Your Chance To Participate In A New Football Phenomenon (Sandbox Simulations) - Page 153

**Rain Man** · 09:15 AM

I apologize if the mods think this is soliciting, and I guess it is, but at the same time it's beta testing a new product developed by long-time planeteers, and it's free.

cdcox and I have been developing a new football game for the thoughtful fan, where players build franchises and compete against each other. A description is below.

If you're interested, we're offering the game for free in Year 1 to Chiefsplanet members, with the goal of both giving the system a dry run and also hooking you like Phillip Morris. You can go to www.sandboxsimulations.com to sign up, and use the access code 6Lanier3.

Here's the overview:

Build and manage a full 53-player roster over multiple seasons, as an offseason activity to give you year-round football

Select your personnel to match your offensive and defensive scheme. Every position matters – even your blocking tight end.

Realistic and accurate simulations of league games based on head-to-head matchups against other teams in your league.

This is essentially a new concept in fantasy football that attempts to simulate as closely as possible the management of a real NFL franchise over a multi-year period. Unlike regular fantasy football, every position on the offense and defense contributes to your success or failure. On special teams, the punter, kicker, and kick returners matter.

In Sandbox Football you will build a team – an entire 53-man football team – via an initial draft, and will maintain it year after year in annual rookie drafts, trading periods, and free agency. You compete against teams in your league. In the first year of the game, before the start of the NFL season, you will build your roster by drafting veterans and rookies through separate drafts, and through trades with other teams in the league. Your roster is frozen at the beginning of the NFL season. During the real regular NFL season, you can focus on your traditional fantasy games and perhaps keep on eye on your Sandbox roster as our statistical models build the data on player performances. At the end of the regular NFL season, the Sandbox season begins. There will be 16 games in the season. In real time, the season will run about 8 weeks (2 alternate reality games per week).

Game outcomes will be simulated based on the performance of individual players during the just-completed NFL regular season. The simulations, developed by a PhD statistical expert, estimate how individual players will perform in the context of your alternate reality team competing head-to-head against other teams in the league and with the specific team that you have built. The simulations will consider the offensive and defensive schemes that you select. So you can build your roster to support a power running game or a high-flying passing attack. You can run a 3-4 or 4-3 base defense. You can run nickel formations or four-wide receiver sets. You can rotate your DL to keep them fresh.

The game is more about building a team than playing video games. So this isn't Madden, but you will have the ability to tweak your game plan to take the best advantage of your roster and the weaknesses of your opponent. Injuries are a factor in the game. If a player is unavailable during weeks 3 through 6 in the NFL, he is also unavailable during the same weeks in the alternate reality season. So roster depth matters. The game simulations are based on the most advanced statistics and the latest research regarding what matters in winning an NFL game. But, the outcomes of the games have a random component, just like real NFL games.

The calendar for the alternate reality league year will look something like this:
• Jan to Mid March: Alternate Reality regular season and playoffs.
• Mid-March to the beginning of NFL season: Roster building through trades, veteran draft (first year), free agent drafts (2nd year and beyond), and rookie draft.
• Beginning of NFL season to end of regular NFL season: Alternate reality league is dormant, but the NFL players are generating their performance stats for the up-coming AR league.
• Rinse and repeat.

Copyright Sandbox Simulations, all rights reserved.

We're still finalizing the cost structure, but this won't be an expensive game to play at all. It might range from a few bucks a year to $50 per year, depending on a few factors.

Year 1 will require a couple of days of drafting with rather high intensity, but we've got it set up where you can put your draft list together and do customized and automated drafting if you like.

So...go! Now! Time to get ready for the draft!

Note that we are still in beta testing, so things could change if we find problems in the system.

How Free Agency Works:

Free Agency will begin before the 2012 season after the rookie draft.

Our process is as follows for the 2012 season. In 2013 and beyond there will be minor changes as noted later.

1. We will unveil the list of available free agents so you can check out the talent pool.

2. If you look in "Standings", you will see that you have a salary account value of $1,300. You will use this to sign your veterans to contracts, sign your rookies to contracts, and (in a competitive bidding process) sign free agents to contracts.

The cost of a contract is as follows for players already on your roster (both veterans and rookies).

$0 - 1 season contract
$10 - 2 season contract
$22 - 3 season contract
$37 - 4 season contract
$55 - 5 season contract
$76 - 6 season contract
$100 - 7 season contract

You will sign your existing players to contracts using an interface that we will unveil shortly. If your 53-man roster is set you can spend your $1,300 on your current roster. However, it may be worthwhile to hold some money back so you can compete for free agents.

