Remember The 90's?: Re-Living Greatness

[Aso]

lol, Saints are horrible and that Chiefs defense looks amazing.

[young2rice]

3-Way Trade, #12 All-Time Rusher, All Because Of Emmitt Smith's Injury

AP - Earlier this week the Dallas Cowboys suffered a big blow in their game against the New York Giants. While they did loose 20 to 6, a more important loss was the injury to star runningback, Emmitt Smith. So far this season Smith had 287 yards on 71 carries and 2 touchdowns giving him a solid 4.0 yard per carry average. While he was playing well he wasn't dominating as usual, but was still amongst the league's best in terms of statistics. With this injury however Dallas will be left with only their passing game and Alonzo Highsmith in the backfield. On the late game hit by Hasty Emmitt Smith rolled up and ended up partially tearing his MCL. The team doctors diagnosed Smith as having about 10 to 11 weeks required to heal. As a result the Cowboys began to panic with their star offensive powerhouse getting hurt. Luckily for Dallas there was a disgruntled runningback up north that was just what the doctor ordered.

The New York Jets have been struggling all year with their backup runningback, Freeman McNeil. McNeil has been very vocal to the local media about his disgust at the lack of playing time he is receiving. In 1990 McNeil was supplanted as the Jets starting halfback by rookie Blair Thomas. In 1988 McNeil had is last starting year with 944 yards and 6 touchdowns, then in 1989 he suffered a nagging injury that kept him out for the half the season and only had 352 yards and 2 touchdowns. In 1990 he came back ready to play but rookie Thomas impressed New York so much that he got the bulk of the load. McNeil still got 116 carries as Thomas went down and had 540 yards and 6 touchdowns off of those runs with a 4.6 avg, a full 1.3 more than Thomas. A similar story occured the following year for the 1991 season when McNeil came in for an injured Blair Thomas and had 134 carries for 466 yards and 4 touchdowns. Entering this season though Blair Thomas was healthy and the full fledged starter and New York decided to stop trying to be a two-headed back system and stick to a single runner in Thomas. As a result McNeil has been sitting on the bench, and is causing a commotion. Freeman McNeil is the 12th all time leading rusher in NFL history. He currently fluctuates amongst Roger Craig and Marcus Allen in terms of yards as all three players are still active and every carry changes the lead. However that should attest to the long-lasting ability of McNeil. Which is what the Cowboys are looking for, and is the main reason they decided to pick him up.

There's no doubt that McNeil will now get his wish and slide into the starting spot in Dallas during Smith's injury. There's no question Smith will remain the starter when he returns but McNeil will get more playing time in Dallas than he would in New York, and he'll also be great insurance for the team. However adding that insurance to Dallas took it away from New York, who decided to bolster behind Thomas just in case by trading with Tampa Bay to get disgruntled Buccaneer back, Gary Anderson on the team.

Gary Anderson is an 8 year veteran that in 1988 had 1,119 yards. However he has pretty much been playing musical depth chart runningback for the past 4 seasons. Anderson felt that he wasn't getting the respect he deserved from Tampa by just having them cast him aside and bring in Roger Craig last season. He spent 1991 only getting 92 touches the entire season which he took for 301 yards. Anderson was disgruntled but still under contract in Tampa, and they were at least nice enough to say they would entertain offers for him in the off-season. However that came and went and nobody seemed to pique interest in Anderson, at least until now. Finally after the first few weeks of the 1992 season the Jets showed interest.

With McNeil now in Dallas and Johnny Hector the next back on the depth chart the Jets decided to continue and wheel-and-deal sending Anderson to New York to run behind Thomas, and New York's Hector would now be the 3rd stringer in Tampa Bay behind Vince Workman and Roger Craig. The 10 year veteran Hector is entering the tail-end of his career. He was a solid 500-600 some yard td machine mid-way through his career but hasn't produce since 1989 when he was starting in McNeil's absence. Hector hit the runningback wall hard and is a shell of his former self, but that shell is still good enough to play some tough games. He may not be putting up 100+ yards a game but Hector is still a servicable runningback.

Trade Details

Cowboys Send / Jets Send
Buccaneers Send / Jets Send

[young2rice]

Jets Continue Re-Vamp, Sign Sammy Martin

AP - The New York Jets didn't leave enough time for the dust to settle from their big trades this week before they went ahead and made another roster change. With Terence Mathis out for a few weeks the Jets only had 3 other wide receivers on the roster, and choosing to play it safe rather than risk it they ended up signing veteran Sammy Martin (73 Ovr).

