joannes3000

From: Timothy Patel To: Coach joannes3000 Subject: Congratulations, Coach! Sent: 4/11/08 2:59PM I just got off the phone with the organizers of the Insight.com Bowl and I've accepted their invitation. Great job this year, Coach. I think the exposure we will get playing in this game will really help out the program, not to mention recruiting next season. Keep up the good work! Timothy Patel Athletic Director Temple University ----------- Bowl bids were announced a short while ago and we made the cut! After the dust settled from the CC games, we were still ranked #45. That, coupled with our 8-5 record earned us a spot in the level 2 Insight.com Bowl. Our opponent is San Jose State and I'll have a tale-of-the-tape tonight.

Don't thank me, thank my obsessive-compulsiveness.

We start divisional play at home against powerhouse UConn and I was happy to only lose by 15. We ran for 132/1 and passed for 139/2/0, totaling 271 offensive yards while our defense allowed 417 yards. 38-23 L We then headed on the road to face a West Virginia team that we nearly beat last season. The game was tied at 21 going into the 4th, but West Virginia had a lead late in the game. We got the ball with 2 minutes to go and stormed down the field. With 3 seconds left, we lined up at their 5 yard line and came up short. We ran for 263/1 and passed for 159/2/0, totaling 422 offensive yards while our defense allowed 448 yards. 21-28 L After the demoralizing loss against West Virginia, we came home to face sim-coached Rutgers. We played like we hadn't fully recovered from the last game, taking a 1 point lead into the half and not putting the game away until the 4th quarter. We ran for 343/4 and passed for 127/0/0, totaling 470 offensive yards while our defense allowed 389 yards. 17-30 W Our lackluster performance against Rutgers didn't give me much hope as we went on the road against Pittsburgh. We kept the game close (30-21) until the 4th quarter when the wheels fell off. We ran for 108/0 and passed for 136/3/0, totaling 244 offensive yards while our defense allowed 515 yards. 21-50 L As if we needed to face a tougher foe, Syracuse was fresh off their first loss of the season when we came rolling into town. The game was over in the first quarter. We ran for 178/0 and passed for 147/2/0, totaling 325 offensive yards while our defense allowed 634 yards. 17-66 L ------------ While we hit the 8 win mark, and while I expected to only contend for a possible 2 wins down the stretch, it still bothers me that we're literally backing into a bowl game. I would've felt better if we pulled out a win against West Virginia and gone 2-3 to end the season rather than going 1-4. Our team is better than that. Enough with the doom and gloom. We still managed to end the regular season with an 8-5 record, flipping last season's 5-8 finish. And as I've been saying for quite some time now, our 8 wins alone should all but guarantee us a bowl bid. We also have a respectable SOS this season, managing a #45 WIS ranking even with our 5 losses, which will strengthen our case. At the very least we should get into a level 1 bowl game, but I think we have an outside shot at a level 2 bid due to our high SOS.

Bump. We've begun a collaborative effort with a handful of other dedicated GD users to set up a one-stop website: http://www.gdreports.com/ I haven't uploaded all of our data yet, but the site is going to receive some serious traffic from the GD community because it provides our World Previews, both recruit ranking services, and another service yet to be determined. Again, if you'd like to donate your talents, please let me know!

Conference play began with a trip down to Tampa Bay to face South Florida. We played up to expectations in the first half, going into halftime with a 16-14 lead. Unfortunately, my guys must have gone to the beach ahead of schedule because we sure as hell didn't show up in the 2nd half as we got outscored 28-7 and allowed a close game to turn into a blowout. We ran for 190/2 and passed for 114/0/0, totaling 304 offensive yards while our defense allowed 440 yards. 23-42 L We didn't have time to feel sorry about a golden opportunity lost because #10 Marquette was coming to town. We staked ourselves to a 17-10 lead at the half and got the ball first in the 2nd half. We ended up punting on that ever-important first possession and Marquette tied things up going into the final frame. We took a 7 point lead with 10 minutes to go, only to watch that evaporate, giving up 10 unanswered points in 4 minutes. But... With less than 2 minutes left in the game, we drove 80 yards and threw the game-winning TD pass with 23 seconds on the clock! We ran for 282/2 and passed for 119/2/0, totaling 401 offensive yards while our defense allowed 346 yards. 27-31 W Sim-coached DePaul made their way to our home field and didn't know what hit them A 27-3 halftime lead snowballed even further in the 2nd half. We ran for 559/6 and passed for 97/2/0, totaling 656 offensive yards while our defense allowed 255 yards. 3-55 W ----------- I was ready to jump off a bridge after our unexplainable meltdown against South Florida. I've seen games get out of hand, but it's due mainly to depth issues that we don't really have. It literally seemed like we just didn't show up to play in the 2nd half of that game. Redemption was sweet against Marquette, however, because that win allowed us to get 7 wins before divisional play. Divisional play looks as brutal as ever, with every human-coached team being ranked. Our final win will likely come against sim-coached Rutgers, and we might be able to pull an upset against West Virginia. A win against Rutgers will give us 8 for the year, which should lock us up for a bowl bid. ----------- 4/6/08 #12 Connecticut 4/7/08 at #25 West Virginia 4/8/08 Rutgers 4/9/08 at #24 Pittsburgh 4/10/08 at #4 Syracuse ---------- Here's the headline from the National news after our game against Marquette: Fox Sports #10 Marquette can't close out the game against #38 Temple, 27-31 4/4/08 3:03 PM

