TCY roster question [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

fantastic flying froggies

07-04-2003, 10:22 AM

Dark, the minimum of players by position is actually set by the depth charts in the game, eg you need 3 QBs to set the depth chart so you need at least 3 on your roster (note: 3 active, which means not red shirted, injured, suspended...)
So, mini are :
3 QB
3 RB
2 FB
5 WR
2 TE
2 C
4 G
4 T
4 DE
4 DT
4 ILB
4 OLB
5 CB
4 S

(top of my head, I could be slightly off)

There is really no maximum per position.

What limits you of course is your total number of scolarships, which should be 60. On top of that, you can have as many walk-ons as you wish/need.

One final note, you can also play some players out of position.
Exemple, all offensive linemen can play other positions up to a point, a guard can also play tackle and vice versa.
CB and S are pretty much interchangeable, I found.
FB can make good TE, and RB good WR.

For further info, try and go thru CThomer's Rutgers dynasty, it was very helpful for me at the beginning for roster management.

Poli

07-04-2003, 10:32 AM

119 days till I get my TCY fix...TCY....TCY...TCY...

fantastic flying froggies

07-04-2003, 10:45 AM

That's stll a very long way to go, AE... I feel for ya.

Poli

07-04-2003, 10:54 AM

Are you kidding? To me, that's nothing! I've got 2 programs counting down my days and two calanders as well!

illinifan999

07-04-2003, 06:42 PM

Or you can just let the game keep giving you walk-on QB's. One season every week I got 3 more. End of the season I had 15 or 16 QB's. Don't ask why I didnt' release them, I just didnt.

Darkiller

07-04-2003, 06:47 PM

So the point is : you can have 150 players on your regular season roster and that's ok ?!

If I want to carry 9 QBs I can ?

That's seems amazing...

Leonidas

07-04-2003, 07:11 PM

There are also some very "neat" aspects to TCY that you can't get away with in FOF. For example, my offense of choice is the one-back. I never, ever recruit FB's. If I do happen to get one who is decent, I convert them to LB or S. I have even had a couple become all conference at LB that way who were just walk-ons. If you choose not to recruit a position, the game will just give you a walk-on, who you don't even have to play. Sometimes this works nice if the walk on is a good student. Then they can help boost your academics, but it sucks if the walk on is a lousy student who happens to be popular with teammates. I one time had the same FB walk on every dang week, and he had like 0,7 academic ratings so I kept cutting. I noticed my team morale had plummeted and realized this guy was really popular and everyone on the team lost one moral point every time I cut the guy. You have to watch these kinds of things.

Ben E Lou

07-04-2003, 08:17 PM

Late in the recruiting process, I always extend a visit request to a terrible player with high academics at the position that will end up getting a walk-on. For example, if I'm running a single-back offense, aroudn week 14 or so I'll find a fullback rated 20-, but with a 3.75+ GPA and 1400+ SAT. I'll call once, visit once, and visit request, and he'll walk on without a scholly. This insures that my "roster filler" players help me academically.

Hijinx

07-05-2003, 08:47 PM

for a pro-style offense

4 QB's (one always redshirts)
4 RB's
3 FB's
3 TE's
5-6 WR's (one always RS with 6)
3 C's
4-5 G's
4-5 T's
1 K
1 P

(I usually run a 50 or 34 defense)
4 DE's
4 DT's
4 ILB's
4 OLB's
4 CB's
4 S's

usually any leftover spots are determined by what the best recruits I can sign are.

EagleFan

07-06-2003, 02:44 PM

That's a good idea SkyDog. I'll have to try that.

cthomer5000

07-06-2003, 04:39 PM

I love talking about TCY roster management. I've definitely found it to be the toughest of the FOF games, and roster management is extremely key to your team. Here are some basic rules I have for my roster:

Academics are extremely important in TCY, probably more than in real life. Still, it's a game and you have to play by it's rules to succeed. Leonidas was talking about the lousy FB he kept getting assigned to his team to fill up the roster requirement, this is a situation that can definitely be avoided. Near the end of the recruiting period, contact and invite some players for visits at positions of need. To recruit walk-ons you simply contact them like a regular recruit but don't offer a scholarship. If they don't have any scholarship offers, they'll decide among the teams offering them walk-on spots by the same criteria they would have been judging scholarship offers. If you can bring in walk-ons where you will need them, you won't have any forced upon you. The computer generally will give you terrible academic players.

Don't give out (new) scholarship offers the last few weeks of recruiting. Believe me, these players are not going to be difference makers. Just look for academically sound walk-ons instead and save your scholarship offers for next season.

Wide Receivers are the primadonnas of the TCY universe. They will be injured early and often, so be 3-4 deep. You want to be able to look at your 4th receiver and not want to forfeit if he has to start at some point. Many people have similar problems with defensive lineman, luckily I haven't seen that in my 12 seasons of play. Be deep at QB. Quarterbacks are pretty much vital to any system in the game, so I try to bring in a scholarship QB every year, or at least roughly 3 out of every 4.

The most important part of recruiting is knowing when to throw in the towel - if a team you have no business competing with has offered a scholarship just revoke your offer and move on. You should be able to look at the player, his criteria for school choice, and the competing offers he has and seriously believe you are his #1 or #2 choice. Generally if i'm not #1 in one of his categories, I'll give up. I also never contact a player more than 4 times (2 phone calls, 2 visits), and I feel I have been quite successful.

