The Totem Pole

[Guest]

Honestly, I think his ability to gain yards on the ground makes up for my relatively weak offensive gameplanning skills.

He was always a good scrambler and scrambling pays off a lot more in FOF7

[Guest]

Well, the 10 simulations were not kind to Dakota, who averaged something like 7.4 wins. I think we can do a lot better than that, though.

Unfortunately, some retooling of this team needed to take place, causing losses in one of my FOF gods: Cohesion. (Please have mercy on me, Cohesion Gods!) Having 3 units with sub-80 cohesion is not the Dakota way.

Retooling the majority of our offensive line was something that was going to have to happen eventually, though. We will have new starters at both tackle positions and a second year guy at guard.

Duane Alamar retired early leaving a hole at SLB that needed to be filled, and we needed to find a new starting NT as well since our former backup who started last year, Peters, was more backup quality and old.

In our secondary we will have 3 new starters, two of which are rookies.

Like I said, not Dakota-style team building! Keeping teams together forever is just not possible in the new version of FOF though. Marginal players just want too much to re-sign. Drafting is so much more important now and we will all have to focus team building based on the draft, just like real NFL teams.

I think this team might start slow, but if we can make it until our rookies start to come into their own we can be a playoff team this year and maybe even make another bowl.

[Guest]

It's been a while! Here's the 2039 draft for posterity's sake: :)

The next movement in Ex3 is bolded.

1(17) Grayson Botta TE - +7/-1 (46/74) (-1/-3) If this guy holds up he will be a beast. The best TE in this class by far is the no combine that Yuma took. I never even checked him out or I might've had the balls to draft Yuma's TE here. Botta should be pretty good too.

2(16) Rusty Porter WR - +4/+1 (32/57) (+2/+2) A steal if I got a WR like this in round 2. I was very excited he fell to me here. We'll see how he turns out in EX3. This guy looks great. He might be starting by mid season.

3(15) Dwight Paulsen DE - +3/+1 (19/48) (0/0) Will be a situational pass rusher if he doesn't wash out. My DEs are a little underwhelming right now and Everett Lindsay is fading fast so he might be forced into a starting role sooner than I want. Everett Lindsay bombed in TC and will be cut. Paulsen might be getting a lot more playing time than I planned.

4(14) Zack Jeffries FS - +4/-6 (25/41) (-1/+8) Ouch. This looks like a swing and a miss. I was actually really excited to nab this guy but it looks like an undrafted free agent I have might have a better chance to make the team than Jeffries. Well, I guess Jeffries is sticking around after all and projects as a future starter at safety. I have a feeling he took a tire iron to the knee of that UFA safety. :)

5(13) Donnell Stephenson G - +4/+0 (31/51) (+0/+2) A steal in the fifth round if he holds here. I desperately need some talent at guard too. My o-line is mostly old and mediocre. I considered Stephenson at 4(14). I wanted to trade back in and grab WR Dylan Fulcher but Yuma took him. He went +4/+4 in TC. Still a steal and will be a future starter at G for us. Looks like we did pretty well in this draft.

6(17) Aidan Grant G +3/-2 (28/45) (-1/-4) Auto picked. Whoops. Always leave people in your priority list, folks. Probably will not make the team. Can't pass block and dropped in two ratings checkpoints.

7(16) Kyle Bucy TE +3/-2 (21/39) (-1/-6) This guy might end up being serviceable but I have a ridiculous amount of depth at TE right now. Well that will make the TE situation easier to sort out.

UFA Rickey Hodges FS +2/+5 (18/32) (-1/-5) Rickey will most likely make the team in Dakota. Rickey will definitely not make the team in Dakota.

UFA Elliot Hopper C +2/+0 (14/34) (+0/-2) Has a future as a reserve center and we're thin there. Might even risk going into the season with him as my primary backup. Meh. Maybe he'll stick maybe he won't.

