The Defense That Ate Chicago, a FOF 5.1b Dynasty....

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Roster Preview

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Van Caeyzeele, Leroy    11  P           4    54                54                ---  
Abrams, Bubba           5   K           6    40                42                ---  

Punter Leroy goes over 50, so we'll need yet another new punter this year. Abrams hit 76% of his FGs this last year, which is a great improvement. We'll re-sign him, but also look for someone incrementally better.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Insley, Ed              90  LDE         4    84                88                2 yrs
Zimmerman, Frank        99  LDE         5    21                51                1 yr.
Yaw, Billy Joe          93  RDE         6    38                49                ---  
Shepherd, Glenn         91  RDE         7    34                41                ---  

DE Insley has arrived, and should battle for the league lead in sacks for the next 5 years or so. Zimmerman is a capable backup and seems to have no problem backing up Ed, so he'll stay. Yaw continues to not deliver a pass rush. I'm inclined to sign him to keep talent at that space, but we'll see what he wants. Shepherd is just about as good but should be much cheaper.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Poole, Omar             70  LDT         7    93                93                3 yrs
Sampson, Brett          94  LDT         7    62                62                2 yrs
Samuels, Glen           71  LDT         7    49                49                3 yrs
Brock, Donovan          75  RDT         7    51                53                1 yr.
Madison, Andrew         97  RDT         7    43                48                1 yr.

Brett Sampson, our 3rd Round pick from 2005, has surivived injury without any loss. However, he finds himself now backing up DT stud Omar Poole. Can he adjust to a backup role? We've also got a bit of a fight on our hands with the other 3 guys.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
McAfee, Marco           58  MLB         7    77                77                4 yrs
Grier, Daniel           57  MLB         5    61                67                ---  
Strow, Bryant           92  MLB         6    33                45                ---  

Grier is now a mentor as well as D-Line Leader, and still doesn't mind being a backup. A definite re-signing there. Strow is a nice backup. Of course, McAfee is the starter until further notice.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Barnes, J.R.            51  SLB         5    87                87                1 yr.
Astrosky, Robbie        52  SLB         4    35                54                1 yr.

Barnes is a wrecking crew at SLB and Astrosky is a competent backup.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Castro, Britt           54  WLB         7    71                71                4 yrs
Greene, Ernest          56  WLB         5    24                41                ---  
Fleming, Sammy          53  WLB         3    23                48                2 yrs

Britt Castro has come a long way from being our 2nd Round pick in 2005. He's a stalwart of this LB crew and even continues to improve. Fleming didn't come through well from injury, but should hang on as a backup.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Lutes, Desmond          41  LCB         5    58                58                2 yrs
Shields, Hugh           23  LCB         6    48                55                ---  
Brickner, Ellis         31  RCB         5    88                92                1 yr.
Blake, Dusty            40  RCB         5    42                51                1 yr.
Campbell, Rufus         21  RCB         2    25                67                3 yrs

Campbell held out a bit, and then didn't play much. He really needs to improve to stay in contention in this secondary. Blake and Shields are also on pins and needles.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Dunn, Stanley           34  SS          4    65                69                1 yr.
St. Amal, Chad          32  SS          5    44                47                1 yr.
Forsyth, Sammy          36  FS          4    35                41                1 yr.
Bear, Ryan              35  FS          5    30                40                ---  

St. Amal has a conflict with Position Leader Lutes, so will probably go. Dunn appears to be the answer (for now) at SS. Again, our top need looks to be Safety, specifically FS.

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Free Agency (Pre-Draft)

This year I can sign FAs with 6 or more years of experience (noted in the game as 7 years or more).

Renegotiations

DE Frank Zimmerman signs a renegotiated contract for 2 years, $1.80 million. This is more or less an extension.

OLB Sammy Fleming signs a renegotiated contract for 3 years, $3.63 million. This is a reduction due to his injury and skills lost therein.

Re-Signings

DE Glenn Shepherd re-signs for 2 years, $2.37 million. He wins over Yaw. It now looks very likely that Billy Joe Yaw, our former 1st Round draft pick, will finally leave the team after never living up to potential.

ILB Bryant Strow re-signs for 2 years, $2.11 million. He was a decent backup last year and gets to keep the job.

CB Hugh Shields, one of our best cover corners, re-signs for 1 year, $1.22 million.

ILB Daniel Grier re-signs for 4 years, $35.20 million. Not bad for a backup, eh? I may need to revisit this contract in the future, though.

K Bubba Abrams re-signs for 3 years, $3.90 million.

FA Signings

P Lous Miller signs for 2 years, $1.66 million. A solid replacement, rated in the low 40s, who may hang around for a while.

CB Alvin Ducharme signs for 6 years, $63 million. A big contract, but he'll be our other stud CB. Our CB corps now looks really fearsome.

FS Wade Cortez signs for 5 years, $22.56 million. Finally, the stud FS I've been looking for. He should make a big impact in this position.

DE Walt Durham signs for 2 years, $2.95 million. A pass-rush specialist, he'll probably start at RDE.

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Amateur Draft

Preliminary Thoughts

I draft at my lowest position in ages: #7. I also have Washington's #20 overall. Woo. Based on my experiences of last year, as well as my work in FA this year, I'm not inclined to work really hard to identify prospects in each class. Usually I go through and pick out lots of hidden gems, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that unless these "hidden" gems are top-notch prospects, they'll just get cut anyway.

2011 Draft

I start off by giving Tampa Bay (the team with the most cap left besides me) my 3rd Round - 7th Round picks for their 2nd Round pick (#3). I figure I'll be better off using that as leverage than my lower picks. Besides, anyone picked at Round 3 or lower for me isn't going to make the team, probably.

There's a monster DE at #1 on the board, but I'm really pretty set at DE, so won't trade up. #3 and #5 are both stud CBs, who definitely hold interest for me, even though I shored up the position in FA. Sadly there's no super-stud Safety in the draft, so that will have to wait.

Oakland take the DE at #1. Pittsburgh take a RB at #2 (who was rated #2 overall), which gives me a decision to make. Do I trade up to try and grab both CBs? How much will it cost? Tampa Bay, at #3, has CB listed as their top need, as well. I trade them my #7 Overall, my 2nd Round pick and their 2nd Round pick back to get their #3.

Somewhat unsurprisingly, though, Tampa Bay take the other stud CB at #7. The 3rd CB I was looking at (in amongst some OLBs I really don't need) falls to #12, where Philadelphia lies needing a CB. I pull off another trade with them, giving them my #20 overall and my 5th - 7th Rounders next year for their #12. And that's it for this year.

Rnd Pick Pos  Name             Cur Fut Bureau Vol 40   Sol BP Agil
1   3    CB   K.C. Watson      45  85  7.8    31  4.35 27  20 6.84
1   12   CB   Marvin Wilson    25  70  6.0    49  4.39 26  17 6.94

Name             Draft   Post   Change
K.C. Watson      45/85   42/85  -3/-
Marvin Wilson    25/70   24/68  -1/-2

As usual, we get a C-, but we now have a really awesome secondary. No puny slot receiver is going to score on us!

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Training Camp

	Name		Pos	Cur	Fut	Cur	Fut	Cchange	Fchange
Ellison,J.B.		QB	13	28	14	28	1	0
Gomez,	Kelly		QB	15	38	17	36	2	-2
Landis,	Gary		QB	14	34	16	33	2	-1
Lang,	Kyle		QB	16	48	17	41	1	-7
Auerbach,C.J.		RB	24	31	26	32	2	1
Barnard,Gabe		RB	26	30	26	31	0	1
Hall,	Max		RB	21	29	23	30	2	1
McCurdy,Rickey		RB	20	27	20	24	0	-3
Clarkson,Thurman	FB	21	39	22	39	1	0
Collier,Glenn		FB	20	42	21	40	1	-2
Marrow,	Lawrence	FB	22	40	24	36	2	-4
Franzwa,Bart		TE	24	35	26	32	2	-3
Mitchell,Jack		TE	17	39	18	38	1	-1
Rivers,	Clay		TE	17	28	18	28	1	0
Schneider,Steven	TE	17	30	18	30	1	0
Hatchette,Claude	FL	16	31	17	26	1	-5
Parrish,Kim		FL	17	22	17	22	0	0
Riordan,Marshall	FL	14	33	14	32	0	-1
Scialabba,Bernard	FL	14	29	15	29	1	0
Webb,	Gabe		FL	16	37	17	36	1	-1
Welch,	Donald		SE	16	39	18	42	2	3
Lilly,	Randall		C	9	26	10	26	1	0
Nalen,	Shannon		C	9	38	10	36	1	-2
Tanner,	Daryl		C	10	27	11	28	1	1
Webster,T.J.		C	15	27	17	31	2	4
Dennis,	Dale		LG	12	19	14	21	2	2
White,	Cory		LG	15	31	18	36	3	5
Bernstein,Dana		RG	17	32	19	31	2	-1
Cote,	Everett		RG	13	25	16	27	3	2
Keen,	Norm		RG	15	27	16	28	1	1
Arnold,	Matthew		LT	12	33	12	29	0	-4
Brooking,Ronald		LT	13	31	15	31	2	0
Putman,	Randal		LT	13	35	15	35	2	0
Sibal,	Derek		LT	13	18	15	19	2	1
Nichols,Jamie		RT	23	37	25	40	2	3
Miller,	Louis		P	41	42	41	42	0	0
Abrams,	Bubba		K	40	41	40	41	0	0
Insley,	Ed		LDE	84	88	84	88	0	0
Zimmerman,Frank		LDE	21	51	34	51	13	0
Durham,	Walt		RDE	44	49	45	49	1	0
Shepherd,Glenn		RDE	34	41	35	41	1	0
Poole,	Omar		LDT	93	93	93	93	0	0
Sampson,Brett		LDT	54	54	54	54	0	0
Samuels,Glen		LDT	49	49	49	49	0	0
Brock,	Donovan		RDT	52	54	52	54	0	0
Madison,Andrew		RDT	45	49	46	49	1	0
Grier,	Daniel		MLB	61	67	66	67	5	0
McAfee,	Marco		MLB	78	78	78	78	0	0
Strow,	Bryant		MLB	32	45	35	45	3	0
Astrosky,Robbie		SLB	36	54	38	54	2	0
Barnes,	J.R.		SLB	87	87	87	87	0	0
Castro,	Britt		WLB	72	72	72	72	0	0
Fleming,Sammy		WLB	23	49	25	49	2	0
Ducharme,Alvin		LCB	69	73	69	73	0	0
Lutes,	Desmond		LCB	59	59	59	59	0	0
Shields,Hugh		LCB	48	55	48	55	0	0
Blake,	Dusty		RCB	43	51	43	51	0	0
Brickner,Ellis		RCB	88	93	88	93	0	0
Campbell,Rufus		RCB	25	67	29	67	4	0
Watson,	K.C.		RCB	42	85	42	85	0	0
Wilson,	Marvin		RCB	24	68	27	68	3	0
Dunn,	Stanley		SS	66	69	69	69	3	0
St. AmalChad		SS	47	50	47	50	0	0
Cortez,	Wade		FS	70	70	70	70	0	0
Forsyth,Sammy		FS	35	41	37	41	2	0

