I'm going to try something different with this dynasty. Instead of detailing season by season as I plod along, I'll go into far more detail about just one season. Perhaps this will give some people insight about what I do, and why, and allow for some second guessing.

BACKSTORY: After compiling an impressive 100-59-1 regular season record with the OPU Detroit Lions over a decade and winning a Front Office Bowl, I left for the even colder environment of the Minnesota Vikings, who were coming off back-to-back 4-12 seasons and started out $20 million over the cap.

I put on my wizards' cap and made the team's cap troubles go away. I released a few players, dealt some, and renegotiated with some. We knew we'd take a talent hit in the short run, but hoped to make up for it in the medium and longer terms. We improved to a 5-11 record in 2013 and blundered into a division title with a 9-7 record in '14. The team is probably a year away, but we certainly have the nucleus of a team that can win it all next year. Am I up to the task? Stay tuned.

NUTS & BOLTS: I started out with an OPU. Injury setting is at 125. Inflation is at its default. The assistants are running the gameplan and also do the initial rookie signings (I handle the late holdouts). I'd be happy to tell you about any other settings.

END OF SEASON 2014

Season summary:

<pre>
2014 Summary for Minnesota Vikings

Record: 10-8
Winning Pct.: .555

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 444 18
Rushing Yards 1805 20
Yards Per Carry 4.06 21
Pass Attempts 523 23
Completions 308 23 (T)
Passing Yards 3515 22
Yards Per Attempt 6.72 19
3rd Down Conversions 34.8 31
Points Per Game 17.6 28
Turnovers 22 11 (T)
Turnover Margin +2 12

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 475 23
Rushing Yards 1957 20
Yards Per Carry 4.12 15 (T)
Pass Attempts 530 9
Completions 304 4
Passing Yards 3141 1
Yards Per Attempt 5.92 3
3rd Down Conversions 40.6 12
Points Per Game 19.0 9
Turnovers 24 15 (T)

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 31 DET 23
2 17 at NJY 24
3 3 at WAS 17
4 15 at GBY 9
5 24 TBY 13
6 21 at ATL 31
7 7 CAR 22
8 10 CHI 9
9 30 at NOS 10
11 24 at DET 14
12 17 MIA 16
13 21 SEA 17
14 13 BUF 27
15 30 GBY 27
16 13 at NED 27
17 7 at CHI 19
$$WC 27 TBY 20
$$CS 13 at CAR 16

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Forbes QB 521 307 3509 6.73 20 14
**Team --- 523 308 3515 6.72 20 15

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
38 Erickson RB 212 783 3.69 3
25 Nixon RB 124 512 4.12 2
19 Forbes QB 86 380 4.41 3
**Team --- 444 1805 4.06 10

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
88 Sloan WR 103 58 936 16.1 257 4
80 Gresham TE 85 49 471 9.6 131 6
86 Keith WR 91 47 504 10.7 57 3
82 Powell WR 55 34 557 16.3 138 5
84 Forbes WR 60 34 433 12.7 55 1
41 Conley FB 40 27 157 5.8 108 0
38 Erickson RB 20 16 80 5.0 52 1
**Team --- 522 308 3515 11.4 902 20

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
90 Polanco ILB 101 27 0.0 0 0 6
59 Doyle ILB 90 31 3.0 5 0 8
39 Gildon CB 82 21 0.0 1 9 14
74 Richard DT 57 27 4.0 19 0 2
37 Boss S 55 20 0.0 0 1 4
75 Carlisle DE 52 22 9.0 20 0 0
96 Chambers OLB 51 26 2.0 0 0 6
32 Bailey S 47 18 0.0 0 1 4
45 Raymond CB 42 8 2.0 1 1 3
98 Baxter OLB 40 7 4.0 3 0 1
92 McDaniel OLB 39 23 4.5 4 1 3
23 Bush S 25 8 0.0 1 1 1
31 Nichols CB 20 9 0.0 0 0 7
70 Northcott DE 20 10 1.5 2 0 0
58 Mast ILB 16 8 0.0 2 0 3
**Team --- 867 295 33.0 64 15 64
</pre>

The Vikings have an OK offense, nothing special. The best thing about it is that they don't turn the ball over very much. The defense is a 3-4. Our pass rush is a little weak and we're merely so-so against the run, but they excel at knocking the ball away and making sure tackles. The pass defense is something we'll try to build on for next season.

All-World CB T.J. Gildon made the first team. No one else was invited to the party.

Our end of season roster. Don't get too attached to them; there will be many changes in the offseason:

<pre>
Minnesota Vikings Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
##Forbes, Bruce 19 QB 2 48 63 3 yr
Benton, Spencer 9 QB QB 1 34 46 4 yr
Everett, Shane 1 QB 2 24 48 3 yr
Gogel, Troy 7 QB 1 10 20 1 yr
Erickson, Tracy 38 RB RB 1 58 71 5 yr
Nixon, Kurt 25 RB 2 34 40 2 yr
Sawyer, Brandon 44 RB 3 26 32 1 yr
Conley, Jack 41 FB FB 1 43 71 4 yr
Durr, Kent 35 FB 4 34 34 1 yr
Gresham, Vernon 80 TE 12 44 44 3 yr
Corbett, Robert 89 TE TE 3 39 45 1 yr
##Canidate, R.J. 81 TE 2 22 28 1 yr
Keith, Renaldo 86 FL FL 3 46 47 2 yr
Forbes, Ryan 84 FL 1 39 56 5 yr
Washington, Sam 87 FL 8 39 39 2 yr
Sloan, Tim 88 SE SE 3 51 51 2 yr
Powell, Randy 82 SE 5 39 41 3 yr
**Pearson, Carlos 54 C 3 55 71 1 yr
Schultz, Winston 57 C C 2 27 40 1 yr
Kern, Mo 53 C 1 17 40 3 yr
Floyd, Dave 79 LG LG 5 42 43 2 yr
##McDaniel, Leon 65 LG 9 37 37 1 yr
Erxleben, Byron 66 LG 2 17 38 1 yr
##Flowers, Thomas 71 LG 1 12 23 1 yr
Jones, Chuck 60 RG RG 12 43 43 2 yr
Hammond, Corwin 62 RG 4 27 45 2 yr
Manifold, Vince 77 LT LT 12 46 46 2 yr
Pearson, Stan 61 RT 2 30 48 3 yr
Hosken, Emmanuel 78 RT RT 2 30 34 3 yr
##Tamme, Eddie 76 RT 1 13 36 1 yr
Bishop, Roderick 3 P 2 85 85 2 yr
Tate, Bart 11 K 1 46 54 4 yr
Welch, Nicky 93 LDE LDE 11 37 39 1 yr
##Northcott, Lamar 70 LDE 1 25 36 3 yr
Carlisle, Darrell 75 RDE RDE 3 64 79 3 yr
Gaines, Archie 99 RDE 1 25 50 4 yr
Richard, Ray 74 NT NT 5 70 70 4 yr
Kloosterman, Alan 91 NT 2 22 35 2 yr
##Hutton, Earl 73 NT 1 18 24 1 yr
Polanco, Bryce 90 SILB SILB 7 45 45 1 yr
Mast, Calvin 58 SILB 4 31 40 1 yr
Doyle, Artie 59 WILB WILB 1 47 70 5 yr
Flynn, Bobby 55 WILB 4 32 34 1 yr
McDaniel, Floyd 92 SLB SLB 10 38 38 3 yr
Baxter, Jimmy 98 SLB 4 37 37 2 yr
Chambers, Robert 96 WLB WLB 3 33 34 1 yr
Gildon, T.J. 39 LCB LCB 2 87 87 5 yr
Raymond, William 45 LCB 9 39 39 2 yr
**King, Ike 28 RCB 4 38 38 2 yr
Nichols, Carlos 31 RCB RCB 4 37 37 1 yr
Ellard, Hugh 22 RCB 3 29 39 2 yr
Bailey, Cornell 32 SS SS 10 43 44 3 yr
Bush, Robert 23 SS 2 34 42 3 yr
**Garboushian, Vincent 36 FS 12 39 39 1 yr
Boss, Nick 37 FS FS 3 34 34 1 yr
Flannery, Brian 21 FS 1 16 29 1 yr

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

Players Under Contract: 56
On Active Roster: 46

Salary Cap: $139,200,000
Cap Room: $3,870,000
Maximum for New Player: $4,290,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $37,760,000
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $9,100,000
Cap Room Required Next Year: $95,980,000
</pre>

That leaves 35 signed players and about $45 million in cap room. We're sitting pretty and might make a play for a free agent or two. That has yet to be decided.

Herb gave us a good score for the past season:

Team performance - 74
Franchise value - 42
Profit/loss - 65
Roster strength - 80

Overall - 65

NEXT: The staff hiring phase.

First, a view of the finances for next year:

The cap is up $5.8 million to $145 million even.
The minimum salary is up $20,000 to $440,000.
<pre>
Income statement 2014 2013

Revenue $164.73 (+5%) $155.58
Expenses 189.77 (+8%) 174.59
------- -------
Income (loss) (25.04) (19.01)
</pre>
Revenue was up mainly due to additional ticket revenue from hosting a playoff game last year. Average attendance was actually down a bit from 62,200 to 61,200. Advertising revenue was down sharply; don't ask me what it is or how I can affect it. TV revenue added a bit and concession and parking revenue were little changed.

A 21% increase in salaries and a 10% increase in bonuses accounted for all the increase in expenses.

It always distresses me to lose money, even though none of it is mine (or, indeed, even real). But unless we can host three playoff games, it seems likely that we will continue to lose money.

OK, on to the fun stuff.

Our lead scout is the 56-year-old Rusty Brant:

Very good - offensive linemen
Good - RB, young talent
Fair - QB, LB
Average - everything else

He makes $440,000 a year, which is tied for the 2nd cheapest coach signed. And he is signed through next year, though I think I could do with an upgrade.

Aaron Spencer is our 60-year-old lame duck head coach:

Good - motivation, discipline, offensive playcalling
Fair - injury avoidance
Poor - defensive playcalling

He made $4.8 million last year. His hiring was a mistake; he's a fine offensive coordinator, but there are many better coaches out there. Still, he did well with what we had, and it's not an automatic decision to fire him.

Matthew Ballard heads up the offense; he's 63:

Excellent - RB, receivers, kickers, young talent
Good - OL
Average - QB

Normally I have no use for coordinators with "average" at the key QB position. But since he's so good everywhere else, he's forgiven. Ballard is getting old, so I'll have to keep an eye on his skills to make sure they don't erode. BTW, he earns $5.1 million and has 2 years to go on his contract.

On the defensive side of the ball, the 57-year-old Austin James heads things up:

Excellent - kickers, secondary, young talent
Good - DL, LB

Looks like a keeper to me. He'll make $4.5 million next year, his last under this contract.

So, I need a new lead scout and a better head coach. Let's see what's in the pool:

There are a few decent scouts out there, better than what we have, but no superstars. The best value looks like Kenneth Hoffman, who's asking for a reasonable $480k per year. And he's only 31, so he should get better. Actually, he's probably a former player; I should look him up sometime.

We make a generous offer to Fred Harden, who's currently the head coach of the Titans. His skills are very good, but we're not very likely to get him. We have other options.

As expected, the Titans made an offer for Harden that's too much for us to match. We drop out. More surprisingly, Hoffman has two other bids - one for $940k a year for 5 years. He's good, but not that good. We drop out there too.

For the scout, we go to our 5th option - Ralph Foley. He's 46 and is poor at evaluating secondary guys. But he's at least decent elsewhere and is only asking for $450k, so we'll make that offer.

