You're the GM -- Build Your Franchise

[Da Bomb]

Alright everyone, time for a little offseason game. All of us like to play GM, whether in real life or on Madden or wherever else. Well I'd like to see you put together the best possible team on paper that you can come up with that fits within the following rules:

1) You are building your team for a 3 year window beginning with the upcoming season. After those three years, your team will be completely disbanded, so don't build for 10 years down the road.
2) You will have exactly one representative from each NFL franchise on your team.
3) ... except one. You will leave one franchise in the cold and instead choose any incoming rookie for your team.
4) Players count for the team that they have just finished playing the 08-09 season for, regardless of their free agency status.
5) Dollars and sense don't matter. There's no cap limit, and your players are playing solely to win a title.
6) Team chemistry, strategy, etc does matter. How much? You'll decide that.
7) You may set your team up to run any offense and any defense you so desire.
8) One of your 32 representatives will be a team's head coach.
9) The other 31 representatives will be as follows:
Offense -- 1 QB, 2 RB/FB, 3 WR, 2 TE, 5 OL, 1 RB/WR
Defense -- 4 DL, 4 LB, 3 CB, 2 S, 1 DL/LB
Special teams -- 1 kicker, 1 punter, 1 returner
10) Since your roster is only 32 men, you obviously will not be drafting depth, special teams players, etc. Assume your players enter your team at their current age and bill of health.

This will obviously take you awhile, but hopefully it will be a fun exercise. Remember, you are playing for a 3 year window, so plan accordingly. If we get enough participants, I'd love to throw down $1,000,000 vbucks to the team that is voted the best by our Outlaw neighbors!

Alright, get to it!

 

[deuce4321]

ok i will be the first one to bite.

QB- P. Manning (IND)
RB- D. Williams (CAR)
RB- S. Jackson (STL)
WR- B. Marshall (DEN)
WR- C. Johnson (DET)
WR- L. Fitzgerald (ARI)
WR- M. Colson (NOS)
TE- A. Gates (SDC)
TE- J. Witten (DAL)
OG- S. Andrews (PHI)
OG- C. Snee (NYG)
OT- J. Long (MIA)
OT- J. Thomas (CLE)
C- E. Ghiaciuc (CIN)

DE- M. Williams (HOU)
DE- J. Abraham (ATL)
DT- A. Haynesworth (TEN)
DT- K. Williams (MIN)
LB- J. Mayo (NEP)
LB- K. Morrison (OAK)
LB- N. Barnett (GBP)
LB- P. Willis (SF)
LB- L. Tatupu (SEA)
CB- C. Rodgers (WAS)
CB- R. Barber (TBB)
CB- C. Tillman (CHI)
S- T. Polamalu (PIT)
S- E. Reed (BAL)

K- J. Scobee (JAX)
P- Moorman (BUF)
KR- L. Washington (NYJ)

Coach- H. Edwards (KCC)

 

[chrisslabaugh]

Herm Edwards is not the KC head coach

 

[Miller]

C- E. Ghiaciuc (CIN)
Damn, there went your oline....ask cincinnati. He's easily the worst starter they had last season, undersized and not strong. Allowed a push up the middle all season.

Looks like you are missing a rookie as well. Overall, good looking team though, did this a few years ago, it's much harder than it sounds.

 

[Miller]

Herm Edwards is not the KC head coach

4) Players count for the team that they have just finished playing the 08-09 season for, regardless of their free agency status.

But he was at the end of the season that was just finished

 

[chrisslabaugh]

Umm that says players

 

[Da Bomb]

coaches count fine as well

 

[Sgt John]

QB - Drew Brees, New Orleans

RB/FB - LaRon McClain, Baltimore
RB - Michael Turner, Atlanta

RB/WR - Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville

WR - Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
WR - Andre Johnson, Houston
WR - Calvin Johnson, Detroit

TE - Antonio Gates, San Diego
TE - Kellen Winslow, Cleveland

OT - Jason Peters, Buffalo
OT - Jake Long, Miami
OG - Alan Faneca, NY Jets
OG - Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay
OC - Casey Weigmann, Denver

DT - Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
DT - Kevin Williams, Minnesota
DE - Julius Peppers, Carolina
DE - Justin Tuck, NY Giants

LB - Patrick Willis, San Francisco
LB - DeMarcus Ware, Dallas
LB - Jarrod Mayo, New England
LB - Lance Briggs, Chicago

CB - Asante Samuel, Philadelphia
CB - Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland
CB - Charles Woodson, Green Bay
S - Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
S- Jarrod Page, Kansas City

FLEX - Keith Rivers, Cincinnati

K - Josh Brown, St Louis
P - Jon Ryan, Seattle
R - Antwaan Randle El, Washington

HC - Tony Dungy, Indianapolis

 

[Sgt John]

Im much happier with the defense than I am the offense, but overall not bad.

