Almost Bare Cupboard Challenge

[Vaj]

In this challenge I'll be (mis)managing the Saints using, a la QuikSand, entirely fictional players. I'll speed-sim the 2000 season, and then I'll see how many draft choices I can get from my roster (generously rated as 9 in the franchise value screen). I hope to avoid a winless 2001.

General rules for this challenge:

• * I'll adopt a hands-off approach as far as on-the-field activity. My coach will handle playcalling, and my scout will manage the depth charts and training camp settings. I'll handle the composition of the roster.
  
  * Wall Street difficulty, GM firing is on.
  
  * I will only trade for draft choices where the within round position is known.
  
  * Ticket price increases will be tied to my team's performance and the local economy. I won't be abusing this aspect of the game.
  
  * Additional rules may be added if necessary.

[QuikSand]

Vaj - with the "tightened" game in FOF 2001, it might be worth setting forth in advance any rules that you intend to follow regarding:

-undrafted rookie free agents
-second year free agents
-post-camp free agents

I suspect that dealing with these special categories of players will end up becoming among the most popular forms of AI abuse in the new game. These might be worth considering before you get too far in (I wish I had-- in retrospect, I wish I had set more house rules for my latest career).

Good luck.

[Vaj]

2001 Off-Season

Our coach's contract is up, and, since we're going in an entirely new direction, opt for a coach strong in developing players at the expense of game-day skills. We give 54 year-old Lorenzo Zardiackas his first NFL (TM) head coaching job. His ratings are G/EX/G/G/F/VG/VG/G/VG/F/F/G/F/EX. Unfortunately, there wasn't much help available to replace my senile scout, so Jimmie Selby, 64, sticks around for another year. Since his ratings are F/F/G/G/F/VG/G/G/VG, we'll keep our eyes open for scouts with expiring contracts.

In a purge that would make Stalin proud, every player under contract is either traded for a draft pick, or cut. In fact, after a dozen inquiries, GMs wouldn't return my calls unless I had a concrete proposal. The only player I could trade for a first round pick was La'Roi Glover, though I did get 5 additional picks in the second and third rounds, one more pick in the fourth and sixth rounds, and three more picks in the seventh. We also have our #19 pick in each round.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Jared Boyer, WR, Central Florida
Rnd 1 - Robert Chubick, LB, Rutgers
Rnd 2 - Stanley Streets, QB, Southern California
Rnd 2 - Barry Paeth, RB, Mississippi
Rnd 2 - Xavier Evans, C, Ohio State
Rnd 2 - Brant Blair, DE, Army
Rnd 2 - Ernest Ruiz, DT, Florida
Rnd 2 - Robbie Totten, CB, Miami, Florida
Rnd 3 - J.T. England, TE, Brigham Young
Rnd 3 - Bubba Abdul-Jabbar, WR, Arkansas Tech
Rnd 3 - O.J. Duncan, G, Towson
Rnd 3 - Trevor Tylski, G, Kansas
Rnd 3 - Geoff Lee, DT, Norfolk State
Rnd 3 - Reggie Ingram, S, Tennessee
Rnd 4 - Pat Eldridge, LB, Central Florida
Rnd 4 - Fernando Brady, CB, Washington State
Rnd 5 - Norman Crawford, T, Marshall
Rnd 6 - Marvin Mason, T, Northwestern
Rnd 6 - Jerome Walden, S, Michigan State
Rnd 7 - Chester Mojica, QB, Colorado
Rnd 7 - Frank Bruce, FB, Minnesota
Rnd 7 - Chester Meier, DE, Missouri


If nothing else, I drafted an entry in the weirdest name contest in the third round. After the draft, I complete the roster as best I can, signing all undrafted rookies to their request of a one-year min-sal contract (thanks QS), and head into training camp with 51 players:

EA.com Front Office Football 2001
From the desk of Jimmie Selby of the New Orleans Saints

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Stanley Streets 4 13 1 2005
QB Chester Mojica 2 11 1 2003
QB Edgar Butler 1 11 1 2001
RB Barry Paeth 10 12 1 2004
RB Joey Elliott 4 10 1 2001
RB Toby Tate 3 10 1 2001
RB Louis Gibson 2 11 1 2001
FB Frank Bruce 4 11 1 2003
FB Doug Meyer 3 10 1 2001
TE J.T. England 8 8 1 2003
TE Luke Jeffries 3 10 1 2001
TE Josh Wolf 3 11 1 2001
WR Jared Boyer 10 13 1 2004
WR Bubba Abdul-Jabbar 8 8 1 2004
WR David Hanks 8 8 1 2001
WR Darrin Lester 7 7 1 2001
WR Joseph Hopkins 4 10 1 2001
C Xavier Evans 8 10 1 2004
C Trent Brennan 2 11 1 2001
G O.J. Duncan 3 13 1 2003
G Trevor Tylski 2 13 1 2004
G Mercury Meier 1 10 1 2001
G Mickey Rodenhauser 1 11 1 2001
T Marvin Mason 3 5 1 2002
T Morris Perkins 3 3 1 2001
T Norman Crawford 2 9 1 2002
T Phillip Conway 0 7 1 2001
P Dixon Finkes 8 13 1 2001
K Herman McNeil 5 10 1 2001
DE Brant Blair 4 13 1 2004
DE Bobby Lynn 2 3 1 2001
DE Chester Meier 2 7 1 2003
DE Brent Freese 1 8 1 2001
DT Geoff Lee 5 11 1 2003
DT Ernest Ruiz 4 13 1 2004
DT Bart Rodgers 2 10 1 2001
DT Kirk Rodrigues 2 10 1 2001
LB Robert Chubick 5 17 1 2004
LB Billy Joe Griffin 3 11 1 2001
LB Pat Eldridge 2 11 1 2003
LB Martin Coleman 1 11 1 2001
LB Courtney Newsome 1 11 1 2001
LB Kennedy Griffin 1 10 1 2001
CB Robbie Totten 5 14 1 2003
CB Bryan McGee 3 3 1 2001
CB Fernando Brady 3 10 1 2002
CB Neal Kaplan 2 8 1 2001
S Reggie Ingram 7 7 1 2004
S Cary Chamberlin 6 6 1 2001
S Jerome Walden 4 11 1 2002
S Floyd Looney 1 10 1 2001

