Tips for a newbie

[Bridgford Ram]

I am a complete newbie to FOF (and only actually got into NFL last year) but intend to start my new game tomorrow. I have had a couple of read throughs of the help file but wondered what tips would you guys give? What would you do first?

Any help much appreciated...

[RomaGoth]

I would first check out the information here:

FOF7 Reference Thread - Front Office Football Central

You can also check out this thread for the previous game info (some of which remains very useful for the latest game):

FOF2K7 Reference Thread - Front Office Football Central

[Bridgford Ram]

I am going to have a lot of questions so please be kind and help the Brit!

I have played 4 pre-season games and my second QB (Glennon) seems to be getting more snaps than my QB1 (McCown). Does this change in the regular season or do I need to change my settings?

Do you not get to see stats from the pre-season games?

[vatech24]

Originally Posted by Bridgford Ram

I have played 4 pre-season games and my second QB (Glennon) seems to be getting more snaps than my QB1 (McCown). Does this change in the regular season or do I need to change my settings?

This is normal in the preseason. Preseason is where back ups and bench players play more so they can be evaluated by the coaches. So it's not uncommon for your back up QB to play more then your Starting QB. Plus you don't want your starters to get hurt in the preseason so they tend to not play as much. You should be able to go under Depth Charts/Game Plans and open up "Starers Playing Time" and adjust how often they play.

Hope that helps.

[Bridgford Ram]

Originally Posted by vatech24

This is normal in the preseason. Preseason is where back ups and bench players play more so they can be evaluated by the coaches. So it's not uncommon for your back up QB to play more then your Starting QB. Plus you don't want your starters to get hurt in the preseason so they tend to not play as much. You should be able to go under Depth Charts/Game Plans and open up "Starers Playing Time" and adjust how often they play.

Hope that helps.

It does help, thanks.

[vatech24]

What i tend to do which works if your player has maxed out his potential, is i bench my starters/best players in the preseason so they don't get hurt. Now this isn't something i do with guys that are new to the league because they can still develop but if i have a QB that's been around for awhile i don't want him hurt so i will just put him inactive for the preseason.

[aston217]

That's your QB playing time setting. It works differently in the preseason and in the regular season, but it is also a little random. You can crank it up or down as you see fit to adjust preseason QB playing time.

In the regular season, it's not about QB rotation, but about when a poor QB "gets the hook". You can leave it at 1 and a stud starter isn't likely to come out of games unless it's ugly, I think.

In the preseason, I believe at default settings the top QB usually comes out fairly early. If I have a stud QB I prefer to play him at close to max PT settings for 1 game, low PT settings for the next game (maybe 3 or so), and then sit him completely the rest of the way. This way, if he gets hurt, he has time to recover. The ~1.5 games are there to knock off rust. If it's not a full 1.5 games that's fine; sometimes he's not rusty anyway and if he's slightly rusty, it's gone after the first regular season game.

[Bridgford Ram]

Well I went away and played a season to see what I could do and what I couldn't do.

I took Tampa Bay to the play offs - I am not calling plays yet - with an 8-8 result. Disappointingly I was 8-2 at one stage. I then lost to Chicago in the wildcard round.

I played the close season last night and struggled with the Free Agency and the Draft and have a few questions.

1) In the draft, how do you pick which players to buy without having the scouted rating?
2) I ended up with a set of Rookies that don't look good enough to even make my bench but am ranked top in the Draft Review with an A+. Does this take into account my Free Agents too?
3) I have a number of players (I am now in preseason) that are in green, I assume that this means they are not currently in my 46 man squad?

[Bridgford Ram]

Also, is there any benefit of having Cap room? I have got the fullest cap.

How do you judge which staff to keep / release?

[aston217]

The benefit of having one of the highest cap rooms in the league, versus just being cap solvent, depends on the FA pool. On the one hand, it means you probably don't have very good players. On the other, it means you have access to the best FA has to offer and should be able to outmuscle most teams on most players.

Drafting is a bit of an art form. The best way to learn is by watching other people do it and talk about it; it takes some time! I don't think I could have ever learned much about drafting without being in a MP league, because a) the stakes are higher, and b) you go through the process a lot more slowly!

There's no way, I imagine, that people are combing through almost every player in a SP draft class as they study and draft over the course of a couple of real life weeks. And it's hard to get feedback/learning without having first devoted that kind of attention to players in the pool. Eventually you start to get a feel for patterns, and you also remember the draft successes/busts you've seen.

