Alright, Let's Do this Thing! FOF7 Rise of the Jaguars
 

I have d/led my latest edition of FOF7 from Steam, and I'm anticipating a new dynasty, right now. I loaded up a Jaguars game, and we'll take the first game they give us - full on X Factor, GMs are fireable, chemistry is a thang, and so forth. No draft, no craziness.

And I won't be making any house rules. Every tool is available for this dynasty. My goal is to get a Super Bowl as quickly as possible. I don't care if I franchise, sign free agents, trade all up and down. If its a tool in my toolbelt, you had better believe I'm using it to get my beloved Jaguars a ring.



My GM's name? Marquis D'Avignon

DAMN!!!


The obvious question is whether or not Blake Bortles is a thing. If he has something going, then we hit. Otherwise, this is a darker dynasty indeed than I had hoped. And it looks like a sunshine ray of awesome is about to hit north Florida

Meet…

Mr. Blake Bortles

(Let me get you an image real quick)

He’s literally my best player on the roster. Only two players have a potential of 70+. Bortles at 72 and WR Marqise Lee at 71. Then 2 in their 60s (42/67 LT Luke Joeckel and 52/63 OG Zane Beadles)

And that’s it. No other talent with a current or future estimate of 60 or more. Not a great roster. In fact, we have just 7 players with a 50+ future estimate as well.

It looks like the X Factor giveth (yay Bortles) and taketh away.

Why is Justin Blackmon on my roster? He should (probably) appear on my 2015 roster, that’d be awesome as a way to demonstrate talent that is out for a season due to suspensions and such.

So, what are we looking at Bortles? How about the other QBs from this draft?

Bortles may end up second best, and you’ll be surprised at who’s best…

Think Teddy Bridgewater is the best one? Think again! 22/50

What about Derek Carr, who quietly had a very good season for Oakland in real life. Here? 24/53

How about Johnny Football, him of the much hype? 33/72. That’s right, the same potential as Bortles!

Obviously, this stuff changes based on hidden stats, how the shake out, and more. But right now, we got a real franchise-saving hit with Bortles. Hopefully.

Finally a FOF on the FOF forum! Hahaha.

Good luck with the Jaguars. You'll need it.

Where are our other strengths and weaknesses?

RB? We have Toby Gerhart, Denard Robinson and rookie Storm John, with one of my favorite names in RB history. The best is 44/44 Gerhart

TE Marcedes Lewis has a solid 52/52 rating, fairly close to real life obviously. I’d rate him better in blocking and lower in catching if this were me (he’s a great blocker in real life), but roughly the same overall. No issues here

Now, the WRs. In real life, this was a huge upgrade for a team that was hurting. Robinson, Lee, Hurns, all played well at times, and Robinson looks like he could be a real #2 WR for the future, and if either Lee or Blackmon are your #1, then you are set, while Hurns appears to be a strong #3 #4 guy with great big play ability. On the other hand, Cecil Shorts III was a major disappointment. So, where are the receivers here in my game?

FL Cecil Shorts – 30/39, great big play stuff, low everywhere else
FL Allen Robinson – 38/51, good, solid all-around stuff, with high endurance, and lower avoid drops, but potentials that are in the 40s (big play, ourage, route running) or 70s (downfield, third down, adjust to ball)
SE Justin Blackmon – 44/57, Solid everywhere, 84 big play, 21/31 downfield and 24/44 adjust to ball are lowest.
SE Ace Sanders - 34/42
SE Allen Hurns – 26/30 – lower Big play than I’d expect (just 70). Weak everywhere else.
SE Marqise Lee – 52/71 - Good stuff! 100 big play, lowest ranking is 16/44 avoid drops and 24/52 adjust. But just really good everywhere else.

So our offensive skill positions are pretty solid. Line?

C Luke Bowanko, 15/31, 6th round rookie. Weak as all get go

OG Zane Beadles is solid, and we have OG Brandon Linder, 3rd rounder, with 26/45. (In real life I’d probably put him at 31/55 or so, but that’s not bad, and he could creep this thing all up and such)

OT Luke Joeckel was solid, and OT Cameron Bradfield (29/41) undrafted, and adequate, but needs to grow

P Bryan Anger – Bust in this dynasty – 39/43

K Josh Scobee – 46/46

In real life, the D Line was the best of the defense of the Jags this year:

DE Tyson Alualu – 35/35
DE Red Bryan – 33/33
DE Chris Clemons – 37/37
DE Ryan Davis 29/40
LDT Roy Miller – 34/34
RDT Evander Hood – 52/52
RDT – Sen’Derrick Marks – 55/55

Well we have a strong DT tandem I can work with, but those DE folks do not represent how well they rolled in the season. Ah well.


LB corps? This was a huge weakness of the Jags this season, especially after Paul Poz was injured early on. What about here?

MLB Paul Posluszny – 47/47
SLB Telvin Smith – 29/47
WLB Dakota Watson – 31/31
WLB LaRoy Reynolds – 25/37

Weak, yuck.

Secondary?

LCB Will Blackman – Bust. 19/19
LCB Dwayne Gratz - 39/54 Last year’s 3nd rounder looks pretty sexy to me. No strengths or weaknesses, just a solid bar all around.
LCB Jeremy Harris – 30/52 – Last year’s 7th rounder? Dang that’s good stuff. Great run D, weak man-to-man D and picks.
RCB Alan ball – 39/39
SS Jonathan Cyprien – 37/37 – Sigh. That’s about right too.
FS Winston Guy – 22/25 – Yuck

And even rookie Aaron Colvin isn’t that good (20/35)

Long Snapper? Guys a 36 in long snapping

Thanks!!!

Leadership and chemistry??


Two mentors – CB Will Blackmon and FB Will Ta’ufo’ou.

Leaders?

FB Will Ta’ufo’ou
TE Clay Harbor
RT Cameron Bradfield
DE Chris Clemons
RCB Alan Ball


Good stuff?

RB Gerhart exceptional affinity
DE Red Bryant strong affinity
SLB Telvin Smith mild affinity

BUT

LB Dakota Watson extreme conflict
DT Marks strong conflict
RB Robinson conflict

We don’t like that.

Now, I would like to pick up a mentor WR for my young corp.

So we can make some immediate improvements without even thinking that hard.

Such as my Long Snapper and Punter.


It’s post-camp, and pre-season. So I make some offers immediately to see what I can do:

I sign some Undrafted Free-Agents still out there:

K Tyler Bernard, who’s 50/80
P Trenton Tucker, 33/53
LS Grayson Johnstone, 100 LS

I cut my old special teams players (P,K, LS)

Who else is looking good in my neighborhood?

LCB Alec Bowbliss, 23/57
RDE Kaden Rivera, 33/57, affinity with Chris Clemons
SS Rondell Darin, 19/53

If I’m not going to have great players with current stats, there’s no reason not to have players with solid future potential, right?

In order to avoid conflicts, I cut Denard Robinson and sign ufa RB Irv Hornung, strong affinity, 27/39

I trim some fat to get to 60 players for the pre-season

The game is forcing me to sign another QB. Sigh. I sign UFA Dwight Herndon, who has an 79 kick holding.

I sign OT Nicky Fitzgerald, move him to C, and now I have a 16/48 C, which is a big improvement

I sign a UFA MLB Deion Gardner 20/41 with an exceptional affinity with Chris Clemons, and cut MLB JT Thomas, who was a 13/14.


I sign LG UFA Nicholas Weaver, 22/37 to replace my 14/16 5th year man Jacques McClendon

After looking over at our depth chart, we have horrible punt returning. I cut RB Jordan Todman for UFA RB Corwin Shields, a 25/30 guy who is really good on special teams.

Alright, we’re ready for the pre-season


We barely lose the first game 23-20 to Tampa Bay in Week 2

CB Jeremy Harris is out for 6 weeks.

Then we lose 17-24 on the road at Chicago, and an injury to a FB

We barely lose to Detroit 21-23 in week 4.

Finally, in week 5 of the preseason, we get rocked by the Falcons 37-17. No more major injuries, and we finish the preseason 0-4.


Time for some final massaging of my roster. Anyone cut from other squads that looks appealing? Not yet. So I trim more fat and I cut:

FL Tandon Doss
RG Tyler Shatley
RT Sam Young
RB Storm Johnson
DT Abry Jones
CB Aaron Colvin
DE Andre Branch


And so it begins!

And so it begins!

Week 1 – We travel to Phily and come back losers 41-17. We were never really in the game. But Bortles? 31 of 29 for 354 yards, and 1 TD and 1 pick with a 102.3 QB rating. That’s good stuff! Marqise Lee grabbed 9 catches for 101 yards and Cecil Shorts III had 8 for 94. WR Ace Sanders on 2 grabs caught the TD as well. Meanwhile undrafted rookie Alec Bowbliss, starting for the injured Jeremy Harris, grabbed a pick. But we just couldn’t stop Philadelphia at all.

