william1993

RUNNING BALLS-PART 1 I love running balls. I love to see stats pile up. It opens up play action and everything else, and takes pressure off of my QB and my play calling. Just to give you a tidbit of how I did running, here is a game I called the other day as Ole Miss playing vs. NC rushing for Ole Miss: RB1 - 16 rushes for 92 yards RB2 - 16 rush for 82 yards and 2 TD RB3 - 10 rush for 50 yards RB4- 14 rush for 50 yards FB1 - 4 rush for 40 yards FB2 - 2 rush for 12 yards the 1, 2, etc. after name is just the order I put them in, not saying one is better than the other. I called this game myself on offense and defense. I've noticed people say how hard it is to run the ball. It's not (unless you are a crap team playing a great one, and even then you should be able to get some in, it's happened to me, I am ranked #2 or 3 and playing Hawaii or somebody and they run on me). Usually it's a combination of not paying attention to what you have, who you have, and how you can use it. So here we go. First thing: OL running starts and ends with OL. No OL= no holes. So, check your interior OL. RT, RG,C and LG are important for running balls. Are they under 300 lbs? Do they have high skill ratings? How high is their strength rating. Size is important because an OLman must be able to move these big DTs and LBs out of the holes. If you got an OG 6'3 250 that's just a mini linebacker without the skill set of a linebacker. It's going to be hard to run behind a line that is small like that because linebackers can just knock them over. This is why it is essential to use strength and conditioning training on OL, to beef them up, even if they lose a bit of skill. You need size. Also, are they slow. Sometimes if a lineman is so slow a faster DLman or LB can just flat out beat him to the point of attack and you are ****ed. Therefore, the OL cannot be too slow. This is a prototypical OLman: Ht. 6'1+ weight 310+ speed 4.8-5.1 40m dash, run blocking 75/100 +. He has the big body to block DTs and LBs, and he has the speed to keep up with most DL and LB. You don't want to have a run blocker under 70/100 because then his other skills usually suck too. Make them be backups. Also, it is better to have the interior line be run blockers over pass blockers. The only true OL that needs to be a total pass blocker is LT. More on him in passing balls. (This can be adjusted for conference - e.g. where 310 lbs is necessary for the SEC or Big 12, maybe a 280 lb lineman might work if you are in the ACC) RB - Look at your RBs. Are they small? Are they fast or slow? If you have a 5'9 210 lb RB speed 53/100 and you keep trying to run him outside....that won't get you anywhere except if you get lucky once. He's too slow for that. Also, if your O-line and FB is not great, don't try to keep sending a 5'8'170 lb up the middle. 1 and 2 yard gains will be your result. But, like I said, it starts and ends with O line, so if your line is great, there will be holes and push for those smaller backs and there might be outside blocks for those bigger. Also, FB is really damn important. You need a good juicy FB who can run block very well. I like to recruit some run block FB and some ball catching FB and put the runblocker as main FB and the receiver in Pass Down FB. Also, don't forget that your FB has legs as well. He's more than just a run blocker, get him involved. Throw him some balls out of the Flexbone. Call a play for him out of the IForm. He runs too. Prototypical Inside RB - 5'9-6'2 210-245 lbs, speed 4.5-5 40m. dash, 65+ instincts. They do not have to necessarily be fast, just be big and be able to break tackles Prototypical Outside RB - 5'9-6 0 175-210 lbs, speed 4.5-4.6 40 m. dash, 65+ instincts. These guys need to be very fast to beat these LBs to the corner. I can't find too many of them so I run up the middle a lot. Prototypical FB - 6'0-6'3 240+ lbs, 4.9-5.3 40m dash, 65+ run block. These guys do not need to be fast, because they mostly block, however, they need to be big so they can pick up 3rd and 2 or 4th and 1 and stuff like that. ACTUAL RUNNING OF THE BALLS Well, here it is. When it comes to actual play calling, I say, first of all, the most important thing is rotation. Rotate your backs. They are people. They get tired. A RB who was at full energy at the beginning of the drive probably will be worn out at the end of a 7 min. drive. I've done it before, started out the drive the man is consistently running 8 9 10 yard pickups, then all of a sudden, 'He runs up the middle fro 1 yard.' or ' he stumbles and gets hit by the DT.' and look at my lineup, and the back is at 25% energy. Check