20th Season

I will be instituting a new rule for next season where every team must use a minimum of 25 offensive plays every game. I did a deep dive into play selection and offensive output (see below) and clearly the less plays you actual use....the better your offense.

Play overuse isn't really working and as you can see from the data....I'm just as guilty as anyone in not using enough plays in order to gain more yards. I'm hoping this will help prevent the "big plays" from being used over and over again as we have owners (including myself) using less than 20 plays on average per game. I only did the AXC for the data below (It's time consuming) but you can clearly see the best offensive teams are using less plays.

The rule will be every team must average 25 plays called every 4 games. That means if you have a game where you only called 20 different plays...you will need to average 27 plays the next 3 games. This means selecting 25 plays but creating rules not to use them won't work. You need to use 25 different plays every game. If I find any owner using rules to call a play just once per game for say 10 different plays so they can use 15 good plays more often...I will just boot them without a warning.

We can discuss the rule...everyone can state their opinion but I feel this is the direction I want to take this league. If this new rule isn't for you then I'm sorry...it was great having you in my league but in the end I'm the person dedicating hundreds of hours to bring this league to life and I have the final say in its future. Remember this new rule directly effects me and my own play selection.

I will be checking play usage after every 4 games. So week 5, 9, 13 and Wildcard during the midweek...I will be checking each teams average. You will receive one warning if you are under the 25 play average in the range from 20-24. Anyone with averages under 20 plays during any 4 week average check will be immediately removed.

What about defense? I'm not gonna do anything with minimum defensive play selection this season but plan on addressing that after next season.

XFL PLAY USAGE
LAST 4 REGULAR SEASON GAMES

AXC WEST

KANSAS CITY CHAOS
13-3
CASEYL
RUSHING PER GAME 128.1
PASSING PER GAME 254.7
TOTAL PER GAME 382.8
RUN 10, 8, 14, 11 (10.75)
PASS 18, 20, 18, 15 (17.75)
TOTAL PLAYS (28.50)
AVG PER RUN PLAY (11.92)
AVG PER PASS PLAY (14.35)
AVG PER PLAY (13.43)


VANCOUVER VANDALS
12-4
VILLAGERCHRIS
RUSHING PER GAME 79.9
PASSING PER GAME 345.1
TOTAL PER GAME 425.0
RUN 10, 5, 8, 6 (7.25)
PASS 9, 8, 8, 6 (7.75)
TOTAL PLAYS (15.00)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 11.02
AVG PER PASS PLAY 44.43
AVG PER PLAY 28.33

OAKLAND OUTLAWS
9-7
DATSMALLBOI
RUSHING PER GAME 117.9
PASSING PER GAME 216.3
TOTAL PER GAME 334.1
RUN 9, 12, 11, 15 (11.75)
PASS 18, 14, 15, 19 (16.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (28.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 10.03
AVG PER PASS PLAY 13.11
AVG PER PLAY 11.83

DENVER EXTREME
3-13
CALEBBWILL
RUSHING PER GAME 54.0
PASSING PER GAME 140.8
TOTAL PER GAME 194.8
RUN 10, 13, 12, 11 (11.50)
PASS 16, 19, 22, 18 (18.75)
TOTAL PLAYS (30.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 4.70
AVG PER PASS PLAY 10.39
AVG PER PLAY 6.44

AXC EAST

BUFFALO BILLS
14-2
SMIRT211
RUSHING PER GAME 131.7
PASSING PER GAME 295.6
TOTAL PER GAME 427.3
RUN 9, 8, 10, 9 (9)
PASS 9, 5, 8, 8 (7.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (16.50)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 14.63
AVG PER PASS PLAY 39.41
AVG PER PLAY 25.90

NEW YORK EMPIRE
10-6
BROHL
RUSHING PER GAME 71.4
PASSING PER GAME 345.8
TOTAL PER GAME 417.3
RUN 3, 5, 5, 2 (3.75)
PASS 21, 15, 17, 17 (17.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (21.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 19.04
AVG PER PASS PLAY 19.76
AVG PER PLAY 19.64

