Why John Eastwood? Simple, the combination of John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in any manner is baddass to me.
This franchise is an attempt at realism, not domination. There will be some oddball rules probably to try and maintain that.
Rules:
I'll be taking over the Bucs, starting in preseason, simming the first season, and leaving the team after that season. This lets me avoid the stacking up on talent in the first draft, keeps players on the teams they should be on, AND lets me hurt the TB Bucs at the same time by removing Gruden from the equation. I got nothing against the Bucs, but they are seriously overpowered in this game. It's not realistic, and I don't like seeing them dominate year in and year out. Taking a team in the second season gives me more realism in that I can only pick from whatever teams fire their coaches.
No sliders. Everything is set at the default settings. Sliders, for me, make the game way too easy to start.Upgrading coaching skills does basically the same thing, but it just takes longer. I prefer to have those few years struggling during the building process.
Free Agency signing will be limited. I don't usually sign free agents much anyway, but I will only allow myself to sign either 1 90+ overall player or two 80+ overalls. Anything below 80 rating is free game, but still, like I said, I never do much in FA anyway.
REALISM RULES:
Players drafted in the 1st round get at least three years to develop. I don't care if I draft a QB with a potential of 70 in the first round, I will not seek a replacement for three years. I'm basically operating under the assumption that I can't see the potential for any player.
Also, any player, regardlesss of ratings, who wins a rookie of the year award gets a couple more years as a starter. Any player, unless they are getting old, who makes the Pro Bowl or wins one of the other yearly awards will not be replaced the following year unless I can't afford to sign them back to my team.
I will not have a high level trainer on my staff. If I have injury prone players, I want to have to deal with the fallout of that. Again, realism is primary for me, not domination. I don't want a terrible trainer, but I don't want anything over 80 rated either. It makes having roster depth more important and, as a result, makes managing the salary cap more difficult.
I will lowball contracts when possible. Not having a great trainer means I'll have to spend more money on backup players, so that will balance out the salary cap difficulty anyway.
First season with a franchise I consider free game as far as cleaning house goes. It's rebuilding mode, and cutting good players who may be older is part of that process, as is trading players. After the first year though, I will not be free with the cutting of star players.
One exception. Game Changers. I will run this team as a hardass. Gamechangers may potentially alter my franchise in a big way. For example, any player that decides he's gonna take a weeks vacation in Mexico with his GF during the season will be cut/traded if at all possible. If I can't do that for cap reasons, he will be benched for at least the rest of the season. It makes no difference to me if he's a thrid stringer or my starting QB.
No manipulating the approval system. I work for the owner. He's the boss. If he gives me an expectation of making the playoffs, I'll meet that expectation in my preseason promise regardless of what I think. I should get an approval drop if I don't meet expectations, not an approval gain for winning three games when the owner wanted playoffs. I'll sign players as soon as I can get them signed. I won't put off those three players the owner wants me to resign until the last week of the season to get the big boost in points and keep my job. Unless , of course, negotiations with that player are just a pain. Also, no stupid Defining Moment desicions based soley on getting approval points. I will only make those calls when I feel I should. Which probably means rarely, cause most of the instances where they come up are pretty stupid to tell the truth. Basically, if I suck, I get fired, no manipulating the system to keep my job after the third 3-13 season. One allowance is for the special skill Charisma. Given that I'm likely to suck for a bit, that is a must to at least help me break even for a year or two.
PHILOSOPHIES:
Playcalling I'll use a 4-3 defense with normal blitzing. Offense will be run heavy.
QB: Pure Passer
HB: Balanced
FB: Blocking
WR: Speed
TE: Soft hands/Route. Also, one dedicate blocking TE to sub in on run plays
OL: Balanced
DE" Speed Rusher
DT: Balanced
MLB: Balanced
OLB: Balanced
CB: Man coverage
FS Centerfielder
SS Big Hitter
K: Balanced
P: Balanced
Playbooks:
Offense: Custom playbook based on Steelers Smashmouth. No created plays, just added some stock passing plays.
Defense: Jag Physical D. I like man defense, and the Jags have the best choice of Man coverage plays I could find.
Those are the guidelines basically. I have no idea what team or draft path I'll be taking over until I sim the first season. I'm just gonna go blind and let whatever path gets picked get picked.
