How to Avoid a Midweek or FA Day and Not Get AI'd

[Red Zone]

I Took this from another league and reworded some of it to try and make it easy to understand

I believe this covers everything but we can tweak it if need be

Having your team get AI'd can drive you crazy. Once that happens you cant be sure of anything imo.
Was your GP used? What did the depth chart end up like? Was the playing time the same?
Ive heard a lot of opinions on this, but im not sure anyone can say for sure...exactly what happens

So here is what I do...and I rarely have ever had any problems getting AI'd
Ive played this game since August of 2004 and ill bet you i have been AI'd maybe...4 or 5 times...ever

1st) make sure you have 46 players active

2nd) make sure to check the Position Distribution tab at the bottom of the "view rosters" screen
Having 46 active doesnt do you any good if it isnt the "right 46"... if you dont have enough at a certain position...you still get AI'd
This is a common mistake...people think because they have 46 active they are fine but end up getting AI'd because they are still short at a certain position group


pos-distribution.jpg



It's very important that you understand this screen. When playing without midweeks this is your bible, especially the "Required column".
What is most important is that you export with the minimum *required* players at each position active.
If you fail to do this the game will make adjustments that you do not have control of.

3rd) make sure if you made offers to FAs you left spots for them because they come onto your team as "active" and will change your team from 46 to ??
Example: If you are making an offer to 2 FAs, then leave 44 active and they will become the 45th and 46th players.
Of course, if you dont end up getting the FAs you bid on, this can leave you at 44 and also cause you to get AI'd.
One way around this is to sign a FA and then release a player using the "would you like to make this release conditional on the signing of the last player to whom you offered a contract?" if you do that you can avoid being AI'd no matter what. Just leave 2 players active and not in your depth chart anywhere and they either stay or get replaced by the FAs and either way you do not get AI'd
You Can also send the Commish a PM with instructions
Example:
I made an offer to a SS, if he signs please put him into my depth chart at SSin base 2 and 3 if he doesnt sign please activate SS "smith" and put him in at SS in base 2 and 3. Or....I made a trade for WR "Jones" can you put him in at Flanker in the 113 and 212 formations...i left spots open for him

If a Player is injured and has to go on IR, then you have to put the player on IR , leave 45 active and make sure you offer enough to get the FA you are trying to sign
In certain situations you have to ask for a midweek if you have multiple injuries at the same position and cant see your depth chart screen

4th) Players you get in Trades come onto the roster with the same status they had on their old team.
If they were active before the trade they will be active on the new team too, and if they were inactive they will come onto the new teams roster inactive.
If you Trade a player away, make sure he isnt one of your 46 actives, or you will drop to 45...and get AI'd.
If you Trade FOR a player, make sure he is inactive on the old teams roster, or if he is active for the old team, leave 45 active so he becomes the 46th active player.
Note: Trades made after the games wont affect your team at all since the sim has already run before the trade

[Sabean]

Nice contribution, I've learned many of these lessons the hard way over the years, but especially "FAs join as active" is a helpful piece of advice I can never keep straight. TY sir!

[Bylanta]

first of all, that's a great team you chose to use as the shining example of not getting their roster requirements right.

secondly, "Of course, if you dont end up getting the FAs you bid on, this can leave you at 44 and also cause you to get AI'd." In this instance, do you risk the AI then signing people for you or will they only activate people on your team? Just trying to see what I am risking in this instance

[Red Zone]

lol
It wasn’t intentional, I was updating those posts around that time and just used a pic of a team that I had recently taken a screen shot of. To be fair, I don’t think I have seen you get AI’d since then… maybe once in 2 or 3 seasons?
Thats pretty good IMO

As for your question….
This is the most risky way of doing things.
Say you offer on a pretty good looking FA. How do you know one or more other teams haven’t spotted him too?
In this scenario …. I would increase the offer enough to feel confident that you will get the player. If he doesn’t sign with you …. the game will usually add a player at that position to make you roster compliant.
What can be tricky is when you export with 44 or 45 active but you meet the positional requirements. If your FA or FAs choose to sign with another team, Does the game then activate or sign 2 random players to get you to 46?
In prior versions I don’t believe it did, at least that is what Nero said in his original posting about all of this.
His post was between the 2k4 and 2k7 versions.
In FOF 8 I am not sure.

My advice is carry 53 players and use the option to release a player if the last contract offered was signed.
Its the easiest and safest way to do this
If a player goes on IR either pay the FA you want to pick up enough to make sure you get him… or if you have multiple injuries at one position you may have no choice but to ask for a midweek.

Midweeks will always be needed in some situations, it’s just that most commissioners don’t want to sim 3 games and 3 midweeks in one week.
That doesn’t happen often, but it can wear you down when it does. Especially if they aren’t really needed.
I had a guy years ago when I simmed FFL ask me for a midweek. As I ran the sim I noticed he hadn’t even submitted a file, so I asked him what happened.
He said he just wanted a better backup DT than the one he had, but got busy and forgot to send a file.
I politely explained that…. This was not a legitimate reason to ask for a midweek.

[Bylanta]

"Note: Trades made after the games wont affect your team at all since the sim has already run before the trade"

Is there a way to know if the trade will be made before or after the sim is run on gameday? I am unsure of the order of operations there. 10.2.2

[Hooper]

Trades are done after the games for that very reason.