MP: eNFL - Your Defending Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams (2006)

[Pyser]

this is my first dynasty, but have been thinking about starting one for a while. this is also an attempt to get more people interested in the eNFL, though to be fair, we do have a full league almost all of the time. so without further ado, the backstory.


The eNFL is based on real rosters, real players, real teams, etc. The idea is for it to be as realistic as the game allows. We as a league have added a few rules to keep the game as balanced as possible, and they can be viewed here.

I was not with this league when it first started, but came in during its first season. When I joined i asked for any open team, and just one day later the St. Louis Rams came open, so I eagerly accepted.

As soon as I took control, I realized one major difference between this Rams team and most other FOF Rams teams: Kurt Warner was gone. The "previous regime" had traded Warner for, essentially, a bag of peanuts. Warner was shipped off to the Steelers for backup WR Antwaan Randle El, a backup QB, and a potential first round pick, based on how many yards Warner threw for.

The Rams struggled with Bulger in my first year, and we posted a 9-7 record, just good enough to make the playoffs. However, in the playoffs, we upset 2 better teams and made it all the way to the NFC Championship game, where we fell to the Eagles. The Raiders won the Super Bowl.

The "previous regime" had also made a few other moves before leaving. They re-signed potential free agents Adam Timmerman (guard), Orlando Pace (tackle), and Grant Wistrom (de) to mega-deals, each averaging about $5-mil a season. This in itself was not bad, but the fact that Warner's trade would cost us over $10-mil in dead cap space in the upcoming year meant we could not keep everyone.

So as the new year began (2004), we had to clear cap space quickly. Timmerman was quickly shipped off to the champion Raiders for stud center Adam Treu and backup guard Mo Collins. The Rams already had a strong center, but without Timmerman, we had a huge hole at LG. So we moved Treu over to fill the gap...and he quikcly lost almost all of his ratings.

Undetered, Isaac Bruce was next to go. He was fresh off a 1400-yard season, but in his 11th year and making over $6-mil. He was sent to Minnesota to form a ridiculously good wr corp (teaming with Randy Moss), in exchange for MLB E.J. Henderson, who was young but promising, and backup WR Kelly Cambell.

The next to go was Orlando Pace. He underperformed, I felt, and I just wasn't a fan of his big salary (though I am a fan of a strong o-line). I felt the offense was the Rams biggest strength, and the defense was a liability. So in a very large trade, we sent Pace, a backup CB, and a late round pick in 2006 to Miami for CB Patrick Surtain (coming off a 12-pick year), and T Mark Dixon, who would fill in at tackle until we found someone better.

Still not content with my defense, we went hunting for a difference-maker. It just so happened that NFC West counterpart Seattle was clearing out veterans, and they happened to have the best OLB in the game in Anthony Simmons. We wanted him badly, and paid dearly to get him (mainly because Seattle was reluctant to trade within the division). We traded BOTH first round picks (we picked up the Steelers' late first rounder in the Warner trade), OLB Polley, who was decent but annoyed be that he was too light to play anything but WLB, a backup mentor guard, and a 4th rounder for Simmons.

It was a lot to trade, and boy did we look foolish when they used our picks to move up to the 3rd pick in the draft to take the next Lawrence Taylor, named Geoff Consulo (who only has 40 sacks in his first 2 years). Nevertheless, we had rebuilt the D (2 new lb's, and a stud cb), and were ready for the new year.


2004 went well, as we went 12-4. We made it all the way to the big dance, but unfortunately lost 17-14.


In 2005, we tinkered more with our roster. Our big center Wohlabaugh retired, which was a shock. He anchored our line. So when we picked up the best WR in the game in Tyrone Calico, we also had the Titants throw in their backup center, who would end up starting for us this season.

We also sent stopgap tackle Mark Dixon and backup rb Lamar Gordon to the Colts for 3rd year starting tackle Steve Sciullo (who was young, but good enough to start and learn on the job), and backup RB Ricky Williams (the, uh, other ricky williams).

The other notable acquisition was backup QB Shaun King, who has very average ratings, but is a player we felt fit our system well.

As the season started, I figured it would be the Calico trade that put us over the edge. I was right, but not for the reason I thought. The center we picked up played his heart out, and solidified our offensive line. He finished with a 35.5 blocking percentage, and only allowed 3 sacks. And is only in his 2nd year. Sweet! But the moves that really helped up were picking up Shaun King and Ricky Williams.

Both Bulger and Faulk went down for about 5 weeks, at the same time this season. And King led the Rams to a 4-1 record in Bulgers absence. Williams picked up 350 yards in his 4 starts while Faulk rested. And we finished the season 12-4, with everyone healthy.

When the playoffs started, I was a bit apprehensive. Our passing D hadn't been too hot all year, and Bulger had only tossed 9 td's during the season (compared to 30 the year before).

We started out against the Saints, who were led by Peyton Manning. But the offense got hot and the defense played strong, and we won 27-17.

The next week we went against Kerry Collins and the Giants. But Bulger stayed hot again, and we blew by the strong G-men 34-14.

This put us back in the big game, this time against the Chiefs. Led by their explosive O, they shot out to a 14-0 lead. But our defense suddenly showed up, picked off Green 3 times, and Bulger played the game of his life. Bulger tossed 6 (SIX!) td passes, and we won going away 45-28.


The Rams are a team built to win now, and they had. But now the real challenge begins. We are hard pressed for cap room, and have a huge number of star players entering the final year of their contracts. We also have every team gunning for us because we are the champs. And oh yeah, our star QB is not under contract. Here we go!

[jeff061]

Cool, a third eNFL dynasty(if Pass's is still alive), the more the better. And about the Rams to, I like the kind of team you've put together.

[Pyser]

OK, now that the backstory is out of the way, we can get more detailed.

Here's a look at my roster, at the start of the 2006 off-season:

Front Office Football 2004
St. Louis Rams Roster, Scout Overview
   
  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Detmer, Koy             4   QB          8    20                28                2 yrs
King, Shaun             2   QB          8    30                44                2 yrs
Bulger, Marc            10  QB          7    66                66                ---  
Brandon, A.J.           17  QB          2    18                36                ---  
Faulk, Marshall         28  RB          13   74                74                3 yrs
Harris, Arlen           33  RB          4    42                44                2 yrs
Williams, Ricky         25  RB          5    34                38                2 yrs
Compton, Bryce          48  RB          2    28                31                2 yrs
Comella, Greg           47  FB          9    39                39                4 yrs
Cleeland, Cameron       87  TE          9    39                39                2 yrs
Mili, Itula             83  TE          9    46                46                1 yr.
Kent, Rashod            82  TE          6    24                31                1 yr.
Holt, Torry             81  FL          8    58                58                4 yrs
Randle El, Antwaan      88  FL          5    43                46                2 yrs
Calico, Tyrone          86  FL          4    85                85                1 yr.
Campbell, Kelly         85  SE          5    34                37                1 yr.
MdDonald, Shaun         84  SE          4    29                39                ---  
Shapiro, Gilbert        57  C           4    22                41                ---  
Buehrig, Dominic        56  C           3    39                52                2 yrs
Brzezinski, Doug        69  LG          8    39                39                1 yr.
Dillon, Carlos          63  LG          3    21                38                ---  
Collins, Mo             65  RG          9    28                28                3 yrs
Sullivan, Marques       62  RG          6    51                51                3 yrs
Williams, Grant         77  LT          11   33                33                1 yr.
Stinchcomb, Jon         71  LT          4    34                43                2 yrs
Houzah, Ike             70  LT          2    28                57                3 yrs
Turley, Kyle            68  RT          9    80                80                3 yrs
Sciullo, Steve          79  RT          4    36                44                ---  
Zastudil, Dave          11  P           5    45                45                ---  
Wilkins, Jeff           14  K           13   62                62                2 yrs
Little, Leonard         91  LDE         9    51                55                2 yrs
Garrett, Ike            95  LDE         3    40                44                2 yrs
Wistrom, Grant          98  RDE         9    70                70                1 yr.
Fisher, Bryce           94  RDE         6    28                35                2 yrs
Young, Brian            66  LDT         7    45                45                2 yrs
Lewis, Damione          92  LDT         6    57                58                4 yrs
Kennedy, Jimmy          73  RDT         4    24                26                1 yr.
Heard, Clarence         76  RDT         4    30                35                ---  
Morrissey, Walt         99  WILB        4    26                43                ---  
Duncan, Jamie           59  MLB         9    40                40                2 yrs
Henderson, E.J.         53  MLB         4    66                66                1 yr.
Simmons, Anthony        51  SLB         9    83                83                1 yr.
Mitchell, Lionel        50  SLB         3    25                36                1 yr.
Bullard, Courtland      52  WLB         5    23                35                1 yr.
Tinoisamoa, Pisa        60  WLB         4    43                50                1 yr.
Sehorn, Jason           42  LCB         12   47                47                2 yrs
Weary, Fred             32  LCB         9    39                39                2 yrs
Shepherd, Jacoby        44  LCB         7    28                35                2 yrs
Surtain, Patrick        23  RCB         9    58                58                2 yrs
Groce, DeJuan           22  RCB         4    37                47                ---  
Archuleta, Adam         31  SS          6    59                60                4 yrs
Walton, Shane           38  FS          4    32                45                ---  
   
