SkyDog's Last FOF2K7 Solo Dynasty Thread (I Hope).

[Ben E Lou]

2029 YEAR-END REPORT

Another year, another early playoff exit. The lack of depth that these house rules are creating is keeping us from dominating, which I like...but I'd like to win a title.

AWARDS/RECORDS
QB Aaron Sweazy--MVP, OPOY, 1st Team
WR Seth Burks--1st Team

[Ben E Lou]

Getting into cap trouble with these house rules is not a good thing. More in a bit.

[Ben E Lou]

2030 OFFSEASON

Backup TE Phillip Hall retires.

FA1

PLAYERS LOST

DT Dean Coomes (7.0)--Ouch. I didn't have the money to go all-out on re-signing him, and Green Bay got him away from me.
T Wally Pearson (4.7)--He was my starting left tackle.

NEW PLAYERS SIGNED

(Changing this section. No reason to mention my own players getting re-signed.)

T Travis List (4.5)--He'll replace Pearson aqt left tackle.l

DRAFT

I have few available roster spots this year, and lost a DT. It's a DT heavy draft, so I package 1st-5th to get to the middle of the 1st round.

1(15): DT J.J. Pearson (43/69): Barring a major bust, he's the starter from day 1 and should develop quickly.

This could be big trouble.

From: Mercury Barker

I have decided to hold out until I receive a new contract.

Being the team's franchise player unfairly limits my income, and I will not report to camp until I have a multi-year deal.

I've franchised him twice, so he won't sign a long-term deal. Hope he ends it voluntarily.

TRAINING CAMP KEY CHANGES

• Pearson was -3 in camp.
• WR Seth Burks, now in his 9th season, loses 8 points down to 54/54.

[Ben E Lou]

Barker ends his holdout after the fourth week of the preseason.

[Ben E Lou]

2030 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    8    73                73                1 yr.
%%Swatek, Everett       3   QB          3    43                43                2 yrs
Clements, Willie        4   QB          9    40                40                2 yrs
Madison, Randy          6   QB          10   39                39                2 yrs
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    2    69                74                4 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB          8    37                37                1 yr.
Banks, Mitch            43  RB          4    29                29                1 yr.
Britt, Bubba            41  FB    FB    3    49                49                2 yrs
Dill, Walt              46  FB          11   22                22                1 yr.
DePree, Ricardo         88  TE    TE    5    51                51                2 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE          10   43                43                2 yrs
Denby, Gary             85  TE          1    21                31                3 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    SE    9    54                54                2 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  FL          10   31                31                1 yr.
Eldred, George          87  SE    FL    4    67                67                2 yrs
Collier, Anthony        86  SE          3    41                41                1 yr.
Roberts, Rod            84  SE          2    25                32                2 yrs
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     5    53                53                4 yrs
Shepherd, Johnny        50  C           9    46                46                1 yr.
Arnold, Percy           61  LG          2    44                65                2 yrs
Baker, Adam             68  LG    RG    12   35                35                1 yr.
Mayes, Rob              64  LG          4    23                39                1 yr.
Wells, Troy             75  RG    LG    4    55                55                1 yr.
Braham, Lewis           78  LT    LT    7    59                59                3 yrs
##Cobbs, Ethan          69  LT          3    56                56                1 yr.
List, Travis            73  LT    RT    6    49                49                2 yrs
##Erhardt, Rich         60  RT          4    49                49                2 yrs
Strong, Jerry           11  P           11   62                62                3 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           14   49                49                1 yr.
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   4    69                69                4 yrs
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE         6    41                41                2 yrs
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE   RDE   5    42                42                3 yrs
Garner, Morris          72  RDE         7    37                37                3 yrs
##Dowdell, Craig        77  LDT         6    71                71                4 yrs
Fagelman, Carlos        97  LDT         3    20                32                1 yr.
##Garrison, Dale        91  LDT         2    17                41                1 yr.
Pearson, J.J.           74  RDT   LDT   1    46                66                4 yrs
Caswell, Brad           96  RDT   RDT   9    32                32                1 yr.
##Barker, Mercury       53  MLB         8    70                70                1 yr.
Slayton, Walter         92  MLB   MLB   2    28                41                2 yrs
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB   SLB   7    61                61                1 yr.
Hines, Kenneth          93  WLB   WLB   3    45                45                2 yrs
Owens, Jesse            90  WLB         9    34                34                1 yr.
Winters, Kendall        51  WLB         4    33                33                1 yr.
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   7    66                66                4 yrs
Baxter, Barry           27  LCB   RCB   7    43                43                1 yr.
Maloney, Jorge          34  LCB         1    26                29                3 yrs
##Shanle, Donald        39  RCB         5    51                51                5 yrs
Wages, Lee              36  RCB         8    22                22                2 yrs
Bush, Dana              42  SS    FS    7    41                41                2 yrs
Thomson, Daniel         30  SS          3    27                36                1 yr.
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    SS    7    65                65                4 yrs
Jacobs, Howie           20  FS          4    32                32                1 yr.

