Any Given Sunday - The Return

[NYY #23]

"On Any Given Sunday, anything can happen." As summer winds down and the football season is just around the corner I've felt that it was time to resurrect this dynasty. Almost two years ago I read an article - Rule change: Baseball At 16 Games | Joe Posnanski and started a dynasty http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...en-sunday.html that I enjoyed quite a bit, and things went well for about ten years.

I enjoyed the league quite a bit, and I felt that the ultimate demise was making too many changes over a short period of time which got to be too much. Maybe in the end it was simply out of season. Everything is still in place to pick things up and continue, but I thought that it would be better to reboot things rather than resurrect the old league and take a slightly different approach. In round one I was following the historical totals for the league, which meant pitchers had a tendency to dominate.

With 16 games per year, every game mattered. Each team would have one starting pitcher, and the importance of a good starting pitcher really mattered. That led to a decade of success for the New Orleans Crescents and Aaron Jackson, although Jackson wasn't the only starting pitcher that stood out. I remember several of those starting pitchers well, Matt Kelley, Milt Foss, Scott Young, Cameron Cotter, Dan Anderson, and Jim Britt.

Looking back over some of the history there were quite a few low scoring games, and of course the occasional higher scoring game that was usually caused by some sloppy defense. While that worked well for a long period of time I wanted to find something that was more in line with NFL scores. After doing several rounds of testing what resulted was almost the complete inverse of the original. Scores like 21-20, 21-13, 26-8, and 36-26 became the norm. It really felt like anything could truly happen. And while it is more rare, even the occasional shutout can happen.

But it can be a pretty brutal world for pitchers, and I expect we'll see quite a bit of offense. Like I did in the original I'll be moving week to week, and won't be running a team. Things will be NFL-like:

• 32 teams
• 16 games per season
• Win or go home in the playoffs
• Draft pick trading is allowed

There will be a couple minor differences with the NFL, with the primary one being tie-breakers. This is one of the hazards of trying to fit a square peg in a round hole, but I'm going to let the game break any ties, and let the game schedule the playoffs. It's just easier that way, because disabling the playoffs and manually scheduling them has other consequences. The second is that the season will begin in August versus September. This is strictly for keeping the season within one calendar year.

My final debate was real or fictional players, but in the end I've decided to go with fictional players after doing some testing. League totals seem to fluctuate less dramatically with fictional players. While there is a certain amount of intrigue seeing someone like Ty Cobb on the Ravens, or Tris Speaker and Shoeless Joe Jackson on the Saints, it seems to work better.

While the league began play in 1916 we'll begin this dynasty at the start of the 1922 season since I wanted to have a little bit of history at the start.

[NYY #23]

It was a wild one in New York as the Panthers and Giants kicked off the 1922 season in style. The Panthers got things started in the top of the first with 14 runs to knock 24 year old David Bonds out of the game for the Giants.

Heading into the bottom of the seventh the Panthers led 17-0, but the Giants would come back with 4 runs in the seventh, 3 in the eighth, and 11 in the ninth to send the game into extra innings. After blowing a 17 point lead the Panthers then rebounded in the tenth to score 9 unanswered runs and win the game 27-18. Art Pauline led the Panthers with 7 RBI, while Billy Ferguson drove in 5.

In New Orleans the Vikings needed 12 innings to beat the Saints 18-13. 21 year old undrafted free agent Joe Mendler had a big debut for the Vikings, going 6-6 at the plate while driving in 7 runs.

Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?



In a high offense league that means a lot of strange things will happen. Combined with a small sample size of 16 games per year there will be some crazy offensive numbers. While Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 straight games in real life, Mike Howell holds the record for all-time hitting streak after hitting safely in 58 straight games in a streak which ran from 1916 to 1919. It's a record that might not even last through this year.



