In Honor of Pat Tillman | Woy's Arizona Cardinals (ESPN NFL 2K5)

[Woy]

Big thanks goes out to Onez who created all the banners you'll see throughout the franchise.

He was the last scholarship in Arizona State's 1994 recruiting class. At 5'11", he was too short to play linebacker. What does Pat Tillman do? He wins the Pac-10 defensive player of the year and makes various All-American teams as a senior.

He was the 226th pick in the 1998 NFL Draft by the Arizona Cardinals. He had to switch positions and play safety. What does Pat Tillman do? He starts 10 out of 16 games and makes 74 tackles, making him a well-known name with opposing offensive coaches throughout the league.

He struggled his second season, making only 34 tackles. He had his coaches thinking about replacing him in the draft new year. What does Pat Tillman do? He makes 144 tackles and is voted onto the Sports Illustrated All-Pro team.

He spent his whole life challenging himself. So it was no surprise that Pat Tillman would forgo his NFL career and enlist in the Army Rangers with the ongoing war in Afghanistan. Along with baseball prospect and younger brother Kevin, he completed the Army Ranger Indoctrination Program late in 2002 and was assigned to the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, WA. He was deployed in Afghanistan, where on April 22, 2004, he was killed by friendly fire when on patrol. However, the specific details of Tillman's death and its aftermath are being investigated by the US Congress.

Even with the death of a hero, the game must go on. The young Arizona Cardinals have low expectations this season with no established quarterback and a future Hall of Fame runningback in Emmitt Smith playing on his last legs. New rookie receiver Larry Fitzgerald will help out the starting quarterback and will take the defense's focus off of last year surprise rookie Anquan Boldin, but other than All-Pro guard Leonard Davis, the offense lacks any potential Pro Bowl talent.

The defense has a bit more talent, led by safeties Adrian Wilson and Dexter Jackson, who have played well coming in for the deceased Pat Tillman. Auburn rookie Karlos Dansby is a nice outside linebacker beside Raynoch Thompson and Ronnie McKinnon holds the middle down.

Tillman will be honored by the Cardinals by having his number 40 retired before the home opener against the New England Patriots on September 19th. Hopefully they can get a win on that night and surprise a lot of people by having a successful year. This season is In Honor of Pat Tillman.

Game: ESPN NFL 2K5
Platform: PS2
Rosters: Default 2004
Difficulty: Custom
Notable Sliders: CPU Offensive sliders maxed out.
Qtr. Length: 7 minutes
Sim Qtr. Length: 6 minutes
Edit Incoming Rookies: Yes
I will create seven QBs, seven HBs, and seven WRs from each draft class until my rookie edits run out.

Author's Note: I was so close of going with my Titans with this franchise, but, like I always do, I found an idea for a different team in a random thing I saw. Haha, I was looking for something to wear this weekend when I saw my Pat Tillman away jersey in the way back of my closet. When I turned on the game to start my franchise, I ran through the Cardinals roster and saw that they were not an elite team and would be fun to rebuild. So if you are wondering why I went with the Cardinals instead of the Titans or someone else, well that's why. Hopefully everyone will enjoy this, because I plan on making this last a while.
​

 

[Woy]

Year | Record | Playoff Result | Pro Bowlers
2004 | 13-6 | lost in NFC Championship to GB, 20-27 | 6

 

[Woy]

QB RATING

2004 | Drew Henson - 94.7​

PASSING YARDS

2004 | Drew Henson - 4354​

PASSING TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | Drew Henson - 29​

PASSING INTERCEPTIONS

2004 | Drew Henson - 16​

RUSHING YARDS

2004 | Emmitt Smith - 1120​

RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | Emmitt Smith - 13​

CATCHES

2004 | Anquan Boldin - 100​

RECEIVING YARDS

2004 | Anquan Boldin - 1877​

RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | Anquan Boldin - 13​

TACKLES

2004 | Dexter Jackson - 65​

SACKS

2004 | Calvin Pace - 14​

INTERCEPTIONS

2004 | Duane Starks and Mike Rumph - 8​

KICK RETURN YARDS

2004 | Josh Scobey - 836​

KICK RETURN TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | None.​

PUNT RETURN YARDS

2004 | Josh Scobey, 579​

PUNT RETURN TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | None.​

 

[Woy]

QB RATING

2004 | Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - 112.8​

PASSING YARDS

2004 | Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - 4501​

PASSING TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - 42​

PASSING INTERCEPTIONS

2004 | Joey Harrington, DET - 24​

RUSHING YARDS

2004 | Priest Holmes, KC - 1591​

RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | Clinton Portis, WAS - 14​