 

[DearbornDolfan]

QB - Phillip Rivers

RB/FB - Matt Forte, Chicago
RB - Michael Turner, Atlanta

WR - Andre Johnson, Texas
WR - Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
WR - Calvin Johnson, Detroit

TE - Kellen Winslow, Cleveland
TE - Chris Cooley, Washington

LT - Jake Long, Miami
LG - Alan Faneca, New York Jets
C - Jeff Saturday, Indianapolis
RG - Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay
RT - Ryan Clady, Denver

DE - Darren Howard, Philadelphia
DT - Albert Haynesworth, Tennessee
DT - Kevin Williams, Minnesota
DE -Julius Peppers, Carolina

OLB - Patrick Willis, San Francisco
ILB - Jonathan Vilma, New Orleans
ILB - Jerod Mayo, New England
OLB- DeMarcus Ware, Dallas

CB - Nnamdi Asomugha, Oakland
FS - Oshiomogho Otogwe, St. Louis
SS - Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh
CB - Rashean Mathis, Jacksonville
CB - Charles Woodson, Green Bay

P - Kyle Larson, Cincinnati
K - Rian Lindell, Buffalo
KR - Josh Wilson, Seattle

 

[Da Bomb]

well no one is really doing the rookie thing, which is alright i guess, but i was looking forward to seeing what NFL franchise doesnt even have one player worth having on a dream team.

i like some of these teams though. very good picks most of them, though a few with guys that are going to be awfully old and banged up by the 2011 season.

 

[maverick824]

QB - Carson Palmer, CIN
RB - Chris Johnson, TEN
RB - Michael Turner, ATL
RB - Knowshon Moreno, Rookie
WR - Larry Fitzgerald, ARI
WR - Andre Johnson, HOU
WR - Calvin Johnson, DET
TE - Antonio Gates, SD
TE - Jeremy Shockey, NYG
T - Walter Jones, SEA
G - Eric Steinbach - CLE
C - Olin Kreutz, CHI
G - Steve Hutchinson, MIN
T - Jon Jansen, WAS

DE - Dwight Freeney, IND
DT - Haloti Ngata, BAL
DT - Vince Wilfork, NE
DE - Chris Long, STL
DE - Julius Peppers, CAR
OLB - Derrick Brooks, TB
ILB - Patrick Willis, SF
ILB - Antonio Pierce, NYG
OLB - Demarcus Ware, DAL
CB - Champ Bailey, DEN
CB - Rashean Mathis, JAX
CB - Al Harris, GB
S - Brian Dawkins, PHI
S - Troy Polamalu, PIT

K - Sebastian Janikowski, OAK
P - Dustin Colquitt, KC
Returner - Leon Washington, NYJ

Head Coach - Tony Sparano, MIA

-Alright, breaking this down....I did my best to spread out a couple of aging stars with young studs in just about every unit. Basically means that by year 3 when a couple of these guys aren't playing the way they are now, I have youthful studs that are hitting their prime.
- The offense is sick. Three young RB's, all ultra quick, a QB who can put the ball anywhere on the field when healthy, three WR's and the top TE in the game who can all go get the ball just about anywhere on the field, and an O-Line built for both the run and pass. I particularly like the pairing of Hutch and Steinbach as guards, means I can basically run to either side of the line with good success.
- There's not a hole in the defense. The DT's are nightmares up the middle, two of the best passrushers in the game, and a young one up and coming in Long. LB corp is filled with run stoppers and blitzers, the best lockdown corner in the league in Bailey, and Dawkins and Polamalu in the secondary together? Ouch.
-Strong legged kicker, who cares about punter, I could suit up and do it for this squad, and a dynamic returner. Oh yeah, and before you laugh at Sparano, he took a 1-15 team from a season ago and nearly took them to the playoffs this year.

 

[efactor]

Miller was right, this wasn't easy. But here goes........

