Rob’s Complete Guide to Retro Bowl: Roster Basics and Player Evaluation (2024)

The front office is the foundation of a winning team. Now that I’ve outlined how to lay this foundation intelligently, it’s time to to take a look at building the house. The house, of course, is the team itself. Your roster is everything. Without a good group of good star players, your hopes of making your team an immediate winner will be dashed again and again, until the problem is fixed. Assembling a good group of good star players begins with understanding the positional makeup of a winning team, and with knowing how to evaluate prospects at each position.

This installment of the Complete Guide to Retro Bowl will cover how to understand the star player roster, and how to evaluate players at each position. These may sound like simple topics, but there’s tons of information to go over with each. Let’s get to it!

Roster Basics

Note: As stated in the Introduction to the guide, I am assuming that you, the reader, are familiar with the basic rules and strategies of American football. If you are not, that’s OK! You have lived your life more wisely than I. However, please read this primer on rules and this primer on strategy before proceeding further. Also, please view the in-game tutorial if this is your first time playing Retro Bowl. As stated in Part 1 of this guide, any and all information in this guide on the basics of Retro Bowl is meant to supplement the tutorial, not replace it.

Retro Bowl is a game of 11-on-11 American football, but it is, after all, still a mobile game. It is designed to be fun, easy to play, and easy to understand; managing a complete, 53-man NFL roster is none of those things. Therefore, Retro Bowl streamlines its game play in three ways, and it is absolutely critical that you understand both.

First, Retro Bowl does not make you manage 53 players, or even 22. In Retro Bowl, you are only responsible for managing your ‘star’ players. Your star player roster caps at 10 players (or 12, if you have the Unlimited Version and select the 12-man roster option). The rest of the team is filled out with replacement-level guys. If you do not have a star player at a given position, a replacement level player will fill that position. Therefore, it is crucial that you have star players at the most important positions, whenever possible.

Second, in games of Retro Bowl, you only play when your team is on offense, not on defense. This includes field goal and extra point attempts, but not kickoffs or punts. Therefore, building a great offense is always more important that building a great defense. There are some in the Retro Bowl community who feel that, because of this, you can ignore defense entirely and roster star players only on offense, but it is my considered opinion that doing so is letting the perfect be the enemy of the good. It’s true that even with a 5.0 defense, you’ll struggle to stop the opposing offense from time to time. However, with a good defensive unit, your opponent’s touchdowns become field goals, and their field goals become missed field goals, and missed field goals become either punts or failed 4^th down conversions.

I have won tons and tons and tons of regular season games, playoff games, and Retro Bowls, and I always make sure to have the best defense I can. This guide will advise you to do likewise. That said, it’s a bad idea to try and build a ‘defense-first’ team. You can only control your offense, so giving yourself the best chance of success means maximizing the tools at your disposal for controlling that offense. While any stops or turnovers the defense gives you are a huge boon, you can’t control what you get out of them. You can only stock your defense well, to increases the odds of stops and turnovers.

Third, there is only one offensive personnel package and only one defensive personnel package in Retro Bowl. There is absolutely no variation in the personnel each unit sends on the field.

The offensive package consists of:

• 1 Quarterback (QB)
• 1 Running Back (RB)
• 2 Tight Ends (TE)
• 2 Wide Receivers (WR)
• 5 Offensive Lineman (OL)

The defensive package consists of:

• 4 Defensive Lineman (DL)
• 3 Linebackers (LB)
• 4 Defensive Backs (DB)

You may also have 1 Kicker (K) on your roster.

Note that Retro Bowl does not draw any distinction between the specific positions on either the offensive or defensive line, nor does it draw any distinction between cornerbacks and safeties in the defensive backfield.

It is imperative that you understand each personnel package before building your roster, since these packages represent the maximum amount of players you can field at a time, at each position. Any redundant players (such as a second RB, third WR, or fourth LB) will be placed on the bench; the game will automatically bench the lowest rated player at that position. That player will not come off the bench until one of the starters at the position is themselves benched, traded, or cut.

