SteVo+ 3,702 Posted May 26, 2017 | | | | Knights of Andreas Part VI Chapter Eighty-One – Epilogue The 2017 NFL season kicks off between the Los Angeles Knights and Pittsburgh Steelers at Farmers Field. The night begins with an emotional pre-game ceremony that raises the championship banner of the undefeated ’16 team, honors the memory of Merle Harden, and commemorates the one-year anniversary of the 9/9 Pasadena earthquake. Of the Knights/Steelers game, most fans expect a close battle reminiscent of last year’s regular season showdown. Instead, the Knights dominate from start to finish, winning 40-7 and solidifying their standing as the best team in the league. Two weeks later, the Knights advance to 3-0, extending their winning streak to 22 games (playoffs included), breaking a record previously held by the Patriots. Fittingly, the Knights travel to Foxborough in week 6, and the Patriots hand them their first loss of the year, ending the winning streak at 25 games. The Knights appear poised for a strong repeat campaign, 7-1 at the halfway mark of the year, until the calendar turns to November. The Knights’ rookie free safety struggles, and secondary breakdowns become regular. Their record drops to 8-4, and fans worry the team is headed for a collapse all too similar to the 2015 season. But Marcus Jameson returns to full health, elevating the offense to historic levels again. The Knights win three of their last four games, good for an 11-5 record and second seed in the AFC. After an easy Divisional Round win, the Knights return to Foxborough to face the top-seeded Patriots. The game proves a worthy rematch of last year’s AFC Championship, featuring an epic quarterback duel between Jonathan Maverick and Tom Brady. After Brady throws a touchdown to give the Patriots a four-point lead with two minutes left, Maverick answers with a touchdown drive of his own, finding Da’Jamiroquai Jefferspin-Wilkes in the end zone with six seconds left, and the Knights win their fourth AFC title in five years. Super Bowl LII pits the Knights against the Dallas Cowboys. After two weeks of hype, the first half is boring and one-sided. The Knights offense takes four drives into the red zone, and though Maverick throws an interception on one, the other three result in touchdowns. The Knights defense, meanwhile, shuts down Dallas’ offense, allowing them to cross midfield only once. The Knights take a 22-0 lead into halftime and don’t look back. The Cowboys get things going in the fourth quarter, but it’s too late. The Knights win, 29-17. Zack Grantzinger wins Super Bowl MVP thanks to a dominant performance that includes three sacks, one interception, eleven tackles, and four tackles for loss. This is the Knights’ third championship in four seasons, cementing their status as an NFL dynasty. A few days later, Adam Javad pens, “No sports team in recent memory has been farther atop their mountain than the Knights are right now. Last year’s undefeated season put them on top of the NFL world—of the entire sports world—and this season, they somehow made the mountain taller.” The ensuing offseason sees the Knights lose a few players to free agency, most notably Sam Luck, but the team still heads into the 2018 season returning a majority of their starters, making fans hopeful for the first three-peat in Super Bowl history. Over the course of the season, the Knights defense evolves from the hybrid into a primarily 4-3 scheme. Randall plays middle linebacker, while Grantzinger splits his reps between strong-side linebacker and defensive end. In their second year as lead coaches, Ron McKenzie and Chet Ripka avoid any losing streaks like last year, and the Knights enjoy a consistent season. The team’s strength continues to be its offense, featuring an array of receiving options few defenses can contain. Plus, the growth of center Bruno Fitzsimmons and right guard Adrian Dunn gives the Knights one of the best run-blocking lines in football, behind which Marcus Jameson has a career year. On defense, things are shaky. The Knights lack an impact player on the defensive line (outside of Grantzinger, when he lines up there), so they give up plenty of yards, but with a strong secondary and two of the best linebackers in the league, they prove hard to score against. Ripka has his defense play a significantly higher percentage of snaps in nickel formations with a slot corner. This is not a decision Merle Harden would have ever made, but Ripka remembers words Harden told him months before he died: “Don’t let my fucking ghost tell you how to do things. It’s your defense. Coach how you want to coach.” The Knights go 12-4, losing the top seed to New England on a tiebreaker. In the Divisional Round against the Colts, the Knights overcome a slow start, scoring 30 points in the second half to win, advancing to the AFC Championship for the third consecutive year. Instead of another trip to New England, the Patriots are upset by the