Tag Archives: score 2004

NFL

Hoover, Brad

Upper Deck MVP 2001, #35
Score 2004, #50
Upper Deck 2001 Pros & Prospects, #13

CARDS: Topps Total 2005, Score 2004, Upper Deck MVP 2001, Upper Deck Pros & Prospects 2001
ACQUIRED: TTM 2024, C/o Home
SENT: 1/22 RECEIVED: 2/5 (14 days)

CAREER SNAPSHOT:

  • A star at Western Carolina University, Brad Hoover played RB for the.
  • He rushed for 3,616 yards at Western, and scored 28 touchdowns over his college career.
  • Undrafted, he signed with the nearby Carolina Panthers and was moved to fullback.
  • Brad made the squad and quickly became a darling of the team due to his play, local ties, and inroads with the local community as a liaison.
  • Hoover saw action in all 16 games his rookie year in 2000, starting 4 contests.
  • He rushed for 290 yards on 89 carries, scoring 1 TD and catching 15 passes.
  • Over his career he became a stalwart blocker and sneakily dependable receiver out of the backfield.
  • In 2009, the Panthers selected a fullback during the draft marking the end of Hoover’s playing time in Carolina.
  • He retired after the season.
Topps Total 2005, #132

ACCOLADES:

  • Western Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame

NOTES:

So way, way back in 2004, I went back to work, hat in hand, to a place I used to work at. I absolutely hated the job, but one of the silver linings was that my coworkers immediately wanted me to play in their fantasy football league.

Tagging me as an easy mark, I hadn’t played in a few years and I was pretty raw. Unfortunately for them I still had a great hand at the waiver wire, and I took full advantage of it.

Backing into the playoffs as the last seed, I took a very unorthodox approach. I had nothing to lose playing against the most high power team in the league- so I specifically targeted players who were playing for pride, a new contract, or had more going for them then playing for a half and sitting. I cut most of my starting lineup and picked up situational starters like Nick Goings and Brad Hoover.

It paid off. Not only did I win the game, I ended up winning the championship in a major upset, angering the GM and most of the participants. It was good times.

RUSHYDSAVGTDLG
2849613,4335
RECYDSAVGTDLG
14510467.2641
NFL

Miller, Billy

sco03 millerCards: Topps 2004, Score 2003, Score 2004
Acquired: 2013, C/o Elite Performance Factory
Sent: 6/1   Received: 7/8   (37 days)

Billy Miller is best remembered by Texans fans for scoring the franchise’s first TD against the Dallas Cowboys in 2002. His reaching grab on the opening drive of the game, (an eventual 19-10 victory) served notice of Miller’s determination to be accepted as a football player on the pro stage. It also was the first touchdown scored at Houston’s Reliant Stadium. Miller was originally drafted by the Denver Broncos as a wide receiver out of USC in 1999. The 7th round choice did not see any playing time through 2001, and was so upset about being cut that season by the Broncos that he used his ‘turk buckslip’ as motivation, taping it to the inside of his locker.

Basically adopting a “Will do anything mentality”, Miller arrived in Houston before the team took the field its inaugural season, not even really registering a blip on the free agent signee radar. sco04 millerShifting to TE, Billy supplanted Rod Rutledge in the lineup and quickly developed a rapport with quarterback David Carr as his safety valve. With his soft hands and speed, he provided a mismatch against nearly all opposing linebackers and defensive linemen that might shift into coverage to stop him, forcing most teams to deploy a DB in coverage when he released out into the flat. Billy became the team’s first receptions leader, finishing the 2002 season with 51 catches (for 613 yards and 3 TDs), in 7 starts. In 2003, he added another 40 receptions to his team leading total, but already with the emergence of Andre Johnson by 2004, Miller’s reception accomplishment has been rendered to an interesting footnote.  An injury riddled 2004 limited Billy to 17 receptions and a touchdown. He’d score that final touchdown with the Texans, in a 31-21 rout of the Tennessee Titans, as the franchise finished 7-9.

The Texans in 2005 decided they were ready for primetime football with the big boys, after their impressive 2004 season. To further this theory they decided to purge their roster of many of their expansion draft players. Billy in the meantime signed with the Cleveland to04 millerBrowns, suiting up for only 3 games but getting no play time.  In 2006 he’d join the roster of the New Orleans Saints and his statistics saw a slow but strong rebound. Over the next 3 seasons, he’d record 86 receptions for 1036 yards and 3 touchdowns. Resigning with the team in 2009, Miller blew out his Achilles in training camp. While he’d win a Super Bowl ring for the Saints victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Billy decided that it was fine time to retire.

Miller currently runs Elite Performance Factory, a strength and conditioning facility gym in California. In 2013, Miller was named the strength and conditioning coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

G/Gs  114/36      Rec 200     Yds 2248    Avg 11.2   Td 10    Lg 57