 |
01-12-2007, 09:22 AM
|
#1 | ||
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
The 'Have to start somewhere' dynasty
I only noticed a few weeks back that a new version of Front Office Football had been released, so I dropped by FOFCentral to have a look around and pick up a bit of information on FOF2007. I've played a few of the previous versions, but was never able to make the jump from the Fourth Edition to FOF2004 (which I did buy, but never really played much) - was just too comfortable with the ol' Fourth Edition. I decided to take the plunge, though, and picked up the 2007 version (already patched to 6.0d).
I have written a few dynasty reports before (most notably as part of the WLC in 2001), but I'd be surprised if anyone here remembers them - it's been a long time since I've been round here! What I've found in the past is that writing a dynasty report makes me have to think more about what I'm doing when I'm playing FOF - think that the main reason is that I have to write all the big moves down, and an element of 'don't make yourself look too stupid' kicks in... (I do have a tendency towards doing things a bit quickly, and sometimes making snap decisions that aren't all that sensible!) As I'm just getting to grips with FOF2007, this should help me slow things down a bit and get a better feel for the game more quickly. This dynasty starts in 2009, after quick-simming 3 seasons with Oakland (two first-game playoff losses sandwiching a 4-12 wipeout). Two teams are willing to let me make a move, and I decide to go with Philadelphia - their disastrous 2-14 season last year (and the resulting top pick in the draft!) having quite a lot to do with that. I started with randomly-generated players rather than the 'real' player dataset, as I find that my impressions of the real-life player affect how I see the in-game player too much for comfort. As I'm new to this version of the game, I'm not putting any major limits or restrictions on how I can play the game, although I will tend towards trying to build a team through the draft rather than bringing in lots of external free agents where possible. |
||
|
|
|
01-12-2007, 09:28 AM
|
#2 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
I'll start with a look at the roster I'm inheriting - not particularly promising...
Code:
Already out of cap room (when the draft picks to come are taken into account), and only 27 players signed - not a good start... Code:
So I have 7 players taking up over $70 million of my salary cap - not a good position to start from, particularly with a #1 overall draft pick to come. Of these 7 players, CB Marsh, RB Escalante and LT Andrews are worth the money they're making (all are high-end starters - the sort of players you want to build a team round), but the others are definitely making more money than they're worth. Only Snedeker has a contract for longer than this season, although there's a significant amount of bonus money attached (about $14m) - cutting him this season would use up over 10% of my cap for next year, although it would make a big difference to the cap this year. |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 01:52 PM
|
#3 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Staff Hiring
The incumbent scout is 64 years old, with one year left on his contract, and isn't particularly good - he's asked politely to leave, and is replaced by Andrew Baicy (age 34, 5 years at $490k, VG/F/G/A/G/F/G/VG/A). Head Coach Corwin Raymond is 62 years old, but is still very competent (VG in all the HC areas other than defensive playcalling (good)), so is retained. Offensive co-ordinator Craig Lewis is also retained - 56 years old, and has a solid reputation in all areas (one of those guys who would be good at any of the coaching spots). Defensive co-ordinator is currently open, as the previous occupant is out of contract. J. C. Clemons is signed to look after the defensive side of the ball (G/G/VG/VG/G in the relevant areas) for 3 years at $2.2m per year. It's fairly obvious to me that the staff haven't been the problem in Philadelphia, so the main task is obviously going to be to upgrade the roster. Franchise/summer league/ticket prices No free agents worth franchising (not that I have the cap room to use the tag anyway!), and I send promising SS Leon Valentino to the summer league. Philadelphia are in a reasonable position with regard to ticket prices, with the price comparison table showing $342 (high is Dallas at $614, low Minnesota at $280), so I do only a little bit of tweaking (30/40/55/65/150/60,000). Free agency A few moves to make before I can do anything... Players released DE Leo Snedeker (saves $12.37m, $14.36m on next year's cap) CB Adam Doyle (saves $9.55m) OLB Percy Stauffer (saves $6.6m) Renegotiated contracts/restricted free agent signings TE Lewis Cox (3 years, $9.5m) QB Dwayne Tucker (3 years, $4.9m) FB Kendal Erlitz (1 year, $560k) SE Tony Corbett (1 year, $840k) P Jerome Chubick (1 year, $560k) DT Harris Stuart (6 years, $10.5m) SS Wally Ross (5 years, $11.7m) CB Lorenzo Marsh (5 years, $29.5m) CB Phillip Crane (4 years, $5.2m - a small additional bonus, but a significant pay cut over the next few years) CB Conrad Allison (1 year, $670k) After these moves, we have 28 players signed and $27.55m cap room free (with just under $19m available after the expected cost of signing draft picks). Targets for the draft and free agency: QB: only have QB Tucker signed, so need to find a veteran backup/borderline starter RB: only RB Escalante signed, so need a couple of young guys to back him up TE: only TE Cox signed, so need at least one backup here WR: have only 2 fairly average young receivers under contract, so a veteran and some young talent would be useful OL: the current starting 5 (Andrews, Downs, Place, Clemons, Wells) are acceptable, but depth behind the starters is needed K/P: the guys we have are solid enough to work with for now DL: 3 guys under contract are all solid, but need a starter at LE and depth LB: only 2 guys at the moment - need a couple of starters and depth CB: 3 solid players under contract, so only depth needed S: again, 3 solid players under contract, so not a big need at the moment The top end of the draft board is heavy on defensive linemen, with two big tackles being the obvious top prospects - looks like there may be value in trading down out of the top pick. I make a few offers in stage 2 of free agency, mainly looking at shoring up the obvious weaknesses in the current roster: WR Ray Sims (5th year/4.8) - $12.50m over 4 years LDE Emmitt Summers (7/4.2) - $2.40m over 2 years WILB Roger Hall (7/5.3) - $2.50m over 2 years (will need a position switch, as I'm playing a 4-3) MLB Kenneth McClurken (4/4.7) - $1.9m over 2 years I also make an offer to our veteran QB Bubba Tanaka (11th year, 30/30, mentor - $5.20m over 2 years), as I'm expecting to bring in a young QB through the draft - will be worth paying the veteran decent money for a couple of years to help out with the kid's development. McClurken signs immediately, and is likely to step right in as the starter at MLB. Tanaka and Summers sign in stage 4, with Sims signing in week 5. Hall takes his time, but ends up signing with Denver in stage 9. Additional offers in stage 10: LT Adam Hastings (6/3.2) - $1.61m over 2 years SLB Karl Andrews (5/3.7) - $1.88m over 2 years Both players sign immediately. Before the end of free agency, I go through the restricted free agents on the roster, and resign a few guys in order to give the team a bit more depth: QB Bryant Irvin - $670k over 1 year (decent 3rd QB, good kick holder) WR Pete Herod - $840k over 1 year (decent backup receiver, good kick return man) LG William Burns - $670k over 1 year (depth for the interior line - respectable run-blocker, but not much more) RDT Fernando Politopoulous - $670k over 1 year (decent run-stopper on the interior D-line) WLB Dominic Dumas - $670 over 1 year (much-needed depth at OLB) RCB Gino Briggs - $560 over 1 year (decent backup cover man, and will help out on special teams) This leaves the team with 41 players signed and $14.13m cap room free - our current draft picks are expected to cost around $10.7m to sign, though (first pick in each round, plus three additional picks (3.18, 6.15 and 7.14)). |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 01:55 PM
|
#4 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2009 draft
The best players on the board are two very solid defensive tackles - both look to be the sort of guy that you can build a defensive line around. Unfortunately, I already have a guy like that on my roster in RDT Blaine Andrews (68/68), so picking one of these guys isn't exactly filling a need (both are pretty big for DTs, too, so it's not like I can take one with the intention of switching him to DE...) Of the positions I feel I need to address (QB, WR, LB), there are a few guys on the first page of the 'big board', but none of them are really guys that I'd feel are worth taking first overall. With this in mind, I make a trade with Miami - MIA gets 1.1, PHI gets 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first-rounder next year. Surprisingly (to me, anyway!), Miami take the best OLB on the board with the top pick (a guy I was seeing as rated about 20th overall. Picks 2 and 3 are the best RB and ILB, with one of the top DTs finally coming off the board with New England's pick at #4. Even though DT isn't really a need for the team right now, the top DT still on the board looks to be really good value at this point (scouted grade 7.2, as scouted, 4.86 40, 42 strength reps, 7.26 agility, 8' 4" jump, 45% developed, 43 volatility), and would be expected to be an immediate starter in the middle of my DL. With this in mind, the Eagles take LDT Christian Campbell with the 5th pick of the draft. (He's rated at 47/78, so will be expected to start from day 1.) At this point, I was hoping that the top QBs would drop out of the top 10 (as QB is probably the biggest need for this team, and I have the ammunition to trade back up into the top 10), but the best two QBs go at picks 6 and 7. The top receivers go at 8 and 10 (again, guys I would have traded into the middle of the first round to get), so I now target the best QB remaining - given my need at QB, he's probably worth taking at around 15, but this appears to be a fairly weak QB class, with the next guy looking to be borderline at best as a first round pick (his decision not to do combine drills doesn't help here...). Unfortunately, Tennessee pick this QB at #12 - at this point, I'm leaning towards holding on to my two high second-round picks, and looking to take a decent QB further down the draft (where I concentrated my QB interviews). (For what it's worth, the no-combine QB goes to Detroit at #15 - definite high-risk pick there!) The value at the top of the second round appears to be on the offensive and defensive lines - while these appear to be relatively strong areas on my current roster, an argument can definitely be made for making at least one addition at offensive tackle, with 3 of the top 5 prospects on the board being OTs, and my current starting RT being a 10th-year veteran (who just so happens to be a mentor...) There are also two undersized DTs, who would probably project as defensive ends in my system. With the choice being between two solid technicians with reasonable strength and a mauler with slightly less polished techniques, I go with the mauler (LT Norman Huffman) - in hindsight, this may be the wrong choice, as he rates as only 28/42. The two defensive linemen I was looking at are still available at 2.4, but on further reflection, neither look to be particularly promising as defensive ends (both are barely under 5 seconds for the 40, in particular). The top 'true' defensive end on the board actually looks to be a better prospect at defensive end, particularly from a pass-rush point of view, so RDE Moe Rivers is the pick here (initial rating is 25/56, so seems to be a reasonable pick - he should see a fair bit of playing time as a pass-rusher at the very least). Next pick is 3.1, and I feel that I really need to look at the big need positions now (BPA is all very well up to a point, but there's not much point in being absolutely loaded on the offensive and defensive lines if you don't have anyone able to make a play behind them!) I don't have a lot of experience with a 4-3 defence (have used 3-4 pretty much exclusively in the past), but I see the linebackers being used mostly as run-stoppers and pass defenders at the moment, with most of the pass rush coming from the front 4. With this in mind, SLB Greg Booker is the pick here - appears to be a solid all-round player at LB (rated 23/48, so he should see a bit of playing time this year). At 3.15, I add a bit of depth at WR through Teddy Donohue, going on a decent combine and him being the best WR available at this point (rated 21/49 at this point, so should see some playing time this year). From this point on, I'm really only looking for guys who'll provide solid depth or a decent contribution in a limited role or on special teams - picking up starters this low is asking a lot! QB seems to be relatively deep at this point, so I go looking for a backup running back - Andrew Lynch appears to be a decent fit, although he appears to be more a solid third-down back than a guy you'd trust to carry the load of a starting RB (25/41 on first glance - not too bad...) With very little movement at QB to this point, I feel that I should be able to hold back on picking up a QB until round 6 - LB depth is the target with my round 5 pick. The pick here is WLB Daniel Patell, who seems to fit what I'm looking for in a LB (in that he can stop the run, provide decent pass coverage and is able to work out what's going on - not much use at pass-rushing, though, but that isn't all that important to me right now), and looks to have had a decent combine. (Initial impression is 20/57, although I have a feeling that there's a fair bit of fake green in there...) The QBs start to disappear through the 5th round, so I go after a QB with my first 6th round pick (6.1 - also have 6.15). I used a few interviews on QBs that I expected to drop this far, so I'm not guessing to quite the same extent as I have been with some of my previous picks. The guy I go with is QB Edwin Dunmore, who had a respectable combine and is one of the more developed QBs still available (at 53%) - initial impression is 18/37, which isn't all that promising, but not all that bad. Looking at the roster, I have a few needs to fill in terms of depth at this point in the draft - another RB/FB would be useful, as would more depth at LB and S. A decent punter is a 'nice-to-have' at this point, but could be good value for a late-round pick (my current punter is serviceable (averages around 40 gross, 34 net), but could be improved on). MLB Renaldo Parker is taken at 6.15 - more a good run-stopper than anything, but should be a decent fit for my proposed defensive system (rated 18/52 on first impression). 7.1 goes on a safety who appears to be a bit of a workout warrior (28 bench press reps for a defensive back!), while 7.14 is used to select a backup RB. (Initial impressions are 16/33 for S Dave Woods and 20/29 for RB Ron Garcia.) I accidentaly left the 'staff handles signing of drafted rookies' set to Yes, so all rookies were signed automatically (no holdouts, which is always nice). (The Eagles were given a B+ in the draft review, for what it's worth...) In late free agency, I resign TE Xavier Compton as a solid backup/long snapper (1 year, $780k), and pick up a few rookie free agents on minsal contracts with minimal bonus to fill out the roster: QB Britt Beaudoin (12/60) - lots of potential, and looks to be a decent holder too RB Gabe Cardwell (27/37) - a guy I'd interviewed - gives us a different type of runner FB Donny Driggers (33/51) - solid all-round FB - potential starter, so definitely a good pick-up here TE Stephen Grice (29/53) - big TE, more a blocker than a receiver TE Xavier Sudnik (30/50) - decent-looking receiver LDE Marshall Hernandez (20/51) - looks to be a good pass-rusher This leaves the team with 59 players signed and $3.47m cap room free heading into training camp. |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 02:01 PM
|
#5 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Post training camp
A look at the rookie ratings before and after camp: Code:
A bit of a mixed bag here - quite a few guys who aren't quite as good as they looked pre-camp (but I was expecting that - tried to go for current ratings where possible on my late round picks and rookie free agent pickups), but a few guys who may be better than I thought - top pick Campbell in particular... I'm in the habit of cutting the roster to 53 before starting preseason games (unless there are a couple of guys on the bubble that I'm having problems deciding between, which isn't the case here), so the following players were released at this point: QB Dustin Tinkis (current of 4 - definitely the worst QB of the 6 on the roster) QB Britt Beaudoin (would be a solid starter if he developed to the extent of his green bars, but I suspect that there's lots of fake green there) FB Kendall Erlitz (only want to carry 1 FB on the roster if I can, and Driggers is a better player) TE Xavier Compton (was between Compton and Sudnik for 3rd TE, and I went with Sudnik's superior special teams play) FL Dana Childress (don't see the 6th receiver being of much use with the offence I'm going to run) SLB Spencer Winslet (decent run defender, but not the type of LB I prefer) This leaves the team with 53 players signed and over $4m of cap space free. 2009 roster analysis Code:
This certainly doesn't appear to be a particularly strong team, which doesn't come as much of a surprise given the 2-14 record from last year! The roster rating of 22 (28th) looks to be about right, although our division rivals aren't particularly strong either (Washington 50/17th, New York 35/24th, Dallas 25/27th) - don't think I can ask too much more than to try to improve on last year by a few wins. I set up the gameplans as stated above (run first on offence, fairly conservative on defence), and head to preseason. |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 02:08 PM
|
#6 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2009 preseason
Week 2: Tennessee 24-21 Philadelphia Not as close as it looked, as the Titans had control for most of the game - we got a TD with 2:35 left to draw within 3 and managed to get the ball back with 1:50 left, but couldn't get in range for the tying field goal. RB Escalante had 131 yards rushing on 24 carries, while rookie QB Dunmore played decently in the half he was given. Week 3: Philadelphia 7-19 Cleveland Not a great game offensively, but it's starting to look like I may go with QB Edwin Dunmore as the starter over Dwayne Tucker - Dunmore wasn't great, but Tucker threw a couple of picks and struggled to move the team. Week 4: Philadelphia 6-23 Indianapolis This game was close into the third quarter, but the Colts just pulled away from us late on. Week 5: Baltimore 12-20 Philadelphia Good solid defensive performance, holding the Ravens to four field goals (including 3 in the red zone). The offence wasn't great, but did enough - QB Dunmore looks to be running the offence well enough to get the start for the season opener. We have a few injuries heading into the regular season - rookie RDE Moe Rivers is out for most of the season with a serious knee injury (and has been put on IR), RDE Norm Hitchcock will miss a month with a broken ankle and FL Ray Sims is out for six weeks with a shoulder injury. Our top draft pick, LDT Christian Campbell, is also injured, and will sit out the season opener. As our two RDEs are down, a bit of roster shuffling is required, with 3rd year RDE Sedrick Mitchell being signed to take Rivers' roster spot. |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 02:09 PM
|
#7 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2009 regular season
Week 1: Philadelphia 17-21 Washington A nice solid performance to start the season, but a Redskins TD with half a minute left gave them the season-opening victory that should have been ours... The offence was solid all game, with both Escalante (23-122-1) and Cardwell (16-107) putting up 100-yard rushing games. QB Edwin Dunmore didn't start too well, with interceptions on our first two drives, but played solidly the rest of the way (14/23-146-1-2). Not the result we were looking for, but no cause for complaints just yet... Week 2: Philadelphia (0-1) 20-21 Denver (1-0) I wasn't looking forward to this game, as the Broncos are the best team in the league (according to the roster strength and power ranking indicators) - Denver were 19 point favourites at kickoff! We managed to keep it close all the way, though, mainly due to the defence and special teams (PR Jamal Jacobs, acquired purely to return punts in preseason (after I realised that there was no-one with punt return skills on the roster!) took one back 77 yards for a TD). The Broncos took the lead for the first time at the end of the third quarter, and managed to keep us off the board the rest of the way to take the narrow win. Week 3: Philadelphia (0-2) 0-24 Green Bay (1-1) A team like us is going to have days like these... QB Dunmore had to leave the game in the first quarter, and neither Tanaka or Tucker were able to do anything to move the offence - this, of course, put too much pressure on the running game, so the offence simply didn't work in this game. QB Dunmore will be out for 4 weeks with a strained calf muscle, meaning that QB Dwayne Tucker will take over as the starter for at least the next game. Week 4: Atlanta (1-2) 27-0 Philadelphia (0-3) Another game in which we didn't really give ourselves any chance - the offence didn't move the ball, and Atlanta were able to run the ball all day, putting up over 200 yards on the ground against our defence. Week 5: New Orleans (2-2) 17-10 Philadelphia (0-4) A better performance, but still not really enough to be competitive - 33 yards passing isn't going to win many football games! The defence stopped the run pretty well, but allowed the Saints QB to pass for close to 300 yards. Week 6: Philadelphia (0-5) 0-12 Carolina (4-1) A better performance, with the defence being solid when it mattered (the Panthers were kept out of the end zone, scoring only four field goals), and the offence moving the ball a bit better. It's fairly obvious, though, that QBs Tucker and Tanaka simply aren't good enough to be of much use to this offence. Week 7: Philadelphia (0-6) 23-35 Tampa Bay (6-0) You play this sort of game hoping for a miracle, as that's about what it needs for a team like my Eagles to win. No miracles available today, though - the performance was better, though - while the Bucs were always in control of the game, there were signs of life from the offence, with QB Tanaka having a decent day (23/35-244-2-0). The defence, however, struggled to stop the Tampa offence all day. Week 8: New York (4-2) 20-7 Philadelphia (0-7) This game went well for the opening drive - 13 plays, 80 yards, Cardwell with the short TD run to give the Eagles a 7-0 lead. The rest of the game followed the same familiar story that the season so far has told - very little offence, and the defence is simply too overworked to be able to keep the opponent out. Week 9: Washington (3-5) 33-17 Philadelphia (0-8) Edwin Dunmore returned behind center for this game, but wasn't able to spark the offence. RB Tito Escalante had a solid day (23 carries for 110 yards), but had very little support from the rest of the team. Week 10: Philadelphia (0-9) 3-27 Dallas (6-3) Not much I can say except that the lack of anything like a half-decent quarterback is killing any chance that this team has of being competitive... Week 11: Bye On current form, this is about the only way that we're not going to lose a game in any given week... A quick aside: Despite the winless season to date, the Eagles are rated 23rd in the power ratings, and have played the strongest opponents (at 62-38), although the 10 wins by our opponents helps this quite a bit! Week 12: Philadelphia (0-10) 13-20 Kansas City (4-6) It seems like the best we can hope for this season is to be competitive, which is about all you can say about this game. I wouldn't say this season has gone badly so far, but I'm already having thoughts about next year's draft (and hoping that there's a franchise QB waiting for me when the Eagles have the first overall pick again...) Week 13: San Francisco (8-3) 6-9 Philadelphia (0-11) Well, it was almost inevitable that the first win of the season was going to be ugly, and so it proved - not that I'm complaining at this point! Cold, wet and windy doesn't make for pretty football, mind you, but the run-first offence that we're using this year is a pretty good fit for days like this - RB Escalante had his best day of the year, with 20 carries for 156 yards. The defence did a good job, with 2 interceptions and 3 sacks of the San Fran quarterback. Week 14: Oakland (4-8) 23-6 Philadelphia (1-11) And back to reality with a crash... The defence was reasonable here, but the offence provided no support whatsoever, with the only Eagles points coming from a blocked punt return. Week 15: Philadelphia (1-12) 3-33 New York (7-6) An ugly game is a pretty good description here - QB Dunmore had a nightmare (8/30-74-0-3), but the rest of the offence wasn't much better, as the Eagles finished with only 144 yards of total offence. The defence had a reasonable game, but reasonable isn't good enough when the offence is as bad as it was here. Week 16: San Diego (9-5) 24-23 Philadelphia (1-13) Well, at least the team is still playing hard, even at the end of a season like this. The score is a little flattering (one of the Eagles TDs was a kick return for a TD by Pete Herod), but all I can ask with this team is that we give ourselves a chance to win the game. Week 17: Dallas (11-4) 20-7 Philadelphia (1-14) And finally we reach the end of what has been a terrible season - I didn't think that we would win a lot of games, but this was worse than I expected. Note to self: Make sure that you have some sort of quarterback on the team for next year... I quick-sim the playoffs - Denver end up as this season's champions (so the preseason rankings actually were a decent guide this year for a change...) |
|
|
|
|
01-14-2007, 02:10 PM
|
#8 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Summary of 2009 season
Not the best season I've ever had (understatement of the year, anyone?), but I can take a few lessons from this season: - you need a lot of depth in this game - at least half of my starters picked up an injury that caused them to miss at least one game (have injuries set to 200, for what it's worth) - it's very difficult to run an offence if you don't have a decent QB (not having much at receiver doesn't help much, either) - I need to look at picking up a few more half-decent free agents if possible - I had to play my rookies more than I'd have liked this year A few stats: QB Edwin Dunmore (now 23/37): 11 starts, 108/233 (46.4%), 1077 yards, 4 TD, 9 Int (49.6 QBR) RB Tito Escalante: 284 rushes, 1169 yards, 2 TD (4.12 average) RB Gabe Cardwell: 143 rushes, 494 yards, 2 TD (3.45 average) TE Lewis Cox: 31 catches (from 45 targeted), 306 yards (9.9 yards per catch), 1 TD (and this was my best receiver!) DT Blaine Andrews: 66 tackles, 6.0 sacks MLB Kenneth McClurken: 116 tackles, 3.0 sacks CB Lorenzo Marsh: 4 interceptions (PD% 80.7) Not much to write home about, although MLB McClurken was a good free agent pickup. Looking ahead to 2010 I suppose one way to look at things is that the only way to go from here is up... There are a few obvious issues that need to be addressed - starting QB is the most important, but I also need to look at strengthening the roster at receiver, defensive end and linebacker. One compensation for this poor season, though, is that we have a nice high draft pick to work with next year - it won't fix all the problems, but will hopefully allow us to pick up a top-quality player to fill one of the big needs. |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 11:45 AM
|
#9 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2010 season
Herb's evaluation for 2009: 0/36/68/86, for an overall score of 45 The previous management had a stadium renovation in place, which was completed this offseason - nothing dramatic, but it's nice to have a stadium in reasonable condition to work with. Retirements: Only one Eagle retired - DE Norm Hitchcock, who was an inactive backup for most of last season, so not too big a loss. The team starts the season with 39 players signed and $32.56m cap room free (of a $121.6m salary cap) - only $17.32m available for new players, though, because we have the first overall pick in the draft. On looking at the draft order, the trade down from 1.1 last year with Miami (for 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first-rounder this year) has been rather productive, as Miami struggled through a 2-14 season - this means that the Eagles also have the second pick in the draft to work with as well... All members of staff are under contract for at least this year, and (despite the struggles last year) I'm happy for them to continue with the team, so nothing to report from the staff hiring period. RDE Moe Rivers, who missed virtually all of last season with a serious knee injury, is the player chosen to go to Europe this year. The franchise player designation is used on C David Place - while he isn't a top-drawer player, he's the best player going to free agency this year (and the center franchise salary is less than $3m, which is perfectly acceptable...) No changes to ticket prices this year - while our prices are relatively low (and the team lost money last year), I can't really justify raising prices after a 1-15 season! 2010 Free Agency Franchise player David Place is signed to a long-term contract at the start of free agency - 6 years for $16.2m. This might be a bit long-term for a 7th year player, but it ties up a solid starter at a reasonable cost without having to pay out too much bonus money ($500k per year). Minnesota come in with a trade offer at the start of the free agency period - they want LT Roosevelt Andrews, and are willing to give us their first-round pick (1.24) and WLB Larry Roberson (3rd year player, currently rated 28/49 - was a 3rd round pick, and has 1 year left on his rookie contract). We have a decent left tackle in last year's second rounder Norman Huffman (now rated 38/48, so would be a decent starter), but would be creating $2.5m of dead cap space next year. The linebacker will be a contributor straight away, and the extra first-rounder will be useful, so I accept this trade. Contract renegotiations before the start of free agency proper: TE Stephen Grice: $1.10m over 2 years SE Jamal Jacobs: $580k over 1 year (purely as a punt returner) LT Adam Hastings: $1.88m over 2 years P Jerome Chubick: $1.58m over 2 years RDE Sedrick Mitchell: $2.08m over 2 years RDE Moe Rivers: $2.61m over 3 years (reduces the cap hit in each year in return for $550k more bonus) RCB Gino Briggs: $1.58m over 2 years SS Leon Valentino: $9.00m over 5 years (expected to be one of the starting safeties this year) These moves leave the team with 44 players signed and $10.16m cap room free. Looking at the draft, it doesn't look like I'll get good value at our big need positions at the top of the draft - the top player on the board is a very solid-looking RB, but none of the best QB, WR and DE are worth a top-5 pick (in my opinion). Looking at alternatives, one of the best young QBs in the league has somehow made it into free agency - 5th year QB Kris Vajda, a 4-year starter for Seattle is rated 75/75 by my scout, and would be a very nice addition to the team (but is likely to be rather expensive from a contract point of view...) Another alternative is to trade for a decent young QB - looking at potential candidates, Cleveland QB Keith Hutchins is a possible target. While he isn't particularly well developed (rated 16/70), he simply hasn't had any playing time after being drafted 1st overall in 2008 - unfortunately, Cleveland won't let him go (even for the 1st overall pick) because the trade would land them with a $9m hit on their salary cap next season. QB Vajda is definitely going to be expensive - the 'starting point' contract is for $129m over 6 years, which is probably a bit out of my range right now. The cap hit for the first year is reasonable ($7.84m), but is in the $20m-$25m range the rest of the way - it's a big ask to tie up almost 20% of your salary cap in one player. THe rest of the free agent crop of QBs looks rather unpromising (as in there's no-one there that is a significant improvement over the guys I have at the moment), so I go back to look for potential trade targets. Tampa Bay have a young backup QB with decent potential and a half-decent contract (from a trading point of view - not too much bonus!) - QB Jeremy Wason is a 3rd year player (rated 25/54) who looks to have the potential to be a mid-level starter. Rather than trust to finding a starting QB in the draft, I make the trade with the Bucs - they get the first pick in the second round, while the Eagles get QB Wason and the Bucs' fourth-rounder this year (4.31). This does not mean that I'm not going to look at picking a quarterback in the draft, but it takes away some of the desperate need to find a startable QB. Into free agency: LCB Conrad Allison (31/44) offered $1.86m over 2 years in week 2 (Eagles free agent - signed week 3) SE Clifton Rosano (56/56) offered $2.40m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 6) LT Otis Patton (33/48) offered $2.10m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 3) RT Eddie Thomason (27/49) offered $1.86m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 3) RG Ian Huffman (42/54) offered $2.20m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 2) RDE Cornell Turner (48/55) offered $2.80m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 3) WLB Max Guerra (41/48) offered $2.10m over 2 years in week 2 (signed week 4) These guys are decent young players who are either solid depth or mid-level starters on this team. RCB Rick Horn (48/48) offered $2.02m over 2 years in week 6 (Eagles free agent - signed week 7) - solid nickel/dime back LG Edward Rayfield (31/48) offered $1.66m over 2 years in week 7 (signed week 8) QB Brent Woodson (18/18) offered $1.14m over 1 year in week 8 (signed week 10) - mentor for the young QBs QB Bubba Tanaka was released at this point - his lack of playing time last year was not to his satisfaction, and he's currently at the point where it's not a good idea for a member of team management to be in the same room as Tanaka if there are any sharp objects in the vicinity... These signings leave the team with 54 players signed (and 9 draft picks to come) and $19.58m cap room free (with the draft picks expected to cost $16.09m to sign). |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 11:48 AM