Tennessee Titans, and Farmers Field hosts the AFC title game. The Titans prove a worthy opponent, battling the Knights in a back-and-forth battle. The Titans have a 27-25 lead late in the fourth quarter, and Marcus Mariota’s scrambling ability helps them run out the clock, winning the game. The Knights suffer their first postseason loss since Super Bowl XLVIII, five years ago, and fail to capture the elusive three-peat. Fans are smart enough to realize one year without a Super Bowl does not signal the end of the Knights’ winning days. But the following offseason does have fans worried about the future. With so much of the Knights’ money invested in their core, they have been unable to retain any young talent behind them. Thankfully, the team’s drafting has been good enough to keep solid players coming in, but fans become frustrated watching good names leave Los Angeles every year. This offseason, fans watch two favorites, Logan Bishop and Adrian Dunn, sign elsewhere. Dunn is the better player, but Bishop’s loss is a sentimental one, and hurts just as badly. Losing so many players to free agency nets the Knights multiple compensatory draft picks, and they enter the 2019 draft with eleven selections, plenty of youth to counter the team’s aging core. Despite a roster with six new starters and plenty of inexperience, an easy schedule allows the Knights to open the season 4-1. Behind a shaky offensive line, Jonathan Maverick leads an elite passing game. For the rest of the league, outscoring the Knights is never easy. The rest of the season includes plenty of close games, with almost every game on the Knights schedule decided late in the fourth quarter. They still win their share, entering December with an 8-4 record. But injuries start piling up, and the Knights finish 10-6. The Broncos win the AFC West, so the Knights’ playoff run starts on the road. The Wild Card Round takes the Knights to Tennessee, where they get revenge on the Titans from last year’s postseason loss, riding a strong first quarter to a 35-24 win. It is the Knights’ first double-digit victory since October. The Knights head to Denver for their third match with the Broncos this year. The game is a typical AFC West battle, though the Broncos have the upper hand for most of the day. Denver’s defense harasses Maverick all game, relegating the Knights to field goals while the Broncos score touchdowns. The Knights never find a way to break through, and the Broncos win, 21-12. The Knights enter a pivotal and tumultuous offseason in 2020. The team is coming off consecutive postseason disappointments, and many starters are either free agents or entering contract years. Jonathan Maverick and Briggs Randall receive long-term contract extensions within days of each other. Marcus Jameson, Tony Jefferson, and Joseph Watson are released, creating over $21 million of cap space. Da’Jamiroquai Jefferspin-Wilkes’ contract is extended and restructured. After being pressed against the salary cap for years, the Knights have money to spend. They don’t target any big names in free agency but are able to find stopgaps they otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford. More importantly, they will be able to pay their young players about to become stars. And the Knights continue reloading on youth, armed again with plenty of draft picks. The 2020 season begins, and each successive game makes it clearer something is wrong with the Knights. After a rough opening month, a week 5 loss drops them to 2-3, the first time the team has had a losing record in over five years. The team has problems across the roster and treads water the next few weeks, unable to separate from a .500 record and entering December 6-6. Pressure mounts as fans and media pundits label Ron McKenzie on the hot seat. Then, something clicks. The Knights run the table, finishing 10-6 and winning the AFC West thanks to a week 17 victory in Denver. The conference’s third seed, they continue their hot streak with consecutive postseason victories but fall short of the Super Bowl, losing the AFC Championship Game to Indianapolis. Though fans are disappointed at another pre-Super Bowl defeat, the last two months of the year give plenty of hope for next season. At the start of the 2021 season, only four players from the undefeated 2016 team remain: Maverick, Wilkes, Grantzinger, and Randall. After a week 1 loss, the Knights validate their hype by winning seven straight games, rocketing to the top of a weak AFC. They ultimately finish 12-4, the top seed in the conference. After beating the Colts in an AFC Championship rematch, the Knights advance to Super Bowl LVI, where they defeat the Atlanta Falcons to capture their fourth Lombardi Trophy. Despite riding high from their fourth championship, the following seasons show a decline in the Knights franchise, a slow descent that signals the end of their dynasty. The Knights take a step back in 2022, partly due to costly