House Arrest Black Squirrels, 2018-

[QuikSand]

I’m playing this career under a fairly lengthy series of house rules—trying to compress most of the game’s many areas fertile for abuse, and to simultaneously make the game: challenging, interesting, steerable, and realistic. Since the house rules are fairly rigorous, I’ve adopted the name “house arrest” for this system.

If you want the long version of the rules and history from 2002 to 2007, try this link: http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000098.html

The team’s history from 2008 through 2011 is in this thread: http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000102.html

Finally, the team’s path from 2012 through 2017 is detailed here: http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000116.html

The short version of the rules I’m using follows:

FOF 2001, Wall Street, empty cupboard start with the 2002 expansion team
Ticket prices no higher than those of my nearest geographic competitor (Denver)
Several contract restrictions, including:
-no signing non-rookie players, other than the second half of the 20-stage FA process
-no unrealistic contract durations for first and second year players
-no backloading of contracts – annual salary increases up to 25% only
-any free agent seeking a bonus gets one at least as big as the median annual salary
-URFAs may get 4yr doubling deal with modest bonus money
No contract renegotiations
No franchise tag
Full roster of 53 each season
Player from home state (Colorado) college at each position group at all times
Making effort to sign and hold Colorado players whenever practical
I’m allowing myself some slack with my FA restrictions with my Colorado school guys
No initiating trades – may only accept CPU trade after adjusting it (reality check)

In short, the team is being almost exclusively built from within, with a few fill-in types from the late rounds of free agency. Once my players get past their rookie deals, I compete on the open market to retain their services.

Here is the short history of the team—the GM performance printout:

<pre>
GM Performance for QuikSand of the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Year Team Eval Perf Diff Proft FrVal Record Playoffs
2002 CSP 63 43 74 76 63 8-8-0 None
2003 CSP 69 54 72 82 67 9-7-0 None
2004 CSP 73 81 72 84 62 11-6-0 Wild Card Round
2005 CSP 65 28 71 80 76 7-9-0 None
2006 CSP 72 40 70 78 87 7-9-0 None
2007 CSP 94 100 70 93 96 16-3-0 Bowl Winner
2008 CSP 92 90 68 99 94 13-4-0 Division Final
2009 CSP 85 86 68 76 96 12-5-0 Division Final
2010 CSP 78 64 67 64 100 10-7-0 Wild Card Round
2011 CSP 84 83 67 69 100 13-6-0 Conference Final
2012 CSP 67 18 67 67 97 6-10-0 None
2013 CSP 76 78 67 62 90 11-7-0 Conference Final
2014 CSP 56 2 68 56 88 4-12-0 None
2015 CSP 53 10 71 59 72 5-11-0 None
2016 CSP 55 19 71 56 74 5-11-0 None
2017 CSP 60 33 70 57 79 7-9-0 None
</pre>

We’ve clearly come through some lean years lately. My starting QB announced his surprise retirement after 2011, and we haven’t been able to play consistently well since then. However, I drafted two promising young QBs in 2017, and my new starter is showing signs of being ready to get us going in the right direction.

Meanwhile, we have been losing money each year, and hiring a new coach in 2017 cost us even more in expenses. Our financial bottom line will be a continuing challenge, it would seem.

The story continues below...

[QuikSand]

2018 pre-draft

RB Riddick Wentworth is the first league-created player to enter the HOF. He’s still the record holder in rushing yards, despite the fact that he only played 13 seasons. My best WR, Matt McCaughey is in my team’s HOF already, and I’m hoping he makes the league’s next year.

Our balance sheet is slightly better this year than last – we lost $15.7m this season, down from $21 last year. While revenues were slightly down and our coaching costs went up a lot, we spent a lot less on players, and that helped the bottom line from getting really bad. Attendance stayed around 83%, again in the middle of the bottom half.

Our front office is okay—but I’ll look at the coaching pool again. This is the year that the best coach going becomes available again—Washington’s Kelvin Newton. He made something like $10-11m on his last contract—which would mean that paying him $12m this time would cost me another $50m or so—money that I really don’t have. However, if he could deliver us into the upper echelon of teams, we’d get our attendance figures up, and start making money again. It’s a tough gamble.

I put in a modest bid, but then I watch Tampa Bay bid $14.6m a year and top the list. I definitely can’t afford anything like that. The Bucs get him in week two—I decide to sit tight.

I check Denver’s ticket prices, and I match their increase. It’s less than 10% in each area, not a major boost. We definitely need the revenues.

We have no retirements, and bring back a full complement of players. The list is here, sorted by salary:

<pre>
Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 2013 2018 6 ----- $9,950,000
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 2015 2020 4 ----- $9,230,000
Frank, Steve * 37 S 2005 2018 14 ----- $8,400,000
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 2013 2018 6 ----- $6,810,000
Kerr, Sammy 88 WR 2013 2018 6 ----- $6,800,000
Barlow, Dominic 50 LB 2007 2018 12 ----- $6,500,000
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 2016 2021 3 ----- $5,740,000
Schumacher, Lionel 92 DE 2014 2019 5 ----- $5,670,000
Irwin, Gus 82 WR 2017 2020 3 ----- $4,950,000
Lock, Rick 90 DE 2017 2022 2 ----- $4,750,000
Lake, Leland 40 RB 2015 2018 4 ----- $4,370,000
Hoover, Lamar 87 WR 2015 2018 4 ----- $4,370,000
Burrow, Ike 15 WR 2015 2018 4 ----- $4,370,000
Burgess, Dana 57 C 2015 2018 4 ----- $4,370,000
Emmons, Alvin + 91 DE 2016 2018 4 ----- $3,780,000
McElroy, Cole 72 T 2014 2018 5 ----- $3,710,000
Hoover, Darrin + 7 QB 2016 2018 11 ----- $2,980,000
Hopper, Andre 29 CB 2015 2018 4 ----- $2,970,000
Willis, Don 54 LB 2017 2020 3 ----- $2,500,000
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 2017 2020 2 ----- $2,340,000
McKeefry, Karl 84 WR 2016 2019 3 ----- $2,320,000
Lake, Darrell 26 S 2016 2019 3 ----- $2,290,000
Conaty, Wes 95 DE 2016 2018 3 ----- $1,970,000
Atkins, Pete 83 WR 2015 2018 4 ----- $1,940,000
Agrawall, Daryl 69 T 2016 2018 4 ----- $1,900,000
Downs, Kyle 33 RB 2016 2019 3 ----- $1,740,000
Reich, Perry 71 T 2017 2020 3 ----- $1,560,000
Brennan, David 19 QB 2017 2020 2 ----- $1,440,000
Brock, Eugene 63 G 2017 2019 2 ----- $1,400,000
Collier, Ralph 30 RB 2017 2020 2 ----- $1,230,000
Burgess, Dennis 93 LB 2017 2020 2 ----- $1,230,000
Humphries, Herman 34 S 2017 2020 2 ----- $1,230,000
Raphael, Bob 52 C 2016 2018 3 ----- $1,220,000
Gibson, Myron 80 TE 2016 2018 3 ----- $1,110,000
Cicci, Joseph 94 DT 2016 2018 3 ----- $1,030,000
Pieper, Kenyon 24 FB 2017 2019 2 ----- $990,000
Flowers, Jeremy 3 QB 2017 2019 2 ----- $910,000
Burgess, Tracy 64 G 2017 2018 2 ----- $870,000
Gunn, Otis 55 LB 2017 2019 2 ----- $820,000
Wallis, Phil 5 K 2013 UFA 7 ----- $0
Nixon, Benjamin + 27 CB 2014 UFA 6 ----- $0
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 2013 UFA 6 ----- $0
Flutie, Thomas 99 DT 2017 UFA 5 ----- $0
Runyon, Frank + 56 LB 2014 UFA 5 ----- $0
Gaylor, Jon 31 FB 2015 ---- 4 ----- $0
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 2015 ---- 4 ----- $0
Finley, Casey 51 LB 2015 ---- 4 ----- $0
Hasty, Gus 32 RB 2017 ---- 2 ----- $0
Swedberg, Barry 85 TE 2017 ---- 2 ----- $0
Coles, Dean 6 P 2017 ---- 2 ----- $0
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 2017 ---- 2 ----- $0
Johnston, Corey + 96 DT 2017 ---- 2 ----- $0
Miller, Darren 38 CB 2017 ---- 2 ----- $0

Salary Cap: $171.9 million
Room Under Cap: $39,160,000
</pre>

This year’s free agent crop isn’t that tough to handle. S Nolan Stoffel is a must-keep guy. DT Flutie and LB Runyon would be good keepers since they are from Colorado. T Joel Ignasiak is a definite keeper, but we get to wait him out as he’s restricted. LB Casey Finley is also probably a keeper, though he has lost a bit of luster since a couple of years ago. $40m or so ought to be plenty of cash to handle all these needs plus the draft, with room to spare.

I get a trade offer for G Leo Mitchell—a first round pick. I decide against, as I’m awfully pleased with my current OL performance, and don’t want to rock the boat.

I put in a 3yr, $22.25m offer for S Stoffel, and definitely will play ball to get him back. He’s the only guy I actively pursue at the outset. In the open market, I see a few stars—a great LB Vince Solomon, a very good 6th year DE from Denver named Nolan Buss, and a number of very good offensive linemen. No star-caliber QBs or RBs seem to be available, though.

After week 1, I have the only 3yr offer to S Stoffel, and nobody is much higher than me in $/yr. I keep watching. My DT Flutie gets an offer for over $15m a year—you’ve got to be kidding me. After week 4, Stoffel has re-signed with us, and our first priority is resolved.

In the later weeks, I finally get into the marketplace. I grab a decent FB who signs for three years at minsal. At the tail end, I look at the LB group available—pretty decent. I put in for Daniel Rayburn, who has been starting for the champs in Cincinnati—he ought to step in and play as either my #3 or #4 backer, for about $4m a year. The big bonus—he’s from Air Force. I also bid for punter Kirk Booker—a guy of mine from a couple of years back, who signed to play in Boise for one season, and now returns to the Squirrels. That’s all we get out of this FA season.

We have pick #14 in this coming draft, and one thing is clear—RB is a need area. I’ve been “picky” about that position, but this season if there’s a guys who’s a solid level above what I have on hand, that’s where I go. I also need help at CB, and taking a corner in the first round isn’t out of the question either. Past that, we’ll be doing the usual—looking for good value, and fitting everything else in around that.

[Marmel]

Q- Very nice touch. I'll let you borrow the Wig next time your in Denver.

Go Broncos!

[QuikSand]

2018 draft and camp

Not surprisingly, I’m deeply disappointed in this draft. I had two positions of high need—CB and RB, and both are stunningly poor in this crop. One RB looked very good to me—he fell to pick #9 but was taken there by San Francisco. I end up leaving those positions, and selecting in anticipation of a future need. As it turns out, the players at CB and RB who I rated to be tops at the time of my first round pick—they are available for my next two selections, so again things are okay.

<pre>
Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Gerald Hardman, S, Saginaw Valley – should be good for my defensive scheme (97/99/56/67)
Rnd 2 - Juan Gunn, CB, Washington State – good pickup at need position (60/89/67/67)
Rnd 3 - Jake Duran, RB, Nevada – second best RB in draft, by my book (62/84/38/70/34/58/55/78/67)
Rnd 4 - Wendell Rivers, TE, Colorado State – solid TE, plus a local product
Rnd 5 - Dixon Serwanga, RB, Clemson – very strong current ratings – possible redliner?
Rnd 6 - O.J. Ellison, QB, Washington State – too good to pass up, Acc 70/ Power 53, most in 40-70 range
Rnd 6 - Ryan Vance, WR, Western State – little talent here, but he’s from local school
Rnd 7 - Travis Strobel, RB, Ohio State – another possible breakout player, almost no green lines
</pre>

I’m not too thrilled by the talent left in the late rounds. I nonetheless get through the draft, and am fairly pleased with my early picks at least. I really wanted a stud RB—instead I got three more guys who look like what I’m used to—solid, but not spectacular.

I hadn’t planned to re-sign FB Jon Gaylor, but seeing the dearth of FBs in the draft has changed my mind. I ink him to a two year extension. I also re-sign T Joel Ignasiak to a pretty lucrative 4yr deal—he looks like he can be the dominating LT that we really want to have, and I’m pleased to make the investment. LB Casey Finley is also up for new deal, and even though he no longer shows potential to grow beyond his current ratings, he’s worth a commitment. I sign him to a 4yr deal. K Marvin Sherman will return and do my kicking duties this season, as he takes a three year deal.

I make some cap room (I was topped out after those re-signings) by releasing several of my fourth year URFA guys—each making over $4m. That clears plenty of room to bring in a bunch of URFAs, looking for breakouts particularly at TE and LB. I’ll let a couple of my Colorado guys (LB Runyon and CB Nixon) drop through into the open market, and I’ll hope to re-sign them after camp.

Here’s the group that comes into my training camp:

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Darrin Hoover 7 8 11 2018
QB O.J. Ellison 6 12 1 2019
QB David Brennan 6 11 2 2020
QB Jeremy Flowers 5 13 2 2019
RB Dixon Serwanga 9 11 1 2020
RB Jake Duran 8 13 1 2020
RB Kyle Downs 8 10 3 2019
RB Albert Dirita 7 8 1 2021
RB Gus Hasty 6 8 2 ----
RB Ralph Collier 6 9 2 2020
RB Travis Strobel 6 8 1 2019
FB Jon Gaylor 8 9 4 2019
FB Kenyon Pieper 7 10 2 2019
TE Myron Gibson 10 10 3 2018
TE Wendell Rivers 8 13 1 2020
TE Norman Huntley 7 9 1 2018
TE Randall Perlman 5 5 1 2021
TE Henry Sullivan 5 7 1 2018
TE Arnold Henderson 5 6 1 2021
TE Barry Swedberg 4 7 2 ----
WR Sammy Kerr 15 15 6 2018
WR Kris Ferderer 11 16 2 2020
WR Karl McKeefry 9 11 3 2019
WR Gus Irwin 7 8 3 2020
WR Grant Pyle 7 9 1 2018
WR Grady Ward 5 7 1 2021
WR Pete Atkins 5 6 4 2018
WR Ryan Vance 2 6 1 2019
C Dana Burgess 9 10 4 2018
C Bob Raphael 8 11 3 2018
C Billy Joe Reno 7 12 1 2021
G Leo Mitchell 13 14 6 2018
G Eugene Brock 6 14 2 2019
G Tracy Burgess 4 10 2 2018
T Joel Ignasiak 14 17 4 2021
T Cole McElroy 13 14 5 2018
T Daryl Agrawall 7 9 4 2018
T Perry Reich 7 10 3 2020
P Dean Coles 9 12 2 ----
P Kirk Booker 6 6 10 2019
K Marvin Sherman 5 5 2 2020
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 17 5 2019
DE Wes Conaty 7 11 3 2018
DE Rick Lock 6 16 2 2022
DE Alvin Emmons 4 7 4 2018
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 6 2018
DT Corey Johnston 6 10 2 ----
DT Joseph Cicci 5 7 3 2018
LB Dominic Barlow 16 16 12 2018
LB Raymond Coppola 13 18 3 2021
LB Casey Finley 12 13 4 2021
LB Daniel Rayburn 10 13 5 2020
LB Frank Runyon 6 9 5 UFA
LB Otis Gunn 6 7 2 2019
LB Alvin Skidmore 6 10 1 2018
LB Don Willis 5 8 3 2020
LB Sammy Sawyer 4 9 1 2021
LB Dennis Burgess 2 7 2 2020
LB Andy Van Winkle 2 9 1 2018
CB Carlton Taylor 16 17 4 2020
CB Andre Hopper 9 12 4 2018
CB Benjamin Nixon 6 7 6 UFA
CB Juan Gunn 5 12 1 2020
CB Darren Miller 4 10 2 ----
S Nolan Stoffel 15 15 6 2020
S Steve Frank 12 12 14 2018
S Gerald Hardman 8 16 1 2023
S Herman Humphries 5 9 2 2020
S Darrell Lake 5 8 3 2019
</pre>

After camp, we exit with these scout comments:

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB David Brennan 7 11 2 2020
QB Jeremy Flowers 7 13 2 2019
QB Darrin Hoover 7 8 11 2018
QB O.J. Ellison 6 14 1 2019
RB Jake Duran 10 13 1 2020
RB Dixon Serwanga 9 13 1 2020
RB Kyle Downs 9 9 3 2019
RB Ralph Collier 8 8 2 2020
RB Albert Dirita 7 8 1 2021
RB Travis Strobel 6 6 1 2019
FB Kenyon Pieper 9 10 2 2019
FB Jon Gaylor 8 9 4 2019
TE Myron Gibson 9 13 3 2018
TE Wendell Rivers 8 13 1 2020
TE Randall Perlman 5 5 1 2021
TE Henry Sullivan 5 11 1 2018
TE Norman Huntley 5 6 1 2018
TE Arnold Henderson 2 4 1 2021
WR Sammy Kerr 15 16 6 2018
WR Kris Ferderer 15 16 2 2020
WR Karl McKeefry 10 12 3 2019
WR Gus Irwin 7 8 3 2020
WR Grant Pyle 7 9 1 2018
WR Pete Atkins 5 7 4 2018
WR Grady Ward 5 7 1 2021
WR Ryan Vance 2 8 1 2019
C Dana Burgess 9 11 4 2018
C Bob Raphael 8 10 3 2018
C Billy Joe Reno 7 12 1 2021
G Leo Mitchell 13 13 6 2018
G Eugene Brock 10 12 2 2019
G Tracy Burgess 8 12 2 2018
T Joel Ignasiak 14 16 4 2021
T Cole McElroy 14 14 5 2018
T Perry Reich 7 9 3 2020
T Daryl Agrawall 7 9 4 2018
P Kirk Booker 6 6 10 2019
K Marvin Sherman 6 6 2 2020
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 17 5 2019
DE Rick Lock 10 15 2 2022
DE Wes Conaty 8 13 3 2018
DE Alvin Emmons 5 7 4 2018
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 6 2018
DT Joseph Cicci 5 7 3 2018
LB Dominic Barlow 16 16 12 2018
LB Raymond Coppola 14 18 3 2021
LB Casey Finley 13 13 4 2021
LB Daniel Rayburn 11 13 5 2020
LB Don Willis 6 8 3 2020
LB Alvin Skidmore 5 10 1 2018
LB Sammy Sawyer 5 9 1 2021
LB Otis Gunn 4 7 2 2019
LB Dennis Burgess 3 7 2 2020
LB Andy Van Winkle 2 5 1 2018
CB Carlton Taylor 16 16 4 2020
CB Andre Hopper 11 13 4 2018
CB Juan Gunn 5 12 1 2020
S Nolan Stoffel 15 15 6 2020
S Steve Frank 11 11 14 2018
S Gerald Hardman 8 16 1 2023
S Darrell Lake 6 10 3 2019
S Herman Humphries 5 7 2 2020
</pre>

I’m okay with most of my rookies. Hardman, Gunn and Duran all came through looking fine. RB Serwanga did develop a bit more potential, and is now very much on par with Duran. Late round QB Ellison looks like he bumped up as well—my scout has moved him up to having the highest upside of the bunch. What to do? The loser in this camp was, of course, QB Brennan, who failed to step forward and still looks okay—but probably not the best for the long haul. Decisions, decisions.

