Player's Guide: What I have Learned

william1993 · January 24, 2014

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.

william1993 · January 24, 2014

DETERMINING SCHOLARSHIP USAGE

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.

Example: You have 7 OT 4 OG 0 C. You may think, well, I must expend a scholarship on a Center.

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.

* Make sure that the player you convert has good adaptability, or it won't work too well.

FBs make good RBs, however, RBs don't make good FBs unless you got a good blocking one.

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

Kickers and Punters really don't switch well.

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.

william1993 · January 24, 2014

PLAYER TYPES

QB

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.

2. West Coast QB - I find these ones to be on the low end of pocket passer strength and sometimes can scramble a little.

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.

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)

RB

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

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.

WR

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.

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.

Optimal size for any receiver is 6'0-6'6 + 180-230 lbs. A converted, undersized TE would be good as well

Offensive Line

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.

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.

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

OT - 6'3 280-300

OG - 6'3 320-340

C- in the middle of those.

*I have, currently on my roster, a 6'3 350 lb run blocking RT who I love so damn much.

TE

1. Blocking- they block for runs

2. Receiving - they catch balls.

Blocking ends tend to be bigger than receiving ends. Like I said earlier, an undersized DE works good here as well.

Defensive players

Defensive line

1. Pass rushers - usually have good agility and speed, this is how they outmaneuver offensive linespeople to get sacks.

2. Run stoppers - less finesse, more brute strength to blast into the backfield and lay the RB or QB out.

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.

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).

Linebackers

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

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.

Defensive backs

1. CBs

1.1 Cover corners - these are the ones that will cover man to man

1.2 zone corners - these are the ones who cover in the zone defenses

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

2. Safeties

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

2.0.2 - coverage safeties- they cover people much like CBs

2.0.3 - run stopping safeties - these tend to be SS who patrol the line or blitz the RB

2.1 FS

*see CB above

2.2. SS

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.

Special Teams

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.

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.

I have more coming later.

william1993 · January 25, 2014

Obtaining Coaches

General

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.

Offensive Coordinator

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.

On average, this is what I would try to get as an OC:

Good at OL dev.

Average at QB, RB, WR dev.

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.

Defensive Coordinator

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.

william1993 · February 4, 2014

TRAINING

There are four skill sets.

Football skills: these are the bread and butter of a player. If they have no skill, they cannot play

Strength and conditioning: somewhat used to help with endurance, but mostly used to make the players fatter

Academics: self-explanatory

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.)

Disclaimer: Academics is important as balls. A player is useless if he cannot stay on the field

Now, to set training, I look at things based on player position:

WR, QB, CB, FS, - 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.

ex. WR Joe Blow: Ht. 6'3 Wt. 215/225 60 hands, 75 route running, 60 endurance 2.35 GPA

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.

ex. CB Jack Black Ht. 6'1 Wt. 201/207 75 coverage. 70 tackle, 68 speed, 75 instincts, 50 jumping 3.1 GPA

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.

OL, DL

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.

ex. (OG Jim Smith: Ht; 6'3 Wt. 290/345 Runblock 75 Pass block 78, GPA 2.6)

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.

HB, LB,

Both size and skill are important for these.

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.

ex. HB Ho Bo: Ht. 5'11 weight 205/235 running 60 route running 65 hands 59 GPA 3.51

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.

So that's training. Any questions, ask away.

william1993 · February 4, 2014

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

william1993 · February 4, 2014

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

william1993 · February 5, 2014

RUNNING-PART II

Another thing you must do is find out which plays certain OL have success with. If you have some OG who are all power men who go full speed ahead to knock people over, maybe it's best to call straight ahead over the guard run plays. If you have OG who are finesse men with high agility and speed ratings, they might be better suited for trap and pull blocking,so call lots of trap and counter plays. You must match play calling to the line's skill.

