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

[Ben E Lou]

I've waffled too much with different career starts. Having thought through what I like and don't like about my FOF careers, I *think* I've arrived at a set of House Rules that will give me what I'm looking for in an FOF dynasty thread. I reserve the right to change the House Rules as I go along if I find that they aren't working the way I thought they would.

[Ben E Lou]

INITIAL SETUP

• Universe in Year 15, starting in 2021.
• Empty roster.
• NFL Structure. My team is Atlanta.
• Injuries: 250
• Cap Increase Range: 70 to 99

UPDATED HOUSE RULES

Staff Hiring

• All staff must be hired to 5-year deals.
• No replacing staff under contract.
• If a staff position in open in the third week, a requested offer may be given.

Franchise/Summer/FA1:1

• Franchise tag may be used, but it must be on a player with loyalty >0, not on an angry or worse player, and never for consecutive years.
• Summer league player must be from fourth round or later.
• I may offer renegotiations to three players per year, but for requested amounts only.
• I may sign up to two of my RFAs to their requested multi-year contracts.
• I may sign up to three of my RFAs to their requested one-year contracts.

Early Free Agency

• I may offer one flat contract with at least 50% bonus per year in early free agency.
• I may offer up to three 8yr+ players who are requested no-bonus deals their requested contract.

Trading

• No Trading.

Rookie Draft

• No interviews.

Late Free Agency..

• One undrafted rookie per year may be signed to a contract during late free agency.

Training Camp

• Default training camp settings only.
• No more than 53 players carried to camp.

In-Season

• No changing the game plan during the season.
• AI will control all depth charts.
• Injury rate is 200
• One signing of any rookie FA per year to replace an IR player.
• No other in-season signings unless necessary to maintain legal roster, and those will be of the lowest-rated rookie at a given position.

Salary Cap

• At the beginning of the season, I must have 5% of the cap unused.

[Ben E Lou]

Recall that I'm starting with an empty roster, but can't sign youngsters, so this will be a different sort of "Empty Cupboard" start.

[Ben E Lou]

Looking at the FA class, it's going to be a bit before I start, and ignore the comments above about the league universe. The last few years were done with injuries off to just rip through it. Apparently, that makes a big difference in league talent. There's too much talent in this league right now. I'm going to start up with a fresh fictional universe in 2007 with injuries at 250, and sim forward for a 2021 start. That should give me plenty of history. Back after the simming's done...

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by SkyDog

Looking at the FA class, it's going to be a bit before I start, and ignore the comments above about the league universe. The last few years were done with injuries off to just rip through it. Apparently, that makes a big difference in league talent. There's too much talent in this league right now. I'm going to start up with a fresh fictional universe in 2007 with injuries at 250, and sim forward for a 2021 start. That should give me plenty of history. Back after the simming's done...

OK. Posts above edited to reflect the changes in the universe. I'm on 2020 now, and will take over in 2021.

[Ben E Lou]

One more House Rule: no signing any FA who was just "released" by his team if he's rated 50/50 or above. I've found that "released" good players are almost always the result of those times that the AI blows up its team for cap reasons. Denver has seven released 50/50 plus players in free agency this year, for example.

[Ben E Lou]

I won't go into details of all of the FA signings in 2021, but here's the draft info.

I started off with the #9 pick, but a RB who I really, really, really liked didn't go in the top five, so I trade the 1(9) and the 2(8) to Buffalo for the 1(6) and the 3(6). With the pick, I select Lawrence Thibodeau:



I love his combines and his very high endurance. The rest of the draft goes as follows:

3(6): TE J.C. Holmes (31/46)--This VU guy looks like he'll unmask into a solid starter.
3(7): WR Mario Berryhill (20/35)--Scout has him as UR, and he's an affinity match. If the scout is correct, he'll be an all-around talent.
4(11): FB Chuck Strickland (30/50)--Another guy scouted UR. His main strength is run blocking--just what I need to go with Thibodeau.
5(10): OLB Roman Wright (14/38)--I didn't scout this guy, but he had a solid combine and should be a decent run defender, if nothing else.
6(9): FS Louis Briel (17/32)--He scouted as HtR. I liked his speed and agility.
7(8): SS Bryant McGee (13/48)--Also HtR, and a bit of a stab in the dark, but hey, he's a 7th-rounder.

[Ben E Lou]

I'm adding one small exception to my no-RFA-aged-players house rules:

If I interview a guy and he goes undrafted, I may sign him as a rookie FA.

[Ben E Lou]

(I don't intend to get into this level of detail going forward from here, but I thought it would be good for both the readers and me to do it at the beginning, to get to know the team. I don't play .)

INITIAL POSTCAMP REPORT

QUARTERBACKS

Name	Pos	2021c Cur	2021c Fut	2021d Cur	2021d Fut	Ovl Cur	Ovl Fut
Luther Chase	QB	12	43	14 (2)	36 (-7)	2	-7
Rodney Couture	QB	12	27	16 (4)	29 (2)	4	2
Scottie Owen	QB	39	39	37 (-2)	37 (-2)	-2	-2

I like Coutoure enough that I *almost* grabbed him before the AI's fifth-round frenzy, but decided to wait it out for more pressing needs. He'll be sitting behind starter Owen. Here's the story on Owen:

So, there's nothing terribly special about this guy to date. He's a journeyman QB, but his skill set should be a nice complement to the running game with Thibodeau. I'm hoping he'll be a nice "system" QB in a running/short passing offensive scheme until we get a guy in place for the long haul.

With Chase's drop in ratings, I cut him and sign Andy Hoetger, a 6th-year 33/33 QB with a similar skill set to that of Owens, so that just in case we're doing well and have to change QBs, we won't have to go to a rookie. Hoetger's biggest negative is that he has only a 20 in Sense Rush.

BACKFIELD

Darren Blackburn	RB	44	44	38 (-6)	38 (-6)	-6	-6
Xavier Crimm	RB	42	42	41 (-1)	41 (-1)	-1	-1
Lawrence Thibodeau	RB	59	73	61 (2)	67 (-6)	2	-6
Randall James	FB	38	38	38 (0)	38 (0)	0	0
Chuck Strickland	FB	30	50	34 (4)	51 (1)	4	1

I'm a little surprised to see Thibodeau drop like that, but his solid current rating, and his 92 endurance, keep me smiling. He will be the focal point of our offense this year, with fellow rookie Strickland (31/73 in run blocking) helping to plow the road for him. Crimm is a mentor for Thibodeau.

TIGHT ENDS/RECEIVERS

Jamie Hale	TE	39	39	38 (-1)	38 (-1)	-1	-1
J.C. Holmes	TE	31	46	35 (4)	48 (2)	4	2
Rico Seebaldt	TE	36	36	29 (-7)	29 (-7)	-7	-7
Cris Battaglia	FL	39	39	39 (0)	39 (0)	0	0
Edward Fernandes	FL	38	38	37 (-1)	37 (-1)	-1	-1
Butch Welsh	FL	32	32	27 (-5)	27 (-5)	-5	-5
Mario Berryhill	SE	20	35	24 (4)	38 (3)	4	3
Bucky Stanton	SE	35	35	35 (0)	35 (0)	0	0
Clarence Wittich	SE	9	19	11 (2)	18 (-1)	2	-1

Fortunately, the AI has placed rookie TE Holmes #1 in the depth chart for preseason. Seebaldt is a mentor, so I expect that Holmes will develop enough to be the starter by the opener as well, and if not, surely within a few games. The bars that are revealed so far say that he'll be a solid blocker who drops very few passes. I suspect that his unmasking will add some greater pass-catching skills than the 30ish-40ish bars that I'm seeing now.

At WR, none of the top three guys are terribly impressive, but I went after them for getting downfield. The AI has Berryhill in as the preseason starter, though, and most of his bars look maxed out. I'd expect general creeping into an all-around talent for him. Fernandes is a mentor. I release Wittich and Welch, and sign 5th-year man Bubba Benson (34/34), another guy strong in Getting Downfield.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Xavier Freeze	C	25	50	27 (2)	47 (-3)	2	-3
Rufus Grant	C	50	50	48 (-2)	48 (-2)	-2	-2
Hugh Wilkens	C	48	51	54 (6)	54 (3)	6	3
Paul Marquis	LG	24	38	25 (1)	38 (0)	1	0
Josh McKenzie	LG	48	48	49 (1)	49 (1)	1	1
Robert Coles	RG	44	44	44 (0)	44 (0)	0	0
Edward Valkenberg	RG	40	40	31 (0)	31 (0)	-9	-9
Jackie Bush	LT	43	43	43 (0)	43 (0)	0	0
Charles Trippi	LT	43	43	42 (-1)	42 (-1)	-1	-1
Tom White	LT	48	48	48 (0)	48 (0)	0	0
Donovan Burton	RT	39	39	32 (-7)	32 (-7)	-7	-7

No one terribly special here, but as a unit, the group looks competent. I release Freeze and Burton, and sign a couple of veteran affinity match guys whose names are unimportant. Valkenberg gets to stay because of his mentor status.

