FOF 6.3b San Diego Chargers 75% Cap Dynasty
 

I'm loving this version, and always enjoy SP more when I post, so time to get rolling on a new career.

STARTUP

• Preference drafted a league of fictional players in NFL universe.
• Simmed one season, then took over worst new team available (San Diego) in 2010.

SETTINGS

• Injuries=100. I want to move rather quickly.
• Cap Range: 0 to 99. What the heck? Randomness ftw!

HOUSE RULES

• I am allowed to use only 75% of the salary cap. Best way I've found to increase the challenge in SP without having to do a bunch of other stuff.
• Draftees must be signed to the 2nd/4th (most expensive/shortest) option. A little added difficulty, plus it helps move things along.
• No drafting a WR after the 3rd round is over. I've found it just too easy to load up on very solid 50/50 type backup WRs in the late rounds. I can draft one nearly every other year.
• No trading FOR a future 1st round pick. I'm allowed to trade my own 1st round picks away if I so choose, but no acquiring future lottery tickets.
• Free agent signees must be offered the number of years they request. One semi-exploit I've found myself using too frequently in SP is signing decent 50/50 type starts to three-year minsal deals. I'm allowed to sign these guys, but only to the one-year deals they're requesting.

I'm thinking this should give me a solid challenge.

2010 OFFSEASON

Heh. I'd forgotten how absurd some of these initial contracts can be. I didn't go Empty Cupboard intentionally, but it looks like I'll be starting with a smaller than expected roster because of the cuts I need to do. I won't go into all the detail of the initial cut/signings/extensions, but in short, after all is said and done, I have only around $5.5M available to pursue FAs this year, and only 22 players under contract. Here's a quick look at each position.

QB: 2nd-year man Stan Yu (13/53) could be the guy down the road. There's no one in the draft class catching my eye. For now, a mediocre FA QB will probably get the ball.

RB: Should be set here with 3rd-year man Terrell Flowers (67/72). My only beef with him is that he's got mediocre bars (around 50) in Breakaway Speed and Endurance.

FB: no one under contract

TE: Rickey Banks (64/64) should be fine here for a bit, but he's in his 9th season, so a replacement will be needed soon.

WR: The draft class looks promising here, and the only starting-quality player I have under contract is 3rd-year guy Brock Rivera (36/57). Rivera excels in GD (61/82), but is fairly mediocre (17/44) in RR. He should be a very solid WR2, but we need a WR1.

C: no one under contract

G: Looking good here with Shawn Raymond (78/78) and Donovan Ballard (75/75), who are both in their prime,and should be for a while (year 5 and year 7 respectively).

T: We're also solid here with Nathan Horton (65/65, year 6) and Henry Emmons (47/52, year 5). All four guys at G/T are signed to multi-year deals.

P: 6th-year man Jon Wilkerson (76/76) should help with field position.

K: no one under contract

DE: We're loaded long-term here. Cedric Boone (83/83) is in his fourth season, and Arnold Madigan (39/64) is only in year 2. But a big question mark will be how long we can afford these guys.

DT: We'll probably play 4-3 this year and switch to 3-4 in a few seasons when veteran Bill Peterson (79/79) declines or retires. But for now, he's paried with 2nd-year man Michael Ason (46/63) to give us a pretty fearsome front four.

ILB: Seth Hayes (70/70, year 4) should have some fun playing behind that front four. He should be good at run defense and blitzing, and solid in coverage.

OLB: no one under contract

CB: We've got mediocre starters here in Mitch Schulz (46/46, year 6) and Dave Jackson (27/55, year 2). But mediocre might be good enough with the pass rush we should have.

S: Rounding out the defense is Trent Thomason (67/67), a 4th-year man who's especially good at intercepting the ball (98.)

Overall thoughts: We should be able to build a team that's good at running the ball and defense fairly quickly. We need a game-managing QB and a WR, and we should be pretty good, I would think. Looking forward to picking this up when I get home this afternoon.

2010 TC Changes of note.

2nd-round CB Dunn showed a +8, so I suppose I'd better remember that masking signature. Looks like something new or at least unseen. Mason, the cetner aken in round four, also surprises no one by his +5/+5. DE Boone was +8/+8, so he's a monster now. The kicker drated was a very disappointing 0/-6.

2010 ROSTER

I'm not really sure what to expect. We've got some holes, but really look strong in some places...

2010 RECAP

Interesting year. The QB situation is odd: I think we run better with Dore in there, because he knows double the formations, but Yu had a slightly better rating. Neither was injured. I just couldn't decide between the two. Neither exactly lit it on fire. The defense and running game were strong, as was expected.

To my surprise, we made it all the way to the title game (thanks, dice,) but lost there. Overall, a smashing success, but I suspect that we were more lucky than truly good.

Ah, and DT Peterson was 2nd Team All Pro.

