 |
06-01-2005, 12:39 PM
|
#51 | |||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
Through four games, I have Donald Shihi starting at the RDE spot, and he has been pretty effective. In 223 plays, he has registered 3.0 sacks, 2 blocks, and 5 hurries, for a PRPct of 7.5. That 7.5 compares pretty well with my other starters: DE Alvin Hall 7.5, DT Richard Buxton 6.2, and DT Eugene Bradham 3.6. Shihi has only 15 total tackles, the least of thst foursome, but not by much. So far, I'd say I'm satisfied, but less than thrilled, with his performance. If he can go the whole season with a 7.5 PRPct, I will be quite pleased. |
|||
|
|
|
06-06-2005, 06:56 AM
|
#52 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Good dynasty so far!
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
06-10-2005, 01:56 PM
|
#53 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 5: Portland at Chesapeake
Here, we are home, taking on a team that is undergoing a major youth movement. In short – this ought to be hammer time, if this team is anything like a top contender. Code:
We get the win we needed, but this was hardly a blowout like we might have sought. Indeed, we gave them chance after chance on their final possession to pull even – only the clock saved us. I’m pleased with what we got from RB David Smith, pushed into duty this week. We are not a team that’s going to churn out lots of 100-yard days for our RBs, so 14-81 and a TD is about the high end of my expectations. We also got a subtle good game from RB Lewis Lee, with two key kick returns that each boosted scoring drives. Also, a great game from CB Ferdy Nave – I knew he had it in him. His third pick of the year in five games, and he contributes with five tackles and a defensed pass. We manage four sacks and nine hurries – not to bad, but not enough to get the defense to dominate the game as we might have hoped. On the downside, we suffer a serious injury on offense – WR Mark Jackson has blown out a knee, and is done for the year. This bodes poorly for us, as my preseason decision to cut WR Ryan Kahn now looms pretty large over this offense. Kahn is still a free agent, and would be the ideal guy to pick up – except he wouldn’t accept any offer from us. So, we will probably have to trawl through the remains at the position, and come up with a roster filler of some sort. Regardless – we stand at 4-1 now, and are pretty well in command of the division thus far. I remain very skeptical as to whether this team can handle any real pressure, and the loss of our most talented skill position player doesn’t help that much, but we’ll see – I suppose after missing the playoffs last season we have no room to complain about 4-1 under any circumstances. |
|
|
|
|
06-10-2005, 01:58 PM
|
#54 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Chili Dogs Sign Veteran RB Madrigal
With the injury to RB Chadwick Morimasa leaving us without an obvious go-to starter at the HB position, we have signed 11th year veteran Cordell Madrigal. Madrigal has 2,632 career rushing yards, including two seasons as the premier rushing threat for State College. He also has some ability in the passing game, and ought to fit our scheme fairly well. I am hopeful that the combination of David Smith and Cordell Madrigal can fill our needs at RB for the time being – I expect to start Smith at HB, and use Madrigal as the top reserve and passing down back. RB Matt Doughty has been released to clear the roster space for Madrigal. (Note: this was meant to have been posted a couple of days ago - my omission. Madrigal was active for the game against Portland, but played a minor reserve role behind the surprisingly effective David Smith) |
|
|
|
|
06-11-2005, 07:19 AM
|
#55 |
|
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Not Delaware - hurray!
|
Quik - philosophical FOF question for you. I've noticed in your MP leagues and solo games your philosophy is to go for a great quarterback, good receivers and a backfield that can catch the ball. Unless I'm mistaken, I don't remember you ever utilizing a smashmouth, run it up the gut kind of approach.
If the above paragraph is correct, do you utilize this approach because you believe it wins football games in general, or basically just an FOF strategy? If it's an FOF strategy, do you believe that FOF therefore does not "properly" value the running game in it's simulation engine? I ask this because I've seen many successful high-octane passing attacks in FOF but only rarely see teams that run the ball ad nauseum become winners. I'm not sure if that's an NFL trait or only seen in FOF.
__________________
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! She loves you, yeah! how do you know? how do you know? |
|
|
|
|
06-13-2005, 08:55 AM
|
#56 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
It's a little of both, to be fair. I do, generally, believe that an effective passing game is the single most important thing in FOF. I think this has been true in every iteration of the game. This advantage seems to be less dramatic after the latest patch, but I think it still exists. Compounding that is my general sense that assembling a somewhat deliberately imbalanced offensive strategy is a good way to manage the salary cap. So, with this team in particular, I have gone with a pass-intensive offensive style, using a lot of multi-WR formations. The idea is to stock up on decent receivers with a strong QB, and then skimp at positions like RB, FB, and even TE. Plus, if I'm mostly committed to passing the ball, I can pursue cheap fill-in type offensive linemen who won't cost me an arm and a leg (I can live with guys who have skill in pass protection and little else). I haven't exactly followed the path perfectly -- my QB isn't really all that great (recall he was the second guy I drafted at QB in the allocation draft) and my receivers are no beter than average. Plus, I have invested in the OL more than I had imagined -- spending two first round picks on tackles. But conceptually, I think this is a pretty valid way to build a team -- I think a well-designed pass-intensive team can be fairly affordable and effective, and theoretically would allow for some more aggressive spending on the defensive side (especially if you use the same theory with your coverage schemes, getting guys who fit a limited style of coverage where you focus your efforts). That's my global theory. Much of the economization could be used with a smash-mouht run-first team, too, I suspect -- you could go cheap at WR and get run-only linemen, and accomplish much the same goal in cap savings. But I suspect that slanting either way is probably a more efficient use of cap space than trying to do a little bit of everything. |
|
|
|
|
|
06-13-2005, 09:16 AM
|
#57 |
|
Pro Starter
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Not Delaware - hurray!
|
Very good point regarding cap management. Obviously players that are good at only one thing will be less expensive that a player who can do it all.