No major injuries. That’s not a bad start to our offense though at all.

Week 2 – We defeat the Redskins in a come-from-behind victory in the 4th 25-21 in their place. CB Alan Ball was Game MVP with a pick of RGIII plus a return for a score, 32 yards, and three kick returns for 61 yards and he led the team in tackles with 9 solos and 2 assist. Two more picks by CB Dwayne Gratz and CB Demetrius McCray. Meanwhile Bortles rocked 21 of 32 for 249 and 1:2 ratio, and hit Allen Robinson 6 times for 76 yards (TD by TE Lewis). Gerhart added a score on the ground (his 2nd in two weeks)

We scored the last 17 points, we were down 21-8 in the 3rd after Alfred Morris rushed for a score with 5:30 left in the 3rd quarter. Then FG, Ball’s pick/score and Gerhart’s 4 yard plunge. We missed a PAT early on.

Lots of injuries though this week. The biggest is that RB Corwin Shields is just out for 10 weeks. I toss him on injured reserve. Although not as good, I sign UFA RB Sean Stewart to a similar special teams role.

MLB Paul Pos is out for 2 weeks with a concussion. I deactivate him. MLB Deion Gardner is starting until he returns. Lots of probables. I’m de activating FS Winston Guy with a broken finger for a bit.


Week 3? We host Indy. We hold them to 19 and drop 24 on them. Not so Luck-y now, are you? We dropped Luck for 5 sacks and harassed him all day long. MVP is Bortles, with 26 of 35 for 307 and a 2:1 ratio, including Lee’s mega-day with 8 grabs, 161 yards and a score. Robinson added 1 score and 67 yards as well. UFA DE Kaden Rivera dropped Luck twice, and DT Evander Hood 1.5 times – shoot, even S Cyprien dropped him once on a safety blitz. They scored in the last minute to make things respectable.

CB Jeremy Harris is back to start for us.

Week 4 – We travel to San Diego to take on the Chargers. We leave losers, 24-29. We stopped Rivers cold, with just 181 yards and a pick, but RB Mathews was on fire. Bortles had his worst game thus far, 1 of 43 for 196 and 1:2. WR Blackmon caught his lone score. CB Alan Ball had a 94 yard KickOff return and WR Blackmon had a 94 yard kickoff return. So that was nice for both of those folks, but the double returned scores weren’t enough to put us over against the Chargers. (Ball had the pick as well).

Injuries? MLB Pos is back next week. SLB Geno Hayes was injured with a broken foot and will be out for 9 weeks. I IR him and sign 3 year vet SLB Emmanuel Lamur, with an exceptional affinity for Clemons and a 61 rating in special teams (16/22 overall)

FB Will Ta’ufo’fu is injured, doubtful, and I deactivate him.

Week 5? The Steelers come to town. They leave victorious with a 35-28 victory. We fought for it though. RB Toby Gerhart had his first real week with 126 yards (on 10 carries) for 1 score and a 80 yard scamper for a score in there. He also caught a pass from Bortles on a 1 yard line for another TD, and a 3rd from the 22nd yard line. Bortles was a respectable 22 of 38 for 227 and 3:1. WR Lee caught the other score. One pick, by CB McCray.

Injuries? Yes, one major-ish one. Starting LT RT Cameron Bradfield is out for 89 weeks with a degenerative hip condition. I throw him on IR as well. I sign 21/34 UFA RT Larry Garcia who has a mild affinity with Cameron.

Week 6 arrives – We head to Tennessee and shut down the Titians 23-0. Dang! Bortles is MVP with 26 completions of 39 passes, 316 yards and 2:0. Despite two catches, WR Cecil Shorts III rocked 108 yards and a score, and TE Lewis had the other score. They pulled Locker after he sucked for Metterberger, who sucked, and then Whitehurst. Two picks were tossed to CB Ball and S Chris Prosinski. Even OT Joeckel rocked 5 KRB. Everyone was involved.

Injuries? SS Jonathan Cyprien will be questionable for a week or two. Meanwhile, newly signed RT Larry Garcia is doubtful with a hyperextended elbow. I massage my depth chart a bit.

Week 7 – With a chance to go up to 4-3, we lose at home against Cleveland 34-24. Bortles – 30 of 55, 339, 2:3. Too many picks. Too many passes. We need to get this kid a running game. Shorts III had 5 for 117, WR Blackmon a score before being knocked out of the game in the 1st quarter, and Robinson 80 yards and the other TD. MLB Paul Pos grabbed a pick of a Johnny Manziel toss. Meanwhile Pos had 11 solo tackles and 3 assists.

One major injury – Blackmon will be out for a month with a knee injury. But Bortles is questionable with a strained hammy for an unknown amount of time. He’ll remain starting though.


Week 8 – We host the Dolphins this week. Can we get to .500 for the halfway mark of the season? Yes!

We win 46-43. Get ready for Bortles stat line….

Bortles (MVP) 53 attempts, 35 compleitions, 442 yards, and 6:2. That’s SIX touchdowns. (Gerhart runs for 117 on 17 carries btw)

People who caught TDs, in order?

Shorts III (17 yard)
Robinson (25 yard)
Shorts III (94 yard)
Lee (9 yard)
Gerhart (11 yard)
TE Clay Harbor (12 yard)
Robinson (2 pt conversion)

Get this, with 2:04 on the clock and us driving downfield, down by a point, Bortles tosses a pick six. We are down by 8 now. Well, that’s basically game, right? Nope, the rookie drove the field, scored with 0:21 left to third string TE Harbor, and then hit the 2 point to tie things up. We win in OT with a 50 yard FG by UFA Tyler Bernard.

DANG!

Robinson rocked 120 yards on 6 catches
Shorts III grabbed 139 on 6
Lee had 10 catches for 84


Meanwhile CB Bowbliss had a pick. DT Sen’Derrick Marks had a fumble, sack, and recovery of QB Tannehill. OG Beadles had 4 KRb


No major injuries either.

Whew!


At the halfway mark:

We are 4-4. Surprise!

Bortles is 2nd in the league in passing yards after Ben Ben. He is tied with Cutler for 3rd in TDs with 18. However, his 12 picks are tied for 3rd most with Orton and Manziel.

But dang, there is no question we got a good one with Bortles. It’s about time Jacksonville. It’s Bortles Time Baby!

Two players (Julio Jones, Antonio Brown) already have 1000+ yard seasons. We don’t. Our most is Lee with 597 yards. We are the only team in the NFl at the halfway mark with at least one kickoff return for a score, and we have two.

Let’s move to the 2nd half of this season


Week 9 – We are traveling to Cincinnati for a battle against the Bengals. OT Larry Garcia is back from injury. SS Cyprien is as well. He has blown up his rating and is suddenly looking very good (51/62) so we’ll see if he can keep to that. RG Brandon Linder is out for a couple of weeks with a knee injury. I massage my roster in various places. We lose to the 7-1 Bengals 24-38. Bortles was just 28 of 41, 1:0 for 211. Gerhart caught the lone TD. However, Blake scrambled for two scores. CB Bowbliss with a pick. We forced three fumbles on defense and recovered one. Beadles rocked 4 KRb.

Injuries – C Nicky Fitzgerald is out for a few weeks with a separated shoulder. C Bowanko is starting until he returns.


Week 10 – We host the hated Cowboys, rocking a, 8-1 record. And they leave 8-2, after we beat them 27-24. We kicked a FG to go up at the 2:00 minute warning and won. Backup RB Irv Hornung got a 1 yard score, and we had two fumble returns for scores. The first was by S Rondell Darin, 73 yards. The second by S Winston Guy, 89 yards. They had shut Bortles down all day long – 23 of 32, 233 but 0:2. Lee might have added 100 yards, but no scores. Gerhart rushed for 105 yards on 20 carries. CB Bowbliss with another pick. Poz also recovered a score. This was a smash mouth sort of game.

Now we are 5-5 and back to .500. Not that bad of a start to the second half of the season. Our schedule is rough. 8-2 Cowboys, 6-3 Texans we haven’t gone after yes (Colts are 3-6 right now), 8-1 Bengals, 7-3 Steelers, and so forth. So perhaps we can use this as a platform to leap onto the next level? We are currently in 2nd place in the AFC South, and it’s feasible we could catch up to the 6-3 Texans.


We have a BYE in Week 11

RG Linder is back from his injury.

