Alright, Let's Do this Thing! FOF7 Rise of the Jaguars

[Abe Sargent]

Week 2, NFL Playoffs:


We travel to Buffalo and Cincinnati travels to undefeated Denver to try and pull the miracle. Good luck Andy Dalton!


NFC? Rams at Seahawks and Packers at Falcons

We have a few minor injuries I won’t bore you with an a questionable one with CB Kareem Jackson.

No major changes to the roster. Here we go…


We just trounce Buffalo.

Who is the Game MVP, QB Nick Foles… wait?





Foles is 21 of 30 for 249 and 3:0 and hit Marqise Lee for 8 catches 114 yards and 3 scores. FB Johnson added a score on the ground and we won 44-10. OLB Telvon Smith recovered a fumble and ran it in for a score. K Bernard was 3/3 and 5/5 on PAT. OG Satre with 3 KRB and a pancake.

But the major news is the Bortles was dropped on the first drive in the 1st quarter on the second play, and separated his shoulder. He is out for 4 weeks.

Uh oh.


Uh oh.



Uh oh.


Denver won 30-10 over Cincinnati.

Atlanta edged Green Bay 34-31 and Seattle handled the Rams 27-10.


So….now we find out…

Was signing Nick Foles worth it?

I sign a quick QB to give me three on the roster. I put Bortles on IR. I sign QB Derek Anderson, a mentor for QB and 23/23 veteran minimum salary and positive affinities to a deal.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2017 NFL Championships:


Your #1 seed 16-0 Denver Broncos

Hosts

Your #3 seed 11-5 Jacksonville Jaguars


We beat the Broncos in the AFC Championships last year, but only in our place. We lost to them twice in the regular season. They are undefeated, and I’m without my starting QB.

Uh oh.


If we win this? If Foles does this. Wow…


Here we go…


Nick Foles is…28 of 43, 210, and 1:0. He hits Murray for a score. K Bernard puts through 4 Fgs to give us 19 points and….


Denver puts up 23.

It was closer than a lot of people thought it might be.

CB Hopkins had a pick, MLB Melvin Robinson, after Te’o is injured, leads the team with 12 tackles and 1 solo. Sacks by DT Grossman and DE Butler.

It just wasn’t to be this year either…


But, in a game result that shocked everyone, Atlanta upended Seattle 41-13. Dang. I think we were all expecting a Seattle-Denver showdown. Seattle might stop the Denver-train. Not sure the Falcons are the right bird for the job.

[Abe Sargent]

2017 NFL Super Bowl –


#1 Seed AFC Champions Denver Broncos – 16-0

Vs

#2 Seed 12-4 NFC Champions Atlanta Falcons


And nope, the Falcons are not the one. And with a score of 23-13, the Broncos secure history and go 19-0 and undefeated in the modern era.

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:


1st Team All Pro:

OG Marquis Satre


2nd Team All Pro:

DE Cesar Velazquez


Good job Velazquez!

[Abe Sargent]

Stats!


Passing:


Bortles – 4482 yards (3rd most) 71.3% rate, (2nd most), 38 TD (most) 19 picks (2nd most), 104.9 ratings (3rd most). 37 sacks, 6 fumbles lost.

Clearly not as good of a season as he had last year. But he was still really good. Can’t fault Bortles for our inability to win against the Bronco Express either time we played them.

Rushing:

RB DeMarco Murray – 273 for 1261 (3rd most yards in NFL), 4.62 ypc, 6 TD, 66 catches, 452 yards, 3 receiving TD

Not as many TDs as I would like, but otherwise, Murray had a fine year. Can’t argue with that


Receiving:

WR Marqise Lee – 96 for 1321 yards, 13 scores. Tied for league leading TDs. 9th most yardage.

WR Allen Robinson – 14 starts, 66 for 912 and 11 TDs. If 16 starts probably would have had 1st 1000+ yard season.

WR Justin Blackmon – 32 for 374 and 2. Not as good as you would expect from him

WE DJ Donaldson – 36 for 438 and 3



Special Teams –

K Tyler Bernard, 34 of 41, long of 51, 50 of 51 PAT.
P Brad Nortman, 68 punts, 43.5 yards per average (better than before, still not great), 25 in 20
WR Justin Blackmon – 30 KR for 29.2 average, led the NFL in KR average, and yet didn’t get a score to inflate yardage totals.

Blackmon was good. The next highest PR average was 28.3, almost a full yard less, and he had a KR TD to help. Then it was two in the 27s and quickly falls from there,

Defense –

DE Cesar Velazquez – 59 tackls, 19 assists, 17 sacks (5th most in NFL), 1 blocked pass, 20 hurries, 11 QB Knocked down, 6 forced fumbles,
DE Rob Ninkovich – 6 starts, 18 and 8, 5.5 sacks, 2 (blocks) and 8 (Hurries) and 1 (QBKD).  
DT Grossman, 33 and 17 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 blkm 7 hurry, 1 qbkd
DE Butler, 10 starts, 23 and 9 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 1 7 and 1, 2 forced fumles
DT Evander Hood, 19 and 8 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 blocked passes, 6 hurry

That’s the best pass rush I’ve had from my D Line in four years. By far!

OLB Houston – 60 and 12, 5 sacks, 3 hurries, 1 pick, 1 INT TD< 3 pasdef


CB Darqueze Dennard, 5 picks, 12 pasdef
CB Kareem Jackson – 0 picks, 3 pas def
CB Shane Hopkins – 4 picks, 6 pasdef, 1 INT TD, 2 forced fumbles
FS Tavon Wilson – 2 picks and 5 pasdef
SS Iloka – 3 picks and 5 pasdef, 2 INT TD
SS Cyprien – 1 pick, 3 pasdef

That was a horrible secondary, and the worst performances by far, were my “stars” Cyprien and Jackson. WTH? Cyprien was just 36 and 17 in tackles, when that’s his good thing.


Blocking –

OG Satre – 43 KRB, 13 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed
OG Iupati, 35 KRB, 4 pancakes, 8 sacks allowed
OT Sherrod 22 and 2, 9 sacks allowed
OC Pearson – 15 starts, 21 KRB and 6 sacks allowed
OT Meredith – 12 KRB and 10 sacksa allowed

FB Johnson was 8 KRb and 2 pancakes.

Satre was a down year and still All Pro. Iupati had a better year than Zane Beadles ever had. Sherrod was fine, not better or worse than Joeckel, but right about on target. This was a good year for Pearson to grow into the role, and OT Meredith was a bit of a let down, but to be fair, Meredith had the fewest KR opportunities with 49. Although to be fair also the lowest blocking percent at 24.5 by far (next worst was 36.8 by Iupati).

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:


Offensive Player of the Year – OG Marquis Satre – Although not as good, he was still high enough to get All Pro 1st Team, and has been a revelation since we brought him in. He was 2nd best in KRB (one OG had one more KRB than him), and led in pancakes. The next highest was 9. He is a gift from the football gods and a force to be reckoned with. Welcome OG Satre!

Defensive Player of the Year – DE Velazquez – In his second year, rookie DE proved his worth. Did you know that his 6 FF led the league? No one had more than 5 except for him! He was 5th in sacks with 17, the best anyone ever had for us. He out-fought guys like JJ Watt and Robert Quinn. Just a great season!


Special Teams Player of the Year – WR Justin Blackmon – Leading the league in kick return average with 30 returns is pretty special, and you have to acknowledge that with this award.

Rookie of the Year – CB Shane Hopkins –Do you know who didn’t have a bad year in the secondary? This guy! 4 picks is fine for a nickelback and 6 pasdef is good stuff too. With Kareem’s hugely disappointing season after his strong All Pro debut for us, I’m deeply concerned. Maybe Hopkins can break that concern?

Heart Award – QB Nick Foles – Hey look, he came in with no additional prep time and won an NFL playoff game on the road at a 13-3 Buffalo. That’s not easy for anyone to do. Then he didn’t suck against the Broncos in their place, and he certainly could have. Can’t fault Foles!

