Front Office Football 2007: SkyDog's Home-Grown Empty Cupboard Dynasty

[Ben E Lou]

Front Office Football 2007

SKYDOG HOME-GROWN EMPTY CUPBOARD DYNASTY

SCENARIO

I loosely played a career up through 2021, mainly just paying attention to the draft, acquiring a few FA’s, and QuikSimming through the seasons. Now, though, it’s time to get serious. I’m taking over the Atlanta Falcons at the very beginning of 2022, and running a home-grown only Empty Cupboard team. In other words, I may not at any time have any players on my roster who have played for any other team. Each year, I can acquire players only by draft picks, and signings of undrafted rookie free agents.

HOUSE RULES & SETTINGS

• “Empty Cupboard” Start—I cut all players immediately upon taking over the roster. Every player on this team will be one that I went after myself.
• Home-Grown Talent Only—I may acquire players only by drafting them, or signing undrafted rookie free agents. All staff members may never have worked for another team.
• Injuries=200—The most realistic injury setting the game allows will be used here.
• Draft Pick Trading Only During The Draft—No trading future picks for future picks with the worst team during preseason or that kind of crap.
• All Other Settings Default/All-Out—No restrictions on renegotiations or anything else. Cap range is 28-80.

[QuikSand]

I am playing a career under very similar rules. Will be looking forward to your efforts here, with your traditioanl attention to detail.

[RedKingGold]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

I am playing a career under very similar rules. Will be looking forward to your efforts here, with your traditioanl attention to detail.

Speaking of attention to detail.

[QuikSand]

See, that's why I look forward to SkyDog setting a good example. I'm incapable.

[Ben E Lou]

2022 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

My turf is only “Good”, so I put in a proposal to upgrade it. Here’s my first staff:

FREE AGENCY

As I go to begin my interviews, I check the draft order. Heh. I hadn’t noticed this, but I have additional challenge early on: we only own 3 draft picks this season: 1(2), 4(1), and 6(1). There’s a QB who could be franchise level (6.3 adjusted rating) in the class, and Cincy owns the 1(1) with no QB under contract. Given that the best FA QB is 44/47, I’m guessing that the Bengals will want to take the one in the draft, and I’m not sure I want to trade up for him anyway. There’s a shutdown corner available that I could go for at 1(2), too.

Of course, I sim straight through this section this year, and on to the draft..

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(2): RCB Eddie Patterson (75/75)—This guy is a shut-down corner who has very high combine ratings and scored a 55 in the position drill. As far as the QB, he didn’t go 1(1). The Bengals took a can’t-miss looking DE, the highest-rated player. However, given that this is an Empty Cupboard career, I figure I’ll be up near 1(1) for at least a few seasons and a better QB than Jerry Rasmic will come along. I’ll check in on Rasmic’s development periodically, though. He went #4 overall to Indianapolis.
4(1): FL Slick Willie Martinez (16/36)—He’s a red flag player with a solid combine and a fun name. I couldn’t resist.
6(1): QB Ralph Diaz (23/40 )—Diaz only did his position drill, and has the second-highest score in the draft class (83). He’s got 89 Volatility and is 42% developed. He’ll get a shot for at least a year to show me if he has some promise.

My stadium vote failed. It was only gonna cost them a lousy 20 million or so. Ingrates. I wonder if Charleston wants a team.

I won’t be reporting on late free agency for now, as the report will look the same: I signed a buttload of rookies who’ll probably never pan out.

Name	Pos	Team	2022a Current	2022a Future	2022b Current	2022b Future	Overall Current Change	Overall Future Change
Diaz, Ralph	QB	Atlanta	23	40	24 (1)	43 (3)	1	3
Fuller, Rusty	QB	Atlanta	18	52	18 (0)	46 (-6)	0	-6
Salley, Freddie	QB	Atlanta	12	36	12 (0)	39 (3)	0	3
Stevens, Jeff	QB	Atlanta	13	40	13 (0)	39 (-1)	0	-1
Dotson, Gino	RB	Atlanta	25	53	24 (-1)	47 (-6)	-1	-6
Pierce, Dominic	RB	Atlanta	28	42	28 (0)	40 (-2)	0	-2
Rigsby, Tommy	RB	Atlanta	18	45	18 (0)	40 (-5)	0	-5
Stuart, Larry	RB	Atlanta	24	35	23 (-1)	33 (-2)	-1	-2
Welch, Eric	RB	Atlanta	16	38	16 (0)	35 (-3)	0	-3
Easter, Adam	FB	Atlanta	25	52	25 (0)	45 (-7)	0	-7
Hoover, Ed	FB	Atlanta	18	53	19 (1)	48 (-5)	1	-5
Davison, Alex	TE	Atlanta	23	51	23 (0)	46 (-5)	0	-5
Hickman, Kyle	TE	Atlanta	20	36	22 (2)	37 (1)	2	1
Pritchett, Lionel	TE	Atlanta	23	43	23 (0)	41 (-2)	0	-2
Bailey, Lorenzo	FL	Atlanta	16	31	17 (1)	30 (-1)	1	-1
Martinez, Slick	FL	Willie	16	36	17 (1)	36 (0)	1	0
Devine, Blake	SE	Atlanta	16	46	18 (2)	41 (-5)	2	-5
Schwartz, Russell	SE	Atlanta	18	32	19 (1)	28 (-4)	1	-4
Thornton, Marco	SE	Atlanta	18	42	19 (1)	36 (-6)	1	-6
May, Mitch	C	Atlanta	16	45	19 (3)	45 (0)	3	0
Vance, Bryce	C	Atlanta	16	23	19 (3)	25 (2)	3	2
Watson, Darnell	C	Atlanta	19	37	22 (3)	36 (-1)	3	-1
Barrett, Ray	LG	Atlanta	14	47	17 (3)	42 (-5)	3	-5
Poteat, J.B.	LG	Atlanta	16	51	17 (1)	47 (-4)	1	-4
Mills, Michael	RG	Atlanta	21	37	22 (1)	36 (-1)	1	-1
Shapiro, Dan	RG	Atlanta	20	33	22 (2)	36 (3)	2	3
Oaks, Clarence	LT	Atlanta	17	24	17 (0)	25 (1)	0	1
Padavona, Claude	LT	Atlanta	17	54	17 (0)	44 (-10)	0	-10
Rhem, Toby	LT	Atlanta	19	32	18 (-1)	33 (1)	-1	1
Stahl, Richie	LT	Atlanta	16	40	16 (0)	39 (-1)	0	-1
Nichols, Andre	K	Atlanta	48	48	53 (5)	53 (5)	5	5
Fairbanks, Dexter	P	Atlanta	44	61	43 (-1)	60 (-1)	-1	-1
Giedt, Cary	LDE	Atlanta	22	39	22 (0)	37 (-2)	0	-2
Hill, Donnell	LDE	Atlanta	22	37	22 (0)	36 (-1)	0	-1
Peterson, Tony	LDE	Atlanta	21	39	21 (0)	36 (-3)	0	-3
Canaves, Bart	LDT	Atlanta	17	24	19 (2)	24 (0)	2	0
Sanders, C.J.	RDT	Atlanta	16	43	18 (2)	40 (-3)	2	-3
Brady, Tyrell	NT	Atlanta	22	32	23 (1)	31 (-1)	1	-1
Ramsey, O.J.	NT	Atlanta	12	43	15 (3)	38 (-5)	3	-5
Wilkerson, Rob	RDE	Atlanta	13	51	15 (2)	43 (-8)	2	-8
Hammond, Arnold	SLB	Atlanta	19	36	19 (0)	34 (-2)	0	-2
Osborne, Rondell	SLB	Atlanta	18	29	19 (1)	29 (0)	1	0
Stewart, Marty	SLB	Atlanta	15	22	17 (2)	23 (1)	2	1
Cavin, Jessie	SILB	Atlanta	19	25	20 (1)	26 (1)	1	1
Fitzgerald, Terrell	MLB	Atlanta	12	29	14 (2)	32 (3)	2	3
Moore, Frankie	MLB	Atlanta	17	41	18 (1)	37 (-4)	1	-4
DeFelice, Sedrick	WLB	Atlanta	17	50	18 (1)	44 (-6)	1	-6
Bernard, Jesse	LCB	Atlanta	22	38	22 (0)	36 (-2)	0	-2
Dillon, J.T.	LCB	Atlanta	14	46	14 (0)	40 (-6)	0	-6
Keefe, Ronald	LCB	Atlanta	19	44	18 (-1)	38 (-6)	-1	-6
Nixon, Jeffrey	LCB	Atlanta	18	47	17 (-1)	42 (-5)	-1	-5
Carter, K.C.	RCB	Atlanta	21	42	23 (2)	38 (-4)	2	-4
Patterson, Eddie	RCB	Atlanta	75	75	82 (7)	82 (7)	7	7
Grant, Billy	SS	Atlanta	7	58	7 (0)	48 (-10)	0	-10
Woodard, Mercury	SS	Atlanta	12	26	14 (2)	29 (3)	2	3
Crosland, Keith	FS	Atlanta	15	36	17 (2)	35 (-1)	2	-1
Hammond, Blaine	FS	Atlanta	14	21	15 (1)	22 (1)	1	1

So QB Diaz and CB Patterson look like decent picks. The jury's still out on Slick Willie. Among the undrafted, RB Gino Dotson looks to have some decent ability, and a few others could develop into useful players just by nature of playing. Got some other stuff to do, so it may be even tomorrow morning before I run the first season.

[Ben E Lou]

2022 Regular Season (3-13)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance	Log/Box
Week 1	16	Tampa Bay Buccanneers	34	R.Diaz 12-24-117	D.Pierce 18-59	S.Martinez 4-33	60,700	Log Box
Week 2	7	Cleveland Browns	26	R.Diaz 14-27-100	D.Pierce 16-53	M.Thornton 6-36	62,500	Log Box
Week 3	20	at Minnesota Vikings	17	R.Diaz 29-43-213	G.Dotson 15-47	S.Martinez 7-53	47,500	Log Box
Week 4	0	Seattle Seahawks	29	R.Diaz 7-11-42	D.Pierce 15-31	E.Welch 2-22	63,300	Log Box
Week 5	Bye Week
Week 6	0	at Arizona Cardinals	27	R.Fuller 7-14-18	D.Pierce 11-56	M.Thornton 3-9	56,900	Log Box
Week 7	3	at Carolina Panthers	31	R.Diaz 22-28-91	D.Pierce 11-44	S.Martinez 2-33	77,000	Log Box
Week 8	7	at San Francisco 49ers	14	R.Diaz 14-32-93	D.Pierce 13-46	M.Thornton 5-41	35,200	Log Box
Week 9	3	St. Louis Rams	13	R.Diaz 15-26-94	D.Pierce 14-48	B.Devine 3-40	54,800	Log Box
Week 10	16	at Tampa Bay Buccanneers	24	R.Diaz 18-31-179	D.Pierce 15-84	K.Hickman 2-53	30,800	Log Box
Week 11	6	at New Orleans Saints	36	R.Diaz 15-36-122	L.Stuart 9-24	S.Martinez 6-51	30,600	Log Box
Week 12	16	Pittsburgh Steelers	3	R.Diaz 19-23-120	L.Stuart 28-101	B.Devine 9-71	49,000	Log Box
Week 13	13	Philadelphia Eagles	17	R.Diaz 18-26-142	D.Pierce 12-57	R.Schwartz 6-56	48,200	Log Box
Week 14	0	at Cincinnati Bengals	26	R.Diaz 12-21-103	D.Pierce 6-26	B.Devine 6-52	52,300	Log Box
Week 15	10	New Orleans Saints	6	R.Diaz 17-21-171	G.Dotson 9-32	B.Devine 7-74	49,900	Log Box
Week 16	7	at Baltimore Ravens	35	R.Diaz 19-32-139	G.Dotson 10-55	M.Thornton 4-81	40,700	Log Box
Week 17	10	Carolina Panthers	24	R.Diaz 19-34-110	G.Dotson 14-78	L.Bailey 2-24	52,400	Log Box

Heh. I was surprised to see this bunch win even three games. As you can see below, we really didn't have any statistical bright spots, save for WLB Cedric DeFelice. I really can't tell much about Diaz or Slick Willie yet. Maybe one sucks, or maybe both do, or maybe one or the other needs more time to develop. The "good" news is that we'll get the #1 or #2 overall pick next year.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Ralph Diaz	423	253	1845	4.36	5	14	60.3
Team	454	270	1890	4.16	5	14	59.8
Opp	410	287	3136	7.65	17	13	92.8

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Dominic Pierce	RB	185	692	3.74	3	11
Gino Dotson	RB	98	377	3.85	0	2
Larry Stuart	RB	47	154	3.28	0	0
Adam Easter	FB	43	117	2.72	0	1
Ralph Diaz	QB	34	171	5.03	0	11
Team	---	428	1603	3.75	5	33
Opp	---	592	2354	3.98	21	32

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	Drop
Blake Devine	SE	115	71	475	6.69	4.13	1	57
Slick Willie Martinez	FL	96	50	381	7.62	3.97	0	65
Marco Thornton	SE	57	39	301	7.72	5.28	1	18
Eric Welch	FL	56	31	244	7.87	4.36	0	54
Alex Davison	TE	29	20	144	7.20	4.97	0	26

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Sedrick DeFelice	WLB	79	22	0.5	0	1	1	71.4
Frankie Moore	MLB	73	21	1.0	2	0	4	71.2
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	70	22	0.0	0	0	1	68.0
Rondell Osborne	SLB	65	28	2.5	0	1	3	74.1
Mercury Woodard	SS	53	15	0.0	0	0	1	71.5
Arnold Hammond	SLB	49	14	0.0	0	2	4	79.4
Billy Grant	SS	49	28	0.0	0	1	4	77.6
Keith Crosland	FS	41	14	0.0	0	3	3	80.3
Rob Wilkerson	RDE	39	11	4.0	6	0	0	80.7
O.J. Ramsey	LDT	39	12	1.0	4	0	1	80.9
Tyrell Brady	RDT	39	13	1.0	3	0	0	82.0
K.C. Carter	RCB	37	16	1.0	0	3	4	77.9
Cary Giedt	LDE	33	14	5.5	5	0	0	81.8
C.J. Sanders	RDT	31	9	1.0	3	0	0	82.5
Jesse Bernard	LCB	31	10	0.0	0	2	4	80.1
Ronald Keefe	LCB	25	8	0.0	0	0	1	74.1
Donnell Hill	LDE	23	13	2.0	1	0	0	82.5
Bart Canaves	LDT	23	8	2.5	1	0	0	80.7
Eddie Patterson	RCB	19	4	0.0	0	0	2	72.7

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 26.8 20 Rushing Yards 100.2 26 Yards Per Carry 3.75 28 Pass Attempts 28.4 27 Completions 16.9 28 Completion Pct. 59.5 22 (T) Passing Yards 118.1 32 Yards Per Attempt 4.16 32 Yards Per Catch 7.00 32 Total Yards Gained 203.0 32 3rd Down Conversions 32.3 29 Points Per Game 8.4 32 Pass Rush Pct. 3.9 32 Pass Defense Pct. 61.3 31 Turnovers 27 20 (T) Turnover Margin -1 17 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 37.0 32 Rushing Yards 147.1 30 Yards Per Carry 3.98 10 Pass Attempts 25.6 1 Completions 17.9 4 Completion Pct. 70.0 31 Passing Yards 196.0 4 Yards Per Attempt 7.65 31 Yards Per Catch 10.93 18 Total Yards Gained 333.6 25 3rd Down Conversions 42.8 29 Points Per Game 22.6 28 (T) Pass Rush Pct. 7.8 21 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 66.7 16 Turnovers 26 12 (T) Turnover Margin +1 17 (T)

[fantastic flying froggies]

hmm, something fishy about those numbers for drops by your receivers...

