Knights of Andreas 2.11: The Beginning or the End

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Knights of Andreas

Part II

 

Chapter Twenty-Three – The Beginning or the End

 

Caden Daniel enters team headquarters Monday morning more apprehensive than he has been all year. After a dream start to the season, the Knights have endured a nightmarish few weeks: back-to-back crushing losses and the ongoing concussion drama, just as excitement starts building for the playoffs. He can no longer pretend his team isn’t dealing with distractions; he needs to address them.

 

His mantra for the week will be refocusing the team to football, and football only. No one can think of where the team stands in the division or any other playoff implications; the goal is to win Sunday’s game. Fortunately, the Knights have a favorable matchup with the 3-8 Browns that kicks off three consecutive games at home.

 

Daniel and his offensive staff deliberately craft a simple game plan, an old trick he learned at UConn. When the team is struggling, simplify things, make it easier to get them back on track. Cleveland’s defense has a talented secondary but a mediocre front seven; the Knights should have no trouble establishing the run, and when they’ve done that this season, they’ve won.

 

When Merle Harden hears Daniel’s Monday morning pep talk about “redirecting focus” and “simplifying philosophy,” he brushes it off. His defensive strategy will never change based on how his team is playing. He picks the game plan that gives his team the best chance to win, plain and simple. For this week, Harden relishes a challenge, up against Cleveland’s formidable offensive line. Then again, playing against a quarterback like Brandon Weeden probably doesn’t come to close to qualifying as a challenge.

 

When players arrive on Tuesday and hit the practice field, Daniel likes what he sees. They seem focused and respond well to the “simplify” concept.

 

As the week progresses, media heat for the Ripka concussion story fades, and the team focuses on the Browns. Saturday, the calendar turns to December.

 

 

 

Sunday arrives, and it immediately becomes apparent something is wrong.

 

The Knights miss simple blocking assignments, which suffocates the run game. Maverick can’t find open receivers on third and long. The offense doesn’t get a first down until the end of the first quarter.

 

The Knights defense stymies Cleveland’s pass game with Harden’s usual blitzes, but they give up inexplicable long plays, often on third down. One such play results from a miscommunication and sets up a forty-two yard field goal. 3-0, Browns.

 

Maverick finally connects with some receivers downfield, and the Knights string together a quality drive. It stalls, however, when Jaxson fumbles a hand-off. The Knights settle for a thirty-seven yard field goal. Tie game, 3-3.

 

After the Browns go three and out, the Knights take over with good field position and finally get the run game going. In the red zone, Maverick misses consecutive open receivers, and Janikowski hits one again. 6-3, Knights.

 

The Knights give up a few first downs, then Brandon Weeden throws into double coverage, and Flash takes it the other way to midfield. The Knights respond with a deep shot downfield, which Maverick underthrows and T.J. Ward picks off.

 

Neither offense musters anything productive the rest of the second quarter, and the Knights hear boos from their home fans as they head into the locker room. Taking advantage of recent headlines, Jay Cooper proudly shows his “MAVERICK HAS A CONCUSSION” sign.

 

In the locker room at halftime, Coach Daniel faces a problem: what he wants to say to his team—keep your focus, one play at a time, etc.—he’s been saying all week. He can only send the same message for so long until the onus falls on his players to execute.

 

The Browns get the ball to start the second half. On the first play from scrimmage, Harden sends an all-out blitz; a communication breakdown leads to a wide-open Greg Little, whom Weeden hits in stride. 10-6, Browns.

 

The Knights respond with a balanced drive that Maverick caps with a beautiful forty-yard touchdown to Alex Johnson. 13-10, Knights.

 

Both defenses take over from there, and just before the fourth quarter, Daniel realizes the problem: the team plays with no intensity, no drive. He and his assistant coaches do their best to get them fired up, but it doesn’t work.

 

Into the fourth quarter, a few terrible penalties by Cleveland’s defense leads to another Janikowski field goal. 16-10, Knights.

 

The minutes tick down with neither offense able to sustain any consistency. The Knights pile on more mental errors, tallying ten penalties for over a hundred yards. A Jefferspin-Wilkes fumble—the Knights’ third turnover of the day—gives the Browns the ball back with less than two minutes left.

 

Weeden miraculously leads his team into field goal range, then lofts an egregious pass towards the end zone, which Ripka intercepts. He goes down on the three-yard line, and the Knights win, 16-10.

