FOF2k4: Unlikely Season

[Karim]

I had spent 11 years with my first team, winning 2 SuperBowls and decided to take over the Miami Dolphins, one of the worst teams in the league, having only made the playoffs 3 times in 11 years.

It had taken 8 years to win my first SuperBowl so I was banking on roughly the same time frame. Although I prefer to take a balanced approach to team-building with slightly more emphasis on defence, I decided I wanted to turn Miami into an offensive jaugernaut. All money towards offensive players with no defensive players over $2 million. The defense would be comprised of inexpensive rejects from other teams.

Year 1 we finish 10-6, score 426 points (#1) and win the Wild Card game. Not bad for a first year overhaul.

Year 2 we finish 12-4, score 495 points (most ever) and get a first round bye. We win the Division Final and then have to face Cleveland, a team we lost to during the regular season. I wasn't expecting much but then I check their scouting report and find out their 2-time MVP QB was knocked out the week before. Sim ... and off to the SuperBowl we go.

Now we have to face Houston, a team we beat during the regular season, 35-30. They also have a stud at QB. I check the scouting report to find out he too has been knocked out the week before. Result.... SuperBowl victory in Year 2.

It pays to keep your stars healthy...

[Noop]

So offense is the key to winning? I usually just play defense and run like a mad man if I have a Qb then I open things up.... What were the rating of your payers?

[Karim]

QB-98
RB-61
FB-69
TE-57
WR-70
WR-64
WR-48
C-97
G-86
G-36
T-30
T-24 (I have never had good tackles - always cost too much money)
K-93

P-82
DE-57
DE-42
DT-61
DT-61
ILB-56
OLB-50
OLB-45
CB-51
CB-48
CB-48
S-53
S-46
S-41

[Vince]

Wow. That's a pretty terrible offensive line to have scored 495 points.

[RedKingGold]

I'm looking at the defense, and thats a pretty good defense for under 2 million a piece

Almost looks like the New England model

[Karim]

Wow. That's a pretty terrible offensive line to have scored 495 points.
Like I said, unlikely season. ;) 37 sacks were given up, one of the worst totals in the league. 24 of those were between the two tackles. The 36 guard actually has lots of potential and only gave up 2.

[Karim]

I'm looking at the defense, and thats a pretty good defense for under 2 million a piece

Almost looks like the New England model
5 won't return because now that they've started, they'll expect starter's money. I'll continue to pick up the discards on defence while the AI goes for maxed out players in FA.

[Noop]

Wow. That's a pretty terrible offensive line to have scored 495 points.
I was thinking the same thing. That Qb is a complete stud though...

[Leonidas]

So offense is the key to winning? I usually just play defense and run like a mad man if I have a Qb then I open things up.... What were the rating of your payers?

I've always felt the game put too much importance on the QB and you dominate the game much more with a great passing offense. I can never get the game to reflect a dominant running attack well.

[amdaily]

I've always felt the game put too much importance on the QB and you dominate the game much more with a great passing offense. I can never get the game to reflect a dominant running attack well.

Couldn't have said it better myself. While QB statistics have improved since 5.0a, there is still a lot of room for improvement; I’m still seeing way too many 80+ QB ratings at the end of the season. Just for an example, of the 15 NFL QB’s that had an 80+ rating this past season, only 3 had thrown less than 10 interceptions. In FOF, of the 26 QB’s who had an 80 or better rating, 15 threw less than 10 interceptions. Backups that play 2-4 games per year will throw a massve amount of INT's and thus evening out the league averages, but the top half of FOF QB's don't throw anything close to enough interceptions.

Even outside of the stats, the QB in FOF has too much influence on the outcome of games and seasons. You can literally sign a 98 rated QB and let the AI fill your roster out with first year FA's all rated in the 20's and you'll have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs and further. Most specifically, I’d like to know why formations are now solely dependent on the QB and not each teams training percentages. It made alot more sense the old way.

[Karim]

Most specifically, I’d like to know why formations are now solely dependent on the QB and not each teams training percentages. It made alot more sense the old way.
That's a good point. I was thinking about those the other day because said 98 QB above is a dumbass ... he only knows 12 formations even though I've bumped up passing and film in a big way.

One possible reason could be that "passing" and "rushing" are easily understood terms for non-hardcore football fans. Understanding formations to develop "your" type of team takes more effort. Purely a design decision I think.... not good or bad.

[Leonidas]

What I'd like to see is a system where the coach brings in the offense. You could have a single back coach OC, a west coast OC, etc. Then you would have to see if the QB's skill set matched up well with the OC's system. For a west coast set you want a QB with high completion %, especially for short passes. Then on D you could have a DC who goes with the 46, the bump n run, the 2 deep zone, etc. This could get really fun trying to match talent to schemes.