that. Don't let the computer do it for you, you do it. I rotate my backs when they get to 65% energy unless it is something such as 1st and goal at the 2 then I will just ram him balls deep and get it in. Make sure you try to get multiple RB so you can do this. Check what kind of backs you have. If you have small, fast backs, don't always call up inside run plays. Most definitely don't do it from the singleback, as he is too small to make his own holes. If you want to run him up the middle, get a nice solid FB in front of him and then try it. I can't count how many times I've had a nice juicy 250 lb FB in front of this 6'0 170 lb RB and get something like 'RB Joe Blow takes the handoff and follows FB through the hole. FB takes out the linebacker in front of them and the RB goes ahead for a great 20 yard + run!' If the man is too small, he needs blockers. If you want to do outside runs, make sure you have fast OTs otherwise the DEs will just beat them to the attack point and it will be -4, -3 etc. rushes. Part II will be here later today

DEPTH CHART Setting the proper depth chart is one of the most important things in this game. If you have a player not fit for that particular position on that particular game, you might be in trouble. I will break it down by position, saying what I think is most importnat and why and what a stereotypical player of that position would I recruit QB - (Arm strength 55-65, Touch passing 65+, Accuracy 60+, Instincts 65, 40m. dash 4.80 or so) One does not necessarily have to have a QB with an arm like Roethlisberger or Flacco because you don't need to go deep all game. Even a QB with middling 45-50 strength in the arm can do short-medium passes. Instincts, at QB, is the most important to me and this is why. Plays break down. I don't think very few plays in this game go exactly the way they should (e.g WR X gets to spot B at time T and QB releases ball at time B which flies at a speed of F...you get the point). So that QB needs to know what to do when a play goes to hell. Does he check down? does he scramble? All the skills in the world means nothing if you do not know when to use it. Mental fortitude is deadly important at QB. I also want my QB to have the athletic base to run, but they do not have to be a true scrambler, because I don't call QB runs because I want to minimize injury to QB. So, if you have a QB who lacks the arm strength and skills of his fellows, but has much greater instincts, start him. Example: QB1: 75 AS 82 ACC 80 TOUCH 40 INST vs QB2: 65 AS 71 ACC 73 TOUCH 76 INST. Start QB2. their skill set is close enough to each other wher e instincts can make a difference. HB - size and instincts are the two most important here. For a inside RB, you need him big. Speed may not be the best, but he needs to be able to break tackles. For outside HBs, they need to be fast, so they can make the corner, and I like them short, so harder to tackle by big guys. I will go into way more depth on this in 'Running the Ball.' WR - speed and hands are the most important for them. Speed to gain separation and hands to hold onto balls. That is what receivers do, run to catch balls and hold on to them. So, in setting the depth chart, I prefer to have my wideouts be speed guys while my slot men are hands guys. Wideouts can pop the top while the slot men go underneath. Speed for FL, SE, usually 4.40-4.55 while speed for slot guys are usually 4.50-4.75. More on this in 'passing the ball' TE - I like my TEs balanced, good to block or to catch. Start them in any order. OL- First off, the OL must be large. Tiny OL won't get it. Now that that has been established, I think Discipline is equal to skill in importance. A player can be 90 run and pass block 6'3 350 but if he has 30 discipline I doubt I'd start him. All the penalties he would get to back us up would not be worth it. You would be surprised how many times a sure TD had to become an FG because of a goddamn false start. So, for example, between two people fighting for the LT spot OT 1 6'3 325 Run block 83 pass block 89 inst 70 discipline 55 OT 2 6'1 298 run block 80 pass block 82 inst. 65 discipline 88 OT 2 is the starter. Yes, he is smaller, and a little less skilled, but when we need him to not get a penalty, he won't. speaking of OT by the way, on my Ole Miss roster I have a senior OT 6'3 325 who has started every game even in the playoffs and two championships since he was a freshman, has 90 + in all blocks, and has caused 0 sacks and penalties through 7 games. I want his clone. DL - I think skill and speed is most important for DE and size and skill for DT. A DE does not necessarily