2002 preseason
After quick-simming through 2000-2001, I assume control of the new NFL expansion team—the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels. It’s clear that our regional rival will be Denver, and we’ll use their ticket prices as our competitive guide and limitation. As for the regional affiliation, I’ll make a point of taking players from Colorado schools, which will probably leave me looking for Buffaloes, Rams, and Falcons primarily.
That said, we have the #1 overall draft pick for the 2002 season, and are anxious to get started with the business of building this club. One advantage of playing “empty cupboard” starting in 2002 is that there is already one year’s worth of players available through free agency, and we can make a few acquisitions in the opening free agent market, and theoretically we can pick up second year players through the expansion draft (which I don’t feel is an absurd abandonment of the EC concept).
I adjust my ticket prices to match those at Mile High, and head into the expansion draft. The expansion draft yields a few fill-in caliber players—a so-so safety, a couple deep-reserve wideouts, and a few decent offensive linemen. Nothing memorable, and no Colorado boys. Through free agency, we do a little bit better, but definitely don’t acquire any real contributors, and again we pickup no Colorado players at all.
Here’s the group we bring out of free agency, with notes as appropriate:
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Sammy Powell 4 8 2 2004 –72 potential accuracy, that’s about it
QB Karl King 3 10 2 2004 –might have to start this year, no future
RB Steven Barber 4 4 2 2003 –some breakaway speed, that’s about it
TE J.J. Henson 2 9 2 2002
WR Thomas Horton 6 6 2 2002 –best overall wideout
WR Grady Bernstein 5 5 2 2002 –good third down receiver
WR Corwin Shannon 5 9 2 2003
WR Moe Brovins 4 10 2 2003
C Nicky Blair 2 5 2 2002
G Erik Lowe 2 7 2 2002
G Brian Thomason 2 9 2 2002 –could develop to 40/60/40
T Korey Harvey 2 8 2 2004
T Conrad Joslyn 2 12 2 2004 –could develop to 55/50/30
T Dale Garcia 1 7 2 2002
T Clay McCoy 1 3 2 2003
K Clyde Kariya 4 12 2 2004
DE T.J. Neeley 3 7 2 2004 –could develop to 25/30/55
DE Louie Watson 2 6 2 2002
DE Everett Wolff 0 9 2 2003
DT Rufus Porter 4 7 2 2003
DT Smash Ross 2 8 2 2003 –endurance of 83 will help
LB Reggie Peters 3 7 2 2004
LB Sammy Williamson 2 7 2 2003
LB Bernard Timmerman 1 8 2 2003
CB Kelvin Thomason 5 6 2 2003 –good kick returner
CB Heath Holmes 4 8 2 2003
CB Steve Ratliff 3 8 2 2004 –okay backup corner, no endurance
S Bryant Walton 2 7 2 2002 –low endurance, but some potential
With that foundation in place, I don’t feel quite as empty as I usually do heading into my first draft. Most of these guys will be around for two years or so, but they’ll probably help me hit the ground slightly more ready to play than usual.
As I build my teams, I am keenly aware that these first years afford me a chance to get early draft picks that will be quire rare down the road. These players are often “cornerstone” figures for the franchise, and so I often like to get guys at tough-to-fill positions early on. My usual preference is to take a DE with my first year’s pick. There’s always a temptation to go QB here, but I personally want to have something in place before I add in the signal caller.
This year, I’m a bit worried about a possible bust, but I go ahead and take the best-looking DE in the draft, and I hope that one of the several solid QBs drops to the early second round.
Amateur Draft Report:
Rnd 1 - Everett McWilliams, DE, North Carolina State – looks like the real deal (79/75/62)
Rnd 2 - Matt McCaughey, WR, Oregon State – return skills plus very good receiver, looks great
Rnd 3 - Paul de los Santos, QB, Southern Methodist - great steal, potentials 60+, 79 acc, 90 power
Rnd 4 - Johnnie Bowie, CB, Fresno State – solid corner, potentials in 50-60 range
Rnd 5 - Carlos Sheldon, LB, New Mexico – good run stopper (70), solid elsewhere (50s)
Rnd 6 - Oliver Payne, T, Oklahoma – potential stud run blocker (78), weak elsewhere
Rnd 7 - Mario Bryant, DE, Texas A&M – 64 pass rush potential main selling point
A great draft, if all three of the top pick work out fine. QB de los Santos might be the real impact player here—he was the surprise for me, after I very nearly took him in round two. If DE McWilliams busts, I’ll be hurting, but I think this will end up being a good draft anyway.
