FOF2k4 - A vast wasteland (misfit toys)

[JonInMiddleGA]

2018 Free Agency
After re-signing our RFA's, we have 49 players under contract. That leaves 3 FA's
-- CB Byron Housley - 48/48 - Entering his 15th season, this well-liked veteran still has enough in the tank to warrant his $5.69m/2 yr asking price.
-- S Bryce Godfrey - 46/46 - Last year, his 10th with us, was easily his worst. Played in only 10 games due to injury, 0 starts as Flickinger has replaced him. With a PD% of just 17.0 in 2017, I'm having a tough time justifying his $2.82m/1 yr demand. No offer.
-- WR Thurman McDaniel - 35/35 - Our leading WR for 3 of the past 4 seasons, we'll go ahead & offer him what he wants, $4.07m/2yrs & see what happens.

We also make offers to the following veterans FA (with no NFL experience)
WR Norman Gray - 15/27 - 3rd yr pro
T Ryan Lynn -13/39 2nd yr pro
LB Marco Ellison - 15/28 - 3rd yr pro

It took 8 rounds, but everybody finally signed.

The largest FA contract signed was by OT Dennis Cole, who moves from Dallas to Green Bay for $146.61m/7 yrs.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2018 Amateur Draft
Now this might be more interesting than usual. We've got the #1 overall pick, courtesy of an earlier trade with New Jersey. We've also got the 9th pick in the 1st round, which is our own. And high on the draft boards sits CB Lonnie Bruce, a 45/74 with an adjusted grade of 7.1. He's high volatility (98) so normally he wouldn't be appealing & besides, I can't draft him ... except he's from Arizona State, the first highly rated recruit from ASU since this career began.

And if you remember (if not, shame on you), I set a house rule in season one that said I could keep any ASU player the scout drafted for me. Even better, he's the #2 graded (adj.) CB in the draft. So let's see if we can manipulate this sucker a little.

[JonInMiddleGA]

-- We start by trading the #1 overall pick to Miami for the 3rd overall pick this year & their 1st round pick next year. Neither the Dolphins nor the Texans (2nd overall) list CB among their needs, so let's see what they do. Anything could screw this up in a hurry.

They take an OG & a DT, so far so good.

-- None of the next 3 teams list CB as top needs & my guy is now 6th highest adj. grade. So we'll trade picks with Baltimore -- Our 3rd overall & a late 3rd round for their 6th overall, plus a 2nd & 4th round this year.

Baltimore gets a T, Pittsburgh a DE, Washington a DE. Our guy moves up to 3rd highest adj. grade, 4th highest grade. We've got 2 of the next 4 picks & there's still another CB ahead of ours. Neither Atlanta nor Jacksonville needs a CB & they're next.

-- We roll the dice & trade our 6th overall to Jacksonville for their 8th overall & a 3rd rounder next year. And we hold our breath.

Jax takes a DE, Atlanta takes the higher rated CB. Our guy is now the #2 adjusted, #3 graded player on the board. Now we've got the next two picks, but I've seen our scout do some screwy things in past years. The problem is next in line behind us is St.Louis, a division rival, and it'd be double-disgusting to have them get him. They need ILB & WR, and there's a WR just two spots behind our guy on the board. We're gonna gamble, trying to make our guy so obvious that our scout can't miss him with BOTH picks.

-- We swap our 8th overall for the Rams 10th overall plus a 4th rounder next year. And we hold our breath again.

[JonInMiddleGA]

And the Rams select an OT from Texas, leaving our guy Lonnie Bruce as the highest adj. grade & 2nd highest current grade on the board. We've got two shots at him, but there's still room for the scout to screw this up. Our needs include WR & DE, both of which are on the board in the top 10 remaining players. Compounding my worries is that the highest unadjusted graded player is a Center, and our scout seems to love Centers (even though we've got two of the league's best already on the roster). The Giants are next up, and they need a center. The pick seems so obvious, but what if they take Lonnie? When push comes to shove, I trust their scout to get it right more than I trust my scout to get it right, so I'm gonna make one more deal.

-- We swap the 10th overall pick to New York for the 12th overall pick plus a 6th rounder in 2020 ...

[Crim]

and?... and?... AND?!?


C'mon, what happens next?!?



Crim the Breathless with Anticipation

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Crim

and?... and?... AND?!?
C'mon, what happens next?!?
Crim the Breathless with Anticipation

... and the Giants select CB Lonnie Bruce of Arizona State.

[JonInMiddleGA]

-- Disgusted, we trade the 10th overall pick to Houston for their 1st & 5th round picks in 2020. I'll just keep the 11th overall pick, unsigned of course, as a year-long reminder of what might have been.

We end up drafting a WR/DE/WR/DT/G/C/S

[JonInMiddleGA]

Just an "author's note" here -- I suspect some people might be wondering why I invested so much time in trying to manipulate the draft so blatantly. Well, it's actually pretty simple -- despite the outcome (which was incredibly frustrating & had me howling at my monitor), it was also a lot of fun. And having my butt so consistently handed to me in this dynasty hasn't produced too many really gleeful moments. I'm not particularly concerned about screwing up the league's competitive balance, or being unrealistic (the very nature of the challenge pretty much wipes out that worry), or anything like that, so I figured I might as well treat myself to an amateur draft that actually held some interest for me. In hindsight, it probably worked out for the best, at least in terms of maintaining the "misfit" aspect of the career.

I'll tell you this though -- it was easily the most thought I've ever put into & the most interesting draft I've ever played with any incarnation of FOF. And breaking the "lather-rinse-repeat" cycle was my number one goal for this project in the first place.

Thanks for reading.

Jon

[JonInMiddleGA]

2018 Late Free Agency
We make offers to the following former Cardinals
RB Omar Browning - 31/31 $2.8m/2 yrs, just $90k bonus
TE Pat Tessen - 49/49 $2.8m/2yrs, just $90k bonus
CB Randall Strong - 42/42 $5.27m/3 yrs, just $90k bonus

We make 2yr/min sal offers to the following undrafted rookies
QB Chad Bixby - 18/48 97 vol.
QB Allen Reese - 18/49 6 vol.
QB Adrian Everett - 9/57 14 vol.
QB Justin Kinney - 12/54 86 vol.
QB Oscar Billings - 12/54 1 vol.
QB Richie Manning - 9/52 31 vol.
RB Vincent Burgower - 18/33 22 vol.
RB Lamont Jones - 21/35 45 vol.
FB Dennis Jefferson - 17/32 7 vol.
TE Bruce Blaise - 14/40 25 vol.
WR Gary Powell - 21/33 21 vol.
WR Daron Lengel - 15/38 56 vol.
WR R.J. Lyons - 16/35 39 vol.
T Brendan McElhenny - 12/36 54 vol.
T Brett Schultz - 10/33 16 vol.
DE Justin Ulrich - 9/35 24 vol.
DT Pete McCarthy - 15/35 63 vol.
CB Phillip Umphenour - 19/34 23 vol.
S Nicky Kaplan - 15/31 1 vol.

