STRAT-O-MATIC INTERNET

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION SOMIFA

Updated 2/13/2024

 

 

Welcome to the SOMIFA!  The SOMIFA is a 24-team draft keeper league – each league member drafts individual players and keeps them from year to year – in which each team plays a 17-game schedule (plus potential playoffs) each year.  If after viewing these web pages you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to post on our League Message Board.

 

 

SSFA Spring Keeper Draft League:   Strat-O-Matic Spring Football Association SSFA

 

SOMSFA Spring Keeper Draft League:   Strat-O-Matic Spring Football Association SOMSFA

 

SOM Draft Defensive Cards (updated for v2018):  SOM Draft Defensive Cards   (updated 8/19/2021 for version 2021)

 

SOM Football Articles:  Managing Offense,  Short Yardage,  Defending the Flat Pass,  Formations

 

Strat-O-Matic Quick Start Guide (I created this guide which is mostly for those who have never seen the game):  Strat Football Quick Start Guide

 

Cards and Dice Solitaire and Updated Computer Managers for older seasons:  Updated Computer Managers

 

Video podcast discussing how to adjust your own computer managers (posted 10/19/2021):   Podcast

 

 

Forum thread of all seasons’ championship games and broadcasts:  SOMIFA Championship Recaps / Broadcasts

 

 

 

2022 Standings

  (League Champion = JoeG/NYG)

 

 

2022 Regular Season League File

 

 

2022 Playoffs League File

 

 

2022 Rosters

 

 

2022 Draft

 

 

2022 Team Previews

 

 

 

Note:  If clicking on an Excel link, such as the Standings link, is not working when using the Chrome browser, then here is a workaround:  right-click on the link, choose save as, save the file to your desktop (or wherever), and open it from there; if choosing save as doesn’t seem to work then look in the upper-right corner of Chrome for a small blue icon which you may click on to tell Chrome that the file is safe to download.  This appears to be a somewhat new Chrome security feature.  In a different browser MS Edge the problem does not seem to occur.  If you have any further information about this, then feel free to either e-mail me or post in this thread on our league message board:  http://www.stratfanforum.com/sffipb/topic/81685-league-web-page-issues/

 

 

 

Winner of the game – please upload to the cloud the POST file as soon as the game ends.  Please set your game options to autosave after each play and either fastest animation or no animation.

 

The annual rookie/free-agent draft is at 8:00am Pacific Time on the Saturday one day before the first Sunday of the NFL regular season in early September, in our Slack chat room.  The next draft will be on Saturday, TBD at 8:00am Pacific Time via Slack.  For the upcoming 2023 season the draft order is TEN, DET, IND, CIN, ARI, GB, PIT, KC/NYJ/LAV/SEA/CHI, CLE, SF, DEN, DAL, ATL/LAC, BUF, LAR, TB, HOU, MIN, NYG (teams separated by a slash reverse order in even-numbered rounds).

 

 

 

2022 Season Dates:

 

·        Near Friday, June 30, 2023 – Strat published the ratings preview and near July 2 the SOMIFA rosters were updated with those ratings

·        August 16, 2023 – Strat shipped the game, SOMIFA rosters updated with QB and special team players

·        August 19, 2023 – trading season began

·        Saturday September 9, 2023 at 8:00am Pacific Time – annual rookie/free-agent draft via Slack

·        Wednesday September 13, 2023 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline to cut down to 55 rated/carded players, and to cut excess carded QB, KR, PR, K, and P

·        Saturday September 16, 2023 at 10:00am Pacific Time – deadline for Supplemental Draft picks; 3-round Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) at or near this time

·        Sunday September 17, 2023 at 9:30am Pacific Time – deadline for remaining Supplemental Draft picks; 2-round further Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) later in the day

·        Thursday September 21, 2023 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for trades and for teams to declare left/right swaps, choose 3-4 or 4-3, and send coach file

·        Thursday October 19, 2023 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for q1 games

·        Thursday November 23, 2023 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for q2 games

·        Thursday December 21, 2023 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for q3 games

·        Thursday January 18, 2024 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for q4 games

·        Friday January 19, 2024 – Playoff round 1 pregame files sent

·        Wednesday January 24, 2024 – Playoff round 2 pregame files sent

·        Wednesday January 31, 2024 – Playoff round 3 pregame files sent

·        Friday February 9, 2024 – Championship game pregame files sent

 

 

 

 

2022 Season Rule Changes (discussed on the message board)

 

1) Beginning in the 2023 season, RBs with a 9.00 or higher average on their off tackle wrong cards (in which long gain counts as 45 yards) have somewhat modified usage limits:  A 50-74 carry RB with a 9.00 or higher average on their off tackle wrong card is treated as a 25-49 carry RB in terms of usage allowed, and a 75-149 carry RB with a 9.00 or higher average on their off tackle wrong card is treated as a 50-99 carry RB in terms of usage allowed (unlimited in one half).  The first vote was 8-8-5 for A-B-C in which A was no change, B was the enacted proposal, and C was a proposal in which 50-99 carry RBs with a 9.00 or higher average on their off tackle wrong card is unlimited in one quarter.  The runoff for the top two choices A and B had three of those who voted for C choosing B as their second choice so B won the vote over A 11-8.

 

2) New 2022 OT rules in the NFL in which the game does not end if the team receiving the kickoff scores a TD on their opening drive; there were no negative comments to this on the message board and it was implemented with no vote.

 

Also discussed were potentially altering the number of draft rounds, altering QB usage limits, and altering how the punt and kick return coverage cards were handled but in those 3 cases there were no specific and seconded proposals so there were no votes.

 

 

 

2022 Season League News:

 

 

 

 

Method to determine the "top 2" WRs on each team:

 

Each WR is given a rating 0 through 6 on each pass type (flat, short, and long) based solely on completion chances; for example, a 19/26 short pass receiver is a 5, while a 2/6 long pass receiver is a 2 on the long pass.  These 3 numbers are added up to give one number representing the WR.  The two highest number WRs are listed as the top 2, where ties are broken by yardage per completion for the player in that NFL season.  For example, if a WR is a 4-4-6 that adds up to 14 which is "better" than a WR who is a 5-5-3 which adds up to 13.

 

Creating a coach file:

            1) Save the league file to your hard drive (receive folder or desktop would be fine), in League Manager click on League and click on Restore League, navigate to where you saved the file, highlight it and click Open

            2) Click on your team, click on Team, click on Manage Team, and look at the KR1 and KR2 positions – let me know if you want any changes here (there is no need to make the changes yourself)

            3) Click on View Computer Manager and set every depth chart (offensive and defensive) the way you want it; use the Replace button to modify a player’s position for every depth chart

            4) Once each of the depth charts is set, click Ok and click Close to get back to the main League Manager screen

            5) Highlight your team, then click on League and click on Export Coach File

            6) E-mail me the coach file which is located in your Send folder

 

Reminders of SOMIFA rules for when you set your depth charts (in step #3 above):

a) if a player is on one side of the formation in one depth chart such as LG, then he probably needs to be that way in all formations

b) the first two WRs listed on your Excel roster may never ever play 3rd or 4th WR

c) the first TE listed on your Excel roster may never ever play 2nd TE

d) a HB-only may never ever play FB

e) a TE-only may never ever play BB

f) the first 4 DBs listed on your Excel roster may never ever play the 1st DB position

 

 

 

SOMIFA Career Coaching Records     (updated 2/13/2024)

 

 

 

SOMIFA Year-by-Year Coaching Records     (created by Tom, updated 9/12/2021)

 

 

 

2007-2018 SOMIFA Record Book     (created by Dan M., updated 2/9/2020)

 

 

 

 

Career team and player stats from the 2006 through the 2018 seasons – compiled by Dennis using the Strat Encyclopedia.  Thank you Dennis!

