TCY Groupthink - North Carolina State Wolfpack

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

We can keep cutting the walk-ons until one with a reasonable GPA appears.

FYI - this can wreak havoc with team happiness.

I think we could get away with it by using a CB as the 4th safety on the depth chart, but if we sustain an injury the AI will fill it with a rogue walk-on. I'd generally recommend keeping four active, although I haven't seen the file yet.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

FYI - this can wreak havoc with team happiness.

I think we could get away with it by using a CB as the 4th safety on the depth chart, but if we sustain an injury the AI will fill it with a rogue walk-on. I'd generally recommend keeping four active, although I haven't seen the file yet.

Yeah that can be the problem with the whole walk-on thing. If we acquire one that the players like...it can have a negative effect on the team if we cut him. I'm also in favor of keeping 4 active unless someone else has a solution to this.

[Balldog]

TO: OFFENSIVE COACHING STAFF

What Formation do we want to use? I've heard several pros and cons of certain formations. The current OC who from all indications will be fired after this season sucks and is currently running a Trips formation. I would like to eventually get to the I-formation, switching this year bring in an unfamiliar offense but I think this team might be better suited for the 'I' anyway.

My plan for offense is a balanced attacked, with more short passing then bombing away. Main runner would be the RB, FBs would get limited carries. Thoughts? Comments? I'm just trying to get a vibe from the others.

CoffeeWarlord - Who do you think we should redshirt? I was thinking Spragan, since he will likely not be any use to us this year and has the potential to be solid.

  Player                #    Pos  Elig  Current Estimate  Future Estimate  
Dudzik, Arnold          13   QB   Jr    47                62                  
Amaya, Justin           17   QB   Sr    43                43                  
Spragan, Kenny          3    QB   Jr    32                61                  
Harper, Leslie          12   QB*  Fr    6                 39                  

SkyDog - I agree with your assessment on the running backs. Wander if TE Earnest Sweeney could be converted to a FB?

Macri, Orlando          46   RB   So    48                50                  
Linquist, Gino          21   RB   Sr    44                44                  
Low, Robert             37   RB   So    40                45                  
Pryor, Al               22   RB   Sr    39                68                  
Ramirez, Billy Joe      45   RB   So*   38                65                  
Sheldon, Roosevelt      28   RB*  So*   28                51        

Dodge, Pete             48   FB   Sr    48                62                  
Withers, Adam           34   FB   Sr    47                55                  
Hickman, Clyde          49   FB   So*   28                60                  
     

Huckleberry - Any players you would like to redshirt? How do you feel about moving Sweeney to FB and possibly moving another WR to CB? Who would you like to see moved?

Mackie, Jack            94   TE   Sr    55                55                  
Stevenson, Calvin       86   TE   Sr    45                70                  
Sweeney, Earnest        82   TE   Sr    37                37                  
Gilman, Kevin           99   TE   Fr    24                49                  
Rivers, Rob             83   TE*  Fr    23                32                  

Brodie, Trent           6    WR   Jr    65                65                  
Wertz, Kenneth          87   WR   Jr    59                59                  
Givens, Rodney          1    WR   Jr    57                100                 
Washington, Butch       81   WR   Jr    55                55                  
Clark, Donald           80   WR   Jr    52                97                  
Forbes, Earl            84   WR   So*   34                72                  
Harmon, Julio           88   WR*  So*   18                62                  
Cunningham, Lamont      8    WR*  Fr    13                31                  

Ravenshawk - Any comments on the OL? Redshirt anyone?

Hein, Albert            51   C    Jr    79                79                  
Bednarsh, Ricky         50   C    Sr*   69                72                  

Wayne, Cedric           62   G    Sr    77                81                  
Matthews, Nathan        79   G    Sr*   64                77                  
Buckner, Glenn          72   G    Fr    15                56                  
Garay, Kim              78   G*   Fr    14                70                  
Everett, Adrian         61   G*   So*   3                 44                  

Lentzner, Newt          77   T    Jr*   43                82                  
Miller, Kelvin          69   T    Jr*   35                56                  
Frederick, Hugh         65   T    Jr*   19                81                  
Morton, Bobby           70   T*   So    16                52                  

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by MikeVick7

Yeah that can be the problem with the whole walk-on thing. If we acquire one that the players like...it can have a negative effect on the team if we cut him. I'm also in favor of keeping 4 active unless someone else has a solution to this.

well, we absolutely have to 'save' some DB's for next year. Bring on the walk-ons, and well max their study time.

[cthomer5000]

As Offensive recruiting coordinator, I strongly suggest holding off 1 year on changing our base offense. We may end up emptying the cupboard if we need FB's in the offense this year.

[Balldog]

Just scanning some of the local offensive recruits.

Corey Adams, TE
Marvin Canady, T

Both idolize NC State and could possibly help us someday.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Just scanning some of the local offensive recruits.

