The All-Underused Team

[Silicon]

I've been enjoying using Tom Rathman (bronze FB with brick wall and soft hands) in my west coast offense. I have my line set to pass block, I have no legend HB, but I don't really need one. Rathman is money out of split back sets. He will catch anything I throw him coming out of the backfield and he can push the pile as well as any bronze HB. Also, it is rare that he doesn't break away from the first guy who hits him as long as it isn't a D line player.

[sportsdude]

OK Trojan, fifth and final game of the experiment and it was my best game with this team. I won 31-7. The dude scored on his first possession but I shut him down after that. He had Ken O'Brien, Barry Foster, Rob Moore, Mark Carrier and Eric Green on offense. Defense he had Willie Brown, Willie Wood, Joey Browner, LC Greenwood, Mel Renfro. Don't know who the 11th was, didn't make a difference anyway.

Snell 24 carries, 154 yards, 3 TD long of 39, 7.3 average; 2 rec. 14 yards 1 TD.
I didn't pass to him much because, well, I didn't really need to. I went to practice mode yesterday with Snell while my internet was done, found out some more running plays I like and practiced the shoulder charge. The guy stood no chance. Snell was an absolute beast. One play I cut through a bunch of guys in the middle, he had Wood coming up to lay a massive hit on me but the shoulder charge threw him back. 21 yard gain. Snell is a lot of fun to play, especially if you love power backs.

Dawson 5-6 105 yards, 1 TD/0 INT. Didn't need to throw. When I did, he worked well.

Defense, Clyde Simmons 2 tackles, 2 sacks. Dan Saleaumua 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks. Maybe it was his offensive line or maybe my legends stepped up, but I finally got the pressure and penetration I'd been looking for. Passing plays were an adventure for him as evidenced by...

O'Brien 5-16, 71 yards, 0 TD/1 INT. That's a 31% completion rate. The guy you could tell preferred running to throwing. But still.

Foster 7 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD. I couldn't stop Foster on the first series. I finally got my playcalling and pre-snap adjustments together and he was shutdown after that.


So yeah, this team's a keeper. Snell especially. I am considering swapping Saleaumua for a tight end or a linebacker, but his performance in this game has me thinking twice. Bottom line is, is fun to try new guys and guys that aren't popular. They're some of the best.

[sportsdude]

In the theme of underused players, I have Jim Parker (Gold OT) on one of my other teams that got some brief exposure to online play and he held it down. I typically don't like using legends besides bronze on the offensive line, but Parker is really good.

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by sportsdude

OK Trojan, fifth and final game of the experiment and it was my best game with this team. I won 31-7. The dude scored on his first possession but I shut him down after that. He had Ken O'Brien, Barry Foster, Rob Moore, Mark Carrier and Eric Green on offense. Defense he had Willie Brown, Willie Wood, Joey Browner, LC Greenwood, Mel Renfro. Don't know who the 11th was, didn't make a difference anyway. Snell 24 carries, 154 yards, 3 TD long of 39, 7.3 average; 2 rec. 14 yards 1 TD. I didn't pass to him much because, well, I didn't really need to. I went to practice mode yesterday with Snell while my internet was done, found out some more running plays I like and practiced the shoulder charge. The guy stood no chance. Snell was an absolute beast. One play I cut through a bunch of guys in the middle, he had Wood coming up to lay a massive hit on me but the shoulder charge threw him back. 21 yard gain. Snell is a lot of fun to play, especially if you love power backs. Dawson 5-6 105 yards, 1 TD/0 INT. Didn't need to throw. When I did, he worked well. Defense, Clyde Simmons 2 tackles, 2 sacks. Dan Saleaumua 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks. Maybe it was his offensive line or maybe my legends stepped up, but I finally got the pressure and penetration I'd been looking for. Passing plays were an adventure for him as evidenced by... O'Brien 5-16, 71 yards, 0 TD/1 INT. That's a 31% completion rate. The guy you could tell preferred running to throwing. But still. Foster 7 carries, 23 yards, 1 TD. I couldn't stop Foster on the first series. I finally got my playcalling and pre-snap adjustments together and he was shutdown after that. So yeah, this team's a keeper. Snell especially. I am considering swapping Saleaumua for a tight end or a linebacker, but his performance in this game has me thinking twice. Bottom line is, is fun to try new guys and guys that aren't popular. They're some of the best.