Is there a winning team in the IHOF that focuses on the running game much moreso than the passing game? I know Ben always preaches running the ball, but I see he hasn't had much success over there. I know the Plague are the current champions, but really my myopic impressions of the league are driven by your team and albionmoonlight's Fairbanks team (the original mad bomber darlings).
__________________
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! She loves you, yeah! how do you know? how do you know? |
|
|
|
|
06-13-2005, 09:19 AM
|
#58 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 6: Chesapeake (4-1) at Ayr (1-3)
This is another game that the team we’d like to be would win pretty easily. Even on the road, we are a solid favorite, and look to have the advantage in personnel here. Code:
So, we get the win we were looking for – almost certainly our best performance of the season. We get a lead early, and actually end up with a solid effort from our running game. We rarely see 30 carries from this team, but Smith and Madrigal were both effective, and we put up a shocking 148 yards on the ground. The defense was excellent, and but for the long TD bomb in the fourth quarter, we might have managed a shutout. Great game. On the personnel front, a few things. I missed an export this week, and it stung me – the AI dropped my 4th QB Derrick Sellers, to my dismay. I don’t have particularly high hopes for him anyway, but I liked having him around. In the mid-weel export, we did manage to re-work the contract of TE Clyde Rego, who basicaly will play for the veteran minimum and a trifling bonus for the next few years. I had planned to stay very cheap at TE, but Rego is a solid player, who apparently has self esteem issues, and doesn’t value his services very highly. Suits me fine – he’s a great value at that salary. So, at 5-1, we are now in very strong command of our division: the other three teams have a combines four wins. We look like a playoff team, and now need to keep things firing and try to get ourselves positioned well for the postseason. Hell Creek is 6-0 and Seal Beahc is 5-1, so at the moment, we don’t even project to get a playoff bye. And the harder part of our schedule is still ahead of us. Without WR Mark Jackson, we’ll have our work cut out for us. |
|
|
|
|
06-13-2005, 09:21 AM
|
#59 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
I think the Vicksburg team in IHOF is pretty effective with a run-first approach, and the excellent North Plainfield team is pretty balanced (contrary to common sense, tha team has quality players everywhere, mostly a result of the manager's savvy and sweat equity). But we haven't had a truly dominant run-first team so far in that league. |
|
|
|
|
|
06-13-2005, 09:33 AM
|
#60 | ||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Quote:
I was going to mention Vicksburg also. Last season they were 300 passes to 744 runs (including a 2,010 yard effort from their starting RB) with an 11-5 record last year.
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
||
|
|
|
|
06-14-2005, 08:26 AM
|
#61 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Chili Dogs re-sign QB Derrick Sellers
Making amends for what was described as a “clerical error,” Chesapeake Head Coach Rico Petitgout re-introduced QB Derrick Sellers to a bemused press corps Tuesday. “Derrick is a guy we want to keep around, and groom for a future role with this team,” Petitgout stated. “The events of last week were unfortunate, but we’re glad to have worked things out to everyone’s satisfaction.” |
|
|
|
|
06-15-2005, 03:14 PM
|
#62 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 7: Calverton (4-1) at Chesapeake (5-1)
Here, we face a team off to a pretty good start, but we get them at home and are decent favorites. I’m not thrilled about our inability to really handle the struggling teams – so this one has me worried, too. Code:
Damn. 59 points. But the thing is, it was a very hollow 59 points. Small comfort for Calverton, but in this game the ball just bounced our way form the start. We only had 299 yards from scrimmage, but manged to collect turnovers and capitalize on miscues, and we put this one away with authority. Bobby Chesley got into the act with some good work late, but the game was in hand, and Hilton Boner was not injured, just was pulled out. RB David Smith again was pretty effective – it looks like Morimasa is getting healthy, but I’m reluctant to completely bench Smith. Neither one is a superstar (any longer, in Morimasa’s case) – maybe we ought to go with a true committee approach at RB. Game of a lifetime for DE Alvin Hall, our first-ever draft pick. He has been on the board with a sack in every game this year, and may be on his way to the first really impressive season we’ve gotten from him. He appears to be a great talent – nice to see him fulfilling that apparent ability. 11 sacks and a PRPct of 8.2 in 7 games – that’s a huge start for him. Last edited by QuikSand : 06-15-2005 at 03:17 PM. |
|
|
|
|
06-15-2005, 03:22 PM
|
#63 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Alexandria, VA
|
Here, we face a team off to a pretty good start, but we get them at home and are decent favorites.