2011 OFFSEASON
Well, this is promising. I was concerned that this would be much easier than expected after the Bowl run in year 1. However, I'm pleased to report that we started off FA1 with only 22 players under contract and only $5M under the cap. A few renegs get us within striking distance of being able to afford to keep the guys I want. We make one obvious cut: C J.J. Toth. 2010 draftee Steve Mason is up to 35/65 and will start. Also, last year's 7th-round drafted QB Gene Lowe gets the axe.

After those moves, here's where we stand at each position:

QB: 3rd-year man Stan Yu (24/51) is now the only QB under contract. I'm thinking there's no reason to bring back Jackie Dore. We'll stick with Yu for now.

RB: Should be set here with 4th-year man Terrell Flowers (73/73). He's still got a bit of green left and is one tick away from full positional experience, so I expect another few points of creeping for him.

FB: No one under contract, but Artie Henderson (47/47) had no other offers last year. I'll likely pursue him again.

TE: Rickey Banks (58/58) is getting old. He's in year 10 now, but probably is the starter for another season at least..

WR: We're set for a long tme with Colin Bernstein (57/57) and Brock Rivera (50/58).

C: 2nd-year man Steve Mason (35/65) takes over this year..

G: Looking good here with Shawn Raymond (76/76) and Donovan Ballard (76/76), who are both in their prime, and should be for a while (year 6 and year 8 respectively).

T: We're also solid here with Nathan Horton (64/64, year 7) and Henry Emmons (50/50, year 6). All four guys at G/T are signed to multi-year deals.

P: 7th-year man Jon Wilkerson (79/79) averaged 41.1 net yards last year, #1 in the league, and killed 43 inside the 20, #2 in the league.

K: no one under contract

DE: We're loaded long-term here. Cedric Boone (92/92, yr 5) and Arnold Madigan (51/67, yr 3) are fearsome.

DT: Bill Peterson (78/78, yr 10) and Michael Ason (62/62, yr 3) roudn out the best front four in football.

ILB: Seth Hayes (74/74, yr 5) won't lead the league in tackles, because of the studs in front of him, but he's awfully good.

OLB: Victor Hancock (23/49, yr 2) might be forced to start this year because of cap concerns. We have no other OLB under contract.

CB: Two decent-but-not-great guys retur in Matt Dunn (34/44, yr 2) and Dave Jackson (41/52, yr 3). But they should be good enough again with that pass rush.

S: Rounding out the defense is Trent Thomason (68/68, yr 5). He missed the latter part of last season due to injury, but is 100%.

We've got a few holes to fill, and even less money than last year. Rookies will see significant playing time this year.

2011 OFFSEASON (CONT'D)
I resign FB Artie Henderson and S Nolan Nowakowski. Nothing major in either case, but they're probably better than rookies.

2011 DRAFT

1(31)--SS Omar Drake (21/32): Red agility and blue everywhere else but BRJ, and a position of need.
2(31)--WLB Cory Reese (20/38): Red agility and blue everywhere else but POS, and a position of need.
3(31)--QB Richie Brantley (11/30): 13 bench reps and blue agility. Worth a shot, at least.
4(31)--LDE Jerry Newhart (19/37): Not a big need, but three blue combines. If we get into cap trouble, perhaps Newhart steps in and one of the expensive guys goes.
5(31)--CB Johnnie Rich (14/44): Pair of blue combines at a position where depth is always good.
6(31)--RT Gino Tynes (9/25): 6'7", 331 red dash, blue agility
7(31)--K Everett Cloutier (36/40): Attempt #2 at drafting a kicker.

No one particular sexy in this draft, but I suspect we filled several key needs.

FA2--Signed a QB mentor and a bunch of rookie roster fillers.

2011 TC--+7 and +12 for our first and second round picks. WR Berstein was +3. Nothing noteworty on the negative side. Biggest drop for a veteran starter was -4 for TE Burks, who is in year 10. I certainly can't complain about that.

...and back down to earth.

With a thud.



The running game didn't get going well enough, so we had to throw too much. And clearly that was a disaster. Methinks Yu needs more formations. He only knows nine right now.

I guess the good news is that we get a good draft pick this year and have a shot at landing a real QB.

DE Boone and S Thomason collect 1st Team All-Pro honors.

2012 OFFSEASON

We're about to be in cap trouble, and only went 5-11. This defense is just plain too expensive. DE Boone is the priciest guy out there, and has a capable replacement, so I trade him and a fourth for two seconds. That frees up over $11M in cap space, putting me in decent shape to start this offseason.

Positional look...

QB: Stan Yu (38/49, yr 4) so far isn't "The Man," and there's no one in FA worth discussing, either.

RB: Should be set here with Terrell Flowers (73/73, yr 5). He has averaged 4.75 yards per carry in his career.

FB: No one under contract, but Artie Henderson (47/47, yr 8) has signed one-year deals with us twice in a row. No reason to expect we can't get a third.

TE: Rickey Banks (53/53, yr 11) will get released. There's a younger, more talented FA TE who will probably be cheaper, too.

