Coaching career of John Eastwood: An experiment in realism

[cutter73]

Why John Eastwood? Simple, the combination of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in any manner is baddass to me.

This franchise is an attempt at realism, not domination. There will be some oddball rules probably to try and maintain that.

Rules:
I'll be taking over the Bucs, starting in preseason, simming the first season, and leaving the team after that season. This lets me avoid the stacking up on talent in the first draft, keeps players on the teams they should be on, AND lets me hurt the TB Bucs at the same time by removing Gruden from the equation. I got nothing against the Bucs, but they are seriously overpowered in this game. It's not realistic, and I don't like seeing them dominate year in and year out. Taking a team in the second season gives me more realism in that I can only pick from whatever teams fire their coaches.

No sliders. Everything is set at the default settings. Sliders, for me, make the game way too easy to start.Upgrading coaching skills does basically the same thing, but it just takes longer. I prefer to have those few years struggling during the building process.

Free Agency signing will be limited. I don't usually sign free agents much anyway, but I will only allow myself to sign either 1 90+ overall player or two 80+ overalls. Anything below 80 rating is free game, but still, like I said, I never do much in FA anyway.

REALISM RULES:

Players drafted in the 1st round get at least three years to develop. I don't care if I draft a QB with a potential of 70 in the first round, I will not seek a replacement for three years. I'm basically operating under the assumption that I can't see the potential for any player.

Also, any player, regardlesss of ratings, who wins a rookie of the year award gets a couple more years as a starter. Any player, unless they are getting old, who makes the Pro Bowl or wins one of the other yearly awards will not be replaced the following year unless I can't afford to sign them back to my team.

I will not have a high level trainer on my staff. If I have injury prone players, I want to have to deal with the fallout of that. Again, realism is primary for me, not domination. I don't want a terrible trainer, but I don't want anything over 80 rated either. It makes having roster depth more important and, as a result, makes managing the salary cap more difficult.
I will lowball contracts when possible. Not having a great trainer means I'll have to spend more money on backup players, so that will balance out the salary cap difficulty anyway.

First season with a franchise I consider free game as far as cleaning house goes. It's rebuilding mode, and cutting good players who may be older is part of that process, as is trading players. After the first year though, I will not be free with the cutting of star players.

One exception. Game Changers. I will run this team as a hardass. Gamechangers may potentially alter my franchise in a big way. For example, any player that decides he's gonna take a weeks vacation in Mexico with his GF during the season will be cut/traded if at all possible. If I can't do that for cap reasons, he will be benched for at least the rest of the season. It makes no difference to me if he's a thrid stringer or my starting QB.

No manipulating the approval system. I work for the owner. He's the boss. If he gives me an expectation of making the playoffs, I'll meet that expectation in my preseason promise regardless of what I think. I should get an approval drop if I don't meet expectations, not an approval gain for winning three games when the owner wanted playoffs. I'll sign players as soon as I can get them signed. I won't put off those three players the owner wants me to resign until the last week of the season to get the big boost in points and keep my job. Unless , of course, negotiations with that player are just a pain. Also, no stupid Defining Moment desicions based soley on getting approval points. I will only make those calls when I feel I should. Which probably means rarely, cause most of the instances where they come up are pretty stupid to tell the truth. Basically, if I suck, I get fired, no manipulating the system to keep my job after the third 3-13 season. One allowance is for the special skill Charisma. Given that I'm likely to suck for a bit, that is a must to at least help me break even for a year or two.

PHILOSOPHIES:
Playcalling I'll use a 4-3 defense with normal blitzing. Offense will be run heavy.
QB: Pure Passer
HB: Balanced
FB: Blocking
WR: Speed
TE: Soft hands/Route. Also, one dedicate blocking TE to sub in on run plays
OL: Balanced
DE" Speed Rusher
DT: Balanced
MLB: Balanced
OLB: Balanced
CB: Man coverage
FS Centerfielder
SS Big Hitter
K: Balanced
P: Balanced
Playbooks:
Offense: Custom playbook based on Steelers Smashmouth. No created plays, just added some stock passing plays.