 

 

2006-2018 SOMIFA Team Stats     (posted 4/14/2020)

 

 

2006-2018 SOMIFA Player Stats     (posted 4/14/2020)

 

 

 

 

 

SOMIFA Constitution  (updated 9/16/2023)

 

 

Forum thread about sportsmanship  (from 2014)

 

 

League Message Board  (feel free to post!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

League Membership

 

 

Name

SOMIFA Team

E-Mail

Time Zone

Comments

Bob

Arizona Cardinals

A2APOLLOS@aol.com

Pacific

Nathan

Atlanta Falcons

Nathanbaylor@hotmail.com

 

TRC*

Scott

Buffalo Bills

badgerfl19@gmail.com

 

 

Brad

Chicago Bears

brad2lane@comcast.net

 

 

Dan T.

Cincinnati Bengals

d.thorhauer@gmail.com

 

 

Michael R.

Cleveland Browns

worldb21@gmail.com

 

 

Zeb

Dallas Cowboys

zebstrong@yahoo.com

 

 

Tony

Denver Broncos

ajp711@gmail.com

 

 

Brad M.

Detroit Lions

wolves9999@yahoo.com

 

 

Curt

Green Bay Packers

cretzlaff847@yahoo.com

 

 

Paul

Houston Texans

forbin@prodigy.net

Pacific

TRC*

Jeff W.

Indianapolis Colts

jeff622@comcast.net

Eastern

 

Joe D.

Kansas City Chiefs

joexdaly@gmail.com

 

 

Jeff B.

Las Vegas Raiders

duckfan_jeff@yahoo.com

 

TRC*

TJ

Los Angeles Chargers

anthony.kubacki@outlook.com

Central

TRC*

Wayne

Los Angeles Rams

Unruhtw@aol.com

 

 

Dale

Minnesota Vikings

marillion9@tds.net

Central

 

Joe G.

New York Giants

JGoldenPE@gmail.com

 

 

Tom C.

New York Jets

TCookeny@gmail.com

 

Ron

Pittsburgh Steelers

dip.strat.5@gmail.com

 

 

Ed

San Francisco 49ers

NFLed@aol.com

Pacific

Commissioner; TRC*

Dennis

Seattle Seahawks

seahawk10@gmail.com

Pacific

 

Tim

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

timboll@sbcglobal.net

 

 

Mick

Tennessee Titans

redwingmick1@aol.com

 

TRC*

 

 

 

* 2022 Season Trade Review Committee (TRC):  TJ/SD, Paul/HOU, Jeff B/LAV, Mick/TEN, Nathan/ATL, and Ed/SF.

 

You must have the ability to view MS Excel files.  If you do not have MS Excel then you can download and install a free Excel viewer from:

MS Excel Viewer Download

 

 

Information for prospective new members:  The league is currently full but you are welcome to join the waiting list.  If you are interested in joining then:

1)    Click on the SOMIFA Constitution link above and view the bulleted items to make sure that this league is a good fit for you

2)    If you have any questions or are interested in joining, please feel free to e-mail me at NFLed@aol.com

 

 

* Coaches interested in joining (updated 11/12/2023):  John (strat272x@gmail.com), Tom (vtom2000@hotmail.com), Joe H. (joehamrahi@gmail.com), Dave W (dwill14775@aol.com), Butch (coachbutch02@msn.com), Anthony (atangoair@yahoo.com), Ryan (davenport1733@gmail.com), Bob L (bobmittleman@gmail.com), Lawrence (Lawrencegreen@sbcglobal.net), Paul H. (pharasen@kanuka.ca).

 

 

Trade Review Committee (TRC) Process:

 

0) If anyone in the TRC would like to bring up a trade for discussion/vote, then they should take the lead with the following process.

 

0) If anyone not in the TRC would like a trade brought up for a discussion/vote, then they should e-mail either a member of the TRC or the commissioner.  A TRC member will take the lead on a discussion/vote.

 

1) If just for an initial discussion but not a vote, such as "am I off base for thinking we should vote on this?," then they should just e-mail the TRC for initial discussion

 

2) If a vote is being called, then that TRC member taking the lead should open the discussion/vote with the TRC and separately should e-mail the trade participants (with a carbon copy of the e-mail to me) letting them know that the trade is up for review and they will be notified of the results within 3 days

 

3) Vote should be conducted as normal, only within the TRC (do not copy the trade participants)

 

4) Once the vote result is obtained, the TRC member taking the lead should e-mail the participants (cc to me) with the results, and if the trade is disallowed then include a brief summary using neutral non-accusatory language (such as "the TRC voted that the trade was clearly one-sided in favor of the coach receiving Dan Marino")

 

5) The TRC member taking the lead should e-mail the commissioner separately (cc to the rest of the TRC who were not involved in the trade) with who voted yes/no/abstain so that it may be recorded on the web page

 

6) Feel free to copy the commissioner on any e-mails within the TRC, or feel free not to copy them, they will likely not participate in the discussion unless asked to; be aware, though, that the commissioner might see your comments if someone else forwards an e-mail; see exception #7 below

 

7) If any TRC member or the commissioner is a participant in the trade, then never send to that person an e-mail with discussions or votes of TRC members (except for #4 and #5 above)

 

 

 

 

 

League History:

 

2002 Season:  Champion = PIT.  The New York Giants led by QB Chad Pennington’s 67% completion percentage and RB Tiki Barber’s 1410 rushing yards led the league with a 13-3 record and defeated 10-6 Chicago to make it to the championship game.  Pittsburgh with Brett Favre at QB and Garrison Hearst at RB after an 11-5 regular season defeated 12-4 Dallas in the semi-final game.  PIT won the championship game over NYG 27-24.

 

2003 Season:  Champion = SF.  Defending champion Pittsburgh had a tough season going 6-10.  St. Louis had a great regular season finishing 14-1-1 but was upended by 9-7 Chicago 13-12 in the playoffs.  CHI advanced to the championship game with a 33-17 victory over 12-4 New Orleans.  San Francisco had an 11-5 regular season and advanced to the championship game with a 24-17 victory against 10-6 Washington and a 33-13 win against the 11-5 New York Giants who were attempting to make a repeat appearance in the finals.  SF won the championship game over CHI 23-19.

 

2004 Season:  Champion = STL.  11-5 NYG made their third consecutive appearance in the semi-final playoff game but lost to STL 38-24 after STL’s second consecutive league-best performance in the regular season with a 12-4 record and earning a finals appearance.  Defending champion SF lost to HOU 23-17 and HOU lost to KC 34-28 in overtime to give KC a spot in the championship game.  In the third consecutive championship game decided by 4 or fewer points STL won the championship game over KC 31-27.

 

2005 Season:  Champion = HOU.  Defending champion STL made it into the playoffs at 9-7 but after defeating NYJ 21-17 STL lost to #1 seed and 14-2 record HOU 31-3.  HOU defeated 12-4 TB 38-28 to make it to the finals.  SF was the #2 seed at 13-3 and defeated 9-7 JAX 35-33 and 12-4 PIT 48-27 to make it to the finals.  HOU held down high scoring SF and HOU won the championship game 17-7.

 

2006 Season:  Champion = HOU.  Defending champion HOU made the playoffs with a 13-3 record but was the #3 seed as SF and SEA each had 15-1 records.  After defeating 9-7 TB 24-21, SEA lost to HOU 34-19 to give HOU another championship game appearance.  After defeating 9-7 CHI 41-0, SF lost to 11-5 DAL 21-19 as an 83% field goal attempt with 15 seconds to go was no good.  In the championship game HOU defeated DAL 35-20 to give HOU its second consecutive championship.

 

2007 Season:  Champion = SF.  In the playoffs 9-7 NYG defeated 9-7 SEA 31-3 and then upended two-time defending champion 12-4 HOU 21-20.  DAL had a 14-2 regular season record for the #1 seed and in the playoffs defeated 9-7 STL 31-17 but in a semi-final game NYG defeated DAL 35-21 to give NYG another appearance in the finals.  In the playoffs 12-4 SF defeated 11-5 TB 34-21 and then defeated 12-4 PIT 23-17 to earn the other championship game spot.  In the championship game SF defeated NYG 23-20.

