SkyDog's Last FOF2K7 Solo Dynasty Thread (I Hope).

[Ben E Lou]

2043 Summary...

WR Krueger got the dreaded turf toe in Week 8, and missed the rest of the season. Nice surprise at RB with Catalano.

[Ben E Lou]

2044 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS
None.

FRANCHISE: FS Jay Fairchild (68/68)-Couldn't afford to extend him last year..

SUMMER: DE Renaldo Pantin

[Ben E Lou]

2044 FA1

OLB Colin Jamison shows another +5/+6, making him +34/+20 overall from his initial 25/46. As I suspected, money is going to be very tight this offseason. This is a bit of a crossroads year in free agency. 11 guys who had significant playing time last year are in the final year of a contract, and 6 of those are in year 10 or later.

IMMEDIATE CUTS
MLB Bryan Hiel (54/54)--He was just a stopgap solution, and is a liability in his lack of ability to help out in pass coverage, I think.
MLB Bryant Bove (23/55-->26/42)--Third year player who hasn't shown much of anything. It's time to go a different direction at MLB. Ideally, I'd get a solid veteran mentor/starter, and draft a future starter.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 4.4%
STARTERS NEEDED: MLB.

Now that we're into the second contract cycle since making the change, I think I'm really starting to see what I wanted in terms of the cap situation. We're going to lose solid backups in DT Phillip Carlson and CB Bubba Price to free agency because I simply couldn't afford to keep them, and I don't have the cap room to pursue the better FAs. I suspect that if we're going to get back to championship caliber, I'm going to have to build smartly from here.

FA SIGNINGS
QB Horance Finch, 9, 39/39--Re-signing backup/mentor QB.
MLB Glenn Green, 9, 53/53--Definitely only a short-term solution there. 2-year deal. Unfortunately, not a mentor.
RB/PR Carlos Stanton, 7, 34/34--Re-signing of my all-world punt returner.
QB Leon Franklin, 5, 28/33--One-year deal with my still-creeping former first round pick.
.
Once again, I'm at less than 2 minisal rookies worth of cap room (according to the draft estimate).

[Ben E Lou]

2044 DRAFT/TRAINING CAMP

We have the #26 pick this year, and it is used on....

I didn't really have WR as a position of need, but my Analyzer weights had this guy as the #3 prospect in the entire draft, and he fell to #26. I'll figure out a way to make it work, probably by cutting a WR on the roster.

Rnd 1 - Juan Williamson, WR, Harvard: 26/52-->33/60. Good call. Surprised the AI didn't grab him before I did, but looking a little deeper, four WRs went before him, and the league is relatively deep in WR talent. The AI does a much better job of identifying guys like this now, so I don't at all feel bad snatching him.
Rnd 2 - Kelvin Goodwin, G, Ohio State: 27/50-->32/50
Rnd 3 - Oliver Tamayo, DE, Cincinnati: 17/24-->21/30
Rnd 4 - Casey Reardon, QB, Monmouth, NJ: 15/40-->19/39
Rnd 5 - Bennie Nieto, DT, Penn State: 17/31-->19/33
Rnd 6 - Kelly Frederick, DE, San Diego State: 9/32-->9/27
Rnd 7 - Norm Finley, CB, Nebraska: 12/25-->15/28

I cut 4th-year WR Deron Urban (40/40) to make room for Williamson.

OTHER CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• Well, that sucked. MLB FA signee Glenn Green took a -13/-13 dump.
• 9th-year G Albert Coker got paid a visit by the volatility fairy and went +9/+9 to 60/60.

[Ben E Lou]

2044 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Gower, Jose             17  QB    QB    7    51                51                4 yrs
Finch, Horace           5   QB          9    41                41                1 yr.
Franklin, Leon          1   QB          5    32                34                1 yr.
Reardon, Casey          19  QB          1    20                39                4 yrs
Catalano, Mike          40  RB    RB    4    41                41                3 yrs
Shea, Ralph             22  RB          2    38                40                3 yrs
##Reynolds, Bruce       34  RB          9    28                28                1 yr.
Stanton, Carlos         28  RB          7    20                20                1 yr.
Woods, Patrick          20  FB    FB    5    79                79                3 yrs
Covington, Blake        82  TE    TE    7    55                55                3 yrs
Connell, Donovan        80  TE          9    47                47                2 yrs
Giefeke, Josh           87  TE          3    31                44                1 yr.
Krueger, Pat            88  FL          7    54                54                2 yrs
##Williamson, Ryan      86  FL          3    21                28                2 yrs
Weliczka, Rico          85  SE    FL    7    57                57                4 yrs
Liszt, Ed               83  SE    SE    2    55                55                3 yrs
Williamson, Juan        12  SE          1    35                60                4 yrs
Upshaw, Marc            58  C           12   45                45                2 yrs
Hemond, Floyd           59  C     C     2    45                47                2 yrs
##Barrett, Scott        52  C           3    24                29                1 yr.
Gonzalez, Paul          74  LG    LG    8    83                83                3 yrs
Doyle, Jamal            75  LG          6    46                46                1 yr.
Coker, Albert           50  RG    RG    9    60                60                2 yrs
Goodwin, Kelvin         56  RG          1    34                50                4 yrs
Vance, Cornell          65  LT    RT    7    49                49                1 yr.
Packwood, Harvey        70  LT          2    43                46                2 yrs
Meinke, Harry           61  LT          3    27                40                1 yr.
Lyle, Wendell           67  RT    LT    9    57                57                2 yrs
Campbell, Broderick     10  P           13   69                69                2 yrs
Ciurciu, Lorenzo        6   K           14   62                62                2 yrs
Pantin, Renaldo         76  LDE   RDE   2    45                52                2 yrs
##Frederick, Kelly      73  LDE         1    9                 27                3 yrs
Karsten, Thurman        72  RDE   LDE   9    71                71                3 yrs
Tamayo, Oliver          77  RDE         1    22                30                3 yrs
Klosterman, Shawn       79  RDT   LDT   10   55                55                3 yrs
Gallier, Earl           78  RDT   RDT   5    44                44                2 yrs
Cotton, Rob             96  RDT         2    25                50                3 yrs
Nieto, Bennie           91  RDT         1    19                33                3 yrs
Green, Glenn            53  MLB   MLB   9    40                40                2 yrs
Devine, Richard         98  MLB         1    24                42                2 yrs
##Cobb, Justin          54  SLB         11   33                33                1 yr.
Shepherd, Scottie       99  SLB         1    22                41                2 yrs
Jamison, Colin          95  WLB   WLB   3    66                66                2 yrs
Burns, William          51  WLB   SLB   10   55                55                1 yr.
Booker, Percy           47  LCB   LCB   9    49                49                2 yrs
##Lane, Reggie          44  LCB         4    32                32                3 yrs
Boone, Bucky            46  RCB   RCB   10   49                49                2 yrs
Austin, Perry           35  RCB         8    39                39                3 yrs
##Finley, Norm          49  RCB         1    15                28                3 yrs
Farrell, Desmond        43  SS          7    58                58                3 yrs
Fairchild, Jay          29  FS    SS    6    67                67                3 yrs
Burdette, Casey         36  FS    FS    4    60                60                2 yrs
Hutton, Dwayne          48  FS          8    42                42                1 yr.

ROSTER: 100, but not exactly standout. Two other teams (GB/CHI) are at 100, and two others are in the 90s as well.

COHESION: 69-82-94-85

Offensively, I'm going to go with a good bit more 3 and 4 WR sets than in the past, and more passing in general.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm beginning to wonder if Jose Gower simply isn't the answer.

