FOF 2004 - The "Magic Beans" Challenge

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by wade moore

I guess the other thing to note is that it should be atleast marginally more difficult for Quik to get the players he wants with Humans instead of the AI.

It's our only hope.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by wade moore

Is anyone else reading this and feeling like the IHOF is in REAL trouble when QS gets the right talent to fit this gameplan?

Despite the success in this particular career, I'm really not inclined to attribute very much of it to the gameplan. Honestly, I think the factors at work are more or less in order here:

-I'm a good judge of talent, and have better overall talent than my AI rival teams do

-My players fit my system well, for the most part -- I have always acquired players with the right skill sets in mind, and paced them where their skills are best used (unlike the AI, again)

-Having lots of long-time veteran players building high cohesion

-My game plan is generally pretty sound, and plays to some of the inherent strengths of the game (I think the passing game is globally more effective than the running game)

-Among my younger players, generally only those with some growth potential actually stay on the team - I'm not spending year after year on guys with a little bit of skill but no future


The game plan makes the list, but in my mind it's well below more important things like (duh) the obviously higher level of overall talent on my team compared to the rest of the league.

[QuikSand]

2028

Okay, into a new season. We’ve got two running championships since we lost our star QB – now we face the potential loss of another QB. But we are buoyed by the best defense in the league, by a pretty comfortable margin.

Here is our performance record to date:

Front Office Football 2004
GM Performance for QuikSand of the Miami Dolphins
   
Year  Team  Eval  Perf  Diff  Proft FrVal Record    Playoffs  
2027  MIA   42    90    65    0     84    18-1-0    Bowl Winner            
2026  MIA   51    78    65    23    90    13-6-0    Bowl Winner            
2025  MIA   59    90    66    32    93    16-3-0    Conference Champion    
2024  MIA   43    86    66    0     96    17-2-0    Bowl Winner            
2023  MIA   53    90    67    20    93    19-0-0    Bowl Winner            
2022  MIA   58    90    67    29    96    19-0-0    Bowl Winner            
2021  MIA   60    90    67    32    100   18-1-0    Bowl Winner            
2020  MIA   45    66    63    16    100   14-5-0    Conference Final       
2019  MIA   64    90    63    40    97    18-1-0    Bowl Winner            
2018  MIA   54    90    63    20    100   16-3-0    Bowl Winner            
2017  MIA   45    66    64    19    88    13-5-0    Division Final         
2016  MIA   61    90    65    38    85    19-0-0    Bowl Winner            
2015  MIA   72    90    64    63    78    17-2-0    Bowl Winner            
2014  MIA   51    83    66    26    67    17-2-0    Conference Champion    
2013  MIA   64    90    69    48    70    18-1-0    Bowl Winner            
2012  MIA   64    90    73    51    58    19-0-0    Bowl Winner            
2011  MIA   58    90    76    38    55    16-2-0    Conference Final       
2010  MIA   65    90    78    53    51    19-0-0    Bowl Winner            
2009  MIA   53    60    81    51    33    11-8-0    Conference Final       
2008  MIA   47    10    79    71    26    5-11-0    None                   
2007  MIA   37    5     78    55    24    3-12-1    None                   
2006  MIA   46    5     77    72    25    4-12-0    None                   
2005  MIA   49    0     74    82    25    4-12-0    None                   
2004  MIA   45    2     74    72    27    2-14-0    None                   
2003  MIA   51    5     73    77    42    4-12-0    None                   

Since the team matured (I’m arbitrarily setting that at 2010, when Mel Copeland hit his 3rd season) we have failed to make the Superbowl only three times out of 18. Not too bad.


We have no HOF inductees this year, but we do have two retirements:

DE Ken Curtis suffered an injury a few years ago, which derailed his pursuit of the team career sacks record. He retires after 15 years with 475 tackles, 82.5 sacks, and a boatload of rings.
RB Bo Brewster was an after-draft pickup in the same year we acquired Bruce Pietrzyk, but went on to take the starting job after a few years. He leaves with 5,041 yards rushing on 4.0 per carry – a solid career.


We have a little over $10 million in usable cap space before we start free agency – so the decision is whether to lock up almost $9 million on QB Greg Huffman. In his two seasons, he has proven to be competent, but not the pinpoint striker we had in Copeland. In an ordinary career, I’d easily let him go – he’s really not all that special. But the question here is – who do we have to step in? Ronald Sampson is sorely lacking. Cris prior and Burt Waas both have potential – but going with either of them would definitely mean a very shaky year. This is a team that goes to the Superbowl every year – we can’t have an 8-8 stinker in there!

I decide to risk it with Huffman – we’ll go in without tagging him, as my hopes are that he will be easier to re-sign with a contract offer than with a renegotiation offer (the AI routines seem different). So, we decline to use the franchise tag.