Week 12 – Today we rock the Colts in Indiana. Hopefully. Damn it Colts you didn’t play the script! 31-14. Ah well. The Texans lost, we had a chance to catch up… Bortles is 16 of 33, pulled and had 2:2 and 135 yards (Scores to TE Lewis and RB Hornung). MLB Paul Pos with a pick. 15 tackles by S Cyprien and 2 assists.

WR Blackmon is back from injury.


Week 13 – We host and lose to the Giants. 23 us, 27 them. Gerhart had 12 carries for 126 yards, Bortles was 31 for 4 for 259 and 2:1. WR Lee rocked 8 grabs, 146 yards, and a TD (87 yards). TE Lewis with a score. CB Jeremy Harris with a pick. CB Bowbliss recovered a fumble on special teams (knocked out by Gerhart).

We are now 5-7. We went 1-3 in the last 4 games. Feh. We can do better, right? Right!

Week 14 – We host Houston, now at 8-4. We lose, but it’s close – 33-28. Bortles was MVp with 29 of 38, 334 and 4:1. Dang! We drove and hit Robinson with 5:37 left, but weren’t able to get another score late and lost by five. Cecil Shorts III had a pair of scores and WR Blackmon the 4th. CB Harris rocked a pick from QB Fitzpatrick.

Injury? OG Nicholas Weaver is out for 31 weeks with a back surgery. So I IR him and sign 9 year vet Rob Sims, with a mild affinity for our leader. FB Ewing is doubtful for a couple of weeks.


Week 15 – We travel to Baltimore. We lose 27-20. Bortles (MVP) has 24 of 38, 303 and 1:0- He hit Robinson for a score. Both of our starting safeties, Cyprien and Guy got picks of Flacco. RB Sean Stewart had an 84 yard punt return for a score as well.

Great news, finally, Bortles ‘s hammy is cleared up and done.


Week 16 – We host the Titans. Can we crush them as badly here as we did in their place and put ourselves back in the winning column? So we win! 28-27. It may not be crushing, but I’ll take a win right now. Bortles (MVP) has just 14 of 25 for 183 and 3:0. Paul Pos got a 50 yard pick and return for another score as Tennessee’s random backup QB Burroughs was trying to drive for a score late to win. We hit Lee, Lewis and Gerhart for receiving scores. OLB Dakota Watson joined Pos with a pick.

Injuries: We lost CB Harris and DT Hood for the final game at Houston.

Week 17 – Houston is 10-5, and still has a shot, technically for the 2nd spot. Cincinnati is 13-2 and first, and we have KC a t11 wins out West, while the Jets and Pats are both 10-5 in the east. Meanwhile the Steelers and Broncos are 9-6, and if they go 10-6 could get the other wildcard spot. Those seven teams are all fighting for everything from the 2nd seed on down.

Can we play spoiler to the Texans? Nope. We lose 13-23, and we had two picks, one by Bowbliss and an 82 yard return for a score by Ball. Bortles was rookie-esque with 27 of 44 for 193, and 0:0. Beadles grabbed another 4 KRB.

We finish 6-10. We had some surprising wins in there (Cowboys, par example), we swept the Titans.

Final standings in AFC South – Houston (11-5), Jacksonville (6-10), Tennessee (6-10), Indy (5-11).

2014 Playoffs!


Wild Card Weekend –

Chicago travels to Atlanta and wins 27-11

New York Giants to San Francisco and win 38-17

Kansas City hosts Denver and wins 28-24

Jets travel to Houston and win 35-16


Week 2 –


Chicago travels to, and loses to, Dallas – 31-20

Giants travel to tundra of Packers edge them win 16-15.

KC is shut down at New England 24-17

Jets are blasted in Cincinnati 45-24


Championships:

Three outta top four seeds held




Bengals host the Patriots

Cowboys host the Giants


Cowboys win 31 to 7
Patriots win 31-16 in snow


Your Super Bowl:


#2 Cowboys vs #2 seed Patriots

In the battle of the next-best teams, the Cowboys emerge victorious 26-24

Season Awards:


Offensive Rookie of the Year: QB Blake Bortles


Season stats:


Passing:

QB Bortles was 4280 yards, 31:18 TD:Pick ratio, 88.3 QB Rating, and 64.1% completion rate. Sacked 44 times, 2 rushing TDs. No issues there.


Rushing:

RB Toby Gerhart – 973 yards on 206 attempts, for a 4.72 average, and 3 rushing TDs. Not good enough at all.


Receiving:

WR Marqise Lee – 93 catches, 1261 yards, 5 scores – 13th most receiving yards in NFL (Julio Jones had 2122 yards)
WR Allen Robinson, 89 grabs, 887 yards, 5 scores
RB Toby Gerhart, 86 catches, 631 yards, 5 scores – no RB had that many yards/catches as Gerhart did (although RB Arian Foster has many fewer catches, he has a 1000+ receiving season though)

TE Marcedes Lewis – 49 catches, 523 yards, 5 scores
WR Cecil Shorts III – 31, 536, 5 scores
WR Blackmon - 25, 228, 3 scores

I like my receiving corps.


Special teams –

K Tyler Bernard – 22/25 FGs, 42/43 PAT. Long of 57 and 5 50+ made.
P Trenton Tucker – average punt length 40.9 (one of the worst) 32 of 99 inside the 20.
CB Demetrius McCray, 20 tackles, 4 FF, 1 fumrec


Defense –

S Jonathan Cyprien, 14 starts, 101 solo tackles, 27 assists, 1 sack, 1 hurry, 1 pick, 6 pasdef, 3 Forfed Fum,
MLB Paul Posluszny – 14 starts, 90 solos, 30 solos, 1.5 sacks, 2 hurries, 3 picks, 1 ret TD, 5 pasdef, 1 fumrec, 2 FF
DE Kaden Rivera - 34 and 17 tackles 6 sacks, 4 blocked passes, 9 hurries, 1 knockdown
DT Evander Hood, 45 and 16, 5.5 sackes,4 blcoks, 9 hurries, 3 knockdown
DT Sen’Derrick Marks, 28 and 21, 1.2 sacks, 2 hurries,2 FF, 1 FumRec
DE Tyson Alualu, 27 and 6, 4.5 sacks, 2 blocked, 7 hurries, 2 knockdowns

CB Alec Bowbliss – 13 starts, 5 picks, 7 passes defended, 3 forced fum
CB Alan Ball, 4 picks, 2 returned for score,s 4 pasdef
CB Jeremy Harris, 2 picks, 3 pasdef


Nothing great, but Cyprien and Pos are keys to our defense, clearly.


Blocking –

OG Zane Beadles – 21 KRB, 6 sacks allowed
OT Luke Joeckel – 16 KRB and 14 allowed
OG Brandon Linder, 14 starts 12 KRB and 8 sacks
C Nicky Fitzgerald, 13 starts, 11 and 4

We can’t be this bad next year. Our blocking and running was horrible. That has to be a key for development next year.

Team Awards:


Offensive Player of the Year – QB Blake Bortles – I don’t like handing out two awards to the same person, so check out Bortles’s strong performance, with 4000+ yards, 31 scores and a strong first showing. We have a great place to build off for the future!

Defensive Player of the Year – MLB Paul Posluzny – He’s good in pass protection, tackling, and rushing, and a solid rock in the middle of the defense. Pos had another very good outing for the Jaguars, and you can’t deny his impact. Unless you are blind, that is.

Special Teams Player of the Year – CB Demetrius McCray – He lead the team in tackles (by far) had a ton of forced fumbles, and even recovered one. His special teams play was just really strong from the outset of the season. Good job buddy!

Rookie of the Year – WR Marqise Lee – I’m going with a different choice here, since he rocked more than 1200 yards in his first go around the block. He’s a strong player with a lot of room for growth, and we think he’s got a bright future in teal!

Heart Award (Awarded to the player who really punched above their weight class) – LCB Alec Bowbliss – UFA signed to be an amazing potential guy, he was forced into the lineup a few times, led the team with picks, and passes defensed, but yet busted in terms of his outlook (31/31) Good stuff from the guy!

I want to sign an UFA Donovan Marshak, RCB, to a contract, just to get him into our program, but we can’t.


Alright, let’s end 2014

Team Performance – 14
Franchise Value – 85
Profit/Loss – 86
Roster – 35

Year End Score - 61

Several of our players busted on their profile, and others look tasty.


Our roster today?

DE Kaden Rivera is still a strong 41/63 from his first campaign and is looking strong

QB Blake Bortles? Uh oh. 31/56? Yuck?

SS Cyprien is up to 57/62

WR Lee is rocking 52/70

And that awesome K we signed? I feared a bust, but Tyler Bernard is 60/73

Now, our Punter Trenton Tucker dropped to 32/32. We can safely drop him I suspect.

