Snakebitten: A Real-Time MP FOF thread - Page 24

QuikSand · 07-20-2020, 12:12 PM

DC BUREAU

So, not a whole lot happening here in DC, either. As mentioned, we released CB Franklin, freeing up cap space for several things, most notably a reneg of LB Shedd (who turned down our first offer).

WLB Landon Shedd	Late FA Stage 1	has begun a contract holdout
LCB Courtney Franklin	Late FA Stage 1	released
SE Lester Robbins	Late FA Stage 1	signed a renegotiated contract: 2yrs, $8,230,000.
WLB Landon Shedd	Late FA Stage 1	turned down a contract offer: 3yrs, $39,000,000.
TE Victor Tompkins	Late FA Stage 1	re-signed as an unrestricted free agent
LCB Cesar Peterson	Late FA Stage 1	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $5,300,000.
SILB Jimmy Meadows	Late FA Stage 2	turned down a contract offer: 3yrs, $22,610,000.
SS Carter Sampson	Late FA Stage 2	signed as an unrestricted free agent from New Orleans: 3yrs, $12,000,000.
SS Darnell Powell	Late FA Stage 3	signed as an unrestricted free agent from Houston: 2yrs, $10,320,000.
RB Tito Ross	Late FA Stage 3	re-signed as an unrestricted free agent
TE Cornelius Cullors	Late FA Stage 3	turned down a contract offer: 3yrs, $12,000,000.

Okay then, what's news here?

I tried fairly hard to land young LB Meadows, no affinity but a legit talent. Houston got him (no worries, several teams were after him).

S Sampson is a zone-first low-affinity guy who likely sticks, Powell is a career-ender high-affinity guy who likely sticks, too.

RB Ross is a high-affinity guy I wanted to keep around for some reason or another.

johnnyshaka · 07-21-2020, 09:49 AM

I missed the export on the final stage to re-sign RFAs...consequently missing out my last chance to re-sign LB Meadows on the cheap. SMH.

QuikSand · 07-21-2020, 07:58 PM

Cutdown to 60:

I make the call at WR/TE for the chem leader - it's going to be Polley now. T hat means both TE Austin and WR Conway have to go to clear the way. It's fine. Polley is a 97 pers leader, and clicks with everyone except TE Ogden. TE Wesson is also out, just not room for him.

Soph RB Bush is an easy cut, we'll look at the rookies after preseason, and see if anyone sticks.

Rookie DL Fisher looks okay, but is not good enough to merit starts, so he can't gain affinity, and he's out. DT Crawford will be getting those starts this season, at least in the base D setup.

Wow, can I really keep LB Pagel? I won't be able to trade him, would I re-sign him next year, without any affinity? Doubtful. No, dumb idea, but not cost here. Gone.

Nothing exciting here. Move along.

QuikSand · 07-21-2020, 08:11 PM

DC BUREAU

Cutdown day in the District won't be thrilling here, either. We're already at 60 players, so no cuts needed.

Our rookie class looks stellar. One solid WR, one afterthought DB, and it's not a no-brainer who we should be more excited about. Great.

QuikSand · 07-22-2020, 08:42 AM

Cutdown to 53:

Three young RB competing for slots behind two fading veterans. It's a no-injury league, so no pressure to keep more than 2 here. Veteran Edwin Bush plummeted from 41 to 30 - can we still play him? 6.08 ypc last season, but... 30/30 man. Liverwurst also dropped to 39/39. Ouch. 3rd round rookie Andersen faded, too, bad sign - marginal 3rd down back I guess. Flemister had a "boom" but only to 29/31 by my scout. We have no good options here, I fear. I cut the UDFAs for now, will see if Andersen can sneak into the 53 later. I hope we have better options.

At TE, Polley is our new leader (and itches for some playing time) and Ogden is freshly re-signed, they're in. Vinny Money was actually my default to get a lot of targets if Ogden walked. I like Fridlund, he's got affinity going already, but unless I'm going to use him in the swing-out T role, he's just an chem guy and might as well be inactive. Rookie Marcus Hartman actually has a case to make, a bump in camp and he's a legit special teamer... ugh. Carry 5 for now?

I'm down to only 6 WR, so not much to do here. Woods is a 9 RR guy with weak affinity, he's the logical candidate to go, despite his tantalizing other ratings. Rookie Hanley will get starts this year, and lock in as a long term chem/ST asset. Stocz is going to get quite a few WR3 targets, it seems.

CB Geer goes, he was bubbled last time, just cant get him starts. Rookie S Swager gone, after a preseason fade. S Tucker won't get starts, he's gone, too - our DB group will just sit intact. (With CB Maas signing an extension, even more status quo...CB/KR Burroughs had a ratings rebound, too)

Okay, still keep a gimp QB in Alonzo? Yes, I think we will.

LB Beardslee ends up being the last man out, he faded and wanted big money to extend.

Yawwwwwwwn. What is interesting here? FB Hillhouse is going to get some targets this season, we're using him in the swing TE role. So, we'll see if we have anything beyond a gathering of nice red bars there.

Hmm, file error trying to upload. Awesome.

QuikSand · 07-22-2020, 10:47 AM

DC BUREAU

Cutdown day... tricky here. Not worth detailing a ton.

Rookie WR Carrubba is going to be okay. Fine. Not a superstar.
Rookie CB Peterson is a real keeper, future ST ace and rotation CB.

Biggest twists are behind the scenes... WR Price faded a bit and won't be the decoy we wanted (dammit), at least when Malone is on the field (i.e. anytime that matters).

Okay... Price is cut (bleeding bonus money), WR White makes it as KR/WR4, young RB Cash gets the RB2 job, and we'll hope for the best.

QuikSand · 07-22-2020, 11:29 AM

Predictions this year:

Baltimore does not take a meaningful step forward, remains near/at the top of a tough division but discernibly behind the very top tier in the AFC. I'll predict 11-5, with more improvement on D than O. Hillhouse will be disappointing on only 6 yards per target in his H-back role.

DC will again win the NFC lEast, but again be in that 3/4 seed slot. Anything can happen, but the most likely outcome is probably 11 wins and a longshot playoff contender slot, same as in B-More.

BAL a bit more likely to win a playoff game or two.

QuikSand · 07-23-2020, 11:02 AM

Chas in Cinti · 07-23-2020, 11:17 AM

tease...

QuikSand · 07-23-2020, 11:31 AM

Fun, the forum doesn't like my post now... okay, here's the bottom line:

Oh Hai we are terrible now

So, what went wrong?

