Friday, March 18, 2016
In this draft, I didn't have any immediate needs, so I was just looking to get some depth. I went with a BPA approach through the whole draft, and if there wasn't a guy I liked at that spot, I traded down or for future picks. I still picked 10 players, so with the UDFAs I have 15 rookies headed into the preseason.
1(31) Delbert Conroy WR 6'2" 225
3(73) Cole Roberts QB 6'1" 220
4(124) Brent Porter LG 6'2" 326
4(128) Dave Bridges P 6'1" 184
5(156) Janoris Abbott LT 6'4" 318
5(159) Matt Morton LE 6'4" 276
6(191) Tracy Smith FB 6'2" 238
7(201) Paul Carroll SS 6'0" 199
7(219) William Glaser QB 6'2" 222
7(223) Denard Davis OLB 6'0" 239
1(31) Delbert Conroy WR 6'2" 225
3(73) Cole Roberts QB 6'1" 220
4(124) Brent Porter LG 6'2" 326
4(128) Dave Bridges P 6'1" 184
5(156) Janoris Abbott LT 6'4" 318
5(159) Matt Morton LE 6'4" 276
6(191) Tracy Smith FB 6'2" 238
7(201) Paul Carroll SS 6'0" 199
7(219) William Glaser QB 6'2" 222
7(223) Denard Davis OLB 6'0" 239
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Sorry for the delay in posts, I've been really busy with school. I might post a little more frequently in the coming weeks, but it's up in the air, depending on how much work they give us in my classes.
Anyway, coming off a strong season, I don't have many holes in my roster. My only goal in Upgrade TE, which won't happen. My TE philosophy is set to Blocking, so none of them look that good. I don't use TEs very much, and I can get pretty decent ones for cheap, so I definitely won't be accomplishing this goal. I won't be a player in free agency at all, really, because of my limited cap space that I need to save for extending my players.
The only move I'm interested in is trading for Maceo Sweetney. I know I drafted (and like) Jamel Keddington, but Maceo is the main reason I started this career. I've never had him on my team before, and even if I get him, Jamel will get some carries as my #2. The Bears currently have him and Rashard Mendenhall on their roster, and - get this - started Rashard Mendenahll over Maceo the whole year, so his overall is only 81 at this point. Another reason I want to do it is because he could put us over the hump to get our championship, since I don't really have any holes.
So I opened up trade talks with The Bears, and negotiated to get Maceo for 3rd and 5th rounders this year. Not bad for a player picked 1st the previous year! I'm really excited to have Maceo on my team.
Marcus McNeil became a free agent at 96 overall, but wanted 10 million per year, and Jammal Brown has been excellent and a good bit cheaper. The only other position I would like to upgrade is defensive tackle, because Dre Moore is not a great pass rusher. There aren't many good one gappers in the game, and the good ones are injury prone. The only guys I am interested in are Sedrick Ellis, who is good but overpaid, and Thaddeus Cheeks from last year's draft, who is basically the same player (currently 3 overall points less), but younger with better health. But the Redskins wanted a 1st and 2nd next year, so I backed out of that trade right away. I currently have 5.31 in cap space. I'll be looking to cut a couple of guys in the preseason to save money this year and push their dead money to next year. Deuce and Jacques have been good, but they're the most likely candidates with their contracts and the players that I have in front of them.
Anyway, coming off a strong season, I don't have many holes in my roster. My only goal in Upgrade TE, which won't happen. My TE philosophy is set to Blocking, so none of them look that good. I don't use TEs very much, and I can get pretty decent ones for cheap, so I definitely won't be accomplishing this goal. I won't be a player in free agency at all, really, because of my limited cap space that I need to save for extending my players.
The only move I'm interested in is trading for Maceo Sweetney. I know I drafted (and like) Jamel Keddington, but Maceo is the main reason I started this career. I've never had him on my team before, and even if I get him, Jamel will get some carries as my #2. The Bears currently have him and Rashard Mendenhall on their roster, and - get this - started Rashard Mendenahll over Maceo the whole year, so his overall is only 81 at this point. Another reason I want to do it is because he could put us over the hump to get our championship, since I don't really have any holes.
So I opened up trade talks with The Bears, and negotiated to get Maceo for 3rd and 5th rounders this year. Not bad for a player picked 1st the previous year! I'm really excited to have Maceo on my team.