ROSTER: 94. 3rd best.
COHESION: 98-88-95-90

I'll continue using a similar offensive game plan to the last couple of years.

[Ben E Lou]

2030 YEAR-END REPORT

With the dropping off of Burks and the loss of DT Coomes, we took a small step back.

AWARDS/RECORDS
WR George Eldred--1st Team

[Ben E Lou]

Well, I'm not getting tired of playing. I am, however, getting tired of writing as much as I have. I'm not sure what y'all should expect going forward, but it will certainly be less detailed.

[Ben E Lou]

2031 OFFSEASON

Long-time TE J.C. Holmes retires. He was drafted 3(6) in 2021. He was a decent starter/solid backup TE--nothing special. The cohesion hit from his retirement may be felt, though.
It's decision time. I've franchised MLB Mercury Barker three times, and he won't sign a long-term deal (don't know if that can be reversed). However, QB Aaron Sweazy also becomes a FA this year. The more ballsy move would be to franchise Barker and attempt to sign Sweazy on the open market. Barker is a rare LB with great pass defense ratings, and I believe that's been a significant part of my strong pass defense, so I take the risk and franchise him.
Sweazy did re-sign with me in Week 5.

FA1

PLAYERS LOST

OLB Dwayne Davis (5.9)--8th-year OLB is gone. Glad I locked up Barker.
G Troy Wells (4.9)--Not a huge loss, but may well be felt.

NEW PLAYERS SIGNED

(Changing this section. No reason to mention my own players getting re-signed.)

OLB Jamal Ketteridge (5.1)--11th-year guy. If he doesn't lose a bunch of ratings in camp, he'll be a solid starter for Davis.

G Dan Renes (5.2)--Nice fill-in for Wells.

K Dixon Sheriff (5.1)--My kicker retired.

DRAFT

I have few available roster spots this year, and lost a DT. It's a DT heavy draft, so I package 1st-5th to get to the middle of the 1st round.

1(26): TE Winston Stallings (36/59): I love having a stud TE, and Stallings may fit the bill.

MLB Barker holds out again. Heh.


Stalling goes +6 in training camp. Stud.



OLB Ketteridge only dropped 8 points.


Severe hamstring pull for Sweazy in first preseason game. O15. Ouch.


Barker ends his holdout in Preseason Week 5.

[Ben E Lou]

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
##Sweazy, Aaron         15  QB          9    75                75                4 yrs
Swatek, Everett         3   QB    QB    4    43                43                1 yr.
Clements, Willie        4   QB          10   36                36                1 yr.
Madison, Randy          6   QB          11   34                34                1 yr.
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    3    73                73                3 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB          9    32                32                3 yrs
Gonsales, Marlon        25  RB          1    23                35                3 yrs
##Britt, Bubba          41  FB          4    50                50                1 yr.
Serban, Stanley         26  FB    FB    8    43                43                1 yr.
DePree, Ricardo         88  TE          6    51                51                1 yr.
Stallings, Winston      89  TE    TE    1    42                65                4 yrs
Denby, Gary             85  TE          2    25                33                2 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    SE    10   52                52                3 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  FL          11   27                27                3 yrs
Eldred, George          87  SE    FL    5    65                65                1 yr.
Collier, Anthony        86  SE          4    42                42                1 yr.
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     6    54                54                3 yrs
Fields, Harold          52  C           1    21                26                3 yrs
##McSorley, Mo          54  C           1    19                46                4 yrs
Arnold, Percy           61  LG    LG    3    51                62                1 yr.
Baker, Adam             68  LG          13   32                32                2 yrs
Renes, Dan              63  RG    RG    7    52                52                3 yrs
Araguz, Dan             67  RG          8    41                41                2 yrs
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT    LT    4    59                59                2 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  LT    RT    8    53                53                2 yrs
List, Travis            73  LT          7    49                49                1 yr.
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT          5    50                50                1 yr.
Strong, Jerry           11  P           12   61                61                2 yrs
Sheriff, Dixon          1   K           11   56                56                3 yrs
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   5    69                69                3 yrs
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE         7    32                32                1 yr.
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE   RDE   6    42                42                2 yrs
Garner, Morris          72  RDE         8    35                35                2 yrs
Corbett, Skip           70  RDE         1    23                36                4 yrs
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   7    71                71                5 yrs
Pearson, J.J.           74  RDT         2    64                64                3 yrs
Hoffman, William        75  RDT   RDT   9    35                35                3 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   9    62                62                1 yr.
##Jackson, Lenny        50  MLB         8    42                42                1 yr.
Slayton, Walter         92  MLB         3    30                36                1 yr.
##Ketteridge, Jamal     58  SLB         11   45                45                2 yrs
Battle, Jerome          91  SLB         7    35                35                1 yr.
Hines, Kenneth          93  WLB   SLB   4    48                48                1 yr.
Winters, Kendall        51  WLB         5    34                34                3 yrs
Powell, William         98  WLB   WLB   1    25                46                3 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   8    67                67                3 yrs
Baxter, Barry           27  LCB   RCB   8    44                44                3 yrs
Maloney, Jorge          34  LCB         2    31                31                2 yrs
##Shanle, Donald        39  RCB         6    53                53                4 yrs
Bush, Dana              42  SS          8    41                41                1 yr.
##Thomson, Daniel       30  SS          4    31                31                1 yr.
Crase, Archie           38  SS    FS    1    23                46                4 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    SS    8    63                63                3 yrs