You can view your roster by touching the Roster button on the Home Page. The Roster Page displays the portraits of all of your star players, with offensive players up top, and defensive players (including kickers) down low. This portrait includes an emoji indicating their current morale, their last name, a display of that player’s overall rating, and a bar indicating that player’s physical condition. The player portrait will also indicate any awards and Retro Bowl Championships that player has won, if any. The Roster Page also includes displays indicating total team morale, the total rating for your offense, and the total rating for your defense. These indicators are the same as they are on the Home Page. You can also view a bar that indicates how much of the salary cap your roster is using. (I will discuss the salary cap in Part 4; you will not have to worry about it if you follow the advice of this guide when you’re first rebuilding your team.)

There is also a football helmet button, which shows more detailed information for each star player. At bottom, there are also buttons to Rest All star players, boost the team’s morale, and boost the team’s condition. Rest All will bench all star players indefinitely. Even with maxed out Rehab Facilities, players can often benefit from rest, especially players age 28 and older, so this is a great option to have if you’re in Week 17 and have secure playoff position, as it will allow players to regain physical condition. But remember, you must come back and hit the button again (now renamed as Clear Resting) before the playoffs start! (Boosts cost more coaching credits than you can afford when you’re starting out, so I will discuss them in Part 4 of this guide.)

Player morale is expressed on the same sliding conditional scale as coordinator morale. From worst to best, the morale conditions are: Toxic, Bad, Poor, OK, Good, Great, and Exceptional. A player’s overall rating is expressed on the same 5-star, half-star increment rating as coordinators and team units. Naturally, the maximum possible rating is 5.0. The physical condition bar not only displays condition both in terms of how full the bar is, and according to a color-coded system. A green physical condition bar indicates Good condition or better, yellow indicates Tired condition, and red indicates Bad condition. Team morale and team condition are a function of individual player morale and condition; note that players with Toxic morale will impose an additional penalty to team morale.

Touching a player’s portrait will bring up more detailed information on that player. You will see their full name at top and two large boxes, one on the left and one on the right. The left box lists the player’s age, the cost of their contract and the years remaining on said contract, their morale condition, their physical condition (here expressed as a specific condition, like morale), their value on the trade market, their rating, and their potential (that is, the maximum overall rating that player can achieve). At bottom, there is also an indicator of a player’s current XP level and a bar that shows their progress towards their next level increase.

The right box displays the player’s attribute levels. All players have four attributes. From top to bottom these skills are: the position’s key skill, the player’s strength, their speed, and finally, their stamina. The player’s attributes are displayed in bar form. Each attribute bar is hollowed out, and filled to express their current rating in that attribute. The hollow remainder expresses how much each player can still improve in that attribute. A completely full bar indicates a player has maximized their potential in the attribute. The higher each attribute currently is, the higher the player’s current rating. The higher maximum a player can obtain in each attribute, the higher their potential rating is.

Finally, the bottom of each player page has four buttons. The Bench button will send the individual player to the bench; as with the Rest All button, the only compelling reason to bench a player is to let them rest and improve their physical condition. The Stats button will let you view a player’s season and career stats, as well as their stats from the most recent game. The Meeting button lets you view more detailed information the player’s morale and condition, and you may also pay coaching credits to hold a meeting with a player. As with roster boosts, player meetings are not an effective use of credits when your starting a career, and will be discussed in Part 4. (There is one exception to this, so hold this thought.) The last button is the Trade button. Touching this button will bring up a trade offer that will give a return equal to that player’s listed trade value, and from this offer screen you may confirm or cancel the trade. After the Week 8 trade deadline, this button can be used to cut players. Again, you will be asked to confirm or cancel the cut when you use the button.

Roster Positions and Position Evaluations – Offense

This section will break down each offensive position and explain what to look for in a prospect at each position. I will also rank each offensive position in terms of importance, with 1^st representing the most important offensive position, and 5^th representing the least important.