Marcus McNeil became a free agent at 96 overall, but wanted 10 million per year, and Jammal Brown has been excellent and a good bit cheaper. The only other position I would like to upgrade is defensive tackle, because Dre Moore is not a great pass rusher. There aren't many good one gappers in the game, and the good ones are injury prone. The only guys I am interested in are Sedrick Ellis, who is good but overpaid, and Thaddeus Cheeks from last year's draft, who is basically the same player (currently 3 overall points less), but younger with better health. But the Redskins wanted a 1st and 2nd next year, so I backed out of that trade right away. I currently have 5.31 in cap space. I'll be looking to cut a couple of guys in the preseason to save money this year and push their dead money to next year. Deuce and Jacques have been good, but they're the most likely candidates with their contracts and the players that I have in front of them.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
We finished the season 14-2, winning the division for the second straight year. Drew Brees was even better this year. Jamel Keddington had a pretty good rookie year. His average was a little bit low, but he had a lot of yards, and his overall is up to 83 now. I still love Deuce as my #2, but his cap cost is really high, and I'm getting strapped for cash... I also traded Reggie Bush during the regular season for a 4th and a 7th round picks, and freed up a little bit of room this year. Marques Colston, wow! Over 2,000 receiving yards and 19 touchdowns. I'm definitely glad I kept him. Donte wanted a lot to re-sign, so I'm letting him walk. One observation I had this time: Brad Cottam tore his ACL and PCL, so I put him on IR, but then he was miraculously healed and the game removed him from IR... I'm guessing that if the player is no longer "injured" then, in the game's mind, they can't be on "Injured" Reserve... The offensive line was great again, and they'll all return next year. Calais Campbell is a beast at 3-technique, and Colby Connell had a really good year at LE. I also traded Elvis Dumervil for a 3rd round pick, since his contract was expiring and he wanted a really big extension. My linebackers continue to be the strength of my team, and I'm probably going to keep all 3 of them long term. Renaldo Moon is a better #1 than Ken Hamlin, who is a good #2, so I'm happy with my corners. I'm probably looking at getting rid of Jacques Reeves next year for cap reasons. The safeties were good again. Rob Bironas was slightly better this year.. I brought him back on a 3 year deal because he was asking for less than his market value. Sam Koch was good again, and I got him at a great price again, so he'll be back next year.
Here are my team stats:
Here are the individual awards. We won best OL and Coach of the Year.
Here's the Pro Bowl roster from this year. Enjoy it this time around, this took way too long to do:
Overall, a very good season. I have a good team now, and they're set up well for the future.
Here are my team stats:
New Orleans Saints Stats - 2009 | ||||||||
Passing | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | YDS/G | LONG | TD | INT | RAT |
Drew Brees | 226 | 364 | 9.0 | 205.4 | 42 | 30 | 16 | 100.6 |
Jamar Hilton | 2 | 7 | 9.2 | 4.0 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 65.8 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | AVG | LONG | 20+ | TD | YDS/G | FUM |
Jamel Keddington | 376 | 1355 | 3.6 | 17 | 0 | 10 | 84.6 | 2 |
Deuce McAllister | 87 | 421 | 4.8 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 30.0 | 2 |
Drew Brees | 23 | 64 | 2.7 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 1 |
PJ Daniels | 22 | 28 | 1.2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 | 0 |
Jarvin Warren | 7 | 23 | 3.2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4.6 | 1 |
Jamar Hilton | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Receiving | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | 20+ | YDS/G | YAC |
Marques Colston | 113 | 2089 | 18.4 | 19 | 42 | 130.5 | 149 | |
Donte Stallworth | 51 | 634 | 12.4 | 4 | 40 | 39.6 | 90 | |
Adrian Kaye | 17 | 221 | 13.0 | 1 | 32 | 13.8 | 33 | |
Jamel Keddington | 11 | 75 | 6.8 | 2 | 18 | 4.6 | 35 | |
Roydell Williams | 10 | 134 | 13.4 | 2 | 28 | 8.3 | 16 | |
Jim Kleinsasser | 9 | 68 | 7.5 | 1 | 17 | 5.2 | 8 | |
Mark Bruener | 9 | 73 | 8.1 | 1 | 11 | 18.2 | 7 | |
Brad Cottam | 4 | 33 | 8.2 | 0 | 12 | 3.6 | 0 | |
Dan Kreider | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 | 0.6 | 0 | |
Deuce McAllister | 2 | 15 | 7.5 | 0 | 8 | 1.0 | 11 | |
Blocking | PCAKE | SACK | ||||||
Jammal Brown | 44 | 7 | ||||||
Jeff Faine | 35 | 0 | ||||||
Jahri Evans | 30 | 5 | ||||||
Ben Noll | 25 | 2 | ||||||
Will Alford | 17 | 3 | ||||||
Dan Kreider | 13 | 0 | ||||||
Jim Kleinsasser | 8 | 0 | ||||||
Daniel Mackey | 5 | 0 | ||||||
Brad Cottam | 5 | 0 | ||||||
Matt Wayne | 2 | 0 | ||||||
Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | ||||||
Defense | SOLO | AST | TOT | SACK | TLOSS | PD | INT | TD |
Jonathan Vilma | 97 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | ||
Ken Hamlin | 90 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | ||
Lance Briggs | 83 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | ||
Keith Rivers | 54 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | ||
Renaldo Moon | 46 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | ||
Eugene Wilson | 30 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | ||
Calais Campbell | 28 | 9 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Charles Grant | 28 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Craig Steltz | 26 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 0 | ||
Colby Connell | 23 | 13 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Wayne Boone | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Ricky Manning | 17 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | ||
Dre Moore | 13 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Jamoris Traylor | 12 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 0 | ||
Rory Bailey | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
David Vobora | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Jacques Reeves | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Abdul Hodge | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Trevor Laws | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Terrence Tryon | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Gabe Ball | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
Kickoffs | Punts | |||||||
Returning | ATT | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD | RET | AVG | TD |
Jacques Reeves | 28 | 735 | 26.3 | 46 | 0 | 45 | 8.4 | 1 |
Donte Stallworth | 15 | 377 | 25.1 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 9.0 | 0 |
Kevin Robinson | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Field Goals | Extra Points | |||||||
Kicking | FGM | FGA | PCT | LONG | XPM | XPA | PCT | PTS |
Rob Bironas | 20 | 26 | 76 | 54 | 47 | 47 | 100 | 107 |
Punting | PUNTS | YDS | LONG | AVG | NET | BP | IN20 | TB |
Sam Koch | 59 | 2509 | 54 | 42.5 | 37.3 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
Here are the individual awards. We won best OL and Coach of the Year.
