STRAT-O-MATIC INTERNET
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION SOMIFA
2006 Season Updated
9/19/2007
(changes
in 2006 season listed in red)
Welcome to the SOMIFA! The purpose of this league Constitution is to spell out as many details as possible regarding league rules and guidelines. It is a lengthy document intended to cover most any situation which could arise. There is a summary of highlights near the beginning so feel free to look at those instead of the entire document. If you have any questions about the rules or if you feel there is anything missing from or contradictory in this document please don’t hesitate to let me know.
All league members must know at the very least the bolded items in the summary below.
LEAGUE
SUMMARY
· 53-man roster plus 3 man injured reserve with up to all 56 kept from year to year; each team must have enough players at each position to have available backups
· Long-term league which will be around for many years so draft for the future!
· 10-round rookie/free-agent draft each year in reverse order of previous year’s finish
· The league will always consist of 24 teams
· Each season if there are openings new coaches will take over existing teams
· League issues such as rules or administrative changes will always be discussed in the league’s message board giving coaches an opportunity to provide opinions and often a vote
·
Each team will use the “good run defense” /
“average pass defense” draft league defensive cards in the first half of the
season and the “good run defense” / “good pass defense” cards in the second
half of the season; before the
season begins each team may choose whether a 3-4 or 4-3 defensive card will be
used and if a 4-3 card is chosen then a 3-4 formation may not be used
except under the same conditions as a 3-3-5 (see below); in playoff games the
team with the higher seed will use slightly better defensive cards than the
team with the lower seed
·
In many
cases a coach may designate before the season one or more of his players to
“switch sides” from left to right or vice-versa depending upon the
circumstances (see the Constitution below for details): positions which may be eligible for a switch
are FL-SE, LDT-RDT, LILB-RILB, LCB-RCB, LT-RT, LG-RG, LE-RE, LLB-RLB, and
FS-SS.
· Kickers and punters may be drafted only in the rookie/free-agent draft although each owned team must have exactly one of each at all times (except immediately prior to and during the draft); un-owned teams will not draft kickers or punters
· All trades will be reviewed and unethical or clearly one-sided trades (as voted on by the league’s Trade Review Committee) will not be allowed; trades by new league members especially will be carefully reviewed and approved; trades of next year rookie/free-agent draft picks are allowed as long as each team does not trade away all of its next year high draft picks (see below for details)
· The following Strat-O-Matic game options will be turned on: penalties, RB fatigue, QB end run limits, LB containment, use individualized fumble ratings, do not allow exceeding longest run, do not allow exceeding longest reception, dumpoff rule, updated sack rule, emphasize 6-rated LBs, looser substitution restrictions (see players switching positions section below for details), empty flat pass = guessed wrong, and single game injuries.
·
The
following general options should be turned on:
auto save after each play, do not allow play animation replay, do
not allow CM subs for human players, fastest possible animation speed (or no
animation)
·
The
following general option should be turned off:
“scroll play by play output text”
· There are no player usage limits except the following for QB’s and RB’s: QB’s under 50 NFL attempts may not be used except due to injury or blowout (see below for blowout details) and a QB may not be replaced during a drive
· RB’s under 50 NFL attempts may only run the ball on third or fourth down; within the defense’s 1-9 yard line; on 2nd down with 1-4 yards to go for a first down; due to an injury; or any time in overtime
· RB’s with 50-99 NFL attempts may only run the ball any time during one half (the coach must announce which half before each game), on third or fourth down or within the defense’s 1-9 yard line, on 2nd down with 1-4 yards to go for a first down; due to an injury; or any time in overtime
·
The
“show blitz” defensive formation may not be used except in the fourth quarter
or overtime; with 0:01 through 2:00 remaining in the first half; on second,
third, or fourth down; within the defense’s 1-19 yard line; or within the
offense’s 1-9 yard line – in other words, “show blitz” may be used any time
except on 1st down on the offense’s 10-80 yard line in the 1st
through 3rd quarters not including the last 2 minutes of the first
half
·
The
3-3-5 and 4-2-5 defensive formations (and also the
3-4 formation if a 4-3 defensive card is used) may
not be used except in the fourth quarter or overtime, with 0:01
through 2:00 remaining in the first half, on 3rd or 4th
down, on 1st or 2nd down and 16+ yards to go, or against any 3 or 4 WR offensive formation
·
A
superior FL or SE may not be positioned at 3rd or 4th WR
if a lesser WR of the same position (FL or SE) is positioned at FL or SE; the roster for
each particular team will define which two players may not be positioned at 3rd
or 4th WR
· Only players who are rated at BB, FB, RB, and/or HB are eligible to be positioned at BB; for example, a player who is rated only as a TE may not play the BB position (the offense may use the 1RB 2WR 2TE formation or the “Tight End” formation, however, as examples to get that second TE in the game)
·
During
the season each team must have on its roster at least one QB with at least 50
NFL attempts and either at least one RB with at least 100 NFL attempts or at
least two RB’s with at least 50 NFL attempts; there
are many other roster limits which are detailed below
· Each league member will have 4 weeks to complete a particular block of 4 scheduled games and these 4 games may be played in any order; the regular season will last 16 weeks approximately concurrent with the NFL season; while it is possible that a 4-week deadline may be extended a couple of days in extraordinary circumstances league member should make sure to play their games in time and with 4 weeks of time and no requirement that the 4 games be played in any particular order that should leave plenty of leeway
·
Poor
sportsmanship (swearing, berating, etc.) will not be tolerated
·
Games
must be fully completed, deciding not to complete a game is not acceptable
·
If
you and your opponent agree to a day and time then if you are not able to make
it as soon as you find out that you can’t make it send an e-mail to your
opponent and the Commissioner indicating this; no-showing an agreed-upon day
and time is to be avoided and if you agree to a time but there is a decent chance
that you won’t be able to make it let your opponent know this
· Commissioner will keep full stats and update the league web page at least every few days
What is expected of each league member: play 4 games within a specified 4-week
timeframe, understand and follow the rules of the league (enough so that
violations do not occur) especially in-game rules, send game results and
receive confirmation of receipt, communicate with the Commissioner any unusual
issues which arise, check e-mail every couple of days (or e-mail the
Commissioner when you can’t do this) near league deadlines (unless you have
already sent in your results for that quarter and the Commissioner has
acknowledged receipt of each) and whenever reporting a trade, and remain
courteous during games and in all league communications.
What each league member can expect from the league: game files will be processed and web page
standings will be updated almost every day with web page stats updated likely
every few days as results warrant, fair review process of all trades, fair
resolution to any disputes which may arise, full draft lists before each draft,
full roster lists, game result deadlines which will be adhered to with
exceptions only under unusual circumstances, and communication of all league
issues. (I will add to this list as I
think of more.)
THINGS TO KNOW WHILE PLAYING A LEAGUE GAME
·
QB under 50 attempts = can only play when
there is a QB injury (or blowout which is 17+ point game with 3mins to go)
·
Once a drive has begun the QB on the first
play must remain in the game throughout the entirety of the drive until the
drive or half ends or that QB is injured
·
HB, FB, or RB under 50 NFL carries = may
only run the ball
o
Any time on 3rd or 4th
down
o
On 2nd down and 1-4 yards to go
for a 1st down
o
Any time on the defense’s 1-9 yard line
o
Any time in overtime
o
Any time when a RB with 50+ carries is
injured
·
HB, FB, or RB between 50-99 NFL carries =
may only run the ball
o
Same as HB under 50 attempts plus
o
Any time during an entire half announced
by the coach before the game – if no announcement is made then it is assumed to
be the second half in which this RB is unlimited
·
Show Blitz formation may be used only at
any of these specific times
o
Any time on 2nd, 3rd,
or 4th down
o
Any time in the 4th quarter or
overtime
o
Any time with 2:00 or less remaining in
the 2nd quarter
o
Any time on the offense’s 1-9 yard line
o
Any time on the defense’s 1-19 yard line
·
3-3-5 and 4-2-5 formations may be used
only at any of these specific times
o
Any time on 3rd or 4th
down
o
Any time in the 4th quarter or
overtime
o
Any time with 2:00 or less remaining in
the 2nd quarter
o
Any time the offense has 3 or 4 WR’s in the game
o
Any time the offense has 16+ yards to go
for a first down
o
Any time the offense is goal-to-go at the
16+ yard line
·
3-4 formation may be used only at either
of these specific times
o
Same conditions as 3-3-5 and 4-2-5
formations
o
Any time if a 3-4 defensive card is being
used
·
A player may not switch during a game from
left to right (for example, LDT to RDT or SE to FL) or vice-versa unless:
o
He is rated at both positions (for example
“CB” may play LCB or RCB at will)
o
There is an injury at that position (for example,
if the FL is injured then a SE may play FL during that time)
o
If the offense is in a 0 or 1 WR formation
then the FL may play SE or vice-versa and the LCB and RCB may switch positions
·
A team’s top 2 WR’s
– designated with an asterisk next to their position on the Excel roster – may
never be positioned at 3rd or 4th WR in any formation at
any time
·
A HB may never be positioned at FB in any
formation at any time unless he is rated at FB or RB
·
A TE may never be positioned at BB at any
time unless he is rated at FB or BB
INAUGURAL SEASON
Please note the
following changes to this Constitution during the inaugural season only:
1) Trading is not
allowed. Trading will be allowed as
indicated in the Constitution beginning in season two of SSFA.
