Group Think II

[Mike47]

Group Think II is currently being formed.

We will be starting in the year 2002, as the Houston Texans, just before the expansion draft. We will be building a team together that fits the style of play we wish to dictate. On offense, we plan on being a run oriented team with emphasis on ball control. On the defensive side we will be an aggressive team, blitzing frequently. If you think you would like to be a part of our team, in any way shape or form, drop us a post at the end of this thread. You can take a vacant position or, if it applys, create your own.

Download the team file <a href="http://www.ulyssesright.com/FOF/GT2.zip">here</a>.

<b>General Manager:</b> Mike47

<b>Offensive Coordinator:</b> SaintAnselm
<b>QB Coach:</b> Ragone
<b>RB Coach:</b> Neel
<b>REC Coach</b>
<b>OL Coach:</b> Straight8

<b>Defensive Coordinator:</b> Tasan
<b>DL Coach</b>
<b>LB Coach</b>
<b>DB Coach</b>

<b>Special Teams Coach</b>

<b>Scouting Director:</b> Swaggs
<b>AFC Scout:</b> Straight8
<b>NFC Scout:</b> dread
<b>Amateur Scout:</b> Straight8
<b>Amateur Scout:</b> dread

Please keep all Group Think II discussion in this thread to avoid clogging up the forum. If we need to start additional threads we will do so only when it is deemed necessary.

[Tasan]

I'd be interested as I missed out on the first one. I'd take Def Coord if possible.

[Mike47]

Ok, here is what I was thinking:

I will assume the role of General Manager. I will then in turn "hire" an offensive coordinator and defensive cooridnator (Tasan). From there, if the coordinators would like, they may hire QBs, LBs coaches and so on. Realistically, if we would want to, we could run this with just three people. It's entirely up to you guys. Hopefully we'll get some interest. I think it would be fun to colaborate and build an expansion team from the ground up.

[SaintAnselm]

I'm in. I'd be interested in the Off Cord spot if it's available.

[Mike47]

Allright, you got it Saint. Again, if anyone else wants to join in let us know and we'll see where we could fit you. I'm all for having positional coaches and scouts. Tasan and Saint, how do you guys feel about having coaches "under" you?

Allright, now we need to decide our approach. I am leaning towards an expansion team starting in 2002 with the Texans using the roster with the name changes. I'd also be willing to take over an existing franchise but figured it would be more fun doing an expansion team.

Coordinators, the only other thing we could be doing right now is establishing what kind of a mold we want our team to establish. Smashmouth running team? Finesse passing? 3-4 defense? 4-3 defense? Etc etc.

Let me know if you guys come up with anything...anything at all.

[SaintAnselm]

I think starting with the Texans would be a good way to go. I have no problem at all with having other coaches on offense. The more people we have involved the better this will be.
On offense I would like to implement an offense that is geared towards the run. I like to have a RB who can obviously run but who can also catch the football. When we pass, I would like to use the TE position a fair amount. So we'd pretty much be running a ball control offense.

[Mike47]

Sounds great to me Saint. I personally love RBs like Duece McCallister, Priest Holmes and Charlie Garner; guys who can run and catch. I also like the idea of having an offense built around ball control.

I guess for now, lets wait a while and see if we can conjure up some more interest and fill the remaining positions. After that I'll post the zip file.

[Swaggs]

I'd be interested in being the scouting director, depending on how much time it will take.

[Tasan]

On defense, it'll really be determined by our personel as to whether I go with a 4-3 or 3-4. More than likely we'll start out 4-3, unless we stumble on some real good LBs. I'd like to blitz a lot, so moving to a 3-4 eventually will be what I want. As for assistant coachs, the more the merrier.

Also, by 'roster with name changes', does that mean real names, or fake ones?

I also have a server I can put files on for us, if needed.

[Mike47]

Real NFL players. Whatever defense you're comfortable with is fine by me.

Swaggs, I honestly do no know how much time it will take. That would probably depend on how much time you would want to/can put into it. I'll put you down as Scouting Director. If you need help with scouting we can get more people and designate specific geographical regions, or player positions or something.

[Neel]

I would be interested in helping out on offense, mostly because SaintAnselm mentioned gearing it toward a run based offense, with RB's who can catch. Stong OL, and a good FB and TE's.

[Mike47]

Neel, what group would you like to work with?

[Swaggs]

As scouting director, I would want/need the following:
--AFC Scout (for familiarizing the coordinators w/ opponents and for free agency advising)
--NFC Scout (for familiarizing the coordinators w/ opponents and for free agency advising)
--College Scout (for advising on college talent, the draft, and first year free agents)

--If there is enough interest, we may want to add a division scout that is very familiar with the other three division teams and a second college scout.

[Mike47]

Here's a stupid question: Should I have the ability to fire GM on or off when I start our game?

[Tasan]

I would say on, but if we want to proceed unhindered, we might want to turn it off.

[Mike47]

I am keeping it on. If we get canned we can move elsewhere.

[Mike47]

I have never looked at the player file editor thing before until just now and it got me thinking. It appears we can mess with the draft order. If that's the case, should we give Oakland Tampa Bay's 1st/2nd round picks and so on? Try and mimic the draft exactly how it was before the expansion draft?
Although now that I think about it, wasn't Gruden still in Oakland during the expansion draft? What about the Ricky Williams deal. Allright, I'm way out of line lol. Just throwing some ideas out there until I get this file posted in a bit. It's something to think about I guess :-)

[Mike47]

Anyone know, do I just zip my universe folder and upload that? Is it that simple?

[Neel]

If you leave "fire GM" on, it would raise the stakes a little, and make it more fun to try and not all get canned.
I would like to work with the RB's. What exactly would a position coach need to do?

[Neel]

I do think you just send the contents of the folder, and not the folder itself...I think that if we overwrite the folder, we will need to reinstall the game. If we copy in the contents, we should have it all.
This is how Jim puts it...


How do I transfer a saved game from one computer to another?

You need to take all the files from the "universe" directory of one installation, and place them in the "universe" directory of the second installation.

This will overwrite all the saved games from the second installation, so you should back these up first.

Do not replace the universe directory itself. This will force you to reinstall the game.

If you're saving box scores and game logs, you do not need to transfer these files (*.flg and *.fbx).

[Mike47]

Ok, so I've zipped everything <i>inside</i> of my universe folder and I'm now uploading it. From there I guess you guys will just extract everything into your own universe folders? That sound about right? My actual universe <i>folder</i> has not be included in the zip file. I hope I did this right!

[primelord]

Originally posted by Mike47
Ok, so I've zipped everything <i>inside</i> of my universe folder and I'm now uploading it. From there I guess you guys will just extract everything into your own universe folders? That sound about right? My actual universe <i>folder</i> has not be included in the zip file. I hope I did this right!

Thats right. You wouldn't want to include the universe folder itself. Just the files inside. If you overwrite the folder itself it will cause problems. As you guys get into the career you can make the file transfers easier by just uploading the save game files and not all the yearly results each time.

[Mike47]

Neel, a positional coach will work with their specific coordinator. In your case you may work with other positional coaches like the OL coach. You will give insight on your position of experise to help set depth charts and distribute playing time. You will keep a close eye on your players throughout the season and off-season giving input on what you think can or, in some cases, cannot be done to improve the position. Think of yourself as a specialized offensive coordinator focusing specifically on one group of players.

I Hope this helps. I'm sure these positions will become much more specific and concrete once we get rolling.

[strait8]

I'd like to be coach or scout. I can handle either job.

Thanks

[Neel]

Thanks Mike, I see what you mean.

Where can we download the files from?

[Mike47]

Thanks a lot Primelord.

Ok guys the file is now available <a href="http://www.ulyssesright.com/FOF/GT2.zip">here</a>.

I think you will all be pleasantly surprised with our staff thusfar. Our scout looks fantastic and our coach, although not the greatest play-caller, will be vital in developing our expansion team which is bound to be filled with young and inexperienced players.

Phew, I guess now our focus should be directed towards the expansion draft.

[Mike47]

Strait8, we've got plenty of room. Take your pick.

[strait8]

I would like to be an advance scout for the AFC. As the amatuer scout is not a full time role (offseason only ) I'd take that if no one else wants it.

[Neel]

I downloaded the file and will look it over tonight. Good to hear our coach is a good play caller.
Did you have X Factor toned down, or turned on for max effect?
Just wondering what to expect.

[Swaggs]

Will we be allocating money/cap space to each set of positions or just playing it by our needs?

Like would we want to use 20% on QBs, 10% on RBs, 15% on WR/TEs, etc.?

[Mike47]

I didn't mean to give the impression that our coach was a good player caller. Well, actually that's all his is; good. He is, however very good with developing talent, particularily when it comes to the offense. Our scout is basically the same, and can recognize offensive talent with the best of 'em.

Did anyone else notice that there are a few decent players available in the expansion draft? WR Amani Toomer looks like he may be a solid pick up.

[Mike47]

Oh, by the way, x-factor was turned on and as far as allocating percentages to particular positions, I hadn't planned on it. I don't see why we would put limits on something like that. If it helps, I try and avoid paying players over $5M in any year of a contract. There are always exceptions of course and this is obviously not set in stone.

[Tasan]

Originally posted by Mike47
Did anyone else notice that there are a few decent players available in the expansion draft? WR Amani Toomer looks like he may be a solid pick up.

I didn't see Toomer in the Exp draft list...Are we looking at the same list?

And I see absolutely no talent either. I think we are seeing different lists somehow...

[Mike47]

You know that's strange. I had sworn that the VERY first time I looked at the expansion draft that I did not notice Toomer. Now, every time I do it again he is there. Perhaps I should re-upload the file?