Aside from a completely unexpected pop by DE Frank Zimmerman, there isn't a lot out of the ordinaryhere. CB Rufus Campbell gets a bit of a pop, which he'll need if he expects to start here for long.

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Preseason Notes

LDT Glen Samuels gets cut, due to the pile-up at DT and the fact that he wanted to start, which wasn't going to happen.

CBs Desmond Lutes, Hugh Shields and Dusty Blake all get cast-off to make way for the newcomers (3 1st round picks in 2 years, plus Veteran Ducharme & Brickner).

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Regular Season

Week 1: Home to Green Bay
W, 14-10
Two rushing TDs, as we shut down the relatively anemic Green Bay. We could use something more from the Defense, though. We also lose DE Insley and DT Poole for a few weeks, which isn't a good thing.
Offensive Points: 12 (+12), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 2: @ Denver
L, 7-30
Denver has absolutely no problem with us, as again our Defense does absolutely nothing. Grr....
Offensive Points: 18 (+6), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 3: Home to New York
W, 14-0
2 TD passes for the Offense, but it's definitely the Defense that wins this one, with 2 sacks and 4 INTs contributing to a stifling of New York.
Offensive Points: 30 (+12), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 4: @ Carolina
L, 0-13
We hold Carolina to 72 yards on the ground and 89 in the air, but they still slip by. Our QB getting sacked 7 times probably didn't help.
Offensive Points: 30 (no change), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 5: Bye

Week 6: @ Detroit
W, 17-7
We take out previously undefeated Detroit. I'm sure that upsets them. Two TD runs for the Offense, though, as the Defense can't seem to get on the board. We continue to suffer injuries galore, which probably doesn't help.
Offensive Points: 42 (+12), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 7: Home to New Orleans
W, 27-9
CB Ellis Brickner scores on a 24-yard INT return, and the Offense adds two other TDs. DE Insley gets PoG with 3 Tackles, 3 Assists, 2.5 Sacks and 2 QB Hurries. We tally 8 sacks and 2 INTs (both by Brickner).
Offensive Points: 54 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (+6)

Week 8: Home to Minnesota
W, 38-13
K.C. Watson scores on a 96-yard Kickoff Return which, unfortunately, doesn't count for the Defense, so it's the Offense's 4 TDs which will go in the books. Minnesota runs up good numbers against us, but the Defense always seems to stop the drive at the right time.
Offensive Points: 78 (+24), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 9: Home to Atlanta
W, 17-7
Two TDs for the Offense, but DE Insley picks up PoG again with 5 Tackles, 3 Sacks & 1 QB Hurry. The Defense nabs 6 Sacks and 2 INTs in total, really shutting down Atlanta. Sadly, we lose starting CB Ducharme to injury for 10 weeks, so one of the rookies will need to step up.
Offensive Points: 90 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 10: @ Tampa Bay
L, 12-24
The Offense gets a TD (conversion failed), as the Defense can't slow down Tampa Bay enough to make up for the otherwise lousy Offense. DE Insley goes out with an injury again....
Offensive Points: 96 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 11: @ Green Bay
W, 14-12
ILB Marco McAfee gets PoG as we just sit on Green Bay without flashiness (no sacks, no INTs). Two more TDs for the rampaging Offense.
Offensive Points: 108 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 12: Home to San Diego
L, 31-20
The loss of Insley has really not helped, as we can't slow San Diego down. Another 2 TDs for the Offense. We also lose DT Poole in this game but should hopefully have Insley back next week.
Offensive Points: 120 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 13: @ St. Louis
L, 13-18
Although we sack St. Louis 8 times, they still manage an astonishing 7.2 Yards per Carry on the ground, which, roughly, is how we lose this game. Even worse, DT Donovan Brock is out for 41 weeks.
Offensive Points: 126 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 14: @ Kansas City
W, 24-14
Much better performance by the Defense with 5 sacks (1.5 each for DE Insley and DT Poole) and 2 INTs. Points, again, go to the Offense.
Offensive Points: 144 (+18), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 15: Home to Detroit
L, 7-13
Despite sacking Detroit 5 times, our equally pitiful Offense can't get us over the hump. Don't look now, but we're tied with Detroit for the division lead. Unfortunately, we've now lost FS Wade Cortez for 42 weeks. Damn the HC's miserable Avoid Injury Rating!!!!!
Offensive Points: 150 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 16: Home to Oakland
W, 14-12
We hold them to 2.4 YPC on the ground, and 3 sacks (Insley, Durham, Barnes) stop them at the right times to eek out another win.
Offensive Points: 162 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 17: @ Minnesota
L, 13-27
J.R. Barnes returns an INT 55 yards for a TD, but otherwise we can't stop Minnesota, however at 9-7 we SNEAK INTO THE PLAYOFFS despite finishing equal with Detroit (we must have a tiebreaker). We're definitely on new ground here.
Offensive Points: 162 (no change), Defensive Points: 12 (+6)

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Postseason

Wild Card Round

Atlanta (11-6) 35, @ San Francisco (10-7) 42
Cleveland (10-6-1) 27, @ Kansas City (10-7) 24
San Diego (11-6) 17, @ Baltimore (10-7) 14

and...

Carolina (11-6) 20, @ Chicago (9-8) 6

The dream dies. Carolina's just a much better team, and despite 2 Sacks and 2 INTs, we can't make a dent.

Conference Semifinal Round

Carolina (11-7) 20, @ Philadelphia (16-1) 27
Cleveland (10-7-1) 10, @ New Jersey (14-3) 12
San Diego (12-6) 31, @ Indianapolis (10-7) 30
San Francisco (11-7) 27, @ Tampa Bay (13-4) 24

Conference Final Round

San Diego (13-6) 31, @ New Jersey (14-4) 17
San Francisco (11-8) 14, @ Philadelphia (17-1) 35

Front Office Championship

Philadelphia (18-1) 23, vs. San Diego (13-7) 17

Philadelphia caps an amazing season with the title.

[Fonzie]

Dear flere-imsaho:

First, allow me to offer my heartfelt congratulations on making the playoffs! Well done!