Green players are not on the 46-man active roster, that's correct.

[Bridgford Ram]

Thanks for this.

Originally Posted by aston217

The benefit of having one of the highest cap rooms in the league, versus just being cap solvent, depends on the FA pool. On the one hand, it means you probably don't have very good players. On the other, it means you have access to the best FA has to offer and should be able to outmuscle most teams on most players.

Am I right to assume that any unused funds do not carry forward and benefit you in further years?

Originally Posted by aston217

Drafting is a bit of an art form. The best way to learn is by watching other people do it and talk about it; it takes some time! I don't think I could have ever learned much about drafting without being in a MP league, because a) the stakes are higher, and b) you go through the process a lot more slowly!

There's no way, I imagine, that people are combing through almost every player in a SP draft class as they study and draft over the course of a couple of real life weeks. And it's hard to get feedback/learning without having first devoted that kind of attention to players in the pool. Eventually you start to get a feel for patterns, and you also remember the draft successes/busts you've seen.

I'll perhaps just spend a bit more time on it next time.

[Bridgford Ram]

The questions are still coming thick and fast :-)

- What is the best way to get a long term QB for your team? Is it worth taking a punt on a draft QB or should I try and trade / get a free agent?

- Does the Draft Review take into account the Free Agent additions as well as the Drafted additions?

- Is a player classed as a Free Agent as soon as they get to the end of the season where they only had 1 year left? I have a few that have -- in their remaining contract but can't offer them anything. Have I left it too late?

- At what sort of age should you stop offering new contracts to players? Should I not be looking at offering anything long term to anyone 28+

- Do you guys always give the player the contract suggested when you start negotiations or do you barter?

I am starting a new game now to try see what I have learned can I add these questions please;

- Players are not classed as starters despite looking significantly better when viewing Roster Commands / View Rosters / Scout Overview.
-- Should I intervene with my depth charts?
-- Is this the view of my scout or the league scout?

- Should I look to release players from day 1 if they look really bad?

- Why is it if I have a Rookie with only one year contract remaining I can't offer a new one?

[wustin]

Originally Posted by Bridgford Ram

- What is the best way to get a long term QB for your team? Is it worth taking a punt on a draft QB or should I try and trade / get a free agent?

If you can't get a top 3-5 pick and don't want to give up an arm and a leg, try focusing on building your team around a game manager. I don't understand why a lot of people are obsessed with getting the next Manning or Brady.

When I build my teams, I always try to make sure I have a good O-Line. Good OLine plus decent receivers can make just about any QB look good unless you have Rex Grossman.

[Bridgford Ram]

Originally Posted by wustin

If you can't get a top 3-5 pick and don't want to give up an arm and a leg, try focusing on building your team around a game manager. I don't understand why a lot of people are obsessed with getting the next Manning or Brady.

When I build my teams, I always try to make sure I have a good O-Line. Good OLine plus decent receivers can make just about any QB look good unless you have Rex Grossman.

I actually got a top pick. Got what looked like a decent QB and he was rated 19 by the scout when I got him in my squad

[wustin]

Originally Posted by Bridgford Ram

I actually got a top pick. Got what looked like a decent QB and he was rated 19 by the scout when I got him in my squad

That happens in real life too

What was his future potential rated? Remember it takes a while to develop QBs, he could end up decent in two or three years with some luck.

[aston217]

Originally Posted by Bridgford Ram

Thanks for this.

Am I right to assume that any unused funds do not carry forward and benefit you in further years?

That's right. Use it or lose it!

I'll perhaps just spend a bit more time on it next time.

I didn't mean to be cryptic, it's just there's so much that goes into it and that was the shortest answer I could come up with. Basically, join a MP league

The only times where you can't offer a contract extension are: 1) after the bowl, 2) in the offseason before free agency begins, and 3) if they've already signed a contract that season. I think that should cover it.

[Bridgford Ram]

Still looking for help with a couple of things please - I must have done ok in Free Agency (my drafting still needs work) as I got to the play offs (lost to Dallas in OT in the Wildcard game) with 11-5 record.

1) Is there any way of getting a scouted history of your players? I am starting to realise that keeping the best players and releasing the lesser ones is a short sited approach and need to consider if my 42 rated TE is improving quick enough to make releasing (or trading?) my 60 rated TE an option.