2009 Individual Award | |||
Award | Player | Pos | Team |
Most Valuable Player | Peyton Manning | QB | Colts |
Offensive Player of the Year | Brian Westbrook | RB | Eagles |
Defensive Player of the Year | Nick Barnett | MLB | Packers |
Offensive Rookie of the Year | Luke Rambis | QB | Raiders |
Defensive Rookie of the Year | Martin McPeek | MLB | Patriots |
Best Quarterback | Peyton Manning | QB | Colts |
Best Running Back | Brian Westbrook | RB | Eagles |
Best Wide Receiver | Brandon Marshall | WR | Broncos |
Best Offensive Lineman | Jammal Brown | LT | Saints |
Best Defensive Lineman | Robert Mathis | LE | Colts |
Best Linebacker | Nick Barnett | MLB | Saints |
Best Defensive Back | Sheldon Brown | CB | Eagles |
Best Kicker | Josh Scobee | K | Jaguars |
Coach of the Year | Downth Eithrthoat | HC | Saints |
Here's the Pro Bowl roster from this year. Enjoy it this time around, this took way too long to do:
2009 NFL Pro Bowl Rosters | |||||
AFC Offense | Pos | Votes | NFC Offense | Pos | Votes |
Peyton Manning | QB | 690,181 | Donovan McNabb | QB | 647,615 |
Kellen Clemens | QB | 643,543 | Eli Manning | QB | 639,659 |
Tom Brady | QB | 623,714 | Tony Romo | QB | 621,161 |
Maurice Jones-Drew | HB | 343,057 | Brian Westbrook | HB | 365,681 |
Marshawn Lynch | HB | 320,907 | Jamel Keddington | HB | 305,137 |
Jammal Lewis | HB | 317,280 | Ray Rice | HB | 304,533 |
Lawrence Vickers | FB | 149,539 | Deon Anderson | FB | 127,457 |
Mike Durfee | FB | 99,583 | Dan Kreider | FB | 123,031 |
Braylon Edwards | WR | 863,038 | Marques Colston | WR | 802,030 |
Brandon Marshall | WR | 790,652 | Terrell Owens | WR | 640,802 |
Reggie Wayne | WR | 625,946 | Reggie Brown | WR | 610,461 |
Wes Welker | WR | 570,875 | Malcolm Kelly | WR | 567,292 |
Chad Johnson | WR | 541,768 | Plaxico Burress | WR | 540,489 |
Marvin Harrison | WR | 539,513 | Harry Douglas | WR | 477,345 |
Tony Gonzalez | TE | 1.221.197 | Jeremy Shockey | TE | 734,093 |
Antonio Gates | TE | 1,063,720 | Chris Cooley | TE | 584,043 |
Ben Troupe | TE | 616,729 | Alge Crumpler | TE | 504,578 |
Marcus McNeill | T | 183,545 | Alex Barron | T | 191,307 |
Tony Pashos | T | 173,285 | Jammal Brown | T | 180,926 |
Levi Jones | T | 164,886 | Jahri Evans | T | 154,580 |
Chris Williams | T | 156,337 | James Marten | T | 150,968 |
Kris Dielman | G | 182,936 | Mark Setterstrom | G | 199,781 |
Ryan Lilja | G | 149,266 | Ben Noll | G | 143,904 |
Jacob Bell | G | 148,123 | Steve Hutchinson | G | 137,029 |
Roberto Garza | G | 119,185 | Edwin Mulitalo | G | 120,324 |
Nick Hardwick | C | 206,769 | Jeff Faine | C | 186,749 |
Jeff Saturday | C | 163,707 | Rashad Hutton | C | 137,644 |
AFC Defense | Pos | Votes | NFC Defense | Pos | Votes |
Robert Mathis | DE | 268,795 | Jared Allen | DE | 257,207 |
Mario Williams | DE | 211,887 | Gaines Adams | DE | 233,513 |
Dwight Freeney | DE | 207,858 | Colby Connell | DE | 185,267 |
Richard Seymour | DE | 182,121 | Justin Tuck | DE | 177,750 |
Sedrick Ellis | DT | 170,576 | Will Smith | DT | 270,425 |
Vince Wilfork | DT | 160,421 | Kevin Williams | DT | 209,053 |
Albert Haynesworth | DT | 152,337 | Calais Campbell | DT | 203,878 |
James Harrison | OLB | 170,919 | Demarcus Ware | OLB | 179,009 |
Keith Bulluck | OLB | 169,802 | Ernie Sims | OLB | 174,306 |
Daryl Smith | OLB | 161,906 | Julian Peterson | OLB | 150,652 |
Donnie Edwards | OLB | 139,837 | Lance Briggs | OLB | 145,279 |
D'Qwell Jackson | MLB | 414,138 | Nick Barnett | MLB | 471,334 |
Kirk Morrison | MLB | 386,570 | Jonathan Vilma | MLB | 438,291 |
Johnathan Joseph | CB | 179,131 | Sheldon Brown | CB | 194,907 |
Cortland Finnegan | CB | 172,922 | Antoine Winfield | CB | 172,986 |
Dunta Robinson | CB | 162,500 | Ken Hamlin | CB | 165,467 |
Champ Bailey | CB | 146,550 | Sam Madison | CB | 159,647 |
Eric Weddle | FS | 146,635 | Josh Bullocks | FS | 172,271 |
Marvin White | FS | 139,006 | Antoine Jefferson | FS | 130,752 |
Nedu Ndukwe | SS | 75,176 | Adrian Wilson | SS | 87,730 |
Troy Polamalu | SS | 72,988 | Roy Williams | SS | 82,566 |
AFC Special Teams | Pos | Votes | NFC Special Teams | Pos | Votes |
Shayne Graham | K | 232,801 | Neil Rackers | K | 229,986 |
Brian Moorman | P | 126,686 | Sam Koch | P | 144,590 |
Overall, a very good season. I have a good team now, and they're set up well for the future.
