Offensive/Defensive Gameplan Thoughts

larrymcg421 · 03-05-2007, 07:01 PM

I believe I've come across a pretty successful offensive/defensive gameplan strategy. Like Skydog, I won't give away the down/distance information, but here are the basic principles involved...

The offensive philosophy is to deceive the defense with lots of short/medium passes and mixing in long balls in surprising situations. While this is primarily a pass oritented offense, RB's do very well because the LB's are looking for those passes over the middle and the CB's are scared of the deep ball.

For this offense you want:

QB's with very high accuracy. Other helpful strengths are Short Passes, Medium Passes, and Sense Rush. Of course you want a QB who doesn't throw picks, but that might take some time to find out. Screen, Long, and Deep are good to have, but not necessary as long as they are semi-adequate (nothing less then 35 I'd say).

With WR's I would concentrate on Getting Downfield and Courage. Still, I wouldn't really de-emphasize anything. It's best to go for premium WR's in this offense. You can go cheap on other positions. If you can't get premium guys, then make sure your starters complement each other. Have a high Courage/Getting Downfield guy for those short passes, and then a deep threat with high Big Play Receiving for the quick strikes.

TE's will never pass block in this offense. That's a waste of a good TE. They will run block occassionally but are used primarily as receivers in this offense. Look for good receiving numbers, but especially good 3rd Down Receiving.

Likewise, FB's will do very little pass blocking, albeit a little more than TE's. They will run block, but again you want good pass catching skills, especially on 3rd down.

Again with RB's, look for good pass catching attributes. I had an RB catch over 71 passes in this offense once. For running skills, I would avoid tweener types and go after a guy maxed out in Hole Recognition and something else (I like elusiveness, but Breakaway is good too).
For offensive Linemen, focus primarily on pass blocking. The RB's will usually be running when the defense is off guard, so stud run blockers are not necessary. You just make sure your QB doesn't get killed since the TE's and FB's won't be picking up the blitzes.

The defensive philosophy is to focus mostly on stopping the run. With a pass oriented offense, the worst thing that can happen is for your QB to be sitting on the sidelines picking his nose. Don't let them control the clock. Make them go for the 80 yard TD. If they get it, then at least your offense is back out on the field.

For this defense, you want to focus on a secondary. The agressive run stopping nature will bait offenses into passing alot against you. If you have a good secondary, you're now forcing them to go against your strength. I usually get a run stopping MLB and a mixture on the line (two run stoppers, two pass rushers) . I wouldn't worry about OLB's much. Just make sure they can find the field.

As Skydog did, I'm gonna run two test seasons. One with an team specifically drafted with the offense in mind, and one with a randomly drafted team.

larrymcg421 · 03-05-2007, 07:07 PM

Here is the "Ideal" Test. Notice how often the opponent decides to throw the ball, with very limited success. And despite the fact that I rarely made my Backs or TE pick up blitzes, the opponents had a very low pass rush %.

Code:

2006 Summary for Miami Dolphins
   
Year                2006                                      
Record              19-0                                      
Winning Pct.        1.000                                     
All-Time            16-0                                      
Winning Pct.        1.000                                     
Playoffs            3-0                                       
Playoff Visits      1                                         
Bowl Wins           1                                         
Head Coach          Buddy Chapman                             
Record              19-0                                      
Winning Pct.        1.000                                     
Off. Coord.         N. Morrison                               
Def. Coord.         V. Quan                                   
   
