Pride and Prejudice -- an FOF9 Lions dynasty, starting 1966

[Passacaglia]

Monday, March 11, 1968

We already knew this, but the cap is going up another $1M to $7.2M.

This brings up what to do about the next cap increase. This is a 5-year contract, so when it's done, it'll be 1971, with a cap of $10.2M, way higher than the $7.4M it should be with a 7% increase. I'm trying to decide between a 0-1 increase, and a 0-2 increase. A 0-2 increase sounds insane, since a $2M increase would put us at $20.2M in 1976, when it should be $10.4M. But, I feel like there should be a chance for the increase to be larger than it was in the last contract. And even if we're way ahead, the cap goes up so much, it's going to catch up eventually. I'd love to hear thoughts here.

Also, we've got some retirements. On our team, we lose DT Jim Champion -- he was our pass-rushing DT who got a big injury during the season, and Dicky Moegle, our run-stopping Safety who didn't play all year until the Super Bowl.

Others:

Minnesota FB J.D. Smith -- All-League 1st team FB for the Eagles in 1966, then signed for the Vikings in 1967

Philadelphia C Jim Ringo -- Solid player, started both seasons.

Jets G Gene Hickerson -- Also solid, played for the Browns in 1966, traded to the Jets in 1967.

Washington T George Preas -- You may remember that we signed him early in 1967, then cut him so Hinze could take over. Did you notice Hinze was All-League 2nd team in 1967??? Anyway, I guess Preas is done.

Cleveland DT Rosey Grier -- All-League 2nd team in 1967. Played for the Rams in 1966, then Cleveland. He had 7.5 sacks for the Browns.

[Passacaglia]

Tuesday, March 12, 1968

We're not doing any stadium nonsense, so let's look at the cap situation.



We've got the least room, but it's still a lot.

[Passacaglia]

Wednesday, March 13, 1968

Ticket prices -- we just go with the recommendation

Next up is coaching changes. We really like the guys we have, and they did an amazing job improving this team. I'd forgotten how bad we were in 1966, at 1-13, before improving to 12-2 in 1967! So we're not even going to look at other coaches, at any level, we're going to roll with this.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, March 14, 1968



It looks like none of the other teams made coaching changes, either. Based on the transaction log, all I see is teams that re-signed the coaches they already had. Scrolling through all the teams confirms everyone has the same staff exactly as last year.

[Passacaglia]

Wednesday March 20, 1968

Draft Preview -- Since we draft 23rd, I'm not going to get too worked up about the draft right now. The top two prospects are QBs -- Ken Stabler and Bruce Lemmerman. Stabler looks by far better.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, March 21, 1968



Franchise player day.



There's one player on this list that's asking for more than the franchise salary, and that's Darris McCord. It's a tough call -- franchise money for someone who's technically a backup, but also a guy who had 11 sacks. He's in his 14th year, and I kind of assumed he would retire. But I guess I should be glad he isn't? I'll tag him now, but keep an eye on him, as a way to cut costs if I need to.

Here are all the franchise players:



Questionable choice. But 11 sacks!



Great choice for the Bills. In real-life, the Bills at this time had two good QBs in Lamonica and Kemp, and eventually chose Kemp as their guy, trading Lamonica to Oakland in March 1967. That was a huge trade of interest to this dynasty -- Buffalo traded Lamonica and Bass for Art Powell and Tom Flores. But here, Buffalo let Bass walk in FA, and Oakland has held on to Powell and Flores, who are both doing amazing. And Kemp sucks, so Buffalo has to keep Lamonica -- and franchising him at $140K is great for them. He was hurt last year, but if he stays healthy and plays like 1966, they'll be much better.



Another team where the expected QB didn't come in as good as he should. But Taliaferro looks good enough to make up for missing out on Namath. 2nd Team All-League last year, and they are getting him for $140K also. Get these guys while you can, because that number is sure to go up soon.



Good choice here. He's missed a few games each season, but when he's been healthy, he's been good, and on top of the receiving charts. But $540K is a lot to pay. They franchised him last year, too.



Another player franchised for the 2nd year in a row. $270K for a top CB like that seems like a good deal.



Another move that makes sense -- I feel like if you've got a QB who's any good at all, with the franchise price this low, might as well do it. Morrall is rated 57/57, and looks like he really cut down on the picks last year.



Rough year for Bill Nelsen. While we went from worst-to-first, Pittsburgh did the opposite. Still, he's 59/59, so I guess it makes sense to keep him? They've got the #2 pick, so I'll be curious what they do with the QB situation here. Miami has the #1 pick, and their best QB is coach's son George Wilson, who sucks. Will they take Stabler, or stick with the coach's son? And if they do take Stabler, is the #2 guy, Lemmerman, worth taking? My guess is that the Dolphins do take Stabler (FOF doesn't know the QB is the coach's son), and the Steelers don't bother with Lemmerman -- although I was way off in predicting this last year.



