 |
02-17-2006, 01:52 PM
|
#1 | ||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Island of Misfit Toys, 2006
Return with me again, won’t you, to the Island of Misfit Toys…
I have no illusions that this will be anything but a fairly fleeting exercise. I have a bit of hankering to play some FOF, and it will be a while until either of my multi-player leagues get to their interesting stages… so I’ll fiddle once again with a single player career. The IMT concept has been around a while – dating all the way back to the 7-year minsal contracts that I simultaneously loved and despised in FOF 2001. All your players come from the undrafted rookie free agent (hereinafter URFA) pool – and that’s basically the end of the list of rules. I’ll do whatever I can to put together a winning team from that pool of players. I don’t expect to do any serious write-ups here – just the facts. I also am not going to take a lot of side time for analysis – I won’t be tracking diligently which players give me a one point bump in training camp, or anything like that. Indeed, I will even just play it completely hands-off – I’ll let the staff manage the depth chart. I think I will probably do the game plan, but just because there are some gains to be had by having some big-picture decisions in my control (like the style of coverage we use). But no micromanaging – I’m just the guy shopping for the groceries, basically. |
||
|
|
|
02-17-2006, 01:52 PM
|
#2 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2011 Season
I decided to play this career as the Washington Redksins –an interesting twist, seeing the ‘Skins as a team who –won’t- be spending big bucks on players. Nice. In the “misfit toys” spirit of things, I also decide that I will wait until the final stage of staff hiring, and only then pick up new coaches and scouts – and only guys with no experience elsewhere. I get predictably mediocre guys this way – just as we want it. I shuttle all our draft picks for the next three years to Baltimore – keep them close to home, I guess. And with that, we skip through free agency and the draft, and jump into the after-draft rookie market, where we will pick up our entire initial roster. So, after a quick dabble through the overlooked stars of the future (at least we hope so), here is our scout’s view of the initial roster: Code:
I don’t see a whole lot to get excited about here – we will try our luck in season one as a run-first team, and just try to avoid making huge mistakes all over the place. A couple of guys we will be keeping an eye on are MLB C.J. Wampus and CB Kyle Maxwell – but I’m not sure we have all that much to work with, overall. On a terrible team, a big tackle number can make a splash – my guess is that either MLB Wampus or S Nicky Drake will be that guy, and might get a shot at some honors (maybe DROY) for the effort. We’ll see – we ought to be a completely dreadful team. We actually start off with a road victory, and I am floored – I didn’t expect this team to win more than one or two games, but they actually play respectably well, and scrape together a rather respectable 5-11 season. What do you know? Code:
So, we run the ball and don’t make too many mistakes – and that partially covers up for the fact that we have nearly no talent at all. Fantastic! No awards, alas, but we did get a few more wins than I would have imagined. We did get 4 yards a carry from a pretty awful line and ragtag group of running backs, also – amazing. Eddie George couldn’t do that, but he may have been weighed down by his Heisman Trophy a bit. Incidentally, CB Kyle Maxwell was our nickelback and started only two games – how on earth does he put up such numbers? He led the team in passes defensed, and was second in our secondary in tackles – he was in for 10% of the tackles on his plays defensively – absurd for a CB! He wasn’t a special teamer or gunner – I’m at a loss. Anyway – one season in the books. We’ll evaluate from here. |
|
|
|
|
02-17-2006, 03:06 PM
|
#3 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2012 Season
We zip through free agency and the draft, and get to the URFA pool. I’m looking for players who look like meaningful impact types at this point – but there are plenty of positions on this team wide open for someone to step in and take for themselves. We pick up a few more prospects, and run through another run-intensive training camp – and after paring down a bit, here’s our initial 2012 roster: Code:
So, nominally, the best non-kicker player on our team is RB Quentin Norris – who get a good deal of his lofty “35” rating from being a kick returner on the side. Is this a team that can actually move forward off our 5 wins from last year? I have to think not – I expect maybe 2-4 wins this season, and another set of dreadful stats on both sides of the ball. Code:
