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12-08-2000, 03:40 PM
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#1 | ||
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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QuikSand Football Academy
QuikSand Football Academy
An FOF 2001 Challenge The idea behind this team is as follows: Players will join my team by draft or rookie free agency and will serve me for no more than four years. In essence, I intend to play this career as though my team were a college (or even high school) team. The draft and free agency will represent my “recruiting,” and my young players will be required to play immediately in many cases. For players whose contracts extend beyond the four-year limitation, I will attempt to trade those players away, to garner more draft picks—I’ll consider this process a representation of an increase in school prestige (boosting my “recruiting” ability). Obviously, some “suspension of disbelief” will be necessary—this college team clearly operates in an alternate football reality where they play a 16-game season and into a playoff system. For the moment, I’ll live with this, and I’ll focus any narrative on my team itself, and not on the fact that I’m purportedly playing against the Pittsburgh Steelers or whomever. If this concept proves to have some long-term merit, I may revisit these issues—perhaps renaming the other teams into more appropriate-sounding opposition. At the outset, I have no idea how competitive my team can be. My suspicion is that even a pretty strong team of all young players won’t be very good. However, if I can trade away my early picks for other draft picks, and eventually (perhaps) double my draft dimensions each year—I think I might be able to field a credible squad. What would it take to make this team a champion? I haven’t the foggiest. I intend to sign URFAs to a four year, doubling value contract. I also will re-sign players whose rookie contracts expire prior to four years’ service (to the extent affordable under the salary cap)—allowing them to play out their 4 years with me, and then be traded (if possible) or released. This gives me (theoretically important) incentive to take my top-rated players in the draft itself, rather than waiting until the 4-yr signings after the draft ends. Needless to say (I think) I won’t be making any trades in this career that bring in new players. I’ve considered allowing myself to sign young free agents (a la JuCo transfers) but I think I’ll keep it simpler, and keep the players all home grown. My first year will also be odd… I’ll obviously fill up entirely with rookies. From there, the lesser players will eventually be replaced by attrition. Once I get a full cycle deep, I expect that the team will cycle in a fairly normal fashion—that I’ll have 12-15 slots (perhaps a bit more) open each year for my new draft picks and fill-ins. I’ll see how it goes, and I’ll try to detail the happenings in this thread – we’ll see if it works out to be interesting. My intent is to use college parlance in describing my team as appropriate. |
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12-08-2000, 08:08 PM
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#2 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2002 preseason
Our front office personnel look fine—my scout’s weaknesses are all “good” ratings, so there are no gaping holes in his opinions. My coach will be weak with OL and DBs, but should be fine for now. The QuikSand Football Academy is open for business. We get through the various hurdles to our fresh start, and head into our first recruiting season. Rnd 1 - Chester Jeffries, DE, Northern State Rnd 2 - Gus Spring, CB, Washington State Rnd 3 - Zach Merrifield, CB, Savannah State Rnd 4 - Norman Sutton, WR, Delaware State Rnd 5 - Roosevelt Hyland, LB, Florida Rnd 6 - Jeremy Long, FB, Kansas Rnd 7 - C.J. Quinn, DT, Stanford DE Jeffries looks like a very serious impact player—an immediate star. We get two cover corners who should be solid for us, and fill in with a number of intriguing prospects. We’re just building this program, but I think we get a good start here. The offensive side will be a little thin, but I’m hopeful that we’ll make thing happen in time. After rookie camp, DE Jeffries and our top recruits all look fine, plus I have one breakout player. T T.J. Brito didn’t appear to have any potential for growth, but after camp we now have him rated at 38/94, 27/56, 48—a very solid starter at left tackle for us. Here is our roster of 53 as we enter our first season:
Is this roster going to be good enough to win any games? I doubt it—-definitely not many. However, I’m pretty pleased that we’ve made a good step forward, and have some good pieces in place. Getting a breakout OL player is a big plus for what little offense we’ll muster. |
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12-08-2000, 08:25 PM
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#3 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2002 season
With our all-rookie squad, we jump out to a surprising 3-1 start. Go figure. We then get a quick and serious lesson, as we are summarily thumped for 12 straight losses, to go 3-13 on the season—much more like my original expectations. I’ll spare you the long version on stats. Here are the relevant short notes: QBs Richard (46.7 rating) and Kinney (60.1) split time, neither was very effective RB Kyle Holcomb (108-444, 2 TD) led meager running game WR Alex Jones (88-842, 4 TD) led team in receiving from 3rd slot DE Chester Jeffries had 15.5 sacks (of team’s 33) – wow... he wins first team honors S Brian Johnstone had 4 ints and 2 TDs, and wins DROY (travesty!) We got what we wanted from our defense—but our offense was terrible. Next year’ we’ll have a lot of improvement from these young players, and hopefully we’ll add some measurable offensive talent. |
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12-08-2000, 08:58 PM
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#4 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Norman, OK
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Don't worry, you're like the Florida Atlantic team now. You are playing with just a freshman class because you are in your first year. When you have four years worth of players to work with, you'll be okay. You can probably trade your good 1st round picks for 2nd rounders (or QB's for 1sts) in later drafts. Good luck, it looks like a challenge.
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12-08-2000, 09:01 PM
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#5 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2003 preseason
We sit tight with our front office staff. Big picture (financial) issues are fine also. We’ll focus on bringing in some offensive talent—particularly a QB. I’m hoping that our OL develops a bit from within, and that we can step up on offense. We probably need to add another decent LB or two as well, just to make tackles. Rnd 1 - Wes Rowell, QB, North Carolina Rnd 2 - Randall Crenshaw, WR, Syracuse Rnd 3 - Kerry Clemons, DE, Michigan Rnd 4 - Omar Winters, LB, Vanderbilt Rnd 5 - Bobby Zahavi, S, Iowa Rnd 6 - Chuck Blair, DT, UAB Rnd 7 - Eugene Morabito, RB, Oregon With my top pick, QB Wes Rowell is a no-brainer. For a team like this, he’s perfect—a guy with a decent upside who comes in absolutely ready to play right now. He should make a very big difference right away—and he looks very unlike the typical bust pattern, so I feel pretty safe there. I’m pretty pleased with my remaining picks—DT Blair looks like a huge steal in round six. RB Morabito should start, and will probably be a pounding inside runner. After we round out our incoming class (making some prunings to clear space), I head into camp. After camp—we check things out. QB Rowell looks strong. RB Brenden Blair, an incidental recruit, has blossomed into a player who will probably make an impact this season. We didn’t have any actual breakouts, but we did get another solid incoming class.
