A Rio Grande Dorados Franchise

[somecoach]

At some point, I think it would be fun to run a forum game on here with the old Arena Football games as the sim engine. There's very little depth in these games, so it would be more of a casual sim than anything crazy, but I want to run a long-term franchise to understand the sim before I take on the test of running a league for this forum.

So with that being said...welcome to the Rio Grande Dorados franchise on Arena Football - Road to Glory. I'm going to be competing at the AF2 level with a salary cap of about $2.2 million. I'm going to set some ground rules as I get to them, but the first thing I want to establish is that I'm not going to be trading. I think that trade manipulation would be too easy to take advantage of, so I'll only be cutting players, signing players and messing with the depth chart.

Join me on this ride.





Here's what you need to know:

I have to keep a minimum of 18 players on my active roster, up to 20. The active roster only includes healthy players, so there's not much wiggle room to keep players who are dealing with injuries. This is one of the big hurdles in this game.

The positions are as follows:

Quarterback
Offensive Specialist (WR)
Defensive Specialist (CB)
Guard/Left End
Tight End/Right End
Center/Nose Guard
Fullback/Linebacker
Receiver/Linebacker
Receiver/Defensive Back
Kicker

All of these positions have a minimum "ACT REQ" of 1, other than defensive specialist, which starts 2. Those 11 starters (4 part-time in OS, DS x2 and K) use up all but 7 to 9 roster spots.

[somecoach]

The first position I want to scout out is quarterback.

The only quarterback under contract for my team right now is Josh Kellett, who is on a one-year deal worth $187,000. As a reminder, there are no bonuses in this game. Everything counted against the cap is non-guaranteed salary. This makes it easy to move players around.

I'm in this for the long haul, though, so I want to know my options. Kellett is 26 with a contract coming up, so if I could find someone with a higher upside than him to get going, I'd probably take that bet.

Below are all of the free agent players who have a throw power rating (THP) of at least 91, which Kellett hits.



This one is gonna be a pretty quick decision. Chad Nichols is four years younger, the same overall, $50,000 cheaper, has 8 points on Kellett in throw power, 4 points on Kellett in throw accuracy and has better speed, agility, injury and toughness ratings. That's my project quarterback.

Jonathan Jackson barely has an upside edge on Kellett, as he has a 92 THP rating vs 91. I believe that crossing the 80 threshold in agility also makes quarterbacks scramble, which isn't what you want to see out of a passer with 51 speed.

Keyshawn Jamison has a horrible toughness rating, which determines if a player pushes through injuries. That's significant, considering how little wiggle room we have with these rosters.

If I had to pick backup options, it would be Travor Baldwin (99 THP) or Vince Ogden (96 THP) but their accuracy numbers (77 and 80) are just so much lower than Nichols (90). I'd rather just pay the extra $20,000 to have that rating. Nichols has very low awareness with 64, but that should get better over the years.

Here are my options to sign Chad Nichols

1 Year - 138k (138k APY)
2 Years - 276k (138k APY)
3 Years - 360k (120k APY)
4 Years - 528k (132k APY)
5 Years - 720k (144k APY)
6 Years - 864k (144k APY)
7 Years - 1.00M (143k APY)

Joe Hamilton, a 91 overall quarterback, has a salary of 161k per year on the free-agent market. So, if Nichols even comes close to increasing 6 overall points, he'll still be a steal on the long-term cost. I'm going to sign him to a 7-year contract, keep that cost controlled, and release Kellett.



These two moves bring my cap space to 677k with a 20-man roster.

[somecoach]

My second set of moves I'm going to make as a franchise is going to be the corniest thing I do this entire series. I want to keep focusing on the offensive side of the ball, as I try to microwave the development around 23-year-old quarterback Chad Nichols.

At offensive specialist, a true receiver position, I already have one player under contract in Dwight Counter (25 years old, 87 speed, 83 overall). He'd be about a league-average starter right now and more importantly is on a two-year contract worth $55,000 per year. For perspective, the cheapest offensive specialist, a 65 overall player, costs $77,000 on the open market.

