Knights of Andreas 3.09: Running the Gauntlet

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Knights of Andreas

Part III

Based on Characters Created by:

badgers

Bangy

Barracuda

Bay

BigBen07

BwareDware94

Chernobyl426

DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F

eightnine

FartWaffles

Favre4Ever

JetsFan4Life

Maverick

monstersofthemidway

OAK

RazorStar

RevisFan81

Sarge

seanbrock

SteVo

Thanatos19

theMileHighGuy

Vin

Zack_of_Steel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Thirty-Five – Running the Gauntlet

 

One by one, players walk onto the practice field Monday morning and join a gathering crowd at midfield, kneeling on the grass around their head coach. Coach Harden generally does not begin practice week with announcements or speeches, but practice generally doesn’t happen on Monday either, the trade for a long weekend off.

 

“Good morning, men,” Harden says once all players and coaches have assembled. “I hope you all enjoyed the extra rest, and I hope you’re all ready to work this week. Today is the 2nd of December. The NFL playoffs start in thirty-three days. Do we want to be a part of them?”

 

He studies his players’ faces. He knows they’re hungry, but that’s not enough. They’ll have to show it this week. They’ll have to bring their excitement and intensity every day, every rep on the practice field, every minute in the film room.

 

“Our record is 6-6. Six wins, six losses. You know what I think about that record? I think it’s dog shit. I think it’s a disgrace. More importantly, I do not think it is in any way a reflection of the team I see before me. We’re better than a .500 team, and everyone on this field knows it. I think when people look back on this roster, they’re gonna say, ‘Wow, look at all the stars they had. What a great team that was.’ But guess what? We can’t hide behind those types of excuses anymore. We don’t have time. Thirty-three days? Not for us, men. For us, the playoffs start now. We’ve got four games left, and we need to win every damn one of them. So, for those of you who are superstitious…” He scratches the unshaven scruff that has accumulated on his face. “…now might be a good time to start.”

 

Practice begins, with some players knowing the playoff picture in more detail than others do, though Harden does his best to push the one-game-at-a-time agenda.

 

The Patriots, Bengals, and Colts still lead their divisions by at least two games. In the West, the Broncos now lead at 10-2, followed by the Chiefs at 9-3 and the Chargers at 8-4. Assuming current leaders win their respective divisions, the Chiefs and Chargers would take the two wild card spots, but the Knights, Dolphins, and Ravens lurk at 6-6.

 

Winning the division is mathematically impossible, but any playoff berth will be incredibly difficult for Los Angeles. After this Sunday’s game against Miami, the Knights’ final three games take them through the rest of their division: vs. Kansas City, at San Diego, vs. Denver. It’s a brutal stretch to end the season, saved only by the lack of traveling; the only road game is in nearby San Diego. Even with things falling into place, optimistic projections have the Knights finishing at 9-7, and that won’t be enough.

 

 

 

Sampson occupies the same Knight’s End high top and munches on breakfast: chicken quesadillas, tortilla chips, and beer. The high definition television screens show a combination of CBS, ESPN, and NFL Network, all preparing for the first round of week 14 games.

 

“Howdy, partner.”

 

Sampson nearly chokes, coughing up broken chips as Cooper retakes his seat, wasting no time in trying to flag down a waitress.

 

“You’re not at the game?” Sampson asks after a swig of beer.

 

“Obviously not.”

 

“You got kicked out again.”

 

“No, if you can believe it.” A waitress finally spots Cooper, and he orders breakfast of his own: beer and buffalo wings.

 

“So what gives?”

 

“It wasn’t the same. Being in the suite, I mean. I figured I might as well watch the games here. This is more fun.”

 

“Cool. Playoff push starts today. I’m growing a playoff beard.”

 

Cooper stares at his friend’s medieval patch of facial hair. “Cassie, please. You’ve had a playoff beard for five years.”

 

 

 

During the commercial between quarters three and four, Harden admires the scene. Despite a good week of practice, he was concerned about how his players would respond to the Thanksgiving loss in Dallas and falling to 6-6 when they could have been 7-5. After three quarters, his players have answered.