CATCHES

2004 | Anquan Boldin, ARZ - 100​

RECEIVING YARDS

2004 | Anquan Boldin, ARZ - 1877​

RECEIVING TOUCHDOWNS

2004 | Steve Smith, CAR - 14​

TACKLES

2004 | Aeneas Williams, STL and Jamie Sharper, HOU - 116​

SACKS

2007 | Gary Walker, HOU - 16​

INTERCEPTIONS

2007 | 3 players tied with 8 interceptions.​

KICK RETURN YARDS

2007 | Josh Scobey, ARZ - 836​

KICK RETURN TOUCHDOWNS

2007 | 3 players tied with 2 touchdowns.​

PUNT RETURN YARDS

2007 | Josh Scobey, ARZ - 579​

PUNT RETURN TOUCHDOWNS

2007 | Charles Tillman, CHI and Tory James, CIN - 3​

 

[Woy]

NFL MVP

2004 | Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA - 112.8 rtg., 318-494, 4501 yards, 42 TD, 11 INT​

NFL Offensive Player of the Year

2004 | Peyton Manning, QB, IND - 112.4 rtg., 341-500, 4296 yards, 39 TD, 10 INT​

NFL Defensive Player of the Year

2004 | Rodney Harrison, SS, NE - 105 tackles, 3 sacks, 7 INT, 5 FF, 1 FR, 1 TD​

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

2004 | Drew Henson, QB, ARZ - 94.7 rtg., 304-502, 4354 yards, 29 TD, 16 INT​

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

2004 | D.J. Williams, OLB, DEN- 102 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 INT, 2 FF, 2 FR​

Walter Payton Rushing Title

2004 | Priest Holmes, HB, KC - 319 carries, 1591 yards, 8 TD​

 

[Woy]

[B]Position[/B] | [B]No.[/B] |           [B]Player[/B]          |  [B]Ht./Wt.[/B]  | [B]College[/B]
QB       |  7  | Drew Henson (Rookie)      |  6'4"/223 | Michigan
QB       |  4  | Shaun King                |  6'1"/215 | Tulane
QB       | 18  | Tee Martin                |  6'2"/225 | Tennessee
HB       | 22  | Emmitt Smith              | 5'10"/221 | Florida
HB       | 25  | Erik Bickerstaff          |    6'/230 | Wisconsin
HB       | 20  | Damien Anderson           | 5'11"/212 | Northwestern
HB/KR    | 33  | Josh Scobey               |    6'/222 | Kansas State
FB       | 42  | James Hodgins             |  6'1"/274 | San Jose State
FB       | 30  | Obafemi Ayanbadejo        |  6'2"/235 | San Diego State
WR       | 81  | Anquan Boldin             |  6'1"/218 | Florida State
WR       | 11  | Larry Fitzgerald (Rookie) |  6'3"/218 | Pittsburgh
WR       | 83  | Bryant Johnson            |  6'2"/214 | Penn State
WR       | 89  | Nathan Poole              |  6'2"/210 | Marshall
WR/KR    | 82  | Kevin Kasper              |  6'1"/197 | Iowa
WR       | 86  | Bryan Gilmore             |    6'/200 | Midwestern State
TE       | 85  | Freddie Jones             |  6'4"/260 | North Carolina
TE       | 48  | Nathan Hodel              |  6'2"/249 | Illinois
OT       | 70  | L.J. Shelton              |  6'6"/335 | Eastern Michigan
OT       | 65  | Anthony Clement           |  6'8"/333 | Louisiana-Lafayette
OT       | 60  | Nick Leckey (Rookie)      |  6'3"/310 | Kansas State
G        | 75  | Leonard Davis             |  6'6"/384 | Texas
G        | 76  | Cameron Spikes            |  6'4"/325 | Texas A&M
G        | 73  | Raleigh Roundtree         |  6'4"/295 | South Carolina State
C        | 66  | Pete Kendall              |  6'5"/279 | Boston College
C        | 63  | Frank Garcia              |  6'2"/302 | Washington
C        | 71  | Alex Stepanovich (Rookie) |  6'3"/295 | Ohio State
DE       | 92  | Bert Berry                |  6'3"/250 | Notre Dame
DE       | 79  | Calvin Pace               |  6'4"/262 | Wake Forest
DE       | 93  | Kyle Vanden Bosch         |  6'4"/282 | Nebraska
DE       | 97  | Fred Wakefield            |  6'7"/288 | Illinois
DE       | 96  | Dennis Johnson            |  6'5"/269 | Kentucky
DE       | 67  | Antonio Smith (Rookie)    |  6'3"/260 | Oklahoma State
DT       | 98  | Russell Davis             |  6'4"/314 | North Carolina
DT       | 91  | Wendell Bryant            |  6'5"/303 | Wisconsin
DT       | 61  | Darnell Dockett (Rookie)  |  6'4"/285 | Florida State
DT       | 95  | Kenny King                |  6'3"/285 | Alabama
OLB      | 55  | Raynoch Thompson          |  6'3"/224 | Tennessee
OLB      | 45  | Karlos Dansby (Rookie)    |  6'3"/231 | Auburn
OLB      | 52  | Levar Fisher              |  6'1"/239 | North Carolina State
OLB      | 56  | Levar Woods               |  6'3"/244 | Iowa
OLB      | 54  | Gerald Hayes              |  6'1"/237 | Pittsburgh
OLB      | 47  | Riall Johnson             |  6'3"/243 | Stanford
MLB      | 57  | Ronald McKinnon           |    6'/245 | North Alabama
MLB      | 51  | James Darling             |  6'1"/247 | Washington State
CB       | 28  | Duane Starks              | 5'10"/172 | Miami (Florida)
CB       | 26  | Mike Rumph                |  6'2"/205 | Miami (Florida)
CB       | 21  | Renaldo Hill              | 5'11"/194 | Michigan State
CB       | 27  | David Macklin             |  5'9"/196 | Penn State
CB       | 23  | Coby Reinhart             | 5'11"/198 | SMU
FS       | 34  | Dexter Jackson            |    6'/205 | Florida State
FS       | 44  | Michael Stone             | 5'11"/199 | Memphis
SS       | 24  | Adrian Wilson             |  6'3"/222 | North Carolina State
K        |  1  | Neil Rackers              |    6'/205 | Illinois
P        | 10  | Scott Player              |  6'1"/213 | Florida State

