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08-04-2005, 11:33 AM
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#151 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Well, certainly free agency is the real core of this career. I pick up players through the draft, but it's the free agency process that shapes the team.
The biggest single thing is that there is a complete "herd" mentality with player evaluation in the game. In general, it seems like there is a general routine for determing a player's value - and that routine is only slightly adjusted for a given circumstance. A FA player has certain ratings and stats, and the game makes a calculation as to what he will demand in salary. Then, if he's lucky, one or morw teams will decide he's worth pursuing -- but the offers will essentially be all in a tight group, right around his demands. It's not a dreadful system, but it lacks a certain "life" that could come from a greater range of things happening. In a multi player league, with 32 teams actually thinking on their own about what a player is worth, there might well be a whole series of diffrent approaches. One team might want to give the players a solid long term deal, another might want to sign him short term, another might wait for now, but watch closely and be ready to battle if others get into the bidding. Over time, we ought to see some real storylines evolve. In single player, with more or less one formul being used to determine player value, than seemingly just tewaked a bit up or down after each successive use, we see teh same thing time after time -- here's the guy, he wants 4yrs, $20 million, and the orrers come in... 4yrs, $19.5m... 4yrs, $19.8m... 4yrs, $20,4m... 4yrs, $21.1m... and so forth. Nobody shows up with a 1yr, $7m offer... or anything else really out of the ordinary. Look at my starting CB Bush from this career, right now. He has good ratings, and is clearly a solid starter. For 20 weeks, he sat there asking for 3 years, $9m-plus. And nobody through he was worth it. Eachw eek he shaved some tiny speck off his demands, to no avail. So, he will sit there... probably until either (1) my team comes through and offers him something, or (2) he just sits through training camp unsigned, still holding form to his $3m+ demands, and then glumly accepts a $700K one year deal from the team whose name is seemingly randomly drawn as the one to go out and scoop up free agents first this year after camp. (Which is the best description I can offer) Not a major greivance -- but as I'm watching pretty closely, I am getting accustomed to concluding "nothing to see here" most of the time. It's a complex system, I'm sure it's fairly difficult to model... but it just doesn't withstand very close scrutiny. |
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08-04-2005, 05:20 PM
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#152 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2038 Rookie Draft
The last few years, I have focused increasingly on the affinity system with my top draft picks, and now I’m at the point where I basically refuse to draft players who won’t gain affinities. This has caused me to trade down or out of drafts when there were no good fits – one result is getting future first rounders, and this year we have the #4 overall pick as a result. Great. Last year would have been the year to have this high pick, as there was a great-looking affinity DE who went #2 – too high for us, it turns out. From #4, I could trade up to get any player I want – so we will look at the board, and see who fits. Again, our ideal positions to help out would probably be DE and WR, more or less the same as last season. We need help on the OL (left guard would be ideal, but a tackle is always welcome too) and are short at LB. We are not deep enough anywhere to turn down a solid producer who fits our system – so I will remain flexible in that respect. The fifth-ranked DE, Ttrone Meynardie, looks pretty good (25/58), and seems to be pretty balanced run/pass. Combines look shaky – nothing to suggest a step forward. Maybe, but certainly not very early. Past him it’s a real drop to Myron Tatum (19/43), who is nothing special. DE is looking bleak for us. At DT though, I like Ellis Emley (21/64) a good deal, and he looks to be among the more speedy player at the position – a move to DE makes sense for him, and for me. At 293 lbs, he ought to switch just fine. He’s listed sixth on the DT list – I’m thinking he may be a good second rounder, but we might have to move up/down to get him in early-middle round two. DT J.B. Mahoney (30/60) is rated just ahead of Emley, and is a different sort of guy (more complementary skills) but might also make a decent pick for us – and at 299, he’d switch to DE with no problem either. There are several linebackers among the top-rated guys who are affinity fits for us – more on that later, but I don’t expect to go there until at least round two. The best WR in the draft, Wally Terrell (44/78) misses our affinity band by a couple of days – so no fit there, either. He looks very fast, and might turn out to be very, very good. I am unmoved by the prospects available at WR for us – it looks like another famine situation for us. So – is there anyone we want to select with the #4 pick? How can we put this plainly? No, there is not. The guy we want to take is C D.J. Erickson (24/80), the top-rated center in the draft, and a serious prospect for the OL. Great pass-blocker, and a very, very strong guy – for what that’s worth, with one of the best combine scores in the lift of anyone at any position. At 296 lbs, I suspect he’d switch to LG fine, but if not, he could be a natural replacement for Drew Bullock at his natural position of center. Perfect fit – we will try to find the “sweet spot” to grab this guy, who is initially listed 19th on the overall board. I’m thinking the middle of round one makes sense – and probably gives us a shot to gain some future draft equity in the deal. We swing a deal with the Chiefs, to move to pick 14, and move up next year from the 3rd to the 1st round. Seems reasonable to me – and we have a shot to still get our target guy at #14, I suspect. After 13 picks, our guy at center is still there – listed 9th overall. Can we wait even longer? We have pick 28, but that seems like a stretch. The second guy who now has my eye is S Preston Holmes (35/68) who would target a need area, and presumably step in to start for us at free safety. Another good fit there – and now my thinking is “how do we get both of these guys in this draft?” I swing a deal with the Redskins to move down in round one, give them a few later picks, and acquire their second rounder as well. I think the second rounder might be the trade equity we’d need to move up to get S Holmes, perhaps. With picks 22 and 28 at the ready, we watch the first round unfold. Both of our guys look safe, and both make it to our selection at #22. At this point, C Erickson is ranked #3 overall, and S Holmes #6 (but behind another safety, which gives me some comfort). I take Erickson at 22, and watch to see if we can dodge five more picks without guy still there. Code:
This whole thing actually works out, for once. After seemingly missing every time I tried to work out some draft timing, we get exactly what we want here – two first round picks who fit great, and we gain some future equity in the deal as well. Outstanding. LB J.T. Swift (16/55) has potential as a run stopper and in coverage – a good match for us, and an easy pickup in late round two. I trade out of our other second round pick, getting Minnesota’s second next year for it straight up. DT Bill Glover (14/46) looks like a decent prospect – but might be too heavy for the DE slot. We’ll try to switch him anyway, but he looks okay regardless. DB Frank Lantz will probably move to CB, and looks like our typical decent reserve cover man. C Sammy Hopper (16/38) is a so-so reserve OL prospect – ought to switch to guard easily. Early returns are good for C Erickson, and even better for late pick Sammy Hopper, who jumped up to 21/52 as soon as we got a closer look at him. Hopper looks like he will make the move to LG more easily than Erickson, so we switch him – he lands there at 15/46, but I am still pleased. |
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08-04-2005, 05:20 PM
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#153 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Late Free Agency
Well, CB Derrick Bush has re-evaluated his contract stance, and is now asking for only a bit over a million to sign – I can barely get my offer in quickly enough. He signs after only two weeks – a great move to wait him out, it seems. I co confirm that rookie T Glover is just too fat to move to DE – so we still need to add at least two players at the DE position. We put in a bid for DE Lonnie Vance, who ought to fill much the same role that we once used Van Rivera for – solid starting-caliber RDE, decent enough against the run and pass to start or back up. DE Dwayne Zawilinski is our other DE free agent – more of a run stopper, but be, too, ought to be solid as a reserve or as a platoon guy. We also re-sign LB Shawn reader – his slot was in some doubt, but he adds a lot of cohesion, and is still a pretty solid player. No affinity any longer, but still a solid contributor. We will bid adieu to TE Bennie Havran – he has lost his starting job to Portly, and I have a couple youngsters aboard for a look as backups, who ought to be okay. QB Tyrone Currie will also not be re-signed, as I am fine with our two young guns in the #2 and #2 QB jobs. DE Philip Ahn is gone – he was not happy with his playing time last year, so he wasn’t coming back anyway. That gives us 62 players under contract, plus three unsigned rookies, as we head to training camp. I am not wild about our defensive front – losing Orlando Lowe was a net loss of one star-caliber player, which we couldn’t recoup. But we’ll hope to put together enough pressure to get by, and once again be tough against the passing game. |
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08-04-2005, 05:20 PM
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#154 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Training Camp
Two first round picks, guys we are enthusiastic about – a lot to see in this year’s camp… Code:
Well, the good news is that we got a +9 bump from a rookie, one of the biggest I have ever seen. Bad news is, he’s a punter. OL D.J. Erickson did bump up also, though – a good sign that he is going to be the real thing. I expect we will start him at center right away, and just let him be our main in the middle heretofore. That is, assuming we ever get him signed. Bad news with our defensive signees – but I am not that shocked. SS Holmes still looks good to me, and I still expect him to start this year – but his ceiling might be a bit lower than we had hoped initially. As usual, the battle for roster slots at RB is tough. Nobody here really looks that good. Lavelli has been okay, but doesn’t get enough playing time to justify a non-affinity slot, I don’t think. Lamar Summers had a good camp, but is really nothing special even if he bumps a couple more times. The winner is going to be Isaac “King” Kong, who has a shot at taking the #2 job away from Lavelli with a good preseason. In preseason, Isaac Kong looks great in the first two games, and then blows out his knee in the third. Sorry, pal – see you next year. Oddly, rookie center Erickson has exactly zero ratings for both run blocking and pass protection, currently. He has loads of potential, but I think it’s best to bring him along more slowly – we will have him back up mentor Bullock for this season, contrary to my original plans. Heh – ratings of 0/59 and 0/100… interesting. Here is the final cut of the roster, as we head into the regular season: Code:
