Seven Year Itch, revisited

[QuikSand]

Seven Year Itch, revisited

I've long marveled at the little "quirk" in FOF, which allows undrafted rookies to sign with your for seven-year minimum salary deals (making them more valuable than late-round draftees). I've employed them, along with second year FA castoffs (who will accept similar deals) in many of my heavily-restricted challenges. I've wondered if they could actually be the coundation of a winning team-- or are they strictly role-players? I've tried two previous challenge careers playing along those lines-- both of which concluded with my firing. This is my third attempt, with a bit more relaxed rules.

This challenge career will follow one principal rule:

Every player on my team will be signed, by me, to a 7-year contract.

I will, when affordable, try to extend the contracts of rookies or free agents on beyond their requested duration, to offer 7-year deals—doing so will, I am fairly certain, increase the per-year costs of such deals. I will almost certainly end up with a team populated with an overwhelming number of undrafted rookies and second year castoffs (who will somewhat naturally accept 7yr deals in FOF).

I’m leaving the “GM firing” option on, as an ultimate barometer of my success.

As secondary rules, I will not engage in contract abuse (backloading, etc.) and I will keep my tickets from being the league’s highest. As I come across other issues that may require rules, I may mention them and add them here.

I’ll play with the “primer,” using Cleveland, but I’ll release all my players after the 1999 season. In essence, 1999 will be a throwaway, and I’ll start the challenge in earnest in the year 2000.

[QuikSand]

1999 season

My neutrally-drafted Browns team is actually pretty good: they took a quality young QB with their first pick. They manage an 8-8 season, guided wholly by my pre-ordained coach and scout.

At the end of the season, I release everyone. Well, everyone who is not injured. This pushes a lot of bonus money into next season, but I don’t expect that I’ll be very near the cap next year anyway, so I don’t see this as a major problem.

Philadelphia wins the first league title, over San Diego. Jacksonville, Baltimore, and Cincinnati all were playoff teams from my AFC central—boding trouble for the near future.

[QuikSand]

2000 preseason

I start off the season by releasing my remaining players, and the two who are still injured go onto IR. I now have zero active players—starting from scratch, as I want.

I pick up a new coach, who has top ratings with QBs, young talent, and playcalling.

The FA period is dreadful – I pick up a couple of linemen, but that’s all. The only excellent player available for me is the QB I released last season.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - T.J. Stewart, DE, Greensboro

Okay, so my drafting strategy will simply be to “prioritize.” I moved up to #5 overall, took the best pass-rusher in the draft, and then traded out completely. I now hold two firsts for next year, which I hope will both be high picks (which I expect to be easier to sign for seven years).

DE Stewart initially asks for a 5yr, $10m deal. In order to get this guy to lock up for seven years, I had to increase this deal to $47 million, including $28 million in signing bonus. Ouch.

I do the usual drill – filling in after the draft. I find a series of decent players, but overall a pretty disappointing lot. Usually, I find 3-4 players who look to be pretty solid contributors, btu in this lot I really don’t see any of those.

The roster as we head into the season is pretty thin:

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd


QB Kelly Romano 2 7 1 2006
QB Bernard Hazelwood 3 7 1 2006
QB Mo Blanchard 3 3 1 2006
RB Morris Bloomgarden 4 6 1 2006
RB Albert Carver 5 5 1 2006
RB Jessie Cochrane 5 4 1 2006
RB Zack Sellers 4 3 1 2006
FB Herb Stargell 4 8 1 2006
FB Ken Mathews 3 6 1 2006
TE Brent Deskins 5 8 1 2006
TE Christian Austin 6 7 1 2006
WR Ted Drury 7 8 2 2006
WR Dexter Whitfield 5 7 1 2006
WR Omar Adams 6 7 1 2006
WR Jesse Blair 6 6 1 2006
WR Marcus Emmons 6 6 1 2006
WR Jerome Nogas 5 4 1 2006
C Melvin Norton 5 6 1 2006
C Clifton Warren 4 6 2 2006
C Tim Gunn 4 1 15 2002
G Tyrus Hewitt 1 4 1 2006
G Toby McCarthy 1 3 1 2006
G Winston Boyer 2 2 1 2006
T Charlie Albright 3 7 1 2006
T Richie Westbrook 2 4 1 2006
T Ty Lang 1 0 1 2006
P Erik Borders 8 11 1 2006
K Bernard Temmer 11 16 1 2006
DE T.J. Stewart 10 20 1 2006
DE Kenny Van Cleave 2 8 1 2006
DE Riddick Nixon 2 5 1 2006
DT Tito Wampus 3 5 1 2006
DT Todd Ballard 2 4 2 2006
DT Frank Sanderson 1 3 1 2006
DT Jackie Horn 2 2 1 2006
LB Charlie Mikeska 3 10 1 2006
LB Dwight Foster 5 9 1 2006
LB William McKnight 3 8 1 2006
LB Deion Mitchell 2 4 1 2006
LB Deron Chapman 2 3 1 2006
LB Dean Martin 2 2 1 2006
CB Rick Green 4 7 1 2006
CB Dwayne Pearsall 3 4 1 2006
CB Rob Harvey 4 4 7 2001
CB Leonard Riley 2 4 1 2006
CB Darrin Brocklebank 2 3 1 2006
S Kenyon Vance 3 6 1 2006
S Courtney Gordon 2 5 1 2006
S Barry Brown 2 3 1 2006