 

2008 Season:  Champion = SF.  In the playoffs NE beat BAL and top-seeded HOU but lost to TB in the semi-finals to give TB a spot in the championship game.  In a rematch of the 2007 season championship game SF beat NYG and then beat BUF to advance to the final game.  In the championship game SF defeated TB 23-17 to give SF its second consecutive championship.

 

2009 Season:  Champion = PIT.  In round  2 of the playoffs SD defeated top seed ATL while second seed TEN beat defending champion SF.  In the semi-finals and PIT defeated NE while TEN defeated SD.  The two top seeded teams battled for the championship and PIT won 38-29.

 

2010 Season:  Champion = SF.  In round 2 of the playoffs top-seed TEN beat NYJ and then in round 3 beat TB to make it to the championship game.  In the other semi-final 3-seed SF beat defending champion 4-seed PIT 38-37 when a 2-point conversion failed with 15 seconds to go.  SF beat TEN in the championship game 40-17.

 

2011 Season:  Champion = PIT.  In the playoff semi-finals #1 seed PIT and #2 seed SF advanced over HOU and GB, respectively, and in the finals PIT fought back to win 24-23.

 

2012 Season:  Champion = BUF.  SD went 15-1 for the #1 seed but in the playoffs lost 42-41 to ATL, while BUF defeated defending champion PIT and then HOU 24-14 in the championship game.

 

2013 Season:  Champion = DAL.  TEN went 14-2 for the #1 seed but 13-3 DAL beat 13-3 SEA 27-24 and then beat TEN 27-11 in the championship game.

 

2014 Season:  Champion = SEA.  SD went 15-1 for the #1 seed but lost to 9-7 GB.  14-2 SEA upended 12-4 TB 16-6 in the championship game.

 

2015 Season:  Champion = CIN.  CIN went 13-3 for the #2 seed and defeated 14-2 SF in the championship game.

 

2016 Season:  Champion = MIN.  MIN went 10-6 for the #8 seed and in the playoffs defeated 10-6 NYG/Joe, 13-3 SEA/Dennis, 10-6 HOU/Paul, and 9-7 GB/Ron D in the championship game.

 

2017 Season:  Champion = SF.  ARI earned the #1 seed with a 13-3 record but DET defeated ARI in round 2 and then lost to #2 seed SEA.  SF went 11-5 and advanced to defeat SEA in the championship game.

 

2018 Season:  Champion = DAL.  LAR earned the #1 seed with a 14-2 record but HOU defeated LAR in round 2 then lost to #3 seed NYG.  DAL went 11-5 and advanced to defeat NYG in OT in the championship game.

 

2019 Season:  Champion = TB.  As the #3 seed TB 10-6 defeated #2 CIN in OT to join #1 seed SEA 13-3 in the championship game.  TB defeated SEA 38-35 on a field goal with 2:00 remaining and an interception to end the game.

 

2020 Season:  Champion = ATL.  #10 seed DAL 9-7 won two very close playoff games but lost a very close semi-final game to #2 seed ATL 12-4.  #4 seed CHI 11-5 joined ATL in the championship game by winning two very close playoff games.  In the championship game ATL lost an 11-point 4th quarter lead but trailing by 3 scored a 6-yard TD with 0:08 remaining.

 

2021 Season:  Champion = BUF.  #5 seed BUF 11-6 won two very close playoff games including one taking a lead with under 2:00 remaining, then defeated #2 seed SEA by 2 points in the championship game with 0:00 remaining.

 

2022 Season:  Champion = NYG.  In round 2 of the playoffs all of the higher-seeded teams lost.  NYG went 4-0 in the playoffs holding opponents to less than 8 points per game, and defeated #8 seed MIN 27-14 to win the championship.

 

  

 

 

Beta Tester Statement

 

Mar 26, 2020:

 

I should have posted this 18-19 years ago but it didn’t occur to me until now that league members might be interested in this (for those who do not already know it).  I am a beta tester for Strat football which means that I receive the current year’s version of the software (and learn of its new features) in March or April (or very late February) and I receive the latest season ratings and card images typically in April or May (or else in March).  To find out the exact date of when I received a season’s ratings and card images, you may view the Buffalo offensive computer manager CM for that season which lists the date of the CM’s completion, and that is typically one or two days after I receive the ratings and card images.

 

Once I receive the latest season ratings and card images, I try to look through all of it to find anything which might appear to be errors.  Usually I find 3-6 errors which are mostly spelling errors or rating/card issues which jump out as potential errors.  In all cases when I see what might be an error I report it to Strat who decides whether or not to take any action.  I never state the perceived error as an error, I state it to Strat as a potential error for them to decide.  Also, with so much data I miss errors, and I am not the only one looking for errors.

 

Here are examples of what I report.  One season near 2016 there were two Pro Bowl CBs who had 0 ratings and I pointed out that this might be in error; it had been I guess a typo error because in the next iteration of data (before release) they were both given 6s (neither of these players were on any of my 3 teams).  In 2018 I noticed that Joe Mixon’s off tackle guessed right card appeared to have quite a bit less yardage than typical other cards would have compared to his other columns, the off tackle right was lower in average yardage than end run right and much lower than linebuck; I pointed this out and Strat increased the amount of yardage on his guessed right column (I do not have Mixon on any of my 3 teams).  For I think the 2016 season cards I pointed out that one RB’s end run guessed wrong column has a whole lot more yardage than his off tackle guessed wrong column, much more than what seems to be the typical increase cards, and Strat did not adjust the card at all (I did not have this player on any of my 3 teams).  For some reason even though I noticed Mixon’s off tackle issue I did not notice the same issue with 2018 Frank Gore, even though I have Gore on one of my teams, so Gore’s off tackle guessed right is worse than it probably would have been had I noticed and reported the issue; in thinking about this, had I noticed Gore’s issue but not Mixon’s issue I would probably not have reported the issue about Gore because that would have presented the appearance of bias in my favor (even though I’m pretty certain that Strat doesn’t know or care who I have on my teams) and I would rather avoid that.  For the 2018 cards not only was I surprised that a player on one of my teams (D.Byrd) returned punts (I had missed that entirely when looking at his stats at the end of the season) but he was listed as the lone punt returner; I looked up stats and pointed out to Strat that it seemed odd that he was listed as a lone punt returner when his percentage of punt returns for the team was not nearly as high as seems the threshold for lone punt returners, then I noticed that several other punt returners for 2018 were listed by Strat as lone punt returners when their team usage did not seem to warrant it; I presented the issue to Strat with the usual “Is this an error?” type of comment and Strat corrected the issue for Byrd and for the others I pointed out.

 

What is stopping me from reporting that a card is in error just to have Strat increase or decrease its effectiveness, depending upon whether or not the player is on my team?  I don’t have a great answer for that but I will try to answer it below.

 

In my memory I have never reported potential errors in ratings of a player getting a 4 or 6 when he seemed to deserve a 6 or 4 (I almost didn’t report the 0 CBs I mentioned above but that seemed like just a clear and obvious typo, and of course Strat could have kept it as is if it weren’t a typo).  I have pointed out what appeared to be clear oversights in pass rush ratings such as a player with 4 sacks given a 0 rating (and I would report vice-versa though I don’t remember that ever happening), and in many cases over the years I have reported offensive linemen having a non-zero pass block rating at one position but a 0 pass block rating at another position (a 0-2 at center but a 0-0 at guard, for example) since that seems like an error as Strat seems to always give the same pass block rating to an offensive lineman at all of his positions (in all cases Strat has fixed these issues).

