Obscure Game Mechanics

[Wheeler Dealer]

Case 1. I have a "house rule" against signing starters out of the FA Pool for the minimum. If I want a player to start for me I have to pay a fair price. What I have been able to do sometimes is cause a bidding event by adding the player and then dropping him.

So after the final cuts a primo DT is cut by the Texans. It so happened I was having trouble finding suitable players to spend my money on, so I was READY! I grabbed him, dropped him and waited for the bidding to start. No dice. I could see him by going to Roster and the FA but I couldn't resign him. So I simmed forward to the next week to see what was happening. He never came up and he wasn't in the pool or on any team!

So I got in my time machine and went back. I waited until the next week to drop him and he immediately came up for bids. I got him for $6.2M for one year rather than the silly $2.0M I would have had to pay to just sign him.

Any idea what's going on here?

Case 2. I had a pretty good kicker (Mason Crosby) who was being unreasonable about his extension. He wanted $1.8M/year and the tops in the league for kickers was $1.6M. So I decided to wait and franchise him. The Franchise tag was $2.2M!!! And the tops in the league was still $1.6M! I paid and then let my money get mad and traded him!

What's up!

Case 3. On my current team I normally go with 3 HB and 2 FB. It happens that the 4th best at the HB position is the second FB so that works well.

My #2 FB is out for two weeks so his spot on the active roster was taken by a 3rd TE. Then my #1 HB got hurt. So now my preferred order of ball carriers is #2 HB, #3 HB and #1 FB. Trouble is, if the first two HB are tired it will only put the FB in at HB if there is no FB in the formation. I found this out when my #2 QB went in to run the ball (he wasn't very good, and he might get hurt!).

What I did at halftime was reorder my depth chart. I took my #1 HB out of the HB list but put him in as the #1 FB.

The HB list is #2 HB, #3 HB, #1 FB and #3 TE.
The FB list is #1 HB, #1 TE and #1 C.

So if the two HBs are tired the FB gets picked to run the ball. If not, if I need a FB and there is a TE in the formation he goes in at FB.

Is there an easier way?

[RougeRogue]

Case #1: I've noticed the same thing, but have reasoned that there is a schedule to FA bidding (often goes at a rhythm of roughly every two hours, during heavy FA traffic after the final cut, but usually only Monday(Tuesday?)-Friday, and from about 9am-9pm), and if I release a good player in the midst of a heavy FA schedule, there won't always be room in the schedule to fit in the released player. Also, if released after "business" hours, I forget if the player comes up for bid, right away? Too, since players are often made available for bidding in descending order of balanced OVL, could your DT team philosophy be over-valuing the player, as compared to the balanced valuing? One of the more blatant examples of this on the defensive line (at the DE role) is Elvis Dumervil, who is rated pretty highly as an "Undersized Speed Rusher," but (I believe) not nearly so highly in any other philosophy?

Case #2: While it's rare, kickers may be offered incentive packages, as well -- such as, an extra $1 million for starting in all 16 games, or 35 field goals kicked, during a season. Looking around my current league, 5 kickers have one of those two incentive packages, 3 of which are "Start in 16 games," which, unless injured, any starting kicker will satisfy, pushing that previous year's average compensation up, quite a bit, for the 5 highest paid kickers. I guess, check to see which kickers in your league had incentives, which might re-align which were the 5 truly highest paid kickers in your league?

Case #3: Ahh, the limitations of linear depth charts... One of the (many) things I would love to be able to add to this game is a priority level for players' multiple depth chart positions. Thus, I could designate a backup linebacker to ALWAYS take, say, the LOLB position, rather than the MLB position, when both starters are tired (even if the backup's rating at MLB is higher), thus pushing to the third MLB backup, rather than the third LOLB backup. Also, I would love to be able to REMOVE (without having to replace) a person from a depth chart position, so my punter doesn't automatically take over the kicker's role, and vice-versa, when I'm fortunate enough to be blowing out the other team....

[Wheeler Dealer]

Thanks, interesting comments!

Quote: Originally Posted by RougeRogue

Case #1: .....Too, since players are often made available for bidding in descending order of balanced OVL, could your DT team philosophy be over-valuing the player, as compared to the balanced valuing? ....

He was an 88 ovl as a versatile 3/4. I changed my philosophy to balanced and he dropped one point.

Quote: Originally Posted by RougeRogue

Case #2

Quote: Originally Posted by RougeRogue

: While it's rare, kickers may be offered incentive packages, as well -- such as, an extra $1 million for starting in all 16 games, ...... pushing that previous year's average compensation up, quite a bit, for the 5 highest paid kickers. I guess, check to see which kickers in your league had incentives, which might re-align which were the 5 truly highest paid kickers in your league?

I just so happens I have a save file from between the last regular season game and the beginning of the playoffs. There were, indeed, 9 kickers with that very incentive. None of the incentives said earned but I think all the incentives for seasonal accomplishments are awarded after the Super Bowl. Incentives for things like 10 touchdowns are awarded when they happen.

All 9 of the kickers showed 16 games played but zero games started (on the career records tab) so I'm not sure if they will ever get paid. In fact, none of them showed any games started for any year in their careers. I found a Center with that same incentive and his was also unearned and he showed 16 games started in his career records. I think he will get paid just before the off-season starts.

In any event, the 9 kickers with the $1M incentives all showed less than $1M for salary plus allocated bonus so even if the incentives get awarded properly they will all still be under $2M and my franchise tag cost me $2.2M.

Quote: Originally Posted by RougeRogue

Case #3

Quote: Originally Posted by RougeRogue

: ..... Also, I would love to be able to REMOVE (without having to replace) a person from a depth chart position, so my punter doesn't automatically take over the kicker's role, and vice-versa, when I'm fortunate enough to be blowing out the other team....

Can you do that from the health and fatigue task on the last clipboard view?

I don't ever use the options to put in the entire second or third team. When I have a blowout I will move selected players up to gain experience or down for health reasons. Usually not more than 3 or 4 players I diddle with and if it's a blowout then my assistants can handle the game while I'm working on the depth chart.

If I did sub the entire 2nd string in I suppose I would either correct the depth chart for my K & P or just use the square button to fix it when I had a special teams play come up. I do that anyway for punts on the opponents side of the 50.

[RougeRogue]

I've experimented a bit with Case 1, and the only time I can re-create a dropped player not immediately coming up for bid is during the periods when other players are scheduled to come up for bid. If you dropped your player outside of one of these periods, and no bid came up, I can't imagine what the explanation might be? General game bugginess, perhaps?

With Case 2, also, remember that the displayed salary for a player is sometimes a year behind, for multi-year contracts, so you may be looking at several of the 5 figures used in the tally that are a year old? Here, you can see Ebongreen virtually banging his head against the wall, over this very problem (of year-old displayed salaries):
http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2041039501

To your suggestion about case 3, I mean more in-game, and since I sim games (I find the game player a little too flawed, I much prefer the management side of the overall game), I have no control over which position my backup LOLB might take, if both starters are resting a play or two. This also means I have no control over who attempts field goals or punts for me, in a blow-out... and, my punter is NOT good at aiming the ball, if he hasn't lobbed it in front of himself, for a punt, unfortunately. I imagine my punter and kicker doing a little of this, in a blow-out, before they realize they have to switch things up....