How has Drew Henson progressed in you franchise?

[utexas]

I primarily play in online leagues, but have taken a recent interestin the franchise mode. Does Henson progress? Does getting him playing time affect it one way or another?

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by utexas

Does Henson progress?

That's an interesting question, because I've noticed some players always seem to progress, and others never do or always regress. Progression must be programmed into players by degrees, so knowing which will progress more than others is very useful. It also explains why the CPU won’t always draft the highest rated player in a particular position. It must be able to read the different players’ hidden progression ratings. If that's true, I'd call that CPU cheese.

Start a practice franchise. Assign Henson as the first sting QB and sim a few seasons, and see if he progresses. That should give you half the answer you’re looking for. Hey, if the CPU knows what players are going to progress, you should to.

[baa7]

Well, well, well. Running with my theory about different progression potential for different players, I tried my own little experiment. I assigned Henson and wonder boy Eli Manning as starters on their teams and simmed three seasons. Henson’s progression after each year: 0, +1, -1. Boy wonder’s progression after each year: +4, +3, +5. I guess the programmers at VC fell for all the pre-draft Manning-hype as well. We’ll see about Eli this coming weekend…

[baa7]

I tried the same sim experiment again – Henson: 0, -1, +1. Manning: +4, +5, +5. And I checked a couple of other real life pre-draft wonder boys: Roy Williams and Larry Fitzgerald. Both are a default rated 83. At the end of two seasons, Williams was an 88 and Fitzgerald was a 97! (This with McCown throwing to him…)

Lesson and Motto: Know your player progression potential, before you pick and draft. Because the CPU knows who will progress and who won’t, and picks accordingly. Level the playing field. At the end of season 1, make a list of all the top rookies before the draft starts. Save the franchise, then sim ahead a few seasons and see which rookies progress and which don’t. Reload your saved franchise and base your season 1 draft picks on what you learned when you simmed ahead a few years.

[utexas]

Interesting, but that sucks big time!! It should not be hidden!!

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by utexas

Interesting, but that sucks big time!! It should not be hidden!!

If that’s what’s actually happening here, then you’re right: don’t hide it. Or, totally cheese to program the CPU to have the advantage in the draft like that – all the high progression guys get snapped up! At least program the CPU to pick players simply in order of their ratings. That makes it at least look like the CPU is operating on the same guess-work level you are.

Better yet, make progression a random rating, assigned in an arbitrary way every time you start a new franchise. Why should Manning always progress in any franchise you play, for all eternity? Why shouldn’t every player have the chance and potential to become a star? Very uncreative on VC’s part.

[baa7]

I tried a new experiment. I thought maybe the progression was higher for Manning because he starts off rated higher than Henson: higher ratings = better performance = consistently higher progression, etc. So I raised Henson’s overall from 62 to 79, and I lowered Manning’s overall from 79 to 62. Then I started a new franchise.

After three simmed seasons Henson is an 81 overall. Manning is a 71! Are we starting to detect hidden progression ratings here?

[baa7]

Quote: Originally Posted by baa7

I tried a new experiment. I thought maybe the progression was higher for Manning because he starts off rated higher than Henson: higher ratings = better performance = consistently higher progression, etc. So I raised Henson’s overall from 62 to 79, and I lowered Manning’s overall from 79 to 62. Then I started a new franchise.

So I’m continuing this franchise, and after 6 seasons Henson has dropped to a 78 overall (what is WRONG with this guy?!) and Manning… well, he’s now jumped up to a 78 overall. The guy’s a boy wonder!

Or maybe it has something to do with hidden progression ratings?