FOF 2004: Chargers Empty Cupboard
 

This is my first dynasty post. I am going to pilot my beloved San Diego Chargers under a very strict ruleset:

House Rules

1. Empty Cupboard Start.
2. No Trades.
3. No Franchise Tag.
4. No renegotiations except with veteran holdouts.
5. May resign rostered UFAs and RFAs at any time.
6. May not sign players who were drafted before 2005.
7. May sign 1 FA during 20-step period.
8. May sign only undrafted free agents after.
9. Contracts must either meet the player's initial demand or include a signing bonus equal to the largest contract year.

I set Injuries to 150 and turn off cap increases. I generate a fictional universe with preference draft and I'm ready to roll.

I anticipate 2-5 years of dismal failure followed by decades of uninterrupted dominance. Wish me luck!

2004:

My first order of business is a quick sim of the 2004 season with scouts running rosters moves, depth charts and game plans. The Chargers go 8-8 and I expect we'll have the 16th or 17th overall pick in the 2005 draft.

2005:

Before Staff Hiring, I cut every player from my roster for an empty cupboard start.

Staff Hiring: I hire three new coaches and retain my scout;

Herman Beckman DC: VG DL, LB, YT; EX DB.
Donny Tillitski OC: G RB, OL, K; VG Rec; EX QB.
Alan Dennis HC: Fa Motivation; Av Disc, Defense; VG Injury; Ex Offense.
Ernie Slutzker Scout: Av Rec; G QB, K, LB, DB, YT; VG DL; Ex RB, OL

I'm very pleased with the Coordinators--both figure to stick around for a long time. Scout is solid, though I wish he had better Young Talent rating.

Free Agency: I'm forced to skip it this year(see house rules).

Draft: I receive the 17th pick in the draft. No trades and every slot on my roster is a hole, so I'll just sit back and take best player available, with an emphasis on players who have strong measurables.

1(17) - B.J. Montgomery, T, Louisiana Tech Rating: 28/66 Dash: 5.1 BP: 43 Agi: 7.5 Sole: 20
2(17) - Donovan Arends, CB, Nevada Rating: 21/59 Dash: 4.4 BP: 17 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 37
3(17) - Seth Banks, QB, Notre Dame Rating: 10/70 Dash: 4.6 BP: 14 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 42
4(17) - Carlton Thamilarasan, C, Arizona State Rating: 16/56 Dash: 5.3 BP: 40 Agi: 8.1 Sole: 39
5(17) - Bucky Warren, RB, Kentucky Rating: 43/44 Dash: 4.5 BP: 18 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 28
6(17) - Ethan Seidman, RB, Northwestern Rating: 38/56 Dash: 4.6 BP: 17 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 28
7(17) - Kerry Van Dam, CB, Wagner Rating: 12/35 Dash: 4.4 BP: 18 Agi: 6.9 Sole: 27

Wow. I couldn't be more pleased with how this draft went. 5 players figure to be starters for years to come and the two RBs have good or great skill sets to go along with impecabble measurables. RB Seidman was a post draft breakout.

Next Up: I'll sign all the rookie draftees(mostly to three year contracts to ensure that they become restricted free agents) and fill out the roster with 80-120 rookie free agents.

2005 Post Camp:

I ended up taking 162 players into training camp. Making cuts will be a bitch. :)

QB: Seth Banks looks like a solid starter, but his 48 and 41 potentials in Accuracy and Timing limit his upside. I sign some serviceable backups from the rookie free agent pool, but none really intrigue me.

RB: Bucky Warren breaks out a bit to 44/48. He is 84 in breakway speed, 44 hole rec, 45/54 elusiveness. Ethan Seidman's skillet is excellent as well-- 75 breakway, 52/66 hole rec, 54/74 elusiveness. He is also an excellent receiver. I have excellent depth here from rookie free agents--about 10 players who I'd be comfortable starting at RB. My talent here dictates that I play a run heavy offense for the foreseeable future. Did I mention that cutting players here is going to be a bitch? That's usually a good sign!

FB/TE: No one spectacular here, but good depth. I scrounge up a couple FBs with decent run blocking and a few pass catching TEs. I plan to run a lot of power formations this year, so depth at these positions is a plus.

WR: Complete trash here. I am going to gameplan to keep these guys off the field and out of the game.

C/OG: My 4th round pick C Carlton T. looks pretty solid except for his 9 future endurance. I am also pleased with G Kris Jordan--he is 6-8 338 and is 27/52 run blocking with 39 strength and 41 future endurance. Everyone else is the typical roster fodder you expect, with a heavy slant towards run blocking.

OT: LT Montgomery, my steal... er pick at 1(17) is 33/71 overall--+3/+3 breakout. I expect he'll end up even better than 71/71 based on his combine+breakout. I am very pleased with this position group. I have a RT with 52 run block and 50 blocking strength who will contribute nicely this year.

