What would YOU do ? (FOF related)

[Darkiller]

Here is the dilemma :

my team (San Francisco 49ers) is a two-time defending SuperBowl champion, I'm in year 2026 of the Real49ersFootball career which I plan to continue soon.

I have 3 Quarterbacks on the roster entering Pre-Season...but for some reason, I have lot's of difficulties to name my starter for the upcoming year, here is why :

- my current starter, Kennedy Farr is now a 16 year veteran.
background : after a stumbling career with the Miami Dolphins and the Saint Louis Rams where he played sparingly, Farr found a home with the Niners late in his career and has been the starter the past three seasons. The results were exceptionnal (the team was coming off two 6-10 seasons in 3 years...) with an NFC Championship game berth in year 1 and 2 SuperBowl championships the following seasons.
Problem is : he's now old and his ratings are going down...and he commands by far and away the highest salary on the roster ($16M...versus less than $10M for the 2nd highest paid player)

- my 2nd string QB, Chester Howard
backgroung : drafted in the 1st round (8th) 4 years ago, he has barely played in 3 years (has been unable to unseat the veteran Free Agent Kennedy Farr) and has been actually far from impressive in the little action he's seen (1 start in 3 years). BUT he's still young, his ratings are going up nicely (he developped well). The kid has talent, no doubt about it, but will this ever transfer onto the football field ? so far : no.

- the third QB is rookie Eric Misner
Drafted high in the 1st round this year (8th as well) because I was (and still am) unsure of Chester Howard as the heir to the throne, Eric Misner is obviously VERY unexperienced but has tremendous talent and potential (maybe even more than Howard, but it's kind of equivalent at first glance). Since he's a rookie, I could't expect "miracles" from him right away (although I had a rookie named Brock Sheriff some 22 years ago who won me a SuperBowl immediately..)

What to do ?
I plan on resting Kennedy Farr the whole pre-season (he's a 16 year vet...plus I need to KNOW who the future is : Howard OR Misner)..and giving both youngsters 2 starts each.
Then what ?

All options are open :
among them,
- releasing Kennedy Farr and his $16M
- trading Farr ? I doubt anyone would be interested now with his age and salary...
- trading Howard so to play Farr and give Misner the job next year ?
- trading Misner and play Howard and have Farr as the insurance policy for one year ?
- keeping all three on the roster ? yeah but to start who ? I can do that but it wouln't give me any kind of progress in my knowledge of "who the future at the position is"...

[VPI97]

How much longer do all three have on their contracts?

[Darkiller]

Farr and Howard are both under contract for the next two seasons (at least) and rookie Misner has a 5 year deal.

[VPI97]

Well, based on my FOF experiences, Howard is probably going to want a big money contract like Farr's when his contract expires, so releasing Farr to clear up cap room wouldn't be that worthwhile a move. The amount you would gain by releasing him would be lessened by his bonus money and you're going to be shelling out $$$ to keep Howard around anyway. So, I'd keep Farr around until the end of his contract...in a starting role this season and waiting to see about next season. I'd trade Howard for immediate help for a Bowl run (or picks if you have no glaring weaknesses)...and I'd plan on going with Misner for the long term. Make sure Misner gets some starts/playing time this season, so if Farr retires at the end of the year, he'll have some experience going into his second season.

If things work out, in two seasons you would have a former 1st round pick as your starting QB while playing with 3 years left on a middle cost rookie contract + the picks you get for Howard + the cap room saved by letting Farr play out his deal

[Fritz]

I can barely remember how things work in FOF2.

[DolphinFan1]

Originally posted by Fritz
I can barely remember how things work in FOF2.

I can barely remember things that happened yesterday. :)

[Bee]

What would YOU do ? (FOF related)


Try to get a copy of FOF4.

[cthomer5000]

I agree with VPI: trade Howard for immediate help in other areas. Gear up for one more run at a title before going to the young gun.

