Building a NFL team has always been a dream of mine. As a fan I always loved playing Madden to build a roster of a team and doing it my way. Through the draft mostly with a few free agent signings sprinkled in. I usually keep the NFL salary cap on as well and I have done 15+ seasons at times in games. Sometimes tough choices happen as players out pace salary cap etc.

Its as close to the current system in NFL we have now. Where NFL GM's have to weigh a lot to keep a competitive roster. Now thats changed a lot since 1994 when the salary cap was 1st invented. In fact the NFL itself has had several different strategies by teams on building rosters.




Tex Schramm was a genius and his run as General Manager and Team President of the Dallas Cowboys will be unmatched. In nearly 30 years he ran the team complete. As owners Clint Murchison Jr and later Bum Bright would essentially just let Schramm attend owners meetings and vote ...being a stand in owner and run the team as he saw fit.

But what made Schramm a genius was he realized the growing changes in Football as he became GM in 1960. The old days relied upon the scouts words on players with no real technology used. Tex Schramm decided to use computers in scouting. This process didn't really make teams care til the 1970s success arrived as the team became "America's Team". With Dallas going to 5 Super Bowls and winning 2 of them in the 1970s.

Schramm's belief in bigger focus on scouting led to the creation of the NFL Scouting Combine. As Dallas became a bigger team the rest of the league took notice and computers became a bigger deal across the league in scouting. Which was great for the NFL and kinda bad for Dallas. Who had built a dynasty and team that had 20 straight winning seasons. With the rest of the league on an even playing ground , teams would get better players and the dynasty would end after 1986.






George Allen was a scout , a defensive coordinator and later head coach and GM. Back then teams at times would give a number of head coaches the General Manager hat. A fact that George Allen was really good at this. As in his time with the Chicago Bears running the drafts he would get Gale Sayers , Mike Ditka and Dick Butkus as players. He was so good and beloved there that George Halas was thought to give the head coach nod to Allen if he retired. Well....Allen got tired of waiting and he went to LA Rams.

"The Future is Now !"


Back in the era before the NFL Draft and selections became a huge deal , some teams would use draft picks like ...candy. Trading them off in quick fashion to get veteran players. George Allen was a firm believer that to turn the LA Rams around he needed to trade for veteran players. He just got along better with veterans who were proven winners and he could plug them in.

Allen's strategy paid off as he would start shipping off draft picks to acquire veterans for the LA Rams and its "Fearsome Foursome" line. After success there , Allen went to Washington where he'd do the same deal. Trading draft picks for players and getting the team a winning record and a Super Bowl appearance.

Of course the constant trading of draft picks and Allen's not seeming to realize he would deal picks so quick , led to a couple instances where he would trade for players. After a trade for Speedy Duncan (CB) from San Diego , he had already sent those picks to Buffalo. Pete Rozelle understood the 1st time it happened , the 2nd he fined the team and made them forfeit extra draft picks to the team for it.

George Allen never had a losing record as coach and GM. But a number of teams would in this era try the approach Allen did. With trading draft picks and then getting veterans. But unlike having a great coach and talent evaluator in Allen ; teams like Pittsburgh and Houston would suffer badly.

It finally took Chuck Knoll in Pittsburgh in the late 1960s who told the team that they would no longer trade draft picks for veterans ; that helped create a dynasty there. Where that team built through draft. In Houston they went through some bad years before Bum Phillips arrived.

The "Future is Now" approach is often used by teams today. With the LA Rams famously this past decade trading away future assets in draft to acquire name veterans to have success. Of course ....a cost is always paid for this approach.

Eventually you run out of assets in the draft to trade. Teams get more wise to keep some veterans and won't accept lower draft compensation. A fact that this happened the last couple years where the Rams wanted Christian McCaffrey and didn't have the assets then left to make the trade.

Teams eventually can go awhile on established veterans but the need to restock with talent in the draft is something teams need. You can only go so far one direction.




The past 2 decades has had teams do another approach called "The Patriot Way". Which has often , more often than not led to failure and set teams back for a number of years. This approach was done after the years of success the New England Patriots have had with Bill Belichick as General Manager and Coach.

Belichick is a very smart coach and like Allen a great talent evaluator who knows what players to bring in and draft. Where as George Allen used the draft to acquire talented veterans to build LA Rams and Washington ; Belichick uses free agency and draft to pluck players. A number of them will end up in Hall of Fame. His success led to the Patriots having a winning record 19 straight seasons. Numerous Super Bowl appearances and more !

But a big thing teams have saw the past 2 decades is the success and belief , anyone around Darth Hoodie is likely to be a success. A fact the following teams have signed coaches and gave them power. Believing they can replicate the success. With only 1 team having success and another going off the rails.

New York Jets
Denver Broncos
Cleveland Browns
Kansas City Chiefs
Atlanta Falcons
Houston Texans
Vegas Raiders
Detroit Lions
New York Giants
Tennessee Titans


Usually these teams would sign a coach , hand them insane power over personnel and watch as they'd wreck the team believing they had to be Belichick Jr. More often they didn't have the talent to do this and fail. A number of teams would sign front office people and then watch them derail a franchise. Pushing out good players believing they could bring in players they know from New England or trying to replicate the key signings as well.

But only 2 teams off this list have done ok with Tennessee and Atlanta who brought in coaches or front office people in years past.

In all whenever a team decides to do "The Patriot Way" it means the franchise isn't headed in the right direction ahead.