Here is the thread to discuss the current beta version (2042 Preseason game 1)

Game plan set to all pass plays.
34% short 33% medium 33% long
Defense I tried to even out between coverage and blitz defenses. All pass keys.
No rules set.

All offensive plays are pass plays
13 short passes
13 medium passes
14 long passes
***************************************************************************************************
1st preseason game
QB's combined 36-70 459 yds 1 TD 3 Int

TD's:
1 short pass = I-Formation FL Hitch vs 4-3 Under Safety Blitz (Pass Key)
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9669#1759710
Note: A play that seems to be doing all the damage throughout the leagues. Im even seeing GM's starting to spam this play with success.

Int's:
1 short pass = Shotgun 5 Wide Parallel Slants vs Quarter Normal Man Short Zone (Pass Key)
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9669#1759667
1 medium pass = Singleback Slot Strong TE Corner vs Nickel Normal Double WR1 (No Key)
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9669#1759571
1 Long Pass = Singleback Big Waggle Post vs 3-4 Normal Man Cover 1 (Pass Key)
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9669#1759734

Game plan about 2/3 Pass
37.5% Short (9 selected)
37.5% Medium (9 selected)
25% Long (14 selected)

Secondary 1/3 Blitz, 1/3 Man, 1/3 everything else
Linebackers 50% Blitz, 30% Man, 20% Zone
1 Rule - Key for pass only formations.

I sat a few starters and had a bunch playing off position. QB starter sat at the half - which is when my team really started passing heavily.

Is DOtB finally dead? If not, I could pour gas on it and light a match . . . Both team's substitute QBs did well.

Passing game definitely feels different. 850 passing yards (both teams combined). Can't put my finger on it. Maybe quicker decisions by the QB? I still saw too many wide-open drops, too many psychic defensive keys, too much quadruple coverage by the time the ball gets there.

TDs:

31 yards
Offensive Play: I Formation Normal FL Hitch
Defensive Play: 4-3 Normal Man OLB Flat Zone
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759789

62 yards
Offensive Play: Singleback Slot Strong All Go
Defensive Play: Dime Normal Man Cover 1
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759801

59 yards
Offensive Play: Split Backs Normal Skinny Post Corner
Defensive Play: 4-3 Under Double LB Blitz
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759822

2 yards
Offensive Play: I Formation Power PA Flats
Defensive Play: Goal Line Attack #1 - Run Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759841

6 yards (called back for Holding)
Offensive Play: Shotgun Normal HB Flare
Defensive Play: Nickel Normal Double WR1 - Pass Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759870

16 yards
Offensive Play: I Formation 3WR FL Post
Defensive Play: Nickel Normal SS Blitz - Pass Key (overuse penalty notification)
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759873

72 yards
Offensive Play: Goal Line Normal HB Toss Strong
Defensive Play: Goal Line Attack #3
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759917

4 yards
Offensive Play: Shotgun 5 Wide Slot Cross
Defensive Play: Quarter Normal CB3 CB4 Blitz - Pass Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759931

INTs:

Offensive Play: Strong I Normal WR Post TE Out
Defensive Play: 4-3 Under Wide Line
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759808

Offensive Play: Weak I Normal WR Corner TE Middle
Defensive Play: 3-4 Normal Man QB Spy - Pass Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759896

Offensive Play: Singleback Slot Strong Skinny Posts
Defensive Play: Nickel 3-3-5 3 Deep Zone Under - Pass Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759953

Offensive Play: I Formation 3WR WR Out
Defensive Play: Nickel Strong 2 Deep Man Under - Pass Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759969

Offensive Play: I Formation 3WR WR Out
Defensive Play: Dime Flat 2 Deep Man Under - Pass Key
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9670#1759988


I like the "knocked the WR off his route" & "kept his man from getting away from him" B&R notifications.

Ignore all this and fix the trade meter.

GP at 40-60 in favor of pass, 20-20-20 short med nlog on 1st D.

1st preseason:
TD
https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9667#1759209
Offensive Play: I Formation Normal FL Hitch
Defensive Play: 4-3 Under Crash Left - Run Key
The defensive call is bad against that play.

https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9667#1759217
Offensive Play: I Formation Normal TE Out
Defensive Play: 4-3 Under Double LB Blitz - Run Key

https://mfn1.myfootballnow.com/watch/9667#1759237
Offensive Play: I Formation 3WR Deep Corner/Post
Defensive Play: Nickel Normal Double WR2 - Pass Key

I wouldnt say that was a bad defense call , but rather a good offensive call for a 1st down ....not a td? My FS and Cbhad double the cover skill, but we're slower. You can see the coverage was great by the CB prior to the cut. The play looked ok then but what happens after seems to be dictated by feild speed .