DEFENSIVE LINE

Bryant Chandler	LDE	59	59	58 (-1)	58 (-1)	-1	-1
Dustin Woods	LDT	50	50	51 (1)	51 (1)	1	1
Joe Gilmore	RDT	47	47	47(0)	47(0)	0	0
Tyrus Sitron	RDT	40	40	41 (1)	41 (1)	1	1
Junior Arends	RDE	47	47	47 (0)	47 (0)	0	0
Horace Garcia	RDE	42	42	43 (1)	43 (1)	1	1

We were able to build a pretty solid unit from the FA pool this year. With the extra roster spot from cutting two WRs and only signing one, I sign an extra affinity-match guy who is highly developed at both DE and DT.

LINEBACKERS

Antoine Duffy	SLB	45	45	44 (-1)	44 (-1)	-1	-1
Herman Koser	SLB	42	42	43 (1)	43 (1)	1	1
Roman Wright	SLB	14	38	17 (3)	39 (1)	3	1
Scott Abate	MLB	48	48	47 (-1)	47 (-1)	-1	-1
Travis Alston	MLB	15	41	17 (2)	37 (-4)	2	-4
Phil McBurrows	MLB	47	47	47 (0)	47 (0)	0	0
Mel Hussey	WLB	45	45	44 (-1)	44 (-1)	-1	-1

Nothing terribly compelling here, although it's nice to see Wright gain a point. Koser will mentor him. Travis Alston, meet "The Turk."

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Harris Boerigter	LCB	55	55	54 (-1)	54 (-1)	-1	-1
Danny Hochheiser	LCB	43	43	39 (-4)	39 (-4)	-4	-4
Curtis Boren	RCB	44	44	44 (0)	44 (0)	0	0
Bo Collier	RCB	49	49	49 (0)	49 (0)	0	0
Ian Sheldon	RCB	49	49	49 (0)	49 (0)	0	0
Oliver Hanks	SS	47	47	47 (0)	47 (0)	0	0
Bryant McGee	SS	13	48	15 (2)	43 (-5)	2	-5
Louis Briel	FS	17	32	20 (3)	33 (1)	3	1
Rob Fulton	FS	17	53	20 (3)	49 (-4)	3	-4
Ricky Small	FS	44	44	44 (0)	44 (0)	0	0

The starters give us the look of having a fairly competent unit back here. McGee and Fulton get released, and an affinity guy is signed.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Marco Mitchell	K	55	67	58 (3)	69 (2)	3	2
Brandon Marchand	P	65	65	63 (-2)	63 (-2)	-2	-2

It appears that we did well with this combo. Both are relatively young, too (years 7 and 5). With the two remaining roster slots, I sign specialists at KR and PR, to get us back up to 53. We should be pretty solid on special teams.

[Ben E Lou]

This will be my "normal" roster report prior to the season...

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Owen, Scottie           10  QB    QB    11   37                37                3 yrs
Hoetger, Andy           2   QB          6    31                31                1 yr.
Couture, Rodney         11  QB          1    16                29                2 yrs
Thibodeau, Lawrence     41  RB    RB    1    61                67                5 yrs
Crimm, Xavier           21  RB          9    41                41                2 yrs
##Blackburn, Darren     48  RB          7    38                38                2 yrs
##James, Randall        23  FB          6    38                38                1 yr.
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    1    34                51                4 yrs
##Hale, Jamie           16  TE          6    38                38                1 yr.
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE    TE    1    35                48                3 yrs
Seebaldt, Rico          89  TE          8    29                29                2 yrs
Battaglia, Cris         86  FL    FL    5    39                39                3 yrs
Fernandes, Edward       14  FL          11   37                37                1 yr.
##Osborne, Zack         85  FL          5    21                21                1 yr.
Stanton, Bucky          82  SE          5    35                35                3 yrs
Benson, Bubba           80  SE          5    34                34                1 yr.
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE    SE    1    24                38                4 yrs
Wilkens, Hugh           57  C     C     6    54                54                3 yrs
Grant, Rufus            64  C           6    48                48                2 yrs
##Bell, Korey           50  C           11   38                38                1 yr.
McKenzie, Josh          69  LG    LG    5    49                49                2 yrs
Marquis, Paul           72  LG          1    25                38                2 yrs
Coles, Robert           61  RG    RG    7    44                44                2 yrs
##Valkenberg, Edward    67  RG          6    31                31                3 yrs
White, Tom              60  LT    LT    10   48                48                2 yrs
Bush, Jackie            70  LT          6    43                43                2 yrs
Trippi, Charles         65  LT          5    42                42                2 yrs
Castillo, George        62  RT    RT    9    37                37                1 yr.
Marchand, Brandon       1   P           7    63                63                3 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           5    58                69                3 yrs
Chandler, Bryant        77  LDE   LDE   7    58                58                4 yrs
Arends, Junior          74  RDE   RDE   6    47                47                3 yrs
Garcia, Horace          78  RDE         8    43                43                2 yrs
Woods, Dustin           97  LDT   LDT   7    51                51                2 yrs
Pearson, Brady          79  LDT         7    46                46                1 yr.
Gilmore, Joe            73  RDT   RDT   8    47                47                3 yrs
Sitron, Tyrus           95  RDT         5    41                41                3 yrs
Abate, Scott            59  MLB   MLB   9    47                47                3 yrs
McBurrows, Phil         55  MLB         7    47                47                2 yrs
Duffy, Antoine          96  SLB   SLB   6    44                44                3 yrs
Koser, Herman           53  SLB         9    43                43                2 yrs
Wright, Roman           99  SLB         1    17                39                3 yrs
Hussey, Mel             92  WLB   WLB   10   44                44                2 yrs
Boerigter, Harris       49  LCB   LCB   9    54                54                3 yrs
Hochheiser, Danny       36  LCB         10   39                39                1 yr.
##Flory, Russell        24  LCB         5    38                38                1 yr.
Collier, Bo             31  RCB   RCB   8    49                49                3 yrs
Sheldon, Ian            42  RCB         5    49                49                3 yrs
Boren, Curtis           20  RCB         5    44                44                1 yr.
Hanks, Oliver           37  SS    SS    9    47                47                3 yrs
Young, Freddie          39  SS          9    41                41                1 yr.
Small, Ricky            45  FS    FS    8    44                44                3 yrs
Briel, Louis            34  FS          1    20                33                3 yrs
   

ROSTER RATING: 53 (26th overall)
COHESION: 58-63-74-74

It's hard to know what to expect with a brand new team, but I think we can win 7 to 9 games, if Owen can keep his interceptions under control.

[Ben E Lou]

Midseason check-in: We're 3-5. No big surprises so far, although I'd say that QB Owens is playing a bit below what I'd hoped/expected.

[Ben E Lou]

2021 YEAR-END REPORT

• Owen did come around in the second half of the season and produced about the kind of year I would have expected.
  
• I need a better QB and/or receivers.
• Thibodeau's fumbles are of concern.
  
• No major injuries. Lots of small ones.

Clearly my #1 priority needs to be the passing game.

[Ben E Lou]

2022 OFFSEASON

Starting WLB Mel Hussey retired. Not a huge loss there.

FRANCHISE: None

SUMMER: FB Strickland

FA1

No one is available at QB or WR to be of any real help. There also aren't many significant step-ups in talent available, so I target two talented guys and decide to let cohesion rise elsewhere. I sign...

SS Percy Zelch (57/57)--This 6th-year man is strong in run defense and zone defense.

I missed on the other guy.

DRAFT

I hadn't noticed it, but league parity abounded last year. 15 teams won between seven and nine games, and once the tiebreakers were applied, we got first pick from that group, so we're at #9 in the draft this year. Nice! There's a 4.6/5.2 QB that catches my eye, and my scout says that he's Very Underrated. There's also a studly-looking WR at 6.1/6.4. If I can get him in the first, and the QB in the second, I'll be a very happy man. There are a couple of other solid-looking WRs also, so I probably won't trade up to get "my" guy.

My WR fell to #9. WOOT!!!

The draft as a whole, with screenies of the WR/QB:

1(9): WR Seth Burks (44/68)--This VU guy looks like he could be my go-to receiver for the next decade or so.

2(14): MLB Riddick Buchanan (24/56)--I take a risk here. My QB was the 5th QB on the board at this point, and this guy was the top ILB. He's VU, has a very high endurance bar, looks like a great run stopper, and appears to have a rarity for LBs: pass coverage skills. I've seen great WRs make average QBs into good ones, so if I miss on my QB, I think Burks will help elevate the passing game even without a new QB.

3(13): QB Willie Clements (16/37)--If he's truly VU, then he's my long-term solution. There's lots to like about this guy, especially at this draft spot.

4(12): OLB Archie Keneley (33/47)--Unscouted guy with strong combines and great apparent pass-rush skills. If he doesn't creep, then his run defense could be a liability, in which case I'll probably move this 257-pounder to DE.

5(11): LT Ted Johnston (14/46)--Hard to pass on this HtR guy who had a strong combine this late in the draft.