Major movement?

OG Rob Sims and OT Cameron Bradfield have retired. Bradfield from his injury, likely.

Other major retirees across the NFL universe?

OLB John Abraham
WR Larry Fitzgerald
WR Steve Smith
OLB Lance Briggs
CB Charles Tillman
CB Terence Newman
QB Peyton Manning
OLB Julius Peppers
K Adam Vinatieri
WR Reggie Wayne
OLB Robert Mathis
RB Adrian Peterson
S Charles Woodson
S Troy Palamalu
TE Heath Miller
TE Antonio Gates
WR Santana Moss


So, who do you think makes the HOF from this class? It’s a heavy retirement-oriented HOF stuff –

I’d go Manning, Palamalu, Gates, Fitzgerald, and Woodson for sure.

I think you have great arguments for Wayne, Peppers, Vinatieri and Mathis in here too. And Miller was no joke.

That’s a lot from one retiring class.

But the good news is that the retirement bug didn’t hit us too badly – I want to keep DE Chris Clemons since he’s been a strong leader for us.

Major players on our team not under contract:

UFA –

CB Alan Ball, 9th year in league
FL Cecil Shorts III
FB Will Ta’ufo’ou

And some others I’m not that sure I want at all.

RFA –

LS Grayson Johnstone
SS Rondell Darin (Now just 22/36)
LCB Alec Bowbliss (31/31)
MLB Deion Gardner (busted to 17/20)
RDE Ryan Davis, 29/35, 4th year vet
DE Kaden Rivera, 41/63 – YAY
K Tyler Bernard
P Trenton Tuckner
RT Larry Garcia, 24/33
LB Nicholas Weaver, 23/36
C Nicky Fitzgerald, 22/52
SE Ace Sanders, 40/50, 3rd year
RB Sean Stewart, Corwin Shields, Irv Hornung

We have 31 under contract right now.

$51 mill in cap room too.

We have the 6th overall pick this year. That’s not bad. It’s Arizona, Oakland, Cleveland, Indy, San Diego, and then us.

We made 34 mill last year in good hard cash.

Our stadium is ranked 5th worst; Roster is 9th best; Support is 7th worst; Economy is 10th worst; franchise value is 636, 940,000 and that’s 9th lowest in the league. 79/1% attendance last year. No changes to ticket prices.

Staff:

Our Head Coach is leaving, Duane Jongeling

I look at the others:

Defensive Coordinator – Abel Newsome, 2.02 mill, 54 years old, Nothing too great or bad in bars. DB specialization. 1 year left

Offensive Coordinator – Nathaniel Crownover, 3.98 mill, 58, specialization in development, young talent, and tight ends. 2 years left

Assistant Coach – Jameson Linthicum, 1.37 mill, QB focus, good in young talent, interviewing, and 38 years old, 2 years left.

Strength Coach – Frank Brost, 4 years, 920k, strength train focus, intelligent


I don’t give my DC a raise.

Staff Draft time

We pick 27th. I sign:

Head Coach Roosevelt Bonilla, an increase of 10 suitability from 58 to 68. 3.44 mill, 4 year deal, amazing motivation and very strong intelligence and young talent. Weaker scout and play call (in the 40s Ithink). 57 years old, specializes in d line.


Assistant Coach – Mike Walczak, an improvement of 6 from 50 to 56, and I got a lot better in scouting, which he was really bad at. TE focus. Good at motivation and young talent. 1.13 mill for 4 years

Strength Coor -0 Byron Conquergood, also a 6 point raise from 55 to 61. Great condition, 4 year deal, 690k. So we dropped salary and improved our staff in several areas. Can’t argue with that!

I will not be using any tags prior to FA beginning

What do we need?

We have 51 mill under cap

RB – we could really use an improvement over Gerhart

O-Line – Man we need some upgrades here. I’d love to snatch a great OG at the RG spot or an RT. RT Bradfield retired, so we are missing an starter (and we weren’t exactly winning there anyway)

P – I could use a really good punter

DT – I need ot let go of Marks, he has a strong negative conflict with Clemons,and that’s hurting everyone I think -0 and that creates a hole in the DT spot if I do.

SLB, WLB – We really need a WLB that can find a player and shed blockers to do so. WLB Dakota Watson has a strong conflict as well, so I’m looking for an immediate upgrade here.

FS – I was hoping that Rondell Darin could grow into something really nice, but that wasn’t to be. I need a quality FS to go along with Cyprien

RCB – With Alan Ball not on the roster and Alec Bowbliss not 100% assured of a starting role, I need a good starter to go across from Jeremy Harris.

In order of need:

RT
WLB
RB
P
FS
RCB
SLB
RG
DT

What can I find out there?

QB Chad Henne is demanding a trade. But he has grown into a QB mentor.

I want to lock down my two major UFA victories

We sign RFA Kaden Rivera to a three year deal; K Tyler Bernard as well. Alec Bowbliss too earned enough for a three year deal and LS Johnstone to a one-year one.

That locks down some areas I don’t have to worry about long-term for now.

I take a look at FA to see what’s available before we begin to interview rookies.

Players that intrigue me:

RB DeMArco Murray
RB LeSean McCoy
RB Knowshon Moreno
RDT Terrance Knighton – That would be hilarious

Tons of receivers – Desz Bryant, Torrey Smith, Michael Crabtree, Mike Wallace, etc.

I love C Rodney Hudson from the Chiefs.

Maybe a few good mentors out there too.

Let’s do some interviews:

We love this RB at the top of the draft, but it looks like we can get some great RBs in FA too. There’s no good OT talent near the top though.

Week 2 FA

I make offers to:

RB DeMarco Murray
LG Mike Iupati
RT Jamon Meredith
SLB Jabaal Sheard
RCB Patrick Robinson
FS Rahim Moore

Man, you're tough on Toby.

292 touches, 1604 yards, 5.49 per touch and 8 touchdowns, that's a pretty good season.

Will be following, so many ex-Seahawks in Jacksonville, so I've got some guys I'm definitely pulling for!

Awesome!

Plus, you can root for...you know...a fun dynasty? Yay?

Week 3? Not much.

Week 4 – We sign DeMarco Murray for 4 years and 26.71 mill

We lost Sheard to Cleveland and Moore back to Denver

I make an offer to a random Punter

I make an offer to RB Shane Vereen to join our team for a year to be a leader. Our new RB leader was RB Gerhart, and Murray conflicts with him, so Vereen can come in and make nice (and Bortles likes him too)

I go for the top DT in FA Ahtyba Rubin, since I lost out on some other targets and he’s in reach I feel.

My backup targets are brought in. I have to sign FS Quintin Demps – he comes in as a leader with six affinities.

Are there any major big names out there that are enticing me? Other than Dez Bryant. Not yet.

Week 5 – We sign RCB Patrick Robinson but miss out on DT Rubin. My next offer is to DT Kevin Williams to be a one-year patch for us.

Week 6 – We sign RT Jamon Meredith

Week 7 – Dallas signed the Punter we were chasing

Week 8 – We sign Kevin Williams

Week 9 – We sign RB Vereen, UFA from last year RCB Donovan Marshak, WLB Courtney Upshaw

I look for any hold over value sort of folks…

I still have 31 mill under the cap, and I want to keep a lot for later moves.

I waive DT Marks and OLB Watson now

I make an offer to LB Brian Orakpo as well.


Week 10 – CB Alan Ball signed with the Bucs.

Week 11 – Both LB Orakpo and Demps sign with us.

Anyone else left that entices me?

I sign SE Ace Sanders to a two year deal as a RFA, C Nicky Fitzgerald to a three year deal.

I picked up a lot of cheaper FA in case I need to be mobile in the draft or later on.

Let’s make an offer to another TE to help with Lewis

We sign TE Jermaine Gresham for a two year deal

The Draft:



Arizona takes the first player off the board, OLB Cornelius Yachera, a stud I would have seriously considered taking at 1.6 if available.

Oakland takes the RB we really liked next
Then the Jets take another RB
Colts grab DE studly, best player in the draft at 1.4
And CB goes to San Diego

Who do I want?

I interviewed and was looking at getting lucky with the DE that went to the Colts, and the OLB Yachera and both RBs. All gone.

So, here’s people I like.

OG Marquis Satre. That’s funny because I’m Marquis D’Avignon.

I just signed an OG for my team, but this guy? He looks like your hoss to just use and abuse for years to come. We interviewed him, very underated, great bars already, fits in, great scores.

We don’t have as many interviews in FOF7, so I didn’t interview many folks. Uh oh.

