With the offseason upon us, let’s take a look at the challenges that await some of our favorite Immersion teams.
Batavia Colliders
2012 Record: 9-4
2013 Draft Pick: 1.07
Cap Room: $107.37
Expiring Contracts
- Arian Foster, RB
- Alfred Morris, RB
- Doug Baldwin, WR
- Vernon Davis, TE
- Jason Hanson, PK
- Jonathan Babineaux, DT
- Michael Bennett, DE
- Donald Butler, LB
- Patrick Peterson, CB
- Charles Tillman, CB
- Patrick Chung, S
Losing Arian Foster is huge, as Foster has been consistently in the top-5 over the course of his contract. Most observers believe that Foster will receive the franchise tag, though it will cost the Colliders $57.90 to do so. Alfred Morris was a nice waiver wire pickup, but nobody thinks that he’s worth a franchise tag.
Receiver Doug Baldwin and TE Vernon Davis are expected to walk. Defensively, the Colliders would be foolish to let Tillman go, because signing him to the franchise tag for a second time would probably be cheaper than letting him test the free agent waters.
Donald Butler is a good linebacker, but the Colliders did well drafting Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner, and they still retain the services of Chad Greenway and Derrick Johnson.
Holdouts (Scheduled Salary, Holdout Demands)
- John Abraham, DE ($1.52, $13.57)
- Chad Greenway, LB ($12.65, $16.09)
- Cortland Finnegan, CB ($1.53, $5.65)
The Colliders’ management will be in no hurry to meet any of these holdout demands. While Chad Greenway is a good player, his request for a $4 raise may fall on deaf ears given the depth that the Colliders have at linebacker. Cortland Finnegan won’t get paid if Charles Tillman comes back, and John Abraham is delusional if he thinks that he deserves more than $13 in salary. The Colliders’ don’t value a feast-or-famine pass rushing DE, and besides that, they already have a younger version of Abraham on the roster in Bruce Irvin.
Positional Strength
Quarterback
The Colliders look strong with Aaron Rodgers, Colin Kaepernick, and Russell Wilson. Mark Sanchez is all but guaranteed to be cut, and Brock Osweiler may find himself stashed on the practice squad again.
Wide Receiver
Calvin Johnson and Julio Jones make a fearsome starting duo, and the resurgence of Mike Williams is encouraging. TY Hilton showed promise as a rookie, and may be one of those otherwise pedestrian receivers that benefits from working with a great quarterback. Hopefully 2012 first round pick Alshon Jeffery can stay healthy and show something in year two.
Linebacker
Chad Greenway and Derrick Johnson have been consistent tackling machines. Rookies Lavonte David and Bobby Wagner demonstrated a knack for finding the ball carrier as well. Fellow rookie Donta Hightower also showed flashes. If he develops that would be nice, but the Colliders hardly need him to.
Positional Weakness
Running Back
Doug Martin is nice to have, but you need more than one solid running back. Actually, you need more than two. The Colliders are almost forced to franchise Arian Foster if they want to stay competitive.
Tight End
The Vernon Davis experiment failed. The only TE on the roster is Lance Kendricks, who continues to have struggles with drops. If you don’t have Gronkowski, Gonzalez, or Graham, you basically have nothing.
Defensive Tackle
The Colliders had an embarrassment of riches in 2010 at this position, but no longer. They got pretty lucky getting Babineaux for a comeback season, but they only signed him to one year. Phil Taylor was supposed to be the man in 2012, but he spent most of the season on the PUP list. Can he make a comeback in 2013?
Defensive End
How is it possible that the Colliders have absolutely nobody who can play this position, and the hated Marauders have JJ Watt and Jason Pierre-Paul? Michael Bennett is out of contract, and John Abraham is holding out for mega-bucks. Rookie Vinny Curry is moving to linebacker, which leaves only Bruce Irvin, who is a situational pass rusher. Shea McClellin will probably be moved to LB when the Bears cut ties with Urlacher (which they should totally do.) The Colliders may have to reach for a DE in the first round. Maybe they’ll ask Giorgianni for help picking one…he seems to be good at that.
Madtown Marauders
2012 Record: 10-3
2013 Draft Pick: 1.10
Cap Room: $63.16
Expiring Contracts
- Darren Sproles, RB
- Davone Bess, WR
- Malcom Floyd, WR
- Roddy White, WR
- Dallas Clark, TE
- Matt Bryant, PK
- Ahtyba Rubin, DT
- Kevin Vickerson, DT
- Erin Henderson, LB
- Ryan Clark, S
- Adrian Wilson, S
Darren Sproles was the highest scoring running back for the Marauders, and given that his other backs are all part of the Perpetual-Injured-Reserve Club (Ryan Mathews and Ryan Williams,) Madtown might be wise to slap the franchise tag on him. But if they do that, then they’ll have to let Roddy White go, and that hurts too.
Safety and Defensive Tackle are also hit hard by expiring contracts…the only player left on the roster at either position will be Leger Douzable. Leger Douzable. That’s not a name.
Holdouts (Scheduled Salary, Holdout Demands)
- Demaryius Thomas, WR ($6.07, $26.63)
- Rob Gronkowski, TE ($1.39, $10.41)
- Jason Pierre-Paul, DE ($3.80, $20.34)
The free ride is over for Madtown management, as these top-notch players are finally demanding a fair shake. Thomas blossomed with Peyton Manning throwing him the ball (go figure.) Gronkowski would have held out last year, but Madtown was saved by a last minute rule change. JPP is interesting, because the Marauders have holdout-proof JJ Watt, and could conceivably make JPP ride the pine for 7 weeks, since it’s JPP’s last year of contract anyway.