 

[Woy]

2004 Schedule

Pre-Season
7/29 - at

W, 34-27
8/5 - at

L, 31-38
8/21 - at

W, 28-18
8/28 - at

W, 23-21

Regular Season
9/12 - at

W, 44-21
9/19 - vs.

W, 31-17
9/26 - at

L, 34-42
10/3 - vs.

W, 44-14
10/10 - at

W, 27-3
10/24 - vs.

W, 24-16
10/31 - at

W, 33-20
11/7 - at

W, 34-21
11/14 - vs.

W, 42-7
11/21 - at

W, 26-14
11/28 - vs.

L, 14-28
12/5 - at

W, 26-14
12/12 - vs.

W, 31-7
12/19 - vs.

L, 24-27
12/26 - at

L, 14-31
1/2 - vs.

L, 14-33​

 

[Mit]

Following. Tillman was a hero. Gotta follow him.

 

[Woy]

Following. Tillman was a hero. Gotta follow him.

Thanks man. I'll have the introduction up tonight, as well as probably the first major move of this franchise.

 

[Matt10]

Great to see bro. Looking forward to this one, waiting for that big move.

 

[T.Dot]

Yo in that banner for Season Statistics is that that sophomore reciever from Pitt Larry Fitzgerald?
LOL at him being in a Cards uni, scouts are saying he is barely good enough for college
Great photoshoping tho




/sarcasm

Stoked Woy
You know Im following

 

[Woy]

Thanks guys. As for the big move, I'll have the article up now. There's a story behind on why this is such a big move for me, because it definitely won't make sense at first probably, haha.

 

[Woy]

Former New York Yankee Drew Henson was traded yesterday to the Arizona Cardinals in hopes of shoring up their quarterback situation.

NEXT FRANCHISE QUARTERBACK? FORMER YANKEE TRADED TO CARDINALS

GLENDALE, AZ (AP)- With a shaky and unsettled quarterback situation, the Arizona Cardinals made a move to acquire their first franchise quarterback since drafting Jake "The Snake" Plummer. The Cardinals traded rookie quarterback John Navarre, second-string halfback Marcel Shipp, and their fifth round pick to the Dallas Cowboys for rookie quarterback Drew Henson, first-year runningback Erik Bickerstaff, and their fifth and sixth round picks.

Henson has been away from the game of football for the last few years as he's been dabbling as a third base prospect in the New York Yankees farm system. This is the man who started ahead of Tom Brady at Michigan, so you know he has the talent to play this game. It's all just a matter of getting in game shape and reading defenses again.