Well, we will probably have a VERY early draft pick next season, and hopefully we’ll be able to fill in with another top-grade player or two.

[QuikSand]

2000 season

After starting off with a shocking 3-2 effort, we revert to form post a 5-11 record on the year. I’m not going to post any comprehensive stats, as this team is still totally formative.

DE T.J. Stewart had a great rookie year, with 34 tackles and 17.5 sacks.

My only rep on the awards team, however, is my punter – who gets first team. He, uh, got a lot of work.

[QuikSand]

2001 preseason

This year’s free agent market finally yields some quality. I put in offers for about eight player immediately, including a pair of QBs, a very solid G, and three DL. I consider a “real money” offer for a decent 2nd year safety—he will only listen to about $3m a year. I decide to wait, and see if he comes down after a few weeks.

I make a massive FA offer to the best WR I can find, 7th year Jermaine Lichtenberg, for $68m over 7 years (mostly in bonus money). That pile of cash gets him to sign with us almost immediately, not surprisingly.

It’s a successful FA period – we manage to gain in several critical areas, making marginal improvements which are the name of the game in this kind of challenge. In particular, my d-line has gotten substantially better. I pay “real money” to a handful of players (ones with some experience) but mostly sign minsal players.

I hold picks #4 and #25 in the draft, and my priority is pretty simple: assuming that there is a stud QB in the draft, that’s where I go. I’m not sure about the second pick—I may look to trade up.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Leland Idomir, QB, Virginia
Rnd 1 - Alvin Johnson, RB, Pittsburgh

I do move up to pick #9, and take two offensive “foundation” players in this draft. I’ll pay whatever it takes—these guys ought to cement my offense for years to come. (They had better)

The roster is obviously top-heavy at this point—when I sort by salary, I see a few big salaries, followed by lots of very tiny ones—it’s like a family of ducks.

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Leland Idomir 8 20 1 2007
QB Roman Gustin 4 9 2 2007
QB Bert Cipa 4 7 2 2007
RB Alvin Johnson 12 15 1 2007
RB Albert Carver 7 9 2 2006
RB Jessie Cochrane 6 7 2 2006
FB Herb Stargell 7 8 2 2006
FB Ken Mathews 4 5 2 2006
TE Christian Austin 8 10 2 2006
TE Brent Deskins 7 9 2 2006
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg 12 13 7 2007
WR Marcus Emmons 7 6 2 2006
WR Dexter Whitfield 6 6 2 2006
WR Omar Adams 6 6 2 2006
WR Jesse Blair 6 5 2 2006
WR Ted Drury 5 4 3 2006
C Clifton Warren 6 7 3 2006
C Ed Daniels 6 6 2 2007
G David Diaz 9 11 2 2007
G Winston Boyer 5 7 2 2006
G Andrew Farrow 4 6 2 2007
G Tyrus Hewitt 3 6 2 2006
G Toby McCarthy 2 1 2 2006
T Charlie Albright 7 9 2 2006
T Richie Westbrook 6 8 2 2006
T George Barker 5 7 2 2007
P Erik Borders 11 13 2 2006
K Bernard Temmer 17 17 2 2006
DE T.J. Stewart 14 20 2 2006
DE Mitchell Holliday 6 8 2 2007
DE Kenny Van Cleave 4 6 2 2006
DE Riddick Nixon 3 3 2 2006
DT Larry Ogden 6 10 2 2007
DT Monty Green 5 9 2 2007
DT Vinny Brock 5 8 2 2007
DT Tito Wampus 4 5 2 2006
DT Frank Sanderson 2 4 2 2006
LB Nolan Mayes 7 10 2 2007
LB Dwight Foster 6 10 2 2006
LB William McKnight 5 8 2 2006
LB Deion Mitchell 4 7 2 2006
LB Charlie Mikeska 5 7 2 2006
LB Dean Martin 3 6 2 2006
LB Deron Chapman 2 4 2 2006
CB Jesse Money 5 8 2 2007
CB Dwayne Pearsall 5 7 2 2006
CB Darrin Brocklebank 3 6 2 2006
CB Rick Green 3 3 2 2006
CB Leonard Riley 3 2 2 2006
S J.C. Murphy 6 9 2 2007
S Greg Barlow 6 8 2 2007
S Kenyon Vance 4 5 2 2006

