Jax Jags Village Challenge, 2002-2003

[RPI-Fan]

2002 Offseason

Herb's Evaulation:

Performance 43
Difficulty 70
Profit 65
Franchise 70

Record 8-8-0
Playoffs None

Evaluation 62

The cap has increased $9,600,000 to $81,700,000. The league's minimum salary has increased $30,000 to $260,000.

Overall Profits were down 13% last year, though we still made $15,700,000.

Retirements:

TE Ben Coates
C Tony Mayberry

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Secant, Tangent, Cosin, Sin, 3.14159!

[This message has been edited by RPI-Fan (edited 11-06-2000).]

[This message has been edited by RPI-Fan (edited 11-06-2000).]

[RPI-Fan]

...2002 Offseason Continued...

Staff Hirings:

43 year old scout Harry Peters is under contract for 3 more years. His ratings are currently:

G
VG
G
G
VG
G
VG
F
G

39 year old coach Marshall Weaver is not, however, under contract. His ratings stand as:

VG
VG
VG
VG
F
F
VG
VG
G
G
E
VG
F
VG

One of the best in the game at the tender age of 39, will most likely develop into an all-time great. Obviously, I'll do whatever it takes to get this guy back.

I throw a 5 year, $5 mil (per year, will always refer to coaches/scouts deals as such) at him for Week 1 to see how much attention he'll get without much fear of losing him. Somewhat surprisingly, he takes out bait and is on board for another 5 years. Looks like it'll be CubsFan's job to get him back then. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/smile.gif

Ticket Prices

I bump ticket prices $2-5 in hopes to help compensate for the expensive hiring of Marshall Weaver. Club seats go up from $2,000 to $2,200 and luxury boxes take a jump from $80,000 to $82,000. I'll be selling no seat licenses.

On Hold...

I'll proceed no further for now, as Sack hasn't listed a keeper and it's time to franchise a player...

[SackAttack]

Whoops.

S Tim McDonald is my keeper. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/smile.gif Have you had YOUR break today?

Josh

[RPI-Fan]

Franchise Player:

Tim McDonald becomes our franchise player, as he is the only keeper we have and is a free agent. Due to this being his 16th year in the league, I'll probably try to avoid signing him to a contract and take the heavy, though bonus-free cap hit for one year before he'll hopefully retire.

Expansion Draft

I stick with Harry Peters' recommendations of players to expose for the expansion draft and the list goes as follows:

TE Jessie Hitchcock
WR Billy Miller
DT Chris Hovan
LB Carlos Emmons
CB Cory Chavous

Of these guys, I'd be surprised to see anyone other than Hovan get drafted.

Surprisingly, both Hovan and Emmons got drafted. Emmons #6 overall, Hovan #10.

By the way, the new team to enter the league is Riverside. As of now, their nickname is the Lone Stars. I'd propose we change this--any suggestions?

2002 Free Agency:

I'm offered a very intriguing trade for QB Rich Gannon. The Raiders offer a deal that would send Gannon to Oakland straight up for DT Russel Thomas. After taking a look at the draft and seeing there are no QBs available, I decline. It was a very good trade, as it would cut over $2 mil in cap space, but I justed couldn't take the risk of not having a QB to get us by for the year.

We head into free agency with 30 players under contract and $22,490,000 under the cap. None of our guys have much of any talent at all. In fact, I only tender an offer to one of our UFAs, Kerlin Blaise(30/44, 19/26, 94). The deal is worth $4.43 over 3 years and looks to be a fair offer considering he can go all day for us. For now I'll leave the RFAs alone.

Here's the list of offers I tend to various players:

G Kerlin Blaise $4.43 over 3
LB Chris Slade $7.23 over 3
G Tom Nutten $9.9 over 3
LB Takeo Spikes $10.91 over 3

Bold text denotes player previously under Jaguar contract

For now, that's all that looks like deserving of a deal from us. If anyone else of value shows up in the FA pool, I'll consider making an offer.