Corey Adams, TE
Marvin Canady, T

Both idolize NC State and could possibly help us someday.

one of them is a real idiot though, right?

[WSUCougar]

Defensive coaches:
Coordinator - MikeVick
DL coach/scout - Quiksand
LB coach/scout - Vegas Vic
DB coach/scout - Tredwell

Greetings from the defense recruiter. When you get a chance, please post or PM your general philosophy and skill preferences for your respective positions. Here are my own general biases as a starting point (note that I won't stick to these once I learn yours - it's just a starting point):

DT: Run-stuffers are much more of a priority. Average or better ratings consistency is a nice advantage but not critical. Athletic prep is quite significant.

DE: Balanced skills are especially nice, but pass-rushing takes priority. Athletic prep is quite significant.

ILB: Run defense is key. Pass-rushing and INT are minor priorities.

OLB: I think this is a particularly important position to know what you want to do with each targeted player.

CB: I love man coverage skill. Return skills are a bonus. Seems like you can get away with lower athletic prep at CB (at least moreso than other positions).

S: I particularly love high ratings consistency safeties, but any safety with poor run/man/zone skills is a liability.

[Huckleberry]

I mentioned Adams earlier. He has a teammate Tinsley, WR, who is also one to consider. However, I haven't looked that closely at recruiting yet.

Balldog -

I will look at your questions this evening. One thing your post brought to my attention I hadn't considered is that all our Jr. WRs are true juniors, but both of our Sophomore WRs have redshirted already. This means that our roster is filled with 7(!) wide receivers that came in together in the same recruiting class. That makes redshirting the juniors a tough decision.

[WSUCougar]

Another thing I think is a good idea is to establish a recruiting base at some of the local power high schools. Even if a player isn't quite top shelf, it could pay dividends down the road to have HS teammate(s) around to bolster a recruiting effort when a blue chip pops up at that school. The players also come in more developed so they can contribute more quickly anyway. We can even look at attracting lower-level walk-ons (rated in the 20s and 30s) from such power schools if we don't have 16 scholies to offer in a year.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

one of them is a real idiot though, right?

Canady is a little iffy I suppose.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

DT: Run-stuffers are much more of a priority. Average or better ratings consistency is a nice advantage but not critical. Athletic prep is quite significant.

DE: Balanced skills are especially nice, but pass-rushing takes priority. Athletic prep is quite significant.

I'm right there with ya, boss. This is a position where quality would really count -- if we could land just one top-flight, ready-to-go, run stopper to play DT, it would open up a lot of very good options for us right away. Getting two or three roster fillers doesn't add much here, though depth will be important eventually.

[Huckleberry]

Okay, quick question. In looking at the players info screens, does a player listed as a "SO*" (or "SO" with yellow lettering in game) mean the same thing as what we would call a redshirt sophomore or a redshirt freshman in real life?

Seems to me that it's what we call a redshirt freshman.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

Okay, quick question. In looking at the players info screens, does a player listed as a "SO*" (or "SO" with yellow lettering in game) mean the same thing as what we would call a redshirt sophomore or a redshirt freshman in real life?

Seems to me that it's what we call a redshirt freshman.

A sophomore with yellow brackets is a real-word 'redshirt freshman.'

I think it's a bit confusing in game, and honestly wouldn't mind seeing a 1,2,3,4,5 designation in a future version.

[cthomer5000]

I'm going to start looking around for guards, the glaring immediate need for the offensive side of the ball.

Offensive Position Coaches, please give me your evaluation of your respectivie positions.

[cthomer5000]

GUARDS: FIRST LOOK

I decided I might as well just right these up in real time here, as if they were a 'real' scouting report.

State: North Carolina

Our Southeast Region Scout, Dean Thornton, has a reputation as a 'terrific' offensive line scout. Here's to hoping that reputation is for real, because we need to find an immediate starter at guard.

I start my scouting in state, where my intern has come up with a rough list of 9 players worth even thinking about. Thornton and I immediatley whittle that list down to a realistic 5, the bottom 4 are not (in our opinion), Division I talents.

G Mack Moorthy
rank by position (state/national): 1/36
overall rank: 10/336
scout evaluation: 72 of 100
style: mauler (run blocking strength, very low consistency)
thoughts: Hailing from Cary, NC just 7 miles away, Moorthy is solid, red graded player. I'd expect we'll see a distinctly strong run-blocker, and a so-so pass protecter given his strengths and consistency. He come from a solid high school program (65 preperation).
academics: 2.90, 975 from a high school of dubious quality (20) could be a red flag. we may end up wasting a fair amount of time keeping him on the field
final thought: may be a bit out of our league and comes with minor academic concerns

G Shane Sanderson
rank by position: 2/61
overall rank: 19/529
evaluation: 67 of 100
style: finesse (pass blocking strength, very low consistency)
thoughts: 83 miles away, meaning some of our closer rivals may take away our "proximity" strength. Comes from a 'good' high school program (44), so he likely won't be starting as a true freshman. coded blue
academics: 2.84, 1077 from a very good (61) high school. should not be an academic concern
final thought: not likely to be a freshman starter, but looks to be worth pursuing. he shouldn't need an extra academic time, so he can focus on weights and film. Since we need impact and depth, we should at least give him a phone call.


