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QuikSand · 12-16-2003, 02:06 PM

Free Agency

Looking elsewhere at available free agents, I find a LB who looks promising – Ed Lake ha played for Chicago the lat two seasons, and seems to be developing into the type of player who would fit us well at MLB. He might be cheap, too – he will be my fist outside target player.

Safety Robbie Wilkins looks like a potentially very good addition, and pretty affordable, too. CB Darrell Douglas was cut by Dallas, and could be a good value pickup as well. I don’t however, see any free agents that I’ like t spend a ton of money on – so if we do layout big bucks, it will probably be on one of our own, like LB DiGiacomo.

We kick off the FA process – and there is a lot to report right away. Our players are being bid on all over the place. DE Cris Moseley is signed by Miami right away, and they are talking to S Deron Ellery too. LB Rick Casey, our solid reserve middle linebacker, has a fat offer from Jacksonville. And WR Tampa Bay is courting speedy WR Marlon Sasser.

It’s Oakland, though who is making the biggest push. They have offers in to both LB Ricky DiGiacomo and CB Brett Maxwell. Both are very fat, long term offers – and both are probably out of my reach to try to match. Oakland’s alleged top needs are on offense, but this duo would really bolster their defense this year, I think.

We have landed LB Ed Lake, and have successfully re-signed S Kirk Weed, who will return to the starting lineup for us. Neither WR Blair nor DT Oliveira has another offer, so I expect they will be aboard soon, too.

DE Henry Garner has only missed one game in five seasons. He’s no star, but we could use that kind of stability around, and we put in a fair offer for him. He quickly accepts.

A new offer to S Robbie Wilkins follows, and he quickly accepts – and will become our third safety and all-around utility player there.

I have shied away from any big-money contracts – but now that seems to have been a little too tight. We still have $22 million in cap space, and I don’t know what to do with it. Should we have spent $8 million on a weak-side linebacker? I guess I will keep my eye on the best-looking prospect still out there in the market – three-time all-pro receiver Dan Doyle. Over 4,000 yards in the last three seasons makes him an elite target – and he’d be the type of playmaker that we’d love to have in our offense, to be sure. He’s seeking $11 million a year – huge money, of course, but it’s not inconceivable that we could squeak together a one year tender in that neighborhood.

We get to week 12 of the process – and WR Zach Blair finally re-signs with us. That leaves RB Arsenault, TE Holmes, and RT Thornton still priced out of the market. I get an offer in to R Donnie Thornton, trying to lock him up for three seasons. It takes him a few weeks, but he accepts the deal. Meanwhile, Miami sneaks in and makes a move to sign WR Dan Doyle – and their team really is taking a very interesting new shape for the coming season.

I go ahead and wrap up the first 20 stages – we’ll have another look at some of these guys when we get into the post-draft phase.

2013 Rookie Draft

This draft includes a number of familiar faces from our Akron days:

P Rodney Clearly (4.9, 41/51) Looks like a decent punter, good distance, decent complementary skills make him a possible flyer – for our team, fairly likely

QB Deion Brock (4.1, 23/49) Looks like a typical project QB – has mixed skills. Coule evolve into a usable roll-out type QB, got a great 46 on the test. Probably a mid to late round pick. Good target for us, if possible.

CB Bert Schneider (4.0, 23/48) Brilliant college player looks like a zone specialist for the pros, very high volatility makes him a wild card.

K Edward Oskia (3.7, 19/45) Could be passable pro project – probably not an excellent option, though.

QB Dustin Poole (2.7, 16/30) Early dropout from college, very high volatility, probably a hit-or-miss kind of guy. Has some good skills – might be a flier.

T Joseph Barber (2.6, 13/29) Looks like a decent run blocker, probably undrafted.

MLB Louis Sherman (2.5, 15/28) never quite developed in college, and looks like a longshot here.

If we can grab QB Brock in the 4th round or so, and maybe have a look at a couple more guys after the draft, we might get 3-4 Zips to stick this season.

Sitting at pick #31, it’s a long time to wait. Ideally, we’d like to see a quality running back available for us in this draft – I think that’s the right direction for us to go there (young). But we’ll probably play the hand we’re dealt, and will be looking BPA.

Looking realistically, the player I’d like to see fall to us is T Claude Mueller, from Middletowo, Ohio by way of Ohio State. Looks like a powerful, solid O-lineman, with a fabulous college season in his wake – a great pickup for us.

Alas – Mueller is selected at #21 overall (Cincinnati, the other local angle team grabs him), and we’ll have to look elsewhere.

