FOFc: A Champion in Minnesota?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Introduction
The new patch has sparked my interest in FOF again, and I have fired up FOF4 for basically my first time. Since I like to jot down my results anyway, I thought I might post a very simple dynasty in case others are interested in following along. This will be a no-bells-and-whistles affair: just a simple record of the team’s progress, and some of my thoughts as I make my way through the years. I’m thinking that I will take my time with each game, and play only a game or two a day.

My simple goal is to try and win a Super Bowl in Minnesota within ten years time, despite using Quiksand’s rather restrictive house rules. At the ten-year mark, I’ll decide whether to continue on with the dynasty or not.

Overview
Team Chemistry turned on. I’ve started with a one-player universe in which I pick my players after all other teams have filled their rosters. Basically, I’m starting with the rejects of the rejects. The first few seasons could be rough, but we’ll try to build from here. I’ll most likely watch every game, but will not call any plays.

House Rules
1. No contract renegotiations, extensions, etc.
2. No trades may be offered, except for trading draft picks during the draft. All opponent trade offers must pass a fairness test.
3. Free agent offers must be realistic.
4. After training camp, I can only sign only undrafted, unsigned first year players from the free agent pool (added after Week 1, 2002).
5. When resigning restricted free agents and undrafted, unsigned players, I can only accept their contract demands (added midway through the offseason, before 2003).
6. I must run the team at a net profit over the length of the dynasty. If the team falls into the red, cannot bid on free agents in the 20-step process until I get the team back in the black. (Added after 2003).

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002 Roster Overview
Wow. These one-player universes really don’t have anything in the way of talent, and we are picking from the leftovers. We quickly sign a motley collection of junk to one-year deals. We end up with this:

2002 Minnesota Vikings Roster

Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
$$Winslett, Freddie 10 QB 1 6 25 1 yr. 2002
Mosel, Ray 9 QB 1 7 26 1 yr. 2002
Andersen, Marcus 19 QB 1 10 23 1 yr. 2002
$$Burns, Doug 45 RB 1 16 25 1 yr. 2002
Buckner, Julio 49 RB 1 17 21 1 yr. 2002
Berk, Arnie 28 RB 1 17 23 1 yr. 2002
##Grimm, Darren 40 RB 1 15 23 1 yr. 2002
##Reiswig, Bubba 27 RB 1 16 23 1 yr. 2002
$$Abraham, Robert 35 FB 1 16 20 1 yr. 2002
Fisher, Marcus 44 FB 1 16 24 1 yr. 2002
$$Schwarz, Joel 86 TE 1 15 26 1 yr. 2002
Prescott, Oscar 89 TE 1 14 23 1 yr. 2002
Collins, Spencer 88 TE 1 14 26 1 yr. 2002
Banks, Howie 80 FL 1 12 20 1 yr. 2002
Moorhead, Allen 85 FL 1 12 21 1 yr. 2002
##Prescott, Anthony 81 FL 1 11 18 1 yr. 2002
$$Baker, Leon 87 FL 1 13 22 1 yr. 2002
Waldteufel, Broderick 84 SE 1 12 22 1 yr. 2002
$$Fleming, Sedrick 83 SE 1 14 22 1 yr. 2002
Lydon, Trevor 71 LT 1 4 20 1 yr. 2002
$$Emmons, Robert 65 LT 1 8 19 1 yr. 2002
$$Kirchhof, Lincoln 60 LG 1 5 25 1 yr. 2002
$$Collins, Glen 51 C 1 13 18 1 yr. 2002
Leeuwenburg, Mark 54 C 1 11 15 1 yr. 2002
$$Leslie, Wes 72 RG 1 8 24 1 yr. 2002
Cooley, Carlos 66 RG 1 8 23 1 yr. 2002
##Bailey, Donny 77 RT 1 5 17 1 yr. 2002
$$Greenspan, Mo 69 RT 1 11 18 1 yr. 2002
McElroy, Hugh 11 P 1 18 33 1 yr. 2002
**Patton, Phillip 2 P 1 20 29 1 yr. 2002
Pearson, Winfred 15 K 1 18 29 1 yr. 2002
$$Sampson, Gerald 97 LDE 1 14 19 1 yr. 2002
##Peters, Lewis 96 LDE 1 13 19 1 yr. 2002
**Ahrens, Charlie 90 LDT 1 19 22 1 yr. 2002
$$Richardson, Pete 79 LDT 1 18 23 1 yr. 2002
Schreiber, Darrell 95 RDT 1 9 29 1 yr. 2002
$$Becker, Carlos 75 RDT 1 10 26 1 yr. 2002
Matthews, Kevin 78 RDE 1 7 22 1 yr. 2002
$$Hickman, Jimmy 70 RDE 1 10 22 1 yr. 2002
Lester, Roger 57 SLB 1 13 22 1 yr. 2002
$$Terrell, Lenny 50 SLB 1 14 22 1 yr. 2002
$$Campbell, Trevor 59 MLB 1 9 24 1 yr. 2002
Sisco, Dexter 58 MLB 1 13 18 1 yr. 2002
$$Thornton, Dominic 99 WLB 1 11 24 1 yr. 2002
##Williamson, Clyde 98 WLB 1 11 23 1 yr. 2002
##Basford, Julio 43 LCB 1 11 16 1 yr. 2002
$$Prior, Nick 38 LCB 1 8 22 1 yr. 2002
$$Upshaw, Mel 31 RCB 1 10 19 1 yr. 2002
Fitzgerald, Vinny 21 RCB 1 11 17 1 yr. 2002
Drake, Donny 30 RCB 1 9 18 1 yr. 2002
##Mincey, Oscar 23 SS 1 8 30 1 yr. 2002
$$Jorbin, Graham 32 SS 1 13 26 1 yr. 2002
$$Burnett, D.J. 46 FS 1 10 26 1 yr. 2002
Jackson, Neal 34 FS 1 10 25 1 yr. 2002
Mills, Frank 24 FS 1 9 30 1 yr. 2002

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 55
On Active Roster: 46

Salary Cap: $71,100,000
Cap Room: $58,910,000
Maximum for New Player: $59,140,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $0


Evaluation
Not much to say. We have nothing worth keeping. Our roster bottoms out at 4th-worst in the NFL, although it is hard to figure out how three other teams managed to get less talent than we did.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002 Preseason
We manage to win one of four, and head into the season with only minor damage.

2002 Season Outlook
No clue what to expect. We should be one of the weakest teams in the NFL. Four wins? No wins? Eight wins?

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002 Season

Week 1: Minnesota (0-0) at Chicago (0-0)
Line: 2-point underdogs
Preview
Chicago has a much better roster, and fairs much better on the pregame match-up screen. For the most part, we let our scouts determine the depth charts and game plan. However, at QB we overrule our scouts and start Freddie Winslett instead of Marcus Andersen, based on Winslett’s superior preseason stats.
Result
We dominate the first half with frequent, brisk scoring drives and a swarming defense on our way to a 22-3 halftime lead. We slow down in the second half, but end up winning easily, 31-17.
Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (24-34, 199 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) was surprisingly efficient, as he ate up the defense with quick, short passes and timely third down completions. RB Burns (19-63 yards) and RB Buckner (17-84 yards) keyed a strong running game that chewed up the clock. DT Pete Richardson (7 tackles, 2.5 sacks) led the strong defensive effort, which held Chicago to 2 first downs in the first half, and stopped them short on all 9 of their 3rd-down conversion attempts.

[sachmo71]

Good luck, GB!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally posted by sachmo71
Good luck, GB!

Thanks! Am trying a new strategy of just playing a little bit a day to try to keep me from burning out.

[Godzilla Blitz]

New House Rule
The AI does not seem to be aggressively searching the free agent pools once the season is underway (There also might be a bug here, the game is not recording all cases of a team’s releasing a player in the transaction log). In either case, the free agent pool now holds a dozen players that are clearly starting caliber athletes, all of whom have been cut by teams most likely right before last week’s games. I could dramatically improve my team by picking up these players. Therefore…

House Rule 4: After training camp, I can only sign only undrafted, unsigned first year players from the free agent pool. Since everyone falls into that category at the moment, this season I will not sign players that other teams have released.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 2: Buffalo (1-0) at Minnesota (1-0)
Line: 2-point favorites, but Buffalo has a slightly better roster.
Preview
We stick with what worked last week, and keep Freddie Winslett as the starting QB. We plug a couple of injury holes, and get ready for the opening kickoff…
Result
When both defenses outperform the offenses, turnovers are deadly. Fortunately, we get three interceptions and a fumble to Buffalo’s one interception. Most of these come in the first half, and the resultant short fields give us a 17-6 halftime lead. We add two field goals in the second half, and win another easy one, 23-6.
Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (17-32, 162 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) was adequate, but didn’t match his first week performance. RB Burns (17-64yds, 1 TD) led the ground game. SLB Lenny Terrell (5 tackles, 1 sack, 1 int) led the defense.

Amazingly, we are winning. No clue as to why, but we're 2-0!

[QuikSand]

GB, for what it's worth, here's what I have informally used as my rule for "realistic" FA bids:

-Any player requesting a signing bonus must be offered a bonus

-Any contract bonus offered must be at least as large as the highest annual salary in the contract

For guys seeking just a simple, bonus-free minsal deal - you can offer them a couple years, and they will often accept. But for anone to join up for more than two seasons, you have to give a bonus. And, if you want to give short-term deals, you'll have to put in a disproportionately high amount of that contract up front. To reduce the amount of guaranteed money, you have to go with a longer-term deal, which cannot be renegotiated at any point.

I've found this works pretty well - feel free to use or alter it as much as you like.

[Godzilla Blitz]

QS: Thanks! That looks well thought out. Have you quantified the ratio you use when "putting a disproportionately high amount" up front for short term deals?

On another line of thought, have you been tapping into the free agent pool at the beginning of the year much? As I mention, after the first game of this year there were a lot of good player that had been cut by other teams. I'm not sure if that's a function of the one-player universe start, or whether you can consistently improve you team by gleaning the talent out of the free agent pool after training camp (this was ridiculously easy to do in FOF2001, and looked to be so in FOFa). Obviously, I'd like to be able to use the free agent pool, but not if it means giving me an exceptional advantage.

[tucker342]

Good start!:)

I'll be reading

[Godzilla Blitz]

Tucker: Thanks! I'll be moving along slowly, and won't be adding too much fluff, but I do intend to keep this going for at least ten years, so I hope you enjoy it.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 3: Carolina (2-0) at Minnesota (2-0)
Line: 4-point favorites.
Preview
Our injuries are starting to mount, but we patch together a lineup, and head out to play. Carolina gets some significant edges in the categorical match-ups.
Result
We struggle on both sides of the ball, but win the turnover battle again 4-1, and in doing so win an uneventful game, 17-7.
Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (24-35, 165 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) kept us in the game offensively, as our ground game (69 yards) went nowhere. Carolina was able to run the ball against our defense, but critical turnovers cost them dearly. SLB Lenny Terrell (5 tackles, 1 int, 1 TD) iced the game with a late 4th quarter TD interception. Mysteriously and inexplicably, we rise to 3-0.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 4: Minnesota (3-0) at Seattle (3-0)
Line: 1-point underdogs.
Preview
We have yet to play a team with a loss. This week pits us against undefeated Seattle. RB Doug Burns, our all-purpose back, is injured with a sprained neck. He will see limited action.
Result
Our defense comes up with two big interceptions that lead to scores, and makes two goal-line stands in the fourth quarter to lead us to a gutsy 21-13 win.
Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (24-37, 252 yards, 2 TDs, 3 ints) was brilliant at times, but threw three picks to keep Seattle in the game. WR Sedrick Fleming (9 catches, 126 yards, 2 TDs) posted a banner day for our receivers. Carolina was able to run the ball against our defense, but couldn’t make the big plays that might have swung the game their way. MLB Trevor Campbell gave us some badly needed insurance with an interception TD late in the 4th quarter. Incredibly, our supposedly talentless team rises to 4-0.

We gratefully head into a bye week, as our injury list has 13 players on it.

Week 5: Bye Week. Our injured list drops to ten players.

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Godzilla Blitz
Have you quantified the ratio you use when "putting a disproportionately high amount" up front for short term deals?

All I mean is that this is a natural consequence of the rule. For example-- If you want to pay a certain player $6m a year, evenly over the contract - you have options:

Bonus of $3m and 1yr at $3m
Bonus of $4m, and 2yrs at $4m
Bonus of $4.5m and 3yrs at $4.5m
Bonus of $4.8m and 4yrs at $4.8m
Bonus of $5m and 5yrs at $5m

Now, assuming he's equally comfortable with all these (they all come out to him making $6m a season) my point is that if you want to keep from being "tied down" with a long term contract, you have to put disproportionately more into the bonus to make a short term deal. For a 2yr deal, you're guaranteeing 33%, where in a 5yr deal, you're guaranteeing only 17%.

That's what I mean by the disproportionate share of money up front-- it's a mathematical function of the rule that the bonus has to eb at least as much as the largest annual salary. (Of course, this effect gets exaggerated even more if you want to try to "backload" the contract-- since that pushed up the amount of bonus necessary, which I also think is a proper disincentive)


On another line of thought, have you been tapping into the free agent pool at the beginning of the year much? As I mention, after the first game of this year there were a lot of good player that had been cut by other teams. I'm not sure if that's a function of the one-player universe start, or whether you can consistently improve you team by gleaning the talent out of the free agent pool after training camp (this was ridiculously easy to do in FOF2001, and looked to be so in FOFa). Obviously, I'd like to be able to use the free agent pool, but not if it means giving me an exceptional advantage.

I have avoided picking up players after training camp so long that I neglect to mention it in my house rules. As a matter of course, the only times that I ever grab a post-camp player are to replace an injury-- and even then, my strong inclination is to sign an undfarted rookie rather than a proven veteran (who'll likely be under-market).

I certainly don't want to make this a "strategy" - that I'd deliberately leave cap spave so tha after camp I can make gains by getting cheap veterans. I think your rule sounds fine to me - basically what I do, too.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 6: Detroit (2-2) at Minnesota (4-0)
Line: 14-point favorites.
Preview
Although we are heavily favored, Detroit appears to have a much more talented team. The experts’ previews give most all of the advantages to them. We’ll also be relying mostly on our backup running backs to keep our ground game going: RB Burns will see only limited action, and RB Buckner has been placed on the inactive list.
Result
A conservative first half sees both defenses dominate, but we manage a late drive that stalls at the Detroit 2-yard line. We settle for a field goal and take a 3-0 lead into the halftime locker room. The second half continues much the same way until late in the third quarter, when Detroit manages a grinding TD drive. We fumble the ensuing kickoff, which Detroit takes in for another TD, then give them a ridiculously short field after our next possession. They add another TD--their third in three minutes--to take a 21-3 lead. We have no answer, and the game ends that way. Our first loss, and we fall to 4-1. To add injury to insult, QB Freddie Winslett sprains his knee and goes on the questionable list.
Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (20-33, 164 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) was his usual self, but the lack of an effective running game and two deadly turnovers ruined our day. No noteworthy stats elsewhere, as nearly everyone played a mediocre game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

QS: Got it. Thanks again. I'm thinking that I may use the following:

1. For free agents signed during the 20-step process: use the system you have suggested.

2. For resigning restricted free agents, and for signing first-year, undrafted players out of the free agent pool: accept or reject their contract demands as they are, with no modifications allowed.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 7: Minnesota (4-1) at New Jersey (1-4)
Line: 8-point favorites.
Preview
Although we are favored again, and the Giants are only 1-4, they get the nod in almost every category in the match-up screen. With QB Winslett toting a clipboard, QB Marcus Anderson—our scout’s preference of starting QB—gets the nod. Our injury list is dwindling elsewhere, and we’ve got RB Buckner back to full strength.
Result
We trade TD drives, then QB Marcus Andersen tosses an interception that gives New Jersey the ball deep in our territory. They take it in for the score, then add a long field goal to give them an early 17-7 lead and all the momentum. Andersen leads us down the field again for a TD to close the gap, then we get a 54-yard field goal as time runs out in the half to tie 17-17. In the third quarter, we get a turnover that leads to a field goal, then Andersen takes us down the field once more for a 27-17 lead. New Jersey adds a TD late, but we hang on for a tough 27-24 win. We rise to 5-1!
Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (20-32, 247 yards, 1 TD, 2 ints) throws the ball better downfield than does Winslett, and for the first time this season, we have some long passes that eat up territory. However, Andersen gets sacked more often, and seems to throw more picks, both of which cause havoc with our ball control offense. Still, he was the catalyst for this week’s victory, and will get the nod next week while Winslett nurses his sore knee. We could have a QB controversy on our hands. It was nice to get RB Buckner (21-80 yards, 1 TD) back in the lineup to give our ground game some badly needed punch. DE Jimmy Hickman got 5 tackles and a sack and a half to lead our defense.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 8: Chicago (2-4) at Minnesota (5-1)
Line: 8-point favorites.
Preview
In the first week of the season, we beat the Bears in Chicago 31-17. They have stumbled since, but the experts, as usual, rate them ahead of us in almost every category. Our injury situation is much better now, as our backfield is healthy, and most of the other injuries have healed. The exceptions are quarterback, where Winslett is still dinged up, and our defensive secondary, where two starters are out.
Result
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Both teams lock horns in a defensive first half, but Chicago blocks a punt deep in our end to give them a TD and a 10-3 halftime lead. QB Andersen’s weaknesses hurt us in the second half, as he stalls drives with an inability to avoid the sack, then gives Chicago a TD interception to end our hopes. We fumble away one more scoring opportunity, and the result is butt ugly: Chicago 27, Minnesota 3.
Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (19-29, 185 yards, 1 int) was erratic again, and has given up too many interceptions in his two games. Now that QB Winslett is healthy, he’ll get his starting job back. With the talent level so low in this league, part of the strategy appears to be simply to avoid mistakes. It seems that many teams can’t move the ball downfield well, and if you can avoid giving a team short fields, you will prevail. That’s the only way I can figure we have been winning in the early part of this season. Along those lines, Winslett is a much better ball control QB...LG Kirchof (1-6 blocking, 3 sacks allowed) came back from an injury to play an atrocious game. Back to the bench with you...Our overall offensive numbers compare fairly evenly with Chicago, but losing the turnover battle 3-0 and giving up the blocked punt killed any chances we would have had.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 9: Minnesota(5-2) at Tampa Bay (3-5)
Line: 7-point favorites.
Preview
The analysts only give Tampa Bay a slight edge over us with regards to personnel, which is a nice change. We are still heavily favored. With the safe, conservative Winslett at the helm, and with a healthy backfield, I’m hoping with can finish up the first half of the season with a win.
Result
QB Winslett completes his first six passes, leading us on an impressive opening TD drive. We sputter on offense after that, and Tampa Bay closes with two field goals to head into the locker room with us up by one point, 7-6. The second half is ours, though, as we roll up three unanswered TDs to gain a commanding 28-6 lead. Tamba Bay would add two late TDs, but it was too little too late, and we win 28-20.
Key Stats
QB Winslett (22-31, 152 yards, 1 int) had a fair day stat-wise, but it’s his ability to connect on third down that really helps our nickel-and-dime offense…Our ground game (138 yards) was effective as well, rarely losing yardage, more often than not picking up the short third down runs…RB Buckner had only 47 yards on the ground, but 3 of his 14 carries were for TDs…LB Lenny Terrell had seven tackles and 2 sacks to lead the defense…We won the turnover battle 2-1.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Midseason Report
At a surprising 6-2, we lead the NFC North by two games over 4-4 Detroit. Although it’s early to speculate about playoff chances, we share best record with San Francisco and Atlanta.


Record: 6-2
Winning Pct.: .750

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 227 12 (T)
Rushing Yards 833 22
Yards Per Carry 3.66 29
Pass Attempts 277 15
Completions 175 3
Passing Yards 1544 5
Yards Per Attempt 5.57 6 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 38.2 3
Points Per Game 19.1 8
Turnovers 14 7 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 18

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 207 8 (T)
Rushing Yards 866 14
Yards Per Carry 4.18 21 (T)
Pass Attempts 261 8
Completions 149 7 (T)
Passing Yards 1427 19 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 5.46 25
3rd Down Conversions 30.8 17
Points Per Game 16.8 24
Turnovers 14 25 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 31 at CHI 17
2 23 BUF 6
3 17 CAR 7
4 21 at SEA 13
6 3 DET 21
7 27 at NJY 24
8 3 CHI 27
9 28 at TBY 20
10 NYK
11 GBY
12 at NED
13 ATL
14 at GBY
15 at NOS
16 MIA
17 at DET

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
10 Winslett QB 213 136 1112 5.22 6 8
19 Andersen QB 64 39 432 6.75 1 3
**Team --- 277 175 1544 5.57 7 11

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
49 Buckner RB 97 381 3.92 4
45 Burns RB 57 186 3.26 1
28 Berk RB 38 165 4.34 1
10 Winslett QB 17 58 3.41 0
**Team --- 227 833 3.66 7

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
83 Fleming WR 54 36 417 11.5 36 3
80 Banks WR 35 19 227 11.9 32 1
86 Schwarz TE 29 18 106 5.8 23 1
35 Abraham FB 25 17 79 4.6 42 0
45 Burns RB 24 17 68 4.0 15 0
84 Waldteufel WR 22 9 114 12.6 4 1
49 Buckner RB 19 15 118 7.8 22 0
85 Moorhead WR 16 7 83 11.8 11 0
87 Baker WR 16 8 112 14.0 8 1
81 Prescott WR 11 9 63 7.0 6 0
28 Berk RB 8 6 35 5.8 29 0
44 Fisher FB 8 5 38 7.6 8 0
**Team --- 277 175 1544 8.8 256 7

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
79 Richardson DT 31 9 6.0 3 0 0
38 Prior CB 30 7 0.0 0 0 3
57 Lester ILB 29 11 0.0 1 0 1
32 Jorbin S 28 9 1.0 0 0 5
50 Terrell OLB 27 14 3.5 3 2 4
99 Thornton OLB 27 9 2.0 1 1 0
70 Hickman DE 23 9 6.0 6 0 0
75 Becker DT 22 9 2.5 2 0 0
30 Drake CB 21 3 0.0 0 0 0
34 Jackson S 20 4 0.0 0 0 1
43 Basford CB 17 8 0.5 0 4 4
21 Fitzgerald CB 17 4 0.0 0 0 0
59 Campbell ILB 16 13 0.0 0 1 0
31 Upshaw CB 13 3 0.0 0 1 0
96 Peters DE 12 3 0.0 8 1 0
24 Mills S 12 9 1.0 0 1 2
97 Sampson DE 9 4 2.0 1 0 1
46 Burnett S 9 8 0.0 0 0 1
**Team --- 412 142 25.0 27 11 22


Notes
It’s interesting to note how poor the league’s passing offenses are at this point in the league’s evolution, as our rather feeble passing game ranks fairly high. My guess is this is due to such terrible quarterbacks that are in the game early. Winslett’s 70.7 rating has him sixth in the league; the leader only has a 76.3 rating.

WR Fleming leads the league in receptions with 36.

We rank a very high third in completions, and third in third down conversion percentage. Our typical drive seems to have been a 3-yard run, a 3-yard run, and a 4-yard pass. The stats bear this out.

On to the second half of the season! Interesting to see if we can keep it up. .500 ball should get us in the playoffs!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 10: New York Jets(4-4) at Minnesota (6-2)
Line: 5-point favorites.
Preview
The experts say we match up pretty evenly with the Jets, but Las Vegas has us as 5-point favorites. Our injury situation is good, except for our secondary, where we have four players hurt. If New York goes to the air often, we could be in trouble.
Result
On the first play from scrimmage, New York hits on a 56-yard pass to put the ball deep in our territory, and our fears that they will capitalize on our weakened secondary look to be justified. However, the next play they fumble, and we recover. The New York turnover theme continues into the second quarter, as we pick off two New York passes deep in their territory and convert both of them to go up 14-0. New York settles down after that, and with their offense clicking on all cylinders, they close to 21-14 by the half. Amazingly, our offense is able to match them in the second half, and we end up winning 35-21, in a robust display of offense for both teams, at least as far as this low talent league is concerned. We reach 7-2.
Key Stats
New York offense (176 yards rushing, 330 yards passing) blew our doors off, but the turnover battle killed them…To give you an idea of how weak the league is offensively, their 506 total yards and their 330 passing yards are league highs so far this season…QB Winslett (17-23, 178 yards, 3 TDs, 0 ints) rose to the occasion, and back-up RB Arnie Berk (11 carries, 111 yards), playing in place of an unproductive Burns, got us our first 100-yard game…Our offense (181 yards rushing, 178 yards passing) was about as good as we have been all year…QB Freddie Winslett (77.5 rating) is now the league’s highest rated quarterback!

[mckerney]

I like the Super Bowl Champion in Minnesota concept. Keep up the good work.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally posted by mckerney
I like the Super Bowl Champion in Minnesota concept. Keep up the good work.

Thank you, sir!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 11: Green Bay(1-8) at Minnesota (7-2)
Line: 13-point favorites.
Preview
Our secondary gets three players back in action, and the experts give us a slight advantage in the categorical match-ups. This is a game we should win, but…
Result
Green Bay is anemic on offense early on, and we piece together three scoring drives in the first half to head into the locker room ahead 13-0. In the third quarter, though, QB Winslett tosses two interceptions that lead to 10 Green Bay points, and Green Bay adds a field goal drive to tie, 13-13, as we head into the fourth quarter. Green Bay collapses in the fourth quarter though, turning the ball over three times, and we score on our last four possessions to win going away, 29-13.
Key Stats
QB Winslett (26-36, 248 yards, 2 TDs, 2 ints) injured his knee but stayed in the game. He’ll most likely miss the next two games, though…We also lost our best receiver, Sedrick Fleming (5 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD), for three weeks with a separated shoulder; the injury will most likely cost him the receiving title this year…RB Buckner (20-93 yards) led our rushing game, and has firmly established himself as the #1 back on our team.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 12: Minnesota (8-2) at New England (7-3)
Line: 3-point favorites.
Preview
New England is better than us in nearly every category on the preview screen. Winslett is out. Our best receiver is out. Our leading tackler is dinged up, and will play a back-up role. I think we are heading for a disaster here. But this team has continued to surprise me all season.
Result
Defenses dominate in the first quarter, but early in the second quarter, back-up QB Andersen leads us on a 76-yard TD drive to take a 7-0 lead. New England fumbles deep in their end on their next possession, and we march the short distance for another TD to take a 14-0 lead at the half. The second half only gets worse for New England, as three of their six second half possessions end in turnovers, and we take advantage of almost all of them. Unbelievably, we win in a rout, 31-3. Wow! We rise to 9-2!
Key Stats
QB Andersen (21-30, 180 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) and RB Buckner (25 carries, 116 yards, 1 TD) would lead the offense, but our defense was the real story. DE Jimmy Hickman (6 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 fumble recovery for a TD) led a ferocious assault on the New England offensive line that recorded 8 sacks and held New England to only 164 yards on the day.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 13: Atlanta (8-3) at Minnesota (9-2)
Line: 9-point favorites.
Preview
Detroit lost last week, so we have a three-game lead over them with five games to go. We are tied for best record in the NFC with San Francisco. Today we match up with Atlanta, who has the third best record in the NFC, and leads the NFC South. This would be a nice game to win if we are thinking about getting a first-round bye in the playoffs. We match up reasonably well on paper against them, but this has been rather meaningless information, given that we have been winning against everyone regardless of what the preview screen thinks. Winslett will need one more week to heal, and we’ve now lost our MLB, Roger Lester, to an injury as well. How long can the magic last?
Result
Altanta rolls all over us on the opening drive, but they sputter deep in our territory and have to settle for a field goal. Both defenses dominate through the remainder of the first half though; we trade field goals in the second quarter and go to the locker room only down 6-3. The third quarter sees much of the same, but Andersen manages to lead us on a 62-yard field goal drive to tie, 6-6, going into the final quarter. There, Atlanta starts to force plays, and our defense pounces on them. We get three turnovers in the quarter that lead to 17 unanswered points, while Atlanta manages only 11 yards of total offense in the quarter. Game over, 23-6. Amazing!
Key Stats
QB Andersen (18-34, 165 yards, 1 int, 7 sacks) was good when it counted, as he took advantage of Atlanta turnovers to engineer short scoring drives when the game was on the line. Still, the seven sacks are tough to take, and Winslett will be back next week, as he is healthy…DE Jimmy Hickman added 2.5 sacks to his total, giving him 13.5 on the year, .5 back of the league lead…Kicker Winfred Pearson kicked a 56-yard field goal, and went 3-3 on the day.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 14: Minnesota (10-2) at Green Bay (2-10)
Line: 16-point favorites.
Preview
We match up evenly against Green Bay, and are looking to sweep the season series, although we’ll have to do it in Lambaugh field, in snow and 23-degree cold. Green Bay has been awful this year, although they are coming off a win last week against Chicago. Winslett is back for us, and most of our players are healthy again. We’re still missing WR Fleming; he could play, but we’d like to get him to 100% before putting him back in the lineup.
Result
We get two long first quarter drives that fade before reaching the endzone, but Green Bay goes nowhere, and we end the first quarter up, 3-0. We pick off two Green Bay passes in the second quarter, and turn both of them into TDs, but Green Bay manages a long TD drive just before the end of the half to make it a game, 17-7 at the half. That is all the Green Bay offense can muster on the day, though. We add a couple of second half field goals, and win another easy one, in the snow, 23-7.
Key Stats
QB Winslett (19-29, 200 yards, 1 TD) was back to his usual self, as we hog the ball and take advantage of turnovers again. His 80.3 rating is still #1 in the league…RB Julio Buckner (24-84 yards, 1 TD) has gradually become our main back. He now has 8 rushing TDs (tops in the league), and with three games to go, needs 233 yards for 1,000 on the year…We win the turnover battle, 3-1, and the time of possession battle by controlling the ball for more than 36 minutes of game time…Green Bay had fifteen possessions in the game: 10 punts, 3 turnovers, 1 ending on downs, and 1 TD.

The victory, combined with a Detroit loss, gives us the 2002 NFC North title! Yahoo! We also have the best record in football. A win next week would clinch us a bye.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 15: Minnesota (11-2) at New Orleans (3-10)
Line: 13-point favorites. This year against the spread: 9-3-1
Preview
Our injury list dwindles to three players, and we get SE Fleming back in the lineup; he missed the last three games due to a separated shoulder. The pregame prognosticators have us matched evenly on paper, but that hasn’t mattered much so far to our team.
Result
New Orleans beats us at our own game in the first half, and they get a fumble that they convert for 3, then add 7 more on a 96-yard interception return. We go nowhere on offense, and head to the locker room down 13-0. Winslett finally gets us moving in the third quarter, taking us down the field on a nice TD drive to pull us within 6, but we are stymied the rest of the way out. We lose 13-7.
Key Stats
QB Winslett (27-42, 228 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) played well, but the losing the turnover battle 2-0 cost us the game…WR Fleming caught 9 passes for 105 yards in his return, but showed some rust as he dropped two on the day…RB Buckner’s 1,000-yard season became more of a longshot, as he only picked up 57 yards on the day. He needs 177 yards in our last two games.

Atlanta loses to guarantee us a bye for the first week of the playoffs!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 16: Miami (7-6-1) at Minnesota (11-3)
Line: 11-point favorites. This year against the spread: 9-4-1
Preview
Categorically, there is a small edge to Miami. Our injury list is at two players.
Result
Miami stuffs the ball down our throats on the opening drive of the game to go up 7-0. We plug away for the rest of the half and get two long drives, both of which falter short of the goal line and end up in field goals. We go to the locker room down 7-6. The second half is ours, though, as we pick off three Miami passes, chew up the clock with ball control drives, and punch in three TDs to win pulling away, 28-10.
Key Stats
QB Winslett (20-34, 229 yards, 2 TD, 0 int), RB Buckner (19-80 yards, 1 TD), WR Fleming (5-79 yards, 1 TD) and WR Banks (5-69 catches, 1 TD) led our offensive effort...MLB Roger Lester picked off two passes.

Arizona beat San Francisco to drop them to 11-4, and giving us a one-game edge on home-field advantage for the playoffs. However, I believe the tie-breaker would go to them if they win their last game and we lose ours, so we’ll need to win to lock that up.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 17: Minnesota (12-3) at Detroit (7-8)
Line: 13-point favorites. This year against the spread: 10-4-1
Preview
Detroit manhandled us earlier in the year, winning 21-3, and at one point were in the hunt for the NFC North title. However, their QB Rickey Hansen has throw 13 interceptions against 1 TD in the last five games, four of which Detroit lost. They now are out of the playoff picture altogether. We’ve decided to go for the home field advantage for the championship game, and will play our regular starters. RB Julio Buckner needs 107 yards to make 1,000 on the year.
Result
Detroit pushes the ball around in the first half, and picks off a Winslett pass for a TD. We answer with a blocked punt that we run in for a score, but as we head to the locker room, it’s 13-10 Detroit. The second half sees our woes continue, as Winslett throws an uncharacteristic three interceptions on the day, and our offense goes nowhere. The second half goes scoreless, and we lose 13-10, to finish the year at 12-4.
Key Stats
QB Winslett (21-39, 181 yards, 0 TD, 3 int) had his worst day this year. Not a good omen as we head into the playoffs...RB Buckner got 67 yards, and ended up the year with 960 total...We pick up some dings on defense, and it looks like our secondary might still be a bit banged up for the playoffs...We lost the turnover battle 4-2, and put little pressure (1 sack) on Detroit QB Hansen.

San Francisco loses to St. Louis, 18-17, so we end up with the home-field advantage through the championship game. Our 12-4 mark is the best in the NFL. Wow.

On to the playoffs we go!

[Godzilla Blitz]

A quick look at the final standings before we head to the playoffs...


2002 Final Standings

AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 9 7 0 .563 254 212 7-5 4-2
Pittsburgh 9 7 0 .563 248 258 6-6 4-2
Baltimore 8 8 0 .500 219 214 6-6 3-3
Cincinnati 5 11 0 .313 208 274 3-9 1-5

AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Jacksonville 11 4 1 .719 325 237 8-4 4-2
Indianapolis 9 6 1 .594 261 229 7-5 3-3
Houston 8 8 0 .500 269 304 4-8 3-3
Tennessee 5 11 0 .313 196 297 3-9 2-4

AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New England 9 7 0 .563 246 236 8-4 4-2
Miami 8 7 1 .531 204 226 5-6-1 4-2
Buffalo 8 8 0 .500 279 264 6-6 2-4
New Jersey 5 11 0 .313 252 295 4-8 2-4

AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Kansas City 11 5 0 .688 313 268 10-2 5-1
Oakland 10 6 0 .625 313 208 7-5 2-4
San Diego 9 7 0 .563 227 237 8-4 3-3
Denver 4 11 1 .281 173 306 3-8-1 2-4

NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Minnesota 12 4 0 .750 339 221 8-4 3-3
Detroit 8 8 0 .500 275 242 6-6 5-1
Chicago 6 10 0 .375 274 241 4-8 2-4
Green Bay 3 13 0 .188 189 324 2-10 2-4

NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tampa Bay 10 6 0 .625 285 210 8-4 3-3
Atlanta 9 7 0 .563 236 246 7-5 5-1
Carolina 8 8 0 .500 235 238 6-6 3-3
New Orleans 4 12 0 .250 174 331 3-9 1-5

NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Washington 8 6 2 .563 260 268 8-4 4-2
Dallas 8 8 0 .500 237 251 7-5 2-4
New York 7 9 0 .438 267 262 6-6 4-2
Philadelphia 7 9 0 .438 263 254 6-6 2-4

NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
San Francisco 11 5 0 .688 330 209 8-4 3-3
Seattle 9 7 0 .563 244 224 6-6 3-3
Arizona 8 8 0 .500 221 257 7-5 4-2
St. Louis 7 9 0 .438 272 245 4-8 2-4

[Godzilla Blitz]

NFC Divisional Playoffs: Washington (9-6-2) at Minnesota (12-4)
Line: 9-point favorites. This year against the spread: 10-5-1
Preview
Talent-wise, Washington should mop the floor with us. But New England should have done the same thing, and we dominated them.

Health-wise, we’re in good shape, but we’ve got a dinged secondary, and will hold our starting safety in reserve. Elsewhere, we’ve pretty much been able to get the best players on the field.

Washington’s strength is their running game, which ranks 7th-best in football. Their passing game is another story, though. They are near the bottom of the league, and their QB, Leslie Richard, has thrown 18 interceptions against 8 TDs. Not a good ratio. Defensively, they seem to be effective at holding teams to minimal yardage on the pass, but otherwise are fairly mediocre.

Our hopes have to rely on getting an early lead, so that we force Washington to the air, where we should have luck getting some interceptions.

Result
We show them we came to play by driving down the field behind the running of Buckner for an early 7-0 lead. They answer the call though, and shove the ball back down our throats on two first half drives that we miraculously stop inside our ten-yard line. We go to the locker room up by one, at 7-6.

The third quarter spells disaster for us, as Winslett gets sacked, fumbles, and gives Washington the ball on our 20. Our defense saves us with an interception, but Winslett fumbles again on the next play, this time giving Washington the ball on our five-yard line. Ye gads! Sullivan runs it in for a quick score, and Washington leads 12-7. We kick it up a notch, though, as RB Buckner starts rolling over Washington on the ground; we go for two long drives well into Washington territory, but their defense stiffens, and we miss both field goal attempts. With time ticking away in the fourth quarter, we are down by five and things are looking grim. But our defense saves us, as CB Basford picks off an errant Washington pass and runs it down the sidelines 76 yards for a pivotal TD! With ten minutes to go, we’re back in front 13-12! From there on out, our defense takes over, stopping Washington in 3 plays on the next two possessions, picking off a pass on the following one, and stopping them on downs as time runs out. Our offense would add an insurance field goal, and we win 16-12! On to the NFC Championship!
Key Stats
QB Winslett (17-27, 154 yards, 0 TD, 0 int) had a respectable, interception-free game, but his fumbles on sacks in the third quarter nearly cost us the game…RB Buckner (26-189 yards) was the star of our offense… We won the turnover battle 5-2, as we pick off 4 Richards’ passes and force RB Sullivan to fumble one away…Defensively, we contained Sullivan (17-91 yards, 1 TD) as well as could be hoped, but more importantly jumped all over Richards (14-30, 157 yards, 0 TD, 4 int) when he put the ball in the air.

San Francisco beat Tampa Bay 16-3. They will bring their 12-5 record to the Metrodome next week for the right to travel to the Super Bowl.

[Godzilla Blitz]

NFC Championship: San Francisco (12-5) at Minnesota (13-4)
Line: 3-point favorites. This year against the spread: 10-6-1
Preview
San Francisco gets a strong edge on paper, but we’ve been playing over our heads all year, so I’m not sure that means all that much.

Our secondary is healthy again. We’ve got some minor switches to make elsewhere, but for the most part, injuries are not causing us any big personnel holes on either side of the ball.

San Francisco, like Washington, has gotten this far on the strength of their running game. They have two backs, Kim Henderson and Wade McGregor, with over 800 yards each. Unlike Washington, whose passing game was weak, San Francisco brings a much stronger passing game to the table; they ranked 10 in yards per attempt, and QB Bart Amari ranked sixth in the year-end totals. They have the best third-down conversion rate in the league, and a +5 in turnovers. Tough offense to beat. Defensively, they are beatable, as they rank in the bottom half of the league in yards per attempt for both rushing and passing. However, they have also given up the fewest points per game of any team in the league. Yikes. This could be a tough game. San Francisco is much more suited to beating us than Washington.

For us to win, we’ll need to somehow play our typical game: keep the ball moving and take advantage of turnovers. They are beatable on defense, and if we can get a lead to force them into their mediocre passing game, we have a chance. We are not a team that is suited to coming from behind, and if we fall behind early here by a couple of scores, we’re in trouble.

Result
We start out hot on defense, as we stuff San Francisco on their first possession, force a fumble on their second, and pick off a pass on their third. Our offense is crisp as well, but sputters near the goal line twice, and we settle for an 6-0 first quarter lead. San Francisco warms up in the second quarter though, and gets their offense rolling on an 80-yard TD drive that gives them a 7-6 lead. Just before the half, we answer the call with an 80-yard TD drive of our own, and after the conversion, we head to the locker room with a 14-7 halftime lead.

San Fran appears to get out of their game plan in the third quarter, as they abandon the run and try to move the ball through the air. Our defense stymies them, though, and our offense moves the ball well enough to get us a field goal that gives us a 17-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, San Francisco cranks it up another notch in the fourth quarter. They run and pass all over us, and go on a 63-yard field goal drive and another 80-yard TD drive. Suddenly, our lead is gone, the momentum is all San Fran, and we are tied, 17-17, with 4:30 to go. On our ensuing possession, we manage to move the ball a bit, getting to the San Francisco 39-yard line before stalling with a little over two minutes to go. We bring in K Winfred Pearson, for a dangerous 56-yard attempt. He sends it up and through the uprights for a 20-17 lead! Clutch kick!!! San Fran takes over for perhaps their last chance, but our fired up defense holds them to –4 yards in five plays. We take over on downs, add an insurance field goal, and the game is over! We win 23-17! We’re going to the Super Bowl! Wow!

Key Stats
QB Winslett (29-40, 256 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) and WR Fleming (9 catches, 130 yards) had good games for us, picking up the slack for our ineffective running game (73 yards)...CB Upshaw, playing a back-up role, caused both first quarter San Fran turnovers; he picked off an Amari pass, then on the next possession, caused and recovered a San Fran fumble...K Winfred Pearson went 5-5 on field goal attempts, and got a well deserved game ball.

Jacksonville (13-4-1) beat New England 23-13, and will meet us next week for Super Bowl I!

[mckerney]

Woohoo! I love the Super Bowl!

[Darkiller]

great job !

[Godzilla Blitz]

Darkiller: Thanks!

mckerney: And here it is...

Super Bowl I: Jacksonville (13-4-1) vs Minnesota (14-4) at Huntsville, Alabama.
Line: 5-point favorites. This year against the spread: 11-6-1
Preview
We had the best record in the NFC; Jacksonville had the best record in the AFC. Both teams, arguably, deserve to be here. Jacksonville has a huge edge on paper.

Injury-wise, we’re still ok. A replacable DE is out. Our FS and LG are questionable. Two players are probables. Not bad for this point in the year, and we should be able to put a team representative of our talent on the field.

Jacksonville, like our previous playoff opponents, has gotten here via a strong ground game; they rank fourth in yards per attempt. Their passing game is average, but they excel at not turning the ball over: their +14 ratio is second in the league. QB Wesley Schott ranked fourth in the league, and led the league in TD passes (18). Defensively, they are good against the pass, but only mediocre against the run.

For us to win, we’ve got to take advantage of their relative weakness against the run and get a lead to force them to the air. Once again, if we can force them to pass, we have a chance. My greatest concern is that we usually win via the turnover, and it is unlikely that we’ll get that opportunity today. We need to bring our “A” game.

Result
The first quarter is all Jacksonville, and they march down the field with impunity. Fortunately, we pick off one pass in our endzone and hold them to a field goal on their other long drive. We go nowhere on offense, though, and the quarter ends with us down 3-0. We wake up in the second quarter: we get a short field goal drive to tie the game at 3-3 and begin to stop Jacksonville’s offense. Midway through the quarter, CB Julio Basford picks off a Jacksonville pass and runs it 35 yards for a TD to give us a clutch 10-3 lead! Jacksonville adds a field goal near the end of the half to make the score 10-6, and that’s the way we go to the locker room.

Jacksonville destroys us in the third quarter, as they march for two time-consuming drives that net them 9 points and a 15-10 lead as we head into the fourth quarter. Offensively, we get stopped without a first down in the entire quarter. We continue to struggle in the fourth quarter, and when Winslett tosses an interception to give Jacksonville the ball deep in our end, things look especially grim. Miraculously, we hold the line, Jacksonville misses a 20-yard field goal, and there is still some hope flickering. However, we go nowhere again on our next possession, and Jacksonville responds with a 16-play, 8-minute field goal drive to put them up 18-10 with 2 minutes to go. Ouch.

Crunch time, and Winslett responds on what is surely our last chance. Jacksonville holds WR Fleming to give us a first down at our own 27. Winslett then hits WR Banks for 16 yards, WR Baker for 11 yards, then Banks again for 34 yards. Suddenly, with 1 minute to go, we’re on the Jacksonville 12-yard line! Winslett fades back to throw again, tosses for the endzone…

…intercepted! Aaaargh! So close yet so far. Jacksonville sits on the ball for the win, 18-10, and our miracle season’s hopes are dashed.

Key Stats
QB Winslett (14-24, 137 yards, 0 TD, 2 int) had a tough day, as did the rest of our offense (64 yards rushing, 137 yards passing). Jacksonville, on the other hand, moved the ball well (120 yards rushing, 301 yards passing). If it weren’t for the turnovers early in the game, we would have been out of the picture completely…CB Basford (8 tackles, 4 assists, 2 interceptions, 1 TD) brought his best game, and interestingly, got the game MVP to show for it. Off to Disneyland he goes!

Well, on to the end of year stats.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002 Team Summary

Record: 12-4
Winning Pct.: .750

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 469 7
Rushing Yards 1803 12
Yards Per Carry 3.84 22 (T)
Pass Attempts 544 15
Completions 344 3
Passing Yards 3153 2
Yards Per Attempt 5.79 3
3rd Down Conversions 34.8 6
Points Per Game 21.1 1
Turnovers 29 6
Turnover Margin +10 5

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 393 2
Rushing Yards 1600 6
Yards Per Carry 4.07 19 (T)
Pass Attempts 554 20
Completions 296 6
Passing Yards 2724 11
Yards Per Attempt 4.91 10 (T)
3rd Down Conversions 28.3 6 (T)
Points Per Game 13.8 6
Turnovers 39 8 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 31 at CHI 17
2 23 BUF 6
3 17 CAR 7
4 21 at SEA 13
6 3 DET 21
7 27 at NJY 24
8 3 CHI 27
9 28 at TBY 20
10 35 NYK 21
11 29 GBY 13
12 31 at NED 3
13 23 ATL 6
14 23 at GBY 7
15 7 at NOS 13
16 28 MIA 10
17 10 at DET 13

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
10 Winslett QB 416 266 2376 5.71 15 14
19 Andersen QB 128 78 777 6.07 3 5
**Team --- 544 344 3153 5.79 18 19

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
49 Buckner RB 247 960 3.88 9
28 Berk RB 83 395 4.75 2
45 Burns RB 67 229 3.41 1
10 Winslett QB 44 137 3.11 0
**Team --- 469 1803 3.84 13

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
83 Fleming WR 102 64 779 12.1 73 5
80 Banks WR 64 38 491 12.9 73 3
86 Schwarz TE 57 35 236 6.7 41 3
49 Buckner RB 51 34 206 6.0 58 0
87 Baker WR 49 27 319 11.8 27 2
35 Abraham FB 48 36 195 5.4 93 1
84 Waldteufel WR 46 23 244 10.6 9 3
81 Prescott WR 33 23 249 10.8 17 0
45 Burns RB 31 21 81 3.8 16 0
28 Berk RB 16 13 65 5.0 30 0
85 Moorhead WR 16 7 83 11.8 11 0
**Team --- 544 344 3153 9.1 517 18

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
50 Terrell OLB 58 19 6.0 7 2 12
99 Thornton OLB 56 17 5.0 1 1 2
38 Prior CB 54 11 1.0 0 1 5
57 Lester ILB 50 15 0.0 1 3 1
32 Jorbin S 50 19 1.5 1 2 8
79 Richardson DT 47 16 8.0 5 0 1
70 Hickman DE 45 18 14.5 10 0 0
30 Drake CB 43 6 1.5 0 3 4
75 Becker DT 41 18 3.5 3 0 0
43 Basford CB 37 14 1.5 0 6 8
59 Campbell ILB 35 20 0.0 0 3 3
34 Jackson S 34 6 0.0 0 0 4
96 Peters DE 29 7 4.5 10 1 0
31 Upshaw CB 28 9 1.5 0 2 3
24 Mills S 28 19 1.0 0 3 4
21 Fitzgerald CB 27 10 0.0 0 0 0
90 Ahrens DT 23 6 3.0 9 0 0
46 Burnett S 21 13 0.0 0 0 1
97 Sampson DE 16 4 2.0 7 0 2
**Team --- 816 254 56.0 56 27 58


Comments
Overall, I am amazed at the numbers this team put up. I have no explanation. Keep in mind that we picked our talent after the entire league had picked their entire squads. My only thoughts are that somehow Winslett is much better than his ratings indicate, or that our team chemistry (no negatives, and respectable number of affinities) had something to do with it. I did pay close attention to the stats, and made numerous depth chart changes throughout the year, but it shouldn’t have mattered that much: we still should have been horrible.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002 NFL Awards

Award Player Team
##Player of the Year Morris Campbell NED
**Front Office Bowl MVP Julio Basford MIN
Coach of the Year Not Yet Awarded
Legend of the Game Not Yet Awarded
##Offensive Player of the Year Arnold Turner PIT
##Defensive Player of the Year Emmitt Cuellar NYK
##Offensive Rookie of the Year Arnold Turner PIT
##Defensive Rookie of the Year Emmitt Cuellar NYK
##All-League First-String Quarterback Kris Lyle PHI
##All-League First-String Running Back Arnold Turner PIT
##All-League First-String Fullback Karl Spaulding PHI
##All-League First-String Tight End Cory Nixon DET
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Broderick Prosser GBY
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Lester Teeter STL
##All-League First-String Center Corwin Gillette WAS
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard R.J. Liles PIT
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Brent Higgins SEA
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Jorge Houghton BAL
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Dana Lyon DAL
##All-League First-String Punter Eugene Fisk TEN
##All-League First-String Kicker Mario Turner HOU
##All-League First-String Defensive End Gary Hollerorth WAS
##All-League First-String Defensive End Walter Garner HOU
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Bruce Winslett DEN
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Quinn Rubin OAK
##All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Brandon Donovan ARI
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Emmitt Cuellar NYK
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Pete Hodges CIN
##All-League First-String Cornerback James Coles CHI
##All-League First-String Cornerback Charles Stone CHI
##All-League First-String Safety Corwin Savea IND
##All-League First-String Safety Irv Brooks OAK
##All-League Second-String Quarterback Cedric Brocklebank NYK
##All-League Second-String Running Back Andrew Applewhite NJY
##All-League Second-String Fullback Nick Woodard CIN
##All-League Second-String Tight End Otis Rhem WAS
**All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Sedrick Fleming MIN
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Jeffrey Vallejo NYK
##All-League Second-String Center Kirk Lang JAX
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Wendell Terrell NJY
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Kent Santos IND
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Rod Worlow CHI
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Herman Hoover CAR
##All-League Second-String Punter Max Clayton CHI
##All-League Second-String Kicker Troy Wright SDO
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Patrick Stephenson NOS
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Vinny Sutton JAX
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Broderick Betz TBY
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Herman Wynn NED
##All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Eric Geer MIA
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Conrad Holdman CLE
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Jack Littlejohn CHI
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Brad Ribich PHI
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Bobby Murphy DEN
##All-League Second-String Safety Jay Gonzalez SEA
##All-League Second-String Safety Rodney DeMoen SFO


Comments
We don’t rack up many awards. WR Fleming deserved the award he got, but without a doubt, QB Winslett got robbed blind. QB Kris Lyle, the first-string All-Pro Quarterback, had the following stats: 61.9%, 2724 yards, 5.39 avg., 10 TDs, 19 ints. His team went 7-9 on the year. Compare that with Winslett: 63.9%, 2376 yards, 5.71 avg., 15 TDs, 14 ints. His team makes the Super Bowl. Ye gads! Who is in charge of the voting? Blind lamas?