And at the coaching spot, our offer goes to Rufus Sweat, who's ordinary except for his training regimen.

Both accept our offer, so let's take a closer look:

Ralph "Axel F" Foley, Lead Scout, 46, $450,000 for 3 years:

Good - QB, receivers, LB
Poor - secondary
Average - everything else

Rufus Sweat, Head Coach, 52, $4.28 million for 3 years:

Very Good - avoiding injuries
Good - motivation, discipline, offensive playcalling
Average - defensive playcalling

NEXT: Ticket prices, a peek at the draft, and other good stuff just before free agency.

We had no retirements after this season and make no franchise designations.

Ticket prices & structure:
<pre>
Seat type # of seats Price

Upper deck 27,800 $42 (+$2)
End zone 20,100 $67 (+$3)
Mezzanine 11,600 $89 (+$4)
Sidelines 17,700 $108 (+$5)
Club seats N/A N/A
Luxury boxes 115 $90,000 (+$4k)
</pre>
The Metrodome still seats 80,000. The average ticket price of $438 is in the bottom third of the league.

Fan loyalty is around 45, and support for a new stadium is near the max. The turf is in poor shape, and we passed an assessment to take care of that. It should be finished in two more years.

We could use backups at RB, FB, TE, and all the LB positions. We need starters at C, LDE, and FS. The draft will tell us whether there is enough depth to be able to pick up a starter or two at those positions. We draft #26 in each slot except the 3rd round, where we have an extra pick at #22. And it doesn't look like a very deep draft; only 9 players have adjusted ratings above 6.0 and maybe 30 with ratings above 5.0. Tentatively it looks like we will be taking FS Aaron Mahoney from Purdue. He has a consensus current rating of 41 and potential of 66 - a definite upgrade over what we have. He grades out as a 6.1 raw and 5.7 adjusted. He has about the 15th best adjusted rating, but I think he'll fall to us. His other ratings:

Aaron Mahoney, 5'10", 182 lbs
Dash - 4.49 seconds (tied for 3rd among safeties)
Solecismic score - 45 (in the top 2% of potential draftees)
Strength - 22 (best among safeties in the draft)
Agility - 7.31 seconds (not very good)

He looks good but not great across the board. His blue bands are wide because our scouting team isn't especially good at evaluating secondary personnel.

No safeties other than Mahoney look like anything better than 4th round picks. Centers Ben Martinez (37 current/70 potential, 5.4 adjusted rating) and Shawn Hellestrae (26/66, 4.8) could fall to us in the 2nd or 3rd round. There are a fair number of DEs in the draft, but the best ones figure to be gobbled up pretty quickly. We might take one late and hope for the best.

Now that we have looked at the draft, it is time to make some offers in free agency.

Our current roster and contract status. I'll make comments about the players along the way:
<pre>
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Forbes, Bruce 19 QB 3 45 61 2 yr
Benton, Spencer 9 QB 2 31 44 3 yr
Everett, Shane 1 QB 3 23 43 2 yr
Gogel, Troy 7 QB 2 10 20 ---
</pre>
Forbes looks like our starter for the time being. His ratings are mostly decent but hardly fitting of a budding star. Benton is a dink-n-dunker, mostly, who happens to be a good holder. No star potential here either. Everett is a better than average clip carrier. Gogel was a roster filler who will be playing elsewhere next year.

STATUS: I may bring in a 4th QB if I can pick up a decent one for cheap, but I don't anticipate any other changes here.
<pre>
Erickson, Tracy 38 RB 2 59 72 4 yr
Nixon, Kurt 25 RB 3 32 38 1 yr
Sawyer, Brandon 44 RB 4 24 29 ---
Conley, Jack 41 FB 2 46 74 3 yr
Durr, Kent 35 FB 5 32 32 ---
</pre>
Erickson was a 1(3) pick last year. Much was expected of him, but little was delivered. His ratings are somewhat better going into this year, so we'll see what comes of him this year. Nixon is extremely elusive and a decent punt returner, but doesn't have many other skills to sell. OK as a backup; probably won't move up. Sawyer won't be back.

At FB, Conley is developing decently and should be one of the best in the league in time. Durr is unlikely to come back.

STATUS: Unless there are some surprises in training camp, Erickson and Nixon will be 1-2. The #3 RB and #2 FB spots are open and may be filled in the draft.
<PRE>
Gresham, Vernon 80 TE 13 44 44 2 yr
Corbett, Robert 89 TE 4 36 44 ---
Canidate, R.J. 81 TE 3 21 27 ---
Keith, Renaldo 86 FL 4 46 47 1 yr
Washington, Sam 87 FL 9 39 39 1 yr
Forbes, Ryan 84 FL 2 38 56 4 yr
Sloan, Tim 88 SE 4 50 50 1 yr
Powell, Randy 82 SE 6 40 41 2 yr
</pre>
Gresham is one of the few original OPU players who are still around. He's still decent, but Father Time figures to catch up with him soon. Corbett is OK but doesn't look like the starter of the future. We'll invite him back if he'll sign cheaply (we think he will). Canidate was just a roster filler.

Split out wide, Sloan looks like our go-to guy, with Keith providing support. Forbes has a good future but figures to be 4th or 5th on the depth chart for now. Washington and Powell provide better-than-average support.

STATUS: TE is one of our need positions and we may go after one during free agency. Our receivers are perfectly adequate and there's no need to make any changes here.
<pre>
Pearson, Carlos 54 C 4 55 72 ---
Schultz, Winston 57 C 3 28 42 ---
Kern, Mo 53 C 2 16 39 2 yr
Floyd, Dave 79 LG 6 42 44 1 yr
McDaniel, Leon 65 LG 10 38 38 ---
Erxleben, Byron 66 LG 3 17 38 ---
Flowers, Thomas 71 LG 2 12 24 ---
Jones, Chuck 60 RG 13 43 43 1 yr
Hammond, Corwin 62 RG 5 28 45 1 yr
Manifold, Vince 77 LT 13 46 46 1 yr
Pearson, Stan 61 RT 3 30 48 2 yr
Hosken, Emmanuel 78 RT 3 29 35 2 yr
Tamme, Eddie 76 RT 2 13 37 ---
</pre>
Pearson is a good player with potential to be one of the best, but he's only played 16 games in three seasons with the team. He looks injury prone to me and I'm tempted to let him walk. Schultz performed well when we picked him up and we may want to retain him. Kern looks like a career backup.

Floyd is a decent enough player, but he gets winded easily, so he needs a good backup. McDaniel can be that backup, if he's willing to take a backup's salary. Erxleben and Flowers will be moving on. On the right side, Jones is in his 13th season and is starting to slow down a bit. Hammond probably isn't the answer as a replaacement for Jones, but he's OK getting garbage time.

Manifold has been a good player for a long time but we can't expect him to keep going forever. Pearson and Hosken will continue to battle for the RT job, unless I grab a free agent. Tamme will be leaving us.

STATUS: Floyd and Jones are all set as the guards. Manifold will be the LT. RT and C are up in the air.
<pre>
Bishop, Roderick 3 P 3 79 79 1 yr
Tate, Bart 11 K 2 43 50 3 yr
</pre>
Bishop looks very good for a 7th round pick. Tate is mediocre on field goals and worse on kickoffs. We might hold auditions for the kicking job again.
<pre>
Welch, Nicky 93 LDE 12 37 39 ---
Northcott, Lamar 70 LDE 2 25 36 2 yr
Carlisle, Darrell 75 RDE 4 65 80 2 yr
Gaines, Archie 99 RDE 2 24 48 3 yr
Richard, Ray 74 NT 6 70 70 3 yr
Kloosterman, Alan 91 NT 3 21 25 1 yr
Hutton, Earl 73 NT 2 18 25 ---
</pre>
We're likely to run a 3-4 again. Welch is decent when he's in the lineup, but gets injured a lot. We'll probably let him walk. Northcutt is strictly backup material. Carlisle is one of our highlights at RDE. Gaines could get the starting job in time; probably needs more seasoning in the meantime.

Richard is all the presence we need in the middle. Kloosterman may or may not keep the backup job. Probably not. Hutton is one of those roster fillers.

STATUS: We could use a big presence on the left side of the defensive line. I'm not sure yet where it will come from.
<pre>
Polanco, Bryce 90 SILB 8 42 42 ---
Mast, Calvin 58 SILB 5 30 38 ---
Doyle, Artie 59 WILB 2 45 70 4 yr
Flynn, Bobby 55 WILB 5 31 31 ---
McDaniel, Floyd 92 SLB 11 38 38 2 yr
Baxter, Jimmy 98 SLB 5 36 36 1 yr
Chambers, Robert 96 WLB 4 30 30 ---
</pre>
Doyle should be very good in the middle, and we'll try to keep Polanco. Mast and Flynn may or may not be around. They're replaceable properties in any case. McDaniel starts most of the time on the strong side and Baxter figures to back up at several LB positions. We have a gaping hole at WLB that Chambers is unlikely to fill.

STATUS: We could use a WLB and possibly a SILB. Other positions are set.
<pre>
Gildon, T.J. 39 LCB 3 87 87 4 yr
Raymond, William 45 LCB 10 38 38 1 yr
King, Ike 28 RCB 5 41 41 1 yr
Nichols, Carlos 31 RCB 5 37 37 ---
Ellard, Hugh 22 RCB 4 29 40 1 yr
Bailey, Cornell 32 SS 11 43 44 2 yr
Bush, Robert 23 SS 3 34 45 2 yr
**Garboushian, Vincent 36 FS 13 43 44 ---
Boss, Nick 37 FS 4 33 34 ---
Flannery, Brian 21 FS 2 16 30 ---
</pre>
Gildon is a force to be reckoned with, a high draft pick worth all the money I pay him. No worries about that position for the next 10 years. King is not going to be a star, but he's OK starting on the right corner. Raymond and Ellard are nickel and dime backs, respectively.

Bailey is starting to slow down some. Bush is OK as a backup, but shouldn't start much. Garboushian is still hurt and will begin the year on the IR for whatever team he plays for. It won't be us. Boss is good enough as a backup, but not good enough if we have to start him. Flannery won't be re-signed.

