WrigleyField 22

Nice job raw. And all new names I think from my mock. So gives a lot of variety against that plan. Not sure I agree with the logic about Seumalo since his light tread has been injury driven. Age and history of injuries has me worried there. Think I'd rather throw that allocation at a OT and if Dillard is still a guy who can swing inside and out you could take a depth approach at LG. Definitely don't think you need to cut any of the guys you did to make the signings realistic. So I'm still of the mind, those guys come back competing for jobs and are July cuts. Unless you're trying to "do right" by a guy and releasing him early while the FA market is hot, there's little other reason to process those cuts early.

Objectively a good choice by Fields here, but hilarious nonetheless

horsefeathers it. Go full chaos mode.

Okay but I'm still. Gonna trial balloon a crap team on the free one to get the hang of it more. I'm Bournemouth now and took them from bottom 4 to an outside chance of promotion in year 2, and already developed a 75 rated GK, who's basically my best player. But good teams are starting to poach my players already. I keep lots of cash on hand in year 1 and now year 2 splurged a bit so running on thin margins. Why do I keep developing kick ass GK prospects? As I division 2 club is my goal just to develop and sell off ASAP for a while until I get good/have a bigger operating budget? Is this football management? Also I have no idea what I'm doing on my sliders for tactical strategies should be. Does alignment drive other strategies like agressiveness/counterattack, etc? Tldr a management sim is definitely what finally gets me into figuring out soccer lol

Okay but I'm still. Gonna trial balloon a crap team on the free one to get the hang of it more. I'm Bournemouth now and took them from bottom 4 to an outside chance of promotion in year 2, and already developed a 75 rated GK, who's basically my best player. But good teams are starting to poach my players already. I keep lots of cash on hand in year 1 and now year 2 splurged a bit so running on thin margins.

???? Free game from the app store. Football Manager 23 looks like it's 9.99.

All these posts made me want to try and managements sim. I started with a free one and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing but I'm already certifiably addicted. I did Dortmund and I'm finishing top 4 and won a couple National Cups and finished second in champions league once. I'm making tons of money. Think I need to eventually try with a lower league to make it interesting but I don't even know what my strategy actually is. Like my training has finally picked up and I now get these 19 and 20 year olds who are apparently the best players I have. So now I should just sell my like late 20s and early 30s guys rather than wait for them to be old and crappy? Do I want crazy depth and just cycle my lineup a lot? Should I be loaning my young players out so they develop on other clubs?

My ranking (if you disagree I don't give a hoot) 1. Netherlands 2. China 3. Israel 4. Australia 5. Puerto Rico 6. Mexico 7. Korea 8. Canada 9. Chinese Taipei 10. Venezuela 11. USA 12. Dominican Republic 13. Czech Republic 14. Panama 15. Colombia 16. Japan 17. Cuba 18. Great Britain 19. Nicaragua 20. Italy

I mean all indications are its basically his show already. In any case I don't think the AKME-Donovan run was a poor process. Where they go from here though is :dontknow: . But unless MR is moving on now, which would hobestly be very soon, it's on AKME to still figure it out. I know its his show, but its one thing to run the org and another thing to radically change how the org is run out of respect for his 86 year old still present father who still technically owns the team and benefits from their profits. It's a little different with the Wirtz's because I believe Dollar Bill was running the show until he died, but when Rocky took over he literally transformed the organization overnight...within days of Bill's death he had worked out agreements with CSN to start airing home games for the first time in decades. It was like the entire organization was in stasis waiting for him to pass on. What would be the equivalent change other than I guess the luxury tax? Hawks were run like a legit third class org top to bottom. Not sure that's the Bulls situation.

Lot of pretty decent ones, but the clear bottom two are Italy and Nicaragua. Looks like someone just ran up against a deadline and finished the last two in 5 minutes.

Yikes. So this offseason they get to chose between Zach and Billy, but in either scenario, you're imploding most of the roster.

The Bulls one hope for the future is that Michael Reinsdorf is waiting for his dad to kick it before making changes to how the organization is run, ala the Blackhawks and Bill Wirtz. I mean all indications are its basically his show already. In any case I don't think the AKME-Donovan run was a poor process. Where they go from here though is :dontknow: . But unless MR is moving on now, which would hobestly be very soon, it's on AKME to still figure it out.

Ciara or whatever her name is? I think he means Jesus. Russ is obnoxiously religious. Yea. I would never make fun of a man for marrying a women with... a strong independent nature... 8-[

There is one ONE BOSS Wilson submits to.

I'd be pretty upset if they stay at #1 If they stay at 1 I'd assume it's because they didn't get any decent trade offers Yea I'd really only be annoyed if they stay at one a MN D there's a really good trade package made for like #3. Would make me think a good trade was there for taking. But even then it's really hard for me to weigh the relative impact of Anderson/Carter to whoevers in the next tier of possible picks.