 

The Knights lead, 27-10, and have given the coaching staff little to complain about. Against a very good Miami defense, the offense has played efficient, turnover-free football, with contributions across the board. Jaxson and Jameson each have twelve carries, and Maverick has thrown touchdown passes to Wilkes, Johnson, and Bishop.

 

Defensively, the Knights have bottled up Miami’s offense outside of one play where Brian Hartline got behind Marshall in coverage, leading to a touchdown. The Dolphins haven’t turned it over either, but they’ve also only crossed midfield three times.

 

“Listen up!” Harden yells during a quiet moment, trying to make sure as many players hear him as possible. “You guys have played a damn near perfect game. These poor fuckers are doing everything they can, but they’re barely clinging to life. Now, bury them.”

 

The offense comes out with aggressive plays, Maverick taking multiple shots downfield. The drive reaches the red zone, where a shotgun draw play catches the defense off guard. Jameson accelerates and barrels through two helpless defenders into the end zone. 34-10, Knights.

 

The Dolphins take over, in full desperation mode. Ryan Tannehill comes out firing with two incompletions, but on third and ten, he finds Brandon Gibson for a first down. The next play, Ryan Tannehill drops back to pass, sees nobody open, and Brock swats the ball out of his hands. Luck recovers it, and the Knights take over in field goal range. Maverick fakes a handoff to Jaxson and looks deep. He throws a perfect pass to a double-covered Wilkes, who catches it in the end zone and dunks the ball through the goal posts. 41-10, Knights.

 

Miami proceeds to go three and out. Jaxson catches the ensuing punt and blocking develops nicely in front of him. He accelerates through a hole, crosses midfield with green grass in front of him, and gets tripped up by the punter inside the thirty. With victory well in hand, Coach Everett pulls Maverick out of the game, replaced by Chad Henne, and calls all running plays. Jameson and Jaxson chew down the clock with great blocking in front of them. Penner and Grodd put on a clinic, and Jaxson caps the drive with a twelve-yard touchdown run on a sweep. 48-10, Knights.

 

 

 

“Mother of god,” Cooper says after the bar’s celebration dies down. “Where has this been all year?”

 

“Young team,” Sampson says. “I told you it would take them awhile to hit their stride.” He looks up at the ticker of scores from around the league, again seeing the Chiefs’ 45-10 win over Washington. “What’s up with Denver and San Diego? We haven’t checked in awhile.”

 

“Oh yeah!” Cooper pushes buttons on his phone. “They are…ah, shit, they’re both up big.”

 

 

 

The Knights’ win over Miami may have crushed expectations, but they receive no help from the rest of the league. The Broncos, Chiefs, Chargers, and Ravens all win, meaning the Knights are still two games out of a wild card spot—now with only three games left—and still tied with Baltimore.

 

On the practice field, however, nobody seems to notice. Players and coaches ride the momentum from Sunday’s blowout and look forward to a huge game this Sunday against the Chiefs, a good chance to help their own cause in the wild-card race. With a loss, however, the Knights are officially eliminated from the playoffs, and the season’s last two weeks become meaningless.

 

From his second floor office, Chance Phillips finds it easy to focus on offseason preparations rather than the playoffs. While he’s thrilled that the team is making a fight of it, he is aware of every matchup, tiebreaker, and potential scenario for the league’s final three weeks, and he’s far from optimistic. He spends his time, instead, looking at contract projections, potential free agents across the league, and even a few scouting reports on draft prospects.

 

There are still three weeks left in the 2013 season, but Phillips’ primary focus is his roster in 2014 and beyond. With the last remnants of the Oakland Raiders long gone, this is his roster now, and the next two offseasons will be crucial.

