2010 preseason
We have established ourselves as a playoff-caliber team, with two running division titles. Now, we need to get over that hump, and try to become consistent enough to play with the big boys. That means getting past these injuries, and putting together a strong season – and hopefully getting past our first round playoff game.
Here is our synopsis to date:
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GM Performance for QuikSand of the Cleveland Browns
Year Team Eval Perf Diff Proft FrVal Record Playoffs
2009 CLE 83 83 79 99 31 12-5-0 Division Final
2008 CLE 73 69 79 90 22 9-8-0 Wild Card Round
2007 CLE 66 28 79 100 17 7-9-0 None
2006 CLE 58 2 77 100 20 3-13-0 None
2005 CLE 57 17 74 86 28 5-11-0 None
2004 CLE 61 5 71 100 33 4-12-0 None
The slope has been properly upward, and now we should have fairly free reign to improve where we need to. Some of our biggest decisions, though, will be where we decide to stick with our existing players – many of whom will be looking to really get paid this year.
Transitions and League Observations
We again escape retirements, and bring back our roster intact.
“Intact” is a relative term, since we left two of our important players with serious injuries last season. Fortunately, it seems that we have good news. RB Roderick Arsenault and QB Tyron Glover both look healthy and none the worse for wear. So, there’s at least some chance that we can get back to normal with these two – both of whom have been critical cogs in our offense.
Front Office Decisions
I hired an aging scout a couple of years ago, knowing he was on the decline. The decline is well underway – I can take him for one more year, perhaps. But I do look for a suitable replacement. There’s nobody as good as our 71 year old coot – so we stick with him for now.
OC Levon moss has been pretty solid for us – I’m not itching to replace him. He accepts a new five year deal – solid. Here’s an update on his ratings:
Off Coord: Levon Moss, 50
EX: OL
VG: QB,RB,PK
GD: WR,YT
He keeps improving – and so do we. Five year deal, good stuff.
Roster Review
Interestingly, I check out “The Green Page” again here – and see that Mario Clancy remains on the list of hot young players – listed #9 overall. That’s pretty exciting for us, now we just need to keep him healthy. I now think he looks like the best QB form that draft – and we got him in round three.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Glover, Tyrone 2 QB 7 59 59 2 yrs
Clancy, Marco 8 QB 2 24 59 3 yrs
Silvers, Bobby 16 QB 7 22 22 ---
Davis, Steven 14 QB 4 20 47 1 yr.
Fox, Marvin 11 QB 3 20 43 1 yr.
Well, if Glover is really back, we are in pretty solid shape here. Bobby Silvers was a desperation move for last season, but in all practicality can’t have a future with us. We’ve got our squad of four players set for this year.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Arsenault, Roderick 33 RB 7 61 61 2 yrs
Ramsey, Archie 29 RB 5 51 51 2 yrs
Adams, Donovan 28 RB 4 41 41 1 yr.
Ramsey, Kendrick 32 RB 5 40 44 2 yrs
Woodson, Mickey 36 FB 7 52 53 2 yrs
Goodwin, Ian 23 FB 2 35 51 ---
Much like QB – if Arsenault is really all the way back, then we are in nice shape. Kendrick Ramsey had a nice season last year as our #1 back down the stretch, and I think he’s actually getting a bit better as we go. We’ve got four players signed – and should be all set here. At FB, I like Ian Goodwin’s potential – and would like to re-sign him cheaply to be our reserve.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Whiting, Arnie 84 TE 7 69 69 1 yr.
Schroeder, Lamar 87 TE 2 26 46 ---
I’m frustrated with Arnie Whiting, who just gets hurt about every other game. He is a brilliant talent, but if he can’t play, what good is he? Schroeder has potential, but has little to offer right now. This might be a target position for an acquisition, regrettably (I’m spending a lot of money on Whiting).
