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TMJOHNS18 · 12-02-2017, 07:00 PM

News from the 2014 March NFL Owners Meetings

Houston Strikes Oil Again, Gets Second Team

Orlando, FL - The Oilers are back! The league has officially expanded to 32 teams. On day two of the annual owners meetings, 30 of the 31 owners voted in favor of awarding a second NFL franchise to the city of Houston. At this time it is unclear which owner voted against the expansion. The Voyagers, an ode to the space shuttle program in Houston, and the Gunners were both rumored to be in the running for team name. Ultimately, with a 'blessing' from the Adams family and approval from the NFL, the Oilers name was unretired and granted to the newest expansion team.

The key people responsible for this expansion include Spencer Strasmore of Anderson Financial and the venture capitalist duo of Dale Doback and Brennan Huff of Prestige Worldwide. It is unclear if Mr. Strasmore and Anderson Financial will have a role in the new organization, but Mr. Doback and Mr. Huff represent the majority shareholders in the new Oilers ownership, which came at the price of a reported $1.1 billion expansion fee.

On day three of the owners meeting it was decided that the expansion draft will be held sometime before the 2017 NFL Draft, some three years away. In the meantime the team must find a location to play their inaugural season in. It is believed that the Oilers ownership will seek investment help to open their own stadium. Until then, they'll be looking at either sharing the newly renamed NRG Stadium with the Texans or BBVA Compass Stadium, the home of the MLS' Houston Dynamo.

TMJOHNS18 · 12-02-2017, 08:38 PM

2017 Conference Realignments Announced

*denotes a new division

National Football Conference
*NFC North - The Bears, Packers, Vikings, and Lions from the former NFC Central
NFC East - The Eagles, Giants, and Cowboys remain, will be joined by the newly founded Oilers
*NFC South - The NFC East Buccaneers join the NFC West's Panthers, Falcons, and Saints to create the NFC South
NFC West - The Rams and 49ers welcome the NFC East's Cardinals and the AFC West's Seahawks
American Football Conference
*AFC North - The ex-AFC Central's Steelers, Ravens, Browns and Bengals create this new division
AFC East - The Patriots, Dolphins, Bills, and Jets stay put
*AFC South - The Jaguars and Titans of the NFC Central and Texans and Colts of the AFC East combine to form the new AFC South
AFC West - The Raiders, Broncos, Chiefs, and Chargers stay in the west

TMJOHNS18 · 12-02-2017, 09:54 PM

NFL Fast 5 - 2017 Offseason

The hottest topics from around the league, from insiders to your inbox!

Brady and Bill get #5 - Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have done it again, this time putting together an unbelievable comeback to knock off the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51. Brady once again proved he is one of the best to ever play the game as he won his 5th ring and also his 4th SB MVP honors. He now has more Super Bowl victories than any quarterback in NFL history.

Expansion draft is set - The 2017 Expansion Draft is set for Wednesday February 15th. All 31-teams have submitted their list of five players eligible to be selected by the Oilers. Players listed must be under contract until the end of the 2018 season, with no team having more than one player with over 10 years experience. The Oilers will be able to choose up to three players from every team, either selecting 30 players in total or taking on enough contracts to fill up $63.4M (38%) of next years salary cap.

FA Wideouts: Jefferey, Jackson, or Pryor? - Three big names from the wideout position will hit the FA market this year. The Bears' Alshon Jefferey, Cowboys' DeSean Jackson, and the Browns' surprising Terrell Pryor will all be looking for a big payday after solid seasons. Will Jackson, who was the top available WR three years ago, continue his Eagles revenge tour by staying in the newly realigned NFC East? He could by resigning with the Cowboys or signing with the Giants or newcomers down in Houston. He had ties to signing with the Bucs as well, but with their departure from the NFC East perhaps they are now out of the running.

Classic or Modern? - The Oilers may be back in Houston, but it is still unclear what their uniforms will look like. Every press release so far has included their iconic look from the 1990's, but surely a more modern take on that design is coming... or is it? It appears we all may have to wait until either the expansion or amateur drafts before we get a glimpse at their new kicks. At this time all we have is a glimpse at some potential helmet designs.

Who will the Oilers take #1? - Will Houston's second franchise make the same choice, and possibly mistake, as it's other franchise did? Much like the Texans in 2002, the Oilers hold the number one overall pick in the NFL. Will they pass on an elite edge rushers in hopes of getting their franchise QB? The Texans tried this, drafting David Carr over Julius Peppers, and 15 years later it's a decision they might want back. With no clear-cut #1 QB at the top of the class will the Oilers reach for one, take an potential elite edge rusher in Myles Garrett, trade away the top pick like the Panthers in 1996 or go in a completely different direction? We'll see in April.

