GroupThink - Little Rock Rollers, 1996 offseason

[QuikSand]

GroupThink – Little Rock Rollers

This is a continuation of the GroupThink career, managing the Little Rock Rollers. The career started in 1990, and has been jointly managed by several of the regular FOFC members, with input from numerous others.

All are welcome to download the game files, and join in the discussions. (Note: the game files will rename your cities and teams, so back up your own universe directory before overwriting those files)

GroupThink Original File


For the detailed history of the Little Rock Rollers, here are previous threads that can get you up to speed:

GroupThink beginnings
House Rules
1991 offseason
1991 regular season
1992 offseason
1992 regular season
1993 offseason
1993 regular season
1994 season
1995 offseason
1995 season



And, in case you’d rather cut to the chase – here is the club’s record of success to date, after our taking over the franchise in 1990 (after the original one-player universe settled into maturity):

Year  Team  Eval  Perf  Diff  Proft FrVal Record    Playoffs  
1995  LTR   72    90    68    75    62    14-4-0    Conference Final       
1994  LTR   74    95    70    75    62    15-4-0    Conference Champion    
1993  LTR   73    95    72    86    50    15-4-0    Conference Champion    
1992  LTR   70    100   75    90    35    15-4-0    Bowl Winner            
1991  LTR   54    66    76    80    22    12-6-0    Division Final         

So, read on, play along, join the staff or just let us know what you think!

[QuikSand]

1996 offseason

Retirements

We don’t suffer any defections this year – our entire roster (those undercontract, at least) will return intact for another potential title run.


Front Office

Our 52 year old coach, Full Contact Jarvis, is up for a new contract. His ratings may have slipped a bit – his rating for defensive playcalling is down to “fair.” I realize that we had a mighty winning season, but it’s possible that we could do better.

I submit to the collected minds of the GT team: maybe it’s time for a coaching change. I think there are two candidates who might make sense for us, as a well-developed team looking to (perhaps) improve on-field execution.

Luther Drake has been winning with Bermuda, is rated “good” in both playcalling sides, and “very good” in avoiding injuries. Not a bad match.

Ted Ellison is probably the highest-priced coach available, but is rated “very good” in both defensive playcalling and avoiding injuries, offsetting his “average” in offensive playcalling to some degree. He’s somewhat shaky in player development, but he might be the best “on field” guy for right now among those available.

So, there are a couple of options. I’ll leave it here for right now, and let us hash this out – it seems like a meaningful decision to make as a group.

[QuikSand]

Here's the first file update, if you need it

[QuikSand]

Second file update

[Bee]

I say stick with Jarvis. The guy has taken us to the playoffs every year. I don't remember what kind of house rules we have, but I hate the idea of firing a guy who has a success record like that.


And I still love the name Full-Contact.

[QuikSand]

I've got no particular problem with Jarvis, and I agre about the name - it's tough to beat.

That said, one of the main assets he has/had is his skill with player development. He has played a major role in bringing along our young players.

The offset is that he is far from the best at getting the most out of our players. Particularly on defense, he simply doesn't call a very good game. That shows, I think.

Our house rules don't prohibit us from pursuing another coach (Jarvis's contract is up - we actually wouldn't be firing him, just picking someone else instead. I realize it's a minor difference, but that's what our rules specify.)

I have no problem at all if we say, either because we want him or we think it's realistic, that we want to stick with Jarvis. There's certainly very little to argue with in terms of results.

[Bee]

Well, if it's within the rules I can see reasons for making the change. We definitely need the help on avoiding injuries and defensive playcalling.

[QuikSand]

Actually, FCJ already has a "very good" rating in avoid injuries - so if we improve there, it would be a marginal improvement with another guy at best.

[Bee]

That's disappointing to hear. We seem to have significant injuries to starters every season. I guess that's probably realistic though.

[wade moore]

Without actually seeing the game file, I'm very torn on this..

Jarvis has been very successful for us, and my offense in particular.. I do not know his ratings in offensive PC compared to the others, or in QB, but obviously I'd love to not lose ratings there...