Miami Dolphins          Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         36.1      7           
Rushing Yards           149.0     3           
Yards Per Carry         4.13      6           
Pass Attempts           26.1      28          
Completions             18.9      7           
Completion Pct.         72.7      1           
Passing Yards           241.1     1           
Yards Per Attempt       9.25      1           
Yards Per Catch         12.73     1           
Total Yardage Gained    382.2     1           
3rd Down Conversions    49.5      1           
Points Per Game         34.9      1           
Pass Rush Pct.          7.7       10          
Pass Defense Pct.       77.9      1           
Turnovers               19        4           
Turnover Margin         +13       2 (T)       
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         23.3      3           
Rushing Yards           94.9      4           
Yards Per Carry         4.08      26          
Pass Attempts           34.7      30          
Completions             17.9      23          
Completion Pct.         51.5      1           
Passing Yards           176.6     17          
Yards Per Attempt       5.09      4           
Yards Per Catch         9.88      9           
Total Yardage Gained    260.0     9           
3rd Down Conversions    35.7      18          
Points Per Game         10.7      2           
Pass Rush Pct.          3.7       2           
Pass Defense Pct.       59.9      1           
Turnovers               32        5 (T)       
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     41    at PIT        17      
2     34    BUF           3       
3     48    TEN           7       
4     35    at HOU        3       
5     31    at NED        3       
6     30    at NJY        6       
7     41    GBY           23      
9     20    at CHI        17      
10    40    KCY           14      
11    32    MIN           14      
12    23    at DET        10      
13    41    JAX           6       
14    37    NED           0       
15    45    at BUF        31      
16    38    NJY           3       
17    23    at IND        14      
$$CS  31    NED           13      
$$CF  35    BAL           7       
**FB  38    vs WAS        6       
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
7 E. Rumans             QB    358   262   3422  9.56  29    8     120.6   
14 E. Parker            QB    59    41    436   7.39  3     0     107.7   
**Team                  ---   417   303   3858  9.25  32    8     118.8   
$$Opp                   ---   555   286   2825  5.09  11    15    61.6    
Front Office Football 2007
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
33 I. Rasmussen         RB    326   1323  4.06  15    5       
47 K. Coffey            RB    201   825   4.10  8     0       
7 E. Rumans             QB    45    209   4.64  6     6       
**Team                  ---   577   2384  4.13  30    19      
$$Opp                   ---   372   1519  4.08  4     28      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
85 H. Glover            WR    103   71    1053  14.83 10.22 4     7       
82 D. Houseright        WR    81    58    1053  18.16 13.00 4     6       
33 I. Rasmussen         RB    50    38    284   7.47  5.68  2     5       
83 J. Hudson            WR    53    33    550   16.67 10.38 4     4       
45 E. King              FB    34    31    169   5.45  4.97  1     1       
89 C. Braun             WR    37    27    310   11.48 8.38  4     3       
80 J. Mueller           TE    29    19    233   12.26 8.03  1     2       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
93 T. Pirtle            ILB   80    19    2.0   1     0     9     76.5    
46 B. Crichton          S     64    25    0.0   0     2     12    81.6    
91 C. Mason             OLB   55    21    3.0   5     1     8     78.7    
92 B. Baxter            OLB   50    19    0.0   0     2     3     77.0    
32 S. Crumpler          S     46    22    0.0   0     1     11    81.6    
48 K. Crawford          CB    41    17    0.0   0     3     20    87.2    
78 J. Hughes            DT    37    16    2.5   5     0     0     81.2    
21 W. Rodham            S     37    13    0.0   3     0     5     80.0    
30 M. Meier             CB    36    12    0.0   0     4     13    86.1    
39 C. Morrison          CB    32    12    0.5   0     1     6     81.2    
97 L. Castagnola        DE    31    10    8.5   20    0     0     82.0    
94 C. Fitzgerald        DE    29    12    6.0   14    1     0     81.4    
70 D. Upshaw            DT    24    4     3.0   1     0     0     81.9    
96 I. Samuels           ILB   23    9     0.0   1     0     3     80.3    
79 G. Hammontree        DT    19    7     1.5   3     0     0     81.2    
52 C. Gambrell          ILB   16    4     2.0   0     0     1     66.1

larrymcg421 · 03-05-2007, 07:14 PM

And here is the "random" test. Still won the SB, but not quite as dominating. Obviously, the problem here was a QB who threw too many INT's. Still, you can see some facets of the gameplan working. The TE was the leading receiver and the backs caught alot of balls as well. The defense looks much worse here, but the focus on run stopping seemed to be enough to get us by.

Code:

2006 Summary for Miami Dolphins
   
Year                2006                                      
Record              13-6-1                                    
Winning Pct.        .675                                      
All-Time            9-6-1                                     
Winning Pct.        .593                                      
Playoffs            4-0                                       
Playoff Visits      1                                         
Bowl Wins           1                                         
Head Coach          Ben Fuller                                
Record              13-6-1                                    
Winning Pct.        .675                                      
Off. Coord.         R. Witt                                   
Def. Coord.         J. Ferguson                               
   