We work out cap space up to $14.8 million – should be enough to make some effort to retain key players. Our list of targets this year is: QB Greg Huffman, WR Dave Harney, C Deon Flint, DT Brian Yates, P Jeremy Shaw (our longest-serving player), and DT Bo Cowley.

I have an offer in for C Flint right away, but will react to everyone else. QB Greg Huffman is thinking he’s worth about $18 million a year – this poses a real problem for my approach. If he gets it, he’s probably gone – I’m not investing that kind of cash into this guy.

WR Dave Harney gets an offer – and this will rapidly force our hand with QB Huffman. If I re-sign Harney, it will surely occupy at least $3-4m, which makes it tougher to re-up with Huffman, unless he has a massive change of heart. I’m not convinced that either guy is really worth a monster investment, but losing both would be a big dent in our passing game, of course.

I decide to split the baby – we put in an offer for Harney, but it’s backloaded enough to make it pretty cheap for the first two years. After that, we’d probably have to cut him, or renegotiate. If that’s good enough to land him, all the better.

It isn’t. Minnesota’s deal has a lot more up front, and he takes the cash. Wise move, really.

After eight weeks, nobody else budges. Good sign. Huffman isn’t really re-thinking his strategy much – he’s still angling for a huge payday of about $16m per year. My best guess is that we will start talking seriously after the rookie draft. If we have a hotshot young QB in the fold by then ... well, that makes those talks a little different doesn’t it?


In the rookie draft, I’m looking to fill holes as usual. We are getting very old and thin at LB, so that is a concern spot once again – probably the spot where we would most welcome a rookie starter. RB is a concern, too – Lincoln Connell is the man right now, but there’s nobody behind him I want touching the ball at all – so landing a solid reserve there (or even a new starter) would be useful. With Harney leaving, we could use a solid addition at WR, too – Cris Cascini will be our featured guy, I suspect, but we don’t have a lot behind him, especially after Bruce Pietrzyk has his inevitable injuries. Finally, the OL could use a boost – especially at guard. Plenty of spots to fill up with young talent – we’ll be looking to patch a few of those holes.

Looking at the top of the draft, I see guys at RB and LB who would be great additions. I’m willing to move up for a difference-maker. The RB, alas, goes at #1 overall – now we’ll focus on the LB. I’m thinking that pick #8 or so is the right spot to try to get him, but that’s a stab in the dark, as usual. When there are 5 players gone, LB Albert Horner is already the top guy on the “big board” – and I need to find out of we can go get him right here. He’s exactly the player we want, a future star strong-side backer.

Arizona just won’t budge – so I decide to let it go a pick or two, and try again. But they take my guy at #6, of course – so much for that plan. Later in the first round, the next best LB (an undersized guy who will be trapped at WLB) is atop the list at #16, then 18, then 20… and I finally move up to get him at #22. I like him a lot (the obvious “whatyoutalkinaboutWillis?” puns aside) and expect him to be very productive. Funny thing is – his twin brother Ted is in this draft too – and he looks like a guy I might be interested in as well. Wouldn’t that be interesting?

Pick Pos Player                  Board    Dash    Sole    Strg    Agil    Vol   Draft   After   PostCamp
1.22 WLB Todd Bridges             6.2     4.89     50++    30++   6.97+    63   29/71   29/70    31/66
2.32  FB Jared Stevenson          6.2     4.71+    44++    36+    7.29+    19   32/70   31/68    
                                                                                to TE   21/63    25/59
3.32  RB Jared Southerland        3.2     4.75     28      20+    7.24     86   27/35   26/34    26/32
5.32 WLB Ted Bridges              3.6     4.80     37+     23+    6.94++   83   21/42   22/45    24/51
7.32 ILB Christan D’Elisa         3.6     4.80     18      27+    7.29+    53   24/42   24/43    
                                                                                to SLB  26/46    29/49 
URFA  RB Gary Bonk                3.2     4.64     21      16     7.44     21   24/35   24/34    24/31
URFA  WR Tony Rhodes              3.1     4.50     24       9     7.14     54   09/36   09/37    11/40
URFA  WR A.J. Baker               3.0     4.69     15      16     7.52      9   14/34   13/31    14/28
URFA   C Glen Arnold              2.8     5.12     13      27     7.97     87   14/33   14/36    16/39
URFA  LG Bob Sharber              2.1     5.38     15      21     7.83     44   06/22   06/22    08/23
URFA   K Arnie Blades             4.1     5.07     42       7     7.95     89   23/50   21/55    25/55
URFA  DE Shaun Smyth              2.0     4.92     14      26     8.20     53   12/19   12/19    13/19
URFA  DE Greg Graziani            2.9     4.92     23      22     7.45     91   12/26   12/26    
                                                                                To DT   11/26    13/25
URFA SLB David Nixon              2.8     4.48     36      19     7.34     20   15/32   15/34    
                                                                                To MLB  16/37    19/43
URFA  SS Carlton Nixon            3.7     4.73     43       9     7.23     90   15/45   14/42    16/39

So, it seems that back in the early 2000s, the “Jared Craze” got to a lot of prospective parents, and we end up with two of those products in this draft. Great – we’ll keep both guys on strict diet regimens.

