Snakebitten: A Real-Time MP FOF thread

[Pyser]

yeah that safety looks sweet

[QuikSand]

Real life sort of overwhelming right now, so Quik notes:

-both teams abbreviated drafts by trading out into future years, seems smart

-WAS got a stud DB with the early pick (see note above)

-nothing shocking in free agency

-WFT has no plan at all for the QB position, that's fun

More details later.

[QuikSand]

The most interesting note here is probably that Ravens QB Austin Lyle remains active. He's rated 31/31 by my scout, looks like a bum, and has no chemistry with the team. And he's asking for $50m/yr.

But last year with us he posted a borderline Pro Bowl season, and last year after the draft he suddenly recalibrated an was open to a much much cheaper short term deal. So I guess that is on the table again. I can't pay him $50m, nor would I expect anyone else (even the AI) to do so... so we'll wait him out. I'm open to one more ride round the track, especially for lack of legitimate other options.

[QuikSand]

Current stable of quarterback options on hand in Baltimore:

Kim Norris	QB	5	34	43	YES (0)	1(16)	2130	2134	Free Agency	26	6-1	217	$4.3M	2	13	65	56	37	99	17	61
Austin Lyle (MEN)	QB5	15	29	29	No (0)	2(24)	2120	2123	Trade	38	5-11	207	$0.0M	0	97	88	95	29	21	100	33
Albert Campbell	QB	8	19	23	No (0)	Not drafted.	0	2127	Free Agency	28	6-2	222	$5.0M	1	22	53	99	10	77	34	57
Marty Stancil	QB	3	13	38	No (0)	3(32)	2132	2132	Rookie Draft	24	6-1	209	$4.5M	2	6	76	75	99	71	55	2
Oliver Scribner	QB	7	12	23	No (0)	Not drafted.	0	2130	Free Agency	29	6-1	211	$0.0M	0	23	44	87	0	83	21	71

Perhaps it is ... Marty Time? Marty Gras? Marty Party? The Boston Tea Marty?

[QuikSand]

I think I missed a day yesterday... got busy and I guess forgot that I didn't get it into my morning cycle. Awesome.

You can't have dynasty without nasty.

[QuikSand]

Ravens draft summary below:

32

BAL

QuikSand

1(29) LT Terrance Argentati 29/65

1(29) LT Terrance Argentati 29/65

38.9

Sure, great.

[QuikSand]

Yeahhhh, so missed my files yesterday. Missed a free agent I really wanted, have a gaggle of holdouts (the main one was probably unavoidable)...sucks.

[QuikSand]

Sorry not sorry this thread is kinda dying. Monday is my worst day. Just opening files now. Ugh.

[QuikSand]

We did some things in late free agency... on to training camp I guess...

	Baltimore Ravens	QuikSand	LG Darien Bornstein	2 years, $5,380,000 (Bonus: $60K. Salary: $2.4M, $2.9M.)
	Baltimore Ravens	QuikSand	TE Elijah Cole	2 years, $5,340,000 (Bonus: $20K. Salary: $2.4M, $2.9M.)
	Baltimore Ravens	QuikSand	MLB Conner Hubbard	2 years, $8,500,000 (Bonus: $60K. Salary: $4.2M, $4.2M.)	35	35
	Baltimore Ravens	QuikSand	MLB Silas Somogyi	2 years, $5,380,000 (Bonus: $60K. Salary: $2.4M, $2.9M.)

And they also did even more things:

	Washington Football Team	KickStand	QB Ben Caldwell	2 years, $8,030,000 (Bonus: $40K. Salary: $3.8M, $4.2M.)	23	34
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	RCB Rex Cochrane	2 years, $5,340,000 (Bonus: $20K. Salary: $2.4M, $2.9M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	P Gavin Dodge	1 year, $6,000,000 (Bonus: $0K. Salary: $6.0M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	FB Lee Gillespie	2 years, $5,800,000 (Bonus: $20K. Salary: $2.9M, $2.9M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	K Timothy Helms	1 year, $6,000,000 (Bonus: $0K. Salary: $6.0M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	FL Bo Large	1 year, $5,500,000 (Bonus: $0K. Salary: $5.5M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	TE Elijah Lehmann	2 years, $5,360,000 (Bonus: $40K. Salary: $2.4M, $2.9M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	LCB Axel Lubbers	1 year, $6,000,000 (Bonus: $0K. Salary: $6.0M.)	31	31
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	C Austin Mannelly	2 years, $5,340,000 (Bonus: $20K. Salary: $2.4M, $2.9M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	SS Adrian Rasmussen	2 years, $11,160,000 (Bonus: $20K. Salary: $5.6M, $5.6M.)	34	34
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	SS Alfredo Renes	2 years, $5,800,000 (Bonus: $20K. Salary: $2.9M, $2.9M.)
	Washington Football Team	KickStand	RDT Ralph Taylor	2 years, $5,820,000 (Bonus: $40K. Salary: $2.9M, $2.9M.)

