2003 preseason
Financially, 2002 was a success. We finished $21m in the black. We released out #1 pick at the end of last season, and will take the whole salcap whack this year (when we won’t miss the room).
I’m inclined to keep both front office guys in place, though they are both getting quite old. I’ll have to replace them both soon. After a little thought I decide to flirt with a good young coach from Green Bay, and I make him an offer. He decides to stay with the Packers for a little less than my offer, and I end up sitting tight with my fossils.
We head into the FA period, and start looking for young available players. I end up going after two decent-looking guys, DT Marvin Gregory (solid talent potential, but no endurance) and LB Otis Whalen (projects into the 40s). Neither will set the world on fire, but they’ll both be helpful. In the late stages, I also grab CB Travis Rogers, a CB from Syracuse who will probably take over punt return duties.
I get a trade offer that works for me (and passes the alter and accept test) and I send S Cedric Denson to Detroit for their 5th round pick.
We hold pick #16, and are hoping that an impact player falls to us. I’d prefer a defensive lineman, but a LB or OT would be very good as well. As my pick approaches, a great CB and a very good DE are still available… but the CB gets taken just ahead of me.
Amateur Draft Report:
Rnd 1 - Burt Horner, DE, Wyoming – more run stopper then pass rusher (94/54/79)
Rnd 2 - Rufus Bozarth, T, Murray State – projects as strong starter (75/57/46)
Rnd 3 - Danny Riley, DE, Panhandle State – should be useful (58/44/53)
Rnd 4 - Jeff Lang, C, West Virginia – could be immediate starter (60/69/46)
Rnd 5 - Ken Weathers, QB, Findlay – accuracy and power both project into 70s
Rnd 5 - B.J. Thomason, LB, Cal. – Sacramento – projects into 55-65 range
Rnd 6 - Donald DeLamielleure, S, Notre Dame – great potential as coverage man
Rnd 7 - Thurman Chau, C, Penn State – ready to play now, might develop into 50s
I load up the roster with URFAs, almost all to 4-year deals, and head toward training camp. Camp reveals that everthing went smoothly—no real busts, but no real booms either. DE Horner’s pass-rushing potential spiked a wee bit from 54 to 62, which is a good step forward. Nobody from the URFA lot exploded.
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Paul de los Santos 10 16 2 2004
QB Sammy Powell 5 8 3 2004
QB Ken Weathers 4 11 1 2005
RB Max Lister 11 13 2 2005
RB Byron Dahl 7 7 2 2005
RB Clarence Ferguson 6 6 2 2005
RB Darryl Tyler 3 8 1 2006
FB Thomas Thomason 8 9 2 2005
FB Raymond King 3 3 2 2005
TE Thurman Cox 6 10 2 2005
TE Ronald Molnar 6 6 2 2005
WR Matt McCaughey 12 15 2 2005
WR Corwin Shannon 6 7 3 2003
WR Moe Brovins 5 7 3 2003
WR Russell England 4 4 1 2006
WR Harvey Hanson 3 5 1 2006
C Thurman Chau 4 13 1 2005
C Clay Hoover 4 4 2 2005
C Sedrick Lester 3 7 2 2005
C Jeff Lang 3 12 1 2006
G Nolan Clemons 3 6 2 2005
G Lincoln Ward 2 5 1 2006
G Craig Ledbetter 0 0 2 2005
T Conrad Joslyn 6 11 3 2004
T Steve Peterson 5 5 2 2005
T Oliver Payne 5 8 2 2004
T Rufus Bozarth 4 14 1 2005
P Brenden Buggelli 5 8 2 2005
K Clyde Kariya 8 12 3 2004
DE T.J. Neeley 7 7 3 2004
DE Burt Horner 7 16 1 2008
DE Skip Azer 4 10 2 2005
DE Danny Riley 2 12 1 2005
DT Rufus Porter 7 7 3 2003
DT Dale Creaser 7 11 2 2005
DT Marvin Gregory 5 8 2 2005
DT Jay Singleton 2 9 1 2006
LB Reggie Peters 6 7 3 2004
LB Otis Whalen 4 9 3 2004
LB B.J. Thomason 4 11 1 2005
LB Carlos Sheldon 3 8 2 2003
LB Sammy Williamson 3 7 3 2003
LB Johnny Parry 3 7 2 2005
LB Winston Bleeck 1 2 2 2005
CB Steve Ratliff 8 8 3 2004
CB Kelvin Thomason 6 6 3 2003
CB Johnnie Bowie 6 13 2 2003
CB Travis Rogers 5 8 2 2005
CB Charles Woodard 4 8 2 2005
CB Leon Carpenter 3 3 1 2006
S Mercury Van Anden 7 7 2 2005
S Sammie Murphy 5 5 1 2006
S Leslie Tucker 4 8 2 2005
S Donald DeLamielleure 2 11 1 2004
Our LB corps is a weakness, and our WR group thinned out a bit as I failed to re-sign my free agents (an oversight). The secondary is also nothing to shout about. However, our defensive line is taking shape—rookie Horner will be a big plus, and he joins an emerging star in DT Dale Creaser. I expect that the threesome of QB de los Santos, RB Lister, and WR McCaughey will carry us again this year, and hopefully our defense can step up. I think if we can repeat with an 8-8 record (which I don’t believe we earned last season) we should be pleased—our goal will be to win 9.