I really need some help understanding the Defensive Formation AI. This has been one of my major concerns about the defensive side of the ball. As part of this sim, I think that I should be able to control what personal & formation my team puts out in response the the offense's personal. Right now it seems random to me.

I see lots of dime matched up against a base 2-1 pro set on first and ten and this is an example of my last game…
http://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/2157#384182

Here it is 3-6 and the offense rolls out with a 4 WR set and aligns in a shotgun formation. The defense responds with a goal line personal and a run blitz.

I think the personal and formation should be separate from the play call. I can call a cover 2 man under (or what ever) whether I am in base, nickel or dime.

The default is for the defensive personnel to match the offensive personnel (5 DB's for 3 WR's, 6 DB's for 4 WR's, etc), unless you don't have any plays that have that personnel. But you can override the AI defensive personnel selections via game plan rules.

So you are saying that I came out in a goal line set vs. a 4WR package because the play call (Man, Blitz in this case) trumps the personal? This is assuming ( I need to check) that I don't have a dime man blitz package so the AI defaults to the play call and finds the best fit personal wise?

In the same game, I am coming out with quarter personal vs. a big I set on 1-10.

I'd rather see this function the other way…I want to match personal then find a play based on that personal package. The other way around leaves a miss match personal wise on the field.

It does choose the personnel first and then chooses a play within your rules - but if you don't have any plays in your playbook that match with the rules you have set then it reduces the # of DB's until it finds a set of plays. That could account for the goal line set vs. 4WR (kinda, that's a pretty far way to drop) but doesn't explain the quarter personnel vs. big I set.

Are you doing heavy %'s (i.e. only 1 or 2 types per situation)? What you are describing almost sounds like the game engine is failing to find a play given the rule combinations and is falling back to picking a random play (which is its last resort)

I do have the Goal line blitz loaded as a defensive play however, it should not have been in the que for a 3rd and 6th call. The Quarter call ( I do have this play loaded) was on a 1-10 and there were all sorts of base personal plays that should have been available.

Can you see my game log or even load my game plan?

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