Also, Jarvis has done well for us.. killer regular seasons and good playoffs.. but we're starting to get "always the bridesmaid, never the bride" syndrome.. We won early, and have been slowly sliding in the playoffs since... It's a fine line to draw between loyalty and wanting to win... Full-Contact is great and a part of me would love to ride his skills into the sunset, but I don't know that it's worth the negatives involved.. Realism isn't a concern, coaches have been fired for bridesmaid syndrome before...

All of that being said, I am inclined to keep him unless he slips further in the ratings in the future.

[QuikSand]

Not moving past the coach decision.. just forecasting issues we will need to resolve soon as well...

As we look at our roster issue moving forward, here’s the lay of the land.

Currently we have $47.3m in cap room
We have 34 players currently signed
Our draft is expected to cost us $11.2m, and bring us 6 players
So, we will have some $36m to fill 20 slots

Practically speaking, I think that if we spend about $5m on players marginally more expensive than rookie minimum (in keeping with our usual practice), that leaves us in the neighborhood of $20 million to spend on two players

Let’s keep in mind that DT Clifton Ramsey is currently demanding a deal for $94m over four years – meaning that his cap number (should he re-sign with us) would be something like $18.3 million this year alone. So, we’ve got that to contend with – if he re-signs with us, that might completely wipe out our reasonable chances of pursuing other top-tier players.

Among the free agents out there, I would note that RB Brent Oksenberg is out there, after serving two seasons with Norfolk. He will listen to an offer from us (recall a trade maneuver to leave that on the table) and I think it might be worth considering. I know, it sounds bizarre, but we really could use a second contributing running back. Regrettably my evil scheme would have us picking up a RB who would become more popular than Crawford, thereby allowing us to cut him. Alas, Crawford’s popularity is at an all-time high of 98, and there’s no ridding ourselves of that contract any time soon (there is nobody out there whose signing would allow us to cut Crawford, even if wanted to use that end-around tactic).

WR Kenny McAlister is asking for almost $10m this year, and restricted FA Matthew Morrell has set his sights at $14.9m for this year. We’ll see Morrell’s demands come down, I’m sure, but probably not much below $10-11m this year (and escalating after that). it’s going to take some serious figuring to see how to afford either one of these guys to come back this year – especially as we have three passable starters in Hill, Perea, and Dockery. (Yes, I know that all things equal we’d probably rather have McAlister and Morrell than those three… but all things clearly are not equal)

And not to throw in more complications, but during a year with a shaky injury situation at the defensive line, hats off to one-year signee DT Karl Sinard, who posted great numbers: 63+14 tackles, 11 sacks, a very solid PR Pct of 5.7, and a very nice showing of 979 plays on the field. He really saved our effort up front, and may have been the team’s defensive MVP last year. He’s without a contract at this point (by design), but his asking price is over $12m for the coming year.

This is going to be a brutal offseason, mostly due to DT Ramsey’s looming monster deal. In the background, of course, is our idolized star quarterback, whose $5m salary is destined to grow to something over $20m for next season, and we’ll have no choice but to at least pursue him. Just keep that in mind.


From my perspective, here’s where we start. We know that we have to make an offer to DT Ramsey. I suspect there’s a good chance he will take it. But, if he doesn’t, I don’t think we go into this year with a $15-20m hole in our budget – we need a Plan B. One easy thing to do would be to re-sign WR Morrell with that cap space – he’ restricted, so we can wait to see what happens with everyone else before we decide on him. Another thing to do would be to offer a deal to DT Sinard, in hoped than Ramsey leaves and Sinard signs (more cheaply). If Ramsey takes our deal (or looks like he will), we pull the plug on the offer to Sinard. Those are the best ideas I have right now.


This might be the toughest offseason we have had yet. We have three first round draft picks, but the earliest one is at #22 – so we can’t lock in that we’ll get an impact starter necessarily (like we have the last two years with earlier bonus picks).


Anything more on all this?

