Buffalo Bills and an Empty Cupboard

[Cap Ologist]

August 1, 2004

The long awaited sale of the Buffalo Bills was completed earlier today. Former owner Ralph Wilson announced that he had sold the historic franchise to H.E. Pennypacker, a wealthy industrialist who enjoys building roller coasters, conducting his peculiar habits and entertaining the women he frequents.

Mr. Pennypacker announced that he was cleaning house within the organization and that he had ordered a large supply of pink slips that would be arriving via Newman Courier Service that afternoon.

Mr. Pennypacker also announced that he was hiring Art Vandelay to be the general manager of his franchise. This revelation brought about stunned looks throughout the room as the current general manager is well respected.

No one is sure just who Art Vandelay is, but we do know that he has a 3:00 press conference scheduled later today.

[Cap Ologist]

Later that day...

The new Buffalo Bills general manager, Art Vandelay, held his first press conference that finished just a few minutes ago. It was by far the most bizzare press conference that I've ever seen. Here is a clip I want to show you.


Art Vandelay: Welcome to a new day in the history of the Buffalo Bills. My name is Art Vandelay and I'm excited to be here and to be working with Mr. Pennypacker. Now, do you have any questions.

Sports Reporter: Mr. Vandelay, can you provide us with a little background information about yourself. Many of us in this room have never heard of you.

A.V. Sure, I like sports, I like reading the daily news, and I've always wanted to be an architect.

S.R.: So, you've been working for an architecture firm? Which one?

A.V.: No, I said that I've always wanted to be an architect, I've actually been unemployed for awhile.

S.R.: What experience do you have in the world of football?

A.V.: Not much, I used to collect football cards when I was younger, and I went to see the Giants play once or twice.


As you can, see this was a pretty unusual press conference. This is what we know about Mr. Vandelay so far. He's single, he's kind of short and stocky, and he supposedly possesses great upper body strength. There have been rumors that he can lift a 100 pounds over his head. As far as how he'll do as a general manager, the jury is still out. Back to you.

[Cap Ologist]

August 2, 2004

New g.m Art Vandelay wasted very little time getting to work. At approximately 9:15 this morning, a shipment of pink slips arrived and by 10:00, every player on the team had received one plus a card stating that a donation to the Human Fund had been made in their name as thanks for the hard work and sacrifice they'd performed.

The only people who survived the massive layoff was the coaching staff. When asked, Mr. Vandelay remarked, "League rules prohibit us from firing them during the season. This is their audiion, they'd better impress me or they'll be gone as soon as the season is over."

[Cap Ologist]

The Buffalo Bills released their staff evaluations earlier today.

Head Scout: Orlando Peterson
3 years @ $270,000

Quarterbacks: Very Good
Running Backs: Average
Receivers: Average
Offensive Linemen: Very Good
Kickers: Fair
Defensive Linemen: Good
Linebackers: Good
Secondary: Good
Young Talent: Average

Head Coach:Rusty Holmes
3 years @ $2,120,000

Motivation: Average
Discipline: Excellent
Offensive Playcalling: Very Good
Defensive Playcalling: Average
Avoid Injuries: Excellent

Offensive Coordinator: David Shannon
2 years @ $940,000

Quarterbacks: Good
Running Backs: Fair
Receivers: Average
Offensive Linemen: Very Good
Kickers: Fair
Young Talent: Good

Defensive Coordinator: Moe Cote
2 years @ $820,000

Punters: Average
Defensive Linemen: Very Good
Linebackers: Good
Secondary: Average
Young Talent: Average

[Cap Ologist]

In a report released earlier today, the Buffalo Bills have the lowest value of all the professional teams. Bills owner H.E. Pennypacker had this to say when hearing that.

[Cap Ologist]

The Buffalo Bills finished the first season of Pennypacker/Vandelay partnership 1-15.


Week 1 JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS L, 20-26 65,700
Week 2 at Oakland Raiders L, 3-37 49,900
Week 3 OPEN
Week 4 NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS L, 6-31 65,700
Week 5 at New Jersey Jets L, 17-24 72,500
Week 6 MIAMI DOLPHINS L, 3-38 65,700
Week 7 at Baltimore Ravens L, 16-22 65,500
Week 8 ARIZONA CARDINALS L, 9-41 65,700
Week 9 NEW JERSEY JETS L, 10-13 65,700
Week 10 at New England Patriots L, 27-33 66,600
Week 11 ST. LOUIS RAMS L, 10-23 65,700
Week 12 at Seattle Seahawks L, 16-20 53,400
Week 13 at Miami Dolphins L, 13-26 72,600
Week 14 CLEVELAND BROWNS W, 24-19 65,700
Week 15 at Cincinnati Bengals L, 7-20 51,900
Week 16 at San Francisco 49'ers L, 6-16 61,600
Week 17 PITTSBURGH STEELERS L, 17-23 65,700