This team will get a much firmer hand on the till from QB Wes Rowell—who might test the limits of what a QB can do by himself. We have given him two decent weapons in WRs McLendon and Sutton, with Crenshaw in development. If our line can get the job done, we might be fairly competitive... to the tune of 4-5 wins, perhaps? |
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12-08-2000, 09:27 PM
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#6 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2003 season
We again jump out to a fast start, going 3-0. We also again get a dose of reality—this time crashing for five straight losses. However, we recover with a solid campaign, and manage to win 3 of our last 4 games to get to 8-8 on the season—exceeding my expectations by a wide margin. Stat leaders: QB Wes Rowell: 1,803 yds, 63.3%, 6.60 ypa, 12/6, 87.8 – played part time through injuries RB Kyle Holcomb: 141-681 yds, 5 TD (4.8 ypc) – led best rushing avg in league (!?!?) WR Norman Sutton: 70-830 yds, 4 TD (56.9%, 7 drops) OL unit: ~34% KRBs, 41 sacks allowed DE Chester Jeffries: 20.5 sacks, 7 blocks, 12 hurries – awesome S Brian Johnstone: 52 tackles, 3 int, 3 TD Overall stats (off/def/avg): Rushing: 4.4 / 3.7 / 3.6 Passing: 6.3 / 6.1 / 6.2 The stats suggest that we really are as good as our 8-8 record, and perhaps even better. The rushing offense was a big surprise—each of my three tailbacks got well over 4 yards a carry. I’m not sure what to make of that, but it’s good to see. It does give me pause in contemplating adding a “star” RB to this roster—if I can get this good production from three bums. As for the “future” of this team, I clearly have a superstar player in DE Jeffries, and I’m convinced that QB Rowell will do well. Now, I just need everyone to develop another notch (though Rowell won’t improve much) and perhaps add another impact player on each side of the ball. |
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12-09-2000, 06:14 AM
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#7 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2004 preseason
Again, front office issues are stable. This year, our priority will be to fill in areas where we are currently fairly weak—perhaps at safety, another LB, possibly a top-grade RB or TE. We will, of course, be looking for quality contributors anywhere. Rnd 1 - Omar McGregor, CB, Maryland Rnd 2 - Victor Barnhardt, RB, Wake Forest Rnd 3 - B.J. Hatcher, C, Houston Rnd 4 - Cris Nomellini, TE, Virginia Rnd 5 - Nate Connor, LB, Louisiana State Rnd 6 - Edwin Rice, FB, UCLA Rnd 7 - Jerry Walters, DT, Tulsa My top pick was a struggle—I had several to choose from, including a few pretty solid DEs. I decide instead to go with a very promising cover man, who will probably only be a reserve this year, but projects to be very good in time. RB Barnhart will step in immediately to start, and I got values elsewhere—including another starting-caliber LB in the late-middle-rounds. Training camp reveals no major surprises for good or ill, and so we head into another season looking like we have the usual improvements, and starting to look more settled as a team.
Possibly our most intriguing position will be RB, where our pretty successful corps from last year is joined by a talented newcomer—giving us four guys to get into the mix. RB Brenden Blair may be the guy most ready to step up this season, but I think Barnhardt is the longer-term answer. Both will be in there a good deal. WR Randall Crenshaw has stepped up also, and will challenge for a starting job. On defense, the LB corps has developed into a respectable bunch, and our CB group is pretty solid. Our safeties are not great talents, but they seem to do okay, especially Brian Johnstone. This year I’m hoping that we can build on our 8-8 year, and possibly be worthy of a postseason berth. |
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12-09-2000, 06:38 AM
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#8 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2004 season
We get into the season with a number of injuries from our preseason scrimmages and practices, particularly on the offensive line—an area where our depth is pretty suspect to begin with. We get into the season, and look every bit the part of a .500 club again—getting to 4-4. We manage to win three in a row, and start to take shape as being better than that, and then stretch out to 9-5. However, we lose our final two games, and finish 9-7, and we lose out on a tiebreaker for a postseason berth. Stat leaders: QB Wes Rowell: 2,964 yds, 60.8%, 7.48 ypa, 24/10, 93.6 RB Brenden Blair: 142-696 yds, 4 TD (4.9 ypc) RB Victor Barnhardt: 109-343 yds, 3 TD (3.1 ypc) WR Randall Crenshaw: 72-901 yds, 8 TD (56.2%, 7 drops) OL Unit: ~31% KRB%, 40 sacks allowed LB Roosevelt Hyland: 125 tackles DE Chester Jefferies: 9 sacks, 7 blocks, 9 hurries CB Gus Spring: 4 tackles, 5 int, 42.7 PDQ Overall stats (off/def/avg): Rushing: 3.4 / 3.4 / 3.6 Passing: 7.1 / 6.1 / 6.3 RB Barnhart seemed to be subtraction by addtion—his running brought down our team average significantly. However, our run game was still reasonably effective, despite getting badly hurt up front. QB Rowell was solid again, and WR Crenshaw stepped up nicely. Next season, we’ll hope to make another step forward with more development from our young players, and hopefully better OL production. |
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12-09-2000, 07:13 AM
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#9 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2005 preseason
I bring in a new coach, Kenyon Woods, who has a reputation as an offensive-minded genius. He will probably let our defense dry up and wither, but we should be very good with the ball. In the draft, we start to think about replacing players who will be leaving soon. DE Chester Jefferies is the most obvious, and I focus on DE with an early pick. Rnd 1 - Roy Temes, DE, Tennessee Tech Rnd 2 - Antonio Esslinger, T, Georgia Southern Rnd 3 - Sam Rayburn, DT, Iowa State Rnd 4 - Jimmy Blackwell, DE, Purdue Rnd 5 - Luther Soares, LB, Arkansas Rnd 6 - Frank Fulton, C, Georgia Rnd 7 - Byron Sutter, DT, Miami, Ohio Not a skinny kid on the list—we went for all “big uglies.” We fill in with a few skill position players, but the focus of this class is definitely on size. After training camp, I see that I have what I expected from my top recruits. I do have a major breakout player—TE Albert Patteron will be a total monster, after looking like a fairly modest prospect before camp. We also saw LB Seth Drake turn into a very solid starter prospect after looking like a marginal outsider before camp. These two finds will make this class probably the best and deepest I’ve had.
