37 passing. This week, we get the Chargers at home, but Kaufman is likely out. He has an extremely annoying habit of always getting injured around game 17.

Game Sixteen: at Oakland 34, San Diego 16 (10-6)
The Raiders win their second straight AFC West title in a race so close, it could've been a race for a Pac-10 Conference Championship. A damper is felt in the locker room, however, by the loss of both qb Leo Branch and hb Napoleon Kaufman for the season. Even with home field, it will be extremely difficult to defeat the Browns. Against the Chargers, ex-Huskies Lawyer Milloy and Cameron Cleeland lead the way. Milloy recorded 12 tackles, 11 solo, and an interception, to win Defensive Player of the Week honors. Cleeland caught 8 balls for 155 yards and a td. Branch and Sherman both did a solid job at qb. Branch finished the season with his 19th and 20th tds since he last threw an interception, and Sherman, like a baseball closer, threw for 151 yards and a td in relief.

Wild Card: Cleveland 17, at Oakland 12
For the first time ever, we taste playoff defeat at the Oakland-Alameda County Colliseum. At least two players had standout days in the loss. Second year wideout Marco Herndon caught 11 balls for 149 yards and a td. Milloy repeated as Defensive Player of the Week, getting 14 tackles, 10 solo, and an interception. Second string qb Sherman was injured before throwing a pass, and third stringer Sammy Palmer struggled as can be expected, throwing 3 interceptions. Caldwell failed to get anything going in the rushing game either. The defense did yeoman's work to keep this close. Russell and Austin both had two sacks.

Final Statistical leaders:
qb Leo Branch: 245 of 435 (56.3%), 3169 yards, 24 tds (6th NFL), 4 ints (low NFL), 93.9 rating (3rd NFL)
hb Napoleon Kaufman: 309 carries for 1534 yards (1st NFL), 4.9 avg (5th NFL), 12 tds (4th NFL)
wr Sean Dawkins: 83 catches for 1139 yards (13.7 avg), 5 tds
de Morris Lattimore: 45 tackles, 13.5 sacks
dt Darrell Russell: 41 tackles, 11.5 sacks
s Lawyer Milloy: 8 ints (t5th NFL), 3 tds (t1st NFL), 51.7 pdq (6th NFL)
cb Justin Mahnken (rookie): 6 ints, 3 tds (t1st NFL), 42.1 pdq

Cincinatti defeats Green Bay, 28-9, to win the Super Bowl in their second appearence.
1st team all-Pro: te Cameron Cleeland, cb Justin Mahnken
2nd team all-Pro: s Lawyer Milloy
hb Napoleon Kaufman is absoulutely screwed again! How do you lead the league in rushing yards yet not make either of the top two teams at halback? He is the all-time FOF leader in rushing yards yet has not ever been either first or second team all-Pro.

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UW 51, WSU 3! Wow! It's about time we played a good 4 quarter game! Pasadena, here we come!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-25-2000, 04:19 AM

2006 Pre-season
Herb's ratings:
Performance - 74
Team Value - 42
Profit/Loss - 44
Difficulty - 77
Overall - 52

Our coach and scout are both under contract and both will return. Cam Cleeland is named franchise player, and resigns for 2 years and 4.65 million. We make an offer to 49ers center Chris Dalman, but he goes elsewhere. Our own free agents finally find takers. Henry Sherman gets 27.65 million over 3 years from the 49ers, and Mulitao and Claridge end the year-to-year deal with the Raiders by taking jobs elsewhere. That's about it.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Ralph Parrish, DT, Arizona
Rnd 2 - Horace Frohbieter, LB, Oregon
Rnd 3 - Shaun Allen, C, Oregon
Rnd 4 - Zach Randle, QB, Washington State
Rnd 5 - Tommy Oxley, G, Arizona
Rnd 6 - Jamie Reid, RB, Stanford
Rnd 7 - Benjamin Tucker, WR, Arizona State

The draft provides some fine talent. Parrish fills a major hole alongside Darrell Russell. Frohbieter has a 100 future in run stopping, making him Ink Aleaga's eventual replacement. I'm wary of drafting Allen, who looks like a potential bust, but I decide that his 1st-round worthy numbers and the low bonus of the 3rd round make this a risk I have to take. Oxley is a 5th round find, and the other 3 guys fill "need" positions. The roster is filled out with the typical assortment of unsigned and undrafted players, finding starters and g and t. My brother keeps me from signing wr Leo Branch of Alabama in a sad attempt to see the following in a game log:
08 Leo Branch passes to 84 Leo Branch for 8 yards and a first down.
Come on, how cool would that be?

Allen is a mild bust, not nearly as bad as I expected, and will start in time. Randle is almost completely worthless (ok, I admit it, it's because I drafted the wrong qb from Wazzu, not because of a bust). Everyone else looks pretty good, especially Tucker. With some extra cap room, we sign several impending free agents to extensions. Milloy takes a 2-year extension below both market value and his current contract. Kennedy adds 2 years, as do Bruschi and Edmondson [Terrelle Smith], and Lattimore adds 1 year. We look to be in good shape financially next year. Aging vets Dawkins, Schlereth, and Aleaga will likely be allowed to leave as their contracts end, and most of the guys we've re-signed have actually taken cuts compared to their current value, based on their aging and high loyalty. We sell just 18,200 season tickets for our final go round in the Oakland-Alameda Colliseum. I can only hope to go out of Oakland on top, as 3-time defending division champion.

------------------
Go Boston College! Beat Miami!
Go Oklahoma State! Beat Oklahoma!
Go to the Orange Bowl, Washington!

TheDawgsAreOut · 11-26-2000, 06:17 AM

2006 Season
We finish the pre-season at 3-1, winning all 3 home games (turnabout is fair play). Serious injuries are suffered by cb Mahnken and lb Aleaga.

Week One: at Denver 17, Oakland 3 (0-1)
Kaufman struggles, gaining just 31 yards on 12 carries. Branch connects on 21 of 38 for 247 yards, but it's still not nearly enough. Rookie Parrish has a fine debut, garnering 1.5 sacks.

Week Two: at Oakland 31, Kansas City 24 (1-1)
Most impressive stat - we actually draw 35,500 suckers to the Colliseum for the opener of our final season there. Branch throws for 309 yards and 3 tds in about 3 quarters, and backup Gardner adds another td. Cleeland is the main recipient, with 4 catches for 101 yards, and 2 tds. Kaufman is held to 73 yards on 22 carries. Defensively, Austin leads the way with 2.5 of our 6 sacks.

Week Three: at Carolina 26, Oakland 20 (1-2)
Our annual tradition of early-season struggle continues. More fun playing time for backups as Lincoln Kennedy and Teddy Bruschi go out long term, but must remain active for positional requirements. Branch throws for 220 and a touch. Kaufman is again the culprit, gaining just 39 yards on 24 carries. Sawyer has 13 tackles on defense.

Week Four: New Orleans 23, at Oakland 0 (1-3)
The train is officially derailed by previously winless New Orleans. Linebackers are the stars (if there are any). Whiting has 17 tackles, 12 solo, and a half a sack to win Defensive Player of the Week. Frohbreiter, in his starting debut, has 18 tackles, 12 solo. Kaufman runs for 29 yards, and Branch is 11 for 29. 'Nuff said.

Week Six: at Indianapolis 38, Oakland 14 (1-4)
The death car that is the 06 Raiders continues hurdling towards a high draft pick. Branch throws for 325 yards and 2 tds. Johnson is the leading reciever with 8 for 197 yards and a td.

Week Seven: Los Angeles 14, at Oakland 10 (1-5)
In an absolute must win, we go quietly into the night, falling 4 games behind division leading LA. Kaufman has his "best" day of the year, rushing for 77 yards on 16 carries. Branch and Gardner are both injured during the game, forcing third stringer Neil Weber in. I don't want to think about this anymore.

Week Eight: at Oakland 23, Seattle 12 (2-5)
Branch is back on top with a 24 for 38, 285 yards, 2 td performance. The running game is revitalized by my decision to start Caldwell and play Kaufman against tired defenders. Kaufman gets a season-high 81 yards on 9 carries, and Caldwell adds 43. Frohbrieter leads the way with 12 tackles.

Week Nine: Buffalo 33, at Oakland 21 (2-6)
Branch throws for a career-high 406 yards and 2 tds, but it's not enough to guide our injury ravaged roster to victory. A full 14 players are listed on the injury report. The rushing carousel is a complete flop today, and I think I'm going to just air it out. This team would need to win at least 7 of 8 to even make a wild card spot, so I say just play loose.

Week Ten: at Kansas City 32, Oakland 31 (2-7)
We lose a heartbreaker, but I notice mostly that we tie our season high for points (of course that was also against KC). Oddly, Kaufman has a big game in the new scheme - running 10 times for 106 yards and 2 tds. Branch struggles. Defensively, rookies Frohbrieter and Austin have fine days.

Week Eleven: Oakland 35, at San Francisco 16 (3-7)
Now this is what I expected. Branch tops the league with 412 yards and 4 tds on 29 of 43 passing. Dawkins catches 10 balls for 112 yards and 2 tds. Branch is Offensive Player of the Week. Johnson adds 162 recieving yards, and Herndon catches 2 tds. Kaufman is solid, with 78 yards on 17 carries. Defensively, the injury riddled Mahnken picks off his first ball.

Week Twelve: at Oakland 26, San Diego 17 (4-7)
Branch throws for 263 and a td. DiMaggio has two picks.

Week Thirteen: at Los Angeles 29, Oakland 14 (4-8)
Branch isn't to blame, throwing for 437 yards and 2 tds. Herndon catches 175 of those yards. Dawkins has another 124 and 2 tds. Sawyer has 13 tackles and an int. Mahnken records his fourth pick in six games. I can guess the reason I struggled early on.

Week Fourteen: Oakland 31, at San Diego 28 (5-8)
Branch throws 50 times and picks up 336 yards and 3 tds. Kaufman is awful. We pull into a 3 way tie for 4th place in the West.

Week Fifteen: Denver 26, at Oakland 13 (5-9)
Perhaps I'm just cursed in Oakland. Austin records 3 sacks. Branch is injured, but finishes his year with an 11 of 14 peformance prior to leaving. Gardner struglles in relief, hitting just 7 of 22 for 65 yards and an int. Weber, who figures somewhat into our future, will get the call the next two weeks. Kaufman is good in a short dosage, with 56 yards on 8 carries.

Week Sixteen: St. Louis 27, at Oakland 7 (5-10)
A fine way to end a tumultous seven years in Oakland at home. Kaufman runs for 17 yards. Weber is picked thrice. Tough way to win. Branch will return for the finale with improved health and a possible qb honor on the line.

Week Seventeen: at Seattle 10, Oakland 3 (5-11)
I'm really glad to say I opened the playbook and took the reigns of the offense. A performance like that you just don't see every day. The Hawks have their traditional late comeback, as they score the game's first touchdown with a minute nine on the clock to win the Toilet Bowl. Branch is 20 of 36 for just 198 yards, and 2 ints. Kaufman caps his season with a 10 carry, 20 yard performance. Branch's final int is at our own 1 with 1:36 on the clock, a true killer. And so we bid farewell to Oakland, and say hello to Portland, who will hopefully at least welcome us with arms, if we're lucky, even open ones.