[Abe Sargent]

End of the 2017 Season:

Team Performance – 78
Franchise Value – 83
Profit/Loss – 82
Roster Strength – 26

Year End Score – 77

[Abe Sargent]

Wait…what?


We have four retirements, and this is odd…


TE Owen Daniels – no surprise there
DE Rob Ninkovich – no surprise there
CB Jonathan Joseph – no surprise there

QB Nick Foles? And he’s named Legend of the Game too? (He won a Super Bowl with the Eagles)

Why would a sub-30 years old QB who just had a solid run retire?


Other Retirements:

WR Roddy White
K Billy Cundiff
WR Brandon Marshall
S Donte Whitner
DE Mario Williams

RB Matt Forte
RB Arian Foster
OLB Elvis Dumervil
CB Antonia Cromartie
ILB Karlos Dansby
OLB Tamba Hali
DE Jeremy Miney
CB Cortland Finnegan
S Antone Bethea
OT D’Brickashaw Ferguson
S Antrel Rolle
RB LeSea nMcCoy
DE Justin Tuck
OG Evan Mathis (who was fighting Satre for stats the last two years)
WR Vincent Jackson

[Abe Sargent]

Staff?

I re-up deals with my head coach, assistant coach and strength coach.

Staff Draft – we pick 24th - i pass by


We lost 6.2 mill last year – we dropped in revenues and costs and well.

We are worth 695 mill, 11th lowest

5th worst stadium
4th best roster
8th worst support
11th worst economy

94.1% attendance

[Abe Sargent]

Our UFAs:

QB Derek Anderson, technically
DT Evander Hood
RB Toby Gerhart
LCB Ellis Lankster
TE Jerome Gresham
SLB Telvin Smith
K Tyler Bernard
LS Grayson Johnstone
C Nicky Fitzgerald


And RFA?

QB Edgar Estevez
SE Denzel Huntley
LG Tim Walters
DC Devante Terrell

We have 37 players signed.

I’m considering franchising K Bernard. Hes the best one in FA by far. Yeah, I do.

I franchise a kicker!

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s hit FA:


I get a trade offer for Manti Te’o for the Jets 6th rounder this year.

I sign K Bernard to a 5 year deal.

I sign FA –

QB Estevez


I don’t have a lot of cash – just 9 mill and 3.3 mill after the draft.

Don’t worry, I already know where I’m looking.


Now, I was expecting to re-negotiate with Kareem Jackson in the third year. I can extend his deal by a year, and drop his cap his this year by 4 mill, and next year by 5 mill, and he’d be an 11.8 in 2020. If I release him, I’ll save 10 mill.

How hot of a trade commodity would a 69/69 CB be who is two years removed from an All Pro award? But he had zero picks in 451 pass plays last year.

Both Kareem and Cyprien can be extended, drop their cap hits, but sucked for me last year. Do I want to extend a SS who already has weak stats in picks, but is great everywhere else, and yet this year had few tackles and fewer passes defensed?

Before I make any hasty decisions, here are my folks with a 2018 contract date:


RB DeMarco Murray
LG Mike Iupati
OG Brandon Linder
OGMarquis Satre
DE Kenneth Butler
OLB Courtney Upshaw
FS Tavon Wilson
SS George Iloka



So no one too big of a deal.

DeMarco Murray is 30. He’s making 7.5 mill, and 64/64. In order to extend his deal by two years, I have to increase his price, would you wouldn’t think likely in the final, escalated year of a FA deal I signed and with him older and dropping in ability.

Satre wants to bump his salary to 11 mill cap hit this year, and then 10, 10.4, 11.5 and 13 over the next four years. And he’s worth it. I run behind him all the time.

So I may have to start breaking up the team soon, but it never won any Super Bowls!

We signed Iupati as a cheap option to help, and he wants a lot more to keep with our team (3.3 mill this year and next) for just a one year extension, plus he’sin his 9th year. I’m comfortable not bothering with him.

So, now what?

[Abe Sargent]

I need money. I shop Kareem Jackson.

No general manager has expressed an interest…

Just too expensive for their tastes.

So I can cut him. I can resign him. And that’s it. Those are my options.

People think SS Cyprien is in the range of the 5th rounder on the open market.

I would save 3 mill to cut him. I save 1.3 mill by extending him.

I extend SLB Courtney Upshaw for two years.

I could cut Koa Misi. But he has evolved into a mentor to MLBs for MLB Robinson and is just 1.36 against the cap.

I extend OG Brandon Linder for a year.



Sigh. I extend Cyprian by two years.

I’ll hold off on a Kareem Jackson decision until later in FA to see what happens and how our finances morph.

Again my goal is to target lower priority FA that will be worth less, in order to fit them onto my roster.


If I was confident that MLB Robinson was a grower, or not that bad, I’d swap him for Te’o and trade Te’o for the draft pick I was offered. I save 1.6 mill by moving him.

I take the deal and move him for a future 6th and 7th to the Jets. Let’s gamble. Goodbye Te’o

Alright let’s take this ting to Free Agency and look for some targets.


Do I want to sign a backup for DeMarco Murray or draft one? Sign.

I make an offer to RB Walter Gohl, a 52/53 4th year guy on the market from the Bills.

TE Jessie Maloney

None of ths CBs want a market shattering amount of money. Even the best, Janoris Jenkins at 52/52 wants 2-2.7 mill a year for four years. I make him an offer – mentor to Cbs, amazing special teams (87) and we could kick Kareem Jackson to the curb if we signed him. I push some finances his way as well.

Dang! The best MLB in the class, Irving Ward, wants very little. He’s 54/54 and you bring him in quite cheaply. Why commit to a 34/51 guy who may never be anything when I can take a swing at him? I take a shot at him too.

Nobody seems to want big money. Maybe because they are all in the 50s or lower?

Except for those d-line folks, and I need a new DT to replace Evander Hood.

Ah well, let’s see what happens with the ones I made offers to first, and then make changes to my cap status, and pick things up from there.

[Abe Sargent]

Alright let’s do it.

Week 3 – The top two DTs sign.

Week 4 – We sign three of four – all but TE Maloney are in, and he is still thinking.

I signed:

RB Walter Gohl to a 4 year, 8.1 mill deal
MLB Irving Ward, 3 years, 6.5 mill
CB Janoris Jenkins, 4 years, 11.67 mill


I cut Kareem Jackson – CB Jenkins is now our secondary leader

I extend OG Marquis Satre for four more years, and he’s making roughly 10k a year.

Who else entices?

I make an offer to NT Jackson Turnbull a 47/47 guy for 4 mill this year, and increasing from there

QB Raul Hall


Week 5 – We lose out on NT Turnbull so I make an offer to NT Colin Hover.

Week 6 – NT Hover signs with us. 6.25 mill for 3 years

We have 41 players under contract, and despite the very budget-friendly desires of a lot of these folks, I sort of want to go to the draft, see who we pick up there, and then sign a few more folks.

Week 7 – TE Jessie Maloney joins us. CB Jeremy Harris, a former Jag, signed with Dallas. Ryan Fitz signed back with Houston, but Washington just picked up Flacco.

Week 8 – TE Gresham signs with Detroit and C Nicky Fitz with New Orleans.

Week 9 – CB Kareem Jackson signed with the Jets. We sign QB Raul Hall. DT Evander Hood signed with the Eagles.

Week 11 – We resign our LS to a vet minimum salary. 44 players under our roster now.


We pick 1.29 in the draft. Time to try and find someone that’s useful.

Needs:

Backup RB
TE star or backup
Back C
Back OG
DEx2, one back, either another back or a star
Back OLB
Backx2 CB

Let’s do a rookie scan.

Whoa I found a pair of very underrated folks with good combine scores and bars in areas of need at WLB and LCB that are 3rd and 4th at their position on the board. I could see one or both making it to 1.29. Let’s see what happens!

