Ok, back to the good old days. A parsed-up roster dump, with commentary by position group. These ratings are post-camp but before the pre-season reveal. and I'll note my decisions as I think through each group. Fun!
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Farrell, Teddy 102 QB 14 42 42 1 yr.
Bryant, Richie 109 QB 9 28 28 3 yrs.
Wolf, Ivan 107 QB 5 26 34 2 yrs.
Teddy - is this his final season? Probably? He's QB1, obviously. Farrell seems like a no-brainer patch-over high-cohesion guy for when the reins become available. Wolf is a camp arm, a run-around guy with no voids... were he younger, I'd say he's a long term QB2 but instead, he's likely fodder.
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateBush, Edwin 230 RB 2 53 53 1 yr.
Roberts, Jaylen 247 RB 5 50 50 2 yrs.
Schweigert, Bernie 222 RB 2 45 47 3 yrs.
Podolyak, Glenn 234 RB 5 42 42 3 yrs.
Breedlove, Eugene 240 RB 6 37 37 3 yrs.
Rose, Gus 243 RB 1 22 31 4 yrs.
Lundy, Josiah 233 RB 1 17 22 2 yrs.
Lusignan, Jackson 338 FB 12 6 6 2 yrs.
Ok, I have detailed this position a bit already, mostly thinking about chemistry. Talent? Hard to say. On paper, Liverwurst and Bush look completely up to the challenge of carrying this part of the offense. Production-wise? Meh.
Cuts: Breedlove, Rose... Lundy pending my decision with the "complicated" DB/PR guy.
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateWeydahl, Arturo 480 TE 11 43 43 2 yrs.
Terrell, Devan 482 TE 5 36 36 3 yrs.
Austin, Ronald 484 TE 6 35 35 3 yrs.
Set for now. Weydahl has given us a nice career, with over 8K in receiving yards, but he's winding down. Austin is a solid TE2, but is about to mess up our chemistry, might have to go next season. That actually clears the way for Terrell to make a surprise move from special teamer to TE1 as soon as next season - he's got decent ratings where it counts for the duty (GD and BPR both over 60, but RR only 36)... my guess is he's more of a TE2 guy and we look to improve at the position with an early draft pick or impact FA signing (like the guy we should have nabbed this offseason, grrr)
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateFranz, Brad 517 FL 8 63 63 3 yrs.
Dugas, Aiden 589 FL 3 44 47 1 yr.
Woods, B.J. 583 FL 1 35 45 2 yrs.
Slade, Allen 585 FL 6 25 25 2 yrs.
Bayer, Billy 518 FL 1 20 33 4 yrs.
Matthews, Ramon 586 FL 12 11 11 1 yr.
Stocz, Lonnie 512 SE 3 57 57 2 yrs.
Conway, Marco 581 SE 5 29 29 2 yrs.
Hoover, Norman 588 SE 8 2 2 2 yrs.
Okay, I probably want to have 5-6 active guys. Affinity add-ons don't count in that total - in a one-shot zero-injury league you have to have 7 bench guys, and the only thing that matters for me is where I place the chemistry effects... WR is a perfectly sensible place to do so.
So... Franz and Stocz are the most incongruously-named starting WR pair in the league, locked in at WR 1/2. Dugas and Slade have earned field time. Hoover is the inactive chem leader, Conway is a 97 personality bench guy. That's all set - 4 active, 6 total.
Ramon Mathews, I have written plenty about. He's faded down to basically nothing but punt return skills, and only 40-something at that, with a likely drop ahead in preseason. 89 personality and 7 years on the team, but... do we put him out there for 30 targets? No way, I don't see it. So, basically an affinity guy and PR role player. In play... but again, the mystery rookie DB is a ripple effect guy here.
My 6th round draft pick Bayer was VU by my scouting, but they're way better at pure scouting than interviews. I'm inclined to write him off, especially because...