[Tasan]

Yeah why don't ya re-upload, maybe it was just a glitch

[Mike47]

Ok, the file has now be reuploaded. It should be accurate as of 1:44am Thursday February 13th. You can download it at the very top of this thread. Someone let me know if they see the likes of Amani Toomer Flozell Adams, Ty Detmer...that's all I can remember seeing off-hand in the expansion draft.

[Mike47]

Ok, well I lied. There isn't much talent, as usual, in the expansion draft. Even Toomer might be a stretch. He comes with a hefty price tag for what he's actually worth.

Should we wait until we fill some more positions before we get started? Or should we just start trecking ahead?

Let me know what everyone thinks. I'm off to bed.

[Neel]

The expansion draft can be a dollar sucker, with little long term effects (on the good side anyway).
I vote for caution in the FA draft. We should pick up good talent with room for development in the rookie draft.

I vote for looking at OL right away, as well as a franchise QB.

Does there appear to be anyone else interested in getting involved before we start?

[strait8]

If there are not enough participants, I'd be happy to coach the offensive or defensive line or linebackers. When I coached, I coached those positions.

[Mike47]

Hey guys, read the Primelord PING. I guess we're going to have to sort of wing the expansion draft. I wont be taking any overpaid players or players that have no potential use for our team. I've done these expansion drafts before on my own and to be honest, just like in real life, the majority of the players are gone within two years anyway. Once I'm done with class I should have a few hours to work on it before I go to work.

[Mike47]

Straight8, if you want to take on a second or third or 20th job you can. I have no problem with that. Just let me know the details. Don't overwhelm yourself!

[Mike47]

BTW, has anyone else tried looking at the expansion list? Everytime I open it I get the same players. It appears that everytime Tasan opens it he also gets the same players but slightly different from mine. Perhaps one of us are doing something wrong.

[Neel]

Yes, what Primelord mentions about the AI not selecting the same players I have seen too. I tested this just to see what would happen when I first got the game, and the AI will not always make the same moves in an expansion draft, or at the end of a season when it chooses to not resign a player and let him go FA.

I will not have a chance to view the new download of the file until later, but I will check it out and see what is there.
As for the expansion draft, I assume that you will just have to view and sign what you see fit, and hopefully we can get a good player or two without spending too much.
Good luck!

[Tasan]

Some of the guys in the draft will be over paid, but remember, if they only have 1 year contracts, like OT Adams, we'll have a lot of money this first year, and a pickup like that might be worth it to at least have a decent line.

[Neel]

Good point Tasan....if we spend money anywhere in the expansion draft, we should go for proven OL first.
Then draft a franchise QB off the top of the rookie draft.

[SaintAnselm]

I agree with you guys about focusing on our OL. For this offense to work though, we are more in need of a franchise quality RB than a QB. If we were to have to choose between the two, I would rather have the running back. We can get by without a star level QB. We really only need a guy who can throw the easy passes and who does not turn the ball over. Our offense will not be one that will be able to come from behind easily so we simply cannot throw interceptions.

[Tasan]

Will a stud RB really just get killed his first few years? And a QB too? I think we should work from the trenches out, OL and DL early and often. A stud pass rusher will do more for our team early on than a RB who has to depend on others performing well before he can let his talent shine.

[Blade]

I am interested in participating, but I must confess, I did not follow the old Group Think threads. How does this work? Do you need FOF4 to do this?

[strait8]

I will take on OL as well as the two scouting positions. AFC and amateur.

[Swaggs]

I agree with Tasan. We need to add the beef before adding the skill players. We might consider some cheap cornerbacks, too.

[Tasan]

Originally posted by Blade
I am interested in participating, but I must confess, I did not follow the old Group Think threads. How does this work? Do you need FOF4 to do this?

Well, if we do it right and post enough printouts, you may not need FOF4 for some jobs. However, having it, playing it, and knowing its nuances is good though. Basically, a group think takes a team, and uses several people's input in making decisions for that team. Someone puts all this into the game and we sim, and see how everything comes out.

[Mike47]

Blade, I would recommend having the game. It would just make things easier on everyone. There is a post in this thread that sort of describes what a RBs coach would be responsible for. That should give you an idea of what to expect for any position group. A scout...I'm sure you can figure it out :-)

Let me know what you think.

[strait8]

My picks for the expansion draft
here are my choices for the expansion draft. I have noted the costs beside each ball player. The overall costs will be lower because FOFC4 will strip the bonus from them when we select them. Houston had to pickup these charges in the NFL.
The advantage is we can drop these guys without penalty if they do not pan out or even before camp if better FA are found.
They are listed by position and there are really ony 19 viable choices
QB None
RB-None
FB- Bryan Johnson $450K
TE Brody heffner-Liddard- 380K
TE-John Jones- 400K
WR Derius Thompson-400K
WR Nate Turner-300K
WR Bryan Gilmore-300K
C-david Infante-Diaz-550K
T-Flozell Adams 4.920K
DE-John Hilliard 380K
DT Ryan Picket-550K
MLB-jeff kelly 530K
MLB Keith Burns- 750K
SLB Ted Johnston-3800K
SLB- Don Davis-850K
CB-None
S-john dale Carty-450K
S-Chris Atkins-530K
S-Anthoy Dorsett-720K

Total cost of this group of has beens and never will be's is 16.3 million.

Your scout
Strait8

[Mike47]

Opps, I didnt see Tasan's response to Blade. Sorry 'bout that.

As I've said before, I like to let my coordinators dictate what type of team we should build. After all, they are the ones working directly with the players, they should have what they work best with.

With that said, I do think we need to put emphasis on the OL first and foremost on offense and on defense, the front 7 (I would say DL but I'm still not sure what Tasan wants to use (4-3, 3-4)).

I think you guys nailed right on the head when discussing bringing in an elite RB to build around. I agree we need this type of player to fit our offense, but I am not sure he needs to be brought in right away. I've always been a believer that RB is probably the easiest position to just get "thrown in to" unlike a young QB for instance. I don't think we should jump the gun and force ourselves to find our franchise RB, especially with the draft class that we know awaits. I doubt Willie Green or TJ Duckett are the answer here.

As far as the expansion draft goes, I have to select 20 players. I will not be taking a player who makes a significant amount of money (over 8 or 900K) unless they are going to be a starter (or close to it). I also will try to stay away from taking players who have long contracts. Idealy, I would like to use the expansion draft to get players that will be low on the depth chart; fillers. A 3rd string QB (not Ty Detmer), a backup FB, our dimeback, a #4 DE or OLB etc. The only exception may be Amani Toomer.

Toomer is scheduled to make 3.8M this season and 4M the next. The FOF scout has him rated as a 44 for both current and potential. He may be the one player we can land and use as a starter from the expansion draft. I don't see why we wouldn't want to take him. He may be overpaid slightly, but it's one less hole we'd have to fill and he has a short contract.

Well that's it for now, I'm going to start looking at some players. I'll let you guys know my specific plan of attack for the expansion draft once I have a chance to look at it more carefully. But in order to do that I need one thing from the coordinators:

Now that I know what kind of systems we want to use I need to know what kind of players, specifically, will fit this system. Possesion WRs? Big bulky building moving OL? Fast DEs? Cover CBs? Let me know what you guys are looking for. I'll wait to make a selection until I have your guys' blueprints.

[Mike47]

To sum up that last post:

We've established our approach. Now I, as general manager, need to know what kind of players are going to work for the systems our coordinators are going to use.

Once that is done, I'll make the 20 selections on paper, I'll post them here and get feedback. If you guys approve I'll upload a new league file.

Stay tuned...

[Tasan]

Originally posted by Mike47
Toomer is scheduled to make 3.8M this season and 4M the next. The FOF scout has him rated as a 44 for both current and potential. He may be the one player we can land and use as a starter from the expansion draft. I don't see why we wouldn't want to take him. He may be overpaid slightly, but it's one less hole we'd have to fill and he has a short contract.

....

Now that I know what kind of systems we want to use I need to know what kind of players, specifically, will fit this system. Possesion WRs? Big bulky building moving OL? Fast DEs? Cover CBs? Let me know what you guys are looking for. I'll wait to make a selection until I have your guys' blueprints.

We should grab toomer if he is available. That 2 year contract will be gone by the time we need the money. We will go with a 4-3 this year. I want run stopping DLs for now, and pass rushing LBs. I like my CBs high on man-to-man, and my FS needs good cover skills, and the SS needs to be a big hitter. This being said, we may just fill in with whatever we have this year. I eventually want us in a 3-4, but its usually easier to fill in a 4-3 early.

[strait8]

Deleted messages

[Mike47]

Tasan, it may be better for the team to use a 3-4 right off the bat. With team cohesion taken into account and all, why don't we just start fresh with a 3-4? If that's what you want to use I don't see any benefit in waiting. No use getting some players used to 4-3 and then switching, it will only set us back.

[SaintAnselm]

I agree with Mike on the defensive alignment. We might as well start out with what we evetually plan to go with. As far as picking up a RB, I agree that it can wait, and that there will not be one in this draft most likely.

[strait8]

I was just wondering as i do not have Armani toomer as FA in my WR's.

In regard to FA's. I can llok at the potential FA group and see some spectacular guys who will be available inexpensively.

I used the two followig settings to filter:
Future potential Up to 6 years Max salary 2.3 mill
Current value up to 9 Years Max salary 3.23 Mill

On the Oline look at
Jeff Smith Under 2.3Mill. This guy looks like the type of guy who will get 35-45 KRB and only allow 4-5 sacks per season.

