EPFA '73 is underway ...

[RooMorgans]

Ed's Professional Football Association kicked off tonight, as the 1973 Steelers met the 1973 Patriots in a Week 1 battle. Denver and San Francisco await in the small season's other opener.

I picked the '73 rosters since I was born that summer, so that's my first football season. Each season will advance a year, and a couple expansion teams will be added.

I ran 22 plays tonight, and under the timing system I use, there are 5:00 left in the first quarter. Defenses dominated the first half of the quarter, but both teams are finding open spaces now.

Here's tonight's action:

FIRST QUARTER
NE 15:00
1) KOR - Herron 11 yards (Ham)
2) Ashton -8 yards catch from Plunkett (Greenwood)
3) Cunningham 0 yards catch from Plunkett (Greenwood)
4) Plunkett 2 yard run (Meyer)
5) Punt - 49 yards; Edwards 8 yard return (Rucker)

PITT 12:39
6) Bradshaw inc.
7) Harris 5 yard run (Mason)
8) Harris -6 yard run (Cash)
9) Punt - 47 yards; touchback.

NE 10:53
10) Cunningham -11 yard run (turned)
11) Tarver -5 yard run (Holmes)
12) Plunkett 5 yard run (Ham)
13) Punt - 38 yards; Edwards 0 yard return (Herron)

PITT 8:50
14) Bleier 1 yard run (Rowe)
15) Bradshaw inc.
16) Lewis 11 yard catch from Bradshaw (Chandler)
17) Pearson 8 yard run (Kiner)
18) Pearson 27 yard run TOUCHDOWN (PAT blocked by Rowe)
* The dice called for a penalty on the play, but it was against New England and declined.



NE 6:29
19) KOR Ashton 12 yards (turned)
20) Cunningham 12 yard run (OB)
21) Tarver -3 yard run (Holmes)
22) Herron 48 yard catch from Plunkett (OB)

So, with 5:00 left in the first quarter, New England is finally in Pittsburgh territory at the 31. But on the strength of the Pearson scamper, the STEELERS have a 6-0 lead over the PATRIOTS.

Hoping to get some more plays in tomorrow.

Roo

[RooMorgans]

Of note ... just starting small with 4 teams in the EPFA since I have a larger ECFA (14 teams) that will kick off soon. The leagues will be tied through drafts, etc.

Every team in the EPFA will play each other once (no point in doing home & away since not every team has its own board). The top 2 teams will meet in Super Bowl I. The league will expand to 6 teams for 1974 (after the college season is complete).

Here are the Week 1 matchups in the ECFA, all non-conference games:

Purdue vs. Nebraska
Florida vs. Texas
Michigan vs. Kentucky
Ohio State vs. Florida State
Illinois vs. Virginia
Syracuse vs. Oklahoma
BYU vs. Clemson

The ECFA will feature teams playing an 8-game schedule, 6 in their conference, and 2 against the other conference. The conference champions will meet in Commonwealth Bowl II for the national championship. Deserving teams with good records will meet in other bowls to be arranged as warranted.

Roo

[RooMorgans]

Had a chance to play out the first quarter:

NE 5:00 (possession continued)
23) Cunningham 2 yard run (OB)
24) Cunningham -7 yard run (Holmes)
25) Plunkett inc.
26) 53-yard FG - missed, wide left.

PITT 3:31
27) Pearson 2 yard run (Boyd)
28) Bradshaw inc.
29) Lewis 9 yard catch from Bradshaw (Anderson)
30) Bradshaw inc.
31) Pearson -4 yard run (Boyd)
32) Bradshaw inc.
33) Punt - 34 yards; Anderson 25 yard return (OB)

NE 0:34
34) Cunningham -1 yard run (Ham)

***END FIRST QUARTER***

PITTSBURGH 6, NEW ENGLAND 0

Time of Possession: NE 7:56; PITT 7:04.
Rushing: NE -6; PITT 33
Passing: NE 40; PITT 20
Total Yards: NE 34, PITT 53

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 5-(-5); Tarver 2-(-8).
Passing: Plunkett 3-of-4, 40 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving: Ashton 1-(-8); Cunningham 1-0; Herron 1-48.

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: 2-(-1); Bleier 1-1; Pearson 4-33 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 2-of-7, 20 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT.
Receiving: Lewis 2-20.

Defenses are dominant early, and Bradshaw's inaccuracy has killed a couple Pittsburgh possessions. To start the second quarter, New England will have the ball at its own 40, facing 2nd-and-11.

Roo

[Reginald Rutledge]

Ed,

I love the stats. They show that the defenses are ahead of the offense at this point! I forgot Preston Pearson was a Steeler back in the day too! Sam Cunningham was a beast but it seems like those Steelers are laying some wood to him!