WR: We're set for a long tme with Colin Bernstein (58/58, yr 3) and Brock Rivera (59/59, yr 5).

C: Steve Mason (52/68, yr 3) continues to creep.

G: We're still looking very good here with Shawn Raymond (77/77, yr 7) and Donovan Ballard (75/75, yr 9).

T: We're also solid here with Nathan Horton (65/65, yr 7) and Henry Emmons (49/49, yr 7).

P: Jon Wilkerson (79/79, yr 8) is one of the best around.

K: We picked Everett Cloutier (42/42, yr 2) with the 7(31) in 2011. He was 36/40 then. Here's hoping he continues to grow.

DE: We traded away a stud, but still have Arnold Madigan (64/68, yr 4) and promising youngster Jerry Newhart (25/41, yr 2). Not exactly hurting here.

DT: Bill Peterson (78/78, yr 11) and Michael Ason (61/61, yr 4) make us tough in the middle.

ILB: Seth Hayes (73/73, yr 6) may see his tackle number increase with the drop in talent on the d-line.

OLB: Victor Hancock (32/49, yr 3) and Cory Reese (39/54, yr 2) are young and improving...and inexpensive. No worries here for now.

CB: Matt Dunn (50/50, yr 3) is creeping like crazy, up from originally 17/32 and Dave Jackson (52/52, yr 4) has become solid. No concerns here, either.

S: Trent Thomason (69/69, yr 5) is joined by Omar Drake (42/42, yr 2). Drake will probably creep some more.

So really, you look at this roster now and the only hole (after I sign a TE) is at QB. Yu looks like he should be able to be good enough there this season. We'll see.


In free agency, we sign mentors at DE, OLB, CB. And we sign a starting TE. Mar Kufahl (63/63, yr 4) comes over from Atlanta. Oh yes, and perennial one-year deal man FB Artie Henderson is back again.

2012 DRAFT
1(8): FL Ricky Van Pelt (32/57)--6.79 agility and 4.39 dash, and a 67 position drill to boot. Should complete a torrid trio at WR. If Yu can't get anything going with Van Pelt plus the other two, then he's just not worth much.
2(7): LDE Mo Reck (19/32)--Red combines in darh and Brj, blue Sol/Str, green agility. In other words, a pass-rush specialist. Having him in combination with Newhart could work out quite well for us.
2(11): RB Justin Olechowski (38/46)--4 blues and a red dash. The only thing not to like about starter Terrell Flowers is his 34 endurance. Olechowski gives us a more than capable guy for the times Flowers is on the bench.
3(6): QB Marcus Newman (8/44)--Taking another flier on a "maybe" at QB.
5(9): TE Herb Hacker (22/39)--3 blue combines.
6(8): CB Jon Bruce (25/37)--No-combine guy who looks like hecould be crazy-masked.
7(7): RG Bernard Hickman (14/41)--I don't expect him to be anythign more than a decent backup.

2012 Training Camp is quite uneventful. Yu is up to 42/50, and in the final year of his contract. This may well be his last chance to show me something.

2012 ROSTER

Minor injuries have a few starters out at the beginning of the regular season--nothing worse than 3 weeks. If Yu can step it up, this could be a very good team.

Yu stepped it up a little to put up slightly above average numbers...


RB Flowers got turf toe during the year, which allowed Olechowski to get enough carries to win OROY. RDE Madigan and SS Thomason were first team All Pros. RDT Peterson was the league's strongest man.

All in all, it was a good year, but I'm not convinced that Yu deserves the franchise tag and a big contract. We'll see.

2013 OFFSEASON

No significant retirements--just a couple of mentors who barely saw the field.

I decide to give Stan Yu the franchise tag. I'm still not sure I'm going to keep him, though.


And now, in FA1:1, it's clear that I can't keep Yu at the franchise cost. I must ink him to a long-term deal or cut him in order to afford a legal team. That's the sort of thing I love about a reduced-cap setup. I decide to hitch my wagon to him. If he's not the guy, then we'll have to eat a big contract and basically start over.

Updated position-by-position look.

QB: Stan Yu (47/47, yr 5) got a long-term deal. It's his team, win or lose.

RB: The duo of Terrell Flowers (72/72, yr 6) and Justin Loechowski (48/48, yr 2) looks quite formidable.

FB: No one under contract, and I'm not sure I want to pursue Artie Henderson (47/47, yr 9) again. He's getting old, and there are multiple bottom-first, early-second type FBs in this draft class. I think I might draft one.

TE: I have a small amount available to go after FAs, and bringing back Marc Kufahl (64/64, yr 5) is the #1 priority.

WR: We're set for a good while with the talented trio of Colin Bernstein (57/57, yr 4), Ricky Van Pelt (58/65, yr 2), and Brock Rivera (60/60, yr 6).No complaints here.

C: Steve Mason (67/67, yr 4) signed a long-term deal.

G: We're getting older, but still looking very good here with Shawn Raymond (77/77, yr 8) and Donovan Ballard (67/67, yr `0).