3. The free agency period begins.

Bidding for free agents will be open and competitive. As players come available, teams will be allowed to sign them if they are the high bidder. The contract length is automatically calculated by rounding down the bid to the chart below.

Contract Length (Seasons) Salary Points Bid
1 0 to 9
2 10 to 21
3 22 to 36
4 37 to 54
5 55 to 75
6 76 to 99
7 100 or more

For example, if you submit the winning bid for a player at a price of 25 salary points, that player becomes yours under a 3-year contract. If you submit a bid for 35 points and win, it’s also a 3-year contract. If you submit a bid for 38 points, it’s a 4-year contract. If you submit a bid for 120 points, it’s a 7-year contract.

For the 2012 free agency period, we will enforce the 53-man rule. You will need to cut down to 53 players before the free agency period starts, and if you sign a player to go above 53, you will need to cut a player to stay within the roster limit. NOTE: DON'T CUT YET UNLESS YOU WANT TO. WE'RE STILL FINALIZING THE SYSTEM AND WANT TO BE SURE THAT THIS RULE WORKS IN 2012.

4. Ending Bidding and Ending Free Agency.

Bids on an individual player will begin once the first player places a bid. For the 2012 season that bid must be $1 or more. Bidding ends when the existing high bid had not been raised for 72 hours. At that point, the high-bid team is awarded the player under the contract terms described in Step 3.

The free agency period in 2012 will end once there have been no bids on any players for 72 hours.

5. Unused Salary Points

If you do not use all of your salary points in a given year, they will roll over from year to year. This is experimental and we'll have to see how it works. If it doesn't work, they'll expire each year, or maybe a portion of the points can roll over. Right now, assume they all roll over.

6. Salary Points and Roster Management

In the Sandbox system, salary points and the salary cap are used only for acquiring players. You will never have to track the number of salary points “on your roster” and you will never have to cut a player for salary cap reasons.

Additionally, you are not obligated to keep a player for the full length of his contract. You can cut him or trade him at any time. However, recognize that it’s a waste of salary points to cut or trade a player before the end of his contract. But it doesn't hamstring you going forward - it's just past money that you wasted.

7. Free Agency and Contract Length - Retaining Your Current Players

When a player reaches the end of their contract, they go back into the free agency pool and teams will bid for their services. You are eligible to bid on them to get them back, just like you can bid on any free agents.

There is one exception to the rule of free agents going into the free agency pool, as follows:

• At the end of the bidding process, you have the opportunity to re-sign your own players by outbidding the high bidder. Your bid must be the minimum points to increase their contract period by a year over the high bid. (Example: your player goes to free agency, and another team bids 50 points for him, which equates to a 4-year contract. You can keep the player by paying 55 points for him, which is the minimum amount for a 5-year contract.) If the high bidder offered a contract of 100 points or more (7-years), you can keep the player by bidding 10% more points than the high bid.

8. Free Agency and Trades

If you trade for a player, their contract length is a consideration. Trading for a player with 6 years left on his contract will give you his services for that amount of time (unless you cut him or trade him, or he retires). Trading for a player with 1 year left on his contract means that he’ll go back into the free agency pool at the end of the season. (Of course, you can still retain him via Step 7.)

9. Future Years

In future years, the process will be identical to that shown above, with the following exceptions.

a. Because you will have a lot of veteran players under contract, you won't need $1,300. You'll get a new annual allotment of signing dollars. We're still working on the exact amount, but it looks like it'll be between $500 and $600.

b. In the 2012 season, we will introduce all free agents at once to catch up. In the 2013 season and beyond, the free agency period will occur during the actual NFL season. We will sprinkle the free agents in one division at a time over the course of the season. (The divisions may be randomly selected or we may release a calendar. It doesn't matter that much.) This system should be interesting because some free agents will come available early in the season when you don't know their performance for the year - greater risk, greater reward - while other free agents will come available later in the season when you know what their performance will be, but so does everyone else.

c. In the 2013 season and beyond, you will be able to retain more than 53 players through the rookie draft and the main free agency period. You will then have a cutdown period to get to 53 and we will have a final free agency period where you can sign any players who have been cut. In that final period you will have to enforce a 53-man roster, so if you sign a player you have to cut one.