I've never been so nervous heading into a training camp!

[Vaj]

2001 Off-Season (Continued)

We let our scout handle the training camp regimen, focusing on defense (except for the 3-4) and select offensive formations. We'll worry about special situations after we win a game, whenever that will be. I hold my breath as I get the post-camp scout overview:

EA.com Front Office Football 2001
From the desk of Jimmie Selby of the New Orleans Saints

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Stanley Streets 3 14 1 2005
QB Chester Mojica 2 7 1 2003
QB Edgar Butler 1 11 1 2001
RB Barry Paeth 11 13 1 2004
RB Joey Elliott 6 10 1 2001
RB Toby Tate 4 11 1 2001
RB Louis Gibson 3 9 1 2001
FB Frank Bruce 4 8 1 2003
FB Doug Meyer 2 7 1 2001
TE J.T. England 8 11 1 2003
TE Josh Wolf 3 10 1 2001
TE Luke Jeffries 2 10 1 2001
WR Jared Boyer 9 13 1 2004
WR Darrin Lester 8 8 1 2001
WR David Hanks 7 7 1 2001
WR Bubba Abdul-Jabbar 7 7 1 2004
WR Joseph Hopkins 4 7 1 2001
C Xavier Evans 7 11 1 2004
C Trent Brennan 2 11 1 2001
G O.J. Duncan 3 13 1 2003
G Trevor Tylski 3 12 1 2004
G Mickey Rodenhauser 1 9 1 2001
G Mercury Meier 1 9 1 2001
T Marvin Mason 5 17 1 2002
T Morris Perkins 3 3 1 2001
T Norman Crawford 3 7 1 2002
T Phillip Conway 0 7 1 2001
P Dixon Finkes 5 12 1 2001
K Herman McNeil 4 13 1 2001
DE Brant Blair 4 10 1 2004
DE Chester Meier 2 7 1 2003
DE Bobby Lynn 2 4 1 2001
DE Brent Freese 1 8 1 2001
DT Geoff Lee 5 13 1 2003
DT Ernest Ruiz 4 12 1 2004
DT Kirk Rodrigues 2 9 1 2001
DT Bart Rodgers 2 10 1 2001
LB Robert Chubick 6 15 1 2004
LB Billy Joe Griffin 4 8 1 2001
LB Pat Eldridge 2 9 1 2003
LB Courtney Newsome 2 11 1 2001
LB Martin Coleman 1 8 1 2001
LB Kennedy Griffin 1 5 1 2001
LB Cris McDaniel 1 10 1 2001
CB Robbie Totten 5 13 1 2003
CB Neal Kaplan 3 4 1 2001
CB Bryan McGee 3 3 1 2001
CB Phil Weber 3 4 1 2001
CB Fernando Brady 3 10 1 2002
S Reggie Ingram 7 7 1 2004
S Cary Chamberlin 6 7 1 2001
S Jerome Walden 4 10 1 2002
S Floyd Looney 1 6 1 2001


Whew! No one has become an obvious bust, and sixth round pick T Marvin Mason could be a huge bargain.

Not surprisgly, our cohesion is dead last in all four categories: 52-50-51-50.

This year we're just trying to gain some experience, and to keep our (few) players with bright futures healthy.

[Vaj]

2001 Season

We actually won a pre-season game, though we started the regular season 0-2. Chris Chandler lit us up for 537 yards passing in week 2. We beat Carolina in week 3, and Buffalo in week 6 before hitting losing streaks of 5 and 4 games, ending the year 4-12 with a bunch of nagging injuries, despite Coach Z's excellent injury rating.

QB Stanley Streets: 72.9 rating (21 TDs, 17 INTs, sacked 57(!) times, 3416 yards). A promising debut.