Statistical Leaders:
Leo Branch, qb 314-547 (57.4%), 4141 yards (2nd NFL), 23 tds (t8th NFL), 12 ints, 86.3 rating (9th NFL) - numbers hurt by late-season injury
Napoleon Kaufman, hb 211 carries for 809 yards (3.8 avg), 7 tds (t8th NFL) worst season to date
Pat Johnson, wr 95 catches (5th NFL), 1449 yards (3rd NFL), 4 tds, 10 drops
Sean Dawkins, wr 67 catches, 819 yards, 8 tds (t7th NFL), 8 drops
Jamal Austin, de 59 tackles, 41 solo, 12.5 sacks (8th NFL), 5.1 pr% (7th NFL)
Lawyer Milloy, s 112 tackles, 86 solo, 3 sacks, 13.9 tk%
Justin Mahnken, cb 4 ints, 45.5 pdq (t8th NFL)
Rookies:
Benjamin Tucker, wr 23 catches, 241 yards, 2 tds, 1 drop
Ralph Parrish, dt 63 tackles, 43 solo, 5.5 sacks
Horace Friebrieter, lb 102 tackles, 76 solo, 1.5 sacks, 16.1 tk%

Chicago defeats Indianapolis, 33-9, to claim the Super Bowl. All-pro second team te is Cam Cleeland, and second team wr is Patrick Johnson. To Portland!

------------------
Go Boston College! Beat Miami!
Go Oklahoma State! Beat Oklahoma!
Go to the Orange Bowl, Washington!

