Offseason Wish List (1 Viewer)

[Jason Wood]

Hey Everyone,

The season has come to a close for the lion's share of us and now it's time to turn our attention to the playoffs, college bowl games, draft prep and free agency. For some of us, this is the best time on the boards because it's a time when we can discuss what we like to see and our expectations for the coming year absent the noise that is inherent during the fantasy season.

One of the things we did on the site this year is quietly launch the FBG Blog. Hopefully some of you have checked it out (we know at least a few thousand of you have) but as you might imagine, as with all our services, we have big plans for the 2nd year to make it something special. One of the things we really want to leverage the blog for is community participation.

The blog is going to run throughout the year (much like the forums) and I am looking at doing a quick profile of each team, with three critical points:

A) What worked in 2007

B) What didn't work in 2007

C) What you would like to see them do in the offseason

Rather than simply assign staff to write these posts (we will obviously do detailed team reports in a few months as we always do for the main site), I thought it might be fun to let passionate fans of each team have their say.

So here's the deal...if you would like to pen a blog post (doesn't have to be more than a paragraph or two on each of the three main topics) on your favorite team; I will happily post them on the blog. If you're interested, do the following:

1) Reply to this thread with the team you're interested in

2) Email me OR reply to this thread with your writeup

3) If your submission fits the bill, I will reply to the thread that you have been chosen and update the team signups to show that team is closed

4) I will post your writeup (with some editing if necessary) and credit you by name (or user name if you would prefer, just let me know)

I haven't talked to Joe and David yet but I'm sure we can run some kind of prize/contest to go with this. Again, I'm not looking for this to be a lengthy analysis like you would submit for the freelance articles we do in the preseason. Think of this as the kind of Shark Pool post you would make in an offseason review type of thread.

Thanks in advance!

P.S. I'm handling the Eagles writeup

 

[Jason Wood]

Sign-Ups for the FBG Blog Offseason Review

1) What worked in 2007?

2) What failed in 2007?

3) What would you like to see your team do this offseason?

NFC East

Dallas -- Bankerguy

New York --

Philadelphia -- Woodrow

Washington --

NFC North

Chicago --

Detroit --

Green Bay --

Minnesota --

NFC South

Atlanta --

Carolina --

New Orleans --

Tampa Bay --

NFC West

Arizona --

St. Louis --

San Francisco --

Seattle --

AFC East

Buffalo --

Miami --

New England --

New York --

AFC South

Houston --

Indianapolis --

Jacksonville --

Tennessee --

AFC North

Baltimore --

Cincinnati --

Cleveland --

Pittsburgh --



AFC West

Denver --

Kansas City --

Oakland --

San Diego --

 

[Jason Wood]

Bump

 

[Bankerguy]

Not sure what the duties are.....but happy to be a Cowboys rep.

 

[Jene Bramel]

If no one else claims them, Who Dey!

 

[Jason Wood]

Not sure what the duties are.....but happy to be a Cowboys rep.

Hey Bankerguy...all i really want isaragraph or two on THIS IS WHAT WORKED IN 2007:e.g.,...Tony Romo emerged as an elite NFL quarterback. The offensive line jelled.Jason Garrett proved a capable offensive play callerDeMarcus Ware continued to emerge as a difference maker on the defensive frontParagraph or two on THIS IS WHAT DIDN'T WORK IN 2007:e.g.,...Terry Glenn was injured throughout the seasonRoy Williams continues to be exposed in coverageParagraph or two on WHAT I WANT TO SEE THIS OFFSEASON:e.g.,...Sign Ken Hamlin to a long-term dealKeep Jason Garrett intact; don't let him leave for another coaching vacancy...Make sense?

 

[Bankerguy]

I am in.

 

[BusMan]

I'm down for the Broncos, unless SSOG wants it; he knows much more than I.

 

[gianmarco]

I'm down for the Broncos, unless SSOG wants it; he knows much more than I.

Yeah, but JW said PARAGRAPH or two, not CHAPTER or VOLUME, so I'm not sure SSOG qualifies

 

[Tommy Collins]

Interested in the Bills. When would this need to be due by?