[cthomer5000]

whew, that's a lot to take in. Personally I hope we don't re-sign Ramsey, I really pray he recieves a ridiculous offer and goes elsewhere. He doesn't seem to have come close to playing up to his level of talent. I say we make him an offer with the lowest bonus allowed under our house rules.

Hopefully we can package two of the first rounders to move up into the "impact" range, we're going to need some starters from the draft again.

On the coaching situation i'm neutral. I think if we move on that Jarvis will land elsewhere, so i won't feel horrible if we decided to go elsewhere. That being said, I don't see how you can turn your back on a guy who has done so much for us.

[Bee]

Originally posted by QuikSand

From my perspective, here’s where we start. We know that we have to make an offer to DT Ramsey. I suspect there’s a good chance he will take it. But, if he doesn’t, I don’t think we go into this year with a $15-20m hole in our budget – we need a Plan B. One easy thing to do would be to re-sign WR Morrell with that cap space – he’ restricted, so we can wait to see what happens with everyone else before we decide on him. Another thing to do would be to offer a deal to DT Sinard, in hoped than Ramsey leaves and Sinard signs (more cheaply). If Ramsey takes our deal (or looks like he will), we pull the plug on the offer to Sinard. Those are the best ideas I have right now.

If I understand what you are proposing (that we make an offer to Sinard and Ramsey both in week 1), I'd be concerned that Sinard signs first, which could be a problem since we can't retract the offer to Ramsey.

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
Hopefully we can package two of the first rounders to move up into the "impact" range, we're going to need some starters from the draft again.

Once we see the rookie class, we'll sort this out, but my inclination is the same. We ought to try to move up to get a "target player" at a need area - maybe DT, even.

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Bee
If I understand what you are proposing (that we make an offer to Sinard and Ramsey both in week 1), I'd be concerned that Sinard signs first, which could be a problem since we can't retract the offer to Ramsey.

I'm aware it's a risk... I suspect we'd have to eat some cap hiot one way or another under that scenario. Risky, I agree.

[Bee]

Well, Sinard did post some HUGE numbers for a DT. Might be worth the risk with our need on the defense.

[QuikSand]

Incidentally, I just checked, and it seems we gt pretty much left out of the season awards last year. WR Kenny McAlister got second team, but that's it. It looks like TE Lamont Dresow narrowly lost out in a three-way battle for the two all-pro slots (as that seems to be simply based on gross receiving stats), and a guy liek DT Sinard didn't even make the top four DT spots, despite a great year. I'm sure injuries played a role as well (QB Coghill, of course) but for a top seed, it's a littl odd to be so poorly represented. (Rather like the Titans last year in the NFL, yes?)

[primelord]

Should we consider slapping the tag on Ramsey? It would save us 6 million dollars this year if he were to sign.

Personally I am not ready to give up on Ramsey. He was banged up last year, but the year before was showing signs of becoming a great player.

[primelord]

Dola,

Also given his very high loyalty rating and his 100 wants to play for a winner rating I would say we are a lock to resign Sinard if we make him an offer.

[primelord]

Maybe something to consider. LDE and 1995 defnesive player of the year K.C. Brackens is alos a free agent. And he is looking for almost the exact same deal and Karl Sinard. If we were going to go for Sinard would maybe the better way to go be to go after Brackens (which would give us two elite DE's) and then go for a DT in the draft instead?

[QuikSand]

I don't see how we can afford to go after players who are not on our roster (if we end up with DT Ramsey). Candidly, unless I'm grossly miscalculating, we're going to be able to keep at most one of our top free agents players (among DT Sinard, and the two star WRs) going into this year. I ust don't see the math on how we can afford to make an offer to an outside player this offseason - I think the only way we can even think about re-signing Sinard is either (a) if Ramsey splits, or (b) if we wait him out and his demands come down - a luxury we don't have with a player from elsewhere.

Personally, I just don't think we have any shot to go out and land a big fish this offseason.

[Anrhydeddu]

Most fascinating and intriguing. I like primelord's idea of the tag.

[Bee]

Originally posted by Anrhydeddu
Most fascinating and intriguing. I like primelord's idea of the tag.