 

As the victors head to the locker room, they hear another light round of boos. Daniel empathizes with them, and he fails to crack a smile as he shakes hands with Coach Shurmur. A reporter finds him immediately and readies for the on-field interview, which Daniel never rejects. Now, however, he finds himself questioning that philosophy.

 

“Coach, how important was it for this team to get a win here today after losing the last two games?”

 

“Well, every win is important, obviously. We have some things we need to clean up, but it’s always good to end the game with more points than the other team.”

 

“Coach, talk about the mistakes, the penalties, the turnovers. What’s going on right now?”

 

Daniel maintains his composure with a camera in his face. “As I said, we’ve got to clean up a few things, and you said it: penalties and turnovers. That’s not Knights football and we need to fix it.”

 

“Thanks, Caden.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Daniel marches to the tunnel, that interview having used up the extent of his control. The players will not enjoy that luxury.

 

He finds the locker room mostly quiet, as it should be, though a few players and coaches carry out conversations. Nobody seems to notice Daniel’s presence. He spots a large container of Gatorade, picks it up, and heaves it across the room. It strikes the wall, the top flies off, and purple liquid spills everywhere, along with chunks of ice. The room goes dead silent.

 

“What the hell was that?” Everyone freezes in place, and the head coach has everyone’s complete attention. “You gentlemen better be thankful we played a team that couldn’t capitalize today, because as far as I’m concerned, that was a losing performance. I am absolutely embarrassed.”

 

The players and coaches take in the rant; Daniel has never addressed the team like this.

 

“What’s going on, gentlemen? It’s like we’ve forgotten how to play football. Simple plays we’ve run all year, all of a sudden we can’t execute. Well?” He looks around. “No one’s got anything to say?” Nothing. “Fine then. We’re playing bad football and we don’t have any answers. Even worse, we have a short week for Thursday night.”

 

Another pause.

 

“Every football season has adversity. We just happened to have an awful lot of it these last few weeks. We are being tested, gentlemen. This will either be the beginning or the end of us. We’ll find out this week.”

 

 

 

Hours later, the usual trio of Brock, Rose, and Jaxson decides to blow off some steam and grab dinner at their favorite club. For the second consecutive trip, Wilkes and Bishop tag along. They sit at a table in the VIP room and order drinks. Brock downs his instantly.

 

Jaxson: “Ease up, Brock. Coach said he might make us practice tomorrow, remember?”

 

Brock: “Man, you really believe that? Day after a game?”

 

Bishop: “We’ve got another game on Thursday, so we better make the most of whatever practice time we do have.”

 

Rose: “Man, Logan, the whole point to us hanging out is to forget about football for a little while, not worry about it. Didn’t we tell you that last time?”

 

The server comes back with small menus in her hand.

 

“Here are our specials tonight, gentlemen,” she says. The players scan their options.

 

Bishop: “What are you feeling, D-Jam?”

 

Wilkes: “I’ll get the same thing, I guess.”

 

Rose: “Seriously? All we heard last time was how you didn’t like it. Thought it was too salty or some shit.”

 

Wilkes: “I’ll get whatever you get, then. Doesn’t matter to me.”

 

Wilkes shoves the menu aside as Bishop watches carefully, having not looked at his menu yet.

 

 

 

Monday starts a challenging week of preparation for the Knights, who host the Broncos on Thursday Night Football. Players enter the facility without the usual day off—without the time for one.

 

Playing on Thursday instead of Sunday compresses practice week in an awkward way. Coach Daniel never puts his players through rigorous practice the day before or after a game, which leaves only Tuesday, one day of rigorous practice with light practice and lots of film sessions scheduled around it. It’s horribly inefficient, but it’s the only option they have.

 

With four games left in the regular season, the front offices goes through its usual preparations for the offseason. Chance Phillips and his assistants consider prospective free agents in Los Angeles and elsewhere, coaches with expiring contracts, and potential draft needs (even though it’s far too early to look at prospects). This year, however, for the first time, Phillips gets to add another consideration to his schedule: playoff scenarios.

 

At 8-4, the Knights currently qualify as the fifth seed in the AFC, over Indianapolis (also 8-4) by a better conference record. Both Pittsburgh and Cincinnati trail at 7-5, and the next closest teams are 5-7. So it looks like four teams will battle for the two Wild Card playoff spots.

