|
Post by Boony on Oct 14, 2008 20:14:23 GMT
A cunning trick play! What a time to pull it off...
How's Fly and Baer comparing to the rest of the league right now?
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 14, 2008 21:12:06 GMT
2013 REGULAR SEASON We cruised into our bye week in week seven on the back of a very odd game in Houston and a bit of a stroll past the Chargers. We still had only the one defeat, but to it we'd added a very rare tie, as we battled Houston to and fro for four hours, only to end up with a 10-10 scoreline.
We scored first and last as Myron Bauer knocked in a 39 yard field goal in the opening quarter and Xavier Baer hit Herb Hill from 13 yards in the fourth, but inbetween Toby Sorota sank a kick from 44 yards and Matt Cassell threw a touchdown to Chaz Schilens to send the game to the extra period.
In overtime the two teams combined for nine drives, resulting in seven punts and an interception - those drives gained an average of less than ten yards.
With a 3-1-1 record we returned back to the Coliseum, but the fans still didn't seem enthused as only 30,100 came out to see us play the winless Chargers.
After Myron Bauer put us ahead 3-0 the Chargers took the lead through a ten yard run from Brendan Conway. We took it back through Philip Fly, (who I keep accidentally calling Fry), and never relinquished it, finally winning 20-13. It wasn't exactly convincing, but it was another 100 yard day for Fly, as he finished with 113 yards on 19 carries.
Sitting at 4-1-1 going into the bye, ESPN Power Polls had us rated as the league's 10th best team with a rating of 63. New Orleans are number one with an 83 rating, while the 0-and-6 Browns bring up the rear with a rating of just 13.
However, by strength of opponent, our schedule has been the fourth easiest. Our opponents are currently 11-21-1, while the Chiefs have faced teams who are currently 19-6-2.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 14, 2008 21:23:46 GMT
A cunning trick play! What a time to pull it off... How's Fly and Baer comparing to the rest of the league right now? Baer is doing ok - he's 15th by Quarterback rating with 86.4, 14th for touchdowns with nine and part of a clutch of ten quarterbacks with five interceptions. By yardage he's 14th. So pretty much mid-table. He really doesn't get the ball to Herb Hill enough for my liking. Looking at Hill it seems that if you just threw two yard slants to him all day he'd explode for yards after the catch, as it is he's only been targeted 44 times and Phil Fly has that many catches. Fly is actually third in the league for catches, behind Larry Fitzgerald and Cincinnati's Andre Caldwell. On the ground he's sixth in the league with 569 yards, but two of the people in front of him have played one more game. Leading the league right now is the imaginatively named San Francisco player, Frank Franks. Former Raider turned Cardinal Darren McFadden has blown out his MCL after gaining 255 yards in two games and will be missing for the rest of the season.
|
|
|
Post by Sonic on Oct 15, 2008 0:51:44 GMT
That was a very nice start to this season, and it's pleasing to see Fry, Fly, doing so well. And yes, since you've mentioned the Fry connection, I've been reading it as such :humb:
Carry-on :thumb:
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 7:42:10 GMT
I'm not impressed by the non-losses, teh s1ut. Most unsportsmanlike.
But I suppose if you want to conform just to please the masses and not tell them the real scores, then that's fine. Just don't post some of your photo-chopped screenies, they won't convince anyone.
|
|
|
Post by coffers on Oct 15, 2008 8:49:39 GMT
Better than last season already, progress is being made.
KUTGW! :thumb:
|
|
|
Post by Boony on Oct 15, 2008 8:58:30 GMT
Are you tempted to tinker with the offensive AI, to get Hill more involved? Good to see Fly's up there in the league already. On a five year contract, too. Will you be able to afford him in those later years?
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 9:12:38 GMT
You don't have to have back-loaded contracts, you can have the same money through each year of the contract if you want, so a 3M/3M/3M/3M/3M rather than a 1M/2M/3M/4M/5M deal.
But it's whether or not he had the room during the signing period.
|
|
|
Post by Narcizo on Oct 15, 2008 9:29:23 GMT
Rookie contracts are pretty much fixed and, relatively speaking, cheap.