[QuikSand]

lotta dudes getting a jet ski or something for their chance to grab a cup of coffee in camp with us, lol

[QuikSand]

quick files tonight, hope camp goes okay

[QuikSand]

...er preseason

[QuikSand]

Baltimore file in. Playing 16/27 Marty Stancil at QB. We...uhh...expect a dropoff. Let's say 8-8. Not tragic, but not "good."

[QuikSand]

Not much better in Washington. 31/31 Rod Swift finally gets his shot to start. 7-9 is my prediction.

[QuikSand]

[QuikSand]

For the record, those were honest predictions...

[QuikSand]

#1 Seed Baltimore Ravens

#2 Seed Washington Football Team

So... okay, then.

[Chas in Cinti]

Wow... can't believe those wins with THAT many interceptions (on both teams)...

Good seasons!

[QuikSand]

I'm finally sitting down with these teams, and I'm really still at a loss.

Ravens - okay, I felt like I had a lot "in place" there, so a pretty good season was within the range of possible outcomes. Felt like the QB was part of the success, but we pop in a new QB and that guy is suddenly slinging it around YOLO style. 7.76 ypa is WAY high for my offense... I'd have to look to see how long it's been since we have been near there. Not a typical outcome. 29 picks sounds Jameis-like, but the team went 14-2 FFS, I'm not gonna complain. Anyway... whatever worked there, we will try to run it back, but the QB will surely want a fat reneg and I honestly don't know whether HE was the reason things got better.

In Washington, I'm closer to complete puzzlement. I couldn't fix my OL chemistry near-void, so just didn't bother. Felt like the plug-in QB was just a patch-over after not landing "a real guy" in free agency or the draft. So, my guess at 7-9 was legit - I'd have my guys more or less slotted where I wanted them (that's what I messed up the last season) but the talent level just not good enough, and with a bum at QB, no reason for serious hope. So... 12 wins? Truly a WTF outcome, I still don't see how it came together - but out of nowhere, our "solid" running game went lights out, Bush puts up a freak season with 6.6 ypc, and we are just running dudes TF over. Beats me.

[QuikSand]

Oh, I thought I had posted here... both teams went one-and-out in the postseason. No shock. Still shocked on the good side with the seasons they both posted.

[QuikSand]

In Washington, we had two important veteran DBs retire, and now the door seems open for a chemistry change to build around our new anchor caliber CB Bradley. So, we will see... might require a season or two "in between" but a 7th year safety is really the only major talent we'd be ignoring if we do this. Tough to rebuild the secondary after they played so well last season, but Junker (due) and Gramentine (too early) departing has me feeling like I have liberty. So...watch this space, I guess.

[QuikSand]

...plus, I'll confess, in standard RPG mindset, I am definitely more interested in "building" than I am in "doing." So, having a major element of one team here where I feel like I really have work to do is more motivating than just tinkering and keeping things going well. I'm human, so it goes.

[QuikSand]

Okay, life is just not affording me the time to really keep up with this, so these semi-late-night spitouts is the best i can do.

Anyway, draft is over - made a ton of auto-picks for the Ravens, traded out of most of the WFT draft, which seems wise. We'll see.

It'll have to do. Early FA ends tomorrow, we'll take stock then, hopefully in this thread.

[Chas in Cinti]

Thanks for doing what you can to add to the story... while disappointing to not get updates, I certainly can relate to the real life issues...

[Kodos]

No worries. Running a dynasty like this is a ton of work. Sometimes life gets in the way.

[QuikSand]

Thank you fellas.

Just sat down to do the weekend file. Both QBs held out, duh. Ravens gunslinger got his request, fat long term deal, let's gooooo. WFT guy got a two year fat offer, short term, let's seeeee.

[QuikSand]

Exhausted at the end of a long day. Both QB signed. Sent in files for training camp.