G O.J. McCombs
thoughts: too big an academic risk (borderline from poor high school), and a 55 grade from a lousy high school (28) doesn't exactly inspire me. I think he'd be a classic wasted scholarship, so I suggest we ignore him, or puruse him as a walkon (very unlikely).

G Harry Patterson
thoughts: outstanding academics, but a very serious question mark in athletic skill. He's rated 53 from a crap school (13). Not worth a scholarship.

G Myron Makuch
thoughts: He's flying red flags at full mast. his lousy academics probably make him worthless as a walk-on, too.


NC summary: 2 guards worth pursuing, and 1 may be out of our league.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Defensive coaches:
Coordinator - MikeVick
DL coach/scout - Quiksand
LB coach/scout - Vegas Vic
DB coach/scout - Tredwell

Greetings from the defense recruiter. When you get a chance, please post or PM your general philosophy and skill preferences for your respective positions. Here are my own general biases as a starting point (note that I won't stick to these once I learn yours - it's just a starting point):

DT: Run-stuffers are much more of a priority. Average or better ratings consistency is a nice advantage but not critical. Athletic prep is quite significant.

DE: Balanced skills are especially nice, but pass-rushing takes priority. Athletic prep is quite significant.

ILB: Run defense is key. Pass-rushing and INT are minor priorities.

OLB: I think this is a particularly important position to know what you want to do with each targeted player.

CB: I love man coverage skill. Return skills are a bonus. Seems like you can get away with lower athletic prep at CB (at least moreso than other positions).

S: I particularly love high ratings consistency safeties, but any safety with poor run/man/zone skills is a liability.

WSU...I'm pretty much right there with you as well.

DE and DT's - our thinking is pretty much dead-on and it looks like Quik is there too.

ILB's - Again...yes the #1 thing I look for is the ability to defend the run.

OLB's - I'm just a fan of the 4-3...so I always look for my SOLB to be good in defending the run and also have good cover skills. For my WOLB...I just look for a guy that can blitz the QB as his main attribute.

CB's - I like man cover skills as well. I had visions of trying to incorporate some kinda zone blitz package when this thing first started. Now I don't know how effective that would be in this game as I've never tried it before...so I guess any input from anyone here who has tried it would be more than welcomed.

S - I like to find a true SS and FS. SS would be strong in run defense...that would be his strongest attribute. And the FS would be strong in coverage skills...MtoM or Zone. If you let the cpu select your starting lineup for you it always seems to put the Safety with the strongest Run Defense skills in the FS spot...does anyone know why this is? It seems backwards to me.

But it looks like we're on the same page so far.

[cthomer5000]

I made myself a new set of player year indicators, here they are in action:


I

The number indicates what year of eligibility the player is currently in. Just as with the originals, gold means they've already red-shirted.

To me, there's a little less mental processing here before I can figure out who's what.

edit: and if anyone's interested in them, lemme know.

[WSUCougar]

Corey, how you want to split out the kickers for recruiting?

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

Corey, how you want to split out the kickers for recruiting?

punters = defense, kickers = offense?

[WSUCougar]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

punters = defense, kickers = offense?

Yup

[Coffee Warlord]

From the Desk of Coffee 'Shut Up and Throw It' Warlord

Well. Interesting situation we've got here, now that I've had a chance to look.

The good news is, we have a several eligibility years of passable quarterbacks to play with. Now who the hell do we start. My take on these misfits. (And I'm going against conventional wisdom here.)

Kenny Spragan - Yessir, I want him starting right now. If he develops during the course of the season, he easily becomes our best arm. We have a true freshman red-shirted who I am hoping will be an eventual starter (assuming, quite likely, we don't steal a blue chip QB recruit). Put the boy in there, coach, and keep him in. I suggest bumping up his playing time heavily, as there's no point in letting my suggested backup, a senior, take snaps and development away from him.

Arnold Dudzik - If you want to redshirt a QB, here's your man. We don't need him right now if we're starting Spragan. With any luck, he'll be backing up Spragan next year, and possibly backing up Harper in his final year.

Justin Amaya - #2 QB. He's at least solid enough not to totally ruin us if Spragan goes down. I'm not high on him at all, but I'm at least not terrified if we lose Spragan.

Leslie Harper - Keep him happily red-shirted, don't even consider playing him. If he develops, and, as I said, we don't steal a blue chipper, this is our boy in a few seasons. Get him plenty of extra help in study hall, however, as he is one god awful student, and I don't want to lose eligibility on him. I think our scout is insane by calling his potential at 39, though what the hell do I know.