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 9:42:39 GMT
Are they? Am I thinking of renewal of contracts then? Fair enough, I'll shut up now and pretend to be an idiot again....
|
|
|
Post by Narcizo on Oct 15, 2008 9:49:42 GMT
Mildly backloaded contracts are the standard in the game (and all rookie contracts are standard) but the AI can be fleeced by fairly even contracts as it always attaches a lot more value to the first couple of years wages. Not something I do in SP but in MP I'm out to get every bit of benefit I can - particularly when it's time to reneg with the 3-time League MVP.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 15, 2008 12:51:53 GMT
The rookie deals in FOF are set for you so that you can't game the system. You have two-to-four packages to choose from and you pick one, offer it and then the rookie says yay or nay. I had two six year and two five year deals to offer Fly.
I offered him the most expensive six year deal and he turned it down, so I caved and offered him the most expensive five year deal because I wanted him in training camp.
Fly's deal is $46.99 over 5 years and breaks down like this :
Bonus : $30,500,000 (the only guaranteed money in any NFL contract the player gets all of this as soon as he puts the pen down, but for cap and creative accounting purposes it's amortised against the cap across the length of the deal)
Year 1 Salary = $1,500,000 Cap cost = $7,600,000 (Salary + (bonus/length of contract))
Year 2 Salary = $2,400,000 Cap cost = $8,500,000
Year 3 Salary = $3,220,000 Cap cost = $9,320,000
Year 4 Salary = $4,120,000 Cap cost = $10,220,000
Year 5 Salary = $5,250,000 Cap cost = $11,350,000
The cost to cut a player is very different as the bonus jiggery pokery stops when you cut a player and all of the remainder of the uncapped bonus becomes immediately due and counts against the cap of the following year.
So if I cut Fly in season three then the signing bonus for years three, four and five, (an imaginary bonus, remember, because Fly was given this money in year one), - a total of $18,300,000 - counts against the cap the following season as dead money.
By year five it'll only cost me $6,100,000 to cut him so if he was no good it'll turn out to be cheaper against the cap to cut him than keep him.
|
|
|
Post by coffers on Oct 15, 2008 13:05:21 GMT
That look complicated to my untutored eyes.
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 13:09:40 GMT
I think the computer will work it out for you, Coffers. I guess that not giving out a bonus would be a good thing from your point of view, s1ut? When is the next installment? We're wondering if we need to buy a special Superbowl hat.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 15, 2008 13:23:15 GMT
Players are almost certainly not going to sign a deal of more than one year without a signing bonus. Even undrafted free agents would probably hold out for at least $10,000 a year.
That way they get twenty grand in their pocket for a two year deal and then you're incentivised to not cut them before they play a game, thereby almost guaranteeing the player that they'll see some of those pay cheques.
If you're certain that you're going to keep a player for the whole deal then a big bonus can be useful as it lowers the year by year cap value.
Mostly, it just gives me a headache, even though I enjoy messing with that side of things.
I'm happy with the deal I gave linebacker Marcus Howard for example - he signed for four years for $13.57m with $2,680,000 of that as a bonus. I also pulled a lot of the money into the front of the deal so he looks like this :
1. Salary : $1,570,000 Cap Cost : $2,240,000 Cut Cost : $2,680,000
2. Salary : $2,500,000 Cap Cost : $3,170,000 Cut Cost : $2,010,000
3. Salary : $3,200,000 Cap Cost : $3,870,000 Cut Cost : $1,340,000
4. Salary : $3,600,000 Cap Cost : $4,270,000 Cut cost : $670,000
So I can cut him from year two and save money, which means he'll be a bit more keen to work a new contract or extension to push his cap figure down again.
|
|
|
Post by Narcizo on Oct 15, 2008 13:26:12 GMT
The (realistic, I believe) problem with stud running backs in the game is that they want an almighty wodge of cash (including a fair bit of bonus) once their rookie contract expires. Just in time for them to start a rather steep decline into rubbishness. If you get a stud quarterback you can expect him to be at a top level between something like his 4th-12th year. If you get a stud running back they tend to be at their peak in the 1st-6th year.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 15, 2008 13:27:36 GMT
I hope I won't have to trade Fly in his fifth year. That would suck.
|
|
|
Post by Narcizo on Oct 15, 2008 13:32:34 GMT
Alan wanted something like $76m over 4 years with $24m or so in bonus. I managed to get it to $64m by giving him $32m bonus and spreading his wages evenly over the years rather than the $4/14m/16m/18m he was asking. Of course as I signed the deal at the end of the season he got the full $32m bonus AND the $8m salary for the year he signed in. Which was a bit of a bonus for him. Realistically, even if he's injured, I'm not likely to cut him as he will still be a better quarterback after injury than anyone I'm likely to find. He's a bit of a special case though - typically I look to lower the bonus asked by as much as possible, usually by offering more year one salary than the player is looking for.