-11 on turnovers, that has to be a lot of it... Levine fumbled 11 times, OL problems?
(Yes, our Sack% of 5.2 was mid-pack, but opp PR% 0r 24% was 3rd worst)
-Levine threw 22 picks, ration close to 1:1 rather than better previous years
-5.5 ypc rushing game not the problem, Schewigert good again
-FB Hillhouse gets 5.3 ypt on swing routes, TE Ogden 6.7 on routine stuff
-Our own pass rush was really weak again, bottom half by the numbers
-Our pass D, our pride and joy, was awful - 51.2 PD% (25th)

Wow. So, the O-line, the D-line, the usual suspects, and maybe some bad breaks. So, we pick in the 6-7-8 range next year. Offense, you say? Do they still make that?

QuikSand · 07-23-2020, 11:42 AM

DC BUREAU

So, were things better down inside the other beltway?

Better, but not exactly "Be Best" Better

Okay, so the main tenets of our prediction held here - the division remained weak, so we are again good enough to win it, but not good enough to get the week off... the big difference maker, in my mind.

-QB Clancy is fine, not exceptional, and I can't tell whether he's just not good or it's me
-the smart money is that it's on me, see below a couple of clicks
-WR Malone remains the main man, just churning out 8 yards per target
-We threw 163 targets into the TE black hole, and it's awful... 4.9 ypt ugh
-OL seems mid-pack, running game same, RB Cash is "not good at football"
-Pass rush okay (9th), w Singleton again the true alpha w/16 sacks
-Pass D was, overall, not good at all... wow, did something un-click this year?

We're a harmless 10-6 team, just hitting the postseason for our cup of coffee, nothing to see here. Yeah, I know, I know, but it's really true.

QuikSand · 07-23-2020, 12:14 PM

In Baltimore, I'm gutted. Feeling like I sold out to the 2-3/4-5/6-7 chemistry triad because of a QB who in the GML world is probably dead right now. And since then, we have been swimming upstream fighting the tide of a bad choice there. We have made the most of it, fielded some good teams, but I'm kinda close to saying that I can't do it.

And with our top two assets, the young receivers, both in the 4-5 group... it would be hard to simply re-do everything. I will, sincerrly, give some thought to tearing down the entire OL and RB infrastructure, and giving them an overhaul in another group.

I'm also, candidly, waffling on whether the time spent on all this is merited. It happens. I'll likely get over it.

Some similar waffling with the DC team. I was really jazzed about the WR group I had been building. Then I ended up nearly cutting all three veterans I had signed, actually cutting one, and realizing that it was basically all for naught. Plus a minor miss on my huge trade-up deal. It is dispiriting.

Chas in Cinti · 07-23-2020, 12:56 PM

Could be a one-year blah... it happens in this game occasionally.

QuikSand · 07-23-2020, 03:34 PM

Looking for some silver lining in Crabtown:

The DL we moved up for last year looks like he might be pretty good, after all...

DT Aidan Denby

By the numbers, that is a really really strong start to a career. He played purely DT this year, so those pass rush numbers are not buoyed by him playing edge here and there. But if he posts this kind of stuff from the inside, that's making me feel better about the move to get him.

QuikSand · 07-24-2020, 08:36 AM

GML POSTSEASON RECAP

GAME RESULTS
Wild Card Round	BOX	Arizona Cardinals (SteveOliver)	28-45	Washington Football Team (KickStand)	LOG
Wild Card Round	BOX	Denver Broncos (AVAILABLE)	27-13	Jacksonville Jaguars (finkellll)	LOG
Wild Card Round	BOX	New Jersey Jets (AVAILABLE)	10-28	Pittsburgh Steelers (rgvic3do)	LOG
Wild Card Round	BOX	San Francisco 49ers (Juggernaut)	27-37	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ChrustifusMax)	LOG

Divisional Round	BOX	Denver Broncos (AVAILABLE)	35-28	New England Patriots (pyser)	LOG
Divisional Round	BOX	Pittsburgh Steelers (rgvic3do)	28-31	Kansas City Chiefs (Jeremessiah)	LOG
Divisional Round	BOX	Tampa Bay Buccaneers (ChrustifusMax)	24-27	Chicago Bears (rgvicedo)	LOG
Divisional Round	BOX	Washington Football Team (KickStand)	33-26	St. Louis Rams (tzach)	LOG

Conference Round	BOX	Denver Broncos (AVAILABLE)	31-38	Kansas City Chiefs (Jeremessiah)	LOG
Conference Round	BOX	Washington Football Team (KickStand)	27-39	Chicago Bears (rgvicedo)	LOG

The GM Challenge Bowl Result
Front Office Bowl	BOX		Chicago Bears (rgvicedo)	36-21	Kansas City Chiefs (Jeremessiah)		LOG

QuikSand · 07-24-2020, 08:37 AM

Another pretty nice postseason run from the DC squad. Small sample size, or something to that? Hard to say.

Anyway...onward. New season kicks off soon, will try to manufacture some enthusiasm for it.

QuikSand · 07-24-2020, 12:41 PM

Okay, moving on, new file is up.

Baltimore loses DE Gilbert Baxter, which will cause some chemistry tumult. We will figure it out, but I don't yet have a plan, had expected to keep him cashing minsal checks for a couple more seasons.

We also will have some sorting out to do at OL. Shepherd is a free agent, we currently see the OL with Jennings (4-5 group, 93 ldr, 98 pers) in charge, and I'm saddened to see G Kendrick not even register as an affinity with him (pers 10). Dammit. Not a crisis, just annoying. Still not sure if T Shepherd would reclaim the group leadership if re-sign, and not sure if there's a way to know that in-game.

We're also finally at the end of the 5yr "oh what the hell" contract with QB Levine. I honestly did not expect to use him, just had cap space and he seemed unwanted. In his 4 years as our starter, he has given us two pretty good efforts. Not bad. Not exciting, either.

I apparently failed to extend my excellent head coach last year, so maybe he will walk now. Great.

We naturally have the worst possible draft pick for our rotten season, at 1.8. I hear from smart people we should draft offense. I expect to do so.

QuikSand · 07-24-2020, 12:47 PM

Side conversation from the Ravens roost. What dowe now think of the decision to spend a late-ish 1st round pick at RB, and to get "Liverwurst" Bernie Schweigert?

Schweigert Player Page

So... first of all, we never really got him into a "full duty" role like I had expected. I had higher hopes for his endurance rating, and then the addition of RB Bush made a timeshare fairly obvious.

With that said... Liverwurst put together a reasonably effective run in the RB1.5 role... with last season capping things off as his highest workload and overall best production. He's an 8th year guy, age 28... is he worth another contract? Tuck away that he's a tricky chemistry guy for us... group 4-5, leadership 93 makes him heard to displace as the group leader, but 73 personality is lower than we'd like.