23 year old Nick Bugg entered the league in 1919, and has never played a game in which he hasn't gotten a hit. After going 2-5 yesterday Bugg has now hit safely in 50 straight games, and if he can keep it up he can pass Howell this year. Let's take a look at the active hitting streaks:

1) Nick Bugg, Ravens - 50
2) Adam Smith, Chargers - 47
3) Nate Little, Saints - 46
4) Jay McAtee, Broncos - 46
5) Matt Capozza, Seahawks - 39
6) Marty Burdett, Jets - 38
7) Gary Hightower, Chiefs - 33
8) Matt Biehl, Colts - 30
9) Jason Sokol, Ravens - 20
10) Philip Klem, Jaguars - 20
11) Dan Crocker, Giants - 20


Scores
Rams 9, Cardinals 8
Falcons 11, Steelers 10
Ravens 13, Jets 9
Panthers 27, Giants 18
Bengals 14, Patriots 6
Buccaneers 18, Browns 5
Cowboys 20, Redskins 18
Jaguars 15, Broncos 8
Lions 13, Bears 2
Packers 8, Eagles 6
Colts 13, Texans 8
Bills 23, Dolphins 11
Vikings 18, Saints 13
Raiders 16, Titans 11
Chiefs 19, Chargers 5
Seahawks 23, 49ers 10

Week 2 Games
Cardinals (0-1) @ Falcons (1-0)
Ravens (1-0) @ Bengals (1-0)
Bills (1-0) @ Packers (1-0)
Bears (0-1) @ Cowboys (1-0)
Texans (0-1) @ Redskins (0-1)
Jaguars (1-0) @ Chargers (0-1)
Chiefs (1-0) @ Browns (0-1)
Dolphins (0-1) @ Vikings (1-0)
Patriots (0-1) @ Jets (0-1)
Saints (0-1) @ 49ers (0-1)
Giants (0-1) @ Colts (1-0)
Eagles (0-1) @ Lions (1-0)
Steelers (0-1) @ Titans (0-1)
Seahawks (1-0) @ Broncos (0-1)
Rams (1-0) @ Raiders (1-0)
Buccaneers (1-0) @ Panthers (1-0)

[NYY #23]

Before I get too much further I want to thank Gern44 and eriqjaffe for the uniforms and logos. I think I'm using Gern44's uniforms right now, but both sets are great.

----

I wanted to introduce each of the teams in each division, and take a brief look at their top players and history. I'll begin with the ABC East, and do one division per week.

[sprague]

Hey ny

Could you post the league totals you are using to generate the high scores?
I sometimes like leagues like this too so wondering what totals you are using.

Cheers. Good luck with the dynasty.

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by sprague

Hey ny

Could you post the league totals you are using to generate the high scores?
I sometimes like leagues like this too so wondering what totals you are using.

Cheers. Good luck with the dynasty.

Sure, here are the totals that I'm using:



I was shooting for a 12-13 runs per game, which the totals generally do pretty well. One thing that you will definitely need to do every preseason is run autocalc to get the right modifiers.

Hope that helps, and if you have any other questions let me know.

[NYY #23]

Last year the Raiders finished 10-7 and made the playoffs for the third time in their history, but starting pitcher Johnny Kuschel was one of the worst in the league finishing with a 14.76 ERA. With owner Kevin Moriarty desperate for a championship the Raiders got out their checkbook and signed former Arizona pitcher Sam Arter to a seven year contract and making him the highest paid player in the game.

Fans criticized the wisdom of spending so much money on a pitcher in a league dominated by offense. After yesterday's 10-2 win over the Rams in which Arter picked up the complete game win while improving to 2-0 and lowering his ERA to 5.06 Raiders fans are starting to feel better about their big acquisition. It's certainly very early in the season, but it appears to be money well spent.



The Cardinals filled their pitching void by going after 1919 Outstanding Pitcher of the Year Kirk Robertson, signing him to a six year contract and stealing him from the Titans. While Robertson has yet to pick up a decision, his ERA is a respectable 7.11 and is ranked second only to Arter in the starting pitcher rankings, the Cardinals have fallen to 0-2 after falling to the Falcons, surrendering 1 run in the eighth, 3 runs in the ninth, and 2 runs in the tenth to lose 12-11.