2) Whenever a
limit on QB’s is listed for 50 or fewer NFL attempts
the number during the inaugural season is instead 100 or fewer NFL
attempts. For example, each team must
have on its roster at least 1 QB with 100 or more NFL attempts (instead of the
50 listed elsewhere in this Constitution).
As another example, a QB with under 100 NFL attempts may never play in a
game unless there is a QB injury or during a blowout.
3) Regarding punt
returners, no
team may have two LP’s and one additional LP or PR – in other words, if a team
already has one LP and one PR then they may not draft another player rated at
LP; and if a team already has two LP’s then they may not draft another player
rated at LP or PR.
4) For the first rookie/free-agent draft which will occur prior to the
second season of SSFA: A lottery
involving the 5 teams with the worst record from season one will determine the
#1 pick in the following rookie/free-agent draft (to be held in very early
2009), each team will have an equal chance at the #1 spot but after that the
seeding will be in reverse order of inaugural season finish
INAUGURAL DRAFT
The inaugural draft will be mostly via e-mail and held throughout January
beginning January 5th. On 1/5
and 1/6 I will open an AIM chatroom (likely after the
first NFL playoff game for that day has completed) and those who wish to draft
live may do so or send me a list instead by the time during the day specified
prior to the draft. For each other
evening by 8:00pm Pacific Time each coach will send to me an ordered list of
players for their next pick – this list should be long enough in case many
players are taken. For example, the team
with the 19th pick should probably send me at least a dozen or 15
names (ideally 19 names). I will post
the draft results on a web page each evening.
In addition, on Saturday 1/19 and Saturday 1/26 each starting at 9:00am
Pacific Time we will have 10 rounds of the draft held live in an AIM chatroom (lasting likely near 5-6 hours each) – attendance
is not mandatory, you may send someone (who would agree to draft for you) lists
and instructions instead. If it’s a
team’s turn to pick and I do not have the name of an available player then I
will draft for that team; however, this is only in case of emergency, it is not
okay to simply not send a list of names and hope that I draft someone decent.
In the inaugural draft each team must draft:
1) both punt return slots (two PR’s or one LP)
by the end of round 42;
2) a kicker by the end of round 43;
3) a punter by the end of round 44; and
4) both kick return slots (two KR’s or one LK) by the end of round 46.
If there are no players rated at PR or KR by the appropriate round
deadline then any coach still needing a PR or KR will forfeit the pick that
round and the Commissioner will make a ruling (assigning a bad PR or KR perhaps
from another team) at the end of the draft.
In addition, no team may draft a second QB prior to round 4. The inaugural draft will be 47 rounds; the
following season rosters will expand to 53 (plus 3 on IR) as indicated in the
Constitution.
If by the end of the inaugural draft a team does not have all of its
positional requirements fulfilled – see the middle of the league’s Constitution
for details – such as having only two players rated at OT then the Commissioner
will assign a bad player and have the coach cut a player to stay at a 47 man
roster.
For the inaugural draft I will update the Draft List with a comment for
almost every player such as “started 16 games”, “12 games 3 starts”, “14 games
134/3.9” (for RB’s # carries and average per carry),
etc. That way league
members hopefully won’t be overloaded with too many names/details to
look up.
The order of each odd-numbered round of the inaugural draft will be
determined by the California Daily 3 Lottery http://www.calottery.com/Games/DailyThree/
in which each team will receive a number 000-999 based upon the schedule listed
on the league roster grid below – teams with higher numbers will draft ahead of
teams with lower numbers. The order of
each even-numbered round will be in reverse order of odd-numbered rounds. Each coach will choose a team name (the same
as the name of an NFL team as per the Constitution) with lower number teams
receiving priority. For example, if
coach Stan has 957 as his lottery number then it is likely that he will choose
very early in each odd-numbered round and very late in each even-numbered
round; also, if Stan’s choice of team name matches the choice of team name of
another league member then Stan will likely have to make another choice since
team name choices will proceed the same as the order of even-numbered rounds.
All players with a Strat-O-Matic 2006 season
card or rating are eligible to be drafted in the inaugural draft. However, there are approximately a dozen
players listed with an O on the draft list who are not eligible to be
drafted. The purpose of this is to avoid
someone joining the league with the goal of winning right away without regard
to the future of the team (and then likely leaving the league after the season)
so retired great players with great cards/ratings such as Tiki
Barber and Tarik Glenn are listed with an O and not
eligible to be drafted by anyone in the inaugural draft.
In addition, there are approximately a dozen players listed with an X on
the draft list who do not have a 2006 season card or rating but are eligible to
be drafted nonetheless. However, each
team may draft no more than 1 of these X players in the inaugural draft. The purpose of this is to avoid having a glut
of good veteran players available in the second season’s rookie/free-agent
draft which is designed to have good rookies and poor veterans.
I. LEAGUE
BASICS
There are no fees to be in this league. Each league member is responsible for playing games and sending results in a timely manner and participating in player drafts as needed. Each league member will be expected to communicate with the commissioner any issues which arise such as being away from e-mail for more than a few days (on vacation) or scheduling problems. Each league member must, of course, own the current version of the Strat-O-Matic game with the current season installed and internet access or at least have fairly regular access to a PC with the current version of the Strat-O-Matic game and internet access.
This is a very long term league and will very likely be in
existence for many years. Joining the
league and once the season starts is a commitment that you are playing the full
season at least, please do not join the league if you are unsure about whether
you will be able to complete the current season; there will be a clear
indication when the commitment begins for that season which will be just before
the season begins (which is after all drafts).
While some of the
details of various league rules and policies are open to future change based
upon Commissioner approval there are a couple of league issues which will never
change:
·
This league
will never have a salary system of any sort.
The desired result of parity will be achieved through the location of
rookie/free-agent draft picks (winning teams draft last in each round), through
the ability of each league member to manage his own team and not give up too
much in a trade, and through the trade review process in which clearly
one-sided or unethical trades (especially with new league members) will not be
allowed.
·
This
league will always have a balanced schedule in which teams play each other an
equal number of times (with probably one extra game against random opponents as
needed) and all playoff spots and seeding will be based upon record only. Consequently, there will be no conferences or
divisions except as required within the Strat-O-Matic
game and/or for aesthetics purposes only.
·
This
league will always play games via computer, no board game play will be allowed.
II. ROSTERS
The league will consist of 24 teams.
Each team will consist of no more than 53 players and up to 3 unrated and uncarded players on injured reserve at all times (up to 53+3 players are kept from one season to the next) although shortly after the rookie/free-agent draft teams will likely have more players than this and will be required to cut down to 53+3 at a specific time before the season begins. Players cut are added into the rookie/free-agent pool. After teams cut down to 53+3 (immediately after the rookie/free-agent draft) teams may pick up players from the rookie/free-agent pool (and cut an equal number of players) by submitting a list, this supplemental draft will be run with the same format and order as the rookie/free-agent draft.
In addition to its 53 man roster consisting of players both with and without cards and ratings each team may keep up to 3 players on its injured reserve IR. Only players who do not have a card or rating in the current set are eligible to be placed on IR. No player may be on IR for more than 2 consecutive seasons.
Who May Play at Each Position
|
Game Position in Strat |
Roster Positions listed on the roster spreadsheet
which may play this game position |
|
|
|
|
Quarterback |
QB |
|
Halfback |
HB, RB (Note that a pure FB may not be positioned at HB) |
|
Fullback |
FB, RB, BB (Note that a pure HB may not be positioned at FB) |
|
Running Back |
HB, FB, RB |
|
Blocking Back |
FB, BB, any HB with a 4 or greater run block rating (Note that a pure TE may not be positioned at BB) |
|
Flanker * |
FL, WR |
|
Split End * |
SE, WR |
|
3rd Wide Receiver |
FL, SE, WR (Note that the 2 best FL/SE/WR’s on a team may not be positioned at 3rd WR) |
|
4th Wide Receiver |
FL, SE, WR (Note that the 2 best FL/SE/WR’s on a team may not be positioned at 4th WR) |
|
Tight End |
TE |
|
2nd Tight End |
TE |
|
Left Tackle * |
OLT, OT |
|
Left Guard * |
OLG, OG |
|
Center |
C |
|
Right Guard * |
ORG, OG |
|
Right Tackle * |
ORT, OT |
|
|
|
|
Left End * |
LE, DE |
|
Left Defensive Tackle * |
|
|
Nose Tackle |
NT, LDT, RDT, DT |
|
Right Defensive Tackle * |
|
|
Right End * |
RE, DE |
|
Left Outside Linebacker * ** |
LLB, LOLB, OLB, LB |
|
Left Inside Linebacker * |
LILB, MLB **, ILB, LB |
|
Middle Linebacker |
MLB, LILB, RILB, ILB, LB |
|
Right Inside Linebacker * ** |
RILB, MLB **, ILB, LB |
|
Right Outside Linebacker * |
RLB, ROLB, OLB, LB |
|
Linebacker (4-1-6) |
LLB, LOLB, LILB, MLB, RILB, RLB, ROLB, OLB, ILB, LB |
|
Left Cornerback * |
LCB, CB, DB |
|
Strong Safety * |
SS, S, DB Note that a pure FS may not be positioned at SS. |
|
Right Cornerback * |
RCB, CB, DB |
|
Free Safety * |
FS, S, DB Note that a pure SS may not be positioned at FS. |
|
1st Defensive Back |
LCB, RCB, SS, FS, CB, S, DB |
|
2nd Defensive Back |
LCB, RCB, SS, FS, CB, S, DB |
* = also see Players Switching Positions below
** = teams which choose to use the 3-4 defensive cards may not use at LILB or RILB a player rated on the roster only at MLB unless announcing before the season a swap from MLB to LILB or RILB (or if there is an injury at LILB or RILB then any MLB may fill in at the vacated position); in other words, 3-4 teams simply announce before the season where their MLB(s) will be positioned LILB or RILB, the Commissioner will request this information when the 3-4 card is chosen
For the table above: 1) the first column Game Positions refers to a position listed by Strat-O-Matic within the game while 2) the second column refers to the position listed on the league’s roster sheet.