Bickerstaff is a nice change-of-pace back for starter Emmitt Smith. Last year as a rookie, he rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Navarre is a rookie quarterback former Michigan who had a great senior season last year. However, he'll most likely be buried on the bench in Dallas behind Quincy Carter, Vinny Testaverde, and Chad Hutchinson, another baseball player converted to a quarterback.

Shipp will compete with second round draft pick from Notre Dame, Julius Jones, for the starting runningback job for the Cowboys. Last year as the starting runningback for the Cardinals, he rushed for 830 yards on 228 carries, but was shut out of the touchdown column.

Henson will get his first start on July 24th against the Seattle Seahawaks in their pre-season opener.

Author's Note: Okay so the story behind trading for Henson is 1) I thought it would make a nice story, you know the failed baseball prospect turned potential NFL star, and 2) when I had my 2K5 'chise with the Titans on Sportsgamer, I loved playing with Henson after I traded for him to be Steve McNair's backup. His ratings might not show it, but he's very accurate and can throw the deep ball well. Plus it's not going to hurt to have Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald as your main targets, huh?

 

[Matt10]

Wow Drew Henson. I like this choice, makes for an interesting story line for sure. Henson, as I recall, was part of the Cowboys HBO special show. They focused on him and several other cowboys trying to make it (Billy Cundiff...and one more guy, a cornerback who I can't think of right now).

Anyway, kind of funny that you traded a Michigan QB for another one. Good start man, keep it up - hopefully Henson can find Fitz and Boldin the rock.

 

[Woy]

Wow Drew Henson. I like this choice, makes for an interesting story line for sure. Henson, as I recall, was part of the Cowboys HBO special show. They focused on him and several other cowboys trying to make it (Billy Cundiff...and one more guy, a cornerback who I can't think of right now).

Anyway, kind of funny that you traded a Michigan QB for another one. Good start man, keep it up - hopefully Henson can find Fitz and Boldin the rock.

Yeah I just realized that now, Navarre for Henson. Haha.

I've already played the first three regular season games, trying to mess with my sliders, and they're giving me some surprising results. Can't tell you if Henson played well or not.

I'll see if I can get another update up while it's halftime for the UNC game.

EDIT: Never mind, halftime was quick.

 

[LC AAU]

Nice concept, followin.

 

[Woy]

def following, hopefully henson owned

Thanks, you'll have to see.

Interesting idea for a chise. I'll keep an eye on it.

Thanks as well. I remembered that Pat Tillman died in 2004, and since this game takes place in that season, it was basically a no-brainer.

Nice concept, followin.

Thanks man.

I'll try to get the pre-season up now.

 

[Woy]

ARIZONA CARDINALS PRE-SEASON RESULTS

Pre-Season Game 1

Arizona Cardinals (0-0) at Seattle Seahawks (0-0)

ARZ|7|0|17|10| 34
SEA|6|14|7|0| 27

Drew Henson, ARZ (4-13, 102 yards, 1 TD)
Bryant Johnson, ARZ (5 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD)
Darrell Jackson, SEA (4 catches, 136 yards, 1 TD)

Pre-Season Game 2

Arizona Cardinals (1-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (0-1)

ARZ|7|7|17|0| 31
PHI|14|17|0|7| 38

Drew Henson, ARZ (3-8, 76 yards, 1 TD)
Coby Reinhart, ARZ (2 INT, 1 TD)
Keith Adams, PHI (6 tackles, 2 INT)

Pre-Season Game 3

Arizona Cardinals (1-1) at Detroit Lions (1-1)

ARZ|7|7|7|7| 28
DET|3|7|0|7| 18

Drew Henson, ARZ (15-29, 222 yards, 2 TD)
Emmitt Smith, ARZ (20 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD)
Kevin Jones, DET (14 carries, 42 yards, 1 TD)

Pre-Season Game 4

Arizona Cardinals (2-1) at Houston Texans (2-1)

ARZ|10|10|3|0| 23
HOU|0|0|0|21| 21

Drew Henson, ARZ (11-22, 164 yards)
Adrian Wilson, ARZ (9 tackles, 1 sack)
David Carr, HOU (25-45, 249 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT)​

Author's Note: I didn't want to go into a full recap for every pre-season game, and plus I'm doing this right before I leave for school, so that's why it might seem kinda rushed. I'll have a pre-season review for the Cardinals and other major move update, involving a talented runningback, next update.

 

[Aso]

I like how you did the pre-season. I think for pre-season thats all thats necessary except for maybe a few more key stats for people that might be on the bubble for a roster spot or starting job or something. All of this has looked real nice so far. I am guessing Josh McCown won't be in the running for the starting job.

 

[Gonzo]

You know I'm following.