Not that we’re bitter, but to further prove my point, guess the position of New England’s Morris Campbell, the NFL Player of the Year. Would you believe punter? Yes, that’s right, the braintrusts on our NFL Awards’ selection committee gave the award to a punter, and furthermore, this punter didn’t even make the All-Pro team. Oh, my. Bite me with a crawfish.

On a more encouraging note, in this year of ineffective quarterbacks, the Offensive Player of the Year Award goes to a running back.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002-2003 Offseason

Stadium Proposal
We’re flush with cash, fan support for a stadium is high, expected salary costs should remain low for the next few years, and the Metrodome is a worn-out dump. We put in a proposal for a beautiful, new, retractable roof, grass-surface stadium. Seating: 70,000. Club Seats: 8,000. Luxury Boxes: 200. And we only go for the best: we request construction from a high-quality firm. Total cost is $484 million; we offer to pay $100 million of the bill. Results after the college draft.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Staff Hiring
Head coach Oscar Roberts, whose contract expired, had his 60th birthday a few days ago, and despite leading us to the Super Bowl, just doesn’t seem to have the eye for young talent that we’d like. We pass on Roberts and make a long term move to hire 41-year old Tony Long, who brings youth and energy to the position. We sign him to a five-year deal at a reasonable $1,750,000 salary. He is adequate now, but I am hoping he will develop into an outstanding coach that can lead this team for the next decade or more. His ratings at the start:


Tony Long
Age: 41
Salary: $1,750,000
Years left on contract: 5

QB: 3 Young Talent: 4
RB: 3 Motivation: 5
WR: 4 Discipline: 4
OL: 4 Offensive Calls: 1
K: 3 Defensive Calls: 4
DL: 2 Injury Avoidance: 4
LB: 4
DB: 3 Overall Rating: 53.5

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.


After debating whether to fire our current scout and go with a 30-year old with lesser ratings but a greater upside, we decide to stick with our current, talented scout for now. We’ll most likely make a move for youth next year.


J.T. Alkateeb
Age: 59
Salary: $300,000
Years left on contract: 1

QB: 5
RB: 2
WR: 5
OL: 3
K: 4
DL: 2
LB: 5
DB: 5
YT: 3
Overall: 40.0

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002-2003 Finances
2002 Profit/Loss: +$63.2 million

With salaries so low, we rake in the big bucks. I take advantage of the Super Bowl appearance, and nudge up ticket prices across the board. Stadiums are expensive. Pay up people.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2002-2003 Free Agency
This is an interesting situation. I was expecting that the draft would bring in an influx of players that would be much better than my existing roster, but after looking over the draft pool, I realize that the game-generated drafts are on a much lower scale than what I am used to seeing. This means that a significant number of players on our current team may still be able to contribute, and that I should consider signing some of the better current free agents out there. Fortunately, all our players are all protected, so we can deal with them at our leisure after the rookie draft.

There really isn’t much worth talking about available in free agency. Ideally, I would pass and pick these guys up before training camp, but our house rules prohibit doing so. We’re looking for anything that can help us, and end up signing 2-year deals with an odd collection of 13 players that look to have reasonable upsides. No other teams are bidding, so we get our guys pretty easily. I guess not many teams are willing to pay for junk.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 College Draft
Sigh. How sad it is to be sitting here with all this talent differential in front of us and knowing that the 30 best players will be gone before we get to pick. There is a monster QB, Jermaine Richardson, who should absolutely dominate the game for the next few years and similarly, a monster RB, Matt Delgado, who should run over everything in front of him. Needless to say, they’ll be long gone before we get a shot at them. I might toy with the idea of trading up if I see someone fall to the 20th pick or later, but judging by what others have to say about the improved draft, I doubt they’ll be much left.

Delgado goes to Green Bay with the first pick. We should see a lot of him over the next few years. Richardson goes to Denver with pick #3. As the draft moves forward, I’m watching a solid quarterback still sitting around as we hit number 20. I decide to make a move if he’s there at 25, but Pittsburgh takes him at #23. Damn. When our turn comes up, there are a dozen players that I consider to be bunched together, so I trade down, giving the Jets our pick in exchange for their 2nd and 4th round picks at number 10. Interestingly enough, most of the guys on our list are cleared out by the time we get our chance, but one of them, a wide receiver from Wake Forest, looks well worth the 2nd round pick. He’s got good numbers across the board, with no major weaknesses. Although I’d like to pick something at CB, DE, MLB, OT, QB, or RB, there is nothing worthy of a high 2nd round pick here. We’ll start our building effort with Tim Brown from Wake Forest.

Our picks:
2 (10). Tim Brown, WR, Wake Forest.

2 (31). Edgar Walunas, DE, Air Force.
Our end of the 2nd round pick comes up, and we see a short handful of players we’d be happy with. Once again, I try to trade down, but this time there are no takers worthy of a deal, so we grab a fair-looking DE with the pick. He was far and away the best DE on the board, with respectable skills that should help us immediately.

3 (31). Monty Richardson, C, Louisiana State
We’ve got another pick in ten players, and I’m wavering among a few players here. A good CB with horrible man-to-man skills; a center with a big upside; a QB with almost no present skills but a huge upside; an unbelievable punter; and a stud FB with no blocking skills. There is also a collection of reliable TEs in here as well. In the end I go with the center, but I’m having second thoughts. I hope he lives up to his potential.

4 (10). Benjamin Douglas, CB, Texas Christian
This is the CB we were thinking of in the third round. He has great skills except for a horrible man-to-man ability. Still, all our corners have horrible man-to-man skills. He should fit right in.

4 (31). Sean DeBerg, P, Louisiana-Monroe.
As much as I need other positions badly, this guy is just too good to pass up. Tremendous skills already, I think he should add ten yards to our net punts/attempt. Since we’ll be doing a lot of punting, that should amount to 50-80 yards per game. Should be an All-Pro punter in his first season.

5 (31). Marvin Holly, FS, Notre Dame.
Yikes. Deciding between a DT from Notre Dame and a FS from Notre Dame. Well, if we don’t like the safety we picked here, we can always switch him to defensive tackle for fun.

6 (31). Wes Harlow, DT, Notre Dame
We got them both! I just hope this isn’t some insidious FOF plot to get revenge on me.

7 (31). Zach Wallace, K, UNLV.
Mostly a meaningless pick, as there is only one other pick after ours. Looks to be a kicker with a very strong upside.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Stadium Vote
Yahoo! We’re getting a new stadium! The vote passed, 50.9% to 49.1%! Construction should be complete in 2008! What a deal! Retractable roof, grass, top-quality construction, 70,000 seats, and it only cost us $100,000,000 of our own money. Cheap, cheap. Who says Minnesotans won’t belly up for a stadium?

Now all we need is a name. Any suggestions out there in FOFC land?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Training Camp 2003
WR Tim Brown’s ratings have dropped already. The guy has come to camp fat. Damn.

We glean the rubbish off our roster from last year, replace them with some first-year free agents still left in the draft pool, and head off to training camp with the following roster:


Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Winslett, Freddie 10 QB 2 9 26 2 yrs. 2002
Andersen, Marcus 19 QB 2 12 24 2 yrs. 2002
Gochanour, Dixon 16 QB 1 3 47 2 yrs. 2003
Finch, Moe 18 QB 1 5 39 2 yrs. 2003
Buckner, Julio 49 RB 2 17 20 2 yrs. 2002
Gaylor, Marco 47 RB 1 22 34 2 yrs. 2003
Lira, Michael 26 RB 1 22 31 2 yrs. 2003
Covington, Ronnie 25 RB 1 17 34 2 yrs. 2003
Horn, Shane 37 RB 1 24 32 2 yrs. 2003
Bradford, Bert 22 FB 1 16 34 2 yrs. 2003
Rochelle, Trent 40 FB 1 19 36 2 yrs. 2003
Arteaga, Jorge 48 FB 1 20 27 2 yrs. 2003
Schwarz, Joel 86 TE 2 18 26 1 yr. 2002
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 1 17 33 2 yrs. 2003
Quinn, Rickey 17 TE 1 17 34 2 yrs. 2003
Brown, Tim 3 FL 1 27 49 5 yrs. 2003
Jamison, Grady 85 FL 1 17 31 2 yrs. 2003
Mesaros, O.J. 88 FL 1 13 35 2 yrs. 2003
Hwang, Ralph 8 SE 2 16 37 2 yrs. 2003
Fleming, Sedrick 83 SE 2 16 24 1 yr. 2002
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 1 20 33 2 yrs. 2003
Chaney, Jamie 78 LT 2 9 42 2 yrs. 2003
Emmons, Robert 65 LT 2 10 19 2 yrs. 2002
Meier, Brett 67 LT 1 17 36 2 yrs. 2003
Chapa, Calvin 60 LG 1 17 30 1 yr. 2003
Stewart, Otis 77 LG 1 15 26 2 yrs. 2003
Pokrajac, Dustin 53 C 1 16 36 2 yrs. 2003
Barnes, Sean 64 C 1 14 32 2 yrs. 2003
Richardson, Monty 56 C 1 20 51 4 yrs. 2003
Newkirk, Roger 66 RG 1 11 28 1 yr. 2003
Schottlander, Charles 69 RG 1 16 35 2 yrs. 2003
Richmond, Todd 68 RT 2 10 39 2 yrs. 2003
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 1 14 37 2 yrs. 2003
DeBerg, Sean 2 P 1 61 82 3 yrs. 2003
Wallace, Zach 14 K 1 39 64 3 yrs. 2003
Wynn, Oscar 76 LDE 2 12 36 2 yrs. 2003
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 1 19 33 1 yr. 2003
Richardson, Pete 79 LDT 2 19 24 3 yrs. 2002
Ramaswami, Emmanuel 96 LDT 1 20 35 1 yr. 2003
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 1 26 45 3 yrs. 2003
Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 1 21 34 1 yr. 2003
Kolberg, Glenn 95 RDT 1 24 34 1 yr. 2003
Hickman, Jimmy 70 RDE 2 12 21 2 yrs. 2002
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 2 15 37 2 yrs. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 1 27 44 5 yrs. 2003
Terrell, Lenny 50 SLB 2 15 22 1 yr. 2002
Norton, Mark 54 SLB 1 17 31 1 yr. 2003
Miller, Bryce 52 SLB 1 18 28 1 yr. 2003
Kafka, T.J. 51 MLB 1 18 31 1 yr. 2003
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 1 22 32 2 yrs. 2003
Wiggins, Courtney 90 WLB 1 17 28 1 yr. 2003
Blanchard, Otis 39 LCB 2 12 36 2 yrs. 2003
Basford, Julio 43 LCB 2 11 15 2 yrs. 2002
Lindsay, Steven 41 LCB 1 18 32 1 yr. 2003
Schroeder, Richie 45 RCB 1 17 33 1 yr. 2003
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 1 23 38 2 yrs. 2003
Jorbin, Graham 32 SS 2 15 25 3 yrs. 2002
Hastings, Brandon 30 SS 1 13 35 1 yr. 2003
Mills, Frank 24 FS 2 11 31 2 yrs. 2002
Daniels, Ricardo 27 FS 1 18 37 1 yr. 2003
Gilbert, Edgar 42 FS 1 18 30 1 yr. 2003
Holly, Marvin 36 FS 1 21 39 3 yrs. 2003

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 62
On Active Roster: 62

Salary Cap: $74,600,000
Cap Room: $53,000,000
Maximum for New Player: $53,240,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $0

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $23,360,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 Camp Evaluation
Crap. It doesn’t look like we did that well in the draft. Our first selection, WR Tim Brown, had a crappy camp, and his ratings drop again. This doesn’t feel good. Other than that, we have no major surprises either way. Hopes for a breakout somewhere were unrealized.

2003 Minnesota Vikings Roster

Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Gochanour, Dixon 16 QB 1 6 41 2 yrs. 2003
Finch, Moe 18 QB 1 7 39 2 yrs. 2003
Winslett, Freddie 10 QB 2 10 26 2 yrs. 2002
Andersen, Marcus 19 QB 2 13 24 2 yrs. 2002
Gaylor, Marco 47 RB 1 23 34 2 yrs. 2003
Lira, Michael 26 RB 1 23 31 2 yrs. 2003
Covington, Ronnie 25 RB 1 17 30 2 yrs. 2003
Horn, Shane 37 RB 1 24 29 2 yrs. 2003
Buckner, Julio 49 RB 2 17 20 2 yrs. 2002
Rochelle, Trent 40 FB 1 20 33 2 yrs. 2003
Bradford, Bert 22 FB 1 17 31 2 yrs. 2003
Arteaga, Jorge 48 FB 1 21 24 2 yrs. 2003
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 1 20 35 2 yrs. 2003
Schwarz, Joel 86 TE 2 18 26 1 yr. 2002
Quinn, Rickey 17 TE 1 17 25 2 yrs. 2003
Brown, Tim 3 FL 1 28 43 5 yrs. 2003
Mesaros, O.J. 88 FL 1 15 29 2 yrs. 2003
Jamison, Grady 85 FL 1 18 28 2 yrs. 2003
Hwang, Ralph 8 SE 2 17 37 2 yrs. 2003
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 1 22 33 2 yrs. 2003
Fleming, Sedrick 83 SE 2 17 24 1 yr. 2002
Chaney, Jamie 78 LT 2 12 42 2 yrs. 2003
Meier, Brett 67 LT 1 19 40 2 yrs. 2003
Emmons, Robert 65 LT 2 11 19 2 yrs. 2002
Chapa, Calvin 60 LG 1 19 29 1 yr. 2003
Stewart, Otis 77 LG 1 17 25 2 yrs. 2003
Richardson, Monty 56 C 1 22 47 4 yrs. 2003
Pokrajac, Dustin 53 C 1 19 35 2 yrs. 2003
Barnes, Sean 64 C 1 15 31 2 yrs. 2003
Schottlander, Charles 69 RG 1 18 34 2 yrs. 2003
Newkirk, Roger 66 RG 1 13 28 1 yr. 2003
Richmond, Todd 68 RT 2 11 39 2 yrs. 2003
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 1 16 36 2 yrs. 2003
DeBerg, Sean 2 P 1 63 83 3 yrs. 2003
Wallace, Zach 14 K 1 40 59 3 yrs. 2003
Wynn, Oscar 76 LDE 2 14 36 2 yrs. 2003
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 1 21 34 1 yr. 2003
Ramaswami, Emmanuel 96 LDT 1 21 30 1 yr. 2003
Richardson, Pete 79 LDT 2 20 24 3 yrs. 2002
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 1 27 44 3 yrs. 2003
Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 1 23 34 1 yr. 2003
Kolberg, Glenn 95 RDT 1 25 31 1 yr. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 1 29 43 5 yrs. 2003
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 2 16 37 2 yrs. 2003
Hickman, Jimmy 70 RDE 2 12 21 2 yrs. 2002
Norton, Mark 54 SLB 1 18 31 1 yr. 2003
Miller, Bryce 52 SLB 1 20 28 1 yr. 2003
Terrell, Lenny 50 SLB 2 16 22 1 yr. 2002
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 1 25 35 2 yrs. 2003
Kafka, T.J. 51 MLB 1 20 32 1 yr. 2003
Wiggins, Courtney 90 WLB 1 18 27 1 yr. 2003
Blanchard, Otis 39 LCB 2 14 36 2 yrs. 2003
Lindsay, Steven 41 LCB 1 19 26 1 yr. 2003
Basford, Julio 43 LCB 2 12 15 2 yrs. 2002
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 1 25 38 2 yrs. 2003
Schroeder, Richie 45 RCB 1 17 31 1 yr. 2003
Hastings, Brandon 30 SS 1 14 33 1 yr. 2003
Jorbin, Graham 32 SS 2 16 25 3 yrs. 2002
Holly, Marvin 36 FS 1 23 37 3 yrs. 2003
Daniels, Ricardo 27 FS 1 20 37 1 yr. 2003
Mills, Frank 24 FS 2 13 31 2 yrs. 2002
Gilbert, Edgar 42 FS 1 19 30 1 yr. 2003

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 62
On Active Roster: 62

Salary Cap: $74,600,000
Cap Room: $53,000,000
Maximum for New Player: $53,240,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $0

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $23,360,000


Evaluation
We’re definitely a better team than we were a year ago, but so is everyone else. We had a crappy draft spot to start with, and with what looks to be some mediocre selections, our team has most likely fallen further back of the league’s top teams.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 Preseason
We split our four preseason games.

With a bunch of unknown players who all have relatively equal ability, we end up mixing in everyone during the preseason to get a sense of who has come to play the game. QB Moe Finch has enough good moments that he has earned the back-up slot behind Winslett, who still seems to be our most consistent QB.

At RB, Shane Horn was slotted to start, but every time we gave RB Ronnie Covington a chance, he performed brilliantly, so we are going to start with him, and use Horn in the backup slot. RB Buckner did not keep up with the others, and will have to earn his way back into the lineup.

At WR, no one stands out of the crowd, but our first pick, WR Tim Brown, is thoroughly unimpressive in the preseason, and will not start on opening day. WR Fleming, our star receiver and only returning receiver, held his ground well enough that he will see action on opening day.

On defense, we suffered a tough setback, as our fifth-round pick, FS Marvin Holly, torn a knee ligament and will be out for nearly all of the season. The injury is bad enough that his career could be jeopardized, and we may need to free his roster spot by putting him on IR for this year in any case. Elsewhere, we’re going to have to play our way into our starting lineup, as it doesn’t look like we’ve identified the best players yet.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 Season Outlook
Amazingly, our roster strength is evaluated at a 72, putting us in the top half of the league. Not sure how this makes sense, as our draft picks were by and large unproductive, and we were once again scraping together leftovers to fill out our roster. Also, with our first pick looking to be a bust, and our rather solid fifth-round pick on the shelf for the year, I don’t see how we can compete with some of the better teams in the league. Prognosis: 6-10.

Elsewhere in the league, Green Bay’s RB Matt Delgado looks to be a monster, and should dominate the league at that position. If Green Bay can take advantage of this guy, they should see a significant turnaround in their record. And Denver’s QB, Jermaine Richardson, came through the preseason in fine form, and should lead the league from that position. Be interesting to see how well these two teams do with what are clearly potential stars.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 1: Green Bay (0-0) at Minnesota (0-0)
Line: 2-point favorites
Preview
Interestingly, the pundits give us the edge in most all categories except QB and RB, where Green Bay undoubtedly has the clear advantage. RB Matt Delgado will be making his debut against us, and if we are going to win, we’ve got to stop him when we’re on defense, and control the ball when we’re on offense. We lead the overall series, 2-0.
Result
We run the ball down Green Bay’s throats in the first quarter, as RBs Covington and Horn tag team for some steady yardage. Green Bay gives us an interception on the next possession, and we convert that into 3 points, giving us a solid 10-0 edge. We trade long TD drives in the second quarter, and head into the locker room up 17-7, having stuffed Delgado and controlled the ball perfectly.

Things fall apart in the third quarter, though, as QB Winslett throws two interceptions that give Green Bay excellent field position, and our offense grinds to a halt. When the dust settles, we trail 20-17. Things continue badly in the fourth quarter: a fumble leads to one Green Bay field goal, and they add another on a short drive, to put us down 26-17, with 6 minutes left. After our offense flounders again, our defense comes up big, pinning Green Bay inside their ten-yard line. A crappy punt gives us great field position, which we convert into 3 points to trail, 26-20, with 2:30 to go. Our defense holds again, and we get the ball back on our 40-yard line with 2 minutes left. Winslett hits newly acquired WR Cunningham on 48-yard bomb to give us a first and goal, and shortly after Winslett finds Cunningham in the endzone for a TD! Game tied, 26-26! But wait! Holding! On us! God damn it! The TD is called back! Aaargh! Green Bay would stop us on the next few plays, and we end up losing 26-20. Sigh. Close but no hamaki. We fall to 0-1.

Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (22-43, 194 yards, 2 TDs, 2 int) was brilliant in the first quarter, but his two interceptions in the third quarter killed our hopes. Unfortunately, he also managed to break a finger, and will sit out for the next two weeks…RB Covington (14-105 yards) led our highly effective ground game (147 yards)…Free agent acquisition WR Grady Jamison (6-63 yards, 1 TD) led our receivers…Our first pick in the draft, WR Tim Brown, had 5 passes thrown his way; he caught none of them…RB Matt Delgado (15-57 yards) was not at all the force we had been expecting…Free agent WLB Courtney Wiggins (7 tackles, 1 assist) led our defense.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 2: Minnesota (0-1) at San Diego (0-1)
Line: 2-point underdogs
Preview
With QB Winslett suffering a broken finger, we bring in back-up QB Moe Finch for his first start. Finch showed moments of brilliance and incompentence in the preseason, but we’ll give him a shot in real action to see how he does. This is the first meeting of these teams.
Result
San Diego pushes us all over the place in the first quarter, but tosses an interception and misses a field goal to come up empty handed. We shows signs of life in the second quarter, but after trading long field goals, San Diego once again goes on a long drive, this taking it all the way in for a TD and a 10-3 halftime lead.

In the third quarter we move the ball well, and once again take advantage of turnovers. We pick up a key TD to tie the game at 10-10. As we move into the fourth quarter, neither team seems to want to win: there are penalties galore and play is generally sloppy. We get a short field on another turnover, and manage a field goal and a 13-10 lead. Things look to stay that way, but with 36 seconds to go and the ball on their own 25 and no time-outs left, San Diego hits a 52-yard pass and drills a field goal to send the game frustratingly into overtime.

San Diego wins the toss, drives down deep into our territory, then misses a short field goal. We go nowhere, and once again they run and pass all over us. This time they hit the field goal, and we lose 16-13 in our second frustrating loss in as many weeks. We drop to 0-2.

Key Stats
QB Moe Finch (19-34, 150 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int, 1 fumble) was slow out of the gate, but picked it up as things went along...Our running game (82 yards) went nowhere all day…K Zach Wallace missed two field goals, the second one an easy 37-yarder, that would have given us a 6-point lead with 1 minute to go. His accuracy looks like something that is going to take time to develop, but I’m not sure we’re going to give him much more time…We won the turnover battle 4-2, but were heavily outgained by San Diego.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 3: Minnesota (0-2) at Tampa Bay (0-2)
Line: 2-point underdogs
Preview
We switch QBs again, this time going with Marcus Andersen, our effective back-up from last year. I’m hoping he can get us back on track. We could use a victory here, especially after two tough losses. On defense, we bench CB Benjamin Douglas, our fourth round draft choice: he as been getting eaten alive in pass defense. Week by week, our drafting is looking weaker and weaker. Sigh.

We lead the series between the two teams, 1-0.

Result
We play a horrible first quarter, fumbling once in our own end to give Tampa Bay a quick TD, and going nowhere on offense. Things continue similarly in the second quarter, as Andersen throws two interceptions to kill drives, and K Wallace misses an easy field goal. However, as the half closes down, we get a quick TD drive to tie, 7-7. Tampa Bay responds by returning the kick off for a TD, to take a 14-7 lead into the second half.

In the third quarter, we push the ball down the field at will, but either turn the ball over or miss easy field goals to come up empty handed: we head to the fourth quarter still down by seven. In the fourth quarter we drive down to get a first-and-goal at the one, and once again have a TD called back by holding. We settle for a field goal to pull within four, but Andersen would throw two interceptions to kill our final two drives, and we lose again, 14-10. We drop to 0-3.

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (25-45, 215 yards, 1 TDs, 4 int) moved the ball downfield, but obviously, his four interceptions were a key factor in our defeat...K Zach Wallace missed two field goal kicks in the thirty-yard range. He has gone 5-11 on the year, and his easy misses in the last two weeks are the most obvious reason that we are 0-3 instead of 2-1. We unceremoniously cut Wallace after the game, and replace him with free agent K Will Cavanaugh, who performs well in a hastily arranged tryout. Wallace was our seventh round draft pick…RBs Horn (11-75 yards) and Covington (20-76 yards) led a ground game that progressively picked up steam…Our offense piled up nearly 400 yards in offense compared to less than 200 for Tampa Bay; we also racked up 20 first downs to their 8…Turnovers, penalties, and missed field goals killed us.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 4: Bye.
With only one player injured, the bye week comes at a terrible time. Psychologically, it might help us get back on track.

Week 5: Seattle (2-1) at Minnesota (0-3)
Line: 7-point underdogs
Preview
QB Winslett is healthy again, and we’ll welcome him back to the huddle. Seattle is favored by a significant margin, but if we are to get our season back on track, now would be the time. We are digging a rather large hole here.

We lead the series between the two teams, 1-0.

Result
QB Winslett throws an interception in the first quarter that Seattle runs back for a TD; he separates his throwing shoulder on the next possession. Arrgh. QB Moe Finch comes on to takes us on a ten-minute drive that eats up almost all of the second quarter, but only results in another missed field goal from short range. We trail at the half 7-0.

We own the third quarter, as we push the ball downfield on two long drives that give us ten points and a 10-7 lead going into the fourth quarter. Both teams bog down in the fourth quarter, until with less than 2 minutes to go, Seattle catches fire for a last-second field goal that sends the game into overtime at 10-10.

Overtime is an embarrassment to professional football. Neither team goes anywhere, but we give the ball to Seattle twice deep in our end—once at our own 5-yard line—and both times Seattle throws interceptions to keep the game tied (Seattle throwing from our five-yard line in OT???????). And that is the way it ends: a game we should have won; a game we should have lost. Perhaps a tie is the best thing.

Key Stats
QB Moe Finch (20-40, 138 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int), replacing the injured Winslett, completed his first 7 passes of the day, but floundered in the fourth quarter and overtime…RB Shane Horn (31-127 yards, 1 TD, 5 catches, 35 yards, 2 fumbles) was a force in the backfield for us, but fumbled twice…After the game, a fight erupted between receivers Ralph Hwang—the receivers leader—and Grady Jamison; it has been long known that these two men hate each other. With Jamison leading the team in receptions and Hwang catchless on the year, we decide to cut Hwang in an attempt to restore order in the clubhouse. We are a team in turmoil.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 6: Minnesota (0-3-1) at Arizona (3-2)
Line: 8-point underdogs

Preview
QB Winslett is out for five weeks because of his separated shoulder, and so we’ll go back to QB Marcus Andersen to fill in. We’re desperate for a win. We also bring RB Julio Buckner on the active list in hopes of sparking some kind of resurgence in our offense, which led the league in offense last year, but currently lies 25th in total points scored.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
We look extremely sharp in the first half, moving the ball effectively on offense, and stuffing Arizona on defense. We have difficulty getting in the end zone though, and have to settle for two field goals and a TD despite having the ball inside the Arizona 10-yard line three times. At the half it’s all us: 13-0.

The tables turn in the third quarter though, as Arizona wakes up and Andersen starts throwing interceptions. They connect on long passes and plow forward on runs up the middle, and when the dust settles, they have pulled even at 13-13. In the fourth quarter, we put together a short drive that takes advantage of a bad Arizona punt and puts us in front 16-13. However, in what is painfully becoming a weekly ritual here, with time running out, Arizona drives deep into our end and knocks a field goal through to send the game into OT.

We win the toss and get a great return to midfield to start the OT, but end up going backwards on the drive. Arizona responds with a 70-yard field goal drive to win, 19-16, and keep us winless on the year. Sigh. Last year we couldn’t lose; this year, we can’t buy a win. We fall to 0-4-1, and our season is looking grim.

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (18-34, 72 yards, 1 TDs, 2 int) was actually pretty good in the first half. Too bad the game didn’t end there, as he was horrible after that…RB Julio Buckner (6-55 yards) provided good punch in the back-up RB position…We had 15 penalties for 95 yards; many of those killed drives, or gave Arizona second chances on offense…SLB Bryce Miller had 11 tackles on the day, and set a new team record in the process.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 7: St. Louis (3-3) at Minnesota (0-4-1)
Line: 5-point underdogs
Preview
With Winslett out for the next month, our QB situation is desperate. With Andersen stinking up the joint last week, we’ll go back to Moe Finch for this week. Our injury list is also growing; in addition to Winslett, we’ve got five other players out for today’s game.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Finch misses the team bus (I forgot to switch his name in as starter) and so Andersen gets the call again. He promptly throws an interception to give St. Louis the ball deep in our end; fortunately our defense holds them to a field goal. The interception wakes up Andersen though; he takes us on a long 84-yard TD drive to put us in front 7-3. The rest of the first half is all ours, but frustratingly, we can’t get close enough to add any more points. We go to the half up by 4. We hang on for dear life in the second half, as three times St. Louis comes knocking on the door, and three times we hold them to field goals. Fortunately, we manage two field goal drives of our own, and take a 13-12 lead deep into the final quarter. But…

With two minutes to go, St. Louis drives the length of the field and hits a field goal to win, 15-13. Can electrons hear me if I scream?

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (20-34, 222 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) was reasonably adequate today; he is not the reason we lost…RB Shane Horn (24-94 yards) led our ground game, but RB Julio Buckner (9-24 yards) went nowhere…We’ve now lost five games by a combined 18 points. Sigh.

Our season to date:

Game 1: Winning TD late in fourth quarter called back due to penalty.
Game 2: Give up game-tying field goal late in fourth quarter; lose in OT.
Game 3: Game-tying TD late in fourth quarter called back on penalty.
Game 4: Give up game-tying field goal late in fourth quarter; game ends in tie.
Game 5: Give up game-tying field goal late in fourth quarter; lose in OT.
Game 6: Give up game-losing field goal late in fourth quarter.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 8: Chicago (3-2-1) at Minnesota (0-5-1)
Line: 7-point underdogs
Preview
Andersen played well enough that he will retain the starting job. We’re reasonably healthy, all things considered, and have been in every game we’ve played so far. I decide to give my first inspirational speech of the year; before the game, I tell the men that all we have to do is be three points better (I stare at our place kicker). Just a bit more effort is all we’ll need to win! Let’s go get ‘em!

The series between the two teams is tied 1-1.

Result
With my speech lodged in everyone’s minds, we come out of the gate fired up and dominate the first half. We get two long scoring drives, and pick off a Chicago pass to set up a field goal. At halftime, we lead 12-0. We promptly fall apart in the third quarter: three of our four possessions end in turnovers, and Chicago jumps all over the short fields we give them. At the end of the quarter, we’re tired and trailing, 13-12. But with “three points more” running through the men’s heads, our team rises to the occasion, going on a long 80-yard TD drive to give us a dramatic 20-13 lead with less than 6 minutes to go. Our defense stops Chicago on all their remaining possessions, and we add an insurance field goal with 2 minutes to go. We win 23-13! Finally! Our first win!

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (25-37, 239 yards, 2 TDs, 3 ints) was outstanding except for the tendency to throw the ball to the wrong team…RB Shane Horn (24-110 yards) led our ground game. He’s a wonderful runner, but has small hands that make me nervous…WR O.J. Mesaros, replacing an inured Sedrick Fleming, caught 3 passes, 2 of which went for TDs…Our defense held Chicago to 46 yards rushing…We lost the turnover battle, 4-1.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 9: Minnesota (1-5-1) at San Francisco (2-5)
Line: 6-point underdogs
Preview
We played San Fran in last year’s NFC Championship, but they have fallen on hard times this year as well. For lack of a better alternative, Andersen will start again, but his 5-10 TD-int ratio keeps me awake at nights.

The locker room before this week’s game is a bit more upbeat than last, and perhaps there is a sense of hope in the air?

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
We get our doors blown off in the first quarter: San Francisco has the ball for 14 of the first 17 minutes of the game, by which time they lead 10-0. We catch some hope when we pick off a ball in San Fran territory, and we manage to convert it to a field goal. Then, with two minutes to go in the half, Andersen takes us right down the field for a TD! Amazingly, after getting crushed at the beginning, we have pulled even!

In the second half, we manage to move the ball more effectively, and our defense shuts the door on the San Fran offense. We add a field goal in each of the two remaining quarters, and hold on to win, 16-10! Yes! Two in a row!

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (18-32, 176 yards, 0 TDs, 0 ints) was mediocre, but got us downfield when we most needed it…RB Shane Horn (20-75 yards, 1 TD) had some key runs late in the game to get us some badly needed first downs…K Matt Cavanaugh went 3-3 on field goals, and is 6-6 since I stared at him during the inspirational “three points more” speech that I gave two weeks ago…OT Brett Meier, replacing an injured Robert Emmons, gave up three sacks in the first quarter, before (thankfully) spraining an ankle that took him out of the game…Next week our rising hopes will get a legitimate test as we take on the 7-1 Green Bay Packers in Lambaugh Field. Boo yaa!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Midseason Report
Well, things have gotten somewhat better after our frustrating start, as we have won two in a row. But we are a long way back of division leading Green Bay (7-1). One would have to believe that our playoff hopes are ever so faint, but 8-7-1 may fly if we are lucky, and winning 6 of 8 if we can get hot is not inconceivable.

Unfortunately, I am not sure we have the talent to make it. Our quarterbacks have been horrible, and with Winslett still hurt for two more games—and underperforming when healthy—any thoughts of playoffs would be terribly premature. Mathematically we are 2.5 games back of St. Louis (5-3), for the second Wildcard spot.


2003 Summary for Minnesota Vikings

Record: 2-5-1
Winning Pct.: .312

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 265 3
Rushing Yards 1120 4
Yards Per Carry 4.22 12
Pass Attempts 304 8
Completions 167 11 (T)
Passing Yards 1406 24
Yards Per Attempt 4.62 30
3rd Down Conversions 37.6 7 (T)
Points Per Game 15.1 23
Turnovers 22 28
Turnover Margin -4 19 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 206 3
Rushing Yards 876 10
Yards Per Carry 4.25 23
Pass Attempts 279 18 (T)
Completions 149 3
Passing Yards 1422 9
Yards Per Attempt 5.09 7
3rd Down Conversions 24.1 2
Points Per Game 15.3 13
Turnovers 18 9 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 20 GBY 26
2 13 at SDO 16
3 10 at TBY 14
5 10 SEA 10
6 16 at ARI 19
7 13 STL 15
8 23 CHI 13
9 16 at SFO 10
10 at GBY
11 DET
12 at OAK
13 WAS
14 DEN
15 at CHI
16 KCY
17 at DET

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Andersen QB 182 106 924 5.07 5 10
18 Finch QB 74 39 288 3.89 0 2
10 Winslett QB 48 22 194 4.04 2 3
**Team --- 304 167 1406 4.62 7 15

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
37 Horn RB 137 585 4.27 2
25 Covington RB 59 247 4.18 0
49 Buckner RB 27 141 5.22 0
48 Arteaga FB 16 58 3.62 1
**Team --- 265 1120 4.22 3

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
7 Cunningham WR 41 22 273 12.4 38 2
48 Arteaga FB 38 24 100 4.1 54 0
3 Brown WR 38 16 202 12.6 8 0
85 Jamison WR 34 20 260 13.0 16 1
40 Rochelle FB 27 18 75 4.1 30 1
83 Fleming WR 25 9 137 15.2 9 0
37 Horn RB 20 14 77 5.5 47 0
86 Schwarz TE 18 5 50 10.0 14 1
89 Osborne TE 17 11 73 6.6 11 0
25 Covington RB 15 9 42 4.6 11 0
17 Quinn TE 11 6 57 9.5 11 0
47 Gaylor RB 8 5 19 3.8 0 0
**Team --- 304 167 1406 8.4 265 7

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
52 Miller OLB 44 10 2.5 0 1 2
90 Wiggins OLB 28 12 0.0 0 2 0
43 Basford CB 26 6 0.0 0 1 1
51 Kafka ILB 26 12 1.0 0 0 1
32 Jorbin S 23 8 0.5 0 2 2
71 Lyons DE 23 9 5.0 1 0 0
42 Gilbert S 22 8 0.0 0 2 4
33 Douglas CB 20 3 0.0 0 0 2
94 Walunas DE 19 11 4.5 5 0 0
27 Daniels S 19 15 0.0 1 0 4
55 Wagner ILB 17 9 0.0 1 1 2
92 Laurain DT 16 4 2.0 0 0 0
45 Schroeder CB 15 0 1.0 1 3 1
41 Lindsay CB 15 4 0.0 0 1 4
95 Kolberg DT 14 8 4.0 6 0 0
70 Hickman DE 12 1 4.0 5 0 0
79 Richardson DT 12 1 2.0 0 0 0
73 Harlow DT 10 7 0.5 3 0 0
39 Blanchard CB 9 2 0.0 0 0 0
**Team --- 433 137 27.0 24 14 25


Notes
Our offense is struggling in the air, while moving the ball on the ground. I have shifted to the running game a bit more in the last two weeks to try and capitalize on this.

Look, just look, at our QB stats. Yuck.

Our defense has played well, keeping us in the top half of the league in the important categories. It has been untimely breakdowns that have killed us.

WR Sedrick Fleming, a 2nd-team All Pro last year, has caught only 9 balls this year, and is not the same man he was a year ago. Sigh. Fortunately, WR Tim Brown looks to be picking up his game.

RB Shane Horn is on pace to reach 1,000 yards on the year.

If the season ended now, we would draft 7th, as six teams have worse records than our 2-5-1.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 10: Minnesota (2-5-1) at Green Bay (7-1)
Line: 13-point underdogs
Preview
Green Bay has been nearly unstoppable this season, after having the worst record in football last year. Interestingly, RB Matt Delgado (99-425 yards, 2 TDs), the #1 pick in the draft, does not appear to be the reason; He has had a very average year to date. Their success stems more from their defense, which is ranked 10th against the run, and first against the pass (using yards/attempt).

So, into the early November cold of Lambaugh field we go. 26 degrees and sunny for today’s game. Despite the inhospitable environment, the 13-point spread, and the difference in records, our men are confident.

We lead this very important rivalry, 2-1.

Result
The first half is all Green Bay, as they move the ball at will. Fortunately for us, a clipping penalty ends their first drive, and a phenomenal goal line stand followed by blocked field goal leaves us tied at 0-0 as the quarter winds down. However, our offense goes nowhere, and QB Andersen throws an interception in our end that gives Green Bay great field position. This time we can’t stop them, and with that, the floodgates open. By the half it is 17-0 Green Bay, and we have yet to get the ball into Green Bay territory.

We pick up our play in the third quarter, effectively stopping the Green Bay steamroller, and our offense shows signs of life, as we finally get the ball into enemy territory. Once there, we find good success, as Andersen is able to take us in for a TD to give us hope at 17-7. Things stay that way for a while, until Andersen once again gets us on a roll with 6 minutes to go in the final quarter. We drive deep into Green Bay territory, but once again Andersen throws an interception; this time Green Bay runs it 76 yards for a TD to nail down our coffin. Final score: 24-7. Our confidence was unfounded, Green Bay ties the rivalry, and we fall to 2-6-1.

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (23-42, 217 yards, 1 TDs, 2 ints) got most of his good numbers in the second half, when he was able to finally get our air attack moving. But once again, his tendency to throw interceptions killed us…We did not get the ball into Green Bay territory until the 9-minute mark of the third quarter…Green Bay committed no turnovers…WR Rick Cunningham (6-79 yards, 1 TD) was our only offensive bright spot…DE Jimmy Hickman, who was a standout for us last year, led the defense with 8 tackles and a sack.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 11: Detroit (3-6) at Minnesota (2-6-1)
Line: 6-point underdogs
Preview
Detroit has fallen on hard times this year; this will be a battle for the NFC North basement. We’ve got QB Winslett healthy again, and we’re hoping that he can find some of the form that led us to the Super Bowl last year. However, our injury news elsewhere is bad: our 5th-round draft pick, FS Marv Holly, who tore a lateral knee ligament in the preseason, looks like he may never regain his pre-injury level: he is three steps slower than before he got hurt. Also, our 2nd-round pick, DE Edgar Walunas, tore knee cartilage last week, and is out for four weeks.

Detroit leads the series, 2-0.

Result
The first half plays out evenly, as Detroit gets two long field goal drives to go up 6-0, but we answer with two long drives of our own; one results in a missed field goal, but the other RB Covington caps with a 20-yard TD run. We expect to go the half up 7-6, but Detroit tries to force a pass with 1 second left in the half, and CB Blanchard picks it off and takes it 76-yards for a TD to put us up 14-6! Hello, McFly? Attemtping a short pass from midfield with one second left in the half? Yikes.

Neither team musters any offense at all in the third quarter, but Detroit comes up with a big play, blocking a punt to give them the ball at our 12-yard line. They punch the ball home, but miss the conversion, leaving the score with us up by two, at 14-12. With the game in the balance, Winslett gets our offense in high gear, and shows signs of the leadership that took us to the Super Bowl last year. We go on two long drives that result in ten points, and effectively end the game. Detroit would add a late TD, but our big fourth quarter gives us a solid 26-19 win.

Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett’s line (19-31, 164 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) doesn’t look impressive, but the offense functions so much better when he is at the helm. We seem to convert a large percentage of third-down plays, and the interceptions seem to come at relatively harmless times…WR Cunningham (7-76 yards) led our receivers again, and has taken over the #1 receiving spot…Our defensive front recorded six sacks and five hurries on the day. The pressure forced Detroit’s QB, Rickey Hansen, to throw three interceptions.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 12: Minnesota (3-6-1) at Oakland (9-1)
Line: 13-point underdogs
Preview
Oakland has been sensational this season, and is looking to take the AFC West this year. They don’t turn the ball over, convert a high percentage of third downs, and stuff the opposition’s running game. We’re getting a bit banged up now, with a couple of key players hurt on both lines.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Oakland plays a solid first quarter, capping it with an 80-yard TD drive, to take a 7-0 lead. Our offense sputters in our own end, and the omens are not good as we head into the second quarter. However, we get a big play: MLB T. J. Kafka drills the Oakland QB for a sack in Oakland territory; the ball pops loose and DT Glenn Kohlberg picks it up and takes it to the Oakland 30. Our offense converts it into 7 points, and despite being completely outplayed, we go to the half tied at 7-7.

Our defense stiffens in the third quarter, and once again they make a big play, as CB Basford picks off an Oakland pass and takes it deep into Oakland territory. Our offense struggles, but we manage a field goal for a slim 10-7 lead. However, that is all our defense would need, as they deny Oakland for the rest of the game. We upset Oakland, 10-7!

Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (16-30, 105 yards, 0 TDs, 0 int) puts up some very bland numbers, but the key with this guy is that he doesn’t turn the ball over, and with that, we have a chance…Turnovers withstanding, we were badly outplayed today (372 Oakland yard to 217 yards for us)…RB Shane Horn (22-96 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble) took one step closer to being our first 1,000-yard back…MLB Kafka had 8 tackles, 2 sacks, and the big forced fumble to lead our defense…We’ve now won 4 of our last 5 games…There currently are two teams at 6-5 in position for the last Wildcard spot, so we’re officially 1.5 games back of both of those teams with 5 games to go…9-2 Washington comes to the Metrodome next week for a rematch of last year’s divisional playoff game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 13: Washington (9-2) at Minnesota (4-6-1)
Line: 9-point underdogs
Preview
Washington brings the #1 running game in the league to town, led by RB Emmitt Sullivan, who is having his second great year in a row. For the first time this year, our starting 22 will remain the same as the previous week’s. For the second game in a row, we’re taking on a division leader who’s on a roll.

If we could somehow win this game, our ridiculous playoff aspirations would be a little less ridiculous. Our season is on the line…

Result
We open strong, as we turn a bad Washington punt into 3 points, then pick off a Washington pass that leads to 7 more. As the first quarter comes to a close, we lead 10-0. Washington chips away in the second quarter, though, getting a long field goal drive to pull within 7. On our next possession, QB Winslett goes down with a hyperextended knee, and we are forced to bring on Marcus “Interception” Andersen, who promptly stalls our offense. We go to the half up, 10-3.

Andersen lives up to his name in the third quarter, as he throws two interceptions that give Washington great field position. Fortunately, our defense is up to the task, and holds them to two short field goal attempts, one of which they miss. Still the momentum has shifted, and things are starting to look grim. However, Andersen inexplicably finds some rhythm, and connects on a long pass that leads to one TD, then drives us 60-yards for another TD as we open the fourth quarter. Amazingly we have a comfortable 24-6 lead. Washington would close to 24-12, but our defense was stingy enough to make this one easy. We knock off a division leader for the second week in a row. Our record rises to 5-6-1.

Key Stats
QB Freddie Winslett (6-8, 66 yards, 1 TDs, 0 int) was on his way to a solid day before getting hurt for what is now the third time this season. He will miss three weeks with a hyperextended knee…Andersen (10-20, 125 yards, 1 TD, 2 int) was his usual inconsistent self…RB Horn (18-87 yards, 1 TD rushing, 1 TD receiving) led our offense…Arizona currently holds the last Wildcard spot with a 7-5 record, still 1.5 games ahead of us, with four games to go. With Winslett out, our hopes are looking rather bleak, though…Green Bay (10-2) has clinched the NFC North.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 14: Denver (7-5) at Minnesota (5-6-1)
Line: 2-point favorites
Preview
For the first time since week one of the season we are favored in a game. With Winslett on the shelf for the next three weeks, though, our spirits are down; we are 14-5-1 in games he starts and 5-6 otherwise. Considering that we mostly likely need to run the table to have a playoff chance, things are looking a bit grim.

We’ll face QB Jermaine Richardson, who was the top quarterback selected in last year’s draft, and has started every game for Denver so far this year, with average results so far. He’s got a lot of yards, but has thrown and equal number of interceptions and TDs.

FS Marvin Holly, our fifth round draft pick, who tore a lateral knee ligament in the preseason, will get a chance to see his first action of the year today. It looks like he has lost a step of two, though, and may be done forever.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Denver starts out hot, and drives deep in our territory for two first quarter field goals. Our offense, on the other hand, can’t get anything going. The first quarter ends with us down, 6-0. Denver starts to crack in the second quarter, though. Thanks to an interception and bad punt, we get to start drives in Denver territory, and QB Andersen moves the ball with style, hitting first WR Tim Brown and then WR Rick Cunningham for TDs that put us up, 13-6 at the half.

