The Ladder 2017 - Player Cuts - Deadline is 7/6 (Sun) at 11 p.m. EST

[gstelmack]

My trick: I never promise them anything. That way I never break a promise. That seems to do a really good job of keeping them from signing with me.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

My trick: I never promise them anything. That way I never break a promise. That seems to do a really good job of keeping them from signing with me.

I've been doing a good job keeping my promises recently I think.. I might have gotten in some trouble in the first season trying to throw the kitchen sink at some recruits and forgetting who I promised what to.

It would probably also help me if the Big 12 didn't suck. That'll be remedied next year.

[Kodos]

I tend to make promises that are easy to keep. Like "No Redshirt".

[CU Tiger]

home state
no redshirt
win conference
win against rival
significant playing time

I can control all those

[CU Tiger]

We land a QB we have been chasing...making it our 4th commit of the cycle. However we lead by over 700 for 5 others...need some to start pulling the trigger so I can expand the board a bit.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

home state
no redshirt
win conference
win against rival
significant playing time

I can control all those

I have stopped short of win conference, but generally I go

home state
rival game
no redshirt
playing time
national exposure

Depending on what I intend to do with the player or where he is from, home state and playing time are sometimes dropped in place of national exposure. I hope that doesn't bite me in the ass.. I figured challenging for the Big 12 title would probably result in enough exposure to make the promise good.

[gstelmack]

Another game against a low-tier opponent, another harder game than it should have been. I don't know where they got this secondary, but after 3 first-half picks, including one pick-6, I benched my starting QB for the second half and only threw it twice. One of those was a 29 yard TD pass. The rest we let our running game do the work, and got 286 yards on the ground, 226 by our started, and a pair of rushing TDs to pull out the 27-17 win.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

I have stopped short of win conference, but generally I go

home state
rival game
no redshirt
playing time
national exposure

Depending on what I intend to do with the player or where he is from, home state and playing time are sometimes dropped in place of national exposure. I hope that doesn't bite me in the ass.. I figured challenging for the Big 12 title would probably result in enough exposure to make the promise good.

National Exposure requires 3-5 National TV games. Depends on importance. "Most" requires 5 National TV games of the week.

Then again it takes 3-4 years of repeated promise breaking to lower your rating enough to matter. At our pace I seriously doubt the league exists in 5 game seasons.

[Kodos]

Slow and steady, baby.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

National Exposure requires 3-5 National TV games. Depends on importance. "Most" requires 5 National TV games of the week.

Then again it takes 3-4 years of repeated promise breaking to lower your rating enough to matter. At our pace I seriously doubt the league exists in 5 game seasons.

Oh man.. I didn't know importance mattered. I guess it would be a good idea for me to see what a player wants before promising stuff in the future.

I like this league though, I hope it runs til the servers are shut off at least.

[Kodos]

We broke open a close game in the Big House after three consecutive interceptions by the Michigan QB gave us 3 TDs in 18 seconds. The first interception was followed by a long TD pass, then a pick six, and then another quick strike TD pass. Voila, from 10-7 to 31-7 in 18 seconds!

[CU Tiger]

I cant even describe the 7-3 win I had over TN in Knoxville.

One of the craziest, most nerve wracking gaming experiences of my life.

The computer was in full on screw the human mode as they drove from the 8 to the other 21 with 8 seconds left. Then inexplicably with UT out of time outs and 8 seconds on the clock the coach calls a draw play. A tackle for a short gain and the clock expires...

wow

We are a VERY different team without our star QB...

[Julio Riddols]

BTW: Have we advanced yet?

[gstelmack]

No, but everyone is ready. Looks like cartman recruited last night, and he was the last one.

[Julio Riddols]

Haven't ever been able to figure out why the game wouldn't auto advance as soon as everyone "went green".

[Kodos]

Welcome to Week 9!
Remember to visit dynasty.easports.com to publish your own stories.


=============== #1 USC Trojans (7-0) ===============
Last week, USC won 31-13 against Washington (3-2).
This week, the Trojans will host #16 Oregon (3-3).
In recruiting news, the following USC targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) WR Brennan Mitchell has committed to USC
- (****) DT Andrew Hackett has committed to USC
- (****) MLB Matt Carpenter has committed to Nevada
- (****) TE Chris McBride has committed to USC
- (****) WR Sam Culver has committed to USC


=============== #3 Rice Owls (6-0) ===============
Last week the Owls were idle.
This week, the Owls will host #21 Texas (3-3).
In recruiting news, the following Rice targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) WR Brett Smith has committed to Rice
- (***) LOLB Matt Sutton has committed to Rice
- (****) CB E.J. Holmes has committed to Rice
- (****) QB Travis Bullock has committed to Rice
- (****) P Greg Anderson has committed to Rice


