Just wanted to apologize to some owners that wanted me to stay away from Paydirt. I was first contacted by this issue from Meatmen, who claimed to have contacted JDB about the issue. Not wanting to break any rules I contacted JDB who had no issues as long as I didn't violate the Terms of Service.

My reason for staying around the league was simple. I wanted to post a write-up in the community forums to help any owners that may be struggling. I was cross-checking my successes here in Paydirt, to what I was writing. Paydirt is still the league I still consider home and while I may not be in the league, I hope it's still okay with some owners that I check in to the status of the league once in a while.

Also wanted to cross-post my write up into this league to help some owners that are genuinely struggling.

Gameplanning – Use this at your own discretion and feel free to change it as you’d like. This is just what has worked for me in 0.4.5.

YOU NEED A HC WITH PASS FOCUSED OFFENSE AND HEAVY BLITZING(4-3) SCHEME TO UNLOCK THESE PLAYS.

Gameplan Breakdown - All down/distance
Outside Run - 0%
Inside Run - 30%
Short Pass - 40%
Medium Pass - 25%
Long Pass - 5%

Personnel Breakdown - All down/distance
10% Each

Offensive Plays
TE Post
WR Deep
WR Corner TE Middle
HB Release Mid
HB Inside Weak
HB Dive Strong
HB Dive Weak
HB Weak
SE Post
Skinny Post
FL Hitch
PA Fullback Flat
Slot Crosses
Parallel Slants
Drag In
Dive Right
PA Flats
Hard Slants
TE Deep Corner
HB Dive Strong
Spread Corner Post
Slot WR Cross
TE Out
Cross In
Post Corner
FL Post
WR Post
All Go
Post Corner
HB Inside Strong
HB Dive
HB Inside Strong
HB Off Tackle


Defensive Gameplan

Secondary Breakdown - All down/distance
1-Deep Man - 20%
2-Deep Man - 15%
Corner Blitz - 15%
Safety Blitz - 15%
Man - 20%
3 Deep Man - 15%

Linebacker Breakdown - All down/distance
Zone - 5%
Blitz 1 - 25%
Blitz 2 - 20%
Blitz 2+ - 20%
Man - 25%
Zone In - 5%

Run/Pass - All down/distance
Run - 0%
Pass - 100%

Defensive Plays
Man Cover 2
Double WR1
Crash Right
Shallow Zone Deep
Double WR3
2 Deep Man Under
2 Deep Man Under
3 Deep Man
Double WR2
Crash Left
SS Blitz
Man Cover 2
Double LB Blitz
2 Deep Flat Outside
Man Cover 1
LB Blitz
CB4 Blitz
WLB Outside Blitz


MISC Gameplan Options

Max FG Distance Normal/End of Half
58

Fatigue for all position groups
60%

GP Distance Adjustment Speed
5

Hurry Up
3

Slow Down
4

Winning Toss
Receive


Roster Building Rules
Be flexible and always have an open mind when building your team.
Don’t build attachment to players, they’re just assets.
Always explore avenues in ways to use those assets to acquire more talent.

Priorities
My priority when team building (CB/WR), (LB/TE), (QB/RB/DE), (DT/OL)
CB and WR’s, with speed, still dominate the game… without them your team will have little success. LB’s and TE’s are truly the athletes of MFN. Easily convert a TE of 81+ speed to a 90+ speed WR or a TE that has 70+ strength and 90+ pass blocking/90+ run blocking into a stud OL. LB’s with high run defense as well as pass rush can be transitioned into an DL or fast LB’s with high M2M can be transitioned into shut down corners. Being able to get your hands on a stud LB/TE means you have a ton of flexibility into how you decide to build your team. When looking for a QB, I’m looking for Pass Accuracy and Intelligence. Arm strength, Passing Release, Scrambling Skills, Speed, Look off Def, and FoV are all skills that I want my QB to have, but never at the expense of Pass Accuracy and Intelligence. An elite RB for me needs only 3 attributes: speed, ball carrying, and avoid fumble. 4 additional attributes that would be nice, but not necessary, would be acceleration, route running, break tackle, and pass catching (especially if you find your QB dumps it off to your RB often). DE’s generally just need high speed along with a good combination of pass rush/run defense. DT and OL are prioritized the least because of how easy they are to acquire or transition other players into. For example, a low-speed DE with high Strength and Run Defense/Pass Rush would be an excellent DT, a similar LB could be transitioned into a DT as well. I wouldn’t recommend trying to transition a DB to DT though as a change that drastic would leave a DB->DT player drastically underweight. Lastly OL can have a multitude of player changes. While I’m sure it’s rare, I’ve been able to transition multiple RB’s into OL in the past. It’s also easy to transition FB’s and TE’s into capable OL as well. The only true stats that matter for OL is that they’re not drastically underweight, and they have great Pass/Run block skills. I personally prioritize pass block over run block. With OT they don’t necessarily have to have speed, but I prefer my OG/C to have speed due to possibly having to pull on run blocks.

Drafting Philosophy
Always capitalize on your draft selection. In my opinion, in the first round I’m always looking for super stars. I’d much rather take a chance on a player that could be a super star if he boomed, than a player that’s safer but less of an athlete. I’ve seen countless times where teams that don’t seem to be doing well always go into the draft taking the safer player and passing over more talented, higher volatility guys. While this may be a philosophy that’s a good go to sometimes, it’s better to take a chance on a possible stud, rather than let another team grab him… bolstering their more talented team and keeping your team from acquiring a true difference maker. I consider rounds 1-3 the rounds in which you should look to acquire the talent that can make the most difference to your team. 4-7 are the rounds that I reserve for specifically for finding hidden talent, such as players that have the volatility to turn into starters or even players that have certain attributes that could be used to transition them into other positions. Even in the 7th round, I’ve been able to find a startable OL who was originally an RB.

Trading
Always try to win the deal, we all want deals to be fair in the end, but there’s nothing wrong with you coming out on the winning end. Always be on the lookout for players that aren’t being properly utilized by other teams. See a player with high speed/ball carrying/avoid fumbling that’s a 4th string RB? Send them an offer just to see if they’d be willing to let them go, just because a player isn’t on the trade block doesn’t mean they can’t be moved. When looking for throw in’s, look for players that could be better utilized in other positions. A slow LB with high strength and great run defense/pass rush? Have the other team throw them in and turn them into a stud DT. By maximizing the value of your trades, you help to maximize your team’s ability to succeed.

Good read.
Although my game planning and strategies may be slightly different, it also has many similarities to what you mentioned. Will be beneficial to all those who are struggling with MFN as a whole. Thanks for the insight! This will help this league stay highly competitive, especially coming from one of the more successful previous Paydirt GMs.

Wait, what?! Jou just write more words in this post than in his last 3 Paydirt seasons in the all forum:)) ...where is the catch?

I don't see the issue with MFN users who are not owners lurking around in this league... Great post Jou, like I said when you left, I hope you come back soon :)

Grad school :)

Bang on!

Great read, I thank for the exelllent input. I was contacted with concerns as well as my own. The primary reason for the message was that I feel you are attempting to influence league play. This post while a good read and sound advise serves to intensify my concerns. If JDB says its fine then so be it. I cannnot control you. I urge anyone with conrcerns to go thru whatever channels you see fit as I see that my hands are tied. I agree this is probably the longest post you ever done. To me (and that's just me) something is rotten in Denmark? but that's just me. I fail to see why you feel the need to hang around and post in a leauge you quit. We are now a private league. Please, move on .............................MM