STATUS: The corners are all but set, barring an injury or camp surprise. Strong safety looks OK, but FS is wide open.
<pre>
Players Under Contract: 35
On Active Roster: 35

Salary Cap: $145,000,000
Cap Room: $48,980,000
Maximum for New Player: $41,940,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $9,100,000
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $64,020,000

Minnesota Vikings Roster, Contract View

Player # Pos Start OnTm EndCnt Exp Cap Cost Save if Rl
Gildon, T.J. 39 LCB 2013 2018 3 $7,770,000 $2,630,000
Carlisle, Darrell 75 RDE 2012 2016 4 $7,290,000 $3,010,000
Erickson, Tracy 38 RB 2014 2018 2 $7,160,000 $2,200,000
Bailey, Cornell 32 SS 2008 2016 11 $4,450,000 $1,990,000
Jones, Chuck 60 RG 2012 2015 13 $4,230,000 $3,230,000
Manifold, Vince 77 LT 2013 2015 13 $4,170,000 $2,810,000
Richard, Ray 74 NT 2010 2017 6 $3,890,000 $2,290,000
Doyle, Artie 59 WILB 2014 2018 2 $3,850,000 $1,790,000
Floyd, Dave 79 LG 2011 2015 6 $3,500,000 $2,840,000
King, Ike 28 RCB 2011 2015 5 $3,410,000 $2,770,000
Forbes, Ryan 84 FL 2014 2018 2 $2,710,000 $1,520,000
Forbes, Bruce 19 QB 2013 2016 3 $2,550,000 $1,590,000
Gresham, Vernon 80 TE 2012 2016 13 $2,390,000 $1,910,000
Sloan, Tim 88 SE 2012 2015 4 $2,250,000 $1,520,000
Hosken, Emmanuel 78 RT 2013 2016 3 $2,040,000 $1,270,000
Bush, Robert 23 SS 2013 2016 3 $1,860,000 $1,140,000
Raymond, William 45 LCB 2012 2015 10 $1,850,000 $1,760,000
Gaines, Archie 99 RDE 2014 2017 2 $1,820,000 $1,020,000
Powell, Randy 82 SE 2012 2016 6 $1,770,000 $1,590,000
Benton, Spencer 9 QB 2014 2017 2 $1,680,000 $930,000
Washington, Sam 87 FL 2014 2015 9 $1,660,000 $1,610,000
McDaniel, Floyd 92 SLB 2014 2016 11 $1,470,000 $1,470,000
Baxter, Jimmy 98 SLB 2013 2015 5 $1,470,000 $1,460,000
Ellard, Hugh 22 RCB 2012 2015 4 $1,290,000 $980,000
Hammond, Corwin 62 RG 2011 2015 5 $1,170,000 $1,170,000
Pearson, Stan 61 RT 2013 2016 3 $1,140,000 $820,000
Keith, Renaldo 86 FL 2012 2015 4 $1,120,000 $980,000
Conley, Jack 41 FB 2014 2017 2 $1,000,000 $660,000
Everett, Shane 1 QB 2013 2016 3 $960,000 $820,000
Kloosterman, Alan 91 NT 2013 2015 3 $960,000 $850,000
Tate, Bart 11 K 2014 2017 2 $920,000 $690,000
Nixon, Kurt 25 RB 2013 2015 3 $860,000 $820,000
Bishop, Roderick 3 P 2013 2015 3 $820,000 $820,000
Kern, Mo 53 C 2014 2016 2 $730,000 $660,000
Northcott, Lamar 70 LDE 2014 2016 2 $710,000 $660,000
Gogel, Troy 7 QB 2014 ---- 2 $0 $0
Flannery, Brian 21 FS 2014 ---- 2 $0 $0
Nichols, Carlos 31 RCB 2013 UFA 5 $0 $0
Durr, Kent 35 FB 2013 UFA 5 $0 $0
**Garboushian, Vincent 36 FS 2012 UFA 13 $0 $0
Boss, Nick 37 FS 2012 ---- 4 $0 $0
Sawyer, Brandon 44 RB 2014 ---- 4 $0 $0
Pearson, Carlos 54 C 2012 ---- 4 $0 $0
Flynn, Bobby 55 WILB 2013 UFA 5 $0 $0
Schultz, Winston 57 C 2014 ---- 3 $0 $0
Mast, Calvin 58 SILB 2013 UFA 5 $0 $0
McDaniel, Leon 65 LG 2014 UFA 10 $0 $0
Erxleben, Byron 66 LG 2014 ---- 3 $0 $0
Flowers, Thomas 71 LG 2014 ---- 2 $0 $0
Hutton, Earl 73 NT 2014 ---- 2 $0 $0
Tamme, Eddie 76 RT 2014 ---- 2 $0 $0
Canidate, R.J. 81 TE 2014 ---- 3 $0 $0
Corbett, Robert 89 TE 2012 ---- 4 $0 $0
Polanco, Bryce 90 SILB 2012 UFA 8 $0 $0
Welch, Nicky 93 LDE 2012 UFA 12 $0 $0
Chambers, Robert 96 WLB 2014 ---- 4 $0 $0
</pre>

Capwise we're in excellent shape. The draft is projected to only cost $7 million or so. I can go after the elite free agents, several of them even. But I'm not sure such a do-or-die charge toward the Front Office Bowl is in the long-term best interests of the team.

NEXT; We actually sign some people.

G Chuck Jones, 3 years, $9.7 million, $3.3 million bonus. Jones is getting old, but he's still reasonably valuable, and the bonus is relatively small, so I'll risk it.

T Emmanuel Hosken, 3 years, $4.5 million, $560,000 bonus.
S Robert Bush, 3 years, $4.1 million, $430,000 bonus.
WR Randy Powell, 3 years, $5.6 million, $350,000 bonus.
LB Jimmy Baxter, 3 years, $4.4 million, $150,000 bonus.
CB Hugh Ellard, 2 years, $2.1 million, no bonus.

The five players above are backups/role players who are willing to save a little on our cap in exchange for a little bonus money and our (weak) promises of continued employment.

Our cap room is up to $51.2 million after those moves.

We plan to go after the best LDE and WLB we can find. Our other holes can be patched after the draft.

DE T.J. Noonan looks like the best of the bunch with good run stuffing skills and decent other attributes. He grades out as a 58/62. He's played for four teams in his six seasons, and that worries me a little. He's asking for $40 million for 4 years, including an $11 million bonus. Not terrible, but I'll look around further.

DE Ron Long is a 12th year player who grades out at 50/50. His skills are similar to Noonan's, only slightly less so. He was named to the 2nd team three times, the first team once, but the last of those honors were six years ago. He's only played three games in the past two seasons, so he's a definite risk. But his contract demands are oh so reasonable - only $5.3 million for 2 years ($1.3 mil in bonus). We'll get back to you. He's also a fan favorite.

DEs Edward Drake, Reggie Wayne, and Teddy Hatcher all look very similar to my scout, with actuals and potentials right around 50. Drake is in his 8th year, while Wayne and Hatcher are both in their 11th.

Drake - 11 games, 4 sacks - $20.9 million, 3 years, $6.7 mil bonus
Wayne - 8 games, 7.5 sacks - $5.3 million, 2 years, $1.3 mil bonus
Hatcher (mentor) - 1 game, 0 sacks - $5.3 million, 2 years, $1.3 mil bonus

Throwing Drake out of the mix, there doesn't seem to be a lot to choose from between Long, Wayne, and Hatcher. Hatcher is superficially more intriguing because of his mentoring skills, but he's a bigger risk. But really, if any of these guys plays 12 games this season, it would be a small miracle.

At the WLB position, the best available player is my old friend Louie Kaplan. I drafted him 1(20) back in 2007 and he's turned into a solid player (66/66). He played with the Lions for 4 years before signing a big contract with the Colts. He's demanding $30 million for 3 years, including an $11 million bonus. That's reasonable for someone with his skills (top 5 average for OLBs is $8.4 million). Two other things to note about Kaplan are that he is idolized (read: more ticket sales, more $$$$), and he's played all 128 games in his career.

It's a long way back to Randal "Get The" Knaack, David Diaz, and Archie Kelley - all rated around 45/45. It shouldn't be too hard to find players like them if I need them after the draft.

Anyhow, it's time to make offers. First, my own players:

FB Ken Durr - 2 years, $2.7 million, no bonus
LB Bryce Polanco - 2 years, $5.0 million, $1.3 million bonus

I made offers to Wayne and Kaplan that exactly match their demands.

Week 1 - The good news is that Wayne and Kaplan sign instantly. The bad news is that only Wayne signed with us. Kaplan signed with Kansas City for $41 million over 4 years. Durr and Polanco are still thinking.

Week 2 - We make an offer to Diaz - 3 years, $5.4 million, token $40,000 bonus. He signs the same week.

Week 6 - Durr and Polanco sign with us. CB Carlos Nichols is receiving an offer from San Diego - $4.2 million for 3 years. He'd be a #5 corner for us, so we bid him a fond farewell.

Week 7 - LB Calvin Mast received an offer from the Lions - 3 years, $4.8 million. Chump change, but not worth my time to match.

Week 8 - Nichols signs with the Chargers.

Week 10 - Mast signs with the Lions. I'm happy for him.

Nothing else of interest happens to us during the free agency process.

NEXT: The draft!

We head into the draft over $44 million under the cap with 39 players signed. Our position is mighty.

Our needs, roughly in order:

Starting FS
Starting C
Starting LDE
Kicker
Backup RB
Backup TE
Backup LB (2)

At the top of the draft board is DE Earl Dent (7.4/8.2) and T Ricky Poteat (7.3/8.1). Kansas City drafts first, and they figure to take Dent. Seattle is next, and they don't really need a tackle, so they might head for the third rated player, DT Warren Fields.

We're still hoping Maloney drops to us.

Let's see how the first few picks go...

KC took Dent. Seattle went a little deeper down the depth chart and picked CB Phil Sweeney (6.3). The Niners took Poteat. The Giants went for RB Harvey Bone (6.4). Cleveland took Fields with the fifth pick. Mahoney is slowly moving up the chart, but nobody really needs a safety, except for Seattle. The odds are he'll fall to us...

Argh. Mahoney went to Philadelphia with the 13th pick. On to plan B.

Plan B might be TE Tyrone Whitfield of Northern Arizona. He is rated as a 58 actual and 81 potential by the scouts. That translates to a grade of 8.0 raw and 7.0 adjusted. He's kind of a dropaholic, but his other ratings are sweet.

Tyrone Whitfield, 6'5", 270 lbs
Dash - 4.76 seconds
Solecismic score - 32
Strength - 35
Agility - 7.36 seconds

He has star potential and it would be nice if he falls to us.

C Ben Martinez, discussed some above, was taken by Indianapolis with the 20th pick. Whitfield remains the top player on the draft board. Mel and Joe are starting to get impatient...

And so do I, as a matter of fact. I trade my 1(26) pick to Oakland for their pick - the 21st. I also throw in my 5th rounder. Tyrone, you're coming to Minnesota!

"With the 21st pick, Minnesota selects... Tyrone Whitfield, tight end, Northern Arizona." There are a few cheers in the audience, but I'm sure lots of people were hoping we would pick someone sexier.

First impression: Our scouts have him at a 57/81, and I don't see any change to his abilities.

Our next target is C Shawn Hellestrae, from Mesa State. He is rated as a 26 actual and a 66 potential by the consensus scouts. His grades are 5.6 and 4.8. He's a slightly better run blocker than pass blocker, but both skills are more than acceptable. There are rumors he can be easily swatted aside by physical linemen.

Shawn Hellestrae, 6'1", 270 lbs
Dash - 5.09 seconds
Solecismic score - 25
Strength - 24
Agility - 7.72 seconds
Volatility - 94

If he doesn't fall our way, I'm sure I'll think of something.

Anyway, Hellestrae was taken by San Fran early in the second round - pick #35. There are a couple of interesting DEs that may fall to us - Roman Huntley and D.J. Pinkerton.

Huntley was taken by Philly with pick #45 (2nd round). Pinkerton was snarfed by Atlanta with pick #49.

Three more options are DE Peter Price, DE Artie Matthews, and LB Lester Clements - in roughly that order. I'm fairly certain at least one of them will fall to us.

Gone, gone and gone. Matthews went first - to Buffalo. Price went to Tampa Bay, and Matthews was procured with the pick just before mine by New Jersey. I hate it when that happens.

Deep sighs before we pull the trigger on career backup DT Van Reidl of Georgia Tech - 29 actual and 44 potential. His grades are 3.9 and 4.2. Run stuffing seems to be his major ability.

Van Reidl, 6'3", 283 lbs
Dash - 5.40 seconds
Solecismic score - 25
Strength - 28
Agility - 7.40 seconds
Volatility - 86

A backup NT wasn't on our need list, but I think he might come in handy.

First impression: No changes.

In the third round we'll try to get a C or S. There should be some decent ones available for both our picks in that round.

