2007 preseason
Okay, the ownership is probably a little worried. Profits dipped again this year, to about $17 million. Again, our need to pay up-front bonus money increased our expenses—the biggest movement in our financial picture. There isn’t much I can do here—I’ll hope that Denver ticks their ticket prices so I can follow suit, but they have been steady for the last two years.
I want a new coach. I
demand a new coach. My current guy has a lot of “good” ratings, but doesn’t really excel much of anywhere. His “poor” defensive play calling is, I believe, the cause of my late-game fall-apart syndrome. Regardless, he’s not likely to come back (his contract is up anyway – he’s free to shop around). My scout is also totally over the hill, and he’s on his way out too.
My top choice for coach signs instead with San Francisco. My top scout is contemplating my lucrative deal. After week two, my scout takes my offer (which I ticked down after the first week).
My new scout is William Humes, 39 y/o. This is his first head scouting job. His ratings are nearly all VG, except for receivers (good), LBs (fair), and secondary (good). I’m comfortable with him, but I’ll watch the LB position fairly closely. His contract puts him just into the top third in the league.
I have to bump up my offer, but I do end up with a new coach—53 year old Craig Gunn. He has ratings of “good” in most areas, with a few VGs thrown in (RB, DB, Disc). His best asset is defensive play calling, which will be a turnaround for our team. His weakness is developing QBs (fair). He gets a $3.2m/yr contract, which will be about the fourth-lowest in the league.
Those issues settled, I adjust ticket prices to match the increase in Denver. It’s a minor adjustment, but it’s one we need badly.
The downside of the front office switches is that my new scout is giving me a much more pessimistic view of my team. He has downgraded a number of my players—some of whom looked pretty solid, and now look like waiver wire rejects. I’m glad I know this now, but the revelation is pretty tough to take.
Looking forward to free agency, I have a sizable list of players without contracts. Here’s the entire roster, sorted by current cap salary—to give you a sense of where the money is being spent, as well as who is up for a new deal this year:
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels
Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
de los Santos, Paul 6 QB 2002 2008 6 ----- $8,700,000
McCaughey, Matt 85 WR 2002 2009 6 ----- $7,500,000
Bozarth, Rufus 62 T 2003 2009 5 ----- $5,010,000
Horner, Burt 92 DE 2003 2008 5 ----- $3,180,000
Huffman, J.R. 88 WR 2006 2009 3 ----- $3,000,000
Wayman, Bo 84 WR 2006 2011 2 ----- $2,810,000
Kemp, Nick 24 RB 2004 2007 4 ----- $2,660,000
Dunkin, Stan 33 FB 2004 2007 4 ----- $2,660,000
Drake, Norm + 67 T 2004 2007 4 ----- $2,660,000
Spurgeon, Jackie 93 DE 2006 2009 3 ----- $2,530,000
Salinger, Clyde 27 CB 2005 2008 4 ----- $2,500,000
Banks, Phil 98 DE 2004 2007 4 ----- $2,380,000
Frank, Steve 37 S 2005 2009 3 ----- $1,890,000
Henry, Buddy 81 WR 2004 2007 4 ----- $1,750,000
Forest, Ellis 82 TE 2005 2009 3 ----- $1,570,000
Starling, Brandon + 17 TE 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Antonick, Jared 16 WR 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Brooks, Irv 75 G 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Pierce, Byron + 95 LB 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Sylvester, Lester 99 LB 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Shapiro, Julio 40 S 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Bronson, Robert 43 S 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,460,000