Not that it at all takes away from your record setting offensive explosion, but Calverton was off to a good start mostly on the back of their injury-prone, now out for the year, QB. They're at best a paper tiger without Martin. The good news for you is Seal Beach lost unexpectedly to Portland, so you're ahead in the bye race now. |
|
|
|
|
06-16-2005, 11:19 AM
|
#64 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
Thanks for the update -- I failed to check the scouting report prior to the game, where I might have been clued in to this tidbit. Killjoy. |
|
|
|
|
|
06-16-2005, 11:19 AM
|
#65 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Taking Stock – Stopping the Run
With a bye week ahead for us, I wanted to do a little checking into the team’s total effort this year. On defense, my front is designed to stop the run – and I generally find that doing so effectively is an underpinning to a lot of other things going well. Here’s how things have fared in that regard this year, thus far: Code:
Compared to what those teams have done over the course of the season, we were more effective in stopping the opposition running game than the rest of the league most of the time. We slipped against Davis (but still eked out a win there), but they admittedly did get 41 of their rushing yards against us from their QB, which is a somewhet different matter than bruising their way with a power rushing game. At this point, through seven games, here is the selection from the team summary relevant to rushing defense: Code:
Bottom line is: we have been winning in most of our games, so it’s not a surprise that opponents are not running as many times against us as usual. But we are allowing among the lowest total yards on the groun of anyone in the league – and when assessed on the ever-important yards per carry, we have a sterling 3.1 yard average, best in the league. Big plays mean a lot in football, and having an explosive scoring attack is always nice. But consistently grinding out yardage is the best backbone to a winning philosophy. Deny your opponent that luxury, and you have an upper hand. When this team was at its best, it was our defensive front that was the centerpiece – we were absolutely formidable against the run, and also got after opposing passers very well. Right now, objective number one is being met by this group – we are proving to be tough to run against, and that has helped patch over some inconsistencies elsewhere on the team to get us to a solid 6-1 record. |
|
|
|
|
06-20-2005, 10:24 AM
|
#66 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 9: Chesapeake (6-1) at South Carolina (0-7)
Cakewalk game, obviously. South Carolina is in “next year” mode, and we are just hitting our stride. This should be an obvious blowout. Do I smell a doughnut? Code:
There’s the nonsense that I have come to (sometimes) expect from this team. Here’s your key stat – we lose the turnover battle 5-0, of course we lose the game. Greivously disappointing, and it puts a big dent into our postseason thinking. Here are the league standings at this point, more or less midway through the season: Code:
So, right now, we are two full games in the loss column beind Hell Creek, whose +65 in point differential underlies them as a very solid team. Ours is comparable, but is inflated by the one big 40-point win. My guess is that we will be battling against Wheeling and Calverton (and perhaps Seal Beach) for the #2 seed in the conference. We are at Seal beach next week, and can make a statement there, but will need to do so on the road again. Our late-season games against Mars and Capital City look like they will be a big deal for us – but we need to take care of business in the games that we should win, if any of this is going to be relevant at all. |
|
|
|
|
06-22-2005, 02:57 PM
|
#67 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 10: Chesapeake (6-2) at Seal Beach (5-3)
Seal Beahc are led by Jonathan Cruse, a solid QB, and have an excellent history as two-time champions. Tough road game. We are made three point favorites on the road, but this ought to be a tough matchup. Code:
An unreal finish. I feel like my teams suffer the dreaded “FOF comeback curse” more often than their fair share, but that’s exactly what this felt like. We are down and by all appearances out… but a miracle finish gives us the win. Unreal. 12 year veteran receiver Walter Peter is an unremarkable specimen. His role on the team is mostly as leader and mentor. In theory we were going to be picking up top young talent at the WR position, and he’d be bringing them along from the bench. It hasn’t panned out that way. This week, he posts career-best numbers for us, and earns the game ball. What a day. Here are the conference standings: Code:
With the win, we keep pace – but that’s it. Next week, we are home for Dodge City, where a win would probably put us in true command of the division, and a loss would probably cause us to focus primarily on that goal rather than the bigger picture of seeding. |
|
|
|
|
06-27-2005, 05:46 PM
|
#68 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
With QuikSand frolicing in Vegas, I have assumed temporary control of the Chesapeake Chili Dogs to make sure they keep a legal roster intact and make depth chart changes if any injuries arise. I will continue Quik's dynasty here until (if) Quik returns from Vegas. So, without further ado, here are the results from Week 11, ran last Friday...
Dodge City comes to town in a game that could give Chesapeake control of the NC East with a victory. The Vigilantes seem to get the most out of a mediocre roster and even won the NC East last year after a trading away several key players. But, the Chili Dogs simply outmatch this squad. Victory is imminent. Code:
Dodge City squeaks this one out and stays within striking distance in the NC East. Chesapeake had a chance to win it late, but missed a 53-yard field goal. Their run defense was absymal at best, yielding 231 rushing yards to the Vigilantes. The Chili Dogs will regroup and try to get back on track with the Anawann Corn Shuckers up next. Week 12 up tomorrow... |
|
|
|
|
06-29-2005, 10:03 AM
|
#69 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
Week 12: Chesapeake (7-3) at Annawan (5-5)
Coming off a heart-breaking, crushing loss to Dodge City, the Chesapeake Chili Dogs look to rebound against a mediocre Annawan team that comes into this contest sporting a 5-5 mark. The Chili Dogs would love to notch a road win after losing in their friendly confines last Sunday. Let's see if they get the job done. Code:
Chesapeake gets out in front early, leading 7-3 after the first quarter and QB Hilton Boner tosses a pair of second quarter touchdowns to all but put this one away. RB Chadwick Morimasa tacks on another seven and the Chili Dogs continue to put up points in garbage time, winning this one 38-3. WR Jimmy Castellano enjoyed a big day hauling in six balls for 135 yards. Dodge City took care of Burlington, 30-17, to remain one game behind Chesapeake in the NC East. With five games remaining, the Chili Dogs, at 8-3, are firmly in the playoffs as only six NC teams have amassed six or more wins to date. [shameless self-promotion]Over in the AC, the Shreveport Hurricanes, controlled by yours truly, continue to hold down the top spot with a 9-2 mark, tied with Hudson Valley. But, with Mars looming and QB Paul Jennings out with an injury, the Hurricanes will have to tread water just to stay ahead of South Jersey in the AC North.[/shamless self-promotion] Chesapeake returns home next week to face State College. Bookies make them 10-point favorites on the early line. |
|
|
|
|
06-29-2005, 10:25 AM
|
#70 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
Here are updated FOFL standings with five weeks to go:
Code:
|
|
|
|
|
06-30-2005, 04:22 PM
|
#71 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Thanks for pitching in, FishFan. Today I am celebrating being "in the black" for the trip (after deducting all travel, lodging, and related costs). WSOP satellites are on the agenda for tonight... I'd feel kinda silly being out here and not taking a stab or two.
