Formation ratings
 

In 2002 there was a very simple screen that showed your teams abilties running different formations using the red bar, this included defense formations has well. My question is, where did this go in 2004? Did it get axed, or is it buried somewhere in that very complex game plan screen?

There is no formation rating for defense.

On offense your QB either knows the formation or he doesn't.

It basically got axed.

Thats pretty lame, I found it extremely usefull. So I suppose we are to assume that are teams are average in everything? I mean, now theres no way to know when formulating a game plan where my strengths and weakness's are. Oh well.

That old screen was based on time in a formation. So, your team could "learn" a formation. It never had anything to do with your personnel.

In the new scheme, on defense you can run either a 4-3 or a 3-4. Which one it runs better depends on your personnel. On offense, you can run any formation your QB knows. He will learn new formations over time, giving you more formations to run. Again, your ability in each formation the QB knows is a function of personnel: if your backup TE can't block to save his life, avoid the 2 TE formations.