Bill Abner's first Head Coach Impressions

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by DSpezzano

Josh - In Bill's latest blog he said that Fg kicker were having trouble making 40 yarders and that he bumped the slider to 75 and that a 50 yarder hit the cross bar. Is this something that is common? Are sliders the way to fix it or is it a ratings thing? Or perhaps the Brown and Giants just have bad kickers

When we tuned this, we wanted to make it important to have a good kicker. We were trying to model the Patriots issues with Vinatieri last year (ie...they wouldn't attempt a kick over 40 yards most of the time). I just played around with this on my kit and I had Josh Brown of the Rams (one of the better kickers in the NFL) hit 8/10 from 48 yards.

I also had Vinatieri miss 8/10 from 42 yards which might be a bit extreme.

I'll look at the rosters and see if I can bump the worst kickers and their kick power a bit. That should help.

[Danimal]

I agree that place kickers should have an important role in this game as there is currently no suspense in football games in regards to this aspect. I can tell you as a coach I felt tension every time we sent the kicker on the field they could ruin my day really quick. We all know their not real players anyway right?

So as much as these tiny little guys annoy me for various reasons, I think most of them should have the distance to kick a 40 yard field goal...accuracy maybe not... but distance for sure.

Thanks for taking a look at it.

[x1Blumpkin1x]

Quick update on Bill's blog. He really is making this game sound fantastic. Well done to the HC team.

"Quick update before my 6:00 basketball game: This week DA is bouncing back bigtime -- torching Chicago to the tune of 10/14 for 129 yards and 3 TDs at the half. Edwards reeled in a 45 yard post that was wide open and even the run game is back on track as Lewis has 51 yards. Remember the 5 fumbles vs New York? This week, no turnovers at the half.

Again -- variety.

It's such a crucial component of a sports game and Head Coach appears to have that in spades. The Giants were all over me but after a week of practicing, focusing on the passing game, we're back in business.

I need to get Winslow back on the field, though..."

[x1Blumpkin1x]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

I also had Vinatieri miss 8/10 from 42 yards which might be a bit extreme.

Just out of curiosity, how did he miss those FGs? Were they short or off target? Like you alluded to, he was 0/3 last year from 40+ yards.

[JRod]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

When we tuned this, we wanted to make it important to have a good kicker. We were trying to model the Patriots issues with Vinatieri last year (ie...they wouldn't attempt a kick over 40 yards most of the time). I just played around with this on my kit and I had Josh Brown of the Rams (one of the better kickers in the NFL) hit 8/10 from 48 yards. I also had Vinatieri miss 8/10 from 42 yards which might be a bit extreme. I'll look at the rosters and see if I can bump the worst kickers and their kick power a bit. That should help.

Maybe that's something that's tweaked for another version. A lot of kickers don't have distance problems from 45 in. They have accuracy issues. Then again if a kicker can't make 40 yarders with any regularity he won't last long.

Once they get outside of 45 yards distance isn't so much the issue but accuracy.

Madden's engine (modified in this case) never seemed to allow for this. Instead of lacking accuracy they lacked power. I would say past 52-54 yards a kicker might miss them short.


By changing the kicking power, will we see young kickers have a distance issue as well?

[ahunter5]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

When we tuned this, we wanted to make it important to have a good kicker. We were trying to model the Patriots issues with Vinatieri last year (ie...they wouldn't attempt a kick over 40 yards most of the time). I just played around with this on my kit and I had Josh Brown of the Rams (one of the better kickers in the NFL) hit 8/10 from 48 yards. I also had Vinatieri miss 8/10 from 42 yards which might be a bit extreme. I'll look at the rosters and see if I can bump the worst kickers and their kick power a bit. That should help.

I question whether the Patriots issue last year was with Gostkowski's leg or Big Bill's ego. I would think all NFL kickers (outside of the 45 year old Morten Andersen types) can get the ball to the posts from 50+ yards. I would think the accuracy would be the issue.

Granted, how a kick misses is a tiny issue -- a miss is a miss. But a kicker in the NFL shouldn't go 2/10 from 42 yards. Heck, most high school kickers wouldn't go 2/10 from 42 yards. I remember the K for my high school (OS's own Steve Taneyhill) hit a 50 yarder on the road.

[theanalogkid]

I've seen even Mike Nugent kicking it at least 60 - 65 yards before the game. Most of the time it is accuracy issues, not power issues like someone said before.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by theanalogkid

I've seen even Mike Nugent kicking it at least 60 - 65 yards before the game. Most of the time it is accuracy issues, not power issues like someone said before.

I definitely agree but I'm not sure how to handle this with our engine at this point. I'll do some tests tomorrow after bumping up their kick power to see if that's more reasonable.

[bigmoe]

Can we play as more than one team in a season?

[Agame]

[quote=Josh_Looman;2038566163]


"The main reason Jonathan Stewart falls out of the first round (and I hope this isn't too big of a spoiler...) is his injury issues. His durability grade is low because of the toe injury right off the bat.

That's something you'll need to pay attention to in future classes. Listen carefully when Adam Schefter or Todd McShay gives you an update on the draft. If they have reservations about a rookie (or talk about a devastating injury he suffers during their college updates) because of injuries, that could really factor in when he's drafted."


Muñoz was also a pillar of dependability as he missed only three games due to injury in his career

Anthony Muñoz was considered a "pick" risk because of multiple knee injuries and the fact that he played only one full game his senior year at the University of Southern California.

Munoz was elected to 11 consecutive Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro 11 straight times from 1981 through 1991. He was also named the NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year in 1981, 1987, and 1988 and the NFL Players Association Lineman of the Year in 1981, 1985, 1988, and 1989.

Hope you have some of the "Injury proned College Players"
turn out to have very few injuries in the NFL.

P.S. ALL that I read makes me think this is going to be a Great Game!!