Off of the strength of being cheap and having another year on his deal, I'm going to keep Counter. He might even be my starting OS in Year 2, though, I don't love that his speed is below 90.

Right now, I only have one player with 90 speed or better on my roster, WR/DB Chris Canty. We'll get to him later, but just know the team is slow at the moment.

That's why I'm going to make a splash signing and add the most expensive free agent available, offensive specialist Aaron Bailey, to the team. He's 35 years old but his speed of 92 and overall of 90 still plays.

Here are my options to sign Bailey:

1 Year - 168k (168k APY)
2 Years - 336k (168k APY)
3 Years - 504k (168k APY)
4 Years - 640k (160k APY)
5 Years - 840k (168k APY)
6 Years - 1.00M (168k APY)
7 Years - 1.17M (168k APY)

He'll probably retire in a season, but I'll add him on a four-year deal just for the lower cap hit. It will never hurt me to release him, so why not?

To make up the roster spot, I'm going to release kicker Dustin Bell, who is 61 overall. He stinks and I'm going to upgrade him eventually anyway. Between these two moves, swapping out OS Aaron Bailey for K Dustin Bell, I have 574k in cap space remaining.



Current Roster Construction

QB
1. Chad Nichols, 85o (23yo, 7y) - QB of the future

OS
1. Aaron Bailey, 90o (35yo, 4y) - short-term starter
2. Dwight Counter, 83o (25yo, 2y) - possible Year 2 starter

[somecoach]

I actually booted up practice mode for the next position: Fullback/Linebacker.

By my count, there are only 29 passing plays, including Hail Mary and Fake Spike. On 27 of them, the fullback is a pass protector. The other two are designed screens to the back. When I simmed a couple of seasons to see what the production was like at the fullback position, it was rare for backs to crack 2.0 YPC.

In short, I simply don't think that rushing matters in this game. So I'm going to treat this like a linebacker + pass protection position. Maybe I'm an idiot. We're going to find out, though.

Going into this, I had three fullbacks: R.J. Luke, Keenan Washington and Frank Henson, who are all on one-year contracts. Here's how they break down.



At first glance, I was ready to move on from Henson immediately. At 67 speed, I didn't feel the need to keep a third player at a one-player position. Especially not for a slow 29-year-old who is 62 overall on a one-year deal.

So I went searching for players who were at least as fast as Luke/Washington (72 speed) and had at least as good of pass blocking numbers as them (56 PBK). That was my initial list of players, which you can find below. I ended up highlighting the stats for why I no longer considered free agents in red. For example, I didn't want to get worse at tackling or worse at strength for a position that I mostly view as a linebacker who pass protects on offense.



So I really had two options: 27-year-old Ja'Mar Toombs and 24-year-old Shurron Pierson. What I'm going to end up doing is adding Pierson and dumping both Luke and Henson. I'm going to keep Washington, in the off chance that Pierson goes down early on in the season and gets some developmental reps. I want higher upside athletes who can contribute on defense at this position and both Washington and Pierson give me that.

Cutting Luke and Henson freed up 131k in cap space for me.

Here were my options to sign Pierson:

1 Year - 85k (85k APY)
2 Years - 162k (81k APY)
3 Years - 222k (74k APY)
4 Years - 324k (81k APY)
5 Years - 445k (89k APY)
6 Years - 534k (89k APY)
7 Years - 623k (89k APY)

I'm going to sign him to a three-year deal, since I'm not certain this plan is going to pan out. If he ends up developing into the player I think he can be, I'll gladly pay him a raise in the Year 4 offseason.



After the move, I have 631k in cap space available. I also have an extra roster spot, which I'm going to have to use on a kicker eventually.

