GroupThink - 1997 Little Rock Rollers

[primelord]

I don't see any problem moving down. We could use the extra picks.

There are two guys I think look intriguing though. Quik what are your thoughts on

MLB Thurman Ritchie
FS Nicky Mercado

Ritchie looks like he may be a slight bust, but still may be solid and better than what we have.

Mercado looks like his skills fit our system very well.

I am leaving to go play golf so I will not be able to check again until later this evening. Those guys and the two Dlineman I mentioned are the guys I noticed right off. Don't hold up on my account if you see someone who could help the D feel free to grab him. We need bodies at essentially every position but CB.

[Anrhydeddu]

QS: Thank you for the offer, I will think on it this weekend (to see if there is a practical role).

[QuikSand]

primelord, MLB Ritchie will be a major bust, take it to the bank.

The only LB with real promise in this draft, at this point, is Skip Artis - and I think we might actually get him with a later pick. He could actually be a fairly good fit for us - I'd be inclined to start him as a rookie, if we got him.

[QuikSand]

Okay, we made a trade with Key West - we sent them our 1st and 6th picks for their 2nd and 3rd. The 2nd rounder we get is in the middle of the round - we move down 17 spots, in essence. The 3rd rounder is early in the round - so I'm hoping we get two passable players out of this swap.

Here's the draft progress after that:

30. Key West - Robbins, Timothy, WR, Duke
31. Mazatlan - Montreuil, Clarence, G, Drake
32. Pensacola - Sutton, Rickey, T, Missouri
33. Bermuda - Wolf, Neal, C, Michigan State
34. Puget Sound - Fonoti, Peter, WR, North Carolina State
35. Nashua - Collins, T.J., TE, Mississippi State
36. Key West - Haggerty, Jeff, QB, Tulsa
37. Sault Ste. Marie - Troxler, Sedrick, DE, Texas - El Paso
38. Tijuana - Bensen, Oliver, WR, North Carolina
39. Tulsa - Gargaro, Calvin, T, Temple
40. Cheyenne - Duran, Conrad, DT, Colorado
41. Kitty Hawk - Sutter, Scott, S, Syracuse
42. Puget Sound - Wolf, Don, CB, Illinois
43. Bermuda - Gonzalez, Johnnie, DE, Arkansas
44. Thunder Bay - Fletcher, Carlton, DT, SW Oklahoma St.
45. Athens - Cole, Kendrick, DE, Mississippi
46. Lake Erie - Buckner, Steve, DE, Maryland

So that's where we are... I won't post updated files, but I don't think we lost a lot by movinng down here.

I could be easily convinced to take LB Skip Artis here, or one of the defensive linemen.

[QuikSand]

primelord, I have no problem with S Mercado, but I just don't see safety as a real need area. We'ev been consistently able to get decent playable safeites in free agency for just over minsal... I don't see the gain in using a high draft pick on a similar player, especially when we have serious gaping holes at positions like DT and DE where we can rarely get quality cheaply.

[QuikSand]

In my mind, the guys that would make good additions to our team are:

DE Tommy Walton
LB Skip Artis
LT Jackie Miller
CB Dominic Emerson
C Shaun Tobias
S Nicky Mercado
LT Brandon Hansen
QB Levon Johnstone
RB Jay Borroquere
FB Ty Lindrud
WR Matthew Sims
C Albert Hamilton


My thinking is that there is really only one DE worth taking, and only one LB - and that we pretty much must take one or the other here. My best guess is that DE Walton would be a little more likely to be selected between here and our next pick, but that's not based on anything but a hunch.

I'd vote to take DE Walton here, and then I'd be crossing my fingers that LB Artis fell. With the next couple of picks, I'd hope we would get perhaps one of these good-looking OL, and one other guy off this list - and we'd be in good shape overall.

I'd welcome any thoughts from here...

[Bee]

The one concern about Walton is he's only 250 lbs. I doubt we'd be able to move him to RDE in the future if it was ever needed. With Brewer at LDE and signed for several seasons, it looks like Walton would have to be a #3 DE backup (unless we wanted to consider moving Brewer which I don't think makes much sense).