[Cap Ologist]

2004 Team Rankings:

Offense:
Rushing: 82 ypg, 32nd
Passing: 205 ypg, 23rd

Defense:
Rushing: 148.4 ypg, 32nd
Passing: 227 ypg, 22nd

Scoring:
Buffalo: 12.7
Opponent 25.7

Turnovers:
Buffalo: 18 fumbles, 22 interceptions = 40 total
Opponent: 10 fumbles, 13 interceptions = 23 total
Differential: -17

3rd Down Conversions:
Buffalo: 79 of 218 = 36.2 %
Opponent: 88 of 224 = 39.2 %

Red Zone:
Buffalo: 32 trips, 12 touchdowns, 15 field goals = 4.0 points per trip
Opponent: 61 trips, 33 touchdowns, 22 field goals = 4.8 points per trip

[Cap Ologist]

Dallas beats Miami 30 - 27 in the Super Bowl.

[Cap Ologist]

2005 News:

A new six year contract is signed, meaning the salary cap will increase by $7,700,000 each year. This year it is $88,300,000 and the minimum salary increased to $250,000. We have the first pick in this years draft.

We'd like to propose and get a new stadium deal passed. Profitability is going to be a huge factor in the future, and our stadium isn't too great.

Stadium Condition: Average
Turf Condition: Good
Parking Lot Condition: Good

Right now we have 23,100 upper deck seats, 16,700 end zone seats, 9,600 mezzanine seats, 14,800 sideline seats, 8900 club seats, and only 88 luxury boxes.

I'd like to have at least 10,000 club seats and 150 luxury boxes. We'll also try to get a new retractable roof. We submit a plan for a high quality, 80,000 seat stadium with 15,000 club seats and 150 luxury boxes.

[Cap Ologist]

We stand pat with our coaching staff but hire a new scout who is a big improvement.

Brenden Brady
5 years @ 800,000

Quarterbacks: Average
Running Backs: Very Good
Receivers: Very Good
Offensive Linemen: Fair
Kickers/Punters: Very Good
Defensive Linemen: Excellent
Linebackers: Very Good
Secondary: Good
Young Talent: Very Good

I've decided to add a twist to this game. I will only be able to acquire players by drafting them or signing them as undrafted free agents. I think someone else did something like this before, and I want to test my drafting ability in this game.

[Cap Ologist]

I cut ticket prices pretty drastically, I no that I'll lose a lot of fan support because our record was so horrible this past year. We are now the second cheapest play to see a game after the Arizona Cardinals.

[Cap Ologist]

I traded out of the 1st spot, there were several good players that I wanted and since I have so many needs right now I could afford to take the best player available. This helped me pick up some extra picks this year and an extra first next year.

Our draft picks:

1. Benjamin Lake - DE -- Should be an absolute monster of a player.
2. Cedric Shultz - CB -- Should be an adequate starter in the secondary
Geoff Blair - CB -- Will hopefully provide me with a decent combo for awhile.
3. Conrad Carpenter - C -- Started trying to build offensive line depth.
Austin Kell - RG
4. Lamont Blake - LT - Should develop into quality starter.
5. Billy Robison - RT - Good combine ratings
Bernard Carter - almost chose him instead of Blake in the 4th, glad he dropped.
6. Jack Ansell - LG - hopefully this line will develop and allow me to start adding skill players next season.
7. Willie Pearson - had good bar ratings, hopefully be a starter, should also handle returns.

[Cap Ologist]

We sign all but Benjamin Lake before the next free agency period begins. In other news, our stadium proposal failed. I realized after I had submitted it that I hadn't contributed any team money towards it, so I'll have to wait until next year.

[Franklinnoble]

Originally Posted by Cap Ologist

We sign all but Benjamin Lake before the next free agency period begins. In other news, our stadium proposal failed. I realized after I had submitted it that I hadn't contributed any team money towards it, so I'll have to wait until next year.

Sweet. Now you can move the team.

[Cap Ologist]

Originally Posted by Franklinnoble

Sweet. Now you can move the team.

Hmm, interesting idea. I didn't think about that earlier, but we'll see what cities are looking for teams.