More bad news is that star DE Thurman Karstern is O18 with ankle surgery as of immediately prior to the "End Season" button being pressed. It'll be interesting to see what happens if I have to eat his big contract. We've got enough trouble on offense as it is without having to worry about generating enough pass rush, too.

[Ben E Lou]

Karsten retired. As far as the cap goes, that could be a good thing.

[Ben E Lou]

2045 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS
DE Thurman Karsten--Drafted 1(21) in 2036 as a 35/71 NT. Maxed out as a 78/78 DE. 3-time All Pro. 2 rings. 2nd in Atlanta history in sacks and hurries, 1st in blocked passes. Career PRPct of 7.7.
RB Bruce Reynolds--3(19) pick in 2036 at 31/52. Topped out at 57/57....starting RB for 4 1/2 seasons. Best year was 2042: 287 carries, 1451 yards (5.06ypc), 9 TDs
OLB Justin Cobb--FA signee in 2041 who started for 2 1/2 seasons.

Of these three, only Karsten was a starter last season, but he'll be sorely missed, I'm sure.

FRANCHISE: LT Cornell Vance (50/50))-Couldn't afford to extend him last year for the crazy money he wanted.

SUMMER: G Kelvin Goodwin

[Ben E Lou]

2045 FA1

IMMEDIATE CUTS
MLB Glenn Green (41/41)--Veteran signee from last year who crapped out in camp and wasn't terribly impressive on the field
WR Ryan Williamson (23/28)--3rd round pick from 2042 who never showed much of anything.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 14.1%.
STARTERS NEEDED: MLB, DT, DE, OLB, RB?, QB?

Well, we've got a bit more to spend this year, but we have significant holes to fill as well. No QB worth spending money on is out there...

FA SIGNINGS
MLB Monty Ferguson (62/62, 8)--Try #2 with a veteran MLB. 3-time All Pro, and a mentor.
DT Al Garcia (58/58, 6)--Run-stopping specialist.
RB Ellis Corsarie (56/56, 5)--Solid all-around back who should bolster the running game immediately.
Once again, I'm at less than 2 minisal rookies worth of cap room (according to the draft estimate).
DE Spencer Cruise (55/55, 7)--Former DROY has had as many as 15 sacks in a season. He's no Karsten, but should be pretty solid.
OLB WIlliam Burns (55/55, 11, re-sign)--I couldn't afford to extend him last year, but it looks like he'll be an Atlanta lifer now.

[Ben E Lou]

2045 DRAFT/TRAINING CAMP

We have the #13 pick this year, and it is used on....

Yeah, so I'm not used to drafting #13 in SP, so I didn't bother to check the draft class before spending money in free agency. If I had, I might have done differently. Oh well. If Airey can hold those ratings, we'll have a stellar running game this year.

Rnd 1 - Jack Airey, RB, Monmouth, NJ: 57/76->57/76
Rnd 2 - Johnnie Collier, T, Central Washington: 19/61->23/62
Rnd 3 - Roy McDermott, G, Colgate: 34/54->38/55
Rnd 4 - Tracy Pena, TE, Kentucky Wesleyan: 21/40->27/50 (!)
Rnd 5 - Rich Torres, QB, Illinois: 25/60->28/53
Rnd 6 - Deon Samuels, OLB, Michigan: 12/26->18/34
Rnd 7 - A.J. Washington, WR, North Carolina: 21/52->26/49

This is looking like it will be the best draft since I stopped interviewing.

From: Desmond Farrell

I have decided to hold out until I receive a new contract.

I believe I made a huge difference in the secondary last season. I believe I'm very seriously underpaid, and will not report to camp without a new contract.

OTHER CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• Projected starting CBs Percy Booker and Bucky Boone drop a combined 15 points. Good thing we have good safeties, I guess.
• Looks like I moved at RB right on time. Last year's starter, Mike Catalano, did a -7/-7 in camp. I cut him and sign a veteran minimum RB mentor in his place.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

• Projected starting CBs Percy Booker and Bucky Boone drop a combined 15 points. Good thing we have good safeties, I guess.

....and then starting FS goes down for the year in preseason.

[Ben E Lou]

And SS Farrell is still holding out as of the beginning of the regular season...and I can't afford what he wants under the cap. Oops.

[Ben E Lou]

2045 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Gower, Jose             17  QB    QB    8    51                51                3 yrs
Finch, Horace           5   QB          10   41                41                2 yrs
Torres, Rich            3   QB          1    32                53                3 yrs
Reardon, Casey          19  QB          2    26                37                3 yrs
Airey, Jack             30  RB    RB    1    58                76                4 yrs
Corsarie, Ellis         21  RB          5    56                56                2 yrs
Shea, Ralph             22  RB          3    41                41                2 yrs
##Doggett, Myron        24  RB          5    29                32                1 yr.
Woods, Patrick          20  FB    FB    6    79                79                2 yrs
Covington, Blake        82  TE    TE    8    49                49                2 yrs
Connell, Donovan        80  TE          10   47                47                2 yrs
Pena, Tracy             84  TE          1    29                50                3 yrs
Krueger, Pat            88  FL    FL    8    54                54                4 yrs
Liszt, Ed               83  SE    SE    3    59                59                2 yrs
Weliczka, Rico          85  SE          8    49                49                3 yrs
Williamson, Juan        12  SE          2    49                63                3 yrs
Washington, A.J.        81  SE          1    26                49                3 yrs
Hemond, Floyd           59  C     C     3    57                57                1 yr.
Upshaw, Marc            58  C           13   42                42                2 yrs
Gonzalez, Paul          74  LG    LG    9    75                75                2 yrs
Coker, Albert           50  RG    RG    10   66                66                2 yrs
Goodwin, Kelvin         56  RG          2    49                51                3 yrs
McDermott, Roy          66  RG          1    39                55                4 yrs
Packwood, Harvey        70  LT          3    49                49                1 yr.
Vance, Cornell          65  LT    RT    8    48                48                4 yrs
Lyle, Wendell           67  RT    LT    10   56                56                3 yrs
Collier, Johnnie        68  RT          1    27                62                3 yrs
Campbell, Broderick     10  P           14   65                65                2 yrs
Ciurciu, Lorenzo        6   K           15   61                61                2 yrs
Cruise, Spencer         94  LDE   RDE   7    53                53                3 yrs
Pantin, Renaldo         76  LDE   LDE   3    53                53                1 yr.
##Frederick, Kelly      73  LDE         2    10                24                2 yrs
Tamayo, Oliver          77  RDE         2    31                34                2 yrs
Garcia, Al              92  LDT   LDT   6    58                58                3 yrs
Klosterman, Shawn       79  RDT   RDT   11   56                56                2 yrs
Gallier, Earl           78  RDT         6    44                44                1 yr.
##Nieto, Bennie         91  RDT         2    23                33                2 yrs
Ferguson, Monty         54  MLB   MLB   8    62                62                3 yrs
Devine, Richard         98  MLB         2    26                40                1 yr.
Shepherd, Scottie       99  SLB         2    29                39                1 yr.
##Samuels, Deon         90  SLB         1    18                34                3 yrs
Jamison, Colin          95  WLB   SLB   4    70                70                3 yrs
Burns, William          51  WLB   WLB   11   47                47                2 yrs
Booker, Percy           47  LCB         10   35                35                2 yrs
Lane, Reggie            44  LCB         5    35                35                2 yrs
Boone, Bucky            46  RCB   LCB   11   47                47                2 yrs
Austin, Perry           35  RCB   RCB   9    38                38                2 yrs
##Finley, Norm          49  RCB         2    20                29                2 yrs
$$Farrell, Desmond      43  SS          8    60                60                2 yrs
%%Fairchild, Jay        29  FS          7    63                63                2 yrs
Burdette, Casey         36  FS    SS    5    58                58                4 yrs
Hutton, Dwayne          48  FS    FS    9    33                33                2 yrs

ROSTER: 97 (3 teams at 100, 8 teams 90 or better...parity, I reckon)
COHESION: 75-89-77-99

[Ben E Lou]

We're going to try to run the football a good bit more this year. No shocker there.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

2045 FA1

IMMEDIATE CUTS
MLB Glenn Green (41/41)--Veteran signee from last year who crapped out in camp and wasn't terribly impressive on the field
WR Ryan Williamson (23/28)--3rd round pick from 2042 who never showed much of anything.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 14.1%.
STARTERS NEEDED: MLB, DT, DE, OLB, RB?, QB?