Reigning ABC MVP Matt Biehl captured the Player of the Week Award after going 4-5 with 3 home runs, 8 RBI, and scoring 5 runs. Biehl is the second player to hit three home runs in a game this year, joining Scott Kincheloe who hit 3 home runs last week, and won the Player of the Week this week after going 4-5 with a home run and 5 RBI.

Hit Streak Update

We'll cut the list down to players with hitting streaks of 30 games or greater this week. All eight of the players with a hitting streak of 30 or greater got a hit this week, and we welcome Jerry Holzmacher to the list.

1) Nick Bugg, Ravens - 51
2) Adam Smith, Chargers - 48
3) Nate Little, Saints - 47
4) Jay McAtee, Broncos - 47
5) Matt Capozza, Seahawks - 40
6) Marty Burdett, Jets - 39
7) Gary Hightower, Chiefs - 34
8) Matt Biehl, Colts - 31
9) Jerry Holzmacher, Ravens - 30

Scores
Falcons 12, Cardinals 11
Ravens 18, Bengals 7
Bills 22, Packers 6
Bears 23, Cowboys 17
Redskins 8, Texans 7
Jaguars 9, Chargers 8
Chiefs 20, Browns 16
Dolphins 18, Vikings 12
Jets 9, Patriots 5
Saints 18, 49ers 8
Colts 17, Giants 16
Eagles 12, Lions 3
Titans 21, Steelers 15
Broncos 17, Seahawks 15
Raiders 10, Rams 2
Buccaneers 20, Panthers 9

Week 3 Games
Falcons (2-0) @ Saints (1-1)
Bills (2-0) @ Patriots (0-2)
Bengals (1-1) @ Panthers (1-1)
Browns (0-2) @ Ravens (2-0)
Cowboys (1-1) @ Texans (0-2)
Lions (1-1) @ Vikings (1-1)
Packers (1-1) @ Bears (1-1)
Colts (2-0) @ Broncos (1-1)
Jets (1-1) @ Dolphins (1-1)
Raiders (2-0) @ Cardinals (0-2)
Eagles (1-1) @ Jaguars (2-0)
Steelers (0-2) @ Buccaneers (2-0)
Chargers (0-2) @ Seahawks (1-1)
49ers (0-2) @ Chiefs (2-0)
Titans (1-1) @ Giants (0-2)
Redskins (1-1) @ Rams (1-1)

[NYY #23]

[Hageneezz]

Great to have this dynasty thread again!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by Hageneezz

Great to have this dynasty thread again!

Thanks! I realized how much I missed this once I started playing again, so I'm excited too!

[NYY #23]

As we wrap up week 3 in the NBL we are down to just 6 unbeaten teams, 5 of which are in the ABC. The Bills, Colts, Jaguars, Chiefs, and Raiders represent the ABC unbeatens, while the Bucs are the only NBC team without a loss.

With a 12-5 win over the Patriots the Bills remain atop the ABC East. Veteran center fielder Brett McDaniel doubled twice, singled, and drove in 6 runs for the Bills.

The Colts needed 10 innings to beat the Broncos 14-13 to set-up a week 4 showdown with the Jaguars, who beat the Eagles 16-9.

John Sams, Jason Bottini, and Gary Hightower each drove in 5 runs for the Chiefs who beat the 49'ers 27-22 to improve to 3-0 with the Chiefs heading into their bye week. Sams big day included hitting for the cycle. Branden Braunschweig hit 3 home runs for the 49'ers in the loss while driving in 7 runs and scoring 5 times to win the Player of the Week in the NBC.

Sam Arter and the Raiders beat the Cardinals, his former team, 22-13. The Raiders relied on a 15 run 7th inning to take the lead. Bryce Boswell doubled, tripled, and homered while driving in 5 runs for the Raiders.