With this group, we’ll work on getting everyone on the field, and playing together—and we’ll hope that we start to show modest signs of development. No ambition for lots of wins quite yet.

[QuikSand]

2001 season

Another surprisingly strong start, as we jump out to 4-0, and confound the critics. We slump from there, but still manage to win our last game, and finish at 9-7… missing out on the playoffs only on a tiebreaker with Buffalo. Our QB situation was a 3-way shuffle with injuries to all three guys. A successful season, and cause for some optimism at last.

Stat leaders:

QB Leland Idomir: 1,845 yards, 55.8%, 7.15ypa, 9/6, 80.3 (about 45% of the attempts)
RB Alvin Johnson: 311-1,401 yds, 10TD (4.5 ypc), 37-228 yds rec, 3 TD
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg: 92-1,268yds, 4 TD
LB Nolan Mayes: 98 tackles, 2 sacks
DE T.J. Stewart: 19 sacks

Overall stats (Off/def/avg):
Rushing: 4.2/3.7/3.9
Passing: 6.4/6.5/6.5

And suddenly we have the look of a dangerous team. We have a clear set of “triplets” on offense, and if our QB situation holds together, we should be solid there. On defense, we’re not giving up the big stuff, and this squad only forced 10 ints—we can and will improve on that, which wil make other things get better, too. I feel good about our future.

WR Lichtenberg gets first team honors, and RB Johnson and DE Stewart both make second team. I suspect with the nature of this team that those guys will have nicely peppered honor lists by the end of their stints with us. The RB taken #10 overall led Denver to the title, and swept the top awards including OPOY and OROY behind a 1,825 yards season. Might be a long-term rivalry in the works…

[QuikSand]

2002 preseason

This career will lead to strange off-seasons like this. I have all 52 players from last year already signed for this year- so I have nobody preparing to defect. I have a little bit of dead weight salary-wise (a couple lousy –players who are overpaid) but generally speaking I have some flexibility. I’ll go after one veteran, plus a rookie impact player—and I’ll hope to make some more improvements. I feel that LB and CB are two serious need areas.

I check out the FA market, and am deeply disappointed to see how expensive it would be to sign the top LB available—about $9m a year (to get him to accept a 7 year offer). I instead grab a couple fill-in types from the second year group, and resolve to content myself with them.

After a few weeks, I see that the LB I covet is still available. I decide to take the plunge, and I offer him a $10m/year bonus-free offer. He takes it immediately—I figure this is a good move, which retains flexibility to cut him if needed.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Deron Kirk, LB, Portland State
Rnd 2 - Wally Bruce, CB, Western State

I hit the target areas with my draft picks, getting two very solid guys (I considered CB Bruce with my first pick). They are very expensive to sign—I’m not sure that my 2nd round pick will sign (for 7yr) more cheaply than my 1st rounder—making me question the wisdom of using the 2nd round pick at all.