 

[Jason Wood]

Any time in the next few weeks...just a little pre draft/free agency look into things.

 

[BassNBrew]

Jason...I'll sign on for Carolina if no one else steps up....just put me on the back burner.

Question for you...why have a blog? Just looked at it for the first time tonite and was really intrigued with the material. Would have replied to the coaching carusel but it appeared that I had to register. Why can't you just start a thread in the pool related to each topic? You guys did this in the old days before getting the call up to the bigs.

 

[Bankerguy]

The Dallas Cowboys

What worked in 2007

Wade Phillips more laid back approach and player friendly demeanor was a big hit with the team. He had success getting TO's buy in which was a major coup. TO was not a distraction and widely embraced as a leader for this club. Phillips brought a more attack oriented defense that enjoyed greater success over the previous years squad.

Tony Romo proved the skeptics wrong who thought the fallout from the infamous fumble in the play-offs would be too great to overcome. He showed poise and lots of moxie leading his club to a 13-3 year. He won the respect of his team and earned a handsome new contract. Some would say that if not for Tom Brady, Romo would get some MVP votes. The scramble play against Seattle pretty much sums up Romo for me this year. Give Romo lemons, and he'll make Gin and Lemonade out of it. Cheers Romo!

Double digit sacks for both Ware and Ellis.

Jason Witten was a stud plain and simple as he was the NFC leader in receptions. He was Romo's favorite target and excelled in running deep seem routes that outmatched any and all LB's. Witten finally started to get credit for the excellent blocker he is. You gotta love the play were he took that big hit that ended up knocking his helmet clear off. Jason just bounced off the hit and kept going for 25 more yards. Dude is straight up old school.

Nick Folk the rookie kicker has been money. I was lucky enough to witness his winner (twice) in the Buffalo game. Not too shabby for a 6th rounder.

Jay Ratliff filled in extremely well for Ferguson being lost for the year. Making Ferguson expendable now.

Jason Garrett proved to be a good play caller and was adept at moving TO around the various sets and often put him in motion. He will be a hot commodity in coaching searches this off season.

Free Agency. Jerry hit BIGG (Pun intended) with the addition of Leonard Davis and Ken Hamlin. Both Pro Bowl players.

What didn't work

Julius Jones. While I am still a fan of the 2 back system for Barber's benefit. Jones displayed he is not the guy for the Cowboys. I partially blame the coaching here as they are not calling plays that he runs well (Draws especially).

Roy Williams. He simply cannot cover in space and now seems to take bad angles to the ball carrier. I have seen 2 plays (Ryan Grant and Clinton Portis) where he only ends up blowing up one of his team mates in the process of trying to make the tackle. I am not a cap expert by any means, but the Cowboys will look to either deal or cut Roy this year if the cap hit is not too punitive.

Injuries. This season was the most injuries I have seen the Cowboys endure in some time. In no particular order the following players missed significant game time (Terry Glenn, Jason Ferguson, Anthony Henry, T New, Greg Ellis, and then Gurode and TO recently).

***Added this in after the playoff loss.*** This team needs to improve it's special teams play outside of the two kickers. The coverage teams flat out sucked this year. The return game was average at best. Both are in need of definate attention.

This is more of a disapointment then something that didn't work. However, Cowboy nation was a little sad to see how well the Browns played this year and our visions of a top 7 pick (Via the Brady Quinn trade) went down the toilet. Kudo's to the Browns on a great year. A team to watch out for!

What I want to see in the Off-Season

Let me prefice what I am going to say. In no way do my feelings represent all Cowboy fans views. In fact I expect some to critize some of my thoughts.

Do NOT trade up to get McFadden. Simply not worth the salary and loss of the extra first round pick. Sign Barber and draft a Rookie RB in the 2-3 round to take over for Jones. If it ain't broke...you know the rest.

Tough decisions to be made on both the human false start machine (Flozell Adams) and Ken Hamlin. I suspect we keep Flo and make a run at Hamlin, but come up short $$$ wise. I think Hamlin bails for a pay day.