10. When you think about the schedule in 2013 and beyond, it will go like this:

a. Sandbox season goes from February through April.
b. Rookie draft in May. No 53-man limit.
c. Free agency from (likely) September through December, with free agents sprinkled in throughout that period.
d. January. Roster cuts to 53.
e. Late January. Final free agency period to flesh out rosters and sign players cut in Step d.
f. New Sandbox season begins.

**Rain Man** · 07-03-2012, 10:24 PM

Hmm. Something got posted in the wrong order here.

Anchorage 13, Lubbock 7

Lubbock
4th Q 15:00 1st and 10 Anchorage 20 Brandon Jackson rushes for 2 yards.
4th Q 14:18 2nd and 8 Anchorage 18 Matt Cassel passes complete to Le'Ron McClain for a gain of 7 yards.
4th Q 13:33 3rd and inches Anchorage 10 Brandon Jackson rushes for 7 yards. Fumble, recovered by Anchorage returned for 0 yards.
Anchorage 13, Lubbock 14

Anchorage
4th Q 12:51 1st and 10 Anchorage 4 Colt McCoy sacked by Chad Greenway for a loss of -9 yards. QB fumbled and defense recovered returned for 6 yards. Touchdown, conversion
4th Q 12:43 David Akers kicks 70 yards. No return. Touchback
4th Q 12:35 1st and 10 Anchorage 20 LeSean McCoy rushes for 1 yards.
4th Q 11:53 2nd and 9 Anchorage 21 Colt McCoy passes incomplete to Andre Roberts.
4th Q 11:46 3rd and 9 Anchorage 21 LeSean McCoy rushes for 0 yards.
4th Q 11:04 4th and 9 Anchorage 21 free agent punts 48 yards, returned for 29 yards by free agent
Anchorage 13, Lubbock 14

**Rain Man** · 07-04-2012, 08:42 AM

Never underestimate the Independence Jokers, even when the drive doesn't start well.

Independence
3rd Q 10:13 1st and 10 Independence 27 Shonn Greene rushes for 3 yards.
3rd Q 9:31 2nd and 7 Independence 30 Shonn Greene rushes for 1 yards. PENALTY. Offensive Holding on Khalif Barnes. -10 yards.
3rd Q 9:23 2nd and 17 Independence 20 Christian Ponder passes complete to Larry Fitzgerald for a gain of 25 yards. PENALTY. Offensive Holding on J'Marcus Webb. -10 yards.
3rd Q 9:15 2nd and 27 Independence 10 Christian Ponder (pressured) passes complete to Darrius Heyward-Bey for a gain of 10 yards.
3rd Q 8:30 3rd and 16 Independence 21 PENALTY. Delay of Game Christian Ponder loss of 5 yards.
3rd Q 8:30 3rd and 21 Independence 16 Christian Ponder passes complete to Dallas Clark for a gain of 6 yards. PENALTY. Defensive Holding on Quentin Jammer. 5 yards.
3rd Q 8:22 1st and 10 Independence 21 Christian Ponder scrambles for 12 yards.
3rd Q 7:40 1st and 10 Independence 33 Shonn Greene rushes for 6 yards.
3rd Q 6:58 2nd and 4 Independence 38 Shonn Greene rushes for 62 yards. Touchdown, conversion
Independence 17, Columbia 13

**Rain Man** · 07-04-2012, 08:51 AM

One thing I've been noticing is that, on penalties and defensive plays, there is a preponderance of times where the same player gets called out more than once on a drive. For example, Demarcus Ware below. I've seen this more often than I think would be random. I'm not sure if it happens to offensive players as much as defensive players.

It's actually kind of entertaining because you get to imagine a defensive player either melting down (multiple penalties) or getting revenge (penalty followed by a sack), so I don't think it's a huge issue, if indeed it's an issue at all. Perhaps I just notice the multiple instances more. I'll keep an eye on it.