[QuikSand]

So, Ravens file is in. Wonder if last season was a mirage. Our starting QB is still rated 20/28 by our own scout, but we poured $180m into him, on the strength of one weird-ass season. So, that seems like fun. 27 picks last year, and we were still the #1 seed. Nutso.

Anyhow, if he comes to earth with a standard regress-to-the-mean year something like 7.2 ypa, 4500 yds, and maybe a 33/20 ratio... then we likely slide back to being a standard 11-5 fringe contender. I hope he's the real deal, and I hope his ratings never say so.

I saw he's the truth, and we're back in the bye week at 13-3.

Show 'em Marty.

[QuikSand]

WFT file is in. We signed a big WR off an inflated stat line (from the wacky chefs, he had a silly 450 targets for 2,719-18 last year. He'll have to be content with maybe 120 targets, and 56 million dollars.

Is this a good team. Uh... I think the answer is no. We stumbled onto something last season and ran like crazy. We'll try to run it back, but I dunno... I'd guess maybe we're 10-6 and not really in the serious picture.

[QuikSand]

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

http://gml.fof-belco.com/forum/showt...4105#post64105

Ravens #1 Seed
GML: Baltimore Ravens 2135

WFT #2 Seed
GML: Washington Football Team 2135

No details yet, but I'll definitely take 28 wins, thankyouverymuch

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Anyhow, if he comes to earth with a standard regress-to-the-mean year something like 7.2 ypa, 4500 yds, and maybe a 33/20 ratio... then we likely slide back to being a standard 11-5 fringe contender.

Came pretty close to nailing the stats slide, but the team stayed comfortably elite this year around him. How bout that.

[Chas in Cinti]

Phenomenal! Maybe you need to feign disinterest more often?

[QuikSand]

i like it

[QuikSand]

...

Originally Posted by GML Postbot

[QuikSand]

Great season, fun run, we'll try to bring it all back. Yay!

[QuikSand]

Okay, let's have a semi-public meander through the Ravens roster, shall we? It's been a while...


Front Office Football Eight
Baltimore Ravens Roster, Scout Overview

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Norris, Kim             115 QB          7    45               47               ---    
Stancil, Marty          111 QB          5    25               28               4 yrs. 
Campbell, Albert        125 QB          10   12               12               1 yr.  
Scribner, Oliver        105 QB          9    7                10               ---    

Okay, so... I'm married to and still in honeymoon mode with Stancil, who grades out as having an Avoid INterceptions rating of EIGHT out of 100. Love it. Gunslinger. YOLO. FotzMagic. Callit what you want. I'm in. The others are just window dressing... I have been carrying 3-4 affinity QBs on my heavy chem teams, and I like that for now. Expect more of the same.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Naranjo, Carl           235 RB          6    61               61               1 yr.  
McFarlane, Miles        233 RB          6    31               31               ---    
Spaulding, Amari        338 FB          2    30               43               1 yr.  

The Big Orange remains a solid RB1 for one more contract year, and I am basically fine with this group on talent. Chem, not so much - Naranjo is the 70/85 leader and doesn't connect with the QB... so I'd like to bring in a carcass to fix that if I can.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Palmer, Jose            448 TE          8    62               62               2 yrs. 
Makofske, Van           446 TE          2    32               39               3 yrs. 
Cole, Elijah            447 TE          3    31               33               ---    

Palmer gave us north of 8 ypt, so he's the go-to guy. Makofske likely doesn't have the makings of a legit TE2 (where I tend to send 60-80 targets) so I'd like to improve there. We lost our chem leader, too... though we have a wonderful lady in waiting for that job if he's ready. #LongSnapperConvert

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Douglas, Matt           529 FL          4    47               51               2 yrs. 
Webster, Christopher    512 FL          13   41               41               ---    
Fletcher, Gilbert       585 FL          7    38               38               ---    
Pearson, Juan           588 SE          10   73               73               2 yrs. 
Bridges, James          582 SE          8    44               44               1 yr.  
Coles, Kent             583 SE          2    22               36               3 yrs. 

