A Closer Look at Who the Computer Releases

[Pyser]

i was just looking around my current single player league....and noticed something disturbing.

i know the other free agency thread is dealing with the sheer amount of players released, and the quality left over, but i feel this is a bigger problem:


THE COMPUTER MAINLY RELEASES PLAYERS WITH LESS THAN 5 YEARS EXPERIENCE.


im not saying let them walk into unrestricted free agency. these are 3rd and 4th year players who are being flat out CUT. how can this be?? perhaps it wouldnt matter so much that there are 5 80+ rated players left at the end of free agency (a problem, i admit) if the teams were keeping all of their 40-50 rated players in their 3rd and 4th years. Then they wouldnt be going out and replacing them with roster fillers every year.

unfortunately i dont know how to post pics, but im sure you can find this in your leagues. just hit "start free agency", and wait for that little pause in the game. that pause is all the computers 4th year players being cut! go check the transaction screens, and please tell me in not crazy.

It seems to me the players should NEVER EVER be cut, unless they are a huge bust, or their ratings are horrible.

[Pyser]

is this an audience or an oil painting? hi-oh!!

but seriously, folks....anyone?

[Franklinnoble]

I haven't paid much attention to who the computer is cutting. Are you 100% certain it's not just players who's rookie contracts have expired?

[Pyser]

even if their contracts have expired, they should only be restricted, i shouldnt be able to sign them. but no, in the transactions log, it clearly shows they are being cut.

[Franklinnoble]

Well, maybe that's just the best the AI can do with cap management... cut a bunch of young backups and replace them with cheaper, younger ones...

[Pyser]

ive considered that....

but thats not the way to build a team. these are players the teams drafted, and then cut on their rookie contract. if anything, they should be releasing players, say, that have been in the league 9 years or more or something, and are far more expensive than the 3rd year guys backing them up (and some are starters, for that matter).

[henry296]

I think they have decided they will demand too much salary and cut them before free agency instead of waiting until after training camp when they will be cut automatically.

[Franklinnoble]

I think they have decided they will demand too much salary and cut them before free agency instead of waiting until after training camp when they will be cut automatically.
That's a good point... the AI assumes they can't re-sign them, and cuts them before free agency to have the cap space as soon as possible. Since there are 30 other AI teams doing the same thing, the AI can re-stock its roster from the other castoffs, rinse, and repeat.

[Maple Leafs]

Is the AI still properly cutting veterans with back-loaded contracts?

[T-Storm]

That's a good point... the AI assumes they can't re-sign them, and cuts them before free agency to have the cap space as soon as possible. Since there are 30 other AI teams doing the same thing, the AI can re-stock its roster from the other castoffs, rinse, and repeat.
I don't think I get your point.
Why would the ai care about it's ability to resign players that are still under contract and replace them with players that are mostly signed for just a year?
I don't think it's good for cohesion to do something like that, not that it would matter anyway, but still.
It seems, in almost all of my dynasties New England drafts a RunningBack middle-late first round, that ends up playing pretty well and having solid ratings, which it cuts after his 3rd year. Then the draft a RB the same year in the first round and repeat the procedure over and over again.
That's just things, that really turn me off of playing against the cpu.

[henry296]

T-Storm,

Their initial contract expired but they didn't have enough experiecne to become free agents. They are then restricted free agents, but you have to offer them a larger contract than a new draft pick. Instead of paying a bigger contract than they are worth, the CPU is releasing them before offering a new contract. There is no cap hit. It would happen anyway at the end of free agency if they weren't offered a contract.

Todd

[Pyser]

how do you release a player that isnt under contract? is this something only the computer can do?

[Bonegavel]

maybe Jim can chime in here?

[Rhone Ranger]

That's a good point... the AI assumes they can't re-sign them, and cuts them before free agency to have the cap space as soon as possible. Since there are 30 other AI teams doing the same thing, the AI can re-stock its roster from the other castoffs, rinse, and repeat.

Maybe... but the AI generally has a huge amount of cap space available because they cut people in droves. It seems to do this to excess.

I can understand cutting a restricted free agent when there's a specific need for the money (say, a particular free agent that the team wants to make an offer to) but the AI seems to say to itself, "OK, time to clear fifty million in cap space just in case maybe I need it somewhere... CLEAR THE DECKS!" and dozens of guys get swept out all at once. And then the AI often doesn't make priority use of all that cap space that got cleared up.

The end result is that the team's slate gets wiped clean for little positive effect. I'd like to see the AI get smarter about prioritizing its cuts so, for example, it figures it should clear up, say, $5 million before free agency begins so it cuts just a few players, not everyone. And then as it sees good prospects it can cut another player or two, whatever is necessary, but only after weighing the pros and cons. Don't cut people unless there's a good reason to. Right now the AI just clears the decks and hopes for the best, seemingly without much of a plan in "mind". And this is bad for cohesion and team building.