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02-06-2001, 06:39 PM
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#1 | ||
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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Arrest Trent Dilfer Bucs 2013-2017
I'll continue the story of these Buccaneers in this here thread. The basic idea of this challenge is to see how well an FOF team can do without an estabished quality QB. The basic rules are:
General: Wall Street difficulty, GM firing on. Quarterbacks: No drafting of QBs in the first two rounds, ever. I may only draft a QB from a Florida program in round 3. I may draft any QB in rounds 4-7. Any QB on my roster who makes the Pro Bowl, has a QB rating of at least 85 in a full season (at least 12 games started), or has above-average popularity may not be re-signed after his current contract expires. Free Agents: I may pursue any of my free agents. I may pursue one free agent at a time from other teams, as long as they didn't appear in a Pro Bowl. The QB exception above, with a maximum QB rating of 80 instead of 85, applies in all cases. Contracts: For UFAs, no back-loading, max increase of 25% per year. Length of contract must be within one year of that requested. If offered, bonus must be at least the median salary. No haggling with my RFAs. No renegotiating contracts at any time. Franchise Tag: Won't be used. Trades: May only initiate a trade of a player is demanding one. Any CPU-offered trades must pass the QuikSand Reality Test (TM), in which the trade is altered then changed back to its original state. Local schools: When feasible, will emphasize signing local talent. Head coach, scout: May only make a change when a contract expires. Length of contract must be within one year of that requested. Ticket Prices: May only increase after a playoff appearance. Based on local economic growth and playoff success [i]Notre Dame: No players from Notre Dame allowed, ever. On the field, the team has been reasonably successful, making the playoffs in 2010-2012, but losing close NFC games in the waning seconds in each year. Our secondary and running back have been our real strengths, but we must now find a new starting QB, as Blaine Blackburn has gotten too good for us. Financially, we're in shambles. We've lost money consistently for the last few seasons, and our franchise value is nothing to be proud of. Here's my Herk Robinson-like performance summary:
I should note that we started with an allocation draft, and we didn't sign any real-life players after their contracts expired.
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"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-06-2001, 07:27 PM
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#2 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2013 Pre-Draft
We lost a staggering $74 mil last season, as it was a heavy bonus year. Our franchise value is 29th. Surprisingly, there have been no nasty e-mails from ownership about this. We now have the opportunity to propose a stadium referendum to the voters of Tampa Bay. Since my stadium rating is 21 (sufficiently crappy for a renovation would be 40), I decide to act, before this group of players collapses. We submit a proposal to add 151 luxury boxes, costing $200m in total. My rule for this career is to pay for (100 - fan support of new construction)% of the total, subject to the 50% maximum. Since the fan support for construction is 41, I must pony up $100 million. Although I'll be taking a bit hit if this passes, I don't see any other way to become profitable. Here's our roster going into free agency:
Clearly, the first order of business is finding a new starting QB. Bo Hancock and Jay Bradley will likely demand fortunes to stay with us, and neither seems sufficiently talented to warrant the committment. Hancock might be a fallback option if everything else goes wrong. I have several significant free agents coming up. T J.J. Hampton is the most talented, and, though pricey, is the most logical player to focus on. LB Jamal Zhang and FB Reuben Bryant, both 13 year vets, are fading, but still have some skills left, and it would be fitting for them to end their careers with us. I'll only be able to afford one (at most) of DEs Alfred Nichols and Cornelius Parker. My scout is of the belief that Parker has more upside, though Nichols has been starting for us. On balance, my modestly talented RFAs will be going elsewhere, though I'll see if I can keep TE Clyde "Commander" Keen, a local, around. The QB pickings are fairly slim for me. The only two decent options I have are two career backups: Harris Oleary from Kansas City (1 start in 11 seasons) and Anthony Cole from Bakersfield (5 starts in 8 seasons). Cole appears to be the more talented of the two, but, given their $12+ mil/yr asking prices, I'll wait for one to sign before pursuing the other. My veteran free agents have very high loyalty; I'll try the same tactic for them. In stage 1 I watch as Reuben Bryant gets a slew of offers. I offer $9.6m/ 3 yrs, the highest per year offer, which he takes immediately. Zhang is asking for $11m/2, and Hampton $28m/3, but have received no offers. Blaine Blackburn stays in the division, signing with the Bears for over $52m/3 yrs. Also singing after stage 2 is the angry Chief Harris Oleary, for $36.25m/3 yrs. Earlier than anticipated, I offer Anthony Cole $32.2m/3, and, more importantly, a starting job. Although he's demanding a trade, he's still entertaining an offer from Bakersfield. Puh-leeze. My other UFAs still have no offers. In stage 4 J.J. Hampton is offered $37.7m/4 by Raleigh, which he takes immediately. A very costly gaffe on my part, as I'm still haggling with Cole, and there aren't many cost-effective options at T (I doubt I can fit costly options under the cap). I bump Cole's offer up to $33.4m/3, which is enough for him to sign with us in stage 5. (I felt mildly guilty signing a former first round pick, but, after his signing, my #1 weakness was still listed as starting QB) At this point there are no Ts worth signing, so I go after Chief P Hunter Evans, offering $3.85m/3. He's thinking about it. In stage 7 Jamal Zhang smartly signs the first offer he sees, going to the Jets for $9.73m/2. I'll have to count on youngsters developing a t that position. Evans takes our offer in stage 8, and I offer DE Nichols $14.7m/2, as he received two other bids. I also offer K A.J. Jameson $5.69m/3 (no bonus). Both sign with us in stage 10. In the last two stages I sign two second year players: a FB from Miami U (FL), and a LB who made 58 tackles in 13 starts in his rookie season for a surprisingly reasonable $7.2m/3. Not signing Hampton was the major blunder of this free agency session, unless we discover that Anthony Cole isn't worthy of a starting position.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-06-2001, 08:28 PM
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#3 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2013 Draft and Training Camp
We're slotted at #24 for this draft, and we have some critical needs. Getting a quality T and LB are essential, as I'm now perilously thin in those positions. Another quality CB and WR would always be nice, too. When our pick comes, we seem to have missed out on any Ts worthy of first-round $$$, so we go with a LB.