Well, we've got a bit more to spend this year, but we have significant holes to fill as well. No QB worth spending money on is out there...

FA SIGNINGS
MLB Monty Ferguson (62/62, 8)--Try #2 with a veteran MLB. 3-time All Pro, and a mentor.
DT Al Garcia (58/58, 6)--Run-stopping specialist.
RB Ellis Corsarie (56/56, 5)--Solid all-around back who should bolster the running game immediately.
Once again, I'm at less than 2 minisal rookies worth of cap room (according to the draft estimate).
DE Spencer Cruise (55/55, 7)--Former DROY has had as many as 15 sacks in a season. He's no Karsten, but should be pretty solid.
OLB WIlliam Burns (55/55, 11, re-sign)--I couldn't afford to extend him last year, but it looks like he'll be an Atlanta lifer now.

Spencer Cruise, LDE - Torn Triceps Muscle, Out, full strength in 2046.

...in Week 2, no less.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Rnd 4 - Tracy Pena, TE, Kentucky Wesleyan: 21/40->27/50 (!)

Tracy Pena, TE - Torn Ankle Ligament, Out, full strength in 2046.

...in Week 3.

This is not going well.

[Ben E Lou]

2045 SUMMARY

After starting off the year struggling in the passing game again, I went back to throwing a lot more in Gower's "sweet spot" of 21 to 30 yards, with great success. We were #1 in completion percentage and yards per attempt of "Long" passes, and near the bottom in short and medium. It appears that his bars are accurate, and if I have receivers that can get into that range, like I do now, we can do pretty well. That being said, I'd still prefer a QB with a little more steady and reliable skill set.

Airey missed six games due to injury. He's looking like a stud to be if he can stay healthy. I want to feed this kid the rock next season.

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, and as mentioned in the FOF2K7 Forum, Arizona went 19-0. So much for the so-called parity, eh?

[Ben E Lou]

2046 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS

Only one--the safety I signed in-season due to injuries and Farrell's holdout (which did last all season long, by the way). No biggie there.

FRANCHISE: None. I did lock everyone up last year.

SUMMER: TE Tracy Pena

2046 FA1

TE Pena creeps +4/+6. WR Juan Williamson creeps +5/+4, and now stands at 63/67.

IMMEDIATE CUTS
CB Percy Booker (37/37)--He was signed as a FA in 2040, and started for 6 seasons, but his ratings have dropped and he allowed 61 catches last season. No longer worth the money.
S Dwayne Hutton (32/32)--He has been with us for four seasons as a mentor/backup, but two other safeties became mentors as this offseason began, making him expendable.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 5.2%
STARTERS NEEDED: at least one CB, maybe two.

SS Farrell, who held out all of last year, won't sign an extension due to past grievances. LG Paul Gonzalez, the 75/75 stud, wants a raise that would cost me nearly half of the available cap room for this year. Given that Gonzalez is in his 10th year and we have very nice depth at guard, I might let him fly as a FA next year. I'd rather spend that money shoring up the secondary. (Once again, it's worth nothing that this is a fun decision to have to make.)

FA SIGNINGS
CB Drew Singleton (57/57, 7)--Solid coverage guy (73 MtM, 77 Zn, 65 BnR), but lousy at picks (1).

I was outbid by the AI on the other corner I was pursuing. I knew it was likely to happen, but I just couldn't offer any more. We should be ok in the secondary. The good news is that with the money I had allocated for a corner, I was able to extend the contract of G Gonzalez. That means next year I can franchise Farrell if I'd like. It would serve him right for sitting out an entire season.

[Ben E Lou]

2046 DRAFT/TRAINING CAMP

We have the #29 pick this year, and it is used on....

I don't expect him to hold all of those ratings. I do think he'll be a solid starter for years, though.

Rnd 1 - Louie Grant, CB, Georgia Tech: 33/66-->20/47 (OUCH!!! Looks like a random bust, but it's *very* untimely.)
Rnd 2 - Bo Stanton, C, California: 29/64-->34/65
Rnd 3 - Bill Van Meter, ILB, Miss. Valley St.: 25/53-->27/47
Rnd 4 - Ethan Navarrete, OLB, Texas - El Paso: 19/27-->21/27
Rnd 5 - Kenneth Styles, DT, Texas: 24/42-->30/43
Rnd 6 - Desmond Sawyer, S, South Carolina: 8/38-->9/33
Rnd 7 - Jimmie Fitzgerald, QB, Iowa State: 8/56-->11/49

Well, this draft wasn't a complete disaster, but it certainly won't go down as one of our better ones.

From: Jose Gower

I have decided to hold out until I receive a new contract.

As your starting quarterback last season, I believe I had a solid season. I believe I'm very seriously underpaid, and will not report to camp without a new contract.

That bastard. The amount he wants would raise his cap cost this year by $9.54M (2.4% of the cap). I simply don't have it. I could make some cuts to make it work. However, if either of my young QBs does well in camp, this might be the end of the road for Gower, at least as a Falcon).

OTHER CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• Last year's 5th round pick, QB Rich Torres, reversed directions, going +5/+1. He's up to 41/51 and may get a shot at starting because...
• ...Gower is still holding out as of Pre1

[Ben E Lou]

Gower ends his holdout after the first preseason game. Whew.

[Ben E Lou]