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

hmm, something fishy about those numbers for drops by your receivers...

Heh. Nice catch. Those are their YAC numbers, actually. I caught that the last column for defense was PRPct and should have been PDPct. I'll report both of these to Solecismic Software customer support.

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by fantastic flying froggies

hmm, something fishy about those numbers for drops by your receivers...

I thought putting butter on the receivers hands was part of the empty cupboard rules.

[Ben E Lou]

2023 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

Tried to move to Columbus, GA, but I doubt it’ll go through. Got a small upgrade in HC, OC, DC. Scout stays the same.
SUMMER LEAGUE: My head says to send QB Diaz, but I go with my heart, and send good ol’ Slick Willie.

FREE AGENCY

I do have the 1(1), and there’s a STUDLY young QB in the pool this year. Glad I sent Slick Willie and not Diaz. QB Johnny Blood will go #1 overall.

I re-sign a few of my stiffs, and it’s on to the draft…

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(1): QB Johnny Blood (18/68)—Was absolutely phenomenal at is position drill, scoring a 91. Here’s hoping he pans out.
2(2): SE Mark Mounts (36/63)—He had a great combine, and has good bars to boot. He gives Johnny Blood a decent target while we see if Slick Willie can pan out.
4(2): LT Hugh Fulton (20/53)—Solid bars all around. If he lives up to that potential, he could be our starting LT for years.
7(1): MLB K.C. Stauder (20/43)—He’s a question mark, but will certainly start at least this year.

My stadium vote failed. It was only gonna cost them a lousy 20 million or so. Ingrates. I wonder if Charleston wants a team.

In late free agency, I sign seen rookies, all of whom I identified during the draft as guys who I might be willing to spend a late-round pick on. They had solid combine scores, and if they show any sign of improvement in training camp, they’ll all make the team. They are:

TE Ray Aydelotte
SE Mickey Hutton
SE Teddy Austin
LDT Jumbo Lahnum
SLB Heath Railey
RCB T.J. Hobson
FS Lester Shinn

Name	Pos	2022a Current	2022a Future	2022b Current	2022b Future	2023a Current	2023a Future	2023b Current	2023b Future	Overall Current Change	Overall Future Change
Blood, Johnny	QB					18	68	18 (0)	68 (0)	0	0
Diaz, Ralph	QB	23	40	24 (1)	43 (3)	30 (6)	45 (2)	30 (0)	45 (0)	7	5
Fuller, Rusty	QB	18	52	18 (0)	46 (-6)	17 (-1)	41 (-5)	18 (1)	42 (1)	0	-10
Salley, Freddie	QB	12	36	12 (0)	39 (3)	13 (1)	42 (3)	13 (0)	42 (0)	1	6
Stevens, Jeff	QB	13	40	13 (0)	39 (-1)	12 (-1)	38 (-1)	12 (0)	39 (1)	-1	-1
Dotson, Gino	RB	25	53	24 (-1)	47 (-6)	24 (0)	43 (-4)	24 (0)	43 (0)	-1	-10
Pierce, Dominic	RB	28	42	28 (0)	40 (-2)	29 (1)	38 (-2)	29 (0)	38 (0)	1	-4
Rigsby, Tommy	RB	18	45	18 (0)	40 (-5)	18 (0)	37 (-3)	18 (0)	37 (0)	0	-8
Stuart, Larry	RB	24	35	23 (-1)	33 (-2)	22 (-1)	31 (-2)	22 (0)	31 (0)	-2	-4
Easter, Adam	FB	25	52	25 (0)	45 (-7)	27 (2)	41 (-4)	28 (1)	41 (0)	3	-11
Hoover, Ed	FB	18	53	19 (1)	48 (-5)	21 (2)	44 (-4)	21 (0)	43 (-1)	3	-10
Aydelotte, Ray	TE					13	34	14 (1)	35 (1)	1	1
Davison, Alex	TE	23	51	23 (0)	46 (-5)	25 (2)	42 (-4)	27 (2)	43 (1)	4	-8
Hickman, Kyle	TE	20	36	22 (2)	37 (1)	23 (1)	37 (0)	24 (1)	36 (-1)	4	0
Pritchett, Lionel	TE	23	43	23 (0)	41 (-2)	24 (1)	38 (-3)	26 (2)	38 (0)	3	-5
Bailey, Lorenzo	FL	16	31	17 (1)	30 (-1)	17 (0)	30 (0)	17 (0)	30 (0)	1	-1
Martinez, Slick	FL	16	36	17 (1)	36 (0)	22 (5)	36 (0)	22 (0)	36 (0)	6	0
Mounts, Mark	FL							36	62	0	0
Welch, Eric	FL					13	39	13 (0)	39 (0)	0	0
Austin, Teddy	SE					16	33	17 (1)	33 (0)	1	0
Devine, Blake	SE	16	46	18 (2)	41 (-5)	20 (2)	38 (-3)	22 (2)	39 (1)	6	-7
Hutton, Mickey	SE					10	22	13 (3)	28 (6)	3	6
Schwartz, Russell	SE	18	32	19 (1)	28 (-4)	18 (-1)	26 (-2)	20 (2)	26 (0)	2	-6
Thornton, Marco	SE	18	42	19 (1)	36 (-6)	20 (1)	33 (-3)	22 (2)	33 (0)	4	-9
May, Mitch	C	16	45	19 (3)	45 (0)	23 (4)	45 (0)	27 (4)	45 (0)	11	0
Watson, Darnell	C	19	37	22 (3)	36 (-1)	23 (1)	36 (0)	25 (2)	36 (0)	6	-1
Barrett, Ray	LG	14	47	17 (3)	42 (-5)	19 (2)	38 (-4)	22 (3)	39 (1)	8	-8
Poteat, J.B.	LG	16	51	17 (1)	47 (-4)	20 (3)	44 (-3)	21 (1)	43 (-1)	5	-8
Shapiro, Dan	RG	20	33	22 (2)	36 (3)	23 (1)	38 (2)	25 (2)	38 (0)	5	5
Fulton, Hugh	LT					20	53	20 (0)	53 (0)	0	0
Padavona, Claude	LT	17	54	17 (0)	44 (-10)	19 (2)	38 (-6)	19 (0)	38 (0)	2	-16
Rhem, Toby	LT	19	32	18 (-1)	33 (1)	21 (3)	34 (1)	21 (0)	34 (0)	2	2
Stahl, Richie	RT							21	40	0	0
Nichols, Andre	K	48	48	53 (5)	53 (5)	57 (4)	57 (4)	58 (1)	58 (1)	10	10
Fairbanks, Dexter	P	44	61	43 (-1)	60 (-1)	43 (0)	60 (0)	43 (0)	60 (0)	-1	-1
Giedt, Cary	LDE	22	39	22 (0)	37 (-2)	26 (4)	36 (-1)	25 (-1)	35 (-1)	3	-4
Hill, Donnell	LDE	22	37	22 (0)	36 (-1)	23 (1)	36 (0)	23 (0)	36 (0)	1	-1
Peterson, Tony	LDE	21	39	21 (0)	36 (-3)	21 (0)	34 (-2)	22 (1)	34 (0)	1	-5
Canaves, Bart	LDT	17	24	19 (2)	24 (0)	20 (1)	23 (-1)	22 (2)	24 (1)	5	0
Lahnum, Jumbo	LDT					16	34	17 (1)	32 (-2)	1	-2
Ramsey, O.J.	LDT					15	34	17 (2)	34 (0)	2	0
Brady, Tyrell	RDT					25	32	26 (1)	32 (0)	1	0
Sanders, C.J.	RDT	16	43	18 (2)	40 (-3)	19 (1)	37 (-3)	21 (2)	36 (-1)	5	-7
Wilkerson, Rob	RDE	13	51	15 (2)	43 (-8)	16 (1)	38 (-5)	17 (1)	38 (0)	4	-13
Osborne, Rondell	SLB	18	29	19 (1)	29 (0)	20 (1)	29 (0)	22 (2)	29 (0)	4	0
Railey, Heath	SLB					11	25	12 (1)	26 (1)	1	1
Fitzgerald, Terrell	MLB	12	29	14 (2)	32 (3)	19 (5)	33 (1)	21 (2)	33 (0)	9	4
Moore, Frankie	MLB	17	41	18 (1)	37 (-4)	22 (4)	34 (-3)	25 (3)	35 (1)	8	-6
Stauder, K.C.	MLB					20	43	22 (2)	38 (-5)	2	-5
DeFelice, Sedrick	WLB	17	50	18 (1)	44 (-6)	21 (3)	40 (-4)	23 (2)	40 (0)	6	-10
Bernard, Jesse	LCB	22	38	22 (0)	36 (-2)	23 (1)	33 (-3)	23 (0)	34 (1)	1	-4
Dillon, J.T.	LCB	14	46	14 (0)	40 (-6)	14 (0)	37 (-3)	14 (0)	41 (4)	0	-5
Keefe, Ronald	LCB	19	44	18 (-1)	38 (-6)	20 (2)	34 (-4)	20 (0)	34 (0)	1	-10
Nixon, Jeffrey	LCB	18	47	17 (-1)	42 (-5)	17 (0)	39 (-3)	17 (0)	39 (0)	-1	-8
Carter, K.C.	RCB	21	42	23 (2)	38 (-4)	27 (4)	35 (-3)	29 (2)	35 (0)	8	-7
Hobson, T.J.	RCB					15	32	17 (2)	33 (1)	2	1
Patterson, Eddie	RCB	75	75	82 (7)	82 (7)	80 (-2)	80 (-2)	86 (6)	86 (6)	11	11
Grant, Billy	SS	7	58	7 (0)	48 (-10)	10 (3)	41 (-7)	11 (1)	41 (0)	4	-17
Woodard, Mercury	SS	12	26	14 (2)	29 (3)	18 (4)	30 (1)	19 (1)	30 (0)	7	4
Crosland, Keith	FS	15	36	17 (2)	35 (-1)	20 (3)	33 (-2)	21 (1)	34 (1)	6	-2
Shinn, Lester	FS					6	8	8 (2)	11 (3)	2	3

POST-CAMP THOUGHTS

• Interesting situation at QB. Diaz is showing definite signs of improvement, and appears to be a much better option right now. Blood has more potential, but he is a definite question mark, as he has a long way to go in his development.
• No improvement for Slick Willie.
• SE Mikey Hutton looks like he could be “Patience, Part Deux.”
• Most of my late FA pickups showed some small improvements, and will therefore make the team.

[Ben E Lou]

2023 Regular Season (5-11)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance	Log/Box
Week 1	13	at New Orleans Saints	16	R.Diaz 19-24-154	D.Pierce 18-73	M.Mounts 8-76	36,000	Log Box
Week 2	13	Houston Texans	17	R.Diaz 27-45-249	G.Dotson 6-34	M.Mounts 11-122	52,700	Log Box
Week 3	13	San Francisco 49ers	19	R.Diaz 14-19-158	D.Pierce 8-38	T.Austin 7-90	56,800	Log Box
Week 4	24	Miami Buccanneers	31	J.Blood 18-29-182	G.Dotson 8-93	T.Austin 3-48	49,500	Log Box
Week 5	10	at Carolina Panthers	14	J.Blood 12-19-96	D.Pierce 12-26	T.Austin 5-40	77,000	Log Box
Week 6	10	Minnesota Vikings	20	J.Blood 24-44-211	G.Dotson 13-44	M.Mounts 10-79	45,900	Log Box
Week 7	24	at Chicago Packers	38	J.Blood 24-40-223	G.Dotson 11-50	S.Martinez 6-69	52,700	Log Box
Week 8	10	Detroit Lions	13	J.Blood 22-32-209	G.Dotson 12-41	M.Mounts 10-121	47,600	Log Box
Week 9	24	at Ann Arbor Bears	21	J.Blood 19-24-284	G.Dotson 16-45	M.Mounts 8-165	62,300	Log Box
Week 10	22	New Orleans Saints	19	J.Blood 18-30-190	G.Dotson 16-63	S.Martinez 7-92	41,800	Log Box
Week 11	Bye Week
Week 12	7	Tennessee Titans	21	J.Blood 22-43-233	J.Blood 5-33	M.Mounts 6-95	53,500	Log Box
Week 13	24	at Philadelphia Eagles	17	R.Diaz 16-25-152	G.Dotson 15-59	M.Mounts 2-66	49,800	Log Box
Week 14	14	at Jacksonville Jaguars	61	R.Diaz 16-23-157	G.Dotson 11-49	M.Mounts 9-103	51,000	Log Box
Week 15	21	Carolina Panthers	17	R.Diaz 24-30-190	G.Dotson 18-75	M.Mounts 8-60	51,900	Log Box
Week 16	35	at San Antonio Colts	38	R.Diaz 20-34-156	A.Easter 3-20	M.Mounts 7-116	72,300	Log Box
Week 17	23	at Miami Buccanneers	3	R.Diaz 24-31-165	G.Dotson 16-36	M.Mounts 6-70	20,400	Log Box

As a team, five wins is certainly an improvement, and we saw encouraging signs from quite a few youngsters this year.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Johnny Blood	298	178	1721	5.78	10	8	75.9
Ralph Diaz	250	172	1446	5.78	6	4	84.8
Team	548	350	3167	5.78	16	12	80.0
Opp	467	300	3172	6.79	26	22	82.8

It was a difficult choice all year between Blood and Diaz. Both played pretty decently, and were especially helped along by Mounts, who caught over 100 passes. Diaz missed four games due to a minor injury. At no point in the year did I set the playing time for the starter at more than 2, so there were a few games where he was replaced. Given how bad the surrounding cast was, and the lack of a meaningful running game, I can't help but be encouraged by both of the young QBs.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Gino Dotson	RB	171	666	3.89	8	5
Dominic Pierce	RB	167	542	3.25	4	9
Adam Easter	FB	41	140	3.41	0	0
Team	---	423	1505	3.56	13	28
Opp	---	518	2287	4.42	13	35