Skip Artis is a good size for a LB (255 lbs), but is already a Fan Favorite (which could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on our current situation with LBs). Artis also plays WLB, where we currently only have Becker. Not much competition there. This brings up an interesting little experiment if we get him. In the strategy section there was some discussion about the possibility of players being more likely to "breakout" if they were fan favorites. Artis has the basic look of a possible "breakout", but it's hard to tell in this version (IMO). Could be a good chance to do a little testing on the side...

[primelord]

I agree with Quik. I think we should take Walton here and then take Artis if he is available at our next pick. I don't see a problem moving Brewer to RDE. He is still very young so shouldn't take much of a hit in the move and we really need another guy who can play at DE.

[QuikSand]

Okay, we get the draft underway in earnest for our guys... and the early going is all good:

47. Little Rock - Walton, Tommy, DE, Texas A&M

48. Manhattan - Nichols, Roy, DT, West Liberty State
49. Kitty Hawk - Barrouquere, Jay, RB, North Carolina State
50. Ypsilanti - Parker, Nolan, G, Washington State
51. Fort Knox - Johnstone, Levon, QB, Nicholls State
52. Fort Wayne - Horton, Monty, T, Missouri Western
53. Providence - Hopkins, Darren, S, Nebraska
54. Hawk Mountain - Beeston, Gino, QB, Duke
55. Sacramento - Kripper, Louis, DE, UCLA
56. Napa Valley - Zamora, O.J., G, Florida
57. Champaign - Ashraf, Joel, T, San Diego State
58. Wheeling - Clinton, Teddy, DE, Sam Houston State
59. Hawk Mountain - Wunsch, Moe, C, Florida State
60. Death Valley - Hansen, Brandon, T, Coll. of New Jersey
61. Niagara Falls - Hibbs, Dustin, T, Maryland
62. Texarkana - Finley, Tommie, WR, Montana State
63. Mazatlan - Bradford, Kirk, S, Georgia
64. Pensacola - Richard, Chuck, CB, Northern Arizona
65. Ocean City - Tirtha, Walter, TE, Wake Forest
66. Louisville - Matthews, Irv, CB, Valparaiso
67. Nashua - Harmon, Harvey, CB, Boston College

68. Little Rock - Artis, Skip, OLB, Texas - El Paso

69. Sault Ste. Marie - Incontro, Irving, G, UCLA
70. Tijuana - Carlisle, Sammie, DT, Washington
71. Tulsa - Mandalari, Rick, QB, Ohio State
72. Cheyenne - Ritchie, Thurman, ILB, Duke
73. Pensacola - Banks, Lamar, G, Wake Forest
74. Puget Sound - Carter, Dominic, TE, Akron
75. Bermuda - Kerr, Norman, QB, Colorado
76. Thunder Bay - Buff, Mercury, WR, Arizona
77. Athens - Miller, Jackie, T, Mississippi State
78. Sault Ste. Marie - Turnbull, Reuben, ILB, California
79. Norfolk - Cancilliere, Ian, DE, Eastern Kentucky

That gives us two more solid, usable guys for our front seven - badly needed. We still have two more pick in this third round, so we have more chances to add to our talent pool. I will post updated files for this consideration.

[QuikSand]

First update file

[QuikSand]

Second file

[QuikSand]

Okay, at this point, I htink we have eliminated our most desperate need situations - now we have a little more freedon (though another contributor at LB would have been nice, I just don't see him out there right now).

Here are guys I could make a case for with these next two picks:

WR Matthew Sims - decent receiver and kick returner, could give us good depth

C Albert Hamilton - looks like solid pass blocker inside

DT Alan Schenck - might have modest breakout potential, but semi-sold anyway (fan fave)

CB Dominic Emerson - pretty decent cover man, might be a solid #3 in a year


If we feel we really need another LB, I guess Antoine Tatum is the best guy out there, but at 236 lbs, he might be stuck at MLB (which won't be his best position). I'd prefer to hope for him late - I don't think he'll be all that good.