2046 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Gower, Jose             17  QB    QB    9    51                51                2 yrs
Torres, Rich            3   QB          2    43                51                2 yrs
##Finch, Horace         5   QB          11   36                36                1 yr.
Reardon, Casey          19  QB          3    33                37                2 yrs
Fitzgerald, Jimmie      14  QB          1    12                49                3 yrs
Airey, Jack             30  RB    RB    2    72                77                3 yrs
Corsarie, Ellis         21  RB          6    57                57                1 yr.
Shea, Ralph             22  RB          4    42                42                3 yrs
Woods, Patrick          20  FB    FB    7    78                78                4 yrs
Covington, Blake        82  TE    TE    9    50                50                3 yrs
Pena, Tracy             84  TE          2    41                57                2 yrs
##Connell, Donovan      80  TE          11   39                39                1 yr.
Krueger, Pat            88  FL          9    51                51                3 yrs
Williamson, Juan        12  SE    SE    3    66                66                2 yrs
Liszt, Ed               83  SE    FL    4    58                58                5 yrs
Weliczka, Rico          85  SE          9    42                42                2 yrs
Washington, A.J.        81  SE          2    29                46                2 yrs
Hemond, Floyd           59  C     C     4    57                57                3 yrs
##Upshaw, Marc          58  C           14   39                39                1 yr.
Stanton, Bo             55  C           1    36                65                3 yrs
Gonzalez, Paul          74  LG    LG    10   68                68                2 yrs
Coker, Albert           50  RG    RG    11   64                64                2 yrs
Goodwin, Kelvin         56  RG          3    54                54                2 yrs
McDermott, Roy          66  RG          2    47                61                3 yrs
Packwood, Harvey        70  LT          4    50                50                2 yrs
Vance, Cornell          65  LT          9    47                47                3 yrs
Lyle, Wendell           67  RT    LT    11   53                53                2 yrs
Collier, Johnnie        68  RT    RT    2    41                64                2 yrs
Campbell, Broderick     10  P           15   60                60                2 yrs
Ciurciu, Lorenzo        6   K           16   59                59                2 yrs
Pantin, Renaldo         76  LDE   LDE   4    53                53                3 yrs
Cruise, Spencer         94  LDE   RDE   8    47                47                2 yrs
Frederick, Kelly        73  LDE         3    10                20                1 yr.
Tamayo, Oliver          77  RDE         3    41                41                1 yr.
Garcia, Al              92  LDT   LDT   7    58                58                2 yrs
Styles, Kenneth         93  LDT         1    31                43                3 yrs
Klosterman, Shawn       79  RDT   RDT   12   47                47                2 yrs
Nieto, Bennie           91  RDT         3    28                34                1 yr.
Ferguson, Monty         54  MLB   MLB   9    62                62                2 yrs
Van Meter, Bill         52  MLB         1    28                47                4 yrs
##Jamison, Colin        95  SLB         5    72                72                2 yrs
Samuels, Deon           90  SLB         2    24                35                2 yrs
Navarrete, Ethan        57  SLB   WLB   1    23                27                4 yrs
Burns, William          51  WLB   SLB   12   40                40                2 yrs
##Lane, Reggie          44  LCB         6    36                36                1 yr.
Grant, Louie            42  LCB         1    23                47                4 yrs
Singleton, Drew         23  RCB   LCB   7    58                58                3 yrs
##Boone, Bucky          46  RCB         12   37                37                2 yrs
Finley, Norm            49  RCB   RCB   3    31                31                1 yr.
Farrell, Desmond        43  SS    FS    9    53                53                1 yr.
##Fairchild, Jay        29  FS          8    63                63                4 yrs
Burdette, Casey         36  FS    SS    6    56                56                3 yrs
Sawyer, Desmond         41  FS          1    9                 33                3 yrs

ROSTER: 96 (3rd...2 teams are at 100.)
COHESION: 85-100-86-93

With that duo of RBs, this is going to be somewhat of a Run-N-Stun kind of offense this year.

[Ben E Lou]

2046 Summary....CHAMPS AGAIN!!!

VERY satisfying title, since it's the first one achieved since the new contract rules have really had an impact. Great seasons by both QBs, and Airey led the league in rushing. We had an absolutely stellar pass defense as well, which I'm most happy about given that we have new (and not-too-impressive-looking) starting corners this season.

[Ben E Lou]

2047 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS
Here they come...
K Lorenzo Ciurciu--Signed him as a FA in 2037, and he would stick around 10 seasons. Converted 53 of 92 FGs from 50+ yards in his career...2-time All Pro...3rd all-time in FGs and in points scored.
OLB William Burns--Picked him 3(28) in 2035 as a 14/35 ILB...switched to OLB in 2037...became full-time starter in 2038...ratings maxed at 55/55...1-time All-Pro
CB Bucky Boone--FA signee in 2039 who remained a Falcon for 8 seasons...career 80.0 PdPct...1-time All Pro
G Albert Coker--Our 4(22) pick in 2036...came out of draft 19/63...maxed at 66/66 as a 10th-year player after a visit from the volatility fairy...9-year starter...31 career pancakes
WR Rico Weliczka--Our 3(32) pick in 2038, 18/37 at the time...maxed out at 57/57..had 79 catches for 1128 yards in 2043...4th in Falcon history in receptions and receiving TDs...2nd in Falcon history in KO Return yards

Tough crop to lose. All but Weliczka were still #1s in the depth chart.

FRANCHISE: SS Desmond Farrell. (This means backup RB Corsarie (58/58) is on the open market.)

SUMMER: C Bo Stanton

We also have two carry-over injuries from last season: backup LT Cornell Vance had ACL Surgery after Week 8, and will miss all over this season as well. LDE Spencer Cruise suffered a compound leg fracture in Week 14. He's O-14 to start this year, in his 9th season, and in the final year of his contract. Hello, injury settlement.

[zbuckley]

Just found this thread for the first time and found it very helpful. The effectiveness of your defense was the most intriguing. Do you have some sort of basic game planning on D? do you use the rec button or a combination of the two? I've struggle with my Defensive game planning with far more "talent" on my teams. Other than the really big red bars any insight as to why your defense played so well. I think I remember you saying the MLB was the foundation of your def. is that because of your game planning schemes or just a hunch that the MLB has the biggest impact on the game from the defensive side. They call the MLB the QB of the defense so maybe theres something there.

[Ben E Lou]

I use the identical defensive game plan every season, and it's pretty far away from Rex--probably by a good 20 or 30 percentage points per box in most places on 1st and 2nd down, mainly because I'm not interested in missing big on those downs. (Run Aggressive on 1st and 10? Really??? Hello, Mr. Bomb.) The rest of it is the result of tweaking over time of having watched a few hundred games in Solevision.

[Ben E Lou]

2047 FA1

TE Tracy Pena creeps another +7/+7, and is now 21/40-->58/64 and ready to step into a full-time starting role. WR Juan Williamson creeps +5/+4, and now stands at 63/67.

CUTS
QB Casey Reardon (33/33): 4th-year guy would have been at best #3 on the depth chart.
DT Shawn Klosterman (47/47): 13th-year guy. I just don't see him surviving camp as a terribly useful player.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 8.8%
STARTERS NEEDED: K, RDT, WLB, CB

I let RB Corsarie (58/58) become a FA due to the emergence of Jack Airey there.

FA SIGNINGS
OLB Wesley Brooks (48/48, 7)--Affinity match and a mentor who should start at WLB.
CB Steve Collier (53/53, 8)--Has been a solid performer for Pitt, with an 80.1 PDPct in his career.
K Luther Conway (63/66, 5)--Very accurate kicker with good hang time on kickoffs. Low on kicking power and kickoff distance.
DT Ed Stroup (57/57, 5)--Run-stopping specialist.

I also signed a couple of my older guys as FAs, for cohesion help.

[Ben E Lou]

2047 DRAFT/TRAINING CAMP

We have the #32 pick this year, and it is used on....

Rnd 1 - Bernard Meredith, WR, UCLA: 32/69-->30/62. Ouch.
Rnd 2 - Sherman Brady, G, Alabama - Birmingham: 27/40-->27/46. Not a hard call on this one.
Rnd 3 - Terrell Merrick, DE, Purdue: 17/59-->20/53
Rnd 4 - Lenny Cloutier, QB, Minnesota: 12/51-->17/50
Rnd 5 - Lionel Sanderson, OLB, Stephen F. Austin: 20/40-->23/37
Rnd 6 - Carlton Schaafsma, WR, Washington: 14/37-->16/35
Rnd 7 - Courtney McDonald, C, Clemson: 13/47-->18/48

SS Desmond Farrell is holding out again, due to being the franchise player, and he won't sign a long-term deal. I could use the cap space he's taking up, so I go ahead and release him.


OTHER CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• MLB Monty Ferguson drops -11 to 48/48. That could hurt.
• FS Jay Fairchild drops -13 to 50/50.