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 13:43:57 GMT
This is starting to get confusing without actually playing the game.
s1ut - just tell me when to buy the hat.
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 15, 2008 13:51:06 GMT
2013 REGULAR SEASON We come out of the bye week at 4-1-1 and our fans are suffering from what I'd like to call Matrix Syndrome - much like Neo, they're beginning to believe...
37,200 of them have their new belief bolstered as we come from behind to beat the Indianapolis Colts 23-21 thanks to two 34 yard field goals from Myron Bauer.
Even a 21-26 loss in Kansas the following week can't dent confidence too much as 40,200 people come to the Coliseum the following week and watch us crush the 5-3 Tennessee Titans 33-7.
The attendance is a record for the period I've been at the team and is the second home game where we over half fill the stadium. The fans get to watch big Defensive Tackle Karl Brooks and pocket-sized Defensive End Peter Davis both get 2.5 sacks, as Titan quarterback Marlon Wright throws three interceptions and only completes a third of his passes.
But then comes the Denver game.
Back on the field in Colorado where the Broncos had turned us over on the last day of the 2012 season, we start off tentatively and nearing the end of a scoreless first quarter Philip Fly takes a handoff and runs up the middle into a pile, then bounces to the outside and escapes around right end for eight yards before he's tackled by Bronco Safety Lawrence Gorham.
Gorham gets up. Fly does not.
Eventually Fly is boosted to the sideline and there, while Durant Brooks sinks a long punt inside the 20 the trainers give me the hand cut across the throat symbol that says Fly is done for today at least.
Thankfully, I have a lot of faith in LenDale White as he may be better built for our offensive system than even Fly. He's a tubby fucker who'll run very fast into the back of the offensive line, move the pile four yards and wear out defenders.
And that's exactly what he does here as White finishes the game with 127 yards on 22 carries at 5.77 a pop. He doesn't make it into the end zone, but his bruising style allows Xavier Baer to work the playaction twice for touchdowns to Malcolm Patton and Herb Hill as we win 28-14
After the game the medical crew tell me that Fly has a severe Achilles Tendon strain and will be missing at least three weeks, possibly more depending on how well it responds to treatment.
Coming up in the next three weeks are trips to Dallas and Cleveland and then we welcome Philly into the Coliseum.
Bring a packed lunch, LenDale. You'll be needing it.
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 13:57:39 GMT
It'll be on the back of a cruise ship, will it?
Unlucky with the Philip Fry thing, Stu, just what you didn't need.
|
|
|
Post by Sonic on Oct 15, 2008 14:00:43 GMT
LenDale might not be that tubby come the end of that run by the sounds of things.
Can I swap these performances of the LenDale with the one in my helmetball team please?
Other than that small request, things look like they are going swimmingly, if you ignore the resting holiday that Fly is having. It was bound to happen some time I guess.
KUTGW :thumb:
|
|
|
Post by Boony on Oct 15, 2008 14:01:57 GMT
Screw these fancy dan players who get injured. I'm a LenDale fan, and always have been.
7-2-1 with six to play? How's the playoff picture looking? Are you the winningest team in your division?
|
|
|
Post by Mr Bismarck's Electric Donkey on Oct 15, 2008 14:19:15 GMT
We're currently the best team in the AFC by record, a half game ahead of the Steelers, Bengals and the Jets who are all 7-3, which means if the season ended today we'd have home field advantage, (such as it is, in a half-full stadium) for the playoffs.
Over in the NFC the defending champion Saints are 8-2 and, somewhat unbelievably, the Lions are 8-2 too. So good news Detroit fans, it only takes five years after you fire Matt Millen to get a decent record.
Our record is a bit of a mirage though, because we have had the second easiest schedule so far. The teams we've played are a combined 41-58-1 (.415), while the Jets opponents are 47-53, (.470), and the Bengals 48-52, (.480).
The Pittsburgh Steelers are 7-3 against teams playing 54-45-1 (.545), which means they're probably really good and they top the ESPN Power Polls with 83 points. We have 65, making us the fourth rated team in the AFC, (by the "experts"), behind the aforementioned Steelers, Jets and Bengals.
|
|
|
Post by Moo on Oct 15, 2008 14:38:26 GMT
So you're a cert for the Superbowl, being the worst team in the playoffs, right? :checkit:
|
|