Unfortunately, I must greet your good news with some sad news: you failed to heed my directive about continuing to lose to the Packers. As such, I must ask you to report to vaporization chamber #7 for bio-reclamation at your earliest convenience.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Signed,

Wisconsin

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Team Summary

Front Office Football 2004
2011 Summary for Chicago Bears
   
Record: 9-8
Winning Pct.: .529
   
Chicago Bears           Team      Rank  
Rushes                  432       24          
Rushing Yards           1644      27          
Yards Per Carry         3.80      29          
Pass Attempts           466       30          
Completions             258       31          
Passing Yards           2493      32          
Yards Per Attempt       5.34      32          
3rd Down Conversions    39.4      23          
Points Per Game         15.6      26          
Turnovers               29        22          
Turnover Margin         +3        12 (T)      
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes                  480       27          
Rushing Yards           1766      9           
Yards Per Carry         3.67      3           
Pass Attempts           521       16          
Completions             301       10          
Passing Yards           3111      2           
Yards Per Attempt       5.97      3           
3rd Down Conversions    40.7      10          
Points Per Game         15.0      3           
Turnovers               32        4           
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     14    GBY           10      
2     7     at DEN        30      
3     14    NYK           0       
4     0     at CAR        13      
6     17    at DET        7       
7     27    NOS           9       
8     38    MIN           13      
9     17    ATL           7       
10    12    at TBY        24      
11    14    at GBY        12      
12    20    SDO           31      
13    13    at STL        18      
14    24    at KCY        14      
15    7     DET           13      
16    14    OAK           12      
17    13    at MIN        27      
$$WC  6     CAR           20      
   
Passing             Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int  
13 Lang             QB    466   258   2493  5.34  14    16      
**Team              ---   466   258   2493  5.34  14    16      
   
Rushing             Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD  
45 Auerbach         RB    276   1045  3.78  7       
30 Hall             RB    83    367   4.42  2       
13 Lang             QB    34    69    2.02  0       
**Team              ---   432   1644  3.80  13      
   
Receiving           Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
8 Webb              WR    101   53    652   12.3  65    4       
6 Welch             WR    113   52    541   10.4  62    3       
9 Parrish           WR    62    42    418   9.9   31    2       
83 Hatchette        WR    80    42    415   9.8   37    1       
86 Mitchell         TE    37    19    157   8.2   26    0       
**Team              ---   466   258   2493  9.6   321   14      
   
Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  
58 McAfee           ILB   118   52    0.0   1     2     9       
51 Barnes           OLB   106   38    4.0   1     3     7       
31 Brickner         CB    73    18    0.0   0     7     14      
54 Castro           OLB   66    33    2.0   3     0     5       
70 Poole            DT    63    17    8.5   19    0     0       
34 Dunn             S     62    26    1.0   0     3     8       
33 Cortez           S     56    15    0.0   0     1     8       
90 Insley           DE    43    11    14.5  18    0     0       
75 Brock            DT    41    14    3.5   4     0     0       
26 Watson           CB    35    11    0.0   0     3     5       
21 Campbell         CB    28    6     0.0   0     1     1       
48 Ducharme         CB    27    10    0.0   0     2     8       
42 Wilson           CB    21    6     1.0   0     1     1       
77 Durham           DE    18    13    6.5   13    0     0       
97 Madison          DT    16    8     1.0   1     0     0       
**Team              ---   895   303   48.0  69    23    68      

Defensive Measures

Measure               2007   2008   2009   2010   2011   Change 10-11
Rushing YPC           4.28   3.99   3.81   3.54   3.67   +0.13
Passing YPA           6.50   6.98   5.99   5.31   5.97   +0.68
3rd Down Conversions  46.0%  38.4%  38.1%  37.2%  40.7%  +3.5%
Points Per Game       22.6   18.8   17.5   17.1   15.0   -2.1
Turnovers             26     33     24     26     32     +6

Year  Tackles  Assists  Sacks  Hurries  INTs  Defensed
2005  910      307      21.0   36       6     37
2006  915      296      22.0   38       16    47 
2007  930      300      40.0   68       21    55
2008  840      263      31.0   54       22    56
2009  890      280      33.0   69       16    80
2010  862      301      50.0   91       16    65
2011  895      303      48.0   69       23    68

A year after RB Oliver Hubert missed 1000 yards by 2, C.J. Auerbach is our first 1000-yard rusher. Overall the Offense put in a pretty decent effort this year.

But who cares....

Most overall defensive categories regressed this year except for points allowed and turnovers. I think we've gotten as stingy as we're going to get, to be honest, but this defense is never going to score a lot of points until it starts forcing more turnovers.

On the pass-rush front, DE Ed Insley has come of age, and is a force to be reckoned with. DE Poolt is also helping a lot as well. The Linebacking trio of Barnes, McAfee and Castro can't be stopped and CB Ellis Brickner is amazing in the secondary.

It's unclear to me what I need to do to get this defense to perform more, but we'll see....

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Awards

All-League 2nd Team Cornerback: Ellis Brickner

Honestly, I thought a few more would have made it, but there you go....

2011 Records

Games Started, Career (Chicago Record): Britt Castro (98)
Rushing Attempts, Career (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (276)
Rushing Yards, Career (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (1,045)
Rushing TDs, Career (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (7)
Interceptions, Career (Chicago Record): Ellis Brickner (30)
Tackles, Career (Chicago Record): Britt Castro (593)
Sacks, Career (Chicago Record): Ed Insley (47.5)
Field Goals, Career (Chicago Record): Bubba Abrams (77)
Passes Defensed, Career (Chicago Record): Ellis Brickner (69)

Rushing Attempts, Single-Season (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (276)
Rushing Yards, Single-Season (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (1,045)
Rushing TDs, Single-Season (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (7)

Rushing Attempts, Single-Game (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (29)
Rushing Yards, Single-Game (Chicago Record): C.J. Auerbach (166)

Points Allowed, Single-Season (Chicago Record): 15.0

Rushing Yards, Single-Game (Chicago Record): 199 vs. Detroit

I'm not going to do playoff records for now.

[flere-imsaho]

2011 Evaluation

Evaluation: 50 (+8)
Performance: 72 (+55)
Roster: 71 (-1)
Profit: 42 (-15)
Franchise Value: 24 (-2)

Profit: -$24,780,000 (-$24,600,000)
Franchise Value: $546,980,000 (+$17,680,000)
Attendance: 46,800 (74.2%, +4%)

Our new-found success coincides with financial problems. Coincidence? I think not....

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Staff Hiring

There are no real upgrades available, so we stick with the current turkeys:

Scout

Bert Shannon, 54 years old, 4 years @ $740,000/year
Very Good: Young Talent
Good: QB, RB, Rec, K, D-Line, LBs, Sec
Poor: O-Line
Bad news for the O-Line, then. Overall, Shannon's probably one of the better scouts out there. I can't find a replacement, even one who's just good on the Defensive side.

Head Coach

Andre Peters, 44 years old, 4 years @ $4,200,000/year
Excellent: Discipline
Very Good: Injury Avoidance
Good: Defensive Playcalling, Motivation
Poor: Offensive Playcalling
The upgrade in Injury Avoidance is very key. Peters also retains a very high ceiling, due to the low Offensive Playcalling, so he may be a keeper for a while.

Offensive Coordinator

Howard Caraba, 70 years old, 3 years @ $1,730,000/year
Average: Young Talent, O-Line
Fair: QB
Poor: RB, Rec, K
Cheap and Bad. Excellent.

Defensive Coordinator

Corwin Lofton, 48 years old, 3 years @ $3,820,000/year
Excellent: LBs, Sec
Very Good: Young Talent, D-Line
Good: K
Lofton continues to improve, which is great news. He'll be a keeper for a long time.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Ticket Pricing/Franchise Designation

Attendance up 4%, but I should probably continue to encourage that with lower prices, so no changes.

While it would be helpful to franchise a player or two, it really feels like cheating, so no.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Roster Preview

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Miller, Louis           10  P           4    41                42                1 yr.
Abrams, Bubba           5   K           7    39                41                2 yrs

Abrams is starting to regress. He hit 66% of his FG attempts last season, which is probably good enough to stay on the team. Miller, new to the team last year, averaged 43 yards per punt. That's good enough, and since his kick holding is very high, I don't see us replacing him soon.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Insley, Ed              90  LDE         5    84                87                1 yr.
Zimmerman, Frank        99  LDE         6    23                51                1 yr.
Durham, Walt            77  RDE         6    45                49                1 yr.
Shepherd, Glenn         91  RDE         8    35                42                1 yr.

Insley racked up 14.5 sacks last season, and is only going to continue to improve. This is probably the time to give him a good contract extension. Durham is the position leader and has given us some decent production. We'll probably try to extend him as well. The other two guys are all-rounder roster fillers. While I could keep them, if possible I might look for some younger, cheaper replacements, or maybe some one-dimensional veterans who might up our overall turnover total.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Poole, Omar             70  LDT         8    89                89                2 yrs
Sampson, Brett          94  LDT         8    54                54                1 yr.
**Brock, Donovan        75  RDT         8    52                54                ---  
Madison, Andrew         97  RDT         8    45                49                ---  
Marshall, Hugh          71  RDT         4    33                39                ---  

The big news here is Donovan Brock. He's out for 12 more weeks with reconstructive knee surgery. Will he retain his ratings and performance? Poole, of course, is the class of the group, even if his production has slipped somewhat. Sampson has been a very capable backup and I'd like to ink him to a long-term extension, if possible. Madison is decent and will be resigned if he doesn't want too much. Marshall was roster filler, and I don't expect he'll be back.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
McAfee, Marco           58  MLB         8    78                78                3 yrs
Grier, Daniel           57  MLB         6    65                73                3 yrs
Strow, Bryant           92  MLB         7    35                45                1 yr.

