Churn and Burn

Based off an idea posted recently in the main board by QuikSand(Who else?) I am going to begin chronicaling my new Challenge here.

The challenge as outlined by Quik: Only play with players originally signed by you, and when their contract runs out, you must replace them.

I can't quite handle that much turnover as I think I'd lose interest seeing all my gems go elsewhere, so I'm adding in a "keeper" clause.

The "Keeper Clause": At any time you may designate one keeper for each of the player classes(QB, RB/FB, WR/TE, OL, DL, LB, DB, K/P). Once named, they MUST be kept no matter what, even if it means letting a better player go, AND they must start whenever physically able. It is not necessary to have a keeper at any time.

There are no renegotiations at all except for with your keeper and even then only when in the last year of their contract and never for a pay cut when renegotiating, not even when requested by the player, afterall, you wanted him as a keeper.

You may not initiate any trade offers, but may accept ones that do not include any other players, since drafting is really your only tool.

You may sign two 7yr URFAs to the minimal salary per season, one per side of the ball, hopefully to be used on that "break-out" treasure.

Ticket prices not highest in league, can't change them for 10 years.

Can't have the highest paid coaches or scouts.

I think that covers most of it. Any suggestions are welcomed. I am going to do an allocation draft, QuikSim until the first expansion draft, and start from there.

The Chiefs miss the playoffs in 2000 but make the AFC Championship game in 2001, which is good enough to inspire the new expansion team in 2002 to hire a me as their new GM.

But, I've ran into my first problem. I've never had a team in Anchorage before so I need to decide on a team name. Some of my ideas are:
Alaska Klondike
Alaska Kodiak
Alaska 96ers
Alaska Avalanche
Anchorage Quakes
Alaska Moose
Anchorage Caribou
Alaska Malamutes
Anchorage Eskimos

Any other ideas? I might just pick one, but I don't know.

The Anchorage Caribou finish the expansion draft and trade all thier players away, I decided to make an exception to the initiating trade rule so that I could possibly start with a somewhat better team, its not like I recieved ALOT of talent to trade away in the expansion draft anyway. I end up getting a total of 7 extra picks for my 25 expansion draftees, yippee!

Free Agency is going to go pretty fast every year, especially this one, but I'll make a quick look in on UFAs anyway.

I find a couple possible players but even though they've never played for anyone, they wany bookoo bucks, so as expected I watch the talent get scooped up by the rest of the league and see my $77,700,000 in cap room go for naught.

Onto the draft, my needs are pretty much everything as you might have guessed. I'm probably going to spend most of my early picks on Linemen on both sides of the ball as they are usually the hardest to pick up.

The draft doesn't project to have anyone I'm willing to take #1 overall, but since I cannot initiate any trades, I'm forced to bite the bullet and select...

From Troy State, 6'6" 329lbs
Offensive Tackle, Preston Martinez!

Ok, so that isn't the most exciting pick I could have made. I could have drafted probable bust QB BJ Belcher, or extremely accurate but very weak armed, QB Stan Van Brocklin, and to be honest, I almost drafted Van Brocklin due to his very great name, but good tackles are hard to find and as long as Preston doesn't bust, he'll be pretty good.
42/84
38/92
92

Draft Report:
1. T Preston Martinez
2. S Jose Bingham
3. DE Steve Beyer
4. G Toenails Giles
4. RB Bryce Halcomb
4. WR Brady Haddad
5. QB Sean Sheen
6. DT Mel Sprouse
6. S Marcus Steidl
6. LB Chuck Lindsay
6. DT Alan Solent
7. K Sedrick Valentino
7. TE Emanuel Fletcher
7. S Levon Greer

I load up on FA rookies and sign two of them to 7 year deals, those being RB Dale Wayne and WR Brian Stanton.

I'll get to training camp and presenting my initial roster tomorrow.

[Syrinx]

So is Sean any relation to the Browns' great Donnie Sheen?

[ShagVT]

You may sign two 7yr URFAs to the minimal salary per season, one per side of the ball, hopefully to be used on that "break-out" treasure.

then...

I load up on FA rookies and sign two of them to 7 year deals, those being RB Dale Wayne and WR Brian Stanton.

GASP!!! Haven't even played your first season and you've already broken two rules!?!

[Syrinx]

That's only one rule broken. He signed 2 Offensive players to 7 years instead of one on each side of the ball.

I don't see any other rules infraction there. All of the other FA's are 1 year rookie fill-ins that are allowed by his rules.

Syrinx, I sure hope he is

Shag, great eye, I didn't notice my quick faux-pas, but I guess I will have to cut one of them immediately. But how have I broken 2? I only see that I goofed on the one per side of the ball thing.
Now if you're talking about the "bending" I did to clear my roster, let's just forget that for now

[henry296]

In this challenge at what point must you not resign your players? Will all of you're RFAs not be resigned?

Todd

[ShagVT]

By his own admission, the other rule violation...

... I decided to make an exception to the initiating trade rule ...

[ShagVT]

Anyway, I'm just teasing here, please proceed...