Swatek is thrust into the limelight now:



We'll go to much more of a West Coast-ish system, but with more running. In short, I want to get the ball in Ike Peterson's hands a LOT.

[Ben E Lou]

Swatek did well. Peterson was hurt part of the year. Sweazy came back for the playoffs to lead us to the conference championship game. Still no title, though.

[Ben E Lou]

RECAP OF THE FIRST DECADE

[Ben E Lou]

2032 OFFSEASON

No major retirements.

FA1

No major losses or additions.

FIRST-ROUND DRAFT PICK

WR Brian Frederick (39/51): He should step in as WR3 this year, and with Seth Burks getting old, may well start by the time the year is over.

Yup. Burks drops 9 points in camp, and he and Frederick are the same current rating. I'm sure the AI will start Frederick.
MLB Barker ends his yearly holdout at training camp this year.

[Ben E Lou]

ROSTER...

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    10   76                76                4 yrs
Swatek, Everett         3   QB          5    45                45                2 yrs
Blackburn, Thomas       2   QB          11   41                41                3 yrs
%%Clements, Willie      4   QB          11   36                36                3 yrs
##Hopper, Les           19  QB          1    25                45                3 yrs
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    4    72                72                2 yrs
Gonsales, Marlon        25  RB          2    28                37                2 yrs
##Nelson, Reuben        44  RB          10   25                25                2 yrs
Craig, Gino             32  FB    FB    4    57                57                5 yrs
Webster, Dwayne         47  FB          9    44                44                3 yrs
Stallings, Winston      89  TE    TE    2    60                67                3 yrs
DePree, Ricardo         88  TE          7    51                51                3 yrs
Denby, Gary             85  TE          3    30                34                1 yr.
##Frederick, Brian      82  FL          1    46                51                4 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    SE    11   43                43                2 yrs
Carrubba, Lionel        84  FL          9    34                34                3 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  FL          12   16                16                2 yrs
Eldred, George          87  SE    FL    6    65                65                3 yrs
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     7    54                54                2 yrs
Fields, Harold          52  C           2    26                30                2 yrs
##McSorley, Mo          54  C           2    25                48                3 yrs
Arnold, Percy           61  LG    LG    4    57                57                2 yrs
##McConnell, Zach       65  LG          1    25                35                4 yrs
Renes, Dan              63  RG    RG    8    46                46                2 yrs
Araguz, Dan             67  RG          9    42                42                1 yr.
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT    LT    5    61                61                4 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  LT          9    42                42                3 yrs
Williams, Shaun         64  LT          6    42                42                2 yrs
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT    RT    6    50                50                3 yrs
Strong, Jerry           11  P           13   56                56                1 yr.
Sheriff, Dixon          1   K           12   56                56                2 yrs
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   6    70                70                4 yrs
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE   RDE   7    43                43                1 yr.
Corbett, Skip           70  RDE         2    29                38                3 yrs
Downs, David            99  RDE         1    23                45                3 yrs
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   8    71                71                4 yrs
##Lyon, Fred            90  LDT         1    20                32                3 yrs
Pearson, J.J.           74  RDT   RDT   3    62                62                2 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   10   60                60                1 yr.
Marsolais, Lionel       97  MLB         9    35                35                3 yrs
Slayton, Walter         92  MLB         4    32                32                3 yrs
Ketteridge, Jamal       58  SLB   WLB   12   40                40                1 yr.
Hines, Kenneth          93  WLB   SLB   5    47                47                3 yrs
Powell, William         98  WLB         2    30                44                2 yrs
Winters, Kendall        51  WLB         6    26                26                2 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   9    67                67                3 yrs
##Shaw, David           37  LCB         7    40                40                3 yrs
Baxter, Barry           27  LCB         9    36                36                2 yrs
Maloney, Jorge          34  LCB         3    30                30                1 yr.
Shanle, Donald          39  RCB   RCB   7    53                53                4 yrs
Bush, Dana              42  SS    FS    9    39                39                3 yrs
Crase, Archie           38  SS          2    32                51                3 yrs
Thomson, Daniel         36  SS          5    31                31                1 yr.
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    SS    9    59                59                3 yrs