T: We're also solid here with Nathan Horton (65/65, yr 9) and Henry Emmons (49/49, yr 8).

P: Jon Wilkerson (79/79, yr 9) is still getting it done.

K: Everett Cloutier (47/47, yr 3) is creeping pretty quickly, and has hit nearly 80% of his FGs in two seasons.

DE: Arnold Madigan (68/68, yr 5) was a 1st-Team All Pro, and promising youngster Jerry Newhart (36/43, yr 3) got lots of valuable playing time. Plus there's pass-rush specialist Mo Reck (29/37, yr 2), who racked up 6 sacks in backup duty.

DT: Bill Peterson (70/70, yr 12) and Michael Ason (61/61, yr 5) keep us tough in the middle.

ILB: Seth Hayes (72/72, yr 7) anchors the LB corps.

OLB: Victor Hancock (49/49, yr 4) and Cory Reese (63/63, yr 3) are entering their prime years, it would appear

CB: Matt Dunn (53/53, yr 4) is creeping like crazy, up from originally 17/32 and Dave Jackson (52/52, yr 4) is soild. No concerns here, either.

S: Trent Thomason (70/70, yr 6) and Omar Drake (49/49, yr 3) complete what could be the best defense around.

Overall, I'm hoping to see the defense start to dominate this year with the emergence of the OLBs.

2013 OFFSEASON (CONT'D)

FA1
I re-sign my FB/TE from last year, and that's it. I have a little left over if I need a couple of mentors in FA2.

2013 AMATEUR DRAFT
1(29) RT K.C. Fulton (24/52)--3 blues and one red. Looks like a solid all-around tackle.
2(2) FB Cory Walters (34/54)--4 blues and one red. It's hard to know for sure what impact the FB has, but I'm seeing things to make me believe it's more than some might think.
2(28) SS Mitchell Brennan (19/41)--1 red, 3 blues.
3(29) RG David Dowell (22/45)--We're getting old at guard, so this 4-blue guy makes sense here.
4(28) C Sammy Whitfield (17/38)--I don't have a backup under contract at center, and this 4-blue guy looks like he could be good enough to start eventually.
5(29) SILB Jack Garrett (15/37)--1 red and 2 blues. If we do go to 3-4 in a couple of years, he could be starting soon.
6(28) LT Desmond Johnston (17/40)--We drafted a tackle earlier, but this 2-blue guy looks like the bpa at this spot.
7(29) P Jesse Vanags (37/41)--By far the best position-independent combines left (1 red, 2 blue). We have a good punter, but we might be able to save a couple million by going with Vanags next year.

FA2
SE Brock Rivera holds out. I can *just* afford to give him the deal he wants by capping out a couple of guys (*gulp*).

Nothing else exciting. I sign three minsal mentors and fill out the roster with undrafted free agents and a couple of minsal veteran backups.

TRAINING CAMP
Biggest drop is RDT Peterson (year 12) at -6, and no one else was worse than -4, so I have no complaints. The draftees..

1(29) RT K.C. Fulton (24/52)-->27/51
2(2) FB Cory Walters (34/54)-->37/55
2(28) SS Mitchell Brennan (19/41)-->24/49
3(29) RG David Dowell (22/45)-->26/49
4(28) C Sammy Whitfield (17/38)-->20/44
5(29) SILB Jack Garrett (15/37)-->20/41
7(29) P Jesse Vanags (37/41)-->36/40

2013 ROSTER


We've got the #2 roster in the league now, but only an 83. #1 Cincy looks loaded. We should be good, but whether we are good or great seems to depend on Yu.

...and Yu steps it up a notch for a title!


Fun year. We didn't dominate, and struggled mightily with turnovers, but we won. We did more capping out than I would have liked, and we'll start next year approx. $15M over the cap, so there may be a need to move some expensive talent off of the champs. Hopefully that piece will make this career at least somewhat challenging.

Interesting as always. Nice job putting together a really dominating roster with spare parts at QB.

Thanks. The tough part is going to be remaining on top.

Being this far over the cap, I can't just do renegs. I have to trim some fat, so here goes...

• WR Colin Bernstein (56/56) gets dealt to Carolina for a 2nd round pick. He only caught 34 passes last year.
• Franchisee DT Bill Peterson gets released outright. No one would trade for the 13-year vet.
• P Jon Wilkerson gets traded for a 4th round pick. I'll give the young combine stud a shot.
• RT Herny Emmons (49/49) is cut. The 9-year vet is replaced by young K.C. Fulton.

These moves, along with a small handful of judicious renegs, give me just enough room to sign the one RFA I *really* wanted to keep: OLB Cory Reese, and build up a legal roster with draftees and undrafted rookies. On to a look at the roster in the morning.

2014 OFFSEASON

Updated position-by-position look.

QB: Stan Yu (47/47, yr 6) won a title last year, but I'm not convinced that he can be consistent. But given the cap situation, he's here until I decide to blow up the team.