11-11-2000, 04:18 AM	#3
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	After a one week delay to purchase the game, the Keith Jackson Challenge is up and running. For my team, I’ve selected the Ray-dahs, because they have a good Pac-10 score and, unlike New England, are actually in the region of the west. The going is rough. We’ve got a couple of players to build on. Napoleon Kauffman (UW) makes a solid halfback, and Lincoln Kennedy (UW) gives us one lineman. On the defensive side of the ball, Darrell Russell (USC) is a force who will see double, if not triple, teams all year long. Eric Allen (ASU) and Darrien Gordon (Stanford) give us a solid corner combo. It’s a rough go in free agency, as the Pac-10’s talent is unevenly divided in the pool, forcing us to extreme measures. Our future drafts are depleted to provide some semblence of an offensive line. By the time I come to linebacker, I give up and sign players from schools “inside the Pac-10 region.” The final school tally: Washingon-11 Stanford-7 California-6 Arizona State-6 USC-5 Arizona-4 Washington State-3 Oregon-3 Oregon State-2 UCLA-1 Idaho-1 Others-2 My cohesion obviously stands dead last by a large margin, though I think the experience these guys have playing together and against each other in college should count. QB Rodney Peete 9 9 12 2000 QB Steve Stenstrom 7 8 6 2001 QB Pat Barnes 4 7 4 2001 QB Malcolm Blanchard 0 1 1 2000 RB Napoleon Kaufman 11 11 6 2002 RB Nathan Strong 2 3 1 2000 FB Jon Ritchie 9 9 3 2003 FB Sean Fuller 2 2 1 2000 TE Johnny McWilliams 8 8 5 TE Aaron Pierce 7 9 8 2000 TE Jeremy Brigham 6 7 3 2003 WR Sean Dawkins 12 12 8 2000 WR Justin Armour 9 9 6 2001 WR Ronnie Harris 8 8 8 2001 WR Iheanyi Uwaezuoke 7 7 5 2000 WR Larry Parker 6 9 2 2001 WR Chris Walsh 4 4 9 C Robbie Tobeck 11 11 8 2000 C Charlie Fyffe 0 0 1 2000 G Brian Habib 9 9 12 2000 G Scott Sanderson 7 9 4 2000 G Yusuf Scott 5 8 2 2002 T Lincoln Kennedy 13 13 8 2005 T Siupeli Malamala 5 6 9 2000 T Juan Roque 4 4 4 2000 P Sam Torres 5 8 1 2000 K Jeff Jaeger 4 4 13 2000 DE Regan Upshaw 10 10 5 2000 DE Van Tuinei 8 10 4 2000 DE Ferric Collons 8 8 7 2000 DE Marvin Washington 5 5 12 2000 DT Darrell Russell 18 18 4 2002 DT Chuck Osborne 6 7 4 2000 DT Junior Ioane 5 7 1 2004 DT Andy Johnstone 0 1 1 2000 LB Corey Widmer 10 10 9 2000 LB Randy Kirk 8 8 14 2000 LB Ink Aleaga 7 9 4 2000 LB Ernest Jones 7 7 7 2000 LB James Darling 7 9 4 2000 LB Roger Barton 1 2 1 2000 CB Eric Allen 12 13 13 2004 CB Darrien Gordon 11 11 8 2002 CB Phillippi Sparks 9 9 9 2002 CB Craig Newsome 8 9 6 2000 CB Zach Lester 2 2 1 2000 S Tommy Bennett 11 11 6 2000 S Tim McDonald 10 10 14 2000 S Anthony Newman 10 10 13 2000 S Charles Mincy 9 9 10 2000 S Je'Rod Cherry 7 8 5 2000 Despite these numbers, all hope is not lost - after all, San Diego is in our division, giving us a chance at a victory. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! [This message has been edited by TheDawgsAreOut (edited 11-16-2000).] __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-12-2000, 08:47 PM	#4
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2000 Season: In pre-season, we go 3-1 mostly behind the right arm of Steve Stenstrom, who earns the starting nod over Rodney Peete. At no other position is there really a battle, and our scout is concerned about a great many of our positions. The only major injury is arthroscopic knee surgery for de Ferric Collons, who is out 2-3 months. Game 1: at Oakland 16, San Diego 10 (1-0) Kaufman does exactly what nobody has thought him able to do his entire career - carry the load. He runs it 26 times for 112 yards and player of the game honors. Stenstrom throws for 210 yards, 1 td, and 1 int. The defense holds Charger runners to 2.9 yards per carry. We’ll have to earn them from here on out, though. Game 2: at Indianapolis 51, Oakland 17 (1-1) We come crashing back to reality. Peyton throws for 315 yards and Edgerrin runs for 105. Kaufman is decent even in defeat, but Stenstrom is awful, completing just 17 of 38 for 180 yards. Eric Allen goes down with a hip pointer. Game 3: at Oakland 21, Denver 17 (2-1) We get solid offensive performences from our big 3. Kaufman totes the ball 28 times for 157 yards to top the league and earn his second player of the game award, Stenstrom goes 18 of 30 for 243, and Sean Dawkins grabs 7 balls for 127 yards. Terell Davis is held to 48 yards, which is too much for backup Gus Frerrote to overcome. After 3 games, Kaufman is the league’s leading rusher, and we’re tied for first in our division. Game 4: at Oakland 31, Cleveland 17 (3-1) Dawkins is the offensive star, with 6 catches for 151 yards. On the defensive side, Regan Upshaw breaks out with 4 and a half sacks, and earns player of the game honors. The Browns muster just 268 yards of offense. Kaufman and reserve Ron Rivers combine for 169 yards on 25 carries. Going into our bye week, the power rankings move us up from 14th to 7th. Bye week: By virtue of Kansas City’s victory over Seattle, we move into sole possession of first in the AFC West. Yusuf Scott has to go onto injured reserve, meaning we’ve lost guards (the other Habib) to major injuries in back-to-back weeks. The lack of Pac-10 guards forces us to convert two tackles, ruining the meager ratings they previously had. Game 5: Oakland 30, at San Francisco 28(4-1) Kaufman again leads his team to the promised land, carrying 25 times for 122 yards. Thunder and lightning? Who needs ‘em! We got ‘em both in one player. The 49ers rally for 21 points in the 4th quarter, but fall short. Stenstrom goes 26 for 46 for 256 yards. Jon Ritchie was the leading reciever with 8 grabs. The 49ers are held to a mere 224 yards of offense. Game 6: Oakland 20, at Kansas City 3 (5-1) The dream lives! We take a 2 game lead in the AFC West by beating the second place team. In his return, Eric Allen picks off 2 Warren Moon passes to earn NFL Defensive Player of the Week honors. The ageless Chief qb is sacked 4 times and picked off 4 more. All told, he completes just 13 of 36 passes. Game 7: at Oakland 29, Seattle 7 (6-1) This game is, uh, harder than FOF2, isn’t it? Then what’s going on here? Ink Aleaga, playing his hometown team, picks off 2 balls this week, earning him the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Week honors. Game 8: at San Diego 45, Oakland 21 (6-2) Isn’t irony a pain? The one team I thought a guaranteed victory finally derails the Raider express. I’ve also managed to get 4 players disgruntled about playing time. Robert Chancey carries 11 times for 170 yards. In my most painful injury, Kaufman goes down with a hyperextended elbow. Dawkins does catch 5 balls for 170 yards, and Russell 3 sacks in defeat. For some reason unbeknownst to me, Pat Barnes came in for an injured Stenstrom instead of Rodney Peete. Amazingly, he performed well, throwing for all 3 of our touchdowns and 299 yards. Halfway through the season, we’re up 2 games in the AFC West. Game 9: Kansas City 20, at Oakland 14 (6-3) The Chiefs cut our lead to one game, and I fear other teams may be realizing that the Raiders have no clothes. Amazingly, the injured Kaufman rushes 19 times for 163 yards. Ink Aleaga records an incredible 15 tackles and another int, earning game MVP honors, but it’s still not enough. The culprit is not hard to find. Kicker Jeff Jaeger misses two field goals, from 47 and 39 yards. Hitting them both would’ve sent the game to ot. Game 10: at Denver 27, Oakland 17 (6-4) Dawkins has a season high 8 catches for 195 yards, but the general Raider malaise continues. Kaufman rushes 19 times for 27 yards. Stenstrom throws for a season high 356 yards, but also 5 interceptions. Terell Davis atones for his poor performence in our first meeting with 107 yards rushing. 7 players are now disgruntled about playing time. Game 11: at New Orleans 34, Oakland 7 (6-5) The train continues its derailment against the now 10-1 Saints, but we’re amazingly still on track for a playoff bid by virtue of how bad the rest of the AFC West is. Kaufman is back on the wagon, rushing 12 times for 101 yards. Stenstrom has finally managed to play his way out of the starting job by throwing 6 interceptions, giving him a Kitna-esque 11 in two weeks. Hopefully, getting Peete in there and returning home will get us back on track. Game 12: Atlanta 34, at Oakland 28 (6-6) And then it was 5. Chris Chandler lights us up to the tune of 376 yards passing. He wins NFL Offensive Player of the Week. Seattle pulls into a first place tie with us. Peete throws 24 for 44 for 328 yards, 3 tds, and 2 ints in his first start, but the defense lost this game. Kaufman goes over 100 yards again, rushing 25 times for 105 yards. Corey Widmer is lost for the year with a dislocated elbow. Game 13: Oakland 21, at Pittsburgh 14 (7-6) With a road victory and Seattle’s loss to our last opponent, Atlanta, we retake sole possession of first place. Chaos rules in the AFC West with all 5 teams having a chance to win the division with three weeks left. Darrien Gordon is our third player to pick off 2 balls in a game. Kaufman goes 22 for 95, but Peete struggles, going 15 of 37 for 246 yards, 2 tds, and 2 picks. Little used Larry Parker catches touchdown passes of 2 and 88 yards. Aleaga, who’s looking more and more like a keeper all the time, has 11 tackles. On the downside, Kaufman fumbles twice. Who cares! The streak is over! Game 14: at Oakland 31, New York Jets 21 (8-6) The train continues steaming towards an unlikely playoff bid. Three of the other four AFC West teams lose, giving us a two game cushion and clinching at least a tie for the division championship. However, there is some real bad news. Kaufman dislocates his knee and is lost for the year. Peete has the day of his life: 21 for 32 for a league-high 382 yards and 3 tds. Armour is the key reciever, grabbing 6 balls for 115 yards. Iheanyi Uwaezoke, just getting a start to please him, catches 2 touchdowns. Game 15: at Seattle 34, Oakland 27 (8-7) Like any good Pac-10 game, this race is going down to the wire. San Diego and Kansas City lose and are eliminated, but 3 teams have a shot at the division with a week left. A pair of frightening thoughts: we could still earn a first-round bye, and a home division round playoff game, and we could still make the playoffs as a wild card team. That’s how much parity the AFC has. On to the game. Lincoln Kennedy goes down for a while, but besides him and the two players out for the year, everyone’s now healthy. Jay Bellamy continues his stellar season with his third NFL Defensive Player of the Week on the strength of 13 tackles and an interception. The Raiders took a 27-6 lead into the 4th quarter only to see Seattle score 28 unanswered, including an interception return for a td by Bellamy and a punt return for a score by Charlie Rogers. Ron Rivers goes down in the game, forcing us to 3rd string halfback James Hodgins, who can muster only 58 yards on 21 carries. Peete is intercepted 3 times. We’ve got 1 more chance. Game 16: at Oakland 30, Carolina 13 (9-7) The Roses, er, the playoffs, are ours! Rivers runs 25 times for 153 yards. He wins Offensive Player of the Week for the NFL. Aleaga has 10 tackles and 1.5 sacks - he’s been my defensive MVP. The Hawks and Broncos both win, so our win was necessary. We host the last wild card team, Pittsburgh in week one of the playoffs. Kennedy’s now out for the year. Wild Card Round: at Oakland 27, Pittsburgh 16 The dream lives! We get unbelievable performances from two unlikely stars. Backup halfback Hodgins carries 24 times for 149 yards, and oft-injured 3rd wideout PRonnie Harris catches 13 balls for 178 yards and a td. Our defense is unbelievable, and they only score 3 offensive points - getting return tds of an interception and a blocked punt. Peete throws for 298 yards. We head to New England to face ex-Pac-10er Drew Bledsoe and the Patriots in the divisional playoff round. Divisional Round: at New England 41, Oakland 24 The dream is finally dead, but just a little better than my pessimistic “3 wins would be nice” thoughts before the year. Bledsoe exploits our secondary, throwing for 353 yards and 3 tds. Another Pac-10 guy,ex-Husky Lawyer Milloy, has 2 interceptions. An injured Rivers gets only 16 yards on 8 carries, and we forgo the run early. Peete throws 2 interceptions before being replaced by Stenstrom, who throws a pair of his own. Gracefully, we bow out at last. New England crushes Cincinatti, 51-3, to earn the right to face New Orleans in the Super Bowl, after the Saints beat the Packers. The Patriots continue their remarkable run with a 23-17 victory to take the whole shebang. Our performance does not go unrewarded, as Dawkins and Russell are first-team all-Pro. Dawkins leads the league in recieving yardage. Stenstrom finishes second to the bottom in qb rating amongst qualifiers. Despite missing the final two games, Kaufman finishes sixth in the league in rushing. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! [This message has been edited by TheDawgsAreOut (edited 11-16-2000).] __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-13-2000, 12:46 AM	#6