McAfee is our run-stopping machine in the middle. He's got an enormous cap number, which we're going to have to deal with in order to resign others. He also played all but two downs last year. Grier lost his position as D-Line leader last year, but now, at 6 years, has become a mentor. He also, despite his accomplishments, doesn't seem to mind being a backup. Strow's an interesting addition, but with the talent ahead of him, we may cut him and go cheaper.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Barnes, J.R.            51  SLB         6    87                87                ---  
Astrosky, Robbie        52  SLB         5    39                54                ---  
Castro, Britt           54  WLB         8    72                72                3 yrs
Fleming, Sammy          53  WLB         4    26                48                2 yrs

Barnes is our first problem. He does everything for us: tackling, sacks, pass coverage, you name it. He's going to ask for an enormous contract, and we're going to have to try and keep him. Astrosky is a very interesting backup, but as Barnes has never missed a game, we can probably go cheaper here. Castro remains very classy at WLB and will certainly stick around. Hopefully he'll also mentor former 2.2 pick Sammy Fleming, who has lost a lot since his injury, into something resembling a good player again. Then again, Fleming is unhappy that he's not starting, so maybe not.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Ducharme, Alvin         48  LCB         7    69                73                5 yrs
Lutes, Desmond          41  LCB         6    60                60                1 yr.
Brickner, Ellis         31  RCB         6    89                93                ---  
Watson, K.C.            26  RCB         2    55                85                4 yrs
Campbell, Rufus         21  RCB         3    34                67                2 yrs
Wilson, Marvin          42  RCB         2    27                67                3 yrs

Brickner remains the class here. He's never missed a game and nabbed 7 INTs last year. Ducharme was a good pickup, but ended losing his starting role to rookie Watson last year. As well, he's developed a conflict with position leader Cortez. What do I do with this guy, who still has 5 years on his contract? Watson is on his way to being #2 (assuming we can resign Brickner, otherwise he's #1), and Lutes rounds out the top 4. Campbell and Wilson, two first round picks, will have to fight for their positions. This has quickly gone from one of our "need" positions to perhaps our strongest group.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Dunn, Stanley           34  SS          5    72                72                ---  
St. Amal, Chad          32  SS          6    47                50                ---  
**Cortez, Wade          33  FS          6    70                70                4 yrs
Forsyth, Sammy          36  FS          5    39                40                ---  
Sanders, Gus            37  FS          4    28                35                ---  

The only guy under contract, Cortez, is still out for 18 weeks with a torn deltoid muscle. He'll probably go on IR. I'll probably bring Dunn back as the starter, and may try to keep Forsyth (a 4th round pick) as a backup.


Some quick calculations indicate to me that I can afford to spend roughly $9 million on each of my starters, and leave enough room from that to afford backups and the Offense. This is a problem, as most of my starters want well over $9 million. This could definitely be the toughest FA period I've faced so far.

Most of my starters want contracts that jump into their teens in the 2nd year. Some, like Insley, start in the teens and jump to the 20s. We've learned a valuable lesson here, and that is that one can't even afford 13 stud defensive starters consistently under the cap. So, the question is, what can we afford?

My plan is this:

1. Starters and backups I want to keep who will sign contracts that stay within our means over the life of the contract will be signed first.
2. Dead wood will be cut. Most of my starters don't miss games, so the quality of the backups isn't a big deal.
3. Starters who are out of contract will remain out of contract until their demands drop. If they get signed by another team, those are the breaks.
4. Renegotiations that won't come to reasonable numbers will not be renegotiated. I'll take my changes in FA next year.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Pre-Draft Free Agency

We can sign anyone with 7 years experience or less (noted in the game as 8 years or less).

Renegotiations

RDE Walt Durham renegotiates for 5 years, $28.38 million. This keeps him below our cap number for him, and we may use the extra to extend LDE Insley. We're happy to tie up our position leader this way.

RDE Glenn Shepherd renegotiates for 2 years, $2.31 million. Lowers his cap number and also brings it below our cap number for backups. Critically, also, it's a no bonus contract, so we can cut him if we finder a cheaper alternative.

MLB Daniel Grier renegotiates for 3 years, $6.06 million. This is probably a precursor to probably not being able to re-sign Barnes. McAfee will move to SLB and Grier's decent cap number will offset McAfee's outrageous cap number for the next 3 years, and then we can look at the situation again.

LCB Alvin Ducharme renegotiates for 5 years, $13.8 million. This is much more reasonable, but it also means he's going to have to start. I really have no other choice. Already on a 5-year contract, I can't eat the cap hit of cutting him, even if he does have a conflict with Cortez. With Brickner probably not resigning, however, he'll probably start.

LCB Desmond Lutes renegotiates for 2 years, $3.37 million. This reduces his cap number from $6 million, which is a huge relief for us. We're still paying him more than we'd like to pay a backup, but it's manageable for now.

Re-Signings

SS Stanley Dunn re-signs for 3 years, $26 million. Our 1.15 pick from 2008 will stay with us, at our cap number, for 3 more years, continue to start well (hopefully) at SS.

FS Sammy Forsyth re-signs for 1 year, $990,000. A great cap number for a long-termer who could very well start this year with the injury to FS Cortez.

Cuts

WLB Sammy Fleming. He's got a high cap number, has lost a lot to injury, and wants to be starting. He can start elsewhere.

FA Signings

RDT Toby Strong signs for 3 years, $2.28 million. This 3-year veteran is a signing with potential. I had targeted a good starter, but Oakland snapped him up for tons of money. I expect Strong to start this season.

FA Losses

RCB Ellis Brickner, our 1.3 pick in 2007, signs with Washington for 4 years, $56.4 million. It's a number we can't come close to matching. And he goes to a team that has to afford an offense! Crazy!

Other Big News

No one signs SLB J.R. Barnes. We have hope.

[Fonzie]

Woohoo! It's back!

I missed The Defense That Ate Chicago.

[flere-imsaho]

Wow! Someone's reading!

Sorry, the updates are sporadic....

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Amateur Draft

Preliminary Thoughts:

I have the #22 pick in the 1st through 4th rounds. The draft is heavy on defensive talent, though an OT is ranked as the #1 prospect.

Two DEs catch my eye. One is rated at the top of the class, and I'll probably have to trade up to get him. The other is not nearly as good, but looks like someone who can break out, and will be much easier to grab. Only one DT really interests me, and he's also towards the top of the board. I'm inclined to pass on him as well. Lots and lots of interesting ILB prospects, including this guy Korinek, who's #3 overall. I'm more interested in another guy, though, who should be available to me at #22, or even for a stretch in the 2nd round. Similar situation with OLBs. At this point I'm going to bet that I have to move up in the 2nd round. For CBs, the top guy on the board is awesome, but he's also ranked #2 overall and I'm stocked at CB. I'll have to take a pass at trying to move up. There are some guys later on who may work fine. Lastly, for Safety, it's a quiet year. A couple of prospects catch my eye who should both be available with my last pick.

2012 Amateur Draft:

Cincinnati take the CB with #1. Two OTs (it's a good draft for them) go with #2 and #3, to New England and New Orleans, respectively. A DE (not stud-boy) goes at #4, and the DE I tapped goes with #5. The DT I really like is still there, but I don't think it's time to start trading yet.

The top OLB goes at #6, and ILB Korinek goes at #8. DT Reid is still there after pick #10 and he's starting to get really tempting. There are also a ton of good CBs left. Good year for them.

Sadly, Reid goes at #12 to Tennessee. It's not a big loss, I'm pretty good at DT anyway. Plus, I'm more looking for decent projects, instead of projected starters. When #22 comes around, it's a pretty easy decision to take the ILB I was looking at, who's now amongst the pool of "likelies" to be drafted next.

Rnd Pick Pos  Name             Cur Fut Bureau Vol 40   Sol BP Agil
1   22   ILB  Dusty Nixon      26  63  5.4    50  4.78 37  24 7.23
2   22   DE   B.J. Whisman     23  42  3.6    74  4.88 21  30 7.27
3   22   CB   Bert Schneider   19  53  4.4    47  4.54 27  13 7.28
4   22   OLB  Brant Meyer      18  49  4.0    62  4.59 36  21 6.97

Name             Draft   Post   Change
Dusty Nixon      26/63   26/63  -/-
B.J. Whisman     23/42   24/42  +1/-
Bert Schneider   19/53   19/48  -/-5
Brant Meyer      18/49   18/51  -/+2

We get a C-, and everyone else gets a version of an A. Good for them!

Good draft for us, though. Nixon and Whisman both look solid, and Meyer could breakout. The only downside is Schneider, who looks like he could be a bit of a bust. Let's be honest, though, it was going to be hard for him to make this team at CB.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Free Agency (Post-Draft)

RDT Andrew Madison re-signs for 3 years, $5.62 million. He'll probably start at RDT, and we now have a really strong unit in the middle as a result.

SS Ronnie Sweeney signs as an FA for 2 years, $2.16 million. He'll be a backup for Stanley Dunn, who will spend most of the season at FS, probably.

OLB Tyrell Anthony signs as an FA for 7 years, $33.06 million. Signed as insurance should Barnes not resign, we'll find a spot for him somewhere, even if he's not starting this year.

OLB J.R. Barnes can't find any takers on the open market, and signs for 4 years, $27.23 million. We're quite stocked at LB, and happy to keep Barnes on board.