injuries. Against a weak AFC West, the team manages only a 10-6 record and a division win, but they go one and done in the playoffs. The following offseason, Briggs Randall surprisingly retires, and the Knights cut Da’Jamiroquai Jefferspin-Wilkes. The 2023 season is more consistent but still unimpressive. The Knights appear to be a typical middle-of-the-road team, racking up wins against lesser opponents but unable to compete with the league’s elite. They are nevertheless in position for a playoff run, but a late-season injury to Jonathan Maverick dooms them, and they go one and done in the playoffs again after a 9-7 record. In 2024, the Knights are frustratingly mediocre. They struggle to put together wins in spite of a talented roster. Both McKenzie and Ripka come under fire from fans and the media. A rebuild appears imminent. Jonathan Maverick is injured again, and his backup, the team’s first-round pick last year, shows potential in the games he starts. The team finishes 7-9, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2015, and Knights management commits to a rebuild of sorts. Within the span of a month, Ron McKenzie and Chet Ripka are fired, Jonathan Maverick is released, and Zack Grantzinger retires. Los Angeles turns the page to a new era of Knights football. | | | | | | Brian Penner remains committed to retirement. He does, as he suspected, feel the itch to play when training camps open, but he never seriously considers a comeback. In his early retirement years, he enjoys being a stay-at-home father in Manitoba and maintains a close friendship with Chase Grodd. The Knights, plus several other NFL teams, reach out to him for a potential coaching position, but he declines. When Penner is eligible for the Hall of Fame, he becomes the subject of much debate. He spent three years in the CFL and had a few injury-plagued years of mediocrity, but he was an undeniably great player in his prime. A few years of voting come and go, and he is not inducted. Penner doesn’t care. After his release, Marlon Martin makes it clear to all prospective teams he will sign only as an inside linebacker, not a special teams contributor. With his 35th birthday on the horizon, Martin only wants to play another season or two. Though he finds a lukewarm market at first, Martin eventually signs with the Denver Broncos, happily joining a loaded defense as a rotational linebacker. A small snap count keeps him as fresh as possible, and he contributes, surprisingly effective as a pass-rusher. After one season, the Broncos ask him to take a pay cut. Martin declines, so the Broncos release him. To conclude a career spanning fourteen years and six teams, Martin signs a one-day contract with Los Angeles and retires a Knight, a show of respect to the first team that made him a linebacker. Encouraged by his agent, Sam Luck holds out of Knights training camp in search of a new deal but doesn’t gets one. With the Knights still operating the hybrid defense, Luck gets plenty of opportunities to showcase his talent. He ends the year with a career-high 12 sacks and plays an integral role in the Knights winning Super Bowl LII. Luck does not hear much from the Knights in the early weeks of the offseason. Already investing about $30 million to Grantzinger and Randall against the cap, the Knights view Luck as a luxury, and he becomes one of the biggest names of free agency. Though Luck wants to finally play in a full-time 4-3 defense (one the Knights, ironically, will now implement), he has a son at home plus a daughter on the way and must take the best contract for his family. This comes from the Indianapolis Colts, who sign him to a five-year deal. The Colts run a 3-4, but Luck plays outside in nickel formations, similar to his role in Los Angeles, and thrives. Sharing a surname with the franchise quarterback makes him a fan favorite immediately, a role he maintains throughout his time in Indianapolis, playing into his late thirties and retiring a Colt. With his combination of red flags and pass-rushing ability, Sean Brock becomes an intriguing free agent, ultimately signing a two-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. He is one of the Bengals’ better players on defense, but late into his second year, he is involved in an altercation with a bouncer at a Cincinnati nightclub. The charges are eventually dropped, but the Bengals don’t re-sign him. Now 32, Brock manages only a one-year, incentive-laden contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. After a slow start, he puts together a very solid season, and the iconic moment of his career comes in the NFC Championship, when Brock sacks Dak Prescott on a fourth down that wins the game. The Eagles go on to lose Super Bowl LIV, a game in which Brock records no sacks. Brock spends the next few years bouncing between teams on cheap contracts, both sacking opposing quarterbacks and finding off-the-field trouble in a periodic manner. After