dev diary #28 Catching The Ball

[Rocketcan]

Hello Coaches!

 

Welcome to another Dev Diary for NewSim on SimFBA!

 

This Dev Diary continues to explain the transition to the new game engine. Last week, we talked about what attributes would make a player good at running the football. This week, we are transitioning to what will make a player good at catching the football. This is for any player that plays skill positions on offense. This means, that while a DB plays defense, these rules will not apply to them, but if they play offense, then these rules WILL apply to them.

 

So what skills make a good receiver? The following do:

• Route Running
  
• Agility
  
• Speed
  
• Catching
  
• Football IQ
  
• Archetype/Position
  

Ok, so how do each of these things affect how well a receiver will play?

 

First, it is important to understand that there are three "levels" to the passing game: Quick, Short, and Long. Quick passes are passes near the line of scrimmage and screens. Short passes are passes that are just past the line of scrimmage to an intermediate depth like slants and hitches. Long passes are anything longer than an intermediate depth like posts and go routes.

 

Route Running: This skill applies to all levels, but will affect a receivers ability to be open more for Quick and Short passes and to a lesser extent, Long Passes. The higher the value, the more likely it is they will have created enough separation from their coverage as to make for an easier completion. It won't give a bonus to yardage gained, but it will mean players with high Route Running are likelier to catch a pass than those will lower Route Running (all other things being even).

 

Agility: Agility pulls a couple different loads. First, it determines the yardage gained on a complete pass for Quick and Short passes. This is to simulate their ability to get Yards After the Catch (YAC) before they get tackled. It also increases their ability to generate more open space for themselves for Quick passes, making for easier completions. If all other skills are equal, receivers with higher Agility will gain more yardage on Quick and Short passes they catch along with catching more Quick passes than those with lower agility.

 

Speed: Speed is another attribute that pulls double duty. Firstly, it is the attribute that determines yards gained for Long passes, and this is where it is the most important, but it also gives a bonus to completions for Short and Long passes (Although Long is impacted much more than Short). This simulates receivers with high speed blowing past their defenders on go routes as well as receivers running away from their coverage on short crossing routes. So a receiver with higher speed than a receiver with lower speed and the same attributes otherwise will: gain more yardage on completed Long passes, and catch more Short and even more Long Passes.

 

Catching: This skill applies across all levels equally. A receiver can be very fast, but if they cannot catch the ball, it doesn't do much good. A receiver with higher catching than another receiver with the same attributes otherwise will simply catch a higher percentage of balls thrown to them, no matter the depth of the route.

 

Football IQ: This skill does not matter too terribly much, but with higher Football IQs, receivers will begin to gain a bit of an advantage over their coverage by studying their opponents. Receivers with higher IQs will likely find themselves open more often than those with lower IQs.

 

Archetype/Position: Lastly, a smaller, but still important part of being a good receiver is size. Now outside of the redzone, that doesn't matter too much. But in the redzone where windows are compressed and press coverage is much more likely, the ability to body-out your opponent is crucial to making the catch. As such, certain positions and archetypes have an advantage here:

• Red Zone Threat (WRs)
  
• Any TEs
  

Now you know what skills to look for in players, especially depending on what kind of offense you want to run. A West Coast offense will certainly prefer guys with high Agility and Route Running, while an Air Coryell offense will likely prefer receivers with high Speed and Catching.

 

That is it for this dev diary. Comment with any questions you have and I'll be sure to answer them as best as I can!

 

Until next time,

 

Rocketcan

[subsequent]

So awesome to see distinctions between different kinds of schemes, routes, and types of receivers. It's going to be really cool to see teams recruiting specifically for a scheme.