We do pick up two interesting linebackers in the later rounds, including Ted Bridges, the larger twin brother to Todd, our top pick here. I end up slotting both guys at the weak side – Todd is too small to move elsewhere, and Ted fits there best (run stopper, lousy coverage skills). So, they could end up #1/#2 on our depth chart in time – especially of both of them work out, and the preliminary indications are good. Actually, with three promising young linebacker from this draft, I feel like we might have sealed up that gaping hole in our depth chart – if all three guys work out, they could all be key players down the road a few seasons.

We pick up a few undrafted rookies – I have big ideas for yet another young LB David Nixon, adding to the list from the draft. This could be a banner year for young linebackers, I’m thinking. I also like the looks of SS Carlton Nixon, who could make the team as a solid special teamer and decent instinctive player. (My kind of backup in the secondary)

I get in a new offer to QB Greg Huffman – it’s $49m over four years, with $12 up front. That’s a reasonable deal in my mind – and should remain affordable at $9m per season for the next three years.

After three weeks, Greg Huffman takes our deal – it was his only offer. We’ll have him for three years at $9m even – not too bad, I guess. DT Brian Yates eventually signs, after we keep lowering our offer. He will probably start for us for the next few years at DT, unless we bring in an impact rookie along the way somewhere.


In training camp, we get a fresh look at the younger players. Bad news at the top of the draft – LB Todd Bridges had a disappointing camp, and really could turn out to be the 4th best guy we picked up in this year’s crop. More likely, he will get to play more than most, and he’ll have a chance to develop as much as he can – but his upper bound might not be any higher than that of his brother Ted, who shoes some promise for growth down the road.

I also failed to really fill the backup RB job – both Jared Southerland and Gary Bonk are pretty uninspiring. Let’s hope that this doesn’t become a major issue – if Connell goes down, we’ll have a D+ back in there, which isn’t really what we’re looking for. Reaching for Southerland that early was a poor play – I based it on apparent skills, rather than fundamentals, and got burned once again.

At WR, we have the classic “pivotal” rookie decision to make. I have room to keep one rookie, and A.J. Baker is clearly more ready-to-play than is Tony Rhodes. It would be tempting – even natural – for many managers to see this, and to keep Baker and dump Rhodes. Wrong decision! Rhodes will get better… Baker doesn’t have any of that upside that he appears to have by the scouted ratings. It became clear in camp – Rhodes was +3 in potential, and Baker was –3. It doesn’t get any clearer than that – Rhodes is the keeper. If you’re not watching your camp results to notice these movements, you’re playing in the dark.


Into preseason – we’ll be watching these young running backs, hoping to see a glimpse of some ability that might lock up the #2 job. O.J. Burroughs quickly emerges as that guy – which is fine by us. We get things settled, and head into the regular season ready to go.

Top draft pick LB Todd bridges won’t crack the first team this year, but he will be a top reserve, and should see a lot of time on the field on special teams, where he has won a job as a “gunner.” We hope to see him develop into a solid starter for us, and he ought to take the job from Nicky Jamison by next season.


We open the season with a loss at New England – ouch. The winning TD catch is by Archie Broenkow, a former Dolphin, who has been very consistent for the Pats since they signed him away from us. We lose again in week four, almost giving up a 100-yard rushing game (something we do not do, period). A 2-2 record is not what this club is looking for – is this the beginning of a big slide? Perhaps not – we reel off four wins to get to the midpoint at 6-2, back in the driver’s seat in the division at least. Our winning streak lasts until the final regular season game, so we end up at 13-3 on the year, and again in a commanding position for the postseason run, with the best record in the league once again.

Front Office Football 2004
2028 Summary for Miami Dolphins
   
Record: 13-3
Winning Pct.: .812
   
Miami Dolphins          Team      Rank  
Rushes                  379       30          
Rushing Yards           1637      26          
Yards Per Carry         4.31      4           
Pass Attempts           603       1           
Completions             369       1           
Passing Yards           4219      3           
Yards Per Attempt       6.99      10 (T)      
3rd Down Conversions    36.0      30          
Points Per Game         24.0      2           
Turnovers               27        18          
Turnover Margin         -1        16 (T)      
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes                  427       7           
Rushing Yards           1410      1           
Yards Per Carry         3.30      1           
Pass Attempts           554       32          
Completions             288       7 (T)       
Passing Yards           3309      14 (T)      
Yards Per Attempt       5.97      3           
3rd Down Conversions    31.0      1           
Points Per Game         13.5      1           
Turnovers               26        14 (T)      
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     13    at NED        16      
2     29    SFO           16      
3     22    at IND        11      
4     16    at CIN        28      
5     30    BUF           7       
6     25    at CLE        22      
7     26    PIT           20      
9     20    NED           0       
10    23    BAL           13      
11    19    at NYJ        3       
12    35    at ARI        17      
13    31    OAK           13      
14    19    STL           9       
15    41    NYJ           18      
16    30    at SEA        9       
17    6     at BUF        14      
   