6(10): OLB Jesse Owens (15/38)--I didn't interview this strong, agile guy, but he could be solid. Plus, you gotta love the name!

7(19): G Pete Coffey (18/31)--A definite "project" if he makes the team at all.

TRAINING CAMP

KEY IMPROVEMENTS

• Undrafted rookie QB Johnnie Jacoby showed up +4 in camp, although 12/21-->15/25 isn't much to get excited about just yet.
• 7th-round pick G Pete Coffey is +7, to 21/38, and looks like an eventual starter. Nice!
• 6th-round pick OLB Jesse Owens is +2.

KEY DROPS

• QB Scottie Owen drops 5 points to 32/32. Ouch!!!
• I'm very disappointed to see 2nd-round pick Buchanan drop 5 points.
• OLB Keneley drops two points. I just don't see me playing a 3/10 run defense guy at OLB. He gained weight to 262, and gets switched to RDE.
• Nothing major, but first-round pick Burks is a -1. Incidentally, it's good to see that the AI was smart enough to position-switch him to flanker on its own.

[Ben E Lou]

2022 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Owen, Scottie           10  QB    QB    12   32                32                2 yrs
Couture, Rodney         11  QB          2    24                30                1 yr.
Clements, Willie        4   QB          1    21                37                4 yrs
##Jacoby, Johnnie       12  QB          1    15                25                2 yrs
Thibodeau, Lawrence     41  RB    RB    2    64                64                4 yrs
Crimm, Xavier           21  RB          10   32                32                1 yr.
Blackburn, Darren       48  RB          8    29                29                1 yr.
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    2    48                52                3 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE    TE    2    47                47                2 yrs
Hale, Jamie             16  TE          7    36                36                1 yr.
Seebaldt, Rico          89  TE          9    25                25                1 yr.
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    1    55                67                5 yrs
Battaglia, Cris         86  FL          6    39                39                2 yrs
##Ploehn, Marvin        87  SE          7    35                35                1 yr.
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE    SE    2    35                39                3 yrs
Stanton, Bucky          82  SE          6    34                34                2 yrs
Wilkens, Hugh           57  C     C     7    54                54                2 yrs
Grant, Rufus            64  C           7    48                48                3 yrs
##McKenzie, Josh        69  LG          6    48                48                1 yr.
Marquis, Paul           72  LG          2    33                38                1 yr.
Coles, Robert           61  RG    LG    8    44                44                1 yr.
Valkenberg, Edward      67  RG    RG    7    31                31                2 yrs
Coffey, Pete            75  RG          1    22                38                3 yrs
White, Tom              60  LT    LT    11   46                46                1 yr.
Trippi, Charles         65  LT          6    41                41                1 yr.
##Johnston, Ted         63  LT          1    17                46                3 yrs
Bush, Jackie            70  RT    RT    7    43                43                1 yr.
Marchand, Brandon       1   P           8    63                63                2 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           6    61                61                2 yrs
Chandler, Bryant        77  LDE   LDE   8    59                59                3 yrs
Arends, Junior          74  RDE   RDE   7    47                47                2 yrs
##Garcia, Horace        78  RDE         9    28                28                1 yr.
Keneley, Archie         54  RDE         1    26                43                4 yrs
Arnold, Rodney          71  RDE         1    18                42                2 yrs
Woods, Dustin           97  LDT   LDT   8    50                50                4 yrs
Pearson, Brady          79  LDT   RDT   8    46                46                1 yr.
Sitron, Tyrus           95  RDT         6    42                42                2 yrs
Gilmore, Joe            73  RDT         9    40                40                2 yrs
Abate, Scott            59  MLB   MLB   10   48                48                2 yrs
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         1    27                51                4 yrs
Duffy, Antoine          96  SLB   SLB   7    35                35                2 yrs
Wright, Roman           99  SLB         2    24                39                2 yrs
##Owens, Jesse          90  SLB         1    18                40                3 yrs
Koser, Herman           53  WLB   WLB   10   34                34                1 yr.
##Boerigter, Harris     49  LCB         10   49                49                2 yrs
Smith, Ronnie           29  LCB   LCB   7    46                46                2 yrs
Flory, Russell          22  LCB         6    25                25                1 yr.
Collier, Bo             31  RCB   RCB   9    47                47                2 yrs
Sheldon, Ian            42  RCB         6    33                33                2 yrs
Zelch, Percy            32  SS    SS    6    57                57                3 yrs
Hanks, Oliver           37  FS    FS    10   35                35                3 yrs
Small, Ricky            45  FS          9    35                35                2 yrs
Briel, Louis            34  FS          2    26                33                2 yrs

ROSTER RATING: 53 (31st overall: big-time parity, it would appear)
COHESION: 60-60-68-45

Owen's ratings drop has me worried, but with the addition of a bona fide WR, I can't help but think we should be at least a little better than last year.

[Ben E Lou]

2022 YEAR-END REPORT

Adding a quality WR did make a big difference, as I'd hoped. The AI went with the three drafted youngsters at TE-WR-WR, and Owen had a very nice year as a result. Thibodeau missed a bunch of games with THREE different minor injuries, though. We missed the division title by one game. I can't help but think that if he'd stayed healthy, we'd have gotten at least one or two more wins.

AWARDS
QB Scottie Owen: 2nd Team
WR Seth Burks: 2nd Team

[Ben E Lou]

2023 OFFSEASON

Starting WLB Herman Koser retired. Not a huge loss there
.

FRANCHISE: LG Josh McKenzie

SUMMER: MLB Riddick Buchanan

FA1

Most of my signings this year are just backups, marginal starters, and affinity matches who won't be mentioned by name. I do make three important signings, though:

RG Adam Baker (55/55)--This 5th-year man should be a part of our line for years to come.

FS Daniel Compton (51/51)--Sixth-year player who's good at zone defense and interceptions to help shore up the secondary.

RB Rico LeGay (58/58)--Aging star (year 11, 10000 career yards rushing) to provide much-needed insurance for the brittle Thibodeau.

DRAFT

I have the #13 pick in what appears to be a top-heavy draft, and I don't really have many roster spots that a rookie would have an easy time earning. Sounds like a recipe for bundling several picks and trading up to get somebody really good. I bundle the 1(13), 2(12), and 3(11) in a package and get the 1(4).

1(4): MLB Mercury Barker (54/80)--He's the all-around stud that I was hoping last year's 2nd-round pick, Riddick Buchanan, would become. I'm picturing big things from this kid.

4(16): WR Leslie Jeffries (20/34)--"Blue" combines in 40, bench, agility and position drill, but HtR and very low development. I don't need him to contribute right away, and I have a mentor. He's worth it at this juncture.

5(15): QB Aaron Sweazy (16/43)--I'll probably have to cut one of my other young prospects to keep Sweazy, but he's got the Accuracy/Short/Timing/Sense Rush skill set and had a solid combine.

6(14): RB Reuben Nelson (32/55)--VU no-combine guy.

7(13): LT Max Madison (21/431)--HtR no-combine guy.

TRAINING CAMP

KEY IMPROVEMENTS

• QB Aaron Sweazy gets a big, fat PLUS SEVEN (16/43-->22/50). Sounds like we found our QB!
• 4th-round pick WR Jeffries is +3.

KEY DROPS

• RB Thibodeau drops 10 more points, to 49/49, and his new backup, Rico LeGay, drops 11 to 47/47. Ouch.
• 6th-round pick RB Reuben Nelson only drops two points, and may well earn some playing time soon.

Here's Sweazy, our QB of the future.

With a +7, I'm sure everything will improve quite a bit, so maybe we'll stretch the field a bit with him in a few years, but he looks like a West Coast guy all the way while he's still young.

[Ben E Lou]