With our first 3rd rounder, #86 overall, we go with FS Lester Kerr. He has a 26 current rating and 47 potential. He grades out at 4.1 and 3.8. He's a good cover guy, but run stopping seems to be a weakness. A non-factor on special teams.

Lester Kerr, 6'2", 204 lbs
Dash - 4.51 seconds
Solecismic score - 29
Strength - 17
Agility - 7.18 seconds
Volatility - 35

First impression: The scouts evaluate him as a 26/46. He looks to be as advertised.

The second third rounder, #90 overall, goes to select DE Nolan Cassidy. He has a 23 current rating and 41 potential. He grades out at 3.5 and 3.8. Has big-league pass rushing skills and good endurance. His other ratings are weak.

Nolan Cassidy, 6'1", 252 lbs
Dash - 4.89 seconds
Solecismic score - 20
Strength - 29
Agility - 7.92 seconds
Volatility - 80

First impression: No changes.

We'll probably go with a RB in round 4. Andre Peterson of Mississippi State gets the call from us. He has a 29 current rating and 40 potential. He grades out at 3.6 and 3.8. He has good breakaway speed and figures to be a decent pass catcher in time.

Andre Peterson, 5'9", 203 lbs
Dash - 4.54 seconds
Solecismic score - 17 (uh oh)
Strength - 17
Agility - 7.46 seconds
Volatility - 21

First impression: Our scouts think a little less of him now - 28/37. A warning sign of the disaster to come?

Our next pick isn't until round 6. We'll have to see what's left over for us.

Not much, as it turns out. K Daniel Tramontana looks to be the best of what's there, at least at positions where we have needs. He has a 30 actual rating and 73 potential. He grades out at 6.2 and 3.7. Tramontana looks to be accurate with a decent leg. Not much of a kickoff guy.

Daniel Tramontana, 6'2", 205 lbs
Dash - 5.17 seconds (like it matters)
Solecismic score - 35
Strength - 9 (that many?)
Agility - 7.80 seconds
Volatility - 55

First impression: Our scouts don't think he has as much potential as first thought and have downgraded him to 30/70.

Bad as things are in the 6th round, they're even worse in the 7th. For the fun of it we take Air Force's RB Billy Beyer. He has a 28 actual rating and 39 potential. He grades out at 3.5 and 3.7. He's a very elusive runner who has good hands. I don't expect much from him.

Billy Beyer, 5'10", 209 lbs
Dash - 4.68 seconds
Solecismic score - 21
Strength - 11
Agility - 7.20 seconds
Volatility - 39

First impression: Another guy our scouts downgraded immediately - to 27/36.

Rnd 1 - Tyrone Whitfield, TE, Northern Arizona
Rnd 2 - Van Reidl, DT, Georgia Tech
Rnd 3 - Nolan Cassidy, DE, Duke
Rnd 3 - Lester Kerr, S, Miami, Florida
Rnd 4 - Andre Peterson, RB, Mississippi State
Rnd 6 - Daniel Tramontana, K, Syracuse
Rnd 7 - Billy Beyer, RB, Air Force

The draft gurus gave us a B, the 11th best draft of the 32 teams.

NEXT: Late free agency and training camp.

But first a message from WR Tim Sloan:

I have decided to hold out until I receive a new contract.

As your starting wide receiver last season, I believe I had a solid season. I believe I'm very seriously underpaid, and will not report to camp without a new contract.

Sloan wants a 3-year, $20 million contract, with a signing bonus of almost $7 million. He's OK, but certainly someone we could replace if we had to.

Now is a good time to make offers to our restricted free agents:

C Carlos Peterson, 1 year, $2.1 million, $1.1 million bonus
S Nick Boss, 2 years, $2.6 million, $200,000 bonus

And we make one offer to an unrestricted FA:

LB Bobby Flynn, 3 years, $4.7 million, $230,000 bonus

There's no one else out there I want to make offers to, so we go with this. Flynn signs with us in week 7.

All our rookies sign peacefully except for Whitfield and Tramontana. My charm and slightly sweetened offers are good enough to get them signed just before opening day. I also capitulate to Sloan's demands. He'd better be worth it.

We have 49 players signed now, and are $30 million under the cap.

Whitfield is #4 on the Green Page, but there are still some good players still unsigned. It's still nice to see him on the list, though. None of our other players are on that list.

Training camp itself is simple. Just press a button and we're on our way.

We sold 48,400 season tickets. Not bad.

We get an offer of a 1st rounder for stud NT Ray Richard. He's more valuable than that, so we say no thanks.

Let's take an updated look at our roster:
<pre>
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Forbes, Bruce 19 QB 3 48 61 2 yr
Benton, Spencer 9 QB 2 36 44 3 yr
Everett, Shane 1 QB 3 25 44 2 yr
</pre>
Forbes will start. Benton is a capable backup who can step in in a pinch. Everett carries the clipboard again.
<pre>
Erickson, Tracy 38 RB 2 61 73 4 yr
Nixon, Kurt 25 RB 3 33 38 1 yr
Beyer, Billy 49 RB 1 29 34 3 yr
Peterson, Andre 47 RB 1 29 37 3 yr
</pre>
Can Erickson be the big RB we need? We hope so. He'll sit out the exhibition season, since his loss would be hard to take. Nixon, Beyer, and Peterson will spell him during the regular season - one of the latter two will start the year on the inactive roster.
<pre>
Conley, Jack 41 FB 2 48 74 3 yr
Durr, Kent 35 FB 5 33 33 2 yr
</pre>
Conley isn't developing as fast as we hoped, but he remains our best option.
<pre>
Whitfield, Tyrone 85 TE 1 61 80 4 yr
Gresham, Vernon 80 TE 13 41 41 2 yr
</pre>
Whitfield turns out to be worth the 1st round pick after all. His blocking skills could use some development, but otherwise he looks really good. Gresham will sit on the bench.
<pre>
Keith, Renaldo 86 FL 4 48 48 1 yr
Forbes, Ryan 84 FL 2 41 56 4 yr
Washington, Sam 87 FL 9 39 39 1 yr
Sloan, Tim 88 SE 4 51 51 3 yr
Powell, Randy 82 SE 6 41 42 3 yr
</pre>
Forbes moves up to the #3 receiver; otherwise no changes.
<pre>
Pearson, Carlos 54 C 4 59 72 1 yr
Kern, Mo 53 C 2 20 40 2 yr
</pre>
We're hoping for a healthy year from Pearson because Kern doesn't look like much.
<pre>
Floyd, Dave 79 LG 6 42 44 1 yr
Jones, Chuck 60 RG 13 39 39 3 yr
Hammond, Corwin 62 RG 5 32 45 1 yr
</pre>
Floyd and Jones will start, with Hammond backing up both.
<pre>
Manifold, Vince 77 LT 13 46 46 1 yr
Pearson, Stan 61 RT 3 33 48 2 yr
Hosken, Emmanuel 78 RT 3 31 34 3 yr
</pre>
Manifold anchors the left side, perhaps for his last season. Pearson will guard the right side as well as he can.
<pre>
Bishop, Roderick 3 P 3 79 79 1 yr
Tate, Bart 11 K 2 45 50 3 yr
Tramontana, Daniel 17 K 1 32 66 3 yr
</pre>
Bishop is all set as the punter. Tate didn't have a great season last year, though it wasn't all bad (20 for 27 in field goal tries, made all 31 PATs). Tramontana will press him during preseason and might make the team.
<pre>
Wayne, Reggie 94 LDE 11 47 48 2 yr
Northcott, Lamar 70 LDE 2 27 36 2 yr
Cassidy, Nolan 97 LDE 1 24 38 4 yr
Carlisle, Darrell 75 RDE 4 69 80 2 yr
Gaines, Archie 99 RDE 2 27 48 3 yr
</pre>
Wayne will start as long as he doesn't get hurt. We'll hide him during preseason. Northcott and Cassidy will compete for the #4 DE job - loser goes to the IR. Carlisle anchors the right side with heir apparent Gaines lying in wait.
<pre>
Richard, Ray 74 NT 6 70 70 3 yr
Reidl, Van 72 NT 1 30 44 3 yr
Kloosterman, Alan 91 NT 3 22 25 1 yr
</pre>
Richard will take the preseason off. Reidl should be able to fend off Kloosterman for the #2 slot.
<pre>
Polanco, Bryce 90 SILB 8 41 41 2 yr
Doyle, Artie 59 WILB 2 49 70 4 yr
Flynn, Bobby 55 WILB 5 33 33 3 yr
McDaniel, Floyd 92 SLB 11 38 38 2 yr
Baxter, Jimmy 98 SLB 5 36 36 3 yr
Diaz, David 52 WLB 7 45 45 3 yr
</pre>
The linebacking corp is slowly getting better. Doyle should be the anchor in time. Polanco and Diaz are decent, the rest just gap fillers.
<pre>
Gildon, T.J. 39 LCB 3 89 89 4 yr
Raymond, William 45 LCB 10 39 39 1 yr
King, Ike 28 RCB 5 40 41 1 yr
Ellard, Hugh 22 RCB 4 31 40 2 yr
</pre>
Gildon is All-World, and the rest of these guys are merely adequate.
<pre>
Bush, Robert 23 SS 3 36 45 3 yr
Bailey, Cornell 32 SS 11 35 35 2 yr
Boss, Nick 37 FS 4 34 34 2 yr
Kerr, Lester 30 FS 1 29 46 3 yr
</pre>
Bailey looked a step slow during training camp, and so the starting SS job will go to Bush. Boss is the boss of the FS slot, but Kerr will get some playing time during exhibitions and throughout the season.

There were no major booms or busts among our draft picks - indeed, nobody broke out or busted significantly except Bailey, whose erosion is probably age-related.

I'm cautiously optimistic about our chances for the year. We should be able to get 9 or 10 wins this season - that should be enough to make the playoffs, though of course there are no guarantees.

We're $30 million under the cap - plenty of money for any emergency pickups we might need.

NEXT: The preseason. Can we accomplish our goals and stay in good health?

We sign 2nd year C Ricardo Cobb and CB Harry Blair to one-year minsal deals ($580,000). They're cannon fodder, both with actuals under 20 and potentials under 35. Blair has the advantage of being able to return kickoffs decently.

WEEK 1 - no game

WEEK 2 - we host Baltimore. They're 7 point favorites, and the preview gives most advantages to them. I don't much care, just get me through without getting anyone hurt.

We lose a close one in overtime, 27-24. We scored 10 points in the last 2 1/2 minutes, but lost the toss and yada yada yada they boomed a 54-yard field goal. Lucky stiffs.

Individual highlights:

* Peterson ran 8 times for 44 yards
* Both QBs played well - Benton went 22-for-28 for 183 yards, with 1 TD and a pick. Everett went 6-for-12 for 105 yards and a TD. Unfortunately he was sacked 5 times; a lot for just a half of play.
* Forbes caught 7 balls for 70 yards. Washington caught 6 for 133 and a TD.
* Tramontana made his FG attempt (a 52 yarder!) and all 3 PATs.
* Everett made 3 bad throws - too many for 12 attempts.

Injuries:

LB McDaniel (elbow) is OUT, due back in about 2 weeks
CB King (knee) is questionable, due back in about 3 weeks
LB Diaz (abdomen) is doubtful, due back in 4 weeks

We make McDaniel, King, and Diaz inactive and sign rookie minsal replacements. Their names don't matter since they have no chance of making the regular season roster.

WEEK 3 - We head to Jacksonville to face the Jaguars. They're favored by 10. It's sunny and 84 at game time. We only win a couple of comparisons. This would concern me if I cared.