P/K: Warm bodies... that's it.

DE: Trash... DE is the absolute hardest spot to find good players at in FOF 2004.

DT: All three DTs on my roster are converted DEs with high Run Defense. They'll do for now. I have a hard time finding DTs as well, so I'll be on the lookout for D. Linemen in the next draft.

LB: I like what I see here. I have a lot of linebackers with decent skill at two of three areas: Run Defense, Pass Rush Technique and Bump and Run Defense(I run 100% b&r). I think I have enough to run a 3-4 this year.

CB: I am so smitten with this group that I am going to run nickel at 100% this year. My 2nd round pick, DOnovan Arends is 59 potential, but he is potential 81 b&r, 73 play diagnosis and 80 interceptions--very good or excellent in all the areas that are important to me.

S: I converted some CBs with decent run defense and the aforementioned coverage skills to give me good depth here. A player to watch out for is FS Deon Runnels. He was undrafted, but he ran a 4.46 40 and benched 24 reps--he brokeout to 43 potential and that might go up. I will probably play him over players who look a bit better because of the possibility of future breakouts.

2005 Exhibition 60-man Roster


We go 1-3 in exhibition, but we put up 62 Points compared to only 70 allowed. I let the computer control depth charts/game plans, so this is a very promising start. With my gameplanning, we might have a fighting chance at 6-10. Although we'd be better off with the #1 overall pick, I follow an unwritten rule that I try my best to win in any season as long as it doesn't jeopardize player development.

Post Exhibition Season Roster Moves:

Cuts:

WR Jerald Poole
FB Max Powell
C Walter Barret
CB Jessie Fitzgerald
FS Greg Murray

Injured Reserve:

DE Orlando Dotson
DT Louis Sprinkle

Other Moves:

MLB Oliver McNalley is converted to DE with excellent results(48 overall).

I won't include box scores for every game this season, but I will include one for week one.


Wow were we bad. I tried some extreme stuff on offensive and defensive game planning. Obviously it's too early to tell if my gameplanning is bad, but that is one of the worst offensive days I've ever seen from one of my teams. The only thing we did right was force 4 turnovers.

:eek:

Eek.

My boasts of having a shot at 6-10 were very misplaced. This team finished as the worst team I've ever fielded--and I've done more than a few of these empty cupboard challenges. I'll leave the rest to the Team Summary:


Despite our abyssmal season, two Chargers received season awards. SS Weddle was defensive rookie of the year and P AJ Terrell was first team all pro punter... lol. Weddle didn't make any big plays and Terrell averaged 41.1 yards per punt. I am completely disgusted with this team. Oh well, no one said this was going to be easy.

2006 Post Season:

I retain all 4 staff members for the next season.

20-step Free Agency:

I can sign 1 second year player. There are no impact players in thie free agent class. I wait 6 weeks and sign FB Philip Andrews to a 1 year minsal deal(his requested contract). He is decent at run blocking 28/62 and avoid drops 36/72 and his route running is 6/14, which is a + for a FB--although with my receivers I might be better off if he caught more balls.

Amateur Draft:

Jackpot. The #1 overall player is Ryan Ackerman, a 47/95 QB out of Iowa with low volatility and excellent.

In the 2nd round, I am torn between CB Gus Flowers Fresno St 33/60 with 4.4 40, 16 reps and 6.76 Agility, but I end up taking Norm Vann because of his lower volatility and better skillset.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1(1) - Ryan Ackerman, QB, Iowa - Rating: 47/95 Dash: 4.6 BP: 19 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 46
Rnd 2(1) - Norm Vann, S, Michigan State - Rating: 37/66 Dash: 4.5 BP: 26 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 31
Rnd 3(1) - Dwayne Riley, WR, Houston - Rating: 28/53 Dash: 4.4 BP: 12 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 27
Rnd 4(1) - Geoff Abrams, S, Central Florida - Rating: 24/55 Dash: 4.5 BP: 24 Agi: 7.1 Sole: 44
Rnd 5(1) - Shaun Cordon, CB, Mansfield - Rating: 14/49 Dash: 4.6 BP: 10 Agi: 7.3 Sole: 25
Rnd 6(1) - T.J. Hinsley, OLB, Bowdoin - Rating: 24/36 Dash: 4.8 BP: 30 Agi: 7.3 Sole: 29
Rnd 7(1) - Lonnie Dunn, CB, Arizona State - Rating: 25/35 Dash: 4.5 BP: 14 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 20

I'm not as pleased with this draft as I was with the 2005 draft. Despite my DBs being an area of strength, I got roped into drafting 4 of them because of my devotion to taking the best available players. I will have to run 100% nickel this year to take advantage of my treasure trove at DB.