Everybody signs, sending us to camp with 76 players, our smallest number in years.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Highest current estimates before training camp
P Kenny Broadway 75/75
G Kelly Brewington 72/72
S Casey Burroughs 68/68
K R.J.Linquist 63/63
TE Emmitt Thamilarasan 59/62
QB Bryce Rivera 56/56

Highest future estimates before training camp
P Broadway
G Brewington
S Burroughs
K Linquist
TE Thamilarasan
C Allen Bandy 51/57

We sold 22,000 of 63,000 season tickets

[JonInMiddleGA]

Highest current estimates after training camp
P Kenny Broadway 75/75
G Kelly Brewington 72/72
S Casey Burroughs 68/68
K R.J.Linquist 63/63
TE Emmitt Thamilarasan 59/62

Highest future estimates after training camp
P Broadway
G Brewington
S Burroughs
K Linquist
TE Thamilarasan
C Allen Bandy 52/57 (+1/0)

Significant changes among rookies included:

QB Chad Bixby - 20/43 (+2/-5) 97 vol.
QB Allen Reese - 21/45 (+3/-4) 6 vol.
QB Adrian Everett - 10/51 (+1/-6) 14 vol.
QB Justin Kinney - 14/52 (+2/-2) 86 vol.
QB Oscar Billings - 15/47 (+3/-7) 1 vol.
QB Richie Manning - 11/45 (+2/-7) 31 vol.
RB Lamont Jones - 21/29 (0/-6) 45 vol.
TE Bruce Blaise - 16/36 (+2/-4) 25 vol.
WR Daron Lengel - 16/32 (+1/-6) 56 vol.
WR R.J. Lyons - 17/31 (+2/-4) 39 vol.
T Brett Schultz - 11/28 (+1/-5) 16 vol.
DE Justin Ulrich - 10/30 (+1/-5) 24 vol.
CB Phillip Umphenour - 21/28 (+2/-6) 23 vol.

Time to trim the roster down to the 60 player limit

[JonInMiddleGA]

-- We traded QB Trent Franz to Indianapolis for undrafted rookie ILB Grant Calinoff & a 7th round pick in 2021
-- We traded CB Cris Meadows & our 7th rd pick in 2021 to San Diego for their 7th round pick in 2021
-- We traded a pair of 3rd round picks in 2019 & a 3rd round pick in 2020 to Buffalo for undrafted rookie DE Donovan Maloney, OLB Derek Hayes & a 3rd round pick in 2019.

Veterans cut included:
WR Rob Chryplewicz (9 yrs w/AZ, 107games/60 starts, 399 rcpts,6151 yds, 35 TD's)
LB Ronnie Gandy (1 yr, 10 games/3 starts, 12 tkls, 1 assist, 0.5 sacks career)
TE Harvey Brennan (1yr, 10 games/0 starts, 4 receptions)

Rookies cut included: QB Richie Manning, QB Oscar Billings, QB Chad Bixby,
QB Allen Reese, CB Phillip Umphenhour, OT Brett Schultz, FB Dennis Jefferson,
RB Vincent Burgower, RB Lamont Jones, TE Bruce Blaise, WR Norman Gray,
WR R.J.Lyons, DE Justin Ulrich, S Nicky Kaplan.

Moved LB Derek Hayes to SS

[JonInMiddleGA]

2018 Exhibition Season

Exh.1
Lost to Denver 21-10
RB's Emmons & Browning were both solid (24 carries/101 yds/1TD combined) but backup QB Taxin couldn't do much in the 2nd half (11/28 for 116) and the offense stalled. Rivera played most of the first half & was fine, 6/10 for 38 yds, mostly short dumpoffs to the RB's.

Exh.2
Lost to New England
Different lineup, same result. A lot of starters sat this one out & we struggled to stop the run (182 yds rushing for NE). Rookie QB Kinney was pretty good, 18/27 for 157 & 1 TD, WR Roberts caught 8 for 82 & a score, RB Dennis managed only 32 yds on 11 carries. Young OT Lynn allowed 2 sacks in limited action. We lost DT J.R. Horton for two months with a pulled quad muscle.

Exh. 3
Tied Kansas City 27-27 in OT
RB Dennis & Browning combined for 91 yds on 20 carries, rookie QB Kinney was 15/21 for 167 & 3 TD's (all 1st half). MLB Burbage had 12 stops (7t/5a), DE Griffith had 2 sacks. Veteran backup OG Ferguson allowed 2 of our 4 sacks.

Exh. 4
Beat Miami 7-6
This may not have been so much good defense as it was bad offense, but it'll do. Not much to talk about really, we couldn't run the ball, backup QB Parker was pretty bad, Rivera was so-so. DE Griffith played well on defense, OG Ferguson had 3 key run blocks. Starting FS Floyd Flickinger sprained knee his & is questionable for the season opener.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Time to get the roster down to 53.

-- We traded a 2019 1st round pick (Indy's) & QB Craig Parket to Indianapolis for a 1st & 3rd round pick in 2020 plus undrafted rookies DE Sedrick Hines & LB Clifton Wilcox.

We released veterans:
LB Marty Buckley (1 yr, 2 games/0 starts)
RB Ronnie Rhodes (6 yrs, 83 games/45 starts, 3091 yds, 21 TD's career)

We released rookies: LB Grant Calinoff, WR Deron Lengel, OT Brendan McElhenny,
DE Sedrick Hines, LB Clifton Wilcox, DT Pete McCarthy

[JonInMiddleGA]

2018 Regular Season

Week 1
Beat Seattle 30-20
QB Bryce Rivera was 16/29 for 190 yds & 3 TD's as we run our winning streak to 4 games (counting back to last season). We get the win with 10 4th qtr points, in spite of allowing 7 sacks. WR Thurman McDaniel had 3 catches for 77 yds & 2 scores. The right side of the line (G Allen for injured Tokunaga & RT Blackwell) allowed 5 of the six sacks. LG Kelly Brewington is out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair his destroyed ACL.

G Brewington placed on IR; undrafted rookie FA Ricardo Paxton signed to fill the roster spot

Week 2
Lost to Denver 31-10
Eeek ! Denver intercepts 9 passes by 3 Cardinal QB's, returns 2 of them for TD's. Rivera started 11/27 for 237 with 6 picks & 4 sacks. Taxin relieved briefly in the 3rd qtr, going 2/7 with 1 int, and Kinney closed going 6/15 for 78 yds, 1 TD, 2 Ints & 1 sacks. Once again, the right side of the line (Tokunaga, Allen & Blackwell) gives up 5 of the 6 sacks. We had 7 possession in the 2nd half, 6 were interceptions, the other was Kinney's TD.

Week 3
Beat New York 24-21
Rivera put last week's disaster behind him, going 21/34 for 360 yds & 3 TD's, and R.J. Linquist hit a 22 yd FG with 3:30 to play to get the win. McDaniel caught 4/117/1 TD, Roberts caught 5/95/1 TD, Hauck had 5/60/1 TD. The O-Line was better, just two sacks allowed, but now LT Ted Nastasi is doubtful with an abdominal strain.