 

For card issues I have reported, I would guess that I report on average 1-2 non-obvious issues per season, such as the Mixon and punt return issues I mentioned above or the RB end run issue from a few years ago.  If I see a player who in my view should have a better or worse card – something I see frequently, since there is plenty of subjectivity in creating cards – then I just don’t say anything because my role is to report which might be errors, not to provide opinions about individual cards.  There are obvious card errors which I also report such as no interception on a QB’s double-teamed column, +9 yards on a receiver’s short pass, etc. but no matter what I report it is always presented with the “Is this an error?” type of comment and it is up to Strat to decide.  Fortunately, Strat does reply to all of the issues I report, even if the reply is that they are not going to change it (and I do not reply back with further discussion about why I think it should be changed).

 

Noticing potential card errors is one thing I do, but what takes up a lot more of my time as beta tester is working on the computer managers for each of the 32 teams in the current season, plus the CMs for each of the teams in a previous season released with that same version (if that previous season is 1982 or later).  In addition, I report bugs I find (during beta testing season and also all throughout the year) and then if/when Strat provides a fix during beta testing season I test to see if it worked and report back.  Also, from time to time I communicate to Strat an opinion about overall card creation going forward, such as how I think that flat pass receiving cards are not created well overall, or how there are too many 7 pass-blocking offensive linemen nowadays; of course anyone may communicate this type of thing with Strat, but I recognize that my comments might have more weight since I am a beta tester.

 

In addition, I provide occasional direct input on potential rule changes within the game.  As examples, within the past couple of years I suggested to Strat that WRs should be able to have unlimited yardage on a play even if limit longest reception is turned on, and with a recent version they implemented that.  If I remember correctly, I suggested the variable field goal rule to Strat – a rule which I did not create – and Strat implemented it as it was suggested on the Strat Fan message board.  Over 15 years ago Strat presented first to us testers the v3 rules to make the passing game more powerful – open zone flat wrong, emphasize 6 LB, and dumpoff – and I and other beta testers provided our opinion of it before release; I don’t recall whether or not we had suggested any changes but had we then I imagine Strat would have adjusted it to some degree, and I know there was at least some direct discussion of the rules so maybe some slight changes were made.  A bit more recently I remember providing input and having an influence on the modification to the open zone flat wrong rule to free up defenses to blitz LBs without causing an open flat zone to be guessed wrong.  Near 2004 or so I remember pointing out to Strat that the Full House formation was very powerful, after having used it all season in one league (not any of the leagues I run), and they replied that the rules should have been different to prevent this and they modified the rule about this formation so that it is no longer viable most of the time.  At some point also when Strat required the FS to be on the line of scrimmage when calling run defense from a nickel formation, I had input on that rule though I don’t remember who thought of that; I remember stating my opinion that it was too powerful to be able to call run and place 2 men in the long pass zone.

 

Also, I created from scratch the draft league defensive cards and presented them to Strat.

 

What’s stopping me from suggesting a rule change which would benefit my teams?  My answer is not direct, but that I have history of suggesting rule changes which give me a disadvantage – full house and nickel defenses – and I don’t even know what rule changes I could suggest to benefit my teams over other teams.

 

Another answer to these questions is what would I have to gain?  These are not leagues played for money (there is no entry fee or any tangible rewards), and would it be worth getting caught cheating like this by suggesting to Strat a card change in my favor?  It’s way out of bounds not worth it, in my view.

 

My role with Strat – creating CMs, beta testing, and being part of the discussions with rule changes – is more important to me than having better cards or ratings on my teams.

 

By far the most important factor to me, though, is integrity.  If I were to become involved in card or rating creation, then either I would decline to be involved or I would stop playing in these leagues while continuing to run them.

 

August 17, 2020:

 

This year in beta testing when I first saw the 2019 cards and ratings I noticed a card for a high-carry RB not on any of my teams had a very good linebuck but mediocre off tackle and end run, and after I pointed out to Strat that this type of pattern is unusual they indicated that the linebuck was an error and fixed it.  There was also a team assigned a 4-3 defense which I had thought was a 3-4 during the 2019 season so I looked through each of the team’s NFL game books from 2019 to confirm that they started only 3 (or 2) defensive linemen in each of their games and Strat fixed the team so that it is 3-4; I have a couple of players in the defensive front 7 of that team but despite that potential conflict of interest I reported the issue to Strat.

 

By far the biggest issue I had this year or any year in terms of card design is in the kickoff cards.  Last year I pointed out to Strat that for kickoffs which are actually returnable (not to the -8 or -9 yard line) the distribution of #1 KR and #2 KR was not even close to 67/33 for many kickoff cards, with some having too much or not enough #1 or #2 KR in their returnable kick results.  At that time Strat indicated to me that they would like to touch base with me earlier during 2019 card testing for this issue.  This year they sent me the kickoff cards for all teams even before testing began, and asked for my input.  For I would estimate two-thirds of the 32 kickoff cards (the ones which looked off to me in terms of KR #1 and KR #2) I provided my suggestions for how the #1 and #2 KR should be assigned so that a) 67/33 approximate distribution of #1 and #2 KR overall on the card and b) 67/33 approximate distribution of #1 and #2 KR on returnable kicks.  In most cases returnable meant not in the end zone at all because if a team gives up only an average of 20 or even 22 yards on rolls of 7, 8, and 12 it rarely makes sense to return the ball out of the end zone (since touchbacks get the ball to the 25) so KR #1 and KR #2 don’t matter much at all for those, while for teams which give up more yardage on 7, 8, and 12 kicks to the 0, -1, or even -3 yard line do matter.  As it turns out, Strat implemented exactly all of my suggestions for KR #1 and KR #2 assignment on kickoff cards.  For clarification, this is for every assignment of #1 or #2 KR on each kickoff card, but it does not affect kickoff yardage or any other card.  In addition, there were a few kickoff cards which had almost no kicks to the -8 or -9 and these kickoff cards all had the exact same yardage on each roll so I asked Strat if this is by design and they replied that it was an error so they fixed each of those kickoff cards.

 

Another big issue overall this year was with QB end run columns.  Early during our testing another tester pointed out a few QB end run columns which seemed way out of line too good, with short gains all over the card, and that those should be fixed.  I indicated agreement that these cards should be looked at to see if they are by design.  Strat looked at these and indicated that no change would be made.  Then a couple of weeks later during a phone discussion about CMs it was mentioned to me that no change was made for the QB end runs due to it not being a clear-cut issue and fitting the formulas they use.  The person from Strat I was talking to was not involved in card design.  I asked him to look at one of the QB end run cards and let me know his thoughts, and he was surprised by how good was the card.  He brought up the issue to card design and a week or so later Strat updated the QB end run cards of approximately ten QBs, even removing end run altogether for several of those QBs, including some QBs which had not been mentioned by any of the testers.  None of these QBs are on any of teams, so that is a clear potential for conflict of interest, but I chose not to stay silent because the issue was so clear to me, and my role of reporting my observations I felt overrode the conflict of interest angle.  In the lately-yearly podcast interview in late July or early August, Strat indicated that how they create QB end run columns changed this year so I believe that they will look closely at this issue going forward.

 

In a phone call I was asked by Strat my opinion about an adjustment to the QB end run limits rule and I indicated that the adjustment seemed good.  Strat ended up going with the rule this year.

 

My goal for writing this is not to list each of the issues I reported to Strat (there are some issues I wouldn’t feel comfortable about revealing Strat’s internal communications with us testers), but just to point out potential conflicts of interest and how being on the beta testing team could be seen by some as giving me a significant advantage.  I am not involved in card design other than reporting observations for Strat to review and decide, but this year for the first time I was directly involved in card design for KR #1 and KR #2 assignments on kickoff cards.  If my involvement in card design were to expand much further to other card design elements, then it is possible that there would be “too much” conflict of interest (consequences of that to be decided if that occurs), but I don’t think we are at that point and I doubt that my role will expand much further.

 

For clarification, I did not create these posts due to anyone pointing out these potential conflict of interest issues.  It’s just for transparency.  If you would like to discuss these issues or if you have concerns, feel free to contact me or even feel free to open a thread on our message board.

