This is the game run by ESPN that we've been talking about. It works the same way as the baseball and basketball games we've played.
There's no draft or head to head competition like the Yahoo game. You pick your own team, and accumulate points based on the game's scoring system below. You can have the same players on your team as other members of the league.
The thing is, there's a salary cap, so you can't have a team with all the "best" players. You have to pick a couple of cheap ones, too.
Here's the link:
http://games.espn.go.com/gridiron/frontpage To join our league you need an ESPN account, which is free. There's a link on the game home page to set your account up if you don't have one already.
Once your account is set up, the league you want to join is
Gangster BB The password is
CorleoneHere's how the game works:
OBJECTIVE: The objective of Gridiron Challenge is to select a roster of eight (8) professional football players and one (1) team, while staying under the $50.0m salary cap, and accumulate the most points according to the scoring system. Once a player has been attained at a certain salary, that price is fixed and will not change as long as you have him on your roster. You have until the the first kickoff of each week's games for each roster slot to determine your lineup. At that time, whatever combination of players you have on your roster will be the players who accumulate points for the week (granted the total roster salary value is below the salary cap limit).
SELECT YOUR ROSTER: ESPN Gridiron Challenge rosters must consist of eight (8) players and one (1) team (please note you get both the team's defense and special teams -- see scoring grid below) which fit under the $50.0m salary cap. If either of these requirements are violated, you will receive 0 points for that week's play.
The nine (9) total slots on a team's roster consist of two (2) from each of the following positions: Quarterback (QB), Running Back (RB), Wide Receiver (WR) and Kicker (K) as well as one (1) Defense/Special Teams.
Salaries will be updated once a week (on Tuesday), and are based on a combination of the players/team season-to-date, current salary value, and last week's statistics according to the scoring system (see below). The value can go down as much as -.4 and up as much as .4 for any given weekly value update. Values will not reduce below 2.0 and can never exceed 8.5. Players can be moved onto your roster by selecting the player(s) or team you want and clicking on the "Add Player/Team" button as shown below. Keep in mind that each roster slot must always have two players, so you may need to unclick a player on your team as well. You will automatically be brought through this process when you first create your team.
WEEKLY PLAY: Your roster slot is frozen at the kickoff of the game in which the player or team is playing. You can change your selections at any time during the week until the kickoff of their particular game.
Keep in mind that each team in the NFL has one BYE week this season, so when your player has a BYE remember to either 1) change the player for another that doesn't have a BYE (thus losing the salary value you paid for him) or 2) or keep the BYE player on your roster (thus taking a 0 for the week, but keeping his salary). SCORING: ESPN Gridiron Challenge scoring system is as follows:
All positions (QB, RB, WR, K)
6 pts per rushing, receiving or return TD
4 pts per passing TD
3 pts per field goal (FG) made
2 pts per passing, rushing or receiving 2 pt conversion
1 pt per 10 yards rushing or receiving
1 pt per 25 yards passing
1 pt per extra point (XP) made
Defensive/Special Teams (D)
10 pts for 0 points allowed
7 pts for 2-6 points allowed
4 pts for 7-13 points allowed
1 pt for 14-17 points allowed
0 pts for 18-21 points allowed (note: team defense is responsible for all points allowed)
-1 pts for 22-27 points allowed
-4 pts for 28-34 points allowed
-7 pts for 35-45 points allowed
-10 pts for 46+ points allowed
5 pts per team win
3 pts per defensive or special teams TD
2 pts per interception
2 pts per fumble recovery
2 pts per blocked punt, PAT, or FG (note: a deflected kick of any kind does not receive points)
2 pts per safety
1 pt per sack
SALARY VALUE VS. MARKET VALUE:`
A player or team's market value is the value at which they can be picked up at any time during the season. A player or team's salary value is the value at which you originally selected them.
A player or team's market value will change based upon performance in recent games. Here's a little hint that will increase your chances for success in the Gridiron Challenge: By selecting player's or team's who you think are undervalued compared to their potential performance, you get the most out of your Gridiron Challenge team. Like any team owner, your goal is to get the maximum performance from your roster within the $50m limit.
Remember, a player or team's salary value on your team remains constant at the figure at which you acquired him. Note: As the game progresses your team's total market value may exceed 50 points. This is allowable for it reflects the current player or team's values, not the values at which you originally used to assemble your team. It is the salary value that must stay below 50 points. (But if you drop a player who you've had all season because it's his bye week, and his cap value has gone up, if yu want to re-acquire him the next week, it will be at his new, and probably higher, cap value RENEGOTIATE:
If one or more player or team's salary value (price which you paid for them) is displayed higher than their market value (current price to attain) you can "renegotiate" his salary by clicking on the link by that name on your Clubhouse page. All renegotiated salaries will appear in the team's transaction logs.
Example: You paid $5.7m to attain Issac Bruce and notice that his current market value dropped to $5.4. To save the $0.3m simply click on the "Renegotiate" link. This way you can have more salary space to claim a player at another position.
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The above is a direct quote from the game site, and they make it a lot more complicated than it actually is.
Basically, it requires a little bit of attention once a week, to make sure that everyone on your team is playing, and that you don't want to make any changes. Depending on how seriously you take it, anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes.
Study the scoring system, though, and decide on which positions you think are the most valuable. That's
probably where you want to have your most expensive players.
Any questions, just post. JG, Don Sicilia, and myself are all experienced at this type of game, and will be happy to help.
Until the game starts....
lol