Code:

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Neal Lynn, DE, Virginia Tech
Rnd 2 - Blaine Duesenberg, CB, Washington
Rnd 3 - Cornelius Tilton, WR, Boise State
Rnd 4 - Deion Brock, QB, Akron
Rnd 5 - Herb Meyer, OLB, Virginia
Rnd 6 - Jeremy Battle, RB, East Carolina
Rnd 7 - Dwight Lofton, DE, Texas Christian

In Neal Lynn, we land a pretty promising pass rusher, settling for a solid player at a “tough-to-fill” spot. DE Dwight Lofton, from the 7th round, might end up being a real steal – if he pans out, he might be pretty darned good.

CB Deusenberg is a man coverage specialist, and might end up being a good “system” selection for us. WR Tilton is the fly-pattern specialist I wanted, and should help us with the offensive speed that I want to have on hand. QB Deion Brock, as expected, was an easy mid-round grab.

Late Free Agency

First order of business – RB Roderick Arsenault has seen the light, and is now seeking a very modest deal. I put in an offer to keep him around – his leadership will be valuable, even if his skills continue to decline.

We also talk to veteran wide receiver Harold Elizondo. He is not a true burner, but even though he’s in his 10th season he has been a pretty effective playmaker. He’s not looking for that much in salary, and we try to entice him to come our way with a two year offer.

After Elizondo signs, I realize that we have not found a solution at tight end, and Jonathan Holmes remains stubborn in his demands for huge money. Devin Norton has been little used by New England, but we like his promise – and make a three year offer. I also have in mind a scheme for FB Eric Pritchett to see time at FB, where he might even better use his receiving skills.

I make a quick check of our chemistry situation – and am disappointed to see that newly-signed safety Robbie Wilkins doesn’t seem to like CB Deon Richmond, our secondary leader. I think it over, and decide to instead approach Deron Ellery for an extension, which I know won’t ruffle any feathers. We get Ellery aboard again, and let go Wilkins before trouble brews.

Among our URFA pickups is fascinating RB prospect Lincoln Zimmerman, who simply doesn’t look like much. However, he had over 1,800 yards running for Southern Cal, and my scouts rate his volatility at 90 – we would love for him to have a big breakout and become a contributor.

Heading into camp, I make one last signing – MLB K.C. Perez. He’s solid, fairly cheap, and with some uncertainty about the durability of our starter at MLB, a wise investment. We pass on even a one-year deal with TE Holmes – and expect that someone else will land him on a one year cheap deal for this season.