Kevin long C-is also available at around 970K per season.

Kerry jenkins NJ Jets 6years<3.2 mil/yr. This guy would also be a great additon.

Three FA prospects that cone up under Future potential filter are:
All of these guys are available for minimum salary. They usually can be signed to two years for a 20K bonus. At least one of the three sHould develop into a starter.
Darryl Allen -T. Patrick vickers-G Robert Benson T

Another area of Strength in the draft is Safety.

Look at Tony Parrish SS and Kieth Lyle are asking for 1.8 and Eric Brown is 2.3. We should be able to sign any 2 of them and have two great ball hawkig safeties.

Other potential bargins are Ricky Dudley and Cam Cleeland at TE and Earl holmes at SLB.

At receiver Bill schroeder looks like the best and should be signed.

The biggest question I see is Drew Bledsole his asking price is under 1.84. I would think he could be ours for 4 years 10 million.
Or do we go after David carr aka Robert ingersoll at 20 Mill+ in the draft.

[Blade]

Well, I don't have FOF4 yet, so I am out.

[Mike47]

Allright here it is. My Mock Expansion Draft. I haven't actually selected this players as of yet, but plan on doing so if you guys approve.

FB Bryan Johnson
A blocking FB who might catch a ball or two out of the backfield. However, no promises on whether or not he'll hold on to it for very long.
Projected Roster Spot: FB2 of 2

TE Brody Heffner-Liddiard
A potential pass blocking TE with good hands who seems to be a shoe in for some easy third downs conversions.
Projected Roster Spot: TE2 of 3

TE Ryan Prince
This guy was picked on his potential. Not much to say about someone who will be your 3rd string TE, but he does seem to have a nack for getting open.
Project Roster Spot: TE3 of 3

WR Amani Toomer
I can't wait to see what this guys Yards per catch will end up being. Toomer will be one of the only significant cap hits we take out of this expansion draft at $3.0M this year and $3.2M the next. Regardless, pulling a starter out of an FOF expansion draft is too hard to pass up. Especially since he'll be our featured punt returner as well.
Projected Roster Spot: WR2 of 6

WR Brian Gilmore
I'm not sure what all the hype is about this guy (40 potential) but I'd rather take a chance on him than some of the other scrubs available. He's cheap and is a hometown boy from Lufkin, TX. There's my excuse.
Projected Roster Spot: WR6 of 6

WR Isaac Byrd
Nothing special about Isaac, just your average filler WR. Welcome to Houston!
Projected Roster Spot: WR5 of 6

WR Tai Streets
Another WR out of U of M, Streets is basically a more finely tuned version of our very own Isaac Byrd. However, Tai is 3 years younger and has just enough talent, in just the right places, which should allow him to make an impact on this team.
Projected Roster Spot: WR4 of 6

C David Diaz-Infante
Just about the only C available who can actually run block. Here's our first OL guys, he should make for a nice backup at the center position.
Projected Roster Spot: C2 of 2

C Lonnie Paxton
Lonnie was originally overlooked, but being that the expansion draft does not offer one respectable G who can actually run-block, Lonnie Paxton gets the nod. We'll fit him in somewhere.
Projected Roster Spot: G4 of 4

T Melvin Tuten
Melvin is a rare run-blocking T who will fit our offense nicely. Granteed, he's a career reserve at best but Mr. Tuten just might pop open a few holes from the depths of his roster slot.
Projected Roster Spot: T4 of 4

T Flozell Adams
Flozell was <i>the</i> last pick I made. Having passed on him originally, it came down to a combination of him being the best available player, by far and him fitting a team need. He is certainly overpaid for what his role will be, a #3 T (2 at best) but he only had one year remaining on his contract and can always be released.

DEFENSE

DE Joe Tafoya
What do you know!? A 4th string run stopping DE.
Projected Roster Spot: DE4 of 4

DT Leif Larsen
This Texas-El Paso grad <i>could</i> hold his own on run support and should supply an added incentive with his pass rushing potential...If he gets on the field.
Projected Roster Spot: DT3 of 3

ILB Tommy Hendricks
Hendricks was selected because he's a role player. Simply put; this guy is a blitzer. As long as he's not left hung out to dry in pass coverage Houston, Texas' own Tommy Hendricks should add a spark to our pass rush when he comes in on 3rd and longs.
Projected Roster Spot: ILB3 of 4

ILB Dhani Jones
Dhani Jones is a more well-rounded ILB than his former Michigan Wolverine teammate Hendricks, and will add solid depth to the inside of our LB corps. Look for Jones to be a solid contributer on special teams in the near future as well.
Projected Roster Spot: ILB4 of 4

OLB Brant Boyer
A well rounded reserve, Boyer will be best served giving the starters a quick breather and contributing to special teams.
Projected Roster Spot: OLB3 of 4

OLB Don Davis
Davis was one of the last picks I made. It was between him and Atlanta's Arlie Ulmer. Davis can't play run defense at all and he's not much of a cover LB. His strengths lie in blitzing and his role on special teams.
Projected Roster Spot: OLB4 of 4

CB Ken Lucas
Lucas isn't exactly what we're looking for in a corner but he will work as a #5 guy. He is pretty well rounded and may chip in occasionally on kick returns.
Projected Roster Spot: CB5 of 5

S David Gibson
Gibson could be a solid SS on guaranteed passing downs, but I'd look for this big hitter to make a name for himself on special teams.
Projected Roster Spot: S3 of 4

S John Dale Carty
Carty is listed as a SS but he gets selected, along-side Gibson, for his ability to (hopefully) handle both safety positions within our defense. One dimensional in his pass coverages, Carty, if anything else, will knock a few heads on special teams.
Projected Roster Spot: S4 of 4

Well that's my take guys. Let me know what you think!

[Mike47]

These 20 players would count $16,350,000 against the cap. A bit more than what I wanted to spend, but Flozell and Amani definetly contributed to the inflation.

[SaintAnselm]

I think you did a fine job, I can accept 16 mil of the cap being taken up especially because we can always release Flozell. Taking Toomer is alright with me. Getting a starter out of the draft is a big plus.

[Tasan]

Thats not a bad cast of characters there. I have no problems with them. I think I'm getting a little different view of the players though, must be associated with our other problem.

And for the 3-4, we can go ahead and start with it this year I guess. I'll need 4-5 DEs, 3 DTs, and 8 OLB/ILBs. CBs and Ss as we can fit them.

Anyway, I think we can just go ahead and run this draft with these players listed here, anyone concur?

[Tasan]

The 16.3 mil figure is about 23% of our total cap. The players total to about 38% of our roster, so we are doing good with that figure.

[strait8]

Do we not sign UFRA"s before the draft?

[Mike47]

Yeah, Straight8, that should be the next thing to do. Well, aside from setting ticket prices etc. I'll post the new file shortly. Hopefully it will work.

BTW, here is a quick run down of how I will distribute roster space (off the top of my head).

3 QBs
3 HBs
2 FBs
3 TEs
6 WRs
2 Cs
4 Gs
4 Ts
K
P
4 DEs
3 DTs
4 OLBs
4 ILBs
5 CBs
4 S

[Mike47]

The new file is up. Get it <a href="http://www.ulyssesright.com/FOF/GT2.zip">here</a>.

Quick FYI, the latest file will always be at the very beginning of this thread as well. Where the positions are posted.

[Tasan]

Alright folks, here we are after the Expansion draft.


Front Office Football: The Fourth Edition
Houston Texans Roster, Standard View

Player # Pos HT WT Exp Birthdate College
Johnson, Bryan 33 FB 6-1 234 2 01/18/1978 Boise State
Prince, Ryan 87 TE 6-4 254 2 05/16/1978 Weber State
Heffner-Liddiard, Brody 88 TE 6-4 234 3 06/12/1977 Colorado
Byrd, Isaac 81 SE 6-1 188 6 11/16/1974 Kansas
Streets, Tai 85 SE 6-2 206 3 04/20/1977 Michigan
Gilmore, Bryan 86 SE 5-11 196 2 09/21/1978 Midwestern State
Toomer, Amani 89 SE 6-3 202 7 09/08/1974 Michigan
Adams, Flozell 66 LT 6-7 335 5 05/18/1975 Michigan State
Tuten, Melvin 72 LT 6-7 320 6 11/11/1971 Syracuse
Diaz-Infante, David 50 C 6-3 295 7 03/31/1964 San Jose State
Paxton, Lonie 57 C 6-2 260 3 03/13/1978 Cal. - Sacramento
Larsen, Leif 71 LDT 6-4 295 3 04/03/1975 Texas - El Paso
Tafoya, Joe 98 RDE 6-3 270 2 09/06/1978 Arizona
Davis, Don 54 SLB 6-1 234 7 12/17/1972 Kansas
Hendricks, Tommy 52 MLB 6-1 223 3 10/23/1978 Michigan
Jones, Dhani 58 MLB 6-1 237 2 02/22/1978 Michigan
Boyer, Brant 91 WLB 6-1 230 8 06/27/1971 Arizona
Lucas, Ken 29 RCB 6-0 203 2 01/23/1979 Mississippi
Gibson, David 43 SS 6-1 210 3 11/05/1977 Southern California
Carty, Johndale 45 SS 6-0 202 4 08/27/1977 Utah State

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 20
On Active Roster: 20

Salary Cap: $71,100,000
Cap Room: $54,760,000
Maximum for New Player: $49,240,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $0

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $9,150,000


Next up is ticket pricing, then Free Agency. Before you go running off looking at the upcoming FA market, bear in mind it might change. When you hit the Continue to FA button, it can randomize a bit, and since that hasn't been done yet to the main files, some guys might not make it to FA for whatever reasons. Just a heads up, you can prolly look now and get a real good feel for them at least.

