The Return To Prominence? 49ers Dynasty

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

All right, I'm already in the regular season, but I've seen other people talking about their's, so it seems like a cool start. I'll start from the beginning...(NFL Head Coach 09)

I changed the playbooks to the Seahawks west coast and Dallas's 3-4, and I like both of those playbooks. Offensively, I run a lot of I and Singleback, and prefer to be run heavy. Defensively, I blitz a lot, but I also added some 4-3 plays to go with my 3-4, nickel, and dime.

There wasn't anyone I can recall who's contract expired who I wanted back. I cut some guys who were eating cap and not worth it, WR Ashley Lelie, LB Brandon Moore, LB Jeff Ulbrich (Who ends up being an invite to camp at half the price), LB Tully Banta-Cain, G David Baas, C Tony Wragge, S Mike Roman and FB Moran Norris.

Unfortunately, there are those I had to keep because they had huge penalties. SS Michael Lewis carried a TEN MILLION penalty, so I'm stuck with a 77 overall safety (4.2 million as my backup) On top of that, mediocre defensive tackles Issac Sopoaga and Aubrayo Franklin together are costing me 5.5 million, and neither starts. My nickel corner, Walt Harris, is 4 million, definitely more than I'd like to pay for a NICKEL corner. The human blob, Jonas Jennings, is also a backup OL at 5 million.

Up next, Free agency and position changes.

[Joab101]

Good luck mate I've started my 49ers campaign today,
I'll be watching you.

BTW did you start at the off-season? Or pre-season?
And what about Vernon Davis's penalty? 15 mil. for a 70 TE

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Free Agency

One of my first priorities was to get a good pass rushing OLB to compliment Manny Lawson. And thus, my first big signing, Mr. Terrell Suggs (89 ovr) for 7.4 M. Pricey, but he's 24, so he hasn't maxed out yet.

Up next, I saw concerns on my offensive line. Which led to a lot of shifts. I had good tackles, but very weak guards. So I moved the most versatile lineman EVER Joe Staley (Former LT) to guard, where he was just as good. (Later, he was moved to center, where he currently starts.) I looked to free agency, and ALMOST signed Alan Faneca to a freaking massive deal. But I instead signed (87 ovr) T Jordan Gross for 6.1 M. He's younger than Faneca (27), and moved him to guard, and he's a 92! I felt content at that time with my o-line, although a LOT of changes happened in the preseason. (I did another lineman, Ed Blanton, a random 80 ovr tackle who signed for dirt cheap, and guard Adrien Clarke, who I ended up cutting)

To the defense, I saw a PATHETIC defensive line, so I added Antwan Odom to a 6.3 m deal. I think I overpaid for him, but I needed an end, and I ended up with cap to spare.

I also addressed the secondary. I was the only person in the bidding for Ty Law, so I signed him to be my #2 corner for 3.2 M for a year. Also, I had young FS Dashon Goldson, who I moved to SS over cap-waste Michael Lewis, and signed Gibril Wilson to play FS for a pretty reasonable deal.

That was pretty much it for free agency, except for one more move. I wanted to get a blocking machine at FB, and Dan Kreider happened to need a job.

So I headed into the draft, with NOTHING at WR besides the awful Arnaz Battle and Jason Hill. I wanted to sign a guy, but all of the free agents wanted HUGE deals for being mediocre. So that became draft focus #1. I also still a pretty porous defensive line, so that became the second priority.

Up next, the Draft

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by Joab101

Good luck mate I've started my 49ers campaign today, I'll be watching you. What about Vernon Davis's penalty? 15 mil.

Yeah, it's pretty brutal. I actually like him, and kept him starting, even though the game gave him a sad 69 overall.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

To the draft I went. Receiver was number one priority, and I don't think any went until my 29th overall pick. I debated like crazy, but Donnie Avery was 100 speed and a very high potential. So I picked him with my first rounder.

My next pick was much sooner, the 7th pick in the 2nd round. A guy I eyed was Calais Campbell. He was 290 lb DE with speed and power, and a comparison to Osi Umenyiora! That sold me on him.

Then to my 3rd round pick, and I saw a beast in the waiting in Dre Moore. I had scouted him and he had a potential in the 90's! He was the perfect beast for a 3-4 DT, and I signed him up.

To the 4th round, another receiver with a very high potential was Mario Manningham. I liked his skill set, so I chose him.

To the 5th round, I didn't see anyone I wanted. So I moved back a few spots and gained a 6th rounder in the process. I STILL didn't want anyone available, but couldn't unload the pick. So I chose FB Owen Schmitt, which was a waste, he didn't even make my final roster.

