[stkelly52]

Free agency
Among the FAs that I lose this season is my LT Casey Shea. This is the guy that I franchised last season. Because there was no suitable replacement for him in free agency or the draft I wound up just paying him franchise pay. This year I am allowing him to go look at other offers. I instead will look in other directions for my line. I have my eyes on Mo Newton. He is a bit on the older side, but I still think that he can be a very reliable starter and would be a step up from Shea. Of course, it would cost us, meaning he would likely be the only major FA that I would pursue this year.

We were thrilled when we Mo announced that he had selected Atlanta to be his new home. It will cost us nearly $34 million, but we do believe that he will be worth it. We also add a few other minor free agents here and there, mostly resigning our own players. None of them are big name players, and none of them command big paychecks. Just one, a TE, will likely be a starter this year.

We make our way through a rather uneventful draft and training camp. I head into the preseason not knowing what to think about this team. Overall, we are a rather solid lot. I have very good starters at most of my positions, and I think that I should be in decent shape. However, my starting QB has only thrown 13 passes in his 4 year career, and he has thrown none in the last 4 seasons. I am not sure how well he will fair now that he is our field general.

Goals
We had a great year last season, but we have taken a step backwards this year. This is a rebuilding season. Our QB has some potential, and I think that he can lead us to a Super Bowl, but I don't think that he is there yet. This year should be able to give him that experience under his belt that will guide us in the years to come. But that will hurt us for this year. Frankly, I would be happy with 9 wins and a trip to the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. I find it hard to bring myself to honestly believe that we can do much better.

For Leland I continue to expect great things from him. Our line is as strong as it has ever been. Not only did we get a step up at LT, but our 3rd year backup guard had a breakout camp and he is now ready to fill in should we need him to cover for any injuries. The only think that could hold Leland back is that I think that he will get less carries this year because we will trail more often and will need him less to run out the clock. Nevertheless, I want to see Nixon run for 2000 yards once again, and I would like to see him again top 15 TDs all while maintaining a 4.0 yard average.