Woodson, Jumbo 56 LB 2005 2007 3 ----- $1,360,000
Cassidy, Tracy 91 DT 2006 2009 2 ----- $1,360,000
Hwang, Sam 54 LB 2005 2008 3 ----- $1,120,000
Madison, Matt 77 DE 2006 2009 2 ----- $1,060,000
Morrison, Ricardo 73 G 2005 2007 3 ----- $860,000
Gordon, Kevin 38 CB 2005 2007 3 ----- $850,000
Copeland, Kenyon 42 RB 2006 2009 2 ----- $820,000
McDaniel, Leonard 89 TE 2006 2009 2 ----- $820,000
Chandler, Deion 78 DE 2006 2009 2 ----- $820,000
Willis, R.J. 29 LB 2006 2009 2 ----- $820,000
Schneider, Zach 45 S 2006 2009 2 ----- $820,000
Dell, Bennie 9 QB 2005 2007 3 ----- $790,000
Lazetti, Jimmy 74 T 2006 2009 2 ----- $780,000
Sanderson, Mo 14 P 2006 2009 2 ----- $780,000
Stanton, Donald 47 CB 2006 2009 2 ----- $780,000
Kerr, Brad 86 WR 2005 2007 3 ----- $740,000
Troglia, Wayne 55 C 2006 2008 2 ----- $730,000
Fairfield, Darnell 11 K 2006 2008 2 ----- $730,000
Finley, Dwayne + 57 C 2006 2008 3 ----- $710,000
Allen, Skip 59 LB 2005 2007 3 ----- $710,000
Winston, Wesley 41 FB 2006 2008 2 ----- $650,000
Pool, Tyrell 12 QB 2006 2007 2 ----- $600,000
Stone, Bo 76 DT 2006 2008 2 ----- $560,000
Peters, Reggie 51 LB 2002 UFA 7 ----- $0
Lang, Jeff 52 C 2003 UFA 5 ----- $0
Singleton, Jay 71 DT 2003 UFA 5 ----- $0
DeLamielleure, Donald 23 S 2003 UFA 5 ----- $0
Preston, Seth 21 RB 2004 ---- 4 ----- $0
James, Darrin 60 G 2004 ---- 4 ----- $0
Winslow, Duane 63 T 2004 ---- 4 ----- $0
Hickson, Stephen 20 CB 2004 ---- 4 ----- $0
Salary Cap: $120.6 million
Room Under Cap: $40,170,000
LB Reggie Peters is no superstar, but he’ll be tough to let go, since he wasn’t too overrated (unlike several of my current guys). C Jeff Lang has been pretty solid inside, but he’s really not a star, and he’ll almost certainly demand star compensation. S DeLamielluere will be a guy worth trying to retain, but again—he’s no star. RB Seth Preston looks like thebest of my bleak RB squad—but certainly not worth the king’s ransom he’ll demand. T Duane Winslow is a keeper, as is CB Stephen Hickson—and both should be fairly affordable since they are restricted FAs only.
I get an offer of a 4th round pick for CB Kevin Gordon. It passes the reality check, and I’m a little bit intrigued—he’ll leave after this year anyway. I decide to take the deal.
I do not put in any offers on my unrestricted FAs, and I sit back to watch the FA fur fly. Nobody on my roster generates an immediate bid, as I might have guessed. It’s not until week 5 that S DeLemielleure gets the first offer of the lot. C Jeff Lang signs with Denver in week nine, just as the doors are about to open for me to get involved in the free agent market. Denver also swoops in and gets S DeLamielleure in week 10—they’re building a little fiefdom of former Black Squirrels.
To my surprise, there are still a fair number of decent free agents available in week 11. A solid-looking OT from Chcago is looking for about $4m per year. Two-time Superbowl MVP RB Bruce Pettus (from Cinti) is looking for about $5m a year. DE Terrell Barnes, an underachieving but apparently talented DE from Miami, is going to get over $5m. All would be quality additions.
With several tackles in free agency, I compare them to my current RT (and RFA) Duane Winslow, and I decide that my money I better spent bringing in someone than holding on to Winslow. I put in a bid on a decent young tackle named Harvey Goodin, but he’s more of a #3 guy. (But best of all, he’s a Colorado State grad!) My main target is T Levon Givens from Chicago, for who I make a 3yr, $12.9m offer. Both tackles sign after a couple of weeks.
