[quote="parsh]
I'd also be curious as to the breakdown between short/medium/long passes [/quote]

I can go back and add this, it's a good point. I haven't written a full spreadsheet to track it yet.

I throw short >60% of the time tho.

QB Roy Roy was only sacked 3 times for 24 Yards in 180 Pass Attempts (not Drop Backs). He threw 8 TD to 6 INT in that span.

QB Jerold Jackson was sacked 41 times in his 363 Pass Attempts (not Drop Backs). So for 2X the Attempts he ate over 13X the Sacks.

These were all behind an OL that consists of:
LT Banta: 74 SPD 74 ACC 99 STR 83/87 PB
LG Pruitt: 36 SPD 28 ACC 88 STR 83/88 PB
OC Cox: 100 SPD 100 ACC 100 STR 77/100 PB
RG Smith: 10 SPD 29 ACC 65 STR 83/100 PB
RT Perdue: 92 SPD 100 ACC 96 STR 52/94 PB

So I'm starting to think it's more the QB and less the OL, since I have both slow and fast, weak and strong.

Roy Roy just didn't eat Sacks, and Jerold Jackson (despite being a more gifted QB) eats them like IHOP.

I think something like this is the root of all problems, not the blocking. QBs need to make much faster, and possibly better and more accurate, throws. Plus, the random receiving target approach is [self-editing to avoid gratuitous profanity].

I got a team with small guys on offense and Defensive line......I think strength is off overall, but size is the culprit. Statistically my worst oliNE man is the 100 rated one, but he's the only one that's 300 pounds.

While my smaller defensive line is limited in the run game but not so much defending the pass.

Plain and simple the smaller size puts the player at a speed advantage and not so much of a strength disadvantage.

This is why I don't want the value of strength increased for the line but would prefer that be tied in to weight more overall. Its not just line play that has this problem.

Defensively my guys get blown out in the run but keying and blitzing were at 4.2 a clip. Offensively running it much worse....strength is OK there, but size should effect strength more but not speed. That's another story...but closer.

Perhaps it's all how fatigue plays with strength /weight ? 250 and 220 pound linemen, but these guys bust through and get that sideline sack more and more as the game goes on....


All this is with a 90 speed 70 scramble 70 accuracy QB at 6 sacks in a little over 100 pass plays. It should not be this easy at all. My defense after 3 games is close to 30 sacks already too.

Play calling is to blame but I ran the same plan every game. It is easy to key on and my team has little experience. Still, way too effective with these small guys.

I have no idea how any of this works.

In MFN-7 I am closing in on a Historic Defense... just a few Secondary pieces away from it basically being the 85 Bears or that Super Bowl Ravens. In MFN-73 my D sucks, but my DL is still doing well (built for Offense there, and it's emerging faster than I intended. Expected another #1 Overall Pick... instead I'm 6-6 and fighting for the Play Offs in only the 2nd Season of the League, and I Drafted extreme Youth).

In either case, it's the Impossible Beast that I look for.

In MFN-73 the only reason my Defense ever has a chance is the DL. I run a majority of Dime/Nickel (and I focus Pass on Offense about 90% of the time... so it's an All Out Pass Attack on both sides of the ball). But I have 4 Players on Defense that can keep me in most games (still get blown out by the elite). When I show you them, you'll see the connection. :D

DT Don Wentz. This is THE MAN. Bull rushes triple teams and still gets sacks and safeties.
79/83 (76/80 AI) 6'4" 283 Age: 26
91 SPD 100 ACC 80 STR 80 TKL 76/90 PASS 77/89 RUN

RDE Carlos Garcia. This is my main defender, the Edge Rusher of my Future.
86/95 (81/93 AI) 6'5" 276 AGE: 23
100 SPD 100 ACC 95 STR 71/97 TKL 71/93 PASS 87/93 RUN