Sammy Martin was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in the 1988 NFL Draft. The 5 year veteran has been making a decent living as a 3rd/4th string wide receiver but has never managed to get past the hump of progression. Martin played with the Patriots until the 1991 season where he joined the Washington Redskins. In 1990 the Patriots let Martin go without renewing his contract and he sat in free agency until the final weeks of the 1991 season. The Redskins had a shot at the playoffs and with wide receiver injuries were desperate to fill out their depth charts and picked up Martin. Martin would end up having only 1 catch for 2 yards that year. With his best year, 1990 with 26 catches for 236 yards and a touchdown, behind him, Sammy Martin needed greener pastures than Washington. With the one year deal up he was once again a free agent, and much like last off-season went un-signed past the season opener. Although this year he got picked up a little earlier as the New York Jets to a 1 year $1.32 million dollar contract felt he woudl make a good addition to the squad.

Sammy Martin will be 4th on the depth chart for the Jets behind Toon, Mathis, and Moore, but with Mathis out he will be in the 3rd slot for the following weeks. Hopefully Martin can maximize his effeciency during this short spurt of playing time and impress some coaches, be it Jets coaches, or future potential teams. Eitherway Martin is now entering the years where if he doesn't become a progressed top player than the odds of him ever becoming a star player will pretty much diminish to nothing.


Signing Summary

[young2rice]

49ers Mend Wounded Defense By Trading With Chicago

AP - The San Francisco 49ers have been struggling defensively so far this season. In order for the team to continue it's expected success the 49ers made a move earlier today that will affect their damaged defense by trading with the Chicago Bears.

The 49ers have yet to win a game and are struggling against the pass. The 49ers took a hit when Ronnie Lott left their defense and as a result have had youngster Kip Corrington attempting to step in and start for the team. However Corrington has proven so far to be nothing but a liability. He has visibly been a weak point in the 49ers defense after countless mis-tackles, false reads, and lack of pursuit. As a result the 49ers took drastic measures and traded with Chicago to remedy this situation by inquiring about disgruntled Bears safety, Markus Paul.

Markus Paul has been with the Bears for awhile and has produced despite not being the team's starter. As a result he has slowly become more and more dissatisfied with his position on the team. Paul has demanded he get more starting time with the Bears but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears, however in San Francisco he'll have an easy time replacing the weakest position on the team's defense. Paul will now get to be the 49ers full-time starting free safety and will hopefully prove he deserves to be a starter and isn't crying wolf.

The trade saw the 49ers sending away Jeff Donaldson (75 Ovr) and rookie backup linebacker Andre Powell (70 Ovr) to the Bears along with a 4th round pick. Donaldson will relenquish Markus Paul's backup position but will be more satisfied at that spot than Paul has shown. Meanwhile Powell will give some needed depth to the Bears backups in case of injury. Meanwhile both teams will swap their 4th rounders to fill out the trade.

Hopefully the addition of Markus Paul to the 49ers defense will give them the spark that the team needs to finally get their first win of the season. With a rough schedule coming up and their division rivals starting to pull away record wise, the 49ers need to return to last years Super Bowl winning form.

Trade Details

49ers Send / Bears Send

[Herm]

nice work y2r, its just weird seeing Herman Moore's name associated with the Bears

[young2rice]

Haha yeah that's why this is starting to get REALLY fun for me. I like seeing the rookies and where they end up / free agents. Like Favre now on the Giants is ridiculous. And since he spent so long with the Packers IRL he'll remain w/ the Giants for the same "time period of years" so he'll most likely be their franchise QB for all that time assuming nothing drastic like a career ender or a massive regression in rating occurs.

Surprisingly Ronnie Lott did in fact go the Raiders like IRL but Roger Craig on the Buccaneers, Bo Jackson on the Oilers, Ben Coates a Chief, Merton Hanks an Eagle, Eric Allen a Packer, and Ricky Watters/Keenan McCardell Rams with Jimmy Smith as a Saint. Things are going to finally start shaking up in terms of which team is powerful and which isn't. Then comparing how they did in relation to real life stats those seasons.

Not to mention i'm eager to get to 1995 when I can bring in the Panthers/Jaguars.

[Aso]

I think 95 is also when Kordell Stewart comes in!