Hopefully we have found our solid LB, but we are still shaky at T. We barely fit 54 under the cap, so we bring in a Hurricane K to challenge A.J. Jameson, and will most likely cut a LB after camp. We go into camp with this group:
We keep an anxious eye on Blackburn, and hope for an improvement from Lyon during camp. We also pay particular attention to the K and LB duels, and ready the guillotine.
A.J. Jameson didn't have a significantly better camp than Lester Tuttle, so I'll save some money. Also, overpaid scrub LB Randy Hughes was told to clear out his locker. Significantly, my scout has moved Roderick Clegg ahead of Roderick Delgado on the depth chart. We'll see how that works out. Our stadium proposal passed in a 63-37 landslide. I hope I don't start getting poor profitability e-mails now. I have nagging doubts about this team. We have a new QB, a new starting RB, a big hole at T, and smaller holes at DT and LB. We have a roster strength rating at starting QB of 16. If my scout is wrong about Anthony Cole, this will be a very long year.
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"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-07-2001, 08:53 PM
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#4 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2013 Season
Heading into the season, our roster rating is 81, still highest in the division, and much higher than where I would rank it. If the ratings are to be believed, Chicago(65) and Green Bay(63) will be the main divisional competition. Defending champion Pittsburgh fittingly has a rating of 100. Our 1-3 pre-season is quite uneventful, and we head into the season with three deep thigh bruises. We start the regular season with home games against Minnesota and Detroit. Lester Tuttle gets a workout against the Vikes, going 5-6 in a 21-16 win. Winning the turnover battle 4-0 was nice, but not being able to get TDs out of them is a concern. More concerns after week 2: we slaughter the Lions 33-7, but lose 2 WRs to injury. Joe Bednarik undergoes elbow ligament surgery and is likely done for the year, while Jeremy Barajas is out with a torn thumb ligament. I 'll try to go with 3 active WRs; hopefully Roderick Delgado will see a lot of time as a third WR in addition to the #2 RB and won't get too pissed at me. Surprisingly, I'm allowed to play the Bears with this lineup, although they pummel us 26-9 on their turf. Blaine Blackburn must have enjoyed that. We bounce back with a 23-6 home win over the Bengals, as Marco Calabello's 73 yards INT return for a TD on their opening drive set the tone for the game. WE then face a tough test in Pittsburgh. Cole Dawson lights us up for 353 yards, but we score 11 points late to force OT become succumbing 17-14. The entire division is now within one game of each other. We rebound with another home win, 31-17, over Carolina. We're now 4-0 at home, and may be seeing clear sign of global warming: the temps for our home games were 98, 97, 96, and 95. We prove we can win in more moderate conditions, as we win in Minnesota 14-13. Next up is Jacksonsville. We get up quickly 17-0, and cruise to a 30-16 pounding of our in-state rivals. Disgruntled Roderick Delgado got the game ball with 80 yards recieving and 43 more on the ground. We continue our run with a 24-3 home win over the Giants, but Clifton Jamison and Jimmy Fitzgerald are now listed as doubtful. Our bye seems perfectly timed this year. We are a surprising (to me at least) 7-2, two games ahead of the Bears, and three clear of the Packers. We now get WR Barajas back, but in our 31-10 demolition of the Saints Keith Addison gets banged up, and we're back down to 3 WRs, this time our worst 3. In Green Bay, we get a whopping 75 yards passing in a 6-0 defeat. We activate Addison for our rematch with the Bears. A home win over Chicago would just about clinch the division for us, but they take us 24-14, and pull to within one game, and have the tiebreaker over us. We next play in Detroit, where our last-minute drive dies on their 22, sealing a 13-6 defeat. The Bears won again, and now we both have 8-5 records, with the Packers at 7-6. We bring back Jamison and Fitzgerald for Green Bay. They get off to a 10-0 lead, which could have been 16 if their K were having a good day, but Roderick Clegg broke off a 44 yard TD run just before the half, and that was the spark we needed. We proceeded to roll the Packers 24-10, but Addison is hurt again. A humiliating 25-7 road loss to the 3-11 Titans kills our division hopes, but we back into the #5 seed. In an odd turn, we go into 12-3 Philadelphia and win 16-14, winning on a Lester Tuttle FG with :13 left. For our season to continue, we'll have to win another road game against a team with 12 wins, this time in Dallas.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-07-2001, 09:57 PM
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#5 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2013 Playoffs
We head into 12-4 Dallas, who are still led by Peyton Manning (3847 yards passing in 15 games). His favorite targets are Earnest Sampson (97-1367) and Cole Tejada (81-1137). They can also run the ball effectively, though their starting RB is out with a dislocated elbow. I neglected to mention that Anthony Cole is questionable with a hyperextended elbow. He'll be able to start, but I'd like my chances a lot better if he were healthy. Neither team can muster any offense in the rain on their first two possessions, though there are some injuries. We lost Keith Addison and C Curtis Stone, two places where we have no depth. Dallas then started winning a battle of field position, and they get to start a drive on our 40. However, they can only get 7 yards, and the 50 yard FG is hooked wide. Cole hit Aaron Durham for 10 and 17 yards, but a 3rd and 1 run up the middle by Clegg got stuffed for a loss of 3. We settle for a 43 yard FG attempt, and on the first play of the second quarter we take a 3-0 lead. An exchange of punts leaves Dallas on their 1, but they continue to run the ball effectively against us to get out of danger. The passing game starts to click, and they make it to our 23 before Manning is sacked and fumbles away the Cowboys' best scoring chance so far. The half ended with us