Denver’s game falls completely apart in the third quarter. They turn the ball over on their first three possessions; we get a TD run by RB Horn and a Cavanaugh field goal to run our lead up to 23-6. QB Richardson would get their offense in gear after that, but Andersen leads us down the field for a game sealing TD drive midway through the fourth quarter to ice the victory. Final score: 33-20.

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (17-29, 106 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) had a surprisingly effective day for us. His one turnover came at a harmless time… RB Shane Horn (22-76 yards, 1 TD) now has 940 yards on the year, and looks to become our first 1,000-yard back…WR Tim Brown (4 catches, 1 TD) has been showing signs of living up to his top draft pick status…SS Edgar Gilbert forced two fumbles and picked off one pass, singlehandedly accounting for half of Denver’s six turnovers…Denver rookie QB Jermaine Richardson had 279 yards and 2 TDs on the day, but threw 3 interceptions as well.

With Green Bay (11-2) locking up the division, our only playoff hopes rest in the Wildcard. Currently, Dallas (9-4), Arizona (7-6), and New York (7-6) are in front of us (6-6-1). We need help, but things are suddenly looking possible! Wow!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 15: Minnesota (6-6-1) at Chicago (5-7-1)
Line: 4-point favorites
Preview
It’ll be 25 degrees and sunny in Chicago today, as December football—with all its playoff implications—swings into full gear. To keep our hopes strong, we’ll need to beat the Bears on their home field.

Marcus Andersen will start again, as Winslett won’t be ready until the final week of the season. I’m hoping he can keep control of the ball as well as he did last week.

We lead the series, 2-1.

Result
Andersen starts us out with a great opening TD drive capped by a RB Covington 7-yard scamper. CB Basford picks off a Chicago pass and takes it 60 yards for another TD, and at the end of the first quarter it’s all us: 14-0. Chicago’s offense would erupt in the second quarter, though, as they move through the air for two TDs. We counter with a long field goal drive as the half comes to a close, and head to the locker room with a slim 17-14 lead.

The defenses would pick up their play in the second half. Chicago manages a long, 54-yard field goal to tie the game, but otherwise no one goes much of anywhere. Defensive play continues until late in the game, when we finally get moving on a drive into Chicago territory. But it stalls just over the border, and we are forced to punt. P DeBerg puts the ball out at the Chicago one-yard line, with just over two minutes to go in the game. With the game on the line, Chicago puts it to us, though, going 99 yards in just under two minutes for a decisive TD. We lose 24-17, and with that, our unlikely charge back into the playoff hunt most likely has met its doom.

Key Stats
QB Marcus Andersen (25-35, 181 yards, 0 TDs, 0 ints) got his good stats in the first half, as we were unable to move the ball at all in the second half…RB Horn (16-66 yards) becomes the first 1,000-yard back in Minnesota history!…We depend on turnovers to fuel our offense, but Chicago only gave us the one early interception. Our fourth quarter possessions started at our 3, 5, 10, and 7-yard lines, respectively. We just don’t have the offense to score from there.

All in all it was a good run, winning 6 of 7 to climb back into the race. New York (8-6) won, so all they need to eliminate us is one win in their last two games. Also, Atlanta (7-7) and St. Louis (7-7) would need to split their last two. We would also need Chicago (6-7-1) to lose one of their last games as well, as they would take us on tie-breakers. Too many needs. Of course, we also need to win our last two for any of this to matter. Still, a flicker of hope remains.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 16: Kansas City (6-7-1) at Minnesota (6-7-1)
Line: 3-point favorites
Preview
Well, our season officially ends before this game even starts, as the New York Jets beat Buffalo earlier in the day, 19-11, to clinch the final Wildcard spot. We’ll change our strategy now, with an aim to getting players that might be around next year some playing time to foster development, and taking a look at players that we haven’t had too much of a chance to see play. Kind of an end of the season exhibition season.

This is the first meeting between these two teams.

Result
We start QB Ross Heath, a mid-season free agent acquisition that covered Winslett’s roster spot while he was hurt. Heath starts out very impressively, tossing the ball downfield with abandon. We get two quick drives through the air that result in field goals and a quick 6-0 lead. Kansas City strikes back in the second quarter, though, replying with two impressive TD drives. We go to halftime, down 14-6.

Our defense goes to work in the third quarter, forcing three Kansas City turnovers that give us great field position. Our offense can only get a field goal out of the first two turnovers, but the third one—an interception that gives us the ball at the KC 7-yard line, results in touchdown to give us a 15-14 lead. Our defense shuts the door down after that, and CB Basford ices the game with an interception that he takes in for a TD. Final score, 25-14. Our record stands at 7-7-1.

Key Stats
QB Ross Heath (18-24, 180 yards, 1 TDs, 0 ints) had an impressive first half, but struggled after that. Still, on the day his numbers look good enough to raise some eyebrows on our coaching staff. Even with Winslett healthy now, he’ll start next week…WR Tim Brown (4-60 yards) continues his gradual improvement. Maybe he is not the bust we thought he would turn out to be…CB Basford (3 tackles, 1 int, 1 forced fumble, 1 TD) led our defense…FS Marvin Holly had 6 tackles, but got burned on 4 passes. He’ll need to improve…Our FB, Jorge Arteaga, broke his ankle, and is out for the last game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 17: Minnesota (7-7-1) at Detroit (5-9)
Line: 6-point favorites
Preview
We continue to focus on players with an upside, in hopes of developing some talent for next year.

Detroit leads the series, 2-1.

Result
Our defense smothers Detroit in the first half, allowing them only 60 total yards on offense. Our offense fairs a little better, managing two field goal drives behind the effective leadership of QB Ross Heath. We go to halftime, up 6-0.

Things continue the same way in the second half, as our defense knocks out starting QB Hansen, and continues to stymie the Detroit offense, forcing them into three second half interceptions. The good field position gains us a TD, a field goal, and a 15-0 lead. Detroit would march the length of the field in the final minute, but it wouldn’t be enough. We win, 15-7, and end the year above .500 at 8-7-1.

Key Stats
QB Ross Heath (18-24, 94 yards, 1 TD, 0 int) does an effective job of protecting the ball, but many of his passes were outlet passes that resulted in little yardage. Still, his performance in the last two games of the year merits giving him consideration next year. Right now, he looks to have little current skill, but a reasonable upside. We’ll most likely give him a good look in next year’s training camp and preseason…WR Tim Brown (4-36 yards) continues his steady play…CB Basford, playing our nickel CB position, picked off 2 passes, giving him a team-leading 7 on the year. He has played very effectively from the nickel spot. He only apparent skill is picking off passes, but he does his job well, and that type of player seems to fit excellently in the nickel CB spot.

With this, our second season comes to a close.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 Final Standings


AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 11 5 0 .688 325 231 8-4 5-1
Pittsburgh 8 8 0 .500 280 237 6-6 4-2
Baltimore 7 9 0 .438 271 302 7-5 3-3
Cincinnati 4 12 0 .250 211 325 2-10 0-6

AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Jacksonville 11 5 0 .688 321 260 9-3 5-1
Tennessee 8 8 0 .500 237 253 5-7 2-4
Houston 7 9 0 .438 296 286 5-7 4-2
Indianapolis 5 11 0 .313 263 297 3-9 1-5

AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Miami 10 6 0 .625 302 238 8-4 6-0
New England 10 6 0 .625 267 238 8-4 3-3
Buffalo 6 10 0 .375 275 282 5-7 2-4
New Jersey 6 10 0 .375 232 295 5-7 1-5

AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Oakland 12 3 1 .781 288 208 10-1-1 5-0-1
Kansas City 7 8 1 .469 289 250 6-5-1 3-2-1
Denver 7 9 0 .438 272 301 5-7 2-4
San Diego 6 10 0 .375 275 394 3-9 1-5

NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Green Bay 13 3 0 .813 385 255 11-1 6-0
Minnesota 8 7 1 .531 278 250 5-6-1 3-3
Chicago 6 9 1 .406 261 331 6-5-1 2-4
Detroit 6 10 0 .375 280 307 3-9 1-5

NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Carolina 7 8 1 .469 271 302 6-5-1 5-1
Atlanta 7 9 0 .438 203 208 5-7 3-3
New Orleans 6 10 0 .375 187 245 3-9 2-4
Tampa Bay 6 10 0 .375 241 284 5-7 2-4

NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Washington 11 5 0 .688 303 216 8-4 3-3
New York 10 6 0 .625 281 297 7-5 4-2
Dallas 10 6 0 .625 275 227 8-4 4-2
Philadelphia 6 10 0 .375 237 297 4-8 1-5

NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Seattle 10 5 1 .656 240 219 7-4-1 4-2
St. Louis 8 8 0 .500 262 236 7-5 4-2
Arizona 8 8 0 .500 226 249 6-6 2-4
San Francisco 6 10 0 .375 234 248 3-9 2-4

Comments
Overall, this has been a bittersweet year. The horrible string of close losses in the beginning of the year was a brutal way to kick off a season, but the team’s rebound in the second half leaves me optimistic for next year.

Still, one has to wonder “What if…”, and I keep thinking about one small decision, my decision to take that kicker, Zach Wallace, in the 7th round of the draft. He looked good overall, but a quick glance at his individual ratings showed a distinct lack of accuracy. He subsequently missed 5 of 11 field goals, any one of which would have won us one of our first four games. IF I had not selected him, I most likely would have selected a kicker with better accuracy, and perhaps we would have won one of those games. And we were one win away from the playoffs. Sigh.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 Playoffs
Carolina beats Green Bay in the NFC Championship, but goes on to lose against Jacksonville in the Super Bowl, 23-13, giving Jacksonville consecutive Super Bowl wins.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 Team Summary

2003 Summary for Minnesota Vikings

Record: 8-7-1
Winning Pct.: .531

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 503 4
Rushing Yards 1987 7
Yards Per Carry 3.95 21
Pass Attempts 555 17
Completions 320 17 (T)
Passing Yards 2653 29
Yards Per Attempt 4.78 30
3rd Down Conversions 34.7 10 (T)
Points Per Game 17.3 12
Turnovers 30 12 (T)
Turnover Margin +12 5

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 401 4
Rushing Yards 1766 14
Yards Per Carry 4.40 28
Pass Attempts 584 29
Completions 316 14
Passing Yards 3109 26
Yards Per Attempt 5.32 9
3rd Down Conversions 28.3 4 (T)
Points Per Game 15.6 14 (T)
Turnovers 42 1

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 20 GBY 26
2 13 at SDO 16
3 10 at TBY 14
5 10 SEA 10
6 16 at ARI 19
7 13 STL 15
8 23 CHI 13
9 16 at SFO 10
10 7 at GBY 24
11 26 DET 19
12 10 at OAK 7
13 24 WAS 12
14 33 DEN 20
15 17 at CHI 24
16 25 KCY 14
17 15 at DET 7

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Andersen QB 308 181 1553 5.04 9 15
10 Winslett QB 117 63 529 4.52 3 4
18 Finch QB 78 40 297 3.80 0 2
5 Heath QB 52 36 274 5.26 2 0
**Team --- 555 320 2653 4.78 14 21

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
37 Horn RB 272 1058 3.88 6
25 Covington RB 95 407 4.28 2
49 Buckner RB 43 210 4.88 0
48 Arteaga FB 33 156 4.72 1
47 Gaylor RB 32 81 2.53 0
**Team --- 503 1987 3.95 9

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
7 Cunningham WR 86 50 597 11.9 67 4
3 Brown WR 82 44 530 12.0 53 1
48 Arteaga FB 58 37 133 3.5 84 0
85 Jamison WR 58 35 418 11.9 25 1
89 Osborne TE 49 30 185 6.1 42 0
37 Horn RB 39 25 116 4.6 61 2
40 Rochelle FB 39 27 125 4.6 59 2
83 Fleming WR 38 16 214 13.3 13 1
25 Covington RB 27 17 72 4.2 19 0
86 Schwarz TE 22 8 82 10.2 18 1
17 Quinn TE 21 7 60 8.5 11 0
**Team --- 555 320 2653 8.2 477 14

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
52 Miller OLB 72 22 3.5 2 2 6
42 Gilbert S 58 17 0.0 0 4 7
51 Kafka ILB 57 19 3.0 0 0 5
90 Wiggins OLB 46 20 1.0 0 3 1
43 Basford CB 45 13 0.0 0 7 2
71 Lyons DE 43 14 9.0 10 0 1
45 Schroeder CB 41 9 1.0 1 4 6
33 Douglas CB 41 9 2.0 1 0 5
32 Jorbin S 40 11 0.5 0 3 3
27 Daniels S 38 21 0.0 1 0 8
39 Blanchard CB 34 6 0.0 0 4 3
70 Hickman DE 32 4 7.5 8 0 0
55 Wagner ILB 30 14 1.0 1 1 3
95 Kolberg DT 27 13 8.0 12 0 0
92 Laurain DT 26 9 3.5 1 0 0
41 Lindsay CB 26 7 0.0 0 1 5
94 Walunas DE 24 13 7.0 7 0 0
73 Harlow DT 23 14 2.5 4 0 0
50 Terrell OLB 17 8 1.0 0 0 2
**Team --- 861 256 56.0 51 30 58
Comments
Well, our passing game can’t get any worse: last in the league in yards/attempt. Still, one has to wonder what would have happened if Winslett had not gotten hurt three times. Our team was designed on winning the turnover battle, and that aspect of our game fell apart with Andersen leading us. Defensively, we had more trouble than I realized in stopping the run, but we have to be extremely happy with our number one ranking in creating turnovers.

WRs Brown and Cunningham ended up with respectable years receiving, and RB Horn showed that he could play at this level. Defensively, not much stands out except for CB Basford’s seven interceptions. The trouble with all of this is that the talent level in the league will keep increasing over the next decade, and players that can play well against current opposition may not be able to do so as the league’s talent pool keeps improving.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003 NFL Awards

Award Player Team
##Player of the Year Matt Delgado GBY
##Front Office Bowl MVP Paul Grier JAX
Coach of the Year Chris Steller CAR
Legend of the Game Bart Downs IND
##Offensive Player of the Year Arnold Turner PIT
##Defensive Player of the Year Frankie Silvanic CLE
##Offensive Rookie of the Year Jose Sandhu CLE
##Defensive Rookie of the Year Frankie Silvanic CLE
##All-League First-String Quarterback Claude Stokes DAL
##All-League First-String Running Back Arnold Turner PIT
##All-League First-String Fullback Harry West KCY
##All-League First-String Tight End Thurman Horst PIT
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Anthony Kirk NOS
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Lorenzo Herrick DAL
##All-League First-String Center Corwin Gillette WAS
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Kelly Lindsay BAL
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Deon Lyons ATL
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Anthony Whetmore PIT
**All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Kendall Scibona MIN
##All-League First-String Punter Max Clayton CHI
##All-League First-String Kicker Harvey Rodgers NJY
##All-League First-String Defensive End Roy McNeil GBY
##All-League First-String Defensive End Roman Durham BAL
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Sherman Kelly STL
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Ronald Peralta DEN
##All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Lamar Pina SEA
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Pete Hodges ATL
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker J.J. Bishop BUF
##All-League First-String Cornerback Jeffrey McDonald PIT
##All-League First-String Cornerback Daryl Richard CLE
##All-League First-String Safety Frankie Silvanic CLE
##All-League First-String Safety Terry Bates NYK
##All-League Second-String Quarterback Carl Flowers HOU
##All-League Second-String Running Back Jose Sandhu CLE
##All-League Second-String Fullback Roosevelt Lucas MIA
##All-League Second-String Tight End Kurt Lee HOU
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Cornelius Henson STL
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Gus Stevens GBY
##All-League Second-String Center Dale Jarvis MIA
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Bryant Anthony MIA
**All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Charles Schottlander MIN
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Bucky Fina OAK
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Mitch McCumber WAS
##All-League Second-String Punter Morris Campbell NED
##All-League Second-String Kicker Mario Turner HOU
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Dwight Butler KCY
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Rickey Dagostino STL
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Ted Deligianis NOS
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Kirk Rayford PIT
##All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Nathan Caldwell OAK
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Arnie Overhauser SFO
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Barry Gillespie GBY
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Curtis Baker SDO
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Byron Derubeis SDO
##All-League Second-String Safety Deion McNeil ARI
##All-League Second-String Safety Arnie Higbee SEA



Comments
Green Bay’s Delgado is a surprising, but perhaps justified, choice for player of the year. His running numbers (960 yards, 4.1 avg., 4 TDs) were solid, but hardly worthy of the award. However, he also caught 73 passes for over 400 yards, and added 8 more TDs through the air. These are pretty big numbers for the current, low-scoring NFL.

I am happy to see that Schottlander and Scibona made the All-Pro team. We had a number of linemen that were at the top of the stats charts all year long, and both of these guys deserve the awards.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Draft Picks in Retrospect
I thought I would add a little analysis to see how we’re doing with drafting, now that the AI has been beefed up, and break-outs are harder to spot. This will be a sort of running record of past draft picks, and how we have handled talent that we have selected.

Class of 2002
2 (10) WR Tim Brown, Wake Forest
Showed up in camp out of shape, and had an unimpressive preseason. Worked his way into the starting lineup, and finished the year strong. Current Grade: C
2 (31). Edgar Walunas, DE, Air Force.
Started 11 games at DE, with 24 tackles and 7 sacks. Looks to be on par with expectations so far, but how will he develop? Current Grade: B-
3 (31). Monty Richardson, C, Louisiana State
Started all 16 games at center, with a 37.8% blocking average, and 1.7% sacks allowed average. Not bad for a rookie. Current Grade: B+
4 (10). Benjamin Douglas, CB, Texas Christian
Started out as a starter, but lack of man-to-man skills quickly relegated him to a back-up role during the year. Current Grade: D+
4 (31). Sean DeBerg, P, Louisiana-Monroe.
Solid season as the team’s punter. Tough to justify taking a punter at the end of the fourth round given our lack of talent elsewhere, but this may have been worth it. Current grade: B+
5 (31). Marvin Holly, S, Notre Dame.
Torn lateral knee ligament in preseason. Missed most of season, but did play (unimpressively) at the end of the year. Questionable to make the 2004 squad. Current Grade: D-
6 (31). Wes Harlow, DT, Notre Dame
Started 14 games at DT, with 23 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Nothing to shout about, but we did get him in the 6th round. Current grade: B+
7 (31). Zach Wallace, K, UNLV.
Missed 5 of 11 field goals, most likely costing the team a playoff spot. Cut mid-season. FINAL GRADE: F

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003-2004 Offseason

Dynasty to Date

Year Team Eval Perf Diff Proft FrVal Record Playoffs
2003 MIN 64 57 70 32 95 8-7-1 None
2002 MIN 61 95 72 62 39 14-5-0 Conference Champion


Comments
Our surprising opening season is the obvious high point of our team’s short history, as the horrible start we endured in the first half of 2003 was too much to overcome. But the strong finish leaves us hopeful that the upcoming season will bring us back to the playoffs. We still have a lot of work to do, and are in need of upgrades throughout our roster.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Stadium Udpate
Construction continues on our deluxe stadium. Community debate on the name rages, and we’re open to suggestions. Rumor has it that naming rights are purchasable.

[Godzilla Blitz]

New House Rule
Just to add a bit of a twist to the front office situation, I have decided to add a financial house rule: I must not run the team at a net loss. I’m going to add up the profit over the years, and if ever the team dips into a loss situation, I will refrain from bidding in the 20-step free agent process until the team returns to the black. Given that we made $63.2 million last year, and $15 million this year, I don’t expect this to have a significant impact yet, but it might give me something to think about down the line.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Staff Hiring
Tony Long does not improve over the offseason, but we stay put. We believe in the guy.

Tony Long
Age: 42
Salary: $1,750,000
Years left on contract: 4

QB: 3 Young Talent: 4
RB: 3 Motivation: 5
WR: 4 Discipline: 4
OL: 4 Offensive Calls: 1
K: 3 Defensive Calls: 4
DL: 2 Injury Avoidance: 4
LB: 4
DB: 3 Overall Rating: 53.5

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.


Our scout’s contract has expired, and he is getting old, so we are definitely in the market for someone new. We like Green Bay and Atlanta’s coaches, both of whom are out of contract. I’m also tempted to go with a 31-year old scout who is reasonably strong across the board (Rating = 30), but in the end I decide to bid on the Atlanta scout. I offer $370,000 for 3 years, but Atlanta comes back with $490,000 for 3 years. Green bay has also offered their ex-scout a whopping $690,000 for five years. With our new house rule in mind, I change directions, and offer a cheap three-year deal to Alkateeb, our ex-scout. He signs immediately. This will keep our scouting cost increases to a minimum.


J.T. Alkateeb
Age: 59
Salary: $330,000
Years left on contract: 3

QB: 5
RB: 2
WR: 5
OL: 3
K: 4
DL: 2
LB: 5
DB: 5
YT: 3
Overall: 40.0

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003-2004 Finances
2003 Profit/Loss: +$15.5 million
Aggregate Profit/Loss to Date: +$78.7 million

The lack of a playoff run, and the first of five $20 million stadium payments ate away at our profit. I expect we’ll run into the red for a while as we start seeing higher salary expenditures, and still have the yearly $20 million payments.

We leave ticket prices as they are. Our performance was not good enough jack them up, and I’m not sure of the relationship between performance and attendance in FOFc.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2003-2004 Free Agency
The college draft looks especially weak this year: my scout only gives 32 players a potential rating of 60 or better, and only ten a potential of 70 or better. It looks like I will want to pick up some talent in free agency, if possible.

In looking over what’s available, there are some interesting players out there. Many of the league’s top quarterbacks are in the free agent pool, and most of them are asking for exorbitant sums of money. For example, two-time Super Bowl winner Wesley Schott (6,000 yards in two years) is in the pool. These players are clearing asking too much; as the league develops they will fall to being marginal players, but comparatively speaking, I think there is some value in looking these guys over. Signing one of them to a mid-length deal could be an excellent move.

There is also some of the league’s better talent at RB in the pool as well. A quick glance spots five guys that have rushed for more than 1,000 yards in a season sitting in free agency. Washington’s Emmitt Sullivan (2,500 yards in two years) is a familiar name that jumps out.

DE and DT seem to have some talent available as well, but elsewhere, the pickings are rather slim. There are some above average players at WR and LB, but they are asking for quite a bit of money.

I decide to see how the bidding goes, but I’ve got my eyes on Sullivan, who wants a very reasonable contract, and QB Mercury O’Donnell, New England’s ex-quarterback. Both of these guys don’t cough the ball up, and have put up some respectable numbers in the past two years. O’Donnell wants a boatload of cash, but hell, we can afford it now, and I see no one in the draft comparable in current skills, that we’ll have a chance for anyway. With us picking at #21, this guy is our best bet for an immediate upgrade at QB.

We watch the first five weeks of free agency go by, and the market is stagnant. Then in week 6, the bidding starts. We decide to get in the action, and put bids out for QB O’Donnell (3 yrs, $22 mil), RB Sullivan (3 yrs, $4 mil), RB Grier (3 yrs, $4.8 mil). Grier was Jacksonville’s top back last year, and had 1,000 yards on the ground and 400 in the air. Why they are letting him go is beyond me, but we’ll jump at the chance; although these players grade out fairly low, they should be able to move the ball for at least another couple of years, and they rank out slightly ahead of RB Horn. I can’t help but think either of these guys would be a steal at this price. We also make bids on two players that haven’t seen much action but look to have some talent: NT Hermann Wynn (3 yrs, $3.2 mil), and LB Ricky Edwards (2 yrs, $0.9 mil). Lastly, we offer a one-year deal to OLB Albert Zwillinger, who put up some decent numbers in a back-up role with Oakland last year. He can’t cover the pass, but all our SLBs are out of contract and looking for quite a bit of cash, and this guy should fit in as a good stopgap for a year or so.

RBs Grier and Sullivan sign immediately! This should give us outstanding depth at RB. Although both of these guys, on paper, rate only a touch above RB Horn, they should give us the ability to withstand injury for a reasonable price. And neither of them fumble. Our other players sit on their offers, but there is little competition for their services, so we wait them out.

LB Ricky Edwards signs in week seven, but I’m getting concerned that I might be nickel-and-diming O’Donnell. I bump up my offer to 3yrs at $22.8 mil, which he immediately takes in week eight! Yes! We have a new quarterback! His 76.4 rating last year was nothing to shout about, but he’s been perfectly healthy for the past two years, threw only 10 interceptions all last season, and is one of the league’s highest rated quarterbacks. He comes at a price, but three years won’t kill us, and by that time we should be able to find something truly worthy of starting for an NFL team.

Within the next three weeks, we sign the remainder of our players to whom we have outstanding offers.

In the back weeks, we look for bargains, and find WR Irv Gardner, a decent receiver from New England that wants a short term deal. We’ve got some competition for this guy, and offer 2 yrs at $3 mil, but the Jets outbid us and steal him out from under us. We were also eyeing a decent DE that disappeared pretty quickly as well. We put out a two-year deal to RT Harold Roby, who might have a shot at becoming a back-up tackle, and he signs immediately with us. We also lose out on a respectable DE in round 14. We make one more offer, a 2-year deal at $2.0 mil for a Junior York, a DT that is on-par with our current, unsigned DTs, but wants less money. He signs immediately.

In the last couple of weeks, we bottom feed, and look for anything that might give us a cheap upgrade. We sign three players, but the only one worth mentioning is QB Aaron Tunnell (2 yrs, 2.1 mil), who was San Diego’s starter last year. On paper, he should be able to take the backup spot from Winslett.

And that brings free agency to an end. All in all, I think we made some significant pick ups. I’m especially excited about QB O’Donnell, who should be a cut above what we’ve got so far. If we can add a receiver to help him out, we might have a respectable air show this coming year. And with Sullivan, Grier, and Horn in our backfield, we’ll have three 1,000-yard backs to hand the ball off to. Yes, three. The big question is how much of a jump in talent the league will take, and whether these guys can run the ball against what will clearly be increasingly more difficult opposition.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 College Draft
We pick at #21 this year. The draft this year looks thin, especially at QB, where there really doesn’t seem to be much of worth out there. DE seems deep however, with Conrad Del Barco, an all around beast of a man from Notre Dame, leading the pack. There are some standouts elsewhere as well, and we might consider trying to trade up if we see something exceptional drift down to the teens, but for now, we’ll wait and see. Outside of defensive backfield, we don’t have to be too picky in what we look for, as just about anything will improve our team.

Fittingly, Cincinatti has the first pick, and they take the highest rated player on the board: DT Daniel Autenrieth out of Oregon. Del Barco goes third, to Tampa Bay.

By the time it gets to our turn, most of the top talent is gone. The two high-rating players of note are what look to be an all-world TE and a FS. The safety has a noticeable weakness at zone defense, and as good at the TE looks, I’m not sure I want to burn this pick on a TE. There are a number of receivers clumped together, and a couple more safeties ranked lower that I like as well. I deal my pick to Oakland for their pick at 29, and pick up their 5th-round pick in the deal. By the time it gets to us again at #29, the TE is gone, but the safety is still there. I feel more comfortable taking a chance on him there, and so we make Drew Lynn, a free-safety out of Baylor, our first ever first-round pick.

Our picks:
1 (29). Drew Lynn, FS, Baylor.
2 (21). Oliver Ferraro, CB, Clemson.
This guy looks reliable in all areas, and should be a step up for us at CB.
3 (21). Neill Greene, TE, Ohio State
Good all-around TE, and the second-best non-kicker left in the pool. I feel much better taking a TE down here.
4 (21). Jon Thomas, FB, Washington State
Another position of secondary importance, but I’m comfortable picking up some quality at FB in the fourth round. Fair skills, but should develop into a nice run blocker.
5 (21). Claussen Kennedy, SS, Northern Iowa.
Doesn’t hit hard, can’t play special teams, and has no return skills, but otherwise this guy is pretty good. Could be a good find down here on the bottom.
5 (29). Moe Jacobs, QB, Mississippi State.
The best QB left in the draft. Not much in the way of current skills, but his upside is significantly better than anything we have on our roster now. A two- or three-year project. Worth the risk with this pick.
6 (21). Mike Nichols, WLB, Notre Dame
A fair player, but our current crop of WLBs are weak, so this guy should step right in and play.
7 (21). Donnie Woodson, K, Truman State.
Continuing a tradition of blowing 7th-round picks on kickers. This guy is accurate though. I’m convinced this is a good investment.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Training Camp 2004
We scour the leftovers, pick up some camp hopefuls, and head off to Mankato to train with the following crew. The only precamp good news is that WR Tim Brown looks to have worked out in the offseason, and comes to camp in much better shape than he did last year. QB Moe Jacobs upside does not look as big as it did before the draft, though, making me think that he is now a longshot to make the team.


Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Winslett, Freddie 10 QB 3 12 27 1 yr. 2002
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 3 17 36 2 yrs. 2004
O'Donnell, Mercury 14 QB 3 26 32 3 yrs. 2004
Heath, Ross 5 QB 2 7 29 2 yrs. 2003
Vance, Jose 4 QB 1 6 42 1 yr. 2004
Jacobs, Moe 11 QB 1 13 47 3 yrs. 2004
Grier, Paul 46 RB 3 27 33 3 yrs. 2004
Sullivan, Emmitt 20 RB 3 28 34 3 yrs. 2004
Covington, Ronnie 25 RB 2 17 26 1 yr. 2003
Horn, Shane 37 RB 2 24 27 1 yr. 2003
Degley, Ricky 21 RB 1 24 35 1 yr. 2004
Ellis, Winfred 22 RB 1 26 33 1 yr. 2004
Chaves, Marvin 47 RB 1 24 30 1 yr. 2004
Arteaga, Jorge 48 FB 2 21 25 1 yr. 2003
Littleton, Bernard 44 FB 1 16 41 1 yr. 2004
Thomas, Jon 31 FB 1 21 48 3 yrs. 2004
Schwarz, Joel 86 TE 3 20 26 1 yr. 2002
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 2 23 35 1 yr. 2003
Wilhelm, Brenden 87 TE 1 16 39 1 yr. 2004
Greene, Neil 80 TE 1 31 54 3 yrs. 2004
Brown, Tim 3 FL 2 40 47 4 yrs. 2003
Jamison, Grady 85 FL 2 19 27 1 yr. 2003
Lackey, Skip 81 FL 1 19 34 1 yr. 2004
Bradley, Steve 82 FL 1 19 32 1 yr. 2004
Fleming, Sedrick 83 SE 3 20 25 2 yrs. 2002
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 2 24 33 1 yr. 2003
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 1 23 34 1 yr. 2004
Emmons, Robert 65 LT 3 12 19 1 yr. 2002
Meier, Brett 67 LT 2 23 41 1 yr. 2003
Chaney, Jamie 78 LG 3 13 36 1 yr. 2003
Stewart, Otis 77 LG 2 17 24 1 yr. 2003
Rasmussen, Tom 50 C 3 18 46 1 yr. 2004
Pokrajac, Dustin 53 C 2 20 34 1 yr. 2003
Richardson, Monty 56 C 2 25 45 3 yrs. 2003
Newkirk, Roger 66 RG 2 13 28 1 yr. 2003
Schottlander, Charles 69 RG 2 22 32 1 yr. 2003
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 1 15 36 1 yr. 2004
Creed, Reuben 74 RT 3 18 42 2 yrs. 2004
Richmond, Todd 68 RT 3 14 38 1 yr. 2003
Roby, Harold 60 RT 3 22 35 2 yrs. 2004
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 2 22 35 1 yr. 2003
DeBerg, Sean 2 P 2 69 85 2 yrs. 2003
Cavanaugh, Will 12 K 2 24 32 1 yr. 2003
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 1 30 59 3 yrs. 2004
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 2 24 36 2 yrs. 2003
Richardson, Pete 79 LDT 3 19 23 2 yrs. 2002
Wynn, Herman 75 NT 3 27 46 3 yrs. 2004
York, Junior 96 NT 3 26 39 2 yrs. 2004
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 2 28 39 2 yrs. 2003
Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 2 23 34 3 yrs. 2003
Kolberg, Glenn 95 RDT 2 25 31 --- 2003
Hickman, Jimmy 70 RDE 3 14 19 1 yr. 2002
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 3 16 37 1 yr. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 2 30 42 4 yrs. 2003
Zwillinger, Albert 59 SLB 3 19 35 1 yr. 2004
Norton, Mark 54 SLB 2 20 31 2 yrs. 2003
Miller, Bryce 52 SLB 2 22 28 3 yrs. 2003
Kafka, T.J. 51 MLB 2 23 33 3 yrs. 2003
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 2 28 37 1 yr. 2003
Maryland, Lester 98 WLB 3 13 30 2 yrs. 2004
Edwards, Ricky 93 WLB 3 19 31 2 yrs. 2004
Wiggins, Courtney 90 WLB 2 18 26 2 yrs. 2003
Nichols, Mike 57 WLB 1 20 32 2 yrs. 2004
Whalen, Byron 99 WLB 1 16 27 1 yr. 2004
Blanchard, Otis 39 LCB 3 15 29 1 yr. 2003
Basford, Julio 43 LCB 3 11 12 1 yr. 2002
Lindsay, Steven 41 LCB 2 21 25 2 yrs. 2003
Schroeder, Richie 45 RCB 2 19 29 3 yrs. 2003
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 2 27 37 1 yr. 2003
Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 1 20 52 3 yrs. 2004
Jorbin, Graham 32 SS 3 17 26 2 yrs. 2002
Gilbert, Edgar 42 SS 2 19 30 3 yrs. 2003
Claussen, Kennedy 26 SS 1 19 43 2 yrs. 2004
Daniels, Ricardo 27 FS 2 22 37 2 yrs. 2003
Holly, Marvin 36 FS 2 13 21 2 yrs. 2003
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 1 42 61 3 yrs. 2004

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 75
On Active Roster: 75

Salary Cap: $78,100,000
Cap Room: $29,760,000
Maximum for New Player: $30,090,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $440,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $44,580,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 Camp Evaluation
Camp brings no surprises either way. Pretty much everyone stays near their expected level of play. We make some difficult cuts to get down to 53 players: FS Marvin Holly, our 5th-rounder from last year that messed up his knee; QB Ross Heath, the guy who led us to two straight wins at the end of the year; QB Moe Jacobs, one of our fifth-rounders this year, who dropped off a lot since the draft, and never showed signs of the promise that he appeared to have; RB Julio Buckner, our leading back from 2002; and LB Mike Nichols, our sixth-round pick this year.

2004 Minnesota Vikings Final Roster

Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Winslett, Freddie 10 QB 3 14 27 1 yr. 2002
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 3 20 36 2 yrs. 2004
O'Donnell, Mercury 14 QB 3 28 32 3 yrs. 2004
Grier, Paul 46 RB 3 28 33 3 yrs. 2004
Sullivan, Emmitt 20 RB 3 29 34 3 yrs. 2004
Covington, Ronnie 25 RB 2 18 26 1 yr. 2003
Horn, Shane 37 RB 2 24 27 1 yr. 2003
Degley, Ricky 21 RB 1 24 34 1 yr. 2004
Arteaga, Jorge 48 FB 2 22 25 1 yr. 2003
Thomas, Jon 31 FB 1 22 46 3 yrs. 2004
Schwarz, Joel 86 TE 3 21 26 1 yr. 2002
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 2 24 35 1 yr. 2003
Greene, Neil 80 TE 1 34 51 3 yrs. 2004
Brown, Tim 3 FL 2 43 47 4 yrs. 2003
Jamison, Grady 85 FL 2 21 27 1 yr. 2003
Bradley, Steve 82 FL 1 20 29 1 yr. 2004
Fleming, Sedrick 83 SE 3 21 25 2 yrs. 2002
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 2 26 33 1 yr. 2003
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 1 25 34 1 yr. 2004
Emmons, Robert 65 LT 3 13 19 1 yr. 2002
Meier, Brett 67 LT 2 25 41 1 yr. 2003
Chaney, Jamie 78 LG 3 14 36 1 yr. 2003
Stewart, Otis 77 LG 2 19 24 1 yr. 2003
Rasmussen, Tom 50 C 3 20 46 1 yr. 2004
Richardson, Monty 56 C 2 26 45 3 yrs. 2003
Schottlander, Charles 69 RG 2 23 32 1 yr. 2003
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 1 18 37 1 yr. 2004
Creed, Reuben 74 RT 3 20 42 2 yrs. 2004
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 2 24 35 1 yr. 2003
DeBerg, Sean 2 P 2 71 85 2 yrs. 2003
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 1 32 56 3 yrs. 2004
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 2 25 36 2 yrs. 2003
York, Junior 96 LDT 3 25 39 2 yrs. 2004
Wynn, Herman 75 NT 3 29 46 3 yrs. 2004
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 2 31 39 2 yrs. 2003
Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 2 25 34 3 yrs. 2003
Hickman, Jimmy 70 RDE 3 15 19 1 yr. 2002
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 3 17 37 1 yr. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 2 32 42 4 yrs. 2003
Zwillinger, Albert 59 SLB 3 21 35 1 yr. 2004
Miller, Bryce 52 SLB 2 23 28 3 yrs. 2003
Kafka, T.J. 51 MLB 2 24 33 3 yrs. 2003
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 2 30 37 1 yr. 2003
Edwards, Ricky 93 WLB 3 21 31 2 yrs. 2004
Wiggins, Courtney 90 WLB 2 20 26 2 yrs. 2003
Basford, Julio 43 LCB 3 12 12 1 yr. 2002
Schroeder, Richie 45 RCB 2 20 29 3 yrs. 2003
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 2 29 37 1 yr. 2003
Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 1 22 48 3 yrs. 2004
Jorbin, Graham 32 SS 3 18 26 2 yrs. 2002
Claussen, Kennedy 26 SS 1 21 41 2 yrs. 2004
Daniels, Ricardo 27 FS 2 24 37 2 yrs. 2003
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 1 43 58 3 yrs. 2004

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 53
On Active Roster: 53

Salary Cap: $78,100,000
Cap Room: $32,340,000
Maximum for New Player: $32,600,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $1,250,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $860,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $37,900,000


Evaluation
Well, we’re stronger than last year, that much is for sure, but so is every other team in the league. I think we’ve got some good talent to play the kind of ball that I think can do well in this low talent league: win the turnover battle, win the time of possession battle, and protect the football. We’ve got some hard hitters and interception specialists on defense, and have added three solid players to our previously weak defensive backfield. We’re still weak at linebacker, and I’ll have to address that next year, but our offense should be significantly better than last year, and the players we added all can protect the football. Should be an interesting year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 Preseason
We win 3 of 4 preseason games, but come through with a half dozen injuries that linger until opening day. We’re especially thin on the DL, where Walnunas, York, and Hickman are dinged up bad enough that they’ll miss most of the first three games.

O’Donnell will get the start, as expected, at QB. Winslett and Tunnell showed nothing that impressed me enough to change my mind. At RB, undrafted free agent Ricky Degley impressed everyone, and should definitely see action this year.

On defense, our three rookies in the backfield all held their own, and will start our opener. On to the regular season we go!

2004 Season Outlook
I’m optimistic this year. Our roster gets graded a “50” by the experts, but I feel we have depth and the kind of “hidden attributes” that can win in the league given its relative lack of talent. Our offense is designed to hold onto the ball, and our defense is designed to take it away. I really think we can win in this league. I don’t think we are the best, as there is too much first round talent that we haven’t been able to get our hands on drafting from #31 and #21, respectively, over the last two years. In short, I think a Super Bowl would be unlikely. Our more realistic goal: at least one playoff win.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 1: Chicago (0-0) at Minnesota (0-0)
Line: 1-point favorites
Preview
We patch together a defensive front with the help of some LBs moving in at defensive end, and make final adjustments for opening game. After last year’s horrible start, it would be nice to get out of the gate fast this year.

The series is tied, 2-2.

Result
Chicago draws first blood with a long TD drive on their second possession to take a 7-0 lead. Inexplicably, on our next possession, we go for a 4th and 3 from our own 37, fail, and hand Chicago a golden opportunity. They take the free three points to go up 10-0. O’Donnell gets us going in the second quarter, and finishes off drives of 74 and 94 yards with TD passes to RB Sullivan and WR Bradely. We go to the half up, 14-10.

Defenses hold in the third quarter, but Chicago does manage to get close enough for two field goal attempts, both of which they thankfully miss. Midway through the fourth quarter, O’Donnell engineers another long TD drive, culminating with a TD strike to WR Brown, to put us up 21-10 with seven and a half minutes to play. Chicago fights back though, and drives quickly downfield for a field goal to pull within eight. We get the ball back and RB Sullivan goes to work, chewing up clock and yardage with grinding runs. We stall, though, and line up for a game-clinching field goal. Chicago blocks the kick, and takes over at our 45 with exactly 2 minutes to go. Damn. Their offense tears through our defense like it doesn’t exist, and with 1 minute to go, they score a TD and get the conversion to tie, 21-21. We get the ball back, and O’Donnell promptly throws an interception deep in our end. Chicago runs straight ahead for short gains, then kicks the winning field goal as time expires. We lose, 24-21. God damn it. I hate the fucking Bears.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (24-38, 247 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int) was outstanding until that last interception, which incidentally was the only turnover of the game…RB Sullivan (16-99 yards) was everything we hoped he would be…WR Tim Brown (5 catches, 88 yards, 1 TD), and WR Grady Jamison (6 catches, 66 yards) led our receiving corps…The post-game radio shows were all over head coach Tony Long for his decision to go for it on 4th and 3 from our 37 early in the game. Many callers severely criticized his play calling ability: “He knows we’re a conservative, ball control team. That kind of play is not in the game plan. What a maroon!”…The locker room was deadly quiet after the game. What a crappy way to start the year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 2: Minnesota (0-1) at Indianapolis (0-1)
Line: 2-point underdogs
Preview
We’re sticking with our lineup, but have to move some personnel to cover a couple of new injuries, and our defensive front is still banged up. Looking for a win to get back on track.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
We get out of the gate fast, as we rack up 100 yards of offense and 10 points on our first two possessions. Indianapolis storms right back to match us, though, and quickly we are tied at 10-10. O’Donnell gets quick revenge, as he takes us the length of the field, and then finds rookie TE Neil Greene in the endzone for a 17-10 lead at the half.

The second half belongs to our defense, as we end Indianapolis’ only drive with an interception. Frustratingly, K Woodson missed a 29-yard field goal with 2 minutes to go that would have iced the game, but this week our opponent could manage no heroics, and we win 17-10. We return to level, at 1-1.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (20-26, 186 yards, 2 TDs, 0 int), RB Sullivan (19-89 yards), RB Grier (12-80 yards), and WR Brown (6 catches, 78 yards) led our balanced offense (185 yards rushing; 186 yards passing)…Both Indianapolis (232 yards passing) and Chicago (226 yards passing) have torched our inexperienced secondary, but we are stopping the run well…Back-up DE Archie Hougan had three sacks on the day.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 3: Atlanta (0-2) at Minnesota (1-1)
Line: 2-point favorites
Preview
Atlanta has struggled early, but looks to have a fairly strong team. We’re looking to get above .500.

Minnesota leads the series, 1-0.

Result
Atlanta moves the ball early in the first quarter, but penalties push them out of our red zone, and they miss the ensuing field goal. Neither team’s offense moves much after that, but Atlanta’s punter shanks a kick that gives us great field position late in the first quarter. O’Donnell makes quick work of the short field, and hits WR Brown for a TD strike and a 7-0 lead. Atlanta’s kicker would shank another one on the next drive, and we repeat the procedure; this time O’Donnell connects with WR Cunningham for a TD. Two possessions later, the Atlanta punter does it again, and once again we convert it into a TD, as FB Jim Thomas runs one in for 7. We would add a field goal before the half, and go to the locker room with a commanding 24-0 lead.

Atlanta would manage a couple of field goals in the second half, but we would we add a pair ourselves, and rookie CB Kennedy Claussen takes an interception in for a TD to make the final score 37-6. Our biggest rout ever, and we stand at 2-1!

Key Stats
Our defense held Atlanta to 126 total yards of offense on the day, breaking the league record for fewest yards allowed in a game…Atlanta’s punter (11 punts, 33.5 avg.) was horrible…With the addition of P DeBerg last year, and the addition of some good kick and punt returners this year, we have added a strong special teams element to our field position game. Today, we were picking up 20 yards or more each time we exchanged punts…QB Mercury O’Donnell (21-29, 234 yards, 2 TDs, 0 int) was brilliant in leading our offense today…Our defense picked up 6 sacks on the day.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 4: Minnesota (2-1) at Philadelphia (2-1)
Line: 2-point underdogs
Preview
Philadelphia has been stingy with giving up yards through the air, but their opposition has not been the strongest.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
O’Donnell takes us 74 yards on the opening drive and finishes with a quick TD strike to TE Neil Greene. Our defense frustrates Philadelphia all half, as we shut down the run and pass, and get two interceptions that lead to more Minnesota points. At the half, we’re up 13-0.

The second half is more of the same, as Philadelphia goes nowhere against our swarming defense, and our offense is able to control the ball and move the chains. The only time Philadelphia drives deep into our territory, the drive ends in an interception. We add a couple of field goals, and O’Donnell hits WR Cunningham for a 51-yard TD bomb to ice the game. We get our first shutout, and win 26-0, to go 3-1 on the year.

Key Stats
Philadephia had the ball nine times: 6 punts, 3 interceptions, and 1 drive ended with the end of the game…QB O’Donnell (24-32, 254 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints), RB Sullivan (20-103 yards), and TE Neil Greene (5-44 yards, 1 TD) led our offensive effort…We won the turnover battle 3-0, and had control of the ball for 37 minutes to Philly’s 23…Rookie FS Drew Lynn led our defense with 2 interceptions…Things seem to be clicking, as we win our third in a row…Although our scout keeps telling me that he is “very concerned about our starting QB”, at this early stage in the season, Mercury O’Donnell leads the NFL with a 112.7 rating! Wow! Maybe he is worth $8 mil/year?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 5: Green Bay (2-2) at Minnesota (3-1)
Line: 8-point favorites
Preview
Green Bay brings RB Matt Delgado, the NFL Player of 2003, into the Metrodome. Delgado versatility as a receiver makes him a double threat, as he already has 17 catches for 176 yards so far this year. Their relatively weak passing attack has gotten them off to a mediocre start, as their quarterback, Mitchell Potson, has only completed 45% of his passes. They swept the series last year on their way to the NFC North title. We are looking for some payback, and looking to drop them below .500.

The series is tied 2-2.

Result
The first half is played about as evenly as a game can be played, as each team picks up a field goal and a TD to go the to the locker room tied at 10-10. Green Bay has good success with the run, as Delgado is just mowing us down. We moved the ball through the air, as O’Donnell picked apart the Green Bay secondary.

Both team’s defenses pick it up in the second half, but our defense dominates the Green Bay offense, shutting them down on their first six possessions of the second half. O’Donnell isn’t able to move our offense that well, but we do get close enough for two field goals to take a 16-10 lead late in the game. Green Bay gets the ball on their 20, with 1:10 left in the game and no time outs, and things are looking pretty good for us. But…

QB Potson connects on a 61-yard pass to get the ball immediately to our 19-yard line. Five plays later he connects for a TD pass, and Green Bay wins with a heartbreaking comeback, 17-16. We fall to 3-2.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (17-31, 192 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) was reasonably effective, although our offense broke down in the red zone on two of its three chances…Green Bay’s Delgado (18-74 yards) was unstoppable in the first half, but had little success in the second half…WR Cunningham (6-69 yards) lead our receivers…We lost the turnover battle, 2-1. Although we aren’t giving up the ball much, we haven’t been taking it away at the rate I had hoped…Rookie FS Drew Lynn picked off his third pass of the year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 6: Bye. We’re pretty beat up from last week’s game, and the week to heal will help. Next week: Dallas, in Dallas!

Week 7: Minnesota (3-2) at Dallas (4-2)
Line: 3-point favorites
Preview
Dallas’ did not make the playoffs in 2002, but finished 10-6 last year and made the playoffs as a Wildcard team. They beat Seattle to advance to Divisional play, but Green Bay squeaked by them, 7-6, to end their season. This year, they are out of the gate at 4-2, and looking to contend for the NFC East title. Their success has come mostly from the grinding running of undrafted free agent Wade McGregor (659 yards, 4.77 avg., 3 TDs), who currently leads the NFL in rushing. We’ll need to stop him if we are to win this game.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
The first quarter is all Dallas, as they run and pass at will against us. We can do nothing, and end the quarter with only one first down. Fortunately, our defense is able to hang on once Dallas gets down in our end of the field. They manage only two field goal attempts, one of which they miss. We end the quarter down, 3-0. In the second quarter we catch a break, as we block another Dallas field goal attempt and get good position at the Dallas 47. Our offense rises to the task, driving down inside the red zone for a field goal to tie the game, 3-3. Both defenses take charge from there, and we go to the half still knotted at 3-3.