I definitely think it's something to consider. One possible backlash would be getting stuck with having to use it on him year after year if we don't sign him long term.

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by Bee
I definitely think it's something to consider. One possible backlash would be getting stuck with having to use it on him year after year if we don't sign him long term.

plus I'm not sure he's a very safe investment at this point. If you looked at how he's played, he's shown us next-to-nothing. I'd personally be in favor of risking (hoping?) that we lose him so we can spend the money elsewhere.

[primelord]

I had forgot we could sign our own players anytime. I was thinking you were going to make an offer to both Ramsey and Sinard in the 1st round. So if you were going to do that why not make an offer to Ramsey and Brackens in the first round. But I understand now.

If we tag Ramsey maybe it will leave us enough money to also sign Morrell once his demands come down some. The other way to go would be to low ball him the best we can under our rules and just hope someone outbids us. It's possible they will since he is rated as the second best DLineman available. He also doesn't have a very high loyalty rating so its possible he will just move on if we don;t give him exactly whathe is looking for.

[Bee]

Originally posted by cthomer5000
plus I'm not sure he's a very safe investment at this point. If you looked at how he's played, he's shown us next-to-nothing. I'd personally be in favor of risking (hoping?) that we lose him so we can spend the money elsewhere.

Good point.

The fan favorite rules seem to be adding a good bit of strategy to the off season moves.

[wade moore]

Well, I too hope that we don't sign Ramsey.. It is a costly gamble though... If we use the franchise tag, we shackle ourself to Ramsey basically for the rest of his career, which scares me quite a bit... Atleast with a contract there is a chance that once it is up he will go back on the market and someone else will pick him up... with him being the second rated DL in the FA, I think it is worth lowballing him as much as we can, and then hoping someone else snags him.... so we can get one of my WR's .. as for which WR to grab... I think that McAlister is probably the way to go... He is cheaper, is more of a long time team member (important to me for reality), and I think he feels a bigger need position. Then perhaps we can find the next Morrell in the draft. In actuality, which one of these I prefer probably depends more on which position is stronger in the draft..

As for The Ox... I don't think it would take too much convincing to talk me into grabbign him... I don't know what he is asking for because I'm still not home, but if he is no more than a couple of mil I think it would be a great move as he and Biggs would compliment each other well...

I am very afraid of having to re-sign Cog and the fact that the same things being said (i hope we don't re-sign him!) about Ramsey could be said about my new favorite player!

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by wade moore
I am very afraid of having to re-sign Cog and the fact that the same things being said (i hope we don't re-sign him!) about Ramsey could be said about my new favorite player!

no chance. I think we all agree that Cog is a Roller for life.

[primelord]

The Ox won't be available to us. When I skipped the coaching stage to see what contracts players were asking for Norfolk placed the franchise tag on The Ox.

Honestly I am not sure we would want him anyway. If he is looking for a good chunk of money he may not be worth it. He was banged up for us a lot and he has only been able to play 13 games in the past two years for Norfolk.

If we don't get Ramsey are we going to make a bid for Sinard? We are really going to be gutting the defense if we lose both of these guys. Our DLine is going to be very suspect next season. Ramsey may not have lived to up to his potential yet and he certainly hasn't played at the level of money he is asking for yet, but he still put up solid numbers for a DT over the past couple of years.

[Bee]

I don't see us not getting Ramsey. I'd be surprised if anyone offers him more than what we have to offer him. If it happens and Sinard is still there, I say we definitely make the move and resign Sinard.

[wade moore]

Originally posted by primelord
The Ox won't be available to us. When I skipped the coaching stage to see what contracts players were asking for Norfolk placed the franchise tag on The Ox.

Honestly I am not sure we would want him anyway. If he is looking for a good chunk of money he may not be worth it. He was banged up for us a lot and he has only been able to play 13 games in the past two years for Norfolk.

If we don't get Ramsey are we going to make a bid for Sinard? We are really going to be gutting the defense if we lose both of these guys. Our DLine is going to be very suspect next season. Ramsey may not have lived to up to his potential yet and he certainly hasn't played at the level of money he is asking for yet, but he still put up solid numbers for a DT over the past couple of years.