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	Good call, Sack, although I don't think I'm even going to do a game by game report anymore because, frankly, it's too long. Without further ado,: 2001 Preseason Herb’s improved UI incarnation rates us thusly: Performance: 74 Franchise Value: 75 Profit: 73 Difficulty: 72 Overall:73 Not bad for a team which released Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, and Charles Woodson prior to the season. We hire a new coach in free agency. Ricky Jasso is 36 years old and rated very good in the places I find most important - young talent and quarterbacks. A good in halfbacks makes him important enough for me to sign him to the 6th highest contract in the league. The first step in my plan to move the team back to LA is a failed stadium proposal. Despite only 6% interest in a new stadium, we propose a 75,000 seat outdoor stadium with 15,000 club seats and 375 luxury boxes. The stadium will cost over 500 million, of which we plan to contribute nada. Eric Allen is dealt to the Chargers for a third round draft pick, and we’re looking hard to move up to have a chance at a qb from UCLA with a future potential of 7.4. I balk, however, when I can’t trade my first-round pick, the Chargers third and one I traded for in pre-season, and a future first-rounder for the #2 pick to San Fran who obviously is eying the qb themselves. Oh, yeah, we only have 13 million under the cap thanks to the bonus effect. We make offers on only 3 free agents due to the cap situation: rb Corey Dillon, wr Sean Dawkins, and s Reggie Tongue. Dawkins re-ups with us in stage 3, but Dillon and Tongue both return to their old teams for less money in stage 8. I don’t really have the cap room or the ability to go after anyone else. I currently have 10.5 million in cap room and 15 players signed. The Draft: Rnd 1 - Ernie Sawyer, S, Oregon State Rnd 3 - Quentin Passmore, QB, Arizona Rnd 3 - Kelvin Harness, WR, Oregon Rnd 3 - Wesley Pringle, C, Arizona Rnd 4 - Wayne Clayton, LB, Arizona State Rnd 5 - Ike Finks, K, Arizona Rnd 6 - Matt Rodgers, DE, Oregon State Rnd 7 - Harry Harper, S, Oregon Failing to trade up for the qb, picked by division rival Seattle, here’s what I was left with. The stadium vote fails with 2/3 of voters against it. I fill out the rosters with rookie free agents, for the most part. Darrien Gordon and Phillipi Sparks are cap casualties. Then, a miracle occurs. Looking for a 4th qb, I find in the free agent market that Leo Branch, my desired qb from UCLA has been cut. I immediately release Pat Barnes and sign Branch up. My future looks much better with him, and Lawyer Milloy, who inexplicably has become a free agent. After training camp, I hold my breath and find that neither Branch nor any of my own free agents has busted. Some of my rookie free agents look like they may be alright, but this is likely going to be a long year. Preseason finds us 0-4, with the youngins both getting injured. Branch and Sawyer both will begin the year on the inactive list. Kaufman and Dawkins, the key returners, look unimpressive in the preseason games, but I believe truly that they'll pick up their play once the lights come on. Again, the Chargers will certainly keep us from 0-16. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-16-2000, 08:28 PM	#7
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2001 Regular Season We lose in week one to the Seahawks, 24-21, despite the fact that Kaufman and Dawkins were back to their old form, with Kaufman rushing for 114 yards and Dawkins catching passes good for 139 yards and 2 tds. In his Raider debut, Milloy had 12 tackles and an int. Branch returns for week two, a loss at San Diego, 13-3. A discouraging trend emerges as Branch hurts his knee. Russell is also out 3-5 weeks with a stretched knee ligament. Branch leaves after throwing just 4 passes, and Stenstrom throws two ints. In week 3, we get on the board with a 45-31 shootout win versus Washington. On the bad side, Branch aggrevates his knee injury and is out 3-5 weeks. Kaufman runs for an unbelieveable 227 yards and 4 tds. He wins NFL Offensive Player of the Week. It is the new NFL record for rushing yards. In week 4, we lose to the Ravens, 13-10. Passmore is forced into the game thanks to an injury to Stenstrom (out 3-5 weeks) and he does not live up to his name, going just 2 for 9. In week 5, we take out Denver behind Passmore, 17-10. Passmore goes 16 for 30 and is intercepted just once. He doesn’t lose the game, and you can’t argue with that for a 3rd stringer. Another key guy, Lincoln Kennedy, goes down just 2 offensive plays into the game. Following the bye week, Russell returns. In a disappointing showing, we lose week 7 to the Jets, 38-6. Testaverde destroys us, going 30 for 37. Passmore goes just 11 for 26 for 167 yards. Aleaga is having a tremendous season. He’s tops in the league in solo tackles, tied for first in total tackles, and fourth in tackle percentage. Kaufman is third in the league in rushing yards, and first in rushing tds. In week 8, we lose at the Giants, 27-6, as they go to 6-2. Our first-rounder, Sawyer, picks off his first career pass and continues generally strong play. In week 8, Branch returns but we still lose 35-10 to the 7-1 Buffalo Bills. Kaufman does get 155 yards. Branch completes only 11 of 27 for 108 yards. Halfway through the season, we’re 2-6 and in last place in the division. Right on track to what I expected. Kaufman is now second in rushing yards and remains first in tds. Aleaga is first in both solo and total tackles. In week 10, we go down to the Chargers again, 20-16. Kaufman runs for 145 yards and Branch plays perhaps his best game, going 17 for 30 for 289 yards. He finds the right guy, Dawkins, who has 173 yards recieving on 7 catches. In week 11, we lose our fifth in a row to the Cowboys, 23-20 at home. Aleaga has 11 tackles and 3 sacks and wins NFL Defensive Player of the Week. Russell adds 2.5 sacks of his own. Kaufman has an off day, but Branch throws for a career high 3 tds. In week 12, we get back to the W column by beating Kansas City, 20-7. Leo Branch throws 19 for 29 for 297 yards and 2 tds. Dawkins is the recipient, catching 9 balls for 212 yards and 2 tds. Milloy has 13 tackles and 2 ints. In week 13 we build a real live winning streak with a 20-17 win at Seattle. Kaufman rushes for 178 yards. Branch throws for 2 tds. We have two season-ending injuries, with dt Junior Ioane and cb Irving Holland going on ir, and Stenstrom being cut to make cap room to sign replacements. He wouldn’t have returned next year anyway. The streak is snapped in Kansas City, as we lose 16-10. Kaufman rushes for just 59 yards, and Branch goes just 14 for 32. In week 15, we are crushed at New England, 43-14. Of note, Sawyer has 18 tackles and an interception. He’s lived up to expectations. Branch throws 25 for 47 for 298 yards, but also 3 interceptions. Kaufman gets just 77 yards, and my attempt to get him the league lead in rushing is derailed. We lose our final game to finish up 4-12, 29-10 to the Broncos. We’ll have the third pick in the draft. Unfortunately, we’re without our picks in the first two rounds. Ink Aleaga finishes the year as the NFL’s leader in total and solo tackles, and finishes second in tackle percentage. Lawyer Milloy finishes second in the NFL in both categories as well. Kaufman ends up third in rushing yards and second in tds. Dawkins ends up second in receiving yards and first in tds. Branch plays and starts in 11 games. He completes just 47.4 % of his passes for 1893 yards, but throws 11 tds to only 9 ints. His 68.3 rating is adequate. 1st round pick Ernie Sawyer has 5 ints and a team-leading PDQ of 35.1 He records 119 total tackles in just 13 games. The Packers defeat the Ravens 24-17 to avenge their Super Bowl loss of a year ago. The Raiders are not unrewarded in the awards. Ink Aleaga is a first team all-Pro linebacker, and Dawkins, Milloy, and tackle Lincoln Kennedy make second team all-Pro. Sawyer misses out on droy to fellow safety Shaun Scott of Baltimore, who intercepts 6 passes and records 93 tackles. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! [This message has been edited by TheDawgsAreOut (edited 11-16-2000).] __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-16-2000, 08:45 PM	#8
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2002 Preseason Our performance is analyzed as: Performance: 8 Franchise Value: 68 Profit: 68 Difficulty: 69 Year-End Score: 54 A troubling thing happens to my master plan, as the NFL expands with the LA Lone Stars, derailing my plan to move to LA. They’ll be in the AFC West and hopefully 2 easy wins. We submit a plan to move to Portland, and lose nobody in the expansion draft. The Chiefs offer us a 5th rounder for Branch and we stop laughing just enough to politely decline. We also decline a 6th rounder for Jon Ritchie. We are now up to almost 35 million of cap room. We go hard into free agency, making offers to te Cam Cleeland, g Benji Olson, c Olin Kreutz, k Ryan Longwell, and lbs Teddy Bruschi and Kailee Wong. Olson and Kreutz re-up with their old teams, and we search again, making offers to wr Pat Johnson, and g Kevin Gogan, as well as dt Chad Eaton. All three join the Raiders. We still have 20 million in cap room, but unfortunately only 6 draft picks, none until the third round. The price for Jon Ritchie increases - the Lone Stars offer us a fifth rounder for him. We decline again, noting the paucity of fullbacks in the draft. The best player is a Pac-10 guy, a linebacker from Cal, but we won’t be seeing him. Draft Report: Rnd 3 - Henry Sherman, QB, Stanford Rnd 4 - Cornell Duran, DE, Idaho Rnd 5 - Ricardo Zahursky, DT, Southern California Rnd 6 - Grady Rottinghaus, CB, Oregon State Rnd 7 - B.J. Stephenson, WR, Southern California Rnd 7 - Eddie Herndon, P, Arizona I’ve begun to face the dillema of trusting my scout. Rottinghaus was rated terribly by my scout, but well at the combine, so I decided to take a chance on him. Stephenson was the opposite, but I went with him too. The referendum passes in Portland, so we’re headed there in 2007! Sherman, the third rounder has very good potentials, and, after training camp, I find that he’s passed up Branch. I sign rookie free agents to fill my roster, and lo and behold, another find at qb. Bart Stowe, a rookie from Stanford, looks like a definite keeper. He’s signed, and I have 3 qbs that appear to have great futures. Napoleon Kaufman, in the final year of his deal, is resigned to a 3 year, 9 million deal. Our starters, and the scout’s evaluation of them: qb Leo Branch 40 68 UCLA hb Napoleon Kaufman 51 51 Washington fb Jon Ritchie 43 44 Stanford te Cameron Cleeland 66 72 Washington wr Sean Dawkins 58 58 California Pat Johnson 50 53 Oregon c Wes Pringle 27 31 Arizona g Yusuf Scott 25 25 Arizona Kevin Gogan 24 24 Washington t Lincoln Kennedy 67 69 Washington Bart Zimmerman 11 34 Arizona p Eddie Herndon 51 72 Arizona k Ryan Longwell 44 44 California de Cornell Duran 17 41 Idaho Jay Owens 14 48 Stanford dt Darrell Russell 89 89 USC Jeremy Staat 38 58 Arizona State lb Teddy Bruschi 60 70 Arizona Ink Aleaga 43 56 Washington Kailee Wong 36 44 Stanford cb Daylon McCutcheon 38 41 USC Brian Kelly 32 39 USC s Lawyer Milloy 85 85 Washington Earnie Sawyer 48 68 Oregon State ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-04-2000, 02:11 PM	#2
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	Using extremely scientific methods (and despite my hatred of it now, NFL.com), I have come up with the totals of players in the NFL from each Pac-10 Team (and Idaho). USC-31 Washington-29 UCLA-26 California-26 Arizona State-23 Arizona-20 Stanford-20 Washington State-16 Oregon-11 Idaho-7 Oregon State-2 A total of 211, or about 7 per team, about 1/7 of the total NFL, are therefore eligible for the Keith Jackson Challenge I understand now why no Beaver Believers would dare to come around here. Using an equally scientific formula of: 3 pts. for a Pro Bowler/qb/hb starter 2 pts. for any other starter 1 pt. for any other player, the top NFL teams for Pac-10 talent are: New England: 19 Oakland: 19 Jacksonville: 17 Kansas City: 16. Obviously the message about the Pac-10 hasn't gotten out to the NFC, mostly because they only have one team geographically inside the conference. ------------------ Hmm, top ranked Sooners and once defeated Dawgs. Who else smells a rematch of the '85 Orange Bowl? __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-12-2000, 09:16 PM	#5
SackAttack Head Coach Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Green Bay, WI	Might be a little easier to read if you put some space in between each week's game. Josh

