Karnage84 Posted February 21, 2020 Share Posted February 21, 2020 15 hours ago, TL-TwoWinsAway said: Oh the pain... This team finished 8-7-1, clearly not a great record, but the NFC North-winning Packers also finished 8-7-1. I looked over the season stats, and the Packers won the first meeting 27-17. The second meeting, during week 16, was a... tie. 29-29. Even worse, the Packers scored 18 points in the 4th quarter to push this into OT, and the Lions couldn't muster a Prater FG in extra time, missing the playoffs as a result. Pretty crazy. The offense finished 18th in the league, and the defense finished 15th. Stafford ended the year with 3,922 passing yards, 29 TDs and 8 INTs (three of those in that tie game against the Packers). Kerryon totaled 1,122 rushing yards and 8 TDs, and Jonathan Taylor added 381 yards and 8 TDs of his own. Golladay posted 923 yards and 6 TDs, while Aiyuk added 880 yards and a robust 9 scores. On defense, both Armstead and Flowers registered 11 sacks. No yearly awards were earned, Jacob Eason (woah) earning the NFC OROY and Isaiah Simmons walking away with the NFC DROY. (Okudah came in 5th.) I'd say that it's hard to believe a week 16 tie against the Packers kept the Lions out of the playoffs, but I believe it completely. I really like grabbing Fromm in the 3rd round, the RB group is really good, and the OLine is great. I wish this team would've had a shot at the playoffs. Could you run this sim one more time? Seems like a very fluky season. Could even call it "attempt #2". I am working on one with Tua at QB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 2 hours ago, Karnage84 said: Could you run this sim one more time? Seems like a very fluky season. Could even call it "attempt #2". I am working on one with Tua at QB. Yay! Another Tua sim! Absolutely. I'll run it again as attempt #2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 21, 2020 Author Share Posted February 21, 2020 (edited) 5 hours ago, Karnage84 said: *Attempt #1.2* QB: Matthew Stafford, Jake Fromm RB: Kerryon Johnson, Jonathan Taylor, Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson FB: Nick Bawden WR: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Hall TE: T.J. Hockenson, Jesse James, Isaac Nauta LT: Taylor Decker, Tyrell Crosby LG: Joe Thuney, Joshua Garnett C: Frank Ragnow, Joe Dahl RG: Brandon Scherff, Beau Benzschawel RT: Jack Conklin, 5th Round Rookie WR: Brandon Aiyuk, 4th Round Rookie, Chris Lacy LE: Arik Armstead, Romeo Okwara DT: D.J. Reader, 6th Round Rookie, John Atkins DT: Da'Shawn Hand, Kevin Strong RE: Trey Flowers, Austin Bryant OLB: Devon Kennard, Jalen Reeves-Maybin MLB: Jahlani Tavai, Christian Jones OLB: Kenneth Murray, Steve Longa CB: Logan Ryan, Jeffrey Okudah, Ronald Darby, Justin Coleman, Amani Oruwariye, Jamal Agnew FS: Devin McCourty, 5th Round Rookie SS: Tracy Walker III, Will Harris K: Matt Prater P: 6th Round Rookie Wow... Not only did this sim outperform the first attempt, they did it by beating the Packers in both games this year, finishing 11-5 and winning the NFC North. Huge wins. Unfortunately, there was a logjam of five 11-5 NFC Teams (the others being the Giants, 49ers, Redskins and Rams), forcing the Lions and Redskins to face off in the wildcard round, a game that the Redskins won 17-14. I was really hoping that this team would go farther. The stats are interesting: the offense ranked 15th in yards, and the defense 5th. Stafford threw for 4,048 yards and 35 TDs with 11 INTs, Kerryon ran for 1,129 and 4 TDs (on 305 carries... woah), and Taylor added another 8 TDs. At receiver, Aiyuk fell just short of 1k with 995 yards and grabbed 10 TDs, with Hockenson (777, 6 TDs) and Golladay (859, 8 TDs) both contributing. On defense, Flowers grabbed 11 sacks, Armstead adding 7.5, and Okudah won NFC DROY. (I have to say: despite starting on defense all year, Kenneth Murray was really underwhelming, finishing with 31 tackles, 10 for loss and 0 sacks.) Again, I really like this team overall, and I love knowing that Fromm is developing behind Stafford. It would have been cool to see them make a run. Edited February 22, 2020 by TL-TwoWinsAway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) One of the things I love most about this exercise is trying the various strategies and combinations to see if one rises above the rest. One such strategy that has not yet been attempted (for obvious reasons) is the Chase Young strategy. So here goes. "Starting Cap: $40M I accepted Key Decisions #3 (trade Jones to the Patriots for their 6th round pick, $6.5M Cap Savings) and #9.7 (trade the 3rd overall pick and a future 1st round pick to the Redskins for the 2nd overall pick). I released Rick Wagner ($5M Cap Savings), Romeo Okwara ($2M Cap Savings) and Chris Lacy ($500K Cap Savings). Damon Harrison retired ($5M Cap Hit). Current Cap: $49M I re-signed Graham Glasgow ($8M Cap Hit), A'Shawn Robinson ($4M Cap Hit) and Danny Amendola ($3M Cap