Yep - I currently use no rules.
As I'm getting into this game, I now wonder whether I ought to be using to make more specific things happen. I guess this is what I've been looking for in terms of wanting to make some specific plays in specific places and at specific times.
But before I plough head-long into these, I just wondered how many other people use them and if so, how many do people have?

Who has the most? How many?

Thanks, jh

If you're just starting to use rules, I would suggest using them sparingly and making them all specific to situations where your team struggles.

My first rule was one for fourth and inches plays deep my opponents territory. I made the rule because I was tired of seeing my team settle for field goals after long drives, and then subsequently, missing way too many of them (this was before I had good weights for kickers, snappers, and holders).

I have used up to 20 different rules for both offensive and defensive game planning. Rules to run the ball with a lead, rules to switch to prevent defenses in the fourth quarter, rules to gain granular control over third down situations, rules to override my defensive game plan against specific sets against specific opponents (these come and go)...but for the most part, I've stripped most of my rules and am back to using just a few.

I'm not sure how much I care for the strategy because I'm missing some key elements of my rule build. I'll probably end up with around 12 rules that I use all of the time and then move defensive overrides in as appropriate. That said, I would build my entire game plan based on rules if I could import a CSV file with them.

Great thanks much appreciated :)

What does granular control mean though?

i guess that means you overide what the algorithm of this game decitites is going to be ran on 3rd down.

Like the game decides you have 3rd down and inches and it says you need to pass the ball in that situation yet if you put the granular control in place you will use a QB sneak or a run play to get those few yards to get a 1st down instead of like if you were using the pass you might not get the 1st down or the yards you need .

My main set of rules, like seth, are all centered on forcing my team to go for it in specific 4th and very short situations, especially because my FG kicker is rubbish, and no matter how good the punter is they almost always seem to boot it straight into the end zone when they get too close.

I also just recently put in a set of mercy rules to keep from running up scores too egregiously.

On defense, depending on how much you like to get into the nitty gritty of game planning, you can try to figure out your opponent's tendencies with certain formations and certain areas of the field and hard set your formations accordingly.

One of the troubles with having too many rules however is that if you make any major changes to your playbooks (eg, stop/start running out of the XYZ formation, etc), you can really throw off your rules if you don't go through and update them all accordingly.

Here's an example:

I have used rules to split distances. The game treats third and short as third and <=3 or something like that (I'd have to look at the blog again for a specific distance). There is a huge difference between 3-3 and 3-1 though. On 3-3, I'm going to want to throw >60% of the time, but on 3-1, I'm going to want to run >60% of the time. Without a rule, I can't game plan for both situations.

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EDIT: I was right on the distance.



Link here: http://blog.myfootballnow.com/2015/03/short-medium-and-long-what-do-they.html

I use 12 rules and 13 during the playoffs. I've made mental notes to create more rules because of the things that happen in the game but I always forget to add them. I think 15-20 rules would have my team in a better position to win.

I've never used more than 3-4 rules total in a game. As WarEagle said, the fact they have no labels on the rules page is very annoying.

ok that's great guys thanks
Just wanted to make sure I don't need to have 450 rules set for micro-management of every play/position/time etc.
Yeah I see what you mean about making some real stupid decisions if 4&inches etc.

Here's a good opportunity for someone to explain a question that I have not worked out this season:

How does the calculation of distance to go work? Throughout the sport we talk about yards. The field is split into yards. The men with the chains walk along to the next yard. The referees start new plays on the yard lines. However....there seems to be some points (on 3rd/4th down maybe when it's crucial?) whereby the men with the chains start to measure more carefully than they had previously been doing. And a call is made about being inches (let's say 4?) short of a new down etc.
I thought each play was simply rounded to the nearest yard marker??!

I'm sure it's obvious but you guys are good at explaining things for the lay-person!!

It's only rounded by the people announcing the game (radio/tv/MFN), not the refs.

The announcers usually only start mentioning inches when it's close, usually less than 1 yard.

The ball is always placed at the exact spot the play ended (or at where the refs think the play ended).