FOF2K7 Empty Cupboard Position Points Dynasty
 

See this thread for the background info.

Here are the rule:

• "Quality Players" cost a number of position points, based on that position's worth to me in building a roster.
• I have a total cap of 22 position points on offense.
• Defensive players, punters and kickers cost no position points.
• "Quality Players" are defined as players who meet either of the following criteria:
  • Drafted by me in round 1, 2, 3, or 4
  • Current rating of 40 or higher
• Quality Players will be re-evaluated at FA1:1 every season and roster-building for that offseason budgeted accordingly. I must get under the position points cap at FA1:1. (In other words, if a 5th-round creeper QB eventually becomes a Quality Player, he's a freebie until he climbs to 40 current, but once he gets there, he costs me.)

POSITION POINT VALUES
QB: 10
RB: 4
FB: 1
TE: 8
WR: 12
C: 3
OG: 1
OT: 2

Additional rules....

• Injuries=100. I want to move fairly quickly.
• Cap Range: 0 to 99. What the heck? Randomness ftw!
• No Setting ST Stuff: This will speed things up and keep me from having an overwhelming perpetual ST advantage.
• Chemistry Turned Off: I've come to realize that this is another place in SP where the human just has a massive advantage. I also don't find it fun, just tedious searching to make things work out. It's a nice value-add for me in MP where I am willing to work the system harder than almost anyone this side of QuikSand, but I've realized that there's no reason for me to have this turned on in SP.
• Default TC Settings Required: Another place where the human has a huge advantage.
• Undrafted rookies must be signed to a one-year deal. If they end up playing, they'll cost a little more in future seasons.
• All draftees must be signed immediately to the 2nd/4th (most expensive/shortest) option. A little added difficulty, plus it helps move things along.
• No Trading Other Than Current-Year Draft Choices
  
• No Position Switches Out Of Position Group. (In other words, RG-->LG or FL-->SE type moves are fine, but WILB-->SLB is not.)
• Holdouts must be given their asking price or cut immediately.
• Renegotiations only in final year of contract, and must be for requested amount.
• No AI-Busting Gameplan Shenanigans.
  • Shorter yardage on all downs (the first two boxes from the top) must be 51% or more running.
  • 3rd and 6+ yards must be 19% or less running.

Gamestart; Fictional dispersal draft, sim one season, cut everyone. Take whatever draft pick I am given.

I start out with a little bad luck: the team goes 13-3 in year 1 and I have the 29th pick in each round. I cut everyone after the playoff loss so I'll be starting with an empty roster.

This isn't going to be the classic Empty Cupboard setup where I do year one with only rookies, year two with all players year 2 and less, etc. I'll sign FAs in the first offseason, though with all the cuts and resulting lost cap room (over 40% of the cap,) I don't think I can build much too quickly.

As I begin sorting through FA1 in the first offseason, an immediate interesting angle shows up: I have no idea what to budget for the draft this year since I need all positions, and I suspect that budgeting for the draft might be a nice little side angle going forward as well. My first thoughts on it for this year are as follows:

• Even if I can trade up to snag him, I don't think the best WR available is worth the combo of half of my offensive points plus the future 1st rounder that I'm sure it would take to get him.
• Just having to type the above is encouraging that I might like this setup. He looks like a 65/65 80BPR type and I actually question if he's worth it. Me likey.
• QB is bereft of any real talent. There's one guy who looks like he could be fairly solid and could slip to the 5th round, but no chance I'm taking a QB in the value rounds.
• The best TE might be worth the position points, but probably not if I have to trade up more than maybe 10 picks. If I could get him for my first and second this year, he might be the way to go with my first pick.

So based on the above, I'm not going to worry about saving a lot of points for the draft. Free Agency look in the next post.