11-16-2000, 08:47 PM	#9
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2002 Regular Season We complete the preseason at 1-3, without major injury. Sherman wins the qb job over Branch with a solid effort in 3 of the 4 preseason games. In game 1, we are blown out at Kansas City, 26-3. Kaufman gets just 51 yards, and with a rookie qb, we’re doomed. We lose on the road again in week 2, 26-16 at San Diego. Kaufman rushes 17 times for 16 yards. He needs to get on track. Sherman is 13 of 21 for 171 yards. A bad sign: our safeties combine for 33 tackles. We return home to get beat by the now 3-0 Lone Stars, 20-10. Kaufman gets back on track, running for 142 yards in the loss. Jason Garrett lights up our secondary to the tune of 328 yards passing. The Jets make it 4, beating us 9-3 in the Colliseum. Kaufman can manage only 60 yards on 22 carries. Sherman completes 16 of 29, but for only 138 yards. Leo Branch is disgruntled, and I’m finally making the call to him in the bullpen. Seattle deals us our 9th straight loss, 26-23. Branch does throw for 286 yards and 2 tds on 21 for 38. Kaufman’s miserable play continues, as he rushes for just 45 yards. Tennesee deals us our 10th straight loss, and 4th in a row at home, 37-27. Branch throws for 337 yards and 3 tds, but also 2 ints. Pat Johnson catches 9 balls for 167 yards. Kaufman gets just 53 yards on the ground. I’m beginning to regret extending his contract. The few remaining fans in Oakland rejoice as the Raiders finally erase the goose egg in the W column with a 24-17 victory over the Broncos. Branch throws for another 270 yards, and has firmly entrenched himself as the starter. Johnson has another 176 yards recieving, taking over nicely for Sean Dawkins. Kaufman runs 16 times for 3 yards. A change may be in order. We return to losing ways against our new archnemesis, LA, 36-26. Bruschi wins Defensive Player of the Week with 9 tackles and an int. LA scores 26 unanswered in the 4th quarter to pick up the W. Yikes. Our offense is miserable, mustering just 270 total yards. Kaufman has a good game for this year, running for 68 yards. We only stay in the game by intercepting 3 passes. After a bye week, we lose again, 20-19 to San Diego. Branch’s 259 yards passing put him back on the Top Performers list. Kaufman gets 114 yards to break out at last. Our defense allows 6 yards per carry. In week 11, we lose another squeaker, 26-24 at Seattle. Kaufman’s on track for sure, with 175 yards on just 14 carries. Branch throws for just 134 yards, but 2 tds against no ints. Tampa Bay drops us to 1-10 with a 17-6 victory. Kaufman’s back to his old ways, rushing for just 20 yards. Branch only gets 243 yards on 43 attempts. In week 13, Pittsburgh drills us, 33-3. We’re now 1-15 over our last 16 games. That’s not gonna be good for business. That’s not gonna be good for anybody. Branch is injured in the game, and likely out for the year. We’ll take a look at the third stringer, Stowe, for the rest of the season. 33-3 seems to be a popular score, as Detroit beats us by the same final to drop us to 1-12. Skip Hicks gets the start and rushes 15 times for 25 yards, outdoing Kaufman, who rushes 9 for -7. Someday, Stowe may be a great qb, but for now he’s more Bart Simpson than Bart Starr. He completes 12 of 33 passes for 105 yards and 4 ints. At Denver, we at least beat 3, losing 34-8. Rookie 7th rounder B.J. Stephenson has a career day, grabbing 8 balls for 137 yards. Kaufman gets just 25 yards on the ground. Stowe goes 16 for 39 for 199 yards, 1 td, and 1 int. We lose to Kansas City at home 15-10 to drop us to 1-15. Stowe goes 16 for 30 for 255 yards and a td. Minnesota caps off the 1-15 season with a 17-9 victory. Kaufman does get 119 yards. Branch struggles, throwing 2 ints. The numbers are not pretty: Branch - 170 of 327 (52%), 2113 yards, 11 tds, 12 ints Kaufman - 246 for 953 (3.8 avg.), 3 tds Stephenson - 48 for 619, 3 tds Bruschi - 137 tackles Russell - 7.0 sacks Sawyer - 6 int, 42.4 PDQ. Dallas defeats Tennesee, 34-3, to earn the 3rd NFL Championship. Darrell Russell is a first-team all-Pro defensive tackle, and Teddy Bruschi makes the second team at linebacker. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-17-2000, 12:45 AM	#10
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2003 Off-season Herb's Ratings: Performance - 0 Franchise Value - 55 Profit/Loss - 34 Difficulty - 74 Overall - 35 We retain our scout and coach, as both are under contract. Darrell Russell is franchised, and agrees to a 3 year, 15.6 million dollar contract. Seeing little Pac-10 talent worthy of the 1st pick, we deal it for the 12th pick in both the first and second rounds, replacing our own departed second rounder. We fill 3 major holes with g Mark Schlereth (1 year, 3.5 million), de Dorian Boose (3, years, 12.3 million) and cb Craig Newsome in a return engagement (2 years, 7.5 million). We laugh at the offer of the 23 pick and a player for Darrell Russell. A third rounder for Leo Branch gives us more pause, but, for the moment, he's our starter. Amateur Draft Report: Rnd 1 - Brian Browne, C, Oregon Rnd 2 - A.J. Crawford, CB, Oregon Rnd 3 - Louie Patterson, LB, Washington Rnd 5 - Ronald Ackerman, G, Arizona State Rnd 6 - Jake Barnes, RB, Arizona State Rnd 7 - Kelly Wolfe, T, Oregon The draft is awful, and we go for need. Bowne helps our continued solidification of the line, and Crawford should help at a weak corner position. After camp, we add some starters at weak positions, g Edwin Mulitao, t Travis Claridge, cb Brian Kelly, and de Morris Lattimore, a real find. Bowne is a complete and total bust, and to clear up some cap room, we bite the bullet and cut him in training cap. In pre-season, we go 1-3, losing all three times on the road, despite resting virtually all key players. Kaufman sustains our only serious injury, but he'll be ready to go opening day. Our punter is injured, forcing us to cut a player for a backup punter. Ouch. Our roster is now rated a 56, so I'm hoping to get at least 6 wins. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-17-2000, 12:50 AM	#11
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2003 Regular Season Game 1: Miami 22, at Oakland 16 (OT) (0-1) And then it was 10. Longwell kicks a 40 yarder with 7 seconds left to send it to ot, but the 'Fins still pull it out. Branch is injured early, and Sherman throws for 217 yards, but 2 ints. Harwell does nothing at halfback, with Kaufman not playing due to too low willingness to use injured players. Dawkins and Johnson both have 7 catches, but Johnson is now injured. Milloy has 18 tackles defensively. Game 2: Oakland 24, at Cleveland 10 (1-1) The monkey is officially off our back. An injured Branch shakes it off to throw 17 for 20 for 230 yards and 2 tds. We haven't seen qb play like that ... ever. Harwell gets 73 yards on 13 carries in relief of Kaufman, who aggrevates his broken finger. Skip Hicks returns to allow Kaufman to rest. Game 3: at Oakland 35, San Diego 10 (2-1) Break up the Raiders! Two in a row and we pass last year's season win total in week three. Branch throws 25 for 37 for a league high (tied) 287 yards and 4 tds. I hope and believe he's turned the corner. Dawkins has 11 catches for 130 yards and 3 of the tds. If he can stay healthy, he's just another reason we should be much improved. This week, the spinner lands on 6th rounder Barnes to have a good day at halfback, picking up 77 yards on 13 carries. Chad Eaton is injured now, out 3 to 5 weeks. Game 4: at Kansas City 21, Oakland 3 (2-2) Branch struggles in a tough Arrowhead stadium, completing just 13 for 31 for 145 yards and an int. Defensively, Aleaga has a banner day with 17 tackles. Game 5: at Atlanta 21, Oakland 16 (2-3) Branch has a fine day, 22 for 36 for 268 yards and a td. Dawkins has 7 catches for 137 yards and a td. Kaufman goes 18 for 68 in his return from injury. Game 6: Oakland 28, at Los Angeles 16 (3-3) The newly renamed arcchenemy Ruff Ryders get hit by a burst of Napoleon Kaufman. Finally healthy, the ex-Husky rushes 21 times for 146 yards in his hometown. Dawkins catches 8 balls for 112 yards and 2 tds. Ink Aleaga gets 17 tackles and 2 sacks. He wins Defensive Player of the Week. Branch throws 17 for 28 for 196 and 3 tds. His td/int ration this season: 10 to 1. Eaton and Pat Johnson return from injury. Game 7: at Seattle 15, Oakland 13 (3-4) Seattle gets a game winning kick with 7 seconds left. Branch goes 20 for 37 for 220 and a touch. Kaufman gets just 20 for 42. We allow Seattle's star 3rd round pick Phil McDaniel 232 yards on 27 carries, and you can't win with that. Johnson reaggrevates his bruised sternum, and big Lincoln Kennedy and Darrell Russell also go down - not a good sign. Game 8: at San Diego 27, Oakland 7 (3-5) Kaufman gets 127 yards on 15 carries. Dawkins has 7 catches for 135 yards. Injuries kill us, meaning next week's bye week is well placed. Branch is knocked out early in the second half, after going 11 for 21 for 106 yards and 2 ints, one on the play he was injured on. Sherman replaces him, and gives a head scratching line: 12 for 27 for 241 yards, 1 touch, and 5 interceptions in under a half of play. All 7 team ints come in the 11 drives of the second half. Just one of those days. The injuries also don't help. At the half, we're halfway to my goal of 6 wins despite playing just 3 home games, and being beset by injuries to key players. Branch is 4th in the league in qb rating (92.3). Kaufman seems to be back from the terrible season a year ago, with 426 yards despite being injury plauged. Dawkins is first in the league in recieving yards by a long margin (891). Ink Aleaga has also returned to his spot atop the league in solo and total tackles. Some bad news - we still haven't played division leader Denver (6-1). On the other hand, of course, we still have a chance to help ourselves, right? Game 9: at Oakland 34, Kansas City 10 (4-5) We pull even with the Chiefs by beating them. Two guys return after the bye week, Russell and Kaufman. Sawyer also gets the call despite also being questionable. Branch has another fine day - 19 for 31 for 214 and 3 tds. Kaufman has 28 carries for 140 yards. Cleeland gets 6 catches while only being targetted 6 times - he's had a fine year. Lattimore and Ioane both have 1.5 sacks. Newsome also gets some love with his 3rd int of the year, far better than any corner last year. Game 10: at Oakland 23, New Orleans 20 (5-5) Another solid win over the previously 6-3 Saints evens our record. Longwell wins it on a fg with 5 seconds left. Kaufman is anemic, picking up just 25 yards on 20 carries. Branch is 14 for 29 for 166, 1, 1, but most importantly he pulls out the game. On the negative side, Russell aggrevates his injury and is now out until the playoffs. Little used reserve rookie corner A.J. Crawford has an int return for a td, and gets a shout out here. Nobody can replace Russell, but Jason Fisk will attempt the task. Game 11: at Oakland 34, Denver 7 (6-5) A huge win over the division's leaders gives us - whaddya call it again? oh, yes - a winning streak! Sure, Denver has a laundry list of injuries, but I'm not thinking about that now - we're only 2 games out of the division lead, and in the thick of the playoff hunt. Branch goes 23 for 32 for 249 and a td. Kaufman runs 32 times for 174 yards and 3 tds. He wins Offensive Player of the Week. Reserve de Jay Owens gets 2 and a half sacks. Game 12: at Oakland 14, Seattle 14 (6-5-1) Don't adjust your screen, kids. That's right - the unthinkable - a tie with division rival Seattle. We lose a chance to move up on Denver, who loses to 2-10 LA, but, we do remain tied with Seattle. I think we're two pretty even teams at this point. Kaufman has 37 carries for 152 yards and a td. Seattle, for the second time against us, is clutch late, sending the game into ot with a fg with 3 seconds left. They go on an 11-0 4th quarter run, just like a real Pac-10 team from Seattle. Branch has an off day, 18 for 32 for 165, 1 td, and 2 ints. Longwell is the goat - he misses 3 field goals. In ot, they miss a 40 yarder and we a 36 yarder as time expires. Ouch. Game 13: Oakland 24, at Denver 16 (7-5-1) The slumping Broncos lose their 4th in a row, as we continue our 5 game unbeaten streak (odd to say that, ain't it) to pull within a half game of the division lead, though Seattle is also tied with us and holds the tiebraker. If only Longwell could've hit that field goal ... . Branch has a huge day - 24 of 34 for 332 and 2 tds. Kaufman picks up another 122 on 24 carries. Last year's miserable season is forgotten. Lattimore records three sacks. Johnson is injured yet again. Game 14: Carolina 9, at Oakland 3 (7-6-1) We finally lose in the second half, and this one hurts, as we are eliminated from contention in the AFC West. Our hopes are not realized, as Seattle and Denver do not tie, with Seattle winning to now control their own destiny. The injury list grows. Branch is 17 for 26 for 200 yards, but 2 ints. Kaufman is injured after garnering 47 yards on 10 carries, and Harwell gets just 19 on 12. Cleeland has a huge day - 7 catches for 89 yards. Game 15: at Jacksonville 20, Oakland 17 (7-7-1) Our injury-riddled squad loses a heartbreaker to 4-11 Jacksonville. Kaufman gets just 25 yards on 13 carries. Branch is injured late, though Sherman fills in admirably. Harness has a career high 9 catches for 70 yards. We still have a slim outside chance of a playoff birth - though, depending on matchups, it may require another tie. How could Longwell miss that field goal? Game 16: at Oakland 23, Los Angeles 13 (8-7-1) We finish the season off the right way and wonder what could have been, finishing 1/2 game out of a playoff spot, and would've won a three-way tie for the division title had Longwell's field goal at the gun merely split the uprights. Branch goes out well - 25 for 42, 259 yards, 2 tds. Kaufman gets 153 yards on 23 carries in an attempt to atone for a poor game at Jacksonville. Lincoln Kennedy earns our first ever o-line mention on Top Performers with 5 key run blocks. We finish in 3rd place in the AFC West. Statistical Leaders: qb Leo Branch 289 for 476 (60.7%), 22 tds, 13 ints, 85.8 rating (6th NFL) hb Napoleon Kaufman 275 carries for 1264 yards (4.5 avg) (7th NFL), 6 tds wr Sean Dawkins 86 catches for 1436 yards (16.6 avg) (2nd NFL), 12 tds (1st NFL) lb Ink Aleaga 139 tackles, 97 solo (t11th NFL), 17.2 tckl % de Morris Lattimore 50 tackles, 14 sacks (8th NFL), 7.9 pr % (2nd NFL) cb Craig Newsome 4 ints, 39.5 pdq (14th NFL) c Wesley Pringle 32 krb (t8th NFL) Indianapolis defeats Tampa Bay, 29-27, to win the Super Bowl. te Cam Cleeland (69 catches, 719 yards) and wr Sean Dawkins make all-Pro 1st Team. Lincoln Kennedy is the second team tackle. We head into 2004 very optimistically. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-18-2000, 01:41 AM	#12
