Next up, the Yellows!
The game overall was much better than week 1. It started to feel a little more realistic. That being said, I found a whole bunch of new stuff to fix.
First, the results…
The Greens topped the Yellows 49-21. Again, we played for roughly 15 minutes, and ran 60 plays.
Offense:
Thurber had a
much better day passing with 1/3 for 58 yds and 1 TD. 🙂
We leaned a lot more on the running game this time, as Tolliver had 8 rushes for 249 yds and 4TD!
The Yellows QB Rosas kind of sucks, but he has 2 nice WRs. He was able to go 4/8 for 91 yds, 1 TD and 1 INT. Not too bad…
RB Beaulieu did not have a good day. 14 rushes for 18 yds.
Defense:
The Yellows did an ok job getting to Thurber. Rosas and Foltz both had 2 sacks.
That being said, the Greens defense totally dominated the Yellows line. Tolliver and Sturgeon both had 2 sacks, and Dick Klinger led the whole defense with 7 tackles, 1 int, and
4 sacks. He’s turning out to be a game changer.
Special Teams:
It was a good day for Urquhart again, but the recent changes tamed him a little. His final line was 2 KR for 78 yds, 4 PR for 165 yds and 2 TD. Still impressive, but not quite to the level of week 1.
Notes
I focused a lot more on the running game this time, and there are a lot of things to work on. Overall, it looks like blocking might be a bit too effective. At the start of the game, the DL isn’t getting off the ball very well and sometimes the OL blasts the guy back 5 yards. (not every time, though) However, the rest of the defense is actually attacking too quickly, and is getting sucked into the line too easily. If the RB breaks the run outside, he’s usually gone for a TD. We need a little more balance there. I’m also seeing that sometimes the runner gets ‘stuck’ behind the line if he breaks a tackle in the backfield. He pauses for a split second too long, and usually gets swarmed. I need the RB to be a lot more fluid in his running.
Kick returns are much better, but need more work. It’s weird when the KR/PR is catching the ball. It’s leading to some odd running behavior, if they don’t catch the ball cleanly. I don’t know what one has to do with another, but it needs to get cleaned up. I’m also noticing that the pursuit angles are much better, but the defenders are waiting too long to make the adjustments. I need to them to start cutting the returner off at least 10 yards earlier than they are. (I think this has to do with the scanning range of the defenders. Easy fix)
Overall, the passing game is working better. I was happy to see that the Yellows WR Simon was able to make a play, even though he’s really slow. I guess it’s not all speed after all. The passes are starting to look like they are far too slow, though. You can really see it on slant plays. The WR will be wide open on a quick-slant, but then 2 defenders will be there when the ball finally gets to the spot. I’m pretty sure this is why the passing game is suffering so much.
The other reason the passing game sucks, is pass rush. It’s clearly a problem that speed rushers are killing the OL. I don’t want to artificially slow down players, but I need to find a solution. It’s just not right that you can drop any fast guy into a pass rushing spot, and dominate the line.
Anyway, lots to work on!
Now for the good stuff:
2 games in a row without a single crash or error! WOOHOO!!!!
To be attempted before the next game
- Check DL on running plays. Why do they get blown up?
- Figure out why the RB stops in the backfield after a missed tackle
- Adjust the defense diving into the line on running plays
- Fix the kick return catching glitch
- Adjust the special teams scanning range
- Speed up the velocity of passes
- Adjust the pocket time to allow for quicker passes and more QB scrambles
- Add a couple more max protect pass plays
For later:
- Depth chart refresh
- New camera control
- Figure out a solution to speed rushing (without artificially lowering speeds)
- Figure out what to do about blocks being too effective. (guys not breaking free of blocks)