Week 4
Lost to Green Bay 21-17
A back-and-forth affair with the Packers getting the last score to win it. Emmons had 59 yds rushing, Browning had 54 & 2 TD's, Rivera was 19/30 for 207. Not bad really, just one of those games that you lose sometimes. The trick now is to avoid another of the losing streaks that have become almost the trademark of this franchise.

2018 Record after 4 games: 2-2

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 5
Beat Chicago 23-20
RB Omar Browning caught 7 passes for 89 yds & 2 TD's, and rushed for another 28 yds to lead the win. Rivera was 16/25 for just 194 but had 3 TD's, the other going to RB Emmons. The defense provided 3 interceptions (1 each for Burbage, Strong, & Rodman). The O-line allowed just one sack. We've lost DT J.R. Horton for the year with a torn patellar tendon & DT Mel Dollar is questionable for a month with a broken thumb.

DT Horton is placed on IR, undrafted rookie FA Cory Benton is signed to fill the roster spot

Week 6
Beat Minnesota 40-7
Rivera threw 3 TD passes, Rodman had a 59 yd PR for another score, and we cruise to a laugher. Rivera went 19/29 for 313, Kinney relieved & went 5/7 for 46, with RB Browning catching 10 passes for 120 yds & a TD. TE's Thamilarasan & Tessen combined for 6 catches, 164 yds & a TD.

Week 7
Lost to Seattle 45-8
That's what happens when you give up 230 yds rushing & 6 sacks. I don't really want to talk about it. Oh yeah, we've lost RG Mel Tokunaga for 2 months with a broken clavicle.

Week 8
Lost to St.Louis 10-0
Just 10/21 passing for 96 yds (although we ran for 172 yds), 2 turnovers & 4 sacks add up to a shutout. Not only do we lose the game, but both QB Rivera & CB Housley are questionable with a broken thumb & a sprained knee.

2018 Record after 8 games: 4-4

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 9
Bye week -

Week 10
Lost to Detroit 35-27
Ugh. It seemed so easy, beat the 0-8 Lions & get the 2nd half of the season started off right. We even started rookie Jerry Kinney to give Rivera more time to heal. We even jumped out to a 28-7 lead. And then halftime saw the teams apparently switch jerseys, our offense sputtered, our defense was like a sieve and we gave Detroit their first win of the year. Kinney was 16/30 for 126, 2 TD's & 1 int, Rivera came on at the end & threw an interception into the end zone.

Week 11
Lost to San Fran 31-30
We blew another one, giving up 22 4th qtr points, including the game-winning FG with just 0:20 left to play. Browning had 143 all-purpose yds, CB Rodman had another int. return for a TD, but two turnovers inside our 40 made it all for naught.

Week 12
Beat Kansas City 48-14
Just when you're about ready to give up on 'em, back comes the offense. Bryce Rivera went 14/16 for 283 & 3 TD's, WR Roberts caught 6 passes for 144 yds & a score, & Omar Browning rushed for 66 yds on 12 carries. S Burroughs had 13 stops, CB Strong returned an interception for another TD.

Week 13
Lost to Carolina 17-6
We had no running game & Rivera was clearly bothered by the thumb injury, going just 18/35 for 128 yds & 2 int's. A costly loss that likely ends any dreams of the post-season.

2018 Record after 12 games: 5-7

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 14
Lost to Oakland 38-6
We were down 35-3 at the half. Kinney relieved Rivera and at least stopped the bleeding. They combined for 3 interceptions, 4 sacks, and just 187 yds on 13/32 passing. Mel Tokunaga returned to the lineup & promptly suffered a second broken collarbone, ending his season.

Week 15
Beat St.Louis 47-16
Rivera had 5 TD's passes & 463 yds, the defense had 4 interceptions & McDaniel caught 6 passes for 251 yds & 2 scores as we rout the division leaders. Rodman picked off 2, CB Devine had 11 stops, and we just rumbled. Too bad we couldn't have done this last week or in week 10.

Week 16.
Lost to San Diego 13-6
One week we beat the 11-3 Rams, the next week we lose to the 3-11 Chargers. The bust a 40 yd run with 0:55 to play for the game-winner. Rivera goes just 9/29 for 141 and we're destined for another sub-.500 season.

Week 17
Lost to San Fran 21-20
Linquist missed an XP with 2:06 left, then missed a potential game-winner with less than :30 seconds to play. Rivera was 21/27 for 276 yds & a TD but also threw 3 interceptions. Omar Browning rushed for 68 yds & 2 TD's on 12 carries, also caught 7 passes for 62 yds.

2018 Record after 16 games: 6-10

[JonInMiddleGA]

New England (13-3), Pittsburgh (12-4), Houston (9-7) & Oakland (8-7-1) win AFC divisions. Cincinnati (10-5-1) and Tennessee (8-8) earned wildcards.(Titans 1 of 4 teams at 8-8)

New Orleans (12-4), St.Louis (12-4), Dallas (10-5-1) & Green Bay (10-6) win NFC divisions. Tampa Bay (11-5) & San Francisco (10-6) earn wildcards.

Lonnie Bruce, the rookie CB we coveted but missed out on in the draft, started all 16 games for the New York Giants, PD% 18.8. He's rated as a 67/74 player.

Pittsburgh won the Solecismic Bowl 35-7 over Green Bay.

Packer QB Terry Helfrich won the League MVP award, (4557 yds, 34 TD's, 105.0 rtg)

Arizona S Casey Burroughs was named 1st Team All-League, with 110 tackles, 1 interception & 13 passes defended.

RB Omar Browning led the Cardinals with 65 rcpts for 5 TD's, 727 yds rushing with another 5 TD's. QB Bryce Rivera had an average year, 15 starts, 3393 yds, 24 TD's & 21 Int's, 79.4 rtg (career avg 79.3). CB Jake Rodman had 7 interceptions, giving him 34 in 8 seasons.

2018 Evaluation
Performance - 19
Value - 0
Profit - 55
Roster - 82 (roster rating = 2)
Year-end score - 38

Attendance was up 3%, to 38,400.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2018 off-season

C Jose Williamson announced his retirement -- 14 seasons, 221 career games (all starts), missed only 3 games in his career. Only allowed 41 sacks in 6368 pass plays (0.6%), had 327 key run blocks; 2nd Team All-League in 2011; Named Legend of the Game

We lost $101.36m on revenue of $112.91m.

Our coaching staff has two expired contracts
Head coach Thurman Petoskey. 1 Ex, 1 VG, 3 Good ratings have produced a record of just 39-57 over 6 seasons. That's not enough to justify a contract of nearly $7m.

OC Erik Raymond is slipping, 2 Ex, 2 G, 1 Avg, 1 Fair. He's been here 6 yrs but at the age of 63, he's probably not going to get better. And I'm not into paying more than $5m for him to get worse.

Our scout, A.J. Dunk, also fairly well sucks, so the 1 yr left on his contract doesn't mean a lot to me at this point.

We get a new OC, Clyde Elliott from Tenn. He's Exc in 4 areas, VG with K's, Avg with OL. 5 yrs, $6.68m per.

We upgrade at scout a little, 3 Good, 5 Avg, 1 Fair for just $390k.