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
O'Rourke, Nathan 88 FL 7 45 45 ---
Blair, Zach 81 FL 2 39 60 3 yrs
Aceves, Jermaine 85 SE 7 63 63 ---
**Sanders, Randall 83 SE 7 48 50 2 yrs
Rose, Mickey 89 SE 4 41 47 ---
Goodwin, Oscar 80 SE 2 38 50 2 yrs
Somme decisions to make here – especially since Sanders is probably out for most of this year, and probably won’t be worth a damn when he’s back. Jermaine Aceves stepped up and played really well last year when called on – if he’s affordable, he could become our starter at split end. O’Rourke might be cheap after an injury-plagued season spent mostly on the bench. Two youngsters have good futures, but we need some more around them.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Nichols, Kurt 56 C 7 46 46 1 yr.
Hambrick, Antoine 54 C 6 40 47 ---
Marion, Terrell 65 LG 3 43 58 1 yr.
Gruber, Lincoln 63 RG 6 53 53 2 yrs
Hampton, Todd 67 RG 4 32 37 1 yr.
Heinlein, Bennie 71 LT 6 53 55 2 yrs
Cox, Hugh 60 LT 2 25 52 1 yr.
Schroeder, Bert 74 RT 7 63 63 1 yr.
Lincoln Gruber is our positional leader, and while he doesn’t provide a chemistry boost, he gave us a solid season in his debut. LG Terrell Marion had a very nice year last season, developing into a quality starter after all (we were worried). RT Bert Schroeder was supposed to be our pass-blocking giant on the right side, but his performance has been a bit disappointing in his two years with us. Overall, though, I am pleased with the performance we’re getting up front – and we’ll only look to add if we get a great prospect.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Wolf, B.J. 1 P 2 11 19 ---
Vallejo, Jeremy 19 K 2 44 62 ---
I could re-sign both of these local products – Wolf is from Akron, and Vallejo from Ohio State. I think Vallejo has great potential – he was a great pickup after the draft last year, and we’ll try to keep him around.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Holton, Butch 97 LDE 7 57 57 2 yrs
Fox, Jimmy 93 LDE 4 46 46 1 yr.
Huffman, Rodney 78 RDE 6 79 79 1 yr.
Blum, Dale 94 RDE 5 39 41 ---
Burns, Johnny 96 RDE 2 17 38 2 yrs
Cascadden, Gary 72 LDT 4 60 68 2 yrs
Gibson, Kris 95 LDT 5 52 52 2 yrs
Oliveira, Willie 76 LDT 6 33 46 ---
Wayne, Harry 79 NT 7 48 51 1 yr.
Rodney Huffman has been an anchor for us for years, but adding Butch Holton seemed to make everything work last year. Cascadden continues to develop into a top-grade run stopper inside, while Harry Wayne keeps pushing Kris Gibson for playing time – both are pretty solid. This group has been getting the job done – but depth is key, as injuries continue to loom.
One factor for consideration – DT Willie Oliveira is our positional leader, and we have a crazy five affinities with him. This might be a case of a player earning his keep by just stirring the pot – we don’t use him a lot, but he’s certainly decent enough to keep around.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Goodwin, Cedric 92 MLB 7 59 59 ---
Casey, Rick 90 MLB 7 55 57 ---
Castaneda, Ronald 64 MLB 4 32 50 2 yrs
Tyler, Howie 99 SLB 6 59 60 ---
Daveria, Greg 59 SLB 2 24 58 1 yr.
DiGiacomo, Ricky 91 WLB 3 51 72 3 yrs
Fisk, Stanley 98 WLB 4 41 50 ---
Regalado, Darrin 52 WLB 2 40 54 2 yrs
We have contract issues here, as both Goodwin and Casey are out of contract at MLB. We’ve been spoiled to have two good run-stoppers here, and the last two years, we have needed them both. If Goodwin is going to be injury prone from now on, we will need to back him up well.