As it turns out, this was a draft totally loaded with LB and CB talent, and I end up grabbing four more rookie CBs after the draft, completely replacing my entire group at that position. I move way up in quality, though obviously give up a lot in cohesion. I also find a decent second year QB sitting in the FA pile after the draft, and I sign him up for a seven year gig for about 2x minsal per year. I then pick up a DE who had 9 sacks his rookie season, but remains unclaimed—he is only seeking minsal, so he’s on board for a seven year stint, too.

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Leland Idomir 11 17 2 2007
QB C.J. Jeffries 6 10 2 2008
QB Bert Cipa 4 5 3 2007
RB Alvin Johnson 15 16 2 2007
RB Albert Carver 8 9 3 2006
RB Jessie Cochrane 5 4 3 2006
FB Herb Stargell 7 8 3 2006
FB Ken Mathews 6 6 3 2006
TE Wesley McGregor 7 11 1 2008
TE Christian Austin 9 10 3 2006
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg 13 14 8 2007
WR Marcus Emmons 8 8 3 2006
WR Eddie Shapiro 6 8 2 2008
WR Ted Drury 6 8 4 2006
WR Omar Adams 6 6 3 2006
WR Dexter Whitfield 7 6 3 2006
C Ed Daniels 6 9 3 2007
C Clifton Warren 6 7 4 2006
G David Diaz 9 12 3 2007
G Andrew Farrow 7 9 3 2007
G Tyrus Hewitt 5 4 3 2006
G Winston Boyer 4 3 3 2006
T Lenny Webster 7 9 2 2008
T George Barker 7 8 3 2007
T Charlie Albright 4 4 3 2006
P Erik Borders 10 10 3 2006
K Bernard Temmer 16 16 3 2006
DE T.J. Stewart 20 20 3 2006
DE Mitchell Holliday 6 8 3 2007
DE Marcus Breckterfield 4 7 2 2008
DE Kenny Van Cleave 4 6 3 2006
DT Larry Ogden 8 9 3 2007
DT Monty Green 8 9 3 2007
DT Vinny Brock 4 7 3 2007
LB Adrian Rose 19 20 6 2008
LB Deron Kirk 11 17 1 2008
LB Nolan Mayes 9 10 3 2007
LB Glen McQuitty 6 9 1 2008
LB Dwight Foster 5 7 3 2006
LB Deion Mitchell 3 4 3 2006
CB Wally Bruce 10 15 1 2008
CB Lenny Herndon 8 15 1 2008
CB Matt Derlange 7 13 1 2008
CB Carlos Lindblad 5 11 1 2008
CB Ross Caldwell 8 9 1 2008
S Greg Barlow 7 8 3 2007
S Kenyon Vance 5 7 3 2006
S J.C. Murphy 7 7 3 2007

With this group, I have some of the needed talent to make my secondary more legitimate. The offense should be back in form, and hopefully we can withstand a QB injury better with Jefferies as the reserve.

Our cohesion, in this post-primered environment, is at 77-76-73-67, which places me in the bottom third in each category, and close to the very bottom in passing and secondary (of course).

This year, I’ll hope to replicate the 9 wins from last season (which I think was a bit of a fluke), and we’ll hope for a postseason bid… and a breakout year from QB Idomir.

[QuikSand]

2002 season

We manage to pull together a solid season once again, despite needing to patch for an unholy number of injuries. Our Browns lose RB Johnson for about half the season, and we have ten starters out with injuries by midseason. Fortunately, we get a bit healthier late in the year, as we win our last three to go 10-6, and get a home game in the wild card round.

Stat leaders:

QB Leland Idomir: 2,945 yds, 58.3%, 6.92 ypa, 19/11, 83.6
RB Albert Carver: 142-689, 8 TD (4.8 ypc)
RB Alvin Johnson: 167-648, 2 TD (3.8 ypc) – played hurt part of the year
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg: 71-848, 5 TD
LB Adrian Rose: 99 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 int
LB Deron Kirk: 98 tackles, 4 sacks, 1 int
DE T.J. Stewart: 22 sacks
CB Wally Bruce: 46 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 7 int, 2 TD

Overall stats (off/def/avg)
Rushing: 4.0/3.7/3.8
Passing: 6.7/6.1/6.6

Every stat is on the right side of average, which is what I want to see in my teams. I think we’re a solid club—though I wonder about our postseason chances this year. QB Idomir is questionable with a bum knee, my top RB Johnson is only up to probable, and my already thin defense is even more so with their injuries at every position. We’ll hope for a win over Pitt, but I don’t see us stretching out multiple wins this year.

