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2012 Draft Recap:

Alright, the draft is in the books and I'll give you a brief summary what went down. The Titans selected Maximus Johnson #1 overall, he's a big physical WR but he also has a high bust risk in my opinion. Charles Harrison (a very good DT) went #2 to the Panthers and then my personal worst case scenario came true when the Jets picked QB Trent Stanton at #3. Stanton is a future star, there's nothing not to like about him. Now my divisional rivals have Stanton (Jets), Brady (Pats) and Brees (Bills, signed in free agency) at the QB position. It will become really hard to even make it to the playoffs as the Bills & Jets will be much improved and NE is always in contention with Brandy and Belichick.

Let's come to my own draft: I kept sitting back at #30 and used the selection to pick the best player left on my board, which was Miami FS Roscoe Utley. He'll probably have to move to SS in my defense because we already have a Pro Bowl starter at FS in Sanrick Raines but both safeties are interchangeble in my defensive scheme (I don't use an in-the-box safety).
In round 2 I traded down from #34 to receive an additional 1st rounder next year. I traded up to get RB Cletis Parker in the middle of round 2. He'll be the speed back in a shared backfield (with Andre Granderson as the power back). Kenton Kasom has 1 year left on his contract but didn't live up to my expectations. I'm looking to get something for him before the season.
I used my two picks in round 3 to get some more depth in the trenches with Penn State DE Marshall Sullivan and Eastern Michigan OT Jonathan Boone. Boone played RT in college but will likely move to guard because he struggles against speed rushers on the edge.
I traded out of round 4 to acquire more picks for next year. In round 5 we selected Ohio LB Daniel Coyle, who fits the bill as a pass rushing OLB.
We had 5 selections in round 6 & 7 and took a chance on some players who I believe might turn out to be sleepers. Those players are CB Markieff Bridges (Penn St.), MLB Darrell Wells (Samford), OG Kemba Conway (Valparaiso), TE Shevin Taylor (Elon) and speedy WR Cory Shields (North Carolina A&T).
We also picked up 5 undrafted free agents: Jaime Potter (K,Texas), Hugh Erickson (DE/OLB, New Mexico St.), Cashmere O'Neill (G/C, San Diego St.), Rocky Nash (RB, Mt. Union) & Phil Page (WR, West Virginia), who probably won't see much action as a receiver but could be a good return specialist (had a Devin Hester comparison). The kicker we picked up will get a fair shot to win the training camp competition against Dan Carpenter.


Training Camp Roundup:
Josh Johnson was resigned to a 1 yr contract and will continue to run the wildcat & option plays.

RB Kenton Kasom (83)was traded to the Redskins for 2nd & 7th round picks next year. In the right system he might blossom but it simply didn't work out in my offense.

OLB Shawne Merriman (91) was traded to the Baltimore Ravens for next year's 1st & 7th round picks. This saves me some cap-room this season but puts a big 8 mil. salary cap penalty on next season's payroll.

OLB/DE Tony Bake (81) was traded to the New England Patriots in exchange for a 2014 3rd rounder. Don't like feeding an divisional rival but his contract would expire after the season and I don't have the cap space to resign him anyway. 3rd rounder for a young & healthy borderline starter seems fair.

RB Adrian Peterson was cut by the Vikings and his OVR is down to 83. I checked his stats and found out only had one 1000 yard season since the game started (2009) and has been injury plagued since. He INJ rating is down to 45. However, I decided to take a flyer on him and signed him to a 1 yr deal worth 2 mil., without any guaranteed money. If he gets hurt or can't perform any more I can simply cut him without any penalty. He'll share carries with Andre Granderson and rookie Cletis Parker, which should help to keep him fresh & as healthy as possible.

DE/DT Darnell Dockett was signed to a one year contract. He perfectly fits my defensive scheme. He probably won't be a starter but he'll contribute as a rotational player and in sub-packages.

Rookie Jamie Potter beat out Dan Carpenter for the kicking job. Carpenter did not make the final 53 men roster. Others among the final cuts included QB Johnny Chapman, RB Sedrick McCoy and CB DeAnthony Nails.

A lot of big name (and high OVR) players are still unsigned and remain in the FA pool. I'm not interested in anyone at the moment as my roster is set, although I could change my mind in case of injuries.

We won all 4 preseason games, including a 23-21 win at Dallas with a game winning FG by rookie Jamie Potter. The season starts today with a home game against the Titans.


Game Preview, week 1 vs Tennessee:
We are injury free and the Titans are without starting QB Vince Young. They don't have an adequate backup so I expect them to struggle in the passing game. Chris Johnson has to be contained and I'll try to force him to run inside by bringing edge blitzes. Their 3 best players are on defense: Albert Haynesworth will make it hard to run between the tackles, Kyle Vanden Bosch is a high motor pass rusher and FS Michael Griffin is a ballhawk in the secondary. Nevertheless, I expect a clear victory against a team with an unproven backup QB.