Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Straight Outta The Box: Chief Rum Takes Over The FOF 2004 Cards

Chief Rum · 11-17-2003, 12:01 AM

Thanks to having to add up preseason stats myself, it took me a long while to egt ready do cuts and what not. Ugh...that will be my first request of Jim when he patches the game (put preseason stats somewhere--you don't even have to keep track of them long term).

QB

Blake was never in trouble in the first place, but he played very well in the preseason. He went 54-76, for 626 yards, and 4 scores against no INT. In fact, no Arizona passer through an interception. Parsons and McCown seem practically interchangeable, but I feel Parsons had a slightly better preseason, so he gets the #2 job. With just three quarterbacks on the roster, no one will get cut.

RB

After a hot first game, Shipp never really broke out. Smith, meanwhile, remained quite solid, and ran for more yards than Shipp in one less game, 209-155. Smith also showed he can occasionalyl catch the ball, while Shipp looked very poor. So Smith will get the start, while Shipp will see a lot of time. Anderson was justa touch better than Scobey and gets the edge for the third running back spot.

FB

This is a problem area with the injury of Hodgins. Summers is the lone remaining fullback by default, and he didn't get much playing time at all in the preseason. I will have to get another fullback, but I am delaying for the moment if I will cut someone else for that or put Hodgins on IR.

TE

Jones' receiving ability is simply stronger than Bush's superior blocking. The four preseason games seem to bear that out, with Jones catching twice as many balls in less pass plays.But Bush's blocking and special teams ability ensures he will be a critical member of the team. Neither Banks nor Hodel established themselves, so I have to make this decision based on money. Banks, with the multi-year contract, gets the third tight end spot.

WR

I didn't see anything to remove me from the notion that Boldin and Johnson should be starting. The other receivers will make it tough, though. The only receivers who didn't really stand out were Kaspar (who had an injury in his second game), and Richie (who was pretty poor at returning, which is what his job is supposed to be). I have very little in the way of returnees, but in the end, it's more important to me to have four good receivers. So I am going with the best receivers and screw the return game until a better option comes along. That means Gilmore gets the third receiver spot, and McAddley gets the fourth because of his multi-year contract.

C

The only battle here to settle was for the backup spot. Kendall is locked intohis starting spot. Neither Swift nor Starkey really stood out. I have to keep one essentially, and the other may have to compete with the rest of the line backups for a spot. Swift has better potential, and is an excellent spot snapper, so he gets the edge.

G

Hodges' injury eliminates the need for any cuts here. Davis, Sanderson, and Dishman are all assured spots. Dishman held up surprisingly well in the passing game, and still hit on his run blocks, so he will get the start over Sanderson, who gave up three sacks in the preseason.

T

Of the four tackles, Wells was the only moving in any direction, and it was in a southerly one. Since he ended up getting hurt, this position is similar to the guard spot, with the three tackles assured of spots. I am not even certain of who should start, but will go with Clement at LT, because of his solid performance in pass protection. Shelton and Rodgers are a toss up to me, but I will probably go with Shelton because he is a better run blocker for the RT spot.

P

Player wasn't great, but he'll work for now.

K

Despite Bolvin being the only kicker on the team, I have to consider ways to replace him. He went 3-for-7 in the preseason and his longest field goal was for 29 yards. He did make all ten of his point after attempts. If someone better comes along, though, I may ditch him quickly.

DE

Pace and King are untouchable as very good-looking young defensive ends, although Pace wasn't very impressive. Vanden Bosch clearly showed he deserved a spot and probably to start. That means if a defensive end has to be cut, it will have to be between Wakefield and Johnson. Since Wakefield both played slightly better in the preseason and he is signed cheaply for longer, he is almost certainly the guy who will be kept. Johnson might be kept instead of a fourth defensive tackle.

DT

Davis, Ransom and Bryant are clearly the better defensive tackles, but Bell and Tanner aren't bad for bit parts. Tanner did very little to establish himself, while Bell actually did okay in limited time--just not good enough. Those two and Johnson are in a mix for whether or not they will be cut or shopped around.

MLB

There was no position battle of note here. McKinnon wasn't going to lose his starting spot, and Darling was assured a roster spot because he is the only other middle linebacker on the suqad. Fortunately, both played very well in the preseason. I may use Darling some as a strong side backup.