retiring, he develops an affinity for political activism on social media, railing especially against capitalism and corruption in politics. He becomes known as “The Truth” and lives in an unknown location in the Rocky Mountains. Griswold “Flash” Johnson is one of the hottest free agents on the market in 2017. With many teams offering lucrative contracts, Flash signs a five-year deal with the Detroit Lions. He improves the Lions’ defense immediately, entrenching himself as the best ball-hawking free safety in the league. Still a big trash talker, he is prone to fines and suspensions for dirty hits, prices the Lions gladly pay. As he ages, his role evolves into something of a hybrid safety, splitting his snaps between pass coverage and stopping the run. This is a transition Flash embraces, but more snaps in the box wear his body down, accelerating the latter stages of his career. Robert Schwinn is set to return to Los Angeles until a late surge by the Houston Texans changes things. The Knights fail to match the Texans’ offer, and Schwinn heads back to his home state. As he did in Los Angeles, he becomes an excellent strong safety and a rousing joker in the locker room. On defense, Schwinn’s talents are grossly overshadowed by the likes of J.J. Watt and Jadeveon Clowney, but he doesn’t mind. A brief contract extension keeps Schwinn in Houston through 2022. His next free agency destination keeps him in state, and he joins the Dallas Cowboys for three seasons. After being fired by the Chargers, Caden Daniel receives a wave of college football interest; yet, he still feels the pull of the NFL. He resolves to himself to take one more NFL job before going back to college. He lands in Green Bay as an offensive coordinator, where he fits well with head coach Mike McCarthy’s leadership style and has the enviable task of coaching an offense led by Aaron Rodgers. This turns out to be a great match, culminating when the Packers win Super Bowl LIII. The Packers follow up their championship with a few stale seasons, and the organization decides on a change. Mike McCarthy steps down, and Caden Daniel becomes the 15th head coach in Green Bay Packers history. After his contract with the Chargers ends, Jerome Jaxson becomes a free agent again. Most initial contract offers are below his expectations in terms of money and length, and he eventually settles for a one-year deal with the New York Giants. Though productive, Jaxson is let go by the Giants at the end of his deal. He signs with the Green Bay Packers, reuniting with Caden Daniel. At the end of the year, the Packers too let him go. Jaxson spends the latter years of his career hopping from team to team on one-year deals. As he ages, he takes fewer snaps at running back, being employed mostly as a punt and kick returner. Alex Johnson becomes a free agent, this time with no illusions about his value. NFL teams see him as a wide receiver who can be productive, can’t stay healthy, and shouldn’t be a featured part of an offense. Johnson is fine with all those things; he just wants to play football. He signs a cheap, two-year contract with the Green Bay Packers, joining a receiving corps littered with talent and coached again by Caden Daniel, who was the Knights’ head coach when Johnson was drafted. He avoids another significant injury akin to his broken ankle in 2015, but Johnson still deals with nagging injuries that keep him sidelined for weeks at a time. When healthy, he is a reliable target for Aaron Rodgers, especially in man coverage against backup corners. He wants to return to Green Bay for a third season, but the Packers don’t want to overpay for a 30-year-old receiver with his injury history. So, Johnson spends the rest of his career bouncing from team to team on one- or two-year deals. Though he begins to slow down, he remains a precise route runner and therefore a reliable wide receiver, finally retiring at age 35, at the end of what is considered a good career, despite the injury-prone label. Logan Bishop plays out the rest of his contract, playing his final game as a Knight in the AFC Championship Game loss to Tennessee. As a free agent, he is pursued by many teams, the Knights included, but ultimately signs a three-year deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars wade through a failed rebuilding cycle, but Bishop is a consistently productive player for their offense. Though age slows him down, limiting his athleticism, his physicality makes him a threat after the catch, and he remains an excellent run-blocker. At the end of the 2021 season, Bishop is a 37-year-old free agent. After seeing a lukewarm market for his services, he decides to retire. His family stays in Florida. Bishop’s legacy as a player is enduring in Los Angeles, where Knights fans remember him for his penchant of being involved in the franchise’s most iconic plays. After a few years away from football, Bishop decides to begin a coaching career and returns to