2) Is the 'future estimate' rating supposedly an idea of how good that player become at his peak? It seams that players often smash through that barrier. Do you guys use this as a guide at all? Or is it actually a guide of how good they can become this season?

3) I have not got my head around the cost of releasing players yet. Basically, does it mean that you save money (and have a bigger remaining cap) but you are still paying some amount of money for players you no longer have?

4) Why am I always near the bottom of the staff draft?

5) When should I look to trade rather than release? I guess trading means that their is no future cost for the player I am trading away (where as with releasing there could be?)

6) Does the Draft Review take into account the Free Agent additions as well as the Drafted additions?

7) Is a player classed as a Free Agent as soon as they get to the end of the season where they only had 1 year left? I have a few that have '--' in their remaining contract but can't offer them anything. Have I left it too late?

8) At what sort of age should you stop offering new contracts to players? Should I not be looking at offering anything long term to anyone 28+. Do different players start their decline at different times?

9) I occasionally see players are not classed as starters despite looking significantly better when viewing Roster Commands / View Rosters / Scout Overview. Should I intervene with my depth charts? Is the view of the scout reliable? Is this the view of my scout or the league scout?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Bridgford Ram

Still looking for help with a couple of things please - I must have done ok in Free Agency (my drafting still needs work) as I got to the play offs (lost to Dallas in OT in the Wildcard game) with 11-5 record.

1) Is there any way of getting a scouted history of your players? I am starting to realise that keeping the best players and releasing the lesser ones is a short sited approach and need to consider if my 42 rated TE is improving quick enough to make releasing (or trading?) my 60 rated TE an option.

2) Is the 'future estimate' rating supposedly an idea of how good that player become at his peak? It seams that players often smash through that barrier. Do you guys use this as a guide at all? Or is it actually a guide of how good they can become this season?

3) I have not got my head around the cost of releasing players yet. Basically, does it mean that you save money (and have a bigger remaining cap) but you are still paying some amount of money for players you no longer have?

4) Why am I always near the bottom of the staff draft?

5) When should I look to trade rather than release? I guess trading means that their is no future cost for the player I am trading away (where as with releasing there could be?)

6) Does the Draft Review take into account the Free Agent additions as well as the Drafted additions?

7) Is a player classed as a Free Agent as soon as they get to the end of the season where they only had 1 year left? I have a few that have '--' in their remaining contract but can't offer them anything. Have I left it too late?

8) At what sort of age should you stop offering new contracts to players? Should I not be looking at offering anything long term to anyone 28+. Do different players start their decline at different times?

9) I occasionally see players are not classed as starters despite looking significantly better when viewing Roster Commands / View Rosters / Scout Overview. Should I intervene with my depth charts? Is the view of the scout reliable? Is this the view of my scout or the league scout?

First off, F1 is your friend. FOF has context-sensitive help. You should press F1 on a screen when you have questions. Much of the stuff you've asked in this thread is answered there.

1.

Originally Posted by Help File

Ratings History Screen

The Ratings History Screen shows a player's scouted ratings over the course of his career. You can view both his scouted current skill rating and the scouted estimate of future potential. This tracking is done both before training camp and after week two of the exhibition season, when every team has played one game.


This information is only tracked if it's enabled when you begin a new career.
The scouting is viewed through the eyes of a venerable staff member who is not currently employed by a team. This scout may change from time to time as staff members age just as players age.

2. Understanding ratings, unmasking, and whatnot is something that comes with an intermediate/advanced understanding of the game, usually over time. Look for the Unmasking 101 thread here for a little help, but this is rather nuanced.
3.

Originally Posted by Help File

When a contract is terminated early, because the player is released or traded, the cap figure must be adjusted. When you acquire a player via trade, you are not responsible for any of his bonus. But when a player leaves your team, you are still responsible for the entire remaining bonus.
In those cases, you take the remaining bonus and assign it to lost cap room for the next season. Any bonus left over for the current season becomes lost cap room for the current season.

4.

Originally Posted by Help File

The draft order is determined by the amount of profit each franchise made during the previous season.

5. In single player, you can almost never trade a player that you want to release. It's not worth your time to be bothered with it.
6.

Originally Posted by Help File

Post-Draft Analysis Screen

The Post-Draft Analysis Screen shows a list of grades given by league analysts based on each team's performance during the amateur draft.
Teams are graded for how well the selections appear to have improved the team's roster.