[Ben E Lou]

WOOT!!! Title, finally!

[SFL Cat]

Jeez, 'bout time.

I guess now we can stop talking about Skydog, the SP GM who can't win the big one.

[Darren29]

Interesting stuff, one question however - it seems a large number of your draftees are underrated, was this a concious decision or just how it worked out?

I don't have anything to back this up, but IMX the under/overrated comments don't seem to mean that much. Do you have anything to prove/disprove these comments?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Darren29

Interesting stuff, one question however - it seems a large number of your draftees are underrated, was this a concious decision or just how it worked out?

I don't have anything to back this up, but IMX the under/overrated comments don't seem to mean that much. Do you have anything to prove/disprove these comments?

It's an absolutely conscious decision. And yes, they do mean a lot. They indicate the direction that your scout thinks the guy is headed, and the last time I checked, the better scouts are correct 85-90% of the time, and even the mediocre ones seem to get it right 70-75% of the time.

[flere-imsaho]

Great read. I especially like the year-to-year Barker saga.

[RedKingGold]

Out of curiousity; what we're Sweazy's combine numbers and colors?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by RedKingGold

Out of curiousity; what we're Sweazy's combine numbers and colors?

I stopped tracking all of my draftees, and doing twice-a-year saves, so I don't know. Sorry.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

I stopped tracking all of my draftees, and doing twice-a-year saves, so I don't know. Sorry.

OMG! You had the Holy Grail in your hands and threw it away without taking a sip of the content!

[Autumn]

Wow, Barker seems to have dropped out of hte picture entirely. But Eldred, what a monster season!

Your defenses seem to have been performing great year after year. What do you think caused that? What's your philosophy on defensive players? I've never been able to put together a solid one.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Autumn

What's your philosophy on defensive players?

Here's what I look for, position-by-position.

DE: This is an important position. You need to have a good pass rush, and they generate it. But they also help with run defense. So I look for lots of big red bars here.

DT: Mainly for run defense, but can help with pass rush as well, so big red bars are key here.

ILB: Key position against both the run and the pass. Look for big red bars here.

OLB: Run support, pass support, pass rushing. Important to have good players, so I'd search for guys with big red bars.

CB: Critical position. Big red bars are really important here.

S: Pass defense, run support, interceptions and play diagnosis need to come from these guys. They should have big red bars.

[johnnyshaka]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Here's what I look for, position-by-position.

DE: This is an important position. You need to have a good pass rush, and they generate it. But they also help with run defense. So I look for lots of big red bars here.

DT: Mainly for run defense, but can help with pass rush as well, so big red bars are key here.

ILB: Key position against both the run and the pass. Look for big red bars here.

OLB: Run support, pass support, pass rushing. Important to have good players, so I'd search for guys with big red bars.

CB: Critical position. Big red bars are really important here.

S: Pass defense, run support, interceptions and play diagnosis need to come from these guys. They should have big red bars.

So, you like big red bars, right?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by johnnyshaka

So, you like big red bars, right?

Big red bars make me horny.

[Autumn]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Here's what I look for, position-by-position.

DE: This is an important position. You need to have a good pass rush, and they generate it. But they also help with run defense. So I look for lots of big red bars here.

DT: Mainly for run defense, but can help with pass rush as well, so big red bars are key here.

ILB: Key position against both the run and the pass. Look for big red bars here.

OLB: Run support, pass support, pass rushing. Important to have good players, so I'd search for guys with big red bars.

CB: Critical position. Big red bars are really important here.

S: Pass defense, run support, interceptions and play diagnosis need to come from these guys. They should have big red bars.

Oh, a wise guy, eh?

*poke*

[Ben E Lou]

Not really a wise guy. It's just the lack of having a real handle on defense.

