The Box
I'll be the first to admit that my views on the box are like Michigan Joes - strictly based on opinion and not from first hand experience. I really am excited to try it and I like the idea of fumbles, injuries, penalties, etc working their way into MF just like the pros so for that we are 100% in agreement and it is all good.
I'm bringing up my ideas with the caveat that it isn't a sword worth falling on. The positive of the box being in play I believe outweighs any negatives. Reg, I always appreciate your innovations and passion. Most inventions in this country were always done by "monomaniacs on a mission" like yourself. Too many coaches I respect really enjoy the box for it to be seen in anything but an overall very positive light.
As for when a box should be shaken and should shaking the box be a coaching move or an automatic part of each play? I'm an avid golfer and I think of the box as "the rub of the green" - those things you can't control in a round...the ball hitting a sprinkler head, the wind gusting up right as you take your backswing, that bounce into the sand trap instead of going 5 feet away from the cup if it was just two inches more to the right, etc.
I guess I would fall on the position that the current use of the box does seem to fall on the "something bad happened to me so I'm going to shake the box" to try and offset it. It's that piece that still rubs me a bit the wrong way.
Now, if you put some more risk/reward in it - such as "you can shake the box or pivot your men" or something like that...then at least there is a risk/reward coaching decision as opposed to "will I remember or not".
I guess if I were starting a league from scratch, I would institute the box definitely, but I would just have it automatically shaken on every play. Just my $0.02. But, after playing some games in Michigan this fall, I'll report back and if I change my mind I'll be happy to be the first one to admit it. I've been wrong plenty in my life.
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