Offense:

QB - Drew Brees Saints
RB - Adrian Peterson Vikings
RB - Stephen Jackson Rams (WR/RB flex)
RB - M Jones-Drew Jags
WR - Andre Johnson Texans
WR - Larry Fitzgerald Cards
WR - Calvin Johnson Lions
TE - Antonio Gates Chargers
TE - Jason Whitten Cowboys
OL - Jake Long Dolphins
OL - Jason Peters Bills
OL - Joe Thomas Browns
OL - Chris Snee Giants
OL - Andre Smith Rookie

Defense:

DL - Dwight Freeney Colts
DL - Julius Peppers Panthers
DL - John Abraham Falcons
DL - Albert Haynesworth Titans
DL - Kris Jenkins Jets ( DL/LB flex)
LB - Barrett Ruud Bucs
LB - Patrick Willis 49ers
LB - Lance Briggs Bears
LB - J. Mayo Pats
S - Ed Reed Ravens
S - Troy Polamulu Steelers
CB - N. Asomunga Raiders
CB - Charles Woodson Packers
CB - Asante Samuel Eagles

K - Shane Graham Bengals
P - Jon Ryan Seahawks
KR - Eddie Royal Broncos (also a good 4th receiver)

Coach - Todd Haley Chiefs (Gave him the nod over Zorn)

Since it wasn't designated that we break down the OL, I selected the best players I could fit in regardless of position. Only one true guard in Snee, but I figured you could turn Thomas, Peters, Long or Smith into a mauling guard and another into a center. Sorry, but just couldn't justify taking a current center over one of these guys. Honestly, I don't watch much college football, so my selection of Smith as my rookie was based on what I have read and I felt that taking an offensive lineman as my rookie seemed the surest bet in this draft. Considered Hutchinson, but just couldn't leave Peterson off the team.

Also, I didn't take a true fullback, but since we have 2 TEs, I can put Whitten in the backfield in place of a fullback and with Fitz, AJ and CJ, we'll be running a lot of 3 WR sets.

Not crazy about a rookie head coach, but I like Haley. The way he stands up to his players without alienating them says a lot about how he will be in control of his team. I think he will do well.


Since I took a rookie, I left the Redskins off off the dream team. Had I not gone with Smith, I would have taken Chris Samuels as my Redskin.

Anyway, fun exercise. Time wasting, but fun..........

 

[efactor]

QB - Carson Palmer, CIN


- The offense is sick. a QB who can put the ball anywhere on the field when healthy,

This is a pretty big gamble at possibly the most important position. He missed virtually the whole season and there was a lot of discussion if he would have surgery or not. Elected not too and while I hope he comes back 100 percent, there is enough doubt that I would have to take a pass here on a potentially damaged QB..........

 

[maverick824]

This is a pretty big gamble at possibly the most important position. He missed virtually the whole season and there was a lot of discussion if he would have surgery or not. Elected not too and while I hope he comes back 100 percent, there is enough doubt that I would have to take a pass here on a potentially damaged QB..........

It's a fair point and a personal preference for sure, but I have two points to counter said argument....

1) Trent Dilfer is a Super Bowl winning quarterback. I say again, TRENT DILFER has won a Super Bowl as a starter. Quarterback important, yes. Is it make or break your team important? Not especially. And especially not important when you have All-Pro's at virtually every position on the team, as this fantasy lineup does.

2) Every year, there are 5-7 GM's sitting in their war rooms making gambles on unproven rookies to be the future QB's of real franchises. My pick of Palmer, while A) being the best player on his current team, therefore getting the most out of the team, and B) his injury "status" being in question, I don't feel it's that big of a gamble. Carson's fine, he's had a whole season and will have a whole offseason to get that elbow healthy, and he'll be back and better than ever in 09. His problem isn't the elbow, it's the guy that owns the team he plays for.

 

[Sgt John]

well no one is really doing the rookie thing, which is alright i guess, but i was looking forward to seeing what NFL franchise doesnt even have one player worth having on a dream team.

i like some of these teams though. very good picks most of them, though a few with guys that are going to be awfully old and banged up by the 2011 season.

Win now ickle: Worry about tomorrow later

 

[deuce4321]

C- E. Ghiaciuc (CIN)
Damn, there went your oline....ask cincinnati. He's easily the worst starter they had last season, undersized and not strong. Allowed a push up the middle all season.

Looks like you are missing a rookie as well. Overall, good looking team though, did this a few years ago, it's much harder than it sounds.

Mayo from NE was a rookie LB on my squad. I will admit that I didnt know much about how to rate the center. I had Ghiaciuc on my Madden team and he did a fine job for me so i picked him. I guess i could have taken a defensive player out of CIN but i didnt.

 

[Miller]

Mayo from NE was a rookie LB on my squad. I will admit that I didnt know much about how to rate the center. I had Ghiaciuc on my Madden team and he did a fine job for me so i picked him. I guess i could have taken a defensive player out of CIN but i didnt.

He meant incoming rookie, as in player that will be drafted this year.

Your Madden team is the only team he's done fine on

 

[efactor]

Only 5 people taking a shot at this? :headscratch:

Come on. A bit of work, but fun................

 

[Da Bomb]

lol i made this up, and i keep meaning to put a roster together but just havent gotten to it yet.