Miami Dolphins          Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         28.8      16          
Rushing Yards           138.5     3           
Yards Per Carry         4.82      1           
Pass Attempts           35.7      4           
Completions             21.6      4           
Completion Pct.         60.4      9 (T)       
Passing Yards           270.2     1           
Yards Per Attempt       7.57      2           
Yards Per Catch         12.53     2           
Total Yardage Gained    397.1     1           
3rd Down Conversions    41.7      2           
Points Per Game         21.1      7           
Pass Rush Pct.          6.0       27          
Pass Defense Pct.       68.8      23          
Turnovers               35        30          
Turnover Margin         -15       31          
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         27.5      10          
Rushing Yards           102.3     7           
Yards Per Carry         3.72      7           
Pass Attempts           30.8      12          
Completions             19.7      27          
Completion Pct.         63.9      31          
Passing Yards           216.4     27          
Yards Per Attempt       7.02      31          
Yards Per Catch         10.99     27          
Total Yardage Gained    310.8     27          
3rd Down Conversions    36.6      22          
Points Per Game         20.6      23          
Pass Rush Pct.          7.4       12          
Pass Defense Pct.       72.1      19          
Turnovers               20        29 (T)      
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     24    at PIT        20      
2     14    BUF           27      
3     7     TEN           25      
4     13    at HOU        30      
5     31    at NED        14      
6     31    at NJY        7       
7     31    GBY           14      
9     27    at CHI        13      
10    17    KCY           31      
11    7     MIN           19      
12    27    at DET        34      
13    24    JAX           21      
14    28    NED           27      
15    13    at BUF        13      
16    17    NJY           13      
17    27    at IND        21      
$$WC  24    at PIT        3       
$$CS  16    at KCY        6       
$$CF  37    at HOU        24      
**FB  41    vs SEA        24      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
9 B. Doyle              QB    545   330   4138  7.59  19    22    79.0    
**Team                  ---   571   345   4323  7.57  20    23    78.9    
$$Opp                   ---   493   315   3462  7.02  24    12    90.6    
Front Office Football 2007
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
38 A. Bunch             RB    324   1629  5.03  13    2       
48 T. Meador            RB    101   457   4.52  5     5       
**Team                  ---   460   2216  4.82  19    21      
$$Opp                   ---   440   1637  3.72  9     15      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
81 C. McGregor          TE    83    63    869   13.79 10.47 1     5       
82 K. Shorter           WR    106   57    867   15.21 8.18  5     2       
38 A. Bunch             RB    71    52    444   8.54  6.25  2     2       
83 N. Schultz           WR    99    51    826   16.20 8.34  7     6       
88 J. Riley             WR    73    40    537   13.43 7.36  8     4       
31 R. Berberich         FB    38    31    187   6.03  4.92  0     1       
80 A. Irwin             WR    50    24    309   12.88 6.18  5     0       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
98 B. Johnson           ILB   106   42    0.0   1     0     5     73.5    
54 A. Shantz            OLB   93    33    1.0   3     0     10    73.3    
44 P. Gerhardt          S     75    26    0.0   0     4     10    85.2    
99 K. Lake              OLB   64    29    1.0   1     2     3     71.7    
45 M. Crane             S     55    25    0.0   0     1     11    80.5    
36 J. Blair             CB    41    12    0.0   0     2     9     80.1    
46 L. Alderman          CB    41    16    0.0   0     2     9     79.7    
95 M. Burks             DT    39    12    4.5   11    0     0     80.8    
72 B. Perez             DE    34    11    7.0   12    0     0     82.0    
79 J. Myers             DT    29    9     1.0   5     0     0     82.1    
91 A. Nelson            DE    26    5     3.5   13    0     0     81.5    
49 B. Ackerman          S     26    16    1.0   0     1     3     82.1    
29 C. McElroy           CB    20    3     0.0   0     0     3     77.6    
94 R. Hayes             OLB   18    5     0.0   0     0     1     73.2

larrymcg421 · 03-05-2007, 08:13 PM

What if your starting QB gets hurt? Here's a test I ran using the "ideal" squad, but cutting the stud QB before Week 1. The replacement was a 22/38 rookie.

Code:

2006 Summary for Miami Dolphins
   
Year                2006                                      
Record              13-5                                      
Winning Pct.        .722                                      
All-Time            12-4                                      
Winning Pct.        .750                                      
Playoffs            1-1                                       
Playoff Visits      1                                         
Bowl Wins           0                                         
Head Coach          Buddy Chapman                             
Record              13-5                                      
Winning Pct.        .722                                      
Off. Coord.         N. Morrison                               
Def. Coord.         V. Quan                                   
   