The roster looks good with some of the new additions. I’m hopeful that our passing game can take off this season, with the addition of a fabulous young TE and the tutelage of my new coach. Our running game will still be between Blair and Barnhardt. We are much deeper on the DL than before, and our OL is improved. We’re hopeful for a serious move forward. |
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12-09-2000, 08:07 PM
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#11 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2005 season
Our first season with four full years’ worth of players. DE Chester Jeffries and CB Gus Spring will finish up here, and QB Wes Rowell is no longer a “young player” for us. We’re hoping that the team is ready to take a serious step forward—in all likelihood I won’t have another chance to draft players at the top of the first round again. (I’m also setting aside the college talk, and I’m going to mention the outside world if appropriate) I get everything set up with the game plan and depth charts. At RB, I start Barnhardt (who looks much better on paper) and give him a PT rating of 4—with Blair waiting in the wings. If Barnhardt falters, I’ll consider switching their roles. On defense, no surprises, except that I up our blitz tendency to 60. A few injuries before the season starts. Reserve DE Temes will miss several games, as will third-year starting S Brian Johnstone. In our opener, we roll 42-9, getting 4 TD passes from Rowell, 3 to WR Crenshaw. RB Barnhardt only gets 3 yards on 9 carries, then hands over to Blair, who runs for 11-42. In our second game, though, RB Barnhardt gets in gear with 20-123 and a TD, as we win 30-23. Week 3 is another win, behind good running again (Barnhardt 14-129, TD) and three interceptions from 4th year CB Gus Spring. We are at 3-0, and the team looks sharp. Our fourth game is another win, led by our defense and topped off (30-13) with a later 78-yard TD run by Blair. Through 4 games, Barnhardt has 54-293, and Blair 30-197. I can live with our 4.6 yards per carry as a team. We have a tough road game in week 6, but come away with a 24-17 win over KC—LB Roosevelt Hyland gets the game ball for 9 tackles and one big sack. At 5-0 we host 4-2 Oakland, and we lose our perfect mark with a 21-14 loss. We had a 14-0 lead in 20 minutes, but they played patient football, made no miscues, and scored on defense as they took it away from us. We then edge Seattle in OT, 39-36, with another strong running game leading the way—mostly Blair. We beat New England to move to 7-1 at the halfway point. Barnhardt has a good day with 17-123 and a TD, and WR Crenshaw has another big effort with 7-144 and 2 TD. Our offense seems to have enough weapons to keep opponents reeling, and our new coach has things clicking well. We edge San Diego 17-14, behind a great defensive effort. We beat Denver with a later TD run by QB Rowell, and move to 9-1. We lose to Cinti—by the same formula as before. We led 14-0 fairly early, then fell apart as they gradually got back into it and won 21-14. Both our two losses have been by this method, with the scores exactly the same. In a tough road game against 7-4 Green Bay, we get back into our groove with a 38-10 thrashing. Barnhardt (16-169) and Blair (11-63) each have 2 TDs, and CB Gus Spring has another sensational game with 2 ints and a TD. We’re looking pretty sharp as we obviously head into our first postseason berth. I spoke too soon, as we drop back-to-back games to Denver and Oakland. At 10-4, we are still a playoff-bound team (with our division locked up), but now we’re not likely to get a bye week. At home against KC, we need to make a stand. A 24-16 win will have to do—it does get us to 11-4 and a game behind the presumptive top two seeds. However, since our four losses all came within the conference, we would need some odd tiebreaker situation to get the week off. We win in Seattle to finish 12-4, and in a tie with Buffalo. However, their conference record surpasses ours, and we have to open with a home game against Oakland. This is, however, just the season we wanted—we’re a top-level team, and have a good seat for the playoffs. Stat leaders: QB Wes Rowell: 3,493 yds, 61.1%, 7.00 ypa, 24/13, 87.3 RB Victor Barnhardt: 217-1,147 yds, 10 TD (5.2 ypc) RB Brenden Blair: 110-557 yds, 9 TD (5.0 ypc) WR Randall Crenshaw: 45-722 yds, 8 TD (56.2%, 4 drops) TE Albert Patterson: 49-587 yds, 3 TD (67.1%, 4 drops) OL unit: ~31% KRB%, 47 sacks allowed LB Roosevelt Hyland: 79 tackles, 2 sacks DE Chester Jeffries: 24 tackles, 7 blocks, 10 hurries CB Gus Spring: 8 int, 2 TD, 47.7 PDQ Overall stats (off/def/avg): Rushing: 4.4 / 3.0 / 3.6 Passing: 7.0 / 6.8 / 6.3 Fabulous seasons from DE Jeffries and CB Spring make it almost like they know this is their final season with us. DE Jeffries may be the biggest impact DE I’ve had in any career—to come in and rack up numbers like that without benefit of an imbalanced defense is just crazy. On offense, we got the job done, though Rowell handed off a lot close to the end zone—dropping what could have been an awesome TD total. Our running game was very strong, and we stopped opponents from running well—that’s usually a very good indication of a successful formula. We only allowed 75 yards a game on the ground—a good indicator for the postseason. |
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12-09-2000, 10:08 PM
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#12 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2005 postseason
Oakland looks like the Raiders of old—they go deep a lot, and are a physical team overall. On their first possession, they convert three third downs, but go for it on fourth and seven from my 35… and only get five yards. Mixed bag. We pin then at their 4, but they get out of the hole. Early in the second quarter, we are starting to drive into Oakland’s territory, but Rowell is picked off and it’s returned to our 15. They get a TD pass to go ahead 7-0. On the ensuing kickoff, we fumble the ball and they pick up the fumble and return it for another TD. Suddenly, the 0-0 deadlock opens into a 14-0 Raider lead. We fritter away good position when we fail on fourth and three from their 15, and then they tack on a FG at the end of the half to make the lead 17. Things don’t look good. We finally get on the board in the late third quarter with a nice drive than nets us a TD pass to McLendon. We shut down the Raiders, and get it back to start the fourth quarter, with a little momentum but a ways to go. We stretch our momentum when Rowell hits Crenshaw for 55 yards and a TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. It’s now 17-14 Raiders, and we’re getting pretty fired up. We force them to go three and out, and take over at our 42. We cannot get going, though, and punt them back to their 4 again. They get out of the hole, and run clock as they get to midfield. We get it back after their punt—down 3 points, 2:38 left, at our 9 yard line. We get a nice pass to RB Barnhardt, and a big defensive penalty set us up at their 47 with 1:36 left. Rowell scrambles for a first down at the 33. RB Blair takes a 25-yard run to the Oakland 8. Three more running plays get us to their 3, and we have to kick and tie it up—with 17 seconds left. We head into overtime—and we seem to have all the momentum. We get the ball to start—at our 17. On the second play, Rowell is sacked and coughs it up. They take the ball at our 14 yard line. After three plays, they set up for a 32-yard FG… and they miss it! What a reprieve! We get moving, with a nice run from Barnhardt, and get to the 50. Rowell drops and tosses another out to Crenshaw—who splits his defenders and streaks into the end zone for the game-ending TD! Another huge pass to Crenshaw, and we take this one out of the Raiders’ clutches, 23-17. We head to Buffalo for our next playoff game—the Bills earned a bye because of their superior conference record, but on paper, I think we look like the better team. Our first possession nets us –1 yard, and a punt. They get two first downs, and pin us at our 4. They move efficiently on their next possession and get in for a short TD pass. Late in the second quarter, they add another TD pass, and it’s 14-0. We get a FG just before halftime, but the 14-3 score is a fair measure of how things have gone thus far. They open quarter three by marching on us again, for another TD pass. Fortunately, we’ve gotten in gear, and we are able to respond with a TD of our own. We inexplicably try for two and fail—it’s 21-9. That score holds until the beginning of the fourth, after we stop their latest drive at midfield. Buffalo mounts a 7-minute TD drive that breaks our backs. They now lead 28-9, and the clock is down to 5:40. They add a meaningless TD at the end, and take home a 35-9 victory. We were simply outclassed by a team of role players, that really didn’t have a serious star as its center. Our best season, obviously, but I had hoped that we might “shock the world.” Instead, we get a solid run out of it, and set aside any concerns about my job security. Next season, we’ll see how our “recruiting” efforts are improved by the outgoing class. |
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12-09-2000, 10:11 PM
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#13 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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In the postseason awards, we are finally recognized in full. DE Chester Jeffries is a no-brainer, and T T.J. Brito and DT Chuck Blair join him on the first team. QB Wes Rowell, RB Victor Barnhardt, and CB Gus Spring all are named second team all-stars.