For example, if a team uses a 1RB 2TE 2WR formation who may play “RB”? Look on the table for Running Back and it lists that any player rated on the league’s roster sheet at HB, FB, or RB may play Running Back. As another example, if a team uses a 3-2-6 formation who may play “2nd DB”? Look on the table for 2nd Defensive Back and it lists that any player rated on the league’s roster sheet at LCB, RCB, SS, FS, CB, S, or DB may play 2nd Defensive Back. As a third example, who may play RE? Look on the table for Right End and it lists that any player rated on the league’s roster sheet at RE or DE may play Right End (also see Players Switching Positions below for cases when a LE may play Right End).
Note that the table above does not apply to special teams formations. When a special team formation is used (such as punt formation) then any player may be positioned at any position allowed within the game since their ratings are not called for and injuries do not occur during special teams plays.
Players Switching Positions
Players are not allowed to play “out of position” with the following comments and exceptions (these are clarifications of the who may play table above:
1) At any time without making any announcements a coach may play any CB or S at any extra DB position;
2) A player who is not rated at BB, FB, RB, or HB may not play BB;
3) A player who is not rated at FB, RB, or BB may not play FB;
4) A player who is not rated at HB or RB may not play HB;
5) A player who is not rated at HB, FB, RB, or BB may not play RB;
Immediately before the season begins each coach may designate certain players to switch positions for the entire season. These switches will be designated on the league roster and players who are switched in this manner are treated as if they are at their new position for the entire season. These switches may not be made during the game except by announcing the specific switch before the season begins.
1) Any player may make the following switch – SS to FS, FS to SS, FL to SE, SE to FL, LT to RT, RT to LT, LG to RG, RG to LG, LE to RE, RE to LE, LDT to RDT, RDT to LDT, RLB to LLB, LLB to RLB, LILB to RILB, RILB to LILB, LCB to RCB, or RCB to LCB – as long as another player on the team is not switched the other way;
2) If there is an injury then any of the swaps listed in #1 and #2 above may be made for a player in order to fill the position; as an example, if a player positioned at RCB is injured then a LCB may be used at RCB for the duration of the injury, no announcement needs to be made, and the player swapped may be different on each play;
3) When using any formation with 1 WR (FL or SE) then any player rated at FL, SE, or WR may be positioned at FL or SE without having to make any sort of prior announcement;
4) If the offense is in a formation which uses only 0 or 1 WR (Full House or 3RB 2TE) then the defense may swap its LCB and RCB without making any sort of prior announcement; for example, if the offense is in a Full House formation then the defense may play a LCB at RCB and/or a RCB at LCB
For example, if player Smith is rated at RLB his coach may designate before the season that Smith will switch to LLB for the entire season and playoffs and Smith will then not be allowed to play at RLB unless due to an injury. However, if switching Smith from RLB to LLB a coach may not also switch another player from LLB to RLB.
For clarification, during a game a coach may not move a player rated only at LG to RG, a player rated only at SE to FL, or a player rated only at SS to FS (or other such swaps). However, a coach may announce to the Commissioner before the season begins that a particular player rated only at LG will move to RG and in that case this player may play RG throughout the season and playoffs (but then he may not play LG at all except due to injury).
Each year there will be a rookie/free-agent draft consisting of all players who are not on an owned team. Un-owned teams (if any) will participate in the rookie/free-agent draft so that no matter what happens there will be 24 draft picks in each round of the draft. If a coach leaves the league then any draft picks owned by that team in the upcoming draft remain in the same position as if the coach remained in the league.
In the rookie/free-agent draft teams will draft in reverse order of their record from the previous season except that the league champion will always draft last in each round while the coach who lost the championship game will draft in each round second-to-last. The rookie/free-agent draft will proceed until all players eligible are drafted or 10 rounds, whichever comes first. All players in the rookie/free-agent pool who are not drafted will remain in the pool.
Teams participating in a mini-playoff game but not a playoff game (see playoffs section below) will not be considered as playoff teams for draft positioning. Ties for draft positioning will be broken in the same manner as playoff tie-breakers with playoff and mini-playoff games counting towards tie-breakers; for example, if team A is tied with team B (and no other teams) and team A won the only matchup between the two teams then team B’s draft positioning will be ahead of team A. Non-playoff teams which were tied reverse their order of drafting in even-numbered rounds so in the previous example team A will draft ahead of team B in even-numbered rounds.
Immediately after the
rookie/free-agent draft each team will cut down to 53+3 players with those cuts
being added into the rookie/free-agent pool.
Very shortly after cuts are made a supplemental draft will be held with
the same format and order as the rookie/free-agent draft. This draft will be held by the Commissioner
using lists submitted by each coach who wants to participate. Each team must cut one player for each player
picked up in the supplemental draft with each cut being added into the
rookie/free-agent pool. After the
supplemental draft the rookie/free-agent pool will be “locked” until next
season. Supplemental draft picks may be
traded just as rookie/free-agent draft picks may be traded.
All un-owned teams (if any) will use in all drafts an ordered draft list created by the Commissioner (with advice from various sources) and consisting of all players eligible for that draft. This list will be available before each draft for everyone to see. Un-owned teams need not fill out all roster positions and will simply draft the highest-ranked player still available on the list.
Players who are not rated by Strat-O-Matic
with either a card or rating are not eligible to be drafted in the
rookie/free-agent draft although they may be kept on a team if the coach
chooses (and they will count towards the 53+3 player limit but will not count towards specific position roster limits).
If a league member is unable to attend a draft then that league member
may send a detailed list with instructions for the Commissioner to use or he
may designate someone not in the league to execute his draft picks.
Each team will use the “good run defense / average pass defense” draft league defensive cards in the first half of the season and the “good run defense / good pass defense” cards in the second half of the season. A few days before the season begins each team will choose whether to use 4-3 or 3-4 defensive cards and that choice will remain for their team throughout the season and playoffs. See the Playoffs section for defensive cards during the post-season.
Teams which choose to use the 3-4 defensive cards must announce prior to
the season for any player(s) rated only at MLB whether that MLB will be
eligible to play at LILB or RILB (but not both). These MLB’s will
still be able to play MLB but this prevents a 3-4 team from swapping MLB’s left/right in a 3-4 formation during the season.
Each season the Commissioner will designate a current season NFL team’s penalty card to be used by all teams in the league. This penalty card will be the penalty card of the current season with the least chance for a penalty.
Each team will use the same QB/receiver fumble card which will be chosen
by the Commissioner as an NFL team’s QB/receiver fumble card with a rating of
2.
Kickers and punters will be treated the same as all other players with
the following exceptions. Each owned
team must have one and only one Strat-O-Matic carded
kicker and one and only one Strat-O-Matic carded
punter at all times with the exception of immediately before and during the
first few rounds of the draft. If at any
time a team has more than one carded kicker or more than one carded punter (for
example, as soon as the new card set is released) then that team must up to a
few days before the rookie/free-agent draft trade or cut until having exactly
one of each and kickers and punters cut in this manner will be added into the
upcoming rookie/free-agent draft. Also,
if a team would like to draft a kicker or punter but already has one with a
card on his roster then as soon as he drafts a second kicker or punter he must
immediately cut a kicker or punter to fulfill the requirement of one at each
position; kickers and punters cut in this manner
will be immediately added into the rookie/free-agent pool and available to be
drafted.
If a player is rated at more than one position which includes kicker
and/or punter then if his coach chooses to never use him at kicker or punter
for the entire season that player would then not count as that position for
roster limit purposes.
If a team does not have a carded kicker then with his last draft pick
before the end of the 5th round he must take one of the available
kickers. Un-owned teams do not draft
kickers.
If a team does not have a carded punter then with his last draft pick
before the end of the 6th round he must take one of the available
punters. Un-owned teams do not draft
punters.
For example, if a team has a kicker but would like a different kicker
then before the end of the 5th round he may draft another kicker and
then immediately cut a kicker; the kicker who was cut may be drafted by anyone
prior to the end of the 5th round.
A kicker’s card includes the team’s kicking card where he is listed by Strat-O-Matic as the kicker and will also include that
team’s kickoff card and kick return coverage card. A punter’s card includes the team’s punting
card where he is listed by Strat-O-Matic as the
punter and will also include that team’s punt return coverage card.