I pick up rookie free agents, including everyone I can find from Colorado schools (which isn’t many). Before we head into training camp, here is our merry band of vagrants:
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Terrance Bennett 4 6 1 2002
QB Paul de los Santos 4 15 1 2004
QB Sammy Powell 4 8 2 2004
QB Reggie Gomez 2 9 1 2005
RB Max Lister 6 8 1 2005
RB Byron Dahl 6 6 1 2005
RB Clarence Ferguson 6 7 1 2005
RB Steven Barber 4 4 2 2003
FB Darren Downs 6 6 1 2005
FB *Raymond King 4 5 1 2005
FB Thomas Thomason 3 9 1 2005
TE Randall Logan 6 6 1 2005
TE Brett Thomason 5 5 1 2005
TE *Ronald Molnar 4 4 1 2005
TE Thurman Cox 3 11 1 2005
TE J.J. Henson 2 9 2 2002
WR Matt McCaughey 8 16 1 2005
WR Thomas Horton 6 6 2 2002
WR Grady Bernstein 5 5 2 2002
WR Corwin Shannon 5 9 2 2003
WR Moe Brovins 4 10 2 2003
C *Clay Hoover 3 3 1 2005
C Irv Stephenson 2 9 1 2005
C Nicky Blair 2 5 2 2002
C Sedrick Lester 2 8 1 2005
G Nolan Clemons 4 9 1 2005
G Erik Lowe 2 7 2 2002
G Brian Thomason 2 9 2 2002
T Steve Peterson 4 4 1 2005
T Oliver Payne 2 12 1 2004
T Korey Harvey 2 8 2 2004
T Conrad Joslyn 2 12 2 2004
T Dale Garcia 1 7 2 2002
T Clay McCoy 1 3 2 2003
T Craig Ledbetter 1 1 1 2005
P *Brenden Buggelli 4 8 1 2005
K Clyde Kariya 4 12 2 2004
DE Everett McWilliams 8 15 1 2007
DE T.J. Neeley 3 7 2 2004
DE Louie Watson 2 6 2 2002
DE Skip Azer 2 10 1 2005
DE Wesley Cloutier 1 9 1 2005
DE Mario Bryant 1 11 1 2004
DE Everett Wolff 0 9 2 2003
DT Dale Creaser 4 8 1 2005
DT Rufus Porter 4 7 2 2003
DT Smash Ross 2 8 2 2003
DT Ellis Bernard 1 10 1 2005
LB Johnny Parry 4 8 1 2005
LB Hunter Legan 3 3 1 2005
LB Reggie Peters 3 7 2 2004
LB Carlos Sheldon 3 11 1 2003
LB Sammy Williamson 2 7 2 2003
LB Bernard Timmerman 1 8 2 2003
LB *Winston Bleeck 1 1 1 2005
CB Kelvin Thomason 5 6 2 2003
CB Johnnie Bowie 4 12 1 2003
CB Heath Holmes 4 8 2 2003
CB Steve Ratliff 3 8 2 2004
CB Charles Woodard 2 10 1 2005
CB R.J. Sullivan 2 11 1 2005
S Leslie Tucker 4 11 1 2005
S Mercury Van Anden 4 7 1 2005
S Cedric Denson 3 10 1 2005
S Bryant Walton 2 7 2 2002
* - Colorado school player
(I’m experimenting with the idea of printing out the scout overview both before and after training camp, to give a better sense of the narrowing-down process, and also to highlight breakouts and busts.)