UFA Ricky Fields WLB +2/+0 (19/27) (+0/+1) I thought this guy might end up being a nice cheap reserve pass rusher, but it doesn't look like he has it in him. We'll see how he does in EX3. There was another pass rusher I wanted more but my budget was a bit tight and I had to let another team have him (WLB Tony Windham.) He looks like quite a find in UFA and I should have freed up a little money for him. He barely moved overall but his PRT bar did (38 PRT to 60 PT). He'll make the roster now. I noticed one of the 1st round OLBs (I think Heath Hall) lost a lot of PRT but gained in other areas, making him more of a decent "normal" LB as opposed to a pass rusher. Learning new stuff about FOF7 every day...

[Nemesis]

UFA Rickey Hodges FS +2/+5 (18/32) (-1/-5) Rickey will most likely make the team in Dakota. Rickey will definitely not make the team in Dakota.

rofl, so cliche

[Guest]

rofl, so cliche

haha I'm glad it turned out this way. If the guys I think are 4th rounders don't make the team and the UFAs do I would be doing something wrong. :)

[Guest]

2040 Draft Class WOOOOOOOooooo

1(15) Philip Tremblay - DE (37/58) +6/+7 He looked like a top ten pick except for his endurance. He seemed so much better than any other player left that I took him despite a somewhat worrisome endurance bar. Waiting for the big drop on him that reminds me why he fell to me... Could start sooner rather than later since Kaleb Reynolds is holding out and I'm not paying that fucker. Looking good, but Irv Gordon who I would've taken if Tremblay was not available looks better.

2(16) Damian McCarthy - C (25/51) 0/-3 I was hoping to get one of the top 2 centers to be my center for the next decade, but they both got snatched at the end of the 1st round. Since I've come into the league I've only had two starting centers who were with the team forever: J.T. Sandage (A 4th round pick in my first season, I think.) and Jeremy Register, a late first rounder. (Last year Fernando Domenici started at center until he was injured.) McCarthy might be a real stinker at pass blocking and might not be our guy for the next 10 years, but he could start this year because our other option is a Boston castoff. Yuck. The top 2 centers, who I coveted, both look really good. This guy isn't. He still might be my starter until I find someone better, though.

3(15) Ian Maloney - CB (19/41) -1/-3 This is where I started going off the rails. Maybe this guy had good combines or something but his bars all look pretty shitty with the exception of interceptions and BnR. Maybe he'll bump because of it? Could be wasted pick here. Waste of a 3rd round pick.

4(16) Buddy Blackburn - CB (21/45) +1/-12 I started rushing my picks around here and not preparing adequately and I missed a few guys that I really wanted that I could have had. (Fortunately, I forget most of their names! :) ) Blackburn at least looks like he has some masked pair stuff going on with Zone & ST and he might contribute as a kick returner. Splat. At least his zone bar is high?

5(15) Tyrell Hall - CB (20/45) -4/-8 I don't know what I was thinking with this guy, but I was rushing my picks a lot at this point when I had a spare moment. This trash is now available on your waiver wire.

6(16) Steven Houston - T (15/42) 0/-2 Could stick as a reserve tackle. I probably could have gotten him in the 7th and nabbed a WR I planned on getting but lost before my 7th round pick. This guy could stick as a nice reserve tackle.

7(15) Arturo Bowler - QB (9/40) +1/+1 Will he be another Walt Johnson or Nicky Stevens? Probably not, but he has an awesome name. I do pretty well with my 7th round QBs. This guy could be a decent backup QB in the future.

[Guest]

Updated with my fail draft results.

[Guest]

Retired Totems/Ex-Totems of Note:

Amos Irwin was a great linebacker and stayed with Dakota for his entire 12 year career. He was a starter from day one, defensive rookie of the year and a starter until the end. He holds the franchise record for sacks and hurries and is 4th all time in hurries. He'll be missed but his contract was pretty big, so I'm glad I didn't have to cut him and see him play somewhere else.

Walt Johnson was picked up by us in the 7th round and he was a very good backup QB for us. He deserved to be a starter, but our offensive line was not going to be able to protect a guy with low sense rush. We traded him and he took a Vinny Testaverde-like sojourn of the league before finally retiring at a ripe old age.

