Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

[burnum]

After some time away from the game I finally found the motivation for a new dynasty, largely due to the awesome 2013 roster file made by xCAGEx.


Miami Dolphins 2013

Setup:
- I will use the new 2013 rosters
- start in preseason
- I'll create my own coach
- I'll use pickers or algoody's sliders (any recommendations?)

House Rules:
- I am not allowed to DRAFT any players that are on the Future 50 list (a list published by the game developers which features some of the best players in the draft classes). However, if a Future 50 player becomes available via trade or free agency I am allowed to get him.
- I am not allowed to inflate my team with custom draft sleepers (e.g. Delaware St. TE with Kellen Winslow comparison, UNLV DE with Ogunleye/Hali comparison, VMI MLB or Grambling St. QB with Drew Brees comparison). I am only allowed 1 of these players per position at the same time on my roster.
- On draft day, I'm only allowed to trade up if a CPU team wants to trade out of their spot. I'm not allowed to use the 'Trade Up' button.
- No sign-and-trade deals (if I sign a player, I'm not allowed to trade him in that season).
- I'm not allowed to trade rookies, Kickers or Punters (doesn't happen in the NFL either).
- No trades allowed until the end of the first season.
- 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 any 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 FAs. This is supposed to reflect the increased roster churning that (usually the weaker) NFL teams do after the cut deadline.

Playbooks & Philosophies:
I will use self created playbooks on both sides of the ball. My offensive PB is based on West Coast Offense concepts, using 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WR) as its base group. However, I also mixed in some Spread plays (4/5 WR) and some 2TE plays.
On defense I'll use a blitz heavy man coverage playbook that uses a 4-3 base formation but also has some plays out of the 4-4, 4-2-5 and 3-3-5 formations.

QB: Balanced - Passer first but should be able to run bootlegs and the occasional option play
RB: Balanced - Needs to run inside and outside, not a big thread as a receiver
FB: I don't plan to use a FB
WR: Balanced or Tall/Redzone - Just catch it...
TE: Soft Hands or H-Back - Used as a receiver and blocker
OL: Balanced or Zone Blocking - Should be equally adept in pass & run blocking
DE: Speed Rusher - Get to the QB...
DT: Balanced - DT1 is a big run stopper, DT2 is a 4-3 under tackle (1 gap)
LB: Balanced - All LBs need to be able to tackle, blitz and cover well
CB: Man - Just cover your island...
FS: Centerfielder - Is either in man coverage or the single high Safety
SS: Balanced - Used in man coverage and to stop the run
K/P: Balanced


I hope some of you are interested in reading this. I'm looking forward to it. Feel free to comment, criticize, ask questions, give advice, whatever...

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

Preseason Summary:

We finished the preseason 3-1, which came a bit as a surprise to me. We started out great, beating the Bucs 24-0 in the preseason opener and we also beat the Jaguars. Then we lost a close game to KC before beating the Saints with a last second FG.

As always in the preseason, the focus was on installing the playbooks. On defense we're already ahead of schedule and we have most of the base plays installed.
Our offensive playbook is a lot harder to install, due to its bigger size. The passing game looked well during preseason but the running game has still a lot of room for improvement.

During preseason we signed the following players:
WR/RET Brandon Banks - doesn't offer much as a WR but he will be our primary returner
WR Da'Rick Rogers - young wideout to push for the #4 WR spot
LB/DE Sergio Kindle - very fragile but he's a good situational pass rusher
SS Taylor Mays - very athletic player who'll add speed to sub-packages and Special Teams
SS Phillip Thomas - young guy who adds depth at Safety.

Some of the more notable players who didn't make the final 53 include RB/RET Marcus Thigpen and CB Dimitri Patterson.


The owner doesn't seem to expect much of the team this season. In our annual meeting he said he expects us to win some games but we're still at least a good offseason away from competing. We'd probably finish below .500.
As this is my first season with the team and I'm a rookie coach I didn't want to cause any trouble with the owner, so I agreed to his low demands. Privately I think we're an average team with some potential. If the key players (Tannehill, Wake, Grimes, R.Jones) stay healthy we could very well finish 2nd in our division behind the Pats and push for a wildcard spot...