We have reached complete affinity among our defensive secondary and offensive line – a goal I had been weakly aiming toward. I doubt it matters, but it is interesting to see. For this year, I don’t feel quite as enthused as I did last season – I part because of the loss of DT Orlando Lowe, who was a big nice surprise last season, and also in part because of our losses at WR, which I let happen under my nose. Overall, I think the team is in good shape, but I don’t have that “the year’ feel that I did, to some degree, last season. There still is urgency, especially for Daryl Jeffries – who holds on to his starting job, but is clearly not the player he once was. Our roster rating is 65, down a grade from last year, but tops in our division (Seattle fell like a rock, oddly enough). Our cohesion stands at 100-85-85-91 – good enough to be one o the very top teams overall. I’m a bit surprised we are still on top with the passing group, even after losing our two longtime starting wideouts in consecutive seasons. I am thinking this is a 10-6 team, or thereabouts. We’ll see how the OL plays, and whether the secondary can possibly step up a bit this year and make some big plays. (I hate that I’m angry with them, but I really think we need some more turnovers and scoring from our defense to be a top tier team – this is essentially why Conrad Flannery is gone) If we win ten games – we have a shot, and maybe we can make something of it this time. |
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08-04-2005, 05:21 PM
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#155 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2039 season
We get off to a rather sluggish start at 1-2, and lose Dwight Fisk for a few weeks in the third game, a loss to 3-0 Carolina. Kenyon Palm gets the call, and will get another shot at leading the offense – I think I have settled on him as “our guy” and the future at QB, over Artie “the Smarty” McDaniel. They are both on their way to being good – I will hope to get a trade offer for McDaniel soon, but expect to groom Palm as the next starter here. We run the ball well to help Palm out to two wins – he is now 3-0 as a starter. We get Fisk back, tear off a couple more wins, and end up knotted with Arizona to get to our halfway point. A check on the team stats: Code:
Well, this is mostly the stat line we are used to seeing – we run the ball often and pretty well, we are efficient passing, and we are darned tough to pass against. Our run defense could use some shoring up, but on balance – not bad. Good to se our turnover margin in the plus so far, for a change. We have racked up some injuries, but overall are managing okay. We get past the worry over a half-game season with our tie, by tying San Francisco in the next game, slipping to 5-2-2. That put us one game and a half behind… well, Seattle of course. We go up to Seattle, and are without RB Dave Burns for the first time in his tenure – he is now out for the season. We will use FB Barrett as our primary ball carrier, with Robert Lavelli as the reserve. Might get tough. For backup, we sign veteran Kendrick Anderson, who will probably go into the depth chart at #3, but might overtake Lavelli if he struggles. With a 21-16 win at Seattle, we get back into the hunt, just a half game back. Roger Barrett rumbled for 131 yards – his best game to date, easily. We grind out 230 yards rushing in the next game, a win over Cleveland, and are actually looking pretty sharp. But we lose on the road to Dallas, and that puts us a full game behind Seattle again. Now, we lose S Joey Beecroft to an injury – awful to see that. The team is literally falling apart – we have had to place two more running backs onto IR, and have hoboes off the street wearing jerseys in the 20s and 30s. It’s crazy. But we keep playing pretty well, regardless. We are 8-3-2, and travel to face Arizona, who are 8-4-1, a half game behind us. We need to win to at least keep pace with Seattle – a loss here basically eliminates us, we suspect. We pound them, 30-7, and are gleeful as we see Seattle lose to San Francisco – as of right now, we are on top of the division, with two games to play. We are home for Cincinnati, and then stay home for Seattle – we are in control. This game I much like last year’s week 16 debacle against Oakland – except we manage to squeak out a 26-23 win at the whistle, literally. So, the tale is set for the season finale – home to Seattle, but it’s anticlimactic – Seattle lost their last two games, and now has fallen to 10-5. We are the division winners already! We’re going to have to play in the wild card round either way – so this game actually is close to meaningless. Disappointing, but good news regardless. Kenyon Palm leads us to yet another win in the finale, and we lock up a curious but solid 11-3-2 record. That’s good enough for the #4 seed in the conference – so we will get a home playoff game, for a change. Code:
Well, I’ll start with FB Roger Barrett – who might have just put together one of the best seasons that will go completely under the radar that we’ll see. He probably will earn a pro bowl berth as a FB, but this was an effort worthy of anything we have gotten from any HB, as well – 4.6 yard a carry is great, and over 6 yards per pass thrown his way isn’t bad, either. He’s not a home run threat, but certainly helps the offense stay on the field. He made $2 million this year – more than I am ever inclined to pay a fullback. How much do we pay him next year? Do we slot him as the top ball carrier, and let our halfbacks do crap like return punts and stuff? I’m open to that… Dwight Fisk had one of his best seasons, with a passer rating of 96. he is not a gaudy number guy in this offense, but steadily completes 63% of his passes, and wins games too. Kenyon Palm still has yet to (1) lose a game he started, or (2) throw an interception in a real game. QB position seems fine, thanks. Portly Irv Peterson is the most productive guy we have had at TE on this team, I think – he saw 100 passes partially due to the dearth of quality receivers, but still he made a lot out of them. WR Tommy Henson is on the team as a leader and utility guy – I’m surprised he ended up leading the WR corps in catches, but he is a very able fill-in when guys get injured, and he started 6 games this year at split end for Patter – and ended up with 39 catches on the season. Code:
This season ended up being another great performance from G Shaun Singleton, as he set a new high for run blocks. We gave up only 17 sacks – again, among the very best in the league. Nobody was really disappointing – Kurt Fattel (playing out of position at LG and RT) was the weakest link, and his season was certainly solid. Drew Bullock really doesn’t have much left in terms of pure skill – but he continues to put forth very solid numbers playing at either C or G. You can pay a lot of salary for a guy to be your superstar OL, and not ever get a year with 47.5% KRBs and 0.2% sacks allowed. On defense, Jimmie Keith has established himself as the main inside force for us – Jeffries is now an injury-prone contributor, but not the dominant force he used to be. Dan Maltman is a great do-everything guy for us, and is in for the long haul, I think. I am pleased with our linebacking corps, including young guys Quinn and Swift, both of whom ought to fit in okay as time goes on. Up front, we had to do a lot of rotating, to handle injuries – we just need more guys up there, period. Gerald Wire can’t stay in place, and neither of the old guys we brought aboard gave us a full season – we were patching all the way. LB Maltman will be starting at DE I the playoffs, since we are way too stretched already – and that’s a waste of his coverage skills, really (another year with double digit passes defensed). The secondary again held opponents to s low yards per attempt – CB Aaron Shaw took a leap forward with 28 passes defensed, a new team record. Our secondary has been good ever since he arrived – he is no small part of that. Beecroft played well, and will be back for the playoffs, and I like the season we got from Orlando Kingsblood, a versatile guy who can play any DB position, I’m convinced. We have to be looking at this as a great opportunity – banged up as we are, we still have a home playoff game and a shot to move onward. We’ll pull together, and try to make it happen. |
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08-04-2005, 05:21 PM
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#156 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Postseason Summary
Wild Card Game: Philadelphia (10-6) at St. Louis (11-3-2) – The Eagles have monstrous lines on both sides of the ball, and that’s what drives them. This is not an easy game, but our running attack keeps us basically in control, and a big TD drive in the fourth quarter gives us the final margin, 23-14. Divisional Playoff: St. Louis (12-3-2) at Minnesota (14-2) – Tough game, heading to the mighty Vikes, the team who seemed to get lucky and get their run of the big time one year free agent after camp this year. Funny how that team often comes from nowhere to get really good, eh? We lead 13-10 at the half, but a fumble early in the third costs us dearly, and then our offense just stalls. The Vikes run up two more scores, and get away with a solid 23-13 win. We go home, once again a bridesmaid. It’s Houston over Carolina in the Superbowl, as Houston wins the AFC for the fifth time in seven seasons, with three titles in that same stretch. That’s a pretty impressive run for them. I check them out a bit – their top passer, top rusher, second and third receivers, and their top two tacklers were all guys who were not on the team last year. Weird. Season awards – any takers on Shaun Singleton getting his nod once again? I thought so… first team, of course. FB Roger Barrett joins him there, too. LT Walt Woods is named to the second team, and CB Aaron Shaw is as well – both of them for the first time. Well, we exceeded my own expectations, but in the end, it was really just more of the same. The team battled through injuries like we hadn’t seen in years, and in the final analysis – landed in the playoffs, but not really a threat. Like most years. * sigh * |
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08-04-2005, 06:08 PM
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#157 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
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QS - Curious if being a bridesmaid is proving challenging enough for you. This isn't quite the 'dominant powerhouse' you are used to building and therefore seems a bit more challenging, but it seems like it is becoming a little repetitive. I didn't know if you were getting that feeling too and perhaps becoming bored with it.