$$ - player is in starting lineup, ## - player is inactive.  
   
Players Under Contract: 41
Inactive: 0
On Active Roster: 41
   
Salary Cap: $98,100,000
Cap Room: $13,850,000
Maximum for New Player: $10,250,000
Cap Room Lost (to old contracts): $1,420,000
   
Cap Room Lost Next Year (to old contracts): $0
Cap Room Required Next Year: $68,960,000

[Pyser]

hmm, dont know why the right side gets cut off, but oh well.


As you can see above, I have a good number of players in the last year of their deal. And they all want to be paid like the champions they are. Amongst them:

- All 3 starting Linebackers
- Stud DE Wistrom
- Stud WR Calico
- Both TE's (I platoon)
- Starting LG

That doesn't even include the starting QB and starting RT not under contract now. So I've got my work cut out for me. These are all players that want top notch money, and there simply isn't enough to go around.

Luckily, my starting RT, Sciullo, is a restricted free agent, so I shouldn't have a problem keeping him, unless he is asking for the moon (and after allowing 11 sacks last year, he better not be!).

Next up, staff hiring.

[Pyser]

Oh, also forgot to mention that our safety, Aeneas Williams, has retired. He was injured for a lot of last season, but the 2 years before that he had over 100 tackles in each year. And he was a machine in coverage. We expected him to retire, but if he didn't, he wouldn't have been a Ram, anyway. He was asking for about $3-mil a year to extend his deal, and we coulnd't give that to a player in his 15th year. So, on the eve of free agency, he opted to leave a champ rather than get one last paycheck from some other team.


Staff Hiring is next. It'd take a lot to get me to replace anyone on my staff. My head coach, Darrell Sutton, has taken me to 2 straight Super Bowls, and he's only 45. His ratings: g, vg, g, g, vg.

Our 2 coordinators we picked up 2 off-seasons ago. Each has already been a head coach in the league. Offense coordinator Archie Weiser was the Bengals head coach in 2003, but was fired. We quickly snapped him up to head up our offense. He is now 65, so we don't know how long he'll be around. His ratings: avg, vg, avg, exc, vg. The excellent is on the o-line, which I think has really helped us out, since we've plugged in some younger guys, and have a lot of turnover at that unit every year.

Our Defensive Coordinator is 64 year old Doug Jefferson. In 2003, he was the head coach of the Bears. He took them to the playoffs, and they've had top 4 draft picks since that run. His ratings: g, vg, exc, f, f. With Jefferson at the helm, we allowed the fewest points in the league last year.

Even if a head coach came along rated "excellent" at every position, I wouldn't be interested. Part of why I like the eNFL so much is realism, and replacing a head coach fresh off a super bowl win doesn't make any sense. I'm not planning on replacing anyone, so I sit the first week out.

In the second week, the Detroit Lions replaced their defensive coordinator. Ordinarily, I wouldn't report this. But the man they fired, Davind Landon, caught my eye. His ratings: avg, vg, exc, g, f.

Landon's ratings are almost identical to Jefferson's. They are both rated the same on the defensive line, linebackers, and young talent. Jefferson is a bit better with punters, but Landon is better with the secondary. Plus, Landon is only 38, so he could still improve.

I think a lot about this. Would a new defensive coordinator be brought in to defend a super bowl title? I don't think so, unless the previous one left to become a head coach. However, the similarities in the coaches, plus the age difference, has me intrigued.

I finally decide to offer Landon the job, for only $400k a year. This would save $1.6-mil -- enough to justify the switch in my mind.

Landon takes us up on the offer. We bring in a bright young mind, who we hope just didn't have the skilled players he needed in Detroit to make it work. If anyone was fired this year, I'd of thought I'd fire the offensive coordinator, since we didn't perform as well as I thought we could with all that offensive talent. But Landon is stronger with the secondary, and that was our biggest weakness, so we'll see if it pays off.

Next up, franchising players.

[Pyser]

Trade News:

Trade #1: I should back up. Just as the playoffs were starting last season, it was announced that the Denver Broncos had hired a new GM. This is a team in a world of cap trouble, so I asked the new GM what the plan was. He was looking to unload veterans for future picks, which intrigued me.

At the time, Aeneas Williams contract was weeks away from expriring, and I knew I woulnd't extend him. Jason Sehorn was also about to become a free agent, and he'd been starting at LCB for me for 3 years. So I knew my secondary could be one loss away from being dismantled.

I asked the Broncos what 5 different players would cost, including a few guys in the secondary. When he told me each players prices, I decided I couldn't wait. Before I had even played my first playoff game, we had traded Our 2007 1st round pick, along with a 2006 5th rounder and a 2007 4th, for LCB Samari Rolle (rated 78/78 by my scout), Dexter Jackson, a strong enough Free Safety to comfortably say goodbye to Aeneas Williams, and RB Shaun Alexander, for no real reason Alexander could step in a start if Faulk had retired, but in the meantime, he's just a nice insurance policy.


Trade #2: The Broncos trade gave me an excess of backup running backs, but we were running decidely low on picks. I put last years 3rd string RB (this years 4th string) Arlen Harris on the trade blocks, and Miami came in with a decent offer. Not willing to play around too much and lose a quick trade, plus being uncomfortably close to the cap, we sent Harris packing for a 6th rounder this year, and a 7th rounder next year.


Trade #3: Our starting DT, Jimmy Kennedy, was lost for the entire season with a preseason injury. Unfortunately, the majority of his skills are now gone. I like a deep d-line rotation, mainly because FOF likes deep d-line injuries. We got by with only 3 dt's last year, but don't want to risk it again. So we worked out a deal with Arizona. DT Wendell Bryant and 'zona's 7th rounder next year for my 5th this year.

Only one problem. I sent the Broncos my 5th rounder this year in the Rolle trade. Damn! Talks with Arizona are ongoing, but the trade may not happen now.



Finally, it came time to franchise Bulger. There was never a school of thought not to, but the price is high. Bulger, who turned down multiple offers from us last year, including a 7 year, $70-mil deal, will be tagged at $8.3-million this year.

Looking around the league, specifically the NFC, the Saints and Cardinals each have qb's that will probably also be tagged. It'll be interested to see who ends up with the biggest deal after renegotiating: Bulger, the Saints Manning, or the Cardinals Dilfer.


Just to clear some extra space for Bulger, we cut DT Kennedy, who was injured all last year and lost his skills, along with 4th qb Koy Detmer, who we wasted a 7th rounder on in a panicked trade 2 years ago to get some depth behind Bulger.

[SplitPersonality1]

Nice job so far Pyser. Now I have yet another eNFL dynasty to read.

I was toying with starting a eNFL dynasty of my own. but haven't due to lack of time.

Again, great stuff. Hope to see you in the big game at the end of the season.

[jeff061]

You rat bastard YOU got Rolle. I would of jumped all over him.