What?? Donna Reed didn't retire?! No, he's back for a 17th year. And the Falcons, who spent 990K on him last year, get to franchise him for $140K this year. They moved up from 1-13 to 5-9 last year with that big cap hit -- can they move up even more now that they have him on the cheap?

[Passacaglia]

Friday, March 22, 1967

Time to sign the rest of our players!



HUGE sigh of relief here. When I was looking at the salary cap chart last night, I saw the 27 on the far right, and thought that's how many players I had on roster for THIS year. I didn't notice the column on the far left, with 39, whew. It's 40 now that I've signed McCord, too.

Plum's demands went up since yesterday -- I swear when I looked then, he wanted 100K, and now he wants 570K. Whatever. His Attitude is listed as Furious, so my guess is he wouldn't sign with me even if I wanted to spend the 570K. Bye, Felicia.



We've still got Tommy Mason as our starter, but here's what Arnett and Marsh want. This is tough -- Arnett is "better" but he ran for 3.99 yards per carry, and Marsh ran for 5.98 (Mason was at 4.25). Is it worth bringing Arnett back? Is it worth paying the money Marsh wants? Paul Lowe is sitting there for the Chargers -- I just mentioned how he's run for 1200 yards in 1966 and 1967, and he was first-team All-League last year. If the Chargers don't sign him, maybe he's an option. For the record, Mason's salary is 290K. I'm tempted to just say "screw it" and wait for late FA here.



Another situation similar to RB, except for that these are our 1-2 TEs, not 2-3. Keeping both seems out of the question. Much like RB, it's tempting to pass on both guys, and if I can get Ferguson and Kocourek to pair with McLeod, maybe I'm fine, and I've saved 500K for a small dip in quality.



Here's our WRs last year. I'm looking at yards per route as my measure of efficiency. First of all, I'm surprised Hinton got so many routes compared to Finch, but eh. Hinton and Tucker are both in the "well over 1.5" range. Malinchak is over 2, and Finch is 1-1.5, and Bass is above 3.



Hinton looks like he could be a good deal, and I want to add a 6th WR next year. But Coia is sitting there -- as long as the Oilers don't sign him today. His yards per route is 3.6, and you can tell I'm regretting that I cut him last year. I think I'm going to pass on Hinton. While his yards per route is among our best, I think I'm going to demand more from a veteran. My dream will be something like Bass and Gary Ballman as our starters (his yards per route is 2.5, and I'll hope that goes up on our team), Coia and Malinchak as 3rd and 4th guys, Tucker can be #5, and a rookie at #6.

Garo's 3rd year, and still an RFA. He's the best K available and wants only 90K. I'll sign him now to get it over with.

Bill Burrell was brought in as a run-stopping ILB, and he's the ILB with the best run defense available. However, one thing I learned from 1967 is that having a guy in the depth chart for those goal-line situations isn't all that helpful, since it happens so rarely. Still, he's a solid player, and only wants 70K. I'll sign him.

Ernie Clark is fresh off winning First-Team All-League OLB, and wants a lot for it -- 460K. I know I didn't play him much last year, but I still have 2nd round pick Jim Lynch here, who I do like. I felt like I kinda regretted paying Hilgenberg 200-300K per year, and Clark wants a deal that's going to be 620K in 1970. I'm fine letting Clark walk and starting Lynch.

Maher feels like the kind of guy who ended up on my roster because I was making so many other changes that he kind of slipped through. With Webb having such low endurance, I feel like I could use someone better as my 3rd safety. On the other hand, the guys available aren't that much better, so maybe it's not worth making a change just to move up from 43/43 to 49/49? Or to get a 43/43 that's cheaper and save 30-50K? I'm not going to sign him now, but keep him in mind as we hit FA.

And we'll sign our long snapper, he's good.

Before I move on to the next day, I'm really having a tough time deciding on Marsh. It's a lot of money, but 6 yards per carry is really good. And maybe if I don't sign Arnett, and make Mason and Marsh a 1-2 punch, I can maximize it better. His $320K hit would be a big chunk of my $1.2M left, but I have 43 players signed already, so maybe I can afford it.

[Passacaglia]

Saturday, March 23, 1968

We signed Marsh. That puts us at 44 players signed, 900K in cap room.

Around the league, what seemed interesting to me is that way more players were released than re-signed. I get that the first day is designed for teams to clear cap room before free agency starts, but everyone already had a ton of cap room -- what are you all clearing more for?

Here's the cap situation now:



Now let's hit the market!



We've already planned to let Plum walk. Shaw feels like an adequate backup, and the 3rd QB spot seems perfect for a rookie to step into. My only consideration here is that Plum is a QB mentor. The only other mentor available in FA is Babe Parilli. He led the Patriots to two crappy 4-10 seasons, but he'd be good enough as a backup and mentor. He wants 120K, so my thought is if we get him, we'd let Shaw go. As I talk about it more, I like the idea more. I'll make an offer.