As for academics on all four of these guys, keep a close eye on their grades. None of them appear to give a rats ass about their academic lives, so we'll have to drag them kicking and screaming through their classes.

If you do decide to redshirt one more of our QB's, well, whatever walk-on we get as #3 QB should never see the field unless it's just ungodly dire.

Obviously we are not a high priority recruiting position right now, and hopefully won't be for a season or two. I'm suggesting we use this and attempt to steal a high tier QB away. Likely won't happen, but if you have extra recruiting slots to spend, I request you try and get me a god.

My pipe dream quarterback is Conrad Kramer out of Iowa. Blue coded, 66 athletic prep and 42 academic prep, who is strong at the medium pass and can run like a mofo. While I do prefer pocket passers, a running QB sure ain't bad either. Good attitude, 2.74/1118 GPA.

QB's further down that you may want to give a call to are Nate Fink of Indiana, who is another guy I'm high on, with an added bonus of him being an academic god from a high athletic/academic prep school. Also blue coded.

Chuck Bermudez out of Colorado and Ty Chavez out of PA are also worth looking at. Chuck is green coded, and Ty is blue. Both are good at academics. Chuck comes from a piss poor athletic school (8), Ty comes from a slightly better, but still fairly suck one (38).

None of the 4 local North Carolina boys are worth our time.

[TredWel]

Originally Posted by WSUCougar

CB: I love man coverage skill. Return skills are a bonus. Seems like you can get away with lower athletic prep at CB (at least moreso than other positions).

S: I particularly love high ratings consistency safeties, but any safety with poor run/man/zone skills is a liability.

CB: Right with ya. Man should be our focus from the get-go.

S: I'm willing to give a player with good run defense skills some leeway in the coverage skills, where we can slot him in the Strong Safety spot. The Free Safety needs good coverage skills, and I always like him to have strong interception skills on top of that.

[TredWel]

Just took a cursory glance at the possible CB recruits. The #1 corner in the nation happens to be in our backyard, Travis Bensen. Only East Carolina is a closer school. He's rated at a 93 by our Excellent scout, and he's got an athletic prep of 79. However, I think we should pass on him. His academics are not very promising, with a 2.23 GPA and 870 Test score. Plus, his biggest weakness is Man defense, which we've ascertained is going to be our cover scheme of choice. This is not to mention the fact that we could be outgunned by a bigger institution wanting the top recruit.

Nope, my guy is a little bit more south, just over the border in South Carolina. Wade Copperfield is the #180 recruit and #12 CB this year. He's rated 72 by our excellent scout. His strength is man coverage. His academics are much better, with a GPA of 3.34 and Test of 1207. We have a distance advantage with him over any other school, save South Carolina. The only blemishes on his resume are a forgivable 37 Athletic Prep and Low ratings consistancy, which is not quite as forgivable. Still, he plays into our strengths, and with the #1 CB recruit just up the road, he may fall a bit under the radar by the local heavyweights.

Safety is a lesser concern, but I still want to draw attention to Blake Maloney, the 27th best safety recruit in the country. He's out of Winston-Salem, and very close to our institution. He's rated 80 by our scout. He's a good prospect for a Strong Safety, as his best skill is Defending the Run. His Academics are impeccable, with a GPA of 3.82 and Test of 1361. While his Athletic Prep is low (14), and he is located in the middle of the state, closer to other schools, I suggest we take a look at him if we have a spare scholarship to grant.

[Huckleberry]

Here's my report. I have included recommended time management based on the 17 practice time. Study Hall/Weights/Football Study/Relaxation. Definitely take a look at my numbers and let me know what mistakes I might be making on taht.

Wide Receivers

#6 - Junior Trent Brodie - Brodie is our top-rated wideout in current ability. Remove his shirt and play him as our #1 receiver this year. His willingness to go over the middle and good hands make him a match for the offense Balldog wants to run. He's terribly unhappy right now, FWIW.
20/14/24/25

#87 - Junior Kenneth Wertz - Wertz should be our #1 punt returner this season. Combined with his low endurance, he will be giving up plenty of snaps to our #3 receiver if we switch to the I.
25/11/21/26

#1 - Junior Rodney Givens - Our most talented player, I actually recommend keeping the shirt on Givens this season.
25/11/21/26

#81 - Junior Butch Washington - Washington is my #1 choice to switch to CB if we decide to do that. However, I don't think that any of my WRs will be serviceable as a CB, so we should forego that completely. Either way, I recommend he not play as a WR this year. He should be redshirted for year-to-year consistency at the position.
19/14/24/26

#80 - Junior Donald Clark - I recommend removing Clark's redshirt. He is a great 3rd down receiver and with his superb conditioning and return skills, he will be spelling Wertz quite a bit. He may, in fact, take over as the #2 receiver by season's end. And if we stick with trips, he should be the 3rd starter.
23/12/22/26