[young2rice]

1992 - Week 6 Wrap up
==========================================

Week 6 Games
-----------------------------------------------------
(2-3) - - 14 - Vs - 26 - - (3-2)
P.O.T.G. - QB - Randall Cunningham (23 of 38 Att - 60.5% - 292 Yds - 2 TD - 1 Int - 4 R.att - 4.5 Avg - 18 Yds)

(4-0) - - 17 - Vs - 34 - - (2-2)
P.O.T.G. - WR - Andre Reed (7 Rec - 16.4 Avg - 115 Yds - 1 TD - 0 Drop)

(3-2) - - 37 - Vs - 9 - (0-5)
P.O.T.G. - WR - Derek Hill (5 Rec - 18.6 Avg - 93 Yds - 1 TD - 1 Drop)

(2-3) - - 3 - Vs - 27 - (2-3)
P.O.T.G. - K - Scott Norwood (4 of 4 FG - 100% - 46 Lg - 1 of 1 XP - 100%)


(1-3) - - 17 - Vs - 34 - (1-4)
P.O.T.G. - QB - Joe Montana (24 of 34 Att - 70.6% - 307 Yds - 2 TD - 0 Int)

(2-3) - - 10 - Vs - 13 - (3-1)
P.O.T.G. - WR - Jake Reed (4 Rec - 19.3 Avg - 77 Yds - 1 TD - 0 Drop)

(2-2) - - 10 - Vs - 20 - (1-3)
P.O.T.G. - RE - Burt Grossman (3 Tak - 2 Sack - 1 FF - 1 FR - 2 Deflect)

(3-2) - - 14 - Vs - 17 - (4-1)
P.O.T.G. - HB - Eric Pegram (21 Att - 3.4 Avg - 71 Yds - 1 TD - 7 Rec - 7.0 Avg - 49 Yds - 0 TD)

(3-2) - - 3 - Vs - 24 - (4-0)
P.O.T.G. - QB - Brett Favre (25 of 43 Att - 58.1% - 213 Yds - 1 TD - 1 Int)

(0-5) - - 10 - Vs - 7 - (2-2)
P.O.T.G. - CB - Carl Lee (6 Tak - 2 Int - 3 Deflect)


Bye Weeks - Cardinals / Chiefs / Colts / Cowboys



News & Notes
========================================
Career Firsts
-------------------
Steelers - WR - Arthur Marshall - 1st Career Receiving TD



Complaining About Not Starting
-----------------------------------
Bears - G - Scott Kooistra
Raiders - QB - Jay Schroeder
Raiders - HB - Greg Bell


Players of the Week
---------------------------------------------------
Offensive Player of the Week
Defensive Player of the Week
Top 3 Performances
================================
QB
========
HB
=========
WR
=========
DL
=========
LB
=========
DB
=========

Injuries
===================================

[Aso]

Looks like the 49'ers are gonna start getting back on track. AFC West looks like it'll be tough. Then the Saints are easily the worst team in the league, i wanna see what record they end up with and what they do in the off-season to try to turn it around. Again, great job with this, it's awesome.

[young2rice]

Looks like the 49'ers are gonna start getting back on track. AFC West looks like it'll be tough. Then the Saints are easily the worst team in the league, i wanna see what record they end up with and what they do in the off-season to try to turn it around. Again, great job with this, it's awesome.

Yeah they've started to finally pick things up as the defense isn't giving up 300+ pass 150+ rush games constantly anymore.

I'm actually surprised the Saints are this bad, they of course have a great defense with their LB core of Jackson/Mills/Swilling/Johnson/Turnbull, and all 3 starters are in the top 10 in tackles.

I guess loosing Bobby Herbert for a little bid proved to be more detrimental that i'd think. Steve Walsh is struggling, Dan McGwire is struggling, their QB situation isn't to hot. Meanwhile Dalton Hillard isn't producing amazing numbers on the ground game, especially in the red zone. Loosing Jimmy Smith for the beginning also hurt them since Early went away in the off-season they don't have a true #2 behind Eric Martin until Smith returns from injury so Emile Harry (78 Ovr) is having to make due.

[doncoryell]

Phew! That was a lot of reading.

This is looking really great. Keep up the good work as you go through the '90s.

This gives me an idea, but with an old football game.

[young2rice]

Yeah the Raiders so far have been pretty sturdy, which is always good for a returning AFC Champion team.

Thx Don i'll definately do that.

Sorry about the lack of updates been super busy lately. Might try and get up an article or two later today.

[Aso]

[young2rice]

Curt Warner Gets Start In Philly

AP - Despite winning this week against the Atlanta Falcons 26 to 14 the Philadelphia Eagles were left disappointed. They were disappointed in the lack of play from their starting runningback, Anthony Toney. As a result the Eagles have gone with the decision to replace him with veteran Curt Warner.