[Bee]

I like Sims the best myself. At center I don't see Hamilton standing out significantly above a few other guys (Shaun Tobias, Percy Hironaka and Ronnie Reis). Schenck looks like a little bit of a reach at this point unless we are desperate for another DT. Emerson would be ok if we need depth at cornerback, but again I see a couple guys like G. Burke and Al Wolfe that are in the same league. Sims looks like he's the best WR available by a good bit.

I'd like to bring attention to RT Scott Wetzel as well. He looks like a possible breakout to me and someone that we might pick up later in the draft (not necessarily at this pick).

[QuikSand]

80. Little Rock - Sims, Matthew, WR, South Carolina

81. Kitty Hawk - Wilkerson, Ronald, G, Army
82. Ypsilanti - Richmond, Bobby, OLB, Kansas State
83. Memphis - Reeves, Andrew, QB, Ouachita
84. Fort Wayne - Clayton, Jermaine, RB, Ohio State
85. Providence - Stavros, Brandon, CB, Eastern Tenn. St.
86. Texarkana - Cooley, Doug, DE, Oklahoma State
87. Sacramento - Crane, Teddy, RB, Memphis
88. Napa Valley - Czaplicki, Arnie, ILB, New Hampshire
89. Champaign - Marrow, Mo, S, Louisiana State
90. Wheeling - Martin, Raymond, S, Miami, Florida
91. Hawk Mountain - Crozier, Drew, DT, Kansas State
92. Death Valley - Rock, Terry, ILB, Colorado State
93. Niagara Falls - Ficken, Trevor, S, Stanford

We're up again... and the usual suspects are still available.

[QuikSand]

By the way... I think young DE Adrian Brewer is in the midst of a mid-draft ratings boost... similar to what we saw from another DE last year. You'll be impressed with what you see after the draft is over.

[QuikSand]

Maybe S Nicky Mercado woudl make sense here... all three of our current safeties are up for new deals after this season. Might be good to have a potential starter locked up for next season, and Mercado is admittedly a pretty good fit.

On the other hand... so-so safeties do tend to slip in the draft - he might be there in round four.

[wade moore]

Sorry I haven't chimed in all weekend, you know how they go for me..

Sims looks to be a nice pickup.. did you envision him staying at FL or moving over to SE?

I think we definatley go defense here... there is not much there on the offense available, and I think we've already made it quite clear that Defense is our bigger need..

[Bee]

Mercado makes sense to me too. I didn't really see anyone that stood out to me that would be a better pickup.

[primelord]

This is probably going to be a pretty tough week for me guys. Things are very busy here at work now. But I will still try to check in regularly.

In terms of BPA I think Mercado makes sense, but I am wondering if we shouldn't go with DT Schenk here. We said we wanted to try and get some legitimate depth on the Dline and even if he doesn't break out it looks like he could be a solid enough backup. If we think we can get Schenk later in the draft then I think we take Mercado here. If not then I think we select the DT and hope Mercado falls to our next pick.

[QuikSand]

Since S Mercado is atop the ranked list at safety, I decide that he's the safest pick here - and I'll hope to see DT Schenck fall to our next pick:

94. Little Rock - Mercado, Nicky, S, Nebraska

95. Mazatlan - Armendariz, Clarence, DE, Syracuse
96. Pensacola - Barber, Jeff, CB, Arizona
97. Ocean City - Hagan, Chuck, T, Michigan State
98. Louisville - Henderson, Jack, S, Wisconsin
99. Nashua - Lackey, Casey, RB, Harvard
100. Sault Ste. Marie - Bouman, Julio, T, South Carolina
101. Sault Ste. Marie - Goodwin, Marlon, S, South Carolina
102. Tijuana - Rabens, Jack, CB, Southern Illinois
103. Tulsa - Redding, Craig, TE, Central Florida
104. Cheyenne - Powell, Joey, RB, Illinois
105. Memphis - Devine, Bobby, FB, Tulane
106. Lake Erie - Mayes, Earl, CB, Arizona
107. Bermuda - Lindrud, Ty, FB, Boston College
108. Thunder Bay - Emerson, Dominic, CB, Marshall
109. Athens - Hampton, Joseph, CB, Washington State
110. Lake Erie - Carlisle, Peter, WR, Montana
111. Norfolk - Summers, Artie, DT, Southern California
112. Manhattan - Rosen, Gabe, OLB, Kentucky
113. Kitty Hawk - Bryner, Fernando, WR, Louisiana State
114. Ypsilanti - Kirchhoff, Randal, WR, East Carolina
115. Fort Knox - McIntyre, Carl, DT, West Virginia
116. Fort Wayne - Fletcher, Reuben, T, Northern State
117. Providence - Klingbiel, Bryce, OLB, Western Carolina
118. Texarkana - Spencer, Leo, DE, Rutgers
119. Tulsa - Feenstra, Wally, ILB, Missouri
120. Napa Valley - Papadopulos, Marlon, OLB, Saginaw Valley
121. Champaign - Gresham, Brian, DE, Texas
122. Wheeling - Crane, Dave, CB, Stanford
123. Sault Ste. Marie - Rendon, Kris, S, Louisiana State
124. Death Valley - Hawkins, Alonzo, DT, Louisiana - Monroe
125. Niagara Falls - Franklin, Korey, RB, South Carolina