[QuikSand]

2002 postseason

Hosting Pittsburgh, I have serious fears about our offense. The Steelers are tough defensively, and we look very wounded on offense—I fear we won’t be able to score a lot. We may need big plays to get this one.

My fears are realized, as we are unable to mount an offensive threat until the early second quarter, and a missed FG leaves us blank. Fortunately, our defense is also holding them completely in check, and it’s an unusual scoreless tie at the half.

In the early third, Pittsburgh storms down for a chipshot FG and takes the lead 3-0. At this rate, that could hold up the whole game—but I think they’ll be able to score again. On their next drive they do, and they lead after three quarters by 10-0. I don’t like my chances at all here. My QB Idomir was forced out of the game with an aggravated knee injury, and my running game cannot carry the day it is clear. Pitt puts up one more insurance FG, and takes home the win with a 13-0 final tally.

My offense failed me—RB Johnson carried 18 times for only 36 yards, and each QB had two picks. Overall, we need to step it up on attack if we’re going to make the next level. Being healthier at the end of the year will help, too.

Pittsburgh actually makes it to the Bowl, only to lose to Atlanta. My DE T.J. Stewart is named to the first team, along with rookie CB Wally Bruce (who misses out on DROY to a second-round LB). Denver’s RB Bryce Weikel has another huge year—1,573 yards—to claim 1st team RB and OPOY again. My guy will need to stay healthy and step up to compete with Weikel down the road.

[QuikSand]

2003 preseason

I once again have no turnover on my roster—48 signed players all back for another turn. I have $6.8m in room under the $91.2m salary cap. With a few rookie coming in to replace older players, I ought to have room for one expensive addition this year. I also have two expensive players signed to bonus-free contracts, giving me some flexibility that I (regrettably) don’t have with everyone.

I decide to make a switch at head coach, bringing in a younger man with better on-field ratings. Jimmy Foley’s downsides are in LB, young talent, and avoiding injury—but he’s strong elsewhere, and he’s fairly cheap.

I lose a FB and a C in the expansion draft—both should be replaceable.

In free agency, I have no cash to go after any expensive players, so I focus on cheapies. I find fill-in players at C, G, T, and safety, all for minsal. When I put up a real contract offer for an aging safety, I’m told that I’m too close to my salary cap, and cannot afford the deal. I end up cutting a couple middle-value players (at S and LB) to free up cap room, and I also prune away a few 3rd and 4th year players to make room for new rookies. No major signings, but I do make a few moves to keep things optimized.

Looking at the draft, I have the good fortune to hold the #3 pick from my trade with Carolina last year, which will ensure my grabbing a top player here. I also have my own at #26, which I figure to be worthless to me. I decide to trade it away, along with the rest of my picks, and just get one player from this draft. (As an experiment, I take one pick in the late third round, to see how pricey he would be to sign for 7 years)

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Stanley Stuber, WR, Indiana
Rnd 3 - Adam Shannon, C, Southern Mississippi

The receiver is just what I needed. The center will not sign a 7yr deal for less than $6m a year—which is well beyond what I can afford. So, he’ll just be let go. Following camp, I pick up a nice rookie WR who was let free… he takes a deal slightly over minsal, and should slot nicely as my #3 wideout.

Here is the roster in money terms—you can se how all the money goes to a handful of stars, while everyone else gets table scraps…