Also, as a pure shits and giggles type of experiment, you should consider starting a career with the Chesapeake Chaingang and see how successful you can become with a team full of conflict, kind of the opposite of this dynasty. Not sure what house rules you might have to employ, as I'm not sure how much impact all the negativity would have. Conflict/Convict/Chaingang. Seems like a natural.
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Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz |
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08-04-2005, 06:48 PM
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#158 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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If it were me, I'd say it *is* challenging... you keep having that sensation that you're so damn close... and only fall just short. It makes you want to keep playing until you get over the hump.
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2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-04-2005, 08:23 PM
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#159 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
Great idea. I'm not really bored with this quite yet, but I suspect that's more a function of momentum than anything else. If I took three or four days off, I might never come back. But for right now, I am pretty immersed, and the fact that the team has not catapulted to the top has kept that the case, I think. |
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08-04-2005, 08:25 PM
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#160 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
True, but I am more of a regular season guy than a playoffs guy -- in general, I can get bored with a team thatr has regularly become a top title threat, even if it (for whatever reason) fails to win title after title -- just getting to that level of dominance is enough for me to feel the team has "arrived." Here, the fact that we really have never been the best team in the league (even though we had a #1 seed a couple of times) suggests to me that the team has not really topped out... and that has me still interested. |
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08-04-2005, 10:39 PM
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#161 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Not too far away
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I have to admit I gave this a read a week or so ago and haven't done more than glance at it since but based on what I know of you in the past QS, I would suggest one reason you like this is because you have had to make constant decisions. While you can do well it's immersive in the sense that it seems like you have to at least think about things.
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08-05-2005, 12:21 AM
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#162 |
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College Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
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Another benefit of a 'Chaingang' dynasty is that it might give us a little better insight on how much chemistry does affect performance. So far we have 'gut feelings' that our teams perform better with affinities, but it is certainly possible that we are simply finding what we are looking for. Since no one ever tries to create conflict, we've never seen the other side of the fence.
I'm guessing it might take a few trial runs to get a feel for how far the pendulum swings, and what house rules might be required to get the pendulum where you like it.
__________________
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz |
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08-05-2005, 10:11 AM
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#163 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Quote:
Very well put - exactly right. I love having to make decisions, and at least having the sense that those decisions matter. I'm not sure how much the whole affinity thing has actually affected team performance... but it has kept me very much in decision-making mode. |
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08-05-2005, 03:47 PM
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#164 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2040 offseason
We are watching QB Dwight Fisk and LB Daryl Jeffries wrap up their excellent careers, and are in our last chances to get them a Superbowl ring. They both now enter their 14th seasons – both having come aboard as part of our first rookie class. Jeffries was our top pick, Fisk was an undrafted rookie who caught on and kept getting better. Now, they are among the league career leaders in major stats – and they both see a capstone to their excellent careers. We have two retirements. Center Drew Bullock simply has to hang it up here, right? Nope – he is back for an 18th season. CB Preston Contreras was with us the last two seasons, but was not much of a factor on the field, as he was injured too often. LB Shawn reader has given us the last 8 of his 14 years, and has been a great contributor through that time, playing inside and out, always well. We submit another stadium plan to the good people of Memphis. Far more modest, we are trying to win this time. Since nobody comes to our games anyway, the stadium doesn’t need to be huge, really. Our front office is all on contract, and I’m pleased with them – we will stand pat there. |
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08-05-2005, 03:48 PM
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#165 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Free Agency Planning
Well, we have averted an OL crisis for one more year, so we come into this season with our affinity situations intact. Here is the snapshot of our player transition in the early season: Code:
Once again, the biggest mover on the whole team is the punter. Figures. I do like what we see from CB Orlando Kingsblood, though – but he now thinks he’s a big money player, so this could be the end with him. Planning for this year won’t be too tough. We mostly need to retain as many of our key players as we can – we will probably have most of the same struggles as last season, I expect. We need to make some improvements, and they need to come at some of the familiar spots. Wide receiver? Check. Defensive end? Oh, yeah. Maybe running back? Maybe. Did I mention defensive end? So, as far as our re-signing priorities – here’s my thinking: A LIST: QB Dwight Fisk, LB Daryl Jeffries, B LIST: CB Aaron Shaw, G Shaun Singleton, LB Dan Maltman, LT Walt Woods I’m narrowing down the B list here – these are the guys that I intend to bid aggressively on, no matter what we see from other teams. I’m figuring it will cost us about $28 million to land these six players – so that will be our core, for certain. I am not including DT Gerald Wire on the list – he’s a highly skilled player, and I anticipate big bidding. I don’t think we will pay for him – he looks like he is becoming injury prone, and we need a solid presence in the middle of our line. I will be looking for a better match, either by free agency or with a draft pick. Incidentally, we have picks 5, 17, and 28 in this draft – so we ought to have chances to make some fill-ins or improvements there. I already have a DE candidate (finally) for that top pick, and it also looks like we might be able to get a receiver, another long-desired spot to fill. So there is some hope there. |
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08-05-2005, 03:48 PM
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#166 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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INITIAL FA STAGES (Weeks 1-4)
Immediate re-signings: LB Daryl Jeffries, QB Dwight Fisk Re-signings, no competition: LB Dan Maltman, LT Walt Woods, LB Jimmie Keith Re-signings, with competition: CB Aaron Shaw New players signed: WR Marc Gordon, DT Tracy Mayes Players signed away: DT Gerald Wire, CB Orlando Kingsblood My initial offers to my six priority players total only $26 million – much of the savings comes from Daryl Jeffries demands, which are now down to a very modest $1.1m of so. That will really help, as he is a “must stay” guy in my eyes, after all these years. If he was somehow asking for $5 million, I’d pay it – looks like we will get a big hometown discount there. If we come in below my $28m estimate, I will be thrilled. I decide that this year is a good opportunity to try to make a big-splash free agent signing. I plan to do so with an all-salary offer – meaning we can back out if it turns out it hurts our sap situation too much. I think I have the perfect guy in WR Keith Middlehurst – a 5th year star-caliber wideout from the Patriots, who posted 1,656 yards in his pro bowl campaign last year. He’d be a huge impact player for us, right where we need it. He is asking for a monster contract, though – it will probably take $10 million or more to get him. Can we possibly afford that? I put in out offer – turns out we need $11.5 million to even make his list – ouch. It’s tough to imagine going into this season with an $11.5 million contract, but if we land him (unlikely, I’d think), we will have options. Okay – week one. BOOM, Gerald Wire is gone, signed by Arizona for huge money, $55m over 6 years. Good luck to you, big fella. No shock here. We’ll see you twice a year, if you can play. This raises a problem, as this makes DT Albert O’Connell our position leader. He has only two affinities – we have essentially built the position structure around LB Dan Maltman assuming the leadership role, and I knew (in the back of my mind) that this was going to cost us O’Connell. Trouble is, O’Connell is probably the most steady of our pass-rushing defensive linemen, and was certainly going to be a starter this season. Puts even more pressure on us, but I will put in a salary-only offer for him and release him, just to clear up the affinity system – he has to go now, I’m just too committed at that position group. I give this some thought, and have an alternative solution. DT Tracy Mayes is a free agent, a 14th year guy, with high enough leadership (88) that he’s wrest the mantle away from O’Connell. If we sign him, we’d get back where we want to be – he’d purportedly have affinities with nine guys (though his personality score of only 4 might make some of those nonexistent). I decide that for now, signing Mayes is an easier path than cutting O’Connell – Mayes could be good enough to see spot duty, even, though he’s not a star by any stretch. Better idea, I think. WR Marc Gordon looks like a great addition for this team – even though he doesn’t have superior receiving skills (36/38 in RR). He has very high ratings in the secondary stuff (big plays, courage, adjust), and is a standout special teamer – this is, to me, the perfect fourth wide receiver. He also happens to have high leadership skills and is a mentor at the WR slot. He could start, or he could be anywhere on the depth chart --- I love guys like