Goodwin is asking for over $3m per season, which is pretty significant. If I knew he could be healthy, it would be very worth it. But coming off two injury-plagued seasons, I have to be worried a bit here. Rick Casey, similarly, wants almost $4m per season – so neither guy here is going to be cheap.
Ricky DiGiacomo would be able to step in and play MLB if needed, as he has the right mix of skills. I’m reluctant to actually move him there, though – we’ll play it by ear.
Sam-backer Howie Taylor was on his way to his best season when he got hurt last year – he wants nearly $5m per season, which looks unlikely.
We have a serious issue here. DiGiacomo and Regalado are good enough to start, and we couoldd build a lineup around them – but bringing back one or more of the familiar faces from this top-rated defense would certainly be nice to do, if we could.
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Player # Pos Start Exp Current Estimate Future Estimate Cntrct
Wickliff, Calvin 42 LCB 6 55 55 1 yr.
Gomez, Craig 27 LCB 6 45 54 2 yrs
Richmond, Deon 43 RCB 5 59 59 1 yr.
Callens, Zack 39 RCB 7 55 55 2 yrs
Dunn, Scott 37 RCB 7 51 51 ---
Cowley, Kelly 31 RCB 4 40 53 2 yrs
Weed, Kirk 24 SS 2 44 53 3 yrs
Jacobs, Thurman 41 FS 6 66 67 ---
Ellery, Deron 46 FS 3 41 56 3 yrs
Deon Richmond had a nice season last year, and his ratings boosted as a result. His rating in man coverage is up to 89 – that’s where he has been gaining rapidly, which fits well with my secondary system.
Does Scott Dunn get a new contract? He’s been a three-year starter for us, has gives us pretty solid seasons, but just isn’t flashy. My inclination is to go with the guys that we have on hand – with five corners already signed, we should be okay. Losing him will mean a new secondary leader – probably Deon Richmond. We’ll see how everyone gets along with him – at the moment, we have two pluses to one minus there.
Undrafted Thurman Jacobs remains better than either of the first-rounders he’s lined up with at safety, and re-signing him would make a tone of sense.
It’s good to have no place on the roster where we are absolutely desperate. We’ve got 38 players signed to contracts, and about $9.4 million free after accounting for the draft ahead. $9 million won’t replace our LB corps, unless we can make room elsewhere (presumably by releasing players).
As I contemplate players who might be cut, I take a fleeting glimpse at RB Arsenault. There’s something that really unnerves me here. I check his contract, and see that to renegotiate, he’s only asking for a modest signing bonus and three years at minimum salary. That seems like a bad sign to me – yes, he comes off an injury, but he looks like he’s healthy and ready to go. Why the pathetic demands? Is this guy a time bomb, waiting to implode? ::drumming fingers::
Free Agency
There is great news on the free agent market – Tennessee’s QB Bo Watkins is available, hopefully meaning he won’t be back with Tennessee to kill us again.
The only player of ours I have an initial bid in for is DT Willie Oliveira, the capstone to our great defensive chemistry up front. Everyone else will be a wait-and-see decision, especially since we are so cap-strapped.
WR Marlon Sasser has been steady for the Jets – I like his potential for our system, and we put in a modest offer for him. We need someone at WR, and Jermaine Aceves is looking for pretty big money. Sasser would give us a startable option, for much less money.
DT Harvey Gustafson looks pretty good, a solid pass rusher, and very affordable here. The Giants got three good seasons from him – we hope to lock him up and make a serious improvement to our defensive front. What a value pickup.
And that’s all I’m going to do right away. I plan to spend most of our money on re-signing our own players, so I don’t pursue any of the top-dollar free agents. Rather, I’ll sit back and see who among our own guys goes for big money (and we will let them go) and who might return at an affordable rate.
After week one, we have a partial answer. CB Scott Dunn and S Thurman Jacobs both get fat deals and head elsewhere. WR Jermaine Aceves has one waiting, and I don’t expect to match that. So, there are three guys we won’t have back.
