NOTICE: This league is using the BLEEDING EDGE game engine. For more information, click here.

The new user interface is in preview!

Want to check it out? Click here! (If you don't like it, you can still switch back)

The draft is underway!

Click here to go to your war room, or visit the war room item in the draft menu.

League Forums

Main - General MFN Discussion

Gameplanning

By chermy10
3/11/2019 10:21 am
Can somebody help me with gameplanning my offence? I tried to do it and its just miserable. I'm losing games like 9-6. I don't really understand how to do anything that will help me, I don't know what type of offence to run. If anyone could help me, that would be great.

Re: Gameplanning

By Lamba
3/11/2019 11:11 am
Looking at the sorry state of your RB's, I'd say a lot of short and medium passes.

I read somewhere, that if you look at the plays you can sort of divide them into 3 zones. Left, center and right, approx 30/40/30 percent. If you make sure there's routes going into all three zones, there defense is more spread out and there's a better chance of your recievers getting open.

I played the first 11 games (pre season + 7 regular season) without an offensive playbook, so I can't really help much more, I'm still learning.

Anyways, that's the tips and tricks I've picked up for offense so far. Adios to long passes and pick plays that spread out the defense.

Good luck. :-)

Re: Gameplanning

By TarquinTheDark
3/11/2019 11:19 pm
Looking at your Cleveland team, first thing I see is you need more linemen. Moeller can't complete and Shirley is an interception machine? They both get sacked and fumble all day? Gonzales gets stuffed behind the line? More linemen with a lower fatigue setting (higher substitution rate) will help. You have $84M cap room and only 46 players, pick up some free agents. In the meantime, Williams and Benefield can substitute at Center and Tackle. The less linemen you have, the faster they get tired and injured, and then you have even less.

Look at your Offensive plays for the last six games arranged by average per call. Keep the top twenty or so, dump the rest. Now arrange by familiarity and start picking plays you have had success with in the past or have a high familiarity with (you can tell by clicking on the plays). Be careful with the 2-3 runs, you know them well, but so does everyone, including your opponent's defense.

Now, look at your matrix. The first three personnel sets (0-0, 0-1, 1-0) will be all passes, that is ok. Every other set you use should have at least one run play and at least one pass play chosen, so you won't get keyed as often. If you have five medium passes out of one set, drop the least successful and put in a run play.

After each game, you can look at dumping a couple of your worst performing plays and trying a couple new ones. Do not go all out rethinking your offense every week. What you want is a system, a consistent set of core plays that perform well. As your offense gets more experience with those plays, their performance will improve. It takes time.

Some sets (1-1, 2-0, 2-1) have different formations available. Try making all your pass plays for those sets from one formation - and runs from another. That way you can use overrides to put the right personnel for each play type. (Your LTs are both pass blockers, Judd is a run blocker, etc.)

Lamba is right, stay away from the long passes until you get better QBs. Generally stay away from crossing routes, especially with Shirley behind the ball. . . . In general use your faster WRs (Solum, Warfield) on the outside, skill WRs inside. While you're at it, find some higher speed WR free agents, because all your WRs are really slow. That puts even more pressure on your offensive line and QBs.

This wasn't all strictly gameplanning, but it will all affect your ability to execute a gameplan.
Last edited at 3/12/2019 8:51 am

Re: Gameplanning

By Duval
3/25/2019 4:18 pm
This was a good breakdown. Not to often a new player comes in with a question and people actually look at the team to give specific advise.. well done.

Re: Gameplanning

By Smirt211
3/25/2019 6:48 pm
To parse one thing out of Tarquin's suggestions his advice on the over-rides caught my attention. Only 4 months in and he's thinking at that deep level of detail. Impressed.

Re: Gameplanning

By CrazySexyBeast
4/05/2019 1:18 am
meh rules and overrides don't matter.
Ummm, yes, they do. Thank goodness I'm a math prostitute. Doesn't hurt that programming gives me mmm. an exciting feeling.
Still have never watched a replay ;)
I just run though, do my homework, and smush (hopefully)..