|
|
|
|
|
06-30-2005, 04:49 PM
|
#72 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
No problem, Quik. I'll have results from yesterday's sim up tomorrow. Enjoy Vegas and good luck with the satellites...
|
|
|
|
|
07-01-2005, 01:16 PM
|
#73 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
Fresh off an easy 38-3 road win over Anawann, the Chesapeake Chili Dogs return home to face 3-8 State College. This one should prove to be another cakewalk and could result in a two game lead in the NC East as Dodge City travels to Wheeling, leaders of the NC West Division. Without further ado, let's go to the game...
Code:
Chesapeake scored the game's first 24 points before State College rattled off 20 straight points of their own. Fortunately for the Chili Dogs, State College could muster no more in the final 5:34. After vaulting to the big lead, Chesapeake sat back on their heels and managed just three drives (not counting the final four plays) in the second half, all of which resulted in punts. The win, coupled with a grueling 14-14 Dodge City/Wheeling tie, gave the Chili Dogs a two game advantage in the win column. Boner was efficient all afternoon, throwing for over 300 yards on 21 of 37 passing. He added a pair of touchdowns without turning the ball over. The defense, while giving up over 150 yards on the ground for the third straight game, played well enough to get the job done. Next up: 7-5 Capital City comes to town. Chesapeake is listed as a five point favorite on the early betting lines. |
|
|
|
|
07-01-2005, 01:17 PM
|
#74 |
|
College Prospect
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Indianapolis, IN, USA
|
The FOFL is on hiatus for the holiday weekend and will resume on, I believe, Wednesday, July 6th. Until then...
|
|
|
|
|
07-13-2005, 09:30 AM
|
#75 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
I have returned from my time away, and will make a couple posts to get things caught up
|
|
|
|
|
07-13-2005, 09:38 AM
|
#76 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
After a time off (and my thanks to FishFan for taking the reins for a spell) we’ll try to get caught up.
We win a thriller in Week 14 – a key step toward securing a playoff berth: Code:
In Week 15, however, we stumble against Dodge City – and make the division race interesting once again: Code:
In Week 16, we drop another decision to Mars, but Dodge City’s loss gives us the division title. However, we will be heading for the road in the diviaional playoffs (if we even make it that far) so things are not looking so good in the big picture. We are, at best, a “sleeper” contender in the playoffs. Code:
As we head into the final week, here are the complete league standings: Code:
Hell Creek is the heavy favorite in our conference, and at 14-1 and +147 in point differential, pretty clearly the class of the league. We look to be headed for the #3 seed in the conference – good enough to play the final qualifying wild card team, but we will be on the road if we get a win in the WC round, presumably against Wheeling. It is certainly possible that we will face a division rival in the Wild Card round – Dodge City has the spot right now, and gets into the postseason with a (pretty likely) win over South Carolina this week. |
|
|
|
|
07-13-2005, 03:16 PM
|
#77 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Week 17: Chesapeake at Portland
This is a relatively meaningless game, as we can’t get a bye week, and have already won the division. We could conceivably lose the #3 seed and drop to #4, but that doesn’t amount to much of a difference, really. Code:
So, we do manage to just completely limp into the playoffs, riding a three-game losing streak into the postseason. Great. The good news is that we face Calverton in the playoff opener, the team that we somehow thrahsed 59-19 earlier this season. That either sets this up as a revenge game for them, or another chance to exploit a god matchup for us. We’ll see. Last edited by QuikSand : 07-13-2005 at 03:18 PM. |
|
|
|
|
07-13-2005, 03:44 PM
|
#78 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Season ending roundup:
Here are the league’s final standings: Code:
And here is our team stat summary: Code:
A few observations here… We averaged over 4 yards per carry, and were in the upper half of the league in this stat. I believe that’s a first. Morimasa certainly has helped, and I suspect we also benefitted from our investment in the offensive line. So that is nice to see. In Mark Jackson’s absence, Justin Berkey had his best season to lead our receiving corps. I am glad that we have re-signed him to a solid long term deal. Marcus Meneses was also very effective for us this year, mostly playing from the slot position as our third receiver (on field nearly all the time in our offense – he actually saw more pass plays than Berkey did). Our collective offensive line performance was okay: Code:
This is not exactly a “snowplow” group up front just tossing people out of the way – only RT Tilton had a particularly impressive feat in run blocking. But nobody was a huge liability in the pass blocking scheme, which is the main concern – we conceded 32 sacks in about 700 pass plays – or one sack for every 22 pass plays or so. That’s livable. Hilton Boner, behind a mediocre line and with a depleted receiving corps, manaed to post a passer rating of 77.8 – not spectacular, but on par with hat we expect from him. He remains our lynchpin, like it or not – this team is predicated on throwing the ball a lot. On the defensive side, we end up yielding 3.66 yards per carry – 5th in the league, but not as strong as we had been during our good period. Stopping the run is critical to succes in the playoffs, I am convinced, so I hope we can put together some good efforts in the weeks ahead. DT Eugene Bradham had another standout season for us, anchoring the defensive line and staying firm against the run. We will never see another 16-sack season from him, but he remains a critical component to our scheme. DE Alvin Hall put together his best season to date, with 14.5 sacks and a PR Pct of 9.4, both career highs. DE Donald Shihi stayed in at RDE all year long, and posted a respectable PRPct of 6.9 for the year. CB Ferdy Nave, in his first full year with us, was a solid addition to the secondary with 6 picks to lead the team. John Raab didn’t register the same kind of interceptions, but was effective in coverage for us all season. Bella and Carr were both solid at safety, benefitting from our defensive LB rotation to each rank among the team leaders in tackles. Overall, our pass defense was pretty average – which is fine, but less than we had hoped for. This is a mixed season for us – we’re back on top in the division and in the playoffs, which is good. However, we made a number of moves this year designed to “win now.” We dealt away future draft picks to get veteran players like RB Morimasa, CB Raab, and LB Rosenbaum. And now, we look at our results – and unless we make an improbably playoff run toward another title, all we will have accomplised is, essentially, a bump of one or two games in the final standings. I really had been hoping that this team might be a defensive powerhouse, but I think we simply lack the fundamentals to be that type of team right now. And without an ace at QB (no offense to Boner) we simply can’t be that efficient on offense – we just get by with our pretty average personnel there. |
|
|
|
|
07-14-2005, 09:43 AM
|
#79 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Nice to see the Dogs back again....