I think the takeaway here is... nice career for the place where sharps take their RBs -- rounds 3-4 or after the draft. Waste of a first round pick. At this point, very split on whether to offer him a deal. I suspect he may be attractive to AVAILABLE so we might need to come hard to re-up with him.

We'll see. RB Bush is already signed, he presents his own conundrum... he's a ST and cohesion star, so probably makes the team and lineup. But can we really give touches to a guy like this? Last year's 4.5 ypc was on a small sample size... but the year before was awesome. Is he actually "good" despite no discernible skills other than gunner?

QuikSand · 07-25-2020, 12:50 PM

Big stage now, working on FA 1:2.

Here's the BAL reset:

42 players signed
6 draft picks in hand (2nd dealt last year)
0 RFAs I'm sure I will re-sign
---
48 roster spots "spoken for"

Not bad. Nearly $30% of the cap in hand. This is the year (already) to re-up with 11 and 18, so that will be very expensive now and for some time ahead. That's what we are building around, for better or for worse. (Better)

If we extend QB Levine, that will cost us $15m this year or so, he doesn't want a fortune. T Shepherd is the tricky guy - re-upping with him will take at least $40m, and might mess up our OL chemistry. Not sure what to do there.

Oh, it's naturally a crappy draft for quarterbacks. Of course. The one thing that might get me fired up - nope. Yeah, it's semi-official, we pick at 1.8 and I can't find 8 guys at any position that I actually want. Dammit.

QuikSand · 07-25-2020, 04:29 PM

DC BUREAU

38 players signed
00 draft picks this year
xx RFAs we will surely re-sign
---
??? but lots of roster space

We have a bit less than 20% of the cap available. Renegs with T Lyons and (maybe) DT Pascal will take a chunk of that. No room for big splash signings. We could deal WR Bouchette to free up space, there was some interest last season.

I'm basically content with this team, more or less. Wish I had made a few smarter decisions, or won better on some gambles, but all told it's coming together okay.

Roster priorities:
-someone to make something of all these TE targets (!!!)
-depth at DB (veteran CB1 retired, plus general suckiness)
-a legit RB2 maybe?
-more special teamers

Some notes here I'll share later, I think...

QuikSand · 07-25-2020, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Special teams side note:

Punt returns: 20.0 (1st)
PR Allowed: 6.0 (3rd)

Kick returns: 28.3 (3rd)
KR allowed: 20.4 (1st)

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

BALTIMORE

(WR Behne 76 PR, 77/95 ST)
Punt returns: 13.5 (8th)
PR Allowed: 3.5 (1st)

(CB Burroughs 85 KR, 93 ST)
Kick returns: 28.4 (3rd)
KR allowed: 25.0 (24th) WTF?

DC

(WR Robbins 75 PR, 2 ST)
Punt returns: 16.9 (2nd)
PR Allowed: 5.4 (2nd)

(RB Ross 59/63 KR, 2 ST)
Kick returns: 24.0 (13th)
KR allowed: 20.3 (2nd)

Okay, tracking for the 2121 season:

(WR Bridges 75 PR, 14 ST)
Punt returns: 16.8 (1st)
PR Allowed: 6.8 (9th)

(CB Burroughs 95 KR, 100 ST)
Kick returns: 36.2 (1st)
KR allowed: 24.4 (17th) a touch better, but still...

DC

(WR Robbins 73 PR, 2 ST)
Punt returns: 16.0 (4th)
PR Allowed: 6.5 (5th)

(WR Smith 89 KR, 47 ST)
Kick returns: 29.0 (5th)
KR allowed: 23.2 (10th)

So...we remain top drawer in special teams. BAL CB/KR Burroughs recovered his ratings drop from the year before and then some, he's now a great asset.

QuikSand · 07-25-2020, 08:54 PM

Baltimore deals with regular punch Jacksonville, and deals down to three picks in this draft: 1.8, 2.21, 4.21. That's a better fit for our needs, I think.

Have put 1.8 on the block. Have a semi-offer in hand, will have to decide whether to deal down from lottery ticket land. Generally no, but... ugh.

QuikSand · 07-26-2020, 08:05 AM

Quick thoughts on BAL offensive chemistry:

I am not as tied down as it would usually seem. I have teams that do just fine with only 2 of 3 groups in the same triad. So, if I were to just decide to unmoor from the 3-affinity QB model, this doesn't look all that hard to do.

WR #11 and #18 are the guys we're building this team around, obviously. They are both 4-5 guys, and it's hard to imagine me upending that group. So, fine, that means our long term WR/TE group leader will probably be a 2-3 guy like TE Polley (who hates the 10-11 group) or conceivably a 6-7 guy (who would hate the 11-12 group).

So...we'll keep a pin in that for right now, especially the Polley hating the 10-11 group.

If we start over at RB/FB, what do we leave behind? Not a lot. RB Schweigert is a free agent, I'm on the fence as it is about re-upping with him. RB Bush is a fossil. Young guys are replaceable easily. It's the FBs who actually seem intriguing... I remain enchanted by Hillhouse and his weird bars, and we just re-signed Ricker as the sort of lead blocker I like, in theory. So... starting anew at RB/FB would likely mean sliding Hillhouse over to play TE (at 5-11 228 not loving that), probably dropping Ricker? Bummer, but not insurmountable.

At OL... it's psychological at this point. I invested in T Jennings years ago just so we'd have this setup, with him as the anchor. It would hurt to cast it off. But maybe hurt less than just continuing to dick around with this group. The right path ahead with the OL is presumably to let T O'Donnell play out his contract (2 more years), keep playing T Shepherd if we re-sign him (2 more years), skip re-signing G Kendrick for the $20m he wants, and start finding build-around guys for chemistry going forward. Would presumably be fairly easy to assemble a perfectly adequate, high-chem group in the 9-10/12-1/1-2 group in a couple of years, basically to have them take the reins as starters when our tackles eclipse in 2123. Not an awful plan.

(Actually, scratch that... sifting through the league, I don't see anyone out there really hitting OL chem hard, other than...duh... the DC team. And they're building around the 9-10/12-1/1-2 triad. So, this isn't cheating, it's just prudence... if I'm a free agent in this regard, it just seems wiser to build in a group where I don't have a committed rival built-in already... so, we'd likely look more closely at our options in the other two triads.)

So...not saying I'm going out and drafting a "non affinity" left tackle with pick 8. But, at this point, I'm not saying that I'm not doing that, either. Given the paucity of perfect fits within our scheme, it's time to at least consider picking outside the scheme, or even realigning the scheme around the player(s) facing us.