Bump.

We opened our season on the road against sim-coached New Mexico State. Apparently my players were still shaking the rust off because we turned in a lackluster performance against a sim squad. We ran for 438/5 and passed for 47/0/0, totaling 485 offensive yards while our defense allowed 183 yards. 36-3 W Game two of our road trip had us in State University to play sim-coached Arkansas State. Our offense got the point after just going through the motions last game. We ran for 622/7 and didn't throw the ball once while our defense allowed 165 yards. 48-0 W We came home to face a sim-coached Central Michigan team that were 33.5 point dogs. Not wanting to disappoint the betters, we took them behind the woodshed early and often. We ran for 560/9 and only threw the ball once (incomplete, naturally). Our defense remained stout against the inferior competition, allowing only 196 total yards. 7-63 W Things get much more serious now, as we went down to New Orleans to face Tulane. They finished 13-2 last season and are now being coached by one of the better coaches in GD. We went into halftime trailing 17-3 but mounted an epic 2nd half comeback, highlighted by the game-tying FG with 2 seconds left in regulation. We played into the wee hours of the night, but came out victorious in 4 OTs after Tulane was unable to convert for 2 points. We ran for 288/5 and passed for 177/2/0, totaling 465 yards for our offense while our defense allowed 452. This was a huge win in terms of confidence going into conference play! The opposing coach even sent me a congratulatory message after the game.*** 55-53 (4OT) W We came home victorious to face Louisiana Tech, a human-coached team that we were favored against by 33.5 points. By halftime we were within half a point of covering the spread and we continued to throttle the team in the 2nd half. We ran for 728/8 and passed for 42/1/0, totaling 770 yards for our offense while our defense allowed 199. Our star runner Miguel Munoz had 297 yards and 4 TDs, while backup Herbert Fink ran for 270/3. Even 3rd stringer Scott Pierce had 116 yards! 14-61 W ------------ Fueled by our upset win against Tulane, 7 wins is nearly a lock since we will play 2 sim teams during conference play. And in looking at how we won our games so far, you don't have to look any further than our stud DL that we recruited this offseason. Duncan is my 3rd leading tackler with 14 from his DL spot and Moore has 9 tackles which ties him for 6th. As they continue to grow both physically and mentally they will only get better, and they give me hopes of pulling at least one upset during conference play. Interdivisional play brings a mixed bag. We should beat sim-coached DePaul. We should lose against western division power Marquette. The road game against South Florida is the wildcard game, and one of the two games that I feel we have a chance in pulling an upset. As things stand now, 7 wins probably won't get us bowl eligible because of what will probably be a weak SOS. If I can engineer an upset against either South Florida or West Virginia and get to 8 wins, however, we should be a lock for at least a level 1 bowl bid. ------------ 4/3/08 at South Florida 4/4/08 #3 Marquette 4/5/08 DePaul ------------ ***Here is the message I got from the coach at Tulane after our game: From: bhouska To: joannes3000 Received: 4/1/2008 6:59:00 PM Subject: Temple vs. Tulane Message: Good game. Great comeback by you. I didn't think I needed to make adjustments considering you had 3 points at the half.....well, I guess I did need to.