So, pretty much what we had imagined. After two seasons under the same conservative gameplan, what do we see? A team basically unable to do much of anything effectively. Actually, I’m a bit surprised at how frequently we threw the ball, but I guess we got behind a lot, and discarded our 88% run gameplan. Another 1,000-yard season for RB Norris, to my surprise, and a couple big years from our better linebackers – including Office, who did that from the weak-side, really quite an accomplishment in FOF. QB Jermane Gepetto (love the name, by the way) is open to a contract extension to keep him with us for the next six years. Interesting, but I think I’ll take my chances in restricted free agency rather than offer up a $21 million deal for a guy we picked up off the scrap heap. He may well get into the black next year with his TD/Int ratio, though – and he looks like a guy who could well be our man at the helm for a while. As most of the team is up for a new contract next season, we will have to declare results from this two year audition, and go from there. Do we pay guys like RB Norris to remain as our starters? I don’t think his skills are really anything special, honestly. Our RT Scottie Starr, incidentally, is named first team all-pro to my surprise – 39/91 in KRBs (42%) and only 4 sacks allowed gets you there. In my mostly pass-heavy offenses, I rarely see any OL honors (as the game mostly rewards gross numbers of key run blocks) but that is interesting. He’ll probably be looking for phat cash next year too. |
|
|
|
|
02-17-2006, 03:18 PM
|
#4 |
|
Coordinator
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Chicagoland
|
Oh hell yes.
 |
|
|
|
|
02-17-2006, 03:33 PM
|
#5 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Don't get too invested, please. I'm teetering on boredom as it is.
|
|
|
|
|
02-17-2006, 03:34 PM
|
#6 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
I'm already thinking I'd be happier with something different... maybe a "day two" dynasty, built exclusively around players from rounds 4-7 of the draft, and without the use of any of these URFA characters (who make it a bit too easy just to trawl for talent year after year, and painlessly cut the guys who don't pan out).
|
|
|
|
|
02-20-2006, 12:27 PM
|
#7 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Oh, what the hell…
2013 Season So, we have a nearly-empty roster through free agency and the draft – and we’ll have to decide who is worth paying some real money. Still, the action is all in the post-draft free agent market – and we jump ahead to that stage. I end up re-signing pretty much everyone – only a few players really wanted big money, and we have loads of cap space now and for the foreseeable future anyway. So, no real crisis here. Here’s the roster after the preseason games are in the bag: Code:
What do I expect of this team? More of the same, really. We don’t have enough talent to really compete in a serious way – so I suspect we will eke out a few wins again, and end up at something like 4-12. We’re probably two more seasons away from getting competitive. Code:
Pretty much the season I had expected. We did suffer a number of injuries, and I have worries about a few of my “long term keeper” players – but overall, slight improvement, but we’re not there yet by any stretch. We are climbing out of the very basement in some stats areas, but we are still below average at most everything. This year, it’s C Floyd Lanza who nails the all-pro honors, with 48/140 KRBs (34.2%) and only 3 sacks allowed – pretty solid numbers that get him onto the first team in Hawai’i. |
|
|
|
|
02-20-2006, 01:11 PM
|
#8 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2014 Season
We start the season with CB Kyle Maxwell still out with a broken leg, but it looks like WR Jeffrey Jacobs is fine after his serious injury last season. Indeed, I think we will plan to open up the offense a bit more this year, and see what these guys can really do. We fly through free agency and the draft, and get to our player pool, the unloved and unwanted players. Anything exciting? WR Bernard Henry looks promising, and is an affinity pickup for us – so that’s good. SS Carl Gardner looks like he can help at a need position, too. But my hopes of landing truly promising additions to the defensive front looks like they come up empty. DE Nicky Bradley is one of several guys I bring in, but I don’t see any real answers to my problems in this lot, just more bodies. I do let a few mediocre veterans go, trying to feed in the new blood a bit. I am hoping, after a little thought, to see one of our two rookie SLBs take the starting job, if not right away then soon. That slot is a very ripe target for improvement. Code:
So, we are prepared for another season – I tweak the gameplans a bit, and will try to let us pass a bit more than before. Probably will kill the OL honors, but it might make us a better team overall. I actually think that WR Jeffrey Jacobs might be a pretty capable starter if used properly, and we’ll give him a shot this season. How many wins? Probably 5 or 6, I’d guess. Though I do expect to see continued improvement with the stats – maybe we’ll be better than average at 1 out of 4 major stats this season. Code:
We jump out to an alarming 3-1 start, but again settle back to earth. Still – a 7-9 record is a shade better than I had forecasted, and the team put together a few pretty credible stat lines. On offense, we were basically average in both passing and rushing – to my surprise. WR Jacobs did indeed step forward with a pretty good year to lead our receiving corps. On defense, not much to see – big tackle totals, but still a very porous bunch. DE Bill Tucker had 11 sacks – but I hardly see how. He’s a very modest talent, but is better than most of our guys – lending some credence to the idea that there’s some balancing factor at work here. I’m convinced that on an otherwise good team, a guy like Tucker getting starting playing time would get almost nothing – as his superior teammates would get the lion’s share of any sacks to be had. Same goes for Bennie Blair and then some, as he’s barely above a zero-skill player (literally 2/4 in pass rush technique), yet he tallied 9 sacks this season. Only one Pro Bowler from here this year – LB Dean Office makes second team. At this point, I really wish we had slotted him at SLB, where he’d see the field a lot more than he does now. But he’s a very solid weak side backer – and will back up the Brinks truck this offseason, I’m sure. |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 07:48 AM
|
#9 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2015 Season
Our first season of actually having players on the free market – I will take efforts not to lose anyone serious, as we really can’t afford to under these rules. If a guy like Dean Office, for instance, walked off – we’d have no way to meaningfully replace him. So, we’ll stick with the guys we have – cohesion should be an asset in time. We get five key veterans re-signed in the early stages, and lose nobody – so far, so good. We again aren’t able to pick up any seeming difference-makers for our front seven this year – actually, this is as dry a URFA class as we have seen. Alas. Code:
We are starting to see several guys settle into their “build around” roles – LB Dean Office and CJ Wampus certainly seem comfy in their starting jobs. WR Jeffrey Jacobs probably bas the starting flanker job for life. And LT Dan Shearer is probably not the only OL of ours who could be there forever. We’ll have a question after this season – should QB Jermaine Gepetto stay on that list? He will be seeking big money, and while his skills continue to develop – he looks like he might be good enough to win some games for us. We’re falling into a bit of a trap now – it’s getting harder and harder for young players to actually get playing time, since I turn over the depth chart to my staff. Unless I have a total talent void at a position, I end up with a lousy veteran monopolizing the playing time ahead of a potentially promising young player – and that won’t abate any time soon. If I like a rookie from here on out, I’m all but obliged to clear out the path to the starting job for him if I want to see him develop. So, what’s ahead? Well, I didn’t think this team was good enough to go 7-9 last year… are we good enough to make a run at 8-8 or better this year? Possible, though I would not be surprised to see about the same as last season here. Code:
Well, we slid back a bit – and the team really isn’t showing much sign of progress ahead from last year to this year. One more season like this, and it might be tempting to declare this team hopeless. But for now, we will plug along, and hope to see some breakthroughs. On offense, we got incrementally better in the passing game, but we are still not that good at moving the ball. We need an impact player on offense who can really make some plays – WR Jacobs is okay, but just not that exciting. I wonder if RB Norris isn’t a mixed blessing himself. On defense, we really jut need help stopping the run, where we remain very very weak (and I hate it). One solid player for our defensive line – just one – that’s all I’m asking for. Give me one good run defender up front, and I might be able to do something with these guys. Our pass rush dropped off as our starting DE tandem both got hurt, and that doesn’t aid things either. |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 07:49 AM
|
#10 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Notes on Team Development
Before I start the new season – a note on progress, in this career. To me, there are four stages in a team’s development (I know them well, as I usually play “empty cupboard” and start out with a hapless team of nitwits). 