RB Barry Paeth: 262 carries, 1196 yards (4.5 ypc), 5 TDs, Offensive Rookie of the Year

WR: David Hanks 50 catches, 827 yards, 3 TDs, 7 drops
Darrin Lester 65 catches, 818 yards, 3 TDs, 7 drops
Jared Boyer 63 catches, 784 yards, 6 TDs, 12 drops (14 games)

OL: ~28% KRB (T Melvin Mason 12 sacks allowed, 14/54 KRB -- we'll see what next year brings)

DL: Brant Blair 10 sacks, Geoff Lee 8.5 sacks (14 games)

S: Cary Chamberlain 75 tackles, 6 INTs, 3 TDs, 39.8 PDQ. Undrafted rookie won Defensive Rookie of the Year

Yards/rush (Off/Def/NFL): 4.1/5.2/3.7
Yards/pass (Off/Def/NFL): 6.4/7.2/6.5


With 495 PA, the defense clearly needs work, and 284 PF befits a 4-12 team. With the additional draft picks, this season seemed a lot like the 1999 FOF2 bare cupboard Browns. It will be interesting to see how many RFAs will be worth keeping, given their propensity for asking for big bucks.




[This message has been edited by Vaj (edited 11-07-2000).]

[Vaj]

2002 Off-Season

Herb says: 2-57-81-89 --> 54

There aren't any decent young scouts available, so I try to upgrade by hiring a more competent geezer, namely Russell Franz, 66. His ratings are G/VG/VG/G/EX/G/G/EX/EX, and I offer exactly what he's asking for: $220K for 3 years. He waits in vain for a better offer, then takes our in the final stage.

We lose DE Chester Meier to the Salt Lake City Polygamists in the expansion draft. Although barely profitable last year, the local economy contracted last year, so I only raise the price of luxury boxes by about 4%.

In free agency, I decide upon a house rule: I may only try to sign free agents in the 20 stages to contracts no more than one year longer than that of their demand. CPU teams did this in FOF2, so it seems fair enough to me, and it avoids the seven year deals which they are prone to sign. I sign T Gabe Henson (2nd round pick last year) to a 3 year, $3.2m bonus free deal. In stage 13 I offer DE Jackie Spencer around $9m for 3 years, which he takes. I may regret this move, but I'm quite weak at DE at the moment. I was tempted by a CB, but was unwilling to commit $20m to someone who was inactive all last year.

Signing my RFAs is a royal hassle. I pony up for DROY Chamberlain, and my (cheap) K, and backup FB and C, and head to the draft. We have the #2 pick, see an awesome looking QB, Barry Bingham, but Salt Lake City takes him #1. Not seeing anyone worth the #2 pick, except for a RB we really don't need, we trade to #8, and net a seventh round pick. Quite a change from FOF2. I have my eye on two DEs and a LB, and will assume that at least one of these guys will make it to #8.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Lincoln Morris, LB, Wayne State (Neb.)
Rnd 2 - Eric Small, WR, Maryland
Rnd 3 - Preston Wright, CB, Washington
Rnd 4 - Howie Sanford, QB, Rutgers
Rnd 5 - Brent Lazetti, WR, Hampton
Rnd 6 - Emmitt Rypien, RB, Hawaii
Rnd 7 - Broderick Stephenson, RB, Minnesota
Rnd 7 - Greg Cowles, DE, Oregon State

The DEs both go, leaving us with a LB with a future combine rating of 8.2. We try to stick with BPAs until the last two rounds, where we concentrate on filling positions that are usually more expensive. I fill out the roster with rookies as best I can, as I hit upon the 70 player roster limit again. Well, as best as I can within reason, as Barry Bingham wasn't signed by the Polygamists, and is a free agent! Although I'm sorely tempted, it just doesn't seem right to sign someone else's #1 that quickly, so I pass up his 5 year proposal with a $14m signing bonus.


From the desk of Russell Franz of the New Orleans Saints

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Stanley Streets 7 13 2 2005
QB Chester Mojica 3 8 2 2003
QB Howie Sanford 1 2 1 2004
RB Barry Paeth 13 13 2 2004
RB Emmitt Rypien 8 8 1 2004
RB Broderick Stephenson 5 10 1 2004
RB Heath Hickman 5 9 1 2002
FB Frank Bruce 7 8 2 2003
FB Doug Meyer 5 7 2 2004
TE J.T. England 11 12 2 2003
TE Roger Reed 7 7 1 2002
TE Shaun Darrow 2 10 1 2002
WR Jared Boyer 12 12 2 2004
WR Eric Small 10 11 1 2005
WR Brent Lazetti 8 12 1 2004
WR Bubba Abdul-Jabbar 7 7 2 2004
WR Chuck Bauer 4 10 1 2002
C Xavier Evans 13 13 2 2004
C Trent Brennan 4 10 2 2003
G O.J. Duncan 9 13 2 2003
G Trevor Tylski 7 10 2 2004
G Mickey Rodenhauser 5 7 2 2003
G Sedrick Cohen 1 11 1 2002
T Marvin Mason 11 16 2 2002
T Gabe Henson 7 10 2 2004
T Norman Crawford 4 7 2 2002
T Joe Robinson 1 9 1 2002
P Ricardo Schultz 6 10 1 2002
K Herman McNeil 9 10 2 2004
DE Brant Blair 5 11 2 2004
DE Greg Cowles 5 5 1 2004
DE Jackie Spencer 4 9 2 2004
DE Brenden Cabral 2 7 1 2002
DT Geoff Lee 8 12 2 2003
DT Ernest Ruiz 6 12 2 2004
DT Rodney Enbysk 3 8 1 2002
DT Steven Tang 1 9 1 2002
LB Robert Chubick 10 14 2 2004
LB Courtney Newsome 5 9 2 2004
LB Pat Eldridge 5 9 2 2003
LB Scott Halcomb 4 9 1 2002
LB Ethan Hopper 4 8 2 2004
LB Lincoln Morris 3 14 1 2007
LB Claude Cash 2 8 1 2002
CB Robbie Totten 9 11 2 2003
CB Preston Wright 5 13 1 2005
CB Fernando Brady 3 7 2 2002
CB Jimmy Shapiro 3 7 1 2002
CB Chester Chmura 3 8 1 2002
S Reggie Ingram 7 8 2 2004
S Cary Chamberlin 6 7 2 2003
S Jerome Walden 4 7 2 2002
S Morris Vance 2 8 1 2002


