New to the game.

[Last_Light]

Hi over the last couple of days I have been reading information on this forum because I FINALLY got nfl head coach 09. I live in Australia and only recently realised that the PS3 is region free.

I'm absolutely loving this game, but I'm finding it quite challenging. Because I live in Australia I have very little exposure to what goes into nfl schemes, namely on defense. So I'm finding myself getting my butt kicked quite soundly in most games (I'm 4-8 on the season).
This may infact be a result of me choosing the Miami Dolphins as they had possibly the worst roster. But since taking the mantel I, according to the GM screen have the 6th most talented team.

I added the sliders from the "my contribution to the sliders" thread and I do see the game running a bit better, but I'm still struggling. I figured early in the season I would suck because of the lack of knowledge my players have of the playbook as I brought in Ryans 46 and Mcdaniels offense. But I actually faired better early in the season, surprisingly starting off 2-0 after two last minute field goals.

I'm reading through ebongreens observation thread too but I just thought I'd post here and introduce myself and see if people had any pointers to do with effective plays regardless of scheme.

Also, are the games always meant to be so nerve rackingly close? I find myself get more emotional then my in game coach, the players don't react well to that haha.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Re: New to the game.

Welcome to the game! I know how frustrating it can be. I have been playing this game for 2 years...but I love it! One thing to look at is your coaches. This game relies on coaches quite a bit because you dont actually control the players. There are quite a few good threads on here about different defensive schemes and I would suggest going through them.

Also...the 1st season is awful until you can start to correct these things. Most of us actually sim the 1st season so we can address the coach issues...

But remember there is much more that impacts how well your team does. Player skills...player knowledge...health...and your coaches abilities are to name a few.

Just ask away and we will try to help.

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

Thank you for the reply, glad to be here.

Update
So I ended up my entire day yesterday going over my playbook and finishing the season up 7-9 which I am very happy with.

I deleted a lot of plays from my playbook which had low success rates and just happened to be terrible. I don't call all the plays, I designate half to my coordinators, so some of the plays I noticed I didn't like were hard to find. I am definitely doing better on the field

I let go of my o line coach, defensive coordinator and trainer. However I ended up having to sign a worse DC, I guess that's what happens when you take a risk haha.

I feel like I had a successful draft. I played Madden 10 quite a bit so I recognised guys like freddie bates, although he was a lot better rated in madden. I also managed to bag the sleeper TE Bird and he is excelling in my first preseason game as I type this.

My only regrets coming out of the draft was trading my 1st rounder to NE who then went on to pick Ozzie Jones. He didn't fit my scheme as I am focusing on a pass heavy offense, but I definitely did not want to have to face him twice a season.

One last thing I went ahead and did was changing quarter length to 10. I'm getting more realistic stats now.

[damonb10]

Re: New to the game.

Thank you for the reply, glad to be here.

Update
So I ended up my entire day yesterday going over my playbook and finishing the season up 7-9 which I am very happy with.

I deleted a lot of plays from my playbook which had low success rates and just happened to be terrible. I don't call all the plays, I designate half to my coordinators, so some of the plays I noticed I didn't like were hard to find. I am definitely doing better on the field

I let go of my o line coach, defensive coordinator and trainer. However I ended up having to sign a worse DC, I guess that's what happens when you take a risk haha.

I feel like I had a successful draft. I played Madden 10 quite a bit so I recognised guys like freddie bates, although he was a lot better rated in madden. I also managed to bag the sleeper TE Bird and he is excelling in my first preseason game as I type this.

My only regrets coming out of the draft was trading my 1st rounder to NE who then went on to pick Ozzie Jones. He didn't fit my scheme as I am focusing on a pass heavy offense, but I definitely did not want to have to face him twice a season.

One last thing I went ahead and did was changing quarter length to 10. I'm getting more realistic stats now.

As an FYI, you'll get the most realistic stats at default quarter length. Default quarter length also enables accelerated clock. So, even though you dropped to 10 mins a quarter you may only be slightly less in overall length and quantity of plays than the default.

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

Oh ok.