QuikSand · 07-26-2020, 10:39 PM

BAL is on deck in the draft. Looking at the BPA candidates, if we were not beholden to our silly schemes. A good, not great, looking RB... meh for top ten pick. Sundry DL, per usual. A handful of OL who look like low risk, okay upside plays. A low-endurance CB1 type of guy.

I'll have to sort out whether to trade down, or out. I have both on the table. Just don't feel the pull from anything here to stick with it.

QuikSand · 07-26-2020, 11:15 PM

In other news:

MalcPow (via his alter ego) has taken over the Dallas reins ...the recently easy division may not remain that way for long

QuikSand · 07-27-2020, 11:10 AM

FA 1:2-3 in the bag...

Both young WRs accepted their reneg offers... meaning I gave them too much money. Regardless, that's out of the way, removing the chance that I overlook the need to do them and paint myself into a corner. Given the slice of my attention I am freeing up for FOF these days, not unwise.

Biggest news in Baltimore is that LT Shepherd will not be returning. We made a solid offer, but he opted instead for AVAILABLE up the road in Steeltown. Understandable. I was waffling on OL setup anyhow, maybe this moves that along?

Let's have a look at the OL group right now...

Code:

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  
Glode, J.R.             670 C           8    72               72               3 yrs. 
Bosley, Roderick        658 C           7    57               57               1 yr.  
Fattel, Jackie          765 LG          7    36               36               2 yrs. 
Kendrick, Perry         768 RG          4    72               72               1 yr.  
O'Donnell, Miguel       861 LT          7    75               75               2 yrs. 
Jennings, Caiden        878 RT          6    20               20               1 yr.

The operative question is... if we walk away from the chemistry effort here, who cares?

T Jennings is the chem anchor - years in waiting - he's a 4-5 group, 93 Ldr, 98 Pers. Got his starts years ago, been waiting for this takeover. C Glode is a solid starter, loves the chem, and as 8th year guy has 3-4 more good seasons in him. C Bosley is a fill-in, started at LG the last two years, he's fine but not special. Fattel was a chem guy, but he's a 4-5 also, so neutered by Jennings taking over, and useless otherwise. Kendrick is only 10 personality, doesn't even rate his quiet affinity in-game. O'Donnell is a "Mild" - quality player, but low intelligence so presumably a false start machine.

This is not a build-around group, like, say, our DB group. I am basically fine rebooting the OL group chem-wise. No major reason to throw good money after bad here. We have two firsts the next two years, at least two are likely to be toward the end of the round... a great place to take (recalling the recent video with Squirrel) "a good guard." We may indeed be doing that.

QuikSand · 07-27-2020, 11:28 AM

DC BUREAU

We signed a veteran TE, he gives us chemistry worries, but he'll be our main target this year. Old guy, not a long term answer, but he ought to be credible. Kinda like signing Greg Olsen?

Yawn.

QuikSand · 07-28-2020, 08:20 AM

Baltimore signs a... {checks notes}... veteran running back? Really?

Caiden Zamora

Chem-neutral (never a starter?). Had one big season. Seems to have the right skills. Seemed like a good idea at the time, I'm kinda at a loss now. Could be part of a chem revision, though he'd seize the group lead without a great Pers score, and I tend to dislike that.

I'll likely regret this.

QuikSand · 07-28-2020, 09:07 AM

DC BUREAU

Very exciting signing for me... just an unbelievably perfect fit:

S Miles Reese

So, he's got basic skills to play (for me) either SS, FS, or maybe even nickel corner. Great. Not a star, but definitely good enough to play.

He's also a special teamer - my scout pegs him at 98, even better than what you see above. That was a priority.

Finally, he's a strong affinity with our leader, and one day might step into the group leader role, even. Already has his starts, though that's less of a concern with a guy I'd likely be rotating in anyhow.

Yes!

Also signed a veteran DL, just adding to a thin spot on the roster.

QuikSand · 07-28-2020, 05:31 PM

Baltimore with our first of two draft picks:

Baltimore: QuikSand takes T Phil West with the 2.21 pick.

Run Blocking		70<->99
Pass Blocking		61<->90
Blocking Strength		18<->47
Endurance		21<->49

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
76	312	5.2	5.7	-	36	-	-	-	-	32

OL was a need. He looks solid. Likely a future RT or RG. My scout had the Run B maxed out, the drop to 99 may or may not be a major sign. Alas.

QuikSand · 07-28-2020, 05:34 PM

...the very next pick... how on earth did I miss this guy?

Arizona: SteveOliver takes TE Herman Malcomson with the 2.22 pick.

Run Blocking		31<->60
Pass Blocking		70<->99
Blocking Strength		56<->85
Avoid Drops		43<->72
Getting Downfield		58<->87
Route Running		46<->75
Third Down Catching		69<->97
Big-Play Receiving		33<->62
Courage		71<->100
Adjust to Ball		57<->86
Endurance		16<->45
Special Teams		28<->57

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
74	236	5.7	4.9	4.76	28	24	7.47	111	41	42

QuikSand · 07-29-2020, 09:48 AM

My FOF interest is not, right now, sufficient to maintain five MP teams. I just blundered a series of things in another league costing me some combination of a player and a draft pick... just because I wasn't paying attention to details.

The big problem is...my way of playing FOF is all about paying attention to details. With my CCFL team, I just paid a mint to a free agent player who doesn't have chemistry, because I mis-remembered my leader's sign. Just bad signs all around.

Just in the FWIW column here, for now.

QuikSand · 07-29-2020, 11:17 AM

I'll post if something interesting happens. Routine FA activity won't cut it right now. Going to finish some office work and spend time with my daughter.

Chas in Cinti · 07-29-2020, 11:20 AM

What happened to BAL 1st round pick? I assume you traded, as you mention you might but I don't see that you reported what happened.

johnnyshaka · 07-29-2020, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chas in Cinti

What happened to BAL 1st round pick? I assume you traded, as you mention you might but I don't see that you reported what happened.

He traded it: SF - BAL**PROCESSED**

QuikSand · 07-29-2020, 08:49 PM

Sorry, probably forgot to post it here. Yeah, just didn't like any of my legit options, so I dealt out for two future 1sts, likely in the 20s. Meh.

QuikSand · 07-30-2020, 10:56 AM

BAL more free agency moves, nothing exciting. I got lazy and under-bid on CB Wiggins, he has gone to Tennessee (abandoned by Squirrel, not run by AVAILABLE) and I should have seen that coming. Our second draft pick in the bag, too, also unexciting AF, just OL depth in round four.