Free Agents:

Week 2: G Tom Nutten signs with Jax (assume player has signed with Jax unless other wise noted)
Week 3: LB Chris Slade signs
Week 7: S Jerome Woods signs w/ Atlanta, LB Takeo Spikes signs w/ Pittsburgh
Week 10: G Kerlin Blaise signs
Week 14:RB Mack Strong signs w/ Green Bay

Overall, this was a so-so free agent period. We strengthened our OL with Nutten and really helped our defense with Chris Slade, but lost out on Takeo Spikes who would have been a very nice addition.

[This message has been edited by RPI-Fan (edited 11-06-2000).]

[SackAttack]

Losing Woods hurts too. I didn't want either of them to go, but McDonald has been the more productive of the two.

Josh

[CubsFan915]

Originally posted by RPI-Fan:
By the way, the new team to enter the league is Riverside. As of now, their nickname is the Lone Stars. I'd propose we change this--any suggestions?


Rapids? Renegades?

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GO HOKIES!! BEAT UCF!!!

[This message has been edited by CubsFan915 (edited 11-07-2000).]

[RPI-Fan]

2002 Draft

We hold the #16 pick in all the rounds, with no excess picks.

We've got plenty of room under the cap--maybe it'll give me some room to negotiate a trade.

There is a very good RB available who won't fall to our pick. George is 29 years old, probably indicating he only has 3 good years left, or so. There are several good Safeties available, which is our main need area, so I'll hold back on making a trade--for now.

The RB, D.J. Conquergood is still available at the 5th pick, so I'll try and make a trade for it. It takes a lot to get it, but Seattle eventually gives us the #5 pick for the #16 pick, next year's 1st rounder, next year's 2nd rounder and Tony Kuberski. This is a trade of large magnitude, but it'll give me lots of flexibility with trading or not re-signing George when the time comes.

Here's all the later round happenings:

Rnd 1 - D.J. Conquergood, RB, Western Washington (85, 39/63, 100, 63/100, 100, 62/93, 100, 60, 53)
Rnd 2 - Ronald Coleman, S, Louisiana State (33/89, 28/81, 33/90, 63, x, x, 57)
Rnd 3 - Jason Jefferson, DT, Eastern Michigan (43/85, 23/58, 70)
Rnd 4 - Drew Humphrey, CB, Kentucky (Return Man)
Rnd 5 - Ray Gardner, CB, Oklahoma (Likely to be cut)
Rnd 6 - Willie Tatum, LB, Florida State (Likely to be cut)
Rnd 7 - Colin Weaver, S, Georgia (May stick around)

Draftee Signings:

RB D.J. Conquergood $24.28 over 6
S Ronald Coleman $5.18 over 4
DT Jason Jefferson $2 over 3

All other sign minsal deals.

Pre-Training Camp:

S Tony George signs an inexpensive contract.

Training Camp:

I let the scout decide what to do for both training camp screens.

Post-Training Camp

We sell 67,800 season tickets out of a possible 73,000.

Conquergood suffers no ratings hit, a big relief. All others make it through safely as well.

We have 41 players under contract and $8,310,000 under the cap. Here are my signings:

QB Daunte Culpepper
RB Rob Konrad
WR Torry Holt
C Charles Conway
T Flozell Adams
DE Ebenezer Ekuban
RB Ricky Williams

We have $2,310,000 left under the cap, so I'll keep that for emergency signings.

I trade RB Eddie George to Washington for a 5th round pick. This sounds like a terrible trade, and it probably is in the short term, but George was going to be a FA after this year anyways. I also unload $2.5+ in cap salary, plus we've got Conquergood whose currents were very similar to George's.

2002 Pre-season

Cohesion stands at 95/88/88/61 entering the pre-season.

Home teams listed 2nd.

Week 1

Bye

Week 2

JACKSONVILLE 23, Detroit 15

Only minor injuries were suffered. No one had any notable performances.