• Quarterback (QB): The quarterback is responsible for handing off the ball to RBs and passing it to receivers, and is the nexus of your offense. Having a great quarterback is the best way to ensure year to year success, both in Retro Bowl and in the actual sport of American football. It is impossible to overstate the importance of having a great QB.
  • Key Skill: Throw Accuracy. Attempting a pass in Retro Bowl involves swiping the screen to aim the arc of the pass; a higher Throw Accuracy will display more of this arc. A QB with max accuracy will display almost the entire passing arc when aiming, which will take almost all guesswork out of determining where a pass will go, even on passes deep downfield. A QB with lesser accuracy will display only a small amount of the passing arc when aiming. While it is possible, with experience, to anticipate where a pass will go with these shorter arcs, it is difficult, and even a slight miscalculation may result in an interception.
  • Key Skill: Arm Strength. Arm Strength is an expression of the Strength attribute specific to QBs, and determines how far downfield a QB can pass the ball. A QB with max Arm Strength can easily make passes in excess of 25 yards in the air, while a QB with low Arm Strength will not be able to throw the ball 15 yards.
  • Other Attributes: A QB’s speed rating determines how fast they will run when they abandon the pass and attempt to gain yards on foot. A QB’s Stamina determines how their physical condition is affected with each throw; higher stamina means a QB can throw more and lose less condition as a consequence, while low stamina means they will lose more condition with each attempt. Higher stamina also means the player will recover more condition at the end of each game.
  • Positional Importance: 1st, by far. You need a great quarterback to win consistently, period.
  • Evaluating QBs
    • Again, I cannot stress this enough; you need a great quarterback! It is the most important position on the field, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Your ability to pass accurately and gain large chunks of yardage quickly will have a direct impact on your ability to win games. To that end, your ideal quarterback should have both maximum potential Throw Accuracy and maximum potential Arm Strength, as well as a total Potential rating of no less than 4.5. A higher potential Stamina is also beneficial, since it will let you make more pass attempts while sacrificing less physical condition.
    • Speed is the least important attribute for QBs. Even if you find the prospect of a running QB enticing, note that Retro Bowl does not have any designed QB runs of any kind, nor does it include pass plays where the QB “rolls out” before passing. Therefore, you will only have your QB run when no receivers are open, so it is always best to have a skilled passer.
    • If you’re evaluating a QB prospect who does not have maximum potential in either Accuracy or Arm Strength, it is acceptable to draft or sign this QB as long as they still have a maximum potential in both categories that is no less than 8/10, and their total potential is still 4.5 or higher. If either is any lower, hold out for better.
    • It can also be acceptable to draft or sign a QB with a total potential of 4.0 if and only if their maximum potential in Accuracy and Strength is 10/10. Any QB with a total potential of 3.5 or less should be viewed as a stopgap, and only worth having if you lack better options.
• Running Back (RB): The running back handles the ball on all designed running plays, and runs a route in order to get open for a pass on passing plays. Retro Bowl ‘packages’ running and passing plays together; if you choose to pass, the RB’s route will follow the path of the designed run included in the play package.
  • Key Skill: Catching. A RB’s Catching attribute determines their ability to catch passes under duress due to an inaccurate throw or a nearby defender in coverage (or both). A higher Catching attribute also reduces the chance that the player will fumble the ball.
  • Other Attributes: A RB’s Strength rating determines their ability to break tackles, while their Speed rating indicates their top Speed. A RB’s Stamina determines how long they can run and top speed before slowing down. Higher stamina also means the player will recover more condition at the end of each game.
  • Positional Importance: 3rd. Having a good RB is vital to having a functional running game, which is turn vital for having a balanced offense. Replacement level running backs are completely ineffective, especially on higher difficulties. While an effective running game is not a precondition for success, it makes everything easier, allowing you to get big plays on the ground as well as in the air. This will keep your QB in good condition and allow you, the player, to take a break from the mental strain of passing while still being productive offensively. In order to build a real contender, you will want to make sure you have a star RB on your roster at all times.
  • Evaluating RBs
    • Ultimately, there are three kinds of RBs. There are power runners; RBs with high Strength but lesser Speed. These players will break tackles frequently, but are not fast enough to consistently gain big chunks of yardage. Then there are scat backs, who are the inverse of power runners. Their high speed makes them potential big play threats, but you will need to make effective cuts and jukes with them, since they will be tackled if touched. Then, there are RBs with relatively even scores in both Strength and Speed; all of the best RBs in the game have good scores in both. Also, make sure your RB has decent Catching or potential Catching, since this will prevent fumbles.
    • Unlike with QBs, it is not absolutely critical that you have an elite, 4.0+ rated RB. However, the better your RB is, the more you can consider running the ball a viable option, even on 2^nd down and long, and even on 3^rd or 4^th down. Having this flexibility makes running your offense easier, which in turn makes scoring points and winning games easier, so it’s always good to have the best RB you can get and afford.
    • It’s possible that, for a variety of reasons, you won’t always be able to roster an elite runner. In these situations, it is better to have an RB with either high potential Strength or high potential Speed rather than an RB with decent, but not excellent potential in both. I prefer a fast RB over a strong one, but not so much that I would take a lesser rated RB simply because they were faster. Always take the best RB you can, regardless of their skill set, and find a way to make it work on the field. Again, any star RB you can get will be a massive upgrade over replacement level, so don’t get picky.
• Tight End (TE): A Tight End may either stay back to block defenders or run routes, depending on the play design. They are slower, but stronger, than WRs. When a TE is assigned a route to catch a pass, the route will almost always be short, go through the middle of the field, or both. You may have up to two star TEs active at any given time, but note that, as of this writing, there are no offensive plays in Retro Bowl that send both TEs out to catch a pass. At lease one TE will always be assigned to block defenders.
  • Key Skill: Catching. A TE’s Catching attribute determines their ability to catch passes under duress due to an inaccurate throw or a nearby defender in coverage (or both). A higher Catching attribute also reduces the chance that the player will fumble the ball.
  • Other Attributes: A TE’s Strength rating determines their ability to break tackles, while their Speed rating indicates their top Speed. A TE’s Stamina determines how long they can run and top speed before slowing down. Higher stamina also means the player will recover more condition at the end of each game.
  • Positional Importance: 4th. A star TE is always worth having, but it’s never necessary, even on a contender.
  • Evaluating TEs
    • More so than even RBs, having any star at the TE position, even one with a rating of 1.0-1.5, represents a huge upgrade over replacement level. Unlike the RB, however, TE is not a particularly important position. Put these two ideas together, and this makes the bottom line of TE evaluation extremely simple: any star TE you can get is worth having.
    • That said, do not roster two star TEs simultaneously. Only one can run a route at a time, and if you have one star TE, the game ensures that the star TE is the one running the route on the play, if there is one. A second TE, therefore, is a waste of a roster spot.
    • Highly rated TEs are a bit of a luxury, whether acquired in the draft or in free agency. The main benefit of having one is that they will be capable of getting open on deeper, slower developing routes before the QB gets sacked. Elite TEs tend to have evenly distributed potential across all four attributes, with each capping around the 7/10 range, give or take.
• Wide Receiver (WR): As the name implies, a WR’s first and last job is catching passes. There are two WRs on the field, and both run routes to catch passes on all passing plays. The routes WRs can be assigned on a given play run the entire gamut, from short to long to outside to over the middle, and everywhere in between. As such, their importance to your passing offense is second only to the QB.
  • Key Skill: Catching. A WR’s Catching attribute determines their ability to catch passes under duress due to an inaccurate throw or a nearby defender in coverage (or both). A higher Catching attribute also reduces the chance that the player will fumble the ball.
  • Other Attributes: A WR’s Strength rating determines their ability to break tackles, while their Speed rating indicates their top Speed. A WR’s Stamina determines how long they can run and top speed before slowing down. Higher stamina also means the player will recover more condition at the end of each game.
  • Positional Importance: 2nd. Play enough Retro Bowl, and I can guarantee you will be presented with the following scenario: It’s a playoff game, and you’re behind. There are 30 seconds (or less) remaining in the game, you need a touchdown to win (or tie), and you must drive most of, if not all of the length of the field to get that touchdown. You will need fast, excellent WRs to do fast, excellent WR things in order to pull of this miracle; anything less and your season will end. Winning in Retro Bowl requires having at least one (and preferably two) great WRs.
  • Evaluating WRs
    • You may be inclined to assume that Catching is the most important attribute for WRs, but it’s not. The most important attribute for WRs in Retro Bowl is Speed, followed by Stamina, followed by Catching. A WR’s Speed determines their ability to get downfield on deep routes quickly, making a speedy WR the player type best suited for making the most big plays. Since even a QB with max Arm Strength cannot throw the ball down the whole length of the field, it is imperative that your WRs be able to gain lots of yards after the catch. The requires Speed, of course, and it also requires high Stamina, so that the WR can keep running at top speed all the way to the end zone.
    • Strength is a pure luxury for WRs, and therefore, a non-factor. Always assume your WR will be tackled on contact.
    • Catching can be important; after all, it’s unrealistic to expect that every pass you ever attempt is going to be perfectly accurate, and WR with a higher Catching rating will do a better job of covering your passing sins. However, if you’re running your passing game right, most of your throws are going to be accurate, and will target receivers that are open.
    • In direct contrast to TEs, since both WRs always run routes on passing plays, it is best to have two star WRs on your roster whenever possible. Ideally, both of these WRs will have potential ratings of 4.0 or above, but it is most important to have at least one WR with a potential rating of 4.5 or above. This WR will be your go-to player when you need a big play. Obviously, it’s a huge boon to have a second such player, but realistically you won’t always have two top-shelf WRs, especially in your first year or two with a team.
    • In case you can’t get two star WRs on your team, or in case one of your star WRs is injured, don’t panic! Replacement level WRs are the best of all the replacement level players. They will only catch passes that are accurate, but they are just fast enough to get yards when necessary.
• Offensive Line (OL): Offensive lineman are charged with blocking defenders exclusively, either to clear a path for RBs, or to prevent the QB from being sacked. They do not run routes or handle the ball in any capacity, except to recover fumbles.
  • Key Skill: Blocking. Determines the players skill at blocking defenders, especially when protecting the QB.
  • Other Attributes: The exact importance of Strength and Speed for OLs is unclear, as you will never directly control an OL. That said, very few OLs, even highly rated ones, have potential Speed higher than 5/10. As always, higher stamina also means the player will recover more condition at the end of each game.
  • Positional Importance: 5th. While having a good offensive line is extremely important in real football, in Retro Bowl, it is the exact opposite. Your ability to run depends on your ability to avoid defenders and break tackles with your RB. Your ability to avoid sacks has almost nothing to do with the quality of your line, and depends almost entirely on your ability to get rid of the ball before being sacked, or to abandon the pass and scramble forward. Having one (or even two) star OLs does not make either task appreciably easier. You do not need any to build a championship-caliber offense.
  • Evaluating OLs
    • Drafting or signing an OL is a luxury pick if ever there were such a thing. Again, you do not need a star OL, and if you’re playing on the 10-man roster setting, it may be a waste of a pick. If you do wish to grab an OL, make sure that any OL you sign or draft has a rating no less than 1.0 star below its potential. There is, in fact, a compelling reason roster an OL, which I’ll mention when discussing the draft in the next installment of this guide.
    • If you are looking for an OL, prioritize Blocking first, followed by Stamina, followed by Strength. Note that an OL with high potential will invariably have a high potential in all three of these attributes.