ahead 3-0. A penalty on the kickoff set us back to our 5, but it was our turn to run out of danger. A crappy punt gave Dallas the ball on their 36, and, aided by a questionable unnecessary roughness call, ventured into our half of the field once more. From our 26, Manning tried to hit Tejada, but Keith Walling got a great break on the ball and got the interception to preserve our lead. Our offense then disappeared, and, after three punts, the Cowboy offense mounted another drive. After a 9 yard completion, they got runs of 7, 23, 4, 3 and 8 to get to our 6. On first down, Manning shoots for the end zone, but the coverage is too tight and he throws it away. Back to the run on second down: no gain. We weren't surprised by a third down run, as that only netted one yard. From the 5, they have no choice but to take the 3 points, and the game is tied with 9:08 left. Roderick Clegg gained 16 yards on a run, but that was it for our drive. Manning quickly hit Sampson for 30 yards to get back into our territory, but a sack ended that threat. We take over on our 12 with 4:17 left. A holding penalty backs us up, and we meekly run on a 3rd and 18. We punt, and they fumble the return, but recover on their 48. Damn. With 2:39 left, this looks bad. On first down, Dallas gets a silly unsportsmanlike penalty, leaving them with a second and 25. They can't make up the yardage, punt, and we rn out the clock for overtime. We lose the toss, and Dallas takes possession on their 20 after a booming kickoff. On 2nd and 9, Manning completes a 20 yard pass, then a 7 yarder followed by an 8 yard run. We throw in a defensive holding penalty to move them to our 39, perilously close to FG range. A completion to Sampson gives them a first down on our 25, and we need a big play now. We start blitzing. First down is a run for 3 yards. On 2nd and 7 we bring everybody on a blitz. Manning tries to hit the hot receiver, and succeeds, as Earnest Sampson highsteps into the end zone for the 9-3 Cowboy victory. Our 113 passing yards just didn't get it done. Chicago would take Dallas out, before losing to Philly. With Pittsburgh not making the playoffs based on tiebreakers, the Patriots wound up being the sacrificial lambs in the Super Bowl, losing 31-12 to Harold Reddy's 332 yards and 3 TDs. ------- QB Anthony Cole: 76.9 rating (18 TDs, 17 INTs, 29 sacks, 58.9% complete, 6.8 ypa) RB Roderick Clegg: 196-929 (4.9), 4 TDs RB Roderick Delgado: 169-728 (4.3), 3 TDs; 44 catches for 529 yards and 4 TDs LB Alfred Jacke: 104 tackles, 34 assists, 1 sack, 1 INT, 1 TD S Will Bishop: 47.8 PDQ (7 INTs, 1 TD, 11 passes defended) S Jimmy Fitzgerald: 46.2 PDQ (6 INTs, 7 pd, 13 games) Team stats (Off/Def/NFL) Yards/rush: 4.3/3.1/3.8 Yards/pass: 6.7/5.6/6.6 What success we had was clearly the work of the defense, as we allowed the fewest points in the league, though, to be fair, our passing game was probably compromised by our rash of injuries at WR. We were a modest +7 in turnover margin. We were immodestly represented in post-season awards, as Will Bishop was first team All-Pro, and FB Reuben Bryant, C Curtis Stone, LB Alfred Jacke, and, to my surprise, RB Roderick Delgado all made second team All Pro. I've never had a non-starter make the pro bowl. Although I could see a third WR earning some FOF post-season accolades, I never would have thought that a #2 RB could ever pull it off. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by our effort. We do need to improve our offense before becoming a real playoff contender, it would seem.
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"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-09-2001, 07:21 PM
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#6 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2014 Pre-Draft
Much to my relief, we received no retirement notices. Our franchise value is up to 21st, the highest it's been in a long while. Of course, we suffered an $85 mil deficit to get it. Without the stadium payment, we would have lost a paltry $52 mil. Here's our roster sorted by salary going into free agency:
Ouch. I don't see how we can afford to re-sign T Percy Mitchel, my best UFA. We start by cutting DT Blaine Ramsey, who was in the last year of a doubling contract. He shouldn't be too difficult to replace. More cuts will undoubtedly have to me made before training camp. We receive two interesting trade offers. The Bears offer their third WR and a second round pick (#32) for DE Mario Williams. Of course, it doesn't pass the fairness test, otherwise I would have taken it, given my cap situation and that it's Williams' contract year. St. Louis offered their #1 (twelfth overall) for QB Anthony Cole. I decline, though, to my horror, I now fear that 2015 will be a rebuilding year, as I count 12 starters who could walk after this year. There's no sense trading for the future now. Needless to say, I have a quiet free agency. I offer Mitchel an escalating $26.7m/3 in stage 6, but the Ravens overwhelm him with $41.56m/4. There's no way I can match that -- I've already cut T Hudson to make room for this offer. Mitchel follows the money in stage 9. I offer Raleigh T Monty Mathews an escalating $25m/4 in stage 10. He holds out on me, but sign in stage 12. I do nothing else in free agency, and will be counting on rookies to provide depth in several critical areas this year (the secondary, for one), and potential starters for 2015 and beyond.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-09-2001, 08:16 PM
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#7 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2014 Draft and Training Camp
Once again, we'll pick #24. The need list is growing. We need a nickel back immediately, one who can be trusted with a starting role as a second-year player. T is still a weak spot, and now WR has become a priority as well, as there are doubts whether or not Joe Bednarik has truly recovered in full from his elbow surgery. A quality QB slipping past the first three rounds would be welcome as well. As we go on the clock, two of the more appealing players are locals -- a DT from Florida State and a CB from Florida. The CB fills an immediate need, and the DT projects to be a merely adequate run-stopper, so I go with the CB.