Ugh. Our first and fourth round picks took a big ratings hit, although Morris looks like he may still have a reasonably bright future. OTOH, Howie Sanford appears to be a career clipboard holder. After this ugly draft, we'll be very happy with seven wins, and content with six.

[Vaj]

2002 Season

We lost all of our pre-season games, although we didn't lose many players to injury. We kept right on losing in the regular season, dropping our first four games before the bye mercifully intervened. Barry Paeth went down with a broken foot in week 3, a 51-13 loss to the Rams. We followed that up with a 48-3 home loss to the Panthers.

We went to 0-6 by losing to previously 0-6 Baltimore before finally beating the 1-6 Giants. We actually won two of our next three, although injuries to Eldridge, Hopper, and Morris devastate our LB corps. Our espirit de corps then gets obliterated as the table is run out on us, and we end the year 3-13. Here's the unhappy recap:

QB: Stanley Streets: 60.2 rating (13 TDs, 21 INTs, 34 sacks) - a significant step back
RB: Barry Paeth: 229-885 (3.8), 3 TDs in 12 games - hopefully the effects of the broken foot don't linger, as the OL was the only area that seemed to improve this year.
WR: Eric Small: 66-903 (13.6), 5 TDs, 9 drops - not a bad rookie year
WR: Jared Boyer: 48-626 (13.0), 4 TDs, 10 drops - hands of stone?
OL: ~ 33 KRB%, 34 sacks allowed much more reasonable stats

Yards/rush (Off/Def/NFL): 3.4/4.2/3.6
Yards/pass (Off/Def/NFL): 5.9/6.5/6.6

Paeth's injury clearly hurt our rushing game, and our D couldn't stop the run, even in practice. We allowed 409 points, an improvement from last year, but only scored 230, including a pitiful 3.7 points per trip in the red zone.

For the second year in the row, Green Bay knocked off the Rams in the NFC Title Game and went on to win the Super Bowl.

[Vaj]

2003 Off-Season

Herb says: 0-55-74-91 --> 50

No retirements, no staff changes. First thing to do in free agency is to look for QB Barry Bingham, the unsigned #1 draft pick. The Patriots picked him up, put up a 71.1 QB rating in 5 games (4 starts), and he's now a restricted free agent. We'll look for him after training camp. There's not too much to choose from in free agency. We sign DT Cris Welch and T Stephen Bellisari to bonus-free deals, and CB Junior Money to a four-year contract with a six-figure bonus. On to the draft, where we have the #1 pick.

We have a serious need for a stud DE and CB, although a monster QB would be nice as well. None are forthcoming, but there is a good-looking WR, Thomas Regalia (6.2/8/0), who has speed to burn, and a great set of potentials (lowest is catching of 77). I choose him over a promising T and DT. Although WR wasn't my most dire need, it was a need nonetheless (most 3-13 teams have plenty of them), and the offense was poor.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Thomas Regalia, WR, Arizona State
Rnd 2 - Marco Blackburn, CB, Toledo
Rnd 3 - Donnie Clarke, TE, Washington State
Rnd 4 - Mo Hughes, LB, Louisiana State
Rnd 5 - Ernest Lyle, DE, Illinois
Rnd 6 - Dexter Graham, T, Washington
Rnd 7 - J.B. Newhart, G, Vanderbilt


I may have gotten a steal in TE Donnie Clarke, who my scout had tabbed with the best future potential in round 2, yet lasted until round 3. My scout thinks that Blackburn and Hughes could develop into future starters as well, although my last three picks were strictly to fill roster spots. We fill out our roster with the usual motley assortment of undrafted rookies, and here's our scout's overview headed into the exhibition season:

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Stanley Streets 9 13 3 2005
QB Chester Mojica 3 9 3 2003
QB Howie Sanford 1 2 2 2004
RB Barry Paeth 13 13 3 2004
RB Emmitt Rypien 8 8 2 2004
RB Broderick Stephenson 7 9 2 2004
RB Corey Singleton 3 9 1 2003
FB Frank Bruce 8 8 3 2003
FB Doug Meyer 5 6 3 2004
TE J.T. England 13 13 3 2003
TE Donnie Clarke 13 14 1 2005
TE Byron Mills 3 6 1 2003
WR Jared Boyer 13 13 3 2004
WR Thomas Regalia 12 12 1 2007
WR Eric Small 11 11 2 2005
WR Brent Lazetti 9 12 2 2004
WR Bubba Abdul-Jabbar 7 7 3 2004
C Xavier Evans 13 13 3 2004
C Trent Brennan 6 10 3 2003
G O.J. Duncan 13 15 3 2003
G Trevor Tylski 9 9 3 2004
G Mickey Rodenhauser 6 8 3 2003
G J.B. Newhart 3 3 1 2004
T Marvin Mason 12 13 3 2004
T Gabe Henson 7 10 3 2004
T Stephen Bellisari 3 6 2 2005
T Dexter Graham 2 10 1 2005
P Ricardo Schultz 9 11 2 2003
K Herman McNeil 9 10 3 2004
DE Brant Blair 7 11 3 2004
DE Jackie Spencer 4 7 3 2004
DE Greg Cowles 4 5 2 2004
DE Ernest Lyle 3 11 1 2004
DT Geoff Lee 9 13 3 2003
DT Ernest Ruiz 8 11 3 2004
DT Cris Welch 4 7 2 2006
DT Juan Kinney 3 9 1 2003
LB Robert Chubick 12 15 3 2004
LB Pat Eldridge 6 8 3 2003
LB Courtney Newsome 6 8 3 2004
LB Lincoln Morris 5 10 2 2007
LB Scott Halcomb 5 7 2 2004
LB Mo Hughes 3 13 1 2006
LB Terry Patton 2 10 1 2003
CB Robbie Totten 11 12 3 2003
CB Preston Wright 9 12 2 2005
CB Junior Money 5 9 2 2006
CB Marco Blackburn 4 12 1 2006
CB Bryce Rasmic 4 4 1 2003
S Reggie Ingram 8 8 3 2004
S Cary Chamberlin 7 7 3 2003
S Jerome Walden 4 7 3 2004
S Gary Updike 2 9 1 2003

Thankfully, the assessment of our first four picks doesn't change much after we get them through training camp. Although .500 seems like an ambitious goal, that's what we'll shoot for this year.

Cohesion is 59/62/58/59.


P.S. QB Barry Bingham signed for $390,000 with Tampa Bay. We'll keep looking for him on the waiver wire.

[Vaj]

2003 Season

We conclude our 2-2 pre-season completely healthy. Naturally, #1 pick Thomas Regalia suffers a deep thigh bruise on his first professional series, and will need 3-5 to return to full strength. In addition, Barry Paeth now has a case of turf toe.

Behind 2 interception returns for TDs, we beat Carolina 34-17 in week 1. Another interception return, this time by Preston Wright, gives us a 26-20 OT win over San Diego. We now have a bye week to get our offensive weapons healthy. After the bye we're involved in another OT game, and a Streets to Boyer 56 yard bomb ends the game, a 23-17 win to get us to 3-0! Barry Paeth, now entirely healthy, rushed for 185 yards, but Regalia aggravated his thigh bruise.

Reality now intrudes. We lose 16-12 at home to previously winless San Francisco. We then understandably lose to unbeaten Detroit and Atlanta (twice), and to 4-2 St. Louis. After losing to the beatable Giants, we finally win in Seattle vs. the 1-8 Seahawks. A victory over Salt Lake City gets us to 5-6, and a win over the 4-7 49ers would get us back into the wild card chase. Forget it, 38-13. We battle to 7-8, despite losing DE Jackie Spencer to a horrific knee injury, but lose 19-17 to the Chiefs and end the year 7-9.

Individual highlights:

QB: Chester Streets 82.1 rating (18 TDs, 13 INTs, 3059 yards) - a solid year, helped immensely by ...

RB: Barry Paeth 1433 rushing yards (4.4 avg), 11 TDs; 46 catches for 406 yards -- 1st team All Pro, and Offensive Player of the Year. Note to self: extend his contract.

WR: Eric Small (57 catches, 879 yards, 7 TDs, 7 drops) - another solid year.

WR: Jared Boyer (36-622, 4 TDs, 8 drops, 14 games) - still has the dropsies.

WR: Thomas Regalia (29-492, 3 TDs, 7 drops, 13 games, 8 starts) - made Boyer look like Cris Carter. Hopefully another training camp will help his hands.

OL: ~28% KRB (not good), 28 sacks allowed (quite good). C Xaiver Evans inexplicably named first team center (28.5 KRB%)

DE: Jackie Spencer (8.5 sacks in 13 games) - RIP

LB: Robert Chubick (102 tackles, 5.5 sacks) - came into his own


Yards/rush (Off/Def/NFL): 4.0/4.2/3.7
Yards/pass (Off/Def/NFL): 7.4/7.0/6.6

Our point differential, 350-377, indicates that the offense dramatically improved, the defense pretty much treaded water, and 7-9 was about right. If our wideouts can hang onto the ball we'll really be able to take a step forward next year.

[Vaj]

2004 Off-Season

Herb says: 34-52-70-91 --> 56

The contracts of my scout and coach both expire next year. I'll look for fresh blood next year.