[QuikSand]

So, uh, you're bored with the IHOF non-draft too? *shurg*

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

I especially like the year-to-year Barker saga.

Indeed.


Back in the saddle again this evening...

[Ben E Lou]

Oh, and now that I'm farther into the career, the high cap change isn't making a meaningful difference, and more good FAs are becoming available. However, the FA rules I borrowed from the World League Challenge weren't terribly fun, either. I'm changing the Contract/ FA House Rules to the following two simple ones henceforth:

• Renegotiations can only be done in the final year of a contract, with the exception of cap outs, which are allowed at any time.
• No signing FAs rated higher than 50 current.
• The only players of RFA experience who can be signed are rookies who were interviewed.
• Only combine skippers can be interviewed.

Much simpler rules and probably much faster play. The team will take on a much more home-grown feel now.

[Ben E Lou]

Heh. I'm actually in big cap trouble, especially with the new rules. Some pretty big cuts are forthcoming, it would appear.

[Ben E Lou]

There is really only one way to get under the cap.

Buh-bye, Mercury Barker.





With his continually escalating salary, he was going to cost me $31.9M in cap room--a little over 10% of the cap. Given that he's in year 11 and could take a big dive in training camp, I can't pay him that much.

[Ben E Lou]

Let's speed it up a little more and make it even a little harder.

No trading, period, including draft picks. I'll draft with what I've got henceforth.

[Ben E Lou]

2033 OFFSEASON

WR Seth Burks retired after 11 seasons.

His final career resume:

• Drafted 1(9) in 2022.
• Two times 1st Team All-Pro
• Three times 2nd Team All-Pro
• 9th all-time in receptions
• 6th all-time in receiving yards
• 
• Atlanta single-season record for receptions (110).

FRANCHISE: MLB Barker once again.

SUMMER: WR Brian Frederick

FA1

CUTS
As mentioned above, Mercury Barker becomes a cap casualty.

DRAFT

Rnd 1 - Mitch Finley, ILB, Alabama
Rnd 2 - Leon Kelleher, DE, Arkansas
Rnd 3 - Victor Durham, OLB, Mississippi State
Rnd 4 - Deon Derlange, G, Maryland
Rnd 5 - Henry Melville, DT, Oregon
Rnd 6 - Bo Gray, S, Iowa
Rnd 7 - Spencer Greason, CB, Southern California

Finley was +2 in cap. Bad news for DT J.J. Pearson. The fourth-year man drops 17 points to 44/44. Ouch!

[Ben E Lou]

The aging RB Reuben Nelson got cut, by the way. He's leaves as the leading rusher in the history of the team (including the quick-sim years). 1667 carries, 7702 yards (4.62 ypc), 45 TDs.

[Ben E Lou]

2033 ROSTER...

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    11   75                75                3 yrs
Swatek, Everett         3   QB          6    39                39                3 yrs
Blackburn, Thomas       2   QB          12   34                34                2 yrs
Hopper, Les             19  QB          2    33                44                2 yrs
Clements, Willie        4   QB          12   31                31                2 yrs
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    5    71                71                5 yrs
Gonsales, Marlon        25  RB          3    35                38                1 yr.
##Craig, Gino           32  FB          5    58                58                4 yrs
Webster, Dwayne         47  FB    FB    10   37                37                2 yrs
Stallings, Winston      89  TE    TE    3    74                74                2 yrs
##DePree, Ricardo       88  TE          8    52                52                2 yrs
Denby, Gary             85  TE          4    32                34                3 yrs
Frederick, Brian        82  FL    FL    2    55                55                3 yrs
Frederick, Stan         83  FL          9    35                35                3 yrs
Carrubba, Lionel        84  FL          10   27                27                2 yrs
Eldred, George          87  SE    SE    7    55                55                2 yrs
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     8    56                56                3 yrs
Fields, Harold          52  C           3    33                34                1 yr.
McSorley, Mo            54  C           3    32                49                2 yrs
Arnold, Percy           61  LG    LG    5    57                57                4 yrs
##McConnell, Zach       65  LG          2    29                37                3 yrs
##Renes, Dan            63  RG          9    49                49                3 yrs
Derlange, Deon          68  RG    RG    1    29                56                4 yrs
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT    LT    6    63                63                3 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  LT          10   44                44                2 yrs
Williams, Shaun         64  LT          7    33                33                1 yr.
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT    RT    7    49                49                2 yrs
de Groh, Martin         9   P           5    43                43                3 yrs
Sheriff, Dixon          1   K           13   56                56                1 yr.
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   7    71                71                3 yrs
Kelleher, Leon          94  LDE         1    22                36                4 yrs
Corbett, Skip           70  RDE   RDE   3    36                40                2 yrs
Downs, David            99  RDE         2    27                45                2 yrs
##Dowdell, Craig        77  LDT         9    63                63                3 yrs
Lyon, Fred              90  LDT   RDT   2    25                34                2 yrs
##Melville, Henry       75  LDT         1    20                41                3 yrs
Pearson, J.J.           74  RDT   LDT   4    44                44                5 yrs
Slayton, Walter         92  MLB   MLB   5    31                31                2 yrs
##Marsolais, Lionel     97  MLB         10   28                28                2 yrs
Finley, Mitch           96  MLB         1    17                51                4 yrs
Hines, Kenneth          93  SLB   SLB   6    46                46                2 yrs
Powell, William         98  WLB   WLB   3    33                33                1 yr.
Winters, Kendall        51  WLB         7    21                21                1 yr.
Durham, Victor          58  WLB         1    17                26                3 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   10   67                67                2 yrs
Shaw, David             37  LCB         8    38                38                2 yrs
Maloney, Jorge          34  LCB         4    31                31                3 yrs
Shanle, Donald          39  RCB   RCB   8    48                48                3 yrs
Greason, Spencer        22  RCB         1    22                40                3 yrs
Crase, Archie           38  SS    SS    3    48                57                2 yrs
Bush, Dana              42  SS          10   38                38                2 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    FS    10   52                52                2 yrs
Gray, Bo                49  FS          1    23                44                3 yrs