QB Ryan Ackerman is ridiculously awesome. Resigning him in 5 years is going to be painful though. I anticipate having to spend 20-25% of my salary cap to keep him. Seth Banks is relegated to the bench--New York offered me a 1st round pick for him(of course I can't take it). Must have been impressed by his 4.8 y/a season.

I have hopes that my 6th and 7th round draft picks will breakout. They have very good measurables and high-very high volatility. I sign everyone to 3 year contracts except Ackerman who holds out for a 5-yr deal instead of 6. Pity.

On to late free agency.

I take 158 players into training camp this year... 4 less than last year. Progress.

My 5th-7th round draft picks failed to meet expectations. I doubt any of them will make my final roster.

Exhibition season: I cut the roster from 158->60. We went 2-2. Notable is the loss of DE Oliver McNally--this one really hurts. McNally was one of the best players on the team and now he's out for 68 weeks with a degenerative hip condition. His career is likely over.

Here is the roster for the start of the regular season:

2006 Roster Review:

QB: Ryan Ackerman is 54/93 following training camp and he figures to be the face of this franchise. He has 89-100 potentials in every skill except timing 2/8 and scramble frequency 28. It's common to see QBs with very low timing. How much does that skill matter? Depth is exceptional here. Seth Banks crashed and burned his rookie year, but I would still feel comfortable starting him if necessary and Karl Forbes(I should have mentioned last year that I have high hopes for him based on his measurables) is a long term project who should develop into a superb backup or solid starter.

RB: Still solid here. I return 5 players with good skillsets. This year, Ethan Seidman could see time at wide receiver.

FB: Rookie Donovan Acevedo is a converted TE with 10/94 run blocking, 89 blocking strength, 10/96 avoid drops. I expect big things from him.

TE: Full of unspectacular blocker/receivers. Nothing to write home about, but they get the job done.

WR: I'm not the greatest at evaluating WRs, but this group is infinitely better than last years. 3rd round pick dwayne riley is somewhat disappointing with 9/45 avoid drops, but his other potentials range from 50-80. The other WRs have good potentials in avoid drops and getting downfield. Those are the most important skills, right?

C/OG: C Carlton T. is slow to develop and his rookie free agent backup looks more promising at this point. All the guards are fair players with marginal skills in pass and run blocking. I am going to pass the ball a lot more last year, so there was some turnover all across the line.

OT: Sophomore BJ Montgomery is good, but his skills are down a bit from last season. He's still the 2nd best player on the team, and I hope he'll be more productive than last years 27.7 Block% season. Linquist is a good pass blocker... I'm actually going to move him to start at RT after this post.

P/K: Last year's all pro punter :rolleyes: was cut. His replacement is 53/74 in kicking power. Rookie K Willie Coleman is very accurate and average in power and kickoff hangtime.

DE: McNalley is unfortunately gone, likely for his career. He had a very good skillset and we will miss him. The other DEs look decent this year, though low endurance across the board might be problematic.

DT: Low Endurance is a problem here also, but all the DTs are 60-70 futures in run blocking. I have enough strength here to run my preferred 4-3 defense.

LB: Pretty much the same group as last year. I cut my rookie 6th round pick as he failed to boom. Pretty good ratings in run defense, bump coverage and pass rush tech across the board.

CB: Arends is still a stud and last year's 7th round pick Kerry Van Dam is not far behind. Everyone is solid at B&R and interceptions and most are good at play diagnosis as well.

S: I will start two rookies here. Both are spectacular in coverage and one of them or perhaps Runnels will play dime back as well as start at safety.

Good News: We didn't have to wait long for the first win of the season. It was ugly, but we'll tkae what we can get. I cannot understand what is going on with the passing game. We should not be as bad as we have been the last two seasons.

Bad News: Ryan Ackerman is Out 5 weeks with a pulled calf muscle. I hope this isn't an omen.

This is about what I expected. We were dreadful--especially our passing offense which has been even worse than could be expected. There were no real praiseworthy players either--this year we got completely shut out of the post season awards. The lone bright spot was that we held our opponents to under 6 yards per passing attempt.

We will receive the 3rd or 4th pick in next years draft.

In other news, Atlanta makes it to the super bowl for the 3rd straight year and loses for the 3rd straight time... this time to the #6 seed Houston Texans(8-8, outscored in regular season) from the AFC who put together a fairy tale playoff run. Two time defending champion Baltimore Ravens went 7-9 and failed to make the playoffs.

2007 Post Season:

Staff Hiring: I try to hire a new Scout and Head Coach, but the only guys worth having are snatched up by someone with more money. I raise ticket prices.

Free Agency:

I sign a solid 3rd yeard center Pete to a 3-year minsal deal with a $540,000 bonus for $1,920,000 total. Pete should step right in and start. 26/42 run block, 23/65 pass, 60 strength, 63/75 endurance.