St. Louis
1st Q 7:51 1st and 10 St. Louis 22 Adrian L. Peterson rushes for 12 yards.
1st Q 7:09 1st and 10 St. Louis 34 Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for 2 yards.
1st Q 6:27 2nd and 8 St. Louis 36 Kyle Orton passes complete to Steve L. Smith for a gain of 3 yards. PENALTY. Neutral Zone Infraction on DeMarcus Ware. 5 yards.
1st Q 6:19 2nd and 3 St. Louis 41 Kyle Orton passes incomplete to Dexter McCluster.
1st Q 6:12 3rd and 3 St. Louis 41 Kyle Orton (pressured) passes complete to Evan Moore for a gain of 14 yards. PENALTY. Neutral Zone Infraction on DeMarcus Ware. 5 yards. Penalty declined.
1st Q 6:04 1st and 10 Kansas City 45 Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for 4 yards.
1st Q 5:22 2nd and 6 Kansas City 41 Kyle Orton (pressured) passes incomplete to Steve L. Smith.
1st Q 5:15 3rd and 6 Kansas City 41 Kyle Orton passes incomplete, dropped by Scotty McKnight.
1st Q 5:08 4th and 6 Kansas City 41 Brian Moorman punts 36 yards, returned for 2 yards by Brandon Tate

**Rain Man** · 07-04-2012, 09:08 AM

In the two leagues, totaling 48 teams, we have one undefeated team left. Congrats to the Oklahoma Outlaws, who have outscored their opponents 244-119, averaging 35 points per game while yielding only 17.

**cdcox** · 07-04-2012, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

One thing I've been noticing is that, on penalties and defensive plays, there is a preponderance of times where the same player gets called out more than once on a drive. For example, Demarcus Ware below. I've seen this more often than I think would be random. I'm not sure if it happens to offensive players as much as defensive players.

It's actually kind of entertaining because you get to imagine a defensive player either melting down (multiple penalties) or getting revenge (penalty followed by a sack), so I don't think it's a huge issue, if indeed it's an issue at all. Perhaps I just notice the multiple instances more. I'll keep an eye on it.

The same piece of code selects penalties for both offense and defense. I've checked the results and its working as intended. On something like neutral zone infraction, only the front 7 can be called. Pass rushers will get more of those called that pass coverage LBs. It could be that Demarcus Ware had a whole bunch of neutral zone type penalties last year while the others on your team were better at staying at home.

**Rain Man** · 07-04-2012, 09:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdcox

The same piece of code selects penalties for both offense and defense. I've checked the results and its working as intended. On something like neutral zone infraction, only the front 7 can be called. Pass rushers will get more of those called that pass coverage LBs. It could be that Demarcus Ware had a whole bunch of neutral zone type penalties last year while the others on your team were better at staying at home.

Works for me. Thanks!

**Old Dog** · 07-04-2012, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdcox

Old Dog -- I hate to say it, but your offensive line up is broken again. I'm going to hold your game until you get a chance to set it. Don't look at your defensive line up page. It is good right now and if it is something funky with IE9 I don't want it to get hosed when you hit that page. If you want to PM me your offensive line up, I'll set it for you. Sorry. I'll try to dig into this problem in earnest tomorrow.

I'm gonna run the sims for the other games.

It's set again.

**cdcox** · 07-04-2012, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Dog

It's set again.

And Pamona gets the win!

**cdcox** · 07-04-2012, 01:44 PM

We're going to take a short hiatus from the simulations so I can fix a few issues.

First I am going to make some changes that might help the problem that Old Dog is having.

Second the injury database isn't quite right. I'm going to fix that before we do any more sims.

I should have these fixes done by late Saturday. At that point, I'll advance to week 8 and then start another sim on Monday night.

I may slip in a couple of other features in the mean time.

topher79 · 07-05-2012, 08:11 AM

7 games...

98 att. 775 yards 9 TD
24 rec. 216 yards 2 TD
21 ret. 516 yards 24.6 avg

Darren Sproles. Man.

DJ's left nut · 07-05-2012, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

RIVERS, GET OVER HERE! I NEED YOU TO GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!

Duluth 0, Clearwater 0
Duluth
1st Q 15:00 Matt Pratter kicks 69 yards, returned for 12 yards by Randall Cobb
1st Q 14:52 1st and 10 Duluth 12 Philip Rivers passes incomplete to Hakeem Nicks.
1st Q 14:45 2nd and 10 Duluth 12 Philip Rivers (pressured) passes incomplete to Harry Douglas.
1st Q 14:38 3rd and 10 Duluth 12 Philip Rivers passes -3 yards intercepted by Rocky McIntosh and returned 10 yards. Touchdown, conversion
Duluth 0, Clearwater 7

Duluth
1st Q 14:30 Matt Pratter kicks 70 yards. No return. Touchback
1st Q 14:22 1st and 10 Duluth 20 Philip Rivers (pressured) passes 6 yards intercepted by Demarcus Van Dyke and returned 26 yards. Touchdown, conversion
Duluth 0, Clearwater 14

Yeah....I !@#$ing lost this game, IIRC.

