1999 MVP AWARD

Edgerrin James

300 carries 1307 Yards 9TDs/51 receptions 476 Yards 3 TDs

Kevin Johnson

60 receptions 903 Yards 8 TD's

1999 Team Roster

Player	Position	Team
O'Donnell Neil	Quaterback	TEN
Testaverde, Vinny	Quaterback	NYJ
Grbac, Elvis	Quaterback	KC
Harbaugh, Jim	Quaterback	SD
Leaf , Ryan	Quaterback	SD
Martin, Curtis	Running back	NYJ
Terry Kirby	Running back	CLE
Lawrence Philips	Running back	SF
James Edgarrin	Running back	IND
Bailey Karstenv	Wide Receiver	SEA
Lockett Kevin	Wide Receiver	KC
Martin, Tony	Wide Receiver	MIA
Pathon, Jerome	Wide Receiver	IND
Dawkins, Sean	Wide Receiver	SEA
Johnson Kevin	Wide Receiver	CLE
JJ Stokes	Wide Receiver	SF
Sharpe Shannon	Tight End	DEN
Johnny McWilliams3	Tight end	ARI
Doug Brien	Kicker	NO
Daluiso, Brad	Kicker	3 NYGs
Detroit
New England

NIGHTMARE 28 V 21 GOPHERS	1-0
NIGHTMARE 12 V 22 SHARKS	1-1
NIGHTMARE 8 V 16 HELLFIRES	1-2
NIGHTMARE 28V 38 TOMCATS	1-3
NIGHTMARE 12 V 26 B52S	1-4
NIGHTMARE 19 V 25 VILLAGERS	1-5
NIGHTMARE 33 V 43 TIGERS	1-6
NIGHTMARE 40 V 18 GOPHERS	2-6
NIGHTMARE 21 V 14 HELLFIRES	3-6
NIGHTMARE 33 V 44 SHARKS	3-7
NIGHTMARE 25 V 32 TOMCATS	3-8
NIGHTMARE 21 V 26 VILLAGES	3-9
NIGHTMARE 54 V 18 B52S	4-9
NIGHTMARE 24 V 48 TIGERS	4-10

ALPHA Conference Standaings after week 14

Team	Win	Lose	Tie	Pts For	Pts Against	Conference	Streak
Tigers	12	1	1	552	357	9-1	W1
B52's	8	6	0	387	392	5-5	W1
Tomcats	7	7	0	336	325	5-5	L1
Sharks	7	7	0	389	411	4-6	L2
Gophers	6	8	0	345	400	4-6	W2
Nightmare	4	10	0	358	392	3-7	L1

THE STAT ZONE

QB's	Attempts	Complitions	Yards	TD's	Percentage
GRBAC	396	240	2745	15	60.61%
HARBAUGH	338	194	2148	8	57.40 %
LEAF	0	0	0	0	0	Injured
O'DONNELL	132	73	899	7	55.30 %
TESTAVERDE	15	10	96	1	66.67 %	Injured
RB'S	Carries	Yards	TD's	Ave/Per Carry	Catches	Yards	TD's	Ave/Per Catch
JAMES	300	1307	9	4.36	51	476	3	9.33
KIRBY	123	411	3	3.34	54	509	3	9.43
MARTIN	287	1126	3	3.92	39	183	0	4.69
PHILLIPS	30	148	2	4.93	15	152	0	10.13
WR's	Receptions	Yards	TD's	Ave/Per Recep	Carries	Yards	TD's
DWIGHT	22	455	5	20.68	2	11	1
DAWKINS	45	768	6	17.07
JOHNSON	60	903	8	15.05
LOCKETT	31	357	1	11.52
MARTIN	52	847	4	16.29
PATHON	14	163	0	11.64
STOKES	26	267	1	10.27
J MORTON	58	854	3	14.72
TE's	Receptions	Yards	TD's	Av/Per Recep
WILLIAMS	21	216	5	10.29
SHARPE	23	224	0	9.74	Injured

 

Draft View

On Friday 18th June 1999 I attended my first AFFL draft and on the whole it was a very professionally run event. Nine out of the twelve head coaches attended, with League Commissioner Steve Holland picking for two of the absent coaches and Jeff Horsley doing the honours for the third. I went in armed with a strategy and by and large I stuck to it and emerged fairly satisfied with my choices. 