I’m very torn on a QB who remains in the free agent pool. QB Byron Branch is a former all-pro with Buffalo, and he inexplicably sits here in the FA pool without any offers. He has apparent ratings in the 65-75 range, and a career passer rating of 84.9, with a 73/34 TD/Int ratio. I can’t see why there isn’t a bidding war for this guy, much less no interest at all. He’s asking for $7-8-10m, which is pricey built I can obviously afford it, for now at least. I decide that if he’s there are the very end of the FA period, I’ll give him some serious thought.
RB Bruce Pettus is another curious case. He’s has two 1,000+ yard seasons, but has apparently been phased out in Cinti. His rating vary, but most are in the 50-75 range—he looks pretty solid. Another guy I’ll consider if he lasts, and gets a little more desperate.
I do put in a bid on another OL—G Cornell Young has bounced around a little bit, but looks like he’s be a solid #2 or #3 guard, and he’s taking minimum salary for three years. He’ll fill in for Darrin James, who will likely leave before this year. He takes my offer quickly.
In the final week of free agency, I decide to sign RB Bruce Pettus. His demand is only $4.1/4.9/5.9m, which is pretty affordable for a RB, particularly a proven performer who isn’t totally out of gas. I offer him $4.0/4.6/5.2m – and he takes it in week 20. I decide against plunging in on QB Branch, though I’m sure he’ll catch on somewhere and do very well. My other last-week pickup is LB Donald Gruber, a second year player who signs for three fairly cheap years with no bonus.
My draft slot is #15, and my only quirk in this draft is that I also hold the #14 pick in round 4. My needs are many, but I will, as usual, just look for a potential impact player early. I have holes to fill at both RB and FB, plus I could use help almost anywhere on the OL. On defense, I long for a superior CB to match up alongside Stephen Hickson. I also could use help at DT—a stud to plug in alongside my hometown hero DT Tracy Cassidy (whose star has dimmed a little in the light of an improved scout). Lots of needs, but we’d like to add a difference-maker player in round one.
Amateur Draft Report:
Rnd 1 - Phil Makovicka, CB, UCLA – looks like the superior cover corner that I really wanted
Rnd 2 - Juan Torres, FB, Virginia Tech – took him too early, but he’ll be solid, I think
Rnd 3 - Joey Houle, G, Syracuse – very sloid guy my scout overlooked (78/48/87)
Rnd 4 - Harvey Harmon, WR, Colorado State – decent, and I needed a Colorado receiver
Rnd 4 - Dominic Barlow, LB, San Diego State – redliner, hoping for a breakout
Rnd 5 - Floyd Blackwell, G, Memphis – solid, could develop into starter (63/52/66)
Rnd 6 - Derek Mare, DT, UCLA – good late round pick (50/40/74)
Rnd 7 - Lamar Huntley, TE, Western State – yes, Western State is in Colorado – hooray!
Not a bad draft. If Makovicka works out to be as good as I hope, then it could be very good. If LB Barlow explodes in this training camp, then it could be outstanding.