[Pyser]

Holy Crap!!!

Some interesting moves in the Franchise stage.

First off, the biggest news. Peyton Manning was NOT tagged. The top QB in the game (with apologies to Brett Favre) has had a rocky career in the eNFL so far. He started his first year in Indy, where he threw 16 tds and 21 ints. He also turned down about 10 different contract proposals, and a furious Indy owner shipped him off to the Saints for a kings ransom, that included Deuce McAllister, Joe Horn, draft picks, and more.

Peyton responded by throwing a total of 38 td's and only 10 int's in his 2 seasons in New Orleans, but again, he never accepted a long term deal, and kept being tagged by the Saints. But the Saints have given up, and the dangerous 9th year QB is a free, and soon very very rich, man. He is asking for a 6 yr, $74 mil deal, with $20-mil up front. I just hope he doesn't come into the NFC West, I'd hate to play him twice a year. In fact, I hope he ends up the in the AFC.

The other QB I expected to be tagged, Trent Dilfer, was also allowed to walk free from Arizona. Arizona had a bad year last year, despite bringing in 4 defensive superstars, but how can they win with no QB? They must have a plan...but I wont mind not seeing Dilfer twice a year, as well.

Some players were tagged, though.

Kenny Peterson, DT, Green Bay ($4.65-mil)
Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis ($6.04-mil)
Pat Williams, DT, Miami ($4.75-mil)
Seth Payne, DT, Minnesota ($4.85-mil)
Joe Andruzzi, G, New England ($4.42-mil)
Charles Woodson, CB, Oakland ($6.06-mil)
Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh ($6.25-mil)
Chris Hope, S, Seattle ($3.72-mil)
Julian Peterson, OLB, San Francisco ($5.05-mil)
Marc Bulger, QB, St. Louis ($8.37-mil)
Chris Samuels, T, Washington ($6.34-mil)
Jamal Lewis, RB, Baltimore ($4.52-mil)

There were also some trades announced:

Atlanta receives Ashley Lelie
Denver receives Atlantas 2006 and 2007 2nd rounders

Odd trade. I know Denver is trying to save money, but Lelie is a great WR, and only making $700k this year, and $840k next year. Hardly breaking the bank. However, Denver does pick up 2 early picks, which they will need very badly to replace their expensive, departed veterans.

Houston receives DE Kevin Carter
Detroit receives WR David Patten

I LOVE the way Detroit is building their team. They are exceptionally strong in the draft every year, and make very basic trades, while they wait for Joey Harrington to hit his stride. And that's what this trade is about. Young WR Charles Rogers has missed the past season and a half with a devastating injury that robbed him of most of his ratings. He has returned though, and may make the team. But Harrington cant count on him. So Detroit went out and picked up a very solid WR who will immediately become Harrington's favorite target, in exchange for an aging Kevin Carter. Carter is in the last year of his deal, and had an awful season last year, with only 3 sacks. He had 25 in the 2 years before. However, Houston had too many good WR's to go around, and not enough solid DE's. Each team traded from strength. Expect Carter to line up at LDE and bolster a young team on the rise.

Tampa Bay receives G Brian Waters
Miami receives QB Brad Johnson and S Jermaine Phillips

Whoa. A franchise QB and starting safety for...a guard?! Let's examine. Tampa Bay was in cap trouble this year, and Brad Johnson was costing way too much for a backup QB. That's right, a backup. The Bucs picked up their QB of the future last draft, but who knew the future would arrive so soon? After the Bucs started 1-7, the rookie stepped in, and took them all the way to 8-7, before losing the last game and missing the playoffs. So Johnson was a goner. They threw in a decent safety who barely even dressed last year, and picked up some much needed o-line help. Still, you've got to like this deal for Miami, even though it certainly helps both teams.

Seattle receives QB Jay Fiedler
Miami receives a 2006 3rd round pick

Here's the fallout from the Brad Johnson trade. The Fins obviously think Brad Johnson's awful year is behind him, because they have no one to back him up now. Fiedler played decently last year with no real WR's to throw to. A 3rd rounder seems about right. Seattle picks up a solid qb to start over Kordell Stewart, which is a win, no matter what it costs. That it was only a 3rd is a good deal.

A few other deals are being held up for cap reasons, and will be posted when they become official.


And finally, some big players were released:

Denver releases DT Daryl Gardener
Denver releases DE Trevor Pryce
Denver releases K Jason Elam

It's ashame the Broncos couldn't get any value for these players, beacuse they are GOOD. But such is life in the eNFL when you are way over the cap. At least the Broncos picked up some premium picks in other trades.

[Pyser]

Originally Posted by SplitPersonality1

Nice job so far Pyser. Now I have yet another eNFL dynasty to read.

I was toying with starting a eNFL dynasty of my own. but haven't due to lack of time.

Again, great stuff. Hope to see you in the big game at the end of the season.

thanks. isnt it nice to have a rainy day and absolutely nothing to do? was a good chance to start this up.

Originally Posted by Jeff061

You rat bastard YOU got Rolle. I would of jumped all over him.

I hope he stays healthy, unlike Surtain. But you can have Sehorn if you want.

Thanks for reading, guys!

[Nwobhm]

I love the trade analysis..looking forward to your ongoing dynasty

[Pyser]

with us now able to negotiate with members of our team, I took a quick look at our "big men". It's definitely a mixed bag.

First, we have to get Bulger's contract under control. We can't pay him over $8-mil this year. So we start contract talks, and boy did his missing over 5 games last year hurt him. After turning down $70-mil, he comes to us with an offer for less than $30-mil for 4 years. I toy with adding a 5th year to the deal, but I can't be greedy now. We have agreed to his asking price -- let's see if he accepts.

Now the bad news (for the Rams, but good for everyone else). Just about every upcoming free agent wants more than we can pay. MLB Henderson and WR Calico in particular are asking for the moon, which is trouble. OLBs Simmons and Tinoisamoa want a nice chunk of change, but will probably get it. Simmons in particular is going nowhere. And DE Wistrom is a tough call. He wants a crazy amount of money upfront, but the deal would save us money this year. He is also in his 9th year...is that too late for one more big deal? I'll have to think about it. And we will also have a new LG next year, but will probably stick with Brzezinski and worry about that next year.


Here are the top 30 free agents (sorted by how much money they want, not how good they are):

  Player                #   Pos   Start OnTm   EndCnt Exp  Request         Cntrct Lngt
Manning, Peyton         18  QB          2004   UFA    9    $73,880,000     6 years    
Boston, David           0   FL          ----   UFA    8    $40,900,000     5 years    
Haynesworth, Albert     92  LDT         2002   UFA    5    $26,600,000     4 years    
Morgan, Dan             55  MLB         2001   UFA    6    $26,240,000     5 years    
Pryce, Trevor           0   LDE         ----   UFA    10   $22,290,000     3 years    
Dilfer, Trent           16  QB          2004   UFA    13   $22,210,000     3 years    
Engelberger, John       95  LDE         2000   UFA    7    $21,530,000     4 years    
Hampton, Casey          98  NT          2001   UFA    6    $21,280,000     4 years    
Flynn, Mike             62  C           1997   UFA    9    $20,140,000     3 years    
Gardener, Daryl         0   RDT         ----   UFA    11   $18,300,000     3 years    
Fowler, Melvin          67  RG          2002   UFA    5    $18,070,000     5 years    
Horn, Joe               83  SE          2005   UFA    11   $17,240,000     2 years    
Roye, Orpheus           99  RDT         2000   UFA    11   $14,730,000     3 years    
Ross, Oliver            79  RT          2000   UFA    7    $13,320,000     3 years    
Bentley, LeCharles      65  RG          2002   UFA    5    $13,310,000     4 years    
Rivera, Marco           62  RG          1996   UFA    10   $12,820,000     3 years    
Plummer, Ahmed          29  LCB         2000   UFA    7    $12,270,000     3 years    
O'Dwyer, Matt           73  LG          2004   UFA    12   $11,760,000     3 years    
Thompson, Lamont        37  FS          2003   UFA    5    $11,470,000     3 years    
Beverly, Eric           65  RG          2003   UFA    9    $9,640,000      3 years    
Pederson, Doug          18  QB          2005   UFA    10   $7,250,000      3 years    
Tucker, Ryan            72  RT          2002   UFA    10   $6,730,000      3 years    
Detmer, Koy             0   QB          ----   UFA    8    $6,660,000      3 years    
Biekert, Greg           54  MLB         2002   UFA    14   $6,500,000      2 years    
Villarrial, Chris       72  RG          2005   UFA    11   $6,380,000      3 years    
Jones, Freddie          0   TE          ----   UFA    10   $6,030,000      3 years    
Whittle, Jason          61  RG          2005   UFA    8    $6,010,000      3 years    
Brown, Orlando          68  RT          2005   UFA    13   $5,460,000      3 years    
Johnson, Rob            0   QB          ----   UFA    12   $5,270,000      2 years    
Neal, Lorenzo           41  FB          2003   UFA    13   $5,190,000      2 years 