RB: The duo of Terrell Flowers (72/72, yr 7) and Justin Loechowski (49/49, yr 3) returns.

FB: D.J. Bohme (50/50, yr 6) was only signed to a one-year deal last year, and for now he's a much better blocker than Cory Walters (49/54, yr 2). Long-term I'd like for Walters to take over, ut right now he's only showing 26/27 run blocking, so I'll try to sign Bohme to another one-year deal in FA. (He's only asking for one again.)

TE: I have a small amount available to go after FAs, and bringing back Marc Kufahl (65/65, yr 6) is the #1 priority. I really wish he'd ask for a longer contract so I can lock him up.

WR: Cap concerns hurt our depth here this offseason, but the duo of Ricky Van Pelt (65/65, yr 3), and Brock Rivera (61/61, yr 7) should be strong once again. Undrafted FA Quentin Andrews (30/37, yr 2) looks like he could creep into being useful as well.

C: Steve Mason (70/70, yr 4) is signed through 2017.

G: Changing of the "guard" (yuk, yuk) should happen fairly soon, but for now, Shawn Raymond (73/73, yr 9) and Donovan Ballard (65/65, yr 11) hold it down here for another season.

T: Nathan Horton (65/65, yr 10) returns, and last year's 1st round pick K.C. Fulton (35/51, yr 2) steps up to a starting role.

P: Jesse Vanags (34/40, yr 2) will be the #1 guy for the first time.

K: Everett Cloutier (43/43, yr 4) dropped in ratings and missed two extra points lsat year. He may not return.

DE: Arnold Madigan (69/69, yr 6) gives us a very solid guy on one side, and on the other there's the combo of Jerry Newhart (42/42, yr 4) and pass-rush specialist Mo Reck (39/41, yr 3).

DT: With the departure of DT Peterson, it's time to switch to the 3-4. Michael Alston (59/59, yr 6) will start at nose tackle.

ILB: Seth Hayes (71/71, yr 8) is a mainstay. Jack Garrett (25/42, yr 2) looks like a big-time creeper.

OLB: Victor Hancock (49/49, yr 5) and Cory Reese (66/66, yr 4) should be solid. Neither is the pass-rushing WLB prototype for the 3-4, though. I may need to make a change here eventually, but for this year, Hancock will be the WLB.

CB: Matt Dunn (56/56, yr 5) continues to creep like crazy, up from originally 17/32. No one else is under contract. I'd like to bring back Dave Jackson (51/51, yr 5), as he's not asking for too much.

S: Trent Thomason (70/70, yr 8) and Omar Drake (51/51, yr 4) return.

I do some cap outs to have enough to afford the guys I want to keep. And yes, I'm very concerned about the long-term effects. ;)

2014 DRAFT

1(32)--FB Keith Reeves(42/73)--Holy cow. *FIVE* red combines, and only one blue (Sol=28). I suspect that a stud FB gives some value that's hard to measure. And this guy is a super-duper stud. I'm going to leave him at FB just 'cause I'd like to see what he can do, even though at 231 pounds I'd imagine he could position switch to a very solid RB.
2(32)--LDT-->NT Marcus Stone (21/46)--Stone looks like he'll have solid pass rushing skills. He may even become the nickel/dime nose tackle.
3(32)--TE Anthony Tant (17/41)--Bars aren't so hot, but every combine save broad jump was blue. Could be a future starter.
4(32)--RDE Keith Green (14/33)--Three blues. DL depth.
5(32)--RT Wayne Scheungrab (16/35)--Two blues and a red sol. Not expecting much besides depth, but solid depth.
6(32)--C Eugene Pate (24/43)--Best player available at this point. Third center, but maybe decent one day.
7(32)--QB Jamie Page (7/16)--Blues in agility and position drill. Probably not gonna creep enough to be useful, but he looked interesting.

2014 TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• LT Desmond Johnston, last year's 6th round pick, goes +9/+8.
  He was -1 in his rookie camp, so I'm wondering if this was VSOL.
• FA signee WILB David Sprinkle drops 12 points to 50/50.
• RB Flowers shows the first signs of age, dropping 8 points to 64/64.
• LG Raymond (year 9) has a bit of an early drop: -10 to 63/63.
• Not a TC note, but FB Cory Walters came back from summer league with turf toe, paving the way for draftee Keith Reeves to be the opening day starter.

2014 ROSTER

I really like what we have put on the field this year, but serious cap trouble is looming, probably next year. FOF has us ranked with the #5 roster. I think we're good enough to challenge for another title.

Decent season, but nowhere close to a title, either...
The running game, with the same game plan, took an absolute nosedive. Ouch!

WR Ricky Van Pelt wins first team honors and S Thomas is on the 2nd team.

Starting RG Donovan Ballard retired.

QB: Stan Yu (48/48, yr 7) had a 2nd straight 90-rated season. As mentioned last year, with the cap situation and the amount of bonus I've now got into him due to a couple of cap outs, he's here until he retires or until I blow up the team.