126. Little Rock - Schenk, Alan, DT, Wisconsin

127. Mazatlan - Shea, Gabe, DE, Missouri
128. Pensacola - Gunn, Marty, DE, Michigan
129. Ocean City - Gordon, Nathan, CB, Boston College
130. Louisville - Cheatham, Kendrick, DT, Baylor
131. Nashua - Russo, Phil, S, Rutgers
132. Key West - Hanks, Nicky, FB, Navy
133. Sault Ste. Marie - Benson, Louie, K, Georgia
134. Tijuana - Beyer, Steven, RB, North Carolina State
135. Sacramento - Nordstrom, Adam, G, Virginia
136. Cheyenne - DeMoen, Chris, WR, Duke
137. Memphis - Reis, Ronnie, C, Maryland
138. Puget Sound - Prewett, Floyd, G, Nebraska
139. Bermuda - Butkus, Craig, ILB, Stanford
140. Thunder Bay - Becker, Deion, WR, Kentucky
141. Athens - Wheeler, Andrew, RB, Temple
142. Lake Erie - Brown, Harvey, G, Mississippi State
143. Norfolk - Burke, George, CB, Boston College
144. Manhattan - Kurasch, J.T., T, Southern California
145. Kitty Hawk - Mills, Craig, G, Kansas State
146. Ypsilanti - Petras, Vernon, WR, Western Michigan
147. Fort Knox - Young, Oliver, DT, Minnesota
148. Fort Wayne - Bruton, Lincoln, S, Stanford
149. Providence - Cardoza, Leonard, FB, Florida
150. Texarkana - Jack, Daryl, RB, Mississippi
151. Sacramento - Wolfe, Al, CB, Middle Tenn. St.
152. Napa Valley - Garcia, Levon, OLB, Utah State
153. Champaign - Emanski, Rico, OLB, Maine
154. Wheeling - Newman, Lonnie, CB, Boston College
155. Hawk Mountain - Mitchell, Rodney, DE, Michigan
156. Death Valley - Bernard, Gus, K, Georgia
157. Niagara Falls - Huffman, Harold, G, Minnesota
158. Norfolk - Simmons, Daryl, ILB, Western Carolina
159. Mazatlan - Carlisle, Ethan, QB, South Carolina
160. Lake Erie - Middleton, Brant, TE, Cincinnati
161. Ocean City - Fregoso, Walter, CB, Massachusetts
162. Louisville - Bentley, Tim, OLB, Southern Methodist
163. Nashua - Clayton, Dana, QB, Bowling Green
164. Key West - Schulz, Jimmy, CB, Towson
165. Sault Ste. Marie - Dilger, Jermaine, C, Rutgers
166. Tijuana - Jordan, Keith, DE, Miami, Florida
167. Tulsa - Hughes, Herman, T, Maine
168. Cheyenne - Drake, Carlos, TE, Notre Dame
169. Memphis - Moss, Shaun, T, Houston
170. Puget Sound - Washington, Kevin, FB, Akron
171. Niagara Falls - Goldsmith, Levon, OLB, Syracuse
172. Thunder Bay - Kauffman, Bryan, S, Memphis
173. Athens - English, Allen, WR, Georgia Tech
174. Lake Erie - Jones, Cary, S, Miami, Florida
175. Norfolk - Burks, Clay, T, South Dakota State
176. Manhattan - Wetzel, Scott, T, Minnesota
177. Hawk Mountain - Stewart, Hardy, ILB, San Jose State
178. Ypsilanti - Marsh, Bo, S, Western Carolina
179. Fort Knox - Banerjee, Butch, K, California
180. Fort Wayne - Han, Brent, S, North Carolina State
181. Providence - Austin, Archie, DT, Oklahoma State
182. Texarkana - Minkel, R.J., OLB, Kansas State
183. Sacramento - Pritchett, Sam, CB, Virginia State
184. Napa Valley - Rangel, Mark, P, Kentucky