I'm looking forward to seeing how you do in the playoffs!
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
07-14-2005, 03:32 PM
|
#80 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
This afternoon, we will see Calverton come to Chesapeake for our wild card game -- and they will be starting a recent acquisition from the waiver wire, a 4th year free agent QB who has never taken a professional snap.
Last edited by QuikSand : 07-14-2005 at 04:01 PM. |
|
|
|
|
07-14-2005, 04:00 PM
|
#81 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Wild Card Game: Calverton at Chesapeake
We are 8 point favorites against Calverton, a pretty solid team who has been hurt badly by QB injuries. After their starter went down, they resorted to Kendrick Ping, an early-season CHE casualty. Ping has now gotten hurt also, so they will send out a total unknown, Riddick Henry. Code:
So, we manage to dodge a bullet here, even while our offense has basically gone missing. The defense played well, and the fact that Calverton had a green QB throwing 51 passes certainly helped too. An 0-for-2 in the kicking game didn’t help things, especially in a low scoring affair like this. Anyway – we head on to Wheeling, for our divisional game. We’re on the road, but only a 1-point dog by the early line (though that might be a partial remnant of the scrub lineup Wheeling had active for their regular season finale). We are in pretty good health, actually – the team is as ready as we’re going to get, it appears. |
|
|
|
|
07-15-2005, 09:19 AM
|
#82 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Boner is going to have to cut down on his recent interception tendencies...
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
07-15-2005, 02:53 PM
|
#83 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
Boner is remarkably inconsistent, considering he is essentially the lynchpin of the whole offense. I am basically structured around and committed to the pass-first offensive style, even without the requisite parts to make it work. Honestly, none of my receivers make you say "yes, just what we want there" and Boner is pretty average. We're just trying to make do. We have strong personnel on defense, but on offense, we're just trying to put up some points. 7 Likely won't be enough next week. And you're definitely right - the interception thing is a no-no in the playoffs, I'm told. |
|
|
|
|
|
07-18-2005, 06:29 AM
|
#84 | ||
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Quote:
You've made it work this far, just a matter of the defense and Boner clicking at the same time...
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
||
|
|
|
|
07-19-2005, 08:14 AM
|
#85 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Divisional Playoff: Chesapeake at Wheeling
We are healthy, but now we face the real uphill battle, going on the road to face a better team than us, with an offense that has been gasping the last few weeks. We are underdogs here, and need to really click to get through this week against a very solid foe. Code:
Well, Hilton Boner connects on fewer than half of his passes, and has five interceptions – say goodnight, Gracie. I may do some sort of recap down the road, but for now – this caps off a somewhat frustrating season in the FOFL, as we at least got back to the playoffs, but really never took the form of a title contender, and I fear that in the emergin new era of this league (with severla teams led by superstar-caliber quarterbacks) we are actually moving farther away from that goal rather than closer, despite my supposed best efforts. We have basically emptied out our upcoming draft already (trying to “win now”) and I’m not that optimistic about most of our young players. Mixed feelings here in Chesapeake. Thanks for reading along… |
|
|
|
|
07-19-2005, 09:11 AM
|
#86 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
Nice read for the season, and I hope you keep up with it.. I particularly look forward to off-season installments...
Looks like Hilton just couldn't get out of that INT streak...