Todd, I have considered that fact, with the RFAs. By the rules outline, they should not be resigned, but I might restructure the rules in the first couple years, if that's ok with referree Shag . I promise I'll have the rules written down and sitting next to me from now on

If I do decide to resign RFAs, I will probably take away my ability to sign 7 year URFA deals at all, and might further limit my number of keepers.

As always, trying to escalate challenge, but maintaining realism and excitement is paramount. I am free to any suggestions you all might have.

Is my keeper clause too lenient? Should I sign 7yr deals at all? What of those RFAs?

I won't get to run Training camp until I get home tonight, damn job. Of course, I wish I had before I left, not knowing what will become of Preston is killing me.

Beginning in 2003, since my roster is already complete for this year, I'm modifying my rules.

The changes: No 7yr FAs at all, I can sign URFAs to deals tey request or as outlined by QuikSand on the main board for 4 year Double Value Deals with a modest signing bonus, perhaps 20% of the first years salary, we shall see. You can find a detailed explanation of this rule here: http://dynamic.gamespy.com/~fof/ubb/...ML/001439.html

I am also leaning towards being able to sign my own RFAs. But I will only be able to sign UFAs if they are my keepers.

Now hopefully I can do better than I did last night and actually adhere to all this

I come out of training camp and look at my big draftees, wouldn't you know it, Preston is a bust, though not major, I'll still use him, but I wouldn't have paid him anywhere near what he's going to be making. Incidentally, the two QBs I considered are both great looking, I would kill to have either right now compared to this chump, but hey, he's our first player, our building block, and if that's true, we could be in ALOT of trouble.
I do get a trade offer for Preston Martinez, a whole 5th rounder, I pass. I also pass on a trade for G Toenails Giles who seems to be a real gem, the offer is a 7th round pick and standout Safety Victor Green, but I wouldn't do it even if it was against my rules. I do accept a 7th round pick for T Matthew Rivers who would have got cut anyway.
I also have no real breakout players.

Here's my team(Notice that I cut RB Dale Wayne and did not sign a defensive 7yr URFA to compensate for my error)
EA.com Front Office Football 2001

From the desk of Louis Bailey of the Anchorage Caribou

  

  Position/Player         Current Est  Future Est     Exp   Sgnd

  QB  Rod Anthony                   5          11       1   2004   

  QB  Everett Cole                  4           9       1   2002   

  QB  Sean Sheen                    3           8       1   2004   

  RB  Bryce Halcomb                 7          12       1   2004   

  RB  Tommie Tyler                  6          10       1   2002   

  RB  Pat Lester                    6          10       1   2002   

  RB  Vince McGregor                5           9       1   2002   

  FB  Jackie Dunlap                 5           8       1   2002   

  FB  Jonathan Cobb                 5          10       1   2002   

  FB  Kelvin Tang                   4          11       1   2002   

  TE  T.J. Weaver                   5          10       1   2002   

  TE  Emmanuel Fletcher             5          11       1   2003   

  WR  Brady Haddad                 11          13       1   2004   

  WR  Earnest Harmon                7          11       1   2002   

  WR  Lionel Hardesty               6           8       1   2002   

  WR  Brian Stanton                 6          10       1   2008   

  WR  Tim Marsh                     4           7       1   2002   

  WR  Keith Walsh                   4          10       1   2002   

   C  Gerald Spadaford              3           9       1   2002   

   C  Jay Gardner                   3           9       1   2002   

   C  Richard Boland                3           9       1   2002   

   G  Toenails Giles               10          14       1   2004   

   G  Jay Blanchard                 3          10       1   2002   

   G  Irv Leger                     3           7       1   2002   

   T  Preston Martinez              4          10       1   2006   

   T  Paul Ramsey                   1           5       1   2002   

   T  Damon Gaynor                  1           4       1   2002   

   T  Jerome Lancaster              1           4       1   2002   

   P  Lamont Hanson                12          12       1   2002   

   K  Sedrick Valentino            11          12       1   2004   

  DE  Steve Beyer                   5          14       1   2004   

  DE  Jason Wilcox                  3           9       1   2002   

  DE  Jamal Congdon                 3           7       1   2002   

  DE  Wendell Peterson              2           6       1   2002   

  DT  Shannon Summers               4           4       1   2002   

  DT  Alan Solent                   4           7       1   2003   

  DT  David Tanner                  2           9       1   2002   

  DT  Mel Sprouse                   2           8       1   2003   

  LB  Chuck Lindsay                 6          11       1   2004   

  LB  Dennis Ellis                  4           7       1   2002   

  LB  Kirk Lindsay                  4           5       1   2002   

  LB  Ed White                      4           7       1   2002   

  LB  Austin Underhill              3          10       1   2002   

  LB  Anthony Poulin                1           8       1   2002   

  CB  Rick Hickman                  3           7       1   2002   

  CB  Oscar Clewell                 2           4       1   2002   

  CB  Buddy Preece                  2           4       1   2002   

  CB  Junior Fleming                2           2       1   2002   

  CB  Roosevelt Carlisle            2           5       1   2002   

   S  Jose Bingham                  9          14       1   2004   

   S  Levon Greer                   6          12       1   2003   

   S  Marcus Steidl                 6          12       1   2003   

   S  Marvin Sanford                5           6       1   2002   

Thanks Shag

As you can see by the roster, we're in for some growing pains. More to come


[This message has been edited by TheRoyalOne (edited 12-05-2000).]