QuikSand · 07-30-2020, 11:04 AM

DC BUREAU

More activity. A bit more exciting. Landed a nice young DB to add to our cache of same - Colton Jeffrey is a ballhawk and kick returner, who fits our chem scheme and came cheaply. There will be a struggle to find starts for all these young'ns who need them, but I'll make it work over the next couple of seasons.

Up to 49 players signed, no draft picks, ample cal space. We'll see if there are any further shoes to drop. Team's in decent shape.

QuikSand · 07-31-2020, 10:39 AM

okay, into late free agency... BAL has 57 players aboard, so even with a thin draft, we are not especially itchy to sign new faces (even though I seemingly always find something to like in the 8th round)...

RB Liverwurst has re-signed a cheap 1yr deal. He reclaims the chem leadership by doing so - that's a mixed bag, especially if he isn't going to be RB1 any more. Bubbled.

We've got a legal roster, and no shrieking holes anywhere - so late additions would just be complementary pieces, or otherwise forward-looking. With $70m in cap space, I may try to do an early big reneg to get ahead of next season, also.

QuikSand · 07-31-2020, 11:12 AM

DC BUREAU

52 players signed, one G short of legal roster, and easy to patch that over if needed.

We paid big 1yr money for a veteran OL who will serve as chem leader for this season and hopefully not beyond that. Desperate measures? Left as an exercise for the readers, if indeed there are any at this point.

Let's review objectives for this offseason:

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

DC BUREAU

Roster priorities:
-someone to make something of all these TE targets (!!!)
-depth at DB (veteran CB1 retired, plus general suckiness)
-a legit RB2 maybe?
-more special teamers

Our focus TE will be Darrell Tafoya, and he should be adequate. Honestly, I just want to get close to 7 yards per target. That would be a big move forward.

DB depth improved, with young signings. A couple guys pending new deals, but I feel okay there, all told.

RB2 nope

ST should be improved by TE Tafoya 90, S Reese 98, and maybe CB Jeffrey in the return game eventually. Two key adds there, we'll tally that as a win for a lackluster offseason, overall.

We will look around at the leftovers, per usual. This team still has a few roster spots that are open to real challenge by youth with promise.

Chas in Cinti · 07-31-2020, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

DC BUREAU

Left as an exercise for the readers, if indeed there are any at this point.

I'm not sure whether to feel slighted, bemused, or forgotten...

LOL!

QuikSand · 07-31-2020, 10:02 PM

you have been kinda quiet, pal

but the slight was meant on me...the content here has been subpar of late, I'm quite aware

doldrums

QuikSand · 08-01-2020, 01:10 PM

Quote:

KC sends DT Middleton

BAL sends 5th next year (2123)

tending to our D7 chemistry woes (leader retired this year)... let's take this as a good sign that we haven't completely given up on "tending to things" around here

Chas in Cinti · 08-01-2020, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

you have been kinda quiet, pal

but the slight was meant on me...the content here has been subpar of late, I'm quite aware

doldrums

Hey man... the swag that came with season tickets has been lacking the last few seasons...

QuikSand · 08-02-2020, 12:14 PM

fair enough

QuikSand · 08-04-2020, 11:25 AM

Week off for Commissioner holiday. Comes at a good time. See y'all later.

Chas in Cinti · 08-06-2020, 02:50 PM

Going to be a long week...

QuikSand · 08-10-2020, 01:59 PM

So, I guess we're still doing this.

QuikSand · 08-10-2020, 02:24 PM

This is fun with essentially no recollection over what I wanted to have happen here, with the file sent in days and days (or years) ago...

Anyway

QB Jamal Alonzo	Late FA Stage 1	re-signed as an unrestricted free agent
RG Clay Pritchett	Late FA Stage 1	turned down a contract offer: 4yrs, $32,000,000.
LT Dan Pilcher	Late FA Stage 1	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $6,100,000.
RG Mitchell Grabovez	Late FA Stage 1	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $4,920,000.
LT Weston Gorham	Late FA Stage 1	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $4,920,000.
LT Corey Sutton	Late FA Stage 1	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $5,340,000.
LT Marcos Crownhart	Late FA Stage 1	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $5,340,000.
RG Earnest Crawford	Late FA Stage 2	signed as an unrestricted free agent from New England: 2yrs, $8,510,000.
LS Grady Bryant	Late FA Stage 2	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $4,920,000.
LG Harvey Malinsky	Late FA Stage 2	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $7,000,000.
LG Elliot Lewis	Late FA Stage 3	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $6,530,000.
LT Grant Ellis	Late FA Stage 3	signed as a free agent: 2yrs, $5,340,000.

So, lessee, lots of the usual after-draft flotsam. That OG is a missed opportunity, don't recall the nature of my offer but disappointed to miss on him like that. He might have been good enough to alter my OL chemistry thinking, as a long term 6-7 group leader.

Anyway... mostly young OL targets. No sense in hiding it any longer... I'm working toward a new chem scheme at that group. The plan is to build it all up around this dude, who will start at RT this season I guess, and go from there. The two rookies both fit, nearly all of these spare parts OL guys fit, and the question now is basically just when do we pull the switch. Likely next offseason. (edit: no, it's right now)

Time to prep for pretend fake football games. Cut to 60 is... uninteresting.

Chas in Cinti · 08-11-2020, 08:10 AM

Good to see this back!

07-23-2020, 11:17 AM	#1159
Chas in Cinti High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cincinnati, OH	tease... __________________ Email: [email protected]

07-23-2020, 12:56 PM	#1163
Chas in Cinti High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cincinnati, OH	Could be a one-year blah... it happens in this game occasionally. __________________ Email: [email protected]

07-26-2020, 11:15 PM	#1175
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	In other news: MalcPow (via his alter ego) has taken over the Dallas reins ...the recently easy division may not remain that way for long Last edited by QuikSand : 07-26-2020 at 11:15 PM.

