Board 8 > Sign-ups for B8's best sports project

(+) Yeah! (+)

Board 8 National Football League League (B8NFLL) just wrapped up its 16th season where the St. Louis Rams defeated the Portland Express in the Super Bowl. That means it's time for new blood or old blood returning to be able to get in on the action for Season 17. Signups will last until early or mid-July, so there's no rush.

What is this?
B8NFLL is a simulation league using Madden 06s franchise mode where users build rosters while managing the salary cap to have fun and/or accomplish something over the course of multiple seasons (no hard figure, but the game can't exceed around 30 seasons)

What do we do in a season?
Here is an oversimplified breakdown of what we do each season:
1. Offseason
- Ownership changes <---- We are here
- Player retirements
- Restricted free agents
- Unrestricted free agents
- NFL Draft + signing draft picks
- Free agency
2. Preseason
3. Regular Season
4. Postseason

The beginning of the offseason is the only time that I can change ownership of teams, and I personally think that it makes most sense to end the season with the playoffs, so this is where we begin. The majority of your work in this league will be in the offseason. The pre, regular, and postseason are basically seeing the fruits of your labor and making any adjustments that you see fit. You can ask questions now if you have any about the offseason events, but I go over them in full detail when the time comes.

This is the kind of project where you can be as active or inactive as you want. I of course like to see it when people put in a lot of effort, but I totally understand that people have different lives and schedules that might affect the amount of time they are able to put into this. We've had a wide variety of successful levels for those active and inactive. We've even had users who literally did nothing all season who went on to win Super Bowls or make it far into the playoffs. If you are interested in joining this but are hesitant based on your availability, let me assuage some possible concerns. I end up doing like 95% of the work on this project, and I give users plenty of time to do their tasks. A large number of offseason segments I give users at least a week to complete. Should you idle during any of those segments, I have very forgiving rules in place, and you even have the option of letting me temporarily take over your team and act on your behalf. Your team will not be screwed over if you ever forget to do something.

In the OP of every topic we have, there are four links you will see. They are as follows:

1. Hub Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10gIP0JkVqOaoUc4aQX_NyDM8dB31FOPm_dUx6DVTWPk/edit?usp=sharing

This is where you will find all pertinent information on the current state of the league. In it you will find several sheets, most of which should be self-explanatory if you understand the NFL. You might want to look at to get familiar with it and if your choice of team depends on its roster and not fandom. If your choice of team does depend on the roster it unfortunately is not fully accurate.

Due to the amount of time it would take to update each time players' ratings change, ratings for all teams are reflected based on what they were entering the preseason unless a player was signed or traded after it. Also, the team financial sheet which gives you contract info and ages for all your players are only shown for user teams based on how much time and effort it takes to work on it. Do not hesitate to ask me any questions regarding any teams you might be interested in taking over.

2. Word Doc
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RVeEIyjqIiEkS0VYvbsI02dWMDXyOgdVQAgThNJyIfc/edit?usp=sharing

This was re-worked, but it still a very wordy 14-ish pages worth of info that should be helpful to understand how B8NFLL works within Madden 06. I wouldn't say it is essential and it doesn't cover everything, but I think it covers most of the important stuff and might answer many of the questions you have.

3. Wiki Page
http://board8.wikia.com/wiki/Board_8_National_Football_League_League

This is starting to get ridiculously long and may prompt me to move it elsewhere as I can't seem to make new articles on the B8 Wiki, but the basic history (such as who was in charge of what team each season, final regular season records, playoff results, award winners, and end-of-season stat leaders) of every season of B8NFLL is on record here.

4. Previous Topic
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79918584

That topic covers the entirety of the regular and postseason, so you can check it out at your convenience to see how everything during that span is presented. We are also part of the B8 Discord and can be found in the B8NFLL sub-channel under Sports.

Here are the 32 teams in the league by division. I have made notes for any team that has relocated since this started. A team in bold is one that is occupied by a user who will be coming back in season 17. A team in italics is one that is currently occupied by a user who has yet to inform me of their plans for season 17. A team that is neither bolded nor italicized is open (you can also tell because there's no username to the right of them) for the taking. If an italicized team is the one you want the most, you can sign up for X open team with the stipulation that you would like to change to Y team if their incumbent user does not return.

Denver Broncos
Kansas City Chiefs - Ranlom
Oakland Raiders - Bloodychess
Portland Express

Buffalo Bills - stevr
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots - Jukkie
New York Jets - Abacus

Baltimore Ravens - BlueCrystal
Cincinnati Bengals
Mexico City Browns - VI
Pittsburgh Steelers - Shattered

Columbus Pioneers
Indianapolis Colts - mccheyne
Jacksonville Jaguars - Sultan
Tennessee Titans - Socko

San Francisco 49ers - Scare
Seattle Seahawks
St. Louis Rams
Toronto Wildcats - prof

Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants - Eddv
Philadelphia Eagles - Pennywise
Washington - Wiz

Chicago Bears - Stan
Detroit Lions - Nee
Green Bay Packers - Tangicide
Minnesota Vikings

Atlanta Falcons - MMX
Carolina Panthers - Emerald
San Juan Orcas - KCF
Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Chris

KCF0107 posted...

I have made notes for any team that has relocated since this started

you didn't actually just fyi

And to anyone considering: I waffled back and forth last time this topic was up. I signed up and am now coming back for more. KCF is a fantastic host and was helpful in getting me to understand what all's going on. It's a fun little side thing that gives you something to look forward to each week. I recommend signing up if you're considering it!

Some tidbits about each of the fully-open teams

The Denver Broncos have had a losing record in just three of the 16 seasons thus far and are one of three teams to make it to three Super Bowls. They are coming off of a 7-9 season, including a 2-9 start behind a terrible offense and defense. However, their 5-0 run to end the season is more in line with their usual performance where its D was one of the best in the league. The offense will probably need some work where the WR group is nothing special, and the OL has been slipping and might see a retirement or two. Finances might be tight here.

The Portland Express have sneakily been one of the league's best teams over the past five seasons, making the playoffs in each season and with four double-digit win seasons in that span. This was their first Super Bowl (as well as Conference Championship) appearance, and they could be bound for deep playoff runs for the forseeable future. They finished with the league's #1 defense by a comfortable margin, and their offens was also great. While they are overall one of the oldest teams in the league, that's mostly because of their bench. Their starters are relatively young and have been in a good financial situation. This would be an excellent landing spot for someone who wants less of a challenge to begin and/or wants a Super Bowl contender that won't need much tinkering.

No team has as many regular season or postseason wins than the Miami Dolphins. They may not have had the most dominant run in league history (that belongs to the Cowboys from S7-S15), but their consistency is unmatched. They will have plenty of talent, though many of their key offensive starters are in the twilight of their careers, but affording them all will be a challenge. It will probably be a difficult financial situation to navigate with plenty of high-end players with expired contracts, as well as a more involving offseason in general, but the end result should ultimately be that of a Super Bowl contender.

The Cincinnati Bengals finished with the league's #1 offense behind a balanced attack. The OL will probably need to see some new faces, but QB Andy Dalton and recent #1 overall pick HB Derrick Harvey were a great fit. The defense continues to see turnover but the gains have been marginal. A combo of coaching strategy and roster construction tweaks on that side of the ball could make them a playoff contender this upcoming season.

The Columbus Pioneers became the second team to make the playoffs with a losing record, and like their predecessor, they won a playoff game! Don't let the team's defensive ranking fool you, they were an elite unit when almost fully healthy. They went through most of the season with 3+ starters on that side out for a given game. They have one of the best QBs and starting receiving combos in the league, but part of that OL needs work, and they will need a new starting HB after incumbent Markus Manson likely retires. This was a team that in S13 and S14 made it to the Super Bowl (winning in S14), so good fortune and a few good offseason moves could put them back into Super Contender status.

The Seattle Seahawks are just plain weird. They look great on paper and generally have a bunch of players whose stat sheet stands out, but collectively, they fall short. Usually one of the better offenses in the league, their offense was abysmal last season. Their interior OL played horribly, QB Kirk Cousins had one of his worst and least effective seasons, and the HB group were injured and underperformed. The defense was at one point in the Top 10 but faltered down the stretch. Still, there's a lot more to like on that side of the ball than the offense. You should be okay financially, but given the talent level of the team, it might be a bit challenging to know what to do with this team.

The St. Louis Rams have the second most playoff appearances in the league, but they consistently fell short of victory before everything aligned last season, resulting in their first Super Bowl appearance and win. The defense was 3rd in the league and has consistently been a Top 10 unit. That should stay that way. QB Ryan Tannehill had one of his weaker seasons, but he's generally a Top 3 QB in the league. The OL played much better but could see three starters retire. They finished in the Bottom 10 in rushing, so that along with the OL will probably be where the bulk of your efforts go toward. Regardless, this should still be one of the best teams in the league.

As mentioned in the Dolphins writeup, the Dallas Cowboys for roughly half of the project's existence were the league's most dominant team. Due to retirements and cap constraints over a number of seasons, their roster wasn't quite what it was heading into S16. Thanks to injuries to key players, they had their first losing and non-playoff season since S6 last year. They will probably need work along the OL, HB, secondary, and DL, but the financial situation was actually one of the league's best this season and likely will be this season. The division's winner went 8-8, so the Cowboys could get inch closer to their old self with a good offseason.

The Minnesota Vikings saw a large number of starters and key players retire before S16, and the team that won the Super Bowl in S13 and S15 finished 8-8 and out of the playoffs. QB Josh Portis fell off a cliff passing, so a return to an average or even slightly below average there could alone put them back into the playoffs. Not much work really needs to be done with this team, and they consistently have one of the best financial situations in the league, so this is a good landing spot for someone.

I'll re-up with the panthers

hey i appreciate you changing the title to avoid confusing me this year

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late night bump

I will take over the Portland Express.

And be sad when we beat my beloved Broncos.

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welcome back maniac!

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Signups will end sometime between July 5th and July 14th. I haven't decided on a specific date yet.

Also, a reminder to myself to send out a PM to Maniac containing the Express' stats from last season.

I was just thinking about if I should be looking at/doing something

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Closing days of signups

rejoin

Final two days to sign up

Today is the final sign up date

Last call for signups!

Along with the previously open teams aside from Express, the Wildcats and possibly Washington are available as well.