NEW ENGLAND CRUSADERS
9-7
JOHN97334
RUSHING PER GAME 85.1
PASSING PER GAME 185.8
TOTAL PER GAME 270.9
RUN 14, 11, 14, 12 (12.75)
PASS 19, 18, 14 , 15 (16.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (29.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 6.67
AVG PER PASS PLAY 11.26
AVG PER PLAY 9.26

MIAMI NEMESIS
4-12
THUNDERBOLT
RUSHING PER GAME 58.4
PASSING PER GAME 158.9
TOTAL PER GAME 217.3
RUN 11, 10, 11, 15 (11.75)
PASS 18, 17, 16, 17 (17)
TOTAL PLAYS (28.75)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 4.97
AVG PER PASS PLAY 9.35
AVG PER PLAY 7.56

AXC NORTH

CINCINNATI DEFENDERS
13-3
BLONDIE1977
RUSHING PER GAME 127.0
PASSING PER GAME 323.5
TOTAL PER GAME 450.5
RUN 14, 13, 5, 7 (9.75)
PASS 10, 10, 16, 14 (12.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (22.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 13.03
AVG PER PASS PLAY 25.88
AVG PER PLAY 20.25

HOUSTON ROUGHNECKS (25.25)
12-4
PRIVATESNOWFLAKE
RUSHING PER GAME 131.3
PASSING PER GAME 296.1
TOAL PER GAME 427.4
RUN 12, 10, 8, 11 (10.25)
PASS 15, 16, 14, 15 (15)
TOTAL PLAYS (25.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 12.81
AVG PER PASS PLAY 19.74
AVG PER PLAY 16.93

TORONTO TITANS
6-10
DANGALANTI
RUSHING PER GAME 72.6
PASSING PER GAME 284.6
TOTAL PER GAME 357.2
RUN 6, 9, 8, 7 (7.5)
PASS 18,18, 15, 14 (16.25)
TOTAL PLAYS (23.75)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 9.68
AVG PER PASS PLAY 17.51
AVG PER PLAY 15.04

PITTSBURGH BLITZKRIEG
2-14
DUANE_BICKETT
RUSHING PER GAME 61.3
PASSING PER GAME 179.3
TOTAL PER GAME 240.6
RUN 10, 12, 12, 12 (11.5)
PASS 14, 16, 13, 15 (14.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (26.00)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 5.33
AVG PER PASS PLAY 12.37
AVG PER PLAY 9.25

AXC SOUTH

DAKOTA BLIZZARD
13-3
CJFRED68
RUSHING PER GAME 147.3
PASSING PER GAME 349.4
TOTAL PER GAME 496.8
RUN 6, 7, 8, 7 (7.0)
PASS 11, 10, 12, 11 (11.0)
TOTAL PLAYS (18.00)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 21.04
AVG PER PASS PLAY 31.76
AVG PER PLAY 27.60

MICHIGAN WOLVERINES (28.25)
9-7
EGO-TRIP
RUSHING PER GAME 121.2
PASSING PER GAME 195.1
TOTAL PER GAME 316.3
RUN 12, 13, 15, 15 (13.75)
PASS 15, 12, 16, 15 (14.50)
TOTAL PLAYS (28.25)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 8.81
AVG PER PASS PLAY 13.46
AVG PER PLAY 11.20

TEXAS HOLD'EM
8-8
JABILLUPS85
RUSHING PER GAME 129.6
PASSING PER GAME 169.8
TOTAL PER GAME 299.4
RUN 13, 13, 11, 11 (12.0)
PASS 10, 12, 12, 12 (11.5)
TOTAL PLAYS (23.50)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 10.80
AVG PER PASS PLAY 14.77
AVG PER PLAY 12.74