|
#10 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2010 Draft
Going into the draft, the Eagles have 9 picks - 1.1, 1.2, 1.24, 3.1, 4.1, 4.31, 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1. In an ideal world, I'm looking to come away with potential starters at QB, WR, DE and LB, with additional depth throughout the team another target. I'm not going to pass up on a highly-rated player at another position if I'm getting the best player available, though, particularly if I don't feel I'm getting good value for the pick if I go after a need position. The highest rated players on the board are a franchise-calibre running back and a top-notch safety. The talent level is pretty deep in the first round, though, so a trade down may be a good idea - in particular, I'm looking at the top three receivers on the board, as I should be able to get one of these guys between 10 and 15 (if I'm any decent judge of these things, which is debatable...) While I would obviously get better value if I were to trade the first overall pick rather than 1.2, I feel that RB Bo Twisp is worth the difference, so he becomes this year's first overall pick. His draft board rating was 7.2, but my scout puts him at 80/81 with his initial impression - hopefully the sort of player that I can build a team around over the next few years. I'm not convinced that any of the players on the board is worth using the second pick overall on, so I trade down - Jacksonville pick up 1.2 in exchange for 1.11 and the Jags' first-rounder next year. The Jaguars take the safety (the guy I probably would have taken if I hadn't traded down). Even though this isn't a strong QB class, three QBs go in the top 10, with Indianapolis (1.4), Cincinnati (1.5) and Kansas City (1.7) all going after passers. At 1.11, the three receivers I was looking at are all still there, as are the two best defensive ends available in this draft class. It's a risk to not go after one of the receivers here, as I have a feeling that they'll be gone by 1.24, but I feel that LDE Spencer McKenzie offers the best value for this pick here - he's a bit raw, but is a solid all-round defensive lineman. Initially rated at 29/72, he should see a lot of playing time this year. My feeling about the three best receivers was pretty accurate - the next three picks are all wide receivers! I still go after a receiver at 1.24, though - WR Ike Browning isn't quite as talented as the guys taken ahead of him, but he still projects as a quality starter (and is a good punt returner, which is a nice little bonus). Initial impression is 31/63 - he's slotted at SE at the moment, but I see him as my backup FL for this year, hopefully moving up over the next season or two. While the next pick for the Eagles is now 3.1, I'm looking at the top QB remaining, J.T. Watkins. He looks to be the sort of guy who could end up being a solid player in a year or two (and may be able to contribute sooner - 38% developed at this point). It also looks like he may contribute a bit with his legs while he's developing as a passer - a 4.59 40 is pretty darned quick for a QB. I decide to pull the trigger on a trade to acquire the 1.30 pick from Houston - they get 3.1 and the Eagles second-rounder next year in return. Watkins is rated at 19/54 at this point, but time will tell if this was the right move to make at this point. Having given up my second and third round picks in trades, it's a long wait until we pick again (can't really complain too much, though, having had four first round picks!) It's a big ask to find a starter this late in the draft, so I'm looking more for guys who'll be solid contributors at this point. SLB Lenny Wilcox is a pretty good fit here, as LB is still a bit of a weak spot, and he should contribute straight away (67% developed), and help out on special teams too. He isn't a great tackler, but looks to be solid in all other parts of his game. (Initial rating is 27/39, so he appears to be career backup/special teamer at this point.) 4.31 also goes on depth, this time in the middle of the defensive line - LDT Xavier Russell doesn't show much pass rush ability, but is solid against the run. His initial ratings are not good, though (15/27), so he may be struggling to make the team this year. Offensive line depth is the target with 5.1, as this pick is used on RT Herb Leal - not a perfect fit for our run-first system, but he appears to be a solid pass blocker (rated 29/49 on first impression, so appears to be good value at this point). With a backup safety required, SS Charlie Tierney is the player taken with 6.1 - another solid-looking player this far through the draft, with intial rating of 27/50 and solid-looking coverage skills. The secondary receives further reinforcement with pick 7.1 and LCB Walt Horner - a guy with decent-looking skills, but a long-shot to make our final roster this year. This draft was rated at A-, for what it's worth - not easy to get a bad rating when you have the first two picks in the draft, though! I manage to sign all but two of my drafted rookies at the first opportunity - unfortunately, the two who don't accept the team's initial offer are RB Twisp and LDE McKenzie, our top two draft picks... I manage to get them to agree to contracts before training camp, though, so no rookie holdouts this year. Late free agency is pretty quiet this year, as I have 63 players signed at this point. The only player signed is rookie free agent C Darrin Watkins (26/55), who looks to be a solid backup interior lineman. The team heads to camp hoping for solid development from our young QBs... Rookies before and after camp Code:
Not the best training camp for our rookies, particularly QB Watkins, who looks more like career backup material now. (I have to admit to a small error here - I wanted WR Browning to be our backup flanker this year, but didn't change him from his college position of SE until after training camp - he lost a couple of points of current rating on the switch.) |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 11:50 AM
|
#11 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
With 64 players on the current roster, a lot of cuts need to be made before heading into the season:
QB: Veteran Brent Woodson is safe as our fourth QB, as he's there purely to act as a mentor to our young QBs. J.T. Watkins is untouchable, even after his disappointing camp, as cutting him would result in a $4m cap hit next year. Jeremy Wason currently looks like our starter (rated 25/54), so the decision comes down to either Dwayne Tucker (5th year, 23/48) or Edwin Dunmore (2nd year, 23/37) - Tucker has started a lot of games already in his career (42 games in 4 years), but hasn't put up decent numbers since his rookie year, and he didn't even break 70 in QB rating that year. At this point, it's unlikely that he's going to get much chance to play, as I'd be happier to play Dunmore first, so Tucker is the casualty here, and I'll carry 4 QBs on the roster this year. (Tucker was our holder last year, so we have to find someone to replace him here, but our veteran mentor Woodson is a respectable kick holder, and will take over this task.) RB/FB: The team is currently carrying 5 RBs (and FB Donny Driggers, who's pretty much assured a roster spot). Bo Twisp, the first overall pick, is definitely safe, as is Tito Escalante - the 9th year veteran is on the downside of his career right now, but is still a solid player (I'd still be happy to start him), and is now a mentor for the RB position (no bad thing when the next most experienced guy in the backfield is a 2nd year player...) Ideally, I'd prefer not to have to carry four RBs on the roster, so two of the other guys are under threat - Andrew Lynch did a decent job as the third down back last year (and is signed for 3 more years on a fairly affordable contract), so is the survivor here, with Ron Garcia and Gabe Cardwell being the cuts here. TE: I'm happy with the three guys I have here - Lewis Cox is the starter, Stephen Grice is the run-blocking backup, and Xavier Sudnik is a special teams demon. WR: Of the six guys currently on the roster, the only one at risk is SE Jamal Jacobs - he basically only offers one thing to the team (good punt returner), which probably isn't enough to keep him around, particularly as rookie FL Ike Browning is a respectable punt returner. Jacobs is the only cut here. OL: I'd like to have 10 offensive linemen on the roster, but currently have 13. The guys most at risk are LT Adam Hastings (lowest rated of the group), RT Philip Cales, LG Billy Downs (last year's starter, rated 52/52, but is a turnstile on passing plays - also in the last year of his contract, and is looking for $3m per year on an extension) and C Bennie Lowe (lacks strength, and his main reason for being on the team (long snapping) isn't enough, as rookie free agent Watkins is equally capable here). Cutting a guard would leave me with only 3 guards, but I'm happy enough to use a center or tackle at guard if needed. While my scout sees Hastings as a weaker player than Cales, I prefer the left tackle. The cuts here are C Lowe, LG Downs and RT Cales. P/K: No change here, as I'm comfortable with the guys I have (P Jerome Chubick (net 36.2 last year) and K Matt Oden (16/21 on field goals last year). DL: 10 on the roster right now, which I'd like to cut to 8. Untouchable here are LDE Spencer McKenzie (first round pick), RDE Cornell Turner (expected starter), RDE Moe Rivers (pass rush specialist), LDT Harris Stuart (solid backup inside), LDT Christian Campbell (last year's top pick and a solid starter) and RDT Blaine Andrews (solid starter). LDE Emmitt Summers was our starter last year, but didn't really do all that much - while LDE Marshall Hernandez is a lesser player, he's younger and offers a significantly stronger pass rush threat. Last year's emergency pickup at RDE, Sedrick Mitchell, was useful at the time (if not particularly productive), but is going to struggle for playing time this year behind Turner and Rivers. While Xavier Russell isn't rated all that highly, he should be a respectable run-stopper in the middle, so will survive the Turk this year. The cuts here are LDE Summers and RDE Mitchell. These cuts leave us with 55 on the roster, so only 2 more cuts to make. We're currently carrying 9 linebackers, 6 corners and 4 safeties. I usually carry 5 corners and 4 safeties if possible, so it looks like we'll be holding on to 8 linebackers (unless there's good reason to do otherwise...) LB: The current split of 3 MLB and 6 OLB suggests that the cut here is and OLB, but MLB Renaldo Parker appears to be the weakest player here - he's the third guy on the MLB depth chart, and doesn't contribute much outside of that. The potential cuts at OLB are either better special teams guys or more valuable as linebacker depth. This leaves us a bit light for next year (as both the remaining MLBs are signed for this year only), so I offer an extension to starting MLB Kenneth McClurken ($16.0m over 4 years - can live with this for a solid starter). MLB Parker is the cut here. DB: This is pretty simple - need to cut one of RCB Gino Briggs (last year's 5th DB - decent cover man and kick returner, but of no help in run support), RCB Walt Horner (decent depth and special teamer) and FS Dave Woods (decent depth, but doesn't offer anything else). As Briggs and Horner are both somewhat multi-dimensional, Woods is the odd man out in this group. Roster heading into the 2010 season Code:
This definitely appears to be a stronger roster than last year's (with the roster rating of 60 backing this up) - the starters are a little better overall, but I feel that the big improvement is in depth. The big problem remains the quarterback position, but whoever ends up starting (Wason will be given the first chance) will have a much better supporting cast to work with. We're also in good cap shape for next year, so I may be able to go after a couple of high-rated free agents next year (if this is the best way to acquire quality starters). Aside: We have 52,000 mugs (sorry, season ticket holders) this year - this comes as a bit of a surprise, as we only had an average of 47,100 last year as we struggled through a 1-15 season. The only reason I can see for the increase is the stadium improvement that was completed this offseason. |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 11:51 AM
|
#12 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Analysis of last season's trade with Miami
I've been thinking about the draft-day trade we made with Miami last year - the Eagles gave up the first overall pick, and received 1.5, 2.4 and Miami's first round pick this year in return. The thought has occurred that this trade is not dissimilar to the real-life trade in the NFL a few years ago between the Falcons and the Chargers (IIRC, San Diego gave up 1.1 (Michael Vick) in return for 1.5 (LaDainian Tomlinson), a third round pick (Nate Kaeding) and Atlanta's first rounder the next year (which turned into Shawne Merriman) - there were a few players involved, but can't remember the exact details). Looking at both sides of this trade at this point in time: Miami used 1.1 on SLB Kelvin Kerner, a solid starter currently rated at 62/63 - I'm no expert on the draft in FOF 2007, but I would guess that this level of player would be available at 1.5 in most drafts. Philadelphia used 1.5 on LDT Christian Campbell (63/79) and 2.4 on RDE Moe Rivers (36/48, but missed his rookie season through injury). The Dolphins' first rounder this year ended up being the second pick overall, which we traded away, obtaining two first-rounders from Jacksonville in return. This year's first-rounder was used to pick LDE Spencer McKenzie (28/68 right now), and we have the Jags' first-round pick next year. I'm probably biased, but I have a feeling that we've come out on top of this trade in a big way - the Dolphins have one high-end starter, where we have one high-end starter, one promising young player who will hopefully be a high-end starter, a useful role-player and a future first-rounder to come... |
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 12:39 PM
|
#13 | |
|
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Connecticut
|
Quote:
You're not biased. When's the last time you heard of the Dolphins making a good trade. This from a Dolphins fan. I know. 