Our 1st choice for Head coach turns us down, leaving Philly to go to Houston.
We end up re-hiring Petoskey for 2yrs/$5m per year.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2019 Free Agency

We trade several picks with Cleveland, who ends up with the #1 and #2 overall picks this season.

After re-upping several RFA's, we have 48 players under contract & 5 free agents left.

DT J.R. Horton - He's a 44/44 entering his 5th season. We'll take a chance on his 3 yr request with just $460k in bonus money.

CB Bryan Devine - Asking for over $9m for 3 yrs, with $2.05 bonus. He's really a guy who never lived up to his potential, which was good enough to keep him around for 10 seasons. Scouts well, just never quite plays to that level (41/41). We'll pass, at least for now.

OG Bobby Allen - Another handy player who is a decent first backup/parttime starter. But I don't like paying $2m bonus money for a reserve who clearly isn't starter quality. A 39/41, we'll risk him signing elsewhere.

ILB Clarence Bryant - See above. Another player who should be better than he actually is.

DE Donovan Maloney -- 1 unimpressive season as a lightly used reserve & yet he wants $590k in bonus on a 2 yr deal. He's a 19/37, and even though I believe he'll eventually be pretty good, we decide to wait him out for a while.

We make offers to the following veteran FA's
C Drew Webb & QB Oscar Billings.

LB Clarence Bryant signs with the Eagles, 2 yrs/$4.27m
CB Bryan Devine signs with the Colts, 3yrs/$7.28m

QB Lamont Skaggs goes from the Patriots to the Eagles in the largest FA deal of the year, 6 yrs/$127.01m

[JonInMiddleGA]

2019 Amateur Draft
Our needs are listed as ILB, OT, RB.
Our scout is best at RB, WR, K
With no 1st round pick, we end up with DE/ILB/T/CB/S/CB

Last year's unsigned 1st rounder, WR Gabe Hutcherson, was taken with the 25th pick overall by the Raiders.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2019 Late Free Agency

We signed the following undrafted rookie FA's

QB Sedrick Barret - 14/40 vol 83
QB Louie Anthony - 11/52 vol 57
QB Albert Briggs - 15/48 vol 66
RB Heath Richard - 31/39 vol 86
RB Edward Clancy - 21/44 vol 84
TE Jessie Stotts - 21/41 vol 3
TE Roger Pina - 20/39 vol 23
TE Alonzo Chandler - 18/42 vol 67
WR Charlie Buvinov - 14/39 vol 81
WR Jim Sweeney - 8/37 vol 55
WR Jonathan Bell - 18/36 vol 16
OG Levon Shelton - 16/34 vol 67
OT Morris Hughes - 15/37 vol 99
OT Marc Ackerman - 19/34 vol 85
DE Fernando Kroinek - 22/35 vol 45
DE Bubba Downs - 11/38 vol 9
DT Donald Barreto - 20/31 vol 31
DT Scottie Fredrickson - 11/36 vol 24
DT Emmanuel Deboer - 15/34 vol 30
LB Eric DeGrasse - 17/33 vol 58
LB Marlon Morris - 7/35 vol 46
LB Lenny Chellino - 16/32 vol 67
LB Marvin Garcia - 12/31 vol 69
CB Colin Baker - 15/33 vol 90
CB Leslie Piccolo - 7/39 vol 77
CB Joe Whitecross - 14/38 vol 80
S Daryl Lynn - 23/32 vol 59
S Joseph Meyer - 11/44 vol 47
S Ross Vega - 15/41 vol 27

[JonInMiddleGA]

We head to training camp with 82 players under contract

Highest current estimates before training camp
P Kenny Broadway 69/69
S Casey Burroughs 69/69
TE Emmitt Thamilarasan 60/63
K R.J. Linquist 59/59
QB Bryce Rivera 57/57

Highest future estimates before training camp
Same as above, also with
C Allen Bandy 53/57

[JonInMiddleGA]

We sold 20,600 of 63,000 season tickets

Highest current estimates after training camp
Same as before camp

Highest future estimates after training camp
Same as before camp

Other changes of note include:
QB Louie Anthony - 14/46 (+3/-6) vol 57
QB Albert Briggs - 18/44 (+3/-4) vol 66
RB Edward Clancy - 21/38 (0/-6) vol 84
TE Jessie Stotts - 22/36 (+1/-5) vol 3
TE Roger Pina - 24/42 (+4/+3) vol 23
WR Charlie Buvinov - 15/32 (+3/-7) vol 81
WR Jonathan Bell - 21/39 (+3/+3) vol 16
OT Morris Hughes - 15/29 (0/-8) vol 99
DE Bubba Downs - 12/31 (+1/-7) vol 9
LB Eric DeGrasse - 18/25 (+1/-8) vol 58
LB Marlon Morris - 9/29 (+2/-6) vol 46
CB Joe Whitecross - 14/32 (0/-6) vol 80
S Daryl Lynn - 27/42 (+4/+10) vol 59
S Joseph Meyer - 12/37(+1/-7) vol 47
OG Rodney Ackerman 3/24 (+1/-7) vol 5

[JonInMiddleGA]

Okay, time to trim the roster down to the 60 man limit

We trade WR Gary Powell, a 2020 1st round pick & a 2022 3rd round pick to New Jersey for undrafted rookies WR Carlton Jamison, T Melvin Dragos, & 2nd rd picks in 2021 & 2022.

Veterans released include:
RB Jessie Strong (4 yrs, 148 carries, 564 yds career)
LB Freddie Mitchell (4 yrs, 66 games/9 starts, 98 tkls, 3.5 sacks, 3 Int's career)
WR Johnny Hauck (2 yrs, 32 games/2 starts, 77 catches, 1130 yds, 4 TD's career)
TE Scottie Pisklak (2 yrs, 29 games/0 starts, 3 catches career)
S Derek Hayes (1 yr, 7 games/0 starts career)
OG Rodney Ackerman (0 yrs here, 2nd yr pro, 0 exp)
OG Howie Nelson (0 yrs here, 2nd yr pro, 0 exp)
QB Adrian Everett (0 yrs here, 2nd yr pro, 0 exp)

Rookies released include:
QB Sedrick Barrett, QB Louie Anthony, QB Albert Briggs, TE Alonzo Chandler,
WR Jim Sweeney, TE Jessie Stotts, OT Morris Hughes, CB Colin Baker, DT/DE Donald Barreto, CB Leslie Piccolo, S Joseph Meyer, CB Joe Whitecross, DT Emmanuel Deboer, LB Eric DeGrasse, WR Charlie Buvinov

[JonInMiddleGA]

2019 Exhibition Season

Exh.1
Lost to Indianapolis 20-10
We managed just 11 first downs & 149 yds total offense while giving up 6 sacks. CB Rodman had a 92 yd FR for our TD. QB Justin Kinney went just 8/27 for 57 yds passing. OG Kelly Brewington is probable for 3 wks with a strained rotator cuff.

