Tony Sparano's career continues

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Preseason Report:

I spent most of the preseason trying to install my new playbooks. I also signed some free agents and made some trades with my former team to bring in some players that I already know who fit my system.

Acquired WR Brandon Marshall from the Dolphins in exchange for QB Philip Rivers and my 2nd & 3rd rounders in 2016.
Acquired FS Sanrick Raines from the Dolphins in exchange for RB Rashard Mendenhall, a 5th and a 7th rounder.
Signed FA CB Ellis Hobbs to a 1 yr contract worth 2 mil.
Signed FA LB Thomas Davis to a 1 yr contract worth 4 mil.
Signed RB Adrian Peterson off the waiver wire to a 1 yr contract.
Signed RB Cletis Parker off the waiver wire to a 1 yr contract after he was released by Miami.
Signed WR Darrell Ogunyele off the waiver wire to a 1 yr contract.

We went 3-1 in preseason, winning against the Steelers, Patriots and Lions and losing at Indianapolis.

Preseason Promise:
I agreed with the owner that this team is on the right track but needs one year to develop with all the young talent we brought in. A record around .500 or just below should be realistic.


Opening day roster:

QB:
Carmelo Goldwire (R) - 78/90 - my handpicked QB of the future
Luke McCown - 73/73 - veteran backup, system fit
Jessie Little (R) - 71/83 - young guy to develop, not starter material, not mobile enough

RB:
Adrian Peterson - 82/83 - great player if healthy but 45 INJ rating will probably get him hurt
Scottie Jones (R) - 75/89 - powerful rookie RB
Cletis Parker - 78/83 - speedster with good hands; dangerous kickoff & punt returner
Storm Sparks (R) - 77/84 - young depth guy to develop

WR:
Brandon Marshall - 93/93 - One of the best in the game
Kendrell Kennison - 87/88 - good speed & hands, struggles against press
Legedu Naanee - 82/84 - physical WR
Darrell Ogunyele - 80/83 - solid allrounder
Ted Cross - 78/86 - young guy to develop

TE:
Brian Michaels (R) - 73/89 - has all the physical tools but still very raw
Anthony Fasano - 73/74 - blocking TE with some receiving skills
Cornelius Zimmerman - 72/74 - undersized but has great speed

LT:
Marcus McNeill - 95/96 - One of the best in the game

LG:
Justin Smiley - 83/83 - athletic stop gap guy
Cory Deas (R) - 75/77 - roster filler

C:
Nick Hardwick - 92/92 - one of the best in the game but already 32
Omar Hibbert (R) - 73/77 - injury prone roster filler

RG:
Scott Mruczkowski - 80/80 - veteran stop gap
Lane McGee (R) - 76/79 - roster filler

RT:
Jamaal Zimmerman (R) - 89/92 - starts at RT and might succeed McNeill at LT someday
David Keathley - 80/83 - solid backup

LE:
Vonteego Cross (R) - 80/95 - great pass rusher but raw against the run
Jarius Dean (R) - 80/86 - undersized late round steal, career backup

RE:
Jerome Duckett (R) - 80/91 - good pass rusher with nice potential
Antonio Perez - 77/77 - former first rounder who was a bust in Buffalo
Marrio Black (R) - 74/80 - undersized situational pass rusher, career backup

DT:
Igor Olshansky - 87/87 - strong enough to anchor and mobile enough to bring pressure
Darrion James - 81/83 - lacks the athleticism to be a long term starter
Marcus Thomas - 79/81 - solid backup on a bad contract

SLB:
D.J. Williams - 87/88 - complete LB with 95 SPD

MLB:
Karlos Dansby - 90/90 - complete LB who is the captain of our defense
Brandon Siler - 83/84 - solid backup but struggles in man coverage
Ricky Griffith - 80/82 - another solid backup

WLB:
Thomas Davis - 85/85 - undersized LB who is great in coverage and a good tackler
Jyles Tucker - 82/84 - pass rushing specialist who might be a better fit in a 3-4
Tommy Boxer (R) - 71/82 - nothing more than a special teams contributor

CB:
Antonio Cromartie - 88/90 - playing under the franchise tag, looking for a payday
Ellis Hobbs - 85/86 - solid stop gap who played well for me in Miami
Dion Crosby - 78/83 - young guy who might develop into a decent backup
Jamal Talley - 79/82 - specializes on man coverage (92)
Domonique Foxworth - 80/81 - veteran backup who struggles in zone coverage

FS:
Sanrick Raines - 87/91 - ballhawk with great range, centerfielder type
Shevin Maples (R) - 78/82 - rookie guy who might be better suited at SS

SS:
Demetrius Ponder - 86/90 - big hitter and great in zone coverage, perfect system fit
Tre Sanders - 81/84 - lacks speed but has everything else, big hitter
Terry Cooper (R) - 76/82 - young guy to develop, struggles in coverage

K:
Nate Kaeding - 87/90 - solid kicker

P:
Mike Scifres - 94/94 - one of the best in the game


Coming up:
Week 1 vs Jacksonville

[edward_1385]

Nice strong looking roster, should be able to go 8-8 easily as long no major injuries occur... Vonteego Cross should be a monster!!

