This will be a "blind" vote meaning that we won't know who voted and which way, but I wanted to gauge people's interest in banning user catching. I am going to close this thread top comments as we don't need a debate. I just want to gauge the temperature of the league as this has been discussed by leadership behind the scenes. I'll present the cases for each side and then you can vote which way you would prefer that we go. However, keep in mind that this vote is just for information purposes and may not necessarily mean we will or will not change anything.
CASE FOR BANNING USER CATCHING: There are many sim leagues out there that ban user catching. This started back in the day of "rocket catches" but has remained in place by many leagues. The thought here is that the ratings of the players matter more when the user is removed from the equation. For instance, most team's nickel and dime corners aren't that great. However, a user cxan manually switch to them and make the jump a pass or catch a ball that the CPU would not have based on their ratings. This also leads to unrealistically high INT numbers as we have seen so far in this league. Another benefit would be that pass interference hasn't worked for several years and you can (intentionally or unintentionally) bump a receiver or DB out of position to make a catch with no flag. That would eliminate this as well.
Some would suggest adjusting the sliders would help, but I've found that is not necessarily the case. By lowering the interception slider, all you get is more dropped INTs by the CPU. Users can generally still pick passes off at the same rate and dropped INTs by the CPU is frustrating. Also, adjusting the pass interference slider is thought to only make the CPU receivers or DBs more aggressive and not necessarily increase the rate at which penalties are called.
This proposed change would only prevent a player from switching to a receiver or DB once the ball is in the air. A player who controlled a DB from the snap would still be able to showcase their user skill by manually intercepting passes thrown in their direction.
CASE AGAINST BANNING USER CATCHING: Mostly, this comes down to a player wanting to showcase their skill or make their opponent pay for a bad decision. We all know that CPU receivers and DBs aren't that smart and many times make futile attempts as catching balls. Proponents of user catching want to be able to let their skill and reflexes work in their favor. Some would say that banning user catching would be like banning user running. Players should be able to manually dictate how the game unfolds on the field.
So, that is the basic case made for each side. Both have valid points. Should the team that you built and the players that you put on the field mean more than how skilled you are at manually catching a pass? Are the flaws in the AI and the ways that balls are contested by the CPU and the lack of penalties reason to prevent a skilled user from quickly switching to a receiver or DB to make a play? Is one more realisitc than the other? Does one prevent cheesy play more than the other?
You decide. Let us know which side of the argument you are on. While we may or may not implement a rule regarding this, we will take the user vote into account before making a final decision.
CASE FOR BANNING USER CATCHING: There are many sim leagues out there that ban user catching. This started back in the day of "rocket catches" but has remained in place by many leagues. The thought here is that the ratings of the players matter more when the user is removed from the equation. For instance, most team's nickel and dime corners aren't that great. However, a user cxan manually switch to them and make the jump a pass or catch a ball that the CPU would not have based on their ratings. This also leads to unrealistically high INT numbers as we have seen so far in this league. Another benefit would be that pass interference hasn't worked for several years and you can (intentionally or unintentionally) bump a receiver or DB out of position to make a catch with no flag. That would eliminate this as well.
Some would suggest adjusting the sliders would help, but I've found that is not necessarily the case. By lowering the interception slider, all you get is more dropped INTs by the CPU. Users can generally still pick passes off at the same rate and dropped INTs by the CPU is frustrating. Also, adjusting the pass interference slider is thought to only make the CPU receivers or DBs more aggressive and not necessarily increase the rate at which penalties are called.
This proposed change would only prevent a player from switching to a receiver or DB once the ball is in the air. A player who controlled a DB from the snap would still be able to showcase their user skill by manually intercepting passes thrown in their direction.
CASE AGAINST BANNING USER CATCHING: Mostly, this comes down to a player wanting to showcase their skill or make their opponent pay for a bad decision. We all know that CPU receivers and DBs aren't that smart and many times make futile attempts as catching balls. Proponents of user catching want to be able to let their skill and reflexes work in their favor. Some would say that banning user catching would be like banning user running. Players should be able to manually dictate how the game unfolds on the field.
So, that is the basic case made for each side. Both have valid points. Should the team that you built and the players that you put on the field mean more than how skilled you are at manually catching a pass? Are the flaws in the AI and the ways that balls are contested by the CPU and the lack of penalties reason to prevent a skilled user from quickly switching to a receiver or DB to make a play? Is one more realisitc than the other? Does one prevent cheesy play more than the other?
You decide. Let us know which side of the argument you are on. While we may or may not implement a rule regarding this, we will take the user vote into account before making a final decision.