2023 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Owen, Scottie           10  QB          13   29                29                1 yr.
Clements, Willie        4   QB    QB    2    28                37                3 yrs
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB          1    23                50                3 yrs
Jacoby, Johnnie         12  QB          2    22                27                1 yr.
Thibodeau, Lawrence     41  RB    RB    3    49                49                3 yrs
LeGay, Rico             40  RB          11   47                47                2 yrs
##Nelson, Reuben        44  RB          1    35                53                3 yrs
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    3    54                54                2 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE    TE    3    50                50                1 yr.
Anthony, Henry          84  TE          5    42                49                3 yrs
##Seebaldt, Rico        89  TE          10   16                16                1 yr.
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    2    67                67                4 yrs
##Battaglia, Cris       86  FL          7    40                40                1 yr.
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE    SE    3    42                42                2 yrs
Stanton, Bucky          82  SE          7    33                33                1 yr.
Jeffries, Leslie        88  SE          1    25                37                4 yrs
Wilkens, Hugh           57  C     C     8    52                52                1 yr.
Grant, Rufus            64  C           8    49                49                2 yrs
McKenzie, Josh          69  LG    RG    7    47                47                4 yrs
Marquis, Paul           72  LG          3    38                38                2 yrs
Baker, Adam             68  RG    LG    5    55                55                3 yrs
Coffey, Pete            75  RG          2    31                42                2 yrs
Pearson, Wally          73  LT    LT    6    59                59                3 yrs
White, Tom              60  LT    RT    12   44                44                2 yrs
Johnston, Ted           63  LT          2    24                46                2 yrs
##Madison, Max          66  LT          1    24                31                3 yrs
Bush, Jackie            70  RT          8    43                43                3 yrs
Marchand, Brandon       1   P           9    61                61                1 yr.
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           7    61                61                1 yr.
##Chandler, Bryant      77  LDE         9    51                51                2 yrs
Arends, Junior          74  RDE   LDE   8    42                42                1 yr.
Keneley, Archie         54  RDE   RDE   2    36                42                3 yrs
Arnold, Rodney          71  RDE         2    28                43                1 yr.
Garcia, Horace          78  RDE         10   17                17                2 yrs
Woods, Dustin           97  LDT   RDT   9    44                44                3 yrs
Pass, Broderick         93  LDT         9    39                39                2 yrs
Pearson, Brady          79  RDT   LDT   9    46                46                2 yrs
Sitron, Tyrus           95  RDT         7    42                42                1 yr.
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   1    58                78                5 yrs
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         2    48                54                3 yrs
Abate, Scott            59  MLB         11   42                42                1 yr.
Soriano, Heath          58  SLB   SLB   7    45                45                4 yrs
Wright, Roman           99  SLB         3    33                40                1 yr.
Owens, Jesse            90  SLB         2    25                40                2 yrs
Downs, Gene             56  WLB   WLB   7    39                39                2 yrs
Boerigter, Harris       49  LCB   RCB   11   45                45                1 yr.
Hoffman, Donnell        38  LCB   LCB   7    44                44                1 yr.
Smith, Ronnie           29  LCB         8    35                35                1 yr.
##Collier, Bo           31  RCB         10   40                40                1 yr.
Sheldon, Ian            42  RCB         7    29                29                1 yr.
Zelch, Percy            32  SS    SS    7    52                52                2 yrs
##Compton, Daniel       36  FS          6    52                52                3 yrs
Briel, Louis            34  FS    FS    3    32                32                1 yr.

With the AI handling the depth chart, the QB situation will be interesting to watch. Of course, if I need to deactivate one QB to "help" the AI make its choice, I'll do so.

ROSTER RATING: 52 (20th overall)
COHESION: 59-74-69-62.

Of course, the passing cohesion would go up quite a bit if Owen takes over as QB again.

[Ben E Lou]

2023 YEAR-END REPORT

Minor injuries caused two QBs to be used during the year. Sweazy is Unhappy about his playing time, though, which may well mean the inactivation of Clements for all or part of next season.

The secondary is *not* getting the job done right now. I'll focus there in the offseason.

AWARDS
MLB Mercury Barker: DROY
SLB Heath Soriano: 2nd Team

[RPI-Fan]

Love the dynasty so far, especially the screenshots. Keep it up and get Burks the damn ball!

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Love the dynasty so far, especially the screenshots. Keep it up and get Burks the damn ball!

Thanks! My plan is to keep doing screenies of the first round pick, and selected others (like a starting QB, for example).

[Ben E Lou]

2024 OFFSEASON

No shocker in backup RB LeGay calling it quits. Our DL position group leader also calls it a career.
.

FRANCHISE: P Brandon Marchand

SUMMER: QB Aaron Sweazy

FA1

CB Fernando VanPelt (53/53)--He's a 5th-year player with solid bars in all categories except for PR/KR. Should help shore up the secondary.

DRAFT

I have the #5 pick, and there are two CBs have my eye for that pick. There are two QBs who'll likely go 1-2, and a couple of top-shelf OTs as well, so I can probably stay put...

Yeah...I spoke too soon. One of the corners goes at #2. The #3 picking team needs a QB badly, so I feel safe there...

Yup, he goes #3. Now, Arizona is up. They've got two ancient tackles who are decent, and list G as their #1 need, CB as #3. There's a G four adjusted-rating spots above my targeted CB, and another CB who doesn't interest me ahead of them both. I feel safe staying at #5...and may trade down, even...

They take the other CB, so I take the guy I had my eye on at #5.

1(5): CB Edwin Cline (31/54)--Great combines and UR. Best bar is BnR.

2(4): S Levon Stephens (16/47)--Scouted VU and ran a 4.45 at the combines. His bars are a little better suited to CB than S, so if he can lose some of his 218 pounds, I'll move him over. But I wouldn't mind keeping him at safety.

3(8): T Lewis Braham (16/49)--A 6'5", 330-pound monster who is 1% developed, but scouted at VU with stellar combines.

4(7): DE Ray Whalen (18/24)--Interesting case. Whalen was the #63 player according to adjusted ratings, but has really bad bars and a good-but-not-great combine performance. My scout has him as UR. He's going to have to be a true VU to be productive, but with that bureau rating and those combines, methinks he's worth a shot in round 4.

5(6): C Leo Barlow (17/46)--Strong combine performance and scouted as UR.

6(5): SLB Dwayne Davis (28/36)--No-combine guy. I didn't scout him, but I should have. I see signs that he might be much better than advertised. Worth grabbing here, no doubt.

7(4): WR Tyrus Kirk (18/34)--Horrid bench press (7), but good speed/agility/sol. I didn't scout him, but he might make a decent WR4.

TRAINING CAMP

KEY IMPROVEMENTS

• QB Aaron Sweazy gained points at FA1 and in TC, and is now 36/55 and the clear starter.
• 7th-round pick WR Tyrus Kirk was a very nice +6 in camp. Looks like he has a future with us.
• T Braham was also +6. He's got a lot of developing to do, though.
• OLB Jesse Owens all of a sudden added a +11/+7 in camp this year. Nice!
• I was right about 6th-round pick Dwayne Davis. Yet another +6 guy.
• 1st-round pick CB Cline was a +3.
• 2nd-round pick S Stephens tops off the list with a +5.

KEY DROPS

• Looks like DE Bryant Chandler drew the short "random bust" straw. He dropped 16 points.

Here's Sweazy now:

[Ben E Lou]

2024 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Clements, Willie        4   QB          3    38                38                2 yrs
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    2    37                55                2 yrs
Jacoby, Johnnie         12  QB          3    27                30                3 yrs
Thibodeau, Lawrence     41  RB    RB    4    47                47                2 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB          2    39                51                2 yrs
##Fassero, Wally        43  RB          1    30                30                2 yrs
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    4    54                54                1 yr.
Anthony, Henry          84  TE    TE    6    49                49                2 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE          4    49                49                3 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    3    61                61                3 yrs
Jacks, Deion            87  FL          5    38                38                2 yrs
Kirk, Tyrus             80  FL          1    25                40                3 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE    SE    4    43                43                1 yr.
Jeffries, Leslie        88  SE          2    32                39                3 yrs
Wilkens, Hugh           57  C     C     9    51                51                3 yrs
Grant, Rufus            64  C           9    43                43                1 yr.
Barlow, Leo             50  C           1    22                47                3 yrs
Baker, Adam             68  LG    LG    6    55                55                2 yrs
McKenzie, Josh          69  LG    RG    8    46                46                3 yrs
Marquis, Paul           72  LG          4    39                39                1 yr.
Coffey, Pete            75  RG          3    39                48                1 yr.
Pearson, Wally          73  LT    LT    7    56                56                2 yrs
White, Tom              60  LT          13   41                41                1 yr.
Johnston, Ted           63  LT          3    33                46                1 yr.
Bush, Jackie            70  RT    RT    9    43                43                2 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  RT          1    21                55                4 yrs
Marchand, Brandon       1   P           10   61                61                3 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           8    60                60                4 yrs
##Chandler, Bryant      77  LDE         10   35                35                1 yr.
Keneley, Archie         54  RDE   LDE   3    39                39                2 yrs
##Arends, Junior        74  RDE         9    34                34                2 yrs
Velazquez, Jamal        98  RDE   RDE   7    32                32                2 yrs
Whalen, Ray             91  RDE         1    20                26                4 yrs
Woods, Dustin           97  LDT         10   45                45                2 yrs
Pass, Broderick         93  LDT         10   35                35                1 yr.
Sitron, Tyrus           95  RDT   LDT   8    42                42                1 yr.
Pearson, Brady          79  RDT   RDT   10   40                40                3 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   2    88                88                4 yrs
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         3    46                46                2 yrs
##Randall, Gabe         55  MLB         11   28                28                3 yrs
Soriano, Heath          58  SLB   SLB   8    46                46                3 yrs
Owens, Jesse            90  SLB         3    40                48                1 yr.
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB         1    35                42                3 yrs
Downs, Gene             56  WLB   WLB   8    37                37                1 yr.
Boerigter, Harris       49  LCB         12   41                41                3 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   RCB   1    38                57                6 yrs
##Hoffman, Donnell      38  LCB         8    32                32                3 yrs
VanPelt, Fernando       40  RCB   LCB   5    53                53                3 yrs
##Sheldon, Ian          42  RCB         8    29                29                3 yrs
##Zelch, Percy          32  SS          8    52                52                1 yr.
Compton, Daniel         36  FS    SS    7    53                53                2 yrs
Briel, Louis            34  FS          4    32                32                3 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    FS    1    24                52                3 yrs

ROSTER: 59 (19th overall)
COHESION: 70-72-69-63

[Ben E Lou]

2024 YEAR-END REPORT

A VERY solid season. Thibodeau and Nelson provided a nice 1-2 punch, Sweazy stepped up his game, and the defense did likewise. A division title and a trip to the conference championship game in year 4.