Passing             Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int  
13 Huffman          QB    598   366   4203  7.02  23    22      
**Team              ---   603   369   4219  6.99  23    22      
   
Rushing             Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD  
38 Connell          RB    219   872   3.98  6       
43 Burroughs        RB    84    386   4.59  6       
13 Huffman          QB    51    340   6.66  4       
**Team              ---   379   1637  4.31  16      
   
Receiving           Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
45 Wells            TE    143   90    831   9.2   155   6       
86 Cascini          WR    122   73    1143  15.6  197   4       
29 Pietrzyk         WR    94    50    722   14.4  94    5       
27 Beyer            FB    56    41    305   7.4   82    2       
38 Connell          RB    41    31    229   7.3   73    0       
80 Bowling          WR    48    30    407   13.5  14    2       
83 Perkins          WR    38    23    225   9.7   14    3       
82 Barker           WR    36    20    230   11.5  39    1       
**Team              ---   603   369   4219  11.4  685   23      
   
Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  
53 Giles            ILB   81    27    1.5   5     1     6       
41 Banks            CB    72    22    0.0   1     4     24      
22 Ridings          S     68    26    1.0   0     2     10      
79 Ljunghammar      DT    64    17    8.0   11    0     0       
47 Harper           S     60    20    0.0   0     2     11      
93 Maxwell          OLB   55    24    5.5   4     0     4       
25 Sims             CB    53    11    0.0   1     2     14      
51 Bridges          OLB   52    27    2.0   0     1     2       
42 Money            CB    42    4     0.0   0     4     9       
91 Dotson           DE    42    13    9.5   32    0     0       
59 Newhart          DE    39    12    7.5   5     0     1       
99 Yates            DT    38    18    4.5   5     0     1       
21 Brown            S     30    7     1.0   0     0     4       
26 Torretta         CB    21    2     1.0   1     1     3       
92 Jamison          OLB   18    2     1.0   1     0     0       
56 Dotson           ILB   18    0     0.0   0     0     0       
**Team              ---   847   246   49.0  71    19    91      

We were worried about an injury to RB Lincoln Connell – fortunately he stayed healthy, but the void behind him turned into an asset, as O.J. Burroughs looked very sharp as the #2 option there. Finishing #4 in yards per carry is pretty high for us, but once again a lot of QB scrambles helped there. WR Cris Cascini stepped into his role as our primary receiver – Brue Pietrzyk was solid when he could play (about 11 games). This looks like another pro-bowl season for our solid TE Jerry Wells, also. QB Huffman was his usual self – prolific with moving the offense generally, but not very precise and a bit error-prone. 4,200 yards passing, though, is worth doing.

The defense was tough again, as usual. #1 in yards allowed per carry? Of course – this year at 3.30, very strong. The pass defense was god, but we didn’t cause that many turnovers this season. DEs Dotson and Newhart continue to be pretty effective on a shoestring budget, which is nice – especially Dotson, who is becoming a major pass rushing threat with 32 hurries. Our mighty secondary was very good once again, and Rufus Giles made the most of his first season as the full-time starter at MLB (while Cole Westbrook spent the year on IR and is probably done). LB Todd Bridges did indeed get the starting job after all, and played pretty well – the weak spot doesn’t get a ton of tackles and won’t be the big star, but he acquitted himself well and his run defense is improving pretty rapidly, which is the main thing I want at that spot.

Unsung heroes: WR Norbert Bowling is showing signs of life as a reserve WR, and earned a mid-season contract extension for his good play when called upon… WR Bruce Pietrzyk remains a dominant return threat, with 2 punt return TDs and one of the top kick return averages… DT Roger Ljunghammar continues to be a force in the middle, getting more pass pressure that we have a right to expect from him… CB Arnie Money is a wonderful nickel back, probably one of the 10 best CBs in the league, and played well once again this year… C Deon Flint, our old man in the trenches, had another standout year anchoring the admittedly shaky offensive line.

We head into the postseason fairly healthy – with S Wayne Ridings our only key starter sidelined.


Postseason

Miami 29, Cleveland 7 – Our defense really seems to step up in the playoffs, and we shut them down in the red zone this game, allowing only one big play TD all day. Huffman gets by with a lousy day but a win.