Punt returners who
a) had fewer than 15 total attempts (including punt returns and fair catches)
the previous NFL season, b) are designated by Strat
as a #2 punt returner on the card, and c) have a
"card average" of 5.0 or more may never be used in SSFA as a #1 punt returner (but they may be used as a #2 punt returner) -- "card average" is determined by
adding up all of the yardage (weighted by location on the card), with a TD counting as 75, and dividing by 36. The
purpose of this is to prevent a low
usage PR with a very good card (often a low usage #2 PR's card is a combo from
stats of other players) from being a dominant player way above their NFL value.
Each owned team must have as the season begins and all throughout the
season at least the following roster positions filled by players eligible to
play the position with a card or rating.
A player who has switched positions (see Players Switching Positions)
counts as the position he switched to and not the original position; for
example, if a coach switches a player from RLB to LLB then that player counts
only as a LLB and not a RLB. A player
may fulfill multiple roster requirements as long as he is eligible to play each
of those positions:
Offense
·
At
least 21 players overall
·
2 QB’s (no team may have more than 3 QB’s
with cards except noted below)
·
2 HB’s
·
1 BB
(any HB, FB, or BB who is rated a 4 or better)
·
2 FB’s (including BB’s who the
computer game allows to be positioned at FB)
·
4 total
RB’s (including HB’s and FB’s)
·
1 FL
·
1 SE
·
4 total
WR’s (including FL’s and SE’s)
·
2 TE’s
·
2 C’s
·
1 OLG’s
·
1 ORG’s
·
3 OG
(including OLG’s and ORG’s)
·
1 OLT’s
·
1 ORT’s
·
3 OT’s
(including OLT’s and ORT’s)
·
8 total
OL’s (including C’s, OG’s,
and OT’s)
Defense
·
At
least 19 players overall
·
1 LDT
(including NT’s)
·
1 RDT
(including NT’s)
·
3 DT’s
(including LDT’s, RDT’s,
and NT’s)
·
1 LDE
·
1 RDE
·
3 DE’s
(including LDE’s and RDE’s)
·
6 total
DL’s (including DT’s and DE’s)
·
3 MLB’s (including ILB’s, LILB’s, and RILB’s)
·
1 LLB
(including LOLB’s and OLB’s)
·
1 RLB
(including ROLB’s and OLB’s)
·
3 OLB’s (including LLB’s and RLB’s)
·
6 total
LB’s (including MLB’s and OLB’s)
·
1 LCB
·
1 RCB
·
3 CB’s
(including LCB’s and RCB’s)
·
2 SS’s
·
2 FS’s
·
7 total
DB’s (including CB’s and S’s)
Special Teams
·
2 PR’s
or 1 LP “lone PR” (no team may have more than 3 PR’s/LP’s except noted below)
·
2 KR’s or 1 LK “lone KR” (no team may have more than 3 KR’s/LK’s except noted below)
·
1 P (no
team may have more than 1 P at any time)
·
1 K (no
team may have more than 1 K at any time)
A “lone PR” designated on the roster LP is defined as any player rated at PR who is the only player on a Strat-O-Matic team with a PR card while a “lone KR” designated on the roster LK is defined as any player rated at KR who is the only player on a Strat-O-Matic team with a KR card. Any LP or LK may be designated on the team as the only PR or KR for that team while any PR or KR who is not a lone PR or KR may not be designated as the only PR or KR for that team. This is handled in the default depth charts so there is no need to take care of this for your team unless you want to. Minor note: each team which will be using a lone PR must have on its roster a player rated at “DB” in order to fill the depth charts.
During the season each team must have on its roster at least one QB with
at least 50 NFL attempts and either at least one RB with at least 100 NFL
attempts or at least two RB’s with at least 50 NFL
attempts.
No team may have more than 3 QB’s with cards
except during and immediately after the rookie/free-agent draft until the cut
deadline after which time each team must have exactly 2 or 3 QB’s with cards. If
any team has more than 3 QB’s with cards (not
including during and immediately after the rookie/free-agent draft) – for
example, just after the card set is released -- then that team must trade or
cut down to 3 carded QB’s three days before the
rookie/free-agent draft and QB’s who have been cut
will be immediately added into the rookie/free-agent pool.
No team may have
more than 3 PR’s with cards or 3 KR’s with cards
except during and immediately after the rookie/free-agent draft until the cut
deadline after which time each team must have no more than 3 of each with
cards. If any team has more than 3 PR’s
or KR’s with cards – for example, just after the card
set is released -- then that team must trade or cut down to 3 carded PR’s or KR’s three days before the rookie/free-agent draft and PR’s
and KR’s who have been cut will be immediately added
into the rookie/free-agent pool.
In some cases a
team’s starter at one position will serve as the depth chart backup at another
position but the Strat game does not handle injuries
well in this situation. Therefore, teams
will be assigned in their rosters within the game (but not in their official
rosters) 0-0 rated backups as necessary in order to have a non-starter listed
as a backup for each position. These 0-0 rated players will not be considered to be on the
team’s roster but may appear in games.
Most teams will not need these extra players assigned but they will be
assigned by the Commissioner if needed.
Each team must be named the same as an NFL
team from the current season. Once a
team name is chosen (just after the inaugural or expansion draft) then it
cannot be changed unless that NFL team moves cities. For example, if the Indianapolis Colts is
chosen and then for the 2005 NFL season the team moves to Los Angeles to become
the California Stars then when the league is using the 2005 season cards (in
2006) the SOMIFA team who was named the Indianapolis Colts must choose a
different NFL team as its name or have California Stars as its name. Duplicate names are not allowed and if
multiple teams enter the league at the same time and want the same team name
then it is decided by random dice rolls.
However, each coach may change his team’s name once (and no
more than once) during his career. If
any team name becomes available (via an event which will be posted on the
league’s web page) then up until 3 days other coaches (who have not used their
one career team name change) may apply for the new team name and for all of the
coaches requesting it the one who has been in the league the longest will get
the team name with ties broken by a random method. After the 3 days then the team name is
available to the first coach who requests it.
If a team loses its coach before or after a season then up until 3 days
after a new coach takes over the team that team name becomes available to any
other coach who requests it; after the 3 days if no-one has claimed the team
name then the new coach taking over the team may retain the team name or choose
a different one; if the team name is claimed by another coach then the new
coach must choose a different team name.
If a team loses its coach during a season then he retains that team name
unless and until he decides to change the team name in the future. In no case may a team name be changed during
a season.
Each coach
participating in a trade must send an e-mail directly to the Commissioner
announcing the exact terms of the trade.
After the cut deadline which is shortly after the rookie/free-agent
draft each team involved in a trade must be receiving the same number of
players as they are giving up. Trades
for draft picks may only include the current and/or next season’s rookie/free-agent draft.
Each team must
have at all times at least either one first round draft pick, two second round
draft picks, or a second and a third round draft pick for next season’s
rookie/free-agent draft.
A few days before
the season begins on a date announced by the Commissioner no trades may be made
or agreed to until next preseason which is a date announced by the Commissioner
near when Strat ships the cards.
The trade review committee (TRC) is comprised of volunteers with anyone
who has been in the league for at least one year and agrees with the basic
philosophies of the TRC being eligible.
TRC volunteers should be aware that they will be presented with
difficult decisions and should have a philosophy consistent with the questionable
trade guidelines outlined below. The
purpose of the TRC is to make the trade review process as fair as possible and
to make the process a group decision so that no one person is blamed for a
decision which someone may disagree with.
All trades are reported by each participating party directly to the
Commissioner. Any trade review process
and vote will not include anyone directly participating in the deal.
1) Trades involving at least one new league member: all trades will immediately go to the TRC for
a discussion (if desired) and a vote (all participants
in the trade will be notified of this), the vote's result will become
official no less than 3 days after the Commissioner has acknowledged receipt of
the trade from all participating parties (although the
resolution time is often much less than 3 days with 1 day being the average);
if the vote is that the deal violates league guidelines (i.e. the deal is
disallowed) then the Commissioner will summarize the TRC's
general opinions in an e-mail to the trade participants (with cc to the TRC);
the TRC discussion will be confidential among the TRC but the vote and majority opinion summary will be published on the
web page.
Additional clarification:
teams coached by new league members will be protected by the TRC more
than other teams to avoid new league members from being taken advantage of
either intentionally or unintentionally.
The intent is not at issue here, the fairness of the trade is what
counts the most; too often new coaches will enter a league, make poor choices
in trades (either due to not knowing much about the league or in some cases not
caring much about the league), and then quit the league leaving the league in a
bad spot with a poorly managed team. The
purpose of protecting teams coached by new league members is to avoid this
situation.
2) Trades involving no new league members:
all trades become official once the Commissioner acknowledges receipt of
the trade from all participating parties; the Commissioner will immediately post the trade on the web page which the TRC will check every
day and if anyone on the TRC believes that the trade violates league
guidelines then they may call for an immediate vote at which time the trade is
automatically put on hold and all participants in the
trade will be notified that a vote will occur, the TRC would then vote
within the 3 day timeframe with the same procedures as #1; if no-one on the EC
calls for a vote of the deal within 3 days then the deal will not be disallowed
(unless a special circumstance occurs such as if it turns out that the deal was
illegal).