[Cap Ologist]

Our ticket price cut worked, we actually sell 100 more season tickets than last year. After training camp, we had some slight improvement in several of our players. Fortunately, none of our draft picks busted. We installed our offensive and defensive systems during training camp.

[Cap Ologist]

We go 1 & 3 during the preseason. It's going to be a long and ugly season.

[Cap Ologist]

The season mercifully ends with another 1 & 15 record. Denver defeats Green Bay in the Super Bowl.

Our Team Rankings:

Offense:
Rushing - 89.5 ypg -- 31st
Passing - 136.2 ypg - 32nd

Defense:
Rushing - 152.3 ypg -- 32nd
Passing - 191.1 ypg -- 1st (why pass when you can run so well?)

Scoring:
Buffalo - 5.1 ppg
Opponent - 27.7 ppg

Turnovers:
Buffalo - 11 fumbles, 26 int, 37 total
Opponent - 7 fumbles, 9 int, 16 total
Differential: -21

Third Down:
Buffalo - 71 of 223 -- 31.8 %
Opponent - 89 -217 -- 41.0 %

Red Zone:
Buffalo - 18 trips, 5 touchdowns, 10 fieldgoals -- 3.6 points per trip
Opponent - 61 trips, 39 touchdowns, 17 fieldgoals -- 5.3 points per trip

We've regressed some, but will hopefully start making progress next year.

[Desnudo]

When I read the title, I thought this was going to be a biography of the real Bills regular season this year.

[sovereignstar]

It's a damn shame that Pennypacker was never able to set up shop in Peru and do some silver mining.

[Cap Ologist]

Our 2006 draft picks:

1 - Christian Diaz - DT -- a monster upfront, should greatly improve my run defense.
- Ernie Drauch - S -- pick acquired in last year's trade, almost selected him with my first pick

2. - John Malone - DE -- hopefully with Lake, Diaz and Malone, by DL will be set for awhile.

3. - Tito Hazam - WR -- good combine numbers and ratings

4. - Shaun Atherton - FB -- best player available, should be a good lead blocker and receiver out of the backfield

5. - Alex Higginbotham - G -- my best guard last year developed repetitive concussion syndrome and is out for the year, hopefully he'll fill and become a good reserve

6. - Skip Chisholm - QB -- best quarterback available, with 5.1 it seems almost impossible to get undrafted players to sign 3 year contracts, hopefully he'll develop.

7. - Brady Leaf - T -- best player remaining.

All my draft picks refuse their initial offers. Overall draft grade was a B-, up from C+ last year.

[Cap Ologist]

Another disappointing season (2-14), I was really hoping to 4 or 5 games. But there are some signs we're headed in the right direction.

Offense:
Rushing - 107.8 ypg -- 16th (not bad considering our starting rb went down to injury early)
Passing - 172.8 ypg - 32nd (definitely an area we'll address in the draft)

Defense:
Rushing - 117.6 ypg -- 22nd (improvement of 35 ypg!)
Passing - 203.1 ypg -- 7th (why pass when you can run so well?)

Scoring:
Buffalo - 9.1 ppg (up 4 ppg)
Opponent - 25.2 ppg (down 2.5 ppg)

Turnovers:
Buffalo - 11 fumbles, 17 int, 28 total (down 9)
Opponent - 3fumbles, 14 int, 17 total (up 1)
Differential: -11

Third Down:
Buffalo - 94 of 239 -- 39.3 % (up from 31.8 %)
Opponent - 86 -209 -- 41.0 %

Red Zone:
Buffalo - 26 trips, 11 touchdowns, 10 fieldgoals -- 4.1 points per trip
Opponent - 54 trips, 36 touchdowns, 14 fieldgoals -- 5.4 points per trip

[Cap Ologist]

Kansas City wins the Super Bowl over Carolina.

[Cap Ologist]

We decide to move to another town. We were denied two years in a row, once for screwing up our proposal. Our new town of choice: Honolulu. We modify our plan a little, retractable roof, 75,000 seats, 10,000 club seats, 150 luxury boxes. They are in the 88th percentile as far as wanting a new team. We'll see if they'll take us.

[jbmagic]

awesome dynasty


do you sim one game at a time or watch the game?
you do your own gameplan, depth chart, etc?

[Cap Ologist]

Our draft picks (and my hopes for them!) I traded down to get better value for my picks.