WR Zwillinger returns the second half kickoff 78 yards to give us a great opportunity. Unfortunately, we break down again inside the 20, and settle for a field goal and a 6-3 lead. Things stay this way until late in the third quarter, when Dallas gets everything together and goes on a 60-yard TD drive to take a 10-6 lead. Our offense is stagnant the rest of the way, and our last gasp drive runs out of time at midfield. We lose to Dallas 10-6. Sorry, Kodos.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (16-35, 147 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) had his worst day as a starter. Although Dallas only recorded two sacks, they hurried him 7 times to account for some of the troubles. But often he simply missed people, which he hasn’t done to date…We have now only one TD in our last five trips to the red zone…Our running game went nowhere (69 yards)…We committed 9 penalties for 87 yards…Dallas did not turn the ball over.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 8: Washington (2-4) at Minnesota (3-3)
Line: 7-point favorites
Preview
Washington has won the NFC East two years in a row, but they have faltered out of the gate this year, mostly due to a horrible offensive effort. They have scored the fewest points in the NFL.

We lead the series, 2-0.

Result
Washington catches a break on the first possession of the game, as they fumble, but pick up the ball and take it 37 yards for a quick 7-0 lead. O’Donnell makes the lead disappear immediately as he hits WR Tim Brown on a quick out that Brown turns into a 51-yard TD to even the score, 7-7. However, our defense is asleep, as we let Washington push us around for the remainder of the half. They roll all over us, and put up 10 points for a 17-7 halftime lead.

Washington would continue to pick apart our defense in the third quarter, but fortunately all they end up with is 3 points. Still, we do not appear to have come to play today. Finally, as the fourth quarter begins, O’Donnell takes us the length of the field for a TD to pull within 6 points at 20-14. Washington would continue driving for the rest of the game though, and add a field goal for which we have no answer. We lose our third game in a row, 23-14, and fall to 3-4. So much for Washington’s weak offense.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (18-32, 211 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints) was mistake free on the day, and we were able to move the ball through the air. Our ground game (36 yards) was atrocious, however. … Washington rushed for 170 yards and passed for 175 yards, while holding the ball for 37 minutes of game time. … Once again, we get no turnovers. … With us down by 9 points, and a little over 2 minutes to go, head coach Tony Long called two running plays up the middle. … His reputation is falling fast. … One a positive note, WR Tim Brown (4-102 yards, 1 TD) had his first 100-yard receiving day. … DE Warren Lyons had three sacks on the day.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 9: New York Jets (6-1) at Minnesota (3-4)
Line: 3-point underdogs
Preview
The Jets have been steadily improving over the past two years. They were under .500 in 2002, but came on strong to get a Wildcard berth last year. They lost to Carolina in that round, but are looking strong so far this year. They currently lead the NFC East. This is a team that doesn’t excel at anything, but rather does everything above average, and contains no weaknesses.

Our team is—for the first time that I can recall—completely healthy. We’re putting our best people on the field now, and are frantically trying to end this 3-game losing skid.

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
New York holds onto the ball for the first seven and a half minutes of the game, but ends up missing an easy field goal. We reply with a drive that stalls in New York territory, but K Woodson nails a long field goal to give us a 3-0 lead. We follow another easy miss by New York with a 71-yard TD drive capped by an Emmitt Sullivan run, to give us a 10-0 lead. CB Basford picks off two New York passes on the subsequent drives, and we manage to tack on another 3 points. At the half, it’s us, 13-0.

Our defense excels in the second half, and our offense does an adequate job on controlling the ball. We each manage one field goal in the uneventful half, and we win an easy one to break our losing streak, 16-3. We rise to 4-4.

Key Stats
QB O’Donnell (20-24, 188 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) couldn’t miss, and RB Emmitt Sulivan (21-88 yards, 1 TD) added the ground game to go with it. … CB Basford picked off two passes to lead the defense. … WR Grady Jamison (6-93 yards) had a fine day receiving.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Midseason Report
Fortunately for us, no one team has dominated the NFC North. Chicago leads the division at 5-3. We set in second at 4-4. Green Bay and Detroit each lie 3-5. Injury-wise, we’re in excellent shape at this point. With eight games to go, we are still very much in the playoff hunt, but our best option is clearly going to be to get in the playoffs via an NFC North title. We’ve got four divisional games left, and we start out with a big one next week against Chicago.


2004 Summary for Minnesota Vikings

Record: 4-4
Winning Pct.: .500

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 230 15 (T)
Rushing Yards 927 12 (T)
Yards Per Carry 4.03 14
Pass Attempts 247 27
Completions 160 14 (T)
Passing Yards 1659 11
Yards Per Attempt 6.71 5
3rd Down Conversions 35.7 12
Points Per Game 19.1 6
Turnovers 7 1
Turnover Margin +2 11 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 206 8
Rushing Yards 886 16
Yards Per Carry 4.30 28
Pass Attempts 262 11
Completions 148 6
Passing Yards 1404 7
Yards Per Attempt 5.35 5
3rd Down Conversions 34.1 17 (T)
Points Per Game 11.6 3
Turnovers 9 29 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 21 CHI 24
2 17 at IND 10
3 37 ATL 6
4 26 at PHI 0
5 16 GBY 17
7 6 at DAL 10
8 14 WAS 23
9 16 NYK 3
10 at CHI
11 DET
12 at JAX
13 at STL
14 TEN
15 at DET
16 HOU
17 at GBY

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
14 O'Donnell QB 247 160 1659 6.71 12 4
**Team --- 247 160 1659 6.71 12 4

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
20 Sullivan RB 127 570 4.48 1
46 Grier RB 59 254 4.30 0
14 O'Donnell QB 20 43 2.15 0
**Team --- 230 927 4.03 2

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Brown WR 51 28 465 16.6 99 3
80 Greene TE 39 27 206 7.6 44 2
85 Jamison WR 36 26 326 12.5 34 1
7 Cunningham WR 26 17 218 12.8 34 2
20 Sullivan RB 21 13 60 4.6 36 2
46 Grier RB 18 15 107 7.1 32 0
31 Thomas FB 18 12 53 4.4 15 0
89 Osborne TE 15 9 85 9.4 8 1
82 Bradley WR 14 7 109 15.5 26 1
48 Arteaga FB 8 6 30 5.0 16 0
**Team --- 247 160 1659 10.3 344 12

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
51 Kafka ILB 46 15 0.0 0 1 4
52 Miller OLB 36 16 5.5 4 0 5
75 Wynn DT 32 10 5.0 5 0 1
29 Lynn S 31 6 0.0 0 3 1
43 Basford CB 25 3 0.0 2 2 2
45 Schroeder CB 22 8 0.0 1 1 5
23 Ferraro CB 22 8 0.0 0 0 1
71 Lyons DE 21 11 8.5 5 0 0
26 Claussen S 21 12 0.0 1 1 3
93 Edwards OLB 20 4 0.0 0 0 1
92 Laurain DT 18 12 1.5 4 0 0
59 Zwillinger OLB 14 1 1.0 2 0 0
33 Douglas CB 12 4 0.0 0 0 0
27 Daniels S 12 1 0.0 0 0 1
73 Harlow DT 11 3 1.5 2 0 0
91 Dougan DE 9 5 3.0 6 0 0
**Team --- 423 134 31.0 41 8 26


Notes
Our offense, which is designed not to turn the ball over, has done an excellent job of doing just that. Our defense, on the other hand, must start taking the ball away more.

Our passing attack has been very effective, and O’Donnell (93.4 rating) still leads the NFL. His nearest rival, Randall Scott of Miami, is rated 83.4.

WR Brown’s game is showing constant improvement. It looks as if the man is maturing into a solid NFL receiver.

RB Emmitt Sullivan has done a solid job on the ground for us, but our running game on the whole has been merely average.

Our clear weakness is stopping the run, and this, more than anything else, comes from a weakness at LB, where we have yet to draft anyone that has made the team. A MLB that can stuff the run is a clear need for next year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 10: Minnesota (4-4) at Chicago (5-3)
Line: 3-point favorites
Preview
Although there are eight games left, this one stands out as critical. We already lost to Chicago earlier in the year, as we blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. If we lose this game, we’ll be two back of them with seven to go, but will automatically lose any tiebreaker against them, meaning that we’ll effectively be 3 games back. This is a must game.

The weather is perfect for football: 62 degrees and sunny. We are reasonably healthy. There are no excuses.

Chicago leads the series, 3-2, and has won three straight.

Result
Chicago takes their opening possession the length of the field for a TD. We chip away with some field goals, then FS Drew Lynn picks off and errant Chicago pass and takes 58-yards for a TD to give us a 12-7 lead. Chicago replies by driving the length of the field for a TD to take a 13-12 lead, but in a see-saw first half, we answer with a field goal just before the half to take a 15-13 lead into the locker room.

Chicago comes out fired up in the second half, though, and drives 80 yards in four minutes, then takes 8 minutes off the clock in a long field goal drive. At the end of the third quarter, they lead 23-15. The coup de grace comes when they block a punt deep in our territory. Their offense covers the remaining six yards for yet another TD, and we go down 30-15. Our offense has no reply, and that’s the way the game ends. We fall to 4-5, and have dug ourselves a huge hole.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (25-33, 230 yards, 0 TDs, 2 int) had a decent day, but couldn’t get the job done on third down; we were 2-12 on conversions. … Chicago, on the other hand, rolled up 27 first downs, and converted 5 out of 9 third down chances. …RB Paul Grier (17-86 yards) had a solid day on the ground, and back-up TE Andrew Osborne (7-73 yards) led our receivers. … Frustrating game, as the numbers for both teams are fairly even; we just couldn’t get it done on third down, and most of the time it seemed that we fell just one yard short. … LT Robert Emmons, who has been playing a solid left tackle for us since 2002 despite limited ability, injured his left knee, and will need major reconstructive surgery that will keep him off the playing field until late in 2005. Ouch.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 11: Detroit (4-5) at Minnesota (4-5)
Line: 10-point favorites.
Preview
After a blazing start in 2002, Detroit has done nothing but struggle. That year they finished 8-8, and last year the best they could manage was 6-10. This year, so far, has been much of the same. We’re hoping to keep their franchise on the losing track.

The series is tied, 2-2.

Result
In nearly a perfectly matched first half, both teams rack up one TD and a field goal. We would own the third quarter though, as we control the ball for 13 minutes in two long scoring drives. We lead 20-10. Detroit would not be denied, however, as they score a quick TD to pull within three as we start the fourth quarter. RB Emmitt Sullivan, who had an outstanding day, would break a 49-yard run on the next possession, and O’Donnell would follow it with his third TD pass of the day to put us too far in front, 27-17. We would add a field goal for insurance later, and win pulling away, 30-17. We’re back at .500.

Key Stats
RB Emmitt Sullivan (25-152 yards) shattered our team record for rushing yards in a game; he broke Shane Horn’s record of 127 yards set last year. … O’Donnell (20-32, 138 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int) was able to find the endzone effectively today. We have struggled in the redzone all year. … Our ground game racked up 214 yards on the day. … Back-up TE Andrew Osborne (6-33 yards, 1 TD), playing in place of our injured rookie TE, led our receivers for the second straight week.

Chicago lost to fall to 6-4. We may not be out of this yet, but the Wildcard looks unlikely, as both Dallas and St. Louis are at 7-3 and playing well.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 12: Minnesota (5-5) at Jacksonville (5-5)
Line: 4-point favorites
Preview
This will be a rematch of Super Bowl I, which we lost. Jacksonville, winners of last year’s Super Bowl as well, has fallen on tougher times this year, mainly because they did not deign to pay the big bucks to resign their QB, Wesley Schott, or their RB, Paul Grier. Instead they went with players that slipped through the free agent process. This dubious strategy looks to have hurt their performance significantly.

Jacksonville leads the series, 1-0.

Result
The first quarter consists of two long TD drives by each offense, each one taking about 7 minutes. O’Donnell caps ours off with a nice pass to WR Tim Brown. The second quarter, though, belongs to Jacksonville, as O’Donnell throws three interceptions, and Jacksonville turns them into two field goals and a TD. Just before the half we get a gift, as Jacksonville fumbles deep in their end, and we take a quick field goal as time expires. Still, we go to the half, down 20-10.

In the third quarter we manage a field goal, but Jacksonville answers with one of their own. Our offense just can’t get anything going until late in the game, when O’Donnell takes us down the field for a TD with one minute to go. Jacksonville recovers the onside kick, and then proceeds to run for first downs to kill the clock. We lose, 23-20.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (24-36, 279 yards, 2 TDs, 3 int) had a fine day, except for that costly second quarter. … WR Tim Brown (6-66 yards, 2 TDs) led our receiving corps. … We outgained Jacksonville on the day, 379 yards to 300, but could not overcome the turnovers.

Chicago managed to lose again, and despite our bad record, we are not out of this yet. It’s almost embarrassing, but with a strong finish we could make the playoffs easily. The difficulty will be getting some momentum.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 13: Minnesota (5-6) at St. Louis (8-3)
Line: 6-point underdogs
Preview
St. Louis looks to have gotten things together, after finishing near .500 the past two years. This year they bring a strong passing attack, led by QB Dean Lorz, who was let go by Kansas City last year.

We decide to emphasize our passing game a bit more in this game, as we seem to be moving the ball a lot better through the air than on the ground.

St. Louis leads the series, 1-0.

Result
Things start out bad, as O’Donnell tosses an interception on our first series of downs. St. Louis promptly marches the remaining 37 yards for a quick 7-0 lead. Our offense goes nowhere for the next 25 minutes of play, and St. Louis manages to add three points to their lead during that time. Right before the half, CB Douglas picks of a St. Louis pass to give us great field position. O’Donnell gets us close, and Emmitt Sulivan runs it in for a rejuvenating TD. We go to the half, down 10-7.

In the third quarter, our defense sets us up again, and this time O’Donnell hits TE Andrew Osborne on a 7-yard strike to put us in front, 14-10. We each score TDs on our next possessions, and we head to the fourth quarter, up 21-17. RB Grier fumbles deep in our own end though at the beginning of the quarter, and St. Louis is quick to capitalize for a TD that puts them in front, 24-17. We manage a field goal to tie the game with 6 minutes to go. From there, we wind down to 1:49 left in the game, as St. Louis takes over at their own 36. The inability to win the close games has plagued us for the past two years, and the theme continues here: St. Louis marches the length of the field for a TD and wins, 31-24. Aaaaargh! We fall to 5-7.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (26-43, 280 yards, 2 TDs, 2 int) had a good day, but the lack of a running game (46 yards, 2.5 yards/carry) hurt us. … We lost the turnover battle, 3-2, although St. Louis fumbled three times. … Very frustrating to lose so many close games at the end. I’m not sure how we can turn this around. Our franchise is going in the wrong direction.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 14: Tennessee (4-8) at Minnesota (5-7)
Line: 5-point favorites
Preview
Tennessee had a rough year in 2002, then rebounded to reach .500 last year. This year, it does not look like they will be that fortunate. They have a fairly potent offense, but a poor defense.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Tennessee goes the length of the field on their opening possession for a TD and a 7-0 lead. We go nowhere in the first quarter. I mean nowhere. Tennessee adds a field goal in the second quarter. We again go nowhere. We have 3 first downs all half, and go to the locker room trailing 10-0.

Neither team is able to muster much offense in the third quarter. We dodge a bullet by forcing a Tennessee fumble deep in our end, but our offense is making their defense look like All-Pros. We get a few first downs, but can’t get anywhere close to scoring. The fourth quarter is much the same, and Tennessee adds a field goal to finish us off, 13-0. Things are spiraling from bad to worse.

Key Stats
O’Donnell (23-40, 179 yards, 0 TDs, 2 int) is not able to get the third down passes when we need them. So often he elects to hit an outlet man for 3 yards when we need eight or more. … We had 14 possessions in the game: 2 times the clock ran out on us; 1 time we lost the ball on downs; 2 times we were intercepted; 8 times we punted; and 1 time—our best effort—we missed a 54-yard field goal. … The mood in the locker room was horrible after the game. … The media are all over coach Long’s play calling. … We are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. … It has been a very long year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 15: Minnesota (5-8) at Detroit (5-8)
Line: 1-point favorites
Preview
Detroit continues to struggle, and we are looking to sweep the season series.

O’Donnell’s ratings and confidence are going south fast, so we give Winslett a chance to see what he can do. We also focus on getting playing time for guys who could use the development time and have a chance to be with us next year.

Result
Winslett leads us down the field for a quick field goal and a 3-0 lead, but that would be the high point of the half. Detroit answers with a field goal of their own, then Winslett throws two interceptions, both of which get run back for TDs. Detroit’s offense adds a TD drive of their own as well, and we go to the locker room down 24-3.

The third quarter would see us add a field goal, and see us shut down Detroit’s offense, but in the fourth quarter we can’t get anything going. As a coup de grace, Winslett throws another interception that gets taken back for a TD. It’s just painful to watch this team implode. We lose 31-6.

Key Stats
Winslett (21-40, 179 yards, 0 TDs, 3 int) had a brutal day. … Our offense converted only 2 of 14 third down chances. … We actually equaled Detroit in terms of total yards, but three defensive TDs for Detroit pretty much buried our chances of winning.

Elsewhere, Green Bay has won six in a row, and can clinch the NFC North for the second year in a row with a win next week.

What a crappy season this is turning out to be. So very frustrating.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 16: Houston (7-7) at Minnesota (5-9)
Line: 1-point favorites
Preview
The team is in a funk now, and everyone just wants this season to end. We continue to mix our lineup to maximize development time. We give Aaron Tunnell a shot at QB.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
The first quarter starts out badly, as Houston hits on a 50-yard pass to set up an early TD. Our offense struggles, but we catch a break when LB Al Zwillinger drills a Houston running back to cause a fumble, then picks up the ball and races 23 yards for a game-tying TD. We trade field goal drives after that, but Houston goes on a roll late in the half, getting a 79-yard TD run and a field goal to go up 20-10. In the first half alone, they rack up 300 yards of offense. We are lucky to be in this game.

Perhaps the beating we took in the first half was enough to turn our frustration into an effective rage, because miraculously, the tables turn in the second half. QB Tunnell finds a rhythm and takes our offense on an 80-yard drive to open play, then follows it with a 60-yard field goal drive. Our defense holds Houston to no first downs in the entire quarter, and as we head to the fourth quarter, we are now tied, 20-20. Things continue our way in the fourth quarter. We drive for another field goal, then recover a Houston fumble deep in their end. We capitalize on it with a clutch TD run to go up. 30-20 with 7 minutes to go. Houston manages a field goal to pull within 7, but K Woodson would drill a 54-yard kick to ice the game minutes later. We snap our 4-game losing streak, 33-23!

Key Stats
QB Tunnell (22-29, 203 yards, 1 TD, 0 int) was outstanding, especially in the second half, where I believe he didn’t miss a completion. … RB Sullivan (15-88 yards) now has 995 yards on the year, and needs 63 yards to break the team record set last year by RB Shane Horn. … We had no turnovers on the day, but took away 2 Houston fumbles.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 17: Minnesota (6-9) at Green Bay (10-5)
Line: 6-point underdogs
Preview
It’s only 11 degrees out there in Lambaugh for today’s game. The game has playoff implications for Green Bay, who would get a bye with a win here and a Dallas loss. We would love to make them play next week. We’ll start Tunnell again at QB, but have decided to start RB Paul Grier instead of Sullivan, although Sullivan should get enough carries to get his 1,000 yards in any case. For Green Bay, star RB Matt Delgado is injured and will not play.

Green Bay leads the series, 3-2; they have won three in a row against us.

Result
Things start out badly for us, as Green Bay goes the length of the field for a TD. Tunnell then tosses an interception that Green Bay runs in for another TD. At the end of the first quarter, we are down 14-0. In the second quarter, Tunnell hits WR Steve Bradley on a 48-yard TD bomb to bring us within 7. We would follow that with a field goal to go to halftime down 14-10.

Green Bay opens the second half by traveling the length of the field for a TD, but Tunnell throws another TD bomb—this one to WR Tim Brown—to get us back to within four points. However, on our next possession, Tunnell throws another TD pass, but unfortunately this one went to a Green Bay defensive back. We fall behind 28-17 as we go to the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, Tunnell would throw another interception to give Green Bay a field goal and a 14-point lead, before leading us down the field for a meaningless TD as time expires. We lose 31-24.

Key Stats
Tunnell (22-36, 263 yards, 3 TDs, 4 ints) threw enough interceptions to remind me why O’Donnell started in place of him. … RB Emmitt Sullivan got 24 yards in a back-up role to finish the year with 1,019 yards. … Back-up WR Steve Bradley (5-86 yards, 1 TD) had a fine day. … All-Pro RG tore his ACL and looks to be done forever. …We had more total yards than Green Bay had, but obviously it is difficult to win when your QB throws four interceptions.

With that, our tremendously disappointing season comes to a close.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 Final Standings

AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Pittsburgh 10 5 1 .656 370 254 7-4-1 4-1-1
Cincinnati 7 8 1 .469 246 233 5-6-1 4-1-1
Cleveland 7 9 0 .438 248 297 6-6 3-3
Baltimore 4 12 0 .250 217 293 2-10 0-6

AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Jacksonville 8 7 1 .531 345 335 6-6 2-4
Houston 8 8 0 .500 239 245 6-6 5-1
Indianapolis 8 8 0 .500 303 230 7-5 3-3
Tennessee 7 9 0 .438 231 267 4-8 2-4

AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Miami 11 5 0 .688 415 340 9-3 3-3
Buffalo 10 6 0 .625 292 298 8-4 3-3
New England 9 7 0 .563 270 243 7-5 3-3
New Jersey 5 11 0 .313 260 321 4-8 3-3

AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
San Diego 10 6 0 .625 306 289 7-5 3-3
Kansas City 10 6 0 .625 248 224 6-6 2-4
Oakland 8 8 0 .500 259 315 6-6 4-2
Denver 6 10 0 .375 244 288 5-7 3-3

NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Green Bay 11 5 0 .688 303 252 7-5 4-2
Chicago 9 6 1 .594 292 279 8-4 3-3
Detroit 6 10 0 .375 236 281 6-6 4-2
Minnesota 6 10 0 .375 305 292 4-8 1-5

NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tampa Bay 8 8 0 .500 248 249 5-7 3-3
New Orleans 5 11 0 .313 228 294 5-7 4-2
Carolina 5 11 0 .313 240 288 3-9 2-4
Atlanta 4 12 0 .250 223 369 3-9 3-3

NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Dallas 10 5 1 .656 261 216 7-4-1 4-2
New York 10 6 0 .625 260 228 8-4 4-2
Philadelphia 6 10 0 .375 226 265 5-7 2-4
Washington 6 10 0 .375 202 304 4-8 2-4

NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Seattle 14 2 0 .875 326 210 11-1 5-1
St. Louis 10 6 0 .625 349 275 8-4 4-2
San Francisco 8 8 0 .500 278 242 4-8 0-6
Arizona 7 8 1 .469 293 247 7-4-1 3-3


Comments
Things went downhill quickly after our optimistic 3-1 start, where we rolled over some of our opponents. Just as I am confused as to how we made a Super Bowl run two years ago, I’m equally confused as to how this team played so badly. Interestingly, despite going 6-10, we scored more total points than we gave up (305-292). I guess all we need to do is to rearrange how we score the points.

The good news behind all this is that we’ll get a top ten draft pick, and if the tie-breakers work the way I think they should, we’ll have the 6th pick in the draft. Maybe we can find the quarterback for our future?

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 Playoffs
Pittsburg wins Super Bowl III over Seattle, 14-10. This makes three straight years that the AFC has won the Super Bowl. Jacksonville lost to Buffalo in the Wildcard round to end their hopes of winning three straight Super Bowls. Green Bay lost to the Jets in divisional play, which made us feel good. Dallas lost to St. Louis in the Wildcard round. Which also gave us warm fuzzy feelings of joy.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 Team Summary

Record: 6-10
Winning Pct.: .375

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 416 24
Rushing Yards 1730 17
Yards Per Carry 4.15 13
Pass Attempts 537 18
Completions 342 8
Passing Yards 3406 8
Yards Per Attempt 6.34 6
3rd Down Conversions 32.5 24
Points Per Game 19.0 7
Turnovers 26 11
Turnover Margin -4 22

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 432 13
Rushing Yards 1809 17
Yards Per Carry 4.18 23 (T)
Pass Attempts 524 7
Completions 319 14
Passing Yards 3165 21 (T)
Yards Per Attempt 6.04 26
3rd Down Conversions 34.2 16
Points Per Game 18.2 22
Turnovers 22 28 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 21 CHI 24
2 17 at IND 10
3 37 ATL 6
4 26 at PHI 0
5 16 GBY 17
7 6 at DAL 10
8 14 WAS 23
9 16 NYK 3
10 15 at CHI 30
11 30 DET 17
12 20 at JAX 23
13 24 at STL 31
14 0 TEN 13
15 6 at DET 31
16 33 HOU 23
17 24 at GBY 31

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
14 O'Donnell QB 431 278 2765 6.41 19 13
16 Tunnell QB 65 44 466 7.16 4 4
10 Winslett QB 41 20 175 4.26 0 3
**Team --- 537 342 3406 6.34 23 20

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
20 Sullivan RB 220 1019 4.63 2
46 Grier RB 133 543 4.08 1
**Team --- 416 1730 4.15 4

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Brown WR 99 55 799 14.5 155 6
80 Greene TE 81 54 433 8.0 87 5
85 Jamison WR 66 43 493 11.4 38 2
7 Cunningham WR 65 39 559 14.3 84 3
89 Osborne TE 46 30 238 7.9 33 3
46 Grier RB 45 34 220 6.4 70 0
20 Sullivan RB 45 31 194 6.2 76 2
31 Thomas FB 37 25 105 4.2 43 0
82 Bradley WR 37 21 321 15.2 62 2
**Team --- 537 342 3406 9.9 677 23

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
51 Kafka ILB 96 29 0.0 1 1 7
52 Miller OLB 78 25 5.5 4 0 7
29 Lynn S 65 19 2.0 0 7 1
75 Wynn DT 51 23 6.0 8 0 1
26 Claussen S 50 17 0.0 1 1 5
71 Lyons DE 45 25 13.0 7 0 0
45 Schroeder CB 41 16 0.0 1 1 5
43 Basford CB 40 9 1.0 2 3 3
93 Edwards OLB 39 10 0.0 0 0 2
23 Ferraro CB 37 13 0.0 0 1 6
33 Douglas CB 36 7 1.0 0 2 3
94 Walunas DE 34 10 12.5 6 0 2
59 Zwillinger OLB 33 7 1.0 2 0 3
73 Harlow DT 27 7 3.5 3 0 0
92 Laurain DT 27 17 3.0 7 0 0
90 Wiggins OLB 26 9 0.5 1 0 0
27 Daniels S 19 1 0.0 0 0 1
32 Jorbin S 16 9 1.0 0 0 1
**Team --- 876 277 56.0 54 16 48

Comments
The numbers make it evident that we need help on the defensive side of the ball. We ranked 23rd against the run, and 26th against the pass. Inexplicably, despite having defensive backs that should cause interceptions, we only produced 22 turnovers all year, which ranked 28th in the NFL. Although our front four are respectable, and we added three defensive backs in last year’s draft, we have yet to spend a draft pick on a LB that has subsequently made the team. I have to believe teams are abusing our LB corps. An all-around LB might not be a bad way to go in the upcoming draft.

Offensively, we don’t look so bad. O’Donnell’s final numbers are in line with what we expected from him. Rookie TE Neil Greene had an outstanding first year. Both RB Sullivan and RB Grier put up respectable averages. WR Tim Brown could use to catch more of the balls that come his way, but otherwise his numbers look pretty solid. Our overall averages look pretty good, and we didn’t turn the ball over too much.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004 NFL Awards

Award Player Team
##Player of the Year Matt Delgado GBY
##Front Office Bowl MVP Lester Tanner PIT
Coach of the Year Not Yet Awarded
Legend of the Game Not Yet Awarded
##Offensive Player of the Year Arnold Turner PIT
##Defensive Player of the Year Lamar Pina SEA
##Offensive Rookie of the Year Darryl Reynolds JAX
##Defensive Rookie of the Year Conrad Del Barco TBY
##All-League First-String Quarterback Brian Zapisek SDO
##All-League First-String Running Back Arnold Turner PIT
##All-League First-String Fullback Harry West KCY
##All-League First-String Tight End Kurt Lee HOU
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Bill Stargell SDO
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Xavier Kennedy DEN
##All-League First-String Center Corwin Gillette WAS
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Kelly Lindsay BAL
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Eddie Harper DAL
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Anthony Whetmore PIT
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Lawrence Cross SEA
##All-League First-String Punter Nicky Staley DAL
##All-League First-String Kicker Norbert Read SFO
##All-League First-String Defensive End Patrick Coleman NYK
##All-League First-String Defensive End David McGill DAL
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Chad Campana DET
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Ben Fickell SFO
##All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Lamar Pina SEA
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Stanley Gragg NYK
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Bo Shapiro ARI
##All-League First-String Cornerback Jeffrey McDonald PIT
##All-League First-String Cornerback Joey Campbell CHI
##All-League First-String Safety Grady Grant CIN
##All-League First-String Safety Lincoln Morton IND
##All-League Second-String Quarterback J.R. Augustson SEA
##All-League Second-String Running Back Mack Mitchell MIA
##All-League Second-String Fullback Rodney Weber CLE
##All-League Second-String Tight End Alex Silvan SFO
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Anthony Newman BUF
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Fred Stanton STL
##All-League Second-String Center Andre Madison STL
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Renaldo Benedict PIT
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Perry Kramer KCY
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Cedric Perry KCY
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Shane Likens DAL
##All-League Second-String Punter Eugene Fisk GBY
##All-League Second-String Kicker Reuben Riemersma BUF
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Bucky DeNeff DET
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Roy McNeil GBY
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Kendall Keith DEN
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Randall Buckley NYK
##All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Jon Owens NED
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Jack Littlejohn DAL
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Neal Jeffcoat DET
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Trent Schneider HOU
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Blaine Galloway DET
##All-League Second-String Safety Neal Oden NOS
##All-League Second-String Safety Marco Deneault KCY

Comments
We get nothing this year. Sigh.

I am starting to seriously think the MVP Award Committee consists of blind lamas randomly throwing darts. There is absolutely no way that RB Matt Delgado should get League MVP. His numbers: 11 games played; 690 yards rushing; 4.0 average; 2 rushing TDs; 41 catches; 2 receiving TDs. Compare that with offensive player of the year Arnold Turner of Pittsburg: 16 games played; 1828 yards rushing; 4.6 average; 7 rushing TDs; 63 catches; 4 receiving TDs. Turner’s team won the Super Bowl to boot. Huh? How does this happen? Who did Delgado sleep with to get this award?

[Godzilla Blitz]

Draft Picks in Retrospect
Well, it’s once again time to evaluate how our drafting is going. 16 picks so far, and here’s how we grade them:

Class of 2002
2 (10) WR Tim Brown, Wake Forest
Continues to show improvement, although has trouble adjusting to thrown balls. Still, led the team in receiving this year with 55 catches and a 14.5 average. Current Grade: B-
2 (31). Edgar Walunas, DE, Air Force.
Started 12 games at DE, with 34 tackles and 12.5 sacks. Has had trouble staying healthy the past two years, but is showing consistent improvement. Current Grade: B
3 (31). Monty Richardson, C, Louisiana State
Started 15 games at center, with a 33.3% blocking average, and a fine 0.9% sacks allowed average. Looks to be a solid center, with still some potential to improve. Current Grade: B+
4 (10). Benjamin Douglas, CB, Texas Christian
Filled in for five starts at CB, and saw action in 14 games. Very effective against the run, but lack of man-to-man skills leads other teams to pick him apart through the air. Managed two interceptions on the year. Selected as a potential starter, it looks as if this will never happen. Current Grade: C-
4 (31). Sean DeBerg, P, Louisiana-Monroe.
Led the NFL in punting average with 43.8 yards, but was shunned in the awards because of a lack of ability at putting the ball out inside the opponent’s 20 yard line. We could have made it easier for him if we could have gotten closer to the endzone so he didn’t have to kick it 70 yards to put a kick out inside the 20. Current Grade: A-
5 (31). Marvin Holly, S, Notre Dame.
Badly injured in 2003 preseason. Never recovered. Cut from 2004 squad. Still hopes to make a comeback in the NFL. Final Grade: F
6 (31). Wes Harlow, DT, Notre Dame
Started 6 games at DT with an 8.4% tackling average and 2.5 sacks. Now that the talent in the league is picking up, he will be at best a back up, and odds are that he will be cut from the 2005 roster. Current Grade: B-
7 (31). Zach Wallace, K, UNLV.
Cut from the team midseason 2003. Has since gone on to become Miami’s regular kicker, where he hit 30 of 41 field goals this year. The fucker. Final Grade: F.

Class of 2003
1 (29). Drew Lynn, FS, Baylor.
Started all 16 games at free safety. Had a 19.5 PDPct. Led the team with 7 interceptions. Still, only had one pass defensed, and allowed 36 catches on the year. Big question mark is his ability to play zone defense. He has improved, but needs to get better. Current Grade: B+
2 (21). Oliver Ferraro, CB, Clemson.
Started 16 games at CB. PDPct of 19.3. Had 1 interception. Played poorly against the run, and only had a 6.4% tackling average. Still, shows strong potential to improve. Current Grade B+.
3 (21). Neill Greene, TE, Ohio State
Caught 54 passes and 5 TDs in 13 starts this year. 35.7% blocking average. Only dropped one pass. Current Grade: A
4 (21). Jon Thomas, FB, Washington State
Started 11 games at FB. 36.8% blocking average. 25 catches on the year. Shows strong potential to improve. Current Grade: B+
5 (21). Claussen Kennedy, SS, Northern Iowa.
Started 15 games at strong safety, with a 19.8 PDPct., 1 interception, and a 9.8% tackling average. Looks to improve. Have to be happy with this pick so far down in the draft. Current Grade: B+
5 (29). Moe Jacobs, QB, Mississippi State.
Poor showing in training camp, and graded out lower than in the pre-draft combine. Cut before preseason. Picked up by Philadelphia midseason, and saw action in one game. Current Grade: F
6 (21). Mike Nichols, WLB, Notre Dame
Didn’t pan out in training camp. Cut from team. Still hoping to get back into football.
7 (21). Donnie Woodson, K, Truman State.
Hit 32 of 40 field goals and all 29 extra points. Has good range, and should get better. Current grade: B+

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004-2005 Offseason

Dynasty to Date

Year Team Eval Perf Diff Proft FrVal Record Playoffs
2004 MIN 50 17 71 22 89 6-10-0 None
2003 MIN 64 57 70 32 95 8-7-1 None
2002 MIN 61 95 72 62 39 14-5-0 Conference Champion


Comments
Well, we are heading in the wrong direction here, and I have to believe that the fans will show their disapproval. With stadium debt on our hands and rising payroll, we can hardly afford a significant drop in attendance. With our “no net debt” house rule, we could be in trouble if attendance goes south in a big way. This would be a good time to get things back on track.

As an aside, this is probably the first FOF game that I have played where the progress from the start has been so strikingly backwards. I’ve played so many times where there is steady improvement over the first 3 to 5 years. Kind of fun to see the team playing so badly after I’ve been in charge for three years. Well, maybe not fun, but at least its challenging.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Stadium Construction
Construction continues, and we are on schedule to open the 2008 season in our new home. We still need a name for the place, but we’ve got plenty of time.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004-2005 Finances
2004 Profit/Loss: -$20.1 million
Aggregate Profit/Loss to Date: +$58.6 million

Eek! We lost a boatload of cash last year! Player salaries shot up $30 million, and we dropped some revenue in tickets and suites. With $60 million due in stadium payments over the next three years, we are heading towards a financial mess, and heading towards it quickly. We really need to get some playoff revenue in our hands, and have a couple of good years in a row to insure that we’ll fill our new house in 2008. Yikes. This is not looking good.

We take a chance and nudge up ticket prices ever so slightly. We did sell out the stadium last year with season tickets alone, so I’m hoping the people will pay up a bit more. This could be risky, though.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Staff Hiring
Tony Long, after getting much criticism during the year for his offensive play calling, spent a lot of time in the off season studying football theory, and sees a slight increase in his ability to call an offense! This improvement, and the fact that I doubt we can hire anyone better for less money, leads us to stay put with Tony. We believe in the guy.


Tony Long
Age: 43
Salary: $1,750,000
Years left on contract: 3

QB: 3 Young Talent: 4
RB: 3 Motivation: 5
WR: 4 Discipline: 4
OL: 4 Offensive Calls: 2 (+1)
K: 3 Defensive Calls: 4
DL: 2 Injury Avoidance: 4
LB: 4
DB: 3 Overall Rating: 54.5

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.


Our aging scout, J.T. Alkateeb, seems to be more confused each day, and although he has two years left on his contract, we make a five-year, $280,000/year low-ball offer to unemployed Paul Parker, who at age 32, should have a big upside (current rating = 37). After sitting on our offer for a week, Parker sees nothing better and accepts. With that, we have made our first scout hiring, and saved ourselves $2.2 million in costs for each of the next five years; this assumes that no one hires him away from us, that is.

Here he is:


Paul Parker
Age: 32
Salary: $280,000
Years left on contract: 5

QB: 4
RB: 4
WR: 3
OL: 2
K: 4
DL: 4
LB: 4
DB: 4
YT: 3
Overall: 37.0

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2004-2005 Free Agency
We scour the free agent market for talent. This year has some decent talent at everything except QB and RB. We look for value, and make min-sal offers to a FB and two TEs. We are in need of help at CB, as we only have Oliver Ferraro, last year’s draft pick, signed for this year; also, our other CB’s were either inefficient, or are asking for too much money to resign. We make an offer to a Perry Dunlap (3 yrs., $4 mil, last year voidable), who had good numbers against the pass and run with Seattle last year. We also spot a respectable back-up strong safety, Wes Duran, that is asking for a reasonable amount of cash. We offer him $2.5 mil for 3 years. Lastly, we find a decent quarterback, Wesley Cheever, that is looking for a 1-year deal. We meet his demands, and offer him $1.3 mil for a year. He should make an improvement for us at 2nd or 3rd QB. We also identify a couple dozen players that we’ll keep an eye on as the bidding proceeds. We’ll probably make some offers as their demands go down.

The bidding is quiet for the first five weeks, and we land Dunlap, Cheever, and Duran, our main targets. In week six, everybody jumps into the fray, and our some of our potential targets go to other teams. Our three min-sal offers are still on the table, but no one’s biting yet.

In week seven, Green Bay steals one of our TE targets, but we bump up our offer to the other one and land him the following week. We make some more offers, and pick up some back up help at WR, where we’ll be thin. We land an interesting DT, Lester McCrary, from Seattle for $2.3 mil for 2 years.

Over the back half of free agency, we pick up about a dozen bit players and cheap longshots. We actually lose out on a few of these bids, but overall, I’d say we made some decent, low-cost acquisitions.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 College Draft
A quick look at the upcoming college draft gets our hearts racing. There are three highly rated QBs, and two of them look to be someone to build a team around! Wow! We draft at #7, We’ll try to move up every round to make sure we get one of these guys. The best on the board is Greg Tate, a potential star QB from Miami, FL. Right behind him is Percy Patterson from Auburn. There also looks to be some fine potential at DE, DT, WR, and OT, so I am hoping that this distracts the other teams, and lets one of the quarterbacks slip down far enough where we can grab him.

I offer to trade our #7 to Atlanta for their #1 pick, but they want nearly our entire draft to do so, so we hold our breath and wait…

Atlanta chooses Zach Preston, a stud DE! Next up is Baltimore. They too want the world for their pick. We offer this year’s first and next year’s first, but they turn us down. We offer our first four picks from this year, and they turn us down. We hold our breath and wait…

Baltimore chooses DT Rusty Wooden from Houston! Yes! One thing I am wondering about is that the current ratings of the two top quarterbacks are low, and the other teams are drafting for current value. Could Tate slip to #7? Do we need to trade up? Up next is Carolina. They will take our first round pick for this year and next in exchange for moving up four slots. We hold on the deal and decide to take our chances…

Carolina picks a CB! Another pick with high current ratings! Both New Orleans and New Jersey, who have the next two picks, are showing QB as their second highest need right now. We make our move, offering our first round pick and a 2nd round pick in 2007 to move up three spots! I just don’t see us having another chance like this to land a potential star at quarterback, and losing a second round pick down the line doesn’t seem like such a big deal to me.

We close the deal and select QB Greg Tate from Miami, FL! God, I hope he pans out. If he pans out, the guy should be someone to build an offense around for the next decade. The other two quarterbacks, Mahoney and Patterson, who I had a level down from Tate, go at #16 and #18 respectively. Based on this, I may have paid a premium to get Tate, but I’ll take the risk.

Our picks:
1 (4). Greg Tate, QB, Miami, FL.
2 (7). Will Wyant, RB, Pittsburg.
A major upgrade at RB, this guy should give our ground game an added boost. There were some potential LBs here, but Wyant looks like he can really add some punch. We’ll try for a LB next round.
3 (7). Darren Grier, FB, Boston College
With a lack of talent left at LB, we go with Grier, the highest rated player left on the board. He is a major upgrade at FB for us, and is outstanding on short yardage runs, where we definitely need help.
4 (7). K.C., Van Horn, OLB, Baylor
A pure run-stopper. I hope to move him inside to MLB.
5 (7). Wayne Willig, OLB, Miami, FL.
A good all-around player. Needs some development time, but has a good chance to start this year at SLB.
6 (7). Robbie Adams, SS, Virginia.
In what is turning out to be an extremely deep draft, we find a potential starting strong safety in round six. This guy looks better than the safety we drafted last year in the fourth round. Hope he pans out.
7 (7). Carlos Potson, OT, Pittsburg
Just trying to find someone that has a chance to make the team. Potson should be able to win the fourth OT spot on the roster, if he has a decent camp.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Training Camp 2005
Wow! FB Darrin Greer, who I was having second thoughts about selecting so high in the draft, comes into camp looking so much better than anticipated. He is a level quicker, faster, and more talented than anyone predicted. He looks to be an absolutely tremendous ballplayer.

In other good news, an undrafted rookie free agent, RB Wesley Kayer from Montana, catches our eye in a post-camp tryout. The guy is much too small (5’9”, 190lbs) to be an NFL running back, and has little chance of making the team as a running back. But he has great hands, and runs sharp routes out of the backfield. We sign him to a one-year deal, and work him in spring drills at split end, where he positively shines! This guy can catch! He’s still a bit raw, but this could be a real steal, as it looks like he could develop into our best receiver.

On the bad end of things, OLB Wayne Willig and SS Robbie Adams come into camp looking a level worse than anticipated. They are two steps slower than they were in the combine, and are now questionable to make the team. Too much time playing video games, perhaps.

We add a slew of hopefuls, sign our restricted free agents, and head off to camp with the following lot of players…



Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Cheever, Wesley 11 QB 4 29 32 1 yr. 2005
Winslett, Freddie 10 QB 4 14 27 1 yr. 2002
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 4 21 37 1 yr. 2004
O'Donnell, Mercury 14 QB 4 29 32 2 yrs. 2004
Tate, Greg 4 QB 1 20 69 6 yrs. 2005
Grier, Paul 46 RB 4 28 32 2 yrs. 2004
Sullivan, Emmitt 20 RB 4 29 30 2 yrs. 2004
Covington, Ronnie 25 RB 3 16 17 1 yr. 2003
Horn, Shane 37 RB 3 22 23 1 yr. 2003
Degley, Ricky 21 RB 2 24 30 1 yr. 2004
Wyant, Will 35 RB 1 28 49 4 yrs. 2005
Capps, Grady 38 RB 1 24 29 1 yr. 2005
Sheldon, Jackie 40 RB 1 23 31 1 yr. 2005
West, Cris 41 FB 3 24 38 2 yrs. 2005
Arteaga, Jorge 48 FB 3 21 24 1 yr. 2003
Grier, Darrin 49 FB 1 41 79 3 yrs. 2005
Rabens, Tim 28 FB 1 21 37 1 yr. 2005
Osborne, Horace 22 FB 1 25 40 1 yr. 2005
Schwarz, Joel 86 TE 4 21 26 1 yr. 2002
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 3 27 35 1 yr. 2003
LaGrange, Marco 81 TE 3 23 43 2 yrs. 2005
Greene, Neil 80 TE 2 39 50 2 yrs. 2004
Troxler, Nolan 5 TE 1 17 42 1 yr. 2005
Brown, Tim 3 FL 3 43 45 3 yrs. 2003
Jamison, Grady 85 FL 3 21 27 --- 2003
Bradley, Steve 82 FL 2 20 28 --- 2004
Lyle, Harris 6 FL 1 21 33 1 yr. 2005
Barlow, Leon 88 SE 4 27 28 2 yrs. 2005
Fleming, Sedrick 83 SE 4 21 26 1 yr. 2002
Nwokome, Dexter 87 SE 4 30 31 2 yrs. 2005
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 3 28 34 3 yrs. 2003
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 2 25 34 1 yr. 2004
Kayer, Wesley 34 SE 1 21 54 1 yr. 2005
**Emmons, Robert 65 LT 4 15 20 2 yrs. 2002
Meier, Brett 67 LT 3 28 43 3 yrs. 2003
Poston, Carlos 66 LT 1 13 39 2 yrs. 2005
Chaney, Jamie 78 LG 4 21 38 2 yrs. 2003
Knell, Casey 68 LG 3 27 40 2 yrs. 2005
Stewart, Otis 77 LG 3 19 25 2 yrs. 2003
Rasmussen, Tom 50 C 4 21 45 1 yr. 2004
Richardson, Monty 56 C 3 27 43 2 yrs. 2003
Whalen, Terrell 60 C 1 18 43 1 yr. 2005
Spillane, Ricardo 64 C 1 16 41 1 yr. 2005
**Schottlander, Charles 69 RG 3 23 31 2 yrs. 2003
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 2 21 38 3 yrs. 2004
Hovan, Jackie 72 RG 1 10 34 1 yr. 2005
Creed, Reuben 74 RT 4 22 42 1 yr. 2004
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 3 28 34 3 yrs. 2003
Huntley, Percy 79 RT 1 12 34 1 yr. 2005
DeBerg, Sean 2 P 3 77 84 1 yr. 2003
Harris, Percy 13 P 1 84 88 1 yr. 2005
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 2 38 53 2 yrs. 2004
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 3 27 35 1 yr. 2003
McGregor, Lester 76 LDE 3 22 32 2 yrs. 2005
York, Junior 96 LDT 4 25 32 1 yr. 2004
McCrary, Lester 97 LDT 4 29 42 2 yrs. 2005
Wynn, Herman 75 NT 4 32 42 2 yrs. 2004
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 3 29 36 1 yr. 2003
Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 3 25 34 2 yrs. 2003
Hickman, Jimmy 70 RDE 4 15 18 --- 2002
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 4 19 36 3 yrs. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 3 31 39 3 yrs. 2003
Smith, Moe 95 RDE 1 21 32 1 yr. 2005
Zwillinger, Albert 59 SLB 4 22 36 3 yrs. 2004
Miller, Bryce 52 SLB 3 25 27 2 yrs. 2003
Willig, Wayne 58 SLB 1 18 33 3 yrs. 2005
Kafka, T.J. 51 MLB 3 28 33 2 yrs. 2003
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 3 33 39 3 yrs. 2003
Morrison, Richard 57 MLB 3 16 44 2 yrs. 2005
Benton, Jamie 99 MLB 2 16 29 --- 2004
Van Horn, K.C. 54 MLB 1 25 50 4 yrs. 2005
Edwards, Ricky 93 WLB 4 22 31 1 yr. 2004
Sprehe, Zach 98 WLB 3 16 44 3 yrs. 2005
Reese, Phil 53 WLB 3 22 29 2 yrs. 2005
Wiggins, Courtney 90 WLB 3 20 25 1 yr. 2003
Basford, Julio 43 LCB 4 12 12 2 yrs. 2002
Dunlap, Perry 36 LCB 4 28 31 3 yrs. 2005
Schroeder, Richie 45 RCB 3 21 23 2 yrs. 2003
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 3 31 37 2 yrs. 2003
Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 2 26 45 2 yrs. 2004
Jorbin, Graham 32 SS 4 19 26 1 yr. 2002
Duran, Wes 39 SS 4 28 37 3 yrs. 2005
Claussen, Kennedy 26 SS 2 23 34 1 yr. 2004
Adams, Robbie 47 SS 1 16 38 2 yrs. 2005
Daniels, Ricardo 27 FS 3 25 37 1 yr. 2003
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 2 44 55 2 yrs. 2004

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 82
On Active Roster: 82

Salary Cap: $81,600,000
Cap Room: $18,410,000
Maximum for New Player: $18,910,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $960,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $100,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $60,060,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Camp Evaluation
GB Greg Tate comes through camp looking fine, which is exactly what we were hoping for. We get no real surprises, but WR Harris Lyle comes through camp looking a bit better than expected, and most likely has won a spot on the roster.