[Darkiller]

Well, FOF, FOF2, FOF4 ...this is not the issue.
It's about dealing with a complicated QB situation...no matter what the platorm is.

[Darkiller]

So you'd pull away the fact that Farr has his ratings down...(although cohesion would certainly be at its best with him under center)

[QuikSand]

Originally posted by Darkiller
Well, FOF, FOF2, FOF4 ...this is not the issue.
It's about dealing with a complicated QB situation...no matter what the platorm is.

Well, yes and no. In FOF2, the relative abundance of "topped out" players with oustanding skills in every meaningful area makes every decision a great deal different than in other games where the players' skills are much more varied. Add in the fact that young players in FOF2 all develop right according to their forecasts (with only very modest variability) I'd say that the platform makes a huge difference in how one answers a question like this.

To go to an even greater extreme - what if your question were about the LB or CB position? As I recall, those two positions in FOF2 were so ridiculously plentiful that there would routinely be star-caliber players sliding to the bottom of almost every draft. How can the platform be irrelevant? On that platform, the correct answer to any question about LB or CB would be "don't pay for a star, just get another one cheap."

[Fritz]

I love it when big blue has my back

[Balldog]

Keep all 3, give Farr the first shot. If he and the team struggles out of the gate go with Howard. Or play them both in the preseason and see who performs better.

I'd have a hard time getting rid of a repeat Super Bowl QBs.

[Darkiller]

Originally posted by QuikSand
Well, yes and no. In FOF2, the relative abundance of "topped out" players with oustanding skills in every meaningful area makes every decision a great deal different than in other games where the players' skills are much more varied. Add in the fact that young players in FOF2 all develop right according to their forecasts (with only very modest variability) I'd say that the platform makes a huge difference in how one answers a question like this.

To go to an even greater extreme - what if your question were about the LB or CB position? As I recall, those two positions in FOF2 were so ridiculously plentiful that there would routinely be star-caliber players sliding to the bottom of almost every draft. How can the platform be irrelevant? On that platform, the correct answer to any question about LB or CB would be "don't pay for a star, just get another one cheap."

This is right but again, not what I look for exactly.
I have very little doubts that my two young QBs (Howard and Misner) will end up having almost maxed-out ratings since, as you rightfully said : baring an injury or what, the red bars will fullfill the green ones eventuall (although it indicates by no means that the player will end up having huge/outstanding stats on the field within a particular system..).
My question is more "FOF turned NFL" related : This is a (philosophical ?) problem, one that cand be found in a handful of NFL teams (the Rams for instance with a veteran, expensive Superbowl QB -Warner- and a young stud waiting in the wings -Bulger-...or the Jaguars with Brunell and Leftwich).
This is where my issue is : which one "should" take over...and when ? this year or the next ?
A good old QB debate that HAS to go beyond the binary of the computer game...

I don't know if I make myself very clear on this ... lol

[Franklinnoble]

Trade the old guy. Start the rookie. If he's horrible, bring Howard off the bench.

Farr is a sentimental favorite, but he's got one or two years left in him, tops. Better to get something for him now while you can. Your best bet is to groom Howard as the perpetual backup - if his contract is up in two years, as said above, he'll want huge money to re-sign if he's been starting. Misner is already costing you an enormous rookie contract. Might as well have him earn it. This way, Howard re-signs for less money, and you have a young stud QB for the future and a solid veteran backup.

[RendeR]

I have to agree with dealing the middle guy in favor of keeping your star starter in place, the team cohesion and experience he has will outweigh a slight decline in abilities, and he'll probably retire soon.

Then you have your most recent pick on a low contract waiting to take over with possible picks gained by trading the middle guy to boost this next year with a solid QB draft (maybe)

[damnMikeBrown]

Unless you're the Bengals, you wouldn't blow two top 10 picks on QB's without ever giving them a chance. Obviously, you wouldn't have taken the rookie if Howard was the answer. Hold onto Howard for this season, playing him as the #3, and trade him next year, in the last year of his deal.