have to go stomach to stomach with a OT or OG as they can do swim move and stuff to pass rush. So pass rushing and endurance (for those long 5 min drives) are the most important things I look for in a DE. For a DT I want them to have good size and Point of attack, because they will have to attack that interior line damn quick to get QB pressure or to hit someone in the backfield. I will go into this more on 'Defense.' LB- you have inner and outer LBs. I want my ILBs to be the best at both point of attack and coverage, because they could be called on to do both. They must have size and speed, size to cover TEs and speed to get in for tackles or chase RBs. So they must have good coverage and point of attack OLBs I want to be better at pass coverage (drop to cover an RB or TE) or rush in from the edge to hit that QB, so they must be better at pass rush moves and coverage. More on that in 'Defense.' DBs - Your PCB and SCB must be good cover corners. Esp. when you are coming after a team with a balanced pass vs. run attack. You may have to stack the box to stop the run so your corners must be able to cover whoever the hell comes at them, body to body. They must be tall and fast. Instincts play a part, but I don't worry about that too much if they have the physical skillset. Nickel and dime backs I prefer them to be cover corners, but they can be zone as well as a lot of those two defenses are zone plays. FS, I play deep as a cover man while I prefer my SS to be balanced, so I can blitz the man or drop him in coverage. A big SS who has coverage skills is best there. More on this in 'Defense.' Kicker and Punter - this is obvious. Whoever can kick the hardest/longest, start him. Return men- I like them to be fast, small, and agile. I also do not like playing my starters at that position for fear of injury. I tend, in the latter part of the recruiting stage, try to recruit some players nobody wants esp. for that position, like a orange chip WR or something. Just yesterday I recruited some man named John Wall with a 4.39 40m dash 5'10 165 and he returns kicks for average of 15 and punts for 17 yards. I think he will get better. I also have him at #5 WR too and he gets some time when I play the spread

<p>TRAINING</p><p> </p><p> There are four skill sets.</p><p> </p><p> Football skills: these are the bread and butter of a player. If they have no skill, they cannot play</p><p> </p><p> Strength and conditioning: somewhat used to help with endurance, but mostly used to make the players fatter</p><p> </p><p> Academics: self-explanatory</p><p> </p><p> Adaptability - use this if you plan on switching a player's position or playing him out of position (e.g you have 4 FB and 2 RB so you want to switch a FB to RB OR if you have multiple CB but 1 FS maybe you might end up having to play a CB at FS, then use this.)</p><p> </p><p> Disclaimer: Academics is important as balls. A player is useless if he cannot stay on the field</p><p> </p><p> Now, to set training, I look at things based on player position:</p><p> </p><p> <strong>WR, QB, CB, FS, </strong> - these are positions in which skill is most paramount. I set most of my 100 pts for skill on these players. I put that based off of size and academic performance.</p><p> </p><p> ex. WR Joe Blow: Ht. 6'3 Wt. 215/225 60 hands, 75 route running, 60 endurance 2.35 GPA </p><p> </p><p> I would train him at (60 skills, 10 st. 30 ac). His skills are pretty high so I don't need to use all my points. a couple extra pounds would be good. Even though his GPA is over 2.0, it could take a nosedive and I need him on the field, so I devote a big chunk to that.</p><p> </p><p> ex. CB Jack Black Ht. 6'1 Wt. 201/207 75 coverage. 70 tackle, 68 speed, 75 instincts, 50 jumping 3.1 GPA</p><p> </p><p> I would train him at 100 sk. All my points would be used for his skillset because his GPA is fine and his weight is fine (I want WRs and DBs to be within 5 lbs of their target) so I devote it all to skills to hopefully improve his jumping.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> <strong>OL, DL</strong></p><p> </p><p> Size is most important in these positions, esp. in the middle of the line (OG, C, DT) DTs need to be big so they can clog the middle and OG and C need to be big so they can push those big DTs out of the way. DEs are usually smaller than DT and OG/C is usually bigger than OT.</p><p> </p><p> ex. (OG Jim Smith: Ht; 6'3 Wt. 290/345 Runblock 75 Pass block 78, GPA 2.6) </p><p> I would train him (60 Sk 40 st). His GPA is fine, his skills will do, but his weight is really low. So I needed to beef him up. And if I am stacked at OL then I won't need him to be out of position. But do not spend too much on strength otherwise you will get an overweight sucky player.