Group Think - 1990 Regular Season
 

Pensacola (0-0) (-3) at Little Rock (0-0)


Injuries:
WLB Alan Martinez, Questionable, Pulled Groin, 3 weeks
WLB Rufus Horn, Probable, Shoulder Tendinitis, 3 weeks
SE Everett Rose, Probable, Abdominal Strain, 1 week

Well I am not sure you can ask for a better first game then that.

I am obviouslt thrilled with the defensive performance. Only 3 points allowed, 5 turnovers, 3 sacks and 6 hurries. Very nice!

Great first effort.

My reservations about the entire OPU concept are growing by leaps and bounds...

Growing which way?

Great first game... and I told you Davison makes my life easy... if only the others were like him... Great game by the defence, and the offence.. not a whole lot of talent, but the coordinators did I great job on the game plan.

Little Rock (1-0) at Norfolk (1-0) (-2)


Injuries:
WLB Alan Martinex, Questionable, Pulled Groin, 2 weeks
WLB Rufus Horn, Probable, Shoulder Tendinitis, 2 weeks

Little Rock (1-1) (-2) at Cheyenne (0-2)


Injuries:

WR Everett Rose, Probable, Bruised Shoulder, 1 week
RT Blaine Johnston, Probable, Bruised Shoulder, 1 week
WLB Rufus Horn, Probable, Shoulder Tendinitis, 1 week
TE Billy Hutchins, Probable, Knee Bursitis, 1 week
WLB Alan Martinez, Probable, Pulled Groin, 1 week

Little Rock (1-2) at Wheeling (1-2) (-2)


Injuries:
WR Everett Rose, Probable, Bruised Shoulder, 1 Week
TE Billy Hutchins, Probable, Knee Bursitis, 2 Weeks

I don't have somewhere to host at the moment, going to try and get it.. if i can't, who can i e-mail these too?

FYI - The Ox leads the league in both ypc and yards... He's already over 500 yards in his first 4 games..

Can you just zip and post here, like we have been doing all along?

Our FB Baker seems to be getting more carrier than he deserves... is this a function of a fairly balanced setting, that might be worthy of a revisiting? I'd rather see most of those 4-8 carries going to our backup RBs, rather than the FB. (Not that he's foing poorly, but he clearly has lower upside than our reserve RBs)

How do you post directly here? I did not realize that was an option, please teach me! :)

As for the FB, I can adjust.. his running is set anywhere from 3-5, I can bump it down to 0-2 except in blow outs perhaps... I agree, I would rather our backup RBs running also..

wade, when you do a formal reply (not a fast reply) it is an option... check it out. There's a file size limit of juat over 1MB, so you may have to break it into two or more pieces, like I have been doing.

The offense is really rolling!

Looks like we are averaging slightly over 30 pts a game. Good job!

QS, gotta grab the files, as they are at home.. but I can get someone at home to e-mail them to me when they wake up, thanks for the heads up..

Bee,

Yup. .a little over 30 and #1 in the league..

Sadly, I think someone else should take over as the AFC/NFC West Scout. Suddenly, I've got a trial set each week for the four weeks.

I will, however, observe and chime in when I'm not trying to lock up a bad guy.;)

Sorry, guys.:(

What would you like me to do?
 

I am checking in to see what type scouting or other tasks you would like me to do. I was away when the first game was played.

Great game plan and execution.

I am ready and able if required.

Sadly the defense is also giving up like 30 points a game. And I was so happy after our first game. :)

I am going to tweak the defense some today once I get the files from wade. I am off of work today so I have time to run the next four games if everyone is ready. Or do we want to give poeple some time to digest this stuff?

Wade,

I would suggest making any tweaks you want to the file before you upoad it that way we don't have to do them through screen shots.

Prime- personally I would like to get some more games done tonight, but that is just me.

I am also having some major computer problems and will not have access to FOF4 for a while (hopefully i can fix it myself sometime soon)...but I will still be following this very closely.

Prime,

Working on getting the files... Don't have gurus at home with the computer ;)... Getting stuff done tonight would be great! I don't think there are any wholesale changes that are going to need to be made..

Zip File 1..

Zip File 2...

Prime, all of my changes (or lack there of) are in there..

Crap.. actually.. I didn't change the FB % (because I don't have the game here and QS mentioned it after I was at work).. if you don't mind, you could bump the FB run % to 1 on all situations...

If not, we'll be fine without it..

bump for those who did not see the files..

Just a little something I noticed.

Little Rock
Screen Passes 8 for 14 66 yards
Long Passes 4 for 14 122 Yards

What's this QB rated for screens and long passes?

ps...I don't have the game

Screen: 53
Long: 18


I've been thinking about having him throw a little bit longer, but the offense is working.. we lead the league in scoring, so i don't want to mess with a good thing..

Obviously the defense needs some work....

but here are some defensive stats.