Not a bad draft on paper, though I probably could have taken McCarthy in round 3 and taken a better T in round 2. In retrospect, I also could have waited another round for Wallace and selected one of three interesting RBs in round 5. Oh well. More cutting is needed to get to 53 for camp. G Bo Mayhew goes, as Frankie Yonkers should be ready for prime time. This gives us enough room to bring this group into training camp:
We're hoping for a breakout from DT Valencia, and that nobody else busts. The last in-state player I took in the first round busted -- I still have flashbacks. After camp:
Not much change in my scout's view of the draftees, for better or worse. It's interesting to note that, although Joe Bednarik's ratings haven't changed after training camp, my scout only downgraded him in the overview after camp. Stalwarts Jimmy Fitzgerald and Reuben Bryant are nearing the end of their careers. Our lofty goal is to get them to the dance.
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"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-09-2001, 10:59 PM
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#8 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2014 Season
We head into the year with a roster rating of 89, with Chicago having the next highest divisional rating of 41. Denver has the top rating, though there seems to be more yellow than usual this year. Once again, we're fortunate not to sustain a serious injury in pre-season. Interestingly, our last six games are against divisional foes. We start the regular season with a home 27-20 win over Denver. Delgado delighted the home crowd with a 64 yard TD run. Green Bay comes to town and humiliates us 31-3. Their S Deion Bates had 2 picks, 1 good for a TD, and was DPOW. Our lone free agent acquisition Matthews tore a calf muscle, leaving us very weak at T. We vent in Washington, defeating them 20-10. Next we host a big game with the Bears, and handle them easily, 26-7. Roderick Clegg went down with a knee injury, but Delgado carried the load with 111 yards and 2 TDs. After our bye we're 3-1, with Chicago and Detroit 3-2, and Minnesota and Green Bay 2-3. After our bye we win at Atlanta and Dallas, a signinficant win over the team that knocked us out of the playoffs last year. We go home to face San Francisco, and suffer another blowout at home, 38-10. TE Durham and LB Jacke are concussed, and will sit out the next game against Seattle. We handle the Hawks 19-0, as safeties Bishop and Fitzgerald scored our two TDs. At 6-2, we're tied with the Bears for first. Next we dominate Oakland 27-0, as Delgado and Darrin Mitchell each rush for over 100 yards and a score. WE return home to face the 7-2 Chiefs, who come back from a 21-7 deficit in the second quarter to take a 24-21 win, as we missed a last second 54 yard FG. We're still tied with the Bears at 7-3. We now start our run of 6 divisional games to end the regular season. We get T Monty Matthews back, but will miss CB Van Benson a couple of weeks with turf toe. QB Anthony Cole must have been injured early in our game in Detroit, as he didn't throw a pass. Understudy Jerome Bauer didn't turn the ball over, and Alfred Jacke and Kelly Bean scored in our 39-25 win. We're engaged in another shootout the following week, a 42-28 win in Minnesota, as Kenny Ramsey had 170 yards and 2 TDs receiving. We're now a game ahead of the Bears, who we now visit. A win here would just about give us the division, but a loss would leave us tied. We recover from a 17-7 deficit after 3 quarters and take a 20-17 lead. They have a final drive starting at their 41 with 2:28 left, and they march down the field before getting a 6 yard run for the winning TD with :27 left. Ouch. OUr remaining games are against Detroit, and Green Bay, and vs. Minnesota, teams with a combined 14-25 record, so we're still very alive in the divisional race. Or we were: Detroit 42, Tampa Bay 17. The Bears beat the Vikings, and have now clinched the divisional record tiebreaker over us. In Green Bay, we score a late TD to tie the game at 14, but yield more last-minute yardage, and a 54 yard FG at the gun sends us to a 17-14 defeat. From 9-3 and being 2:28 away from essentially clinching the division, we now need a win in our final game (or a San Francisco loss) to get the last wild card spot. Well, San Fran put up a 56-0 win, and Anthony Cole threw up six interceptions in a f'ugly 31-17 home loss against Minnesota. Very disheartening.
