First Round Tradeaway Challenge

[Passacaglia]

To give some perspective, I posted in the General Discussion Forum about how I hate having to sign URFAs, and that since I only give them one-year deals, the number just goes up and up. This is my attempt to get around that problem.

The main house rule: If I have 11 or more roster spots to fill going into the draft, I must trade my first round pick for as slew of later picks.

Other house rules:
1. Can only renegotiate in final year of contract.
2. No haggling whatsoever.
3. Starting from best future estimate to worst, must renegotiate with as many players as possible that are in the final year, until the money is gone.
4. In FA, bids are allowed only for players to replace starters that I was unable to renegotiate with.
5. No trades other than the one specified in the main house rule.


In a small experiment, I was able to get a 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th for my first round pick. But now I'm going to try trading it away on draft day. I'm going to look at the guy with thi highest future combine rating (8.0, 7.6, whatever), and find out who needs him (kickers and punters not included). That team gets my first pick.

I wanted a bad team, so I chose the Chargers. However, the franchise value screen said that the Chargers had the BEST roster. I started again, with the Eagles. Success! Dead last. Doug Pederson is the starter, with a 30/30 rating. McNabb will probably get the nod next year, but not be very good, with a 29/59 rating.

And they proved it. 3-13 on the year, tying Jacksonville. McNabb and Pederson each had 8 starts. Hmm. Looks like I might have to trade away pick 1 or 2. However, in renegotiating, I'm able to re-sign all but 7 players! I might get to use that draft pick after all!

Off-season. Kicker Norm Johnson retires, and I put the franchise tag on my starting Centre. I end up paying him through the nose, and he's not very good, but oh, well.

I go into FA having to replace my starting Kicker and both starting Safeties. I come out with Olindo Mare, Rod Woodson, and George Teague.

Heading into the draft, I only have 4 spots to fill -- QB, CB, and two Guard spots. Looks like I have no problems with URFAs, anyway!

With the #1 pick, my scout says the guy with the best Future Potential is QB Roderick Winslow, out of Mississippi, combine rating 6.4/6.4 (anyone else notice how scouts love guys with equal current and future ratings?). I pick him up, and he's a 60/79 before training camp.

Well, this isn't what I wanted at all. Another benefit was to avoid having to worry about (and throw money at) busts. But, we go into training camp, hoping. His ratings did go down -- to 60/60. I'm still happy.

So the rookie Winslow leads the team, with my two thug Safeties and all, and Staley-Mitchell running by committee, and we go 12-4! I don't believe it! Worst-to-first, bye week, and all that! And TWO weeks off, since week 17 was our bye!

Then we get whooped by the Falcons in our first playoff game. Checking my pet-peeve of schedule parity, I realize that I beat no winning teams, but beat the 8-8 Skins twice. The only team with a winning record I even *played* was the 10-6 Broncos, and they didn't make the playoffs! Can you imagine -- a 12-4 bye week team having played NO ONE who made the playoffs? I mean, even the Rams played the Lions and Titans!

So, obviously, my team isn't as good as their 12-4 record, and low draft pick, indicates, but we'll see how things go. I've got the #30 pick, and come draft day, I see what I can do with it...

Hmm. I get the #1 pick from Wichita in the 5th, 6th, and 7th round. 3 low picks for the 1st rounder. I did a similar thing with my 2nd round pick, and ended up having to sign only one URFA.

But now I'm playing a first-place schedule. I still do okay, going 9-7, drawing a trip to Green Bay for the wildcard. And what a win, there! 16-13 in OT! Winslow had horrid numbers, but he led the team when it counted. Then the next week the Cardinals stomp all over me.

Going into the draft, I have an early 20s pick, and get a little more out of it -- I think it was a 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th. But these deals will be making me very cap-friendly when it comes to the FA period.

Another 9-7 year, another road playoff game. The Cardinals are proving to be my nemesis, as they eliminate me from contention the 2nd year in a row. They beat me all three times this year, too.

Another early 20s draft pick, but it garners much less on draft day -- just a 4th and a 7th. The 2nd round pick gets me a 5th and a 6th -- arguably, just as good as what the first pick got me.

Can the Eagles make it a fourth straight playoff trip? Yes! 11-5 and a bye week! But we draw the Cardinals again -- this time in Philly, and we take it. Then a close, close 20-17 victory in St. Louis, thanks to a 44 yard pass from McNabb (filling in for the injured Winslow) to Johnson (unbelievably still on my roster) in the final minute to set up the game winning field goal. Super Bowl, here we come!

And what better possible Super Bowl than an intrastate rivalry, Steelers-Eagles? In Pittsburgh, 25 degrees and snowy -- the way the Super Bowl should be! But, alas, the Steelers win, 28-21, despite McNabb staging a last-minute comeback attempt. Winslow gets the MVP award, and Eagles' fans around the world whine that if he were healthy, we would have won.

So there we have it. I think I've managed to get a pretty good bit of success so far with this strategy -- I'm getting trades that are surely unfair, but it's helping me get quality free agents, as well as helping me keep the players I have. On the other hand, I feel bad that the only time I didn't need to trade my draft pick, I had a #1 overall pick QB, who just won NFL MVP last year!

Maybe this dynasty will get more interesting when he leaves my team or retires.

I'll try to get more detailed in my next post (sorry about the lack of it here -- wasn't expecting to post about it), when the Eagles vie to get back into the Super Bowl.



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"If we can put a man on the moon, we can grow grass indoors."

[GridIronMan]

Good job! I think I've made it to the Super Bowl once.