07-27-2020, 11:10 AM	#1176
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	FA 1:2-3 in the bag... Both young WRs accepted their reneg offers... meaning I gave them too much money. Regardless, that's out of the way, removing the chance that I overlook the need to do them and paint myself into a corner. Given the slice of my attention I am freeing up for FOF these days, not unwise. Biggest news in Baltimore is that LT Shepherd will not be returning. We made a solid offer, but he opted instead for AVAILABLE up the road in Steeltown. Understandable. I was waffling on OL setup anyhow, maybe this moves that along? Let's have a look at the OL group right now... Code: Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Glode, J.R. 670 C 8 72 72 3 yrs. Bosley, Roderick 658 C 7 57 57 1 yr. Fattel, Jackie 765 LG 7 36 36 2 yrs. Kendrick, Perry 768 RG 4 72 72 1 yr. O'Donnell, Miguel 861 LT 7 75 75 2 yrs. Jennings, Caiden 878 RT 6 20 20 1 yr. The operative question is... if we walk away from the chemistry effort here, who cares? T Jennings is the chem anchor - years in waiting - he's a 4-5 group, 93 Ldr, 98 Pers. Got his starts years ago, been waiting for this takeover. C Glode is a solid starter, loves the chem, and as 8th year guy has 3-4 more good seasons in him. C Bosley is a fill-in, started at LG the last two years, he's fine but not special. Fattel was a chem guy, but he's a 4-5 also, so neutered by Jennings taking over, and useless otherwise. Kendrick is only 10 personality, doesn't even rate his quiet affinity in-game. O'Donnell is a "Mild" - quality player, but low intelligence so presumably a false start machine. This is not a build-around group, like, say, our DB group. I am basically fine rebooting the OL group chem-wise. No major reason to throw good money after bad here. We have two firsts the next two years, at least two are likely to be toward the end of the round... a great place to take (recalling the recent video with Squirrel) "a good guard." We may indeed be doing that.

07-29-2020, 11:20 AM	#1184
Chas in Cinti High School Varsity Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Cincinnati, OH	What happened to BAL 1st round pick? I assume you traded, as you mention you might but I don't see that you reported what happened. __________________ Email: [email protected]

07-21-2020, 09:49 AM	#1152
johnnyshaka College Benchwarmer Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Edmonton, AB	I missed the export on the final stage to re-sign RFAs...consequently missing out my last chance to re-sign LB Meadows on the cheap. SMH.

07-21-2020, 07:58 PM	#1153
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Cutdown to 60: I make the call at WR/TE for the chem leader - it's going to be Polley now. T hat means both TE Austin and WR Conway have to go to clear the way. It's fine. Polley is a 97 pers leader, and clicks with everyone except TE Ogden. TE Wesson is also out, just not room for him. Soph RB Bush is an easy cut, we'll look at the rookies after preseason, and see if anyone sticks. Rookie DL Fisher looks okay, but is not good enough to merit starts, so he can't gain affinity, and he's out. DT Crawford will be getting those starts this season, at least in the base D setup. Wow, can I really keep LB Pagel? I won't be able to trade him, would I re-sign him next year, without any affinity? Doubtful. No, dumb idea, but not cost here. Gone. Nothing exciting here. Move along.

07-21-2020, 08:11 PM	#1154
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU Cutdown day in the District won't be thrilling here, either. We're already at 60 players, so no cuts needed. Our rookie class looks stellar. One solid WR, one afterthought DB, and it's not a no-brainer who we should be more excited about. Great.

07-22-2020, 08:42 AM	#1155
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Cutdown to 53: Three young RB competing for slots behind two fading veterans. It's a no-injury league, so no pressure to keep more than 2 here. Veteran Edwin Bush plummeted from 41 to 30 - can we still play him? 6.08 ypc last season, but... 30/30 man. Liverwurst also dropped to 39/39. Ouch. 3rd round rookie Andersen faded, too, bad sign - marginal 3rd down back I guess. Flemister had a "boom" but only to 29/31 by my scout. We have no good options here, I fear. I cut the UDFAs for now, will see if Andersen can sneak into the 53 later. I hope we have better options. At TE, Polley is our new leader (and itches for some playing time) and Ogden is freshly re-signed, they're in. Vinny Money was actually my default to get a lot of targets if Ogden walked. I like Fridlund, he's got affinity going already, but unless I'm going to use him in the swing-out T role, he's just an chem guy and might as well be inactive. Rookie Marcus Hartman actually has a case to make, a bump in camp and he's a legit special teamer... ugh. Carry 5 for now? I'm down to only 6 WR, so not much to do here. Woods is a 9 RR guy with weak affinity, he's the logical candidate to go, despite his tantalizing other ratings. Rookie Hanley will get starts this year, and lock in as a long term chem/ST asset. Stocz is going to get quite a few WR3 targets, it seems. CB Geer goes, he was bubbled last time, just cant get him starts. Rookie S Swager gone, after a preseason fade. S Tucker won't get starts, he's gone, too - our DB group will just sit intact. (With CB Maas signing an extension, even more status quo...CB/KR Burroughs had a ratings rebound, too) Okay, still keep a gimp QB in Alonzo? Yes, I think we will. LB Beardslee ends up being the last man out, he faded and wanted big money to extend. Yawwwwwwwn. What is interesting here? FB Hillhouse is going to get some targets this season, we're using him in the swing TE role. So, we'll see if we have anything beyond a gathering of nice red bars there. Hmm, file error trying to upload. Awesome.

07-22-2020, 10:47 AM	#1156
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU Cutdown day... tricky here. Not worth detailing a ton. Rookie WR Carrubba is going to be okay. Fine. Not a superstar. Rookie CB Peterson is a real keeper, future ST ace and rotation CB. Biggest twists are behind the scenes... WR Price faded a bit and won't be the decoy we wanted (dammit), at least when Malone is on the field (i.e. anytime that matters). Okay... Price is cut (bleeding bonus money), WR White makes it as KR/WR4, young RB Cash gets the RB2 job, and we'll hope for the best.

07-22-2020, 11:29 AM	#1157
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Predictions this year: Baltimore does not take a meaningful step forward, remains near/at the top of a tough division but discernibly behind the very top tier in the AFC. I'll predict 11-5, with more improvement on D than O. Hillhouse will be disappointing on only 6 yards per target in his H-back role. DC will again win the NFC lEast, but again be in that 3/4 seed slot. Anything can happen, but the most likely outcome is probably 11 wins and a longshot playoff contender slot, same as in B-More. BAL a bit more likely to win a playoff game or two.

07-23-2020, 11:02 AM	#1158
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md

07-23-2020, 11:31 AM	#1160
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Fun, the forum doesn't like my post now... okay, here's the bottom line: Oh Hai we are terrible now So, what went wrong? -11 on turnovers, that has to be a lot of it... Levine fumbled 11 times, OL problems? (Yes, our Sack% of 5.2 was mid-pack, but opp PR% 0r 24% was 3rd worst) -Levine threw 22 picks, ration close to 1:1 rather than better previous years -5.5 ypc rushing game not the problem, Schewigert good again -FB Hillhouse gets 5.3 ypt on swing routes, TE Ogden 6.7 on routine stuff -Our own pass rush was really weak again, bottom half by the numbers -Our pass D, our pride and joy, was awful - 51.2 PD% (25th) Wow. So, the O-line, the D-line, the usual suspects, and maybe some bad breaks. So, we pick in the 6-7-8 range next year. Offense, you say? Do they still make that?