Draft:

I have the #3 overall pick. Unfortunately, there is a high likelihood I'm going to get hosed with this pick. The top 2 players(DEs) will likely be taken and then there are no players at positions of need until the 7th spot down the list.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1(3) Tim Katt, DE, Kansas - Rating: 35/70 40: 4.9 BP: 33 Agi: 7.1 Sole: 30
Rnd 2(3) Erik Dotson, WR, Western Michigan - Rating: 36/56 40: 4.3 BP: 24 Agi: 6.9 Sole: 31
Rnd 3(3) Chad Urlacher, OLB, Houston - Rating: 43/65 40: 4.7 BP: 22 Agi: 7.3 Sole: 19
Rnd 4(3) Leland Prescott, G, Akron - Rating: 21/53 40: 5.2 BP: 42 Agi: 7.9 Sole: 29
Rnd 5(3) Frank Jarvis, C, Syracuse - Rating: 20/51 40: 5.0 BP: 41 Agi: 7.8 Sole: 16
Rnd 6(3) Ronald Wilcox, DT, Michigan - Rating: 21/42 40: 5.0 BP: 31 Agi: 7.7 Sole: 15
Rnd 7(3) Cory Downs, DE, Central Michigan - Rating: 22/36 40: 4.8 BP: 30 Agi: 7.5 Sole: 18

I'm very pleased with how the draft turned out. The top 5 players had minor-major breakouts and the 6th and 7th round D linemen will hopefully shore up an area of weakness.

The biggest breakout is Chad Urlacher, who broke out >10 rating points. He will be a star. DE Tim Katt was a reach(I passed on stars at CB, S and RB to take him), but he fills an area of need(and a position that's really hard to fill) and he is rock solid. Erik Dotson has all-world measurables at WR. I expect him to be our #1 starter from day 1.

The 4th and 5th round lineman are slanted towards run blocking, but they will be much better than the scrubs I started last year. Between Dotson, Prescott and Jarvis as well as FA Pete Robbins, I expect our offense to be much improved.

I forgot to post the pre-season roster overview, so I will post the post season roster and go over individual players with the season summary.

Sweet! First winning season. Missed the playoff by a game(had the tiebreaker over Denver who went 10-6) I knew that a 9-7 season was a possibility, but after starting 2-4, I didn't think it was too likely. After the week 7 bye, we came back and won 7 of 10 including 4 straight to cap off the season.

We were very good passing the ball and we absolutely dominated opposing passing games on defense.



Rookie WR Dotson was excellent--he won 2nd team WR award but was inexplicably passed over for offensive ROTY for an inferior season by a rookie RB from the Texans. 2nd year TE Trent Fisher also played very well--catching 58/87 balls for 700 yards and 2 TDs.

I switched to a medium-long passing game that seemed to work nicely. Ackerman missed 4 games this season, but Banks filled in adequately. Ackerman reached 92/95 at the end of the season, so I'm expecting fireworks in '08.

Despite revamping the O line, RB Warren had another marginal season--dropping to 3.8 y/c. Seidman was a good change of pace/receiving back. Next year, both RBs will be back and I will make Seidman the starter again because of his far superior receiving production.

On defense, our front 7 seemed to be unproductive again and I tend to think that our superb cover corners and safeties are responsible for our success in pass defense. Once again we led the league in rushing y/c allowed. Neither of the star defensive rookies were particularly impressive and Katt's pass rush technique is a mediocre 18/44--I am starting to regret my decision to pick him. Maybe if I'd drafted that 35/86 safety we would have allowed 4.5 y/a instead of 5.5. :D

Btw, if you read this thread, let me know what you think. Thanks. :cool:

2008 Post Season:

Staff Hiring: Same four staff as I've had the last three years running. I couldn't make any moves because the demands were too high. I posted a profit loss this year and I was like 30 million under the cap or more so staff hiring might get worse before it gets better.

Free Agency:

I sign RT Les Hoang to a 3-year, $2.88m deal in week 20 of free agency. He is a 4th year player rated 43/53 with 56/65 run block, 34/50 pass, 42 strength, 41/48 endurance. He's a three year starter, but his numbers have been mediocre--30.3 key block% and 1.9 sack%.