the bidding for Manning and Boston in particular should be interesting. The eNFL has been a league very afraid to hand out big contracts, but it's getting unavoidable. In fact, most trades you see are teams running away from big contract demands. This year will be no different. However, one bad team with lots of cap room is about to go from chump to near champ just by signing Manning.

[Pyser]

Free Agency: Stage 1

The following deals were signed in the first week of free agency:

CAR signs QB Peyton Manning, 6 yr, $77.08m

The big one. GREAT signing by Carolina. They are instant contenders in the NFC now. The price wasn't even too bad, just over $20m for a signing bonus, and the contract never costs more than $18m a year. It's the price of success. Bet Carolina is glad they lost out on T Matt Light last year. The most surprising thing in this signing is that no other team even put in an offer. Manning's former team, New Orleans, has turned it's attention to Trent Dilfer.

MIA signs DE Marco Coleman, 1 yr, $1.63m

Nice signing by Miami. Coleman returns to where he started his career. He has never had less than 10 sacks in the eNFL, so the price is a bargain. Pace didn't perform too well for Mia at RDE, perhaps Coleman will slide in there? You can never have enough pass rushers.

OAK signs CB Eric Warfield, 2 yr, $4.00m

Oakland quickly snatched up one of the best man to man defenders in the game. Guess we know what kind of coverage they prefer, as the rest of Warfields ratings aren't so hot.

DET signs G Jamar Nesbit, 2 yr, $3.76m

According to my scout, Jamar Nesbit can't run block to save his life. However, his run blocking stats last year say otherwise. He converted over 33% of his run block opportunities, and Detroit was smart to snatch him up to solidify their line. He joins a crowded G situation, but depth can't hurt at that price.

N.O. signs ILB Dan Morgan, 5 yr, $28.44m

The Saints spent some of their QB savings on the best ILB on the market. I don't like this signing. Last years MLB, Robert Thomas, had 97 tackles in only 11 starts (and 13 games played) last year. He's a run stopping machine. And I'm not just saying that because he's a former Ram. Minus their top QB, and with their best G on the free agent market as well, I'm not sure commiting nearly $30m to an inside backer right now was the best move for the Saints.


And a look at some more trades that were completed:

HOU receives RB Anthony Thomas
CHI receives a 2006 4th round pick

Anthony Thomas was abysmal last year, averaging less than 3.0 ypc. However, he wasn't on the strongest team. He still shows promise as a player, and with the suprising retirement of RB Duce Staley, Houston had to fill the hole. A 4th rounder is a good deal for both teams. Chicago had a dead man walking in their backfield, and Houston now has a player with something to prove.

SF receives G Steve Hutchinson and the 23rd pick in the draft
DEN receives the 5th pick in the draft

The dismantling of Denver continues. They now have less than 20 players on their roster under contract. However, they have assured themselves of a blue chip player this year. For SF, you've got to like this trade. They pick up a very solid guard, who is signed for 6 more years, and still stay in the first round. SF has had success picking late in the first round the past few drafts, so this trade may not hurt them at all.

TB receives DT DeQuincy Scott and a 2006 2nd round pick
CHI receives T Flozell Adams

Lots of backstory on this one. Last year, Chicago handed LT Matt Light over $20m in signing bonuses to join their team. However, their contract was ruled illegal, and they were forced to release the player and take the cap hit (around $15 mil this year!). So the trade here for a LT makes perfect sense. However, in another blunder, the Bears didn't specify which DT Scott they were trading, and accidentally shipped off last years #2 overall pick, Xavier Scott. The league has acknowledged the error, and the two Scott's will be traded for each other this week. But once again, the Bears will be forced to take another massive cap hit next season, as the entire signing bonus for Xavier Scott has been accelerated to next years cap (over $10 million).


The Rams

Now, an update on the Rams themselves. The Rams have been actively shopping ILB E.J. Henderson, and all-word WR Tyrone Calico, as they cannot afford both next season. There has been lots of offers, but nothing concrete is set. You'll be the first to know when something is official.

In the meantime, the Rams placed bids on DT Haynesworth, and WR Moss (the lesser Moss, not Randy). The Moss bid would indicate the Rams seriousness in moving Calico. Haynesworth, team officials admit, is a longshot at best, and the Rams don't expect to remain in the high priced bidding.

[Coop]

Thanks for the kind words Good read btw

[Crapshoot]

good read- got me into reading all the ENFL dynasties in one go. Hell- I think you guys may have sold me on buying the game- its seem like a league can be a wonderfully immersive experience.

[Nwobhm]

I wonder how kodiak feels about taking the 10million cap hit on xavier scott right away. If i were in his position, i might actually welcome it since chicago won't be contending until at least 3 years from now when those lower cap costs will help.

[Passacaglia]

I think I have pretty much declared my eNFL dynasty (well, really all of my MP dynasties) dead. They'd been getting pretty blah, just play-by-play game summaries, with not much else going on in them. Plus, I'm starting to get gung-ho on opening up gameplan discussion -- I really see no reason why we can't distribute and talk about these openly. So I'll probably post my eNFL gameplans in the strategies thread, like I've started to do with my HFL gameplans.

I don't know -- what do you guys think? Should I go back to the dynasty, or let Northwood and Pyser work that end, while I bring in the gameplan discussion?

[Passacaglia]

Duh, forgot to mention, this looks really great, Pyser. It makes me want to trade with you, just so I can get mentioned! I also really like the trade analysis -- gives a good neutral observer opinion. Pretty cool. You do a good job of making it interesting without giving too much away.

[Havok]

very nice dynasty Pyser.... keep it up!

[Pyser]

Breaking News

Reports coming out of St. Louis are that Tyrone Calico reported to the stadium early today and cleaned out his locker. He refused to speak to any press on his way out, but looked furious.

GM Pyser was seen walking out of his office a short time later, looking as if he was up all night on the phone.

We'll tell you more as soon as anything is confirmed. But right now, don't expect to see Tyrone Calico playing for the Rams this season.

[yabanci]

I just stumbled upon this tonight. Lots of good analysis, and I too look forward to following it.

[Pyser]

Free Agency: Week Two


St. Louis Trade

The Rams confirmed earlier reports that WR Tyrone Calico has been traded. The team was very upset to move Tyrone, but his contract demands were entirely unreasonable.

GM Pyser said, "Hey. This is America. A man is entitled to make as much money as he can, while he can. Unfortunately, we have a salary cap to deal with."

In an uncharacteristic move, the Rams disclosed Calico's contract demands. It turns out he was asking for a 5 year, $65-million dollar deal, with $15-mil up-front. The Rams were not prepared to pay a WR over $10-mil a season.

In return for the star WR, the Rams acquired WR Jabbar Gaffney and MLB Terry Pierce from the Texans.

Current Ram MLB E.J. Henderson is livid, and has already cleaned out his locker. The Rams expect to move him shortly.

Pyser says, "It was a trade of necessity. I'm not happy losing Calico, but we feel we got an excellent, young replacement in Gaffney. And with the pickup of Pierce at MLB, we will not be hamstrung by E.J. Henderson's outrageous contract demands, either. This move should keep us competitive and in good cap shape for years."