I have no idea how my offense is as inept as it is. Well actually I think I do, about 1/3 of my pass attempts are (pressured), so that has something to do with it. Worse still, I've had to all but abandon MJD as a threat because for every 8 yard run he breaks, he has 2 carries where he loses yards.

My defense is far better than I thought it would be, but my offense - with Aaron Rodgers, Percy Harvin (stud) and Dez Bryant (worthless) has been crap.

**Rain Man** · 07-05-2012, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by topher79

7 games...

98 att. 775 yards 9 TD
24 rec. 216 yards 2 TD
21 ret. 516 yards 24.6 avg

Darren Sproles. Man.

Eh, he's not big enough to play in this league. I mean, other than the last 7 or 8 years.

**Rain Man** · 07-05-2012, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Yeah....I !@#$ing lost this game, IIRC.

I have no idea how my offense is as inept as it is. Well actually I think I do, about 1/3 of my pass attempts are (pressured), so that has something to do with it. Worse still, I've had to all but abandon MJD as a threat because for every 8 yard run he breaks, he has 2 carries where he loses yards.

My defense is far better than I thought it would be, but my offense - with Aaron Rodgers, Percy Harvin (stud) and Dez Bryant (worthless) has been crap.

Yeah, we managed to come back, which I find funny.

I'm babysitting six teams right now, and all of them but Duluth were abandoned and missed draft picks. Duluth was right on time with every pick. And guess what? Duluth has the worst record of the six teams and is the only one below .500. We seem to get gashed against the run, and Rivers is averaging two INTs per game. I'm half-tempted to bench him and try out Ryan Fitzpatrick.

One of my more intriguing teams doesn't have an overwhelming roster, but they somehow ended up with both MJD and Adrian Peterson. I'm lining MJD up at fullback and they're running over people.

Hammock Parties · 07-06-2012, 05:42 PM

Withdrawal.

**Rain Man** · 07-06-2012, 06:51 PM

Yeah, I'm dying here. The only thing that makes it tolerable is knowing that it'll come back better.

