Awareness factor on draft

[headsigh]

Recently in my Falcons offline dynasty I have pretty much learned that awareness = high overall.

I find myself stockpiling midround draft picks trying to land dudes with high AWR ratings. I don't use it as an end-all attribute, but it has been pretty much a goldmine.

-Drafted a linebacker projected to be a 5-6th rounder with 86 or so awareness in the first year. He was 84 OVR when I drafted him and is in the 90s by 2013.

-Drafted a safety in the second round with 84 awareness. He's 95 OVR now.

By this method I've ended up with an 85 RG (sixth round) along with a RG that progressed to 88, a TE that went to 84 (third round), two 86/87 WRs, a 78 running back that also progressed to 84, and some more finds.

I think it's kinda interesting, also because the players I draft with killer physical ability (hello, 88 arm strength!) were massive busts and like 37 OVR.

[Valdarez]

Their overall may be high, but are they really good players? How are the core attributes for the players?

[maademperor]

Quote: Originally Posted by Valdarez

Their overall may be high, but are they really good players? How are the core attributes for the players?

thats what I was thinking...although AWR is a good meter for thier football IQ, I can say I have a wr with great speed/acc and awr of 89 but his catch is in the low 70s and he drops balls left and right, especially if there is contact soon after the catch. I think it might help on plays where he is blocking or running complicated route but it doesnt help him make catches...I only noticed the awr on him cause I was thinking of moving him to CB where he might be more useful?

I do covet awr for O-line/FB/TE and ALL defensive players though, that makes a difference in thier actual play it seems

[jvaccaro]

I've taken an opposite approach and if there's two guys with a similar OVR, I'll favor the guy with lower AWR because his other, more specific, attributes are likely going to be higher.

I've heard that AWR is an attribute that is used much less now in determining the players success/failure rates. Kind of like how Run Block doesn't matter, it's really some combination of Run Block Strenth, Run Block Footwork, Impact Blocking, and probably Strength too.

I feel like the OVR rating is just a guage of a bunch of other attributes, and doesn't necessarily dictate player performance in-game.

[huskerwr38]

Quote: Originally Posted by jvaccaro

I've taken an opposite approach and if there's two guys with a similar OVR, I'll favor the guy with lower AWR because his other, more specific, attributes are likely going to be higher. I've heard that AWR is an attribute that is used much less now in determining the players success/failure rates. Kind of like how Run Block doesn't matter, it's really some combination of Run Block Strenth, Run Block Footwork, Impact Blocking, and probably Strength too. I feel like the OVR rating is just a guage of a bunch of other attributes, and doesn't necessarily dictate player performance in-game.

I really hope this is not the case. Football is not all about strength, agility, speed, etc.. There has to be some intangibles that explain why a slower player like Jared Allen can be better than a more athletic player. Or say a veteran is better than a rookie.

[maademperor]

honestly, its ratings like these that probably make it hard for the devs to make the game play well...there is so many factors that the game has to compare and calculate on the fly that its no wonder we see jacked up blocking and d-linemen that dont even begin to consistently get after the qb. does a cb with 99mcv but 50 awr get beat in MCV or not? if both are 99 should be be like a second skin?

example-
DE with 80 speed/75 strength/90 finesse move and 80 awr
VS
Tackle with 69 speed/90 strenth/85 pass blocking/90 pass blocking footwork and 80 awr.

who is going to win here and how do you determine it? which of those ratings is going to cause the outcome and if its a combination of all them the game has to perform this for every blocker/rusher still factor in home field advantage, weather and penalties. ditto for safeties/cbs on thier coverage, HB to figure out break tackle/trucking/elusiveness/spin/stiff arm and WR with thier various catch ratings...we now have Catch, Spectacular Catch (dont even know what this is) and Catch in traffic along with RouteRunning.


in case you are wondering why I wrote all that, i just felt like typing cause i want to keep smoking this stogie instead of going inside

[Valdarez]

Quote: Originally Posted by maademperor

we now have Catch, Spectacular Catch (dont even know what this is) and Catch in traffic along with RouteRunning.

On the 360, you press and hold Y for a Possession Catch and tap Y for a Spectacular Catch. If the ball isn't thrown well, tapping Y gives you a chance to make a play on the ball, but you don't have much chance of bringing it down. Still better then not being able to make the catch at all.

[KBLover]

Quote: Originally Posted by maademperor

does a cb with 99mcv but 50 awr get beat in MCV or not? if both are 99 should be be like a second skin?

I don't think it's all that complicated.

That CB should be on the WR like glue...unless the WR does a double move. Or the QB does a pump fake. Or perhaps even PA.

In otherwords, if the CB can just use basic coverage techniques, he should be very hard to beat.

But if the CB has to read/react, then he should have a harder time.

A low MCV CB would have a very hard time staying in coverage against all but the basic fly route and have a hard time battling for position/the ball.

99 MCV and 99 AWR would be nearly impossible to fool. He won't bite on much double-moves unless the situation almost made it obvious (would have to set the CB up with a tendency, then work off it - and hope for the best), or he just simply lost a foot race to the ball type of play.

That experience factor or "playing above their athleticism" can be exactly what AWR does without really complicating things all that much. I think looking at success/fail as a binary thing regardless of situation is what makes things look (and play) out of whack.

Quote: Originally Posted by maademperor

example- DE with 80 speed/75 strength/90 finesse move and 80 awr VS Tackle with 69 speed/90 strenth/85 pass blocking/90 pass blocking footwork and 80 awr.

If the DE does a speed rush with outside shoulder angle, then he should have a strong advantage right off the snap. If the T gets a hand on him, he can hold him up, unless the DE does a well-timed spin move.

If the DE is forced to try a bull rush - that would be less effective (DE has significantly lower STR). If they try a line stunt on that T, then the T has a good chance to read what's happening so he can block the DT that's now rushing outside while the DE can have a good feel of which gap to rush through on his inside pressure.

If the DE tried an "out-then-in" rush angle, the AWR of the T should give him a decent chance to hold up. Perhaps the T would end up holding, but might give ground or not hold engagement quite as long (maybe a half-second less).

PBF could mean the T won't get called on penalties when he succeeds, or if he has to shift position - it could help him keep his form and technique from breaking down and getting off balance.

Again, looking at it from a straight "pass/fail" stand point would make many ratings look/be useless. I think the game is looking at it too much like that than reading the actual situation/position/actions of the players and applying ratings at the right times.