Mistakes

[scorp]

Quote: Originally Posted by Papa Pearce

That sounds like a glitch, because I'm positive he's not an RFA

I didn't think he was, but I have seen him as a RFA in careers. 90% of the time he is just a FA.
I signed him in my current career, I just need to be sure he doesn't hit his incentives the are 2 million each. Ouch.

Just a tip be careful of incentives in contracts, they can kill you.
I look at my roster every season and see who I do not want to have start 16 games so they don't get 750k or 1 million for 16 starts. 5 players with a 1 million 16 starts if 5 mil on your cap that can easily be saved.

[twl221]

In my first ever career, I signed too many people. I had Haynesworth, Suggs, Briggs and Samuel. I also gave every FA and Draftee the max contract. The next year's cap was to be -26 Mil. I quit.

[Papa Pearce]

Another thing regarding FA and draft picks; always make sure you check the Personality traits of the player in question before attempting to hire. I don't care how good they are, no player is worth cutting three positions to sign. The ones who are generally have decent traits though.

Prime example: I don't recommend you sign Albert Haynesworth unless you're going to FT him, which I still don't recommend...

[kcarr]

Quote: Originally Posted by Papa Pearce

One thing many new players don't realize is that trades can give you a cap hit. I learned that the hard way when I traded away almost all of my highly-paid players in a Titans career once. It took me a while to realize that my excessive trading was the cause for my cap warning. Another thing to remember when trading is that when trading away/for draft picks, it is very helpful to have a copy of the Trade Value Chart. The game uses this chart to value draft picks, so using this chart you can determine what is a good trade. Using it, you can figure out what your first offer should be without pissing the other GM off, and you can also figure out what packages are fair to ask for. Oh, and if you have a top 5 pick, 8 times out of 10 I would recommend you trade down. I've made the mistake of signing two or three high picks. Needless to say, I was in the ninth level of cap hell

I only draft in the 1st round if there is a truly special player out there or if no team will trade with me. It has to be a player who no only has a high overall potential but has some skill set that I think will be truly able to change my team for the better, such as a TE with good recieving stats and 95 speed, a corner with 99 speed and man coverage and good other ratings, an OLB or DE with 95+ speed and finesse moves, a DT with 99 STR and atleast 90 either power or finesse with good ratings otherwise, a QB with the 97+ throw power and accuracy, etc looking at the max potential for the ratings in the player card. If I can't find a true franchise quality player I usually figure I can find someone else who is nearly as good later along with other talent with the extra picks I aquire.

[Glorious Arc]

This is the situation. I have Ed Reed moved down to CB and raiders CB Nomdi(sp). I am running a cover 2 system. My next best CB had less then 70 zone coverage so I looked to the draft. I drafted Kenny Philips and moved him down to play CB as well. Two years have past and now Philips is becoming a distraction because he is mad about not getting to start. I honestly dont know if it will be hard to sign him back in the next couple of years after he continues to play at 3rd CB but the moral is to have happy elite players you need to start them.

Be careful when resigning players. Some guys will be just as pig headed and stubborn as a real human. Others you can "get away with" only giving them the first deal. Currently, I drafted a LB in the 7th round and he had a one year contract. This guy was going to grow into 90 zone coverage with solid LB abilities. I was being stubborn and didnt cave to his demands at the end of the season. So now instead of signing him for 3 years at 2-3 mil a year I am forced into using the franchise tag at a whopping 8.75 mil...And the kid is riding bench until he develops more(I do have the cap to play with but I really hate spending money like that when I could have avoided it by giving in some)