The running game left a lot to be desired, and it looks like the backs were to blame. ALY=4.00.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Mark Mounts	FL	169	103	1236	12.00	7.31	5	217
Teddy Austin	SE	90	58	520	8.97	5.78	4	64
Slick Willie Martinez	FL	61	36	417	11.58	6.84	5	68
Kyle Hickman	TE	29	26	193	7.42	6.66	2	30
Blake Devine	SE	45	24	199	8.29	4.42	0	19
Mickey Hutton	SE	35	21	178	8.48	5.09	0	47
Lionel Pritchett	TE	25	18	86	4.78	3.44	0	11

Mounts looks like he could be a big-timer, and Slick Willie and Teddy Austin were decent alternate options.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Sedrick DeFelice	WLB	89	18	0.0	0	0	1	64.8
K.C. Stauder	MLB	86	26	0.0	2	3	2	77.3
Rondell Osborne	SLB	85	26	0.5	1	1	12	77.4
Mercury Woodard	SS	77	36	0.5	0	1	5	77.4
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	57	18	1.0	0	0	1	71.9
Tyrell Brady	RDT	44	16	1.0	4	0	0	81.3
Heath Railey	SLB	35	7	2.0	0	0	0	55.6
Bart Canaves	LDT	31	13	0.5	3	0	0	80.8
Jumbo Lahnum	LDT	31	8	1.5	3	0	0	81.3
Keith Crosland	FS	27	6	0.0	0	1	3	82.5
K.C. Carter	RCB	26	12	1.5	1	2	5	80.2
Eddie Patterson	RCB	25	13	0.0	0	6	6	91.0
Cary Giedt	LDE	22	12	8.0	10	0	0	81.8
Billy Grant	SS	22	5	2.0	0	1	3	80.5
Rob Wilkerson	RDE	18	12	1.0	6	0	2	83.8
Tony Peterson	LDE	18	6	2.0	7	1	0	83.9
Donnell Hill	LDE	17	9	0.5	6	0	0	81.2
T.J. Hobson	RCB	17	6	0.0	0	2	2	79.6
Lester Shinn	FS	17	11	0.0	0	1	3	81.2

Is the rest of our front seven just miserable, or is DeFelice perhaps something special? Also, check out those numbers by CB Eddie Patterson.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 26.4 21 (T) Rushing Yards 94.1 29 Yards Per Carry 3.56 32 Pass Attempts 34.3 10 Completions 21.9 4 Completion Pct. 63.9 11 Passing Yards 197.9 21 (T) Yards Per Attempt 5.78 24 Yards Per Catch 9.05 28 Total Yards Gained 283.4 26 3rd Down Conversions 36.5 21 Points Per Game 17.9 23 Pass Rush Pct. 5.6 28 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 70.0 8 (T) Turnovers 27 15 (T) Turnover Margin +16 4 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 32.4 27 Rushing Yards 142.9 31 Yards Per Carry 4.42 27 Pass Attempts 29.2 4 Completions 18.8 5 (T) Completion Pct. 64.2 25 (T) Passing Yards 198.3 5 Yards Per Attempt 6.79 21 (T) Yards Per Catch 10.57 13 Total Yards Gained 331.4 26 3rd Down Conversions 42.7 29 (T) Points Per Game 22.8 27 Pass Rush Pct. 6.8 16 Pass Defense Pct. 61.0 4 Turnovers 43 2 Turnover Margin -16 4 (T)

All things considered, not a bad second season.

[Ben E Lou]

2024 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

Found a brand new scout who is pretty solid across the board. Stood pat at HC/Coordinators.
SUMMER LEAGUE: LT Hugh Fulton only gained five points during the season last year. I send him to see if we can help him along.

FREE AGENCY

I have the #6 pick this year. Just my luck: it looks like the QB draft of ’83. There are four QB’s who could go in the top 10. There are 2 DT’s and one DE that I’d be satisfied with at pick #6, though.

I re-sign a few of my stiffs, and it’s on to the draft…

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(6): DT Marvin Cox (61/84)—Picks 1,2 & 5 went on QB’s, and #3 and #4 went to a RB and CB, respectively, leaving me with the pick of the litter on the defensive line, and Cox looks like the best option.
2(7): SS Mario Politte (18/56)—If he pans out, he’ll be excellent in run support and in zone defense.
3(6): LG Rico Mugica (28/48)—Trying to get at least one side of the offensive line decent at run blocking.
4(7): RT Blake Lyon (19/38)—Had a great combine and is HUGE (6’7”, 351 pounds).
5(6): LDE Billy Joe Healy (20/37)—No standout ratings, but good combine numbers.
6(7): LCB Conrad Franz (21/43)—Didn’t record any combine numbers, but had a great position drill and looks the part, ratings-wise.
7(6): RB Perry Zeyen (24/24)—Just had to see what this guy might be all about. 6’1”, 243 pounds, 4.63 in the 40. 10’1” broad jump, but only got a 3 in his position drill. Had a 5.1 adjusted rating, but fell all the way to here.

Guys I interview who went undrafted are all signed. Like last year, I believe all of these guys have a shot at improving:
LDE Dusty Parrish
RT Sedrick Babka
FS Mike Fulcher
TE Larry Rose
LT Donnie BatistaàLG
FL Donny Cavazos
FL Freddie Hansen

POST-CAMP RATINGS

Name	Pos	Team	2022a Current	2022a Future	2022b Current	2022b Future	2023a Current	2023a Future	2023b Current	2023b Future	2024a Current	2024a Future	2024b Current	2024b Future	Overall Current Change	Overall Future Change
Blood, Johnny	QB	Atlanta					18	68	18 (0)	68 (0)	20 (2)	66 (-2)	20 (0)	66 (0)	2	-2
Diaz, Ralph	QB	Atlanta	23	40	24 (1)	43 (3)	30 (6)	45 (2)	30 (0)	45 (0)	37 (7)	47 (2)	36 (-1)	46 (-1)	13	6
Salley, Freddie	QB	Atlanta	12	36	12 (0)	39 (3)	13 (1)	42 (3)	13 (0)	42 (0)	14 (1)	45 (3)	13 (-1)	45 (0)	1	9
Stevens, Jeff	QB	Atlanta	13	40	13 (0)	39 (-1)	12 (-1)	38 (-1)	12 (0)	39 (1)	11 (-1)	38 (-1)	11 (0)	38 (0)	-2	-2
Dotson, Gino	RB	Atlanta	25	53	24 (-1)	47 (-6)	24 (0)	43 (-4)	24 (0)	43 (0)	24 (0)	37 (-6)	24 (0)	38 (1)	-1	-15
Pierce, Dominic	RB	Atlanta	28	42	28 (0)	40 (-2)	29 (1)	38 (-2)	29 (0)	38 (0)	28 (-1)	36 (-2)	29 (1)	36 (0)	1	-6
Easter, Adam	FB	Atlanta	25	52	25 (0)	45 (-7)	27 (2)	41 (-4)	28 (1)	41 (0)	31 (3)	35 (-6)	31 (0)	34 (-1)	6	-18
Hoover, Ed	FB	Atlanta	18	53	19 (1)	48 (-5)	21 (2)	44 (-4)	21 (0)	43 (-1)	21 (0)	38 (-5)	21 (0)	38 (0)	3	-15
Zeyen, Perry	FB	Atlanta									15	17	15 (0)	19 (2)	0	2
Aydelotte, Ray	TE	Atlanta					13	34	14 (1)	35 (1)	16 (2)	35 (0)	17 (1)	35 (0)	4	1
Hickman, Kyle	TE	Atlanta	20	36	22 (2)	37 (1)	23 (1)	37 (0)	24 (1)	36 (-1)	27 (3)	36 (0)	27 (0)	35 (-1)	7	-1
Rose, Larry	TE	Atlanta									18	53	19 (1)	48 (-5)	1	-5
Cavazos, Donny	FL	Atlanta									22	35	23 (1)	37 (2)	1	2
Hansen, Freddie	FL	Atlanta									12	19	12 (0)	19 (0)	0	0
Martinez, Slick	FL	Willie	16	36	17 (1)	36 (0)	22 (5)	36 (0)	22 (0)	36 (0)	22 (0)	36 (0)	22 (0)	36 (0)	6	0
Mounts, Mark	FL	Atlanta							36	62	50 (14)	61 (-1)	51 (1)	61 (0)	15	-1
Welch, Eric	FL	Atlanta					13	39	13 (0)	39 (0)	14 (1)	34 (-5)	15 (1)	34 (0)	2	-5
Austin, Teddy	SE	Atlanta					16	33	17 (1)	33 (0)	21 (4)	34 (1)	22 (1)	34 (0)	6	1
Devine, Blake	SE	Atlanta	16	46	18 (2)	41 (-5)	20 (2)	38 (-3)	22 (2)	39 (1)	22 (0)	35 (-4)	24 (2)	35 (0)	8	-11
Hutton, Mickey	SE	Atlanta					10	22	13 (3)	28 (6)	16 (3)	32 (4)	18 (2)	32 (0)	8	10
May, Mitch	C	Atlanta	16	45	19 (3)	45 (0)	23 (4)	45 (0)	27 (4)	45 (0)	28 (1)	45 (0)	29 (1)	44 (-1)	13	-1
Watson, Darnell	C	Atlanta	19	37	22 (3)	36 (-1)	23 (1)	36 (0)	25 (2)	36 (0)	28 (3)	36 (0)	30 (2)	35 (-1)	11	-2
Batista, Donnie	LG	Atlanta									13	20	15 (2)	23 (3)	2	3
Mugica, Rico	LG	Atlanta									28	48	34 (6)	51 (3)	6	3
Poteat, J.B.	LG	Atlanta	16	51	17 (1)	47 (-4)	20 (3)	44 (-3)	21 (1)	43 (-1)	24 (3)	41 (-2)	26 (2)	41 (0)	10	-10
Shapiro, Dan	RG	Atlanta	20	33	22 (2)	36 (3)	23 (1)	38 (2)	25 (2)	38 (0)	31 (6)	41 (3)	32 (1)	40 (-1)	12	7
Fulton, Hugh	LT	Atlanta					20	53	20 (0)	53 (0)	25 (5)	53 (0)	25 (0)	54 (1)	5	1
Babka, Sedrick	RT	Atlanta									15	47	17 (2)	41 (-6)	2	-6
Lyon, Blake	RT	Atlanta									19	38	21 (2)	38 (0)	2	0
Stahl, Richie	RT	Atlanta							21	40	24 (3)	39 (-1)	28 (4)	40 (1)	7	0
Nichols, Andre	K	Atlanta	48	48	53 (5)	53 (5)	57 (4)	57 (4)	58 (1)	58 (1)	52 (-6)	52 (-6)	51 (-1)	51 (-1)	3	3
Fairbanks, Dexter	P	Atlanta	44	61	43 (-1)	60 (-1)	43 (0)	60 (0)	43 (0)	60 (0)	44 (1)	60 (0)	44 (0)	60 (0)	0	-1
Giedt, Cary	LDE	Atlanta	22	39	22 (0)	37 (-2)	26 (4)	36 (-1)	25 (-1)	35 (-1)	28 (3)	34 (-1)	28 (0)	34 (0)	6	-5
Healy, Billy	LDE	Joe									20	37	20 (0)	38 (1)	0	1
Hill, Donnell	LDE	Atlanta	22	37	22 (0)	36 (-1)	23 (1)	36 (0)	23 (0)	36 (0)	26 (3)	36 (0)	26 (0)	36 (0)	4	-1
Parrish, Dusty	LDE	Atlanta									17	22	17 (0)	26 (4)	0	4
Peterson, Tony	LDE	Atlanta	21	39	21 (0)	36 (-3)	21 (0)	34 (-2)	22 (1)	34 (0)	22 (0)	31 (-3)	22 (0)	31 (0)	1	-8
Canaves, Bart	LDT	Atlanta	17	24	19 (2)	24 (0)	20 (1)	23 (-1)	22 (2)	24 (1)	24 (2)	24 (0)	26 (2)	26 (2)	9	2
Cox, Marvin	LDT	Atlanta									61	84	67 (6)	83 (-1)	6	-1
Lahnum, Jumbo	LDT	Atlanta					16	34	17 (1)	32 (-2)	20 (3)	31 (-1)	23 (3)	32 (1)	7	-2
Brady, Tyrell	RDT	Atlanta					25	32	26 (1)	32 (0)	29 (3)	32 (0)	30 (1)	32 (0)	5	0
Burks, Jessie	SLB	Atlanta									14	27	15 (1)	29 (2)	1	2
Osborne, Rondell	SLB	Atlanta	18	29	19 (1)	29 (0)	20 (1)	29 (0)	22 (2)	29 (0)	23 (1)	29 (0)	24 (1)	29 (0)	6	0
Railey, Heath	SLB	Atlanta					11	25	12 (1)	26 (1)	16 (4)	28 (2)	16 (0)	27 (-1)	5	2
Fitzgerald, Terrell	MLB	Atlanta	12	29	14 (2)	32 (3)	19 (5)	33 (1)	21 (2)	33 (0)	28 (7)	37 (4)	30 (2)	37 (0)	18	8
Stauder, K.C.	MLB	Atlanta					20	43	22 (2)	38 (-5)	22 (0)	29 (-9)	24 (2)	29 (0)	4	-14
Anthony, Alfred	WLB	Atlanta									20	30	24 (4)	32 (2)	4	2
DeFelice, Sedrick	WLB	Atlanta	17	50	18 (1)	44 (-6)	21 (3)	40 (-4)	23 (2)	40 (0)	24 (1)	32 (-8)	27 (3)	33 (1)	10	-17
Everett, Oscar	WLB	Atlanta									20	50	18 (-2)	37 (-13)	-2	-13
Nordberg, Brent	WLB	Atlanta									16	43	18 (2)	43 (0)	2	0
Bernard, Jesse	LCB	Atlanta	22	38	22 (0)	36 (-2)	23 (1)	33 (-3)	23 (0)	34 (1)	25 (2)	32 (-2)	25 (0)	32 (0)	3	-6
Franz, Conrad	LCB	Atlanta									21	43	22 (1)	49 (6)	1	6
Nixon, Jeffrey	LCB	Atlanta	18	47	17 (-1)	42 (-5)	17 (0)	39 (-3)	17 (0)	39 (0)	18 (1)	37 (-2)	18 (0)	36 (-1)	0	-11
Carter, K.C.	RCB	Atlanta	21	42	23 (2)	38 (-4)	27 (4)	35 (-3)	29 (2)	35 (0)	29 (0)	29 (-6)	29 (0)	29 (0)	8	-13
Hobson, T.J.	RCB	Atlanta					15	32	17 (2)	33 (1)	20 (3)	34 (1)	23 (3)	34 (0)	8	2
Patterson, Eddie	RCB	Atlanta	75	75	82 (7)	82 (7)	80 (-2)	80 (-2)	86 (6)	86 (6)	85 (-1)	85 (-1)	89 (4)	89 (4)	14	14
Politte, Mario	SS	Atlanta									18	56	18 (0)	51 (-5)	0	-5
Woodard, Mercury	SS	Atlanta	12	26	14 (2)	29 (3)	18 (4)	30 (1)	19 (1)	30 (0)	25 (6)	32 (2)	25 (0)	32 (0)	13	6
Crosland, Keith	FS	Atlanta	15	36	17 (2)	35 (-1)	20 (3)	33 (-2)	21 (1)	34 (1)	24 (3)	24 (-10)	25 (1)	25 (1)	10	-11
Fulcher, Mike	FS	Atlanta									13	26	17 (4)	32 (6)	4	6
Shinn, Lester	FS	Atlanta					6	8	8 (2)	11 (3)	10 (2)	13 (2)	10 (0)	13 (0)	4	5

POSITION GROUP THOUGHTS
QB—This Diaz/Blood thing looks like it is gonna get interesting.
RB—No real reason for hope here yet
FB—Position switch of Zeyen could be helpful down the road.
TE—Nothing stirring yet in the way of a useful player
WR—With the improvement of Cavazos and Hutton, Slick Willie’s time is running short.
C—not much yet
G—Batista, Shapiro and Mugica give us hope for adequate performance here in the next year or two
T—Fulton looks like he could be the man for us. Not sure about RT yet.
DE—Rookie Dusty Parrish shows signs of hope.
DT—Rookie stud Cox really should help this unit along nicely.
ILB---Fitzgerald could break out.
OLB—Anthony and Burks will probably gets some playing time. Everett is disappointing.
CB—Looking for hobson or Franz to step it up alongside Patterson
S—Politte didn’t impress, but Woodard and Fulcher could improve.