We had to make some tough cuts here. QB Winslett, who led us to Super Bowl I three years ago, is cut. He simply could not keep up with the talent in the league, and could not stay healthy. We also cut last year’s starting FB, Jon Thomas. The breakout camp of Grier, combined with some free agent signings and post-camp pickups, dropped Thomas to the bottom of the chart. We also cut: WR Grady Jamison, who saw a lot of action the past two years; WR Sedrick Fleming, who was an All-Pro in 2002; RB Shane Horn, who ran for a team record 1,058 yards in 2003; and DE Jimmy Hickman, who was second in the league with sacks in 2002. It is quickly becoming apparent that this year’s draft was stocked with talent, and the players that started out with us three years ago are unable, in most cases, to keep up with the newer, faster athletes coming into the league.

2005 Minnesota Vikings Roster

Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
$$O'Donnell, Mercury 14 QB 4 32 32 2 yrs. 2004
Tate, Greg 4 QB 1 25 65 6 yrs. 2005
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 4 24 37 1 yr. 2004
Grier, Paul 46 RB 4 29 32 2 yrs. 2004
##Sheldon, Jackie 40 RB 1 24 31 1 yr. 2005
Sullivan, Emmitt 20 RB 4 30 30 2 yrs. 2004
Wyant, Will 35 RB 1 29 45 4 yrs. 2005
$$Grier, Darrin 49 FB 1 45 78 3 yrs. 2005
Osborne, Horace 22 FB 1 27 37 1 yr. 2005
##West, Cris 41 FB 3 26 38 2 yrs. 2005
Greene, Neil 80 TE 2 42 50 2 yrs. 2004
##LaGrange, Marco 81 TE 3 26 43 2 yrs. 2005
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 3 28 35 1 yr. 2003
Brown, Tim 3 FL 3 45 45 3 yrs. 2003
$$Lyle, Harris 6 FL 1 25 40 1 yr. 2005
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 3 29 34 3 yrs. 2003
$$Kayer, Wesley 34 SE 1 24 50 1 yr. 2005
Nwokome, Dexter 87 SE 4 32 32 2 yrs. 2005
##Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 2 26 34 1 yr. 2004
**Emmons, Robert 65 LT 4 16 20 2 yrs. 2002
Meier, Brett 67 LT 3 30 43 3 yrs. 2003
$$Poston, Carlos 66 LT 1 15 36 2 yrs. 2005
$$Chaney, Jamie 78 LG 4 24 38 2 yrs. 2003
Knell, Casey 68 LG 3 30 40 2 yrs. 2005
Rasmussen, Tom 50 C 4 26 45 1 yr. 2004
##Richardson, Monty 56 C 3 30 43 2 yrs. 2003
##Hovan, Jackie 72 RG 1 12 32 1 yr. 2005
**Schottlander, Charles 69 RG 3 25 31 2 yrs. 2003
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 2 24 38 3 yrs. 2004
$$Creed, Reuben 74 RT 4 24 42 1 yr. 2004
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 3 30 34 3 yrs. 2003
Harris, Percy 13 P 1 86 87 1 yr. 2005
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 2 40 53 2 yrs. 2004
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 3 29 35 1 yr. 2003
$$McGregor, Lester 76 LDE 3 24 32 2 yrs. 2005
##McCrary, Lester 97 LDT 4 31 42 2 yrs. 2005
**York, Junior 96 LDT 4 26 32 1 yr. 2004
$$Wynn, Herman 75 NT 4 36 42 2 yrs. 2004
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 3 31 36 1 yr. 2003
$$Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 3 27 34 2 yrs. 2003
$$Boone, Mo 79 RDE 1 18 26 1 yr. 2005
**Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 4 22 36 3 yrs. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 3 32 39 3 yrs. 2003
Willig, Wayne 58 SLB 1 20 33 3 yrs. 2005
$$Zwillinger, Albert 59 SLB 4 24 36 3 yrs. 2004
$$Van Horn, K.C. 54 MLB 1 28 48 4 yrs. 2005
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 3 36 39 3 yrs. 2003
Edwards, Ricky 93 WLB 4 24 31 1 yr. 2004
$$Sprehe, Zach 98 WLB 3 18 44 3 yrs. 2005
$$Dunlap, Perry 36 LCB 4 31 31 3 yrs. 2005
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 3 33 37 2 yrs. 2003
$$Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 2 30 45 2 yrs. 2004
Schroeder, Richie 45 RCB 3 23 23 2 yrs. 2003
Claussen, Kennedy 26 SS 2 25 34 1 yr. 2004
Duran, Wes 39 SS 4 31 37 3 yrs. 2005
$$Daniels, Ricardo 27 FS 3 28 37 1 yr. 2003
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 2 48 55 2 yrs. 2004

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.
Players Under Contract: 57
On Active Roster: 46

Salary Cap: $81,600,000
Cap Room: $25,140,000
Maximum for New Player: $25,410,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $3,430,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $1,350,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $50,730,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Preseason
We win all four preseason games, and put up some big offensive numbers in doing so. QB Tate looks downright impressive with the ball, as does back-up QB O’Donnell. RB Will Wyant does a good job from the backfield.

We get pretty banged up, though, especially in the defensive line, where we suffer a major blow when DE Archie Dougan blows out a tricep muscle and is lost for the year. The replacement we get for him is extremely weak. I’m hoping we don’t have to rely on the guy much.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Season Outlook
So many question marks this year, but it looks as if we finally have a quarterback to build and offense around. Although O’Donnell would clearly be the more productive choice, we are going to get Tate in the mix from the start. Unless he does absolutely terrible, he is the quarterback for our future. We’ve also got new faces at RB, where rookie Will Wyant will get the majority of the carries, and at FB, where Darrin Grier looks to set the world afire. Our receiving corps is better, with the addition of undrafted rookie prospect Wesley Kayer and free agent signing Dexter Nwokome.

Our offensive line is returning quite a few players, but starting LT Emmons and All-Pro RG Schottlander are still trying to recover from imjuries, and have been placed on injured reserve. Elsewhere, our starters are back, which should help with cohesion.

On defense, we’ve completely revamped our linebacking corps. At WLB, free agent signing Zach Sprehe will start. At MLB, fourth-round draft pick K.C. Van Horn will start. The only returning player is at SLB, where Albert Zwillinger beat out rookie Wayne Willig, who did not play up to expectations.

Our defensive line is thin, with the loss of DE Dougan, but we should be a more experienced and slightly improved unit.

Our secondary has finally gotten some depth, and free agent signings CB Dunlap and SS Duran have looked outstanding in preseason games. One concern back here is that a number of players don’t like the secondary leader, FS Ricardo Daniels, and there have been heated arguments in practice over the past few weeks. I don’t see a good way out of this at the moment, but I’m hoping that it won’t hurt us too badly.

On another note, undrafted rookie free agent punter Percy Harris beats out our supposedly All-World punter, DeBerg, for the kicking job. Harris boomed punts every chance he got, and is much more adept at getting balls out of bounds inside the 20. We’re sure DeBerg will quickly find work elsewhere.

And so, off we go. I don’t think we have enough experience to make a deep drive in the playoffs, but it would be nice to finish near or above .500. A playoff appearance would do wonders for our bottom line, and help avert what the quickly approaching financial crisis. Prognosis: 9-7.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 1: Minnesota (0-0) at Detroit (0-0)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
Detroit has finished 6-10 in each of the last two seasons, although the fruit of those high draft picks may start to show this year, as rising stars DE Bucky DeNeff and CB Blaine Galloway look to lead a fearsome defense. This could be a tough baptism for our rookie QB. But Tate tells us he’s ready to take charge, and onto the field we go…

The series is tied between the two teams, 3-3.

Result
Detroit takes advantage of a penalty on a punt that give them a gift first down in our end of the field, and scores midway through the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead. Our offense makes no progress, and on the subsequent possession, Detroit QB Bart Amari tears apart out secondary on another TD drive that puts us down 14-0 at the end of the first quarter. With ten minutes to go in the second quarter, Tate starts to find his rhythm, and connects on two long passes to rookie WR Wesley Kayer, then hits him again for a TD to get us back in the game. Neither team can get anything else going in the half, and we go to the locker room down, 14-7.

In the third quarter Tate gets us going again, as we drive deep into Detroit territory. A TD would tie the game, but Tate makes a mistake, and Detroit picks off a pass that they take deep into our end. QB Amari takes their offense the remaining 30 yards with ease, and suddenly the game is slipping out of reach. Late in the third quarter, though, Tate gets hot, and our offense moves 61 yards in 3 minutes for a TD to get us to within 8 points at 21-13. Our defense holds, and Tate goes to work again, getting us to the Detroit 30-yard line, where Woodson drills a field goal to pull us to within 5, at 21-16, with 8 minutes left in the game. Once again our defense holds, and Tate and company take over at our 36 with 5 minutes to go in the game. With the game on the line, Tate is masterful, as he takes us the length of the field in four minutes before hitting WR Dexter Nwokome on an 8-yard TD pass to put us up, 22-21, with one minute to go! Detroit gets the ball for one last chance, and in two plays moves 40 yards to our 42-yard line. There, on three consecutive plays where Detroit needs only two yards for a first down, our defense draws the line, and we take over on downs! Unbelievable! With the game on the line, we stopped someone! We comeback to win a dramatic opener, 22-21!

Notes
Tate (24-39, 252 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) struggled out of the gate, but was brilliant late in the game. … Ex-running back, rookie free agent WR Welsley Kasey (7-97 yards, 1 TD) led our receiving corps with a remarkable performance for someone everyone passed on in the draft. … RB Will Wyant (16-67 yards) had a decent start. … Our secondary looked horrible, allowing Detroit 245 yards on the day; Detroit QB Bart Amari was 30-36 with three TDs.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 2: Cleveland (0-1) at Minnesota (1-0)
Line: 3-point favorites

Preview
Cleveland fell to 7-9 last year after making the playoffs in both 2002 and 2003. To be honest, they look to heading in the wrong direction, as there roster shows some significant holes. Their quarterback, Ike Rudzinski, played in Atlanta the past two years, and had little success there. He tends to throw quite a few interceptions. Their one standout is DE Brock Moose, who racked up 17.5 sacks last year.

We’re going with the same starting 22, as we made it through week one with no further injuries.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Defenses dominate the first quarter, but Cleveland’s Ike Rudzinski takes them on an 80-yard TD march to grab a 7-0 second quarter lead. Tate promptly throws an interception on the next play, which Cleveland turns into three points, and we fall behind 10-0. Tate would get us moving on a drive before the half ends, and RB Sullivan breaks a 20-yard TD run to get us on the board. We go to the half, down 10-7.

Our secondary makes Ike Rudzinski look like the second coming of Bart Starr in the third quarter, as he picks apart our secondary on a long TD drive to put Cleveland up 17-7. We manage a field goal to close within 7 at the end of the quarter, but neither team has any success on offense until Cleveland breaks a 77-yard run that garners them another field goal and a 20-10 lead with 4 minutes to go. On our next possession, our offense comes to life. Tate gets us to the Cleveland 45-yard line, and then RB Sullivan breaks his second long TD run of the day to pull us within 3 points, at 20-17, with 3 minutes to go. Our defense comes up big, pinning Cleveland deep in their end, and we get the ball back at midfield with 2 minutes to go. With brutal efficiency, Tate gets us a first and goal on the Cleveland 3, but a holding penalty pushes us away, and we have to settle for a game-tying field goal as time runs out.

In OT, both teams play to a stalemate until Rudzinski takes Cleveland deep into our territory, where they nail a field goal to win, 23-20. We fall to 1-1.

Notes
Tate (21-33, 254 yards, 0 TDs, 2 int) was inconsistent, which is probably to be expected for a rookie QB. … WR Tim Brown (7-108 yards) led our receivers. … I’m starting to worry about our secondary, which has been horrible two consecutive games against mediocre quarterbacks. Opposing QBs are 62-79 with 5 TDs and 0 interceptions against us. We racked up only one “pass defended” all day today. Ye gads. One factor has been an injury to CB Perry Dunlap, which means that CB Ben “I can’t cover anyone” Douglas has been starting, and been getting eaten alive. Dunlap will be back next week. … We have yet to get a turnover in our first two games.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 3: Washington (0-2) at Minnesota (1-1)
Line: 3-point favorites

Preview
Washington fell on hard times last year, ending the year 6-10, after winning the NFC East the two previous seasons. They have been soundly beaten in their two games this year as well.

We’ve got a healthy secondary now, which I’m hoping will help stop the floodgates back there. The chemistry back there is just awful as well, and if the play doesn’t improve over the next two games, heads will roll.

We lead the series, 2-1.

Result
Tate’s first pass is an interception, and Washington promptly marches down the field for a go-ahead TD. We respond by driving the length of the field, only to have penalties push us away from the endzone and force us to settle for a field goal. At the end of the first quarter, we trail 7-3. Washington drives for a field goal to open the second quarter, then Tate throws another interception deep in our end to set up yet another Washington TD, and they convert it into 7 points. At the half, we trail 17-3.

Ten minutes of the third quarter is taken up by long, grinding Washington drive that adds three points to their margin. Our offense is actually able to move the ball, but penalties are killing us on almost every set of downs. We go to the fourth quarter down, 20-3. Things stay that way until eight minutes to go in the fourth, when Tate gets us down for a field goal to pull within two scores at 20-6. With four minutes to go, we get the ball back, and Tate connects on lightning passes to get us in the end zone for another TD! We trail, 20-13 with 1 minute to go. The ensuing onside kick fails, but we stop Washington, and get the ball back with 30 seconds left. Tate hits on a 47-yard pass, then another strike to get us to the Washington 17. With time running out, he fades back, tosses for the endzone, and…

Incomplete pass. We lose, 20-13. We fall to 1-2.

Notes
One again we fall behind big, early, and scramble to try to catch up. … We had 422 yards of total offense on the day, but had 15 penalties for 118 yards called against us. My goodness! … Our secondary played a bit better: Washington’s QB was 16-22, 2 TDs, and 2 interceptions. Still, that gives opposing QBs a 78-101 (77.7%) completion/attempt ratio. Oh my! … Will Wyant (17-102 yards) led our ground game, but half of his 100 yards came on his first two touches. … Tate (20-38, 280 yards, 1 TD, 3 ints) had a rough day, but can really get the ball downfield on a rope. We can get downfield in a hurry when he gets hot.

Undefeated Green Bay (3-0) comes to the Metrodome next week. Our season is heading in the wrong direction quickly, and we could really use a win here.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 4: Green Bay (3-0) at Minnesota (1-2)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
After finishing with an NFL worst 3-13 record in 2002, Green Bay has gone on to consecutive NFC North titles and has established themselves as the team to beat in the division. Their 3-0 record so far this year makes it appear that they are on their way to another stellar season. Their star player is two-time NFL MVP RB Matt Delgado. We really need this game to avoid falling into a deep hole to start the year.

Green Bay leads the series 4-2, and has won 4 straight.

Result
Defenses rule the first quarter, and neither teams is able to move the ball effectively. In the second quarter, Tate gets us going, and gets us points on all three of our possessions in the quarter. We go to the half up, 13-0.

Disaster strikes in the third quarter, as Tate gets sacked, fumbles, and gives Green Bay the ball inside our twenty. They turn that into seven points, and our lead is whittled to 13-7. On the next drive, Green Bay picks off a Tate pass and takes it deep into our territory. Once again their offense punches it in for a TD, and suddenly we trail, 14-13. Green Bay adds a field goal on their next possession to put us down by four points. Our offense hibernates in the fourth quarter, and we end up losing the game by the same score, 17-13. Tough loss.

Notes
Tate (19-40, 217 yards, 1 TD, 2 ints) had a marvelous first half and a disastrous second half. … WR Tim Brown (6-96 yards, 1 TD) had a great game, but broke a finger in the process. … We turned the ball over four times, and once again were unable to force even one turnover. … Our secondary played significantly better, but the lack of big plays from our defensive unit is killing us. … We have now lost five straight games to Green Bay. … DT Lester McCrary has developed Plantar Fasciitis and will miss the rest of the season. He is the second defensive linemen to be lost for the year. … Things are turning ugly in Minnesota.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 5: Tampa Bay (1-3) at Minnesota (1-3)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
Tampa Bay won the weak NFC South last year with an 8-8 record, but, like us, they have gotten off to a rough start so far this year. They have the league’s top rushing game so far, and a respectable passing game, but they have struggled on defense.

The mood in our locker room before the game is determined, but you can taste the frustration in the air. We badly need a win. We have moved FB Darrin Greer to the halfback spot in a couple of formations in an attempt to get him more carries. Despite maxing the “fullback carries percentage” in the game plans, he has only gotten 4 carries so far this year.

The series between the two teams is tied, 1-1.

Result
Tampa Bay fumbles the opening kickoff. We take over deep in their end, but have to settle for a field goal and a 3-0 lead. A crappy Tampa Bay punt and good return give us our next possession at the Tampa Bay 35-yard line, and Tate makes short work of the rest of the field; he hits WR Dexter Nwokome on a 7-yard strike to put us up 10-0. Tampa Bay get their offense in gear in the second quarter, though, as they go on a 99-yard TD drive, a 68-yard TD drive, and add a field goal after we turn the ball over to them on an fumbled kickoff return. Late in the second quarter we find ourselves down, 17-10. Tate gets the game even, though, before the half, on a beautiful TD drive that FB Darrin Grief caps with a 5-yard scoring scamper. We go to the locker room tied, 17-17.

Tampa Bay gets a field goal in an otherwise scoreless third quarter, but we match them midway through the final quarter. With 7 minutes to go, the game is tied, 20-20. Tampa Bay makes a decisive move for the victory though, by ramming the ball down our throats on a fast TD drive to put them up 27-20, with 4 minutes to go. Our next drive stalls, but we get the ball back for one more chance, from our own 14-yard line with 1:22 to go and one timeout left. Tate gets us to the Tampa Bay 40-yard line with 2 seconds to go, and as the tv announcers are wrapping up the credits, tosses a hail mary pass that…

WR Rick Cunningham catches it for a TD! Oh my! We tied the game, 27-27, as time runs out!

We get the OT kickoff, but can’t get anything going. Punter Harris shanks a kick, and Tampa Bay gets the ball at their 43-yard line. Three passes later they are in our endzone, and we lose again, 33-27. Buddha damn it. We fall to 1-4.

Notes
Our offense is not the problem. It ranks 5th in rushing, 8th in passing, and a respectable 18th in turnovers. Our defense, however, ranks 25th against the run, 29th against the pass, and 30th in turnovers created. We need to do something. … Tate (22-38, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 0 int) had a solid game. With his future in front of him, we have to be happy with his performance to date, although his rating (70.0) is fairly low. … We still can’t seem to get FB Grier (1-5 yards, 1 TD) the ball. We’ll speak with coach Long about this at length during the upcoming week. … WR Rick Cunningham (6-108 yards, 1 TD) had a marvelous game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 6: Minnesota (1-4) at Atlanta (1-4)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
Our secondary is in disarray. In short, four players hate the leader of the defensive backs, FS Ricardo Daniels. There has been bickering, arguments, and backstabbing all year long. Daniels is a good player, but we can’t cut four other players. I release Daniels and sign a player of much less ability. CB Richie Schroeder takes charge of the unit, and the mood during practices changes overnight. Instead of having four upset players, we actually have a couple of players that get along well. For the first time this year, there is tranquility on our team. Let’s see if it makes a difference on the playing field.

With RB Will Wyant averaging less than 4 yards a carry, we move FB Darrin Grier over to our number one running back slot on the depth chart. Can’t hurt to try it.

Atlanta finished at 4-12 last year, and much like us, has seen their team’s performance gradually fall off since a respectable 2002 opening campaign. Not that it seems to matter much to us, as we are capable of losing to anyone. Their most obvious problem is their running game (2.67 yards/attempt), which ranks last in the NFL.

We lead the series between the two teams, 2-0.

Result
Atlanta gets a long field goal out of their first possession to go up 3-0. We answer by missing a short field goal. Atlanta then drives the length of the field to take a 10-0 lead, and our defense looks as porous as ever. Early in the second quarter, Tate gets us down close with three long passes, and FB Darrin Grier slashes in for a TD from 9 yards out to pull us to within three, at 10-7. Atlanta would get another TD drive before the half, though, to hold a solid 17-7 lead at mid-game.

Tate takes us the length of the field in five plays on the opening possession of the third quarter, and RB Wyant caps it with a 5-yard TD run, as we pull to 17-14. Our defense struggles to stop Atlanta though, and they twice drive close enough to add field goals to their lead. Late in the third quarter, we get close enough to get a field goal of our own, and we go to the fourth quarter down 23-17. Things stay quiet until midway through the last quarter, when we drive deep into Atlanta territory before stalling and kicking a field goal to get us within three points with 4:30 to go in the game. However, we would not get the ball again, as Atlanta runs over our defense line for four first downs that run out the clock. We lose our fifth in a row, 23-20. AAAAAAaaaaaaaaaagh!

Notes
Although it is too early to say much about whether our move to help team chemistry worked, it clearly didn’t make a damn bit of difference in this game, as Atlanta had 389 yards of offense, converted 8 of 15 third down plays, and passed for 287 yards total. … Coach Long went to the air in an attempt to catch up. As a result, RB Darrin Grier (7-35 yards) didn’t get many touches. … QB Tate (18-33, 292 yards, 0 TDs, 2 int) continues to both impress and frustrate.

The mood in the locker room after the game is one of despair. We had so much hope coming into this season, and the tough losses we’ve had have really eaten the heart out of our team spirit. Unless we can turn this thing around quickly, it looks as if we’ll be out of the playoff hunt within a couple of weeks. The frustrating part of this is that the team knows we are not this bad. We should not be 1-5.

At the other end of the spectrum, Green Bay (6-0) is the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten team. I am starting to hate the Packers.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 7: Carolina (5-1) at Minnesota (1-5)
Line: 13-point underdogs

Preview
Greg Tate apparently broke his nose last week, and is listed as probable for the next two weeks. To help the healing process along, we’ll start last year’s quarterback, Mercury O’Donnell. Also, we’ve lost another DT on the line; we are really hurting for talent in there now.

Carolina is off to a blazing start this year, by far the best in their history. They finished 5-11 last year, after coming off an embarrassing 7-8-1 NFC South Title-winning season in 2003. They’ve got a good ground game this year, but their pass defense looks surprisingly weak. Maybe we can take advantage of something back there.

We head into the Metrodome, looking to snap this five-game losing streak.

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
We get a gift at the start of the game, as SS Wes Duran picks off a Carolina pass at their 33-yard line and takes it to the bank for a fast 7-0 lead. Carolina drives the ball well for the rest of the half, but our defense comes up with three more interceptions to end every threat. QB O’Donnell leads us on two short field goals drives later in the half, and we go to the locker room with a 13-0 lead.

We get nervous when Carolina drives the length of the field after the third quarter kickoff, but O’Donnell follows that by taking us on an 80-yard TD drive in response. Carolina reaches our 26-yard line late in the quarter, but once again our defense picks off a pass to quell the threat. Both teams’ defenses play stellar ball in the fourth quarter, and we cruise to an easy 22-7 win as 13-point underdogs! We rise to 2-5!

Notes
QB O’Donnell (21-26, 206 yards, 1 TD, 0 ints) chipped away at the Carolina defense all day. … We picked off 5 Carolina passes on the day: SS Duran had one for a TD; MLB Van Horn and CB Dunlap each had two. … Interestingly, even installing FB Grier (9-78 yards) in at the running back position doesn’t seem to get him many carries. … WR Tim Brown (6-57 yards, 1 TD) led our receivers.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 8: Minnesota (2-5) at Chicago (3-3)
Line: 9-point underdogs

Preview
Chicago has never made the playoffs, but came within a half game last year. This year, they struggled early, but have won their last two games. Statistically, they are a horrible team, as all four categories (offensive rushing, offensive passing, run defense, and pass defense) rank well in the bottom half of the league.

QB O’Donnell will get the start again, as we decide to pamper Tate and his broken nose.

Chicago leads the series, 4-2, and has won four straight.

Result
Chicago fumbles on their third play from scrimmage, and we recover. RB Will Wyant caps a short 17-yard drive to take advantage of the fumble, and quickly we are up, 7-0. Chicago promptly fumbles on their third play of their next possession, but we can’t turn that one into any points. One more time, though: this time Chicago fumbles on their second play of the possession, and we turn that one into three points. On eight plays from scrimmage, Chicago’s offense has fumbled away the ball three times! Ye gads! At the end of the first quarter, O’Donnell takes us on a 61-yard drive that FB Darrin Grier finishes off with a 1-yard TD plunge. As we start the second quarter, we lead 17-0. Neither team does much of anything in the second quarter, and we go to halftime, up 17-0.

O’Donnell throws an interception in our end in the third quarter, but our defense holds Chicago to a field goal, and our offense responds with three time-consuming field goal drives to put us up 26-3 as we go to the final quarter. There, Chicago manages a TD drive, but it is much too little, and much too late. We win another easy one, 26-11. Our record stands at 3-5.

Notes
O’Donnell (16-25, 161 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) had a terrible first half, but rebounded nicely in the second half. … FB Darrin Grier (14-83 yards, 1 TD) keeps rolling with the ball, but he never gets as many touches as RB Will Wyant (22-77 yards, 1 TD), who sits behind him on the depth chart. Humm. … K Donnie Woodson went 4-4 on field goals. … We had the ball for an incredible 41 minutes of the game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Midseason Report
Well, we stand at 3-5, after our second horrid start in three years. Winning two in a row has helped lift our spirits, and interestingly enough, if the season were to end today, New Orleans (4-4)—who we play next week—would have the last Wildcard spot, so we are not out of this one by any means. Nevertheless, an 8-8 record would be unlikely to make the last Wildcard spot come year end, so we’ll need to win 6 of 8 to have any kind of decent chance at returning to the playoffs. Winning the NFC North is unlikely, as Green Bay (7-0) has a lock on the top spot, and would need to collapse to get us back in it.


Record: 3-5
Winning Pct.: .375

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 234 4 (T)
Rushing Yards 999 3
Yards Per Carry 4.26 3
Pass Attempts 273 10
Completions 162 8
Passing Yards 1933 3
Yards Per Attempt 7.08 3
3rd Down Conversions 36.7 7
Points Per Game 20.3 7
Turnovers 15 19 (T)
Turnover Margin -2 23 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 218 24
Rushing Yards 876 22
Yards Per Carry 4.01 20
Pass Attempts 276 27 (T)
Completions 173 31
Passing Yards 1859 31
Yards Per Attempt 6.73 29
3rd Down Conversions 36.6 24
Points Per Game 19.3 22
Turnovers 13 20 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 22 at DET 21
2 20 CLE 23
3 13 WAS 20
4 13 GBY 17
5 27 TBY 33
6 20 at ATL 23
7 22 CAR 7
8 26 at CHI 11
9 at NOS
11 DET
12 at CIN
13 at ARI
14 PIT
15 at GBY
16 at BAL
17 CHI

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Tate QB 221 124 1559 7.05 6 10
14 O'Donnell QB 51 37 367 7.19 1 1
**Team --- 273 162 1933 7.08 7 11

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
35 Wyant RB 117 430 3.67 2
20 Sullivan RB 52 223 4.28 2
49 Grier FB 35 239 6.82 3
**Team --- 234 999 4.26 8

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Brown WR 66 37 472 12.7 60 2
80 Greene TE 38 28 344 12.2 52 0
34 Kayer WR 37 24 352 14.6 51 1

7 Cunningham WR 33 15 245 16.3 18 2
35 Wyant RB 27 17 105 6.1 53 0
49 Grier FB 18 12 80 6.6 51 0
87 Nwokome WR 13 7 122 17.4 8 2
89 Osborne TE 10 6 29 4.8 19 0
20 Sullivan RB 8 4 77 19.2 4 0
6 Lyle WR 8 2 20 10.0 1 0
**Team --- 271 162 1933 11.9 357 7

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
54 Van Horn ILB 35 16 0.0 0 3 3
59 Zwillinger OLB 34 7 1.0 0 0 1
29 Lynn S 29 8 0.0 0 2 4
36 Dunlap CB 28 7 0.0 0 2 1
33 Douglas CB 26 5 1.0 1 0 4
98 Sprehe OLB 24 1 0.0 0 0 0
55 Wagner ILB 23 2 0.0 0 0 2
23 Ferraro CB 23 9 0.0 0 0 4
94 Walunas DE 22 5 4.5 5 0 0
71 Lyons DE 21 4 3.5 2 0 0
75 Wynn DT 18 7 1.0 2 0 0
39 Duran S 18 12 0.0 1 1 5
93 Edwards OLB 16 0 0.0 0 0 0
92 Laurain DT 16 9 2.5 2 0 1
26 Claussen S 16 3 0.0 0 0 3
73 Harlow DT 14 5 1.0 2 0 0
45 Schroeder CB 14 5 0.0 1 0 0
76 McGregor DE 11 3 3.0 10 0 0
58 Willig OLB 10 7 1.0 0 0 1
**Team --- 447 117 21.0 27 8 29

Notes
Tate’s interceptions are hurting us on offense, but otherwise our offensive numbers are fairly strong. Our defense, on the other hand, is abysmal. The scary thing about these defensive numbers is that over the past two weeks they have improved. I’m hoping that our new, calm locker room is having an impact on play in the secondary. We’ll need to keep up the play of the past two weeks in order to have a chance over the back half of the season.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 9: Minnesota (3-5) at New Orleans (4-4)
Line: 7-point underdogs

Preview
We fly to New Orleans in what is clearly a great opportunity for us to jump back into the Wildcard hunt. Over the past three and a half years, New Orleans has the second worst overall record in the NFL. Their 4-4 start this year represents their best effort to date. We’d like to send them back to their normal spot at the bottom of the standings.

We have a quarterback controversy. With Tate at the helm, we are 1-5. O’Donnell is 2-0 in the last two games. While we’d love to develop Tate as much as possible, we really need to worry about attendance and the bottom line, and winning now is critical. For at least the next three games, we’re going to start O’Donnell as long as he wins.

On the unjury front, RB Will Wyant sprained an ankle and will not play today.

New Orleans leads the series, 1-0.

Result
New Orleans crushes us in the first quarter, as they rack up over 150 yards of offense. A missed field goal helps us out, but quickly, it’s New Orleans game, 10-0. O’Donnell gets us back into things near the end of the quarter with a stunning 57-yard TD run, but New Orleans continues to pound the ball at us. They add a field goal to take a 13-7 lead into the halftime locker room.

New Orleans continues to dominate in the third quarter. They travel the length of the field for another TD, then add a field goal early in the fourth quarter. With ten minutes left, it’s all New Orleans, 22-7. However, O’Donnell finally gets our offense moving, as he engineers a 69-yard TD drive to get us to within 8 points, at 22-14. We get the ball back with 2:30 to go, and once again O’Donnell is brilliant, taking us down the field for a TD pass to Neil Green with less than 30 seconds to go. We convert the two-point play, and take the game to OT! Wow!

However, in overtime, O’Donnell fires an interception that New Orleans runs back for a TD to end the game. We lose 28-22. Damn it to all hell.

Notes
O’Donnell (22-32, 247 yards, 2 TDs, 2 ints) had a good day, but his interception in OT cost us the game. Tate will start the rest of the year, as the chances of us making the playoffs are all but gone. … Our franchise has now played six overtime games in four years. Our record: 0-5-1. Ye gads, we suck. … TE Neil Green (9-106 yards, 1 TD) had a stellar day. … K Donnie Woodson missed two field goals, and was 0-2 on the day. … Our attempts to get FB Darrin Grier the ball by switching him to RB are not working. For some bizarre reason, he gets subbed out a lot, despite the fact that he has an endurance above 90, and I have his playing time set to average. … New Orleans flamed our defense for 486 yards. Eek. We really suck. … We lose starting SLB Albert Zwillinger for the year to a knee injury.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 10: Bye.

Week 11: Detroit (3-5-1) at Minnesota (3-6)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
Detroit continues to struggle, although they did manage to tie Green Bay, 20-20, in last week’s game. We’ll have Tate back in charge, and RB Will Wyant is healthy again, so he’ll be slotted in as the number one back. FB Darrin Grier will slide back to fullback.

We lead the series between the two teams, 4-3.

Result
Our offense produces the only drive of the first quarter, but we have to settle for a field goal and a slim 3-0 lead. Tate gets us moving in the second quarter, though, as he takes us on a long TD drive to open up a 10-0 lead. Detroit chips away with a field goal late in the quarter. We go to halftime, up 10-3.

On our second possession of the second half, we march down the field for another TD and open up a 17-3 lead. Detroit’s offense comes to life late in the quarter though, and they march downfield for a TD to get them back in the game at 17-10. Our offense falls asleep in the fourth quarter, and the momentum shifts to Detroit. They pound away at our defense, and nearly get the game-tying TD, but we hold the line once they get in our redzone to force Detroit to settle for a field goal. Still, our offense can’t manage a first down, and we give Detroit great field position with 2 minutes left in the game. Our defense saves the day, however, stopping Detroit short of a first down, and we hold on to win, 17-13!

Notes
Tate (19-33, 166 yards, 0 TDs, 0 ints) had another learning day, although it was nice to see that he didn’t throw an interception. … RB Will Wyant (18-98 yards, 1 TD) run brilliantly. … Our defense produced no turnovers.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 12: Minnesota (4-6) at Cincinnati (4-5-1)
Line: 7-point underdogs

Preview
Although Cincinnati has never had a winning season, they have been showing signs of improvement in the past two seasons, after finishing dead last in 2002 and 2003. This year, in fact, they look to be better than their 4-5-1 record indicates: they have a solid running game, the number one run defense in the league, and lead the league in turnover differential. We could have our hands full here.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Tate throws interceptions on our first two possessions, but our defense manages to hold Cincinnati to one field goal. Late in the first quarter, we get a drive that goes deep in Cincinnati territory, but we stall and have to settle for a game-tying field goal. We go to the second quarter, tied 3-3. We dominate the second quarter, as our defense smothers Cincinnati’s offense, and our offense is able to move the ball downfield well. However, we are unable to turn the advantage into points. After getting a first-and-goal at the three, we get a personal foul, a sack, and an offsides penalty to push us back to where Woodson misses the resultant field goal attempt. We go to the half, tied 3-3.

Both defenses dominate the third quarter, but at the beginning of the fourth quarter we get rolling, and once again drive to get a first-and-goal inside the Cincinnati ten-yard line. Once again, we can’t cross the goal line, and have to settle for three points that give us a 6-3 lead. However, our defense continues to stymie the Cincinnati offense and within minutes we are driving into Cincinnati territory. Once again we stall, and line up for a field goal. We make the kick, but Cincinnati roughs the kicker! First down and goal at the Cincinnati six! But wait! Tony Long declines the penalty?!?!?!!? What in the name of Allah is he thinking? Aaargh! We take the three points, a 9-3 lead, and kick off? Oh my God, this does not bode well. As the Tuesday Morning Quarterback would say, the Football Gods strike down those who make stupid decisions. Still, Cincinnati’s offense is incapable of moving the ball at all, and for the rest of the quarter they go three-and-out, until they get the ball at their own 22-yard line with 1:07 to go in the game. I’m waiting for disaster to strike, and sure enough, on third-and-ten, they hit a 62-yard pass, follow it with a 15-yard pass to get to our 2-yard line, then throw a TD pass with no time left to win the game 10-9.

Just shoot me now. Please. End my misery.

Key Stats
The big story after the game is the furor that the radio talk shows unleashed on Tony Long after he declined a first-and-goal at the Cincinnati six-yard line and took a field goal instead. “Minnesota Nice” went out the window, as one caller after another railed against what has to go down as one of the stupidest decisions in pro football history. … We completed dominated the game in terms of yardage (381 vs. 207) and time of possession (41 minutes vs. 19 minutes). … Tate (22-32, 201 yards, 0 TDs, 2 ints) played a good game after the first two interceptions. … In four visits to the red zone, we got 9 points. Yuck. … RB Sullivan (13-102 yards) and RB Wyant (20-81 yards) led our very effective running attack, against what was supposed to be the league’s best rushing defense.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 13: Minnesota (4-7) at Arizona (7-4)
Line: 7-point underdogs

Preview
Last week’s loss really had the team in an funk all week, and things are looking bleak in the locker room before the game. For the third year in a row, we are playing the back half of the season for pride, and the players are starting to get frustrated. We are stuck in a land of Unrealized Potential; it is a horrible place to live.

Arizona looks to be finally making a breakthrough this year, after finishing their first three seasons near .500 and out of the playoffs. They’ve done it via defense, as no team has scored 20 points or more against them all season. Wow!

Arizona leads the series between the two teams, 1-0.

Result
We fumble on our first possession, which sets Arizona up for a quick TD puts us down, 7-0. Arizona’s defense looks to be everything it is made up to be, as they smother our offense throughout the half. We catch a break early in the second quarter though, when CB Dunlap picks off an Arizona pass and takes it 56 yards for a game-tying TD. Arizona responds with a time-consuming TD drive of their own, and we go to the half down, 14-10.

Things continue much the same way in the second half. We muster some offense, but almost everything sputters at midfield. We manage to hold Arizona’s offense in check, but can only add a field goal to our score. We lose the game, in an uninspired performance, 14-10.

Notes
Tate (18-40, 154 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) continues to learn, but had a frustrating day against the best defense he has faced so far in his short NFL career. … RB Wyant (18-83 yards) and WR Tim Brown (7-109 yards) had solid performances. … CB Perry Dunlap (2 ints, 1 TD) led our defense. … Although we are 4-8 on the year, we have scored more points than we have given up (221-220). We are amazingly good at losing close games.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 14: Pittsburgh (5-6-1) at Minnesota (4-8)
Line: 4-point underdogs

Preview
Pittsburgh, coming of their Super Bowl III win, started out the season hot, going 5-1-1 over their first seven games. However, they have now lost five in a row, and they season is spiraling out of control. Baltimore leads their division at 6-6, so they are not out of it by any means, but they need to get pointed in the other direction. Much like us.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Pittburgh blocks the punt at the end of our first possession. They take over deep in our end and promptly push the ball in for seven points. WR Tim Brown fumbles on our next possession, and Pittsburgh takes over at our 28-yard line. Once again they score, and at the end of the first quarter, we trail 14-0. We manage to regain our composure in the second quarter, and chip away at the Pittsburth lead with a field goal, then catch a break when CB Perry Dunlap picks off a pass and takes it to the Pittsburgh five-yard line. Tate hits RB Will Wyant for a quick TD, and we go the half, trailing 14-10.

We pick up the pace in the third quarter, as Tate leads us on two long TD drives, both ending with TD passes to Wesley Kayer, to give us a comfortable 24-14 lead going into the fourth quarter. However, “comfortable” quickly turns ugly, as Pittsburgh marches for a long TD drive, then threatens again, as they drive to our five-yard line. We stop them, and force them to kick a game-tying field goal with 44 seconds on the clock. Tate, however, is not done for the day, as he hits WR Harris Lyle on a long pass, and K Donnie Woodson nails a 41-yard kick as time expires to give us a dramatic 27-24 win! Finally, we win a close one on a clutch fourth-quarter play!

Notes
Tate (23-28, 312 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int) was brilliant on the day, and his 312 yards in the air sets a new team record. It also marks the first time one of our quarterbacks has thrown more than 300 yards in a game. … WR Wesley Kayer (4-77 yards, 2 TDs) had a fine game, and continues to impress the staff. … DE Edgar Walunas (8 tackles, 2 assists, 2.5 sacks), coming off an injury, led our defense.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 15: Minnesota (5-8) at Green Bay (9-3-1)
Line: 11-point underdogs

Preview
We head into a unseasonally warm Green Bay, as today’s weather is in the low 40’s and sunny. Green Bay, after starting the year 8-0, has gone 1-3-1 over the past five games. They still have a lock on the division title, but need to pick up their play if they hope to earn a bye week. For us, this rivalry has headed straight downhill after our first year. We have now lost five straight games to Green Bay, and with RB Matt Delgado getting better each time we face him, our challenge seems to be growing each meeting.

Green Bay leads the series, 5-2, and has won five straight games.

Result
Green Bay just tears through our defense in the first quarter—until they get inside our redzone, where inexplicably they hit some kind of invisible barrier. They settle for two field goals and a 6-0 lead. Our offense can’t get anything going, but we get a special teams break in the second quarter, when FS Drew Lynn returns a punt 68 yards for a TD to give us a 7-6 lead. Green Bay answers with a long TD drive however, and we end up at down at halftime, 13-7.

In the third quarter, our offense shows some signs of life. They drive 82 yards, from our own 2-yard line, to get a field goal to pull us within three points, at 13-10. On the next possession, Green Bay gets a holding call in their endzone, and we take a safety to pull to 13-12. Things stay that way until early in the fourth quarter, when FS Drew Lynn picks off a Green Bay pass and runs 48 yards for his second TD of the day! Our conversion attempt fails, but we lead 18-13. This only seems to piss Green Bay off though, as they roar through our defense on their next possession to take a 19-18 lead midway through the quarter. Nothing changes until we get the ball with two minutes to go at our own 14-yard line. On our third play, we get a huge, 50-yard defensive pass interference call that goes our way and gets us within field goal range. Three plays later, RB Emmitt Sullivan scampers 20 yards for a TD to give us a 24-19 lead! Green Bay makes it to midfield as time runs out, and in consecutive weeks, we make some big plays in the fourth quarter to win! We snap our five-game losing streak against Green Bay, and rise to 6-8.

Notes
Greg Tate (12-23, 99 yards, 0 TDs, 0 ints) was ineffective, but at least remained mistake-free. … RB Emmitt Sulivan (15-70 yards, 1 TD) led our ineffective offense. … Green Bay outgained us 348 yards to 212 yards. … FS Drew Lynn (1 int TD, 1 punt return TD) got the game ball. … 8-8 would have no chance of making the playoffs, so our recent wins are doing little more than pushing us down the draft pick ladder. … We got beat up in the game, and picked up a half dozen injuries, two of which take holes out of our depleted defensive line. … Our pass defense is the worst in the league.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 16: Minnesota (6-8) at Baltimore (8-6)
Line: 6-point underdogs

Preview
The Ravens have yet to make the playoffs, and finished 4-12 last year. This year they have finally put things together, and a win against us would wrap up the AFC North for them. They have a team remarkably similar to ours: solid offense; weak defense.

We’re pretty beat up coming into today’s game, especially on the defensive line.

This is the first meeting between the two teams.

Result
Midway through the first quarter, Baltimore puts together a drive to get deep in our territory. Our defense stops them at the two-yard line, and they take the field goal. Our offense finally gets moving at the end of the quarter, when Tate takes us on a long TD drive capped by an 11-yard TD pass to WR Tim Brown. Baltimore answers with another long drive that stalls deep in our end. They hit the resultant field goal, and we go to halftime up, 7-6.

The third quarter is scoreless, but we have an embarrassing drive that gets to the Baltmore 7-yard line, then gets pushed back by sacks and penalties to a point where we have to punt. Yikes. Early in the fourth quarter though, RB Will Wyant finishes off a 13-play TD drive with a 1-yard run to put us up 14-6 with 11 minutes to go. Baltimore gets a field goal to make it 14-9, then gets the ball back deep in their end with 2 minutes to go and no timeouts for one last chance. They rocket down the field via two long passes, and hit a TD pass with still over a minute to go on the clock. We trail 15-14. Our offense can’t get to midfield with the time left, and we lose another game on a late fourth quarter rally.

Notes
Tate (23-43, 216 yards, 1 TD, 0 int) had a respectable day, but most of our possessions started deep in our own end, and we couldn’t seem to get close enough for field goal attempts. … WR Tim Brown (8-100 yards, 1 TD) led our offensive effort. … We had 12 penalties for 103 yards. We are second in the league in penalty yardage (845). … There were no turnovers in the game. … The loss today officially eliminates us from playoff contention. Interestingly, if Carolina (8-7) loses their last game, an 8-8 team will make the playoffs. Looks like we had a chance after all.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 17: Chicago (7-8) at Minnesota (6-9)
Line: 1-point favorites

Preview
Chicago is one of three teams looking for the last Wildcard spot. They have had an up-and-down year, but right now are coming off consecutive wins, and look to be finding a rhythm. We won the first meeting this year, 26-11, and are looking to even the series between the two teams with a win here today.

Our defensive front is absolutely trashed, as we lost another DE in last week’s game. We have six DL out, five of whom are on the disabled list. Yikes.

Chicago leads the series 4-3.

Result
Defenses rule the first quarter, but we put one drive together that gets us close enough for a field goal. Chicago fumbles at their 34-yard line early in the second quarter, and we march in for a quick score and a 10-0 lead. Late in the same quarter, Chicago gets to our 4-yard line before running out of gas. They miss the field goal attempt, and we take the 10-0 lead to the half.

Chicago eats away at our lead with a field goal in the third and fourth quarters, but our defense hangs on. We add an insurance field goal late in the game, and win 13-6, to finish the year at 7-9.

Key Stats
Tate (18-28, 179 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) had a decent game to wrap up his rookie year. … RB Will Wyant (18-94 yards, 1 TD) led our offense. … MLB K.C. Van Horn had 10 tackles and 3 assists to lead the defense. … Amazingly, had we held on to win last week against Baltimore, we would have finished 8-8 and made the playoffs by beating Carolina (8-8) on tiebreakers. Damn. Turns our we were closer than we thought.

On to the year’s wrap-up…

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Final Standings


AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Baltimore 10 6 0 .625 336 302 8-4 4-2
Cincinnati 8 7 1 .531 263 226 5-6-1 3-2-1
Pittsburgh 6 9 1 .406 308 351 5-6-1 2-3-1
Cleveland 3 13 0 .188 231 329 2-10 2-4

AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tennessee 11 5 0 .688 344 221 8-4 5-1
Indianapolis 9 7 0 .563 250 268 7-5 3-3
Houston 9 7 0 .563 256 283 6-6 3-3
Jacksonville 5 11 0 .313 230 260 5-7 1-5

AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New England 11 4 1 .719 318 255 8-4 3-3
Buffalo 9 7 0 .563 347 304 7-5 5-1
Miami 8 8 0 .500 363 311 7-5 4-2
New Jersey 4 12 0 .250 246 283 3-9 0-6

AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Denver 11 5 0 .688 297 253 8-4 4-2
San Diego 9 7 0 .563 270 265 6-6 3-3
Oakland 8 8 0 .500 240 278 6-6 3-3
Kansas City 7 9 0 .438 250 301 4-8 2-4

NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Green Bay 10 5 1 .656 361 281 7-4-1 2-3-1
Detroit 7 8 1 .469 259 248 5-6-1 1-4-1
Minnesota 7 9 0 .438 299 284 6-6 5-1
Chicago 7 9 0 .438 235 268 4-8 3-3

NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New Orleans 12 4 0 .750 314 223 9-3 5-1
Carolina 8 8 0 .500 295 309 6-6 3-3
Tampa Bay 7 9 0 .438 246 265 6-6 4-2
Atlanta 6 9 1 .406 238 334 4-8 0-6

NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Dallas 13 3 0 .813 270 171 9-3 4-2
New York 7 9 0 .438 273 276 6-6 4-2
Philadelphia 6 10 0 .375 195 286 6-6 3-3
Washington 4 12 0 .250 213 306 4-8 1-5

NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Seattle 10 6 0 .625 305 224 8-4 5-1
Arizona 10 6 0 .625 276 230 8-4 3-3
St. Louis 6 10 0 .375 213 289 5-7 3-3
San Francisco 5 11 0 .313 209 266 2-10 1-5

Comments
At the beginning of the year, I was hoping for a playoff spot, but our disastrous performance on defense really hurt us. Despite the fact that we finished below .500 for the second year in a row, I am somewhat satisfied with the 7-9 season. We got our rookie quarterback 13 starts, and already have a respectable offense. If we can make improvements to the defense in the off season, we should be able to add a couple of wins and make the playoffs.

As an aside, I wonder if the game figures the impact of team chemistry before each game, or if it looks at it once, say before the beginning of training camp. Our chemistry in the secondary was awful until we dumped the secondary leader, but the poor play continued even after we dumped him. Either chemistry doesn’t matter much, or the game only takes it into consideration at one point in the year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Playoffs
New England beats Arizona, 26-17, in Super Bowl IV. Once again, the AFC wins the Super Bowl.