Name # Pos OnTm Ctrc Exp Stat Cap Cost
Idomir, Leland 6 QB 2001 2007 3 ----- $6,260,000
Jeffries, C.J. 13 QB 2002 2008 3 ----- $1,100,000
Madison, Max 1 QB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Johnson, Alvin 24 RB 2001 2007 3 ----- $6,360,000
Carver, Albert 46 RB 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Ackerman, Brandon 47 RB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Stargell, Herb 45 FB 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Austin, Christian 88 TE 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
McGregor, Wesley + 89 TE 2002 2008 2 ----- $420,000
Lichtenberg, Jermaine 81 WR 2001 2007 9 ----- $10,000,000
Stuber, Stanley 87 WR 2003 2009 R ----- $8,000,000
Gougeon, Jimmie 84 WR 2003 2009 R ----- $730,000
Emmons, Marcus 85 WR 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Adams, Omar 83 WR 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Shapiro, Eddie + 80 WR 2002 2008 3 ----- $650,000
Daniels, Ed 50 C 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Doolittle, Shawn 68 C 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Diaz, David 61 G 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Farrow, Andrew 64 G 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Bonnell, Devin 69 G 2003 2009 2 ----- $480,000
Francis, Mickey 60 G 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Barker, George 66 T 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Webster, Lenny 65 T 2002 2008 3 ----- $550,000
Duncan, John 67 T 2003 2009 2 ----- $480,000
Coghill, Roderick 70 T 2003 2009 2 ----- $420,000
Borders, Erik 17 P 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Temmer, Bernard 16 K 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Stewart, T.J. 97 DE 2000 2006 4 ----- $6,500,000
Holliday, Mitchell 93 DE 2001 2007 4 ----- $1,650,000
Breckterfield, Marcus 99 DE 2002 2008 3 ----- $540,000
Chatas, C.J. 94 DE 2003 2009 2 ----- $480,000
Ogden, Larry 90 DT 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Brock, Vinny 79 DT 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Green, Monty 91 DT 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Rose, Adrian 59 LB 2002 2008 7 ----- $10,000,000
Kirk, Deron 95 LB 2002 2008 2 ----- $7,000,000
McQuitty, Glen + 92 LB 2002 2008 2 ----- $420,000
Bissel, Roy 55 LB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Sims, Barry 53 LB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
McDaniel, Warren 98 LB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Heemskerk, Joe 52 LB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Ackerman, Dale 51 LB 2003 2009 1 ----- $290,000
Bruce, Wally 49 CB 2002 2008 2 ----- $7,000,000
Herndon, Lenny 34 CB 2002 2008 2 ----- $450,000
Caldwell, Ross 35 CB 2002 2008 2 ----- $420,000
Lindblad, Carlos 37 CB 2002 2008 2 ----- $420,000
Derlange, Matt 33 CB 2002 2008 2 ----- $420,000
Vance, Kenyon 48 S 2000 2006 4 ----- $680,000
Murphy, J.C. 32 S 2001 2007 4 ----- $680,000
Liakos, Ronnie 21 S 2003 2009 2 ----- $430,000

And here is the roster in the scout’s eyes—judging their talent:

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Leland Idomir 17 20 3 2007
QB C.J. Jeffries 8 13 3 2008
QB Max Madison 2 7 1 2009
RB Alvin Johnson 16 18 3 2007
RB Albert Carver 8 8 4 2006
RB Brandon Ackerman 7 6 1 2009
FB Herb Stargell 7 6 4 2006
TE Wesley McGregor 9 13 2 2008
TE Christian Austin 9 9 4 2006
WR Stanley Stuber 12 14 1 2009
WR Jimmie Gougeon 8 12 1 2009
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg 12 11 9 2007
WR Omar Adams 6 8 4 2006
WR Marcus Emmons 7 7 4 2006
WR Eddie Shapiro 6 6 3 2008
C Shawn Doolittle 6 12 1 2009
C Ed Daniels 6 8 4 2007
G Mickey Francis 6 11 1 2009
G David Diaz 9 10 4 2007
G Devin Bonnell 6 7 2 2009
G Andrew Farrow 6 4 4 2007
T John Duncan 7 9 2 2009
T George Barker 7 8 4 2007
T Roderick Coghill 6 7 2 2009
T Lenny Webster 7 6 3 2008
P Erik Borders 9 9 4 2006
K Bernard Temmer 16 17 4 2006
DE T.J. Stewart 19 20 4 2006
DE C.J. Chatas 5 9 2 2009
DE Mitchell Holliday 8 8 4 2007
DE Marcus Breckterfield 6 7 3 2008
DT Monty Green 9 8 4 2007
DT Larry Ogden 7 8 4 2007
DT Vinny Brock 5 7 4 2007
LB Deron Kirk 13 20 2 2008
LB Adrian Rose 20 19 7 2008
LB Roy Bissel 6 12 1 2009
LB Joe Heemskerk 5 11 1 2009
LB Glen McQuitty 6 10 2 2008
LB Warren McDaniel 6 10 1 2009
LB Barry Sims 5 8 1 2009
LB Dale Ackerman 5 7 1 2009
CB Wally Bruce 15 18 2 2008
CB Lenny Herndon 11 16 2 2008
CB Matt Derlange 9 13 2 2008
CB Ross Caldwell 7 11 2 2008
CB Carlos Lindblad 6 8 2 2008
S Ronnie Liakos 5 8 2 2009
S Kenyon Vance 5 7 4 2006
S J.C. Murphy 7 7 4 2007