 

The Knights, however, still control their own destiny in the AFC West. A win over Denver on Thursday would tie both teams at 9-4, and the Knights would own the head-to-head tiebreaker.

 

Being part of the playoff picture in December for the first time in exciting, especially for a post-rebuilding franchise like Los Angeles, but the events of the past few weeks have left Phillips nervous about how the season will end. The team desperately needs to regain its confidence, and a win on Thursday would be the perfect start to the season’s final stretch.

 

Considering current division records and remaining schedules, a loss to Denver would make winning the division near impossible. The Knights would still be alive in the Wild Card race, of course, and they have head-to-head victories over Baltimore and Pittsburgh, two teams in that race. Still, chasing the division is a much happier picture; Thursday’s game will be a huge swing one way or the other.

 

Near the end of the day, after practice ends, Phillips hears a beep from his phone. It’s his secretary.

 

“Logan Bishop wants to see you.”

 

Phillips finds this peculiar, as players rarely go out of their way to speak to him. He knows that Bishop wants a new contract, but even still, such discussions are always handled through a player’s agent, rarely face-to-face.

 

“Send him in,” he says.

 

Bishop walks through the door and Phillips shakes his hand.

 

“Afternoon, Logan. How you doing?”

 

“Good, sir. Thanks for seeing me.”

 

“Yeah, no problem, I—look, I’ve been talking with your agent. I know nothing’s done yet, but I want you know we have exchanged a few numbers, so there’s progress.”

 

“I appreciate that, Mr. Phillips, but that’s not why I’m here.”

 

“Very well. What can I do for you?”

 

“It’s about D-Jam.”

 

Phillips is confused, not sure where the conversation is headed. It doesn’t feel right that Bishop is telling him about this, whatever it is. “Before you go further, is this something you should talk to Coach Daniel about first?”

 

“Maybe, but we’re pressed with practice as it is. I think it would be best to confer with you about how to handle it.”

 

How to handle it? This is getting more ominous by the second.

 

“Okay then,” Phillips says. “What about Wilkes?”

 

“I don’t think he can read.”

 

“You don’t—what?” Phillips struggles to speak, fighting the shock of that comment. “Are you serious?”

 

Bishop describes the Friday Night Lights situation and his recent observations at the club.

 

“No,” Phillips says incredulously. “Surely someone would have noticed by now. Someone—”

 

“I just thought someone should know, and I don’t think talking to him personally would help.”

 

Phillips processes everything as best he can. How the hell is he supposed to address something like this, assuming it’s true?

 

“I understand. Thank you, Logan, for sharing this with me; I’ll think about it and we’ll figure out the best way to handle the situation. And again, I’m in touch with your agent and confident something will get worked out soon.”

 

“Great. Thank you.”

 

Bishop leaves Phillips alone in his office, contemplating the most bizarre situation he has ever heard. In Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, he has seen and dealt with contract holdouts, polarizing draft prospects, and relentless front office bickering. But an NFL player who can’t read?

 

“What the holy fuck?” he says to the empty office.

 

Phillips only settles on one definite conclusion for now: to keep this to himself until he can figure out what the hell needs to be done.

 

 

 

The Knights and Broncos take the field under the lights of Farmers Field for a nationally televised AFC West showdown. The NFL Network broadcast breaks down the detailed playoff picture and shows plenty of highlights from the Knights/Broncos game in week 4, the last time the Broncos lost a game.

 

The Knights get the ball first and come out throwing. Coach Daniel knows his team, being home, has an advantage in a Thursday night game, and he wants to put Denver on its heels as soon as possible. Maverick strings together some completions, his receivers facing tight coverage, and the Knights reach midfield before an overthrown third down pass forces a punt.

 

Peyton Manning takes the field and the crowd gets loud. This time, the Knights have their fans behind them to help fight Manning’s audibles. Manning takes snaps behind a clean pocket and finds open receivers to move the chains.

 

Coach Harden calls plays confidently. He faces a much more polished and efficient Broncos offense than he did in September, but neither this nor the short week of practice concerns him; either his players can execute, or they can’t.

 

Manning gets first down after first down, facing no pressure in the pocket. Harden calls an all-out blitz, and Manning hands off to Willis McGahee, who soars through open field and into the red zone. Two plays later, Manning finds Jacob Tamme in the corner of the end zone. 7-0, Broncos.

 

Harden considers adjusting his blitz tactics, but he needs to chew a few people out first.

