First observations after playing with Shootout rules

[Joe Greco]

Yesterday at the BAM, I played my first 2 games in the Shootout rules and both were extremely intense resulting in 2 overtimes. Looking back I lost the game I should have won ( I lost to Brian Healy 37 – 31 squandering a 10 point lead in the last 5 minutes) and escaped with a win against Bob Slate AKA Artlax (20 – 17 in OT after Bob hit the left upright on a field goal attempt on the last play of regulation).

Congratulations to both Brian and Bob for the great efforts in making these games so enjoyable.

After playing these 2 games I wanted to post a few early observations for those of you who will be playing in the shootout system for the first time in the future.

1) Know the rules – I have always spent a lot of time studying the rule set that I am going to play in. I thought I had done a pretty good job preparing for the Shootout style. Boy was I wrong. Without getting into details the rules truly allow you to develop strategies that can be incorporated into this style of play to really open up the offense.

2) Speed of the game – The 35 second offensive set up and 10 second defensive set-up is quick but manageable. The 20 seconds that you get to pass actually goes faster than you would think. By the time the board is stopped, you look at all your receivers, make a decision, grab your TTQB and take aim, the clock is winding down on you pretty quick. I tried to make sure that I had my TTQB in the same spot and loaded to save a second or two

3) Hurry up Offense – In the game with Brian Healy at times each of us went to the hurry up offense setting up in 20 seconds or so. This puts tremendous pressure on the defense to set up. I know that I wasted at least one timeout because I couldn’t get the defense set in time. This definitely adds another element to the game.

4) Organized sideline. It is really important to maintain an organized sideline of your players. The speed of the game really puts pressure on you to get players on and off the field quickly. Sometimes in haste I would take guys off the field quickly and then when I went to put them back on they were all over the place and I wasted precious set-up time.

5) The box – the box truly adds another dimension to the game, but only if you use it. I can’t tell you how many times I should have shaken the box, but for whatever reason simply forgot to (yes I am getting old). In the game against Brian, I rolled snake eyes twice (which is extremely unusual) losing one fumble when I was at his 20 yard line. On another shake of the box Brian had an injury to one of his players causing him to miss a number of plays - so the box definitely came into play. It added another element to the game but in the end was not a deciding factor in either game.

I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 games I played yesterday. I can tell you that by the time the second game was completed I was pretty drained. The impression that I came away with is that this rule set provides you with the ability to be very creative on offense. The more you play in it the more things you will find that it allows you to do to exploit the defense. It’s all there, you just got to find it.

[Reginald Rutledge]

Joe,

For that analysis of the Shootout system, I need to pay you under the table! You hit on some of the key aspects of the Shootout system.

I had the distinct pleasure of being an extended member of the BAM yesterday by offering rules interpretations. First, we need to send you an updated version of the rulebook so that both leagues will be on the same page. One of the rules that y'all encountered was one not ever put in by the DFW League. I can tell you that rule was instituted by another league that did not understand that in reality, players are usually in perpetual motion and in zone coverage packages, they do not just stand still in one spot but are moving. Thus, some coaches uses rookie bases to come up and other coaches use TTCs to circle in the zone coverage scheme.

Hopefully, that problem will not occur again.

The great thing about what you experienced Joe is what we experience so often here. You were fortunate to be in two overtime games. Both teams had their chance to win and yes, the intensity was high pitch. Heck, I found myself calling in wanting scores.

One thing you guys will have to get use to is "The Peanut Gallery" calling in wanting scores and updates. You may hear from many guys in Texas and possibly California who want to know what's going on in the ball game. I know y'all will be in intense games but we have an obligation to harass the coaches and refs in that manner. So be prepared for that.

I want to thank you for the analysis of the Shootout system. You have come to find out right away if you have the adept skill to pass, it will open up the run and create mismatches in other areas. The speed of the game is intense as you guys will become more and more efficient at this. Once you become great at this style, you will be getting 100 plays in a football game.