1. Hapless Team of Nitwits (wins only a few games, statistically overmatched) 2. Competing for a Playoff Spot (wins 6-9 games, statistically inconsistent) 3. Playoff Team, Title Contender (wins 9-12 games, statistically solid) 4. Dominant Team, Dynasty Threat (wins 12+ games, statistically dominant) With most sets of rules, it’s basically a matter of time before you get through all these stages, and often by the time your initial few years worth of players from an EC start are reaching their prime (maybe year 6-8 or so), you’re actually benefiting from the lack of dead contracts and old beaten-up players, and have a shot to reach the final stage – a team that really clicks and starts kicking some serious ass. Here, I’m through five seasons, and I don’t think we are even to stage two yet. Perhaps it’s my quick pace, and lack of attention to detail – or maybe I’m just not assembling a good enough team with the pieces I have to work with. Probably a combination of both. The problem here is – unless I want to wade in and take over the team with some hands-on management, I’ll be stuck soon. My young players won’t get playing time to develop, and my old players are all 25/30 bums who won’t likely ever win us anything. Over time, we might gain great cohesion and might get to level two, maybe even level three – but I don’t think this team can win a championship without getting very lucky. We either need to land an impact player or two quickly (and carve out the roster space for them to start right away) or else take our chances mostly with the lot we have on hand... |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 09:07 AM
|
#11 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2016 season
For 2015, our sole Pro Bowler was MLB C.J. Wampus, whose lofty tackle totals arose form our team’s poor performance, mostly. He did get in on 20% of the team’s stops, though – even if it’s for lack of competition. We have a number of quality players – by our standards – in the open market. But I don’t expect much competition, since our definition of quality players is a lot lower than that of most teams. Guys like DTs Mel Mann and Russell Satterlee and CB Kyle Maxwell would cripple us if they left – but who else would possibly want them? The big question is QB Gepetto, and I’m convinced we have to sign him. He’s getting pretty good, and it’s obviously a key position – plus we still have tons of cap space. I’ll try not to dip too deep, but we will endeavor to get him locked up long term. (He’s thinking $17m a year… I’m thinking a lot less than that, for a guy who still has yet to complete a season with more TDs than picks) QB Gepetto actually gets an offer at nearly his asking price, so I am forced to workout a deal with him – I sign him to a one year $19m contract, and hope that the market for this guy cools by next year. The $19m represents a full 23% of our salary cap, but on this team we can afford it. LB Fred Owens announces a holdout. Okay. I have Jonathan Bloom ready to step in, and he might be better anyway – we’ll wait him out, I suspect. We get our act together – and head into yet another season. Here sthe beat up roster after a tough preseason: Code:
Is this team capable of taking a step forward? I thought last year might be the one where we made it to 8 or 9 wins, but we fell short. I don’t think we were as bad as the 5-11 record last season, so I again think we are capable of a solid year – maybe 9-7? Code:
Wow, where did that come from? We suddenly transformed into the top scoring team in the league, and a top run defense (immediately after a season where we were just awful stopping the run). Very odd. RB R.J. Woods gets a good deal of the credit, as he finally leapfrogged into the starting job, and gave us an unreal 5.23 yards per carry. He is a three-rating guy – but they are good ones: hole recognition (71/78), elusiveness (72), and speed to outside (75). Even without any other ratings out of the 30s, he’s solid enough in the basic run-the-ball-you-dummy skills. So – he’s our offensive catalyst, it seems to me. (Interestingly enough – he got to a ypc of 5.2 without the benefit of a lot of long runs – his longest of the whole season was only 38 yards!) The passing game was slightly better than before, with Gepetto posting his first strong year statistically, and again spreading the 4,000 passing yards around widely. It looks like WR Britt Crane is getting entrenched as the split end starter – and he’s intriguing as another good player with fairly low route running skills. So, on balance, if we can run effectively and maintain this passing game – we are a serious threat. And it showed. Defensively, we got pretty good efforts from our linebackers again, even after Dean Office went down midseason with an injury (maybe serious). DE Nicky Bradley might be a find at DE, despite meager ratings, he’s getting the job done pretty nicely – a PRPct of 4.9 isn’t stellar for most teams, but here it works just fine. The pass defense remains a weakness, but we were without CB Peter Terry all year, though CB Rob Stitt filled in quite nicely, actually, with his best year to date, along side Robbie Allred, who now factors into our plans there too. So… by the numbers, we are a power team, suddenly. We get a bye week, and have the top seed in the playoffs. That came fast! Divisional Playoff – Minnesota (12-5) at Washington (12-4) – Gepetto is hobbled by a sore hammy, but he’ll go in our postseason debut. We have injuries everywhere, actually. This turns into a ground game struggle, and we got into overtime at 13-13, but the Vikes rumble in for a score after getting a turnover, and they get the 19-13 win to send us packing. Alas – can’t be upset with that season, by any stretch. In the season awards – we are shut out, perhaps a good sign that our defense is no longer racking up silly tackle totals, since our offense is actually holding the ball longer. On we go – with hopes anew! |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 10:54 AM