=============== #5 South Florida Bulls (6-0) ===============
Last week, South Florida won 27-17 against San Luis Obispo (3-4).
This week, the Bulls will host NC State (2-4).
In recruiting news, the following South Florida targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) QB Anthony Barnes has committed to South Florida


=============== #6 Duke Blue Devils (6-0) ===============
Last week, Duke won 42-14 against Texas A&M (2-3).
This week, the Blue Devils travel to Fort Worth to face the TCU Horned Frogs (2-3).
In recruiting news, the following Duke targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) MLB Blake Robinson has committed to Duke
- (****) CB E.J. Holmes has committed to Rice
- (****) RT Sean Arrington has committed to Duke
- (****) HB Freddie Lewis has committed to Duke


=============== #9 UTSA Roadrunners (7-0) ===============
Last week, UTSA won 38-21 against Tulsa (2-5).
This week, the Roadrunners will host Arkansas (2-5).
In recruiting news, the following UTSA targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) LT Timmy Miles has committed to Florida Atlantic


=============== #10 Indiana Hoosiers (6-2) ===============
Last week, Indiana won 31-15 against Michigan (1-5).
This week, the Hoosiers are idle.
In recruiting news, the following Indiana targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) SS Justin Stone has committed to Indiana
- (*****) WR James Godfrey has committed to Indiana
- (****) RG Michael Dorsey has committed to Indiana
- (****) RE Johnny Maddox has committed to Indiana
- (****) CB Nate Cronin has committed to Indiana
- (*****) RE Richard Griffin has committed to Florida State
- (****) LT Jake Russell has committed to Indiana
- (***) SS Sean Concepcion has committed to Virginia
- (***) CB James Nicholas has committed to Indiana


=============== Buffalo Bulls (7-1) ===============
Last week, Buffalo won 59-35 against Bowling Green (2-4).
This week, the Bulls will host Minnesota (2-5).
In recruiting news, the following Buffalo targets have announced their decisions:
- (***) RT David Wilson has committed to Buffalo
- (*****) RE Richard Griffin has committed to Florida State
- (****) CB Kyle Powers has committed to Buffalo
- (****) RG Bruce Wilson has committed to Buffalo


=============== Florida Atlantic Owls (6-1) ===============
Last week, Florida Atlantic won 7-3 against Tennessee (2-5).
This week, the Owls travel to Lexington to face the Kentucky Wildcats (3-5).
In recruiting news, the following Florida Atlantic targets have announced their decisions:
- (****) QB Terrell Gates has committed to Florida Atlantic
- (***) SS Leon Hall has committed to Florida Atlantic
- (***) LT Timmy Miles has committed to Florida Atlantic
- (***) SS Heath Harris has committed to Florida Atlantic
- (*****) RE Richard Griffin has committed to Florida State

[gstelmack]

So human teams are #1, #3, #5, #6, #9, and #10. It's taken a while, but we're finally percolating all through the top.

Glad I got QB Barnes to sign - I liked his ratings (although I never got to 100% on him), and had him as #1 for a while, but he flirted with OKState recently.

[MacroGuru]

I took it to the Golden Gophers for most of the game. They decided they had an uber backup RB that we were never going to stop. So I had to run up the score as best as I could.

I managed to do it with like 8 or 9 recruits visiting as well.

[Julio Riddols]

Hey, fuck you Timmy Miles. You know what? I'm just going to not recruit anyone this year out of principle.

I want to say that and mean it right now, but no, I am just gonna put my head down and keep telling these kids what I think of their mothers.

[Julio Riddols]

And now the game refuses to load my playbook. I keep getting handed some generic one with none of my adjustments and only a few of the formations I normally run. You might see a few restarts from me this sim.

[Julio Riddols]

I have WR set up as O linemen? My 1st string QB lined up at WR? A CB as another WR? Something is funky with this right now.

[Julio Riddols]

On the formation subs screen, all my players are listed as QBs. Is that a known bug or something? It seems the right players are on the field at least..

[Kodos]

Odd stuff...

[Julio Riddols]

Ok, 2 restarts, but I managed to figure out the problem. Apparently the playbook settings I had been using in an SP career were being used here, I must have changed the default for my profile in the interim.