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2003 Off-Season Herb's Ratings: Performance - 45 Team Value - 50 Profit/Loss - 39 Difficulty - 77 Overall - 47 Ricky Jasso, the second-youngest coach in the NFL, re-ups for 5 years at 1.7 million. His record's awful, but that's more my fault than his. We go into free agency with only 23 players under contract, and Lawyer Milloy as our franchise player. My first indication of the draft is that this year has a ton of Pac-10 talent, an infusion we could use. Unfortunately, we're only 25 million under the cap, and there are a lot of my own free agents I'd like to keep. Milloy is re-signed for 3 years and 10.5 million. In week 1, we make offers to 5 of our own free agents: fb D.J. Edmondson, g Mark Schlereth and Edwin Mulitao, de Morris Lattimore, and lb Ink Aleaga. Edmonson re-signs in week 2. Mulitao is back in the fold week 4, along with Aleaga. Lattimore's demands continue going down, and I adjust accordingly and cheer in my head. He signs in week 5, before he's forced to go even lower. Stil pretty good for a guy who wasn't even in anybody's training camp last year. Schlereth finally re-ups the next week, and we're done, with 9 million of cap room left. Jon Ritchie becomes my first real free agent to go elsewhere, getting a 4.6 million, 2 year deal from Philadelphia. Amateur Draft Report: Rnd 1 - Jamal Austin, DE, Washington Rnd 2 - Joey Copeland, CB, Washington State Rnd 3 - Dale Whiting, LB, Stanford Rnd 4 - Sammie Palmer, QB, Stanford Rnd 5 - Marco Herndon, WR, Arizona Rnd 6 - Billy Joe Wilkins, FB, Southern California Rnd 7 - George Rives, C, Southern California Austin and Copeland both look like they could be of real help this year if they don't go bust. Fearful of such things, I negotiate down both their bonuses. After all, I'm really paying for last year's mistake this year. Sean Dawkins and Craig Newsome both renegotiate for 2 more years and some cap relief. We fill out the roster with the usual assortment of rookie free agents, including one of note. dt Casey Tuiososopo of Washington gets a 7 year deal. Yes, I know it's cheating, but it's as close to Marques as I'm gonna get in this game, so what the heck. We sell only 19,500 season tickets. Ouch. I guess the folks from Portland just aren't coming down to watch their future stars. The first other team to attempt to move is the Dallas Cowboys, who attempt to oversatuerate the Pac-10 pro market by moving to Spokane. Sadly, their attempt fails. We shoot down trade offers of a 2nd rounder and Rashaan Sheehee (the first guy we could've kept) for Lattimore and a 4th rounder for Edmondson. Austin and Copeland come through with flying colors - Austin has an 85 future potential, second best on the team. The rest of the draft looks pretty solid as well, especially rounds 3-5. In camp, we pick up corner Isaac DiMaggio, a man we've long eyed, and sign him to a three year deal. The roster goes to 53 with 80,000 to spare. We finish 1-3 in preseason, and I am disappointed. Aleaga goes out long term, and Austin becomes our second first round pick to be injured at the beginning of the season (worse still considering one first rounder didn't even make it to opening day and we didn't have a first the other year). ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-18-2000, 01:46 AM	#13
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2004 Regular Season Game 1: at Oakland 33, Indianapolis 21 (1-0) A huge season opening win against the defending champs. Branch is his now usual workmanlike self, 20 for 33, 234, 2 tds. Kaufman is the Man. 26 for 204 and a td. Game 2: New York Giants 12, at Oakland 7 (1-1) Injuries are mounting already. A full 1/4 of the roster is at least somewhat injured. Kaufman is not to blame, getting 185 yards and a td on 23 carries. The G-Men get a 59 yard interception return with 19 seconds left to win what was a game that we lead 7-6. Why we were passing with 19 seconds left is beyond me. Branch was mediocre at best, 16 for 32, 198 yards, 2 ints. Game 3: Oakland 26, at Arizona 20 (OT) (2-1) Kaufman has his second 200+ yard game of the year, rushing 28 times for 222 yards and a td. He's named Offensive Player of the Week. Earnie Sawyer has a huge 72 yard interception return for a td to win it 2 minutes into ot, for our first ot win in three tries (1-1-1). Branch struggles again, throwing for just 181 yards and 3 ints, 2 more than in entire first half a year ago. Russell has a nice day with two sacks. Game 4: Oakland 38, at Los Angeles 23 (3-1) For the third straight time, we dump our rivals to the south. Kaufman has his THIRD 200+ yard effort of the year, rushing 34 times for 285 yards and 3 tds. For the second straight week, he is Offensive Player of the Week (only two guys have won it this year, the other Washington's Johnny Spicer). Branch, however, struggles again, completing only 13 of 29. Now, a much-needed week off to rest our injuries. Some notes on Kaufman's season thus far. Through only 4 games, he already ranks about 75 all-time in single-season rushing with 896 yards. He also has 6 tds, matching last year's total. His career yardage is now number 2 all-time. Game 5: at Oakland 27, Denver 0 (4-1) A huge shutout win. San Diego loses their second straight, so we take sole possession of first in the AFC West. Branch is back on the wagon - 22 for 31 for 240 and a td. Kaufman is injured after picking up just 11 yards, but Barnes picks up right where Kaufman left off, picking up 90 yards on 11 carries. Our defense comes up with 4 interceptions. Game 6: Oakland 24, at Kansas City 17 (5-1) Our fourth win in a row gives us a two game lead, although it's still very early. Kaufman gets another 161 and a td on 25 carries. Johnson catches two tds on 7 total catches for 86 yards. Branch is injured after completing 7 of 11, but rookie Palmer is impressive, completing 14 of 19 for 134 yards and a td. Kaufman does fumble twice. Game 7: Oakland 26, at Seattle 0 (6-1) Wow. A shutout on the road. This team is really coming together before my eyes. Kaufman has his fourth 200+ yard effort, getting 209 and 2 tds on 33 carries. He wins his third Offensive Player of the Week. At times, partially because of his low ratings and a terrible 2002 season, I've questioned Nap. No longer. He is the Man, and if we are to go to "the promised land", I want it to be with him. Branch has an awful day - 11 for 26, 152 yards, and an int. Milloy has 11 tackles and a pick. Game 8: at Miami 31, Oakland 24 (6-2) I sensed trouble in this matchup with the 1-6 Fins, and I was right. It's almost impossible to win three straight road games in this league. The defense loses this one. Kaufman still gets 131 yards on 18 carries, and Branch throws for 202 yards and 2 tds. Halfway through the season, Kaufman's numbers: 190 carries, 1408 yards (7.4 avg), 10 tds. He's 147 yards from a career single season high. This year, that's one decent game. Game 9: at Oakland 35, Los Angeles 0 (7-2) The d pitches its third shutout of the year as we really take it to rivals LA. Branch has a huge day - 20 for 28, 315 yards, 3 tds. Kaufman has another 100 yard day, though 14 carries for 106 yards is almost disappointing now. Johnson has a career day - 10 catches for 153 yards and 2 tds. Amazingly, he isn't injured either. Disgruntled Marco Herndon has 7 catches for 88 yards and a td - the right way to get playing time. Game 10: at San Diego 17, Oakland 14 (7-3) San Diego gets a game winning td with just over a minute on the clock. Johnson has another big day - 5 catches for 177 yards and another 2 tds. First rounder Jamal Austin finally busts out with 3 sacks. Kaufman gets just 65 yards on 18 carries. Branch completes just 17 of 34, but for 280 yards and 2 tds. A missed 27 yard field goal by Longwell looms large. After the game, Kaufman is signed to a contract which will keep him in Oakland until there's no reason or team there. He'll also be around in 2007, our first year in Portland. Game 11: at Baltimore 31, Oakland 21 (7-4) A second loss in a row on the road to a tough Baltimore team. We'll only leave the not-so-friendly confines of the Oakland-Alameda Colliseum once more this year. Kaufman doesn't let up with the signing bonus in hand, with 21 carries for 156 yards and 2 tds. Branch throws for just 163 yards and 2 ints. Johnson has another 8 catches for 84 yards. Game 12: at Oakland 21, Philadelphia 15 (8-4) We finally get off the schneid with a huge home victory, giving us momentum going into a huge game against the Chargers. Pat Johnson has another 100 yard day on 6 catches, with 2 tds. Ink Aleaga is finally back, and he proves it with 13 tackles and a sack. Only 30,900 are present, raising the age-old question - "If a team wins a game but nobody sees it, do they really win at all?" Kaufman has just 5 carries for 17 yards, and Barnes struggles. Branch is just 15 for 33 and throws 2 tds and ints. Game 13: at Oakland 24, San Diego 21 (9-4) We clinch our second division title with a huge win. Now, just 1 game back of the other division leaders, we begin to hope for a bye week, especially holding the tiebreaker over Indy. Two big injuries - Johnson's likely done for the regular season, and Russell's finished period, leaving a huge hole at defensive tackle. Branch is 23 for 33 for 275 and a td. Kaufman has 25 carries for 151 yards and 2 tds. Before leaving, Johnson has another huge day - 10 catches for 118 yards and a td. Defensively, Lattimore has 2 sacks. Game 14: at Oakland 28, Kansas City 17 (10-4) With Indy's loss, we'd have a bye if the playoffs started today. Kaufman and Milloy both go out until the playoffs. Jake Barnes has a big day filling in - 21 carries for 102 yards and a td. They threaten late, but Sawyer has a 92 yard interception return to the house to seal it. Branch is 15 for 31 for 223 and a td. Brazil returns at safety to replace Milloy, and Russell goes on IR. Game 15: at Denver 10, Oakland 7 (10-5) The injuries have suddenly come in droves. Dawkins is out until the playoffs, and Lattimore is finished. Indy loses as well, so we still have a shot at the much needed bye week. Barnes has 18 carries for 148 yards. He was one awesome 5th round pick. Game 16: Seattle 19, at Oakland 17 (10-6) Indy wins. We lose. So, the MASH unit will have to get ready for next week, and a ton of questionable, even doubtful players will see time. 7guys are officially done for the year - so our inactive list is pretty easy to figure out. Seattle wins it on a field goal with 33 seconds left - they seem to have a knack for these late comebacks against us. Branch is an uninspiring 22 for 33 for 181 and a touch. Wild Card Round: at Oakland 41, New England 35 (11-6)* Branch has the best day of his career: 27 for 35, 389 yards, 4 tds. Herndon and Johnson combine to catch all the tds, 17 passes, and 272 yards worth. We need 'em all, because Bledsoe puts up 412 yards against the depleted secondary. He's beat us before in the playoffs, but this year we got 'em. An injured Kaufman rushes 19 times for 55 yards. Only 40,000 some odd people attend, sorry for a playoff game. Defensively, Austin has 2 sacks and an interception. Division Round: at Indianapolis 27, Oakland 17 (11-7) The dream finally comes to an end at the accurate hand of Peyton Manning. Branch has another valiant effort - 22 for 38, 264 yards, and a td. The constantly improving Austin has 3 sacks and a bright future. An injured Kaufman can muster only 22 yards on 13 carries. Season Statistical Leaders: qb Leo Branch 270-481 (56.1%), 3351 yards, 19 td, 16 int, 77.1 rating hb Napoleon Kaufman 276-1912 (2nd NFL) (6.9 avg, 1st NFL), 15 td (2nd NFL) wr Pat Johnson 69-1105 (16.0 avg, 3rd NFL), 12 td (1st NFL), 2 drops lb Tito Hopper 129 tackles (t10 NFL), 99 solo (8th NFL), 16.2 tckl% cb Brian Kelly 4 int, 34.7 pdq Off/Def/League Rush 5.7/3.5/3.7 Pass 6.9/6.1/6.7 Those 4 numbers look pretty good compared to the league average. Washington defeats Cincinatti, 19-14, to win the Super Bowl. Only Darrell Russell is honored in the post-season, taking home 1st team defensive tackle. Kaufman is completely robbed. ------------------ Nothing witty - just sending out some love for C-Dub. Let's do it for him again this week - and maybe a little less drama or people are gonna be keeling over in the stands soon! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-23-2000, 01:07 PM	#14
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2005 Pre-season Herb's ratings: Performance - 78 Team Value - 48 Profit/Loss - 40 Difficulty - 78 Overall - 54 Kicker Ryan Longwell retires after the season. As our scout is 70 and his contract is up, we decide to look elsewhere. We hire Tom Liwenski, no spring chicken himself at age 58. He has an Exc in young talent, and thus gets the call. He decides that he can't stand my favorite de, second year man Jamal Austin, who goes from a future 85 to 58. Hopefully Liwenski is just dyslexic. Free agency is to be hell upon us this year. My beloved qb Leo Branch and first ever draft pick, s Ernie Sawyer, are both free agents sure to command astronomical salaries. Three of my top linebackers are also free agents. Also a restricted free agent is halfback Jake Barnes, who had some fine performances filling in for Nap last year, but whom my new scout rates just a 34. In the end, I franchise Branch, who I simply can't afford to lose, especially with two other qbs free agents sure to seek greener pastures. We accept the Bills' offer of the third pick of the second round for corner Joey Copeland, with an eye to a corner in the draft from Wazzu who is almost maxed out, and doesn't have any return ability, making him an unlikely bust. In week one, offers go out to Sawyer, Teddy Bruschi, Tito Hopper, and wide reciever Pat Johnson (missed in my fa roundup). Good news in the kicker market, as a decent Pac-10 guy is available. In fact, it's the guy I failed to get oh so many years ago in my first draft, when I had to settle for his backup. Skip Brooks signs up in week 1 for a 3 year, 3 million contract. In week two, Bruschi is back for 2 years and 7 million. Hopper returns in week 3 for 3 years and 12.5 million. In week 5, Sawyer finally realizes I'm basically stealing from him with each passing week, and signs for 3 years and 8.25 million. Someone finally gets a foriegn bid, as Pittsburgh moves past my week offer to Johnson in a surprising development. Johnson accepts our new 4 year, 27 million bid in week 7 and we are about finished with free agents in the 20 step period. We now have 31 players and 15 million to play with - but that of course does not include Branch, who we must still deal with. He is soon, however, signed to a 3 year, 19.5 million contract. Very respectable given that Matt Hasselbach just got 44 million over 5 years from the Ruff Ryders. Rejoicing is heard in the Oakland front office as the corner, Justin Mahnken lasts and they jump all over him. In round 2, we see a safety who is the epitome of a Quiksand bust. Identical 27s in return. He goes to Cleveland two picks after ours, and we'll see if he truly is El Busto. Amateur Draft Report: Rnd 1 - Justin Mahnken, CB, Washington State Rnd 2 - Deon Caldwell, RB, Washington Rnd 2 - Victor Everett, WR, Oregon Rnd 3 - Butch Mills, S, Arizona State Rnd 4 - Bob Jarvis, C, Washington Rnd 5 - Derrick Blaine, T, California Rnd 