NFL executives generally agree that the best way to build a club is by making good picks in the draft of college players, then signing free agents to fill in the blanks.
They might be saying it more after this Super Bowl.
Looking at the starting line-ups for the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers, it appears these old-school franchises used the same playbook to construct their rosters:
˜ Sixteen of the 22 expected starters on each team are home-grown players who were selected from the college ranks.
˜ Two more on each team are the next-best thing - players who were signed after nobody picked them in the draft.
˜ The remaining four were signed off the open market, additions made more through scouting acumen than winning bidding wars.
Charles Woodson, the Packers cornerback, and James Farrior, the Steelers linebacker, are valuable players now - both team captains - and both joined their team after leaving other clubs and not finding many offers.
"We made a bunch of phone calls, my agent did, with no success," said Woodson, who left Oakland with the reputation of being more interested in fun than football.
"For some reason, Green Bay kept calling him. I kept trying to blow it off, blow it off, blow it off. Finally, I took a visit to Green Bay and the rest is history."
Farrior, formerly with the New York Jets, was too slow to be an outside linebacker, too small to be an inside linebacker. But the Steelers saw him as a perfect fit.
"I was born to play inside linebacker for the Steelers," he said. "I felt like I was wanted there. They do a great job of getting people to fit in their system.
"They've always been able to judge good people, good character. That's why the Steelers have been so successful."
Neither Pittsburgh nor Green Bay are high-profile destinations for out-of-contract players, nor are their owners the deep-pocketed types who are willing to overpay to help generate headlines.
They have to get it right if they are going to succeed. Sometimes, that requires patience and trust.
"The Packers exhibited both by sticking with Ted Thompson, their general manager, despite moves that rattled the fan base - spending a first-round pick on Aaron Rodgers when they already had Brett Favre.
"The principles are in place of how you evaluate a player," Mike McCarthy, the Packers coach, said. "So when you're in a personnel meeting prior to the draft and discussions are going around the table about a player, you know when the final decision is made that Ted has probably had his eyes on him and definitely has done his due diligence.
"It's very impressive to watch now for five years.
"I really like our structure, our programme. We have drafted players, we have developed them and have been successful in doing that. We need to continue to do that because every year is a new year." As a Pittsburgh native, McCarthy knows where to look for inspiration. The Steelers are in the Super Bowl for the third time in six seasons, thanks mostly to replenishing their system with wise picks.
The mastermind is Kevin Colbert, the director of football operations. Eight of Pittsburgh's last 10 first-rounders are starters, which is even more impressive since the Steelers usually pick late in the first round.