For those that don't follow my threads in the fantasy leagues forum, I'm highly addicted to Gridiron Dynasty, a college football simulation. To give back to the GD community, a friend and I have undertaken the gargantuan task of compiling data from the game and creating our own rankings - something that the game itself falls horribly short in doing. For all the information that my website provides, it is sorely lacking some flair on the front page. I was wondering if anyone on the squawk had the time and desire to help pretty things up a bit. Feel free to click on the links in my sig to check out the GD website and Conference Preview website. If anyone is interested in donating their time and talent, please shoot me a PM here on the squawk!

John Baxter To: Coach joannes3000 Subject: Looking forward to next season... Sent: 3/31/08 3:02PM Coach, I just wanted to send you a quick note to congratulate you on the good season. I hope we can build on it for next season. Keep it up! John Baxter Athletics Director ---------- Well it's about time! After watching my job security drop for two consecutive seasons, my job security went back up after this season to secure. I guess the AD took a hint after I was visibly upset about being scrutinized after last season's results. Here is my record at Duke thus far: 36 joannes3000 11-3 6-2 5-1 5-2 27 Emerald Bowl - Won 35 joannes3000 9-5 4-4 3-3 5-2 39 Alamo Bowl - Won 34 joannes3000 7-6 3-5 3-3 4-3 65 No bowl invitation. 33 joannes3000 5-8 3-5 2-3 3-5 66 No bowl invitation.

Season three at Temple once again got off to a good start with our recruiting class. Those teams that beat us by one or two scores last season might not be so lucky this season. We loaded up on sim schools again for our OOC slate, although we also scheduled an overachieving Tulane team that went 13-2 last season. I have that game circled as a good gauge on how much we have accomplished so far in my 3 seasons at Temple. We should be able to notch 4 wins during OOC play and we have 2 sim teams on our conference schedule also. That should give us a healthy shot at 6 wins, although I think we can get lucky against West Virginia this season and have more wins than losses, something that hasn't happened at Temple in 16 seasons. ------------- 3/29/08 at New Mexico State 3/30/08 at Arkansas State 3/31/08 Central Michigan 4/1/08 at Tulane 4/2/08 Louisiana Tech

After last season's monster class, this season's class of 10 players was a walk in the park and every recruit that was offered a scholarship accepted on signing day. I tried casting a broader net during recruiting since I had so few scholarships to fill and I also had a nice bankroll built up. The result was that we had a little more dead money than usual but I think we also got a nice mix of guys by being a little more venturesome. --------------- Offense QB John Byrd has excellent work ethic; above average athleticism; average elusiveness; and below average stamina, strength, and technique. Byrd projects to be an above average starter in our offensive scheme. RB Terry Hart is one of our blue chip recruits this year. Hart has the skill to be an impact player now, and he projects to be a monster at RB. He has phenomenal speed and elusiveness; excellent work ethic; above average strength and hands; average athleticism and stamina; and below average technique. His average athleticism and stamina kept the big boys from recruiting him, but we battled nearly every other BCS school within 500 miles for him. RB Mark Smith has phenomenal technique; excellent speed, work ethic, and strength; average elusiveness; and below average athleticism and stamina. Smith projects to be a receiving threat that lacks the top-notch elusiveness to be a threat as a runner. He will be dynamite in our offense, however. TE James Mead has phenomenal strength; excellent speed and work ethic; above average blocking; average stamina and hands; and below average athleticism, game instinct, and technique. Mead fits the bill as a run-blocker and immediately becomes a starter in our running sets. He also projects to be a serviceable receiving threat. OL Jason Thompson has phenomenal blocking and technique; average work ethic; and below average athleticism, stamina, strength, and game instinct. Thompson will be limited by his low strength, but he projects to be an outstanding OL once he bulks up. OL Patrick Williamson has phenomenal athleticism; excellent strength; above average stamina, blocking, and technique; average work ethic and game instinct. Williamson is nearly the mirror opposite of Thompson. He's got the raw power for our running attack but needs a little refinement in terms of blocking and technique. He also projects to be an outstanding OL once he rounds out. Defense DL Mike Duncan is another blue chipper we hauled in. He has excellent work ethic, strength, tackling, and technique; average athleticism and game instinct; and below average stamina. His low stamina is the only thing preventing him from being a game-changer immediately, but he projects to be a monster on our DL. DL Harry Moore is another stud we added on defense. He has excellent work ethic, strength, game instinct, and technique; above average tackling; average athleticism; and below average stamina. Much like Duncan, his low stamina will hold him back somewhat, but he also projects to be an excellent DL. DB David Compton has phenomenal elusiveness; excellent work ethic and technique; above average athleticism and stamina; average hands and game instinct; and below average speed. Compton doesn't have the top-end speed of a premiere DB, but he projects to be an above average member of our secondary. DB Anthony Durham has above average elusiveness and technique; average speed, work ethic, stamina, hands, and game instinct; and below average athleticism. Durham will perform how he looks - average. He projects to be a solid starter for us in the future. ------------ Both recruiting services placed us within 5 points, with pittsky giving us the #34 class and bhazlewood giving us the #29 class. That shows steady improvement from last season's #50 rated class. We're heading in the right direction, but the going is definitely tougher because of the level of talent we have within our division. huskerbob had this much to say about our class in his Big East preview: "Temple Owls B Another jump in overall talent level for the Owls. RB Hart is a future 1,500 yard back. DL Moore and Duncan both project as 80-80-80 players down the road." Here's how the recruit rankings fell for the conference using both the pittsky and bhazlewood recruiting services: Syracuse - 26/15 Connecticut - 29/19 West Virginia - 50/36 Pittsburgh - 22/18 Rutgers (sim) - 115/102 Temple - 34/29 South Florida - 32/42 Marquette - 24/30 Cincinnati - 37/48 Colorado State (sim) - 91/89 Depaul (sim) - 94/101 Louisville (sim) - 90/95