Hmmmm…

CB Jonah Clayton? DT Drew Ellard (yuck)? Gamble for someone I didn’t interview? Or take the safe pick at OG?

What are my needs heading into here:

Backup Qb
Backup RB
FB
Backup TE
C
Backup OG
Backup OT
P
Studly DE would fit
Backup DTx2
Backup MLB
Backup OLB
Backup S

That’s it.

So I could use a starter C. But otherwise, we could use a star class guy at a lot of spots. I was hoping to sign enough talent that I could draft BAP. So let’s shut up and do it.


Our next pick arrives at the 2.5 spot

Who do I like here?

With no interviews:

FS Asher McElroy is very agile and smart to boot. Most agile safety in the draft

C Howie McCormick, best C on the board, dash and agility are good, but low intel marker


MLB Daryl Chandler, looks solid bar-wise

DT Cesar Vandenberg – Best DT on board and has an affinity

Meh – the S or the C. McElroy’s weakness is picks, and I have a SS who’s weak in picks as well. Not sure that’s a good combo.

I select C McCormick

Welcome to 3.13. The rest of my draft follows:


Jacksonville Jaguars 2015 NFL Draft

1. OG Marquis Satre, Mississippi State
2. C Howie McCormick, Oklahoma
3. DT Hardy McCleary, Methodist
4. FB Dennis Fortune, South Carolina
5. QB Teddy Cote, Portland State
6. OT Ron Linares, Oklahoma State
7. RB Johnnie Lindsay, Oregon

Early ratings for my folks. This is very, very early, obviously:



OG Satre -54/98
C McCormick – 28/55
DT McCleary – 23/44
FB Dennis Fortune – 20/37 –Yuck
QB Teddy Cote – 11/46
OT Linares – 17/45
RB Lindsay – 23/31

Alright, let’s start with FA #2:

RB Toby Gerhart is holding out



I make an offer to a random Punter and a bunch of UFAs. I grab P Johnny Hekker

I pick up these UFAs:

FB Sherman Calabro
SE Will Wheeler
SS Warren Samuels
QB Bryson Howard
TE Ramon Doll
FL Jamie Turnbull
WLB Weston Bullock
DT Francisco Wayne

Many of those were the best in their genre

That gives me an even 60 players.

I sign a few more to add in some bodies for training camp

I grab RB Dylan Young, DE Juan Villasenor and CB Stephen Gadget

CAMP TIME!



We sold 41,900 season tickets

Post Camp?

I’ll tell you about any UFAs or anything that’s a boom. Or a bust from a rookie

QBs - Bortles is still sitting at 36/56. My two rookies are 13/40 range. Henne is still pissed

RB DeMarco Murray is 70/70, and Gerhart is still holding out, and 47/47. Shane Vereen is 37/37 and I have lots of options for the 4th spot

FB I have a three way competition for our starting FB I suppose. No one is that good

TE Marcedes Lewis is 52/52 and Gresham 49/49. I can use these guys well, I hope, going forward.

FL Allen Robinson – 47/54
SE Marqise Lee – 65/70 – Yeah he is!
SE Justin Blackmon – 54/54 – final year of his deal too
SE Ace Sanders – 44/50

C Nicky Fitzgerald (28/52) vs Howie McCormick (28/54). Who will win out?
LG Marquis Satre 62/98 – really more about which OG won’t start:
OG Zane Beadles – 59/59 or OG Mike Iupati, 59/59
LT Luke Joeckel – 52/54
RT Jamon Meredith – 48/50

P Johnny Hekker – 51/51
K Tyler Bernard – 60/60 – potential dropped

RDE Kaden Rivera – 44/63
LDE Tyson Alualu – 36/36 – not that great
LDT – 53/53 Kevin Williams
RDT Evander Hood – 48/48

MLB Paul Posluszny – 39/39 – Wow did he drop due to age? That sucks!
SLB Courtney Upshaw – 46/48
WLB Brian Orakpo – 51/51

LCB Jeremy Harris – 46/46
RCB Patrick Robinson – 54/54
SS Jonathan Cyprien – 60/60
FS Quintin Demps – 42/42

LS Johnstone

Not bad stuff, right?

Much better than last time. Any major booms with my UFAs or lower round folks?

Nah

Who’s left? Anyone who can come into my home and help this roster out?

I cut:

CB Dwayne Gratz
C Luke Bowanko
FB Dennis Fortune


Anyway, let’s take a look at our stud OG



Yeah baby! Even if he eventually winds up in the 80/80 territory, he’s just obviously a studly OG. Right now he’s the 12th best OG in the league at 62 currently, and he could be the best. A 36/80 OG went to the Titans in the 1.10 spot as well. He is the rookie, by far, with the best potential in the league at 98. The next best is Punter Percy Martinez, and then OG Rosenbaum by the Titans. OG Satre is the top player on The Green Page.

Roster Strength?

4th best RB in league
5th best reserve TE in league
12 best WR in league, 1st reserve WR in league
6th best OG in league, and 2nd best reserve OG
9th best K in league
The worst DE, ILB in league, btw

My goal this offseason was to accumulate enough talent in the 40s and 50s that we aren’t embarrassing ourselves out there. But we still have needs – Alualu and maybe Pos are areas of weakness to focus on next year.

We are the 3rd youngest team in the league

We got a B- draft grade

That's an excellent pick!

How far has Bortles, perhaps, fallen?


Get ready for Psychedelic Bortles!



That is not a good fall. He had great stats. Hopefully this does not reflect his new parabola and he’ll play past this.

We made a real commitment to the running game this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if his stats drop off somewhat. DeMarco Murray and some real o-lineman are useful tools to help get some smash-ery behind. We’ve upgrade the OG and OT spots in two places, and s oforth.

The S I was wrestling with in the 2nd round was picked at the 2.8 mark by Detroit and is a bust at 22/32. We were the first team to take a C in the draft, and it looks like we got the best one, even if he’s not that good.

Manziel busted down to 38/55 too

Any Green Page players taken later?

At 2.4 the Colts got a 45/61 RB.
At 2.15 the Panthers got a 36/61 WR
At 4.20 the Cards got a 30/51 QB
At 4.6 the Lions grabbed a 36/52 RB

That’s it. Early money looks like the QB the Cards got, Logan Thomas, was the best value pick of the draft. But we’ll see.

Thanks!! I hope to have a rock for Murray to use with determination.

Fantastic offseason, nice job!

I guess we'll see. I'm holding my breath. The roster was so bad it gives me the shudders. Basically, I think Murray and Satre are our major acquisitions, and I have to juts hope that we can do better with that sort of result, because we aren't exactly a top-heavy team, you know?

Alright preseason:.


Week 2 - We travel to St Louis and defeat the Rams 10-3. No major injuries

Week 3 – We host and devastate the Bears 34-9.

Week 4 – We defeat the Cards in our place 13-10.

RB Toby Gerhart ended his holdout. I have to cut someone to make room. 7th round draft pick RB Johnnie Lindsay is going.

Week 5 – We crush the Vikings in Minnesota 34-7.

We finish the pre-season a strong 4-0, with 2 very decisive results.

Time to make some cuts.

CB Stephen Gadget
QB Bryson Howard
WR Jamie Turnbull
LCB Will Blackmon
LDE Red Bryant
FB Sherman Calabro
TE Clay Harbor

We have a few players ending their contract with us this year:

TE Marcedes Lewis
QB Chad Henne
FB Bradie Ewing
SE Justin Blackmon
DE Tyson Alualu
FS Winston Guy
DT Kevin Williams

I extend SE Blackmon by two years. It’s pretty cheap after this year down to 3 mill a year.

DT Beau Allen was released by the Eagles. He was a 7th rounder of theirs last year. I sign him and cut DT UFA Francisco Wayne. He’s just a 26/34 guy, with pass rushing specialization.

We have a few minor injuries. Players like Orakpo, Lee, Rivera, Lewis, Beadles, and Robinson have minor probables and such.

Let’s go!

Week 1 – We open the season hosting the Colts, and we lose 38-21. RB Murray had 1 2rushes, 90 yards, and 1 score. Bortles was 19 of 34 for 195 and 2:3. Yuck. TDs to Lewis and Lee. Gerhart, Murray and Bortles all fumbled once each as well. (Although Gerhart and Bortles recovered theirs) . In his first game, rookie OG Marquis Satre had 4 KRB and OG Mike Iupati, starting for a probable Zane Beadles had 4 as well.

We need fewer picks. And more running. No additional injuries, and Orakpo, Robinson, Rivera, and Beadles are fine.