BJ Woods, grading at 35/45, looks intriguing... like he projects to be about as good as Dugas. Low RR, but complementary stuff I like. If he had high personality, he'd become a project. As it stands, he's ahead of Bayer, but not a lock to make the 53.
Cuts: Nobody yet... Mathews pending
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateCebelak, Moe 665 C 6 49 49 1 yr.
Knightley, Logan 673 C 3 31 55 1 yr.
Foreman, Donald 771 LG 9 60 60 2 yrs.
Darby, Donnie 760 RG 9 54 54 2 yrs.
Stuart, Brady 772 RG 4 32 36 2 yrs.
Shepherd, Tyrus 863 LT 6 86 86 2 yrs.
O'Donnell, Miguel 861 LT 1 24 77 4 yrs.
Dotson, Joey 867 LT 10 16 16 2 yrs.
Bullock, Juan 876 LT 3 14 21 2 yrs.
Tompkins, Heath 875 RT 5 60 60 4 yrs.
Hardy, Drake 874 RT 2 23 24 2 yrs.
Okay, plan here is to keep 5 legit starters, two active backups mostly for chemistry, and
possibly one bench chem guy. So, herd needs thinned.
Pivot guy here is C (nee left tackle) Knightley...lost position experience in the switch to C, but he has a legit shot to play center for this team, likely next season. We grade him 43/91 in run blocking, and I want a legit road grader there, after missing out on my rookie target by one lousy Patriots pick. (That guy is rated 42/90 right now, and looks like an EPIC chemistry anchor... oh I am soooo mad I missed out on him)
Okay, so right now, the sure things are LT Shepherd, LG Foreman, RG Darby, RT Tompkins, Chem Leader and mentor T Dotson, and 2nd round rookie T O'Donnell. That's 5A/6T. Two more slots to fill - the simplest way is just to keep C Cebelak in as the starter for this season, and leave C Knightley behind him as OL7 to develop along with O'Donnell. Vanilla, solid.
T Hardy is a rare 2/3 guy with leadership potential. If we retain our chem structure for a decade, he will be a guy we probably want to pigeonhole in some place. But is this the year to carry him with no chemistry effect, just to get to that place? And for a 59 leadership guy, meaning we have to move other pieces around to accommodate him? (Like... he'd never outshine Liverwusrt, so it's either OL or TE for him as leader) Doubtful. Not enough skill to warrant seeing preseason. We cut him here, in longshot hopes he latches on with an AI team and gathers a season full of starts.
G Stuart is just so easy to keep. Already has his starts, he's got 77 personality, and would probably stick around forever and be a break-glass starter at RG if needed once he's got cohesion on his side. Not a cut yet.
Cuts: T Hardy, T Bullock
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateFrederick, Edwin 904 P 8 45 45 2 yrs.
Thomas, Mario 1003K 2 75 85 3 yrs.
What's done is done. Do I wish I had a nice puzzle piece for that 2nd round pick rather than a big bars kicker? Yes, I do. Moving on.
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future
Keith, Jimmie 1192LDE 5 64 64 4 yrs.
Anthony, Ethan 1198LDE 7 50 50 3 yrs.
Pearson, Isaac 1190LDE 6 40 40 1 yr.
Mealey, Terrell 1191LDE 8 35 35 2 yrs.
Helming, Juan 1194RDE 1 59 77 4 yrs.
Banks, DeAndre 1193RDE 9 45 45 2 yrs.
Stevens, Aaron 1299NT 9 58 58 3 yrs.
Fuller, Alec 1296NT 12 44 44 2 yrs.
Calhoun, Ramon 1295NT 13 37 37 1 yr.
Neill, Pete 1297NT 9 35 35 1 yr.
Caraba, Bryant 1279NT 1 21 50 4 yrs.
Okay, lots of movement here. My D really depends on pressure from the front - so who do we have? The top rated guy here is DE Keith, and he is a pure run stopper, but at 269 lbs probably shouldn't play much inside. He's on a purely cut-friendly deal, on purpose. He's a bubble guy, believe it or not.
