Rust and Return Specialists...
 

Maybe I'm late to the party in noticing this, or maybe it's something that got changed in a patch, or maybe it's something that doesn't affect enough people for it to come up, but...

Is it just me, or do plays on special teams do nothing to remove rust?
For example, I've got a RB in the FOFL who isn't going to carry the rock all year long if no one gets hurt, but he has been our PR1 and KR1 through 4 preseason and 8 regular season games. He has been on the field for 183 regular season ST plays, and therefore probably around 90 in the preseason. That's wayyyy more offensive/defensive plays than it takes to remove rust. HE has returned 19 punts and 23 kickoffs in the regular season. However, I just noticed that he still has "Significant" rust, and I assume that this is hurting his performance. Checking over in IHOF, my primary PR guy, also useless anywhere else in the depth chart, has "Quite A Bit" of rust at midseason.

Has anyone else noticed similar behavior for guys who don't play from scrimmage?

Yes, I have noticed this. Always make sure they get some "real" playing time. You really don't want a PR guy in particular playing all year with a lowered (hidden) avoid fumbles bar.

How many plays from scrimmage does it take to remove rust?

I don't know an exact number, but it's somewhere around the 60-90 range.

I've noticed special teamers need to get plays from scrimmage to remove rust as well.

I've knocked off rust on some of my players with them playing less than 50 snaps. I'd be curious to know why it takes Player A 80 snaps to remove rust, yet it takes Player B 45 snaps.

To be clear, I've never carefully calculated it. I get the 60-90 from the fact that if I play someone at 100% one game (usually 40-60 plays) and then 50% the next (usually 20-30), they have no rust. For players who matter, that's generally the easiest way to do it if there are injuries in the preseason. (And of course leagues with injuries off in preseason are almost always combining stages.)

Is the rust-penalty specific to a players listed position, or their play in general?

I doubt anyone outside of Ann Arbor knows that with certainty, but I'd guess that it's a modifier to their play overall.

That would suck ...

This might contradict what was said in the other thread, but I've noticed that young players who are only active in ST don't seem to develop much, if at all. Maybe it's part of the same deal, although it makes a bit more sense in that regard.

I dunno when I started doing this, but at some point I realized that slotting guys in the PR and KR slots and nowhere else is bad for their rust situation. Play them at a couple of backup slots, or make them start 2 games and it's fixed.