I think we definately need to get one of these guys, as you stated, D was a big enough weakness for us as it was.. if we are confident that no one else will sign ramsey, then I feel we have to franchise him.. I'm not as confident as you, but I don't think I know that aspect of the game as well as you and QS.. my feeling is if we think we have a fighting chance for him to be signed by someone else, we should not franchise him.. If we don't WANT him, and would rather see him fall to someone else and pick up some cheaper guys, then I feel we make the lowest offer we can and hope for the best.. I'm relatively confident that others will fight for him, since he is almost maxed out in all categories except endurance and still pretty young..

[QuikSand]

As for the franchise tag, another thought. We might very well want to use the tag next year on Otis Coghill - doing so might well save us $5m or so as his demands drop. So, using the tag on DT Ramsey might preclude that.

Plus, if we just went with the one-year tender for Ramsey, we'd be stuck *forever* using that with him, as I believe he would never again listen to our contract offers. So, that might be a decade without using the tag on another player, since he's very highly revered. Just a thought into all this.

[QuikSand]

Sensing no particular consensus, I’m making the executive decision to offer a new deal to Full Contact Jarvis. As we await his decision, we see Luther Drake re-sign with Bermuda for $12.5 million per year. Ted Ellison, it seems, generated no interest – and has moved on to other things (the college ranks, perhaps?). Our offer to Jarvis hangs out there until the last phase – finally we get him to agree to four more years at $6.5 million. Financially, compared to Drake at least, this was a no-brainer. So, welcome back Full Contact – we loved you all along.


Now, with that taken care of – on to other things. We lost $12 million last year – we’re close to breaking even, but still falling short. We again adjust ticket prices, but need to keep an eye on this, for realism’s sake.


We move ahead into the free agency period, without using the franchise tag. We may want to do so at some point in the future, but I think there is (at least close to) general agreement that now is not the time. DT Clifton Ramsey is a good player, and we will pursue him, but we cannot lock up the tag on him.

Our offer to Ramsey, consistent with our rules: 4yrs, $88 million, $20m in signing bonus. Good heavens.


Incidentally, I see we have a quandary at TE (once again). Lamont Dresow, who has become an integral part of our pass attack we’ll all agree, is no longer oupr fan favorite at the position. That role now falls to young Juan Hatcher, who happens to be up for a new contract this year, and is asking for nearly $3 million this season. So, we may need to decide what to do here. Trading or releasing Dresow (though it would hurt your GM to do so) would save us some $5.75m in cap room this year – enough to sign Hatcher and then some. We may have to consider it – though I have no idea at all what an all-star tight end fetches in the trade market. Set that on the back burner, I guess – but we’ll have to resolve it, as Hatcher will have to get a new deal of some sort.


I have, incidentally, moves safety Ty Lincoln over to strong safety, where he will probably give old man Donnie Bridgeman a run at the starting job this year. Lincoln is a serious fan favorite – a guy we’re going to have to hold on to, so we might as well make use of him. By playing him at SS, he eclipses Bridgeman’s popularity also, for future planning purposes (though it would be nice to have Bridgeman retire after this year as a “legend of the game” with us).


As for open free agents, I don’t see how we can pass up on LT Cornelius Lofton. I say we sign him and release or trade LT Irving Armstrong – we’d upgrade at the position, and only very slightly uptick our costs. Lofton is a potential starter at LT for us, but at the very least a quality 6th lineman at a scarce position, for just around $2m.


I will note that there is no shortage of very passable QBs in this free agent class – including Reuben Coleman, who has done pretty well for himself since he left our midst a few years ago. He is asking for 3yrs at $11.8m – probably a little steeper than we’d like, but it’s out there as an option (given Coghill’s frailty, might be worth considering). Alternatively, we probably need to look at a youngster in the draft this year to become our #2 man. Benjamin Newton is in his final year, and probably won’t be re-signed (looking ahead to next season) under any circumstances.