We finished the preseason 4-0 again, and I feel better about this team than I did about last year's. The owner wanted me to promise to make it to the Conference Championship, but I wasn't quite that confident. I promised to finish above .500. The salary cap situation is starting to get tight, as I only have 8.5 million free right now, so I have to be careful about who I choose to extend. The cap will go up a little bit, and there are a few more bad contracts I can unload in the next two years for more relief. Right now, Jammal Brown is the only player I feel I have to re-sign. I'll take a look at what kinds of contracts players are wanting and bring back whoever wants a team friendly deal. Here's my depth chart going into the year:
I'm going to keep on with simming all of the games.
New Orleans Saints Depth Chart - 2009 | ||||
Regular Offense | ||||
STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | |
WR | Marques Colston 90/91 | Adrian Kaye 78/89 | Kevin Robinson 75/89 | |
TE | Brad Cottam 77/83 | Mark Bruener 84/84 | Jim Kleinsasser 80/80 | |
LT | Jammal Brown 92/92 | Daniel Mackey 77/87 | ||
LG | Ben Noll 90/91 | Julius Flynn 68/88 | ||
C | Jeff Faine 89/89 | Matt Wayne 77/81 | ||
RG | Will Alford 83/88 | Ike Dockett 79/80 | ||
RT | Jahri Evans 88/89 | Edgar Russell 74/77 | ||
WR | Donte Stallworth 85/86 | Roydell Williams 82/85 | ||
QB | Drew Brees 95/95 | Jamar Hilton 52/85 | Ken Dorsey 70/73 | |
FB | Dan Kreider 85/85 | |||
HB | Jamel Keddington 70/89 | Deuce McAllister 80/80 | Reggie Bush 77/81 | Jarvin Warren 66/86 |
Base 4-3 Defense | ||||
STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | |
LDE | Elvis Dumervil 88/89 | Charles Grant 80/80 | Dontae Grant 80/84 | |
LDT | Calais Campbell 89/91 | Tony Bake 77/85 | ||
RDT | Dre Moore 84/87 | Demario Pressley 75/78 | ||
RDE | Jamoris Traylor 83/90 | Colby Connell 82/88 | Dontae Grant 80/84 | |
WLB | Keith Rivers 90/96 | Rory Bailey 77/88 | ||
MLB | Jonathan Vilma 86/87 | Wayne Boone 80/85 | Abdul Hodge 72/74 | |
SLB | Lance Briggs 92/92 | David Vobora 68/84 | ||
CB | Renaldo Moon 81/91 | Ricky Manning 79/82 | Tra McCormack 67/77 | |
SS | Craig Steltz 81/86 | Gabe Ball 67/77 | ||
FS | Eugene Wilson 90/90 | Ko Simpson 77/81 | ||
CB | Ken Hamlin 83/86 | Jacques Reeves 78/80 | ||
Special Teams | ||||
STARTER | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | |
K | Rob Bironas 90/93 | |||
P | Sam Koch 85/88 | |||
PR | Reggie Bush 79 | Jacques Reeves 73 | Donte Stallworth 70 | |
KR | Reggie Bush 79 | Jacques Reeves 73 | Donte Stallworth 70 | |
LS | Jeff Faine 89/89 | Ben Noll 87/91 | Jammal Brown 84/89 |
I'm going to keep on with simming all of the games.
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
No player Franchise Tagged
RFAs:
WR Marques Colston - Level 3
Team Needs:
1. WR2
2. MLB2
3. RG1
4. CB2
5. HB1
Offseason Goals are Upgrade HB and Upgrade RG
Signings:
Headed into Free Agency, I didn't want to overpay for Marques Colston. I was prepared to pay up to 7 mil per year for him, right at market value, and if somebody offered more than that, I would take the 1st round pick and the extra cap space. The Bucs offered him a 5 year deal worth 26 million and a 4 mil bonus. That's a steal for the best free agent on the market and one of the best receivers in the game, but it would cost an extra 1st round pick... I went ahead and matched the offer, because Marques Colston is worth it. I'll have to find another way to trade up for Sweetney.
I started Free Agency with just over 25 million in cap space.
WR Marques Colston, 5 years 26 million, 4 million bonus - Retaining my #1 receiver makes my offense much more potent. I'm glad to get him back at a fraction of what he's worth.
CB Ricky Manning, 4 years 15 million, 2.5 million bonus - Just like Jacques Reeves, a good fit for my Tampa 2 with points of potential in most areas. Good health and learning, also, and a team friendly deal.
I'm planning to save most of my money for extending my own players in the future. Plus, the crop of talent in this free agent class was really low. Not many players were worth going after. I didn't have any backups I could trade either, as most of them had cap penalties too high to remove from the roster. After I finished signing players, I had 17.83 million in cap space. I moved on to prepping for the draft.