I do NOT want to see Red leave. Garrett needs to be the next coach of this club. I am confident that Jerry knows this too and will do whatever needs to be down to make sure this happens.

Here is where I expect many to disagree on "my" wants. I want both our first picks to be CB's. You can never have too many corners. With Henry and TNew both missing time this year, we need depth at this position. Jacques Reeves was barely servicable and was the target by many opposing QB's. This is a passing league and the best way to be successful defensively is to bring pressure and cover those 3 and 4 WR sets. Some fellow Cowboy fans are going to also be clamoring for a WR or ILB, they can wait until the 2-4 rounds...imo.

I fully expect Dallas to sniff the FA/trade market for one of the following WR's (Fitzgerald and Williams in Detroit). Heck, Ocho Cinco with a star on his helmet.....you never know?

Final thought. If the Cowboys address a couple of weak spots, this team has to be considered a legit superbowl contender in 2008.

 

[Jason Wood]

Jason...I'll sign on for Carolina if no one else steps up....just put me on the back burner.Question for you...why have a blog? Just looked at it for the first time tonite and was really intrigued with the material. Would have replied to the coaching carusel but it appeared that I had to register. Why can't you just start a thread in the pool related to each topic? You guys did this in the old days before getting the call up to the bigs.

Hey Bass...Lots of reasons actually. Not the least of which the growing importance of blogging as a media outlet. We put out a magazine even though we hardcore Sharks understand that 90% of the stuff is going to be outdated by the time we hit the stands. Yet, as a business we still think it's worthwhile to put out the magazine for a number of reasons:1) It helps us ensure we're ready to roll early in the offseason2) There is an expectation that "legit" football content sites also have a print version3) The magazine provides excellent collateral with which to market the site [i.e., sending magazines to radio hosts, NFL writers, scouts, etc...]4) It attracts greenfield eyeballs to the Footballguys brandMuch in that same vein, to not have an RSS-enabled free football blog just seems counterintuitive. The startup costs are de minimous, the insights are already readily available (we staff love to talk about this stuff anyway) and it's not mutually exclusive from the Shark Pool. Whereas in-season content is often withheld from the Shark Pool b/c it's subscription, the blog is 100% free.My personal blog (it's about technology and investing) has several thousand subscribers and I've never done any outbound marketing for it [that's not the point of my blog]. I know of certain team blogs that reach tens of thousands of uniques each day. Why would we NOT put our brand on what should be one of our best viral marketing opportunities?What's the downside?

 

[Sajoakita]

Tampa Bay

A) What worked in 2007

I'm tempted to say "nothing," but that really wouldn't be true, or fair. The Bucs were significantly improved over last season, for a lot of reasons. According to the local radio guys, Gruden relaxed a bit, and let his position coaches do their jobs. I can't say how much that had to do with the improvement - will leave it to those more observant than I am.

What I saw was a QB (Garcia) who had more poise, and who often had time. He wasn't spectacular, but he was certainly more effective and efficient than Bruce Gradkowski, last year's sacrificial "virgin." The offensive line frequently did enough to allow Garcia to do HIS job, they just didn't do it as frequently as the fans, or their teammates, would have liked.

With the untimely injury to Cadillac Williams, "Mr. August" Ernest Graham FINALLY got the opportunity to prove he could perform in some OTHER month. How much better the Bucs 2006 season might have been (had Graham been given the ball on occassion) we'll never know. Circumstances forced Gruden to play Graham, I'm guessing much against his will, and the rest is history. Beyond Graham there were some flashes of goodness (not to be confused with greatness), but injuries were the overriding story. The offensive line did just well enough, and the rookies/not quite rookies showed a lot of promise. We can all hope that by next season they'll have advanced from "almost there" to "THERE."

Monte Kiffen's defense, on the other hand, showed up more often than not, and has the potential to rival the Bucs D we watched from the late Dungy years through the very early Gruden years. It worked. It isn't entirely polished yet, but we who remember can see the quality of the line growing. Barring catastrophe, they will likely be formidable for the forseeable future.