2011 FREE AGENCY LOOK
QB--No one rated 40 or up. There's an interesting-looking QB (51 accuracy, 57 sense rush) with low ratings who might work as a no-points starter.
RB--Several decent 4-point options and maybe some no-point guys.
FB--Several guys worth one point. I'll likely sign one.
TE--90/90 guy in year 5. 58 BPR. Might be fun to build an offense around him. There's also a year 7 no-point guy who is 65 RR, 49 BPR, 51 Endurance. A guy like that could be an interesting short-term solution if I had a QB.
WR-Heh. There's a 99-BPR year 11 guy, obviously a very short-term solution there, but could be fun to put him with the no-point QB and a TE for a year or two.
OL--Lots of options worth the value.

I'm hoping it's a function of the empty roster, but right now I feel more lost than anything else, not sure which direction to go. I think I'm just going to go the short-term route in FA on offense: BPR year 11 WR (12), FB(1), G(1). That leaves me 8 position points if I decide to trade up for the TE.

If I had the cap space, there's probably enough defensive talent to build a pretty good defense, but I'm not sure what the cap will allow until I dig into it a bit more.

Here are the signees of note:

QB Dexter Baxter (23/29, yr 7)--55 accuracy, 57 sense rush, 85 scrambling. He's obviously nothing special, but in this setup, he's the kind of guy who could be valuable to me.
FB Robbie Burke (72/72, yr 8)--VG all-around FB.
TE Randall Dole (35/35, yr 7)--66 RR, 49 BPR, 51 END. Looks like a decent threat at TE.
WR Dennis Bunten (49/49, yr 8)--I got outbid by the AI for the year 11 stud. Shame on me. I'm actually fairly out of practice with SP FA where I'm actually competing with the AI (my most recent house rules called for me to bid so much for WRs that there was zero chance they'd sign with anyone but me), so it's not that shocking. Anyway, this guy was low impact to the cap, but still costs the 12 Position Points. I doubt he'll stick long-term.
RG R.J. Feusse (49/49, yr 9)--I didn't feel that I could afford the cap room to go after the better guards, so that one PP is spend on a modestly-talented guy.
P Korey King (86/86, yr 16)--Stud, but will only be around a year or two.
K Wes Peters (66/66, yr 15)--See above. I went after the old guys intentionally, as I don't have a feel yet for how the cap will play out, so I didn't want to have to commit to longer contracts.

D-Line--There wasn't much talent available there. No one above 41/41 was signed.
ILB--Got a 56/56 year 10 guy and a 42/53 year 6 guy.
OLB--Pass rushers with low overall ratings. Just not much there in FA.
CB--Signed a 31/56 year 2 guy (was released by me last year in the purge). His bars look like he might be a creeper. The rest of the lot is unimpressive.
S--Got two pretty solid starters here.

Overall, the roster looks decent pre-draft. And the draft is up next.

2011 DRAFT (8PP Available)
Well, the TE went at 1(15), which is a bit earlier than where I was willing to trade up for him. I therefore decide to wait for the draft to come to me at 1(29). The best option seems to be a RB that is right up my alley. Here's who I get.

1(29)--RB Gilbert Sample (34/54) (4 PP)--Red dash and high endurance guy. Looks like one of those uncommon RBs who can play at a very high level for 10+ years.
2(29)--LT Cedric Green (27/64) (2 PP)--1 red, 2 blues. OL seems to make sense in the second round for the low point values.
3(29)--RCB Antonio Grange (17/41)--4 blues and I didn't have much at CB. Looks like he'll creep.
4(29)--WLB Corwin Maurer (15/35)--4 blues. Very high punishing hitter bar. Looks like a massive creeper.
5(29)--FL Jumbo Huffman (16/25)--blues in dash/agi. Sure to creep, but if he gets to 40, virtually no chance he sticks around.
6(29)--LT Mickey Rochon (23/45)--Interesting player. 2 reds, but a green broad jump (endurance).
7(29)--LCB Cory Sewell (7/15)--2 blues..gonna creep..not sure THAT much, though.