 

The Knights have a list of upcoming free agents including Jerome Jaxson, Jared Veldheer, Brian Penner, Khalif Barnes, Sam Luck, Dan Connor, and Sebastian Janikowski. The top priorities from that list are Veldheer, Penner, and Luck, but no progress has been made on contract extensions with any of them. Both Veldheer and Luck’s agents have strongly implied they want to test the market, and Penner’s agent hasn’t offered any dialogue whatsoever.

 

Of even greater concern is the list of starters who will enter contract years in 2014: Jonathan Maverick, Alex Johnson, Logan Bishop, Marlon Martin, Richard Marshall, and Sebastian Stevenson. Making things even more interesting, 2014 is the final year under contract for both Coach Harden and Phillips himself. Unless anything changes, the Los Angeles Knights will go into the 2014 season with their starting quarterback, head coach, and general manager all in contract years.

 

Phillips has worked hard since he took over the franchise to earn what every GM wants: money to spend. He faces no salary cap trouble, no backloaded contracts in the near future. But he will be cautious and deliberate with how he spends that money, because the cap problems that plagued the Raiders are only a few bad decisions away.

 

Free agency aside, an even more immediate concern is coaching contracts. Almost the entire offensive coaching staff has expiring contracts, and the Knights will need to make a decision on Coach Everett. A few of Harden’s subordinates have expiring contracts as well, though Harden will handle those himself. The coaching carousel starts after week 17, even if the Knights make the playoffs.

 

Tuesday afternoon, Phillips is going over a report by DeMartine about potential draft needs when Schneider knocks on his open door.

 

“Afternoon, Chance,” Schneider says.

 

“Hey there, Wayne.”

 

“Can I ask you about something?”

 

“Go for it.”

 

Schneider checks the hallway, then enters the office. “You know anything about a disagreement between Everett and Maverick?”

 

“A little,” Phillips lies. He’s well aware of the entire situation and has been since it occurred. “Merle told me there were some disagreements over the playbook, nothing serious, and that it’s resolved. Happened a few weeks ago, I think.”

 

“Yes, yes it did.”

 

“Did you just hear about it?”

 

“No, I’ve known for awhile, just wanted to get your opinion on it. It’s potentially a very dangerous situation, isn’t it? An offensive coordinator and quarterback not getting along.”

 

“In theory, but Wayne, all due respect, did you see Sunday’s game? Forty-eight points. I’d say everything’s fine on offense.”

 

“Perhaps you’re right. Well, if you hear anything else, let me know?”

 

“Of course.”

 

He walks out, leaving Phillips puzzled, not sure what to make of Schneider’s interest in the situation, especially a few weeks after the fact.

 

 

 

Coach Harden watches his defense—and entire team—carefully as the week progresses. As a defensive coordinator, he has always valued practice like this, late in the year against a familiar opponent. His defense knows exactly what they’ll face this Sunday, but they better not show any signs of complacency.

 

Extending this approach to the entire team, he finds very little to complain about (doing plenty of yelling regardless), and the Knights make it through another week of practice, the intensity of a playoff push palpable every day. Before long, the Knights are conducting a final walkthrough Saturday afternoon, and then walking into their home stadium on Sunday morning.

 

 

 

Players in black jerseys stand silently in the locker room before their head coach, crowd noise coming in through the walls. Instead of moving toward the field immediately, Coach Harden just stands for a moment, about to say something.

 

“As you all know,” Harden says, “we’ve been chasing the playoffs without talking specifics—which team has that record, who wins that tiebreaker, all of that—because I believe we can’t focus on what we can’t control. But for today, there’s something you all deserve to know before you take that field. Based on the standings, the math, whatever…if we lose today, we can not make the playoffs, no matter what else happens. If we lose today, our season’s over.”

 

Harden pauses and lets that sink in. A few players know this already, but hearing your head coach say it just before a game makes an impact regardless.

 

“By definition, that makes this a playoff game. So, we all want to play playoff football, right? Feel what it’s like to take the field with your season on the line? Well, you’re about to. Don’t hold anything back.”

