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+---- Thread: *Alternate Reality, vol 1 (/showthread.php?tid=6977)
*Alternate Reality, vol 1 - 37thchamber - 01-04-2018
Back to Earth-616 for the fourth and final chapter of our Alternate Reality journey with Alt1. Having just signed an extension in 2027 that would likely see him through to retirement, Alt1 picks up where he left off in New York.
Leading the Towers to a 9-7 record with 1,403 yards and 13 touchdowns, Delacour once again made the Pro Bowl, but the New York team missed out on the playoffs on a tiebreaker. Edging them by one more in-conference win, Tampa Bay went on to face Detroit instead.
Heartache aside, it was a record-breaking year for Alt1. He moved up to fourth in the league's all-time career receiving yards leaderboard -- with nobody ahead of him still active -- and took the top spot in the career receiving touchdowns leaderboard with 120.
During the offseason, rumours of a trade surfaced, with the previous season's losing Super Bowl team -- Jacksonville -- seeing their Super Bowl window closing. As a result, they were looking for a marquee receiver to help their leading wideout Edmund Kelly and put them over the top. But what could they possibly offer New York for a former number one draft pick and four-time Pro Bowler seemingly in the peak of his career?
Negotiations dragged on for weeks, and ultimately soured. New York press reported a "derisory" final offer from Jacksonville for the star wideout, while Jacksonville press reported "unreasonable demands for a thirty-four year old". Preseason began with Alt1 staying in New York, and picking up a cheekbone fracture at Oakland that rendered him doubtful going into the last game before the season proper began. Against Jacksonville. Alt1 sat the game out while the Towers picked up the win, but the real showdown was a week later, when the two teams faced off in Florida to open the season.
Alt1 was back in action, and led the Towers in receiving with 107 yards from 6 catches. Jacksonville dominated the score, however, sending the Towers back to New York on the wrong end of a 20-3 defeat. Predictably, this did not help the trade negotiations. New York maintained that this proved Delacour's quality, while Jacksonville pointed to the injury trouble leading up to the game and that he had three crucial drops -- two of which would have extended drives and put the Towers in field goal range. While the latter point could not be argued, Alt1 was approaching his seventieth straight start, which certainly brought the durability issue into question.
As if to underline his quality, Alt1 picked up 126 yards and two touchdowns against Carolina, re-opening the trade debate. Then, in an attempt to remain impartial, no doubt, he played a shocker against Dallas, picking up just two receptions for 19 yards. Jacksonville wouldn't budge on their valuation of Delacour, and neither would New York. It had reached a point where the only way the trade was going to take place, was if Delacour himself forced it through. "We don't think he wants to leave. If he did, he'd have come out and said it by now." Said Towers Head Coach Andre Dixon. "If he came to me and said he wanted to go, I wouldn't stand in his way. But I like to think he's staying here." Dixon was right. Delacour committed to New York, picking up another two touchdowns ahead of bye week. The trade deadline passed, and Alt1 was still wearing blue.
After the bye, however, came a three game skid for the Towers, and a disappointing return of under 150 yards and a single touchdown for Alt1. Newspapers changed their tune quickly, and it suddenly looked like both Alt1 and the Towers had missed a trick. Despite all the criticism, Alt1 still finished with 1,103 yards and 14 touchdowns (the Towers' leading receiver) but the Towers would watch the playoffs from home. Again.
He'd deny it in the off-season, but seeing Jacksonville reach the Conference Championship round while his Towers narrowly missed the post-season for a third consecutive year must have stung. He didn't even get the consolation of the Pro Bowl, instead losing out to his would-be teammate in Jacksonville, Edmund Kelly.
Going into the 2030 season, Alt1 was approaching his 35th birthday, and perhaps this was a step too far. Having seen his trademark speed, and overall production decline the previous year, as well as possibly missing out on his best chance at a Super Bowl ring, Delacour decided to call it a day.
After being drafted number one overall and spending thirteen seasons as a pro, in Miami and New York, Antoine Delacour closed out his career with over fifteen thousand receiving yards. In addition, he was named player of the game twenty-nine times, and played in four consecutive Pro Bowls -- all after his thirtieth birthday -- setting numerous records. Most notably, longest catch (97 yards) and most career receiving touchdowns (134).
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GRADED
*Alternate Reality, vol 1 - Supersquare04 - 01-04-2018
Bust
*Alternate Reality, vol 1 - 37thchamber - 01-05-2018
(01-05-2018, 04:12 AM)Supersquare04 Wrote:BustOverall yeah. But he probably shouldn't have gone 1st overall either. I didn't consider altering the attributes to match rookie level so he went into the draft with 100 speed. Realistically he's a third rounder at best (remembering my initial build)
Also I should have engineered a trade tbh.
*Alternate Reality, vol 1 - Supersquare04 - 01-05-2018
(01-05-2018, 09:02 AM)37thchamber Wrote:Overall yeah. But he probably shouldn't have gone 1st overall either. I didn't consider altering the attributes to match rookie level so he went into the draft with 100 speed. Realistically he's a third rounder at best (remembering my initial build)
Also I should have engineered a trade tbh.
Lol I was joking, with his career stats (top 10 receiving yards and touchdowns) hes not a bust.
*Alternate Reality, vol 1 - 37thchamber - 01-05-2018
(01-05-2018, 04:27 PM)Supersquare04 Wrote:Lol I was joking, with his career stats (top 10 receiving yards and touchdowns) hes not a bust.I think that only happened because there was no historic data tbh. I might sim forward some years and see if he makes the Hall of Fame though, now that you mention the career stats.
But to me, the fact that Miami didn't extend him is kinda damning tbh. If I hadn't done some attribute editing mid-career (to account for natural progression) I doubt he would have sniffed the career leaderboard.