__________________
GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty |
|
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 04:49 PM
|
#14 | |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Quote:
I admit that it's been a while... Wasn't meaning to pick on Miami - they were just in the right place at the right time when I wanted to trade out of the first overall pick. It wasn't a great draft to have the first pick, with no potential great players to go with (unlike the draft in 2010, where the top RB was pretty much a no-brainer (although other teams may have disagreed - Houston, for example...  )Martin |
|
|
|
|
|
01-15-2007, 04:51 PM
|
#15 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2010 preseason
As a bit of an experiment, I'm going to use the same offensive and defensive gameplans this year as I did last season - I'm fairly sure that our problems offensively were due to personnel more than the gameplan... Week 2: Philadelphia 6-7 Tennessee Definitely a defensive struggle (if you're being generous - most people would call it a typical preseason opener, when everyone's just trying to ease back into playing at the start of the season...) Week 3: Baltimore 7-23 Philadelphia This is something we didn't see all of last season - a solid outing from the Philadelphia offence. Both Jeremy Wason (9/10-130-1-1) and Edwin Dunmore (7/10-120-0-0) had good days, and the defence did a good job of snuffing out the Ravens' passing game (although mostly against the backup QB). Week 4: Philadelphia 6-17 Indianapolis Not much offensive production, but still appears to be better than most of the performances from last year. Week 5: Cincinnati 0-17 Philadelphia A very solid defensive performance, with the Eagles holding the Bengals to 119 total yards for the game. The offence did what it needed to, with QB Wason (12/19-155-1-0) having a decent day. A 2-2 preseason (for what it's worth - probably not much, as I went against the usual wisdom and gave my expected starting lineup a lot of playing time), but there are definitely some positive signs that this year will be better than last. A few injuries, with LT Otis Patton (out for 2 months) and LCB Phillip Crane (3 weeks) the most serious. Jeremy Wason saw most of the playing time at QB during the preseason, and put up some decent numbers - he will be the starter going in to the regular season. First-round rookie J.T. Watkins will be the backup, with Edwin Dunmore the inactive 3rd QB. While none of these guys are particularly good right now, there is a good bit of potential in this group. Hopefully, someone will step forward and claim the starting spot as their own... |
|
|
|
|
01-16-2007, 12:35 PM
|
#16 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2010 season
Week 1: Philadelphia 7-13 New York A good defensive performance to start the season, with the only Eagles TD coming on a pick-six by CB Gino Briggs. The offence didn't do much, though - Wason threw for over 200 yards, but only completed 14 of 34 with 2 picks, and neither Twisp or Escalante were able to break free. Week 2: Jacksonville (0-1) 7-27 Philadelphia (0-1) The defence did a great job in this one, with Jacksonville shut out until mounting a garbage-time drive to break the shut-out late in the game. The offence made a good contribution too, though, with Wason (15-23/229-0-0) playing a good game and Twisp getting his first two pro TDs. Week 3: St. Louis (1-1) 10-20 Philadelphia (1-1) A fast start for the Eagles saw RBs Twisp and Escalante score TDs on the team's first two possessions - while the Rams did their best to get back into it, they never got closer than 7 points. Twisp finished with 27 carries for 140 yards (plus 4 catches for 27 yards) in his best game so far. Week 4: Minnesota (1-2) 14-27 Philadelphia (2-1) The Vikings come out hot, and go 14-0 ahead by early in the second quarter. The defence tightens up and the offence starts to click from then on, though, as the Eagles make it 3 out of 3 at home for the year. RB Twisp again went over 100 yards with a TD (although he needed 34 carries to get there) and QB Wason threw his first TD pass of the year, but the star of the game was CB Lorenzo Marsh, with 2 interceptions and 2 passes defenced. Week 5: Detroit (1-3) 13-27 Philadelphia (3-1) The Tito Escalante show this week, as the veteran RB outshines our top rookie with 25 carries for 99 yards and 3 TDs. Three early turnovers give the Lions the early initiative, but the Eagles defence holds them to 13 points off those turnovers, and keeps them off the board from then on. OK, so we can win our home games - the test now is to take that form on the road... Week 6: Philadelphia (4-1) 21-24 Green Bay (2-3) Another slow start this week, as the Packers jump out into a 14-0 lead inside of 8 minutes. An Escalante TD run and Wason to Sims TD get us level, but the Packers use a defensive TD to take the lead for good. Wason (19/33-268-2-1) hits Sims (5-85-2) early in the fourth to get us back to only 3 points down, but the Green Bay defence shuts up shop for the rest of the game. Week 7: Philadelphia (4-2) 10-34 Washington (3-2) Pretty simple here - the Redskins were able to drive the ball consistently on our defence, and our offence couldn't keep pace - the Eagles gave up scoring drives of 11, 9, 9, 6, 8 and 3 plays in this game. Week 8: Bye This seems an appropriate place to step back and have a look at the season so far: Code:
A few things that aren't really much of a surprise - most carries, lowest average run and least passes, highest average per attempt and per completion pretty much go together (but suggest that the offence is maybe a bit too one-dimensional). The defence has been decent, although the pass rush still isn't as good as I'd like. All in all, definitely an improvement over last year, though! |
|
|
|
|
01-16-2007, 12:37 PM
|
#17 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Week 9: Philadelphia (4-3) 28-16 Chicago (4-3)
Good solid all-round performance here - RB Escalante went over 100 yards (20-104-1), QB Wason threw two TD passes, and the defence put points on the board through CB Phillip Crane's fumble return for a TD. At the halfway point, the Eagles sit third in the NFC East, with New York (6-2) and Washington (5-3) the two teams ahead. Week 10: New York (6-2) 17-10 Philadelphia (5-3) A defensive struggle here, but the Giants moved the ball just a little better and won the battle of field position. WR Ike Browning scored the only TD for the home team, taking a punt back 43 yards for a score early in the fourth quarter. The running game was solid (Twisp 13-53, Escalante 20-91), but Wason struggled, hitting only 5 of 20 passes, and being sacked 4 times. Week 11: Philadelphia (5-4) 16-6 Dallas (2-7) A pretty convincing victory over a poor Cowboys team - Dallas only broke the shutout with a consolation TD inside the last minute. RB Escalante continues to have a good season, with another 100-yard game (28-106), while Wason put his poor game last week behind him with a solid effort (15/19-173-0-0). Week 12: Philadelphia (6-4) 3-31 Tennessee (5-5) The score pretty much says it all here - the Titans dominated this game from start to finish, with the Eagles having problems moving the ball all game long. RB Tito Escalante was injured in this game, and will miss the next month. Week 13: Philadelphia (6-5) 21-20 Atlanta (7-4) A big win on the road against a solid Falcons team, with rookie QB J.T. Watkins the hero in his first extended action in the pros. The winning score came with less than 3 minutes to play, as Watkins hit WR Rosano from 31 yards out for the go-ahead score and his second TD of the day. The other Eagles TD came from Ike Browning, who produced his second punt return TD of the season. DE Moe Rivers was the game MVP, though, with 2.0 sacks (out of a team total of 8). Starting QB Jeremy Wason was injured early in the game, and is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season with a knee injury. J.T. Watkins will get his first career start in week 14 against Houston. Week 14: Philadelphia (7-5) 23-38 Houston (8-4) A solid showing from QB Watkins (16/28-240-1-1), but the Texans were always in control of this game, mostly due to the efforts of RB Gus Fleming, who had 4 TDs on the day (21-120-3 rushing, 2-17 receiving, 4-194-1 on kick returns). Week 15: Dallas (4-9) 20-0 Philadelphia (7-6) A definite reminder of last year's offensive futility... Only 141 total yards (and RB Andrew Lynch accounted for over 100 of those (20-103)), as J.T. Watkins struggled in this game (10/27-60-0-2, with 5 sacks and 3 fumbles). Lynch was the featured back for the last game because starting RB Bo Twisp was injured early in the contest - he'll miss 3 weeks. While RB Escalante isn't fully recovered from his injury, he'll see a bit of playing time in our next game. Week 16: Indianapolis (11-3) 29-6 Philadelphia (7-7) Not much you can say about this one except that we got our backsides handed to us by a better team. The risk of playing RB Escalante in this game didn't pay off - he aggravated his injury, and is out for another month. With Twisp also out of action, I put Escalante on IR, and signed RB Thomas Booker for the last game of the regular season. Despite our 7-8 record, our week 17 game against Washington is not meaningless - the Redskins currently hold the second wild card at 8-7, and need to win to hold on. There are a couple of other 8-7 teams, though, so even if we win, the Eagles need other results to go our way to have a chance. Week 17: Washington (8-7) 20-6 Philadelphia (8-7) This was a game that the Redskins needed badly, and it showed - they racked up over 200 yards rushing on a highly-rated Eagles run defence to seal a wild-card berth and a game against New York next week. The Philadelphia offence, without their two star RBs, struggled to move the ball consistently. No playoffs this year, then, but a much-improved performance over last season. |
|
|
|
|
01-18-2007, 04:37 PM
|
#18 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2010 Summary
Code:
Definitely an improved performance over last year, with QB Wason making a big difference - while Watkins was decent in patches, it was noticable that the productivity of the offence went down when Wason got injured (although the injuries to RBs Escalante and Twisp will also have contributed to that). The defence was pretty sound all year, with MLB McClurken having a good year. The defensive line was solid enough against the run, but didn't produce much of a pass rush. Looking ahead to 2011, and it's a bit easier to be optimistic about the future than it was last year - the defence is relatively young and definitely solid, while the offence should improve further as our young QBs mature. While this year showed that my bodged together 'run-first' gameplan can work with the right personnel (and that the defensive gameplan isn't too bad either), I think I'll be making a few changes on both sides of the ball for next season - we now have enough offensive weapons (and a guy who looks like he's developing into a reasonably reliable QB!) to open things up a bit, and I feel we could do with increasing blitz percentages a little bit to get the pass rush going a bit better. |
|
|
|
|
01-18-2007, 04:38 PM
|
#19 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2011 season
Herb's evaluation for 2010: 40/34/55/85, for an overall score of 49 The team lost $18.13m on revenues of $140.61m last year - while the stadium upgrade resulted in a significant increase in income, the costs of player salaries and bonuses offset some of this increase. The stadium upgrade also helped increase attendances (up 25% to 59,300/78.5% capacity), although I have a feeling that putting a more competitive team on the field also helped here. No retirements this year (not unexpected, as most of the roster is made up of young players at the moment). All members of staff are still under contract, and I'm happy with their performance, so no changes to staff this year. Very few free agents this year (as many of our signings last year were given 2-year contracts), with none of vital importance to the team, so the franchise tag goes unused this year. FL Ike Browning is the player chosen to go to Europe this year. Given that the team is making a loss, and that the price comparison table puts the Eagles second from bottom ($298, compared to top team Dallas, at $830, and 16th-rated Pittsburgh at $391), a bit of adjustment to ticket prices appears to be reasonable - these are changed from 30/40/55/65/150/60,000 to 35/45/60/70/160/65,000. |
|
|
|
|
01-18-2007, 04:43 PM
|
#20 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2011 Free Agency
The Eagles go into free agency with 47 players signed and $29.23 cap room free. We have 7 draft picks this year - 1.14, 3.12, 4.11, 5.10, 6.9 and 7.15 (our second-round pick this year was traded to Houston in the deal for a first-rounder last year (used to select QB J.T. Watkins), plus Jacksonville's first-rounder this year, which has ended up being the second overall pick (the two trades down in the last two drafts have definitely paid dividends - this means that we have effectively picked up 1.5 and 2.4 (in 2009), 1.11 (in 2010) and 1.2 (in 2012) in exchange for the first overall pick in the 2009 draft (which did not contain an obvious standout player). These draft picks are expected to take up $10.88m of cap room, so we have a little over $18m to work with at this point. While this appears to be a solid starting position for the coming year, almost half of our signed players are signed only for this year, including a number of starters and useful role players. Many of these players are still on the upside of their career, so it's more likely that the cap room will be used to extend the contracts of the guys we already have on the roster rather than going out and signing free agents. (One trade offer at the start of free agency - Cincinnati offer the first pick in the third round and a young QB for QB Jeremy Wason. My scouting team see the QB as rated only 17/41, and I see Wason as our starting QB (who just so happens to be signed on a very reasonable contract for the next couple of seasons), so this is a fairly easy trade to turn down.) Our roster heading into free agency (with comments on each position group): Code:
A couple of minor moves before starting into free agency - CB Crane (LCB to RCB) and S Valentino (SS to FS) are changed to the positions they started in last year. A quick look at the draft suggests that this is a good draft to have high first round picks in - the top prospect is a seriously good CB (grade 8.2, 4.33 40, 22 strength reps, 6.94 agility drill, 76% developed - immediate starter and top shut-down corner!), with the next four on the draft board all looking to be immediate starters and All-Pro picks not too far down the line. Unfortunately, the top players aren't really at need positions for this team, so the choice for 1.2 looks like either BPA (and get a really good player) or trade down a few slots (and get a very good player, plus an extra draft pick or two). Renegotiations/restricted free agent signings: QB Edwin Dunmore: $1.64m over 2 years RB Tito Escalante: $5.55m over 2 years (slightly risky to give a 10th year RB a decent signing bonus, but this reduces the cap hit this year by over $1m) TE Lewis Cox: $9.3m over 3 years TE Stephen Grice: $1.35m over 2 years TE xavier Sudnik: $590k over 1 year FL Ike Browning: $5.03m over 4 years (reducing cap hit in each year of his current contract) SE Clifton Rosano: $17.50m over 5 years (likely his last contract with the team - currently in his 6th year) C Darrin Watkins: $1.11m over 2 years LT Otis Patton: $2.24m over 2 years RDE Cornell Turner: $17.50m over 5 years WLB Larry Roberson: $730k over 1 year WLB Max Guerra: $15.30m over 5 years LCB Conrad Allison: $2.00m over 2 years These moves leave the team with 49 players signed and $22.73m cap room free ($11.85m after allowing for expected cost of draft picks). Into free agency... Offers made: QB Brent Woodson: $1.31 over 1 year in week 2 (own free agent - QB mentor - signed week 3) SLB Karl Andrews: $930k over 1 year in week 2 (own free agent - OLB mentor - signed week 4) RDE Jessie Rasmussen: $1.31m over 1 year in week 2 (DE mentor- signed week 3) RT Phil Coffey: $1.15m over 1 year in week 2 (OT mentor - signed week 4) SLB Ricky Adamski: $16.20m over 4 years in week 5 (starter at SLB if he signs (55/55, 6th year) - signed week 5) These signings cover most of the positions most in need of mentoring (although I'm in trouble if the mentors need to take the field!), and hopefully provide a solution to the problem of finding a starter to play SLB. We now have 54 players signed and $14.64m cap free ($4.34m after allowing for the draft picks to come). Looking at the roster as it stands at the moment, our big needs for the draft are: - find a fifth/sixth receiver who can contribute on either (or both) special teams or the return game - improve depth on the interior line - would be nice to find a guard who can be groomed to start next year - find a decent defensive tackle to be fourth in the rotation - pick up a couple of linebackers/defensive backs who can contribute both at their given position and on special teams Obviously, with two picks in the first 14, I'm looking to come out of the draft with two potential starters as well... |
|
|
|
|
01-19-2007, 10:18 AM
|
#21 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2011 Draft