Amateur Draft:

This year I have the 17th pick. I am not particularly enthused with the players that fall to me. Again the BPAs are safeties. I end up taking a 24/70 linebacker with good measurables. This was a weak draft and by the 6th round I just couldn't find promising players.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1(17) Jared Upshaw, OLB, Savannah State - Rating: 24/68 40: 4.6 BP: 21 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 27
Rnd 2(17) Morris Jacobs, S, California - Rating 31/61 40: 4.4 BP: 27 Agi: 7.1 Sole: 34
Rnd 3(17) J.R. Green, WR, Georgia Tech - Rating: 24/41 40: 4.5 BP: 22 Agi: 7.1 Sole: 18
Rnd 4(17) Bryce Dotson, DT, Texas Christian - Rating: 20/51 40: 5.0 BP: 28 Agi: 7.5 Sole: 31
Rnd 5(17) Tom Tyler, ILB, Miami, Florida - Rating: 20/51 40: 4.7 BP: 22 Agi: 7.6 Sole: 30
Rnd 6(17) Bill Tiller, ILB, Texas Southern - Rating: 21/45 40: 4.8 BP: 24 Agi: 7.4 Sole: 29
Rnd 7(17) A.J. Bensen, T, Louisiana State - Rating: 11/45 40: 5.4 BP: 31 Agi: 7.8 Sole: 12

Couldn't pass up Jacobs in 2, his combine was just too damn good. 4 or so of these guys should start this year and the rest should make the roster. I hope Dotson and the LBs will improve our run defense, probably our biggest leak last year.

10-step Free Agency: I bring in 20 rookie free agents or so--relatively austere and then get to work resigning my restricted free agents.

Here is the summary of my signings. I still have to sign Upshaw.



81 Players on the roster going into camp. Much more managable than previous seasons.

First championship!
 

Woohoo, just won my first championship. Comments to follow. Here is the end of season summary:


Season Awards:

DE Tim Katt - Front Office Bowl MVP (3.5 Sacks in the championship game)
LT B.J. Montgomery - 1st Team Offensive Tackle (48/137 key run blocks; 6 sacks allowed in 485 pass attempts).
CB Donovan Arends - 1st Team Cornerback(6 Ints, 22 Pass Defenses; 65 Tackles, 21 Assists)

I am shocked that we won the championship this year. After week one of the regular season, I lost starters C Pete Robbins and LB Chad Urlacher for the duration. I lost both my starting CBs during the playoffs--the last two playoff games I started 4 safeties in my defensive backfield.

We got off to a dominating 9-0 start, but then went 2-5 and went from #1 seed to #5. The offense played great all season.

QB Ackerman, though he was snubbed in the post season, posted awesome numbers in his 15 starts. Ackerman is now 99/99 overall in only his 3rd year!

RB Warren responded to my threat to bench him this season with a banner year--over 2,000 yards from scrimmage and 8 touchdowns on 392 touches. Seidman was subpar all season and caught only 7 passes, down from and average of ~32 over his first three seasons. FB Donovan led the charge for the RBs with 19 Key Run Blocks in 52 opportunities.

The receivers contributed heartily as well. Erik Dotson averaged over 20 yards per catch for most of the season. WR McKelvey, an Irish Catholic who grew up in Kailua, HI and was undrafted from small school Adams State was surprisingly explosive and led all Chargers in Touchdowns scored. Unfortunately, he missed 3 playoff games with injuries.

The Offensive Line was very effective. 4/5 starters had KRB%s over 32 and Montgomery was named a 1st team all pro. The unit surrendered only 27 sacks(5th lowest in the league) all season.

The subpar defense was carried by our offensive juggernaut. We allowed 20.5 pts/game and led the league in yards/carry allowed for at least the third straight year. Outside of our superlative defensive backs and DE Carlisle's flukey 13.5 sack, 21 hurry season, no one distinguished themself.

Victory is sweet. I think we have a solid chance at repeating. Resigning LT Montgomery will be expensive, but we're still $32.6m under the cap for now, even if I have to look ahead to Ackerman's Free Agency in the 2011 off-season.

2009 Off Season

Staff Hiring: Once again, same 4 guys, still hurting for cash.

Free Agency: LT B.J. Montgomery signs to a 6-year, $68m deal. I simply won't pay that much for BJ, who is only 64 run block, 63 pass block, 86 strength, 67 endurance.

Not much to see on the free agent market. I sign WR Kyle Lyons from the Raiders to an affordable 2.2m, 3 year deal in week 20.

Draft: Obviously I pick 32nd overall. I'd like to find a good Left Tackle and improve my front seven.

Rnd 1 - Mao Hall, C, Cal. - Poly SLO -- Rating: 24/79 40: 4.9 BP: 32 Agi: 7.7 Sole: 20
Rnd 2 - Arnie Hebert, CB, Georgia -- Rating: 28/55 40: 4.5 BP: 22 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 35
Rnd 3 - Gerald Brandon, WR, Rutgers -- Rating: 20/52 40: 4.5 BP: 22 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 26
Rnd 4 - Rick Cave, T, Colorado -- Rating: 12/61 40: 5.5 BP: 31 Agi: 7.7 Sole: 32
Rnd 5 - Cris Ferguson, DT, Florida State -- Rating: 21/46 40: 5.1 BP: 30 Agi: 7.6 Sole: 17
Rnd 6 - Terrell Lavan, OLB, St. Francis, Pa. -- Rating: 17/40 40: 4.6 BP: 20 Agi: 7.3 Sole: 31
Rnd 7 - Mo Rogers, G, SW Missouri St. -- Rating: 18/37 40: 5.1 BP: 25 Agi: 7.8 Sole: 39

Rick cave broke out 11 points after the draft--sweet! He looks like a solid starter at LT.