You know you're not the main draw in town when people pay more attention to a cow-chip tossing contest than your team. We averaged only 39,300 in attendance, and, despite making the Griffith family look extravagant, still lost $22 mil this season. I decide to ask the moro, uh, voters for $70 mil to add 200 luxury boxes. This should be shot down quite handily, leaving me the option to try to get out of town.

We have some RFA unhappy reserves that we'll try to replace in free agency. Once again, Barry Bingham is a RFA, so there's no QB really worth pursuing, except for Roosevelt Grant, Detroit's third stringer, who I'm able to get for around $6.5m over three years (my former backup, Chester Mojica, was demanding around $30m for 4 years). My fourth year backup G and C are also asking for ridiculous sums of green, so they're replaced by C Alonzo McGee and G Alvin Rose. Both linemen figure to be backups.

I also have seven three-year starters with expired contracts. I sign G O.J. Duncan($9.6m/3yrs) and CB Robbie Totten ($15.1m/3yrs), as I don't have any suitable replacements. I also sign S Cary Chamberlain ($8.9m/3yrs). I'll wait until after the draft before deciding what to do with FB Bruce, TE England, and DT Lee (asking for $28m/4yrs), and LB Eldridge won't be around for training camp. I also extend Barry Paeth to 2006 and Marvin Mason to 2005.

We have the #13 pick in the draft, and are again looking for a standout QB or DE to fall to us. There are none available, as usual, so we decide on one of two sweet looking LBs. Hopefully, he'll turn out better than Lincoln Morris.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Jackie Lyon, LB, UCLA
Rnd 2 - Lance Price, S, Illinois
Rnd 3 - J.T. Durham, DE, North Carolina State
Rnd 4 - Roderick Bland, DT, Purdue
Rnd 5 - Fernando Kinney, G, Southern California
Rnd 6 - Levon Burdette, QB, Vanderbilt
Rnd 7 - Irv Sasser, TE, Florida State


FWIW, Lyon has combine ratings of 5.9/7.4. My scout feels that the other LB, Mercury Esparza, has a slightly brighter future, but Lyon should make more of an immediate impact in a position of need. Esparza was taken at #20 by the Niners, so I'll be able to directly keep track of them two times a year. From round 3 on, I'm able to fill need areas without reaching or passing on promising looking players.

After the draft, we re-sign FB Frank Bruce for two years and $3 mil, and let my other RFAs test the market. We are also informed that our stadium referendum got shot down by a 2-1 margin. After filling out the roster with undrafted rookies, we discover that, apart from the fact that I neglected to save the scout overview, that we have no obvious busts, and LB Lyon looks slightly better than my scout imagined, with a future grade of 17/20.

The enigmatic Barry Bingham has moved on to Detroit, after only getting into one game as a Buccaneer.

Our cohesion is now up to 62/69/63/61. Our goal is nine wins, which seems reasonable, barring serious injuries to key players, of course.

[Vaj]

2004 Season

Although we were 2-2, our pre-season was painful, as CB Preston Wright broke some ribs and WR Jared Boyer hyperextended a knee, and will miss some regular season action, more so for Wright. Junior Money will have to play with a brusied sternum, leaving my secondary quite thin.

Surprisingly, we start the regular season 2-1 (all divisional games), and then going 2-1 in our next three as well (all out of the division), and are tied with San Fran at 4-2, one game behind the Falcolns. We next go to Atlanta to try to climb into first, and things look good as we have a 20-7 midway through the third. However, we give up two big plays for scores (a 56 yard Jamal run and a 71 yard Shawn Jefferson reception) to fall behind 21-20. That's how the score remained until Herman McNeil hit a 46 yard FG with :47 left. However, Jefferson had two more big catches, setting up a 38 yard Falcoln FG with 6 ticks left, and we have the bye to sulk over a bitter 24-23 defeat.

Our next game brings more bad news, as we lose in OT to the Patriots, and lose QB Chester Streets to a dislocated knee. We drop to 5-6 with Roosevelt Grant starting, and Chubick and Paeth sustain sprained necks. A 35-6 drubbing at the hands of the Niners leave us a banged-up, disconsolate 5-7. We manage to beat up on hapless Carolina, and then surprise in 8-5 Buffalo, winning by 3 field goals to 2 to get back to .500, one game behind a wild card logjam. A 24-17 win over last place Washington keeps us in the playoff chase, and we have the chance to knock down 9-6 San Francisco in the final week. I activate the questionable Chubick, Paeth, and Streets. Paeth didn't play, Streets got knocked out in the first after throwing a pick that was returned for a TD, and yet we scored 24 points in the final five minutes to pull out a 47-21 win. Perusing the scoreboard, I only see one 10-6 wild card team (the Rams), so we have a chance.

{Exit Simulate Games window} We're still playing! We wound up with the #5 seed, and go to St. Louis, looking to avenge our two regular season losses to them. Despite losing, San Fran is the third wild card, meaning that every team from the NFC West but Carolina made the playoffs.

[Vaj]

2004 Post-Season

The Rams outscored their opponents 400-299 during the regular season, and have perennial FOF standout Charlie Batch filling in for Trent Green, who's out with a broken jaw.