08-08-2011, 02:01 PM
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	Your Chance To Participate In A New Football Phenomenon (Sandbox Simulations) I apologize if the mods think this is soliciting, and I guess it is, but at the same time it's beta testing a new product developed by long-time planeteers, and it's free. cdcox and I have been developing a new football game for the thoughtful fan, where players build franchises and compete against each other. A description is below. If you're interested, we're offering the game for free in Year 1 to Chiefsplanet members, with the goal of both giving the system a dry run and also hooking you like Phillip Morris. You can go to www.sandboxsimulations.com to sign up, and use the access code 6Lanier3. Here's the overview: Build and manage a full 53-player roster over multiple seasons, as an offseason activity to give you year-round football Select your personnel to match your offensive and defensive scheme. Every position matters – even your blocking tight end. Realistic and accurate simulations of league games based on head-to-head matchups against other teams in your league. This is essentially a new concept in fantasy football that attempts to simulate as closely as possible the management of a real NFL franchise over a multi-year period. Unlike regular fantasy football, every position on the offense and defense contributes to your success or failure. On special teams, the punter, kicker, and kick returners matter. In Sandbox Football you will build a team – an entire 53-man football team – via an initial draft, and will maintain it year after year in annual rookie drafts, trading periods, and free agency. You compete against teams in your league. In the first year of the game, before the start of the NFL season, you will build your roster by drafting veterans and rookies through separate drafts, and through trades with other teams in the league. Your roster is frozen at the beginning of the NFL season. During the real regular NFL season, you can focus on your traditional fantasy games and perhaps keep on eye on your Sandbox roster as our statistical models build the data on player performances. At the end of the regular NFL season, the Sandbox season begins. There will be 16 games in the season. In real time, the season will run about 8 weeks (2 alternate reality games per week). Game outcomes will be simulated based on the performance of individual players during the just-completed NFL regular season. The simulations, developed by a PhD statistical expert, estimate how individual players will perform in the context of your alternate reality team competing head-to-head against other teams in the league and with the specific team that you have built. The simulations will consider the offensive and defensive schemes that you select. So you can build your roster to support a power running game or a high-flying passing attack. You can run a 3-4 or 4-3 base defense. You can run nickel formations or four-wide receiver sets. You can rotate your DL to keep them fresh. The game is more about building a team than playing video games. So this isn't Madden, but you will have the ability to tweak your game plan to take the best advantage of your roster and the weaknesses of your opponent. Injuries are a factor in the game. If a player is unavailable during weeks 3 through 6 in the NFL, he is also unavailable during the same weeks in the alternate reality season. So roster depth matters. The game simulations are based on the most advanced statistics and the latest research regarding what matters in winning an NFL game. But, the outcomes of the games have a random component, just like real NFL games. The calendar for the alternate reality league year will look something like this: • Jan to Mid March: Alternate Reality regular season and playoffs. • Mid-March to the beginning of NFL season: Roster building through trades, veteran draft (first year), free agent drafts (2nd year and beyond), and rookie draft. • Beginning of NFL season to end of regular NFL season: Alternate reality league is dormant, but the NFL players are generating their performance stats for the up-coming AR league. • Rinse and repeat. Copyright Sandbox Simulations, all rights reserved. We're still finalizing the cost structure, but this won't be an expensive game to play at all. It might range from a few bucks a year to $50 per year, depending on a few factors. Year 1 will require a couple of days of drafting with rather high intensity, but we've got it set up where you can put your draft list together and do customized and automated drafting if you like. So...go! Now! Time to get ready for the draft! Note that we are still in beta testing, so things could change if we find problems in the system. How Free Agency Works: Free Agency will begin before the 2012 season after the rookie draft. Our process is as follows for the 2012 season. In 2013 and beyond there will be minor changes as noted later. 1. We will unveil the list of available free agents so you can check out the talent pool. 2. If you look in "Standings", you will see that you have a salary account value of $1,300. You will use this to sign your veterans to contracts, sign your rookies to contracts, and (in a competitive bidding process) sign free agents to contracts. The cost of a contract is as follows for players already on your roster (both veterans and rookies). $0 - 1 season contract $10 - 2 season contract $22 - 3 season contract $37 - 4 season contract $55 - 5 season contract $76 - 6 season contract $100 - 7 season contract You will sign your existing players to contracts using an interface that we will unveil shortly. If your 53-man roster is set you can spend your $1,300 on your current roster. However, it may be worthwhile to hold some money back so you can compete for free agents. 3. The free agency period begins. Bidding for free agents will be open and competitive. As players come available, teams will be allowed to sign them if they are the high bidder. The contract length is automatically calculated by rounding down the bid to the chart below. Contract Length (Seasons) Salary Points Bid 1 0 to 9 2 10 to 21 3 22 to 36 4 37 to 54 5 55 to 75 6 76 to 99 7 100 or more For example, if you submit the winning bid for a player at a price of 25 salary points, that player becomes yours under a 3-year contract. If you submit a bid for 35 points and win, it’s also a 3-year contract. If you submit a bid for 38 points, it’s a 4-year contract. If you submit a bid for 120 points, it’s a 7-year contract. For the 2012 free agency period, we will enforce the 53-man rule. You will need to cut down to 53 players before the free agency period starts, and if you sign a player to go above 53, you will need to cut a player to stay within the roster limit. NOTE: DON'T CUT YET UNLESS YOU WANT TO. WE'RE STILL FINALIZING THE SYSTEM AND WANT TO BE SURE THAT THIS RULE WORKS IN 2012. 4. Ending Bidding and Ending Free Agency. Bids on an individual player will begin once the first player places a bid. For the 2012 season that bid must be $1 or more. Bidding ends when the existing high bid had not been raised for 72 hours. At that point, the high-bid team is awarded the player under the contract terms described in Step 3. The free agency period in 2012 will end once there have been no bids on any players for 72 hours. 5. Unused Salary Points If you do not use all of your salary points in a given year, they will roll over from year to year. This is experimental and we'll have to see how it works. If it doesn't work, they'll expire each year, or maybe a portion of the points can roll over. Right now, assume they all roll over. 6. Salary Points and Roster Management In the Sandbox system, salary points and the salary cap are used only for acquiring players. You will never have to track the number of salary points “on your roster” and you will never have to cut a player for salary cap reasons. Additionally, you are not obligated to keep a player for the full length of his contract. You can cut him or trade him at any time. However, recognize that it’s a waste of salary points to cut or trade a player before the end of his contract. But it doesn't hamstring you going forward - it's just past money that you wasted. 7. Free Agency and Contract Length - Retaining Your Current Players When a player reaches the end of their contract, they go back into the free agency pool and teams will bid for their services. You are eligible to bid on them to get them back, just like you can bid on any free agents. There is one exception to the rule of free agents going into the free agency pool, as follows: • At the end of the bidding process, you have the opportunity to re-sign your own players by outbidding the high bidder. Your bid must be the minimum points to increase their contract period by a year over the high bid. (Example: your player goes to free agency, and another team bids 50 points for him, which equates to a 4-year contract. You can keep the player by paying 55 points for him, which is the minimum amount for a 5-year contract.) If the high bidder offered a contract of 100 points or more (7-years), you can keep the player by bidding 10% more points than the high bid. 8. Free Agency and Trades If you trade for a player, their contract length is a consideration. Trading for a player with 6 years left on his contract will give you his services for that amount of time (unless you cut him or trade him, or he retires). Trading for a player with 1 year left on his contract means that he’ll go back into the free agency pool at the end of the season. (Of course, you can still retain him via Step 7.) 9. Future Years In future years, the process will be identical to that shown above, with the following exceptions. a. Because you will have a lot of veteran players under contract, you won't need $1,300. You'll get a new annual allotment of signing dollars. We're still working on the exact amount, but it looks like it'll be between $500 and $600. b. In the 2012 season, we will introduce all free agents at once to catch up. In the 2013 season and beyond, the free agency period will occur during the actual NFL season. We will sprinkle the free agents in one division at a time over the course of the season. (The divisions may be randomly selected or we may release a calendar. It doesn't matter that much.) This system should be interesting because some free agents will come available early in the season when you don't know their performance for the year - greater risk, greater reward - while other free agents will come available later in the season when you know what their performance will be, but so does everyone else. c. In the 2013 season and beyond, you will be able to retain more than 53 players through the rookie draft and the main free agency period. You will then have a cutdown period to get to 53 and we will have a final free agency period where you can sign any players who have been cut. In that final period you will have to enforce a 53-man roster, so if you sign a player you have to cut one. 10. When you think about the schedule in 2013 and beyond, it will go like this: a. Sandbox season goes from February through April. b. Rookie draft in May. No 53-man limit. c. Free agency from (likely) September through December, with free agents sprinkled in throughout that period. d. January. Roster cuts to 53. e. Late January. Final free agency period to flesh out rosters and sign players cut in Step d. f. New Sandbox season begins. Last edited by Rain Man; 05-27-2013 at 09:15 AM..
Posts: 141,202

