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Old Coach -> Things to consider in simulating football in the 1930's (7/29/2009 4:42:14 AM)
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As I work toward seting up a 1933 SEC league, there are several things to consider that make that era very much different from present day.
The football was shaped more like a rugby ball than today's football which made it harder to throw an accurate pass. The ball was fatter and harder to grip and therefore more difficult to throw it with great velocity. Since a fat ball isn't an option in the game, passing ratings have to be set lower to reflect less pass strength and pass accuracy(difficulty in gripping the ball). There was also a rule in effect at that time that prevented anyone from throwing the ball within 5 yards of the LOS. That rule is not an option in MaxFB but the rule can be reflected in play design. To me that rule is not a big deal and I won't make any play adjustments to reflect its effects on gameplay.
Teams simply didn't pass very much in those days. That was probably due to many factors such as the ball shape as well as coaches' mistrust of the forward pass. I remember reading a microfilm article from a 1938 Knoxville News Sentinel that said something to the effect that a UT opponent had aired it out by throwing something like 12 passes in one game. Setting up a coach profile to reflect that conservative play calling approach can be tedious.
The quick kick was employed as an offensive weapon to flip field position. That meant teams often punted on 2nd or 3rd down and sometimes even 1st down if their field position was unfavorable. That means play calling and profiles that will call for punts if the down, distance and field position are not favorable. For example we could set a rule or condition that calls for a punt on 3rd down if the offense has the ball inside their 35 with more than 4 yards to go for a 1st down. Of course, score and time on the clock must enter in to this as well. You wouldn't punt on 3rd down if you trailed by 6 with 2 minutes to go.
Placekicking was a real mystery for many teams in the 30's. The drop kick was still legal. As I looked at Tennessee's scores from that time, it was apparent that they attempted very few fieldgoals and the extra point kick was an adventure. This was due to the small staffs and lack of a kicking coach. Back then, soccer was not popular in the U.S. so you didn't get kids coming into college with a kicking background. Placekickers will have to have low kick power and accuracy ratings to reflect these conditions. Finding the right balance here will be a challenge. I would say that about a 60% success rate on extra points would be goal to shoot for. You would probably want about a 15-20% success rate on fieldgoals. You could have a separate PAT man and FG man or you could have your PAT man have a weak leg so that most FG's fall short.
Taking all this into consideration, to reflect football in 1933 between relatively equal teams you want games in which one team scoring 3 or 4 TD's would be an offensive explosion. 3 or 4 TD's total in such a game would the norm. Since the game is driven by the math that involves player ratings, editing and balancing the ratings is the key. Ratings will gave to be adjusted to favor the defense.
Old Coach
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