[Ben E Lou]

2024 Regular Season (7-9)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	14	Carolina Panthers	43	J.Blood 12-20-133	G.Dotson 12-61	M.Mounts 4-71	53,700
Week 2	17	at San Diego Chargers	14	J.Blood 13-21-124	J.Butler 16-45	M.Mounts 6-67	32,100
Week 3	6	at Ann Arbor Bears	23	J.Blood 23-39-182	G.Dotson 9-28	B.Devine 7-71	59,600
Week 4	17	at Philadelphia Eagles	10	R.Diaz 19-26-175	J.Butler 12-54	M.Mounts 8-60	53,600
Week 5	24	Washington Redskins	17	R.Diaz 25-37-243	J.Butler 7-17	B.Devine 8-74	52,900
Week 6	21	Miami Buccanneers	24	R.Diaz 23-43-269	G.Dotson 10-34	M.Mounts 7-118	57,000
Week 7	10	at Carolina Panthers	34	R.Diaz 15-26-154	D.Pierce 6-35	M.Mounts 9-109	77,300
Week 8	Bye Week
Week 9	10	at Dallas Cowboys	37	R.Diaz 11-18-82	G.Dotson 7-28	M.Mounts 7-48	67,200
Week 10	34	New York Giants	16	J.Blood 20-27-230	G.Dotson 22-66	M.Mounts 6-72	56,300
Week 11	27	at New Orleans Saints	9	J.Blood 22-34-249	G.Dotson 12-30	M.Mounts 5-99	34,000
Week 12	6	at Oakland Raiders	16	J.Blood 28-42-256	G.Dotson 11-53	M.Mounts 7-88	52,000
Week 13	17	Salinas (CA) Cardinals	7	J.Blood 20-33-227	G.Dotson 14-38	B.Devine 6-86	51,400
Week 14	45	Kansas City Chiefs	21	R.Diaz 19-24-179	D.Pierce 17-86	M.Mounts 9-92	59,500
Week 15	9	at Miami Buccanneers	34	R.Diaz 20-33-146	D.Pierce 12-64	M.Mounts 9-70	36,400
Week 16	13	Denver Broncos	23	R.Diaz 25-40-206	G.Dotson 11-39	M.Mounts 8-77	63,900
Week 17	17	New Orleans Saints	30	R.Diaz 23-39-268	G.Dotson 9-29	T.Austin 5-106	52,900

Big improvements this year. Blood and Diaz ended up pretty much splitting time again, and neither has distanced himself. The defense got a LOT better, though, and really it is what propelled us up into the middle of the pack this year.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Ralph Diaz	298	183	1740	5.84	10	9	76.1
Johnny Blood	244	151	1522	6.24	9	8	78.2
Team	551	336	3261	5.92	19	17	76.2
Opp	456	283	2749	6.03	14	12	78.2

Yeah, talk about a continued tight race. I just went with the hot hand (or benched the cold one...) For Diaz, this was the final year in his contract, so that might make the difference right there.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Gino Dotson	RB	190	603	3.17	6	6
Dominic Pierce	RB	104	427	4.11	1	3
Adam Easter	FB	48	138	2.88	0	1
Jim Butler	RB	40	139	3.48	0	1
Ralph Diaz	QB	33	125	3.79	0	3
Team	---	434	1477	3.40	9	25
Opp	---	480	1745	3.64	19	31

Pierce actually showed some signs of life this year. If we don't draft a RB, he'll get the rock a lot more next season.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Mark Mounts	FL	175	110	1215	11.05	6.94	8	240
Blake Devine	SE	103	59	531	9.00	5.16	2	78
Teddy Austin	SE	63	38	412	10.84	6.54	3	78
Slick Willie Martinez	FL	66	34	354	10.41	5.36	1	47
Kyle Hickman	TE	41	33	331	10.03	8.07	3	61

Well, it is clear that Mounts is the real deal. It is also clear that Slick Willie isn't getting it done.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	114	38	2.5	2	1	6	74.5
Sedrick DeFelice	WLB	65	25	0.0	1	1	2	73.8
Mario Politte	SS	62	27	3.0	0	1	2	75.5
Mike Fulcher	FS	55	21	0.0	0	1	5	79.5
Heath Railey	SLB	48	20	3.0	4	1	2	74.2
Marvin Cox	LDT	42	20	3.0	13	0	0	81.6
K.C. Stauder	MLB	41	13	0.0	0	0	0	65.6
Eddie Patterson	RCB	35	7	0.0	2	4	11	83.9
Bart Canaves	LDT	34	19	3.0	5	0	0	82.0
Tyrell Brady	RDT	32	16	3.5	1	0	0	81.6
Donnell Hill	LDE	31	14	4.5	7	0	0	81.1
K.C. Carter	RCB	30	11	0.0	0	1	4	78.7
Billy Joe Healy	LDE	27	4	5.0	9	0	1	82.5
Mercury Woodard	SS	24	3	0.0	0	0	1	73.7
Jessie Burks	SLB	24	10	0.0	0	0	0	67.3
Conrad Franz	LCB	24	9	0.0	0	2	2	79.5
Alfred Anthony	WLB	20	3	0.0	0	0	1	77.4

Fitzgerald really stepped it up this year, and the defense was stellar: #1 against the pass, #15 against the run, #1 overall.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 27.1 16 Rushing Yards 92.3 29 Yards Per Carry 3.40 32 Pass Attempts 34.4 11 Completions 21.0 12 Completion Pct. 61.0 18 (T) Passing Yards 203.8 18 Yards Per Attempt 5.92 26 Yards Per Catch 9.71 28 (T) Total Yards Gained 288.4 27 3rd Down Conversions 30.2 30 Points Per Game 17.9 21 (T) Pass Rush Pct. 6.4 26 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 64.8 22 Turnovers 30 24 (T) Turnover Margin -1 20 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 30.0 24 Rushing Yards 109.1 15 Yards Per Carry 3.64 2 (T) Pass Attempts 28.5 1 Completions 17.7 2 (T) Completion Pct. 62.1 22 (T) Passing Yards 171.8 1 Yards Per Attempt 6.03 8 Yards Per Catch 9.71 2 (T) Total Yards Gained 268.0 1 3rd Down Conversions 36.0 14 (T) Points Per Game 22.4 27 (T) Pass Rush Pct. 7.0 10 Pass Defense Pct. 65.5 14 Turnovers 29 7 (T) Turnover Margin +1 20 (T)

All in all, a very encouraging year!

[Ben E Lou]

2025 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

New head coach and new scout. My staff is looking pretty solid now.
SUMMER LEAGUE: SS Mario Politte

FREE AGENCY

Next year I’ll have a few FA’s to re-sign on the open market, I would think. This is my last all-RFA year.

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(12): SE Irving Hicks (41/63)—He runs a 4.37, and looks like a serious deep threat, and appears to be the perfect complement to FL Mark Mounts, who has already shown himself to be a great possession receiver.
2(11): RT Mike Erickson (21/40)—Looking to help improve the offensive line.
3(3): FB Ronnie Givens (43/64)—Traded up to grab this guy, after the other FB I was looking at went. Givens was a no-show at the combines, but I like his scouted skills.
4(14): LG Steven McCaslin (31/45)—Very intelligent and strong guy who I immediately move to center, since I have two decent or better guards. He only drops to 28/44.
5(13): RDT Dan “Captain” Kirk (23/53)—Looks like he could be a pretty good run defender. Has low endurance.
6(12): RB Mike Berube (33/48)—Looks pretty good in elusiveness, hole recognition, and pass-catching skills.
7(11): SLB Tito Emmons (16/25)—Had a good combine, but has horrid bars, but quite high in pass rush technique and pass rush strength. If nothing else, he might be a good blitz guy. Definitely worth a look in the 7^th round.

Undrafted interviewees, all signed as free agents by me:

C Corey Layman
SE Randall Durham
LT Terrell Daniel
LDT Earl Tartabull

I get offered a 4^th-round pick for QB Ralph Diaz, but decide to turn it down. As FA2 begins, I get not one, but TWO veteran holdouts. First off, MLB Terrell Fitzgerald, who had 114 tackles, 38 assists and 2.5 sacks last season, decides to hold out for what is a pretty modest salary increase. I go ahead and sign him through this year and next. Also, after his back-to-back 100-catch seasons, FL Mark Mounts wants out of the third and final year of his rookie contract. His loyalty is only seven, and I really see him as a long-term guy, so I go ahead and pony up for a four-year deal.

NOTABLE CUTS
Last year’s starting SE, Blake Devine, gets the axe. He was dropping too many balls, and several younger guys are continuing to improve, while he’s regressing. Also, SE Mickey Hutton, who had been improving, got a serious hamstring injury late last season, and lost 7 points. He’s done. Last, but not least, with the signing of some other improving young WR’s, Slick Willie Martinez is sent packing.


2025 60-MAN ROSTER

Name	Pos	Cur	Fut	Cur Chng	Fut Chng
Blood, Johnny	QB	22	67	4	-1
Diaz, Ralph	QB	37	44	14	4
Salley, Freddie	QB	13	42	1	6

Still no resolution here. Since Diaz is nearly fully-developed, Blood will get the majority of preseason snaps, but once the regular season starts, we’ll go with the hot hand once again.

Berube, Mike	RB	32	44	-1	-4
Dotson, Gino	RB	24	34	-1	-19
Pierce, Dominic	RB	31	36	3	-6

Pierce had a nice ypc last year, so he and Berube to into preseason as the co-starters.

Easter, Adam	FB	33	33	8	-19
Givens, Ronnie	FB	44	64	1	0

Rookie Givens is the clear #1.

Aydelotte, Ray	TE	19	35	6	1
Hickman, Kyle	TE	29	29	9	-7
Rose, Larry	TE	23	46	5	-7

Still all undrafted guys here. I’d like to see one of them do a little something this year.

Cavazos, Donny	FL	26	38	4	3
Mounts, Mark	FL	62	62	26	0
Austin, Teddy	SE	26	35	10	2
Durham, Randal	SE	23	43	2	-3
Hicks, Irving	SE	45	62	4	-1
Patton, Norm	SE	11	38	1	-8

This unit looks like it could be very solid this year. Irving Hicks looks like he should be a legitimate deep threat, and Mark Mounts has caught a whole bunch of passes. If Austin, Cavazos, or Durham can be productive at #3, we should be able to move the ball pretty well. Patton is around for his very good PR/KR skills.

Layman, Corey	C	28	39	2	0
May, Mitch	C	34	43	18	-2
McCaslin, Steven	C	31	45	3	1
Watson, Darnell	C	33	35	14	-2

Pick a card, any card. Because of McCaslin’s status as a draftee, and as a rookie, he’ll start.

Batista, Donnie	LG	18	25	5	5
Mugica, Rico	LG	36	44	8	-4
Poteat, J.B.	LG	21	36	5	-15
Shapiro, Dan	RG	41	41	21	8

Mugica and Shapiro were nothing special as starters last year, but weren’t too bad, either. They combined to give up only 3 sacks, and converted roughly 31% of key run block opportunities.

Daniel, Terrell	LT	18	27	0	1
Fulton, Hugh	LT	31	53	11	0
Babka, Sedrick	RT	19	38	4	-9
Erickson, Mike	RT	26	42	5	2
Lyon, Blake	RT	24	38	5	0
Stahl, Richie	RT	32	40	11	0

Fulton and Stahl will start, but Erickson should get some playing time at RT and RG, too. Fulton really needs to improve on last year’s performance if we’re going to step it up. He had no pancakes, gave up 10 sacks, and converted only 26.0%of KRB opportunities.

Nichols, Andre	K	51	51	3	3
Fairbanks, Dexter	P	46	61	2	0

Nichols has been very accurate (86.6% overall on FG’s, 75% of 40+). Fairbanks has not been impressive at all.

Giedt, Cary	LDE	30	34	8	-5
Healy, Billy Joe	LDE	28	46	8	9
Hill, Donnell	LDE	27	36	5	-1
Parrish, Dusty	LDE	18	27	1	5

2^nd-year man Billy Joe Healy looks poise for an eventual breakout. Hard to argue much with last year’s #1 defense.

Canaves, Bart	LDT	25	25	8	1
Cox, Marvin	LDT	87	87	26	3
Tartabull, Earl	LDT	13	26	2	2
Brady, Tyrell	RDT	32	32	7	0
Kirk, Dan	RDT	25	49	2	-4

Marvin Cox is the anchor of this unit, obviously. I’d like to see Dan “Captain” Kirk get some meaningful playing time this year on the other side.

Emmons, Tito	SLB	18	28	2	3
Railey, Heath	SLB	22	28	11	3
Fitzgerald, Terrell	MLB	35	35	23	6
Stauder, K.C.	MLB	25	25	5	-18
Anthony, Alfred	WLB	29	35	9	5
DeFelice, Sedrick	WLB	30	30	13	-20

Fitzgerald recorded over 100 tackles, and is improving. Alfred Anthony also is looking like he’ll challenge DeFelice for playing time.

Bernard, Jesse	LCB	23	31	1	-7
Franz, Conrad	LCB	27	51	6	8
Nixon, Jeffrey	LCB	18	33	0	-14
Carter, K.C.	RCB	28	28	7	-14
Hobson, T.J.	RCB	29	34	14	2
Patterson, Eddie	RCB	87	87	12	12
Politte, Mario	SS	30	49	12	-7
Woodard, Mercury	SS	31	33	19	7
Crosland, Keith	FS	24	24	9	-12
Fulcher, Mike	FS	26	35	13	9
Shinn, Lester	FS	13	16	7	8

Patterson was the shutdown guy, propelling this unit to #1 against the pass last year. Everyone is back from last year, with no new players. Several guys showing signs of breaking out, too.