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
07-19-2005, 12:03 PM
|
#87 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Quote:
Prescient. Five picks against a superior team... you just can't DO that, pally. |
|
|
|
|
|
07-20-2005, 08:45 AM
|
#88 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Postseason/offseason wrap-up
In the league championship game, Mars surprises Hell Creek a bit and takes the championship, sending Hell Creek to their second straight title game defeat. We head into the offseason, and get word about our players and who might be departing. My biggest concern is for WR Mark Jackson, who suffered a serious injury last season and could either depart or feel permanent effects from his injury. Well, WR Jackson is not in the retired list – but we have three players who are: WR Walter Peter was a solid contributor for our receiving corps, seeing a good deal of action last year in Jackson’s absence, and posting 647 yards and a career high 5 TDs. He was also a position leader and mentor, both of which will be missed. LB Gary Rosenbaum was a trade acquisition last season – didn’t cost us that much, and was a solid contributor to an already deep front seven squad. He posted 64 tackles in a LB rotation for us this season, and perhaps the best thing that might come of his time here is that the reduced stats for some other guys might drop their long term salary demands. S Peter Bella was a team favorite, and a very solid player for us. Five seasons, 15 interceptions, and a career PDPct of 19.9 made him a steady player and veteran presence for our secondary. We re-signed his mate Mark Carr to a new deal at season’s end, but Bella didn’t come back for a 16th season. The continued bad news is that WR Mark Jackson is healthy, but the injury last year has made him a shadow of his former self. My scout now rates him at 15/20, which I judge to be pretty fair, and there’s no way he can earn his $3.5 million salary. We will take a $3m cap hit to release him, but there’s little choice. So – for all intents and purposes, he’s gone too. Great. This year is also a “pivot” in QB Hilton Boner’s contract, as he is slated to earn $3 million this year in base salary, but $16 million next year. In all likelihood, we will end up cutting him before next season – he’s currently in his 15th season already, and with this veteran team crumbling around him, it’s hard to think of him as the future. I decide to post some information about players who are going to be available from our team. I have some changes in mind for the coming year, and I already know of some guys who simply won’t fit with us any longer. CB Bradley Ashurst – Big hitting cornerback and special teams standout, good ratings in man (47/51) and zone (61/70) defenses, signed for two cheap seasons. CB Howard Kindred – Solid all-around corner, solid ratings in zone (66) and man (52) coverages, good interceptions (55/66), open to long term contract talks. Not a whole lot of good news here at the home office. |
|
|
|
|
07-22-2005, 07:19 AM
|
#89 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
I'm curious as to what your plan at QB is (if you can reveal, this is always tricky in MP Dynasties).... You leaning more towards a vet acquisition (anyone on the FA market worth looking at?) or the Draft (I believe you tend to not like to start rookie QBs juding on your past dynasties)
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
07-22-2005, 07:57 AM
|
#90 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
I don't think I'm comfortable going young at QB with this team -- we throw a lot, and that simply isn't likely to change (even with the apparenbt loss of WR Jackson), and I think it would be a big step backward to go young there. I don't have a first round pick in this draft, so it's fairly unlikely that I'll come away with a "QB of the future" either.
My guess is we will stick with Boner for this year, we'll keep an eye on Chesley (our veteran backup who isn't bad) and will keep an eye out for bargain bin veterans on the FA wire (where we have had some success in the past, like Chesley and Ping). If there's a standout free agent, I might try to make a bid -- our cap situation might not be so bad since we lost three veteran players in the offseason. But in this league, I'd be quite surprised if a high quality QB actually became available -- most teams have had fairly modest cap trouble if any, and there's no good reason for a star caliber player to become a free agent (as I described earlier... the league started with a depressed-quality player pool, meaning that every team has had an easy time renegotiating and resigning pretty much all the players it wants... the only good free agents have come from untended teams or oversights, in my judgment). |
|
|
|
|
08-03-2005, 01:53 PM
|
#91 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
2008 Offseason Underway
After a bit of hiatus, the FOFL is underway with the first stages of its offseason. I confess I do not have a plan this year – I don’t think this year’s team will be as good as last year’s team was… I firmly believe that the league on balance is getting better as its young players develop… I also believe that we hve not invested enough in young players to keep up with this movement. We may be a playoff team this year – perhaps good enough to limp in again and get thrashed by one of the good teams with a star QB. Is that worth the investment? or should we be focusin on where this team is going to be next season and beyond? It’s a tough call – throwing away a season (or practically so) is a tough thing, expecially when it takes months of real time to get through. We do have a major announcement, though – a new head coach. Blake Baker led the Seal Beach Stingrays to the playoffs last season, and now comes aboard for us in Chesapeake. He is a great offensive mind, and we hope he can help spur our attack a bit, after a lackluster season last year. So, this is a potentially big move for us, as I judge Baker to be a step above our departing (retiring?) coach Rico Pettigout, who was showing some decline. With the signing of Baker, we are now at the league staff salary cap, so we cannot afford to make any other moves. We will have to ait a couple stages to see the free agent pool. |
|
|
|
|
08-10-2005, 03:06 PM
|
#92 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Sorry for the delays... the offseaon activity has kicked in for real now, and I have a couple of updates. Onward...
