Tony Sparano's career continues

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This is the continuation of my old dynasty with Tony Sparano. I won 3 Superbowls with Miami, so I decided I need a new challenge and stepped down after the 2013 season. The entire story so far can be found here:
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ns-career.html

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

Breaking News:

Tony Sparano named new Chargers coach

After leading the Miami Dolphins to three Superbowls in four years, coach Tony Sparano felt he needed a new challenge and resigned. After considering several offers he finally made up his mind and accepted the job with the San Diego Chargers.



I initially had planned to take over a team in the NFC but the Redskins were the only NFC opening and after checking their overall situation (roster, coaches, GM, cap, draft picks) I decided that the Chargers' offer was much more tempting.

The team already has a decent roster but most players are past their primes and overpaid. Due to the fact that I changed teams after the Superbowl, the staff hiring/firing is already over, so I have to work with what's in place. The Chargers have a very good GM, which should make it easier to draft well. This, paired with some of the things mentioned above, ultimately led to my decision to take over the Chargers.


Coming up:
What to expect - Coach Sparano talks stategy and philosophy

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

For those who didn't follow the prequel to this thread, here are the house rules again (copied from the other thread):

My main goal is to keep the dynasty realistic, so I set up some house rules:
- No sign-and-trade deals (if I sign a FA, I'm not allowed to trade him in that season)
- I'm not allowed to trade rookies (doesn't happen in the NFL either)
- Kickers & Punters can not be traded (never seen that in NFL)
- Limited roster churning - during preseason and the regular season I'm only allowed to sign 1 FA per week. It would be too easy to improve my team's roster by signing every decent FA available at the start of the game, so I'll limit myself here. However, there are 2 exceptions to this rule:
1) If a player is placed on IR, I am allowed to sign a FA to fill his roster spot
2) Right before the regular season starts (after the final-53 cuts) I am allowed to sign 2 FA's. This is supposed to reflect the increased roster churning that (usually the weaker) NFL teams do after the cut deadline


Playbooks:
As you can't switch playbooks within a career I'm stuck with the playbooks I already used with the Dolphins. However, I'm planning to run different schemes on offense and defense so I deleted some plays from my PB and created some new plays.

Offense: We will run a unique offense that features a lot of intermediate passing routes and option running plays. Based on spread and West Coast concepts.
Defense: Another unique concept, I'm trying to merge the 4-3 with the 3-3-5. We will use a 4-3 base defense but make heavy use of the 3-3-5 as a sub package. This means we'll need versatile players on defense.


Philosophies:

QB: mobile/speed - running a lot of option plays requires a mobile QB.
NFL comparison: Kaepernick, Luck, RG3

RB: balanced - my #1 RB needs to be a complete back. The #2 should be a power guy while #3 ideally is a change-of-pace speedster.
NFL comparison: #1: Rice, A.Foster; #2: M.Lynch, M.Ingram; #3: R.Bush, Sproles

FB: blocking - I don't plan to use a FB, so I'll likely use a backup TE here

WR: tall/redzone - my WRs need good CTH & CIT to hold on to the ball after contact. My #3 or 4 ideally should be a speedster
NFL comparison: Fitzgerald, Marshall, Boldin; Mike Wallace (speedster)

TE: balanced - TE1 should be a reliable receiver on short/intermediate routes, TE2 is more of a blocker
NFL comparison: Witten (TE1); Fasano (TE2)

OL: balanced - they need to be equally good at pass and run blocking. The Guards need to have decent mobility because I use a lot of pulling Guards in the running game.
NFL comparison: Jake Long, Joe Thomas (OT), Marshall Yanda, Logan Mankins (OG), Nick Mangold (C)

DE: balanced - in a 4-3 base defense the DEs are required to get to the QB but they also need to set the edge in the running game.
NFL comparison: Cameron Wake, Julius Peppers, Mario Williams

DT: balanced - my #1 DT should be a guy who can play a 3 technique (4-3 DT) as well as the 0 technique (Nose Tackle) in the 3-3-5 sub packages. He needs to be strong and quick. The #2 is more of a pass rushing DT (one gap).
NFL comparison: #1 DT: Randy Starks, Haloti Ngata; #2 DT: Henry Melton, Geno Adknis

LB: balanced - all LBs need to be versatile enough to stop the run and drop back in man & zone coverage. The OLBs also should be decent pass rushers because they blitz a lot in the 3-3-5 sub package.
NFL comparison: MLB: Pat Willis, Karlos Dansby; OLB: Lance Briggs