We got the game started off fairly well in the first quarter. SMU came out trying to trick us, passing out of NDB and running out of Trips. I took it as a sign that they knew they had to do something special to beat us. SMU's opening drive stalled at the 30 and they knocked home a long FG for the first points of the game. Our offense showed no signs of nervousness as we executed perfectly, driving 58 yards for a TD without having to convert a 3rd down once. SMU drove deep into the redzone on their next possession but once again our defense held and forced them to settle for a 28 yard FG. We ended the 1st quarter with the ball and had just crossed midfield. We opened the 2nd quarter by finishing off our drive with a 21 yard TD run. Remember what I said about avoiding long drives by SMU's offense? We had SMU stoned at their 22 on 3rd and 14, only to give up a 14 yard pass. Nearly 8 minutes later, SMU scored a TD to cut the lead to 14-10. Making matters worse, our offense fell apart on our possession by going 3 and out. Having seized the momentum, SMU drove 62 yards in 2 minutes against our tiring defense for another TD. We got the ball back with just over a minute to go in the half, but lost a fumble at our 39. Thankfully, SMU missed a long FG and we literally limped into halftime down 20-14. During my halftime speech I told the team that we need to stay the course. I told them we need to maintain composure and play Duke football. I told them to pack a lunch and hunker down for the 2nd half. We got the ball to start the 3rd quarter and my offense listened. We drove 82 yards in 7 minutes and scored a TD to take a 21-20 lead. SMU seemed to come out nervous as they burned a timeout before their offense snapped the ball for the first time in the half. Our defense took charge and forced an incomplete pass to their star TE on 3rd and 3. Our offense took the field at our 31 and had another masterful drive - 5 minutes, 69 yards, TD. The 3rd quarter ended with SMU crossing midfield. The 4th quarter opened and looked a lot like how the 3rd quarter went. SMU was unable to convert on 3rd and 6, giving us the ball back early in the quarter. We got the ball at the 20 after a touchback and our offense knew what to do. Sensing the defense getting tired, we ran the ball non-stop, aided only by a 5 yard penalty, and took it to the house in 4 minutes. SMU was sitting pretty at our 25, but on 3rd and 2 we knew what was going down. TE Matthew Mays was going to be the target and we stopped SMU cold again, forcing them to settle for another FG. We took possession with just under 7 minutes to go and a 35-23 lead. Staying true to form, our offense just kept on running until the final whistle. 35-23 W -------------- We ran for 334/4 and passed for 108/1/0. Our offense put up 442 yards and our defense allowed 292 yards. Our defense really put the clamps down in the 2nd half and that gave us the possessions to let our offense do it's thing. Likewise, our offense dominate TOP - nearly a 15 minute advantage! - and helped keep our defense rested. -------------- With our second consecutive bowl win, we end the season with an 11-3 mark and we could possibly crack the top 25 once the final polls are released (we were ranked #31 going in). 4 seasons ago Duke was nothing more than an afterthought. With my first ever recruiting class set to graduate, we've cracked double digit wins! I'm proud to have accomplished this much, but I won't be taking a breather because my opponents surely won't. Not until Duke has become a true dynasty.