[Tasan]

And here's what our scout things of this rag tag bunch:


Front Office Football: The Fourth Edition
Houston Texans Roster, Scout Overview

Player # Pos Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Johnson, Bryan 33 FB 2 21 29 2 yrs.
Heffner-Liddiard, Brody 88 TE 3 22 37 2 yrs.
Prince, Ryan 87 TE 2 14 25 1 yr.
Byrd, Isaac 81 SE 6 23 23 2 yrs.
Gilmore, Bryan 86 SE 2 16 20 1 yr.
Streets, Tai 85 SE 3 23 27 4 yrs.
Toomer, Amani 89 SE 7 41 41 2 yrs.
Adams, Flozell 66 LT 5 33 33 1 yr.
Tuten, Melvin 72 LT 6 9 14 2 yrs.
Diaz-Infante, David 50 C 7 19 26 1 yr.
Paxton, Lonie 57 C 3 6 15 1 yr.
Larsen, Leif 71 LDT 3 9 16 1 yr.
Tafoya, Joe 98 RDE 2 9 16 2 yrs.
Davis, Don 54 SLB 7 20 22 1 yr.
Hendricks, Tommy 52 MLB 3 16 23 2 yrs.
Jones, Dhani 58 MLB 2 15 28 2 yrs.
Boyer, Brant 91 WLB 8 21 23 2 yrs.
Lucas, Ken 29 RCB 2 12 20 3 yrs.
Carty, Johndale 45 SS 4 17 25 1 yr.
Gibson, David 43 SS 3 15 26 2 yrs.

$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.

Players Under Contract: 20
On Active Roster: 20

Salary Cap: $71,100,000
Cap Room: $54,760,000
Maximum for New Player: $49,240,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $0

Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $9,150,000

[Tasan]

My initial thoughts.....Whats up with the state of Michigan???

[strait8]

Boy compared to the NFL Texans we got crumbs indeed. The only silver lining is wwe won't have to go throuugh restrucuring Boselli's contract like Houston did.

We probably will weed out some of these guys during the next 20 week process. There are a lot of good 1st year free agents with way more potential who can fill roster poositions 4-6 at lower cost with more upside.

There are also a lot of excellent high value vets waiting to be signed.
Lets get at it.

[Mike47]

How strange, I have Toomer as a 44/44 instead of a 41/41 like you have posted. What about the rest of you? What is our scouts name on your game? Mine is Will Stratico. They should match, but who knows. Should this be happening?

[Mike47]

Let's get these ticket prices out of the way. What approach are we thinking?

[Mike47]

Bad bad bad news guys. For whatever reason, when I reinstalled the game before we started this I apparently did not install the patch correctly. I didn't notice the problem until I looked at the free agents. There are a ton of 1st year free agents with great potential.

This probably explains why I was getting a different read than the rest of you (Toomer etc).

We're going to have to restart. Good news is, nothing will really change for you. The bad news is I will have to reselect our 20 players from the expansion draft.

I'll repost everything sometime tomorrow. I'm sorry guys! Don't let it get you down, we're just set back one day. No big whoop. Although, with it being V-Day I'm not sure how much I'll actually get accomplished tomorrow (gotta work my REAL job too).

Stay tuned.

[Mike47]

Flase alarm. The patch fixed all of the problems. I'm going to re-upload the files just in case something changed etc etc so that we're all on the same page. Sorry, it's late I'm losing my mind.

[Tasan]

glad to see we have it all cleared up now. My thoughts on ticket prices are that we should be competitive with our in-state rivals the Cowboys, and possibly with New Orleans.

[Swaggs]

What are our goals in FA? Best available players? Build up the lines? Skill players?

I might suggest we find a good punter and a good kicker and go after them early.

[Neel]

In FA I think we should never overspend and strap our future goals, but look hard at OL and a good pass rusher, look hard at getting at least 1 good cover cornerback, and hopefully a service QB to help support our development of a franchise rookie QB.

[Neel]

And yes...a good Kicker is a must. We will rely on him to keep us alive in the early going.

Mike, let me know if you need someone to take on QB coach...I can do the QB's and RB's if needed.

[strait8]

A closer look at the FA market shows a good crop of guys.
Some Criteria I had in mind were:
Try to only sign players with 9 yrs or less experience. Preferably 6 0r less.
Try to find high value players with salaries to 2.3 million.
So here are a few players to take a close at.

Christian Fauria TE
Stalin Colinet DE
Eric Brown SS
Duane Starks CB
Jeff Smith C
Jamie Duncan MLB
Kevin Long C
Donnell Bennett FB
Matt Turk P

Rookies
These guys are very big potential, and cheap 260K. With a 20k bonus they will sign for two years.

I think a lot of these rookies are better than w hat we got in the expansion draft

Search future Potential exp 0-1 Salary under 460K

you can sign all ten below for a total oulay of 2.8 Mill only 200K will count against the Cap. Good roster fillers to take to camp.
Some of these gusys will bust some will be back ups. In a couple of years 1-2 may start.

Darnell Fortenberry RB This guys rated ahead Jamal Anderson-7th overall in RB's

Darryl Allen T
Robert Benson T
Patrick Vickers G
Turner Lewis DT
Eugene Perez Fl
Chad fenderson CB
Bobbi Wallen DE
KC Franks LT
Earl roberts LG

These guys will provide depth and allow us tosign other starters at higher prices. i think many of these rookies are better than players on the roster now.

[Tasan]

I've got to lobby for 2 FAs, SS Tony Parrish and FS Eric Brown. These guys could be the glue that holds our defense together this year. I would really like to have one/both of them if possible. They both come up within the search criteria above.

[Ragone]

I'd like to be Qb Coach if possible.. if not just slot me in as a Wr coach :)

[strait8]

Definitely sign those two. They are Ball Hawks and run stoppers.

[Mike47]

I'll take a look at some things tomorrow. It's 5am. Im going to bed.

Ragone, you can be QB coach.

[Mike47]

Ok guys, I am setting our ticket prices, based on our rival Cowboys and the Lions (identical fan support/new stadium). I'd rather have the place fill up with lower ticket prices than to be like 80-90% with higher ticket prices. So here they are:

Upper Deck: $20
End Zone: $25
Mezzaine: $35
Sidelines: $50
Club Seats: $150
Luxury Boxes: $75,000

I'm going to advance to the free agency period...well, unless we want to tag one of our highly talented roster players.

Let me know what you guys think, I'll post the file in a few minutes.

[Mike47]

While this is uploading:

I'm looking at the draft class and finding it pretty obvious as to who our selection should be. We have the #1 pick. We're going to be dropping some major cash on whomever we pick so I'd hate for us to give this kind of a contract to like a C, or a S or something. I think QB David Carr is the obvious choice for us here. Get him in the system early, maybe let him sit out year #1 etc. but I think he may be the only player/position worth taking and shelling out that kind of a contract to.

It's either that or trade down in my opinion.

[Mike47]

The file's up. Take a look, I should be on a bit more this afternoon and then not again until tomorrow.

[dread]

I guess I could be the NFC scout as well as helping with the amateur scouting if still needed

[strait8]

Food for thought. Can we sign Bledsoe and trade down from the No.1 to say 3-5 and pick up an extra #1 0r #2 and #3.

What are your thoughts.

We need help in a lot of places.

[Tasan]

thats an interesting thought, although I really don't know if there are too many great players in this draft, you know ones that you would want with the 3-5 picks.

[strait8]

I am not sure you understand what I mean. Trading with Detroit San Diego or Buffalo would give us one these ball players.

Joey Harrington
Julius Peppers
Marc Columbo
Jeremy Shockey
Rohan Davey
Lukey staley
Albert Haynsworth

It would give us two first rounders next year Or a 2nd and 3rd this year. or possibly more.

[Tasan]

No, I'm just not sure if those guys warrent a #3, 4 or 5 pick in the first round. I don't like the top end talent in this draft. But, I guess I should leave that to the scouts. No hard feelings or anything, just the way I see it.

[strait8]

There is lots of talent, but looking up the cost on Bledsoe makes me believe he would not sign under 50/Mil/5yrs. Thats just way to much for him.

It was a thought.

[Mike47]

Yeah, I have no interest in signing Bledsoe. He is a great player, but by the time our team is ready to compete he'll be in the twilight of his career. He wants way too much money. Especially since we'll be running the ball so much.

I have no problems with trading down. Hell, we could probably trade down and still land a QB. I was just saying that if we did pick #1 it would be, with the talent available, David Carr.

[Mike47]

Dread, I added you to the team.

Ok, I'm starting to breakdown FA. I guess we'll just start brainstorming in order.

Quarterback:

Ok, we have a number of options here:

1. Don't bother signing a UFA QB. We could draft a rookie and throw him to the wolves (Couch/Manning etc)

2. We could sign an UFA as our starter etc.

3. We could sign an UFA and draft a rookie.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) The rookie could start, meaning we'd sign a dependable backup.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) The vet would start, letting the rookie learn the system etc.

I'm open to any suggestions. I'm sure we'll be plucking a QB out of the draft somewhere, I'm just not sure how high he will be on our priority list.

Let's get some QB brainstorming going!