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

Miami Dolphins 2013 Starting Lineup & Key Backups:
(most important players are written in bold letters, R denotes player is a rookie)

Starters:
QB: Ryan Tannehill
RB: Lamar Miller
WR: Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson
LT: Jonathan Martin
LG: Dallas Thomas (R)
C: Mike Pouncey
RG: Richie Incognito
RT: Tyson Clabo

LE: Cameron Wake
RE: Dion Jordan (R)
DT: Paul Soliai, Randy Starks
SLB: Koa Misi
MLB: Dannell Ellerbe
WLB: Phillip Wheeler
CB: Brent Grimes, Jamar Taylor (R)
FS: Chris Clemons
SS: Rashad Jones

K: Caleb Sturgis (R)
P: Brandon Fields
RET: Brandon Banks

Key Backups:
QB Matt Moore
RB Mike Gillislee (R)
TE/FB Charles Clay
OL Nate Garner
LB/DE Sergio Kindle
LB Jelani Jenkins (R)
CB Will Davis (R)
SS Taylor Mays


I'll start the season with the team I inherited and only added some free agents for depth. Everybody will get a chance to prove himself this season. After the season, I'm planning to bring in some new faces to fit my philosophies and playbooks.

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

We started the season with two very close games. In the opener we beat our arch-rival from New Jersey in overtime. However, the following week we were not so lucky as we lost at Arizona due to a last second 53 yd FG from former Dolphin Jay Feely. We recovered well and shocked the entire NFL by beating the Patriots in week 3. Brady didn’t have his best game as he was under pressure by our pass rush all game. In week 4 we had a good start against the Chargers but were not able to run on them in the second half, allowing Philip Rivers to come back and get the win. The next week we were able to hold the league’s top rushing attack to 92 yds and Matt Schaub threw 4 picks as we easily beat the Texans.

Record: 3-2


CB Brent Grimes signed a new 5 yr contract.
SS Taylor Mays signed a new 3 yr contract.
LB/DE Sergio Kindle signed a new 3 yr contract.
OT Tyson Clabo signed a new 3 yr contract.
OG Richie Incognito signed a 1 yr extension.

Negotiations broke down with SS Rashad Jones. He wants a five year deal worth more than 42M. I might consider to slap him with the franchise tag at the end of the season if his asking price doesn’t come down.

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

The Dolphins cut LB Josh Kaddu, signed WR Quinton Patton who will be used as the team’s #4 WR.

We went on to come from behind and beat the defending Superbowl Champions, the Baltimore Ravens. Our defense kept us in the game at the beginning. Tannehill was bad in the first half but he recovered and put together 2 TD drives when the game was on the line.
Next up was a Monday Night game against our divisional rivals from Buffalo. The owner declared this as a must-win game before the season. In front of a big audience on national TV he wanted to use the big stage to show that, after years of mediocrity, the Dolphins are finally back. Ryan Tannehill had the best game of his career so far and threw for 377 yds and 4 TDs. Even though our run game is still struggling we pulled away with a blowout victory.
We lost to Peyton Manning and the Broncos in week 8. Manning was unstoppable, throwing for almost 500 yds and 6 TDs.

DT Paul Soliai signed a new 5 yr contract.
WR Quinton Patton signed a 1 yr extension.
RET/WR Brandon Banks signed a 1 yr extension.

Record: 5-3, one game behind the Patriots in the division


Midseason Review:
Our passing game looks good. Tannehill is still a bit inconsistent but that’s something a lot of young players struggle with. Let’s hope he gets more consistent with experience. Tannehill has thrown for almost 2000 yds with a 98.8 passer rating so far this season. Our running game is an aberration so far. Lamar Miller averages about 2 yd per carry. I’m not sure if it’s the RBs (Miller/Gillislee) or our average O-Line (or the new 2013 rosters), but we can’t rely on our running game this season.

Outlook for the second half of the season:
I will adjust playbooks & philosophies on both sides of the ball a little bit. I’m not reinventing the wheel, just some small adjustments.
Charles Clay will take over from Dustin Keller as the starting TE. In limited snaps as the backup Clay performed really well. Keller will be a FA at the end of the season and unless his wage demands drop drastically he will not be retained, so let’s give the youngster Clay a chance to prove he’s worthy of a bigger role on offense.
Due to the lack of success in the running game our offense will rely more on the passing game in the second half of the season. Expect a lot of screens and go-routes for Mike Wallace.
Defensively, I will move away from the strict man-blitz approach to a more balanced defense, mixing in some zone coverage and using different sub-packages. We’ll continue to run the 4-3 as our base defense but opponents will see an increased dose of the 4-2-5 subpackage (my new favourite defense in HC09). Thus, backup SS Taylor Mays will see his role increased while strong-side linebacker Koa Misi will come off the field in these situations.


Any feedback on this dynasty is highly welcome...