Week 2 – We face Tampa Bay cross state and come back winners 27-20. Bortles, MVP, 25 of 33, 272 yards, 1:1. 16 rushes, 93 yards, 1 score for Murray and another rushing score for Gerhart. WR Marqise Lee rocked 105 yards on 5 grabs and a score. Paul Pos forced a fumble. C Nicky Fitz rocked 6 KRB today.

Week 3 – For this week, we are heading out to Denver to face a Manning-less Bronco team. Their new Qb is Jimmy Clausen. We fly in hoping to emerge with a win. That’s not to be, we leave with a thumping – 31-7. Our sole score is a 94 yard score to Hurns from Bortles. Bortles wasn’t too bad, 21 of 38, 280, 1:1. They stopped our running game cold though. Hurns had 5 grabs and 130 on the day though. CB Harris notched a pick, CB McCray forced two fumbles, and not a whole lot else.

I change my formations to give us more runs. I want more Murray.


Week 4 – TE Lewis is back from injury, while DE Alualu and OT Joeckel are banged up a bit. The Jets arrive and leave winners 31-28. Murray had more rushes this time – 18, with 73 hard yards and two scores. Bortles was 22 of 33 for 276 and 1:1. Lee caught the score. CB Alec Bowbliss rocked a pick, and returned it 61 yards for a score. We were winning losing 21-7 in the last minute of the 3rd Quarter, and then we scored 21 points from the 0:51 mark of the 3rd through the 5:02 mark in the 4th to go up 28-21 Then they scored a TD, held us to a3 and out, and kicked a FG as time expired to win.

We finish the first quarter of the season a disappointing 1-3.

Week 5 – We host the equally 1-3 Dolphins and emerge with a win, 26-21 victory. Bortles, MVP with 24 of 31, 290, and 2:1. Ace Sanders and Allen Robinson with scores. RB Murray was 29 rushes, 133 yards, and a score on the ground. C Nicky Fitz added another 5 KRB.

Week 6 – With a chance to get to 3-3, we head out to face the Colts. But they win to go to 4-2, 20-17. Murray was 16 for 43 and a score. Bortles was 29 of 41 for 247 and 1:0. RB Murrary caught that score. SS Cyprien had 14 solo tackles. OT Jamon Meredith is out for three weeks with a separated shoulder.


Week 7 – We host, and upend, the 3-3 Titans in our place 28-22. Bortles, MVP, 20 of 27, 214, 3:1. Rushes for a score too. RB DeMarco Murray was 7 catches, 60 yards, 3 scores; 17 carries, 93 yards. Picks by LB Upshaw, CB McCray and Bowbliss, and forced fumble by Upshaw as well.

We had a few folks banged around a bit – next week is a bye

Week 8 – BYE

As we prepare for the Buffalo game in New York, We have OT Josh Wells out for 3 more weeks with a strained foot ligament, but Meredith is probable, so I activate him and send Wells to the bench for a bit. Everybody else (DT Evander Hood, CB Patrick Robinson) healed up over the bye.


We are 3-4, and we have a chance to finish the first half at 4-4. That would be nice.

Week 9 – We don’t, and leave losers at 23-28. Winston Guy rocked a 93 yard kickoff return, Marqise Lee had a 89 yard completion from Bortles for a score. Murray held to 44 yards, and Bortles took over but couldn’t complete enough passes, 21 of 42, 319, 1:0. S Quintin Demps with a pick. DT Kevin Williams with a sack, strip, and recovery – the trifecta.

3-5 at the half, but we started 1-3 and then improved to 2-2. If we finish 4-4 we’d go 7-9 this season, and that’s a one game improvement.

What worries me so far is that we have scored – 21; 27; 7, 28; 26; 17; 28;23

There’s no 30+ point game in there at all.

Week 10 – We head out to New England and come back losers, 44-24. They shut down Murray and Bortles rocked 5 picks. 39 of 62 for 375 and 3:5. Lee had 104 yards and 2 scores, Blackmon notched 107 and Robinson caught a TD. ILB Pos with a pick,

Week 11 – Can we get a win hosting the 6-3 Texans? We begin a four home game stand. They thump us 37-15. Ouch! Bortles hit Hurns and Blackmon. We’ll skip the rest. No major injuries.

Week 12 – For the next game, we host the 6-4 Panthers. Can we win this time? Oh yes. 41-15. Well, there was our signature win of the season! Bortles, MVP, had 24 of 31 for 267 and 4:0 while Murray rushed 17 times but was held to just 41 yards and a TD on the ground. WR Lee had 8, 158 yards, and 3 scores, and WR Sanders caught the other one. Robinson was dinged up and emerges questionable for a few weeks. Bortles was named Offensive Player of the Week for the NFl as well. S Guy rocked a pick, DT Hood had a pair of sacks, and so forth.

Week 13 – The next of our home games is against the Steelers. They’re just 4-7 this season, so we can send them to their first non-winning season in quite some time with a victory today. We win 31-21. Sorry Steel City! WLB Brian Orakpo had a 35 yard pick and return for a score in the second minute of the game. Bortles, MVP, with 24 of 27 for 276 and 2:0 – a good look. He hit Lee and TE Lewis for scores. Murray rushed 26 times for 119 and a score as well. We had another pick by FS Demps.

But we emerge with multiple injuries.

SS Jonathan Cyprien is out with a concussion for a couple of week.s LT Luke Joeckel is doubtful with turf toe. RT Jamon Meredith is questionable, as are DT Evander Hood and DE Kaden Rivera while C Nicky Fitzgerald is probable for a few weeks with knee tendinitis.

We finish the third fourth of the season with a 2-2 record after two blowouts to begin things but we grabbed a couple of games. The final quarter of the season sees us finish at home vs the Falcons, and then take three games on the road against the Titans, Saints, and Texans. After going to 4-2 with their victory over us, the Colts have lost 6 straight and are now behind us 4-8 on the season. The Titans are also 4-8.

Week 14 – We upend the Falcons 31-21. Bortles, MVP, with 21 of 30, 252, 2:0, and Murray rushed for 96 yards and a score while catching another. Lee got the other score. CB Robinson grabs a pick.

But this week will cost us some.


RB Shane Vereen is out for a year (52 weeks) with ACL Knee Surgery. I IR him and sign UFA LCB Tyler Kilgore, because I like his potential. He came in at 17/49.

MLB Paul Pos is out for four weeks with a strained calf muscle. I IR him too (not enough time to come back) and sing UFA MLB Abraham Fulcher, with a strong affinity for Clemons, who is 15/38. SLB Telvin Smith will be starting for us in the middle.

RT Meredith is back healthy.

Week 15 - We are 6-7. Can we get to 7-7 today against the Titans? Nah, we lose 16-24. DeMarco had 15, 83, 1 score while rocking 6 catches for 119 yards.

Sigh. Another non-winning season.

OLB Telvin Smith is questionable with a sprained knee.

Week 16 – I would really like to win one of our final two roads games to improve our record by at least one game over last year. This one is against the 10-4 Saints though. But….any given Sunday….we win 21-10!!! Bortles was 20 of 34 for 256 and 2:0. He hit Lee and Blackmon for score,s and Gerhart rushed for one spelling Murray. Picks by S Guy and CB Harris. WR Robinson can return for the finale.

CB Harris is doubtful and I pull him.

Week 17 – We travel to the 9-6 Texans. They have won the AFC South In the AFC, we have the 11-5 Charger and Jets in front (the Jets have had wondrous results from Vick these past two years). And the Bengals are up 10-5 over the 9-6 Browns and the 10-5 Bills are in the #5 spot already. So, we can’t be spoiler to the Texans, and they are going to be the #3 or #4 seed. So, all we are playing for is to go 8-8 this season, a respectable 2 game improvement over last year.

We win. 34-19.

Bortles, MVP, 24 of 28 for 291 and 3:1. Murrary was 22 for 70 and 1 on the ground. WR Allen Robinson fresh back from injury and clearly wanting to get caught yup caught 7 balls for 105 yards and three scores. Picks bu FS Demps, Cb McCray, Bowbliss and recent signee Tyler Kilgore. DT Kevin Williams forced a fumble that DE Rivera recovered.

Nicely done!

AFC South, 2015:

Texans – 9-7
Jaguars – 8-8
Titans – 7-9
Colts – 5-11

Playoffs:


Wild Card Week –

Cleveland wins at Houston 20-17 in OT
The Pats win in Cincinnati 31-28

Dallas loses in San Francisco 24-27 and the Champs will not repeat.
Chicago is blanked in Green Bay 21-0. That’ll be a cold winter in Chicago!


Week 2 -

Cleveland survives the Jets 38-31
New England survives the Chargers 22-20

Both Wild Cards make it to the AFC Championship – odd


Green Bay can’t win in New Orleans 0-6
San Fran can’t win in Phily, 23-34

And both top seeds win in the NFC to make it to the Championship.