 

 

 

The Chiefs receive the ball first and get Jamaal Charles involved with carries up the middle. Anchoring the run defense, Damian Jones faces off against Rodney Hudson, who dominated him back in October. Jones holds his own at the line of scrimmage, unable to break off blocks but not getting pushed back. Charles only manages three or four yards before Randall and/or Martin bring him down.

 

“Nice work, Anthrax,” Randall says. “Keep it up.”

 

Facing third down, Alex Smith drops back to pass and looks left. Grantzinger fakes a blitz, fooling right tackle Eric Fisher, and Luck comes free. He blindsides Smith, slamming him into the grass, and the ball pops loose. Black and white jerseys pile on, and officials run in, searching for the bottom. After a lot of screaming and fighting inside the pile, the officials signal Knights ball, and it’s Martin who somehow comes away holding the pigskin. The crowd cheers, and the offense comes out with a short field for their first possession of the day.

 

After two running plays get stuffed, Maverick drops back on third and ten. Behind a clean pocket, he can’t find any open receivers, steps up, and runs. Defenders close in, and he slides down for a six-yard gain. The field goal team comes out as the offense goes right back to the sideline. Maverick scans pictures to see if he missed any open receivers as Janikowski nails the field goal. 3-0, Knights.

 

 

 

The Knights defense continues shutting down Kansas City without much trouble. They can only contain Charles so much, but when Smith drops back to pass, the result is usually an incompletion.

 

Maverick soon finds himself back on the field, handing off to Jaxson, who is brought down after two yards. Everyone knows the Chiefs defense is good, but their run defense has been troublingly impressive so far.

 

Not yet rattled, Maverick drops back to pass on second and eight. He shifts left to avoid pressure and spots Bishop breaking on a comeback route. He throws, and a defender he hadn’t seen undercuts the route, intercepting it. It’s Derrick Johnson, running towards the end zone with only Maverick to beat. Maverick tries his best to bring him down but gets beat by a spin move. 7-3, Chiefs.

 

 

 

When the Knights offense returns to the field, only 1:30 remains in the first quarter, and they find themselves on their own nine after a decent drive and great punt by Kansas City.

 

Maverick fakes a handoff to Jaxson and takes a deep drop. Johnson breaks on an out, and Maverick fires into a tight opening. Johnson lunges for the pass, catches it, and gets his knee down in bounds before falling into the Chiefs sideline.

 

Farmers Field cheers for the first down, the offense’s first of the day. In the huddle, Maverick hears and relays another passing play. He likes that Coach Everett isn’t afraid to get aggressive with the pass game to set up the run. He fakes another handoff to Jaxson and looks deep. Wilkes breaks on a post, and he lofts it toward him. The pass sails higher than Maverick wanted, and Wilkes finds himself out of position. Eric Berry gets under it, Wilkes yanks on his jersey, and he catches it anyway for the pick.

 

Fans convey their unrest by booing as the Chiefs decline the offensive pass interference call, and the Knights defense, still tired from the previous drive, retakes the field.

 

The Chiefs come out throwing this time, moving the chains with short passes. They reach the red zone quickly and go back to Charles, able to shift and juke his way into bigger carries. The drive culminates in a third and goal from the one-yard-line. Charles runs up the middle into a massive pile of bodies but somehow manages to get the yard. 14-3, Chiefs.

 

 

 

Halfway through the second quarter, Coach Everett is at a loss. The run game is getting suffocated, and trying to pass to set up the run has resulted in two interceptions.

 

The Knights try running again, this time with Jameson. He finds tight lanes and no space, just like Jaxson has, but lowers his shoulders and fights for extra yards. From the sideline, Everett realizes Jameson will be his go-to back until the Chiefs stop stacking the box.

 

A few more carries to Jameson and a short pass to Johnson lead to third and one. In a bunch formation, Maverick sells the handoff to Jameson, and the defense bites. He lofts a pass to Bishop, wide open. He catches it in stride and runs downfield as the crowd comes to life. A safety runs him down, but not before he gains thirty yards. The Knights are in field goal range, and the Chiefs defense is on its heels.