Really great stuff, sportsdude. I would not have figured Snell to be the type you could run tosses with, but your earlier post proved that assumption wrong. His stamina is impressive as well. He seems like a really well-rounded player and one who possesses lots of skills that don't come through when you just look at the list of attributes. I'm really liking what you're getting out of Dawson, too. Nobody uses him because of Cunningham.

Saleamua I wouldn't call underused, as I see him lots online, but his ability to collapse the pocket is perhaps underrecognized. He will be a consistent pass rush threat 2/3 of the time for me. I think with Simmons, a little manual controlling will help boost his production. If you switched him out, you'd notice a dropoff over the long haul, and you'll miss the occasional huge game that Saleamua has, but you'll get more consistent and noticeable production from Metzelaars. I hate facing that guy because I think he's got a little more talent in the game than he did IRL, but who am I to judge?

In the mean time, I had thought about putting together scouting notes on some of the guys in the game that people just don't use much. What do you think of that? Perhaps something to spread the word.

Guys Lenny Moore and Charlie Taylor, Nolan Cromwell and Robert Brazile, Matt Snell, Jim Parker, and the list goes on.

[sportsdude]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

Really great stuff, sportsdude. I would not have figured Snell to be the type you could run tosses with, but your earlier post proved that assumption wrong. His stamina is impressive as well. He seems like a really well-rounded player and one who possesses lots of skills that don't come through when you just look at the list of attributes. I'm really liking what you're getting out of Dawson, too. Nobody uses him because of Cunningham. Saleamua I wouldn't call underused, as I see him lots online, but his ability to collapse the pocket is perhaps underrecognized. He will be a consistent pass rush threat 2/3 of the time for me. I think with Simmons, a little manual controlling will help boost his production. If you switched him out, you'd notice a dropoff over the long haul, and you'll miss the occasional huge game that Saleamua has, but you'll get more consistent and noticeable production from Metzelaars. I hate facing that guy because I think he's got a little more talent in the game than he did IRL, but who am I to judge? In the mean time, I had thought about putting together scouting notes on some of the guys in the game that people just don't use much. What do you think of that? Perhaps something to spread the word. Guys Lenny Moore and Charlie Taylor, Nolan Cromwell and Robert Brazile, Matt Snell, Jim Parker, and the list goes on.

In my post after, I spoke about Parker. I have him on another team I played about 5 games online with and he's dominant at LT.

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by Silicon

I've been enjoying using Tom Rathman (bronze FB with brick wall and soft hands) in my west coast offense. I have my line set to pass block, I have no legend HB, but I don't really need one. Rathman is money out of split back sets. He will catch anything I throw him coming out of the backfield and he can push the pile as well as any bronze HB. Also, it is rare that he doesn't break away from the first guy who hits him as long as it isn't a D line player.

I've always like Rathman, but then again I was a Niners fan during their hey day and a Raiders fan once they let Lott go. He was the true picture of versatility--he could run, catch, and block and do all three well. Not many in the game can do that, and if you know how to utilize him, you can create some mismatches for the defense. If you pair him with a legitimate threat at HB, then your opponent can't key up on one guy when it comes to short yardage plays (many opponents online will just hotroute LBs to your #1 back on those plays to try to stop you).

[RogueHominid]

Quote: Originally Posted by sportsdude

In my post after, I spoke about Parker. I have him on another team I played about 5 games online with and he's dominant at LT.

Yeah, I think that people would be amazed if they tried out more legend o-lineman. The generic lineman, like the generics at most positions, will get you by, make some nice plays, and make a handful of terrible ones. But the higher-tiered guys on the oline just play differently. Bob St. Clair flat out dominates anyone bronze or generic, and he usually stymies most of the silver tier guys. Larry Little is a lot of fun to play with. He leads a sweep like no ohter, and when he gets to his assignment on the pull, the impact is much more noticeable than the impact a generic makes. I kindof want to try a team where all of my legends are lineman on both sides of the ball and see what happens. If I get up the cajones, I'll post the resuls here.

[Methlab]

I get my Xbox back tomorrow.

I thought I was cutting edge 2 months ago when I started usign Warren online and beating people...nobody had that guy..I guess he is more popular now. I also thought I was cool because my TE was a gold, but now it sounds like everyone does that.

I just really like the balance my offense was giving me. I am going to tweak..I would like to look for some more sleeper WRs in the bronze range. I love Alvin Harper..use him a lot. Of course I used John Taylor too...but maybe I could change that up.