Warrior General Games

http://goallineblitz.com/game/game.pl?game_id=128219

I feel that we should have won this game, and it shouldn't have even been close. We didn't. We lost. I feel that I have failed. Can anyone take a look at this game and tell me where I am going wrong, or what is wrong. Some outside eyes might do me some good. I feel like trashing my Defensive tactics, but before I do, I would like some feed back on what you see.

I thank you in advance for taking your time to do this.

Less short passes.

Remember that this game is a game of chance and the better team usually wins but for every time you play a team the outcome should be different like a bell curve there are freak occurences. The planets align and such.

Having said that the two of the three passing TDs look like blown coverage. The first appears to be a zone or something where the safety didnt pick up the coverage. The second the TE is uncovered. The third he just beats your CB. So from that stand point maybe your defensive AI needs to be reworked to fix the holes that they showed you.

I highly recommend balancing your play time better on offense. 86 plays for your QB, 90 something for a receiver. It's too much at these levels.

play better D and less t.o.'s

Your zones are getting crushed. Your strong safety is doing almost nothing useful in pass coverage (often times running up behind your d-line and sitting there). Your CBs are getting owned by WRs. Something I noticed about defenders in zones in this game is they tend to often times stop/turn as the play develops, slowing them down. So essentially, any receiver with speed is going to burn your guys. I think you need a specific type of defender for zones to be really effective in pass defense(think high vision/agility/jumping/closing speed SA).

Also, your team gives up (in their last 3 games, all of which were close, but you gave up a ton of yards/points) 5.83 yards per carry, but only 4.48 in the first quarter. Whatever you're doing in the first quarter works better against the run than the rest of the game. Your team also fares way better on stopping the run on third downs than they do on first/second down.

Hmm it also looks like teams are definitely favoring deep passes against you, while your team almost never passes long. Your runs to the right (think off tackle) are giving you a 5.2 ypc average, while running anywhere else is much worse. Meanwhile, your D can't stop any runs in the middle/right, giving up more than 6 ypc.

Hope this helps!

Originally posted by Predian
I highly recommend balancing your play time better on offense. 86 plays for your QB, 90 something for a receiver. It's too much at these levels.

This is big thing too, less int's with QBs who are less tired / morale raped.

I appreciate all the help, I have been working on making the team better, but gets frustrating when things dont work right. I am against zone, and do not use it unless i am using the Safeties in cover 2. I will keep etching away and see if it gets better.

Another useful point I may be able to offer and embed: Be wary of analysis paralysis. Many failed companies approach their demise while thinking, re-thinking, having meetings after meetings, hiring consultants, and basically thinking about and focusing on their failures. In many cases, it simply may come down to personnel, or the lack thereof.

Try to focus on where, when, and why your team was successful. Duplicate and drive these situations as a matter of policy going forward or in any sim game tests. Discover your players' strengths as they might apply in a competitive setting and put them in positions to be successful.

While there's a ton of random factors in sims, any GM can put themselves and their team in a position to out-compete their "opponent", with a sound strategy by leaning on what works for them and by properly scouting their adversaries and exploiting the weaknesses, and possibly most apropos, minimizing their strengths.

What Geno said.

Try to fix things 1 step at a time.

If you've got the flex, schedule some scrims with teams of similar calibur.

Tweak 1-2 things at a time, until it seems like you're firing on all cylinders.

Or.. you get a cylinder blown off... if that happens, try it one more time just to make sure it wasn't a fluke

I say that jokingly, but there's been times when i tried something new & it was a dismal failure.. and then i tried it again & it worked great ever since.. example:

1st game in Panthers history, we go nuts with the pass, Veronica throws all kinds of INTs & we lose to the then Washington Wildcats (ironic, yes??). Now at the time I was STRONGLY inclined to go "to hell with this aerial BS, let's pound it out on the ground" but I tried it again just to see if it was an anomaly. And now we are what we are..