And that's the hot topics from around the league. Upcoming events on the NFL calendar include The 2017 Expansion Draft, The NFL Combine, collegiate Pro Days, The 2017 NFL Draft, and much much more. The NFL season may be over, but football is never too far away!

TMJOHNS18 · 12-03-2017, 03:20 AM

Oilers Begin Building Roster

With the 2017 Expansion Draft in the books the Houston Oilers are one step closer to taking the field. These players, along with free agent signees and draftees, will be core members of this young franchise. Here's a look at all the players who were chosen by the Oilers:

Oilers 2017 Expansion Draft
Pick	Player	Previous Team	Salary
1	OT J Barksdale	Chargers	$5.8M
2	OG Z Beadles	49ers	$3M
3	DE M Johnson	Bengals	$6M
4	LB D Morgan	Titans	$8M
5	DB S Smith	Raiders	$11.5M
6	WR S Coates	Browns	$1.6M
7	DB B Skrine	Jets	$8M
8	QB S Mannion	Rams	$1.2M
9	OG C Green	Cowboys	$0.7M
10	DT B Mebane	Chargers	$4.7M
11	DB D Stewart	Broncos	$5.5M
12	LB C Robertson	Saints	$1.6M
13	DB R Golden	Steelers	$1.4M
14	WR JJ Nelson	Cardinals	$0.8M
15	TE C Walford	Raiders	$0.9M
16	LB V Williams	Steelers	$2M
17	OT T Sambrailo	Falcons	$1.1M
18	DE J Muaro	Cardinals	$0.9M
19	LB H Kikaha	Saints	$1.6M
		______________	________
		Players Taken	19
		Total Salaries	$65.4M

TMJOHNS18 · 12-05-2017, 07:03 AM

Wide Receivers On The Move, Oilers Continue Build, 2017 Free Agency Recap #1

Free Agency is officially under way, let's take a look at some of the signings around the league.

Two of the top three wide receivers on the market have bet on themselves. Alshon Jeffery signed a 1yr $14M deal with the Eagles, while Terrelle Pryor has agreed to a 1yr $6M deal with the Ravens. Meanwhile, DeSean Jackson was able to find some security, as he agreed to a 3yr $35M deal with the Bucs.

Down in Houston the Oilers continue to piece together their first roster. After selecting 19 players in the Expansion Draft, the Oilers have agreed to terms with a staggering 11 players in the first few days of Free Agency. Vets reign supreme as Houston looks to establish solid leadership in the locker room. Here's a breakdown of the signings so far:

QB
Ryan Fitzpatrick 3yr $22M

WR
Vincent Jackson 2yr $9.4M
Charles Johnson 2yr $1.7M
Marc Mariani 2yr $2M

OL
Nick Mangold 3yr $13.3M

DL
Chris Long 3yr $16.7M
Jared Odrick 3yr $11.8
Jaye Howard 2yr $1.74M

K
Connor Barth 3yr $2.7M
Taylor Bertolet 2yr $1.5M

P
Tim Masthay 2yr $1.5M

Keep an eye out for the next recap to stay up to date with the latest movements around the league!

Slyone14 · 12-05-2017, 06:02 PM

Really, liking this bro. Following and looking forward to more. Quick question, with so many people suggesting how to do this, how did you ultimately decide your expansion draft? Did you cut all the Redskins players and just do free agents. (this is what I did) or how did you choose? Finally, as far as your coach are you planning to elaborate on his style and set up? Thanks again, loving it

TMJOHNS18 · 12-06-2017, 03:07 AM

Thanks!

I've done expansion-type CFMs in prior Maddens, similar to the guide that has been posted on this site, also just gutting and starting at Free Agency with zero players. Every time though I missed out on the first season, which was always a bit of a bummer. Of course I'll have to play as the Redskins year one instead of the Oilers, so both starting points have drawbacks.

The way I set up this one was I started a CFM and went to the salary tab. Wrote down 3-4 players from each team who had guys with at least one year remaining on their deal and were not in the first year of the deal. Which really limited the number of available guys. Most teams had around three, some less, some more. I also took the value of the 2017 salary cap ($167M) and multiplied it by 0.38 to get $63.4M. Similar to the Texans' expansion, I had to either select 30 players or spend 38% of the 2017 salary cap, which is how I ended up with the 19 selections. Went back to the main menu and started moving guys around, this way they keep their bonuses for when I start the CFM.