185. Champaign - Humphries, Kurt, OLB, New Mexico
186. Wheeling - Gandy, Kenny, T, Virginia
187. Hawk Mountain - Duran, Jesse, DE, Miami, Florida
188. Texarkana - Maurer, Lorenzo, DT, South Carolina St.
189. Niagara Falls - Gunther, Claude, G, Memphis
190. Key West - Blackwell, Herb, TE, Wake Forest
191. Mazatlan - Roberts, J.T., CB, Eastern Michigan
192. Pensacola - Shanabrough, Adrian, TE, Penn State
193. Ocean City - Rucker, Jerald, T, New Mexico State
194. Louisville - Mills, Ronald, OLB, Louisiana State
195. Nashua - Jordan, Dale, P, Arizona
196. Key West - Keck, Kevin, ILB, Oklahoma State
197. Sault Ste. Marie - Pietraszak, Bert, WR, New Mexico State
198. Tijuana - Jamison, Brant, G, Ohio
199. Tulsa - Morris, Bernie, G, Miami, Florida
200. Cheyenne - Swensen, Louis, S, Army
201. Memphis - Bugden, Gene, G, Purdue
202. Puget Sound - Wynn, Randall, G, Clemson
203. Bermuda - Ellard, Dave, G, Temple
204. Thunder Bay - McDougall, Rob, OLB, Missouri
205. Athens - Slye, Deron, FB, Southern California
206. Lake Erie - Donovan, Terry, OLB, East Carolina
207. Norfolk - Goodwin, Ernest, WR, Princeton
208. Manhattan - Paulk, Barry, WR, Syracuse
209. Kitty Hawk - Tate, Floyd, P, Navy
210. Ypsilanti - Crawford, Charlie, K, Swarthmore
211. Fort Knox - Williams, Shawn, TE, Memphis
212. Fort Wayne - Kirk, C.J., C, Southern Methodist
213. Providence - Wright, Lionel, K, South Carolina
214. Texarkana - Dunham, Trent, S, Youngstown State
215. Sacramento - Brocklebank, Horace, G, Texas Tech
216. Napa Valley - Hamilton, Albert, C, Tulsa
217. Champaign - Salinas, Dixon, TE, Maryland
218. Wheeling - Jensen, Nathan, DT, Morningside
219. Hawk Mountain - Thompson, Juan, S, Texas A&M
220. Death Valley - Plesko, Ricky, WR, Michigan State
221. Niagara Falls - Shepard, Brock, OLB, Colorado

222. Little Rock - Tobias, Shaun, C, Rutgers

223. Mazatlan - Francis, Kendrick, CB, Monmouth, NJ
224. Pensacola - Janssen, Jimmie, WR, Eastern Kentucky

That wraps up the rookie draft - getting C Tobias at the tail end was nice, as he was a guy we actually considered much earlier.

[QuikSand]

I'm working through the roster, building toward our 60 players... and it looks liek we have some money "left over." I'm at 49 players right now, and if we signed 10 more URFA players (minsal rookies) we'd still have over $8m left under the cap. That number might go down if I re-sign a few more passable players off our returning roster, but it eaves us with some options:

DE Riddick Finley did not get signed by anyone - his demands have come way down. He now seeks only $4.8m for a one-year deal. It looks like we have the cash - I think this would make a ton of sense for us. The only downside is that it clogs up the DE spots a bit this year - but we can easily get Brewer in there in passing situations to make sure his development comes along.