Okay, group is okay but nothing special. Pearson also posted 8 ypt last season, and that's good enough for my WR1. Bridges fell off a cliff last season, after multiple years of GREAT efficiency (> 10 ypt in limited use), I must have used him too much I guess. Time for Douglas to step up as WR2 this year.
Fletcher is, I think, useful in his very specific role, we'll see if he wants to get paid now.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Kaminski, Sherman       665 C           14   59               59               ---    
Small, Liam             650 C           3    47               59               2 yrs. 
Mangiafico, Jim         764 RG          4    48               48               1 yr.  
Duran, Roman            763 RG          5    34               34               1 yr.  
Linquist, Levon         868 LT          11   57               57               1 yr.  
Caver, T.J.             861 LT          12   55               55               ---    
Argentati, Terrance     870 LT          3    54               54               2 yrs. 
Ause, Dustin            878 LT          9    42               42               ---    

Kaminski is back, but not for long, so that's the min need area here. Argentati is ready to play anywhere, but we'll likely leave him at LG as long as our venerable pass-block-only tackles are around. Happy here, but if we keep draft picks, fine targeting a late 1st this way.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Grunhard, Graham        904 P           2    41               41               1 yr.  
Wynn, Rusty             1003K           7    42               42               1 yr.  

I'm back into "whatever" mode here, after a bit of dabbling with early picks and keep-forever guys... doesn't seem to be a big enough payoff that I can see. Seems like just about every legit kicker still just misses 15% of his FGs, so why pay a premium, unless it's for touchbacks I guess?

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
May, Bernard            1199LDE         11   43               43               ---    
Rushe, Malachi          1190LDE         2    31               38               3 yrs. 
Andrews, Bart           1194RDE         5    45               45               2 yrs. 
Stephenson, Braxton     1176RDE         9    41               41               1 yr.  
Dotson, Kim             1291NT          5    52               52               3 yrs. 
Evanswhite, Jose        1296NT          6    36               36               2 yrs. 
Schultz, J.C.           1272NT          2    24               31               3 yrs. 

DE May made my team as a non-affinity end-of-career add, and gave me the ear-pinner season I wanted - 24 tackles, 9.5 sacks from his 100 PRTech and little else. We may rtry to retain him one more year. DT Dotson got a fat contract and may move back outside- he's the most talented among this group now.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Brock, Chase            1354SILB        6    54               54               1 yr.  
Hubbard, Conner         1345SILB        7    34               34               ---    
Somogyi, Silas          1355WILB        3    39               39               ---    
Sitz, Caleb             1441SLB         2    54               54               3 yrs. 
Schultz, C.J.           1456SLB         5    36               46               ---    
Evans, Russell          1452WLB         9    53               53               1 yr.  
Foster, Kenyon          1451WLB         3    40               40               ---    
Borders, Jake           1458WLB         2    18               33               3 yrs. 

SOph Sitz is going to be fine, but nbot thrilling. I have really shifted my focus in thir group away from the run and toward the pass, and... I like it. Tackles are easy to count, but I'm just not that worried about teams running the ball against me, and too many of those tackles end up being after we yielded the 8 yard catch on 3rd and 6. Evans, Sitz, HUbbard, and Brock are all very capable overall guys with good to great coverage skills. That's our jam now.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct
Hoover, Ezekiel         1527LCB         6    78               78               3 yrs. 
Jaynes, Keegan          1523RCB         8    73               73               ---    
Rolfe, Chris            1530RCB         6    46               46               2 yrs. 
Sabbatini, Alan         1520RCB         5    43               43               2 yrs. 
Parker, Steven          1528RCB         8    33               33               ---    
Isaacs, Winston         1526RCB         2    30               42               3 yrs. 
Olshansky, Brad         1522RCB         10   23               23               ---    
Garcia, Henry           1639SS          10   73               73               2 yrs. 
Everett, Albert         1640SS          9    23               23               1 yr.  
Grassia, Mario          1624FS          8    59               59               2 yrs. 
Nichols, Chase          469 LS          4    21               21               ---    

Hoover is really good, though expensive, but I just prefer having a build-around CB1 if at all possible. Jaynes could have been that guy, too, we'll see if we can lure him back in free agency, though CB2 is way down my list in general. Grassia found his calling at FS, even though he's undersized, a way better fit for his skills than nickel corner.

   
$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,  
** = player is injured, %% - player is on IR.  
   
Players Under Contract: 34
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 34
   
Salary Cap: $779,500,000
Cap Room: $202,210,000
Maximum for New Player: $174,560,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $5,760,000
   
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $431,450,000

Some cap space to fiddle with... enough to go after one or two big names in free agency, plus my usual fiddling around in the lower ranges with good fit guys.

No reason to think this team should fall apart this year. We're in maintain mode, and will add if we can.