|
#12 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2017 Season
Free agent QB Jermaine Gepetto now thinks his value is in the $13m a year range – a shade less than he sought last year, but still more than I really want to commit. I’ll try to ink him to a two year deal with big money, with hopes of renegotiating next season. But if he lands an offer from someone in that big money territory, I may have to pay up. I get a little cavalier with my signings, and I let WR Bill Vieane get signed away by San Diego. He had lost his starting job, but was still a decent player – that was foolish of me, thinking that he wouldn’t be pursued by anyone at all. In the rookie class, I find a number of guys who look intriguing – especially after a position switch. I’ve got D-tackles turned into ends, running backs who will play wideout, and corners who can pay at safety. We’ll see what we get from this lot. Here is the after-camp roster: Code:
It looks to me like DE Troy Tatum might turn out to be the best pass-rushing DE we have had on this team, and he might contend for a starting job right away. SLB Eugene Quinn is a liability in run defense, but looks like a good pass rusher also – tough to know how to use him, really. (The ideal thing would probably be to slide him to play at LDE, but I already did the double-switch with him to test him out at LB, and now he won’t budge again this season) S Juchartz is a big hitter, and might eventually be an important part of this secondary. This might turn out to be a pretty good rookie class for us. We have to move LB Jonathan Bloom over to the weak side, as it looks like Dean Office is a shadow of his pre-injury self now. Bloom may take over that starting role, for whish he is pretty well suited anyway, and he played well filling in there last season. So, we head into another season – not knowing quite what to expect. I think we have had overcompensation the last two seasons – we were not as bad as 2014’s 5-11 record, and I don’t think we were really as good as 2015’s 12-4 record (even though the stats said we really did earn it). Is RB R.J. Woods a late bloomer, a la Priest Holmes? Can he really be a superstar caliber running back for this team? if he falls back to earth and everything else goes just like last season, we’re probably 9-7. I suspect we are a playoff contender, but not a powerhouse team. Code:
At 6-4, I thought we were on track. Falling to 6-6, I worried we’d fall apart. Then we reel off four wins to finish 10-6, and into the postseason again as the #3 seed. Okay. Basically, our offense did indeed crash to earth – R.J. Woods was once again relegated to “some guy” status, and we dropped from the #1 scoring offense to #22. Our defense, though, was one of the elite units overall – a fairly quick jump from doormat to brick wall. Wide receivers Jacobs and Crane started to become an even bigger part of the offense with each guy threatening 1,000 yards. I think Crane is on his way to becoming a very good player – I’m seeing development in his lower ratings, and if he improve on route running, he could be a star for us. Just what we need. LB Wampus continues to center the defense, while Fred Owens keeps his hold on the strong side LB job. DT Russell Satterlee had another very solid season as our main run stopper inside – he’s shows glimpses of this, but this 68+19 tackle season might have been his best yet. We dropped to only 28 sacks, but it didn’t seem to hurt – our secondary picked up the slack and kept things in check. As a team, we probably had a 20 PDPct rating, pretty solid. Wild Card Game: Tampa Bay (10-6) at Washington (10-6) – We fall behind a TD in the first quarter, but get things going and drive for three Gepetto TD passes to take a 28-14 win and move into the next round. Our first postseason win! Divisional Playoff: Washington (11-6) at Chicago (13-3) – A close fought game, we take a 23-21 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Bears strike for the game-winning TD with a few minutes left, and secure a 28-23 win to move to the conference finals. They win despite losing the turnover battle 6-1… unreal that we couldn’t seal the deal given that stat. Chicago goes on to win it all… In the season awards, we are shut out again. So, I suppose this means we have arrived – we are apparently annual contenders. We have a few players who are developing pretty nicely, and still have cap room to keep everyone we really want to keep. The next few seasons might end up being our prime time to get somewhere in the postseason, if things stay on course. |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 11:55 AM
|
#13 |
|
Coordinator
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Chicagoland
|
Wow, 2016 completely surprised me. Good stuff!!!