Chicago survived a tussle with the Eagles, 20-17, before rolling over Arizona and Cleveland to win it all. Our old friend Blaine Blackburn went 21-27 to earn the Super Bowl MVP. QB Anthony Cole: 81.0 rating (15 TDs, 18 INTs, 30 sacks, 62.5% comp, 7.98 ypa) RB Roderick Delgado: 213 carries, 1122 yards (5.2 avg), 9 TDs RB Darrin Mitchell: 112-476-5 (4.2 avg) WR Keith Addison: 66 catches, 1083 yards, 4 TDs, 5 drops DE Mario Williams: 14 sacks, 14 hurries, 4 blocks LB Alfred Jacke: 89 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 INT for a TD CB Van Benson: 43.9 PDQ (7 INTs, 5 passes defended, 14 GS) S Will Bishop: 34.2 PDQ (6 INTs, 6 pd), 93 tackles Team stats (Off/Def/NFL) Yards/rush: 4.2/3.8/3.9 Yards/pass: 7.8/6.2/6.8 Hmmm. We were +8 in turnovers, better than average on both sides of the ball, and wound up 9-7. Our offense was bad on third down (27.8% converted), but I suspect it was our 18 misses in 39 field goal attempts that did us in. We now get to look forward to an off-season where we could lose a massive amount of talent in free agency. I fear we squandered (or shanked) our last real shot at the playoffs for a while.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-10-2001, 07:55 PM
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#9 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2015 Pre-Draft
Well, I've finally been called on the carpet for spending too much of the owner's money. I'm sure missing the playoffs had something to do with it as well. We lost $65 mil last season, and that was with minimal free agent activity. Our franchise value is down to 30th, but I sense that's a function of all the free agents we have. FB Reuben Bryant retired. A fifth round pick in 2001 out of Texas-El Paso, Reuben was an integral part of our offense, rushing for 3,620 yards, and made contributions catching balls out of the backfield as well. He was first team All Pro 2003-2007 and 2009, and second team in 2010 and 2013. He should be the first person enshrined in our team hall of fame -- assuming I can keep this career going another three years.
With more than 60% of my cap room available, I'm in for one busy off-season. I'm clearly not going to be able to re-sign everyone, especially given grumpy ownership. I try to break my UFAs into groups. First, I absolutely must re-sign CB Van Benson and S Will Bishop. I would like S Jimmy Fitzgerald and G Clifton Jamison to finish their careers with us, and, since their demands shouldn't be too outrageous, I can live with them retiring mid-contract. I'm afraid RB Roderick Delgado and WR Keith Addison have played their final games for us. While they still clearly have something left in the tank for next year, I have my doubts after that, particularly for Addison. TE Aaron Durham wasn't that productive for us, and I'll look for a cheaper option. T Jon Pritchett, CB Marco Carabello, and DT Norman Blackwell aren't good enough to keep around at inflated prices. On to the "maybe" pile. I'll try to keep one of my DEs. My first preference would be to keep Mario Williams, as he finally fulfilled his potential as a pass-rushing force. However, a quick and dirty CBA should be done to see if the additional dollars he'll command over Alfred Nichols would be money well-spent. DT Seth Willis has been a reliable starter for us, but I fear he'll be pricey. Since all three of these linemen have high loyalty ratings, I 'll play the market, and send them a copy of the owner's e-mail as I beg them to take less money to stay with us. In stage 1 I start by offering Van Benson $28.8m/3, Will Bishop $19.6m/3, J-Fitz $10.9m/2, and San Fran WR Ty Bernard $21.4m/3. I find I'm not alone, not surprisingly. I bump Benson's offer to $29.4m and Bishop's to $21.6m (friggin' Green Bay), and realize that Ty Bernard will likely sign elsewhere for more bucks. Mario Williams has received a $35.04m/3 offer from Denver; I'll try my luck with $31.6m/3. I'm the only suitor for Fitzgerald for now. In stage 3 Benson and Fitzgerald re-sign with us, though Roderick Delgado ($33.66m/3) will be playing for Dallas, and Aaron Durham ($20.95m/4) moves on to the Eagles. I'm still the high bidder on Bishop. Keith Addison gets a $33.04m/4 offer from Cincy, and Seth Willis is offered $34.08m/3 by Bakersfield. I offer Willis $32.6m/3, and wish Addison well. I also throw $10.2m/2 Clifton Jamison's way. In stage 4 Addison goes to Buffalo ($32.34m/4), and Williams follows the money to Denver. We bump Jamison up to $10.7m to keep our offer the highest on an annual basis. Although I'm still the high bidder for Bishop, I'm getting antsy, and increase my offer to $22.05m/3. I resolve not to lose a player of his talent over a few hundred thousand. Jamison re-signs with us in stage 5, though I'm floored by the $45.5m the Bears offer Alfred Nichols. He may be, too, as he hasn't responded. Either that or he hasn't stopped cackling with glee. I pursue a cheaper alternative in the form of Dolphin DE Larry Lyle ($21.6m/3), who had 10.5 sacks last year. I also increase my offer to Seth Willis to $33m. Willis takes our offer in stge 6, and Lyle signs on in stage 7. Will Bishop must love the attention, as he's still sorting through offer after offer. We still have the highest offer out there, and Bishop does have a 100 loyalty rating, so I can't think of any other explanation. In stage 8 Norman Blackwell goes to Dallas, for $40.98m/4!!! Holy guacamole, talk about winning the lottery. I'm just about as happy as Blackwell in stage 9, when Bishop finally re-ups with us. Whew! At this point we have 31 players under contract, and $40.4m left in cap room. I decide to take it easy until the final stages and see what's left. Marco Carabello ($14.87m/2) goes to Arizona in stage 11, and Alfred Nichols, for whatever reason, waited until stage 13 to sign for his millions. Too late. I could try to re-sign him, but one of my younger DEs might take a leap forward, and then I'd be paying starter money for a backup. This isn't Dallas. In the late stages I sign 4 second year players, including WR Russell Hernandez ($13.2m/3), who, despite my scout's luke-warm opinion of his skills, caught 71 passes in his rookie year. I also sign a G and LB to bonus-free three-year deals, and a CB for $9m/3, including bonus. I still have some RFAs to re-sign, but I'll do that after the draft. I doubt any of them will suddenly become wildly popular in the meantime. We have some holes to fill in the draft, but it could have been a lot worse.
