Warrior General Games

Originally posted by Lemoncow
This is my first season with a rookie team, based on the first few games/scrims, running/run blocking seem to be pretty broken. I was hoping it'd get better as we go through higher tiers, but based on some of these posts there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.

The problem does seem to be based around overpowered coverage which enables you to blitz almost every down. The reward far outweighs the risk(at least as rookies). And the counters, outside runs/screen passes, aren't viable. What you're left with is a pretty stale meta of 90+% passing/90+% blitzing.

As a disclaimer, I'm a little biased. My star HB, so far, is a complete disappointment. Against player teams I think he's averaging less than a yard per carry, and I don't think his build is to blame. There seem to be zero running lanes on most plays regardless of the defensive formation.

I checked out the HBs corndog posted, and I'm still not convinced. The running game in general doesn't seem right this season.

would have to see build to tell you on that. but i know the star hb on my team is still doing well. and so is the star hb on the team that i help run since day 1. both have done really well so far. There is a lot that has to go into play calling along with how the rest of your offense is built. plus comparing what defense you are playing.

Originally posted by Bretto007
Fuck off. I'm literally telling you what happened last season with zero exaggeration just facts. This season I've been giving out high level contracts to get their chemistry up but any player signed at a medium level contract is only at 67%.

medium contract 3-4/game, high contract 4-5/game

medium contract ~15-18 games, high contract ~10-12 games

smart to rotate high contracts around to speed it up though

Originally posted by Galactic Empire
Well...maybe that is a good thing?

good for "realism" but bad for the sim. if you dont have a threat with inside running, outside running, or screens, the game just becomes air it out 60-70 times per game and hope for dice rolls. i.e. not fun

Originally posted by Lemoncow
This is my first season with a rookie team, based on the first few games/scrims, running/run blocking seem to be pretty broken. I was hoping it'd get better as we go through higher tiers, but based on some of these posts there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.


you make good points and seem to be grasping the game pretty quickly, but this is what CD is referring to, my assessment in regards to the current vet meta does not mean that the issues i am speaking about are the same ones that are causing your concerns at rookie.

vet and rookie are different worlds, unfortunately, running has NEVER worked well at rookie, its takes a long time to develop HBs (even s*) to be useful (around seasoned/jman) so until then, its better to use them only sparingly on short downs or against glaring holes in the defenses gameplan (ZEB vs 2TE formations to counter with something like big I sweep right) unfortunately the name of the game in rookie is blitz heavy and take risks because more often than not rookie offenses cant deal with the pressure. its a matter of picking smart, quick passes in the right situations.

if you want more help on this then feel free to PM. GL

Originally posted by Lemoncow
This is my first season with a rookie team, based on the first few games/scrims, running/run blocking seem to be pretty broken. I was hoping it'd get better as we go through higher tiers, but based on some of these posts there doesn't seem to be light at the end of the tunnel.


Lol...why is everybody complaining about running being broke? A few seasons ago, everybody was bitching how power running was OP and the top guys were getting 10ypc. Now that the top guys are in the 5.5 to 6ypc range, which is still a tad high for the NFL, everybody thinks running is nerfed to hell.

No...running just fine.

Originally posted by Galactic Empire
Lol...why is everybody complaining about running being broke? A few seasons ago, everybody was bitching how power running was OP and the top guys were getting 10ypc. Now that the top guys are in the 5.5 to 6ypc range, which is still a tad high for the NFL, everybody thinks running is nerfed to hell.

No...running just fine.

coming from the guy who said passing is OP and rushing is nerfed every single season, until he switched from rushing to passing, and now rushing is fine. lol

In 4 games this season vs human controlled teams, The Academy has passed 127 times and run 174 times.

We are 5-0 and average victory is like 42-3.

Originally posted by Sov.
coming from the guy who said passing is OP and rushing is nerfed every single season, until he switched from rushing to passing, and now rushing is fine. lol



I didn't say rushing was nerfed. I did say passing was OP though.

I'd like to say rushing did take a bit of a hit, down to averaging 3.3 ypc or such for my HB... I wish I had a full respec to change him up and know for sure... my build is not where I like it for the current meta I think.