Current Roster Construction

QB
1. Chad Nichols, 85o (23yo, 7y) - QB of the future

OS
1. Aaron Bailey, 90o (35yo, 4y) - short-term starter
2. Dwight Counter, 83o (25yo, 2y) - possible Year 2 starter

FB/LB
1. Shurron Pierson, 72o (24yo, 3y) - project linebacker/protector
2. Keenan Washington, 71o (25yo, 1y) - project linebacker/protector

[somecoach]

I'm going to look at two positions here together: guard/left end and center/nose guard. Both are offensive line/defensive line and I will pretty much treat them the same.

For whatever reason, the game has my team down with six players under contract, which seems insanely high for positions with only two total starters.

I looked into free agents who matched what my two starters, Curtis Jeter and Ahmad Bhatti, brought to the table: 85 strength, 78 tackling and 80 pass protection. There were only three available free agents who hit those marks at any position.



Tim Martin is an interesting player, but he costs $109,000 a year and would probably be a backup to either Jeter or Bhatti. I might look back into him as a top end backup, but I don't want to commit that cap space to him at the moment.

Instead, I'm just going to release William Goodloe and Patrick Afif, which will save me $207,000 in cap space. Kevin Lacey and Antoine Murphy can hang around because they're cheap, costing only $132,000 combined. If I can find a better answer later, be it Martin as my OL/DL3 or one of Mitch Bryan/Dwayne Millard as potential developmental players behind my aging starters, I'll pull the trigger. I want to make sure that the rest of my roster is in order before I do that though.

I now have $838,000 in cap space, 1-3 roster spots open and still need a kicker.

QB
1. Chad Nichols, 85o (23yo, 7y) - QB of the future

OS
1. Aaron Bailey, 90o (35yo, 4y) - short-term starter
2. Dwight Counter, 83o (25yo, 2y) - possible Year 2 starter

FB/LB
1. Shurron Pierson, 72o (24yo, 3y) - project linebacker/protector
2. Keenan Washington, 71o (25yo, 1y) - project linebacker/protector

OG/LE
1. Ahmad Bhatti, 90o (29yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Antoine Murphy, 81o (25yo, 1y) - cheap backup

C/NG
1. Curtis Jeter, 91o (30yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Kevin Lacey, 82o (26yo, 1y) - cheap backup

[somecoach]

The next position I'm going to look at is wide receiver/defensive back. From my understanding, this is your second outside receiver who also plays safety.

I have three players under contract: Donte Wells, Chris Canty and Torry Joubert. Canty is the only player on my original roster who hit 90 speed. When I looked at all of the free agents available, the only players who were able to hit the minimums that my crop of WR/DBs brought to the table at speed, strength, agility, catching and tackling were three receiver/linebackers, who I could potentially convert tot he position.



Joubert costs $150,000 as a third-stringer. That simply will not work. I'm going to cut him regardless of what I do beyond that move. Both Cornelius Bonner and Kevin McKenzie are only marginally better than Donte Wells and Chris Canty as short-term, 30-year-old starters who cost a minimum of $132,000.

Brandon Strickland, at just 23 years old, is an interesting prospect, though. He could be a developmental starter for my team, even though his cost is through the roof. If I have the cap space after I go through every position, I'll circle back to him.

I now have 2-4 roster spots available, need a kicker and have $988,000 in cap space.

QB
1. Chad Nichols, 85o (23yo, 7y) - QB of the future

OS
1. Aaron Bailey, 90o (35yo, 4y) - short-term starter
2. Dwight Counter, 83o (25yo, 2y) - possible Year 2 starter

WR/DB
1. Donte Wells, 83o (28yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Chris Canty, 81o (30yo, 2y) - cheap backup

FB/LB
1. Shurron Pierson, 72o (24yo, 3y) - project linebacker/protector
2. Keenan Washington, 71o (25yo, 1y) - project linebacker/protector

OG/LE
1. Ahmad Bhatti, 90o (29yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Antoine Murphy, 81o (25yo, 1y) - cheap backup

C/NG
1. Curtis Jeter, 91o (30yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Kevin Lacey, 82o (26yo, 1y) - cheap backup

[somecoach]

After looking through WR/LB, it's pretty obvious to me that I should convert Donte Wells to the position. He has the strength to hold up there and carries a salary of just $60,000. He basically would become a super sub for me at the OS, DS, WR/LB and WR/DB positions. Considering that most decent WR/LBs (down to 77 overall) cost $100,000 per year, that's how I can add the most value to my team.