OLB

Hayes and Thompson both did well as starters and are in no risk of losing their jobs. Woods did slightly better than Fisher, but Fisher's potential probably earns him the spot over Woods. I may keep all four.

CB

Starks is easily our best corner, and we can't put him on IR (he's only hurt for six weeks). So we have to carry five corners, or maybe four, but use Anderson in one of the corner spots. Anderson's presence makes the corner and safety positions joined together. I think Anderson's presence will allow me to go with four corners. Starks gets one spot, and Barrett played well enough to get another spot. Stone was clearly the worst of the six corners on roster, and Rhinehart loses out in a tough battle for the fourth spot. Grier and Hill get the last two spots, and Grier may start at one corner spot until Starks returns.

S

Jackson and Wilson are starters without question, and Anderson quickly established himself as a key player. He will compete with Grier for the starting spot at the second corner position. The fourth safety spot goes to Hannah, because he has some safety potential and he is a special teams ace.

The Cuts

I added up the numbers, and quite simply, I don't have any leeway with this roster after all. So just about everyone on the edge of being kept will have to be cut or otherwise deactivated from the roster.

Here are the players on 60-man who will not be on the 46-man roster.

RB Josh Scobey
FB James Hodgins (IR)
TE Nathan Hodel
WR Kevin Kaspar
WR Nate Poole
WR John Richie
C Jason Starkey
G Deon Hodges (IR)
T Reggie Wells (IR)
DE Dennis Johnson
DT Barron Tanner
OLB Levar Woods
CB Jacoby Rhinehart
CB Michael Stone
S Quentin Harris

I can keep seven of these players on the roster, but inactive. Hodges is on IR for sure. So that means I can keep seven of the remaining 14.

I have decided it would be best to move Wells to the IR as well, but keep Hodgins inactive.

Here is who I will keep:

Hodgins
Tanner
Stone (he will be active and replace Starks until Starks is healthy)
Starkey
Woods
Kaspar
Poole

I will try to deal Johnson for a draft pick if I can.

I succeeded in dealing Dennis Johnson to the Cowboys. I shipped him and a 2005 6th rounder to Dallas for their 2004 3rd rounder.

I outright released the rest of the players.

I then signed undrafted rookie FB Renaldo Giles to serve as my backup fullback, bringing me to 46 active players.