I have to up my offer a shade to try to content with Seattle’s bud for DT Gustafson, but we hope and expect to land him. The others are currently uncontested.
Week two sees us wrap up all three of the guys we are pursuing, and no additions to the departing list – so that’s a good turn of events. Including those signings, we have 42 players signed plus eight draft picks – leaving only three genuinely “open” roster spots, and about $7m to spend on them.
I also note that DT Harvey Gustafson adds the first personality conflict to an otherwise happy bunch of defensive linemen. He’s pretty darned good, but that might be more than I want to add to the mix there.
I have the opportunity to sign some guys to cap-friendly deals for this season – like MLB Goodwin, whose starting offer only hits us for $1.8m this year, but grows to $3.5 then $4.1 in the following seasons. I hate to get into that pattern, but with a team this close to success, it’s very tempting.
I go ahead and re-sign P Wolf for minsal, but that’s a move basically without consequence. The real decisions are with the bigger money players, especially at linebacker.
Howie Tyler is next to go, inking a fat deal with Denver. With his departure (for over $4m per season) I think my decision is clear – I have to re-sign MLB Goodwin, and keep the LB group fairly close to intact. Since he has no offers, I decide to wait him out a while. I sit all the way through 20 stages, and both Goodwin and Casey are untouched. We can sort this out after the rookie draft, it seems – maybe they will have an adjustment in their demands at that time.
Rookie Draft
Overall, my top priority positions to fill via the draft would probably be TE, S, and LB. Linebackers seem to be pretty plentiful (though I haven’t been selecting them that well) so we might look for an impact player early, then settle on our need spots later. A new guard for our OL might be a good addition, as our two starters are both out of contract soon.
The Akron contingent is fair this year:
C Brian Wolfe (4.5, 33/51) looks like a solid interior lineman, good middle pick
TE J.T. Stoyanovich (3.8, 15/45) could be solid if his blocking skills develop
G Thurman Davidson (3.3, 14/38) extremely high volatility, looks risky
DT Kent McKnight, QB Bobby McGregor, and CB Jim Marshall look like they will go undrafted
In this draft, I love safety Louis Shipway out of Clemson, and would love to grab him. He’s easily the top safety, and it’s a need position (despite the fact that we are carrying two first-rounders already). There are other players we like, but he’d be a great fit. If he falls out of the top 10 or 15, I may try to move up to grab him.
S Shipway goes at #6 – too high to attempt to move up. So, we will settle for whoever falls down a bit farther. At picks #18, and #21, I fail to move up to get the players I want – and see them drop off the board. Sitting at #30, now I fear we’ll get stuck with a player we don’t really need – or a big fat bust.
I decide to deal out of the first round this year, and swing a deal with Minnesota – picking up their first rounder next year for this pick and my extra fourth rounder. I didn’t see first-round value at this spot, and I’d rather wait until I do before signing a player for big money. This will free up cap space for this season, as well.
At our top pick (round two), there are two linebackers and one offensive tackle I like. I offer Jacksonville our picks in round 4,5, and 6 to get the very next selection at the end of round two – and our draft has suddenly consolidated an awful lot. We grab two Ohio products with these picks, and hopefully bolster our line and backer corps.
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Amateur Draft Report:
Rnd 2 - Clarence Frederick, ILB, Bowling Green
Rnd 2 - Danny Norton, T, Ohio State
Rnd 3 - Wade Pariso, TE, Louisiana State
Rnd 7 - Marvin Causey, WR, Kent
TE Pariso looks like a solid prospect, and we expect to start him when Arnie can’t play for ten games this year. WR Causey might have potential to make the team and contribute as a fourth or fifth receiver, we think.
Late Free Agency
So, we hit the late FA stages with 47 players signed (including all our drafted rookies), and $7.9 million to spend. I decide that rookie LB Clarence Frederick is a better fit on the strong side, where he may have a chance to become our starter.
