Free agency bidding

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by Libid21

I'm talking about the bidding though... how come the bids go up to $40 million? Where do you pay that $40? I saw the Broncos win the bid for Haynesworth and Asomugha...

That's the total value of the contract.

For example, if I bid $55 M on a guy that wants a 5 year deal, it's 11 M a year, but it will report a 55 M contract.

If they are bidding 40 M *per year* - then...wow

[mattlanta]

Quote: Originally Posted by KBLover

That's the total value of the contract. For example, if I bid $55 M on a guy that wants a 5 year deal, it's 11 M a year, but it will report a 55 M contract. If they are bidding 40 M *per year* - then...wow

AH! I see... thanks!

[Lieutenant Dan]

Quote: Originally Posted by fahrenheit

Keep in mind that the FA pool is ridiculously overpriced and should only be used if you desperately need that position.

Truth

Always try to build thru the draft whenever possible. FA can really take your cap space.

[Mike3207]

I'll occasionally use free agency if I need a player at that position; I signed Shane Lechler in the offseason because my punter was pretty bad. There are some positions that can be hard to develop(I'm looking at you, TEs), so in those cases go ahead and sign a free agent.

[mattlanta]

Also, I am only asking because I was looking to sign one or two stud free agents because the Falcons, when going into the 2008 offseason, had almost $60 mill cap room.

I'm probably going to restart my career... even though somehow I got McFadden and Long in the same draft! JAKE, that is.

[cutter73]

Free agents can eat your cap space pretty quick, and in a couple draft paths especially, you can usually get better players in low rounds of the draft for a small fraction of the price.

However, if you are going the free agent route, keep in mind to make sure your money is going to be well spent. Don't get taken in by an overall rating for a player. Look deeper into all his stats before free aganecy starts during the FA Preview. There, look at things like injury ratings. You don't want to toss a lot of money on a player who can be dominant but will only player a few games for you. Make sure you know about any low injury ratings. Also, check individual skill ratings for the players. If you run a man coverage defense for the most part, and cornerback with a high overall rating still won't do you any good if his actual man coverage skills are low.

By the same token, for younger free agents, check out some of thos individual ratings caps per player. A 22 year old corner who's maxed out at 92 for man coverage already is worth less in the long run than a 22 year old corner who has an 88 man coverage rating but can potentially get that up to a 96 or something. In some cases, the player with a lower overall rating is worth more in the long hall to your team than the higher rated player if the lower player has more room to grow.

Plan your aquisitions around your scheme. Running a power run offense that throws less? Concentrate on getting good run blockers. Passing offense? Go for the pass blockers. Speedy recievers for a deep passing game, high route running and catching abilities for west coast recievers and so on. If you play a 3-4 defense, a pass rushing DT is a waste of money. Make sure you're not paying a lot for players who don't fit your system. And if you have your WR preferences set to Speed Reciever, be extra careful. That setting focuses on speed and can be misleading. I've had 4 recievers before on my team, all in the 90's, and the highest catch rating of any of them was an 82. That sucked, trust me.

Seriously, get into the FA Preview screen and spend some time looking. ID key areas you want to fix, then target the players you actually want to fill those roles. That way you know exactly who you want beforehand and you're not tempted by name value alone when the players come up for bid. Keep the cap in mind at all times, and have your plan in mind before FA starts and you shouldn't get too far behind on the cap.