This also opens up the space for me to sign WR/LB Brandon Strickland and move him to WR/DB. I'm going to sign Strickland to a one-year, $129,000 deal because WR/DB are significantly cheaper than WR/LB. For perspective, an 85 overall WR/LB costs $132,000, while an 85 overall WR/DB costs $105,000. I'll pay the short-term money for the talent, since I have the cap space, but would like to extend him on a WR/DB deal next offseason.



QB
1. Chad Nichols, 85o (23yo, 7y) - QB of the future

OS
1. Aaron Bailey, 90o (35yo, 4y) - short-term starter
2. Dwight Counter, 83o (25yo, 2y) - possible Year 2 starter

WR/DB
1. Brandon Strickland, 82o (23yo, 1y) - long-term developmental starter
2. Chris Canty, 81o (30yo, 2y) - cheap backup

WR/LB
1. Mel Long, 87o (29yo, 2y) - starter
2. Donte Wells 83o (28yo, 1y) - super sub

FB/LB
1. Shurron Pierson, 72o (24yo, 3y) - project linebacker/protector
2. Keenan Washington, 71o (25yo, 1y) - project linebacker/protector

OG/LE
1. Ahmad Bhatti, 90o (29yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Antoine Murphy, 81o (25yo, 1y) - cheap backup

C/NG
1. Curtis Jeter, 91o (30yo, 1y) - short-term starter
2. Kevin Lacey, 82o (26yo, 1y) - cheap backup

I now have 1-3 roster spots available, a need for a kicker and $859,000 in cap space. The remaining positions I need to shore up are DS, K and TE/RE.

[somecoach]

The final position I'm going to touch on here before I start looking back my depth chart is kicker. Kickers usually hit under 50 percent of their field goals, in part because of the narrower uprights.

Because of that, I'm going to prioritize accuracy over power, especially with the 50-yard field.

The best young kicker is actually third-ranked free agent kicker Marquise Levy, a 23-year-old with a $93,000 salary. Here are my options to sign Levy:

1 year - $97k ($97k APY)
2 years - $168k ($84k APY)
3 years - $276k ($92k APY)
4 years - $368k ($92k APY)
5 years - $505k ($101k APY)
6 years - $606k ($101k APY)
7 years - $707k ($101k APY)

I'm going to sign him to the max seven-year contract with the hope that he continues to stay accurate.

With 18 players under contract (I can go up to 20), I have $758k remaining in cap space. Here's what my depth chart looks like right now.

QB
1. Chad Nicols, QB, 85
2. Marquise Levi, K, 12

OS
1. Aaron Bailey, OS, 90
2. Dwight Counter, OS, 83

DS
1. Donte Wells, WR/LB, 91
2. Chris Canty, WR/LB, 91
3. Carl Bucknor, DS, 88

OG/LE
1. Ahmad Bhatti, OG/LE, 90
2. Kevin Lacey, C/NG, 83

TE/RE
1. John Bradley, TE/RE, 84
2. Antoine Murphy, OG/LE, 80

C/NG
1. Curtis Jeter, C/NG, 91
2. Kevin Lacey, C/NG, 82

FB/LB
1. Shurron Pierson, FB/LB, 73
2. Keenan Washingotn, FB/LB, 72

WR/LB
1. Mel Long, WR/LB, 87
2. N/A

WR/DB
1. Brandon Strickland, WR/DB, 83
2. Dwight Counter, OS, 81

K
1. Marquise Levy, K, 84
2. Chad Nicols, QB, 12

KR
1. Chris Canty, WR/DB, 87
2. Dwight Counter, OS, 79

With two open roster spots, I think the best idea now is to add a backup quarterback and backup kicker that can help me get out of a pinch. From there, I can start looking at churning some of the depth on my team.