I put in a 1yr, $3m offer for MLB Cedric Goodwin. With his injury history I just don’t want to commit long-term money and bonus to him, just to see him sit another half-year our. It’s risky, but I think it’s the right thing to do here.
Fortunately, Rick Casey has had a change of heart, and has reduced his demands a lot. I put in a 3yr, $3.8m offer to him, and feel like grabbing both of these guys would be a great way to maintain the group up front.
I re-up with LB Stanley Fisk, also. He has been a solid reserve, and is only asking for minsal plus a trifle. K Jeremy Vallejo is also an easy re0signing, now that his demands have fallen to reason.
Buffalo has released TE Jonathan Holmes, who looks like he might be a very solid player, despite having gotten almost no playing time for them. I put in a three year offer, in hopes of landing a potential big fish very cheaply.
I add a number of undrafted rookies to our list of pursuits, and we are ready to roll.
We land our rookie pursuits, and toward the end of the FA period, both MLBs Goodwin and Casey re-sign as well. Very successful ploy on our part, I reckon.
Training Camp
Before we even get to training camp, there is big news. WR Marvin Causey, an afterthought draft pick, suddenly looks like a monster. This could be our first major breakout player form the late rounds of the draft. My scout now rates him a 30/67… much better than he appeared when we first grabbed him.
Here’s how training camp unfolds, through our scout’s eyes:
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Player # Pos Start Exp Cet Fest Cest Fest ChgC ChgF
Glover, Tyrone 2 QB 7 59 59 59 59 0 0
Clancy, Marco 8 QB 2 24 59 29 59 5 0
Davis, Steven 14 QB 4 20 48 24 48 4 0
Fox, Marvin 11 QB 3 20 43 22 43 2 0
Arsenault, Roderick 33 RB 7 53 53 53 53 0 0
Ramsey, Archie 29 RB 5 51 51 51 51 0 0
Ramsey, Kendrick 32 RB 5 40 44 41 44 1 0
Adams, Donovan 28 RB 4 41 41 41 41 0 0
Demeester, Kris 49 RB 1 29 39 30 37 1 -2
Stephens, Jumbo 40 RB 1 28 45 28 41 0 -4
Blackburn, Eric 21 RB 1 28 40 28 36 0 -4
Odumuyiwa, Terrance 48 RB 1 24 46 24 40 0 -6
Woodson, Mickey 36 FB 7 50 51 50 51 0 0
Goodwin, Ian 23 FB 2 35 52 36 52 1 0
Holmes, Jonathan 18 TE 5 68 72 74 74 6 2
Whiting, Arnie 84 TE 7 70 70 70 70 0 0
Pariso, Wade 82 TE 1 27 58 30 55 3 -3
Blair, Zach 81 FL 2 39 61 41 61 2 0
Sasser, Marlon 85 SE 5 52 52 52 52 0 0
**Sanders, Randall 83 SE 7 49 50 49 50 0 0
Rose, Mickey 89 SE 4 41 47 43 47 2 0
Goodwin, Oscar 80 SE 2 38 51 42 51 4 0
Causey, Marvin 86 FL 1 30 67 32 64 2 -3
Nichols, Kurt 56 C 7 47 47 47 47 0 0
Allman, Omar 55 C 1 17 48 19 45 2 -3
Moschetti, Bernie 57 C 1 15 39 18 39 3 0
Wallentine, Travis 50 C 1 11 44 14 38 3 -6
Marion, Terrell 65 LG 3 43 58 46 58 3 0
Gruber, Lincoln 63 RG 6 54 54 54 54 0 0
Hampton, Todd 67 RG 4 31 37 34 37 3 0
Heinlein, Bennie 71 LT 6 52 54 52 54 0 0
Cox, Hugh 60 LT 2 26 53 28 53 2 0
Norton, Danny 68 LT 1 8 45 10 37 2 -8