[Abe Sargent]

The 2018 NFL Amateur Draft


The first player off the beard is DT Harry Humphries from WVU. Go West Virginia!

There are a variety of players that drop off the board quickly, including 7 DTs by the time our pick arrives at the 1.29 spot.

But you want to know something?

Not a single CB has left the board.

Now I was targeting CB later, maybe 2nd round. I checked out the Cbs 3 through 6 on the roster. I didn’t even bother with the first two (figured they’d be gone by now)


So here is who I targeted and like who is still on the board:

CB Bryan Meadows, the 3rd overall CB, and very underrated interview, 32% developed, blue combines in speed, agility, position, and the IQ test. Not bad at all. And I could grab a top corner instead. Their grade isn’t that much better, (5.1 for Meadows vs 5.3 for the top 2) and such. Meadows blows at bump and run, and endurance, but is amazing at special teams, and strong at everything else that’s not-returning.

Now I don’t need a starter CB that badly unless he’s really strong, and I don’t need to waste a 1st rounder on a CB right after bringing in two CBs in the draft and FA that are pretty solid. I have Janoris Jenkins, Darqueze Dennard and Shane Hopkins who are all solid in the high 40s. I’m not sure that a 1st rounder for Meadows is a great expenditure.

So, who else is left?

The best player on the board according to scouts of the world is OT Cedric Goldhammer. Red combine in dash, blue in strength and agility. He is a lot higher than the next guy – with a 5.7 grade (next highest is 5.0.)

Did Goldhammer fall to me? Or was he skipped for a reason? Just one OT was taken in the first 28 picks. So I could take the best corner off the board (maybe) or the 2nd best OT (maybe). That’s not bad for 1.29 if these end up being chumps…

I take a flyer. We take Goldhammer. My worst o-lineman last year was OT Meredith. My OTs are 25/43 for OT Kamin, RT Meredith at 49/49, 43/43 for Sherrod, and 41/41 for Juan Basile. I don’t need an OT. But he’s the best BPA on the board.

He’s even the best adjusted player on the board (the best adjusted player, at any position is his 6., and a RB is adjusted to 5.9, but at 5.6)

Let’s do it

Now, I still like CB Meadows. Maybe he’ll fall to 2.29 where I was looking to target him more.

By the end of the 1st round, still no CB was taken. Odd.

The first CB goes to the 49res in the 2.2 spot. 7 RBs go in the first 10 picks on the 2nd round. Including one from little WV school West Liberty State!

And then another RB At 2.11. Welcome to the Running Back draft! Another RB goes 49 to the Vikings, and then Houston at 49 takes the next Cb. Ours is on top of the CB board.

Do I want to trade up and grab him? I do like him in the 2nd anyway, and we are at Carolina’s 2.20. Carolina needs a CB (2nd biggest need). What would it take to jump up 9 spots in the 2nd round? I have an extra 4th and 6th this year. I offer my 6th and 4th instead, but nope. I trade the picks I got (4.14 and 6.14) to the Panthers to swap and move up.

I take Meadows

Two picks later, another CB is taken, and who knows if he’d been there for us. Carolina took CB at 2.29 too.

Enter the 3rd round.

I fast sim to 3.29 and look around.

I take a flyer on OG Deion Theophilakos, who looks like good bars, very high volatility, but no workouts at all and green as all get out. He’s the 5th rated OG on the board, but his only combine score is the IQ thing in the blue. I grab him.

4.29? I tag a OLB for my depth and DE at 5.29.

6.29 I decide to go for a RB that looks nice and developed – RB Chandler Hutchins.

Hmmmm….?

At 7.29 I take a flyer on a position not of need, since QB Bruce Hardy has a 4.3 grade, and affinities, and three strong combine scores.


The 2018 Jacksonville Jaguars Draft:

1. OT Cedric Goldhammer, San Diego
2. CB Bryan Meadows, Bowliing Green
3. OG Deion Theophilakos, Texas State
4. OLB Leon Russell,Vanderbilt
5. DE Oscar Freeman, Mississippi State
6. RB Chandler Hutchins, Ohio State
7. QB Bruce Hardy, Pittsburgh

And there we are.

[Abe Sargent]

Early results?

LT Goldhammer is 21/59
LCB Meadows – 22/50
RG Theo – 19/56
SLB Russell – 19/37
DE Freeman – 17/33
RB Hutchins – 30/47
QB Hardy – 3/31 and he has a red flag…

We are rated with a B+ draft

But, we expected RG Theophilakos to come in good, he had good bars, but without combines, and with a huge volatility, he could go south like a duck in winter.

Just one player is on the Green Page – OT Goldhammer.

But that’s not a bad draft, if my top triad of folks can do well.

Begin Late FA!

I need a TE, CB, DE, C? (I could just do an extra OT instead, and I like them all), and any undrafted FA that I like.


I cut the red flag QB. That was a bad draft pick.

We have a lot of solid talent still in the FA pool. I make a few UFA offers to:

QB Bo Gerrity
TE JR Delaroche
CB Jacob Tudor

I also make a 2 year min-sal offer to 29/39 DE Glen Willis, a 4th year vet to be our backup at the position.


Week 2 – We sign RCB Tudor,


Week 3 – We sign QB Gerrity.

Week 4 – We sign TE Delaroche, and DE Willis. RB Toby Gerhart signed a deal with Chicago.

Near the end of the 2nd FA I still have around 3 mill left…

Anyone I want to extend:

RB DeMarco Murray? LG Mike Iupati? RT Juan Basile? DE Kenneth Butler? FS Tavon Wilson? SS George Iloka?


I just drafted depth and potential future starters at the OT and OG spots, so I’m not looking at Basile and Iupati right now. I have the replacement for Murray after this FA class (54/54 Walter Gohl). I can use one of my good S to have on my roster after this year, but both require a large jump I cash (both were signed for their cheap-ness, and then I was able to extend Tavon Wilson last year for one more year, but no more)


So let’s head to camp, and then we can process post-camp changes and such!

[Abe Sargent]

Training Camp






We sell 49200 season tickets after a major increase in price in the off-season.

A look at the rook:

CB Meadows? 25/50
OG Theophilakos? 22/54
OT Goldhammer? 25/59



Cedric looks pretty sexy post-camp




He has a good, solid, set of potential bars, but with low endurance stuff. For a lower first-round pick, that’s not bad. A later 2nd round OT boomed past everyone else, and he is the 3rd best OT in the draft, but none that are really hot.

[Abe Sargent]

How about Meadows?




Again, as expected, with weaker stuff in endurance and bump n run, but pretty good potentials everywhere else. I like him. Four CBs in the NFL Draft are believed to have a potential in the 50+ range, none higher than 54. So we got one of the four best ones. However, one was taken at2.29 the spot we traded from, to the Panthers who swapped picks with us, so it looks like w could have stayed pat and still gotten a good CB from the draft. In this case, my trade was unsuccessful.

[Abe Sargent]

OG Theophilakos?






Very green I suppose, but Deion is in a pretty good place. I can use him as my third/fourth option behind Iupati and Satre, let Iupati go, and then start him next year if he grows and keeps these potentials. He could be the first decent player I’ve drafted later than the 2nd round in this dynasty, but we’ll see.

[Abe Sargent]

I really like where DE Kenneth Butler is post-draft, so I extend him for three more years as well. This jumps his cost to the 3.3 range this year, and the 4-4.8 range the next three.


Roster Stuff?

QB Bortles is 57/57 still, and QB Raul Hall is 34/39 and signed for two years.

Meanwhile RB we have DeMarco Murray in his final year for us, and he’s 64/64, with 54/54/ Gohl as backup this year and probably the replacement for later.

FB is set at Will Johnson

TE Jessie Maloney is weaker at 41/41 but millions cheaper than resigning Gresham would’ve been. I need a real TE someday. But not today.

WR has Marqise Lee 68/68. Robinson 51/51 and Blackmon 53/53.

