Results from my "Playtest League"

[Orleanian In Exile]

SEAHAWKS 17
WILDCATS 14

A father/son contest today: it was tit-for-tat on scoring, with neither side able to gain an advantage until the late fourth quarter and my boy's last possession set, when his Seahawks complete a 75 yard drive and score the winning FG.

[Orleanian In Exile]

PATRIOTS 41
GREENIES 35

For this experiment, I added two additional possession sets for a total of six = up to 48 plays, so this added some time to this week's contest which came in at 1.51. This game was an offensive slugfest, featuring one 100yd TD return which opened the second half and long bombs for high scores. The game came down to the last possession as regulation play expired when the Patriots completed for a 71 yd TD pass to snatch away the win. The time factor, however, makes me lean toward going back to the four possession-set format for the next game.

[Orleanian In Exile]

RAIDERS 19
WILDCATS 19

A five-possession set game for this week's experiment, with the middle set divided between the halves. The Raiders were trailing 3-11 at the end of the first half, but a 16 point surge countering a second half 8 pt TD by the Wildcats knotted the score up. The rest of the game saw tough defence on both sides, which featured five QB sacks racked up by both teams and a final rush by the Wildcat DE to trip up n.32 of the Raiders who was sprinting downfield on a completed pass just as the final gun sounded. Only 3 yds separated the two teams on total offence: 275 for the Raiders, 272 for the Wildcats. Total elapsed time for this game came in at around 1.51, so this further indicates that a four-set game would work better for my purposes. But this one was a hell of a contest especially in the fourth quarter.

[Orleanian In Exile]

WILDCATS 21
GOLDEN RAMS 16

This week saw a return to the four possession-set format and orthodox scoring rules as the Wildcats took early advantage in the first quarter when n.7, the QB, ran on the option and managed to blow past the 'Rams for a 78 yd TD. The best the Rams can do in reply is to settle for a 47 yd FG. Second quarter and the Wildcats again drive downfield and make the endzone for the 14-3 lead. But as the Golden Rams again cannot make it into the endzone after driving 80 yards and lose yardage on a QB sack and a tackle behind the line, they again go for the FG —but the kick is blocked as the half ends. Third quarter sees a Golden Rams drive which finally results in a needed touchdown, but the Wildcats respond with a TD of their own. Fourth quarter and the Golden Rams go 80 yards for a TD on their own QB run on the option play, but a busted run-in conversion attempt limits the gain to six. They then go for the onside kick but the Wildcats come up with the ball for the last possession; four kneel-downs and it was all over. Once again, both teams were about equal in offensive effort: 285 yards for the Wildcats and 280 for the Golden Rams, but three missed opportunities made all the difference.

Elapsed game time for this experiment came in at 1.11. This week, no procedural mistakes and the action followed along at a good clip. I'm getting closer to the style and pace I need for my solo play, but next game I think I will experiment with the 40-play system, including kicks, to test the balance between timing and scoring opportunity.

[RavennaAl]

I'm glad to see that someone else is posting how their solitaire season is going. You have an interesting concept going, sort of like having 4 overtime periods like they do in high school, only you're having the teams start from wherever they return the kick. From the scores, I'm guessing that you're playing FOB (front of base) tackling??? For myself, I started out playing 10 plays per quarter, then bumped it up to 12, then 15 and finally 20 plays per quarter, not including kickoffs. I get too many 10, 12, 15 or more play drives by my teams. I didn't want one team to have the ball for an entire quarter and then some. The biggest drawback to that my games usually take 3 hours or more to play. At best I can get 2 games a week done.

I am curious, when you do onsides kicks, then does that mean if the kicking team recovers, do they get 2 posessions to score? Or can they keep having posessions as long as they keep recovering the kick? I'm trying to figure out how a team that is down by a large score could still have a chance to come back to tie or win if there is only one posession set remaining??

Keep up the posts and let us know who wins. I'm pulling for the Golden Rams. How many games will each team play before the season is over and you start playoffs?

[Orleanian In Exile]

Four downs to score if the kicking team recover the ball on the onside kick (and yes, if they score and recover another onside kick, they get a second chance to put up another score). And my game is based around Brian McAtee's possession-set concept. I'm finding that it's the best fit for my time constraints (I don't have 2-4 hours to spare for a game). I'm also not really doing an organised league as much as picking teams at random for my experiments. There's no real schedule of games or standings as I'm really still in the process of learning the whole thing myself.

I suppose it could be said that the Golden Rams are 1-2 at this point, having been the losing side in the first EF game I played with my son.

Also, another rule I follow is for automatic touchbacks after a score: trailing team get theirs on the 35 yd line, while the leader get theirs on the 20. A safety would result in an automatic 35 yd. touchback (borrowed from the Canadian Football League). I have kickoffs to open the halves and punts w/returns. When I play with my little five year old, it's a pure running, no-kick game.

ADDENDUM - To answer your other questions: yes, tackling is front- or front-corner-of-base. A player must be definitively stopped or turned by tackler for it to count.

In the possession-set concept, each team gets four downs to score, with punting, scoring attempt, or turnover required on fourth down so the other team gets its four downs. As per Buzzin Brine, four downs is a possession, two alternating possessions is a possession set. They actually work out rather neatly as quarters. And it makes for fast games if you're time-challenged, which I am.

[Orleanian In Exile]

SEMINOLES 45
RAIDERS 14

For this week, a switch in game format to 40-plays (including kicks) —10-play quarters— (though retaining the four-downs to score/out possession format) saw the first actual blowout of the games I've played so far in this series. The Raiders scored first after receiving the opening kickoff, driving 61 yards for a TD, but the Seminoles evened the score on their first possession. Second quarter saw the 'Noles open a wide gap —after initially being held to a field goal, they put up 14 quick points on a 79 yard punt return for a TD and not long afterward a return on an interception for a second touchdown to take a 24-7 lead into halftime. Second half opens with the 'Noles again driving for the TD on their first possession while inflicting -22 yards on the Raiders initial possession and holding them scoreless for the rest of the 3rd quarter. The Raiders would finally put a second touchdown on the board in the 4th quarter, but the 'Noles mount another successful drive and then start a blitz attack which results in three devastating QB sacks, one of which results in a turnover on downs which gets turned into another TD, and snuffs out the Raiders' fitful rally attempt in a game they lost control of by the middle of the second quarter. The Seminoles were dominant on offence as well as defence: gaining 426 yards to the Raiders 318 and scoring on six TDs and a FG.

No procedural glitches and my timing for setups on downs is improving. Elapsed time for this game clocked in at 2.09, which is slower than I prefer but does open up more scoring opportunities. All-in-all, a successful round in this set of experiments. The next few trials will likely alternate between formats to give me a fuller picture of the advantages and disadvantages of both, but these games have worked out very well for my purposes.