Pick away. That is the 2nd most important thing you must do. Find their weak spot and go at it. Swtch your O line to create mismatches. If their LDE is weak, maybe switch OTs and then run it over the RT/RG. If the NT is weak, maybe insert your run block center over your pass block center. Keep doing it. if you get a 3 yard gain the first time, maybe switch formations and try another of the same play type (e.g. IForm HB power RG and then singleback-power RG). Once you find that weakness, milk it for all it's worth. If you've been having success running over the center, do it repeatedly, switch backs and do it some more. The holes will get bigger and bigger. If their weak spot is the DTs, run it up the middle with FB a lot, to get them worried about FB then hit them with the RB. You must continue to pick away and give their defense no time to rest. This is when a good FB is paramount to take some pressure off of the RB.

william1993 · February 12, 2014

DEFENSE (I will break this down into three parts or so because it will be long).

Types of defenses:

3-4 Defense: 3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers (hence the 3-4 name) 2 CB, 1 FS, 1 SS.

4-3 Defense: 4 defensive linemen, 3 linebackers, 2 CB, 1 FS, 1 SS

3-3-5 defense: 3 defensive linemen, 3 linebackers, 2 CB, 1 FS, 1 SS, 1 extra defensive back (hopefully a safety that can play run and pass). This defense blows.

4-6 defense: this defense is a bit different. It is not named for the number of position players but more for the number of players along the line. There are 4 defensive linemen (the 4- part) and 3 LB, 2 CB, and an S (6 total players, the other 6 part, hence 4 and 6) crowding the line behind the DL. The 11th player is usually a FS playing deep.

4-2-5 defense: 4 defensive linemen, 2 LB, 2 CB, 1 FS, 1 SS, and another safety (possibly the most balanced one) to play the pass and the run

Nickel defense: named for having 5 defensive backs: the players are the same type as in the 4-2-5 but this is a primarily pass set defense.

Dime defense: has 6 DB. total of 4 DL, 1 LB, 4 CB, 1 FS, 1 SS. This is a primarily pass defense

5-2 defense. 5 people on the defensive line area, 2 LB, 2 CB, 2 S

4-4 defense. 4 defensive linemen, 4 linebackers, 2 CB, and a safety. The safety needs to be very good in pass coverage and in tackling, so I'd suggest either a tall, large FS with good tackling abilities, or a balanced S.

william1993 · February 12, 2014

DEFENSIVE DEPTH CHART

Defensive Line

RDE, NT, LDE: these are three of the defensive line positions on the depth chart. These are the positions in which the 335 and 34 Defense are set from.

RDE: lines up against the opposing LT. Should have good speed, strength, and high pass rush* abilities.

LDE: lines up against the opposing RT. Should have high speed and good POA** skills

NT: More a big body than anything else. Needs size and especially ferocious point of attack skills. I usually put here the DT with the best point of attack skills, whether he is big or not.

*pass rush (PR): a skill on your player's card. How good he is at charging the QB

**point of attack (POA): how good a player is at getting to the hole the QB/RB/whoever is coming from to plug the hole.

4-3 DT, Pass Down DT, Pass down DE

These are the positions that all the defenses that have 4 or more defensive linemen are run from. I am not sure the 4-3 DT is even used, so whoever I insert in 4-3 DT I also insert in Pass down DT. The two DTs here should have high POA and pass rush as they may need to block holes from the RB and take many blockers. The DEs, I prefer to have speed and pass rush ability to get pressure, even if they do not sack.

LINEBACKERS

SLB: Strongside linebacker. Lines up where the TE is. Should have decent speed and strength but also be very good in pass coverage.

WLB: Weakside linebacker. Lines up on the other side where the TE is not. Preferably should have high speed/pass rush for QB pressure and good PR ability to cover a back out of the backfield. I blitz this guy more than anything as to put extra pressure on the LT

MLB Inside Linebacker on the 4-3 defense. Needs to be able to do it all. Pass rush, speed, be strong, be big, have good coverage.

