[Alondite]

So I've played two seasons with these sliders (prior to the most recent revision), and I think I have a pretty good feel for them and how well they work given my team (Cowboys) and my own skill level. So far the sliders have been great, but I'm going to make some changes for my next season based on what I've seen so far. My thoughts:

In general, there is too much offense. I've had the #1 offense and one of the lowest-ranked defenses in both seasons. I think a lack of penalties contributes to this also, though more in the way of scoring. Most of my games have been very high-scoring on both sides.

QB Accuracy

The QB Acc still seems a bit skewed in favor of the CPU. I understand that certain things need to be done for the sake of difficulty, but I feel like we should first settle on something that makes the HUM and CPU even, and then adjust for difficulty and individual skill. I'm seeing far more errant HUM throws than CPU throws, regardless of QB.

Because this is independent of player skill, I feel like this needs to be as even as possible. The CPU accuracy seems more in-line with reality, but still slightly too good. I'll be changing to +5 HUM and -5 CPU to start, and go from there.

Pass Blocking

HUM pass blocking seems pretty accurate. Regular pressure, dangerous blitzes, and also plays with significant time. Seems like the real NFL for the most part.

CPU pass blocking is still very good at 15. Pressure is very difficult without heavy blitzing or elite players on the line, and even then it can be tough. 4-man pressure is rare, and sacks typically only occur when blitzing, or due to coverage. I see this has been lowered to 10. We'll see how it plays out.

Run Blocking

The most recent changes seem odd to me, because I was running all over people at 52. Over 400 yards one game. Some of this is due to the Cowboys' great OLine and my ability running the ball, but the blocking seems too good, and more importantly, too consistent. I averaged 6.7 YPC last season. There wasn't a single game where the run was totally shut down. I think I'll be dropping this to 47 to start.

CPU run blocking is quite good, also. It's actually much better than HUM blocking, but the CPU is still pretty bad at running the ball (though quite good at executing BC moves to pick up more yards). Still, stopping the CPU run game is tough. 4-man rushes often result in runs going to the second level, and blitzes often result in big plays (though mostly due to broken/evaded tackles in the backfield). I'd like to see the front 4 do a little bit better job slowing down the run, but in my case, the Cowboys' front 4 are pretty mediocre, so I don't want mess with it too much. 37 seems like a good number here, so that's a good change. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Catching

I raised this to 55, and HUM receivers still drop a lot more than CPU. I understand this is another difficulty tuning element, but I'd like to get them even, first. It seems to downplay ratings when receivers are dropping too many or too few; I'm looking for that sweet spot.

HUM drops are maybe still a touch too common at 55. I might try 58. I think I'll knock CPU down to 40 and see how that works.

Fumbles

Seeing a lot more HUM fumbles, especially from the QB. Might go 55/45 and see how that works. Or maybe 50/45.

Interceptions

There seem to be a lot of interception in general for both sides. Some are due to the over-abundance of errant HUM throws, but I'm seeing a few too many "spectacular catch" INTs. Defenders seem to catch balls thrown right to them often enough, so I don't want to lower it too much.

50/40 seems pretty good at like 30/15 QB Acc, but I might lower it to 45/35, especially after dropping CPU Acc to 10.

Reaction Time

This one is tough, because there's not really any way to objectively measure it. Seems best for difficulty tuning. 52/25 seems good.

Pass Coverage

This is another one that seems best for difficulty tuning after the more objective sliders (QB Acc, Catch, Pass Block) are set. 60/75 is what I was planning on changing it to, so this change seems good.

Tackle

55/47 seems like a good balance. I'm just going to leave it there.

Field Goal Power

I've been playing on 45, and it seems too low, so I think I'm going to bump this back up to 50.

Field Goal Accuracy

I think 50 is too high. I'm not missing, and the CPU very rarely does. 35 might be good, so I think I'm going to give that a try.

Punt Power

I was playing on 45, and it's too high. 40 seems like a good number. I doubt it's too low.

Punt Accuracy

This one is tough to set. It really doesn't even apply to HUM, or at least that I can tell. CPU kicks a lot of balls in the endzone and OOB well beyond the 20, so I might raise this to like 75.

Kick-off Power

50 seems good here, if a bit too low. 52 might be better.

Injuries

I'm seeing almost none at 50. At 55 I had a lot, though that could just be due to bad luck. I'm going to try 53 and see how that works.

Fatigue

Too low. I'm seeing next to no subs, and starters are having crazy production over the course of the season (not including simmed games, obviously). I'm a bit worried about too many OLine subs at 60, but that might be a necessary evil to get enough subs at other positions. I want to keep auto-subs at 60/80, because I want HUM and CPU to sub at the same rate, and this seems like the intended default.

Speed Parity

Speed kills, and it should. 55 seems pretty good, but I'd like to see better coverage by LBs, so raising this to 60 or so might be a better option. I want to keep the fast guys fast, though, so I don't want to raise it too much.

Penalties

I've had the fewest penalties of any team, by far, in both seasons. Need to go up almost across the board, I think.

Not quite enough false starts, next to no offsides called. I don't fake snap, so I'm a bit worried about raising it. Alternatively, I could just force myself to do 1 or 2 each snap. I think 65 and 60 would work better.

I think 57 for Offensive Holding is a touch low. I think I'm going to raise this to 60.

I've only seen a few Defensive Holding calls in 2 seasons, and these are fairly common. 55 or even 60 might be better.

I'm seeing a lot of IBITB. Too many, I think. I might try like 47 or 48.

Def PI is pretty good. I wouldn't go higher than 60, or lower than like 58. I might try 58, because I think they're just a little too common.

I have yet to see a RTP call so far, but I'm not sure if there have even been any late hits on the QB, so I don't really know how to adjust this. Might try like 52 and see if I can get a few.

Anyway, hope that helps.