#84 - Sophomore* Earl Forbes - We need to keep a close eye on Forbes. His high school was awful academically, and he has a girlfriend. We may need to use some additional coaching blocks on this kid. He may be worth it in the end because District 55 high school is a classic athlete factory. Terrible academics, excellent athletics. Fortunately Forbes is a bright kid.
19/14/24/26

#88 - Sophomore* Julio Harmon* - I don't mean to talk down about a kid's intelligence. But let's just say Harmon makes up for his lack of God-given brains with a total lack of effort. On top of that, he has a girlfriend eating up his time and is a popular player, so cutting him could be a problem. On the bright side, he has shown flashes of becoming a go-to 3rd down receiver in the future, and has the large hands to stop dropping the ball. His high school is very good both academically and athletically.
28/10/20/25

#8 - Freshman Lamont Cunningham* - Lamont is an unhappy kid. His teammates don't hate him, but he doesn't seem to have many friends on the squad. Additionally, his high school is as bad as it gets at athletic preparation, and only average academically. I fear that this kid will simply chew up practice time with only the very slight possibility of contributing as a return specialist late in his career.
35/10/13/25

RECRUITING OUTLOOK - The number one receiver in state, Jamie Newville, is an academic suspension waiting to happen. #2 Byron Tinsley from East Columbus High in Lake Waccamaw, NC is one to keep an eye on, but he shouldn't take a scholarship away from a higher priority. His academic background is adequate at best and his ratings consistency is very low with our terrible scout. Furthermore, Lake Waccamaw is not a school we need a pipeline into. One out-of-state guy to possibly go after is Antoine O'Donnell from Mission Viejo, CA. With our terrific recruiting OC, this might be a big fish to chase as I don't think we would give more than 1 WR a 'ship this year anyway. Next year we are slated to have 3 senior WRs, 2 juniors, and 1 sophomore on scholarship by eligibility. Perhaps two scholarship WRs if we can find the candidates to maintain class balance.

Tight Ends

#94 Senior Jack Mackie - An excellent run blocker who is very good at catching passes over the middle. He will struggle with drops from time to time but should be a solid player for us this year. This is our starter.
18/23/16/26

#86 Senior Calvin Stevenson - Stevenson should get a redshirt this season. He is a better receiver than Mackie but not as accomplished of a blocker.
30/18/13/22

#82 Senior Earnest Sweeney - I was asked to evaluate Sweeney as a possible FB candidate. I don't feel he would give us anything there we don't already have. His run blocking doesn't project and his height would make it hard for him to get under the defender's pad level. I recommend allowing Sweeney to finish out his scholarship in the classroom, where he will need extra study time, and possibly on special teams.
27/20/13/23

#99 Freshman Kevin Gilman - Gilman should get the snaps as the team's #2 tight end this season. When Stevenson leaves after next year, Gilman may be needed to step up as our starting TE. He projects well as a run blocker and reliable receiver, but needs the work as he comes poor program in high school. He also is not a high achiever in the classroom.
24/21/15/23

#83 Freshman Rob Rivers* - Rivers has a chance to develop into a scholarship player, particularly as a blocking TE who can go over the middle for a crucial catch. Unfortunately his intelligence combined with his girlfriend will make his football practice time limited. He's pretty popular with his teammates, though, so I don't know if we can afford to cut him from the squad.
26/18/13/26

RECRUITING OUTLOOK - The #1 TE in the state idolizes our school. Corey Adams is a classmate of Tinsley's at East Columbus, though, so he may not be all he's cracked up to be. Two out of state regional prospects worth a glance are Jimmy Cunningham from Albert Einstein High in Kensington, MD and Everett Newton out of Blacksburg, VA High.

[Vegas Vic]

Guys,

I'm going to be extremely busy for the next three to four weeks, and I won't be able to devote the quality time that is needed for this dynasty. In fact, I'm going to be struggling to devote enough time to my IHOF team, but I'll make sure that it stays on decent footing.

I request that you replace my position with someone who has expressed an interest in participating.

Thanks.

[CraigSca]

Ok, looks like we'll move Icy to linebackers coach, if he wants it. Will have to check the signup thread to see who'll be taking over the special teams position.

Thanks for the honesty, Vic.

[MikeVick7]

Sorry to see you leave my staff Vegas. Herman Sanderson is beside himself over here in his dorm.

[thealmighty]

This may be a stupid question but I never read the other 'groupthink' dynasties so pardon my ignorance, but... Is this kind of thing for the participants only, basically, or is it to draw in others to read and comment?

My point is, actually, and I don't know that I recall seeing this before (man, I need to take a writing class and cut out the ancillary sentence structure/comment shit ), but it seems to me that if others, not on the staff, were allowed to download your universe files you could enliven this thing a great deal and increase participation (ramblin mo-fo, aren't I)...fuck that, get to the point...