 

August 4, 2021:

 

I was again asked by Strat to provide input on all of the “kick returner #1” and “kick returner #2” designations on all kickoff cards, and Strat implemented all of the changes I recommended.  Same as with last year I did not provide any input about yardage, it was all just assigning to each roll KR1 or KR2 and there were plenty of changes I recommended to target for KR1 to return approximately 2/3 of returnable kicks (where “returnable” would sometimes depend upon the kick return coverage card for the team, to determine if kicks barely into the end zone would likely be returned by Strat coaches).

 

Other than noticing a lot of typos, a missing negative yardage completion on a roll of 2 or 12 for a QB (on one of my teams), and a QB (not on one of my teams) who originally had no additional long gain on long passes wrong vs right, this year I believe that there was only one substantive change which was implemented and that is when seeing CLE’s CBs it seemed strange to me that D.Ward had a worse rating than T.Mitchell and I wondered if their ratings were reversed as a typo (I have neither on any of my teams), which prompted Strat to modify Ward’s rating to match Mitchell’s.  I also asked about 3 more issues (I always ask about issues in the context of wondering if they are errors or by design):  PHI M.Sanders’ unusual roll of 11 on his off tackle card guessed wrong (I do not have Sanders on any of my teams) which Strat retained, a few RB receiving cards which have their longest gain guessed right on 3 or 11 instead of 2 or 12 (Strat replied that this is by design, and later I saw that 2019 had at least one of these), and the huge number of RBs who for 2020 have terrible end run columns and boosted linebuck and off tackle columns (Strat replied that this is by design).

 

August 17, 2022:

 

This year when I was asked by Strat to look over the KR1 and KR2 section of the kickoff cards I commented that in Strat games with the recent kickoff card patters a whole lot fewer kicks are returned than in the NFL, since almost all of the kickoffs to the goal line or -1 yard line are not returned in Strat due to not returning it setting the ball at the 25 yard line.  Strat indicated that they would be interested in a different approach for kickoff cards so I suggested that they put -8 and -9 on rolls of 3 and 11 and go back to similar to the previous ways of creating kickoff cards having “touchback” results which approximately match the team’s kickoff touchback rate, and this is what Strat implemented.  I did not have input on KR1 and KR2 but when Strat indicated to the test team an issue with the historically unusual kick return coverage card of Denver I recommended setting the 12 dice roll result to TD instead of long gain (so that the rolls of 7 and 8 could be less extreme) and Strat implemented that.

 

Other than the usual typo-type issues noticed by a few members of the test team, after seeing all of the cards and ratings I also indicated to Strat that I believe off tackle columns are boosted too high for poor end run RBs (something which I believe I mentioned to them last year when I brought up the high number of poor end run columns in that set but last year I didn’t bring it up with as much detail).  While Strat seemed like there might be some movement on that in a future season, nothing was changed for this in this set.

 

December 2, 2023:

 

This year the only issue I had was the end runs for several QBs which had rushing columns better than the best RB cards ever created in history.  Nothing was modified on this from what I had indicated to them.  I also noticed that there are a whole lot fewer RB cards which have terrible end runs and over-boosted off tackles, just a few and none with a significant number of carries and a very good card, and I was very glad for that.  I questioned Cin being a 3-4 team since in the NFL they were always either a 4-3 or a 5-2 team, and Strat kept them as a 3-4 team although added DE ratings to a couple of their OLBs (I do not have any of the players on any of my teams).  There weren’t any issues with kickoff or kick return cards that I noticed, and I don’t remember any ratings or other card concerns.  There were a whole lot of the usual-recent issues of missing a period in Jr and name consistencies from the previous year’s set.

 

 

 

Everyone in the league needs to be familiar with the bulleted items in the league Constitution and please make sure that you know the game rules for such things as when show blitz, 3-3-5, and 4-2-5 are allowed and what RB’s are restricted.  Also, make sure that you set the game option to autosave after each play by going into the game, clicking on Game, clicking on Options, and clicking on Auto Save after Each Play to put a check mark there.  And please follow the other rules listed in the Constitution such as fastest animation (or no animation).

 

 

 

SEASON 20 -- 2021 Season

 

 

2021 Season:  Champion = BUF.  #5 seed BUF 11-6 won two very close playoff games including one taking a lead with under 2:00 remaining, then defeated #2 seed SEA by 2 points in the championship game with 0:00 remaining.

 

 

2021 Standings

 

 

2021 Regular Season League File

 

 

2021 Playoffs League File

 

 

2021 Rosters

 

 

2021 Team Previews

 

 

2021 Draft

 

 

 

 

2021 Season Dates:

 

·        Friday, July 1, 2022 – Strat published the ratings preview and July 5 the SOMIFA rosters were updated with those ratings

·        Wednesday, August 17, 2022 – Strat shipped the game, SOMIFA rosters updated with QB and special team players

·        Saturday, August 20, 2022 at noon Pacific Time – trading season began

·        Saturday September 10, 2022 at 8:00am Pacific Time – annual rookie/free-agent draft via Slack

·        Wednesday September 14, 2022 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline to cut down to 55 rated/carded players, and to cut excess carded QB, KR, PR, K, and P

·        Saturday September 17, 2022 at 10:00am Pacific Time – deadline for Supplemental Draft picks; 3-round Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) at or near this time

·        Sunday September 18, 2022 at 9:30am Pacific Time – deadline for remaining Supplemental Draft picks; 2-round further Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) later in the day

·        Thursday September 22, 2022 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for trades and for teams to declare left/right swaps, choose 3-4 or 4-3, and send coach file

·        Thursday October 20, 2022 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q1 game results

·        Thursday November 24, 2022 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q2 game results

·        Thursday December 22, 2022 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q3 game results

·        Thursday January 19, 2023 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q4 game results

·        Friday January 20, 2023 – first round playoff pregame files sent

·        Friday January 27, 2023 – second round playoff pregame files sent

·        Thursday February 2, 2023 – third round playoff pregame files sent

·        Tuesday February 7, 2023 – championship pregame files sent

 

 

 

2021 Season League News:

 

·         May 22, 2022 – Michael/KC indicated that he is moving his team to CLE

·         July 15, 2022 – Dave S. / GB has decided not to continue participation in the league

·         July 22, 2022 – Curt (cretzlaff847@yahoo.com) has joined the league and will take over an available team determined once league membership is finalized for the year (within the next couple of weeks)

 

 

 

2021 Season Rule Changes (discussed on the message board, * = to be implemented):

 

* 1) Based upon discussion and voting last season, beginning with the 2021 season, remove the requirement for teams to have at least one carded kicker by the end of round 6 and one carded punter by the end of round 8, and these will be required only by the end of the Supplemental Draft – this was passed via league vote on the message board 20-3.

 

* 2) Based upon discussion last season, beginning with the 2021 season, we will play a 17-game regular-season schedule, with an extra game during the second quarter of the season – there was no disagreement on this so there was no vote

 

* 3) Based upon discussion last season, for the 2021 season each team will retain up to 55 carded/rated players and unlimited players who did not receive a card or rating; however, all players who have not been carded or rated for the two most recent seasons (not including the 2020 season) will be automatically cut from each team unless the coach notifies the commissioner that they want to retain the player at the cost of one roster spot; there will be a day two for the Supplemental Draft consisting of two more rounds – there was no disagreement on this so there was no vote

 

4) There were a couple of other issues brought up on the message board but nothing which received any support for a vote.

 

 

 

 

 

SEASON 19 -- 2020 Season

 

 

2020 Season:  Champion = ATL.  #10 seed DAL 9-7 won two very close playoff games but lost a very close semi-final game to #2 seed ATL 12-4.  #4 seed CHI 11-5 joined ATL in the championship game by winning two very close playoff games.  In the championship game ATL lost an 11-point 4th quarter lead but trailing by 3 scored a 6-yard TD with 0:08 remaining.