Exh. 2
Beat Cleveland 24-21 in OT
Linquist hit a 44 yd FG on the opening drive of OT to claim the win. The offense looked much better, with 126 yds rushing & 264 yds passing. RB's Richard & Browning combined for 89 yds rushing on 25 carries, QB Taxin went 8/12 for 98 & 1 TD, QB Kinney was 16/24 for 181 & 2 TD's. McDaniel caught 9 for 115, Shapiro caught 5 for 66 with 2 scores. DE Patterson had 3 sacks, CB Rodman had 2 picks.
Og Tokunaga is out for 2 wks with a strained deltoid, SS Flickinger is out 3 wks with a hyperex. knee, & FB Allen Stephan is out for a month with an elbow tendon.

Exh. 3
Beat Tennessee 30-24 in OT
FB Alex Meynardie scored from 2 yds out with just 0:23 left in OT. We threw for 312, including an 95 yd game-tying drive led by Rivera in the final 2:30 of regulation. Giving up 8 sacks was very discouraging in spite of the win.

Exh. 4
Beat Cincinnati 34-28 in OT
LB Burbage blocked a punt & CB Rodman returned it 43 yds for a game-winning TD. Rivera was 16/28 for 171 yds & 3 TD's, Taxin was 5/6 for 84 yds & a TD. We come away a little banged up though, QB Rivera is questionable with an ankle, CB Housley is probable with knee tendonitis, OT Nastasi is probable with elbow bursitis.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Time to cut the roster to 53

Rookies released include: RB Edward Clancy, OG Marc Ackerman, OT Melvin Dragos, DE Bubba Downs, DT Scottie Fredrickson, LB Marvin Garcia, OG Ricardo Paxton

[JonInMiddleGA]

2019 Regular Season

Week 1
Lost to St.Louis 24-8
QB Rivera was ineffective & we allowed 245 yds rushing to the Rams. Rivera, bothered by the ankle, was sacked 3 times & threw 3 interceptions while going 9/21 for 112 yds. Both Taxin & Kinney played in 4th qtr relief, with Kinney engineering a scoring drive late, finishing 9/10 for 81 yds & a TD to McDaniel.

Week 2
Lost to Baltimore 19-14
3 sacks & 2 interceptions doomed us again. Rivera was just 16/38 for 213 with 2 TD's. The offensive line continues to struggle, with just 6 key run blocks along with the sacks. G Brewington appears to have lost even more than expected after last season's injuries.

Week 3
Beat New York 24-3
Nothing fancy, but steady. CB Randall Strong had a 92 yd IR for a TD, and RB Emmons ran for a score. QB Rivera was 19/28 for 234 & a TD, WR Roberts caught 7 for 117, TE Thamilarasan had 5 rcpts including a score. We allowed only 1 sack & that made a lot of difference in the offense. G Kelly Brewington in done for the season (and likely for his career) with another ACL surgery. CB Housley also saw his first action, going out for a month with an elbow tendon injury. DT Horton is doubtful with a hyperextended elbow, but FS Flickinger & LT Nastasi are expected back next week.

G Brewington was placed on IR. Former Cardinal OG Bobby Allen was signed as an FA. 2nd yr pro OG Kenyon Friday was signed as well, rookie LB Lenny Chellino was released.

Week 4
Beat Tampa Bay 41-23
QB Bryce Rivera survived 7 sacks to throw for 362 yds & 5 TD's as we beat the Bucs going away. RB Browning had 68 yds rushing to take a little pressure off & Rivera responded with 2 TD's to McDaniel & 1 each to TE Tessen, RB Browning & WR Shapiro.

2019 Record after 4 games: 2-2

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 5
Beat Seattle 27-10
DE Ross Patterson had 3 sacks to lead an 8-sack attack by the defense & spark our 3rd straight win. QB Rivera went 17/27 for 231 yds & 2 TD's. RB's Browning & Emmons split time & combined for 71 yds on 25 carries.

Week 6
Lost to Atlanta 20-6
The turnovers (4) and sacks (5) returned to plague the offense, which managed just 238 total yds. Hard to win when you never enter the red zone all day.

Week 7
Bye week

Week 8
Tied St.Louis 9-9
We missed on FG's on 60 yds at the end of regulation & of 52 yds in OT, the Rams missed from 46 yds in OT & we settle for a hard fought tie. RB Emmons had an even 100 yds on 23 carries, Rivera was 21/41 for 255, and TE Thamilarasan caught 10 balls for 132 yds. Recently signed G Bobby Allen had 7 of our 13 key run blocks.
Starting RT Darrel Blackwell will miss 2 weeks with a strained abductor muscle, FS Flickinger is doubtful with a hyperextended knee.

Week 9
Lost to Carolina 16-7
5 sacks & 3 turnovers caused the offense to stutter & sputter all day.
DT J.R. Witherspoon is out for the year after undergoing reconstructive knee surgery. He was placed on IR after the game.

2019 Record after 8 games: 3-4-1

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 10
Lost to New Orleans 24-21
We took the lead with 6:30 left, then failed miserably on defense as the Saints drove 80 yds in 3 mins for the game-winning TD. We come away with 2 defensive starters banged up (DE Patterson & LB Roset), another on the O-line (Nastasi).

Week 11
Lost to San Fran 23-0
We managed just 10 1st downs, Kinney finally relieved Rivera (7/24) and we remain winless since week 5. We had just 21 rushing yds on 11 carries.

Week 12
Beat Cincinnati 26-11
Rivera was 23/28 for 258 & 2 TD's, Emmons & Browning combined for 101 yds rushing and McDaniel caught 9 passes for 132 & a score.

Week 13
Lost to Detroit 16-10
We blew a 10-0 1st qtr lead and lost another one. Allowing 5 sacks pretty much sqaushed our offense.

2019 Record after 12 games: 4-7-1

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 14
Lost to Pittsburgh 24-16
We give up 14 points in the 4th qtr & let another one get away. Kinney was 12/27 for 104 yds & an interception, in relief of Rivera who went down with an elbow injury in the 2nd qtr. The veteran QB will miss 2-3 weeks with the injury.

Week 15
Lost to San Fran 19-9
Kinney started, Taxin relieved, both went 7/17 passing. We had no offense to speak off after our first two drives. Those spanned 30 plays & produced only a FG. Our next 6 possession totaled just 31 plays & 3 turnovers. Our only TD came on Patterson's 56 yd fumble return on the first play of the 4th qtr.

Week 16
Lost to Cleveland 26-23
A desperate 4th qtr rally falls a little short. QB Taxin in relief of Kinney rallied the troops with a pair of TD's in the final six minutes but we just ran out of time. Kinney was just 14/33 for 166 while Taxin went 6/13 for 155. WR McDaniel had a monster day, 9 catches for 229 yds & a TD. LB Burbage gave us 13 tkls & 2 assists.

Week 17
Lost to Seattle 31-25
Justin Kinney had 3 TD passes but 3 turnovers helped Seattle to 24 points in the 2nd half and we finish with our worst season in 12 years.

2019 Record after 16 games: 4-11-1

[JonInMiddleGA]

Oakland(13-3), New Jersey (10-6), Baltimore (10-6), & Houston (9-7) win AFC divisions. Pittsburgh & San Diego (both 9-7) earn wildcards.
New York (12-4), St.Louis (9-5-2), Atlanta (9-7) & Detroit (7-8-1) win NFC divisions.
Philadelphia (12-4) & Dallas (9-7) earn wildcards.