ROSTER: 80 (6th best)
COHESION: 96-100-82-92

[Ben E Lou]

Top DE Ricky Hare tears his ACL in Week 4 and will miss the rest of the year.

[Ben E Lou]

End of 2033 Report...

Tough postseason loss. Sweazy wins his fourth award trifecta, and DT Dowdell is an All-Pro for the third straight season, this time 2nd team.

[Ben E Lou]

2034 OFFSEASON

No retirements.

FRANCHISE: None.

SUMMER: MLB Mitch Finley

FA1

CUTS
Long-time backup QB Willie Clements
51/51 backup TE Ricardo DePree
30/30 backup MLB Walter Slayton
31/31 CB Jorge Maloney
27/27 WR Lionel Carrubba (who had right around 500 yards receiving last year)

Even though only DePree was making over the veteran minimum, I'm close enough to the cap that I had to make these moves in order to go after a couple of nominal FAs. I like it that the new rules are already reducing my depth and cohesion, and forcing me to make some decisions about players.

I do make one signing worth mentioning. 46/46 WR Myron Bucker, who is a 78 in GD and an 86 in BPR, signs a cheap three-year deal with us to be our third WR.

DRAFT

Rnd 1 - Jumbo Long, CB, Furman, 37/58--Not great combines, but very well developed with solid bars. Not sure what that means, but I want to find out. Intriguing guy.
Rnd 2 - Ellis Crumpton, OLB, Drake, 28/60
Rnd 3 - Wendell Andersen, QB, Wake Forest, 6/35
Rnd 4 - George Pearson, DT, Central Michigan, 20/37
Rnd 5 - Winston Richard, CB, Northwestern, 16/24
Rnd 6 - Lance Deericks, OLB, Boston College, 20/37
Rnd 7 - Ted Huffman, TE, Stanford, 26/35
CAMP NEWS OF NOTE

• 4th round DT George Pearson gets what appears to be a rare random rookie boom. He's +18/+15 to 38/52. Nice!
• In his 12th season, we get the first sign of the beginning of the end of the Aaron Sweazy era. He drops 6 points to 69/69.
• 1st-round pick Long is +3/-5, 40/53.
• 5th-round pick Richard is +5/+7. Nice!!!
  

[Ben E Lou]

G Deon Derlange tears a lateral knee ligament in the second preseason game, and will miss most, if not all, of the regular season.

[Ben E Lou]