[Mike47]

I think we should sign one of these two QBs:

1. Byron Newman
2. Bubba Manning

With one of these guys we may have our QB of the future without having to spend a draft pick.
PROJECTED ROSTER SPOT: QB2 of 3

I also think we should sign one of these QBs:

1. Charlie Batch
2. Rob Johnson
3. Gus Frerotte
PROJECTED ROSTER SPOT: QB1 of 3

Whomever we decide on, would make a servicable starting QB at a very moderate price. Once our "franchise guy" is ready this UFA would still be a valuable commodity to the team and still be at an affordable price.

[strait8]

I have found in my own FOF careers it is netter to start a maxed out rookie than leave him on the bench. They develop much quicker and the their potential expands rather than shrinks.

If we like D. Carr which we do then play him right away. One of my rookie QB's Cedric cullen went into the 70"s in his second year and maxed out at 98 in year 4. If he is going to hand the ball off anyway, he might as well be in the game.

I would not sign a mediocre QB to play in front of Carr that will only impede his development. Sign them to come in when he is having a tough game or to start when Carr is injured,

For 3rd string we should sign both Bubba and Byron and keep the best one after training camp. They are cheap and can be signed for 2 yrs with a 20K bonus.

[Mike47]

So, we shouldn't even think of starting either Manning or Newman? If that's the case then I think we are left with no other choice but to draft a QB in the first round. Bledsoe costs too much and Chandler is old and also has a hefty price tag. I guess we are left with signing one of the three backups and drafting Carr/Harrington? And of course signing Newman and Manning and letting them battle the 3rd spot out in camp.

[strait8]

We could take a chance on the UFA's, Newman and Manning. In one career I got a great QB from the UFA group. He made the Hall of Fame It is a ballsy move. I like it.

Then I would trade down at least one choice if you wish to take someone other rhan Carr. There is a fair cost difference between 1 overlall and 2-5 overall.

Hell, we sound like John Butler, GM, at SDO when he traded the rights to Mr M Vick.

[Swaggs]

I think we should try to grab one of Newman/Manning and then go out and sign a Batch-type guy. We can trade down and draft a project QB and get to work on building our line first.

[Mike47]

Ok, so what I've gathered is this:

We sign: 1 Newman, 2 Manning, 3 Batch/Johnson/Frerotte

For QBs after that, we'll pick one up in the middle to late rounds of the draft.

PROJECTED QB DEPTH CHART
1. Newman/Manning
2. Batch/Johnson/Frerotte
3. Rookie

This will be our plan of attack for QBs.

If anyone would like to recommend a specific contract offer let me here it. I usually just give them what they're asking for. Straight8 has been recommending, for Newman and Manning, two years with a 20K bonus. Anyone else care to chime in?

Who do you guys like out of the three vets?

[strait8]

They are asking for 1 yr 260K, I have not been sucessfull trying to sign a rookie UFA beyond two yrs. I usually offer 20K bonus 260/yr 1 and 420 year 2.

That way if they are good you have locked for at least two, if they are not, you cut them for a max 20K loss.

[Mike47]

So why don't we just sign them for one year with no bonus, and if they work out we'll extend their contracts? If they pan out we'll be dishing out the cash regardless, so why bother waiting? It sounds crazy, but we might just mess ourselves up in the long run. Just playing devil's advocat.

[strait8]

I just hate giving money away. I like locking them up for two and saving myself a starters salary for at least one year.

[SaintAnselm]

I agree with what you guys have decided to do at QB. I see no reason to draft Carr and I think trading down will allow us to improve ourselves at more positions. I also think we need to sign the guys, like strait8 says, to 2 year contracts. It will save us having to dish our bigger money for another year if they pan out.

[Tasan]

I agree with everything said about the QBs exept 1 thing. I see Carr as that special player that you only get 1 chance at drafting. His potentials go all the way across in almost all his categories, and his actuals are pretty good right now. That is a very special player. I'm just not sure we'll ever get a chance to get someone like him again. I know we have holes to fill all over the place, but I think we should get this guy while we can.

Of course I'm just the defensive coordinator, so if you offensive guys want to go another route, thats up to you ultimatly. I just think we are dismissing his superior talent too quickly.

[strait8]

I spoke to the GM's in Carolina and Detroit.

Carolina is willing to give their #1 (2nd overall) and #2 (34th overall) and #3 (66 overall) for our #1.

Detroit is willing to give their #1 this (3rd overall) and #1 next year as well as #5 next year for our #1 (1st overall) and 3rd next year.

I am not saying Carr is not special. As I said earlier I now know how john Butler felt when he traded mike Vick.

[strait8]

As offensive line coach here are who I see we need to make offers to:

Players are listed in order of my personal preference

Center

1 Jeff Smith 6yr vet wants 11.26Mil/over 4 years. Probably will take 13 mill to sign

2 Kevin Long 5 yr vet wants 13.5 over 5 years. Probably 14.5 15 mil to sign.

I llike Smitth because he is amore complete player. Long could become better as he still has some run blocking potential to fill out.

There are no 1yr free agents at this position

Guard
Kerry Jenkins is for real. he wants 21 mil /years. This is expensive. But I see him as a Pro bowl guard especially on a running team.

there are no other young experienced guards worh picking up.

In the Undrafted rookie pool I like the following 3 players. I would endeavor to sign them all and convert 1 to center as a backup
These guys are all potetial and no experience.

Patrick Vickers, Scottie Matthews and Earl Roberts[/B]

Tackle
Spencer Folau is a steal here at 560K. he probably cna be signed for 1.3 mill/2 years with bonus. I don't think we have to bid till week 3 on him.

I like UFA's
Darryl Allen and Thomas Bensen.
We probably have to draft another Tacle.

[SaintAnselm]

I think you have to like Carolina's offer. It's pretty solid. I agree that there may not be anyone worth taking there though so we could always trade down again and see what we else could get for the #2 pick. I'll be back on later with my picks from the FA pool.

[Tasan]

If we do this deal, our scouts need to start looking at who is the best value pick, and where they think he might fall to. I agree the Carolina deal is the sweetest, but I also don't think there is really a #2 player out there. Then again, I guess we could always just use it there, but the true value may be to trade it again for some more.

<edit>I say make the deal then see whats out there for it. If we can't stay in the top 10, then keep the pick and get the next best player. If we can stay in the top 10 and pick up more picks though, by all means do it. There are several players that will help us out that will be around til 10 I believe. Again, that may be something the scouts need to look at.

[Swaggs]

I think, no question, we would be wise to take the Carolina deal.

I think it is always wise to diversify our picks, to minimize the effect of a bust. If Carr busts after camp, we will be irrepairably damaged as a franchise. By trading down we get a comprable pick in the 2nd overall, plus another two starting caliber players.

Thougts...?

[Tasan]

Originally posted by Swaggs
By trading down we get a comprable pick in the 2nd overall, plus another two starting caliber players.

Thougts...?

My only reservation about this is that I don't think there is another player that is comprable to Carr. Everyone else seems like they are a step below him. Just my thoughts on it, in case I hadn't made them clear enough before :D

[Tasan]

Dola...wanted to seperate these thoughts out.

Here are some guys I'd like to see with the team for this next season on the defensive side of the ball. Most of these guys are 5th year or younger, and all are at or under $2mil to start out.

SILB Earl Holmes -- great hitter, starts at $1.040mil, should be a nice cheap LB for us.

MLB Jamie Duncan -- blitzer for our 3-4, might move outside, nice endurance, pricey at $2.0 mil, but worth it in my eyes.

SS Tony Parrish -- Either plays SS or FS, cheap at $1.5mil to start

SS Brian Walker -- Either SS or FS again, low endurance only question, cheaper than Eric Brown at 1.6mil to start

LCB Duane Starks -- Cheap solution for us at CB for now, doesn't stop the run well but only $1.4 mil to start

SS Raion Hill -- cheap backup under a mil can start in a pinch.

1st year Projects: (I'd like all of these guys signed, shouldn't cost much like stated above)

LDT Turner Lewis
RDE Bobby Wallen
LCB Chad Fenderson
SS Artie Nichols
RDE Darnell Hevey
LCB Mark Diaz

[Swaggs]

We would still have the option of trading down and/or picking up an early pick next season.

[strait8]

I think we have to zero in on one or two players we really do want and get an idea before the draft where they might fall.

Let's get a list of 5-10 players priortized. This should be an ongoing thing as we do the 20 week FA. It will change as we sign or not sign players. A position of need will appear. Right now RB looms large. It will be harder to trade down from #2 and keep control of the player we want to draft.

Give e your thoughts!

Tasan-I like the guys you have picked for the "D". They are the exact guys i would pick. jamie Duncan is a must.

[Tasan]

On the defensive side, I really like Dwight Freeny and Dennis Johnson. Past those two, there really aren't any other defenders worthy of a high first rounder.

[strait8]

My Choices for the top 5 draft choices would be any of the following in order

Feeney DE
Lewis DE
Luke Staley RB
Andre Davis WR
Lenny Walls and convert him to CB

In the next 5 I would take any of the above or
Joey Harrington-QB
Albert Haynesworth DT
Julius Pepper -DE
Marc Columbo -T

[Ragone]

I'm Fine With Newman Or Bubba Manning at qb...

However, your overlooking the fact that David Carr is way better then every other qb potential wise... so if we push off drafting a qb this year, We might have to spend a high pick sometime in the near future for another qb, so just delaying the inevitable.

I'd like to see money thrown at Bledsoe if we decide to trade down.. at least a attempt.

[SaintAnselm]

That is not neccesarily the case. We may be able to get a pretty serviceable QB out of FA in the next couple of years. This year I can't imagine throwing 10 million a year at Bledsoe at this point. Just an opinion.

