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by Spark Wonup
Lawrence Sun Times
Being a Phantom Phan with constant access to information not readily available to the layman I'm constantly asked how I'd go about building a team from scratch. Well here it is in a nutshell kiddies:
As an "empty" team I want to acquire resources - any resources - that I can get my hands on. Since the "full" teams have resources and the only way to get them is for salaries to go up it's in my indirect interest to drive salaries up as long as I'm able. At the exact moment I'm unable to do so I have enough talent on my team where I no longer want to do so. This works itself out perfectly.
Unless there's a can't miss prospect in the draft - (read:QB) which there almost never is - I'm looking to trade back. And I'm looking for 5th-7th round picks in every deal. Those are exactly the picks that probably won't make the roster of the "full" teams and the picks that I want to stock up on cheap since my roster can afford to carry them and hope for booms while their salaries allow me to be a heavy player in free agency.
We all envision our team doing better the next season. It happens for 16 and for 16 the dream collapses. This is an undeniable fact and thus if I didn't do well last season then I probably won't do well next season so I'm not trading future picks. End of story. I get this directly from watching Phantom owner/GM Jester Blaze who has never traded a future Phantoms pick in the history of the IFL!
With a full roster being 53 players and me setting an arbitrary career length average of 10 years I know I need 5.3 players per season to field a team. That number is just for maintanence - it goes up considerably for my empty roster. For this reason I understand the importance of multiple quality players over a few franchise players whose careers would be half wasted at best before my team competes without a surrounding crew. I might start with 1-1 and not pick until the 2nd round - trading back and to the future to get enough selections to get this rebuilding started. I'm crazy like that. I make moves! I like that cat over there runnin' the Heroes right now. He makes moves! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in this league is the moves you make: either good moves, bad moves, or the ugly which is no moves but ultimately moves you straight outta contention! No one's ever been in the perfect draft slots to match up with the best available players at their available needs. And no free agent has ever taken a flight to a team to ask for a contract! You gotta make moves, baby - make moves!
In free agency I'd simply sort by future potential and do some math to see what I could max afford and offer away at the youngest/best free agents. I'd drive up pumping "If you got money - and you know it... take it out your pocket and show it!" and set the mood for what's to come! I want them on my team and I want to drive up salaries. I might even look for the position with the most/best potential free agents the next season and offer an insane contract to drive up the franchise price! Moves baby!
Lawrence Sun Times
Being a Phantom Phan with constant access to information not readily available to the layman I'm constantly asked how I'd go about building a team from scratch. Well here it is in a nutshell kiddies:
As an "empty" team I want to acquire resources - any resources - that I can get my hands on. Since the "full" teams have resources and the only way to get them is for salaries to go up it's in my indirect interest to drive salaries up as long as I'm able. At the exact moment I'm unable to do so I have enough talent on my team where I no longer want to do so. This works itself out perfectly.
Unless there's a can't miss prospect in the draft - (read:QB) which there almost never is - I'm looking to trade back. And I'm looking for 5th-7th round picks in every deal. Those are exactly the picks that probably won't make the roster of the "full" teams and the picks that I want to stock up on cheap since my roster can afford to carry them and hope for booms while their salaries allow me to be a heavy player in free agency.
We all envision our team doing better the next season. It happens for 16 and for 16 the dream collapses. This is an undeniable fact and thus if I didn't do well last season then I probably won't do well next season so I'm not trading future picks. End of story. I get this directly from watching Phantom owner/GM Jester Blaze who has never traded a future Phantoms pick in the history of the IFL!
With a full roster being 53 players and me setting an arbitrary career length average of 10 years I know I need 5.3 players per season to field a team. That number is just for maintanence - it goes up considerably for my empty roster. For this reason I understand the importance of multiple quality players over a few franchise players whose careers would be half wasted at best before my team competes without a surrounding crew. I might start with 1-1 and not pick until the 2nd round - trading back and to the future to get enough selections to get this rebuilding started. I'm crazy like that. I make moves! I like that cat over there runnin' the Heroes right now. He makes moves! The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly in this league is the moves you make: either good moves, bad moves, or the ugly which is no moves but ultimately moves you straight outta contention! No one's ever been in the perfect draft slots to match up with the best available players at their available needs. And no free agent has ever taken a flight to a team to ask for a contract! You gotta make moves, baby - make moves!
In free agency I'd simply sort by future potential and do some math to see what I could max afford and offer away at the youngest/best free agents. I'd drive up pumping "If you got money - and you know it... take it out your pocket and show it!" and set the mood for what's to come! I want them on my team and I want to drive up salaries. I might even look for the position with the most/best potential free agents the next season and offer an insane contract to drive up the franchise price! Moves baby!
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