The Rams also included a 2008 4th round pick in the deal.




Free Agent Moves

More signings this week, none of them Rams:

N.O. signs QB Trent Dilfer, 4 yr, $28.11m

I love this move. Not so much for New Orleans, but for the Rams. The Cardinals are currently QB-less, which is always good. The Saints did well to replace Peyton Manning. I don't understand why they didn't tag Manning as a franchise player, and then trade him, but it's too late now. They bring in a proven QB, for far less than Manning would have cost. Unfortunately, Dilfer is 4 years older.

CAR signs MLB Greg Biekert, 3 yr, $9.14m

A solid signing by Carolina. They lost Dan Morgan last week, but used a lot of that cap space to add Manning. Biekert may be old, but he's still a very productive run stopper. Great 1-2 punch for the Panthers so far.

S.D. signs WR Jimmy Smith, 1 yr, $1.83m

Another nice signing. The Chargers are in rebuilding mode, and add a nice veteran WR to help out a hurting WR corps. They also guard against Smith's retirement, with only a 1 year deal.

SEA signs G Matt O'Dwyer, 3 yr, $6.9m

Seattle is usually shedding veteran players, so to see them sign a solid veteran guard is a bit weird. Very nice signing, though. With the addition of Jay Fiedler and the next signing below, Seattle seems to be gearing up for a real run at the NFC West.

SEA signs WR David Boston, 2 yr, $5.68m

David Boston must REALLY want to be a Seahawk. He abandoned his original $40m asking price, to sign for a measley $5m. He obviously becomes the main target for Seattle, teaming with RB Ricky Williams to form a scary offense. Oddly, he turned down a couple 5 year deals, one worth almost $30m from Cleveland.

ATL signs DE Trevor Pryce, 3 yr, $14.52m

Big signing by Atlanta here. They add a significant presence on the defensive line, and look ever more dangerous than their surprise team last year. Pryce underperformed for Denver last season, perhaps his new team can coax more out of him.

HOU signs RT Oliver Ross, 4 yr, $18.01m

Now here is a signing I don't like. I think Houston overpaid for a mediocre tackle. I know they weren't happy with their tackles play last year, but giving Ross $4.4m to sign, and nearly $20m overall is a bit stunning to me. Still, give Houston credit for being aggresive, and trying to upgrade their offense even more.

IND signs CB Brian Williams, 3 yr, $8.1m

Indy had been yelling since last season that they were desperate to improve their secondary, and this move is certainly a start. Indy outbid 9 other teams for the former Saint. I don't like his low man to man ratings, but he was the best, most affordable corner on the market. Plus, he is only in his 5th year. Nice upgrade for the Colts.


Trades

ARI gets 2006 1st(22) and 2006 2nd 
OAK gets 2006 1st(6) 

I don't know if Arizona got enough value for the 6th overall pick in the draft. I wonder if they could have gotten more by waiting until draft day.

DEN gets 2006 1st(27) 
IND gets S Kenoy Kennedy and 2006 2nd 

And more of Denver gets dismantled. Indy again upgrades their secondary nicely, but moves out of the first round. Still, by getting a 2nd rounder back in return, they may have the ammo to move back up to the first round if need be. Denver is now down to 17 players under contract, in their attempt to get out of cap troubles. Unfortunately, they only have about $9-mil to spend right now, not counting allotting for draft picks. Even worse, they have more than $30-mil in dead cap room for next season, already. In fact, they have $86m committed in cap room next year, for only 12 players!

HOU gets 2006 2nd, 2007 4th, and 2007 7th 
TBY gets TE Billy Miller 

Houston gets incredible value here for a tight end. Tampa Bay must have been very reluctant to part with a first rounder. 3 picks for one player is a lot. Good move here by Houston to regain some picks they have moved this off-season already.



What a busy off-season already!

[Pyser]

Breaking News

MLB E.J. Henderson was seen at the stadium today hugging coaches, with a garbage bag at his side. Reports are he has been traded to a team out west. Terms are undisclosed. This would be the second young star to be traded in a week, if reports are true. The Rams acquired 4th year MLB Terry Pierce earlier this week, so a trade would not be surprising.

GM Pyser had no comment at the time.

[SplitPersonality1]

Originally Posted by Pyser

What a busy off-season already!

I think we are just gettin started.

[Pyser]

Free Agency: Week 3-4

St. Louis Trade

Another week, another trade for St. Louis. The Rams sent MLB E.J. Henderson and WR Shaun McDonald to San Diego for the Chargers first round pick next season. The Rams had sent their own 2007 first rounder to Denver in a trade earlier this off-season. The trade comes as no surprise, as Henderson priced himself off the Rams. The Rams already brought in MLB Pierce from Houston to replace him.


St. Louis Signing

The St. Louis Rams announce the signing of veteran TE Freddie Jones. He signed a 3 year, $6-mil deal, and got $300k to sign. The Rams expect him to step right in and start this season. Look for either Mili or Cleeland to be traded or released as a result. Jones was cut earlier this off-season by division rivals Arizona.

The St. Louis Rams also re-signed P Dave Zastudil to a 3 year deal. He will make the veteran minimum each year, and received no signing bonus.




Let's get right to it. Other teams signings:

OAK signs DT Daryl Gardener, 2 yr, $6.0m

Gardener is an absolute force on the d-line. Even though he's in his 11th year, this is still a tremendous signing for Oakland. All these 2 year deals, though, make me think our league may have found a bug in the free agent process. These players asking for $6m a year shouldnt be signing these small contracts. I don't get it.

BAL re-signs C Mike Flynn, 4 yr, $15.38m

An absolutely essential re-signing for Baltimore. After tagging Jamal Lewis and working around T Ogden's absurd contract, the team couldn't afford to let the O-line deteriorate. Flynn has been an all-league center all 3 seasons played so far. He is worth the money, and I can't say that about many other centers in the game.

NYJ re-signs DE Bryan Thomas, 3 yr, $8.24m

What?! Horrible deal here. The Jets gave Thomas way more than he was asking for, and only played 1 game last year before tearing his ACL. And guess what? It's still torn! He wont be completely healthy for 12 more weeks, and who knows if any of his ratings will hold. Despite that, the Jets gave him nearly $2-mil to sign. I'll admit the Rams were interested in Thomas, but we were looking at a 2 year deal with no bonus, both years at the veteran minimum. He is worth the risk if the ratings hold, but this signing is very risky.

N.E. signs CB Corey Fuller, 2 yr, $2.4m

Very nice signing here for the Patriots. Fuller will step right in and start opposite Ty Law. Fuller isn't great by any means, but he's a solid player at a very affordable price, and will hold down the fort until a better corner arrives...which better be soon. Fuller is in his 12th year.

NYJ signs WR Alex Bannister, 3 yr, $5.94m

The Jets made a good move here. They are expecting to lose Santana Moss soon in free agency, so they bring in a young, solid, affordable WR. He comes over from Seattle, where they threw about 30 passes all last season.

NYJ signs RB Michael Bennett, 3 yr, $8.24m

Another good signing by the Jets. I don't know why they let Bennett get to the open market, though. He's run for over 2500 yards for them the last 2 years, and obviously wasn't looking for a big contract. Nevertheless, the team did right in bringing him back. They outbid 3 other teams, though the Steelers did offer more money overall.



And now the big moves. The Trades.

HOU gets WR Terrell Owens 
SFO gets 2006 2nd, 2006 6th, and 2007 2nd 

It looks to me like the Niners are running away from handing Owens a big money deal as he winds down his career. Can they replace Owens with the picks they got back? Maybe. Not in one player, but in 2 high picks, they should be able to replace them. And the Texans, who already had a strong WR corps, continue to revamp that unit. In fact...

HOU gets WR Marvin Harrison 
IND gets 2006 3rd and 2007 1st 

...Whoa. Just, whoa. The Texans now have T.O., Marvin Harrison, and stud 4th year former Ram Tyrone Calico. Are there enough balls to go around? The downside to these moves for the Texans is twofold: one, all these WR's are in the last year of their contracts. Two, they are hemmoraging high draft picks. These picks went to division rival for what could turn out to be a back-up WR, technically. But Houston wasn't done...