3-4 ILB (2): In the 3-4 defense, you have two inside linebackers. It would potentially be best to have one blitzer and one coverage linebacker. One of the 2 ILB should have high pass coverage and good speed. The other ILB should have high pass rush and point of attack. I think in all the schemes I see it is the #6 LB (left inside linebacker) that blitzes the most so you can put the best pass rusher there. I am not sure if it is the 1st or 2nd LB in that slot that lines up at #6, but if you call a play and click on the LB icon you can see which man the game puts in that spot and adjust your depth chart accordingly

Defensive backs

PCB and SCB

The two starting corners. The PCB usually covers the opposing SE and the SCB usually covers the opposing FL. The way I set the two men for that position varies by game. I go into the enemy's depth chart and see which WRs they set at that position and try to find the best CB to match them. I find speed and jumping and coverage to be the traits most important in a CB, and try to match to a WR. So, for example, if the upcoming team has a FL that is 65 speed, and 51 jumping and is 6'4 I'd try to match him up with a CB that has someting such as 75 coverage, 63 speed, and 60 jumping. I really think jumping is important as so many plays in the game are something like "The QB throws it a little high" or "the WR leaps and makes the catch over CB X"

FS

This man usually plays the pass middle or deep. He should be fast, with high coverage and high tackling abilities.

SS

This guy usually plays the run, but he can be called on to blitz or to pass cover, esp. in 3rd and deep situations. He should be fast (if you can get one) but most importantly have very good tackling skills to stop the run.

Nickel and Dimebacks

I usually make these guys my 2nd best CBs, sometimes I will put an FS in that spot but not often, and usually I want them to be good in zone coverage as most of the nickel and dime plays are from zone. But being cover corners, again, works well if they have high speed and jumping.

e

#5 in the 425:

usually a SS (#2 in the SS Slot) who has high coverage and speed, strong and good tackling.

william1993 · February 13, 2014

RUN DEFENSE

I will list the defenses that are good at the defending the run, in no particular order.

4-3 Very good at defending the run. Even better if you have 4 very good DL. With such, one or two of the DL can take on double teams thereby freeing up the other DL and the LBs to come rushing in to get tackles for loss. Also if you rush them in at an angle it can catch the RB off guard and cause an even bigger loss.

4-4 I think the best at defending the run. It has the 4 DL necessity at POA like the 4-3, but it also has 4 fast, hard hitting LB to come in if the DL cannot get the stop. This defense, however, is vulnerable to passing so don't use it too much unless a team is clearly inferior.

4-6 Also very good at defending the run. There can be potentially 10 men at the LOS to overwhelm the O-line, and if not, to at least stop the RB from getting many yards. However, if you are caught in 46 run defense and it is a pass, there is wide open space behind you.

5-2. Good at defending the run, but it is a must that you have fantastic DL in this set, because with only two linebackers if the RB makes it to the 2nd line of defense, there will be trouble.

Tips for run defense:

You don't always want to send everyone blitzing. When everyone blitzes, they lose their lane and gap discipline right quick and that can be exploited by the RB heading upfield as everyone tries to stop blitzing and turn around.

if they do more outside runs, you want to switch to a defense in which there are enough LB to cover the outside area, so a 4-4 or a 4-6 in which the DL can push men inside, forcing the RB out, at which time he can get hit by the OLBs.

If they do more inside runs, maybe a 4-3 or a 5-2, or even a 3-4(with good DL) with some good ILB that you can send up the middle to plug the holes.

Ex: I played a game (will post stats when I get back to my computer) I called myself as Ole Miss against Vanderbilt with the final score of 43-23 Ole Miss (Vanderbilt scored 23 pts in the 4th on a pick-6, fumble recovery, FG, and an offensive TD with a missed PAT). But that was not the reason I thought the game was noticeable. I rushed for 430+ yards on Vanderbilt. 3 backs had over 100 yards rushing. I had 5 rushing TDs. Even the fullback got it in. And the reason for that was: two crappy red-chip DTs sitting in the middle of the Vanderbilt D-line. They never got any pressure, they never got into the backfield, they never pushed the OL backwards, and that is what will occur when this happens. On the other hand, however, I had strong D line, and ended the game with only about 25 yards rushing on 20 attempts for vanderbilt vs about 200 yards passing (my secondary was garbage )

william1993 · March 4, 2014

Pass defense.

I think pass defense is best well served when you have a good DL and some damn good CBs. The defensive line must be good to generate excellent pass rush while the CBs must be good to be able to cover.

As a general rule, you want on the field one more player than the opposing team has receivers lined up. So if they are coming with the quads formation, you will want to have some Nickel or 425 or some type of defense.