this, and hope he sticks around a long time. We are in deep with WR Keith Middlehurst, who couldn’t possibly like our one year deal compared to the monster offer on the table for him right now from Green Bay, which probably has more in signing bonus that our entire deal. But we are ahead, at least in terms of average dollars per year – so that’s something, I guess, and we never know how backloaded the GB offer might be. We’re on the board at least. If we somehow manage to ink Middlehurst, this suddenly becomes a seriously tight financial year, but also perhaps a “win now” mentality, as he might be a huge difference-maker for this team, right where we need it. I have trouble fathoming what a big-time receiver might add to our already very solid offense. Okay, in week two, we can set that little dream aside – as Denver (again) grabs Middlehurst with an $86 million contract for 7 years. Wow. Well, nothing ventured, nothing lost – at least this might free up one of the guys they stole from us last season. We do get good news from CB Aaron Shaw, who re-signs amidst long term offers, once again. I can’t necessarily justify this in FOF terms, but my intuitive feel for this team is that Shaw is the real “difference-maker” in our secondary, the shut-down corner who makes everything work out for everyone. We have had a top rated secondary ever since he became a key player, and I like keeping him, even at substantial cost. I think he brings out the best in our role players. CB Orlando Kingsblood is a guy I like a lot, but Denver (of course) is after him, and I don’t know if we will comfortably afford a $5 million deal for him. I decide to try to work out a salary-only deal, meaning we’d cut him if it turns out to be too expensive at the end of the line. What about RT Nate Collier? $3 million a year? Seven sacks over two years, and a 36% KRB rate is work keeping, I think – he gets an offer as well, for more than I had planned to spend. It takes $3.5m just to make his list, and we are behind Cinti still. With the silly pursuit of Middlehurst over, we can actually pursue guys like this, at least. Denver successfully signs CB Kingsblood, so we have a loss there. But we do get LT Woods and LB Keith to agree to terms – both guys I really wanted to return. That’s good news at least. |
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08-05-2005, 03:48 PM
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#167 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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MIDDLE FA STAGES (Weeks 5-15)
Re-signings, no competition: G Shaun Singleton, CB Derrick Bush, WR Dwayne Patter Re-signings, with competition: FB Roger Barrett, DT Albert O’Connell, RT Nate Collier New players signed: Players signed away: WR Darrin Donovan We have to fight for FB Roger Barrett, but after last year, I think it’s worthwhile. I have gotten spoiled by not spending any money in the RB group, but I’m thinking that Barrett probably is now our feature back, and a $2.8m deal isn’t outlandish. We actually whittle down G Singleton’s deal a bit after he gets no other offers, and he signs with us, too. With that, I have all six of our priority re-signings done, for just under $25 million – not bad. Six guys for a third of the salary cap – that might be a useful rule of thumb, even. We get DT O’Connell re-signed, and all is well with our D7 affinity now – we have 8 affinities in that group at this point (pending some re-signings still) – the only guy whose personality was too low to register was LB Jimmie Keith, but I hope that is a temporary thing, as he will be okay with Maltman as the leader in time (though maybe not, as Maltman’s personality score is low also). CB Derrick Bush re-ups with us, and probably drops right back into his starting slot alongside Shaw. These two are key for us, especially as we have lost Orlando Kingsblood and the retired Preston Contreras. our depth will be les than we’re used to at CB this year, I think. With that in mind, I get in a decent offer to lock up CB Luther Schofer, who is a solid reserve for us, and might end up in nickel packages this year. CB Kyle Knight is still injured form last year – he had an offer on the table, but he waited too long and it slipped away. I might re-sign him later on, but am worried about the injury – he’s a 3rd or 4th CB type of guy if he returns okay probably on par with Schofer, more or less. RT Nate Collier finally signs with us in week 10 – tough to wait that one out, as he has played very well for us. I think our OL will be solid and deep this season, but returning starters always make us more comfortable. WR Darrin Donovan suddenly takes an offer sheet from Philadelphia – so there’s a loss. He has been solid, and seemingly getting incrementally better, each year – but probably had a ceiling. Not a huge loss, and he was one of our few remaining non-affinity players as well. With the signing of Marc Gordon (who could easily step in to start as our slot receiver) I am less worried about this loss – but we will take a look for another veteran we might bring aboard fairly cheaply. Alas, we let Curtis Wingo get away in the early stages – I decide to get in my bid for split end Dawyne Patter, but don’t have a target addition to bring aboard, really. That probably moves Marc Gordon up into the slot role for this year, battling Tommy Henson for playing time. This would be a great year to add a versatile utility back to the mix – a guy who could add depth at both RB and WR. I love grabbing these guys late in the draft, but a veteran would be fine, also. Kendrick Anderson, who played a fairly creditable season for us last year, is probably the best veteran candidate – we’ll look at the rookie class before paying another veteran salary at the RB group. |
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08-05-2005, 03:49 PM
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#168 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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FINAL FA STAGES (Weeks 16-20)
Re-signings, no competition: WR Dwayne Patter, C Drew Bullock, DE Lonnie Vance, S Brock Pearson, WR Tommy Henson Re-signings, with competition: New players signed: Players signed away: DE Dwayne Zawilinksi As contract demands decline in these late stages, I make a couple offers. I don’t feel like we are particularly vulnerable on many of our unrestricted free agents – I have some veteran guys to sign, but I think squeezing them down (by waiting until after the draft) is pretty safe here. One exception is DE Lonnie Vance, who is no star, but I’m just worried about our overall depth at the DE position, so I want to lock him up. I also conclude that I don’t want to take a risk with WR Tommy Henson, a position leader, so I pay to get him re-signed now, rather than risk seeing him sign elsewhere out of the blue. Same goes for S Brock Pearson and C Drew Bullock – might as well lock up the centerpieces for our perfect affinity groups while we can. I check out the remaining free agents – looking for any veterans who might be solid additions. CB Jay Lolicht might be the next great value pickup for us at the cornerback slot – pretty decent fourth year player, solid in bump coverage (50), and decent all-around skills. He ought to fit nicely into our rotation, maybe as a dime back for us, but definitely good for depth – and he’s very cheap. I have another veteran OL who is worth watching – RT Alonzo Locklear. This year, I don’t want to sign him, as he would take over the position leadership from Bullock, but for next year, he could come aboard and perhaps be our leader – with a high personality rating, we might maintain the strong affinities we have now. He’s a 12th year guy, and a very good fit. Plan is to tuck him away – but I’ll try to sign him if someone else comes up with a multi-year offer. In the very last stage, DE Dwayne Zawilinski gets signed by Tampa Bay. He was not very effective for us last season – my biggest concern is just the dearth of decent defensive ends for us. It will be a top priority spot for the rookie draft, you can be sure. |
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08-06-2005, 07:17 AM
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#169 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2040 Rookie Draft
We have 32 players signed at this point, and a pretty heavy draft complement of nine players, including three first rounders. Our picks in round one are at 5, 17, and our own at 28 – so we have a lot of options here. Defensive end is the single most pressing need area, but we have been looking for a big time young wide receiver for years also. Among the better-looking prospects within our affinity groups: DT Chris Hoover (40/71) – looks like our man for the early pick, he’ll switch to DE easily, and looks like a good pass rusher. Combine was good, not great. Solid pick, certain starter, probably not a superstar. Ranked 4th at DT, 6 overall. DT Antione Lucas (29/66) – maxed run stopper potential, could be impact player at either NT or DE, very quick (top 40 time among DTs at 4.83). Ranked 6th at DT, 11th overall. CB Rickey Joyner (19/61) – good coverage skills and interception ability - both maxed out, strong special teams skills but void in play diagnosis and punishing hitter, good combines but outstanding. Ranked #2 at CB, 28 overall. WR Erik Rigby (32/56) – strong complementary skills, maxed out in third down catching and adjusting to ball, very good combine, including solid 4.43 time in 40 and standout lifting mark (22). Ranked #2 at WR, 29 overall. LB Wendell Scotti (25/58) – looks like a very good system fit, probably not heavy enough to switch to DE at 254 lbs., good special teamer. Ranked #1 at ILB, 47 overall. LB Shane Ringrose (31/55) – strong on coverage and on special teams, good current skill levels, standout combine score in agility, tops in strength at ILB. Ranked #2 at ILB, 54 overall. From the lower ranks of players, a few guys we see in our initial sweep: T Ted Finley (15/51) – nominally strong tackle, weak complementary skills, poor combine – we’ll probably pass S Don Fuchs (33/54) – solid overall skills, not great cover man, mediocre combine scores – second or third round, possibly. RB Jimmy Barber (29/41) – nice skills match, good receiver, some special team skills, no returning skills – possible late round pick. DE Mel Wallace (25/43) – decent current skills, mediocre potential, okay combine scores – later round pick potential. WR Byron Torrice (19/49) – decent skill potential, punt return ability, special teamer, poor combine scores – nice late round option. WR Bubba Murray (26/42) – low rout running but some other ratings have potential, kick return skills, good current ability, speed at combine = sleeper potential – great deep sleeper for late rounds. FB Karl Koumentakos (23/39) – good receiving skills, may be light enough (221 lbs) to switch to HB or even WR, strong special teamer – late round option. Okay – so, if we could map this out perfectly without trading any picks, I’d love to use our top three picks to get DL Hoover, DL