Hit). Current Cap: $34M I signed Jack Conklin ($14M Cap Hit), Logan Ryan ($8M Cap Hit), Devin McCourty ($6M Cap Hit) and Ndamukong Suh ($6M Cap Hit) in free agency. Current Cap: $0M Current Picks: 1.2 2.35 3.67 4 5 6 6 (NE) 7 I traded the 67th overall pick (255) to DEN for the 77th overall pick (205) and a 4th round pick. I traded the 35th overall pick (550) and DEN's 4th round pick to TB for the 45th overall pick (450) and the 76th overall pick (210). I selected the following players in the draft: 1.2 - Chase Young 2.45 - Zach Baun 3.76 - Collin Johnson 3.77 - Ben Bredeson 4 - RB 5 - CB 6 - DE 6 - QB 7 - P Depth Chart: QB: Matthew Stafford, 6th Round Rookie, David Blough RB: Kerryon Johnson, 4th Round Rookie, Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson FB: Nick Bawden WR: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Hall TE: T.J. Hockenson, Jesse James, Isaac Nauta LT: Jack Conklin, Tyrell Crosby LG: Graham Glasgow, Joshua Garnett C: Frank Ragnow, Joe Dahl RG: Ben Bredeson, Beau Benzschawel RT: Taylor Decker WR: Collin Johnson, Danny Amendola, Travis Fulgham LE: Chase Young, 6th Round Rookie DT: Ndamukong Suh, Da'Shawn Hand, John Atkins DT: A'Shawn Robinson, Kevin Strong RE: Trey Flowers, Austin Bryant OLB: Devon Kennard, Jalen Reeves-Maybin MLB: Jahlani Tavai, Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones OLB: Zach Baun, Steve Longa CB: Darius Slay, Logan Ryan, Justin Coleman, Amani Oruwariye, 5th Round Rookie, Jamal Agnew FS: Devin McCourty SS: Tracy Walker III, Will Harris K: Matt Prater P: 7th Round Rookie" Edited February 22, 2020 by TL-TwoWinsAway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) This team is going to the Super Bowl!! (Against, you guessed it, the... Jets? Sam Darnold won the league MVP, somehow, so I guess it all makes sense.) I'm going to watch this sim and come back with the results and summary. Edit: We're down 19-0 at halftime. With Le'Veon Bell in the backfield and Darnold throwing accurate short/medium passes, it's tough to slow them down. The offense hasn't performed well, with the running game totaling 18 yards. Brutal game so far. Edit: After driving down the field and scoring on a TD pass to Hockenson, a Chase Young pressure forces Darnold into an errant pass, which is intercepted by Logan Ryan. Not out of this one yet. Edit: The Lions had to settle for a FG on that drive, but forced Darnold into a 3-and-out on the following drive and kicked another FG. Score is 19-13 with 5 minutes remaining in the 4th. Edit: Interception! Darnold tries to throw deep over the middle on 3rd and 14 and McCourty picks it off. The Lions are moving the ball, down by 6 with 3 minutes left in the game. Edit: Touchdown!! After a Hockenson end zone drop on 3rd and goal from the 7 (in all fairness to him, he was hit immediately), Stafford goes back to Hockenson on 4th down. Hockenson taps his toes in the back of the end zone while coming down with the ball. The booth reviews the play and the call stands. The XP is good, and the Lions have a 20-19 lead with 1:49 remaining in the 4th. Edit: Devastating play. Darnold drops back to pass on 3rd down from the Lions' 30 and is pressured by Logan Ryan, who grabs Darnold's facemask on the way down. The penalty gives them a 1st down on the 15 with 40 seconds left. The Lions have only one timeout remaining. Edit: The Jets score the go-ahead TD, then intercept Stafford with 20 seconds remaining and return that for a score. A 20-19 point lead with 30 seconds left is suddenly a 32-20 point deficit. They made a run, but this one is over. Edited February 22, 2020 by TL-TwoWinsAway 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 (edited) 4 hours ago, TL-TwoWinsAway said: *Attempt #6* QB: Matthew Stafford, 6th Round Rookie, David Blough RB: Kerryon Johnson, 4th Round Rookie, Bo Scarbrough, Ty Johnson FB: Nick Bawden WR: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Hall TE: T.J. Hockenson, Jesse James, Isaac Nauta LT: Jack Conklin, Tyrell Crosby LG: Graham Glasgow, Joshua Garnett C: Frank Ragnow, Joe Dahl RG: Ben Bredeson, Beau Benzschawel RT: Taylor Decker WR: Collin Johnson, Danny Amendola, Travis Fulgham LE: Chase Young, 6th Round Rookie DT: Ndamukong Suh, Da'Shawn Hand, John Atkins DT: A'Shawn Robinson, Kevin Strong RE: Trey Flowers, Austin Bryant OLB: Devon Kennard, Jalen Reeves-Maybin MLB: Jahlani Tavai, Jarrad Davis, Christian Jones OLB: Zach Baun, Steve Longa CB: Darius Slay, Logan Ryan, Justin Coleman, Amani Oruwariye, 5th Round Rookie, Jamal Agnew FS: Devin McCourty SS: Tracy Walker III, Will Harris K: Matt Prater P: 7th Round Rookie After five mediocre attempts, including one 5-11 season in which I traded our future 1st round pick, this roster takes the Lions to the Super Bowl. Even with the loss, this team was pretty impressive: despite finishing 28th in offensive yards, they had the 10th most points scored, and the defense allowed the 3rd fewest yards, the