Most veteran players ignore the Draft Review. It's not very useful, and may well even be broken. I don't think anyone has tried to tease it out.

7. Yes. Once the Front Office Bowl stage has been run, free agents cannot be retained.
8.

Originally Posted by Help File

How Should Retirement be Determined?

Without a doubt, the most controversial element of any career simulation is how retirement should be handled. One older game in the football genre simply takes the average experience of all professional players, about 4 1/2 years, and makes that the average length of a simulated career.
All of a sudden, your franchise quarterback retires after a six-year career. He's at the top of his game. Next season, he could have led you to the league championship. You're frustrated, to say the least.
I studied this question extensively when designing Front Office Football. I found that there are voluntary retirements and involuntary retirements. I found that there are a large number, between 100 and 200, free agents who are available each season outside of the amateur draft. These players fill holes in various rosters. These players have very short, uneven careers. They drastically alter the average career length.
In Front Office Football, it's up to you to "retire" these players. They'll hang around as long as someone's willing to pay them. I can guarantee you that the computer-run franchises won't. They'll fill their last roster positions with players willing to play for the minimum guaranteed salary.
Established players won't retire unless there's a career-ending injury, they're completely unwanted, or they're somewhere in the twilight of their careers. All careers follow some sort of performance path. The path rises quickly toward maturity, then has a gradual curve over the peak of the career before curving quickly toward ineffectiveness. That curve will differ for each player, and my research shows that it differs by position.
Here's a chart showing what I found when studying career length and performance by position:
Needless to say, your franchise quarterback isn't going to retire just because he's in his 6th season and that's the average length of a quarterback's career. He'll know when it's time to go.

9. It's the view of your Scouts. At times you should intervene.

[Bridgford Ram]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

First off, F1 is your friend. FOF has context-sensitive help. You should press F1 on a screen when you have questions. Much of the stuff you've asked in this thread is answered there.

1.
2. Understanding ratings, unmasking, and whatnot is something that comes with an intermediate/advanced understanding of the game, usually over time. Look for the Unmasking 101 thread here for a little help, but this is rather nuanced.
3.
4.
5. In single player, you can almost never trade a player that you want to release. It's not worth your time to be bothered with it.
6. Most veteran players ignore the Draft Review. It's not very useful, and may well even be broken. I don't think anyone has tried to tease it out.

7. Yes. Once the Front Office Bowl stage has been run, free agents cannot be retained.
8.
9. It's the view of your Scouts. At times you should intervene.

That post will dramatically improve my enjoyment and performance of the game. Thank you for taking the time to answer. I dare say I will still have more questions but a lot less now.

Cheers

[Bridgford Ram]

I am still playing and doing ok reaching the play offs twice in four years, although I am yet to win a post season game. I am currently playing as a GM and leaving my coaches to call the plays, I do have a couple of questions though;

1) I am currently playing the seasons quickly (continuing to the end of the regular season) and when I look at my roster at the end of the season there has been a big change in personnel, why is this?

2) At what stage of a season should I look to extend the contracts of my players with 1 year remaining on their contract?

3) Is their any benefits to going into a season $17m under my cap?

[stevew]

1 you probably have it set for AI to change lineups/depth charts.
2 any stage. I like to do it around training camp. Last chance is before the Front Office Bowl
3. No real benefit. Maybe you can give a guy a larger base salary in the first season(and subsequent seasons, can't decrease), but less bonus money

[Bridgford Ram]

Thanks all for your help so far. Heaven knows how many questions I'll have when I take over depth charts / calling plays etc! I do have a couple more though for the way I currently play.

1) I went through a spell of never getting a 3rd round draft, could it be that my coaching staff are offering it as trade to get players in during the season?

2) If you are well under cap is it worth trying to top load some contracts with good 1st year money but less later on in the deal?

3) How do you make staff decisions? How do you decide which coaches to keep?

4) What makes a free agent unrestricted / restricted?

5) Do you interview rookies prior to the draft? What benefits are they to doing that?

6) Is there anyway of know the actual position of a player before you draft him? e.g. Will a Tackle be a Right Tackle or a Left Tackle etc.

[stevew]

1. Probably lost your third for being over the cap I'd guess. Not sure.

2.you can't set contracts to decline. But what you can do is set all the years at a higher level than desired in year one and make the rest the same. Save a few million on later years.