While this year's draft pool does contain one guy who (to me, anyway!) is the obvious choice for the first overall pick and a bit of a gap to the next group of prospects, I'm not keen to trade up, as it would simply cost too much (and this team isn't in desperate need of a starting cornerback). In the (very unlikely) event of CB Joe Patton being available at my pick, that would be a no-brainer, as (at this point) he simply looks too good a player to pass up. Cincinnati open the draft by taking CB Joe Patton, as expected (he gets an initial rating of 66/88!). The next tier of prospects (in my opinion) consists of four players (DE Isaac Benaroya (7.8 - slightly weak at run defence, but exceptional otherwise), DT Steve Erxleben (7.6 - slightly undersized, but that's the only downside here), CB Artie Parnell (7.4 - not as good as Patton, but still an exceptional prospect at cornerback) and G Zack Martin (7.2 - immediate starter and future star, but he's a guard...)) While the DE, DT and CB are potentially better than the guys I have at those positions, I think that there's better value here from a trade down. Dallas are willing to give up 1.5 and their first-rounder next year in exchange for 1.2 and Philadelphia's 3rd-round pick next year, which looks a decent trade to me. With the Cowboys in need of safety help, they take CB Artie Parnell (51/86). DE Benaroya (61/75) goes to Cleveland at 1.3, with the top RB, Shane Sample (61/82) taken by Detroit with the fourth pick. While offensive guard isn't a position that is given much importance, I see G Zack Martin as a guy who will have an immediate impact on our offence. While DT Erxleben is a very good player, we have reasonable depth on the defensive line already. The Eagles' pick here is Martin, who is initially rated by our scouting team at 56/90. (Erxleben (51/79) went to Arizona with the 8th pick.) The next tier of prospects in this draft is also pretty impressive, so I'm hoping to be able to pick up another good player with 1.14. The player I go for here isn't rated all that highly on the big board (is 15th in the list sorted by adjusted grade at this point) and only participated in the position drill at the combine (although he did very well in that), but is a guy who definitely fills a need for this team. WR Antoine Samanta is a slightly raw receiver with solid potential both as a receiver and as a return man - a bit of a risky pick, but I feel it's a risk worth taking for a guy who could potentially be a playmaker for our offence. The initial impressions are good, as Samanta is rated at 44/76 by our scouts. After making our two first-round choices, the next Eagles pick is 3.12. There were a couple of players I was hoping would drop a bit - maybe not as far as our third round choice, but far enough as a trade up would have been reasonable, but they went a bit higher than I would have been willing to go. The pick in the third round is SLB Vincent Tayoun, a slightly undersized linebacker who looks to be a solid all-rounder, but will need a bit of time to develop (initially rated at 25/56). As in previous years, I tend to look at lower-round picks to be a good way to deal with depth issues. SS Randall Cox (22/46) is our fourth-round pick, and should hopefully fill our need for a backup safety and special teamer. Our need for a solid backup defensive tackle was dealt with in the fifth round with the selection of RDT Wayne Galloway (18/47) - he won't provide much pass rush, but should be solid against the run. The sixth round saw us going back to the secondary to pick up LCB/PR Wes Houston (20/42), who looks to be a solid special-teamer and return man, and may be able to contribute at corner too. Our last pick went on C Matthew Booker (22/48), who should provide additional depth on the interior line - he's likely to be moved to play guard, as we already have two solid centers. After the draft, Cincinnati come calling again to see if we would be willing to trade QB Jeremy Wason, offering pretty much the same deal as they did last time (a third rounder and a 17/41 3rd year QB). I try my best not to laugh in their face and turn the trade down. Looks like rookie signing could get interesting this year, as only two rookies (4th round S Cox and 7th round C/G Booker) accept the contracts we initially offer. Rookie free agents offered contracts in late free agency: FL Winston Hadley: $850k over 2 years ((20/50) raw WR with good potential and special team abilities - signed week 3) LCB Dusty Foster: $850k over 2 years ((24/51) decent-looking CB who may have a chance to make the team - signed week 3) RDT Leslie Knight: $850k over 2 years ((19/48) run-stuffing DT - may be useful depth in the middle - signed week 2) RT Gus Fox: $850k over 2 years ((14/52) raw tackle who may end up being a solid player - worth bringing to camp at least - signed week 1) RB Jake Belyeu: $850k over 2 years ((32/49) scat-back type who can return kicks - signed week 2) All of the rookie 'hold-outs' sign contracts before we head to training camp. Before training camp, I move 3rd-round rookie Vincent Tayoun from SLB to MLB, where he will back up McClurken. We take 66 players to camp this year, so there will be some difficult decisions to make before we get to our season-opening roster of 53. |
|
|
|
|
01-19-2007, 10:19 AM
|
#22 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Rookies before and after camp
Code:
* Tayoun was drafted as SLB, and switched to MLB before camp - this made a small dent in his current ratings. Not the best camp for our rookies, but the important guys (G Martin and FL Samanta) came through pretty well. For what it's worth, a look at some of the early picks in the draft before and after camp: Code:
Definitely a good year to have a high first-round pick (as long as you weren't looking for a QB - only one was taken before round 5, and he's 10/40 right now - not good value for a first round pick...) |
|
|
|
|
01-19-2007, 10:24 AM
|
#23 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
A look at the QBs on the roster
This is a slightly unusual team in that we don't have a stand-out starting quarterback - at the moment, I'm trying to get by using younger guys in the hope that one will develop into a solid starter in time.  Jeremy Wason was acquired last season from Tampa Bay (we gave up a second round pick, and received a fourth-rounder in return). He started 12 games (going 7-5) before getting injured, putting up a QB rating of 77.3.  Edwin Dunmore was a late-round pick in the 2009 draft - he ended up starting 11 games that year (we were struggling that much at QB!), and didn't put up good numbers. In his defence, our cast of receivers that year was pretty poor (Ray Sims and Lewis Cox were our only competent receivers, as then rookie Teddy Donohue started at SE for most of the season). My feeling at this point is that Dunmore is a useful guy to have on the roster - he's not good enough to win games on his own, but should be able to be a solid backup and stop-gap starter if needed. (In an ideal world, he would be a better kick holder, but you can't have everything  ) J.T. Watkins was the fourth of our first round picks last year (picked 30th overall after a trade up). He started four games at the end of the year after Wason got injured - unfortunately for Watkins, we started losing running backs at about the same time, so he didn't have the same level of support that Wason did. He doesn't look to have quite as much potential as he did when we drafted him (a common problem with QBs), but still looks to be capable of developing into a solid starter if given the playing time. He's currently slotted as our #2 guy, and may start some games at the end of the year if the season gets away from us. While it would be nice to have a top-notch starting QB, the guys we have are probably a good fit for where this team is (still rebuilding, but getting to the point of being competitive). I certainly intend to put the game in the QB's hands a bit more this year, as the receiving corps is significantly better than it was when I took over the team. |
|
|
|
|
01-19-2007, 10:33 AM
|
#24 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Roster cut-down
With 66 players on the roster at this point, there's a lot of cutting to be done... Code:
The last spot came down to SLB Andrews and SE Donohue - neither is much help from a special teams point of view, and Donohue is the guy more likely to see playing time through the season, so Andrews is the last guy cut. (Of course, now that I've said that it's pretty much guaranteed that I'm going to have an awful year for injuries at linebacker...  ) |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 05:26 AM
|
#25 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2011 preseason
Now that the roster is down to 53, I need to look at altering the gameplans that the team are going to use this season. While the 'run-first, -second and -third' offence did have its good points, we now have enough talent at receiver to make it worthwhile switching to a gameplan that actually uses the forward pass (OK, slight exaggeration, but not much!) On defence, we struggled to put pressure on the opposing QB last year, despite having a fairly solid defensive line, so the relatively passive gameplan used last year is going to be tweaked to increase the pass rush a bit. I like the starting corners that we have enough to leave them in single coverage most of the time, so we should be able to spare a linebacker or two to improve the pass rush on a fairly regular basis.  This is almost unchanged from last year - the only two areas that have changed are 1st and 8-10 and 2nd and 4-5 (run percentage reduced significantly in both). As the offence will still (probably) be biased towards the run, I am tending towards keeping the percentage of long passes higher than % short (in order to stretch the field a little to create more room for the running game).  Unchanged from last season, and significantly smaller than the 'default' adjustments - I don't want my team to totally change the way that they're playing just because we've lost two quick TDs at the start of the game, for example.  The only change here is to alter the run direction percentages a little so that we run more to the left (behind our highly-rated rookie guard and solid left tackle). I leave the offensive formation settings as recommended.  I'm using a 4-3 defence (for the first time in a long time!) because it was a better fit for the roster I inherited, and quality linebackers appear to be harder to acquire in FOF 2007 than in the Fourth Edition, where good defensive linemen are much easier to find. I usually rely on linebackers to provide additional pressure through the blitz - defensive backs are there to cover the receivers IMHO (yes, I'm a bit old-fashioned that way ). Unchanged from last year - fairly conventional, and fairly conservative.  Again unchanged from last year, and (similar to the offensive adjustments) much smaller than the default.  This was set using the 'Recommend' button last year, and has been changed significantly - lower percentages of the more extreme defences (i.e. we'll have base defence out there more often) and higher blitz percentages. I'm not really an expert at setting gameplans, more someone who likes playing around with the numbers to see what happens, so I'm sure that someone will be along shortly to pick holes in this... Onto the preseason games - roster rating this year is 95, so better things are expected... Week 1: Miami 10-7 Philadelphia Tight defensive game, as the scoreline would suggest. The offence didn't move the ball particularly well, with QB Watkins not having a good game (13/27-104-0-1), but the defence was solid. Week 2: Philadelphia 14-17 San Diego Slightly better offensively, but the offence still isn't clicking (although playing J.T. Watkins for most of the game probably isn't helping there - the offence is definitely working better with Wason under center). A reasonable performance from the defence, with the pass rush definitely looking better so far. With the offence struggling behind Watkins, I give Dunmore a chance to see what he can do as the #2 QB in our next preseason game. Week 4: Oakland 38-22 Philadelphia The scoreline is a little misleading here, as the Raiders got off to a very fast start - 14-0 up about halfway through the first quarter. While there are obvious deficiencies in the defensive performance, the offence put up a solid showing, with Dunmore looking more solid than Watkins has been. Week 5: Philadelphia 20-8 New England A solid win to finish off the preseason - nothing out of the ordinary, just a good solid team performance. A few injuries going into the season - receivers Samanta and Sims are dinged up enough as they'll sit out the first couple of games, and G Clemons will miss the first month of the season with a concussion. (While he's listed as probable, I don't like taking risks with concussions...) Last edited by MartinD : 01-20-2007 at 05:29 AM. |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 05:31 AM
|
#26 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2011 season
Week 1: Dallas 20-17 Philadelphia A very scrappy game to open the season, with QB Wason throwing 5 interceptions as the offence struggled. Defence and special teams were almost enough, with Teddy Donohue taking a first quarter kickoff back 82 yards for a TD, but the Cowboys won the game on a fumbled kickoff return after the Eagles scored to go 17-13 ahead. To make it worse, top draft pick LG Zack Martin was stretchered off late in the game - he'll miss a significant proportion of the season with a broken foot. Week 2: Philadelphia (0-1) 23-20 Buffalo (0-1) K Matt Oden made a 49-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to clinch a tough road win for the Eagles here. QB Wason improved on his week 1 showing (21/35-210-1-2), but still has room for improvement, while RBs Twisp and Escalante kept it ticking over on the ground. Week 3: Tampa Bay (1-1) 0-17 Philadelphia (1-1) Another solid defensive performance was rewarded with a shut-out, and QB Wason (16/23-196-2-1) appears to be over the worst of his turnover bug. Pass-rush specialist DE Moe Rivers had his best game as a pro, finishing with 5 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Another injury at G meant a bit of roster shuffling was required, leading to G Trent Champion being signed (I had actually cut my roster to 52 before preseason, so no cut/IR was required). Week 4: Bye Week 5: Philadelphia (2-1) 37-14 Seattle (1-3) The score doesn't really reflect the game - it was definitely closer than the score would suggest. The Eagles defence forced 4 turnovers and sacked the Eagles QB 6 times, while backup linebacker Lenny Wilcox recovered a blocked punt in the endzone for a TD. Starting safety Leon Valentino was lost for the year in this game, suffering a serious knee injury. He was placed on IR, but no replacement was signed at this point. S Charlie Tierney will start in his place. Week 6: Arizona (2-3) 3-27 Philadelphia (3-1) An efficient performance saw the Eagles to a comfortable win in this game. The offence was not explosive, but QB Wason (15/19-146-0-0) and RB Escalante (37-91-1) did enough to keep the ball moving and the scoreboard ticking over. On defence, S Tierney celebrated his first start with a pick-six, while DT Campbell led the defensive effort with 2 sacks. RB Bo Twisp had to leave this game early with a muscle strain, and will miss a couple of games. Tito Escalante will get the start in week 7. Week 7: Philadelphia (4-1) 20-17 Washington (3-3) QB Edwin Dunmore came off the bench to spark a 13-point fourth-quarter rally, with K Oden kicking a 26-yard field goal with 11 seconds left to give the Eagles their first lead of the game. Dunmore (10/18-111-1-1) threw a 9-yard TD pass to Ray Sims with 1:16 left to tie the score, then CB Lorenzo Marsh picked off the Redskins QB to set up the game-winning field goal. Week 8: New York (5-1) 9-17 Philadelphia (5-1) RB Andrew Lynch made the decisive play of a defensive struggle with a 56-yard TD run early in the fourth quarter. Lynch (18-95-1) was backed up by QB Edwin Dunmore (8/12-122-1-1), in relief of starter Jeremy Wason for the second straight week. While there were no stand-out defensive performances, the Eagles defence held the Giants to three field goals and only 232 total yards. It's at this point, where I've felt the need to pull starting QB Wason from the last two games (he was 0/5 in the Giants game in week 8), where I have a feeling that we may have a QB controversy brewing. Dunmore has been solid in relief, while Wason appears to be struggling with the turnover bug this season (9 picks, 5 fumbles so far). I decide to make the switch - Dunmore will start our week 9 game. Week 9: Philadelphia (6-1) 17-23 St. Louis (2-5) (OT) I'm starting to wonder if I should start someone at QB, then pull them for the backup after 1 play... The offence definitely seemed to be more explosive with Dunmore at the helm, but turnovers will kill offensive momentum in a hurry, and that's what we had - Dunmore had 3 picks, Wason (in relief) had 2. I'll give Dunmore another chance next week, but I may end up going with Watkins the way things are going! Team summary at mid-season Code:
The areas where I was looking for improvement at the start of the season are definitely improved - the offence is moving the ball better (now we just need to work out how to hang on to the ball!), although there is still room for improvement, and the defence is getting to opposing QBs a lot better without sacrificing yardage on the ground or the big play. |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 10:44 AM
|
#27 |
|
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Connecticut
|
I noticed that you cut the roster to 53 before preseason, am I correct? How come you don't use the 60 man limit to evaluate talent and cut to 53 after preseason? Just curious.
__________________
GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 11:26 AM
|
#28 | |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Quote:
I'm usually fairly comfortable that I know the guys I want to keep at the bottom end of the roster - for example, in the 2011 season I had four mentors who were never going to see much playing time but were always going to make the roster. Another thing I'll take into account is how much it's going to cost me to cut a player - means I'm more likely to hang on to mid-round draft picks if cutting them means I'm giving myself half a million of dead cap room the following year. I will sometimes hold on to a few extra guys to work out who's better, but I find it difficult to take anything from the stats and results of preseason games that I don't already know (or suspect) from the player profiles and training camp. (This is one area where doing dynasty reports is very handy - I've been able to keep track of ratings before and after camp...) Martin |
|
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 11:35 AM
|
#29 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
At this point, the Eagles are first in the NFC East, one game ahead of New York and Dallas, with Washington bringing up the rear at 4-4.
