Defensive Familiarity

[Steel]

Ok, having a hard time with this. At least 2 games a season in PFL, while completely dominating games on offense, I am getting the defensive familiar message. Most of these games, I happen to be dominating defensively as well. For example, I had a game the other day in which my run settings where 40% on 1st down, we ran 46 snaps in the 1st half, and 38 of those were passes. My opponent had only 21 snaps from scrimmage with less than 100 yards, and his offense pretty much couldn't breathe. We started getting hit with familiars mid 2nd quarter, and every 2 or 3 passes, sometimes back to back, the message would come up from that point on in the game. I am using no formation more than 10% of the time, and that's only 4 I have a setting that high on. No other one is higher than 8%. I do know 38 passes is a lot in a half, especially on a game that should be close to balanced(dice rolls I guess), but now I'm starting to have the EXACT same issues in other leagues now. And the 2 other leagues I'm running 45% on 1st down and usually have 10-15 runs by half. Now it seems I can't get to the 4th quarter w/out seeing a few of these messages, and usually from that point on, I'm screwed and my offense stalls. I don't understand how a team can put up over 300 yards in a half, then the game basically say, "You're dominating too much, let's stop this". Can ANYONE shed light on this?

[Ben E Lou]

If you run the same kind of play in the same situation too many times (modified, I believe, by your coach and the opposing team's coach,) you will start getting familiar messages. I'm pretty sure that the past success/failure of those plays doesn't matter, either. It's a fault in the familiar system. If you are in a close game where you've run 80 plays and your opponent has run 45 (a few turnovers and big plays, and that sort of thing can happen,) you are at a huge disadvantage. I've had a few games go into overtime where I pretty much already knew the outcome because one team had run significantly more plays than the other.

Oh, and Jim has said publicly more than once that familiarity actually starts affecting plays before you see the message in-game.

[Steel]

Ok, so is there anyway to stop or limit this? Or do I simply just have the run ball more, even though I want to ride my QB?

[Ben E Lou]

Varying your formations and pass distances will also help. Anything to keep from being in the same playcalls helps. Run/pass balance of course makes a pretty big difference.

[Dave Hansen]

Balance between run and pass is the key, more so when you start running over 65 plays per game.

What I try and do with my passing attack is I ONLY call pass plays from the 4/5 receiver formations in the 4th quarter. I "save" these formations/plays to "spring" upon the defense and really helps when I'm trailing in a game. Helps in staying away from the dreaded familiarity message that stalls an offense late in a game.

[Firefly]

Yeah, but that only works in SP. In MP you have to define a balanced game plan to avoid familiarity. Formations, run/pass and passing distances (all 8 of them) are the 3 factors you need to consider.

I believe Jim also said it was a battle between coordinators (meaning HCs). I'd assume the better HC would get more familiarities or avoid them in turn.

[Yoda]

I'll have to see if I can find the game log, but I got a familiar message on the 2nd play of the game.

[dwardzala]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I'll have to see if I can find the game log, but I got a familiar message on the 2nd play of the game.

One of your players must have left his playbook at the hotel pool.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Yoda

I'll have to see if I can find the game log, but I got a familiar message on the 2nd play of the game.

That's quite early.
I did see familiars 10 mins into a game on the 15th offensive play of the opponent. Naturally, my team lost that game, as we got destroyed on defense, allowing 438 total yards in 29:31 mins of possession.