CB: balanced - they need to be able to play man & zone coverage and should be able to help in run support.
NFL comparison: Revis, Sam Madison in his prime

FS: centerfielder - the FS is my last line of defense. He'll mainly play some sort of zone (Cover 1/2/3 or Man Under coverage) and won't be utilized as a blitzer.
NFL comparison: Ed Reed

SS: run support - the 3-3-5 concept is based on 2 Strong Safeties playing close to the LOS, almost like additional LBs. Need to stop the run and may occasionally blitz.
NFL comparison: Yeremiah Bell, Bernard Pollard

K: balanced - just give me a good overall kicker.

P: kick power - just kick it as far away as you can.

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

Free Agency recap:
I cut some of the overpaid veterans to give us some working room under the cap. WR Randy Moss retired, which took away our best player but freed up over 10 mil. in cap space. I put the franchise tag on CB Antonio Cromartie, hoping to trade him during the draft. If I can't trade him I might as well cut him later with no penalty. I also put Philip Rivers on the trading block to see if there's any interest in him. I'd like a fresh start with my own handpicked QB. New regimes mean new Quarterbacks...

We have the #6 pick in the draft. Although I usually don't like to pick in the top 8 because of the high salaries of the top 8 picks, there are some studs in this class, worthy of an early pick and big money. There's a MLB with 95 SPD, who has a Ray Lewis comparison, a RB compared to Walter Peyton, a mobile QB who seems like a perfect fit for my offense, DE with a Reggie White comparison, a franchise Left Tackle, a big DT with a Haloti Ngata comparison and some nice CBs and WRs. I hope that either the DE, MLB or QB falls to me at #6. There's also a DE with a Michael Strahan comparison who might be available early in Round 2. Overall, this seems to be a top-heavy draft class.


FA signings:
WR Kendrell Kennison (87) - 3 yrs, 19 mil. - should help to replace Moss and came at a reasonable price
LB Karlos Dansby (89) - 2 yrs, 11.5 mil - I need speedy LBs for my defense to work
LB DJ Williams (87) - 2 yrs, 11 mil - I need speedy LBs for my defense to work
DE Antonio Perez (77) - 2 yrs, 4 mil - I needed a speedy 4-3 pass rusher

[Wheeler Dealer]

Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

For those who didn't follow the prequel to this thread, here are the house rules again (copied from the other thread):

My main goal is to keep the dynasty realistic, so I set up some house rules:
- No sign-and-trade deals (if I sign a FA, I'm not allowed to trade him in that season)
- I'm not allowed to trade rookies (doesn't happen in the NFL either)
- Kickers & Punters can not be traded (never seen that in NFL)
- Limited roster churning - during preseason and the regular season I'm only allowed to sign 1 FA per week. It would be too easy to improve my team's roster by signing every decent FA available at the start of the game, so I'll limit myself here. However, there are 2 exceptions to this rule:
1) If a player is placed on IR, I am allowed to sign a FA to fill his roster spot
2) Right before the regular season starts (after the final-53 cuts) I am allowed to sign 2 FA's. This is supposed to reflect the increased roster churning that (usually the weaker) NFL teams do after the cut deadline

I salute your efforts. I, too, have been struggling with the
unrealistic things you can do with FAs. Here a some of my
thoughts.

The FA period after the Pro Bowl should only be used to work
around the RFA problem. Some RFAs, FBs for example, never come
up for bids and you just lose them. Other RFAs will lose their
playbook knowledge. If I am very sure that I can/will retain
them I can drop and resign during this period. It gives a fair
imitation of what the RFA process should have been.

I don't use the FA period just before training camp. My GM
will sign some players just like the other GMs.

I agree in principle on not trading FAs the same year they are
signed. I have come up with a case I thought was an exception.
I bid on Flozell Adams, paid him a bonus and planned for him to
start my first year. Then after the draft I changed my mind. I
think I got a 5th round draft choice and paid a $1M cap
penalty to move Flozell along.

I'm not so sure about not trading rookies. What about Manning
and Rivers. Other NFL examples don't spring to mind but they
do it all the time in the NBA.

Another area I'm conflicted about is trading or cutting
Franchised players or tendered RFAs. I have kept players this
way intending to trade them but I'm not sure if that has ever
happened IRL. It should, at least with the Franchised players.