Week 10: San Francisco (4-4) 10-14 Philadelphia (6-2) In a tight game, QB Dunmore found scatback Lynch with less than 5 minutes remaining to give the Eagles the lead - the defence held the rest of the way to seal the victory. Dumore (16/30-194-1-1) was given the game MVP, with SE Rosano (5-88) his favourite target. Week 11: Philadelphia (7-2) 17-34 Dallas (5-4) A fast start, with two early TDs giving the Eagles a 14-0 lead, but the Cowboys controlled the game from then on. Turnovers hurt us once more, with QB Dunmore throwing for over 200 yards but with 4 interceptions, and Dallas taking a fourth quarter fumble back for the back-breaking score. Week 12: Philadelphia (7-3) 20-17 Miami (7-3) A big win on the road, with the defence putting up the shutters in the fourth quarter to preserve a narrow lead. Edwin Dunmore had his best game of the season (20/33-261-2-1), with solid support from RB Twisp (20-85), rookie FL Samanta (4-85) and FL Sims (3-43-2). Week 13: Philadelphia (8-3) 7-31 Minnesota (3-8) The classic trap game, and so it proved - one of those games where the offence struggled to do anything right, and the defence wasn't able to cover up for the offence's failings. Week 14: New Jersey (8-4) 7-33 Philadelphia (8-4) An all-round solid performance, with the offence moving the ball - Dunmore played a solid game (12/18-203-2-0) - and the defence shutting down the Jets, particularly through the air (the Jets QB was 13 of 36 with 3 picks, and was sacked 5 times). Week 15: Washington (8-5) 7-20 Philadelphia (9-4) Two early TDs from Bo Twisp gave the defence something to protect, and they did what was required, holding the Redskins to 11 first downs and 167 total yards. Twisp had 135 yards on 24 carries and 4 catches, while QB Dunmore was efficient (15/25-149-1-0). CB Phillip Crane was the game MVP with one of the Eagles' 3 interceptions and 4 passes defenced. This win puts the Eagles two games ahead of Washington and Dallas in the NFC East, but does not mean that the division is safe, as Dallas has the season sweep over the Eagles. Week 16: New England (13-1) 24-17 Philadelphia (10-4) The good thing about this game is that the Eagles managed to hang with one of the best teams in the league. The bad thing is that the Patriots scored on a long TD pass in the final minute to take the victory. Twisp (9-109) and Dunmore (16/33-192-2-0) were the leaders on offence, but the defence struggled to contain a strong New England passing attack, giving up over 300 yards through the air. Week 17: Philadelphia (10-5) 22-24 New York (7-8) A failed 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter was the difference between the two teams here, as the Eagles allowed Dallas to take the division title. Defensively, the Eagles shut down the Giants' passing game, but allowed too much yardage on the ground. While the two losses to finish are disappointing, the Eagles still qualified for the playoffs as the second wild card team, and will travel to Dallas in the Wild Card round. |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 11:46 AM
|
#30 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Regular Season summary
Code:
Definitely an improvement on previous seasons, with the defence leading the way - a much-improved pass rush was the key here. There is still work to do on offence, but it appears that things are moving in the right direction. At QB, Wason was a disappointment - he struggled to move the ball, and was turnover-prone to boot. While Dunmore looks to be a significantly lower-rated player, I can't really argue with the difference in production. Twisp was bothered by a couple of minor injuries this season, so Escalante got quite a bit of playing time (with a solid backup like Escalante, I was always going to try to share the load a bit). The running game definitely benefitted from the slight change in emphasis in the gameplan, although there is still room for improvement - the offensive line, in particular, didn't perform as well as I had hoped. I didn't intend to spread the ball around quite as widely as this suggests - think that the lack of a 'go-to' receiver was more to do with having a number of reasonably-talented receivers on the roster. The low catch percentages are likely to be partly due to the QB, but also partly due to the gameplan (I set this up to throw relatively large numbers of longer passes compared to the average). The big difference on defence was the pass rush, particularly from the defensive ends - DE Rivers had a very solid year as a pass-rush specialist, and starters Turner, Andrews and Campbell also contributed to the improvement here. Last year's first-rounder McKenzie has been slower to develop than I'd like, but has been solid enough as the other starter. Run defence was also solid. The pass defence benefitted from the improved pass rush, and didn't lose too much when starting safety Valentino was lost for the year early on - Tierney did a decent job in his place. Ross, Crane and Marsh are all top-quality starters, and having players of that quality really helps the defence. |
|
|
|
|
01-20-2007, 11:47 AM
|
#31 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Wild Card Game
We travel to 10-6 Dallas, a team that has beaten us twice already this season. The Cowboys are strong defensively, particularly against the pass, and have an efficient rather than explosive offence. The Cowboys start as 1 point favourites. Dallas start out with a long touchdown drive - 16 plays, 74 yards. A penalty-ridden Eagles reply is halted when QB Dunmore is sacked and coughs the ball up, with Dallas recovering. The Philadelphia defence holds strong, though, forcing a punt despite the Cowboys starting in Philadelphia territory. Dunmore loses the handle on the ball again at the end of a forced scramble on the first play of the next drive, however, with Dallas again recovering - this time, the Cowboys manage to get a field goal. After an exchange of punts, Dallas got the ball near midfield after a good return. This time, they are able to take advantage of the good field position, scoring on a short TD run to go up 17-0. After forcing an Eagles punt, the Cowboys again drive into field goal range before the half, but their kick is blocked, holding their lead at 17-0 at the half. With a big lead to overcome, the Philadelphia offence was under pressure for the first drive of the second half. They responded in the best way possible, with RB Twisp accounting for all 74 yards on the touchdown drive, including the scoring play, a 48-yard run. Both defences forced punts on the following possessions, but again Dallas's special teams gave them good field position - the Cowboys were able to take advantage, but only with a field goal to extend their lead back to 13 points at 20-7. Despite their best efforts, the Philadelphia offence were unable to get into scoring position the rest of the way - Dallas added a late field goal for insurance to make the final score 23-7. This is the sort of game that our offence simply isn't built to handle - we don't have the explosive passing game required to pull off big comebacks. With the offence forced to pass more often than we would have liked against a strong pass defence, QB Dunmore had a poor game, completing only 7 of 28 passes (along with his two lost fumbles early in the game). RB Twisp was the best player on the Eagles offence, finishing with 10 carries for 102 yards and a TD. The defence did a great job in this game considering the great field position Dallas had for most of the game (Dallas's average starting position was their own 47), but struggled to stop the Cowboys on the ground (giving up 203 yards on 48 carries). Houston, who had a perfect 16-0 regular season, completed the job in the playoffs by easing to a comfortable 44-20 win over Chicago in the Front Office Bowl. Comments on 2011 season There were definitely encouraging signs this season, with the defence leading the way (1st in yards allowed being the highlight). The offence made progress, but there is still a long way to go - the offensive line needs to improve (although losing top rookie Zack Martin to injury for most of the season certainly didn't help), and we need more stability at the quarterback position - Dunmore was more effective than Wason this season, but Dunmore isn't really anything more than a career backup. This is a young, developing team, though - I would hope that this is something to build on rather than the high water mark... |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 12:24 PM
|
#32 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2012 season
Herb's evaluation for 2011: 60/40/63/85, for an overall score of 60 - definite improvement on last year, as you would expect from a first-time playoff team. The team lost $1.66m on revenues of $153.53m last year - outgo was basically flat, while income increased, mainly due to improved ticket and suite revenue. Attendances did rise a little, but this appears to be more the impact of the ticket price rises implemented last season. Four retirements this year: QB mentor Brent Woodson, long-time Eagle RB Tito Escalante, T mentor Phil Coffey and DE mentor Jessie Rasmussen. Tito Escalante was the Eagles' 5th-round pick in the start-up draft, and played for the Eagles for the 6 seasons that the league has been playing. He was the starting RB for the first four seasons, then a solid backup behind first overall pick Bo Twisp for his last two seasons. Despite playing on a losing team for most of his career, Escalante's last game was in the playoffs, where he rushed for 47 yards in a backup role in the 23-7 loss to Dallas. He finishes his career with 1,478 carries for 5,986 yards and 34 TDs, with 16 100-yard rushing games. The Eagles go into the 2012 season with 39 players signed, and $31.22m of the $128.00m salary cap free. $7.01m of that cap space is expected to be required to sign this year's draft picks - the Eagles have their own picks (ranging from 22 to 26 in each round) other than the third-rounder, plus Dallas's first round pick (obtained in a trade down during last year's draft. The first round picks are 1.23 and 1.25, a big change from the high picks we've had for the last three years. A time of change for our coaching staff this year, with the head coach, offensive co-ordinator and defensive co-ordinator all being out of contract this year (our scout is contracted to us for another two years, and will be retained). Head Coach Corwin Raymond is still solid, but he's now 65 years old, so I'm at least going to look at the market to see what's available. An interesting prospect is the youngest coach available, 32-year-old Corwin Bandle (G/G/VG/G/A in the appropriate areas), who isn't quite as good as Raymond, but has the potential to be a very solid head coach in a few years time. While there are slightly better head coaches out there (going by current reputation), I like to pick up good coaches young, so I make Bandle an offer to become our new head coach (5 years at $3.8m). Our offensive co-ordinator, Craig Lewis, is pretty much as good as it gets in a lot of ways (E/A/E/A/G/A), although he is 59 years old (and would be a fairly decent head coach if someone were to make him an offer). Looking at what's available on the market, a few names catch my eye: Kent Ford (37, G/F/G/G/G/VG - would be a decent fit for a relatively young offence) Kyle Campbell (43, VG/A/G/A/G/A - solid, but not brilliant - good QB coach, though) Rob Fisk (56, A/E/A/G/A/A - again, decent but not brilliant) While Lewis is the best of these guys at QB development (a need for us at the moment given our lack of a bona-fide starter), he isn't all that good with young players, and isn't likely to come cheap given that he's a pretty useful head coach as well. My feeling is that Ford is the best fit for this team at the moment - we don't really need a coach who's good with RB with Twisp there to carry the load, and we have enough young players to make improved development very handy. I offer him a 5-year deal at $1.8m per year. Defensive co-ordinator J.C. Clemons is a guy I want back if possible - 46 years old, G/G/VG/VG/G. While there may be better DCs out there, there won't be many. I offer him a 5-year deal at $3m per year. Clemons and Ford accept their deals immediately, while Bandle takes a bit of time to think about our offer - he accepts in week 3, though, and our coaching staff is set for the immediate future. While we have a few free agents this year, none of them are obvious stand-out players (the best is CB Rick Horn, rated 49/49). The only guy that I'd consider being worth franchising is P Jerome Chubick, rated 44/44 but a solid performer over the last few years (net average of around 36 over the last 3 years). While he isn't great, he's good enough to be worth using the tag on this year, particularly with a franchise salary of only $1.15m. With only 7 second-year players to choose from, it doesn't take long to decide who's going to Europe for the summer this year. Last year's first-rounders (G Martin and FL Samanta) are already close to fully developed, so I send MLB Vincent Tayoun away for a bit of seasoning. After a fairly significant bump in ticket prices last year, I decide to keep prices unchanged this year - while our ticket prices are relatively low in comparison to others around the league, our financial position is fairly solid. |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 12:26 PM
|
#33 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2012 Free Agency
A good bit of work to do in free agency this year, with a number of roster spots to fill and a sizable proportion of our signed players (17 of 40, including franchisee Chubick) only signed for one year. Goals for free agency and the draft: - find a solid RB to back up Twisp - Lynch is a useful guy to have on the roster, but not a guy I'd want to rely on as a #2 back - pick up a bit of quality and depth on the offensive line, particularly at guard (where last year's top pick Zack Martin is currently the only guy signed) - find guys to slot in at 4th in the rotation at DE and DT - get some more strength in depth (and special team skills) at LB - pick up a solid CB to be nickel or dime back, as last year's nickel back (Rick Horn) is a free agent, and is getting towards the end of his career in any case And above and beyond all that - try to find a solution at QB! Two derisory trade offers are received at the start of free agency, which are turned down without much thought. (One was for QB Wason - he didn't play well last year, but is worth more than a 6th-round pick and a scrub CB, the other for C Place, who's a solid starter and worth more than a 6th round pick to the team.) Renegotiations and restricted free agent signings: RB Andrew Lynch - $2.10m over 2 years (useful guy to have on the team - good scatback) FB Donny Driggers - $750k over 1 year (I'd like to have a better FB in a run-based offence, but he's solid enough) TE Xavier Sudnik - $750k over 1 year (decent receiving backup TE and special teams ace) SE Teddy Donohue - $750k over 1 year (useful backup receiver and kick returner) FL Ray Sims - $7.80m over 3 years (receiver mentor, and still a solid player in his 8th year - will be our slot receiver this year, with Samanta starting at FL) FL Winston Hadley - $1.13m over 2 years (useful backup receiver and special teamer) RG Trent Champion - $1.00m over 1 year (injury replacement picked up during last season - solid young player) LT Norman Huffman - $30.30m over 6 years (solid starter at LT, and still improving) K Matt Oden - $9.00m over 4 years (a lot for a kicker, but he's been reliable the last few years) RDE Moe Rivers - $4.50m over 3 years (wanted to tie up a good situational pass rusher - good deal for a guy with 12 sacks last year) RDT Blaine Andrews - $14.80m over 4 years (has been a good player for this team since the league started 6 years ago - also a DT mentor) LCB Conrad Allison - $2.04m over 2 years (good nickel/dime back) RCB Phillip Crane - $25.00m over 5 years (important part of a good defence) FS Charlie Tierney - $1.75m over 2 years (played well last year when Valentino was injured - good backup) These moves leave us with 44 players signed and $9.96m cap room free (after allowing for the expected $7m cost of signing draft picks). With QB continuing to be an issue for this team, I go back to have another look at a guy I tried to acquire through trade a couple of seasons ago. QB Keith Hutchins was the first overall pick in the 2008 draft, but things haven't worked out well so far for him. Now in his 5th year, he's only started 12 games in his career, and appears to be stuck on the bench behind a mediocre starter with the Browns, which he is not happy about at all. He's rated at 24/73, with solid potential in most categories. Despite his lack of playing time, he still appears to be a good prospect to develop into a solid starter at the least. My only concern is that he appears to have a little bit of trouble hanging onto the ball (with 8 fumbles on 30 carries and 16 sacks). Despite Hutchins being glued to the bench in Cleveland, the Browns are unwilling to trade him - well, was worth investigating This is the part of the season where the temptation is to load up on mid-quality free agents willing to sign for veteran minimum or just over - the problem with this is that these guys take up roster spots that would otherwise go on younger guys (who hopefully have a bit of potential to be developed...). While I want to make sure that I have reasonable veteran depth where required, I don't want to go too far this way. Of the Eagles free agents, I only really want to resign one - WLB Larry Roberson (solid all-round linebacker, willing to sign for a little over veteran minimum - offered $2.15m over 2 years - signed in week 4). After looking at the thin pickings on offer at guard, I also make an offer to RG Ian Huffman ($5.85m over 3 years - signed week 9). Other free agent offers: LCB Alonzo Blake - $1.94m over 2 years (decent backup defensive back - signed week 5) RB Todd Harless - $1.19m over 2 years (a decent backup, and will contribute on special teams - signed week 7) |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 12:31 PM
|
#34 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2012 draft