Malcolm Rowland, the only top-tier WR I was ever able to draft in this league, spent 13 years in the league and 11 with Dakota, finally having a couple of breakout years late in his career. We just never ran a gaudy passing offense here in Dakota and that hurt Rowland's stats (until I went pass wacky in '36 and '37). Rowland was our primary kick and punt returner for over a decade, totaling 11 returns for touchdowns in the playoffs and regular season combined. He finishes as the franchise leader in all meaningful receiving and return categories. Malcolm also finishes 5th all time in Punt Return yards and 4th all time in all purpose yards.

[Guest]

Let's see how we end up this time.

1(9) Carter Reed - QB (13/47) 0/-3 The bars don't look pretty, but my scout says VU and the bars at least line up with VU. His combines were all blue. He was probably a reach, but last time I didn't have a succession plan at QB I wasted 4-5 years of a good football team. If he bumps a little and becomes a viable starter I think I'll be satisfied here. CB D. Rinaldi was the best on the board and would've been my pick if I was going BPA, another need pick I considered here was A. Piccolo (WR) but like Reed, I wasn't quite sure how to feel about him. Looks like a waste of 1.9 where I could have had a shutdown corner. We'll ride it out with him and see where he ends up but it looks like his upside is "career backup."

2(8) Desmond Rayburn - WR (28/42) +1/0 Was feeling a little lukewarm about this guy, but I have a need for youth at WR. I would've considered M. Caver (CB) but he was taken a few picks earlier. If Jack Mitchell (OG) was available I would've definitely taken him. I had K. Young (WR) taken later in this round tabbed for later if he was still available. Borderline starter at receiver but a reach at this spot.

3(9) Scottie Schepper - OLB (23/35) 0/-2 This guy could be a pretty good pass rusher and it would allow me to play T. Alfaro at SLB someday. High PRT & PRS bars. This pick might be a little high for a player like him, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'm not feeling very confident in my drafting, especially with the 39 settings, so my picks feel a lot more like throwing darts this year. K. Chrebet (C) was tabbed for this pick by me but he didn't make it to me. Will be a good pass rusher but was a reach here.

3(17) Tony Emerson - SS (14/27) 0/-7 He looks awful right now, and I took him because he had paired MAN/END & a higher PH. He'll probably bump, but we'll see if it is enough to keep him on the team. Another awful miss in an awful draft.

3(26) B.J. Harvey - C (16/41) -1/-6 Doesn't look that good and was probably a reach at a position of need. I might regret this one in the future but I was honestly running out of good ideas at this point. I had a lot of garbage in my queue. I considered TE T. Swift here but hoped to snag him with my 4th rounder, which was a mistake as Chuck nabbed Swift. I added Kendrick Akiyama (CB) to my queue and he was promptly taken a few picks later. SPLAT

4(8) Gavin Kennedy - SILB (14/49) 0/-1 Agonized between taking Kennedy or Leonard May (who went 4.13 to PHA). I scared myself off of Leonard May who looks like the kind of LB I love and I may end up regretting it. Hopefully Kennedy is good too. One of my few good picks.

5(9) Chris O'Neill - P (39/59) - -1/-9 I meant to pick someone else here and and grab O'Neill in the 6th round, but I didn't update my queue/pick in time. I can't remember who my intended pick was but I think it was S. Anderson WR (6.7 to Camden.) O'Neill probably wouldn't have made it to me in the 6th anyway. If he turns out punting for me for a decade like Brady Marcum I'll be happy. This is looking like the worst draft of all time for Dakota.

6(8) Mercury Shepherd - RB (27/36) - -1/-2 I took this guy to convert to a receiver because I don't have any better ideas, and he's big enough that he's going to convert to TE. Don't really have high hopes for this guy but we'll see. (Also considered: G. Fafinski (7.7 to Charlotte) Converting him to TE where he still struggle to make the roster.

7(9) Frank Winters CB - (21/32) 0/-8 Winters might be able to stick with my team as 4th/5th CB, but I was kind of in dart territory here. SPLAT