Examples of questionable trades:
a) A coach
knowing or even suspecting that he is in his last year in the league trades
away an inordinate amount of future value (young players and/or draft picks) in
a trade for present value veteran players and the trade is deemed imbalanced
overall from the perspective of a hypothetical coach who would be staying in
the league for years;
b) A coach who
becomes disenchanted with the league and no longer takes it seriously makes an
imbalanced trade;
c) A coach who
takes advantage of a new player by ripping him off in a trade, the ripoff may even be slight and unintentional and yet still
be a deal which clearly disadvantages the team of the new player;
d) Any trade in
which one team involved in the trade benefits much more than another team
involved in the trade due to the second team hurting his own team intentionally
or unintentionally.
The above examples are not all-inclusive; other possibilities
exist. It is left to the judgment of the
TRC to determine what is questionable.
It is strongly desired that the situation in which a team gains success
by making trades which at the time fairly clearly disadvantages other teams
does not occur as the league becomes a lot less fun when teams get stronger due
to unfair trades.
When a trade is reported to the Commissioner if he believes at
first glance that the TRC may have a problem with the trade then he will e-mail
the coach who appears to be getting the short end of an apparently clearly
one-sided trade (and he will notify the other participant(s)) of his specific
concerns regarding the trade and allow that coach to either offer whatever
explanation he wants the TRC to consider in their vote or to decide against proceeding
with the deal. As an example let’s say
that coach A is new to the league and agrees to a trade with coach B but the
Commissioner believes at first glance that the trade appears to be clearly
one-sided in favor of coach B. The
Commissioner e-mails coach A of his specific concerns regarding the trade and
e-mails coach B that there is a potential issue (so that coach B will be aware
that there is a slight delay in the trade resolution). Coach A may then decide against proceeding
with the trade or he may explain his reasoning for the trade to the
Commissioner at which time the Commissioner would forward that explanation to
the TRC who would then vote.
Trades may only consist of exact and spelled-out combinations of players and/or draft choices. No money or unspecified exchanges for trade value (for example, “future considerations”) may take place; however, a future consideration may be involved in a trade if it is exactly defined (including any conditions) in the trade. Only draft choices of the next beginning (and/or currently in process) rookie/free-agent draft are eligible to be traded. Trades may not include any player rentals; for example, a trade in which coach A trades player Smith to coach B with a condition that in the future player Smith is traded back to coach A is not allowed.
III. GAMEPLAY
All games will be played online based upon schedules posted by the
Commissioner (generally 4 games per 4 week period).
Before the season begins the Commissioner will send league files so that
optionally the league will be created on each league member’s computer. Before each quarter of the season the
Commissioner will send out pregame files to
facilitate the ability to play games. Each
league member will have four weeks to play a particular block of four games in
any order they choose.
Each league member must play his own games. However, if a league member would like
someone who is not in the league to play a particular game then he may e-mail
beforehand both his opponent and the Commissioner and the Commissioner will likely
approve the swap. If a league member
would like to set up a situation in which his team is shared among others then
that is okay as long as before each game the opponent and the Commissioner is
notified (and the Commissioner acknowledges) who will be playing the game. In no case will anyone who is in the league
either on a full-time or shared basis be allowed to play games for a different
team unless specifically approved by the Commissioner (who will likely not
approve this unless very pressed for a deadline). If a team is suddenly without a coach then
the Commissioner will find someone to play the game and will make sure that the
replacement coach has a strong interest in winning the game (i.e. if it turns
out that it needs to be another league member then it will not be someone with
any interest whatsoever in having the team he’s taking over lose the game).
The following Strat-O-Matic game options will
be used: injuries, penalties, RB
fatigue, QB end run limits, linebacker run containment, use individualized
fumble ratings, cannot exceed longest run, cannot exceed longest reception,
updated sack rule, dumpoff, emphasize 6 LB, open flat
= wrong, variable field goal rule, and single
game injuries. Everyone should make sure
that they have the save after each play option turned on. Also, unless both coaches agree otherwise
each coach must turn animation either off or to the fastest possible level as
otherwise the game proceeds too slowly for many people.
The following general options should be turned on: auto save after each play, do not allow play
animation replay, do not allow CM subs for human players (unless you are
careful not to allow this to cause you to violate rules), fastest possible animation speed (or no
animation). The “scroll play by play
output text” option must be turned off to avoid a game crash (and also
slowness) associated with this.
If a game becomes disconnected then the game automatically saved after
the last play should be loaded and play should continue
or, better yet, if the game appears to be stuck or disconnected then manually
save the game and load that save.
If there are any game protests for some reason then the game should be
manually saved (if the protest occurs during a game and it may impact the rest
of the game) and the Commissioner should be notified; the Commissioner, after
reading the opinions of those involved in the protest, may apply a ruling (if
the ruling is fairly obvious) or he may put the issue to a league-wide vote but
in any case the issue will be resolved fairly quickly (within days); the
Commissioner’s ruling on these issues is final.
If a coach frequently disconnects after a big play goes against him (and
when re-connecting the play has been nullified) then if the league determines
that this (or any other unethical behavior) is on purpose then he may be
expelled from the league as cheating of any sort will not be tolerated.
During the regular season a person may watch (via spectator
mode) any game if and only if both coaches of the game agree to allow that
person to watch. See Playoffs section
below, however, for the policy during the playoffs. Spectators should never talk strategy during
the game even if asked by one of the participants.
Coaches may not be abusive or rude in any way to other coaches and may
not exhibit poor sportsmanship. This
includes but is not limited to swearing, berating, constant complaining,
delaying the game by purposefully taking extra time to call plays,
intentionally disadvantaging one’s own team’s chance of winning the current
game for the purposes of increasing draft position or to just end the game
without even trying to catch up at all, etc.
If any of this sort of thing occurs then it should be reported to the
Commissioner either via cut-and-paste of the game screen with the objectionable
chat, sending the game log file if the chat occurred in the game screen, or
simply letting the Commissioner know. In
general if the Commissioner agrees that the behavior is inappropriate (and
believes that he understands the facts of the case) then he will likely issue a
warning and if the problem persists then that coach may be expelled from the
league. If the behavior is borderline
the Commissioner may not say anything to the coach and wait until receiving a
second complaint before issuing a warning.
This issue will be handled on a case-by-case basis and generally the
Commissioner will solicit advice from other league members in most cases (and
certainly if a league member will possibly be dismissed).
If you and your opponent agree to a day and time then if you are not able
to make it as soon as you find out that you can’t make it send an e-mail to
your opponent and the Commissioner indicating this; no-showing an agreed-upon
day and time is to be avoided and if you agree to a time but there is a decent
chance that you won’t be able to make it let your opponent know this.
QB’s with fewer than 50 NFL attempts that season may not appear in a game
unless another QB on the team is injured or in the last 3 minutes of a game in which
the score is not within 16 points either way.
For example, with 3:00 or less remaining in the game if the score is
35-18 then it is permissible to use a QB with under 50 NFL attempts. If a QB with fewer than 50 NFL attempts
legally enters a game then he is eligible to play during the rest of that game.
Once a drive has begun then the QB on the first play must
remain in the game until the drive or half ends or that QB is injured. A drive is considered to end when any of the
following occurs: punt (though not a
fake punt), field goal attempt (though not a fake field goal), fumble recovered
by the defense, touchdown, interception, safety, and unsuccessful conversion
attempt on 4th down (although if a play involving any of these is
overturned by a penalty then the drive has still not ended).
Players positioned at HB, FB, or RB with fewer than 50 NFL rushing
attempts that season may not run the ball except on third and fourth downs, at
the defense’s 1-9 yard line, on 2nd down with 1-4 yards to go for a
first down, in overtime, or if another RB (one with 50 or more NFL attempts) on
the team is injured. Players positioned
at HB, FB, or RB with fewer than 100 NFL rushing attempts that season may not
run the ball in either the first or second half (as announced by the coach
immediately prior to the game within the game screen) except on third or fourth
downs, at the defense’s 1-9 yard line, on 2nd down with 1-4 yards to
go for a first down, in overtime, or if another RB (one with 50 or more NFL
attempts) on the team is injured.
The “show blitz” formation is allowed at any time except first down
within the 10-80 yard line (where the “80” yard line is at the defense’s 20
yard line) – in other words, it is not allowed on most first downs (except near
either goal line) but it is allowed on all other downs. In addition, “show blitz” is allowed any time
in the last 2:00 minutes of the first half and any time in the fourth quarter
or overtime.
The 3-3-5 and 4-2-5 defensive formations may
not be used except in the fourth quarter or overtime, on third or fourth down,
with 0:01 through 2:00 remaining in the first half, against a 3 or 4 WR
offensive formation, when the offense has 16+ yards to go for a first down, or
when the offense has goal-to-go at the 16+ yard line.
For teams using a 4-3 defensive card use of the 3-4 formation is
restricted in the same way as the 3-3-5 formation above.
A superior FL or SE may not play 3rd or 4th WR if
a lesser WR of the same position (FL or SE) is positioned at FL or SE. On each year’s roster there will be a
notation indicating which are the superior FL’s and SE’s on each team for the
purposes of this rule and the default depth charts for 3 and 4 WR formations
will be set by the Commissioner following this rule. Superior in this case refers to the sum of
the numeric ratings reflecting each receiver’s flat/short/long columns (these
ratings are listed on the roster) so that 6-5-3 is superior to 4-4-5; in the
case of a tie the receiver with the higher NFL average per catch is considered
superior or if that does not break the tie then there is no restriction in this
case.