LDE David Green. This is a Mid Round Pick of the 2nd Draft, but he has numbers that fit.
59/66 (59/68 AI) 6'3" 276 AGE: 22
100 SPD 45 ACC 90 STR 52/60 TKL 18/36 PASS 52/73 RUN

MLB Kevin Hester. This is my guy, the glue.
77/80 (75/78 AI) 5'11" 243 AGE: 25
93 SPD 90 ACC 82 STR 75/80 TKL 87/92 PASS 66/71 RUN 77/79 PUN 52/56 Z 68/78 M2M

I had thoughts of Hester being the LDE before Drafting Green. I value ACC on the DL as much as I do STR and SPD, and he has an actual Pass Rush and a quality Tackle. Also his Coverage isn't great, but his Punish is okay... so he's my lone LB in most of my sets. Hester would be a 'Small Guy' like you discuss... so you feel he'd be as good or maybe better than Garcia at DE, and better than Green?

The funny thing was for most of the season these guys stayed even in Sacks... just a game or two ago each of the DL had 5 (and a non-descript back up DT with 5 also). Now it's 11 Garcia, 11 Green, 9 Wentz.

None of these guys are a Phillip Bolden, however. My monster in MFN-7. Phillip Bolden was the #3 Over All in the 2023 MFN-7 Draft. I picked #5, and was so impressed with the #3 and #4 Picks that I traded for BOTH of them... taking the Top 3 LBs in the 2023 Draft to build around. Phillip was the best of the bunch, and moved to LDE. All 3 were MLB, I moved the other 2 (Samuel Shepard, my pick at #5, and Joshua Velasquez the #4) to the OLB spots.

LDE Phillip Bolden
100 SPD 100 ACC 100 STR 100 INT 100 DISC
53/75 TKL 84/89 PASS 82/90 RUN
82/95 PUN 66/82 ZC 63/85 M2M

I still run some Zone Blitz, so Bolden gets to use those Pass Defense Abilities from time to time... but he's here for the Sacks. And he gets them. As a Rookie he recorded 33 Sacks in 16 Games, and another 4 in the 2 Play Off Games he was in. We just finished his 2nd Season, and he wracked up 29 Sacks in 13 Games (I sat him the last 3 due to Injury so he'd be ready for the Play Offs), and another 4 in our Play Offs so far (Won WC Game).

So in 29 Regular Season Games he has 62 Sacks, and another 8 Sacks in 3 Play Off Games. Not a bad start to a career. As far as I know, this kid is Historic. Rare territory. But he's not the only Defender on my MFN-7 Squad... which has Gabriel Sexton and Donald Klinger as 43 DTs, Evans at RDE. Velasquez at SLB, Humphries at MLB, Shepard at WLB, Bradley and Jones at CB, Fletcher at SS and Powell at FS.

Of my entire Starting Defense only Powell (FS) and Evans (RDE) aren't impossible freaks, and Humphreys whose only weakness is Mid to High 70 Range SPD/ACC/STR at MLB. Sexton and Klinger are 'perfect' DTs who only lack SPD (and boy do they) but still show up in a big way.

To compare to your Defense, my guys got these Sacks in 2027. (DL and LB only)
LDE Bolden 29
SLB Velasquez 21
MLB Humphreys 10
WLB Shepard 9
RDE Evans 8
DT Sexton 6
LDE Stewart 5
DT Klinger 3
MLB Kidd 3
RDE Michaud 1

That's 95 Sacks in my 16 Games in 2027... with my Lead guy out for 3 Games. That's 5.94 Sacks a Game for the Season from my Front Seven. I finished 2nd, with 6.3 Sacks per Game, behind Kansas City and their 6.4.

Of the 4 Teams in MFN-7 that have 6.0+ Sacks per Game, all 4 are Play Off Teams, despite my Offense having no business whatsoever of Winning Football Games (Track Star QB who can't throw, 2 Converted TEs at RB, no real WR Threat...)

So while the only way I know to produce Sacks is to get the best player possible and send him at the QB, I do know the easiest way to Win is to find guys that get to the QB.