Odd playcalling?

[jcompton-Orlando]

I was saying that we should really take up a collection to buy an old PII-400 running Windows 98 for Paul that does nothing but run the league so we don't have all this excitement and angst every time his computer is upgraded or crashes...

[Paul-London]

But then again simming a game would take ages !!!

On my new machine its amazing how quickly it sims a game !

[Mark-skyhawks]

Here is another example of odd play calling their was 13:28 left in the 2nd quarter the score is
R-D 9 San Antonio 7
Raleigh-Durham's QB1 #3 Aaron Rodgers gives to HB1 #20 Jonas Lewis. Lewis
runs for a loss of almost 2 yards. Lewis is tackled by San Antonio's S1 #24
Chris Massey. The PAT failed. That was Goal line run (5) against Goal line
run (9). 
If anyone knows why this play was called so early in the game instead of just going for the extra point
could they please tell me. But in the end it wouldn't have made any difference

[Paul-London]

Yep its very weird when you get plays like that.  Its even worse when the computer goes for it late in the game when an XP would be the difference.  Eg 13-7,the team scores a touchdown to make it 13-13 then goes for 2 XP not 1 !  And fails !

Remember the Ohio Glory game a few seasons back when i think it was late in OT the Ohio team ran out the clock but in the end gave up a safety ?!

Sadly the computer can be very stupid sometimes.  Hate it when they go for 2 points when they dont have to

[Mario ADK]

Remember the Ohio Glory game a few seasons back when i think it was late in OT the Ohio team ran out the clock but in the end gave up a safety ?!

He made the "run the clock" play with the knee down in his own endzone? oh my god.....
Surely the worst play ever in the history of the FWL..... 

[Niki]

ore play call liks this:

Amsterdam's ball on Scottish's 35 yard line. First and 10 to go. :04 left
in the second quarter. The score is Amsterdam 9, Scottish 17.

The pass from Amsterdam's QB1 #16 Heath Rylance is caught by WR1 #84 Elijah
Thurman for a gain of almost 11 yards. Thurman is tackled by Scottish's CB2
#28 Hurley Tarver. First down, Amsterdam! First and 10 to go. That was
Pass short left (2100) against Pass long (2094).

4 second left, on the 35 yard line: why not try a FG? especially when you are 9-17

[Andrew-Neutral]

The computer will never try a field goal from outside of the 34 yard line, so the longest attempt will always be 51 yards.

[Niki]

yeah I know, normally I can understand it but in cases like this I think it is an odd play calling

[Mario ADK]

yeah I know, normally I can understand it but in cases like this I think it is an odd play calling

Niki, cmon it is a computer. he reads "35yd line" and does that what he is programmed to: in this case: no FG-try.

[Paul-London]

Its a shame when the computer program acts like a computer program !

Sounds stupid but you know what i mean .  Eg it'll never try a longer FG further than 34 yards out no matter what. 

Not bad though as the software is so old but it is very frustrating when the computer chooses a weird play.  The worst ones (and most common) are the crazy 2 pointers when theres no need.

In the old days of the league we had sooo many punt blocks which wasnt realistic so i'm glad we changed that and made punters better as i love the FWL to be realistic, to have 25 punt blocks by one player in one year was stupid

[Andrew-Neutral]

It is a definite flaw in the program - normally you probably wouldn't want to try a very long field goal, but if you're two points down with 1 second left and the ball at the 36 yard line, who wouldn't try for the long field goal to win the game?

My test of any computer football game is whether or not the fair-catch rule has been programmed correctly. After making a fair catch, a team can chose either to have a first-down at the spot of the fair catch (which is what they do 99.999% of the time) OR take a free-kick. This is a kick, which could be from a tee or could be a drop-kick, which the other team is not allowed to block (they must be ten yards away) - a bit like a kick-off. But, if the kick goes through the goal posts, it counts as a field goal and you get three points. So, if there's only a few seconds left in the half, and the punting teams is backed up against its own goal line when they punt, you should call for a fair catch which you'll probably make at about midfield - then your kicker can have a pop at a long field goal (from a tee, remember). Even if time expires whilst the punt is in the air, you can still have your free-kick.