Green Bay lost to Arizona in divisional playoffs, after beating Carolina in the Wildcard round.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 Team Summary

Record: 7-9
Winning Pct.: .437

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 449 13 (T)
Rushing Yards 1900 9
Yards Per Carry 4.23 6
Pass Attempts 532 23
Completions 319 19 (T)
Passing Yards 3507 7
Yards Per Attempt 6.59 5
3rd Down Conversions 37.7 7
Points Per Game 18.6 10
Turnovers 27 11 (T)
Turnover Margin -5 24

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 434 16
Rushing Yards 1754 16
Yards Per Carry 4.04 18
Pass Attempts 530 7
Completions 328 20 (T)
Passing Yards 3579 30
Yards Per Attempt 6.75 32
3rd Down Conversions 37.3 25 (T)
Points Per Game 17.7 21
Turnovers 22 30 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 22 at DET 21
2 20 CLE 23
3 13 WAS 20
4 13 GBY 17
5 27 TBY 33
6 20 at ATL 23
7 22 CAR 7
8 26 at CHI 11
9 22 at NOS 28
11 17 DET 13
12 9 at CIN 10
13 10 at ARI 14
14 27 PIT 24
15 24 at GBY 19
16 14 at BAL 15
17 13 CHI 6

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Tate QB 448 259 2886 6.44 10 15
14 O'Donnell QB 83 59 614 7.39 3 3
**Team --- 532 319 3507 6.59 13 18

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
35 Wyant RB 219 910 4.15 5
20 Sullivan RB 113 462 4.08 4
49 Grier FB 51 291 5.70 3
4 Tate QB 32 102 3.18 0
**Team --- 449 1900 4.23 14

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
3 Brown WR 134 71 924 13.0 104 3
34 Kayer WR 78 48 659 13.7 84 3
80 Greene TE 69 50 548 10.9 73 1
35 Wyant RB 56 38 217 5.7 107 1
7 Cunningham WR 49 25 352 14.0 25 2
49 Grier FB 47 33 197 5.9 120 0
6 Lyle WR 23 8 116 14.5 20 0
20 Sullivan RB 20 12 103 8.5 5 1
**Team --- 529 319 3507 10.9 642 13

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
54 Van Horn ILB 75 28 0.0 0 3 5
29 Lynn S 67 19 2.0 0 3 4
23 Ferraro CB 62 17 0.0 0 0 10
33 Douglas CB 54 11 2.0 1 0 6
55 Wagner ILB 47 6 1.0 1 0 2
36 Dunlap CB 45 14 0.0 0 5 5
39 Duran S 45 19 0.0 1 2 8
98 Sprehe OLB 45 16 1.0 1 0 2
58 Willig OLB 42 16 5.0 2 0 1
71 Lyons DE 39 9 9.5 6 0 0
59 Zwillinger OLB 37 9 1.0 0 0 3
94 Walunas DE 35 12 10.0 6 0 0
45 Schroeder CB 34 11 0.5 1 0 2
75 Wynn DT 30 11 1.5 2 0 1
93 Edwards OLB 29 4 1.0 0 0 1
92 Laurain DT 28 15 5.0 4 0 1
76 McGregor DE 27 7 13.5 13 0 0
73 Harlow DT 27 17 2.0 5 0 0
26 Claussen S 26 6 0.0 0 0 4
**Team --- 894 255 61.0 48 13 55

Comments
On a macro level, our problem is perfectly clear: pass defense, where we ranked dead last (6.75 yds./att.). I keep returning to the chemistry equation here, because on paper it looks like we should have a decent secondary. Offensively, we had a solid year, with good numbers both on the ground and in the air. With rookies starting this year at QB, RB, FB, and SE, we should see better numbers next year without doing much of anything.

Individually, WR Tim Brown’s 71 catches and 924 yards both set team records. It would be nice, however, to see him catch more of the balls that come his way, but part of that problem could be our rookie quarterback’s fault.

QB Greg Tate’s numbers were fair, but considering he was a rookie, we’re satisfied. This should set the foundation for a solid second year.

Rookie RB Will Wyant’s play picked up in the second half of the year, and undrafted rookie free agent WR Wesley Kayer looks to be the real deal, as he looks to have a significant upside.

TE Neil Green’s 50 catches look especially good when considering that he was thrown to only 69 times.

Defensively, MLB K.C. Van Horn looks to be the run stopper we were looking for at that position. If he can pick up his play a notch next year, we should be in good shape there.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005 NFL Awards

Award Player Team
##Player of the Year Matt Delgado GBY
##Front Office Bowl MVP Donovan Coats ARI
Coach of the Year Not Yet Awarded
Legend of the Game Not Yet Awarded
##Offensive Player of the Year Matt Delgado GBY
##Defensive Player of the Year Lamar Pina SEA
##Offensive Rookie of the Year Marlon McCloskey NJY
##Defensive Rookie of the Year Artie Didelot KCY
##All-League First-String Quarterback Leslie Richard NOS
##All-League First-String Running Back Matt Delgado GBY
##All-League First-String Fullback Harry West KCY
##All-League First-String Tight End Shaun Thill BAL
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Jim Meadows CLE
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Benjamin Cheever GBY
##All-League First-String Center Roy Brennan NYK
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Kelly Lindsay BAL
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Omar Swift SFO
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Lawrence Cross SEA
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Damon Stephens TEN
##All-League First-String Punter Jermaine Stokes PHI
##All-League First-String Kicker Karl Gomez SEA
##All-League First-String Defensive End Wesley Cash CHI
##All-League First-String Defensive End Louie Irwin MIA
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Maurice Muhammad NED
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Marty Dawkins JAX
##All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Lamar Pina SEA
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Bo Shapiro ARI
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Stanley Gragg NYK
##All-League First-String Cornerback Blaine Galloway DET
##All-League First-String Cornerback Jumbo Kinder BUF
##All-League First-String Safety Lincoln Morton IND
##All-League First-String Safety Duane Samuels CHI
##All-League Second-String Quarterback Mitchell Poston GBY
##All-League Second-String Running Back Glen Imlay BUF
##All-League Second-String Fullback Karl Spaulding DEN
##All-League Second-String Tight End Lionel Day BUF
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Pete Whitcomb ATL
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Rod Sumter ATL
##All-League Second-String Center Robbie Porter GBY
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Renaldo Benedict PIT
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Eddie Harper SEA
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Donald Wayne CIN
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle J.C. Cascini GBY
##All-League Second-String Punter Casey Wooden KCY
##All-League Second-String Kicker Zach Wallace MIA
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Conrad Del Barco TBY
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Hugh Jamison CAR
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle K.C. Tucker SDO
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Keith Denver GBY
##All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Hardy Osborne CHI
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Pete Hodges JAX
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Artie Didelot KCY
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Rex Dove OAK
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Byron Derubeis IND
##All-League Second-String Safety Doug Loveless BAL
##All-League Second-String Safety Corwin Savea OAK


Comments
We get shut out this year. Sigh.

Green Bay’s Matt Delgado earns his third consecutive NFL Player of the Year Award. This year he clearly deserved it, as he had great numbers rushing and receiving.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Draft Picks in Retrospect
Here is our annual review of our past draft picks.

Class of 2002
2 (10) WR Tim Brown, Wake Forest
Put up the best numbers of his career in 2005, but still has difficulty adjusting to thrown balls. Looks to be settling in as a solid but not outstanding receiver. Current Grade: B
2 (31). Edgar Walunas, DE, Air Force.
Started 13 games at DE, with 35 tackles and 10.0 sacks. His tackle and pass pressure percentages both fell in 2005, and he once again got injured and missed games. Current Grade: B-
3 (31). Monty Richardson, C, Louisiana State
Started all 16 games at center, with a 32.8% blocking average, and a strong 1.1% sacks allowed average. Continues to play consistent, good football for us. Current Grade: A-
4 (10). Benjamin Douglas, CB, Texas Christian
Filled in for three starts at cornerback. He looks to have settled in as a backup corner. He is great against the run, but a lack of man-to-man skills leads other teams to pick on him when they throw. Current Grade: C-
4 (31). Sean DeBerg, P, Louisiana-Monroe.
Starting punter in 2003 and 2004. Cut in preseason in 2005, as walk-on punter Percy Harris simply outkicked him. Spent the year out of football (???). I now realize this pick was a clear mistake, as the AI does not draft punters. Could have picked him up in round 6. Final Grade: D
5 (31). Marvin Holly, S, Notre Dame.
* Never recovered fully from preseason injury suffered in 2003. Cut from 2004 squad. Final Grade: F
6 (31). Wes Harlow, DT, Notre Dame
Started 11 games at DT with an 8.8% tackling average and 2.0 sacks. His durability made him a godsend in 2005, when our defensive line was devastated. Current Grade: B
7 (31). Zach Wallace, K, UNLV.
Cut from the team midseason 2003. Has since gone on to become Miami’s regular kicker, where he hit 35 of 48 field goals this year. Final Grade: F.

Class of 2003
1 (29). Drew Lynn, FS, Baylor.
In a season where our pass defense ranked last in the league, Lynn’s play was probably the only bright spot. 19.7 PDPct, 3 interceptions. Still, not the best numbers for a first round pick. Current Grade: B
2 (21). Oliver Ferraro, CB, Clemson.
Started 16 games at CB. Got eaten alive at CB, where he had an abysmal PDPct of 17.8; he gave up 51 passes caught on the year, and had no interceptions. Yikes. Improved play against the run, where he raised his tackling percentage to 10.7%. Can play better than he did this year, but we can’t afford a repeat peformance next year. Current Grade B-.
3 (21). Neill Greene, TE, Ohio State
Numbers dropped off a bit from 2004, but still played a fine TE for us. Grade: A-
4 (21). Jon Thomas, FB, Washington State
* Thomas was cut from the team at the start of the 2005 season, after playing 2004 as the starting fullback. His skills just couldn’t hold up to those of the outstanding class of 2004. Final Grade: D+
5 (21). Claussen Kennedy, SS, Northern Iowa.
Relegated to back up role at SS with the acquisition of free agent SS Wes Duran. Current Grade: C+
5 (29). Moe Jacobs, QB, Mississippi State.
* Never made team. Final Grade: F
6 (21). Mike Nichols, WLB, Notre Dame
* Never made team. Final Grade: F
7 (21). Donnie Woodson, K, Truman State.
Hit 28 of 38 field goals and all his extra points. Current grade: B

Class of 2004
1 (4). Greg Tate, QB, Miami, FL.
Started 13 games at QB this year. Fair opening season. 70.6 rating placed him in the lower half of the league. Current Grade: C
2 (7). Will Wyant, RB, Pittsburg.
Started 10 games at RB in 2005. 910 yards rushing, 217 yards receiving. Current grade: B-
3 (7). Darren Grier, FB, Boston College
Major breakout in camp in 2005. Started every game. Shows tremendous ability in all aspects of play, but even when inserted into the lineup as the starting RB, did not get many touches. Need to work him into the action more, maybe even if it means switching him to RB permanently. Current grade: B+
4 (7). K.C., Van Horn, OLB, Baylor
Saw a significant improvement in play when switched to MLB. Started 16 games there in 2005, and led the team in tackles. Also played well against the pass, picking off 3 passes and registering a 18.9% PDPct. Current grade: A-
5 (7). Wayne Willig, OLB, Miami, FL.
Came into camp looking much less talented than we originally expected. Made the team, and actually started 9 games at SLB due to an injury to our starter. Performance against the run was exemplary, but weak against the pass. Current grade: C+
6 (7). Robbie Adams, SS, Virginia.
Looked good in the combine, but came to camp in poor shape and never made the team. Final Grade: F
7 (7). Carlos Potson, OT, Pittsburg
Made the team as the fourth tackle. Saw action in 14 games, and played decently. Current Grade: B+

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005-2006 Offseason

Dynasty to Date

Year Team Eval Perf Diff Proft FrVal Record Playoffs
2005 MIN 55 28 73 40 81 7-9-0 None
2004 MIN 50 17 71 22 89 6-10-0 None
2003 MIN 64 57 70 32 95 8-7-1 None
2002 MIN 61 95 72 62 39 14-5-0 Conference Champion

Comments
Well, we certainly have not gotten the job done to date. We’ve had consecutive losing seasons and a three-year hiatus from the playoffs. Our finances are dropping quickly towards a net negative, which would mean that we would be unable to acquire talent via the 20-step free agent process. On the positive end of the equation, we’ve got a growing, talented offense that could make a splash in the upcoming years, and a new stadium coming online in 2008. The key to our success is clearly getting a couple of playoff wins, and that could likely depend on beefing up our defense in this current offseason.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Staff Hiring
Tony Long apparently took the winter off and did, well, nothing. His offensive play calling skills—the subject of harsh criticism over the past two years—actually got worse in the off season. With an unimpressive 21-26-1 record over that his three-year span and this tremendous lack of determination, we go hunting for someone to take our team to the next level. We find a newcomer, 53-year-old Geoff Reichard, who is looking to break into a head coaching job. He’s solid across the board, but has got outstanding quarterback skills, outstanding defensive play calling skills, a big improvement at secondary skills, and most importantly, reasonable offensive play calling skills. We make a $1.7 million/5-year bid for his services, to see if we can get him aboard on the cheap. In week three, with no other offers out there, he accepts, and we bring our third head coach on board in five years.


Geoff Reichard
Age: 53
Salary: $1,700,000
Years left on contract: 5

QB: 6 Young Talent: 4
RB: 4 Motivation: 2
WR: 3 Discipline: 3
OL: 3 Offensive Calls: 3
K: 3 Defensive Calls: 6
DL: 4 Injury Avoidance: 3
LB: 3
DB: 5 Overall Rating: 60.5

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.


Paul Parker spends a lot of time in the offseason evaluating talent in NFL Europe, and as a result sees a nice jump in his ability to spot young talent. Just what we needed! Wonderful! With four years remaining on his cheap contract, we stay put.


Paul Parker
Age: 33
Salary: $300,000
Years left on contract: 4

QB: 4
RB: 4
WR: 3
OL: 2
K: 4
DL: 4
LB: 4
DB: 4
YT: 4 (+1)
Overall: 39.0

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005-2006 Finances
2005 Profit/Loss: -$23.9 million
Aggregate Profit/Loss to Date: +$34.7 million

We still have $40 million left to pay for our stadium, and therefore are realistically looking at two more years in the red, unless we can make a playoff run. This also assumes that we can keep current attendance levels, which have been running over 95% for the first four years. How long will the fans come out and watch a sub .500 team? If attendance drops significantly, we could be in deep trouble.

We see a drop of 15-20% in fan loyalty over the offseason. This could spell bad news for our ticket sales, so I bump prices down a bit in hopes of mitigating the damage. We’ve always been near sellout capacity, so any drop here could really spell problems for our bottom line.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2005-2006 Free Agency
The quality of the free agents is markedly better each year. We break down our roster based on both need and cost, then make 15 offers to players, most of whom represent both improvement and lower costs for us.

We do have a couple of larger offers on the board, though. We put up a $4.6m/3yr. bid for SLB Duane Lake, a back-up linebacker for New Orleans last year that looks to have the ability to be a decent linebacker, and represents a big jump for us at the position. Also, FS Trent Hoover gets a $2.6m/3yr. bid from us. He shouldn’t start, but would make a solid backup for FS Drew Lynn. Elsewhere, we have our eyes on another 20 players to see if their demands go down far enough that we can jump in.

Through the first five weeks of free agency, things are remarkably quiet. We pick up 10 of our 15 targets, but the big two, Lake and Hoover, are holding out for more.

In the next few weeks, the bidding gets hot and heavy for Lake. We bump our offer up to $5.0m for 3 years, and make the last year voidable. We are the highest bidder by quite a margin, but in the end, Lake elects to remain in New Orleans for less money. Damn him. We also lose out on some of our initial targets, but manage to pick up a few more of them. There’s now competition for Hoover, and we nudge up our offer there as well. I’m not too concerned about losing him.

We get Hoover in week 11, and spend $3.3m to get Vinny Burton, a SLB that is a notch below Lake, for three years.

We add more two-year, minsal deals and fill out our roster in the final few weeks. As an aside, one thing that I noticed is that when you sign one of your unrestricted free agents back onto your team, his is listed as being under contract from the time he originally joined your team. When playing with “no renegotiation” rules, this is nice, as it allows you to keep team cohesion high by resigning your own people. In FOF2001, I don't believe this was the case. When you signed your own unrestricted free agents, they would be listed as joining your team from the date of the new contract, effectively destroying any cohesion element.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 College Draft
The draft this year looks fairly deep. There are two standouts: RB K.C. Tau of Auburn is a steam roller of a back; and DE Ike Kirby from Miami, Florida has got all the tools to be a star. There also looks to be some good talent scattered at some of the positions we’ll be looking for: OT, DE, DT, OLB, and CB. OLB looks particularly deep, with three impact candidates on the board. I would like to come out of this draft with an improved LB corps, some help at OT, and perhaps a solid player at DE, DT, or CB. If the three OLB’s are still left on the board when it comes to us, we may trade down, but I don’t think I’ll be trading up unless our opponents make some mistakes.

Interestingly, the first five picks are WR’s, and then Tau and Kirby go at #6 and #7. The WR talent did not look particularly good to me, but maybe my scout is missing something here.

When it comes our turn to pick, there are four intriguing options on the board: an outstanding OT, an outstanding DE, an outstanding RB, and three outstanding OLBs. The RB is an interesting option, as he represents a major upgrade for us there, and with Wyant’s ratings dropping every time I look at the roster, we are clearly in need of help here. Still, the guy doesn’t merit a #11 pick, he should go another few picks later based on the available talent on the board. There are three excellent OLBs on the board, but I don’t want to burn a #11 pick on that position, either. The OT and DE are clearly top 15 picks, and I would be very happy with either of these. But they are not major positions of need for us at this moment, and the OT will need a lot of developmental work before he reaches his full ability. The DE makes the most sense, but would be happy with any of these picks, so…

I trade our #1, #3, and #7 picks to Oakland, at #17, for their #1 and #2 picks. What I hope is that the RB, the DE, or the OT are left at #17, then I can use the second round pick to get one of the OLBs, and the bonus second round pick to get another solid player, as the draft looks to be fairly deep. We pull the trigger and pray.

Wow. Oakland grabs the DE, two picks later the best OLB is gone, and then the RB goes at #16. That was close. At #17, I’m now deciding between the OT and one of the OLBs. I get leery of the OT low current ability, and go with the best linebacker left, SLB Mel Jose from Rutgers. He’s got great current ability, and should step right in at a position we have been extremely weak at. Interestingly, Miami takes the OT with the next pick. The remaining OLB goes late in the first round, and I’m glad we went with Jose instead of trying to pick him up in round two.

Our picks:
1 (17). Mel Jose, SLB, Rutgers.
2 (11). Peter Schumann, CB, Alabama.
We get some great luck here, as the highest rated players left on the board are CBs, another great position of need for us. Schumann has solid all-around skills, and should be a major upgrade for us at CB.
2 (17). Reggie LeBel, CB, Maryland
LeBel plays CB on the other side, and is the highest non-kicker on the board when we make our selection. This guy needs development time, but these two second round picks can hopefully anchor our pass defense for the next three or four years.
4 (11). Clarence Everett, RB, Washington State
If Everett plays to his current level, he should be our best RB. Wyant, our second round draft pick last year, has consistently seen his ratings drop.
5 (11). Brock King, S, Oregon State.
Played FS in college, but will be moved to SS for us. He needs work, but if he can hold up in training camp, he could be our backup SS this year, and potentially start next year.
6 (11). Brett Alexander, TE, Temple
Has a chance to make our team as the second or third TE. If he can develop to his potential, has starting ability.

[Godzilla Blitz]

House Rule Revision
I have decided to allow myself to sign any players available after the draft, instead of just first year, undrafted rookie free agents. The rule was designed to prevent me from stealing talent for low prices from the free agent pool before the season starts, but the AI seems to be doing a pretty good job of gleaning through the leftovers, and there doesn’t seem to be much advantage gained by allowing myself to do this. I’ll keep an eye out for anything that I find myself taking advantage of though.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Training Camp 2006
We pick up some of the leftover players from the free agent pool, and head off to camp with the following players:


Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 5 23 38 2 yrs. 2004
Lynch, Hardy 19 QB 5 25 37 2 yrs. 2006
O'Donnell, Mercury 14 QB 5 32 32 1 yr. 2004
Pollock, Clay 10 QB 3 20 38 1 yr. 2006
Tate, Greg 4 QB 2 29 63 5 yrs. 2005
Grier, Paul 46 RB 5 30 32 1 yr. 2004
Sullivan, Emmitt 20 RB 5 27 27 1 yr. 2004
Wyant, Will 35 RB 2 29 41 3 yrs. 2005
Sheldon, Jackie 40 RB 2 24 30 1 yr. 2005
Zimmerman, Billy Joe 47 RB 1 23 35 1 yr. 2006
Everett, Clarence 24 RB 1 39 52 2 yrs. 2006
Scott, Tito 32 FB 5 31 32 3 yrs. 2006
West, Cris 41 FB 4 26 38 1 yr. 2005
Grier, Darrin 49 FB 2 48 78 2 yrs. 2005
Osborne, Horace 22 FB 2 25 35 1 yr. 2005
Thill, Shaun 86 TE 5 33 40 2 yrs. 2006
Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 4 30 35 1 yr. 2003
Greene, Neil 80 TE 3 48 48 1 yr. 2004
Alexander, Brett 82 TE 1 25 49 3 yrs. 2006
Brown, Tim 3 FL 4 44 44 2 yrs. 2003
Lyle, Harris 6 FL 2 30 45 --- 2005
Nwokome, Dexter 87 SE 5 31 31 1 yr. 2005
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 4 30 33 2 yrs. 2003
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 3 27 35 2 yrs. 2004
Kayer, Wesley 34 SE 2 26 48 2 yrs. 2005
Briggs, Isaac 83 SE 1 20 34 1 yr. 2006
Brown, Henry 60 LT 5 22 50 2 yrs. 2006
Meier, Brett 67 LT 4 36 44 2 yrs. 2003
Chaney, Jamie 78 LG 5 27 36 1 yr. 2003
Fortin, Dwayne 77 LG 5 27 44 2 yrs. 2006
McCallum, Arnie 51 C 5 37 48 2 yrs. 2006
Richardson, Monty 56 C 4 32 41 1 yr. 2003
White, Ross 57 C 2 21 50 2 yrs. 2006
Keneley, Stanley 63 RG 5 26 45 2 yrs. 2006
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 3 30 39 2 yrs. 2004
Hovan, Jackie 72 RG 2 11 27 1 yr. 2005
Byrne, Arnie 6 RT 5 29 50 3 yrs. 2006
Newhart, Oscar 64 RT 5 39 41 2 yrs. 2006
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 4 33 33 2 yrs. 2003
Harris, Percy 13 P 2 88 88 5 yrs. 2005
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 3 41 44 1 yr. 2004
Wert, Vinny 99 LDE 5 33 40 2 yrs. 2006
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 4 30 35 2 yrs. 2003
McGregor, Lester 76 LDE 4 24 31 1 yr. 2005
McCrary, Lester 97 LDT 5 31 41 1 yr. 2005
Willis, Toby 69 LDT 3 23 31 3 yrs. 2006
Hardy, Casey 70 LDT 2 23 29 1 yr. 2005
Wynn, Herman 75 NT 5 37 41 1 yr. 2004
Harlow, Wes 73 RDT 4 32 35 --- 2003
Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 4 28 34 1 yr. 2003
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 5 22 36 2 yrs. 2003
Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 4 32 39 2 yrs. 2003
Hopper, Max 90 RDE 2 17 27 2 yrs. 2005
Buckner, Ted 95 RDE 2 19 32 1 yr. 2005
Boone, Mo 79 RDE 2 17 26 1 yr. 2005
Bennett, Grant 74 RDE 1 18 37 1 yr. 2006
Burton, Vinny 53 SLB 5 27 37 3 yrs. 2006
Zwillinger, Albert 59 SLB 5 25 35 2 yrs. 2004
Willig, Wayne 58 SLB 2 21 33 2 yrs. 2005
Jose, Mel 96 SLB 1 41 70 6 yrs. 2006
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 4 37 39 2 yrs. 2003
Van Horn, K.C. 54 MLB 2 31 43 3 yrs. 2005
Edwards, Ricky 93 WLB 5 23 31 --- 2004
Quinn, Stephen 50 WLB 5 24 33 2 yrs. 2006
Sprehe, Zach 98 WLB 4 20 44 2 yrs. 2005
Dunlap, Perry 36 LCB 5 33 33 2 yrs. 2005
Schumann, Peter 37 LCB 1 32 61 4 yrs. 2006
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 4 34 36 1 yr. 2003
Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 3 33 36 1 yr. 2004
LeBel, Reggie 38 RCB 1 18 74 4 yrs. 2006
Duran, Wes 39 SS 5 33 37 2 yrs. 2005
Claussen, Kennedy 26 SS 3 26 34 2 yrs. 2004
Finley, Roger 48 SS 1 23 48 1 yr. 2006
Hoover, Trent 42 FS 5 34 38 3 yrs. 2006
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 3 51 53 1 yr. 2004
Inmon, Jake 44 FS 2 11 23 2 yrs. 2005
King, Brock 28 FS 1 20 51 2 yrs. 2006

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 74
On Active Roster: 74

Salary Cap: $85,100,000
Cap Room: $20,130,000
Maximum for New Player: $20,670,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $1,590,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $49,080,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Camp Evaluation and Preseason
Our draft picks come through camp in fairly good shape. First-round pick SLB Mel Jose looks roughly to be what we expect him to be. LCB Schumann is not as impressive in practice as we thought, but RCB LeBel shows more potential every time we see him play. TE Brett Alexander would not have made the team as a TE, and was willing to try to switch to FB, but did not transition well; he was cut after camp. FS Brock King also was facing his walking papers, but looked good enough in a stint at WLB to make the team there.

As we whittle down to 53 players during the exhibition season, we make some noteworthy cuts. QB Mercury O’Donnell gets the axe; although he was our second best quarterback, Lynch and Tunnell aren’t far behind him, and cutting O’Donnell saves us over $5 million this year in salary, which will help us keep out of the red. Also cut was RB Paul Grier, the 2003 Super Bowl MVP who has gradually scene his skills eclipsed by the newer, faster backs of the NFL. I would have liked to keep him, but RB Jackie Sheldon was too impressive in the preseason, racking up 140 yards on 20 carries in one game.

We win three out of four preseason games, and pick up a half dozen minor injuries in the process. Our offense racked up some big scores in three of our four games, and second-year RB Jackie Sheldon is so impressive that he wins the starting job over both Wyant and Everett.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Minnesota Vikings Roster


Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Tate, Greg 4 QB 2 33 63 5 yrs. 2005
$$Lynch, Hardy 19 QB 5 28 37 2 yrs. 2006
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 5 26 38 2 yrs. 2004
Everett, Clarence 24 RB 1 42 54 2 yrs. 2006
Wyant, Will 35 RB 2 31 41 3 yrs. 2005
Sullivan, Emmitt 20 RB 5 28 28 1 yr. 2004
$$Sheldon, Jackie 40 RB 2 26 30 1 yr. 2005
Grier, Darrin 49 FB 2 51 78 2 yrs. 2005
Scott, Tito 32 FB 5 32 32 3 yrs. 2006
##West, Cris 41 FB 4 28 38 1 yr. 2005
$$Greene, Neil 80 TE 3 51 51 1 yr. 2004
Thill, Shaun 86 TE 5 36 40 2 yrs. 2006
##Osborne, Andrew 89 TE 4 32 35 1 yr. 2003
##Brown, Tim 3 FL 4 44 44 2 yrs. 2003
$$Briggs, Isaac 83 FL 1 21 39 1 yr. 2006
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 4 32 33 2 yrs. 2003
$$Kayer, Wesley 34 SE 2 29 48 2 yrs. 2005
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 3 28 35 2 yrs. 2004
Meier, Brett 67 LT 4 39 44 2 yrs. 2003
$$Brown, Henry 60 LT 5 26 50 2 yrs. 2006
$$Chaney, Jamie 78 LG 5 30 36 1 yr. 2003
Fortin, Dwayne 77 LG 5 30 44 2 yrs. 2006
McCallum, Arnie 51 C 5 39 48 2 yrs. 2006
$$Richardson, Monty 56 C 4 35 41 1 yr. 2003
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 3 33 39 2 yrs. 2004
$$Keneley, Stanley 63 RG 5 28 45 2 yrs. 2006
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 4 34 34 2 yrs. 2003
$$Byrne, Arnie 6 RT 5 32 50 3 yrs. 2006
Harris, Percy 13 P 2 91 91 5 yrs. 2005
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 3 45 45 1 yr. 2004
Wert, Vinny 99 LDE 5 37 40 2 yrs. 2006
$$Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 4 32 35 2 yrs. 2003
$$McCrary, Lester 97 LDT 5 34 41 1 yr. 2005
##Willis, Toby 69 LDT 3 24 31 3 yrs. 2006
Wynn, Herman 75 NT 5 40 41 1 yr. 2004
$$Laurain, Bryan 92 RDT 4 29 34 1 yr. 2003
##Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 4 33 39 2 yrs. 2003
$$Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 5 24 36 2 yrs. 2003
Jose, Mel 96 SLB 1 44 69 6 yrs. 2006
$$Burton, Vinny 53 SLB 5 29 37 3 yrs. 2006
$$Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 4 40 40 2 yrs. 2003
Van Horn, K.C. 54 MLB 2 33 43 3 yrs. 2005
$$Sprehe, Zach 98 WLB 4 23 44 2 yrs. 2005
King, Brock 28 WLB 1 15 49 2 yrs. 2006
$$Schumann, Peter 37 LCB 1 34 55 4 yrs. 2006
Dunlap, Perry 36 LCB 5 33 33 2 yrs. 2005
$$Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 3 38 38 1 yr. 2004
Douglas, Benjamin 33 RCB 4 37 37 1 yr. 2003
LeBel, Reggie 38 RCB 1 25 79 4 yrs. 2006
Duran, Wes 39 SS 5 35 37 2 yrs. 2005
$$Finley, Roger 48 SS 1 26 50 1 yr. 2006
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 3 56 56 1 yr. 2004
$$Hoover, Trent 42 FS 5 38 38 3 yrs. 2006

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 53
On Active Roster: 48

Salary Cap: $85,100,000

Cap Room: $28,120,000
Maximum for New Player: $28,400,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $4,870,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $610,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $43,400,000


Evaluation
We’re a better team than last year, on paper at least.

Our offense is basically back from last year, except that we have made an upgrade at running back, and gradually improved our offensive line. With QB Greg Tate now in his second year, I’m hoping he can start proving to us he was worthy of his high first round pick.

On defense we’ve got raw rookie talent at SLB, SS, and our two CB spots. How well they perform could go a long way towards answering the question of whether we can get our defensive ranking out of the cellar. Our defensive front looks to be the weakest area on our team. The current players aren’t horrible, but by not focusing on improvement here, we are gradually falling behind the rest of the league.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Season Outlook
Barring injuries, our offense should be better than last year, when we finished well in the top half of the league in both the running and the passing game. We should rack up points. I’m guessing we’ll also struggle on defense, where we’ve got a weak front line and inexperience behind them.

So many question marks to start out the year… Will Tate be able to make significant gains on his rookie season? Will our four starting rookies on defense be able to improve our defensive play? How will our rookie RB, Clarence Everett, perform?

Still, I think we’re capable of winning more than we lose. I would be very happy to make the playoffs, as we could use the bump in fan support and the revenue. Prognosis: 9-7

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 1: Minnesota (0-0) at Green Bay (0-0)
Line: 5-point underdogs
Preview
Instead of the usual freezing temperatures of Green Bay, we’ll be facing heavy rain and heat. Time to bump up the passing and see if this offense can move the ball. Green Bay leads the series, 5-3.

Result
We start out flat, and Green Bay quickly rolls for two scores to take a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. We wake up in the second quarter: Tate hits undrafted rookie free agent WR Isaac Briggs on a 69-yard TD bomb for one score, then RB Jackie Sheldon piles in to the end zone to cap another long drive. We take a 14-10 lead at the half.

The third quarter is a nightmare. Tate throws interceptions on three consecutive passes (not drives). Green Bay converts the mistakes into a TD and field goal to give them a 19-14 lead at the end of the third quarter. We settle down in the fourth quarter, and get close enough for a field goal to pull to 19-17, then with five minutes to go, block a Green Bay punt in their end of the field and recover on the Green Bay 29-yard line! Tate hits a streaking WR Rick Cunningham for a TD on the next play, and suddenly we are up, 23-19! Our defense struggles, but holds Green Bay on their next possession. We get the ball back and chew up all of Green Bay’s timeouts and much of the remainer of the game. Our punter, Percy Harris, kicks the ball out of bounds at the Green Bay 5-yard line. Green Bay takes over there, with 35 seconds to go and no time outs.

On the first play, they connect on a 95-yard TD pass to win the game, 26-23.

Unbelievable.

Notes
Tate (19-33, 294 yards, 2 TDs, 3 ints) had a streaky day. The three interceptions came on consecutive passes, but he also hit on many clutch passes. …RB Jackie Sheldon (10-24 yards, 1 TD) will not start next week. …Green Bay’s Superstar RB Matt Delgado (14-34 yards, 2 TDs) was bottled up most of the day. …Our rookie secondary did not fare well in its debut: Green Bay lit us up for 428 passing yards. The total breaks the league’s single-game passing record. Also, Green Bay WR Benjamin Cheever had 184 yards in receiving, also good for a new league record. Yikes.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 2: Minnesota (0-1) at New Jersey Giants (0-1)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
Trying to bounce back after last week’s stunning, last-minute defeat. This week we travel to New Jersey, where we’ll face the Giants, proud owners of the worst overall record in the NFL over the past four seasons. They have played at a .307 clip, winning only 20 of 64 contests so far. They have finished last in the AFC East* in all four NFL seasons.

We lead the series between the two teams, 1-0.

*I just realized I accidentally screwed up the naming of the two teams when I started this dynasty. Oh, well. We’ll leave the teams where they are, with the Jets in the NFC East and the Giants in the AFC East.

Result
The first quarter is a disaster for us, as the Giants go 99 yards for a TD on one drive, then pick off a Greg Tate pass deep in our end on our ensuing possession. They convert that into another seven points, and at the end of one, we trail 14-0. We climb back in the ballgame in the second quarter, as Tate takes us on a 93-yard drive that he finished off with a 4-yard TD pass to Wesley Kayer. On our next possession, we march 50 yards for a field goal. By the half, we’re back in the game, 14-10.

New Jersey misses an easy field goal to start the third quarter, but that’s the only threat that either team can manage, as the defenses shut down both offenses. Our defense plays stellar ball in the fourth quarter, forcing New Jersey repeatedly to go three-and-out” and finally, with 5 minutes left in the game, we put together a TD drive, capped by a Tate-Briggs TD pass, to take the lead, 17-14. Our defense stops New Jersey on the next possession, and our offense would grind out two running first downs to run out the clock. We win, 17-14! Yes!

Notes
Tate (18-32, 218 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) had another streaky day, but connected when it counted. …RB Will Wyant fractured his fibula and will be out for eight weeks. …Our defense has yet to create a turnover in either of our two games. …Next week is our home opener. 1-1 Tampa Bay comes to town.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 3: Tampa Bay (1-1) at Minnesota (1-1)
Line: 2-point favorites

Preview
Tampa Bay struggled to a 7-9 finish last year. Much like us, their best year (10-6) was their first year. Since then they have never finished above .500.

Outside of RB Wyant’s broken leg, we are fully healthy, and should be able to put our best team on the field.

Tampa Bay leads the series between the two teams, 2-1.

Result
We threaten early, but a Greg Tate interception ends the drive deep in Tampa Bay territory. They respond by going 80 yards for a TD to take a 7-0 lead. Our offense goes nowhere all half: we only manage three first downs. Tampa Bay adds a field goal in that span to take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

We managed to bottle up Tampa Bay’s offense in the third quarter, and finally Tate gets our offense rolling, as he takes us 60 yards for a TD to pull within 3 points. However, our offense can’t do anything in the fourth quarter, and that’s the way the game ends. We lose, 10-7, and fall to 1-2.

Notes
Tate (14-32, 115 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) had one of his worst days as a pro. He consistently missed receivers, and managed to convert only 2 of 14 third down attempts. …Our defense played well, as we held Tampa Bay scoreless in the second half, and forced three turnovers to keep the game close. FS Drew Lynn and CB Oliver Ferraro each had an interception, and MLB K.C. Van Horn, coming off a groin injury, led the team in tackles with 8.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 4: Bye

Week 5: Seattle (1-2) at Minnesota (1-2)
Line: 4-point underdogs

Preview
Although Seattle is out of the gate slowly this year, they have traditionally been an NFC West powerhouse, and have won the division title three years in a row. They’re led by QB J.R. Augustion, a 2004 first round draft pick who made second team All-Pro two years ago, and looks to be developing into a top notch QB. Let’s hope our secondary can slow him down.

We lead the series, 1-0-1.

Result
We draw first blood, as Tate hits backup TE Shaun Thill in the endzone to end a 73-yard TD drive and give us a 7-0 lead. Our defense catches a huge break when QB J.R. Auguston gets himself ejected for arguing a call midway through the first quarter. Backup QB Bert Amari can’t get anything going, and our defense smothers their offense.

Our offense falls asleep in the second quarter, but gives Seattle three points when RB Clarence Everett fumbles at our 9-yard line. At the half, we lead 7-3.

Defenses dominate both the third and fourth quarter, and neither team is able to muster any kind of a drive. To this point, we’ve held Seattle to 6 first downs all day, and they are a measly 1 for 13 on third down conversions. We take our 7-3 lead to late in the fourth quarter, when Seattle suddenly finds the magic elixir and roars 80 yards in seven plays for a TD to win the game, 10-7.

God damn it.

Notes
Our ground game (28-41 yards) was abysmal, due mostly to an awful line performance; they went 2-27 on key run blocks. Matter of fact, in looking over our line stats, they have been generally horrible over our first four games. As an aside, this makes me wonder if team chemistry isn’t just calculated once, at the beginning of training camp. We had horrible chemistry coming into camp, so I cut the OL line leader to bring things back in line. Now things are fine, but if chemistry is only calculated once, it would explain our awful line play. …Tate (24-47, 273 yards, 1 TD, 0 int) had a decent day in picking up the slack for our non-existent running game. …Our defense played a stellar game for 55 minutes, then collapsed.

Well, once again we are looking uphill early in the year. Once again, we could easily have a fine record if it weren’t for miraculous comebacks by the opposition in the last few minutes of the game. It’s gotten to the point where I feel like we need at least a two-score lead just to have a chance to win in the fourth quarter. It almost feels like there is a magic switch on our opponents that lets them do whatever they want to us late in the fourth quarter. Sigh.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 6: Minnesota (1-3) at Arizona (3-2)
Line: 4-point underdogs

Preview
Arizona reached the playoffs for the first time in 2005, and were able to take their 10-6 Wildcard spot all the way to Super Bowl IV, where they lost to New England. On paper, they look fairly mediocre. Their one star is SLB Bo Shapiro, who has been a first-team All Pro in each of the past two seasons.

We are in desperate need of a solid win. Team morale is in the pits, probably more so because our 1-3 record could easily be 3-1, and without a doubt should be at least 2-2. Nevertheless, all griping aside, our offense has scored only 28 points in the last three games, and that is the #1 reason why we lost two of them. We tune our offense in the week leading up to this game, and head to Arizona in hopes of turning this season around with a big win.

Arizona leads the series, 2-0.

Result
We get a huge play in the first quarter, when rookie CB Peter Schumann picks off an Arizona pass and takes it 51 yards for a TD to give us a 7-0 lead. Late in the first quarter, Arizona drives for a field goal to make the score 7-3. In the second quarter, Arizona gives us great field position at their 29-yard line following a horrible punt. Our offense goes backwards, but we still manage a field goal to take a 10-3 lead. Midway through the quarter, our defense picks off another Arizona pass in their end. This time we march 23 yards for a TD to take a 17-3 lead into the halftime locker room.

Things turn for the worse in the third quarter. Arizona makes two long TD drives to even the score at 17-17. Our one good drive ends in a fumble, and we go to the fourth quarter tied. Arizona’s offense is rolling at this point, and our offense seems to have gone to sleep. They drive for a field early in the quarter to take a 20-17 lead. We respond though, and with 7 minutes to go, we drive deep in their territory. However, Greg Tate tosses an killer interception to take the wind out of our sails. Arizona runs the ball for first downs, and just when it looks like we aren’t going to get another chance, they inexplicably pass! FS Drew Lynn picks it off and takes it to midfield. Suddenly, with two minutes to go, we have life! Tate connects on a couple of medium passes, and we get the ball down to the 11-yard line before we run out of time and set up the easy, game-tying field goal. However, the football gods are toying with us again, as K Donnie Woodson sails the 28-yard attempt wide left, and Arizona wins, 20-17. We lose our third game, blow another lead, and fall to 1-4. Our season, our franchise, is in disarray.

Notes
Tate (17-28, 188 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) had another mediocre day. Maybe we need better receivers. …RB Rickie Sheldon (13-82 yards) ran well in a backup role. Rookie RB Clarence Everett (54-185 yards, 3.4 yd./att., 0 TDs) has gotten off to a slow start. As an aside, his elusiveness is his only low rating; I am beginning to wonder if this is not a critical rating for backs in FOF4. Along these lines, we are going to try RB Emmitt Sullivan next game; his only decent rating is his elusiveness, but it’s a 98.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 7: St. Louis (4-2) at Minnesota (1-4)
Line: 4-point underdogs

Preview
St. Louis is coming off a weak 6-10 season last year, but has four of their last five and currently lead the NFC West. Interestingly, their roster looks surprisingly weak, especially at QB, where starter Neil Heffner has a pathetic 56.3 rating. Definitely a beatable team.

I take a quick look at some of our defensive stats coming into today’s game, and notice some bizarre things. One, we are one of the best teams in the league against the run, and the worst team in the league against the pass. This gets me thinking, and I take a look at our defensive game plan screens, which I all zapped at the beginning of the season with “recommend”. Lo and behold, our “aggressive defense against the run” settings are all maxed out at 100! Ye gads! No wonder we are giving up gobs of yardage through the air, and giving up gobs of yardage late in games! Oh me oh my! This explains a lot, and I have learned something else about FOF4: Examine your game plans or they will kill you. Quickly (actually, not quickly. More like tediously.) I go in and reset all of the screens to more reasonable figures. This has got to help us.

St. Louis leads the series 2-0.

Result
Defenses rule the first quarter, but early in the second quarter St. Louis gets on the board first with a 40-yard field goal drive. We quickly counter with a long TD drive of our own that Tate caps with a 1-yard TD pass to FB Grier. St. Louis gets pinned deep on their next possession, and we start our next drive at their 33-yard line. We go nowhere, but K Donnie Woodson nails a 49-yard field goal to give us a 10-3 lead. Just before the half, St. Louis drives for another field goal, and we go to the halftime locker room up, 10-6.

We go up 13-6 midway through the third quarter on another Woodson field goal, then MLB K.C. Van Horn picks off a St. Louis pass and rumbles 37 yards for another TD to give us a comfortable 20-7 lead. However, “comfortable” and “lead” are not two words that go together for Vikings fans, as later in the quarter, as we are driving for what is surely the clinching score, QB Tate is sacked and fumbles the ball. St. Louis scoops up the ball and runs 68 yards for a TD to pull them within 7 points. We go to the fourth quarter up, 20-13. However, our defense, now that they are not keying for the run when up late in the game, holds St. Louis scoreless in the fourth quarter, and we hang on to win, 20-13! We rise to 2-4.

Notes
Much better! Instead of watching opponents eat up yards in great chunks through the air, we actually seemed to have a pass defense! We had 2 interceptions on the day, and held St. Louis to a respectable 270 yards of total offense. …RB Sullivan (16-95 yards) led our rejuvenated running game (157 yards), leading me to think that the elusiveness rating is the most critical rating for a running back. Of course, this also leads me to believe that the man we thought of as a potential star in our backfield, RB Clarence Everett, (elusiveness = 12) is actually a bag of cement. …Tate (20-34, 221 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) had another fair outing. We are still waiting for the development that we hope will make him into one of the league’s best passers.

[Havok]

hey Godzilla, just wanted to say that i really enjoy this dynasty and i hope ya keep it up!

great job man :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

Havok: Thanks! Wow! A fan! I'm flustered!

I'm actually having a ball with this career, despite the fact that my team is playing horribly. The combination of the "no renogiation rule" and the "no negative balance" rule has made this game extremely challenging for me. Actually, I am starting to wonder if I am in over my head here. There are also enough differences between this game and previous versions of the game (added skills, different development paths, chemistry) that I feel like I'm learning how to play the game over again.

I intend to continue playing and posting for the ten-year period, and then I'll see how things look. I was thinking about stopping posting, but from post counts it seems that there are a few people looking at this, and it doesn't take much time to copy and paste the info out of my Word file. Right now I'm leaning towards continuing on after the ten-year period as well, but I'll make that decision much later.

I still haven't worked everything out with regards to my house rules (I'll probably modify the affects of dipping into the red financially to mean that I can only sign min-sal free agents), and I'm wondering if I need to consider limits to ticket prices (I've just been acting "reasonably" right now, and have no idea if I could eliminate my financial problems by simply jacking up my ticket prices).

Thanks, though, for the feedback. I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'll keep driving on! We'll turn this thing around yet!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 8: Minnesota (2-4) at Chicago (1-5)
Line: 4-point favorites

Preview
The Bears, along with the Lions, are one of six NFL teams to never make the playoffs, and they look like good money to keep that streak alive this year. The key to their ineptitude this season seems to come from their signing of last year’s QB, Bert Barbosa, to a 4-year, $24 million deal, then cutting him before the season began. Malcolm Jacobs, their current QB, has thrown 2 TD passes against 13 interceptions and has a robust 54.3 rating. Another winnable game for us.

The series between the two teams is tied, 4-4.

Result
Halfway through the first quarter, we drive deep into Chicago territory, but RB Sullivan fumbles the ball away. Chicago subsequently drives 76 yards for a TD and a 7-0 lead. We come up with a big play in the second quarter, as FS Drew Lynn forces a Chicago fumble, and MLB K.C. Van Horn falls on the ball to give us possession at the Chicago 11-yard line. On the next play, Tate hits WR Wesley Kayer in the endzone to tie the game, 7-7. Chicago wastes no time in regaining the lead, however, as they march the length of the field for another TD to take a 14-7 lead. Late in the half, we put together and last second field goal drive, and go to the locker room down, 14-10.

We implode in the second half, however. RB Sullivan fumbles away the ball twice more, Tate throws an interception, and our offense goes nowhere. Graced with such wonderful field position, Chicago adds two more TDs to their total, and win an easy one, 24-10.

Notes
RB Sullivan (17-35 yards, 3 fumbles) makes me rethink the idea that elusiveness in the most important runningback trait. We must at least add “avoids fumbles” to the equation. …Tate (21-32, 211 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) started out hot, but had a rough second half. …WR Wesley Kayer (8-117 yards, 1 TD) was a bright spot on offense. …FS Drew Lynn (8 tackles, 1 fumble forced) led our defense. …We made Chicago’s QB, Malcolm Jacobs (24-33, 249 yards, 3 TDs, 0 int) look like a god among men. Sigh.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 9: Minnesota (2-5) at San Francisco (4-3)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
San Francisco has gone three years without making the playoffs, but they are flirting with a Wildcard spot at this early stage in the year. Their money player is RB Julio Green, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the past two seasons.

In looking over our stats, we notice that WR Tim Brown, who does not get along with TE Tony Schill, our receivers leader, has had an awful start to the year: only 10 catches in five starts, and 9 drops so far (more than he dropped all last season). I wonder if the chemistry problems are causing the bad play? In any case, we sit him down in favor of our backup flanker, Isaac Briggs.

We lead the series, 2-0.

Result
We open the game strong, as FB Darrin Grier runs 7 yards to complete one TD drive, and we follow that with another drive for a field goal. San Francisco can go nowhere the entire quarter. We add another field goal to take a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. We get yet another field goal in the second quarter, but right before the half, San Francisco gets its offense going, as they drive for a field goal as time expires in the half. We go to the locker room, up 16-3.

Disaster strikes in the third quarter. San Francisco gets a field goal on their opening possession. FB Grier fumbles on the next possession, giving San Francisco the ball deep in our end. They quickly take it in for a TD. Tate throws an interception deep in our end on our next possession, and San Francicso gets a field goal out of that. In the span of eight minutes, our lead has vanished and we are tied, 16-16. Towards the end of the quarter, we get great field position after a bad San Fran punt; we drive down close, and Tate hits FB Grier in the endzone to give us a 23-16 lead going into the fourth quarter. Things stay that way until midway into the fourth quarter, when Tate throws another interception deep in our end of the field that gives San Francisco the ball at our 5-yard line after the return. They punch it in for the score, and the game is tied at 23-23. CB Oliver Ferraro makes a huge play for us late in the quarter though, picking off a San Francisco pass to give us the ball at their 29-yard line with 3 minutes to go! We drive to their 10-yard line before stalling, and bring on K Donnie Woodson. He nails the field goal to give us a 26-23 lead with 1:42 to go. San Francisco holds on the kick return, so they have to start from their 8-yard line. Of course, none of this matters, as San Fran goes 76 yards to set up the game-tying field goal as time expires in regulation. They win the OT coin toss, receive, and drive another 63 yards for a field goal to win in OT, 29-26.

Whatever.