B) What didn't work in 2007

The greatest problem, from my vantage point, was that NOTHING worked with any consistency. Injuries struck like the plague, as they did in so many teams. By SEPTEMBER 5, five players were on IR, including Mike Alstott, and Paris Warren, who looked to be on his way to stardom as a WR. The Bucs ended the season with 14 players on IR. It's not a league record, especially this season, but it may be a record for most players on IR by the starting gun of the first game.

Maybe deciding not to risk the starters in the last two meaningless games of the season worked, and maybe it didn't, but we'll never know. As one who NEVER believed the Bucs would beat the Giants in Round 1 of the playoffs, I'd just as soon have had them end the season with two wins as two losses. Those last two games sent the team and the fans into the playoffs on a losing streak, and I don't think that was beneficial.

This would be easy to assess if we were dealing with 2006. Running didn't work, passing didn't work, blocking didn't work . . . you get the picture. This year, most everything worked, but not consistently. The Bucs needed more and better of what they had - that's not the same as needing something different.

C) What you would like to see them do in the offseason

Get Art Valero cloned, and on contract? Guess that's out of the question. So, get the good guys back on contract, and extend contracts that should have been extended or renegotiated THIS season if not before. Kiffen would be the greatest loss, and we need to make sure that doesn't happen. They need to offer C John Wade a contract that's reflective of his value, and hold on to him. Graham has earned a big upgrade. And they have the cap room to handle these needs and also do some damage in the FA market. We need another RB as insurance in case Caddy can't come back; we need someone who can do half what Galloway does, and with any luck, is just more than half his age! If only Michael Clayton had managed to show a little more this year . . . he may yet, but it's not something I'd stake my life on.

Find someone - ANYONE!! - who can strengthen the O-line. I think the Bucs are one, maybe two special offensive linemen away from being able to score at will. Maybe the guys we have are nearly at that special level, and with one more preseason will get there, but we won't know until next year, and I'd really like some of that insurance I mentioned earlier.

Finally, the backup QB situation needs to be sorted out. Simms has talent, and reports that he's starting to feel "normal." Will Gruden give him a chance if Garcia goes down? McKown obviously has talent, and showed it in one of his two opportunities. And it's hard to fault Gradkowski - he was thrown in long before he should have been, and may still have PTSD.

If they're going to improve on this season, they need to pick up, or complete the development of, a few key pieces. I'm hoping they'll do just that. Since the Gruden era started, they've been up one year and down the next, and that's been the ONLY consistent thing about this team!

 

[Pictus Cat]

I could do the Bears just quoting the Off-Season thread. Good posting there IMHO.

Short and Sweet

Chicago Bears

What worked in 2007?

Devin Hester was the highlight. Would the opposing coach kick to him and how would he do in the offense were what fans wanted to know each week. The Bears enjoyed good field position.

Defensive Line looked promising at times and for the future. Harris, Brown, and Anderson had some good games.

Tight Ends looked good. Olsen and Clark both produced well.

What did not not work in 2007?

Offensive Line - Run game was not consistent. Pass blocking was insufficient. Fred Miller was beat much too often.

Safety & Defensive Expectations - Archuleta did not get the job done. Lack of coverage, pressure, and turnovers from the defense as a whole was less than expected from the previous year.

Quarterback - They were rotated due to ineffectiveness and injury. Grossman was replaced, Ole Griese got hurt, and Orton did just enough to keep not sink or run away with it.

What you would like to see them do in the offseason?

PRIORITY: Improve the offensive line. Go after and get two free agents early. Draft and develope. I could end it here and be happy, but...

Safety needs to be fixed.

Berrian and Briggs would be nice to have back, but are not priorities.

A QB needs to stand up.

- Pictus Cat

 

[rzrback77]

My local team, the New Orleans Saints had an extremely disappointing campaign in 2007. The year before, in Coach Payton’s first season, they far exceeded expectations and ended the year losing at Chicago for the NFC Championship and the right to go to the Super Bowl. Because of the previous year’s success, hopes were high for a trip to the Super Bowl, but it didn’t come close to materializing.