WR Deion Perea is still looking for a new deal. We know he's pretty good, though not as flashy as some of our other guys. In our pass-happy offense, having scads of solid wideouts is a plus - Perea would add to our arsenal. He'd cost us around $7m I'd guess, for a one year deal.

RG Ray Gardner has been quielty solid as a three year starter for us at right guard. As of now, we are slated to go into this year with unproven (bot promising) Trent Ballard in that position - re-signing Gardner would aid our cohesion and keep a solid contributor in there.


To me, this is a no-brainer. DE Riddick Finley was a star-caliber talent, but he now comes off two injury-plagued seasons. In his first two seaons with us, he posted 29.5 sacks - if he got anywhere near that level ofproductivity, we'd be in great shape on our DL (after lamenting it so loudyl this offseason). I think this is the move to make, and let the other pieces fall where they may.

However, I'm posting it here... is there any dissent? Any other thoughts?

If we sign Finley, should we try for more than one year? If he comes back to form, this could be our chance to lock him up for 2 or 3 seaons well under market value. Of course doing so ties our hands a bit financially - we'd have bonus money tied up in a 10th year player who hasn't been productive for three seasons.

[Bee]

I'd vote for a 1 year deal with Finley. Keeps our options open next year and we avoid getting stuck with someone who might fall apart (with his injury history I think it's a definite possibility).

[QuikSand]

Bee, any thoughts on Ray Gardner? I personally am fine with Ballard taking over at RG (and we have a converted rookie C there as well)... but if you felt strongly, I might be swayed otherwise.

[Bee]

I think Finley is more important to the team. I wouldn't mind seeing Gardner come back, but I generally don't value guards very highly myself. Ballard should do fine IMO.

[wade moore]

I concur wholeheartedly with Bee... We can take the hit at RG for the young rookie to get Finley in there to shore up the DL.. it seems as an overall package Finley is more crucial to the team..

[primelord]

The only reason I would say we should consider Finley for a longer deal is we are always so thin on the Dline. If he stays healthy and get 10+ sacks this season it will be next to impossible to bring him back after this season. If Walton breaks out and we have 4 DE's who can all start for us I would say that is a good problem to have. Especially since history tells us two of them are probably goign to go down at some point in the season.

[QuikSand]

I have signed us all the way up to 60 players. Even with DE Riddick Finley back on the roster (for one year only), we remain $7.6 million under the cap.

I have little choice but to attribute this to poor forecastign on my part. A few players came in a bit lower than I had expected, btu I still didn't forecast that we'd ghaev this much room - we could haev made a run at LB Clay Harden, for instance (though that would have been pushing our luck, I confess).

If we wanted to work out a deal with WR Perea or RG Gardner, we coudl still cut one rookie and do so. I'll distribute the game files, and we can go from here.

I want us to wahct C Christian Dillon closely. I don't think he will pan out, but he is an interesting test case - he got a "void" in a key rating, and I'd like to use him to test my theory. (I think he will bust) For the record, he rates 11/65, 10/74, 4, 38/58 before the first training camp.

Files to follow...

[QuikSand]

First update

[QuikSand]

second file attached

[Anrhydeddu]

After some thought, there is no "role" to play but simply the addition of another house rule. There is experience by gamers here of establishing a rule saying that you must be profitable or only lose so much money; or at least, determining this season's financial decisions based on last season's balance sheet. All this does is add another layer of complexity and challenge to the game. But as much as I assume you guys would like to have more of a challenge, you do not want to do anything that takes away from the group think critical decision-making process. Holding down player bonuses would mean that you would have less decisions to make about keeping a player (and perhaps conflicting with the fan favorite rule) as well as limiting your efforts in free agency. It is a shame that the game treats the balance sheet as irrelevant and show large losses whereas in the real NFL, that is not conceivable, I believe.

[QuikSand]

Anrhydeddu,

I think the critical failing of FOF in this regard is twofold. First, even though it is allegedly better in this version, the game still doesn't allow fan support to be enough of a variable. I think the game would be better if you really risked having a drop in ticket sales if your prices were out of line.