[QuikSand]

So, for the Ravens free agency and early draft picks, targets look like:

DL talent
TE2
RB
DB depth

[QuikSand]

Okay, WTF is up with the WFT?

Well, my inattention to details in things like the depth chart left my former 1st round WR Melvin Marshall sitting and watching all year, and then he retired. Dammit.

We also lose our DB chem leader - but the plan was already afoot to switch there. It will just be... painful.

Anyway, I'll do a roster walk-through below.

[QuikSand]

Front Office Football Eight
Washington Football Team Roster, Scout Overview

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Swift, Rod              102 QB          8    31               31               1 yr.  
Bronson, Irving         119 QB          7    30               30               ---    

Okay, my failure to take notice reared up again, and after paying Swift to run the show for two more seasons... I left him on the vbench and Otto started Bronson. Who put together a perfectly fine replacement level season, and got us to the SuperBowl. So, now what?
Bronson is a free agent and wants $25m to re-up... is that viable? Not super expensive. Swift is demanding a trade after the benching, but... last season seems to demonstrat that he isn't really anything special, it's a system team now. So, now what indeed.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Elliott, Cris           237 RB          6    61               61               ---    
Bush, Xavier            230 RB          10   55               55               2 yrs. 
Berry, Michael          234 RB          4    33               33               1 yr.  
Shipway, Pat            233 RB          5    17               22               ---    
Guthrie, J.J.           344 FB          6    52               52               ---    

The overall is deceiving here, I think. Bush is really good. Elliott has yet to post a meaningful season above replacement level - career 4.21 ypc. We have a chemistry mess here, and maybe it's actually time to pull the trigger on the position group rebuild that I have mused on before. Could get this group in line with the OL chem, rather than the WR chem.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
England, Marc           480 TE          9    53               53               1 yr.  
Lehmann, Elijah         486 TE          3    45               45               ---    
Fasani, Ernie           482 TE          4    41               41               1 yr.  
Newman, Randall         487 TE          7    32               32               2 yrs. 
Goodspeed, Drew         484 TE          10   23               23               ---    

Solid group here, nobody is great, but since the team started clicking, they have been fine. Fasani and Lehmann are both from the "right bars" class of imcomplete players - and both seem unable to pull it togther, really. Good area for a major addition if one walks into view.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Hines, Winfred          581 FL          8    57               57               3 yrs. 
Botte, Andrew           588 FL          4    56               56               1 yr.  
Shepard, Johnny         512 FL          5    45               45               1 yr.  
Finch, Jake             529 FL          5    18               19               ---    
Vanderpool, Duane       510 SE          3    39               45               ---    
Kramer, Gerald          583 SE          2    31               41               3 yrs. 

Well, after the gaffe that left us without Marshall, we still have Z Botte and X Hines to build around, which is okay. Obviously would be happy to add legit talent at WR, but is that ever not true? I don't think I will reach past a star-caliber LB or OL to do so, for context.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Butler, Fernando        668 C           8    65               65               ---    
Ramsey, Taylor          663 C           10   0                9                2 yrs. 
Champagne, Luke         777 LG          7    68               68               2 yrs. 
Pommier, Ernest         776 RG          3    55               59               2 yrs. 
Davidson, Tom           873 LT          2    63               73               3 yrs. 
Whitfield, Antonio      862 LT          4    52               52               1 yr.  
Reiss, Dustin           870 LT          4    45               51               1 yr.  
Finneran, Brayden       875 LT          10   44               44               2 yrs. 

Okay, Ramsey is the milquetoast chem leader, and the other pieces are in place around him okay. Ramsey could come back, but we have enough here to make a 5-man group, no worries. Davidson is going to b really good, that makes things so much easier.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Dodge, Gavin            913 P           3    79               79               2 yrs. 
Pehrson, Rick           1003K           5    66               66               2 yrs. 

cool

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Blanchette, Reginald    1198LDE         10   65               65               1 yr.  
Andrews, Gabriel        1194LDE         5    61               61               ---    
Hatch, Miguel           1197RDE         6    59               59               1 yr.  
Horton, David           1179RDE         9    52               52               1 yr.  
Sherman, Bubba          1290NT          11   49               49               ---    
Baker, Les              1296NT          4    38               38               1 yr.  
Curtis, Jason           1293NT          13   27               27               1 yr.  