From: John Baxter To: Coach joannes3000 Subject: Congratulations, Coach! Sent: 3/26/08 3:00PM I just got off the phone with the organizers of the Emerald Bowl and I've accepted their invitation. Great job this year, Coach. I think the exposure we will get playing in this game will really help out the program, not to mention recruiting next season. Keep up the good work! John Baxter Athletic Director Duke University ------------ Our 10-3 season culminates with a spot in the Emerald Bowl, a level 3 bowl game. This is a step up from the level 2 Alamo Bowl we played in last season. We match up against #25 SMU, the 3rd place team from the south division of CUSA. SMU went 10-3, 6-2 in their conference, and 1-1 against top 25 teams. Here's the tale of the tape: Duke OL vs SMU DL - advantage Duke. We have a little bit of an advantage up front, with our OL averaging 81/86/63 and their DL averaging 82/83/69. Both units are about as strong as each other, we block better than they tackle, and they're a little more technically sound. Duke passing offense vs SMU passing defense - push. Our receivers aren't expected to carry our offense and their DBs aren't supremely better than our receivers. We should have plenty of time in pass coverage also, so I like our chances when we have to pass. Duke running offense vs SMU running defense - advantage Duke. Our running game shouldn't put up the staggering numbers we've averaged thus far (389 ypg, 7.4 ypc), but I think we will be able to control the game on the ground like we have done against nearly every team we've faced to this point. Duke DL vs SMU OL - advantage Duke. Our DL is better across the board (84/85/66) than their OL (75/78/63) by a good bit, but we are a little thin with only 7 DL. We have high stamina players, though, so unless SMU manages a lot of sustained drives on offense and limits us on offense also, we should dominate the line of scrimmage. Duke passing defense vs SMU passing offense - push. SMU has a fantastic QB and receiving TEs, but they only carry 4 WRs. I expect them to throw conservatively to try and take advantage of their TEs over my LBs, but we have speedy LBs that should be able to minimize them. Our DBs are much better than their WRs. If they take too much time trying to set up passes, our DL should wreck havoc. Duke running defense vs SMU running offense - push. SMU has two terrific RBs, but once again, our DL should be in the backfield all game long to help neutralize that. Our LBs are also fast, good tacklers, so if someone breaks loose we should be ok. ------------ SMU presents a similar foe as North Texas did last season. They have some nice pieces in place on offense, but our defensive front is a lot better than theirs. And this game, just like in real life, is won in the trenches. For all the talent that SMU has at QB, RB, and TE, I think they won't be able to hold back our DL enough to get their offense on track. Our offense has gouged defenses all season long on the ground and I don't think SMU has enough talent to slow us down. The teams that slowed down our running attack (BC, UVa, Miami) had a DL advantage over us much like we have over SMU. I think this game will be relatively close at the half, but over the course of 60 minutes, they will be hard-pressed to keep up.

I'm not opposed to doing an auto draft, but I'll be able to attend the live draft on the following days/times: Sunday - 5pm PST or later Monday - any time Tuesday - 3 pm PST or earlier

I thought you could take it multiple times, ala Vince Young. He was reported to have scored a 7 (if I remember correctly) the first time, but his reported score was from his retake.

We began divisional play with our rivalry game at home against North Carolina. We jumped ahead by scoring the first 14 points of the game and never looked back. We ran for 450/6 and passed for 89/1/0. Our offense put up 539 yards and our defense allowed 267 yards. 14-49 W Virginia was our next opponent at home and it was proof that while we had come a long way, we still have a long way to go. We were down 35-7 at the half and were never in the game. We ran for 207/3 and passed for 177/1/0. Our offense put up 384 yards and our defense allowed 509 yards. 48-29 L Our final home game of the season was against sim-coached Georgia Tech. After last season's breakthrough win, this season wasn't nearly as exciting due to it being against a sim team. We ran for 485/8 and passed for 72/0/0. Our offense put up 557 yards and our defense allowed 268 yards. 22-55 W On the road, we face a Virginia Tech team with a chance to hit double digit wins. We came out swinging and took a 24-0 lead into the half and cruised to victory. We ran for 397/4 and passed for 59/0/0. Our offense put up 456 yards and our defense allowed 283 yards. 38-14 W We wrap up our regular season on the road against Miami. They proved that they not only deserved to be in the top 15 but they should likely be in the top 10. We were held to a season-low 10 points, worse than we fared against defending NC Alabama. We ran for 38/0 and passed for 151/1/0. Our offense put up 189 yards and our defense allowed 508 yards. 10-41 L ------------ We completed our regular season with a 10-3 record, and a 6-2 conference record. Our 3 losses were against top 25 teams, so I'm very happy with what we've accomplished so far. We finished 3rd in our division, but that doesn't look so bad when the top team is Virginia (ranked #1) and the second-place team is Miami (ranked #13). Compare that to the Atlantic Division, where the first place team is 9-4 Boston College (who we beat on the road)! We've already surpassed last season's 9 wins with a bowl game remaining. We should at least get a level 3 bowl bid, although I don't think we're ranked high enough to get a level 4 (BCS) bowl bid.