AWARDS
None.

[Ben E Lou]

Thibodeau does fumble a boatload, doesn't he?

[Ben E Lou]

2025 OFFSEASON

Four retirements, including starting DE Bryant Chandler and part-time starting T Tom White. Role players, though. No key components.

.

FRANCHISE: FB Chuck Strickland

SUMMER: T Lewis Braham

FA1

Only two minor signings--both guys rated in the upper 30s.

DRAFT

1(26): DT Craig Dowdell (50/57)--Only two DTs on the roster, and both are aging. I like him, and my scout says he's UR. I'm thinking he may be a Dusty Ford/Swamp Thing Johnson kind of breakout.

2(25): CB Chester Sutter (18/39)--Scouted VU and I need another corner on the roster.

3(24): T-->G Dan Renes (19/35)--Another position where I could use a young VU guy.

4(27): DE Damon Swiney (16/55)--HtR no-combine guy with a great Solecismic score. I have my doubts, but I need another DE.

5(26): WR B.J. Flynn (17/47)--Great bar in getting downfield, and matching combines, though. Scout says he's VU. An absolute steal if he pans out.

6(25): FB Oliver Whitworth(27/41)--I'm going to need another FB soon, and my scout says he's VU. If that's true, I'll be extremely happy with this pick.

7(24): TE Allen Brammer (15/29)--No-combine UR guy with a big Getting Downfield bar.

TRAINING CAMP KEY CHANGES

• QB Aaron Sweazy continues to gain points.
• RB Thibodeau continues to lose them. He drops another 9 to 37/37, and will not start this year.
• 3rd-round pick Renes is a +5 in camp.
• 2nd-round pick Sutter is a +6.
• 1st-round pick Dowdell is holding out.
• Most of the later picks fizzle.

MAN, Sweazy has grown! His latest player card:

[Ben E Lou]

2025 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    3    57                57                1 yr.
Clements, Willie        4   QB          4    41                41                1 yr.
Covington, Roy          11  QB          12   39                39                3 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB    RB    3    43                49                1 yr.
Thibodeau, Lawrence     41  RB          5    37                37                1 yr.
Fassero, Wally          43  RB          2    32                32                1 yr.
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    5    55                55                1 yr.
Whitworth, Oliver       31  FB          1    28                38                3 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE    TE    5    49                49                2 yrs
Anthony, Henry          84  TE          7    46                46                1 yr.
Brammer, Allen          89  TE          1    18                31                3 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    4    66                66                2 yrs
Kirk, Tyrus             80  FL          2    31                40                2 yrs
Flynn, B.J.             82  FL          1    19                42                3 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE    SE    5    43                43                3 yrs
Jeffries, Leslie        88  SE          3    40                41                2 yrs
Wilkens, Hugh           57  C     C     10   41                41                2 yrs
Barlow, Leo             50  C           2    32                47                2 yrs
Baker, Adam             68  LG    LG    7    54                54                1 yr.
McKenzie, Josh          69  LG          9    46                46                2 yrs
Marquis, Paul           72  LG          5    40                40                1 yr.
##Renes, Dan            66  LG          1    22                40                4 yrs
Coffey, Pete            75  RG    RG    4    47                50                2 yrs
Pearson, Wally          73  LT    LT    8    49                49                1 yr.
##Johnston, Ted         63  LT          4    42                42                1 yr.
Bush, Jackie            70  RT          10   44                44                1 yr.
Braham, Lewis           78  RT    RT    2    40                58                3 yrs
Marchand, Brandon       1   P           11   63                63                2 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           9    62                62                3 yrs
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE   RDE   1    20                51                4 yrs
Keneley, Archie         54  RDE   LDE   4    43                43                1 yr.
##Velazquez, Jamal      98  RDE         8    32                32                1 yr.
##Arends, Junior        74  RDE         10   25                25                1 yr.
##Whalen, Ray           91  RDE         2    24                28                3 yrs
Woods, Dustin           97  LDT         11   39                39                1 yr.
Dowdell, Craig          77  RDT   LDT   1    51                58                4 yrs
Sitron, Tyrus           95  RDT   RDT   9    44                44                2 yrs
Caswell, Brad           96  RDT         4    42                42                3 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   3    85                85                3 yrs
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         4    49                49                1 yr.
Owens, Jesse            90  SLB         4    47                47                1 yr.
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB   SLB   2    47                47                2 yrs
Soriano, Heath          58  WLB   WLB   9    47                47                2 yrs
Calico, Zach            55  WLB         13   32                32                2 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   2    57                59                5 yrs
Sutter, Chester         23  LCB         1    26                45                4 yrs
##Hoffman, Donnell      38  LCB         9    24                24                2 yrs
VanPelt, Fernando       40  RCB   RCB   6    51                51                2 yrs
##Sheldon, Ian          42  RCB         9    28                28                2 yrs
Zelch, Percy            32  SS          9    48                48                3 yrs
Compton, Daniel         36  FS    SS    8    54                54                1 yr.
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    FS    2    43                57                2 yrs
Briel, Louis            34  FS          5    37                37                2 yrs

ROSTER: 79 (6th best)
COHESION: 67-68-56-59

With Sweazy's continued development, I'm opening it up and stretching the field more with the game plan this year.

[Ben E Lou]

2025 YEAR-END REPORT

We earned the Wild Card spot, but exited quickly. The offense was just a bit more wide-open, but still ball-control overall. Sweazy has come into his own, and looks to be on the verge of stardom.


AWARDS
QB Aaron Sweazy--1st Team
WR Seth Burks--2nd Team

[Ben E Lou]

Minor house rule addition for clarification, since this isn't explicitly stated: my own RFAs can be re-signed when their contract is up, but they must be offered exactly what they're seeking.

[Ben E Lou]

2026 OFFSEASON

Two non-starters retire.

.

FA1

Just one signing, a backup QB, Kevin Stewart (40/49).

LOOK BACK AT 2001 DRAFT CLASS

(New comments in red.)

1(6): RB Lawrence Thibodeau (59/73)--I love his combines and his very high endurance. Ratings didn't pan out, but he has 5,050 yards rushing and 4.41 ypc in five seasons. I wanted more from a 1(6), but it's pretty solid production.

3(6): TE J.C. Holmes (31/46)--This VU guy looks like he'll unmask into a solid starter. He's now 50/50. He has averaged 6.76 yards per target.
3(7): WR Mario Berryhill (20/35)--Scout has him as UR, and he's an affinity match. If the scout is correct, he'll be an all-around talent. Now a 43/43 mentor, Berryhill has started for 3 1/2 seasons, and averages 7.52 yards per target
4(11): FB Chuck Strickland (30/50)--Another guy scouted UR. His main strength is run blocking--just what I need to go with Thibodeau. Strickland is a 55/55 run blocking FB. 8 career pancakes and 31.5% of KRBs have been successful.
5(10): OLB Roman Wright (14/38)--I didn't scout this guy, but he had a solid combine and should be a decent run defender, if nothing else. Backup for us for three years. Now a 37/37 mentor for Houston.
6(9): FS Louis Briel (17/32)--He scouted as HtR. I liked his speed and agility. Has been a backup for us all of his career. Now 38/38 and a mentor.
7(8): SS Bryant McGee (13/48)--Also HtR, and a bit of a stab in the dark, but hey, he's a 7th-rounder. Didn't make the team out of camp. Signed by SD and played in two games that year, then retired.

DRAFT

1(28): DT Dean Coomes (34/61)--VU no-combine guy at a position of need.

2(29): DE Luke Bryant (22/34)--Scouted as UR, I'm hoping he improves quite a bit. We really need a young DE.

3(28): C Bobby Logan (27/41)--VU great-combine guy, and I need another center.

4(29): OLB Mack Li (22/43)--VU no-combine guy at a position of need.

5(28): T Moe Thomason (15/29)--An UR guy with strong combines in broad jump and agility drill.

6(29): RB Perry Ford (23/31)--VU no-combine guy.

7(28): CB Kennedy Adams (5/11))--I didn't scout this guy, and there were a couple of other corners that I did scout who are more likely to make the team, but this guy intrigued me, and under these house rules, I had to draft him.

TRAINING CAMP KEY CHANGES

• QB Aaron Sweazy is now 65/65.
• 3rd-round pick C Logan is +4.
• 1st-round pick Coomes is +5.
• 7th-round pick Adams is +4. At 7(15), he still has a long way to go, though, before he can really contribute.
• No other big changes.

