I run 40 plays, even though they're not all "good." I want to make people defend everything.
The plays in this list should be the core of plays you depend on, but fill your playbook out with other things that *might* work depending on what your opponent does. I. E. against a guy who blitzes a lot, include a lot of quick outs and take out slow-developing plays. Also include lots of runs, because sometimes people forget to defend them, and you can use them to punish your opponents if all else fails.

The play matrix chooses plays by personnel and then play type. Because the FL Hitch personnel is 2/1/2, and the play type is "short pass," you are going to need to limit other 2/1/2 plays categorized at "short pass" in order to get it called more often. CJ and Seth are actually taking different paths to the same destination. CJ's way is good, because it limits the number of "junk" plays you might have, and Seth's way is good because it's easier to have a balanced offense. Just keep in mind that in the end, you are trying to reduce the number of plays in the same category as "FL Hitch."

That's a good comparison league where I ran a team completely on auto-pilot without game planning for multiple months because of IRL priorities getting in the way.

The only league that I seriously game plan in anymore is Champions.

Last season

My team: 415/576 - 72% - 4786 - 33 TD - 10 INTs - 6 sacks given up
https://champions.myfootballnow.com/team/21

Your team: 498/829 - 60% - 5148 - 37 TD - 17 INTs - 29 sacks given up
https://champions.myfootballnow.com/team/9

Thats great....I'm just offering some advice to newer owners. They are all free to ignore it. I never claimed I was the best at this game. I've had my success in the past but Seth is way more knowledgeable about the inner workings of the game then myself. I have no problem admitting that.

My time is spend running 5 leagues as admin and adding content. Seth does all the data analysis stuff.

All I have to offer is what worked for me but I'm not on Seth's level so by all means listen to him. I don't put in anywhere near the time gameplanning that he does and I set my offense up without even looking at who I'm playing for the most part.

You want to do a deep dive into the strategy of the game....Seth's your man....If you are looking to improve quickly with minimal effort then maybe my way is the way to go.

I've dug myself into a time consuming pit, running 5 leagues, recruiting and adding content to keep my leagues active and fun. Seth keeps a huge database of information and actively helps with the construction of the game. Follow him!

If you go back to my original comment, I said that some of the things in your post were good. But when you start limiting your playbook, you miss out on a lot of plays that work.

...

One other thing I want to point out is that the avg yard/play in the offensive game planning tab is misleading. The 014 Slot Posts is the best example. I routinely average over 7 yards per play with it, but it completes < 40%. This means it goes 0, 0, 0, 14, 14, 0, 0, 14, 28, 0, 0, 32, 0, 7, etc.

I wish we had all the stats available to us without having to do it manually.

I get what you are saying but I simply don't have the time to gameplan that it would take. I load my saved gameplan, auto scout and double check my plays selected....time consumed 1 minute......I will dig in deeper during the playoffs.

How long does it take you to set a gameplan?

About 10 mins.

But that discounts the number of hours I've sunk into my SQL database. (Which, to be clear, I made to keep my SQL skills sharp. Since MFN is rife with possible statistics, it is a great playground in order to do play in. And a lot less stressful than what I typically do with data.)

Well I applaud the time and effort you put in....newer owners may not have access to all that information and my way does work with minimal effort.

My suggestions are a starting point to grow from. I use to own 30 teams and found a way to streamline gameplanning that was successful. I've dropped down to 6 teams and with the exception of Champions have continued my success in leagues with 95% capacity.

I'm sure plenty of owners would love to hear more from you about gameplanning but I'm sure time is limited for you as well.

Cheers
Cjfred68

There's no substitute for trial and error with random teams, but it doesn't hurt to befriend seth and ask him how X play generally performs, or what beats X play.

Its also important to remember that there is no SINGLE right answer to this game. Find what works for you and run with it.

That's what makes this game great!

Interesting debate.

The beauty of this game and frustration is that there are multiple ways to approach the game, and multiple layers to delve into. It's like super-giant massive labyrinth which has no centre point and hundreds of people milling around looking for little hidden 'easter eggs'.

Basically, have a philosophy. Run focused, Pass focused or Balanced. Then decide do you want to be possession based, clock control or quick strike. Conservative or aggressive. Do you want your D to be bend don't break, blitz heavy, man to man, do you want to force errors.

Are you patient or impatient. Patient owners will be more draft focused and build slowly. People like me will prioritise free agency and trading, building for the here and now.

What do you want from a player - Players with good fundamentals (speed, acceleration, strength) these tend to be players with great versatility, who can cover multiple positions. Or do you want technicians who can fill specific spots - you'll need both - preferably players that have both.

Everything else comes from experience and effort - the more you put in, the more you get back. The deeper you look, the more Easter eggs you'll find.


If you want 5 things that will help

1. Get a good QB - pass accuracy, field of vision and intelligence all need to be 80+ rated. The rest you can work with. A QB rated less than 60 in accuracy and field of vision will barely complete a pass, except to an opposing defender.

2. Speed kills - more than that 'fundamentals' kill - Speed/Acceleration/Strength are (at present) dominant factors

3. Always, always, always have a punter and a kicker on your roster - both need to be rated at 80+ in strength, accuracy (and for a Punter) timing. Without a good kicker and a good punter you are going to lose more games than you win

4. Set yourself goals - win a game, post a winning record, post a shutout, win games from more than 10 points behind, make the playoffs, win a division, win a Conference, win the big one, eat, sleep, repeat.

5. Don't sleep on Special teams - Long Snapper, Kick Holder, Punt/Kick returner, Gunners, Rushers, Blockers, Kicker, Punter - all should be on your radar for late round draft picks and free agency.

6. Don't stop looking for something to improve and most importantly have fun.