IMHO, you gotta fix speed. Speed is a linear thing. Guys have a maximum number of "feet per second" they can run. Do the math, if the fastest guys are rated 95, the slowest should be about 70 or 75.. There is way too much range there and it causes problems in gameplay that you had to "nerf" by changing the game engine instead of just fixing the talent distribution. In 4.5, people were seeing all these long pass plays because they had 45 speed players trying to cover 92 speed guys. Fix that and the old engine was okay. Or at least okayer.


Get rid of most "position changes". Players at the pro football level don't really "change positions". Maybe sometimes you get a Deion Sanders or a Travis Hunter who can play two positions at a high level but it's rare. If you fix talent distribution game players wont (and shouldn't) need to go "create" a player they need. And, obviously don't try to link player speed to his weight or, indirectly, to his position. You might have some kind of thing where you can ask a player to play at a certain weight within maybe a 10 or 15 pound range. But not this thing where a 275 pound DE becomes a cornerback. Silly...


There are also problems with other attributes. In my mind strength is in there...


A lot of people have complained about useless players in drafts. Yep.


Once you fix player attributes and get a realistic talent (and attribute) distribution and player development, then you can tackle how the game "engine" is performing. Until then, I don't see how you can get a realistic idea of the realism and performance of the game "engine" while looking through the lens of a really goofy player matrix...


My 2 cents..


CM

Yes, MFN-1 will always run the work-in-progress engine.

I don't think I've seen it mentioned, but turnovers are the biggest drawback to the game right now. Way too many interceptions, way too many fumbles, which lead to way too many games like this epic dumpster fire: https://nfl.myfootballnow.com/box/14314

Good teams should beat bad teams without having to worry about the ridiculous number of turnovers they are going to have.

I didn't mention this explicitly, but this is highly related to two things that I have brought up. Player attributes don't guide outcomes nearly enough, and there was code introduced at some point which had the effect of severely limiting blowouts and forcing more parity within leagues where it shouldn't exist.


I was very frustrated with fumbles at some point a while ago, and decided to do a regression analysis on the data from that season. The result showed clearly that the avoid fumble attribute had absolutely zero correlation with the percentage of fumbles lost per carry. I would honestly be very surprised if the same wasn't true for most attributes.

Not the same game, but the same season against a division rival:


https://german-nfl-league.myfootballnow.com/watch/9754#1682167


My 95 speed WR Blackstone catches a pass behind the defense and gets chased down from behind and tackled by 81 speed CB Liddell for a 36 yard gain.


https://german-nfl-league.myfootballnow.com/watch/9893#1705920


Their 85 speed WR Acevedo catches a pass behind the defense with my 88 speed CB Copeland, 93 speed SS Phillips, and 88 speed FS Johnson all very close by, and he runs free for a 94 yard touchdown.


Happens constantly, the sim manipulates speed in order to limit a blowout and/or force parity where it shouldn't exist.

Blackstone has really low ball carry so that’s that. Unless you’re saying ball carry is playing too much of an effect on speed.

The second is a bit more interesting. The CB is a bit faster/lighter and looks like he is catching up while the 93 speed safety is 207 pounds so slower and did play gunner on the punt return prior so maybe he was a bit fatigued as well.

Both of these issues are not glaring unless you Are saying ball carry and fatigue are playing too much of a role and the actual speed numbers that you see on the player card show mean more

We need more pass plays. Plain and simple. The 5 and 7 step drops on our long and medium pass plays are obsolete in today’s nfl game. So why not here too… the long are already useless anyway . Still air yards are real low compared to the nfl. I want qbs to put some air under it at times. And they should run the ball more often too

Also, run blocks are too static. There should be more fluidity when engaged. The blockers should move more, especially when you consider the speed they in which engage at. Also, run blocks are held too long and the blockers should follow rules of blocking the next man they see not some random guy they were assigned to pre-snap especially once plays breakdown

I’d really like to see some updated plays and formations before we go try to tweak the code to fit nfl like numbers

The brainwashing is shocking. A football does not weigh 100 lbs. It does not require a special skill to carry it and still run fast. We are talking outright open field sprint here. I always ran faster with the ball due to adrenaline and the desire to score. The use of the ball carry attribute in this way is and always has been complete BS.


Weight difference should also absolutely not be a factor here to this level. The speed difference is enormous, if the safety being slightly heavier more than makes up for that, it is a massively glaring issue in the code. The speed attribute has to mean something.


Also, any pro athlete can ignore how "fatigued" he is and turn it on for a single play in order to make a play. If he is so bad that he can't, coach should have him on the sideline and a fresh sub in there. I don't buy the fatigue excuse either (that may be a reason in the code, but I argue that this is more garbage that needs fixing).

At least there are some kind of excuses for these “anomolies”. The one thing this sim does better than any other game is create a detailed world where other “factors” can impact the output of the computer instead of static numbers just calculating the same result over and over. I get your argument about adrenaline and passion to step up in a real world environment, but that’s exactly why these other “skills” exist.


As for the weight point, I’m with you 100 percent, if a 207 lb guy has 93 speed rating he should be exactly the same speed as a 191 lb guy with 93 speed. Losing weight to gain a point or two speed makes a little sense, but if the grand total is the same the heavier guy SHOULD keep up. At least until other ratings like acceleration, fatigue, ball carry kick in

I definitely understand what you are getting at, but in a straight up sprint footrace, speed should be about 98% of the determining factor. I would be ok with a few anomolies here and there with a small speed differential (1-3 points or so), but anything larger than that, the faster guy should win every single time, period. Notice I am not saying this should apply to all, or even most football situations, simply the rare open field footrace. Speed should mean something.