Notes
This is actually getting to be extremely frustrating. It seems a matter of course that our leads vanish: we have led in five of our eight games at halftime. Also, with 5 minutes to play left, we have led in four of eight games. And OT is a nightmare for us: in five years of play, our overtime record is 0-6-1. Yikes. That’s right. We’ve never won a game in OT. …Tate (17-36, 149 yards, 1 TD, 2 int) had a sloppy day. His two interceptions deep in our end really took the wind out of our sails. …RB Sullivan (16-78 yards) started out great, but faded fast: 68 of his 75 yards came in the first quarter. …MLB K.C. Van Horn (13 tackles) set a team record for tackles in one game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Midseason Report
Well, what can I say? It looks as if we are playing for pride again, and it looks as if we’ll miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. The mood of the team is horribly negative. It would be one thing if we were a bad team, but comparatively, we seem to have decent talent. There is no way we should be 2-6.


Record: 2-6
Winning Pct.: .250

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 213 23
Rushing Yards 807 22
Yards Per Carry 3.78 18
Pass Attempts 275 19 (T)
Completions 151 28
Passing Yards 1699 17
Yards Per Attempt 6.17 15
3rd Down Conversions 34.7 17
Points Per Game 15.8 23 (T)
Turnovers 18 22 (T)
Turnover Margin -6 25 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 220 13 (T)
Rushing Yards 714 4
Yards Per Carry 3.24 2
Pass Attempts 263 4
Completions 169 18
Passing Yards 2010 30
Yards Per Attempt 7.64 31
3rd Down Conversions 24.5 1
Points Per Game 18.2 20 (T)
Turnovers 12 24 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 23 at GBY 26
2 17 at NJY 14
3 7 TBY 10
5 7 SEA 10
6 17 at ARI 20
7 20 STL 13
8 10 at CHI 24
9 26 at SFO 29
10 GBY
11 at DET
12 MIA
13 at PHI
14 BUF
15 CHI
16 at NED
17 DET

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Tate QB 274 150 1695 6.18 9 10
**Team --- 275 151 1699 6.17 9 10

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
20 Sullivan RB 54 221 4.09 0
24 Everett RB 54 185 3.42 0
40 Sheldon RB 50 197 3.94 1
49 Grier FB 24 100 4.16 1
4 Tate QB 20 64 3.20 1
**Team --- 213 807 3.78 3

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
34 Kayer WR 55 27 412 15.2 34 2
3 Brown WR 41 11 180 16.3 29 0
80 Greene TE 40 28 262 9.3 47 0
83 Briggs WR 34 19 271 14.2 75 2
49 Grier FB 33 23 155 6.7 53 2
86 Thill TE 15 11 100 9.0 12 1
40 Sheldon RB 12 7 61 8.7 23 0
24 Everett RB 11 6 36 6.0 12 1
7 Cunningham WR 10 6 126 21.0 3 1
20 Sullivan RB 9 6 46 7.6 18 0
84 Zimmerman WR 9 5 44 8.8 4 0
**Team --- 273 151 1699 11.2 311 9

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
54 Van Horn ILB 50 18 0.0 0 1 0
96 Jose OLB 40 15 2.0 3 0 1
29 Lynn S 38 14 0.0 0 4 1
48 Finley S 35 13 0.0 0 0 2
37 Schumann CB 26 6 0.0 0 1 3
98 Sprehe OLB 24 10 0.0 0 1 1
75 Wynn DT 23 8 4.0 3 0 0
91 Dougan DE 21 4 4.5 4 0 0
38 LeBel CB 18 6 0.0 0 1 3
36 Dunlap CB 16 4 2.0 1 0 3
92 Laurain DT 16 4 1.5 1 0 0
55 Wagner ILB 16 4 0.0 0 0 3
99 Wert DE 15 9 4.0 6 0 0
97 McCrary DT 12 15 0.0 3 0 1
71 Lyons DE 12 7 2.5 1 0 1
94 Walunas DE 11 1 1.5 3 0 0
23 Ferraro CB 11 2 0.0 0 2 0
**Team --- 445 143 23.0 25 10 20


Notes
The clear culprit is pass defense, which has plagued us for the past two seasons. We now have outstanding talent at all four of our defensive back positions, and have a major upgrade in OLB Jose, but apparently this unit needs some time to gel, as opposing teams cut through us like we’re not there. Elsewhere, we’re doing ok. Our passing game is decent. We can run the ball a bit. Our defensive line can stop the run. As has been typical of our franchise through these early years, we seem to do just enough to lose the game: five of our six losses have been by three points.

Well, on to the second half we go. We’ll need to gel fast if we want to have any hope of turning this season around.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 10: Green Bay (5-3) at Minnesota (2-6)
Line: 7-point underdogs

Preview
Green Bay currently leads the NFC North, and we would love to get some payback for past injustices. They have struggled of late, going 2-3 since opening the season with three straight wins. We would love to take them down a peg.

RB Will Wyant is back in uniform today, after missing eight weeks with a broken fibula.

Green Bay leads the series, 7-3.

Result
Tate finishes off a long TD drive by hitting backup TE Andrew Osborne on a 6-yard strike to put us up, 7-0. Green Bay responds in kind, and we end the first quarter tied, 7-7. We manage two long field goal drives in the second quarter. Green Bay would add one of their own, but we take a 13-10 lead into halftime.

Tate hits FB Grier on a 1-yard TD pass to end an 81-yard TD drive that gives us a 20-10 lead midway through the third quarter. The other shoe falls quickly though, as Green Bay drives through us like a hot knife through butter on their next two possessions, both of which result in TDs to give them a 24-20 lead as we head to the fourth quarter. CB Oliver Ferraro comes up big for us in the fourth quarter though, as he picks off a pass deep in Green Bay territory and takes it in for a score to give us a 27-24 lead with 10 minutes to go! Things stay that way until 2 minutes to go, when Tate throws an interception from our 12-yard line that gives Green Bay first and goal on our 1-yard line. They go in for a TD and win, 31-27.

Notes
This loss is most likely my fault with the game plan. When Tate threw his interception, I had us running under the “recommended” offensive settings for a fourth quarter lead, which basically kicks in only when the lead is 8 points of more with less than 8 minutes to play. That means that Tate was operating under normal fourth quarter situations, where we use an equal mix of run and pass. Hence the pass, and hence the interception. I have revised the plans. …Tate (23-40, 277 yards, 2 TD, 1 int) was effective today, until his one interception late in the fourth quarter. …We ran 21 times and passed 40 times, despite an offensive game plan that called for about a 55-45 run-pass mix. Humm. …WR Tim Brown (4-102 yards) had his first decent game of the year. …Although we have had success in the past stopping Green Bay’s RB Matt Delgado (19-88 yards, 2 TDs, 7 catches for 75 yards), he had his way with us today. …We are now tied with Kansas City for the worst record in football.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 11: Minnesota (2-7) at Detroit (4-5)
Line: 2-point underdogs

Preview
Detroit has never finished over .500, and despite winning three out of four games at the beginning of the year, has subsequently lost four of their last five. One of the main reasons for this slide has been an injury to their starting quarterback, knocking him out of the lineup for the last three games. We’ll face their backup, Jack Maxwell, today.

Trying to keep the team motivated to perform is difficult when you’re in the midst of your fourth consecutive crappy season. We drive on, playing once again for pride.

We lead the series between the two teams, 5-3.

Result
Maxwell is a man on fire today, as he takes Detroit right down the field on their opening possession. Fortunately, FS Drew Lynn picks off a pass to save us. We drive deep into Detroit territory in reply, but have to settle for a field goal. At the end of one quarter, we lead 3-0. Tate engineers a long drive that RB Emmitt Sullivan caps with a 19-yard TD scamper to put us up 10-0, but Detroit squeezes in a TD drive of their own right before the half to pull to within three. For the seventh time in ten games, we have a lead at the half. Minnesota 10, Detroit 7.

On schedule like a German train, we collapse in the third quarter. Tate throws an interception to start things off. Detroit marches in for a TD to put them in front, 14-10. Next possession, Sullivan fumbles on our first play. Detroit recovers and marches in for another TD to take a 21-10 lead. Tate manages to settle us down on the next possession, and we roar down the field for a TD to pull within 4, at 21-17, as we head to the fourth quarter. Detroit gets a field goal on their first possession of the fourth quarter to go back up by seven, 24-17. We drive deep into Detroit territory on our next possession, and threaten to tie the game. Our drive stalls, though, and Woodson misses the ensuing field goal attempt. From there on out, it’s all Detroit, as our next three possessions go interception, fumble, and interception. Detroit adds 10 points to their tally, and wins an easy one, 34-17.

Notes
I just don’t get it. Detroit’s QB, Jack Maxwell, is a bum. We should eat this guy alive. Yet here are his stats: 30-45, 311 yards, 3 TDs, 2 ints. In his previous three starts, he has thrown only one TD, and his most yardage was just over 200. This has happened a number of times to us: we play some team with a crappy QB, and all of a sudden the guy turns into Johnny Unitas and lights us up for big yards. I just don’t understand it at all. Our settings are good. Our secondary is raw, but not that bad by any means. We should play much better than this. It just doesn’t make sense at all. …RB Sullivan (19-97, 2 TDs) led our ground game, but had a costly third quarter fumble. …WR Wesley Kayer (6-121 yards) led our receivers. …We get horrible news after the game. Starting MLB K.C. Van Horn, a stalwart on defense, will need ACL surgery, most likely ending his career. Sigh. …After scoring a TD in the second quarter, we had eight possessions: 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles, 2 missed field goals, and 1 TD. Ye gads, we are the embodiment of suckiness.

As an aside, I used to think I was somewhat good at this game. I would regularly win Super Bowls, and had to add house rules to make the game even remotely challenging. But never have I had a stretch of ineffective seasons like I am having now. This is embarrassing, even with our restrictive house rules. I wonder if I’ll get fired.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 12: Miami (5-5) at Minnesota (2-8)
Line: 3-point underdogs

Preview
Miami made the playoffs in 2004 and 2005, and have never finished below .500. This year they have struggled after a hot start; they have won only two of their last seven games.

We place our injured MLB Van Horn on the disabled list, and resign ourselves to losing him for good. ACL injuries seem to be the kiss of death. We keep our lineup the same, for the most part. We’ve got our best people on the field, and I can’t figure out anything else to make us better at this point.

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
We get on the board first, as WR Isaac Briggs takes a Tate pass 17 yards for a TD at the back end of the first quarter. Miami threatens immediately, but FS Drew Lynn picks off a Miami pass near our endzone to kill the drive. We score again in the second quarter, as Tate hits FB Darrin Grier on a 5-yard TD strike. Miami sneaks in a field goal just before halftime, and we go to the locker room with our customary halftime lead, 14-3.

Neither offense can get anything going in the third quarter, but we get a big play when CB Reggie LeBel picks off a Miami pass deep in their end. RB Emmitt Sullivan runs 8 yards for a TD, giving us a 21-3 lead as we go to the fourth. I keep waiting for disaster, but our offense hogs the ball in the fourth quarter, and Miami only gets three more possessions; they do nothing with any of them, and we win an easy one, 21-3.

Come to think of it, now that we are basically eliminated from the playoffs, we will probably make our end-of-the-year surge to mediocrity, which serves to raise our hopes to more painful heights for next year.

Notes
Tate (18-23, 166 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints) had a solid day, especially considering that we went heavy to the run in the second half. …Along those lines, RB Emmitt Sullivan (21-102 yards, 1 TD) racked up a 100-yard game for the first time this year. …SLB Mel Jose (9 tackles) led our defense.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 13: Minnesota (3-8) at Philadelphia (7-4)
Line: 6-point underdogs

Preview
Philadelphia has never won more than 7 games in a season, but they look poised to break that mark this year and make the playoffs for the first time. Currently, they lead the NFC East.

We got banged up some in the Miami game, and have to shuffle in some backups for today’s game.

We lead the series between the two teams, 1-0.

Result
Philadelphia goes for a first down on fourth down from inside their 40-yard line midway through the first quarter. They fail, giving us great field position. We take advantage, as Tate hits WR Wesley Kayer on a 16-yard TD pass to put us up 7-0. Backup FS Roger Finley picks off a Philadelphia pass in their end of the field, and FB Grier finishes off the subsequent drive with a 23-yard TD run on a screen pass. We take a 14-0 lead. Philadelphia puts together an 80-yard TD drive to pull to 14-7, but with little time left in the half, CB Reggie LeBel intercepts a Philly pass and runs 72 yards for a TD to give us a 21-7 halftime lead.

Philadelphia goes three-and-out on all three of their third quarter possessions, but we do nothing as well. We go to the fourth quarter, up 21-7. Once there, things get back to normal for us. We commit a slew of penalties to help Philadelphia go on a long TD drive to pull to 21-14. On their next two possessions, they drive for field goals, and our offense goes nowhere in response. They get the ball back, down 21-20 with 2 minutes to go. As expected, they drive the length of the field and kick a field goal to win as time expires. We lose in typical fashion, 23-21.

Notes
If games ended at halftime, we would be 9-3. …Tate (16-30, 159 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int) was mediocre today, but his performances on the whole seem to be getting better. His TD/Int ratio has evened out at 15/15, and his rating is up slightly from last year. …SLB Mel Jose (9 tackles, 4 assists) led our defense again, and looks to be developing into everything we hoped he would become. …Our pass defense still ranks #31 in yards/attempt. Yikes. …I am at a loss to explain our Dr. Jekyl/Mr. Hyde performance in games. In the first half we drive with impunity. The second half we seem to simply hit some kind of self destruct button: our passes start going incomplete, our runs go backwards; opposing teams start hitting consecutive long passes like our DB’s fell asleep. I’ve checked game plans up the wazoo, and our players have decent endurance. I just don’t get it.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 14: Buffalo (5-7) at Minnesota (3-9)
Line: 3-point favorites

Preview
Buffalo has been a playoff team the past two years, but they are in the middle of a meltdown that has seen them lose four games in a row. We hope to make it five, but we tend to revitalize crappy team’s seasons, so they have to be glad to see us.

We lead the series between the two teams, 1-0.

Result
Buffalo fumbles on their opening possession, and LB Zach Sprehe picks up the ball and rumbles 32 yards for a TD to give us an early 7-0 lead. Neither team does much of anything the rest of the first quarter, but we get a long TD drive in the second quarter, finished off by a 15-yard Darrin Grier run, to put us up 14-0 at the half. For the tenth time in 13 games, we lead at the half.

FS Drew Lynn picks off a pass early in the third quarter that sets up a quick drive ending in a TD pass to WR Tim Brown. We trade field goals the rest of the quarter, and lead 24-3 going into the final quarter. Buffalo’s offense cranks it up in the fourth quarter for a TD and a field goal, but the gap is a bit much, and we hang on to win, 24-14.

Notes
Buffalo outgained us on the day (387 yards to 274 yards), but two fumbles and two interceptions cost them a chance to win. …Tate (17-22, 140 yards, 1 TD, 2 ints) hit most of his passes, but was unable to move the ball effectively downfield, and converted only 2 of 12 third-down chances. …FS Drew Lynn set a team single-season record with his 8th interception on the year. …SLB Mel Jose (8 tackles, 1.5 sacks) continues to impress.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 15: Chicago (2-11) at Minnesota (4-9)
Line: 7-point favorites

Preview-
Chicago has lost six straight since beating us, 24-10, in week 8. They are horrible. This means that they should mop the floor with us. The only thing working in our favor is the meaningless nature of the contest. We tend to be really good at winning a majority of the season’s last few games, once we have been knocked out of the playoff picture.

Chicago leads the series, 5-4.

Result
We get a 52-yard pass interference call against Chicago on our first possession. This sets up a Tate-Briggs TD pass that puts us up 7-0. Tate hurts his foot on the next drive, though. Backup QB Hardy Lynch comes in immediately throws an interception that sets up Chicago for a tying score. WR Zimmerman returns the ensuing kickoff 50 yards to set up a Lynch-Grier TD pass, though, and we take the lead back at the end of the first quarter, 14-7. Chicago puts together a long scoring drive in the second quarter to tie, but we are not to be denied our halftime lead: K Donnie Woodson nails a long field goal just before the half to give us a 17-14 lead at the 30-minute mark.

In a quiet third quarter, Woodson adds another field goal for the only scoring to give us a 20-14 lead going into the final quarter. A 6-point lead going into the fourth quarter essentially means a loss for us, and true to form, our offense hibernates and Chicago chips away with two field goal drives to tie the game at 20-20 with 6 minutes to go. They get the ball at their own 20-yard line with 4 minutes to go, and go on a three-and-a-half minute, 80-yard TD drive to seal our fate, 27-20.

Notes
In what has to be the most telling stat of our season: in 14 games so far, we have been outscored 104-26 in the fourth quarter. It is painful to have to watch us play so well for three quarters, then get crushed and lose in the end. …Tate will most likely miss the last two games of the year with a strained foot ligament. …QB Hardy Lynch (14-24, 151 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) was decent in relief. …Chicago’s QB, Moe Jacobs has thrown 10 TDs and 28 interceptions on the year; against us he has thrown 5 of those TDs and no interceptions. Sigh.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 16: Minnesota (4-10) at New England (11-3)
Line: 8-point underdogs

Preview
New England, the reigning Super Bowl champ, has clinced the AFC East for the second year in a row. The franchise has been a dominant force in the AFC: it has made the playoffs now for the fourth time; their worse finish has been a 9-7 campaign.

Tate’s injury puts him on the disabled list. We’ll start QB Hardy Lynch instead.

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
FS Drew Lynn picks off a New England pass and runs 50 yards for a TD to give us an early 7-0 lead. Later in the first quarter, we block a New England punt to take over at the 8-yard line. RB Emmitt Sullivan runs for the score, and with 8 yards of total offense, we lead 14-0. New England promptly drives for one TD, then picks of Hardy Lynch pass to set up another. By the end of the first quarter, it’s tied 14-14. We manage to get a long field goal in the second quarter, but New England responds with yet another touchdown to take a 21-17 lead at the half.

Lynch struggles to move us in the third quarter, but New England drives for three scores to give them a 34-17 lead with about ten minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Our offense gets the patented FOFC fourth quarter wake-up call, and manages to drive for two field goals, but it is nowhere near enough. We lose easily, 34-23, and fall to a all-time worst 4-11.

Notes
Down by 14, 2 minutes to go, ball on the New England 21-yard line. Fourth down and 8 yards to go. We kick a field goal. Huh? …QB Lynch (15-34, 177 yards, 0 TDs, 2 ints) did not have a good day. …New England domintated the game. Were in not for those early breaks, we would have lost by a much larger margin.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 17: Detroit (8-7) at Minnesota (4-11)
Line: 2-point favorites

Preview
Detroit is fighting for what would be their first ever playoff birth. They are among four teams locked at 8-7 with one game to go. A win should clinch it, as they look to have the edge in tiebreakers.

We’ll try QB Aaron Tunnell at QB today. Lynch did not get the job done last week.

We lead the series, 5-4.

Result
Tunnell gets our offense cranking early, as he takes us on a field goal and TD drive in the first quarter. Detroit manages a field goal, and we end the first up, 10-3. After throwing an interception that Detroit runs back for a TD, Tunnell leads us on two more TD drives in the second quarter. Detroit adds a field goal just before the half, but we take a big 24-13 lead into the halftime locker room.

We trade field goals in the third quarter, and head to the fourth, up 27-16. I’m expecting a Detroit comeback but instead Tunnell takes us on yet another TD drive to put us up 34-16. A few minutes later, FS Drew Lynn runs a punt 72 yards for a TD to put us up 41-16. It’s just too much for Detroit, and that’s the way the game ends. We finish our season at 5-11, and in the process knock Detroit out of the playoffs.

Notes
Tunnell (21-30, 323 yards, 4 TDs, 1 int) was on fire. He set team single-game records for TDs and yards passing. …We sustain two horrible injuries: RB Clarence Everett blows out an ACL, and DE Edgar Walunas, who’s been with us since year two, destroys a knee. Both injuries are potential career enders, giving us three such injuries on the year. Yikes. …WR Wesley Kayer (6-112 yards, 1 TD) and TE Neil Green (5-105 yards) both had outstanding receiving days.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Final Standings

AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cleveland 10 6 0 .625 322 271 7-5 4-2
Cincinnati 8 8 0 .500 271 258 6-6 3-3
Baltimore 7 9 0 .438 280 357 6-6 2-4
Pittsburgh 6 10 0 .375 303 333 4-8 3-3

AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Indianapolis 10 6 0 .625 293 237 6-6 4-2
Houston 9 6 1 .594 278 283 6-5-1 3-2-1
Tennessee 7 8 1 .469 260 277 5-6-1 2-3-1
Jacksonville 7 9 0 .438 298 305 5-7 2-4

AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New England 13 3 0 .813 360 225 10-2 4-2
New Jersey 10 6 0 .625 305 239 7-5 4-2
Miami 7 9 0 .438 271 281 5-7 3-3
Buffalo 5 11 0 .313 216 276 5-7 1-5

AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
San Diego 10 6 0 .625 312 305 8-4 4-2
Oakland 9 7 0 .563 266 268 6-6 2-4
Kansas City 6 10 0 .375 244 275 5-7 3-3
Denver 4 12 0 .250 293 365 4-8 3-3

NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Green Bay 10 6 0 .625 338 263 8-4 5-1
Detroit 8 8 0 .500 289 268 6-6 4-2
Minnesota 5 11 0 .313 321 328 2-10 1-5
Chicago 4 12 0 .250 200 294 3-9 2-4

NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New Orleans 10 6 0 .625 315 269 7-5 4-2
Tampa Bay 9 7 0 .563 229 237 6-6 4-2
Carolina 7 9 0 .438 303 265 5-7 2-4
Atlanta 7 9 0 .438 291 287 7-5 2-4

NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New York 9 7 0 .563 269 272 8-4 4-2
Philadelphia 9 7 0 .563 330 290 6-6 3-3
Dallas 6 10 0 .375 251 273 5-7 3-3
Washington 5 11 0 .313 263 374 5-7 2-4

NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Seattle 12 4 0 .750 300 192 10-2 5-1
Arizona 9 7 0 .563 258 253 7-5 3-3
San Francisco 9 7 0 .563 271 284 6-6 3-3
St. Louis 8 8 0 .500 209 305 5-7 1-5


Comments
Well, it sure was a shitty year, wasn’t it? If there is any consolation, it has to be in the fact that we lost so many close games. The old “three points better” concept really does apply here. 7 of our 11 losses were by 4 points or less. Also, although I have no idea what this signifies, we led at the half in 12 of our 16 games. The frustrating thing about all this is that on paper it seems that we should be a much better team: our roster graded out at a 75 this year. If we can solve the riddle of our fourth quarter collapses, we should be a much better team. However, we have been losing close games now for four years, and at some point you have to wonder if we are always going to be “three points worse” than the teams we are going against.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Playoffs
Green Bay loses to New Orleans in divisional play to New Orleans, who goes on to lose Super Bowl V to the New Jersey Giants (yes, they are in the wrong conference), 13-3. This makes five straight years the AFC has won the Super Bowl.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 Team Summary

Record: 5-11
Winning Pct.: .312

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 435 17
Rushing Yards 1738 13
Yards Per Carry 3.99 12
Pass Attempts 517 27
Completions 299 27 (T)
Passing Yards 3378 15
Yards Per Attempt 6.53 5
3rd Down Conversions 37.2 9
Points Per Game 20.0 5
Turnovers 36 26
Turnover Margin -8 26

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 409 6
Rushing Yards 1403 4
Yards Per Carry 3.43 5
Pass Attempts 594 31
Completions 364 31
Passing Yards 4152 32
Yards Per Attempt 6.98 31
3rd Down Conversions 33.3 12
Points Per Game 20.5 28
Turnovers 28 20 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 23 at GBY 26
2 17 at NJY 14
3 7 TBY 10
5 7 SEA 10
6 17 at ARI 20
7 20 STL 13
8 10 at CHI 24
9 26 at SFO 29
10 27 GBY 31
11 17 at DET 34
12 21 MIA 3
13 21 at PHI 23
14 24 BUF 14
15 20 CHI 27
16 23 at NED 34
17 41 DET 16

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Tate QB 426 247 2720 6.38 17 17
19 Lynch QB 58 29 328 5.65 1 3
**Team --- 517 299 3378 6.53 22 21

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
20 Sullivan RB 160 692 4.32 4
24 Everett RB 73 268 3.67 0
40 Sheldon RB 57 225 3.94 1
49 Grier FB 56 217 3.87 2
35 Wyant RB 42 171 4.07 0
**Team --- 435 1738 3.99 8

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
34 Kayer WR 100 55 835 15.1 105 4
80 Greene TE 80 53 536 10.1 90 0
49 Grier FB 70 51 366 7.1 168 8
83 Briggs WR 63 34 485 14.2 127 3
3 Brown WR 60 23 411 17.8 68 2
7 Cunningham WR 30 15 268 17.8 40 1
20 Sullivan RB 23 13 74 5.6 31 0
24 Everett RB 20 13 81 6.2 19 2
86 Thill TE 19 14 128 9.1 20 1
**Team --- 514 299 3378 11.2 733 22

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
96 Jose OLB 90 34 3.5 7 0 6
29 Lynn S 72 24 0.0 0 10 6
54 Van Horn ILB 61 22 0.0 0 1 0
48 Finley S 59 20 0.0 1 1 5
38 LeBel CB 54 22 1.0 0 5 9
55 Wagner ILB 51 19 0.0 2 1 9
37 Schumann CB 47 9 0.0 0 1 9
75 Wynn DT 46 19 6.0 9 0 0
98 Sprehe OLB 45 21 1.0 1 1 4
23 Ferraro CB 36 8 0.5 0 3 1
94 Walunas DE 32 10 4.5 8 0 0
97 McCrary DT 31 23 0.5 5 0 1
92 Laurain DT 31 9 4.0 9 0 0
91 Dougan DE 27 5 6.5 7 0 1
36 Dunlap CB 27 5 2.0 2 0 4
71 Lyons DE 24 14 7.0 3 0 1
99 Wert DE 19 11 5.0 12 0 0
53 Burton OLB 16 4 1.5 0 0 0
**Team --- 882 286 43.0 67 23 58


Comments
On a team-level, our one major weakness is pass defense. I still wonder if I am missing something with game plans, but I have to be happy that we have what I think will turn out to be two outstanding CBs. Next year they should be much better, and so should our secondary. Our other weakspot is our turnover ratio, which seems to be getting worse each year.

On an individual level, Tate improved for sure, but still is playing at merely an average level. WR Kayer, TE Green, and FB Grier had excellent years receiving; the notable down year is WR Tim Brown, who spent the year pissed off at TE Shill and saw his play suffer because of it. Defensively, SLB Mel Jose had a phenomenal rookie year, and looks poised for stardom. FS Lynn also seems to be putting things together, as he picked off an NFL-leading and team-record ten passes this season. Although rookie CB Schumann struggled, his counterpart, rookie CB LeBel had a fine opening campaign.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006 NFL Awards


Award Player Team
##Player of the Year Matt Delgado GBY
##Front Office Bowl MVP Sammie Peterson NJY
Coach of the Year Not Yet Awarded
Legend of the Game Not Yet Awarded
##Offensive Player of the Year Donovan Walton SEA
##Defensive Player of the Year Stanley Gragg NYK
##Offensive Rookie of the Year Tyrell Walzer CLE
##Defensive Rookie of the Year Renaldo Donaldson CHI
##All-League First-String Quarterback Mitchell Poston GBY
##All-League First-String Running Back Donovan Walton SEA
##All-League First-String Fullback Harry West KCY
##All-League First-String Tight End Bert Van PHI
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Tyrell Walzer CLE
##All-League First-String Wide Receiver Jorge Diaz DET
##All-League First-String Center Maurice Stargell TEN
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Brent Curtis NYK
##All-League First-String Offensive Guard Earl Carnation SEA
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Calvin Norton IND
##All-League First-String Offensive Tackle Damon Stephens TEN
##All-League First-String Punter Richie Poston STL
##All-League First-String Kicker Claude Peters KCY
##All-League First-String Defensive End Conrad Del Barco TBY
##All-League First-String Defensive End Clifton Reichard TEN
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Renaldo Donaldson CHI
##All-League First-String Defensive Tackle Daniel Autenrieth CIN
##All-League First-String Inside Linebacker Hardy Osborne CHI
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Stanley Gragg NYK
##All-League First-String Outside Linebacker Emmanuel Florian IND
##All-League First-String Cornerback Blaine Galloway DET
##All-League First-String Cornerback Billy Joe Young KCY
##All-League First-String Safety Grady Grant CIN
##All-League First-String Safety Desmond Sturgell SDO
##All-League Second-String Quarterback Kris Lyle TBY
##All-League Second-String Running Back Marlon McCloskey NJY
**All-League Second-String Fullback Darrin Grier MIN
##All-League Second-String Tight End Herman Bollman TEN
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Pete Whitcomb ATL
##All-League Second-String Wide Receiver Benjamin Cheever GBY
##All-League Second-String Center Wes Cutler PHI
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Eddie Harper SEA
##All-League Second-String Offensive Guard Renaldo Benedict PIT
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Lee Rapp SFO
##All-League Second-String Offensive Tackle Bart Raymer WAS
##All-League Second-String Punter Christian Briscoe SFO
##All-League Second-String Kicker Jonathan Klingbiel CAR
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Arnie Brandon SDO
##All-League Second-String Defensive End Ricardo Montero NJY
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Malcolm Creed NOS
##All-League Second-String Defensive Tackle Kendall Keith DEN
##All-League Second-String Inside Linebacker Lamar Pina SEA
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Bo Shapiro ARI
##All-League Second-String Outside Linebacker Jerome Slechta NJY
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Preston Everett NED
##All-League Second-String Cornerback Dwayne Gramatica SEA
##All-League Second-String Safety Tyrone Kurko STL
##All-League Second-String Safety Bennie Burks WAS


Comments
We pick up one award: FB Darrin Grier gets Second-Team All-Pro Fullback. He had a fine year receiving, and deserves the awards. Green Bay’s RB Matt Delgado gets his fourth consecutive Player of the Year Award. Yikes. FS Drew Lynn got ignored in the awards: the board picked all Strong Safeties, and seems to put considerable weight on tackles. First-team might have been a stretch for Lynn, but he had a much better campaign then the two Second-Team players did.

Draft Picks in Retrospect
This section of the dynasty was getting to be unmanageably long and was quickly becoming more work than fun. I’ve decided to stop doing this part of the dynasty.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006-2007 Offseason

Dynasty to Date

Year Team Eval Perf Diff Proft FrVal Record Playoffs
2006 MIN 55 5 75 56 81 5-11-0 None
2005 MIN 55 28 73 40 81 7-9-0 None
2004 MIN 50 17 71 22 89 6-10-0 None
2003 MIN 64 57 70 32 95 8-7-1 None
2002 MIN 61 95 72 62 39 14-5-0 Conference Champion



Comments
I used to think I was good at this game. I was wrong. The Vikings have floundered under my leadership over the past four years, and our first season remains the highlight of our dynasty. We have now reached the halfway point in our ten-year quest for a Super Bowl, and things are looking rather grim, as we sit in the middle of a four-year slump. The franchise has consistently underperformed, and has consistently show an amazing talent for blowing leads and losing in creative ways.

Will we get our Super Bowl title, or will we become the Bengals of this little digital playground? Only the future holds those answers…

[Godzilla Blitz]

Stadium Proposal
We make our fourth $20mil. payment for our stadium, scheduled to open next fall! If we have fans that come, this could provide the financial windfall we badly need, as we lost a robust $16 million last year, and should drop into the red next year.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Staff Hiring
Humm. Head Coach Richard looks to be slipping a bit. He drops in his ability to rate young talent, and drops in his abilities to work with linebackers. He does gain some fire though, as his motivation ability rises over the off season.


Geoff Reichard
Age: 54
Salary: $1,700,000
Years left on contract: 4

QB: 6 Young Talent: 3 (-1)
RB: 4 Motivation: 3 (+1)
WR: 3 Discipline: 3
OL: 3 Offensive Calls: 3
K: 3 Defensive Calls: 6
DL: 4 Injury Avoidance: 3
LB: 2 (-1)
DB: 5 Overall Rating: 58.5

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.


We spot Albert Melaragni, a relatively unknown scout who looks to be both a touch younger, a touch better, and a touch cheaper than Paul Parker. We make a bid for his services, and lock him up to a five-year deal for $250,000/yr. This will help shave down our costs as well.


Albert Melaragni
Age: 31
Salary: $250,000
Years left on contract: 5

QB: 3
RB: 4
WR: 4
OL: 3
K: 4
DL: 4
LB: 4
DB: 4
YT: 4
Overall: 39.0

Verbal ratings converted to numbers (1=poor, 6=excellent, etc.).
Overall rating: Double QB and Young Talent. Halve K. Add everything up.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006-2007 Finances
2006 Profit/Loss: -$16.8 million
Aggregate Profit/Loss to Date: +$17.9 million

We’ve only got one payment of $20 million left to make on our stadium, and if we want to sign free agents next year, we’ve got to lose less than $17.9 million dollars this year. A playoff run would do wonders, but that has been wishful thinking these past three years.

Fortunately, the fans still love us. Why they love us is a mystery, but they keep coming to the stadium, for which we are grateful.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2006-2007 Free Agency
Well, we’ve certainly got our work cut out for us this offseason. Although we are $46million under the cap with 36 players signed, we’re working with a limited budget due to our house rules so
big money free agents are off limits for the moment. We are facing some big contracts that have expired. Our three top DT’s are unrestricted free agents, and they all want ridiculous amounts of money to sign. FS Drew Lynn, although a restricted free agent, is looking for $32m over 5 years to stay with the team. Although I love his interceptions, he gave up over 50 passes caught last year, and that is an unacceptable number at free safety. We’ll bring on someone new.

We’ve also got some other holes in our lineup to fill as well. RB is the most obvious. Last year’s draft pick, Clarence Everett, is still on the shelf and most likely out for good with the ACL injury he suffered last year. RB Emmitt Sullivan is an unrestricted free agent. RB Will Wyant’s skills seem to drop every time I look at the roster. MLB is another spot we’ll need to find a new body for, as K.C. Van Horn is likely finished due to his injury as well.

We’re teetering on the brink of financial problems, and I would really to avoid the dire consequences if we can’t stay in the black. Somehow, I’ve got to find some good bodies to fill these holes and not spend a boatload of cash to do it.

We make eleven offers in the first week, and have our eyes on another dozen players. Of note is RB Arnold Turner. He was Offensive Player of the Year from 2002-2004 with Pittsburgh, but they apparently moved on to younger talent last year. After spending a year in backup duty, Turner is a free agent and asking for a reasonable two-year deal. We put in an offer for $3.8m/2yrs. We also put in a $4m/3yr offer to DT Travis George; he’s put up solid numbers with Indianapolis the past two years. Our last offer of note goes to MLB Tommie Arnold, a backup MLB with Cleveland for the past four years. He looks to me to have a big upside, and has put up solid numbers in the time that he has played. We toss out a $4.6m/3yr offer to him, and off we go…

We land DT George and a couple of other other min-sal offers in week one, but RB Turner and MLB Arnold hold out for more. In week 4, we bump up our offers to them, but still we get no movement.

After a few more weeks of sitting on our offers, both Turner and Arnold are still without offers from other teams, and have dropped their asking prices considerably. We withdraw our offers and give them new ones closer to their new asking amounts. The next week Turner signs, and by week ten we have Arnold as well. We also land a LT, Lenny Bronson, who has played solidly in a backup role with Tennessee, for $3.2m/3yrs. Could give us some good, cheap production from that position. In week nine, we spot a FS, Matthew Buchanan, who has played extremely well in a backup role with Jacksonville. We land him for $3m/3yrs. We also add a handful of role players, including one more DT to help fill out our depleted line. We’re almost done now, and will watch the back half of free agency for a DE and any bargains we can find.

We miss out on landing two of our own players in free agency. One I thought was a restricted free agent; the other I let slip through by mistake. Oh, well. We make no further signings in free agency, and head into the college draft with some a reasonable set of talent. We have holes at DT and DE, and could use some help at WR and TE.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2007 College Draft
There are two players, DT Travis Garrison and OT J.R. Frint, that are clearly the cream of the class. Unfortunately, we pick third. There are a large number of players clustered together after the top two, except perhaps at OT, where there are four players in all that look like they could develop into stars over time. I would be ecstatic if either Garrison or Frint fell to third, and would love to get Garrison. However, I doubt he will fall that far. If both of those guys go, we’ll consider trading down some, as I would be happy with a half dozen players after these top two go, and we have no second round pick in this draft. Unfortunately, RB, DE, and DT look especially thin this year. Crap.

Well, the Bears gobble up Garrison with the first pick, but we catch a break as Denver goes for a CB with the second pick! J.R. Frint is not necessarily at a position of need for us, but he is just too good of a player to pass up: he’s capable of starting right away, and should develop into a ferocious, all-around blocker. Not only that, but he comes from Minnetonka, Minnesota, so he’s a hometown kid. Easy choice for us, we grab him. And then we wait for two whole rounds…

Our picks:
1 (3). J.R. Frint, OT, Purdue.
3 (3). Charlie Houston, C, Michigan
This is a particularly crappy draft. Houston is not at a position of need, but he represents a major upgrade for us. I honestly saw no one else that I thought could really help us at any other positions. Not worth spending a third round pick on, anyway.
4 (3). Traded away to Washington for their 4th pick in 2008
There was nothing, I mean nothing, worthy of a fourth-round pick here. I’ll take my chances next year.
5 (3). Karl Purvis, K, Texas Tech.
Purvis is actually a pretty good kicker. Although I might be able to get him later, it’s not worth the risk. He should bring a significant improvement to our kicking game.
6 (3) and 7 (3). Traded to Cincinnati for their 5th pick in 2008.

Well, that has to be one of the lamest drafts I have seen to date. Probably a perfect draft to have given up a second round pick on. Honestly, this draft’s third round looked like the fifth or sixth round in the past couple of years. Maybe it is my scout, but I really think we could get better players off the scrap heap than we could in this draft.

Unfortunately, this leaves us with a gaping hole at DT, and strong weaknesses at DE, WR, and TE.

[Havok]

tough season bro.... but hey, theres no place to go but up!!! :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

Havok: Yeah, that was hell. I'd like to think there's no where to go but up, but I'm starting to wonder about 4-12, 3-13, 2-14, etc. I'm hoping I can turn this around soon. We should have been a better team this last year.

Thanks for the support, as always!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Training Camp 2003
We do our best to patch holes in the defensive front, but there isn’t much talent left over after the draft. We do get a bit lucky in that we have three defensive linemen that have “strong affinities” with unit leader Vinny Wert.

On offense, we’re not going to sign TE Neil Green, who wants $12m for 4 years. This will leave us weak at TE as well. I would rather make do at that position this year than risk going into the red next year. If at all possible, I want to stay in the black until our new stadium is built.


Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Tunnell, Aaron 16 QB 6 29 39 1 yr. 2004
Lynch, Hardy 19 QB 6 29 43 1 yr. 2006
Etaton, Brandon 15 QB 5 20 47 2 yrs. 2007
Bailey, Josh 18 QB 4 15 41 1 yr. 2006
Tate, Greg 4 QB 3 38 62 4 yrs. 2005
Ogunleye, Clyde 2 QB 1 10 42 1 yr. 2007
Turner, Arnold 22 RB 6 34 35 2 yrs. 2007
Wyant, Will 35 RB 3 31 33 2 yrs. 2005
Sheldon, Jackie 40 RB 3 25 30 1 yr. 2005
**Everett, Clarence 24 RB 2 44 57 1 yr. 2006
Roberts, Dusty 47 RB 1 34 41 1 yr. 2007
Summers, Ross 43 RB 1 26 32 1 yr. 2007
Scott, Tito 32 FB 6 33 33 2 yrs. 2006
West, Cris 41 FB 5 27 37 1 yr. 2005
Grier, Darrin 49 FB 3 54 74 1 yr. 2005
Greene, Neil 80 TE 4 48 48 --- 2004
Hadley, A.J. 88 TE 3 22 43 2 yrs. 2007
Burks, Earl 86 TE 1 18 43 1 yr. 2007
Klaff, Omar 89 TE 1 15 45 1 yr. 2007
Jarvis, Thomas 81 TE 1 18 46 1 yr. 2007
Brown, Tim 3 FL 5 42 42 1 yr. 2003
Briggs, Isaac 83 FL 2 25 43 --- 2006
Thorn, Ernest 27 FL 1 20 49 1 yr. 2007
Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 5 32 32 1 yr. 2003
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 4 28 34 1 yr. 2004
Kayer, Wesley 34 SE 3 30 37 1 yr. 2005
Guthrie, Bert 45 SE 1 16 40 1 yr. 2007
Brown, Henry 60 LT 6 29 49 1 yr. 2006
Meier, Brett 67 LT 5 40 45 1 yr. 2003
Frint, J.R. 64 LT 1 48 80 5 yrs. 2007
Fortin, Dwayne 77 LG 6 30 41 1 yr. 2006
Foley, Kelvin 72 LG 3 23 42 2 yrs. 2007
McCallum, Arnie 51 C 6 41 47 1 yr. 2006
Richardson, Monty 56 C 5 34 34 2 yrs. 2003
Houston, Charlie 57 C 1 30 66 3 yrs. 2007
Keneley, Stanley 63 RG 6 32 40 1 yr. 2006
Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 4 33 39 1 yr. 2004
Byrne, Arnie 6 RT 6 36 50 2 yrs. 2006
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 5 32 32 1 yr. 2003
Harris, Percy 13 P 3 91 91 4 yrs. 2005
Woodson, Donnie 9 K 4 46 46 2 yrs. 2004
Purvis, Karl 1 K 1 47 68 2 yrs. 2007
Wert, Vinny 99 LDE 6 39 41 1 yr. 2006
Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 5 33 35 1 yr. 2003
Willis, Toby 69 LDT 4 29 36 2 yrs. 2006
Jackson, Bill 93 NT 4 26 44 2 yrs. 2007
Douglas, Dana 92 RDT 6 22 32 1 yr. 2007
George, Travis 70 RDT 5 31 34 3 yrs. 2007
Skidmore, Artie 74 RDE 6 26 35 1 yr. 2007
Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 6 27 36 1 yr. 2003
**Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 5 34 38 1 yr. 2003
Burton, Vinny 53 SLB 6 29 36 2 yrs. 2006
Jose, Mel 96 SLB 2 49 64 5 yrs. 2006
Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 5 40 40 1 yr. 2003
Arnold, Tommie 90 MLB 5 29 50 3 yrs. 2007
**Van Horn, K.C. 54 MLB 3 34 42 2 yrs. 2005
Singleton, Curtis 58 MLB 2 13 30 1 yr. 2006
Sprehe, Zach 98 WLB 5 25 44 1 yr. 2005
King, Brock 28 WLB 2 14 45 1 yr. 2006
Schumann, Peter 37 LCB 2 39 52 3 yrs. 2006
Sinceno, Oliver 31 RCB 5 33 35 2 yrs. 2007
Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 4 38 38 2 yrs. 2004
Hanks, Raymond 46 RCB 3 20 40 3 yrs. 2007
LeBel, Reggie 38 RCB 2 42 82 3 yrs. 2006
Digler, Rich 26 SS 6 39 39 2 yrs. 2007
Duran, Wes 39 SS 6 35 37 1 yr. 2005
Finley, Roger 48 SS 2 31 51 3 yrs. 2006
Hoover, Trent 42 FS 6 38 38 2 yrs. 2006
Buchanan, Matthew 25 FS 6 37 46 3 yrs. 2007
Lynn, Drew 29 FS 4 56 56 --- 2004

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 67
On Active Roster: 65

Salary Cap: $88,600,000
Cap Room: $25,870,000
Maximum for New Player: $26,410,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $1,200,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $520,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $40,180,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2007 Camp and Preseason
We come through camp in fairly good order. RB Dusty Roberts looks a bit better than we expected, and may play a more significant role than we had imagined. OT J.R. Flint, our big first round draft pick, comes through camp looking just a bit less than advertised, but overall he looks to be still heading for stardom.

Unfortunately, despite trying to protect our stars, we get significantly beat up in the preseason. MLB Tommie Arnold, who had looked very good in the first two preseason games, gets knee tendonitis and will miss the first month of the season. Our rising star at CB, Reggie LeBel, gets a stomach injury that will keep him out of action for three weeks. We pick up a half dozen other injuries along the way, and come into our first game looking like we have played a half season or more.

2007 Minnesota Vikings Roster


Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct OnTeam
Lynch, Hardy 19 QB 6 34 43 1 yr. 2006
Etaton, Brandon 15 QB 5 23 47 2 yrs. 2007
$$Tate, Greg 4 QB 3 44 62 4 yrs. 2005
$$Turner, Arnold 22 RB 6 34 35 2 yrs. 2007
##Wyant, Will 35 RB 3 32 33 2 yrs. 2005
Sheldon, Jackie 40 RB 3 26 30 1 yr. 2005
**Everett, Clarence 24 RB 2 45 57 1 yr. 2006
Roberts, Dusty 47 RB 1 36 43 1 yr. 2007
Scott, Tito 32 FB 6 33 33 2 yrs. 2006
##West, Cris 41 FB 5 29 37 1 yr. 2005
$$Grier, Darrin 49 FB 3 58 74 1 yr. 2005
$$Hadley, A.J. 88 TE 3 26 43 2 yrs. 2007
Slocum, Darren 82 TE 1 20 40 1 yr. 2007
##Jarvis, Thomas 81 TE 1 19 42 1 yr. 2007
$$Brown, Tim 3 FL 5 42 42 1 yr. 2003
Thorn, Ernest 27 FL 1 22 43 1 yr. 2007
$$Cunningham, Rick 7 SE 5 32 32 1 yr. 2003
Zimmerman, Arnie 84 SE 4 29 34 1 yr. 2004
Kayer, Wesley 34 SE 3 32 37 1 yr. 2005
Meier, Brett 67 LT 5 42 45 1 yr. 2003
$$Frint, J.R. 64 LT 1 54 77 5 yrs. 2007
$$Fortin, Dwayne 77 LG 6 33 41 1 yr. 2006
##Foley, Kelvin 72 LG 3 25 42 2 yrs. 2007
Richardson, Monty 56 C 5 36 36 2 yrs. 2003
$$Houston, Charlie 57 C 1 35 62 3 yrs. 2007
Keneley, Stanley 63 RG 6 34 40 1 yr. 2006
$$Sweeney, Randy 62 RG 4 37 39 1 yr. 2004
$$Byrne, Arnie 6 RT 6 38 50 2 yrs. 2006
Scibona, Kendall 61 RT 5 32 32 1 yr. 2003
Harris, Percy 13 P 3 91 91 4 yrs. 2005
Purvis, Karl 1 K 1 52 68 2 yrs. 2007
Wert, Vinny 99 LDE 6 41 41 1 yr. 2006
$$Lyons, Warren 71 LDE 5 35 35 1 yr. 2003
Willis, Toby 69 LDT 4 32 36 2 yrs. 2006
$$Jackson, Bill 93 NT 4 28 44 2 yrs. 2007
##Douglas, Dana 92 RDT 6 25 32 1 yr. 2007
$$George, Travis 70 RDT 5 33 34 3 yrs. 2007
Skidmore, Artie 74 RDE 6 28 35 1 yr. 2007
$$Dougan, Archie 91 RDE 6 29 36 1 yr. 2003
##Walunas, Edgar 94 RDE 5 22 25 1 yr. 2003
Burton, Vinny 53 SLB 6 31 36 2 yrs. 2006
$$Jose, Mel 96 SLB 2 54 64 5 yrs. 2006
$$Wagner, Dwayne 55 MLB 5 40 40 1 yr. 2003
Arnold, Tommie 90 MLB 5 32 50 3 yrs. 2007
**Van Horn, K.C. 54 MLB 3 38 42 2 yrs. 2005
$$Sprehe, Zach 98 WLB 5 27 44 1 yr. 2005
##King, Brock 28 WLB 2 17 45 1 yr. 2006
$$Schumann, Peter 37 LCB 2 42 52 3 yrs. 2006
Sinceno, Oliver 31 RCB 5 35 35 2 yrs. 2007
$$Ferraro, Oliver 23 RCB 4 41 41 2 yrs. 2004
LeBel, Reggie 38 RCB 2 47 82 3 yrs. 2006
Digler, Rich 26 SS 6 39 39 2 yrs. 2007
$$Finley, Roger 48 SS 2 34 51 3 yrs. 2006
Hoover, Trent 42 FS 6 41 41 2 yrs. 2006
$$Buchanan, Matthew 25 FS 6 40 46 3 yrs. 2007

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 55
On Active Roster: 46
Salary Cap: $88,600,000
Cap Room: $28,160,000
Maximum for New Player: $28,450,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $1,830,000

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $1,380,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $38,640,000

[Godzilla Blitz]

2007 Season Outlook
For the past few years I have looked at our roster at the beginning of the season and felt like we could field a competitive team. Each and every year we have floundered badly. Our roster this year is no exception: we rank 9th on the NFL roster evaluation chart, which is comparable to last year and the year before. On paper, one would think that this would indicate that we are capable of at least fighting for a playoff spot.