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12-09-2000, 10:53 PM
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#14 |
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High School JV
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: parts unknown, weight unknown...
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what's your roster rating like (current and past)?
__________________
"Holy mother cow, 86 weeks." |
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12-10-2000, 09:09 AM
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#15 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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ez, here is a summary for 2002-2005 of my roster rating (from the franchis value screen):
2002: 1 (48 was next lowest) 2003: 45 (ranked 17th) 2004: 83 (ranked 5th) 2005: 67 (ranked 5th) |
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12-10-2000, 12:48 PM
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#16 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2006 preseason
The franchise is in solid condition—we broke even last season. Ticket prices probably need a look. We’ll keep our front office in place. From a vast rookie class of 2002, we now have only a handful who made it through the whole four year with us—but we will be losing several key contributors: DE Jeffries and CB Spring are the two major players there, but we’ll also lose T T.J. Brito and my two starting safeties, plus another 13 contributors of various sorts. Lots of holes to fill this season (a few too many, actually- I’ll need to get this balanced out a bit better somehow). I now go into my trade-off of my 5th year players. WR Sutton nets 3rd and 6th round picks—pretty decent, for starters. LB Hyland and FB long together yield another 3rd rounder. I convert my third pick into Tennessee’s late first rounder by trading CB Spring. DE Chester Jefferies gets me another first rounder-- #13 overall. That will enhance this recruiting class a fair amount, I think. I’ll trade my franchise player, T Brito, after training camp. In this year’s incoming class, we’ll need to add some talent at WR, G, T, and CB. We will have a number of needs, but my ideal draft would fetch us a quality WR and CB early, and decent OL-men later. Rnd 1 - Glen Carr, WR, Duke Rnd 1 - Marc Wright, T, Minnesota Rnd 1 - Reuben Favre, CB, Connecticut Rnd 2 - Raymond Haukioja, CB, Concord State Rnd 3 - Bryce Tyler, FB, Fresno State Rnd 3 - Lincoln Donaldson, G, Maryland Rnd 4 - Rusty Kirk, LB, Ohio State Rnd 5 - Charlie Wallace, FB, South Carolina Rnd 6 - Nick Rios, WR, Boston College Rnd 6 - Frankie Prescott, S, UCLA Rnd 7 - Brad Blevins, G, Arkansas I take T Wright as my first pick, and then get the WR and CB at the end of round one. I’m fairly pleased, but not really overjoyed, wit each of them. FB Tyler and G Donaldson seem like great value picks. I’ll quite possibly start CB Haukioja at safety this season. I get a second round pick for T Brito, which will add to next year’s class also. I load up with a sizable number of “recruits” and head into our initial camp. I have brought in an extraordinary number of possible QBs (about 8) looking for a possible breakout—as I ignored the position in this draft (a poor crop). After we see our incoming class a little more closely, things look fine. Our top picks look just as billed, and we get a major breakout from LB Rusty Kirk—who will clearly be a star. We do not, however, get any real help at QB, which means we’re likely to be high and dry next season after Rowell’s departure.
My QB Rowell should be pretty well off with Crenshaw as his main target, and the solid rookie Carr stepping in as the other starter. The OL is improved, with T Esslinger and C Hatcher stepping up as leaders there. The backs—Barnhardt and Blair, will again split time with the ball. On defense, we lost impact players at DE and CB, but overall we have kept together a solid roster. The secondary will be very young, but ought to hold its own. I think this is once again a playoff team, as long as Rowell stays healthy. |
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12-10-2000, 06:00 PM
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#17 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Charlotte, NC
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QuikSand - one thing you could do to balance things out a bit would be to introduce a "redshirt" concept. A player can spend his "freshman" season on the inactive list, which qualifies him to be a fifth year player.
This works out nicely since it means that your high end players can have an extra season to develop and learn your system. |
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12-10-2000, 08:49 PM
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#18 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Interesting idea, Shag... but right now, I'm more concerned about keeping this challenge sufficiently (a) simple, and (b) difficult. Until I have a better sense of (b), I'm not going to mess with (a).
I'm also on the fence as to whether this is sufficiently interesting (to me) to continue... |
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12-11-2000, 09:56 AM
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#19 |
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High School Varsity
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Richmond VA
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Quik -
Fascinating challenge idea! I'm quite impressed with the way you've gotten competitively so quickly. Keep those ideas coming! ------------------ Bear down, Chicago Bears! Let every play lead the way to Victory! BEAT NEW ENGLAND!!