Did you make Mini Mack Herron mini? I see he had a big reception for 48 yards. He was one heck of a player. He's often overlooked. Great to see one of my heroes, Jim Plunkett, doing his thing with the Pats. You know, he was really a great QB but injuries caused him to not do well in New England.

How are the injuries gonna work? How many plays did you get off in the 1st quarter? Can you explain your timing system because it seemed like you had quite a significant amount of plays in that opening quarter.

Let's keep the chatter going on this and devise some plan to put these solitaire results of yours, Ravenna Al's, and everyone else's writeups in some type of form.

I love this stuff! Keep doing it Ed!

Reg

[RooMorgans]

Thanks Reg, appreciate the note and hope you and others will continue to follow along. I was checking out RavennaAl's thread earlier, he's getting toward crunch time!

Injuries - the funny thing is I was so amped to get into the first game, and I hadn't developed my injury chart! ... It will be pros only, because ECFA teams only have 11 on each side of the ball total, where as EPFA teams have 14-15. Players will miss 2-12 snaps for their side of the ball, I just have to develop a chart to use as a player identifer. The QBs and OL don't have backups, so it will only be RBs, TEs, and WRs. On defense, the DL typically don't have backups, but usually there is an extra linebacker, and a couple extra DBs, so they will be susceptible. With only playing a 3-game, or maybe 6-game season, doing multiple-game injuries seems too much.

Timing: Plays in ECFA/EPFA play are timed as follows:

Normal play, where clock would continue to run: 35 seconds.
Normal play, where clock would stop: 18 seconds.

In the last 2 minutes of the half or game, teams can use the hurry-up offense. In this situation:

Hurry-up, where clock would continue to run: 18 seconds.
Hurry-up, where clock would stop: 8 seconds.

I expect I'm going to end up somewhere between 120-130 plays each game, which is about right.

Roo

[RooMorgans]

PITTSBURGH v. NEW ENGLAND

2nd quarter action - in progress

NE 15:00
35) Ashton 1 yard run (White)
36) Plunkett inc.
37) 43 yard punt, no return

PITT 13:49
38) Harris -3 yard run (Acks)
39) Shanklin 9 yard catch from Bradshaw (Anderson) + NE 15 PEN (Facemask)
40) Pearson -6 yard run (Boyd)
41) Bradshaw INTERCEPTED (Acks - 13 yard return)

NE 11:46
42) Ashton 4 yard catch from Plunkett (White)
43) Plunkett inc.
44) Ashton 6 yard catch from Plunkett (Edwards)
45) Ashton 17 yard catch from Plunkett TOUCHDOWN - PAT GOOD.
NEW ENGLAND 7, PITTSBURGH 6



PITT 10:00
46) Pearson 23 yard KOR (Boyd)
47) Pearson 13 catch from Bradshaw (Chandler)
48) Pearson -1 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd)
49) Barry Pearson -7 yard catch from Bradshaw (Bolton)
50) Lewis 12 yard catch from Bradshaw (Acks)
51) 32 yard punt, no return.

When we resume play tonight, New England will have the ball 1st-and-10 at its own 28, with 7:04 to play in the first half.

[RavennaAl]

I picked the '73 rosters since I was born that summer, so that's my first football season. Each season will advance a year, and a couple expansion teams will be added.

Are you sure you're not dyslexic Ed? As I recall from the last pic I saw of you, I would have sworn you were born in '37......

Good luck with your league. Too bad you don't have the '73 Rams in there. If I remember correctly, they had a 12-2 record that year and should have been in the Superbowl.

[RooMorgans]

Originally Posted by RavennaAl

I picked the '73 rosters since I was born that summer, so that's my first football season. Each season will advance a year, and a couple expansion teams will be added.

Are you sure you're not dyslexic Ed? As I recall from the last pic I saw of you, I would have sworn you were born in '37......

Good luck with your league. Too bad you don't have the '73 Rams in there. If I remember correctly, they had a 12-2 record that year and should have been in the Superbowl.

Ha. Nice.

I actually picked these 4 teams because they were the 4 that I had. I have run Pittsburgh, Denver, and San Francisco in leagues, and New England I had prepared to run in a league that never got off the ground.

I plan on adding two NFC teams for '74; I'm pretty certain the Minnesota Vikings will be one due to their Super Bowl appearance. I'm torn between the LA Rams and Dallas for the other. I'd probably go the Rams at this point, since Dallas would have an in based on their Super Bowl appearance in '75.

Ed

[RooMorgans]

And now, let's close out the half between the Steelers and the Patriots:

NE 7:04
52) Ashton 8 yard run (White)
53) Ashton -1 yard run (Ham)
54) Ashton 19 yard run (Greenwood)
55) Cunningham 4 yard run (Toews)
56) Ashton -1 yard run (Wagner)
57) Ashton -5 yard run (Blount)
58) 48-yard punt, touchback.

