Natalie Portman
2008-05-14, 21:12
TO ANYONE AT EFS WITH DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY REGARDING CODING, FIXES or TABLES—
This post is being written without anger, but with a sense of urgency, on behalf of many EFS team owners.
A major problem is causing an unfair disadvantage to a lot of teams and it needs to be resolved right away.
At this critical point of the off-season, the legal/illegal roster status for many teams is being affected by a flaw.
A group of players have recently been removed from the current database because they have announced their retirement or even passed away, but at the time of this particular system update these players were still owned by many EFS teams. I would assume that there was an update to the EFS Players table which applied recent data from the NFL’s list of active or current league players.
The reason this is such a big problem is because the affected players are no longer appearing on EFS team roster pages and can no longer be accessed by doing a player search, yet their salaries, contract years and roster spaces are still being counted against the EFS teams. The end result is that these teams are being charged against the caps, but at the same time they lack the ability to waive these players because there is no way to reach any of the player pages.
I’m sure the list is quite significant, but here are just a few of the players that are stuck in this state of limbo:
---- FB Mack Strong (former member of Seahawks, announced retirement last October)
---- RB Tiki Barber (former member of Giants, announced retirement last February)
---- OT Matt Lepsis (former member of Broncos, announced retirement in January of this year)
---- S Sean Taylor (former member of Redskins, passed away last November)
In the past, players in the same situation as these guys above remained visible via the EFS interface, but their NFL Team field was updated to read “Retired.” That allowed the kind of continued access which is necessary but is being denied right now.
I understand if you might want to get some of these players out of the system once they are out of the NFL, but you need to have a grace period of at least two years before you completely obliterate their records from user access.
The thing which amplifies this problematic issue is that it is apparently affecting only those players who have left the NFL within the past year or two. There is a long list of officially retired NFL players which can still be accessed through the EFS interface. Just so you understand what I’m referring to, here is a brief list of examples:
---- CB Deion Sanders officially retired on 2/13/2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- CB Ahmed Plummer officially retired on 6/17/2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- OB Peter Boulware officially retired on 10/19/2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Keyshawn Johnson officially retired on 5/23/2007 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Duce Staley officially retired on 12/6/2007 - still accessible via EFS
---- DT Warren Sapp officially retired on 1/3/2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Stephen Davis officially retired in February 2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- OG Benji Olson officially retired on 3/27/2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Steve McNair officially retired on 4/17/2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- OB David Pollack officially retired on 4/22/2008 - still accessible via EFS
There are also a great deal of players who may or may not have filed the official retirement papers with the NFL offices, but that should not be any kind of determining factor as far as EFS is concerned since that has no bearing on the issue of EFS teams who own players and require access to those player pages. For example:
---- QB Jake Plummer announced his retirement in 2006; didn’t file - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Brett Favre announced his retirement on 3/6/2008; didn’t file - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Jeff George has not seen a field since 2001 - aged 40 - still accessible via EFS
---- S Eric Crouch was on 2002 Rams but never made it into a game - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Kevin Dyson has not seen a field since 2003 - aged 33 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Rob Johnson has not seen a field since 2003 - aged 35 - still accessible via EFS
---- TE Marco Battaglia has not seen a field since 2003 - aged 35 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Eddie George has not seen a field since 2004 - aged 34 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Charlie Garner has not seen a field since 2004 - aged 36 - still accessible via EFS
---- S Aeneas Williams has not seen a field since 2004 - aged 36 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB B.J. Symons was on 2004 Texans but never made it into a game - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Kordell Stewart has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 35 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB William Green has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- FB Bryan Johnson has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR David Boston has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Kevin Johnson has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- OT Orlando Brown has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 37 - still accessible via EFS
---- OB Trev Faulk has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- DE Courtney Brown has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- XK Doug Brien has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 37 - still accessible via EFS
---- OT Ethan Brooks has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 36 - still accessible via EFS
---- DT John Browning has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Kliff Kingsbury had just one completion in NFL career (2005) - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Corey Dillon has not seen a field since 2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- FB William Henderson has not seen a field since 2006 - aged 37 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Marcus Vick had one appearance & zero stats in career (2006) - still accessible via EFS
As you can see, this problem of the inability to access (and subsequently waive or trade) certain players who are being counted against a team’s salary cap, contract cap and roster size limit is not only a bug which needs immediate fixing, but it is also completely inconsistent with the way the rest of the EFS database of players operates.
Teams must be given the opportunity to exercise control over these players because the penalties which such players currently impose upon team caps can be quite significant. The reason this needs to be addressed in such urgent fashion is because a lot of bidding is taking place right now and team owners require all of their deserved power over the fair and appropriate maintenance of rosters during such a vital time of the year.
Furthermore, if an EFS team owner is anticipating a player coming out of retirement, does it make any sense at all that they CAN place a UFA bid on Eddie George (who last played in 2004) or Deion Sanders (who last played in 2005), yet they are NOT allowed to enter a bid on Tiki Barber (who last played in 2006) or either one of Mack Strong or Matt Lepsis (both of whom played last season in 2007)? This hypothetical example reveals the absurdity of the present situation and the need for a speedy resolution.
I am confident that you will clearly recognize the magnitude of this predicament as soon as you have read this explanation, and will go about solving the matter right away.
If you are looking for the quickest fix, even if it is to be a temporary one, you should simply restore the visibility of all player names and the access to all player pages for NFL players who have been in the system at any point during the last year (even if they are currently flagged as retired, deceased or otherwise inactive from an NFL perspective). The primary immediate need is the proper and appropriate access and control over ALL players who are being counted against the roster’s balance sheet.
Thank you in advance for your quick attention and active response to this troublesome quirk in the system. I can guarantee you that all of the many EFS team owners affected by this ordeal will be greatly appreciative when you restore the control that they are supposed to have and used to having over their players and rosters.
This post is being written without anger, but with a sense of urgency, on behalf of many EFS team owners.
A major problem is causing an unfair disadvantage to a lot of teams and it needs to be resolved right away.
At this critical point of the off-season, the legal/illegal roster status for many teams is being affected by a flaw.
A group of players have recently been removed from the current database because they have announced their retirement or even passed away, but at the time of this particular system update these players were still owned by many EFS teams. I would assume that there was an update to the EFS Players table which applied recent data from the NFL’s list of active or current league players.
The reason this is such a big problem is because the affected players are no longer appearing on EFS team roster pages and can no longer be accessed by doing a player search, yet their salaries, contract years and roster spaces are still being counted against the EFS teams. The end result is that these teams are being charged against the caps, but at the same time they lack the ability to waive these players because there is no way to reach any of the player pages.
I’m sure the list is quite significant, but here are just a few of the players that are stuck in this state of limbo:
---- FB Mack Strong (former member of Seahawks, announced retirement last October)
---- RB Tiki Barber (former member of Giants, announced retirement last February)
---- OT Matt Lepsis (former member of Broncos, announced retirement in January of this year)
---- S Sean Taylor (former member of Redskins, passed away last November)
In the past, players in the same situation as these guys above remained visible via the EFS interface, but their NFL Team field was updated to read “Retired.” That allowed the kind of continued access which is necessary but is being denied right now.
I understand if you might want to get some of these players out of the system once they are out of the NFL, but you need to have a grace period of at least two years before you completely obliterate their records from user access.
The thing which amplifies this problematic issue is that it is apparently affecting only those players who have left the NFL within the past year or two. There is a long list of officially retired NFL players which can still be accessed through the EFS interface. Just so you understand what I’m referring to, here is a brief list of examples:
---- CB Deion Sanders officially retired on 2/13/2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- CB Ahmed Plummer officially retired on 6/17/2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- OB Peter Boulware officially retired on 10/19/2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Keyshawn Johnson officially retired on 5/23/2007 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Duce Staley officially retired on 12/6/2007 - still accessible via EFS
---- DT Warren Sapp officially retired on 1/3/2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Stephen Davis officially retired in February 2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- OG Benji Olson officially retired on 3/27/2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Steve McNair officially retired on 4/17/2008 - still accessible via EFS
---- OB David Pollack officially retired on 4/22/2008 - still accessible via EFS
There are also a great deal of players who may or may not have filed the official retirement papers with the NFL offices, but that should not be any kind of determining factor as far as EFS is concerned since that has no bearing on the issue of EFS teams who own players and require access to those player pages. For example:
---- QB Jake Plummer announced his retirement in 2006; didn’t file - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Brett Favre announced his retirement on 3/6/2008; didn’t file - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Jeff George has not seen a field since 2001 - aged 40 - still accessible via EFS
---- S Eric Crouch was on 2002 Rams but never made it into a game - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Kevin Dyson has not seen a field since 2003 - aged 33 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Rob Johnson has not seen a field since 2003 - aged 35 - still accessible via EFS
---- TE Marco Battaglia has not seen a field since 2003 - aged 35 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Eddie George has not seen a field since 2004 - aged 34 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Charlie Garner has not seen a field since 2004 - aged 36 - still accessible via EFS
---- S Aeneas Williams has not seen a field since 2004 - aged 36 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB B.J. Symons was on 2004 Texans but never made it into a game - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Kordell Stewart has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 35 - still accessible via EFS
---- RB William Green has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- FB Bryan Johnson has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR David Boston has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Kevin Johnson has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- OT Orlando Brown has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 37 - still accessible via EFS
---- OB Trev Faulk has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- DE Courtney Brown has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- XK Doug Brien has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 37 - still accessible via EFS
---- OT Ethan Brooks has not seen a field since 2005 - aged 36 - still accessible via EFS
---- DT John Browning has not seen a field since 2005 - still accessible via EFS
---- QB Kliff Kingsbury had just one completion in NFL career (2005) - still accessible via EFS
---- RB Corey Dillon has not seen a field since 2006 - still accessible via EFS
---- FB William Henderson has not seen a field since 2006 - aged 37 - still accessible via EFS
---- WR Marcus Vick had one appearance & zero stats in career (2006) - still accessible via EFS
As you can see, this problem of the inability to access (and subsequently waive or trade) certain players who are being counted against a team’s salary cap, contract cap and roster size limit is not only a bug which needs immediate fixing, but it is also completely inconsistent with the way the rest of the EFS database of players operates.
Teams must be given the opportunity to exercise control over these players because the penalties which such players currently impose upon team caps can be quite significant. The reason this needs to be addressed in such urgent fashion is because a lot of bidding is taking place right now and team owners require all of their deserved power over the fair and appropriate maintenance of rosters during such a vital time of the year.
Furthermore, if an EFS team owner is anticipating a player coming out of retirement, does it make any sense at all that they CAN place a UFA bid on Eddie George (who last played in 2004) or Deion Sanders (who last played in 2005), yet they are NOT allowed to enter a bid on Tiki Barber (who last played in 2006) or either one of Mack Strong or Matt Lepsis (both of whom played last season in 2007)? This hypothetical example reveals the absurdity of the present situation and the need for a speedy resolution.
I am confident that you will clearly recognize the magnitude of this predicament as soon as you have read this explanation, and will go about solving the matter right away.
If you are looking for the quickest fix, even if it is to be a temporary one, you should simply restore the visibility of all player names and the access to all player pages for NFL players who have been in the system at any point during the last year (even if they are currently flagged as retired, deceased or otherwise inactive from an NFL perspective). The primary immediate need is the proper and appropriate access and control over ALL players who are being counted against the roster’s balance sheet.
Thank you in advance for your quick attention and active response to this troublesome quirk in the system. I can guarantee you that all of the many EFS team owners affected by this ordeal will be greatly appreciative when you restore the control that they are supposed to have and used to having over their players and rosters.