Cincinnati 18i Miami 13 - The Bengals get an early lead from a fumble return TD, and a tight game of field position yields a close in for them. 3 turnovers cost us dearly – two killed drives, one handed then their only TD, and we end up on the short end this time.

Cincinnati 27, Philadeplhia 20 – The Bengals get their first title, and send the Eagles to a second straight loss in the title game.



In the season awards, we are nearly shut out. Our one representative? K Arnie Blades (who is in my doghouse for missing four PATs) gets a second team nod because he had to step in and punt one time. For practical purposes, the 13-3 team with top ratings in nearly every stat had no pro bowlers this year. Fascinating.


Good year, a little disappointing at the end – but this is clearly still a powerfuil team, both on paper and on the cyberfield.

[JAG]

It's kind of surprising those turnovers didn't come back to haunt you the past two years in the playoffs, although I guess that's a tribute to the strength of your team.

[Warhammer]

One item that I think shows how much of an impact that cohesion has, is that each season you seem to start with a .500 record, but after the 1st quarter of the season, the team takes off!

[QuikSand]

2029

We head into a new season – no longer the defending champs, but still a league power.


Two retirements this offseason:

Jerome Maxwell started out as a role player, but developed into a pretty reliable starter at the end of his career, and ended up starting 60 games in his 13 seasons, posting 491 tackles and 30.5 sacks.
C Deon Flint has been our most reliable offensive lineman for some time – the best center we’ve had. He started 221 games in 15 seasons (2nd highest on our career list) with 32.9% KRBs and only 0.6% sacks allowed. He leaves us as our sixth “legend of the game” and a solid HOF candidate, I think.


I decide not to use the franchise tag – DT Ljunghammar as the possible target, but I will hope to re-sign him anyway, hopefully to another long extension like last time.

I generally have not been in the trading business, but we get an offer that I simply cannot turn down. QB Ronald Sampson has been a decent backup for us, but I’m not wild about him – he has voids in accuracy and timing, and I don’t think he’d ever be all that good. We get an offer for him – a 1st round pick from Seattle. It’s the first time I have accepted a trade offer, but I’m going to do it here, as it just makes sense for us. I’m optimistic that QB Cris Prior can handle the job is he has to step in and play.


We have just short of $8 million in cap space initially – renegotiations get that to just over $10m. Our target list of open free agents this year is: DT Roger Ljunghammar, RB Lincoln Connell, WR Bruce Pietrzyk, TE Jerry Wells, and S Carlos Harper. Looming in the background is S Wayne Ridings – a great player, and still restricted, so we can afford to sit back and wait him out a bit – and then lock him up long term, hopefully. Several players to try to bring in – we’ll see where we can do it.

Bruce Pietrzyk has been a fascinating story – would-be stud RB, couldn’t ever really put it all together there, switches over to play WR, shows brilliance in the return game, but never really flashes it all on the field. He’s sort of like the Desmond Howard of this team – such great promise, and while he did become a successful player, it’s still a relative disappointment to what we thought he could have done. He is now seeking a fortune – about $5m a year, which he will not get from us. We’ll see if he comes to earth, but if not we’ll go elsewhere at WR.

I start off with a few offers in this year – DT Ljunghammar gets a long term offer, with about three years being affordable. RB Connell is surprisingly being very modest in his demands, and we will try to lock him up. And S Carlos Harper, after being on the bench nearly all of last season, is pretty cheap as well – but a decent player for us. So –all three get initial offers that I’d be happy to see go through.

Right off the bat, Bruce Pietrzyk gets signed by Indianapolis – so that’s one big loss. He was frustrating, but he was our second-best wideout, without much argument. Indy is also after TE Jerry Wells, and I won’t be matching that big offer, either. After week four, Indy signs Wells – but all three of my initial contract offers have been accepted, so we retain Ljunghammar, Connell, and Carlos Harper. So – that’s our whole list – we zip through the rest of free agency, and head toward the rookie draft, where we hold pick #1 – an early pick for the first time in a long time.


Well, our needs list is about the same as usual. I fell good at LB with all the new blood from last season, but we could use help on the OL, and on the DL – preferring quality over quantity at this point. An impact player at either RB or WR would be welcome, too.

At the very top of this draft is a monster left tackle – and a guy who makes perfect sense for us to take, rather than fool around and trade down. Initially, I was enchanted with the idea of leveraging this top pick into two good picks in the top ten (remembering DT Courtney Malan and DE Tommie Browder from years ago) but I think that T T.J. Money is too … well… “money” to pass up. We’ll look for a need-filler with our pick at the bottom of the round.