Miami Dolphins          Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         29.8      17          
Rushing Yards           125.3     9           
Yards Per Carry         4.21      6           
Pass Attempts           36.9      2           
Completions             23.0      2           
Completion Pct.         62.3      6           
Passing Yards           280.9     1           
Yards Per Attempt       7.61      2           
Yards Per Catch         12.21     1           
Total Yardage Gained    391.1     1           
3rd Down Conversions    47.8      1           
Points Per Game         28.3      2           
Pass Rush Pct.          7.1       16 (T)      
Pass Defense Pct.       73.8      13          
Turnovers               47        32          
Turnover Margin         -15       29          
   
Opponents               Team      Rank  
Rushes per Game         24.9      6           
Rushing Yards           83.3      2           
Yards Per Carry         3.35      1           
Pass Attempts           33.6      22          
Completions             18.4      23          
Completion Pct.         54.9      10          
Passing Yards           224.6     32          
Yards Per Attempt       6.69      31          
Yards Per Catch         12.18     32          
Total Yardage Gained    290.3     24          
3rd Down Conversions    35.3      22          
Points Per Game         18.3      21          
Pass Rush Pct.          7.1       14 (T)      
Pass Defense Pct.       72.6      15 (T)      
Turnovers               32        11 (T)      
   
Week  Team  Versus        Oppnt  
1     34    at PIT        19      
2     35    BUF           28      
3     38    TEN           13      
4     31    at HOU        17      
5     30    at NED        3       
6     41    at NJY        13      
7     17    GBY           20      
9     23    at CHI        21      
10    31    KCY           24      
11    24    MIN           12      
12    19    at DET        31      
13    10    JAX           24      
14    42    NED           24      
15    20    at BUF        26      
16    35    NJY           7       
17    23    at IND        10      
$$CS  41    CLE           20      
$$CF  13    IND           37      
   
Passing                 Pos   Att   Comp  Yards Y/Att TD    Int   Rate  
14 E. Parker            QB    591   368   4495  7.61  34    33    81.6    
**Team                  ---   591   368   4495  7.61  34    33    81.6    
$$Opp                   ---   537   295   3594  6.69  21    15    77.1    
   
Rushing                 Pos   Att   Yards Y/Att TD    Fum  
Front Office Football 2007
33 I. Rasmussen         RB    287   1313  4.57  9     3       
47 K. Coffey            RB    140   518   3.70  8     2       
**Team                  ---   476   2005  4.21  17    30      
$$Opp                   ---   398   1333  3.35  9     33      
   
Receiving               Pos   Targ  Catch Yards Y/Ctc Y/Tar Drop  TD  
85 H. Glover            WR    158   87    1383  15.90 8.75  4     9       
82 D. Houseright        WR    109   67    1116  16.66 10.24 6     11      
83 J. Hudson            WR    72    48    617   12.85 8.57  2     5       
89 C. Braun             WR    82    44    520   11.82 6.34  5     3       
33 I. Rasmussen         RB    59    43    243   5.65  4.12  2     3       
45 E. King              FB    37    27    149   5.52  4.03  1     0       
80 J. Mueller           TE    27    20    250   12.50 9.26  0     3       
   
Defense                 Pos   Tack  Asst  Sack  Hurr  Ints  Defn  PDPct  
46 B. Crichton          S     67    17    0.0   0     2     9     82.9    
91 C. Mason             OLB   63    20    1.0   2     0     11    79.1    
93 T. Pirtle            ILB   52    18    0.5   1     2     9     84.3    
48 K. Crawford          CB    51    9     0.0   0     2     12    78.8    
92 B. Baxter            OLB   50    19    2.0   0     0     2     74.8    
30 M. Meier             CB    47    15    0.0   0     2     10    79.9    
78 J. Hughes            DT    40    16    6.5   9     0     2     82.1    
21 W. Rodham            S     35    6     1.0   1     1     3     79.2    
97 L. Castagnola        DE    34    11    15.0  18    0     1     82.7    
94 C. Fitzgerald        DE    31    16    4.5   7     0     0     80.8    
96 I. Samuels           ILB   31    15    0.0   0     1     0     71.2    
70 D. Upshaw            DT    29    9     4.0   3     0     0     82.5    
32 S. Crumpler          S     28    11    0.0   0     0     7     80.4    
52 C. Gambrell          ILB   26    7     0.0   0     0     0     68.8    
39 C. Morrison          CB    24    8     0.0   1     3     3     82.4    
79 G. Hammontree        DT    21    10    6.0   8     0     0     82.5    
42 E. Truitt            S     20    13    2.0   0     1     2     81.4    
54 C. Huntley           OLB   16    3     0.0   0     1     1     76.3

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)