OFFENSE
No Huddle
The no huddle offense may be used by any team indicating that they are a spread no huddle team prior to the season. Other appropriate no huddle scenarios are as follows:
- Within the last two minutes of the first half
- When trailing by 17 or more in the second half
- When training at any point in the 4th quarter
- When railing or tied in the last two minutes of the second half
When running the no huddle, you must allow your opponent to set before snapping the ball. Sometimes your opponent will try to change something late and that cannot be avoided but every opportunity must be made to allow them to come set.
Play Calling
Players must mix up their plays and route combinations in a realistic manner. Calling the same play on consecutive plays or completing the same route on consecutive plays is not allowed.
General playcalling guidelines are as follows:
- Base running plays ie dive, iso, inside zone are not restricted
- Constraint running plays ie draws, counters, sweeps, tosses, stretches should not be used more than 3-4 times per game (each)
- Option plays ie triple option, read option, speed option should not be run on consecutive plays and should be spread ot throughout the game. Exception: teams utilizing the flexbone/option playbooks (GT, Army, Navy, Air Firce)
- Deep passing concepts ie Post, corner, streak, and flag routes should not be completed more than 2-3 times per game (each)
- Staple passing concepts ie slants, drags, ins, outs, curls, comebacks and constraint passing plays ie screens should not be completed more tan 4-5 times per game (each)
Motion
You are allowed to use motion as long as it is not considered excessive or designed to confuse or abuse the AI. Manually motioning a player on consecutive plays or multiple times per drive (3+) is not allowed.
Audibles
Audibles are allowed at any time within the in-game audible structure (ie. within like personnel groupings).
Hot Routes
Hot routes should be used situationally and should be mixed while adhering to the following guidelines:
- Users should not hot route more than 1-2 players per play
- Hot routes should not occur on every play
- Hot routes should not be used to create new plays on the fly
Hot routes are a very important part of modern offenses. However, they should not be abused and used to purposely exploit CPU AI deficiencies.
Play Action
Play action plays should be kept realistic. Players should use the run to set up play action and refrain from using play action in unrealistic situations (ex. 3rd and long). Also, play action should be mixed into the player's playcalling and should account for less than 1/3 of the player's pass attempts.
QB Dropback
Players should utilize the pre-programmed 3-, 5-, or 7-step dropbacks. Dropping back further than this unnecessarily is not allowed.
QB Scrambling
Scrambling with the quarterback is only allowed under the following scenarios:
- The play is a designed rollout
- The pocket breaks down or the defense gets unexpected pressure
Calling plays and purposely rolling out of the pocket without pressure is not allowed. If you call a pass play, you must make an attempt to actually have the play function as it was designed.
4th Down
Going for it on 4th down is allowed under the following scenarios:
- You are across the 50 yard line with one yard or less to go
- You are between your opponents 30 and 50 yard line with 5 yards or less to go
- You are inside your opponents 10 yard line with 2 yards or less to go
Play Clock
Since most leagues will utilize 6-8 min quarters, we must adapt our clock usage to keep things realistic. The following rules will apply to clock usage:
- Players may ONLY use conservative clock when either ahead during the last 3 minutes of the 4th quarter or within the last minute of the 2nd quarter
Players must attempt to call plays quickly and not unnecessarily run time off of the clock.
Running Up The Score
Players will be allowed to utilize the no huddle and aggressive clock settings up until 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter. At that time the following scenarios must be met to continue utilizing the no huddle:
- The game is within 10 points
- The offensive team is trailing
While it is realistic for teams to run the no huddle when up late in games, teams should be making an effort to run the ball and otherwise get the game over with. Attempting to run the score up while ahead by 28 at any time in the 4th quarter is not allowed.