[Ben E Lou]

2047 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Gower, Jose             17  QB    QB    10   53                53                4 yrs
Torres, Rich            3   QB          3    47                47                1 yr.
Cloutier, Lenny         1   QB          1    17                50                3 yrs
##Fitzgerald, Jimmie    14  QB          2    15                46                2 yrs
Airey, Jack             30  RB    RB    3    77                77                2 yrs
Kwan, Les               34  RB          6    38                38                1 yr.
Shea, Ralph             22  RB          5    33                33                2 yrs
Woods, Patrick          20  FB    FB    8    71                71                3 yrs
Pena, Tracy             84  TE    TE    3    65                65                1 yr.
Covington, Blake        82  TE          10   42                42                2 yrs
Connell, Donovan        80  TE          12   36                36                2 yrs
Krueger, Pat            88  FL          10   52                52                2 yrs
##Schaafsma, Carlton    87  FL          1    16                35                3 yrs
Williamson, Juan        12  SE    FL    4    68                68                5 yrs
Liszt, Ed               83  SE    SE    5    56                56                4 yrs
Washington, A.J.        81  SE          3    31                41                1 yr.
##Meredith, Bernard     85  SE          1    31                62                4 yrs
Stanton, Bo             55  C     C     2    64                67                2 yrs
Hemond, Floyd           59  C           5    56                56                2 yrs
##McDonald, Courtney    53  C           1    19                48                3 yrs
Gonzalez, Paul          74  LG    LG    11   64                64                2 yrs
Goodwin, Kelvin         56  RG          4    59                59                3 yrs
McDermott, Roy          66  RG    RG    3    54                62                2 yrs
Brady, Sherman          78  RG          1    29                46                3 yrs
Packwood, Harvey        70  LT    LT    5    48                48                4 yrs
%%Vance, Cornell        65  LT          10   41                41                2 yrs
Collier, Johnnie        68  RT    RT    3    62                65                1 yr.
Donaldson, Dave         63  RT          7    45                45                3 yrs
Lyle, Wendell           67  RT          12   43                43                2 yrs
Campbell, Broderick     10  P           16   49                49                2 yrs
Conway, Luther          16  K           5    66                66                1 yr.
Pantin, Renaldo         76  LDE   LDE   5    55                55                2 yrs
##Merrick, Terrell      98  LDE         1    20                53                3 yrs
Tamayo, Oliver          77  RDE   RDE   4    48                48                3 yrs
Malone, Richard         96  RDE         5    27                31                3 yrs
Garcia, Al              92  LDT   LDT   8    60                60                4 yrs
Stroup, Ed              75  LDT   RDT   5    57                57                3 yrs
Styles, Kenneth         93  LDT         2    42                43                2 yrs
Nieto, Bennie           91  RDT         4    32                32                2 yrs
Ferguson, Monty         54  MLB   MLB   10   48                48                3 yrs
Van Meter, Bill         52  MLB         2    36                42                3 yrs
Jamison, Colin          95  SLB   SLB   6    74                74                5 yrs
Brooks, Wesley          94  SLB   WLB   7    49                49                3 yrs
Samuels, Deon           90  SLB         3    33                37                1 yr.
Navarrete, Ethan        57  SLB         2    27                28                3 yrs
##Sanderson, Lionel     51  WLB         1    23                37                3 yrs
Lane, Reggie            44  LCB         7    36                36                1 yr.
Grant, Louie            42  LCB         2    32                48                3 yrs
Singleton, Drew         23  RCB   LCB   8    54                54                2 yrs
Collier, Steve          24  RCB   RCB   8    53                53                3 yrs
Finley, Norm            49  RCB         4    33                33                3 yrs
Burdette, Casey         36  FS    SS    7    56                56                2 yrs
Fairchild, Jay          29  FS    FS    9    50                50                3 yrs
##Sawyer, Desmond       41  FS          2    13                30                2 yrs

ROSTER: 100. Next-best is 85. Best roster advantage in a very long time.
COHESION: 93-100-78-94

The defense is down a notch, but the offense should be the berst we've had in years.

[Ben E Lou]

2047 Summary

Odd year. Gower was inconsistent this year, as was the team. We got a bit lucky in drawing two teams with injured starting QBs in the playoffs to get to the big game. But really, just looking at the numbers it's pretty clear that this wasn't a championship team. I'm thinking we need to run the football more as long as we don't have a better QB option than Gower.

[adubroff]

I am still reading this dynasty. If you get a chance can you give your full list of house rules for this dynasty, I know they've been evolving over time but this current version seem to at least be pushing you...

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by adubroff

I am still reading this dynasty. If you get a chance can you give your full list of house rules for this dynasty, I know they've been evolving over time but this current version seem to at least be pushing you...

They're now updated in the second post of the thread.

[Ben E Lou]

2048 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS

TE Donovan Connell--Signed him as a FA in 2041...was a backup for most of the time he was with us....only participated on 40 offensive snaps last year
G Paul Gonzalez--I picked him 2(17) back in 2037...became a starter as a 2nd-year player....4-time All Pro...1st in Atlanta history in pancake blocks, 4th all-time...was still a 64/64 starter last year

Tough to replace a guy like Gonzalez.

FRANCHISE: K Luther Conway

SUMMER: G Sherman Brady

[Ben E Lou]

2048 FA1

RB Airey is in the final year of his contract, and wants a very large six-year deal. My intention is to build the offense around him in the near future

CUTS
WR Pat Krueger (52/52)--He's old and only averaged 5.4 yards per target last year as our WR3. I need that money to make room for RB Airey's long-term deal.
T Wendell Lyle (43/43)--He's simply making too much money to be a backup, which he is now.
MLB Monty Ferguson (47/47)--Really dropped off last season in ratings, and as a year 11 guy, I'd expect he'll drop off more this year.
T Cornell Vance (23/23)--ACL Injury in mid-2046. Sat out all of last year. Showed up with huge ratings drop.
P Broderick Campbell (49/49)--Has dropped off quite a bit.
RB Ralph Shea (33/33)--No reason to keep an aging backup around at the amount he was making.

Several of these cuts had to do with freeing up the cash to sign Airey to a shorter contract than he was requesting. I sign him for 5 years. He'll be 31 in the final year of the contract.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 6.7%
STARTERS NEEDED: P, MLB, SS

FA SIGNINGS
MLB Gus Meyer (57/57, 5)--Pretty solid ratings across the board. No serious strengths or weaknesses.
P Charlie Jarvis (49/49, 9)--Solid hang time and directional punting.
SS Roosevelt Whalen (54/54, 5)--Another guy with across-the-board solid ratings.

[Ben E Lou]

2048 DRAFT/TRAINING CAMP

We have the #32 pick this year, and it is used on....

Rnd 1 - Trent Bailey, ILB, North Carolina State: 24/54-->30/57
Rnd 2 - Jack Rivera, DT, Oregon State: 17/25-->21/29
Rnd 3 - Oscar Cobb, QB, Iowa: 6/22-->10/25
Rnd 4 - Marshall Galiardo, DE, Mississippi State: 18/34-->18/35
Rnd 5 - Toby Delgado, G, Virginia Tech: 16/32-->21/39
Rnd 6 - Rusty Flores, TE, Colorado: 18/38-->21/40
Rnd 7 - Russell Patton, ILB, Miami, Florida: 14/25-->17/28


OTHER CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• Nothing really major.