For the O Line, C Roger Pearson is the sole C on our roster and is 43/53., The 2nd round pick we traded up to snatch was converted from OG to C, and he could be a C for a while to come.

LG Mike Iupati – 51/51 is in the last year of his deal and starts. OG Satre, the stud of studs is rocking the place too, and we have OG Linder still as a 41/41 backup of quality.


For our tackles, we have a few changes. First, RT Jamon Meredith and Derek Sherrod (49/49 and 43/43 respectively) are starting, but Goldhammer at 25/59 is a rotational starter. RT Juan Basile is 41/41 and in his final year of a deal, and second round 3rd round pick Kamin has rising to 28/43. That’s a slight improvement over last year for Kamin

We signed LS Johnstone, K Bernard (59/59) and P Nortman (60/60) for our roster.

For the D Line, we are starting DE Cesar Velazquez, 70/70 and DE Butler, 49/59. My quality backups include DE Glen Willis, 33/37.

On the Defensive tackle side of life, we can rock DT Grossman – 48/54 and DT Colin Hover, a new signee, 2ith a 46/46 rating. Beau Allen is 31/31 and fine.


On the LB Side of life, we traded Te’o in the offseason. So I have MLB recent signee Irving Ward, 53/53. I was going to push Melvin Robinson, but whybother? Robinson is 38/51.

SLB Courtney Upshaw, 54/54 and WLB Justin Houston, 69/69, provide strong outside leadership.

We have a logjam of talent at the CB spot. Janoris Jenkins, a new signee, has a nice 49/49 self, while we rocking 48/48 Darqueze Dennard, who had a nice year starting for us. Meanwhile, Shane Hopkins has improved to 53/57 and rookie Meadows is 25/50.

For safety, Cyprien had a bad year but still features that 60/60 body, and we have FS Tavon Wilson, 54/54, starting. SS Iloka, 49/49 is the primary backup for us.


We have the youngest roster in the year.

[Abe Sargent]

Position Strength?


8th best QB, 11th worst backup
5th best RB, 3rd best backup
4th best FB
6th best WR, 9th best backups
22nd best C
2nd best OG, 11th worst backup
20th best OT, 13th best reserve
10th best P; 9th best K
11th best DE, 3rd worst backup
15th best DT, 13th worst reserves
14th best MLB, 2nd best reserves
5th best OLB, the worst reserves
17th best CB, 4th worst reserves
11th best S, 3rd best S


So, we still have an even defense (LB are good, D Line a mess, and secondary underperformed last year). But we have some stars - Velazquez, Houston, that help things out.


The WLB I liked going into the draft was taken 1/19 by the Texans and is looking at 43/76. That would have been nice.


I extend FS Brendan Tate for a year since we’ll be losing both Wilson and Iloka.

[Abe Sargent]

Pre-Season

Week 1 – BYE

Week 2 – We head out to Washington and defeat the Skins 17-16

Week 3 – We host Tampa and thump them 27-7, FB Johnson is questionable and WR Robinson doubtful

Week 4 –We head to Dallas and thump-ish them 41-20.

Week 5 – We host the Falcons and win 23-18.

We finish the preseason 4-0.


Let’s start this thing!

[Abe Sargent]

Week 1 – We travel to the Colts to open the season. We come back 0-1 after losing 27-34. Bortles was 23 of 42 for 221 and 2:1. He hit Blackmon for 84 yards and a score, and Lee for 46 yards and the other. Blackmon returned a kickoff 88 yards for our third score. Bortles also fumbled – 3 times (twice were recovered by OT Meredith). OT Goldhammer opened his first game with 3 KRB.

No major injuries and several folks are getting better post-game.

Week 2 – We travel to Phily to take on the Eagles, and come back after a 37-30 game puts us at 1-1. Looks like Bortles shook off that rust from last game, he was MVp with 21 of 28, 275, and 3:0. Marqise Lee rocked 6 grabs, 149 yards, and all three scores. Meanwhile Murray had 21 for 83 yards and a score on the ground. CB Janoris Jenkins had a pick, and DE Butler and OLB Upshaw forced fumbles. Butler received his own. OG Satre had 4 KRB and OG Iupati 3.

CB Jenkins is probable with a strained rotator cuff, and we’ll keep him out there for now.

Week 3 – We continue our long away-game opening streak with a game here in Cincinnati, against a very good Bengals team. We win 27-21. MVP, Bortles, 35 of 43 for 322 and 3:0. WR Robinson had 7 catches and 97 yards for a score and RB Murray had 2 score.s Picks by new MLB Irving Ward and CB Hopkins. OG Satre rocked 4 KRB.


Back in the winning ways.

SS George Iloka is questionable with a strained triceps muscle.

Week 4 – Our first home game of the season is today against the Jets, who have been really good the last few years. They have the 2nd best RB in football, Isaiah Tucker and use him massively well. Tucker’s rushing yardage, with no injuries, his first three years in the league were 1977, 1339, and 1745. He’s a beast. We’re going to try to score past him, or stop him. Maybe both. We shut him down and keep him to 16 carries, 56 yards, and no scores as we win 34-9. Bortles is MVP with 20 of 24, 253, 2:0. Murray rushes for 3 scores, and Lee catches the other two. Pick by CB Hopkins. DT Colin Hover, a new signee, had a forced fumble which DT Beau Allen recovered. OG Satre with3 KRB and 2 pancakes.


We finish the first quarter 3-1 after a 0-1 start.

[Abe Sargent]

Week 5 –We host the South Florida Dolphins today. We win 33-3. We held them 163 total yards of offense. Bortles, MVP< was 22 of 27, 239, and 1:0. Murray had 13 carries for 80 yards and a score, and Bortles rushed for a TD too. TE JR Delaroche had a receiving score. CB Hopkins rocked a pick. Forced fumble by SS Cyprien, and recovery by MLB Robinson. OG Satre and C Pearson had 4 KRB and OT Meredith 3. Satre had 2 pancakes and Meredith one.

We have a few injuries after that game. OG Brandon Linder is probable, but CB Darqueze Dennard is questionable for four weeks with a sprained knee. I bench him.

Week 6 – After losing to the Colts in week one, we now host the 5-0 Colts. With Denver a confusing 1-3, they are the last undefeated team in the AFC (the 49ers are undefeated in the NFC). Can we upend them here in North Florida? We sure can’t. We lose 30-38. Bortles had 31 of 46 for 313 and 3:2. Blackmon (99 yards, 1 sscore) Robinson (50 yards, 1 score) and Lee (49 and a score) were the ones that got his TD Passes. We fumbled four times, including twice on special teams. DE Velazquez had a solid day with 1.5 sacks, 1 hurry, 2 knockdowns. OG Iupati and Satre each had 3 KRB.


We have a few probable folks post game. Not only did this loss drop us two behind the Colts, and basically three (since we need to be one game up to win now due ot tiebreakers) but it dropped us to 3rd place behind the 4-2 Texans.


Week 7 – Well, we get our groove back in Tennessee as we win 34-7. Bortles is MVP and has 28 of 32 for 267 and 3:0. Lee had 115 yards and a score, Robinson and Murray the others. FS Tavon Wilson had two picks. DE Butler forced a fumble that CB Hopkins recovered, while also having 2 sacks on the day.

Houston won, Indianapolis lost.

OT Meredith is out for 3 weeks with a strained Patellar tendon, and Sherrod is back in the starting saddle.


Week 8 – BYE – Indy won, Houston won.

Week 9 – We are traveling to face the 4-3 Bills. We beat them down 34-18. Bortles, MVP, 32 of 43, 347, 3:1. Nails Robinson twice and Lee once. Meanwhile backup RB Walter Gohl rushes for a score. Pick by CB Jacob Tudor. Forced fumble by DT Colin Hover and SS Cyprien.

We have two major injuries in that game:

CB Janoris Jenkins broke his fibula. He’ll be out for 7 weeks. We should have him back in time for the playoffs. Dennard will start again.

DT Beau Allen broke is ankle. He’ll also be out for 7 weeks.