Obviously Anderson is a terrific prospect, but it's also supposed a deep DE class, with plenty of early round talent. No saying how Poles will grade Anderson or Carter next to the other DL who will be available. But yea, if they stay at 1 or 2 to ensure their top choice, I won't be upset. I'd love to pickup that extra 2024 FRP, but theres no guarantee such opportunities will even present themselves.

Don't really want to drop below 10... But Titans would definitely need to be a haul type scenario and either that 2024 or 2025 FRP could be a top 5 pick. 11, 41, 2024 1+2, 2025 1+2... Not even sure that's enough honestly.

DL and OL hit hard. Can't complain about that. One thing I will say, is it seems like overkill at C. If I'm drafting Schmitz, I'm putting him at C. I understand if he's not ready Day 1 to play C, but I wouldn't play him at LG. I'd let him snap it and leave him there. Of course, you might need to add a LG in that case because Whitehair and Patrick have shown they aren't good enough there. Also, Mustipher seems like overkill. Just don't tender him, because you know all those guys will get hurt in training camp and Mustipher will start all 17 games again. Also, I refuse to believe Moss is a CB. I know he has great speed, but he is white. Yea I mean on the Schmitz part, obviously they arent going to know in March who they're picking at 54. And as the top C he could certainly be gone by then, so I don't think you can pencil him in before FA. I went back and forth between Pocic and Risner for a IOL FA add. I just wish I had more faith in Patrick, but I really don't want him or Mustipher as a de facto starter at C. Wish it was a better IOL FA class, or a guy with at least some potential C/G versatility. Re Mustipher being overkill, he'd be on a unguaranteed deal (whether the tender or just waived and resigned at the minimum). But yea probably need a vet G minimum flier instead of or in addition to. Need a vet NT too to backup Payne. I think Pocic may have some G experience so maybe he could slide there but I deferred as the vet to C. lol at Moss. I figured with that name he was, but made that pick before looking up a picture. Anyways the heir to Jason Sehorn's legacy will arrive one day!