[Ben E Lou]

2048 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Gower, Jose             17  QB    QB    11   49                49                3 yrs
##Torres, Rich          3   QB          4    47                47                3 yrs
Cloutier, Lenny         1   QB          2    22                48                2 yrs
Fitzgerald, Jimmie      14  QB          3    17                40                1 yr.
Cobb, Oscar             18  QB          1    10                25                4 yrs
Airey, Jack             30  RB    RB    4    76                76                5 yrs
Pappalardo, Vincent     40  RB          7    43                43                2 yrs
Winters, David          35  RB          7    36                36                2 yrs
Woods, Patrick          20  FB    FB    9    62                62                2 yrs
Pena, Tracy             84  TE    TE    4    69                69                4 yrs
Covington, Blake        82  TE          11   35                35                1 yr.
Flores, Rusty           86  TE          1    22                40                3 yrs
**Williamson, Juan      12  FL          5    71                71                4 yrs
Schaafsma, Carlton      87  FL          2    23                35                2 yrs
Liszt, Ed               83  SE    FL    6    55                55                3 yrs
Meredith, Bernard       85  SE    SE    2    37                58                3 yrs
Stanton, Bo             55  C     C     3    69                69                1 yr.
Hemond, Floyd           59  C           6    55                55                2 yrs
McDonald, Courtney      53  C           2    26                50                2 yrs
McDermott, Roy          66  LG    LG    4    55                62                3 yrs
Delgado, Toby           72  LG          1    20                39                3 yrs
Goodwin, Kelvin         56  RG    RG    5    57                57                2 yrs
Brady, Sherman          78  RG          2    38                50                2 yrs
##Collier, Johnnie      68  LT          4    53                56                7 yrs
Packwood, Harvey        70  LT    LT    6    48                48                3 yrs
Donaldson, Dave         63  RT    RT    8    45                45                2 yrs
Jarvis, Charlie         19  P           9    48                48                3 yrs
Conway, Luther          16  K           6    65                65                1 yr.
Pantin, Renaldo         76  LDE   RDE   6    40                40                5 yrs
Merrick, Terrell        98  LDE         2    23                48                2 yrs
##Galiardo, Marshall    74  LDE         1    22                35                4 yrs
Tamayo, Oliver          77  RDE   LDE   5    50                50                2 yrs
##Malone, Richard       96  RDE         6    28                28                2 yrs
Garcia, Al              92  LDT   RDT   9    53                53                3 yrs
Styles, Kenneth         93  LDT         3    51                51                1 yr.
Stroup, Ed              75  RDT   LDT   6    58                58                2 yrs
##Nieto, Bennie         91  RDT         5    33                33                1 yr.
Rivera, Jack            73  RDT         1    20                29                3 yrs
Meyer, Gus              97  MLB   MLB   5    57                57                3 yrs
Bailey, Trent           99  MLB         1    31                56                5 yrs
Patton, Russell         50  MLB         1    17                27                3 yrs
Jamison, Colin          95  SLB   SLB   7    76                76                4 yrs
##Navarrete, Ethan      57  SLB         3    28                28                2 yrs
Brooks, Wesley          94  WLB   WLB   8    40                40                2 yrs
Sanderson, Lionel       51  WLB         2    26                34                2 yrs
Grant, Louie            42  LCB   RCB   3    52                52                2 yrs
Collier, Steve          24  RCB   LCB   9    52                52                2 yrs
##Singleton, Drew       23  RCB         9    49                49                1 yr.
Finley, Norm            49  RCB         5    35                35                2 yrs
Whalen, Roosevelt       45  SS    SS    5    54                54                4 yrs
Burdette, Casey         36  FS    FS    8    51                51                1 yr.
Fairchild, Jay          29  FS          10   43                43                2 yrs
Sawyer, Desmond         41  FS          3    20                24                1 yr.

ROSTER: 100. Two other teams in the 90s, one at 97.
COHESION: 93-89-78-73

We're going to run the football a good bit more this season.

[Ben E Lou]

2048 Summary

Getting the ball to Airey certainly seemed to pay off on offense, for both Airey and Gower. We got our butts handed to us in Arizona in the playoffs, though. As Gower continues to age and we continue to lack a sure-thing next option, having a strong running game is going to be very important, I believe.

Airey was OPOY and MVP.

[Ben E Lou]

2049 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS

TE Blake Covington--Covington was signed in 2042 as a FA, and started through 2046. He was a blocking TE who never caught more than 27 passes in a season.

FRANCHISE: FS Casey Burdette

SUMMER: MLB Trent Bailey

[Ben E Lou]

Adding a new House Rule to the renegotation one:

All renegotiations must be for the exact requested contract. Combining this with the last-year-only extension rule should make it quite a bit more difficult to hold on to my stars, and force more decisions.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Adding a new House Rule to the renegotation one:

All renegotiations must be for the exact requested contract. Combining this with the last-year-only extension rule should make it quite a bit more difficult to hold on to my stars, and force more decisions.

Yes, this sounds like a fairly serious ratcheting up of the difficulty level. Good addition.

[Ben E Lou]

I hope so, but I've spent all morning so far working on the Excel stuff rather than actually playing the dynasty. I'll probably get to this later in the afternoon.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

I hope so, but I've spent all morning so far working on the Excel stuff rather than actually playing the dynasty. I'll probably get to this later in the afternoon.

So, a week later, but back on it.

I've also realized that the rule requiring me to give their asking price is going to force some solid players into free agency, simply because good young backups like DT Kenneth Styles (50/50) ask for one-year deals only. I like it.

[Ben E Lou]

2049 FA1

RB Airey is in the final year of his contract, and wants a very large six-year deal. My intention is to build the offense around him in the near future

CUTS
FS Jay Fairchild (43/43)--Same old story: older guy costing more than his worth.
DE Renaldo Pantin (40/40)--Lost 15 points in training camp last year, and dropped to a 4.3 PRPct last year as a starter. Will replace with FA.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 11.2%
STARTERS NEEDED: K, LDE

FA SIGNINGS
DE Kendrick McNeil (50/50)--Short-term solution signed to a two-year deal.
K Luther Conway (65/65)--Re-signed my own guy to a long-term deal.

[Ben E Lou]

2049 DRAFT/TRAINING CAMP

We have the #27 pick this year, and it is used on....

Rnd 1 - Jim Singleton, S, Oregon: 21/58-->21/56
Rnd 2 - Renaldo Devine, CB, Purdue: 16/34-->19/44 !!!
Rnd 3 - Dustin McMillen, WR, Oklahoma: 19/31-->20/32
Rnd 4 - Levon Schultz, QB, Auburn: 5/28-->9/35 !!!
Rnd 5 - Edgar Cortez, T, Michigan State: 13/41-->21/47 !!!
Rnd 6 - Dana Adam, FB, Duke: 13/19-->14/22
Rnd 7 - Leroy Hopkins, CB, Rutgers: 10/26-->13/29

This could be a banner draft year.

OTHER CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• Nothing else really major, although camp does leave us fairly mediocre at safety.