At the half way mark:

AFC South:

Colts – 7-2
Texans – 6-2
Jaguars – 6-2
Titans – 2-7

[Abe Sargent]

Week 10 – We are traveling to New England to face the 6-2 Patriots. We do not look good, losing 13-20. Bortles was 27 of 39, 278 and 1:2, and Murray held to 59 yards on the ground, but got 107 in the receiving game. TE Maloney caught our lone score. We fumbled twice more on special teams. OG Iupati had 4 KRB

The Colts tied the Titans. Miami crushed Houston.

No major injuries beyond TE Efrain Noa getting a cold.


Week 11 – We all know how important winning in your division can be. Today we host the Texans, and we need to get this one in our tight divisional race. We lose 34-37. Bortles was 20 of 27, 246,2:!. Amd
That is a bad loss. We are now a solid 3rd in the division at 6-4.

OG Iupati is questionable for a month with a knee injury and I bench him for our rookie. OT Meredith is back though.


Week 12 - And now we travel to Dallas. We emerge victorious 35-14. Bortles was 23 of 31, 271, 3:2. And hit Lee for 164 yards and 2 score sand Robinson for a score as well. Gohl and Bortles rushed for scores. But MVP? That goes to backup DE Glen Willis, who had 3 sacks in 25 pass plays, and a forced fumble. DE Velazquez forced and recovered a fumble and MLB forced one too that CB Dennard recovered. OG Satre – 5 KRB and 3 pancakes. OT Meredith had 3 KRb.

Our major foes both lost.

In injury news, WR Dj Donaldson is questionable for 4 weeks with a sprained knee, FL Van Linn is questionable with a trained hammy for an unknown period of time.



Week 13 – I would have originally circled this week’s game as a major effort, but our hosting of the 5-6 Broncos doesn’t appear to have the same zing. Our 26-9 victory, while the rest of the division loses, puts paid to that. Murray rushes for 148 yards on 23 carries, Robinson catches 7 balls for 122 yards and 2 scores, Bortles is 22 of 28 for 202 and 2:0, and CB Dennard had a pick. DE Velazquez with 2 sacks, OG Satre with 5 KRB and a pancake, C Pearson 4 KRB,


Rookie DE Freeman is out with a strained foot ligament for a few weeks.

AFC South –

Jags – 8-4
Colts- 7-4-1
Texans – 7-5
Titans - 2-9-1

[Abe Sargent]

Week 14 – We host and crush the Redskins 42-7. Bortles, MVP, was 20 of 23, 317, 3:0, and hit Lee for 118 yards and a score and Robinson for 80 and two more. Murray rushes for 3 on the ground. Picks by CB Dennard and SS Cyprien. DT Grossman forced a fumble and had 2.5 sacks on the day. OG Satre with 4 KRB, 1 pancake, and 2 sacks allowed. Pearson was 3 KRB.

The rest of the AFC South teams, even the titans, won this week as well.

DT Beau Allen exacerbated his injury and delayed it healing for a week or two. Iupati is back in the starting lineup.


Week 15 – In a week that might likely determine the future of the division, we host the Titans and the Texans and Colts square off. In a closer game than many expected we win at home 27-20. OG Satre had 7 KRB and 2 pancakes. CB Bryan Meadows his first pick of his career. Forced fumble by FS Tavon Wilson, recovered by backup and rookie SLB Leon Russell. Murray had 97 yards on 19 carries, and WR Lee rocked 5 grabs for 106 and a score, Robinson was 5 for 54 and a score and Blackmon 4 for 46 and a score. Bortles MVP and NFL Offensive Player of the Week, was 26 of 39 for 319 3:0.

The Texans thumped the Colts 55-21.

Meanwhile Cyprien is questionable with a virus. I bench him for Iloka.

Week 16 – With two games left in the season, our 10-4 record is tied for tops with Cleveland in the AFC> If we win our division, we are assured of a bye, the others are too far behind. We have won a spot, but we could come in third, but even if we do, we win the final wild card, so we are guaranteed a spot in the playoffs at 10-6. We host the 7-7 Giants, in a race with the 7-7 Redskins and 8-6 Eagles for the NFC East title. They have a lot on the line.

We win 30-27 in a close game on a final minute FG miss by the Giants to keep the game from OT. Murray had 16 for 97 and a score. Bortles had 29 of 41 for 2:1 and 308 yards (MVP). Lee? 12 for 147 and 1. FB Johnson the other score. DT Colin Hover a forced fumble that DE Butler recovered, and DE Butler had 2 sacks. C Pearson with 4 KRB, FB Johnson with 3 KRB. They targeted rookie RT Goldhammer who allowed 3 sacks, on the day.

DJ Donaldson, DE Freeman, DT Allen all are healthy again. OT Meredith is rocking a sprained neck and probable for a few weeks.

Houston won 37-17 over Dallas and the Colts lost, so now it comes down to the final game of the season….


Week 17 – We travel to Houston. They are 10-5, we are 11-4. We lost to them earlier, lose today, and despite being tied, the fact that they swept us will mean that we are knocked down to the wild card. Cleveland lost. Win, and we are getting the 1st spot and a Bye and home field. Lose, and you go down to 5th. With a win and a Cleveland loss, the Texans will leap to #1 as well. I’m not sure who would win a tiebreaker if both win.

And we don’t get it.

We lose 21-19.

Bortles? 25 of 37 for 322 and 2:0
Robinson? 7 for 115 and 1 score
Lee? 5 for 91 and a score too

We got the final TD with 0:55 left, and then missed the 2 point to tie things up.

Forced fumbles by MLB Ward. C Pearson rocked 3 KRB.

DAMN!!!


The AFC Playoff Standings:

#1 Houston Texans 11-5
#2 Cleveland Browns -10-6
#3 San Diego Chargers – 9-7
#4 Buffalo Bills – 9-7
#5 Jacksonville Jaguars - 11-5
#6 Indianapolis Colts – 9-6-1

Well, we got all three hot teams in there, and that’s nice. We were 2-4 in the division, getting swept by both the Texans and the Colts. That’s not what you want to see! Can’t win a division playing ball like that!


Good injury news:

Back are SS Cyprien,

Bad news?

OLB Upshaw is out for 3 weeks with a strained Achilles tendon.
OT Goldhammer is questionable with a broken toe.

I move Derek Sherrod to the starting spot and MLB Robinson will start on the SLB spot.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2018 NFL Playoffs


We travel to the Bills

Indianapolis heads out to face the Chargers.


Over at the NFC,

Vikings at Eagles, and Seahawks at Panthers




We win 26-19.

Bortles, MVP – 24 of 27, 232, 3:1
Murray had 26 for 117
Lee had 7 for 107 and a score
WR Robinson and DJ Donaldson had the others

OG Iupati with 4 KRB, Satre and Pearson with 3 each

We have a few minor injuries, and one pseudo-major one

DE Cesar Velazquez is questionable for one week with a pulled groin. I keep him in though.



The Chargers took out the Colts 12-7.
Vikings on the road took out the Eagles 23-7
Panthers took out Seahawks 24-9

Two wild carders won. Both featured the #5 seed over a #4 seed with a worth record.

[Abe Sargent]

NFL Playoffs - Week #2

We travel to Houston to try to keep them from beating us three times this year.

The Chargers hit the road and head to Cleveland.

Over at the NFC the Vikings bring another in-division matchup ot the Packers and Panthers to the 49ers.


Houston thumps us!

37-23. I’ll skip the score because I’m pissed.

Damn it Texans!

The Browns took down the Chargers 17-14

Pack over icings 49-21. Panthers lose 10-0

[Abe Sargent]

NFL Conference Championships


Cleveland at Houston

49ers at Packers

It’s a battle of #2s vs #1s.

Both #1s stand

CHosuton wins 27-24 and the Pack 13-12


The 2018 NFL Super Bowl


Your #1 seed AFC Champion Houston Texans,11-5


Vs


Your #1 seed NFC Champion Green Bay Packers, 12-4


Green Bay wins 23-16



Well, so long to another season that disappointed in the post-season!