CR

11-17-2003, 12:01 AM	#38
Chief Rum Hall Of Famer Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Where Hip Hop lives	Thanks to having to add up preseason stats myself, it took me a long while to egt ready do cuts and what not. Ugh...that will be my first request of Jim when he patches the game (put preseason stats somewhere--you don't even have to keep track of them long term). QB Blake was never in trouble in the first place, but he played very well in the preseason. He went 54-76, for 626 yards, and 4 scores against no INT. In fact, no Arizona passer through an interception. Parsons and McCown seem practically interchangeable, but I feel Parsons had a slightly better preseason, so he gets the #2 job. With just three quarterbacks on the roster, no one will get cut. RB After a hot first game, Shipp never really broke out. Smith, meanwhile, remained quite solid, and ran for more yards than Shipp in one less game, 209-155. Smith also showed he can occasionalyl catch the ball, while Shipp looked very poor. So Smith will get the start, while Shipp will see a lot of time. Anderson was justa touch better than Scobey and gets the edge for the third running back spot. FB This is a problem area with the injury of Hodgins. Summers is the lone remaining fullback by default, and he didn't get much playing time at all in the preseason. I will have to get another fullback, but I am delaying for the moment if I will cut someone else for that or put Hodgins on IR. TE Jones' receiving ability is simply stronger than Bush's superior blocking. The four preseason games seem to bear that out, with Jones catching twice as many balls in less pass plays.But Bush's blocking and special teams ability ensures he will be a critical member of the team. Neither Banks nor Hodel established themselves, so I have to make this decision based on money. Banks, with the multi-year contract, gets the third tight end spot. WR I didn't see anything to remove me from the notion that Boldin and Johnson should be starting. The other receivers will make it tough, though. The only receivers who didn't really stand out were Kaspar (who had an injury in his second game), and Richie (who was pretty poor at returning, which is what his job is supposed to be). I have very little in the way of returnees, but in the end, it's more important to me to have four good receivers. So I am going with the best receivers and screw the return game until a better option comes along. That means Gilmore gets the third receiver spot, and McAddley gets the fourth because of his multi-year contract. C The only battle here to settle was for the backup spot. Kendall is locked intohis starting spot. Neither Swift nor Starkey really stood out. I have to keep one essentially, and the other may have to compete with the rest of the line backups for a spot. Swift has better potential, and is an excellent spot snapper, so he gets the edge. G Hodges' injury eliminates the need for any cuts here. Davis, Sanderson, and Dishman are all assured spots. Dishman held up surprisingly well in the passing game, and still hit on his run blocks, so he will get the start over Sanderson, who gave up three sacks in the preseason. T Of the four tackles, Wells was the only moving in any direction, and it was in a southerly one. Since he ended up getting hurt, this position is similar to the guard spot, with the three tackles assured of spots. I am not even certain of who should start, but will go with Clement at LT, because of his solid performance in pass protection. Shelton and Rodgers are a toss up to me, but I will probably go with Shelton because he is a better run blocker for the RT spot. P Player wasn't great, but he'll work for now. K Despite Bolvin being the only kicker on the team, I have to consider ways to replace him. He went 3-for-7 in the preseason and his longest field goal was for 29 yards. He did make all ten of his point after attempts. If someone better comes along, though, I may ditch him quickly. DE Pace and King are untouchable as very good-looking young defensive ends, although Pace wasn't very impressive. Vanden Bosch clearly showed he deserved a spot and probably to start. That means if a defensive end has to be cut, it will have to be between Wakefield and Johnson. Since Wakefield both played slightly better in the preseason and he is signed cheaply for longer, he is almost certainly the guy who will be kept. Johnson might be kept instead of a fourth defensive tackle. DT Davis, Ransom and Bryant are clearly the better defensive tackles, but Bell and Tanner aren't bad for bit parts. Tanner did very little to establish himself, while Bell actually did okay in limited time--just not good enough. Those two and Johnson are in a mix for whether or not they will be cut or shopped around. MLB There was no position battle of note here. McKinnon wasn't going to lose his starting spot, and Darling was assured a roster spot because he is the only other middle linebacker on the suqad. Fortunately, both played very well in the preseason. I may use Darling some as a strong side backup. OLB Hayes and Thompson both did well as starters and are in no risk of losing their jobs. Woods did slightly better than Fisher, but Fisher's potential probably earns him the spot over Woods. I may keep all four. CB Starks is easily our best corner, and we can't put him on IR (he's only hurt for six weeks). So we have to carry five corners, or maybe four, but use Anderson in one of the corner spots. Anderson's presence makes the corner and safety positions joined together. I think Anderson's presence will allow me to go with four corners. Starks gets one spot, and Barrett played well enough to get another spot. Stone was clearly the worst of the six corners on roster, and Rhinehart loses out in a tough battle for the fourth spot. Grier and Hill get the last two spots, and Grier may start at one corner spot until Starks returns. S Jackson and Wilson are starters without question, and Anderson quickly established himself as a key player. He will compete with Grier for the starting spot at the second corner position. The fourth safety spot goes to Hannah, because he has some safety potential and he is a special teams ace. The Cuts I added up the numbers, and quite simply, I don't have any leeway with this roster after all. So just about everyone on the edge of being kept will have to be cut or otherwise deactivated from the roster. Here are the players on 60-man who will not be on the 46-man roster. RB Josh Scobey FB James Hodgins (IR) TE Nathan Hodel WR Kevin Kaspar WR Nate Poole WR John Richie C Jason Starkey G Deon Hodges (IR) T Reggie Wells (IR) DE Dennis Johnson DT Barron Tanner OLB Levar Woods CB Jacoby Rhinehart CB Michael Stone S Quentin Harris I can keep seven of these players on the roster, but inactive. Hodges is on IR for sure. So that means I can keep seven of the remaining 14. I have decided it would be best to move Wells to the IR as well, but keep Hodgins inactive. Here is who I will keep: Hodgins Tanner Stone (he will be active and replace Starks until Starks is healthy) Starkey Woods Kaspar Poole I will try to deal Johnson for a draft pick if I can. I succeeded in dealing Dennis Johnson to the Cowboys. I shipped him and a 2005 6th rounder to Dallas for their 2004 3rd rounder. I outright released the rest of the players. I then signed undrafted rookie FB Renaldo Giles to serve as my backup fullback, bringing me to 46 active players. CR __________________ . . I would rather be wrong...Than live in the shadows of your song...My mind is open wide...And now I'm ready to start...You're not sure...You open the door...And step out into the dark...Now I'm ready.