None of my URFA picked up with breakout hopes panned out—RB, TE and WR just seem to be positions where you cannot tell. It does happen, but I’ve only seen it when it’s been out of the blue (unlike OL, DL, and LB).

I have a number of moves to make now. I grab a few Colorado guys from the FA pile, including my LB and CB that I had planned to retain. I also get a decent backup-quality TE, who will fill a need area for me. I pass (again) on a very good WR Cory Guzman who, for some reason, doesn’t seem to be able to hold a job—he’s from Air Force, and this is the 3rd time I’ve seen him in the post-camp FA pool. He tends to sign 1-yr deals, play very well, then he end up right back here. Odd.

Here’s the squad of 53 that survives the final pruning:

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos HT WT Exp Stat College
Hoover, Darrin + 7 QB 6-4 215 11 ----- Arizona State
Brennan, David 19 QB 6-5 201 2 ----- Washington
Flowers, Jeremy 3 QB 6-2 194 2 ----- Maryland
Ellison, O.J. 13 QB 6-0 216 R Inact Washington State
Downs, Kyle 33 RB 5-9 215 3 ----- Stephen F. Austin
Serwanga, Dixon 45 RB 5-11 199 R ----- Clemson
Duran, Jake 44 RB 5-7 220 R ----- Nevada
Dirita, Albert 47 RB 5-7 202 1 ----- Arizona
Gaylor, Jon 31 FB 6-0 230 4 ----- Oklahoma State
Pieper, Kenyon 24 FB 5-11 241 2 ----- Louisiana Tech
Paullin, Les 85 TE 6-4 223 4 ----- Colorado State
Rivers, Wendell 89 TE 5-11 248 R ----- Colorado State
Kerr, Sammy 88 WR 6-2 203 6 ----- NWestern St., La.
McKeefry, Karl 84 WR 6-3 192 3 ----- Texas A&M
Irwin, Gus 82 WR 6-3 177 3 ----- Furman
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 5-10 178 2 ----- Penn State
Vance, Ryan 86 WR 5-11 189 R Inact Western State
Ward, Grady 14 WR 5-9 187 1 ----- Troy State
Burgess, Dana 57 C 6-6 252 4 ----- Notre Dame
Raphael, Bob 52 C 6-1 293 3 ----- Colorado State
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 6-1 328 6 ----- Georgia
Burgess, Tracy 64 G 6-7 301 2 ----- Evansville
Brock, Eugene 63 G 6-3 269 2 ----- Western Michigan
McElroy, Cole 72 T 6-9 301 5 ----- Tennessee
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 6-5 305 4 ----- Nebraska
Agrawall, Daryl 69 T 6-9 314 4 Inact Middle Tenn. St.
Reich, Perry 71 T 6-2 331 3 ----- Cincinnati
Booker, Kirk 11 P 6-3 226 10 ----- Air Force
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 6-1 188 2 ----- Colorado
Schumacher, Lionel 92 DE 6-3 273 5 ----- Alabama
Emmons, Alvin + 91 DE 6-5 284 4 Inact North Carolina State
Conaty, Wes 95 DE 6-0 241 3 ----- South Carolina
Lock, Rick 90 DE 6-1 254 2 ----- Notre Dame
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 6-6 305 6 ----- Delaware State
Cicci, Joseph 94 DT 6-5 255 3 ----- Northwestern
Chew, Deon 96 DT 6-2 293 1 ----- Furman
Barlow, Dominic 50 LB 6-0 241 12 ----- San Diego State
Runyon, Frank 56 LB 6-3 206 5 ----- Colorado
Rayburn, Daniel 53 LB 6-1 238 5 ----- Air Force
Finley, Casey 51 LB 6-2 257 4 ----- Michigan State
Willis, Don 54 LB 6-4 265 3 ----- Penn State
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 6-2 242 3 ----- Nebraska
Sawyer, Sammy 97 LB 5-11 222 1 ----- Clemson
Skidmore, Alvin 59 LB 6-2 232 1 Inact Temple
Nixon, Benjamin 21 CB 6-0 204 6 ----- Colorado State
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 5-10 184 4 ----- Arkansas
Hopper, Andre 29 CB 6-0 195 4 ----- Mississippi
Gunn, Juan 42 CB 5-11 179 R ----- Washington State
Frank, Steve * 37 S 5-9 226 14 ----- Rice
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 5-9 187 6 ----- Oklahoma
Lake, Darrell 26 S 5-11 193 3 Inact Oregon
Humphries, Herman 34 S 6-1 209 2 Inact Notre Dame
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 6-0 226 R ----- Saginaw Valley

Salary Cap: $171.9 million
Room Under Cap: $13,830,000
</pre>

QB will be the big question this year—I’m still inclined to use Brennan as my starter. Regardless, I’m hopeful that the rookie RBs can provide some spark, and that the line can continue its excellent play. If so, then our defense ought to have the chance to step up and play even better than it has—and this team could take a real step forward.

[QuikSand]

2018 season

My setup has a few changes from last year. Most notably, due to personnel changes, I am going to use a 3-4 defense this year. We go 4-deep at LB without any real dropoff, and our DT talent is thing, so the move makes sense. I trained all 3-4 in this year’s camp, and I think it will pay off—this is the first time I’ve switched my defensive alignment.

At QB, Brennan is my starter, and for now, my backup will still be old man Hoover, who’s in his final contract year and will very likely depart after this season. I don’t know if he’ll get another job, but he’s not going to be re-signed by us, I don’t think. At RB, I’ll start rookies Duran and Serwanga in the #1 and #2 slots, as I use a rotation system unless and until someone steps up and shows me they can do it all.

In pre-season, S Steve Frank gets dinged, and will miss a few games. I’ll plug in with my rookie Hardman, and he will start his first NFL game. Otherwise, we’re pretty clean after the exhibition season.

Our roster is rated 100 this year, and the next best is Philadelphia’s distant 54. That’s the biggest advantage I can recall having, though I’m not certain I would judge this to be the best roster I have had. Cincinnati’s rating is down to 29, so I’m using a huge grain of salt here.

We start with five home games—the entire division cycle—in our first six games. That ought to give us a chance to get a fast start, if we are cut out to be contenders. If not, things will certainly be tough down the road. I think I’d rather have it the other way around, but we’ll take what we get here.

Our opener is hosting Oakland, who has been solid in recent years. They nip us 31-28 on a last-second FG. RB Duran has 127 yards and a TD, and Brennan throws for 341 yards and 3 TDs, but our defense gives up too much. Next we stay at home to face Denver—always a big game.

We devastate the Broncos 39-7. Brennan goes down with an early injury, and Hoover steps in and again “cleans up” with 3 TD passes. We look very sharp, and the defense steps up very nicely. We take on the Chiefs next. Brennan, back as the starter, is picked off twice as we suffer a 22-10 loss. It’s another tough game for us, as we fail to get our offense rolling well, and lose a game we should have won.

We edge Seattle 24-22, on a two-minute drill resulting in a last-second FG. In this game my backup RB Serwanga gets most of the carries after Duran goes down injured, but he racks up 139 and 2 TDs of his own. Brennan is hurt, and I decide to leapfrog over Hover and insert Flowers in as the starter for this game against the Rams. The Rams edge us 23-20, of course on a last-minute FG, and their game MVP is WR Cory Guzman—the Air Force guy I keep passing on in free agency. Weird. Flowers gets a solid “B” for his game, and he’ll start one more before Brennan returns. We get a win over San Diego, and `move to 3-3 on the year. 12-10 isn’t great, and our offense only netted 4 FGs, but we’ll take the win.

With Brennan back in the saddle, we ride again. We now hit the road, into Seattle. We lose to the lowly Seahawks 21-17, a sure sign that we are still not ready for the big time. Again we cannot run well—17 carries for 20 yards isn’t going to win games. Brennan has a terrible game with 5 more interceptions, and his career ratio swings back the wrong way to 23/27. I sometimes judge a QB by the time when he gets his TD total above his interception total—for Brennan, it should be this season, but I don’t know when. The fact that we turn the ball over 6 times and only give up 21 points is a saving grace, I suppose.

Next is at San Diego, another team we ought to beat if we’re any good. We do, just barely, as we overcome an early 14-0 lead to win it 21-20. We lose CB Taylor, which is pretty big. He can come back in a few weeks, and I’ll play it safe rather than push him into playing through it. We’re at Cincinnati this week, and it might not matter.

It turns out that it doesn’t matter. Cinti is only 4-4, and we go in and beat them 23-19 to push ourselves to 5-4 on the year. Brennan is positively brilliant—22 of 26 for 315 yards, one TD and no picks. A great day for him and for us. Even if they’re slumping, beating the champs—the best team in the league over the last several years—in their house is something to mark down.

We’re home for 6-3 Pittsburgh next. This one really hurts. Brennan drives us for a TD in the final minute, but young PK Marvin Sherman misses the PAT, and we lose the game 28-27. We drop to 5-5, but are buoyed by the fact that only two AFC teams (both in the Central) are better than 6-4. Our entire division is between 6-4 and 4-6.

We go into Oakland, and put a big hurt on the Raiders, 26-0. We hold them to 144 total yards, and score on defense to seal a huge effort by that side of the ball. Then we lose to Kansas City 27-24, on a 17-point run they assemble in the 3rd and 4th quarters. CB Carlton Taylor is re-injured, and he’ll miss more time.

At 6-6, our game in Carolina (also 6-6) is very big. 7-6 is right in the playoff picture, while 6-7… well, isn’t. We lose 27-25. We scored a late TD to pull within 2, but Jake Duran was stopped at the goal line when we go for two, and we come up short by that margin. Ouch. We now go in to take on the 9-4 Jets, a tougher task. They, too, edge us out 20-17. They really control the game, but two fourth quarter TDs put us back in it late, only to come up short at their 33 as the clock expires.

For our last two games, I decide to try out a couple of new faces in the backfield. I return QB Flowers to the top job, and I install Serwanga as the starting RB. In Denver, Marmel and the other Broncos fans delight as they beat us 24-14, earning another season split. Flowers gets hurt early, and my rookie Ellison comes in to play passably, though he did throw a game-clinching interception TD. We lose to lowly Portland in our finale—an awful conclusion to a pretty lousy season. Flowers throws for 364 yards, 3 TD and 2 interceptions but we lose it in a 34-31 shootout.

We finish 6-10 amidst disappointment, and I am not clear what is the next step.. I think we were better than 6-10 – we certainly suffered a lot of close losses this season.

<pre>
2018 Regular Season Standings

AFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
New York J 11 5 0 .688 397 268 8-2-0 10-3-0
Buffalo 9 7 0 .563 293 308 5-5-0 7-6-0
New England 8 8 0 .500 318 269 5-5-0 7-6-0
Boise City 7 8 1 .469 340 327 5-4-1 6-6-1
Miami 5 10 1 .344 262 358 3-6-1 4-8-1
Indianapolis 5 11 0 .313 269 420 3-7-0 3-10-0

AFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Pittsburgh 13 3 0 .813 387 232 8-2-0 11-2-0
Cincinnati 10 6 0 .625 329 302 8-2-0 9-4-0
Jacksonville 10 6 0 .625 300 242 5-5-0 8-5-0
Tennessee 9 7 0 .563 369 269 5-5-0 7-6-0
Baltimore 6 10 0 .375 227 411 2-8-0 4-9-0
Cleveland 5 11 0 .313 309 320 2-8-0 4-9-0

AFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Denver 10 6 0 .625 357 303 8-2-0 9-4-0
Kansas City 8 8 0 .500 297 314 4-6-0 6-7-0
Seattle 8 8 0 .500 354 354 4-6-0 5-8-0
San Diego 7 9 0 .438 277 267 5-5-0 6-7-0
**Colorado Springs 6 10 0 .375 358 332 5-5-0 6-7-0
Oakland 5 11 0 .313 240 415 4-6-0 4-9-0

NFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Philadelphia 11 5 0 .688 379 234 7-3-0 9-4-0
Dallas 10 6 0 .625 365 352 6-4-0 8-5-0
New York G 9 7 0 .563 322 318 7-3-0 8-5-0
Arizona 8 8 0 .500 316 355 4-6-0 7-6-0
Washington 7 9 0 .438 332 332 5-5-0 6-7-0
Cheyenne 3 13 0 .188 204 399 1-9-0 2-11-0

NFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Tampa Bay 11 5 0 .688 414 268 8-2-0 9-4-0
Chicago 9 7 0 .563 392 339 7-3-0 8-5-0
Green Bay 9 7 0 .563 433 355 6-4-0 7-6-0
Detroit 7 9 0 .438 305 378 5-5-0 6-7-0
Minnesota 7 9 0 .438 334 374 4-6-0 4-9-0
Fargo 1 15 0 .063 240 419 0-10-0 0-13-0

NFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
St. Louis 13 3 0 .813 426 326 8-2-0 11-2-0
Atlanta 11 5 0 .688 389 245 6-4-0 9-4-0
San Francisco 10 6 0 .625 351 291 5-5-0 8-5-0
Carolina 10 6 0 .625 349 306 5-5-0 7-6-0
New Orleans 5 11 0 .313 246 343 4-6-0 5-8-0
Portland 4 12 0 .250 233 368 2-8-0 3-10-0
</pre>

Stat leaders:

QB David Brennan: 2,818 yds, 54.5%, 7.53 ypa, 13/20, 68.2
RB Jake Duran: 178-599 yds, 5 TD (3.3 ypc)
RB Dixon Serwanga: 123- 485 yds, 4 TD (3.9 ypc)
WR Kris Ferderer: 87-1,364 yds, 7 TD (58.3%, 8 drops)
WR Sammy Kerr: 70-1,079 yds, 6 TD (50.3%, 18 drops)
OL Unit: ~33 KRB%, 34 sacks allowed
LB Raymond Coppola: 105 tackles, 1 sack
LB Dominic Barlow: 98 tackles, 3 sacks
DE Lionel Schumacher: 10.5 sacks, 2 blocks, 7 hurries
CB Andre Hopper: 31 tackles, 5 int, 2 TD, 37.5 PDQ

Overall stats (off/def/avg):
Rushing: 3.2 / 3.1 / 3.8
Passing: 7.4 / 6.3 / 6.9

With the exception of our generally anemic running game, these are not the statistics of a 6-10 team. Our defense was substantially better than average against both the run and pass, and that’s without our best CB for more than half the season. I’m not overjoyed, but I’m convinced that this funny-shaped ball will son bounce our way, and then we’ll be on the good side of some of this luck.

As you can see, Cincinnati rebounded from their 4-5 start to catch fire and finish 10-6 as the #4 seed. They win two games to get to the AFC title game against the Jets, but then they finally fall. The Jets face St. Louis in the Superbowl, and they beat the Rams 24-10.

Pittsburgh’s RB Stan Soto gets the league MVP award, plus OPOY and 1st team RB. He has nearly 10,000 yard in 8 seasons (one almost totally lost to injury), and plenty of laurels to go with the yards. He’s certainly helped Pittsburgh break into the top tier of teams. My old DT Josh Firebaugh continues to lock the first team DT slot—a bit disturbing to me, but I’ll survive.

Our Squirrels are shut out of the postseason awards once again.

I remain fairly optimistic about the team’s near future, but we’ll have to wait and see how things go. I think I have more questions than answers at QB, but at least I have legitimate options. I think it might be time for a new scout—my guy is good, but he’s expensive and he’s been seated for an awfully long time. A new set of eyes might be worthwhile.

[QuikSand]

2019 pre-draft

I’m disappointed to see that WR Matt McCaughey does not get inducted into the league Hall of Fame. He’s my team’s HOF’s charter member, but he apparently didn’t make the cut for Canton. Three more RBs make it this year—making the first four game-generated inductees all running backs (whose careers tend to wrap up earlier, I understand).

We lost $22m last year, one of our several seasons to land right around that mark. Revenues came up, but so did contract costs and bonuses, and we couldn’t break even. We’ll see how much progress we can make there. Attendance stayed about the same—82.1%.

I decide to look for both coaches and scouts—my scout’s deal is up anyway. I find nothing among the coaches, and I decide to pursue Buffalo’s scout. He chooses to stay with them instead. My incumbent, William Humes, looks to be the best guy available by far. I decide to get him back, but since nobody else is offering him anything, I drop him to $700,000 a year for 5 years, which he accepts. At least I’ll save some money there—has had been making $850,000, so I’ll save about $7m a year, which ought to make a real difference.

Denver, after their division victory, boosts ticket prices by around 10%. I decide to match them in each category—I wasn’t able to take advantage of my good years, but I’m down on my luck financially now, and I need the dough. We contemplate a stadium enhancement, but it doesn’t make sense. (Even though it’s the only way, in this game, to move the franchise, and therefore for me to make good on my promise to get out of town if we don’t win soon… I suppose we’ll just have to go and win some games)

Punter Kirk Booker retired on me, but he’s the only loss we face. My roster situation is as follows—as usual, the list is sorted by salary:

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 2015 2020 5 ----- $10,340,000
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 2013 2020 7 ----- $7,500,000
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 2015 2021 5 ----- $7,000,000
Schumacher, Lionel 92 DE 2014 2019 6 ----- $6,530,000
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 2016 2021 4 ----- $6,400,000
Finley, Casey 51 LB 2015 2021 5 ----- $6,000,000
Lock, Rick 90 DE 2017 2022 3 ----- $5,290,000
Irwin, Gus 82 WR 2017 2020 4 ----- $4,950,000
Rayburn, Daniel 53 LB 2018 2020 6 ----- $4,730,000
Lake, Darrell 26 S 2016 2019 4 ----- $4,530,000
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 2018 2023 2 ----- $3,910,000
Gaylor, Jon + 31 FB 2015 2019 5 ----- $3,050,000
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 2017 2020 3 ----- $2,760,000
McKeefry, Karl 84 WR 2016 2019 4 ----- $2,740,000
Willis, Don 54 LB 2017 2020 4 ----- $2,500,000
Humphries, Herman + 34 S 2017 2020 3 ----- $2,410,000
Gunn, Juan 42 CB 2018 2020 2 ----- $2,090,000
Downs, Kyle 33 RB 2016 2019 4 ----- $2,050,000
Brennan, David 19 QB 2017 2020 3 ----- $1,690,000
Brock, Eugene 63 G 2017 2019 3 ----- $1,650,000
Reich, Perry 71 T 2017 2020 4 ----- $1,560,000
Duran, Jake 44 RB 2018 2020 2 ----- $1,510,000
Dirita, Albert + 47 RB 2018 2021 2 ----- $1,270,000
Ward, Grady 14 WR 2018 2021 2 ----- $1,270,000
Sawyer, Sammy 97 LB 2018 2021 2 ----- $1,270,000
Pieper, Kenyon 24 FB 2017 2019 3 ----- $1,240,000
Flowers, Jeremy 3 QB 2017 2019 3 ----- $1,160,000
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 2017 2020 3 ----- $1,070,000
Rivers, Wendell 89 TE 2018 2020 2 ----- $1,040,000
Serwanga, Dixon 45 RB 2018 2020 2 ----- $950,000
Ellison, O.J. 13 QB 2018 2019 2 ----- $910,000
Vance, Ryan 86 WR 2018 2019 2 ----- $910,000
Frank, Steve * 37 S 2005 UFA 15 ----- $0
Barlow, Dominic 50 LB 2007 UFA 13 ----- $0
Hoover, Darrin + 7 QB 2016 UFA 12 ----- $0
Kerr, Sammy 88 WR 2013 UFA 7 ----- $0
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 2013 UFA 7 ----- $0
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 2013 UFA 7 ----- $0
Nixon, Benjamin + 21 CB 2018 UFA 7 ----- $0
McElroy, Cole 72 T 2014 UFA 6 ----- $0
Runyon, Frank 56 LB 2018 UFA 6 ----- $0
Paullin, Les 85 TE 2018 UFA 5 ----- $0
Burgess, Dana 57 C 2015 UFA 5 ----- $0
Agrawall, Daryl 69 T 2016 UFA 5 ----- $0
Emmons, Alvin + 91 DE 2016 UFA 5 ----- $0
Hopper, Andre 29 CB 2015 UFA 5 ----- $0
Raphael, Bob 52 C 2016 ---- 4 ----- $0
Conaty, Wes 95 DE 2016 ---- 4 ----- $0
Cicci, Joseph + 94 DT 2016 ---- 4 ----- $0
Burgess, Tracy 64 G 2017 ---- 3 ----- $0
Chew, Deon 96 DT 2018 ---- 2 ----- $0
Skidmore, Alvin 59 LB 2018 ---- 2 ----- $0


Salary Cap: $178.2 million
Room Under Cap: $74,590,000
</pre>

Obviously, a very busy offseason ahead. Safety Steve Frank will be tough—he’s bound to retire soon anyway. I expect that his demands will not be too steep. Same for LB Dominic Barlow. I will plan to re-sign DT Alex Dosoo, G Leo Mitchell, and T Cole McElroy. I’ll hope that LB Runyon and CB Nixon—Colorado guys—slip into the after-camp period, wher I can re-sign them again cheaply. I don’t think tey are worth big bucks. Young C Raphale probably won’t be affordable and I’ll have to scramble for a Colorado OL. DE Conaty and CB Hopper would cause holes if they left, but they are not (on their face) worth paying big bucks. It will be a tough call.