Quote: Quote: So do you feel like a 2nd rounder this year and a 5th rounder next year is enough for Hall? Someone in another thread said he was a future hall of famer, which I think is drastically premature to label him as, but if that's the case is getting a 2nd round pick that may or may not do well in the NFL and an unlikely to make it 5th rounder worth it for a guy who is a future hall of famer? Talent wise I think he was definitely worth a mid to high first round pick but with the new contract and his questionable attitude I guess a high 2nd was the best you could get. i think he has the TALENT to be a future hall of famer. ive seen him shutdown the best WRs in the game. however, ive also seen him get beat by no name WRs. if he can control his emotions and play under control, he's definitely worthy of a 1st round pick (mid to high). but i can see why we split ways. maybe its for the better. gettin 2nd + 5th round picks is as good as we are going to get? It had more to do with teams not being able to negotiate a contract with Hall, rather than him being undervalued. The Giants offered their 1st rounder and a player but that was nixed when they couldn't work out a deal with Hall. The Jags also tried to negotiate a deal but were also unsuccessful. I wish Hall the best, but it was clear he was only looking for money. You can't even begin to argue that the Raiders are the winning team/environment Hall was talking about.

Thought I'd change up the way I report games. I'll report the first 3 games of conference play, which are against the opposite division; followed by the remaining 5 games of conference play, which are within the division. ----------- Conference play begins on the road against Boston College. We were down 14-10 at the half and BC got the ball to open the 2nd half, so we knew we had an uphill battle ahead of us. We met the challenge immediately by forcing a punt at midfield. Sensing a chance to seize the momentum, our offense went on a methodical 8 minute drive that resulted in a TD. The only thing that went wrong is we missed the XP, giving us a 2 point lead instead of a 3 point lead. BC broke off two deep passes on their next possession and took the lead right back with a TD of their own. We started the 4th quarter with the ball just shy of midfield and again went on a time-killing TD drive, taking a 23-21 lead with 8 minutes to go. Our defense came up with a monumental stop on BC's next possession, forcing a 3 and out. We took the field on our 39 and ate up another 4 1/2 minutes on our way to the final score of the game. We ran for 229/4 and passed for 155/0/0. Our offense put up 384 yards and our defense allowed 336 yards. 30-21 W Fresh of a huge win, we came home to a thunderous home crowd for our game against NC State. We took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, a 28-0 lead at the half, and had scored 56 unanswered points before NC State cracked the scoreboard with a garbage TD at the end of the game. We ran for 597/7 and passed for 38/1/0. Our offense put up 635 yards and our defense allowed 238. 6-56 W Our final interdivisional game was another home affair, this time against Maryland. The coach at Maryland has a little beef with me because we butted heads during recruiting for the past few seasons, so this is becoming a bit of a rivalry game. We took a slim 17-10 lead going into halftime, then put on a clinic in the 2nd half. Our defense pitched a shutout in the 2nd half and our offense didn't slow down until the final whistle, with a Spurrier-esque TD coming with just over a minute to play. We ran for 397/5 and passed for 49/0/0. Our offense put up 446 yards and our defense allowed 269. 10-38 W ----------- What a start to conference play! Like I had mentioned before, I felt that I had enough talent in place to give a team like Boston College a run for their money. We did more than that by beating them at home; definitely a statement game for us this season. Sitting at 7-1, we are in prime position to hit the 10 win mark, barring an absolute collapse during the back half of the regular season. Our WIS ranking has been hovering around the 30s so far, and I'm hoping that we crack the top 25 by season's end. Divisional play will be tough as usual, with a likely two losses coming against Virginia and Miami. We need to take care of North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech to hit double digit wins, but I like my chances. We're essentially a lock for a bowl game at this point, and we will be trying to play our way into a level 4 (BCS) bowl game. ---------- 3/21/08 North Carolina 3/22/08 Virginia 3/23/08 Georgia Tech 3/24/08 at Virginia Tech 3/25/08 Miami (FL)

Quote: Quote: The guys on the Falcons forum I visit said the same thing. What forum do you visit ? I like at the one at realgm at times. Is there a forum for the Falcons equivalent to Hawksquawk ? falcons.scout.com - I post there under the same user name. It's not nearly the equivalent of the squawk, but you'd be honestly hard-pressed to find any sports forum that can lay claim to that.