We pull off the upset 19-7. Everett gets the game ball.

Individual highlights:

* Nixon led the rushers with modest totals of 11 carries and 45 yards.
* Everett dink-n-dunked his way to a 16-for-25 day for 141 yards. He was sacked twice. I liked Benton's performance better; he went 5-for-9 for 70 yards. He got sacked once.
* Catches were widely scattered with six players getting at least two.
* Tramontana made both his field goals but pulled a PAT. He won't make the team doing that.

Injuries:

LB McDaniel (elbow) has moved up to probable, due back in about 2 weeks
CB King (knee) remains questionable, back in 2 weeks or so
LB Diaz remains doubtful, with full recovery in 3 weeks

Hey, we didn't get anyone new hurt! Fantastic!!

-------------------

WEEK 4 - We move on to Cincinnati to meet the Bengals. They're favored by 10. It's a stormy day in Cincy, with a temperature of 78. Cincy wins a majority of comparisons - something I continue to care greatly about. NOT.

Well, they covered the spread, winning 34-20. It was tied at halftime, but they scored 10 in the third and never looked back.

Individual highlights, such as they were:

* We couldn't get much of a running game started against these guys - only 84 yards overall. Peterson (10 tries) and Everett (5 tries) tied for the yardage lead with 28.
* We didn't do much passing either. Everett went 17-for-28 for 161 yards. One touchdown, but a ruinous three picks. Five sacks didn't help things either. Benton went 4-for-7 for 36 yards. One TD, one interception. At least he wasn't sacked.
* Forbes had 9 catches for 79 yards. He could be our future go-to guy (11 passes were thrown his way), though I'd like the yards per catch to be higher.
* Tramontana made both field goals and both PATs. Can't ask for more than that.

Injuries:

LB McDaniel is now healthy
CB King (knee) has been upgraded to probable, due back for opening day
TE Whitfield (cold) is probable; should be ready for opening day
LB Diaz (abdomen) has been upgraded to questionable, due back in 2 weeks
WR R. Forbes (ribcage) is probable, with full recovery in 2 weeks

Nothing serious here, thank goodness. We'll activate King and take our chances with Whitfield and Forbes.

WEEK 5 - We host Houston this week. We're still playing the second stringers. They're favored by 7, what a shock. Double shock, they win most of the comparisons. I refuse to care; just get me through this game and into opening day in reasonable health.

We escape with the upset victory, 24-21. 56,100 attended. LG Dave Floyd got the game ball for his 5 key run blocks in 13 opportunities. That's something you won't see on Fox.

Individual highlights:

* This would've been an ugly game to watch, since the teams combined for just over 500 yards. They returned a fumbled for a touchdown, we returned a pick for a TD.
* Peterson was the main cause of our rushing misery, running for an anemic 30 yards on 14 carries. Nixon was better - 10 carries, 45 yards.
* Everett had a dismal game - 10-for-19 for 57 yards. He also threw a pick. No sacks, but he was hurried four times. Benton was better, going 15-for 22 for 126 yards and a TD. He was sacked twice.
* We continue to distribute the ball very well; ten receivers caught at least one pass, and 7 caught two or more.
* Tate made his field goal try and was 3-for-3 in the PAT dept. I may have to keep both kickers...

Injuries:

CB Raymond (cold) is probable, should be back next week
LB Diaz (abdomen) is probable, should be 100% next week
An influenza outbreak has struck our players, all questionable, and all need 1-2 weeks of recovery time:
QBs B. Forbes and Benton, WR Sloan, C Cobb, T Hosken, P Bishop, K Tramontana, DE Northcutt, NTs Richard and Kloosterman, CBs King and Ellard
TE Whitfield (cold) is still probable, should be ready next week
WR R. Forbes (ribcage) remains probable, should be 100% next week
LB Diaz (abdomen) has been upgraded to probable, should be ready to go next week
CB Raymond (cold) is probable, and is expected to be back next week
LB McDaniel (knee) is OUT again, expected back in 4 weeks

Great, a flu outbreak just before our first game. We'll get through this, but it's going to be a little difficult. You know, with all these colds and flus on my team, maybe I should play that old Police song - you know, "Don't stand, don't stand so, don't stand so close to me."

Anyway, I make some roster moves:

RB Erickson is activated from IR
RB Beyer is placed on IR
C Pearson is activated
C Cobb is placed on IR
DE Wayne activated
DE Northcutt placed on IR
LB McDaniel placed on IR
LB Diaz activated
CB Gildon activated
K Tramontana placed on IR

I adjust the depth chart and we're all ready for opening day.

NEXT: Opening day and beyond. Will this be our year?

WEEK 1 - We host Green Bay. Division games are always doubly important, so I want to get my best guys out there. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):

<PRE>
QB - B. Forbes (48) LDE - Wayne (47)
RB - Erickson (61) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (51) RDE - Carlisle (69)
TE - Whitfield (64) SLB - Baxter (36)
FL - Keith (48) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Powell (41) WILB - Doyle (51)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (59) RCB - King (40)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (38)
RT - Pearson (36) FS - Kerr (30)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
The Packers are favored by 7, for no good reason. Most of the matchups are even. We have the advantage at LB, the corner/WR matchup, and our OL vs. their DL. Green Bay has better receivers and coaches. It would be nice to start out the season with a win, and then slowly get healthy.

We escape by winning a defensive struggle, 12-7. 63,200 fans stopped by on opening day. K Bart Tate got the game ball for kicking four field goals. Nice day, but we never want him to get another game ball. I'd much rather score touchdowns.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 19 carries, 63 yards
Passing - Forbes, 13-for-31, 142 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs, sacked 3 times
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 5 catches, 48 yards
Punting - Bishop, 8 kicks, 40.1 avg, 3 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 4-for-4 FGs (long of 48), no PAT tries
Tackles - LB Polanco, 8
Blocking - C Pearson, 5-for-11 KRBs

Comments:

* Holman, apparently their backup RB, singed us for 50 yards on 5 carries, with a long of 30.
* Paxton for the Packers ran riot and got 12 tackles.
* Another ugly game with three turnovers for each side (3 fumbles for them, 2 INTs and a fumble for us).
* Three trips to the red zone for us, three field goals. Ick.
* Our offense wasn't very good and our defense bailed us out. I hope this doesn't set a trend for the full season.

Injury report:

Lots of people are now healthy - CB Raymond, LB Diaz, SE Sloan, CB Ellard, RT Hosken, P Bishop, NT Kloosterman, FL R. Forbes, DE Northcutt, and TE Whitfield.

QB Benton (flu) is still questionable, and is estimated to regain full health in two weeks.
CB King (flu) is still questionable, but should be OK by next week.
QB Forbes, K Tramontana, C Cobb, and NT Richard (flu) are all probable and should be 100% next week.
RB Erickson (cold) is probable, and is expected to be 100% next week.
LB McDaniel remains OUT, due back in about 3 weeks.
DE Wayne (hamstring) is OUT, and the doctors estimate full health in about 2 months.

Roster moves:

DE Wayne placed on IR
DE Northcutt activated
-----------------------------------------------------
WEEK 2 - We head to San Diego to face the Chargers. They lost their first game at home to Oakland, 17-10. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (49) LDE - Northcutt (27)
RB - Erickson (62) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (52) RDE - Carlisle (69)
TE - Whitfield (66) SLB - Baxter (36)
FL - Keith (48) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (52)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (59) RCB - Ellard (31)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (38)
RT - Pearson (37) FS - Kerr (31)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
The Chargers are favored by four. They win most of the matchups, but we have better RBs, receivers, special teams, and our corners match up well with their wideouts. QB is a tossup.

They have an easy time with us, jumping out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter and hanging on for a 27-13 win.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 9 carries, 46 yards
Passing - Forbes, 22-for-41, 270 yards, 1 TDs, 2 INTs, sacked 4 times
Receiving - WR Sloan, 7 catches, 81 yards
Punting - Bishop, 6 punts, 34.0 avg, 2 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-3 FGs (long of 37), made the PAT
Tackles - LB Doyle, 10
Blocking - T Manifold, 2-for-3 KRBs

Comments:

* Another subpar performance for Forbes. The flu might have had a lot to do with it, but the Chargers did defend 10 passes, so I have to give them some credit.
* The defense was good enough to win this game, but we had lousy field position all game, and those interceptions came at key times.
* Cassidy had 1 1/2 sacks.
* The missed FG was from about 50 yards; no demerits for not making that one.
* Our last five possessions were just perfect - punt, punt, punt, punt, and punt.

Injury report:

Lots more players have returned to full health: NT Richard, CB King, QB B. Forbes, RB Erickson, and C Cobb.

QB Benton and K Tramantona are STILL suffering from the flu; they're probable for the next week.
LB McDaniel (knee) has been upgraded to doubtful; his ETA is 2 weeks.
SS Bailey (knee) is questionable, with full health in about 2 weeks.
DE Wayne (hamstring) is still OUT for the next 8 weeks.

Other stuff:

G Hammond, NT Kloosterman, and C Kern are all disgruntled. None are very critical, so their status doesn't mean much.

Chicago has won their first two games and are a game in front of us. Detroit is 0-1-1, and Green Bay has started 0-2.

Roster moves:

NT Richard activated
NT Kloosterman placed on IR (yeah, that'll make him happy :p )

WEEK 3 - We head to Carolina to face the 2-0 Panthers. They're favored by 3. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (49) LDE - Northcutt (27)
RB - Erickson (62) NT - Richard (70)
FB - Conley (52) RDE - Carlisle (70)
TE - Whitfield (67) SLB - Baxter (36)
FL - Forbes (46) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (52)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (60) RCB - King (40)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (38)
RT - Pearson (37) FS - Kerr (31)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win most of the comparisons except for coaching.

It's sunny and 81 at gametime. It's a tough loss as we go down 27-19. We seem to have problems punching it in from in close as Tate kicked three field goals of under 25 yards and scored only one TD.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 11 carries, 87 yards
Passing - Forbes, 23-for-47, 296 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs, sacked twice
Receiving - FB Conley, 5 catches, 68 yards
Punting - Bishop, 3 punts, 50.3 avg, none inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 4-for-4 FGs (long of 49), made the PAT
Tackles - LB Doyle, 8
Blocking - C Pearson, 3-for-3 KRBs

Comments:

* The fans are starting to grumble that perhaps we have the wrong QB starting. And I'm beginning to wonder the same thing myself. Forbes hasn't looked good at all. At least in this game he was hurried 7 times, so there's a little bit of an excuse.
* Our defense had a bad game as we allowed 4.7 yards per rush and 10.5 yards per pass. No picks either.

Obviously the Panthers are a good team, but we're starting to wonder what's wrong with us? Probably nothing, but the mind starts to wander...

Injury report:

QB Benton and K Tramantona are now healthy.
LB McDaniel (knee) has been upgraded to probable; he should be ready next week.
SS Bailey (knee) has been upgraded to probable; he too should be ready next week.
DT Richard (knee) is OUT for 4 weeks or so.
DE Wayne (hamstring) remains OUT; his ETA is now 7 weeks.

Roster moves:

NT Richard placed on IR
NT Kloosterman activated

The good news is that Chicago lost, so we're still one game out of the division lead. We're tied with Green Bay, and Detroit is now 0-2-1.

WEEK 4 - This is our off week. We could use the breather. Oh yeah, Whitfield is #9 on The Green Sheet. None of our other players made it. He's the lowest pick among the first dozen or so players there.

Chicago wins, but Green Bay and Detroit both lose. It looks like it's up to us to put pressure on the Bears. We'll see what we can do.