LDT Bart Fenwick signs for 3 years, $2.68 million. Adding depth and competition to the group.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Training Camp

	Player		Pos	Cur	Fut	Cur	Fut	Cchange	Fchange
Oliver,	Robbie		QB	9	32	12	31	3	-1
Godfrey,	Eddie	QB	18	40	20	37	2	-3
Rivers,	Marcus		QB	10	39	11	33	1	-6
Greene,	Vince		QB	13	28	15	29	2	1
Money,	Toby		RB	24	26	25	27	1	1
McElroy,	Pat	RB	22	28	23	29	1	1
Richard,	Mo	RB	22	31	22	30	0	-1
Moseley,	Paul	RB	26	33	27	33	1	0
Gordon,	Julio		FB	20	34	22	32	2	-2
Doyle,	Brian		FB	15	41	17	40	2	-1
Wilkerson,	Julio	FB	17	32	19	33	2	1
Dunlap,	Ryan		TE	17	41	18	34	1	-7
Maloney,	Roy	TE	19	47	21	43	2	-4
Hampton,	Walter	TE	18	34	20	34	2	0
Gerhardt,	Don	TE	21	55	23	51	2	-4
Ross,	Ronald		FL	17	29	18	29	1	0
Thiele,	Ty		FL	19	32	20	32	1	0
Forbes,	Louie		FL	14	22	16	22	2	0
Beisel,	Austin		SE	14	34	16	33	2	-1
Lazarek,	Roy	SE	14	27	15	25	1	-2
Houghtlin,	Zach	SE	13	31	14	28	1	-3
Warren,	Kenny		C	13	32	14	31	1	-1
Siglar,	Patrick		C	13	35	15	31	2	-4
Fitzgerald,	Tommie	C	20	35	22	38	2	3
Mussatti,	Devin	C	19	39	21	39	2	0
Singleton,	George	LG	10	21	11	23	1	2
Yovanovits,	Nolan	RG	8	19	9	18	1	-1
Schulman,	Kelvin	RG	10	30	12	29	2	-1
Roberson,	Conrad	RG	13	18	13	18	0	0
Tobias,	Casey		RG	11	34	12	29	1	-5
McAlister,		Ed	LT	12	24	12	23	0	-1
Schroeder,	Bart	LT	14	36	15	35	1	-1
Cox,	Robert		LT	9	36	11	35	2	-1
Arnold,	Albert		RT	14	26	15	24	1	-2
Griffin,	Harvey	RT	9	19	10	19	1	0
Miller,	Louis		P	42	43	42	43	0	0
Abrams,	Bubba		K	39	41	39	41	0	0
Zimmerman,	Frank	LDE	23	51	37	51	14	0
Insley,	Ed		LDE	84	88	84	88	0	0
Shepherd,	Glenn	RDE	35	42	37	42	2	0
Durham,	Walt		RDE	46	50	46	50	0	0
Whisman,	B.J.	RDE	24	42	27	46	3	4
Sampson,	Brett	LDT	54	54	54	54	0	0
Poole,	Omar		LDT	79	79	79	79	0	0
Fenwick,	Bart	LDT	46	49	46	49	0	0
Madison,	Andrew	RDT	45	50	45	50	0	0
Strong,	J.J.		RDT	34	49	37	49	3	0
McAfee,	Marco		MLB	78	78	78	78	0	0
Strow,	Bryant		MLB	35	45	37	45	2	0
Grier,	Daniel		MLB	65	73	69	73	4	0
Nixon,	Dusty		MLB	26	63	25	63	-1	0
Barnes,	J.R.		SLB	87	87	87	87	0	0
Anthony,	Tyrell	SLB	48	61	51	61	3	0
Castro,	Britt		WLB	72	72	72	72	0	0
Meyer,	Brant		WLB	18	51	21	55	3	4
Ducharme,	Alvin	LCB	69	72	69	72	0	0
Lutes,	Desmond		LCB	51	51	51	51	0	0
Schneider,	Bert	LCB	19	48	20	42	1	-6
Campbell,	Rufus	RCB	34	68	39	68	5	0
Watson,	K.C.		RCB	55	85	59	85	4	0
Wilson,	Marvin		RCB	27	67	31	67	4	0
Sweeney,	Ronnie	SS	37	45	47	47	10	2
Dunn,	Stanley		SS	73	73	73	73	0	0
**Cortez,	Wade	FS	70	70	70	70	0	0
Forsyth,	Sammy	FS	39	41	39	41	0	0

• Big year for TEs.
• Quite a bump for DE Zimmerman. He may have saved his place on the team with this training camp.
• DE Whisman makes an effort to make the team. Will it work?
• ILB Grier continue to improve, which is nice news.
• Nice improvement by OLB Brant Meyer.
• CBs all improve nicely.
• Ignore the improvement by SS Sweeney, as it's due to me switching him from FS to SS before the draft.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Preseason Notes

Cuts

RDE Glen Shepherd, who's been with us for 3 years, as a backup, is ousted by RDE Zimmerman's exceptional improvement and the potential of RDE Whisman.

ILB Bryant Strow has been a 3rd-string backup for 2 years. The signing of Dusty Nixon gives us three very good ILBs, so someone had to go.

IR

LDT Brett Sampson, our 3rd Round pick in 2005, goes on IR, even though he's only going to be out for 2 weeks. He was a 4-year starter after being drafted, but then suffered a bunch of injuries which hampered him. That, combined with him never really fitting into our system at DT, meant he was likely to not be resigned after this season. Putting him on IR means there's no one else we have to cut at DT.

CB Bert Schneider, our 3rd Round pick this year, never had a chance of cracking into the CB corps this year. However, he'll get to hang around, due to injury, and, depending on how things go, may have a shot next year.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Regular Season

Week 1: Home to Detroit
W, 34-14
Wow, 5 sacks and 1 INT as we totally annhilate Detroit. DE Ed Insley gets PoG with 3 sacks, 4 tackles, 1 assist, and 1 pass blocked. Also, both the Offense and the Defense open on even terms. 2 TD passes are equalized by FS Forsyth's 5 yard fumble return and CB Ducharme's 87 yard INT return.
Offensive Points: 12, Defensive Points: 12

Week 2: @ Houston
L, 13-20
Back down to earth. The defense allows 201 yards on 5.7 YPC rushing. The Offense picks up a passing TD. One sack tallied by the Defense, by Insley again.
Offensive Points: 18 (+6), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 3: Home to Tampa Bay
L, 9-27
Tampa goes 25-of-37 for 291 yards through the air, making efficient work of us. Our points come off an Abrams FG and another TD pass, with a failed conversion. The Defense musters nothing, save a crazy INT from Defensive End Durham, who takes it 6 yards.
Offensive Points: 24 (+6), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 4: Home to San Francisco
L, 0-20
It continues to get worse. San Francisco carve us up with big downfield passes, something that shouldn't be happening to a secondary we've spent so much money on. What can you do?
Offensive Points: 24 (no change), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 5: Home to Arizona
L, 16-21
Arizona manage a very efficient 20-of-28 performance through the air, which astounds me. We should be doing better in pass defense than this. Points to the Offense for another Pass TD.
Offensive Points: 30 (+6), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 6: @ St. Louis
L, 10-13
This may not be the year of repeating the playoffs. We give up 31 completions on 44 attempts for 244 yards. Crazy. Our best pass defender is SLB Barnes. Another TD pass for the Offense.
Offensive Points: 36 (+6), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 7: Bye

Week 8: Home to Minnesota
W, 16-10
We annoy Minnesota by winning, putting a crimp in their playoff run. Our pass defense still stinks, but the three sacks (Madison, Poole, Durham) probably helped out, in the end. Another pass TD for the Offense. QB Godfrey may break some records this year.
Offensive Points: 42 (+6), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 9: @ Detroit
L, 16-21
Detroit take their revenge even though we sack them 5 times (Poole, Insley, Zimmerman, Durham, Madison) and intercept them once (McAfee). All in all, they're just better, but the Defense put up a good fight. Two pass TDs this time from the Offense. Looks like another year of achieving neither goal.
Offensive Points: 54 (+12), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 10: @ Seattle
W, 33-10
Well, that came out of nowhere. Two TD passes, 1 TD run, and a whole mess of Abrams FGs, helped out a lot by the defense sacking QB Blanda 3 times, and intercepting him 4 times. Good work by Poole (1.5 sacks, 1 block, 2 hurries), Insley (1 sack, 3 hurries), Watson (3 defensed, 1 INT), and Dunn (2 defensed, 1 INT).
Offensive Points: 72 (+18), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 11: Home to Green Bay
L, 6-9
An ugly game, in which they sack our QB 6 times. ILB McAfee racks up 10 tackles, but a distinct lack of plays.
Offensive Points: 72 (no change), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 12: @ Tennessee
W, 7-6
The opposite of last week. We give up a lot on the ground, but the Defense makes enough plays to go along with the Offense's TD pass. Good performances by Insley (4 tackles, 2 assists, 1.5 sacks, 1 block, 2 hurries), Poole (5 tackles, 1.5 sacks), Durham (1 sack, 1 hurry), Watson (6 tackles, 1 defensed, 1 INT), and Barnes (7 tackles, 2 assists, 3 defensed).
Offensive Points: 78 (+6), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 13: @ Philadelphia
L, 6-13
Watson picks up another INT, but nothing else to report.
Offensive Points: 78 (no change), Defensive Pionts: 12 (no change)

Week 14: Home to Jacksonville
L, 9-20
The injuries are starting to pile up now, and we just can't stop Jacksonville, who are efficient, if not spectacular, both on the ground and through the air. Sacks for Insley and Durham.
Offensive Points: 78 (no change), Defensive Pionts: 12 (no change)

Week 15: @ Minnesota
W, 31-24
We're both 5-9 now, which is interesting, of course. Big day for the running game, who rack up 4 TDs after being quiet for most of the season. The Defense hold Minnesota to low output totals, but the only real big play is an INT from OLB Barnes.
Offensive Points: 102 (+24), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)

Week 16: Home to Indianapolis
W, 14-6
A TD run and a TD pass put us past Indianapolis. Another workmanlike day from the Defense, with a sack from Insley and an INT from Ducharme, and 10 tackles a piece from McAfee and Castro.
Offensive Points: 114 (+12), Defensive Points; 12 (no change)

Week 17: @ Green Bay
L, 0-20
A fitting end to a disappointing season.
Offensive Points: 114 (no change), Defensive Points: 12 (no change)


Another season with neither goal in sight. After a promising start by the Defense, no more points, and the team can't really stop anyone. I am now starting to be very convinced that an All-Defense team can't achieve either of the goals in this challenge. Thoughts?