his alma mater, becoming tight ends coach at Florida State. Marcus Jameson is stunned when the Knights cut him in 2020. He had hoped to take a pay cut and finish his career with the team that drafted him. Instead, he becomes a free agent running back months before his 30th birthday. Despite being one of the most productive running backs in football, Jameson sees an uninspiring market for his services. He eventually signs a two-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Jameson enjoys a solid year with his new team, including a revenge-fueled three-touchdown game against the Knights. The following season, however, age hits him hard and fast. For the first time in his life, nagging injuries limit his playing time, and he shows limited explosiveness when he does see the field. In the wake of the worst statistical season of his career, Jameson returns to Pittsburgh on a cheap, one-year deal. The next season is even worse, and Jameson is, when healthy, nothing more than a short-yardage back. He retires the day after the season ends. Joseph Watson has a bounce-back year in 2017, becoming both one of the best slot receivers and one of the most dangerous deep threats in football. Though his shaky confidence makes him prone to periods of inconsistency, he remains a vital part of the Knights’ passing game. And his Super Bowl LI touchdown catch immortalizes him in Los Angeles. When the Knights release him in 2020, the 29-year-old gets plenty of interest around the league, ultimately signing a four-year deal with the Carolina Panthers. Part of an offense that requires him to play a more featured role, Watson proves his worth. He is surprisingly physical given his small frame, and he flashes an ability to make catches in traffic he never showed in Los Angeles. He plays four full, productive seasons catching passes from Cam Newton, peaking in 2023 when the Panthers win Super Bowl LVII. Playing into his thirties, Watson’s play declines sharply as he loses speed, and the Panthers let him hit free agency after his contract is up. He signs a two-year deal with the Las Vegas Rams, but by his second year there, he is most valuable as a return specialist, and he retires at the end of the season. Chase Grodd anchors the Knights’ offensive line for five years, building a reputation as one of the best offensive linemen in the league. He is also one of the most underpaid, so he holds out of OTAs in 2019 in hope of a new contract, which doesn’t come. Then in 2020, after dodging plenty of trade rumors, he holds out of OTAs and training camp before playing out the final year of his deal. Grodd hits free agency at age 31, too old for a left guard to get a premium payday, he thinks. But the Bengals surprise him with a huge five-year deal, and Grodd heads to Cincinnati. He has one dominant year before seeing his play decline. Though still a mauler in the run game, his pass protection worsens, costly in a league that is as pass-happy as ever. Grodd’s fourth year in Cincinnati is his worst, playing injured nearly the entire season. The Bengals release him the following offseason. Grodd signs a cheap two-year deal with the New England Patriots and enjoys a resurgence. He sheds some weight and becomes more of a pass-blocking guard, playing two solid years before retiring. Da’Jamiroquai Jefferspin-Wilkes plays every football game as if he has to live up to his reputation as a physically dominant, trash talking, flamboyantly celebrative player—and live up to it he does. Despite his status as a diva, he is also one of the best receivers in the league, and he and Maverick form one of the best QB-WR duos in the league. The stability in his professional life reaps benefits for his personal life, including cutting off his Uncle Lincoln for good. After the Knights win Super Bowl LII, Wilkes wants to preserve his body (and mind) to win as many Super Bowls as possible, so he converts to Buddhism. The next few seasons see Wilkes’ receptions go down as the offense incorporations more spread formations, but his touchdown numbers are consistently high. He wins Super Bowl LVI MVP with a three-touchdown game. Wilkes has nothing to do with the Knights’ down year in 2022, but the team cuts him anyway. He signs a three-year contract with the Denver Broncos, eager to play the Knights twice a year. His career in Denver shows promise initially, and Wilkes lights up the stat sheet in both games against the Knights, but the Broncos are not a playoff team, and he grows bored. He plays his age-36 season slower than he has ever played football before, and the Broncos cut him the following offseason. His entire career in Los Angeles, Briggs Randall is a hallmark of consistency. Though he doesn’t dominate the flashy statistics like sacks and interceptions, he is a perennial elite middle linebacker. Randall is named a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, 2019, and 2020, though he never wins. When he signs a long-term