07-03-2012, 10:24 PM	#2281
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	Hmm. Something got posted in the wrong order here. Anchorage 13, Lubbock 7 Lubbock 4th Q 15:00 1st and 10 Anchorage 20 Brandon Jackson rushes for 2 yards. 4th Q 14:18 2nd and 8 Anchorage 18 Matt Cassel passes complete to Le'Ron McClain for a gain of 7 yards. 4th Q 13:33 3rd and inches Anchorage 10 Brandon Jackson rushes for 7 yards. Fumble, recovered by Anchorage returned for 0 yards. Anchorage 13, Lubbock 14 Anchorage 4th Q 12:51 1st and 10 Anchorage 4 Colt McCoy sacked by Chad Greenway for a loss of -9 yards. QB fumbled and defense recovered returned for 6 yards. Touchdown, conversion 4th Q 12:43 David Akers kicks 70 yards. No return. Touchback 4th Q 12:35 1st and 10 Anchorage 20 LeSean McCoy rushes for 1 yards. 4th Q 11:53 2nd and 9 Anchorage 21 Colt McCoy passes incomplete to Andre Roberts. 4th Q 11:46 3rd and 9 Anchorage 21 LeSean McCoy rushes for 0 yards. 4th Q 11:04 4th and 9 Anchorage 21 free agent punts 48 yards, returned for 29 yards by free agent Anchorage 13, Lubbock 14 __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,202