</p><p> </p><p> HB, LB,</p><p> </p><p> Both size and skill are important for these.</p><p> </p><p> Some RBs, esp. from the ATLE and MW, are big as hell (6'2 250 and whatnot) so the linebackers must be large. I like my linebackers to be 6'1 or taller and at least 250 lbs. Halfbacks are different. If you want to run up the middle more (which I do) you need big juicy halfbacks.</p><p> </p><p> ex. HB Ho Bo: Ht. 5'11 weight 205/235 running 60 route running 65 hands 59 GPA 3.51</p><p> </p><p> I would train him (70 sk, 30 st). His grades are good. His skill set is average so that can be used to beef him up a little. But his big weakness is lack of size, and so using a bit of strength points to bulk him up is good. But not too many, you don't want him fat.</p><p> </p><p> So that's training. Any questions, ask away.</p>

<p>Obtaining Coaches</p><p> </p><p> General</p><p> When looking for a coach, there are things to consider. But overall, for any coach (besides his position development rankings) there is something that is most important. That is motivation. A coach with high motivation ability can get the best out of his players/ He can raise Work Ethic rating (which might therefore help enrich development). Considering I call my own games 90% of the time, I could care less about gameplan; and also you can scout your opponent and figure out one of your own.</p><p> </p><p> Offensive Coordinator</p><p> When hiring an OC, make sure at the least he has the best development in OL. The offense starts and ends with O-line. OL opens holes for the backs and gives QB time to throw the ball. It is better to have substandard QBs and RBs operating behind a great line than great skill players behind a shitty line.</p><p> On average, this is what I would try to get as an OC:</p><p> Good at OL dev.</p><p> Average at QB, RB, WR dev.</p><p> </p><p> Of course, depending on what school you play as and what conference you are in you may be able to get better or worse. Right now I have an OC at OleMiss who is Good at developing everything.</p><p> </p><p> Defensive Coordinator</p><p> Cornerbacks are at a premium on defenses. If a team is a primary running team, you may have to stack 7 or 8 to stop them. This is why it is essential to have a DC that can develop DBs well. Make sure your DC has his highest rating in CB development.</p>

<p>PLAYER TYPES</p><p> </p><p> QB</p><p> 1. Pocket Passer QB - usually have incredible arm strength but slow as molasses. Get this one if you have a good offensive line or you will get sacked a lot because they suck at escaping pass rush.</p><p> 2. West Coast QB - I find these ones to be on the low end of pocket passer strength and sometimes can scramble a little.</p><p> 3. Mobile QB - can run. Some have great arm strength and some have middling. This is my preferred type. Get this one if you want to run some option or have porous offensive line.</p><p> 4. Balanced - combination of 1 and 3. Most times these types of QB do one better than the other (either is good on passing and low on running, or opposite)</p><p> </p><p> RB</p><p> 1. Inside RB - these are the ones that run up the middle against the linebackers and defensive lines. Size is good. Speed may be fast, or it may be in the middle. Average is like 4.5-4.7 40m dash. What they lack in speed they make up for in size. Best size for an RB you want to use to run inside is 5'10-6'2 200-235 lbs. If they are too big they will be gassed easily and if they are too small they will break no tackles</p><p> 2.Outside RB - these are the fast little heifers that run outside. Usually have high 40 m dash. Also I find them to be great receivers if they have good agility because they can break tackles. Size anywhere from 5'8 165 to 6'0 200. If they are too big they may not have the size to get to the corner to get outside.</p><p> </p><p> WR</p><p> 1. Speed WR - these are the fast ones. Very fast ones. Sometimes they are good at catching balls and sometimes they are not. I prefer to have a 1:3 ratio against speed receivers because all the speed in the world is useless if they love to drop balls.</p><p> </p><p> 2. Possession WR - have good speed around RB speed, but their strength is their ability to hold onto balls. I prefer this kind because a receiver is useless if he cannot hold onto balls.</p><p> </p><p> Optimal size for any receiver is 6'0-6'6 + 180-230 lbs. A converted, undersized TE would be good as well</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> Offensive Line</p><p> </p><p> 1. Finesse Lineman- these ones are usually not as big as the other type of linemen (6'1-6'6 260-290) and they rely on skill moves and blocking to hold the line or make holes.