Fantasy Draft Lions Franchise

[Dumb Daddy]

I did a fantasy draft to create my franchise immediately upon opening the game. I'm going to use this space to record results, etc. If anyone wants to read, that's cool.

I selected the Lions because I had a Lions franchise in M2005 and liked the playbook. They also have a new stadium so I don't have to think about that aspect of my franchise.

I had the sixth overall pick in the fantasy draft. Here are the results:

1) Tomlinson HB
2) Urlacher MLB
3) McKinnie OT
4) Henderson DT
5) L Davis OT
6) D Robinson CB
7) R Williams SS
8) Haynesworth DT
9) Palmer QB
10) Steinbach OG
11) D Hall CB
12) Taylor FS
13) D Johnson OLB
14) Lehman OLB
15) Calico WR
16) Sh Andrews OG
17) Crumpler TE
18) A Jones CB
19) Bentley C
20) Kampman DE
21) Luchey FB
22) Kaeding K
23) Lechler P
24) Weaver DE
25) R Brown HB
26) Barron OT
27) D White WR
28) McPherson QB
29) D Henderson WR
30) Terrell OG
31) F Washington CB
32) Spencer C
33) Murphy WR
34) Watson TE
35) Beck MLB
36) Pool SS
37) Schweigert FS
38) C Morton HB
39) Washington DT
40) Fox OLB

the rest of the picks were simulated

41) Gray QB
42) Hangartner OT
43) Gordon DE
44) Cooper DE
45) A Lewis OLB
46) Dielman OG
47) J Carter WR
48) J Mathis WR
49) M Smith HB

After the draft, I traded a 2nd round pick for T Williamson WR and signed Seidman TE as a FA.

Team analysis: It should be a very good running team and the defense could be pretty good also (especially up the middle). Areas which could require some improvement over the next couple years include WR, DE and maybe QB.

[Dumb Daddy]

The TC drills appear to be the same though the passing drills are totally different with the passing cone. I failed to add any points on Precision Passing (I only completed 3 passes!). I was able to add points on all the other drills though I didn't try the highest levels after my passing fiasco.

Players improved in TC:

McPherson +3 THA
Tomlinson +5 BTK, AGI (can't remember how it was distributed between the two)
Haynesworth +3 STR
D Johnson + 5 AGI, TAK
A Jones +3 ACC, CTH
Lechler +3 KPW
Kaeding +4 KPW, KAC
Williamson +1 ACC

[Dumb Daddy]

I played the first pre-season game on All-Pro. Based on the results, I may play a game or two on Pro to get my offense to work.

Final score: Lions 3, Jets 3

I couldn't do anything offensively. The Detroit playbook is very different from last year and my favorite plays are all gone or changed. I threw 3 Interceptions (Palmer 1, McPherson 2). Lechler had to punt 6 times.

Defensively, things went much better. After giving up a Field goal on the 1st posession, I shut down the Jets. I didn't scout them before I played them but they had McNabb and Portis. I played OLB when the 1st string was on the field since I didn't want to mess up Urlacher. I did use Chip Beck in the 2nd half and had 3 sacks. DeAngelo Hall had an interception for me also.

No injuries.

I will try a different Offensive playbook for the 2nd Preseason game.

[MaddenPlayer]

Maybe you should try and use a run balanced offensive playbook so you wouldnt throw INTs that much and you still could run the ball downfield. Normall it is the quickest way to get downfield

[Dumb Daddy]

Maybe you should try and use a run balanced offensive playbook so you wouldnt throw INTs that much and you still could run the ball downfield. Normall it is the quickest way to get downfield

I will look at it. I made an assumption that the playbook would be very similar to last year's since the coach hadn't changed but I was wrong.

The interceptions were mostly my fault. I guess that it's risky to try to pass to a receiver that's not in the cone. I'll figure it out -- I'm not going to clutter the board with "It's not fair!" posts when it clear that I'm the one that needs to adapt.

[Dumb Daddy]

I played this game at Pro level to work on my passing game (Carson Palmer has a smal cone). It was too easy -- the rest of the games will be played on at least All-Pro.

Lions 63, Browns 10

Both Tomlinson and R Brown had over 100 yards. LT had 4 TDs and Brown 2.

I used the Balanced playbook which I liked better than the Lions PB but I'm going to keep looking.

I won't say much else about the game -- it was at a level that was too easy so it's not worth discussing. I figured out how to change the primary receiver pre-snap but haven't yet mastered changing during the play. Hopefully I can lean on my running game until then.