2011 TRAINING CAMP REPORT
 

Atlanta Falcons Player Report

(2011c - 2011d)

Name	Pos	Team	2011c Current	2011c Future	2011d Current	2011d Future	Overall Current Change	Overall Future Change
Baxter, Dexter	QB	Atlanta	23	29	25 (2)	29 (0)	2	0
Tanyavutti, Johnny	QB	Atlanta	5	15	6 (1)	16 (1)	1	1
Wilkerson, Perry	QB	Atlanta	27	27	27 (0)	27 (0)	0	0
Marone, Gary	RB	Atlanta	23	37	25 (2)	37 (0)	2	0
Sample, Gilbert	RB	Atlanta	34	54	41 (7)	61 (7)	7	7
Schweigert, Reuben	RB	Atlanta	27	37	29 (2)	37 (0)	2	0
Burke, Robbie	FB	Atlanta	72	72	61 (-11)	61 (-11)	-11	-11
Godfrey, Bert	FB	Atlanta	27	28	23 (-4)	23 (-5)	-4	-5
Dixon, Kenneth	TE	Atlanta	23	50	25 (2)	44 (-6)	2	-6
Dole, Randall	TE	Atlanta	35	35	34 (-1)	34 (-1)	-1	-1
Donaldson, Bobby	TE	Atlanta	25	29	26 (1)	26 (-3)	1	-3
Bunten, Dennis	FL	Atlanta	49	49	49 (0)	49 (0)	0	0
Huffman, Jumbo	FL	Atlanta	16	25	18 (2)	25 (0)	2	0
Keshishyan, Harvey	FL	Atlanta	39	39	36 (-3)	36 (-3)	-3	-3
Lott, Leroy	FL	Atlanta	33	33	32 (-1)	32 (-1)	-1	-1
Reynolds, Neal	FL	Atlanta	36	36	37 (1)	37 (1)	1	1
Howard, Brenden	C	Atlanta	30	37	33 (3)	37 (0)	3	0
Roberson, Jerome	C	Atlanta	30	36	34 (4)	34 (-2)	4	-2
Castillo, Junior	LG	Atlanta	32	42	35 (3)	35 (-7)	3	-7
Johnston, Irv	LG	Atlanta	38	38	37 (-1)	37 (-1)	-1	-1
Feusse, R.J.	RG	Atlanta	49	49	48 (-1)	48 (-1)	-1	-1
Harrison, Neil	RG	Atlanta	32	39	34 (2)	39 (0)	2	0
Green, Cedric	LT	Atlanta	27	64	30 (3)	64 (0)	3	0
Hopton, Grant	LT	Atlanta	32	32	32 (0)	32 (0)	0	0
Rochon, Mickey	LT	Atlanta	23	45	25 (2)	42 (-3)	2	-3
Garner, Leslie	RT	Atlanta	31	39	34 (3)	39 (0)	3	0
Whitt, Billy-Joe	RT	Atlanta	27	30	28 (1)	29 (-1)	1	-1
Peters, Wes	K	Atlanta	66	66	62 (-4)	62 (-4)	-4	-4
King, Korey	P	Atlanta	86	86	85 (-1)	85 (-1)	-1	-1
Farley, Vince	LDE	Atlanta	38	38	34 (-4)	34 (-4)	-4	-4
Phillips, Roosevelt	LDE	Atlanta	31	37	35 (4)	38 (1)	4	1
Rhee, Roman	LDE	Atlanta	38	38	38 (0)	38 (0)	0	0
Poysky, Carl	NT	Atlanta	36	36	36 (0)	36 (0)	0	0
Ritchie, Grady	NT	Atlanta	39	42	33 (-6)	33 (-9)	-6	-9
Perez, Sean	RDE	Atlanta	41	41	37 (-4)	37 (-4)	-4	-4
Hiam, Gilbert	SLB	Atlanta	29	29	26 (-3)	26 (-3)	-3	-3
Snyder, Charles	SLB	Atlanta	31	31	32 (1)	32 (1)	1	1
Benson, Ken	SILB	Atlanta	56	56	50 (-6)	50 (-6)	-6	-6
Serbicki, Roosevelt	SILB	Atlanta	42	53	47 (5)	53 (0)	5	0
Barlow, Brant	WILB	Atlanta	38	38	38 (0)	38 (0)	0	0
Bove, Carl	WLB	Atlanta	32	32	28 (-4)	28 (-4)	-4	-4
Maurer, Corwin	WLB	Atlanta	15	35	20 (5)	42 (7)	5	7
Bronson, Pat	LCB	Atlanta	43	43	38 (-5)	38 (-5)	-5	-5
Sewell, Cory	LCB	Atlanta	7	15	10 (3)	19 (4)	3	4
Shannon, Edwin	LCB	Atlanta	31	56	35 (4)	55 (-1)	4	-1
Grange, Antonio	RCB	Atlanta	17	41	22 (5)	46 (5)	5	5
Poston, Nicky	RCB	Atlanta	48	48	45 (-3)	45 (-3)	-3	-3
Smallwood, Damon	RCB	Atlanta	35	39	38 (3)	39 (0)	3	0
McCloskey, Otis	SS	Atlanta	30	55	34 (4)	55 (0)	4	0
Doleman, Bucky	FS	Atlanta	65	65	55 (-10)	55 (-10)	-10	-10
Kniker, Wes	FS	Atlanta	36	36	37 (1)	37 (1)	1	1
Richard, Skip	FS	Atlanta	44	53	49 (5)	53 (0)	5	0

