FOF 2004: How do you build

[SunDancer]

How do you build your team?

1) How do you rebuild a struggling loser?


2) How do you keep a team that reaches the top on top?


What is overall stragety in free agency, draft, and team building?

[Honolulu Blue]

Without giving too much away (I have to have some secrets; I might play against some of you in multiplayer ;) ), this is how I run things:

REBUILDING

I always prefer rebuilding to staying on top; it's more satisfying and the expectations are lower.

a) Look to trade overpaid players for draft picks. Easier said than done, but I try anyway. A 7th round pick is better than nothing, which is what you get from cutting someone.
b) Take a close look at the weaknesses of the team. Is the running game not going because of the backs or because of the line? Is the passing game lousy because of the line, the QB, or the receivers? Similar questions can be asked for defense and special teams.
c) Have a plan to take care of those weaknesses. Some positions are easy to fill with quality in the draft, some are hard unless you're holding a very high pick. Some positions can be filled with quality for cheap, others will break the bank for someone halfway good. If you play the game for awhile, you'll get a general idea of which is which. The object is always to pay the least for the best players.
d) Match the personnel to the gameplan. This works on many levels, but as an example, if you like to blitz and run man defenses, then get players who are good at those attributes and not necessarily as good at the others.
e) Keep an eye on the cap. Bad teams tend to have fewer problems with the cap than good teams, but as other threads around here have explained, it's much easier to get into cap trouble with this version of FOF. It's important to decide who's worth keeping and at what price.

STAYING ON TOP

Now that you have a Front Office Bowl trophy in the office, how do you stay a contender for the medium and long terms?

a) Keep both eyes on the cap. Good players are usually expensive, and it's nearly impossible to keep everyone worth keeping. It is vital to know who is worth their price.
b) Pay attention to the roster. Old players and players who are coming off injury might have their ratings erode. Perhaps it is time to say goodbye.
c) Work the youngsters in when possible. High potential/low actual rookies can do very well on the elite teams, since their mistakes aren't going to cost the team anything of value. And there's no way to stay ahead of the curve without new blood.

[Chubby]

if you are going to be in cap hell, make sure it's for only 1 year. better to get slaughtered for one season then have money to rebuild than to try and stretch it out and be mediocre for several seasons IMO.