Again, as usual, I'm amazed by how much you get your 3rd & 4th receivers involved in the offense. |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 03:38 PM
|
#14 |
|
College Starter
Join Date: Jun 2002
|
Hmmm...must be some slow days in the QuikSand office. I figured you'd be taking naps to catch up on the sleep you are losing at home.
__________________
Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. - Lou Holtz |
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 04:20 PM
|
#15 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
That sleep stuff is overrated.
|
|
|
|
|
02-21-2006, 04:38 PM
|
#16 |
|
"Dutch"
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Tampa, FL
|
Gepetto has matured nicely from his 16/44 days.
|
|
|
|
|
02-23-2006, 09:02 AM
|
#17 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
It seems that given enough playing time, quite a lot of mediocre QBs will eventually turn into useful players. Gepetto isn't a star, but he has three very good ratings (accuracy, timing, and sense rush) and two more pretty good ones (screen passes and third down passing) that probably make him generally well-suited for a run-first team. He's only rated 40 in avoiding interceptions, so I don't think he'll ever be a 100+ rated passer, but I think he's good enough to win with. |
|
|
|
|
|
02-23-2006, 10:03 AM
|
#18 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2018 Season
So, we assume the role of contender, it seems – now we’ll see if we can get ourselves to being a serious title threat. On the open market, I work to lock up most of our players pretty quickly – we have cap space, so I’m offering them flat deals for a few years, in hopes of avoiding any dumb losses. I wait on RG Dominic Pritchett, but then he gets a big offer – so I again have to go and outbid someone for him, paying more than I’d like – a 1yr, $3.5m contract. But, we keep the OL intact, which is what I want to do for the seasons ahead. In the after-draft URFA market, I am looking now mostly for players I see as having a major impact. Other than that, I’m comfy just keeping what we have on hand, in the name of cohesion and continuity. We’d welcome an impact player nearly anywhere, and could still use general help at RB and perhaps along the front seven on defense. I sign a bunch of rookies, but I don’t hold out hopes for anyone here to become a serious breakout contributor for us. Code:
After the exhibition season, I take stock of our situation. Our roster rating is a dismal 29, fourth worst in the league. But our cohesion ratings are generally very good (also no surprise) – rated at 100(94)-100(96)-100(85)-78(6th). So, we are becoming one of the most cohesive teams in the league, and that margin ought to continue to develop. RB Mark Conrad is likely to take the #2 RB job as a rookie, making him probably the biggest impact player of this new class. Past that, it’s mostly the same guys who have been in there already. G Pritchett will sit the season out on IR, drawing his $3.5m from the sidelines. I suspect this is a contending team again – I’m not sure how we are able to stop anyone, but the defensive front is probably the most critical unit. If we can get some actual pressure, we might be able to force a few more turnovers – and that might be the next real step toward becoming a major threat. Ten wins again? Code:
A 1-2 start doesn’t bode well, and has me thinking we might be a mirage – but then we get things together again, and run off a few wins to get back on track. However, a slate of injuries and some bad games drop us to 4-5, and that doesn’t seem like a playoff team to me. A late rally gets us to 8-8, but this was most definitely NOT a playoff team this year. Hmmm… WR Britt Crane gets our first 1,000 yards season from a wideout, and is pretty clearly developing into a solid starter. Gepetto is still making lots of mistakes, and that just seems to be our lot in life with him. The running game showed no real punch this year – I guess the one big season for Woods was just lightning in a bottle, and we’ll never see it again. We did have OL injury problems, but it’s tough to excuse everything to injuries. Defensively, we got more passes defensed than ever, and our pass rush was adequate (DE Tatum starting to get playing time, that’s a good sign, though it’s due to a long term injury to Nicky Bradley, which is bad) – but statistically, we just didn’t stop anyone. We dropped from a top rush defense to allowing over 4 yards a carry – just awful. I think DE Bill Tucker is becoming a team liability, and we might try to use the more run-focused Geoff Bush in the LDE slot instead next year. Tough to know what to do – most of this is out of my hands, really. My one thought is that we might import a Chesapeake IHOF gameplan for this team to run – the personnel is sub-par, but not badly suited to those specific roles. Might be entertaining at least. So, maybe we aren’t a perennial top contender, after all... |
|
|
|
|
02-23-2006, 10:59 AM
|
#19 |
|
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Burke, VA
|
OK, how about this: You can only draft in the 7th round. There are no restrictions as to the number of 7th round picks you have in any one year, but that's the only bone you get. Maybe you get to the point where the ONLY players you are allowed on your roster are 7th round picks - no URFA's - just 7th rounders.