After an exchange of punts, we embark on a 13 play drive that ends with a 32 yard McNeil FG and we take a 3-0 lead with 5:25 left in the first quarter. The punters remain busy until a 4th and 3 from the Ram 46, when they go for it. Batch's pass was on target, but Isaac Bruce dropped it! Paeth immediately runs around left end for 13 yards, and we're in business. However, we lose one yard on the next three plays, and our punt sails into the end zone. A wasted opportunity. Energized, the Rams sustain a time-consuming drive, culminating with a Batch to Holt 20 yard scoring strike, and the Rams take a 7-3 lead, which is the halftime score.

After forcing a 3 and out to start the second half, we take over on our 46. Paeth busts a 27 yard run up the middle, then we complete a 6 yard pass. On second down, Paeth goes into the line, and fumbles the ball away. Faulk immediately breaks off a 20 yard run, and a 9 yard Batch to Connell pass puts the Rams up 14-3. We put together a modest drive, but on a 4th and 2 from the Ram 41, Paeth's off-tackle run got stuffed, and an unsportsmanlike penalty against us put the Rams on our 41. It was 21-3 four plays later, and we're in deep trouble. We can't convert a 4th and 2 from our 40, but our defense holds, and they miss a 49 yard FG. We can't take advantage and punt, but the return is fumbled, and we set up shop on the Ram 6. A second down Grant to Lazetti pass for 5 yards and a TD gets us to 21-9, as the two-point conversion fails. With 10:30 left, we still have some hope. But the Rams methodically march down the field, settling for a 29 yard FG and a 15 point lead. We can't move the ball the rest of the game, and lose 27-9.


QB's: 75.8 rating, 12 TDs, 11 INTs combined (Grant 75.9, Streets 75.7 had eerily similar stat lines)

RB: Barry Paeth 194-867, 6 TDs in 13 games
RB: Emmitt Rypien 139-566, 4 TDs filled in admirably when Paeth was injured

WR: Thomas Regalia 60-913, only 1 drop. Well, he certainly held on to the damn ball this year.

WR: Eric Small 70-671 another productive year, but under 10 yards/catch?

OL: ~34% KRB, 27 sacks allowed. Gabe Hanson was second team all pro tackle (3 sacks allowed, 5 over last 32 starts)

Yards/rush (Off/Def/NFL): 3.8/3.8/3.6
Yards/pass (Off/Def/NFL): 6.2/6.2/6.4

Our +9 turnover margin appeared to be the difference between us going 8-8 and 9-7.

We have some key players eligible for free agency, but hope to be able to find some talent as well. We also have to see how the fans react to our plaoff season before deciding to submit another New Orleans renovation, or to try to head to greener pastures. It will be an interesting off-season.

[Vaj]

2005 Off-Season

Herb says: 57-50-69-92 --> 60

Decisions, decisions. First, both my scout and coach have expired contracts. I scour for a younger scout with better ratings than the incumbent (F/G/G/G/VG/G/G/EX/EX), but in vain. I'm more enthusiatic about the coach (EX in avoiding injury, overall fairly good), but neither are worth overpaying for. I agree to their requests in stage 1, and Coach Zardiackis ($3.1m/3yrs) signs immediately. Scout Russell Franz ($230k/3 yrs) waits and waits, but, attracting no higher offers, re-ups with us in the final stage. We'll still be on the lookout for up-and-coming scouts, though.

Despite the relatively high profitability rating, we lost over $30 mil last year. Our fan support is still in the single digits, support for construction has jumped from none all the way to poor(17), and the local economy is now contracting at an annual rate of 1.8%. Clearly, it's time to move. The city most desparate for an NFL team is Los Angeles. I swallow my pride and ask for a new stadium, even offering to pay for 20% of the cost ($90m/$450m). I might be too generous, but I'm also desparate to get out.

I also have some free agents. I opt to franchise T Gabe Henson, and will try to sign LB Chubick at all costs. I'll try to upgrade at positions where I have decent UFAs. I also feel compelled to be slightly freer with my owner's money in order to impress the materialistic citizens of Los Angeles.

Robert Chubick signs immediately with us for $17.25m/3 years, but most of the top free agents that entered the league in 2001 are on my roster. So much for upgrading via free agency. WR Boyer and G Tylski receive what I consider to be staggering offers. Congratulations, guys. The only position where I can upgrade is S, but a Detroit starter spurns us in stage 1, and a Cleveland starter does the same in stage 2. Curiously, the demands by Saint free agents are considerably higher than those of seemingly comparable players from other teams. I offer C Xaiver Evans $15.3m/3yrs, slightly exceeding his request, but he leaves me hanging. Otherwise, I sit tight, waiting for other teams to make an offer to my free agents before hopefully getting the chance to respond. DT Ernest Ruiz attracts some attention in stage 7, so I offer an absurd $12.1m/2yrs. Both Evans and Ruiz sign with us in stage 9. I also sign K McNeil, DE Blair, and S Ingram, both to more than they deserve.