After we finally got underway, we cruised on the back of an incredible offensive game. Our QB was 20/22 for 300 plus and 5 scores, basically made no mistakes the whole game. Our run game worked well too, which hasn't been the case against the Big 12 teams for the most part. Defensively we were shaky at moments, but eventually got zeroed in on what worked and began to shut down Arkansas on both sides of the ball. We pulled away late, but this one was fairly close until the end of the 3rd Quarter.

Now.. about those recruits..

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

Hey, fuck you Timmy Miles. You know what? I'm just going to not recruit anyone this year out of principle.

I want to say that and mean it right now, but no, I am just gonna put my head down and keep telling these kids what I think of their mothers.

Timmy Miles has been #1 on my board for many many weeks. We were glad to land the big kid!

Then in the second recruiting call of the week, my now #2 priority (previously #3 before Miles inked)...a young DE rated a 76 by my scout LUKE FERGUSON became an owl.

This recruiting class is going to be the start of reshaping my Defense.

I started this league I think 2 or 3 seasons late...but I feel like this year has been a turning point for FAU.

[CU Tiger]

Unfortunately those players are not on campus yet.

And having now lost our starting RB(nations leading rusher), our starting QB, our starting LT, our starting WR and our speed WR to the season for injuries...we just couldnt keep this one close.


Kentucky blew us out at their place.

For some reason wide open WR turned into INTs, and perfectly called plays led to fumbles....it was ugly and got worse as it progressed

[gstelmack]

Late in the game, 17-14 lead, after a couple of bad picks thrown by us (both my fault, no shenanigans) and a couple of nice picks by my defense, we get the ball at our own 2, get a first down, about to run for another and I must have accidentally tapped left bumper. My RB throws a lateral way into the backfield, smothered by my QB, 2nd-and-26. We get 8 on the draw, then my QB finally hits a nice deep pass to convert the 3rd-and-18. We go on to score, and the defense buries them, stopping a 4th-down conversion, and getting a beautiful pick to ice the game.

We keep winning ugly, but we keep winning.

[Eaglesfan27]

Always fun to crush Oregon and even better to do it in front of 6 or 7 recruits. Our WR Joel Jackson was having a breakout game until he suffered an injury in the 3rd quarter that will keep him out for 3 weeks or so. He had 9 catches for 200 yards and a TD. Thurman was amazing with the exception of 2 stupid throws that resulted in interceptions. His final line: 29 for 36 for 395 yards with 4 TD's and 2 INT's. He also had 9 rushes for 49 yards and a TD. Oregon actually moved the ball well but they threw a ton of picks including several in the endzone. In total, their starter threw 5 before we injured him and that led to the Freshman Nigel Weaver coming in. Nigel couldn't do anything against us and we cruised to an easy 48-10 finish.

[chesapeake]

Comfortable win for Duke against TCU 38-21. The benefit of having a very good QB -- I made 3 poor passing decisions and only had to pay for one of them. Not only that, but the he actually competed the other two boneheaded throws I made. He put one into a moving window that wasn't much larger than half a sheet of paper. I love this guy.

I'll be sorry to see him declare for the draft at the end of the season, but since he will already have all of Duke's passing records, I wouldn't feel right holding him back. Not that I won't try; I just won't feel quite right about it.

[Kodos]

We're on to Week 10.

[MacroGuru]

Damnit, we end up ranked and UConn tears us apart. Not happy, my young QB couldn't keep it together and I threw 4 pics with 1 a pick 6. I couldn't put it in the end zone when I needed to. The game was a lot closer than it appeared as I screwed up, had a turnover in the 4th with less than 2 minutes so I let him score to turn around and try and get 2 TD's quick and I ended up just being a jack ass...

Oh well, hope I don't piss the recruits off..

[CU Tiger]

Its games like this one that make me seriously consider giving up on this league and EA in general.

Wake came in undefeated. They should have won.
We dominated the game. As soon as the 4th quarter started it was come back time.

Still leading by 3 I hold them to a 4th and 27. (I saved this play as a highlight but Im not sure how others can see it)

I am in a Dime formation, they call a HB draw. My D lineman, a 280 lb sack master, drills teh QB in the mouth, he staggers and then throws a strike to the RB who runs 32 yards for the first. A play later its TD and game over.

I was out manned but played my ass off including 2 human controlled INTs but it was just not going to allow me to win the damn game. So frustrating.

But recruiting is going well.

[Julio Riddols]

I hope the game doesn't shit on me this week.. Sounds like a rough one for some of us already.

[Julio Riddols]

Still no signings yet either. Shitballs.