</p><p> </p><p> 2. Power Linemen - these are the large ones (6'1-6'7 300 + lbs) that rely more on strength to do stuff, although they have skill as well.</p><p> </p><p> I prefer to have a mixture of both finesse and power men. I like the OTs to be finesse to hold off that good pass rush while I like my interior line to be Power so they can knock people over to make holes for RB. Optimal size for me is</p><p> OT - 6'3 280-300</p><p> OG - 6'3 320-340</p><p> C- in the middle of those.</p><p> </p><p> *I have, currently on my roster, a 6'3 350 lb run blocking RT who I love so damn much.</p><p> </p><p> TE</p><p> 1. Blocking- they block for runs</p><p> 2. Receiving - they catch balls.</p><p> </p><p> Blocking ends tend to be bigger than receiving ends. Like I said earlier, an undersized DE works good here as well.</p><p> </p><p> Defensive players</p><p> </p><p> Defensive line</p><p> 1. Pass rushers - usually have good agility and speed, this is how they outmaneuver offensive linespeople to get sacks.</p><p> 2. Run stoppers - less finesse, more brute strength to blast into the backfield and lay the RB or QB out.</p><p> </p><p> Optimal size for DEs are 6'1-6'3 265-280. With that size he is small enough to get under the large linemen and would still have decent speed for his size.</p><p> </p><p> Optimal size for DTs are same height but 290-300+ lbs. I especially want my NTs to be relatively short and big, so I can use them for a big body to plug holes. Good size is about 6'3 330 (if you can get them that big).</p><p> </p><p> Linebackers</p><p> 1. OLB - the outside linebackers must be good in coverage with decent size and speed, for they usually cover tight ends and RBs on screens. Good size for an OLB is 6'0-6'3 240 lbs, with high coverage skills. I prefer to have a mixture of run stopping and coverage OLBs</p><p> </p><p> 2. ILB - the inside linebackers need to be large and excellent at coverage. To me, run stopping is secondary with them. Optimal size is 6'3 250 or so, but with about 4'7 40m dash so they can match up with TEs if they must as well as chase down backs.</p><p> </p><p> Defensive backs</p><p> 1. CBs </p><p> 1.1 Cover corners - these are the ones that will cover man to man</p><p> 1.2 zone corners - these are the ones who cover in the zone defenses</p><p> </p><p> Cover corners are a premium, IMO. The problem with zone corners is that if a CB has to cover a certain zone, there is no certainty that the receiver that ends up in that zone is a favorable matchup with him. This is why I prefer to recruit all cover corners, if I can, so even if I play them in zone they are experienced at coverage </p><p> 2. Safeties</p><p> 2.0.1 Blitzing Safeties - these ones love to charge the line. If you are a player who wants to generate much pass rush, get one of these</p><p> 2.0.2 - coverage safeties- they cover people much like CBs</p><p> 2.0.3 - run stopping safeties - these tend to be SS who patrol the line or blitz the RB</p><p> 2.1 FS</p><p> *see CB above</p><p> 2.2. SS</p><p> I prefer to have blitzing SS. If I am playing in Nickel or Dime defense, a blitzing safety may be just what I need for more pass rush but as I want to use my FS in coverage, the SS is what I choose to blitz with. However, it is best to have a coverage SS on the depth chart in case the team you play has no run game.</p><p> </p><p> Special Teams</p><p> </p><p> 1. Kicker and Punter - accuracy is better than power for FG kickers and power is better for Kickoff specialists. This is why I sometimes have two kickers. </p><p> </p><p> 2. Return men - many times I recruit some red chip, fast, undersized WR or CB as my return man so my premium players will not get hurt. Optimal size is like under 6 feet with damn fast 40m. dash time. 2 years ago I had recruited a red chip (1.0/1.0) WR who was 5'8 170 but had a 4.2 40m. dash and he won all SEC honors as a PR. So that works.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> I have more coming later.</p>