My biggest quandary will be WR Sammy Kerr. He’s put up solid numbers in his several years with us. However, he clearly has a case of the dropsies—he has dropped 67 passes out of 649 targeted to him—over 10%, which I believe to be unacceptable. 18 drops last season just isn’t right. If I had another quality option, I’d loose him in a heartbeat. Since I’m not playing the real open free agent market, I have to temper my actions a good deal. I may fork out the big money just to hold onto him, if for no other reason than to retain for this team the continued affections of The Royal One’s wife.

As the FA period opens, I get an intriguing trade offer. KC is looking for RB help, and offering a 3rd round pick plus a nice young WR Clyde Robb for my RB Jake Duran. Duran has two years left on his contract, WR Robb has three. The 3rd round pick is what I used to take Duran to begin with, and after last year, he looks pretty replaceable. I decide to make the deal.

Steve Frank is looking for a ridiculous deal—three years at about $8m each, with nearly $12m up front. That’s damned steep for a guy who might have one or possibly two years left in the tank, and they clearly won’t be his best years. I’ve already drafted to replace him—I decide to wait him out, though I would much prefer to have him retire with me.

LB Dominic Barlow gets a 2yr offer for $15m. He ought to stay in any case, with 100 loyalty. I put in 3yrs, $25.5m for G Leo Mitchell, and 3yr, $43m for DT Dosoo. I top off with 4yrs, $48.5m to T McElroy. This seemingly huge cap room is going to spend quickly at these rates—if these guys all sign these deals, they will cost me $40m of the $75m I have.

I sit back on WR Kerr and CB Hopper. Hopper is asking for over $13m a year, and I have second year man Gunn if I end up in a real pinch. If I sign S Steve Frank, I’d have another quality body to rotate over to CB also.

In week one, WR Sammy Kerr is snapped up immediately by Green bay for about $13m a year. I have work to do to sign my other free agents. I have to increase all four offers to stay on top—DT Dosoo is the most difficult. I eventually decide he is too important to my run defense to let him go, so we put up a major offer of over $15m a year to try to hold on to him.

All four guys sit pending, with my offer on top, for three weeks. DT Dosoo takes my offer in week 5, G Mitchell in week 6.

However, in week 6, two of my other guys get offers. CB Hopper and S Frank get lucrative offers—Steve Frank’s is for four years! I put in a bid for Steve Frank—2yrs, $16m (with $8m up front) and I hope he chooses to stick around. As for Hopper—the current price of $13m a year is simply too steep for a guy of his solid, but not spectacular, talents. I decide that I can’t keep up with the other bids, and resign myself to watching him leave—though I put in a 3yr, $37.5m offer to at least give him the choice to stick around.

In week 7, I get a surprise signing. Steve frank decides to take my offer rather than the 4yr deal elsewhere, and he sticks around with us, which will certainly help. In week 8, LB Barlow takes my offer. We’re filling in pretty well now, and I’m down to $36m in cap room left. In week 9, T McElroy re-signs, and to my surprise, so does CB Hopper. Now, I’m in a bit if a pickle—I’m down to $15.5m in cap room, a good bit lower than I had expected. Regardless, I have my key players returned to the fold, including a couple I didn’t expect to hold on to.

I put in a bid for a cheap fill-in OT in Rich Fouts, but don’t find any other cheap free gents to go after. I’m intrigued by a solid WR who is still in the pool—Preston Adderly has been a 4yr starter for Minnesota, and he would fit nicely into the mix for us, I suspect. It looks like he can be had for about $5-6m per year—quite a bit cheaper than than going rate of $12m or more for a quality WR. I have to make some cuts to clear the room, but WR Gus Irwin is really just nickels on the dollar to this guy. I finally get in a bid—3yrs, $19m.

That wraps up my free agency period—after my cuts and pickups, I have 36 players aboard, and $22.4m in cap room. I think the cap should balance out about right this season, particularly if I can re-acquire guys like CB Nixon and/or LB Runyon after training camp.

Heading toward the draft, I have the #10 pick. A star RB would be nice, but doesn’t look to be in the cards. So, what to do? Probably a BPA situation, but it would be good to go after a need area.

[QuikSand]

2018 draft and camp

I have pick #10, and there are two RBs in this draft who would be absolutely fabulous picks. There is also a tremendous DT, and a very good WR from Colorado. I am hoping that at least one of those four will be around for my pick.

The first two picks are a QB and DE that I didn’t particularly like. Good so far. Pick three is the DT, and pick four is the top RB—bad news. Picks five through seven are off my list (except for a nearly-perfect G, who would have been my next choice, I suspect). The next two picks are also guys I am not considering, and we now have a choice to make. It isn’t too tough—I need a RB very badly, and Sherman Chandler is the best guy I’ve had the chance to draft in years and years. I pass on a superior Colorado wideout, and an offensive tackle who’d be a star as well.

<pre>
Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Sherman Chandler, RB, Louisiana Tech – the real thing, with (86/68/74/77/72/100/58/62/63)
Rnd 2 - Lamont Kaplan, DT, Oklahoma – fills need position (58/68/53)
Rnd 3 - Anthony Bedford, C, Missouri – another need pick, last decent C left (51/64/48)
Rnd 3 - Skip Donovan, LB, Nebraska – solid fill-in backer, with current ratings already in 35-45 range
Rnd 4 - Hardy Hodges, RB, Colorado – pretty good local running back provides some flexibility
Rnd 5 - Myron Hamrahi, TE, Mississippi State – another rookie ready to play right away at need area
Rnd 6 - Travis Tatum, LB, Sam Houston State – good skills in run D (73) and m-t-m coverage (77)
Rnd 7 - Lawrence Banks, QB, Colorado – solid local kid, worthy of roster spot as backup for a while
</pre>

It isn’t a particularly good draft—after the first round, I feel like I’m getting poor quality players, relatively speaking. However, if RB Sherman Chandler gets my team fired up offensively, it will have been very much worth the sacrifice.

I re-sign one of my own—DE Alvin Emmons, and a few more URFA guys to fill in gaps on the roster. We head into training camp with a number of hopefuls. Man, a nice major training camp breakout would be a great thing right here…

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB David Brennan 7 11 3 2020
QB Darrin Hoover 7 8 12 UFA
QB Jeremy Flowers 6 13 3 2019
QB O.J. Ellison 5 12 2 2019
QB Lawrence Banks 4 10 1 2021
QB Lester Jennings 3 9 1 2021
RB Sherman Chandler 12 15 1 2024
RB Kyle Downs 9 9 4 2019
RB Dixon Serwanga 8 11 2 2020
RB Hardy Hodges 8 11 1 2021
RB Albert Dirita 7 9 2 2021
FB Kenyon Pieper 9 10 3 2019
FB Jon Gaylor 8 9 5 2019
FB Leslie Lynch 2 7 1 2019
TE Les Paullin 8 10 5 UFA
TE Wendell Rivers 6 11 2 2020
TE Myron Hamrahi 6 11 1 2020
WR Kris Ferderer 15 16 3 2020
WR Preston Adderley 12 13 5 2021
WR Karl McKeefry 10 12 4 2019
WR Clyde Robb 7 13 2 2021
WR Grady Ward 4 8 2 2021
WR Ryan Vance 3 4 2 2019
WR Lester Rivers 2 5 1 2019
C Dana Burgess 9 11 5 UFA
C Bob Raphael 8 10 4 ----
C Anthony Bedford 5 11 1 2022
G Leo Mitchell 13 13 7 2022
G Eugene Brock 10 12 3 2019
G Tracy Burgess 8 12 3 ----
G Jon Warren 3 6 1 2019
G Mickey Jordan 2 2 1 2022
T Joel Ignasiak 14 16 5 2021
T Cole McElroy 14 14 6 2022
T Perry Reich 7 10 4 2020
T Daryl Agrawall 7 10 5 UFA
T Rich Fouts 4 11 2 2021
P Ernest Thomason 0 0 1 2019
K Marvin Sherman 6 6 3 2020
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 17 6 2019
DE Rick Lock 10 15 3 2022
DE Wes Conaty 8 13 4 ----
DE Alvin Emmons 5 7 5 2021
DE Perry Merriman 2 3 1 2019
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 7 2022
DT Lamont Kaplan 6 12 1 2022
DT Joseph Cicci 5 7 4 ----
DT Graham Wolfe 4 6 1 2022
DT Ricky Hawkins 3 9 1 2019
DT Dominic Schultz 2 3 1 2019
DT Deon Chew 2 10 2 ----
LB Dominic Barlow 16 16 13 2021
LB Raymond Coppola 14 18 4 2021
LB Casey Finley 13 13 5 2021
LB Daniel Rayburn 11 11 6 2020
LB Skip Donovan 8 13 1 2021
LB Frank Runyon 6 8 6 UFA
LB Alvin Skidmore 5 10 2 ----
LB Travis Tatum 5 10 1 2021
LB Sammy Sawyer 5 11 2 2021
LB Josh Wallace 1 4 1 2019
CB Carlton Taylor 16 16 5 2020
CB Andre Hopper 11 13 5 2021
CB Benjamin Nixon 6 9 7 UFA
CB Juan Gunn 6 12 2 2020
S Nolan Stoffel 15 15 7 2020
S Steve Frank 11 11 15 2020
S Gerald Hardman 9 16 2 2023
</pre>

And we then get into training camp. I’m hopeful for good news on the other end…

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB David Brennan 9 13 3 2020
QB O.J. Ellison 7 12 2 2019
QB Jeremy Flowers 7 12 3 2019
QB Lawrence Banks 4 10 1 2021
QB Lester Jennings 3 9 1 2021
RB Sherman Chandler 11 15 1 2024
RB Dixon Serwanga 9 12 2 2020
RB Kyle Downs 9 10 4 2019
RB Hardy Hodges 8 11 1 2021
RB Albert Dirita 8 8 2 2021
FB Kenyon Pieper 10 10 3 2019
FB Jon Gaylor 8 9 5 2019
FB Leslie Lynch 2 7 1 2019
TE Wendell Rivers 10 12 2 2020
TE Myron Hamrahi 7 14 1 2020
WR Kris Ferderer 16 16 3 2020
WR Preston Adderley 13 13 5 2021
WR Karl McKeefry 10 12 4 2019
WR Clyde Robb 10 10 2 2021
WR Grady Ward 7 8 2 2021
WR Ryan Vance 4 6 2 2019
WR Lester Rivers 1 4 1 2019
C Anthony Bedford 1 3 1 2022
G Leo Mitchell 13 13 7 2022
G Eugene Brock 12 14 3 2019
G Jon Warren 3 6 1 2019
G Mickey Jordan 3 6 1 2022
T Cole McElroy 15 15 6 2022
T Joel Ignasiak 14 16 5 2021
T Rich Fouts 7 11 2 2021
T Perry Reich 7 10 4 2020
P Ernest Thomason 1 1 1 2019
K Marvin Sherman 6 6 3 2020
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 16 6 2019
DE Rick Lock 11 11 3 2022
DE Alvin Emmons 5 6 5 2021
DE Perry Merriman 1 2 1 2019
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 7 2022
DT Lamont Kaplan 6 13 1 2022
DT Graham Wolfe 4 10 1 2022
DT Ricky Hawkins 2 7 1 2019
DT Dominic Schultz 2 3 1 2019
LB Raymond Coppola 17 18 4 2021
LB Dominic Barlow 16 16 13 2021
LB Casey Finley 12 12 5 2021
LB Daniel Rayburn 11 11 6 2020
LB Skip Donovan 10 14 1 2021
LB Travis Tatum 5 11 1 2021
LB Sammy Sawyer 3 8 2 2021
LB Josh Wallace 1 7 1 2019
CB Carlton Taylor 16 16 5 2020
CB Andre Hopper 12 12 5 2021
CB Juan Gunn 9 11 2 2020
S Nolan Stoffel 15 15 7 2020
S Steve Frank 11 11 15 2020
S Gerald Hardman 10 16 2 2023
</pre>

In my scout’s eyes, one of the winners in the draft was QB David Brennan, who perhaps re-assumed hold on the starter’s role for the upciming season with good development.

My rookies look fine—RB Chandler dropped a notch on the scout’s ranking system, but he looks just about the same to me (actually up to 92 in breakaway speed). Regrettably my third rounder C Anthony Bedford, is a total bust, and is just waiting to be cut now. LB Skip Donovan, however, developed a bit in camp—he ought to be just fine and dandy. No other surprises among either the draft picks or the URFA class.

I get a 4th round pick for RB Kyle Downs, who has been supplanted by younger talent, and a 7th for FB Jon Gaylor, who was mostly just overpriced. I make a number of cuts, and a few re-additions, and get my roster to the desired 53.

Here is my trimmed roster:

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos HT WT Exp Stat College
Brennan, David 19 QB 6-5 201 3 ----- Washington
Flowers, Jeremy 3 QB 6-2 194 3 ----- Maryland
Ellison, O.J. 13 QB 6-0 216 2 ----- Washington State
Jennings, Lester 8 QB 6-3 205 R Inact Colorado
Serwanga, Dixon 45 RB 5-11 199 2 ----- Clemson
Dirita, Albert + 47 RB 5-7 202 2 ----- Arizona
Chandler, Sherman 26 RB 5-8 215 R ----- Louisiana Tech
Hodges, Hardy 30 RB 5-9 220 R Inact Colorado
Pieper, Kenyon 24 FB 5-11 241 3 ----- Louisiana Tech
Lynch, Leslie 32 FB 5-10 230 1 ----- Colorado
Rivers, Wendell 89 TE 5-11 248 2 ----- Colorado State
Hamrahi, Myron 80 TE 6-5 235 R ----- Mississippi State
Adderley, Preston 88 WR 5-10 182 5 ----- Fresno State
McKeefry, Karl 84 WR 6-3 192 4 ----- Texas A&M
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 5-10 178 3 ----- Penn State
Vance, Ryan 86 WR 5-11 189 2 ----- Western State
Robb, Clyde 83 WR 5-11 212 2 ----- Auburn
Ward, Grady 14 WR 5-9 187 2 ----- Troy State
Raphael, Bob 54 C 6-1 293 4 ----- Colorado State
Mello, Ron 69 C 6-7 283 1 ----- Shippensburg
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 6-1 328 7 ----- Georgia
Brock, Eugene 63 G 6-3 269 3 ----- Western Michigan
Jordan, Mickey 70 G 6-2 306 1 Inact Nebraska
Warren, Jon 73 G 6-5 297 1 ----- Arizona State
McElroy, Cole 72 T 6-9 301 6 ----- Tennessee
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 6-5 305 5 ----- Nebraska
Reich, Perry 71 T 6-2 331 4 Inact Cincinnati
Fouts, Rich 65 T 6-1 344 2 ----- Stanford
Thomason, Ernest 9 P 6-2 208 1 ----- Colorado
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 6-1 188 3 ----- Colorado
Schumacher, Lionel 92 DE 6-3 273 6 ----- Alabama
Emmons, Alvin + 91 DE 6-5 284 5 ----- North Carolina State
Lock, Rick 90 DE 6-1 254 3 ----- Notre Dame
Voigt, Kennedy 95 DE 6-6 266 1 Inact Air Force
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 6-6 305 7 ----- Delaware State
Hawkins, Ricky 77 DT 6-6 316 1 ----- Georgia
Kaplan, Lamont 93 DT 6-5 307 R ----- Oklahoma
Barlow, Dominic 50 LB 6-0 241 13 ----- San Diego State
Runyon, Frank 56 LB 6-3 206 6 ----- Colorado
Rayburn, Daniel 53 LB 6-1 238 6 ----- Air Force
Finley, Casey 51 LB 6-2 257 5 ----- Michigan State
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 6-2 242 4 ----- Nebraska
Sawyer, Sammy 97 LB 5-11 222 2 Inact Clemson
Tatum, Travis 99 LB 6-3 205 R ----- Sam Houston State
Wallace, Josh 68 LB 6-2 241 1 Inact Colorado
Donovan, Skip 55 LB 6-4 227 R ----- Nebraska
Nixon, Benjamin 34 CB 6-0 204 7 ----- Colorado State
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 5-10 184 5 ----- Arkansas
Hopper, Andre 29 CB 6-0 195 5 ----- Mississippi
Gunn, Juan 42 CB 5-11 179 2 ----- Washington State
Frank, Steve * 37 S 5-9 226 15 ----- Rice
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 5-9 187 7 ----- Oklahoma
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 6-0 226 2 ----- Saginaw Valley

Salary Cap: $178.2 million
Room Under Cap: $2,070,000
</pre>

Our count of Colorado schoolpayers is at 12, which is pretty strong. I feel like we have things coming together here—our QB situation should be interesting to watch. Brennan starts as the starter, and looks like the most ready to go. However, each of the other two guys looks like he might have a strong future—it might get tough to say.

We’ll look for a breakout year from Brennan. I think despite losing Sammy Kerr we’ll be stronger at WR than in recet years. If the RB situation steps up a bit—and we’re counting on Chandler to do it—then we ought to be ready for a big turnaround, especially since I don’t think we were as bad as our record last season.

[QuikSand]

2019 season

All things equal, I tend to believe that the RB should be the “last piece of the puzzle," as they tend to hit the ground running (pun intended). But seriously, though this tean hasn’t come together exactly as I had planned (I’d rather have been here about 3 seasons ago) I do feel like we’re about to leap forward. While I am losing a lot of talent every year, I have a very strong unit being kept together, a solid offensive line (the best I’ve had) and a defense that has really come into its own. All told, I think we’re working out well—and this season might be the one where we make a big leap from early drafter to late season player. At least I hope so…

I notice something strange—my team expertise ratings are all rather low. (This is even before the exhibition season) I have never seen this before, but all my ratings are below 50 (even ones where I put in lots of camp time)—I’ll check again before week one of the regular season, but that’s disturbing to me.