 

“Brock, Grantzinger, what the fuck?” Both linebackers catch their breaths from the long drive, though they wouldn’t have answers anyway. “If you two don’t get it together fast, we are going to be severely fucked. Understand?” They nod. “Wake up!”

 

The Knights offense operates with aggressiveness again. This time, after a few first downs, Daniel calls more running plays. The balance pays off, leading Alex Johnson to break open on play-action. Maverick hits him in stride and he runs into the end zone. Tie game, 7-7.

 

The rest of the first quarter is a field position battle, with neither offense able to get first downs consistently. Harden’s blitz adjustments work, though Brock and Grantzinger still come up short. Denver tilts things in their favor and manages a fifty-yard Matt Prater field goal at the end of the quarter. 10-7, Broncos.

 

The second quarter is more of the same, though the Broncos appear ready to take a two-score lead after a long completion to Demaryius Thomas puts them in the red zone.

 

Harden only brings a three-man rush on first and ten. Manning scans the field, Knights everywhere. With an eternity to throw, he finally dumps it off to McGahee in the flat. He cuts upfield towards Marlon Martin, who goes low and hits him hard, flipping him and sending the football into the air. Randall is there to pick it up and runs the other way. He soars past offensive linemen with ease and has a clear path to the end zone. Not looking behind him, he runs out of gas and feels a hit from behind. He dives into the end zone and looks at the nearest official, who signals touchdown.

 

The Knights line up for the extra point, but whistles blow everything dead for an official scoring review. Fans look up to the instant replay, and it looks like Randall’s knee was down with the ball at the one-yard line. Daniel finds Maverick, assuming first and goal.

 

After a two-minute review, officials reverse the call on the field. Knights ball on the one.

 

Maverick lines up under center in goal line formation. He fakes a handoff to Jaxson and looks for Bishop on a corner route. Von Miller slams him to the ground for a sack. The crowd boos at the misfortune; the Knights now face second and goal from the six.

 

Maverick lines up in shotgun now, with receivers spread out. He takes the snap and looks to Wilkes on a fade, but he’s doubled. Johnson, Bishop—covered. Pressure comes up the middle, forcing him to throw it away.

 

Third and goal. Daniel runs a bunch formation this time, with Wilkes on the outside. He receives single coverage, and Maverick has his man. He takes the snap and lofts one to the end zone. Wilkes and Champ Bailey jostle for it, both get their hands on it, and fall out of bounds. Incomplete. Daniel reluctantly sends out the field goal unit.

 

Farmers Field unleashes a round of boos, both at the refs for not calling pass interference, and at the offense for not converting from the one-yard line.

 

 

 

Both teams come out for the pivotal second half, the game tied 10-10. The Broncos get the ball first and Harden, frustrated that Manning hasn’t been hit yet, gets creative.

 

Manning drops back behind a clean pocket, and Rose comes flying in off the edge. Manning falls to the grass instead of absorbing a big hit, and the Knights have their first sack of the day.

 

Rose jogs past Brock and Grantzinger after celebrating. “Need me to play outside linebacker, bitches?”

 

The sack leads to a Denver three and out, and the Knights get the ball back with good field position.

 

Jaxson takes a few carries and creates a manageable third and two. Maverick fakes a toss and looks to Johnson on a curl route. He throws, but Johnson keeps running instead. Chris Harris catches the easy interception and bolts for the end zone. 17-10, Broncos.

 

On the sideline, Maverick and Johnson try to figure out what went wrong, about to get the ball back, the only positive to come from a pick six.

 

Jaxson gets the ball first again, finding holes in Denver’s front seven, and the Knights move the chains. Maverick drops back on first and ten, and the pocket breaks down. He breaks a few tackles and runs downfield with a lot of grass in front of him. He jukes a linebacker, cuts right—the ball gets swatted out of his hands. It bounces into a pile of Broncos, and Denver takes over at midfield.

 

Harden calls more corner blitzes, which seem to work. The Broncos, however, manage a few first downs that take them into field goal range, where Matt Prater capitalizes. 20-10, Broncos.

 

“Good stop, coach,” Daniel says to Harden.

 

“We’re trying,” Harden says. “All due respect, we can only hold on a short field for so long.”

 

“I know.” Sensing a breaking point, Daniel gathers his entire offense during the commercial break. “Everybody take a few deep breaths. We’ve still got plenty of time to win this football game. Remember what we’ve been practicing. Remember what your coaches have been telling you. Let’s get control of this thing.”