I can see the correlation this way: Lebron talking trash about Stevenson is as pointless as Jay-Z talking trash about Soulja Boy. Jay-Z is so far ahead of Soulja Boy in terms of talent that it's pointless. It would be better if Jay-Z were to compare himself lyrically to a guy like Nas. So yeah, Lebron doesn't need to talk junk about Stevenson. Lebron can go all Mercury Morris - Stevenson isn't even in the same neighborhood as Lebron in terms of talent. If you're gonna compare Lebron, he needs to be compared to a legit baller.

The guys on the Falcons forum I visit said the same thing. Although the AJC says the trade is nearly done, and it's just waiting on details of a reworked contract for Hall. Rumors say that the Raiders were trying to sign Asomugha to a monster 8 year, 100+ million deal, which of course would impact Hall's contract situation. I've also heard that the Giants were willing to give their 1st rounder plus a player (unknown) for Hall but they were unable to work out a contract with him. The same happened when Jacksonville contacted us about a possible trade for Hall as well. At this point, I'm still resigned to losing Hall and getting picks for him, and I think that's the Falcons best bet since they're clearly going into rebuilding mode.

Our season kicks off on the road against a sim-coached Ole Miss team. Determined to show that last season was no fluke, we took it to the house early and often; dominating a team that we rightfully should have. We ran for 543/7 and passed for 121/2/0. Our offense put up 664 yards and our defense allowed 233 yards. 63-8 W We traveled north for game two, this time to face sim-coached Buffalo. Like in game 1, we dominated the game early and didn't slow down until we doubled the point spread for the game. We ran for 613/9 and didn't pass the ball a single time. We didn't turn the ball over, we didn't punt. Hell, we only went to 3rd down once all game and we converted. Our offense put up 613 yards and our defense allowed 218 yards. 63-3 W Heading back south, we faced our first human team this season in Houston. Their best defense was that they were a team starting a rebuilding process. We ran for 452/8 and passed for 114/0/0. Our offense put up 566 yards and our defense allowed 279 yards. 56-19 W Things took a dramatic change for week 4, stepping away from our cupcake schedule to face defending NC Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Words were exchanged before the game, with coach ddingo (one of the best in the business) playfully calling our team an abomination after I told him I'd be scared if I had to face Duke. We kept it respectful at the half, only down 24-7, but superior depth took over in the 2nd half as we got laughed off the field. We ran for 134/2 and passed for 105/0/0. Our offense put up 239 yards and our defense allowed 495. 15-52 L We finally head back to our home field for our final OOC opponent - UTEP. After getting throttled by Alabama, we took out our frustration in the first half by racing to a 28-0 halftime lead. We didn't look back from that point. We ran for 516/6 and passed for 31/1/0. Our offense put up 547 yards and our defense allowed 276 yards. 10-49 W ----------- We matched my personal expectations of going 4-1 during OOC play with our lone loss against elite Alabama. None of the other teams we played even kept it close at the half, so I think we met expectations there also - we not only beat the teams we were expected to beat, but we beat them soundly. I think we're on a good roll going into conference play although we're a little banged up, having lost two WRs during our game against Houston. Both WRs likely won't be healthy enough to contribute until the start of divisional play. Conference play starts tonight, and we have our shot at an upset on the road against Boston College. They're still about two notches better than us in the talent department, but I think we have enough talent in place to pull an upset with my game planning. Looking at our conference schedule, the only games in question this year are tonight's game against BC, our game at home against Virginia on the 22nd, and our regular season finale on the road against Miami. Beyond that, I like our chances against the remaining conference teams. A win tonight would likely give us a 10 win regular season and an outside shot at a BCS bowl game. --------- 3/18/08 at Boston College 3/19/08 NC State 3/20/08 Maryland