Name	Pos	2047c Current	2047c Future	2047d Current	2047d Future	2048c Current	2048c Future	2048d Current	2048d Future	2049c Current	2049c Future	2049d Current	2049d Future	Overall Current Change	Overall Future Change
Cloutier, Lenny	QB	12	51	17 (5)	50 (-1)	17 (0)	49 (-1)	21 (4)	48 (-1)	21 (0)	46 (-2)	25 (4)	46 (0)	13	-5
Cobb, Oscar	QB					6	22	10 (4)	25 (3)	11 (1)	27 (2)	13 (2)	27 (0)	7	5
Gower, Jose	QB	52	52	53 (1)	53 (1)	53 (0)	53 (0)	49 (-4)	49 (-4)	49 (0)	49 (0)	47 (-2)	47 (-2)	-5	-5
Schultz, Levon	QB									5	28	9 (4)	35 (7)	4	7
Torres, Rich	QB	47	47	47 (0)	47 (0)	46 (-1)	46 (-1)	47 (1)	47 (1)	44 (-3)	44 (-3)	45 (1)	45 (1)	-2	-2
Airey, Jack	RB	75	75	77 (2)	77 (2)	76 (-1)	76 (-1)	76 (0)	76 (0)	76 (0)	76 (0)	76 (0)	76 (0)	1	1
Pappalardo, Vincent	RB					43	43	43 (0)	43 (0)	43 (0)	43 (0)	38 (-5)	38 (-5)	-5	-5
Winters, David	RB					40	40	36 (-4)	36 (-4)	36 (0)	36 (0)	26 (-10)	26 (-10)	-14	-14
Adam, Dana	FB									13	19	14 (1)	22 (3)	1	3
Woods, Patrick	FB	78	78	71 (-7)	71 (-7)	71 (0)	71 (0)	62 (-9)	62 (-9)	62 (0)	62 (0)	62 (0)	62 (0)	-16	-16
Flores, Rusty	TE					18	38	21 (3)	40 (2)	24 (3)	40 (0)	31 (7)	44 (4)	13	6
Pena, Tracy	TE	58	64	64 (6)	64 (0)	68 (4)	68 (4)	69 (1)	69 (1)	72 (3)	72 (3)	72 (0)	72 (0)	14	8
Schaafsma, Carlton	FL	14	37	16 (2)	35 (-2)	18 (2)	34 (-1)	21 (3)	35 (1)	23 (2)	32 (-3)	26 (3)	32 (0)	12	-5
Williamson, Juan	FL							71	71	73 (2)	73 (2)	73 (0)	73 (0)	2	2
Liszt, Ed	SE	56	56	56 (0)	56 (0)	55 (-1)	55 (-1)	55 (0)	55 (0)	53 (-2)	53 (-2)	54 (1)	54 (1)	-2	-2
McMillen, Dustin	SE									19	31	20 (1)	32 (1)	1	1
Meredith, Bernard	SE	32	69	30 (-2)	62 (-7)	32 (2)	57 (-5)	36 (4)	58 (1)	37 (1)	50 (-8)	40 (3)	50 (0)	8	-19
Hemond, Floyd	C	55	55	56 (1)	56 (1)	55 (-1)	55 (-1)	55 (0)	55 (0)	54 (-1)	54 (-1)	55 (1)	55 (1)	0	0
McDonald, Courtney	C	13	47	18 (5)	48 (1)	21 (3)	48 (0)	26 (5)	50 (2)	34 (8)	50 (0)	39 (5)	51 (1)	26	4
Stanton, Bo	C	54	65	62 (8)	67 (2)	70 (8)	70 (3)	69 (-1)	69 (-1)	70 (1)	70 (1)	71 (1)	71 (1)	17	6
Delgado, Toby	LG					16	32	20 (4)	39 (7)	23 (3)	44 (5)	27 (4)	44 (0)	11	12
McDermott, Roy	LG							54	62	63 (9)	63 (1)	69 (6)	69 (6)	15	7
Brady, Sherman	RG	27	40	27 (0)	46 (6)	34 (7)	50 (4)	38 (4)	50 (0)	45 (7)	55 (5)	49 (4)	55 (0)	22	15
Goodwin, Kelvin	RG	54	54	59 (5)	59 (5)	58 (-1)	58 (-1)	57 (-1)	57 (-1)	57 (0)	57 (0)	55 (-2)	55 (-2)	1	1
Collier, Johnnie	LT							53	56	58 (5)	58 (2)	59 (1)	59 (1)	6	3
Cortez, Edgar	LT									13	41	21 (8)	47 (6)	8	6
Packwood, Harvey	LT	49	49	48 (-1)	48 (-1)	48 (0)	48 (0)	48 (0)	48 (0)	46 (-2)	46 (-2)	47 (1)	47 (1)	-2	-2
Donaldson, Dave	RT	45	45	45 (0)	45 (0)	45 (0)	45 (0)	45 (0)	45 (0)	45 (0)	45 (0)	30 (-15)	30 (-15)	-15	-15
Conway, Luther	K	63	66	66 (3)	66 (0)	66 (0)	66 (0)	65 (-1)	65 (-1)	65 (0)	65 (0)	64 (-1)	64 (-1)	1	-2
Jarvis, Charlie	P					49	49	48 (-1)	48 (-1)	50 (2)	50 (2)	50 (0)	50 (0)	1	1
Galiardo, Marshall	LDE					18	34	21 (3)	35 (1)	27 (6)	36 (1)	30 (3)	36 (0)	12	2
McNeil, Kendrick	LDE									49	49	48 (-1)	48 (-1)	-1	-1
Merrick, Terrell	LDE	17	59	20 (3)	53 (-6)	20 (0)	49 (-4)	23 (3)	48 (-1)	25 (2)	43 (-5)	27 (2)	43 (0)	10	-16
Garcia, Al	LDT	58	58	60 (2)	60 (2)	60 (0)	60 (0)	53 (-7)	53 (-7)	53 (0)	53 (0)	52 (-1)	52 (-1)	-6	-6
Styles, Kenneth	LDT	36	42	42 (6)	43 (1)	39 (-3)	44 (1)	51 (12)	51 (7)	50 (-1)	50 (-1)	54 (4)	54 (4)	18	12
Rivera, Jack	RDT					17	25	20 (3)	29 (4)	21 (1)	32 (3)	23 (2)	32 (0)	6	7
Stroup, Ed	RDT							58	58	60 (2)	60 (2)	52 (-8)	52 (-8)	-6	-6
Malone, Richard	RDE	30	37	27 (-3)	31 (-6)	29 (2)	29 (-2)	28 (-1)	28 (-1)	26 (-2)	26 (-2)	26 (0)	26 (0)	-4	-11
Tamayo, Oliver	RDE	44	44	47 (3)	47 (3)	50 (3)	50 (3)	50 (0)	50 (0)	51 (1)	51 (1)	51 (0)	51 (0)	7	7
Jamison, Colin	SLB	73	73	74 (1)	74 (1)	75 (1)	75 (1)	76 (1)	76 (1)	75 (-1)	75 (-1)	66 (-9)	66 (-9)	-7	-7
Navarrete, Ethan	SLB	24	28	27 (3)	28 (0)	28 (1)	28 (0)	28 (0)	28 (0)	29 (1)	29 (1)	29 (0)	29 (0)	5	1
Bailey, Trent	MLB					24	54	30 (6)	56 (2)	44 (14)	57 (1)	49 (5)	57 (0)	25	3
Meyer, Gus	MLB					57	57	57 (0)	57 (0)	57 (0)	57 (0)	58 (1)	58 (1)	1	1
Patton, Russell	MLB					14	25	16 (2)	27 (2)	19 (3)	28 (1)	21 (2)	29 (1)	7	4
Brooks, Wesley	WLB							40	40	42 (2)	42 (2)	37 (-5)	37 (-5)	-3	-3
Sanderson, Lionel	WLB	20	40	23 (3)	37 (-3)	23 (0)	34 (-3)	25 (2)	34 (0)	28 (3)	31 (-3)	30 (2)	30 (-1)	10	-10
Devine, Renaldo	LCB									16	34	19 (3)	44 (10)	3	10
Grant, Louie	LCB	27	48	31 (4)	48 (0)	50 (19)	50 (2)	52 (2)	52 (2)	52 (0)	52 (0)	52 (0)	52 (0)	25	4
Hopkins, Leroy	LCB									10	26	13 (3)	29 (3)	3	3
Collier, Steve	RCB	53	53	53 (0)	53 (0)	53 (0)	53 (0)	52 (-1)	52 (-1)	52 (0)	52 (0)	45 (-7)	45 (-7)	-8	-8
Finley, Norm	RCB	33	33	33 (0)	33 (0)	34 (1)	34 (1)	35 (1)	35 (1)	35 (0)	35 (0)	35 (0)	35 (0)	2	2
Singleton, Jim	SS									21	58	21 (0)	56 (-2)	0	-2
Whalen, Roosevelt	SS					54	54	54 (0)	54 (0)	55 (1)	55 (1)	54 (-1)	54 (-1)	0	0
Burdette, Casey	FS	56	56	56 (0)	56 (0)	55 (-1)	55 (-1)	51 (-4)	51 (-4)	51 (0)	51 (0)	50 (-1)	50 (-1)	-6	-6

[Ben E Lou]

It is with great pleasure that I present to you the next Falcon starting, quarterback, Levon Schultz.