07-04-2012, 08:42 AM	#2282
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	Never underestimate the Independence Jokers, even when the drive doesn't start well. Independence 3rd Q 10:13 1st and 10 Independence 27 Shonn Greene rushes for 3 yards. 3rd Q 9:31 2nd and 7 Independence 30 Shonn Greene rushes for 1 yards. PENALTY. Offensive Holding on Khalif Barnes. -10 yards. 3rd Q 9:23 2nd and 17 Independence 20 Christian Ponder passes complete to Larry Fitzgerald for a gain of 25 yards. PENALTY. Offensive Holding on J'Marcus Webb. -10 yards. 3rd Q 9:15 2nd and 27 Independence 10 Christian Ponder (pressured) passes complete to Darrius Heyward-Bey for a gain of 10 yards. 3rd Q 8:30 3rd and 16 Independence 21 PENALTY. Delay of Game Christian Ponder loss of 5 yards. 3rd Q 8:30 3rd and 21 Independence 16 Christian Ponder passes complete to Dallas Clark for a gain of 6 yards. PENALTY. Defensive Holding on Quentin Jammer. 5 yards. 3rd Q 8:22 1st and 10 Independence 21 Christian Ponder scrambles for 12 yards. 3rd Q 7:40 1st and 10 Independence 33 Shonn Greene rushes for 6 yards. 3rd Q 6:58 2nd and 4 Independence 38 Shonn Greene rushes for 62 yards. Touchdown, conversion Independence 17, Columbia 13 __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,202

07-04-2012, 08:51 AM	#2283
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	One thing I've been noticing is that, on penalties and defensive plays, there is a preponderance of times where the same player gets called out more than once on a drive. For example, Demarcus Ware below. I've seen this more often than I think would be random. I'm not sure if it happens to offensive players as much as defensive players. It's actually kind of entertaining because you get to imagine a defensive player either melting down (multiple penalties) or getting revenge (penalty followed by a sack), so I don't think it's a huge issue, if indeed it's an issue at all. Perhaps I just notice the multiple instances more. I'll keep an eye on it. St. Louis 1st Q 7:51 1st and 10 St. Louis 22 Adrian L. Peterson rushes for 12 yards. 1st Q 7:09 1st and 10 St. Louis 34 Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for 2 yards. 1st Q 6:27 2nd and 8 St. Louis 36 Kyle Orton passes complete to Steve L. Smith for a gain of 3 yards. PENALTY. Neutral Zone Infraction on DeMarcus Ware. 5 yards. 1st Q 6:19 2nd and 3 St. Louis 41 Kyle Orton passes incomplete to Dexter McCluster. 1st Q 6:12 3rd and 3 St. Louis 41 Kyle Orton (pressured) passes complete to Evan Moore for a gain of 14 yards. PENALTY. Neutral Zone Infraction on DeMarcus Ware. 5 yards. Penalty declined. 1st Q 6:04 1st and 10 Kansas City 45 Maurice Jones-Drew rushes for 4 yards. 1st Q 5:22 2nd and 6 Kansas City 41 Kyle Orton (pressured) passes incomplete to Steve L. Smith. 1st Q 5:15 3rd and 6 Kansas City 41 Kyle Orton passes incomplete, dropped by Scotty McKnight. 1st Q 5:08 4th and 6 Kansas City 41 Brian Moorman punts 36 yards, returned for 2 yards by Brandon Tate __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,202

07-04-2012, 09:08 AM	#2284
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	In the two leagues, totaling 48 teams, we have one undefeated team left. Congrats to the Oklahoma Outlaws, who have outscored their opponents 244-119, averaging 35 points per game while yielding only 17. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,202

07-04-2012, 01:44 PM	#2289
cdcox www.nfl-forecast.com Join Date: Sep 2000 Casino cash: $2421769	We're going to take a short hiatus from the simulations so I can fix a few issues. First I am going to make some changes that might help the problem that Old Dog is having. Second the injury database isn't quite right. I'm going to fix that before we do any more sims. I should have these fixes done by late Saturday. At that point, I'll advance to week 8 and then start another sim on Monday night. I may slip in a couple of other features in the mean time.
Posts: 45,536

07-05-2012, 08:11 AM	#2290
topher79 Starter Join Date: Apr 2008 Casino cash: $10004900	7 games... 98 att. 775 yards 9 TD 24 rec. 216 yards 2 TD 21 ret. 516 yards 24.6 avg Darren Sproles. Man.
Posts: 284

07-06-2012, 05:42 PM	#2294
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4800478	Withdrawal. __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 277,451

07-06-2012, 06:51 PM	#2295
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3408491 VARSITY	Yeah, I'm dying here. The only thing that makes it tolerable is knowing that it'll come back better. __________________ I'm putting random letters here as a celebration of free speech: xigrakgrah misorojeq rkemeseit.
Posts: 141,202