Mao Hall will start somewhere on the interior. I let my scout autopick Mo Rogers, he might or might not make the roster.

CB Hebert and WR Brandon should contribute in reserve roles. Somehow my vaunted CB depth has dwindled to nothing.

Terrell Lavan is nothing more than a reserve backer unless he booms. DT Ferguson will have a shot at starting, DT is still a weak position.

I'm reading.... entertaining... :)

Congrats on the first championship!

Congrats also.

Any chance of seeing a screenie of Ackerman? 99/99! :eek:

Congratulations. Quite an amazing quarterback. Hopefully he won't be too upset that you let his blindside protector go.

I'm looking to start up a similar career this weekend, so this thread has my interest.

Backup LT Lindquist is a solid pass protector. Montgomery's loss is going to hurt even more in the run game--I ran like 40% of my runs to his part of the line and we led the league in rush attempts. I will probably go more pass-heavy this year.

2009 10-step Free Agency:

WR Erik Dotson holds out for a 5-year, $44.5m contract. As much as it pains me, I'm going to have to refuse his offers and hope he comes back to the team. He's a monster, but I can't pay that much and he has no leverage--the guy is a restricted free agent after this season.

Here is a lit of major transactions this off-season:



We added two new receivers and resigned Kyle Lyons, so we'll be alright even if Dotson wants to sit home on the couch, eat pork rinds and watch soap operas.

I will post an updated roster after exhibition season. This year I enter camp with 76 players.

2009 Regular Season Roster

8-0 and looking great. Our defense has really turned it around against the run and WR Hutchins carried the load until Dotson returned in week 5 from his ill advised hold out. They continue to dominate opposing passers--we're allowing only 5.83 yards/attempt and our scouting report reveals that opponents have completed only 12/66 deep passes for 360 yards this season!

The offensive linemen are pass protecting like champions despite the loss of blindside anchor B.J. Montgomery. The unit has allowed only 8 sacks all year--lowest in the league--AND we lead the league in passing yards. Ackerman has coped well with the pressure of carrying the offense on his shoulders. The loss of 4-year starter TE Trent Fisher for 18 weeks to a high ankle sprain is a big blow, however. He has been one of our leading receivers the past two years.

Rushing numbers are down(1st last year in carries to last this year!) and I put this squarely on the shoulders of the loss of Montgomery, who was the focal point of our rushing offense last year. I had to change the gameplan to focus more on passing.

The pressure is on. No team has ever gone undefeated in the era of 16-game regular seasons. More importantly, I have never gone undefeated in an entire season(including playoffs) in FOF 2004. :D

I will post box scores for the next two games after they're played.

15-0
 

Next week: We host Kansas City at Home. We clinched the AFC last week, but we've decided to leave the starters in. That is...with one exception. Unfortunately QB Ryan Ackerman tore a thumb ligament(Questionable) and he won't be full strength for 6 weeks. Drama anyone?

Kansas City has a lot to play for. They are 9-6 and vying for the #6 seed with 9-6 New England.

Attendance: 47,200 (71,600).

:eek:

Something tells me this game would be sold out.

Well, we took home a narrow win here. KC averaged more yards per play than us and there was a notable drop off from Ackerman to Banks, but we simply weren't going to lose this game. The win sends KC home for the playoffs and gives me a shot at my first 19-0 FOF 2004 season.

Bad news: Starting CB Donovan Arends will miss the playoffs again. Starting FS Geoff Abrams and backup FS Deon Runnels are also out with serious injuries. I am torn on whether to play Ackerman or not... no pun intended.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

That would have been an embarassing loss. Apparently we were hurt desperately by the loss of three defensive backs in one week. I may have to alter the defensive game plan next week to compensate.

On the bright side, Banks filled in well. If he hadn't had such an excellent game, we surely would have lost:


CHRIST. I just saw that we lost two MORE starters including ANOTHER starting defensive back and our starting LT. Unbelievable. We're going to be starting 6/13 defensive backs in the conference championship because of my house rules. Oh yeah, my backup LT is a rookie with 9 run block and 6 pass block and he's questionable. %#_@*&%#_*)(&

Another game that was way closer than it would have been if weren't missing so many starters. Two more starters are questionable for next week, but Arends is miraculously recovered enough to play and I'm not going to sit the questionable guys for the championship game.

We face 13-3 Chicago in the championship game. We are battered and bruised, but not broken. Chicago is riding a 14 game winning streak of their own into this game. Without further ado:


We simply demolished them. They were in the game at half time, but we scored off an interception at the beginning of the third quarter and then hung another one on them in our next possession. Ackerman was brilliant as usual and the defense held them to 3.9 yards/play.