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GO HOKIES!!! Running the Richmond Confederates of the FOBL into the ground since 2001. |
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12-11-2000, 11:42 AM
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#20 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2006 season
As the season is about to start, we lose WR Crenshaw for a few weeks. I plug in RB Blair as my #3 wideout as a temporary measure. He is our featured weapon (14-48 rushing, 4-35 receiving) as we edge Seattle 9-7 in our opener. We beat KC 24-7, sparked by a TD return from our rookie CB Reuben Favre. At 2-0, we get WR Crenshaw back healthy enough to rejoin the starting lineup. Victor Barnhardt keys a big win over New Orleans, which convinces me to give him a boost in playing time. We best St. Louis, and then get a week off. We head into Buffalo—the team who eliminate u last season, and get our heads handed to us, 47-22. The game was pretty even in yardage, but they made big plays to crush us. We beat Seattle, but lose LB Rusty Kirk for the season. Wee are surprised at home by San Diego, who was 1-5 but beat us handily. The Jets then do the same, sending us to 5-3, having lost three of four. We win three of four to get to 8-4 on the season, and have a decent lead for our division, and a shot at a bye week. We’ve lost C B.J. Hatcher to a knee injury for the year. A win over Denver practically clinches the division, and then we beat Oakland. We’re 10-4, and are tied with Jacksonville for the second best AFC record. A good game for Rowell lifts us over a solid Carolina team, and we get to 11-4. We close with a narrow 20-14 win over San Diego, and get our bye week with a 12-4 record and the #2 seed. Stat leaders: QB Wes Rowell: 3,916 yds, 59/0%, 8.02 ypa, 26/13, 91.3 RB Victor Barnhardt: 223-804 yds, 4 TD (3.6 ypc) RB Brenden Blair: 95-364 yds, 5 TD (3.8 ypc) WR Glen Carr: 62-1,110 yds, 11 TD (56.3%, 6 drops) TE Albert Patterson: 44-569 yds, 3 TD (61.9%, 10 drops) LB Omar Winters: 101 tackles, 1 sack DE Kerry Clemons: 12 sacks, 2 blocks, 2 hurries CB Reuben Favre: 50 tackles, 6 int, 1 TD, 37.3 PDQ Overall stats (off/def/avg): Rushing: 3.4 / 3.0 / 3.6 Passing: 7.7 / 7.0 / 6.3 An off year—I had expected our running game to improve, but we regressed there. Our run defense was very good again, but we were not very impressive against the pass. Tough to figure—I think we’re a significantly weaker team than last season. We have a nice position for the playoffs, but I don’t know if this is a team that can get the job done. I think we’ll need big plays (turnovers, returns, etc.) as a key ingredient to any postseason success. |
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12-11-2000, 12:15 PM
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#21 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2006 postseason
The Jets win to advance into our second round game. They were an 11-5 team, with a 361/245 points ration (mine was 373/307). They seem to be pretty good on paper – quite possibly better than us. Their division was tougher than my AFC West, thus their depressed record. They will attack with a heavy-run attack behind Jamal Lewis and Mike Alstott, and an aggressive defense. I’ll be without TE Albert Patterson, who is out for the playoffs. Several others will play hurt, including several offensive linemen. After we punt to the Jets, we get our fondest wish—a big play. My safety Ontiveros gets an interceptions and takes it all the way for a 46 yard TD return. We lead 7-0 early. On our next possession, Andrews has taken over at QB, presumably due to an injury to Rowell. This is bad news—Rowell is really the key to our whole offense. They get a fumbled punt at our 15, but after they gain first and goal from our 2, we hold them to a FG. A great punt return sets them up at our 29 on their next possession, and Lewis gets a 17-yard TD run to take the lead 10-7. We respond with a screen pass to RB Barnhardt that breaks for a 56-yard TD, and we get back on top 14-10. They fumble over the kickoff (the ball and field are both wet) and Andrews throws his second TD—this one to Carr for 22 yards and a 21-10 lead. We trade interceptions, and the 21-10 score holds until the half. In the middle of the third quarter, Andrews hits again- this time to TE Nomellini for a 9-yard score. He connects with Hodges for another 36-yard TD pass in the very early 4th quarter, and the rout is officially on. We take it by a final score of 42-17, with reserve QB Derrick Andrews putting up some nice stats: 12/20 for 254 yards, 4 TD, 1 int. Rowell is listed as questionable for our next game against Jacksonville with a bum shoulder. I decide to use him anyway, as this is his final year with us. Jacksonville was the #1 seed, and they are all defense—their 12-4 record bolstered by allowing only 163 points all season. Their secondary is a little dinged—that will likely be our best chance to get something going against their fearsome defense. Jax gets rollign on their first possession, but fumbles at our 10 yard line—a relief. After some back and forth, they get rolling again, and put up a nice TD drive. We have been outgained 130-6 as the first quarter runs down. The defenses prevail through the second quarter—Jax gets a scoring chance when they pick off Rowell, and they add a FG. They add another before halftime, and lead 13-0 at the break. We’re up to 8 yards rushing and 38 total through 30 minutes of play. We get a third quarter interception, and Rowell finds Crenshaw twice to get into FG range—we’re finally on the board at 13-3. We get a nice drive in the early fourth, as the Jags’ defense is starting to show some chinks in the armor. Rowell finds Crenshaw to cap the drive, and we’re within 3 points. There is 6:35 left as we kick it back. We force them to go three and out, and takeover again at our 26. After one first down, we falter and have to punt it back. Another three and out, and we get it at our 40, with 2:28 remaining. This is probably our last chance—we need at least 25 yards to try a legit FG. Rowell immediately hits Hodges for 30, and we’re suddenly thinking TD, not FG. Blairs gets two carries—the first for one yard, and the second breaks him loose for the 29-yard score! We take the lead 17-13. They have 1:41 to score. A 34-yard pass play sets them up at our 29 with 1:05. Three incomplete passes push it to 4th down. After a false start, on fourth and 15, the Jax QB heaves it downfield… and they come up with it for a TD! 34 seconds left, and the Jags fans are going crazy… We have 24 seconds to go 85 yards—you do the math. We get to their 43 with 3 seconds left… my heart says try the kick. But the game engine says throws the pass—we throws, it falls incomplete, and we fall to Jacksonville 20-17 in a thriller. Atlanta beats Jacksonville in the championship game. We get three mentions on the all-pro second team: QB Wes Rowell, TE Albert Patterson, and CB Reuben Favre. Next season we’ll lose QB Rowell, and I really have not prepared for that. Derrick Andrews will be a 4th year player, and he’ll be the presumptive starter—though he shows no real upside. I’ll also lose RB Blair, meaning that Barnhardt won’t be sharing time next season. We will suffer serious defensive losses as well—but we’re fairly well prepared for that. We’ll see—the dropoff at QB will probably take a serious toll. |