fewest points, and led the league in sacks. Stafford finished the year with 3,699 yards, 33 TDs and 10 INTs, and Kerryon had a robust 1,237 rushing yards and 9 TDs. (The 4th round RB added 7 more rushing TDs.) Amendola (883 yards, 11 TDs), Golladay (867 yards, 4 TDs) and Hockenson (749 yards, 7 TDs) led the way for the receivers, with Collin Johnson adding a mere 462 receiving yards (but a healthy 6 TDs). On defense, Chase Young totaled 16.5 sacks and 19 TFLs, and Flowers added 11 sacks and 15 TFLs. In a shocking turn of events, and as a backup and situational linebacker, Jarrad Davis grabbed 8.5 sacks of his own. Baun had 5.5, and Suh had 5 sacks and 8(!) pass deflections. Patricia finished 2nd in Coach of the Year voting, Jarrad Davis (?) finished 2nd in NFC DPOY, and Chase Young finished 3rd in NFC DROY but won the NFC Best DL. (Flowers finished 3rd.) Chase Young, Trey Flowers, Zach Baun, Darius Slay, Danny Amendola, Graham Glasgow, Taylor Decker and Matt Prater all made the Pro Bowl. It took me six tries to put together a successful roster, but it finally happened. Edited February 22, 2020 by TL-TwoWinsAway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 22 hours ago, TL-TwoWinsAway said: Wow... Not only did this sim outperform the first attempt, they did it by beating the Packers in both games this year, finishing 11-5 and winning the NFC North. Huge wins. Unfortunately, there was a logjam of five 11-5 NFC Teams (the others being the Giants, 49ers, Redskins and Rams), forcing the Lions and Redskins to face off in the wildcard round, a game that the Redskins won 17-14. I was really hoping that this team would go farther. The stats are interesting: the offense ranked 15th in yards, and the defense 5th. Stafford threw for 4,048 yards and 35 TDs with 11 INTs, Kerryon ran for 1,129 and 4 TDs (on 305 carries... woah), and Taylor added another 8 TDs. At receiver, Aiyuk fell just short of 1k with 995 yards and grabbed 10 TDs, with Hockenson (777, 6 TDs) and Golladay (859, 8 TDs) both contributing. On defense, Flowers grabbed 11 sacks, Armstead adding 7.5, and Okudah won NFC DROY. (I have to say: despite starting on defense all year, Kenneth Murray was really underwhelming, finishing with 31 tackles, 10 for loss and 0 sacks.) Again, I really like this team overall, and I love knowing that Fromm is developing behind Stafford. It would have been cool to see them make a run. I kind of figured that based on your summary that it could have a very different outcome (good or bad) if re-done. Interesting to see the logjam at 11-5, especially from teams like the Giants and Redskins. It's also interesting to see Taylor being consistent with 8 TD's AND KJ rushing for 1100 yards in both scenarios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 22, 2020 Author Share Posted February 22, 2020 30 minutes ago, Karnage84 said: I kind of figured that based on your summary that it could have a very different outcome (good or bad) if re-done. Interesting to see the logjam at 11-5, especially from teams like the Giants and Redskins. It's also interesting to see Taylor being consistent with 8 TD's AND KJ rushing for 1100 yards in both scenarios. Yeah, I think the production of Taylor and Kerryon speak to the improved offensive line. It's a really impressive group. It's pretty wild to me that the sims were actually rather similar, the two games against the Packers really making the difference. The defense was one of the stronger units we've seen so far, finishing 5th in yards and fielding a pretty remarkable starting lineup. The fact that Fromm is developing behind Stafford makes that group one of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 I've wondered how two other strategies would fare: 1. Trade Stafford to NE, trade 1.3, 2.35 and the future 1st round pick to CIN and draft Burrow. 2. Sign Clowney and Suh/Reader, trade down to 5-6 and draft Derrick Brown. A DLine of Clowney-Suh-Brown-Flowers should be nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karnage84 Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 21 hours ago, TL-TwoWinsAway said: Yeah, I think the production of Taylor and Kerryon speak to the improved offensive line. It's a really impressive group. It's pretty wild to me that the sims were actually rather similar, the two games against the Packers really making the difference. The defense was one of the stronger units we've seen so far, finishing 5th in yards and fielding a pretty remarkable starting lineup. The fact that Fromm is developing behind Stafford makes that group one of my favorites. Glad that you liked it. I am working on another one for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TL-TwoWinsAway Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Karnage84 said: Glad that you liked it. I am working on another one for you. Fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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