Injury report:

LB McDaniel and SS Bailey are now 100%.
LB Baxter (headaches) is doubtful; he'll take two aspirin and call us next week.
LB Diaz (elbow) is questionable; he'll be out for a couple of weeks.
DT Richard (knee) is still OUT for 3 weeks.
DE Wayne (hamstring) remains OUT; his ETA is now 6 weeks.

Roster moves:

LB McDaniel activated
LB Baxter placed on IR

I decide to make some changes to the offensive line. No new starters, but I'll sub them in and out more often and move the backups to more logical positions (e.g. the backup C actuallly backs up the C).

WEEK 5 - We host Seattle. They're 2-1 this season, and have only given up 40 points while scoring 71. Sounds dangerous to me. Not surprisingly they're favored by 7. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (51) LDE - Northcutt (27)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (53) RDE - Carlisle (70)
TE - Whitfield (68) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - Forbes (46) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (53)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (61) RCB - King (40)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (38)
RT - Pearson (37) FS - Kerr (31)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We dominate most of the matchups, but they have the better O-line and coach, and their blockers figure to wear down our D-line. Whew. We even our record with a 28-21 victory. Forbes threw 3 TD passes before the Seahawks even scored once. Then he ran it in himself for the 28-7 lead. They scored two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to make it look closer than it was. Forbes got the game ball, of course.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 14 carries, 58 yards
Passing - Forbes, 22-for-30, 275 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving - WR Forbes, 5 catches, 92 yards, TD. Conley also had 5 catches (51 yards)
Punting - Bishop, 5 punts, 46.2 avg, 1 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 4-for-4 PATs
Tackles - S Kerr and LB McDaniel, 8 each
Blocking - C Pearson, 3-for-9 KRBs

Comments:

* We had a nearly perfect passing game; just one drop and one hurried pass. There were also 5 defensed passes, but we can't do anything about those.
* Seattle's first 8 drives resulted in 7 punts and the end of the half. Their last three were three touchdowns. Thank goodness they don't play five quarters.

Injury report:

LB Baxter is back to full health.
LB Diaz (elbow) has been upgraded to probable; he should be OK next week.
S Bailey (knee) is doubtful; he'll be ready in about 2 weeks.
DT Richard (knee) has been upgraded to doubtful; the doctors will give him the thumbs up in 2 weeks.
DE Wayne (hamstring) remains OUT; his ETA is now 5 weeks.
G Floyd (foot) is OUT for about 3 weeks.
CB King (leg) is OUT for the next 6 weeks.

Accursed turf; I loathe thy presence!

Roster moves:

LB Baxter activated
LB Foley placed on IR (finally!)
CB King placed on IR
G Floyd placed on IR
G Lee Hanrahan signed (1 year, $580k)
K Tramontana activated

Tramontana will be our kickoff specialist. He's not very good at them, but better than Tate.

Standings:

Chicago 3-2
MINNESOTA 2-2
Green Bay 2-3
Detroit 0-3-1

NEXT: Can I continue to put pressure on Chicago and make a run toward the division title?

WEEK 6 - We head to the desert to take on Arizona, who's 3-2 so far this season. It's 68 degrees and clear on a Sunday night. They're favored by 4. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):

<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (52) LDE - Northcutt (27)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (53) RDE - Carlisle (70)
TE - Whitfield (69) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (46) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (53)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Hammond (33) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (61) RCB - Ellard (32)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (39)
RT - Pearson (37) FS - Kerr (31)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
The matchups are about even. Yum, our first blowout of the season - we roast the Cards 35-6. Forbes throws five TD passes. He's apparently taken all our criticism to heart. He earned the game ball again.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Forbes, 4 carries, 42 yards
Passing - Forbes, 22-for-29, 275 yards, 5 TDs, sacked twice
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 8 catches, 73 yards, 2 TDs
Punting - Bishop, 4 punts, 39.7 avg, 3 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 0-for-1 FG tries, 5-for-5 PATs
Tackles - seven players with 4
Blocking - FB Conley, 2-for-2 KRBs

Comments:

* Our leaky O-line was the only lowlight of our passing game, allowing 3 hurries and 2 sacks.
* Our RBs barely showed up, combining for 50 yards in 19 carries.
* PO'd NT Kloosterman, of all people, got 2 sacks. DE Carlisle added 1 1/2 sacks and 3 hurries.
* All-World CB Gildon got our first pick of the season.

Injury report:

LB Diaz is now 100%.
S Bailey (knee) is up to probable; he'll be fully healed next week.
DT Richard (knee) has been upgraded to probable; he'll be fully ready to terrorize ball carriers again in a week's time.
DE Wayne (hamstring) has been upgraded to doubtful; full health should be achieved in 4 weeks.
G Floyd (foot) is OUT for about 2 weeks.
CB King (leg) is OUT for the next 5 weeks.
CB Ellard (ribs) is OUT for roughly 6 weeks.

Looks like I'm going to have to sign a corner to get us through the middle third of the season.

Roster moves:

CB Ellard placed on IR
LB Foley released
CB Corwin Hills signed (1 year, $580k)

Standings:

Chicago 4-2
MINNESOTA 3-2
Green Bay 3-3
Detroit 0-4-1
---------------------------------------------------
WEEK 7 - We host 3-3 St. Louis. For the first time all season, we're favored, and it's by a big margin - 8 points. I hope we don't disappoint. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (52) LDE - Northcutt (27)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (53) RDE - Carlisle (70)
TE - Whitfield (69) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (47) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (53)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Hammond (33) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Hills (20)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (39)
RT - Pearson (38) FS - Kerr (32)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We're even or better in all the matchups except QB. And indeed, they have an awesome QB, J.B. Morton, who's rated at 73. Our goal, obviously, is to stop him. Mission accomplished as we win 35-14. 64,100 turned out to see us score on a couple of one-yard runs by Erickson, an 83-yard punt return by Sloan, a 71-yard interception return by Gildon, and a pass from Forbes to Conley. Gildon got the game ball.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 18 carries, 56 yards
Passing - Forbes, 15-for-29, 137 yards, 1 TD, sacked 3 times
Receiving - WR Sloan, 4 catches, 48 yards
Punting - Bishop, 8 punts, 41.5 avg, 5 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 0-for-1 FG tries, 5-for-5 PATs
Tackles - Polanco, 6
Blocking - C Pearson, 3-for-9 KRBs

Comments:

* Our offense, quite frankly, sucked. We only had 216 yards of offense, to 367 for them.
* The difference was the three picks we had - Gildon had two of them. Looks like he wants to be All-Pro for a third straight season.
* J.B. Morton was hassled, harried, and frustrated all game long. Picked three times, sacked 3 times, hurried 8 times, and had an amazing 17 passes knocked away. Guess who had 8 of those?
* Forbes was hurried 5 times and defended 5 times, so he didn't have an easy time either.
* Our offense was efficient where it counted - 3 trips to the red zone, 3 TDs.

Injury report:

DT Richard (knee) is finally fully healthy.
S Bailey (knee) was reinjured; he's doubtful but should be OK in 2 weeks.
DE Wayne (hamstring) has been upgraded to questionable; he should be ready in 2 or so weeks.
G Floyd (foot) is now probable and is likely to be ready next week.
CB King (leg) is up to doubtful; 4 weeks is his full recovery time.
G Jones (back) is OUT for the next 5 weeks.
CB Ellard (ribs) is OUT for another 5 weeks.

Roster moves:

G Floyd activated
G Jones placed on IR
NT Richard activated
NT Kloosterman placed on IR
S Bailey placed on IR
C Cobb activated

Standings:

MINNESOTA 4-2
Chicago 4-2
Green Bay 3-3
Detroit 1-4-1

Apparently we hold the tiebreaker over the Bears. But that's not going to matter, because next week...

WEEK 8 - We play Chicago at home. Obviously this is a crucial game; the winner takes the lead in the division and holds the tiebreaker. We're favored by 3. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (52) LDE - Northcutt (27)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Richard (70)
FB - Conley (53) RDE - Carlisle (70)
TE - Whitfield (70) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (47) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (54)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Hills (20)
RG - Hammond (33) SS - Bush (39)
RT - Pearson (38) FS - Kerr (32)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win six matchups to their 4. They have the better QB, O-line, secondary. They also win the O-line vs. D-line comparison. Looks pretty evenly matched to me. And so it was, but we were on the wrong end of it, falling 17-14. 64,100 witnessed this disappointing result. We had a 14-0 lead early in the 2nd quarter, then decided that was enough. Chicago scored the next 17, with their last touchdown coming with 51 seconds left. Yargh.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Forbes, 7 carries, 37 yards
Passing - Forbes, 18-for-32, 161 yards, 1 TD, sacked once
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 7 catches, 63 yards
Punting - Bishop, 7 punts, 38.2 avg, 3 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-2 PATs
Tackles - Polanco, 7
Blocking - T Manifold, 3-for-7 KRBs

Comments:

* You won't win too many games with only 245 yards of offense. Our defense wasn't quite good enough to overcome this.
* Our RBs went into hiding again - 17 carries, 47 yards
* Our last 8 drives: punt, end of half, punt, punt, punt, punt, punt, end of game.
* No turnovers for either team.

Ah well, we can recover from this. We MUST.

Injury report:

DE Wayne (hamstring) is probable and should be ready next week.
S Bailey (knee) has been upgraded to probable and he too should be ready next week.
C Pearson (knee) is questionable; should be at full health next week.
G Floyd (knee) is questionable and it'll take him about 2 weeks to get healthy.
CB King (leg) is doubtful; 3 weeks is his full recovery time.
G Hammond (shoulder) is OUT for about a month.
CB Ellard (ribs) has been upgraded to doubtful, but probably won't play for another 4 weeks.
G Jones (back) is OUT for the next 4 weeks.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) put this season out of its misery after playing only 2 games. He'll be ready for training camp next year. I think.

Roster moves:

NT Richard placed on injured reserve
G Hammond placed on IR
NT Kloosterman activated
G Alan McCarthy signed (1 year, $1,280,000)

Peterson, our 3rd string RB, is now disgruntled. I have bigger worries.

Standings:

Chicago 5-2
MINNESOTA 4-3
Green Bay 3-4
Detroit 2-4-1
-------------------------------------------------
WEEK 9 - We head to San Francisco to take on the 2-5 49ers. Finally we face a team under .500. It's sunny and 68 by the bay. We're favored by 6. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (52) LDE - Northcutt (28)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (53) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (72) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (48) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (54)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Hills (20)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (40)
RT - Pearson (38) FS - Kerr (33)
K - Tate (46) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
The Niners have a better front 7 and coaches, but we win most of the other comparisons. I refuse to take them lightly. We play decently and get the 20-10 victory. Forbes got the game ball.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 8 carries, 58 yards
Passing - Forbes, 18-for-33, 279 yards, 2 TDs, sacked twice
Receiving - WR Sloan, 3 catches, 97 yards, 2 TDs; Whitfield had 5 catches (36 yards)
Punting - Bishop, 7 punts, 41.7 avg, 1 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-2 FGs, 2-for-2 PATs
Tackles - LB Doyle, 8
Blocking - T Manifold and G Floyed, each 3-for-5 KRBs

Comments:

* Once again our superiority lied in not making mistakes. No turnovers for us.
* So... why did Erickson only get 8 carries? Do I really want to know?