|
|
|
|
|
08-10-2005, 03:06 PM
|
#93 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Renegotiations and Releases
In preparing for the upcoming free agency, the Chili Dogs have made some personnel moves. Regrettably, we have had to let go of WR Mark Jackson, our franchise’s best receiver. A serious injury last year has wiped out his solid ratings, rendering him an overpaid old man. We take a cap hit with the bonuses he had been paid, but eliminate his salary as well – a very disappointing turn of events. DE Donald Shihi has been released. Shihi has had a productive career, and was okay for us as our RDE starter last season (34+17 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 6.9 PRPct) but his presence has caused other problems for our already solid defensive front. I tried to secure a trade for him last year, but in this league there is simply no market for decent veteran players – so we release him now, giving him a chance to lock in for a 15th season somewhere else. K Donald Mizer has also been released – after five years with the club, Mizer has been given walking papers. 100 of 127 on his career in FG% makes for a respectable 78.7%, but he missed a few important kicks for us last year, and we will do our best to replace him with a more affordable player. We work out new salary deals with LB James Dupree, LB John Galvan, DT Martin Santos, FB Charles Emerson, LB Urso Harrold, S Les Hornick, S Chappy Kettler, and LB D.J. Dennis – in each case shaving a bit off our current year’s encubrance. With these several moves, we are prepared to enter free agency with about $14 million in usable cap space – which positions us fairly well for a move or two. I don’t think we have room to land a monster impact player, but we will certainly be looking for some veterans. We only have a few currently unsigned players who are priorities for us to re-sign – so most of this money is available for new players if we need it to be. |
|
|
|
|
08-10-2005, 03:07 PM
|
#94 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Transactions Update
Nothing earth-shattering here, but a few items to note. We have executed a trade with Jupiter, dealing away two veteran players for one of theirs. We send away 11th year LB James Dupree, and 11th year CB Bradly Ashurst to Jupiter, in exchange for their 11th year CB Henry Birkland. (Wow – a lot of 11s, maybe we should double down?) Birkland has been a decent reserve corner for Jupiter, and will fill largely the same role for us. He is also a CB mentor, and ought to help bring along young Billy Joe Scanlon – and that possibly frees up the slot was have used on Terry Fillmore, who is not nearly as capable as Birkland. Good move – we send off two decent players who were poor fits for us, and pick up a guy who is a good one. We have also signed two free agent players in the early going: RB Courtney Criswell may be the next name called in the “who-wants-to-run-the-ball” sweepstakes renewal this year. He has decent ratings in hole rec (34/36) and elusiveness (90/100) and should be a usable player in our offense. The league is going to add a couple decent rookie RBs in this draft, but overall it’s still a very, very thin position. WR Joey Newbury will add some depth for us at WR, and has some big play ability if he has to see the field. We’re still down a big notch with the loss of WR Mark Jackson, but Newbury can help this group a bit, I think. Again – nothing too major, but a couple things to mention. The next several stages of free agency ought to be telling, as we have a number of irons in the fire – there are a few players out there who would make a pretty big splash somewhere, and one or two could end up here in Chesapeake. |
|
|
|
|
08-12-2005, 09:33 AM
|
#95 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Free Agency Update
After a slight delay in the league schedule, we have another round of free agency processed – and a couple of news additions. Andre Shepard is a 6th year reserve-caliber linebacker, his skills look like a pretty good somplement to me – he’s pretty decent in stopping the run, diagnosing the play, and dropping into coverage. He won’t be a pass rushign threat, but we can use him as a backup, and he can do special teams duty if needed. Minsal deal – we were the only team showing interest. Blake Rice is a similar guy – also a 6th year linebacker on a minsal deal. He’s a bit better in coverage, and on special teams – probably slots just behind Shepard, if he sticks. We are still locked into battles for a few big-name free agent players – neither of these two guys is likely to really change the compelxion of the team, admittedly. |
|
|
|
|
08-13-2005, 07:30 AM
|
#96 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Free Agency Continues…
We make one pretty important move in free agency, as we re-sign C John Houtz. Houtz has been with us, as a starter, since the very beginning – now he has assumed the role of veteran position leader for us, as well as being a mentor at the C position. Solid pass blocker, no real complaints here. His deal is very affordable for the next two seasons – we will pay him $900K this year, as he wasn’t getting any other interest. LG James Cid is a 13th year player, who formerly started for Norwich, and comes to us on a fairly cheap veteran contract. Also a pass blocker first, Cid will be looking to play a reserve role for us, probably at both guard slots. Again, we get him without conpetition. Once again – nothing too earth-shaking here. Two decent veteran additions along the offensive line are fine, but neither guy was good enough to get anyone else excited. There are still a few top drawer players out there (well, the dresser may not be all that high, but it has to have a top drawer, right?) so we will keep after things. |
|
|
|
|
08-15-2005, 07:34 AM
|
#97 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Free Agency Update
Well, the biggest, and only, news of this cycle is the free agent we didn’t sign, and that’s QB John Eidson. He’s a solid 10th year guy who was a free agent this season after either an injury or (more likely) a tank-induced benching last year in South Carolina. There were three teams in the bidding, and we had a pretty substantial offer in to him, as we saw him as a possible long-term starter. However, South Carolina swept back into the bidding, and locked him up to a new five year deal with a $12m+ signing bonus. Bully for them – so no big breaking news here. We look ahed to this season with 15th year Hilton Boner in his last season with us, and with 10th year backup Bobby Chesley sitting idly by. Neither one gives us leaps and bounds of optimism for the long haul at the position. |
|
|
|
|
08-15-2005, 07:34 AM
|
#98 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
A Word About The Team-Building Efforts