1. Rodney Gillespie - CB -- hopefully will team up Drauch to stabilize the secondary.
2. Korey Lovejoy - WR -- these two will hopefully improve my dreadful offense and
Roderick Browning - WR -- allow me to draft a franchise quarterback next year.
3. Cole Gannon - WR -- great return ratings and depth at WR
Jeffery Busch - ILB -- help shore up an improving run defense
4. Britt Heflin - T -- always trying to improve my line depth
5. Sedrick Prior - P -- should definitely improve my dreadful punting from last year
Blaine Farley - CB -- best available player, improve secondary depth
6. Jeffery Dollinger - SS -- drafted for need, hopefully my secondary will start to gell
7. Albert Benson - QB -- always like to draft a qb to develop for future trades

[Cap Ologist]

We're moving to the other side of the country. Honolulu wants us, and we'll begin playing in our new stadium in 2012. Honolulu is a town of over 800,000 people with no other teams anywhere close, the nearest is over 2000 miles away. Hopefully we'll build a great fan base.

[Cap Ologist]

We win our first game of the season 37 -6 and then lose 29 -0 the next. I smell a roller coaster.

[Cap Ologist]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

awesome dynasty


do you sim one game at a time or watch the game?
you do your own gameplan, depth chart, etc?

I sim through the season, adjusting the depth chart for injuries. I've spent a couple of months working on a gameplan system. In my last career, I won something like 11 of 15 Super Bowls, lost 2, and lost out in the Conference Finals. It was a pretty successful run. I had two qbs during that stretch, one was a 5th round draft pick, the other was a 7th. They both had career ratings over 100. Then Jim released 5.1 and I decided to start a new career.

[Cap Ologist]

We go 3-13, man this is going slow. I was really hoping to be challenging .500 by my third season.

Offense:
Rushing - 106.3 ypg -- 24th (We will hopefully be getting our qb of the future this draft, even it has to be a 1st rounder!)
Passing - 182.2 ypg - 30th

Defense:
Rushing - 139.3 ypg -- 31st (Not good!)
Passing - 210.1 ypg -- 8th (why pass when you can run so well?)

Scoring:
Buffalo - 10.9 ppg (up 1 ppg)
Opponent - 24.9 ppg (down .3 ppg)

Turnovers:
Buffalo - 15 fumbles, 21 int, 36 total (up 8)
Opponent - 10 fumbles, 11 int, 21 total (up 4)
Differential: -15

Third Down:
Buffalo - 93 of 226 -- 41.1 % (up from 39.3 %)
Opponent - 109 of 228 -- 47.8 % (up from 41.0 %)

Red Zone:
Buffalo - 30 trips, 12 touchdowns, 16 fieldgoals -- 4.4 points per trip
Opponent - 55 trips, 39 touchdowns, 12 fieldgoals -- 5.6 points per trip

The season ended up more disappointing that I originally thought, we've regressed.

[Cap Ologist]

Our next round of draft picks:

1. Juan Dunn - T -- Should protect my qb's blind side.
Roger McCutcheon - OLB -- Best available defensive player
2. Shane Finch - CB -- Another good CB for our secondary
3. Zack Cooper - QB -- Should have an interesting qb competition in camp with him & Bensen
4. Raymond Prather - S -- Should become starting strong safety
5. Sherman Holiday - TE -- Trying to acquire more offensive weapons, best available
6. Larry Palmer - K -- Upgrade to kicking position, didn't think he'd last this long
7. Nolan Dembek - G -- More OL depth, can you ever have enough?

Draft Grade B+ (forgot to check last season)

[jbmagic]

Originally Posted by Cap Ologist

I sim through the season, adjusting the depth chart for injuries. I've spent a couple of months working on a gameplan system. In my last career, I won something like 11 of 15 Super Bowls, lost 2, and lost out in the Conference Finals. It was a pretty successful run. I had two qbs during that stretch, one was a 5th round draft pick, the other was a 7th. They both had career ratings over 100. Then Jim released 5.1 and I decided to start a new career.

wow that very impressive...

[Cap Ologist]

Offense:
Rushing - 103.1 ypg -- 24th
Passing - 194.1 ypg - 30th

Defense:
Rushing - 117.6 ypg -- 22nd (A little better)
Passing - 199.9 ypg -- 3rd (why pass when you can run so well?)

Scoring:
Buffalo - 12.6 ppg (up 1.7 ppg)
Opponent - 18.5 ppg (down 7.4 ppg) - very encouraging!