After camp, I survey the rookie class. I make my hesitant look at the rookie class. Here’s the post-camp scout overview:
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Paul de los Santos 6 15 1 2004
QB Sammy Powell 4 8 2 2004
QB Terrance Bennett 4 6 1 2002
QB Reggie Gomez 2 8 1 2005
RB Max Lister 7 14 1 2005
RB Byron Dahl 6 6 1 2005
RB Clarence Ferguson 6 6 1 2005
RB Steven Barber 4 4 2 2003
FB Darren Downs 6 6 1 2005
FB Thomas Thomason 3 9 1 2005
FB Raymond King 2 2 1 2005
TE Randall Logan 6 6 1 2005
TE J.J. Henson 5 8 2 2002
TE Brett Thomason 5 5 1 2005
TE Ronald Molnar 4 5 1 2005
TE Thurman Cox 4 12 1 2005
WR Matt McCaughey 9 16 1 2005
WR Thomas Horton 7 7 2 2002
WR Grady Bernstein 6 6 2 2002
WR Corwin Shannon 6 8 2 2003
WR Moe Brovins 5 7 2 2003
C Nicky Blair 6 6 2 2002
C Clay Hoover 3 4 1 2005
C Irv Stephenson 1 8 1 2005
C Sedrick Lester 1 8 1 2005
G Brian Thomason 4 10 2 2002
G Erik Lowe 3 6 2 2002
G Nolan Clemons 1 5 1 2005
T Steve Peterson 5 5 1 2005
T Conrad Joslyn 5 9 2 2004
T Clay McCoy 3 3 2 2003
T Korey Harvey 3 8 2 2004
T Oliver Payne 3 9 1 2004
T Dale Garcia 2 8 2 2002
T Craig Ledbetter 1 1 1 2005
P Brenden Buggelli 4 12 1 2005
K Clyde Kariya 10 12 2 2004
DE T.J. Neeley 6 6 2 2004
DE Everett Wolff 2 5 2 2003
DE Louie Watson 2 5 2 2002
DE Everett McWilliams 2 3 1 2007
DE Skip Azer 2 10 1 2005
DE Mario Bryant 1 11 1 2004
DE Wesley Cloutier 1 9 1 2005
DT Rufus Porter 5 7 2 2003
DT Dale Creaser 3 14 1 2005
DT Smash Ross 2 8 2 2003
DT Ellis Bernard 1 10 1 2005
LB Reggie Peters 6 7 2 2004
LB Carlos Sheldon 4 12 1 2003
LB Hunter Legan 3 3 1 2005
LB Johnny Parry 3 11 1 2005
LB Bernard Timmerman 3 8 2 2003
LB Sammy Williamson 3 7 2 2003
LB Winston Bleeck 1 1 1 2005
CB Steve Ratliff 7 8 2 2004
CB Kelvin Thomason 6 6 2 2003
CB Johnnie Bowie 4 12 1 2003
CB Heath Holmes 4 7 2 2003
CB Charles Woodard 3 9 1 2005
CB R.J. Sullivan 2 11 1 2005
S Mercury Van Anden 5 5 1 2005
S Leslie Tucker 4 11 1 2005
S Bryant Walton 3 7 2 2002
S Cedric Denson 3 10 1 2005
The first and most obvious thing is that DE Everett McWilliams is a McBust-o. Big time—he now looks like a 10/20, 4/13, 38 prospect—not exactly what we had in mind. Alas, I wanted challenge, and I guess I got it. WR McCaughey and QB de los Santos both look fine—ready to go.
RB Max Lister is a decent breakout from training camp—he didn’t look to have much potential, but now he does. He’ll definitely be our starter for this season. Past him, I don’t see any meaningful movement among my rookie or elsewhere. We’ll have a young, cheap team, and we’ll try to step in and compete with the Broncos—not just in the AFC West, but also for the hearts of Rocky Mountain sports fans.
We pare down to 53, and end up fielding a roster that isn’t much to be proud about—but we should be able to take the field with uniforms and everything.