I set my lineups—not big surprises. I go with Brennan at QB, and Ellison as the backup—though honestly #1-3 are all pretty close. I put in Chandler as our starting RB, and give him a PT of 5. I want him to come in and be the main man right away, assumnig he’s up to the task—which he appears to be.

The OL stays largely in place, except that C Raphael gets the start now. The defense is the familiar setup as well. We’re solid everywhere, but not quite as deep as last season with reserves. We’ll see if that causes real problems.

Intot he exhibition season we go. We have two WRs go down with injuries—out #3 and 4 guys Robb and McKeefry. We’ll get by, but that will sting a bit. I fill in with reserve RBs for now. We have a few more dings, but nothing traumatic.

On the franchise value screen, our roster rating is at 84—Tennessee has reclaimed the top spot and we’re back to second best. The volatile Cincinnati is down to 45—who can figure all that out? The champion Jets are among the top teams at 76. Our team cohesion ratings are 58-73-82-82—not too bad, and the secondary rating puts us in fifth place overall.

My team expertise still stinks, and I don’t know why that is. I’m used to having ratings in the 70-90 range for areas where I really focused (like my 3-4 defense) but now I have a 48 there and nothing higher than that. I don’t know what that tells me, but I don’t like it.

Our opener is against Miami, and we withstand a mild rally to win it 37-32. We actually really roll them on paper, except that they get two return TDs to make it close. We outgained them 483-226, a good sign. RB Chandler gets his first TD in the first quarter and racks up 108 yards on the day, and QB Brennan hits rookie TE Hamrahi for two early TD passes.

We lose G Leo Mitchell to a season-ending injury—bad news. This looks like the type that may end his career. My other guard Brock is also out with an injury—we’re going to rapidly be makeshift on this line, and we can ill afford the shift. I start my backup tackles to start at bothguard spots, but we need Brock to get healthy quick—this is an absolute bandaid solution here. I have a number of injuries from this game—looks like a pyrrhic victory.

Wee host Denver in week 2, and as always it’s a big game—made more so since they are the defending division champions. The Broncos take is 37-31, as their QB Marty Alexander shines with a great game, eclipsing the 172 yard running game by my runningback… Serwanga ?!?!? Sherman Chandler goes down after two carries with a concussion, but Serwanga steps in and runs wild, but we lose the shootout anyway.

We go into winless KC and get a 20-14 win, with Serwnga again getting a hundred yard game. I sit down Chandler for the next game, to get him completely ready to go. We get a merciful early bye week, which we need desperately due to all out injuries. We get a 23-20 home win over Washington, as Brennan scores the winning TD in the game’s final two minutes. Serwanga has another great game—119 yards on 19 carries. It’s tough to unset this guy—a super sub. Nonetheless, I re-install Chandler as the starter as he’s now ready to go.

We’re 3-1, a game behind the unbeaten Broncos, and tied with the Chargers. Our division is off to a strong start, and we’re in the thick of it for once. We go into New England and beat the lousy Pats 28-5. Brennan hits Ferderer for two more TD passes, and Chandler and Serwangs each have good games running the ball. Our offense is playing better than it has in years and years. Next, we host 4-1 Seattle—this is an important early divisional game, of course. RB Serwanga is dinged up—Chandler will need to carry more of the load than usual. The Seahawks take us 34-23, just playing opportunistic ball it seems. They have a great run defense, and shut our running game down. Tough to say what else went wrong—though I did lose WR Adderly to an early injury.

We get to play in Cheyenne next, which should be a win. We battle through our injuries, and come away 24-17 victors. This time it’s WR Ferderer who gets huirt and basically misses the game. FB Kenyon Pieper has his best game with 55 total yards and 2 TD carries.

We next host 4-4 San Diego—a chance to put some distance between us and “the pack.” It’s a shootout early, but by the middle of the third quarter, we’re the only ones shooting—we go on to win it 38-20. Our two main weapons were RB Chandler with 115 and 2 TD and WR Adderly with 144 and 2 TD. Not too bad—we’re up to 6-2 at the season’s halfway point, clearly our best showing in years. Denver remains unbeaten, so I have not yet given the strayed fans something to really worry about. We get our chance, though, as our next game is in Denver.

I have to make some patchwork moves on the starting lineup—our Frankenstein line continues to appall. I bgin in a rookie G to try to help fill a space or two. In Denver, the Broncos lay out QB Brennan with a cheap shot in the first half, and my backup O.J. Ellison is forced to come in. He throws two second half TD passes, but we lose it 16-14. We drop to 6-3, and the Broncos seem to be on their way to greatness at 9-0. QB Brennan will miss the rest of the regular season with a broken foot, and we’re suddenly a bit worried. Ellison will start now, and Flowers will be the backup.

We next take on 6-3 Seattle, who will eb without their longtime starting QB Arnie Fisher. They will still try to throw a lot, behind their mad bomber youngster QB. We’ve lost S Nolan Stoffel for the year—we continue to assemble a patchwork lineup week to week. Whatever the lineup was, it worked—we roll the Hawks 23-6. However, QB Ellison goes down in the second half, and will miss a game or two. This is ridiculous, but I suppose I’m temporarily happy for having this traffic jam at QB—I can go to Flowers and expect that he’ll be okay.

Hosting Oakland, we come up with a 30-24 win. QB Jeremy Flowers runs one, throws one, and we withstand a later Raider rally to go ahead. We held them to only 10 yards rushing, so that part of our defense is working well. In what should have been a walkover at home against KC, we take a 7-6 win. Jeremy Flowers gets hurt (come on!) and Ellison has to limp out and play the second half—he gets a TD pass which makes the difference.

For next week, Ellison is the only QB off the injury list, so he will start. Flowers will be #2 and Brennan is still a month away. At 9-3, we are in comfy playoff position, but we’re still 3 games behind Denver, who is just paving the league. Cincinnati has again overcome a bad 2-3 start, and is now at 8-4 and looking strong. We lose in Baltimore 26-10, as Ellison gets dinged and Flowers has to go through the motions again.

We lose again in San Diego—same deal. Ellison starts, goes out with a mid-game injury, and Flowers fills in despite his own injury. We fail on a late two-point conversion, and lose it 14-12. This time, Ellison’s injury is severe enough to put him out for a few weeks—and it’s Flowers’ job again. After two losses, we are in some peril—9-5 is still a playoff-worthy record, but we have to stop the slide now.

We escape Oakland with a 28-27 win. Sherman Chandler is the hero, with the winning TD and a huge day overall—182 yards and 3 TDs. We pull to 10-5, and are practically assured of a playoff bid. Denver, meanwhile, has dropped to 12-3 after a nasty slump of their own. We won’t catch them, but they at least have a serious chink in their armor.

In our finale against Dallas, I have activated Brennan, and he will be our backup. Even if we lose this game, it’s nearly impossible for us to miss the playoffs, so there isn’t a lot of pressure. DE Schumacher is out, and will probably miss the postseason as well. My focus is getting through the game fairly healthy, and having a legitimate roster to field for next week’s playoff opener.

The fans who showed up to see a “meaningless” game against another playoff team got their money’s worth—Dallas rallied to beat us 38-35 with 3 fourth quarter TDs. Jeremy Flowers looked solid with 4 TDs of his own, but our defense gave it up down the stretch.

The loss puts us in an unenviable position—we now have to start our playoff season on the road as the #6 seed, and we will travel to the lowest-seeded division winner—who happens to be Cincinnati, who seems to spot everyone a few games early before roaring back late.

<pre>
2019 Regular Season Standings

AFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
New York J 12 4 0 .750 439 272 8-2-0 10-3-0
Boise City 11 5 0 .688 349 306 8-2-0 9-4-0
Buffalo 9 7 0 .563 368 342 5-5-0 6-7-0
Indianapolis 7 9 0 .438 244 326 3-7-0 5-8-0
Miami 4 12 0 .250 243 354 3-7-0 3-10-0
New England 3 13 0 .188 268 389 3-7-0 3-10-0

AFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Cincinnati 11 5 0 .688 393 355 8-2-0 10-3-0
Baltimore 10 6 0 .625 310 284 6-4-0 8-5-0
Cleveland 9 7 0 .563 343 304 4-6-0 6-7-0
Pittsburgh 8 8 0 .500 324 322 5-5-0 7-6-0
Jacksonville 8 8 0 .500 364 338 4-6-0 7-6-0
Tennessee 7 9 0 .438 332 328 3-7-0 5-8-0

AFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Denver 13 3 0 .813 388 303 9-1-0 11-2-0
**Colorado Springs 10 6 0 .625 383 336 6-4-0 8-5-0
Seattle 9 7 0 .563 380 348 6-4-0 8-5-0
San Diego 7 9 0 .438 334 363 4-6-0 5-8-0
Oakland 6 10 0 .375 334 336 4-6-0 5-8-0
Kansas City 1 15 0 .063 258 410 1-9-0 1-12-0

NFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Philadelphia 12 4 0 .750 376 289 8-2-0 11-2-0
Dallas 11 5 0 .688 473 349 7-3-0 8-5-0
New York G 9 7 0 .563 292 311 6-4-0 8-5-0
Washington 9 7 0 .563 313 264 5-5-0 7-6-0
Cheyenne 4 12 0 .250 273 353 3-7-0 3-10-0
Arizona 4 12 0 .250 262 345 1-9-0 2-11-0

NFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Chicago 11 5 0 .688 390 283 6-4-0 9-4-0
Minnesota 10 5 1 .656 377 309 7-2-1 9-3-1
Green Bay 9 6 1 .594 350 341 6-3-1 7-5-1
Tampa Bay 7 9 0 .438 348 356 5-5-0 5-8-0
Fargo 6 10 0 .375 262 334 3-7-0 6-7-0
Detroit 5 11 0 .313 237 374 2-8-0 4-9-0

NFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Atlanta 11 5 0 .688 367 361 9-1-0 10-3-0
St. Louis 10 6 0 .625 342 284 7-3-0 8-5-0
Carolina 8 8 0 .500 368 278 4-6-0 5-8-0
New Orleans 6 10 0 .375 305 362 5-5-0 6-7-0
San Francisco 5 11 0 .313 296 380 3-7-0 4-9-0
Portland 5 11 0 .313 240 336 2-8-0 4-9-0
</pre>

Stat leaders:

QB David Brennan: 9 starts, 2,151 yds, 56.7%, 6.45 ypa, 13/8, 79.2
QB Jeremy Flowers: 5 starts, 1,372 yds, 52.7%, 7.62 ypa, 7/5, 79.1
RB Sherman Chandler: 226-1,066 yds, 11 TD (4.7 ypc)
RB Dixon Serwanga: 111-689 yds, 2 TD (6.2 ypc)
WR Kris Ferderer: 79-1,262 yds, 7 TD (53.0%, 11 drops)
WR Preston Adderly: 68-1,037 yds, 9 TD (54.4%, 8 drops)
OL unit: ~37% KRBs, 37 sacks allowed
LB Dominic Barlow: 69 tackles, 7 sacks
DE Lionel Schumacher: 13.5 sacks, 2 blocks, 5 hurries
S Steve Frank: 62 tackles, 5 int, 35.9 PDQ

Overall stats (off/def/avg):
Rushing: 4.5 / 3.6 / 3.8
Passing: 6.8 / 6.3 / 6.6

Voila! Our running game exploded, despite the problems with the offensive line. Our 4.5 was the leaguye’s best average, and Serwanga’s emergence played a big role as did the obvious addition of the young star. Defensively, we were solid again—better than average on both sides. These are good numbers to see—if we can stabilize the QB position, we might be very good very soon.

In the playoffs, we’ll see if QB Brennan can go, but we’ll go with Flowers if need be. Cincinnati will be very tough, but we have a running game and a defense—anything can happen.

[QuikSand]

2019 postseason

It’s nice just to have to write a postseaosn section to this thread—it’s been a while.

Our good news is that David Brennan is given the thumbs up by the medical staff—and he’ll get the start this week. He migth be a little rusty, but we’ll try to ease him into things…not! LB Dominic Barlow will also be re-activated, though he’s still listed as probable, he’ll go. S Stoffel and DE Schumacher are both out, probably for the duration.

Cincinnati will come at us with abalanced offense—QB Terry Webb has been their leader since the middle of their last three-peat. He’s had a solid year, possibly an award-winning one. RB Troy Hutchings (a former Squirrel) is their main RB, but they will use a number of backs and receivers. DE Justin Ash lead a tough defense—this team just plays very solid football every year. (Through 20 seasons, they have a .689 winning percentage, which is unreal—and are 6-0 in Superbowls)

The Bengals get the ball first, and they convert a few third-and-long situations to drive for a TD. We simply have to close the deal when we get them to 3rd and 10. We each have solid but unscoring drives to play out the first quarter. It’s intothe second when we have a drive that is extended by a roughing the kicker foul, and we eventually cap it off with an 11-yard Chandler TD run. It’s tied 7-7 in the late second quarter when Steve frank gets an interception off Webb, and takes it 56 yards for a TD! We help out Cinti with a roughing the kicker call of our own, and they move in for a FG before halftime. Despite this nice TD run, we really have had no ground game against the tough Bengals D—we have 18 yards rushing now.

Webb drives them a short field and gets a go-ahead TD, but they miss the PAT—it’s 16-14 as we near the end of the third quarter. Inthis close game, disaster strikes—we fumble away the kickoff, and they take over at our 20. They only get a FG, but a 2 point lead turns into 5, and in the fourth quarter, that’s a big difference. We continue to try to run, but then Brennan has to throw on second and third down. We move down to the Cinti 35, and have first down and ten there. A one yard run, a failed WR screen, and a short pass set us up for a long FG, but we miss it.

Cinti punts and pins us at our 13, with 7:39 left. We abandon the runnin ggame, sort of—Brennan tosses a swing pass to Chandler on second down, and he breaks past the two men on that side of the field, and find daylight—a 93 yard play for the game-breaking TD! We decide to go for two, and Brennan hits Chandler again for the conversion. Squirrels 22, Bengals 19. We force them to go three and out, and takeover again with 5:30 remaining. We go three and out, get a lousy punt (of course) and they have it at midfield. They try a 45 yard FG, and make it—it’s tied at 22 with 2:16 left.

On third down, after two lousy running plays, Brennan is picked off at our 17 yard line, and we’re in deep trouble now. As the clock runs out, their kick goes through, and they take the 25-22 victory. Tough one.

Cincinnati goes on to beat the Jets, but the Broncos beat them in the AFC title game to go to the Superbowl against Philadelphia. Denver wins it 33-27—Marmel is going crazy as he watches from his scalped seats down in Miami. The Bronco fans are ecstatic, getting their first title.

On the awards board, Denver’s WR Brenden Dye gets an unusual nod as the NFL MVP, with a 1,792 yard, 12 TD season—quite impressive. He also gets the MVP of the Superbowl game. My LT Joel Ignasiak gets named to the league’s second team, and RB Sherman Chandler is the offensive rookie of the year with his thousand yard season.

We’ll look toward another improvement next season, and perhaps a step up into the elite ranks. QB is critical—the depth helped this year, but we now need consistency.

[Marmel]

Dear Quiksand, GM:

I cannot tell you how happy it made me to watch my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, take home their first of many Lombardi trophies. The only thing that could make is sweeter is if they have to go through Colorado Springs and knock your team out of the playoffs in the process. Maybe we'll see you next year.

I hope you are learning a valuable lesson in General Management from your neighbors.

Sincerely,
Marmel "Squirrel hater"

[QuikSand]

Dear Wig-wearing Turncoat,

We always warmly receive your input and comments. We strive to build our franchise toward great heights, and believe that we are well on the way to doing just that.

When (not "if") we soon surpass the Broncos as the dominant force in the AFC West and the entire NFL, you will be welcome to return your fairweather allegicnces back our way-- if you are able to find tickets.

Until then, enjoy the Broncos fleeting success. They may have the early speed, but we're bred to go the distance.

Yours,

QuikSand, GM

[QuikSand]

2020 pre-camp

Our franchise, with its first playoff season in five years, had a positively dreadful year on the books. We lost $58 million, bvy far our worst season. The biggest issue was the paying of bonuses—as we obviously had a busy free agent year last year, which should not be continuing. However, that’s a pretty big ticket to swallow. Attendance was actually down a little from the year before, but I suspect our newly winning ways will help that—fans also may have reacted to my ticket price increases in 2019. I also didn’t lose a lot of relative ground in attendance—suggesting that it might be a global phenomenon, not a local one.

My coach and scout are locked in, but I look around anyway. I make a token effort after another scout, but he goes for big money, and I sit tight once again.

Denver’s success causes them to again push up ticket prices, and I follow suit. It’s a modest increase this time around.

I have no retirements—to my surprise. Here is my roster situation—you’ll quickly reach the same conclusion that I did:

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 2013 2022 8 ----- $15,000,000
Hopper, Andre 29 CB 2015 2021 6 ----- $12,500,000
McElroy, Cole 72 T 2014 2022 7 ----- $11,750,000
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 2015 2020 6 ----- $11,630,000
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 2013 2022 8 ----- $10,000,000
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 2015 2021 6 ----- $8,500,000
Frank, Steve * 37 S 2005 2020 16 ----- $8,000,000
Barlow, Dominic + 50 LB 2007 2021 14 ----- $8,000,000
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 2013 2020 8 ----- $7,750,000
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 2016 2021 5 ----- $7,180,000
Adderley, Preston 88 WR 2019 2021 6 ----- $6,500,000
Finley, Casey 51 LB 2015 2021 6 ----- $6,000,000
Lock, Rick 90 DE 2017 2022 4 ----- $5,970,000
Rayburn, Daniel 53 LB 2018 2020 7 ----- $5,790,000
Chandler, Sherman 26 RB 2019 2024 2 ----- $4,950,000
Emmons, Alvin + 91 DE 2016 2021 6 ----- $4,500,000
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 2018 2023 3 ----- $4,450,000
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 2017 2020 4 ----- $3,300,000
Dirita, Albert 47 RB 2018 2021 3 ----- $2,490,000
Ward, Grady 14 WR 2018 2021 3 ----- $2,490,000
Sawyer, Sammy 97 LB 2018 2021 3 ----- $2,490,000
Gunn, Juan + 42 CB 2018 2020 3 ----- $2,440,000
Kaplan, Lamont 93 DT 2019 2022 2 ----- $2,240,000
Brennan, David 19 QB 2017 2020 4 ----- $2,010,000
Donovan, Skip 55 LB 2019 2021 2 ----- $1,580,000
Reich, Perry 71 T 2017 2020 5 ----- $1,560,000
Fouts, Rich 65 T 2019 2021 3 ----- $1,440,000
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 2017 2020 4 ----- $1,390,000
Jordan, Mickey + 70 G 2019 2022 2 ----- $1,310,000
Rivers, Wendell 89 TE 2018 2020 3 ----- $1,300,000
Serwanga, Dixon 45 RB 2018 2020 3 ----- $1,210,000
Robb, Clyde 83 WR 2019 2021 3 ----- $1,110,000
Hodges, Hardy 30 RB 2019 2021 2 ----- $1,110,000
Hamrahi, Myron 80 TE 2019 2020 2 ----- $980,000
Tatum, Travis 99 LB 2019 2021 2 ----- $940,000
Jennings, Lester 8 QB 2019 2021 2 ----- $870,000
Nixon, Benjamin 34 CB 2019 UFA 8 ----- $0
Schumacher, Lionel 92 DE 2014 UFA 7 ----- $0
Runyon, Frank 56 LB 2019 UFA 7 ----- $0
McKeefry, Karl 84 WR 2016 UFA 5 ----- $0
Raphael, Bob 54 C 2019 UFA 5 ----- $0
Flowers, Jeremy 3 QB 2017 ---- 4 ----- $0
Pieper, Kenyon 24 FB 2017 ---- 4 ----- $0
Brock, Eugene 63 G 2017 ---- 4 ----- $0
Ellison, O.J. 13 QB 2018 ---- 3 ----- $0
Vance, Ryan 86 WR 2018 ---- 3 ----- $0
Lynch, Leslie 32 FB 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Norton, Teddy 67 G 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Warren, Jon 73 G 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Mello, Ron 69 C 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Thomason, Ernest 9 P 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Voigt, Kennedy + 95 DE 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Hawkins, Ricky 77 DT 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0
Wallace, Josh + 68 LB 2019 ---- 2 ----- $0

Key: Pos - Position, HT - Height, WT - Weight,
OnTm - When joined team, Ctrc - Last year of contract,
(UFA - free agent, ---- - no contract), Exp - Experience,
Stat - Status (InjR - injured reserve, Inact - Inactive)

EA.com Front Office Football 2001

Salary Cap: $184.5 million
Room Under Cap: $11,200,000
</pre>

The bottom line—heads are going to roll. I clearly overextended myself last season, and now I’m in trouble deep. I’ll have to make some expensive (and extensive) cuts just to fill up the roster.