RB: Justin Loechowski (49/49, yr 4) returns because he's cheap. He's going to have to show me something this year, likely as starter, to justify making anything more than minsal in the future.

FB: This position now belongs to Keith Reeves (60/72, yr 2). I'm going to monkey with formations to get the FB on the field a *lot*.

TE: Free agent Marc Kufahl (61/61, yr 7) continues to look like our best bet here for now. He'll get another one-year deal. Last year's 3(32) pick Anthony Tant (22/45) is creeping, but has some developing to do before I want to stick him in there as #1.

WR: The duo of Ricky Van Pelt (66/66, yr 4), and Brock Rivera (61/61, yr 8) remains very solid.Undrafted FA Quentin Andrews (39/39, yr 3) is still improving and will get the nod as WR3 this year.

C: Steve Mason (71/71, yr 5) is signed through 2017, and I have two solid young backups. No need here.

G: With the retirement of Donovan Ballard comes change here. David Dowell (39/53, yr 3) moves up to starting, joining veteran Shawn Raymond (63/63, yr 10).

T: Nathan Horton (58/58, yr 11) is probably in his final year as a charger. K.C. Fulton (49/50, yr 3) will start on the opposite side. Desmond Johnston (40/47, yr 3) should be ready to replace Horton at LT next year.

P: Jesse Vanags (34/40, yr 3) will punt for us again.

K: We have no one under contract. I'm thinking undrafted free agent here, to save money.

DE: We'll see how the decision to go young and cheap here pans out. Jerry Newhart (43/43, yr 5) is more of a run stopper and will play RDE. Mo Reck (41/41, yr 4) is a straight-up pass rusher. We'll look for help here in the draft.

DT: Michael Alston (58/58, yr 7) may be headed out the door next year, but he starts now. Marcus Stone (29/53, yr 2) is looking like he'll be a better player than Alston fairly soon.

ILB: Seth Hayes (71/71, yr 9) is a mainstay, and is joined by Jack Garrett (37/44, yr 3) in the middle.

OLB: Victor Hancock (49/49, yr 6) and Cory Reese (69/69, yr 5) remain. I tend to doubt that Hancock has a long-term future with us, though.

CB: We begin FA1 with only Johnnie Rich (40/40, yr 5) under contract. Last year's starters, Matt Dunn (58/58, yr 6) and Dave Jackson (50/50, yr 7), are asking for a total of around $5M in cap cost this year. I'm not sure I can afford either.

S: Trent Thomason (66/66, yr 9), Omar Drake (54/54, yr 5), and Mitchell Brennan (56/56, yr 3) give us very solid talent and depth here. Thomason's days in SD are surely numbered.

We re-sign TE Kufahl and CB Jackson. We can't afford CB Dunn, so we instead go out and sign LCB Lincoln Delp (52/52, yr 5) to help shore things up in the secondary.

the draft...

1(20): RCB Jonathan Freeman (27/39)--Looks like a big-timer. I'll get him in the rotation this year.
2(6): WLB Randall Albertson (20/47)--3 blue combines. He should give us another much-needed option at OLB.
3(18): FL Zack Horner (12/22)--Bars look absolutely horrid, but the guy had *5* blue combines. Gotta give him a shot.
4(17): RCB Jackie Brennan (8/18)--Yeah, another horrid-bar guy with some solid combines.
5(20): RT-->LG Cedric Savard (22/58)--Guard depth.
7(18): SS Neil Stanton (11/43)--Interesting looking dude. 2 blues, and a red 4.44 dash, but a green position drill.

2015 TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• LT Desmond Johnson was +13/+10. Yowza!
• I expected a big gain out of first round CB Freeman, and he delivered a +7/+9.
• ILB Hayes is starting to show age. He dropped 8 points. :(

There wasn't much else of note in TC.

2015 ROSTER



Hmmm...I'm not terribly impressed with this squad. We're fifth in roster rating, but without much of a running game and a weakened defense, I'm envisioning a 10-6 type season tops...

I wish.



We were already struggling, but then Yu dislocated his shoulder in Week 12, and the wheels completely came off. There *were* a few bright spots, though...

• FB Reeves had 8.31 ypt.
• #1 in pass rush pct. despite dumping a couple of high-dollar guys.
• RB Olechowski showed up big.

Overall, though, this was a big disappointment.


FB Reeves and FL Van Pelt garnered 2nd team honors.

2016 OFFSEASON BEGIN

No franchise tag.

We headed to FA1 in very serious trouble. I didn't write down the particulars 2+ months ago when I did it, but things were so bad that I ended up cutting every player who was in the original pool. This wasn't an intentional "empty cupboard." Those contracts were just too high to keep on a team that went 6-10. Gone are...

• LT Nathan Horton, yr12, 53/53
• LG Shawn Raymond, yr11, 58/58
• NT Michael Alston, yr8, 57/57
• SILB Seth Hayes, yr10, 58/58
• QB stan Yu, yr8, 46/46
• SS Trent Thomson, yr10, 66/66
• SE Brock Rivera, yr9, 63/63

In other words, I've gutted the team.