Opponents Rushing: Carries-Yards-YPC
Left 26-95 yards-3.65
Middle 50-190 yards-3.8
Right 18-199 yards-11.06

Looks like that left side needs some serious help. You are going with a 3-4, right? Have you guys posted the DL/LB ratings anywhere?

BTW, even though they allowed 112yds to the right side in one game, the other games YPC are over 7.0. So that single game hasn't really skewed the results.


Opponents Passing: Comp-Att-Yards-YPA
Screen 9-15-29 yds- 1.93
Short 31-46-189yds-4.11
Medium 21-41-289yds-7.05
Long 6-20-193 yds-9.65


I wonder if the medium passes YPA are so high due to the LB's or the Safeties. Since the Long passes have a low completion rate, I'm thinking it might be the LB's. I wish I could somehow see the ratings for those guys....

I agree we need some run help on the left side, but we really don't have ant better options on the bench. I may bring the SS up a little more often to help in run support, but I am concerned with doing that in our defensive scheme.

Week 5

No Game

Week 6


Injuries

TE Billy Hutchins - Probable 1 week

Week 7


Injuries

SE Everett Rose Probable 1 week
RCB Alan Varner Probable Unknown

We just aren't getting it done on defense. The problem is we just aren't getting any pressure on the QB other than Davison. We clearly need to look into DLineman in the offseason.

In the mean time I am going to up the blitzing by our LB's. We need to get some more pressure on the offense. They are pickign the zone apart with all that time to pass.

Week 8


Injuries

SE Everett Rose Probable 2 weeks
RCB Alan Varner Probable Unknown
LCB Preston LaRichie Out 2 weeks
LT Hardy Wooldridge Probable 1 week

Week 9


Injuries

SE Everett Rose Probable 1 week
RCB Alan Varner Probable Unknown
LCB Preston LaRichie Probable 1 week

Updated file #1

Updated file #2

Ouch- those were a rough 4 games...One good thing I noticed from just quickly looking over the game logs was our 1st round pick McAllister seemed to be starting to catch more passes, but The 'Ox' really stunk it up in those last few games. Is 36 Baker our FB, or backup RB? He seems to be doing pretty good.

Also- as I mentioned earlier I am having some really bad computer problems...so i won't have access to the game for quite a while so I will be able to follow but not be very active as a scout...but once I get my computer working I will be very active again.

Baker is that running backw e took in the 6th round of the draft.

1990 MIDSEASON REPORT

Team Statistics:
Rushing Offense: 1150 yards (2nd)
Rushing ypc: 4.3 (4.0 Avg)
Rushing Defense: 879 yards (15th)
Rushing ypc allowed: 4.1 (4.0 avg)
Passing Offense: 1664 yards (19th)
Passing yd/a: 6.6 (6.4 avg)
Passing Defense: 1628 yards (7th)
Passing yd/a allowed: 6.3 (6.4 avg)
Points Avg: 26.5 (1st)
Points Allowed Avg: 26.7 (32nd)
Turnover Margin: +2 (14th)

Individual Statistics:

Leading Passers:
QB Roger Pritchett - 146 of 248, 1650 yards, 16 TD, 5 INT, 91.9 Rating (6th)

Leading Rushers:
RB Brent Oksenberg - 163 carries, 725 yards (4th), 4.4 ypc, 4 TD
RB Keith Baker - 57 carries, 271 yards, 4.7 ypc, 2 TD

Leading Receivers:
WR Kenny McAlister - 29 catches, 350 yards, 1 TD, 5 Drops
RB Brent Oksenberg - 26 cathces, 229 yards, 1 TD, 2 Drops
WR Wayne Hill - 24 catches, 364 yards, 3 TD, 4 Drops
FB Renaldo Clancy - 18 catches, 123 yards, 3 TD, 1 Drop

Leading Blockers:
G Calving Gaines - 20 of 52 KRBs, 1 SkA
C Clarence Cates - 18 of 48 KRBs, 2 SkA
T Hardy Woolridge - 9 of 30 KRBs, 7 SkA

Leading Returners:
I don't even want to talk about it..

Leading Tacklers:
S Donnie Bridgeman - 48 tackles, 13 assists
ILB Lonnie Bell - 47 tackles, 21 assists

Leading Pass Rushers:
DE C.J. Davison - 25 tackles, 6 assists, 6 sacks, 2 Blocked, 9 Hurries
DE Gabe Blow - 7 tackles, 8 assists, 3.5 sacks, 2 Blocked, 5 Hurries

Leading Pass Defenders:
S Donnie Bridgeman - 2 INT, 5 Defensed, 15 Caught, 20.2 PDPct
ILB Lonnie Bell - 1 INT, 6 Defensed, 19 Caught, 19.5 PDPct
CB Alonze Armstrong - 0 INT, 5 Defensed, 22 caught, 18.6 PDPct

I'm not sure where to go with the offense here... we still lead the league in scoring, but the last few games have been very nonproductive in the running game overall (3.2, 7.1, 2.2, 1.6 ypc in the last 4 games). However, at the same time, we have yet to put up less than 21 points in a game. I don't know that you can ask for much more from an offense, particuraly one that is this thrown together and was thought to be the weak point of the team. One thing I considered was "opening it up more", going for more long balls, etc. However, as it is, our defense appears to be out there on the field too much, and that would only make them out there even further.