POST-PRESEASON CUTS
C Corey Layman
C Mitch May
RT Sedrick Babka
RT Blake Lyon
SLB Jessie Burks
LCB Jeffrey Nixon
FS Keith Crosland

[Ben E Lou]

2025 Regular Season (4-12)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	24	Miami Buccanneers	19	R.Diaz 18-31-278	D.Pierce 13-49	M.Mounts 7-99	52,900
Week 2	14	Orlando Jets	35	R.Diaz 14-33-150	D.Pierce 15-43	M.Mounts 6-86	57,000
Week 3	7	at Dallas Cowboys	28	J.Blood 5-18-68	M.Berube 11-49	I.Hicks 4-69	68,800
Week 4	14	Seattle Seahawks	31	R.Diaz 25-39-230	D.Pierce 12-41	M.Mounts 5-70	57,000
Week 5	Bye Week
Week 6	20	at Salinas (CA) Cardinals	13	R.Diaz 23-37-186	M.Berube 15-67	K.Hickman 2-42	46,700
Week 7	30	Carolina Panthers	18	R.Diaz 17-22-221	M.Berube 15-64	M.Mounts 6-118	45,400
Week 8	17	at San Francisco 49ers	27	R.Diaz 19-37-240	M.Berube 5-30	M.Mounts 5-72	35,900
Week 9	19	St. Louis Rams	27	R.Diaz 28-49-303	D.Pierce 6-31	D.Cavazos 6-131	63,900
Week 10	17	at Miami Bucanneers	27	J.Blood 16-35-204	D.Pierce 12-38	M.Mounts 8-118	26,900
Week 11	7	at New Orleans Saints	24	J.Blood 18-30-146	D.Pierce 6-18	I.Hicks 10-85	37,200
Week 12	17	New England Patriots	27	J.Blood 20-37-242	M.Berube 11-52	M.Mounts 7-112	52,100
Week 13	30	Minnesota Vikings	17	J.Blood 22-24-304	D.Pierce 15-71	M.Mounts 6-94	36,100
Week 14	14	at Akron Dolphins	16	J.Blood 15-23-181	M.Berube 19-84	M.Mounts 6-91	59,000
Week 15	10	New Orleans Saints	13	J.Blood 23-31-162	M.Berube 8-40	M.Mounts 3-59	51,400
Week 16	10	at Buffalo Bills	37	J.Blood 14-21-164	M.Berube 9-27	I.Hicks 6-74	72,000
Week 17	19	at Carolina Panthers	30	J.Blood 19-29-192	M.Berube 7-40	D.Cavazos 6-104	77,200

Reality check this season. We've clearly still got some work to do before we can contend.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Ralph Diaz	303	166	1828	6.03	13	8	76.2
Johnny Blood	259	155	1703	6.58	6	9	72.6
Team	562	321	3531	6.28	19	17	74.5
Opp	485	318	3223	6.65	25	13	90.4

Still neither QB emerges.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Mike Berube	RB	167	665	3.98	2	5
Dominic Pierce	RB	161	569	3.53	3	3
Team	---	375	1445	3.85	8	29
Opp	---	542	2059	3.80	17	28

Berube shows a bit of promise, but Pierce appears to have regressed from last season.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Mark Mounts	FL	150	81	1197	14.78	7.98	9	217
Irving Hicks	SE	127	72	813	11.29	6.40	3	47
Ronnie Givens	FB	48	41	229	5.59	4.77	3	128
Donny Cavazos	FL	83	38	567	14.92	6.83	2	53
Mike Berube	RB	38	27	127	4.70	3.34	0	77
Kyle Hickman	TE	28	16	158	9.88	5.64	0	66
Teddy Austin	SE	32	16	212	13.25	6.63	0	16

Hicks has a solid first season, and Mounts just continues to shine. The bad news is that Hicks came down with Tobacco Withdrawal Syndrome during the playoffs. Hope that doesn't become a career-killer.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	93	23	2.0	0	0	0	71.2
Heath Railey	SLB	61	21	1.0	2	2	4	75.3
Sedrick DeFelice	WLB	51	18	1.0	3	1	3	74.6
Marvin Cox	LDT	50	21	5.0	14	0	0	80.8
Alfred Anthony	WLB	49	15	0.0	0	1	2	75.2
Mario Politte	SS	46	22	2.0	0	1	5	79.7
K.C. Stauder	MLB	43	15	0.0	0	1	2	72.8
Mercury Woodard	SS	42	20	0.0	0	0	2	76.7
Eddie Patterson	RCB	40	16	0.0	0	1	8	79.0
Lester Shinn	FS	37	15	0.0	0	1	3	77.8
Tyrell Brady	RDT	36	17	3.0	9	0	0	81.6
Tito Emmons	SLB	32	16	0.5	2	2	1	80.8
Conrad Franz	LCB	31	5	0.0	0	1	5	74.4
K.C. Carter	RCB	30	6	2.0	0	2	2	78.3
Dan Kirk	RDT	30	8	2.5	4	0	0	81.9
Jesse Bernard	LCB	25	10	0.0	0	0	1	72.4
Billy Joe Healy	LDE	24	9	1.0	8	0	0	81.3
Cary Giedt	LDE	21	6	3.0	7	0	0	81.2
Earl Tartabull	LDT	21	6	1.0	1	0	0	81.0
T.J. Hobson	RCB	17	5	0.0	1	0	3	78.6
Donnell Hill	LDE	16	4	1.5	3	0	0	80.0

The defense wasn't nearly as effective this year. Even Eddie Patterson struggled. Here's hoping he, and the rest, can bounce back.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 23.4 28 Rushing Yards 90.3 30 Yards Per Carry 3.85 24 (T) Pass Attempts 35.1 8 Completions 20.1 14 (T) Completion Pct. 57.1 26 (T) Passing Yards 220.7 10 Yards Per Attempt 6.28 18 Yards Per Catch 11.00 11 (T) Total Yards Gained 299.6 21 3rd Down Conversions 34.1 23 Points Per Game 16.8 26 Pass Rush Pct. 6.4 23 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 62.8 23 Turnovers 33 28 Turnover Margin -11 26 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 33.9 30 Rushing Yards 128.7 27 Yards Per Carry 3.80 6 Pass Attempts 30.3 10 Completions 19.9 16 Completion Pct. 65.6 25 (T) Passing Yards 201.4 8 Yards Per Attempt 6.65 19 Yards Per Catch 10.14 4 Total Yards Gained 319.1 18 3rd Down Conversions 42.0 30 Points Per Game 24.3 28 Pass Rush Pct. 8.6 25 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 69.2 25 Turnovers 22 20 (T) Turnover Margin +11 26 (T)

Let's see: offensively, the passing game was decent, but the running game was weak. We stopped the run pretty well, struggled against the pass, and were among the worst in the bottom line: points allowed. We will have the #3 pick next year. A star RB or LB would seem to be the most-desired positions.

[JeffW]

So Johnny Blood only gained +4 current in two seasons since being drafted?

Busto!

[Ben E Lou]

26/67 at the beginning of 2026. Not looking good. I'll probably play him every game this year to see if we can get something out of him.

[Ben E Lou]

Ugh. Blood drops to 22/58 after his fourth training camp. I might just give the ball to Diaz for good.

[fantastic flying froggies]

One has to wonder what would hqve happened if he's started all the games from the beginning though...

I mean, the split time can't be all that good for both their development.

[Ksyrup]

Agreed. With potential stud QBs, I have played them from day one. Particularly here, where you know you're going to take your lumps for several seasons, you should have started him from the beginning and taken stock in what he was after 2 years. I think his lack of progress and then regression was more of a "nurture" than "nature" thing, if you know what I mean.

[Ben E Lou]

Possible, but usually the amount I gave him has been enough. He basically split time during the regular season, and got nearly 100% of the preseason snaps. I've got twice-a-year saves. When I get a chance (this weekend), I'll go back to his rookie year, stick him in the starting lineup, and sim a few years to see if anything is different.

[Ben E Lou]

The other fact to consider is that Diaz was gaining points (and crucial potential points, making him a pretty classic creeper) at a faster rate than Blood, despite playing a little less.

[Ben E Lou]

2026 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

Staff stays the same.
SUMMER LEAGUE: RDT Dan “Captain” Kirk, rated 30/49, is my pick to send over.
FRANCHISE TAG: Not knowing what my options may be in the rookie pool, I go ahead and franchise P Dexter Fairbanks

FREE AGENCY

DRAFT POOL: Hmmmm….I have the #3 overall pick, and a stud RB from last year’s class went unsigned as is re-entering. He has the 4^th-best adjusted rating of the bunch. There are also two star-quality DE’s. If more than one of those three guys are available when it comes my turn to pick, I’ll trade down a spot at a time until only one of those three is left.


The following RFA’s get deals longer than 2 years:
LT Hugh Fulton: 3yrs, 9M


I have to compete on the open market for a few of my 5^th-year guys, but I don’t see any being offered deals, except for maybe RG Dan Shapiro (43/43), who is steadily gaining ratings points. I make an offer to him, and I’ll decide on the others based on my draft. Shapiro signs a 3-year deal.

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(3): LDE Corwin Fonoti (40/70)—Looks like a decent run defender, and a stud pass rusher.
2(3) RB Orlando Jones (33/44):—Strong in intelligence and leadership, good elusiveness. Also can return punts.
3(3): RT Levon Clements (24/39)—Big strong guy that I hope will improve.
4(3): RDT Derrick Elliott (27/49)—Solid-looking run-stopper who could combine with LDT Marvin Cox to really help plug up the middle.
5(3): RG Pete Ott (21/40)—Decent skills across the board.
6(3): Gilbert Armstrong (17/23)—Had a very solid combine in the areas I emphasize for CBs. Project player.


NOTABLE CUTS
RB Gino Dotson never got it together, and dropped 11 points this year in training camp. Buh-bye.
LG Rico Mugica

Of note after training camp is that RDT Dan “Captain” Kirk showed some nice gains and is up to 42/52 at the beginning of his second year. Looks like the 5(13) pick I spent on him last year may pay off nicely. Also, LCB Conrad Franz, the 6(7) pick from 2024, is up to 39/56.


2026 OPENING-DAY ROSTER

Player	Pos	Start	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct
Diaz, Ralph	QB	QB	5	41	45	2 yrs
Blood, Johnny	QB		4	22	58	2 yrs
Salley, Freddie	QB		5	14	44	1 yr.
Berube, Mike	RB		2	39	43	2 yrs
Jones, Orlando	RB	RB	1	33	42	4 yrs
Pierce, Dominic	RB		5	30	30	1 yr.
Givens, Ronnie	FB	FB	2	47	55	3 yrs
Easter, Adam	FB		5	32	32	1 yr.
Mowery, Jermaine	TE	TE	1	21	33	2 yrs
Aydelotte, Ray	TE		4	21	35	1 yr.
##Peterson, Lewis	TE		1	15	28	2 yrs
##Mounts, Mark	FL		4	64	64	3 yrs
##Cavazos, Donny	FL		3	33	41	1 yr.
Hicks, Irving	SE	FL	2	60	62	3 yrs
Austin, Teddy	SE		4	30	34	1 yr.
Durham, Randal	SE	SE	2	25	41	1 yr.
Montgomery, Bryant	SE		1	11	15	2 yrs
Watson, Darnell	C		5	38	38	1 yr.
McCaslin, Steven	C	C	2	37	47	3 yrs
##Reichardt, Karl	C		1	19	37	2 yrs
Mugica, Rico	LG	LG	3	31	31	2 yrs
Batista, Donnie	LG		3	21	28	1 yr.
Shapiro, Dan	RG	RG	5	43	43	3 yrs
Ott, Pete	RG		1	24	41	3 yrs
Fulton, Hugh	LT	LT	4	38	53	3 yrs
##England, Peter	LT		1	17	32	2 yrs
Erickson, Mike	RT	RT	2	34	43	2 yrs
Clements, Levon	RT		1	28	41	4 yrs
Fairbanks, Dexter	P		5	51	61	1 yr.
Nichols, Andre	K		5	50	50	1 yr.
Fonoti, Corwin	LDE	LDE	1	43	74	5 yrs
Giedt, Cary	LDE		5	32	33	1 yr.
Healy, Billy Joe	RDE	RDE	3	34	47	1 yr.
Stephens, Matt	RDE		1	20	39	2 yrs
Cox, Marvin	LDT	LDT	3	87	87	3 yrs
##Tartabull, Earl	LDT		2	18	26	1 yr.
Kirk, Dan	RDT	RDT	2	44	52	2 yrs
Elliott, Derrick	RDT		1	30	48	3 yrs
Fitzgerald, Terrell	MLB	MLB	5	36	36	1 yr.
Casula, Cory	SLB	SLB	1	22	41	2 yrs
Emmons, Tito	SLB		2	22	29	2 yrs
Owens, Cory	SLB		1	21	38	2 yrs
Anthony, Alfred	WLB	WLB	3	39	39	1 yr.
##Franz, Conrad	LCB		3	40	56	1 yr.
Winters, Rob	LCB		1	18	35	2 yrs
Patterson, Eddie	RCB	LCB	5	85	85	1 yr.
Hobson, T.J.	RCB	RCB	4	33	33	1 yr.
Stargell, Willie	RCB		1	24	42	2 yrs
Armstrong, Gilbert	RCB		1	21	25	3 yrs
Politte, Mario	SS	SS	3	39	44	1 yr.
Woodard, Mercury	SS	FS	5	35	35	1 yr.
Powell, Jackie	SS		1	14	36	2 yrs
Fulcher, Mike	FS		3	34	39	2 yrs

INITIAL POWER RATING: 24


OUTLOOK: This really doesn’t look like that bad of a football team. The injuries to LCB Franz and FL Mounts are minor; they should both be back by Week 3 at the latest. Offensively, I don’t have reason to expect much from the running game, but the passing game should be pretty solid. On the defensive side of the ball, the linebacking crew is the only big concern. I think we’ve got a chance to win 6-8 games.

[DolphinFan1]

Skydog,

Great dynasty.

I have a question. I am doing my own dynasty and I can't get my text to be on one page without scrolling to the right when I use the code tag. How do you do that?

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Possible, but usually the amount I gave him has been enough. He basically split time during the regular season, and got nearly 100% of the preseason snaps. I've got twice-a-year saves. When I get a chance (this weekend), I'll go back to his rookie year, stick him in the starting lineup, and sim a few years to see if anything is different.

I'd definitely be interested in seeing how that "alternate history" comes out. In my (admittedly) limited experience with rookie QBs in 2K7, I've found that the true studs play well above their ratings in that first year. Of course, that might have a lot to do with the team around them as well, which you don't have the luxury of. My second stud QB posted a 99 QB rating his rookie year, and I don't think his current ratings were any better than mid-30s by the end of that year.

