When I have the time and nothing else to do, I like to look at the previous seasons player stats, the main reason being to see if I can spot something that I wasnt aware of or that may give me an example of something that may or may not be consistent or worth trying out, especially with respect to player performance vs player attributes, overall rating, & position.

From the defensive stats comes a real interesting season put up by a WLB. If you look at the sack stats, the leader was RDE Beaver/Talons with 10 total. He is also very interesting as he was a 9 yr vet last season and his AI default is only 68, my weights have him at 70. 82 speed & 96 run def are his 2 best attributes, and dont know why he is low rated by the AI. But, he is a very good example of what you might consider a very average player based on his ratings who puts up a league leading statistical season.

OK, now when you look at the rest of the sack leaders on the first page of 40, its all DE & DT other than two players, and both of them are on the Maine Event. WLB Walters, who is AI def rated at 61 !! who has the 2nd most sacks with 9, and FS Young who is also a top ten sacker with 6, he was a 13 year vet last season with an AI DR of 74. In the 4.5 game version era, sacks have been significantly reduced and you rarely see a LB or DB in the top 20, let alone the top 40 for the season stats. I have my own opinion about what caused or contributed to producing these unusual results, and maybe Tarq the Dark would like to jump in and reveal what his thinking or experience has been. Whether or not that happens, its still a season stat performance that "catches my eye" when I take the time to look. :) I hope other Elite League owners will comment and contribute to this thread, I think its a good way to help others improve and make the league more competitive. This was one example, will look for one or two others later, time for TV and binge. :)

I was short on defensive players last season, so I had a lot of guys moving around, substitutions and OOP play. That would've meant the occasional mediocre LB on the line just when the OL opposing them were getting tired (not to mention the receivers and the QB). This stat does lead me to wonder if the mediocre blitzers are getting a little boost, like the tweaker exploit ... or if it is all weight-based speed issues, like punt blocks.

I've also been working on modifying my defenses across MFN to be more aware of field position in their play calling and overrides, trying to accomplish different things in different areas of the field. That may have had something to do with it. Explanation/example here:
https://moguls.myfootballnow.com/forums/4/535?page=1#1633

Maybe a combination of all four factors?

[quoteThis stat does lead me to wonder if the mediocre blitzers are getting a little boost, like the tweaker exploit ... or if it is all weight-based speed issues, like punt blocks.][/quote]

I would lean toward the speed factor, same as what happens on punt blocks. And it happens most at the DE vs OT spot, especially if the OT does not have enough speed to compensate.

Your WLB Walters is ranked higher at the DL positions than LB, and you can see why when you look at his attributes. 82 speed to go along with 90 strength! Rush is 64, those three atts alone add up to a strong rusher. Also interesting, is that Tacoma picked him at the 3.13 spot, pretty high for a 61 rated player, almaric was the owner/GM at the time. Walters is pretty unique, and finishing 2nd in sacks is a very strong defensive performance, "mediocre" LB or not, lol.

Very interesting post you wrote Tarq, regarding the four offensive zones and adjusting defensive gameplan to it, something that Ive never really given much thought but will keep a close eye on now. Thanks for posting that and also responding in this thread, am hoping more will contribute. cheers!

Well yes, I drafted Walters but don't ask me! Sometimes, well in a lot of these types of games - and perhaps in real life too - speed kills everything. If you add in STR and pass rush do you need much else? I'm not a strategy guy in any case, I'm purely a team builder - free agency and the draft are where I have my fun, though I've been to a handful of SuperBowls and won a couple (even a broken clock is right twice per day). Analytics for this game is other folks prerogative, although I did make the SB in MFN-8 in my early days, after my veteran FA signing DLE had 7 sacks in the AFC Championship game. Good times.

And how about FS Young who finished with 6 sacks, good for 9th in the ranks. He was a 13 year vet last season, his catch allowed % was horrible (76%). Have you changed his positions up for this season? I looked at his card and it shows him at multiple defensive positions with him at #6 DT and #8 DE. Was that where you had him last season? He was in for 564 plays last season, looks like he had a high sack ratio to the # of plays that he was on the DL. With players at positions with that much depth, Im assuming you have a very low fatigue setting for DL in order to get the reps spread and get subs that are deep in the order in? And, if his sack ratio is as high as I expect it might be, why not use him more on the DL? or would that be overdoing a potential exploit? I know that a lot of MFN players get upset with players playing out of normal positions, like the punt block exploit. And Ive caught flack for using that one also,

It's a good question. I remember when I didn't make the playoffs, I switched everybody's official position to training positions for midweek training boosts. Redid positions again before and after TC. I'll do it once more for the regular season. I honestly have no idea at this point. I guess I should write about this in Team News, if for no other reason than to have a record, even though that would slow down the process of actually doing it. Maybe if I just list regular season positions.

EDIT: I know some owners switch up for EOS to avoid retirements (heavier players are less likely to retire), but I mostly ignore that one.

I'd like that. I had several teams with terrible off-seasons, was looking for ways to compensate. I was pleasantly surprised at the apparent results. I know what I posted is a far from perfect scheme, would love other's thoughts about what could or should be emphasized in different zones.

I noticed this a long time ago. I not only put my faster blockers in as OTs, I sometimes like to list OTs as left-side positions for lower weight with an extra point of speed, or center for about five. I know it hurts them in terms of strength and being pushed around ...

I also keep an eye on OLs speed for plays where a guard is supposed to swing out as the lead blocker. Watching film, negative or zero yards are often because the block never got there. Good timing on those plays seems to be a combination of the right speeds and high play familiarity among all the players involved.

EDIT: Now I've written it down, I'm wondering ... Weak-side runs have higher averages ... Could OL weight be a factor?

Point being, you didnt select those players out of the blue, lol. Going to guess that speed was key factor among their attributes.

Its been that way since I started playing this game over 3 years ago Tarq, the 1-1-3 HB Counter used to be even more effective than it is now, and most experienced players/GMs would put their best OL on the left. It would be great if JDB can get the programming adjusted to make play selection much more variable, and more affected by player ratings, but that's a tall order w/o him having a team of programmers. I think it would be a good move to require full selection of plays, with the Ai kicking in and selecting plays if the selection is short. The selection can still be limited with the use of rules and offense/defense settings, but that would be a good start as far as increasing the variability.