If we wanted to bring in a fairly experienced RB – Albert Hicks might be an option, asking for just over $4m per season. He has one great season under his belt (1,592 yards rushing in 1993, followed by a year on the bench) – I’m guessing he might have been an injury casualty as well. Regardless, he would make a solid #2 back for us, I’d say – he still has a solid array of skills.


Similarly, about $4m would probably land us DE Herman Anderson, who has been pretty effective when starting, and would probably be good for around 10 sacks. He’s not flashy, but seems very consistent, and can be had fairly cheaply for that position.


A former player of ours at LB, Jerald Barber, is a free agent following an all-pro season with Texarkana, and is still only looking for $4.7 over 2 years. He’s a good fit for our skill needs, it seems, with good zone skills – seems like he’d be a good fill in, and a possible starter if we lose Clay Harden after this season.


I like CB Levon Reeg as CB, a cheap reserve at an expensive position, but a guy with some decent skills (and a few voids). While I feel we’re pretty set at safety, Don Kadletz looks like a pretty good fit for us, too – and also very cheap.


Those are some initial thoughts… please have a look yourself, and we can decide where to go from here.

[QuikSand]

First update file, into free agency

[QuikSand]

Second file update

[QuikSand]

Among draftees, I looked quickly at the DL options... and there simply isn't that much. I was hoping for the all-out stud that we might be willing to deal two or three picks to move up and get - I don't see him.

Bert Ellis is a pass-rushing DT with uneven but potentially impressive skills, who has good upside by my analysis. He ought to be a pass-rushing terror (a la Karl Sinard, perhaps, though probably not as good against the run). I have no idea whether he goes with pick #5 or pick #25.

At DE, I don't liek a lot. Adrian Brewer is another guy who doesn't look like the prototype early DE pick - but who knows when he might be selected? I'd think he's the most promising DE in the lot, but I don't know if I'd move up to get him, either.

Tough call. RB Jamal Lucas, though, is the real thing, and should be OROY, write it down.

[Bee]

I agree about LT Lofton. I say go for him and move Armstrong.

I'd love to get a solid center this off season. I really like Tyrone Coles in the draft, but I expect he'll be gone pretty early. In free agency, no one stands out as being significantly better than what we got that's affordable. If Coles ends up dropping in the draft, I wouldn't mind moving up to get him at a reasonable pick.

[cthomer5000]

wow, if we can move up to get RB Jamal Lucas, I think we should do it. Maybe if he gets past the first pick we can consider it.

LT Cornelius Lofton looks like a free-agencyt steal.

there are a lot of cheap guards who can probably get the job done as well.

[wade moore]

*drool*.. Jamal Lucas.. *drool*... Obviously, Jamal Lucas is a guy I would LOVE to have... If we had Coghill and Lucas on our team, we wouldn't need a defense .. I agree that if he gets past say first or second pick, we could make an attempt to move up.. fortunately we can shop draft picks around..

In Free Agency, I agree with all of the others that we make a move on Lofton. On another note on the line, is it just me or did McGee's green bars move done some? I wouldn't mind seeing improvement at RT or RG either, but there really doesn't seem to be too much in FA..

Like QS, I hate to see a TE who caught 66 balls and near 1,000 yards go... However, with our house rules stating that we need to make a move on Hatcher, I don't see how we can justify wrapping $10mil up in the TE spot.. I think we put in our offer to Hatcher, and ride out to see what happens with Ramsey.. if we get Ramsey, we can drop/trade Dresow and use that money for Sinard... a side note, Dresow is a classy vet if we wanted to renegotiate, but it doesn't seem like it would save that much cash..

Looking at QB's, Coleman interests me a great deal also.. he has solid ratings and has shown good numbers, although the cost is a concern.. if we want to be a little more frugal, I like Ethan O'Donnell and or Jesse Cascini as viable options..

I like Hicks at RB, but if somehow we pull off a miracle and get the RB in the draft, he would be a waste of cash.. I actually think at this stage I would rather have Dresow than Hicks as a backup. So, if the money becomes tight, that is the way I would rather see us go -- keep this money in an effort to keep Dresow on the team.