I accept a 6th round pick for BF Wesley Winston, who is made expendable by my selecting Juan Torres early in this year’s draft. I pick up a number of URFAs to get a tryout for the team, including a number of “local boys.” I also sign a decent-looking QB (Curtis Marshall) who was a 2nd round pick to a 4-yr deal with a decent bonus (what he seeks). Here’s the group I bring into camp:
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Paul de los Santos 15 16 6 2008
QB Brandon Conger 4 9 1 2008
QB Billy Middleton 3 5 1 2010
QB Curtis Marshall 3 8 1 2010
QB Tyrell Pool 3 8 2 2007
QB Melvin Finley 2 8 1 2010
RB Bruce Pettus 13 13 6 2009
RB Seth Preston 8 8 4 ----
RB Nick Kemp 6 6 4 2007
RB Britt Hoffman 6 8 1 2010
RB Kenyon Copeland 5 5 2 2009
RB Cory Kennedy 1 2 1 2010
FB Juan Torres 7 11 1 2009
FB Calvin Wilhelm 4 8 1 2010
TE Ellis Forest 10 12 3 2009
TE Lamar Huntley 6 9 1 2009
TE Leonard McDaniel 4 7 2 2009
TE Chester Jeffries 3 5 1 2010
WR Matt McCaughey 12 12 6 2009
WR Buddy Henry 11 11 4 2007
WR Bo Wayman 9 13 2 2011
WR Harvey Harmon 7 10 1 2009
WR J.R. Huffman 6 6 3 2009
WR Jared Antonick 6 8 3 2008
WR Brad Kerr 6 6 3 2007
WR Adam Nolan 5 9 1 2010
C Dwayne Finley 6 7 3 2008
C Wayne Troglia 4 10 2 2008
G Darrin James 8 8 4 ----
G Ricardo Morrison 7 8 3 2007
G Joey Houle 6 8 1 2010
G Cornell Young 6 9 5 2009
G Irv Brooks 5 6 3 2008
G Floyd Blackwell 5 11 1 2009
T Levon Givens 10 12 7 2009
T Rufus Bozarth 10 10 5 2009
T Duane Winslow 9 9 4 ----
T Norm Drake 3 4 4 2007
T Harvey Goodin 3 10 2 2009
T Jimmy Lazetti 2 6 2 2009
P Mo Sanderson 5 7 2 2009
K Darnell Fairfield 6 8 2 2008
DE Burt Horner 13 13 5 2008
DE Phil Banks 12 12 4 2007
DE Jackie Spurgeon 5 5 3 2009
DE Deion Chandler 2 4 2 2009
DE Matt Madison 1 6 2 2009
DT Tracy Cassidy 6 11 2 2009
DT Jay Singleton 5 5 5 UFA
DT Derek Mare 3 12 1 2009
DT Bo Stone 2 3 2 2008
LB Reggie Peters 8 9 7 UFA
LB Brian Amos 7 7 1 2010
LB Sam Hwang 7 10 3 2008
LB Dominic Barlow 7 7 1 2009
LB Omar Starks 6 6 1 2010
LB Jumbo Woodson 6 10 3 2007
LB Byron Pierce 5 7 3 2008
LB Skip Allen 4 7 3 2007
LB R.J. Willis 2 6 2 2009
LB Donald Gruber 2 11 2 2009
LB Lester Sylvester 1 2 3 2008
CB Stephen Hickson 13 13 4 2010
CB Phil Makovicka 8 15 1 2012
CB Clyde Salinger 6 8 4 2008
CB Donald Stanton 2 5 2 2009
S Steve Frank 10 12 3 2009
S Robert Bronson 6 9 3 2008
S Zach Schneider 3 4 2 2009
S Julio Shapiro 3 5 3 2008
…and after camp, we’ve thinned out the departures, and here is what we have…
Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Paul de los Santos 17 17 6 2008
QB Tyrell Pool 4 7 2 2007
QB Brandon Conger 4 8 1 2008
QB Curtis Marshall 3 8 1 2010
QB Billy Middleton 3 7 1 2010
QB Melvin Finley 2 8 1 2010
RB Bruce Pettus 13 13 6 2009
RB Britt Hoffman 6 8 1 2010