6 - Roy Boyd, DT, Arizona State Rnd 7 - Larry Middleton, S, Washington Prior to camp, my scout rates safety Ed Maynard of Idaho thusly: 28/64, 29/72, 32/74, 54, 27, 27, 45. We'll see what happens. My own corner Mahnken makes it through camp with flying colors. Everett and Blaine have moderate break outs, though Caldwell and Mills don't have the ones I'd hoped for. We sell just 18,500 season tickets in our penultimate season in Oakland. Ed Maynard's new numbers (as he resides on the inactive list): 2/17, 4/34, 6/69, 42, 1, 1, 31. The numbers don't lie - though he's not quite the Bust I'd thought he would be. He can still play some solid zone defense - still not worth a second rounder, and not as good as my own 3rd rounder Mills. Darrell Russell signs a 2 year extension, and Lincoln Kennedy a one year one to give us some cap relief. We get to 53 with room to spare. At this time, I'm going to do some extensive team breakdowns to fit the FOFCentral.com spirit. College Breakdown: Arizona - 7 Arizona State - 9 California - 4 Idaho - 1 Oregon - 3 Oregon State - 3 Southern California - 6 Stanford - 3 UCLA - 3 Washington - 13 (including all 3 halfbacks) Washington State - 1 Time with Oakland (note: this does not take into account 2nd tours of duty, etc., of which I have many because of the nature of this challenge) 10+years: 3 7-9 years: 1 (these 3 represent the 3 pre-existing Raiders still around, Kaufman, Kennedy, and Russell) 4-6 years: 6 2-3 years: 12 1 year: 10 0 years: 21 Draft Position: Top Ten: 2 (both inherited Raiders) Other First: 8 Second: 9 Third: 6 Fourth: 5 Fifth: 4 Sixth: 2 Seventh: 4 Tenth: 1 (Mark Schlereth) Not Drafted: 11 Acquired: Draft: 21 20-Step Free Agency: 5 Other Free Agency: 26 Experience: 10+: 7 7-9: 6 4-6: 12 2-3: 12 Rookies: 16 Payroll Breakdown Avg. of position Percentage of total salary qb 7.26 million 1.88 million 8.6% hb 4.2 million 1.4 million 5.0% fb 2.75 million 1.38 million 3.2% te 4.8 million 1.6 million 5.7% wr 9.37 million 1.56 million 11.1% c 680 thousand 340 thousand 0.8% g 7.57 million 1.89 million 8.9% t 4.62 million 1.54 million 5.9% offense: 49.2% p 700 thousand 700 thousand 0.8% k 820 thousand 820 thousand 1.0% de 8.42 million 2.11 million 9.9% dt 6.64 million 1.33 million 7.8% lb 10.19 million 1.7 million 12.0% cb 8.44 million 1.69 million 10.0% s 6.38 million 1.6 million 7.5% defense: 47.2% total 84.78 million 1.6 million We finish pre-season at 1-3 (a curious thing - why do we always play just 1 home game - just bugs me). No major injuries makes me pleased. ------------------ UW 51, WSU 3! Wow! It's about time we played a good 4 quarter game! Pasadena, here we come! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-23-2000, 01:12 PM	#15
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2005 Regular Season Game One: Seattle 25, at Oakland 18 (0-1) Never good to begin the season with a loss at home to a team that is sure to give us fits all year. Seattle always seems to have our number. Branch goes 29 for 50 for 327 yards and a td. Kaufman rushes an uninspiring 18 times for 58 yards. Game Two: at Los Angeles 26, Oakland 0 (0-2) This season appears to be going down the drain in a hurry. The Ruff Ryders beat us for the first time in their last 5 tries, and its ugly. The curse of the contract extension has again struck Kaufman - this week he gets just 34 yards on 15 carries. Branch is 7 of 24, but much of the blame must go on the recievers who drop 5 of his throws. We need a shakeup in the awful secondary, so AJ Crawford will get the start this week over Mahnken. Game Three: at Oakland 24, Detroit 13 (1-2) The comeback is on. Kaufman has a solid day - 24 for 133 and a td. Branch is off again, completing just 12 of 34 for 133 yards, but does throw 2 tds. The pass rush is the defensive story, as Russell's two sacks lead the team to six overall. The perfect anecdote for a terrible secondary. Game Four: Oakland 35, at Chicago 7 (2-2) We are officially back on track. Branch is also back on track with a 17 of 32, 252, 1 td performance. Kaufman goes off for 194 yards and 3 tds on 27 carries. Oddly, we score all our points in the first half, 28 of 'em in the second quarter. Cleeland has a fine day with 4 receptions for 105 yards and a touch. We get 4 ints defensively, one from each of my active safties and one from Crawford. Game Five: Indianapolis 25, at Oakland 22 (2-3) Even a bye can't help us against the now 5-0 Colts. Branch has a nice day - 13 of 26 for 248 and 3 tds. Dawkins is his main man with 7 catches for 116 yards and 2 tds. Aleaga has a monster day with 17 tackles. The key to this game - time of possession. They hold the ball for over 40 minutes, and it's hard to score when you don't have the rock. Game Six: at Denver 31, Oakland 7 (2-4) Ok, guys. At some point, isn't this team supposed to improve? I don't know what else to do. DiMaggio and a reserve de go out for the year. Both Milloy and Sawyer are seriously injured. Branch goes down early in the game, and struggle would be a kind word for the performance of Sherman. Kaufman continues his annoyingly inconsistent play. He needs to step up, put this team on his back, and lead it if we're going to do anything this year. Game Seven: Oakland 27, at San Diego 14 (3-4) A win's a win at this point, it doesn't matter who it's against. Branch is an excellent 33 of 45 for 293 and 2 tds. Kaufman totes the ball 19 times for a buck sixty five and a td. Aleaga has another fine day with 2 interceptions Game Eight: Oakland 17, at New England 13 (4-4) A huge win evens our record at the midway point and gives us our fourth consecutive two game streak (2 l, 2 w, 2 l, 2 w) in an up and down season. Rookie Mahnken has two ints, and earns Defensive Player of the Week. He wins the game with a 99 yard interception return for a td with 3:08 left. Talk about a huge play, as we go from potentially down 10 to up 4 in a matter of seconds. Heady play from a rook. Branch is a quietly effective 10 of 17 for 177 yards and a td Game Nine: at Oakland 30, Los Angeles 0 (5-4) We return the favor of the Ruff Ryders' shutout in LA as we prove that their dawgs do stop, they do drop, but they don't shut [our wideouts] down or open up shop [on our qb]. Combined with Denver's loss and Seattle's bye, we pull into the traffic jam of a 4 way tie for first in the AFC West. Kaufman carries for 131 and a td. Lattimore [Erik Flowers] has a fine day with 6 solo tackles and 3 sacks. For the second straight week, Mahnken returns an int for a td, though not as dramatically this time. Branch is solid - 23 of 36 for 276 and a td. Dawkins catches 8 balls for 114 yards. Game Ten: at Oakland 34, Green Bay 26 (6-4) This win over the 7-3 Pack will probably look better than it should because Green Bay is reeling; they've lost 3 of 4 (beating Denver, thankfully) since losing Brett Favre to injury. We pull into a more simplified two-way tie for the lead with Seattle, who we've still got to go to. Branch is solid again - 17 of 27 for 221 and 3 tds. Green Bay's backup qb has a tough day - he's sacked 4 times and picked off 3 times by our d. Milloy, playing hurt, has 2 of the ints. Game Eleven: at Kansas City 24, Oakland 14 (6-5) Our battered roster simply can't compete, so we find ourselves a game back of Seattle and facing trouble in the tiebreaker because of a poor in-division record. By this point, we're actually listing guys who aren't injured. Kaufman keeps us in the game with 124 yards and a td. Branch is also clearly good enough to win - 16 of 27 for 220 yards and a td. The defense has been far more hurt by injuries, and plays like it, allowing 343 passing yards to Charlie Batch. Game Twelve: at Oakland 38, Denver 14 (7-5) The Chiefs continue to play spoiler at Arrowhead, beating the Hawks to move us into a first place tie which we lose by virtually every tiebreaker imaginable. Branch has another fine day - 21 of 39, 276, 2 tds. Kaufman gets 119 and a td on 26 carries. Dawkins has 7 catches for 124 yards. Gus Frerotte is harassed into 4 ints, 2 of which are returned for tds. Rookie Mahnken has 2 of them as he continues his rapid development at corner. Game Thirteen: at Oakland 45, Kansas City 20 (8-5) The Hawks fall again, and we are all alone in first place. And who's on our schedule next? You guessed it, the Seahawks. And who's managed to injure himself before this huge game? Obviously Leo Branch. In Branch's absense, Kaufman carries us, with 220 yards and 3 tds on 27 carries. He wins Offensive Player of the Week. Johnson also has 7 catches for 118 yards and a touch. Sherman has a fine day in relief of Branch, completing 12 of 14 for 160 yards, although our first interception in a long time. Russell adds 2 sacks. Game Fourteen: at Seattle 27, Oakland 17 (8-6) We now need them to lose to have a shot, as the Hawks have our number again. The numbers aren't pretty. We turn the ball over 6 times, 4 of them ints, and fumble it four times, losing them twice. Kaufman musters just 46 yards on 17 carries. Sherman is 14 for 35 in addition to the ints. Linebacker Louie Patterson does have a career day in his college town, with 10 tackles, 2 sacks, and an interception. Game Fifteen: Oakland 24, at Minnesota 6 (9-6) An unbelievable turn of events. We defeat the 9-6 Vikings on the road, and the Hawks fall to the 3-13 Chargers. What does it all mean? Win and we're in. Lose and Denver and Seattle both lose - we're in. No chance of a Wild Card, however, it's the Division or nothing. Back to the win over Minnesota, Branch shakes off the injury to throw for 346 yards and 3 tds on 22 of 37 passing. This week, we get the Chargers at home, but Kaufman is likely out. He has an extremely annoying habit of always getting injured around game 17. Game Sixteen: at Oakland 34, San Diego 16 (10-6) The Raiders win their second straight AFC West title in a race so close, it could've been a race for a Pac-10 Conference Championship. A damper is felt in the locker room, however, by the loss of both qb Leo Branch and hb Napoleon Kaufman for the season. Even with home field, it will be extremely difficult to defeat the Browns. Against the Chargers, ex-Huskies Lawyer Milloy and Cameron Cleeland lead the way. Milloy recorded 12 tackles, 11 solo, and an interception, to win Defensive Player of the Week honors. Cleeland caught 8 balls for 155 yards and a td. Branch and Sherman both did a solid job at qb. Branch finished the season with his 19th and 20th tds since he last threw an interception, and Sherman, like a baseball closer, threw for 151 yards and a td in relief. Wild Card: Cleveland 17, at Oakland 12 For the first time ever, we taste playoff defeat at the Oakland-Alameda County Colliseum. At least two players had standout days in the loss. Second year wideout Marco Herndon caught 11 balls for 149 yards and a td. Milloy repeated as Defensive Player of the Week, getting 14 tackles, 10 solo, and an interception. Second string qb Sherman was injured before throwing a pass, and third stringer Sammy Palmer struggled as can be expected, throwing 3 interceptions. Caldwell failed to get anything going in the rushing game either. The defense did yeoman's work to keep this close. Russell and Austin both had two sacks. Final Statistical leaders: qb Leo Branch: 245 of 435 (56.3%), 3169 yards, 24 tds (6th NFL), 4 ints (low NFL), 93.9 rating (3rd NFL) hb Napoleon Kaufman: 309 carries for 1534 yards (1st NFL), 4.9 avg (5th NFL), 12 tds (4th NFL) wr Sean Dawkins: 83 catches for 1139 yards (13.7 avg), 5 tds de Morris Lattimore: 45 tackles, 13.5 sacks dt Darrell Russell: 41 tackles, 11.5 sacks s Lawyer Milloy: 8 ints (t5th NFL), 3 tds (t1st NFL), 51.7 pdq (6th NFL) cb Justin Mahnken (rookie): 6 ints, 3 tds (t1st NFL), 42.1 pdq Cincinatti defeats Green Bay, 28-9, to win the Super Bowl in their second appearence. 1st team all-Pro: te Cameron Cleeland, cb Justin Mahnken 2nd team all-Pro: s Lawyer Milloy hb Napoleon Kaufman is absoulutely screwed again! How do you lead the league in rushing yards yet not make either of the top two teams at halback? He is the all-time FOF leader in rushing yards yet has not ever been either first or second team all-Pro. ------------------ UW 51, WSU 3! Wow! It's about time we played a good 4 quarter game! Pasadena, here we come! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-25-2000, 04:19 AM	#16
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2006 Pre-season Herb's ratings: Performance - 74 Team Value - 42 Profit/Loss - 44 Difficulty - 77 Overall - 52 Our coach and scout are both under contract and both will return. Cam Cleeland is named franchise player, and resigns for 2 years and 4.65 million. We make an offer to 49ers center Chris Dalman, but he goes elsewhere. Our own free agents finally find takers. Henry Sherman gets 27.65 million over 3 years from the 49ers, and Mulitao and Claridge end the year-to-year deal with the Raiders by taking jobs elsewhere. That's about it. Amateur Draft Report: Rnd 1 - Ralph Parrish, DT, Arizona Rnd 2 - Horace Frohbieter, LB, Oregon Rnd 3 - Shaun Allen, C, Oregon Rnd 4 - Zach Randle, QB, Washington State Rnd 5 - Tommy Oxley, G, Arizona Rnd 6 - Jamie Reid, RB, Stanford Rnd 7 - Benjamin Tucker, WR, Arizona State The draft provides some fine talent. Parrish fills a major hole alongside Darrell Russell. Frohbieter has a 100 future in run stopping, making him Ink Aleaga's eventual replacement. I'm wary of drafting Allen, who looks like a potential bust, but I decide that his 1st-round worthy numbers and the low bonus of the 3rd round make this a risk I have to take. Oxley is a 5th round find, and the other 3 guys fill "need" positions. The roster is filled out with the typical assortment of unsigned and undrafted players, finding starters and g and t. My brother keeps me from signing wr Leo Branch of Alabama in a sad attempt to see the following in a game log: 08 Leo Branch passes to 84 Leo Branch for 8 yards and a first down. Come on, how cool would that be? Allen is a mild bust, not nearly as bad as I expected, and will start in time. Randle is almost completely worthless (ok, I admit it, it's because I drafted the wrong qb from Wazzu, not because of a bust). Everyone else looks pretty good, especially Tucker. With some extra cap room, we sign several impending free agents to extensions. Milloy takes a 2-year extension below both market value and his current contract. Kennedy adds 2 years, as do Bruschi and Edmondson [Terrelle Smith], and Lattimore adds 1 year. We look to be in good shape financially next year. Aging vets Dawkins, Schlereth, and Aleaga will likely be allowed to leave as their contracts end, and most of the guys we've re-signed have actually taken cuts compared to their current value, based on their aging and high loyalty. We sell just 18,200 season tickets for our final go round in the Oakland-Alameda Colliseum. I can only hope to go out of Oakland on top, as 3-time defending division champion. ------------------ Go Boston College! Beat Miami! Go Oklahoma State! Beat Oklahoma! Go to the Orange Bowl, Washington! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