After the carnage is over and eating all that bonus this year, we've got just enough cap room to field a legal team. No FAs of significance will be signed this offseason.

QB: Marcus Newman (35/42, yr 5) is the best guy on the roster now. He's not exactly an awe-inspiring guy at the most critical position.

RB: Justin Loechowski (44/44, yr 5) has been decent enough, but he's nothing spectacular, either. He doesn't fumble much, so that's a plus.

FB: This position belongs to Keith Reeves (62/72, yr 3). He was one of few bright spots last year, averaging 8.31 ypt.

TE: 3rd-year man Anthony Tant (33/47) is going to get the starting nod this year so I can use what little cap room I have elsewhere.

WR: The duo of Ricky Van Pelt (67/67, yr 5), and creeper Quentin Andrews (40/40, yr 4) should make us solid enough at WR.

C: Steve Mason (71/71, yr 6) is signed through 2017, and I have two solid young backups. No need here.

G: We're young here, but look pretty solid. David Dowell (52/52, yr 4) and Cedric Savard (31/52, yr 3) are holdin' it down.

T: Ditto here. K.C. Fulton (52/52, yr 4) and Desmond Johnston (56/56, yr 4) round out what should be a good young O-line.

P/K--No one under contract. We'll probably go with undrafted FAs here.

DE: We'll look for help here in the draft. Mo Reck (43/43, yr 5) is a straight-up pass rusher with zero run stopping skill and no one else worth mentioning is under contract.

NT: Marcus Stone (39/56, yr 3) is going to have to step up and start now.

ILB: Jack Garrett (46/46, yr 4) is decent enough, but he's the only ILB under contract. Maybe a cheap veteran can play WILB.

OLB: Cory Reese (70/70, yr 6) is set to go at SLB. I'll be looking for a specialist for WLB.

CB: Johnnie Rich (40/40, yr 6) and Jonathan Freeman (43/53, yr 2) provide some good-enough talent here.

S: Omar Drake (56/56, yr 6), and Mitchell Brennan (59/59, yr 4) are enough to make me not worry about this position.

In short, the offense needs a QB, and the defense needs DE/ILB/OLB. And I have only around $3M to spend on free agents. Sounds like a rebuilding year.

FA1 NEW SIGNINGS
Nothing terribly exciting here.

WLB-->WILB David Sprinkle (38/46, yr 7)--One-year deal to a run-stopper who gets moved to WILB.

SLB-->WLB Ike Bailey (47/47, yr 7)--Bailey should put up some good numbers in the 3-4.

2016 AMATEUR DRAFT

1(20): FL Lenny Curis (47/75)--Stud WR with big bars, 4 reds, 2 blues. Maybe we'll just throw short and let the gazelles do the work.
2(7): WLB Lamar Kerr (23/58)--3 reds and a blue. I'm thinking I'll move him to SILB.
2(13): LDE Gino Sinclair (19/44)--Sinclair has 2 blues and a red. He'll need to start immediately despite his 15% development.
3(8): RCB Les Wayne(19/37)--3 blues and fairly even coverage bars. Hoping he'll creep a bit.
4(7): QB Wally Houston (2/29)--3 blues and a red, including a *97* position drill. However, the two blacks are str/agi. And he's a whopping 1% developed. Still, I say he's worth a pick at this point to see what happens.
4(18): LT Shane Cousin(16/36)--3-blue tackle. Could use depth on o-line.
4(20): RDE Richie Samuels(16/24)--Crazy-low bars, but three blue combines. He's better than a 24, but by how much?
5(8): RB Edward Moten (20/29)--Endurance could be low, but looks like a home-run threat at RB2.
6(7): RCB Mo Chevrier (14/31)--He looks like he'll creep a bit, and has PR/KR skills.
7(8): FS Leroy Michaelson (10/38)--Depth pick.

At first glance, I'm quite happy with this draft. I'm pretty sure I grabbed three long-term starters with the first picks, and several other guys look like they could stick as well.

2016 FA2

I start off this stage by cutting a couple of former late-round draftees in the final year of contracts. This will save just enough to grab some minsal veteran mentors at key positions. Gone are C Eugene Pate and QB Jamie Page, drafted at 6(32) and 7(32) in 2014. RB Olechowski decides to hold out. He won't get the deal he seeks. If he comes back, great. If not, I'll just go with rookies or maybe the mentor I signed.

Speaking of mentors, I sign them at RB, FB, TE, WR, G and ILB in this stage, and then 9 undrafted rookies fill out the rest of the roster.


2016 TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• QB Newman is -2/-9. Ouch.
• QB Houston, the 4th round draft pick, is +2/+2. Hmmmmmm.
• 1st round pick SE Curtis is +5/0 and is now 52/75.
• 3(8) pick BCB Wayne is 19/37-->23/40.
• 4(18) pick LT Cousin goes 16/36-->19/40.