I think it would be cool if other people sign up to be media members. What they do is download your universe and critique the decisions y'all make. Someone would be:

• sporting news/sports illustrated national mag guy
• dickhead national recruiting guy
• conference based sports guy
• local nc state cover guy
• etc...

Depending on numbers of volunteers, of course. For instance, some Mel Kiper wannabee takes your staff to task because when he grades recruits, he can't understand why you went after so-and-so. Or another want's to know why QB #2 isn't playing more, blah, blah. You get the point, or not.

Maybe stupid, maybe clever, I don't know, but it sounded interesting to me and I can't recall seeing this kind of participation before.

Thoughts (be gentle, I'm tired .)

[General Mike]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

This may be a stupid question but I never read the other 'groupthink' dynasties so pardon my ignorance, but... Is this kind of thing for the participants only, basically, or is it to draw in others to read and comment?

My point is, actually, and I don't know that I recall seeing this before (man, I need to take a writing class and cut out the ancillary sentence structure/comment shit ), but it seems to me that if others, not on the staff, were allowed to download your universe files you could enliven this thing a great deal and increase participation (ramblin mo-fo, aren't I)...fuck that, get to the point...

I think it would be cool if other people sign up to be media members. What they do is download your universe and critique the decisions y'all make. Someone would be:

• sporting news/sports illustrated national mag guy
• dickhead national recruiting guy
• conference based sports guy
• local nc state cover guy
• etc...

Depending on numbers of volunteers, of course. For instance, some Mel Kiper wannabee takes your staff to task because when he grades recruits, he can't understand why you went after so-and-so. Or another want's to know why QB #2 isn't playing more, blah, blah. You get the point, or not.

Maybe stupid, maybe clever, I don't know, but it sounded interesting to me and I can't recall seeing this kind of participation before.

Thoughts (be gentle, I'm tired .)

I don't know, but I downloaded the universe files for it and looked over the roster, and could be tempted to give a fan persepective on how the team is doing. I'm no wordsmith tho.

[Coffee Warlord]

The more folks adding flavor to the dynasty, the better. I'd love to see a bunch of reporters and shit covering/ripping on/applauding the Wolfpack!

[CraigSca]

I'm going to ask the coordinators to have a write-up of their final thoughts by Wednesday. Recruiters can then assess the coordinator's recommendations and then make their own assessments by Thursday. Friday afternoon I will add my own thoughts and then run our first sim. I then plan to sim our first game on Monday afternoon.

[Icy]

Ok CraigSca, i'll take the LB coach work as Vegas said won't have time for it. I'm working on my inform right now.

[MikeVick7]

Originally Posted by Icy

Ok CraigSca, i'll take the LB coach work as Vegas said won't have time for it. I'm working on my inform right now.

Hey Icy, welcome aboard to the defensive side to the ball. It looks like we're set for a 3-4 defense this year. Let me know your thoughts on who you think we should red-shirt and if you have any other input...lemme know your thoughts.

With Vegas Vic...our initial thoughts where to RS Eric Hoke and Levon Poston. If you have different ideas just chime in.

[Balldog]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry

#82 Senior Earnest Sweeney - I was asked to evaluate Sweeney as a possible FB candidate. I don't feel he would give us anything there we don't already have. His run blocking doesn't project and his height would make it hard for him to get under the defender's pad level. I recommend allowing Sweeney to finish out his scholarship in the classroom, where he will need extra study time, and possibly on special teams.
27/20/13/23

Moving Sweeney would give us more depth at FB, we currently have a pretty situation at TE where there isn't much drop off after Sweeney. (If we went to the I-formation this season)

[Icy]

BREACKING COLLEGE NEWS:

After a personal issue for LB coach/scout VegasVick, NCS had to look fast for a replacement. Their recruiting staff members recomended the young assistant coach from the ex NFL Europe Barcelona Dragons. This will make Ivan Carrillo, known as Icy, to be the first ever Spanish staff member at an USA university.
Good luck for him and the Wolfpack!
Here are his words just after signing his contract.

ICY: Well this is a dream for me, after the Barcelona Dragons dissapeard from the NFLE i had to retire from active football and now i have been offered another chance at NCS college to show that we also know about football in Spain. I'll do my best to make the Wolfpack one of the best teams and will compensate my inexperience on college football with hours and hours of hard work and study.


LBs first Inform

Inside Linebackers
Levon Poston
Elegibility: Freshman (4 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Poor (14)
Future Stimate: Very good (73)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: He will be a great pass rusher and on zone defense, not ready to play this year, mybe we can redshirt him.
Time Management: 15/28/21/19 as he is a good student lets give more time to weight and films.

Ethan Alexander
Elegibility: Freshman (4 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Poor (11)
Future Stimate: Very good (51)
Scholarship: No
Notes: He will be a good run stopper and also not bad vs pass and on man-to-man defense. Not ready to play this year.
Time Management: 18/26/20/19 as he is a good student lets give more time to weight and films.

