Thanks, Morbid, for the contribution.
MFN is multi-layered and mysterious in many ways. I hope this will stimulate the beginning of a discussion by successful GMs on the "secrets" to their success.
Question: Will a defense that is fast but doesn't tackle well do better than a team that has average speed but is great at tackling? (I had quite a few plays this season where my defenders ran down a ball carrier only to see him slip away. :-( )
I think it likely that everyone would like to have fast players. But where do you draw the line in favor of ignoring other attributes? For example, has anyone successfully built an offensive line that emphasized strength, i.e., the ability to hold blocks, over other blocking skills? Or speed? If so, We'd like to hear from you.
I think (hope) that there are many ways to build a successful franchise. To do so you must decide what kind of team you want on offense and on defense.
Do you want a balanced offense? Pass oriented? Run Oriented? Do you want a defense that is more effective against one type of offense than another?
That's because, with few exceptions, it's impossible to have a team with high ratings in all categories. Whether it's speed/acceleration, strength, tackling or some other quality that you want your team to have, generally speaking, it's best to decide what skill set you want to your TEAM to emphasize. (You can, of course, decide to have players who are average (between 55-65?) in all ratings, but plentiful, and mainly rely on your game plan to succeed.) Once you have made that decision, then you can focus on getting players with the qualities that complement one another and will complement your system and game plan. There are exceptions to this approach, of course, but IMO you can't go wrong with a consistent approach such as this.
This approach will also make it easier to evaluate potential second and third string players. For example, if you favor playing a zone defense, then its makes sense that all of your pass defenders have relatively high zone defense ratings - even at the risk of having lower ratings on other skills (in which case you just rely on plays and formations that deemphasize their weaknesses). This will allow you to substitute for your starters without a (major) loss of ratings and improve your nickel and dime defenses as well as.
On defense, do you want a team with a ferocious pass rush? Or do you want an impenetrable wall against the run? Or do you want balance? Do you want a LB corps that keeps ball carriers from breaking long runs? Or that can cover receivers?
I ask these questions in the alternative because you can't have it all, generally speaking (although admittedly we have a few franchises in this league with "all-star" caliber players at most positions).
I certainly don't claim to have all of the answers, but if anyone has questions, please reply and hopefully we, in the community, can try to get them answered. (Even if that means some of the answers are contradictory.) Meanwhile, when time permits, I'll weigh in with a question or comment of my own in order to spur a discussion. I hope you will all join in when you get a chance.
Last word: To be really successful in MFN, you have to spend some time formulating some rules and overriding the basic game plan. Agree or disagree?.