Stupid Texans

[Abe Sargent]

Season Awards:


Player of the Year:

QB Blake Bortles


Offensive Player of the Year:

QB Blake Bortles


All-League First Team:

QB Blake Bortles
WR Marqise Lee
OG Marquis Satre


All-League Second Team:

K Tyler Bernard

[Abe Sargent]

Stats!



Passing:

QB Blake Bortles – 4499 yards (4th most)73.3%, 38:10 ratio (most TD, 3rd fewest INT for 16 game starters), 112.6 QB Rating, (Best). 2 Rush TD< 35 sacks.

That’s his best season so far. Pretty good Bortles!


Rushing:

DeMarco Murray - 252 carries for 1200 yards, 12 TD, 59 catches, 440 yards, 3 TD. 8th most rushing yards, 2nd most rush TDs.

Not bad when your 31 year old running back can do that, right? He dropped to 61/61 in rating, but he’s still looking solid there.


Receiving:

WR Marqise Lee – 91 grabs, 1444 yards 93rd most), 16 TD(most), 15.87 yards/catch is 4th most among qualifiers

WR Allen Robinson – 80 for 951, and 12 TD (tied for 2nd most in NFL).

WR Justin Blackmon – 52 for 603 and 4


Lee’s best season thus far, but just a little more than normal. Robinson keeps flirting with that 1000+ plateau.

K Tyler Bernard, 34 of 41, long of 55, and 52 of %# PAT and led league in scoring
P Brad Nortman – 70 pounts, 25 in 20,m and 44.2 average – the most we’ve ever had. Middle of the pack
WR Blackmon, 1 KR, led league in average kick returns by 3.8 yards with 32.8 yards in 33 returns.


You can see one of the reasons I like to keep Blackmon around, despite adequate receiving stats. Guy can return punts all over the place.


Defense –

DE Kenneth Butler – 28 tack and 14 assist; 11 sacks, 3 blocked passes, 16 hurries, 1 QBknown, 2 FF, 2 FumRec
DE Cesar Velazquez – 52 and 13; 11 sacks, 3 blocked, 19 hurries, 28 knockdowns, 2 FF
DE Glen Willis – 14 and 7, 8 sacks, 1, 8 and 10
DT Quentin Grossman – 38 tack and 8 assist; 7 sacks, 3 block, 5 hur, 1 qb kd
DT Colin Hover – 29 and 10, 3.5 sacks, 3 blocks, 6 hurries, 3 QB Kd. 3 Forced Fumbles

Velazquez was 5th in knockdowns in the league. Getting two DEs with 11 sacks? That’s just really strong. Getting 8 more sacks from Willis, spelling them is even better! Meanwhile I really like getting 7 sacks up the middle with Grossman. Our D Line was a huge improvement from before, and for once, was not an embarrassment of the team. I’m glad I locked up Butler after Camp. The undrafted FA is in the 3rd year in the league and 2nd as a starter.


MLB Irving Ward – 66 tack and 26 assist; 2 sacks, 5 hurries 1 QB kd, 1 INT, 7 pasdef, 2 FF
WLB Justin Houston – 44 and 12; 1 sack, 1 hurry, 4 pasdef
SLB Courtney Upshaw – 44 and 8; 2 sacks, 1 hurry, 3 pasdef


SS Jonathan Cyprien – 14 starts, 55 tackles and 26 assist; 2 sacks, 1 pick, 6 pasdef, 2FF
FS Tavon Wilson – 51 and 19 tackles; 1 blocked pass, 3 pick, 3 pasdef
CB Shane Hopkins – 5 Int, 6 pasdef
CB Darqueze Dennard, 6 starts, 3 pick, 1 def
CB Janoris Jenkins – 10 start, 1 pick, 6 pasdef
CB Bryan Meadows – 1 pick, 8 pasdef


Wow, again, not great years from the secondary. Here I thought I was making my team deep, but cutting the cord of the underperforming Kareem Jackson didn’t do that much more. Not good stuff folks. Shane Hopkins has been good, and I can’t fault green Meadows with I 1 pick and a team leading 8 passes defensed.


Blocking –

OG Marquis Satre – 48 KRB, 13 pancakes, 4 sacks allowed -3rd most KRB, the most pancackes
C Roger Pearson – 30 KRB, 2 pancakes, 6 sacks allowed
OG Mike Iupati – 13 starts, 20 KRB and 1 pancake and 5 sacks allowed
OT Cedric Goldhammer – 15 sacks, 1 pancake, 12 allowed
OT Meredith – 13 starts, 13 KRB and 2 pancakes and 6 sacks

FB Will Johnson – 16 KRB, 1 pancake – 0 sacks allowed.

Johnson was the highest KRB in the NFL among non-O Line folks. No TE, FB, RB, or WR had as many as he did. Satre again had a great season, and Pearson seems o have fully adjusted to his C role.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Travis

Man, you're tough on Toby.

292 touches, 1604 yards, 5.49 per touch and 8 touchdowns, that's a pretty good season.

Will be following, so many ex-Seahawks in Jacksonville, so I've got some guys I'm definitely pulling for!

Late to the party, but that's what I was thinking as well.

[Poli]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

RB Toby Gerhart is holding out

Sign a stud RB and Toby then holds out? I don't suspect he's going to like the result of his action.

[Abe Sargent]

Team Awards:


Offensive Player of the Year: WR Marqise Lee – He finally broke into the top receivers of the league stats wise, and has had 6605 yards and 57 scores in his first 5 seasons in the league. He hasn’t missed a game nor had fewer than 1150 yards in any season. Lee has been.

Defensive Player of the Year: DE Kenneth Butler – He rocked a bunch of sacks, forced fumbles and havoc in the back field. He is getting better and better according to our scouts (currently 58/58). We hope he’ll be a long term sack partner with DE Velazquez.

Special Teams Player of the Year – K Tyler Bernard – He the league in scoring, had the second most field goals made, and got an All Pro 2nd Team nod. I’m glad we decided to franchise him and py him some cash in order to keep him. Good job Bernard!

Rookie of the Year – CB Byran Meadows - There are three major choices here, but OG Theo didn’t start much. OT Goldhammer was in a learning year. But leading my team in pasdef from a nickel/dime back spot? That’s pretty solid.

Heart Award – DE Glen Willis – This 37/38 guy grabbed 8 sacks, in his previous career he had 0.5 sacks twice in two of the three seasons. We had signed Willis coming out of undrafted FA 4 years ago, then kept him on our roster for a year in 2015, and he had 0.5 sacks. We dropped him, and now he’s the 3rd DE on our roster and winning an MVP award in a game! He played some with Buffalo and Denver, and has been a journeyman with no stable homes. In three years out there, his totals were 2 blocks, 2 hurries, 1 QB Kn and 1 sack. Now he breaks things open for 8 sacks, 3 blocked passes, 10 hurries, and 11 knockdowns? Welcome back home!

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Poli

Late to the party, but that's what I was thinking as well.

Yeah, a bit late. But that's okay!

Everyone is welcome here!

[Abe Sargent]

End of the 2018 Season:

Team Performance – 63
Value – 85
Profit – 83
Roster Str – 25

Year End – 73

[Abe Sargent]

Retirements:

We lost OT Jamon Meredith


Elsewhere of note:

WR Jacoby Jones
DT Kyle Williams
TE Greg Olsen
DE Charles Johnson
CB Tim Jennings
RB Jamaal Charloes
OT Eugene Monroe(sad)
ILB AJ Hawk
OLB Chad greenway
CB Corey Graham
CB Robert McClain
CB Darrelle Revis
C Clark Harris
WR Mike Wallace
DE LaMarr Woodley
P Donnie Jones
WR Marques Colston
S Eric Weddle
DE Michawl Johnson
TE Zach Miller

Making into the HOF are Antonio Gates, P Manning, A Peterson and Troy Palamalu

[Abe Sargent]

Our Team?