The Championships -

#6 seed New England to #5 seed Cleveland

#2 seed New Orleans to #1 seed Philadelphia


Winners? Home teams. Cleveland puts 24-10 and 38-7 in Phily


The 2015 NFL Super Bowl –

Your AFC Champion Cleveland Browns

Vs

Your NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles


Eagles win 31-27

Season League Awards? None


Stats:


Passing –

QB Blake Bortles, 4361 yards (6th most in league), 67.2% (4th in league), 30:14 ratio (Tied for 3rd most TD in league with Luck and Eli Manning). QB Rating of 97.9. Sacked 35 times, 1 rush TD. Huge improvements over last year, and last year was good. Few picks, better completion, higher yardage, and so forth. QB rating rose by 9

Rushing –

RB DeMarco Murray – 268 attempts, 1127 yards, 4.21 ypc, 11 rush scores, 67 grabs, 654 yards, 5 receiving scores. (Barely missed out on two 2000+ yard rushing seasons by Marshawn Lynch and rookie Isaiah Tucker of the Jets picked 1.3).

Murray is doing what he needed to do. Now I’d like to see more of it next year.

Receiving –

WR Marqise Lee – 81 for 1150 and 12 scores. Tied for 2nd most scores with DeAndre Hopkins in Houston.
WR Allen Robinson – 12 starts, 49, 583 yards, 5 scores
TE Marcedes Lewis – 14 starts, 44, 600 yards, 2 scores
WR Blackmon, 4 starts, 33, 427, 2
WR Sanders, 42, 306, 2


No major concerns here at all. Even Marcedes Lewis looked good in his 10th year in the league. Can’t argue with 600 yards from a guy with 14 starts.


Special Teams –

K Tyler Bernard – 16 of 21 FG, 46 of 47 PAT, long of 52m
P Johnny Hekker – 42.7 average, (6th worst); 34 of 75 inside 20.
RB Toby Gerhart, 20 special teams tackles
CB Demetrius McCray, 20 special teams tables, 3 forced fumbles


Bad Punter season again, and Bernard just isn’t growing like I hoped he would continue to do. But, we don’t have a lot of opportunity to crap out, or to shine. No sense picking up a major K or P and spending tons of cash if you are punting 5th fewest times or kicking 3rd fewest FGs.

Defense –

FS Quentin Demps – 73 solo tacks, 21 assist, 1 sack, 2 hurries, 3 picks, 4 pasdef
CB Alec Bowbliss – 72 solo tackles, 19 assists, 3 picks, 6 pasdef
ILB Paul Posluzny – 13 starts, 68 solos, 25 assists, 2.5 sacks, 2 block passes, 2 hurries, 1 QB Knockdown, 1 pick
S Jonathan Cyprien, 12 starts, 68 and 22 tacks, 1 sack, 8 pasdef
DE Tyson Alualu, 20 and 5, 6.5 sacks, 2 blocked passes, 9 hurries, 1 knockdown
DT Kevin Williams – 47 and 14, 4.5 sacks, 1 block, 1 hurry
DT Evander Hood, 13 starts, 29 and 13, 4.5 sacks, 2 blocks, 5 hurries, 1 knokdown
OLB Upshaw – 65 and 20 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 blocks, 1 knockdown, 8 pasdef

CB Patrick Robinson, 1 pick, 10 pasdef
CB Jeremy Harris, 2 picks, 8 pasdef


Hmmm…

Not a good year for anyone here. It’s very blasé I think we have a few players, but we need to grab some studs here soon.

Blocking –

OG Zane Beadles – 15 starts, 31 KRB of 81 KRO, 6 sacks allowed
C Nicky Fitz – 29 of 60, 3 sacks, 1 pancake
OG Marquis Satre – 20 of 75, 3 sacks allowed, 4 pancakes
OG Mike Iupati – 5 starts – 14 of 34 and 7 allowed
OT Jamon Meredith -0 14 starts, 13 of 32, 5 allowed
OT Luke Joeckel – 12 starts, 11 of 38, 8 sacks

Joeckel simply cannot be the worst of my five starters and expect to retain his job. I would’ve liked more from Satre, but it’s a start. Pleasedontbust.

Team Awards


Offensive Player of the Year – QB Blake Bortles – I hate to be a person who gives out the same award two years in a row, but he earned it, with stats in the top handful of the league in a variety of metrics (QB Rating, yards passing, TDs tossed, completion %). Good job buddy!

Defensive Player of the Year – FS Quentin Demps – There really wasn’t a standout player or season on the team by anyone on the defensive side of the ball. But Demps led the team in tackles and picks. From the free safety position, not the strong one. Plus he had a pick/score as well. Pretty saucy!

Special Teams Player of the Year – CB Demetrius McCray – Again, Mr. Tackles a Lot did a strong job of tackles and forced fumbles on the special teams side of things, and he has put together two really solid years for us in covering punts and kicks.

Rookie of the Year – OG Marquis Satre – There’s no other real option here. We wanted more, but he was still 3rd in KRB and 1st in pancakes and tied for fewest sacks allowed among starters. That’s a pretty good season to build off of for next year.

Heart Award – TE Marcedes Lewis – This might throw you off a bit get it. 10th year pro. Gets 44 grabs for 600 yards, and that’s 13.65 yards per catch. Among TEs in the league that started, that is the 3rd best yards/catch after TE Gronkowski and Pitta over in Baltimore. Now add in 2 scores. Did you know that while never fumbling the ball at all this season, Lewis recovered 3 fumbles other offensive players dropped to the ground? Did you know he had 6 KRB out of 8 KRO (my best percentage of any player by far)? Good stuff old man!

Let’s end the 2015 Season folks!


Team Performance – 34
Franchise Value – 82
Profit/Loss – 85
Roster – 31

Year-End Score – 66

Major retirements:

We lost no one.

Everywhere else?


DE Osi Umenyiora
OLB Terrell Suggs
WR Anquan Boldin
DE Jared Allen
RB Frank Gore
TE Jason Witten
P Shane Lechler
DE DeMarcus Ware
WR Andre Johnson
OLB Jason Babin
QB Tom Brady
QB Drew Brees
RB Darren Sproles
ILB DeMeco Ryans
OLB Dwight Freeney

Tons more talent gone. Again, who are HOF candidates? Brady surely, Brees probably. Witten has the stats. Andre Johnson was one of the best at his time, what about him? Players like Dwight Freeney, DeMarcus Ware and Terrell Suggs have strong resumes.

We have 36 player sunder contract. Who ain’t?

UFAs:

DT Kevin Williams
RB Shane Vereen (injured badly)
FB Bradie Ewing
QB Chad Henne
FS Winston Guy
DE Tyson Alualu
TE Marcedes Lewis

RFAs of Note:

RDT Beau Allen
LS Grayson Johnstone
LCB Tyler Kilgore
SS Warren Samuels
TE Ramon Doll
WR Will Wheeler

None that major. Not like last year.

How have our views of major players shifted?

QB Bortles is 54/59
OG Satre – 82/92
RB Murray – 70/70
WR Lee – 70/70
SS Cyprien – 60/60
K Bernard – 59/59
DE Kaden Rivera – 49/49

No other major growths.

We lost 16 mill last year. We had signed a lot of bonuses. Value dropped to 611 million which is 6th lowest. Stadium 6th worst, Roster 9th worst, support 7th worst, Economy 10th worst. Attendance last year was 72.3%.


Our Defensive Coordinator is out of contract, and our OC has one year left. Do I sign him to an increase in cash to keep him? I like him, so yes.

Staff Draft:

We draft 27th again.

I hire a new Defensive Coordinator.

Robert Geathers – 4 years, 1.5 mill, age 33, d line focus, very good everywhere except horrible motivation and not-great interviewing.

I choose not to tag anyone out.

Free Agency:


We will be drafting 1.13 this year

I have 52 million under the cap. Anyone I want to resign pre-shopping?

I sign:

LS Johnstone to two year deal.
DT Beau Allen to three

That’s it.

Alright, Free Agency targets:


I need a backup QB that could go in when Bortles tumbles

We don’t have a FB at all on the roster

I wouldn’t kick a really good OT out of bed for eating crackers.

An upgrade at P isn’t a major priority, but if its there

We seriously need to upgrade our DE problems

DT Williams is gone, so a starter on the D Line is useful

With Pos aging, we need a real MLB

And a studly CB too.


So, in order of priority:

DE
DT
MLB
CB stud
Backup QB
FB

Maybe a good S or TE as well

And I’m looking to upgrade our roster again. We did it on the cheap last time, with only one major pickup. Who’s walking around this time?