Defense: Jag Physical D. I like man defense, and the Jags have the best choice of Man coverage plays I could find.

Those are the guidelines basically. I have no idea what team or draft path I'll be taking over until I sim the first season. I'm just gonna go blind and let whatever path gets picked get picked.

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Simmed the first season, had my choice of a few teams to take over. Cardinals, Dolphins, Ravens, Raiders and Redskins all fired their coaches. Being a Redskins fan, the decision was pretty much made at that point. Redskins it is. I like the competition in that division anyway. Should give me a pretty good challenge.

One minor gripe, I wound up with the English draft path. Still, not much of an issue so long as I don't stockpile draft picks like crazy and stay out of the free agency market.

Anyway, that's where I'm at. I've actually gone through everything up to the start of pre-season already, I just don't have time to write it up at the moment. I'll get it started up in the next day or two as time permits.

[kdmajoslin]

Good luck with the Redskins. NFC East is a tough division.

Like the idea you had of starting out with the Bucs then leaving after the Sim season. Were you able to make any coaching changes?

[cutter73]

Thanks. I expect to struggle a bit in the East until I get my Oline redone. Also, my corners suck, and the recievers I'll be facing have me a bit worried.

I was able to make a few coaching changes, but since they kept the GM, OC, and DC I couldn't take the option of firing my staff in hiring a new one. So there are a lot of returning coaches. At least for this year anyway. I suppose, since I'm going the route of a relatively unknown coach hire, that having the OC and DC stay intact kinda fits well from a role play standpoint though.

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Zorn Era Over in Washington After One Season

The Redskins announced the firing of Head Coach Jim Zorn after a single season today. Zorn, hired just last year to breath life into a franchise that had long been on life support, went 5-11 in his first and last season as Head Coach. Ownership stated that 5-11 was simply not good enough in light of expectations last season.

Initial reports were that the Redskins were very interested in aquiring the services of Gary Hammermill, who had decided the time was right to make the jump from the college ranks. Instead, Hammermill rejected the Redskins offer and signed on with the Arizona Cardinals, leaving the Redskins to pursue other candidates.

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Enter Eastwood

After being spurned by Ken Whisenhunt, who signed with the Miami Dolphins, and Jim Westgate, who took the head coaching position in Baltimore, the Redskins today announced their new head coach.

Owner Peter Ambrose introduced John Eastwood to the a shocked Washington media this afternoon. Eastwood is an unknown to most journalists and fans. He has never coached in the college or pro ranks at any level, but has been head coach in the semi pro leagues for several years now. In that tenure he accumulated five straight league championships and gained a reputation as a no nonsense type of guy with little patience for drama or excuses.

When questioned about making the transition to the NFL, Eastwood answered:

"Football is football. It's man on man and the best guy wins. It's not always X's and O's. Sometimes, it's just attitude and will. You make a commitmant to the organization and your teamates, and then you leave everything on the field. Doesn't matter if it's a 20 man roster or a 53 man roster. You load up on guys who can make the cut, get rid of the guys who can't, and you go out and work day in and day out to get better."

It may not be as simple as that. Ambrose is not known for his patience and has exhibited a quick fix mentality since he took over ownership of the team. With a roster full of aging talent and unproven youngsters, a quick fix seems unlikely to work. When asked if the team would be in rebuilding mode this season, Eastwood was very forthright:

"The mode of operation around here hasn't worked. The big name free agency signings haven't worked. The reliance on reputation of some players that were forged a few years ago hasn't worked. I know a lot of people say this team has all the talent to win, but 5-11 is 5-11 no matter how you look at it. You don't win on potential, and starting now, players won't be secure on the team based soley on potential. There will be a major overhaul in the next few months. This will not be the same Redskins team you are used to seeing."

It remains to be seen if Ambrose will give Eastwood time to make those promised changes.

In other news, Tampa Bay has signed Clancy Pendergast to replace the departed Jon Gruden, and the Raiders have hired Tony Sparano as their head coach.