Pick Pos Player                  Board    Dash    Sole    Strg    Agil    Vol   Draft   After   PostCamp
1.01  RT T.J. Money               8.3     5.01++   31      40+    7.32++   31   47/98   46/98    
                                                                                to LT   43/93    42/93
1.22  DT Everett Hazen            5.1     4.98     30      29     7.55     72   30/59   30/58    32/53
2.22  FB Timothy Joyner           8.6     4.60++   27      30++   7.27+    32   61/86   61/85    
                                                                                to RB   48/64    49/62
3.32  WR Andy Nelson              4.0     4.47     23      10     7.20     19   13/48   14/47    16/43
5.32  RG Bert Upshaw              3.2     5.19     21      21     7.52++   53   14/38   21/50    25/50
URFA  RB Butch Clayton            2.4     4.73     16      16     7.18     96   20/26   21/26    22/27
URFA  WR Marty Greeley            3.0     4.61     32      18     7.56      5   16/35   16/34    17/33
URFA   C Tommy Strickland         2.8     5.22     38      25     7.90     20   16/32   16/33    18/34
URFA   C Harvey Stiggers          3.2     5.15     52      28     8.06     18   14/38   14/36    16/35
URFA  LG Frankie Antonick         3.0     5.48     22      22     7.70     99   09/34   09/33    11/27
URFA  LT Lincoln Jamison          3.0     5.30     17      32     7.70     44   09/35   09/32    11/33
URFA  DT Grant Pearson            3.0     5.04     24      21     7.50     40   14/34   13/30    16/29

I had some pretty good luck when FB Lincoln Connell fell to me, and we moved him over to RB at 225 pounds and made ourselves a pretty effective power-based running back. In this draft, FB Timothy Joyner might be an even better case – he’s only 214 pounds, and he has projected skills that look outstanding. Even if he translates at 80% - he could be a steal as a running back. I’m pretty excited at the prospect of taking him, but I usually see fullbacks fall well into round two – so I decide to make a large trade – moving up into the middle of both rounds one and two – hoping to get a good player and then take FB Joyner in round two. I make the deal with Tennessee to get their top two picks – and sit back with fingers crossed. We get the guy we wanted – and are very happy with the draft.

My happiness rises when I see the immediate change in RG Bert Upshaw – who sprung forward as soon as we picked him up. I think that a 12 point bump before training camp is by far the most I have seen – this has to bode well. We could have made a huge OL improvement in this draft, it seems.

RB Joyner is good, but not great – he switched at 77%, according to my scout, and he came over as a typical FB-cum-RB, meaning he has fairly low ratings for elusiveness and breakaway speed. I thin he will be good – possibly a little better than Connell, but he won’t be the super-steal that I had hoped for.


WR Marty Greeley was a draft-board standout I wanted to draft, but I gave up the late picks that I might have used to select him. Fortunately, he went unclaimed, and we got him in the URAF period anyway – he could be a breakout candidate – look at that strength (for a WR, an 18 there I pretty serious). I don’t see any more breakouts in the group in advance – but with some luck (possibly Frankie Antonick?), this rookie class could be to the OL what last year’s was to the LB corps.

We work out a new long term deal with S Wayne Ridings – so we keep our fabulous secondary intact for another year. We have six guys in this secondary who are good enough to be considered stars in my eyes – that gives us great performance, and great depth. Even when our pass rush wanes, we still get good numbers against the pass.


Training camp reveals a few things good and bad. On the good side: T.J. Money held all his lofty potential, suggesting that he will eventually be a total monster on the line for us. And G Bert Upshaw also looks like he’s going to develop into a starting-quality player on the line for us as well. SO, good news for the OL. On the bad side: DT Everett Hazen doesn’t look like he will live up to the draft hype, and RB Timothy Joyner looks okay, but a couple notches below what we were hoping for, really. No other major breakouts – C Strickland will make the team as our top backup in the middle, but I don’t see huge things for him.

A little more good news – FB Skillethead Giese, a long-term backup for us, had a breakout in camp. Suddenly, he’s a serious contender for playing time. In fact, I decide to make him the starter at FB, while we will move our longtime FB Rick Beyer to a reserve role. I always liked Skillethead – now he’ll get another chance to get onto the front burner.


This season, we get out of the blocks quickly – with a solid 4-0 start. Huffman isn’t even playing well (he’s upside down, even) but we are winning with defense. We beat Denver in week six, to get to 6-0 and end their unbeaten run. We get to 8-0 at our halfway point, with Huffman back on track and Cris Cascini putting up some pretty strong numbers – and LB Christian D’Elisa looking very solid in a new starting job on the strong side. It ends up being a pretty unexciting year – we run our streak all the way, topping it off with a grand baching of the Patriots to secure our first 16-0 season in some time.

