Potomac Dynasty

[WillProsper]

INTRODUCTION

Hey Guys,

Just discovered this Journals section, and have enjoyed reading some of yours. It looks like fun, and adds a whole new layer of depth, so I'm jumping in. I am already one year into my first 30 year franchise, using the '86 roster (from Raidersmike, compilled by yclept).

I will import the real draft classes for every year, but will make no attempt to keep teams on track with historically accurate rosters. I think it will be interesting to see how known legends develop with different circumstances, and likewise what new stars emerge.

I am using NZA's franchise guide, and will play every game as the Washington Redskins (All-Madden, 5 minute quarters -just because I need games to be quicker.). The idea of GM only seems intriguing as well though, and I will probably try that next time around. Currently, I am using the Balanced D, and an offensive playbook of my own design. I have a killer D-book in the works, but it needs to be tuned up and paired down.

I will upload video of interesting plays, (and perhaps whole games as well, once I let go the $35 for registered Fraps) as well as occasional "coaches film" with commentary, player breakdowns, and management strategy concepts.

For a twist, all readers will be addressed as members of this organization's Board of Directors. Therefore, I not only welcome your observations, but also your opinion and suggestions. This could make it a bit more interactive and interesting for us all.

The two biggest challenges I see are: 1) Not cheating -it was so hard to not just move Eric Dickerson to my team, even though the Ram's wouldn't trade him for anything! However, I did make it through the entire 1st season using only CPU approved Trading Block deals. (Look for a narrative soon though on why his agent will likely push for a trade this off season =) and 2) Not having this become my new full-time, all-consuming addiction!

UPDATE (real time 12:07am, 8/19/2016) Journal time (Page 9) Rookie signing period, 1986.

After looking closer at NZA's Franchise Guide, and considering my intent to develop a Dynasty Franchise with the best players of the past 3 decades, I have decided to ignore the salary suggestions. Instead, I will give all players exactly what they ask for, but play with the same cap as the CPU teams.

[RevanFan]

Sounds very interesting. I'll be on board to read, and occasionally comment. However, I would suggest changing the title to something more descriptive than "intro:".

[Danchat]

For a twist, all readers will be addressed as members of this organization's Board of Directors. Therefore, I not only welcome your observations, but also your opinion and suggestions. This could make it a bit more interactive and interesting for us all.

The two biggest challenges I see are: 1) Not cheating -it was so hard to not just move Eric Dickerson to my team, even though the Ram's wouldn't trade him for anything! However, I did make it through the entire 1st season using only CPU approved Trading Block deals. (Look for a narrative soon though on why his agent will likely push for a trade this off season =) and 2) Not having this become my new full-time, all-consuming addiction!

This is an interesting idea. About a year ago I had a similar idea in my mind where I would "hire" users to coach certain positions on my team on my franchise journal and they could make roster moves and other decisions - but I eventually scrapped the idea completely. I'm interested to see how your journal will go. I will be reading and likely posting too.

[mee]

INTRODUCTIONI will upload video of interesting plays, (and perhaps whole games as well, once I let go the $35 for registered Fraps) as well as occasional "coaches film" with commentary, player breakdowns, and management strategy concepts.

You can use Bandicam and make 4 videos (each quarter).

Sounds interesting I'll be reading!

[WillProsper]

Welcome BOD

As you might already know, The Washington Redskins went 10-6 in 1985 and missed the playoffs completely. 6 of those 10 wins were decided by no more than 7 points, and 3 of them by a field goal or less. There were 7 games decided by 14 points or more, and they lost more than half of them. They were 20th in points scored, and 11th in points against. This resulted in a yearly SRS of -1.93. I think everyone would agree, that was a disappointing year.

It was at this point that I approached Jack about an ownership stake in the team. One thing led to another, and we agreed to partner for the '86 campaign. I am pleased to report that in Season 1 we went 17-2, winning the Superbowl. That is an .895 win percentage, and we were undefeated at home (which -along with boosted ad spending- led to a huge increase in attendance to 99%)!

Of those 19 games, 11 were decided by 14 points or more, and we won them all! 6 games were within a touchdown, including the two that we lost (one by 5, and another by 4). I am very proud that our league-best defense pitched 5 shutouts, and I applaud their 6.6 ppg average!

