Players Out of natural Positions

[Wheeler Dealer]

It seems that players at every position have one or two alternate positions they can be moved to via the edit option in the Roster. It's always the same positions that go together, not affected by the data for the individual players. For example, a TE can only be moved to FB, not OL or QB no matter his individual data.

The game will allow these players to play at their alternate positions without editing their primary position. You can have a TE end up playing FB during a game, even if you didn't put him on the Depth Chart in a backup FB role.

Correct me if I'm wrong, the game won't allow a player to play a position other than his predetermined alternate position(s) even if he is on the depth chart. I have an third string OL with a 70 rating at FB, better than either of my TEs. The game won't play him there even though I put him on the Depth Chart as the 2nd string FB. It finds a RB or a TE with a lesser FB rating and puts them in instead if the 1st Team FB gets fatigued.

I have a SS rated 76 at SS and 75 at OLB. That would make him 2nd string at both positions. I would like for him to play some OLB when he's not needed at SS but it doesn't appear that is possible.

Would the game ever put a SS in at OLB? Could I force that to happen? How about a CB at WR, they have a lot of abilities in common. I've seen WRs playing DB in the NFL in defense against the opponent's Hail Mary.

What's the point of these off position ratings if they can never be used?

[kcarr]

This game is far from optimal in terms of moving players around. That said there is a way around it. During the game you can use quick substitution to put any player in pretty much any position. Also created plays work for moving players around.

[Ueauvan]

besides the ones that you can do in edit, some can be subs like a G at FB for goaline. however some edits arent possible, classic example Urlacher was SS at college, put on 20-30lbs and became a MLB in the NFL (or am i imagining things again?)

[Shaka23]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ueauvan

besides the ones that you can do in edit, some can be subs like a G at FB for goaline. however some edits arent possible, classic example Urlacher was SS at college, put on 20-30lbs and became a MLB in the NFL (or am i imagining things again?)

No, you aren't imagining it. Urlacher was about as good a utility player as you can find in terms of college football. This has much to do with the fact that New Mexico has always been terrible and had no talent but that's besides the point.

Urlacher played a lot of Free Safety in the 3-3-5, some Linebacker, played some Fullback, some Tight End and even returned a few kicks for touchdowns. Go figure haha. He says all the work at Defensive Back has allowed him to be such a stud in the Cover 2. Touche Lobo coaching staff haha.

On to the point... This game, in all it's awesomeness, dropped the ball when it comes to player utility.

[Skarecrow]

I never realized that. In my falcons franchise, I picked up both Boma brothers in different draft years, but it turned out I only needed one of them (they both play the same position, RG if I recall, and I was happy with the rest of my offensive line). Rather than have the younger (Peter?) sitting around on 2nd string all the time, I slotted him at #1 fullback. His carry was crap, but since my team had a "blocking" type fullback set under team philosophy, Peter's rating was higher than any fullback I could get my hands on.

In that franchise, I was supersimming almost every game, and I kept waiting for his production and stats to start accumulating, but they never did. Reading this thread, I now wonder if he ever played a single down at FB.

[Ueauvan]

sometimes i feel im doing this wrong. i play every game, preseason, regular and post. i call the plays on offence and defence because most teams i start on the coaches are pants. each game takes 50+ mins iirc. longest so far is starting 3rd season because of this but then again i only got the game 2 months or so ago

whenever i dip into supersim my team is pants

[Skarecrow]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ueauvan

sometimes i feel im doing this wrong. i play every game, preseason, regular and post. i call the plays on offence and defence because most teams i start on the coaches are pants. each game takes 50+ mins iirc. longest so far is starting 3rd season because of this but then again i only got the game 2 months or so ago whenever i dip into supersim my team is pants

one of the really nice things about this game is you only need to be as involved as you want to be. The CPU will do anything you don't want to do. it isn't always very -good- at those things, but it will do it.

I was supersimming that particular franchise in order to get past the "you suck so bad it is painful to watch" early seasons, and then I just got in the habit of doing so. I'll still supersim say, the secnod half of a game where it is obvious i'm going to get shellacked and I don't feel like watching it in slow motion detail. you know what I'm talking about, when you're playing one of the CPU's favorite teams (*cough-tampa-and-indy-cough*) and the score is 3-28 midway in the 2nd quarter.

maybe I'm just not good enough to call plays around the holes in those teams playbooks (I never make play adjustments on the fly for instance, I just don't know enough to do so wisely), but i'm happy with the level of interaction I have with the game as it is now.

I'm playing almost all full games on my current franchise, and right now I'm nearing the end of 2009 (2nd season) with my current steelers franchise, and we're 2 games from the end of the regular season, yet the AFC north still isn't decided. my steelers came back from a horrible season start (we were 2-4 and ranked as low as 23rd in the league at one point) with an overall 9-5 record to overtake the division leading bengals who are currently sitting at 8-6. Out of nowhere the Browns went on a late season win streak to tie us at 9-5. I've never seen such a close 3-way fight for the division championship, and my team was just about counted out at one point. So, perhaps I'm not doing everything that could be done to ensure victory, but I'd say I'm doing some things right, or at least "good enough".

[Wheeler Dealer]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ueauvan

sometimes i feel im doing this wrong. i play every game, preseason, regular and post. i call the plays on offence and defence because most teams i start on the coaches are pants. each game takes 50+ mins iirc. longest so far is starting 3rd season because of this but then again i only got the game 2 months or so ago

Once I learned the mechanics of calling the game, I started simming preseason games. About all I lose is the ability to force my team to practice my preferred set of plays. In an established franchise, that doesn't matter much.

I play every play of the regular season and post season. Even a recent 79-14 loss. (Rookie QB threw 7 Int. as part of a 12 give away effort!)

When I lose interest, I let the staff call my plays. Luckily, if you do nothing, the game only stops for emotional reactions and defining moments. you can read a book or go get a sandwich and just react every few minutes.