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels
Name # Pos HT WT Exp Stat College
Powell, Sammy 3 QB 6-3 223 2 ----- Lehigh
de los Santos, Paul 6 QB 6-2 218 R ----- Southern Methodist
Gomez, Reggie 8 QB 6-2 239 1 ----- Utah State
Lister, Max 30 RB 6-0 199 1 ----- Marshall
Dahl, Byron 29 RB 5-10 223 1 ----- Ohio State
Ferguson, Clarence 31 RB 6-2 198 1 ----- UAB
King, Raymond 37 FB 5-11 219 1 ----- Air Force
Thomason, Thomas 32 FB 5-11 219 1 ----- East Carolina
Henson, J.J. 81 TE 6-3 274 2 ----- Buffalo
Cox, Thurman 88 TE 6-4 244 1 ----- Boston College
Molnar, Ronald 89 TE 6-2 287 1 ----- Colorado
Bernstein, Grady + 86 WR 6-0 182 2 ----- Ball State
Shannon, Corwin 82 WR 5-9 179 2 ----- Notre Dame
Brovins, Moe 80 WR 6-2 180 2 ----- Notre Dame
Horton, Thomas 83 WR 6-4 198 2 ----- UCLA
McCaughey, Matt 85 WR 5-11 207 R ----- Oregon State
Blair, Nicky 50 C 6-0 290 2 ----- Kansas State
Hoover, Clay 64 C 6-5 255 1 ----- Colorado
Lester, Sedrick 56 C 6-3 286 1 ----- Temple
Lowe, Erik + 60 G 6-8 307 2 ----- McNeese State
Thomason, Brian 79 G 6-3 307 2 ----- Stanford
Clemons, Nolan 68 G 6-5 307 1 ----- Kansas State
Joslyn, Conrad 78 T 6-6 298 2 ----- Georgia
Harvey, Korey 73 T 6-4 283 2 ----- San Diego State
Ledbetter, Craig 69 T 6-8 279 1 ----- Colorado State
Peterson, Steve 67 T 6-7 313 1 ----- Ohio State
Payne, Oliver 66 T 6-5 306 R ----- Oklahoma
Buggelli, Brenden 11 P 6-5 220 1 ----- Colorado
Kariya, Clyde 1 K 6-1 201 2 ----- Iona
Neeley, T.J. 93 DE 6-0 275 2 ----- Temple
Cloutier, Wesley 98 DE 6-3 242 1 ----- Illinois
McWilliams, Everett 94 DE 6-1 305 R ----- North Carolina State
Bryant, Mario 97 DE 6-3 292 R ----- Texas A&M
Azer, Skip 91 DE 6-4 300 1 ----- Vanderbilt
Porter, Rufus 95 DT 6-0 251 2 ----- Arkansas State
Ross, Smash 96 DT 6-6 316 2 ----- South Carolina
Creaser, Dale 99 DT 6-4 307 1 ----- California
Bernard, Ellis 72 DT 6-4 303 1 ----- Iowa
Timmerman, Bernard 54 LB 6-1 248 2 ----- California
Peters, Reggie 51 LB 6-5 217 2 ----- Georgia Tech
Williamson, Sammy 59 LB 6-5 272 2 ----- Virginia State
Bleeck, Winston 58 LB 6-0 234 1 ----- Colorado
Sheldon, Carlos 53 LB 6-1 250 R ----- New Mexico
Parry, Johnny 57 LB 5-10 254 1 ----- Wagner
Ratliff, Steve 36 CB 5-7 182 2 ----- Arizona State
Thomason, Kelvin 39 CB 5-10 198 2 ----- Northern Illinois
Bowie, Johnnie 28 CB 5-10 169 R ----- Fresno State
Woodard, Charles 35 CB 6-1 170 1 ----- Rutgers
Sullivan, R.J. 34 CB 5-11 189 1 ----- UCLA
Walton, Bryant 20 S 6-1 200 2 ----- Georgia Tech
Tucker, Leslie 27 S 6-0 190 1 ----- Cincinnati
Denson, Cedric 40 S 5-9 212 1 ----- Purdue
Van Anden, Mercury 41 S 5-9 198 1 ----- San Diego State
Salary Cap: $79.1 million
Room Under Cap: $45,290,000
I usually know what to expect as we start an empty cupboard career in FOF 2001 – misery. My QB is a bit better than usual, but I still have pretty low expectations. We’ll likely still have the #1 overall pick next season.