We made 22 mill last year

Our team is now worth 736 mill – 13th worst
Stadium – 4th worst
Roster 2nd best
Support – 9th worst
Economy – 15th worst

Attendance – 95%



Staff:

We have two staff in the final year of their deal. I extend our OC and DC.

We draft #24. I almost audibled to a new HC, but I stay firm.

Someone hired my Assistant Coach as a coordinator.

I hire Wyatt Colburn, 1.36 mill, D Line specialization. 61 years old, was a HC with a 36-46 record, with several year with the Steelers but was fired.

[Abe Sargent]

Major Openings:


What FA are up?:

RB DeMarco Murray
LG Mike Iupati
SS George Iloka
FS Tavon Wilson
FLVan Linn
RT Juan Basile
MLB Koa Misi
DT Beau Allen
LS Grayson Johnstone

And what RFAs:

SE DJ Donaldson
TE JR Delaroche
CB Jacob Tudor
QB Edgar Estevez


We have 39 players on our roster.

No tags necessary.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s move to 2019 Free Agency !


We have the 1.28 pick in the draft

We also have 15.6 mill in cap space, and can spend 9.2 on players

I wanna begin with players that have a contract end this year:

WLB Justin Houston
RCB Darqueze Dennard
SE Marqise Lee
RG Brandon Linder
QB Raul Hall
FS Brendan Tate
TE Jessie Maloney
LDE Glen Willis
RB Skip Barlow
TE Efrain Noa
C Roger Pearson
RDE Cesar Velazquez
DT Quentin Grossman


And that’s obviously a bunch of issues. We need to lock up Velazquez and Lee. I would like to extend Willis, Grossman, Hall, Houston and Pearson. That’s a lot of extentions. Let’s begin to look on in here



I extend WLB Justin Houston by two years and drop his cap hit from 20 mill to 11 this year and 6.5 and 6.7 the next two years. Nicely done!

Justin might have dropped to 66/66 but I still like him. That got me a ton of money too.

Next has to be Lee. I drop Lee from a 15.6 hi this year to a 11.16 and extend for three more years for 9.38, 10.35 and 11.41.

Now we have some big money with 15 mill freed up just like that, while extending deals of two of my better players. That’s the kind of football I like to play!

Whoa! I just took a look at the draft and there is a potential stud TE rocking the block. I interview him now. Meh. Hard to read. I’d consider trading up for him. I need another weapon.

Meanwhile, more extensions.

The next place has to be Velazquez. This is going to be a huge hit – he’s just making 3 mill this year from his rookie deal. I sign him:

2019 – 8.72
2020 – 9.43
2021 – 10.3
2022 – 11.41

No question about that either.

Who else?

I extend QB Raul Hall for a year and OG Linder to a vet min salary for a year

I want to extend Pearson and/or Grossman next, and I certainly can. But both are huge jumps, so let’s wait. Maybe there’s other stuff I can do with the cash?


I extend these RFA – QB Estevez. I would like the others, but they are too pricey.

[Abe Sargent]

What are my current needs this offseason?

RB
TE
2xWR
OG
OT
C
LS
DT
LB
CB
FS
Sx2

Of those, I need a FS starter something fierce, and I can use upgrades at TE, RB, OT, DT, LB if we get someone really good.

Who is in this FA Class?

Damn! Russell Wilson?

Four of our players are #2-#6 in the FA pool – RB Murray, Iupati, Iloka, and Wilson.

Let’s advance a stage to get to the place where I can begin to offer deals

FS Wilson wants 50% of what he demanded last year.

I offer Wilson a deal to come back to us

I also need to sign a backup RB for my guy

I like RB Reggie Brooks, who is also 94 at punt returning and 47/47

I make an offer for LS Johnstone too.

I have the cash, but no players that just make me want to spend it, right?

There are a ton of players in the 50s, high 40s, but other than QB Wilson in the 83/83 spot, and then FB Raymond Heath (65/65) and RB Murray (62/62) there isn’t anything else.

And I’m not chasing Wilson.

[Abe Sargent]

Alright, let’s head out a week –

Week 3 – We sign Tavon Wilson back. OG Iupati heads to Cleveland.

QB Wilson may not head back, the Seahawks only have 26 mill in cap space. He costs 20 in his first year when I take a looksee.

I solved my major issue – at FS. Wilson is making 1.8 mill this year and we signed him to a 4 year deal – usually in the 2 mill range. Whe would have required 4 mill this year had we re-negotiated with him


Week 4 – Uh oh. QB Russell Wilson, the best QB in football, just signed with the Houston Texans. who let Ryan Fitzpatrick go….

DAMN TEXANS!

Week 5 – Murray signs with the Vikings. The Titans were leading, but a late Minnesota drive to bring him in worked. Meanwhile we signed RB Reggie Brroks to a 3 year 5.63 mill deal

Week 6 – I make an offer and resign Iloka. We get him for a 2 year, 3.65 mill deal

I extend DT Grossman – 4 more years, and his cap hit leaps to 7 this year, and then 7.5, 8, 9 and 10.

Week 8 – DT Evander Hood signed with Miami.

Week 9 – We sign LS Grayson. MLB Manti Te-o signs with the Colts.

We have 44 players under our roster.

We can safely move to the draft

I begin to do some more interviews. Trying to find talent that falls to 1.28

Wow is this a good year if someone needs an OG. There are around four or six OGs that look incredibly good. Damn there are some better players in there.

[Abe Sargent]

The 2019 NFL Amateur Draft


The first pick to the Steelers is an OT from Bowling Green.

Well the TE I covet went 1.8 and a bunch of other talent fell too. Just one WR has been taken though…

But…WR Joshua Wild, looks to have perfect bars. I grab him and see what happens. Red combines in speed, agility and position, and blue on IQ and strength. Bars and combine scores? I don’t need to interview Joshua Wild. I don’t need a WR. I have Blackmon, Lee, and Robinson. But if this is a truly an amazing opportunity, do I skip over to something else? He’s not the BAP according to the various scouts – but he is here. I take him. That’s too good of potential to screw up.


I fast sim to the second round…WLB Is the best guy on the board and he has some good looking combines. I grab him.

3rd? Because a lot of OG talent was early, I think a few folks fell later into the draft. I grab OG Percy Tinkis in case my OG last year busts and because he’s basically BAP.

After that it’s just BAP and needs

I have an extra 6th and 7th due to trades and such.


The 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars Draft Class

1. WR Joshua Wild, Mississippi State
2. OLB Roderick Mitchell, Central Florida
3. OG Percy Tinkis, Arizona
4. OT Harvey Jimoh, Auburn
5. DT Javier Fisk, Mississippi State
6. WR Donnie Crawford, Rhode Island; C Ross President, Arizona
7. RB Matthew Dorsey, Iowa State; FS Myles Clinton

There we are.

Early thoughts?

WR Wild comes in at 35/76 and this 4th on the Green Page. No one else comes in rocking a 50+ potential.

We got an A evaluation though. Let’s wait and see what they look like post-camp

[Abe Sargent]

Post-draft, I still need a 3rd or 2nd TE, and a backup CB.

I begin by considering UFAs as well. An unusual trade offer arrives. The Panthers want to send me a 4th rounder for OT Ezekiel Kamin. I make them tack on a 6hth rounder to, and they agree.

I make an offer to:

UFA TE Eduardo Doctrow
UFA OT Artie Richardson
UFA LCB Colton Weston

I make an offer to FA OT Cordy Glenn, a 8 year vet and mentor to OT.

I also offer to re-sign LCB Jacob Tudor and TE Delaroche



Week 2 – We sign TE Delaroche, CB Weston, RT Richardson

Week 3 – We sign LCB Tudor,

Week 4 – We sign TE Doctrow and RT Cordy Glenn,

Before heading to camp I cut CB Andrew Doyle, he gained a red flag.