Regarding our two losses: these were valuable learning experiences for myself, our coaching staff, and many of our players. After Reggie White and his Eagles shut us down 14-10 in week 3 , our young QB, Jay Schroeder was the first to identify that his decision making wasn't excellent early on, focusing his gaze on one or two key routes while other's were left open. Because of this, he often held onto the ball too long, and took unnecessary sacks. However, Jay's release seemed to get quicker with each game, as he was able to work through his progression more efficiently. By the end of the season, that was the only thing Madden could talk about! Interestingly, rookie QB Mark Rypien also seemed to pickup this lesson, and we see great promise from his limited appearances as well. As evidence of our teams progress, when we met the Eagles again in week 15, we put them solidly away 30-2.

The game against SF in week 12 was another story. Montana was just on fire, hitting everything despite very good coverage, and relentless pressure. This stung even more because one of his best receivers that game was pro-bowler Gary Clark, who we had shipped to SF in the pre-season, along with a 1st and 2nd round pick, in exchange for Jerry Rice. (More about that later on). It was a good day for Gary, and despite the loss, are glad to see him doing so well.

We had a number of calls go against us in that game as well, and were denied a challenge that I still feel should have been reversed. Add a very unusual 2 fumbles, and it was game over. Still, I found myself sincerely commending our guys after that game for a very good effort the whole way through. They showed great composure, acknowledged where we fell short, and got right to work on what we needed to improve. Chief among these, I think, was our over-confidence heading in, and possibly over-aggressive play calling. Gibbs regrouped the staff, and we found sweet revenge in the Conference Championship, shutting out SF 20-0! I'm pretty sure we could have added more, but stayed conservative, just to drive home the point.

We were the least penalized of any team in the league by a multiple of 4, gave up the least interceptions, and the second least fumbles, which led to the league best turnover differential (leading the runner up by 8). All of this is a tribute to Joe's insistence on disciplined practice leading to disciplined performance.

I'm not sure what it says about us that we had the least total yards in the league, as well as the least first downs and 2nd least passing yards, but still maintained the winningest record? We did have the 2nd most rushing yards, 3rd most rushing TD's, and 2nd highest Redzone scoring percentage (94%). And, as Jay and Mark have often commented, everyone is grateful to our powerhouse O line for giving up the least amount of sacks (23) which is less than half of the next best!

I am tempted to credit our strong defense with setting the tone of each game. I couldn't find a stat to back it up, but it seems that forcing so many offenses to punt (often after 3 and out, sometimes with lost yards on a sack) landed us better average starting field position than one would normally expect.

Our #1 defense was both dominant and consistent all year long. They gave up the least total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, and ppg! We had the least amount of sacks, but that is probably because our ball-hawks grabbed the league best 42 combined interceptions! Of course, much of that is thanks to the phenomenal pressure applied by each of the front 7, as well as our pro-bowl safety tandem and nickle / dime backs, all of whom got their share of hits on opponent's QB's.

This group did give up 75% red zone scoring, but this is skewed by the fact that they only allowed 8 attempts all year. This easily equates to the lowest amount of redzone: attempts, touchdowns, and field goals in the league.

There were many standout performances, and we are proud that 11 of our players made the NFC pro-bowl. These include our entire offensive line (LG Russ Grimm, LT Joe Jacoby, RT Mark May, RG R.C. Thielemann, C Jeff Bostic), our entire secondary, (SS Kenny Easley, FS Vince Newsome, CB Darrell Green, CB Vernon Green), DT Dave Butz, and K Mark Moseley. However, we are literally shocked that QB Jay Schroeder, HB George Rogers, WR's Art Monk and Jerry Rice, TE Rodney Holman, and our DE tandem of Charles Mann and Dexter Manley were not on that list as well!

Starting QB Jay Schroeder had the league's best single game passer rating (146.9) with his stellar performance in week 13 against the Colts. He also had the seasons longest yards per pass average of all starting QB's at 8.0.

Backup QB Mark Rypien claimed the 3rd best passer rating (105.2) and longest passing avearge (9.7) of QB's with at least 30 attempts.

Starting HB George Rogers had 400 yards after 1st hit, which was 104 more than runner up Eric Dickerson.