CB matchups

You want to create the most favorable matchups for your CBs, and so I recommend going into the enemy team's depth chart before the game (as part of scouting) and see which receivers they have lined up at which spot. The PCB covers the SE receiver and the SCB covers the FL receiver. The two most important things I look for in CBs are jumping and speed. The CB must have good coverage skills, speed to keep up with the WR and jump high enough to contest catches with him.

example:

FL: 6'5 210 Jumping 58 speed 65

SE 6'3 188 jumping 70 speed 75

WR3 6'3 190 jumping 44 speed 65

vs

CB1 6'4 201 coverage 70 speed 70 jumping 65

CB2 6'1 198 coverage 60, speed 60, jumping 55

CB3 6'1 205 coverage 70, speed 65 jumping 80

I would have PCB as CB3 covering the SE

6'3 188 70 jump 75 speed vs 6'1 201 65 speed 80 jumping

*while the WR is faster, the CB can jump higher and he is not much slower, so that can be offset by playing press coverage and bump/run

SCB as CB2 covering FL

6'5 210 jumping 58 speed 65 vs 6'1 198 speed 60 jumping 55

the two are about equal in skillset with my Cb having a small advantage on speed.

CB1 would be covering WR3.

Defending screens:

Screens have the capability, in this game, for making a short pass go a long distance. But, they are highly defendable. With a screen, one must not blitz, as blitzing opens up areas in the secondary for the receiver to go to. This is when short zone (SZ) defensive calls come into good play. 34-SZ normal is a good one, as well as goalline SZ pass defense. The reason for this is that a screen is a short pass depending on the receiver to get YAC. Well, if all the defense has dropped into only a short zone, they can swarm the receiver and stop him from advancing.

Defending deep balls:

Many times in games one team is losing and time is running out so you know they have to go deep to get yards quickly. So to defend in this type of situation, you should use defenses with 5 or 6 DBs. I have found the nickel, dime, and 425 to be best. Using these types will overload the receivers and reduce the time the opposing team has to score. If the opposing offensive line is weak, maybe send in some blitzers. If not, keep them back because you will need all the LBs to stop passes to TEs and WRs

Creating pressure:

Although it is not represented in the play-by-play in the game, if you go into the game log you will see things like this:

"QB James Johnson threw an incomplete pass to WR Dave Howard. DT Billy Earl Jamison hurried the QB."

The reason that was incomplete was because the defensive line got good pressure. If they can move a QB out of his comfort zone, the whole play can be ruined. This is why getting pressure is a must and why you need to have good defensive line. If you have to depend on your LBs to create pass rush pressure then your defense will have a problem because your DTs aren't strong enough to get into the backfield or even push the OL backwards. It''s best if your DLs are strong, as well (they probably won't ever be as strong as OL), but if you can give them strength and conditioning up to where their strength is 55 or so, it will be good and work wonders.

Teletech · March 6, 2014

dude, this is fantastic stuff! The powers that be, around here, should really make this entire thread a "sticky". The whole body of work you've produced here is dusting off my re-interest in the game, thanks!

william1993 · March 6, 2014

Thank you. I'm not done yet, either. I'm in school right now, so I haven't had time totally to go as deep as I wanted. I still have revisions and things

olympia · March 25, 2014

I second that notion,. This is some good stuff -- cant wait to read the rest

tarek · March 28, 2014

This is indeed amazing. I can't wait to read you thoughts on an effective passing offense.

william1993 · March 28, 2014

Gonna update tonight. What all do you want me to write about?

I was going to do something also on recruiting for specific schemes as well.

william1993 · March 28, 2014

Ole Miss(4-0) vs. Vanderbilt(0-5)

Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 OT

MISS 7 13 16 7

VAND 0 0 0 23

STATS MISS VAND

First downs 31 12

Rushing 25 2

Passing 4 10

Penalty 2 0

Downs MISS VAND

3rd down 6-12 2-10

4th down 2-2 0-1

Total yards MISS (538) VAND (222)

Passing yards 101 (8-15) 1 pick 202 (19-32) 1 pick

Rushing yards 437 (66 att) 20 (20 att)

SACKS No sack 2 for -12 yards

MISS VAND

Penalties 1 for 5 yards 11 for 70 yards

Fumble (lost) 3 (2) 1 (0)

TD 5 rushing 2 passing

Extra Points 5-5 (MISS) 2-3 (VAND)

Field Goals 2-2 (MISS) 1-1 D)

Red Zone Efficiency 6-7-85.7% (MISS) 2-2-100% (VAND)

Time Of Possession 38:18 21:48

First Quarter

MISS TD 09:13 7-0 Donald Walker 3 YD Run (Mathew Hill Kick).