<p>DETERMINING SCHOLARSHIP USAGE</p><p> </p><p> With a limited amount of scholarships, you want to get the most bang for your buck. At some positions, there may be a clear need : e.g. you have no QB, so you must recruit one. But in some situations, you may not need to do that.</p><p> </p><p> Example: You have 7 OT 4 OG 0 C. You may think, well, I must expend a scholarship on a Center.</p><p> </p><p> Maybe not. This is when the 'change position' button is your friend. Take one of those OT or G and make them a C (during week 6 of the preseason). That way you can use a scholarship on something else. Same for DBs. If you have many FS and not many CB, convert some. Those undersized DEs (6'4 245 and such), those can make good TEs if you need them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> * Make sure that the player you convert has good adaptability, or it won't work too well.</p><p> </p><p> FBs make good RBs, however, RBs don't make good FBs unless you got a good blocking one.</p><p> I have converted WRs to CBs; however, while efficient, I find that converting FS is best. I've recruited a good coverage FS who was yellow chip 2.5/5.0 and when I converted him to CB he shot up to 4/4</p><p> Kickers and Punters really don't switch well.</p><p> Always attempt to give your OL some adaptability training because I've found that you can switch them up between positions and they do fairly well at any one.</p>

I already did a piece on how to recruit, now I will expand that. Coming is: Determining Scholarship Usage Player types and uses Obtaining Coaches Training Depth Chart settings Running balls Passing balls Defense.

I've been playing this game for a while now and I finally have figured out how recruitment works. This is what I have discovered: First thing you need to do is check out your defensive coach, offensive coach, and ST coach. Remember, you do not have to get 5 star players immediately, you can get 3 star players and develop them into better players. You want to create a stable program, not a one hit wonder. For offensive coach selection, O-line development is the most important because it is the O-line that makes the holes for the running back and gives the passer time to throw. For defensive coach selection, cornerback development is most important because teams will throw on you no matter how good the defensive line is so you want to have fantastic pass defense, as well as using the cornerbacks to stop the run if they do not throw. So, now, once you have gotten your coaches, then you start recruitment. If you are a big name team with much prestige then you can go after the 4 or 5 star people because you might be attractive to them. If you are a lower level team go after lower level people because with your coaches, you can develop them to be better. How to pick recruits: pick recruits by their interest level, not their stars, because if they are not interested, you will just be wasting money and scholarships. Also, you more than likely will only be able to get recruits from your region, esp. as a medium-or-lower level school because you don't have that recognition yet. When picking a player, it's best to pick one who 1) has high interest 2) is in a position of need 3) You can give a scholarship to (those are entiicng). When I say position of need, I don't mean only number wise but developmentally wise. Let us say you have an offensive line who is all composed of players who are all rated 2/4. You might think, damn, I need to recruit more offensive linespeople. You don't. Your OC can develop them, and you can play ball to their weaknesses. In that case, the OL is not a position of need. But let us say in the defensive back position, you only have 5 CB/S. No matter if they are all 5 star people, you need more than 5. So this is an area of need, and an area you would recruit in. Also, and this goes for big name schools as well, only pick players that you would have some sort of chance to get. Someone in MS being offered a scholarship by both Miss. State and Ole Miss would be safe bet if you were a coach in MS. Somebody from RI getting offers from Brown, IL, UNC, and many others along the eastern seaboard would probably not commit, even if you used every cent of recruitment money and all scholarships. When it comes to scouting them out to see what it is to make a player happy in order to get them to commit to you, I generally start recruiting and scouting as soon as they are on the watch list. I've come to find the more I spend on recruitment, the quicker I find out what they are looking for in a school and I can pitch it to them. But make sure you do not throw a pitch early, even if it is 8 weeks in. Just recruit them with the money to keep contact and wait until you find the pitch that is very important because even then that may make the deciding factor. Many times I have passed on the sales pitch until I knew for sure what they wanted, and that's how I get the humans. Finally, when it comes to development, I've found that skills>conditioning because in some cases even high conditioned people can be outplayed by those with skill