 

After a good kick return, the Knights start at their own thirty-nine. Maverick fires a quick pass to Bishop, who gets eight yards.

 

Second and two. Jaxson carries up the middle but gets stuffed for no gain.

 

Third and two. Jaxson gets a toss, but the blocking breaks down. He spins off a few tackles and gets one yard. Fourth and one.

 

Maverick looks to the sideline and Daniel nods without hesitation. Maverick calls a play and sets the formation as the crowd cheers. Under center, Maverick takes the snap and pushes forward. Behind Penner, he gets the first down with ease. The crowd cheers louder.

 

The Knights huddle for the next play. Maverick drops back and looks to Wilkes on a slant. He throws towards the middle, but Wilkes runs a very wide route. Bailey undercuts the route with ease for another interception. He cuts back into open field with a small convoy and reaches the end zone for the dagger. 27-10, Broncos.

 

“What the fuck, D-Jam?” Maverick screams on the sidelines, his helmet removed.

 

“Shallow crossing route, Mav,” Wilkes says. “You threw too soon.”

 

“My fucking ass I did! You were supposed to run a fucking slant, you idiot!”

 

“Get out of my face.”

 

“Oh! Don’t like teammates in your face? What happened to wanting more targets? Is this what fucking happens?”

 

Wilkes shoves Maverick backward, which causes a stir multiple coaches have to break up. Everyone on the sideline notices, as do fans sitting in lower levels—and plenty of cameras.

 

 

 

Sean Brock speeds down the highway, blowing by every car he sees. The 33-10 loss and his zero-sack performance have been successfully countered by a few drinks and a windows-down drive home. Besides, he’s still leading the sack contest by one.

 

He sees red and blue in the rearview mirror. Fucking cops. He checks the speedometer, which reads somewhere around 100. Can he outrun them? Nah, it’s not worth it. Just take the speeding ticket and move on.

 

Brock eases down and pulls over on the shoulder. How much has he had to drink? From what he can remember, only two shots and four beers, hardly anything. No way the cop notices. If he’s a football fan, it’ll be even easier. Brock sees the officer approaching and rolls down his window.

 

“What’s up, officer?”

 

“Step out of the car, please, sir.”

 

“Whoa, whoa. I don’t think—”

 

“Step out of the car, sir.”

 

This isn’t good. Brock doesn’t like his chances to pass a sobriety test. Then he realizes something much worse: there are a few ounces of weed in the trunk. He notices the officer has opened the door for him, and he knows this can’t possibly end well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vin+ 3,121]

[Maverick 791]

Excellent chapter, Steven. I love how you're depicting our characters. DJam is a bitch, though. Throw him and a 1st to Dallas for Dez. Me and Dez gon' do work.

 

The cop at the end sounds like an asshole. RIP Brock. #BrocksLifeMatters

 

[RazorStar 4,025]

Finally all the personalities are starting to sink the ship. Even when I make game saving plays we can't capitalize.

[Zack_of_Steel+ 3,014]

It felt dirty rooting for and enjoying Bware yelling at Sean and I. Stevo, I don't know how you made Bware's character so awesome.

 

The Rose OLB line was perfect.

 

Nice chapter, Stevo.

 

 

 

 

I read with a notepad window over top so I can drag the window size down line by line and avoid peripheral vision spoilers, lol.

 

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

I should play OLB...already do better than the rest of you maggots

 

Typical Sean being a loser too...

 

Good work Steven

[theMileHighGuy 656]

Excellent write-up sir SteVo

 

Maybe Jonny Mav needs to go to Steve Clarkson's quarterback camp this off-season

[Cherry 1,302]

I put you guys on the 1.

 

Good chapter as always.

[Bangy 19]

God damn it, Fuck this passing game and run it all day.

 

Love the chapter Stevo, too many egos, D-Jam being an illiterate fuck and Zack and Sean being lazy as hell. Be interesting to see if the downfall continues.

[BwareDWare94 723]

It felt dirty rooting for and enjoying Bware yelling at Sean and I. Stevo, I don't know how you made Bware's character so awesome.

 

 

 

I'm a writer, too, so when he asked for character write-ups, I gave him about 5 long paragraphs, IIRC.

 

More info = better character. Good traits and flaws. Everything.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Hump Day Bump Day yet again. No offseason for KoA (yet)!