Schroeder, Bert 74 RT 7 64 64 64 64 0 0
Wolf, B.J. 1 P 2 11 19 12 19 1 0
Vallejo, Jeremy 19 K 2 44 61 46 61 2 0
Holton, Butch 97 LDE 7 57 57 57 57 0 0
Fox, Jimmy 93 LDE 4 47 48 49 49 2 1
Huffman, Rodney 78 RDE 6 79 79 79 79 0 0
Burns, Johnny 96 RDE 2 17 38 18 38 1 0
Cascadden, Gary 72 LDT 4 61 68 65 68 4 0
Gibson, Kris 95 LDT 5 52 53 52 53 0 0
Oliveira, Willie 76 LDT 6 34 47 36 47 2 0
Gustafson, Harvey 75 RDT 4 52 52 52 52 0 0
Wayne, Harry 79 NT 7 49 51 51 51 2 0
Randle, Cris 51 WILB 1 18 43 19 39 1 -4
Goodwin, Cedric 92 MLB 7 59 59 59 59 0 0
Casey, Rick 90 MLB 7 55 58 55 58 0 0
Castaneda, Ronald 64 MLB 4 29 45 30 45 1 0
Daveria, Greg 59 SLB 2 24 58 26 58 2 0
Frederick, Clarence 58 SLB 1 23 63 25 60 2 -3
DiGiacomo, Ricky 91 WLB 3 51 71 56 71 5 0
Fisk, Stanley 98 WLB 4 41 49 44 49 3 0
Regalado, Darrin 52 WLB 2 40 54 42 54 2 0
Wickliff, Calvin 42 LCB 6 54 54 54 54 0 0
Gomez, Craig 27 LCB 6 38 46 41 46 3 0
Richmond, Deon 43 RCB 5 55 55 58 58 3 3
Callens, Zack 39 RCB 7 46 46 46 46 0 0
Cowley, Kelly 31 RCB 4 40 53 42 53 2 0
Hoard, Dean 41 RCB 1 14 26 16 26 2 0
Weed, Kirk 24 SS 2 44 53 47 53 3 0
Flowers, Dusty 26 SS 1 13 27 15 27 2 0
Ellery, Deron 46 FS 3 41 56 44 56 3 0
Lang, Daryl 44 FS 1 14 27 15 27 1 0
Most of the big losers among the rookies were guys we just brought in to see if we could fish something out of the water at C, RB, and S. No great losses there.
Regrettably, T Danny Norton (for whom we moved way up in the draft) doesn’t look all that promising – yet another busted OL pick in these drafts, which has been a rather disturbing pattern.
CB Deon Richmond had another nice camp, and continues his mid-career growth process. TE Jonathan Holmes looks like a monster signing – he may even get the start over the frail Arnie Whiting.
Both QB Marco Clancy (#6) and WR Marvin Causey (#13) reside on The Green Page. That’s interesting…
Season Analysis
Cohesion stand at 92-95-100(85)-92. Very solid, though we lost some in the secondary.
On the franchise value screen, we rate a 60 in roster rating – putting us finally into the top half of the league.
I have adjusted our defensive scheme a bit – I want to keep WLB DiGiacomo on the field more, so we will use even less nickel than before. I also slant our coverage even more toward man-to-man, as that’s where our guys are best suited.
We’ve managed to do well in wins and losses each of the last two seasons despite suffering awful injury setbacks. Can we stay healthy this year? I’m very worried about Arsenault, but I’m feeling good about the backups at RB, especially the cousins Ramsey and Ramsey. On defense, we have largely the same crew, and good replacements for those who are gone – I think we should be solid once again.
Is this team cut from championship cloth? I don’t know. We will run the ball, try to avoid turnovers, and play solid defense. That’s pretty much all we can do – we’ll see how it plays this year.