RFAs:
WR Marques Colston - Level 3
Team Needs:
1. WR2
2. MLB2
3. RG1
4. CB2
5. HB1
Offseason Goals are Upgrade HB and Upgrade RG
Signings:
Headed into Free Agency, I didn't want to overpay for Marques Colston. I was prepared to pay up to 7 mil per year for him, right at market value, and if somebody offered more than that, I would take the 1st round pick and the extra cap space. The Bucs offered him a 5 year deal worth 26 million and a 4 mil bonus. That's a steal for the best free agent on the market and one of the best receivers in the game, but it would cost an extra 1st round pick... I went ahead and matched the offer, because Marques Colston is worth it. I'll have to find another way to trade up for Sweetney.
I started Free Agency with just over 25 million in cap space.
WR Marques Colston, 5 years 26 million, 4 million bonus - Retaining my #1 receiver makes my offense much more potent. I'm glad to get him back at a fraction of what he's worth.
CB Ricky Manning, 4 years 15 million, 2.5 million bonus - Just like Jacques Reeves, a good fit for my Tampa 2 with points of potential in most areas. Good health and learning, also, and a team friendly deal.
I'm planning to save most of my money for extending my own players in the future. Plus, the crop of talent in this free agent class was really low. Not many players were worth going after. I didn't have any backups I could trade either, as most of them had cap penalties too high to remove from the roster. After I finished signing players, I had 17.83 million in cap space. I moved on to prepping for the draft.
Well, my plan to intentionally tank for a high pick backfired, as we finished the season 12-4 and won the division- over the Bucs! I resigned several players, most of them on 2 or 3 year deals if they had a little potential. I extended Jahri Evans, Jeff Faine, and Jonathan Vilma on longer deals, as they're key players on the team. I actually got them all at a decent price, but that's most likely because they don't play expensive positions.
Drew Brees was fine, he did exactly what we needed him to. I was open to extending Andre Woodson, but he wanted something like 7 or 8 million per year, and he only played in one game, so I'm letting him walk. In game, Reggie Bush is much better than if you sim. But since I'll be simming, I think Maceo Sweetney will be a much better feature back. I like Deuce a lot as my #2 back, he played well in all areas of the game. Marques will be coming back next year, and I also extended Roydell and Tab Perry. My offensive line was very good, and I'm excited to be bringing all of my starters back next year. I'll look for an upgrade to Ike Dockett at RG, but if I can't find one, he played just fine this year. My defensive line has a lot of talent, but for the most part underperformed. I'll see what I can do about coaching, that usually plays a big part in player production. My linebackers were very good, and are worth the money in a Tampa 2 defense, because not many linebackers can cover well. Corner is my biggest weakness on paper, but I thought they were good this year. Ken Hamlin isn't a great #1, but he'll do for now. Jacques Reeves outplays his overall, because he is better at zone coverage than man, and I almost exclusively play zone. The safeties were fine, no need for a change there next year. Sam Koch did well as my punter, but Rob Bironas had a really bad season for some reason... This could be another case of assistant coaches having a big effect on the players they're over.
Here are my team's stats for the 2008 season.
Drew Brees was fine, he did exactly what we needed him to. I was open to extending Andre Woodson, but he wanted something like 7 or 8 million per year, and he only played in one game, so I'm letting him walk. In game, Reggie Bush is much better than if you sim. But since I'll be simming, I think Maceo Sweetney will be a much better feature back. I like Deuce a lot as my #2 back, he played well in all areas of the game. Marques will be coming back next year, and I also extended Roydell and Tab Perry. My offensive line was very good, and I'm excited to be bringing all of my starters back next year. I'll look for an upgrade to Ike Dockett at RG, but if I can't find one, he played just fine this year. My defensive line has a lot of talent, but for the most part underperformed. I'll see what I can do about coaching, that usually plays a big part in player production. My linebackers were very good, and are worth the money in a Tampa 2 defense, because not many linebackers can cover well. Corner is my biggest weakness on paper, but I thought they were good this year. Ken Hamlin isn't a great #1, but he'll do for now. Jacques Reeves outplays his overall, because he is better at zone coverage than man, and I almost exclusively play zone. The safeties were fine, no need for a change there next year. Sam Koch did well as my punter, but Rob Bironas had a really bad season for some reason... This could be another case of assistant coaches having a big effect on the players they're over.
Here are my team's stats for the 2008 season.