 

 

2020 Standings   (final update 2/9/2022)

 

 

2020 Final Regular Season League File   (posted 1/13/2022)

 

 

2020 Final Playoff League File   (posted 2/9/2022)

 

 

2020 Team Stats   (posted 1/16/2022 by Dan M.)

 

 

2020 Rosters

 

 

2020 Draft   (final update 9/18/2021)

 

 

2020 Team Previews     (posted 9/19/2021, created by Ed)

 

 

 

2020 Season Dates:

 

·        Friday, July 2, 2021 – Strat published the ratings preview and July 5 the SOMIFA rosters were updated with those ratings

·        Thursday, August 19, 2021 – Strat shipped the game, SOMIFA rosters updated with QB and special team players

·        Saturday, August 21, 2021 – trading season began

·        Saturday September 11, 2021 at 8:00am Pacific Time – annual rookie/free-agent draft via Slack

·        Wednesday September 15, 2021 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline to cut down to 53 rated/carded players, and to cut excess carded QB, KR, PR, K, and P

·        Saturday September 18, 2021 at 10:00am Pacific Time – deadline for Supplemental Draft picks; Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) at or near this time

·        Wednesday September 22, 2021 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for trades and for teams to declare left/right swaps, choose 3-4 or 4-3, and send coach file

·        Thursday October 21, 2021 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q1 game results

·        Thursday November 18, 2021 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q2 game results

·        Thursday December 16, 2021 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q3 game results

·        Thursday January 13, 2022 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q4 game results

·        Thursday January 13, 2022 – first round playoff pregame files sent

·        Saturday January 22, 2022 – second round playoff pregame files sent

·        Sunday January 30, 2022 – third round playoff pregame files sent

·        Thursday February 3, 2022 – championship game pregame files sent

 

 

2020 Season League News:

 

·         August 23, 2021 Trade -- CIN receives RG/T 4-4/0-4 Oday Aboushi and RLB 50-4 Kevin Pierre-Louis; SF receives 2021 CIN #3

·         August 25, 2021 Trade -- TEN receives 2021 SEA #2, G 0-3 Xavier Su'a-Filo, and SEA #6; SEA receives DET #9 and RG 6-5 Brandon Scherff

·         August 25, 2021 Trade -- MIA receives ROLB 05-12-7* Za'Darius Smith; TEN receives MIA #6 and 2021 MIA #2

·         August 26, 2021 Trade – TEN receives CIN #1 (22nd overall), CIN #2, CIN #4, and PIT #4; CIN receives RCB 6 Stephon Gilmore, LE 5-9 Olivier Vernon, and 2021 SEA #2

·         August 27, 2021 Trade was not confirmed so it did not occur – PIT receives RCB 5 Jason Verrett, LILB 56-0 L.J. Fort, and HB 4-2 Devin Singletary; ATL receives PIT #1 (14th overall), and 2021 PIT #4 (apparently the trade was not confirmed by both, and it had been meant for a different league, so I have backed it out from the rosters)

·         August 28, 2021 Trade – TEN receives 2021 DEN #2, 2021 DEN #5, and ATL #4; DEN receives TE 4 David Njoku and QB Ben Roethlisberger

·         August 30, 2021 Trade – HOU receives RCB 5 Jason Verrett; ATL receives LOLB 04-11 Malik Reed and HOU #5

·         August 31, 2021 Trade – BUF receives LT/G 4-4/0-4 Jason Peters; TEN receives BUF #6

·         September 1, 2021 Trade – SEA receives RDT 5-2 Grover Stewart and ATL #8; DET receives BB/TE 4-5/5 Will Dissly

·         September 2, 2021 Trade – DAL receives 2021 GB #8; GB receives NT 4-0 Brandon Dunn

·         September 5, 2021 Trade – LAC receives RILB 04-5 Danny Trevathan, 2021 PIT #2, 2021 PIT #4, and 2021 PIT #6; PIT receives LT/TE 0-5/4 Sam Tevi and MLB 56-3 Denzel Perryman

·         September 6, 2021 Trade – MIN receives TB #8; TB receives RT 4-4 Bobby Hart

·         September 6, 2021 Trade – TB receives LILB 44-6 Vince Williams; MIA receives LAV #5

·         September 9, 2021 Trade -- CIN receives 2021 TB #8; TB receives DEN #10, TEN #10 and CIN #10

·         September 10, 2021 Trade -- DAL receives QB Andy Dalton; MIA receives DAL #3

·         September 10, 2021 Trade -- MIA receives QB Alex Smith; NYG receives 2021 MIA #10

·         September 10, 2021 Trade -- KC receives MIA #1 (11th overall); MIA receives TE 6 George Kittle

·         September 10, 2021 Trade disallowed -- KC receives NT 6-3 Folorunso Fatukasi and LAC #9; NYJ receives FS 66 John Johnson – 9/11 before the draft the TRC voted 5-1 to disallow this trade as Jay, Mick, Paul, TJ, and Wayne voted to disallow while Jeff B. voted to allow

·         September 11, 2021 Trade -- KC receives NT 6-3 Folorunso Fatukasi and NYJ #4; NYJ receives FS 66 John Johnson

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – DAL receives 2021 LAV #8; LAV receives DAL #11, DAL #12, and DAL #13

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – NYG receives 2021 MIA #7; MIA receives NYG #9 and NYG #10

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – CHI receives SEA #7; NYG receives 2021 CHI #7

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – DEN receives PIT #1 (14th overall); PIT receives DEN #1 (18th overall) and DEN #6

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – SEA receives LAV #7; LAV receives WR/PR David Moore

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – NYJ receives 2021 CHI #4; CHI receives RG 5-7 David DeCastro

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – LAV receives 2021 ATL #7; ATL receives LAV #8

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – ATL receives SF #8; SF receives P Johnny Hekker

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – NYJ receives 2021 SEA #3 and SS 00 Johnathan Abram; SEA receives ARI #8 and RCB 5 Bradley Roby

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – ATL receives CIN #6; SEA receives 2021 ATL #6 and 2021 ATL #8

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – NYJ receives 2021 CHI #5; CHI receives NYJ #6

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – TEN receives TB #7 and ATL #8; SEA receives 2021 TEN #6

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – ATL receives TEN #9; SEA receives 2021 ATL #9 and 2021 ATL #10

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – KC receives 2021 ATL #4; ATL receives LLB 40-8 A.J. Klein

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – DET receives 2021 PIT #7; PIT receives DET #8

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – LAC receives MIN #7; MIN receives LAC #7 and LAV #10

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – MIN receives MIA #7; NYJ receives TE 4 Tyler Conklin

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – LAC receives DAL #7; DAL receives 2021 LAC #6

·         September 11, 2021 Trade during the draft – PIT receives ARI #9; ARI receives P Sam Martin

·         September 12, 2021 Trade – NYJ receives 2021 SEA #10; SEA receives HB 0-4 Ke’Shawn Vaughn

·         September 12, 2021 Trade – NYJ receives 2021 TB #10; TB receives OLB 04-6 John Simon

·         September 12, 2021 Trade – DEN receives RT 4-5 Dennis Kelly; DET receives 2021 DEN #7

·         September 13, 2021 Trade – BUF receives 2021 TB #3; TB receives HB 0-3 Adrian Peterson

·         September 13, 2021 Trade – BUF receives 2021 CIN #1; CIN receives 2021 BUF #6 and NT 6-2 DaQuan Jones

·         September 14, 2021 Trade – ARI receives 2021 SEA #7; SEA receives K Graham Gano

·         September 14, 2021 Trade – CHI receives 2021 PIT #8; PIT receives CHI #12, CHI #13, C/G 4-2 Daniel Brunskill, and T 0-0 Dennis Daley

·         September 15, 2021 Trade – DAL receives 2021 SF #7 and LG 0-5 James Carpenter; SF receives RCB 4 Dre Kirkpatrick and 2021 DAL #10

·         September 15, 2021 Trade – SF receives K Robbie Gould; SEA receives 2021 SF #9