2011 OUTLOOK/THOUGHTS
The defense looks like it could be decent, though being a year behind everyone could hurt. On offense, I'm not sure what to expect. I'm going to run the ball a bit more than I usually do and hope that QB Baxter isn't an INT factory.

Heh. We won 7 games, but with these team stats, I have no idea how. #28 ypg, #21 ppg, and on defense #27 yards allowed and #24ppg. We won two in overtime. I think overall we got lucky.


No SoleAwards for this team.

K Wes Peters retired.

2012 POSITION POINT INITIAL REPORT
QB--none
RB--Gilbert Sample (51/63)--4
FB Robbie Burke (61/61)--1
FL Dennis Bunten (48/48)--12
RG B.J. Feusse (48/48)--1

Bunten and his 85 BPR had a grand total of 489 receiving yards in 16 starts last year. Shockingly, he isn't deemed worth his position points and is summarily released.

FREE AGENCY LOOK (only listing positions where I have a slot open)
QB--No one above 41/41. If I don't draft one, then Dexter Baxter gets another season as starter.
TE--Some ok-looking guys, but none worth the PP.
WR--No one stands out. I think I might do better here by keeping my stable of decent-BPR 35/35 types than signing someone in FA.
OL--Building up the o-line to go with RB Sample looks like it might be the right play. There's some talent available.

DRAFT THOUGHTS
I have the 1(11). There's perhaps the best QB I've ever seen in a draft class: 4.47 dash, 53 Sole, 21 str, 7.19 agi, 9'9" jump (all reds), and 81 position drill (blue). Doubt I have the ammo to trade up for him. There's also another top-5 type QB talent that has my attention and it seems plausible that I might be able to trade up high enough to land him. I think it's worth saving the 10 PP for the draft.

FA SIGNINGS OF NOTE
NT Walt Lima (45/62)
DE Glen Rayburn (57/57)
DE Ken Brooks (56/56)
CB Shawn Rexin (63/63)
SLB Kent Gunn (61/61)
C Grant Nygaard (53/53)
G Hardy Russell (67/67)
T Malcolm Tisdale (45/55)

The defense got a serious talent upgrade, and the o-line looks to be solid now.

Bah. The two QBs went 1-2 and I didn't have the ammo to trade up for the #2 pick.

