The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

[Mike3207]

Apologies to those who followed my Seahawks career, but that's one of the limitations of a console system. A lot of the time you lose all data if you don't have a decent backup, and even if you do there's no way to continue from the point you were. This time around I have bought a new PS3 from Wal-mart that will hope fully last a full career.

I haven't made up my mind on any house rules at this point, as I'm not sure they really make the game harder. I have set Performance 5 for this coach, as I think you want your players to play their best from the start as I do. It may mean a partial supersim of some games, but I'd prefer to play as many games as possible.

Coach-Martin Randall

Personality-Commander

Philosophies-Balanced or Normal, but I will bench media complainers or those who skip practice. I went by Playbook Knowledge for players evaluation.

Regular skills-Performance 5, Playcall 3, Strategy 3, Team Chemistry 3.

Special skills-none

Offensive Playbook-Custom, base playbook Sanders Army Run.

Defensive playbook-Custom, base playbook 3-3-5. It's just my favorite defense.

Team-I went with the Falcons. I realize the trainer is a issue the first year, but it seems a good team to start with.


That seems enough to start with, I can evaluate coaching staff and roster at later date.

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

Coaching staff-not a lot to say in that they're all pretty average. Even defensive standouts like Emmitt Thomas and Ray Hamilton cap performance at 3. If there is no one better, they will keep their jobs.

GM Don Ross has good upside, but again, he'll keep his job as long as no one else is better available.

It goes without saying there will be a new Trainer next year.

I'll list transitional starters below

HB-Jerious Norwood
WR-Roddy White
LG-Justin Blalock
LOLB-Michael Boley
MLB-Keith Brooking
CB-Houston
P-forget name

Everyone else will be on trade list and be considered trade bait up to the point I can't take on more trade penalties. There will be a lot of holes to fill this year.

Average starters like LE Jamaal Anderson will start if they're the cheapest option or there is no alternative in FA or draft that is better.

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

21 Day Countdown:

Franchise Tag:

P M. Koenen-82-1.78 million-Falcons
RE Justin Smith-89-8.9 million-Bengals
WR Randy Moss-96-8.1 million-Patriots
DT Albert Haynesworth-92-9.1 million-Titans
LG Alan Faneca--93-7.1 million-Steelers
K Josh Brown-88-2.4 million-Seahawks
LT Flozell Adams-7.0 million-Cowboys

Season Goals:

Acquire 85+ QB
Acquire 85+ ROLB
Acquire 85+ TE


RFA-Michael Boley-Tender 3-2.01 million-1st-no rfa bid
RFA-Chauncey Davis-Tender 1-970k-4th-no rfa bid

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

2008 FA Period

I signed more in FA than I usually do, but I also had more spots to fill.





Falcons trade RE John Abraham and DT Trey Lewis to the 49ers for LT Joe Staley.

