my football philosophy (again) for the newcomers

[skinsdad62]

this is to let the KFFL newcomers and others who have forgotten or never knew how i would run a football team

1) You need a stable front office and coaching . constant change is a recipe for disaster
2) value your draft picks and even horde them . this is where you get young cheap talent and how you fill needs or improve depth . FA is not meant to be used as a builder . it is a supplement
3) avoid sign overpriced aging guys . rule of thumb , no one over 28 ,
signing an old guy to stop gap a need is ok but should be used sparingly
4) always build the LOS up 1st . why ? because they help less then stellar skill players . and give force multipliers to good or great
5) draft at least one o/lineman every draft doesnt matter where but pick one
6) find a plan and stick to it
7) never gut a draft or multiple drafts for a player . it almost never works
8) a HC needs a minimum of 3 years to get his program in place
a) year one install his program and see what he needs
b) year 2 get the players you need and begin to gell
c) this should be the year you start winning consistently
9) not everything is etched in stone be flexible
10 ) coach to what the players do best , dont "fit " them into a system
11) tackling is the number one skill on defense
12 ) you need a top 10 defense to be a consistent playoff team a top 5 one to be a super bowl contender
13 ) you need stellar qb play . that doesnt mean you need a franchise qb but the qb needs to make plays that are there and limit errors
14 ) draft picks need time to develop
15 ) dont underestimate your opponent on the field
16 ) dont be a front runner

now here are my expectations for draft picks

top ten picks . year one starters , pushing for pro bowls year in and year out by year 2
11 -25 year one starter pushing pro bowls by year 2
25 -32 solid year one starters , pushing pro bowls by year 2

2nd round picks BU player with a role in the scheme and rotation year one . starter by year 2 solid starter from then on out maybe one or 2 pro bowls over 10 years

3rd round starter by year 3 solid starter for career

4th round solid BU player and special teamer

5th round BU player and ST player

6th round this is where you take fliers on guys , maybe they hang on for 3 years but most likely are replaced
7th rounder take fliers here too maybe you get a productive st player

5-7 round picks are never busts . you get lucky some you lose some

my feelings on how long to stick with a player

top picks should get 3 years . by then you know what you have then you can decide if he is a stop gap or you simply cut bait

HC should get 3 years as should his staff , year one install and see what you have , year 2 assemble parts year 3 they gell

after that all bets are off

these statements above have been mine for just about as long as i have been posting from the TSN boards to the ESPN boards to now

they dont waiver , they dont get changed when something doesnt work out . they stay the same no matter how much grief i take or how distorted my views are made out to be

i support my team and its players . i try to be fair . i dont go for "i told you so's ' if our moves fail we fail whether i agree with a move or not and i dont root for its failure

i am a homer

so when you see me post and debate now you know where i am coming from