2012 AMATEUR DRAFT (10 POSITION POINTS AVAILABLE)
1(11)--RG Anthony Ellsworth (55/92) (1PP)--Monster-stud G. He's the kind of guy I'd normally skip over, but at one PP in this setup, I think he's a nice find.
2(10)--FB Hugh Catlett (36/46) (1PP)--5-blue, one-red FB. Current starting FB is old. Looks like best overall option available at this slot.
3(9)--RDT-->NT Lester Bush (20/55)--4-blue guy who looks like an eventual long-term starting NT.
4(8)--K Nathan Walker (26/30)--My kicker retired and there weren't any half-decent ones available in FA. This 2-red, 3-blue guy seems like a good pick here.
5(7)--FL/KR George Cooper (23/37)--Blues in dash/str/agi, but appears to be 0 endurance. I'll be hoping he maxes out at around 39 so I can keep him long-term. Looks like a nice long-term fit in this setup as a backup WR and KR.
6(6)--SS Mitch Manning (16/50)--Decent-looking combines and he's from Michigan.
7(13)--FL Lester Ackerman (29/57)--Red (6.92) agility drill but not much elsewhere, but then he shows up on the roster with 29 current at only 10% developed. Heh. Looks like I may have stumbled onto one of those bad combine dice roll types.

2012 TRAINING CAMP REPORT
 

Nice breakout from DE Rayburn. Disappointing bust from 3rd-round pick Lester Bush.

Atlanta Falcons Player Report

(2012c - 2012d)