Like the Chiefs, Tampa Bay won their game heading into the bye week to remain undefeated. The Bucs beat the Steelers 13-6 with Robby Miller and Scott Arends each driving in 5 runs for the Bucs.



In the ABC Conference it was Kevin Beck of the Ravens who capture Player of the Week honors after hitting .750 (3-4) with 2 home runs, 6 RBI, and 4 runs scored.

Hit Streak Update

Jay McAtee saw his 47 game hitting streak come to an end after going 0-4 for the Broncos in their loss to the Colts.

1) Nick Bugg, Ravens - 52
2) Adam Smith, Chargers - 49
3) Nate Little, Saints - 48
4) Matt Capozza, Seahawks - 41
5) Marty Burdett, Jets - 40
6) Gary Hightower, Chiefs - 35
7) Matt Biehl, Colts - 32
8) Jerry Holzmacher, Ravens - 31

Scores
Saints 21, Falcons 12
Bills 12, Patriots 5
Panthers 27, Bengals 6
Browns 18, Ravens 16
Cowboys 12, Texans 6
Vikings 16, Lions 13
Bears 19, Packers 6
Colts 14, Broncos 13
Jets 14, Dolphins 13
Raiders 22, Cardinals 13
Jaguars 16, Eagles 9
Buccaneers 13, Steelers 6
Chargers 11, Seahawks 9
Chiefs 27, 49ers 22
Titans 17, Giants 10
Rams 19, Redskins 5

Week 4 Games
Cardinals (0-3) @ Chargers (1-2)
Ravens (2-1) @ Steelers (0-3)
Panthers (2-1) @ Saints (2-1)
Bears (2-1) @ Giants (0-3)
Bengals (1-2) @ Browns (1-2)
Broncos (1-2) @ Titans (2-1)
Lions (1-2) @ Packers (1-2)
Texans (0-3) @ Raiders (3-0)
Colts (3-0) @ Jaguars (3-0)
Patriots (0-3) @ Dolphins (1-2)
Jets (2-1) @ Bills (3-0)
Seahawks (1-2) @ Rams (2-1)
49ers (0-3) @ Falcons (2-1)
Redskins (1-2) @ Eagles (1-2)

[NYY #23]

Next up is the ABC South, home of the only team to win two World Championships, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

[NYY #23]

Let's begin in the ABC East this week where the Buffalo Bills got two home runs and 6 RBI from Bobby Hessler to remain undefeated with a 17-9 win over the Jets. Hessler was named Player of the Week in the ABC. The Bills now hold a two game lead over the Jets, and with the Patriots getting their first win of the season with a 13-9 victory over the Dolphins a three game lead over both the Patriots and Dolphins.

The Steelers won their first game of the year against the Ravens in the bottom of the ninth when Mike Heinrich came off the bench to hit a two run walk off homer as the Steelers won 11-9. It was the second two run pinch hit home run of the inning, as the Ravens came from behind in the top of the ninth when Billy Nipper came off the bench to homer.

The Browns also walked off winners in the ABC North when Kent Durbin hit a walk off single in the bottom of the eleventh. It was Durbin's third hit and second RBI of the day. His first RBI came in the bottom of the ninth with the Browns trailing 10-9 to tie the game and sent it to extra innings.

It was a pitching duel in St Louis for eight innings between 23 year old Rich Rich (no that is not a typo) of the Seahawks, and Chris Bentley of the Rams. It got wild after the starters left though, with the Seahawks scoring 2 in the top of the ninth, and the Rams countering with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. The Seahawks would again take the lead with a two run eleventh, but a three run homer by Josiah Morrow on his first major league at-bat game the Seahawks a walk off win. The 21 year old Morrow was the Rams first round pick last year and entered the season as the #45 prospect in baseball. He's behind Pat Browne on the depth chart, but with Browne hitting .176 he may get a chance sooner rather than later.