Injury report:

DE Wayne and S Bailey have completely healed.
C Pearson (knee) had a reinjury and is OUT; we'll see him again in a month.
G Floyd (knee) is questionable and it'll take him about 3 weeks to get healthy.
CB King (leg) is doubtful; 2 weeks is his full recovery time.
G Hammond (shoulder) is OUT for about 3 weeks.
CB Ellard (ribs) has been upgraded to questionable; he'll be back in 3 weeks.
G Jones (back) is OUT for the next 3 weeks.
LB Polanco (hip) is doubtful; he might be ready in 4 weeks.
T Pearson (neck) is probable; he could use 4 weeks of rest but won't get them.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.

Roster moves:

C Pearson placed on IR
DE Wayne activated
DE Cassidy placed on IR
LB Polanco placed on IR
S Bailey activated
LB Buddy Fish signed (1 year, $730,000)
RB Beyer released

Standings:

Chicago 6-2
MINNESOTA 5-3
Green Bay 4-4
Detroit 2-5-1

NEXT: Our continued efforts to win the division and make the playoffs.

Hey, This is one great read. i'm liking this "the Season" concept in here.

interesting stuff:)

JeffNights and tucker342: Thank you for reading and enjoying.

Anyway, on with the show...

WEEK 10 - We head to the frozen tundra to take on the Packers. They're favored by 1. It's clear and 33 at game time. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (53) LDE - Wayne (47)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (54) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (72) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (48) SILB - Fish (21)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (55)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Kern (21) RCB - Hills (20)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (40)
RT - Pearson (38) FS - Kerr (33)
K - Tate (48) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win the offensive comparisons (except for the offensive line), but lose most of the matchups. Should be interesting. Another hard fought game, but we emerge victorious, 14-10. Green Bay put us down 10-0 in the first quarter, but we eventually scored two TDs to win. The game ball went to Forbes.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Forbes, 4 carries, 40 yards
Passing - Forbes, 18-for-33, 154 yards, 1 INT, sacked 4 times
Receiving - FB Conley, 9 catches, 46 yards
Punting - Bishop, 9 punts, 40.6 avg, 3 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-2 PATs
Tackles - DE Carlisle and LB Hilss, 6 each
Blocking - T Pearson, 3-for-8 KRBs

Comments:

* Another defensive struggle with 5 turnovers and less than 600 yards.
* CB Gildon had another pick. He also forced a fumble and defensed a pass.
* In addition to the sacks, Forbes was hurried 6 times, so it's safe to say the offensive line had a rough day.

Injury report:

CB King (leg) has been upgraded to probable; he should be ready next week.
G Jones (back) is questionable; he'll be 100% in 2 weeks.
G Floyd (knee) is questionable and it'll take him about 2 weeks to get healthy.
G Hammond (shoulder) is questionable; he will also be 100% in 2 weeks.
CB Ellard (ribs) remains questionable; he is another one due to return in 2 weeks.
LB Polanco (hip) is up to questionable; it looks like 3 weeks is his time to be healthy.
C Pearson (knee) is moved up to doubtful; we hope to have him back in 3 weeks.
T Pearson (neck) is probable; he could still use 3 weeks of rest.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.
DE Wayne (shoulder) is OUT and due back in about 6 weeks.

Roster moves:

DE Wayne placed on IR
DE Cassidy activated
CB King activated
CB Hills placed on IR

Standings:

Chicago 7-2
MINNESOTA 6-3
Green Bay 4-5
Detroit 3-5-1

I make a suggestion to the coach that he play Erickson more.
---------------------------------------------------
WEEK 11 - We host the Lions, who are now starting to wake up. They've won three of their last four. We're favored by 4. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (54) LDE - Northcutt (28)
RB - Erickson (63) NT - Reidl (31)
FB - Conley (54) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (72) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (49) SILB - Fish (21)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (55)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Kern (21) RCB - King (40)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (41)
RT - Pearson (38) FS - Kerr (33)
K - Tate (48) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win most of the comparisons, except for the offensive and defensive lines, and the coaches. 63,200 watch us go down to a 17-14 defeat. We gave up a long punt return and a long bomb, and that was the difference.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 14 carries, 116 yards, TD
Passing - Forbes, 17-for-32, 213 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, sacked 3 times
Receiving - WR Keith, 4 catches, 80 yards; Conley also had 4 catches (35 yards)
Punting - Bishop, 6 punts, 44.5 avg, 1 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-2 PATs
Tackles - LBs Fish, McDaniel, and Doyle, 6 each
Blocking - G Floyd, 3-for-7 KRBs

Comments:

* Our average starting position was our own 17. That never helps.
* The offensive line continues to be problematic, causing Forbes to hurry 8 times.
* We only went 1-for-8 on third down. That hasn't been a problem this season, so I expect better things in our other games.

Well, we had to get by this game to get everyone healthy, but we couldn't do it.

Injury report:

G Hammond (shoulder) is healthy again.
G Jones (back) has been upgraded to probable; he'll be ready next week.
G Floyd (knee) has been upgraded to probable; he too will be ready next week.
CB Ellard (ribs) is up to probable; next week is his scheduled return.
C Pearson (knee) is up to questionable; we hope to have him back in 2 weeks.
LB Polanco (hip) is up to probable; it looks like 2 weeks is his time to be healthy.
T Pearson (neck) is probable; he could still use 2 weeks of rest.
CB King (leg) reinjured his leg and is OUT for the next 5 weeks.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.
DE Wayne (shoulder) is OUT and due back in about 5 weeks.

Roster moves:

G Hammond activated
G Floyd placed on IR
CB King placed on IR
CB Ellard activated

Standings:

Chicago 8-2
MINNESOTA 6-4
Detroit 4-5-1
Green Bay 4-6

The Bears seem to be slipping away, but we're still in the thick of the wild card hunt.

WEEK 12 - We head to Oakland to face the 6-3-1 Raiders. They're favored by 5. It's 73 and sunny at game time. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (55) LDE - Northcutt (28)
RB - Erickson (64) NT - Reidl (32)
FB - Conley (56) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (74) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (49) SILB - Fish (22)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (55)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Hammond (33) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Kern (21) RCB - Ellard (32)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (41)
RT - Pearson (39) FS - Kerr (33)
K - Tate (48) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
It's important for us to get through this game healthy and oh yeah, win. The matchups are about even. Another disappointment as we go down 21-13. We scored the first 10 points of the game but could do little after that.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 20 carries, 102 yards
Passing - Forbes, 27-for-46, 251 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, sacked 4 times
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 6 catches, 53 yards
Punting - Bishop, 3 punts, 39.0 avg
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-4 FGs, made his PAT
Tackles - CB Gildon and LBs McDaniel, and Doyle, 5 each
Blocking - G Hammond, 4-for-6 KRBs

Comments:

* 5 of Forbes' passes were hurried, 3 blocked at the line, and 5 were bad throws. Not a good day and the offensive line should share the blame for it.
* We OWNED time of possession, holding the ball for almost 40 minutes. Not much to show for it.
* Tate had his first bad game, shanking a couple wide.
* The defense continues to be good enough to win big; Oakland got their last TD on a kickoff return.

Injury report:

Jones, Floyd, Pearson, and Ellard are all 100%.
LB Polanco (hip) is probable; he should be ready next week.
T Pearson (neck) is probable; he could still a week of rest.
DE Wayne (shoulder) is up to questionable and due back in about 3 weeks.
CB King (leg) is OUT for the next 4 weeks.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.

No new injuries. That's always good news.

Roster moves:

C Pearson activated
C Cobb placed on IR
G Floyd activated
G Jones activated
G Hanrahan placed on IR
LB Polanco activated
LB Fish placed on IR
K Tramontana placed on IR

Standings:

Chicago 8-3
MINNESOTA 6-5
Green Bay 5-6
Detroit 4-6-1

Chicago gave us a slight break by losing, but we've got a lot of work to do.

--------------------------------

WEEK 13 - We host the 7-4 Redskins. They've scored 219 points but have given up 227, which obviously does not fit in with their record. They're favored by 3. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (56) LDE - Northcutt (28)
RB - Erickson (65) NT - Reidl (32)
FB - Conley (56) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (75) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (50) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (55)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Diaz (45)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Ellard (33)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (41)
RT - Pearson (39) FS - Kerr (33)
K - Tate (48) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win a majority of the comparisons. They have the better O-line and coaches, and they win the O-line/D-line comparison. But we win most of the rest. I'm not sure why they're favored; do the oddsmakers know something that I don't? Not really. We take this one 20-13. It was 13-0 at halftime, but we woke up just in time. Erickson got the game ball, though I probably would have given it to Forbes.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 10 carries, 64 yards
Passing - Forbes, 16-for-24, 286 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, sacked once
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 5 catches, 69 yards; Erickson had 4 catches for 131 yards and a TD
Punting - Bishop, 2 punts, 43.5 avg, both inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 2-for-2 FGs (long of 41), made both PATs
Tackles - CB Gildon, 10
Blocking - G Floyd, 2-for-2 KRBs

Comments:

* Erickson got the longest pass play of the season, 96 yards. He only had 92 YAC, so he must have been sent downfield some. Fine with me.
* We scored on all four second half possessions.
* The Skins had two 17 play drives that chewed up 18 1/2 minutes combined.
* This game was kind of the opposite of the way we usually operate - the defense didn't have a very good game, but our offense bailed them out.

Injury report:

LB Polanco is healthy.
DE Wayne (shoulder) is probable; 2 weeks is the scheduled recovery time.
LB McDaniel (back) is OUT for about 3 weeks.
T Pearson (neck) had a relapse of his neck injury; he's still probable, but full recovery will take 4 weeks.
CB King (leg) has been upgraded to doubtful; he should be ready in 3 weeks.
LB Diaz (knee) ripped his ACL and his season is done.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.

It looks like I need some linebackers in a hurry.

Roster moves:

LB Lewis Russell signed (1 year, $650,000)
LB Diaz placed on injured reserve
CB Bailey placed on IR
CB Hills activated
FB Durr placed on IR

Standings:

Chicago 9-3
MINNESOTA 7-5
Green Bay 5-7
Detroit 4-7-1

NEXT: The end of the season approaches quickly. Which opponent shall we print on our playoff tickets?:D

WEEK 14 - We host Denver, who have gone 5-7 so far this season. We're favored by 4. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (56) LDE - Northcutt (28)
RB - Erickson (65) NT - Reidl (32)
FB - Conley (56) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (75) SLB - Baxter (36)
FL - R. Forbes (51) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (56)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Russell (23)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Ellard (33)
RG - Jones (39) SS - Bush (42)
RT - Pearson (39) FS - Kerr (33)
K - Tate (48) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win all the comparisons except QB and RB. Just the key players... let's see how it turns out. It was a struggle but we came out victorious, 21-17. 64,100 attended this game. Gildon's interception return put us ahead to stay, but Forbes got the game ball.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Forbes, 8 carries, 65 yards
Passing - Forbes, 24-for-35, 220 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 8 catches, 77 yards
Punting - Bishop, 6 punts, 42.3 avg, 1 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 0-for-2 FGs, made all 3 PATs
Tackles - LBs Polanco and Doyle, 6 each
Blocking - G Jones, 2-for-3 KRBs

Comments:

* Our backs got pretty well stuffed again (27 carries for 70 yards combined) and it was Forbes who made our rushing stats look halfway decent.
* The grumblings about Tate continue, but those missed field goals were from 45 and 53 yards, so I can't knock him too much.

Injury report:

DE Wayne (shoulder) is probable and should be finally ready next week.
LB McDaniel (back) is OUT for about 2 weeks.
G Floyd (finger) is probable with full health due in 2 weeks.
T Pearson (neck) is probable, due back in 3 weeks.
CB King (leg) has been upgraded to doubtful; he should be ready in 2 weeks.
G Jones (adductor) is OUT and has an ETA of 7 weeks. Speculative whether he'll be ready by Front Office Bowl time.
DE Cassidy (thumb) is questionable and will limp throughout the playoff season.
LB Diaz (knee) is OUT for the rest of the season.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.