Only players who are rated at BB, FB, RB, and/or HB are eligible to be
positioned at BB; a player who is rated only as a TE may not play the BB
position (the offense may use the 1RB 2WR 2TE formation, however, as an example
to get that second TE in the game). Also
see the section on “Players Switching Positions” above.
A team’s kick return lineup must have two kick returners
indicated unless there is a “lone kick returner”
(designated as LK on the roster, see roster limits section for details) as the
sole kick returner.
Default depth charts will take care of this so this paragraph refers
only to those who manually adjust depth charts.
A team’s punt return lineup must have two punt returners
unless the player listed at first punt returner is a
“lone punt returner” (designated as LP on the roster,
see roster limites section for details). Default depth charts will take care of this so
this paragraph refers only to those who manually adjust depth charts.
If a coach violates one of these rules during a game then his opponent
should immediately – before clicking to choose his formation or play -- type in
the chat area the words “not allowed” (so that this phrase will appear in the
log file for the Commissioner to review, if needed) followed by a brief
description of what was done wrong and then should wait for an affirmative
response before proceeding. The coach
committing the violation must then call a timeout before the actual play call
so that the mistake does not actually occur in the game. If for whatever reason a timeout cannot be
called (as examples: if the problem
wasn’t noticed until too late, if the violating coach has no timeouts and the
opponent doesn’t want to call a timeout, if the violation involved a RB running
on a play in which he should not have been allowed to run the ball, or if the
violating coach does not agree that a violation is occurring) then play should
continue and after the game at least one of the coaches should send an e-mail
to the Commissioner and to his opponent with the game’s log file attached (the
log file contains the chat log) and a brief explanation of what happened (and
the other coach should also send a brief explanation). If for some reason the coach against whom a
rule was violated specifically does not want to report the incident then he is
not obligated to report it. A coach who
repeatedly violates the rules will be penalized or worse, though one or two
occurrences will not initiate a penalty other than perhaps a warning.
If despite communicating a violation the opponent does not receive a
chat acknowledgment that a violation is in the process of occurring then play
should proceed (and the log file sent to the Commissioner after that
game). If, however, another
unacknowledged violation occurs then that play should proceed but after that
play the game should be saved by the home coach and the Commissioner contacted
by both coaches; also, at least one of the coaches should send the log file to
the Commissioner. The Commissioner will
listen to both sides of the story, looking at the log file for any info, and
make a ruling so that the game can proceed from the saved game spot. If the two coaches disagree on the facts then
there’s not much which can be done other than to play the rest of the game with
both coaches noting any continued perceived violations; however, lying to the
Commissioner is considered cheating and will not be tolerated. It is not expected that anything of this sort
will occur but it is listed in this document just in case.
In any case, if you see a violation by your opponent then communicate it
and if it repeats and the coach does not seem willing to acknowledge the mistake
(and stop it from then on) then save the game and contact the Commissioner
before proceeding.
Examples:
1)
Coach A
sees that coach B is playing 3-3-5 at an illegal time: coach A should say “you are playing 3-3-5 but
it is not legal here”; coach B should say “sorry, I will call timeout”; coach A
should click his play; coach B should call timeout – no further action needed.
2)
Coach A
sees that coach B’s only RB’s in the game on 1st
down are not eligible to run the ball:
coach A should say “fyi your RB’s aren’t eligible to run”; coach B should say either
“thanks, I will call timeout” (and then he should call timeout) or “that’s
okay, thanks anyway” – if a violation does not actually occur then no further
action needed.
3)
Coach A
sees that coach B ran the ball with a player not eligible to run: coach A should say “he was not eligible to
run that play”; coach B should say “sorry”; if this happens a second time then
the same thing should occur; if this happens a third time then up to the
discretion of coach A both coaches should save and stop the game to be picked
up after getting the Commissioner involved – in any case coach A should notify
the Commissioner of the violation(s).
4)
Coach A
sees that coach B has an illegal WR set at 3rd or 4th WR
but it’s too late to call a timeout:
coach A should say “I didn’t see it earlier but you aren’t allowed to
have that WR at 3rd or 4th WR”; coach B should
(double-check the roster if needed and) say “you’re right, sorry about that” –
no further action needed; however, if this issue repeats then coach A should
notify the Commissioner after the game.
5)
Coach B
is rude to coach A: coach A may handle
this as he sees fit as long as he is within the boundaries of good
sportsmanship and ethics – after the game coach A should notify the
Commissioner with game logs or screen shots if available.
In addition, a coach may not remove the backups listed in his team’s
depth chart in order to remove the chance for an injury to occur. If an injury roll comes up in the game but no
injury occurs because there is no backup listed (due to a coach manipulating
his team’s depth chart) then this will be indicated in the show board game
details and the game log which should be sent by the opposing team to the
Commissioner who will investigate to see if the coach was in violation of this
rule (which would amount to cheating).
IV. PLAYOFFS
The teams with the best records will make the playoffs. One fewer than half (rounded down) of owned
teams in the league will make the playoffs.
However, any team which did not win more games than it lost will be
disqualified from the playoffs which may lower the number of teams
participating in the playoffs.
Playoff seeding
is determined by the number of wins with a tie counting as 4/10 of a win. The following format will be used based upon
the number of teams making the playoffs (seeding is indicated with the team
with the most wins earning the #1 seed and so on; semi-colons separate the
playoff rounds):
·
4
teams: #1 vs
#4 and #2 vs #3; the winners of the first round play
each other for the championship
·
5
teams: #4 vs
#5; the winner of the first round vs #1 and #2 vs #3; the winners of the second round play each other for
the championship
·
6
teams: #3 vs
#6 and #4 vs #5; the lowest-ranked winner in the
first round vs #1 and the highest-ranked winner in
the first round vs #2; the winners of the second
round play each other for the championship
·
7
teams: #2 vs
#7, #3 vs #6, and #4 vs #5;
the lowest-ranked winner in the first round vs #1 and
the other two winning teams vs each other; the
winners of the second round play each other for the championship
·
8
teams: #1 vs
#8, #2 vs #7, #3 vs #6, and
#4 vs #5; the highest-ranked winner in the first
round vs the lowest-ranked winner in the first-round
and the other two winning teams vs each other; the
winners of the second round play each other for the championship
·
9
teams: #8 vs
#9; same as 8 team format with the winner of the first round taking the #8 spot
above
·
10
teams: #7 vs
#10 and #8 vs #9; same as 8 team format with the
highest-ranked winner of the first round taking the #7 spot above and the
lowest-ranked winner of the first round taking the #8 spot above
·
11
teams: #6 vs
#11, #7 vs #10, and #8 vs
#9; same as 8 team format with the highest-ranked winner of the first round
taking the #6 spot above, the second-highest-ranked winner of the first round
taking the #7 spot above, and the lowest-ranked winner of the first round
taking the #8 spot above
Ties for playoff seeding will be broken in the following order:
1.
Head-to-head
winning percentage against all teams tied
2.
Strength
of schedule of tied teams – add up the wins and losses of each opponent
(doubling the numbers if playing a team twice) and calculate winning
percentage; teams facing a higher winning percentage win this tie-breaker
3.
Random
die roll
However, no team will make or be denied the playoffs due to a
tie-breaker and if there is a tie for the last playoff spot(s) then a
mini-playoff will occur before the playoffs begin. Seeding in the mini-playoff will use the same
tie-breaking procedures as above.
If 2 teams are tied for the last playoff spot then they play each other
with the winner making the playoffs.
If 3 teams are tied for the last playoff spot then the second highest
seed will play the lowest seed and the winner of that game will play the
highest seed with the winner of that game making the playoffs. If 3 teams are tied for the last 2 playoff
spots then the highest seed will play the second highest seed and the loser of
that game will play the lowest seed and the loser of that game will miss the
playoffs.
If 4 teams are tied for the last playoff spot then use the 4 team
playoff chart above to determine the winner of the mini-playoff. If 4 teams are tied for the last two playoff
spots then #1 vs #4 and #2 vs
#3 with both winners making the playoffs.
If 4 teams are tied for the last 3 playoff spots then #1 vs #4 and #2 vs #3 with the
losers playing each other and the loser of that will miss the playoffs.
Playoff and mini-playoff games will be played with the same rules as
regular season games. Playoff and
mini-playoff games will not count in regular season stats.
Each playoff and mini-playoff game should occur within no more than a
two-week timeframe with hopefully only a one-week timeframe and the
Commissioner should be kept informed regarding all playoff and mini-playoff
scheduling issues (for example, if a game is scheduled for a particular day or
time).
During the
playoffs (but not the mini-playoffs) the team with the higher seed will use the
good run defense / good pass defense card (4-3 or 3-4, same as during the
regular season) while the team with the lower seed will use the good run
defense / average pass defense card (4-3 or 3-4, same as during the regular
season).
During
the playoffs (but not the mini-playoffs) if any member of the league wants to
watch a game (via spectator mode) then the game’s participants should make
reasonable accommodations to allow it.
Reasonable accommodations do not include making any sort of
modifications in scheduling the game, attempting reloads to allow the spectator
to watch, or any other action which would significantly inconvenience or delay
the game. Reasonable accommodations include
communicating the time of the game to a member of the league expressing a
desire to watch the game, allowing the spectator into the room in the game
lobby (if he is present on time) so that he may watch the game, and
communicating the ip address to allow the member of
the league to watch the game. Spectators
should never talk strategy during the game even if asked by one of the
participants. If a person not in the
league wants to watch a playoff game then that should be allowed only if both
participants agree.