A moment of regret that I didn't sign Arnett, but then I remembered that I want to get Marsh more carries. I think I'm fine to run with Mason, Marsh, and Lincoln here. Although I am seeing a return man that I like better. This guy:



He's been sitting by the phone a lot, apparently. He started 1966 on the Colts, but got cut in September. He signed with the Broncos in 1967, but got cut again in September. So, no stats for him to see how good he is as a return man. Maybe he's too much of a defensive liability to keep on the roster? And maybe Lincoln has some chops as a 3rd RB or WR that are useful? Or maybe we keep both? Lincoln was not great as a kick returner, but he was #4 as a punt returner (#3 if you get rid of the guy with only 1 return). But that's 22 returns for 303 yards -- is that worth a roster spot, when another guy might get 4 less yards per return, on 1-2 returns per game? What the hell, I'll put an offer on Haymond, he's cheap anyway.

FB -- we'll keep Lind, no one is better.



We need to replace Kramer and Anderson here.



I'll put in an offer on Ferguson here, and wait to see how things shake out before taking a 3rd. Maybe somehow we're able to get Kramer or Anderson, or no one else here seems good and we draft someone.



We've talked WR a lot, probably because I think it's an important position. And we need to improve on it. I really want a player as good as Bass to pair him with.



Huge error for the Vikings here, cutting Rentzel! Last year, they signed him to a 3-year, $1.21M deal, and they cut him after 1 year of it? I can't see what the cap hit was for his bonus, but whatever. He had 1462 yards last year! And they cut him! And they're sitting on $3.9M in cap room! I don't know what they're thinking they'll spend that on, but we'll put in an offer on the 4th year WR. And we're also putting in an offer on Coia.

C -- We are good here with Stem and Whitlow. We could upgrade Whitlow by a few points, but it's not worth the 40K it would take. He's fine for a backup C.

G -- We've got three good players on good deal with Van Horn, Leo, and Kowalkowski. There are a couple guys who are 37/62 that could be good future guys, but they are in their 5th and 6th year. Probably getting late early for them.

T -- Similar to G, we've got guys that are pretty good, and cheap, in Jacobs, Hinze, and Sanders. We could look at upgrading the LT spot to 63/63 Jim Mazurek, but it would cost us $330K, while Jacobs is 53/53 for $80K. Not putting in an offer yet, but something to keep an eye on.

ST -- Maguire is a better punter than anyone in FA, and we just signed Garo, so we are good here.



We talked DE some when we franchised McCord, but here's another look. We've got Hudas and Hand in to stop the run, and McCord and Muff to come in on passing downs. All under $100K other than McCord. No one seems better at those roles than any of these guys. Best run defender available is Appledoorn, who we cut last year. And there's guys with more sacks, and better technique (but not strength) than Muff, but they want more money. There's Gregg Schumacher, who has a slightly better technique and strength, but he only had 2 sacks compared to Muff's 5.5, and he's an RFA anyway. Doesn't make sense to replace Muff. Same with McCord -- the only guy close to his 11 sacks is Jerry Miller with 10. He does bring in more run defense, but his pass rushing strength isn't as good. And he wants more money than McCord anyway.



We've still got Karras and Rush on good deals, no need to replace them. I need a pass rushing guy to replace Jim Champion, though. I'm going with Chuck Walker -- I usually look for both technique and strength, but he had 6 sacks last year, so even though his strength is 19, I'm going to trust his 95 technique and his production.

ILB -- We signed Burrell to be our #3, and I dunno. I'm a little unsure of what to do here. We've got good enough guys cheap, and like T, we could upgrade if we want to spend. But these guys were good enough to get us 12-2 and to the Super Bowl, so I don't see the need for a change.





Clark wants too much -- he's gone. We're going to hope Lynch can fill in for him. Toblerone makes too much to be the same guy as Furey, and I don't know why I had 6 OLBs when I only want 4 anyway. I'm thinking we roll with Hilgenberg and Lynch as starters, Walker and Furey as backups, no need to bring in anyone else.



John Griffin makes an awful lot to be our #2 CB. Everyone better is older and wants more money, though. We'll stick. Maybe a good 1st round pick option here, though.



We probably need a good replacement for Maher. We can get Jim Hudson, a 49/49, for cheaper. We'll try that.



And there's our plan. We've got 44 guys on roster, we want to bring in 7 more here. Adding 7 draft picks puts us at 58, and we already have some cuts planned.

Parilli -- 120K
Ferguson -- 80K
Rentzel -- 400K
Coia -- 120K
Walker -- 70K
Hudson -- 50K
Haymond -- 40K

That's 870K, just under my 900K to spend. I'm glad I kept Marsh.

[Passacaglia]

Sunday, March 24, 1968

A recap of last night:

First UFA signing is...Jon Arnett! Teams were falling all over themselves to get this guy on the cheap. 10 teams made offers, from 50K to 80K for a 1-year deal, and he signs with the Giants, since they were the only team to offer 80. He slots as the starter there.