Most will highlight the poor play in the secondary as the primary culprit in the Saints’ demise. It is true that the defensive secondary was a position targeted in free agency with the Saints signing two DBs, Kevin Kaesviharn from the Bengals, who only started three games and Jason David (5’-8” and 180 lbs) from the Colts who possibly made even more Sportscenter Highlight clips than even Adrian Peterson, but he was always chasing an opposing wide receiver toward the end zone.

The Saints entire secondary continually gave up big plays on defense. I reviewed the game stats and these are the listed longest plays. I didn’t review all plays, there could have been even more than this. But, looking at each opponent’s longest play, there were twenty-six pass plays given up by the Saints that gained between 20 and 29 yards, seven between 30 and 39, eight between 40 and 49, two between 50 and 59, two between 60 and 69, and two over 70 yards. This is after a concerted effort was made in the off-season to improve their secondary. The dropped from 3rd in the NFL in passing yards given up of 178 per game all the way down to 30th giving up 245 yards per game, an extra 67 yards per game. I’ll leave it to people more informed than I, but either the player added was worse or the scheme is not a match. Regardless, the numbers here bear out that the defensive secondary play was worse than poor and extremely disappointing.

The rushing game was also a huge let-down. On the season, the Saints had 392 rush attempts (24.5 per game) for only 1,461 yards (91.3 yds per game). There were injuries to McAlister in game 3 and Bush in game 12 that probably impacted the performance. But, they averaged as a team, a measly 3.72 yards per rush attempt. In games where they rushed for over 100 yards, they were 6-2, whereas where they failed to get 100 yards rushing, they were 1-7. Nobody had very good numbers, but Pierre Thomas was the most effective in a limited role.

Bush had 157 carries for 581 yards and 4 TDs, averaging 3.70 ypc in 12 games

Stecker had 114 carries for 444 yards and 5 TDs, averaging 3.87 ypc in 16 games

Thomas had 50 carries for 251 yards and 1 TD, averaging 5.02 ypc in 12 games

McAlister had 24 carries for 92 yards and 0 TDs, averaging 3.83 ypc in 3 games

Karney had 11 carries for 17 yards and 2 TDs, averaging 1.54 ypc in 16 games

The team stressed the passing game with 652 pass attempts and only 392 rushes. After a shaky start Drew Brees posted admirable fantasy numbers for the year. He completed 440 of 692 for a 67.5% completion rate. He threw for 4,423 yards, averaging 276 yards per game. He had 28 TDs compared to 18 interceptions. It all looks very pleasing to the fantasy eye. However, a closer look reveals the following:

1) In the losses, he had only 9 TDs and 16 interceptions

2) In the losses, the highest ypa was 7.78 and six of those games had under 6.00 ypa

3) In the wins, he had 19 TDs and only 2 interceptions

4) In the wins, he was always over 6.44 ypa with a high of 10.50

What worked in 2007?

The passing game worked well in the wins, but otherwise not so good. The rushing game was adequate in the wins and pitiful most of the rest of the time.

What didn’t work in 2007?

The defensive secondary was horrible. There were some offensive calls that were questioned, such as the reverse late in the Tampa Bay game. The passing game was inconsistent.

Off-Season Improvements?

I hope that Deuce McAlister can come back as I think he has been a huge stabilizer for the offense, but two knee surgeries so close together will be a difficult challenge for him. I don’t see him playing a big role until mid-season at the earliest. Reggie Bush was not nearly as spectacular producing big plays in 07. He definitely needs a running mate. Could Pierre Thomas be a capable Deuce replacement? Stecker is getting up there in age, but has been a rather inexpensive multi-purpose guy.

Defensive secondary needs help. Shut-down corners are rare, but the Saints need two.

 

[JPeso]

I would love to see a Forecast done with PPR scoring as opposed to just standard FBG scoring. I realize you guys cannot forecast for every scoring niche, but PPR is pretty popular.