QB controversy...

[AlexB]

Hoping you guys can help me make a decision here: who should be my starting QB in my single player Cards franchise...

Bear in mind I'm the Cards, so money is a key issue here as well: last year won the division and made the playoffs for the first time: upgraded at DE, TE and FB, the only downgrade since last year is at center, and all other players are returning, with a couple of booms and everybody else improving as normal. Being over the salary cap is not a problem ($11.5m under with the 60 man roster), and last year was the first where we made a profit (a huge $1m!), but we were even more under the cap last year.







The coach part of me likes Delhomme as QB (I prefer his ratings), and while he's improved from 37/70 to 61/68 in 2 seasons, when he comes up for renewal as you can see he'll want a lot more cash when his contract is up.

Monroe is good technically, but I'm not convinced he's able to win the tight games from his 2 minute offence, but he'll be a lot cheaper. Plus he's improved from 39/63 to 60/64 in his first season and training camp this year.

I'm at the start of the year, with both having 2 years on their current deals. I'm figuring I'll get a good trade deal for both, even at the end of the year, but if I'm going to keep Monroe, I'm thinking I ought to start him this year: Jake would then be traded at the end of the season, so that I've got a good back up this year and can take advantage of his mentorship... I do have another (awful) mentor QB as well on the roster, plus a 3rd year bust (22/64 to 27/37).

Any opinions would be much appreciated!

[condors]

well i am from the school of best QB possible #1 choice

If you don't want to keep Delhome trade him now for someone you want to keep.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

No midget QB's!!!

[Franklinnoble]

The youngin's only get better with playing experience. Make Monroe the man. Trade Jake.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by BigJohn&TheLions

No midget QB's!!!

Hadn't even noticed that! And what does that make me at 5'10"?

[AlexB]

Cheers for the input so far: my only concerns about Monroe are his horrible 2 minute offense ratings and the fact that while his current rating increased a lot with two mentors last year, his future rating only went up by 1, so am unsure if he will improve further.

Jake on the other hand has solid ratings across the board...

The consensus seems to be trade Delhomme in the off season, but about 50:50 for this year. I'll give it a day and go with the majority - trust you guys who have played the various incarnations of FOF a lot longer than me.

Thanks again for the votes so far.

[Honolulu Blue]

I see no reason not to keep them both. Neither of them are demanding all that much money (really), and you never know when your starter will get injured.

That said, I'd get rid of the old mentor QB (Delhomme is a mentor himself) and possibly scrounge around for a 10/50 guy to be the 3rd or 4th QB. It makes little difference what you do with the other guy.

As to who to start, that depends on the type of team you have. Favor Delhomme if:

* You throw a lot of short passes (over 40%)
* Your receivers aren't very good
* Your offensive line isn't good at pass blocking
* You need a good kick holder
* You play a lot of close games
* You need to win NOW, or in the next couple of years

Favor Monroe if:

* You like to throw it medium & deep
* You like to throw screen passes (over 18%)
* You have relatively good receivers
* You have a relatively good pass blocking O-line
* You have other guys who can hold kicks
* Your games tend to be won before the final 2 minutes
* There's no pressure to win in the next two seasons

[Raiders Army]

Gilbert Monroe sucks at kick holding. He's destined to be a scrub for his career.

[BigJohn&TheLions]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Hadn't even noticed that! And what does that make me at 5'10"?

It depends... are you intending to play QB in the NFL?

This is easily the worst part of the game to me. Can someone please name one QB who has been a success that is less than 6 ft? Every offseason I save before starting free agency. The 1st thing I check is if there are any midgets in the top 6 QB's, and if there are I restore and try again. Nonetheless, several of the big boys bust, and a midget or two end up breaking out. I just cannot see the top overall pick in the draft being a 5-9 QB who can't run worth a damn... NO QB should be less than 6 ft tall in the game. Sorry, it's just something that irritates me. Like the 6-6, 340 lb guards and ther linemates the 6 ft, 280 lb tackles...

[Raiders Army]

Well, his style is a "roll out QB"

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Honolulu Blue

I see no reason not to keep them both. Neither of them are demanding all that much money (really), and you never know when your starter will get injured.

That said, I'd get rid of the old mentor QB (Delhomme is a mentor himself) and possibly scrounge around for a 10/50 guy to be the 3rd or 4th QB. It makes little difference what you do with the other guy.

As to who to start, that depends on the type of team you have. Favor Delhomme if:

* You throw a lot of short passes (over 40%)
* Your receivers aren't very good
* Your offensive line isn't good at pass blocking
* You need a good kick holder
* You play a lot of close games
* You need to win NOW, or in the next couple of years

Favor Monroe if:

* You like to throw it medium & deep
* You like to throw screen passes (over 18%)
* You have relatively good receivers
* You have a relatively good pass blocking O-line
* You have other guys who can hold kicks
* Your games tend to be won before the final 2 minutes
* There's no pressure to win in the next two seasons

Cheers for this: extremely helpful and given me stuff to think about.

Works out about even on these criteria - great receivers, average pass blocking OL, most of the games are tight, and I always want to win!

I'm thinking 2-3 years down the line, and I've worked out what it boils down to is that I'm not confident that Monroe has the 'intangibles' to work out, while I'm not happy about what Delhomme is likely to cost...

I thinking of going with Delhomme this year, then make a decision at the end of the season - see if I can negotiate a longer term deal that is more cap friendly: the other thing about Delhomme is the fans idolize him, and as the fan loyalty is a big fat zero, I need a winning team and popular players to generate the interest so that I can start paying the bigger salaries.

I guess Jake will have to be the exception to my tight ship, as I'm going to have let either Anquan Boldin or Larry Fitxgerald go in a couple of years, both fan favourite/idolised and over 70 current rating - letting an idolised QB go as well might be crowd suicide...

[Honolulu Blue]

Originally Posted by BigJohn&TheLions

Can someone please name one QB who has been a success that is less than 6 ft?

You mean besides Doug Flutie?

OK, in Mr. Flutie's case, "success" is relative. He had some success in college, didn't do much in his first pass with the NFL, went to the CFL, had some success there, came back to the NFL, and had some success there. He's 42, and I think he can still play a little. Anyone who can do that and take millions out of the game over two decades is a success in my eyes. Others may differ.

Now, back to JR's Shorts: You can always play "hot hand". I've done this a few times in my FOF careers. Start one of these guys and if he loses too many in a row, go to the other guy. After a season or two of this, things might be much clearer.