Okay, got my first mock of the offseason already. PFF just dropped their top 100 FA list, which includes salary estimates for all 100. https://www.pff.com/news/nfl-2023-free-agent-rankings-free-agency So I used all of their contract estimates, and then ran a PFF Mock Draft as well; Pre-Free Agency Resign David Montgomery - 3 years, 19.5M, 12.25M guaranteed, 4.5M signing bonus Free Agency Wave 1: Da'Ron Payne - DT - 4y, 80M, 55M G, 16M s.b. - Best FA at a major need. Just splurge and do it Mike McGlinchey - RT - 4y, 62M, 37.25M G, 12M s.b. - Bit better as a run blocker than pass blocker, but should raise OL floor considerably and put Borom as a swing T Zach Allen - DT - 3y - 37.5M, 26M G, 9M s.b. - The need multiple bodies on that D front. I am not done yet.... Wave 2: Ethan Pocic - C - 3y, 21M, 11 G, 4.5M s.b. - Fire Mustipher into the sun Arden Key - DE - 2y, 18.5M, 11 G, 7M s.b. Samson Ebukam - DE - 3y, 30.75M, 20 G, 7.5M s.b. - Little bit of a volume approach here at DE. hopefully with DT pressure, everyone's job is easier. Both have good underlying pressure metrics and are young. Wave 3: Bobby Okereke - LB - 3y, 25.5M, 15.75 G, 4.5M s.b. Parris Campbell - WR - 3yr, 23.25M, 13.25 G, 4.5M s.b. -Flus gets a couple Indy connections. Need another WR body and Cambell can line up wide an in slot. Okereke would be instant fit in Flus' D, obviously. The grand total of this FA spree (+ Montgomery) is 97.25M in APY contacts. I worked out the structure on each so that on average 71% or ~70M hits in year 1, but year 1 cash would be ~$116M. This should put them on track to meet their cash minimum, but also keeps them well within their current 82M of effective cap space without any restructures/cuts of current deals. Minor Re-signings at/near minimum: RFA: Mustipher, Evans (possibly just at minimum and not the actual RFA tender) ERFA: Blackwell, Eiselen Other: Scales, Houston-Carson, Blasingame, Adams, other vet min as needed Extensions (my own estimates, not PFF) Darnell Mooney - WR - 4y, 67M, 34 G, 8M s.b. Cole Kmet - 4y, 56M, 32 G, 6M s.b. This adds a very de-minimis current year additional hit of 2.8M, but additional cash of $14M which together with draft class and other minimum spending, should get them to where they need to be. Looking ahead to 2024, they'd have about 89M in future guarantees committed, but most of those would be through 2024 only. With a cap likely to bump another 20M+, they'd still be a Jackson and Whitehair cut away (in 2024) from having another 60-70M of cap room - hopefully in preparation for some key extensions and to be fairly active in 2024 FA as needed. Draft: Trade 1.1 to Indy for 4, 35, 79, and 2024 FRP 1.4. Will Anderson - DE - Alabama https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/will-anderson-jr-088fb540-2ac2-474f-a7b0-579774d3aac6/ -This could easily be Carter as well. Or another Edge if they end up trading past 4. I think I like Anderson > Carter though. But its a deep edge class and there'd definitely be opportunity to still grab a good edge prospect later if they go Carter. 2.35. Josh Downs - WR - UNC https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/josh-downs-a427aa10-9e49-4f91-8e1c-047aec5e7dad/ -Pure slot player, but has good contested catch stats, despite small size 2.54. John Michael Schmitz - IOL - Minnesota https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/john-michael-schmitz-fa90a077-99ef-4bfe-8098-51e330a595fa/ -Just a good value. With signing Pocic at C, I think one will be able to move to LG 3.64. Tuli Tuipulotu - DL - USC https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/tuli-tuipulotu-6bc6cfe5-5d04-427a-a1d1-07b1518d1376/ -May be able to provide versatility at DE and slide down to 3T. 3.79. Jordan Battle - S - Alabama https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/jordan-battle-c65538c1-e8a3-4bd4-bfaa-0e18ed0ae63c/ -Can you ever go wrong with Bama safeties? 4.103. Kendre Miller - HB - TCU https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/kendre-miller-6a7c7ee5-2c64-45e8-806a-bbc9598399f0/ - Should definitely add to RB room as I was unimpressed with Ebner and Evans is JAG 5.137. Riley Moss - CB - Iowa https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/riley-moss-3f7f331e-87f5-4616-9de2-7df3a2a99075/ - Some question is a move to safety is needed, but has good PFF grades. Probably other CB options too - and I think one other prospect is needed for the group. 5.150. Ivan Pace Jr - ILB - Cincinnati https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/ivan-pace-jr-1a2b51af-d229-49f0-ae88-f7317533c7cf/ - Really like the write-ups of this guy - especially in Rd 5. Biggest knock is height. Let him and Sanborn battle it out for Mike role. 7.199. Keytaon Thompson - WR -Virginia https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/keytaon-thompson-7a88839c-506f-4ddc-bcb6-f69c1c738fd4/ - Just a flier on a versatile weapon. Project and likely Practice Squad candidate 7.220. Jaren Hall - QB - BYU https://thedraftnetwork.com/sr-prospect/jaren-hall-eec1d832-6937-47b1-8e71-aa8ae403ff9a/ - Athletic and Toolsy QB prospect as possible long term backup, but needs at least a year on Practice Squad. Final Depth (filled in with minimum depth pieces where needed) QB- Fields - Sieman - Hall* RB- Montgomery - Herbert - Evans - Miller* - Ebner FB- Blasingame TE- Kmet - Tonges WRX- Claypool - St. Brown WRZ- Mooney - Jones - Thompson* Slot- Campbell+ - Downs* LT- Jones - Leatherwood LG- Schmitz* - Whitehair (likely cut or pay-reduction) C- Pocic+ - Patrick - Mustipher - Kramer RG- Jenkins - Carter - Eiselen RT- McGlinchy+, Borom DE- Anderson*, Key+, Ebukam+, Gipson, Robinson, Muhammad DL- Tuipulotu* NT- Payne+ DT- Allen+, Jones WLB - Okereke+, Weatherford MLB - Sanborn, Pace* SAM - Adams CB - Johnson, Gordon, Jones, Moss* NB - Vildor, Blackwell (possibly Gordon bumped inside) FS - Jackson, Battle* SS - Brisker, Houston Carson, Hicks Specialists: Scales, Santos, Gill. Velus Jones as KR - need to figure out a PR... Pettis might get a job back over St. Brown - or find a CB who can.

Who TF was positing that he became the guy yesterday? Well a few recent reports "confirmed" the Bears will be sticking with Fields and looking to trade the #1. Recent reports also confirmed the pope is catholic as well though. More interesting is the two offers "floated" , but not Colts or Texans, yet.

Fire up the Hot Stove

I will be royally pissed if we do not sign Payne if he's available. Clear need, young proven stud, lots of space. Guys like him don't hit the market more often than not. Can't afford to punt two offseasons in a row on some absurd value principle. It's not absurd at all. And there will be 30 other teams trying to sign him. It makes no sense to be pissed off if Payne decides to pick Miami over playing over Chicago or something. Just setting yourself up to be disappointed. But yeah, I explained the value thing. I don't think you are clear on what I am saying. Value does not mean, cheap. Also a deep DT FA class, it's inherently a rotation spot, and Carter may well be your first overall pick (and you can pickup DE talent deep in this year's draft).

I mean conventional wisdom should value them pretty close. If it's part of a trade package for the #1, it's close. But if you were actually sitting there holding 36 or 37 and someone offered you a straight swap of 2025 FRP, you have the benefit of assigning a real player to the value, which could be good or bad.

Yes, they are definitely slow playing it. Even with a top 3 spending spree in this offseason, they'll exit this current three year window probably spending just over the 90% minimum cash requirement. That means they'll enter next three year cycle less leveraged than most teams.