And second, of course, is the lack of any real repercussion for doing a poor job financially. Unless you really, really muck things up, the financial side is completely irrelevant to any in-game considerations (i.e. being fired). You're welcome to inject them yourself if you like, but that's the only way it becomes relevant, as you observe. I don't know how you can meaningfully make this better withotu descending into the picayune details I (endlessly) decry, but without consequences, there can be no motivation.

Anyway - thanks for giving some thought to all this. Maybe we ought to have some sort of financial house rule... I'll give some mroe thoughts to that. Perhaps some sort of multi-year "running average" of profits - that would offer some better flexibility than doing it purely year-by-year, I'd think. While forcing us to spend below the league salary cap for players is not realistic, it might be an interesting thing to consider... especially since we are doing awfully well on the field, despit our supposed "challenge" rules.

[wade moore]

THe other difficulty with this is another aspect of fan support meaning nothing..

First off, look at our attendance.. does it make ANY sense that we never come close to selling out? The money we make seems out of whack... and 10K more fans a game would make a difference across the board (ticket sales, merchandise, etc)..

[Anrhydeddu]

but without consequences, there can be no motivation

Truer words have never been spoken. This appears to sum up this group think (and many dynasties as well). No matter how much you fear the upcoming off-season, the consequences and results are still the same. It is fun, I perceive, to go through the motions (and to follow along) but where is the challenge that you desire back in season 3? It seems to me that the best rules are the ones limiting the quality of players on your roster (e.g., empty cupboard). Or does it really matter? I suppose it is better to keep playing the positives of being a constant winner as oppose to trying to lose. But as much as I see the positive in maintaining a winner, it is the journey from the bottom to the top that offers the best reward, imo. FOF has always been best used, imo, as single-season, on-field simulation but it is only through the user's creativity (and the willingness to start over) to where it can be meaningful season to season.

[wade moore]

Originally posted by QuikSand

If we wanted to work out a deal with WR Perea or RG Gardner, we coudl still cut one rookie and do so. I'll distribute the game files, and we can go from here.

How much do you think Cog is going to cost in the future? Do you see any benefit at all to locking him up long term now, or does it merely cost us?

A sick part of me says let's resign Gardner, get another year out of him, resign ballard to a cheap deal, and THEN start him.. If we start Ballard this year, his cost is going to sky rocket, is it not? Either way, I think he may be the better sign of the two.. it is a toss up, but we do have a load of WRs already (admittedly, Perea is better than quite a few that we have).. but if it could save us on ballard in the future, it may be the better power play..

[QuikSand]

Here's a thought. Perhaps the best strategy for this season at DE would be to have Riddick Finley come off the bench? Make him the top reserve at both LDE adn RDE,and perhas make him a starter in passing situations... he'd still get on the field plenty, but we would still see both our young guys get plenty of playing time as well. With Finley's recent injury troubles, this might not be unrealistic - keep him as a specialist, in limited action.

I bet we can still get 8-10 sacks out of him using him that way...

[QuikSand]

News Bulletin

Little Rock has announced a landmark deal with their star quarteback, Otis Coghill. The two sides, previously at a contract impasse, have suddenly reached terms on a new six year deal. The contract will provide Coghill a stunning $30 million bonus, and will pay a total of $168 million over the duration. It is by far the largest contract paid by the franchise, and commits the team to this star for the foreseeable future.

During Coghill's last three seasons, he has posted the top three season-long SB ratings in league history, guiding a sometimes unstoppable Rollers offense to six straight playoff appearances. His career statistics, including 94 TDs to only 38 interceptions, and a career 42-9 winning record, make him among the league's most prolific and bankable stars. His only downside has been durability - he has missed games in each of the past three seasons, which has robbed him of all-star selections that most certainly would have come otherwise.

[Bee]

The kiss of death...Coghill will go down and lose all his ratings now.

[cthomer5000]

Sorry I haven't been to chime in recently, but I work at a radio station and we just changed formats. I've quite seriously seen my workload become about 10 times larger.

This is getting more fun as we go along. Great work locking up Coghill, lets pray he stays healthy.

