Thread: How would you build a team?

OK. So you are given the job of being a GM of the newly made Los Angeles Team and you are put in the AFC west along with 2 other California teams, so you have to get really good really fast so you can get a strong fan base in clogged area. What steps do you take to make a respectable team from scratch, so you can attract a crowd.

You have 3 years to reach the playoffs.
You get the #1 pick for the first 2 years and the #16 pick the third year.
You can make reasonable trades for players in whatever way you just aren't allowed to say "I draft a qb and he throws for 5000 yards and 52 yards so I trade him and get 5 first round picks."
You don't have to give specific players you could just say "I would take the highest rated QB in the first round" or what ever

Originally Posted by oobehr

OK. So you are given the job of being a GM of the newly made Los Angeles Team and you are put in the AFC west along with 2 other California teams, so you have to get really good really fast so you can get a strong fan base in clogged area. What steps do you take to make a respectable team from scratch, so you can attract a crowd.

You have 3 years to reach the playoffs.
You get the #1 pick for the first 2 years and the #16 pick the third year.
You can make reasonable trades for players in whatever way you just aren't allowed to say "I draft a qb and he throws for 5000 yards and 52 yards so I trade him and get 5 first round picks."
You don't have to give specific players you could just say "I would take the highest rated QB in the first round" or what ever

I'd take the best possible player out of a RB, LT, QB, DE, DT, LB,
but I'd definitely would build my team in trenches

Originally Posted by oobehr

OK. So you are given the job of being a GM of the newly made Los Angeles Team and you are put in the AFC west along with 2 other California teams, so you have to get really good really fast so you can get a strong fan base in clogged area. What steps do you take to make a respectable team from scratch, so you can attract a crowd.

You have 3 years to reach the playoffs.
You get the #1 pick for the first 2 years and the #16 pick the third year.
You can make reasonable trades for players in whatever way you just aren't allowed to say "I draft a qb and he throws for 5000 yards and 52 yards so I trade him and get 5 first round picks."
You don't have to give specific players you could just say "I would take the highest rated QB in the first round" or what ever

build through the draft inside out along with draft a "franchise QB" and pray he can make it in the NFL

Originally Posted by EMB6903

build through the inside out along with draft a "franchise QB" and pray he can make it in the NFL

david carr? you need a line for that QB to succeed

Originally Posted by bullis26

david carr? you need a line for that QB to succeed

do you not know what "build inside out" means?

Here's what i would do. I havent figured out what i would do with the rest of the Oline in FA but this is a start.

2009 FA's picked up:

David Carr- QB
Devery Henderson- WR
Tra Thomas- OL
Mike Nugent- K
Bertrand Berry- DE

2009 Draft:

#1- Aaron Curry LB
#2- Donald Brown RB
#3- Lawrence Sidbury DE
#4- Shawn Nelson TE
#5- Mohamed Massaquoi WR
#6- Jon Cooper C
#7- Stephen Hodge S

-------------------------------------------------------
2010 FA's Picked up:

Braylon Edwards WR (2010 4th 7th, 2011 1st)
Darryl Tapp DE
Atari Bigby CB
Haloti Ngata DT (2011 2nd, 2012 1st)

2010 Draft:

#1- Taylor Mays S
#2- Colt McCoy QB
#3- Charles Scott RB
#5- James Williams OT
#6- Jeff Byers OG

Build a stong defense first. For the most part, good teams always can get off the field when they have to.

Also build a good O Line so your QB does not get killed. You can win by having a good/great defense and an average offense that does not make mistakes. Or having a good offense and a great defense.

All D Baltimore in 2000
Mostly D Tampa in 2002
good offense and better defense. NYG in 2007.

Its hard to be a run and gun team that places litte or no empasis on D. The only exceptions I can think of that had ok defense with great offenses were
the 1999 Rams, 98 Broncos, 2006 Colts and the Pats of 2007 (who did not win the Super Bowl)

Bottom line is if you look over the last 30 years since the NFL expanded to 16 games, more often than not the teams had a better Defense than offense.

Its easier to get good with a good D than a great offense.

Very few teams had both.

The exceptions were the 49ers of the 80s
Cowboys of the early 90s and Pittsburgh of the last 2 Super Bowl teams
in the 70s (not the first two they won in 74-75)

build in the trenches, like Vince Lomardi preached. The tradition of football
has not changed. If you can run the ball and stop the run, more often than
not you will be right in the mix of at least 10 wins in a season.

I think drafting a QB #1 when starting a franchise is about the stupidest thing ever. I'd sign an experienced QB like a Jeff Garcia.