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Week 1 vs Jacksonville:

Jaguars 20
Chargers 38

Rookie QB Carmelo Goldwire's NFL career is off to a flying start after he was responsible for 4 TDs (2 passing, 2 rushing) in his very first game as a pro. He threw for 264 yds and rushed for 77, making good decisions whether to keep the ball or pitch it on option plays. He also threw 2 INTs but the positives by far outweighed the negatives. SS Demetrius Ponder returned an INT for a TD and deflected 3 passes. Backup LB Jyles Tucker recovered 2 fumbles on special teams plays.

Record: 1-0


During the week:
Carmelo Goldwire was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week.


Week 2, at Pittsburgh:

Chargers 24
Steelers 16

Carmelo Goldwire threw 2 early picks but shook it off quite well, throwing for 257 yds and 3 scores to lead us to a comeback win. Two of those scores went to Legedu Naanee, who has a surprisingly good start to the season. Rookie DE Vonteego Cross had the first sack of his career in the 3rd quarter.

Record: 2-0


During the week:
nothing to report


Coming up:
Week 3 at St. Louis
We are injury free, the Rams are missing TE Chris Cooley.

[burnum]

Quote: Originally Posted by edward_1385

Nice strong looking roster, should be able to go 8-8 easily as long no major injuries occur... Vonteego Cross should be a monster!!

I hope so, that's why I drafted him...

As for your 8-8 prediction: I think the biggest issue at the moment is that the players only know a small part of the playbook (at least on offense), so I'll probably lose some games I should win (talent wise) because of silly mistakes that happen when you use unlearned plays. But 8-8 should be possible, especially after starting 2-0.

[burnum]

Game Recap:

Chargers 31
Rams 13

Carmelo Goldwire made some rookie mistakes (2 INTs, throwing to the wrong WR at times) but he also continued to impress in the passing and running game. He passed for 191 yds and 3 scores and added 53 yds on 13 carries on the ground. His favourite target were rookie TE Brian Michaels (5-77) and WR Kendrell Kennison (4-85, 2 TD). Brandon Marshall was held without a catch for the first time since... ... ... probably since his rookie season (I have no idea but must be a while back). LB Thomas Davis had a great game in run support with 9 tackles (including 4 for loss). DJ Williams returned a JaMarcus Russell interception 91 yds to the house. Speaking of Russell, he actually played well but threw 2 costly picks in the redzone. My first impressions with my new defensive scheme (a coverage based 4-3) are that the old scheme (3-4 man, heavy pressure) was better in actual gameplay but the new scheme works well in supersimmed games (less blitzing).

Record: 3-0


During the week:
nothing to report


Our next stop brings us back to New Jersey to face my old favourite opponent... Those Jersey boys are without future star QB Trent Stanton and RB Joseph Addai. Tarvaris Jackson will probably start at QB for them. We have to replace Adrian Peterson at RB. Hopefully he won't miss too much time. Rookie Scotty Jones will start in his place.
Sidenote: Last year's #1 overall draft pick TE Jerron McCarthy caught 3 balls in his rookie year and is now 3rd on the depth chart, inactive for the game. Should go down as the greatest draft bust of all time...


Game Recap:

Chargers 34
Jets 3

Carmelo Goldwire passed for 336 yds, 4 TDs and 2 INTs (Revis) while Tarvaris Jackson was awful (7-26, 134 yds, 2 INTs). Jerome Duckett had a great game on defense as he had 2 sacks, forced and recovered a fumble. Antonio Cromartie didn't allow a single catch to Wes Welker.

Record: 4-0, bye week coming up


During the weeks:
RB Adrian Peterson missed the Jets game with an injury. It now became known that he'll miss another 4-6 weeks. We're deep at RB and hope to get him for a possible playoff run.
Jerome Duckett was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Resigned K Nate Kaeding to a three year contract.
DT Igor Olshansky got hurt in practice and will miss 3-5 weeks. We released Marques Drayton and signed DT Johnny Jolly until the end of the season.


Coming up:
Week 5 vs Kansas City - the first divisional game of the season. Both teams have to replace their best DT (Olshansky/Dorsey).

[thedudescrew]

Aww man, i have read both of your stories now. Took me two days. I am sad to see it stop. Did you just get burned out?

[burnum]

Quote: Originally Posted by thedudescrew

Aww man, i have read both of your stories now. Took me two days. I am sad to see it stop. Did you just get burned out?

Yes, got burned out on those saves. I currently have a GM dynasty going with the 2014 Dolphins, in case you're interested. That one is quite new and is still updated but my old dynasties (the Tony Sparano years) are basically dead. Sorry. Here's the link for the one that's still alive:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...gm-career.html

[thedudescrew]

I have been trying those as well. I read all of them so far. Makes me want to start my own.