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Purge in progress in Washington.

The Redkins coaching staff has under gone a slight overhaul. Offensive Coordinator Sherm Shimth and Defensive Coordinator Greg Blanche have been retained. Reports indicate that those coaches were kept in place to provide a comfort zone for Eastwood as he dapts to the demands of the NFL. A full recounting of staff moves follows:

Staff carry over:
OC Sherman Smith 33
DC Greg Blanche 45
ST Danny Smith 47
QB Jack Burns 23
WR Stan Hixon 45
DB Jerry Gray 93
GM Danny Spyder 42

Staff Hires:
RB James Saxon 60
OL Fred Graves 26
LB Mike Katcavage 40
DL Keith Millard 40
T Dr. Mike Bailey 64


Also, the roster is undergoing massive changes as many familiar faces have been cut loose:

DT Cornelius Griffin Age- 32, Overall- 80. Save 5.67M
C Casey Rabach 31, 81 save 2M
CB Carlos Rogers, 27, 77, save 1.8M
CB Shawn Springs, 33, 83 Save 5.25 M
OLB Marcus Washington, 31, 83 save 5.25M

The most surprising name on this list may be Rogers. A first round selection a few years ago, Rogers never lived up to the expectations in Washington. In addition he seemed not to fit into the new man coverage philosophy Eastwood means to employ.

Additionally, the Redskins decided not to renew the contracts of G Pete Kendall, K Shaun Suisham, or long snapper Ethan Albright.

QB Jason Campbell, long embattled as the starter in his tenure with Washington, also faces an uncertain future. Eastwood has stated that, while he thinks Campbell has talent, he fears that circumstances have made it impossible for Campbell to remain in Washington. After extensive discussions with his quarterback, Eastwood has given him leave to seek a trade and Campbell will not likely be part of the Redskins when the season starts.

As a final note, verteran backup quarterback Todd Collins has decided to retire, further muddling the Redskins quarterback picture.

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Change of Pace in Washington Free Agency Plans.

Washington remained surprisingly quiet in this seasons free agency market despite several high profile players being available. Most pundits thought Washington would make a strong push to sign Chad Ocho Cinco or Julius Peppers, but the Redskins showed little interest in either player. The only signing in Washington came from the hiring of kicker Alexis Serna to a 2 year contract worth 3.2 million with a 500k bonus.

Notable free agent moves:

DE Julius Pepper- Carolina
WR Chad Ocho Cinco- Dallas Cowboys (HATE to see this)
DE Osi Umenyiora- Detroit (HAPPY to see this)
TE Ben Watson- Panthers
T Willie Anderson- Jets
MLB Jeff Kimble (88), 26 - Broncos (Don't know where he came from)
MLB Tedy Bruschi- Bucs
MLB Zach Thomas- Chiefs
MLB Bart Scott- Bengals
HB Rudi Johnson- Panthers
TE Alge Crumpler- Bills
SS Rodney Harrison- Bears
HB Fred Taylor- Bucs
OLB Donnie Edwards- Rams
CB Shawn Springs- Saints
OLB Marcus Washington- Vikings
SS Roy Williams- Patriots

Not a whole lot of action in my own division. Glad to see Osi gone from the Giants, but really don't like seeing Ocho Cinco go to Dallas to replace Owens who retired. Speaking of retirements:

Notable retirements:
FS John Lynch- Miami
DT Pat Williams- Vikings
C Kevin Mawae- Titans
QB Mark Brunell- Saints
DE Trevor Pryce- Ravens
T Orlando Pace- Rams
QB Trent Green
QB Jon Kitna- Lions
QB Brett Favre- Jets
WR Issac Bruce- SF
T Jon Runyon- Eagles
WR Terrell Owens- Dallas
WR Marvin Harrison- Colts
HB Edjerrin James- Cardinals
QB Kurt Warner- Cardinals
HB Warrick Dunn- Bucs
WR Joey Galloway
C Tom Nalen- Broncos
OLB Willie McGinest- Browns