|
|
|
|
|
02-23-2006, 12:35 PM
|
#20 | ||
|
High School Varsity
Join Date: Sep 2003
|
Quote:
So I used to believe this. Until I started seeing things like this: Quote:
And now I don't even think playing time is all that necessary, at least for QBs. Evans was a 18/35 guy when he started and he has basically never seen the field. If you do continue with this I think you need to get a QB that will take better care of the ball. Turnovers are not good for teams with a lot of talent, but they can be overcome. Turnovers for teams with little talent are a backbreakers. Maybe Oskolkoff would be a better fit? He should be able to get to about where Gepetto is in a few years. |
||
|
|
|
|
02-23-2006, 12:51 PM
|
#21 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
Maybe for next time. Honestly. |
|
|
|
|
|
02-23-2006, 03:57 PM
|
#22 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2019 Season
We lock up everyone without incident (not including the K and P, who will be replaced with drone rookies). We quickly zip through the free agency and draft – and get to the rookie pool. I am itching for a difference-maker player. Before training camp, the best candidate I think we have for “difference maker” is probably DT Raymont Compton, who has some ability as a run stopper. A few DBs, a decent looking TE (at 282 lbs!), but nobody knocks my socks off, yet again. We’ll have to look at a few rookie RBs as possible WR “switch” candidates, and see what we come up with there. I think we are going to let RB Quentin Norris walk – he really can’t run any longer. (Ha-ha!) I want to get our younger RBs involved, and he spent last season on IR as it is. Norris has 5,617 career rushing yards for us, but I think his tank is empty. Code:
WR Glen Morton, a converted RB now playing at flanker, has some apparent potential – though a bad camp suggests lots of it is smoke. He and Pruett are both versatile reserve receivers, and we can use that, though. I would like to get RB Gilbert Cortez the ball a bit this year – but I almost don’t see how to do it. I might have to cut or deactivate the guys ahead of him – but I’m thinking that Cortez might be the guy here with the most potential. Oddly, his red and green bars don’t say much about his projected growth potential – but that 44 rating is more in line with my hopes for him. We’ll see – but h could be our starter… maybe even the difference-maker we have been longing for? Heading into the season, I decide to go with rookie Cortez as our main RB – that means deactivating R. J. Woods and Mark Conrad. We’ll see whether this pays off. Is this a playoff team? Maybe. Are we a 12-4 type of team? If we hadn’t done it already, I’d say obviously not. I suspect we’re a 9-win team that could sway a few games either direction. Code:
Okay, so I was wrong – we are a mighty football powerhouse after all. * shurg * So, what went right? On the offensive side – we were incrementally better at everything. Not a great rushing or passing team, but a shade better than average at both, which is solid. No gaudy stats, but we showed more balance than in the last couple of years, oddly enough. Gilbert Cortez actually got into the end zone 10 times – more by far than we’re used to seeing from our RBs. On the defensive side, we suddenly developed a far more serious pass rush, put up great numbers against opposing teams’ passing games overall, and became one of the top defenses in the league. LB Eugene Quinn got elevated to start at the strong side, and was a force in the pass rush, and solid against the run as well – suddenly a dangerous player. Fascinating… so we get a bye week again, and might even be a contender for a title. Weird. Divisional Playoff: Detroit (10-7) at Washington (12-4) – We turn the ball over four times to their two, but still hold them to only 6 points as the defense turns it up and claims the win. Wow, impressive showing by the D – 225 total yards in a playoff game. Conference Championship: Seattle (12-6) at Washington (13-4) – Trailing late, Gepetto is hurt and Riddick Evans comes in and is great (6/6 passing) leading us to a tying score. In overtime, though, they break off a long run and seal it 20-14 – ending our best playoff run yet. We were shut down all day, and lucky to be even that close. Seattle wins the Superbowl 30-20 over Denver to complete their wild card ride. Great season, wow. A few new faces moving into starting roles, that’s fine. We’ll see what kind of development we see from a few young guys – but we might have landed some “difference makers” after all, without realizing it at the time. |
|
|
|
|
02-24-2006, 04:38 PM
|
#23 |
|
College Benchwarmer
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Grafton, WI
|
Great to come back to the site and see a Quiksand dynasty in progress.
