Bill Abner's first Head Coach Impressions

[Bill_Abner]

Yeah that was Todd. Todd's a real salt of the earth guy and I know he appreciates the thoughts.

I do have to work during the day ya know. Had some Gameshark PR stuff to deal with this morning as well as get the site updated.

I'm going to discuss some of the game's quirks later today but I've pretty much covered them here. So far nothing at all that would make me want to stop playing. I wish I could call a defensive audible. The FG distances. The interface, which is about as good as you can expect on a console, but this needs a PC port. I need to use my printer!

There are ample sacks in the game but every down pressure is a bit low. I see a lot of times when the QB can stand back there for a long time scanning the field. I have not touched a slider yet, and the stats look very good so that's a very lukewarm complaint at best. I also don't know how to look at a player's contract when a team makes an offer. I may have missed that (only happened once or twice). I do wish you could force a player to play when he's nearly 100% when coming off an injury. I can live with all this stuff, though. The game on the whole is so much fun that these complaints take a beackseat.

I also think there should be a warning during the FA period when you sign a player that might prevent you from signing rookies because some people will do that and end up screwing themselves. Not that I would know anything about that...ahem.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bill_Abner

Yeah that was Todd. Todd's a real salt of the earth guy and I know he appreciates the thoughts. I do have to work during the day ya know. Had some Gameshark PR stuff to deal with this morning as well as get the site updated. I'm going to discuss some of the game's quirks later today but I've pretty much covered them here. So far nothing at all that would make me want to stop playing. I wish I could call a defensive audible. The FG distances. The interface, which is about as good as you can expect on a console, but this needs a PC port. I need to use my printer! There are ample sacks in the game but every down pressure is a bit low. I see a lot of times when the QB can stand back there for a long time scanning the field. I have not touched a slider yet, and the stats look very good so that's a very lukewarm complaint at best. I also don't know how to look at a player's contract when a team makes an offer. I may have missed that (only happened once or twice). I do wish you could force a player to play when he's nearly 100% when coming off an injury. I can live with all this stuff, though. The game on the whole is so much fun that these complaints take a beackseat. I also think there should be a warning during the FA period when you sign a player that might prevent you from signing rookies because some people will do that and end up screwing themselves. Not that I would know anything about that...ahem.

Good stuff, Bill. I agree with all of your issues. I wish we could have done a better job with a few of the things in the game.

Just curious...

How do you like the teams and their playcalling so far?

We spent a ton of time making sure each team called the plays and did the things they do in real life.

Is there a noticeable difference between the teams and their style of play from your perspective?

by the way...watch out for that Giants D on Monday night. Their pressure is relentless!

[MikeGiani]

Wow....this sounds amazing.

The only question that I haven't seen answered is do players progress and regress properly? .....and if a player keeps getting injured will he lose some attributes permanently and never get them back even After he is able to play again?

[osubucksfan47]

I have a couple questions for you regarding different players Bill:

1. Where was LT Duane Brown drafted? (He was the Texans first rounder in real-life)

2. How big were the contracts of Nnamdi Asomugha and Lance Briggs?

I'm trying to put together the depth chart I'm going to aim for and it would help me out a lot.

Here's what I've got so far:

Offense
POS	First String
WR	Andre Johnson
LT	Duane Brown
LG	Chester Pitts
C	Mike Flanagan
RG	Rex Hadnot
RT	Eric Winston
TE	Owen Daniels
WR	D.J. Hackett
QB	Matt Schaub
RB	Rashard Mendenhall
FB	Vonta Leach
Defense
POS	First String
LDE	Anthony Weaver
DT	Amobi Okoye
NT	Travis Johnson
RDE	Mario Williams
SLB	Lance Briggs
MLB	DeMeco Ryans
WLB	Morlon Greenwood
LCB	Nnamdi Asomugha
RCB	Dunta Robinson
SS	Mike Doss
FS	Will Demps
Special Teams
POS	First String
P	Matt Turk
K	Kris Brown
KOR	Jacoby Jones
PR	Jacoby Jones

Key: On Team Acquired Through FA Acquired Through Draft

Do you guys think I'll be able to do this or do you think I'll run into cap problems? Are there any changes you think I could make to better it? I'd appreciate your input.

[Quint75]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

Good stuff, Bill. I agree with all of your issues. I wish we could have done a better job with a few of the things in the game. Just curious... How do you like the teams and their playcalling so far? We spent a ton of time making sure each team called the plays and did the things they do in real life. Is there a noticeable difference between the teams and their style of play from your perspective?

Quick question on this: what about a team like the Rams who have had a subpar offense the last couple of seasons but are going to a much more aggressive offensive style since they hired a new O-coordinator, Al Saunders? Will the Rams play with this new offensive style (which is very close to Mike Martz's offense but with a bigger emphasis on running) or will they have the boring vanilla offense of years past?

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Quint75

Quick question on this: what about a team like the Rams who have had a subpar offense the last couple of seasons but are going to a much more aggressive offensive style since they hired a new O-coordinator, Al Saunders? Will the Rams play with this new offensive style (which is very close to Mike Martz's offense but with a bigger emphasis on running) or will they have the boring vanilla offense of years past?

They will play with the new style. We researched every NFL team's offenses and defenses for the upcoming season.

[x1Blumpkin1x]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

They will play with the new style. We researched every NFL team's offenses and defenses for the upcoming season.

This is one of those things that is amazing for replay. Since each career will be different in what coaches go where at the end of a season, the teams will feel alive as they are changing. Really cool.

[Josh_Looman]

Quote: Originally Posted by x1Blumpkin1x

This is one of those things that is amazing for replay. Since each career will be different in what coaches go where at the end of a season, the teams will feel alive as they are changing. Really cool.

And don't forget the Spore inspired element we added.

CPU coaches will download plays into their playbooks that YOU created and uploaded to GamerNet every preseason and then use them against you.

[Seahawk76]

Quote: Originally Posted by Josh_Looman

And don't forget the Spore inspired element we added. CPU coaches will download plays into their playbooks that YOU created and uploaded to GamerNet every preseason and then use them against you.

That's so cool.

I think this is the game that will be my primary football fix this year.

[x1Blumpkin1x]

Yeah, I had forgotten about that. Can't wait until next Tuesday.