Turnovers:
Buffalo - 8fumbles, 19 int, 27 total (down 9)
Opponent - 10 fumbles, 12 int, 22 total (up 1)
Differential: -5

Third Down:
Buffalo - 93 of 237 -- 39.2% (down from 41.1 %)
Opponent - 97 of 230 -- 42.1 % (down from 47.8 %)

Red Zone:
Buffalo - 37 trips, 15 touchdowns, 17 fieldgoals -- 4.2 points per trip
Opponent - 45 trips, 26 touchdowns, 11 fieldgoals -- 4.7 points per trip

This has certainly been harder than I thought it would be. These losses are really starting to bother me. I'm hoping for 8-8 this season. Our biggest questions are at qb and rb. Our quarterbacks haven't developed as quickly as I'd hoped, and we're pretty bad at running back with nobody rated above 40 overall.

[Cap Ologist]

After a couple of disappointing seasons, we fire our scout and coordinators.

New Staff:

Head Scout: Brenden Jones
5 yrs @ 1,100,000

QB - Exc
RB - Exc
Re - Avg
OL - Exc
K/P - Avg
DL - Avg
LB - Good
Se - Very Good
YT - Very Good

DC- Kelly Matteson
5 yrs @ $ 8,000,000

P - Very Good
DL - Very Good
LB - Very Good
Se - Average
YT - Very Good

OC -Kenneth Orenstein
5 yrs @ $ 8,000,000

QB - Very Good
RB - Very Good
Re - Very Good
OL - Very Good
K - Very Good
YT - Average

One of the things I dislike about FOF is the out of whack staff salaries. Coordinators don't make this much money, and I really wish Jim would make this more realistic.

[jbmagic]

how do you fire your scouts, head coach and coordinators in FOF...do you have to wait until there contracts ends before you can replace them?

thanks


wow did you see skydog cupboard dynasty he got to the superbowl in 6 years

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

how do you fire your scouts, head coach and coordinators in FOF...do you have to wait until there contracts ends before you can replace them?

thanks


wow did you see skydog cupboard dynasty he got to the superbowl in 6 years

During the hiring season you make an offer to an an available coach. If you hire him it will auto-fire your current one.

[Cap Ologist]

2009 Draft Picks:

1. Victor Reynolds - RB -- Best combine ratings of running backs, hopefully more than just a workout warrior.
Bill Brandon - LB -- Best OLB available, my defense should be the strong point this year and with Reynolds improving our run game, we should challenge for a playoff spot.

2. Barry Hock - S -- Should step in and challenge for playing time, possibly even starting.

3. Sherman Biggs - WR -- Talented receiver, adding to our offensive arsenal.
Marshall Brice - C -- Should be an improvement over last seasons backup, plus a better long snapper.

4. Lionel Monroe - QB -- Too talented to pass up, should develop and be a tradeable asset in a couple of seasons.

5. Carlos Matibag - G --
Jimmie White - G -- these two upgrade our depth on the OLine

6. Dean Stephens - DE -- best available DL

7. Sherman Roberson - ILB -- best available LB

I'm pretty optimistic about this season. My only real question mark is at QB where nobody has stepped up.

Our QB options:

Ryan Bush - 5th year veteran who was an undrafted free agent, has developed somewhat and is now 34/49.

Albert Bensen - 3rd year veteran, 7th round draft pick, lots of potential, needs to translate into production on the field, 22/59.

Lionel Monroe - 4th round draft pick this year, already shown improvement just by being on the team, 18/64.

Zack Cooper - 3rd round pick last year, didn't play very well during preseason, didn't see any playing time during the season, 14/41

My personal favorite is Bensen right now, but he's really got to show me something and soon.

[Cap Ologist]

Offense:
Rushing - 122.3 ypg -- 8th - up from 24th
Passing - 180.3 ypg - 31th

Defense:
Rushing - 113.9 ypg -- 15th
Passing - 225.2 ypg -- 19th (why pass when you can run so well?)

Scoring:
Buffalo - 16.6 ppg (up 4 ppg)
Opponent - 17.9 ppg (down .6 ppg)

Turnovers:
Buffalo - 4 fumbles, 24 int, 28 total (up 1)
Opponent - 5 fumbles, 17 int, 22 total (same)
Differential: -6

Third Down:
Buffalo - 93 of 219 -- 42.4% (up from 39.2 %)
Opponent - 102 of 237 -- 43.0 % (down from 47.8 %)

Red Zone:
Buffalo - 28 trips, 16 touchdowns, 6 fieldgoals -- 4.6 points per trip
Opponent - 47 trips, 21 touchdowns, 21 fieldgoals -- 4.4 points per trip