[Mike47]

Hey guys, I'm at work right now and wont be able to get into the game until tomorrow after school. Have no fear, after tomorrow's classes I have an entire day off. We'll get choppin soon enough. I love the input so far!

[Tasan]

bump

[Mike47]

Ok guys here is an update:

I think we're going to pull the trigger on the trade w/ Carolina:

HOU 2002 1st (1)
for
CAR 2002 1st (2)
CAR 2002 2nd (33)
CAR 2002 4rd (66)

We've been debating it for some time now and the only thing holding us back is the desire for David Carr. Who knows, there's a good chance he still might be around at pick #2. Worst comes to worse, we could take Harrington or trade down again.

Here are the offers I currently have in place for free agency. I'm not sure how you guys want to go about this (week 1...upload new file...week 2 upload new file...) but at least we're finally getting started. I'm not going to advance to week two until we've made sure we have offers on everyone we're interested in signing.

<b>WEEK ONE FREE AGENCY</b> (First Draft)

<b>BACKFIELD:</b>
<b>QB Byron Newman 2 yrs/$680K: $20K bonus</b>
<b>QB Bubba Miller 2 yrs/$680K: $20K bonus</b>

Guys, we still need to narrow down who we want out of these three QBs if we are still intersted in any of them:
Charlie Batch/Rob Johnson/Gus Frerotte

<b>OFFENSIVE LINE</b>
<b>C Jeff Smith 4 yrs/$13M: $2.08M bonus</b>
<b>G Kerry Jenkins 5 yrs/$20.95M: $3.92M bonus</b>
<b>G Patrick Vickers 1 yr/$260K</b>
<b>G Scottie Matthews 1 yr/$260K</b>
<b>G Earl Roberts 1 yr/$260K</b>
<b><i>T Spencer Folau (week 3 bid)</i></b>
<b>T Darryl Allen 1 yr/$260K</b>
<b>T Thomas Bensen 1 yr/$260K</b>

Looks good so far on offense, we obviously still have some holes to fill. What are we thinking as far as RBs and RECs go?

<b>DEFENSIVE LINEMEN</b>
<b>DT Lewis Turner 1 yr/$260K: no bonus</b>
<b>DE Bobby Wallen 1 yr/$260K: no bonus</b>
<b>DE Darnell Hevey 1 yr/$260K: no bonus</b>

<b>LINEBACKERS</b>
<b>ILB Earl Holmes 3 yrs/$3.74M: $780K bonus</b>
<b>ILB Jamie Duncan 4 yrs/$10.8M $2.09M bonus</b>

<b>DEFENSIVE BACKS</b>
<b>S Tony Parrish 4 yrs/$7.99M: $1.04M bonus</b>
<b>S Brian Walker 5 yrs/$11.02M: $2.61M bonus</b>
<b>CB Duane Starks 3 yrs/$5.24M: $780K bonus</b>
<b>S Raion Hill 2 yrs/$1.79M: $520K bonus</b>
<b>CB Chad Fenderson 1 yr/$260K: no bonus</b>
<b>CB Mark Diaz 1 yr/$260K: no bonus</b>
<b>S Artie Nichols 1 yr/$260K: no bonus</b>

The defense looks go so far as well. I like that a handful of the defensive players are popular amongst the fans. That should help fill the seats for sure.

Right now we should be rounding out the rest of our free agency approach. Other than that, we need to continue brainstorming abotu who we would like to grab out of the draft in round one. We obviously do not need to sign player x to a multi-million dollar deal if we're drafting player y who plays the same position.

Looks great so far!

[Mike47]

Hey Straight8, you we're saying that you liked Kevin Long as well as Smith at C. Why don't we sign Long as well and let one of them play RG? Long is a fan favorite and I'd hate for us to lose interest in him simply because we don't have room for him at his natural position. Odds are one of them could make a successful transition.

[Mike47]

Sorry for these quick posts; when I see something I just ask.

With us pursuing as many OL as we are in FA where does Flozell fit into the mix? Is he going to be our other starting T aside Folau? Should we cut him?

[Tasan]

We're gonna need starting quality LBs somewhere. If we get Duncan and Holmes, we still need 2 more. I think this should be a 2nd to 4th round priority for at least 1 of them.

[strait8]

Hi Mike47 I've been at meetings all day. Yes pull the trigger on Long as well. He can play guard and back up center as well.

Definitely good thinking as his salary demands are not high

Strait8

[strait8]

Let's take him further down the road at least till after the draft.
We haven't signed Folau, yet and there is no other good T in free agency that is not a 10 or more year veteran.

I'd like to see who comes available after the draft/before camp. A decision can be made then depending on players and cap room required to sign players for other positions.

What is our total cap used till now?

[Neel]

As far as RB goes, there are several good ones in the draft, so if we do not wait too long to address the position, we should be OK there.

[strait8]

I think we can play Duncan in the MLB and Holmes on the SLB.
We need a WLB. We could try to sign Jamie Sharper. He want $6.8 mil/3 years.
We probably need at least 7 LB to go to camp with and cut 1 0r 2.
Probably draft two and sign one more in the pre camp FA.

[Tasan]

We're playing a 3-4 so we need 2 more starters. Duncan will be the SILB and Holmes the SLB. We still need a corner blitzer at LB and another run stuffer. With a 3-4, we'll need around 7-8 LBs for the season. LBs are usually cheaper than DL, so thats a plus. If we have the budget for it, I'd love to have Sharper, I just figured he would be out of consideration due to his pricetag.

<edit>
I was thinking Farrior when I read Sharper. Sharper is okay, I'm just not sure he's work that kind of money. MLB Greg Biekert would be a better value, but again I don't know if the budget allows that.

[Neel]

Mike, I think the trade down was wise...at #2 we could still get Carr but I doubt it. Even so, we should get Harrington still.
It appears our OL is looking good.

How deep in the draft were you looking to take an RB? If we could land one of the top 3 rated...we could control the clock and keep some games close with a pretty good ground game.

[strait8]

Sorry Tasan, I forgot 3-4. Your Right we need 8 LB. We need to sign at least 1 more now.

Currently on our roster Don Davie and Brant Boyer MIGHT make adequate backups. The rest are stiffs.

We might sign one or more of the following 3 first year UFA's
OLB Leroy Goosen
OLB Winston Talton
ILB Andre Hopkins

All can be had for $680/2yr/20K bonus

[dread]

do I have to make any modifications to my fof4 to use these files or do I copy and replace files to use for this. In other words what do I need to do to use these files lol.

[Tasan]

Okay, I've done some math, and considering the FAs we have listed above and our rookie pool, and considering for some salary adjustment with the FAs, we should have around 20-30 million after the draft, and a pretty full roster. With that in mind, I think we should persue a top flight WR, like Bill Schroeder, and a stud LB like Farrior. These will fit even with money for a vet QB, and will be well worth the money.

[Tasan]

Originally posted by strait8

OLB Leroy Goosen
OLB Winston Talton
ILB Andre Hopkins

All can be had for $680/2yr/20K bonus

These guys are alright, but I'd just offer a 1 year deal, as they usually devalue after training camp, and better might be available after the draft.

[strait8]

After expansion draft 54.76mill available
Draft estimate with trades 7 mill
Players signed to date 17 Mill (approx)

This leaves us $32 million approx.

I'm all for signing Farrior, he's a real WLB. Schreoders good, but it will depend on who is deliverying the ball how much he will pay off this year.

[Neel]

Dread...just backup the files in your Universe directory (if you have another game going) and extract the the files for the Texans into the Universe directory.
Then you just open the game.
Remember, never take out the universe folder, just the files inside it do you replace.

[strait8]

These UFA's are signing for the minimum at 260K/1yr.
Even after the draft I usuall cannot sign them for a second year without a bonus and 400K for the second year.

Have you been able to sign any for less?

[Swaggs]

I suggest not going overboard on the number of Centers that we sign. I believe that center is a position that we can find a starter with later in the draft. Perhaps as late as the fourth round, we might find a a very good starting center.

[Swaggs]

Also, will our philosophy be to play our young and talented but undeveloped (re: green bar) players to get them to mature faster, or will we try to play them behind veterans?

My thoughts are to play the green bar players at OL, LB, and DL early.

[Mike47]

Yeah, after starting to reread some of the posts I'm starting to think that we may be getting off track. What exactly are we trying to build here? If you ask me, I think we should not be throwing money around at players just to build a solid team right off the bat because I can assure us that it probably wont happen. Our team cohesion is going to be the worst in the league and no matter how much talent we sign/spend money on we're going to have major growing pains IMO. I don't think we have to fix every leak the first time around. We need to find players who are worth what they're asking. No sense is throwing cash at players just to fill holes; it will only hurt us in the long run.

I say we break this all down individually by positions. We've allready covered QBs so lets move to RBs then to RECs etc. Always keep in mind that we're looking for guys to help us more down the road than right out of the gate. Sorry if I'm getting us all of track but it just seems we're signing a bunch of stud players because we feel we "have" to.

Quick review (through our GMs eyes):

QBs
1. Carr/Harrington (1st round)
2. Batch/Johnson/Frerotte
3. Newman/Manning

Guys, Carr is so sweet. It's going to be so hard to pass on him. But is the Carolina deal too sweet to pass up? Will we appreciate Carr, minus a few extra drafts picks, more than Harrington and a few extra picks 5 years from now? Is Newman or Manning good enough to be QB2s? Should we save our money by not signing a Batch etc? Hell, with a run oriented offense could we get by starting a guy like Batch? Just some more things to think about.