There was no surprise in my first choice, with the running back department being one of my weakest areas it had to be Edgerrin James of Ind. After that I was determined to strengthen my Wide receiver position with my next two picks. I managed to acquire Kevin Johnson of Cleveland and Karsten Bailey of Sea. With my final pick I took a bit of a gamble and picked up an NFL veteran in Terry Kirby a running back now playing in Cleveland.

 It really was a thoroughly enjoyable evening and I must congratulate Commissioner Holland for a very well run event. It was great to be able to put faces to some of the names I had heard during the previous season and I look forward to the new campaign with optimism, confident of an improvement by the Nightmare this season.

 Coach's Pre-season Aspirations

 Although I am optimistic and confident of an improvement by the 'Mares this season, I am also a realist and have realistic and fairly modest aims for the coming season. Having failed to achieve my goal of 6 victories last year, I have decided to set myself the same target for the coming year. I know this may not seem like a step forward, but I am still rebuilding and Alpha Conference is a particularly difficult division to learn your coaching craft. My predicted team Improvements after the draft are fairly straight forward. Edgerrin James is a starter at Ind which gives the 'Mares for the first time under my guidance, two starting running back's instead of having to rely on a full back. Also in this area, I have Terry Kirby as a useful back up, who should see a fair amount of action for Cleveland. Kevin Johnson will also be a starter for Cleveland and I might be forced to use the talented rookie more frequently than I planned, if Tony Martin ends up in prison. In a mad rush of blood to the head I also dropped Ricky Proehl in favour or Lawrence Philips who is still as I write this signed to the Barcelona dragons. He'a a useful back and there is a lot of interest in him from the NFL. Having impressed in recent try outs, he should obtain a starting role with Baltimore or even the 49ers, who are looking for a possible replacement for the injured Garrison Hearst. Only time will tell if this was a stroke of genius or complete fit of madness.

 Last season was a bit of a baptism by fire, this year I feel that I am a lot better prepared and already have a team strategy to work with. I look forward once more to locking horns with the more experienced and proven coaches in the league, with the obvious ambition of being able to beat them and ultimately finish in a higher position in the league.

Gophers 21 V 28 Nightmare

Obviously any victory is gratefully accepted , but this result holds mixed feelings for me. The loss of "Vinny T" is going to hurt the Nightmare franchise. He is one of my most consistent points scorer and this coupled with top points man last year Shannon "Gob" Sharpe becoming a less effective threat with the retirement of John Elway, it might just prove to be too much for a team of limited depth at this time. However on the up side, when you have a rookie with the talent of Edgerrin "The Edge" James anything can happen. 6 points and stat's of 26 rushes for 112 yards and 4 catches for 14 yards in his first Pro start is fairly impressive. Sean Dawkins 12 point haul is the real story here. In my heart I wanted to play Kevin Johnson of Cleveland, but my head was telling me that Pittsburgh would be far too strong for Johnson to be all that effective. Coaching decision of the year so far, I think? No points from Tony "Mr Laundry" Martin for Miami, but he did post numbers of 4 catches for 101 yards, so fairly confident he will make a significant contribution again for us this campaign. The rest of my points came from the boot of Daluiso and the arm of Vinny T before his unfortunate and unplanned trip across the turf on a golf cart. This leaves me with my first QB controversy. Will it be Grbac or Harbaugh this weekend? To be honest the rest of my Qb's are a pretty sorry bunch, they look like an advertisement for Bernard Mathews at thanksgiving!!

 Sharks 22 V 12 Nightmare

When you lose your starting quaterback who is good on average for around 6 points a game and your best running back plays for the same team, you effectively lose two players and that's what has happened here. Curtis Martin is currently not much of a threat dropping from 19 carries for 85 yards in week one, to 9 carries for 45 yards this week. The Jets have to find a Quaterback who can get the job done, before Martin can return to full potential. The Wide receiver position is still a cause for concern, with no points being contributed this week. A silver lining perhaps in the shape of Kevin Johnson, who although not on the team this week, managed to haul in a catch from Tim Couch to register his first NFL touchdown. The only good thing I can report this week, was another excellent performance from Edgarrin James. His 32 carries for 118 yards and 1 touchdown saved the Nightmare from an even more humiliating defeat. All can say is that it's back to the drawing board this week, with definite changes in the Quaterback position and at wide receiver in a desperate attempt to get points and obtain some consistency.