UNDEFEATED BABY! From 0-16 to 16-0 in 4 seasons.

Season Awards:

QB Ryan Ackerman: MVP, Championship MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, 1st Team Quarterback
WR Erik Dotson: 1st Team Wide Receiver
WR Bobby Hutchins: 1st Team Wide Receiver
FS Morris Jacobs: 1st Team Safety

Dotson is particularly impressive, as he held out for the first 3 weeks and still led the league in receiving yards and TDs and was second in catches.

Other notables who didn't receive league awards:

RB Bucky Warren scored a team high 17 touchdowns and gained 1650 yards from scrimmage. He fumbled only once in over 330 carries. I said from the beginning that this kid would be a star and so far he's making me look good.

DE Tim Katt lead the team with 11.5 sacks, but he hurried the quarterback only 17 times...a sign that his sack numbers were somewhat anomalous. I must give him at least some of the credit for the turnaround on run defense because he's the best run defender on the team.

CB Donovan Arends didn't put up the interception numbers he did in 2008 when he was named 1st team cornerback, but he defended 21 passes and made 64 tackles and was the leader of a defense that allowed only 15 points per game(2nd in league), forced 28 turnovers(4th) and held opponents to 5.8 yards per pass attempt(1st).

I have a lot of FAs I'd like to resign, but no one critical. C Pete Robbins, LT Marvin Linquist, MLB Charles Paulson and FB Donovan Acevedo were starters last season that are now on the market. WR Erik Dotson is restricted, but may prove to be unsignable. C Frank Jarvis will probably be back and starting at G. I have to stay fiscally responsible and hardball my UFAs to save cap room for Ackerman's huge payday next year--I hit negotiate salary to gauge his demands and he's asked for $120 million over 6 years. I will pay it next year if I can get him back.

Just wanted to say ....This is a great read...
everyone Ive talked to loves it
KEEP UP THE HARD WORK

96 catches from Dotson in just 13 games is mighty impressive, imagine if he was in camp!

I think in the Ackerman era, anything less than a championship season will be a big dissapointment. You have to just give him whatever he wants when he hits FA.

2010 Post Season

Staff Hiring: Same 4 guys back for another year.

Free Agency: I sign promising 5th year DE Vernon Messerly from the Atlanta Falcons to a 3-yr $3.3m contract. Messerly is a pass rushing specialist with adequate run defense. He has played 64 games, started 22 and accrued 18.5 sacks and 36 hurries. He should start on week one.

I will go over the resignings after the 10-step period. No other teams signed any of my players.

Once again, I pick 32nd overall in a talent depleted draft.

Rnd 1 - Jeffrey Ochs, WR, Arizona State - Rating: 29/62 40: 4.3 BP: 17 Agi: 6.8 Sole: 27
Rnd 2 - Earl Morici, OLB, Brigham Young - Rating: 31/56 40: 4.6 BP: 23 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 26
Rnd 3 - Timothy Stennett, C, Wagner - Rating: 23/68 40: 5.1 BP: 38 Agi: 7.8 Sole: 13
Rnd 4 - Roderick Franklin, RB, S. Connecticut St. - Rating: 25/40 40: 4.5 BP: 19 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 14
Rnd 5 - Harry Billmaier, WR, Rutgers - Rating: 24/39 40: 4.4 BP: 23 Agi: 6.9 Sole: 29
Rnd 6 - Barry Ducrot, CB, Texas Tech - Rating: 17/42 40: 4.4 BP: 14 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 36
Rnd 7 - Will Sinclair, G, South Carolina - Autopicked and released.

WR Bobby Hutchins holds out. I'm sick of these primadonna WRs.

10-step Free Agency:

I fail to resign Dotson and he signs with Denver. For $460k. :mad:

I also tried to wait out my FB to drive down his contract demands and he ended up getting snatched by some other team. Oh well, our need for a top run blocking fullback is low right now. Here is a transaction summary:



I enter cap with 76 players and I'm still 20.5m under the cap. I should have room to resign Ackerman next year.

2010 Opening Day Roster

The streak is over at 28 consecutive wins going back to the wild card round in the 2008 playoffs. Ackerman threw 4 picks in an uncharacteristic performance.


We're now 2nd in the division to the 5-1 Raiders. The 4-1 Broncos aren't far behind even though Erik Dotson suffered a torn ACL and will miss the whole season.

Ackerman threw only 1 pick in the other 7 games in the first half.

We've been unstoppable on offense and defense. Many experts think the 1973 dolphins where better than the undefeated 1972 team. I'm inclined to say that the same is true of the 2010 chargers compared to the 2009 undefeated squad. We're top 3 in every meaningful defensive category and we're outscoring our opponents by 20 points/game. I'm getting used to the idea that my individual defensive players are never going to put up great numbers. What a tragedy for a stathead like me!