·         September 15, 2021 Trade – GB receives SE Damiere Byrd; SEA receives TE 4 James O’Shaughnessy

·         September 16, 2021 Trade – ARI receives CB 4 Mackensie Alexander; NYJ receives ARI #11

·         September 16, 2021 Trade – LAV receives CHI #11; CHI receives 2021 LAV #9

·         September 17, 2021 Trade -- NYG receives 2021 MIA #9; MIA receives NYG #11

·         September 19, 2021 Trade -- MIA receives 2021 ATL #5; ATL receives DE 0-7 Everson Griffen

·         September 20, 2021 Trade -- DAL receives TE 6 Nick Boyle; LAV receives C 6-4 Jason Kelce

·         September 21, 2021 Trade -- ATL receives 2021 PIT #5 and HB 0-4 Ty Montgomery; PIT receives LCB 4 Janoris Jenkins

·         September 21, 2021 Trade -- NYG receives LILB 44-5 Christian Kirksey; BUF receives 2021 NYG #4 and LB 00-0 Jalen Reeves-Maybin

 

 

 

2020 Season Rule Changes (discussed on the message board, * = to be implemented):

 

* 0) (added 12/1/2020 after being mentioned on the message board and discussed before the 2020 NFL season) For the 2020 season there will be no IR and no limit to the number of non-rated and non-carded players which may be retained on each team.  In other words, for the 2020 season on each roster there will be a limit of 53 players who have cards and/or ratings and no limit on players who do not have cards or ratings.

 

* 1) Based upon an 11-8 vote from last year, disallow trying for a block on a punt in the first half (beginning in the 2020 season) – the commissioner will set defensive computer managers for all teams to auto-choose not going for a block in the first half

 

* 2) Beginning with the 2021 season, remove the requirement for teams to have at least one carded kicker by the end of round 6 and one carded punter by the end of round 8, and these will be required only by the end of the Supplemental Draft – this was passed via league vote on the message board 20-3.

 

* 3) Beginning with the 2021 season, we will play a 17-game regular-season schedule, with an extra game during the second quarter of the season – there was no disagreement on this so there was no vote

 

* 4) For the 2021 season each team will retain up to 55 carded/rated players and unlimited players who did not receive a card or rating; however, all players who have not been carded or rated for the two most recent seasons (not including the 2020 season) will be automatically cut from each team unless the coach notifies the commissioner that they want to retain the player at the cost of one roster spot; there will be a day two for the Supplemental Draft consisting of two more rounds – there was no disagreement on this so there was no vote

 

5) Beginning with the 2021 season, adjust the RB limits to qualify for unlimited carries in the game and in one half (119/68/34 thresholds instead of 100/50/25) – a vote on the message board was 14-11 against this proposal so it will not go into effect.

 

 

 

 

 

SEASON 18 -- 2019 Season

 

 

2019 Season:  Champion = TB.  As the #3 seed TB 10-6 defeated #2 CIN in OT to join #1 seed SEA 13-3 in the championship game.  TB defeated SEA 38-35 on a field goal with 2:00 remaining and an interception to end the game.

 

 

 2019 Standings     (final update 2/7/2021)

 

 

2019 Final Regular Season League File     (posted 1/14/2021)

 

 

2019 Final Playoff League File     (posted 2/7/2021)

 

 

2019 Rosters

 

 

2019 Draft     (final update 9/19/2020)

 

 

2019 Team Previews     (posted 9/21/2020, created by Ed)

 

 

 

2019 Season Dates:

 

·        July 2, 2020 – Strat published the ratings preview and July 4 the SOMIFA rosters were updated with those ratings

·        August 17, 2020 – Strat shipped the game, SOMIFA rosters updated with QB and special team players

·        August 19, 2020 – trading season began

·        Saturday September 12, 2020 at 8:00am Pacific Time – annual rookie/free-agent draft via Slack

·        Wednesday September 16, 2020 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline to cut down to 53 players (plus up to 3 on IR), and to cut excess QB, KR, PR, K, and P

·        Saturday September 19, 2020 at 9:00am Pacific Time – deadline for Supplemental Draft picks; Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) at or near this time

·        Wednesday September 23, 2020 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for trades and for teams to declare left/right swaps, choose 3-4 or 4-3, and send coach file

·        Thursday October 22, 2020 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q1 games

·        Thursday November 19, 2020 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q2 games

·        Wednesday December 16, 2020 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q3 games

·        Wednesday January 13, 2021 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q4 games

·        Friday January 15, 2021 – first round playoff pregame files posted

·        Wednesday January 20, 2021 – second round playoff pregame files sent

·        Wednesday January 27, 2021 – third round playoff pregame files sent

·        Sunday, January 31, 2021 – championship game files sent

 

 

2019 Season League News:

 

·         September 8, 2020 Trade -- DEN receives RG 6-7 Marshal Yanda; DET receives DEN #3

·         September 9, 2020 Trade – PIT receives LOLB 46-11 Von Miller; ARI receives LLB 44-0 K.J. Wright, HB 0-0 James White, and 2020 PIT #2

·         September 11, 2020 Trade -- ATL receives SF #1 (14th overall); SF receives MIN #2, ATL #3, and 2020 ATL #6

·         September 11, 2020 Trade -- NYJ receives 2020 DEN #9; DEN receives QB Matt Moore

·         September 12, 2020 Trade -- DET receives TEN #6, RDT 4-3 Star Lotulelei, LLB 44-10 Devon Kennard, and P Chris Jones; TEN receives RDT 6-5 Geno Atkins and P Thomas Morstead; 9/13 Tom asked for the TRC to discuss this trade; 9/15 the TRC each agreed that the trade is not one-sided enough to warrant a vote

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – MIA receives NYJ #6 and NYG #7; NYG receives 2020 MIA #3; the TRC called for a vote on this trade and a few minutes later the result was 3-3 so the trade was not disallowed, with Jay, Paul, and Jeff voting to allow and Wayne, TJ, and Tim voting to disallow

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – LAC receives SF #8; SF receives K Aldrick Rosas

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – DET receives 2020 ATL #8; ATL receives DET #9

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – ATL receives GB #10; GB receives 2020 ATL #9

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – LAC receives SF #10; NYJ receives 2020 LAC #9

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – BUF receives 2020 LAC #8; LAC receives BUF #9

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – TB receives TEN #3; SEA receives TB #3 and 2020 TB #5

·         September 12, 2020 Trade (not announced in the draft room) – SEA receives 2020 PIT #3; PIT receives 2020 PIT #7 and SS 54 Adrian Phillips

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – NYG receives PIT #5 and 2020 PIT #3; SEA receives RCB 5 James Bradberry

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – OAK receives SEA #6; SEA receives 2020 OAK #6 and 2020 TB #7

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – KC receives 2020 NYG #9; NYG receives KC #10

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – MIA receives TEN #8; SEA receives 2020 MIA #7

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – DAL receives 2020 MIA #5; ATL receives DAL #6

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – NYJ receives PIT #4; PIT receives OAK #5 and 2020 NYJ #7

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – DEN receives 2020 ATL #4 and 2020 ATL #7; ATL receives DEN #5

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – NYG receives NYJ #6 and 2020 NYJ #8; NYJ receives NYG #5

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – KC receives 2020 NYG #6; NYG receives KC #7

·         September 12, 2020 Trade during the draft – SEA receives SS 65 Harrison Smith; DET receives SEA #8 and 2020 SEA #2

·         September 12, 2020 Trade -- MIA receives LT 4-3 Greg Robinson; LAR receives 2020 MIA #9

·         September 13, 2020 Trade -- DAL receives 2020 HOU #8; HOU receives DT 4-0 Margus Hunt and G/T/TE 4-0/4 Joe Haeg

·         September 13, 2020 Trade -- SEA receives 2020 ARI #8; ARI receives 2020 SEA #10 and PR Bobo Wilson