11-26-2000, 06:17 AM	#17
TheDawgsAreOut H.S. Freshman Team Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The theoretical abyss	2006 Season We finish the pre-season at 3-1, winning all 3 home games (turnabout is fair play). Serious injuries are suffered by cb Mahnken and lb Aleaga. Week One: at Denver 17, Oakland 3 (0-1) Kaufman struggles, gaining just 31 yards on 12 carries. Branch connects on 21 of 38 for 247 yards, but it's still not nearly enough. Rookie Parrish has a fine debut, garnering 1.5 sacks. Week Two: at Oakland 31, Kansas City 24 (1-1) Most impressive stat - we actually draw 35,500 suckers to the Colliseum for the opener of our final season there. Branch throws for 309 yards and 3 tds in about 3 quarters, and backup Gardner adds another td. Cleeland is the main recipient, with 4 catches for 101 yards, and 2 tds. Kaufman is held to 73 yards on 22 carries. Defensively, Austin leads the way with 2.5 of our 6 sacks. Week Three: at Carolina 26, Oakland 20 (1-2) Our annual tradition of early-season struggle continues. More fun playing time for backups as Lincoln Kennedy and Teddy Bruschi go out long term, but must remain active for positional requirements. Branch throws for 220 and a touch. Kaufman is again the culprit, gaining just 39 yards on 24 carries. Sawyer has 13 tackles on defense. Week Four: New Orleans 23, at Oakland 0 (1-3) The train is officially derailed by previously winless New Orleans. Linebackers are the stars (if there are any). Whiting has 17 tackles, 12 solo, and a half a sack to win Defensive Player of the Week. Frohbreiter, in his starting debut, has 18 tackles, 12 solo. Kaufman runs for 29 yards, and Branch is 11 for 29. 'Nuff said. Week Six: at Indianapolis 38, Oakland 14 (1-4) The death car that is the 06 Raiders continues hurdling towards a high draft pick. Branch throws for 325 yards and 2 tds. Johnson is the leading reciever with 8 for 197 yards and a td. Week Seven: Los Angeles 14, at Oakland 10 (1-5) In an absolute must win, we go quietly into the night, falling 4 games behind division leading LA. Kaufman has his "best" day of the year, rushing for 77 yards on 16 carries. Branch and Gardner are both injured during the game, forcing third stringer Neil Weber in. I don't want to think about this anymore. Week Eight: at Oakland 23, Seattle 12 (2-5) Branch is back on top with a 24 for 38, 285 yards, 2 td performance. The running game is revitalized by my decision to start Caldwell and play Kaufman against tired defenders. Kaufman gets a season-high 81 yards on 9 carries, and Caldwell adds 43. Frohbrieter leads the way with 12 tackles. Week Nine: Buffalo 33, at Oakland 21 (2-6) Branch throws for a career-high 406 yards and 2 tds, but it's not enough to guide our injury ravaged roster to victory. A full 14 players are listed on the injury report. The rushing carousel is a complete flop today, and I think I'm going to just air it out. This team would need to win at least 7 of 8 to even make a wild card spot, so I say just play loose. Week Ten: at Kansas City 32, Oakland 31 (2-7) We lose a heartbreaker, but I notice mostly that we tie our season high for points (of course that was also against KC). Oddly, Kaufman has a big game in the new scheme - running 10 times for 106 yards and 2 tds. Branch struggles. Defensively, rookies Frohbrieter and Austin have fine days. Week Eleven: Oakland 35, at San Francisco 16 (3-7) Now this is what I expected. Branch tops the league with 412 yards and 4 tds on 29 of 43 passing. Dawkins catches 10 balls for 112 yards and 2 tds. Branch is Offensive Player of the Week. Johnson adds 162 recieving yards, and Herndon catches 2 tds. Kaufman is solid, with 78 yards on 17 carries. Defensively, the injury riddled Mahnken picks off his first ball. Week Twelve: at Oakland 26, San Diego 17 (4-7) Branch throws for 263 and a td. DiMaggio has two picks. Week Thirteen: at Los Angeles 29, Oakland 14 (4-8) Branch isn't to blame, throwing for 437 yards and 2 tds. Herndon catches 175 of those yards. Dawkins has another 124 and 2 tds. Sawyer has 13 tackles and an int. Mahnken records his fourth pick in six games. I can guess the reason I struggled early on. Week Fourteen: Oakland 31, at San Diego 28 (5-8) Branch throws 50 times and picks up 336 yards and 3 tds. Kaufman is awful. We pull into a 3 way tie for 4th place in the West. Week Fifteen: Denver 26, at Oakland 13 (5-9) Perhaps I'm just cursed in Oakland. Austin records 3 sacks. Branch is injured, but finishes his year with an 11 of 14 peformance prior to leaving. Gardner struglles in relief, hitting just 7 of 22 for 65 yards and an int. Weber, who figures somewhat into our future, will get the call the next two weeks. Kaufman is good in a short dosage, with 56 yards on 8 carries. Week Sixteen: St. Louis 27, at Oakland 7 (5-10) A fine way to end a tumultous seven years in Oakland at home. Kaufman runs for 17 yards. Weber is picked thrice. Tough way to win. Branch will return for the finale with improved health and a possible qb honor on the line. Week Seventeen: at Seattle 10, Oakland 3 (5-11) I'm really glad to say I opened the playbook and took the reigns of the offense. A performance like that you just don't see every day. The Hawks have their traditional late comeback, as they score the game's first touchdown with a minute nine on the clock to win the Toilet Bowl. Branch is 20 of 36 for just 198 yards, and 2 ints. Kaufman caps his season with a 10 carry, 20 yard performance. Branch's final int is at our own 1 with 1:36 on the clock, a true killer. And so we bid farewell to Oakland, and say hello to Portland, who will hopefully at least welcome us with arms, if we're lucky, even open ones. Statistical Leaders: Leo Branch, qb 314-547 (57.4%), 4141 yards (2nd NFL), 23 tds (t8th NFL), 12 ints, 86.3 rating (9th NFL) - numbers hurt by late-season injury Napoleon Kaufman, hb 211 carries for 809 yards (3.8 avg), 7 tds (t8th NFL) worst season to date Pat Johnson, wr 95 catches (5th NFL), 1449 yards (3rd NFL), 4 tds, 10 drops Sean Dawkins, wr 67 catches, 819 yards, 8 tds (t7th NFL), 8 drops Jamal Austin, de 59 tackles, 41 solo, 12.5 sacks (8th NFL), 5.1 pr% (7th NFL) Lawyer Milloy, s 112 tackles, 86 solo, 3 sacks, 13.9 tk% Justin Mahnken, cb 4 ints, 45.5 pdq (t8th NFL) Rookies: Benjamin Tucker, wr 23 catches, 241 yards, 2 tds, 1 drop Ralph Parrish, dt 63 tackles, 43 solo, 5.5 sacks Horace Friebrieter, lb 102 tackles, 76 solo, 1.5 sacks, 16.1 tk% Chicago defeats Indianapolis, 33-9, to claim the Super Bowl. All-pro second team te is Cam Cleeland, and second team wr is Patrick Johnson. To Portland! ------------------ Go Boston College! Beat Miami! Go Oklahoma State! Beat Oklahoma! Go to the Orange Bowl, Washington! __________________ Roll Heard! Special Teams are Awesome! (but only because of my acquisitions for Marmel)

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