Name	Pos	Team	2012c Current	2012c Future	2012d Current	2012d Future	Overall Current Change	Overall Future Change
Baxter, Dexter	QB	Atlanta	25	25	25 (0)	25 (0)	0	0
Gallegos, Quinn	QB	Atlanta	28	34	27 (-1)	30 (-4)	-1	-4
Reese, Leon	QB	Atlanta	12	26	14 (2)	25 (-1)	2	-1
Humphrey, Terrell	RB	Atlanta	38	38	28 (-10)	28 (-10)	-10	-10
Marone, Gary	RB	Atlanta	30	39	31 (1)	39 (0)	1	0
Sample, Gilbert	RB	Atlanta	51	63	53 (2)	63 (0)	2	0
Schweigert, Reuben	RB	Atlanta	32	36	34 (2)	36 (0)	2	0
Burke, Robbie	FB	Atlanta	61	61	52 (-9)	52 (-9)	-9	-9
Catlett, Hugh	FB	Atlanta	36	46	42 (6)	53 (7)	6	7
Dixon, Kenneth	TE	Atlanta	26	40	29 (3)	40 (0)	3	0
Dole, Randall	TE	Atlanta	34	34	33 (-1)	33 (-1)	-1	-1
Ackerman, Lester	FL	Atlanta	29	57	31 (2)	54 (-3)	2	-3
Cooper, George	FL	Atlanta	23	37	25 (2)	37 (0)	2	0
Huffman, Jumbo	FL	Atlanta	18	25	19 (1)	26 (1)	1	1
Keshishyan, Harvey	FL	Atlanta	36	36	30 (-6)	30 (-6)	-6	-6
Pollard, Stanley	FL	Atlanta	39	39	39 (0)	39 (0)	0	0
Reynolds, Neal	FL	Atlanta	37	37	34 (-3)	34 (-3)	-3	-3
Kenderdine, Jumbo	SE	Atlanta	37	37	36 (-1)	36 (-1)	-1	-1
Howard, Brenden	C	Atlanta	33	35	35 (2)	35 (0)	2	0
Nygaard, Grant	C	Atlanta	53	53	55 (2)	55 (2)	2	2
Castillo, Junior	LG	Atlanta	35	35	35 (0)	35 (0)	0	0
Johnston, Irv	LG	Atlanta	37	37	34 (-3)	34 (-3)	-3	-3
Ellsworth, Anthony	RG	Atlanta	55	92	63 (8)	90 (-2)	8	-2
Feusse, R.J.	RG	Atlanta	48	48	46 (-2)	46 (-2)	-2	-2
Harrison, Neil	RG	Atlanta	35	39	38 (3)	39 (0)	3	0
Russell, Hardy	RG	Atlanta	67	67	68 (1)	68 (1)	1	1
Green, Cedric	LT	Atlanta	36	63	40 (4)	63 (0)	4	0
Hopton, Grant	LT	Atlanta	32	32	32 (0)	32 (0)	0	0
Rochon, Mickey	LT	Atlanta	25	40	27 (2)	40 (0)	2	0
Tisdale, Malcolm	LT	Atlanta	45	55	48 (3)	48 (-7)	3	-7
Garner, Leslie	RT	Atlanta	38	39	39 (1)	39 (0)	1	0
Walker, Nathan	K	Atlanta	26	30	27 (1)	30 (0)	1	0
King, Korey	P	Atlanta	85	85	71 (-14)	71 (-14)	-14	-14
Phillips, Roosevelt	LDE	Atlanta	34	37	31 (-3)	31 (-6)	-3	-6
Bush, Lester	NT	Atlanta	20	55	19 (-1)	47 (-8)	-1	-8
Lima, Walt	NT	Atlanta	45	62	46 (1)	61 (-1)	1	-1
Poysky, Carl	NT	Atlanta	37	37	37 (0)	37 (0)	0	0
Yarbrough, Josh	NT	Atlanta	50	50	51 (1)	51 (1)	1	1
Brooks, Ken	RDE	Atlanta	56	56	52 (-4)	52 (-4)	-4	-4
Perez, Sean	RDE	Atlanta	37	37	34 (-3)	34 (-3)	-3	-3
Rayburn, Glen	RDE	Atlanta	57	57	73 (16)	73 (16)	16	16
Gunn, Kent	SLB	Atlanta	61	61	61 (0)	61 (0)	0	0
Hiam, Gilbert	SLB	Atlanta	25	25	20 (-5)	20 (-5)	-5	-5
Snyder, Charles	SLB	Atlanta	32	32	32 (0)	32 (0)	0	0
Benson, Ken	SILB	Atlanta	50	50	46 (-4)	46 (-4)	-4	-4
Serbicki, Roosevelt	SILB	Atlanta	54	54	53 (-1)	53 (-1)	-1	-1
Bove, Carl	WLB	Atlanta	27	27	25 (-2)	25 (-2)	-2	-2
Maurer, Corwin	WLB	Atlanta	27	46	31 (4)	47 (1)	4	1
Bronson, Pat	LCB	Atlanta	38	38	29 (-9)	29 (-9)	-9	-9
Rexin, Shawn	LCB	Atlanta	63	63	63 (0)	63 (0)	0	0
Sewell, Cory	LCB	Atlanta	12	21	13 (1)	21 (0)	1	0
Shannon, Edwin	LCB	Atlanta	48	58	53 (5)	58 (0)	5	0
Grange, Antonio	RCB	Atlanta	32	48	36 (4)	48 (0)	4	0
Harper, Edgar	RCB	Atlanta	44	44	44 (0)	44 (0)	0	0
Poston, Nicky	RCB	Atlanta	45	45	45 (0)	45 (0)	0	0
Smallwood, Damon	RCB	Atlanta	40	40	40 (0)	40 (0)	0	0
Manning, Mitch	SS	Atlanta	16	50	20 (4)	48 (-2)	4	-2
McCloskey, Otis	SS	Atlanta	37	55	42 (5)	55 (0)	5	0
Doleman, Bucky	FS	Atlanta	55	55	55 (0)	55 (0)	0	0
Kniker, Wes	FS	Atlanta	37	37	36 (-1)	36 (-1)	-1	-1
Richard, Skip	FS	Atlanta	55	55	55 (0)	55 (0)	0	0

2012 ROSTER/OUTLOOK

On offense, we look like we should be able to run the ball pretty well, if not extremely well. Passing may improve slightly with cohesion, but I'm not holding my breath. The defense is looking very solid...

Well, if you like defense and bad offense, I suppose you'll like this:


Dreadful team offensive numbers, but a division title (granted, in a bad division,) and a playoff win. No awards and no performances to get excited about, but I guess it's progress.