Houston won the Solecismic Bowl 27-24 over Atlanta

Philly RB Wendell Meadows won his 2nd League MVP award (1357 yds & 12 TD's rushing, 70 rcpts & 3 TD's.

2019 Evaluation
Performance - 5
Value - 0
Profit - 59
Roster - 82 (roster value 6, our highest ever)
Year-end score - 36

Our attendance was flat at 38,400/game.
We lost $74.46m on revenue of $111.37m

[JonInMiddleGA]

2019 Off-season

CB Byron Housley announced his retirement -- 16 yrs with Arizona, 200 games/173 starts, 15 interceptions, 178 defended passes, 19.4 PD%, 672 tackles, 3 punt & 7 k/o returns for TD's; 2019 Legend of the Game

We re-sign our DC, Zack Parrish (3 Excl, 1 Good (LB), 1 Fair (P) ) to a 4 yr deal.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2020 Free Agency

We have 49 players under contract when the period begins, with 4 players to make decisions about.

-OG Kelly Brewington -- Knee injuries have reduced this once formidable player to a shell of himself (18/18). 10 seasons, 116games/109 starts, twice an All-League Guard. Recognized by the fans. But he's only played in 4 games in the past 2 seasons, just 16 games in the past 4 years. And he's got nothing left. Hopefully, he'll show up as a coach or scout after retirement.

-WR Carlton Jamison -- Decides he wants bonus money ($380k) after a very pedestrian rookie season (15 catches). He's got potential 23/38 but I'm not into paying serious money (he wants $1.54m for the 2nd year of the deal)

-OG Bobby Allen - Much improved performance last season, after being re-signed as a FA injury replacement. He's got 9 yrs experience & is now a mentor to young linemen. We'll offer him 2 yrs/$6.78m with the $1.92m bonus he's seeking.

-S Casey Burroughs - One of the best players to wear a Cardinal uniform in the past decade, the fan favorite is entering his 12th season. Looking to sign in stage 3, we want him back pretty badly, but aren't happy about his request for more than $15m in bonus money. We'll make an offer, just not immediately. He's our most talented player (69/69) but we'd like to get him off that price if we can.

Tampa Bay offers Burroughs $42.4m/4 yr deal.
We try to match the offer but he won't consider the offer. I suspect they've heavily backloading something but I haven't found the right combination. We settle for offering 3 yrs/$34.9m, with $15m in bonus money. He signs with the Bucs in round 2.

The largest FA signing was DE Justin Johnson, who moves from Dallas to New Jersey for a 5 yr/$128.22m deal.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2020 Amateur Draft

-- We trade the 11th & 32nd overall picks this year & a 2nd round in 2021 to Miami for their 1st round picks in 2021 & 2022, plus a 3rd round in 2022.

-- We trade a 3rd, 5th, & 6th round pick to New Jersey for their 2nd round pick (all 2020)

Our needs are listed as S, DE, ILB.
We drafted T/CB/G/DT/DT/DE

[JonInMiddleGA]

2020 Late Free Agency

Well, let's see what Santa left under our tree this year.

We make offers to the following undrafted rookies
QB Peter Treat - 10/50 vol 14
QB Rusty Fuller - 9/45 vol 75
RB Donald Bryant - 25/37 vol 96
RB Donnie Nastasi - 20/42 vol 92
RB O.J. Vanderclute - 26/38 vol 5
RB Donald Bryant - 25/37 vol 96
FB Brock Cate - 21/36 vol 51
WR Neal Thomason - 19/32 vol 45
WR Dave Snyder - 14/33 vol 99
C Jared Saathoff - 16/51 vol 81
C Ben Whiting - 16/42 vol 71
G Junior Fleming - 9/31 vol 47
T Frank Linquist - 24/41 vol 65 (36 reps, SolTest 32)
T Sedrick Dawkins - 16/36 vol 56
T Tyrell Beede - 16/36 vol 32 (30 reps, SolTest 38)
DE J.C. Enright - 20/29 vol 99
DE Emmanuel Blair - 18/31 vol 89
DE Aaron Ferguson - 17/34 vol 20
DT Martin Moss - 22/31 vol 72
DT Bennie Blackwell - 6/34 vol 84
DT Artie Neujahr - 15/33 vol 89
DT Dominic Thornhill - 17/28 vol 39
ILB Bob Albright - 14/27 vol 40
ILB Stan Goad - 10/35 vol 62
MLB Geoff Gerhardt - 12/32 vol 60
OLB Curtis Freeman - 7/32 vol 71
OLB Dennis Porter - 12/31 vol 91
CB Pat Preston - 9/35 vol 1
CB Reuben Rhea - 9/32 vol 84
S Norm Norris - 13/36 vol 96
S Irving Seymour - 16/35 vol 1
S Brad Hamilton - 17/33 vol 99 (SolTest 39)

Everyone one of them signed, sending us to camp with 81 players under contract.
I failed to note highest current & future estimates before training camp

We sold 19,900 of 63,000 season tickets.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Highest current estimates after training camp
P Kenny Broadway 69/69
TE Emmitt Thamilarasan 61/61
K R.J. Linquist 59/59
QB Bryce Rivera 57/57
CB Jake Rodman 56/56

Highest future estimates after training camp
P Broadway
TE Thamilarasan
K Linquist
QB Rivera
C Allen Bandy 53/57

Other notable changes include:
QB Peter Treat - 12/47 (+2/-3) vol 14
QB Rusty Fuller - 11/40 (+2/-5) vol 75
RB Donald Bryant - 25/32 (0/-5) vol 96
RB Donnie Nastasi - 20/36 (0/-6) vol 92
RB O.J. Vanderclute - 26/33 (0/-5) vol 5
FB Brock Cate - 21/31 (0/-5) vol 51
WR Dave Snyder - 16/33 (+2/0) vol 99
C Jared Saathoff - 18/47 (+2/-4) vol 81
C Ben Whiting - 18/42 (+2/-0) vol 71
T Frank Linquist - 26/39 (+2/-2) vol 65 (36 reps, SolTest 32)
T Tyrell Beede - 20/42 (+4/+6) vol 32 (30 reps, SolTest 38)
DE J.C. Enright - 21/30 (+1/+1) vol 99
DE Emmanuel Blair - 19/32 (+1/+1) vol 89
DT Artie Neujahr - 15/27 (0/-6) vol 89
DT Dominic Thornhill - 19/32 (+2/+4) vol 39
ILB Bob Albright - 16/29 (+2/+2) vol 40
ILB Stan Goad - 11/30 (+1/-5) vol 62
CB Pat Preston - 11/36 (+2/+1) vol 1
CB Reuben Rhea - 11/32 (+2/0) vol 84
S Brad Hamilton - 18/29 (+1/-4) vol 99 (SolTest 39)

[JonInMiddleGA]

Now, we get down to the 60-man limit

--Traded QB Gary Taxin (4 yrs, 20 games/0 starts) & a 7th rd pick in 2021 to New England for undrafted rookies WR Skip Gore, DE Tommie Bahn, DT Levon Furr, & LB Craig Grylicki & a 4th rd pick in 2023.
-- Traded our 1st rd pick in 2021 & a 3rd rd in 2023 to Tennessee for their 2nd rd pick in 2023 & undrafted rookies OT Al Floyd, RB Randal Alexander, & FS Danny Andersen.