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"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-10-2001, 09:58 PM
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#10 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2015 Draft and Training Camp
With the #19 pick we probably won't be getting as big of an impact player as we would like. We need help at FB, TE, WR, T, and depth in the secondary. When our pick comes, we're intrigued by a Florida State CB, but we really need a starting WR, so we grab the one most ready to play now.
An odd draft. I have nagging doubts about my first two picks, but feel I got very good values in rounds 3, 4, and 6. We'll see. After some agonizing, I decide to sign RB Darrin Mitchell to him $23m+/3 contract. He's run well as a #2 back, and we'll need him with Delgado gone. We also re-sign TE Vince Rock, S Chuck Bensen, and, surprisingly, QB Jerome Bauer, who only asked for $9.8m/3. I never even bothered to check beforehand, as I simply assumed he was going to request $40m. We receive a surprising trade offer from Detroit: next year's sixth round pick for FB Deon Hamilton. Hamilton's been displaced as a starter, so I eagerly do a reality check. It almost passes; I settle for a seventh rounder. Having cap room for a change, I bring on a number of rookie free agents, desparately hoping for a breakout. We head into camp with this squad:
We're really grasping at straws at QB, but it's worth a shot. We get down to these final 53:
Again, nothing dramatic with the rookie class. We cut livid G Bo Loudon, as $3.6m for a backup is prohibitively expensive. Surprisingly, C Lenny Wicker's potential didn't diminish after camp - he may be a worthy cheap option for starting job next year. I don't have a read on this team. We'll miss Delgado, Addison, and Bryant for sure. Anthony Cole's 6 interception game in last season's finale is another source of offensive anxiety. With an extra QB on the roster, I'll be keeping a watchful eye on him. We should be fine defensively, though. After last year's laughable unmet goal, I'm keeping silent now.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-11-2001, 05:10 PM
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#11 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2015 Season
We start out with the third highest roster rating (76), behind Pittsburgh's 100 and Cleveland's 80. Chicago and Detroit are next in the division with 42. Although we stay reasonably healthy through pre-season, we're outscored 96-19 and go 0-4. We start the regular season in Miami and, with a balanced attack, get a 28-14 win. J-Fitz gets the game ball with a 57 TD INT return, although Seth Willis tore a thumb ligament. We come out flat in Green Bay, and lose 20-10 in a game we were never really in. Washington spoils our home opener 20-17, as S Mack Kresser was DPOTW with 2 INTs and a TD. WR Joe Bednarik is out with a sprained back, his second serious injury in three years. His ratings take an additional hit. We now have to go to Chicago, who have to use backup QB Steve Jackson. We thought this was a good break, until Jackson throws for 383 yards and gets OPOTW in a 47-22 laugher. Anthony Cole isn't laughing, but writhing after sustaining a dislocated knee. He was playing decently (73.4), but now we see what Jerome Bauer is made of. He gets to practice with the first team during our bye week. After our bye we're mired in last at 1-3. Detroit's in first at 3-1-1, and Chicago and Green Bay are right there at 3-2. Bauer's first start is ugly: 17-43, 0 TDs, 3 INTs, as the Saints whip us at home 24-10. C Curtis Stone suffered a broken arm, and will miss most of our remaining games. We now host perennial power Philadelphia. We get three big plays, the last a 68 yard TD run by Jessie Raymond as we surpise the Eagles 21-16. We're unable to take advantage, as a 17-13 loss in Carolina drops us to 2-5, and LBs Blackburn and Iverson are dropped by dislocated elbows. We look to be done, but Jerome Bauer throws two TD passes to Jonathan Chesser in the final 6:01 to pull out a 21-20 win in Naptown. Any delusions we have of joining the playoff race are disspelled by the Jets 34-7, and Raleigh 45-14. Anthony Cole is fully healthy now, and is re-activated. We were 2-4 in games Bauer started, hardly inspiring. Cole returns against the Lions, and does nothing in a 17-7 home loss. Seth Willis now returns, and we bounce back with a 15-3 win over the Vikings. We proceed to beat Chicago, Detroit, and Green Bay to get to 7-8, out of playoff contention, but with a good enough record to avoid a top 5 draft pick. Cole bruised his shoulder against the Pack, so Bauer gets to start in Minnesota. A 10-0 loss was the result, as we end the year at 7-9.