I am very impressed that our receiving corps of WR's Art Monk, Jerry Rice, Ricky Sanders, and TE Rodney Holman had the 4 highest yards per play averages of any other receivers with 30 or more receptions (20.7, 19.3, 15.9, 15.5)

Pro Bowl LT Joe Jacoby tied for the 5th most pancakes (35), and gave up the least sacks (2) of anyone on the top 112, except for team mates: TE Rod Holman (34-0), FB Terry Orr (15-0), and TE Dan Warren (14-1).

Our front seven (Charles Mann, Daryl Grant, Neal Olkevicz, Dexter Manley, Mel Kaufman, Dave Butz, and Rich Milot) combined for a league best 32 tackles for loss, which is really something considering that our defense probably saw the least amount of snaps in the league, and definitely the least rushing attempts.

Our Pro Bowl Secondary (Darrell Green, Vince Newsome, Kenny Easley, and Vernon Dean) combined for a league best 28 interceptions (1st, 2nd, 5th and 8th, respectively). Green and Newsome were the top 2 in INT yards (264 and 138). And Green had at least twice as many defensive TD as any other player!

Pro Bowl Kicker Mark Mosley had the 5th most FG's made, with the highest percentage by a span of 10 (93), and tied for the 5th longest (51). He also made the most FG's in the 40-49 yard range (15).

Steve Cox had the 8th longest punt average, and the highest net average, with virtually half landing inside the 20. He had the least touchbacks of anyone punting more than 5 times.

Areas we still need to improve are: 3rd down conversion percentage (we were very low with only 31% in the regular season, and increasing our defensive redzone takeaways. Also, our offensive play calling will need attention, as we were too predictable last year, and had several delay of games due to last minute adjustments and audibles.

Teams that gave us the most trouble were: SF (but with Montana aging out soon, this will likely change), and Chicago. We were able to overcome the Bears, but each time was a knock-down, drag-out. Also, we were lucky that Lawrence Taylor suffered a season ending injury before we faced NYG, or those would likely have been much tougher games. If we aren't able to acquire Taylor this off-season, we'll need to plan accordingly when we face off against him next time.

We have 6 players 30 or older, who may look to retire this off season. We have 7 players with total contracts over $20m each. However, with a team salary of only $81.7m, there is plenty of cap room ($78.3m) to negotiate in the off season and free agency. Because we were able to keep our total player salaries low (by running with a bare-bones 48 man roster), and increase our attendance to 99%, we currently have a $104.75m in cash assets!



I plan to use a good portion of this to: keep our star and promising players, make some audacious coaching moves (more to come on that =), add some stadium upgrades, and go after the leagues best available acquisitions. This year was a relative breeze. It only get's more challenging from here, so we need to keep our foot on the pedal, to build this DYNASTY!

So, what are your thoughts?

[WillProsper]

Re: Coaching Staff

Respected BOD,

Just because we are the now the defending World Champions does not mean that the same personnel will get us there again next year. Let me come right to the point: While our coordinators (J. Bugel, L. Peccatiello, W. Sevier) were effective enough so far, I do not believe that they will provide the kind of leadership we need going forward. Therefore, I propose that we sacrifice the $1.03m it will take to release them now, and upgrade to some of the top tier leaders currently on the market.

[WillProsper]

All in favor of releasing all 3 coordinators?

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

[WillProsper]

All in favor of hiring the very best training staff avaialble?

Spoiler:

[Danchat]

All in favor of hiring the very best training staff avaialble?

If you want the team to simulate more injuries, then I recommend you use a lesser training staff. I've noticed there is a stark difference between the injuries on a team with a weak training staff and a strong training staff. I like having a moderate amount of injuries on my teams - to be realistic and to shake things up. It really depends on what kind of simulation you want.

But as a member of the Board of Directors... yeah, you should hire a top-end training staff.

[WillProsper]

I see two options for this role:

The first is known to be great with the kicking / punting teams, but lacks the caliber of intangibles (Motivation, Chemistry) I value most.

Spoiler:

The second is less renowned for his direct influence on the kickers (though he is still respected in that regard), but is a much more well rounded leader, reflecting the type of attributes (knowledge, work ethic) that I can support.

Spoiler:

WHAT SAY YOU? Shall we sacrifice a bit of K/P rating for less direct (though sizeable) improvements across the chart? Or, do you feel that the only metrics worth looking at for a ST Coordinator are those K/P items?