LCB Kareem Jackson – best UFA out there
SLB Justin Houston is a star
MLB Mason Fason is the best one, but a distraction
MLB Brandon Spikes – next best MLB


And so forth

My initial offers:

LCB Kareem Jackson – 7th year vet, top target, I’m in the sweepstakes

FB will Johnson – why? He’s a leader and he ends the issues that Vereen did between Gerhart and Murray. And he’s the best FB out there. And he’s from WVU too, btw.

QB Nick Foles

Sigh… No cheap DE options, or really young hot guys either. I’ll drop down a bit for a cheaper one:

DE Rob Ninkovich

At 46/46 Kevin Williams is still the best DT in FA. That’s crazy.

DT Kevin Williams

I’m going to chase the best LB out there, and then move someone ot MLB.

SLB Justin Houston

FS Tavon Wilson (just another body, but cheap and get’s along)


We have a bit of a conflict with TE Gresham, our new receivers leader, and FL Allen Robinson. I look to sign someone that can change that dynamic.

TE Owen Daniels, is actually the best UFA TE out there at 50/50, and not looking for much either.


That’s a lot of offers, and it includes the two best FA out there – SLB Houston and CB Jackson. What’ll happen?

Week 3 – Nothing major happens. I massage some of my offers to the best UFAs out there. I convert some salary to signing bonuses and offer some serious cash.

Week 4 – We sign three players: DE Rob Ninkovich, SLB Houston and LCB Jackson to major deals of 2 years 6.54 mill; 4 years 52.5 mill and 4 years 63 mill respectively.

We have spent a large chunk of cap room, but the result is two major upgrades for our squad.

We are still chasing Nick Foles, Will Johnson, Owen Daniels, Kevin Williams, and Tavon Wilson.

Week 5 – We sign Foles, Johnson, and Williams.

Week 6 – Quiet

Week 7 – We sign S Tavon Wilson

Week 8 – Owen Daniels is ours, and we have signed every one of our top targets

After this frenzy, we have 13 mill under the cap and room for 7.5 mill.


Now where are we in week 8?

We have Foles and Bortles, QB is set for now

RB has Gerhart and Murray. It’s fine

We signed a great FB

Grabbed two good, adequate TE in Daniels and Gresham

WR Corps is strong

We have two solid Cs and both busted a bit – we could use one light’s out C

Very good at the OG spot with three legit starters

Weaker at OT with Joeckel and Meredith not the best in the world,

Kicker is fine

Punter is upgradeable

DE we brought in 53/53 Ninkovich. We avoided the money trap of more expensive and bigger names (Mario Williams, for example) . Rivera is just 46/46 but that’s adequate

DT we brought back Kevin Williams and could use a better player later.


So I could still use a good C and OT and DT. So let’s begin some interviews.


I interview the top four DTs, the top C, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th DE, I want to ensure that I have scouted the top talent, and there are a ton of great players in this draft – true hosses. I might get a better than normal player because of all of the juts absolute top talent that pushes down the normal stuff.

There’s a good C out there if I wanted to make a play in FA but he’s in his 11th year – Chris Chester.


I’m not going to chase any more FA on this side of the draft. I could make some money by cutting Paul Pos and sign some other folks, but I want to keep things calm until post-draft.

The 2016 NFL Amateur Draft



We have the 1.13 spot. The Vikings start things off by taking this absolutely studly ILB.

The players go DE, OLB, QB, DT, DT< DT, OLB, DE, CB, CB, and CB

Hmmm

Interesting

There are several players we interviewed that I like here.

My favorite is DE Cesar Velazquez, with three red solecismic scores in intel, dash, and agility. We interviewed him as very underrated, he fits in, and we likes him way much. He’s no super stud DE or anything, but he’s a great fit for us.

But…

We also have the best OTs in the draft still on the board… I interviewed a few, and we have some nice options… Such as OT Jesse Hoffman, OT Brayden Ledoux.

And…

Don’t forget NT Tyrell Emmons, that I like. He was the 4th best DT in the draft, and he’s still on the board, just chilling like a villain. Or DT Quentin Grossman and his 4 blue solecismic scores. Despite the DT run, they are still pretty sexy.

As is another DE we interviewed Dalton Corbett

Hmm…

Lots of options.


You know what? Would it be possible to try and trade down, pick up something nice, and then just take what’s left later on? That sounds like a winner, with this many strong guys here. I’m sure someone will be interested in jumping up.

We trade:

Our 1st.13 and 7.15 this year for Houston’s 1.22 and 2.21

They take a S, the first one off the board. I didn’t scout him, not sure how good that may have been for the Texans.

Carolina takes the next S. and then:

KC a WR
Denver S
Rams RB
Seattle WR
Giants – TE
Bills – QB
Chicago – OLB

And we are up again

Lots of offensive talent taken, and defensive stuff too.

I don’t want to keep dropping to take DE Velazquez. But still, not a single OT has been taken, and this strikes me as odd. Surely, one would go soon, right?

I grab DE Velazquez, our top target all along, but there is still some strong talent here it appears.

DT Grossman? OT Hoffman and OT Ledoux?

Velazquez was as the top of the board for a while by adjusted grade. The next four are OT Ledoux, a DT we don’t like, OT Hoffman, OT Huntley, and then DT Quentin.

Hmmm….

Could one of these strong players fall to me at the 2.16 spot?

Let’s take this slowly, because I can totally see myself making a move up to grab one. Particularly DT Grossman.

23. Cincinnati – CB
24. Dallas – ILB
25. San Francisco – CB
26. Green Bay – DT Peter Heybach, the one we scouted and did not like, at #2 on the board was just taken.
27. San Diego – OG
28. New York Jets – CB

Hmm…

Now we get into the danger zone. We get to teams that need a DT at the back of the 1st. Make a move up to grab DT Emmons?

What would it cost me?

I make a trade:

Our 2.16 and 2.21 to the Patriots for their 1.29, 4.29, 5.29, 6.29 and a future 7th

With his four blue Combine scores just taunting me, I take DT Quentin Grossman at the 1.29 spot.

So basically I traded my 7th into two first round picks and an extra 4th, 5th, 6th this year and a 7th next. I’m happy. I got my targeted guy at 1.13 instead at 1.22 and I grabbed a DT at the 1.29 who looks pretty solid as well.

Now, where do we go from here. Because if a great OT moves into the 2nd perhaps I’d move more stuff to pick up Joeckel’s replacement.

30. New Orleans – OT Brayden Ledoux, blast it – there’s one. Two more left.
31. Cleveland – RB
32. Philadelphia – DT Niebauer

Okay. Two of the OTs fell into the 2nd. Now what? They are both the top two players on the general board with an adjusted grade of 6.2, better than the next player, a RB, at 5.8

33. Oakland – NT Emmons, who I was looking at later in the 2nd ( I scouted him, he was pretty useful looking)
34. Washington – OT Hoffman. Ah well


OT Huntly goes in the 40th to Baltimore.

The top player on the board for a while has been this OG. OG Pearson. Potential affinity with our squad, no interview though, and a red in strength and blue in dash. Not bad at all. Pick after pick after pick goes. Could I draft him and move him to Center? Hmm…. That might work. If he’s good. Is it worth the flyer? At this, I don’t know anyone, because I have a lot of picks and I haven’t targeted folks in other rounds.

The top C, who wasn’t that good, is off to the Jets at 2.17. This guy looks naked and isolated on top of our board for about 15 picks now.

What would it cost for the current pick, 2.20 from Buffalo? I offered my third (3.15) and every New England pick they sent us but no dice. I swap their 4th for our 4th, which is 15 picks earlier. No dice. I do that with every round and offer two 6ths. That’s a lot of picks for the 2.20. Would it be worth a future 2nd? Not really. Could I blow through my 4ths and 3rd too instead?

I finally got them to agree to an offer. It’s a lot though.

I would give them my 3.15, 4.14, 4.29, 5.13 and 5.29 for their 2.20.

That’s basically the rest of my draft. Now previously I sucked the last of my draft – I cut two players before the season began, and another is off today. Without a lot of interviews to target folks in various rounds I like, it’s hard to do. But, there’s more chances of a hit that way. However, the lack of depth I can do by signing more FAs in the second period. I have enough money to sign some 30/40 level guys.

Even if this OG is a bust (and we have good bars, good combine scores, and an affinity on my squad, but no interview) it won’t be the end of all things.

I select LG Roger Pearson.


I see you again in the 6th round

6.16 is here

Who appeals to me? I could draft a Punter with three reds and one blue.

RB Skip Barlow, with high breakaway speed and special teams

6.29 last pick TE Efrain Noa