Among my free agents, I would like to keep DE Lionel Schumacher and G Eugene Brock. Schumacher is a pretty essential component of my defense—I’d hate to lose him just so I can keep some other schmuck. I may have to eat some bonus money (taking a hit next year) but I think I’ll do whatever I have to do.

I receive a trade offer which works for me. Indy offers a second round draft pick for my right tackle Cole McElroy. I just cannot afford his nearly $12m salary, and I take the deal—getting a pick for him is gravy. I then release DE Alvin Emmons, WR Grady Ward, RB Albert Dirita, and (after some contemplation) CB Andre Hopper. I’ll be eating a pretty steep amount in cap hits next year, but I need to get out from some of these contracts.

I start out DE Schumacher with a deal for 4yrs, $52.5m – I expect that I’ll have to go higher to keep him, but he at least listens to this deal. He’s the only one among my older FA crowd I pursue. I’d like to hold on to one of the young QBs who are restricted, but with money this tight I cannot imagine taking on even a reduced QB salary right now. Next year, I’ll have to make room for Brennan, but by virtue of the other guys’ contracts ending sooner, it looks like Brennan is my main man for the future.

In the opening week, DE Schumacher takes my deal—a great relief, and it essentially puts me into the passenger seat until week 11. I watch WR McKeffrey ponder offers until week 10, when the Rams go over the cap, wiping out all the rest of the offers. Regrettably, it appears that C Bob Raphael will not go unclaimed this year—he’s receiving an offer from Jacksonville.

In week 11, I figure that I’m going to need a handful of fill-in players from this FA period—the type that I usually can grab for a little over a million for 3 or 4 years. I put in modest offers for a fullback, and a tackle, center and guard—all second year players who ought to be decent, cheap reserves. C Bob Raphael remains in the pool—I’m now hopeful that he’ll still be waitin after training camp.

I then face a weird conundrum. There are quarterbacks available— a few of them, and good ones at that. Dallas has been sitting on a very, very good-looking backup, who is now sitting in the FA pool. Sixth year man Tim Loverne has ratings that are, candidly, better than any of my three young guys—both current and future. He is seeking (at this late date) a four year deal with $11m up front, worth $10-12-14-17 or so. I don’t know how to afford it, but adding this guy would certainly seem to make a real difference. There are a couple more decent-quality guys available, but they are not as good—and they have nearly identical demands, of course.

I also understand that signing Loverne all but assures that we will not be able to afford to re-sign Brennan after this year, when Brennan’s contract expires. I ponder it for a while, and then decide that I have to do it. I put in an offer for 4yrs, $52.3m, with this year’s cap hit just under $10 million. Loverne is probably—almost certainly-- going to be our QB for the future—my scout says he’s very talented, but he’s only thrown 165 passes in the league in his five year career.

Heading toward the draft, we have a fairly late draft pick (#25) and have little expectation of a major impact player. I’ll be looking for a quality starter almost anywhere—I have a lot of holes on the team this year. A good CB or DT would be helpful—DT Dosoo is getting very pricey (I overpaid for him last year), and I imagine that he may be a necessary cut as soon as next year.

[QuikSand]

2020 draft and camp

When my pick comes up, I’m torn between yet another good-looking DE, and a very solid center. I decide that C is a real need position for us, and I go after the best guy in the draft there.

<pre>
Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Steven Morris, C, Winston Salem – looks to dominate my middle for years to come (84/68/64)
Rnd 2 - Bennie Jones, WR, Michigan State – solid second round pickup here (100/55/64/52/54…84)
Rnd 2 - Kelvin Shiver, DE, Rhode Island – the guy I wanted in round one (66/72/76)
Rnd 3 - Ernest Perry, DT, Miami, Florida – another quality DT falls into later rounds (61/76/80)
Rnd 4 - Donny Walsh, G, Michigan State – very solid to start this year (58/75/42)
Rnd 4 - Troy Muldoon, CB, West Liberty State – decent for middle rounds (46/34/58/73…79)
Rnd 5 - Hunter Dunn, LB, UCLA- redliner prospect (24/27, 21/26, 24/26, 25/26, 28)
Rnd 6 - Glenn Beauchamp, DT, Colorado State – pretty good local guy (37/49/39)
Rnd 7 - Sammy Sanderson, DT, Stanford – sentimental pick, plus a real value (58/73/75)
Rnd 7 - Harris Lane, S, Colorado – local guy for our secondary, also needed depth at S
</pre>

One DE that I coveted went just before my second pick—Wayne Mayberry looks like he might be a real redliner, with ratings of (36, 42/46, 54). If not, he was a wasted early pick—but if he breaks out big, the Saints may have gotten a steal just ahead of me.

The second best C sat on theboard until round 4- making me angry that I took Morris early. Regardless, I got players I wanted, and did manage to fill several holes. CB remains a concern, but that will not really rise until next season.

Here is the group that goes into camp:

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Tim Loverne 13 16 6 2023
QB David Brennan 9 13 4 2020
QB O.J. Ellison 7 12 3 ----
QB Jeremy Flowers 7 12 4 ----
QB Lester Jennings 3 10 2 2021
RB Sherman Chandler 11 14 2 2024
RB Dixon Serwanga 9 12 3 2020
RB Hardy Hodges 6 10 2 2021
FB Kenyon Pieper 10 10 4 ----
FB Howard Jose 6 7 1 2020
FB Sean Sellers 3 6 1 2020
FB Xavier Lester 3 5 2 2021
FB Leslie Lynch 2 5 2 ----
TE Wendell Rivers 10 12 3 2020
TE Corey Feather 8 10 1 2020
TE Myron Hamrahi 7 11 2 2020
WR Kris Ferderer 16 16 4 2020
WR Preston Adderley 12 13 6 2021
WR Karl McKeefry 10 12 5 UFA
WR Clyde Robb 10 10 3 2021
WR Bennie Jones 8 14 1 2023
WR Cary Sanford 6 9 1 2020
WR Eugene Johnson 6 7 1 2023
WR Dana Abrams 5 6 1 2020
WR Ryan Vance 4 6 3 ----
WR Jermaine Gaynor 2 4 1 2023
C Steven Morris 9 15 1 2025
C Bob Raphael 8 10 5 UFA
C Roderick Herring 4 8 4 2021
C Ron Mello 0 1 2 ----
G Leo Mitchell 13 13 8 2022
G Eugene Brock 12 14 4 ----
G Donny Walsh 8 12 1 2023
G Grady Fleming 6 9 5 2021
G Mickey Jordan 4 5 2 2022
G Teddy Norton 2 5 2 ----
G Jon Warren 2 8 2 ----
T Joel Ignasiak 14 16 6 2021
T Perry Reich 7 10 5 2020
T Rich Fouts 7 11 3 2021
T Max Lowe 2 9 2 2022
P Ernest Thomason 1 1 2 2020
K Marvin Sherman 6 6 4 2020
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 16 7 2023
DE Rick Lock 11 11 4 2022
DE Kelvin Shiver 5 13 1 2023
DE Kennedy Voigt 1 4 2 ----
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 8 2022
DT Ernest Perry 7 15 1 2022
DT Lamont Kaplan 5 12 2 2022
DT Sammy Sanderson 4 13 1 2021
DT Glenn Beauchamp 4 11 1 2021
DT Ricky Hawkins 3 7 2 ----
LB Raymond Coppola 17 18 5 2021
LB Dominic Barlow 16 16 14 2021
LB Casey Finley 12 13 6 2021
LB Daniel Rayburn 11 11 7 2020
LB Skip Donovan 8 14 2 2021
LB Travis Tatum 6 11 2 2021
LB Frank Runyon 6 8 7 UFA
LB Hunter Dunn 3 6 1 2021
LB Josh Wallace 1 3 2 ----
CB Carlton Taylor 16 16 6 2020
CB Juan Gunn 10 11 3 2020
CB Benjamin Nixon 6 9 8 UFA
CB Troy Muldoon 6 11 1 2021
S Nolan Stoffel 15 15 8 2020
S Steve Frank 11 11 16 2020
S Gerald Hardman 10 16 3 2023
S Harris Lane 5 7 1 2022
</pre>

I obviously did some digging at WR and FB, and am hoping to come up with someone to start this year. We’ll hope that everyone comes through cmap okay—and we had into camp.

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Tim Loverne 12 16 6 2023
QB David Brennan 12 12 4 2020
QB Lester Jennings 4 10 2 2021
RB Sherman Chandler 12 13 2 2024
RB Dixon Serwanga 9 11 3 2020
RB Hardy Hodges 7 10 2 2021
FB Howard Jose 6 9 1 2020
FB Xavier Lester 5 5 2 2021
FB Sean Sellers 4 9 1 2020
TE Myron Hamrahi 9 11 2 2020
TE Wendell Rivers 9 9 3 2020
TE Corey Feather 8 12 1 2020
WR Kris Ferderer 16 16 4 2020
WR Preston Adderley 12 12 6 2021
WR Clyde Robb 9 12 3 2021
WR Bennie Jones 7 14 1 2023
WR Cary Sanford 6 9 1 2020
WR Dana Abrams 6 9 1 2020
WR Eugene Johnson 6 7 1 2023
WR Jermaine Gaynor 2 4 1 2023
C Steven Morris 10 15 1 2025
C Roderick Herring 4 5 4 2021
G Leo Mitchell 10 10 8 2022
G Donny Walsh 9 11 1 2023
G Grady Fleming 6 9 5 2021
G Mickey Jordan 4 6 2 2022
T Joel Ignasiak 16 16 6 2021
T Rich Fouts 8 10 3 2021
T Perry Reich 7 10 5 2020
T Max Lowe 4 8 2 2022
P Ernest Thomason 1 1 2 2020
K Marvin Sherman 6 6 4 2020
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 16 7 2023
DE Rick Lock 11 11 4 2022
DE Kelvin Shiver 5 13 1 2023
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 8 2022
DT Lamont Kaplan 6 11 2 2022
DT Ernest Perry 6 15 1 2022
DT Glenn Beauchamp 5 7 1 2021
DT Sammy Sanderson 4 13 1 2021
LB Raymond Coppola 18 18 5 2021
LB Dominic Barlow 15 15 14 2021
LB Casey Finley 12 12 6 2021
LB Daniel Rayburn 11 11 7 2020
LB Skip Donovan 6 12 2 2021
LB Travis Tatum 5 9 2 2021
LB Hunter Dunn 3 6 1 2021
CB Carlton Taylor 16 16 6 2020
CB Juan Gunn 9 12 3 2020
CB Troy Muldoon 5 11 1 2021
S Nolan Stoffel 13 13 8 2020
S Gerald Hardman 13 16 3 2023
S Steve Frank 10 10 16 2020
S Harris Lane 5 7 1 2022
</pre>

I look through the rookie class. Everyone looks fine—WR Bennie Jones even stepped up a little bit. LB Hunter Dunn did not break out as I had hoped, but he’ll be adecent reserve for a couple years. Overall, a decent, but not spectacular, draft.

I check out the Saints—DE Wayne Mayberry stood totally still, and won’t be ther breakout player that I though he would after all. I feel better about missing out on him.

After we get through the inevitable pruning process, and re-acquiring my unwanted free agent Colorado players, I get to 53—and we’re ready for the season. Here’s the final roster:

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos HT WT Exp Stat College
Loverne, Tim 5 QB 6-0 240 6 ----- Northwestern
Brennan, David 19 QB 6-5 201 4 ----- Washington
Jennings, Lester 8 QB 6-3 205 2 ----- Colorado
Serwanga, Dixon 45 RB 5-11 199 3 ----- Clemson
Chandler, Sherman 26 RB 5-8 215 2 ----- Louisiana Tech
Hodges, Hardy 30 RB 5-9 220 2 ----- Colorado
Lester, Xavier 48 FB 5-10 261 2 ----- Indiana
Jose, Howard 23 FB 6-0 237 1 ----- Virginia
Rivers, Wendell 89 TE 5-11 248 3 ----- Colorado State
Hamrahi, Myron 80 TE 6-5 235 2 ----- Mississippi State
Feather, Corey 82 TE 6-7 229 1 Inact Texas A&M
Adderley, Preston 88 WR 5-10 182 6 ----- Fresno State
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 5-10 178 4 ----- Penn State
Robb, Clyde 83 WR 5-11 212 3 ----- Auburn
Castillo, Kris 84 WR 5-7 175 1 Inact Colorado
Sanford, Cary 10 WR 5-9 172 1 ----- Vanderbilt
Jones, Bennie 87 WR 6-4 185 R ----- Michigan State
Raphael, Bob 54 C 6-1 293 5 ----- Colorado State
Morris, Steven 59 C 5-11 291 R ----- Winston Salem
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 6-1 328 8 Inact Georgia
Fleming, Grady 78 G 6-4 305 5 ----- Pittsburgh
Jordan, Mickey + 70 G 6-2 306 2 ----- Nebraska
Walsh, Donny 79 G 6-1 296 R ----- Michigan State
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 6-5 305 6 ----- Nebraska
Reich, Perry 71 T 6-2 331 5 ----- Cincinnati
Fouts, Rich 65 T 6-1 344 3 ----- Stanford
Lowe, Max 72 T 6-4 310 2 Inact Western Michigan
Thomason, Ernest 9 P 6-2 208 2 ----- Colorado
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 6-1 188 4 ----- Colorado
Schumacher, Lionel 92 DE 6-3 273 7 ----- Alabama
Lock, Rick 90 DE 6-1 254 4 ----- Notre Dame
Shiver, Kelvin 97 DE 6-1 275 R ----- Rhode Island
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 6-6 305 8 ----- Delaware State
Kaplan, Lamont 93 DT 6-5 307 2 ----- Oklahoma
Perry, Ernest 96 DT 6-5 305 R ----- Miami, Florida
Beauchamp, Glenn 91 DT 6-2 315 R Inact Colorado State
Sanderson, Sammy 94 DT 6-4 322 R ----- Stanford
Barlow, Dominic + 50 LB 6-0 241 14 ----- San Diego State
Rayburn, Daniel 53 LB 6-1 238 7 ----- Air Force
Finley, Casey 51 LB 6-2 257 6 ----- Michigan State
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 6-2 242 5 ----- Nebraska
Tatum, Travis 99 LB 6-3 205 2 ----- Sam Houston State
Donovan, Skip 55 LB 6-4 227 2 Inact Nebraska
Dunn, Hunter 57 LB 5-10 248 R ----- UCLA
Nixon, Benjamin 27 CB 6-0 204 8 ----- Colorado State
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 5-10 184 6 ----- Arkansas
Gunn, Juan + 42 CB 5-11 179 3 ----- Washington State
Muldoon, Troy 49 CB 6-3 190 R ----- West Liberty State
Frank, Steve * 37 S 5-9 226 16 ----- Rice
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 5-9 187 8 ----- Oklahoma
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 6-0 226 3 ----- Saginaw Valley
Lane, Harris 21 S 6-1 195 R ----- Colorado

Salary Cap: $184.5 million
Room Under Cap: $1,000,000
</pre>

Obviously a tough budget year, but we spent just about everything we had to spend. I’m fairly optimistic that we will be in good shape for this season, but the new face calling the signals will be the change. I’ll give both guys a shot to compete in pre-season, I suppose—but we shelled out the money to get Loverne here so he could take the job, not sit on the bench. I hope he gets the same groove with Ferderer and Adderly as Brennan has shown—which shouldn’t be tough. RB Chandler ought to step up, and we’re hoping for a boost in his yardage as well. If the defense stays on par—we ought to be very solid.

[QuikSand]

2020 season

I stick with the 3-4 defense for this year, though by next year I expect that I will revert back to the 4-3, as I have two promising young DTs about to fulfull some of their solid potential. On offense, Tim Loverne will take the reins of the offense, with Brennan waiting in reserve. Brennan still has not yet "broken even" on his TD/int ratio, and I feel like I need to move on from him-this almost certainly assures that he will not be back after this year's contract expires. We hope that the focus of the offense is actually not Loverne, but instead RB Sherman Chandler, who we hoe will step up this year and become an elite running back. The OL is not quite what it was on paper last year, but we suffered so many injuries last season, I feel better with quantity and perhaps not so much quality.

After the pre-season, it looks like G Leo Mitchell may be able to return as soon as 3-5 weeks from now. He is still suffering an injury from last season. My suspicion is that upon his clean bill of health, I will probably release him-he's just not the same player, and probably won't even be a starter any longer, so I'll dump his considerable salary. I have an injury to my FB-so I'll plug in a TE to start there for now. I let FB become awfully thin this year.

On the franchise screen, our roster rating is the tops, with Baltimore second at 80, and Cincinnati ranked fifth at 70. Curiously, Denver is rated 20, near the very bottom-which makes little sense to me. Our cohesion is 57-64-82-83, and we have obviously suffered the wrath of a new QB on our first rating. Regardless, we're optimistic that a sold defense, an invigorated running game ,and overall talent will win out.

Our schedule is once again slanted toward home games early. We again will have 5 of our first 6 games at home, and again those 6 games include the entire division. This requires a fast start. And, it also puts us at home against the defending Superbowl champion Broncos in our opener, on Monday Night Football.

Marmel wouldn't deign to come back here, even to watch "his" Broncos, but the Squirrel faithful are out in numbers. It's a playoff atmosphere, and this might be the collective height of this rivalry-two regional rivals, duking it out within the same division, finishing first-second last year, and both looking like title contenders for this season. It doesn't get any better than this.

It's…not…pretty. QB Tim Loverne announces his arrival with 3 TD passes in the first 22 minutes of play, leading us to a 21-0 lead. We hold the Broncos to 21 yards on 22 carries, and their air attack gets a few big plays, but that's about it. We send the "champs" home packing, with a 41-13 trouncing. A good start… the future betting line in Vegas on the Squirrels winning the Superbowl this year drops from 11-1 to 5-1 overnight.