Due to RunD (R), PRush (P), contract (K), Special Teams (S), or just crazy cohesion (C), these guys are going to make the final 53 for certain:
DE Mealey P, DE Anthony K, DE Helming RK
NT Calhoun SC, NT Stevens K, DT Neill C
Honestly, six guys is all we need, especially since rookie Helming has huge endurance, he can play all day. 4th rounder Caraba looks like a cut but maybe we'll keep him for a preseason look. Sigh.
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateTanner, Jermaine 1305SILB 12 66 66 2 yrs.
Peterson, Edgar 1351SILB 4 35 49 3 yrs.
Roybal, Giovanni 1350WILB 2 43 43 1 yr.
Brotzman, Tucker 1352WILB 9 38 38 3 yrs.
Wilkerson, Shane 1345WILB 4 24 24 1 yr.
Craig, Kent 1353WILB 1 22 58 4 yrs.
Randolph, Renaldo 1415SLB 10 59 59 2 yrs.
Ackerman, Dalton 1455SLB 1 22 40 4 yrs.
Schultz, Eddie 1446WLB 5 56 56 3 yrs.
Sumner, Floyd 1458WLB 6 45 45 4 yrs.
Monroe, Brad 1457WLB 5 24 24 2 yrs.
Another crowd. Who makes the team? Same codes as above but with P=coverage, i = inactive:
Tanner RL, Peterson P, Brotzman i, Wilkerson i, Roybal R
Randolph RP, Sumner R, Schultz K
Ackerman has the 91/100 ST I wanted, but he's also got a toxic 100/20 mix at chemistry stuff. And he can't exactly, you know, play football. So, I think he's a safe cut, despite delivering on the one thing we wanted from him.
Craig (former DE) now looks like a low-development but intriguing all-around prospect. Do we have room for that on this team?
Monroe has decent overall ratings and 72 ST... but near voids in RunD and Zone, the two things we tend to value most of all. Hard to see him making it. Cut.
So, we sit at 6 guys sure to make the roster, two of whom could be active depth or bench affinities.
Cut: LB Monroe
Code:
Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future EstimateSlechta, Eugene 1528LCB 11 47 47 2 yrs.
Conway, Emmanuel 1529LCB 4 42 42 1 yr.
Harvey, Alfred 1525LCB 7 36 36 2 yrs.
Gallop, Samuel 1541LCB 4 32 32 1 yr.
Creel, Harris 1531RCB 3 29 29 2 yrs.
Vaughn, Shawn 1506RCB 1 23 32 1 yr.
Wilson, Jeremiah 1649SS 7 56 56 3 yrs.
Austin, Cole 1642SS 9 50 50 1 yr.
Thomas, Thomas 1636SS 10 16 16 2 yrs.
Douglas, Riley 1623FS 11 61 61 2 yrs.
Conley, Calvin 1639FS 5 43 43 1 yr.
Okay, probably the trickiest group. Who's in for sure?
CB1/2 ought to be Slechta, Conway, and some S Conley I think (weak)
N/D CB should be Gallop, safeties
S1/2 ought to be Douglas, Wilson, Austin
Borderline guys are: Creel (CB2 or nothing, I think), CB Harvey (new addition, maybe CB2?) ... not wild about playing time for either guy but here we are after two semi-busted first rounders at CB
And the biggest pivot guy on the roster right now,
CB Shawn Vaughn. I know I have built this team around certain things, chemistry a foundational part of that. He's a conflict waiting to happen. But... that skill set. And my scout sees him as even better, particularly at punt returns. I am salivating about this guy, and I don't think I can get over it. I have already advance him a prestige jersey number. I think he's making this team, and seeing the field - no starts, but as a deep-rotation guy in some run situations, and then as our PR /gunner.
Okay, based on that little fever dream...
Cuts: RB Lundy, WR Matthews
And after that, a few more revisitations from the Turk:
Cuts: LB Ackerman, DT Caraba, DE Keith
60. We know there are more cuts ahead to get to 53, but this was hard, as usual.