During Training Camp I allow myself to bid on any player
offered. I only sign selected players without going through
the bidding process:

Any player under 75 OVL
Any OL under 85 OVL
Any FB, K or P

I don't permit myself to "pan for gold" by signing and
dropping players just to look at their potential. Any FA
signed during training camp is because I plan for him to make
the team.

Now the tough part, all those yummy FAs left over after the
final cuts!

Any player that will (or should) start for me, I have to pay
market price. I have been able to force bidding by adding and
dropping the player. This year I got an 84 OVL DE for $5.5M
this way. If I should run into a situation where I can't force
an auction, then I think I will sign the player and
renegotiate ASAP or drop him if I can't.

If a player can't start on my team I allow myself to "rent"
him. This year I had 2 such players. Unless it's a big
improvement it's not worth giving up the playbook knowledge
and/or longer contracts the current backups have.

Once the season starts I don't add or drop players unless
there is a trade or an injury.

Sometimes quality FAs appear late in the season, even after
the regular season. To date I have resisted all temptation to
sign these players but I'm not sure it is totally unrealistic.

I have other house rules about trades, changing positions and
three in-game "house rules" if you are interested.

[edward_1385]

Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

I have enjoyed reading ur first one, so I will be looking forward to reading this one as well... Like Arnold says GO CHARGERS GO!!

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

I have enjoyed reading ur first one, so I will be looking forward to reading this one as well... Like Arnold says GO CHARGERS GO!!

Thanks. This is basically just the continuation of the first one. It's still the same career, I just switched teams after 6 years in Miami.

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

2014 Draft Recap:

The Panthers had the #1 pick after going 0-16 and took RB Larry Brewington (Walter Peyton comparison). The Steelers took a DE at #2 but they didn't take the one I was targeting. The Lions took a stud CB in Mike Best out of Washington. The Jets wanted to trade out of their #4 spot and I was their only trade partner, so I decided to send DE Luis Castillo, WR Ronyell Greenway and a 3rd rounder to the Jersey boys for the #4 overall pick. Now I had the #4 and #6 picks, with the Jaguars picking in between at #5. My top rated players on the board were DE Vonteego Cross and QB Carmelo Goldwire. Jacksonville already has 2 good pass rushers in place and with David Garrard getting older I thought they might consider a QB more than a DE. So I took QB Carmelo Goldwire at #4, hoping that the Jaguars would pass on Vonteego Cross. They did just that, selecting the top rated Safety instead, so I picked up Cross at #6. The Redskins took a great player in MLB Jahmar Sweeley at #9.
Later in the round I saw OT Jamaal Zimmerman dropping out of the top 20. I had him with a top 5 grade, so I sent Eric Weddle (87) and Gerald Gleaton (80) to the Cardinals in exchange for the #22 pick, where I selected Zimmerman.
After round one I selected another pass rusher in Jerome Duckett out of tiny Northern Arizona. He was compared to Michael Strahan and was pointed out as a possible sleeper pick by Mike Mayock. The Chargers roster I inherited was set up for a 3-4 defense, so I needed DEs who can rush the passer. I also needed a RB because incumbent starter Rashard Mendenhall has fumbling problems, so I picked RB Scottie Jones (Ball State, power runner, compared to Larry Johnson) at the end of round 2 after trading injury plagued TE Jeremy Shockey along with two mid-rounders for the selection. With my 3 rounder I picked up another pass rusher in Marrio Black (New Mexico). He might be undersized at DE with only 6'2 and about 240 lbs but he has great speed off the edge. Probably won't be a full time starter but he should be able to contribute as a situational pass rusher. With Cross and Duckett as the starters and Black and FA pickup Antonio Perez as the backups I should now be set at DE for years to come.
Because of all my trades in round 1 & 2 I didn't have any picks in rounds 4 & 5. After releasing TE Daniel Graham for salary cap reasons and trading away Jeremy Shockey I needed a TE. The one I was after (Witten comparison) was already gone, so I picked Brian Michaels out of tiny Gardner Webb. He's really raw but possesses all the physical tools that Chargers fans are looking for since Antonio Gates left a couple of years ago. I rounded out my draft class by picking DE Jarius Dean. He went to college in San Diego, so it really is a homie pick.

Undrafted Free Agents:
QB Jessie Little (Grand Valley State)
RB Storm Sparks (Richmond)
C Braxton Martin (Maine)
LB Jake Carter (UL Lafayette)
S Shevin Maples (Robert Morris Univ.)

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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]

Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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.

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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.

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Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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]

Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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]

Re: Tony Sparano's career continues

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