The wr proceeds after the cut to gain almost five yards of separation . It's almost as if my cb , stopped at the cut, and then it was race to the ball placement. Why my FS proceeded to an area 10 yards under his designated zone is beyond me. His position experience is low, but really his zone is 90? (This is a major bug in 4.4 and 4.5, it was just a nice chunk of yards for the offense so nobody cared )

Really it should have been a 12 to 16 yard gain pending no broken tackle. I had a technically sound good cb play man with a ok FS playing over the top. It's essentially a deep double coverage on the wr2. The run key should have hurt us but the poor technical skill of the wr shouldn't have allowed a td either.

I am ok with it as my qb threw for 300 yards 4 td and a near perfect rating in only a half of play. Ridiculous numbers compared to 4.5, but it is up about 30% from last season . The numbers the general release proved most leagues were down in under 4.5.

Yes, only one game...and it's preseason but passing is up imo. Especially to wrs on the outside. I mean we didn't even have a head coach heading in o this game, but it was enough to pass really well.

Looking over r the league stats have seemed to swing widely . But that comes with a small sample . No blocks punts here either for me and for some reason most of 4.5 I could pass long. Right now it looks way easier . Ai like plans have stifled that approach on a consistent basis in 4.5 and I think the same will happen if a face an opponent with a similar approach now

I general ....Touching on drops ...we had none, even with or without that qb sub penalty

That flanker hitch play isn't bugged it's the defensive play selected . It should beat man with no help deep often an easy . Fast guys just cant be caught from behind once the coverage is beat. After the cut the game has always been questionable. I just think here some plays do work under 4.5 too to defend it. It's just that zone is not up to speed with man.

Pass key or not why leave your cbs exposed unless they have the skills to play on an island. Which is 95 + speed, 100 man, bump and punish . Any thing less that will get you beat in those senerios , cause all you got to do is lose any one of the two rolls then it's a footrace.

How hard is it to sit back in a zone and wait for someone to come to you. It should make up for a lack of some speed . Our were guys are jumping routes at a high rate in 4.5. Putting defenders way behind in the foot race .

Qbs need to run/scramble. IRL this would lead to more forced passes. Why not here too? A whole aspect of the passing game is missing . What exactly are we touching on in this thread ? Still seems like man coverage only..?..?.? Just so I can focus the direction of my posts to best help evaluate the changes to open passing back up a little bit.

Basically the only change I made in this update was an attempt to eliminate the 'long pass nerf' as setherick loved to call it. What I am wanting to evaluate is: 1) does it feel like the medium and long pass game has returned (the #1 complaint about 0.4.5 is that the passing game went away) and 2) can it be exploited (are we back to an all-long pass game being overpowered)?

When a WR cuts and loses the defender, that is a dice roll of route running vs man coverage. If the defender wins that dice roll, he should stay with the WR pretty well.

QB pocket presence and scrambling is outside of the scope of this release, at least at this point.

That said I like it alot. If this were pushed in 4.5 feedback would have been different for sure. I thought we dropped like 1 out of 10 wide open long passes even though the stats had none.

#2 would need a larger sample to really find out. As I would like to see faster/better defenses spamming certain senerios along with different styles approach toward defending that long pass.

We threw no short passes . ..so personally it was hard to evaluate , but my bets are the long passing is over powered when compared to shorts passes in how effective they might be now.

But I will chalk that that up to reads , scrambling , and among other things....still reads act slightly different due to the tweaks made. Qbs are now throwing it deep (pending ratings ) so i see the timing of other routes/reads changing a bit .

As 4.5 seems to have plays were the qb almost always throws it to the same guy pending senerio . Wide open or even when they are triple covered . I didn't really see that too much here, but sample size.......As a season of stats accumulates it's kinda easier for me to see what numbers stand out . Then go back and see why that happened.

Last season a wr Barrett was targeted alot out of the wr1 position. 17 times in one game....Looking back he did using really only 2 plays. If that still here in 4.6 I am ok with it as long there's some balance of these "money plays". They were short routes and Barrett averaged less than 10 yards a reception so spamming those plays may not be the worst compared to say the flanker hitch busting 60 yards every time.

I think on my TD play the CB was beaten badly on the (slow) release by the WR. Then the FS was out of position and couldn't catch up due to great speed by the WR.
he Wr has poor ratigs, but great upside. Maybe it is why he had the CB beaten this way ?