Hellfires 16 V 8 Nightmare

Well you can't do anything about it when you have key players with injuries and the NFL has a low scoring week. I was pleased that Curtis Martin opened his account finally, although with Vinny T out for the season his effectiveness has been somewhat stifled. His 20 carries for 85 yards and 1 TD was very encouraging however. I still don't have an effective kicker either, two points is a pretty sad contribution, but I guess I should be thankful for something. Changes have been forced this week with Indianapolis on a bye. I'm going to give Elvis Grbac a chance seeing as he is the most consistent if not the prolific of my sad QB's. With the "Edge" out, Terry Kirby will get the nod, although Cleveland's running game has been virtually non existent so far this season. With Kevin Johnson scoring two weeks on the trot, I thought I'd put a stop to his excellent form by picking him too. I'm trying to strengthen my TE position by putting in a bid for David Lafleur of Dallas. But at the time of writing this I haven't been informed if he is part of my squad or not, so good old Shannon will continue in the position despite Denver's horrid start to the season.

Tomcats 38 V 28 Nightmare

All my expectations for this season have been well and truly flushed down the big white phone. I'm left wondering weather or not I should draft a couple of prostitutes in an effort to teach my players how to score again. JJ Stokes was one of my best Wide receivers last season and he has hardly a reception let alone a Touchdown so far this campaign for the 9ers. Tony Martin has yet to score for Miami, and he was my top wide out last year. Vinny T is out for the year and with him Curtis Martin isn't the threat he was previously. With John Elway retired Shannon Sharpe can't even be classed as a threat any longer and he was my franchise MVP last year. It's a sorry story, but I guess that's what being a head coach is all about. On the upside Edgarrin James has a bright future in the NFL and we should benefit from this in the long run. Kevin Johnson has made a good start too although Cleveland haven't lit up the League on their return to the big time just yet. Elvis Grbac's two scores was satisfying. Curtis Martin scored for the second week in a row, which was also encouraging. Kevin Johnson hauled in a 63 yard TD, which went a long way to justifying my decision to draft him. Lastly Brad Dalusio finally exchanged his two left feet for the correct pair and managed a season high of 10points.

B52's 26 V 12 Nightmare

If I had managed to get at least one of my first choices during my recent attempts to pick up players this recent run of terrible results could have been different. I've given up on the idea of trying to get anyone else, it seems pretty pointless when all the decent players seem to be snapped up, before I get a chance to log on. To crown this weeks pathetic display, I lost 1998 franchise MVP Shannon Sharpe with a broken collar bone, he'll be out for at least six weeks and will be sorely missed. I was pleased that Tony Martin finally opened his account with Miami at the fifth attempt. But other than this, there's not a lot to shout about. It seems a little sad that only five weeks into the season I am already beginning to look to the college players in an effort to maximise my sadly inevitable first round draft choice overall. I know that things can change, but I appear to have been hit hardest of all by the injuries and strange results that have been cropping up in the NFL recently. I have to confess I've lost a little enthusiasm recently, as I was convinced before the season started that I had made improvements to the team. Sadly it's the established players that have let the team down and not the rookies. MVP honours this season on current form sees Kevin Johnson and Edgarrin James as the only players in the running.

Villagers 25 V 19 Nightmare

Another loss but this time with a respectable score sheet. As I've said before injuries and inconsistency from my established players have cost the Nightmare dearly this season. A season ending injury to Brad Daluiso brings my body count for the year up to three and we're not even half way through yet. Neil O'Donnell stepped up this week to score six much needed points and it was good to see Tony Martin on the score sheet for the second week running. Even Doug Brien kicked well to add seven points to the total. I was disappointed however that neither Curtis Martin or Edgarrin James managed to score, I expected big things from both these players and so far neither has lived up to expectations. Both have excuses of course, the loss of Vinny Testaverde has made Curtis Martin less effective in a sputtering Jets offence and Edgarrin is a rookie who is raking in the yards, but has a QB that favours Marvin Harrison as a target in the end zone. I don't expect much result wise when we play the Tigers this coming week. I shall be hoping for any kind of improvement that might help to turn the season round in the second half.