Second Quarter

MISS TD 11:51 14-0 Donald Walker 4 YD Run (Mathew Hill Kick).

MISS FG 03:17 17-0 Mathew Hill 29 YD

MISS FG 00:01 20-0 Mathew Hill 25 YD

Third Quarter

MISS TD 12:05 27-0 Donald Walker 45 YD Run (Mathew Hill Kick).

MISS TD 06:18 34-0 William Martin 1 YD Run (Mathew Hill Kick).

MISS SAF 02:17 36-0 Matthew Green stuffed Daniel Noel in the end zone for a safety.

Fourth Quarter

VAND TD 11:57 36-6 Seth Barlow 3 YD Pass from Abel Clay (Terry Langley Kick Failed).

MISS TD 08:53 43-6 Donald Walker 10 YD Run (Mathew Hill Kick).

VAND TD 06:21 43-13 Ronald Garcia 3 YD Pass from Abel Clay (Terry Langley Kick).

VAND FG 02:58 43-16 Terry Langley 42 YD

VAND TD 01:51 43-23 84 YD Int Return by Craig Mendez (Terry Langley Kick).

MISS PASSING

CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK

QB B. Marion 8/15 101 0 1 25 0-0

VAND PASSING

CP/AT YDS TD INT LG SACK

QB A. Clay 17/29 189 2 1 38 2-12

QB M. Costello 2/3 13 0 0 7 0-0

MISS RUSHING

ATT YDS YPC TD LG

RB D. Walker 17 for 155 avg of 9.12 and 4 TD long of 45

RB W. Martin 16 for 128 avg of 8.00 and 1 TD long of 31

RB D. Hodge 21 for 109 avg of 5.19 and0 TD long of 27

FB M. Cagle 7 for 37 avg of 5.29 and 0 TD long of 15

RB L. Bennett 5 8 1.60 0 7

VAND RUSHING

ATT YDS YPC TD LG

RB D. Noel 7 30 4.29 0 15

FB R. Roark 2 5 2.50 0 3

RB S. Barlow 8 3 0.38 0 4

QB A. Clay 1 -6 -6.00 0 0

MISS RECEIVING

ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP

WR A. Conway 4- 4 60 15.00 8 0 23 0

WR D. Frazier 5 1 25 25.00 4 0 25 0

WR F. Turner 2 1 6 6.00 1 0 6 0

RB D. Walker 1 1 6 6.00 6 0 6 0

RB L. Bennett 1 1 4 4.00 4 0 4 0

FB M. Cagle 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0

WR D. Blankenship 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0

VAND RECEIVING

ATT REC YDS YPC YAC TD LG DRP

WR R. Ross 8 6 97 16.17 15 0 38 1

TE C. Gibson 3 2 44 22.00 2 0 33 0

WR V. Munson 7 3 17 5.67 0 0 10 3

RB D. Noel 2 2 15 7.50 3 0 8 0

FB C. Rivera 1 1 12 12.00 5 0 12 0

WR R. Garcia 8 3 11 3.67 1 1 6 0

RB S. Barlow 2 2 6 3.00 6 1 3 0

FB R. Roark 1 0 0 0.00 0 0 0 0

MISS O-LINE

KRB PCK SA HLD FS

OG W. Owens 3 0 0 0 0

C R. Adams 1 1 0 0 0

OT J. Crawford 0 0 0 0 1

VAND O-LINE

KRB PCK SA HLD FS

TE C. Gibson 2 0 0 0 0

OG M. Fleming 0 1 0 0 0

OT E. Cohen 0 1 0 0 0

OT K. Padilla 0 1 0 0 0

OG M. Brown 0 0 1 0 0

OT R. Devine 0 0 0 1 0

MISS FUMBLES

FUM LOST REC YDS

RB D. Walker 2 1 0 0

RB D. Hodge 1 1 0 0

C R. Adams 0 0 1 0

VAND FUMBLES

FUM LOST REC YDS

WR R. Garcia 1 0 1 0

SS W. Jackson 0 0 1 2

OLB G. Daniel 0 0 1 3

MISS KICKING

FG LONG XP PTS

K M. Hill 2/2 29 5/5 11

VAND KICKING

FG LONG XP PTS

K T. Langley 1/1 42 2/3 5

MISS PUNTING

NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG

P S. Mendez 3 40.30 29.00 0 1 48

VAND PUNTING

NO AVG NET I-20 TB LG

P R. Tolbert 7 -43.00 - 33.90 - 0 - 0 - 53

MISS KICK RETURNS

NO AVG TD LONG

CB J. Littleton 3- 20.70 - 0 37

VAND KICK RETURNS

NO AVG TD LONG

CB P. Early 7 23.00 0 35

MISS PUNT RETURNS

NO AVG TD LONG FC

WR L. Key 4 16.00 0 22 1

VAND PUNT RETURNS

NO AVG TD LONG FC

WR P. Davis 1 14.00 0 14 0

MISS DEFENSE

T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD

OLB R. Brown 6-2 0 0 2 1 0 0 1

DE J. Johnson 4-0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0

CB M. Belanger 4-0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2

CB M. Reyes 3-2 0 1 0 0 1 0 1

ILB M. Green 2-2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

FS K. Castillo 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SS D. Whitehead 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