We stay at home and take on San Diego. It's another good offensive game for us, with Chandler and Serwanga both running well, and our Squirrels get a 38-17 win. CB Juan Gunn, our new starter, gets a 46 yards TD return to help set the tone early. We get a 29-23 win in Oakland next, as Tim Loverne gets the game-winning TD pass in overtime.

Next, we come home to host 3-0 Seattle. Right now, they look like a player for the division as well-and Denver hangs just off the pace at 2-1. The Squirrels win a thriller at home, 30-29. Sherman Chandler has our best running game of the season with 130 yards and a 48-yard TD, and gets the game ball. The Seahawks main runner, former Squirrel Albert Dirita, cannot muster much against our front.

Next we host Chicago, and stay unbeaten with a 31-21 win. It was a pretty even game, which we put away late with a sealing TD on a fumble return. Week 6 is our bye, and the team gets a week of practice off for its 5-0 record. I've lost S Nolan Stoffel to a serious knee injury-maybe a career-ender. His ratings have already dipped, which is usually a very bad sign. I bring in a rookie who will be my #4-but suddenly that's a vulnerable position. Old man Steve Frank still sits as my most reliable player there-and he's 37 years old. Frank's 90 career interceptions are a league record, and nobody still playing is even close.

We host Kansas City next, and they ought to be easy pickings. This is one game which played out pretty much as expected-we win 31-6, and do just about everything right. We outgain them 347-153, and score once on an interception (my longtime reserve CB Benjamin Nixon). I'm a little disappointed in RB Chandler-he's putting up a lot of solid games with 15-20 carries for 60-90 yards, but he really hasn't broken out with a big 200-yard game yet, and I want to have that potential on display.

Next, we head to Seattle-the first team we'll face for the second time. They have fallen to 4-2, losing to the Raiders last week. They get their revenge on us, and close out our winning streak by beating us 24-17. Fittingly, Albert Dirita gets the game-winner with 6 seconds left.

We rebound with another win in Kansas City, 24-17 over the Chiefs. Tim Loverne isn't having a monster year statistically, but he is playing very solid football. His numbers for this game-18 of 27, 223 yards, 2 TDs and 2 interceptions. The two picks hurt, but they haven't been a terrible problem for him-he's at 14/8 in ratio thus far, and is averaging about 250 yards a game. Project it out, and this guy goes to the Pro Bowl.

Next we head into Cincinnati. They are again off to a slow start at 4-4, but we do not take them lightly. We send them to 4-5 with a 29-21 victory, and CB Juan Gunn gets his third interception TD of the year- which makes the difference in a pretty even game. We host Baltimore next, and we'll be without Sherman Chandler, who has turf toe. Serwanga has played very well for him, so I'm not too worried. We roll the Ravens 38-13, as Juan Gunn gets another TD, as does Carlton Taylor, my "top" starter at cornerback. Serwanga gets 125 yards and a TD, and we look very solid.

Our next game is in Denver-which we know will be rough. They have slid to 6-4 on the year, but are still in the picture. Actually, the division is slotted in one-game increments-Squirrels, Seahawks, Chargers, Broncos, and then the Raiders at 5-5. Against Denver, we'll again be without DE Schumacher, who is down with a knee injury for a few weeks.

We do not humiliate the Broncos, but we do put an end to any dreams they had about winning the division. We win it 24-21, as Tim Loverne rebounds from a poor first half to throw two TD passes in the second half. CB Juan Gunn had two more interceptions, and is clearly a playmaker who I've been hiding on my roster. The season sweep leaves Marmel and his friends in a pouty mood, of course, as their team's "repeat" hopes are dwindling rapidly. Those who stuck with the Squirrels through the lean years are feeling it now.

Oakland is up next, and we take it to them 54-28. Here's a case of the errant ways of FOF assigning the "player of the game" award. Tim Loverne is 23 or 33 for 402 yards and 5 TDs, and WR Kris Ferderer has 9 catches for 181 yards and 4 TDs… either one would be great game MVPs. However, the award goes (of course) to my third safety, rookie Harris Lane, who had 5 tackles, 2 interceptions, and one TD. A good day for him, no doubt, but should that eclipse the Canton-worthy numbers put up by the offensive stars? I doubt it.

We have a huge showdown in Minnesota, where the Vikes are 10-1-1, and have the second best record in football. They are all defense, and it ought to be a tough game. We can't hang 54 on these guys, but we do get a 13-10 win on the road. It's just a well-played game, no turnovers, no really big plays, and we edge them fair and square.

In a potential "doughnut" game, we beat Boise City 24-14. Another solid day for us-Chandler is still workmanlike. Next is San Diego, who is at 10-4 and looks pretty solid. We get a 31-28 thriller victory, and we win basically due to winning the turnover battle 4-0. The Chargers look like a very good team, and they will be in the playoffs for sure. Denver thrashes Minnesota to get to 9-6, and may be playoff-bound as well-they play 9-6 Seattle in their finale, and the winner is in, the loser is probably out.

Our last game is against Fargo, who we beat 33-7. We run like crazy on them, a good mood to set heading into the playoffs. We cap off the season at 15-1, exceeding anyone's expectations. We look the part of a title team-we have played very well on both offense and defense, and we don't make a lot of mistakes. I like our chances here.

<pre>
2020 Regular Season Standings



AFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf

Buffalo 10 6 0 .625 325 267 7-3-0 7-6-0
Miami 10 6 0 .625 289 220 5-5-0 8-5-0
New York J 8 8 0 .500 361 333 5-5-0 8-5-0
New England 7 9 0 .438 277 332 6-4-0 7-6-0
Boise City 6 10 0 .375 312 375 5-5-0 5-8-0
Indianapolis 4 12 0 .250 220 339 2-8-0 2-11-0

AFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Jacksonville 10 6 0 .625 393 288 6-4-0 7-6-0
Tennessee 9 7 0 .563 356 326 6-4-0 8-5-0
Cincinnati 8 8 0 .500 319 340 7-3-0 7-6-0
Baltimore 6 10 0 .375 260 330 4-6-0 5-8-0
Pittsburgh 5 11 0 .313 240 372 4-6-0 5-8-0
Cleveland 5 11 0 .313 289 345 3-7-0 4-9-0

AFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
**Colorado Springs 15 1 0 .938 486 293 9-1-0 12-1-0
Seattle 10 6 0 .625 364 315 5-5-0 7-6-0
San Diego 10 6 0 .625 418 330 4-6-0 7-6-0
Denver 9 7 0 .563 384 349 5-5-0 7-6-0
Oakland 9 7 0 .563 345 331 4-6-0 6-7-0
Kansas City 5 11 0 .313 279 353 3-7-0 5-8-0

NFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Philadelphia 11 5 0 .688 429 308 7-3-0 9-4-0
New York G 11 5 0 .688 317 212 6-4-0 9-4-0
Washington 8 8 0 .500 307 298 5-5-0 7-6-0
Dallas 7 9 0 .438 249 321 5-5-0 5-8-0
Arizona 7 9 0 .438 266 344 4-6-0 5-8-0
Cheyenne 5 11 0 .313 345 392 3-7-0 4-9-0

NFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Minnesota 11 4 1 .719 358 288 8-1-1 11-1-1
Tampa Bay 8 8 0 .500 344 280 5-5-0 7-6-0
Chicago 7 8 1 .469 391 371 4-5-1 6-6-1
Fargo 7 9 0 .438 292 383 5-5-0 6-7-0
Green Bay 6 10 0 .375 313 361 5-5-0 6-7-0
Detroit 4 12 0 .250 198 373 2-8-0 3-10-0

NFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
New Orleans 11 5 0 .688 325 299 8-2-0 9-4-0
Carolina 10 6 0 .625 397 293 6-4-0 7-6-0
St. Louis 9 7 0 .563 318 333 7-3-0 8-5-0
Atlanta 7 9 0 .438 305 312 5-5-0 6-7-0
San Francisco 6 10 0 .375 322 360 2-8-0 4-9-0
Portland 6 10 0 .375 308 335 2-8-0 4-9-0
</pre>

There are more double-digit win teams this year than I can recall ever seeing. Alas, Denver is not among them-they choked in their final game against Seattle, and the "champs" will be sitting at home this January, as the real men battle on the field. Sorry, Marmel… well, I guess not really.

Stat leaders:

QB Tim Loverne: 4,135 yds, 61.9%, 8.77 ypa, 29/14, 98.3
RB Sherman Chandler: 263-1,204 yds, 7 TD (4.5 ypc)
RB Dixon Serwanga: 137-721 yds, 8 TD (5.2 ypc)
WR Preston Adderly: 81-1,471 yds, 9 TD (65.3%, 7 drops)
WR Kris Ferderer: 79-1,353 yds, 11 TD (65.2%, 9 drops)
OL unit: ~32% KRBs, 28 sacks allowed
LB Raymond Coppola: 75 tackles, 3.5 sacks
DE Rick Lock: 11 sacks, 3 blocks, 5 hurries
CB Juan Gunn: 37 tackles, 8 int, 4 TD, 43.9 PDQ

Overall stats (off/def/avg):
Rushing: 4.6 / 3.4 / 3.8
Passing: 8.7 / 6.5 / 6.7

This may not be the recipe for ideal success in the NFL, but it sure works in FOF. We add a high-skills QB, and everything works. We had the #2 running average in the league, and the best total rushing yards. We were #1 in ypa passing, and #3 in total passing offense. Meanwhile, our defense was #1 overall against the run, and we allowed a lot of passing yards mostly because everyone was playing catchup against us. This is a dominant team- I certainly do not regret spending big bucks and going after QB Loverne now-he too every single snap for us, too… showing durability that Brennan only dreams of.

We'll rest up, and we'll hope to get DE Schumacher back for the playoff run. The road to the Superbowl definitely comes through Colorado Springs once again.

[Marmel]

Dear Quicksand, GM:

I was very surprised to see your 15-1 regular season record this year. I must give credit where credit is due and congratulate you on a job well done. However, I must beleive that your soft schedule allowed you to rack up 3-5 easy wins. As you know, I was once a loyal follower of the Squirrels, and I am certain that your management skills will show their true colors in this upcoming playoffs. there is no way that you will be able to duplicate what the almighty Broncos did last year......I truely believe that the Squirrels are doomed to a lifetime of Division and Conference playoff losses.

In fact, If the Squirrels are able to win the bowl this year, I will paint my hair, body and car the color of the Squirrels and parade around downtown Colorado Springs proclaiming their superiority.

Good day Mr. Quiksand.

Best Regards,
Marmel

[QuikSand]

Dear Yellow-bellied Ne'er-do-well,

I believe that you can get a gallon of black latex all-weather paint for $14.99 down at Matt McCaughey's hardware store in Boulder. I suspect you'll be needing it.

Yours,

QuikSand, GM

[TheRoyalOne]

Dear QuikSand, GM,

As a loyal Squirrel fan, despite the fact I married a two timing bigot of a husband(...stupid Bronco fans...), I've lived with the fact that we went 5 years without a playoff berth.
I've lived with the fact it has been 13 years since our last Bowl appearance.
I've lived with the fact that the despised Denver Broncos are the defending Bowl champs.
I've even lived with the fact you let that hunk of a man, Sammy Kerr, go to Green Bay.
However, despite all of this, and as much as I wish to see my beloved Squirrels win another Bowl. At the risk of seeing Marmel run through my streets, in front of my innocent childrens eyes, covered in paint, and knowing how wierd those Bronco fans can be, probably naked, I just don't think I could take it.

Sincerely,
The Royal One's Wife.

[QuikSand]

Dear Sweetheart,

I'm so very sorry for some of your past life choices. You are clearly too good a person for that kind of lot in life.

I have sent, under separate cover, exactly one pass to the team's official after-game party following the team's playoff opener. The celebration will be held at the penthouse suite of Squirrel Towers. Just present your "credentials" to the two gentlemen at the door, and they will see that you are taken care of.

As for Sammy Kerr... you were not alone in admiring his particular skills, but let's just say that we had a bit of a henhouse problem with the Furry Squirrel Dance Squad, which hastened his departure. We have, however, based on the content of some fan mail we have received, made it a point to draft "hunks" wherever possible-- you surely will approve of the recent acquisitions of Wendell Rivers and Harris Lane. If you would be interested in a position in our new "Q-factor scouting" department, please find me at the party, I'd love to discuss it with you.

Yours most sincerely,

QuikSand, GM


[This message has been edited by QuikSand (edited 01-08-2001).]

[QuikSand]

2020 postseason

Well, my division foes Seattle and San Diego were dispatched from the playoffs in round one by Miami and Buffalo. Miami will be our opening foe.

The Dolphins are a run-heavy offense and a tough defense. They have a star DE, and a group of ball-hawkers in the secondary. We match up well against them, I think-but by the numbers we match up well against anyone.

More good news-Lionel (the "L-train" of course) Schumacher will return for the playoffs, all rested and ready to go. his absence hurt us in last year's postseason, but we are deeper and better this year, and he'll make the Miami QBs even more shaky than usual.

In the game, Mimai gets the ball first. After a 15-yard completion, we stuff them and force a punt. A pass to third-man WR Robb, then two breakaway runs for Chandler… and it's 7-0 Squirrels. Running my GM mouth a bit in the pre-game press briefing, I said "champions win early playoff games in the first quarter." It looks like the team is trying to back that up. They get the same pattern - one completion for a first down, then they go three more and out. Chandler breaks a 45-yard run, and Loverne finishes it off with a TD to Adderly. It's 14-0. Before the first quarter ends, the Phins pin us at our 3 yard lien with a great punt. After a loss of one, Chandler gets it again-and he breaks away in Dorsett-like fashion for an amazing 98-yard TD run! As the first quarter ends, our only mistake was shanking the PAT- it's 20-0 after one.

The game goes on from there, but the bulletin board comments came true-we won it in the first quarter. The final was 47-24, after the Dolphins notched ten points in the final five minutes as we were already focused on next week against Jacksonville. Sherman Chandler-206 yards rushing, 52 yards receiving and 3 TDs-finally delivered the "message game" that I had been looking for all year.

Jacksonville visits next. They have good pass rushers, but are trying to fill in for a missing RB. I think it looks good for us-they are playing well, but should be outmatched here.

My LB Rayburn is suddenly and inextricably stricken with that oddball FOF injury-tobacco withdrawal syndrome, and he may not ever play again. Past that, we're good to go.

We get the ball first, and struggle to move. The Jags take over, and march pretty efficiently for a TD. This is not going to be a pushover game by any means-their line is playing over its head, and they look sharp today. We cannot get anything going against their defense-by the middle second quarter they have sacked Loverne twice already, and are getting pressure consistently. They build another short drive late in the second quarter, and move in for another TD run. 14-0, that's the mark at the half.

In the second half, Serwanga is in at RB, and we get moving a bit-into Jags territory, but settle for a punt to their 8. We hold them and take over at their 46. We get to the 6, but settle for a 23-yard FG. We get it right back-our defense is stepping up, and now we have to figure out theirs. Loverne is throwing a lot underneath to Chandler, which is working but only to a point. We go into the fourth quarter with little momentum, and still trailing by 11. Juan Gunn gets a huge interception at the Jax 42, and we have life-with 10:25 remaining. We take it in on four plays, but miss the two-point conversion. It's 14-9 Jags, and we have the up arrow-but they have the clock on their side.

We tuff them again-our defense has been sensational in this second half, allowing fewer than 30 yards of offense, I'm certain. With 4:32, we face fourth down and 6 from our 37-we have to punt it away. Fortunately, the defense does its job and quickly, and we get it back with 3:52 remaining, at our 17. Chandler gets 8, which sets up second and short-the most dangerous down in football. Loverne is thinking exactly what I'm thinking-he fires downfield for Adderly, who hauls it in and takes it to the Jax 46. Chandler gets it again, and finds a hole big enough for a truck-he rips of 17 more yards. A quick underneath pass is followed by a botched handoff, and then a QB sack-suddenly we face fourth down and 12 at their 31. Loverne drops, looking for Adderly about 15 yards downfield, but he's doubled up-he lets it go on the escape route-Ferderer is streaking to the left sideline, and makes the catch at the goal line, just out-leaping his coverage man. He gets the TD, and we take the lead. On the conversion attempt, Loverne throws to Sanford for the two points, and it's 17-14 with 1:18 left.

They have 1:08 left, and it's time for our defense to do its thing. They get a quick pass underneath, and their RB breaks a tackle to get 32 yards, quickly moving to our 37. The crowd is screaming furiously. The next pass is overthrown, as their QB got pressure form an inside blitz. They call a QB draw, but it nets only 3 yards as Raymond Coppola makes a shoestring tackle to save the big play. Third and 7. They run a pitch-out running play, but we bottle it up for no gain. It's 4th and 7 from our 34-a 51-yard FG from here. As they line up for the kick, their right side contain man flinches from the apparent pressure-and they are whistled for a false start just as the ball sails just over the crossbar. From our 39, it's now a 56 yard FG. This one is short-by about three yards. The Squirrel fans are going wild!

We assume the victory formation, and take a couple of knees… and that's that. The fourth down pass play from Loverne to Ferderer may very well be the biggest single play in the franchise's history-heretofore know as "the score."

The Eagles are out Superbowl opponents. They have a brilliant QB in Willie Simmons, who will anchor a strong offense with balance-though he is a red zone ace, with 30 TDs. They play a bend don't break defense-using a lot of 4-deep coverage. We'll have to beat them underneath, but that system ought to provide us some running room as well. If we can keep them off balance on offense, we ought to be able to handle them.

We have lost our starting TE for the game, but Wendell Rivers will swing over from FB to cover. I'll use Hardy Hodges as a part-time FB here-I think he's up to the double-duty task.

We come out and look a little shaky with the ball at first, taking a sack and then not quite recovering. They get a first down, but then a pass is tipped and intercepted by my defensive lineman Kaplan at their 28. We'd love to cash this in quickly. Loverne strikes immediately to Ferderer down to their 8 yard line. Chandler takes it in on third and goal for the score. We stuff them, get great field position, drive to their 20, but Loverne gets picked off in the end zone. We get it back, drive inside their 20, and try a 24-yard FG… but my kicker misses it! He blames the ball. I see a 7-0 score board in a game where we've been dominating.

Philly is driving near midfield when Simmons throws to the sidelines. My safety Hardman steps in front of it and has clear sailing for 68 yards and the score. Philly responds with a good TD drive to pull within 7 with 34 second left in the half. We can't get going, and that's the mark at the midpoint.

They get us with a WR end-around (for the second time) and set up a FG to pull within 4 points. We played well in the first 25 minutes, but came away with only 7 points. Now, it's coming home-they are rolling, and our lead is dwindling quickly. Another 6-10 points here would be huge.

We go three and out again, but our defense returns the favor. We really could use another great defensive second half-like in the Jacksonville game. They get to our 40 yard lien and face fourth and 6 in the middle of the third quarter. Simmons goes to his left side again, and once again my safety Hardman reads him and jumps on the pass as soon as it's thrown-Hardman has to break a couple of tackles this time, but he again rumbles 69 yards for another TD, putting us ahead by 21-10. The third quarter ends with Philly crossing midfield and driving again, but now they are down 11 points.