Lucas, and WR Rigby. My best guess is that we’ll get Hoover, miss out on Lucas, and that we will have to take Rigby at #17. If that leaves us with the two linebackers still on the board at the end of round one, we could trade down, probably still get one of them, and still come away with one of our best drafts in years. With our pick on the clock, I decide that the presence of “backup plan” guy Lucas gives me some flexibility to try to trade down and still get a DE here. I make a swap with the Giants, getting their picks at 1(9) and 2(9) for our picks at 1(5) and 2(30) – hoping that we will pick up one of our decent affinity guys (maybe one of those linebackers) with that early second rounder. At pick nine, DT Cris Hoover is #2 on the remaining list – dare we try to move down again? I don’t want to risk it, and my initial ventures don’t yield much anyway (moving down from 9 to 12 or so doesn’t get you much) – so we go ahead and get our top guy with pick #9 overall. Once he’s on our roster, he shifts to 40/69 at DT, then 38/73 at RDE, which will be his final position for us. Looking good. So – now we have two dreams to watch. If DL Antoine Lucas falls a few more picks, I think I’ll try to trade up from #17 to get him – maybe at around 12 or 13. And, WR Erik Rigby is a ways down the rankings, but he is essentially a “must have” player for us – solid potential at WR and maybe even a breakout, we can’t ask for more than that. In a perfect world, we’d just land then – but I don’t mind dealing to get both guys, if we can. I wait out picks 10, 11, and 12… and Lucas is still the third guy on the overall list, with two other defensive tackles ranked head of him. I’m thinking we are going to see him at pick #17. Meanwhile, the #1 wide receiver has been selected – leaving Rigby as the top guy at his position. If some team makes a need-driven pick, he could go at any time. Thing is, he’s so far down the overall rankings, I don’t feel that this can really be that urgent. Picks #13 and #14 are the two defensive tackles ranked ahead of Lucas – he is now #1 on the overall draft board. Time to pull the trigger, I think. We have had such tough luck at the DE spot, I can’t miss up an opportunity to lock up two starting caliber guys who will fit our system and develop together. It’s too good to be true, almost. Our fifth round pick this year seals the deal (pretty cheap, I think) and we move up to get our guy. Now, it’s watch time with our wide receiver, buried down on the raft boards. The picks through #20 go by without incident – but I’m not really even watching for anything here – it’s not like there’s one guy ahead of him, and that guy getting picked is my signal to move up. He’s sitting right there, on top of the WR list… low-hanging fruit. Three more picks, and I can’t take it any more. I am too wedded to this guy – we have to have him, I’d be furious if he got taken right ahead of us, when we could move up a few slots for peanuts. Actually, Buffalo demands two picks (a 6th and a 5th) but we execute the swap – and move slightly up to grab the WR we covet. it is probably a slight reach pick, considering how far down the overall list he’s sitting (seventh at this point) still, but this is a guy we really need, if he pans out. So – exhale. Now, we have a fairly early second round selection – that’s only seventeen spots away. I’m still thinking we will get one of our linebackers there, which would just be great. LB Scotti is taken with pick 29 in round one – a bit sooner than I had anticipated. Ringrose is still maybe 20-25 players deep on the overall list, though – will he, too, be a “need pick” for someone ahead of us? I try to decide just how good Ringrose is likely to be – two good combine scores, but he doesn’t have much ability as a run stopper, which I really value for this team. He might fit a similar role as Dan Maltman – but I don’t need two such guys running around really. I decide that Ringrose is probably worth the second rounder – but not worth trading up to land him and pay him first round money. Funny. In the process of talking myself out of trading up for Ringrose, I seem to have talked myself out of picking him at 2(9), where he is still available, to my modest surprise. I am also surprised, however, that CB Rickey Joyner is still on the board – I had all but given up on seeing him. This draft has now exceeded my wildest hopes. Joyner dropped slightly upon our closer look, but as a second round pick it’s not a worry. In late round two, I see S Fuchs, a possible – but I’m just not sold on him from the combines. I decide to trade into next year’s second round, and out of this pick. Enough excitement already – my heart might not take it. Code:
With our later picks, we’re looking for contributors with affinity bonuses, as usual. In round four, I like LB Geoff Poston a lot, but I’d like him a lot more if he weighted one pound more, and could switch to DE for us – he has pass-rushing skills, but is a void in our coverage. Damn. I decide to grab WR Byron Torrice, even though still want to get another WR later in this draft. I like Torrice’s secondary skills – returner and special teamer. However, my sleeper Bubba Murray gets taken by … who else?… Denver in round five. RB Curtis Garrison looks like a decent-enough reserve RB, with some ability in the right spots – another late round stab at RB, which has become familiar to us. Other news: Code:
Now, that is what I’m talking about – Memphis, here we come! 2045 can’t come soon enough! Among our rookies, DT Antoine Lucas is the only one whose personality isn’t strong enough to bear the affinity mark – not bad. We may want to check out our long term leadership at the D7 group, as things won’t get better with Maltman in charge either. Lucas is also our only holdout going into training camp. |
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08-06-2005, 07:17 AM
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#170 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Late Free Agency
I am elated with the rookie class – but we still need to pull the team together. LB Lamar Benton played in Green Bay last season after starting out with us, but is available on the FA wire again, and I snap him up – we failed to draft a rookie LB, and actually Benton still looks pretty good. (Guess that’s why we went after him in the first place, eh?) With 65 signed (and one rookie holdout) going into the final FA stage – I have a look around and see if we might be able to spend our last few million bucks. One thought would be to pick up a mentor at DE for our two rookies. I can’t find anyone who is a fit for us, though – I’m not worried, as these guys are going to be on the field in short order anyway – no need to groom them on the sidelines. RG Rondell Clancy looks like my kind of solid reserve OL – decent player, will serves us well as our 6th or 7th guy and primary backup to Singleton at the key run blocking slot. We actually end up spending a lot of money on QB Artie McDaniel – a guy who is developing well, and will undoubtedly be a very good QB eventually. My fondest hope is that we get a trade offer for him after camp – as I can’t afford to keep paying him millions to be our third stringer. So, we are just overstuffed as we head to training camp – but this is undoubtedly the most exciting rookie class ever. Fingers are crossed for good news from the early workouts. |
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08-06-2005, 07:18 AM
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#171 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Training Camp
This is easily the biggest camp we have had – I have good feelings, but we await the results… Code:
WR Erik Rigby makes the big news, with a very god camp that points to a solid career ahead. Very exciting – we have been waiting a long time for an impact wideout to land with us. The two defensive ends both lose a shade, but I’m not that worried – both guys look pretty good to me still. Time will tell, but I’m okay there. CB Rickey Joyner looks like he’s going to disappoint – shaky ratings in most spots, though the ones he does have match up well with our needs. Might be a decent reserve, but probably not a future starter for us without an unexpected breakout later on. Looking ahead – we see one thing clearly, and that is the decline in RB Dave Burns’ skills. It’s a shame, but he is now essentially out of the picture for us carrying the ball – he’ll probably have to be inactive. FB Barrett will be our main ball carrier, and it’s probably wide open for who gets to be the #2. Rookie Curtis Garrison looks okay as he held up okay in training camp, while second year man Isaac Kong’s back from his injuries to get into the picture. Robert Lavelli is hanging around, but I think he’s probably on his way out. The position might be due for a washover soon – maybe we’ll make FB Barrett our new position leader next year, as he has an 85 in leadership. (One more feather in Garrison’s cap, as he would retain an affinity with Barrett). We get down to 60 (a feat in itself) and prepare for the preseason. I’d be fine if a number of our trifling players pull injuries, and spend the season on IR – just reduces the number of cuts we eventually need to make. We get a couple injuries, and get cut down to 57 – and ready to go for the season ahead: Code:
So, we have a lot going on here – but if there’s one area of concern, it’s the defensive line. Yes, we have two exciting young players there, but our depth is pretty poor, as DT Kelvin Green is declining, and we really don’t have much else in the pass rush. We could end up with someone like Lewis Quinn or Jon Guarino seeing meaningful playing time at DE if we suffer injuries – and even without injuries, we’ll have some pretty green guys up front. Cohesion is now at 100-91-92-89, very strong everywhere. Apparently having a long time starter at QB helps a lot – we’re #1 there even with two very young starters at WR. Overall, our roster rating is 74, about 12th overall, and tops in the division again. Okay – big picture. Exciting year. We want to remain in the middle of the competition for the league championship, but our shift to young players in the pass rush is a potential weakness of the team now. However, I have no such reservations about the WR corps – I think it’s the best it has ever been on this team, and that’s with a 3rd year guy and a rookie as our two starters. I like them both, and expect pretty big things right away. If the OL can play well again, our running game ought to be fine with Barrett leading the way. If the defense keeps pace, we ought to be right about where we left off – a solid, though not dominant, team capable of double digit wins almost certainly. We will be aiming for the top once again, but my prediction would probably be 11 wins and a division title. |
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08-06-2005, 07:18 AM
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#172 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2040 Regular Season