[Julio Riddols]

Man, my starting QB was having an off day, so it looked like the CPU was trying to pull some stuff on me too. After a 4th and 2 pass attempt from our opponents 43 yard line that a wide open WR dropped in the end zone, he just couldn't connect. So after the half we put in the backup. He finished the game 6-6 for 134 yards and 3 scores as we pulled away and won 28-10. SMU's offense was one of the easiest we have seen all year, they ran 2 times for 3 yards. Everything else was pass pass pass. We ended up with 8 sacks, numerous times pushing them out of FG range or pushing them back enough to force a missed FG. They really had chances to put us down early but we kept getting huge plays from our DEs.

Oh, and someone signed with me after I called them. I am shocked and inspired by this and vow to bring in at least 5 more guys in this class.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I am in a Dime formation, they call a HB draw. My D lineman, a 280 lb sack master, drills teh QB in the mouth, he staggers and then throws a strike to the RB who runs 32 yards for the first. A play later its TD and game over.

And you had 2-deep safeties who came up and whiffed, letting the RB go long, right?

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

And you had 2-deep safeties who came up and whiffed, letting the RB go long, right?

sorry it was a HB screen not a HB draw....but yeah the Safeties just ran into the wash

[gstelmack]

Finally benched my long-time starter QB after he threw 2 picks, including a pick-6, in my first 2 drives against West Virginia.

The longer story here is they both redshirted at the same time as freshmen, and Oliver started once my original QB graduated. He had a great passing season, and we did well. He's the one who is a bit more accurate, but can't carry the ball at all, and fumbles a lot.

That started to cost us during his second season, so Davenport took over, and finished that season, all of last season, and the beginning of this season. But our offense has been especially mediocre this season, with several WRs graduating, and we were 7-0 thanks mostly to the defense.

After the 2 picks today, I'd had enough. We exploded for 37 offensive points (4 TDs, 3 FGs), and got one late defensive TD off a fumble recovery to win 45-28. The biggest difference was our consistency on long throws, we got a pair for TDs that we hadn't really hit much while Davenport was QB'ing.

As long as Oliver doesn't have to scramble, we're better with him back there, but if anyone gets pressure, I'll probably have to put Davenport back in to handle that game. Just not have him throw all that much.

Both graduate after this year, but we've got a youngster on the roster who should step right in, and one signed and one possible recruit who both could be outstanding long-term solutions.

Now I just have to hope both Oliver and Davenport get picked in the draft to boost my "developing pros" recruiting score back up.

[Eaglesfan27]

We had an odd game. We totally dominated SDSU in the 1st half despite 2 stupid picks by me. Up 28-0 at the half, SDSU only had about 10 yards of offense.

In the 2nd half, we injured their QB and their backup came in and made a few plays and we gave up a 99 yard run for a TD that really got them going. Next thing I know, our HB is fumbling, our QB fumbles and gets knocked out of the game. Before I know it, SDSU is only down by 2 TD's, 35-21. My backup QB finally got it going and hit a bomb for a TD strike to put the game away. We win 42-21.

[Kodos]

This pretty much sums up how our game at Ohio State went...

[gstelmack]

Holy cow that was bad.

[CU Tiger]

wow....can we possibly tweak either tackling or cpu break tackle ratings?

[Julio Riddols]

I haven't had too much trouble with missed tackles. The guys that miss them are generally average tacklers too. I usually do set my big hit and strip ball settings to conservative though.

[Kodos]

To be fair, I was trailing and needed to create turnovers, so I was set to aggressive on big hits and strip ball. That can always lead to broken tackle syndrome. This play was just a horrid example of what can happen when you play with those settings.

That damn QB was completing over 90% of his passes too. And they had a safety with 99 speed. Even though I was intentionally throwing to the opposite side of the field, he would get there to break up the pass or grab the interception. It was just one of those games where I could do little that was right, and then I started pressing my luck and got burned multiple times.

I hate Ohio State.

[MacroGuru]

I never mess with those setting for defense, I guess when I get down I should, but it's all good..it keeps me some what in the games most of the time.

[Julio Riddols]

Originally Posted by MacroGuru

I never mess with those setting for defense, I guess when I get down I should, but it's all good..it keeps me some what in the games most of the time.

if you ever do find yourself messing with that, don't ever change zone coverage to aggressive or catching to aggressive. Your receivers will drop everything and your DB's will get burned routinely.

[Julio Riddols]

I'm showing all 8 of us green.

[chesapeake]

I was out of town until last night. I got my game in. It took me most of the 1st half to figure out FSU, but we did and ended up with a comfortable victory. I was the last, so the week is ready to run.

[CU Tiger]

We ready to advance?

[Kodos]

Sorry, fell asleep at the wheel for a bit. We're on to Week 11.