CB Asante Samuel-91-26-5 years, 43.0 million-Dolphins

CB Nnamdi Asomugha-91-26-5 years-41.0 million-Titans

ROLB Lance Briggs-90-25-5 years, 50.0 million-Saints

CB Marcus Trufant-90-25-5 years, 37.0 million-Falcons

HB Marion Barber-89-24--5 years, 38.0 million-Giants

FS Eugene Wilson-90-27-5 years, 23.0 million-Bengals

RT Jordan Gross-92-27-5 years, 37.0 million-Falcons

ROLB Terrell Suggs-88-24-3 years, 23.0 million-Chiefs

FS Ken Hamlin-86-26-4 years, 17.0 million-Falcons

HB Shawn Alexander-85-30--4 years, 24.0 million-Broncos

LE Antwan Odom-85-25-4 years, 28.0 million-Bucs

CB Randall Gay-85-25-4 years, 19.0 million-Panthers

LG Stacy Andrews-87-26- 5 years, 26.0 million-Panthers

K Rob Bironas-90-29-2 years, 4.6 million-Dolphins

K Jason Elam-90-37-2 years, 4.8 million-Broncos

RG Jake Scott-86-26--4 years, 13.0 million-Broncos

RG Ben Noll-86-23-4 years, 19.0 million-Texans

LG Ruben Brown-86-35-1 year, 4.2 million-Texans


Falcons trade P Michael Koenen to Broncos for 5-143 and 7-205

Falcons trade WR Laurent Robinson to Bills for 5-142



C Jeff Faine-87-26-3 years, 13.5 million-Bucs

K Olindo Mare-85-34--1 year, 1.6 million-49ers

P Mitch Berger-86-35-1 year, 1.1 million-Falcons

P Matt Turk-85-39-1 year, 900K-Panthers


New Draft Goals:

Draft A Sleeper

Don't Draft A Bust

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

2008 Draft-Round 1

I got an extra year of Rivers for 1-3. Rams usually take Gholston, but for once they made a smart move at 1-2. Trades first, then the 1st round draft table.

Trades:

Cardinals to Falcons-LE Jamaal Anderson, FS, Jimmy Williams, and 7-217 for 1-16-pick.

Cowboys to Bears-2-49, 6-169, and 2009 3rd for 1-28 pick.

Dolphins to Ravens-2-38, 5-126, and 2009 4th for 1-32 pick.

2008 NFL Draft - Round 1 Recap
Pick	Team	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt
1-1	Miami Dolphins	Jake Long	LT	6'7	313
1-2	St. Louis Rams	Chris Long	RE	6'3	275
1-3	Atlanta Falcons	Keith Rivers	ROLB	6'3	230
1-4	Oakland Raiders	Glenn Dorsey	DT	6'1	310
1-5	Kansas City Chiefs	Ryan Clady	LT	6'6	319
1-6	New York Jets	Matt Ryan	QB	6'5	218
1-7	New England Patriots	Darren McFadden	HB	6'0	210
1-8	Baltimore Ravens	Derrick Harvey	LE	6'4	271
1-9	Cincinnati Bengals	Sedrick Ellis	DT	6'1	295
1-10	New Orleans Saints	Leodis Mckelvin	CB	5'10	186
1-11	Buffalo Bills	Jeff Otah	RT	6'5	315
1-12	Denver Broncos	Gosder Cherilus	RT	6'6	312
1-13	Carolina Panthers	Chris Williams	LT	6'6	318
1-14	Chicago Bears	Rashard Mendenhall	HB	5'11	225
1-15	Detroit Lions	Mike Jenkins	CB	6'0	200
1-16	Atlanta Falcons	Kenny Phillips	SS	6'0	202
1-17	Kansas City Chiefs	Felix Jones	HB	6'1	202
1-18	Houston Texans	Jerod Mayo	LOLB	6'2	233
1-19	Philadelphia Eagles	Vernon Gholston	ROLB	6'3	266
1-20	Tampa Bay Bucs	Domonique Cromartie	CB	6'1	181
1-21	Washington Redskins	Brandon Albert	LG	6'7	330
1-22	Dallas Cowboys	Chris Johnson	HB	5'10	198
1-23	Pittsburgh Steelers	Aqib Talib	CB	6'2	180
1-24	Tennessee Titans	Lawrence Jackson	LE	6'4	271
1-25	Seattle Seahawks	Antoine Cason	CB	6'0	182
1-26	Jacksonville Jaguars	Kentwan Balmer	DT	6'5	288
1-27	San Diego Chargers	Sam Baker	LT	6'5	305
1-28	Chicago Bears	Joe Flacco	QB	6'7	222
1-29	San Francisco 49ers	John Carlson	TE	6'6	250
1-30	Green Bay Packers	Jonathan Stewart	HB	5'9	170
1-31	St. Louis Rams	Dustin Keller	TE	6'4	244
1-32	Baltimore Ravens	Matthew Forte	HB	6'1	219

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

2008 Draft-2nd Day

The draft table contains both some picks by other teams and my picks. Trades first-then the table of draft picks.


