I do sit for 3 hours at the computer to translate from Russian language - the American (not English). I would work this way. (((
You can do it either ways, but what's more imporatnt is make sure that the actcicle aren't totally identicle and are different from each other. make changes in them before submitting thme to the directories.
According to me 2nd one is good! but you should submit more and more article in article submission sites with their update information.
Thatz good that you have a group, so that you can divide your work as per the number of members in the group. I would go for the second option which you have mentioned above.
I think second option will be more effective than the first one, as its always better to play safe than being sorry later.
My experience, although I can't prove it beyond doubt, is that google likes steady organic growth against spamming. I would go with option 2 also
I wonder why would one want to fill his/her site with so much content... at such a rapid pace? I would always take the route which looks humanly possible and not something done by a machine! Ideally, I am opposed to posting more than 2 articles in a day! Regards, RightMan