CIN gets 2006 1st and 2006 2nd 
HOU gets T Levi Jones 

Now Houston adds an all-world young LT to the mix. And guess what? He is in the last year of his contract, too! And now Houston has zero picks before the third round in both this and next years draft. This will be fascinating to watch. And once again, we see another team run away from a contract. Cincy got decent value, but they won't see any help from this trade till next year, and just left a gaping hole on their offensive line. It doesn't look like the Texans will be picking too early in next years draft, either...But of course, they could use some defenders...

HOU gets 2006 3rd, 2007 3rd, and 2007 6th 
SDO gets WR Corey Bradford 

...and maybe they can get some defenders through this trade. But really, they didn't get any "premium" picks. The Chargers pick up a solid WR to help ease the loss of David Boston. The Chargers had no room for Bradford, which may have made it tough to get full value for Bradford. Pls, they were desperate to clear cap room to bring all the other players in. And that's the last I'm writing about Houston this week.

DET gets CB Ronde Barber 
TBY gets RG Isaac Lemery and 2006 2nd 

I continue to love the way Detroit is being built. This is a bigtime trade for the Lions. I don't like the deal from Tampa's perspective. They give up one of the top players at a position that is very hard to get stars in, and pick up their 2nd guard of the off-season. The last guard they got cost them Brad Johnson in a trade. If Tampa got a 1st round pick, I'd call this even. But since it's a 2nd, I think they didn't value Barber enough.

SEA gets LB Rico Peterson 
CIN gets LB Hogendoorn and 2007 4th 

Seattle picks up an unproven MLB with some potential here. Cincy picks up a player who may not make the team, but grabs a 4th, too. Peterson wasn't going to see any time in Cincy any time soon. Good deal for both teams. And a small trade, too, which is rare in this league.


Phew. Bring on the next week!

[jeff061]

Hope Houston can clear the cap room to get all these trades wrapped up...

[SplitPersonality1]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Hope Houston can clear the cap room to get all these trades wrapped up...

No problem.

(He says as he crunches the numbers for the fifty-second time today. We need room for just one more trade in the works - I hope I know what I'm doing......)

[Pyser]

Free Agency: Week 5-6

Finally, a quiet week for the Rams. Lets look at the rest of the league.

ATL signs CB Bryant Westbrook, 3 yr, $5.28m

Decent signing by Atlanta here. Not a great CB, but Westbrook has started every game he's played with Green Bay in 3 years (36 starts overall). His numbers aren't bad, and he's coming from a strong team, so his experience should help. The Packers have decent depth here, and shouldn't miss Westbrook too much. The key here is Atlanta didn't give him any big money.

SEA signs G Eric Beverly, 3 yr, $6.0m

Good signing by Seattle, who are building up the o-line. They are adding veterans at an alarming rate compared to their past seasons, where they were shedding them like crazy. With Fiedler handing to Ricky Williams and throwing to David Boston (so unrealistic, isnt it?), they need a stronger line, and the Seahawk offense is beginning to look scary. Meanwhile, Indy, who has lost 2 starting guards this off-season (Beverly being one of them), might be getting concerned about their o-line. They have ZERO guards under contract right now.

SEA signs DE John Engleberger, 4 yr, $25.07m

OK, now I KNOW Seattle is serious about this season. Why? Because they actually gave a player a signing bonus. Engleberger pocketed just over $5m in this deal. I'm happy to see SF's D get weaker by losing this fine DE, but not so happy to see a new power emerging in the NFC West. Great signing here of a productive young end.

DEN signs WR Antonio Chatman, 3 yr, $3.28m

This signing is notable because, look, Denver signed someone! Sure, he's a return specialist, but still. He will also log time at WR, and becomes only the 15th player under contract in Denver.

NYJ signs WR Santana Moss, 3 yr, $7.84m

The Jets continue an off-season of re-signing just about everyone they let reach free agency, and as a result pay more than they would have last season. Interesting decision here by Moss, who turned down more money, and most likely a shot at starting, to stay in NY and be a third wideout.

WSH signs G LeCharles Bentley, 5 yr, $23.71m

Big signing here of a beast of a tackle. Since N.O. didn't franchise Manning, you'd think they would have tried to keep this great guard only in his 5th year. Instead, he walked, and got offers from 9 teams (including the Rams). In the end he pocketed over $4m to sign, and becomes the 5th excellent player on a scary, young offensive line.

NYJ signs CB Will Allen, 3 yr, $8.24m

Here's a nice Jets signing. Will Allen doesn't have to move homes as he switches NY teams. Allen is very solid, and should play better than he has been. Let's see if a change of scenery helps. Allen chose the Jets over 8 other teams.

TEN signs DT Casey Hampton, 4 yr, $20.02m

Very good signing here by the Titans. They are coming off a dreadful year, and are better than they have been playing. With a sure-thing coming in at DE in the draft, Hampton will help solidify a suddenly potent D-line, helping out Kearse. Of course, they had a great line anyway, until they let DT Haynseworth walk...

PIT signs DT Albert Haynseworth, 5 yr, $47.75m

Big contract here. The Steelers and Titants essentially traded DT's, only Tennesee is paying a lot less money. Haynseworth is a better player, and a bit younger, though. Haynseworth got over $15m to sign what is the 2nd biggest free agent contract in the eNFL this year.



And the Trades:

DEN gets 2007 2nd and 5th, 2008 1st and 3rd 
TBY gets CB Lenny Wells, G Leonard Davis, and FB James Hodgins

Seriously, what is it with TB and guards? This is the third good guard they've traded for this off-season. And Davis is the best. They paid a dear price though in future picks. Walls is a cheap CB whose ratings I don't like too much, and might be a poor replacement for CB Barber, who was moved last week. However, he will have to do. Davis is a great blocker, but costs over $4m a year. Still a great player, though. Hodgins is a great FB, the only problem is, he's a FB. Not much impact there. This whole deal hinges on TB's acquisition of all these guards. There must be a motive here, I just don't know what it is. Incidentally, Denver may think they are shedding salary this season, but now have a whopping $34-mil in dead cap space next year.

TBY gets 2007 4th round 
CHI gets G Benji Olson 

The Bucs start thinning out their guard situation here. Only problem, Olson was on the team last year, and as such, was only a 4th guard. Tough to get any value for a 4th guard. Nice pickup here by Chicago.

HOU gets 2007 7th round 
OAK gets C Steve McKinney 

Houston has been desperate to get rid of players (for cap space), and we see that here. A solid backup center, who could certainly start in a pinch, was acquired for free, basically, by Oakland. Good trade for depth by Oakland.

NYG get 2006 2nd round (9) and WR Andre Davis 
TBY get WR Amani Toomer and G Dave Diehl 

My, my. ANOTHER GUARD! TB loves them. Maybe they'll be playing WR for the team, too. Davis is much younger than Toomer, so not too great value for value there. Diehl is a solid guard, but theres just no room for him. NY picks up a premium pick here in a confusing trade.



The prominent free agents are all just about gone now, so let's sit back and watch TB move some guards next week, I guess. Who knows.

[Nwobhm]

Very entertaining read. I'm thinking Denver's going to have even more dead cap space than 34 million when they are forced to cut more high priced players. They need to sign 31 players and currently have less than 10 million to do it with.

[Pyser]

Free Agency: Week 7-16

Well, there hasn't been much action, especially for the Rams. So here is most of the rest of free agency, in one writeup:

PIT signs RB Curtis Martin, 2 yr, $3.0m

Curtis Martin is a solid back, but getting up there in age. He is also one of the strangest cases in eNFL history. In his first season, with the Jets, he ran for 302 yards. T.B. picked him up as a free agent, and started him. Martin proceeded to run for a staggering 2,167 yards, and was named eNFL MVP of the season. He cracked 200 rushing yards in 4 games, and went over 150 in 8. However, T.B. had only signed him to a one year deal, and after his MVP season, he wanted MVP money. Only problem was he was entering his 11th season. So no one paid him, and just as the season started, the Vikings gave him the veteran minimum, threw him on the bench, and didn't let him carry the ball once. Now, once again a free agent, he has moved onto his 4th team in as many years. Pitt lost Bettis to retirement, and Martin could fill in well. We shall see.