I think our options are as follows for our first round pick:
We trade the pick to Carolina. If they pass on Carr we take him. Period. If they pick him we take Harrington or possibly better yet trade down to the middle of the round. After Carr there isn't a player worth the kind of cash we'd be spending at #2. However, later in the round, with even more picks, is another story. Even with Rohan Davey and Pat Ramsey still likely to be available.

Ok, I think I've said all I can say about the QB position. Lets move to the real meat and potatoes, of our offense at least, RBs.

UFA Fortenberry
Another one of those make it or break it players. He has great potential, but who knows. And at a position this vital to our offense should we just bank on him? There is no doubt we should sign him, but I think we better have a backup plan. He does look like he'll help us on 3rd downs even this early in his career. Purnell and Schultz don't look so bad either but I think we could fill their spots with better players down the road.
The vets in this group don't impress me very much. The ones who did were too old.
Moving to the draft: Luke Staley is a stud. This guy should be as high on our priority list as David Carr. He isn't the caliber player Carr is this early on, but then again who is? Besides, he plays one of the most vital positions on our entire team.

Here's what I'm thinking at RB to summarize:

HB1 Luke Staley
HB2 Fortenberry
HB3 (pick up someone after draft/before camp)

Now, to make this post even longer...If we're going to pull of a miracle and land Carr and Staley, it would require more than one trade for certain. Staley would never fall to round two and as we mentioned before Carr probably wont drop to PICK two. If we landed Carr at #2 I think we should use some extra picks to trade up and get Staley.
Yikes. If we keep this up we'll be trading up once for every position in the draft!

Enough's enough. Send me some input! Sorry this was so flustered, I'm just throwing ideas off the wall.

[Mike47]

and Swaggs, I agree with you 100%. Now that I think about it Centers are easy to come by in the middle rounds. As are safeties.

[strait8]

There is no doubt we will play at least two rookies on the OL. At least 1 possibly 2 at LB as well as 1 or 2 on he D line and one at CB.

I always agree with playing them early. i sit most of my veterans in preseason and play my rookies to give them experience and lower the chance of injuries on definite stars.

What I have said above will be mitigated by how much cash we have after the draft and who is a FA at that time

[Mike47]

Why does the NFL run FA before the draft? Makes life (and pretend video game life) very difficult.

[strait8]

Hi Mike:
A decision on QB amounts to this. If we build a good enough defence we can probably win 6 games. Right now we have 5/11 of a good defence. We have no defensive lineman at all unless a rookie breaks through.

We need at least 9/11 to be competitive. On offence he best thing we can do is ball control to keep the ball away from the other team. That means running and the screen/short pass game.

I think our priorities are defensive lineman and a running back, based on who is the best available.

We have nothing to trade but draft choices. no team has two #1 choices to trade us. We can wait till the 18th or 19th week of FA and see if any of the teams have two #1. otherwise I think we take the Carolina Bundle and possibly trade down again to #3 or 4 picking up an extra #2 or more. I would not make the second trade till we know who carolina picks. We should be able to get 1 of these ball players. Luke Staley, Dwight feeney, or Lewis even at #4.

We will probably find a suprise available at our 2nd round choices (33 and #34 overall after the trade). It always happens unless its a ridiculously lean draft. You might find a Patrick Ramsay there.

Trading back up gets expensive so i woud not do that. sit on two. try to project who will take whom and go for it.

Definitely sign fortenberry for 2 years

[strait8]

During the second FA period after the draft we will find the cap oom casualties. I think we might find 2-3 starters and possibly 1-5 backups,

The players are easy to deal with.

The reason FA is before the draft is the NFLPA is more concerned about keeping its members employed. This is the same reason the draft was shortened from 15 rounds to 7.

[Mike47]

bump

[Swaggs]

I don't have the file handy.

What are our in draft and free agent options on the following:

TEs:
pass catching RBs:
pass catching FBs:

I perceive our ball control offense will probably throw a lot of screens and short passes, particularly with an untested/untalented QB this season. I would like to see us pick up a good pass catching TE or FB in this draft (part of the fruit of trading down perhaps?), or both. Specialized pass-catching RBs seem likely to fall to us in the 5th or 6th round.

Thoughts?

[Neel]

Mike,
Staley is worth trading up for. He will be a Pro Bowl back one day, and could set us up for the long run.
If we wait until round 2 to go for a back, we may end up going for Portis or a back around his level. I can't see Staley or Fortenberry lasting out of round 1.

[Tasan]

we need to get off our butts and proceed. Sign that Fortenberry guy and pick a FA qb, and get a FA stage out of the way, we're taking forever ;- )

[Tasan]

bump again

[Mike47]

Yeah, I agree. Sorry guys I've been busy as hell this week working on a project that I finally finished today. FOF was my "break in the action." After class tomorrow I will have plenty of free time. I'm going to run the first week of free agency after I get home from class. I'll post the file.

[Tasan]

bumpity bump bump

[Mike47]

Allright guys, Im going to be running week 1 of FA shortly. Real quick, are we interested in pursuing a FB or TE in FA or are we going to wait until the draft? If I dont see a reply before I finish we can always try for week II. Stay tuned for a new file!

[Mike47]

Also, what exactly are we looking for as far as another WR goes? I think I like Bill Schroeder but I'm not sure he'll "fit our offense" etc.

[Tasan]

I think Bill is the only guy out there really worth the money they are asking for, and he's fairly young.

[Tasan]

Dola. There are lots of run blocking TEs there, and many should stay available for a little while.

[Neel]

Waiting on a good run blocking TE is fine, as long as we snag at least one.

[Mike47]

Ok the file is up (page 1). Take a look and throw out some input. I'll probably run week two later tonight. No sense in waiting. If there was anything worth saying it would have been said by now. If you don't like a bid that's currently on the table let me know.

There were a few other players I was interested in but didn't put a bid. Wanted to get some feedback first:

T Folau (waiting till week three or something?)

FB Sam Gash (signed with Dallas...I think it was Dallas)

TE Dilger/Sharper/Moore/Fauria
Not sure if we're looking to grab a TE in FA but these are the best pass catching TEs avail.

DE Kenny Mixon or DE Marco Coleman?
Even if EVERY player we've currently bid on signs we would still have over $30M in cap space. Not that we want to go overboard and just throw money around, but then again we don't have a single DL who looks to be a SOLID starter in 2002.

I just talked to Tasan and we're going to be putting a bid on Kenny Mixon for week II. Things are startin' to roll finally.

P.S. My goal is to get FA and the draft DONE by this time next week. Im going to Florida for a week starting next Friday and would like to have the team in place by then. That way our coordinators and co. can take their time setting up their approaches.

[Mike47]

Guys, we're being outbid on G Jenkins and WR Schroeder.

Jenkins is considering a bid from Atlanta, which happens to be the team closest to his howetown. He doesn't care at all about playing for a winner so we do have that going in our favor. How much we want to throw at this cat?

Schroeder is only being bid on by New Orleans and Dallas. The distance thing shouldn't play much of a factor. He also doesn't care much about playing for a winner.

Thoughts?

[strait8]

Offer Jenkins 22.5, but weight it to the back side with $4,5Mill bonus and the balance of cash in year 4 and 5, This way it helps us for a longer period of time and we can renogiate in year 4.

I don't know what Schroeder is asking for or being offered.

Please give us details of other bids

Have you entered bids to all UFA's?

[Mike47]

Straight, do you have the file yet? Just take a look. I'm going to renegotiate with Jenkins and Schroeder right now.

Also, I've been offering the players basically what they are asking for, but I think I'm going to go in and fine tune a few of them. For instance, I'm not sure if we want S Brian Walker under a large cotract for (I think it's) 5 years. I'm going to just use my judgement but if you guys have any requests let me know.

Stay tuned for a new file.

Also, I think I may just "use my judgement" up through week 5. I'll then post another file, let is sit for a while and then do 5 more weeks. Does this sound allright to you guys?

[Tasan]

Sounds good.

[Swaggs]

We might offer Schroeder a large amount over two years, since we will have tons of cap space while our rookie contracts mature. Plus, I see him more as a transition player than a cornerstone-type player.

[Tasan]

Looking at WR Schroeder again, I really think he fits our offense perfectly. Avoids drops, catches on 3rd down, and makes big plays. This is what we need for a ball control offense, right? Even though I am a def coord, I definately see the wisdom in going after this guy.

[Mike47]

Guys, I'm just about ready to run another week, but I'm starting to have 2nd thoughts about signing a C to a 2 and 3 million dollar a year contract (over 4 years). This might be a position we can grab in the middle of the draft to save some money like we talked about. I'm not saying I WONT sign Smith and/or Long, but I was just wondering what you thought Saint? I'm very hesitant about Smith, at least Long will put fans in the seats (fan favorite).

[Mike47]

Yeah, I like Schroeder. Granted, if he's anything close to the real player I was forced to watch on Sundays for my Lions, I would rip the contract up.

Oh, by the way Tasan, I got S Raion Hill to accept a two year contract without a bonus, so even though he makes some decent loot as a backup we can now cut him if we ever need to. He'll make around 900K both years.

[Mike47]

Hey Straight8 and others. We're signing a lot of those 1st year players to one year contracts. Do you guys think it might be a good idea to sign at least 30% of them to two year deals (like Straight8 mentioned) just in case a handful of them pan out? That way we wont have to shell out a ton of cash all at once.

[Mike47]

Yikes, another post:

Straight: You sure we should only offer G Jenkins 22.5? Atlanta has thrown 28M at him. I think I might up the ante. This guy is sweet.