Roster moves:

G Jones placed on injured reserve
DE Wayne activated
DE Cassidy placed on IR
CB Blair activated

Standings:

Chicago 9-4
MINNESOTA 8-5
Green Bay 6-7
Detroit 4-8-1

Chicago's loss to KC is nice because it brings us back into the hunt.

------------------------------------------------

WEEK 15 - This is by far the most important game of the season so far. We go to Chicago to face the Bears. If we win we'll be tied with them. I'm not sure who would hold the tie breaker, but being tied is better than being behind. If we lose, they clinch the division while we scramble for a wild card slot. They're favored by one. They have a dome now, so there's no weather as such. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (58) LDE - Wayne (47)
RB - Erickson (66) NT - Reidl (32)
FB - Conley (57) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (77) SLB - Baxter (36)
FL - R. Forbes (51) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (58)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Russell (23)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Ellard (33)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (42)
RT - Pearson (39) FS - Kerr (34)
K - Tate (48) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win the vast majority of the comparisons; the O-line is their only significant advantage. Ouch. Another defensive battle, but we come out on the short end, 14-7.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Forbes, 7 carries, 38 yards
Passing - Forbes, 19-for-33, 212 yards, 1 TD, 3 sacks
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 4 catches, 55 yards
Punting - Bishop, 6 punts, 38.0 avg, 2 inside the 20
Kicking - Tate, 0-for-1 FGs, made 1 PAT
Tackles - LBs Polanco, 11
Blocking - see below

Comments:

* Once again our RBs disappeared - 13 carries for 27 yards.
* Perhaps this is because our blockers whiffed on all their KRB opportunities - a lucky 13 of them.
* Forbes was harried by the Bears' defensive line - 5 hurries.

Injury report:

LB McDaniel (back) has been upgraded to questionable; he should be ready next week.
CB King (leg) has been upgraded to questionable; he should be OK next week.
DE Wayne (shin) got hurt AGAIN. He's probable with a 2 week window.
G Floyd (finger) is probable with full health due in 2 weeks.
T Pearson (neck) is probable, due back in 2 weeks.
C Pearson (knee) is questionable and will be OK in 3 weeks or so.
DE Cassidy (thumb) is questionable and will limp throughout the playoff season.
G Jones (adductor) is OUT and on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
LB Diaz (knee) is OUT for the rest of the season.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.

Roster moves:

LB Fish placed on IR
FB Durr activated

Standings:

Chicago 10-4
MINNESOTA 8-6
Green Bay 6-8
Detroit 5-8-1

WEEK 16 - We host 10-4 Kansas City. They have a high flying offense (377 points, most in the league) that we'll try to stop. They've only allowed 247 points. We're favored by 2. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (58) LDE - Wayne (47)
RB - Erickson (66) NT - Reidl (32)
FB - Conley (58) RDE - Carlisle (71)
TE - Whitfield (77) SLB - Baxter (36)
FL - R. Forbes (51) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (59)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - McDaniel (38)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - Ellard (33)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (43)
RT - Pearson (40) FS - Kerr (34)
K - Tate (50) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
We win a majority of the comparisons. They have the better offensive and defensive lines, along with coaches. They're fighting for home field throughout, and we're fighting for our playoff lives. We'll see who wants this more. 64,100 see us lose - again - 17-14. Their defense was just too good for us as they got four interceptions and shut down our running game.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 16 carries, 50 yards
Passing - Forbes, 29-for-55, 277 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INT, sacked 2 times
Receiving - TE Whitfield, 7 catches, 76 yards
Punting - Bishop, 5 punts, 43.8 avg
Kicking - Tate, 0-for-1 FGs, made both PATs
Tackles - S Bush, 7
Blocking - T Manifold, 3-for-7 KRBs

Comments:

* Just an ugly day trying to pass the ball for Forbes - 2 sacks, 4 picks, 7 hurries, 7 defensed, 2 blocked, 2 bad throws, and 4 drops
* The other Forbes, FL Ryan Forbes, had three of those drops.
* Tate's going through a slump late in the season, when we can least afford it.

Injury report:

LB McDaniel and CB King are back to full health.
DE Wayne (shin) is probable and should be OK next week.
G Floyd (finger) is probable with full health due in 2 weeks.
T Pearson (neck) is probable, and is likely to be at full health next week.
C Pearson (knee) is questionable and will be OK in 3 weeks or so.
DE Cassidy (thumb) is questionable and will limp throughout the playoff season.
G Jones (adductor) is OUT and on injured reserve for the rest of the season.
LB Diaz (knee) is OUT for the rest of the season.
DT Richard (rotator cuff) is OUT for the rest of the season.

Roster moves:

CB King activated
CB Hills placed on IR

Standings:

Chicago 11-4
MINNESOTA 8-7
Green Bay 7-8
Detroit 6-8-1

Wild Card standings:

(Carolina 10-5)
New Orleans 9-6
(Philadelphia 9-6)
MINNESOTA 8-7
Tampa Bay 8-7
Washington 8-7
Dallas 8-7
Green Bay 7-8

Carolina and Philly are leading their divisions.

---------------------------------------------

WEEK 17 - We head to Detroit to face the Lions. Our playoff situation seems fairly simple - win and we're (probably) in. Lose and we're (probably) out. Revenge is a factor and defeat is not an option. Blah blah blah. We're favored by 6. The starting lineup for this game (scout ratings in parentheses):
<pre>
QB - B. Forbes (59) LDE - Wayne (47)
RB - Erickson (66) NT - Reidl (32)
FB - Conley (58) RDE - Carlisle (72)
TE - Whitfield (78) SLB - McDaniel (38)
FL - R. Forbes (52) SILB - Polanco (41)
SE - Sloan (51) WILB - Doyle (60)
LT - Manifold (46) WLB - Baxter (36)
LG - Floyd (42) LCB - Gildon (89)
C - Pearson (62) RCB - King (40)
RG - McCarthy (41) SS - Bush (43)
RT - Pearson (40) FS - Kerr (34)
K - Tate (50) P - Bishop (79)
</pre>
Our end of season death spiral ended with a 28-23 defeat. We had the 23-14 lead going into the 4th quarter, but couldn't hold it.

Team leaders:

Rushing - Erickson, 15 carries, 42 yards
Passing - Forbes, 23-for-35, 291 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs
Receiving - FB Conley, 5 catches, 64 yards
Punting - Bishop, 2 punts, 44.0 avg
Kicking - Tate, 3-for-4 FGs, made both PATs
Tackles - LB Polanco, 9
Blocking - G Floyd, 2-for-5 KRBs

Comments:

* Russell had 2 sacks.
* Our pass defense seemed to take a holiday as they yielded 270 yards and only got 1 pick. The line did get 5 sacks, though.
* Forbes didn't play badly, good enough to win on most days. But those interceptions really hurt.

We didn't make the playoffs.:(

Final standings:

Chicago 12-4
MINNESOTA 8-8
Detroit 7-8-1
Green Bay 7-9

NC division winners: Chicago, New Orleans (10-6), Philadelphia (10-6), Arizona (9-7)
NC wild card teams: Carolina (10-6), Washington (9-7)
AC division winners: Cincinnati (11-5), Jacksonville (10-6), Buffalo (12-4), Kansas City (12-4)
AC wild card teams: Miami (11-5), Oakland (9-6-1)

Kansas City won the Front Office Bowl over Chicago, 27-24.

<pre>
2015 Summary for Minnesota Vikings

Record: 8-8
Winning Pct.: .500

Minnesota Vikings Team Rank
Rushes 413 24
Rushing Yards 1806 14
Yards Per Carry 4.37 9 (T)
Pass Attempts 566 9
Completions 326 14 (T)
Passing Yards 3761 10
Yards Per Attempt 6.64 16
3rd Down Conversions 40.3 16
Points Per Game 18.8 20
Turnovers 20 8
Turnover Margin +3 11 (T)

Opponents Team Rank
Rushes 399 6 (T)
Rushing Yards 1627 6
Yards Per Carry 4.07 13
Pass Attempts 551 23
Completions 311 12
Passing Yards 3639 20
Yards Per Attempt 6.60 12
3rd Down Conversions 40.9 17
Points Per Game 16.6 3 (T)
Turnovers 23 22

Week Team Versus Oppnt
1 12 GBY 7
2 13 at SDO 27
3 19 at CAR 27
5 28 SEA 21
6 35 at ARI 6
7 35 STL 14
8 14 CHI 17
9 20 at SFO 10
10 14 at GBY 10
11 14 DET 17
12 13 at OAK 21
13 20 WAS 13
14 21 DEN 17
15 7 at CHI 14
16 14 KCY 17
17 23 at DET 28

Passing Pos Att Comp Yards Y/Att TD Int
19 Forbes QB 565 326 3761 6.65 24 17
**Team --- 566 326 3761 6.64 24 17

Rushing Pos Att Yards Y/Att TD
38 Erickson RB 214 912 4.26 5
25 Nixon RB 104 372 3.57 1
19 Forbes QB 78 423 5.42 2
**Team --- 413 1806 4.37 8

Receiving Pos Targ Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC TD
85 Whitfield TE 109 72 707 9.8 154 4
41 Conley FB 75 56 477 8.5 236 2
88 Sloan WR 93 48 678 14.1 131 5
86 Keith WR 75 37 607 16.4 161 4
38 Erickson RB 45 36 352 9.7 199 3
84 Forbes WR 81 32 468 14.6 66 3
82 Powell WR 43 20 288 14.4 43 3
**Team --- 563 326 3761 11.5 1035 24

Defense Pos Tack Asst Sack Hurr Ints Defn
59 Doyle ILB 92 26 2.0 1 3 4
90 Polanco ILB 85 26 0.0 0 0 4
39 Gildon CB 70 18 0.5 0 7 28
30 Kerr S 52 15 1.0 1 1 9
23 Bush S 47 20 0.0 1 1 4
45 Raymond CB 44 10 2.0 1 2 4
75 Carlisle DE 42 26 7.5 29 0 1
52 Diaz OLB 39 10 5.0 2 0 3
92 McDaniel OLB 37 10 0.0 1 0 4
98 Baxter OLB 36 18 0.5 3 0 3
37 Boss S 27 3 0.0 0 0 1
70 Northcott DE 25 11 1.5 7 0 0
22 Ellard CB 20 3 1.0 0 0 4
51 Fish ILB 19 8 1.0 0 0 0
72 Reidl DT 17 4 4.0 5 0 0
**Team --- 809 244 40.0 76 14 76
</pre>

This season has to go down as a disappointment. Our pass defense regressed and we didn't do anything else well enough to take its place. We were just kinda blah all around. But mediocre as we were, we were never ever blown out. All but one of our losses were by 8 points or fewer. And close defeats are highly correlated with luck.

On the good side, Erickson took some strides forward; he looks like he'll be a fine RB in the future. Whitfield did very well. Gildon continues to shoot the lights out (he was first team All-Pro again). Carlisle didn't get a lot of sacks, but he hurried quite a few passes, which is almost as valuable.

The bad news is Forbes didn't take any steps forward (at least statistically), and our sack and INT counts on defense continue to be low. There is much work still to do in Minnesota.

Unfortunately, I will not be reporting on that work in this or any other dynasty. Detailing my career like this takes far too much time (though it was enlightening in many aspects). Once again, thanks for reading.

NEXT: El Loco?