IND signs CB Ahmed Plummer, 2 yr, $10.0m

Indy wasn't kidding when they said they wanted to overhaul their secondary. They have only added 3 players this year, and all should start in their secondary. Plummer is a good CB who doesn't play man to man well, but is better in everything else. This is a good signing for the Rams, as this is one less CB we have to worry about when throwing on San Fran

N.E. signs WR Joe Horn, 1 yr, $6.5m

Good signing by New England here. This gives them an elite WR, which the team has been lacking. However, they have used their franchise tag on G Adruzzi 2 years in a row. If they don't get him signed long term, they won't be able to tag Horn next year, and he is too good a player to let walk after only one year on the team.


eNFL Cuts

For the first time ever, really, in the eNFL, we are seeing quality players get cut as teams run out of cap space. The most prominant cuts so far, that will surely see a lot of free agent activity after the draft:

K.C. cut T Willie Roaf 
DEN cut WR Rod Smith
DEN cut OLB Barrett Green
NYG cut Ike Hilliard
SEA cut QB Kordell Stewart
T.B. cut TE Ken Dilger
WSH cut G Dave Fiore
DEN cut RB Antowain Smith
BUF cut DT Sam Adams
HOU cut DE Gary Walker
G.B. cut WR Tim Dwight
ATL cut CB Ray Buchanan

And that's just at a quick glance of people who are good enough to start on most teams right now.


Now, the trades.

MIA gets 2006 4th round 
HOU gets DT Pat Williams 

Houston gets some D help here, which they badly need. Miami doesn't really have anyone to replace Williams, unless they are switching to a 3-4. They designated Williams as their franchise player, which seemed odd, but now it appears that they tagged him to trade him later all along.

GBY gets 1(12) and 4(12) 
NYJ gets 1(30) and 2(30) 

Simple trade up here for GB. I haven't check the draft picks value chart, but this trade looks balanced. The Jets are more than one player away from being champions, so picking up an extra 2nd is a decent move. This is a better trade for GB, though, who must be thinking Favre is about to retire, and their super bowl window is closing.

SEA gets 2006 4th 
NYG gets CB Pat Bates 

Bates is a solid corner, certainly better than a 4th rounder, in my opinion. The Giants did well to replace the departed Will Allen, and with a young CB signed for 3 cheap years. Seattle had been looking to move Bates for a while -- he just doesn't fit into their defensive scheme.

ATL gets CB Sam Madison 
ARI gets 2006 1st and QB Jack Bajwa 

Big trade here. And both teams come out BIG winner, which you don't often see. Arizona loaded up on veterans on defense last year, and the experiment was a failure. Simeon Rice, Warren Sapp, stud CB Sam Madison, and others, just couldn't turn the Cards around. So the Cards sent a stud CB packing for 2 glaring needs: A starting QB (Vick isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and Bajwa is good and only in his 2nd year), and youth. Zona did well with this trade, as did Atlanta. Atlanta, as a bonus, perhaps, got to cut Ray Buchanan, as he was no longer needed.

CAR gets Walter Jones and 5(23) 
DEN gets 2(8) 

More dismantling by Denver, and this one isn't even close to even. Jones is a top LT, and is worth a first. But to also have thrown in a 5th, when they so badly need bodies on the team...not good. Carolina, meanwhile, now has top bookend T's to protect franchise QB Manning. Incidentally, Denver now has about $41m in dead cap space next season...approaching half their cap.


Well, the draft is almost upon us, and our Rams pick last in each round...and not at all in rounds 4 and 5. GM Pyser has said he doesn't feel his team has any glaring weaknesses, and will most likely draft best available. Look for a frenzy of trades around the league, however.

[jeff061]

I wouldn't of mind signing two more players that would be starting on my O-Line, not exceedingly pleased with that failure.

[Pyser]

The Draft

:singing: It's the most wonderful time of the year... :/singing:

sorry. But it's draft time! WOOHOOOOO!!!!

let's get right to it.

Round One Trades

New York gets 1(18) and 3(17) 
Buffalo gets: DT William Joseph and 1(25)

Buffalo moves down a bit, but picks up a strong DT. It's a strong draft for DT's, perhaps NY is looking to grab one at 18.

JAX gets 1(5) 
DEN gets 1(8) and 3(16)

Grr. Sometimes you just wish you had a high pick to make a great trade like this. Only a 3rd to move up into the top 5? Crazy. Denver certainly needs more picks, but I think they could have gotten more.

BUF gets CB Dre' Bly, WR Bill Schroeder, and 2007 2nd round 
DET gets DE Hugh Douglas and CB Shawn Springs

Detroit must feel they are ready to make their run now. They pick up 2 strong veterans, and give up 2 weak vets. Gotta like that. This trade gives Buffalo some cap room, but other than that, it doesn't make a tremendous amount of sense.

There were some "in-draft" trades too. We'll get to them in a minute.

Round One Picks

Here are the first 10 picks:

1 - Tennessee - DE Ethan Ford - Missouri 
2 - Washington - DE Christian Roberts - Illinois 
3 - Dallas - DT Bob Bush - Tennessee Chattanooga 
4 - Chicago - RB J.J. Rose - Air Force 
5 - Jacksonville Jaguars - S Clarence Schwartz - Auburn 
6 - Oakland Raiders - S Sammie Floyd - Penn State 
7 - Seattle Seahawks - ILB Derek Wallace - Tulsa 
8 - Denver Broncos - CB Adrian Bertrand - Muskingum 
9 - Detroit Lions - T Roger Durham - Baylor 
10 - Cincinnati Bengals - G Ernest Goodwin - Hawaii 

Well, we certainly see the difference between a game and the real NFL in these picks. A top LT probably wouldn't have slipped past Dallas, but oh well.

The top 2 picks were no brainers, though I think the order should have been reversed. But they are so closely rated, it's not a big deal.

DT Bush is not a player i like at all. He will be fine, but I wouldn't have considered him a top 5 pick, and maybe not even a top 10 pick. He is light years behind the 2 monster DT's taken 2 and 3 last year.

RB Rose will help Chicago immediately, but they really need a QB. Sadly, the draft doesn't have a top one for the third straight year.

The 2 safeties are excellent players. The only problem with them is that they are safeties. As good as they are, I'd have looked o-line by now, the G Goodwin is my favorite player in the entire draft, and the LT, as I said, you just can't pass up a franchise LT. But the safeties will be excellent, I admit. They just wont win you any games.

I don't like Seattle taking a LB here, again, o-line would've been wiser. Denver's CB will be good, but they need bodies everywhere. CB is a fairly tough position to fill, so no fault there. Best pick in the top 10, value wise, is certainly Cincy's guard.

11 - Minnesota Vikings - C Will Appleberry - Maryland 
12 - Green Bay Packers - ILB Trent Dirita - Wayne State 
13 - San Diego Chargers - C Gene Conway - Chadron State 
14 - Miami Dolphins - WR Graham Leskanic - Ohio State 
15. Cleveland Browns - DT Dwayne Stevens - Miami, Florida
16. Carolina Panthers - CB Kenyon Mason - Tennessee 
17. New England Patriots - T John Garnes - Mississippi State 
18. New York Giants - S Phil Hansen - Missouri 
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - RDE Brant Chatman - LSU
20. Pittsburgh Steelers - RB J.J. Kobdish - Memphis 

Interesting group here. Both centers are good, but I think were taken too early, and weren't needed. Minnesota had Birk already, and SD is more than a center away from contending. They could have looked WR, perhaps.

GB went with a need pick, and were probably a bit surprised ILB Wallace went at #7 to Seattle. Miami filled a huge need at WR with what should be a solid player. The Browns took a decent DT, he'll pair with DT Roye nicely. The Panthers love their CB's, this gives them a nice pair after picking a CB #1 overall 2 years ago.