To the 6th round picks, which were 8th and 12th, I saw another good looking DT in Frank Okam, which ended up being a solid pick. With the 12th, I didn't see anyone I really wanted, so I went kick returner, and drafted HB Anthony Aldridge (Didn't make the final squad)

My 7th round pick was one that was at the very end of the draft, like 3 or 4 picks left. But I didn't want anyone, and the Raiders were stupidly willing to give me a 5th rounder in next years' draft, which I jumped on.

And that was the draft. Then, I picked my 5 undrafted guys (All made the final cuts too)

I went with DE Tony Bake, who had a strong comparison, good physical tools, but the intelligence of a brick. (AWR of 5!) I also picked WR Marcus Monk, HB Jamaal Buckingham, G Drew Radovich, and CB Dejuan Tribble.

On to the preseason, where more roster overhauls would come.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

To preseason, as for the games, I lost all 4. Although I played my backups more than I probably did my starters, and besides, it's the preseason, who cares? (I supersimed the last game)

I made two trades (The second I'm not sure on anymore) The Broncos offered me young T Erik Pears, who is very solid and cheap, but his contract is up. I got rid of Arnaz Battle and DT Ronald Fields to get him, and he starts now.

The second trade was getting a 3rd WR (I figured he'd start but the rooks developed really fast) So I traded average center Eric Heitmann for Mike Furrey.

Let's go by position of my players

Quarterbacks: I was content keeping two, Alex Smith and Shaun Hill. Of course, it brought in two, but they both got cut quickly. I also have Michael Robinson at HB, who was a college QB, and has a strong arm, so he's my 3rd QB. (He actually had a GREAT preseason game at QB, he was like 6-7 with a TD)

Halfbacks: Obviously, Frank Gore is the starter, and I was content with Robinson as my backup. The undrafted Buckingham showed a bit of promise, his overall sucks, but he has some potential. The returner Aldrige got cut (You'll see why in a minute) because KR was no longer a need, and he was a sucky back.

Fullbacks: Dan Kreider was all I needed here. Owen Schmitt was worthless, so he got the boot.

Wide Receivers: Both Avery and Manningham developed well, Manningham actually has the HIGHER overall at this point, and they have similar potential. Furrey was the #3 WR. I had the worthless Jason Hill, who had a 1 million penalty, but I cut him anyway. Marcus Monk is mediocre, and Craphonso Thorpe was less than stellar. But I happened to find Josh Cribbs as a free agent. I signed him to be my 4th WR and kick return specialist.

Tight End: Despite my owners wishes, I didn't get Desmond Clark. I felt confident with Vernon Davis, although they brought in like 4 other tight ends. I did keep Bo Scaife (who actually has a higher OVR than Davis) and ended up booting Delanie Walker. I also added blocking TE Kyle Brady.

Offensive Line: Getting rid of Heitmann made me need a center, so Joe Staley became my center (at 86 overall, higher than his LT OVR). I was set with Adam Synder and Erik Pears as solid tackles with Blanton behind them, and Gross at right guard. But left guard was a concern. I had moved human blob and eater of cap Jonas Jennings there.

They brought in a ton of mid 70's guards. I ended up keeping Chris Bober and Claude Terell as backups. Jason Spitz popped up as a free agent, and he was a better option than Jennings, so I signed him to start at LG. I also kept one random rookie invite, Tyrone Singleton, who is a 75 overall tackle with a decent potential.

Defense is the next post.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

On to the defense:

Defensive Line: Rookies would be needing to step up here. Odom took his starting job, but Calais Campbell became the other starting end, and other rookies Moore and Okam became the 1 and 2 DT's behind the wastes of camp. Melvin Oliver didn't make the cut, but I kept Ray McDonald as a backup. Tony Bake and rookie invite Cameron Carter filled out the depth.

Linebacker: I was happy with Lawson and Suggs as my outside guys, and Haralson as the backups. I had the machine that is Patrick Willis, but I needed a second starting MLB, and free agency wasn't helpful. They invited two guys I cut, Brandon Moore, and Ulbrich back. Moore got cut again, but I kept Ulbrich with the intent of starting him. But searching free agency, I found Colby Bockwaldt. He had the same mediocre 73 overall that Ulbrich had, but Bockwaldt had a crazy high 80's tackle rating. So he was signed as my other starting MLB. T.J. Slaughter was also signed as OLB depth.