V. INAUGURAL DRAFT – Information for historical
purposes only
This section details the procedures used for the inaugural draft for the 2002 season and will likely outline the procedures used for most expansion drafts.
The inaugural draft will be held on two consecutive Saturdays – August 30th and September 6th each beginning at 8:00am Pacific Time – mostly before the NFL season begins and will be conducted live via internet chat room to be announced. All participants must be present in the chat room (or if there are severe technical difficulties participants may use AOL IM to message the Commissioner live during the draft while checking for live draft updates on a web page but the IM option is to be used only as a last resort). However, it is acceptable for a league member to participate in the draft via detailed lists sent to the Commissioner at any time. It is also acceptable for a league member to designate someone else to participate in the draft for his team as long as that other person is not another league member and is not participating in the draft for another team. Only players who have cards or ratings on Strat-O-Matic’s 2002 season disk will be eligible to be drafted.
If the Commissioner or someone else is using a list sent to him by a league member and a draft mistake is made then regardless of whose fault it is the mistake will stand unless a correction can be made which does not impact other league members; for example, if the Commissioner misreads someone’s list and accidentally drafts Smith instead of Jones then unfortunately the pick of Smith will stand unless Jones was taken by an un-owned team later in the draft in which case Jones could be substituted for Smith. While the Commissioner does have some latitude here a decision on any issue of this sort will likely be whatever does not impact other league members directly.
There will be no more than 16 participants in the inaugural draft with the remainder of the 24 teams (called “un-owned teams”) drafted by the Commissioner with the use of a specifically ordered draft list created beforehand by the Commissioner (with possible advice from others). This list will be available for everyone to see and league members who are not able to participate in a particular part of the draft may use it to prepare their detailed draft list if they wish. The list will focus on players who have future value and will consider player age, NFL team status, and strength of player card or rating as well as other similar factors. Un-owned teams will draft at the end of each round and will simply draft the highest player on the list regardless of position (except for QB, see below); these teams will make sure after pick 26 to have drafted exactly two or three QB’s. Un-owned teams will not draft kickers or punters so kickers and punters will not be on the draft list; also, un-owned teams need not draft punt or kick returners or any other specific positions other than QB although they will be limited to the same maximums on QB’s as all other teams.
The inaugural draft will last for a total of 28 rounds – 26 individual players, 1 team defense, and 1 pre-set group of backups. The Commissioner has posted a detailed spreadsheet containing all eligible players (all players listed on Strat-O-Matic cards or ratings for the 2002 season). After the live portion of the draft the Commissioner will include at least 24 groupings each containing 21 backup players with the intention of setting each of these groupings as approximately equal in draft value.
Between the two live portions of the draft each league member will via e-mail draft 1 team defense (including defensive run and pass cards and penalty card) to be used for only the current season. Only 4-3 defensive cards are eligible to be drafted and before this draft the Commissioner will eliminate the top five 4-3 defensive cards from this draft. Un-owned teams will not participate in this draft.
On the first live Saturday chat room draft each team will draft 13 players at any positions. No team may draft a second QB before the fourth round but other than this there are no restrictions beyond the general restrictions on rosters (no team may have more than 3 QB’s).
On the second live Saturday chat room draft each team will draft 13 more players at any positions as a continuation of the previous Saturday’s draft.
During the live drafts each participant has no more than 2 minutes to make their pick after the previous team made its pick. If the 2 minutes expire then the Commissioner will assign the highest player on the draft list (at a position which that team doesn’t have yet if it’s the first 20 rounds of the draft) to that team. Participants should be actively preparing for their next pick at all times with contingencies for if the players they want are gone so that they may make their pick within the 2 minutes. Trades of inaugural draft picks are not allowed through trades may be agreed to after a pick. The Commissioner may or may not announce a 5-10 minute break during the draft as needed. It is anticipated that each Saturday draft will last approximately 3-7 hours (depending upon how many people will be drafting live) and as indicated above it is acceptable at any time for a participant to leave and submit a list for his next pick(s) or even for that entire portion of the draft.
Since the Commissioner will be a participant in the draft he will not look at any league member’s draft lists sent to him until he has no picks before the list’s next pick. Consequently, lists should clearly indicate draft instructions with hopefully no room for subjective interpretation. Lists may be detailed and have various conditions as long as these are presented in a clear and logical manner and if requested the Commissioner will offer advice before the drafts on how this may be accomplished and will agree to preview sample draft lists if that would be helpful.
At the end of the draft each team will have 47 players plus a defense/penalty card. Each owned team must draft exactly one kicker and exactly one punter in the live 26-player portion of the draft. The backup player groupings will each include at least one RB, at least one TE, at least one WR, at least three OL’s, at least two DL’s, at least two LB’s, and at least three DB’s plus of course many others. The backup player groupings will not include QB’s (there will be approximately 10 QB’s available after the draft, 3 of those with 50+ attempts).
After the entire draft is complete teams may attempt to pick up one or more players from a list of players not taken by sending a list of desired pickups and an equivalent number of cuts. These pickups will be handled as a separate draft in reverse order of the backup groupings portion of the draft.
Each league member will receive many days before the draft a random number 1-100 determined by percentile dice roll (with ties broken by another die roll) to determine draft positions (the dice roll for the Commissioner’s team will be performed by someone other than the Commissioner). Higher numbers draft ahead of lower numbers in each odd-numbered round of the live draft (which includes all 26 rounds). Lower numbers draft ahead of higher numbers in each even-numbered round of the live draft, in the defensive/penalty card draft, and in the backup players groupings draft. Un-owned teams will be drafted by the Commissioner (from the exactly defined list) at the end of every round in every portion of the draft (except the defensive/penalty card draft). Die rolls may be traded in their entirety though only before the live portion of the draft.
For example, a league member who has a die roll of 16 will draft fairly low (though ahead of the un-owned teams) in the first, third, fifth, etc. rounds of the live draft; will draft fairly high in the second, fourth, sixth, etc. rounds of the live draft; will draft fairly high in the defensive/penalty card portion of the draft; and will draft fairly high in the backup groupings portion of the draft.
Expansion Draft – this section is obsolete and applied only to the 2003 season expansion
Each year there will be an expansion draft in which new league members will draft their teams from the expansion pool. The number of total teams – including newly drafted teams and un-owned teams – participating in the expansion draft will be 24 minus the number of owned teams. If any team loses its owner for the upcoming season (someone leaves the league) then that team will be added into the expansion pool. As an example, if there are 15 returning coaches and 3 new coaches then the 3 new coaches will participate in the expansion draft along with 6 un-owned teams (15 + 3 + 6 = 24) for a total of 9 teams participating in the expansion draft. A new coach may not take over an existing team except to finish only the current season if taking over a team after the expansion draft (if a coach quits in the middle of the season, for example).
If a player in the expansion pool does not get rated in the current disk then he may be drafted as normal by a new coach or an un-owned team.
In each expansion draft all new coaches will always draft ahead of all un-owned teams in each round. New coaches will be assigned a random number signifying draft order and the draft will run in reverse order in even-numbered rounds (although all un-owned teams will still draft last in each round). The only exception to all of this is if in any season there is only one participant in the expansion draft then one of the un-owned teams will be drafting as if it is a new coach (and will be drafted by a live person) and so will draft ahead of the new coach in either even-numbered or odd-numbered rounds. The expansion draft will go through 42 rounds. All players in the expansion pool who are not drafted by a new coach or by an un-owned team are entered into the rookie/free-agent pool to be eligible in the next rookie/free-agent draft. Expansion draft picks may not be traded, see the section on trades below for further details.
In general a league member may not abandon his team into the expansion pool and draft a new team. However, an exception may be made by the Commissioner (with strong advice from other league members) in rare circumstances if the coach has had particularly bad luck with injuries or player development and the coach did not trade away future value for present value.
[The following section is obsolete and referred to when we had fewer than 24 full teams.]
Un-owned teams will have draft picks in the rookie/free-agent draft evenly interspersed among owned teams to total 24 picks in each round. The following chart will be used based upon the number of owned team picks in a particular round. Team # represents an owned team while D represents an un-owned team interspersed evenly throughout the round.
