Battle Stars

After last year's franchise recap of Ante Up, I've decided to move on to a few other teams. First up, Vu's Battle Nuggets (formerly the Battle Angels). In contrast to recapping the most recent season, I'm just going to vault straight into the past.

Historical Record
The Battle Angels story hasn't always been a happy one. In fact, they've hardly achieved any long lasting success past their inaugural year. Only two winning seasons out of seven, three total playoff appearances, and a tendency to wear down near the end of campaigns. With a veteran laden roster and stars that have often been hit or miss, the Angels have had a tough time staying consistently competitive. They also have had the bad luck of often facing tough schedules. They've found themselves just outside the playoff door many times (2007, 2005) but that's more often had to do with a weak division than anything else.

The good news is that Vu has proven to be a savvy owner and unearthed a few gems along the way -- even if he does have a predilection for big names and old faces. In addition, the Nuggets have at least made a Super Bowl, a claim that half the franchises in CTDB can't make. In fact, the future looks bright for the Battle Nuggets as they've finally found steady franchise players in Drew Brees, Laurence Maroney, Willis McGahee, Steve Smith and Andre Johnson. With a bit of tinkering and foresight, this team could finally do some damage.

It also must dig at Vu that his college roommate, Roger, is a two time champion while he has yet to get his own ring. Here's a matchup between them from 2003.

Core Roster
The Battle Angels have a tendency to skew toward the veterans. Their rosters are always big on name recognition but as their historical record shows, that hasn't always translated to wins. The Angels' philosophy was always more ground based than their name suggested. A tough inside running game with speedster receivers on the outside to relieve the pressure has always the preference of management. The team has always featured strong defenses too (often the Steelers) to control their opponents.

Looking at their first, and most successful, season, we see the prototypical Battle Angels team. Jerome Bettis and Curtis Martin attacking the defense while Randy Moss and Tim Brown played deep threat and possession receiver. Since this was 2001, all these players were feared and respected and perennial All-Pros. However, Brown and Bettis were slipping while Moss was as mercurial as ever. Curtis Martin had some amazing seasons and he represented what the Angels were all about. Often counted down and out but as scrappy as ever.

The first franchise QB for this team was Steve McNair, who had started his career with the Angels behind Brian Griese. Vu also was the first to tap into Tom Brady's mojo, but probably a few years too early fantasy wise. As McNair suffered through some injury riddled campaigns, the QB question wasn't sufficiently answered until the rise of Drew Brees in 2004, who led the Angels to their second playoff appearance.

After a few hard hitting seasons by the Bus and C-Mart, the Angels suffered looking for franchise backs. James Stewart looked like the answer for awhile. Trung Canidate never was. Neither was Julius Jones or an over the hill Eddie George. Oftentimes the Angels would go four wide to cover up their lack of running back production. It wasn't until 2006 and the emergence of rookie Laurence Maroney that the Angels got another Top 10 back on their roster. Even the 2005 trade of Randy Moss for Willis McGahee (and Ashley Lelie) only provided dividends for half a season as McGahee's career cooled down until he got to Baltimore last season.

Over the years, as the Angels have lost their ability to run, they have drafted some stellar wide receivers. Aside from the early seasons with Randy Moss, the Angels have featured Tim Brown, Amani Toomer, the immortal Bill Schroeder, JJ Stokes, Muhsin Muhammad, Curtis Conway, Reggie Brown, and blazer Joey Galloway (2002) who has been the real face of the franchise from a receiving standpoint. While Steve Smith has always been the team's best receiver after Randy Moss was moved, he's been injured often and Galloway has been his stand-in for many years. Last year's drafting of Andre Johnson adds another top playmaker and the Battle Nuggets can look to get down and dirty with a balanced running and passing game and the strongest keeper group they've ever had.

Season Breakdowns
2007: 5-8; Ended the season on a four game losing streak to take them out of playoff contention.
2006: 6-7; A playoff season, although it might have more to do with the poor play of his division mates.
2005: 5-8; Once again settled into second to last place after losing five in a row at one point of the season. Tied with Phreaks for playoff spot but was edged out by head-to-head matchups.
2004: 8-5; Finished second in the division and won a first round playoff game.
2003: 5-9; Second to last finish and a three game losing streak to finish the season.
2002: 3-10; The worst team in the entire league after a high flying first season. A putrid offense doomed them.
2001: 8-6; Despite facing the toughest schedule in the league, they were the division champs and advanced to the Super Bowl.

Stats
Highest Avg Game Score, Season: 103.13 (2004)
Most Points Scored, Game: 143 (2004)
Least Points Scored, Game: 49 (2007)
Best Margin of Victory, Game: 77 (2001)
Worst Margin of Defeat, Game: -69 (2001)
Longest Winning Streak, Season: 3 (2005)
Longest Losing Streak, Season: 6 (2002)