Positional Strength
Wide Receiver
Both Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker were close to 200 points last season. If Thomas gets paid, then there’s a lot of money wrapped up in the starting duo, which makes it less likely that Roddy White will return. Welker will hopefully re-sign with the Patriots, because his value drops precipitously if he isn’t playing with Tom Brady. Beyond the starters, it gets a bit dicey, with only marginally serviceable Andre Roberts around.
Tight End
Rob Gronkowski is as good as it gets. Yo Soy Fiesta!
Defensive End
JJ Watt was the highest scoring player in the league. In the league! Do you even know how incredible that is? Oh, and they also have Jason Pierre-Paul and a quickly improving Jabaal Sheard.
Positional Weakness
Running Back
Do you really buy CJ Spiller as your feature back? And if Sproles doesn’t come back, then it’s one of the Ryan twins: Williams or Mathews. They tried to draft a RB last year with Ronnie Hillman, but he couldn’t keep Knowshon Moreno at bay when Willis McGahee went down.
Defensive Tackle
Leger Douzable. See above.
Safety
They have nobody on the roster after Ryan Clark and Adrian Wilson leave.
Fransburg (r)EvoLUtion
2012 Record: 6-7
2013 Draft Pick: 1.08
Cap Room: $101.96
Expiring Contracts
- Chris Johnson, RB
- Darren McFadden, RB
- Marcel Reese, RB
- Antonio Gates, TE
- Robbie Gould, PK
- Dannell Ellerbe, LB
- Jerod Mayo, LB
- Reshad Jones, S
- Glover Quin, S
The most productive member in this bunch, by far, was Jerod Mayo. Chris Johnson and Darren McFadden looked good on paper, but they were terrible in 2011. Johnson was pedestrian, and McFadden was injured, as usual. Their departure does leave a big hole at running back, but it does not appear wise to franchise either one of them. Antonio Gates has been with the team since the beginning, but he was outplayed by upstart Kyle Rudolph.
Holdouts (Scheduled Salary, Holdout Demands)
- Ahmad Bradshaw, RB ($6.07, $24.00)
- Dez Bryant, WR ($19.74, $28.48)
Dez Bryant proved himself to be an elite receiver in 2012, and a $9 upcharge will probably have to be paid by management.
Ahmad Bradshaw makes holding out an annual event. He is still trying to convince management that he should be paid based on something he did two years ago. He can look forward to another season like 2012, where he rides the pine for the first 7 games, and then is pressed into action making the lower salary.
Positional Strength
Quarterback
Peyton Manning was in the running for MVP, and many sources say he wasn’t fully healed. With a year in Denver under his belt, and another offseason for his robot nerves to fuse, Manning could be even better in 2013. And having Cutler as your backup isn’t too shabby.
Defensive End
Cameron Jordan was a nice surprise in 2012. Mario Williams and Elvis Dumervil are always capable of big games.
Positional Weakness
Running Back
Trent Richardson is pretty much all you’ve got here. He’s good, but he needs some help.
Linebacker
Here’s another position where you need two guys, and the (r)EvoLUtion sort of have one in DeMeco Ryans. They have to hope that James-Michael Johnson returns from the IR to be something, but they’ll likely go to work during free agency to address their linebacking needs.
Kensington Dragons
2012 Record: 7-6
2013 Draft Pick: 1.11
Cap Room: $178.59
Expiring Contracts
- Alex Smith, QB
- Ronnie Brown, RB
- Daniel Thomas, RB
- Mike Tolbert, RB
- Danny Woodhead, RB
- Brandon Marshall, WR
- Denarius Moore, WR
- Randy Moss, WR
- Sidney Rice, WR
- DeSean Jackson, WR
- Connor Barth, PK
- Justin Bannan, DT
- Jurrell Casey, DT
- Kevin Williams, DT
- Paul Kruger, DE
- Russell Allen, LB
- Nick Barnett, LB
- London Fletcher, LB
- Perry Riley, LB
- Tim Jennings, CB
- Jason McCourty, CB
- Eric Wright, CB
- Tyvon Branch, S
- Stevie Brown, S
- Michael Griffin, S
- Madieu Williams, S
You look at these guys and you wonder how the Dragons made it to the championship game. If they want to make it back again, they better slap the franchise tag on Brandon Marshall, who was the league’s best wide receiver in 2012.
Holdouts (Scheduled Salary, Holdout Demands)
- Charles Johnson, DE ($8.86, $13.57)
Charles Johnson is the only holdout, and he did have a nice season, though he did have off-games. It’s not a big salary jump for a team with so much cap space, but the Dragons have a lot of needs to fill.
Positional Strength
Quarterback
The Dragons had the first pick in the draft a year ago, and they hit on Andrew Luck. He performed solidly as a rookie and looks like a true franchise QB.
Positional Weakness
Defensive Tackle, Linebacker, Cornerback, Safety
There won’t be any players at any of these positions after the contracts expire! The Dragons are basically a redraft team!
© 2013, Josh Hammond. All rights reserved.
Amazingly good article. Very well written and thorough. My team eats.
+1. This is the awesome.
Thanks Brosephs! I’m very curious to see what will be available in next months NFL draft. There seem to be quite a few teams that need to shore up some of their positions.