1) For 8 teams: #8, D, D, #7, D, D, D, #6, D, D, #5, D, D, #4, D, D, #3, D, D, D, #2, D, D, #1
2) For 9
teams: #9, D, D, #8, D, D, #7, D, D, #6,
D, #5, D, D, #4, D, D, #3, D, D, #2, D, D, #1
3) For 10
teams: #10, D, D, #9, D, #8, D, D, #7,
D, #6, D, D, #5, D, #4, D, D, #3, D, #2, D, D, #1
4) For 11 teams: #11, D, #10, D,
#9, D, D, #8, D, #7, D, #6, D, D, #5, D, #4, D, #3, D, D, #2, D, #1
5) For 12 teams: #12, D, #11, D,
#10, D, #9, D, #8, D, #7, D, D, #6, D, #5, D, #4, D, #3, D, #2, D, #1
6) For 13 teams: #13, D, #12, D, #11,
D, #10, D, #9, D, #8, D, #7, #6, D, #5, D, #4, D, #3, D, #2, D, #1
7) For 14 teams: #14, D, #13, D,
#12, D, #11, #10, D, #9, D, #8, #7, D, #6, D, #5, #4, D, #3, D, #2, D, #1
8) For 15 teams: #15, D, #14,
#13, D, #12, D, #11, #10, D, #9, #8, D, #7, D, #6, #5, D, #4, #3, D, #2, D, #1
9) For 16 teams: #16, D, #15,
#14, D, #13, #12, D, #11, #10, D, #9, #8, D, #7, #6, D, #5, #4, D, #3, #2, D,
#1
10) For 17 teams: #17, #16, D,
#15, #14, D, #13, #12, D, #11, #10, #9, D, #8, #7, D, #6, #5, D, #4, #3, D, #2,
#1
11) For 18 teams: #18, #17, #16,
D, #15, #14, #13, D, #12, #11, D, #10, #9, D, #8, #7, D, #6, #5, #4, D, #3, #2,
#1
12) For 19 teams: #19, #18, #17,
D, #16, #15, #14, D, #13, #12, #11, #10, D, #9, #8, #7, D, #6, #5, #4,D, #3,
#2, #1
13) For 20 teams: #20, #19, #18,
#17, D, #16, #15, #14, #13, D, #12, #11, #10, #9, D, #8, #7, #6, #5, D, #4, #3,
#2, #1
14) For 21 teams: #21, #20, #19,
#18, #17, D, #16, #15, #14, #13, #12, #11, D, #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, D, #5, #4,
#3, #2, #1
15) For 22 teams: #22, #21, #20,
#19, #18, #17, #16, D, #15, #14, #13, #12, #11, #10, #9, #8, D, #7, #6, #5, #4,
#3, #2, #1
16) For 23 teams: #23, #22, #21, #20, #19, #18, #17, #16, #15, #14, #13, #12, D, #11, #10, #9, #8, #7, #6, #5, #4, #3, #2, #1
Expansion draft picks may not be traded. However, a coach may come to an agreement with an expansion coach to make a trade for an expansion player and that trade may, if participants decide, become binding on a coach who already has a team but it is never binding on a coach participating in the expansion draft. For example, returning coach A makes an agreement with new coach B in which coach A would trade for player “Smith” which coach B will draft. Coach A may decide to make this a binding agreement and if so then cannot ethically turn back on the deal once Smith has been drafted; however, coach B may back out of the deal even if he ends up drafting Smith. If coach B drafts Smith and then both coaches announce a trade involving Smith this trade is binding as usual for both parties as long as it is a legal trade in other respects (the trade will be voted on by the TRC, for example).
[The following paragraph has been removed for the 2004 season as it is too difficult to police.]
A player traded away from a team may not rejoin that team via trade until at least two pre-seasons (calendar years) following the initial trade. For example, if player John Smith is traded away from team A in 2004 then team A may not receive John Smith in a trade until at least 2006. This does not apply to cutting a player or picking up a player in a draft. The main purpose of this rule is to eliminate one-year player rentals.
Player Switch Draft
(left/right) – this section is obsolete
with the new features of v4 and was never used
In some cases a player may
“switch sides” to play the position on the left or right side opposite of his
rated side. The following is a
complicated description of the relatively simple process, necessary to cover
all the possibilities.
A) In some cases: LT may be switched to RT and vice-versa, LG
may be switched to RG and vice-versa, LDT may be switched to RDT and
vice-versa, LE may be switched to RE and vice-versa, LILB may be switched to
RILB and vice-versa, LLB and LOLB may be switched to RLB and ROLB and
vice-versa, and LCB may be switched to RCB and vice-versa;
B) If a player was rated by Strat to be allowed to play the left (or right) side of a
position indicated in A above in the previous Strat
season then he may be switched to play the right (or left) side of that
position in the current season; for example, a player rated at DT in the 2002 Strat season who is rated only at RDT in the 2003 Strat season may be switched to play LDT (but not DT which
would have allowed him to play both);
C) If a team has two or more
players rated by Strat to be allowed to play the left
(or right) side of a position then the player with the lower rating (or the
same rating if two players at the same position have the same rating) may be
switched to play the right (or left) side; when considering player ratings in
this case the run block, run defense, or pass defense ratings takes precedence
over the pass block or pass rush ratings; a maximum of one player per team may
be switched due to this option.
Approximately a few days
before the rookie/free-agent draft (which is after the expansion draft) players
from the un-owned pool of players will be assigned to teams to replace players
who will be switched for the purpose of playing games; no actual player swap
will be involved on the roster but for the purposes of playing the game player
swaps will occur. This process will be
handled as a draft – and called the “player switch draft” -- with assignments
made by the Commissioner. Once a player
is switched in this manner the player may not be switched back and the
replacement player will be used by the team for the rest of the season; once
the season is over the switch ends. For
clarification, the replaced player is completely removed from that team’s
roster within the Strat game. Once a player is removed from a team’s roster
then he is available for another team to take later in this player switch
draft.
Only a player of the same or
lesser rating will be assigned: an
offensive lineman without a 7 pass block rating may not be replaced by an
offensive lineman with a 7 pass block rating, an offensive lineman with a 0
pass block rating may not be replaced by an offensive lineman with a pass block
rating greater than 0, a non-0 and non-7 pass blocking offensive lineman may be
replaced by any offensive lineman with a lower run block rating; a defensive
lineman may not be replaced by a defensive lineman with a pass rush rating
higher by 3 or more; a linebacker may not be replaced by a linebacker with a
pass rating higher by 5 or more. As
examples: a 5-2 offensive lineman may be
replaced by a 5-2, a 5-0, a 4-5, or lesser rating but not by a 4-7 or 0-7; a
6-0 offensive lineman may not be replaced by a 0-2; a 5-3 defensive lineman may
be replaced by a 5-3, a 5-0, a 4-5, or lesser rating but not by a 4-6 or 0-6; a
5-9 linebacker may be replaced by a 5-12-1*, a 5-3, a 5-0, a 4-12-1*, or lesser
rating but not by a 4-12-2* or 0-12-2*.
Players who play multiple
positions (including returners) are not eligible to
be taken from the un-owned pool in this manner unless their positions and
ratings (beyond the left/right swap indicated here) are exactly the same as the
player they are replacing (returners are not eligible
at all). As examples: a LB may not replace a RLB, a 4-8/5-8 LDE/DT
may not replace a 4-8/4-8 RDE/DT, a LCB/PR may not replace a RCB/PR, but a LCB
may replace a RCB/PR.
Each coach may present a list
of his team’s players to be switched to the other side and a clear indication
of what minimum rating would be acceptable for the switch. As examples:
“I would like my 5-5 LDT switched to RDT, I would accept as low as a 5-0
but I would not accept a 4”; “I would like my 6-3 RE switched to LE, I would accept
as low as 6-0 and even as low as a 5-0 or 4-2 but I would not accept a 4-1 or
0-2”; “I would like my 5 RCB switched to LCB, I would accept only a 5 and would
not accept a 4”; “I would like my 0-12-2* LE switched to RE, I would accept
only as low as a 0-12-1*.” If there is
no player available during this coach’s pick then the switch will not occur and
the next valid switch on the coach’s list will be implemented instead.
The “player switch draft” will
occur in two completely separate parts, one for players satisfying criteria B
above and then one for players satisfying criteria C. Each part of this draft will occur with teams
in the same order as the first round of the rookie/free-agent draft and both
will be conducted completely by the Commissioner at one time.
Here is a detailed hypothetical example of this draft starting with criteria B eligible players. Coach A finished last place last season and so has the first pick of the rookie/free-agent draft and also each portion of the player switch draft. Coach A has player John Smith who was rated at RLB in the previous Strat season and is now a 5-5 rated LLB in the current Strat season and coach A indicates that he would like to switch Smith to RLB via criteria B and would accept as low as a 5-0 rated LLB. Player Robert Johnson in the un-owned pool is rated as a 5-4 RLB (there are no 5-5 RLB’s) and so coach A has Robert Johnson replace John Smith on his Strat computer game roster (but not his true roster). Next up in the draft is coach B with player Chad Buckley who was rated at LB in the previous Strat season and is now a 5-6 rated LLB and coach B indicates that he would like to switch Buckley to RLB and would accept only as low as a 5-4. However, there is no RLB remaining in the un-owned pool rated between a 5-4 and 5-6 and so this selection does not occur (coach B’s next valid replacement, if any, on his list would occur). Next up in the draft is coach C with player Stan Humphrey who was rated at OLB in the previous Strat season and is now a 6-0 rated LLB and coach C indicates that he would like to switch Humphrey to RLB and would accept as low as 5-0. There are no other 6-0 RLB’s in the un-owned pool and the highest-rated 5 RLB (while still less than or equal to 5-4) is player Ed Harvey at 5-1 so Harvey replaces Humphrey on coach C’s Strat roster. Next up is coach D with player Ron Clemens who was rated at DB in the previous Strat season and is now a 5 rated RCB and coach D indicates that he would like to switch Clemens to LCB and would accept as low as a 4 rating. Player Don Raymond is a 5 rated CB in the un-owned pool so is not eligible for this switch but player Jerry Wells is a 5 rated LCB in the un-owned pool so Wells replaces Clemens. Once each coach has switched a player (or has exhausted his list of criteria B eligible players) the draft will continue again with coach A. Once the draft has been completed for all criteria B eligible players then the draft for criteria C eligible players will begin starting again with coach A.