So, as I introduced the season, I more or less confessed that I didn’t know what to do with the team. I have been building this team for success since the beginning, and we have been solid – four of five seasons in the postseason, and one title along the way. No real complaints. However, I do recognize that my “play for now” approach has had consequences – specicially, we are bnasically void of any particularly exciting young players. My best young players are probably LB Kuykendall and LT Tilton – and these are solid starters, but not superstars by any stretch. We have never made a draft pick in the top 15, and have never had a major draft breakout – so we don’t have a lot to “build around” for the long term future. In a multiplayer league, this isn’t really a crisis – there’s more urgencyc to win now than to build for the long term anyway – but in this league, there is a specific problem. The incoming players are, on the whole, better than our veteran players. So, the teams who have been formed around high quality rookies (especially at QB and RB) now have players of a far higher caliber than really any of mine. Especially after taking a tough set of retirements this season, I fully expect my team’s overall roster rating to drop pretty substantially. Specifically at QB, we have been working the hell out of Hilton Boner, a guy we took in the 7th round of the dispersal draft. He’s now in his twilight anyway, but my scout rates him the #20 QB in the league – and this is the centerpiece for our pass-happy offense! Similarly, we don’t have a single receiver who rates in the top 20 in our scout’s view – Mark Jackson did at one point, but he is gone and the rest of the journeymen we have around here simply aren’t highly rated guys. Indeed – looking back at the QB rankings, each of the top five QBs are in their first five seasons – meaning that they came from the game-generated drafts, rather than the initial dispersal draft (and that’s putting the few classes of youngsters up against all the fully-developed veterans – they still come out on top!). So – what to do? Is this a team that ought to be tanking? I’m simply not willing to deliberately lose games, but we certainy could execute a “youth movement” and start only young players who have some shot to develop – I could put guys liike DE Gabe Shah and CB Billy Joe Scanlon into critical roles (ahead of veterans who are better right now) and basically start playing for the future – and probably harvest a nice batch of early draft piicks next season. It is certainly an option, and maybe it’s out best option. But I have, essentially, rejected that option. Instead, I have decided to stay with the “play for now” approach, and take the seasons one at a time. To that end, I have decided that if I can’t improve the team this year in a raw talent sense (which I belive to be true), then I have to focus on other things. One thing that is under my control, more or less, is the team chemistry – I understand how it works, and have decided to try to make tht an asset this season, rather than a mixed bag like it has been. So—to get our house in order, we needed to make some moves. DE Donald Shihi played fine last year, but he was a guy nobody liiked – we had a couple conflicts with him as team leader. We release him, and our D7 situation gets better immediately. Why did we trade two solid, grade-B players like LB James Dupree and CB Bradly Ashurst to get a grade-C guy like CB Henry Birkland? Because Birkland comes to this team and steps right in as our position leader – and immediately generates affinities with our two starting cornerbacks and our former position leader and mentor safety. Meanwhile, trading away Dupree frees us from the last personality confliict we had along the defensive front. At this intermediate point, the only personality conflicts that remain on this team are with our two unsigned quarterbacks, Buckner and Sellers. I expect both to be gone by training camp. We won’t be able to build up massive affinities right away – we are just too invested in a completely scattershot roster to do that – but we will enter this season with zero personality conflicts, and at least a reasonable effort to have some players coordinated together. So – that’s my big piicture thinking. It’s a little bit harder than it seems, especially when you find that two players you both want to keep have high leadership ratings but a built-in conflict. It requires a weird conversation with someone as to why you want their fifth-best guy at a position group, some 13th year geezer who barely sees the field. And, it’s probably best that you don’t mention that said guy is the only guy in the whole league who would resolve your little pickle, too. Anyway – that’s a general message as to what I’m up to. WR Joey Newbury is our best success story – by signing him as a free agent, he becomes our new position leader and we now have four affinities among the seven other players there – that’s now our best group overall. CB Birkland gives us a few affinities at DB, but we are terribly disparate there, so not much room to gain. The defensive front and offensiev lines are just a mess, it’s all I can do to get rid of the conflicts – we won’t have terribly high affiniity levels there, I can see already. And at RB, we might look for matching rookies, but the best we could do was sign RB Courtney Criswell as our “veteran guy” who will get along well with position leader Charles Emerson. As I bid on free agents, I won’t pursue a guy who would generate a conflict, and I give a second look at guys who wouold generate an affinity. So far, it has made this offseason a bit more interesting for me to follow, as the “plan comes together” a la the A Team. Will this make us champions? I rather doubt it. Will it make us slightly better than before? I guess it’s possible. Has this made this offseasosn interesting? Absolutely. So, I’ve gotten something out of this, at least. Last edited by QuikSand : 08-15-2005 at 07:37 AM. |
|
|
|
|
08-15-2005, 11:05 AM
|
#99 | |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: May 2001
Location: williamsburg, va
|
I commend you for the non-tanking.. I had this debate with my CFL team and took your route.. in the long run, I still have a top 5 draft pick, but at least i tried...
__________________
Text Sports Network - Bringing you statistical information for several FOF MP leagues in one convenient site Quote:
|
|
|
|
|
|
08-16-2005, 01:42 PM
|
#100 |
|
lolzcat
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Annapolis, Md
|
Free Agency, Week 6
With a number of our big-ticket targets dropping off the map, it’s looking like this is going to be, essentially, a fill-in season for us in free agency. We had been bidding on a pretty decent linebacker Howard Loftin, but the veteran ends up going for a pretty rich two year deal with Shreveport. Thanks a lot, FishFan – I hand you the keys to the car for a while, and you turn around and stuff my lifeless body right into the trunk. What a pal! RB Cordell Madrigal, last year’s veteran fill-in for us, has signed a two year deal with Toronto – he might get a chance to carry the ball there, but was not likely to get that here, so we didn’t bid. We do land two new players on free agent contracts, however: QB Harry Ross is likely to end up our big money free agent this season – but this is buying mostly on spec. My scour rates the 5th year guy as a 40/53 – not spectacular, but in the same ballpark as the two guys we currently have. Plus – he is a lot younger than our current duo. So, Ross wil be in the mix this year – probably as a backup, but we will consider him a rela option for next year’s starting job. He’s a pretty decent, double-affinity guy for us, so that shouldn’t hurt either. I put cash up front to land him – he hits our cap this year for $2.5 million – though I’m going to have unused cap space under any scenario anyway, so this is not very material, really. S Brad Pope is a typical veteran DB free agent – he has a few decent skills, and they happen to match up with our need fairly well. 14th year guy, safety mentor, capable of starting in a pinch if we need him to – that’s all you can ask for from a minsal veteran, right? So, two new faces – both add a little to our picture right now, but neither really shakes the foundation of the team at all. |
|
|
|
 |
| Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
| Thread Tools | |
|
|