Going into the draft, the main needs (that I'm likely to be able to deal with during the draft!) are: - depth on the offensive line - (quality) depth on the defensive line Apart from that, I feel I can go after the best player available (unless I feel that there's a QB worth going after...) A lot longer to wait than usual this year - we've had a very early pick in each draft so far, but only two in the mid-20s this year. A strong class for defensive ends sees five DEs taken in the first seven picks. As the Eagles' first pick approaches, two of the higher-rated QBs in the draft are still available - Irving Sweeney is more polished, but doesn't appear to have a lot of upside, while Darrin Horn looks to be a better prospect, but would need a lot more development time. Miami make the decision on which QB I go after (if I want to go with QB) by taking Horn at 1.21. Other prospects worth taking here are: RDT Dixon Austin (5.9/6.4) - undersized DT who may be better at DE, not a great combine, but would contribute immediately WLB Shannon Long (6.2/6.0) - made a good impression on scouts, solid combine, reasonably polished - will start pretty quickly LCB Isaac Frederick (5.7/5.9) - good combine, well developed, solid cover corner RCB Jamal Dillon (5.7/5.9) - also a good combine, but a much more developmental prospect than Frederick - would contribute more on special teams though SLB Benjamin Nordland (6.0/5.8) - similar to Long, but slightly different spread of skills - also a potential starter in a hurry With a number of players who would be useful additions to the team, I'm seriously considering a trade up using my second-rounder here - there are a lot of solid prospects remaining at this point. While QB is a very important position, I'm finding it difficult to decide if I want to go after a QB here - I already have 3 respectable QBs on the roster. Dunmore showed that he can run the offence last year, while I'm sure that Wason has a lot still to offer (the problem here is that I don't know if I want to suffer through the growing pains of his development - while he's a 5th year player, he is still relatively raw) and I haven't totally given up on Watkins yet. Sweeney looks like a guy who would end up as about a 50-60 rated QB tops, so I don't think he's worth taking at this point, particularly when there are other players I feel would benefit the team immediately. While LB is a weakness, I know that I'll be able to get one of the guys I mentioned above if I go another way with 1.23 (as I also have 1.25). The team is relatively young at DE/DT (although I see Austin as a DE rather than a DT), and you can only really have two DEs on the field at a time - corner, on the other hand, is a position where the backups see a good bit of playing time, and my top CB (Marsh) is likely to start to decline soon (as he's in his 8th year). While Dillon is less developed than Frederick, I see him as having a higher upside given a bit of time to develop (which he will get, as a nickel or dime back this year), so our first pick this year is RCB Jamal Dillon (36/68). None of my targeted players is taken at 1.24, so we're back on the clock at 1.25 with the same guys to choose from. Having taken a corner already, Frederick has moved down the list a bit - he's good value at this point (IMHO), but not a need pick now. I feel that I'm reasonably set on the defensive line, so linebacker is the pick here. The most likely vacancy at starting linebacker is at WLB, where Guerra is solid without being anything more, and Shannon Long looks to be the better fit there (he's a good pass-rusher with useful speed for a LB (4.47 40)). He also seems to be a good fit personality-wise with front seven leader Moe Rivers, so should feel at home pretty quickly. Our pick at 1.25 is WLB Shannon Long (50/63 - if these hold up, he'll start immediately at WLB). Our next pick is 2.22, but there may be good value in trading up here - we're relatively deep at most positions, so a high-quality player is likely to be of more use to the team than a couple of lower-round picks for depth, particularly in a draft like this (which appears to be pretty deep at the top end). QB Sweeney is a possible target (maybe not worth a first-rounder, but could be worth a look at the top of the second), while DT/DE Austin would also be worth trading up for. It was asking a lot for these guys to drop, though, as they were 1 and 2 on the big board after my second pick at 1.25, and they went at 1.26 (Austin) and 1.27 (Sweeney). Looking down the board, it appears that there are a few QBs who may be starter-potential who may be available with in the later rounds, so I'm probably better to leave QB for now. LB Nordland goes at 1.31, but LB wasn't really a priority after taking Long earlier. Into the second round, and there are a few guys I'm looking at: T Wendell LeGay - not an overpowering blocker, but would be a solid addition (and may be able to start at RT fairly quickly) T Sammy Tanner - solid all-round lineman, but will need a bit of time to develop CB Isaac Frederick - possible target with the first round picks - very good value in the second round - picked at 2.5 (and is a steal there - rated 35/67) RB Andy Heavener - not a threat to break the long run, but good strong runner with decent hands - picked at 2.1 (and looks to be good value there) I decide to trade up to acquire pick 2.13, sending Oakland 4.26 and our second round pick next year - a high price, but this draft is strong enough to justify the trade. The target is LT Sammy Tanner, who projects as a high-end starter - the initial impression of 27/74 bears this out. It's likely that he'll have to play somewhere else on the line initially, but I feel that I've picked up a quality player here. We still have our original second-round pick (2.22) to use - I feel the biggest remaining needs now are offensive guard and defensive line (while I could get by with the guys I have already, there are players on the draft board who would be significant upgrades (IMHO)). The top guards remaining on the board are Willie Jordan and Emmitt Blair - Jordan is the better prospect, but isn't the best athlete, while Blair will be able to block all day long. An alternative offensive lineman is RT Jim Britton - a guy who would need a lot of development time, but has serious upside. The defensive end prospects don't look all that strong, but there are a couple of interesting players at DT - Donnell Hanks is an undersized and raw tackle (who would project to end) with a significant upside, but more in run defence than pass rush, while Irv Warren is a big solid defensive tackle (while this is not a need position right now, a guy to develop over a couple of years would be useful). I can live with the guys I have on the DL, so go for G Willie Jordan (initial rating 39/65). We now have no pick until the 5th round - I'm really looking for a backup RB and developmental QB with the remaining picks, and maybe a run-blocking FB if one is available. There are a couple of decent but flawed QBs available at 5.25 - Zack Drummond is a solid-looking passer who has a bit of trouble reading defences, while Leon Fillion struggles on the mid-range passes. Both are fairly well-developed for late round QBs, but I feel that Drummond is more likely to be a decent passer (and he can hold on kicks too, which is a nice little bonus). The pick here is QB Zack Drummond (initial rating 26/66). With our sixth-round pick, I go after a fullback - the best available is Claude Gaylord (not the best name for a football player, but if you make fun of him, he'll block you into next week... ). He's rated at 24/48 immediately after the pick. The seventh-round pick was intended to go on a backup RB, but I see an intriguing run-stuffing DE who projects to DT (at 6' 6", he'd better be able to bulk up from 290!) Omar Harden is our last pick in this draft (rated 20/45).Detroit come in with a trade offer immediately after the draft - their fourth round pick next year for QB Jeremy Wason. If I'm being totally honest here, I've lost a bit of confidence in Wason as a potential starter, particularly after the promising initial signs from rookie Zack Drummond (there are also a couple of decent-looking rookie free agent QBs I intend to pursue). Why Detroit want a QB I don't know - they have a 4th-year guy who's better than Wason, and drafted a guy fairly high in the first round this year - but I'm not going to argue here, and accept the trade. You have to take a few risks to fill holes in your roster, and trading for Wason is a gamble that has failed on me Four of our rookies accept their initial contract offers - first-rounder Long and second round picks Tanner and Jordan decide to wait for a better offer. Seventh-round pick Harden is switched from LDE to RDT - his rating goes from 20/45 to 19/48 Late free agency offers: QB Leroy Tittle (15/42) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 1) QB Billy Alton (15/44) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 3) RB Robbie Bradley (31/51) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 2) LDE Trevor Hickman (19/41) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 3) LDE Sedrick Saylor (21/38) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 1) P Bennie Ballard (41/67) - $870k over 2 years (signed week 3) QB Bubba Tanaka (27/27, mentor) - $1.20m over 1 year (signed week 2) (Yes, this is the same Bubba Tanaka that was demanding to be traded away from the Eagles a couple of seasons ago...). The remaining rookies sign contracts at the end of free agency - this, in addition to the late free agency signings, leaves us with 4.72m cap room free and 61 players signed. At this point, we head to training camp. |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 06:40 PM
|
#35 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
A look at rookies before and after camp
Code:
A mixed bag - the big disappointment is CB Dillon, who's gone from future starter to struggling to make the team - while this would mean a cap hit of almost $6m next year, it would save me carrying a guy who isn't going to contribute much. QB Drummond's drop in potential is a bit disappointing, but not unexpected - he's still in the mix to get some playing time at QB this season. On the other hand, it looks like I've found a few solid players - the two rookie free agent DEs look like they'll be decent players (and may mean that DT Harden is vulnerable), while OLB Long looks like a very solid player. Quick roster note: Before getting around to starting the cutdown to 53, I decide to switch the offensive tackles round - Huffman looks a more natural RT, while rookie Sammy Tanner is a solid all-round blocker, and looks better suited to LT. This switch doesn't do much to ratings - Huffman is now 52/52, while Tanner goes to 28/68 (-2/+3). |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 06:44 PM
|
#36 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2012 roster and training camp cuts
As usual, a run down the roster with comments on the players in each group. Code:
|
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 06:47 PM
|
#37 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Starting lineups going into the 2012 season
Starting on defence, because this side of the ball is pretty settled: LDE: Spencer McKenzie (3rd year, 42/63) - not the playmaker I had hoped for when I drafted him, but a solid starter LDT: Christian Campbell (4th year, 78/78) - solid run-stuffer who puts a bit of pressure on the QB RDT: Blaine Andrews (7th year, 68/68) - not quite the physical force that Campbell is, but is very close - this is a good pair of DTs to build a defence round RDE: Cornell Turner (7th year, 53/53) - good pass-rusher who plays the run reasonably well Rush end: Moe Rivers (4th year, 42/42) - pass-rush specialist who sees a lot of playing time in nickel and dime packages SLB: Ricky Adamski (7th year, 53/53) - good against both run and pass, but not a great pass-rusher MLB: Kenneth McClurken (7th year, 60/60) - every-down linebacker who isn't exceptional at anything but does everything well WLB: Shannon Long (rookie, 57/65) - promising youngster, best on the pass-rush, but also decent against the run and in coverage LCB: Lorenzo Marsh (8th year, 78/78) - shut-down corner who's good enough to be left in single coverage RCB: Phillip Crane (5th year, 71/71) - decent in coverage, but makes more than his share of big plays SS: Wally Ross (7th year, 67/67) - decent in run support, but much better in coverage FS: Leon Valentino (5th year, 62/62) - coming back from a major knee injury, but capable on both run support and coverage Nickel back: Conrad Allison (7th year, 45/45) - solid backup cover corner Dime back: Charlie Tierney (3rd year, 40/40) - good coverage defender A lot of these players were on the roster I inherited in 2009, but I've added a few solid starters through the draft and free agency. The offence is a lot younger, and a bit more uncertain (particularly at the most important position of all...) LT: Sammy Tanner (rookie, 28/68) - a bit of a risk putting the rookie on the QB's blind side, but a natural LT who just needs time to develop LG: Zack Martin (2nd year, 71/89) - should be a dominating blocker after a 'redshirt' year through injury C: David Place (9th year, 48/48) - solid veteran in the middle of the line RG: Willie Jordan (rookie, 41/62) - not the strongest blocker, but good technician RT: Norman Huffman (4th year, 52/52) - pounding run blocker, just switched to his more natural RT position FL: Antoine Samanta (2nd year, 64/72) - solid all-round receiver will start this year SE: Clifton Rosano (7th year, 56/56) - good veteran possession receiver - won't make too many big plays, but reliable target in the passing game Slot WR: Ray Sims (8th year, 52/52) - veteran leader of the receiving group, and still a solid player 4th WR: Ike Browning (3rd year, 41/41) - sure-handed backup receiver TE: Lewis Cox (8th year, 68/68) - good blocker and big target in the short passing game FB: Donny Driggers (4th year, 41/41) - decent blocker, but not much more RB: Bo Twisp (3rd year, 83/83) - power back with good vision, also an accomplished receiver The obvious place to finish the run-through the line-up is with the QB, but right now I don't know who our starter is! The three candidates are:  The starter for most of last season - did a reasonable job, but it's fairly obvious that he's not going to be able to carry a team on his own. May develop a little further, but is unlikely to become significantly better than he is now.  Didn't get the chance to play last season, but is definitely in contention for the starting job this year. Good at the 'secondary' skills, but not the most accomplished passer - needs to show that he can run the offence.  A nice surprise in the late rounds of the draft. The opposite to Watkins in that he can throw the passes, but isn't as strong in the 'intangibles' that you need as a QB. Will be given a chance to play in preseason, but is likely to be the third QB and holder this season. For what it's worth, the AI-recommended order is Drummond/Watkins/Dunmore... |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 06:48 PM
|
#38 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2012 preseason
A few minor tweaks to the gameplan this season - slightly less emphasis on the really long passes (particularly if Drummond is our QB), a bit more of a conservative approach on third and very long, and a bit more balanced running on offence, and a change to the balance of blitzing on defence. I hold out some of our star players for the first three preseason games, and play our full-strength line-up in the final game to allow the guys to get into the groove. Week 2: Philadelphia 16-3 San Diego QB Drummond looks like the real deal going by this performance (6/8-110-0-0, before being replaced after a minor injury). J.T. Watkins was certainly not as efficient when he was in the game. Week 3: Buffalo 10-24 Philadelphia Another solid defensive performance, with good support from the run offence. Unfortunately, J.T. Watkins struggled again (9/19-114-1-1). Week 4: Philadelphia 3-10 Oakland Not much to choose between the teams here other than a pick-six from the arm of QB Watkins. Oakland were able to run pretty well against the Eagles defence, but that isn't too much of a worry with a couple of starting linemen being rested. Week 5: Miami 3-25 Philadelphia A bit of a struggle in the red zone, with K Oden making 6 field goals with a long of 37. The return of the starters on the defensive side of the ball made a difference, particularly on the line (LDT Campbell 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, RDE Turner 2 sacks) With Drummond still injured for the first week of the season, I decide to give J.T. Watkins the benefit of the doubt for week 1 (following his reasonable showing in the last preseason game) - Watkins will start, with Dunmore waiting in the wings should he struggle. |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 06:49 PM
|
#39 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2012 regular season
Week 1: Philadelphia 16-21 Washington The red zone problems displayed in the last preseason game came back to haunt us again here, with K Oden forced to try three short field goals in the first half. Watkins played reasonably well (20/30-278-1-1), but wasn't able to bring the team back in the late stages. Week 2: Cincinnati (0-1) 14-30 Philadelphia (0-1) Three first quarter TDs put the Eagles in control of this game, and the defence did the rest. RB Twisp (28-126-2 rush, 5-35 rec) led the offence, with QB Watkins having another solid showing (15/23-146-1-1). Week 3: Green Bay (2-0) 3-23 Philadelphia (1-1) With Bo Twisp leaving the game early on through injury, RB Bradley had to carry the load, and he did with 33 carries for 78 yards and 2 TDs. The defence did most of the work, though, forcing the Packers QB to throw 50 passes and sacking him 9 times, with DE Turner leading the way with 3.5 sacks, 2 hurries and a forced fumble. RB Bo Twisp suffered a broken foot in this game, and is likely to miss a couple of months. Week 4: Atlanta (2-1) 17-20 Philadelphia (2-1) A late Falcons kickoff return for a TD made it close, but the Eagles held out for the win in a tight game. J.T. Watkins (15/25-250-1-1) continued his solid play, with WR Sims getting on the end of an 80-yard TD pass in the third quarter. DE Cornell Turner was the star of the game for the second week in a row, though, with 2.5 of the Eagles' 7 sacks. RB Robbie Bradley picked up an injury that will see him miss the next month - with three backs unable to play, Bradley was put on IR. Veteran RB Irv Joyner (33/33) was signed as injury cover. Week 5: New Orleans (2-2) 17-14 Philadelphia (3-1) Injuries caused us problems in this game - the loss of Twisp meant that the running game was ineffective, and the Saints QB was able to complete passes at will with a couple of DBs not able to play. QB Watkins continues to play solidly (15/23-184-2-2, with one pick thrown in desperation at the end of the game), and the run defence was decent, but the problems with the pass defence were too much to overcome. Week 6: Philadelphia (3-2) 14-20 Carolina (2-3) The Panthers dominated the first half, leading 17-0 at the half, and that was too much for the Eagles to pull back. QB Zack Drummond (15/27-181-1-0) replaced ineffective starter Watkins, and led the offence to two TDs, while rookie LB Long led the defence with 11 tackles. Week 7: Philadelphia (3-3) 13-21 Tampa Bay (2-4) A similar story to the last couple of weeks - the defence plays a decent game, but the offence can't put enough yardage or points on the board to take advantage. Week 8: New York (3-3) 27-0 Philadelphia (3-4) One of those games where nothing worked - the offence couldn't move the ball, while the defence struggled to stop the Giants. Summary at mid-season Code:
|
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 06:51 PM
|
#40 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Week 9: Washington (6-2) 21-17 Philadelphia (3-5)
Another close loss, as the Redskins put together a long drive late in the game to pinch the win in a close game. QB Drummond again entered the game in relief of Watkins, and played reasonably well, but threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. While Watkins started the season well, he seems to have regressed a little - instead of continuing to insert Drummond mid-game, I'm going to give Drummond his first start in week 10. Week 10: Dallas (4-5) 23-17 Philadelphia (3-6) We turned to QB Drummond to provide a spark - the offence put up its best yardage numbers of the year in this game, with Drummond (13/23-252-2-2) making a few big plays. Unfortunately, Dallas had better field position all game, and were able to take advantage. Drummond had to leave the game early, and is out for the next month with a knee injury. Instead of going back to Watkins, Edwin Dunmore will start at QB after our bye week. He will have RB Bo Twisp to hand the ball to, though, as our star back is now recovered from his broken foot. Week 11: Bye Week 12: Philadelphia (3-7) 21-16 Cleveland (6-4) The QB may be different, but that wasn't the reason that the Eagles won this game. RB Joyner scored the go-ahead TD with 39 seconds left, his third score of the day, and SE Rosano had 8 catches for 108 yards. Dunmore threw for 220 yards, but also had two interceptions. Week 13: Philadelphia (4-7) 10-15 San Francisco (4-7) QB J.T. Watkins was the hero then the villian here, throwing the go-ahead TD with 8 minutes left, then giving up the final score of the game by throwing a pick-six with four minutes to play. DT Blaine Andrews led the defence with 14 tackles and a sack. Week 14: Baltimore (6-6) 10-20 Philadelphia (4-8) QB Dunmore threw two TD passes and the defence allowed yardage but not points in a relatively comfortable win. Week 15: Philadelphia (5-8) 8-23 New York (8-5) Pretty simple - beaten by the better team here. QB Drummond started on his return for injury, and struggled to complete passes. He's our current QB of the future (for this year anyway ), though, so will continue to start the rest of the way.Week 16: Philadelphia (5-9) 19-3 Pittsburgh (11-2-1) This can be a screwed-up game sometimes... Drummond (17/21-154-1-1) led the offence, while the defence shut down the Steelers. Week 17: Philadelphia (6-9) 12-35 Dallas (8-7) Dallas needed the win to keep their slim playoff hopes alive, and it showed in this game - they led 35-6 at the half behind two Lee TD passes and two Greene TD runs, which was too much for the Eagles to come back from. QB Drummond did his best, throwing for 267 yards, but also for four interceptions as he tried to force things a bit too much. A disappointing season, but it's asking a lot to be successful when you don't know who to play at QB... Other injuries (particularly losing Twisp for close to half the year) didn't help, but every team has to live with injuries. 2012 summary Code:
The simple summary is that the offence struggled, and the defence couldn't do enough to bail it out... The passing game was poor once again - plenty of guys with some catches, but no stand-out receiver. All three QBs were inconsistent - all had good games, all had their problems. My feeling now is that Watkins isn't the guy - he's unlikely to develop much further. The jury is still out on Drummond - he's going to be our guy going to Europe next year, which may help him develop, but he still has a lot to prove. The running game wasn't great - in particular, the offensive line didn't perform as well as I would have hoped - but having to shuffle guys in and out of the lineup doesn't help. On defence, the yardage numbers are good, but the lack of turnovers hurt the team. The pass rush was decent in parts, but was inconsistent (particularly when we had a couple of linemen out in mid-season). DE Turner was our defensive MVP (with 11 sacks and 17 hurries), and Andrews also had a good year. Rookie LB Long was solid all year, and looks to be a star in the making. Looking ahead to 2013 We still need to find a QB... Other than that, it's a case of getting our offensive line to mature and gel before our slightly veteran defence starts to fade. |
|
|
|
|
01-21-2007, 07:59 PM
|
#41 | |
|
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Connecticut
|
Quote:
Sounds like the Dolphins this year.