2034 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    12   69                69                2 yrs
Hopper, Les             19  QB          3    42                42                1 yr.
Swatek, Everett         3   QB          7    40                40                2 yrs
Andersen, Wendell       14  QB          1    9                 33                3 yrs
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    6    70                70                4 yrs
Gonsales, Marlon        25  RB          4    40                40                3 yrs
Monroe, Donald          44  RB          5    37                37                3 yrs
##Craig, Gino           32  FB          6    58                58                3 yrs
Webster, Dwayne         47  FB    FB    11   30                30                1 yr.
Stallings, Winston      89  TE    TE    4    75                75                5 yrs
Denby, Gary             85  TE          5    32                32                2 yrs
Huffman, Ted            84  TE          1    29                36                3 yrs
Frederick, Brian        82  FL    FL    3    55                55                2 yrs
Buckner, Myron          81  FL          6    45                45                3 yrs
##Frederick, Stan       83  FL          10   35                35                2 yrs
Eldred, George          87  SE    SE    8    55                55                4 yrs
Ehlen, Calvin           88  SE          5    34                34                1 yr.
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     9    58                58                2 yrs
McSorley, Mo            54  C           4    38                49                3 yrs
Fields, Harold          52  C           4    36                36                3 yrs
Arnold, Percy           61  LG    LG    6    56                56                3 yrs
McConnell, Zach         65  LG          3    34                39                2 yrs
Renes, Dan              63  RG    RG    10   43                43                2 yrs
##Derlange, Deon        68  RG          2    37                53                3 yrs
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT    LT    7    63                63                2 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  LT          11   38                38                2 yrs
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT    RT    8    50                50                4 yrs
de Groh, Martin         9   P           6    43                43                2 yrs
Sheriff, Dixon          1   K           14   47                47                3 yrs
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   8    65                65                2 yrs
Kelleher, Leon          94  LDE         2    32                42                3 yrs
Corbett, Skip           70  RDE   RDE   4    43                43                1 yr.
Downs, David            99  RDE         3    39                44                1 yr.
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   10   57                57                2 yrs
Lyon, Fred              90  LDT         3    31                34                1 yr.
Melville, Henry         75  LDT         2    25                41                2 yrs
Pearson, J.J.           74  RDT   RDT   5    44                44                4 yrs
Pearson, George         91  RDT         1    40                52                4 yrs
Finley, Mitch           96  MLB   MLB   2    31                51                3 yrs
Marsolais, Lionel       97  MLB         11   26                26                1 yr.
Hines, Kenneth          93  SLB   SLB   7    47                47                4 yrs
Crumpton, Ellis         95  WLB   WLB   1    33                56                4 yrs
Durham, Victor          58  WLB         2    21                27                2 yrs
##Deericks, Lance       56  WLB         1    19                46                3 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   11   58                58                2 yrs
Long, Jumbo             40  LCB         1    43                53                4 yrs
Shaw, David             37  LCB         9    38                38                1 yr.
Shanle, Donald          39  RCB   RCB   9    41                41                2 yrs
##Greason, Spencer      22  RCB         2    29                44                2 yrs
##Richard, Winston      45  RCB         1    21                31                3 yrs
Crase, Archie           38  SS    SS    4    58                58                5 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    FS    11   47                47                2 yrs
##Gray, Bo              49  FS          2    26                40                2 yrs

ROSTER RATING: 80 (4th best)
COHESION: 94-100-87-97

[Ben E Lou]

Sweazy tears his ACL in Week 12. Could this be the end?

[Ben E Lou]

End 2034 Summary...

Without Sweazy, I'm not sure we're any better than a 9-7 type team right now. He's O-11 as I get ready to hit End Season, so I'll know in a few moments...

[Ben E Lou]

Whew! He's back, and still 69/69.

[Ben E Lou]

2035 OFFSEASON

Big retirement. We say goodbye to Edwin Cline.

Cline's scouted ratings climbed as high as 67/67, and were still at 58/58 for his final season. There's no question that he'll be missed.

FRANCHISE: None.

SUMMER: DT George Pearson

FA1

CUTS
RB Donald Monroe (36/36)--pursuing another option as a backup in free agency.
DT J.J. Pearson (43/43)--The former starter took a -17/-17 dump in 2033, and wasn't the same player the last two seasons. He was scheduled to take up over 5% of the cap this season, 2nd-year man George Pearson is starting quality, and I have other places to spend the money. He's gone.

NEW SIGNINGS WORTH MENTIONING
RB Matthew Mills (48/48)--5th-year man who should be a solid backup for Ike Peterson.
CB Ricardo Farmer (50/50)--6th-year player who will be the starter with Cline's retirement

DRAFT

Rnd 1 - Shawn Klosterman, DT, Mississippi State--23/48: +4 in camp
Rnd 2 - Conrad Collier, WR, Virginia--19/29: +2
Rnd 3 - William Burns, ILB, Minnesota--14/35: +6
Rnd 4 - Martin Perez, FB, Washington--27/65: -7
Rnd 5 - Mitchell Peters, WR, Baylor--22/48: +6
Rnd 6 - Butch Clayton, S, UCLA--19/40: -2
Rnd 7 - Matthew Rushe, T, Iowa State--15/24: +2




CAMP NEWS OF NOTE REGARDING VETERANS

• Sweazy drops 5 points, to 64/64.
• RB Peterson drops 6, to 64/64 as well.