Veterans released include:
WR Eric Shapiro (9 yrs, 111 games/51 starts, 241 rcpts, 3239 yds, 18 TD's career)
OT Darrell Blackwell (6 yrs, 90 games/79 starts, 2.1 Sk% career)
FB Allen Stephan (4 yrs, 42 games/3 starts, 29 carries, 82 yds, 0 TD's career)
OG Kenyon Friday (1 yr, 10 games/0 starts)
OG Levon Shelton (1 yr, 5 games/0 starts)

Rookies released include: QB Rusty Fuller, RB Donald Bryant, FB Brock Cate, G Junior Fleming, DT Artie Neujahr, S Brad Hamilton, LB Curtis Freeman, DE Aaron Ferguson,
S Norm Norris, CB Reuben Rhea, LB Geoff Gerhardt, DT Dominic Thornhill, DE J.C. Enright, OT Sedrick Dawson, RB/FB O.J. Vanderclute, C Ben Whiting, DE Tommie Bahn, S Irving Seymour, DT Bennie Blackwell, LB Stan Goad, LB Dennis Porter.

We placed DT J.R.Witherspoon on IR (still questionable after reconstructive knee surgery, his skills are basically gone anyway).

[JonInMiddleGA]

2020 Exhibition Season

Exh.1
Lost to Tennessee 23-10
A good 1st half produced a 10-6 lead. A poor 2nd half from our reserves produced a loss. Bryce Rivera was 12/19 for 162 & a TD, RB Emmons had 57 yds rushing, rookie FB Nastasi had 55. RG Allen had 5 key run blocks & backup CB Hendricks blocked a punt. Young DT Levon Furr is out 6 weeks with a broken foot, QB Rivera (knee) & C Bandy (ankle) are both questionable for a couple of weeks.

Exh.2
Lost to Pittsburgh 20-6
2 turnovers in the first 4 minutes spotted the Steelers 10 points. QB Kinney was 8/16 with a pick, QB Billings was 9/12 with a pick, and rookie QB Treat was just 3/16.

Exh. 3
Lost to Jacksonville 31-10
CB Rodman's 71 yd interception return gave us an early 7-0 lead. And then not much good happened the rest of the way. QB's Treat & Kinney combined for a 5/18 performance, while Billings went 6/10. Browning & Nastasi ran well (15/75 combined).

Exh. 4
Lost to Cleveland 19-13 in OT
QB Rivera overcame 3 interceptions to lead an 80 yd drive to tie the game in the 4th qtr but we came up short defensively in overtime. Rivera finished 18/44 for 195 yds. RB Browning had 70 yds on 13 carries. DT Horton had 10 stops, LB Gaines had 9 & CB Hendricks had 2 interceptions. Hendricks played in relief of CB Randal Strong, who went down early & will miss 3 wks with a strained patellar tendon.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Time to get the roster down to 53.

--Traded RB Heath Richard & a 5th rd pick in 2022 to Oakland for RB Karl Goldsmith & a 4th rd pick in 2022
-- Traded 3rd rd pick in 2024 to Pittsburgh for rookie OT Ray Fields.
(Goldsmith & Fields are both undrafted rookies with 0 games NFL experience)
-- Traded TE Roger Pina & Miami's 1st round pick in 2022 to Miami for their 1st & 7th round picks in 2023

DT Levon Furr was placed on IR.

Veterans released include:
LB Rico Fedo (4 yrs, 61 games/40 starts, 178 tkls, 66 asts, 5.5 sacks career)

Rookies released include: LB Craig Grylicki, RB Randal Alexander, WR Neal Thomason,
DE Martin Moss, OT Al Floyd.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2020 Regular Season
Week 1
Beat San Fran 23-17 in OT
Wow ! Bryce Rivera connected with Emmons out of the backfield for a 76 yd game-winner in extra time. The RB rambled 35 yds after the catch for the score to set off the celebration. Less than 2 minutes earlier it appeared all was lost as the 49ers hit a long pass to move inside our 15 but they missed a potential game-winning 23 yd FG on the 1st possession of OT. Jerome Emmons had 86 yds & 1 TD rushing to go with 5 rcpts for 116 yds & his big TD. Rivera finished the day 32/47 for 347 & 2 TD's

Week 2
Beat Buffalo 27-24
Rivera & TE Thamilarasan hooked up for a pair of 1st half TD's & we held on to a 27-3 lead to get another win. RB Emmons had 65 yds & a TD on 16 carries, Rivera finished 18/27 for 212 yds. DT J.R. Horton will miss nearly 2 months with a broken fibula.

Week 3
Lost to Tampa Bay 37-34
Well, at least it was exciting Rivera found Browning for a 4 yd TD pass for the lead with just 0:33 left. But we left the Bucs too much time & 3 timeouts, as they drive with a 54 yd pass, a 17 yd pass, an 8 yd pass & a 1 yd pass for the game- winner on the final play of the game. For the day, Rivera was 22/33 for 272 & 3 TD's, McDaniel caught 6 for 113 & a pair of scores. Emmons had 93 yds & 2 TD's on 26 carries. DE Patterson had 6 tkls, 2 assists, and a pair of sacks.

Week 4
Beat New York 28-20
We weather the storm of 362 passing yds by the Giants & hang on for another win. Rivera wasn't flashy but was effective 19/29 for 208 & 3 TD's, Emmons ran for 49 yds, and McDaniel led the WR's with 6/94.

2020 Record after 4 games: 3-1

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 5
Lost to Dallas 31-20
The Cowboys scored on a blocked punt in the 3rd qtr & that swung the momentum as they scored the final 17 points unanswered. Rivera was 27/46 for 308 & a TD, Emmons ran for 56 yds & a score, caught a pass for another TD.

Week 6
Beat Philadelphia 34-31 in OT
We rallied from an early 21-0 defecit & won it on Linquist's 37 yd FG with just 0:07 left in OT. Randal Strong had a critical interception return for a TD in the 2nd qtr, pulling back to within 21-14. From there, it was Rivera, who finished 24/49 for 335 & 2 TD's. TE Thamilarasan had 7 catches for 89 yds & both of the scores. RB Emmons was strong, with 109 yds & a score. We've lost backup S Floyd Flickinger for 2 months (torn calf muscle).

Week 7
Lost to Seattle 16-3
We lost a lot more than the game, we may have lost our season. QB Bryce Rivera will miss the remainder of the year after suffering a torn ACL in the 2nd qtr. WR Thurman McDaniel is also out for the rest of the season after suffering a back injury that will require surgery to repair. Backup QB Billings went 12/27 for 182 in relief of Rivera but the offense was so stunned by the loss of the starter who was having his best season ever that they never really threatened the Seahawks. The defense limited Seattle to three FG's, their only TD coming on a long punt return. The bad news continued after the game as we learned that FB Alex Meynardie will miss up to a month with a hyperextended elbow, the same injury that will keep FS Daryl Lynn out for about 3 weeks.