I just noticed I had way too much passing offense with it set to default (over 200 receptions for my number wr). But since dropping it hasn't been that crazy.

I have a question to do with press coverage. Do you always have to adjust to it, or are some plays automatically in press?
I was just curious cause I signed Nhamdi and he is a good press corner.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Re: New to the game.

Are you simming, super-simming, or playing the games? I know playing the games takes a while (like 90 minutes!) so it can be a little time consuming.

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

I always play the game. After all, that's the reason I bought it

If anyone is curious I could post up my roster and stats etc. I have a killer front 7. Maybe even my playbook.
If someone could tell me a few good createable plays, either offense or defense that would be great.

I currently have a "go to" slew of plays on both offense and defense that I wrote down and it seems to be helping. I've started off season 2 with 1-1 record. Win coming from the houston texans and the lose coming from that damn good tampa bay bucs team. 7 picks in that game, I had no answers.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Re: New to the game.

There is a forum that some of us use to post our teams and things about our dynasties. There are not many active threads on it anymore. But some of them make for good reads and a place to get ideas about things to try.

I for one would love to see your rosters

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

Could I please get a link to the site?
I'm really not planning on this being a dynasty thread at all, just trying to gain all the knowledge I can.

I've been reading a lot of threads on this forum and it has greatly helped (over 30 pages in fact haha). A couple of things I've read bothered me such as the small amount of plays the human controlled AI will call and the fact that apparently skills on your head coach and position coaches such as play calling do nothing.

(Disclaimer before I post my roster) I did my first draft before I read anything on this forum, so a lot of my picks were just luck.
I'll start with the offense.

QB philosophy, balanced. Offense philosophy Vertical passing
Andre Woodson 85 ovr. (I picked Andre because I loved him coming out of college, even with his bad release.)
Josh Johnson 71 ovr. (I really thought this guy was going to take the reins in tampa before freeman.) Both were just dumb luck.

HB philosophy, Power (I had a terrible run game the first year so I figured why waste the money)
Xavier Omon 72 ovr
Jamaal Buckingham ovr 70
Pierre Thomas ovr 65 (Grabbed him because he was great for me in fantasy I couple years back)

FB philosophy, run block. Considering pass catching?
Reagan Mauia ovr 83 ovr. (Can't really catch)

WR philosophy, balanced.
Desean Jackson ovr 79 ovr (he's injured. Before the injury he was a 85)
Mario Manningham 81 ovr (His overall dropped when fraction became injured too?)
Kerry Buckley 82 ovr (The one who was compared too Issac Bruce in the second draft)
Perry Mackey 79 ovr
Akeem Blair 76 ovr
Ted Ginn 71 ovr (Big cap hit because of the stupid dolphins, but has returned more then 3 kickoffs for TD)

TE phiosophy, Soft Hands
Daniel Bird 77 ovr (Has an 88 potential so I have high hopes)
Mike Peterson 67 ovr (Potential of 86 however he's dumb, but has 93 speed)
Delanie Walker ovr 60

LT philosophy, pass blocking, same with all the line.
Tyler Warren 83 ovr
King Dunlap 70 ovr
Veron Carey 75 ovr

LG
Brandon Albert 90 ovr (I traded down and grabbed him)
Rocky Docket 74 ovr

C
Samson Satele 90 ovr
Derrick Kendal 69 ovr

RG
Kedrick Finely 86 ovr
Roy Schuening 76 ovr

RT
Demetrius Bell 74 ovr
Jake Floyd 76 ovr

On defense I run the 46, however most of my plays come out of the 3-4 instead of the 4-3 so I have a somewhat hybrid team.