PITT 3:16
59) Pearson 5 yard run (Chandler)
60) Pearson 29 yard run (Anderson)
* Pearson rounded right end then turned up field, only to have Anderson cross from the opposite safety position and make a key tackle. Great play.
61) Bradshaw inc.
62) Pearson 1 yard run (Kiner)
63) 57-yard field goal GOOD!
PITTSBURGH 9, NEW ENGLAND 7

NE 0:32
64) KOR - Enforced touchback, NE ball at the 25.
65) Plunkett inc.
66) Plunkett INTERCEPTED (White - 3 yard return)
* This was an honest-to-goodness horrible pass by me. White was in the passing lane, as Plunkett sought Rucker on a 20-yard route over the middle. I focused too much on avoiding White instead of hitting Rucker, and fired a softie right to White, who was tackled just about immediately, sparing disaster on the final play for the Patriots.



*** END OF 1ST HAL*************************

Pittsburgh 9
New England 7

Time of Possession: NE 15:13; PITT 14:47
Rushing: NE 19; PITT 59
Passing: NE 67; PITT 51
Total Yards: NE 86; PITT 110
Total Plays: NE 27; PITT 27

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 6-(-1); Tarver 2-(-8); Ashton 6-21.
Passing: Plunkett 6-of-11, 67 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Ashton 4-19 (1 TD); Cunningham 1-0; Herron 1-48.

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: Harris 3-(-4); Bleier 1-1; P. Pearson 8-62 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 8-of-15, 51 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Lewis 3-32; Shanklin 1-9; P. Pearson 3-17; B. Pearson 1-(-7).

Game is likely to recommence tomorrow, with Pittsburgh getting the ball to open the second half.

Roo

[RooMorgans]

And now, the EPFA opener is in the books. And what a game!

THIRD QUARTER

PITT 15:00
67) KOR - Enforced Touchback (ball is automatically put at 25, rather than running a return).
68) Harris 4 yard run (Chandler)
69) Pearson 2 yard run (Rowe)
70) Pearson 26 yard catch from Bradshaw (Kiner)
71) Harris 0 yard run (Hamilton)
72) Pearson -1 yard run (Anderson)
73) Bradshaw INTERCEPTED (Acks - 0 yard return)

NE 11:29
74) Plunkett inc.
75) Plunkett inc.
76) Ashton 3 yard run (Toews)
77) Punt - 35 yards; PR Ham 1 yard (Vataha)

PITT 10:00
78) Bradshaw inc.
79) Pearson -9 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd)
80) Bradshaw -2 sacked (Hamilton)
81) Punt - 47 yards; PR Boyd 16 yards (Brown)

NE 8:14
82) Ashton -5 yard run (Greene) + PITT 15 Penalty
83) Cunningham 1 yard run (Ham)
84) Ashton -6 yard run (Holmes)
85) Windsor 32 yard catch from Plunkett TOUCHDOWN (PAT kick good)
NEW ENGLAND 14, PITTSBURGH 9



PITT 6:11
86) KOR - Pearson 17 (Boyd)
87) Pearson 2 yard run FUMBLED/LOST (Hamilton)

NE 5:35
88) Tarver -8 yard run (Holmes)
89) Ahston -2 yard run (Ham)
90) Plunkett inc.
91) FG 46 yards GOOD
NEW ENGLAND 17, PITTSBURGH 9

PITT 3:49
92) KOR - Enforced Touchback.
93) Pearson 3 yard run (Anderson)
94) Pearson 2 yard catch from Bradshaw (Boyd) + NE 15 Penalty
95) Pearson -2 yard run (Adams)
96) Pearson -13 yard run (Hoey)
97) Pearson 39 yard catch from Bradshaw
98) Bradshaw inc.
99) Bradshaw inc.
100) Pearson -1 yad run (Anderson)

END OF THIRD QUARTER

Pittsburgh 9
New England 17

Time of Possession: NE 20:31; PITT 24:29
Rushing: NE 2; PITT 53
Passing: NE 99; PITT 107
Total Yards: NE 101; PITT 160
Total Plays: NE 37; PITT 45

Individual Stats - New England:
Rushing: Plunkett 2-7; Cunningham 7-0; Tarver 3-(-16); Ashton 10-11.
Passing: Plunkett 7-of-15, 99 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.
Receiving: Ashton 4-19 (1 TD); Cunningham 1-0; Herron 1-48; Windsor 1-32 (1 TD).

Individual Stats - Pittsburgh:
Rushing: Harris 5-0; Bleier 1-1; P. Pearson 15-52 (1 TD).
Passing: Bradshaw 12-of-23, 109 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT; 1 sack, -2 yards.
Receiving: Lewis 3-32; Shanklin 1-9; P. Pearson 5-34; B. Pearson 1-(-7).

NOTE: In the third quarter, the teams combined to gain -23 yards rushing!

Roo