 

Maverick receives a play call he might have picked: back-shoulder fade to Wilkes in the end zone. He hurries to the line and takes the snap. The Chiefs blitz, but the Knights pick it up. Maverick sees Wilkes in single coverage, steps up, and sails it toward the end zone, taking a big hit a second later. Wilkes runs with Sean Smith, looks back, and jumps as he crosses the goal line. Smith jumps too, but the pass is perfect. Wilkes plants his feet just inside the end zone and hits the ground. The nearby official checks for possession, then raises his arms. 14-10, Chiefs.

 

 

 

During halftime, Coach Harden’s subordinates from the press box confirm one of his suspicions: Damian Jones is outplaying Wesley Mann at nose tackle. Big time. Harden decides to install Jones as the permanent starter for the second half, needing to keep Charles contained to win the game.

 

When the Chiefs get the ball in the third quarter, Jones proves his worth, holding his ground at the point of attack and letting the linebackers behind him do the rest. After a sack by Brock, the Chiefs face third and fifteen, and Harden sends a blitz.

 

Smith drops back in shotgun as rushers come free all over the place. He dumps it off to Charles, a screen developing in front of him. Harden’s stomach turns over as Charles darts through open grass and blockers in highlight reel fashion. By the time he’s touched, he’s in Knights’ territory, eventually brought down by Flash at the forty-yard-line.

 

A custom after giving up a big play, defensive captain Randall looks to his coach, bracing for verbal discipline of some kind, but Harden simply points to himself, knowing that was on him.

 

Charles takes a toss and gets three yards, bringing up second and seven. Smith drops back, and Grantzinger easily beats his man, accelerating. Smith sees him at the last second, braces, and Grantzinger crushes him with a monster hit. The crowd cheers for a half second before seeing the referee throw a flag, then boos.

 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Harden screams at the ref. Grantzinger holds up his arms in protest and pleads his case as Randall holds him back. In all the chaos, players finally notice that Smith has not yet gotten up.

 

The stadium goes mostly quiet as trainers evaluate Smith, who eventually manages to sit up. Replays show Grantzinger’s helmet driving straight into his neck, and it certainly looks like a concussion. An obviously woozy Smith gets to his feet and staggers off the field, and in comes backup quarterback Chase Daniel.

 

“You see that?” Harden says to Randall and Grantzinger, congregated on the sideline. “That’s fresh meat. Go get him.”

 

The Knights unleash a barrage of blitzes assisted by blanket coverage in the secondary that stymies Daniel and the Chiefs offense, still able to attempt a field goal courtesy of the personal foul. Ryan Succop knocks it through. 17-10, Chiefs.

 

 

 

The Knights offense goes back to work with a conservative strategy: Jameson carries mixed with short, high probability passes. From the sideline, Jaxson watches as Jameson takes carries from him. This has been a developing trend over the last month, but today takes it to the extreme. While he realizes Jameson’s physical style of running bodes well in a game like this, he can still be useful in sweeps, screens, and out of the flat as a receiver. He decides not to say anything to Coach Everett for now.

 

Jaxson’s mind also wanders toward the offseason, where he will be a free agent for the first time since being drafted. He can’t help but wonder if Jameson’s increased role is a sign that the Knights intend to let him go.

 

After a few first downs, Maverick drops back to pass, eyeing Johnson on a deep corner. He throws it up just as he breaks. Getting separation, Johnson turns for the pass, jumps, catches it, and comes down hard on his right knee. He hangs onto the ball, falling at the twelve-yard-line, but feels an intense flare in the knee.

 

Screaming in pain as trainers rush onto the scene, Johnson fears the worst. He has never suffered a serious knee injury before, but this hurts worse than any ankle injury he’s had, and he’s had quite a few of those.

 

Trainers check the knee and call for the cart, an ominous sign that dampens the mood on the Knights sideline. As Johnson gets to his feet and sits on the cart, he receives applause from the crowd and motivating assurance from teammates, though he’s thinking about just how bad this could be. A torn ACL could sideline him for all of next season, a contract year for him. He buries his face in a towel and holds his thumb up for the fans.