Tigers 43 v 33 Nightmare

The thing that really bites about this result isn't the fact we lost. I predicted that long before the weekend games. It boils down to the fact that the Nightmare always score big against the Tigers, Who, on current form at least we have little chance of beating, and low and be hold mystic Meg came up trumps once again. (If only I could predict the lottery as well). It was a mixed bag all round really, with encouraging performances from unexpected players and woeful numbers posted by some of my established stars. Edgarrin James gave an excellent account of himself, as despite only notching up 52 yards for the day, he still managed to collect two short yardage touchdowns. Performance of the week goes to Roland Williams or St Louis, his two touchdowns were totally unexpected and put a smile on the face of a head coach, that has had little to be happy about all season. Grbacs six points from Thursday was an excellent contribution and the only let down was Doug Briens foot. On the strength of this I have picked up Wade Richey of the 49ers in an attempt to get some form of consistency from my kicking game.

Gophers 18 V 40 Nightmare

It was the 'Mares turn to be bathed in lady lucks glorious light this week, as everything went right for only the second time this year. I have only won seven games in my head coach career so far, and four of those victories have been against the Gophers. They remain the only team I have been able to complete the double over in each of my two seasons. What was particularly rewarding about this result were the players that came up with the goods. Kevin Johnson pulled in a miraculous last gasp 56 yard Touchdown pass from Tim Couch to earn Cleveland their first NFL victory of the year, and more importantly a valuable second touchdown for the game. Edgarrin James managed yet another touchdown and despite fumbling a second effort still managed to post stats of 26 carries for 113 yards against Dallas. Doug Brien was in good form too with a 10 point contribution and Elvis Grbac continued his recent run of good form with a six points from the Kansas, San Diego match up. The 'Mares final 6 points came from Detroit special teams.

Hellfires 14 V 21 Nightmare

I always believed that this team wasn't as poor as the recent run of bad results was suggesting and there are signs now that that the sleeping giant is awakening. The mares extracted revenge for their week 3 16-8 loss to the Hellfires with a solid performance all round. The points came in the shape of 3 from QB Elvis Grbac who is maintaining a consistent run of points scoring for the in form Chiefs. 6 more points for Edgarrin James, the only man so far with a chance of winning the 1999 Nightmare MVP award. His figures of 20 carries for 109 yards rushing and 7 catches for 90 yards and one touchdown makes impressive reading. He's posted season figures so far of 195 rushes for 742 yards and 5 TD's averaging 3.81 yards per carry, and 29 catches for 295 yards and one TD averaging 10.17 per reception. Being so close to the magic 1000 yards rushing for the season he must be a contender for NFL rookie of the year. There was Another six points from Tony "Laundry" Martin this week, Good to see him on the score board again. Although a little inconsistent this year, I get the feeling that when Miami's sputtering offence gets into gear, Mr Martin will be a regular name on the Mares score sheet. Our final six points came from the boot of newly acquired kicker Wade Richey, all in all a very satisfying result. I was also encouraged that new signing Tim Dwight scored again, he could be the missing third Wide out I've been looking for. More good news as Kevin Lockett scored his first NFL TD for Kansas and another six points scored by Terry Kirby for the luckless Browns made for a high scoring week by the whole squad.

Sharks 44 v 33 Nightmare

I felt a tinge of disappointment when I learned of this result. When your team scores 33 points, you naturally think you're in with a good chance of victory. Apart from this initial reaction I have to be pleased with the teams performance overall. There are three "buzz" words, which I am going to use to describe what this team needs to do next season to turn things around. Firstly we are a team in transition, rebuilding takes time and in many cases a lot of luck. Secondly Consolidation, we need to solidify and utilise the resources we already have. Finally I will be looking for improved consistency from my veteran and more established players. Performance of the week goes to Curtis Martin of the Jets who posted stats of 31 carries for 149 yards rushing for one TD in the Jets, New England clash. Elvis Grbac only managed three points, but all contributions are gratefully received. There was more encouraging news in the shape of rookie Kevin Johnson as he hauled in another TD for Cleveland, bringing his tally to 6 for the season. Roland Williams put in another excellent performance for the Rams scoring his 4th TD of the season. Doug Brien added six with his boot and the rest of the points came from Detroit's teams.