My QB went from looking like Joe Montana to only completing 49% of his passes, but my DB's finally look decent again...

I can't win on these changes lol

Originally posted by Myrik_Justiciar
I'd like to say rushing did take a bit of a hit, down to averaging 3.3 ypc or such for my HB... I wish I had a full respec to change him up and know for sure... my build is not where I like it for the current meta I think.

My QB went from looking like Joe Montana to only completing 49% of his passes, but my DB's finally look decent again...

I can't win on these changes lol

My HB took a major dive this season as well. My offense in general completely blows. However, trying to make the best of it. 5.2 to 3.8 is a pretty big drop. Granted, his build was based off the older system.

Originally posted by Myrik_Justiciar
I'd like to say rushing did take a bit of a hit, down to averaging 3.3 ypc or such for my HB... I wish I had a full respec to change him up and know for sure... my build is not where I like it for the current meta I think.

My QB went from looking like Joe Montana to only completing 49% of his passes, but my DB's finally look decent again...

I can't win on these changes lol

Yep, passing and rushing both look god awful right now. The shifting of how tight coverage is over the last 3 seasons has had a dramatic effect on the sim(not in a positive way). It was done to try and fix the problems created by the balance nerf, but seems to had many unintended consequences. The big takeaway is that the sim isn't as fluid or dynamic as it was 3 seasons ago. Fixing defensive pathing was a great move, now the sim just needs blocking to be fixed. Making balance important for the OL/DL was good, but applying it to the other positions basically broke secondary coverage and made HBs stagger around like they were drunk. Would much rather see the sim rolled back a few season back, and then add pathing and OL/DL balance.

Has anybody drastically altered their tags after the changes? I moved a lot of long to medium, but I wonder what the tradeoffs are for going heavier on short now.

Rushing and passing have both taken a hit this season. I don't think that can be argued.

Is it good for the sim is the real question. Due to the lack of Sov's "rock/paper/scissors mechanic," I lean towards no.

Originally posted by BoDiddley
Yep, passing and rushing both look god awful right now. The shifting of how tight coverage is over the last 3 seasons has had a dramatic effect on the sim(not in a positive way). It was done to try and fix the problems created by the balance nerf, but seems to had many unintended consequences. The big takeaway is that the sim isn't as fluid or dynamic as it was 3 seasons ago. Fixing defensive pathing was a great move, now the sim just needs blocking to be fixed. Making balance important for the OL/DL was good, but applying it to the other positions basically broke secondary coverage and made HBs stagger around like they were drunk. Would much rather see the sim rolled back a few season back, and then add pathing and OL/DL balance.

I mean, your team is scoring around 48 points a game for the season. That's a lot of safeties you must be getting if passing and rushing are both garbage.

Originally posted by Corndog
I mean, your team is scoring around 48 points a game for the season. That's a lot of safeties you must be getting if passing and rushing are both garbage.

No you're right. Wasn't complaining about Dream Team, in fact the current sim gives us an advantage since most teams don't have a S* QB, or 4 S* receivers to catch passes. Was speaking more about what I'm seeing around the leagues. For example, half the QBs in Vet are throwing under 50% so far. The past couple seasons you and Bort have made it tough on receivers to give DBs some help defensively after the balance nerf. But now that coverage is tighter...we're seeing receivers getting outclassed due to defensive positioning and the off-season nerfs they took over the past off-seasons. The tough part is no one really knows that sweet spot yet since balance was remixed. That's why rolling back some of the changes and then reapplying what worked(pathing, OL/DL balance changes) may be an option. People were pretty happy with both passing/rushing before the balance changes.

As for rushing, just seems to be blocking issues, IMO. Don't know how easy that is to fix though on your end though.

Originally posted by Galactic Empire
In 4 games this season vs human controlled teams, The Academy has passed 127 times and run 174 times.

We are 5-0 and average victory is like 42-3.

lol GEs opinion on rushing this season just changed drastically

to prove a point I used zero rush defense plays and tagged everything as pass defense and even with 40 rushes the result was 3.3 YPC and 7 pts total.

GG GE, GL rest of the season

That was a BS rain game. My guys were dropping wide ass open passes for no reason.