We stop that effort, and take over ourselves. We get a couple of first downs, but they pick off Loverne again, and take it at our 41. A penalty keeps their drive going, and they get a 39 yard FG-now within 8 points. We go back and forth, and the clock runs to 6 minutes. Chandler gets three good carriers to get us first downs, and we eat clock down to 2:42 at midfield. We punt, and place the Eagles at their 6 yard line-2:26 to go, first an 94 yards. Simmons gets a nice play to their 23, then heaves a long one down to our 15-they have first and ten from our 15 with 1:42 left. The next play, Simmons hits his man Joslyn on his way into the end zone, and they pull within two. The conversion is a run-their man dives over the pile, and the officials say he made it in, though it's a close call. Nonetheless, it's 21-21, and this Superbowl is going to come down to the last play, it would seem.

It looks like we're destined to fritter away our chance for a late game score, as our first tow plays lose 5 yards. Howeverm on 3rd and 15, Loverne finds Robb for a breakaway catch-38 yards, the same pattern than Ferderer ran on "the score." We have it at the Philadelphia 40 yard line, and we have 35 seconds to work with-plus all three time outs. Loverne runs a draw for 7, and we call TO. We run off the right side with Chandler, and he breaks around the linebacker and gallops down to the 11 yard line. The clock ticks to 4 seconds. We line up for a 28-yard FG…

Ballgame.

Needles to say, safety Gerald Hardman gets the game MVP for his two TDs-more than the offense could muster collectively. On the season awards board, we suddenly see a ton of white lettering representing Squirrels. QB Tim Loverne gets the triple-first team QB, OPOY, and league MVP. Surprisingly, my RB Sherman Chandler received first team RB honors, with only 1,204 yards. Rookie C Steven Morris probably earned offensive rookie of the year, but there probably is no way to factor them into the considerations along with skill position players, and he'll have to settle for being named to the first team all-pro list. On defense DT Alex Dosoo and CB Juan Gunn are both named to the first team as well.

A hugely successful season for the Squirrels. Tim Loverne had a positively Kurt Warner-like season, coming out of total obscurity to lead a team to a 15-1 record, a Superbowl title, and a league MVP award. Remarkable!

[QuikSand]

Incidentally, I've mentioned this in other threads but I though it would be timely to repeat here...

All the writing I do is done in "real time." When I am playing my playoff games, I watch a little fo the game, and then tab back to Word and write my comments. All my stuff is written as it's happening-- I just find it more interesting that way.

This year's playoff games were insane. I literally am writing things like "it all comes down to the fourth down play" before I know what will happen on the play. When we comleted the TD pass on 4th down against the Jags, I had to swallow a yelp that I nearly emitted-- I was totally shocked. When the Eagles got their las TD against me, I nearly bit my tongue, and when we got into their territory, I involuntarily made an evil laugh sound.

Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the ride (so far) at least some fraction as much as I have. This was a wild season... and the several down years certainly made it taste even sweeter.

[Vaj]

Has anyone seen Marmel?

[QuikSand]

We're issuing free Squirrel-logo eyecovers to the Colorado Springs populace-- similar to the thingies you can get for an eclipse, only these don't let you see the "event" at all, which is clearly for the best.

[TheRoyalOne]

Dear QuikSand, GM

Congradutations to the Championship Squirrels. I am very thankful for the logo eyecovers, they will help the enjoyment of the celebration parade a little easier on the eyes.
I am also writing to thank you for the post game party ticket. I enjoyed myself very much. I am also interested is this "Q-Factor" scouting department of yours. Wendall Rivers seems to be quite a "talent" but Harris Lane has some bad jowels.
Yours Truly
TheRoyalOne's wife, aka Sweetheart http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by TheRoyalOne (edited 01-08-2001).]

[QuikSand]

2021 pre-draft

Well, well. There's nothing like winning. And, apparently, there's a whale of a difference between winning 10 games and going one-and-out in the playoffs, and winning 15 games and running the table. Yessiree, our balance sheet is suddenly all black, baby. We jump from a $58m loss last year to an over $68m profit this season. Ticket sales jumped, of course-and we had two extra home games, which certainly helped as well. As it turns out, this was a light year for signing bonuses, too-which amplified the swing already in place. our attendance did boom, though-we were up to 86.8%, and up into the upper half of the league.

My scout and coach remain under contract, and I am not really interested in making a change-not with our performance last season.

We will not be adjusting ticket prices this year. This makes it tough for us, of course-but with our booming attendance, the money seems to be coming in.

We have one retirement from the team-one of our defensive stalwarts. Veteran readers know that it will be safety Steve Frank.

But they are wrong! Frank returns for another season-the departure is actually LB Dominic Barlow, who gave us 11 great years. His departure weakens us pretty significantly at LB, and makes our transition back to a 4-3 defense even more obvious this season.

Here is our roster, sorted by salary-to show our contract situation:

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 2013 2022 9 ----- $17,000,000
Schumacher, Lionel + 92 DE 2014 2023 8 ----- $12,500,000
Loverne, Tim 5 QB 2020 2023 7 ----- $11,800,000
Mitchell, Leo 60 G 2013 2022 9 ----- $10,000,000
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 2015 2021 7 ----- $10,000,000
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 2016 2021 6 ----- $8,080,000
Lock, Rick 90 DE 2017 2022 5 ----- $6,780,000
Adderley, Preston 88 WR 2019 2021 7 ----- $6,500,000
Finley, Casey 51 LB 2015 2021 7 ----- $6,000,000
Chandler, Sherman 26 RB 2019 2024 3 ----- $5,500,000
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 2018 2023 4 ----- $5,130,000
Morris, Steven 59 C 2020 2025 2 ----- $2,930,000
Kaplan, Lamont 93 DT 2019 2022 3 ----- $2,670,000
Jordan, Mickey + 70 G 2019 2022 3 ----- $2,570,000
Shiver, Kelvin 97 DE 2020 2023 2 ----- $2,220,000
Jones, Bennie 87 WR 2020 2023 2 ----- $1,870,000
Donovan, Skip 55 LB 2019 2021 3 ----- $1,850,000
Perry, Ernest + 96 DT 2020 2022 2 ----- $1,610,000
Fouts, Rich 65 T 2019 2021 4 ----- $1,530,000
Robb, Clyde 83 WR 2019 2021 4 ----- $1,440,000
Fleming, Grady 78 G 2020 2021 6 ----- $1,430,000
Lowe, Max + 72 T 2020 2022 3 ----- $1,400,000
Hodges, Hardy 30 RB 2019 2021 3 ----- $1,380,000
Tatum, Travis 99 LB 2019 2021 3 ----- $1,210,000
Muldoon, Troy 49 CB 2020 2021 2 ----- $1,190,000
Jennings, Lester 8 QB 2019 2021 3 ----- $1,150,000
Lester, Xavier 48 FB 2020 2021 3 ----- $1,150,000
Walsh, Donny 79 G 2020 2023 2 ----- $1,130,000
Dunn, Hunter 57 LB 2020 2021 2 ----- $1,050,000
Beauchamp, Glenn 91 DT 2020 2021 2 ----- $970,000
Sanderson, Sammy 94 DT 2020 2021 2 ----- $910,000
Lane, Harris 21 S 2020 2022 2 ----- $910,000
Frank, Steve * 37 S 2005 UFA 17 ----- $0
Nixon, Benjamin 27 CB 2020 UFA 9 ----- $0
Stoffel, Nolan 20 S 2013 UFA 9 ----- $0
Rayburn, Daniel 53 LB 2018 UFA 8 ----- $0
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 2015 UFA 7 ----- $0
Raphael, Bob + 54 C 2020 UFA 6 ----- $0
Reich, Perry + 71 T 2017 UFA 6 ----- $0
Brennan, David 19 QB 2017 UFA 5 ----- $0
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 2017 UFA 5 ----- $0
Sherman, Marvin 4 K 2017 UFA 5 ----- $0
Serwanga, Dixon 45 RB 2018 ---- 4 ----- $0
Rivers, Wendell 89 TE 2018 ---- 4 ----- $0
Gunn, Juan 42 CB 2018 ---- 4 ----- $0
Hamrahi, Myron 80 TE 2019 ---- 3 ----- $0
Thomason, Ernest 9 P 2019 ---- 3 ----- $0
Jose, Howard 23 FB 2020 ---- 2 ----- $0
Feather, Corey 82 TE 2020 ---- 2 ----- $0
Castillo, Kris 84 WR 2020 ---- 2 ----- $0
Sanford, Cary 10 WR 2020 ---- 2 ----- $0
Manderscheid, C.J. 39 S 2020 ---- 2 ----- $0

Key: Pos - Position, HT - Height, WT - Weight,
OnTm - When joined team, Ctrc - Last year of contract,
(UFA - free agent, ---- - no contract), Exp - Experience,
Stat - Status (InjR - injured reserve, Inact - Inactive)

Salary Cap: $190.8 million
Room Under Cap: $51,090,000
</pre>

With S Stoffel and LB Rayburn both suffering serious injuries from last year, they will not exactly be attractive free agent targets. I don't expect to retain either on, unless nobody bids and they get very cheap. The guys of mine who I will pursue are S Steve Frank, CB Carlton Taylor (very expensive, I'm sure), and WR Kris Ferderer. Actually I'd probably be all right without Ferderer, but he's clearly a key contributor, and I'd rather keep things going well than lose him and hope a young replacement can work out. CB Juan Gunn would be nice to keep, but I have little expectation that he'll be affordable. RB Serwanga has been a great second back, but he also will probably be looking for very big money- the type that I certainly can't come up with. This $51m is going to get stretched very quickly, I fear.

Seattle is willing to trade their first round pick for QB Tim Loverne. How nice. At one point, this would have sounded like a good deal-sign him, trade him, and make room for Brennan, our long-term guy. However, after last season, I'm looking at Loverne as the long term guy, and Brennan as the guy walking out the door.

I start with a 4yr, $61m offer to CB Carlton Taylor. He's a clear case of a guy's value being dictated by his scouted ratings, and not his on-field performance. His stats have always been average, but I'm so enchanted by the long red bars that I'm basically willing to pony up whatever he wants. If bidding get out of control, my backup plan is to re-sign Gunn, my RFA corner who had a great year last season, even without ratings in the 90s.

I go 4yrs, $61m to WR Ferderer-his performance has been so solid, I'd hate to give him up. He has the ratings to match, but his numbers have been great. S Steve Frank wants about $9m a year-I decide to wait him out a little bit.

After week one-it's clear that I'm going to have to come up with a bit more green to get these two guys. I go to $64m for each guy-getting just short of the other best offer out there in each case. These guys just have to want to come back and play for the champs, don't they? In week 4, they both sign-and my cap room dives to $21 million. Safety Steve Frank gets a few offers finally, and I put in a 2yr, $15m deal for him. Meanwhile, QB David Brennan receives a monster deal with San Diego for $33m over 2 years. Both guy are contemplating these offers until week 11, when my wallet opens up for outside players.

To make some cap room, I release G Leo Mitchell. I carried him through last season, but now he and his $10m salary have to go. G Mickey Jordan-a pretty lousy player-also gets released. Guard is suddenly a priority area for an acquisition.

C Bob Raphael-my Colorado guy who was unseated by my brilliant rookie C Steven Morris-has signed a deal to play with San Diego. I'll need to acquire a Colorado lineman now to fill that hole. In week 12, safety Steve Frank finally takes my deal-he's signed for two more years. Geez, Gerald Hardman was the guy I signed to step in for Frank who "obviously had only one year left" and Hardman is now in his 4th season.

QB David Brennan waits too long on the deal from the Chargers, and they go over their salary cap. He sits unclaimed in the pool into week 15… and onward. I make some claims for cheap free agents at S, G, and T. I also make a late claim for a nice young LB Grant Blake, who demands a multi year deal with some bonus money. I give him the deal-he has low endurance, but pretty high skills, and should be pretty solid as a #4 or #5 guy.

That wraps it up-QB Brennan goes completely unclaimed. I cannot imagine re-signing him, but I'll have that chance after the draft if I want it.

We obviously have the #36 draft slot-we'll be looking for help at CB in this draft, as I still don't think I can re-sign Juan Gunn. However, if I can draft a player who is good right away, I might be able to cut an expensive player elsewhere, and save money to sign Gunn. I'm eating a lot of cap hits this year-things might be looser next season, too.

[QuikSand]

2021 draft

My needs from this incoming class are (more or less in order): CB, RB, TE, FB, QB, LB, C
I have a longer-term need for a safety (of course, to replace Steve Frank) but maybe not this year.
I also need an OL from Colorado, and a LB as well. A new punter is important, but easy to find.

In the draft, there's a pretty good QB from Colorado, but he goes in the first round ahead of me. I have choices with my pick-a CB with better run defense than coverage skills, a FB who might be too good to be true, a great TE, a very good TE from Colorado State, a very strong run-blocking OG, and a "good today" LB. Tough choice to make here.

<pre>
Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Brenden Pohl, FB, Purdue - almost inhuman ability here, might be bust, but all potentials at or near 100
Rnd 2 - Wade Howard, TE, Colorado State - very solid player, from Colorado school - great pick for us
Rnd 3 - Travis Denman, T, Louisiana-Monroe - value pick in third round (62/56/84)
Rnd 4 - Lee Garrett, RB, Michigan - solid backup for Chandler, good value here (76/69/62/57/37/79/93/48/54)
Rnd 5 - Carlton Durham, LB, North Carolina - great pass-rushing ability his strength (35/99/50/48/33)
Rnd 6 - Barry Booker, CB, Oklahoma State - odd player-current ratings at 3-4, but potentials of 53/56/64…
Rnd 7 - Gary Sellers, G, Wake Forest - just value pick here, a solid player at a need position (52/55/49)
</pre>

Pohl is intriguing, and rather scary. I receive a trade offer for him, and I take it as a bad omen that the offer is only a 6th round pick. He looks tremendous, and he was the top guy on the combine list as well. We'll see about him. I also was too curious to pass up CB Booker-he just doesn't look right. He might be a rpe-programmed bust, or a breakout player-I figure the odds are decent he is one or the other.

Overall, it's a draft very deep with solid players. If FB Pohl works out, then I have totally cemented that position for years to come. If not, we'll move on from here-there are quality FBs in the FA pool, so I'll have a backup plan.

Even after signing a number of free agents, I am very close to being able to afford CB Juan Gunn. I make a couple more cuts, and I clear out $9m in cap room, which I think will be enough. He's a gamble, but since CB was so empty in this draft, I think I need him around again. We give him the offer he wants, and he's delivered.

Here is the group than enters our camp:

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Tim Loverne 12 16 7 2023
QB David Brennan 12 13 5 UFA
QB Lester Jennings 4 9 3 2021
QB Jon Finley 2 10 1 2024
RB Sherman Chandler 12 13 3 2024
RB Dixon Serwanga 9 11 4 ----
RB Lee Garrett 8 12 1 2023
RB Hardy Hodges 7 10 3 2021
RB Luther Sullenger 6 10 1 2021
FB Brenden Pohl 12 16 1 2025
FB Benjamin West 5 7 1 2024
FB Howard Jose 5 6 2 ----
FB Lorenzo Cunningham 5 5 1 2021
TE Myron Hamrahi 9 12 3 ----
TE Wendell Rivers 9 11 4 ----
TE Wade Howard 7 13 1 2024
TE Corey Feather 7 12 2 ----
TE Oliver Brittain 6 9 1 2021
TE Ricardo Gaylor 3 4 1 2021
WR Kris Ferderer 16 16 5 2024
WR Preston Adderley 12 12 7 2021
WR Clyde Robb 9 12 4 2021
WR Corey Quartucci 9 10 1 2021
WR Bennie Jones 7 14 2 2023
WR Robert Dove 7 9 1 2021
WR Cary Sanford 5 8 2 ----
WR Kris Castillo 4 9 2 ----
WR Brandon Gordon 4 8 1 2021
C Steven Morris 9 14 2 2025
C Ted Hankins 4 11 1 2021
G Donny Walsh 8 13 2 2023
G Grady Fleming 6 8 6 2021
G Gary Sellers 5 11 1 2023
T Joel Ignasiak 16 16 7 2021
T Rich Fouts 8 10 4 2021
T Perry Reich 7 10 6 UFA
T Travis Denman 5 12 1 2023
T Conrad Wiggins 2 9 2 2023
P Ernest Thomason 1 1 3 ----
K Marvin Sherman 6 6 5 UFA
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 16 8 2023
DE Rick Lock 11 11 5 2022
DE Kelvin Shiver 5 12 2 2023
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 9 2022
DT Lamont Kaplan 6 11 3 2022
DT Ernest Perry 5 13 2 2022
DT Sammy Sanderson 5 14 2 2021
DT Glenn Beauchamp 4 11 2 2021
LB Raymond Coppola 18 18 6 2021
LB Casey Finley 12 13 7 2021
LB Skip Donovan 6 12 3 2021
LB Carlton Durham 6 9 1 2023
LB Grant Blake 5 12 2 2024
LB Hunter Dunn 5 5 2 2021
LB Rex Kinney 5 9 1 2024
LB Travis Tatum 5 8 3 2021
CB Carlton Taylor 16 16 7 2024
CB Juan Gunn 9 12 4 2024
CB Benjamin Nixon 6 8 9 UFA
CB Troy Muldoon 5 10 2 2021
CB Barry Booker 0 7 1 2022
S Gerald Hardman 13 16 4 2023
S Steve Frank 10 10 17 2022
S Seth Lee 5 11 2 2023
S C.J. Manderscheid 4 11 2 ----
S Harris Lane 4 8 2 2022
</pre>

I'll have a few casualties after camp, who I intend to re-acquire. I go into camp, hoping that I just acquired the best FB in history… and here's what comes out:

<pre>
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Tim Loverne 12 15 7 2023
QB Lester Jennings 6 10 3 2021
QB Jon Finley 2 9 1 2024
RB Sherman Chandler 13 13 3 2024
RB Lee Garrett 8 10 1 2023
RB Hardy Hodges 7 9 3 2021
RB Luther Sullenger 6 10 1 2021
FB Brenden Pohl 12 16 1 2025
FB Lorenzo Cunningham 5 7 1 2021
FB Benjamin West 5 11 1 2024
TE Wade Howard 7 13 1 2024
TE Oliver Brittain 6 10 1 2021
TE Ricardo Gaylor 3 5 1 2021
WR Kris Ferderer 16 17 5 2024
WR Preston Adderley 12 12 7 2021
WR Bennie Jones 10 15 2 2023
WR Clyde Robb 9 10 4 2021
WR Corey Quartucci 8 10 1 2021
WR Robert Dove 7 9 1 2021
WR Brandon Gordon 6 7 1 2021
C Steven Morris 12 14 2 2025
C Ted Hankins 4 8 1 2021
G Donny Walsh 11 12 2 2023
G Grady Fleming 6 8 6 2021
G Gary Sellers 5 9 1 2023
T Joel Ignasiak 16 16 7 2021
T Rich Fouts 9 10 4 2021
T Conrad Wiggins 5 8 2 2023
T Travis Denman 4 12 1 2023
DE Lionel Schumacher 16 17 8 2023
DE Rick Lock 11 11 5 2022
DE Kelvin Shiver 8 12 2 2023
DT Alex Dosoo 14 14 9 2022
DT Lamont Kaplan 8 11 3 2022
DT Ernest Perry 8 13 2 2022
DT Sammy Sanderson 8 12 2 2021
DT Glenn Beauchamp 4 6 2 2021
LB Raymond Coppola 18 18 6 2021
LB Casey Finley 13 14 7 2021
LB Skip Donovan 7 9 3 2021
LB Grant Blake 6 12 2 2024
LB Travis Tatum 6 8 3 2021
LB Carlton Durham 6 9 1 2023
LB Rex Kinney 5 6 1 2024
LB Hunter Dunn 3 6 2 2021
CB Carlton Taylor 14 15 7 2024
CB Juan Gunn 10 10 4 2024
CB Troy Muldoon 6 9 2 2021
CB Barry Booker 0 4 1 2022
S Gerald Hardman 15 15 4 2023
S Steve Frank 9 9 17 2022
S Harris Lane 6 8 2 2022
S Seth Lee 5 9 2 2023
</pre>

One thing I notice right away-QB Tim Loverne's ratings did not budge, he still has the same green he had before. My scout says he actually lot a little bit of his "potential" but I now believe that he just missed out on some of it-he'll never grow much beyond his current ability. Which proved to be fine for us last yer, so I'm not complaining.