I'd take the approach the Chargers did a while back. Trade down to about 4-7 and draft the best player available while getting more much needed picks. Preferrably a LT (Oher, Jason Smith, Andre Smith), LB (Maulauga or Curry), or RB (Beanie Wells or Knowshon). Then draft a QB in round 2 or later, like maybe a Josh Freeman or Graham Harrell to be groomed behind Garcia so he isn't thrown to the wolves like David Carr was. (Being drafted #1 ruined his career).


I'd really try and put a good OL together before putting together a good defense. IMO, it all starts on the OL.

I would look at installing the 3-4 defense for my team's defense. The major priorities would be NT, a solid DE, and one great pass rushing LB.

For my offense I would want to be shored up at Center and LT. A veteran QB would be another huge priority (he would be comparable to guys like Jeff Garcia, Charlie Batch, Matt Schuab.)

My draft strategy would be to pick the best player available. Unless, there was a guy of lesser talent (slightly) who would fit my system better.

In free agency I would look at being a mover and shaker. I wouldn't be a Washington Redskin type player, but more like the Eagles. I would not be scared to drop a chunk of cash on someone that is proven who can help me, but I wouldn't be doing it every year.

Originally Posted by West

I think drafting a QB #1 when starting a franchise is about the stupidest thing ever. I'd sign an experienced QB like a Jeff Garcia.

I'd take the approach the Chargers did a while back. Trade down to about 4-7 and draft the best player available while getting more much needed picks. Preferrably a LT (Oher, Jason Smith, Andre Smith), LB (Maulauga or Curry), or RB (Beanie Wells or Knowshon). Then draft a QB in round 2 or later, like maybe a Josh Freeman or Graham Harrell to be groomed behind Garcia so he isn't thrown to the wolves like David Carr was. (Being drafted #1 ruined his career).


I'd really try and put a good OL together before putting together a good defense. IMO, it all starts on the OL.

Nice post.

I think it depends on who the QB is and how sure you are about him. If you think the guy is a true stud and you think that he has it, I would take him. Then again, it depends on your team and its needs.

Trading back to get picks is always a sound move if your scouts are good. To me it's all a gamble, and you have to try to play the percentages, even though they don't exist. I think you can make a good draft pick and have it fail. David Pollack could be classified as a bust for the Bengals, but at the end of the 05 season he was killing it. Then the next year he broke his neck.

For me, it's all about the defense. The Patriots had the best offense ever and lost to a great pass rushing team. If you can rush the passer and disguise it well, you are goign to be beating most offensive teams. Hell, the Ravens and the Steelers play twice a year, and the Steelers usually win because they have the better defense, the Ravens just have the flashier defense (not knocking the Ravens D, they are elite and can play, but to me they are overrated).

I want pass rushers on my team, because if you have a solid offense that can occasioanlly get ahead, you can force teams to throw against you. It also nixes the need for a true standout CB, which is an expensive position to pay.

I can't say that your way is wrong, because the team that I would model mine after is the Steelers. Historically they have a great offensive line, and in 05 they had a stellar line. This year their line was not as bad as it appeared, but they were not very good either. If you have a great line then you can run the ball with anyone - that is a huge part of the Steelers game historically.

There are a lot of good ways to go about it. The Patriots built a modern day dynasty off of a spread the ball around offense and HB screens and draws. They were built to be a turnover defense that was still solid against the run.

I think it all comes down to having a legit system that you can plug guys in. At the very least, you need to have good scouts who can take advantage of other team's mishaps, or at least find real value in every round.

You need to be able to recover from your own mistakes though. Last year the Bengals took Keith Rivers. LB was a big need, but part of me thinks that we only took him because he was as "safe" of a pick that any player ever really could be.

That's why I would want to be an active FA guy because I can fill voids with quality players who fit several systems and give myself chances to hit draft day home runs.

Originally Posted by EMB6903

build through the draft inside out along with draft a "franchise QB" and pray he can make it in the NFL

but you did say you'd draft a franchise QB

Originally Posted by bullis26

but you did say you'd draft a franchise QB

yes thats what I said

But when saying "build inside out" it means build through oline and dline first, thats why I was confused when you had responded "david carr? you need an oline for that QB to succeed" because I had just said in my previous comment that I wanted to build through the oline and dline.


You must have had a hard to comprehending that.

Originally Posted by EMB6903

yes thats what I said

But when saying "build inside out" it means build through oline and dline first, thats why I was confused when you had responded "david carr? you need an oline for that QB to succeed" because I had just said in my previous comment that I wanted to build through the oline and dline.


You must have had a hard to comprehending that.

i just thought you meant frachise QB first, then build the tranches afterwords

Originally Posted by bullis26

i just thought you meant frachise QB first, then build the tranches afterwords

didnt I say "build through the draft inside out" before I even mentioned Quarterback??

i would eat kittens...