07-23-2020, 11:42 AM	#1161
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU So, were things better down inside the other beltway? Better, but not exactly "Be Best" Better Okay, so the main tenets of our prediction held here - the division remained weak, so we are again good enough to win it, but not good enough to get the week off... the big difference maker, in my mind. -QB Clancy is fine, not exceptional, and I can't tell whether he's just not good or it's me -the smart money is that it's on me, see below a couple of clicks -WR Malone remains the main man, just churning out 8 yards per target -We threw 163 targets into the TE black hole, and it's awful... 4.9 ypt ugh -OL seems mid-pack, running game same, RB Cash is "not good at football" -Pass rush okay (9th), w Singleton again the true alpha w/16 sacks -Pass D was, overall, not good at all... wow, did something un-click this year? We're a harmless 10-6 team, just hitting the postseason for our cup of coffee, nothing to see here. Yeah, I know, I know, but it's really true.

07-23-2020, 12:14 PM	#1162
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	In Baltimore, I'm gutted. Feeling like I sold out to the 2-3/4-5/6-7 chemistry triad because of a QB who in the GML world is probably dead right now. And since then, we have been swimming upstream fighting the tide of a bad choice there. We have made the most of it, fielded some good teams, but I'm kinda close to saying that I can't do it. And with our top two assets, the young receivers, both in the 4-5 group... it would be hard to simply re-do everything. I will, sincerrly, give some thought to tearing down the entire OL and RB infrastructure, and giving them an overhaul in another group. I'm also, candidly, waffling on whether the time spent on all this is merited. It happens. I'll likely get over it. Some similar waffling with the DC team. I was really jazzed about the WR group I had been building. Then I ended up nearly cutting all three veterans I had signed, actually cutting one, and realizing that it was basically all for naught. Plus a minor miss on my huge trade-up deal. It is dispiriting.

07-23-2020, 03:34 PM	#1164
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Looking for some silver lining in Crabtown: The DL we moved up for last year looks like he might be pretty good, after all... DT Aidan Denby By the numbers, that is a really really strong start to a career. He played purely DT this year, so those pass rush numbers are not buoyed by him playing edge here and there. But if he posts this kind of stuff from the inside, that's making me feel better about the move to get him.

07-24-2020, 08:37 AM	#1166
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Another pretty nice postseason run from the DC squad. Small sample size, or something to that? Hard to say. Anyway...onward. New season kicks off soon, will try to manufacture some enthusiasm for it.

07-24-2020, 12:41 PM	#1167
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Okay, moving on, new file is up. Baltimore loses DE Gilbert Baxter, which will cause some chemistry tumult. We will figure it out, but I don't yet have a plan, had expected to keep him cashing minsal checks for a couple more seasons. We also will have some sorting out to do at OL. Shepherd is a free agent, we currently see the OL with Jennings (4-5 group, 93 ldr, 98 pers) in charge, and I'm saddened to see G Kendrick not even register as an affinity with him (pers 10). Dammit. Not a crisis, just annoying. Still not sure if T Shepherd would reclaim the group leadership if re-sign, and not sure if there's a way to know that in-game. We're also finally at the end of the 5yr "oh what the hell" contract with QB Levine. I honestly did not expect to use him, just had cap space and he seemed unwanted. In his 4 years as our starter, he has given us two pretty good efforts. Not bad. Not exciting, either. I apparently failed to extend my excellent head coach last year, so maybe he will walk now. Great. We naturally have the worst possible draft pick for our rotten season, at 1.8. I hear from smart people we should draft offense. I expect to do so.

07-24-2020, 12:47 PM	#1168
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Side conversation from the Ravens roost. What dowe now think of the decision to spend a late-ish 1st round pick at RB, and to get "Liverwurst" Bernie Schweigert? Schweigert Player Page So... first of all, we never really got him into a "full duty" role like I had expected. I had higher hopes for his endurance rating, and then the addition of RB Bush made a timeshare fairly obvious. With that said... Liverwurst put together a reasonably effective run in the RB1.5 role... with last season capping things off as his highest workload and overall best production. He's an 8th year guy, age 28... is he worth another contract? Tuck away that he's a tricky chemistry guy for us... group 4-5, leadership 93 makes him heard to displace as the group leader, but 73 personality is lower than we'd like. I think the takeaway here is... nice career for the place where sharps take their RBs -- rounds 3-4 or after the draft. Waste of a first round pick. At this point, very split on whether to offer him a deal. I suspect he may be attractive to AVAILABLE so we might need to come hard to re-up with him. We'll see. RB Bush is already signed, he presents his own conundrum... he's a ST and cohesion star, so probably makes the team and lineup. But can we really give touches to a guy like this? Last year's 4.5 ypc was on a small sample size... but the year before was awesome. Is he actually "good" despite no discernible skills other than gunner?

07-25-2020, 12:50 PM	#1169
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Big stage now, working on FA 1:2. Here's the BAL reset: 42 players signed 6 draft picks in hand (2nd dealt last year) 0 RFAs I'm sure I will re-sign --- 48 roster spots "spoken for" Not bad. Nearly $30% of the cap in hand. This is the year (already) to re-up with 11 and 18, so that will be very expensive now and for some time ahead. That's what we are building around, for better or for worse. (Better) If we extend QB Levine, that will cost us $15m this year or so, he doesn't want a fortune. T Shepherd is the tricky guy - re-upping with him will take at least $40m, and might mess up our OL chemistry. Not sure what to do there. Oh, it's naturally a crappy draft for quarterbacks. Of course. The one thing that might get me fired up - nope. Yeah, it's semi-official, we pick at 1.8 and I can't find 8 guys at any position that I actually want. Dammit.

07-25-2020, 04:29 PM	#1170
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU 38 players signed 00 draft picks this year xx RFAs we will surely re-sign --- ??? but lots of roster space We have a bit less than 20% of the cap available. Renegs with T Lyons and (maybe) DT Pascal will take a chunk of that. No room for big splash signings. We could deal WR Bouchette to free up space, there was some interest last season. I'm basically content with this team, more or less. Wish I had made a few smarter decisions, or won better on some gambles, but all told it's coming together okay. Roster priorities: -someone to make something of all these TE targets (!!!) -depth at DB (veteran CB1 retired, plus general suckiness) -a legit RB2 maybe? -more special teamers Some notes here I'll share later, I think...

07-25-2020, 08:54 PM	#1172
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Baltimore deals with regular punch Jacksonville, and deals down to three picks in this draft: 1.8, 2.21, 4.21. That's a better fit for our needs, I think. Have put 1.8 on the block. Have a semi-offer in hand, will have to decide whether to deal down from lottery ticket land. Generally no, but... ugh.