Trades:

2-34-Falcons to Bills for 3-73, 3-82, and 4-102

2-37-Falcons to Patriots for 3-69, 3-94, and 4-127

4-123-Jaguars to Falcons for SS Lawyer Milloy

6-168-49ers to Falcons for FB Ovie Mughelli and WR Michael Jenkins

Undrafted:

FB J. Vatter-Minnesota
TE-M. Moffitt-UCF
TE-M. Peterson-NW Missouri St.
ROLB D. Vobora-idaho
HB X. Amon-NW Missour i St.

2008NFL Draft - Rest of Draft
Pick	Player	College	Pos	Ht	Wt
2-33	Donnie Avery-Rams	Houston	WR	5'11	183
2-34	Brandon Flowers-Chiefs	Virginia Tech	CB	5'10	190
2-48	Calais Campbell	Miami	LE	6'7	290
2-49	Desean Jackson-Eagles	Califorinia	WR	6'0	166
2-54	Dexter Jackson-Titans	Appalachian state	WR	5-10	183
2-56	Brian Brohm-Packers	Louisville	QB	6'3	225
2-60	John Greco-Packers	Toledo	RT	6'5	318
2-63	Ray Rice-Cowboys	Rutgers	HB	5'9	200
3-67	Dre Moore	Maryland	DT	6'4	312
3-68	Earl Bennett	Vanderbilt	WR	6'1	202
3-73	Craig Steltz	LSU	SS	6'1	210
3-82	Josh Johnson	San Diego	QB	6'3	213
3-88	Tom Zbikowski-Chargers	Notre Dame	SS	6'0	210
3-90	Harry Douglas-Bears	Louisville	WR	5'11	170
3-70	Early Doucet-Bears	LSU	WR	6'0	207
3-94	Mario Manningham	Michigan	WR	6'0	181
4-100	Andre Woodson	Kentucky	QB	6'5	230
4-102	David Hale	Weber State	LG	6'2	326
4-123	Zack Bowman	Nebraska	CB	6'2	196
4-127	Roy Scheuning	Oregon State	RG
5-131	Athya Rubin	Iowa State	DT	6'3	322
5-142	Kevin Robinson	Utah State	WR	6'4	210
5-143	Tony Bake	TCU	RE	6'2	281
6-166	Alexis Serna	Oregon State	K	5'8	170
6-168	Carl Stewart	Auburn	FB	6'2	224
7-197	Jamaal Buckingham	Bloomsburg	HB	6'2	216
7-205	Steve Justice	Wake Forest	C	6'3	283

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

2008 Training Camp

CU-GM-Small School Insider

Signings:

ROLB Keith Rivers-6 years, 40.1 million, 8 million signing bonus

Season Goals:

Trade for QB Craig Pennington
Trade for TE Desmond Clark
Increase Jordan Gross' play knowledge to 39%
Increase Keith Rivers PK to 25%
Increase Marcus Trufants PK to 42%
Add 10 new plays
Sign SS Kenny Phillips

SS Kenny Phillips-5 years, 18.2 million, 3.5 mil sb.

Further season goals:

Play Jordan Gross 50 downs
Play Marcus Trufant 50 downs
Play Keith Rivers 50 downs

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

Preseason 2008

The best news is no serious injuries to start the season, although we did have a few minor ones in preseason. 1-3 in preseason, but one of those was a nail-biter to the Ravens in OT.