Roster Positions and Position Evaluations – Defense

In Retro Bowl, you play on offense and not on defense. Not only does this mean that building a quality offense is more important than building a good defense, it also means that no individual defensive position is more important than any other defensive position. Furthermore, the key skill for every defensive position is Tackling, which determines exactly what it says it determines. This also means that all defensive players have the exact same attributes, and that all four of those attributes are self-explanatory.

Put all of this together, and you will be inexorably drawn to the conclusion that when building a defense, all that matters is that you stock your defense with the best players you can, without exceeding the maximum amount of starters at each position. Your only goal in building a defense is selecting players effectively enough that you maximize the overall rating of your defensive unit. Nothing else matters.

(Anecdotally, I do think that I tend to have better defenses when I prioritize the DL position, but since I have not conducted anything resembling proper statistical analysis of this, nor can I confirm if there is any real reason why this would be the case, I cannot advise acting on this. Even if it is true, the fact of the matter is that it changes little. You still want to get the best defenders you can, regardless of position.)

As such, I will keep my remarks on each of the three positions very brief, and limited to an analysis of what a good player looks like at each position, and how to decide between two players of equivalent rating and/or potential.

• Defensive Line (DL): A defensive lineman is charged with making their offensive counterparts’ job as difficult as possible. This means clogging up running lanes and making tackles on running plays, and attempting to beat the protection and sack the QB on passing plays.
  • Attributes: DL attribute distributions tend to look a lot like those among OLs. Great DLs with high potential will have max (or near max) potential in both Tackling and Strength, while lesser DLs will have lower potential in one or both of those attributes. Like OLs, very few DLs have a potential Speed higher than 5/10, even the best of the best. Similarly, very few DL have potential Stamina at or near max.
  • Evaluating DLs: When trying to choose between multiple DL prospects, prioritize Tackling, followed by Speed. Since so few DL have good Speed, those with relatively high Speed or Speed potential are more valuable.
• Linebackers (LB): A good linebacker does a little bit of everything. They must be good enough at tackling to stop RBs on the ground, and also fast enough to provide adequate pass coverage against RBs and TEs. From time to time, they will have to rush the QB, too.
  • Attributes: The best and highest rated LBs in Retro Bowl have an even attribute distribution, but don’t have max potential in any one attribute. The distribution looks alarmingly similar to the distribution among top TEs. All four attributes will have a max potential around 7/10 or 8/10. Again, since a good LB can perform any defensive task asked of them, this makes a lot of sense.
  • Evaluating LBs: LBs are also like running backs, in that lesser players at the position are often better at one skill at the expense of the other. Valuable but less talented LBs have good potential in either Tackling (for run defense) or Speed (for pass coverage), but not both. When comparing two LBs of similar potential, find the LB with the higher Tackling or Speed. It does not matter which of those two you prioritize.
• Defensive Backs (DB): A DB’s main responsibility is covering receivers and defending against the pass. This requires being fast enough to stay with a WR running its route, while also being a good enough tackler to bring down whoever has the ball, whether after the catch or on the ground.
  • Attributes: The best DBs have potential Speed and Stamina at or near the maximum. They also have high potential Tackling, albeit short of the max. Their Strength tends to lag somewhat, but not as much Speed lags for a great DL; many elite DBs have a potential Strength at or near 6/10.
  • Evaluating DBs: As with evaluating equivalent but lesser LBs, it is best to look for a DB that is has particularly high potential Speed or potential Tackling, but if you also have a DB with a relatively even distribution of attributes, consider choosing that player. To a certain extent, DBs have to do a little bit of everything, just like LBs, and therefore need a bit a of speed and a bit of Tackling ability.
• Kickers (K): Kickers kick field goal and extra point attempts. They also provide a marginal boost to your chances of recovering an onside kick. Star kickers are a waste of a roster spot, and should only be kept on your roster if you intend to trade them for draft picks later.

Now that you’ve learned what to look for in a player, the next part of the Complete Guide to Retro Bowl will focus how to effectively build a roster through the draft, and how to manage your star players while you build your winning team.

Remember, always win!

Links to Rob’s Complete Guide to Retro Bowl

Introduction

The Front Office

Drafting and Managing Players

Winning Football Games

Maintaining a Winning Team

Changing Teams