In summary:
Recruit walk-ons: do your best to avoid computer-assigned ones.
know when to quit pursuing a recruit
get depth where you need it most (definitely WR, and also QB and DL)
Stagger your scholarships. I bring in basically 12 scholarship and 4 walk-on players per season.

Darkiller

07-07-2003, 05:57 AM

Thank you all for these tips, very useful !

Thanks cthomer !

Leonidas

07-07-2003, 02:32 PM

cthomer mentioned the defensive linemen issue. I have always, always had big injury problems with D-linemen. I can never have too many of them. In a typical season I will get at least two walk on D-linemen, unless I have really stocked up. They can also be a bitch to recruit. Just for some reason they are harder to land.

I also agree with the WR issue. They get injured a lot too. I have rarely had an serious HOF contenders at WR because the almost always miss at least the better part of one season with an injury. Plus running the one-back set means I need to have at least 5 on the active roster I'd be comfortable with as starters.

Buccaneer

08-17-2003, 11:11 AM

This thread is extremely helpful, thanks.

Hijinx

08-17-2003, 10:36 PM

one thing I've noticed is that if you scan through the top prospects around week 6 or 7, you'll find some that just aren't getting offered even though they are really great prospects.

I usually won't sign kids under 1000 test and 3.0 GPA, so it's not grades - I've signed a few that are way above the level of kids I should have been signing this way.

another thing that I believe is that punter is one of the more important individual positions on the team. When you're competing with a team that's on your talent level it sure helps to hold that edge in field position.

The Orange Man

08-24-2003, 06:11 PM

My contribution, after reading the above posts:

Of course, I have had the same situation being assigned players with bad academics due to a shortage at a particular position. One season, I did go out and get a player with great academics to walk-on but haven't been consistent with this as I should. I also have been in the habit of cutting walk-ons at the very end of the season (thinking that maybe they won't get reflected in my academics if they aren't on the roster when week 20 concludes but really don't know on that).

As previously mentioned, cutting players will make other players unhappy and I think I may have built up a lot of unhappiness over time by doing this and am now concerned about it. I'm not sure how much happiness affects player performance and I also wonder if potential recruits consider the happiness of current players in their decision.

My initial academic requirement for recruits is either a 3.0 GPA or 1200 test score. If I lose out on everyone and I really need a player at a particular position, I will then take anyone available, depending on skill level. I am also finding some pretty good players can be gotten that way, that haven't received much attention. Further to ratings, other top schools seem obsessed with going for players in the overall 100 - I consider the ranking but think the players skill rating (as determined by your scout initially and then verified by you) is more important.

Side thought: I wonder how critical endurance is, in the sense that each season when the initial roster is set, the playing time for starters seems to be set by the computer and it is nearly always less than I end up using - I usually use "6" if a player has an endurance rating of 100.

Position-wise (I run the single-back offense), all of a sudden I have been having a real hard time getting running backs (only have one going into the current season, believe it or not), usually get some injuries here as well.

Other positions:

QB - occasional recruiting problems, lately somewhat injury-free
TE - I always have had great TE's
WR - occasionally short 1 WR, some injuries but my depth is good
OL - perenially strong, little lighter on recruiting lately, injury-free
P - rare season my punter isn't strong, never injured
K - usually strong, but last few seasons weak, once injured
DE - usually strong, but occasionally hard to come by, usually some injuries

DT - sometimes am short players here and there are usually injury problems as well. probably a shortage of players overall as most teams run the 3-4 defense, I think.

LB - I always have had great LB's
CB - I'm usually strong here but occasionally am caught short - like when someone gets suspended and then quits the team or something like that. injuries not that frequent but a killer when your #1 CB does go down.

S - I'm usually very solid here with not many injuries

Buzzbee

08-25-2003, 06:55 AM

Originally posted by Hijinx
one thing I've noticed is that if you scan through the top prospects around week 6 or 7, you'll find some that just aren't getting offered even though they are really great prospects.

There is usually a reason these kids are available. When you look at the ratings, you'll probably see a little bit of red and a lot of green. In my experience they tend to stay that way. They usually don't develop to their potential and usually don't really develop at all. WHY? Take a look at their Athletic Prep score. I BETCHA in is around or below 20.

The reason these guys are available is because other schools see that the have a low probablilty of developing all that talent, and move on to the next prospect who does have a good Atletic Prep.

In my opninion the Athletic Prep is usually a good determinant of how well a player will develop. Not always, but usually.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2003, 08:34 AM

Originally posted by Buzzbee
In my opinion the Athletic Prep is usually a good determinant of how well a player will develop. Not always, but usually. Well, if he is very bright, it is always possible to develop him fully. Lower his study hall time down around 10, pump up the weight work to 35 his first two seasons and give him time blocks if necessary. He should be ready to contribute by his third season, and fully developed by the time he graduates.

Buzzbee

08-25-2003, 12:13 PM

Originally posted by SkyDog
Well, if he is very bright, it is always possible to develop him fully. Lower his study hall time down around 10, pump up the weight work to 35 his first two seasons and give him time blocks if necessary. He should be ready to contribute by his third season, and fully developed by the time he graduates.

This approach sounds like it will work, but I would imagine that it would be used for a building program who otherwise might not have the prestige to land a top recruit. It comes across to me as having to make a lot of extra effort (weight training and coaching blocks) when a lesser player with higher Athletic Prep will develop quicker with less use of resources (coaching blocks). I had never thought of this approach and applaud your creativity SkyDog. I don't think I will incorporate it into my strategy, but it's nice to know it's a possibility.

Of course playing time is going to be the biggest factor, but all things being equal, a player with higher Ath. Prep will generally develop faster than a player with lower Ath. Prep, IMO.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2003, 01:01 PM

Originally posted by Buzzbee
This approach sounds like it will work, but I would imagine that it would be used for a building program who otherwise might not have the prestige to land a top recruit. It comes across to me as having to make a lot of extra effort (weight training and coaching blocks) when a lesser player with higher Athletic Prep will develop quicker with less use of resources (coaching blocks). I had never thought of this approach and applaud your creativity SkyDog. I don't think I will incorporate it into my strategy, but it's nice to know it's a possibility.

Of course playing time is going to be the biggest factor, but all things being equal, a player with higher Ath. Prep will generally develop faster than a player with lower Ath. Prep, IMO. Well, actually it works pretty well even with an established program once I've missed out on a high athletic prep recruit at a position. I'm looking at my current TCY career, where I've had Prestige over 90 for 5 or 6 years now. Here are a few guys worth noting:

ILB Dave Morton--the #955 player in the country, #47 ILB. I missed out on two very good ILB prospects, and he was my fall-back guy. He was red-shirted as a freshman, with ratings of 0/93, 0/79, 0/58, 0/79, 21/27, 5/71. His athletic prep was 2. By his final year, even though he to very little significant playing time before last year, his ratings are up to 46/93, 44/79, 24/58, 50/79, 21/27, 28/71. He's now slated to start in his final season, and has a 2.87 GPA.

T Mel Staton--Mel came to us with 100 asp, 99 int., and 12 athletic prep. He was rated 0/67,0/52,32. #638 player in the country. Another fall-back guy in recruiting. As a freshman, I gave him 10 points in study hall, 35 weight training, 17 football study, 21 relaxation (no gf).

2016: 0/67, 0/52, 32

end of 2017: 43/67,29/53,33 (played in only 11 plays, 4 games.
He got a gf after his red-shirt year, so he was allocated 12 SH, 30 weights, 13 football study, 28 relax)

end of 2018: 54/67,48/53,33 (primary backup tackle...was in on over 300 plays.......time: 14,28,13,28)

beginning of 2019: 62/68,46/53,33 (set to start, 3.67 GPA)

S Vincent Bates--Vincent had 17 athletic prep, and ratings as a freshman of 0/82,7/100,0/100,98,13/89,0/73,60,0/100, but was 95 asp, 97 int.

end 2015: 0/82,7/100,0/100,98,13/89,0/73,60,0/100 (He got 20 weight training, 25 football study, 12 study hall.)

end 2016: 27/82,48/100,36/100,98/41/89,23/73,60,51/100. (very limited playing time--30 run plays, 28 pass plays, so nice development was due to time settings, not P.T.)

end 2017: 56/82,69/100,82/100,99,65/88,52/73,61,65/100. (started all 12 games, picked off 7 passes.)

end 2018: 72/82,99/100,99/100,99,76/88,63/73,61,93/100 (started all 12 games again, 4 INT's, 22.0 PDPct)

begin 2019: 71/82,94/100,99/100,99,79/88,63/73,61,93/100
(slated to start again. His GPA to date is 3.34)

G Richard Fonseca--Without going into as much detail (getting bored). He came with 6 athl. prep, and ratings of 16/56,1/59,100, and #589 overall, and now at the beginning of 2019 he's 73,76,100 (all red lines, no green left), and set to start for the second year in a row, with a 3.37 GPA.

Buzzbee, you are correct that development is accelerated greatly by playing time. However, given a coordinator with solid development ratings and a kid who has the smarts to lower study hall time around 10 or 12, solid starters can be developed out of second and third choice type recruits. Actually Dave Morton wasn't even all that smart (56 asp, 55 int.) and got very little playing time his first two non red-shirt years (only 14 plays between the two seasons combined), but with proper coaching blocks, he's developed into a pretty solid player. He got 7.5 sacks in a backup role last year, and will start this year.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2003, 01:07 PM

Dola--I see three keys to getting a guy like Dave Morton to be useful without much playing time:

1. Only recruit one, MAYBE two, mediocre academic guys with low athletic preparation in any one class, so that guys like him can get 3-6 coaching blocks every four weeks.
2. Coordinator must be Good or better at his position.
3. Both coordinators need to be red or yellow in congeniality, so that the coaching blocks are available to carry out #1, while also saving some blocks for emergency use.

Buzzbee

08-25-2003, 01:15 PM

SD - Your stats back it up (IF your scout has been the same all four years!). You CAN develop players with low Ath. Prep. My contention (and I DON'T have any stats to back it up, yet) is that given those same players, if they had a higher Ath. Prep they would have developed faster and been contributing players sooner.

I believe that Dave Morton (your ILB from the examples above) would be at or near his potential already, if he had a higher Ath. Prep.

Also, since all (?) of these guys redshirted, I'm wondering if Ath. Prep might have resulted in a greater development during red-shirt years. Hmmm...think I might be doing some intensive TCY testing soon. :D

Buzzbee

08-25-2003, 01:17 PM

Dola - Also to be considered is that player development, by the nature of the game is going to be somewhat random, so we are both speaking in generalities, not set in stone absolutes.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2003, 01:32 PM

Buzzbee:

OH! I agree with you 100% that higher athl. prep. guys develop faster, and generally they have higher red ratings to start with. I must have not read very carefully. I'd never argue against that point. I was just trying to show that low athletic prep. guys can be useful as well.

Yes, all were redshirted. I am very careful with my recruiting, roster management, and "walk-on recruiting". Once I get 5 or 6 years into a career, it is pretty rare that I have to play a true freshman recruit. It almost always happens under one of two circumstances: 1) a guy leaving early due to suspension or the NFL, or 2) injuries to both starter and backup.

Generally speaking, here is how my recruiting looks in my current career, now that I have Academic and Prestige above 90.

Weeks 1-3--almost exclusively Top 100 recruits with Athl Prep. of 40 or better, only looking at SAT scores of 1250 or higher. The only exception is if I can't find anyone at a position of need who fits the above criteria. In that case, I start looking at the top 15 or so guys at that position, still only 1250 SAT's or above. I want to have a scholarship offered at every position of need by the end of Week 3.

Weeks 4-6--I may revoke some offers during this time, and replace those offers with different Top 100 players, particularly if the guy I offered at a original offers are to players visiting Michigan, Florida or Texas, the three teams that have dominated my current career. (They have 11 of the 16 National Championships.) SAT score minimum is still usually 1250 at this point. I spend most of my calls and visits on guys who I've already offered during this stage. I hope to get the "the kid knows what your school has to offer" message from every one of my scholly offers by week 7 at the latest. By week 7 I usually have an unused visit request or two, as I've given one to everyone I've contacted.

Weeks 7-10--Most of my signings happen during these weeks. If a preferred recruit signs elsewhere, I look at other options. If there is a guy that I can significantly "trump" the other offers, then I'll jump on him. If not, there are usually some of those high academic, very low athletic preparation guys with 0-2 scholly offers available during this time. I first look at 1400+ SAT guys to see if there's anyone who fits the Mel Staton profile above.

Week 11ish on--Scavenger hunt if I had a surprise non-signing, but usually by now I have all the scholarship players I want. I'm usually calling, visiting, and visit requesting 1500+ SAT guys at positions where I can use a walk-on during this time.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2003, 01:35 PM

Dola--I agree with your dola. :p

Buzzbee

08-25-2003, 01:48 PM

So, in short, we agree. You were simply raising awareness that just because a recruit has low Ath. Prep. doesn't mean they are a total waste. Given the appropriate coaching blocks, and high intelligence to begin with, they can often be "salvaged".

And I was simply raising awarness that Ath. Prep plays an important role in how quickly a recruit will develop. Also, that just because a player has lots of green doesn't mean they will always reach that potential, and that Ath. Prep is one of the factors that regulates this.

Good summary?

Ben E Lou

08-25-2003, 01:51 PM

Originally posted by Buzzbee
So, in short, we agree. You were simply raising awareness that just because a recruit has low Ath. Prep. doesn't mean they are a total waste. Given the appropriate coaching blocks, and high intelligence to begin with, they can often be "salvaged".

And I was simply raising awarness that Ath. Prep plays an important role in how quickly a recruit will develop. Also, that just because a player has lots of green doesn't mean they will always reach that potential, and that Ath. Prep is one of the factors that regulates this.

Good summary? Yup.

Ben E Lou

08-26-2003, 06:32 PM

Heh. Time for a case study. I hadn't looked all the way over my 2019 freshman class when I posted. Just for fun, let's track the career of DT Calvin Hartman.

RECRUITING YEAR--2018
Calvin comes to us from Hawthorne (CA) HS. He was considered to be the #990 player in the nation, and the #52 DT. I was hard-pressed to find a DT, and grabbed this guy late. He is rated 68+, but with academic preparation of 22, and athletic prep. of 3. As a HS senior, he was 6'1", 240 pounds. My SE Scout in 2018 is rated Excellent with DL. Calvin's strength is defending the run, and his biggest weakness is rushing the passer, and his ratings consistency is average. Calvin scored 1020 on the SAT, and had a 2.46 GPA. CAlvin's has a Decent attitude. As a senior, Calvin garnered 65 tackles and 11.5 sacks, but won no all-state honors. He is rated the #9 DT in California.

2019--Redshirt
As a freshman, Calvin is 6'1", 252 pounds. I have a new scout, who is rated Good on the DL. He gives Calvin ratings of 1/85,5/84,96. He thinks Calvin could be a star! Unfortunately, Mr. Hartman isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. He's rated 27 aspiration, 28 intelligence. He has a girlfriend, Audrey, and has Decent (45) happiness. Here's what I do with him:
Study Hall: 12
Weight Training: 34
Football Study: 10
Relaxation: 27

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 5
Grades at Week 5: C-,C,E,D-,C+
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 7
Grades at Week 9: B-,C+,D-,D-,C
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 13: B,C,D,D-,C
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 17: A,C-,D,C-,C-
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 8
Final Grades, Year 1: A,C,D,C,C- (1.94 GPA)

...more to come...

Ben E Lou

08-26-2003, 10:03 PM

2020--#4 DT
Hartman gains 15 pounds from that 34% weight training, so he's now up to 6'1", 267 lbs. Unfortunately, my defensive coordinator last year was Poor in DL. I have now hired a new one who is Pretty Good. Our scout gives him just a slight ratings bump, up to 6/85,17/84,96. Calvin will be #4 on the depth chart at DT. A guy I induced to walk on is a fifth-year senior, rated 39/45/100, and will be the primary backup DT. Calvin will not play very much this year unless someone gets hurt. His happiness is up to 51. Here are his numbers for this season:

Study Hall: 18
Weight Training: 28
Football Study: 10
Relaxation: 27

Buccaneer

08-26-2003, 10:08 PM

You did not track what he ate for breakfast yesterday?

(sorry, couldn't resist. You play a very different game than I.)

Ben E Lou

08-27-2003, 05:26 AM

Originally posted by Buccaneer
You did not track what he ate for breakfast yesterday?

(sorry, couldn't resist. You play a very different game than I.) ...and that really bothers you, doesn't it??? Strange. For someone who claims to want everyone to enjoy the game their own way, you sure do get agitated when someone plays differently than you, or a team runs the option. It bothers you so much that you "couldn't resist", huh? (Your words, not mine.)

Ben E Lou

08-27-2003, 05:33 AM

Dola:

What is ironic is that I DON'T normally track it that carefully, but in order to do a case study in player development, such tracking is necessary.

This brings me to another point. Because weight gain (and reaching max weight) is such an important part of determining weight room allocation, why not have the game track the player's weight each year? Right now to see if a guy is approaching (or has reached) max weight involves a tedious process of saving and then reloading savegames from previous seasons, or of examining hardcopies. An important part of a text sim is having the data available to the user that he needs to make decisions. In most cases this is done well with TCY, however this is an area where it has to be tracked down.

Buzzbee

08-27-2003, 07:06 AM

Originally posted by SkyDog
Dola:

What is ironic is that I DON'T normally track it that carefully, but in order to do a case study in player development, such tracking is necessary.

This brings me to another point. Because weight gain (and reaching max weight) is such an important part of determining weight room allocation, why not have the game track the player's weight each year? Right now to see if a guy is approaching (or has reached) max weight involves a tedious process of saving and then reloading savegames from previous seasons, or of examining hardcopies. An important part of a text sim is having the data available to the user that he needs to make decisions. In most cases this is done well with TCY, however this is an area where it has to be tracked down.

Well, since I'm sure Jim is working on TCY2 as his new game, I'm sure he'll take this into consideration. ;)

Bee

08-27-2003, 07:12 AM

Originally posted by Buccaneer
You did not track what he ate for breakfast yesterday?

I'm pretty sure I saw him in Denny's the other day. Those Grand Slam Breakfasts should help him put on the weight. :D

Ben E Lou

08-27-2003, 07:14 AM

UPDATE: Hartman dislocated his elbow in Week 3, and is out for 14 weeks. He had been on the field for a total of 14 plays in 2 games, and had seen a slight red ratings rise to 8/85,19/84,96. (+2 points in both run defense and pass rush).

Bee

08-27-2003, 07:27 AM

Originally posted by SkyDog
UPDATE: Hartman dislocated his elbow in Week 3,

Guess the weight of the Grand Slam Breakfast was just too much for him. :(

Buccaneer

08-27-2003, 08:24 AM

SkyDog, I had already used up my allocation of smiley thingies yesterday, thus I had none available for my post. Today is a new day. ;) :) :D :D

Seriously, you misinterpreted. It doesn't bother me a bit, in fact, I find it incredible that you can play the same game radically different than I - and that's a good thing. That was my only point, no need to get testy. My only wish is that the Assistants (AI) do as good as a job as you in such details. But I don't think it does, unfortunately.

Buccaneer

08-27-2003, 08:32 AM

dola

There may be a Bobby Brown analogy in here (about why people like what they do). I love diversity in games and there is nothing wrong with teasing others on how they play, as long as it can be respected. Is that the same for you and my/other's preference for GMing only?

Ben E Lou

08-27-2003, 10:23 AM

Originally posted by Buccaneer
My only wish is that the Assistants (AI) do as good as a job as you in such details. But I don't think it does, unfortunately. I definitely wish they did a better job so I wouldn't have to do it myself. As I've said elsewhere, I don't WANT to deal with that many details, but there are some places where I'm forced to do so.

Ben E Lou

08-27-2003, 10:27 AM

Originally posted by Buccaneer
I love diversity in games and there is nothing wrong with teasing others on how they play, as long as it can be respected. Is that the same for you and my/other's preference for GMing only? ..but I have stated very clearly that I DON'T care at all about diversity in games. Someone who claims to love diversity should celebrate all kinds of styles (micro, macro, passing QB, option QB, zone, m2m, whatever). I don't claim to love it, so I'm not bound to respect any other way, now am I? ;)

Ben E Lou

08-27-2003, 12:52 PM

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 0
Grades at Week 5: D,C+,C+,D+,B-
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 4
Grades at Week 9: D+,C,C-,D,C+
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 13: C,D+,D+,D,C
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 7
Grades at Week 17: B-,C-,D-,D-,C-
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 8
Final Grades, Year 2: B+,D+,C,D-,D+

Cumulative GPA: 1.73 :(

Ben E Lou

08-28-2003, 07:55 AM

2021--#3 DT
First off, my SE scout retires. I have a new one who is VG on the DL. Hartman gains another 11 pounds, and is up to 278. Our new scout rates him as 11/71,20/70,89. Calvin will be #3 on the depth chart at DT, the primary backup. He should play a good bit this season. His happiness is up to 56. Here are his numbers for this season:

Study Hall: 15
Weight Training: 25
Football Study: 16
Relaxation: 27

Buzzbee

08-28-2003, 08:43 AM

Thanks for the update SD. I'm curious to find out the outcome of this little endeavor.

Unfortunate about the broken elbow. Although since he was #4 on the depth charts, it probably didn't take away too much PT anyway.

Samdari

08-28-2003, 10:23 AM

Originally posted by Buzzbee
Of course playing time is going to be the biggest factor, but all things being equal, a player with higher Ath. Prep will generally develop faster than a player with lower Ath. Prep, IMO.

I agree with this buzzbee, but the high athletic prep kids are always the ones targeted by the big boys. Thus, for building a middle-to-low prestige team to the top, a good development strategy is crucial. If one starts with a top 10 team, the game is too easy, and no strategy is really necesary.

Ben E Lou

08-28-2003, 10:35 AM

Buzzbee

08-28-2003, 11:54 AM

Originally posted by Samdari
I agree with this buzzbee, but the high athletic prep kids are always the ones targeted by the big boys. Thus, for building a middle-to-low prestige team to the top, a good development strategy is crucial. If one starts with a top 10 team, the game is too easy, and no strategy is really necesary.

That was exactly my point. Thanks for supporting it. Earlier in the thread Hijinx had posted:

one thing I've noticed is that if you scan through the top prospects around week 6 or 7, you'll find some that just aren't getting offered even though they are really great prospects.

I was simply pointing out WHY these players were available. As SkyDog mentioned, you don't necessarily have to avoid them, and they can become solid contributors. But as you said, for this to happen, you have to have a solid development strategy. I didn't want someone to recruit these players with all that green, them never develop, and then get pissed that there "awesome" sleeper pick was a bust.

Hijinx

08-28-2003, 07:50 PM

Originally posted by Buzzbee
That was exactly my point. Thanks for supporting it. Earlier in the thread Hijinx had posted:

I was simply pointing out WHY these players were available. As SkyDog mentioned, you don't necessarily have to avoid them, and they can become solid contributors. But as you said, for this to happen, you have to have a solid development strategy. I didn't want someone to recruit these players with all that green, them never develop, and then get pissed that there "awesome" sleeper pick was a bust.

if they redshirt, I have really good luck getting a good 2-3 years out of the guys with the green bars.

I'll track a couple to provide specific numbers.

Ben E Lou

08-29-2003, 12:19 PM

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 5: C+,D,B-,D,B-
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 8
Grades at Week 9: B-,D,B,D-,B
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 10
Grades at Week 13: B,D-,B+,E,B-
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 10
Grades at Week 17: B+,D-,B,E,C
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 14
Final Grades, Year 2: A-,D,C+,D-,C (Whew! All those coaching blocks kept him eligible!

As far as on-field performance, he played in all 12 games, getting in on 201 plays. He had 11 tackles, 3 assists, 1.5 sacks, 3 tackles for losses, 1 pass blocked and 2 hurries. Pretty decent numbers for a backup. His ratings at the end of 2021 are up to 21/71,29/70,89.

Cumulative GPA: 1.80

Ben E Lou

08-29-2003, 01:49 PM

2022--#3 DT
First off, yet again my SE scout retires. The new one who is Terrific on the DL. Hartman gains another 9 pounds, and is up to 287. Our new scout rates him as 35/67,20/66,97. Calvin will be #3 on the depth chart at DT again (no graduations above him), the primary backup. He should again play a good bit this season. His happiness is up to 61. I'll use very similar time management settings as last season for this season, and be prepared to pump up the coaching blocks again:

Study Hall: 16
Weight Training: 24
Football Study: 15
Relaxation: 28

Ben E Lou

08-31-2003, 05:14 PM

UPDATE:

:mad: Despite receiving 12 coaching blocks in each grading period, Hartman managed to fail Astronomy 4 and will not be eligible to play in the season he would have started. He received no other grade that was less than a C this year.

On the field, he had a pretty solid season, playing in all 12 games, for a total of 328 plays. He had 18 tackles, 14 assists, 1.5 sacks, 6 tackles for losses, 1 pass blocked adn 2 hurries, and a robust (for a DT) 9.7 tkpct. His ratings almost certainly would have gotten close to maxing out next year, as he's up to 48/67, 30/66,97

Ben E Lou

08-31-2003, 05:19 PM

Yeah....he would have approached maxing out his potential before the year was over. He begins 2023 at 46/67,51/66,97. :(

fantastic flying froggies

11-20-2003, 10:06 AM

Interesting discussion on roster approach in TCY.

Might be worth a link to sticky, eh Skydog ?

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 05:04 AM

I'm trying to develop an unlikely prospect, so I thought I'd bump this. CB Daniel Nance was recruited in 2023 by my 100-Prestige Kentucky Wildcat team. We've finished in the Top 5 each of the last 7 years, and have 2 National Titles in that span, so you can see what kind of team we have. However, last year we struggled to grab a cornerback, and ended up with Nance. He's unranked in the Top 1000 and the position Top 100, and is only the 7th-best player in his home state--Hawaii. He's rated 16/48 overall, but has some potential as a cover corner. He's 0/92 in M2M and 18/73 in Zone. He had a 2.66 GPA in HS, and scored 1132 on the SAT. As a Senior in HS, he recorded 29 tackles, 4 sacks, and 10 interceptions. He was 6'0" tall and weighted 167 pounds. He was rated 54+ by my SW scout who is Good with DB's. His HS--Pearl City (HI) High--is rated 16 in athletic prep and 45 in academic prep. He gains 6 pounds between his senior year and his freshman yer in college, and reports to Lexington as a 6'0", 173-pound project player.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 05:12 AM

2024--Redshirt

http://www.benelou.com/fofc/nance.jpg

Nance comes to us with 37 aspiration, 57 intelligence, 8 happiness, and no girlfriend. Here's what I do with him as a Frosh:

Study Hall: 15
Weight Training: 25
Football Study: 24
Relaxation: 19

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 8
Grades at Week 5: C, D-, C, C+, C+
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 12
Grades at Week 9: B-,E,C-,C,B-
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 12
Grades at Week 13: B+,E,C-,C,B
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 14
Grades at Week 17: A,E,C,C-,B+
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 10
Final Grades, Year 1: A,D-,C+,D+,B

WHEW! Was barely able to keep him eligible, but pulled it out at the end.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 07:01 AM

Beginning of 2025:

His overall rating is now 27/48. He gained 12 pounds and got a girlfriend. His happiness rose to 52.

http://www.benelou.com/fofc/nance2.jpg

More to come this evening...

dixieflatline

08-25-2004, 11:44 AM

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 8
Grades at Week 5: C, D-, C, C+, C+
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 12
Grades at Week 9: B-,E,C-,C,B-
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 12
Grades at Week 13: B+,E,C-,C,B
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 14
Grades at Week 17: A,E,C,C-,B+
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 10
Final Grades, Year 1: A,D-,C+,D+,B

Were you really giving him around 10 blocks every grade period? You must not have been giving any out to anyone else. I have found that you get very diminshed returns on coaching blocks after 4 or 5 for one player. This guy will max out though. Probably even in his redshirt junior year with some playing time. What is his major and what was the class he almost failed? Geology really seems to be hard on these guys.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 11:49 AM

Were you really giving him around 10 blocks every grade period? You must not have been giving any out to anyone else. I have found that you get very diminshed returns on coaching blocks after 4 or 5 for one player. This guy will max out though. Probably even in his redshirt junior year with some playing time. What is his major and what was the class he almost failed? Geology really seems to be hard on these guys.Yes, I was giving him that many. I very rarely recruit a player with SAT <1250, so I usually end up using them on guys with lowest grade of D+ or so. His major is geography, and yes, geology was the one he almost failed. No "Rocks For Jocks" in TCY. ;)

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 11:51 AM

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 04:59 PM

2025 (Red-Shirt Freshman Year)

Weight: 185 (+12)
Overall: 27/48 (+11/+0)
Happiness: 52 (+44)

Study Hall: 20
Weight Training: 15
Football Study: 23
Relaxation: 25

Looking to put on any more pounds that he needs. Henceforth, he'll probably only get 10 in weight training.

Role at Beginning Of Year: CB4

dixieflatline

08-25-2004, 05:32 PM

Oh...at first glance, he'll be the dime back this year and nickel next, barring injury. We signed a 21/90 CB who will be red-shirting this season, but I'm guessing that he's not going to develop enough to pass Nance next year.

We will see about that. I think you are going to have a hard time not giving this new guy the nickel back spot when next year roles around. Huge potential! My guess is this guy already has interceptions maxed out which is something I really like from my nickel back.

Study Hall: 20

Are you still planning on giving him some blocks? With those horrible grades last year even with all the blocks he still might need some more.

Weight: 185 (+12)
Study Hall: 20
Weight Training: 15
Football Study: 23

For those of you out there having trouble getting your players maxed out lowering the weight training after a large weight increase like this almost always tends to work out. Probably part of the reason SkyDog has won two national championships in the last couple of years.

His major is geography, and yes, geology was the one he almost failed. No "Rocks For Jocks" in TCY

I am almost at the point where I don't even want to recruit the geology guys. Time to get a new department head in the geology department.

Ben E Lou

08-25-2004, 08:18 PM

For those of you out there having trouble getting your players maxed out lowering the weight training after a large weight increase like this almost always tends to work out.I use the Time Management screen for nearly everyone after their red-shirt season. I use their freshman year to give them extra time in the weight room, and after that 95-100% of scholarship players are automated by the screen. My non-scholarship players are only on the team to fill out the roster and increase the GPA. I induce 1-3 1500+ guys each year to fill out the roster. They get 20 Study Hall and 30 relaxaation through their career, which usually keeps 'em very happy, and gives 'em a 4.00 GPA. Now that I've figured out good settings for the Time Management Overview screen, time management goes very quickly for me.

Ben E Lou

08-26-2004, 06:43 AM

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 5
Grades at Week 5: A-,C+,A-,B,C-,A
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 9: A,C,B+,B+,C-
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 13: A,C+,B,B,D+
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 17: A,C+,B,B+,D
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 6
Final Grades, Year 1: A,C,B+,B,D+

He played in all 13 times, for a total of 223 defensive snaps. He gave up four catches, defensed 1 ball, had 4 tackles, 5 assists, and one tackle for a loss. Ratings rose to 18/40, 35/92, 27/73, 27, 25/54, 29/73, 52 during the season.

Ben E Lou

08-26-2004, 07:46 AM

Beginning of 2026:

His overall rating is now 40/48. He gained 5 more pounds and kept his girlfriend, but happiness dropped 13 points to 39.

http://www.benelou.com/fofc/nance3.jpg

More to come this evening...

Ben E Lou

08-30-2004, 07:04 PM

2026 (Sophomore Year)

Weight: 190 (+5)
Overall: 40/48 (+13/+0)
Happiness: 39 (-13)

Study Hall: 20
Weight Training: 10
Football Study: 27
Relaxation: 26

I'm guessing that he isn't going to gain much more weight.

Role at Beginning Of Year: CB3/Nickel.

An interesting development. The studly youngster leapfrogged up to the starting CB, leaving the option at CB3 between Nance and the 5th-year Senior who I thought would be the starter. The 5th-year guy is rated 48/53 overall, and his coverage skills are barely better than Nance's: 55/60 M2M, 40/42 Zone, 41 Interception. The 5th-year guy is quite solid at run defense (51/65), but that doesn't matter so much in the nickel slot. Should a starter get hurt, the 5th-year guy will start, but Nance will be in the CB3/nickel slot in the depth chart this year.

Ben E Lou

09-05-2004, 10:09 AM

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 2
Grades at Week 5: D+,B,D,B,B-
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 9: C,B,D,B,B
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 13: C+,B,D,B+,B-
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 8
Grades at Week 17: B,B-,D,B,B
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 4
Final Grades, Year 3: A,B,D,B,B-

Nance had a nice season as the nickel back. He was on the field for 245 pass plays, and 185 running plays. He had 23 tackls, 4 assists, 3 tackles for losses, 1 hurry, 1 INT, gave up 13 catches, and defensed 8 passes. He had a 20.8 PDPct. He's now rated 40/48 overall, with ratings of 23/40, 66/92, 52/73, 27, 36/54, 51/73, 52.

Ben E Lou

09-05-2004, 10:30 AM

Beginning of 2027:

His overall rating is 36/48. He gained 2 more pounds and his happiness climbed to 41.

http://www.benelou.com/fofc/nance4.jpg

Ben E Lou

09-05-2004, 12:24 PM

2027 (Junior Year)

Weight: 192 (+2)
Overall: 36/48 (-4/+0)
Happiness: 41 (+2)

Study Hall: 22
Weight Training: 10
Football Study: 24
Relaxation: 27

Role at Beginning Of Year: CB3/Nickel.

One of this year's starters is a 5th-year Senior. Nance will have a shot at starting next year if he can develop and not drop back as he did this year.

Ben E Lou

09-06-2004, 09:19 AM

Week 1 Coaching Blocks: 6
Grades at Week 5: A,A,C,C+,A
Week 5 Coaching Blocks: 4
Grades at Week 9: A,A-,C+,C,A
Week 9 Coaching Blocks: 3
Grades at Week 13: A,A-,C,C-,A
Week 13 Coaching Blocks: 2
Grades at Week 17: A,A-,C+,C-,A
Week 17 Coaching Blocks: 2
Final Grades, Year 4: A,A,B-,C,A

On the field, he had another solid year as nickel back. He was in on 280 pass plays and 186 running plays. He had 25 tackles, 8 assists, 2 tackles for loss, 1 hurry, 1 INT (returned for a TD), gave up 14 catches and defense 7 passes, good for a 20.3 PDPct. At the end of the season, he's rated 21/40, 60/92, 46/73, 27, 28/54, 52/73, and 36/48 overall.

Ben E Lou

09-06-2004, 09:37 AM

Beginning of 2028:

His overall rating is 38/48. He gained 2 more pounds and his happiness climbed to 43.

http://www.benelou.com/fofc/nance5.jpg

Preliminary indications are that he will be the nickel back once again, although he may end up starting.

cthomer5000

12-30-2004, 05:43 PM

this thread would probably be good for the reference thread.

cthomer5000

12-30-2004, 05:47 PM

nice work. I actually looked for the 'sticked' message in this thread, and didn't think that you might have already done it.

Ben E Lou

12-30-2004, 05:52 PM

this thread would probably be good for the reference thread.;)
THE COLLEGE YEARS

TCY FAQ At Solecismic Site (http://www.solecismic.com/tcysupport/faq.html)

Latest TCY Patch (version 1.3) (http://www.solecismic.com/support/index.php)

TCY Strategy Guide Site (http://www.geocities.com/gemmell78/index.htm) (note: This has not been updated for the last 3 or 4 patches. Some info is outdated.)

TCY Option Settings (showthread.php?s=&threadid=16360)

Bowl And Conference Names (showthread.php?s=&threadid=5337)

Player development strategy - TCY

Are High School Stats useful?

Roster Management and Recruiting Strategy Discussion (showthread.php?s=&threadid=11063)

TCY Strategy Discussion (showthread.php?t=30908)

Solecismic 8 Alternative Conferences (showthread.php?s=&threadid=12445)

Academic Ranking--How Does It Work? (showthread.php?s=&threadid=12865)

Devaney Fan's Div I-AA Team Set (http://devaneyfan.tripod.com/tcychallenge/id17.html)

FOF/TCY HTML Export Utility (showthread.php?s=&threadid=19230)

Settings For Auto Time Management (showthread.php?t=28730)

C-Bailey

02-16-2005, 04:06 PM

Klinglerware

02-16-2005, 04:14 PM

I was just about to make a new thread bout this, but then i came acrss this thread. Why do players' rating rise in-season, but then the next pre-season the ratings drop back down? I've never understood this. Any thoughts?

Yeah, I used to notice that happening a lot, especially with my QB's. Don't know what is going on though.

I don't see it happening much anymore, perhaps it was a bug that was fixed in the latest patch?

dixieflatline

02-16-2005, 04:19 PM

I was just about to make a new thread bout this, but then i came acrss this thread. Why do players' rating rise in-season, but then the next pre-season the ratings drop back down? I've never understood this. Any thoughts?

I believe that in season increases are a result of playing time. These don't seem to depend on things like time in the weight room or film watching. The offseason increases are highly dependant on on things like weight room and film watching % and have little(nothing?) to do with playing time for that year. You probably are looking a player who is really dumb and needs tons of study time so he doesn't have time to get any offseason gains. He is still getting playing time though so he is improving during the season only to fall back during the offseason. Punters/Kickers never seem to get any in season gains probably because they just aren't on the field enough to qualify for the in season gains.