Week 3

Jacksonville 13, CAROLINA 28

No injuries to speak of. No notable performances.

Week 4

Jacksonville 24, KANSAS CITY 27

Brad Culpepper goes down 2-3 months and Rob Morris 3-5 weeks. Ismail 6-97-2.

Week 5

ATLANTA 31, Jacksonville 24

Brad Culpepper goes down for the year, even with very minimal playing time http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/frown.gif. Culpepper 13-20-167-2-0. Ismail 6-101-0. Wilkins 5-46-2.

[ShagVT]

By the way, the new team to enter the league is Riverside. As of now, their nickname is the Lone Stars. I'd propose we change this--any suggestions?


How about the "Riverside Gamblers". Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

[ShagVT]

We have 41 players under contract and $8,310,000 under the cap. Here are my signings:


QB Daunte Culpepper
RB Rob Konrad
WR Torry Holt
C Charles Conway
T Flozell Adams
DE Ebenezer Ekuban
RB Ricky Williams


We have $2,310,000 left under the cap, so I'll keep that for emergency signings.


WOW.
I don't know which should be more amazing - that all of those guys were available or that you got them all signed in only $6M of cap space.

[CubsFan915]

Originally posted by RPI-Fan:
We have 41 players under contract and $8,310,000 under the cap. Here are my signings:

QB Daunte Culpepper
RB Rob Konrad
WR Torry Holt
C Charles Conway
T Flozell Adams
DE Ebenezer Ekuban
RB Ricky Williams



Holy cow!!! Man, our cohesion surely took a hit, but goodness gracious... And all these guys in $6M of cap room?

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GO HOKIES!! BEAT UCF!!!

[RPI-Fan]

2002 Regular Season:

Brad Culpepper is placed on IR, as he was expected to return in 2003.

LB Eric Barton is signed on as a 6th LB to increase roster size to 46 active players.

Week 1

JACKSONVILLE 49, Baltimore 11

Rich Gannon 22-32-212-3-0. DJ Conquergood 13-113-1. Daryn Scott 7-70-2. Otis Smith 6 tackles, 3 intereceptions, 2 TDs. Irving Wynn 5 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 TD.

This one could have been a lot worse for Balt, if not for 3 Missed FGs and a Fumble on our last 4 possesions. We had a 35-3 halftime lead.

No major injuries.

Week 2

JACKSONVILLE 14, New England 6

There was an error in this game, ending it at half time. I figure it's more efficient to leave this as is and just go on to the next games.

No major injuries.

Week 3

Pittsburgh 0, JACKSONVILLE 30

Gannon 21-35-208-0-. Scott7-80-0. Price3-70-2. Conquergood12-69-1.

No major injuries.

Week 4

Jacksonville 10, CINCINATTI 38

Gannon 18-33-279-0-2. Holt 5-83-0. Ismail 4-82-0.

This one got out of hand late.

No major injuries.

We stand at 3-1 and are in a 3-way tie for the division lead with Cinci and Cleveland.

The stats have been skewed from that New England game, with only Weeks 1, 3 and 4 being counted.

QB Gannon-83.7 rating
RB Conquergood-34-217-2 (6.3 ypc)
WRs Scott, Holt and Ismail all have between 13-17 catches and 176-192 yards.
DE Ekuban-3.0 sacks

[RPI-Fan]

Week 5

CLEVELAND 32, Jacksonville 14

Gannon 11-36-138-1-2.

Our 1st 8 drives resulted in punts or interceptions.

No major injuries.

Week 6

Jacksonville 25, SEATTLE 39

Gannon 17-42-416-3-5. Conquergood 3-(-15)-0. Wilkins, Miller, Scott, Holt 14-382-2.

We had 0 rushes in the second half, and -12 rush yards total. We've got a bye week to hopefully regroup. There are several minor injuries that could use some healing.