Preseason Game 1- Falcons 17, Jaguars 0

Manningham 77 rec yds, Boley 2 sacks

INJ-CB Zack Bowman-104 weeks-broken hand

INJ-FB Jerome Vatter-bruised hip-1-3 weeks

CU-HC-QB INT 2


Preseason Game 2- Colts 34, Falcons 10

Bennett 101 rec yds, Steltz INT

DC-Phy Dev-DB2



Preseason Game 3- Titans 34, Falcons 16

White 97 rec yds, Trufant INT

CU-HC-QB Lrn Dev 2, OC-QB NT Dev 2



Preseason Game 4-Ravens 23, Falcons 20 (OT)

Woodson-174 pass yds, Bennett 83 rec yds
Staley 3 pancakes, Campbell 2 sacks



Preseason Promise-Finish above .500



Season Goals

Crush Bucs in Week 2
Win 3/4 games
Re-sign P Mitch Berger
Re-sign LOLB Michael Boley
Win Defensive Rookie of the Year
Hire new GM
Have 80+ approval at end of season


We are on the Ozzie Jones path. Team roster or depth chart is next.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

28 picks with all the sleepers. yawn.

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

28 picks with all the sleepers. yawn.

I take advantage of trading down, and the Falcons started with 3 2nd round picks. There are also some draft paths where talent is leaner than the 2008 draft-like Sweetney, so I always overcompensate in the 2008 draft.

Sleepers are also not guaranteed to succeed, or might develop slowly enough that other players might pass them by. Hills and the tight ends tend to injury, Buckingham and Omon never seem to develop for me. Bake-he can play well, but I always get frustrated with his low learning. Learning can hold a player back as well. In short(too late)- I just don't see the stigma a lot associate with sleepers. They have high upside, but a lot has to go right for them to meet their ceilings.


Thanks for commenting though.

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

2008 Depth Chart

2008 Depth chart with overalls and potentials:

Atlanta Falcons Depth Chart - 2008
Regular Offense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
WR	Roddy White- 82/88	Mario Manningham-75/90	Joe Horn- 75/76
TE	Mark Moffitt-67/81	Mike Peterson-58/84	Martrez Milner- 65/73
LT	Joe Staley- 86/93	Tony Hills- 64/84
LG	Justin Blalock- 84/89	David Hale- 69/87
C	Steve Justice- 75/83	Ben Wilkins- 74/75
RG	Roy Schuening- 69/86	John Spivey-77/82
RT	Jordan Gross- 92/93	Patrick McCoy- 72/73
WR	Earl Bennett- 75/90	Kevin Robinson-67/86
QB	Andre Woodson-78/94	Josh Johnson-68/92	Scott Wiggins-61/75
FB	Carl Stewart- 76/84	Jerome Vatter- 74/77
HB	Jerious Norwood- 81/89	Jamaal Buckingham-66/88	X. Omon- 66/88
Base 3-3-5 Defense
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
LDE	Calais Campbell- 84/89	Chad Bundy-70/76
NT	Dre Moore-84/91	Athya Rubin-80/84	Jaonathan Babineaux-70/71
RDE	Tony Bake-67/81	Akbar Gbaja Biamilia- 70/71
LOLB	Michael Boley- 86/88	stephen Nicholas- 75/75
MLB	Keith Brooking- 88/89	Al Wilson-74/81
ROLB	Keith Rivers- 90/95	David Vobora- 68/83
CB	Marcus Trufant- 90/91	Zack Bowman-78/86	Omarius Hunt-74/82
SS	Kenny Phillips-86/92	Brandon Daye-80/84
FS	Ken Hamlin- 86/88	Jared Adkins- 71/75
SS	Craig Steltz-83/88
CB	Chris Houston- 81/86	Eshaunte Tucker- 77/84
Special Teams
	STARTER	2ND	3RD	4TH
K	Alexis Serna- 83/92
P	Mitch Berger- 86/87

[Mike3207]

Re: The Coaching Career of Martin Randall

This will be on hiatus for a while-just not the time to continue it right now. Any spare game time-and that's not much- will go to the triaka of Inquisition/RTTS/pS4 Skyrim. When I feel nostalgia-Origins and DA2. I will continue this-but maybe not until next year.

I've got mandatory overtime at my call center every other weekend until February and have volunteered my services for anyone who calls in on my free weekends. It'll look on my paychecks, but will keep gaming time to a minimum.