07-26-2020, 08:05 AM	#1173
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Quick thoughts on BAL offensive chemistry: I am not as tied down as it would usually seem. I have teams that do just fine with only 2 of 3 groups in the same triad. So, if I were to just decide to unmoor from the 3-affinity QB model, this doesn't look all that hard to do. WR #11 and #18 are the guys we're building this team around, obviously. They are both 4-5 guys, and it's hard to imagine me upending that group. So, fine, that means our long term WR/TE group leader will probably be a 2-3 guy like TE Polley (who hates the 10-11 group) or conceivably a 6-7 guy (who would hate the 11-12 group). So...we'll keep a pin in that for right now, especially the Polley hating the 10-11 group. If we start over at RB/FB, what do we leave behind? Not a lot. RB Schweigert is a free agent, I'm on the fence as it is about re-upping with him. RB Bush is a fossil. Young guys are replaceable easily. It's the FBs who actually seem intriguing... I remain enchanted by Hillhouse and his weird bars, and we just re-signed Ricker as the sort of lead blocker I like, in theory. So... starting anew at RB/FB would likely mean sliding Hillhouse over to play TE (at 5-11 228 not loving that), probably dropping Ricker? Bummer, but not insurmountable. At OL... it's psychological at this point. I invested in T Jennings years ago just so we'd have this setup, with him as the anchor. It would hurt to cast it off. But maybe hurt less than just continuing to dick around with this group. The right path ahead with the OL is presumably to let T O'Donnell play out his contract (2 more years), keep playing T Shepherd if we re-sign him (2 more years), skip re-signing G Kendrick for the $20m he wants, and start finding build-around guys for chemistry going forward. Would presumably be fairly easy to assemble a perfectly adequate, high-chem group in the 9-10/12-1/1-2 group in a couple of years, basically to have them take the reins as starters when our tackles eclipse in 2123. Not an awful plan. (Actually, scratch that... sifting through the league, I don't see anyone out there really hitting OL chem hard, other than...duh... the DC team. And they're building around the 9-10/12-1/1-2 triad. So, this isn't cheating, it's just prudence... if I'm a free agent in this regard, it just seems wiser to build in a group where I don't have a committed rival built-in already... so, we'd likely look more closely at our options in the other two triads.) So...not saying I'm going out and drafting a "non affinity" left tackle with pick 8. But, at this point, I'm not saying that I'm not doing that, either. Given the paucity of perfect fits within our scheme, it's time to at least consider picking outside the scheme, or even realigning the scheme around the player(s) facing us.

07-26-2020, 10:39 PM	#1174
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	BAL is on deck in the draft. Looking at the BPA candidates, if we were not beholden to our silly schemes. A good, not great, looking RB... meh for top ten pick. Sundry DL, per usual. A handful of OL who look like low risk, okay upside plays. A low-endurance CB1 type of guy. I'll have to sort out whether to trade down, or out. I have both on the table. Just don't feel the pull from anything here to stick with it.

07-27-2020, 11:28 AM	#1177
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU We signed a veteran TE, he gives us chemistry worries, but he'll be our main target this year. Old guy, not a long term answer, but he ought to be credible. Kinda like signing Greg Olsen? Yawn.

07-28-2020, 08:20 AM	#1178
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Baltimore signs a... {checks notes}... veteran running back? Really? Caiden Zamora Chem-neutral (never a starter?). Had one big season. Seems to have the right skills. Seemed like a good idea at the time, I'm kinda at a loss now. Could be part of a chem revision, though he'd seize the group lead without a great Pers score, and I tend to dislike that. I'll likely regret this.

07-28-2020, 09:07 AM	#1179
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU Very exciting signing for me... just an unbelievably perfect fit: S Miles Reese So, he's got basic skills to play (for me) either SS, FS, or maybe even nickel corner. Great. Not a star, but definitely good enough to play. He's also a special teamer - my scout pegs him at 98, even better than what you see above. That was a priority. Finally, he's a strong affinity with our leader, and one day might step into the group leader role, even. Already has his starts, though that's less of a concern with a guy I'd likely be rotating in anyhow. Yes! Also signed a veteran DL, just adding to a thin spot on the roster.

07-29-2020, 09:48 AM	#1182
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	My FOF interest is not, right now, sufficient to maintain five MP teams. I just blundered a series of things in another league costing me some combination of a player and a draft pick... just because I wasn't paying attention to details. The big problem is...my way of playing FOF is all about paying attention to details. With my CCFL team, I just paid a mint to a free agent player who doesn't have chemistry, because I mis-remembered my leader's sign. Just bad signs all around. Just in the FWIW column here, for now.

07-29-2020, 11:17 AM	#1183
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	I'll post if something interesting happens. Routine FA activity won't cut it right now. Going to finish some office work and spend time with my daughter.

07-29-2020, 08:49 PM	#1186
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Sorry, probably forgot to post it here. Yeah, just didn't like any of my legit options, so I dealt out for two future 1sts, likely in the 20s. Meh.

07-30-2020, 10:56 AM	#1187
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	BAL more free agency moves, nothing exciting. I got lazy and under-bid on CB Wiggins, he has gone to Tennessee (abandoned by Squirrel, not run by AVAILABLE) and I should have seen that coming. Our second draft pick in the bag, too, also unexciting AF, just OL depth in round four.

07-30-2020, 11:04 AM	#1188
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	DC BUREAU More activity. A bit more exciting. Landed a nice young DB to add to our cache of same - Colton Jeffrey is a ballhawk and kick returner, who fits our chem scheme and came cheaply. There will be a struggle to find starts for all these young'ns who need them, but I'll make it work over the next couple of seasons. Up to 49 players signed, no draft picks, ample cal space. We'll see if there are any further shoes to drop. Team's in decent shape.

07-31-2020, 10:39 AM	#1189
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	okay, into late free agency... BAL has 57 players aboard, so even with a thin draft, we are not especially itchy to sign new faces (even though I seemingly always find something to like in the 8th round)... RB Liverwurst has re-signed a cheap 1yr deal. He reclaims the chem leadership by doing so - that's a mixed bag, especially if he isn't going to be RB1 any more. Bubbled. We've got a legal roster, and no shrieking holes anywhere - so late additions would just be complementary pieces, or otherwise forward-looking. With $70m in cap space, I may try to do an early big reneg to get ahead of next season, also.

07-31-2020, 10:02 PM	#1192
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	you have been kinda quiet, pal but the slight was meant on me...the content here has been subpar of late, I'm quite aware doldrums

08-02-2020, 12:14 PM	#1195
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	fair enough