[laser]

I am interested in seeing the difference for both Blood and Diaz when Blood is given the starting job outright. I'd also be interested in seeing how things would turn out if Diaz were given the starting job. It would be interesting to see if Blood's potential rating decreases.

[Ben E Lou]

Front Office Football 2007
2026 Summary for Atlanta Falcons
   
Year                2026                                      
Record              4-12                                      
Winning Pct.        .250                                      
All-Time            147-188-1                                 
Winning Pct.        .438                                      
Playoffs            2-6                                       
Playoff Visits      6                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Lonnie Logan                              
Record              8-24                                      
Winning Pct.        .250                                      
Off. Coord.         O. Snyder                                 
Def. Coord.         O. Myers                                  
   
Atlanta Falcons         Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         25.6      27          
Rushing Yards           95.4      30          
Yards Per Carry         3.73      29          
Pass Attempts           32.7      16          
Completions             19.7      18          
Completion Pct.         60.2      23 (T)      
Passing Yards           188.1     29          
Yards Per Attempt       5.76      29          
Yards Per Catch         9.56      29          
Total Yardage Gained    270.4     30          
3rd Down Conversions    29.2      31 (T)      
Points Per Game         13.8      31 (T)      
Pass Rush Pct.          7.1       13 (T)      
Pass Defense Pct.       61.7      26          
Turnovers               29        22 (T)      
Turnover Margin         -12       29          
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         30.4      25          
Rushing Yards           114.3     12          
Yards Per Carry         3.76      2           
Pass Attempts           29.6      6           
Completions             18.9      6           
Completion Pct.         63.9      18 (T)      
Passing Yards           195.4     4           
Yards Per Attempt       6.60      14          
Yards Per Catch         10.32     4 (T)       
Total Yardage Gained    292.8     6           
3rd Down Conversions    30.1      1           
Points Per Game         20.8      19          
Pass Rush Pct.          7.7       21          
Pass Defense Pct.       67.4      22 (T)      
Turnovers               17        30          
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     19    NOS           10      
2     0     at SYR        7       
3     0     at SAL        31      
4     7     at MIA        27      
5     0     CAR           20      
6     14    MIN           17      
7     17    at CHI        48      
8     28    DET           10      
9     10    at AAR        20      
10    17    at NOS        21      
12    21    at ROC        41      
13    24    DAL           13      
14    22    CIN           14      
15    10    at CAR        14      
16    17    BAL           22      
17    14    MIA           17      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
15 R. Diaz              QB    432   262   2321  5.37  11    10    73.8    
4 J. Blood              QB    91    53    689   7.57  4     5     73.9    
**Team                  ---   523   315   3010  5.76  15    15    73.8    
$$Opp                   ---   474   303   3127  6.60  18    10    86.7    
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
25 O. Jones             RB    177   584   3.30  3     7       
47 M. Berube            RB    134   543   4.05  3     2       
41 D. Pierce            RB    50    202   4.04  1     3       
15 R. Diaz              QB    37    151   4.08  0     9       
**Team                  ---   409   1527  3.73  8     28      
$$Opp                   ---   486   1828  3.76  17    23      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
83 I. Hicks             WR    117   60    778   12.97 6.65  9     4       
89 M. Mounts            WR    84    44    593   13.48 7.06  9     4       
33 R. Givens            FB    43    37    154   4.16  3.58  1     0       
47 M. Berube            RB    41    36    191   5.31  4.66  1     1       
18 D. Cavazos           WR    69    32    471   14.72 6.83  4     3       
88 R. Durham            WR    46    24    153   6.38  3.33  0     3       
25 O. Jones             RB    27    18    78    4.33  2.89  2     0       
81 R. Aydelotte         TE    21    17    159   9.35  7.57  0     0       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
27 M. Politte           S     88    22    0.5   0     1     1     74.5    
55 T. Fitzgerald        ILB   78    37    2.0   0     0     5     77.9    
53 A. Anthony           OLB   75    25    1.0   0     2     2     74.0    
39 C. Franz             CB    51    12    0.0   0     0     8     73.5    
92 D. Kirk              DT    42    17    2.5   5     0     1     81.0    
98 B. Healy             DE    40    16    7.0   14    0     1     81.5    
99 M. Cox               DT    40    23    8.5   21    0     0     81.8    
68 C. Owens             OLB   40    16    1.0   0     1     2     76.9    
77 C. Fonoti            DE    39    13    10.0  14    0     0     82.3    
94 T. Emmons            OLB   36    5     2.0   0     0     1     65.2    
46 M. Woodard           S     33    12    0.0   0     0     2     75.6    
76 D. Elliott           DT    32    9     3.0   4     0     0     82.0    
59 C. Casula            OLB   32    10    1.0   1     1     0     73.5    
23 M. Fulcher           S     26    9     1.0   0     4     5     87.5    
36 T. Hobson            CB    25    11    1.0   0     0     3     76.3    
44 E. Patterson         CB    23    7     0.0   1     0     5     80.6    
34 J. Powell            S     18    11    0.0   0     0     0     73.7

The bottom line is that the defense appears to have reach a competitive level, but the offense is still anemic. We're getting another Top 3 pick. I could see it going for a QB or RB.

[Ben E Lou]

Ah. We had a few awards and records in 2026...

LDE Corwin Fonoti's 10 sacks help propel him to Defensive Rookie of the Year. Congrats, Corwin!

P Dexter Fairbanks was first-team All League this year. His average was 43.2 yards per punt, and he left 'em inside the 20 39 times.

RB Dominic Pierce is now the Atlanta all-time leader in Kickoff Return Yards (4202) and Kickoff Return RDs (3). He toted two back for TDs this year.

[redfox000]

I am enjoying reading this...especially when I am at work Keep it up!

[Ksyrup]

You should hope you see the QB prospect that showed up in my 2027 draft. 7.9/9.0 and top 3 in all the combine numbers. As is my custom, I traded away 3 #1 picks, a #2, and a 52/52 CB coming off a 2-year injury for the overall #1 pick. Post-camp, he's 66/86.

EDIT: Damn! Pre-FA before his second year, my new QB is 89/89!

[Ben E Lou]

2027 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

Staff stays the same.
SUMMER LEAGUE: Undrafted FA SLB Cory Casula (25/42) heads over there. I thought about sending RB Orlando Jones, but I may well draft another RB anyway, so it might have been wasted.
FRANCHISE TAG: P Dexter Fairbanks gets it again.

FREE AGENCY

DRAFT POOL: The top four adjusted ratings players are at SE/LCB/FL/LDE—all positions that I don’t really need. The best QB and RB options don’t look worthy of the #2 pick I have. I’ll be trading down, in all likelihood.

The following RFA’s get deals longer than 2 years:
LCB Conrad Franz—3 years, $4.5M. The former 6^th round pick is up to 48/57, and looking like a long-term solution.
RDE Billy Joe Healy—3years, $6.0M. Former 5^th round pick had 40 solo tackles, 7 sacks, and 14 hurries last year.

AMATEUR DRAFT

I trade down to #10, picking up the 2(5) and 3(13) this year, and a third round pick next year to do so. There’s still not the kind of skill position player I would pick that highly, but my offensive line could use work, too, so I grab…
1(10): LG Andre Jefferson (42/78)—Great bars and combine, very low volatility, very high leadership and personality. Eventual leader on the offensive line, and a player.
2(1) RB Tyrone Carbajal (38/58):—Solid bars across the board, including pass-catching ability.
2(5): QB Bobby Jefcoat (20/59)—Has some solid bars, and looks especially good in some areas that are important to me.
3(3): RG Randy Tubbs (26/43)—Better at pass blocking than run blocking, but pretty solid everywhere if he pans out.
3(13): TE Lincoln McHugh (34/59)—Looks like he could be an asset to both the running and passing games.
4(2): K Butch Rogers (40/71)—My kicker sucked last year, so I scouted one for the first time in this career.
5(1): C Scott Harrison (24/47)—A third guy to help in the middle of the offensive line. Hopefully, all three will start.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• 2(1) pick Tyrone Carbajal is a huge bust. He drops from 38/58 to 17/31. Ouch!
• RDT Derrick Elliot, a 4(3) pick last year, is up to 40/56, giving us three DTs who look to be starter-quality. Nice!
• 5(1) pick C Scott Harrison gains a few points, and will be given the starting job this year.
• The other draftees drop a few points. Nothing to worry about yet.

2027 OPENING DAY ROSTER

Player	#	Pos	Start	Exp	Cur	Fut	Cntrct
Diaz, Ralph	15	QB	QB	6	46	46	1 yr.
Blood, Johnny	4	QB		5	23	58	1 yr.
Jefcoat, Bobby	8	QB		1	20	54	3 yrs
##Calinoff, James	11	QB		1	9	35	2 yrs
##Berube, Mike	47	RB		3	38	39	1 yr.
##Jones, Orlando	25	RB		2	34	41	3 yrs
Porter, Eric	40	RB	RB	1	25	34	2 yrs
Carbajal, Tyrone	43	RB		1	17	31	3 yrs
Givens, Ronnie	33	FB	FB	3	46	49	2 yrs
Easter, Adam	35	FB		6	32	32	2 yrs
McHugh, Lincoln	84	TE	TE	1	38	54	3 yrs
Aydelotte, Ray	81	TE		5	28	35	1 yr.
Peterson, Lewis	2	TE		2	18	29	1 yr.
Mounts, Mark	89	FL	FL	5	63	63	2 yrs
Cavazos, Donny	18	FL		4	39	41	2 yrs
Bush, Kennedy	14	FL		1	25	50	2 yrs
Hicks, Irving	83	SE	SE	3	69	69	2 yrs
Castillo, J.C.	86	SE		1	21	45	2 yrs
Watson, Darnell	52	C	C	6	38	38	1 yr.
Harrison, Scott	50	C		1	28	48	3 yrs
##Reichardt, Karl	51	C		2	25	40	1 yr.
Jefferson, Andre	67	LG	LG	1	47	76	5 yrs
Shapiro, Dan	66	RG	RG	6	43	43	2 yrs
Ott, Pete	71	RG		2	29	41	2 yrs
Tubbs, Randy	60	RG		1	28	43	3 yrs
Fulton, Hugh	79	LT	LT	5	44	53	2 yrs
England, Peter	61	LT		2	17	33	1 yr.
Erickson, Mike	63	RT	RT	3	44	44	1 yr.
Clements, Levon	64	RT		2	32	42	3 yrs
Fairbanks, Dexter	17	P		6	56	56	1 yr.
Rogers, Butch	19	K		1	45	71	3 yrs
Fonoti, Corwin	77	LDE	LDE	2	55	77	4 yrs
Giedt, Cary	74	LDE		6	33	33	1 yr.
Healy, Billy Joe	98	RDE	RDE	4	44	49	3 yrs
Cox, Marvin	99	LDT	LDT	4	86	86	2 yrs
Kirk, Dan	92	RDT	RDT	3	48	48	1 yr.
Elliott, Derrick	76	RDT		2	43	56	2 yrs
Fitzgerald, Terrell	55	MLB	MLB	6	36	36	4 yrs
Kaplan, Ian	97	MLB		1	22	53	2 yrs
##Casula, Cory	59	SLB		2	26	38	1 yr.
Cobb, Kennedy	96	SLB	SLB	1	20	52	2 yrs
Anthony, Alfred	53	WLB	WLB	4	40	40	2 yrs
Owens, Cory	68	WLB		2	23	38	1 yr.
Franz, Conrad	39	LCB	LCB	4	48	57	3 yrs
Money, Bob	48	LCB		1	17	52	2 yrs
Patterson, Eddie	44	RCB	RCB	6	85	85	2 yrs
Hobson, T.J.	36	RCB		5	34	34	1 yr.
##Stargell, Willie	32	RCB		2	26	38	1 yr.
##Armstrong, Gilbert	21	RCB		2	23	27	2 yrs
Politte, Mario	27	SS	SS	4	44	44	2 yrs
Woodard, Mercury	46	SS		6	35	35	1 yr.
Fulcher, Mike	23	FS	FS	4	41	41	1 yr.
Hitchcock, Josh	42	FS		1	25	56	2 yrs

INITIAL POWER RATING: 41

OUTLOOK: It looks like we have a decent roster now, with the exception of the still-MIA running game. Diaz is an average QB, throwing to above average receivers, and I’m hoping for a solid year out of him. The defense looks like it should still be pretty solid.

[Ben E Lou]

2027 Regular Season (12-4)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	10	at Carolina Panthers	41	R.Diaz 20-26-224	T.Carbajal 8-49	M.Mounts 10-103	76,900
Week 2	23	Houston Texans	10	R.Diaz 22-25-199	T.Carbajal 18-35	I.Hicks 8-86	45,600
Week 3	28	at Seattle Seahawks	6	R.Diaz 15-25-141	E.Porter 18-84	M.Mounts 5-70	49,200
Week 4	21	at Philadelphia Eagles	16	R.Diaz 19-36-225	O.Jones 15-64	M.Mounts 6-113	49,600
Week 5	31	Washington Redskins	10	R.Diaz 19-27-193	O.Jones 19-47	I.Hicks 4-97	60,700
Week 6	17	at Miami Buccanneers	14	R.Diaz 20-30-213	O.Jones 16-49	D.Cavazos 3-80	32,700
Week 7	17	Carolina Panthers	7	R.Diaz 22-34-272	O.Jones 21-90	M.Mounts 6-89	59,000
Week 8	Bye Week
Week 9	14	at Dallas Cowboys	20	R.Diaz 19-32-259	R.Givens 13-48	I.Hicks 4-74	68,100
Week 10	19	New York Giants	7	R.Diaz 21-29-193	M.Berube 17-80	D.Cavazos 3-61	54,800
Week 11	27	New Orleans Saints	14	R.Diaz 29-35-191	M.Berube 21-60	I.Hicks 6-55	60,700
Week 12	20	Tennessee Titans	41	R.Diaz 14-32-142	M.Berube 11-49	I.Hicks 6-69	60,700
Week 13	10	Ann Arbor Bears	17	R.Diaz 29-44-284	E.Porter 2-26	M.Mounts 11-146	60,700
Week 14	17	at Jacksonville Jaguars	10	R.Diaz 20-26-191	M.Berube 16-56	M.Berube 5-105	53,900
Week 15	33	Miami Buccanneers	14	J.Blood 15-20-141	M.Berube 23-114	I.Hicks 4-65	60,700
Week 16	19	at San Antonio Colts	7	J.Blood 10-18-148	M.Berube 21-111	M.Mounts 3-69	61,200
Week 17	24	at New Orleans Saints	17	B.Jefcoat 21-24-202	M.Berube 24-114	D.Cavazos 5-95	42,200

YES!!!!! The team finally came together, and even found a running back late in the season!