Herman Sanderson
Elegibility: Junior (2 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Excellent (93)
Future Stimate: Excellent (93)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Our start ILB, he is amazing at everything (all 100)
Time Management: 21/25/18/19 as he is not so intelligent, let's give him more study time.

Neal Hollins
Elegibility: Senior* (2 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Good (44)
Future Stimate: Good (51)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Average guy, not so good on anything.
Time Management: 21/20/17/25 as he needs more time for his girfriend


Outside Linebackers

Steve Durham
Elegibility: Junior (2 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Very Good (64)
Future Stimate: Very Good (64)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Great defending the run and also good pass rusher. Very good for special teams (77/98)
Time Management: 17/25/22/19

Lorenzo Roberts
Elegibility: Senior (1 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Good (52)
Future Stimate: Very Good (65)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Good pass rusher, not so good against the run.
Time Management: 16/22/20/25 as he needs more time for his girfriend

Thurman Arnswaldt
Elegibility: Senior (1 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Good (58)
Future Stimate: Good (58)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Great defending the run and also good pass rusher
Time Management: 19/20/19/25 as he needs more time for his girfriend

Markus Perez
Elegibility: Senior (1 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Good (48)
Future Stimate: Good (57)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Average guy, better vs the run mybe could be used as reserve ILB because his run stopper ability as we will redshirt one of the four ILB.
Time Management: 19/20/19/25 as he needs more time for his girfriend

Erik Hoke
Elegibility: Senior (1 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Fair (34)
Future Stimate: Very Good (61)
Scholarship: Yes
Notes: Not bad OLB that ha still room to progress, i would redshirt him as he will explode next year.
Time Management: 15/22/19/25 as he is so intelligent and needs more time for his girfriend

Darryl Staggs
Elegibility: Sophomore (3 years remaninig)
Current Estimate: Poor (17)
Future Stimate: Very Good (68)
Scholarship: No
Notes: Not usefull for first team football, bad student and not so popular, he can be cut if needed.
Time Management: 26/16/16/25 as he is so stupid and also has a girfriend.

I agree about redshirting Erik Hoke and Levon Poston as both have room to improve.

If we redshirt Levon Poston we will have only 3 ILB when we will play 3-4 defense, so we could use Markus Perez as reserve ILB as he is good vs the run.

About Darryl Staggs, he is not usefull for anything and also he is a bad student, he could be cut if needed as he won't play this year.

About recruits for next year, we need two OLBs as three of our OLB will graduate this year and the other two will be seniors next year. At ILB position we are more covered for future years as two of our 4 ILB are freshmen and we are also redshirting one of them. I'll take a look at the posible recruits this week too to help the recruiters.

[cthomer5000]

I'm home for abouit 5 minutes, then I'll be useless to everyone until about 7pm tomorrow. Here's some very brief writeups I did about some in-state recruits:

K Dale Garrett amazing in-state kicker, academic genuis
T carlton Grevan good prospect from bad high school. solid academics. finesse
T Bo Blackwell mauler, solid prospect with great academics. PRIORITY
FB Austin Kasay hard runnder with suspect academics and attitude. would be ready to play
K Leonard Brown poor academics and athletics, pass
T Jared Cecava finesse, fair prosepect
TE Corey Adams good/good, a pass catcher. worth pursuing
K Michael Peterson very solid kicker as well, definitely look into him
WR Brant Long marginal academics, decent otherwise. cannot return kicks.

[Huckleberry]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Moving Sweeney would give us more depth at FB, we currently have a pretty situation at TE where there isn't much drop off after Sweeney. (If we went to the I-formation this season)

I'm not attached to him or anything. I guess he would still be able to do the same things at FB as TE (classroom and special teams). I have no objections to his being moved, I just wanted to give my take on it. As I said, Gilman would be taking his snaps anyway.

[MikeVick7]

Kind of a slow Monday in here. I just wanted to reassure everyone that the program is alive and well.

From what I saw from the head coach this weekend...defensive staff...please have your time management recommendations in to me by Tuesday. I have to submit a full report to the head cheese on Wednesday and I think that's the only thing that we're lacking. Icy...I have your's...so everything is cool on your end. I also agree with the red-shirts and I like your suggestion about moving Perez over as a reserve ILB. I think that will help us out a lot.

[bigmike75]

Hey Guys,

LONG time reader, first time poster, wondering if you still got an opening for special teams coach. I've got some personal interest vested in it being from the Raleigh area, and we will probably draw some recruits from my old highschool, Millbrook. If you've got an opening, give a rookie a chance!!

[cthomer5000]

Unless I overlooked it, I still have not seen a decision about:

1. What offensive formation we are running this year
2. What offensive formation we expect to run starting next year until the end of time.

[Balldog]

I'd like to start using the I-formation now, I don't think our QB situation is really adequate enough to run the Trips.