Cornerbacks: I felt content with the 6 I had, no one else got invited. I had Nate Clements as the #1, Ty Law as the #2, Walt Harris as the #3, Shawntae Spencer as the #4. I kept return man Allen Rossum (although I've been deactivating him) and rookie CB Dejuan Tribble is my #5 guy.

Safety: They brought in some guys, but I wasn't sold on them. I stuck with what I had, Gibril Wilson and Dashon Goldson as starters, Michael Lewis eating cap as the backup, and Keith Lewis for depth.

Special Teams: Kept Nedney and Lee, no reason to get rid of them. I had planned on starting Rossum on returns, but with Cribbs added and Avery's return ability, he got demoted to 3rd on the chart. Cribbs became the primary returner.

Despite preseason struggles, I felt confident that the regular season would go well. And to it we go...

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

The season went to a very rocky start. My two big aquistions, Terrell Suggs and Jordan Gross, were BOTH hurt of course. Week one hosting the Cardinals, I lost 45-42.

4 turnovers, Smith threw an INT and fumbled. Gore fumbled twice, losing one, and Manningham fumbled. I couldn't run the ball at all, Gore only got 32 yards. Other than the turnovers, Smith wasn't bad, 13-16 for two TDs, both TD's on long plays.

I had the most absurd scores though. Shawntae Spencer had a pick 6, a 60 yd pass to Manningham, A Josh Cribbs KR TD to end the half, a Donnie Avery KR TD to START the half, a 67 yd pass to Avery, and another 100 KR TD by Avery late.

I had a chance down 3 in the 4th, but Smith fumbled, and it was recovered for a TD. (Then another KR TD, but I lost the onside)

My pass D was a joke. Larry Fitzgerald had 202 yards, Warner had 428 yards for 4 TDs. I couldn't get any pressure, only one sack. Patrick Willis was a beast with 14 tackles (4 for a loss) as I stopped the run. But overall, a mediocre game. Afterwards, my approval fell to 49.



Then, I went Seattle to play the Seahawks, where my team decided that giveaways were good as we lost 37-24. Even with Gross and Suggs back, I failed miserably. Smith threw 3 INT's, and Gore fumbled twice again. I couldn't run AGAIN, only getting 37 yards on 17 tries. That justs kills my entire plan.

Matt Hasselbeck had no problem, throwing 4 TD's, 420 yards, 71 completion %. Once again, Patrick Willis remained my only good defender. He had 17 tackles, (6 for a loss) 2 sacks, and a INT for a TD.

On top of that, all of my fans, the media, and the owner all approached the ledge. They were 0, 0, and 2, with the staff at 14. If it wasn't for my players loving me, I'd be screwed. But a 12 approval worries me.

I would turn get a win in week 3...

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

Week 3 with the Lions would go much better. The only injury was DT Frank Okam. I ended up winning 17-11.

It's very nice to be able to finally run the ball. Gore had 115 yards on 27 runs (He always dances around instead of running through holes..) and Smith was very good, going 12-16, for 159 and two TDs. The key, NO TURNOVERS.

The defense stepped up, especially late in the game. Leading by 6, the Lions got to inside the 5 near the two minute warning. But I came up with a goal line stand forcing a turnover on downs. Unfortunately, they still had timeouts and the warning, so they got the ball back. But again, a big defensive stop gave me the win.

The D only gave up 209 yards passing, and they averaged 2.5 a run with Warrick Dunn. Willis wasn't quite in beast mode, but he did lead with 9 tackles. Colby Bockwoldt was huge, with 4 tackles for a loss.

With that, approval went up to 32, as I prepared for the Saints in week 4. Which as of typing this, I have yet to play. Unfortunately, my DL is banged up, no Okam or Odom. But I feel confident.

[MrNFL_FanIQ]

My guys stepped up with a 41-27 victory over the Saints. Not going to lie, I felt crappy early, Frank Gore got injured on his FIRST CARRY. As you can imagine, the run game sucked hardcore. But Alex Smith was great, going 16-23, for 3 TD's and 347 yards. Three pass TD's were long players, Avery had two over 60, and Mike Furrey had an 80 yarder.

Once again, the pass D was less than stellar, Brees threw for 411 yards. But the run was stopped well. The game changing play was late in the 3rd, leading 20-17. Reggie Bush got LAYED out by Patrick Willis, forcing a fumble that Dre Moore took 47 yards to the house.

The Saints still had a chance late to get within a score (down two TD's at this point) but Nate Clements got an INT in the endzone. With that, my approval went to 55, but next on the schedule is the Patriots. (gulp)

At least I'm at home. Gore will be back, the only starter out is Manny Lawson.