This may not be a bug but its still stupid

[Flasch186]

Miami signed Bob Sanders off of the FA market eventhough he had a devastating knee injury that he was still recuperating from. The day they signed him they put him on IR. Perhaps they needed a leader on the sideline, i dunno.

http://www.fof-usfl.com/images/civ4_images/sanders.jpg

[Front Office Midget]

I have an Uncle Bob Sanders who just died. Sad.

[Eaglesfan27]

If it was a 2 year deal, I'd actually like that move. However, from the screen shot it looks like they only signed him to a 1 year deal which doesn't make any sense.

[Ben E Lou]

It's funny. I'd do this deal in a heartbeat in MP if I had the cap room. I don't think the AI thinks this deeply, but here's why I'd do it:

1. If he fully recovers, I can franchise him next year and sign him cheaply.
2. If I don't sign him, one of my division rivals might franchise him next year and sign him cheaply.
3. Even if he becomes a FA, I have at least a slightly better chance to sign him next year than someone else.

[QuikSand]

Regrettably, I'm thinking this just comes down to two disjointed pieces of the AI, working at cross purposes.

The signing, on its own, is potentially rational, as the player might be able to come back late in the season and help, at least some.

The cutting, on its own, is potentially rational, as the team may have pressing needs and simply be unable to absorb the roster spot for 3/4 of the season in hopes of seeing the player return.

Put together, though, these two decisions are obviously indefensible. *shurg*

[kcchief19]

Regrettably, I'm thinking this just comes down to two disjointed pieces of the AI, working at cross purposes.

The signing, on its own, is potentially rational, as the player might be able to come back late in the season and help, at least some.

The cutting, on its own, is potentially rational, as the team may have pressing needs and simply be unable to absorb the roster spot for 3/4 of the season in hopes of seeing the player return.

Put together, though, these two decisions are obviously indefensible. *shurg*
Am I missing something? I don't see him cut. I just see him signed to a contract then placed on IR.

I see nothing stupid about this because I have done the exact same thing before, using the logic Ben spelled out. He's not asking for a ton of money -- why not sign him, put him on IR and if he fully recovers you can franchise him.

I don't know if that's what the AI is "thinking" because I can't say than any AI "thinks." I imgaine the AI is saying here is a highly rated player asking for a small amount of money and deciding to sign him despite the injury. Then the AI determines he's too injured to keep active and places him on IR.

If he fully recovers and the AI franchises him or resigns him, then I'd say not only is this not stupid it's brilliant that that the AI takes advantage of situations like this.

[QuikSand]

Sorry, by "cutting" I just meant rendering him unusable for the balance of his contract. He can't be cut, but putting him onto IR has the same practical effect. I apologize for any confusion.


And while it may indeed be a parallel to what some savvy MP users might do, I am still very confortable with the simpler read that this is two component decisions that each make some sense, but with a combined effect that makes very little. I don't think the AI team was actually "planning" anything, I htink two small decision-making routines just got caught up side by side with a weird effect.

[highfiveoh]

I'd put money on Mr. Sanders retiring after this season.

[PSUColonel]

what happened?

[kcchief19]

And while it may indeed be a parallel to what some savvy MP users might do, I am still very confortable with the simpler read that this is two component decisions that each make some sense, but with a combined effect that makes very little. I don't think the AI team was actually "planning" anything, I htink two small decision-making routines just got caught up side by side with a weird effect.
I don't disagree with the contention that the AI was not necessarily planning, but I'm not sure I agree with the general tone of everyone who seems to think that this makes very little sense, even in SP.

The contract was extremely small. If the AI team were forced to cut someone to sign this guy, I'd agree with it not making any sense. To me, this is a case where two component decision each make some sense, but the combined effect still makes perfect sense.

I'm actually HAPPY to see something like this happen, because I think in early incarnations of the game the AI was perfectly willing to ignore a player like this and the human player was able to have their pick of "projects" like this. It's not as though this player is a scrub; ratings-wise, he's a stud. Perhaps a bit injury prone and a bit long in the tooth, but it's a cheap contract with seemingly little if any downside.

Is there something I'm missing?

One last caveat: what would be disturbing is if this player comes back for another season but takes a major hit and the AI tags him and/or signs him to a long-term deal that cripples the franchise.