Hobbies And Interests
Draft a Smart, Strong-Armed Quarterback
Because the quarterback is your field general, you want to draft a quarterback who has a very high Awareness rating. You also want to draft someone who has a very strong arm, as it is difficult to raise his Arm Strength rating over the course of his career. His accuracy should ideally be high as well, but this rating is the most manageable of all statistics.
Have a Motivated Disciplinarian as a Head Coach
A head coach with high Motivation, Work Ethic and Chemistry is the most likely to succeed, more so than one with higher numbers in other areas. If a head coach has low numbers in these statistics, your team will likely commit several costly penalties and will have a tendency to choke in pressure situations, especially on defense.
High Signing Bonuses
When you are resigning a player or signing a free agent, make his signing bonus as high as possible. Then lower his normal salary as much as possible until the player will refuse to sign a contract with you. Offer him the minimum amount on the normal contract that he will accept, and sign him. You will save a little bit more money than if you had had a smaller signing bonus, but do this only if you aren't going to trade the player.
Change a Player's Position
Before you start up a franchise, go to the Rosters option. With the team you're going to use, edit some players' statistics by lowering something important like Speed to 0. Release him and re-sign him for a low price; if he's young, sign him to a long-term contract. In doing so, you will ensure that if you have to release or trade the player, you will have very little salary cap implications.