Nobody here really gets after the passer all that great, so it's shocking we were as effective as we were last season. Hatch is a nice 7-10 sack guy, I think, and everyone else is a role player.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Brew, Manuel            1350SILB        12   49               49               1 yr.  
Mattis, Britt           1353SILB        7    33               33               1 yr.  
Reid, Claude            1355WILB        13   45               45               ---    
Figurelle, Sammy        1459SLB         5    61               61               3 yrs. 

Only four guys? Awesome. Well, at least I like what we have to build around here. Assuming we keep our draft picks, I see us grabbing minimum two LBs in the draftm likely one run stopper and one coverage guy, plus maybe a special teams depth type. Free agency fill-in seems very likely here too.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Halela, Jason           1458WLB         4    47               47               1 yr.  
Bradley, Derek          1517LCB         3    83               84               4 yrs. 
Priester, Erick         1539LCB         11   50               50               2 yrs. 
Bernard, Mickey         1532RCB         9    24               24               ---    
Cox, Alex               1638SS          8    76               76               1 yr.  
Houston, Tony           1622FS          7    56               56               2 yrs. 
Scott, Tom              1641FS          13   35               35               ---    
Ottesen, Liam           1626FS          2    30               37               3 yrs. 
Rasmussen, Adrian       1628FS          13   25               25               ---    
Tyler, Pete             1647FS          11   25               25               ---    

So, chemistry is the thing here. Priester is the short term answer as group leader - and young star Bradley is all about that. Veteran S Houston can step right in and play FS and return punts, so that would be three starting jobs lined up with chem. But, Bernard, Scott, and Rasmussen all have ocnflicts, so they'd have to go - meaning cohesion hit will be major. Don't love that, but I don't see another great path here. So - target area, most likely, for at least one free agent and likely a rookie or two.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate Future Estimate  Cntrct 
Bush, Marquis           652 LS          12   20               20               ---    
   
$$ - player is suspended, ## - player is inactive,  
** = player is injured, %% - player is on IR.  
   
Players Under Contract: 33
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 33
   
Salary Cap: $779,500,000
Cap Room: $183,630,000
Maximum for New Player: $152,240,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $3,870,000
   
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $292,920,000

Some cap space here, but not enough to wade in and act the fool. DE Blanchette is on a fat, cut-friendly deal, so if we loved a big player we coudl cut him to free up $40m+. Anyhow, similar situation to BAL here... maintaining, not really building. We have left things thin in a few spots, though, so we are making moves for need more than the Ravens are.

[QuikSand]

Free agent opening... BAL makes a very important signing:

Baltimore Ravens

QuikSand

RCB Keegan Jaynes

3 years, $171,000,000 (Bonus: $144.0M. Salary: $9.0M, $9.0M, $9.0M.)

73

73

...one of those deals where I was reluctant to tip here how important this was. Talent but also a chem build-around. Got him. Whew.

[QuikSand]

and by the way, on CB Jaynes...

2136		FA Stage 3	re-signed as an unrestricted free agent: 3yrs, $171,000,000.
2136		FA Stage 3	turned down a contract offer: 4yrs, $220,730,000.
2136		FA Stage 3	turned down a contract offer: 4yrs, $264,640,000.
2136		FA Stage 3	turned down a contract offer: 3yrs, $96,020,000.
2136		FA Stage 3	turned down a contract offer: 5yrs, $366,220,000.
2136		FA Stage 3	turned down a contract offer: 4yrs, $233,020,000.

...bonus money wins out yet again. The winner and STILL champion, bonus money per year.

[QuikSand]

It's a zero injury league, people.

[QuikSand]

Ravens have dealt our 3-4-5-6-7 picks this year for a future 2nd, so we will have another nice tidy draft. Now we're looking for just two players to fill needs... WR would obviously be nice, but I'll likely be focusing on the need areas mentioned above, with DL and TE being the potential bingo.

[QuikSand]

Ravens OL Roundup

Ravens miss out on a nice-looking OG to...grrrr...Houston. So it goes. More importantly, we lose out in free agency and see LT Caver walk. It's not a crisis, he's a 12th year guy and we have his replacement on the roster already, but I don't like to lose out when I want a guy. I just didn't anticipate him drawing interest... drat, I got too cheap and got beaten out by AVAILABLE. We did re-up with T Ause, who retains his chemistry leadership role and maybe will start at G this season, as well - I'll try to avoid letting him sniff free agency ever again.

