Originally posted by Theo Wizzago
Most fumbles occur when a full speed impact from the tackler slams head on into the returner. If you're breaking a block to make a tackle, then you've lost all your momentum and so far less likely to cause a fumble (especially against a great returner build). So if you were building a STRICTLY 'force fumble' dot, I wouldn't go for BB but rather 3 AEQ FF and 1 AEQ plus CEQ for MT to maximize the ability to cause a fumble.Particularly for a defensive player, his job is not to only force fumbles. That's generally just a bonus to justify other failures in the build like missed tackles or maybe pass coverage or something. Being able to regularly power through blocks and make a tackle, or disrupt a running lane and not get faked out is more important for winning games than him forcing a fumble every few games and recovering it less frequently than that.
If anything ST is where you could really go all out on a FF dot, but even there he has to break blocks and not get faked. I think you would be surprised to find how often dots force fumbles after breaking a block or without traveling at full speed. I had a LB win ST MVP in casual pro last season here is a break down of all 16 of his FFs
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838844&pbp_id=697617 - Could involve BB but maybe not, hard to tell here he definitely navigated around a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838844&pbp_id=700810 - Forced a fumble one tick after getting up off the ground
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838860&pbp_id=840621 - Looks like he forced the fumble as he broke the block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838841&pbp_id=630833 - Full speed, but broke block at the beginning of the play to put him in position
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838823&pbp_id=413048 - Full speed, never broke a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838817&pbp_id=347678 - Full speed, never broke a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838817&pbp_id=345625 - Forced fumble right after breaking a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838817&pbp_id=345260 - Full speed, never broke a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2845266&pbp_id=1555962 - Forced fumble immediately after breaking a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2844747&pbp_id=1492503 - Full speed, but broke block at the beginning of the play to put him in position
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838907&pbp_id=1408398 - Full speed, but broke block at the beginning of the play to put him in position
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838901&pbp_id=1339551 - Forced fumble right after breaking a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838901&pbp_id=1340410 - Full speed, never broke a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838883&pbp_id=1124121 - Full speed, broke block at beginning of play
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838877&pbp_id=1055319 - Full speed, never broke a block
http://glb.warriorgeneral.com/game/replay.pl?game_id=2838860&pbp_id=840621 - Forced fumble immediately after breaking block
11 out of 16 involved him breaking a block before the fumble, and all of them required not getting faked out at the point of tackle. On defense it is much less common to be traveling at full speed when you force a fumble, and on defense it is also more important to be able to do things other than force fumbles.
BB and AF both indirectly increase your chance to force fumbles by giving you more opportunities to hit the ball carrier. Given that the bonus for a first piece is 4 times larger than the bonus for a 3rd piece, it's a no brainer for me.