From there I took Redskin players at similar positions or similar OVR to make the swap with the expansion seletions. For the remainder of the roster I picked a few players on this list 2017 Top 101 Free Agents who either were unsigned or didn't fit anymore. For example, I moved Kurt Cousins to the Jets so decided that McCown wouldn't sign with them. Used McCown in my previous CFM so I opted to go with Fitzpatrick, so McCown finds himself a backup in Tampa in this version of the NFL.

I'm currently in the Free Agency phase, almost done. Most of my signings are guys who are already in the FA pool, some vets I signed, bumped their ratings, cut then resigned (to get higher contracts) and moved ratings back down. Did this to help fill cap space for 'big name' vets. I would sign guys at a position first, then release the Redskins players. That way I didn't resign them by accident. Big name players I moved around instead of cutting outright, trying to either keep them in division (wanted to keep Norman vs Odell/Dez alive), or put them in a good/smart situation.

For the 2017 draft I will simply assumed I'm picking #1 each round (no 'trades' made), and midway from the 2nd (expansion team gets an additional pick rounds 2-7) So, using a draft recap, I'll pick players were are available. I'll try to make minimal changes to the other teams, by either giving them the Redskin pick that round (if I don't choose the same player), but there might be a few differences, but I don't plan on taking any 'breakout' rookies to keep the rest of the NFL close to real life.

Hope that was clear enough.

For the coach I'm not 100% sure yet. Might go real NFL (either in game or created), real college/ex-NFL, or fictional. I created some of the players on Ballers and might give Miami HC Larry Csonka (either to start or when Gase is eventually let go). If I go fictional might be Coach Berg from Ballers.. but not yet decided.

TMJOHNS18 · 12-06-2017, 03:28 AM

Bucs Get Insurance, Oilers Polish Roster, 2017 Free Agency Recap #2

Free Agency is wrapping, let's take final look at some of the signings around the league.

Josh McCown and Zach Brown are the most recent to find themselves signing one-year deals. McCown signed a $6M deal to return the Bucs after a couple season with the Browns. Zach Brown heads to Pittsburgh on a $2.3M deal. Meanwhile, down in Texas, the other Houston team, the Texans , signed Vernon Davis for 3 years at $10.6M. Davis didn't work out of the Broncos last year, lets see if the Texans are a better match this year.

The Oilers continue to dish out contracts left and right, here is the final roundup of players heading to Houston's B squad:

HB
Tim Hightower 2yr $2.5M

TE
Timothy Wright 2yr $1.6M
Jace Amaro 2yr $1.5M

OL
Alex Cooper 1yr $760K
Patrick Lewis 2yr $1.7M
Jarvis Harrison 2yr $1.8M
J’Marcus Webb 2yr $1.9M
Xavier Nixon 2yr $2M

DL
Roy Miller III 2yr $3.3M

LB
Donald Butler 2yr $2.5M
Bryan Braman 2yr $2.2M

CB
Vinnie Sunseri 2yr $1.9M
Marcus Roberson 2yr $1.9M
Chykie Brown 2yr $3.5M
Roman Harper 2yr $2.5M

These signings set the Oilers up with 45 players entering the 2017 Draft. With 13 picks, one first rounder and two per round after, the Oilers will head into training camp with 58, plus any additional Vets or UDFA's who sign with the team. Football is almost back!

12-02-2017, 07:00 PM	#9
TMJOHNS18 MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2011	Houston to add second team News from the 2014 March NFL Owners Meetings Houston Strikes Oil Again, Gets Second Team Orlando, FL - The Oilers are back! The league has officially expanded to 32 teams. On day two of the annual owners meetings, 30 of the 31 owners voted in favor of awarding a second NFL franchise to the city of Houston. At this time it is unclear which owner voted against the expansion. The Voyagers, an ode to the space shuttle program in Houston, and the Gunners were both rumored to be in the running for team name. Ultimately, with a 'blessing' from the Adams family and approval from the NFL, the Oilers name was unretired and granted to the newest expansion team. The key people responsible for this expansion include Spencer Strasmore of Anderson Financial and the venture capitalist duo of Dale Doback and Brennan Huff of Prestige Worldwide. It is unclear if Mr. Strasmore and Anderson Financial will have a role in the new organization, but Mr. Doback and Mr. Huff represent the majority shareholders in the new Oilers ownership, which came at the price of a reported $1.1 billion expansion fee. On day three of the owners meeting it was decided that the expansion draft will be held sometime before the 2017 NFL Draft, some three years away. In the meantime the team must find a location to play their inaugural season in. It is believed that the Oilers ownership will seek investment help to open their own stadium. Until then, they'll be looking at either sharing the newly renamed NRG Stadium with the Texans or BBVA Compass Stadium, the home of the MLS' Houston Dynamo. Last edited by TMJOHNS18; 12-02-2017 at 09:59 PM.