New Orleans Saints Stats - 2008 | ||||||||
Passing | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | YDS/G | LONG | TD | INT | RAT |
Drew Brees | 205/356 | 2974 | 8.3 | 185.8 | 38 | 25 | 14 | 91.9 |
Andre Woodson | 16/21 | 265 | 12.6 | 16.5 | 38 | 3 | 0 | 157.2 |
Rushing | ATT | YDS | AVG | LONG | 20+ | TD | YDS/G | FUM |
Reggie Bush | 269 | 1049 | 3.8 | 22 | 1 | 3 | 80.6 | 5 |
Deuce McAllister | 143 | 640 | 4.4 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 45.7 | 1 |
Xavier Omon | 81 | 220 | 2.7 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 16.9 | 1 |
Drew Brees | 21 | 21 | 1.0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 | 0 |
Cedric Houston | 4 | 12 | 3.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 0 |
Receiving | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | 20+ | YDS/G | YAC |
Marques Colston | 71 | 1172 | 16.5 | 14 | 38 | 90.1 | 63 | |
Roydell Williams | 56 | 893 | 15.9 | 7 | 35 | 59.5 | 67 | |
Tab Perry | 26 | 434 | 16.6 | 1 | 36 | 28.9 | 74 | |
Carlyle Holiday | 21 | 287 | 13.6 | 0 | 31 | 17.9 | 44 | |
Kyle Brady | 14 | 141 | 10.0 | 2 | 38 | 10.8 | 56 | |
Joe Jon Finley | 9 | 113 | 12.5 | 1 | 17 | 7.0 | 27 | |
Reggie Bush | 8 | 58 | 7.2 | 0 | 16 | 4.4 | 21 | |
Mark Bruener | 6 | 44 | 7.3 | 1 | 9 | 11.0 | 4 | |
Bryant Johnson | 5 | 65 | 13.0 | 2 | 20 | 4.0 | -1 | |
Mike Karney | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 9 | 0.8 | 2 | |
Deuce McAllister | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 | 7 | 0.7 | 7 | |
Xavier Omon | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 0 | 9 | 0.6 | 7 | |
Blocking | PCAKE | SACK | ||||||
Jammal Brown | 66 | 4 | ||||||
Jeff Faine | 40 | 3 | ||||||
Ben Noll | 37 | 0 | ||||||
Jahri Evans | 34 | 3 | ||||||
Ike Dockett | 16 | 2 | ||||||
Joe Jon Finley | 14 | 2 | ||||||
Mike Karney | 9 | 1 | ||||||
Kyle Brady | 8 | 0 | ||||||
Charles Spencer | 3 | 0 | ||||||
Johnnie Forbes | 2 | 0 | ||||||
Tackles | Sacks | Interceptions | ||||||
Defense | SOLO | AST | TOT | SACK | TLOSS | PD | INT | TD |
Lance Briggs | 94 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 0 | ||
Jonathan Vilma | 84 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | 0 | ||
Keith Rivers | 68 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | ||
Ken Hamlin | 62 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | ||
Jacques Reeves | 58 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 0 | ||
Charles Grant | 41 | 7 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
Craig Steltz | 34 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | ||
Calais Campbell | 28 | 7 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
Champ Wallace | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Eugene Wilson | 24 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0 | ||
Elvis Dumervil | 23 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
Scott Fujita | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Julian Jenkins | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Tony Bake | 20 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Tra McCormack | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
David Vobora | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Dre Moore | 17 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Jonathan Wilhite | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Will Smith | 12 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
Abdul Hodge | 12 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Chris Clemons | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Field Goals | Extra Points | |||||||
Kicking | FGM | FGA | PCT | LONG | XPM | XPA | PCT | PTS |
Rob Bironas | 24 | 38 | 63 | 53 | 43 | 43 | 100 | 115 |
Punting | PUNTS | YDS | LONG | AVG | NET | BP | IN20 | TB |
Sam Koch | 44 | 1864 | 53 | 42.3 | 37.9 | 1 | 9 | 3 |
Early in this game, we couldn't stop them. Our defense made Selvin Young look like Adrian Peterson. For whatever reason, they started passing, and we were able to get a handle on it. First half, we couldn't run the ball, but second half we started moving the chains on the ground, even after Reggie Bush got injured. We had a pick-6 on the last play of the first half by an undrafted rookie. Rob Bironas was awful.
This career should be more challenging, but games are too easy to win. I really want to get Maceo Sweetney next year, so I'm considering tanking the rest of the way and trading up for him. Even after that, I may not play games any more, just because they're too easy to win. Simming more closely reflects the strength of the team and staff you've built. Plus, it's more random, so it's more fun. Anyway, here's the box score:
This career should be more challenging, but games are too easy to win. I really want to get Maceo Sweetney next year, so I'm considering tanking the rest of the way and trading up for him. Even after that, I may not play games any more, just because they're too easy to win. Simming more closely reflects the strength of the team and staff you've built. Plus, it's more random, so it's more fun. Anyway, here's the box score:
New Orleans Saints at Denver Broncos | ||||||
Sep 21, 2008 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
New Orleans Saints (3-0) | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | - | 17 |
Denver Broncos () | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | - | 7 |
Team Stats Comparison | ||
NOR | DEN | |
Total Offense | 320 | 277 |
Rushing Yards | 145 | 97 |
Passing Yards | 175 | 180 |
First Downs | 18 | 14 |
Punt Return Yards | 38 | 9 |
Kick Return Yards | 50 | 69 |
Total Yards | 408 | 355 |
Turnovers | 1 | 3 |
3rd Down Converstion | 6-14 | 6-12 |
4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 0-1 |
2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 1/1 | 1/0 |
Penalties | 3-23 | 9-105 |
Posession Time | 29:38 | 29:13 |
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Monday, February 22, 2016
Following the close win against Tampa Bay, I was moderately confident that we could beat the Redskins. Our run game never really got going, and we ended up behind the sticks a good bit, but Drew Brees really stepped up and took control. He was efficient and effective, and they never really found an answer for him. Calais Campbell terrorized them on the interior the entire game. Tab Perry was a bit of a surprise, but he played well after Marques Colston went down with an injury early. If not for their TD in the last minute of the first half, this one would have been worse.
