After reading in a few threads about how horribly strapped the Redskins were financially I decided it would be fun to try and build a dynasty with them, because well, I like building teams. First thing I did was look at the big guy in the middle and I thought...
I'm building this team around defense.
After making a total of 21 trades involving players and picks (fair trades on), I have built an amazing defense that will potentially rival some of the best defenses of all time (and will definitely be the best of all time in 2 years).
Note: I did not want to have any players older than 28, I want this team to be able to stick around.
Ohh and did I mention that my cap penalty for next season will be
$48.67 million? Seems like a really high number...because it is. Fortunately, I will be fine as I have a long term plan. If all goes as planned I will be looking at roughly $24 million in free cap space at the end of this season, and $73 Million in free cap space after 2010 to resign my LE, FS, ROLB, 3rd String CB, and Clinton Portis (didn't list the names of my defensive players because I didn't want to ruin the surprise before you scroll down). Then whatever is left I can use to dive into the free agent pool and sign whatever draft picks I will have by then.
Note: I have 3 first round picks (Vikings, Colts, Chargers) in the upcoming draft, but I will most likely use them for trade bait.
So now that all the financial stuff is out of the way, on to my defense (for my first year I will run a 3-4), my pride and joy...
LE- Shawne Merriman (99 OVR, 25 years old) "A"
RE- Brian Orakpo (85 OVR, 23 years old) "A"
DT- Albert Haynesworth (99 OVR, 28 years old) "A"
Haynesworth is a man-eater in the middle. Merriman and Orakpo are unusual candidates for 3-4 ends, but they are both very strong and can hold up well at the point of attack. With them on the ends (and Albert in the middle) they can provide pass rush from a 3 man attack. I have been toying with the idea of trading my 3 first round draft picks for Tommie Harris and switching to a 4-3, so this is still up in the air.
LOLB- Aaron Curry (84 OVR, 23 years old) "A"
MLB- Patrick Willis (98 OVR, 24 years old) "A"
MLB- Rocky McIntosh (77 OVR, 26 years old) "A"
ROLB- Ernie Sims (87 OVR, 24 years old) "A"
Patrick Willis and Earnie Sims run like WR's, it will be a joy to watch them fly around the field. I'm excited to see how well Aaron Curry progresses, he looks like he will be the real deal in a year or two. With my 3 best linebackers are under the age of 25 so I am all set for the future. McIntosh will be used in the middle as he is a better fit in a 3-4 than any of my backup DT's would be in a 4-3. That may change if I trade for Harris though.
CB- Nnamdi Asomugha (99 OVR, 28 years old) "A"
CB- Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (87 OVR, 23 years old) "A"
CB- Antonio Cromartie (84 OVR, 25 years old) "A"
CB- DeAngelo Hall (79 OVR, 25 years old) "B"
FS- Josh Wilson (78 OVR, 24 years old) "A"
FS- Antoine Cason (77 OVR, 23 years old) "A"
SS- LaRon Landry (90 OVR, 24 years old) "A"
SS- Kenny Phillips (78 OVR, 22 years old) "A"
The secondary is the part of my defense I am most excited about. Having Nnamdi Asomugha on one side of the field allows me to roam free and look for big plays with LaRon Landry. DRC is the best young corner in the league and in a year or two he will be up there with Asomugha as "the best". Having Antonio Cromartie as my nickel corner gives me the cousins Cromartie, and he has excellent speed to cover the slot, and huge playmaking ability (80 catch rating). DeAngelo Hall is my dime CB, yes that's right, my dime CB... I will not have to worry when teams spread 4 wide because all four of my corners can cover 1v1 if necessary. My safety positions are oozing with potential. Josh Wilson (a very sure tackling corner) was converted to FS, along with up and coming zone coverage expert Antoine Cason. Landry as mentioned before is a monster of a hitter that runs like a corner, I will be roaming with him. Kenny Phillips could potentially become the next Ed Reed and I will let him develop behind Landry for now.
Starting Lineup
LE-Merriman (99)
RE-Orakpo (85)
DT-Haynesworth (99)
LOLB-Curry (84)
MLB-Willis (98)
MLB-McIntosh (77)
ROLB-Sims (87)
CB-Asomugha (99)
CB-Rodgers-Cromartie (87)
FS-Wilson (78)
SS-Landry (90)
Now of course with having to acquire all that defensive talent I had to give up a lot on offense, here is how my offense looks...
QB- Troy Smith (61)
HB- Clinton Portis (93)
FB- Jacob Hester (70)
WR- Antwaan Randle El (75)
WR- Devin Thomas (66)
WR- Malcolm Kelly (63)
TE- Chris Cooley (91)
TE- Greg Olsen (82)
LT- Mike Pollack (78)
LG- Derrick Dockery (78)
C- Max Unger (75)
RG- Casey Rabach (80)
RT- Stephon Hayer (70)
I plan on running a west coast style dink and dunk offense, utilizing FB Jacob Hester, TE Chris Cooley, and TE Greg Olsen for short safe passes with QB and former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith.
That's my team, hope you enjoyed the read