No version of Madden that I've ever played lets you do this  Not sure whether FBPro does!

[Paul-London]

I cant wait to see the stats you'll be producing for us !! I think every other league out there will be jealous !

I'm a huge stats fan so the more the merrier !  To be able to get an accurate srecords.htm would be brilliant and add more to every game that there is played.

[Mario ADK]

This "Free Kick counting as a FG after a fair catch" is a weired thing, never heard of it - even if a was officiating for quite a while.

Seems to be rather theoretical as the punt would have to travel less than 35yd in order to be fair-caught at the 34(max) to try this kick. because otherwise FBPro would play a down.....

[Paul-London]

Another strange play you see a bit nowadays are players trying to return a missed FG as the Bears did last season

[Andrew-Neutral]

This "Free Kick counting as a FG after a fair catch" is a weired thing, never heard of it - even if a was officiating for quite a while.

Seems to be rather theoretical as the punt would have to travel less than 35yd in order to be fair-caught at the 34(max) to try this kick. because otherwise FBPro would play a down.....

I remember an NFL team trying it a few years ago, can't remember who!

http://www.nfl.com/fans/rules/fairkick - explains more (says you can't use a tee, so I was wrong in my first post!)

Forgetting about FB Pro for a moment, the kick is taken from where the fair catch is made, so if it made on the 40yd line, the kick is effectively a 50yd field goal try. And, the field goal is much easier than a normal one, as the other team can't try to block it. I remember once when the Tampa Bay kicker (I think it was Michael Husted) managed to get the opening kickoff through the goal posts - so it is possible to make a scoring free kick from your own 30yard line.

[Paul-London]

Yeah the Raiders Janokowski has done that a few times, not last season as he was dire but in the past hes done some booming kicks.  Plus in practice you always hear about kickers making some 70 yarders.

Ola Kimrin in preseason for Denver i think kicked a 63 yarder but from a free kick with no rushers some kickers can really belt them

[Mario ADK]

the kick is taken from where the fair catch is made, so if it made on the 40yd line, the kick is effectively a 50yd field goal try.

57yder of course....

so it is possible to make a scoring free kick from your own 30yard line.

no, it is not. a kickoff can NOT result in a score.

[Paul-London]

No Andrew didnt mean from a kickoff, he just meant from a kickoff he has seen in the past kickers kick it through the uprights. 

So if a team had a free kick from their own 30 yard line, with no pass rush and a run up a kicker could kick a very very long FG possibly.

[Mario ADK]

oh, i see.

But the news for me is that instead of a scrimmage-kick on the next down (1st down) a team might try a free-kick instead in order to score a FG after a fair catch.

I think this is one of those silly rules american football has and is one of the reasons why the rule-book is so confusing and big.
Ever really read the rule-book? i did. (NCAA-rules, though....). At least 30% of the rules could be easily erased without doing ANY damage to the game whatsoever....

[Andrew-Neutral]

Mario, if the fair-catch was made on the 40, it IS a 50 yard FG try - there is no need to snap the ball back 7 yards.

And, it has been done. Here is an extract from the famous Bear-vs-Packers rivalry (nearly as great as the Dark-Knights vs Monarchs)

"With only seconds remaining in the first half, Elijah Pitts, back to receive Chicago's punt from Bobby Joe Green, signaled for a fair catch as he fielded the football at the Packers' 48-yard line. Next, to the surprise of the full house - and virtually all members of the attending media -Lombardi informed Referee Norm Schachter that the Packers would be attempting a fair catch kick on what would be the final play of the first half, and the Green and Gold promptly lined up across the field, 11 strong, with quarterback Bart Starr remaining in the game as a holder at the line of scrimmage. Paul Hornung, once again the Packers' placekicker after sitting out a one-year suspension in 1963, advanced to kick the ball out of Starr's hold -- and it sailed through the uprights, padding the Packers' lead to 17-3 as the first half ended. Hornung's 52-yard success tied the team's existing field goal distance record, which had been set by Ted Fritsch on Oct. 19, 1950, against the then New York Yanks at Manhattan's Polo Grounds."