[Ben E Lou]

2034 ROSTER...

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    13   64                64                3 yrs
Swatek, Everett         3   QB          8    41                41                1 yr.
Hopper, Les             19  QB          4    41                41                2 yrs
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    7    64                64                3 yrs
Mills, Matthew          42  RB          5    48                48                3 yrs
Gonsales, Marlon        25  RB          5    41                41                2 yrs
Craig, Gino             32  FB    FB    7    58                58                2 yrs
Perez, Martin           21  FB          1    33                58                3 yrs
Stallings, Winston      89  TE    TE    5    77                77                4 yrs
Huffman, Ted            84  TE          2    36                37                2 yrs
Denby, Gary             85  TE          6    31                31                1 yr.
Frederick, Brian        82  FL    FL    4    55                55                5 yrs
Buckner, Myron          81  FL          7    46                46                2 yrs
Eldred, George          87  SE    SE    9    55                55                3 yrs
Peters, Mitchell        8   SE          1    35                54                3 yrs
##Collier, Conrad       86  SE          1    21                31                3 yrs
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     10   60                60                3 yrs
McSorley, Mo            54  C           5    47                47                2 yrs
Fields, Harold          52  C           5    38                38                2 yrs
Arnold, Percy           61  LG    LG    7    57                57                2 yrs
McConnell, Zach         65  LG          4    38                41                3 yrs
Derlange, Deon          68  RG    RG    3    38                49                2 yrs
Renes, Dan              63  RG          11   38                38                2 yrs
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT    LT    8    65                65                4 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  LT          12   35                35                1 yr.
##Rushe, Matthew        71  LT          1    18                26                3 yrs
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT    RT    9    48                48                3 yrs
de Groh, Martin         9   P           7    41                41                3 yrs
Sheriff, Dixon          1   K           15   43                43                2 yrs
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   9    66                66                3 yrs
Kelleher, Leon          94  LDE         3    37                45                2 yrs
Corbett, Skip           70  RDE   RDE   5    44                44                2 yrs
Downs, David            99  RDE         4    44                44                3 yrs
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   11   49                49                2 yrs
Lyon, Fred              90  LDT         4    42                42                3 yrs
Melville, Henry         75  LDT         3    29                40                1 yr.
Pearson, George         91  RDT   RDT   2    63                63                3 yrs
##Klosterman, Shawn     79  RDT         1    25                52                4 yrs
Finley, Mitch           96  MLB   MLB   3    46                46                2 yrs
##Burns, William        51  MLB         1    20                41                3 yrs
Hines, Kenneth          93  SLB   SLB   8    41                41                3 yrs
Crumpton, Ellis         95  WLB   WLB   2    37                53                3 yrs
Durham, Victor          58  WLB         3    26                26                1 yr.
Deericks, Lance         56  WLB         2    23                44                2 yrs
Farmer, Ricardo         36  LCB   LCB   6    51                51                3 yrs
Long, Jumbo             40  LCB   RCB   2    46                46                3 yrs
Greason, Spencer        22  RCB         3    36                44                1 yr.
Shanle, Donald          39  RCB         10   35                35                2 yrs
##Richard, Winston      45  RCB         2    29                34                2 yrs
Crase, Archie           38  SS    SS    5    60                60                4 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    FS    12   44                44                2 yrs
##Gray, Bo              49  FS          3    29                29                1 yr.
##Clayton, Butch        46  FS          1    22                38                3 yrs

Roster Rating: 73
Cohesion: 94-100-100-84

As Sweazy continues to age, it is beginning to look like these House Rules are going to give me the kind of level of difficulty I'm desiring. I caught lightning in a bottle landing him in the 5th round. I don't see being able to get that kind of QB again unless we have a 4-6 win season. We may be mired in mediocrity for a bit after he retires. I'd *love* that.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

We may be mired in mediocrity for a bit after he retires.

Or, we may become mediocre and miss the playoffs even before he retires...

[Ben E Lou]

Heh. Yet another House Rule change. This time it's to model a new rule adopted in the IHOF. Just a slight change in free agency:

1. No cap outs. The only renegs allowed are in the final year of the contract. Period.
2. I'm removing my restrictions on signing FAs. Because of rule #1, I shouldn't really have much money to pursue them, anyway.

[QuikSand]

So, if you're that happy with your house rules, is it possible to post them in one bundle so they are fairly easy to access?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

So, if you're that happy with your house rules, is it possible to post them in one bundle so they are fairly easy to access?

Good call. I'll update them in post #2 now.