RB Kenyon Copeland 6 7 2 2009
RB Nick Kemp 5 5 4 2007
RB Cory Kennedy 2 3 1 2010
FB Juan Torres 7 11 1 2009
FB Calvin Wilhelm 4 9 1 2010
TE Ellis Forest 12 12 3 2009
TE Lamar Huntley 7 8 1 2009
TE Leonard McDaniel 7 8 2 2009
TE Chester Jeffries 4 5 1 2010
WR Matt McCaughey 13 13 6 2009
WR Bo Wayman 11 13 2 2011
WR Buddy Henry 8 8 4 2007
WR J.R. Huffman 6 8 3 2009
WR Jared Antonick 6 7 3 2008
WR Harvey Harmon 6 8 1 2009
WR Brad Kerr 6 6 3 2007
WR Adam Nolan 5 10 1 2010
C Wayne Troglia 8 12 2 2008
C Dwayne Finley 6 6 3 2008
G Joey Houle 7 13 1 2010
G Ricardo Morrison 7 8 3 2007
G Cornell Young 6 9 5 2009
G Irv Brooks 6 6 3 2008
G Floyd Blackwell 5 12 1 2009
T Levon Givens 11 14 7 2009
T Rufus Bozarth 10 10 5 2009
T Harvey Goodin 6 8 2 2009
T Jimmy Lazetti 4 4 2 2009
T Norm Drake 4 4 4 2007
P Mo Sanderson 6 7 2 2009
K Darnell Fairfield 10 10 2 2008
DE Phil Banks 13 13 4 2007
DE Burt Horner 12 12 5 2008
DE Jackie Spurgeon 4 5 3 2009
DE Matt Madison 3 5 2 2009
DE Deion Chandler 3 5 2 2009
DT Tracy Cassidy 8 9 2 2009
DT Derek Mare 2 12 1 2009
DT Bo Stone 2 4 2 2008
LB Dominic Barlow 9 15 1 2009
LB Jumbo Woodson 8 11 3 2007
LB Omar Starks 8 17 1 2010
LB Sam Hwang 7 10 3 2008
LB Brian Amos 5 10 1 2010
LB Donald Gruber 5 8 2 2009
LB Byron Pierce 4 9 3 2008
LB R.J. Willis 3 4 2 2009
LB Skip Allen 3 4 3 2007
LB Lester Sylvester 2 2 3 2008
CB Stephen Hickson 11 12 4 2010
CB Phil Makovicka 10 17 1 2012
CB Clyde Salinger 6 8 4 2008
CB Donald Stanton 4 5 2 2009
S Steve Frank 11 13 3 2009
S Robert Bronson 6 8 3 2008
S Zach Schneider 4 4 2 2009
S Julio Shapiro 3 5 3 2008
At the top, things look fine. CB Makovicka will be excellent, with potentials hanging at 85/100/100. FB Torres will be fine—he would have made a nice fourth round pick (not so hot as a second rounder). G Joey Houle looks even better than he did during the draft—his potentials are up to 91/39/78. Better, but even more run-slanted. LB Dominic Barlow did indeed improve over his draft-day appearance. His new stats are much better—current ratings of 36/58/44/52/43, and potentials of 62/62/67/67/43. Should be a good value, though he’s not a topped-out superstar. RB Britt Hoffman was a URFA from Colorado, and he’ll make the team with his very nice breakaway speed, though he has rather little else to bring to the table.
Another URFA LB I picked up as an afterthought turns out to be the real deal. Omar Starks now has potentials of 100/66/88/58/81… he’s the first bone fide superstar breakout player that I’ve had signed to this four-year doubling contract. That will pay him $440k/$860k/$1.7m/$3.4m over the next four years, after which time he’ll be an unrestricted free agent. He should be a real impact player—I’ll try to get him some playing time right away.