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12-11-2000, 01:11 PM
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#22 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2007 preseason
Front office stays, franchise doing fine. I tab WR Crenshaw as franchise player, for a post-draft trade. As we begin the FA period, I engineer deals to send away my 5th year players still under contract. I get a 5th for LB Kurt Roca, but get no takers for S Bobby Zahavi. That leaves QB Wes Rowell. I want two first rounders, if I can get them. I instead decide to make a deal with Cleveland, to get the #2 pick in this year’s draft. I’ll hope for a top-tier QB there (but I neglected to look at the draft preview before making the deal). In this draft there is a QB who looks perfect—Dan Woodson has current ratings in the 40s, and potentials in the 75-90 range. Over the next four years, he should get the job done just great for me. With those pretty uniform current ratings, he might be a bust, but I don’t see any of the telltale signs (identical ratings) and so I decide that he’s my man. Needles to say, he is taken with the #1 pick, leaving me high and dry. At QB, I see three different guys who might be okay as a #1 pick, but none of whom are more tempting that the outstanding DT in this draft. I decide to fill the middle of the defense first, and hope that I get one of the QBs in my late first round slot. Rnd 1 - Joseph Schwartz, DT, UCLA The obvious top two remaining QBs go at #5 and #10, leaving me with two more interesting candidates. One looks like he’ll be a solid B-plus in time, the other has pretty good current ratings, but little apparent potential. I decide that I like the latter guy practically as much, and that I can get one of the two later. I roll the dice, and pass on QB again. Rnd 1 - Clyde Birk, S, Texas By my first round two pick, the “green” QB is gone, and I decide that I cannot afford to wait any longer. I take QB Dean McTyer, and am crossing my fingers for a breakout—for which I think he has a shot. I then grab a solid DE who will be very good against the run. Rnd 2 - Dean McTyer, QB, Nebraska Rnd 2 - Roman Costello, DE, Iowa I then spend the next several picks grabbing role-fillers—potential contributors at places vacated by departing starters. Rnd 3 - Mel Davidson, LB, Cincinnati Rnd 4 - Maurice Shepard, WR, Illinois Rnd 5 - Hunter Whiting, RB, Fayetteville St. Rnd 5 - Fernando Dawkins, LB, Wisconsin Rnd 6 - Howie Cunningham, CB, UCLA Rnd 7 - Christian Erickson, WR, Panhandle State Overall, I’m pleased with the class—particularly if I get anything at all out of QB McTyer. He ought to compete for the starting job this season, and if he has a breakout camp, we may be in for a real ride. What goes unspoken here is that my offense-minded coach is getting a stream of high quality defensive players, hoping to ensure that we play well on both side of the ball. Through camp, DT Schwartz looks like a man-child: 63/75, 68/98, 89. He lost a little of run-stopping ability, but still looks like a mountain in the middle. QB McTyer did not break out, but he should be in the mix for this year and beyond. As it turns out I had no breakouts at all… but no busts either. A solid draft, and a season left in question by my unwillingess to commit to a franchise-caliber QB. I get a 3rd rounder for WR Crenshaw, and he joins QB Rowell in Cleveland. Those two ought to be pretty good together there.
I figure that QB Derrick Andrews is probably our starter this year—he of the 40-55 across the board abilities. McTyer currently shows some promise as an accurate short passer, which might be the mold of the offense if he gets the call at some point. I’ll probably set up the use of my FBs as ball carriers—both are very good, far better than my reserve HBs. We’ve got to hope that WR Carr and TE Patterson will be sufficiently good to make the passing offense click this season. On defense, our d-line looks pretty tough,and our run defense should remain a strength. Our secondary is in its second season, with the only non-returning starter the brilliant young rookie safety. I think we’ll be solid this year. Overall, I think we’ll field a playoff team, and we’ll have to see whether the QB position is part of the solution, or part of a problem. That’s where the season rests, it would seem. [This message has been edited by QuikSand (edited 12-11-2000).] |
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12-11-2000, 06:19 PM
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#23 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2007 season
I actually am pretty fond of our starting lineup. I think this team has some potential—on defense we are really well-built up front, and I think we’ll stop the run very solidly. In pre-season, we suffer our first serious loss. DE Roy Temes is out for the season with a blown-out knee. We hope he can return healthy for next year, but his loss will set us back for this season, to be sure. I decide to move my rookie DT outside to take his spot at LE, and I’ll move rookie DE Costello in to start at DT. We should still be solid with this alignment, but losing a top grade DE definitely smarts. Derrick Andrews throws a 22-yard TD pass with 2 seconds left to beat Seattle 24-21. RB Barnhardt suffers a broken nose before his first carry, and backup Whiting steps in—and gets 104 yards and a TD. We get another close win over San Diego—this time our running game is nonexistent, save a 67-yard scamper by Whiting. Past that one big play, we had 16 carries for 10 yards. We need Barnhardt back, and soon. We’ve also lost rookie S Birk for the season with a knee injury, pushing return specialist Ontiveros into a starting role. It again takes a fourth quarter TD pass from Andrews, but we manage another close win over Dallas, 17-14. Whiting has filled his duty at RB, and Barnhardt will be ready for our nest game. We’re hoping that opens our offense up a bit. In Barnhardt’s first game back, we get mauled by the Giants 38-23, and our running game is a total non-factor. Our defense leads the rebound game, a 17-7 win over the Jets. We double up Denver behind another solid defensive effort, and get to 5-1 on the year. With the exception of the two guys we have lost for the season, plus a return-specialist CB, we are fully healthy. We can start to build up some momentum playing together. Kansas City beats us with a last-second FG. We then bounce back in New England with a 27-3 win, with another very good overall effort. A home win 38-20 over San Diego puts us up to 7-2, as we get 5 rushing TDs on the day. I decide to get my FBs more