Front Office Football 2004
2029 Summary for Miami Dolphins
   
Record: 16-0
Winning Pct.: 1.000
   
Miami Dolphins          Team      Rank  
Rushes                  440       20          
Rushing Yards           1721      22          
Yards Per Carry         3.91      20          
Pass Attempts           643       1           
Completions             420       1           
Passing Yards           4621      1           
Yards Per Attempt       7.18      11          
3rd Down Conversions    46.1      4 (T)       
Points Per Game         28.0      1           
Turnovers               23        18          
Turnover Margin         +6        5 (T)       
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes                  389       3           
Rushing Yards           1258      1           
Yards Per Carry         3.23      1           
Pass Attempts           538       29          
Completions             259       1           
Passing Yards           2890      3           
Yards Per Attempt       5.37      1           
3rd Down Conversions    33.4      2           
Points Per Game         10.8      1           
Turnovers               29        5 (T)       
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     27    at NYJ        21      
2     27    at TBY        10      
3     17    TEN           10      
4     20    BUF           9       
5     42    at SDO        10      
6     30    DEN           14      
8     37    KCY           0       
9     14    at OAK        9       
10    15    at NED        9       
11    35    NYJ           14      
12    24    CAR           9       
13    19    at CIN        8       
14    35    ATL           9       
15    35    at BUF        28      
16    33    at NOS        14      
17    38    NED           0       
   
Passing             Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int  
13 Huffman          QB    643   420   4621  7.18  32    16      
**Team              ---   643   420   4621  7.18  32    16      
   
Rushing             Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD  
39 Joyner           RB    173   618   3.57  6       
38 Connell          RB    149   627   4.20  10      
13 Huffman          QB    57    282   4.94  2       
27 Beyer            FB    37    122   3.29  0       
**Team              ---   440   1721  3.91  19      
   
Receiving           Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
18 Cascini          WR    161   98    1381  14.0  221   11      
80 Bowling          WR    102   65    718   11.0  74    3       
83 Perkins          WR    105   64    839   13.1  118   6       
27 Beyer            FB    65    53    303   5.7   111   1       
28 Stevenson        TE    73    50    504   10.0  139   4       
82 Barker           WR    42    27    301   11.1  37    1       
38 Connell          RB    29    22    169   7.6   127   2       
88 Nelson           WR    29    18    222   12.3  22    2       
**Team              ---   643   420   4621  11.0  904   32      
   
Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  
53 Giles            ILB   107   32    7.5   4     2     7       
22 Ridings          S     75    29    0.0   0     2     8       
41 Banks            CB    64    22    0.0   0     5     19      
95 D'Elisa          OLB   62    15    9.0   3     0     13      
47 Harper           S     49    29    1.0   0     3     15      
51 Bridges          OLB   49    15    0.5   0     0     3       
25 Sims             CB    44    12    1.0   0     2     10      
26 Torretta         CB    39    5     0.0   0     0     2       
79 Ljunghammar      DT    36    22    2.0   14    0     1       
91 Dotson           DE    35    8     10.5  29    0     1       
21 Brown            S     32    9     0.0   0     6     8       
99 Yates            DT    28    11    3.0   1     0     1       
76 Nesbit           DE    17    6     6.5   18    0     0       
**Team              ---   781   255   48.0  94    21    89      

After a rocky start, Greg Huffman delivered his most prolific and effective season yet – with a solid 92.6 passer rating. At RB, we had some injuries to Lincoln Connell, and Timothy Joyner proved to be pretty much up to the task – these two probably combined for more rushing yards than any #1-#2 I have had in years. At WR, Cris Cascini was definitely the main target, and we got some nice results from unheralded Norbert Bowling and Norm Perkins – two journeymen who got their chance to start for most of the year. LT T.J. Money took the LT job and played pretty well, but is out for the postseason.

The defense is once again #1 in yards allowed per carry and per attempt. We pushed the run figure down a bit more – down to 3.23 yards per rush, that’s not bad. (Second best in the league was 3.63) Our youthful LB corpw played pretty well – D’Elisa and Todd Bridges seem to be stepping right into their roles, aside run-stopper Rufus Gils in the middle. DE Tyrus Newhart lost some of his playing time to Mario Nesbit – but that platoon proved effective for us. Our real strength, CB, is a problem – Mickey Sims has joined Arnie Money on the IR, so we only have two playable corners for the playoffs. We may even have to do something drastic, like move a sfatey over for these few games, rather than pick up a rookie free agent and see him on the field in the Superbowl – good lord, no.

Unsung Heroes: WR Norbert Bowling stepped in as our primary punt returner, with a solid 7.2 yard average… RB O’J. Burroughs became our kick returner, after losing his backup RB spot… DE Gilbert Dotson posted an 8.4 PrPct – a very strong number, bolstered by 29 QB hurries…



Postseason

Miami 27, Indianapolis 21 – Indy’s two new offensive weapons (WR Bruce Pietrzyk and TE Jerry Wells) certainly helped them, but we overcome them here with a solid offensive game from the whole unit.