[Mike47]

Ok here me out guys: For now I withdrew our offer for C Smith. I personally think Kevin Long fits our offense much better not to mention he's a fan favorite. I got Long to accept a 3 year deal which would only pay him 1.5M the first year and 3M the third. I still plan on pursuing C Smith but I want to make sure Long can swith to G successfully before we end up paying two Cs, who can't play anywhere else, millions of dollars.

I also put in a final bid for G Jenkins. Atlanta has offered him a 6 year deal and no matter what I can't get him to accept a 6 year deal from us. I've tried to overpay him on a five year contract and he'll accept, but he is still favoring the Atlanta 6-year offer. I offered him a 5 year deal worth $22.5M. That's as high as I'll go. He's good, but he's just ONE guard for crying out loud.

I'll post results in a minute for round two.

[strait8]

I don't have the game file here as I am up on a Mac at the moment.

Jenkins is good offer 29 million with a 5 mill bonus, Backload the balance into 3-4 and 5. We can renogtiate with him after before year 4,

Re Center: If you look at stats most teams run successfully up the middle and highest % of runs is up the middle. A good center is essential. Get one of the two top guys if you want a running attack that works.
We have lots of cap room

Re UFA's I believe we should sign all of them to 2 years as that costs us only 20,000 if they are no good and we have to release them and saves us mny 100,s of thousnds in year 2 if they pan out. The total cost of 15 free agents at 20K/yr is only 300K less than 1 yr of salary. for one player.

Are we making offers at all positions especially DL ???

[strait8]

Hi Mike

Its better to just play a veteran like Long at guard than switch him. He loses too much experience when he is a 5 year Vet, You take about a 10% hit by just playing him out of position, but probably 20-30% if you switch him.

[Mike47]

Week II:

Signed:
QB Batch
WR Schroeder
C Long
G Jenkins (he took it!)
G Vickers
G Matthews
T Folau (2 year deal for the vet league minimum both years)
T Allen
DE Wallen
ILB Duncan


Not a bad week. I think I'm calling it a night before I break the guiness book of world records record for most consecutive posts.

[strait8]

You did good in week one

[Mike47]

Doh, forgot about giving the 1st year player two year contracts. We still have a handful of them to sign. I'll make sure they get the two year deals. We wouldn't want ALL of them signed to two year deals in my opinion. DE Kenny Mixon is considering an offer from Seattle. We'll beat it, we need this guy. I'm done for real this time. Maybe...

[Mike47]

Hey Tasan, are you comfortable starting Turner at the lone DT position? It's totally up to you I was just curious what the plan was.

[Mike47]

Ok, we're through 5 weeks of FA. The new file is up on page one. Here's what I think we still need to find either in FA or the draft. Drop some input on what positions may be best to hold off until the draft for.

QB1 - I think we're left with the draft as our only option. (Trade?)

HB1 - Biakabatuka is the only RB worth signing to start. I'm not to impressed with him myself, but if we want to get a RB out of FA he's our last shot.

FB1 - Draft

TE1 - Fauria or draft IMO

Starting RG - I think we have a good shot at signing C Jeff Smith.

Starting RT - Draft. Free agency wasn't offering much.

Starting RDE - Draft? Tasan, see any FA's you like left?

Starting DT - Is Turner going to start or should we get him some help? FA or draft?

Starting WOLB - Draft

Starting CB - We still need a #1 CB. Starks is solid but he can't do it alone. Any corners we like left?

The rest of FA should breeze by now. We're just about ready to tackle the draft!

[Neel]

We may do better at RB in the draft. I will look at Biakabatuka and see how he looks.

[Tasan]

DT I think will be fudged this year, in a 3-4, you can get away with that a little. I didn't really see anyone worth spending money on at that position, but I'll look again real quick.

[Swaggs]

Have we executed the trade with Carolina? If not, is the offer still on the table?

[Tasan]

Okay here are some more guys we might want to persue:

For CB, watch Walt Harris. If we can, wait til week 10 and offer him as little as he'll take. If he goes, offer one of these guys a contract at week 10:

Donnie Abraham
Tom Knight

For DT, watch Shane Burton til week 10. If he's unoffered, give him as little as he'll take at that point, and try to get him. I'd also like to grab 1 or 2 of these guys for backups:

Brandon Mitchell
Joe Salave'a -- This guy just wants his minimum I believe.

[Mike47]

Sounds good Tasan. Swaggs, I was going to make the Carolina trade just before the draft. No sense in rushing anything. You never know what might happen.

[Mike47]

We're through 10 weeks of FA. File is up. Grab it <a href="http://www.ulyssesright.com/FOF/GT2.zip">here</a>. Take a look at the file and see if there's anyone else we would like to pluck. I have to work just about the rest of the night so I'll try and get to the rest of FA late tonight or tomorrow.

The next fews days of school are going to be INSANE for me. I'll try my best to keep up with you guys.

[Tasan]

Well, it looks like ol Joe Salave'a's ratings took a hit once he joined the team, must of had a good PR guy :-D . He doesn't have a signing bonus so we can cut him if needed later on. I'd like to pick up Brandon Mitchell too if possible and we can see what he's like. Don't worry too much about a signing bonus with him, his run stopping abilities should hold up enough where we wouldn't cut him anyway, just get a short 2-3 year contract from him. You might want to bump the contract for Walt Harris up a little more from the Chicago one. His loyalty is in the 40s and he might take more money from his old team.

Oh yeah, Shane Burton. Do we want to spend a bit of money on him or just go with a scrub at DT? I'm okay with just filling in there, but we could spend a little money too.

[strait8]

Mitchell is a decent choice as a backup. We can assess the DL as we go throught the draft. The odd time a medium DT is available in Rd 3-4.

[Mike47]

Anyone know if SaintAnselm is still with us? We haven't really address to much on offense besides the oline.

Also, take a last look guys caus I think I'm just going to finish up the rest of FA so we can get to the draft. Burton signed with Baltimore so we didnt get our DT. Not a huge problem. Walt Harris just re-uped with Chicago after I offered him 3M over two years. Not our day.

[Tasan]

we need a cb, can you grab someone like cory chavinous(sp) or knight, or maybe abraham

you might want to look at what TEs are available, I don't think we've signed one and we prolly need one. Also, did you get DT Mitchell?

[Mike47]

All of those CBs were long gone. The TE's weren't worth the loot they were asking and weren't a good fit. I got Mitchell.

The new file is uploading right now. Give it 15 mins.

[Mike47]

It looks like Carolina will indeed draft David Carr. What are we thinking of doing? Trading down? If not who's our pick???????

[Mike47]

Also, I was thinking, would anyone be interested in a live AOL chat draft? That way we can focus on the draft pick by pick and so on. Just an idea.

[Tasan]

I'd be interested in doing a chat draft.

Maybe another trade down to like 4 is in order? What do we want out of this draft? I'm pretty sure we can get one of the top 2 DEs at 4, and definately HB Luke Staley.

If we go down to 4, maybe that will give us enough 2s to get back in to round 1 and grab Staley along with a top DE. Just a thought.

[Tasan]

bump

[strait8]

Let'ts get on with it. If you are to busy deputize a coordiator to move the process along.

We are anxious to go.

[strait8]

do we trade down a couple of picks?
I personally like Staley and would take him at 2-3or 4.

If we can get an extra #2 it would Help. GM Casserly from Houston has said he needs more good ball players rather than 1 excellent player. I think we should do the same.

[Tasan]

I think we can trade down to 4, take a DE, which we desperately need, and then trade with cincy back into the #10 slot. I think we can do this with 2s and 3s, someone look.

[Tasan]

Lets try to run this thing tomorrow, at least some of it. Mike47 says he can be on before noon and between 4-630, not sure on the timezone.

[strait8]

I'm available. I don't have alot of meetings scheduled today

[Tasan]

can anyone be available 4pm eastern? mike and I will be on then and would like to get some things done then

[strait8]

Can do

[Mike47]

Guys, it's 4:17pm EST. Sorry, I just got home from school. Find me on AOL: Vic Duefelstein

We can tackle part of the draft. I have to go to work at 6:30pm so until then I should be available.

[strait8]

Is there a way to message to AOL from MSN

[Tasan]

i can do msn

[Tasan]

you can find me on msn at daveverio @ hotmail.com without the spaces

[strait8]

Is any one home?

[strait8]

bump

[Tasan]

good lord

where is Mike47???

[strait8]

Mike47 must have a load at work. If your out there mike47. Phone home -we are searching for you!

[strait8]

Any sight of mike 47?

[strait8]

bump

[strait8]

Please report any Mike47 sightings on this thread.

Car Mike47, Where are you?

[Tasan]

LOL

I spoke to him. He is leaving us for a week to sunny Florida. Crap. So we are in neutral til he returns or we hijack the show and start a new one, not that I'd thought of doing that or anything..........

[strait8]

Out of the room out of the game. Lets get going with this or a new game.

[Tasan]

We should probably start over, move at a better pace....get some fresh blood in here too

[strait8]

When shall we start?

[Tasan]

Well, lets put an 'ad' up for people to join. Go for it now if you want. You want to GM, or me?

[strait8]

i will let you as I really do not know how to add links or post stats etc.

I will put up the ad this morning. What team shall we be. I like Houston because we build from the floor up.

[Tasan]

Houston is a good choice, as we can build a little of our own history without too much 'real' to get in the way.

[strait8]

I will post up the ad today. Which coach do you want to be or just GM?

[Tasan]

Hmm.... for now I'll just be GM, but if we have openings left, i'll fill in as needed.

[strait8]

Do we use the NFL roster or the fictional roster?

[Tasan]

lets go with a completely fictional roster, it makes the work more fun, and you don't go "well, that guy SHOULD be good, lets take him"