[gi]

Looks like your goals are extremely challenging, at least for this game. I'd give it one more season to see if you can make any improvements. I'd also start going on stats instead of red bars (if you are not already) and look hard at your DB's.

[mhass]

I think this is a great story and interesting to follow even without tremendous success. It's hard to win without points, but I think the team make-up is fantastic.

[flere-imsaho]

Well, good to know people are still reading.

All I know is that I'm looking forward to my Offense-Only Dynasty, which I think will be much easier.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Postseason

Wild Card Round

Atlanta (12-5) 30, @ Detroit (10-7) 24
Buffalo (12-5) 28, @ Indianapolis (9-8) 14
Dallas (9-8) 13, @ Philadelphia (11-6) 35
Miami (11-6) 9, @ Cincinnati (9-8) 18

Conference Semifinal Round

Atlanta (13-5) 17 @ San Francisco (14-3) 14
Buffalo (13-5) 37 @ New Jersey (13-4) 31
Cincinnati (9-9) 24 @ Denver (11-6) 27
Philadelphia (11-7) 3 @ Tampa Bay (14-3) 24

Conference Final Round

Atlanta (13-6) @ Tampa Bay (15-3) 31
Buffalo (14-5) 31 @ Denver (11-7) 18

Front Office Championship

Buffalo (15-5) 32 vs. Tampa Bay (15-4) 28

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Team Summary

Front Office Football 2004
2012 Summary for Chicago Bears
   
Record: 6-10
Winning Pct.: .375
   
Chicago Bears           Team      Rank  
Rushes                  426       22          
Rushing Yards           1435      31          
Yards Per Carry         3.36      32          
Pass Attempts           478       27          
Completions             254       32          
Passing Yards           2454      32          
Yards Per Attempt       5.13      32          
3rd Down Conversions    29.0      32          
Points Per Game         13.7      32          
Turnovers               19        12 (T)      
Turnover Margin         +5        11 (T)      
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes                  473       20          
Rushing Yards           1653      9           
Yards Per Carry         3.49      2           
Pass Attempts           560       32          
Completions             302       7           
Passing Yards           3367      5           
Yards Per Attempt       6.01      2           
3rd Down Conversions    38.2      3           
Points Per Game         15.8      4           
Turnovers               24        13 (T)      
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     34    DET           14      
2     13    at HOU        20      
3     9     TBY           27      
4     0     SFO           20      
5     16    ARI           21      
6     10    at STL        13      
8     16    MIN           10      
9     16    at DET        21      
10    33    at SEA        10      
11    6     GBY           9       
12    7     at TEN        6       
13    6     at PHI        13      
14    9     JAX           20      
15    31    at MIN        24      
16    14    IND           6       
17    0     at GBY        20      
   
Passing             Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int  
14 Godfrey          QB    476   254   2454  5.15  13    12      
**Team              ---   478   254   2454  5.13  13    12      
   
Rushing             Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD  
43 Moseley          RB    276   902   3.26  4       
39 Richard          RB    68    183   2.69  0       
14 Godfrey          QB    39    125   3.20  0       
**Team              ---   426   1435  3.36  6       
   
Receiving           Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc YAC   TD  
3 Beisel            WR    98    47    405   8.6   60    1       
82 Ross             WR    82    42    465   11.0  26    4       
87 Thiele           WR    83    36    459   12.7  43    3       
17 Gerhardt         TE    50    32    310   9.6   30    0       
85 Forbes           WR    43    29    335   11.5  31    3       
29 Wilkerson        FB    35    21    136   6.4   67    1       
**Team              ---   477   254   2454  9.6   328   13      
   
Defense             Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  
58 McAfee           ILB   119   35    0.0   2     1     5       
51 Barnes           OLB   96    29    1.0   4     2     15      
34 Dunn             S     77    35    1.0   0     3     12      
54 Castro           OLB   69    28    0.5   3     0     5       
26 Watson           CB    64    19    0.0   0     3     15      
40 Sweeney          S     59    30    0.0   1     0     2       
70 Poole            DT    55    21    8.5   17    0     0       
48 Ducharme         CB    52    13    0.0   0     4     10      
90 Insley           DE    52    23    9.5   31    0     0
41 Lutes            CB    38    9     0.0   0     1     4       
97 Madison          DT    36    21    2.0   6     0     1       
36 Forsyth          S     23    6     0.0   0     0     0       
77 Durham           DE    21    5     6.5   19    1     1       
21 Campbell         CB    16    1     0.0   0     0     2       
**Team              ---   859   287   30.0  89    16    73      

Defensive Measures

Measure               2008   2009   2010   2011   2012   Change 11-12
Rushing YPC           3.99   3.81   3.54   3.67   3.49   -0.18
Passing YPA           6.98   5.99   5.31   5.97   6.01   +0.04
3rd Down Conversions  38.4%  38.1%  37.2%  40.7%  38.2%  -2.5%
Points Per Game       18.8   17.5   17.1   15.0   15.8   +0.8
Turnovers             33     24     26     32     24     -8

Year  Tackles  Assists  Sacks  Hurries  INTs  Defensed
2005  910      307      21.0   36       6     37
2006  915      296      22.0   38       16    47 
2007  930      300      40.0   68       21    55
2008  840      263      31.0   54       22    56
2009  890      280      33.0   69       16    80
2010  862      301      50.0   91       16    65
2011  895      303      48.0   69       23    68
2012  859      287      30.0   89       16    73

As a team, defensively, we mostly stand pat, with some regression. Two key points stand out:

1. Turnovers are down. Twenty-Four turnovers/year is clearly insufficient if this Defense is to do anything special. Increasing turnovers is a key, key need for this team, and something we'll have to work on in the future.

2. The pass rush really faltered this year. We're down 18 sacks for the year (although hurries went up by a lot), and I think this lack of a pass rush probably didn't help our overall turnover ratios. In fact, I'm willing to hypothesize that lacking a pass rush, plus starting somewhat inexperienced CBs, led to a lot of teams being able to pass on us pretty efficiently.

I'm at a loss to explain why the pass rush is not working. We have 3 monsters on the D-Line (Insley, Poole, Durham), and the LBs aren't slouches at rushing either. I must assume that the secondary allowed too many "quick outs", resulting in less real sack opportunities. In this sense, the loss of CB Brickner, who notched 7 INTs last year, was probably a real blow. We need Watson to develop quickly, and should probably look closely at this group in the offseason.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Awards

Offensive Rookie of the Year: RB Paul Moseley
All-League First Team Punter: P Louis Miller
All-League Second Team Defensive End: DE Ed Insley

Quite a surprise with Moseley, eh? Here are his stats: 16 games, 16 starts; 276 carries, 902 yards, 4 rush TDs; 13 catches, 57 yards, 1 receiving TD; 10 kick returns, 233 yards. Not bad for the undrafted rookie. It will be interesting to see where he goes next year.

Miller gets a nod with an excellent 113-punt season (42.1 average, 44 In20).

2012 Records

Games Started, Career (Chicago Record): Britt Castro (113)
Tackles, Career (Chicago Record): Britt Castro (662)
Sacks, Career (Chicago Record): Ed Insley (57.0)
Field Goals, Career (Chicago Record): Bubba Abrams (102)

Rushing Touchdowns, Single-Game (Chicago Record) Paul Moseley (3 vs. Minnesota)

Not much going on this year, after our "record-setting" year last year.

[flere-imsaho]

2012 Evaluation

Evaluation: 37 (-13)
Performance: 26 (-46)
Roster: 70 (-1)
Profit: 43 (+1)
Franchise Value: 24 (no change)

Profit: -$27,470,000 (-$2,690,000)
Franchise Value: $578,400,000 (+$31,420,000)
Attendance: 49,200 (78%, +5%)

The Evaluation reflects our performance adequately. Our financial situation is still poor, but our overall value continues to climb. Whatever.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Staff Hiring

Scout: There are no upgrades out there, so we stick with the just-above-average Bert Shannon for another year.

Coaches: Boring this year, as all are under contract, and no upgrades (or downgrades in the case of the OC) are available. We stand pat.

2013 Franchise Designation/Ticket Pricing

Although attendance increases a bit, I still can't justify raising prices, so I don't. I also decline to use the Franchise Tag since that feels like cheating.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Roster Preview

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Miller, Louis           10  P           5    42                43                ---  
Abrams, Bubba           5   K           8    36                41                1 yr.