Miami 17, Denver 6 – Our defense does its job with a powerful shut-down performance – we gave up only 149 yards to a good Denver team, while causing only one fumble – dominant effort, and we’re back to the big one.

Miami 21, Minnesota 3 – We run the table again, this time it’s a Greg Huffman coronation as MVP of the title game, with 3 TD passes on 28 of 33 in the rout. Cascini had more than half our yardage – but it’s the QB who gets the spotlight as usual. Great dominant effort, and another ring on the fingers!


Greg Huffman makes it a Mel kind of year – he racks up the four awards this season – all four he was eligible to win. He’s first team QB, Offensive Player of the Year, League MVP, and the Superbowl MVP. Very solid. WR Cris Cascini makes the second team, and is our only other mention.


Great season – I certainly didn’t see another perfect year coming, but this defense is so good that we seem to be able to just fill in spare parts as needed, and still dominate. When the offense clicks, we’re a really tough team to handle.

[QuikSand]

So, this is now getting very boring to me... I can't imagine it's still interesting to read. We know the team's good, we know how we pick up young players, all that's left is to see whether we go 13-3 or 16-0, and whether we get uopset in the SB. Doesn't seem like there's much left to do in this career.

[JAG]

Agreed. We're all just waiting to see Mel's ticket to the Hall of Fame get punched.

[cthomer5000]

How about restricting yourself to only drafting one side of the ball (and kickers)?

Actually, you're so dominant at this point that even a new challenge would likely take 5+ years to show any real effect. Still, I imagine it would be a bit tougher if you had to scrounge together an all UDFA offense.

[Chas in Cinti]

Quik.

Thanks for the ride. Do whatever you feel is best, just dont stop writing. After a long time gone from this board, this thread brought it back to my daily process...

Regards,
Chas

[QuikSand]

I'm thinking about just starting over (maybe taking over a new team in this universe, even) and playing for a while under "misfit toys" rules -- only URFAs, period. I've convinced myself, more or less, that I have figured out player development sufficiently to make such a team competitive, at least. Who knows?

[cthomer5000]

Certainly sounds like it's worth a shot. I expect a rough 4-5 year startup period with only UDFAs.

edit: you should just change teams within this 'universe' so you have a side story of observing how long it takes the Miami juggernaut to decline. It'll also allow you to monitor Miami HOF'ers without playing on in this same challenge.

[QuikSand]

Or, maybe it's time to play OOTP 6, finally. There is sime talk that with patch 6.3 (which I have alrady downloaded) the game is getting remotely playable solo. Fascinating.

That's usually good for about five seasons before I completely lose interest.

[wade moore]

I agree that these house rules with this exact setup has run it's course for you...

But I will echo the thought to not stop writing... I have enjoyed every dynasty you do...

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I'm guessing this is a colloquialism that didn't translate too well from the Dutch. Either that, or I've done something to upset you... I thought the eye-rolling was bad enough, but now you're saying "bite me?"

I am late to reply, but there's nothing you did to upset me, this isn't the thread to explain where it came from.

At least now I understand what the reason is behind the picking up of LBs and RBs.

[Barkeep49]

Well as I am also a member of the Quiksand Dynasty fan club I would hope to see another dynasty soon and would cast my vote for a misfit over OOTP dynasty.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

You should just change teams within this 'universe' so you have a side story of observing how long it takes the Miami juggernaut to decline. It'll also allow you to monitor Miami HOF'ers without playing on in this same challenge.

Yeah, I am in for this. It would be interesting to find out how fast the AI screws up with Miami, or to see if the AI can keep a dominant team winning.

[QuikSand]

aw, shucks guys...

[Chas in Cinti]

If we're voting, I say do OOTP... I've read your dynasties about everything I can think of EXCEPT baseball. Plus, I haven't bought it yet and would like to read your "review"...

Regards,
Chas

[Bee]

What about the hockey game from SIGames? I haven't bought it, so a QS dynasty would help me make my mind up if I want to buy it or not.

[Buzzbee]

Considering QS is monkeying around with OOTP and has tried the Coliseum demo, methinks QS has a hankerin' fer a new text sim.

I'd vote for OOTP, even though I've never even seen the game. Somehow I feel like a QS dynasty might intrigue me enough to cause me to check it out.

Besides, I think QS has hammered FOF2k4 enough. Us IHOFers need to have some glimmer of hope.

[nfg22]

I love this dynasty but would read any that QS writes.

[cthomer5000]

I would not read a baseball dynasty from anyone. Misfit Toys!

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Buzzbee

Considering QS is monkeying around with OOTP and has tried the Coliseum demo, methinks QS has a hankerin' fer a new text sim.

It's pretty bad. I'm even back to Neverwinter Nights...

[QuikSand]

While some of the stats here aren't as exciting as they were back then, this was a fairly interesting re-read, and was a pretty cool career to document.

Mel Copeland Rules.