The 49'ers won their first game of the year when Mike Taylor hit a three run homer in the top of the ninth as San Francisco beat the Falcons 18-16

The Panthers scored 10 runs in the final two innings as they beat the Saints 23-16. Brennan Hochuli and Mike Gonzalez each homered two and drove in 6 runs for the Panthers, with Mike Ermold picking up 6 hits and scoring 5 runs while winning the NBC Player of the Week.


Hit Streak Update

This week we see the end of Matt Biehl's 32 game hitting streak as he went hitless in the Colts 13-3 loss to the Jaguars. While we do lose one player, Trent Showalter of the Giants joins the list with a 30 game hitting streak

1) Nick Bugg, Ravens - 53
2) Adam Smith, Chargers - 50
3) Nate Little, Saints - 49
4) Matt Capozza, Seahawks - 42
5) Marty Burdett, Jets - 41
6) Gary Hightower, Chiefs - 35
7) Jerry Holzmacher, Ravens - 32
8) Trent Showalter, Giants - 30

Scores
Chargers 11, Cardinals 8
Steelers 11, Ravens 9
Panthers 23, Saints 16
Giants 11, Bears 7
Browns 12, Bengals 11
Titans 17, Broncos 7
Packers 14, Lions 3
Texans 9, Raiders 5
Jaguars 13, Colts 3
Patriots 13, Dolphins 9
Bills 17, Jets 9
Rams 7, Seahawks 6
49ers 18, Falcons 16
Redskins 15, Eagles 9

Week 5 Games
Falcons (2-2) @ Browns (2-2)
Bears (2-2) @ Panthers (3-1)
Broncos (1-3) @ Ravens (2-2)
Packers (2-2) @ Redskins (2-2)
Jaguars (4-0) @ Bills (4-0)
Chiefs (3-0) @ Colts (3-1)
Vikings (2-1) @ Jets (2-2)
Saints (2-2) @ Cardinals (0-4)
Giants (1-3) @ Texans (1-3)
Eagles (1-3) @ 49ers (1-3)
Chargers (2-2) @ Raiders (3-1)
Rams (3-1) @ Lions (1-3)
Buccaneers (3-0) @ Bengals (1-3)
Titans (3-1) @ Cowboys (2-1)

[darkcloud4579]

I remember that article, but I didn't realize there was a dynasty on it. Love it!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

I remember that article, but I didn't realize there was a dynasty on it. Love it!

Thanks! I definitely had a lot of fun with it before, so hopefully this time goes as well.

[NYY #23]

[NYY #23]

Scores

Falcons 20, Browns 14
Panthers 16, Bears 15
Broncos 13, Ravens 11
Redskins 17, Packers 11
Jaguars 17, Bills 13
Colts 20, Chiefs 19
Vikings 21, Jets 18
Cardinals 17, Saints 6
Texans 28, Giants 12
49ers 22, Eagles 14
Chargers 16, Raiders 12
Rams 23, Lions 18
Buccaneers 26, Bengals 14
Titans 35, Cowboys 15

Monthly Awards



Ron Baker of the Buffalo Bills was named Batter of the Month after hitting .579 with 3 home runs, 11 RBI, and 11 runs scored. In the NBC it was Brent Wilson of the Cowboys who was named Batter of the Month after hitting .636 with 4 home runs, 12 RBI, and 9 runs scored.



On the mound it was Adam Davis of the Buccaneers who was named NBC Pitcher of the Month after going 3-0 with a 6.00 ERA with 11 strikeouts in 27 innings. Eric Gorman of the Titans was named Pitcher of the Month in the ABC after going 2-0 with a 6.35 ERA, striking out 22 in 17 innings.

22 year old Joe Mendler of the Viking was named Rookie of the Month in the NBC after hitting .714 with 3 home runs, 11 RBI, and 8 runs scored.