DAYTONA BEACH BULL SHARKS
1-15
VORYZOVER
RUSHING PER GAME 61.9
PASSING PER GAME 208.6
TOTAL PER GAME 270.5
RUN 9, 9, 11, 11 (10.0)
PASS 23, 17, 24, 19 (20.75)
TOTAL PLAYS (30.75)
AVG PER RUN PLAY 6.19
AVG PER PASS PLAY 10.05
AVG PER PLAY 8.80


AVG PER RUN PLAY
21.04 DAKOTA (7.00)
19.04 NEW YORK (3.75)
14.63 BUFFALO (9.00)
13.03 CINCINNATI (9.75)
12.81 HOUSTON (10.25)
11.92 KANSAS CITY (10.75)
11.02 VANCOUVER (7.25)
10.08 TEXAS (12.00)
10.03 OAKLAND (11.75)
9.68 TORONTO (7.50)
8.81 MICHIGAN (13.75)
6.67 NEW ENGLAND (12.75)
6.19 DAYTONA (10.00)
5.33 PITTSBURGH (11.50)
4.97 MIAMI (11.75)
4.70 DENVER (11.50)

AVG PER PASS PLAY
44.43 VANCOUVER (7.75)
39.41 BUFFALO (7.50)
31.76 DAKOTA (11.00)
25.88 CINCINNATI (12.50)
19.76 NEW YORK (17.50)
19.74 HOUSTON (15.00)
17.51 TORONTO (16.25)
14.77 TEXAS (11.50)
14.35 KANSAS CITY (17.75)
13.46 MICHIGAN (14.50)
13.11 OAKLAND (16.50)
12.37 PITTSBURGH (14.50)
11.26 NEW ENGLAND (16.50)
10.39 DENVER (18.75)
10.05 DAYTONA (20.75)
9.75 MIAMI (17.00)


AVG PER PLAY
28.33 VANCOUVER (15.00)
27.60 DAKOTA (18.00)
25.90 BUFFALO (16.50)
20.25 CINCINNATI (22.25)
19.64 NEW YORK (21.25)
16.93 HOUSTON (25.25)
15.04 TORONTO (23.75)
13.43 KANSAS CITY (28.50)
12.74 TEXAS (23.50)
11.83 OAKLAND (28.25)
11.20 MICHIGAN (28.25)
9.26 NEW ENGLAND (29.25)
9.25 PITTSBURGH (26.00)
8.80 DAYTONA (30.75)
7.56 MIAMI (28.75)
6.44 DENVER (30.25)


PLEASE LIKE THIS POST SO I KNOW YOU READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS RULE.

THANKS

CJ

Seems fair. Is this rule going to be for plays *selected* or plays *run*? A lot of times I have a larger number of plays picked and the AI doesn't use them all - might be my gameplan.

Are you going to have a minimum for defensive plays selected as well?

It's plays called.....period.

I have no idea how many plays you select and no way of checking that!!

Suggestion:

If you have to average 25 plays called per game...maybe select 26 or 27 plays per game...right?!

I did clearly state I won't be doing anything with defensive plays called this season but will address it the following season...one thing at a time!

I'll see what happens, I have always picked 40 plays, never seen how many were called!

It could help to simply add/remove plays per each game. Teams that use 15avg plays are likely using the same 15ish every game.

This will also force owners to be vigilant with game planning and formation weights. I.e. if you run 2rb1te2wr formation every first down almost solely you will be limiting your play calls and will have to increase other formations.

I like the rule because it does force people to think outside of the high probability box. I think this will be time consuming to govern and almost anticipate variation in the league as a result of either owners being dropped or not being so overly successful.

It's clear using less plays makes the offense better. I just played in the Conference Championship game where the score was 43-36 with over 1100 yards of total offense, over 1,000 was passing yards and Buffalo called 7 different pass plays while I called 10 different pass plays.

Beta isn't ready...you can't pass the ball and rushing is through the roof so it's like playing 1960's football.

4.5 isn't perfect but it produces much better results especially when you add rules to stop exploits.

