So, we have turned the corner, and are now into the new world of FOF 2007. As expected, a big pivot at this point is the retirement list. And while we don’t have any real surprises, the reality is still going to be pretty significant.
First, our backfield. We lose the two primary ball carriers from last year, so we will have work to do there:
retires as the Chili Dogs’ career rushing leader, even after only three years as our main-duty back. He certainly benefited from the offensive line and the weapons around him, but still – 3,700 yards in three seasons, on something like 4.4 yards per carry, is very nice. We will be scrambling to find a guy who can be as productive back there for us.
played five seasons with our C-Dogs, and we found ways to use him in a pretty wide variety of roles. His most common placement on the depth chart was to be #1 at FB, RB, and TE all at once. So, his usage was a real variable – but when we called on him to play a lot at TE, he delivered with 79 catches for 771 yards in 2010. When we needed a power rusher, he delivered there, too. And when Copley got hurt in the last couple games of the playoffs this season, Wunderlich filled in as our “feature back” and was excellent in his last two games, really going out on top.
Now, the other major loss was our pass rush. We lose our two starting defensive ends from last season:
was something of a desperation pickup for us in free agency, and he panned out nicely. We got two solid seasons from him after the sudden retirement of Alvin Hall, and Lazaro played well and gave us solid pressure and veteran leadership.
was our strong-side linebacker for nine seasons, and was a key member of the first C-Dog championship defense. Late in his career, we played him almost exclusively at DE, where he adapted well to a pass-rushing role, setting a career high with 9.5 sacks in 2012. He’s the franchise career leader in tackles, and a three-ring guy for us.
, who had been a big part of our “cloud of catchers” we used to overrun secondary coverage schemes from time to time. We acquired Hastings when we decided to rebuild the WR corps a few seasons ago, and while he never became a star player here, he was a valuable asset for three seasons. In addition, we lost an original C-Dog in
, who was the only one of our original offensive linemen to survive the mid-career purge of several years ago. He remained as a sort of coach on the field for us, helping to keep the young and developing line on the same page together. His leadership will be tough to replace.
Code:
Front Office Football 2007
Chesapeake Chili Dogs Roster, Contract View
Player # Pos Start OnTm EndCnt Exp Cap Cost Save if Rls
Sedor, Brent 16 QB 2009 2016 6 $6,500,000 $5,000,000
Ross, Harry 2 QB 2013 2015 11 $1,600,000 $1,600,000
Johnstone, Walt 4 QB 2013 2015 2 $780,000 $510,000
Gerhardt, Alex 7 QB 2011 ---- 4 $0 $0
$$Edwards, Phil 14 QB 2013 ---- 1 $0 $0
Lombardo, Albert 40 RB 2013 2015 11 $1,300,000 $1,000,000
Cook, Sam 38 RB 2012 2014 3 $720,000 $620,000
Small, Harry 20 RB 2013 ---- 2 $0 $0
Emerson, Charles 42 FB 2005 2015 10 $470,000* $470,000
Cooper, Robert 13 TE 2009 2017 6 $3,200,000 $2,000,000
Leff, Harvey 83 TE 2012 ---- 3 $0 $0
Pearson, Burt 8 FL 2011 2018 4 $5,280,000 $1,500,000
Fields, Kent 86 FL 2012 2014 3 $1,230,000 $800,000
Abdul-Malik, Oscar 82 FL 2012 2015 10 $470,000* $470,000
Torpey, Robert 80 SE 2011 2014 13 $2,160,000 $1,070,000
Ellis, George 18 SE 2010 2016 5 $1,480,000 $1,000,000
Turnbull, Winston 54 C 2008 2015 7 $3,080,000 $1,500,000
Lambeau, Wendell 55 C 2009 2014 7 $940,000 $940,000
Schmit, Gus 66 LG 2008 2015 7 $3,650,000 $3,250,000
Wickham, Drew 63 LG 2013 ---- 2 $0 $0
**Brandon, Marvin 60 RG 2008 2014 7 $1,690,000 $1,590,000
Csonka, Shane 74 RG 2012 2014 3 $630,000 $580,000
Boyd, Lenny 61 LT 2010 2014 9 $2,250,000 $1,860,000
Kolodzik, Horace 73 LT 2009 2017 10 $1,900,000 $1,500,000
Burns, Jerry 75 RT 2009 2016 6 $3,280,000 $2,460,000
Alfonso, Conrad 9 P 2010 2016 5 $480,000* $480,000
Everhart, David 19 K 2008 2015 7 $930,000 $930,000
Clayton, Skip 94 LDE 2012 2014 3 $840,000 $620,000
Meadows, Kerry 90 LDE 2012 2014 3 $720,000 $620,000
White, Johnny 99 RDE 2013 2015 9 $1,000,000 $1,000,000
$$Pint, Rex 15 RDE 2013 ---- 1 $0 $0
Armagost, Dwight 70 LDT 2010 2015 5 $950,000 $850,000
Lents, Bryan 96 RDT 2010 2017 5 $3,000,000 $1,500,000
Dennis, D.J. 57 SILB 2004 UFA 11 $0 $0
McKenzie, Doug 59 MLB 2009 2015 10 $6,720,000 $4,330,000
Gibbons, Preston 97 MLB 2010 2014 10 $1,080,000 $1,050,000
Watkins, Steven 95 MLB 2003 2015 16 $990,000 $970,000
McDowell, Lorenzo 52 MLB 2013 2015 2 $490,000 $460,000
Ewart, Daryl 92 SLB 2011 2017 9 $4,300,000 $2,500,000
Kuykendall, Travis 56 SLB 2006 2015 9 $990,000 $990,000
Padgett, Herman 31 LCB 2008 2017 7 $3,600,000 $1,800,000
Webb, Dixon 32 LCB 2009 2014 6 $830,000 $800,000
Daniels, C.J. 28 LCB 2012 2014 3 $720,000 $620,000
Kuehler, Lewis 27 RCB 2011 2018 9 $4,410,000 $1,500,000
Tellez, Leland 34 RCB 2010 2015 6 $780,000 $780,000
Schwantz, Doug 29 SS 2009 2015 6 $2,000,000 $1,500,000
Vesser, Brett 23 SS 2009 2014 6 $780,000 $760,000
Upshaw, Jon 41 SS 2010 2015 12 $470,000* $470,000
Hotle, Brett 43 SS 2013 UFA 8 $0 $0
McCartney, Jeff 21 FS 2008 2016 7 $2,050,000 $1,500,000
Players Under Contract: 42
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 42
Salary Cap: $100,500,000
Cap Room: $14,110,000
Maximum for New Player: $10,270,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $5,650,000
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $95,350,000
So, $14m is a good deal more cap space than I had imagined sitting on here. However, our $14m in cap space is in the low end for the league – there are 12 teams with at least $20 million, and 3 teams with at least $40 million in space. I don’t yet have much idea what to expect on the open FA market, but I am certainly glad that I locked up my potential free agents (TE Cooper, MLB McKenzie) for this season, rather than letting them hang out there.
Much more to come, as the next few days will be mostly about the engine transition, and then staff offers and such. We’ll be looking at some of our youngsters a bit more closely, I reckon.