Before the draft, I sign CB Artie DiCosomo (45.9 PDQ as a third or fourth CB), undrafted last year, to a $10.5m/2 yr contract, and third WR Brett Lazetti for $9.7m/2yrs. I've now pissed away more money than I intended, so I don't have room to extend the contracts of some key players yet. However, I do have the room to consider an intriguing offer from Miami: the second overall pick in the draft for QB Stanley Streets. I'd take a big cohesion hit, but Streets' contract is up at the end of the year, Barry Bingham has not re-signed with Detroit, and is angry about his P.T., and, crucially, Roosevelt Grant did fill in admirably last season. I pull the trigger, and am now glad that I still have a scout who is excellent at grading young talent.

Salt Lake City has the first pick, and they choose the QB I coveted. Let's see if they sign him this time. There's still a highly regarded QB who looks good to my scout, but there appear to be other options further down the chart. Also, there are absolute studs available at G, T, DT, and S (unfortunately, not DE). Another tough call.

Amateur Draft Report:

Rnd 1 - Johnnie Shepard, DT, Pittsburgh
Rnd 1 - Eddie Northcutt, S, California
Rnd 2 - Tyrus Skelly, RB, Texas Christian
Rnd 3 - Brad Buckner, WR, Indiana
Rnd 4 - Wes Baxter, LB, Northwestern
Rnd 5 - Clyde Seeley, RB, Houston
Rnd 6 - Marshall Parten, QB, Alabama
Rnd 7 - Antonio Gray, S, Southern Mississippi


I take DT Shepard at #2. At this point his ratings are 48/78 - 50/92 - 100, and my scout had him pegged as having both the highest current ability and future potential. I immediately release disgruntled DT Cris Welch, as he won't be getting any happier, and I'll need the cap room. Northcutt was one of a deep class of safeties, and, although not a pressing need, I couldn't resist. Gray also looks like a steal as a seventh rounder. I also put an emphasis on the skill positions, as I'm lacking a full complement of signed players at these positions. We head into training camp with 51 players and a mere $280,000 of cap room.

After camp, we see that, although Shepard doesn't seem to be quite the world-beater that we initially thought, his ratings of 37/72 - 45/94 - 100 hardly qualify as a bust. S Northcutt went from #3 to #1 on the S depth chart, and the other draftees held their ratings. Also of note, Barry Bingham is unsigned. Regrettably, we have to cut former starting S Cary Chamberlain (lost his job to Northcutt) to make room, but at least we can now extend T Marvin Mason for two additional seasons. Here's our roster headed into the exhibition season:

Position/Player Current Est Future Est Exp Sgnd
QB Barry Bingham 12 18 4 2005
QB Roosevelt Grant 6 8 3 2006
QB Marshall Parten 1 8 1 2006
RB Barry Paeth 13 13 5 2006
RB Clyde Seeley 5 11 1 2006
RB Kyle Cortez 4 9 1 2005
RB Tyrus Skelly 6 10 1 2007
FB Frank Bruce 7 8 5 2005
FB Graham Roberts 3 9 1 2005
TE Donnie Clarke 14 14 3 2005
TE Irv Sasser 6 8 2 2006
TE Bryant Monroe 3 11 1 2005
WR Brent Lazetti 9 11 4 2006
WR Eric Small 12 12 4 2005
WR Thomas Regalia 17 17 3 2007
WR Brad Buckner 8 8 1 2008
WR Marvin Cooley 4 10 1 2005
C Xavier Evans 13 13 5 2007
C Leslie Morales 2 11 1 2005
G O.J. Duncan 11 14 5 2006
G Alvin Rose 6 9 3 2006
G Fernando Kinney 5 8 2 2005
G Dave Dugans 1 9 1 2005
T Gabe Henson 8 9 5 2005
T Marvin Mason 13 14 5 2005
T Dexter Graham 6 10 3 2005
T Gene Erickson 1 11 1 2005
P Ricardo Schultz 9 10 4 2006
K Herman McNeil 9 10 5 2007
DE Brant Blair 8 9 5 2007
DE Ernest Lyle 6 10 3 2007
DE J.T. Durham 6 9 2 2007
DE Mitch Hatcher 4 5 1 2005
DT Ernest Ruiz 8 12 5 2006
DT Roderick Bland 5 11 2 2006
DT Johnnie Shepard 10 16 1 2010
DT Vince Sierra 2 9 1 2005
LB Robert Chubick 13 15 5 2007
LB Lincoln Morris 7 10 4 2007
LB Scott Halcomb 5 8 4 2005
LB Mo Hughes 7 13 3 2006
LB Jackie Lyon 11 15 2 2009
LB Wes Baxter 2 12 1 2008
LB Kyle Stevenson 1 13 1 2005
CB Robbie Totten 11 11 5 2006
CB Preston Wright 10 11 4 2005
CB Marco Blackburn 8 11 3 2006
CB Artie DiCosomo 7 13 2 2006
CB Kennedy Flockhart 4 4 1 2005
S Reggie Ingram 9 9 5 2006
S Lance Price 6 13 2 2007
S Antonio Gray 6 13 1 2007
S Eddie Northcutt 10 15 1 2009

Cohesion fell to 57-69-64-55. Our goal is to get back to the playoffs, but with a new QB we may need some time to get untracked.

One more piece of news. After all the hanging chads were removed, the folks of Los Angeles approved our stadium by 54%-46%. It appears that was overly generous to a degree, but the vote was close enough that I won't beat myself up over it, or my current fan support inevitably plunging from 8 to 0.