In the draft, besides Lucas, here is what I see... I like Tyrone Coles a lot just like Bee.. If he is there late in our first round, or perhaps our second round, I would love to see us taking him.. FL Allen Daniel would be a great impact player on both offense and special teams, but I suspect he will be gone before our pick also. If we got him, there would be no need to keep Morrell though. RB Cornell Malone is a guy that could be taken down at our pick and have a good impact on our team. QB Clarence Legg is a guy that catches my eye as our future young star.. although the picks were we usually try to get these guys in the middle of the draft are all gone..

[QuikSand]

TE Dresow is, I'm afraid, not old enough to be renegotiated by us, according to our working definition of "classy veteran":

1. In the 10th year or later of his career.
2. Has played 5 full seasons on my team.
3. Has a Loyalty rating >75.

[wade moore]

Woops.. I forgot about #1, was only thinking about 2 and 3.. Thanks for correcting that..

[QuikSand]

I'll cry real tears over Dresow. He's my favorite player on the team right now. I have a soft spot for the TE position in football. (Carefuly worded to avoid double enendre)

[QuikSand]

Well, I'm looking at Kitty Hawk, who have the #1 pick in the draft, and have "starting RB" listed as their top need. So, I figure if we wanted to trade up to get Jamal Lucas, we'd probabl have to get that pick.

I offered them (tentatively, of course) our three first rounders, plus next year's 1st and second round picks.

No dice.

We ain't gonna see Jamal Lucas in a Roller uni anytime soon, gang.

[QuikSand]

Tulsa, holding the #5 pick overall, is willing to let it go in exchange for our two bonus picks at #22 and #23. (It's a close call, as they won't make the deal if the #30 pick is in there) That's probably the limit of hiw high we could trade up using two picks, if the need arose.

[primelord]

Another guy who may be worth looking at in free agency is former Roller DE Russell Austin. He is coming off of a very solid year in his first year as a starter and is only looking for a 1 year 3.9 mil contract.

Another cheap guy who might be worth taking a look at. NT Brent Rau. We would have to switch his position, but When giving full playing time he seems to be good for about 7 sacks and 40+ tackles. He is looking for a 3 yr 8.4 mil contract.

[QuikSand]

At the moment, here's my plan for the first stage of free agency:

Big offer to DT Ramsey, of course
Offer in to LT Lofton, by consensus
Cheap 2yr offer in to QB Jesse Cascini (no bonus, no risk there)
Cheap 2yr offer to CB Levon Reeg (also no bonus there)

And we'll keep an eye on DT SInard and our wideouts, as that's where we'd spend money if we fail to get Ramsey.

Anyone have more things to add to the mix? This isn't going to be a season of addition through free agency, it seems. We'll just bring in our draft picks, and a ton of fill-ins, and otherwise hope not to take on too much water.

[cthomer5000]

I really hope we get outbid on Ramsey.

[wade moore]

QS,

Sound like a plan to me.. we're just floating here and really can't make too many decisions until we know what happens with Ramsey.. if we get him, he obliterates our cap and we really don't have any decisions to make.. if we don't we get to fight over dresow, sinard, morrell, and mcallister..

[cthomer5000]

Originally posted by wade moore
QS,

Sound like a plan to me.. we're just floating here and really can't make too many decisions until we know what happens with Ramsey.. if we get him, he obliterates our cap and we really don't have any decisions to make.. if we don't we get to fight over dresow, sinard, morrell, and mcallister..

Agreed. We can probably move ahead a bit in free agency to see the outcome of Ramsey, we're paralyzed until then.

[QuikSand]

Okay, we have entered the free agent period, with those four bids (detailed above) outstanding, plus a one-year offer of about $4m to DE Russel Austin (per primelord's request).

After one week - there is some news. DT Clifford Ramsey has received an offer of $133.8 million over five years from Wheeling (our playoff rival). That might well mean that we get to relax a little, and find another way to spend that big money that we would have been using on him.

More to come...