 

Maverick calls plays in the huddle with new receivers, masking his frustration at losing a valuable target at an inopportune time. Ben Larkhill, who has been remarkably ineffective in the slot this year, takes Johnson’s place outside, while Joseph Watson takes the slot.

 

Maverick takes the snap, rolls right, and fires left to Bishop on a seam route. In tight coverage, Bishop goes up and snags the pass, falling into purple grass in the end zone. Tie game, 17-17.

 

 

 

The third quarter ticks away as the intensity rises, but Coach Harden feels comfortable. With Anthrax anchoring the run defense, Brock having his best game of the season, and the secondary on lockdown, the Chiefs and their backup quarterback are utterly helpless against the Knights defense.

 

When the fourth quarter starts, the Chiefs have the ball, first and ten. Daniel drops back and throws left to an open receiver, but Flash closes the gap and dives, swatting the ball away. Daniel drops back to pass again on second down, this time lobbing it over the middle. Flash has his man covered, but only sees the pass at the last moment. He spins and knocks it away with one arm.

 

The stadium cheers for two exciting plays in a row, and Harden admires too. Though he gets beaten in coverage as often as most second-year safeties will, Flash has already developed into the free safety the Knights were hoping he would when they drafted him. In fact, in all Harden’s years of coaching defense, he’s never had a centerfielder like him.

 

Daniel drops back on third and ten as an all-out blitz comes for him. He heaves it up helplessly, towards no receiver in particular, right into Flash’s arms. He accelerates but runs into a wall of linemen who bring him down at midfield.

 

Maverick and the offense get back in the huddle with the crowd still fired up.

 

“Here we go, boys,” Maverick says. “Playoff drive right here. Playoff drive. Let’s do our job and take the lead.”

 

Maverick drops back in shotgun and scans the field. Wilkes—doubled, Bishop—covered, Larkhill—covered. Pass rush forces him out of the pocket. He spots Watson on a crossing route, wide open. He fires a bullet pass Watson catches in stride, tackled for an eighteen-yard gain.

 

“Welcome to the game, Joe,” Maverick says, high-fiving him.

 

The Chiefs tighten up, shifting to zone coverage with great success and limiting running plays. The Knights eat up a lot of clock but can’t reach the red zone. Janikowski puts a chip shot through the uprights, and the Knights have their first lead of the day, 20-17, with 8:35 to go.

 

 

 

After the Knights defense forces another three-and-out, the offense prepares to retake the field. Before they do, Coach Everett gathers them to make his message clear: “No mistakes. Hold onto the ball, don’t force anything into coverage. No mistakes.”

 

Harden, within earshot of that comment, makes eye contact with Everett and gives him a supporting nod. With the Chiefs offense unable to muster any points, the Knights have this game within reach as long as they don’t blow it.

 

First and ten. Maverick hands off to Jameson, who rumbles ahead for four yards. Second and six. Jameson takes a carry off-tackle right, running into a wall but powering forward for three yards. Third and three. In an I-formation with Jameson at fullback, Maverick fakes a quick handoff to him, then pitches it outside for Jaxson. He’s got enough room to get a first down, so he lowers his shoulders and surges ahead for a five-yard gain.

 

With another fresh set of downs and the clock ticking, Maverick takes his time getting in the huddle. Coach Everett’s call, however, surprises him: Watson going deep to break Wilkes open on a deep post. Before the stunned Maverick can relay the call, Everett adds, “Don’t force it. If it’s not there, roll out and throw it away.”

 

Maverick lines up under center as casually as he can, letting the play clock run down. He fakes a handoff to Jameson and takes a deep drop. A double-covered Wilkes breaks over the middle with no separation, but Watson has his man beat by five yards. Maverick bombs it as far as he can. Watson separates further from his man, hauls in the catch, and runs for his first career NFL touchdown. 27-17, Knights.