Right now, you will be working through the growing pains of not knowing rules. It is a lot of work to get the rules correct. Heck, it's right at 100 pages (with most being common sense football rules) and I know that's a lot but continue to "sift" thru the pages and you will become very knowledgeable. That's when your ability to exploit the other team will definitely take over.

So again, thanks for the breakdown of what you experienced. I need you as a pitch man for the Shootout for you came in with no experience and no bias towards the rules. Let's talk defense!

Reg

[RPD]

Great analysis of the shootout rules, I wish I would have known you guys were playing I would have loved to get updates and such, and have the peanut gallery in full swing. Hopefully one day I will be able to travel and start attending and participating in some of these out of state games, and become a "RoadWarrior". The shootout rules is truely a fantastic rule set that has endless possibilities, the only limitations are the ones you put on yourself. I wish you guys much enjoyment and pleasure in your journey through the "Bam" season, and hope to see you here in Texas soon.

RD

[Norbert Revels]

This is great, just reading your post has helped me allready in building my DFW team, also your remarks on 1. know the rules, 2. speed of the game, 3. hurry up offense and 4. organized sideline, has made me realize that these are some areas I should now pay more attention to.

P.S. 1 question though, is this style geared towards more for running or passing ?

P.S. Very good post youngfella.

[Joe Greco]

Norbert,

Please take this for what it is worth as I only have 2 games (and some scrimmaging) under my belt.

To answer your question I found that this rule set allows you to play to your own individual strengths - whether that be running or passing. But you really need to have some balance to keep the defense honest.

The offense can motion up to three (including the QB) players in the backfield between the tackles whereas the defense is only allowed one move. This allows you to really set up some running plays after seeing the defense.

Likewise, if the defense, tries to negate this by overplaying the run it really opens up the passing game. The ability to scramble your QB (2 times per half) also provides another offensive weapon.

While my offense played fairly well yesterday I struggled on defense trying to cover all options. Speed in the secondary is a must.

Again, just my initial impressions after playing 2 games.

Joe

[GrandMasterKC]

Run hard force the D to stack
Pass with precision force the D to spread:rolleyes:
Shake the box anything can happen

It can help you or hurt you but it is exciting i can not wait for game 2 and yes I have begun to retool the squad. As Coach Joe stated....."you need a balance attack"

[artlax]

Enjoyed both of my games. Should have played better in many areas - but the BAM Packers are mostly satisfied - although did some re-organzing already today. (always coaching )

I love the speed and action - much more like the real thing - during one scramble I really had to scramble to make the play and did .

We had some fun - but nothing like the DFW peanut gallery I'm sure.

As a league there are many things we need to work on and I will be speaking with Morgan and Wally re. those things - some adjustments and organizational stuff.

[The Rookie]

I to got my first taste of the DFW league rules first hand last night in a scrimmage.Joe you wrote what I was thinking , I cant believe you said exactly what I was thinking.The point being for me, is that you have to play this system to truly learn the rules.
The speed of the game in unbelievable
, when you watch a game it looks so easy but playing, [u]thinking, organizing are a must.(time,time,time)
I don't know why everone dosn't play this system, Reggie you did a great job thinking this all up it is amazing.
Like a friend of mine said "This game is like a chess game".
By the way thanks for the schooling ( You know who you two are)

[mozeek]

Great Points I could not have said it better myself.....Great Games yesterday and we have such a solid foundation.....( We have Some of the Best Coaches in the Country in Our League)....thanks to all that are involved in our Inaugural Season.....

Thanks To Our "Great" Coaches for helping to make Our "Dream a Reality"

[Reginald Rutledge]

to hear coaches from the BAM, the ACEFL, the DFW, the SFEFLOC talk about all the things that happened in a course of a game from personnel issues to injuries.

Guys, I am telling you, this is what happens in the DFW! There is chatter 365 days per year because we are so excited about the style of play. And you're talking about 14 years of this!

And you guys are still in the infancy! Y'all definitely are lucky to have the type of guys that you have because all bring a commitment to making this work. So just grow with the pains of learning the rules but as you can see already from what Greco experienced, games will always be exciting down to the last play if they are performed in a quality manner.

Reg