Lou Cordileone signs a deal worth 300K this year, to the 49ers -- the Giants had just cut him on the 22nd, and he signs the next day. The Giants could have surely used him -- they have a 45/45 and a 40/40 as starters now. The 49ers can use him -- they have a 53/53 who's out for 8 weeks, a 42/42, and a 41/41 as starters in their 43. Still, there's DTs just as good to be had for cheaper.

No other offers were made on our targets, so we sit and wait.

[Passacaglia]

Monday, March 25, 1968

Last night recap (I've started phrasing it this way since even these transactions show up the day before, after you hit the "simulate day" button for that day, so when I am on March 24, I don't see these, but once I move to March 25, they have happened with the March 24 date):

Milt Plum signs! He gets offer from the Patriots, Dolphins, and Broncos, but chooses the Raiders, who to be fair, offered him the most money -- $1.44M for 2 years. I guess he'll start there over Flores -- Plum is 58/58 and Flores is 55/55. Seems like they just invited themselves into a QB controversy. And Flores is good, with a 90+ rating for both 1966 and 1967. Denver probably didn't need him either -- they picked up Cuozzo last year, who's 52/52 and good enough. But Boston and Miami could have made him a starter right away. Boston and Miami we've already talked about -- Boston's best QB was Babe Parilli, who's 43/43 and a free agent anyway, and Miami has coach's son George Wilson, who's 38/41. Those two teams make way more sense, and I'm not sure why Denver and Oakland even offered.

Oakland RB Clem Daniels signs with the Browns. Daniels had 1486 yards last year on 242 carries -- 6.14 yards per carry. But Oakland didn't bother making an offer. I guess that money was earmarked for Plum. The Brons have Leroy Kelly, a 74/74 RB who's really underwhelmed, and been injured.

WR Charley Hennigan moves from St. Louis to the Giants. Hennigan is the yin to the yang of the WRs that I have been looking at.



He's rated 57/57, which is pretty solid, and he's got 1393 yards last year, which is awesome, but it came from 509 routes -- they really worked him. He was First-Team All-League, but in my head, I'd rather have guys getting 3 yards per route instead of his 2.7 -- I guess his number is not that much worse, and maybe with less routes run, he'd be more efficient. Still, I saw that 500+ number and passed.

Lance Rentzel signs...with the Cowboys. Oh drat.

66/66 DE Joe Robb signs with the Falcons. He was released by the Cardinals on the 22nd.

54/54 DE John Paluck signs with the Redskins, he'd been on the Jets.

61/61 CB Dave Whitsell signs with the Oilers. He's on his 3rd team in three years -- Chicago in 1966, Giants in 1967.

So mad about Rentzel. I guess I'll go down to Ballman, who I'd been pining for based on rating before Rentzel got cut. It's probably karma that after dumping on Hennigan for his 2.7 yards per route, I'm going after a guy with less than 2.3 yards per route last year. I guess I'll just have to hope he brings different things to the table? It'll be a learning experience, I guess.

[Passacaglia]

Tuesday, March 26, 1968

Last night recap:

We've got a trade!!

Buffalo trades their 7th round pick in 1969 to the Bears for a 44/44 C named Howard Keys. He's the best C that Buffalo has now, and leaves the Bears with just a 17/43. All right.

On to more important things! Gary Ballman signs...with Houston. Screw life.

Another WR, the Broncos 57/57 Lionel Taylor, signs with Miami.

Next signee is 61/61 LT Riley Mattson. He was on the Bears in 1966, they re-signed him for $1.8M/4 years in 1967, cut him on March 22nd, 1968, then offered him a 3-year deal for 920K! He turned it (and several other offers) down to sign with the Cardinals, 3 years, 960K. Look, I know $1.8M for 4 years is a lot, but maybe think of that in 1967 if you don't like it? The Bears have $3.3M left in cap room, they could have just kept him if they wanted him, no need to get cute here.

58/58 DE Maury Youmans, who was cut by Green Bay on the 22nd, signs with the Bears.

62/62 DT Dave Costa signs with the Giants, where he will replace Cordileone. Good move by the Giants here -- they save a little money and get someone better. Costa was getting very little playing time in Buffalo, and he'll get a chance to start.

63/63 DT Ed Khayat signs with the Broncos from Miami.

57/57 CB Fred Williamson signs with the Pittsburgh from the Chiefs.

And we have a trade offer! The Raiders want Mike Lucci, and are willing to give us their 4th and 5th for Lucci and our 6th. I don't know. It feels like I could go out and get a guy as good as Lucci in FA right now, so it's like they're giving me the picks. On the other hand, I cut all my picks last year, so do I really want more? It seems like it's not worth the change.

Main thing is the need for another WR now that Ballman signed elsewhere. As I keep looking at yards per route, it's tempting to say screw it and start Coia. But I'm going to go with Jim Vickers. He's 59/59 and got about 2 yards per route. I'm not loving it, but I feel like I need someone starting who is rated high, instead of putting it all on this one stat.

Thinking about it more, I will do the trade for Lucci. There's a 56/56 ILB available for not much more in cap hit, so it gives me a chance to upgrade there.

[Passacaglia]

Wednesday, March 27, 1968

Last night's recap:

60/60 RB Billy Ray Barnes signs with the Steelers from Miami.

Atlanta 55/55 WR Tommy McDonald signs with the Chiefs. He was Second Team All-League in 1966 with the Rams, and had 1000 yards both years.

59/59 WR Jim Vickers signs...with the Broncos. Man.

Oakland 63/63 LT Jim Mazurek signs with the Oilers.

San Francisco 52/52 RT Walt Rock signs with the Browns.

Los Angeles 52/52 RT Bob Nichols signs with the Cowboys.

This #2 WR thing is getting to be annoying.



So we're really needing to test this yards per route thing. Burford is the top guy on the list, and his YPR is less than 2. McNeil is next, his is a little over 2. Dial is a little over 2. Phillips is 1.1, but he still wants a ton of money! Gillett is less than 2. Flatley is at 3.3! But he wants as much money as the higher rated guys. When I was salivating over Rentzel, I avoided Flatley, because I didn't want to take two WRs from Minnesota -- especially knowing they have Fran Tarkenton, the best QB in the league, and he's probably bringing their YPR up. But -- look at Red Phillips! He's at 1.1 and played on the same team!

Whatever. I'm going with Flatley. He wants a ton of money -- a 5 year $2.32M deal -- but I'm at my wit's end. I've tried chasing the higher rated guys and failing, it's time to see what focusing on production can do. Even on that note, Coia is more productive and asking for less, but whatever. Whatever.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, March 28, 1968





Good pair of jams today -- you've got the Parliaments, with George Clinton, before they became Parliament, and Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers, including Tommy Chong. Obviously from Vancouver, but included here since they were signed with Motown.

Last night's recap:

More of the high-rated WRs sign -- McNeil with the Oilers, Dial with the Vikings, and Burford with the Broncos.

Cleveland 56/56 DE Paul Wiggin signs with Oakland.

Chicago 53/53 DE Jerry Miller signs with St. Louis.

Philadelphia 52/52 DT Dale Dodrill signs with Chicago.

Houston 52/52 DE Don Floyd signs with San Francisco.

Baltimore 60/60 S Jim Welch signs with Dallas.

Well, we don't have to shop for a new WR today! Flatley is at #3 on the list now, with two 50/50 guys ahead of him. AND, we still haven't signed anyone!

[Passacaglia]

Friday, March 29, 1968

Recap of last night:

Cleveland 48/48 LT Norm Masters signs with Buffalo.

Miami 51/51 DE Dan Lanphear signs with Pittsburgh. Lanphear was Second Team All-League in 1967 and had 14.5 sacks. Another productive guy buried among guys rated higher than him.

Cleveland 57/57 CB Bernie Parrish signs with Washington.

Still nothing for us.

[Passacaglia]

Saturday, March 30, 1968

Recap of last night:

Chicago 57/57 G Mike Rabold signs with Pittsburgh.

Oakland 51/51 DT Tom Keating signs with Chicago.

Kansas City 56/56 ILB Gene Jones signs with Detroit! Although now he looks 54/54, it's still an upgrade over Lucci.

[Passacaglia]

Sunday, March 31, 1968

Houston 46/46 WR Jim Eaton signs with Buffalo.

San Diego 45/45 DE Jim Griffin signs with the Jets.

Washington 49/49 DE Ron Snidow signs with Atlanta.

Denver 49/49 DE Maury Schleicher signs with Boston.

Kansas City 46/46 DT Riley Gunnels signs with Denver.

[Passacaglia]

Monday, April 1, 1968

Our backup TE Bill Anderson signs with the Vikings! $240K for 1 year.

And Paul Flatley signs with us! We'll see how this goes.

Green Bay 46/46 RT Steve Wright signs with Chicago.

Giants 52/52 ILB Jerry Hillebrand signs with Denver.

Washington 52/52 CB and worst sentence name ever, Dick Felt, signs with the Giants.

Giants 51/51 CB Dick Lynch signs with the Raiders.

Raiders 51/51 CB Willie Daniel signs with the Falcons.

Cowboys 53/53 S Elbert Kimbrough signs with the Oilers.

[Passacaglia]

Tuesday, April 2, 1968

Buffalo 44/44 RB Dan Lewis signs with the Eagles.

Our old starting TE Ron Kramer signs with Miami! $330K for 1 year.

Jets 48/48 WR Don Serier signs with San Francisco.

Eagles 55/55 OLB Mike Morgan signs with Baltimore.

Our old starting OLB Ernie Clark signs with the Jets! 3 years, $1.33M.

Bears 46/46 CB Billy Majors signs with Minnesota.

[Passacaglia]

Wednesday, April 3, 1968

Everyone signs for us here!



No big signings worth mentioning -- our old WR Al Hinton signs with the Eagles.

So we're at 51 players, 8 draft picks now, $110K left to spend. I'm scoping out 58/58 TE Perry McGriff with that money. He wants $230K, which we can afford by cutting our OLB Toblerone -- a shame I didn't give him that nickname until after deciding he's gone, but I guess that speaks to the fact that he didn't make much of an impact here anyway.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, April 4, 1968



McGriff rejects our offer and signs with the Eagles.

I'm looking at our WRs and deciding I want to go all-in on this YPR thing. Finch is mucking it up -- at 48/48, he'll be our #3 guy, and he's got a YPR less than 1. I'm going to make an offer to Jack Elwell -- he's 41/43, and his YPR is 2.2 overall, and it was 3.5 last year. He played for Buffalo last year, so maybe he's a mini-Bass.

[Passacaglia]

Friday, April 5, 1968

We got Elwell! No need to cut Finch yet, though I'm sure we will eventually.

[Passacaglia]

Saturday, April 6, 1968

A trade last night!

The Eagles trade their 4th round pick in 1968 and their 5th round pick in 1969 to the Rams for 67/67 C Ken Iman. They didn't have a C on roster, so they needed him. Of course, now the Rams don't have a C on roster. Okay.

[Passacaglia]

Wednesday, April 10, 1968

Toblerone signed with the Steelers last night.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, April 11, 1968

[Passacaglia]

Friday, April 12, 1968

Another trade last night! Baltimore trades their 7th round pick in 1969 for this dude:



I guess he's not worth that much because of his age? The Colts already had 51/51 Mike Hudock, also in his 13th year. And the Broncos are left with 21/56 3rd year guy Bill Moorer. Okay.

Also, the last FA left on our roster from last year, Bruce Maher, signs with the Jets.

[Passacaglia]

Tuesday, April 16, 1968

Another trade last night!

Chiefs send their 5th round pick in 1968 and 4th round pick in 1969
Eagles send their 7th round pick in 1968 and 53/53 G Jim Skaggs

The Chiefs had a 62/62, a 44/44, and a 37/45, so Skaggs is an upgrade.
The Eagles are left with a 45/63, a 41/49, and a 21/28. Maybe they figure the 41/49 can take the starting job and they don't lose much.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, April 18, 1968

[Passacaglia]

Sunday, April 21, 1968

No fifth-year extension choices for us. No one else has any in the transactions log, either.

With early FA all done, it's a good time to look at the salary cap report again.



Looks like we are the only team really trying here.

[Passacaglia]

Tuesday, April 23, 1968

The draft starts today! Here are our needs:

QB -- Could use a 3rd to replace Shaw
RB -- We've got 3, but maybe a 3rd to replace Lincoln, since Haymond will be the primary return guy
TE -- Need a 3rd here
WR -- We've got 7, but plan to cut Finch and Tucker, and once that's done, we'll need a 6th
ILB -- Need a 4th
CB -- Need a 6th

1st round targets, where we would want a potential starter in year 2, are pretty much anywhere except QB and maybe RB.

That's 6 spots we need for the 8 picks. We're at 51 players now, and have 4 cuts planned (Shaw, Lincoln, Finch, Tucker), so that will take us to 55. I guess that gives us a little wiggle room to draft players outside of those needs.

So...let's go!

Miami drafts Ken Stabler. That's interesting -- I thought about showing the mock drafts. Two of them had Stabler going #2, and two had him going #3, but all of them had Miami drafting ILB Al Beauchamp. Stabler is a much better choice.

And at #2 we have a trade! The Steelers trade the pick to the Rams, for their 1st round pick in 1969, and their 3rd and 4th in 1968. The Rams have the #5 pick in this draft, too. It seems like getting the #5 pick would have made more sense for Pittsburgh, rather than a 1st round pick where you don't know what you'll get. Anyway, the Rams take RB Jim Kiick. That's a need, he'll start.

Boston Patriots choose T Dick Himes, that's a need for them.

Eagles choose DE Tommy Hart, also a need.

The Rams take LT Art Shell. Not much of a need, they had 65/65 Joe Carollo.

At 6, there's another trade! You're not going to believe this one, guys. The Rams coming in again! Maybe they really couldn't choose between two players? They trade their 2nd round picks in 1968, 1969, and 1970 to the Browns for the pick. They take S Dick Anderon, a position of not much need, since they had 75/75 Eddie Meador and 59/59 George Youngblood.

We'll skip to the next trade, at pick 19, and -- are you kidding me? The Rams again! They trade their 3rd round picks in 1969 and 1970, and their 4th round pick in 1969, and the Vikings I guess say "sure" to that. And to top it off, they take another Safety! Ronnie Ehrig.



Now, it's our turn. Our staff suggest T John Williams.



That dude seems like a no.

On top of the board is Bruce Lemmerman. We obviously don't need a QB this high, and like I said a while back, he's not that good.

The guy on the list is Al Beauchamp. This is the guy who was unanimously mocked at #1 to the Dolphins. And it's a position where he has a path to starting.



That looks more like it!

Not at the top of the list, but tied for the top WR left, is Haven Moses.



This took some deliberation. Part of me was thinking Moses might fall to me in the 2nd, but wasn't sure. Then I remembered this video that albionmoonlight posted a little over a week ago, - YouTube -- I watched that whole thing and nodded my head the whole time, thinking it made a ton of sense. So I'm going to take the WR, Moses.

The Chargers respond by taking a different ILB, Dean Halverson. Okay.

[Passacaglia]

Wednesday, April 24, 1968

Day 2 of the draft!

2nd round goes by with no trades:



Beauchamp didn't fall, not like I (completely) expected him to. That RT my staff suggested, John Williams, got taken eventually. Four WRs went off the board, so it seems unlikely that Moses would have fallen to me in the late 2nd. The CB that I was kind of eyeing, John Dockery, was also taken.

Now we need someone.

Our staff suggests LT Sam McDowell. I get it, LT is not exactly a strength for us. But this doesn't seem like the answer:



After Lemmerman, another ILB is at the top of the board -- Jim Cheyunski.



And I don't see anyone else I'm interested in. Cheyunski's the pick.

And we start off the 3rd round with a trade!

Miami sends 3.1 to Green Bay, and gets a 5th in 1968, a 3rd in 1969, and a 7th in 1970. Okay. Green Bay takes the best FB in the draft class, Cid Edwards. They already have 56/56 Jim Taylor, but he's in his 11th year. I don't think FB is the kind of position you need to have a backup plan on the ready for, but whatever.

Another trade at 3.16! Green Bay sends that pick to San Francisco, in return they get a 4th and 5th in 1968, and a 4th in 1970. The 49ers also take a FB -- well not really. Larry Csonka gets slotted as a RB in this league, even though he played FB in real life. I endorse, this is exactly what the player generator is supposed to do, I don't want a guy like Csonka wasted as an FB, when he should be in as a ball-carrier.

Here's the rest of the 3rd round:



Our pick is up, and the phone rings! It's a trade offer from the Eagles!



I don't love it. Other than the 1st and 2nd round, I pretty much hate draft picks, and I don't feel like I particularly want more of them. It's tempting to trade down if no one looks good here, but if no one looks good here, why do I want worse picks? But I'll keep it in mind as I make my choice. We still need a QB, RB, TE, and CB. QB and RB are pretty much just roster filler spots, but TE and CB would be nice to get quality guys.

No one I love here, which makes sense. I see a TE that I like -- Gary Houser -- who is the 4th TE on the list. I could see trading down and getting him later. But the CB I like most -- John Woitt -- is tied for 2nd best CB. I don't want to risk him getting taken before 4.23, so I'll draft him now. Oh, my staff suggests RB Robert Holmes, who's on top of the board, but doesn't look amazing or anything.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, April 25, 1968





Day 3 of the draft!

I forgot I had pick 4.15 from my trade with Oakland. Whoops. I probably still didn't want to risk Woitt getting taken there. One CB was taken later in the 3rd after my pick, and none so far in the 4th. Ah well. I guess I'll grab the TE, Houser, now.

At 4.23, my staff suggests RB Essex Johnson. RB is next on my list, and he seems fine, so whatever. I take him.

At 5.15, the last spot on my list is a QB. There's a handful of decent guys there, so I'm going to wait until my last pick. My staff suggests RT Charley Brown, and he seems decent, so I'll go there.

At 5.23, my staff suggests DT Jim Urbanek, but he looks so so bad. I've had my eye on ILB Gordon Lambert, who's #2 on the board, and his run defense is maxed. I know I'm supposed to have learned from 1967 that I don't need players for my short yardage and goal-line defense, since that's like a few plays per game, but I can't resist taking him here.

And at 7.23, there's still a couple QBs that I kinda liked. It was tough to choose between Mike Livingston and Greg Landry, but I went with Landry.

[Passacaglia]

Friday, April 26, 1968

Let's have a look at who we got!



Nothing earth-shattering, but I'm not going to cry about it. My 1st and 2nd round guys are good enough to be solid contributors in their 2nd year, and that's about all I want. Houser is a big bust, but Landry looks like he could develop into a solid backup/marginal starter if I needed him to.

Also, some holdouts:



Interesting that two of them were franchise tags. The other two are pretty middling players, so not sure what's up with that.

And we're ready to get late free agency started. We don't want much:



Just looking to replace some bad draft picks we made.

[Passacaglia]

Saturday, April 27, 1968

Rejected by Leinert. Made another offer to Bob Apisa.

[Passacaglia]

Sunday, April 28, 1968

Nemiah Wilson accepts.

[Passacaglia]

Monday, April 29, 1968

Kocourek accepts, Apisa rejects. Forget this, I'll just keep Lincoln as my 3rd RB.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, May 2, 1968







Summer vacation is here!

We can take some time to look at some 1st round picks we talked about.



Ken Stabler looks like he'll be solid. Good enough to clearly start this year, and some good potential.



Kiick looks good. I've been operating under the assumption that RB's are a dime a dozen here, but Kiick is #2 overall in future value. #3 is Tommy Mason. So maybe I'm just spoiled. #1 is Cleveland's Leroy Kelly, so I guess they aren't missing Jim Brown that much.

Dick Himes went #3, and he's a solid 34/72 RT for Boston.

Tommy Hart went #4, and he's a 49/75 DE. Great pick for the Eagles.



Art Shell is a great pick at #5 -- as good as Himes, and I'd rather have an LT than an RT.



Dick Anderson is a good prospect here, but seems hard to justify the 6th overall pick, especially trading up to get him. Remember, the Rams already had someone at 59/59. I'd love getting him in the 2nd, but if I'm taking an S this early, I'd want his future to be in the 80s.



We have our first bust! The Falcons receiving corps is so bad that he may start anyway, but he will surely disappoint for the 7th overall pick.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, May 9, 1968



Let's talk about some more 1st round busts, that's fun!

8. Chicago -- RT Russ Washington, 30/57 (maybe that's marginal)
9. Buffalo -- WR Jim Beirne, 30/38
11. Houston -- CB John Outlaw, 33/54
14. San Francisco -- RT Dennis Yell, 22/55
16. Kansas City -- RB Tommie Smiley, 38/52
17. Washington -- CB Jim Smithberger, 24/46
18. Green Bay -- RB MacArthur Lane, 42/48
19. Los Angeles -- S Ronnie Ehrig, 19/33 -- Remember, this was the Rams 4th 1st round pick, where I mocked them pretty severely for taking another Safety, when they probably didn't need to take the first one. I guess it doesn't matter what position the dude is in when he sucks this hard.
21. N.Y. Jets -- RB Charlie Smith, 41/57
22. Dallas -- RB Oscar Reed, 46/55

Maybe I need to rethink what qualifies as a bust. Guys with a future value in the 50s can still contribute, at least. They're not complete wastes. That Ehrig pick is a real bust, though.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, May 16, 1968





Let's look at the 2nd round!



Beauchamp would have been a good pick for us, too.



My staff was onto something when they recommended John Williams. I think my two choices were both better, though.



I talked about John Dockery, he would have been nice if he fell to me instead of going 2.12

Beauchamp is the best of this group, but he was picked so early. Props to Oakland for taking OLB Fred Carr at 2.15, who ends up 40/67.

3rd round:

The FB that the Packers traded for, Cid Edwards, is not all that -- 37/60. I mean he's good, and will start (eventually, depending on what they do with Jim Taylor), but I'm thinking if you trade up for the first FB taken, you want him to be 80s.

Bruce Lemmerman was definitely not close to Ken Stabler, coming in at 30/45.

Here's the steal of the round:



Got Chiefs gear in his picture, and drafted by the Chiefs. Meant to be.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, May 23, 1968





Some more steals:

4th round -- The Browns got RT Rich Buzin, 24/58

5th round -- The Eagles got RT Dave Zivich, 14/62

6th round -- The Rams got QB Bob Lee, 28/55. They still have 76/76 Roman Gabriel, but Lee will make a good backup

7th round -- The Packers got QB Dewey Warren, 31/54. Same situation as the Rams, but with Bart Starr.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, May 30, 1966





Let's have a look at our depth charts!



No surprises here. Same OL as last year. Griese obviously the starter now. Haymond as the return man.



I'm just leaving in the recommendations for now. When we get to actual games, I'll make sure no one is red.



Same deal here. The more I look at these, the more I think this is a preseason recommendation. I did notice that the coordinators actually recommended Plum midseason last year, so maybe I was wrong to use their recommendation of Griese this time last year as a data point.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, June 6, 1968







So the question is -- are we better than 1967?

On offense, there aren't many changes. Just TE and #2 WR for the starters. WR is a wash (though I'm hoping by looking at YPR we do better there), and TE is a slight downgrade. I'm tempted to say that with improvement from our young QB and RT, we can end up being slightly better.

On defense, against just two starters -- ILB and OLB. ILB is an upgrade, and OLB will probably (hopefully) end up a wash as the season progresses. And we have more depth at CB and S. I'm again tempted to say slightly better.

I think we were lucky to have the success we had last year, so we need some improvement. I think we'll get it.

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, June 13, 1968

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Thursday, June 20, 1968

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Thursday, June 27, 1968

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Thursday, July 4, 1968

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Thursday, July 11, 1968

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, July 18, 1968

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, July 25, 1968

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, August 1, 1968

[Passacaglia]

Thursday, August 8, 1968



We're getting ready for the season to start. I just ignore the weight stuff for training camp. But, preseason is almost here!