The 8-8 Eagles got hot in the postseason, beating the Saints 17-16, Bears 23-17, and 49ers 34-7, before going to Jacksonville and becoming the first 8-8 team to take the Super Bowl with a 28-22 win. CB Charlie Meadows was MVP with 3 interceptions. QB Anthony Cole: 81.4 rating (8/7, 16 sacks, 61.6%, 6.97 ypa, 245 att) QB Jerome Bauer: 65.4 rating (8/10, 16 sacks, 54.9% comp, 5.70 ypa, 242 att) RB Roderick Clegg: 156-798 (5.1 avg), 5 TDs, 14 G RB Jessie Raymond: 117-495 (4.2 avg), 4 TDs WR Jonathan Chesser: 76-1067 (14.0 avg), 5 TDs, 4 drops WR Russell Hernandez: 68-742 (10.9 avg), 4 TDs, 9 drops S Will Bishop: 39.0 PDQ (5 INTs, 12 passes defended) Team stats (Off/Def/NFL): Yards/rush: 4.1/3.5/3.7 Yards/pass: 6.3/6.9/6.8 Of my departed free agents, Keith Addison had the best statistical year, with 73-974-3. TE Aaron Durham had the ebst year by getting a ring, and Roderick Delgado rushed for a mere 572 yards (4.2 avg) in 16 starts. We weathered some injuries to key players and wound up with a respectable record. We'll try to improve next year without the services of Anthony Cole, who's now an URA.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-11-2001, 09:11 PM
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#12 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2016 Pre-Draft
Our franchise value is up to a respectable 20th, but that's not my problem. With a heavy bonus year, a poor start to hamper attendance, and our final stadium payment, we lost, ahem, $116m. Needless to say, the owner is "seriously concerned" about this, and, if not corrected soon, I'll need to find work elsewhere. I'm betting this career on extra suite revenue making us close enough to profitable to placate the greedy prick. More bad news. Jimmy Fitzgerald retired. A second round 2001 draft pick from Nebraska, he retired with a PDQ of 39.9 and 86 interceptions, currently the record. He was more consistent than spectacular, although his monster year in 2012 (11 picks) earned him Defensive Player of the Year. A fan favorite, Fitzgerald will now tend to his chain of auto dealerships. BTW, Keith Addison also retired after getting his juicy bonus. The contracts of our scout and coach are up. Both are asking for hefty raises, and I'll have to look elsewhere. Jeremy Sawson is asking for $550k a year, more than double his current salary, and coach Johnny Strickland is looking for $4.92m, a > 50% raise. I go after an unproven scout, Willie Sharkey, witgh an offer of $250k per for 4 years. I don't come across an inexpensive coach who I like, so I lay out of the coaching scramble. Sharkey, 46, immediately grabs his first chance at being a head scout. His ratings are F/G/G/F/VG/G/F/VG/G. I skip another stage without moving for a coach, and notice that nobody has approached Johnny Strickland. Just for fun, I decide to lowball him: $3.1m per for 3 seasons. If he was insulted, he didn't show it, since he accepted, and will return for his 17th season with us. Ownership should now note that we have the lowest scouting and coaching costs in the league. I get two trade offers for a RB. Cleveland offers a second round pick (#52) for Darrin Mitchell, and New Orleans offers a second rounder (#57) for Jessie Raymond. For some reason, my previous scout downgrade Mitchell last year, but he still has averaged over 4 ypc for us, and is a good receiver as well. I pursue the offer for Raymond, and, after the fairness test intervenes, I get the Saints' thrid round pick. Here's the roster after that trade:
It seems we will be bidding adieu to QB Anthony Cole (too expensive, and probably "too good" for the spirit of this challenge), C Curtis Stone (have two capable RFA Cs that will sign cheaply), as well as RB Roderick Clegg, DE Christian Bettencourt, and LB Brett Iverson (all will be too expensive). If any of these guys slip through free agency, I'll consider re-signing them (except for Ivberson). I will aggresively pursue LB Alfred Jacke, as a 2 time All Pro player is worth keeping. I start Jacke off with a $24.6m/3 offer. Since Joe Bednarik's ratings haven't rebounded, I decide to make a run at Jacksonville WR Blake Garnett ($25.8m/3), who se average season is about 70-900. An added bonus is that Garnett is a Florida State "alum." Jacke re-signs immediately, and I'm high bidder on Garnett. The Eagles offer Roderick Clegg $24.52m/2, and the Broncos offer Curtis Stone $25.19m/3, well out of my price range. Clegg goes to Philly in stage 3, but Garnett joins us in stage 4. Seeing that my FA DEs will be too expensive, I find a familiar name in the free agent pool, and offer Cornelius Parker, a former first round pick of ours who went to the Raiders, $13.8m/2. I still have the highest offer to Parker in stage 5, as Curtis Stone goes to Denver. The Broncos are now offering Anthony Cole $50.91/3. In stage 7 Parker signs up for his second tour of duty, and Cole goes to Raleigh for $30.15m/2. I make a couple of additional moves. My free agent heist may be LB Tyrone Humphrey, who signed with us for $4.8m/2. My scout has him with current ratings in the 40s, with coverage potentials over 70. Athough not really a need position, he appears to be too big of a bargain to pass up. We sign a P and a second-year T in the final 2 stages to bonus-free deals, and re-sign our RFA centers , Tyrell Wallace for one year, and Lenny Wicker for 3. This wraps up a relatively cheap free agent period for us. After the financial constraints impose onus, we'll be especially alert on draft day for (inexpensive) help in the skill positions.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-11-2001, 10:11 PM
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#13 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2016 Draft and Training Camp
We have the #12 pick in each round. We also have the Saints' third round and the Lions seventh round picks as well. We need help just about everywhere on the offensive side, and we also need to find a suitable replacement for Jimmy Fitzgerald. It's a lousy class for RBs, although there are 3 top safeties that I can choose from. One looks like a bust, the others appear stellar. I choose the slightly less talented one because he went to Miami.
There were two TEs I had my eyes on in round 2. Although there were other TEs similarly rated in the combine, I grabbed one while I could, hoping a WR would drop down to me in round 3. Predictably, the WR was taken #18 in the second round, and the other TE went late in the fifth. Apart form that miscalculation, I feel pretty good about the draft. Sadly, I have to cut WR Joe Bednarik. Once again, I nearly hit my maximum for training camp attendees. This is the mob I bring in:
It's very interesting that my new scout ranks Wesley Brant ahead of Jerome Bauer already. This will be an interesting camp ...