__________________
GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty |
|
|
|
|
|
01-22-2007, 05:58 AM
|
#42 | |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Quote:
I have a couple of possibilities for the year coming up - Drummond could end up being a decent player given the chance (and we're desperate enough at QB to be able to give him every chance!), and there's a pretty good (but raw) QB in the free agent pool... Martin |
|
|
|
|
|
01-22-2007, 08:45 AM
|
#43 |
|
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Connecticut
|
I've been having some sucess with a 40/40 QB veteran who never really played a lot and I got him in FA and has career highs in TD, completion pct. and QB rating. Of course I have a stud RB and VG receivers.
__________________
GM of the Milwaukee Muscle Men of the ZFL. The 1st team in ZFL history to have a perfect losing season. I am on a quest to show that the Dolphins can win the Super Bowl. Or should I say Front Office Bowl, with FOF2K7. The revival of an old favorite, FOFC Wrestling Dynasty |
|
|
|
|
01-23-2007, 11:49 AM
|
#44 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2013 season
Herb's evaluation for 2012: 17/49/63/83, for an overall score of 49 The team showed a profit of $4.29m on revenues of $156.60m last year - not a major change from last year, but nice to make a profit. No retirements this year - we have a relatively young team. Staff hiring After the mass changes to the coaching staff last year, no changes are made in that area. I make an effort to sign a better scout, but am outbid - the incumbent, Andrew Baicy, survives for another year. Pre-Free agency moves With a young QB in need of development, it's a fairly easy call to send QB Zack Drummond to Europe this summer. We start the season with 42 players signed and $15.17m of a $131.2m salary cap free - we're expected to need $6.60m to sign our draft picks (picking either 6th or 7th in each round - no second-rounder (traded away to pick up an additional second round pick in last year's draft), but with an extra fourth-rounder). Our cap situation is a bit tighter this year, which is partly due to the cutting of first-round bust CB Dillon last year. We have a few more free agents this year, but no-one worth using the franchise tag on - we will try to resign a few of our free agents, though. A small adjustment to ticket prices this year - we're still among the cheapest tickets in the league, and it shouldn't hurt attendance too much. Last year's prices were 35/45/60/70/160/65,000, and have been increased to 40/50/65/75/175/75,000. |
|
|
|
|
01-23-2007, 11:50 AM
|
#45 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2013 Free Agency
We get a trade offer for QB Zack Drummond, with the Giants offering their fourth-round pick (4.27), but I'm not willing to give up on him just yet. We have a few restricted free agents, so some contract offers are made before the start of free agency: C Darrin Watkins: $1.66m over 2 years LG Trent Champion: $1.70m over 2 years While RT Herb Leal is a restricted free agent, he's looking for more money than I'd like to give to a backup offensive lineman - he's also a bit one-dimensional, being pretty much a pass-blocker and no more. A few contract renegotiations: WLB Larry Roberson: $2.24m over 2 years RCB Conrad Allison: $2.54m over 2 years RCB Alonzo Blake: $2.05m over 2 years FS Charlie Tierney: $1.68m over 2 years These were more about keeping solid backups from testing free agency next year than anything. As we go into free agency, we have a few areas that need to be addressed: - QB (as if I need to mention it again!) - FB - do we try to bring back Driggers, or do we look for someone else? - TE - Cox is under contract, but Grice and Sudnik are free agents - backup OT - our starters are under contract, but Patton is a free agent and Leal's wanting too much money - P - Chubick is a free agent once again Everyone on defence is under contract, but we have a few big decisions to make after this year, with a few of our veteran starters only signed for this year. Even without a second-round pick in the draft, I feel that we can deal with most of our needs through the draft - we should be able to get solid backups in the later rounds. This, along with only having $6.61m of cap space free, means that I don't expect to be very active in free agency. Offers made in free agency: QB Bubba Tanaka: $1.23m over 1 year in week 7 - signed week 7 QB Keith Hutchins: $1.78m over 2 years in week 8 - signed week 9 (former first overall pick who never got a chance to play - now in his 6th year, but worth taking a chance on) TE Xavier Sudnik: $1.78m over 2 years in week 7 - signed week 8 LT Otis Patton: $2.16m over 2 years in week 7 - signed week 7 P Jerome Chubick: $1.97m over 2 years in week 7 - signed week 7 (all offers are for the veteran minimum salary, so are reasonably cap-efficient) These signings leave us with 49 players signed and $3.52m cap room free (after allowing for the expected cost of signing draft picks) - with our relatively light free agency period over, we head for the draft. |
|
|
|
|
01-23-2007, 06:00 PM
|
#46 |
|
Pro Rookie
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Rahway, NJ
|
I've really been enjoying your dynasty. I have a question for you. I see that after training camp that you have their pre and post TC ratings. Do you do that by hand? Or are you using an outside program? Or could it possibly be in game somewhere? Thanks and keep it up!
|
|
|
|
|
01-23-2007, 09:41 PM
|
#47 |
|
Head Coach
Join Date: Sep 2004
|
FWIW, I'd keep sticking with Dunmore. The team seems to play better with him.
__________________
2006 Golden Scribe Nominee 2006 Golden Scribe Winner Best Non-Sport Dynasty: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) Rookie Writer of the Year Dynasty of the Year: May Our Reign Be Green and Golden (CK Dynasty) |
|
|
|
|
01-24-2007, 05:36 AM
|
#48 | |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Quote:
Thanks  I've been enjoying writing it - means that I'm having to take a bit more time to play the game, but I'm really getting into this team (even though I have no connection with Philadelphia or the Eagles at all!) - and it's a bonus if there are people out there who are enjoying reading...Have been doing that by hand - I'm (usually!) putting the ratings immediately after drafting into the draft report, so have those available. It does take a little time, but isn't too big a deal for a dozen or so players - I'm also finding it useful to see the before/after, as this gives you a decent idea of what to expect from your rookie players in the future. Martin |
|
|
|
|
|
01-24-2007, 05:44 AM
|
#49 | |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
Quote:
I can see where you're coming from with that, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Dunmore is one of those guys who's good enough to make you competitive (i.e. in the playoff mix pretty much every year) but isn't going to be able to lead you deep into the playoffs. The team as it is now is a pretty good place for a young QB - very solid defence and good supporting cast on offence (think Pittsburgh when they first started Roethlisberger...), so being competitive doesn't necessarily depend on how good the QB is. Dunmore is a free agent in 2013, and I decided not to resign him - have been keeping an eye on a QB (Keith Hutchings, drafted 1st overall by Cleveland a few years back - poster boy for how not to treat a highly-rated young QB) for a couple of years, and managed to sign him in free agency this year. He's only in the 20s on current rating, but still has 70+ potential - IMHO, a guy worth giving a shot, particularly for a 2-year minsal contract. I also have Drummond, who should develop into about a 40-45 rated guy (if I have any feel for QB development in this version...) Martin |
|
|
|
|
|
01-24-2007, 01:30 PM
|
#50 |
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: East Lothian, Scotland
|
2013 draft
With no franchice-calibre QB prospects in the draft, we don't really have any major needs to be filled with our first-round pick (1.7), although I feel that it may be worth looking at drafting a potential replacement for one of our veteran starters on defence, with MLB McClurken, CB Marsh and S Ross all in the last year of their current contracts, and all in at least their 8th year. We also have DT Campbell in the last year of his rookie contract - it's likely that he'll be our franchise player next year, unless we have enough cap room for an extension this year. Another possibility is to trade down a bit in the first round in order to pick up extra picks later on (would be nice to get a second-rounder if possible...) Despite the lack of top QBs available (from my perspective), three passers are taken in the first five picks - this was a surprise, as it's not like this was the Class of 1983 or anything! There are a few guys I'm interested in here: DE Dana Landrum (6.7/7.4) - solid pass-rushing defensive end FS Jerome Jordan (7.6/7.2) - highly rated safety, would be a great replacement for Ross - high volatility is a concern RB Neal Rivers (6.4/6.8) - no combine, but looks to be a quality back - not a need position, though, as we have Twisp CB Nathan Kato (6.5/6.7) - best corner on the board, and would contribute immediately - good kick returner, too TE Jumbo Drake (7.3/6.4) - not a highly regarded position, but this guy is worth taking high None of these guys would start immediately, and I would be happy to take any of them (although maybe not this high), so I investigate potential trade-downs. I don't want to move down more than about 5 or 6 spots (as this would bring too much risk of not getting one of the guys I want), but none of the teams in that area are willing to give up a second-round pick, even if I include one of our fourth-rounders. Given that we have to use this pick, I go with FS Jordan, who's initially rated at 67/89, and may be able to convert to cornerback. Our next pick is 3.7, so we have a long wait (and not much ammunition to trade up with). Of the other players targeted with our first-rounder, TE Drake goes at 1.8 (81/84), CB Kato is taken at 1.11 (56/73), RB Rivers at 1.12 (58/63) and DE Landrum with 1.15 (39/65). I don't see anyone worth trading up for, so we wait until 70 players have gone until we're on the clock again. This isn't as deep a draft as last year's, but there are still a few solid players available - a couple of safeties look like solid players, but I go with a center - Jason Giedhill had a decent combine, and looks to be a potential starter in a year or two (a good thing to have with current starter Place in his 9th year). Giedhill is initially rated at 30/64. There's a run on defensive backs during the third round, with all but one of the guys I'm looking at being taken by 3.27. Our next pick is 4.6, so I'm not confident that he's going to be there for our pick. The cost of trading up is higher than I'm willing to pay, though (don't want to give up more than a 6th to go with our first fourth-rounder), so I hang on for a few picks longer. I eventually make a trade with Cincinnati - 4.2 for 4.6 and 6.6, a high price to pay for a small move, but I really like the guy I'm targeting. FS Vincent Harper is the pick - initially rated at 25/61, he looks to be a solid DB who'll contribute on special teams and returns until he develops as a defensive back. Our next selection is the last pick in the fourth round. At this point, with 3 picks left (4.32, 5.7 and 7.7), I'm hoping to find a guy to start at FB, a backup TE and a backup OT. There are a few guys I like left at each position, so working out which positions to go after here is more about guessing which position I'm most likely to get one of them in the 7th round... My TE list has fewest guys on it, so our pick at 4.32 is TE Tony Barnes (initially rated 19/43), a big TE with decent receiving skills. At 5.7, while I feel that OT is more likely to be in demand than FB, I'm looking for a starter at FB - backups are easier to find than startable guys. The best FB left on the board is D.J. Troyer, who isn't great at anything, but looks to be a solid blocker, runner and receiver (and is decent on special teams as well). He's initially rated at 26/56, so looks to be a decent choice at this point. The calculated risk of leaving backup OT until the 7th round works, as the guy I would have taken at 5.7 is still there at 7.7. RT Roderick Chapman will need a bit of time to develop, but had a decent combine, and looks to have sufficient upside to be a potential starter if everything works out. He's initially rated at 12/62. I manage to get Harper, Troyer and Chapman signed with our initial contract offers - Jordan and Giedhill reject their initial offers, and I'm going to hold back on offering Barnes a contract until I've had a look to see what TEs are in the undrafted free agent pool (as he doesn't look as good as I had hoped when I picked him). A few offers go out to undrafted free agents: TE Craig Dawkins (27/49): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (looks a better prospect than the guy I drafted- signed week 3) C Ty Burgess (18/68): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (too good a player not to make an offer to - signed week 1) LT Daryl Malek (10/51): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (huge run-blocker - worth taking a look - signed week 2) P Patrick Hill (43/72): $890k over 2 years in week 1 (looks to have a big leg - worth bringing in to see what he can do - signed week 3) FL Conrad Burnside (19/47): $890k over 2 years in week 5 (good special-teamer with a bit of potential - signed week 5) I manage to get rookie FS/CB Jordan and C Giedhill to sign contracts before heading to camp, but decide not to offer TE Barnes a contract, as I feel that Dawkins is a better player, and I don't want to offer Barnes a deal then have to cut him (which is the most likely outcome right now). With a greater need at CB than S, I look to convert Jordan to LCB, where he can back up current starter Marsh for a year before stepping in to start - the change goes through fairly smoothly (95% conversion, ratings go from 67/89 to 62/89), so it looks like I may have a solid replacement for Marsh once his contract expires at the end of the season. With over $4m of cap room free (and 59 players signed), I look to do a bit of renegotiation with a couple of veterans before heading to camp. I want to get LDT Christian Campbell signed to a long-term extension, but he's looking for a bit more money than the team has in cap room - will probably have to use the franchise tag on him. SS Wally Ross is in his 9th year, but is still a very good player - he receives a 5-year extension worth $17.00m (with a $4.5m bonus). The other veteran I would like to keep around is TE Lewis Cox - also in his 9th year, but still very capable, and a quality starter. He accepts a 4-year deal worth $12.00m (with a $4.0m bonus) - he may play out this contract, but it wouldn't be too painful to let him go if he can make it through the next couple of years. While there is still a bit of cap room free ($2.72m), there are no other players I want to extend (and can afford to extend!) at this point - the only other possibility is MLB Kenneth McClurken, but he's in his 8th year and I have 3rd-year MLB Tayoun as a backup at the moment, who should be able to step in next year. With contract negotiations finished for just now, the team heads to training camp. |
|
|
|
 |
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