The Patriots picked the T too high, but it's a need pick, they were atrocious at that position last season. The Rams admit they were looking at Garnes, hoping he'd fall to the end of the round, but oh well.

The Giants took a Safety, even though they have 2 good ones. They pass over some strong DT's, even though they just traded Joseph away. Makes no sense to me.

TB had the value pick of this bunch, getting what should be a great DE at a spot he should never have fallen to. And Pitt picked my favorite RB (outside of Rose), and he should start right away.

21. Indianapolis Colts - LG Kurt Porras - Florida 
22. Arizona Cardinals - QB Calvin Hess - Alabama 
23. San Francisco 49ers - FL Martin Harris - UCLA 
24. Baltimore Ravens - RG Ken Rountree - Clemson 

The Colts grabbed a G here, and had to, he's the only one on their roster right now. The Rams liked Porras, but aren't heartbroken to see him get picked. Zona didn't need a QB, I didn't think, after picking one up from the Falcons, but oh well. Some competition I guess. Plus, it helps other players slide closer to me. SF said all along they needed a WR, and get the 2nd best in the draft. And Balt takes the last guard the Rams had a first round grade on.

With Buffalo on the clock, they announce they are looking to move down.

My draft board at the time had 2 DT's on it that I still really liked: DT's Sanderson and Yazzie. There were other players we thought wouldn't fall this far, but DT and G were our 2 target positions.

We were at an interesting point. 7 picks seperated the current pick, and our own. We still had first round grades on 8 players, so we were guaranteed one of them. However, only 2 remained in a need position. And one of them, Sanderson, we had projected going in the 15-20 range.

Sanderson and Yazzie both looked good, but one thing that troubled me was that Yazzie looked like an exact clone of my DT Damione Lewis. Sanderson, on the other hand, looked like a young Daryl Gardner, and run stopping machine who could collapse a pocket.

Taking a closer look at Sanderson, here's what we were looking at. The general draft guidelines say a top DT should run about a 4.90 40 yard dash. The 332 pound Sanderson ran it in 4.94. A top DT should do about 33 reps in the bench press. Sanderson did 34. And a top DT should run the agility drill in about 7.4 seconds. Sanderson did it in 7.34 seconds.

More importantly, the Rams had been looking for a pure run-stoppper to clog the middle of the field. While Yazzie looks to be a better all around DT, Sanderson's 332 pounds fit exactly that description. Our scout agreed that Sanderson should be a fantastic run stopper, and our mind was set.

We got in touch with Buffalo about moving up, and quickly worked out this trade:

STL gets 1(25) and 6(18) 
BUF gets 1(32) and 3(32)

Truth be told, we would have given more, but were happy not to. And we felt it wasn't worth the risk to sit around and hope a player we loved fell to us. After all, he was exactly what we were hoping to get in the draft, and thought hed go about 15 picks before we could land him.

25. St. Louis Rams - LDT Jared Sanderson – Wake Forest 
26. Philadelphia Eagles - LCB Everett Barraza – Willamette 
27. Denver Broncos - LDE Wayne Goodwin - Butler 
28. Arizona Cardinals - QB Jamie Wallace - Washington
29. Cincinnati Bengals - LCB Spencer Briggs – North Texas
30. New Jersey Jets - RB Norman Greer – Kansas State 
31. Kansas City Chiefs - SS Jerald Emerson – Florida State
32. Minnesota Vikings - CB Josh Barnes - Bowie State 

Philly got a great CB here, they are hording CB's now after their 3rd round steal last year. Den took a DE I didn't like. If they went with a DE at 8, then CB here, I think they'd have been better off. Much deeper CB year than DE.

Arizona had temporary amnesia, and forgot they took a QB 6 picks earlier. I wonder if they'll trade one. Cincy picked a decent CB, but I thought he wasn't a first round grade. Deep CB draft though, and there seems to be a mini run, so can't fault them.

The Jets added a RB who many thought dropped too far, but I didn't like. Besides, the Jets have gotten 2500 yards out of Bennett the last 2 years, I don't think they needed a RB. Greer looks more like a WR than RB to me, I had him rated pretty low.

SS Emerson went next to KC, and I guess everyone but me and KC had him rated a lot lower. I love the player, and had considered him at the end of round 1, if all the DT's and G's were gone. Emerson may become a top CB, or stay a very good safety.

And then, Buffalo traded out of the 32nd pick we just sent them. And they got far more than we gave them to move up:

BUF gets 2(11), C Matt Birk, and DE Kenny Mixon 
MIN gets 1(32)

Birk is a great center, but costs a lot, so Buffalo takes on a big salary after just moving big salaries. Minn must feel good about the center they took earlier today. Mixon is average. Buffalo then grabbed a questionable Cb with this pick. Again, deep CB draft, I don't think this trade was necassary, and the player could have been had later. But that's what a run on CB's will do.


So there is the first round. Lot's of solid players still left in the 2nd. I have 15 players left that are rated either first or second round grades (I don't grade 32 players with first round grades just because there are 32 picks in the round. A player is good enough for each round in my book).

[sabotai]

The Giants took a Safety, even though they have 2 good ones. They pass over some strong DT's, even though they just traded Joseph away. Makes no sense to me.

Just going to step in for a second here and defend my pick.

Well, I was going to write out something, but then I realized...why would I give away my secrets? Just let me say that I know what I'm doing.

[-Mojo Jojo-]

Great draft analysis!

I agree on most points. I agree that Goodwin was the best OL in the draft. As a general rule, I hate drafting OL's in the 1st round. Their slow development cycle eats up too much of the rookie contract. But Goodwin is awesome, and I was desperately in need, so I couldn't pass that up...

I also agree that Briggs was a marginal 1st rounder, but I've been trying to get a decent corner for 3 seasons now (keep striking out on FA's too), and figured I had to take the risk. Got another one in the 2nd too... Eventually one of these guys has to pan out.

[Pyser]

The Draft Review

Well, the draft went decently for the Rams. Overall, I'm pleased. I am THRILLED with our first round pick, LDT Jared Sanderson. He isn't rated too well currently, but after training camp and pre-season, where he will play a lot, we expect him to be battling for a starting spot.

For our second round pick, we had the last pick of the round. As the second round progressed, I started getting worried that the 7 players I still had second round grades on wouldn't make it to our pick. Division rival SF said they were looking to move down, and we quickly offered our 2nd rounder, plus 2 6th rounders, to move up. This was a BAD decision. There was no-one I was in love with, and one of the 7 players would have slipped. In fact, all but one of them slipped to the 32nd pick. I have to learn to trust my draft board. Believe it or not, one of the guys I considered taking in the 2nd round slipped to the end of the 5th! Unfortunately, I didn't have any picks between rounds 2 and 7 left.

Anyway, we traded up and drafted WR Shawn Hitchcock. He has good size (6-3, 195 lbs), and runs a 4.42 40. In addition to his solid WR skills, he is also a good kick returner, and may see action there. We had constant injuries to our starting WR's last year, so adding a strong 5th WR here was strong move, we feel. Unfortuanetly, a guard we passed over has "busted out", so that may bite us for quite a while. Lesson learned: TRUST YOUR DRAFT BOARD!

We also had the last pick of the draft. We used it on a G Ross Pinkerton. He is abysmal right now (current rating of 5), but our guard depth is also abysmal, so he will probably stick. If he realizes all of his potential, he may turn into a rather decent guard...let's hope playing time gets his skills up quickly.


Roster Update

Right after the draft is when you can sometimes see some veterans break out and turn into superstarts. Unfortunately, that didn't happen for us. However, we did see a player bust, which I'd never seen.

We'd been carrying undrafted guard Carlos Dillon for 2 years. He had showed some promise, but we never got to see what he was made of, since our guards have luckily stayed injury-free. After the draft, though, this 3rd year player suddenly dropped to a 15/27. He had been rated 22/38.

In addition, a couple other veterans on our roster took ratings hits. Very odd. I don't like it one bit.


So now we head off to late free agency, maybe add some roster fillers, and then training camp. Getting very close to the start of our title defense!

[Pyser]

this will be updated later. just a bump so i can find it easier.