CB J. Littleton 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DT M. Williams 1-0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

OLB R. Ouellette 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

VAND DEFENSE

T-A SCK STF HUR DP INT FF PD

OLB G. Daniel 8-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

SS W. Jackson 8-2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

FS E. Martin 6-3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0

ILB S. Hollingsworth 6-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0

OLB K. Monroe 6-1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0

FS M. Johnson 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

SS S. Ferguson 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DE T. Jeffries 3-0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0

CB C. Murphy 2-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

OLB W. Proctor 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DE J. Yoder 2-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

CB C. Mendez 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

CB P. Early 1-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DT K. Jackson 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

DE P. Curtis 1-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

william1993 · March 28, 2014

I played another against Vandy today where I rolled up 704 yards! that above was a previous game

tarek · March 28, 2014

Recruiting for schemes would be brilliant.

I'd personally like some help on a good pass offense. LSU currently fields a top tier pocket passer but i'm struggling to get him effective.

First game of the season he threw 20-40 for 317 yards and a single TD.

william1993 · March 28, 2014

Tarek, this might take time for me to write (got to analyze, and have other things as well)

if you want, you can PM me and I can help you with a passing offense to fit your specs. But you have to tell me the specs of all your starting/2nd team offensive guys and the lineup. Tell me what offense you run and what your OC is in development. Also tell me things like how often you go deep, etc.

the PM thing goes for others too.

tarek · March 28, 2014

Thanks mate. I'll fire up the game a little later this afternoon and get some of those details to you. Figuring out a strong passing game will be good.

I try to take some of your tips from pass defence and apply them. Like looking if my opposition has a mismatch with any of my receivers. Like a receiver who is faster, bigger and can jump higher, then it will focus a majority of my plays as him being the primary receiver. But I haven't looked at that yet.

william1993 · March 29, 2014

You do realize that the game does auto double coverage, right? For example, if the opposition has one main receiver, you can look in the game log and see something like: (WR James Bell made a 16 yard catch (CB D. Jamison and FS W. Hendricks). meaning that those two defensive backs immediately (and automatically) converged on that one receiver.

tarek · March 29, 2014

Oh does it. Well that adds a different angle. Maybe my best player will not work as a primary receiver if he's doubles the whole time, but leaves my TE or other receivers in single coverage.

william1993 · March 29, 2014

Not always. Sometimes it will work. That primary reciever needs to be fast, and have strength (not arm strength, normal strength for breaking tackles, and good agility). Yes, that can leave everyone else open in single coverage.

What brand of TEs do you use

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