12-02-2017, 09:54 PM	#11
TMJOHNS18 MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2011	NFL Fast 5 - 2017 Offseason NFL Fast 5 - 2017 Offseason The hottest topics from around the league, from insiders to your inbox! Brady and Bill get #5 - Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have done it again, this time putting together an unbelievable comeback to knock off the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51. Brady once again proved he is one of the best to ever play the game as he won his 5th ring and also his 4th SB MVP honors. He now has more Super Bowl victories than any quarterback in NFL history. Expansion draft is set - The 2017 Expansion Draft is set for Wednesday February 15th. All 31-teams have submitted their list of five players eligible to be selected by the Oilers. Players listed must be under contract until the end of the 2018 season, with no team having more than one player with over 10 years experience. The Oilers will be able to choose up to three players from every team, either selecting 30 players in total or taking on enough contracts to fill up $63.4M (38%) of next years salary cap. FA Wideouts: Jefferey, Jackson, or Pryor? - Three big names from the wideout position will hit the FA market this year. The Bears' Alshon Jefferey, Cowboys' DeSean Jackson, and the Browns' surprising Terrell Pryor will all be looking for a big payday after solid seasons. Will Jackson, who was the top available WR three years ago, continue his Eagles revenge tour by staying in the newly realigned NFC East? He could by resigning with the Cowboys or signing with the Giants or newcomers down in Houston. He had ties to signing with the Bucs as well, but with their departure from the NFC East perhaps they are now out of the running. Classic or Modern? - The Oilers may be back in Houston, but it is still unclear what their uniforms will look like. Every press release so far has included their iconic look from the 1990's, but surely a more modern take on that design is coming... or is it? It appears we all may have to wait until either the expansion or amateur drafts before we get a glimpse at their new kicks. At this time all we have is a glimpse at some potential helmet designs. Who will the Oilers take #1? - Will Houston's second franchise make the same choice, and possibly mistake, as it's other franchise did? Much like the Texans in 2002, the Oilers hold the number one overall pick in the NFL. Will they pass on an elite edge rushers in hopes of getting their franchise QB? The Texans tried this, drafting David Carr over Julius Peppers, and 15 years later it's a decision they might want back. With no clear-cut #1 QB at the top of the class will the Oilers reach for one, take an potential elite edge rusher in Myles Garrett, trade away the top pick like the Panthers in 1996 or go in a completely different direction? We'll see in April. And that's the hot topics from around the league. Upcoming events on the NFL calendar include The 2017 Expansion Draft, The NFL Combine, collegiate Pro Days, The 2017 NFL Draft, and much much more. The NFL season may be over, but football is never too far away!

12-05-2017, 07:03 AM	#13
TMJOHNS18 MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2011	2017 Free Agency Recap #1 Wide Receivers On The Move, Oilers Continue Build, 2017 Free Agency Recap #1 Free Agency is officially under way, let's take a look at some of the signings around the league. Two of the top three wide receivers on the market have bet on themselves. Alshon Jeffery signed a 1yr $14M deal with the Eagles, while Terrelle Pryor has agreed to a 1yr $6M deal with the Ravens. Meanwhile, DeSean Jackson was able to find some security, as he agreed to a 3yr $35M deal with the Bucs. Down in Houston the Oilers continue to piece together their first roster. After selecting 19 players in the Expansion Draft, the Oilers have agreed to terms with a staggering 11 players in the first few days of Free Agency. Vets reign supreme as Houston looks to establish solid leadership in the locker room. Here's a breakdown of the signings so far: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick 3yr $22M WR Vincent Jackson 2yr $9.4M Charles Johnson 2yr $1.7M Marc Mariani 2yr $2M OL Nick Mangold 3yr $13.3M DL Chris Long 3yr $16.7M Jared Odrick 3yr $11.8 Jaye Howard 2yr $1.74M K Connor Barth 3yr $2.7M Taylor Bertolet 2yr $1.5M P Tim Masthay 2yr $1.5M Keep an eye out for the next recap to stay up to date with the latest movements around the league!

12-05-2017, 06:02 PM	#14
Slyone14 MVP OVR: 9 Join Date: Dec 2011	Re: \|\| We Still Luv Ya Blue! \|\| A Houston Oilers Expansion \|\| Really, liking this bro. Following and looking forward to more. Quick question, with so many people suggesting how to do this, how did you ultimately decide your expansion draft? Did you cut all the Redskins players and just do free agents. (this is what I did) or how did you choose? Finally, as far as your coach are you planning to elaborate on his style and set up? Thanks again, loving it TMJOHNS18 likes this.

