power or speed

[Michigan Joe]

Are your rules biased towards power or speed?

I've reviewed many of the rule sets in this hobby and played at least portions on several. One interesting thing that appears obvious to me is that rules that don't allow stoppages in the board are generally more geared towards power (the ability for you to push your opponent out of the way) vs rules that allow one stop or multiple stoppages start to shift the strategy towards speed. I'm curious to see what other people think.

Power biased rules...In traditional Miggle style rules where the board is turned on and there are no stops or offensive adjustments with the stoppage of the play then power is more critiical than speed because you aren't trying to beat the opponent to a spot on the field, you are trying to push your opponenet out of the way to get the ball to a specific point on the field (I see far more power bases on corner backs than speed bases). The game is usually a "hat on a hat" and these one on one defensive players win be keeping the offense from slipping past them (generally more power is required to do this than speed).

Speed rules...For example, sticks passing is a stoppage before the play on the ball and speed is critical to beat the defensive back to the spot. In MPFL, there are multiple stops and speed is key to beat the opponent to a spot on the field (especially since DBs are required to "release" recievers). Kick-offs generally require speedy returners as they are allowed to adjust after the catch and to run one back the need to zip thru a defense by beating them to spots on the field.

Now with rules that allow zero OR one stoppage, I see somewhat of a hybrid effect and the ability to play with speed or power. For example, by allowing the reciever to adjust after the catch, slow recievers are less likely to break the big ones as fast recievers (but maybe less likely to get off the line of scrimmage). If both traditional or passing sticks are allowed I also can see a scenerio where there is a use case for both power and/or speed recievers. Also, a rule like Mid-ohio has allowing the offense to call pass (QB has it) and stop the board relatively quick and adjust all unengaged offensive players on passes (or pitches/draws) behind the line of scrimmage there is another scenerio where you can play offense with speed rather than power. Lasltly, in shootout rules where the board is stopped once for when a runner reaches 10 yards (and defense is allowed to adjust), speed becomes relavant to chase down the RB or for the RB to break the big one.

Lastly, I believe board WIDTH is also critical in rule set and has a major effect on the need for power or speed. I hope that my personal assessment is interesting and not seen as controversial. With the new rules threads going I thought this would be an interesting topic to discuss and I'm very interested in the vantage point and experience of others.
Joe

[Reginald Rutledge]

both power and speed or a combination. One of the great things I see in the DFW League is that no two styles are alike. Even with Michael Robertson and myself, of course, our philosophies are very similar and our teams are built the same but I am more of a finesse coach. I really believe there is a place for sweeps, traps, fads, etc. I also believe there are great teams in this style that rely on power like the Jim Davis's and Norbert Revels of the world.

I love what Norbert brings because he brings a blend of power and speed to the table. I see a Michael Robertson who brings some power but a great deal of speed and knowledge of reading schemes.

I saw RJ match Revels for power and totally ahnialate a very good Detroit team with speed as well. There are the Don Hudsons who is such a great all-around player that beats you with coaching and execution.

In the DFW, because of the pressures of the clock, you have to know your players and their abilities to make plays off the break. There's one stop and one over compensation may be the difference between a win or loss.

Speed and power are definite traits of what happens in the Shootout rules system. I must also throw in skills to pass, kick, and run based on your playbook makes for a successful scheme.

Reg

[Michigan Joe]

Reg- thanks for responding. "Finesse", thats a good way to describe a non-power style offense and you've definately been a pioneer on bringing the wide open offense to miniature football. Funny thing is I thought of you while at the Michigan high school football state championship games this weekend. Muskegon high school was running the spread with a full 1-1.5 men gaps between their O-line, the widest I've ever seen. With their speed it was a beautiful thing to watch them trap the D-Line in the seams and create gaps to hit with the quick openers. If the D brought the pressure up the middle the QB would take it to the outside.

Its definately neat to see various styles of play come together in a single rule set and having played the rule set and watched it I would have to agree that there seems to be a lot of room for creativity.