Despite winning First-Team All-Pro honors, P Miller doesn't want a ton of money. Unless we get competing bids, I expect he'll be back. Abrams, our franchise leader in Field Goals, kicked 80% last year, despite continuing to degrade. I'd love a slightly cheaper, slightly better alternative, so he may see some competition in camp from an undrafted rookie.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Insley, Ed              90  LDE         6    84                88                ---  
Durham, Walt            77  RDE         7    45                50                4 yrs
Zimmerman, Frank        99  RDE         7    39                50                ---  
Whisman, B.J.           68  RDE         2    28                49                2 yrs

Big year here. Insley wants huge money, so we'll treat him as we treated Barnes last year - hoping to sign him when/if his demands come down. Zimmerman is likely to return, as he continues to improve, and had a good year as a backup, and I'm very happy with Whisman's development. If we lose Insley, I expect to try and bring in another starter.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Poole, Omar             70  LDT         9    79                79                1 yr.
Sampson, Brett          94  LDT         9    53                53                ---  
Fenwick, Bart           36  LDT         6    46                49                2 yrs
Madison, Andrew         97  RDT         9    45                50                2 yrs
Strong, J.J.            93  RDT         4    38                49                2 yrs

Poole's cap number is huge this year, so I will attempt to negotiate him to a longer, more cap-friendly contract this season. Sampson, our 3rd Round pick from 2005, will be let go, as he doesn't fit in at this position and has always underperformed. Fenwick is a problem, as he was unhappy with not starting. The cap hit for cutting him is small, though, so he may be given his ticket. Madison's contribution was very good last year, for a non-star, and will continue on, possibly as the starter this year. Strong is OK with not starting and will also probably be retained.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
McAfee, Marco           58  MLB         9    77                82                2 yrs
Grier, Daniel           57  MLB         7    71                73                2 yrs
Nixon, Dusty            98  MLB         2    30                63                3 yrs

An embarrassment of riches. McAfee continues to be awesome and to suck up a lot of the cap. He's a likely casualty in two years, but we can't do anything about it for the moment. Grier continues to be either a great backup or a wasted talent, depending on your opinion. Last year, in 5 plays, he made 3 tackles. Of course, if we can't retain McAfee in two years, Grier will obviously step up. Nixon's reward for holding out for a while last year was basically not playing. He'll be a decent #2 in a couple of years, unless this First Rounder decides to get fed up with not playing.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Barnes, J.R.            51  SLB         7    86                86                3 yrs
Meyer, Brant            59  SLB         2    23                58                3 yrs

Barnes had another good year. Although his stats for Tackles and Sacks dropped, he defensed a lot more passes, and forced 4 fumbles. His cap number is also awesome. My only worry is him holding out for more money. In that case we have backups galore, one of whom is last year's 4th Round pick Meyer, who's decent, but not a world-beater.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Castro, Britt           54  WLB         9    72                72                2 yrs
Anthony, Tyrell         44  WLB         6    61                61                6 yrs

Castro continues to own this position, and will likely retire with the team. Anthony is another one of these LB guys waiting for someone to leave before he can step up. He's got a very good cap-friendly, long-term contract, though, so we're in good shape there.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Ducharme, Alvin         48  LCB         8    68                72                4 yrs
Lutes, Desmond          41  LCB         7    51                51                1 yr.
Schneider, Bert         38  LCB         2    20                38                3 yrs
Watson, K.C.            26  RCB         3    74                85                3 yrs
Campbell, Rufus         21  RCB         4    42                67                1 yr.
Wilson, Marvin          42  RCB         3    32                67                2 yrs

Watson is the next Brickner, and should top out this year. Ideally I'd like Campbell and Wilson to step up and take the #2 and #3 positions, but Lutes continues to perform well and Ducharme has a long-term, expensive contract. Worse, Ducharme has a conflict with position leader Cortez, which is a problem that needs to be rectified. Schneider is likely to be cut.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Dunn, Stanley           34  SS          6    71                78                2 yrs
Luzar, Harvey           28  SS          4    32                42                ---  
Sweeney, Ronnie         40  FS          7    48                48                1 yr.
Cortez, Wade            33  FS          7    42                44                3 yrs
Forsyth, Sammy          36  FS          6    40                41                ---  

Cortez has lost a lot to injury, and will have to renegotiate his contract. Dunn continues to perform pretty well, but isn't a huge playmaker. Forsyth, on the other hand, has been a playmaker throughout his career, and we'd like to bring him back. Sweeney, signed for some injury coverage, was injured most of last season himself, so he's likely to go.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Free Agency

We can sign anyone with 8 years experience or less (noted in the game as 9 or less).

The first thing I notice is that there's no help in FA at FS, but a good candidate in the draft pool. Something to think about.

Cuts

LDT Bart Fenwick, an FA signing last year, wants to start, but he's not going to start here. He signed a low-bonus contract, so we don't get hit too much by this.

Renegotiations

WLB Anthony Tyrell renegotiates for 6 years, $14.6 million. This is a better cap deal for us for a player who's not starting at the moment.

RCB Rufus Campbell renegotiates for 3 years, $4.48 million. Campbell is taking a while to develop, and accepts a lower salary in line with his performances.

FS Wade Cortez renegotiates for 3 years, $4.61 million in light of his greatly reduced capabilities after his long term injury.

Re-signings

P Louis Miller resigns for 2 years, $2.35 million. It's a good price for a solid guy.

FS Sammy Forsyth resigns for 2 years, $2.35 million. Despite his ratings, he just delivers. We've got 3 safeties signed, and we'll try to pick up the 4th in the draft.

RDE Frank Zimmerman resigns for 1 year, $900,000. He'll probably get a lot more playing time this year, and gets a 1-year contract to prove something.

Outgoing

LDE Ed Insley leaves for Houston for the big money - 3 years, $63 million. He was our First Round pick in 2008 (#1 overall) and he leaves as our franchise sack leader, but has had some declining production as of late.

LDT Brett Sampson leaves for Cleveland for 2 years, $4.53 million. He was out 3rd round pick in 2005, but has become more brittle as of late and was sitting behind DT Poole in the depth chart.

FA Signings

RDE Donald Cook signs for 4 years, $22.7 million. Durham and Cook will start at DE, so someone's going to move to LDE, probably.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Amateur Draft

Preliminary Thoughts

There are some interesting folks in this draft, including a great DT who's rated #1 on the board. However, I have my sights set on one particular safety, who's #3 amongst safeties, and could be a 2nd round pick. It's a position of need and he'd fit in nicely.

Sitting at #10, however, I've got a conundrum. This safety isn't worth the #10 pick, but I'm scared of trading down for fear of losing him. Should I stay where I am and pick him anyway, or move up and try to get one of the studs? Or stockpile some picks and wait for him in the 2nd round?

The draft is lightest on Linebackers, which is good because that's not a position of need for me.

2013 Amateur Draft

New England takes a stud RB at #1 and Cleveland takes the top rated CB at #2. No real surprises, though the CB was very high volatility. Tennessee takes a WR at #3 and then we're left with a dilemma. Pittsburgh is next on the board, and have DT listed as their 3rd need. It'll cost me, but I decide this DT is too good to pass up, and so trade my 1.10 and 2.10 from this year, with my 3rd Rounder next year, for #4 overall. I have to hope that I can trade up to get the Safety. It turns out to be a good decision.

Another DT goes at #6, and Pittsburgh take a 3rd DT at #10. The first Safety goes at #15, and puts me in a bit of a quandry. The #2 safety and the guy I like are about equal in ratings, so either could be the next to go. I may have to try to trade up into the 1st round to get my guy. When we get to #21 I decide I have to make my move. FS Mosser is ranked #5 of those left, and could go at any time, but especially to Oakland at #23 who need a safety. I trade Dallas my 3rd and 4th Rounders this year and my 2nd and 4th Rounders next year to get my guy.

With my team full, I trade my remaining picks (5.10, 6.10, 7.10) for Jacksonville's 3rd rounder next year (Jacksonville has the most cap space this year).