LE philosophy, 3-4, versitile
Mario Williams 87 ovr (Traded for him in the first year because I love this guy)
Matt Roth 73 ovr

RE
Jullius Peppers 87 ovr (Free agent signing after I traded JT cause he couldn't play both 4-3 and 3-4 end)
Julius Jenkins ovr 63

DT philosophy I believe is balanced
Dre Moore 85 ovr (He is listed number one because he is the better NT)
Tommie Harris 89 ovr (I signed him in the beginning to play 4-3 DT and the right 3-4 DE because of his combination of skills, but then Julius Peppers became an option)
Vonnie Holiday 74 ovr

LOLB, philosophy is prototype for all, I think.
Cliff Avril 86 ovr (His speed and skill rushing made Joey Porter, with 18 sacks, expendable because of age)
Alex Tillman 84 ovr

I actually just changed OLB over to 3-4 blitzer/Pass Rusher and both LOLB dropped by 6 overall.
ROLB
Vernon Gholston, 83 ovr (But has no coverage skills so I might let him go like whoever signed him did)
Channing Crowder 76 ovr

MLB
Freddie Bates ovr 86
Akin Ayodele ovr 84
Zach diles ovr 79

I actually just changed Vernon Gholston to MLB 91 ovr and Freddie Bates to ROLB 87 ovr. Vernons coverage still bothers me, anyone has experience with him?

CB, Ballhawk
Nhamdi Asomugha ovr 92 (Big free agent the first year, he is supposed to be real good, but I see him get beat a bit in man?)
Tim Logan ovr 82 (Potential of 93, Deangelo Hall comparison)
Will Allen ovr 78
Dovonte Edwards ovr 68

FS, center fielder
Criss Riggs ovr 82 (88 potential, was compared to Dawkins)
Cole Ford 78 ovr (Also high potential of 87, GM brought him in)
Jason Allen ovr 66

SS, Balanced
Dejuan Morgan ovr 80
Nate Pope ovr 73
Sammy Knight ovr 73

K Alexis Serna ovr 85
P Brandon Fields ovr 81

As you can see, completely revamped the team.

[ebongreen]

Re: New to the game.

If you want your readers to know more specifically which players you drafted, you might choose a different notation system in the future. There are a few players whose names are the same in every draft; most are randomized. I used a system shown here and here for distinguishing players of a certain position and draft year; I thought it would be more useful for comparison than Random-Player-Name and used it in my draft sheets as well.

Have fun!

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

If you want your readers to know more specifically which players you drafted, you might choose a different notation system in the future. There are a few players whose names are the same in every draft; most are randomized. I used a system shown here and here for distinguishing players of a certain position and draft year; I thought it would be more useful for comparison than Random-Player-Name and used it in my draft sheets as well.

Have fun!

That's a great idea. In my post I was really attempting to show all that much information, as I left the potential out for most players.

One thing that is working great right now is Freddie Bates at ROLB. He's causing insane pressure on the passer in his first game since moving. Also Vernon hasn't been caught out in coverage at the MLB spot yet, which is good. I think I expect too much from Nhamdi also.

Also I'm considering moving manningham down the depth chart, he misses too many big catches. Woodson is also playing terrible, 11 picks in the last 3 games, had to bench him twice (Josh johnson didn't do any better) I have no idea why this is happening after his stellar rookie performance

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Re: New to the game.

The team looks pretty solid. Will need to look at upgrading parts of the o-line, but as the saying goes...Rome wasnt built in a day!

To get to the Dynasties threads, just scroll down the Forum list and you will see one for Dynasties and you can find the Coaching thread there.

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

My half backs average like 1.2 yards haha. Josh johnson gets some yards though.

In my last two loses I checked all the stats and vernon was always the one giving up the most passing yards, but he also gets sacks and hurries so I think I'll keep him in for the rest of this season and then let him walk.
He's gotten at least two sacks a game though so it is tempting to keep him.

[BrnwsBucksFanNC]

Re: New to the game.

I have used Gholston some. He works pretty well...nothing spectaular...but does get the job done as far as a pass rusher.

[Last_Light]

Re: New to the game.

I have used Gholston some. He works pretty well...nothing spectaular...but does get the job done as far as a pass rusher.

That's why he is so tempting, he just comes fast rushing up the middle, even thought he looks 300 pounds haha. I've decided I'll try to pick up a better HB in the draft. Omon is not progressing at all and my HB coach is pretty much as good as it gets.

I also noticed that if you quick sub a player for a play, they'll be subbed in for all plays of that formation. Is this normal?