extension in 2020, he has every intention of playing all six years of the contract. But circumstances adjust his plan. Late in the 2021 season, he suffers a concussion that sidelines him for a month. Early next season, he sustains another concussion. He returns to the field weeks later, but he doesn’t feel the same despite being medically cleared. After finishing out the year, Randall announces his retirement from football. He leaves the game with thoughts of a coaching career but no desire to pursue them in the near future. On the heels of his MVP campaign and 19-0 season, Jonathan Maverick is an undisputed elite quarterback in the NFL. Over the next half-decade or so, the Knights roster has plenty of weaknesses, but its strength at quarterback makes them a perennial Super Bowl contender. Maverick still possesses a gunslinger mentality and is prone to high interception numbers, but he throws more than enough touchdowns to make up for it. In the spring of 2019, Maverick marries Trisha Harden in a private ceremony that the entire team attends. A year later, Maverick signs a long-term extension with the Knights that makes him the highest paid player in the league. In 2023, he suffers a minor injury to his throwing shoulder—the same shoulder that cost him most of the season in 2014—and misses the team’s last three games, including their playoff loss. In 2024, his interception numbers are high again, and injuries on the offensive line lead to plenty of sacks. He injures his throwing shoulder again, this time costing him over a month, during which he watches his eventual successor play quarterback. After firing most of the coaching staff, the Knights enter a rebuilding period, and Maverick has no desire to stick around. The team tries to trade him, but Maverick’s massive contract makes it impossible, so he is released. Days later, the 36-year-old quarterback signs a three-year deal with the Dallas Cowboys. Maverick stays healthy his first two years in Dallas and remains one of the best quarterbacks in the game. The Cowboys fail to make a deep playoff run, however, and Maverick’s final year there is again marred by injuries. After being released, he signs a one-day contract with Los Angeles and retires a Knight. Before the 2017 season, Zack Grantzinger is rewarded with a massive five-year contract that makes him one of the highest paid non-quarterbacks in the league. He continues his dominance during that stretch, winning Defensive Player of the Year in 2018. When the Knights adopt a 4-3 defense, he splits snaps between strong-side linebacker and defensive end. Grantzinger makes fans nervous by playing through a contract season in 2021, though publicly he states that he doesn’t want to play anywhere else and intends on receiving a new contract quickly after the season ends. He does just that, taking a hometown discount in the process. Still a workout fiend on an organic diet, Grantzinger’s play declines only slightly as he ages. He remains an elite defensive force in the league and a cornerstone of the Knights defense. After the 2024 season, 37-year-old Grantzinger faces a dilemma. He knows his body can give him at least one more year, but when the team overhauls the coaching staff and releases Maverick, he decides he’d rather not choose between being part of a rebuild and finding a new home. The day of his retirement, he is universally hailed a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Ron McKenzie finds his transition to head coach surprisingly smooth. Though critical fans come to label him a good-not-great coach reaping the benefits of a talented roster, he guides the Knights through their dynasty with confidence and consistency. When the team navigates its second disappointing season in a row in 2024, McKenzie is smart enough to understand what’s coming. He is not surprised when the Knights fire him, and he leaves Los Angeles on good terms with everyone in the building. Chet Ripka enjoys a relatively stable career as Knights defensive coordinator despite his meteoric rise to the position. His leadership style meshes with Ron McKenzie’s, and the two lead one of the NFL’s premiere franchises for eight years. Behind the scenes, Ripka begins to manifest symptoms of what he believes is CTE. He is monitored by doctors privately, preferring to stay out of the limelight in this regard. When the Knights decide to purge the coaching staff in 2024, Ripka receives a wave of offers around the league, both for head coach and defensive coordinator positions. He instead steps away from football altogether, returning home to Chicago to live quietly with his family, including his son, with whom he remains close. Chance Phillips oversees one of the most talented rosters in the league, keeping it that way despite limited financial flexibility. The Knights’ 10-6 record in 2022 represents their tenth consecutive winning season, a time during which they won four Super Bowls, five conference