This franchise is an attempt at realism, not domination. There will be some oddball rules probably to try and maintain that.
Rules:
I'll be taking over the Bucs, starting in preseason, simming the first season, and leaving the team after that season. This lets me avoid the stacking up on talent in the first draft, keeps players on the teams they should be on, AND lets me hurt the TB Bucs at the same time by removing Gruden from the equation. I got nothing against the Bucs, but they are seriously overpowered in this game. It's not realistic, and I don't like seeing them dominate year in and year out. Taking a team in the second season gives me more realism in that I can only pick from whatever teams fire their coaches.
No sliders. Everything is set at the default settings. Sliders, for me, make the game way too easy to start.Upgrading coaching skills does basically the same thing, but it just takes longer. I prefer to have those few years struggling during the building process.
Free Agency signing will be limited. I don't usually sign free agents much anyway, but I will only allow myself to sign either 1 90+ overall player or two 80+ overalls. Anything below 80 rating is free game, but still, like I said, I never do much in FA anyway.
REALISM RULES:
Players drafted in the 1st round get at least three years to develop. I don't care if I draft a QB with a potential of 70 in the first round, I will not seek a replacement for three years. I'm basically operating under the assumption that I can't see the potential for any player.
Also, any player, regardlesss of ratings, who wins a rookie of the year award gets a couple more years as a starter. Any player, unless they are getting old, who makes the Pro Bowl or wins one of the other yearly awards will not be replaced the following year unless I can't afford to sign them back to my team.
I will not have a high level trainer on my staff. If I have injury prone players, I want to have to deal with the fallout of that. Again, realism is primary for me, not domination. I don't want a terrible trainer, but I don't want anything over 80 rated either. It makes having roster depth more important and, as a result, makes managing the salary cap more difficult.
I will lowball contracts when possible. Not having a great trainer means I'll have to spend more money on backup players, so that will balance out the salary cap difficulty anyway.
First season with a franchise I consider free game as far as cleaning house goes. It's rebuilding mode, and cutting good players who may be older is part of that process, as is trading players. After the first year though, I will not be free with the cutting of star players.
One exception. Game Changers. I will run this team as a hardass. Gamechangers may potentially alter my franchise in a big way. For example, any player that decides he's gonna take a weeks vacation in Mexico with his GF during the season will be cut/traded if at all possible. If I can't do that for cap reasons, he will be benched for at least the rest of the season. It makes no difference to me if he's a thrid stringer or my starting QB.
No manipulating the approval system. I work for the owner. He's the boss. If he gives me an expectation of making the playoffs, I'll meet that expectation in my preseason promise regardless of what I think. I should get an approval drop if I don't meet expectations, not an approval gain for winning three games when the owner wanted playoffs. I'll sign players as soon as I can get them signed. I won't put off those three players the owner wants me to resign until the last week of the season to get the big boost in points and keep my job. Unless , of course, negotiations with that player are just a pain. Also, no stupid Defining Moment desicions based soley on getting approval points. I will only make those calls when I feel I should. Which probably means rarely, cause most of the instances where they come up are pretty stupid to tell the truth. Basically, if I suck, I get fired, no manipulating the system to keep my job after the third 3-13 season. One allowance is for the special skill Charisma. Given that I'm likely to suck for a bit, that is a must to at least help me break even for a year or two.
PHILOSOPHIES:
Playcalling I'll use a 4-3 defense with normal blitzing. Offense will be run heavy.
QB: Pure Passer
HB: Balanced
FB: Blocking
WR: Speed
TE: Soft hands/Route. Also, one dedicate blocking TE to sub in on run plays
OL: Balanced
DE" Speed Rusher
DT: Balanced
MLB: Balanced
OLB: Balanced
CB: Man coverage
FS Centerfielder
SS Big Hitter
K: Balanced
P: Balanced
Playbooks:
Offense: Custom playbook based on Steelers Smashmouth. No created plays, just added some stock passing plays.
Defense: Jag Physical D. I like man defense, and the Jags have the best choice of Man coverage plays I could find.
Those are the guidelines basically. I have no idea what team or draft path I'll be taking over until I sim the first season. I'm just gonna go blind and let whatever path gets picked get picked.
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