No major injuries.

Week 7

Bye.

No major injuries.

Week 8

Jacksonville 21, CAROLINA 24

We fought back with a two-minute drill by Daunte Culpepper (Gannon was knocked out early with an injury) to tie it up in the final minute of regulation on a 55 yarder by Mare, only to see the Panthers hit a 55 yarder of their own on their 2nd OT possesion.

No major injuries.

Week 9

New Orleans 0, JACKSONVILLE 27

Gannon 18-29-210-2-3. [b]Wilkins 7-77-2.

A huge win for us to get back to .500. We are 2.5 games back of the 2 division leaders and 2 games back of a Wild Card spot. Seeing the strength of this conference this year, we'll need to finish at least 10-6 to have a shot at the playoffs.

[i]Gannon-62.5 rating
Conquergood-64-266-2 (4.1 ypc)
Scott-29-440-5
Mare-11-16 FGs
Kennedy and Strahan-5.5 sacks each
Smith-4 Ints, 2 TDs (52.4 PDQ)

No major injuries.

[ShagVT]

Man - talk about a cliff-hanger! So how does it end??

[RPI-Fan]

I'll be finishing today. http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/smile.gif

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Secant, Tangent, Cosin, Sin, 3.14159!

[RPI-Fan]

Week 10

Tennessee 16, JACKSONVILLE 34

C Jeff Mitchell 8-15 KRBs, 0 sacks allowed. KR Humphrey had an NFL record 105 yard kick return for a touchdown to open the game and we got by from there.

No major injuries.

Week 11

JACKSONVILLE 21, Pittsburgh 10

Gannon 24-28-207-1-1. Ricky Williams 10-103-1.

We're still 2 games out of the division, but have pulled within 1 game of a Wild Card spot. We've got the division leading Bengals next week.

No major injuries.

Week 12

Cincinatti 3, JACKSONVILLE 7

We're even with Seattle for the last Wild Card spot and 1 game back of the division.

No major injuries.

Week 13

NEW YORK J 31, Jacksonville 21

Gannon 19-39-367-2-2. Ismail 7-217-1.

3 way tie for final wild card spot, 2 games back on division lead.

No major injuries.

Week 14

Atlanta 10, JACKSONVILLE 20

Gannon 21-31-209-1-. McDonald 6 tackles, 3 assists, 2 interceptions.

We are currently tied with Kansas City for the final Wild Card spot and are 2 games back of the division.

Ricky Williams goes down for the year with Broken Ribs. I sign Duce Staley on to fill in, as Williams was being quite productive for us.

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Secant, Tangent, Cosin, Sin, 3.14159!

[This message has been edited by RPI-Fan (edited 11-12-2000).]

[RPI-Fan]

Week 15

BALTIMORE 32, Jacksonville 27

Gannon 16-30-287-3-.

A tough loss that puts us in bad playoff position. We are currently 8-6. To win the the division, we need the following to happen:

1) We win out.
2) Cleveland loses to 12-2 Miami (and us).
3) Cinci loses to 5-9 NYJ and 7-7 Tennessee.
4) We luck out on tiebreakers.

To make the playoffs losing both games we need to do the follwong:

1) Seattle AND Kansas City lose out (and we luck out with tiebreakers).
2) Denver beats KC and loses to 5-8-1 Minnesota.

To win 1 game but lose the other we need:

1) Seattle AND KC lose 1 game each.

There you have it, last 2 games coming soon...

[RPI-Fan]

Week 16

Before the game, here is what happened:

Denver lost to Minnesota, Seattle lost to San Diego, Cleveland beat Miami, KC beat Oakland and Cinci beat NYJ.

We need to win at least one more for hope at a playoff spot.

Jax 10, TENNESSEE 20

Things aren't looking good for the playoffs-we need a win and help in our last game.