I extend C Pearson. His contract leaps to roughly 5 mill a year.

[Abe Sargent]

Let’s head to camp!!!




Players of Note Ending This Year:

TE Maloney
DE Willis
CB Dennard


I can sign Dennard for cheap. I just think I have a logjam at CB.

Rookies post camp?

Other than WR Wild, the best potential are C Ross President with 10/47 and undrafted RT Artie Richardson rocking 24/47 and FS Myles Clinton 21/47

[Abe Sargent]

But Joshua Wild?

Take a look





Wild is rocking a strong 42/76 body with that 96 big play receiving. That’s just a good receiver. According to our scouts, Wild is the 4th highest potential non-kicker in this year’s draft.

The players above Wild are RG, LT, and LG. Just 6 players have a potential of 70+ in the draft – a TE and CB are the others. This guy can give us another weapon n a very different way than the TE did.

[Abe Sargent]

I cut:

RB Skip Barlow
TE Efrain Noa
4th round pick RT Harvey Jimoh
LCB Colton Weston





We sell 50800 season tickets again


Roster Stuff

QB Bortles has risen to 61/61 again. QB Raul hall is the major backup with a 37/37 delivery service

RB Walter Gohl is taking over for us 53/53, and Reggie Brooks is 45/45 for us.

FB Will Johnson, 61/61 is still our guy

TE Jessie Maloney is 41/41 and Delaroche 35/43, they’ll be our two bodies out there right now.

Damn wideouts! We have four legit starters in the league with Lee – 69/69; Robinson – 51/51; Blackmon 53/53, and Wild – 42/76

C Pearson is 52/52 and extended to a new deal.

OG Satre (96/96) is everything a GM could want. Meanwhile we’ll be starting OG Theophilakos (31/57) across from him, and we have OG Linger, 38/38 as a backup.

OT Goldhammer,47/53 – should be a solid starter this year, and RT Derek Sherrod will be his 38/38 self, which will push 37/37 signee Cordy Glenn and UFA RT Artie Richardson at 24/47

P Nortman – 60/60; K Bernard – 60/60; LS – Johnstone

DE Butler is 58/58 and Velazquez 71/71. We have Glen Willis, 38/38 as a backup.

DT Quentin Grossman 53/53 and DT Colin Hover 43/43 are our primary starters, with 30/34 Julian Small the primary backup here.

MLB Irving Ward leads the inner part of our LB Corps, 51/51 and MLB Melvin Robinson has his 47/50 self getting close to adequate.

SLB Courtney Upshaw, 55/55 is on the strong end and 32/37 Leon Russell is his backup there, and WLB Houston, 66/66 hold the other.

CB Shane Hopkins, 59/59, probably my best 2nd round pick in the draft thus far, is rocking down one spot. Meanwhile we have a logjam at corner – CB Bryan Meadows in his second year at 43/53; Janoris Jenkins is 47/47 and Dennard rockes a 48/48. Even UFA from two years ago Jacob Tudor is a solid 34/41.

At the safety spot, we have SS Cyprien at 60/60; SS Iloka at 57/57 and FS Wilson 55/55. FS Tate is 34/34.

[Abe Sargent]

So, what does the league say about these folks?

7th best QB, 13th best reserve
15th best RB, 2nd best reserve
3rd best FB
11th worst TE, 7th worst reserve
8th best WR, 8th best reserve
14th best C
2nd best OG, 7th worst backups
10th worst OT, 11th worst backups
15th best P; 10th best K
3rd best De (YAY); 8th best reserve
15th best DT; 10th worst reserve
7th best ILB
8th best OLB, 13th worst reserve
12th best CB; 4th best reserve
7th best S; 2nd best reserve

[Abe Sargent]

Who have I drafted myself, that I now have a full time, post-draft contract?

OG Marquis Satre
C Roger Pearson
DE Kenneth Butler – if a UFA counts
K Tyler Bernard – if a UFA counts
DE Cesar Velazquez
DT Quentin Grossman

Does DE Glen Willis count?

Now, who did I sign to a post-draft contract that someone before me drafted to the Jaguars?

QB Blake Bortles
WR Marqise Lee
WR Allen Robinson
WR Justin Blackmon
OG Brandon Linder
SS Jonathan Cyprien

These came through our UFA and draft ranks, and we’ve retained for our roster.

Year 6 – this time its personal. Can’t screw up like I did in the regular season, dropping so many in-division games and losing the AFC South.

[Abe Sargent]

Pre-Season –


Week 1 – BYE

Week 2 – We host the Seahawks and lose 20-17. RB Reggie Brooks is out for 3 weeks

Week 3 – We crush the Vikings 31-9 in their place. OT Cordy Glenn is out for a week with a concussion

Week 4 – We fly out to Arizona and upend them 20-10

Week 5 – We thump the Bears here 31-3.

Two injuries of note – CB Janoris Jenkins is out for 4 weeks with a concussion and NT Julian Small is out for an unknown amount of time with impaired vision. Glenn and Brooks are back though.

[Abe Sargent]

2019 NFL Regular Season


Week 1 – We open the season on the road at Tennessee. We win 20-3. Bortles, MVP< is 24 for 39 for 223 and 2:0. RB Gohl carries 18 for 67 in his first game for us. Lee and Blackmon with TD receptions and Lee was 89 for 119 too. We picked them 5 times – twice by CB Hopkins, and once by CB Bryan Meadows, and once each by OLB Russell and Upshaw. DE Velazquez forced a fumble and had 2.5 sacks. S Cyprien led the team with 13 tackles. OG Linder was subbing in for an injured Theo and got 3 KRB.

Not a bad opening. I increased my passing options and pushed 3 and 4 WR sets since we drafted Wild. Hopefully we’ll see some more gunslinging.


Week 2 – We host and thump the Bucs 45-26. Game MVP is….QB Raul Hall??? Uh oh! He came in after Bortles was injured (Borltes was 16 of 18 for 149 and 2:1) and was 15 of 18 for 216 and 4:0. Welcome to Jacksonville Raul! We hit Marqise Lee 12 times for 220 yards and 4 scores. Robinson was 7 for 58 and a score and TE Delaroche was 4 for 51 and a score too. CB Hopkins grabbed another pick, DE Butler forced a fumble that Velazquez recovered. Those DE guys. Dang. I love ’em so much. DE Willis, subbing in, netted 2 sacks. C Pearson rocked 3 KRB.

That’s it. I’m extending DE Willis’s deal. 3 more years at 2-2.4 mill. He’s our guy.

Meanwhile, Bortles is doubtful with abdominal strain. I move him to our emergency 3rd spot and Raul Hall will start next week. OG Satre is probable with a sprained ankle for two weeks.


Week 3 – We host the Bengals this week. We win 47-24. Hall is MVP with 28 of 35 for 308 and 1:1, and RB Gohl rushed 16 for 61 and 2 scores on the ground; Hall rushed for the other score. Lee 7 catches, 113 yards, and a score. Picks by FS Tavon Wilson – who grabbed two, and CB Hopkins, another. Forced fumbles by Wilson, NT Hover, and FS Wilson – all recovered by DE Willis, CB Dennard and CB Meadows. That’s SIX turnovers that the Bengals gave us, and just one back. C Pearson had 4 KRB.

QB Bortles is questionable for a week, and will remain benched for now.

Week 4 – We host, and lose, to Oakland 31-28. Hall was 28 of 42 for 290 and 3:0. TE Delaroche was 9 catches, 64 yards, and a score, and Lee 6 for 70 and 2. CB Hopkins with a pick. Hall fumbled twice, but Blackmon recovered both times. DE Velazquez with 4 sacks. C Pearson had 3 KRB.

OG Satre will be back to healthy next week. Bortles is back as well.


We finish the first third a strong 3-1 despite the noted lack of Bortles at the helm, and Hall plays a different sort of ball, hitting the TE and short stuff a lot more.

Week 5 – BYE

Back from injury is CB Janoris Jenkins.