12-16-2003, 02:06 PM	#62
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Free Agency Looking elsewhere at available free agents, I find a LB who looks promising – Ed Lake ha played for Chicago the lat two seasons, and seems to be developing into the type of player who would fit us well at MLB. He might be cheap, too – he will be my fist outside target player. Safety Robbie Wilkins looks like a potentially very good addition, and pretty affordable, too. CB Darrell Douglas was cut by Dallas, and could be a good value pickup as well. I don’t however, see any free agents that I’ like t spend a ton of money on – so if we do layout big bucks, it will probably be on one of our own, like LB DiGiacomo. We kick off the FA process – and there is a lot to report right away. Our players are being bid on all over the place. DE Cris Moseley is signed by Miami right away, and they are talking to S Deron Ellery too. LB Rick Casey, our solid reserve middle linebacker, has a fat offer from Jacksonville. And WR Tampa Bay is courting speedy WR Marlon Sasser. It’s Oakland, though who is making the biggest push. They have offers in to both LB Ricky DiGiacomo and CB Brett Maxwell. Both are very fat, long term offers – and both are probably out of my reach to try to match. Oakland’s alleged top needs are on offense, but this duo would really bolster their defense this year, I think. We have landed LB Ed Lake, and have successfully re-signed S Kirk Weed, who will return to the starting lineup for us. Neither WR Blair nor DT Oliveira has another offer, so I expect they will be aboard soon, too. DE Henry Garner has only missed one game in five seasons. He’s no star, but we could use that kind of stability around, and we put in a fair offer for him. He quickly accepts. A new offer to S Robbie Wilkins follows, and he quickly accepts – and will become our third safety and all-around utility player there. I have shied away from any big-money contracts – but now that seems to have been a little too tight. We still have $22 million in cap space, and I don’t know what to do with it. Should we have spent $8 million on a weak-side linebacker? I guess I will keep my eye on the best-looking prospect still out there in the market – three-time all-pro receiver Dan Doyle. Over 4,000 yards in the last three seasons makes him an elite target – and he’d be the type of playmaker that we’d love to have in our offense, to be sure. He’s seeking $11 million a year – huge money, of course, but it’s not inconceivable that we could squeak together a one year tender in that neighborhood. We get to week 12 of the process – and WR Zach Blair finally re-signs with us. That leaves RB Arsenault, TE Holmes, and RT Thornton still priced out of the market. I get an offer in to R Donnie Thornton, trying to lock him up for three seasons. It takes him a few weeks, but he accepts the deal. Meanwhile, Miami sneaks in and makes a move to sign WR Dan Doyle – and their team really is taking a very interesting new shape for the coming season. I go ahead and wrap up the first 20 stages – we’ll have another look at some of these guys when we get into the post-draft phase. 2013 Rookie Draft This draft includes a number of familiar faces from our Akron days: P Rodney Clearly (4.9, 41/51) Looks like a decent punter, good distance, decent complementary skills make him a possible flyer – for our team, fairly likely QB Deion Brock (4.1, 23/49) Looks like a typical project QB – has mixed skills. Coule evolve into a usable roll-out type QB, got a great 46 on the test. Probably a mid to late round pick. Good target for us, if possible. CB Bert Schneider (4.0, 23/48) Brilliant college player looks like a zone specialist for the pros, very high volatility makes him a wild card. K Edward Oskia (3.7, 19/45) Could be passable pro project – probably not an excellent option, though. QB Dustin Poole (2.7, 16/30) Early dropout from college, very high volatility, probably a hit-or-miss kind of guy. Has some good skills – might be a flier. T Joseph Barber (2.6, 13/29) Looks like a decent run blocker, probably undrafted. MLB Louis Sherman (2.5, 15/28) never quite developed in college, and looks like a longshot here. If we can grab QB Brock in the 4th round or so, and maybe have a look at a couple more guys after the draft, we might get 3-4 Zips to stick this season. Sitting at pick #31, it’s a long time to wait. Ideally, we’d like to see a quality running back available for us in this draft – I think that’s the right direction for us to go there (young). But we’ll probably play the hand we’re dealt, and will be looking BPA. Looking realistically, the player I’d like to see fall to us is T Claude Mueller, from Middletowo, Ohio by way of Ohio State. Looks like a powerful, solid O-lineman, with a fabulous college season in his wake – a great pickup for us. Alas – Mueller is selected at #21 overall (Cincinnati, the other local angle team grabs him), and we’ll have to look elsewhere. Code: Amateur Draft Report: Rnd 1 - Neal Lynn, DE, Virginia Tech Rnd 2 - Blaine Duesenberg, CB, Washington Rnd 3 - Cornelius Tilton, WR, Boise State Rnd 4 - Deion Brock, QB, Akron Rnd 5 - Herb Meyer, OLB, Virginia Rnd 6 - Jeremy Battle, RB, East Carolina Rnd 7 - Dwight Lofton, DE, Texas Christian In Neal Lynn, we land a pretty promising pass rusher, settling for a solid player at a “tough-to-fill” spot. DE Dwight Lofton, from the 7th round, might end up being a real steal – if he pans out, he might be pretty darned good. CB Deusenberg is a man coverage specialist, and might end up being a good “system” selection for us. WR Tilton is the fly-pattern specialist I wanted, and should help us with the offensive speed that I want to have on hand. QB Deion Brock, as expected, was an easy mid-round grab. Late Free Agency First order of business – RB Roderick Arsenault has seen the light, and is now seeking a very modest deal. I put in an offer to keep him around – his leadership will be valuable, even if his skills continue to decline. We also talk to veteran wide receiver Harold Elizondo. He is not a true burner, but even though he’s in his 10th season he has been a pretty effective playmaker. He’s not looking for that much in salary, and we try to entice him to come our way with a two year offer. After Elizondo signs, I realize that we have not found a solution at tight end, and Jonathan Holmes remains stubborn in his demands for huge money. Devin Norton has been little used by New England, but we like his promise – and make a three year offer. I also have in mind a scheme for FB Eric Pritchett to see time at FB, where he might even better use his receiving skills. I make a quick check of our chemistry situation – and am disappointed to see that newly-signed safety Robbie Wilkins doesn’t seem to like CB Deon Richmond, our secondary leader. I think it over, and decide to instead approach Deron Ellery for an extension, which I know won’t ruffle any feathers. We get Ellery aboard again, and let go Wilkins before trouble brews. Among our URFA pickups is fascinating RB prospect Lincoln Zimmerman, who simply doesn’t look like much. However, he had over 1,800 yards running for Southern Cal, and my scouts rate his volatility at 90 – we would love for him to have a big breakout and become a contributor. Heading into camp, I make one last signing – MLB K.C. Perez. He’s solid, fairly cheap, and with some uncertainty about the durability of our starter at MLB, a wise investment. We pass on even a one-year deal with TE Holmes – and expect that someone else will land him on a one year cheap deal for this season.