Anthony Toney had a career high 733 yards in 1990 after spending four prior 500-or so yard seasons splitting carries. He managed to strong arm Heath Sherman who had 349 yards and 1 touchdown with his 733 and 6 touchdown season. Half way through the year Toney outright won the starting job, but didn't really explode until his amazing performances during the Eagles playoff run that season. If Toney hadn't had his monster games against the Seahawks, Packers, and Oilers that season the Eagles would probably not have won the championship that season.

In the wild card round Toney had 147 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground stomping the Seahawks defense helping the Eagles squeak by 31 to 28. Then once again the Eagles had a 3 point victory by beating out the Packers in the next round 27 to 24 as Anthony Toney had a career high 161 yard game along with 33 receiving yards as well. His ability to keep the defense spread out and guessing what was going to happen next led to their narrow victory. Continuing with their streak of giving their fans heart attacks in the Super Bowl the Eagles barely beat out the Oilers on a last second touchdown pass from Cunningham to make it 28, 24 Philadelphia. However, they wouldn't have been in that position had Toney not had his 70 yard 2 touchdown performance earlier in the night against a tough Houston run defense. In those playoffs Toney had 378 yards and 4 touchdowns in 3 games with 66 more yards in the air. He was a huge part of the Eagles offense and went unsung throughout his stellar playoff push.

With the year under his belt and the trust of Philadelphia behind him Anthony Toney was the new "it" back of the league, and was expected to do big things with the outright start at HB for the 1991 season. However the 1991 season brought struggle for the Eagles who didn't repeat and Toney barely improved. Eagles fans and players were expecting a monster year out of Toney but instead his numbers were 841 yards and 6 touchdowns, barely better than his short-game stretch last season splitting the carries. However this was still the same guy that led the team to the Super Bowl on the ground, and earned enough respect that they were giving him the benefit of the doubt going into 1992. This year so far the Eagles are winning at 4-2, but they are struggling in the run game. Through 6 games Anthony Toney only has 344 yards rushing, and is averaging barely over 2.5 yards per carry. he has managed to punch into the endzone 4 times but is leaving much to be desired in the ground game. This is leading to Philadelphia making the tough decision of benching Toney, for an off-season addition.

Curt Warner was once a great back but only had a short period of time in which he could say so. An injury cut him short in 1989 and he struggled the following year with the Rams. Warner once had 1,025 yards and 10 touchdowns in 1988, just 3 seasons ago, but many believed that his days were numbered. Warner was an odd signing considering the depth but the Eagles decided to pick him up in the off-season. They were impressed with him during training camp but still kept loyal to Toney who got the start, but Warner blew Heath Sherman out of the #2 spot and was the backup player on the depth chart. Now he will get his chance to finally start again in this league.

After a few mediocre seasons and splitting carries here and there, Warner will finally get a shot at starting again with a big team. It won't be hard for Warner to surpass Toney though as Toney has a 2.6 yard per carry average. But if Warner returns to his former self the Eagles may have once again found their miracle back that will carry them during their playoff run.

[young2rice]

Giants Undefeated at 5-0, New Era?

AP - There is no stopping the New York football Giants this season. The Giants added the piece they were missing to their puzzle with the aquisition of young star quarterback, Brett Favre. They let some key players go but their backups have managed to step up, and Rodney Hampton is back, where will they go wrong?

Brett Favre has been lighting it up on offense so far this season for the Giants as their passing attack is destroying defenses around the league. However Rodney Hampton is also doing his fair share on the ground as he pounds through linemen on his way to the goal line. This remarkable blend and balance of skill between the Giants passing and rushing attack is making the Giants the newest and most dangerous team in the league. Yet the most unsung hero of the Giants offense seems to be their starting wide receiver, Stephen Baker, who is getting overlooked for his contributions. Baker has had to step up since Mark Ingram left the team in the off-season leaving a gaping hole at wide receiver that the Giants have tried to fill with the lackluster play of ex-Bengal, Michael Barber. Ingram's departure left a big offensive weapon for the Giants gone, but Baker has managed to step up and seal that offensive hole that Ingram left by having a monster year so far. With 35 catches 428 yards and 5 touchdowns he is on pace to have his best season yet.

At 5-0 the Giants have yet to loose a game, only having one close game in a 17-16 victory over the Redskins in week 2. The Giants defense is also still being anchored by veteran linebacker Lawrence Taylor who is naturally tied for the league lead in tackles currently.

Next week the Giants have a big game against their rival Chicago Bears, but after that they have smooth sailing until Week 12 when they face off against the Redskins again. With the Bears leading into a bye week (Panthers) and then a mix of the Saints, Colts, and Falcons, the Giants have a good shot of entering week 12 at 11-0. However only time will tell if they can remain perfect