championships, and seven division titles. In 2021, after a relatively quiet offseason, Phillips is the beneficiary of a big front-office move. His assistant GM, after four years of grooming, becomes general manager, and Phillips is promoted to Team President. This entails elevated stature around the league, higher pay, better hours, and a lessened grip on day-to-day operations while retaining final say on personnel. Phillips is known as one of the best executives in the league and a surefire Hall of Famer when he retires, though he has no intention of doing so for many years. He maintains a testy but productive relationship with Wayne Schneider. Adam Javad’s interview with Merle Harden launches his career into the national spotlight, earning him a job at the Los Angeles Times. He finds ways to distinguish himself in a crowded field of journalists in Los Angeles, thanks in part to his relationship with Chance Phillips. ESPN and NFL Network reach out to him multiple times with job offers, but he declines, preferring his position as the most plugged-in journalist covering Los Angeles sports and one of the most respected sportswriters in the country. Jay Cooper and Cassie Sampson continue their friendship and their status as Knight’s End regulars. They attend Farmers Field every year for one Knights game. Though still and always a die-hard football fan, Cooper develops an increasing appreciation for baseball. He begins attending Dodgers games, but during an intense, extra-inning game against the Giants with a playoff berth on the line, Cooper leaps from the left field bleachers and sheds his clothes. He goes streaking for exactly eight seconds and is banned from Dodger Stadium. Malik Rose remains a Charger through the 2019 season courtesy of a contract extension. Even into his thirties, he remains a true shutdown corner, able to keep the best receivers in the game off the stat sheet. His biannual battles with Da’Jamiroquai Jefferspin-Wilkes become legendary, and Knights/Chargers matchups get at least one primetime game per year. Age finally slows him down slightly, and playing a position predicated on speed, Rose’s play drops off sharply. San Diego lets him go after his contract is up, and he signs a one-year deal with the Detroit Lions to reunite with Griswold Johnson. Though Rose is not an elite corner anymore, the Lions’ secondary is among the best in the league. The following offseason, every team that reaches out to Rose wants him to convert to safety, a move he rejects. Rose retires a few months later. He is known as one of the most dominant cornerbacks to play the game, but off-the-field incidents cast a shadow over his reputation. The memory of Merle Harden looms large over the Knights, whether fans and players want it to or not. He leaves behind a legacy as a hard-nosed, no-nonsense coach who was beloved by his players. His NFL career ends with a 56-18-1 record, 9-1 in the playoffs. Though Melinda wants to move away from Los Angeles, she stays to be close to Trisha. In the spring of 2019, the Farmers Field concourse overlooking the north end zone goes under construction for the team’s hall of fame, a walkway modeled after the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The first star in the pavement belongs to Merle Harden. Through all the ensuing years of Knights football, the nickname that came from the Earthquake Reception somehow sticks. The name inspires memories of the players and era that birthed it, as NFL nicknames do—Monsters of the Midway, America’s Team, the Steel Curtain—but it is still a permanent fixture, an eternal label to every player and coach who wears black and purple. They are the Los Angeles Knights, and they are the Knights of Andreas. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Based on Characters Created By: badgers Bangy Barracuda Bay BigBen07 BradyFan81 BwareDware94 Chernobyl426 DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F eightnine. FartWaffles Favre4Ever GA_Eagle JetsFan4Life Maverick OAK RazorStar Sarge seanbrock Thanatos Turry theMileHighGuy Vin Zack_of_Steel 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted May 26, 2017 A very satisfying conclusion and a nice way to wrap it up in a neat little bow. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Barracuda 629 Posted May 26, 2017 Bravo Not the first time I lasted only 8 seconds. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cherry 1,302 Posted May 26, 2017 When the feels hit 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted May 30, 2017 A very satisfying conclusion and a nice way to wrap it up in a neat little bow. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted May 30, 2017 SB 57 is a long time to wait for a SB win. Absolutely a great wrap-up of everyone, I like how you sent us to our favorite teams if we left the Knights. Imma post more later, but damn SteVo. Well done, sir. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites