Snakebitten: A Real-Time MP FOF thread - Page 6

QuikSand · 08-14-2018, 09:26 AM

Nothing too exciting as we approach preseason. We have arranged a cheaper, and possibly more stable, OL leadership arrangement, but that's a lateral move for us (just a cap saver, on a team that isn't using its full cap).

RB Julio Henson is now on the bubble - he's got the few ratings that make things work in a different (better) RB system, but apparently not here. We squeezed out a mere 4.07 ypc from him, while he came off two seasons well over 5 ypc with NE. I'll tally it up to gameplan differences, and maybe OL quality/cohesion... but if we are going to continue to pay Brody $24m to be our RB1 (and generate replacement-level stats doing so) then it basically doesn't make sense to pay Henson $9m to be a stiff backup. New FA signing Seth Dodge is ready to step in as our affinity leader (we lose a click or two in personality there but I'll live with that) and seems plenty capable of being on the active roster, playing a few special teams, and possibly toting the rock a few times. Fine.

So... this year, my hoped-for timeshare would be something like this:
Carpenter 250-1100
Schwartz 125-550
Dodge 40-180

Not asking for the moon and stars here. But our OL should be plenty competent with run blocking, and I'd like to think we could step up to 4.5 ypc or thereabouts, to complement what should remain a top-tier pass attack.

QuikSand · 08-15-2018, 03:25 PM

So, I apparently failed to upload my file for the last stage - and naturally it's a critical cut-down stage. For a chem-heavy team, this is a potential nightmare, as the AI walks through the roster typically axing all the essential chemistry guys with lousy ratings.

Here, it's not awful. CB Raul Evans got cut, that's not a crisis - he was a mediocre high-cohesion guy, and I have lots of DB depth. The AI cut last year's 2nd round DE...a guy I drafted basically based on a scout impression. And a few other guys get the axe - but nobody we can't live without. My D7 chemistry is messed up, but we will marshal onward.

QuikSand · 08-15-2018, 03:29 PM

...following up on earlier posts, QB Gino Bush makes the team as a double affinity backup QB, and will get some field time this year.

RB Henson is released, as expected. We'll run my three amigos out there a bit and see what we can get from them, behind a less cohesive line than last year's offering, but still pretty talented as run blockers.

QuikSand · 08-16-2018, 09:01 AM

Regular season overview

Well, we seem to have landed back into our groove. 10-6, wild card, rated the #10 team in the league, and that sounds about right.

QB Mathews regressed to only a 99 rating, and that's not good enough. WR Duran has regressed to being merely a 110-yard per game guy, and that too is not good enough. The running game remains stale.

Surface numbers from the D look pretty good. Average yards per carry allowed is better than usual, and we were #9 in yards per attempt allowed passing, #1 in pass rush %, and #1 in completion % allowed. We didn't generate turnovers, though. So, we didn't suffer too much from our mucking up lineups to get guys starts this year, it seems.

Basically, I think Duran's transcendent talent made our team better than it should have been. Jam him 15 targets a game, he'll churn out 140 yards, and we were just tough to stop. Now if he's just a 7+ yard per target guy instead of 9+, that means a lot of drives ended. We aren't an elite offense behind Mathews and a bunch of Grade-B guys, which is who we are now.

I think the team would be better off running my more basic offense. I'm pitching it around like mad right now, and that is probably counterproductive. If we were throwing 1/3 less and running for 5 yards a clip, maybe we'd be a power team, rather than a fringe contender.

QuikSand · 08-17-2018, 01:50 PM

Standard one-and-out in the playoffs, we lose to Houston who goes on to win it all. Yup.

QuikSand · 08-19-2018, 10:47 AM

Well, end of an era here. Luke Duran retires.

Here's his career snapshot.

He is pretty safe as the #1 WR I have ever had in any MP league. Glad we managed to eke out one title for him, unlike Leo Griffin, his predecessor as our build-around guy.

So... with both Duran and Vukmir retiring together, we will be building the offense around three receivers in Dodge-Fletcher-Briggs, and hopefully we can get some more life from RBs Carpenter and Schwartz. I don't really want to alter this fun gameplan, but without Duran I fear our efficiency is really going to plummet and we'll end up being a full notch below the top tier teams in the league.

QuikSand · 08-19-2018, 10:49 AM

Oddly, it also looks like we had a massive departure of our coaching staff. We hired new guys everywhere below Head Coach, and I don't see any notes about staff retirements. Seems odd, but I failed to get in a file for the stage, so it's possible I got reset to some sort of vanilla preferences.

QuikSand · 08-19-2018, 11:01 AM

Offseason reset:

39 players still on contract
Needs to get legal: WR, OL, OL, K, LS
Needs to get legitimate: OL, S, DL, CB

We have $98m in cap space, about 22% of the total, but will need $25-30m for re-signings.

We have space to be active, but not a leader, in open free agency.

A good draft would help here. What's new?

QuikSand · 08-20-2018, 10:10 AM

Okay, OL was right atop our list of needs, and the first free agency stage helps us in a big way, Likely our big signing this offseason - a $22m/yr guard in 5th year Myron Thornton. So, we now have a starting five ready to play, in a zero-injury league -- crisis solved. I may still look for youth there, but I can slot these guys across the line this year and have a solid guy in each slot.

As I type, I'm on the clock at 1.22... not loving my draft options, hoping I might get a trade deal here. I hate the notion of just taking a defensive lineman every year in the first round, but damned if I don't yet again feel that the B(Affinity)PA pick here is there. I really want to buff up the secondary, but I don't see a first-rounder out there to do that for us.

QuikSand · 08-20-2018, 11:09 AM

Small move down from 1.22 to 1.29, had a handful of players I was close to indifferent about, will likely still get one of them later. We pick up a late 3rd for the swap.

QuikSand · 08-20-2018, 12:11 PM

...my top pick goes off the board at 26 to Atlanta...now feel like I should have stayed with pick 22 and just made my mini-reach for the best looking OL on the board

QuikSand · 08-20-2018, 03:24 PM

At 1.29, we grab a tackle - targeting long term need. Low development is a worry, but if he develops he's a twelve-year guy for us barring a chemistry shakeup.

QuikSand · 08-21-2018, 11:35 AM

Pick 2.21, we get DE Brian Sipos, a decent-looking defensive lineman (natch). Just by BAPA here, and a relative need position for depth. Missed out on my top guy one pick ahead, of course.

I had those guys slotted in my top 6 or so for the late first rounder. Such is the world of affinity-based drafting. Likely sub-optimal.

QuikSand · 08-21-2018, 11:38 AM

Nothing to report in free agency - I miss out on a decent receiver, but am not worried there, our top two guys are fine.

Where we stand now:
43 players signed, offers in on 8 more guys
$52m in free cap space (~12%)
In-game top needs: DT, CB, FB

This is shaping up as a tread-water year, see if we can stay in the ten-win range after losing Duran. We actually lost UberDuran a couple years earlier, and still won our title with him as a mere 8.5 ypt guy.

QuikSand · 08-22-2018, 11:26 AM

Draft picks

3.22 LB Zack White

3.29 CB Jon Sellers

4.21: CB Luke Schrader

Nothing too exciting, hoping for back-of-rotation affinity guys here. Maybe more from the LB.

QuikSand · 08-22-2018, 11:31 AM

In free agency (6-7), we make a few signings, the most likely to be impactful is LB Harvey Henderson, who likely gets some playing time for us right away. I will gladly take three years from a fully-developed decent player over three years of a never-will-be youngster. Henderson's future with us likely hinges on whether we can sort out the D7 chemistry to my liking.

QuikSand · 08-23-2018, 10:43 AM

Nothing exciting in free agency, but here's the rest of our rookie draft:

5.22 P Irving Holliday

6.21 EDGE Ellis Palma

7.22 WR Nick Haworth

Palma is the most intriguing guy here... if we bulk him up and slot him as a pass rushing DE, perhaps he could become another of our specialty types, a dirt-cheap 6-sack role player.

QuikSand · 08-23-2018, 11:24 AM

Funny, I can't get any nibbles for RB Carpenter, no shock. His base salary is over $15m, and he's putting up sub-4 numbers, so who would want him?

I might cut him, but at the moment literally only have two RBs on the roster and didn't see fit to sign even one guy in this draft. I will look at the after-draft free agency pool, but that seems like poor planning.

QuikSand · 08-27-2018, 02:09 PM

Nothing exciting to report here, pre-camp. Tried to land an intriguing young WR, but go out bid. The funny punchline there is teams like Tennessee and us are shoving fairly big cash his way, when he couldn't even make the Atlanta roster last season after being drafted in the late 3rd round. Fun times.

QuikSand · 08-28-2018, 11:30 AM

Boring (for us) offseason wrapping up. Preseason runs tomorrow morning. Barring some weird shock to the roster, I know where we are - adjusting to the loss of our uberWR, trying to stay on the fringes of relevance. I hope we're still a 10-win team, and in the postseason... but I fear that our days of aiming for 12+ wins are behind us for now.

QuikSand · 08-29-2018, 09:36 AM

giveth, taketh

BOOM from our kicker, yay

BUST from our rookie DE, boo

QuikSand · 08-29-2018, 09:58 AM

Okay, file's in for the regular season. I will predict we hold on to win 10 games again, but I recognize the variability is probably on the downside there. If we go 7-9, I'll be disappointed but not shocked. If we got 13-3, I will indeed be shocked.

QuikSand · 08-30-2018, 02:18 PM

Regular season - we go 11-5 and get a wild card. Pretty much as predicted.

GML: Baltimore Ravens 2075

The offense is waning. WR Dodge posts 1700 yards, but on only 7.8 ypt, he's a workhorse, not a stud. QB Mathews still has volume, but he's basically fading back to replacement level, with an 89 QB rating on only 7.2 ypa. RB Carpenter - well, his contract is up, that's good at least. He stinks.

Defense saved the day, lead by DE Hancock and LB/DE Osborne combining for 27.5 sacks. Secondary looks okay, the run defense is bad but I don't really care. Return game is strong.

Standard fare, brace for a one-and-out postseason per usual.

QuikSand · 08-31-2018, 11:44 AM

Yup, we're out after one close playoff game. Johnnyshaka's Browns win it all. We might be capped at a wild card for the foreseeable future, he's got a really nice roster, he seems to be an excellent drafter.

No shocks by retirement, really. Should be set up for another hot, steaming helping of mild disappointment next season.

QuikSand · 09-03-2018, 01:55 PM

The weird weekend got me messed up with timing, I failed to get in a file for stage 1:2. Didn't lose anything, except opportunities for signings. No major harm done.

Drafted an OL in the first round. Boring, but looks solid.

QuikSand · 09-03-2018, 02:14 PM

Oh... RB Brody Carpenter gets a fat contract from AVAILABLE. Hope he chokes on his mother's penis, the fat toad.

johnnyshaka · 09-04-2018, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Yup, we're out after one close playoff game. Johnnyshaka's Browns win it all. We might be capped at a wild card for the foreseeable future, he's got a really nice roster, he seems to be an excellent drafter.

I think fortunate might be a better world to describe my drafting skills. Either way, I think our window is closing as our offense is getting old and our defense is already showing signs of falling off a cliff. We could be in store for a sudden drop off in a season or two...

QuikSand · 09-05-2018, 01:46 PM

Draft update:

2.23: LB Shaun Murphy

3.23: RB Bobby Robbins

I considered a QB for the second round pick, but I don't know what I'm doing with that position (heh, as if I understand LBs) and didn't know whether he was player 55 or 110 in this draft. I decided to let him pass, take the seemingly safer LB pick, and then watched him go off the board before our 3rd. That semeed to generate some chatter in the draft thread, with people sniping at his voided ratings, lousy combine, but perfect static "sense rush" bar. Weird guy.

The RB seems like a pretty good fit, though his low endurance is important, people seem to say. Alas. Have fingers crossed for a need-position guy in the 4th.

corbes · 09-05-2018, 02:33 PM

FWIW, on the QB, my final guess was that by far his most likely outcome is that he is exactly what he appears to be: not masked, not a creeper, but some ordinary guy whose peakcur ceiling is in the high 30s or very low 40s. Putting it out there so we can point and laugh when we all turn out to be wrong.

QuikSand · 09-05-2018, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corbes

FWIW, on the QB, my final guess was that by far his most likely outcome is that he is exactly what he appears to be: not masked, not a creeper, but some ordinary guy whose peakcur ceiling is in the high 30s or very low 40s. Putting it out there so we can point and laugh when we all turn out to be wrong.

That's pretty much my guess, too. But if he really does have an honest 90 in sense rush and mediocre bars (and maybe a noodle arm) past that, I could probably get decent mileage out of a guy like that, especially as a multi-affinity fit. That was pretty much my logic behind initially putting him into my queue, ignoring in round one, mulling in round two, and hoping for round three.

QuikSand · 09-06-2018, 01:34 PM

Today might be the day I join the ranks of the "fuck it, I'm done with this game for a while."

Squirrel · 09-07-2018, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Today might be the day I join the ranks of the "fuck it, I'm done with this game for a while."

(currently trying hard not to be there)

QuikSand · 09-07-2018, 02:17 PM

We signed some players

http://gml.fof-belco.com/teampagetra...s.php?teamid=2

whatevs

QuikSand · 09-11-2018, 10:05 AM

So, short version - into preseason chemistry is fine, and talent level is... fine? QB Mathews actually looks like a lesser player than our backup Carver, so we likely let him walk after this season. We will be starting 2nd and 1st year tackles, both of whom look good for long term, but cohesion and talent will suffer this year. I'd guess we are again looking at 9-10 wins and a slot among the fringe-only among contenders.

And the GM is rapidly losing steam, with work commitments, NFL/fantasy, and other real life things happening.

QuikSand · 09-13-2018, 09:26 AM

Basically knew we were only a half-step, or a few bad bounces, away from being a losing team. It hit this season, we end up 7-9 and out. Meh.

GML: Baltimore Ravens 2076

Mathews is... just okay. Have to think pretty hard about replacing him. If there's a quality free agent, I will consider it - even without an affinity. Otherwise, I may well just give Carver a shot next season, he can likely give us similar stats for minsal.

WR Dodge posted 2,000 yards, but they weren't particularly useful. Only 7.7 ypt, so he's just aggregating stats that would otherwise shown up anyhow. Not the same sort of thing we used to get from our true star WR. Running game stinks again, but at least it wasn't a top-dollar group. Rookie Bobby Robbins looks ok in limited duty, he should be the RB1 next year with Schwartz sliding back to the change of pace and receiving back.

Defensively, our pass rush as far less fierce. Maybe we forced fewer must-pass situations for lack of offensive dominance. But Hancock and Osborne each posting only 6 sacks... no, we cannot win that way. Meh overall.

QuikSand · 09-17-2018, 10:17 AM

Ok, new season up. We're on the clock at...ugh... pick 11. I don't love anybody here. The BPA for us seems to be a running back, and that could make sense to try to inject some life into a stagnant running game especially as I think we will move past QB Mathews this season (he's a free agent, asking for big money, and I doubt I want more of the same from this team).

I have posted the pick as available, we'll see.

Thing is, there's a pretty good looking QB, who is a partial affinity, and that seems like the right thing to do with an early-ish pick. But I just don't trust my instincts and draft skills. If he goes a couple picks later to a chorus of "Wow, how did that guy fall this far" I wouldn't be shocked...and if he falls to my second round pick I also wouldn't be shocked.

QuikSand · 09-17-2018, 10:35 AM

Side note - in the first FA stage, we land a really good LB on a huge all-salary deal. Deion Marsh was asking for huge money, my offer was intended to win out if there were not big-bonus offers out there. Indeed, nobody else even bid on the guy, so I effectively overpaid with my $60m/yr deal. Basically, he's ours as long a our cap situation warrants him staying around.

He's a non-affinity guy...but 75/75 5th year player in a no-injury league? Yeah, this was a risk worth taking, I think. Worst thing that happens is he's a star for us for a couple of years, and then we cut/deal him to free up cap space. And maybe for all that money, we...uhhh... settle for a lesser assistant coach or something. Deal.

QuikSand · 09-17-2018, 11:23 AM

I go ahead and take RB Blake Wetzel, he looks pretty good, he's a chem fit, and it seems like an obvious thing to do, to shift this team's talent balance back in that direction. The pick received a "no brainer" from the peanut gallery... I guess that either means he was an obvious BPA, or my team is so awful at RB that this as a clear choice.

Anyway...maxed-out Hole Rec, which people say is good. Strong everywhere else, and at least solid endurance. Don't know whether he's a 280 carry back or a 180 carry back, but I hope he's a 5 yard per carry back, so we can at least occasionally move the sticks that way. I don't really expect to change my gameplan (too tedious) and I am not likely to turn this team into my IHOF/CCFL style (TE-first approach) but getting production from RB would be nice. It's been a while.

QuikSand · 09-18-2018, 09:42 AM

So, the QB I liked indeed fell to my 2nd pick, so I took him. The sharps all passed on him, so I assume he’s a bum, but my scouts said VU and he appears to have maxed out accuracy, which seems intriguing.

2077 Draft Thread - Page 7

QuikSand · 09-19-2018, 09:23 PM

The Irving Mathews area is, for us, over. I didn't even bid on him in his preferred stage, thinking he wouldn't get any love (and I didn't want to outbid AVAILABLE). But a human team, Juggernaut's 49ers, put in pretty big money (looks like more or less the requested deal) to have him for his 13-14-15th seasons. So, he's gone.

Solid run with us. Average season over his 10 years would be about 5,000 yards, 36 TD, 16 Int, and a rating of 99. And he got us our only ring, indeed he did.

I don't know how one measures "greatness" but I guess he created some debate over who is our franchise's greatest QB ever. Given where that debate starts, that's an accomplishment in itself.

Okay then. We're gonna try to Carve it up this year. We will do what we can to extend him out for a couple seasons in advance of him, hopefully, becoming the next 5,000 yard hobo in town.

johnnyshaka · 09-20-2018, 12:18 PM

Not bad value for a 4th round pick, IIRC. Well done.

Curious to see what Leo's numbers would have looked like with Duran at WR...well, maybe not.

QuikSand · 09-21-2018, 12:10 PM

I agree with your implication there... Leo made his supporting cast look better, while the supporting cast made Irving look better.

QuikSand · 09-21-2018, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

Not bad value for a 4th round pick, IIRC. Well done.

Looks like you drafted him with pick 5.31... but then after two years (one starting, one benched) got two third rounders for him from us, when we were flailing about looking for a new starter. That's not bad value, either.

QuikSand · 09-21-2018, 12:34 PM

In the meantime, our rookie RB looks pretty good, the 2nd round QB actually looks pretty good too, and the rest of our draft is the usual flotsam. Rated 15th, better than usual, but we don't usually pick in the top dozen.

In other news, we drafted other guys not noted here, and have done other various things not noted here, as I continue my drift away from giving a shit.

johnnyshaka · 09-21-2018, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Looks like you drafted him with pick 5.31... but then after two years (one starting, one benched) got two third rounders for him from us, when we were flailing about looking for a new starter. That's not bad value, either.

Ah, two thirds...I couldn't recall what you stole...err, traded...for him.

QuikSand · 09-26-2018, 08:43 AM

The answer is always two thirds.

QuikSand · 09-26-2018, 08:45 AM

Meanwhile, things happened. Camp/preseason reveals my rookie QB to be a bag of shit. Our rookie RB should be good but not great. My big BOOM on the roster is from a 4th year LB I had already given up on re-signing. Great times.

QuikSand · 09-26-2018, 10:47 AM

Oh, fun, our presumed starting QB also took a big tumble, from a future of 46 to now 30/30. Probably just wiping out some mirage ratings, but fun to see that we'll head into the season without both a present and a future at the QB position.

Still fixin' to use our same gameplan, tho. Grip it and rip it, son.

QuikSand · 09-26-2018, 11:57 AM

File sent for the regular season. Going with Gino Bush for this season, have mediocre expectations. If he's tragically bad, this heavy-pass gameplan will amplify that and likely make us terribad, so we'd gain a big draft pick. If he's passable, we could be okay. But I'm not investing the time to rebuild the whole damned philosophy.

Pyser · 09-26-2018, 04:15 PM

i know we're all killing time before fof9, but im still in on this thread quik. dont give up.

2/3 for lyfe.

08-19-2018, 10:47 AM	#256
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Well, end of an era here. Luke Duran retires. Here's his career snapshot. He is pretty safe as the #1 WR I have ever had in any MP league. Glad we managed to eke out one title for him, unlike Leo Griffin, his predecessor as our build-around guy. So... with both Duran and Vukmir retiring together, we will be building the offense around three receivers in Dodge-Fletcher-Briggs, and hopefully we can get some more life from RBs Carpenter and Schwartz. I don't really want to alter this fun gameplan, but without Duran I fear our efficiency is really going to plummet and we'll end up being a full notch below the top tier teams in the league. Last edited by QuikSand : 08-19-2018 at 10:47 AM.

08-22-2018, 11:26 AM	#265
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Draft picks 3.22 LB Zack White 3.29 CB Jon Sellers 4.21: CB Luke Schrader Nothing too exciting, hoping for back-of-rotation affinity guys here. Maybe more from the LB. Last edited by QuikSand : 08-22-2018 at 11:28 AM.

09-03-2018, 02:14 PM	#276
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Oh... RB Brody Carpenter gets a fat contract from AVAILABLE. Hope he chokes on his mother's penis, the fat toad. Last edited by QuikSand : 09-03-2018 at 02:14 PM.

09-21-2018, 12:34 PM	#294
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	In the meantime, our rookie RB looks pretty good, the 2nd round QB actually looks pretty good too, and the rest of our draft is the usual flotsam. Rated 15th, better than usual, but we don't usually pick in the top dozen. In other news, we drafted other guys not noted here, and have done other various things not noted here, as I continue my drift away from giving a shit. Last edited by QuikSand : 09-21-2018 at 12:34 PM.

08-14-2018, 09:26 AM	#251
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Nothing too exciting as we approach preseason. We have arranged a cheaper, and possibly more stable, OL leadership arrangement, but that's a lateral move for us (just a cap saver, on a team that isn't using its full cap). RB Julio Henson is now on the bubble - he's got the few ratings that make things work in a different (better) RB system, but apparently not here. We squeezed out a mere 4.07 ypc from him, while he came off two seasons well over 5 ypc with NE. I'll tally it up to gameplan differences, and maybe OL quality/cohesion... but if we are going to continue to pay Brody $24m to be our RB1 (and generate replacement-level stats doing so) then it basically doesn't make sense to pay Henson $9m to be a stiff backup. New FA signing Seth Dodge is ready to step in as our affinity leader (we lose a click or two in personality there but I'll live with that) and seems plenty capable of being on the active roster, playing a few special teams, and possibly toting the rock a few times. Fine. So... this year, my hoped-for timeshare would be something like this: Carpenter 250-1100 Schwartz 125-550 Dodge 40-180 Not asking for the moon and stars here. But our OL should be plenty competent with run blocking, and I'd like to think we could step up to 4.5 ypc or thereabouts, to complement what should remain a top-tier pass attack.

08-15-2018, 03:25 PM	#252
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	So, I apparently failed to upload my file for the last stage - and naturally it's a critical cut-down stage. For a chem-heavy team, this is a potential nightmare, as the AI walks through the roster typically axing all the essential chemistry guys with lousy ratings. Here, it's not awful. CB Raul Evans got cut, that's not a crisis - he was a mediocre high-cohesion guy, and I have lots of DB depth. The AI cut last year's 2nd round DE...a guy I drafted basically based on a scout impression. And a few other guys get the axe - but nobody we can't live without. My D7 chemistry is messed up, but we will marshal onward.

08-15-2018, 03:29 PM	#253
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	...following up on earlier posts, QB Gino Bush makes the team as a double affinity backup QB, and will get some field time this year. RB Henson is released, as expected. We'll run my three amigos out there a bit and see what we can get from them, behind a less cohesive line than last year's offering, but still pretty talented as run blockers.

08-16-2018, 09:01 AM	#254
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Regular season overview Well, we seem to have landed back into our groove. 10-6, wild card, rated the #10 team in the league, and that sounds about right. QB Mathews regressed to only a 99 rating, and that's not good enough. WR Duran has regressed to being merely a 110-yard per game guy, and that too is not good enough. The running game remains stale. Surface numbers from the D look pretty good. Average yards per carry allowed is better than usual, and we were #9 in yards per attempt allowed passing, #1 in pass rush %, and #1 in completion % allowed. We didn't generate turnovers, though. So, we didn't suffer too much from our mucking up lineups to get guys starts this year, it seems. Basically, I think Duran's transcendent talent made our team better than it should have been. Jam him 15 targets a game, he'll churn out 140 yards, and we were just tough to stop. Now if he's just a 7+ yard per target guy instead of 9+, that means a lot of drives ended. We aren't an elite offense behind Mathews and a bunch of Grade-B guys, which is who we are now. I think the team would be better off running my more basic offense. I'm pitching it around like mad right now, and that is probably counterproductive. If we were throwing 1/3 less and running for 5 yards a clip, maybe we'd be a power team, rather than a fringe contender.

08-17-2018, 01:50 PM	#255
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Standard one-and-out in the playoffs, we lose to Houston who goes on to win it all. Yup.

08-19-2018, 10:49 AM	#257
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Oddly, it also looks like we had a massive departure of our coaching staff. We hired new guys everywhere below Head Coach, and I don't see any notes about staff retirements. Seems odd, but I failed to get in a file for the stage, so it's possible I got reset to some sort of vanilla preferences.

08-19-2018, 11:01 AM	#258
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Offseason reset: 39 players still on contract Needs to get legal: WR, OL, OL, K, LS Needs to get legitimate: OL, S, DL, CB We have $98m in cap space, about 22% of the total, but will need $25-30m for re-signings. We have space to be active, but not a leader, in open free agency. A good draft would help here. What's new?

08-20-2018, 10:10 AM	#259
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Okay, OL was right atop our list of needs, and the first free agency stage helps us in a big way, Likely our big signing this offseason - a $22m/yr guard in 5th year Myron Thornton. So, we now have a starting five ready to play, in a zero-injury league -- crisis solved. I may still look for youth there, but I can slot these guys across the line this year and have a solid guy in each slot. As I type, I'm on the clock at 1.22... not loving my draft options, hoping I might get a trade deal here. I hate the notion of just taking a defensive lineman every year in the first round, but damned if I don't yet again feel that the B(Affinity)PA pick here is there. I really want to buff up the secondary, but I don't see a first-rounder out there to do that for us.

08-20-2018, 11:09 AM	#260
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Small move down from 1.22 to 1.29, had a handful of players I was close to indifferent about, will likely still get one of them later. We pick up a late 3rd for the swap.

08-20-2018, 12:11 PM	#261
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	...my top pick goes off the board at 26 to Atlanta...now feel like I should have stayed with pick 22 and just made my mini-reach for the best looking OL on the board

08-20-2018, 03:24 PM	#262
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	At 1.29, we grab a tackle - targeting long term need. Low development is a worry, but if he develops he's a twelve-year guy for us barring a chemistry shakeup.

08-21-2018, 11:35 AM	#263
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Pick 2.21, we get DE Brian Sipos, a decent-looking defensive lineman (natch). Just by BAPA here, and a relative need position for depth. Missed out on my top guy one pick ahead, of course. I had those guys slotted in my top 6 or so for the late first rounder. Such is the world of affinity-based drafting. Likely sub-optimal.

08-21-2018, 11:38 AM	#264
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Nothing to report in free agency - I miss out on a decent receiver, but am not worried there, our top two guys are fine. Where we stand now: 43 players signed, offers in on 8 more guys $52m in free cap space (~12%) In-game top needs: DT, CB, FB This is shaping up as a tread-water year, see if we can stay in the ten-win range after losing Duran. We actually lost UberDuran a couple years earlier, and still won our title with him as a mere 8.5 ypt guy.

08-22-2018, 11:31 AM	#266
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	In free agency (6-7), we make a few signings, the most likely to be impactful is LB Harvey Henderson, who likely gets some playing time for us right away. I will gladly take three years from a fully-developed decent player over three years of a never-will-be youngster. Henderson's future with us likely hinges on whether we can sort out the D7 chemistry to my liking.

08-23-2018, 10:43 AM	#267
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Nothing exciting in free agency, but here's the rest of our rookie draft: 5.22 P Irving Holliday 6.21 EDGE Ellis Palma 7.22 WR Nick Haworth Palma is the most intriguing guy here... if we bulk him up and slot him as a pass rushing DE, perhaps he could become another of our specialty types, a dirt-cheap 6-sack role player.

08-23-2018, 11:24 AM	#268
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Funny, I can't get any nibbles for RB Carpenter, no shock. His base salary is over $15m, and he's putting up sub-4 numbers, so who would want him? I might cut him, but at the moment literally only have two RBs on the roster and didn't see fit to sign even one guy in this draft. I will look at the after-draft free agency pool, but that seems like poor planning.

08-27-2018, 02:09 PM	#269
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Nothing exciting to report here, pre-camp. Tried to land an intriguing young WR, but go out bid. The funny punchline there is teams like Tennessee and us are shoving fairly big cash his way, when he couldn't even make the Atlanta roster last season after being drafted in the late 3rd round. Fun times.

08-28-2018, 11:30 AM	#270
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Boring (for us) offseason wrapping up. Preseason runs tomorrow morning. Barring some weird shock to the roster, I know where we are - adjusting to the loss of our uberWR, trying to stay on the fringes of relevance. I hope we're still a 10-win team, and in the postseason... but I fear that our days of aiming for 12+ wins are behind us for now.

08-29-2018, 09:36 AM	#271
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	giveth, taketh BOOM from our kicker, yay BUST from our rookie DE, boo

08-29-2018, 09:58 AM	#272
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Okay, file's in for the regular season. I will predict we hold on to win 10 games again, but I recognize the variability is probably on the downside there. If we go 7-9, I'll be disappointed but not shocked. If we got 13-3, I will indeed be shocked.

08-30-2018, 02:18 PM	#273
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Regular season - we go 11-5 and get a wild card. Pretty much as predicted. GML: Baltimore Ravens 2075 The offense is waning. WR Dodge posts 1700 yards, but on only 7.8 ypt, he's a workhorse, not a stud. QB Mathews still has volume, but he's basically fading back to replacement level, with an 89 QB rating on only 7.2 ypa. RB Carpenter - well, his contract is up, that's good at least. He stinks. Defense saved the day, lead by DE Hancock and LB/DE Osborne combining for 27.5 sacks. Secondary looks okay, the run defense is bad but I don't really care. Return game is strong. Standard fare, brace for a one-and-out postseason per usual.

08-31-2018, 11:44 AM	#274
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Yup, we're out after one close playoff game. Johnnyshaka's Browns win it all. We might be capped at a wild card for the foreseeable future, he's got a really nice roster, he seems to be an excellent drafter. No shocks by retirement, really. Should be set up for another hot, steaming helping of mild disappointment next season.

09-03-2018, 01:55 PM	#275
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	The weird weekend got me messed up with timing, I failed to get in a file for stage 1:2. Didn't lose anything, except opportunities for signings. No major harm done. Drafted an OL in the first round. Boring, but looks solid.

09-05-2018, 01:46 PM	#278
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Draft update: 2.23: LB Shaun Murphy 3.23: RB Bobby Robbins I considered a QB for the second round pick, but I don't know what I'm doing with that position (heh, as if I understand LBs) and didn't know whether he was player 55 or 110 in this draft. I decided to let him pass, take the seemingly safer LB pick, and then watched him go off the board before our 3rd. That semeed to generate some chatter in the draft thread, with people sniping at his voided ratings, lousy combine, but perfect static "sense rush" bar. Weird guy. The RB seems like a pretty good fit, though his low endurance is important, people seem to say. Alas. Have fingers crossed for a need-position guy in the 4th.

09-05-2018, 02:33 PM	#279
corbes College Benchwarmer Join Date: Nov 2003	FWIW, on the QB, my final guess was that by far his most likely outcome is that he is exactly what he appears to be: not masked, not a creeper, but some ordinary guy whose peakcur ceiling is in the high 30s or very low 40s. Putting it out there so we can point and laugh when we all turn out to be wrong.

09-06-2018, 01:34 PM	#281
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Today might be the day I join the ranks of the "fuck it, I'm done with this game for a while."

09-07-2018, 02:17 PM	#283
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	We signed some players http://gml.fof-belco.com/teampagetra...s.php?teamid=2 whatevs

09-11-2018, 10:05 AM	#284
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	So, short version - into preseason chemistry is fine, and talent level is... fine? QB Mathews actually looks like a lesser player than our backup Carver, so we likely let him walk after this season. We will be starting 2nd and 1st year tackles, both of whom look good for long term, but cohesion and talent will suffer this year. I'd guess we are again looking at 9-10 wins and a slot among the fringe-only among contenders. And the GM is rapidly losing steam, with work commitments, NFL/fantasy, and other real life things happening.

09-13-2018, 09:26 AM	#285
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Basically knew we were only a half-step, or a few bad bounces, away from being a losing team. It hit this season, we end up 7-9 and out. Meh. GML: Baltimore Ravens 2076 Mathews is... just okay. Have to think pretty hard about replacing him. If there's a quality free agent, I will consider it - even without an affinity. Otherwise, I may well just give Carver a shot next season, he can likely give us similar stats for minsal. WR Dodge posted 2,000 yards, but they weren't particularly useful. Only 7.7 ypt, so he's just aggregating stats that would otherwise shown up anyhow. Not the same sort of thing we used to get from our true star WR. Running game stinks again, but at least it wasn't a top-dollar group. Rookie Bobby Robbins looks ok in limited duty, he should be the RB1 next year with Schwartz sliding back to the change of pace and receiving back. Defensively, our pass rush as far less fierce. Maybe we forced fewer must-pass situations for lack of offensive dominance. But Hancock and Osborne each posting only 6 sacks... no, we cannot win that way. Meh overall.

09-17-2018, 10:17 AM	#286
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Ok, new season up. We're on the clock at...ugh... pick 11. I don't love anybody here. The BPA for us seems to be a running back, and that could make sense to try to inject some life into a stagnant running game especially as I think we will move past QB Mathews this season (he's a free agent, asking for big money, and I doubt I want more of the same from this team). I have posted the pick as available, we'll see. Thing is, there's a pretty good looking QB, who is a partial affinity, and that seems like the right thing to do with an early-ish pick. But I just don't trust my instincts and draft skills. If he goes a couple picks later to a chorus of "Wow, how did that guy fall this far" I wouldn't be shocked...and if he falls to my second round pick I also wouldn't be shocked.