Everything I started with came from the forums - hint hint newbies. Just a TON of really good info one can tweak within them.
I just ran from there. Once I figured out some rule/overide basics, and got my player weights up to par from the disaster that is the game's base levels, things started to snowball.

I admit Madden pre 20th anniversary edition really helped as a foundation for here as far as my habits and notetaking for team/player progression and development. 2 different games, for sure.
Just like here in MFN, a NOTEBOOK for every team I run.

So very glad I stumbled upon MFN via a fb "sponsored" post (yes JDB, the investment paid off) which was probably showed on my feed as a result of years of searching out "real time strategy games" on google.

Granted, this opponent is still new and learning, but umm, yeah - not that hard folks. Even with the repeated version changes. Thank goodness for personal time management allowing me to do homework - as any good coach would ;)
Feel free to look at the team stats for my 3 teams. The version doesn't matter. Adapt to the environment. Rule changes/interpretations happen in the NFL as well.

Newbs, don't be so easy to pick apart based on running the numbers of your offense.
Diversity in the playbook matters. I just drool when I see a team running (mostly) runs or passes out of a formation.
I just drool when I see the run avg in a set low, and the pass avg high (and vice versa) when breaking things down.
The data helps me determine percentages for defensive rules and offensive playmaking. In the case of a rematch, very easy to see if someone doesn't switch things up.

One wants to run only passes or runs out of a set? Thanks for making my life easy. I don't even have to break out the calculator.

..but... gosh, I really, really could have used a massage during the Saturday team meetings LOL.

https://mlf.myfootballnow.com/box/1677

Re: Gameplanning

By CrazySexyBeast
4/05/2019 1:18 am
must be time for bed, I sound very arrogant. Forgive me.
EDIT: I consistently see my punt game make the difference.
Hard to win if you cannot consistently punt inside the 20 and pin the opp down.
It has saved me many times from a weak QB showing,or having to run with 2nd/3rd stringers due to injury in key positions (RB, TE, LB, DB) in v4.3-4.5.
PS: penalties don't matter. OFF/DEF numbers do.
Last edited at 4/05/2019 1:35 am

Re: Gameplanning

By raymattison21
4/05/2019 10:22 am
CrazySexyBeast wrote:
meh rules and overrides don't matter.
Ummm, yes, they do. Thank goodness I'm a math prostitute. Doesn't hurt that programming gives me mmm. an exciting feeling.
Still have never watched a replay ;)
I just run though, do my homework, and smush (hopefully)..

Everything I started with came from the forums - hint hint newbies. Just a TON of really good info one can tweak within them.
I just ran from there. Once I figured out some rule/overide basics, and got my player weights up to par from the disaster that is the game's base levels, things started to snowball.

I admit Madden pre 20th anniversary edition really helped as a foundation for here as far as my habits and notetaking for team/player progression and development. 2 different games, for sure.
Just like here in MFN, a NOTEBOOK for every team I run.

So very glad I stumbled upon MFN via a fb "sponsored" post (yes JDB, the investment paid off) which was probably showed on my feed as a result of years of searching out "real time strategy games" on google.

Granted, this opponent is still new and learning, but umm, yeah - not that hard folks. Even with the repeated version changes. Thank goodness for personal time management allowing me to do homework - as any good coach would ;)
Feel free to look at the team stats for my 3 teams. The version doesn't matter. Adapt to the environment. Rule changes/interpretations happen in the NFL as well.

Newbs, don't be so easy to pick apart based on running the numbers of your offense.
Diversity in the playbook matters. I just drool when I see a team running (mostly) runs or passes out of a formation.
I just drool when I see the run avg in a set low, and the pass avg high (and vice versa) when breaking things down.
The data helps me determine percentages for defensive rules and offensive playmaking. In the case of a rematch, very easy to see if someone doesn't switch things up.

One wants to run only passes or runs out of a set? Thanks for making my life easy. I don't even have to break out the calculator.

..but... gosh, I really, really could have used a massage during the Saturday team meetings LOL.

https://mlf.myfootballnow.com/box/1677


I make sure to put in a completely different plan for our next game. We're 0-4 and have little to lose. Goodluck!