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

We beat the Seahawks because Russell Wilson was completely horrible, throwing 4 INTs. Our starting CBs are playing really well so far this season, getting a lot of picks. The following week I thought we should get an easy win over the Raiders but Terrelle Pryor made some plays with his arm and his legs and we suffered a shocking loss. However, we recovered the next week, upsetting the Patriots (again). That victory still keeps us in the chase for the division. We’re currently a game behind the Pats but we own a possible tie-breaker if we can somehow catch up with them.

Record: 7-4

So far it's a real up and down season. For some reason we tend to win some of the harder games (Patriots twice, Ravens) but we struggle in the games we're supposed to win (Raiders, Cardinals). Let's see how the season plays out...

[Mike3207]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

How'd you use the initial points for your HC?
What's your coaches personality?
What slider set are you using?

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

How'd you use the initial points for your HC?
What's your coaches personality?
What slider set are you using?

Performance to Lv.3
Ambition, QB Readyness, Charisma, Charm

Personality is Ally

I'm using algoody's sliders but I'm open for any good slider suggestions. Anyway, I'll only play every third game and supersim the others.


However, I am currently contemplating to cancel this dynasty and start over again. I did some test runs and with the new rosters I just can't get the running game going for some reason (my RB averages 1.9 yds per carry). When I look through the league I see that about half the league have a similar problem.

Therefore I'm considering to start over again and using a self-created Air Raid playbook which is about 90 percent 4 wide passing to eliminate/minimize the abysmal run game.

I'd be happy to hear what people over here think about it, so feel free to comment...

[Aurabolt127]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

Sorry about the run game, I seem to do well with Algoody's sliders, but I play each game and love to run, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Switching playbooks will help you but if half the league is having that problem, it's going to give you a big edge if you find a way to skirt the issue and they can't. Maybe toying with a diff slider set or something might help? Again, not sure how Algoody's does on sim vs supersim vs playing.

I'm gearing up for one big, long term dynasty to carry me through till Xbox1/PS4. (man I hope they're backwards compatible.) Still tossing ideas around in my head. My couple franchises and ncaa now take up most of my time, but I always get more ideas. Suppose we'll see. My son even offered to help with the input of data on the charts and stuff to save me some time so I can keep up with updates! LOL!

Good luck with this one, or the next if you restart. I still haven't tried the roster update. I should give that a go one of these days. You thinking about sticking with the Dolphins if you restart?

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

Sorry about the run game, I seem to do well with Algoody's sliders, but I play each game and love to run, so I'm sure that has something to do with it. Switching playbooks will help you but if half the league is having that problem, it's going to give you a big edge if you find a way to skirt the issue and they can't. Maybe toying with a diff slider set or something might help? Again, not sure how Algoody's does on sim vs supersim vs playing.

I'm gearing up for one big, long term dynasty to carry me through till Xbox1/PS4. (man I hope they're backwards compatible.) Still tossing ideas around in my head. My couple franchises and ncaa now take up most of my time, but I always get more ideas. Suppose we'll see. My son even offered to help with the input of data on the charts and stuff to save me some time so I can keep up with updates! LOL!

Good luck with this one, or the next if you restart. I still haven't tried the roster update. I should give that a go one of these days. You thinking about sticking with the Dolphins if you restart?

Yes, If I restart I'll stick with Miami.

As for the sliders, the don't affect simmed or supersimmed games at all. Sliders only affect played games. So the problem with not getting any running game going is not related to sliders. I could get my running game going with the default rosters, so it must have something to do with the new rosters.

[Aurabolt127]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

Yeah, I know sliders don't affect sim - just meant not sure if you're playing the game with Algoody's and running well then simming and not, you didn't give a breakdown on your game by game running success.

[burnum]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

Yeah, I know sliders don't affect sim - just meant not sure if you're playing the game with Algoody's and running well then simming and not, you didn't give a breakdown on your game by game running success.

I don't get any push when running inside. On outside runs & pitches I can have success when playing games but that is mostly because I know exactly which plays to call against which defense (4-3 vs 3-4, man vs zone).
This is new for me and has to do with the new 2013 rosters.

Trying to spread defenses out with 4 wide and running draws doesn't work well either. Opposing defenses usually line up in base personnel, regardless if I field 2 WR or 4 WR (except on 3rd downs when they go into Nickel/Dime).
This is not new or roster related, it's just the way this game works.

[lavadub12]

Re: Dolphins 2013 Dynasty

I think the sliders you use do actually affect the SIM games. Also running game isn't the new rosters I've been runner up for RB of the year with the new players.