Rivera & McDaniel were both placed on IR. Rookie S Andy Bouchard & former Cardinal WR Carlton Jamison were signed as FA's.

Week 8
Lost to Washington 23-17 in OT
Almost, doggone it, almost. With Kinney & Billings splitting time at QB, we threw for just 130 yds but Emmons stepped up with 125 yds on 17 carries, and Rodman had a 92 yd interception return for a TD. But the Redskins scored with 1:15 left in regulation to force OT, where they won on a 6 yd run. LB Burbage had a huge day, 14 tkls & 8 assists, Rodman had 12 stops to go with his int.

2020 Record after 8 games: 4-4

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 9
Bye week

Week 10
Lost to St.Louis 10-7
We were held to just 86 yds rushing & 86 yds passing, and the defense finally bent just enough for the Rams to get a late 4th qtr FG. Our only score came on CB Strong's 92 yd interception return in the 2nd qtr.

Week 11
Lost to San Fran 37-30
Okay, that sucked. The 49ers get their first win of the season by scoring 14 pts in the final 2:55 of the game. Jerome Emmons had a 90 KOR for a score, Oscar Billings hit Emmitt Thamilarasan for a 73 yd TD pass for the lead early in the 4th qtr but in the end, it wasn't enough.

Week 12
Lost to Miami 27-20
The Dolphins scored 10 unanswered points in the 4th qtr & handed us our 5th straight loss. QB Billings was 19/38 for 262 & a TD but threw 4 interceptions as well.

Week 13
Beat Minnesota 14-3
We held the Vikings to just 200 yds total offense, Omar Browning scored from 5 yds out & Oscar Billings found Carlton Jamison for a 4 yd TD pass for some 4th qtr insurance as we snap the losing streak. We ran 48 times, threw just 18 times, and slowed the game to a crawl, but it was enough. C Allen Bandy had 6 key run blocks.

2020 Record after 12 games: 5-7

[JonInMiddleGA]

Week 14
Lost to New England 28-14
Former Cardinal QB Gary Taxin threw for 282 yds & 3 TD's to keep the Pats on top in their division. Oscar Billings wasn't bad either, 18/25 for 215 but the running game failed to give him enough help (31 carries for 51 yds)

Week 15
Lost to Seattle 31-13
3 interceptions helped Seattle to 2 early touchdowns & we couldn't recover. QB Billings was just 19/43 for 179.

Week 16
Beat New Jersey 17-16
Carlton Jamison returned a punt 88 yds for a TD with 6:14 left to give us an unexpected win. We had just 33 yds on 22 carries, and the passing game was short but effective (Billings 11/13 for 113, Treat 3/5 for 11). Rodman, Strong, and Flickinger (back from injury) all had interceptions & the o-line allowed only 1 sack.

Week 17
Lost to St.Louis 16-13
We fought hard but 5 sacks dimmed the offense early & we couldn't quite get all the way back. RB Emmons ran for 75 yds on 16 carries, Billings threw 10/19 for 86 yds, and Kinney came off the bench to go 9/16 for 102 & a TD (to WR Snyder). LB Burbage had 8 tkls & 3 assists.

2020 Record after 16 games: 6-10

[JonInMiddleGA]

Houston (14-2), Denver (11-5), New England (10-6) & Baltimore (10-6) win AFC divisions. Tennessee & Oakland (both 9-7) earn wildcards.
St.Louis (13-3), Dallas, New Orleans, & Green Bay (all 11-5) win NFC divisions.
Seattle (12-4) & Chicago (10-6) earn wildcards.

Seattle won the Solecismic Bowl 24-19 over Tennessee

Kansas City DE Christian Heath was the League MVP (30.5 sacks, 80 tkls)
Former Cardinal SS Casey Burroughs was named 2nd Team All-League

[JonInMiddleGA]

We had several notable performances this year:
RB Jerome Emmons set a team record with 269 carries, tied a team record with 11 rushing TD's & fell just short of Ronnie Rhodes team record of 1,135 yds with 1,028.

TE Emmitt Thamilarasan had personal bests of 70 catches, 711 yds & 7 TD's.
LB Isaac Burbage finished with 108 tkls, 4th best in team history.
DE Ross Patterson had 11.5 sacks, 2nd best in team history.
QB Bryce Rivera, in 7 games before his injury, posted a career best 94.0 QB rtg.

2020 Evaluation
Performance - 14
Value - 0
Profit - 46
Roster - 82 (rated 3 on other screen)
Year-end - 32

Our attendance fell to 33,500, down 12%
We lost a whopping $112.7m, nearly $52m of that in signing bonuses.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2020 Off-season
LB Sedrick Roset retired (11 yrs, 174 games/97 starts, 491 tkls, 25.5 sacks career)

Head coach Petoskey's contract expires & we've decided to let him go elsewhere. It seems that nobody can do much with this team, so we go cheap (relatively) & hire Deion Fjelstad for a 5yr/$5m contract. He's 50 years old, with VG discipline & off.playcalling, Good motivation & def.playcalling, average injury avoidance.

We use a little of the savings (Petoskey was asking for more than $9m/yr) to upgrade our scouting. 38 yr old Jerome Peterson was hired away from Minnesota. VG with RB & WR, Good at OL, LB, and DB, Average everything else. Hopefully worth $590k/3 yr.

Meanwhile, Thurman Petoskey was hired to coach the St.Louis Rams, which will be his 3rd team in the NFC West (coached at Seattle before taking over in Arizona)

We also proposed a new luxury stadium to replace our existing facility. Tons of club seats & luxury boxes, capacity nearly double last year's avg attendance, $750m price tag. With 0 support, we're obviously hoping they'll reject the offer since it contained $0 team contribution.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2021 Free Agency

We've got 53 players under contract right now, and 2 unsigned FA's.
--DE Fernando Kroinek - 28/33 - 2 yrs as a reserve DE, really showed us very little other than a willingness to show up for practice & games. No offer, especially not a $4.6m/2 yr offer like he's seeking.
--WR Carlton Jamison - 30/42 - After being picked up as a mid-season replacement for Thurman McDaniel, Jamison responded with 14 rcpts & 1 TD, as well as a punt return for a score. We sign him to a 3 yr/$6.4m deal with just $420k in bonus.

We also make an offer to 2nd yr DE Tommie Bahn (16/34) who we cut last year in pre-season. He signs, albeit in round 10.

The biggest FA signing this year was MVP DE Christian Heath, who moves from Kansas City to Philadelphia for a $119.45m/5 yr deal.

[JonInMiddleGA]

2021 Amateur Draft

We list our needs as OT, QB, WR
-- We've got picks #7 & #12, but trade them to Kansas City, along with a 2023 2nd Rd pick for their #1 this year (20th overall), next year, and 2024.
-- We also traded a 2nd round pick this year to Cleveland for 2nd & 4th round picks next year.

We drafted an OT in the 1st round, Ike McGregor from Oregon State. A 29/56 prospect. The rest of the draft included CB/DT/OLB/DE/TE/K

More importantly, the voters rejected our stadium funding request %67.1-%32.8
Does anybody have the area code for Los Angeles handy?