New Orleans Saints at Washington Redskins | ||||||
Sep 14, 2008 | 1ST | 2ND | 3RD | 4TH | OT | SCORE |
New Orleans Saints (2-0) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | - | 27 |
Washington Redskins () | 0 | 10 | 0 | 8 | - | 18 |
Team Stats Comparison | ||
NOR | WAS | |
Total Offense | 357 | 341 |
Rushing Yards | 79 | 92 |
Passing Yards | 278 | 249 |
First Downs | 18 | 15 |
Punt Return Yards | 24 | 0 |
Kick Return Yards | 108 | 188 |
Total Yards | 489 | 529 |
Turnovers | 0 | 1 |
3rd Down Converstion | 6-10 | 3-11 |
4th Down Conversion | 0-0 | 1-1 |
2-Point Conversion | 0-0 | 0-0 |
Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals | 3-6 | 1-5 |
Penalties | 4-45 | 5-62 |
Posession Time | 18:00 | 25:43 |
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Friday, February 19, 2016
Going into this game, I expected to lose. I was surprised with how well my team played, specifically my defense against the run. Reggie Bush starred, making plays in the run game, grabbing a huge 3rd down catch, and returning kicks well. He'll be vital to our team's performance on offense. Rob Bironas proved to be a good investment, as he was automatic when my offense stalled so often on their end of the field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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I traded away a couple of players preseason for draft picks in future years. I also swung a trade for Elvis Dumervil, giving up my 2009 4th and 2010 2nd. He should be a key piece to my defense, and my retooled defensive line is looking pretty good.
I never pay too much attention to the outcome of preseason games, but somehow this team went 4-0 preseason. The stabilizing presence of Drew Brees probably has something to do with this, he performed really well in the preseason, and though we're a run-first offense, the quarterback is still pretty important. I don't expect to have a great season, but I don't think .500 is out of the picture. I usually promise a little bit below what I expect, just to be safe, so I'll promise to finish below .500. Here are my key players heading into the 2008 season. Players not noted were either on the team or were picked up cheap at the start of the preseason.
QB1 Drew Brees 94/94
HB1 Reggie Bush 74/86
HB2 Deuce McAllister 78/78
FB Mike Karney 76/79
WR1 Marques Colston 90/92
WR2 Roydell Williams 75/85
TE1 Mark Bruener 83/83
TE2 Kyle Brady 80/80
LT1 Jammal Brown 89/92
LG1 Ben Noll 86/91 (FA)
C1 Jeff Faine 86/87
RG1 Ike Dockett 71/80 (UDFA)
RT1 Jahri Evans 83/89
LE1 Elvis Dumervil 88/90 (preseason trade)
RE1 Tony Bake 82/88 (draft)
DE2 Charles Grant 80/80
DT1 Calais Campbell 86/91 (draft)
DT2 Dre Moore 82/87 (draft)
DT3 Will Smith 84/85
LOLB1 Keith Rivers 87/96 (draft)
MLB1 Jonathan Vilma 85/87
ROLB1 Lance Briggs 91/92 (FA)
CB1 Ken Hamlin 82/85 (FA)
CB2 Jacques Reeves 73/77 (FA)
CB3 Tra McCormack 65/77 (UDFA)
FS1 Eugene Wilson 89/89 (FA)
SS1 Craig Steltz 79/86 (draft)
K Rob Bironas 90/93 (FA)
P Sam Koch 85/90
We found 5 defensive starters in the draft, and 4 more through free agency. Another free agent signing is starting on offense, but that side of the ball is relatively similar to what it was before the offseason. I have 18 million in cap space, and a couple of players will need new deals, so a decent portion of that will get used.
I never pay too much attention to the outcome of preseason games, but somehow this team went 4-0 preseason. The stabilizing presence of Drew Brees probably has something to do with this, he performed really well in the preseason, and though we're a run-first offense, the quarterback is still pretty important. I don't expect to have a great season, but I don't think .500 is out of the picture. I usually promise a little bit below what I expect, just to be safe, so I'll promise to finish below .500. Here are my key players heading into the 2008 season. Players not noted were either on the team or were picked up cheap at the start of the preseason.
QB1 Drew Brees 94/94
HB1 Reggie Bush 74/86
HB2 Deuce McAllister 78/78
FB Mike Karney 76/79
WR1 Marques Colston 90/92
WR2 Roydell Williams 75/85
TE1 Mark Bruener 83/83
TE2 Kyle Brady 80/80
LT1 Jammal Brown 89/92
LG1 Ben Noll 86/91 (FA)
C1 Jeff Faine 86/87
RG1 Ike Dockett 71/80 (UDFA)
RT1 Jahri Evans 83/89
LE1 Elvis Dumervil 88/90 (preseason trade)
RE1 Tony Bake 82/88 (draft)
DE2 Charles Grant 80/80
DT1 Calais Campbell 86/91 (draft)
DT2 Dre Moore 82/87 (draft)
DT3 Will Smith 84/85
LOLB1 Keith Rivers 87/96 (draft)
MLB1 Jonathan Vilma 85/87
ROLB1 Lance Briggs 91/92 (FA)
CB1 Ken Hamlin 82/85 (FA)
CB2 Jacques Reeves 73/77 (FA)
CB3 Tra McCormack 65/77 (UDFA)
FS1 Eugene Wilson 89/89 (FA)
SS1 Craig Steltz 79/86 (draft)
K Rob Bironas 90/93 (FA)
P Sam Koch 85/90
We found 5 defensive starters in the draft, and 4 more through free agency. Another free agent signing is starting on offense, but that side of the ball is relatively similar to what it was before the offseason. I have 18 million in cap space, and a couple of players will need new deals, so a decent portion of that will get used.