Sweazy's latest player card, and a refresher on his original:

[Ben E Lou]

2026 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    4    65                65                5 yrs
Stewart, Kevin          13  QB          5    46                46                3 yrs
Clements, Willie        4   QB          5    40                40                3 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB    RB    4    44                44                5 yrs
##Thibodeau, Lawrence   41  RB          6    36                36                1 yr.
Ford, Perry             26  RB          1    24                28                3 yrs
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    6    55                55                2 yrs
Whitworth, Oliver       31  FB          2    30                36                2 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE    TE    6    50                50                1 yr.
Anthony, Henry          84  TE          8    41                41                3 yrs
Brammer, Allen          89  TE          2    23                32                2 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    5    66                66                1 yr.
Kirk, Tyrus             80  FL          3    39                39                1 yr.
Flynn, B.J.             82  FL          2    22                39                2 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE    SE    6    43                43                2 yrs
Jeffries, Leslie        88  SE          4    42                42                1 yr.
Barlow, Leo             50  C     C     3    46                48                1 yr.
Wilkens, Hugh           57  C           11   42                42                1 yr.
##Logan, Bobby          59  C           1    32                45                4 yrs
##Baker, Adam           68  LG          8    48                48                3 yrs
Marquis, Paul           72  LG    RG    6    40                40                2 yrs
Renes, Dan              66  LG          2    27                43                3 yrs
Coffey, Pete            75  RG    LG    5    52                52                1 yr.
Pearson, Wally          73  LT    LT    9    49                49                2 yrs
Johnston, Ted           63  LT          5    43                43                2 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  RT    RT    3    59                63                2 yrs
Thomason, Moe           61  RT          1    18                31                3 yrs
Marchand, Brandon       1   P           12   63                63                1 yr.
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           10   61                61                2 yrs
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE   LDE   2    32                48                3 yrs
##Wolfe, Mitchell       70  LDE         1    18                26                2 yrs
##Keneley, Archie       54  RDE   RDE   5    42                42                2 yrs
Whalen, Ray             91  RDE         3    29                30                2 yrs
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE         1    25                36                4 yrs
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT         2    72                72                3 yrs
Caswell, Brad           96  RDT   RDT   5    43                43                2 yrs
Coomes, Dean            74  RDT   LDT   1    41                66                4 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   4    83                83                2 yrs
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         5    48                48                3 yrs
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB   SLB   3    54                54                1 yr.
Owens, Jesse            90  SLB   WLB   5    48                48                3 yrs
Li, Mack                55  SLB         1    22                41                4 yrs
Soriano, Heath          58  WLB         10   43                43                1 yr.
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   3    61                61                4 yrs
Sutter, Chester         23  LCB   RCB   2    39                49                3 yrs
##Hoffman, Donnell      38  LCB         10   16                16                1 yr.
VanPelt, Fernando       40  RCB         7    45                45                1 yr.
Sheldon, Ian            42  RCB         10   23                23                1 yr.
##Adams, Kennedy        33  RCB         1    7                 15                3 yrs
Compton, Daniel         36  SS    SS    9    47                47                3 yrs
Zelch, Percy            32  SS          10   44                44                2 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    FS    3    58                58                1 yr.
Briel, Louis            34  FS          6    37                37                1 yr.

ROSTER: 100. Lots of parity at the top. 12 teams are at 81 or better.
COHESION: 65-71-68-65

We're stretching the field even more this year on offense. Nothing major, since Sweazy's nothing special throwing 20 yards or more, but a good bit more of the 9-18 yard stuff than I've used up to now.

[Ben E Lou]

First like career-debilitating injury: FL Tyrus Kirk, in only his third year, after Week 3 is O-53 with Degenerative Hip Condition.

[Ben E Lou]

Uh-oh. Sweazy ruptures his achilles tendon in Week 10.

[Ben E Lou]

Just great. Two weeks later, backup QB Kevin Stewart goes down with a severe hamstring pull.

[Ben E Lou]

2026 YEAR-END REPORT

Hurt big-time by injuries here. Good to see Burks have the kind of season I expected from him when I threw it downfield a bit more. I also suspect that serious chemistry issues hurt us on defense.

AWARDS
MLB Mercury Barker--1st Team
WR Seth Burks--2nd Team

[Grammaticus]

I think maybe your tight end is a decendant of a pron star.

J.C. Holmes, aka John Curtis Holmes, aka Johnny Wadd.

You never know.

[Raiders Army]

Looks like maybe that one season from Nelson was a flash in the pan. Should've gone with the FA running back!

[PiemasterUK]

I guess if Sweazy only had 1629 yards after 10 games, he wasn't exactly heading for a stellar season anyway.

[Ben E Lou]

Borrowing an old house rule from the World League Challenge, regarding FAs.

Only one FA may be signed from FA1-1 through FA1-6 (still subject to the 50-rating descriptions). From FA1-7 through FA1-12, a max of three max be signed.

[QuikSand]

So... challenging? Drafting massive creeper after massive creeper year after year just seems like this team is heading into the same realm as all of yours... you'll be a complete monster pretty soon. Right?

[Ben E Lou]

So far it is, but I suspect same ol' same ol' in a few more years. We'll see how it goes. I don't tend to have fun if I'm not drafting.

[Ben E Lou]

One more new house rule that should help speed things up, and could have the side benefit of improving my drafting skillz: I may only interview no-combine guys.

[Ben E Lou]

2027 OFFSEASON

Our first draft choice, RB Lawrence Thibodeau, calls it a career after six seasons. His final rushing numbers...

.

FRANCHISE: WR Seth Burks

SUMMER: DT Coomes

FA1

The one-early-FA rule combined with the no-renegotiating rule combines to produce a big decision. I like that. I've got four starters up for free agency, and also a pretty big need at DE (24th in pass rush pct, best projected starter is 42/42). I decide to pursue a DE, and let my marginal starters sit out there through the first half of free agency. G Pete Coffey (53/53) signs with St. Louis in Week 4. WR Leslie Jeffries (43/43), who was not set to start, signs with Oakland in Week 5, and P Brandon Marchand (63/63), who had excelled in nailing the opposition deep, signs in Week 5, with Cleveland.

I sign:

STAGES 1 TO 6

DE Adam Marsh (49/49)--He hasn't been terribly impressive as a pass rusher to date, but he looks better than anyone I have.

STAGES 7 TO 12

TE J.C. Holmes (50/50)--Glad he stuck around in the class. I've liked what he has done so far.

P Jerry Strong (60/60)--Not as good at directional punting as the guy I lost, but a solid 8th-year guy.
CB Fernando VanPelt (45/45)--He has started for us the last three seasons. He's nothing special, but a cohesion helper.

LOOK BACK AT 2002 DRAFT CLASS

(New comments in red.)

1(9): WR Seth Burks (44/68)--This VU guy looks like he could be my go-to receiver for the next decade or so.--He's now 63/63. Wasn't VU, I reckon, but still has been the go-to guy I'd hoped he'd be. Has averaged over 80 catches and 1100 yards per season.

2(14): MLB Riddick Buchanan (24/56)--I take a risk here. My QB was the 5th QB on the board at this point, and this guy was the top ILB. He's VU, has a very high endurance bar, looks like a great run stopper, and appears to have a rarity for LBs: pass coverage skills. I've seen great WRs make average QBs into good ones, so if I miss on my QB, I think Burks will help elevate the passing game even without a new QB.--He is 48/48, and has never been the starter, mainly due to my grabbing a stud in the next draft.

3(13): QB Willie Clements (16/37)--If he's truly VU, then he's my long-term solution. There's lots to like about this guy, especially at this draft spot. A solid pick who hasn't really had to prove himself. He's up to 41/41, and has a 91.4 rating in 403 career attempts.

4(12): OLB Archie Keneley (33/47)--Unscouted guy with strong combines and great apparent pass-rush skills. If he doesn't creep, then his run defense could be a liability, in which case I'll probably move this 257-pounder to DE. I did bulk him up and move him to DE. He had 14 sacks in his second season, so I was hoping for big things out of him. He hasn't had more than 6 since, though. Still, he's my highest-rated starter.

5(11): LT Ted Johnston (14/46)--Hard to pass on this HtR guy who had a strong combine this late in the draft. He is now a 43/43 solid backup. Pretty decent for a 5th round pick.

6(10): OLB Jesse Owens (15/38)--I didn't interview this strong, agile guy, but he could be solid. Plus, you gotta love the name! Nice pick here, especially with no interview. He's up to 49/49, and started 9 games last year.

7(19): G Pete Coffey (18/31)--A definite "project" if he makes the team at all. Great pick here. He's up to 53/53. Only problem is that I had to let him become a FA, and he's no longer a Falcon.

DRAFT

1(18): WR George Eldred (39/68)--With the injury to Tyrus Kirk and the departure of Leslie Jeffries, suddenly our need at this position elevated, and this 4.33 speedster should be able to help.

2(17): DE Ricky Hare (41//66)--No-combine UR guy who might could provide much-needed pass rushing help.

3(19): G Troy Wells (30/56)--Top guard remaining, and had strong combines.

4(18): OLB Kendall Winters (19/35)--Not sure what to make of him. Positional drill and broad jump sucked. Other combines were great.