Tomcats 32 V 25 Nightmare

The result may suck, but the performance of Edgarrin James is beyond superlatives. Game figures of 22 carries for 152 yards and two touchdowns and 5 catches for 47 yards and one touchdown can only be described as absolutely magnificent. If that wasn't enough the young Rookie past the 1000 yards rushing mark for the season with 5 weeks still to play. With season stats of 233 carries for 1002 yards and seven touchdowns and 39 catches for 414 yards and two touchdowns, he must be in poll position for NFL rookie of the year. The only other bright spark in an otherwise lack lustre performance by the 'Mares was a Touchdown by Tim Dwight of Atlanta. My only other point came from the boot of kicker Wade Richey. Due to the dramatic fall from grace by the 49ers I have put in a request to swap Richey for Hanson the kicker for Detroit in an effort to find that elusive consistent place kicker. I can't help but feel that the Mares aren't actually as bad as the resluts would have me believe, perhaps this poor season will enable me to draft the missing element that will propell us into a more competative era.

Villagers 26 V 21 Nightmare

Just when I thought that the end of this pitiful season for the 'Mares was in sight, I speak with Steve Holland and learn that I still have to endure a humiliating exit from the toilet bowl, before the Mares can retreat into their cave to lick their wounds for the duration of the winter, life can be so cruel. On paper in my opinion we should have won this game, but as always someone forgot to give the Mare players the correct script and offensively nobody turned up. Doug Brien had a season high 12 points, but apparently still managed to miss a short field goal which would have made things closer. Kevin Johnson scored his 7th touchdown of the season with only :15 clicks left on the clock and Elvis Grbac was disappointing, as despite Kansas scoring big he only managed one passing TD. With matches against the B52's and the Tigers remaining, I don't see our luck changing just yet, but you never know there might be a banana skin waiting for one of these Alpha heavy weights in Mare country?

  B52's 17 V 54 Nightmare

This scoring frenzy has come a little too late to make a great deal of difference to the Mares season. Having said that, it's always rewarding to see the players that you have chosen scoring big. I have to start with Mare MVP for 1999 Edgerrin James, another two scores and stats of 23 carries for 130 yards make him easily the most consistrant and prolific scorer on the team. Kevin Johnson also scored his 8th TD of the season and is proving to be a hot prospect for the 2000 campaign. Tim Dwight is also showing signs that he could be a major contributor next season with another six points this week. After I considered dropping Tony Martin for this week's match, I was pleased to see him notch up only his 4th TD of the year and justify his inclusion. It wouldn't have made a great deal of difference, as my considered replacement Sean Dawkins also scored for Seattle. One of my pick ups of the year TE Roland Williams did the business once more with a six point haul and even Doug Brien had a good day, with a further six point contribution. The remainder of the points were provided by the productive Detroit teams.

Tigers 48 V 24 Nightmare

Another disappointing result signals the end or what can only be described as poor season for the Mares. Elvis Grbac finished with a flourish throwing a couple of TD passes for six points. Edgerrin James had another outstanding day scoring one TD and posting stats of 20 carries for 101 yards. Terry Kirby, quite frankly earned a starting role a lot earlier than this game, but I was reluctant to drop Curtis Martin due to his solid performances last season. However, on this occasion I made the right call, as Kirby made it into the end zone for a score despite only managing 5 yards on the ground in total. The remainder of the Mares tally came from the boot of Doug Brien. I began the season Optimistic and confident, in the end I was glad to see the back of the 1999 campaign. The pluses for the season came in the shape of two rookies Kevin Johnson and Edgerrin James, without whom things could have been a whole lot worse. The downside, was the fact that the rest of my squad failed to turn up for most of the games, or so it seemed. I would never have guessed at the start of the season that it would be the established players that would let the team down.

Andy Roberts

Headcoach Newbury Nightmare