 

Watson jogs back to the sideline, mobbed by his teammates as Farmers Field roars. When things settle down, Maverick finds him again.

 

“Listen, we gotta work on that during practice,” Maverick says.

 

“Why?”

 

“Because that’s as far as I can throw it. Can’t have you outrunning me, making me look bad.”

 

 

 

Though he wants to give a rah-rah locker room speech commending his players, Harden doesn’t want to interrupt the much-deserved celebration. If he or anyone was waiting for the Knights to fulfill the “put it all together” cliché, this is what putting it all together looks like. Six wins in their last eight games, five in their last six.

 

Harden feels someone pat his shoulder. “Congratulations, coach,” Chance Phillips says.

 

“Well, thanks, Chance,” Harden says, shaking his hand. “Don’t usually see you down here.”

 

“I wanted to see the aftermath. Glad I’m not disappointed.”

 

“Oh, you don’t have to worry. That’s it.”

 

“I’m sorry, that’s it?”

 

“We’re not losing. That’s it. Not this team. Not this year. We’re not losing another game.”

 

 

 

Monday morning, Phillips gets to the MedComm Center early, wanting to go through every possible scenario over the final two weeks. He does the math while reviewing final scores from yesterday. Los Angeles 27, Kansas City 17. San Diego 27, Denver 20. Pittsburgh 30, Cincinnati 20. Baltimore 18, Detroit 16.

 

Looking at the week 16 and 17 schedule, the consensus is clear: the Knights can make the playoffs, but they’ll need a lot of help.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BwareDWare94 723]

I love that Merle Harden is pretty much a drunk Mike Zimmer .

 

Oh, and breakout players due to injury? Man, you're hitting on everything. Great job.

[Vin+ 3,121]

[Bangy 19]

Hmmmmmm where is this going.....

 

Great chapter again Stevo

[Sarge+ 3,436]

Joseph Watson = Thanatos?

 

Awesome chapter. The Knights are really making a go of it lately.

[Thanatos 2,847]

 

@Sarge: Yes indeed.

[Cherry 1,302]

Alex Johnson is more fragile than Sean fucking Lee.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Cuda with the breakfast of champions

[theMileHighGuy 656]

Somehow this feels like we're being set up for a nice fall.

[RazorStar 4,025]

Well we've had several falls. It's not happening anymore. Because our defense has Philip Rivers and Peyton Manning in his sights, and they'll be cowering in the corner, broken and bruised when we're done with them.

[ATL_Predator+ 1,196]

Our secondary is pretty ballin...I'm just sayin

[Zack_of_Steel+ 3,014]

Feels like a late loss in the playoffs or perhaps an early SB victory to keep Wayne off the GM's ass, but we have to deal with expiring contracts and shit and we take a hit the year after.

[әightninә. 39]

Stevo, your writing has improved greatly since the beginning of this series. Superb job.

[SteVo+ 3,702]

Hump Day/Bump Day. Read up before Sunday, the (potentially) last chapter of Part III!

[seanbrock 1,684]

Max's character has developed so much this season. He was a douche to start out but he has the teams respect. He's earning that captain's role this year. By all accounts he's having the best year of his life professionally but he can't keep some dumb broad out of his head. Figures ha but it makes his character really relatable.

 

I think last season was Merle and Chance's season, this year the team has started gel and leaders are emerging. D Jam isn't JUST some arrogant dick head either. His character and Mav's are great together. Grantzinger and Randall's dynamic all year has been great and although Brock is a fuck up scum bag partier he's oddly a glue piece for the lockerroom. Rose had become a man off the field as the story has progressed and is probably the best player on the team. Good stuff, great stuff actually. Lot of character's to root for.

 

Coop and Cassie are providing great comic relief too. I feel like they need to run into Brock at a strip club after a game or something hahaha

Edited July 4, 2015 by seanbrock

[badgers 380]

god dammit stevo can there be bionic body parts in your story version of the world? gimme some lol

 

but real nice. i forgot all about this thing glad to see you're still writing them. can't wait for the newer parts.