into the running game, as Barnhardt seems to do better on fewer carries. We respond with a great game over Philadelphia—we get a lot of work for our second string in the rout, and everyone plays well. Another 30-3 win looks good on paper, but we were unable to successfully establish the run, and instead won with big plays and turnovers. A 9-2 coach has trouble getting sympathy, but I’m not thrilled with my offense right now. We beat Denver 20-10 again, but are only able to get 30 yards in 28 carries—that is not getting it done, folks. We withstand a furious late rally by Oakland (14 points in the last 2 minutes to get within 3) and more importantly get the running game back on track with 150 yards as a team. We have a chance to lock thing sup with a win over Seattle, but they crush us 23-7 and their defense holds us to only 156 total yards. Arizona piles on, and they hang 48 on us for a 48-17 victory. At 11-4 we’re still in track to get the #1 seed if we win our last game. If not, Seattle could catch us and take the division, bumping us to #4. We get the win we needed, but not the way we wanted. Backup QB McTyer comes in to throw 2 TDs to lead us past KC, after Andrews gets laid out with a concussion. We get two weeks to heal, but I really don’t want to head into the playoffs led by a rookie. Regardless, we get everything we could ask for from our regular season—home field advantage. QB Andrews played like a pro, and we got the job done all around. Our defense was the key, and the running game worked from time to time. Stat leaders: QB Derrick Andrews: 2,971 yds, 59.7%, 6.52 ypa, 21/8, 87.1 RB Victor Barnhardt: 185-945 yds, 12 TD (5.0 ypc) RB Hunter Whiting: 123-455 yds, 5 TD (3.6 ypc) WR Seth Bush: 65-820 yds, 3 TD (63.7%, 5 drops) OL Unit: ~30% KRBs, 37 sacks allowed LB Nate Connor: 111 tackles, ½ sack DT Joseph Schwartz: 16 sacks, 4 blocks, 7 hurries DE Jimmy Blackwell: 10 sacks, 6 hurries S Frankie Prescott: 64 tackles, 6 int, 41.4 PDQ Overall stats (off/def/avg): Rushing: 3.8 / 3.6 / 3.6 Passing: 6.5 / 7.1 / 6.4 These do not look like the aggregate stats of a major title contender, do they? We were pretty much average in most categories, with our pass defense slightly more porous than average. I’m surprised that we won as many games as we did—but our amazing +24 TO margin played a huge role. Big plays definitely made the difference between our actual 12-4 record and the 8-8 we probably deserved. We’ll try to keep the big plans rolling as we head into the playoffs, with a much-needed extra week of rest. |
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12-11-2000, 06:32 PM
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#24 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2007 postseason
We face Miami in our opener. They were 9-7, but upset Tennessee to advance here. They were a decent team this season, but not too outstanding anywhere. Their QB is a playmaker, but also commits too many errors. We’ll try to take advantage of that flaw. Our QB starter Andrews is still a bit woozy, but he’ll go in the opener. Early on, it’s all good. They fizzle, we march, we lead by 7. It takes until almost halftime for things to break past that, but Miami evens the score with 2:19 left in the second quarter. Toward the end of the third quarter, they add a FG and lead 10-7. Our offense is reeling, and Andrews is unable to get clicking—we have under 100 yards passing through three quarters. A blocked punt sets up another Miami TD, and things are starting to unravel. Down 10, Andrews leads a drive deep into Miami territory, only to get picked off at their 5 yard line. That seals the deal… they win it 17-7. They got 171 yards on the ground against our banged-up front seven, and that made the difference. Detroit wins the big one. My rookie DT Joseph Schwartz was named first team DT, but he missed out on DROY to some chump safety who had six picks. Ridiculous. My rookie punter was named second team—go figure, he’s lousy on paper. I look back out of curiosity, and I see that QB Dan Woodson—the golden-armed QB I coveted with my #1 pick—was a near-complete bust for San Francisco (who took him #1 overall). I’m now happier that I ended up with my second choice. However, I’ll be looking at QB again in the coming year’s draft. |
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12-12-2000, 12:43 AM
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#25 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2008 preseason
My front office stays in place, and the franchise is reasonably stable. We will bump ticket prices to try to get back into the black. This year, we lose QB Andrews, RB Victor Barnhardt, two starting offensive linemen, MLB Nate Connor, and star CB Omar McGregor. We’re prepared for the losses in most places, but QB will be dicey. Right now, second year man Dean McTyer stands as our projected starter, and he's not very inspiring. QB will be a focus in this draft. RB Barhardt has been a productive starter, but never the star that I had sought. If a quality RB is available, that could be another draft priority. If I bring in a QB and RB together—this team will be on an obvious “cycle” for the next few years. I tag QB Andrews for a possible trade later, and head into free agency. I get a third round pick for RB Barnhardt, another for CB McGregor, and I have to cut DT Jerry Walters. With a trade from last season, I now have four third round picks this season, which could help me n stretching out the quality of this year’s draft pretty considerably—I usually can find starting-caliber players in round three. My top pick is #30, so I hold out little hope of acquiring a total stud QB here. I’ll hope for quality at QB and/or RB in this draft, and then I’ll be looking for help anywhere I can get it. When my pick is up, I find several RBs that I like, and several QBs about whom I feel pretty ambivalent. I decide to go with a high-quality cover CB, and wait for my skill men. Rnd 1 - Chris Porter, CB, UCLA Rnd 2 - Wes Acuna, RB, Arizona State Rnd 3 - Frank Foley, QB, Oregon State Rnd 3 - Quentin Peak, WR, San Diego Rnd 3 - Mike Cornett, WR, Michigan Tech Rnd 3 - Antoine Dunkin, CB, Oregon State Rnd 4 - Lamont Blair, FB, West Georgia Rnd 5 - Paul Kahn, QB, Southern Utah Rnd 6 - Deon Franklin, RB, Tulsa Rnd 7 - Greg Rison, S, Temple I get my #2 RB in round two, and am pleased to do so. In round three, I take another good-looking corner plus a pair of decent wideouts along with a QB who I had rated fairly highly. I double up at QB with Kahn later—between these two guys, I should have something decent, at least. Two years ago, I had a draft where practically every pick was a 300-lb brute. This draft—exactly the opposite, not a big ugly in sight. I swing a deal to get a second rounder for QB Andrews. I fill in with a sizable number of URFAs, and I head into training camp. My camp reveals nothing new at all about my entire crop—all the draft picks are as good advertised, but no breakout players among them either.