[Ben E Lou]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.....

[Ben E Lou]

2049 ROSTER REPORT

Player	Pos	Start	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct	Position Comments
Gower, Jose	QB	QB	12	47	47	2 yrs	I'm not thrilled with Gower or Torres, but they'll hold down the fort until Schultz is ready.
Torres, Rich	QB		5	45	45	2 yrs
##Lucas, Grady	QB		8	33	43	1 yr.
Schultz, Levon	QB		1	10	35	4 yrs
##Airey, Jack	RB		5	76	76	4 yrs	Major blow losing Airey, but he could be ready for the postseason.
Pappalardo, Vincent	RB	RB	8	38	38	1 yr.
Winters, David	RB		8	26	26	1 yr.
Woods, Patrick	FB	FB	10	62	62	2 yrs	I don't see Woods sticking around much longer, but I'm not sure about Adam, either.
Adam, Dana	FB		1	15	22	3 yrs
Pena, Tracy	TE	TE	5	72	72	3 yrs	Good to go with a youngish veteran and a solid 2nd-year creeper.
Flores, Rusty	TE		2	31	44	2 yrs
Williamson, Juan	FL	FL	6	73	73	3 yrs	We look pretty set here for a while, although Schaafasma probably doesn't have a future.
Schaafsma, Carlton	FL		3	30	32	1 yr.
Liszt, Ed	SE	SE	7	54	54	2 yrs
Meredith, Bernard	SE		3	42	50	2 yrs
McMillen, Dustin	SE		1	20	32	3 yrs
Stanton, Bo	C	C	4	71	71	5 yrs	No worries at all.
Hemond, Floyd	C		7	55	55	2 yrs
McDonald, Courtney	C		3	41	51	1 yr.
McDermott, Roy	LG	LG	5	70	70	2 yrs	Deep and long-term here.
Delgado, Toby	LG		2	28	44	2 yrs
Goodwin, Kelvin	RG	RG	6	55	55	5 yrs
Brady, Sherman	RG		3	50	55	5 yrs
Collier, Johnnie	LT	LT	5	59	59	6 yrs	Cortez may be needed to play before he's really ready.
Packwood, Harvey	LT	RT	7	47	47	2 yrs
Cortez, Edgar	LT		1	21	47	3 yrs
##Donaldson, Dave	RT		9	30	30	1 yr.
Jarvis, Charlie	P		10	50	50	2 yrs
Conway, Luther	K		7	64	64	5 yrs
McNeil, Kendrick	LDE	RDE	7	48	48	2 yrs	Nothing particulaly impressive here. I could stand an upgrade if I can find one.
Galiardo, Marshall	LDE		2	31	36	3 yrs
Merrick, Terrell	LDE		3	27	43	1 yr.
Tamayo, Oliver	RDE	LDE	6	51	51	3 yrs
##Malone, Richard	RDE		7	26	26	1 yr.
Styles, Kenneth	LDT	LDT	4	54	54	1 yr.	Fairly solid for this year, will probably need another youngster next season.
Garcia, Al	LDT		10	52	52	2 yrs
Stroup, Ed	RDT	RDT	7	52	52	4 yrs
##Rivera, Jack	RDT		2	23	32	2 yrs
Meyer, Gus	MLB	MLB	6	58	58	2 yrs	Happy with things here.
Bailey, Trent	MLB		2	51	57	4 yrs
Patton, Russell	MLB		2	21	29	2 yrs
Jamison, Colin	SLB	SLB	8	66	66	3 yrs	I'm not happy about the WLB situation, either current or future. Likely priority for next offseason.
##Navarrete, Ethan	SLB		4	29	29	1 yr.
Brooks, Wesley	WLB	WLB	9	37	37	1 yr.
Sanderson, Lionel	WLB		3	30	30	1 yr.
Grant, Louie	LCB	LCB	4	52	52	4 yrs	Devine and Hopkins are creeping, but we need them to creep quickly.
Devine, Renaldo	LCB		1	22	44	3 yrs
Hopkins, Leroy	LCB		1	13	29	3 yrs
Collier, Steve	RCB	RCB	10	45	45	2 yrs
##Finley, Norm	RCB		6	35	35	1 yr.
Whalen, Roosevelt	SS	SS	6	54	54	3 yrs	Feeling fairly good here for now.
Singleton, Jim	SS		1	23	56	4 yrs
Burdette, Casey	FS	FS	9	50	50	3 yrs

ROSTER: 96. NJ is 100.
COHESION: 97-97-78-61

Interesting situation on offense. I don't really trust my QB, but my best RB is out for most of the year. The offensive line looks very solid, though, so I'm going to start the year out seeing if emphasis on running the football works.

[Ben E Lou]

2049 Summary...

I guess the best news is that Airey came back with his full ratings. The QB situation is interesting. Gower is neither a mentor nor consisent. I'm getting close to the point of just releasing him and giving the ball to Rich Torres until Levon Schultz comes into his own. It may happen in the upcoming offseason.

TE Pena wins 2nd team honors. No other awards.

[Ben E Lou]

2050 OFFSEASON BEGIN

RETIREMENTS

WLB Wesley Brooks--2047 FA signee who started at WLB for the better part of the three seasons he was a Falcon. Ratings weren't that high. Replaceable, and a position I wanted to address anyway.

FRANCHISE: LDT Kenneth Styles

SUMMER: LT Edgar Cortez

[Ben E Lou]

2050 FA1

Levon Schultz crept another 4 points, to 15/40. Looks like he's the real deal.

CUTS
Yup, this is going to be a LOT more fun and challenging. I start off over the cap, and with only a limited number of renegotiations, and those limited to taking what the AI offers, I'm going to have to make some semi-tough decisions already, and I can see some harder ones coming down the road. For now, two aging starters have to go for cap reasons:

QB Jose Gower (47/47)--He's 35, in his 13th season, in the final year of his contract, and I have no reason to believe he's any more likely to lead us to another title than his backup, 44/44 Rich Torres. His salary isn't terribly high, but I have holes to fill in other places. After nine seasons as our starter, with good receivers throughout the run, he only has an 89.9 QB Rating and one All-Pro mention (2nd Team). Torres should be able to do at least that well until I'm ready to put Schultz in.
CB Steve Collier (45/45)--Three-year starter at cornerback gets the big axe. He's a bit expendable because of the rapid creeping of last year's 2nd round pick, Renaldo Devine (16/34-->33/50). Devine is going to have to step it up this year, probably earlier than I would have liked.

PERCENTAGE OF CAP AVAILABLE AFTER CUTS/EXTENSIONS: 4.8%
STARTERS NEEDED: WLB

FA SIGNINGS
WLB Bert "Dr. Death" Kevorkian (44/45)--Cheap 5th-year player with strong run defense and zone defense.
WR D.J. Zuniga (23/23)--Chemistry at WR was really screwed up. He's signed purely as a position leader who clears things up.
T Sammie Turner (46/46)--Backup, but mainly signed because he's chemistry gold as the leader: creates 2 exceptional affinities and 3 strong ones on the o-line.
QB Nate Dobler (30/30)--mentor for Schultz at veteran minimum price for 2 years.