As for FB Brenden Pohl-I don't know how my scout decides this guy is only a 16 potential. Of the 9 visible ratings, his are 100/95/77/100/100/100/100/100/90. Does that sound like a 16 out of 20 to you? This guy is the real deal.

My other draft picks all look just fine, too. Some bad news among my URFAs, but they'll just get cut anyway. CB Barry Booker didn't budge for me-I probably won't even keep him-he has a legitimate zero in current ability, as the guy has nothing above a 4 anywhere right now.

I accept a deal-San Francisco gives me 3rd round pick for DT Sammy Sanderson, who will return to the bay area (Stanford grad).

This is a particularly tumultuous process of getting to 53 players under contract. I end up making more cuts to make it all work, but in the end, I have my 53 and my quote of Coloradans.

<pre>
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels

Name # Pos HT WT Exp Stat College
Loverne, Tim 5 QB 6-0 240 7 ----- Northwestern
Jennings, Lester 8 QB 6-3 205 3 ----- Colorado
Finley, Jon 6 QB 6-0 218 1 ----- Maryland
Chandler, Sherman 26 RB 5-8 215 3 ----- Louisiana Tech
Hodges, Hardy 30 RB 5-9 220 3 ----- Colorado
Garrett, Lee 31 RB 5-10 188 R ----- Michigan
Sullenger, Luther 34 RB 6-1 212 1 ----- Stanford
Cunningham, Lorenzo 35 FB 5-8 250 1 ----- Minnesota
Pohl, Brenden 25 FB 5-11 247 R ----- Purdue
Rivers, Wendell 86 TE 5-11 248 4 ----- Colorado State
Howard, Wade 85 TE 6-2 279 R ----- Colorado State
Adderley, Preston 88 WR 5-10 182 7 ----- Fresno State
Ferderer, Kris 81 WR 5-10 178 5 ----- Penn State
Robb, Clyde 83 WR 5-11 212 4 ----- Auburn
Castillo, Kris 82 WR 5-7 175 2 ----- Colorado
Jones, Bennie 87 WR 6-4 185 2 ----- Michigan State
Quartucci, Corey 16 WR 6-1 201 1 ----- South Carolina St.
Morris, Steven 59 C 5-11 291 2 ----- Winston Salem
Hankins, Ted 52 C 6-2 294 1 ----- Notre Dame
Meredith, Leroy 53 C 6-4 292 1 ----- Colorado State
Fleming, Grady 78 G 6-4 305 6 ----- Pittsburgh
Walsh, Donny 79 G 6-1 296 2 ----- Michigan State
Sellers, Gary 67 G 6-5 274 R ----- Wake Forest
Ignasiak, Joel 66 T 6-5 305 7 ----- Nebraska
Fouts, Rich 65 T 6-1 344 4 ----- Stanford
Denman, Travis 64 T 6-6 308 R ----- Louisiana-Monroe
Sinclair, Kennedy 71 T 6-9 303 1 ----- Bowie State
Garrett, Emmitt 12 P 6-2 224 1 ----- Navy
Sherman, Marvin 11 K 6-1 188 5 ----- Colorado
Schumacher, Lionel + 92 DE 6-3 273 8 ----- Alabama
Lock, Rick 90 DE 6-1 254 5 ----- Notre Dame
Shiver, Kelvin 97 DE 6-1 275 2 ----- Rhode Island
Coburn, Cory 95 DE 6-4 237 R ----- Rice
Dosoo, Alex 98 DT 6-6 305 9 ----- Delaware State
Kaplan, Lamont 93 DT 6-5 307 3 ----- Oklahoma
Beauchamp, Glenn 91 DT 6-2 315 2 ----- Colorado State
Perry, Ernest + 96 DT 6-5 305 2 ----- Miami, Florida
Finley, Casey 51 LB 6-2 257 7 ----- Michigan State
Coppola, Raymond 58 LB 6-2 242 6 ----- Nebraska
Grubbs, Colin 56 LB 6-6 235 5 ----- Colorado
Donovan, Skip 55 LB 6-4 227 3 ----- Nebraska
Blake, Grant 54 LB 5-11 264 2 ----- Notre Dame
Chandler, Clarence 57 LB 5-10 238 1 ----- Colorado
Durham, Carlton 50 LB 6-3 264 R ----- North Carolina
Taylor, Carlton 28 CB 5-10 184 7 ----- Arkansas
Gunn, Juan 42 CB 5-11 179 4 ----- Washington State
Muldoon, Troy 49 CB 6-3 190 2 ----- West Liberty State
Booker, Barry 32 CB 6-0 191 R ----- Oklahoma State
Raymond, Stanley 40 CB 5-11 196 1 ----- Bucknell
Frank, Steve * 37 S 5-9 226 17 ----- Rice
Hardman, Gerald 43 S 6-0 226 4 ----- Saginaw Valley
Lane, Harris 21 S 6-1 195 2 ----- Colorado
Lee, Seth 29 S 6-2 197 2 ----- Duke

Salary Cap: $190.8 million
Room Under Cap: $10,000
</pre>

As you can see, I have not left a lot of room under the cap--no room to sign an injury replacement mid-year, for instance. I'm not too worried about it- it's the price I pay for getting one more top player (CB Juan Gunn) on the team.

We'll be looking for a title defense this season-and hoping that everything stays in place for us to start back up right where we left off.

[Marmel]

Dear Quiksand, GM:

Well, well, well, sir. I see you have accomplished the impossible, and have won an FOF bowl. Being the man that I am, I will congratulate you on a job well done.

Also, I will make my appearance in downtown Colorado Springs at noon on Tuesday. A bet is a bet.

However, I will say that this year was a fluke. Much like the St. Louis Rams team of 1999, A TOTAL FLUKE.

If you are able to repeat your performance next year, I will permantly die my hair the color of the Squirrels, and re-pledge my allegence to your team. Also, I will purchase a club seat to your stadium, and begin spending my hard earned money on your team.

I am confident that none of this will occur. My Denver Broncos team has reloaded at another run at the title, and will dethrone your team this coming season. Enjoy the last championship you will celebrate in this city Mr. Quiksand.

Thank you and good day. If you need me, I will be scrubbing myself with turpintine later.

Best Regards,
Marmel

[QuikSand]

2021 season

My team's setup is pretty routine-no big changes among the starting ranks. We'll try to run inside a little more than before-going in behind my star center Steven Morris. With a big improvement in my lead blocker, I'm hoping for a jump in the running game. The defense switches back to my more comfortable 4-3, and my DT position is actually looking quite solid. Dosoo will continue to be our anchor in the middle, but he now has some quality company, particularly Ernest Perry.

My expertise is still a mixed bag. I now have a 77 expertise in the 4-3 defense (where I maxed out training time)-which is at least comparable to what I used to see. However, in other areas (like man to man defense) where I put in additional training time (but not fully maxed out) it doesn't look like I got much bang for my buck-several are just over 50, but no better.

My cohesion before the exhibition season is 60-65-79-77, which is pretty comparable to what it's been each of the last several years. My roster rating is 100, with the Jets next at 78. Denver is near the bottom with a 13.

DT Alex Dosoo is hurt in preseason, and will miss some time. RB Sherman Chandler is also dinged, but will play anyway.

Our schedule this season isn't quite as stacked with early home games, but we do start with four out of five at home. Again-I'd rather it were the other way around, but I suppose it isn't that big a deal. We host San Diego in the finale-if they build on their very good season a year ago, that might be an important last game for the division.

In our opener, hosting Seattle, Sherman Chandler plays through his injury to get 148 yards and 2 TDs, and leads us to a 30-20 win. I get a message in the post-game update that I'm not sure I have ever seen before: All players are content.

We go into Oakland, and our undefeated season dreams come to an abrupt end, 31-14. They completely stop our running game (Chandler 7 for 8), and they play error-free football to win easily. We come back with an easy home win over KC, 35-3. Interception TDs by LB Skip Donovan and CB Carlton Taylor helped the cause. We win again at home over Buffalo, to stretch to 3-1. Sherman Chandler had 221 yards and3 TDs on the day-I think giving him a legitimate lead blocker may have made some difference.

After our bye, we take on St. Louis. We lead 38-0 at the half, and coast to a 45-21 win. Backup RB Lee Garrett gets a couple TDs in mopup duty, and we get some work for backup QB Jennings, our own Golden Buffalo, as well. Next, we head into Denver, to take on the 5-1 rejuvenated Broncos. Their incredible WR Brenden Dye already has almost 900 yards receiving in 6 games-he's perpetually on fire. Stopping him-or slowing him down a bit-is job #1. We win 24-14 in Denver-QB Tim Loverne completes 24 of 30 passes, and gets game MVP honors without throwing a single TD pass. Brenden Dye got 121 yards, but we kept him out of the end zone at least.

We go into Kansas City, and suffer a big upset, 18-17. They win it on a last minute FG, after a nearly-scoreless second half. We inexplicably let the KB running back Chanthavong gain 130 yards on us-he was last year's #1 overall rookie pick, got OROY last season with 1,114 yards, and looks like a major star in the making. I'll try to keep an eye on him relative to Chandler, as they are only one year apart. Right now, Chanthavong is #2 and Chandler #3 in rushing yards-though Chandler has played one fewer game. Chicacgo's Oliver Simmons is the top dog with 775 yards through 8 games.

We go into Miami, who is only a shadow of the playoff team from last season. We whip 'em 27-6, as we hold them under 200 yards and they only get 10 first downs. Oakland visits us next, and we have revenge on our minds. Instead, it's more of the same-the Raiders handle us easily, 27-7. Their QB Freddie Middleton has now thrown 6 TDs against us-they just have us figured out. They pick off Loverne 4 times, and that is the big factor.

We lose S Gerald Hardman for the rest of the regular season-bad news. Young Seth Lee will start for the remainder, and Steve Frank-always dependable-will again anchor our secondary. We host a lousy Saints team, and they somehow beat us, 12-7. We were dead even on total yardage with 302-they just took better advantage. CB Juan Gunn is now out for a month, and FB Brenden Pohl is going to miss at least a few games. We go into Seattle, and we suffer even more of the same-a 45-22 loss which drops us to 6-5 on the year. Their QB Arnie Fisher-who has to be among the all-time leaders in gross numbers-lights us up for 4 TD passes as our thinned-out secondary is exposed for its lack of depth.

Next we host Denver. They are 7-4, and still could be caught for the division title. Everyone expect KC is one game behind the Broncos, and they're counting on us to bring them down. We need to play better than we have lately. I'm hopeful that the rivalry game will bring out our best. It does-we paste the Broncos 44-7. Tim Loverne throws for nearly 400 yards, hitting 4 different receivers for a TD each. We move into a three way tie with the Raiders and Broncos for the division lead. The Jets and Steelers have locked up the bye week slots-we're just battling to get in.

The Chargers host us, and beat us 28-14. Sherman Chandler seems to be slowing down late in this season, and we're having trouble winning on the road. Both are bad signs even if we can sneak into the playoffs as a low seed. Fortunately, the other two teams both lost, too-we're still in the tie, but now San Diego has joined us at 7-6. We head into Jacksonville-and they would just love to knock us off our rockers. They get a 42-yard TD run with 2 minutes remaining to beat us 31-28. We slip to 7-7, tied for "last" in our tough division, and are in real peril.

In Carolina, we lose 37-21, and our season is essentially over. We play poorly, and just look like we are out of gas. Our finale with San Diego is a big game, but only because by beating us (which they do 35-10), the Chargers win the division at 10-6. As injuries racked up, this team performed a compete el foldo down the stretch, and embarassed everyone, including me.

Marmel and his hair are safe-we won't be repeating as champs. Instead, we'll be picking about 10th in the damned draft. Ugh.

<pre>
2021 Regular Season Standings

AFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
New York J 12 4 0 .750 445 256 7-3-0 10-3-0
Buffalo 9 7 0 .563 313 334 7-3-0 9-4-0
Boise City 7 9 0 .438 284 310 6-4-0 6-7-0
New England 7 9 0 .438 289 377 3-7-0 5-8-0
Miami 5 11 0 .313 259 354 4-6-0 5-8-0
Indianapolis 3 13 0 .188 177 358 3-7-0 3-10-0

AFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Pittsburgh 12 4 0 .750 357 271 7-3-0 9-4-0
Jacksonville 11 5 0 .688 378 305 9-1-0 11-2-0
Cleveland 9 7 0 .563 373 273 5-5-0 8-5-0
Baltimore 6 10 0 .375 310 366 4-6-0 4-9-0
Cincinnati 5 11 0 .313 294 346 3-7-0 4-9-0
Tennessee 5 11 0 .313 235 336 2-8-0 3-10-0

AFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
San Diego 10 6 0 .625 393 304 6-4-0 8-5-0
Denver 10 6 0 .625 394 387 5-5-0 7-6-0
Seattle 9 7 0 .563 390 306 5-5-0 6-7-0
Oakland 8 8 0 .500 363 332 7-3-0 8-5-0
**Colorado Springs 7 9 0 .438 377 369 4-6-0 6-7-0
Kansas City 7 9 0 .438 301 411 3-7-0 5-8-0

NFC East W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Philadelphia 13 3 0 .813 410 273 8-2-0 11-2-0
Washington 12 4 0 .750 411 298 8-2-0 9-4-0
New York G 8 8 0 .500 367 340 5-5-0 7-6-0
Dallas 6 9 1 .406 315 354 4-6-0 5-7-1
Arizona 6 10 0 .375 301 344 3-7-0 5-8-0
Cheyenne 4 12 0 .250 233 431 2-8-0 3-10-0

NFC Central W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Chicago 12 4 0 .750 408 266 7-3-0 10-3-0
Tampa Bay 11 5 0 .688 345 304 5-5-0 8-5-0
Green Bay 10 6 0 .625 404 284 6-4-0 7-6-0
Detroit 8 8 0 .500 350 311 5-5-0 7-6-0
Fargo 8 8 0 .500 275 387 5-5-0 6-7-0
Minnesota 5 11 0 .313 340 347 2-8-0 3-10-0

NFC West W L T Pct PF PA Div Conf
Atlanta 9 7 0 .563 344 257 7-3-0 9-4-0
St. Louis 9 7 0 .563 304 317 6-4-0 8-5-0
San Francisco 8 8 0 .500 292 356 6-4-0 6-7-0
Carolina 6 10 0 .375 361 354 4-6-0 4-9-0
Portland 5 10 1 .344 321 367 3-7-0 4-8-1
New Orleans 5 11 0 .313 290 418 4-6-0 4-9-0
</pre>

Stat leaders:

QB Tim Loverne: 3,833 yds, 57.2%, 8.03 ypa, 24/15, 86.9
RB Sherman Chandler: 1,140 yds, 10 TD (4.5 ypc)
WR Kris Ferderer: 67-1,172 yds, 10 TD (53.6%, 13 drops)
OL unit: ~30% KRBs, 30 sacks allowed
LB Raymond Coppola: 130 tackles, 3.5 sacks
LB Casey Finley: 98 tackles, 3 sacks
DE Rick Lock: 11 sacks, 4 blocks, 2 hurries
CB Carlton Taylor: 54 tackles, 5 int, 1 TD, 32.3 PDQ
S Steve Frank: 65 tackles, 4 int, 1 TD, 37.4 PDQ

Overall stats (off/def/avg):
Rushing: 4.3 / 3.7 / 3.8
Passing: 7.9 / 7.0 / 6.7

Our defense slipped overall, and in particular slipped against the pass. I think that we also lost out on big plays this year-we just didn't make as many as we usually do. Our turnover margin was a net zero-low for a good team. We also allowed out opponents to do well on third down. All ingredients for a fall-apart season, which this certainly was.

San Diego is on a roll, and it continues into the playoffs-they beat Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and the Jets to get to the Superbowl. They edge Chicago 36-31 in the title game, winning the third straight Superbowl title for the AFC West. It's a murderous division, with every team in the hunt this year.

On the season awards board, somehow we didn't get quite as many laurels as we did in our 15-1 championship season. Curious, that. Anyway, LB Coppola gets second team-as usual, the voters are impressed by lofty tackle totals, even if that means "bad defense played here." At least this time, the honor is legitimate. My young left guard Donny Walsh also gets a second team nod-he had 26/73 KRBs (35.6%) and only allowed 2 sacks-a very good effort.

Incidentally, Kansas City's Wade Chathavong gets first team RB honors with a 1,434 yard season, and is named offensive player of the year. San Diego gets several honors as well-LT Walter Wong (about whom I remember raving when he was drafted) is the first team OT, and their top pass rushed DE Brent Whalen gets his second straight first team award. Denver's WR Brenden Dye is first team again with another great year-124 catches for 2,086 yards. I cannot believe that he was overlooked for OPOY by some 1,400-yard running back, and for MVP by the Jets' QB who had a nice 30 TD season, but nothing too remarkable.

So, which is it? Was Marmel right? Was our title run in 2020 just a fluke? Or was this year's injury-riddled flop the aberration? What will next year bring? What expensive heads will roll? Stay tuned...

[Marmel]

Dear Quiksand, GM:

Take heart in your mediocre season! You did provide at least one football fan countless laughs. It was a pleasure to see my beloved Broncos make the playoffs, while your "franchise" was outside looking in. Did you have a comfy seat to watch the playoffs from?

Also, I would like to offer you a suggestion. Have you ever considered changing the name of your team? You could become the Colorado Springs Forever .500 Squirrels. I fitting name I would think. your team mascot could be a bumbling GM! Ha ha ha.

My prediction was right on target it seems. That FOF bowl victory was a fluke.

The future sees my teams continuing to make the playoffs and win bowls, while your team fights for .500.

Take care my old friend, and good day to you.

Best Regards,
Marmel "Broncos Diehard"

[Upstate_New_York]

OK... I have perhaps what is a stupid question. This may have been answered earlier somewhere else... but how do you get those scout overview print outs in your posts? Can you access the print out as a text file, or do you scan them in and convert them?

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"It's fortunate that everybody plays badly when we play against them. We're not a very good football team." -Jason Sehorn, on the Giants 13th victory of the year against Philadelphia.

[QuikSand]

The fairly long version on how to do the print dump is locaed a little while back in this career section of this forum... I suspect you can find what you need there.

The short version is that I am sending my printouts to a generic/text file printout option, and then opening the file with MS Word, and pasting what I want into my career thread as need be, in pre-formatted text format using -html coding.

Details in the other thread...