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Ralph Diaz	401	269	2727	6.80	14	13	84.5
Johnny Blood	60	37	426	7.10	4	1	98.3
Team	485	327	3355	6.92	20	15	87.9
Opp	547	332	3307	6.05	14	17	73.4

So Diaz steps up his game a notch, then gets hurt. Blood plays quite well in his absence, then Jefcoat turns in a stellar performance in his one start. Diaz has a broken foot and will miss the playoffs, so Blood will get the ball, but next year we have a full-blown QB controversy.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Mike Berube	RB	153	647	4.23	2	3
Eric Porter	RB	150	605	4.03	3	7
Orlando Jones	RB	71	250	3.52	3	1
Tyrone Carbajal	RB	41	135	3.29	2	3
Ralph Diaz	QB	35	129	3.69	1	5
Ronnie Givens	FB	33	106	3.21	2	0
Team	---	491	1889	3.85	13	27
Opp	---	414	1707	4.12	11	24

I kept having to shuffle the deck all year long due to no one stepping up early, but finally Berube and Porter emerged as clearly #1 and #2.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Mark Mounts	FL	110	70	844	12.06	7.67	7	167
Irving Hicks	SE	112	63	917	14.56	8.19	4	196
Ronnie Givens	FB	48	41	198	4.83	4.13	1	126
Donny Cavazos	FL	50	32	499	15.59	9.98	2	85
Mike Berube	RB	27	22	193	8.77	7.15	1	134
J.C. Castillo	SE	34	21	217	10.33	6.38	1	12
Lincoln McHugh	TE	30	20	166	8.30	5.53	3	43
Eric Porter	RB	20	17	68	4.00	3.40	0	9

Now that the ball is getting spread around more, Mounts and Hicks are no longer putting up insane numbers. They're still, however, a formidable duo, and seem to be a couple of big reasons for our passing game having success so far.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Mario Politte	SS	66	24	1.0	0	0	4	77.4
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	65	20	0.0	2	0	3	73.5
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	54	20	0.0	1	1	2	72.9
Alfred Anthony	WLB	48	14	2.0	0	2	0	75.2
Ian Kaplan	MLB	47	17	2.0	0	0	3	71.6
Cory Owens	WLB	46	8	2.0	1	0	1	66.4
Mike Fulcher	FS	45	22	1.0	0	0	9	78.0
Eddie Patterson	RCB	43	14	1.5	0	6	11	86.0
Marvin Cox	LDT	42	14	3.5	12	0	1	81.7
Conrad Franz	LCB	40	10	0.5	0	6	4	82.5
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	40	13	9.0	20	0	0	81.6
Billy Joe Healy	RDE	35	17	10.5	21	0	1	82.2
Derrick Elliott	RDT	35	9	0.0	5	0	0	81.1
Dan Kirk	RDT	34	14	1.0	6	0	0	81.6
Bob Money	LCB	21	8	1.0	0	1	6	81.5
Cory Casula	SLB	19	6	4.0	1	0	2	77.9
T.J. Hobson	RCB	18	4	0.0	1	0	3	78.0

Healy and Fonoti are shaping up to be a fantastic pair of bookend pass rushers, and Patterson and Franz are doing a fine job in the secondary. The role players elsewhere have been good enough.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 30.7 8 Rushing Yards 118.1 13 Yards Per Carry 3.85 25 Pass Attempts 30.3 22 (T) Completions 20.4 17 Completion Pct. 67.4 3 Passing Yards 209.7 20 Yards Per Attempt 6.92 11 Yards Per Catch 10.26 21 Total Yards Gained 316.5 17 3rd Down Conversions 40.8 5 Points Per Game 20.6 12 Pass Rush Pct. 8.7 6 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 66.4 11 (T) Turnovers 28 26 (T) Turnover Margin +1 11 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 25.9 6 Rushing Yards 106.7 9 Yards Per Carry 4.12 18 (T) Pass Attempts 34.2 23 Completions 20.8 22 Completion Pct. 60.7 13 (T) Passing Yards 206.7 11 Yards Per Attempt 6.05 5 Yards Per Catch 9.96 4 Total Yards Gained 298.4 10 3rd Down Conversions 35.1 16 Points Per Game 15.7 4 (T) Pass Rush Pct. 6.5 6 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 60.9 6 Turnovers 29 6 Turnover Margin -1 11 (T)

Once again, we had one of the better defenses in the league. The difference this year was the offense moving up to the middle of the pack. On to the playoffs!

[Ben E Lou]

2027 Playoffs

DIVISIONAL ROUND
The Redskins come to town, and they fall 20-17 as Johnny Blood throws two TD passes early, and Butch Rogers hits a 43-yard FG to start the fourth quarter to give us the final margin. The defense did not allow the Redskins to cross midfield after the 2nd half's opening drive, and that proved to be the difference. RBs Mike Berube and Eric Porter combined for 26 carries and 140 yards on the day, and Blood finished15 for 23 for 173 yards with 2 TDs and 1 INT.

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP
We travel to Detroit to face the 15-2 Lions, the league's best team. Detroit was 1st in ppg, and allowed the fewest points of any team. They are led by 10th-year QB Charles Wayne. The former 2nd-round pick has been a Lion all of his career, and threw for 3,538 yards, 28 TDs, and only 6 INTs this year. He has a lifetime record of 65-15 as a starter. This is the fourth appearance in the last five Conference Championship games for the Lions, and they've won the three previous ones.

The defense plays well enough to win, holding the Lions to 232 total yards. However, Johnny Blood tore his triceps in the second offensive series of the game, and Bobby Jefcoat was not up to the task. He goes 17 for 43 for 175 yards with 4 INTs, and we fall by a 17-3 score.

AWARDS, HONORS, RECORDS...

• We set a franchise record for fewest points allowed.
• RCB Eddie Patterson was 1st Team All-Pro, with 6 INTs and 11 passes defensed.
• FB Ronnie Givens had 41 catches, 108 yards rushing, and was 7 for 19 in KRBs, good enough for 2nd Team All-Pro.
  

[Dutch]

However, Johnny Blood tore his triceps in the second offensive series of the game...

What's the status of the injury?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Dutch

What's the status of the injury?

It was like 27 weeks at the time. At the beginning of 2028, he is questionable, full strength in 6 weeks. So far, no drop in ratings.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm up to preseason of 2028, and I need to take a break for a couple of hours or so. I've posted a poll and their player cards. Chime in on who should be my starter going forward:

http://www.operationsports.com/fofc/...ad.php?t=55648

[Ben E Lou]

2028 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

SUMMER LEAGUE: Undrafted FA SLB Kennedy Cobb (25/52) gets sent. He started all 16 games last year, and is set to start this year as well.
FRANCHISE TAG: P Dexter Fairbanks gets it again.

FREE AGENCY

DRAFT POOL: I’m in a new place now, with the #29 pick. There’s no franchise QB available, so I won’t trade up to the top.

The following RFAs get deals longer than 2 years:
None.

AMATEUR DRAFT

1(29): RB Mel Pollock (41/61)—For the third consecutive year, I draft a RB early. Here’s hoping the third time is a charm. IF he pans out, he’s got the skills to be a great all-around back.
2(29): RT Rickey Kornblatt (22/51)—Looks like he could have good pass-blocking skills.
3(12): FS Cedric Garrison (19/45)—Good combine. Decent-looking bars.
3(29): RDE Shaun Ozga (22/34)—I’m solid at starters, but this guy could be a creeper and provide some good backup work.
4(29): TE Burt Wheeler (24/57)—If he pans out, he’ll be good all around.
5(29): LCB Tyrell Batishko (20/55)—A steal if he turns out to be anything. Had a strong combine.
6(29): SE Zach Schwartz (16/31)—Good courage and big-play receiving. Has some punt return skills. Concern about drops. Good combine.
7(29): C Steven Melnik (16/47)—Pretty good bars and good combine for a pick this late.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• First-round pick RB Mel Pollock shows a small drop, from 41/61 to 40/56.
• RB Mike Berube jumps up 10 points current and future, to 50/50!
• As expected, SE Zzch Schwartz posts a nice gain, to 22/38.
• K Butch Rogers goes from 61/71 to 62/62
• In what appears to be the first aging-related loss on this team, LDE Cary Giedt drops to 27/27 from 33/33, making me happy that I grabbed Ozga in the third round.
• 5^th-round pick Batishko drops to 19/49.
• 3^rd-round pick FS Cedric Garrison shows a very nice gain, from 19/45 to 28/54.
• All other losses/gains were 5 points or less.
• Tryrone Carbajal, last year’s 2^nd-round pick, gets cut

INITIAL POWER RATING: 54

OUTLOOK: Was last year a fluke? Well, we look pretty solid on both sides of the ball now. We’re not the kind of team I’d have if I were signing FAs, but we certainly should be gunning for the playoffs again.

[Ben E Lou]

2028 Regular Season (6-10)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	23	at Miami Buccaneers	3	R.Diaz 25-33-253	M.Berube 19-65	I.Hicks 5-73	27,500
Week 2	30	at San Diego Chargers	17	R.Diaz 16-19-214	M.Berube 22-149	I.Hicks 6-129	37,000
Week 3	23	Washington Redskins	10	R.Diaz 20-29-186	M.Berube 22-36	M.Mounts 4-64	62,200
Week 4	10	Seattle Seahawks	24	R.Diaz 17-38-190	M.Berube 15-74	I.Hicks 3-50	60,400
Week 5	Bye Week
Week 6	31	at Salinas (CA) Cardinals	10	R.Diaz 21-27-259	M.Berube 23-37	I.Hicks 11-137	45,700
Week 7	34	Carolina Panthers	7	R.Diaz 25-31-237	M.Berube 23-65	D.Cavazos 4-70	57,900
Week 8	17	at San Francisco 49ers	30	R.Diaz 23-37-201	M.Berube 14-62	K.Bush 4-55	39,800
Week 9	14	St. Louis Rams	24	R.Diaz 25-46-281	M.Pollock 7-45	D.Cavazos 4-94	58,800
Week 10	6	Miami Buccaneers	23	R.Diaz 21-40-177	M.Berube 13-46	K.Bush 3-48	59,500
Week 11	17	at New Orleans Saints	23	R.Diaz 21-34-205	M.Pollock 16-103	M.Mounts 3-53	42,800
Week 12	13	at Oakland Raiders	20	R.Diaz 30-41-200	M.Berube 8-42	K.Bush 3-45	52,900
Week 13	10	at Detroit Lions	36	J.Blood 9-19-85	M.Pollock 5-27	M.Mounts 5-54	74,700
Week 14	20	Kansas City Chiefs	3	R.Diaz 22-31-267	M.Pollock 23-91	M.Mounts 9-176	55,500
Week 15	14	New Orleans Saints	17	R.Diaz 21-30-217	M.Pollock 10-43	I.Hicks 4-69	63,900
Week 16	26	Denver Broncos	44	R.Diaz 10-26-147	M.Berube 18-53	M.Berube 2-80	63,000
Week 17	14	at Carolina Panthers	29	R.Diaz 8-25-66	M.Berube 8-38	D.Cavazos 2-42	73,700

Ugh. This was a very, very frustrating campaign. To start off 3-0, then 5-1, and finish 6-10 is mind-boggling.

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Ralph Diaz	498	312	3151	6.33	19	15	80.8
Team	519	323	3261	6.28	20	15	80.9
Opp	507	310	3370	6.65	19	15	80.9

Not a bad performance by Diaz, but not a particularly good one, either.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Mike Berube	RB	240	838	3.49	5	8
Mel Pollock	RB	157	626	3.99	4	3
Ralph Diaz	QB	35	128	3.66	0	2
Team	---	442	1608	3.64	9	22
Opp	---	460	1749	3.80	11	16

The running game was sporadic this year, but I still have some faith in Berube and Pollock.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Irving Hicks	SE	128	77	915	11.88	7.15	9	199
Mike Berube	RB	71	57	438	7.68	6.17	3	286
Mark Mounts	FL	91	47	664	14.13	7.30	3	196
Donny Cavazos	FL	69	32	480	15.00	6.96	3	91
Ronnie Givens	FB	36	29	120	4.14	3.33	2	59
Lincoln McHugh	TE	31	21	192	9.14	6.19	0	11
Mel Pollock	RB	20	18	65	3.61	3.25	0	25

This was probably my final year of using AI game plans. I'm not interested in throwing 8 passes a game to the backs.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Alfred Anthony	WLB	71	24	5.5	0	1	1	73.7
Ian Kaplan	MLB	65	30	1.0	3	0	7	78.0
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	57	22	1.5	0	0	3	73.7
Marvin Cox	LDT	55	18	4.5	16	0	0	81.6
Mario Politte	SS	52	20	1.0	0	0	1	73.9
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	51	13	19.0	21	0	0	81.8
Mike Fulcher	FS	48	16	1.0	0	3	4	81.7
Derrick Elliott	RDT	48	19	4.5	3	0	0	81.4
Eddie Patterson	RCB	40	8	0.0	0	3	8	79.9
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	39	7	1.0	0	0	0	70.5
Billy Joe Healy	RDE	36	24	5.5	17	0	0	80.8
Conrad Franz	LCB	27	3	0.0	0	4	5	82.9
Josh Hitchcock	FS	27	12	0.5	0	0	3	78.3
T.J. Hobson	RCB	26	10	0.0	0	0	3	72.5
Mercury Woodard	SS	23	7	0.0	0	1	0	73.4
Cory Owens	WLB	21	5	1.0	0	0	1	71.5
Tyrell Batishko	LCB	21	4	0.0	0	2	5	83.7
Roderick Leoni	LDT	20	12	1.0	1	0	0	81.8
Cedric Garrison	FS	20	12	0.0	0	1	3	80.4

Fonoti was an absolute BEAST this season!

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 27.6 17 (T) Rushing Yards 100.5 22 Yards Per Carry 3.64 28 Pass Attempts 32.4 18 Completions 20.2 18 (T) Completion Pct. 62.2 13 (T) Passing Yards 203.8 21 Yards Per Attempt 6.28 21 Yards Per Catch 10.10 23 Total Yards Gained 294.1 25 3rd Down Conversions 38.6 8 Points Per Game 18.9 16 Pass Rush Pct. 8.1 6 Pass Defense Pct. 65.2 17 Turnovers 27 22 (T) Turnover Margin -5 24 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 28.8 20 Rushing Yards 109.3 14 Yards Per Carry 3.80 10 Pass Attempts 31.7 11 Completions 19.4 10 Completion Pct. 61.1 12 (T) Passing Yards 210.6 13 Yards Per Attempt 6.65 15 (T) Yards Per Catch 10.87 20 Total Yards Gained 300.3 10 3rd Down Conversions 35.4 12 Points Per Game 20.0 17 Pass Rush Pct. 7.5 17 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 65.8 17 Turnovers 22 23 (T) Turnover Margin +5 24 (T)

Mediocrity all around. Ugh.


AWARDS, RECORDS, HONORS

• LDE Corwin Fonoti's 19 sacks are a big part of his earning DPOY, and First Team All-Pro.
• Fonoti's 19 sacks are a Falcon record.