Disappointment strikes. We just got knocked out of the Conference Championship game by the 11-4-1 2nd seed Steelers.


This is what happens when you allow the other team to rush for over 6.1 yards/carry. Comparisons to the 1973 Dolphins were premature. We should have won this game easily. I'm very disappionted.

Edit: :o :o :o
I accidentally played Seth Banks in both playoff games. What a dumb mistake. He played fine, but this might have been the difference between winning and losing.

Stupid, very stupid. :rolleyes:

We had another banner year passing the football with only a slight decline from the loss of star WR Erik Dotson. The running game was subpar this year, probably because Warren&Seidman(sounds like a law firm) have to run out of passing sets most of the time.

We were unquestionably the best defense in the league.

Free Agent signing DE Messerly gained 11 sacks and 29 hurries.

OLB Urlacher, once thought to be a future star, recovered from two injury plagued seasons to post 8 sacks, 7 hurries, 4 pass blocks and 7 pass defenses. In this defense, those are great numbers.

The defensive backfield continued their quiert dominance. Arends missed 5 games. The backfield still intercepted 23 passes and defended 108 moreand thus we allowed the 2nd fewest pass completions of any team despite being passed on more than anyone except the Pittsburgh steelers who ended up knocking us off in the Conference championship.

Ackerman only won 2nd team qb award this year. Oliver Kingsblood posted a far inferior season and of course won every award in the book.

Bobby Hutchins won 2nd team wr.

I am a little too disgusted with the loss to go into much more this season. I am going to work on signing Ackerman and setting the team up for their 3rd championship.

2011 Off-Season:

Staff Hiring:

Frustratingly, my scout retires and I get stuck with a worse scout who is poor in Offensive Line. Low finances are killing me and when I actually spend to the salary cap I'm going to get killed on staff hiring.

Free Agency:

I resign Ackerman for 5 years: $18,420,000 signing bonus and $18,420,000 salary. My owner wouldn't let me offer more or I would have made it a 7-year deal.

Draft:

Rnd 1 - Dixon Lake, FB, Ohio State - Rating: 55/68 Dash: 4.7 BP: 36 Agi: 7.1 Sole: 34
Rnd 2 - Arnold Tindale, WR, Vanderbilt - Rating: 22/47 Dash: 4.5 BP: 22 Agi: 7.2 Sole: 34
Rnd 3 - Antoine Harrelson, CB, Iowa - Rating: 21/54 Dash: 4.5 BP: 13 Agi: 6.9 Sole: 12
Rnd 4 - Gus Pearson, DE, Texas A&M - Rating: 25/41 Dash: 4.9 BP: 30 Agi: 7.7 Sole: 34
Rnd 5 - Bobby Blair, CB, Washington - Rating: 20/32 Dash: 4.6 BP: 13 Agi: 7.0 Sole: 34
Rnd 6 - James Carmody, DE, Idaho - Rating: 17/38 Dash: 5.0 BP: 27 Agi: 7.5 Sole: 34
Rnd 7 - Kelvin Strobel, DE, Miami, Ohio - Rating: 18/39 Dash: 4.9 BP: 25 Agi: 7.4 Sole: 34

Ugh. Worst draft yet. A lot of players busted too--like I said my scout is a nogoodnik.

Here is my post season transaction report.



I've got 71 players on the roster and I'm only $480k under the cap. Yikes, even with my rabid fiscal responsibility I'm going to run into problem with the salary cap very shortly. Still, I am very pleased to have Ackerman back and to have resigned so many key players. We are poised for another championship run.

Edit: I just had to cut Scott Willmer because he actually was illegal according to the 2005 rule. Damn, wasted my once/year free agent signing and took a dead cap hit to boot.

Here is the roster before week 3:

Speaking of week 3. Vengeance is mine, Steelers! 45-5. They owned us again running the football, unfortunately. Their starting tailback average 8.5 y/c.

The Chargers do the impossible... again.
 

Ho-hum. Another undefeated regular season. :D I'll go over player performances, etc at season's end.

Next up: We face the 9-8 Miami Dolphins in the 2nd round. We are 11 point favorites at home.

Unnecessarily narrow victory. We had the game in hand 24-0 and let within a score by game end. Still, a win is a win.

Conference Championship: We are favored by 13 against the 11-7 Cincinatti Bengals.

No surprises this time, we rout them. The game is well in hand before half time.

Game ball goes to Ackerman of course, for his 5-TD performance:


Championship Game: 1 more win to go to put up an unprecedent second 19-0 season. We are favored by 4 points--that might be the least we've been favored by all season.

Scouting Report on Cardinals

Scouting Report on Chargers

On paper, we match up well. They're a good medium long passing team that is vulnerable to medium-long passes. We crush medium-long passing teams and rely on it to carry our offense.