We start off 3-1, and our running game looks fine – Barrett is steady as the main guy, and both Garrison and Kong are contributing a bit as well. Fisk is not off to a great start, but is starting to get the wideouts more involved each week. Dan Maltman is establishing himself as the new defensive leader – he has 21 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 10 passes defensed in four games – a red hot start. We suffer a terrible blow, though – RG Shaun Singleton is down with a serious injury, and is listed to return in “late 2041.” Awful – this might crush a blossoming career that was off to such a great start. I’m very angry – I don’t often get to see interior linemen who make such a difference for a team, and this could certainly jeopardize his future. We get to 6-2 on the season, and are looking pretty good overall. Here are the team stats: Code:
The first number to see here is 5.05 – our pass defense has once again been unbelievably good. We aren’t getting lots of turnovers, but we are very tough to pass against. LBs Jeffries and Maltman are the team leaders in tackles, while Maltman leads in practically everything else (6 sacks, 2 int, and 13 PDs). In week 10, we win 33-31 over Atlanta, as S Joey Beecroft manages to score on a safety with 1:39 left to break the tie, which we created with a TD drive with 4 minutes left. A win over Seattle inn the next game gives us a two game lead in the division, at 8-2. Dwight Fisk suffers his now traditional injury – and we’ll bring in the exciting Kenyon Palm for a few games. Palm has his first tough game – a pick and a loss against Buffalo. However, he bounces back leading us to a big win the following week, and now Fisk is back and ready to take over again. We are 9-3, still up two games in the division, and are on pace now for a bye week – we just need to stay on track. A win at 9-3 Miami helps, and we do it without injured FB Barrett. Kong has 89 yards to lead the rushing attack in his stead, but our defense wins the game practically speaking. We have been very lucky thus far at DE – where both young players are doing okay (nothing spectacular from either guy) but have yet to suffer even a minor injury. That’s a real change from the brittle veterans we are used to seeing in there. Losing Jimmie Keith, though, definitely weakens the defensive front. In week 15, we miss our chance to clinch the division, losing 12-10 at Seattle. But we rebound again with a big win, and put the division away anyhow. We still need a win in our finale to secure a bye week, though – and we really could use it. Kenyon Palm leads us to the 20-6 win over San Fran, and we land at a solid 12-4 to get the #2 seed in the conference. Code:
Okay – we’ll start with the offense. Dwight Fisk had another solid season – but amidst his ratings decline, we are seeing his stats suffer as well. This year, with an 81 rating and a TD/Int ratio of less than 2:1, was statistically his worst to date. Meanwhile, Kenyon Palm continues to be impressive – it’s now an open debate which of the two gives us a better chance to win a given game. (And I refuse to even play Artie McDaniel, whom my scouts say is the best QB on the roster) The running game dropped off this season – but I don’t think it’s really the fault of or backs. Roger Barrett had an okay season, but dropped more than 0.8 in his yards per carry since last year – that’s a big drop. We dropped to #13 in the league in yards per carry, too – another pretty big drop. No big problem with the numbers from Garrison or Kong, either – just concern that we’re not clicking like we did with Singleton healthy; Code:
The run blocking was actually still pretty good – but we did not have that road grader up front (Singleton) to knock ‘em down at a 40%+ clip – and the guys who got to start in his absence (like Clancy and Aarhus) just were not up to snuff. In pass protection, we were good again – only 21 sacks allowed is very solid. C Erickson seems to be on his way to asserting himself as a superior player – I’m thinking next year he will be our best lineman by the numbers. Our young receiving corps played pretty well overall – with rookie Erik Rigby clearly putting it together as the season went on, and becoming our main target by year’s end (He had about 580 yards in the last 8 games – a 1,000+ pace after a fairly slow start). Groll and Gordon were both effective, and we got quite a lot out of our TE position as well. Not as many screen passes underneath this year – we were going downfield more, with better WR options. Overall, I like to see that. Defensively, I have to start with LB Dan Maltman. This game really values tackles, where he was solid but not outstanding, so he might not get a pro bowl invite. But honestly – 86+29 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 19 passes defensed – those are superior stats for a linebacker. What a season. He even had a 4.0 PRPct, and that’s for a linebacker who wasn’t even rushing the passer all the time (he dropped back enough to break up 19 passes, for heaven’s sake) – how impressive is that? Part of the LB sack count is attributable to having green defensive ends. Actually, Lucas played pretty well for us this season (30+7 tackles, 5.5/3/11=4.3 PRPct) but the stats from Cris Hoover were a little disappointing (15+14 tackles, 3/4/12=3.6 PRPct). But both stayed healthy, developed their ratings, and things ought to be looking up for us at DE. At least we ought to have some new level of stability. O’Connell was okay in the middle, but we lacked the powerful run stopper that I prefer in the TD/NT slot – and may be looking for help there in the year ahead. DT Kelvin Green has become a non-factor, and his time has probably come and gone for us. CB Aaron Shaw again put up big numbers (21.1 PDPct) in leading the secondary to another stellar year. Giving up less than 5 yards per pass play is just crazy to me – but that’s the mark we reached this year. Six players with double-digit passes defensed – including 58 from our four starting DBs, is very solid – and none of them allowed more than a 2:1 ratio of catches to PDs. We’re not a turnover machine, but we are getting better there – with 14 picks from the secondary alone, and 23 total. This team certainly seems capable of playing very well – I love the tough pass defense as a signature (after several years being ranked near the very top in yards par attempt, I think that’s fair). The week off is good for us, and should clear up a number of minor injuries. We will head into this postseason in pretty good shape – Mighty Houston is the favorite to win the title, but we have as good a shot as anyone from the NFC, and this might be the first year we could really defend that argument. |
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08-06-2005, 07:19 AM
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#173 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Postseason Summary
Divisional Playoff: Green Bay (11-6) at St. Louis (12-4) – The Packers look solid overall, and will try to pass on us, playing into our team strength. We run it right at them, with Barrett’s 127 yards leading the way, and pound them for a 30-11 victory and our second trip to the conference championship game. Conference Championship: Carolina (13-5) at St. Louis (13-4) – RB Curtis Garrison is out, leaving Kong as our main backup RB behind Barrett. Otherwise, we are inn pretty good shape for this home stand. We go to the ground game again as our key – Barrett posts 31-156 and 2TDs to spearhead the offense, and we get away with a solid 31-23 win – earning our first ever Superbowl berth. Superbowl: St. Louis (14-4) vs. Oakland (14-5) – I’m putting this game up onto the scoreboard, something I basically don’t ever do. We’ve worked a long time to get here… big game, to say the least. The Raiders get a FG on their first drive, but we respond, converting two key third downs to launch a long TD drive to take the lead on a TD pass to Groll. It’s basically a two drive first quarter, with us ahead after the first. We add a FG after getting down to their 2 yard line, and are under pressure late in the first half when Oakland penetrates deep into our territory. But, we get a fumble (caused by LB Quinn) near the goal line, and DT O’Connell comes up with the ball at our 1 yard line. Huge play! Barrett runs us out of our own goalpost’s shadow, and then breaks off a 62 yard scamper to suddenly put us into scoring position. With under a minute left in the half, we face fourth and goal form their 2, and wisely accept the FG attempt, putting us ahead 13-3 at the half. After a swap of punts to open the second half, we get two passes to Rigby to get us into position at their 20. We end up tacking on another field goal to take a 16-3 lead. Considering we have outgained them by about 2:1, a 13-point lead does not feel nearly secure enough to me. Sure enough, Oakland marches right down the field, and wraps up the third quarter with their first TD of the day. It’s 16-10, as we head into the fourth quarter. Oakland stops our possession with two sacks, but we stonewall them to get the ball back with 10:18 on the clock. Two first downs actually eat four minutes, and even without scoring we can gain ground. Barrett catches a key pass to convert third and long, and we get a first down at their 34. Any score here would be absolutely huge, as we’d make it a two-score margin. We get fourth and one from the 25 – a big kick looms here… and we nail it! 19-10 looks an awful lot better than 16-10 did, and now there is only 2:14 on the clock after a huge time-consuming scoring drive. Oakland connects on a key 40 yard pass play, splitting our coverage for a big gainer. They pretty quickly go deep, and hit for the TD in the endzone. Just like that, they make it 19-17, and set up for the kickoff. With 1:19 left and only one timeout, I think they need to try an onside kick here. They try, but the ball goes out of bounds – and we take over at their 41. We run inside twice, and then assume the victory formation – Fisk takes a knee, and we lock it up! Final score: St. Louis 19, Oakland 17 Code:
Just a great game – we pounded the ball, Fisk was very accurate when we used him, and we kept things in control most of the game. Our secondary was a shade disappointing, but we kept them in check for the bulk of the game, and they couoldn’t muster too much on the ground, either. Superb effort – and it feels great to finally raise the banner! FB Roger Barrett adds Superbowl MVP to his first team pro bowl award, and I’m glad to see LB Dan Maltman recognized as a second team all pro as well. Well, we are finally getting the big finihs, rather than a whimpering whisper about why things didn’t work out. This might not be a superior powerhouse team – but we at least have a ring, and got to put it onto the fingers of our two foundation players’ fingers – Dwight Fisk and Daryl Jeffries have reason to be very proud, I think. * grins * |
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08-06-2005, 11:19 AM
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#174 |
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Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Whoohoo!!!