There wasn't much else of note in TC. I'm not sure what I want to do about the QB position.

2016 ROSTER

(FB Reeves just has a 2-week injury. No worries there.)

I'm going to try something of a run and shoot type offense--a lot of short passing to these WRs and the FB--at least for the first few games of the season. I don't expect to be better than around .500 anyway, so I think it's worth experimenting here.

Not bad. We improved from last year despite having a low-rated QB. FL Curtis improved to 81/81 over the course of the year, too. The cap hits from all those cuts will hurt us next year, but in 2018, I see us being able to afford to bring in some pieces for a postseason push.

Curtis wins OROY, and Mitchell Brennan pulls in the first-team safety award as well.

QB: I need a FA here. My 4/32 guy isn't going to do.

RB: No one under contract worth mentioning. Olechowski ended his holdout last year and is giving me the past injustices message.

FB: Keith Reeves 65/77, yr 4 has us set here for a long time.

TE: 4th-year man Anthony Tant (45/45) started for the first time last year, and gave us solid production.

WR: The duo of Ricky Van Pelt (68/68, yr 6), and Lenny Curtis (80/80, yr 2) could be the best in the league. Add WR3 creeper Quentin Andrews (41/41, yr 4) to the mix, and it does seem that all we need is someone to deliver the football to these guys.

C: Steve Mason (71/71, yr 8) is still very much in his prime.

G: David Dowell (53/53, yr 5) and Cedric Savard (43/51, yr 3) are solid here.

T: Ditto here. K.C. Fulton (51/51, yr 5) and Desmond Johnston (56/56, yr 5) round out the o-line.

P/K--No one under contract. We'll probably go with undrafted FAs again.

DE: Mo Reck (44/44, yr 6) led the #1 pass rush in the league and Gino Sinclair (32/45, yr 2) got some valuable experience.

NT: Marcus Stone (45/58, yr 4) showed some nice development last year.

ILB: Jack Garrett (48/48, yr 5) and Lamar Kerr (37/59, yr 2) give us a good duo here.

OLB: Cory Reese (72/72, yr 7) returns at SLB and Randall Albertson (37/44, yr 3) looks like he should be ready to start at WLB this year.

CB: Jonathan Freeman (61/61, yr 3) looks ready to step up and become one of the top CBs in the league. Unless we draft a CB in the first round, Les Wayne (35/42, yr 2) looks like he'll start at the other corner.

S: Omar Drake (56/56, yr 7), and Mitchell Brennan (63/63, yr 5) did the job well last year and I have no reason to worry about this year.

So, we'll go after a QB in FA, and look toward RB in the first round of the draft.

The QB I pursued signed in FA1:2. I sign Lamar Banks (47/47, yr 5) to a 3-year deal for roughly $3M per year. I do one cap out to be able to afford him.

What I like about Banks...

• 65 sense rush
• screen/short/medium bars average around 60
• 6'5"
• knows 17 formations

What I don't like...

• 88 intelligence. Unless he scored extremely high on the Sol Test, he'll be interception prone
• 27 accuracy

I hope to be able to overcome the two dislikes by keeping the passing game to mostly short and by the fact that I have VG WRs who can probably do the YAC thing on their own to some degree.

No other FA1 signees. On to the draft...

2017 AMATEUR DRAFT

1(14): RB Antonio "Don't Call Me Thor" Heyerdahl (50/74)--Runs a 4.45, red Sol, three blues. Now we have a true running threat.
2(13): LDE Tony Blackburn (28/52)--Not really a position of need, but this guy looks like a 1.20 type talent. Hard to pass up here.
3(14): RT Lewis Felf (15/25)--Another guy at a position of non-need, but looks like a starting-quality tackle.
4(11): TE Rico Hastings (20/38)--I only have one TE under contract. Hastings looks like he should develop into a solid backup at worst.
4(13): RCB Bruce Wooden(19/46)--We don't have depth at CB, and this 3-blue guy should help out with that.
5(14): QB Raymond Harris(12/29)--Blues in Dash, Agi, Pos. Black everywhere else. Hmmmm.
6(13): RB Sammie Justice (25/31)--I like his 3 blue combines. He could be Heyerdahl's backup for a long time.
7(14): FS Alan Elliot (8/24)--Could be a pretty solid safety/KR guy once he develops a bit.


Coming immediately out of the draft, I'm thinking this could have been my best one yet in this career. I really feel like all 8 guys have a chance to stick.

2017 FA2

Nothing much to report on here. I sign mentors and misfit toys. One misfit may be worth mentioning. G David Jolly (17/35) has the bar signature of a class lineman creeper. I wouldn't be surprise to see him hit the 50s eventually.


2017 TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• 2nd-round DE Blackburn looks like he was hit with a minor volatility stick. He was -1/-5 in camp.
• All other draftees either went up or stayed the same. The biggest upward movement was 7th rounder FS Elliot. He went 8/24-->14/34.
• G Jolly (mentioned above) was +2 in camp.