·         September 13, 2020 Trade -- CIN receives HB 0-0 Latavius Murray; SEA receives 2020 CIN #6 and DE 0-9 Benson Mayowa

·         September 13, 2020 Trade – SEA receives HB 0-0 Bilal Powell; SF receives 2020 SEA #9

·         September 14, 2020 Trade – SF receives QB Teddy Bridgewater and LT 4-3 Greg Robinson; MIA receives LT 4-4 Isaiah Wynn and ROLB 44-10 Whitney Mercilus

·         September 15, 2020 Trade -- SF receives K Stephen Hauschka; NYG receives K Aldrick Rosas and K (uncarded) Ryan Succop

·         September 15, 2020 Trade – HOU receives LOLB 04-5 Cassius Marsh; SF receives PR Cyrus Jones

·         September 15, 2020 Trade -- SEA receives HB 0-4 Frank Gore, FB 4-4 Dan Vitale, and 2020 NYJ #9; NYJ receives 2020 MIA #7, 2020 ARI #8, and FB/DE 6-5/0-0 Patrick Ricard

·         September 15, 2020 Trade -- SEA receives 2020 TB #9; TB receives HB 0-0 Bilal Powell

·         September 16, 2020 Trade -- OAK receives DAL #11, #12, and #13; DAL receives 2020 OAK #9

·         September 18, 2020 Trade -- OAK receives LAC#12 and LAC #13; LAC receives 2020 OAK #10

·         September 18, 2020 Trade -- DEN receives 2020 CIN #8; CIN receives DEN #11, DEN #12, DEN #13, and 2020 DEN #10

·         September 18, 2020 Trade -- NYJ receives 2020 ATL #10 and uncarded Lance Kendricks; ATL receives DB 00 Artie Burns

·         September 22, 2020 Trade – SEA receives RG 0-5 Ronald Leary; NYG receives TE 5 Demetrius Harris and 2020 SEA #7

 

 

2019 Season Rule Changes (discussed on the message board, * = implemented):

 

* 0) (added 12/1/2020 after being mentioned on the message board and discussed before the 2020 NFL season) For the 2020 season there will be no IR and no limit to the number of non-rated and non-carded players which may be retained on each team.  In other words, for the 2020 season on each roster there will be a limit of 53 players who have cards and/or ratings and no limit on players who do not have cards or ratings.

 

1) Draft lottery system – a weighted lottery system or one which did not include all non-playoff teams was removed from the table and a vote was only for a non-weighted system involving all non-playoff teams for rounds 1 and 2, the vote was 15-7 against

 

* 2) Disallow the use of dime formations whenever nickel is disallowed unless offense has no HB, RB, or FB eligible to run the ball – implemented without a vote

 

3) Disallow trying for a block on a punt in the first half (beginning in the 2020 season) – anything more complicated than this was not on the table, the vote was 11-8 in favor so this will be implemented in the 2020 season (not in the upcoming season)

 

4) Disallow at the BB or FB position the use of TEs who are rated as 0-0 BBs – will not be implemented as there was only one coach who expressed support of this while a few others expressed that they did not want this

 

5) Turn off injuries – the vote was 19-3 against

 

* 6) There is no need to cut K or P before or during the draft, and roster maximums will not be enforced until the cut deadline a few days after the draft – there were no dissenting posts on this so it was implemented

 

7) Draft an entire punt and kick coverage unit – this proposal was rescinded due to a large number of comments that this is not wanted

 

8) Discussion of invalid player usage within a game:  how to prevent and how to handle if it occurs – there were no proposals for this

 

* 9) Any FL, SE, or WR who is not one of the top two WRs on the roster may play the FL or SE position at any time without any announcement – there were no dissenting posts on this so it was implemented

 

* 10) Remove the restrictions “A coach may not switch a SS to FS and a FS to SS both in the same season” and “A coach may not switch a LT to RT and a RT to LT both in the same season” – will be implemented based upon last year’s discussion and vote

 

 

 

 

 

 

SEASON 17 -- 2018 Season

 

 

2018 Season:  Champion = DAL.  LAR earned the #1 seed with a 14-2 record but HOU defeated LAR in round 2 then lost to #3 seed NYG.  DAL went 11-5 and advanced to defeat NYG in OT in the championship game.

 

 

 

2018 Standings     (final update 2/4/2020)

 

 

2018 Final Regular Season League File     (posted 1/10/2020)

 

 

2018 Final Playoff League File     (posted 2/4/2020)

 

 

2018 Rosters     (final update 2/4/2020)

 

 

2018 Draft     (posted 9/14/2019)

 

 

 

2018 Season Dates:

 

·        July 3, 2019 – Strat published the ratings preview and July 8 the SOMIFA rosters were updated with those ratings

·        August 8, 2019 – Strat shipped the game, SOMIFA rosters updated with QB and special team players

·        August 11, 2019 at noon Pacific Time – trading season began

·        Wednesday September 4, 2019 at 10:00pm Pacific Time – cut deadline for any necessary cuts (extra P or K only)

·        Saturday September 7, 2019 at 8:00am Pacific Time – annual rookie/free-agent draft via Slack

·        Wednesday September 11, 2019 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline to cut down to 53 players (plus up to 3 on IR)

·        Friday September 13, 2019 at 9:00am Pacific Time – deadline for Supplemental Draft picks; Supplemental Draft to be held via lists (not a live draft) at or near this time

·        Wednesday September 18, 2019 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for trades and for teams to declare left/right swaps, choose 3-4 or 4-3, and send coach file

·        Thursday October 17, 2019 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q1 games

·        Thursday November 14, 2019 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q2 games

·        Thursday December 12, 2019 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q3 games

·        Thursday January 9, 2020 at 9:00pm Pacific Time – deadline for all q4 games

·        Wednesday January 15, 2020 – end of mini-playoffs

·        Tuesday January 21, 2020 – end of round 1 of the playoffs

·        Monday January 27, 2020 – end of round 2 of the playoffs

·        Saturday February 1, 2020 – end of round 3 of the playoffs

·        Tuesday February 4, 2020 – championship game

 

 

 

2018 Season League News:

 

 

 

2018 Season Rule Changes (discussed on the message board):

 

1) fyi players rated at “CB” or “DB” (but not rated at LCB or RCB) are 0 when playing LCB or RCB

unless they are rated as a 6 at “CB” or “DB” in which case they are a 4 at LCB or RCB, this is a new Strat non-optional rule;

 

2) this rule was voted 13-6 in favor, beginning in the current 2018 season:

a) Any KR who has no more than 20 yards on a roll of 6 and no more than a 39-yard gain anywhere on his card (long gain

and TD count as longer than 39 yards) may be used as a lone kick returner (LK), although if the coach chooses to do that

(announced before the season) then the player would count as two of the 53-man roster spots, and

b) Any PR who has no more than a weighted combined total of 50 yards on his card (long gain counts as 45 yards and

TD counts as 75 yards) may be used as a lone punt returner (LP), although in that case he would count as two of the

53-man roster spots, for clarification weighted combined total means take his yardage on a roll of 2 and add it to two

times his yardage on a roll of 3 and add that to three times his yardage on a roll of 4, and so on;

 

3) this rule was voted 15-5 in favor for SS/FS and 14-6 in favor for LT/RT:  beginning in the 2019 season remove the

restrictions “A coach may not switch a SS to FS and a FS to SS both in the same season” and “A coach may not

switch a LT to RT and a RT to LT both in the same season”;

 

4) there was also discussion about potentially limiting when squib kicks and go-for-block-punt strategies are allowed

but in both cases there was ultimately no support for a vote.

 

5) In addition (not a rule change, just an unwritten procedure) the league voted 12-8 to have a 1-minute break at

the end of each round of the draft and voted 14-6 in favor of not reducing to 2 the number of extra minutes for each

coach during the draft and modifying the number of minutes for each first-round pick from 2 to 3.

 

 

All earlier information and files have been moved to the SOMIFA-archive page at the following link:

 

SOMIFA League Archive