Rnd Pick Pos  Name             Cur Fut Bureau Vol 40   Sol BP Agil
1   4    DT   Will Peterson    41  91  8.2    2   4.84 29  45 7.17
1   21   S    Tom Mosser       29  69  5.8    24  4.43 44  30 6.94

Name             Draft   Post   Change
Will Peterson    41/91   40/89  -1/-2
Tom Mosser       29/69   30/70  +1/+1

A little downgrade by Peterson, which concerns me just a bit, and a nice bump from Mosser, which is interesting. We need him to start soon.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Training Camp

	Player		Pos	Cur	Fut	Cur	Fut	Cchange	Fchange
Krosney,	Vinny	QB	11	42	12	41	1	-1
Maxwell,	Darnell	QB	12	22	13	23	1	1
Dawkins,	Curtis	QB	9	32	10	28	1	-4
Capasso,	Jeff	QB	10	30	12	31	2	1
Taxin,	Brent		RB	23	29	23	29	0	0
Lynn,	Emmanuel	RB	22	32	23	32	1	0
Knutson,	Dennis	RB	26	28	26	29	0	1
Dawkins,	Gabe	RB	28	38	30	39	2	1
Swift,	William		FB	22	33	23	33	1	0
Drake,	Ben		FB	18	27	19	27	1	0
Foreman,	Kevin	FB	20	37	21	36	1	-1
Morgan,	Ray		TE	14	40	15	36	1	-4
Panahi,	Otis		TE	16	37	19	38	3	1
Booker,	Rufus		TE	12	37	13	32	1	-5
Messenger,	Kennedy	TE	20	35	21	34	1	-1
Fredericks,	Seth	FL	16	33	18	34	2	1
Fox,	Ethan		FL	15	26	15	26	0	0
Winfrey,	Ernie	FL	15	31	15	28	0	-3
Sandage,	Eddie	SE	18	28	19	29	1	1
Castillo,Emmanuel	SE	18	33	18	30	0	-3
Mallard,	C.J.	SE	14	27	16	27	2	0
Dunn,	Darnell		C	14	34	16	31	2	-3
Grunow,	Bernard		C	14	37	17	41	3	4
Conley,	Jimmie		C	14	37	16	37	2	0
Feliciano,	Dwayne	C	14	21	15	21	1	0
Allen,	Sean		LG	11	34	13	31	2	-3
Rhodes,	Brenden		LG	11	27	13	31	2	4
Briggs,	Lionel		LG	12	29	14	30	2	1
Stine,	Deion		LG	13	28	14	32	1	4
McGregor,	Patrick	RG	13	24	14	24	1	0
Easy,	Benjamin	RG	12	20	13	22	1	2
Lowe,	Jon		LT	12	15	13	17	1	2
Joyner,	Rich		LT	13	34	14	30	1	-4
Burgess,	Amos	LT	15	37	17	38	2	1
McElroy,	Robbie	LT	12	18	13	18	1	0
Carrier,	Bernard	RT	9	20	10	18	1	-2
Miller,	Louis		P	43	44	43	44	0	0
Abrams,	Bubba		K	38	41	38	41	0	0
Durham,	Walt		RDE	45	50	42	50	-3	0
Zimmerman,	Frank	RDE	39	51	41	51	2	0
Cook,	Donald		RDE	48	48	48	48	0	0
Whisman,	B.J.	RDE	28	49	30	49	2	0
Poole,	Omar		LDT	79	79	79	79	0	0
Peterson,	Will	LDT	40	89	45	89	5	0
Madison,	Andrew	RDT	46	50	46	50	0	0
Strong,	J.J.		RDT	39	50	40	50	1	0
McAfee,	Marco		MLB	76	81	76	81	0	0
Grier,	Daniel		MLB	71	73	71	73	0	0
Nixon,	Dusty		MLB	30	63	33	63	3	0
Barnes,	J.R.		SLB	86	86	86	86	0	0
Meyer,	Brant		SLB	23	59	26	59	3	0
Castro,	Britt		WLB	73	73	73	73	0	0
Anthony,	Tyrell	WLB	61	62	62	62	1	0
Ducharme,	Alvin	LCB	68	72	68	72	0	0
Lutes,	Desmond		LCB	51	51	51	51	0	0
Schneider,	Bert	LCB	20	38	23	38	3	0
Campbell,	Rufus	RCB	41	68	45	68	4	0
Watson,	K.C.		RCB	72	83	78	83	6	0
Wilson,	Marvin		RCB	32	66	36	66	4	0
Dunn,	Stanley		SS	71	78	71	78	0	0
Cortez,	Wade		FS	34	37	34	37	0	0
Sweeney,	Ronnie	FS	48	48	48	48	0	0
Forsyth,	Sammy	FS	40	41	40	41	0	0
Mosser,	Tom		FS	30	70	30	71	0	1

Wow. Terrible on the Offensive side of things. On the Defensive side, the degradation from DE Durham is a bit unfortunate. We also see no improvments in future potential, which doesn't make one happy. Both Peterson and Mosser look to be in good shape, though, and the Secondary continues to get better. Wade Cortez's slide, post-injury, continues.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Preseason Notes

Cuts

CB Bert Schneider is cut. He's nowhere near as good as the other CBs we have on the team.

FS Wade Cortez is cut. He only played 13 games for us in 2 years and lost a lot through injury. This turns out to be a great move as the new position leader, Desmond Lutes, has strong affinities with 2 CBs and our new FS Mosser.

[flere-imsaho]

2013 Regular Seasona

Week 1: Home to Minnesota
L, 0-6
Well, that's not an auspicious start to the season.... Our QB is sacked 5 times, and it looks like our offensive line is going to make things especially difficult for the Offense this year. The Defense does hold Minnesota to pedestrian totals, as shown by their anemic two FGs. Highlights on the Defensive side are DE Durham (1 sack, 2 hurries), ILB McAfee (8 tackles, 5 assists, 1 sack, 1 hurry), CB Ducharme (4 tackles, 2 assists, 3 passes defensed) and SS Dunn (6 tackles, 2 assists, 4 passes defensed).

Week 2: Home to Baltimore
L, 13-21
Passing TD to the Offense, but it was the Defense who kept us in the game, making things very hard for Baltimore. Sacks for DT Poole and OLB Barnes, INTs for ILB McAfee and CB Watson. Worst news? CB Desmond Lutes is out for 24 weeks with Plantar Fascitis....
Offensive Points: 6, Defensive Points: 0

Week 3: Home to St. Louis
W, 13-6
Once again, a Defense-fueled win over St. Louis, who are just suffocated. Two Abrams FGs compliment a 2-yard TD run by the Offense. DT Poole gets PoG with 7 tackles, 3 assists, 1.5 sacks 1 forced fumble and a hurry. Sacks also to Rookie DT Peterson and DE Durham, and INTs to CB Ducharme and FS Forsyth. ILB McAfee picks up a forced fumble.
Offensive Points: 12 (+6), Defensive Points: 0

Week 4: Bye

Week 5: @ Washington
W, 9-0
K Bubba Abrams gets PoG with 3 FGs as the Defense holds Washington to 47 Rushing Yards and 76 passing yards. The Defense also gets 2 sacks and 2 INTs in a stifling performance.
Offensive Points: 12 (no change), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 6: Home to Dallas
L, 13-14
Despite 3 sacks (CB Watson, DE Zimmerman, DE Durham), Dallas mostly pass their way to victory. Our Offense picks up a TD pass. It should be noted that we have minor injuries to 3 starters in our secondary, including SS Dunn, who is suffering from "severe depression."
Offensive Points: 18 (+6), Defensive Points: 0 (no change)

Week 7: Home to Detroit
W, 12-7
Rookie DT Will Peterson blocks a punt and returns it 24 yards for a Defensive TD to add to another 2 Abrams FGs. Detroit endure 5 sacks (DT Poole - 1.5, DE Durham - 2.0, DT Peterson - 0.5, DE Zimmerman - 1.0) in a miserable afternoon.
Offensive Points: 18 (no change), Defensive Points: 6 (+6)

Week 8: @ New York
L, 6-7
We're very low-scoring this year. We manage to sack New York 3 times, shutting down their passing game, but they sack us 6 times and manage to rush for 5.5 YPC. That's not good.
Offensive Points: 18 (no change), Defensive Points; 6 (no change)

Week 9: Home to Philadelphia
L, 20-27
The Offense manages 2 TDs, one on a bizarre fumble return by FL Seth Fredericks (76 yards) and one on a regular TD pass. Crucially, though, Philadelphia are a lot better, and rack up 300 yards through the air on our injury-ravaged secondary.
Offensive Points: 30 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 10: @ Minnesota
L, 13-21
The Defense mostly holds Minnesota down, but the Offense can't manage more than 1 TD run. Very little to report on what was a pretty boring game.
Offensive Points; 36 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 11: Home to Green Bay
L, 13-19
I'd say our playoff hopes are pretty much dead at this point. In this game we manage 5 sacks and 1 INT, but Green Bay accomplish 8.5 YPC on the ground. The Offense picks up the points with 1 TD run. DT Poole puts in a good performance with 7 tackles, 2 sacks and a hurry.
Offensive Points: 42 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 12: @ Cleveland
L, 17-23
It's really over now. The Defense manage only 1 sack and no INTs, as Cleveland rack up almost 300 yards passing and 100 yars rushing on us. Our Offense responds with 2 TDs.
Offensive Points: 54 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 13: @ Carolina
L, 0-24
Not even worth reporting.
Offensive Points: 54 (no change), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 14: Home to Cincinnati
L, 14-17
SLB Barnes picks up 3 sacks, but the win goes to Cincinnati. 2 TDs for the Offense.
Offensive Points: 66 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 15: @ Green Bay
L, 7-10
We hold Green Bay down, but either the Offense can't pull it out or the Defense can't make big plays. Whatever.
Offensive Points: 72 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 16: @ Pittsburgh
L, 14-16
Well, we keep it close at least. We manage to shut down Pittsburgh's passing game with 4 sacks and 1 INT, but they also get 122 yards on the ground and manage to eke out the win.
Offensive Points: 84 (+12), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)

Week 17: @ Detroit
L, 10-16
Offensive Points: 90 (+6), Defensive Points: 6 (no change)


I think that's it. Someone better than I can try to do this, but for now I'm going to conclude that you can't win with Defense alone. I think I'm going to end this challenge before I end up just hating FOF.