[mcfara]

I have had the exact same problem. I played 5 or 6 on Pro to get my timing down and every game was a 70 - 7 win. I played my first All Pro game last night and lost 10-6 and threw 6 INTs...Pro doesn't prepare you for All Pro at all. From now on I will play only on All Pro...it might take a while but it's the best way to improve

[Dumb Daddy]

I have had the exact same problem. I played 5 or 6 on Pro to get my timing down and every game was a 70 - 7 win. I played my first All Pro game last night and lost 10-6 and threw 6 INTs...Pro doesn't prepare you for All Pro at all. From now on I will play only on All Pro...it might take a while but it's the best way to improve

It's good to hear that I'm not alone. If I have enough trouble, I may pick a new team with a better QB. I didn't realize passing was so different, I made my franchise almost immediately after opening the game. I am enjoying the enhanced BTK this year though.

[MaddenPlayer]

Same Here. I would win 41-0 with 3 or 4 min q's and then I would go under .500 on All Pro so I just adjusted the sliders but now I am starting to play on all pro default sliders

[Dumb Daddy]

I switched back to All-Pro, default sliders. It seems that I may have overreacted to the first game when I scored only 3 points.

Lions 45, Rams 3

This game was 17-3 at halftime so my 2nd string kicked butt in this game. Both LT and Brown carried the ball 10-11 times for 60+ yards, roughly averaging 6 yards a carry. I normally run more but I was working on my passing game. McPherson had an excellent game, throwing for 2 TDs and running for another. No receiver stood out, they all caught 2-3 balls. I had 8 different receivers that caught passes as I tried out the Balanced playbook.

The defense was awesome again. Through 3 games, I've given up a total of 165 yards and 9 points (the only TD against was a punt return fumble return). The 2 DT's really clog up the middle and Urlacher runs around like a madman.

Two rookies have impressed me so far. Adrian McPherson looks like a future stud with his strong arm, reasonable (low 80's) accuracy and good running ability (low 80's SPD). Jordan Beck, my backup MLB, has been all over the field. He's had 10 sacks total in the three half-games that he's played. I definitely recommend both players to anyone doing a fantasy draft franchise.

Ronnie Brown is definitely #1 HB quality too though it will take an injury for that to happen on this team.

[Dumb Daddy]

Lions 30, Bills 6

Another bad game for the first team. Score was 6-3 at the half. The defense pressured Peyton Manning and Tim Rattay into 4 more interceptions, 6 more sacks (including 4 more for Jordan Beck) and many incompletions.

Positional Battles: Dez White, Tyrone Calico and Troy Williamson are my top 3 receivers, in that order. John Henderson beat out Albert Haynesworth for the #1 DT spot (though both will start). DeAngelo Hall beat out Dunta Robinson for the #1 CB spot while Robinson held onto #2 by intercepting 2 passes in the last preseason game.

Virtually the entire defense progressed by a point or two. Only the O-linemen progressed on offense. Carson Palmer regressed by 1 point, losing 1 AWR and 1 THA. That's what a 1 TD, 4 INT preseason will do for you. I'm surprised that McPherson didn't progress and that Jordan Beck only progressed by 3 (given that he had ~ 15 sack, a interception and led the team in tackles).

It is ironic that this team's best backups are behind my top 2 picks in the fantasy draft.

If the pre-season is a precursor to the regular season, it will be a low-scoring season, loaded with close games. In M2005, the preseason had little to do with the regular season so who knows? I doubt that I'll make it through the regular season without allowing an offensive TD (as I did in the preseason).

[Dumb Daddy]

Sorry if this thread is boring. I'm treating it as a blog. If there are interesting stats I'll post them but it is tedious to list every players stats.

The regular season starts tonight.

[Dumb Daddy]

Over the weekend I played 7 regular season games. The defense has been overwhelming as 3 of the 7 games were shutouts for me. The D has given up a mere 24 points in 7 games. Brian Urlacher is going to re-write the record book as he already has accumulated 20 sacks.

On offense, Tomlinson has ~ 900 yards so far, averaging 5.4 yards/carry. Carson Palmer has been hit or miss but had > 300 yards passing in the last game, more than double the usual average. The offensive line is dominating with all five guys in the top 20 for pancakes.

I've had to change my style to more dink and dunk than in past years. I have already completed more passes to my FB than in the last year combined! Crumpler is also my leading receiver but it's not really a surprise since my team is not that great at WR.

In the 1st progression cycle, only Devery Henderson lost ground (-1 OVR) due to dropped passes. The offensive linemen all went up and the defense as a unit progressed as well (they should!).

No injuries that lasted past the end of the game so far, knock on wood.

If I can make it through the season undefeated, I'll have to switch to All-Madden. This team will get better over the next couple years since it is loaded with relatively young guys.