What I believe I will do is adjust it so that when we are behind we throw a little more than we are now, and a little further than we are now, to come back from defecits a little better -- Halftime scores of 21-12, 21-0, and 24-7 in the last 3 games. However, the we did rack up some points after falling behind, and the offense does open up more once we fall behind by more than 14.

So, upon rambling here is what I'm thinking about doing:

Right now the -10 to -27 deficit has me throwing longer, but beyond that the numbers look the same. I believe I will change the normal downs to start throwing a little bit longer and see how that goes.

Prime, let me know any changes you want to make, I'm not sure if you've made all changes yet, and I can run the games this evening sometime..

Any other thoughts on things we should change?

Rushing Breakdown:

Left - 66 carries, 359 yards, 5.4 ypc
Middle - 195 carries, 493 yards, 3.0 ypc
Right - 65 carries, 266 yards, 4.0 ypc

Perhpas I will also decrease my running to the inside and move it outside.

I wanted to break down passing by distance, but I have to get to work now.

The "Ox" is stronger running to the outside so I'd agree with increasing the outside running a little and see if his numbers go up.

Sorry for my previous comment about RB Baker - I, too, didn't remembner he was a RB, and not a FB. What is the current role for the RB we took in round two? Is he getting any playing time, or is he limited to short-duty situations?

(okay, checked the game files) - So, Carwford is getting one or two carries a game, and Baker is getting about seven. I guess I have no particular problem with that, I gues it just reflects a bit poorly on the second round investment in Crawford. Perhaps we deal a RB this offseason?

Bee,

Agreed.. I had the inside pretty beefy because our Tackles really don't have a very good run blocking number (just look at Wooldridge's stats), but I'm thinking now that Ox seems to make up for that with pure talent.. At this point what can we lose?

QS,

The problem is the inability to really distinguish Two RBs in the gameplan.. What I would have loved is a "Thunder and Lightning" attack.. however, what I set for one RB gameplan applies for all.. So, I can't tell it "when you run to the inside, run Crawford" . I tell it, "run to the outside X amount" So, the only way to assure that Crawford isn't used for outside running, is to have him be the short yardage back. If you or anyone has a suggestion for how to get around this issue, I'm all ears.

I'm not sure I agree with the stated goal here. He admittedly has a poor rating for "elusiveness" but I don't think that necessarily links to "ability to run outside." That skill, I think, is more closely connected to the rating for "speed to outside" where Crawford gets a sold rating of 62.

Indeed, elusiveness, in the game's own help files, supposedly translates to:



So, while I really don't have an argument with the production we're getting from our current backs, and I don't necessarily demand a change... I just want to offer (in the spirit of cooperation and all) that I think Crawford is getting short shrift here. We drafted him early, looking for him to be our main backup RB, and now he's relegated to extremely limited duty.

Maybe it would be fair to give Crawford the #2 job for the second half of the season? Get him a fair number fo balanced carries (not just on third-and-one) and see what he can do? It's not like it would compromise our perfect season or anything.

Just a thought... I don't have deep feelings about the matter, really.

Just for kicks, here's what would happen if, for instance, we traded Oksenberg at the beginning of next year:

Net effect on salcap for 1991: -$7.0m
(his contract calls for $7m in salary, plus $2.86 in bonus)

Net effect on salcap in 1992: +$6.0m
(four years remaining, at $1.5m each - taken all in one season)

If he comes out of this year as one of the league's leading rushers, and also has solid ratings to go with that, I'm guessing we could get a very good pick for him. Put that into the "for what it's worth" category for now.

I still think Crawford was a good pick up. Baker was a steal, but we didn't know at the time we took Crawford that someone like Baker would be available in the 6th round.

I'd rather keep Crawford personally. He's under contract for 4 years at a reasonable salary. Our RB situation is in excellent shape right now and is sewed up for at least 3 years. If any move is made, I'd look at maybe getting rid of the "Ox" in a year or two if our young guys continue to get better. He's taking a big chunk of the salary cap and isn't significantly better than our young guys. If they improve next year, he might become expendable.

Edit: Looks like you already considered this. :D

Dola:

BTW, I agree that we should move Crawford up to the #2 backup for the rest of the season. That will give us a good idea of which guy is performing better. (Crawford vs Baker)

QS,

I definately agree with your idea to throw him in the #2 slot for the rest of the year. I agree that he seem sto have gotten shafted a bit, but it seemed that Baker fit under my logic -- but I think your logic is probably a bit more accurate. At this point I have a few thoughts as to why this is a good idea

1) What do we have to lose? We're not going to the playoffs anyways
2) The #2 RB is helpful, but The Ox is the key this year anyways
3) We can truely evaluate what we have with these 3 RBs and what a logical future will be