[primelord]

Originally posted by QuikSand
Here's a thought. Perhaps the best strategy for this season at DE would be to have Riddick Finley come off the bench? Make him the top reserve at both LDE adn RDE,and perhas make him a starter in passing situations... he'd still get on the field plenty, but we would still see both our young guys get plenty of playing time as well. With Finley's recent injury troubles, this might not be unrealistic - keep him as a specialist, in limited action.

I bet we can still get 8-10 sacks out of him using him that way...

I guess we can do that. I think we may be giving up an awful lot against the run that way though. Walton looks like he is strictly a passrusher (atleast with his ratings as they stand right now). To be honest I wouldn't have moved Brewer to RDE this season. I would have started both Finley and Brewer and used Walton as the backup to both spots and then assuming he takes a rating bump like we expect start him next season instead.

[Anrhydeddu]

$28m per year?? Yikes.

[QuikSand]

primelord, ism't there a limit on how many times a player will change positions? Thinking longer term, Brewer has already been switched from left to right, if we switch him back to right that's not so bad... but after this year we presumably would want to have both him and Walton starting. If we end up locking them both in on the same side, we'll have a bigger problem in the longer run.

Sorry if my jumping the gun on switching Brewer before has contributed to this problem. With this being a matter of irregular attention, I just wanted to make sure it got done while he had agreed to it, rather than finding out too late that we forgot. I'd be heppy if we could solidify that responsibility - maybe we make position switching a form part of the process, right before we run training camp? (A responsibility of the coordinators?) That would suit me fine.

Anyway... if this is only 2 switches for Brewer, then he shoudl be okay - and have one more available. Your call, primelord...

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
$28m per year?? Yikes.

Well, his current franchise tag tender was already $19.5, and that woudl certainly rise over time. Lockign him up costs us more, but is also more realistic, in my mind. I cannot recall any real NFL team taking ther best and most popular player, with whom they are on good terms, and tagging him year after year forcing him to play for the one-year tender each season. To the extent we were prepared to do so, to save $5-8m per year, just doesn't seem fair.

So, I have deleted the restriction on contract negotiations with our tagged players, to conform with our actual practice. I think that what we've done (used the cap sparingly) has been pretty realistic, and has kept things tough for us. I guess the only way to rtchet it tighter would br for require us to accept the player's demand in the first week of free agency... which could be back on the table if we want it to be, starting next season.

[primelord]

Quik,

It's not a problem. We can just leave Brewer at the RDE spot. Your right long term we don't want Brewer and Walton at the same position because Walton can't switch. I just figured since Finley was a much better run stopper it would make sense to have him in starting instead of just pass rushing situations and in breathers. But we can also do something like start Walton, but set his playing time very low so they rotate a lot of the running plays.

It probably is a good idea to make position changing a part of the process. That way we know what page everyone is on.

[primelord]

It sure is taking us a long time to get through training camp.

[wade moore]

I think QS is probably done with his part at this stage? Are we going to move one of the WR's over? Otherwise, we're probably basically ready for your or I to take over and change our settings..

[primelord]

Originally posted by wade moore
I think QS is probably done with his part at this stage? Are we going to move one of the WR's over? Otherwise, we're probably basically ready for your or I to take over and change our settings..

We still need the file with Cog's contract extension.

[wade moore]

Originally posted by primelord
We still need the file with Cog's contract extension.

Details, Details

[primelord]

Originally posted by wade moore
Details, Details

I of course was just kidding. There is no rush we just seem to have been at this one spot for quite awhile.

[QuikSand]

Rather than post the new files, here are the details of Coghill's new deal:

$30m bonus
$20m
$20m
$20m
$23m
$25m
$30m

He will accept that, and you're up to speed. That should be simpler than reuploading and redownloading everything.

[wade moore]

I moved C Ancheta to LG to backup our young stud Lofton, there was a giant logjam at C, and still is to a certain extent with 3..

Skip Artis must have been a good pick, we grabbed him in the third round and we already have an offer for a 2nd rounder and a pretty damned good full back for him..

Same with Tobias as we grabbed him in the 7th and we have a 4th rounder straight up being offered..

Prime, go ahead and run the preseason.. if you move on to the regular season I need LG Lofton, Lucas, Morrell, and Cog put back into the lineup..

File 1..