12-06-2017, 03:07 AM	#15
TMJOHNS18 MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2011	Re: \|\| We Still Luv Ya Blue! \|\| A Houston Oilers Expansion \|\| Thanks! I've done expansion-type CFMs in prior Maddens, similar to the guide that has been posted on this site, also just gutting and starting at Free Agency with zero players. Every time though I missed out on the first season, which was always a bit of a bummer. Of course I'll have to play as the Redskins year one instead of the Oilers, so both starting points have drawbacks. The way I set up this one was I started a CFM and went to the salary tab. Wrote down 3-4 players from each team who had guys with at least one year remaining on their deal and were not in the first year of the deal. Which really limited the number of available guys. Most teams had around three, some less, some more. I also took the value of the 2017 salary cap ($167M) and multiplied it by 0.38 to get $63.4M. Similar to the Texans' expansion, I had to either select 30 players or spend 38% of the 2017 salary cap, which is how I ended up with the 19 selections. Went back to the main menu and started moving guys around, this way they keep their bonuses for when I start the CFM. From there I took Redskin players at similar positions or similar OVR to make the swap with the expansion seletions. For the remainder of the roster I picked a few players on this list 2017 Top 101 Free Agents who either were unsigned or didn't fit anymore. For example, I moved Kurt Cousins to the Jets so decided that McCown wouldn't sign with them. Used McCown in my previous CFM so I opted to go with Fitzpatrick, so McCown finds himself a backup in Tampa in this version of the NFL. I'm currently in the Free Agency phase, almost done. Most of my signings are guys who are already in the FA pool, some vets I signed, bumped their ratings, cut then resigned (to get higher contracts) and moved ratings back down. Did this to help fill cap space for 'big name' vets. I would sign guys at a position first, then release the Redskins players. That way I didn't resign them by accident. Big name players I moved around instead of cutting outright, trying to either keep them in division (wanted to keep Norman vs Odell/Dez alive), or put them in a good/smart situation. For the 2017 draft I will simply assumed I'm picking #1 each round (no 'trades' made), and midway from the 2nd (expansion team gets an additional pick rounds 2-7) So, using a draft recap, I'll pick players were are available. I'll try to make minimal changes to the other teams, by either giving them the Redskin pick that round (if I don't choose the same player), but there might be a few differences, but I don't plan on taking any 'breakout' rookies to keep the rest of the NFL close to real life. Hope that was clear enough. For the coach I'm not 100% sure yet. Might go real NFL (either in game or created), real college/ex-NFL, or fictional. I created some of the players on Ballers and might give Miami HC Larry Csonka (either to start or when Gase is eventually let go). If I go fictional might be Coach Berg from Ballers.. but not yet decided. Slyone14 likes this.

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12-06-2017, 03:28 AM	#16
TMJOHNS18 MVP OVR: 10 Join Date: May 2011	2017 Free Agency Recap #2 Bucs Get Insurance, Oilers Polish Roster, 2017 Free Agency Recap #2 Free Agency is wrapping, let's take final look at some of the signings around the league. Josh McCown and Zach Brown are the most recent to find themselves signing one-year deals. McCown signed a $6M deal to return the Bucs after a couple season with the Browns. Zach Brown heads to Pittsburgh on a $2.3M deal. Meanwhile, down in Texas, the other Houston team, the Texans , signed Vernon Davis for 3 years at $10.6M. Davis didn't work out of the Broncos last year, lets see if the Texans are a better match this year. The Oilers continue to dish out contracts left and right, here is the final roundup of players heading to Houston's B squad: HB Tim Hightower 2yr $2.5M TE Timothy Wright 2yr $1.6M Jace Amaro 2yr $1.5M OL Alex Cooper 1yr $760K Patrick Lewis 2yr $1.7M Jarvis Harrison 2yr $1.8M J’Marcus Webb 2yr $1.9M Xavier Nixon 2yr $2M DL Roy Miller III 2yr $3.3M LB Donald Butler 2yr $2.5M Bryan Braman 2yr $2.2M CB Vinnie Sunseri 2yr $1.9M Marcus Roberson 2yr $1.9M Chykie Brown 2yr $3.5M Roman Harper 2yr $2.5M These signings set the Oilers up with 45 players entering the 2017 Draft. With 13 picks, one first rounder and two per round after, the Oilers will head into training camp with 58, plus any additional Vets or UDFA's who sign with the team. Football is almost back! Slyone14 likes this. Last edited by TMJOHNS18; 12-06-2017 at 05:30 AM.

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