QB McTyer is clearly the most ready-to-go of my group, and he will get the call for this season. Rookie RB Wes Acuna will be my main RB, though he lacks the endurance to be a full-duty workhorse. I’ll again use my FB group in the rushing role heavily. I like the young additions to the WR corps, and I think we’ll stay solid there. Defensively, our DL is emerging through development into a strong unit—especially up the middle with Schwartz. Our LB corps is tough, and we now have DBs to beat the band. Looking pretty good all around on defense. QB will be the big issue—McTyer is even a sizable step down from Andrews, who I had fears about last season. We should be okay, but this might end up scratched as a “building year” for the QuikSand Football Academy. |
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12-12-2000, 09:48 AM
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#26 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2008 season
Through the preseason we focus on getting the “new look” offense in gear. QB Paul Kahn looked good in the preseason, and steps up as our #2 QB behind the somewhat shaky McTyer. RB Wes Acuna has looked pretty shaky as well—I think we’re going to be too young to get very much done this season. Then, we open the season in Seattle—a very tough team. When the bright lights are on, our guys stepped up in a big way—we win 28-0. Acuna has a nice 70-yard TD and ends with 111 and 2 TDs, McTyer was 20 or 30 for 2 TD and one pick. A good performance, and our defense was tremendous. We edge San Diego 17-16, after leading 14-0, we needed a last minute FG to get the lead back. We get 4 TD passes from McTyer to get by Tampa Bay, 37-21, and get to 3-0 on the year. In a defensive struggle against Chicago, we prevail 20-10 behind a fumble returned for a TD by DE Roman Costello. McTyer’s 2 TD passes to Hodges push us past the Jets and to 5-0 on the season. I had no expectations that we’d get on a roll like this—especially this early, with so many new faces. We completely shut down Kansas City, and move to 6-0 on the year with a 33-0 victory. Our running game still is a bit anemic, save for a few long breakaways from Acuna, and I decide to fiddle with setting the FB use to 99 (up from 75). We roll Denver, but still don’t run well—37 carries for 77 yards. McTyer is hurt, but Kahn steps in and holds things together as we take them 24-14. McTyer is questionable for the following game, and I decide to go with Kahn. He leads us to a 30-15 win over New England, throwing 2 TD passes. In a tough game in San Diego, I decide to leave Kahn in again. The Chargers end our winning streak with a 31-14 flattening of our defense—we only gained 34 yards rushing. At 8-1, we are tied with Oakland for the division lead. We fill face them head-to-head in weeks 12 and 14—the games that should settle everything. We tumble again in Detroit, 27-16, as our team was seemingly looking ahead to Oakland next week. Our running game is in sad shape at this point, though. When we host Oakland, we need our defense to step up—and they do, big time. We win it 20-3, and come away with a big victory despite an anemic rushing attack again. We get the running game going after establishing an early lead on Kansas City, and we take then 31-10. It’s on the road to Oakland, where the season’s biggest game awaits. The Raiders have now dropped two straight, and play us at home—the same situation we face two weeks ago. If we beat them, we’ll take the division easily and have a bye week. If not, we’ll be scrapping for playoff seeding. After we lead 17-13 entering the 4th quarter, Oakland scores a FG early, and then adds another with just over 2 minutes left to lead 19-17. McTyer drives us down the field, and sets up the game winner, a 37-yard kick with 4 second left. Tyrell Cox is true, and we beat the Raiders 20-19. We follow that win up with a clunker against Seattle, and now we’re back in fighting mode. We’re only a game ahead of Baltimore for the #2 seed—and the bye week is my main objective. Two interception TDs fuel our win over a good Green Bay team, and we’re 12-3. However, in our final game, we lose to Denver, and finish the season at 12-4, for the fourth straight season. Fortunately, Baltimore also lost, and we back into the second seed and a week off. Stat leaders: QB Dean McTyer: 3,080 yds, 59.2%, 7.21 ypa, 21/11, 87.1 RB Wes Acuna: 167-748 yds, 6 TD (4.4 ypc) WR Glen Carr: 68-1,030 yds, 5 TD (55.2%, 8 drops) TE Albert Patterson: 48-578 yds, 4 TD (77.4%, 3 drops) OL Unit: ~29% KRBs, 40 sacks allowed LB Rusty Kirk: 107 tackles, 2.5 sacks DT Joseph Schwartz: 15 sacks, 1 block, 5 hurries CB Reuben Favre: 49 tackles, 9 int, 1 TD, 46.0 PDQ CB Raymond Haukioja: 42 tackles, 6 int, 1 TD, 44.8 PDQ Overall stats (off/def/avg): Rushing: 3.2 / 3.5 / 3.6 Passing: 7.1 / 6.6 / 6.5 Curious – we once again do not have the stats of a dominating top-tier team. We were very close to average in most respects, but our points ratio of 373-255 suggests that we were not just an average team. Again a TO margin of +16 helped a lot, and we made big pays when we needed to. I hadn’t expected this level of success, but I underrated our defense a bit, I think. |
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12-12-2000, 10:20 AM
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#27 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2008 postseason
As it turns out, Oakland and Seattle—the two brutes from my division, play one another for the right to visit us in the second round. Seattle wins it, and they are our opening matchup. We know them well—they split with us this year, and feature a major RB named Timothy Galloway and a bombs-away passing attack. It takes us three possessions, but we finally grind out a TD to lead 7-0. So far, Seattle has had six plays for three yards. We continue to bottle up their running game, and win the field position struggle. We can only add a FG in the second quarter, but lead 10-0 at the half and they have only gained 65 yards in total offense. We add a TD on our first possession of the second half, but Seattle finds a streaking wideout for a 78-yard bomb to get back within 10. After they block a punt, they try a 50-yard FG, but miss it. Early in the fourth quarter, the Seattle running game is getting on track, and Galloway gets two good runs to power a drive into our territory—then he pounds it in for the TD. It’s 17-14 with about 11 minutes remaining. We manage one first down, but have to punt it back with 7 minutes. Our defense holds, and we get it back after a punt. Again, we get one first down, but then have to give it back, and the Seahawks get their last chance with 2:25 remaining, from their 23 yard line. We stuff Galloway for a one-yard gain, and then we sack their QB for an 8 yard loss, and they face third and 17. Two incomplete passes, and we take over on downs, and have the game practically wrapped up. We kick a FG and have to give it back with 1:02 left- but they have no time outs. We finish it off with an interception, and take the 20-14 victory. We must visit the Indianapolis Colts now—they feature an excellent passing game, and went 12-4 on the season as well. They allowed only 229 points—the second fewest in the league—so their defense is also very strong. Their team looks a lot like ours—good D, good pass attack, shaky run game. We get the ball first, and strike quickly for a TD. McTyer hit Glen Carr for a 51-yard pass, setting up a short TD pass to Peak. The Colts’ drive is much more deliberate, but nearly as effective—they have to settle for a short FG. They add another in the second quarter, after the early fireworks have died down (as has our offense altogether). They add a TD pass late in the second, plus a two-pointer to lead 14-7. We give them one more chance, and they take advantage—running the two minute drill to add another TD pass. It’s 21-7 at the half, and we suddenly look like we’re in serious trouble. They drive for a TD to open the second half, and the trouble is very clear. We can’t stop their passing game, and we can’t get anything going of our own. The storyline just continues, as they dominate the second half and ride out to a 41-10 victory. The Colts just had too much firepower for us, and we’re left to wonder what went wrong with everything. The Colts paddle the Packers in the Superbowl, 45-20, and their RB Galloway gets the triple crown—MVP, OPOY, and 1st team RB. Our Academy is fairly represented, also—we get TE Albert Patterson, C Frank Fulton, G Lincoln Donaldson, DT Joseph Schwartz and CB Reuban Favre all onto the first team. CB Raymond Haukioja makes the second team. The defense was the key to this season’s success, and the defense should be better next year than it was this season. With everyone getting a notch better and our losses being fairly replaceable, next season may be a good shot to step forward and get the ring. |
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12-12-2000, 10:21 AM
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#28 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Charlotte, NC
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Color commentators would call this season's edition of the QuikSand Academy "opportunistic".
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