Football Mogul 2008

A few posts back, I mentioned that I had been playing Baseball Mogul recently. Well, I've taken a short hiatus to play some Football Mogul. For a challenge, I took over the 49ers to see if I could breathe some life into the struggling franchise.

We started out the 2007 campaign by attempting to upgrade the QB position, and across the board as well. Our best piece of trade bait was RB Frank Gore, so I unloaded him for QB David Garrard, a huge upgrade at that spot. I then traded for RB Cadillac Williams, and got busy signing cheap players off the free agent wire with lots of upside. It didn't look like our team would be very good in its first year, and we weren't...as our 2-14 record indicated. However, we started the year losing games by 15-20 points, and by the end of the season we were only losing by 7 or less.

The silver lining to our awful first season was that we got the 2nd overall pick in the 2008 draft. We took Oregon Running Back Jonathan Stewart --- a big speedster who looked like he could immediately step into the starting job. With our second round pick, we got lucky - as California WR Desean Jackson slipped down to our spot. In the 3rd round we took WR Early Doucet, and our skill positions were suddenly vastly improved from the year before.

Continuing to improve the squad, we went a respectable 9-7 in 2008, and won our division. We faced division-rival Seattle in the first round of the playoffs, and lost a close battle. Overall, it was very satisfying to take a horrible squad and make them respectable in one season.

Heading into 2009, Our roster was shaping up pretty nicely. We lost our first two games of the season, and decided to make some changes. We realized that QB Garrard probably wasn't quite good enough to make us a serious contender. We traded a load of draft picks and Jonathan Stewart to steal away top-notch gunslinger Jay Cutler. He started Game 3 of the '09 campaign, and we only lost one game the rest of the way.

Our 13-3 season got us a home game in the playoffs against our nemesis Seattle. This time, we cruised past them to an easy victory. Green Bay was up next. Although the Pack played us tough, we outlasted them 20-14. That took us into the Super Bowl against the Bengals. Cincinnati went 15-1 during the regular season, with their only loss coming to my 49ers. I knew that a repeat performance would be tough.

We got out to a 14-point lead in the second quarter. I knew that the Bengals would probably respond, and they did. The combination of Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson was lethal, hooking up 10 times, including two touchdowns. While the orange-and-black was busy throwing the ball around, we were having success ramming the ball down their throat. We were routinely getting 5+ yards per carry against Cincinnati's suspect run defense. The game went back and forth, and the 49ers led 21-19 in the fourth quarter. With four minutes left, the Bengals started a drive that took them inside the 49er 10-yard line. The defense stiffened, but the Bengals kicked a short field goal with under a minute remaining to virtually seal their first ever Super Bowl championship.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Veteran kick returner Curtis Martin touched the ball for the last time in his career, fielding a squib kick at the 30-yard line. Following a wall of 49er blockers, he reached the 50 yard line, and had only the kicker to beat. Mustering up a burst of speed from somewhere in his past, he turned on the jets and zoomed past the kicker...20, 15, 10...touchdown 49ers! Martin ran down the tunnel and out of the stadium into NFL lore. With only eight seconds left, the Bengals were unable to respond, and the final score read: 49ers 29, Bengals 22. An amazing finish to a fantastic season!

Football Mogul 2008 lets you simulate each game, or call the plays yourself as coach. I usually play 3-4 regular season games each year, and let the computer sim the rest. I always call the plays in the playoffs, though, as I want as much control as I can get over the action. There are 4 different difficulty levels, and past teams and players as well as all the current rosters. The draft is really fun, as well as negotiating with players and trying to stay under the salary cap. I highly recommend Football Mogul for any pigskin fans out there. It would make a great Christmas gift --- Visit Sports Mogul to find out more about their line of great products.

KC Royals = Bananaz

On Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals spent $36 million dollars on an average major league outfielder, former Mariner Jose Guillen. Was there a reason that the M's declined their $9 million option on the guy who called former manager Mike Scoscia a "piece of garbage"? Is this the same guy that was accused (one month ago) of taking performance-enhancing drugs? Does all this add up to $12 million per year?

Last year, when KC spent big bucks on (another former Seattle player) Gil Meche, I thought that they were moving in the right direction. But, this Guillen signing is just plain nutz. For that kind of money, the Royals could have signed a much better player (or perhaps two), and someone without all the baggage.

BANANAZ!!

Angels Should 'Just Say No'

The Florida Marlins are trying to wipe out my fantasy teams in one fell swoop. The fish are attempting to deal superstar 3B Miguel Cabrera, and they are asking a lot in return. The Angels have offered up young star Howie Kendrick, catcher Jeff Mathis, and either (pitchers) Ervin Santana or Nick Adenhardt.

The problem for me is that I have two teams in an AL-only roto league, and I own Kendrick, Mathis and Santana. I would lose those guys with no compensation if they are traded to the NL. Two of them (Kendrick and Santana) are on my defending champion Golden Sombreros.

The Angels are loaded with infield talent and starting pitching, which allows them to perhaps offer more talent than any other MLB team. They can afford to trade Kendrick because they have young infielder Sean Rodriguez almost ready for the show. As if the Angels offer wasn't enough, the Marlins countered by asking for Santana AND Adenhardt to go along with Mathis and Kendrick.

I know the Halos are looking for a 3B, but the Marlins asking price seems pretty high, when you consider that Kendrick is still very cheap, and Cabrera will likely cost his new team $11 million or more this year. With the new additions the Angels have already made, they might be well served to keep Kendrick, and try to go after another 3B (Chavez/Blalock/Beltre) with a lesser package. That would keep my fantasy team a little happier.