[QuikSand]

Ravens do sign one rotation-caliber pass rusher, my sort of guy overall:
http://gml.fof-belco.com/playercard.php?playerid=103225

Ravens top draft pick is not too exciting, but likely functional:




Baltimore: QuikSand takes ILB D.J. Burge with the 1.30 pick.

Run Defense		54<->85
Pass Rush Technique		57<->88
Pass Rush Strength		39<->71
Man-to-Man Defense		62<->94
Zone Defense		50<->82
Bump-and-Run Defense		56<->88
Play Diagnosis		48<->79
Punishing Hitter		40<->72
Endurance		48<->80
Special Teams		17<->49

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
72	233	6.5	6.3	4.73	37	23	7.20	114	32	58

Combines seem to back up all-around skill set, and this makes two straight drafts where we start out with a three-down LB. Both are in the 8-9 zodiac group, and that likely foretells a shift in our leadership soon, as our current leader resides there as well.

[QuikSand]

The WFT plunged some big money into a run-stopping DT... not exactly a philosophical priority, but my red-bar-collecting tendency remains strong, independent of the position value. I just take it on faith that this guy will help.


http://gml.fof-belco.com/playercard.php?playerid=104808


Anyway, first round draft pick goes to the OL again, this guy hopefully develops into our long term answer at C:




Washington: KickStand takes G Parker Tate with the 1.31 pick.

Run Blocking		70<->98
Pass Blocking		46<->74
Blocking Strength		20<->48
Endurance		45<->73

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
72	302	5.8	5.5	5.03	45	30	7.76	89	-	44

[QuikSand]

Offers are in from AVAILABLE for RB Elliott, and I'm not going to compete with them - he's never shown me he's a $20m+ sort of player, I'll use that cap space on fill-in veterans at DB or even RB instead.

[QuikSand]

Second round draft picks:




Washington: KickStand takes DE Walt Estrada with the 2.26 pick.

Run Defense		29<->61
Pass Rush Technique		67<->98
Pass Rush Strength		38<->70
Man-to-Man Defense		38<->70
Zone Defense		26<->58
Bump-and-Run Defense		1<->33
Play Diagnosis		34<->66
Punishing Hitter		41<->72
Endurance		49<->81
Special Teams		48<->79

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
73	266	5.8	6.3	4.68	32	31	7.69	115	-	54

DL, especially pass rushers, a weakness - he looks like he should help.






Baltimore: QuikSand takes OLB Ross Calabri with the 2.30 pick.

Run Defense		62<->94
Pass Rush Technique		35<->67
Pass Rush Strength		47<->79
Man-to-Man Defense		0<->32
Zone Defense		56<->88
Bump-and-Run Defense		62<->94
Play Diagnosis		23<->55
Punishing Hitter		14<->46
Endurance		13<->44
Special Teams		14<->46

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
72	247	5.8	5.5	4.72	20	19	7.23	113	37	69

Rats...my scout saw RunD, Bump, and Zone all at MAX. If this is more accurate, this is not a good pick.






Washington: KickStand takes S Damien Peterson with the 2.31 pick.

Run Defense		43<->75
Man-to-Man Defense		30<->62
Zone Defense		67<->98
Bump-and-Run Defense		52<->84
Play Diagnosis		48<->80
Punishing Hitter		49<->81
Interceptions		0<->32
Punt Returning		0<->32
Kick Returning		0<->32
Endurance		45<->77
Special Teams		45<->76

HT	WT	RAW	ADJ	DASH	SOL	BENCH	AGI	BRJU	POS	%DEV
73	220	5.1	4.8	4.53	37	17	7.45	97	42	56

As we shift to a new DB chem leadership, need guys who fit - I'm hoping this can be our FS of the medium term.

[QuikSand]

In a weird quirk, for the second straight opportunity, I missed the WFT stage file on the day that a specific great-fit free agent was seeking to sign. Same guy two seasons ago, and then again yesterday. I opened the game this morning and found FOF open to this league, to the WFT page, but no actions -- I got as far as opening it up but never finished doing my file.

Not the end of the world, but a pretty good fit player who would have been great for chemistry, and two times now I just whiffed on putting in a file that exact day, and let him go elsewhere. Kinda sucks, avoidable, just a tough real life day for me this time of year.

(I work in state and local politics, and my state legislature is in session right now)

[QuikSand]

My WTF team also lost out in bidding for our starting C and FB in this stage. (Actually, missing the stage meant we didn't bid on our C at all, drat)