Good stuff as always QS. |
|
|
|
|
02-25-2006, 10:26 AM
|
#24 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
For what it's worth... QB Evans is indeed credited with 70 games, even though he has only been a sporadic starter. I have never know what triggers player development -- but it's at least possible that his stat sheet including lots of games (even if he's only been on as a kick holder, etc) is helping his development. As for Oskoloff, he wasn't a great fit, and has since been cut. It looks like I'm pretty well committed to Gepetto, warts and all. |
|
|
|
|
|
02-28-2006, 11:43 AM
|
#25 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2020 Season
We have our first retirement – SLB Fred Owens, who was beaten out last year for his starting job. Disappointing, but not a huge loss, I suppose. We get pretty much everyone re-signed, but decide not to offer a new deal to RB R.J. Woods. Code:
So, nothing too exciting to report from this offseason. DE Luther Erbaugh looks like he might be intriguing, but he will be tough to get much playing time, with a current skill rating of only 22. WR Jason Rivera (yet another converted RB) is another versatile guy – but I’m getting a lot of guys who look like him at this point. This year, I guess we expect another strong run toward the playoffs – hard to know what to bank on with this team. Code:
Not exactly crashing back to earth, as 9-7 is good enough to easily win our division this season, but not really 12-4 either. QB Gepetto’s 28 picks is awfully disappointing, and a big reason why we weren’t more effective overall. The comment made in this thread about a mediocre team having to overcome turnovers certainly applies here – we are just not dominant enough in any facet of the game to remain a top team with that many giveaways. LB Quinn is looking like a solid addition to the starting lineup, and he seems to be getting a bit better against the run as well. DE Nicky Issacson was a bit disappointing this season, but the DL remains adequate, despite their pretty modest skills. DE Monty Jessup was a sudden boom player, and took over Troy Tatum’s starting job – I think our best bet is to get those two playing as bookends, but I’m not sure how to get there. Neither is heavy enough to move in to play DT, so we will try to shuffle as best we can. Wild Card Round: San Francisco (11-5) at Washington (9-7) – We are one and done, as the 49ers take us out 19-13 after a TD drive to start overtime. They ran right at us, and we could not stop their running game – we were lucky to be close at all. So – another season on the books, and the picture isn’t too clear. We seem capable of playing well and putting together a legitimate title run, but the team is not at all consistent, and we don’t have great room for error. Next year… 8-8, or 14-2? Beats me. |
|
|
|
|
04-18-2006, 09:12 AM
|
#26 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Wondering whether this career is worth reviving...
*shurg* |
|
|
|
|
04-18-2006, 10:12 AM
|
#27 | |
|
Coordinator
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Maassluis, Zuid-Holland, Netherlands
|
Quote:
I always like to read about your Island of Misfit Toys dynasties.
__________________
* 2005 Golden Scribe winner for best FOF Dynasty about IHOF's Maassluis Merchantmen * Former GM of GEFL's Houston Oilers and WOOF's Curacao Cocktail |
|
|
|
|
|
04-18-2006, 01:58 PM
|
#28 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Bored a bit, yes... but not so much to revive an old career -- just too hard to regain any "flow" of what was going on originally. New thread coming, though.
|
|
|
|
 |
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