[CraigSca]

I agree with our offensive coordinator. I'd like to move to the I-formation for now and for the forseeable future.

[Buzzbee]

From the desk of Buzzbee:

SCOUTING REPORT - Ohio

In a nutshell, Ohio sucks.


Strengths: Two players rated over 40 (good). TE Arnold Rivers and DE Leon Samuel. The areas where they suck the least are WR and TE on the offensive side. No worries though. Their QB's are rated 9, 8, 5, and 5. On the defensive side ILB and CB seem to be the areas of least suckitude.

Weaknesses: Pick a card any card. Was it the King of Suck? Areas of particular suckiness are QB, G, and DT. Most of their starters are rated only Fair. Our 3rd string should hang with their starters, if not beat them handily.

Recommendations: Focus on what we do best and don't worry about what they do best. They don't do anything best, except suck.

Key Stats:
First game of season. No stats to go by.



NOTE: My scouting reports will be more in depth for future opponents. I haven't had much time, and without any games to go off of, there isn't really too much to scout. Also, if there is particular information that the OC or DC (or anyone else for that matter) wants, let me know and I will oblige. Furthermore, if there is any particular way you would like me to format my scouting reports, let me know and I'll do my best to satisfy your request.

[CraigSca]

Buzz,

Thanks for the report. I think for the pre-game talk I'll write "SUCK" on the chalkboard .

Question for you - do you want me to turn on boxscores for ALL teams so you can look at the individual games of our opponents, or, is looking at their stats enough? My only concern is the size of the ZIP file getting too big with all the boxscores, but I want you to be able to do your job .

[CraigSca]

Originally Posted by bigmike75

Hey Guys,

LONG time reader, first time poster, wondering if you still got an opening for special teams coach. I've got some personal interest vested in it being from the Raleigh area, and we will probably draw some recruits from my old highschool, Millbrook. If you've got an opening, give a rookie a chance!!

Mike, I can put you on the waiting list, but there were a few others who chimed in before you. You never know, however, when a spot is going to open up.

[MikeVick7]

I enjoyed the "suckiness" of the scouting report...lol. No really it gave me a good chuckle and I'll just have to keep my defense from "sucking" it up.

[Buzzbee]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Buzz,

Thanks for the report. I think for the pre-game talk I'll write "SUCK" on the chalkboard .

Question for you - do you want me to turn on boxscores for ALL teams so you can look at the individual games of our opponents, or, is looking at their stats enough? My only concern is the size of the ZIP file getting too big with all the boxscores, but I want you to be able to do your job .

Going from FOF2k4 to TCY I'm going to have to get acclimated to what info is available. Ideally it would be nice to have boxscores, but realistically, I don't think it is necessary. Between the individual player ratings, the team summary and team statistics, I should be able to piece together a decent picture of what we are facing.

[Balldog]

OFFENSIVE DEPTH CHART
Week 1 vs Ohio

(R) - Indicates Redshirt

Move TE Earnest Sweeney to FB.

QB

Spragan, Kenny          3    QB   Jr    32                61          
Amaya, Justin           17   QB   Sr    43                43                 
(R)Dudzik, Arnold       13   QB   Jr    47                62     
(R)Harper, Leslie       12   QB   Fr    6                 39    

RB

Macri, Orlando          46   RB   So    48                50                  
Linquist, Gino          21   RB   Sr    44                44         
Ramirez, Billy Joe      45   RB   So*   38                65                  
Sheldon, Roosevelt      28   RB*  So*   28                51
(R)Low, Robert          37   RB   So    40                45   
(R)Pryor, Al            22   RB   Sr    39                68    

FB

Dodge, Pete             48   FB   Sr    48                62      
Sweeney, Earnest        82   TE   Sr    37                37     
Hickman, Clyde          49   FB   So*   28                60      
(R)Withers, Adam        34   FB   Sr    47                55       

WR

Brodie, Trent           6    WR   Jr    65                65      
Wertz, Kenneth          87   WR   Jr    59                59     
Clark, Donald           80   WR   Jr    52                97     
Forbes, Earl            84   WR   So    34                72                  
Harmon, Julio           88   WR   So    18                62      
(R)Givens, Rodney       1    WR   Jr    57                100                 
(R)Washington, Butch    81   WR   Jr    55                55       

TE

Mackie, Jack            94   TE   Sr    55                55   
Gilman, Kevin           99   TE   Fr    24                49                  
Rivers, Rob             83   TE   Fr    23                32    
(R)Stevenson, Calvin    86   TE   Sr    45                70     

OL
Still waiting for Ravenshawk to chime in.

[CraigSca]

Balldog,

Question - do we really want to RS QB Leslie Harper? I'll defer to you, but he looks like one of those walkon/troublemaker/never lives up to his potential kind of guys. Let me know what you think, but he looks like a guy we may want to eventually cut, or at least run through his 4 years as quickly as possible.