[ShagVT]

If you put it inside <pre> and </pre> tags, it formats better.

Preseason
We win our first ever game 16-6 against the Dolphins, but the game doesn't "really" count.

Afterwards I see what my scout thinks of my team in the message screen:


Starting Positions Assessment:

Extremely concerned about starting quarterback
Fairly concerned about starting running back
Very concerned about starting fullback
Fairly concerned about starting tight end
Very concerned about starting split end
Extremely concerned about starting offensive left tackle
Extremely concerned about starting center
Extremely concerned about starting offensive right guard
Extremely concerned about starting offensive right tackle
Extremely concerned about starting defensive left end
Very concerned about starting defensive right end
Extremely concerned about starting defensive left tackle
Extremely concerned about starting defensive right tackle
Extremely concerned about starting left linebacker
Fairly concerned about starting middle linebacker
Extremely concerned about starting right linebacker
Extremely concerned about starting left cornerback
Extremely concerned about starting right cornerback
Very concerned about starting strong safety

At least he's happy with my Left Guard, my Flanker, one of my Safeties and my two kickers. It can't be that bad...

35-7 loss to Tennessee, 24-10 Win vs New Orleans, and a 20-13 loss to the Jets ends our preseason with a respectable 2-2 mark, and only a few minor injuries. Lets see how we do when they count...

I get to start with the same Dolphins that I beat in the preseason opener. This has to be the furthest place I could possibly travel as we are in Miami to start the year. 38-10 puts us in our place.

Tennessee follows with a 20-7 whipping in our first home game, then San Diego enjoys their turn with us 49-14, even the 1-2 Seahawks beat us 33-3.

Sean Sheen had been the starter at QB as despite what the scout thinks, he had the best ratings overall, but 2 TDs and 7 INTs later, I'm willing to listen and go for the change and Rod Anthony will be our new signal caller.

Anthony loses 4 more for us, though the games are alot closer: 21-13, 24-17, 14-10, and 29-17. Time for QB #3.

Welcome Everett Cole, 38-13, 42-6, 51-20, 20-17, goodbye Everett Cole. Rod Anthony will go back under center for the remaining games thanks to his better?? performance so far.

15-7, 24-10, 31-24...25-31...WE WIN in our final game against Denver(3-13) to avoid the 0-16 season, there is hope afterall!
[note, I know you usually put the winning team first or your own, but in the habit of losing, I thought it would be easier to figure out this way.]

The Giants beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl, a place I won't be seeing for a while except for TV.

Key stats for our 1-15 team...
Anthony had 1494 yards in his 8 starts 53.6% passing and a 12/18 ratio, good for a 55.8 rating. Sheen got 50.6 and Cole was better served on the bench where you start with a 35 or so rating, his was 25.4, mostly due to a 2/14 ratio.

Bryce Halcomb rushed for 721 yards and 2 TDs with a 5.7 ypc. We were down so often, he could run whenever he wanted to late in a game. His primary backup had 3 TDs and 414 yds and 4.3 ypc

Hardesty, Harmon and Haddad had 58, 61, and 61 catches a piece, all around 600 yards to "lead" my passing game.

Kick returner extrordinaire Keith Walsh had both a punt and a kickoff returned for a TD and avg 8.3 and 29.4 yards a return.

My punter Hanson had 110 punts, nuf said.

Kicker Valentino was 17/26

LB Chuck Lindsay had 108 tackles

DE Steve Beyer led the team with 9 sacks

S Jose Bingham had 6 picks to go with his 82 tackles and a sack to grad Defensive Rookie of the Year honors. Also had a 34.5 PDQ

The OL was horrible, Toenails battled a nagging wrist injury all year a missed quite a few snaps.

Needless to say Bingham was the only honoree.

I should have the #1 pick next year...

I thought I would let you all know that although I forgot about the challenge during the holidays, I loaded it up and while not adhering to all the rules I laid out, but still playing fairly close to them, including all fictional players, the Caribou have played through the 2012 season.

I'm fairly dissapointed in the team. While it did take quite a while to make the playoffs, not until 2007, I ended up winning the 2008, 2010, and 2012 bowls while losing the 2011. All this started as my semi-stud QB matured in his 2007 season and began to lead the team.

I'm attached to quite a few players including a two headed monster at RB that I drafted in consecutive years, two blossoming WRs that have had very severe injury problems and the two best CBs in the league. Despite all of this talent, I've very thin elsewhere and throughout all the years until 2012, I had no LB corps to speak of and in fact started 4 DTs(2 at DE) and 3 DEs at LB in 2010 for most of the season. Injuries never seemed to matter unless my QB went down and that so far is the biggest shame. I really would like to have a great QB fail with a bad supporting cast and a great supporting cast playing past thier pitiful QB, but I've yet to see it.