Power Rankings

1) Jaguars (5-0) - needed 11 runs in the eighth and ninth to overtake the Bills 17-13
2) Buccaneers (4-0) - season high 26 runs in route of Bengals to remain undefeated
3) Titans (4-1) - 35-15 rout of Cowboys for the NBC's best offense
4) Panthers (4-1) - shortstop Chris Jones delivers bases loaded triple in come from behind 16-15 walk off win
5) Rams (4-1) - Chris Bentley improves to 3-1 in first your of extension with 23-18 win
6) Colts (4-1) - six run ninth handed Chiefs first loss of the year in 20-19 win
7) Bills (4-1) - Josh Weiner (2/3 IP, 6 R) led bullpen implosion as Bills fell from undefeated ranks with loss to Jags
8) Vikings (3-1) - 21-18 win over the Jets moves them into first in the NBC North
9) Chiefs (3-1) - will look to rebound after tough loss to the Colts against last place Texans
10) Chargers (3-2) - third straight win moves the Chargers into the playoff picture in the division and Wild Card

Top 10



1B Mike Elliot spent his first six years in the league with the Minnesota Vikings, only to head to their division rivals, the Detroit Lions, as a free agent. During his time with the Vikings Elliot led the league twice in home runs, hitting 11 in 1916, and 13 in 1918. No player has hit more home runs in their career than Elliot. Let's take a look at the top 10 in career home runs:

1) Mike Elliot, Lions - 67
2) Brent Wilson, Cowboys - 65
3) Jacob Eldridge, Broncos - 60
4) Ben Foss, Dolphins - 54
5) Greg Fulkerson, Ravens - 53
6) Brian Montgomery, Rams - 53
7) Jake Anderson, Titans - 50
8) Jeff Mathewson, Chargers - 50
9) Jon Brewer, Bears - 49
10) Xavier Springer, Jaguars - 49

By the Number



A 3-6 night for Adam Smith increases hit hitting streak to 51 games

• Mike Cavanaugh hit for the cycle in the Rams 28-18 win
• Gary Hightower of the Chiefs hit for the cycle to extend his hitting streak to 36 games
• Nick Bugg goes 2-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to 54 games for the Ravens
• Teammate Jeremy Holzmacher had one hit to extend his hitting streak to 33 games
• Jared Chapman hit for the cycle for the Vikings
• Marty Burdett was 2-4 to extend his hitting streak to 42 for the Jets
• Nate Little provided Saints fans with their only highlight of the day in their 17-6 loss by going 1-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to 50 games
• Trent Showalter of the Giants was 3-5 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to 31
• Matt Capozza extended his hitting streak to 42 games for the Seahawks
• Chris Jones hit for the cycle for the Panthers with a 5-6 night while driving in 5 to win Player of the Week in the NBC
• Matt Biehl was named Player of the Week in the ABC after going 5-6 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI for the Colts

Week 6 Games

Falcons (2-2) @ Browns (2-2)
Bears (2-2) @ Panthers (3-1)
Broncos (1-3) @ Ravens (2-2)
Packers (2-2) @ Redskins (2-2)
Jaguars (4-0) @ Bills (4-0)
Chiefs (3-0) @ Colts (3-1)
Vikings (2-1) @ Jets (2-2)
Saints (2-2) @ Cardinals (0-4)
Giants (1-3) @ Texans (1-3)
Eagles (1-3) @ 49ers (1-3)
Chargers (2-2) @ Raiders (3-1)
Rams (3-1) @ Lions (1-3)
Buccaneers (3-0) @ Bengals (1-3)
Titans (3-1) @ Cowboys (2-1)

[NYY #23]

[NYY #23]

I'm going to post the rest of the NBC before moving on to week 6.

[NYY #23]

[phillyboy19]

Dude you're one of my favorites, ad I'm going to seem like a self promoting D-Bag, but can you check my thread out and give me pointers, because I want to continue to post dynasty for a while and want to know how to improve.