Quote: Quote: From: John Baxter To: Coach joannes3000 Subject: Rebuilding? Sent: 2/25/08 3:05PM Coach, I know it was a tough season for you, so I wanted to let you know that we're still behind you. Both Ali Padilla and myself know that you are the right person for this program and you'll turn things around next year. How's the recruiting class looking? John Baxter Athletics Director ------------- This is getting frustrating to the point that I contacted Customer Service to find out what I have to do to keep my freaking job! For the 3rd consecutive season I've increased Duke's win totals by 2 games. Did you ever hear back about this? Here's the extent of my conversation with CS: 2/26/2008 12:26 AM joannes3000 Can you please give me some specifics on job security? I can't understand why my job security has dropped two consecutive seasons. I took over a longtime sim team and have increased my win total from 5 to 7 to 9 wins. I can understand somewhat that my job security dropped last season, but this season has me puzzled. We won 8 games during the regular season and won the level 2 bowl that we got invited to. I'm confused as to what exactly I need to do in order to keep my job security from dropping. I'm in a brutal conference with 2 elites (FSU/Miami) and 2 other schools (UVa, BC) that might as well be (although BC is on the decline). I just hate to see myself getting under the hot seat, because realistically, what more could you expect from our team given the schools and the fact that we have only 3 (currently) sim schools? 2/26/2008 10:41 AM Customer Support There is no doubt that you have been doing a better job than your predecessor. But, once you get up to Division I-A and I-AA, the administration and alumni of some schools demand success. A change in your job status is one of the ways that they use to get across the message that you need to continue your improvement at a constant rate. Keep winning games and the future will likely take care of itself. Thanks. 2/26/2008 11:35 AM joannes3000 How am I in the same boat as Vanderbilt and Colorado, though? The coaches have been there for 3 seasons and hasn't achieved a winning record. I can see them being in LTNJ at a BCS school. But I've had winning records for two consecutive seasons and made a level 2 bowl game (and won). Hardly seems fair that I'm in the same boat. 2/26/2008 3:01 PM Customer Support Your job status indicates that you aren't in any danger of getting fired -- it is just a reminder that you need to keep improving. Remember, you are at a BCS school as well and the administration and alumni want to win. 2/26/2008 3:31 PM joannes3000 I'm not worried about getting fired immediately, but do you see my point about me being in the same boat as Vandy and Colorado? 2/26/2008 6:11 PM Customer Support On the surface, yes, but if you look a little deeper they are in the same category but not on as strong of footing --- you will have an easier time improving your status next season...they'll have to do more. Thanks.

Yes sir! Being Filipino myself, I'm automatically a huge Pacman fan.

I'm looking forward to my 4th season at the helm of Duke. We've had a steady progression during my time here so far and I don't see any reason why we can't continue to take steps forward. Our OOC schedule should be cake, save the game against defending NC Alabama. I fully expect to go 4-1 during OOC. Looking into conference play, we drew Boston College again, but our other two inter-division games are against NC State and Maryland - two teams I think we should beat. Divisional play gets easier also, since GA Tech inexplicably turned into a sim team. Of the 5 divisional games I only expect to lose to Miami and Virginia, and Virginia is under new management so there's a bigger chance at an upset this year than in the past. That gives us a chance to hit 9 wins during conference play, which should lock us up for another bowl bid and a shot at 10 wins overall. From a talent standpoint I think we have continued to progress also. This year's SR class is full of more hits than misses and I don't think we've had a bad recruiting class yet. The result is a team fairly deep with playmakers. My conference preview has us listed as the 6th most talented team in the ACC overall with the 6th best starters and the 4th deepest. Last season we were ranked 7s across the board. On any given day, I think we can upset any team within our conference outside of the powerhouses that are stockpiled with talent - Virginia, Miami, Florida State, and Boston College. BC has been slipping under their new coach lately, having won only 8 games and losing their bowl game last year, so I think we could pull an upset there if we faced off. FSU could be in for some trouble soon as well, as they took on 10 AC recruits out of a class of 14 in the most recent recruiting period. With 3 full seasons under my belt and a team comprised 100% of my own recruits, it's time for the rubber to meet the road. 9 wins and a bowl victory last year have us on everybody's radar now, and rightfully so. We've got a talented team and I think I've proven myself to be a talented game planner. From here on out we should be a lock for 8 wins and a bowl bid every year. ------------ 3/13/08 at Ole Miss 3/14/08 at Buffalo 3/15/08 at Houston 3/16/08 at Alabama 3/17/08 UTEP