5(17): CB Henry Ahanotu (20/32)--I'm not sold on this guy, but his 62% development did get my attention.

6(19): T Rich Erhardt (25/33)--VU no-combine guy.

7(18): RB Mitch Banks (13/24)-- A real dark horse, but I need a good RB badly.

TRAINING CAMP KEY CHANGES

• FB Chuck Strickland: -10
• RT Rich Erhart (6th round): +4
• Undrafted FA Howie Jacobs: +3
• No big changes to other draftees, which is good for the first three picks, but not so good for the guys who went later and had low ratings.

[Ben E Lou]

2027 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    5    68                68                4 yrs
Stewart, Kevin          13  QB          6    48                48                2 yrs
Clements, Willie        4   QB          6    41                41                2 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB    RB    5    43                43                4 yrs
Ford, Perry             26  RB          2    26                27                2 yrs
##Banks, Mitch          43  RB          1    14                24                3 yrs
Strickland, Chuck       28  FB    FB    7    45                45                1 yr.
Whitworth, Oliver       31  FB          3    31                34                1 yr.
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE    TE    7    50                50                3 yrs
Anthony, Henry          84  TE          9    33                33                2 yrs
##Brammer, Allen        89  TE          3    30                34                1 yr.
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    6    62                62                5 yrs
##Kirk, Tyrus           80  FL          4    39                39                1 yr.
Flynn, B.J.             82  FL          3    26                34                1 yr.
Eldred, George          87  SE    SE    1    44                67                5 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE          7    42                42                1 yr.
Boone, Howard           88  SE          9    36                36                1 yr.
Barlow, Leo             50  C     C     4    51                51                1 yr.
Logan, Bobby            59  C           2    41                49                3 yrs
Baker, Adam             68  LG    LG    9    45                45                2 yrs
Marquis, Paul           72  LG          7    39                39                1 yr.
Renes, Dan              66  LG          3    37                49                2 yrs
##Mayes, Rob            64  LG          1    11                40                2 yrs
Wells, Troy             75  RG    RG    1    36                56                4 yrs
Pearson, Wally          73  LT    LT    10   49                49                1 yr.
Johnston, Ted           63  LT          6    42                42                1 yr.
Braham, Lewis           78  RT    RT    4    69                69                1 yr.
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT          1    30                37                3 yrs
Strong, Jerry           11  P           8    60                60                3 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           11   62                62                1 yr.
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   1    49                67                3 yrs
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE         3    37                44                2 yrs
Keneley, Archie         54  RDE   RDE   6    42                42                1 yr.
Marsh, Adam             95  RDE         6    41                41                3 yrs
Whalen, Ray             91  RDE         4    35                35                1 yr.
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE         2    30                39                3 yrs
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   3    71                71                2 yrs
Coomes, Dean            74  RDT   RDT   2    58                69                3 yrs
Caswell, Brad           96  RDT         6    44                44                1 yr.
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   5    82                82                1 yr.
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         6    48                48                2 yrs
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB   SLB   4    56                56                4 yrs
Li, Mack                55  SLB         2    26                40                3 yrs
Owens, Jesse            90  WLB   WLB   6    49                49                2 yrs
##Winters, Kendall      51  WLB         1    20                35                4 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   4    62                62                3 yrs
Sutter, Chester         23  RCB   RCB   3    50                50                2 yrs
##VanPelt, Fernando     40  RCB         8    40                40                3 yrs
Adams, Kennedy          33  RCB         2    10                18                2 yrs
Compton, Daniel         36  SS    FS    10   46                46                2 yrs
Zelch, Percy            32  SS          11   42                42                1 yr.
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    SS    4    60                60                4 yrs
##Jacobs, Howie         20  FS          1    20                27                2 yrs

ROSTER: 100. Next-best team is 86.
COHESION: 77-67-75-69

I'll run the season first thing in the morning.

[Ben E Lou]

2027 YEAR-END REPORT

Another injury-riddled season.
This was another injury-riddled season. They're too numerous to name, but I'll hit the highlights...

• Sweazy missed a bunch of games with two different injuries.
• Only seven players started all 16 games.
• The good news is that we had only two ratings-threatening injuries: starting CB Chester Sutter had back surgery late in the year, and backup RB Perry Ford suffered a torn ankle ligament, also late.

AWARDS
OLB Dwayne Davis--2nd Team

[Ben E Lou]

2028 OFFSEASON

No retirements.

FRANCHISE: MLB Mercury Barker

SUMMER: DE Ricky Hare

FA1

PLAYERS LOST

T Ted Johnston--backup tackle signs with San Diego
C Leo Barlow--starting center signs with Philly

PLAYERS SIGNED

STAGES 1 TO 6

RT Lewis Braham (70/70)--This guy has more pancakes than sacks allowed in the last two seasons. I wrap him up to a five-year deal.

STAGES 7 TO 12

FB Walt Dill (46/46)--9th-year man who will be position leader and starting FB.

LT Wally Pearson (49/49)--Re-signing of my starting LT.

WR Mario Berryhill (42/42)--8-year veteran backup WR. Chemistry help.

LOOK BACK AT 2023 DRAFT CLASS

(New comments in red.)

1(4): MLB Mercury Barker (54/80)--He's the all-around stud that I was hoping last year's 2nd-round pick, Riddick Buchanan, would become. I'm picturing big things from this kid. He's 80/80, and the star MLB I'd hoped for.

4(16): WR Leslie Jeffries (20/34)--"Blue" combines in 40, bench, agility and position drill, but HtR and very low development. I don't need him to contribute right away, and I have a mentor. He's worth it at this juncture. So he crept a little, to 42/42, but I couldn't keep him around. He's now with TEN. He's one of the league's top KO Return men now.

5(15): QB Aaron Sweazy (16/43)--I'll probably have to cut one of my other young prospects to keep Sweazy, but he's got the Accuracy/Short/Timing/Sense Rush skill set and had a solid combine. In all my seasons of FOF2K7, I've never had a QB creep like Sweazy. He's a 70/70 star today--one of the top QBs in the league.

6(14): RB Reuben Nelson (32/55)--VU no-combine guy. He's now 42/42. Had 1,515 yards and 5.37 ypc one year, but has been pretty pedestrian since.

7(13): LT Max Madison (21/43)--HtR no-combine guy. Played in five games for us as a rookie. Released the next year and never played again.

2028 DRAFT

1(24): OLB Kenneth Hines (41/51): This guy has a suspiciously low run defense bar that I don't tend to buy. He's 264 pounds, and may end up as DE. He ran a 4.41 at the combine.

2(25): OL Ethan Cobbs (21/43): He's small for a tackle, but had outstanding combines. If he can't gain weight, I'll probably move him to center or guard.

3(24): QB Everett Swatek (20/39): I've decided that I want to carry a fourth QB to speed things up (depth charts), and this guy is intriguing with his 12 formations and strong combines.

4(25): FB Bubba Britt (23/51): Strong bench/40 performance, but very low run blocking and blocking strength. I'm thinking he's masked.

5(24): S Daniel Thomson (14/44): I'm getting old at safety, and this fast guy with a solid zone defense bar may be able to help out.

6(25): WR Anthony Collier (17/43): I need a fifth WR, and his bar/combine combo makes him look like the best available to me.

7(24): DT Carlos Fagelman (11/34): Another depth pick.

From: The League Office

The league office has decided to suspend J.C. Holmes of Atlanta for the 2028 season.

Holmes tested positive for alcohol use, in violation of the league's strict anti-drug policy.

Ouch. And I almost traded up in the second round to get a TE. Holmes was set to be my starter.

TRAINING CAMP KEY CHANGES

• 1st-round pick Hines went unsigned by the AI, and was -3.
• 2nd-round pick Cobbs was +6
• No big changes to other draftees, which is good for the first three picks, but not so good for the guys who went later and had low ratings.

[Ben E Lou]

2028 ROSTER

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    6    71                71                3 yrs
Stewart, Kevin          13  QB          7    49                49                1 yr.
Clements, Willie        4   QB          7    42                42                1 yr.
Swatek, Everett         3   QB          1    24                39                4 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB    RB    6    42                42                3 yrs
Ford, Perry             26  RB          3    26                26                1 yr.
Banks, Mitch            43  RB          2    17                24                2 yrs
Dill, Walt              46  FB    FB    9    38                38                3 yrs
Whitworth, Oliver       31  FB          4    32                32                1 yr.
Britt, Bubba            41  FB          1    29                52                4 yrs
$$Holmes, J.C.          83  TE          8    50                50                2 yrs
Hall, Phillip           85  TE    TE    11   42                42                3 yrs
Brammer, Allen          89  TE          4    34                34                1 yr.
Anthony, Henry          84  TE          10   31                31                1 yr.
Burks, Seth             81  FL    FL    7    62                62                4 yrs
Flynn, B.J.             82  FL          4    28                28                1 yr.
Eldred, George          87  SE    SE    2    66                66                4 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  SE          8    42                42                3 yrs
Collier, Anthony        86  SE          1    23                44                3 yrs
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     3    49                53                2 yrs
Shepherd, Johnny        50  C           7    45                45                3 yrs
Renes, Dan              66  LG    LG    4    43                49                1 yr.
Baker, Adam             68  LG          10   40                40                1 yr.
Mayes, Rob              64  LG          2    14                40                1 yr.
Wells, Troy             75  RG    RG    2    46                55                3 yrs
**Pearson, Wally        73  LT          11   48                48                2 yrs
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT          1    28                49                3 yrs
Braham, Lewis           78  RT    LT    5    72                72                5 yrs
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT    RT    2    42                42                2 yrs
Strong, Jerry           11  P           9    59                59                2 yrs
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           12   55                55                3 yrs
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   2    63                67                2 yrs
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE         4    40                43                1 yr.
Marsh, Adam             95  RDE   RDE   7    37                37                2 yrs
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE         3    36                41                2 yrs
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   4    71                71                1 yr.
Fagelman, Carlos        97  LDT         1    14                33                3 yrs
Coomes, Dean            74  RDT   RDT   3    70                70                2 yrs
Caswell, Brad           96  RDT         7    39                39                3 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   6    80                80                1 yr.
Buchanan, Riddick       92  MLB         7    47                47                1 yr.
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB   SLB   5    58                58                3 yrs
Li, Mack                55  SLB         3    29                38                2 yrs
Owens, Jesse            90  WLB   WLB   7    49                49                3 yrs
Hines, Kenneth          93  WLB         1    40                48                4 yrs
Winters, Kendall        51  WLB         2    24                35                3 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   5    63                63                2 yrs
Baxter, Barry           27  LCB         5    46                46                3 yrs
Sutter, Chester         23  RCB   RCB   4    51                51                1 yr.
VanPelt, Fernando       40  RCB         9    28                28                2 yrs
Compton, Daniel         36  SS    FS    11   46                46                1 yr.
Thomson, Daniel         30  SS          1    19                42                3 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    SS    5    62                62                3 yrs
Jacobs, Howie           20  FS          2    28                29                1 yr. 

ROSTER: 100. Next-best team is 83.
COHESION: 88-73-97-80

With the struggles of the running game, and the continued development of the receivers, I'm going to use something similar to the "Greatest Show On Turf" game plan this year.

[Ben E Lou]

Ouch. We lose DE Ricky Hare in Week 2: MCL Knee Surgery--O44.

[Ben E Lou]

2028 YEAR-END REPORT

Good call on the game plan changes, but a mind-numbingly frustrating playoff loss in which we lost two fumbles, missed a FG, and dropped four passes. Grrrrrrrrrrr.

AWARDS/RECORDS
QB Aaron Sweazy--MVP, OPOY, 1st Team
WR Seth Burks--1st Team
K Marco Mitchell--1st Team
OLB Dwayne Davis--1st Team
S Levon Stephens--1st Team
WR George Eldred--2nd Team

Sweazy sets league single-season records for passing yards, TD passes, and 300-yard games (10).
K Marco Mitchell's 164 points is a league single-season scoring record.

[Ben E Lou]

2029 OFFSEASON

Backups TE Henry Anthony and CB Fernando VanPelt retire. DE Ricky Hare returns from his injury with no ratings loss.

FRANCHISE: MLB Mercury Barker

SUMMER: FB Bubba Britt

FA1

PLAYERS LOST

S Daniel Compton--6-year starter. 47/47.
CB Chester Sutter--former 2nd-round pick and 4-year starter. 55/55. Ouch.
QB Kevin Stewart--51/51 guy who has been a solid backup will start in New England.
G Dan Renes--one-year starter, former 3rd round pick, 51/51
ILB Riddick Buchanan--has been a backup for 7 years, 44/44

PLAYERS SIGNED

STAGES 1 TO 6

DT Craig Dowdell (71/71, re-sign)--He was the best guy available, and my guy.

STAGES 7 TO 12

DE Damon Swiney (41/41, re-sign)--5th-year man who had 35 hurries last year.

QB Willie Clements (39/39, re-sign)--Due to loss of Stewart, needed to keep this backup around

CB Lee Wages (47/47)--7-year veteran signed from Denver. Should get significant playing time, if not start.

DRAFT

A no-combine RB that my scout loves and has great bars shows up. It would be fun to run the "Greatest Show On Turf" plan with this guy running it and coming out of the backfield, so I trade my first four picks when he's not gone in the middle of the first.

In terms of reporting, to speed things up, I'm only going to report the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round picks in this thread. If someone creeps, I'll mention him later.

1(16): RB Ike Peterson (52/76): I couldn't pass this guy up.

TRAINING CAMP KEY CHANGES

• Peterson goes to 55/74 post-camp.
• 7th-round pick G Percy Arnold was 16/58-->29/66. That looks like a random breakout to me. Nice!
• No big changes to other draftees, which is good for the first three picks, but not so good for the guys who went later and had low ratings.

[Ben E Lou]

2029 ROSTER

Starting LT Lewis Braham tears a quad in preseason, and will miss the entire year.

  Player                #   Pos   Start Exp  Current Estimate  Future Estimate Cntrct 
Sweazy, Aaron           15  QB    QB    7    71                71                2 yrs
Madison, Randy          6   QB          9    39                39                3 yrs
Clements, Willie        4   QB          8    39                39                3 yrs
Swatek, Everett         3   QB          2    33                40                3 yrs
Peterson, Ike           23  RB    RB    1    58                74                5 yrs
Nelson, Reuben          44  RB          7    41                41                2 yrs
Banks, Mitch            43  RB          3    27                31                1 yr.
Britt, Bubba            41  FB    FB    2    41                51                3 yrs
Dill, Walt              46  FB          10   35                35                2 yrs
DePree, Ricardo         88  TE    TE    4    50                50                3 yrs
Holmes, J.C.            83  TE          9    46                46                3 yrs
Hall, Phillip           85  TE          12   39                39                2 yrs
Burks, Seth             81  FL    SE    8    62                62                3 yrs
Berryhill, Mario        18  FL          9    37                37                2 yrs
Eldred, George          87  SE    FL    3    67                67                3 yrs
Collier, Anthony        86  SE          2    35                45                2 yrs
##Roberts, Rod          84  SE          1    18                33                3 yrs
Logan, Bobby            59  C     C     4    53                53                1 yr.
Shepherd, Johnny        50  C           8    44                44                2 yrs
Baker, Adam             68  LG    RG    11   39                39                2 yrs
Arnold, Percy           61  LG          1    30                66                3 yrs
##Mayes, Rob            64  LG          3    18                40                1 yr.
Wells, Troy             75  RG    LG    3    56                56                2 yrs
%%Braham, Lewis         78  LT          6    56                56                4 yrs
Pearson, Wally          73  LT          12   48                48                1 yr.
Cobbs, Ethan            69  LT    LT    2    42                51                2 yrs
Erhardt, Rich           60  RT    RT    3    48                48                1 yr.
Strong, Jerry           11  P           10   62                62                1 yr.
Mitchell, Marco         17  K           13   53                53                2 yrs
Hare, Ricky             76  LDE   LDE   3    69                69                1 yr.
Swiney, Damon           79  LDE         5    41                41                3 yrs
Bryant, Luke            71  RDE   RDE   4    41                41                1 yr.
Marsh, Adam             95  RDE         8    29                29                1 yr.
Dowdell, Craig          77  LDT   LDT   5    71                71                5 yrs
##Fagelman, Carlos      97  LDT         2    17                32                2 yrs
##Garrison, Dale        91  LDT         1    14                44                2 yrs
Coomes, Dean            74  RDT   RDT   4    72                72                1 yr.
Caswell, Brad           96  RDT         8    32                32                2 yrs
Barker, Mercury         53  MLB   MLB   7    79                79                1 yr.
##Slayton, Walter       92  MLB         1    24                45                3 yrs
Davis, Dwayne           94  SLB   SLB   6    61                61                2 yrs
Li, Mack                55  SLB         4    32                38                1 yr.
Owens, Jesse            90  WLB   WLB   8    44                44                2 yrs
Hines, Kenneth          93  WLB         2    42                47                3 yrs
Winters, Kendall        51  WLB         3    29                36                2 yrs
Cline, Edwin            35  LCB   LCB   6    65                65                5 yrs
##Shanle, Donald        39  LCB         4    49                49                3 yrs
##Baxter, Barry         27  LCB         6    43                43                2 yrs
Voss, Walt              28  LCB         7    40                40                1 yr.
Wages, Lee              36  RCB   RCB   7    47                47                3 yrs
Bush, Dana              42  SS    FS    6    42                42                3 yrs
Thomson, Daniel         30  SS          2    24                40                2 yrs
Stephens, Levon         48  FS    SS    6    64                64                5 yrs
Jacobs, Howie           20  FS          3    31                31                1 yr.

ROSTER: 100. Next-best team is 87.
COHESION: 90-75-100-73

I'll continue to use something similar to the "Greatest Show On Turf" game plan this year, but run it a bit more with Peterson.