I’ve got some quality players now, and have all but filled in the salary cap. Some of my rookies will have some salary escalation, which will occupy the remaining $5.8m in room expected for next year. After this year, I suspect my strategy will be to tread water with my roster, and hope to build up my depth with “finds.” My one move may be to let go of LB Adrian Rose, after this year’s bumper crop of solid rookies will probably make my okay there even without his superior skills. If I can recycle that money into getting a star safety, I’ll be the better for it, I suspect.

This season, we’re hoping to get back into the playoffs, hopefully in better shape than last year. I think we have the pieces in place for a step forward on offense, and hopefully the defense will continue to gel. We want 10 wins and a spot in the AFC title game.


[This message has been edited by QuikSand (edited 10-30-2000).]

[QuikSand]

2003 season

The season was a strange one—we run the table in the preseason, then come out of the gate completely flat, dropping to 0-3 before we know it. There’s no obvious “fix” to be made, and we continue our early-season floundering to go to 2-5 before getting back on track. Our late season was solid, but we end up only 8-8, missing the playoffs by one game.

Stat leaders:
QB Leland Idomir: 2,879 yds, 54.6%, 6.75 ypa, 12/14, 71.4
RB Alvin Johnson: 302-1,216 yds, 10 TD; 31 rec-276 yds, 1 TD
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg: 72-787, 0 TD (!)
WR Stanley Stuber: 38-562, 4 TD
LB Adrian Rose: 125 tackles
LB Deron Kirk: 103 tackles
DE T.J. Stewart: 13 sacks
S Ronnie Liakos: 5 int, 1 TD

Overall stats (off/def/avg):
Rushing: 3.9/4.0/4.0
Passing: 6.6/6.6/6.8

We simply regressed overall, tough to say exactly why. Idomir’s TD/Int ratio didn’t help, though the offense simply wan’t too productive overall. We regressed to being a nearly flawlessly average team in every statistic. 8-8 is what we earned on balance—though we ended up stronger than that down the stretch.

Tough season—especially when I have such a short time with these players.

Pittsburgh, our division winners, get their ring this year, winning the bowl over Philly. My all-star reps are first team for my kicker (38-for-42 FGs) and second team for LB Rose.

Denver’s RB Weikel has a 1,310 yard season—a step down from his lofty totals his first two years, but still better than my guy. Denver also tumbles to 7-9.

[QuikSand]

2004 preseason

I start off the new season in familiar territory—all my players return, and I’m already close to the salary cap. I have 50 players signed, and only about $5m in cap room.

I have a dilemma here—I lack the cap room necessary to sign any free agents—since the CPU is telling me that I need $7m in room for my rookies. I address this by moving up in the draft to the #1 overall pick, and dealing away all my other picks in this year’s draft.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Pat Oskolkoff, S, Texas Tech

I trade down to #10, and still get my top overall player, a stud safety. I may have also found something out—the player drafted at #10 still demands a 6-year salary. This seems to make bumping him up to 7 years not too difficult. I end up signing my guy for a contract that goes from only $2m to $5m over its duration—a steal for this challenge. It may be the draft location, or the fact that he’s a safety—but either way, I’ve gotten him more cheaply than I might have imagined.

I try in vain to secure a really good WR available after camp, but he won’t come for less than about $7m a year—and I eventually piss him so much off so he refuses to even talk (first time that’s happened to me). I settle for what I have—and $3.5m in cap room.


Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Leland Idomir 17 18 4 2007
QB C.J. Jeffries 7 12 4 2008
QB Max Madison 5 8 2 2009
RB Alvin Johnson 16 15 4 2007
RB Brandon Ackerman 7 9 2 2009
RB Albert Carver 7 6 5 2006
FB Herb Stargell 7 8 5 2006
FB Brenden McKeehan 6 8 1 2010
TE Christian Austin 9 9 5 2006
TE Wesley McGregor 7 9 3 2008
WR Stanley Stuber 13 15 2 2009
WR Jermaine Lichtenberg 12 11 10 2007
WR Jimmie Gougeon 9 10 2 2009
WR Marcus Emmons 7 7 5 2006
WR Eddie Shapiro 6 7 4 2008
WR Omar Adams 6 6 5 2006
C Shawn Doolittle 9 11 2 2009
C Ed Daniels 4 4 5 2007
G David Diaz 11 12 5 2007
G Mickey Francis 7 9 2 2009
G Bart DiCaprio 6 8 2 2010
G Jackie Blackwell 6 7 2 2010
T George Barker 5 7 5 2007
T Roderick Coghill 7 7 3 2009
T John Duncan 6 7 3 2009
T Lenny Webster 7 7 4 2008
P Erik Borders 9 10 5 2006
K Bernard Temmer 16 16 5 2006
DE T.J. Stewart 19 19 5 2006
DE C.J. Chatas 6 10 3 2009
DE Marcus Breckterfield 6 7 4 2008
DE Mitchell Holliday 7 6 5 2007
DT Percy Michi 6 13 2 2010
DT Monty Green 8 8 5 2007
DT Larry Ogden 7 7 5 2007
LB Adrian Rose 18 19 8 2008
LB Deron Kirk 14 17 3 2008
LB Billy Fuller 7 15 1 2010
LB Glen McQuitty 7 14 3 2008
LB Barry Sims 6 12 2 2009
LB Joe Heemskerk 6 12 2 2009
LB Roy Bissel 6 11 2 2009
LB Warren McDaniel 6 9 2 2009
CB Wally Bruce 17 17 3 2008
CB Lenny Herndon 13 13 3 2008
CB Matt Derlange 9 13 3 2008
CB Ross Caldwell 8 9 3 2008
CB Carlos Lindblad 6 8 3 2008
S Pat Oskolkoff 11 16 1 2010
S Ronnie Liakos 5 8 3 2009
S J.C. Murphy 8 6 5 2007
S Omar Heimburger 4 6 2 2010

This year, we’ll hope to rebound like last year never happened. I want to beat out Pittsburgh for the division title, and I want to win in the playoffs. I doubt we’re title-ready, but I think we ought to be in the bigger hunt—among the top 5-8 teams or so. Goal: 11 wins and a playoff victory.



[This message has been edited by QuikSand (edited 10-30-2000).]

[QuikSand]

2004 season

When my team was “bad” they seemed to jump out to a good start. Now that the team looks “good” to me, they can’t win early to save their lives. We drop all our exhibition games, and then proceed to lose five straight to open the season. Once we were practically out of any contention, we then started to play better—finishing at 7-9, but obviously missing the playoffs. A disappointing season, needless to say.

Stat leaders:
QB Leland Idomir: 3,638 yards, 55.7%, 7.80 ypa, 24/16, 83.9 – he wasn’t really the problem
RB Alvin Johnson: 335-1,312 yards, 20 TD (3.8 ypc) – great TD total, markedly better offense
WR Stanley Stuber: 70-1,026, 8 TD – blossomed into solid starting split end
WR Jimmy Gougeon: 45-815, 8 TD – great production from free agent castoff
KR Omar Adams: 38-1,078 (28.3 avg), 2 TD
LB Deron Kirk: 123 tackles, 1 sack, 1 int
DE T.J. Stewart: 18 sacks
CB Matt Derlange: 5 int

Overall stats (off/def/avg):
Rushing: 3.8/3.3/3.9
Passing: 7.8/8.1/6.9

The big move was obvious—our pass defense dropped off quite a lot this year. My star CB Wally Bruce went down in the first game with a season-ending injury, which certainly contributed to the problems. New additions at safety disrupted cohesion, and we gave up big stuff through the air—our defense was first vs. the run, and last vs. the pass. Everyone knew what to do against us.

RB Alvin Johnson and LB Deron Kirk both make second team honors. Johnson finally outgained Denver’s Weikel, who came up lame with an injury and tallied only 889 yards this season. Not exactly an even matchup. Cincinnati ascended to take the AFC Central, but Detroit wins it all, beating New England in the bowl game.