I found myself well positioned for a lot of the players I targeted for this draft. I traded up once, to the 4th round for Steltz. I traded down once in the 3rd, but still got Moore.
Undrafted Rookies:
CB Jonathan Wilhite
ROLB David Vobora
LG Adam Kraus
QB Andre Woodson
TE Joe Jon Finley
NFL Draft - Saints Recap | |||||
Pick | Player | College | Pos | Ht | Wt |
1(10) | Keith Rivers | USC | LOLB | 6'3" | 230 |
2(40) | Calais Campbell | Miami | RE | 6'7" | 290 |
3(89) | Dre Moore | Maryland | DT | 6'4" | 312 |
4(116) | Craig Steltz | LSU | SS | 6'1" | 210 |
6(172) | Xavier Omon | NW Missouri State | HB | 5'8" | 211 |
7(203) | Tony Bake | TCU | LE | 6'2" | 281 |
Undrafted Rookies:
CB Jonathan Wilhite
ROLB David Vobora
LG Adam Kraus
QB Andre Woodson
TE Joe Jon Finley
Tagged: Jeff Faine, 86 OVR
No RFAs.
Top 5 Team Needs going into 2008 Free Agency
1. LE
2. RE (I moved both DEs to DT because they were too heavy to be 'Undersized' Speed Rushers)
3.CB1
4. CB2
5. LG1
Team Goals include Upgrading LE, Upgrading RE, and Upgrading CB.
With $43.2 million in cap space, I had plenty of money to make a splash to fortify the team. I decided I would focus on the secondary, since it was probably the weakest spot on the team. Here are my signings, terms of their contracts, and what position they will play for me.
ROLB Lance Briggs, 5 years $51 million, $16 million bonus - Lance Briggs is good at just about everything, including coverage, which is more than can be said for most of the linebackers in this game. He immediately upgrades the defense.
FS Eugene Wilson, 5 years $23 million, $3.5 million bonus - I've had Wilson in past careers, and he is a rock. He isn't overly flashy, but he is incredibly solid at FS, especially for the price tag.
CB Ken Hamlin, 4 years $16 million, $2.5 million bonus - Because of how horrible New Orleans's corners are, the move from safety to corner is necessary for Hamlin. I have high hopes for him here, and he wasn't too expensive for a CB1 either.
K Rob Bironas, 2 years $4.6, $500K bonus - Since I have money to spend these first couple of years, why not sign the best FA kicker?
LG Ben Noll, 4 years $19 million, $2.5 million bonus - I know, I know, it's one of everybody's favorite sleeper FA in this game. But this signing makes tons of sense past the good potential; Noll is at his best in a zone blocking scheme, so the fit is perfect, at a good price.
CB Jaques Reeves, 5 years $16 million, $2.5 million bonus- I've never signed him before, but he has a few points of potential in most skills, is in good health, and is one of the better zone corners on the market. The investment isn't huge, so in a couple years I can cut him and save money if I need to, but the rewards could be nice.
After all of that spending, I was left with $17.8 million in cap space to sign rookie contracts, most of which would go to my first round pick (I currently hold the 10th pick). I decided I'd call it quits on free agency and try to nail down a solid draft to get this team through 2008 as smoothly as possible.
No RFAs.
Top 5 Team Needs going into 2008 Free Agency
1. LE
2. RE (I moved both DEs to DT because they were too heavy to be 'Undersized' Speed Rushers)
3.CB1
4. CB2
5. LG1
Team Goals include Upgrading LE, Upgrading RE, and Upgrading CB.
With $43.2 million in cap space, I had plenty of money to make a splash to fortify the team. I decided I would focus on the secondary, since it was probably the weakest spot on the team. Here are my signings, terms of their contracts, and what position they will play for me.
ROLB Lance Briggs, 5 years $51 million, $16 million bonus - Lance Briggs is good at just about everything, including coverage, which is more than can be said for most of the linebackers in this game. He immediately upgrades the defense.
FS Eugene Wilson, 5 years $23 million, $3.5 million bonus - I've had Wilson in past careers, and he is a rock. He isn't overly flashy, but he is incredibly solid at FS, especially for the price tag.
CB Ken Hamlin, 4 years $16 million, $2.5 million bonus - Because of how horrible New Orleans's corners are, the move from safety to corner is necessary for Hamlin. I have high hopes for him here, and he wasn't too expensive for a CB1 either.
K Rob Bironas, 2 years $4.6, $500K bonus - Since I have money to spend these first couple of years, why not sign the best FA kicker?
LG Ben Noll, 4 years $19 million, $2.5 million bonus - I know, I know, it's one of everybody's favorite sleeper FA in this game. But this signing makes tons of sense past the good potential; Noll is at his best in a zone blocking scheme, so the fit is perfect, at a good price.
CB Jaques Reeves, 5 years $16 million, $2.5 million bonus- I've never signed him before, but he has a few points of potential in most skills, is in good health, and is one of the better zone corners on the market. The investment isn't huge, so in a couple years I can cut him and save money if I need to, but the rewards could be nice.
After all of that spending, I was left with $17.8 million in cap space to sign rookie contracts, most of which would go to my first round pick (I currently hold the 10th pick). I decided I'd call it quits on free agency and try to nail down a solid draft to get this team through 2008 as smoothly as possible.
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