Congratulations! 
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
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08-08-2005, 05:43 AM
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#175 |
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Pro Starter
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Rennes, France
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Congrats ! The long expected ring !
Now, we'll probably Fisk, Jeffries and the old Center retire. So, time for rebuilding the team for Memphis relocation. |
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08-08-2005, 08:24 AM
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#176 |
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Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
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QS, you amaze me with how quickly this dynasty has grown into a 175-post dynasty. I haven't even had enough time to read up on the whole story yet...
__________________
* 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail |
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08-08-2005, 08:46 AM
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#177 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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We appreciate the congratulations - it's been a rather long road, indeed.
Some more to come, actually... not dead yet... |
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08-08-2005, 08:47 AM
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#178 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2041 offseason
Well, an update on our performance thus far here in town: Code:
Fourteen seasons, and finally a title. Damn. In past careers, I have experienced the “one and done” syndrome – longtime players who finally get their first title, and retire right afterwards. We’ll see if we get any of those here. We have three retirements. Believe it or not, C Drew Bullock is not among them – he’s back for a 19th season. He had a ring before the one from last year anyway – but after a solid season for us each of the last two years, why not come back? Dwight Fisk is back as well, though I didn’t really expect anything else. We will bring him back this year, but I don’t expect his demands to be very steep. LB Daryl Jeffries, though, is done. Great player for us for many years – I am very glad we got a title while he was still with us. Fourteen seasons, 1,413 tackles, and a 16.3% TkPct – this guy was an institution, and leaves as the “Legend of the Game.” DT Tracy Mayes was our one-year solution for our affinity situation along the defensive front. Didn’t see the field last year – but his departure requires us to re-invest there – hopefully with a guy who will bring stronger affinities to the table with a stronger personality. DE Lonnie Vance was another short-term solution for us along the DL – never much of a player, but he helped with our depth. Two former Rams of ours go to the HOF – RB Moe Jamison (who had one very good season with us) and QB Victor Hopson, who had a cup of coffee here at the end of his long career. So, to the front office. Everyone gets a free pass, eh? Head Coach Joe Martinez is up for a new contract – and how could we turn him down? At 61, he’ll get a new four year deal, following the championship run. Incidentally, RG Shaun Singleton is nearly recovered from his elbow injury from last year, and as feared, he is not the player he once was. It looks like he will still be a decent run blocker, but his skills are now at a fraction of their old levels. Since he was on IR, he technically isn’t listed as having a championship ring, even though he clearly was a part of the team getting us there. Shame – he was clearly a great player – now he’s just an affinity guy who probably has to fight for playing time. |
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08-08-2005, 08:47 AM
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#179 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Free Agency Planning
Well, we have a new angle in our affinity situation. Last year, C Drew Bullock got dinged up, and I replaced him at LG – then I forgot about him, and took a couple extra weeks to get him back into the lineup – and in the process, he got unhappy. He remains unhappy now, even after starting our last several games. And, lo and behold, now we have no affinities showing up for us along the offensive line – and that’s supposed to be everyone. Ouch. Apparently, it all falls apart if the position leaded loses his good spirits – good to know. We’ll get him playing time, and get him happy in short order, I hope. I’m also thinking about the RB group – currently all-affinity as well. But We are now basically carrying Dave Burns, and that’s a dead roster spot I’d rather use on a solid player. If we lost RB Burns, we’d either have FB Barrett or FB Borders become the leader – and both guys are in the Aries (3-4) group. With one of them as the leader, we’d still have an affinity with second year RB Curtis Garrison, but we’d lose the connection with third year man Isaac Kong. I could live with the rebuilding, but am open to options – we may not be bringing Dave Burns back for another season. I don’t see any viable free agent pickups at the moment, though – we may be looking for RB help in the draft this year, so that might guide us as well. And, with the departure of our defensive front leader Tracy Mayes, that mantle falls to DT Albert O’Connell – which wipes out most of our affinities in the group. We need to do one of two things here – either let O’Connell go (making Dan Maltman the new leader) or else pick up a new leader who will regain affinities with our legions of Capricorns (including O’Connell, the source of the problem). I thought I had just the guy in veteran LB Bubba Quintero, but alas he wouldn’t overtake DT O’Connell’s grip on the leadership role (8th year guy, 98 leadership rating). I’m stuck – it might be the only way to get this to work out is to let go our starting nose tackle. He’s not spectacular, but with the limited number of players around who fit, it’s tough to let a guy that good get away for any reason. Incidentally, my scout now officially ranks Dwight Fisk as our third-best quarterback. Interesting decision ahead – he has ranked McConnell first since last year, but as Fisk declines and the youngsters continue to bump up, they have now both overtaken him in current rating – while Palm still has significant unrealized potential ahead. My guess is that I’ll re-sign Palm but not McConnell this year – I just can’t justify spending $2 or $3 million on a third stringer who doesn’t have a future starting job for us already locked up. I have basically committed to Kenyon Palm, so unless McConnell comes cheaply (unlikely), we’ll probably let him walk. So, our priority players for this year: A LIST: QB Dwight Fisk, LB Dan Maltman B LIST: S Joey Beecroft, CB Aaron Shaw, QB Kenyon Palm, LT Walt Woods, LB Jimmie Keith Actually, I will probably pursue these six players at any cost – but I expect that we will once again be in for around $25 million for our top six re-signings. CB Shaw is the big unknown – his demand might start to level off soon, as he is escaping that prime FA big money window of years 5-9 or so. |
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08-08-2005, 08:47 AM
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#180 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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INITIAL FA STAGES (Weeks 1-4)
Immediate re-signings: S Joey Beecroft Re-signings, no competition: CB Aaron Shaw, LB Jimmie Keith, WR Marc Gordon, LB Dan Maltman Re-signings, with competition: New players signed: RT Alonzo Locklear, DT Lenny Wedge Players signed away: No real twists in the early going – a few of our guys re-sign fairly painlessly, and don’t have any big shockers along the way. So far, no bids on Dwight Fisk, while Kenyon Palm is looking for a $9 million deal. Two nice (and potentially critical) additions: RT Alonzo Locklear is a right tackle with decent skills, but more importantly he is the new position leader for our offensive line, a 12th year veteran with high enough personality (80) to click with everyone. Drew Bullock is apparently so angry that he won’t even sign a deal with us- so it’s time to refocus our attentions, and Locklear is the best fit we can find. Don’t misunderstand, I am very pleased with Locklear – just disappointed about how things got so fouled up with Bullock. I’m disappointed he will apparently finish his career in another uniform (actually, he probably won’t even get signed for this year by anyone, in a way even worse). DT Lenny Wedge is a guy who we might go with if we have to let go of DT O’Connell for affinity purposes. I’m not wild about Wedge as a full-time starter, but it might be our strongest play. He is solid, and fits – but is admittedly not the dominating run stopper that I prefer in that spot. We do have a few guys getting bids from elsewhere – so a few things to get untangled in the middle weeks this go-round. |
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08-08-2005, 08:47 AM
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#181 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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MIDDLE FA STAGES (Weeks 5-15)