We should be a better team than last year, despite taking hits on the defensive line and losing some other players to injuries last year. If we can stay healthy, I’d like to think this is the year we get back to the playoffs. However, I have been beaten into hopelessness by the frustrations of the past few years. Prognosis: 6-10. I hope I prove myself wrong.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 1: Minnesota (0-0) at Chicago (0-0)
Line: 2-point underdogs

Preview
Chicago finished an abysmal 4-12 last year. However, our faithful fans may remember that two of those wins came against us. We would like to get some revenge this year, and on paper we look to be the much better team. On paper hasn’t meant much to us, though.

Chicago leads the series, 6-4.

Result
We get a good kickoff return to start the game, and follow it with a short march to field goal range. K Karl Purvis drills home the field goal to give us a quick 3-0. We trade ineffective possessions after that until Chicago gets their offense in gear for a long TD drive to put them up 7-3. On their next possession however, DE Vinny Wert sacks the Chicago QB and forces a fumble in the process. DT Toby Willis recovers, and we take over at the Chicago 12-yard line. Tate hits FB Darrin Grier in the endzone for TD that gives us a 10-7 lead. Chicago answers with a long drive, but ends that one with a fumble as well. We go to halftime, up 10-7.

Chicago’s ground game really cranks it up in the third quarter, but once again, they fumble to end a long drive into our territory. Our offense, mainly due to a horrible passing game, is terribly ineffective. We stop Chicago on their next few possessions, and head to the fourth quarter, up 10-7. Chicago continues to move the ball in the fourth quarter, but also continues to struggle to get into field goal range. We somehow find a way to stop them as they cross midfield. We expecting another “miraculous TD drive”, and sure enough, Chicago starts driving deep into our territory as time runs down. They are just getting into field goal range when FS Roger Finley nails the Chicago RB to force a fumble that he in turn recovers! Wow! We almost manage to run out the clock, but end up punting to give Chicago the ball at their own 3-yard line with just a few seconds left. Flashbacks to last year’s opener against Green Bay are dancing in our heads, but backup FS Trent Hoover picks off the Chicago pass and runs it in for a TD to finish the Lions off! We win, 17-7!

Notes
Chicago badly outplayed us. They had 234 yards of rushing offense. Our longest drive of the day was 37 yards. We only had 60 yards of passing. However, Chicago had five turnovers to our zero, and that made the difference. …I have no idea why our passing game was so bad. …Our run defense, a big question mark after the loss of so many players in the off season, looked pretty porous. We could be in trouble here. …Tate (10-23, 60 yards, 1 TD, 0 int) was awful. I am starting to think we need to find him some better receivers. …RB Arnold Turner (17-71 yards) was productive in his first game as a Viking. …FS’s Hoover and Buchanan, who have taken over Drew Lynn’s spot in the defensive backfield, gave up 0 passes on the day!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 2: San Diego (1-0) at Minnesota (1-0)
Line: 1-point favorites.

Preview
San Diego has made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons, but has been unable to get through the divisional round in each season.

We’re going with pretty much the same lineup as last week, and have trouble locating any significant problem with the game plan that would have led to us getting only 60 yards in passing last week, or letting Chicago run for over 200 yards. We’ll see what happens this week before making any radical changes.

San Diego leads the series, 1-0.

Result
San Diego draws first blood with a short field goal drive. We reply with a solid TD drive that Tate caps with a 2-yard TD pass to WR Rick Cunningham. In the second quarter, we add a field goal to our lead, but San Diego hits on a 61-yard TD bomb to even the score midway through the quarter. Just before the half, we sneak into field goal range and K Karl Purvis hits it home to give us a 13-10 halftime lead.

We drive 80 yards for another TD in the third quarter, but miss the extra point to leave us with a 19-10 lead. San Diego returns the ensuing kickoff for a TD, and our lead dwindles to 19-17 almost immediately. San Diego would own the rest of the game though, as they go on an 8-minute field goal drive, then follow it with an 8-minute TD drive. Our offense only gets the ball three more times, and we go nowhere. We lose 27-19.

Notes
Our defense played well in the first half, but San Diego moved the ball at will for the last 20 minutes of the game. …Tate (22-42, 348 yards, 1 TD, 2 int) set a team record for passing yards, but couldn’t seem to get the ball in the endzone. …WR Tim Brown (7-177 yards), who is once again a content player, had a fine day, but Tate threw the ball to him 17 times. Yikes. We need another receiver. …RB Arnold Turner (12-73 yards, 1 TD) had another solid day.

[Havok]

i finally broke down and bought FOF4 and your partly to blame along with the other dynastys :)

2002 just wasn't doing it for me anymore

[Godzilla Blitz]

Originally posted by Havok
i finally broke down and bought FOF4 and your partly to blame along with the other dynastys :)

2002 just wasn't doing it for me anymore

I hope you enjoy it! I'd be interested to read a dynasty if you get one going!

For the way I play the game, FOF4 feels much more complete than FOF2001. I like the chemistry, the complete records, the sharper drafting AI, and the fact that backups don't ask for a ton of money. It's also a pleasure to get rid of those tiny scroll bars.

Some things seem a bit off, and I could easily come up with a list of things I'd like to see fixed/modified, but overall I've enjoyed it more than any of the previous versions.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 3: San Francisco (2-0) at Minnesota (1-1)
Line: 2-point favorites

Preview
San Francisco history is similar to ours: they made the playoffs in 2002 and have never been back. They just missed the playoffs last year with their 9-7 record, and are off to a solid start this year.

We’re still waiting for MLB Arnold and RCB LeBel to get over injuries, and now starting SS Roger Finley is out. Basically three of our top five defensive starters are on the shelf today. I’m hoping we can hang on. If we could split the next two games and get our defensive unit healthy, we might have a chance here.

We lead the series, 2-1.

Result
In a wacky first quarter, we recover a San Fran fumble on their 18-yard line, then promptly fumble the ball away ourselves. On San Fran’s next possession we pick off a pass to take over at their 40-yard line. This time we drive in for a TD and a 7-0 lead. Our defense bottles up San Francisco for the remainder of the half, but our offense manages only one field goal attempt, which K Karl Purvis misses. We go to halftime, up 7-0.

The second half would play out much the same as the first. MLB Wagner picks off one San Fran pass to set us up for an easy score, but Tate throws an interception on the next pass. MLB Wagner picks off another pass in our endzone to end a San Fran threat that resulted from another Tate interception. These bizarre exchanges are scattered throughout the second half, as both teams seem to refuse to score. Finally, midway through the fourth quarter, MLB Wagner picks off his third pass on the day. This time he takes it 25 yards for a TD to ice the game for us. San Francisco goes nowhere the rest of the way, and we get our second shutout in franchise history. Final score: 14-0.

Notes
What a strange, sloppy game. San Francisco had six turnovers; we had five. Yikes. …MLB Dwayne Wagner set a team record with three interceptions in one game. …Tate (17-32, 219 yards, 1 TD, 3 ints) had a rough day. I really am starting to think not signing TE Neil Green was a mistake, despite his outrageous salary demands. Our lack of quality receivers is hurting us …DE Edgar Walunas, who has been with us for five seasons now, has recovered from the knee injury he suffered last year. Unfortunately, he is a shell of his former self. We are forced to cut him. …With the free roster slot, we pick up former Green Bay WR Antonio Cortez, who caught 60 passes with them last year. He doesn’t look talented at all, and his numbers may have been more a result of Green Bay’s amazing passing game rather than a factor in producing it. We’ll find out, though.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 4: Minnesota (2-1) at Philadelphia (2-1)
Line: 2-point favorites

Preview
Philadephia had their first ever winning season last year, and made the playoffs as a wild card. They were quickly eliminated, but are off to a good start this year in an attempt to make consecutive playoff appearances. On paper, they do not look that talented, and we look to have the better team.

WR Tim Brown has come down with a viral infection, so we insert newly acquired WR Antonio Cortez into the starting lineup. Also, we get RCB Reggie LeBel back from injury, so that should help our secondary out considerably.

The series is tied, 1-1.

Result
We waste no time in getting on the board, as Tate hits on three long passes to get us in the endzone on our first drive. Philadelphia drives to our 5-yard line before stalling and settling for a field goal, but their second drive goes all the way for a TD and a 10-7 lead. We put together two field goal drives later in the half, and take a 13-10 lead into halftime.

Philadelphia has a strong third quarter, as they get two long TD drives to go up, 24-13. We get back in the game with a TD drive later in the quarter, and go to the fourth quarter down, 24-20. Tate drives us 80 yards for a field goal early in the last quarter, and then with 4 minutes to go, we take over at midfield following an interception. Tate takes us in for the score, and with 3 minutes to go, we’re up 29-24. The comeback curse gets us this time, though, as Philadelphia hits on a 49-yard TD bomb to grab a 32-29 lead with less than 2 minutes to go. They hang on to win by the same score. Damn it. So close. We fall to 2-2.

Notes
Nice to see us come back like that. Too bad we gave them the game right after that. …RCB Reggie LeBel got burned for 5 passes caught. Not a good return for someone who is supposed to be our shutdown corner. Tate (26-35, 407 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int) had a fantastic day. His 407 yards is the third-best performance by quarterback in league history. …Too bad our running game (54 yards) couldn’t get in gear. …SE Wesley Kayer (6-121 yards), FL Antonio Cortez (5-63 yards), and FL Ernest Thorn (4-92 yards, 1 TD) led our receiving corps.

[mattwakeman]

fantastic read mate. yet again reading something like this proves (well, to me anyway) that football dynasties are better then sports with longer schedules. its been really fun so far and i feel sure that you are soooo close to turning the corner.

good one :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

Matt: Thanks for the compliments! I sure hope we are close to turning the corner. It's been a long time between playoff visits.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 5: Minnesota (2-2) at Green Bay (2-2)
Line: 1-point favorites

Preview
If you want to be the man, you’ve got to beat the man. Green Bay has won the NFC North four consecutive years: they are “the man” in this division. A win in Green Bay would put us at a solid 3-2, and drop Green Bay to a 2-3 hole.

Green Bay has all world RB Matt Delgado, over-achieving QB Mitchell Potson, and top receiver Benajamin Cheever. Potson passed for a league-record 428 yards against us last year, and Cheever picked up a record 184 yards receiving in that same game. Time for some payback.

We’ve got off-season signing MLB Tommie Arnold in the lineup for the first time today, and across the board we’re looking pretty healthy. Everything points to this being a good game.

Green Bay leads the series, 7-3.

Result
Green Bay’s offense picks up right where it left off last year, as they march down the field for TDs on both of first two possessions. However, we match them step-for-step and score TDs on our first two possessions as well. We’re a few minutes into the second quarter before a punter gets into the game. Green Bay adds a field goal in the second quarter to take a 17-14 lead. We miss a last second field goal just before the half to go to the locker room down, 17-14.

Early in the third quarter, Green Bay goes on a 98-yard TD drive to open up a 10-point lead at 24-14. Late in the third quarter, they’re driving for yet another score when CB Reggie LeBel picks off a Green Bay pass in our endzone to keep our hopes alive. Tate responds by taking us 80 yards for a TD to get us to within 3 points, at 24-21, with 13 minutes to go. We would get great field position shortly after that, and Tate gets us to within field goal range. K Karl Purvis hits the kick and we are suddenly tied, 24-24, with 7 minutes left. Our defense rises to the occasion and stops Green Bay, and then RB Arnold Turner breaks a 63-yard run for us that puts us deep in Green Bay territory. We stall at their 1-yard line, but get a field goal and a 27-24 lead with 3:30 left in the game. Amazingly our defense stops Green Bay on their subsequent two possessions, and we hang on to win a thrilling comeback, 27-24, in Green Bay! We have beat the man in the man’s house!

Notes
What a great game! It is very early in the season to tell, but it feels as if it’s been years since we’ve won a critical game like this. …Tate (27-41, 311 yards, 3 TDs, 1 int) had another stellar day. His numbers have taken off since we added WR Antonio Cortez (5-55 yards) to our lineup. Cortez, waived earlier in the season by Green Bay, has played solid ball for us in the past two games. He doesn’t look like much on paper, but he seems to catch everything thrown his way. …RB Arnold Turner (19-132 yards, 1 TD receiving) led our strong ground game. …Our defense had trouble stopping Green Bay early, but performed well with the game on the line. …MLB Tommie Arnold (9 tackles, 3 assists, 4 passes defensed) played well in his debut with us. …We’ve got a bye next week, followed by Dallas (2-3).

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 6: Bye

Week 7: Minnesota (3-2) at Dallas (2-4)
Line: 4-point favorites

Preview
In 2005, Dallas had the best record in the NFC. In 2006, they fell to 6-10. This year they are off to a sluggish start.

The bye week clears up the few lingering injuries that we had, and we are completely healthy going into this game. Be nice to pull away from the .500 mark with a win here.

Dallas leads the series, 1-0.

Result
We recover our own fumble on a punt return and run it 95 yards for a TD to open the scoring. We march down the field in a more traditional manner on our next drive, and RB Arnold Turner slashes in from 10 yards out to put us up 14-0, only 7 minutes into the game. The tide turns after that, though, as Dallas rips apart our defense on their way to 17 unanswered points. We go to halftime, down 17-14.

In the third quarter, we gobble up a Dallas fumble and run it 43 yards for a TD and a 21-17 lead. A few minutes later, we return the favor, though, as we fumble on our own 2-yard line. Dallas’ offense punches it in for seven points, and once again we’re down by three. We go on a long TD drive at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 28-24 lead with 10 minutes to go, and things stay that way until Dallas gets the ball again with 4 minutes to go. We’re seeing flashbacks to last year, as their offense goes down the field like we’re not even there and scores a go-ahead TD to put us down 31-28. Our offense goes nowhere, Dallas adds an insurance field goal, and we lose, 34-28.

Notes
Very frustrating game. Dallas seemed to move the ball at will once we grabbed a 14-0 lead. They controlled the ball for more than 35 minutes, and had 21 first downs on the day. The two fumble returns for TDs are the only thing that kept us in the game. We were badly outplayed. …Tate (16-29, 243 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) played well throughout the day, but our defense’s inability to stop Dallas killed our chances. …RB Arnold Turner (20-91 yards, 2 TDs) was a bright spot on our offense. …MLB Tommie Arnold (6 catches allowed) and SLB Mel Jose (7 catches allowed) got chewed up by Dallas’ short yardage passing game.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 8: Washington (4-2) at Minnesota (3-3)
Line: 2-point underdogs

Preview
The Redskins have finished in last place in the NFC East three years in a row. They are off to a good start this year though, and come to the Metrodome looking to pull away from the rest of the division.

We’re stuck right in the middle of a tightly packed NFC North now. Detroit leads the division at 4-3, Chicago and we are 3-3, and Green Bay stands at 3-4.

The series between the two teams is tied 2-2.

Result
Washington puts a hurt on us like no other in the first half. At one point they have nearly 200 yards of offense to our 17, and 13 first downs to our 1. Amazingly, they are only able to put 13 points on the board, and late in the half our offense awakens ands drives in for a TD to get us to within 6 points at halftime.

We play much better in the second half, but flounder in their red zone. We get down there three times in the third quarter and come away with only three points. We trail going into the fourth quarter, 13-10. In the fourth quarter, Washington picks off a pass in our end to set up another field goal, and with 5 minutes left, they lead 16-10. We rally for one field goal drive to pull to 16-13, then Mel Jose picks off a questionable Washington pass with a little over two minutes to go to get us the ball at midfield. We go nowhere and punt, pinning Washington deep in their own end. Brilliantly, they pass twice, both of which are incomplete, and end up giving the ball back to us with a little over a minute to go. We drive down deep into Washington territory, and hit a field goal to tie the game!

We cannot break our overtime jinx however, as Washington nails a 49-yard field goal on their second possession to win the game, 19-16, and drop us below .500 at 3-4.

Here we go again?

Notes
Our franchise overtime record is 0-7-1. Sigh. …Tate (11-34, 190 yards, 0 TDs, 4 ints) was horrible, and had what has to be considered his worst day as a pro. …SLB Mel Jose (9 tackles, 1 int) led our defensive effort. …Although I am enjoying this career tremendously, the more I watch the fourth quarter AI, the more I realize how bad it is.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 9: New York Jets (4-3) at Minnesota (3-4)
Line: 4-point favorites

Preview
The New York Jets won the NFC East last year and made it to the Divisional round of the playoffs. This year they started cold, but have won their last three games, beating Chicago, Green Bay, and Detroit. They are looking to sweep the NFC North with a win against us.

Our season is once again heading in the wrong direction. We’ve now lost three of our last four games, and badly need a win to keep our heads above water. Detroit and Green Bay lead the division with 4-4 records, so a win today would give us a fresh start on the season.

We lead the series between the two teams, 2-0.

Result
Things start out badly for us. Tate hits WR Thorn on a long pass but Thorn fumbles the ball. New York scoops it up and races 70 yards for a TD to take a 7-0 lead. We move the ball well, though, but have to settle for two field goals. New York drives for a field goal as well, and at the half, the score is New York 10, Minnesota 6.

We start out the third quarter by throwing an interception deep in our own end that results in a New York field goal and a 13-6 deficit. After that, though, our offense starts clicking on all cylinders. We drive 70 yards for a TD to tie the game at 13-13. New York pins us on our 1-yard line on our next possession and gains great field position, but they fumble at our 26-yard line, and from there on, it’s all us. Touchdown, touchdown, field goal, field goal, and when the dust settles we have blown them away 33-20. They added a meaningless TD at the end of the game. We rise to 4-4, like everyone else in the NFC North. Our season starts anew in the second half of the season!

Notes
We completely outplayed the Jets, gaining 493 yards to their 241. The 493 yards of offense is a new team record. …Our defense played an excellent game. Their two TDs came on fumble recoveries. …Tate (27-38, 294 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) bounced back after last week’s horrible performance. …FB Warren Grier caught 8 passes.

[Godzilla Blitz]

2007 Midseason Report
Comments


Record: 4-4
Winning Pct.: .500

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 221 19 (T)
Rushing Yards 956 14
Yards Per Carry 4.32 7 (T)
Pass Attempts 274 18 (T)
Completions 156 23
Passing Yards 2072 7
Yards Per Attempt 7.56 1
3rd Down Conversions 38.8 9
Points Per Game 22.8 6 (T)
Turnovers 19 22 (T)
Turnover Margin 0 16 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 242 23
Rushing Yards 1006 25
Yards Per Carry 4.15 23
Pass Attempts 273 12 (T)
Completions 161 12
Passing Yards 1824 15
Yards Per Attempt 6.68 24
3rd Down Conversions 36.6 16 (T)
Points Per Game 20.3 23
Turnovers 19 4 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 17 at CHI 7
2 19 SDO 27
3 14 SFO 0
4 29 at PHI 32
5 27 at GBY 24
7 28 at DAL 34
8 16 WAS 19
9 33 NYK 20
10 CHI
11 at DET
12 OAK
13 at CAR
14 at DEN
15 DET
16 at KCY
17 GBY

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
4 Tate QB 274 156 2072 7.56 10 13
**Team --- 274 156 2072 7.56 10 13

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
22 Turner RB 125 576 4.60 4
47 Roberts RB 42 177 4.21 1
49 Grier FB 32 142 4.43 1
4 Tate QB 17 35 2.05 0
**Team --- 221 956 4.32 6

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
34 Kayer WR 45 23 328 14.2 32 1
3 Brown WR 39 18 371 20.6 73 0
27 Thorn WR 36 18 290 16.1 37 2
49 Grier FB 35 26 209 8.0 130 1
22 Turner RB 27 14 135 9.6 67 1
80 Cortez WR 25 16 241 15.0 38 0
88 Hadley TE 25 16 167 10.4 40 2
7 Cunningham WR 14 6 114 19.0 40 2
47 Roberts RB 11 8 56 7.0 11 1
**Team --- 273 156 2072 13.2 492 10

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
96 Jose OLB 54 15 2.5 1 1 4
90 Arnold ILB 33 13 1.0 0 0 6
98 Sprehe OLB 32 23 1.0 0 1 1
25 Buchanan S 28 11 0.0 0 0 2
70 George DT 26 8 1.0 5 0 1
31 Sinceno CB 23 0 0.0 0 1 0
55 Wagner ILB 22 12 1.0 0 3 0
37 Schumann CB 20 6 0.0 0 0 2
99 Wert DE 19 1 5.0 12 0 1
38 LeBel CB 19 6 0.0 0 1 5
93 Jackson DT 18 7 1.5 7 0 0
48 Finley S 16 4 0.0 1 0 3
26 Digler S 15 2 0.0 0 1 0
42 Hoover S 15 4 1.0 1 2 2
91 Dougan DE 15 4 3.5 2 0 0
23 Ferraro CB 14 3 0.0 1 0 2
74 Skidmore DE 13 6 2.5 1 0 0
53 Burton OLB 11 8 0.0 0 1 1
92 Douglas DT 10 0 0.0 4 0 0
**Team --- 458 137 20.0 36 11 30



Notes
Our offense is doing exceptionally well. We’ve got only two problems: turnovers and penalties. We’re 22nd in the league in turnovers on offense; we rank 2nd in total penalty yardage. Yikes. …We really need to address our wide receiver situation. Brown, who has been hit or miss over his career, is the only receiver we have drafted. We are also really missing TE Neil Green, who we let go for monetary reasons.

Defensively, there are signs of improvement in our pass defense, but our run defense has gotten appreciably worse. To a certain degree this was to be expected, as we simply lost too many people on our front line. With most of our people on defense still learning to play the game, I am hoping that we’ll be able to pick up our play in the second half of the season.

Well, with half the season down, we sit in a four-way tie for first in the NFC North. We’ve got six divisional games to play in the back half of the season. Needless to say, that is where the whole thing will be decided. This is the first season in a while where we don’t have to climb out of a hole from the mid-point. Even though we’ve lost some tough games, it feels good to face the second half with a reasonable chance at a playoff spot.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 10: Chicago (4-4) at Minnesota (4-4)
Line: 6-point favorites

Preview
This will be our second meeting of the year. We beat Chicago in a squeaker to open the season. Chicago is coming off of a 48-27 win against Philadelphia. Let’s hope their offense has burned up all their points in that game.

We’re still remarkably healthy for the midpoint of the season. We’ve got two dings on the defensive line, but otherwise we can put our best team on the field.

Chicago leads the series, 6-5.

Result
Chicago opens the game with a 9-minute, 63-yard field goal drive to take a 3-0 lead. Things stay that way until midway through the second quarter, when FB Darrin Grier breaks a 63-yard screen pass to get us to the Chicago 1-yard line. Two plays later he busts into the endzone and we take a 7-3 lead. There is no more scoring in the first half.

Neither team goes anywhere in the third quarter, but Chicago gets a field goal when we go for a fourth-and-two from our own 40. We go to the fourth quarter, up 7-6. Both offenses struggle in the fourth quarter, but we get a lucky, 54-yard field goal from Karl Purvis to nudge our lead up to 10-6. The game is locked there, until Chicago gets the ball deep in their own end with just over 2 minutes to go. “Here we go again!”, I’m thinking, and sure enough, on third-and-ten from the Chicago 42-yard line, they hit a 49-yard pass to our 11-yard line. Amazingly, our defense holds on the next three plays, and Chicago’s desperate fourth down pass from our 3-yard line sails over their receiver’s outstretched hands! We hang on and win, 10-6! Wow! I thought for sure we were done for at the end there.

Notes
Tate (18-30, 236 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) had a good day, but for some reason, he can’t seem to find the endzone: he’s had only 1 TD pass in the last four games, after getting 9 in the first five. …Chicago ran well but struggled in the air; we ran nowhere, but moved the ball well enough by the pass. …This was a defensive struggle that never felt like a defensive struggle. Both teams moved the ball on lots of 15-30 yard drives that just sputtered out around midfield. Only one possession (Chicago’s third quarter field goal drive) started in opposition territory. …We win consecutive games for the first time since weeks 14-15 in 2005.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 11: Minnesota (5-4) at Detroit (4-5)
Line: 2-point favorites

Preview
Although they came close in 2005 and 2006, the Lions are one of three NFL teams that have not made the playoffs in league history. They started out strong this year: they won their first three games. They have won only once in their last five tries.

Green Bay beat Chicago last week, so we’re tied with the Packers for first place. We’re mildly banged up now, with four starters out for today’s game. We’re looking to win three in a row for the first time since weeks 2-4 of 2004, more than three years ago.

We lead the series, 6-4.

Result
Defenses rule the first quarter, as neither team can do anything with the ball. We get on the board first early in the second quarter with an 80-yard TD drive that Tate finishes with a 13-yard TD pass to WR Tim Brown. Later in the quarter, Tate sets the table for Detroit by tossing an interception that gives them the ball at our 17-yard line. They get a first-and-goal at our 3-yard line, but our defense holds, and Detroit settles for a field goal. We go to the half up, 7-3.

Through the first ten minutes of the second half, there is no scoring, but starting with a little more than five minutes left on the clock in the third quarter, Detroit ends four consecutive possessions with interceptions, and our offense takes advantage of the excellent field position to put 13 unanswered points on the board, effectively ending the game. We would add an insurance field goal late in the game, and win our third in a row, 23-3! We rise to 6-4!

Notes
The overall yardage stats were fairly even today, but the four interceptions killed Detroit’s chances. SLB Jose, CB Schumann, FS Finley, and SS Buchanan each picked off passes. …Tate (25-34, 257 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) had a solid day. …WR Tim Brown (9-119 yards, 1 TD) led our offensive effort. …DE Archie Dougan had 3 sacks on the day. …Green Bay (6-4) wins to keep pace with us at the top of the NFC North. …Next up, 4-6 Oakland, at the Metrodome.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 12: Oakland (4-6) at Minnesota (6-4)
Line: 7-point favorites

Preview
Oakland has not made the playoffs since 2003, and has yet to win a playoff game in their franchise history. They have struggled this year. On paper, they look average, but their unassuming QB, Kyle Humpries, has racked up a solid 81 rating despite little talent.

We’ve got WR Thorn and WR Brown hurt for today’s game, and our injury list is growing by one or two players a game. We’re looking for our fourth win in a row, which hasn’t happened since the back half of 2003.

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
We draw first blood when Karl Purvis nails a 51-yard field goal late in the first quarter. LB Mel Jose intercepts an Oakland pass shortly thereafter and takes it to the Oakland 12-yard line. Two plays later, RB Arnold Turner runs it in for a TD to give us a 10-0 lead. Our defense continues to smother the Oakland offense, and late in the quarter Tate takes us on a 94-yard TD drive to put us up 17-0 at the half.

Early in the second half, we lose RB Arnold Turner to an injury, and our offense grinds to a halt without him in there. We go nowhere in the third quarter. Oakland’s offense, on the other hand, starts to show sings of life. They drive deep into our territory late in the third quarter, but settle for a field goal that makes the score 17-3 as we head into the final period. Our offense continues to stumble, and Oakland gets another drive going with 9 minutes left in the game. In four minutes, they get to our 3-yard line, where they face a fourth-and-goal, down by 14 points, with 5 minutes to go in the game. Brilliantly, they kick a field goal to make the score 17-6!?! What are they thinking? Outraged by this incredible display of football cowardice, the Gods of Football make sure Oakland never gets the ball again: we run out the clock on the ground and win our fourth game in a row, 17-6! Four in a row! Wow!

Notes
Although we won the game, our injury list looks like the X-COM II Hall of Heroes. We lose RB Arnold Turner for 5 weeks with a broken jaw. MLB Tommie Arnold will be dinged with a shoulder injury for a month. We lose another WR, Antonio Cortez, to a sprained ankle. All our flankers are now hurt. The biggest loss will be Turner (675 yards, 4.0 avg., 5 TDs), as he has been the heart of our ground game. …Tate (22-28, 223 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) had another good day. Three weeks ago, we tweaked the game plan to throw more short passes, and it seems to be paying off. His completion percentage has jumped up, and we are controlling the ball better. Our defense has given up 15 points and no touchdowns in the last three games. …Green Bay won their fourth in a row as well, keeping pace with us at 7-4 atop the NFC north. Both Detroit and Chicago have fallen to 4-7, so it is quickly becoming a two-team race. If the season were to end today, Green Bay (7-4) and St. Louis (6-4-1) would be the Wild Card teams. …Up next, 6-5 Carolina, at Carolina.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 13: Minnesota (7-4) at Carolina (6-5)
Line: 4-point favorites

Preview
Carolina’s history is unusual: they have made the playoffs twice, but their best record has been 8-8. They won the NFC South once with a 7-8-1 record, and got a Wildcard berth with an 8-8 record another year. This year they are tied with Tampa Bay for the division lead. This game has large playoff implications for both teams.

We’re trying to patch together a lineup for today’s game. We decide to go with rookie RB Dusty Roberts at RB, but RB Jackie Sheldon should get a lot of touches as well. We patch together things at our other weakspots, and head out to play…

We lead the series, 2-0.

Result
We alternate field goals in about an evenly matched first half you can get. At the half, it’s tied at 6-6.

We erupt in the third quarter. We start out with a two and a half minute 76-yard TD drive to go up 13-6. Four plays later we pick off a Carolina pass to set up a 43-yard TD drive to go up 20-6. Carolina fumbles the kickoff and we recover at their 25-yard line. FB Darrin Grier rumbles 25 yards on the next play for yet another TD to put us up, 27-6. The 21 points in 8:42 seconds effectively end the game, as our offense goes in clock-eating mode. Carolina can do nothing against our defense, and we win easily, 27-6, for our fifth win in a row! We’re at 8-4!

Notes
Our defense has not allowed a touchdown in 22 quarters of play! Wow! The unit is really starting to gel. Although they are ranked 23rd against the run (yd./att.) and 16th against the pass (yd./att), they rank 3rd in turnovers and 5th in points allowed. …Tate (18-28, 221 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) had another positive day. He is really starting to flourish with this short passing game plan. Our passing game is now ranked first in the NFL (yd./att.). …Green Bay lost to New Orleans (30-27) to fall one game behind us in the NFC North. …Our five-game winning streak is our second best ever. We won six in a row in our NFC Championship year of 2002. …RB Dusty Roberts (16-50 yards) and FB Darrin Grier (13-68 yards, 2 TDs) gave us an effective ground game, but Roberts looks to be a level lower than RB Arnold Turner, who still is out for four more weeks. …Next up, Denver (7-5), at Denver.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 14: Minnesota (8-4) at Denver (7-5)
Line: 1-point underdogs

Preview
Much like us, Denver has rebounded from a 4-12 season in 2006 to respectability in 2007. They are currently a game behind San Diego in the AFC West, and are in the thick of the AFC Wildcard hunt as well. Their premier player is QB Jermaine Richardson, a first round draft pick in 2003 and the most talented QB that we have seen come through the draft yet. Fortunately for us and tragically for him, he suffered a serious back injury last week against Pittsburgh that will require surgery. He went on IR last week and is out for the year. His back up, QB Spencer Devito, is a six-year drifter with a career rating of 62.4.

For the first time in a while, our injury list is shorter than the previous week’s. We’re out for team-record tying sixth straight win.

The weather in Denver today is perfect for football: 24 degrees and snowing!

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
We’re closing in for the first score of the game when Tate hits WR Antonio Cortez just shy of the Denver endzone. Cortez fumbles though, and Denver recovers to end our chances. We strike back quickly though, as our defense stuffs Denver to give us the ball back in Denver territory. This time Tate finds paydirt, hitting WR Wesley Kayer on a 34-yard strike to put us in front 7-0. We trade field goals in the second quarter and go to halftime, up 10-3.

Denver sets us up early in the third quarter with a terrible punt that we field at their 35-yard line. We stall near the endzone, but Karl Purvis nails the field goal to increase our lead to 13-3. We recover a Denver fumble in their end later in the quarter, and are driving in for what would be a pivotal score when once again we fumble away the ball, killing our drive inside the Denver 10-yard line. Denver rebounds with a long field goal drive to pull within 7 points, at 13-6. Early in the fourth quarter, Tate throws an interception that gives Denver the ball deep in our end, and for the first time in 25 quarters, an opponent scores a TD on our defense! With most of the fourth quarter left, we’re tied at 13-13. Later in the quarter, after pinning Denver deep in their end, we are driving for yet another score when once again we fumble, this time at the Denver 14-yard line! Aargh! Hold on to the ball! Fortunately, Denver goes nowhere with the ball, and things stay tied until we get the ball at our 37-yard line with 47 seconds left. Tate hits on two medium passes, we get a defensive pass interference penalty, and suddenly we are at the Denver 29-yard line with 6 seconds left! Karl Purvis comes on, kicks the ball up and into the snow…

GOOD! We win, 16-13, as time expires! Wow! Did we dodge a bullet there!

Notes
We tie our team record for consecutive wins with six. …Green Bay lost to Oakland, 31-24, to put us two games up with three games to go. …Maybe it was the inclement weather’s fault, but we fumbled five times, losing three of them, and threw one interception for a total of four turnovers. We managed only one interception against Denver. …Tate (26-39, 296 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) had a decent day throwing, but fumbled twice to kill drives. …Our running game (47 yards) struggled in the snow. …Punter Percy Harris (8 punts, 51.7 avg., 6 kicks inside the 20) was a force today. Denver’s average drive started from their 19-yard line, and five times they started from inside their 10-yard line. …Next up, 5-8 Detroit, at home.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 15: Detroit (5-8) at Minnesota (9-4)
Line: 8-point favorites

Preview
Detroit has won only two of their last eight games, and a loss today would end any lingering hopes of sneaking into the playoffs as an 8-8 Wildcard.

A win for us and a loss for Green Bay would give us the NFC North title for the first time in five years. We currently are tied with Washington for the best record in the NFC.

Our injury situation is a bit better now, as our list continues to get smaller.

We lead the series, 7-4.

Result
Yuck. Detroit drives 68 yards for a TD on their first possession to go up 7-0. On their second possession, they go 32 yards and kick a field goal. Their third possession results in an 88-yard TD drive. Their fourth possession is a 37-yard field goal drive. They are playing like a team possessed. At the half, we are down 20-3, and have only four first downs to more than 20 for Detroit. What happened?

Detroit gets a field goal on their fifth possession, to start the third quarter, and goes up 23-3. We finally stop them midway through the third quarter, and their punter makes his first appearance of the day. Their offense calms down the rest of the way, but we have nothing on offense. Final score, Detroit 23, Minnesota 6. Yikes. Get the license plate number.

To top of this disastrous day, we also lose QB Tate to a broken finger. MLB Arnold reinjures his shoulded. CB Reggie LeBel goes down for two weeks with a deltoid muscle problem. WR Tim Brown hurts his back and is out for four weeks. OT J.R. Frint gets a cold. We not only lose the game, but arguably four of our best players will miss the last two games of the year with injuries.

Dark clouds are blocking the view to our playoff appearance.

Notes
Despite the fact that we got blown away, the total yardage figures were not that far apart. Detroit had 332 yards to our 294. The difference was that we helped them with 15 penalties for 115 yards. It seemed that every time we’d get a first down, there would be a penalty, or every time we stopped them on third down, we’d get called for another penalty. Detroit, on the other hand, had two penalties for 15 yards. Add in penalties and the yardage situation is a bit more revealing: 317 to 179. Ouch. …Green Bay won to pull within a game of us at 8-6. We play them the last week of the season. …It seems like we get hurt more at home, which would make sense since our Astroturf is rated in “fair” condition. It will be nice to play on real grass next year in our new stadium. …Tate (19-42, 243 yards, 0 TDs, 1 int) had a rough day, as did almost everyone else on our team.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 16: Minnesota (9-5) at Kansas City (7-7)
Line: 2-point favorites

Preview
We’ve got 31 degrees and snow in Kansas City today for what could be a huge game for both teams’ playoff hopes. We are extremely banged up, as we lost key players across the board in last week’s travesty of a performance. A win here, combined with a Green Bay loss, would clinch us the NFC North. Any other outcome, and we’ll be playing for the NFC North title next week because Green Bay will have the tie-breaker edge among common-opponent games.

Kansas City has rebounded from a 6-10 year to a respectable 7-7 so far this season. They are chasing a couple of teams for the last Wildcard spot, but face an uphill battle.

We patch together a lineup, and head out into the snow at Arrowhead. QB Hardy Lynch will get his first start of the year in place of Greg Tate.

We lead the series, 1-0.

Result
We get on the board first, as we drive 50 yards for a field goal in the first quarter. QB Hardy Lynch throws an interception to set Kansas City up at our 12-yard line, but they fumble the ball away and we dodge that bullet. We can mount no offense whatsoever throughout the remainder of the first half; Kansas City moves the chains but runs out of gas consistently at midfield. Finally, just before the half, they drive for a field goal that ties the score, 3-3.

Lynch throws another interception in the third quarter, and this one results in a Kansas City field goal that gives them a 6-3 lead. Lynch is completely ineffective throughout the remainder of the quarter: by the end of the third quarter we still have only 5 first downs on the day. Our defense fortunately is able to hold Kansas City’s offense in check, until finally, with 6 minutes left in the game, Lynch gets us going on a small drive that gets us to the Kansas City 33-yard line before running out of gas. With one minute to go in the game, Karl Purvis lines up the kick. It’s up…

GOOD! We hold Kansas City on their next possession and send the game into overtime, where we have our stellar 0-7-1 record to consider. Despite getting the ball three times at our 40-yard line, we are unable to do anything with it. We have five possessions: zero first downs and 1-yard net offense. Sigh. What an embarrassment. Kansas City’s offense outperforms us, but they never make it into field goal range. The game ends in a tie, 6-6.

Notes
On a positive note, combinations of losses by other teams means that we have officially qualified for the playoffs as at least a Wildcard team! Yahoo! We’re going to the playoffs! However, Green Bay (9-6) wins again, so we’ll play them for the division title next week. If we win, we’ll have a bye week for the first week of the playoffs. Lose, and we’ll be in action the following week in the Wildcard round. …Lynch (22-38, 207 yards, 0 TDs, 2 int) struggled all day. The most telling stat: 4-20 on third down conversion attempts. Sigh. …Our ground game was horrible (52 yards), but we’ll have RB Tommie Arnold back in uniform for next week’s game! Finally, our running game could reemerge.

[Godzilla Blitz]

Week 17: Green Bay (9-6) at Minnesota (9-5-1)
Line: 3-point favorites

Preview
We beat Green Bay 27-24 in a thriller in week 5. Since then, they have gone 7-3 while we have gone 6-3-1. This game will decide the NFC North title and more importantly, which team gets the bye next week in the first round of the playoffs.

Injuries could be a factor today. Green Bay’s star RB, Matt Delgado, is out with a stress fracture in his foot. Nevertheless, he’s been out for the past two games, both of which Green Bay won. Still, their QB, Mitchell Potson, is the league’s all-time leading passer, and WR Wesley Cheever is #1 in receptions. This combination has killed us before, and both of them are healthy today.

For us, QB Greg Tate, broken finger and all, will start for us. I’m hoping he can hang in there, as we had little movement when QB Hardy Lynch running the show last week. Also back in the lineup is RB Arnold Turner, whose absence has been dearly felt over the past month. CB Reggie LeBel and MLB Tommie Arnold will see limited action.

Green Bay leads the series, 7-4.

Here we go!

Result
We produce a small drive on the first possession of the game, and Karl Purvis drills a 54-yard field goal to put us up 3-0 early. Green Bay’s QB, Mithcell Potson, gets into gear a little bit later in the quarter, hitting on sharp passes to take Green Bay down the field and in for a TD that gives them a 7-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. Tate wastes no time in responding: he takes us on an 80-yard TD drive that RB Jackie Sheldon completes with a 13-yard TD run. Karl Purvis misses the extra point, but we take a 9-7 lead early in quarter two. A few minutes later and Green Bay is knocking on our door again. Potson engineers a drive to our 19-yard line, then hits WR Cheever inside our ten. He breaks for the endzone, but FS Roger Finley crushes him at the 2-yard line. The ball pops loose, Finley falls on it, and we make a miraculous save to hold the 2-point lead. Neither team threatens after that, and we go to the half, up 9-7.

Green Bay takes the opening possession of the second half and goes 67 yards in two minutes for lightning-fast TD to put them up 14-9. On our next two possessions we drive deep into Green Bay territory, only to be denied TDs in the Green Bay red zone. However, both times Purvis hits the field goals, and as we head into the fourth guarter, we hold a slim 15-14 lead!

On our first possession of the fourth quarter, disaster strikes: Tate gets picked off deep in our end. Green Bay takes over at our 7-yard line. Two plays later Potson finds Cheever in the endzone for six. Green Bay follows with a 2-point conversion and suddenly our slim lead has become a 7-point deficit, 22-15, with 14 minutes to go in the game. We can’t get anything going on our next two possessions, and have to punt the ball away with a little over five minutes left in the game.

Green Bay takes over at their own 13-yard line, and proceeds to stuff the ball down our throats on quick passes and short runs. We are completely unable to stop them, and they chew up large chunks of yardage as they drive to within easy field goal range. Then, on first-and-ten, with 2 minutes to go, from our 24-yard line, Green Bay’s Finkenstadt takes an inside handoff and heads through our line. SLB Mel Jose cuts across and drills him. The ball pops loose! FUMBLE! CB Reggie LeBel pounces on the ball! We recover!!!!

We take over at our 23-yard line with 2:03 to go and no timeouts left. Tate immediately hits RB Arnold Turner for 24 yards, then connects with WR Antonio Cortez for 18 yards two plays later. From Green Bay’s 35-yard line, on the next play, he lofts a beautiful, long spiral into WR Cunningham’s hands for a TD!!!! Purvis hits the extra point, and we have tied the game, 22-22, with 1:27 to go!!!!!

Still, Green Bay has all their timeouts and plenty of time on the clock to pull this one out. They return the kick to the 32-yard line. On second-and-six, Potson fades back to pass, DT Wert nails him from behind, and the ball flies loose! FUMBLE! DE Skidmore falls on the ball! Oh my goodness! We get the ball back with 31 seconds left at the Green Bay 27-yard line! RB Turner scampers 8 yards on the next play, Tate spikes the ball to stop the clock, and Purvis comes on to attempt a 36-yard field goal with 5 seconds to go. The kick is up…

GOOD!!!!! We win a thriller in the Metrodome, 25-22. We beat Green Bay for the second time this year on a last second field goal!!!! Wow! We win our second NFC North title!! We get a bye next week! We’re going to the playoffs for the first time in five years!!! Wow!

Notes
Potson (301 yards passing, 3 TDs, 0 ints) and Cheever (13 catches, 169 yards, 1 TD) killed us as usual. We just can’t seem to stop them, even though I tried a scheme to double him up on most passing plays. …RB Arnold Turner (21-80 yards) brought life back into our running game, which had 122 yards on the day. …Tate (18-31, 213 yards, 1 TD, 2 ints) had a mediocre day, but came through in the clutch. …We lose our sack leader, DE Vinnie Dougan, for the season with a bicep injury.

[Godzilla Blitz]

The playoffs will be delayed for a while.

Wife just had a baby girl, so things will be busy for a bit.

[Havok]

congratz on the baby :)

[Godzilla Blitz]

2007 Final Standings

AC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Cincinnati 13 3 0 .813 324 248 9-3 4-2
Cleveland 9 7 0 .563 335 283 6-6 4-2
Baltimore 7 9 0 .438 304 337 5-7 3-3
Pittsburgh 6 10 0 .375 247 254 3-9 1-5

AC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Tennessee 11 5 0 .688 364 258 8-4 6-0
Indianapolis 8 8 0 .500 335 364 6-6 3-3
Jacksonville 8 8 0 .500 307 329 6-6 3-3
Houston 3 13 0 .188 240 361 1-11 0-6

AC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
New Jersey 11 5 0 .688 292 220 9-3 4-2
New England 9 6 1 .594 323 283 7-5 3-3
Miami 9 7 0 .563 279 252 7-5 3-3
Buffalo 6 10 0 .375 251 306 4-8 2-4

AC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
San Diego 9 7 0 .563 342 272 6-6 3-3
Kansas City 8 7 1 .531 318 277 6-6 3-3
Denver 8 8 0 .500 334 363 7-5 2-4
Oakland 7 9 0 .438 278 292 6-6 4-2

NC North W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Minnesota 10 5 1 .656 313 248 8-4 5-1
Green Bay 9 7 0 .563 374 304 6-6 3-3
Detroit 7 9 0 .438 276 283 6-6 4-2
Chicago 5 11 0 .313 292 331 3-9 0-6

NC South W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Carolina 8 8 0 .500 263 265 7-5 4-2
Tampa Bay 8 8 0 .500 273 300 6-6 3-3
New Orleans 7 9 0 .438 293 334 6-6 3-3
Atlanta 7 9 0 .438 264 317 4-8 2-4

NC East W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
Washington 11 5 0 .688 295 258 7-5 4-2
Dallas 7 9 0 .438 277 281 6-6 4-2
Philadelphia 7 9 0 .438 307 380 5-7 1-5
New York 6 9 1 .406 285 379 6-6 3-3

NC West W L T Pct PF PA Conf Div
St. Louis 9 6 1 .594 322 235 8-3-1 2-3-1
San Francisco 9 7 0 .563 237 243 7-5 4-2
Seattle 6 10 0 .375 269 273 6-6 3-3
Arizona 5 10 1 .344 313 396 4-7-1 2-3-1


Comments
Much much better results this year. We put together the second best record in the NFC, and significantly ourscored our opponents. The Green Bay wins were especially satisfying, and the 5-1 divisional record is best in the NFC.

On to the playoffs we go!

[Godzilla Blitz]

Havok: Thanks!

2007 Playoffs

NFC Divisional Playoffs:
Carolina (9-8) at Minnesota (10-5-1)
Line: 10-point favorites

Preview
We beat Carolina earlier in the year, 27-6, with a third quarter, three-touchdown outburst. They finished the year 8-8 and won the weak NFC South. Last week, they manhandled Wildcard San Francisco, 41-20. They bring the fourth-best running game in the NFL to Minnesota, led by RB Maurice Barlow. However, they will have two starting offensive linemen out for today’s game, which should help our weak defensive front stand up to them. Their passing game is average. On defense, they are strong against the pass and average against the run. A beatable team if we can contain their run and force them to the air.

Outside of the loss of DE Dougan last week, we’re in fair shape. We’ve got WR Brown, CB LeBel, and MLB Arnold that will see limited action because of injuries, but elsewhere we’re looking ok.

We lead the series, 3-0.

Result
Midway through the first quarter we get on a roll and drive for 68 yards and a TD, with Tate hitting WR Tim Brown in the endzone for the score. Shortly thereafter, Carolina fumbles in their own end. We drive 36 yards for another score, with Tate hitting Brown for their second score of the day. We lead early, 14-0. We trade field goals in the second quarter, but then disaster strikes. Greg Tate badly tears his calf muscle: he’s out for the rest of the year! Eek. QB Hardy Lynch comes in to replace him, but can’t get us going. Carolina promptly drives for a TD, and we go to the half, up 17-10, but with the momentum swinging to Carolina.

Our offense falls silent in the third quarter, but our defense smothers Carolina’s offense as well, and all we do is trade punts for the first ten minutes of the quarter. We get a break late in the quarter, as SLB Mel Jose picks off a pass in Carolina territory, but Karl Purvis misses an easy field goal that would have put us up by two scores. We pick off another pass on Carolina’s next possession, and this time Lynch is able to get us close enough for Purvis to hit a long field goal and put us up 20-10, with 13 minutes to go. We end Carolina’s next possession with another interception—our fifth of the day—but they get the ball back and drive into our territory for a field goal to pull within 7, at 20-13. We hog the ball for the next seven and a half minutes, but Purvis misses another field goal and Carolina once again gets the ball back, this time with 2:28 to go. We promptly pick off another pass, but FB Darrin Grier fumbles the ball away to give Carolina yet one more chance. Next pass: SLB Mel Jose picks off the pass—his third of the day and our seventh overall. This time we chew up the remaining seconds, and hang on for the victory, 20-13.

Notes
The biggest news is Tate’s injury, as it will leave us without an effective quarterback for the rest of the playoffs. We also lost backup FB Tito Scott (broken arm) and WR Tim Brown (reinjured his back). Damn. …Tate (8-9, 68 yards, 2 TDs, 0 ints) was red hot before he got hurt. Lynch (12-24, 90 yards, 0 TDs, 0 ints) never found a rhythm. …RB Arnold Turner (22-92 yards) anchored our ground game. …Check out these numbers for SLB Mel Jose: 9 tackles, 4 assists, 2 sacks, 3 interceptions, 1 pass blocked). Wow! He was selected Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts. …Green Bay lost to Washington, 24-14, so we’ll make the trip to the capital next week for the NFC Championship.