Setting a play call play minimum means everybody has to use more plays and using the "big 5 pass plays" will be used less often.

This is about competition and making the league more competitive. This isn't about any 1 owner but the league as a whole....I'm clearly one of the owmers this will effect but the longterm success of my favorite league means much more.to me then any.individual success.

I’m all for anything that balances the game. This is by far my most egregious league as far as play calling but it’s also the only one Smirt plays in lol. I almost dropped from this league a few seasons ago and I msgd you it world be my last season at that time. Frankly, I don’t like how Smirt plays the game but I decided I would copy as much of his planning as possible and see where it went, so I stayed. At 15 plays average a game I’m actually worse than he is hahaha.

I do have some questions though. How do you plan to check this? I’m asking cause I would do the same in my leagues. Are you downloading to excel and sorting out the plays called there?

Also, if you run 65 plays a game.. even with 40 plays selected and all gameplanning bars set to even.. you really aren’t guaranteed 25 different plays. It works require a lot of management like every other game rubbing a certain set of plays and changing those plays for other games. I can’t get 31 people to manage t roster positions in the village.

I download and sort by plays called...don't concern yourself how I check or enforce this...it's not based on a single game but an average over 4 games.

I can get a real sense of how many plays you are using over a 4 game stretch. If I check 4 games and you used 22, 25, 26, 25 plays and the average is under 25 per game....clearly you are using enough plays.

If I check 4 games and you used 15, 18, 35, 32...it may average 25 but you are playing the system and I will boot you.

I'm asking owners to use 25 plays per game. I will treat each owner like an adult and can make deductions based on circumstances and outcomes. I'm asking everyone to be honest and everything will be OK.

If you select 25 offensive plays per game...you will be OK. It's not that hard!

9 of the 16 teams I checked were already good....4 others need to add a couple plays while 3 teams (including me) need to add upwards of 10 more plays selected.

AVG PER PLAY
28.33 VANCOUVER (15.00) add 10 plays
27.60 DAKOTA (18.00) add 7 plays
25.90 BUFFALO (16.50) add 8 plays
20.25 CINCINNATI (22.25) add 2-3 plays
19.64 NEW YORK (21.25) add 2-3.plays
16.93 HOUSTON (25.25) good
15.04 TORONTO (23.75) add 1-2 plays
13.43 KANSAS CITY (28.50) good
12.74 TEXAS (23.50) add 1-2 plays
11.83 OAKLAND (28.25) good
11.20 MICHIGAN (28.25) good
9.26 NEW ENGLAND (29.25) good
9.25 PITTSBURGH (26.00) good
8.80 DAYTONA (30.75) good
7.56 MIAMI (28.75) good
6.44 DENVER (30.25) good

So, just use at least 25 offensive plays and let me worry about the rest. This league is unique, I've given everyone a ton of extra content and try to make this league fun and special.

In return, I've tried to keep this league competitive and hope everyone that stays simply follow the rules!!

I like the rule and we discussed overuse in the village rules as well. Of course I’m going to stay. I wish there was a way to lock in a mandatory 40 plays selected with no bars to slide, keeping the play calling random but allowing you to choose the 40 plays.. if you were under the ai would add plays up to the 40 at random before each game etc.

40 plays is too much because 40 plays don't work in the given playboys.

There are broken plays that never work no matter the defense called.

25 offensive plays and 15 defensive plays are the sweet spot for this game. The problem is the less plays you use, the better your offense will be because overuse isn't a deterrent and even if you get hit with overuse in the 4th quarter...who cares if you are up 35-10.

I'm guilty of using less plays because it makes the offense more dynamic but it's become obvious that a rule needs to be set. Some teams will call just 5-6 pass plays in a game...so the FL HITCH and HB FLARE....2 super successful pass plays are called upwards of 19 times a game.

25 minimum still allows owners to create dynamic play calling with a more diverse call set. So pass plays that average 4.0 yards per play become used and not just the 9.9 and better plays. It also means gaining play knowledge and head coaches become more important.