[Ben E Lou]

2029 OFFSEASON

STADIUM/STAFF HIRING STAGE

SUMMER LEAGUE: 5(29) pick LCB Tyrell Batishko (26/49) heads over to Europe.
FRANCHISE TAG: P Dexter Fairbanks gets it again.

FREE AGENCY

DRAFT POOL: We have the #8 pick. A QB and 2 RBs catch my eye, but really neither of the three are the kind of guys I’d trade up into the top 3 to get. If one of them falls farther than #3, I could see myself trading up.

The following RFAs get deals longer than 2 years:
None.

AMATEUR DRAFT

The QB is not taken in the top three, and Seattle has the #4 pick and a fading 15^th-year QB. I trade Ralph Diaz, next year’s 1^st and 4^th picks, and the 3^rd and 4^th picks in 2031 for the 1(4) pick, and draft…

1(4): QB Shane Stavrinos (23/54)—I’m pinning the hopes of the franchise to this kid. I love his bar ratings, and some of his combine results match up with my theories so far on what is important for this version of the game. He will start from Day 1.
1(8): LT Thurman Pigeon (41/67)—I shuffle some other guys around on the offensive line to put him in as starter.
2(7): SE Warren Haugh (30/50)—Looks like he has more upside, but should be a solid WR3/KR even if not.
3(6): RG Levon Young (34/62)—Could be the another solid piece to the o-line puzzle...
4(6): C Warren Swift (22/73)--…and if they all pan out, he’s the final piece.
5(9): SS Brent Slayton (15/55)—Any time I can find a useful player in the 5^th round, I’m happy.
6(8): P Drew Graham (37/75)—Tired of franchising the same guy every year.
7(7): RDE Richie Banks (22/38)—I needed a fourth DE on the roster. This guy could be a decent pass-rush specialist at some point.

TRAINING CAMP NOTES

• 1(4) pick Stavrinos drops from 23/54 to 22/49.
• 1(8) pick Pigeon goes from 41/67 to 40/69.
• 4(6) pick Swift drops from 23/73 to 25/65
• 6(8) P Graham drops from 37/75 to 36/67
• 2^nd-year C Steven Melnik goes from 20/46 to 27/56.

INITIAL POWER RATING: 81

OUTLOOK: Let’s not get too excited about that power rating. There’s lots of parity at the top. 81 is only good for a tie for 14^th with 2 other teams. So, we’re basically in the middle of the pack, talent-wise, but not far from the top.

[Ben E Lou]

2029 YEAR-END RECAP

2029 Regular Season (8-8)				Passing	Rushing	Receiving	Attendance
Week 1	27	at New Orleans Saints	0	S.Stavrinos 11-19-211	M.Berube 23-71	I.Hicks 5-93	31,500
Week 2	9	Orlando Jets	13	S.Stavrinos 19-47-218	M.Berube 14-83	I.Hicks 6-60	59,500
Week 3	13	Seattle Seahawks	20	S.Stavrinos 11-33-140	M.Berube 16-73	M.Mounts 4-84	58,900
Week 4	33	Miami Buccaneers	0	S.Stavrinos 16-26-164	M.Pollock 18-78	K.Bush 3-55	55,600
Week 5	28	at Carolina Panthers	24	S.Stavrinos 22-39-345	M.Berube 8-51	I.Hicks 8-172	71,600
Week 6	26	Minnesota Vikings	27	S.Stavrinos 18-28-250	M.Pollock 9-52	M.Mounts 7-108	55,600
Week 7	7	at Chicago Packers	26	S.Stavrinos 14-36-170	M.Pollock 4-12	M.Mounts 6-118	50,900
Week 8	17	Detroit Lions	41	S.Stavrinos 17-31-204	M.Berube 12-64	M.Mounts 8-130	59,500
Week 9	20	at Ann Arbor Bears	10	S.Stavrinos 18-25-174	M.Berube 23-73	W.Haugh 4-53	55,900
Week 10	40	New Orleans Saints	10	S.Stavrinos 20-31-217	M.Berube 17-135	I.Hicks 5-88	48,800
Week 11	Bye Week
Week 12	14	New England Patriots	17	S.Stavrinos 18-30-143	M.Berube 18-51	I.Hicks 4-49	52,900
Week 13	6	at Dallas Cowboys	31	S.Stavrinos 15-28-85	M.Berube 15-43	M.Mounts 3-30	60,200
Week 14	10	at Akron Dolphins	17	S.Stavrinos 18-41-192	M.Pollock 3-22	I.Hicks 4-97	54,900
Week 15	30	Carolina Panthers	13	S.Stavrinos 14-26-167	M.Berube 21-65	I.Hicks 4-67	51,400
Week 16	27	at Buffalo Bills	10	S.Stavrinos 18-28-191	M.Berube 19-80	I.Hicks 7-83	71,600
Week 17	20	at Miami Buccaneers	10	S.Stavrinos 20-35-243	M.Pollock 24-117	D.Cavazos 6-104	26,700

Absolutely bizarre season. This might be the worst division I've seen in FOF. Only one of our six games in the division was even close. We were 6-0 in division play, 2-8 outside the division, with the easiest schedule in the league. We clinched the NFC South with a 7-8 record and a game to go. I don't think we're really a playoff-worthy team, but I'll take it!

Passing	Att	Comp	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Int	Rate
Shane Stavrinos	503	269	3114	6.19	14	25	61.0
Team	529	283	3204	6.06	14	25	61.0
Opp	535	311	2901	5.42	15	22	65.3

I threw the rookie into the fire, and even used a little Run-N-Stun for a while, which greatly contributed to his interception totals. 15 of those INTs came in the 6 games where I used the 2K7 version of my stretch the field offense.

Rushing	Pos	Att	Yards	Yd/Att	TD	Fum
Mike Berube	RB	241	879	3.65	9	5
Mel Pollock	RB	170	642	3.78	7	4
Shane Stavrinos	QB	43	143	3.33	1	7
Team	---	456	1669	3.66	17	24
Opp	---	438	1776	4.05	10	26

For the first time, our ALY was less than our ypc. We had several short-term injuries on the offensive line, but the backs actually played pretty decently overall.

Receiving	Pos	Target	Catch	Yards	Yd/Ctch	Yd/Att	TD	YAC
Irving Hicks	SE	139	62	953	15.37	6.86	3	177
Mark Mounts	FL	127	61	844	13.84	6.65	6	82
Mike Berube	RB	40	28	154	5.50	3.85	0	40
Warren Haugh	SE	53	28	302	10.79	5.70	3	20
Lincoln McHugh	TE	36	23	182	7.91	5.06	0	33
Kennedy Bush	FL	34	18	263	14.61	7.74	0	13
Mel Pollock	RB	22	17	79	4.65	3.59	0	22
Burt Wheeler	TE	34	17	166	9.76	4.88	1	16

I got the ball in the hands of the WRs a good bit more this year than in the last few. I feel like both Hicks and Mounts still have 4 or 5 more good years left in them.

Defense	Pos	Tackle	Assist	Sack	Hurr	Ints	Dfnsd	PDPct
Kennedy Cobb	SLB	80	15	3.0	0	2	5	74.7
Ian Kaplan	MLB	78	32	1.0	3	2	3	78.0
Alfred Anthony	WLB	68	19	2.0	3	2	1	72.5
Corwin Fonoti	LDE	54	20	13.5	31	0	0	82.3
Derrick Elliott	RDT	53	17	7.0	5	0	0	82.2
Marvin Cox	LDT	43	15	9.0	9	0	0	82.2
Conrad Franz	LCB	43	9	0.5	0	4	13	84.8
Cedric Garrison	FS	36	16	0.0	1	1	11	84.1
Billy Joe Healy	RDE	33	11	6.0	15	1	0	82.2
Mario Politte	SS	33	14	0.0	0	1	0	75.9
T.J. Hobson	RCB	30	6	0.0	0	1	3	75.0
Mike Fulcher	FS	29	11	0.0	0	3	2	83.4
Tyrell Batishko	LCB	24	10	0.0	0	2	3	81.1
Terrell Fitzgerald	MLB	22	9	0.0	0	0	0	70.1
Mercury Woodard	SS	22	13	0.5	0	1	3	81.5
Dan Kirk	RDT	22	10	0.0	1	0	0	79.3
Eddie Patterson	RCB	18	2	0.0	0	2	6	84.6
Rondell Sommers	SLB	18	5	0.0	0	0	0	62.4
Richie Banks	RDE	17	7	2.5	3	0	0	81.2
Cory Casula	SLB	16	9	0.0	0	0	1	72.4

Corwin Fonoti continues to establish himself as one of THE premier defensive ends in the league. As a whole, our front four did a good job rushing the passer. The biggest thing I'd like to see improve on the defense is finding a solid MLB.

Atlanta Team Rank Rushes per Game 28.5 16 (T) Rushing Yards 104.3 24 Yards Per Carry 3.66 27 Pass Attempts 33.1 14 Completions 17.7 27 Completion Pct. 53.5 31 (T) Passing Yards 200.3 21 Yards Per Attempt 6.06 19 Yards Per Catch 11.32 8 Total Yards Gained 289.1 21 3rd Down Conversions 38.4 8 Points Per Game 20.4 13 Pass Rush Pct. 8.1 9 (T) Pass Defense Pct. 70.5 10 Turnovers 37 30 (T) Turnover Margin -4 20 (T)

Opponents Team Rank Rushes per Game 27.4 12 Rushing Yards 111.0 10 (T) Yards Per Carry 4.05 15 (T) Pass Attempts 33.4 23 Completions 19.4 15 Completion Pct. 58.1 11 (T) Passing Yards 181.3 6 Yards Per Attempt 5.42 4 Yards Per Catch 9.33 2 Total Yards Gained 276.3 6 3rd Down Conversions 32.8 10 (T) Points Per Game 16.8 8 Pass Rush Pct. 9.0 29 Pass Defense Pct. 75.8 31 Turnovers 33 8 Turnover Margin +4 20 (T)

The offense had a decent year, and once again the defense was very solid. I think once Shane Stavrinos gets another season or two under his belt, we should be just fine.

PLAYOFFS

In the first round, the Wild-Card Eagles come to visit. They're 7-point favorites, but have a depleted secondary due to injuries. Our offense still can't do much, and we get outgained 419-233. However, defense and special teams more than made up the difference. We returned the opening kickoff to our 37, got one first down, then P Drew Graham pinned 'em at their 5. On 2nd and 8 in the ensuing drive, DE Corwin Fonoti simply blew through an offensive lineman to read the QB, causing a fumble. DT Marvin Cox recovered it at the 1 and scored. We did drive for one TD for the day, but we had fallen behind 17-14 in the fourth quarter when Warren Haugh took the kickoff back for a TD. Eddie Patterson picked off a pass in the end zone on Philly's next drive, and Fonoti got a big sack near midfield to stop their final drive. We advanced to the Divisional Playoffs with a 21-17 win.

In the next round, we take on the Cardinals, who have an outstanding offense, but are weak against the run. We're 13-point underdogs on the road, and fall 15-3. Another solid defensive performance, but we were much deeper into the season than we should have been. The offense was clearly in over its head.

AWARDS/RECORDS

LDE Corwin Fonoti--2nd-Team All-Pro. 13.5 sacks, 7 blocks, 31 hurries, 24 knockdowns, 54 solo tackles, 20 assists.

FL Mark Mounts takes over the franchise lead in receptions and TD catches.

With two punt returns for TDs in back-to-back games, Willie "Pops" Stargell takes over the team career lead.

[DolphinFan1]

A comment on your 8-8 and winning the division. The Buffalo Bills in my current dynasty won the division with a 7-8-1 record. I have seen a lot more teams with .500 or worse records winning divisions in this version than others.

[Gotee7]

That stinks, considering I play the Steelers and went 11-5, ending up 3rd in my division.

[Ksyrup]

Quick question...I noticed you said that you sent an undrafted FA to summer league. How? Every time I have tried to do that, the "summer" button is greyed out and the only 2nd year players I can send are my draftees. Or, am I able to send guys other than 2nd year players to summer league? Or, are the 2nd year undrafted FAs not really 2nd year players for some reason? Or, is it players in their 2nd year with my team that I'm able to send to summer league? I'm totally confused now.

[redfox000]

In my league, I won the division with an 8-8, but could have also won with 6-10. And two other teams in the NFC had 10-6 records and missed the playoffs.

Sucks to be them.

What really sucks for me now is Green Bay just signed a QB with all 100s. He is AWESOME. I had him for 6 years (actually I drafted him 1.1) and after franchising him twice traded him to Oakland for 3 1s and 2 2s. They kept him for one year and did not resign him. I then offered more money than GB in the ensuing FA period, but he must have been pissed at me and signed with GB. Now they will be a contender for at least 3 years.

We made it to 3 straight SBs (4 straight conference finals) with him, winning it all twice.

[Gotee7]

Sounds like the NFC I know.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by redfox000

In my league, I won the division with an 8-8, but could have also won with 6-10. And two other teams in the NFC had 10-6 records and missed the playoffs.

Sucks to be them.

What really sucks for me now is Green Bay just signed a QB with all 100s. He is AWESOME. I had him for 6 years (actually I drafted him 1.1) and after franchising him twice traded him to Oakland for 3 1s and 2 2s. They kept him for one year and did not resign him. I then offered more money than GB in the ensuing FA period, but he must have been pissed at me and signed with GB. Now they will be a contender for at least 3 years.

We made it to 3 straight SBs (4 straight conference finals) with him, winning it all twice.

I've found the franchise designation feature to be essentially useless unless you are going to renegotiate with the guy immediately after franchising him, or you want to get one final year out of him but will let him go after that. In my experience, every single guy I have franchised - except punters - who I did not renegotiate with before the end of that season, was unwilling to resign with me "due to past injustices." I can see that happening if I franchise a guy multiple times, but once? Guys shouldn't get pissed every time after being franchised just once.

[Gotee7]

Red, what was his loyalty??

[laser]

Haven't heard anything of Johnny Blood since the injury in 2027. What are his ratings now and is he still on the team as the backup QB?

[redfox000]

Originally Posted by Gotee7

Red, what was his loyalty??

Ha ha ha. Go figure. His loyality was 0.

I knew if I didn't resign him he would get pissed and refuse to sign. I usually will franchise them and renegotiate the 1st year. However, he was asking way more than I was willing to pay, and I had an 80 RB, 80 LT, and 70ish WR also that year who's contract ran out, so I didn't have enough money to go around. I played him the 1st year, then franchised him a 2nd time (of course, he wouldn't renogitate....and that was when I had all of those guys to sign) then traded him.

BTW, his best year with me he completed 72 % of his passes (307/426, 3717 yds, 32 TDs, 6 ints, 117.6 rating).

Oh ya, this is still with the FOF2k4 version also.

[DolphinFan1]

I like to use the franchise tag on players late in their careers who want long term contracts. That way if they retire it really doesn't hurt me. I know Jim changed that to only a 2 year penalty, but if I sign a guy long term and then he gets a long injury, I can't release him unless he is in his final year of his contract.