All is well with the rookies. Brant's ratings remained constant, which was good enough to beat Bauer out for the starting job. We cut overpaid 4th stringer Lewis Ellis. We also trade RB Middleton to Detroit for next year's second round pick and an overpaid TE who was immediately cut. I was shocked that the trade passed muster. My 19th and 20th stage signings both got cut. BooHoo. This is clearly going to be a rebuilding year. We're going with a rookie QB and TE, and have little depth at RB and WR. Our defense should be fine, but I fear our offense will put them in compromising positions. Since I'm so bad remembering to denote the local players, I'll start including traditional roster views. I took this from mid-year, so the inactivates may look odd.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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02-18-2001, 11:21 AM
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#14 |
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H.S. Freshman Team
Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: Lawn Gisland, NY
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2016 Season
Despite my mediocre 2015, we've actually sold more season tickets than last year. Hopefully this means that our new luxury boxes will be mostly filled. Our feeble roster rating of 58 is actually highest in the division, with Chicago's 22(!?) being the next higest. As usual, the Steelers have highest roster rating. We have one signiifcant pre-season injury. C Lenny Wicker has a strectched knee ligament that he will try to play through. We start the regular season off with three home games, including two against our supposedly weak division foes. We'll need to get off to a good start to be in the playoff chase, it would seem. Tough to do with a rookie QB. In week 1, my QB fears are realized, as Brant threw 4 picks (one returned for a TD) in a 28-21 loss to the Lions. Detroit scored in the final minute to pull this one out. Week 2 was even uglier, as Green Bay, behind OPOTW Nicky Clayton's 348 passing years and 4 TDs, roll us 41-14. We manage a 16-10 win against the Cardinals, as we went a whole game without committing a turnover. Our lone TD was scored by Jonathan Chesser, on a kickoff return. We next head to Detroit, where the Lions get to 4-0 with a 27-0 thrashing of us. Brant was knocked out after completing his first 10 passes, with 9 actually being caught by our receivers. Jerome Bauer was an ugly 6-19-72-0-1 in relief. We now have the unfortunate duty to play in Pittsburgh, and get shut out again, 23-0. It's hard to win when you don't get to the red zone. Once again, Brant got knocked out, this time even before he could attempt a pass. On to Chicago, where Brant only threw 2 passes before departing. Very odd. We actually held a 6-3 halftime lead, and were up 16-9 after a Lester Tuttle FG with 1:18 left. Our special teams let us down, as the Bears returned the kickoff to our 29, and scored three plays later to tie the game. We got 4 yards in our lone OT possession and lost 19-16. We stagger home to face the Saints. We're lucky that their starting QB is out, and their backup is about as bad as our collection of stiffs, and we finally win 31-17. Darrin Mitchell was OPOTW with 153 yards rushing and 2 TDs, and Wesley Brant actually completed a game, throwing for 199 yards without turning the ball over. A good note to go into our bye week. After week 8 the Lions are 7-0, the Bears are 6-2, and we're playing out the string. We get slaughtered in Washington 38-10, as Brant reverted to form and threw three picks. Of course, our 28 yards of rushing didn't give him much help. Our next game was a defensive struggle against the Browns. We were up 9-3 with 4 minutes left in the fourth when our punt from midfield was blocked. We held the Browns to a FG, but we went 3 and out, and the Brownies needed 3 plays to get into position to try a 48 yard FG. Which was good. OT was a punting exhibition, and the final score was 9-9. Wesley Brant broke three ribs, and is done for the year. We move the ball well in Carolina the following week, but are undone by Jerome Bauer's 4 INTs as we lose 21-14. Interestingly, my scout was very concerned about starting QB when Brant was playing, but has no reservations about Bauer. I check Brant's ratings, which are much worse than after training camp. Granted, he's injured now, but I wonder if his current ratings dropped before his injury, as my doofus scout was "very concerned" about Brant from week 1. Very odd. We get a whopping 132 yards of total offense in a 23-10 loss in Dallas, before ending the year by winning 3 of our final 5 games. In each of our wins, rookie S Joe Francis was the game MVP, getting a DPOTW award for good measure. At the end of the year, our scout has "no serious concerns" about any of our starters. Look at the standings, Jack:
Raleigh was an absolute force in the post-season, ending their run with a 45-9 destruction of Carolina. It must have gotten out of hand very early, as there were no noteworthy offensive or defensive performances. Speaking of no worthy offensive performances, QB Jerome Bauer: 51.1 rating (3 TDs, 13 INTs, 24 sacks, 52.8% complete, 4.55 ypa) QB Wesley Brant: 60.0 rating (6 TDs, 10 INTs, 12 sacks, 57.1% complete, 5.23 ypa) RB Jerome Baggett: 135-756-2, (5.6 avg), long of 98 RB Darrin Mitchell: 191-638-6 (3.3 avg) WR Jonathan Chesser: 57-648, 2 TDs, 6 drops, 2 return TDs TE Richard Summers: 38-343, 3 TDs, 1 drop LB Alfred Jacke: 121 tackles, 45 assists, 3.5 sacks S Joe Francis: 35.6 PDQ, 5 INTs, 7 passes defended Team stats (Off/Def/NFL): Yards/rush: 3.7/3.0/3.7 Yards/pass: 4.8/6.5/6.6 It's painfully obvious where this team's problems lie. We desparately need help with our passing game, particularly at QB, from where we threw 5 INTs that were brought back for touchdowns. That wasted a good year from our defense, as we were only -9 in turnover margin, despite our putrid play at QB. Also, Alfred Jacke made first team All Pro LB, and S Joe Francis was named Defensive Player of the Year.
__________________
"To all of those here who work in marketing or advertising: kill yourselves." -- Bill Hicks "Christianity's such an odd religion. The whole image is that eternal suffering awaits anyone who questions God's infinite love" -- Bill Hicks |
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