I work the roster down to 53 again, and end up with this group as we prepare to start the season:
Roster for the Colorado Springs Black Squirrels
Name # Pos HT WT Exp Stat College
de los Santos, Paul 6 QB 6-2 218 6 ----- Southern Methodist
Pool, Tyrell 12 QB 6-2 211 2 ----- Purdue
Finley, Melvin 3 QB 6-6 206 1 Inact Colorado
Conger, Brandon 7 QB 6-2 196 R ----- Auburn
Marshall, Curtis 8 QB 6-5 216 R Inact Oregon
Pettus, Bruce 35 RB 6-2 218 6 ----- Washington State
Kemp, Nick 24 RB 5-11 232 4 ----- Baylor
Hoffman, Britt 30 RB 5-10 203 1 ----- Colorado
Torres, Juan 25 FB 5-10 235 R ----- Virginia Tech
Wilhelm, Calvin 34 FB 5-9 270 1 ----- Arkansas
Forest, Ellis 82 TE 6-7 267 3 ----- Ohio State
Huntley, Lamar 83 TE 6-3 261 R ----- Western State
McCaughey, Matt 85 WR 5-11 207 6 ----- Oregon State
Henry, Buddy 81 WR 5-11 217 4 ----- Notre Dame
Antonick, Jared 16 WR 6-0 184 3 ----- Wyoming
Kerr, Brad 86 WR 6-2 189 3 ----- Michigan
Wayman, Bo 84 WR 6-0 191 2 ----- Oregon
Nolan, Adam 87 WR 5-11 200 1 Inact Colorado State
Harmon, Harvey 80 WR 5-9 208 R ----- Colorado State
Finley, Dwayne + 57 C 6-4 258 3 ----- Kansas State
Troglia, Wayne 55 C 6-5 294 2 ----- Florida State
Young, Cornell 66 G 6-2 328 5 ----- Wofford
Morrison, Ricardo 73 G 6-3 309 3 ----- Southern California
Blackwell, Floyd 65 G 6-6 315 R ----- Memphis
Houle, Joey 64 G 6-2 315 R ----- Syracuse
Givens, Levon 70 T 6-2 288 7 ----- Georgia
Bozarth, Rufus 62 T 6-5 315 5 ----- Murray State
Goodin, Harvey 61 T 6-5 301 2 ----- Colorado State
Sanderson, Mo 14 P 6-4 182 2 ----- Washington
Fairfield, Darnell 11 K 6-1 185 2 ----- Colorado
Horner, Burt 92 DE 6-6 253 5 ----- Wyoming
Banks, Phil 98 DE 6-2 287 4 ----- Notre Dame
Chandler, Deion 78 DE 5-11 293 2 ----- West Texas A&M
Madison, Matt 77 DE 6-0 281 2 ----- Nebraska
Stone, Bo 76 DT 6-4 317 2 ----- Auburn
Cassidy, Tracy 91 DT 6-0 319 2 ----- Colorado
Mare, Derek 90 DT 6-5 301 R ----- UCLA
Hwang, Sam 54 LB 5-9 257 3 ----- Cal. - Poly SLO
Sylvester, Lester 99 LB 6-2 264 3 Inact Colorado
Allen, Skip 59 LB 6-1 243 3 Inact Tulsa
Woodson, Jumbo 56 LB 6-4 240 3 ----- San Diego State
Gruber, Donald 58 LB 6-2 236 2 Inact Stanford
Amos, Brian 53 LB 6-5 232 1 ----- Portland State
Barlow, Dominic 50 LB 6-0 241 R ----- San Diego State
Starks, Omar 52 LB 6-1 243 1 ----- Texas A&M
Hickson, Stephen 20 CB 5-8 192 4 ----- Auburn
Salinger, Clyde 27 CB 5-8 183 4 ----- Lafayette
Stanton, Donald 47 CB 5-8 192 2 ----- Southwest Baptist
Makovicka, Phil 23 CB 5-11 195 R ----- UCLA
Shapiro, Julio 40 S 5-8 202 3 ----- Tennessee - Martin
Bronson, Robert 43 S 5-10 204 3 ----- Minnesota
Frank, Steve 37 S 5-9 226 3 ----- Rice
Schneider, Zach 45 S 6-2 191 2 Inact Colorado
Salary Cap: $120.6 million
Room Under Cap: $34,000,000
My Colorado college count is up to 10 guys, and I’m going to make a serious attempt to keep it at least that high. I now at least have a few real contributors from Colorado schools, which certainly helps a lot.
As for the team this year, I think there is hope. We add a veteran running back who should make some difference. Our offensive line hasn’t taken large steps forward, but we’ll hope that Pettus can grind out some 60-80 yard games in times when we’re used to seeing 20-40 from our top rusher. If the receiver group can stay intact, we should be able to pass.
On defense, the DL is a little thin now (due to some poor drafting) but the LB group has suddenly improved dramatically. With an emerging secondary unit—I think we’re heading in the right direction.
This year, I think we’ll be better—if we have good luck avoiding injuries, I think we can win 10 games.