Here's what needs to happen:

Kansas City loses and we win the tiebreaker among several possible teams. In short, we have 4 teams fighting for 1 Wild Card spot, and KC has the edge to get it at 9-6. I'll watch our game first, then see if the other results matter.

We face Cleveland, who has clinched a playoff spot and is fighting for the division title, at the dog pound. Chris Chandler is injured for them and they'll start Paul Justin. Thomas Jones is their offensive key with 1,000 yards and 10 TDs this year. They don't have a viable receiving threat, so if our mediocre run D doesn't show up, it'll be a long day. They have a mediocre front seven-they shouldn't cause much trouble. They have 2 very good safeties, but other than that I don't see much to worry about. If Gannon avoids turning it over, I like our chances.

Cleveland strikes first with a solid drive resulting in a 33 yard FG 5 minutes in. We come right back, however, putting together an 8 minutes TD drive with 2 minutes left in the 1st quarter. After a 3-and-out for the Browns, we drive again putting up a FG with 11 minutes left in the 1st half. The score is 10-3, Jax. We put up another FG before the half and the score stands at 13-3, good guys. With 10 minutes left in the 3rd, Thomas Jones springs a block and goes 66 yards up the middle for a TD. Conquergood answers back, however, with a 50 yard run of his own up the middle to give us 1st-and-10 from the Cleveland 40. We go nowhere and a punt results in a touchback. Leroy Butler gets his 2nd pick of the day, but the Browns only are able to muster out a FG. As the end of the 3rd quarter ends, Jones goes out with an injury for the Browns-they've yet to show a viable passing attack, so I think we can pull it out. The score is 13-13 going into the 4th quarter. An exchange of FGs leaves the score tied at 16 all and gives us the ball at our own 1 (we took a penalty). Cleveland gets the ball back near the 50 with 2 minutes left. Justin leads them down the field to our 25 with :08 left. Stroup steps to up the ball and kicks...it's up...hooking...GOOD! http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/frown.gif Cleveland ends our season in a great game.

FWIW, KC beat Denver 6-0 anyways.

Conquergood 20-143-1.

Well, this was certainly a disappointing season. We'll definitely need someone other than Gannon to lead us if we want to be successful. Conquergood looks like a back of the future, he's clearly going to be our offensive key.

Individual Stats:

Gannon 69.2 rating
Conquergood 171-667-3 (3.9 ypc)
Slade 88 tackles
Strahan 12.5 sacks
Smith 5 ints, 2 TDs, 37.6 PDQ
McDonald 5 ints, 39.1 PDQ

Team Stats:

Run-Off/Def/Avg 3.7/4.1/3.5
Pass 6.9/5.8/6.7

Turnovers:

-8 in TOs
43 sacks for, 32 sacks against

Red Zone:

Off/Def/Avg
4.9/4.2/4.7

I renegotiated as many contracts as possible to extend them.

I'm not going to play my 2nd season as to not hold things up any longer.

Miami defeated Philly in the bowl.

Otis Smith receives 2nd Team All-Pro and is our only rep in the Pro Bowl.

My keeper is, without a doubt, D.J. Conquergood

...Who's next, and what's their e-mail?...

[CubsFan915]

I think it's me... Then andy, then Shag...

Send it to me at [email protected] and I should be able to get crackin' over the next couple of days...

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GO HOKIES!! BEAT... umm... Hmm... Bye week... REST UP FOR VIRGINIA!!!

[ShagVT]

It looks like our big problem was a total inability to stop the run. Is that fair? Every other aspect of our game was better than average. Is the problem in the front line or the linebackers?

I think you're right, though. Like always, you don't go anywhere without a prime time QB, which should help with the turnovers too.

[CubsFan915]

Just as an FYI...

We have one award-winner: CB Otis Smith earns second team All-Pro.

We get a year-end score of 57: Performance 40, Franchise Value 77, Profit 41, Difficulty 72. We lost $30 million last season, with the bulk of that being the massive raise that Coach Weaver got.

On to the next thread!