Re-signings, no competition: S Brock Pearson, WR Tommy Henson Re-signings, with competition: CB Jay Lolicht, G Rondell Clancy, FB William Borders, LB Jon Guarino New players signed: Players signed away: DT Albert O’Connell When Albert O’Connell signs with Tampa Bay, it unravels our temporary mess with the D7 affinity structure. Now, with him gone, Dan Maltman has assumed the position leadership, and we now have massive affinity there – 11 of 13 players in the group have an affinity with Maltman, and the other two are phantom affinities, just too low to register due to low personality scores. This is our best case scenario, I think. We have to outdo other offers for CB Lolicht and G Clancy, but neither is terribly expensive. Both are key reserves, who could end up seeing even more time this year. LB Jon Guarino and FB William Borders are essentially the same story, both re-sign after getting another offer. Later, in week 10, I put in bids for two position leaders, just to get them locked up. We have a number of pretty important players still awaiting deals – but I take a look through the FA wire, and see if there are any new targets for contracts, now that our affinity situations are almost all set (other than the RB/FB group, I suppose). I want to keep an eye on DE Ron Vespigani – a run-stopping lineman who would be an awfully nice guy to slide into the starting DT role. He is looking for almost $6m a year – and he is not getting it, so is sitting unclaimed in free agency. If we could wait him out and get him fairly cheaply, he could be a great guy there for us, even if only for one season. I will wait – but try to watch closely. |
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08-08-2005, 08:48 AM
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#182 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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FINAL FA STAGES (Weeks 16-20)
Re-signings, no competition: Re-signings, with competition: New players signed: Players signed away: G Earnest Aarhus G Aarhus played sporadically last year, and was awful – no great loss there, despite the problem at RG. I am waiting out LT Walt Woods, also – his price has dropped from $4 million to a little over $3 – and I suspect we will get him signed in the post-draft period. WR Dwayne Patter and CB Derrick Bush are solid guys who agree to our deals pretty easily, so we lock the up as well. A pretty uneventful offseason thus far – we haven’t had any key players scooped away, and have gotten our way on things so far, pretty much. I don’t yet have a financial forecast, in part since I don’t know how much we’re going to have to spend at the QB position. |
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08-08-2005, 08:48 AM
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#183 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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2041 Rookie Draft
We have 28 players signed as we head into the draft – and this year we have and extra pick in round two, but no fifth or sixth rounders – so six total selections. It is admittedly worth it to be picking #32. I don’t have a long menu of players I’m watching – but this year we don’t have the same pressing needs as usual. A defensive tackle would be nice, and perhaps we could go for a good young guard to replace Shaun Singleton at the RG slot. I will be looking for help at the RB slot, but don’t want to spend an early pick there without the guy looking like a home run. We will, most likely, just take what comes our way. At our pick at #32, the two best prospects seem to be CB Philip Thornton (20/61) and TE Vernon Newhart (35/68). Neither one looks spectacular to me, and neither one blew away the combines – it’s a possible trade-out situation, I think. We work a deal to grab a pick next year, and pass on these two decent prospects, both of whom go in the next handful of selections. Code:
TE Gabe Butler (35/55) might be as good as Vernon Newhart, and had a better combine overall. Seems like a solid pick here in late round two for us, I think. In round three, though (after trading down), I like another tight end as the best player left, and select Carlton Hickman (31/60) which probably makes it a clean sweep for rookie tight ends – that’s unusual. G Dominic Vance looks like a decent OL prospect and a good fit, while LB Rick Schwartz is a solid fit for coverage and can play some special teams. I do love late round running backs, and Trevor DiPietro looks like my cup of tea – may be useful in a utility role or even as a ball carrier. Nothing to get too worked up about, especially after last year’s big splash. |
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08-09-2005, 05:15 PM
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#184 | |
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lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
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I've been away from the PC since I'm on vacation... just caught up...
CONGRATS RAMS!!! That game felt GREAT... I knew if we just got a WR.... Interested to see what happens at QB for the next year or two...
__________________
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08-10-2005, 09:03 AM
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#185 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Late Free Agency
All our rookie sign quickly – so that is done with. There is great news right away, as QB Kenyon Palm has reduced his demands a lot – this is his last year restricted, so we waited him out without worry, and this has really paid off. With some apparent cap space clearing up, I put in an offer for DE Ron Vespignani it’s nearly $7 million, but from the looks of things, we can probably afford it. And adding him, presumably to start at DT, could make a real difference for us. A run-stopping force at DT is probably the single gravest need on this roster right now – and he looks like just the guy- a great fit. LB Kirk Antigua also looks like a solid fit – good run stopper, a natural ILB, he looks like he might step in the role we were getting from Shawn Reader recently, a top backup at both ILB spots, and utility man who could conceivably start at any LB position. No surprises in these late stages,until… FB Roger Barrett unexpectedly signs a deal with New England, and just like that, he’s gone. He had been a key player for our offense, and suddenly – he is elsewhere on a three year deal. I had been waiting him out, expecting him to re-sign peacefully, and he suddenly got an opportunity for decent money and took it. Wow – I didn’t see that coming. |
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08-10-2005, 09:04 AM
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#186 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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Training camp
We have our usual complement – 65 players – aboard for training camp. With a somewhat underwhelming rookie class, we are not really expecting a whole lot from the first year players – but a breakout is always welcome. I think our best shot might actually come from the OL guys I picked up off the undrafted scrapheap. Code:
Well, about what I suspected. Our two rookie tight ends look fine, but neither ought to set the world on fire. The rest of our rookie class, including LB Schwartz, all look like they were a bit overrated. G Vance might be okay, but it’s undrafted rookie Ron Fulton who has the best camp, and ought to make the team at least. Our running back situation is a mess now, with Barrett gone. My best guess is that we’ll end up with Curtis garrison and Isaac Kong more or less splitting time at the HB slot, with rookie Trevor DiPietro trying to convince me he’s worth some playing time, too. I don’t think FB William Borders is a real threat as a ball carrier – but he could see some time in passing situations as well. In the preseason, we don’t get many injuries – only one guy goes to IR. SO, we have to make tougher-then-usual cutdown decisions. I decide to release QB Artie McDaniel – no affinity, and he’s going to be our #3 QB this year. After this year, he will be unrestricted, and doubtless will get signed elsewhere. I held him and hoped for a trade deal – no dice. He’s gone. Here is the roster of 54 we bring into the season: Code:
And here, we have reached a new pinnacle in affinity. Every single player on the team (other than the unaffected kicker and punter) is either in an affinity situation, or else a position leader and lynchpin to the affinity structure. The only partial exception to this is DE Antoine Lucas, who is indeed in the right sign to have an affinity with Maltman, but their personalities are too weak to register it. No easy fix there, but we are complete everywhere else. Our roster rating is 81 – we have one of the top handful of rosters, by the numbers, in the league. I think the addition of DL Vespigiani might turn out to be very big for us – I like adding the bulk in the middle of the defense. As our young receivers develop, our attack ought to be better – the running game, we hope, will still be on par, despite the talent drain we experienced. We are the defending champions – so there’s only one possible mission for this season, and that’s to win it all again! |
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08-11-2005, 01:31 PM
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#187 |
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lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
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I confess, I am now pretty sidetracked from this career. When I have had FOF time, I have been occupied more with MP leagues, whose busy cycles are hitting right now. That and a little testing, and I don't knwo when I'll get back to this career.
My apologies... I will try to at least play through this season, but with these distractions and a busy/travel spell coming up, I don't know if this one is going much farther. FYI |
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08-11-2005, 08:58 PM
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#188 | |
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n00b
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Hawaii
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Quote:
A little testing? Testing what? TCY2? FOF6? 
__________________
The Shadow Knows !! |
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