What are some good 4th down house rules?

[Rob Bec]

So I'm in the seventh year of my dynasty and I finally won the National Championship with my Memphis Tigers (after losing our first appearance the previouse year). Its been a very challenging game on Heisman settings and now I'm looking to challengne myself with 4th down attemp restrictions. I go for it on fourth ALOT with 6-7 yards to go vs. the cpu and my coversion rate is prolly +80% because I have like two go to plays the cpu to hardly ever stop. I wanna stop this and go more sim style this season.

What rules would you suggest?

[FarFromEer]

Kick the ball

[jello1717]

The most obvious rule would be to stop using money plays, regardless of down (if the cpu can hardly ever stop it, it's a money play).

Also mix up your play calling. I don't allow myself to run any play more than once per drive.

[jbrew2411]

Never go for a 4th down unless you are down late in the 4th or inside the 5 yard line.

I only call slants or read plays on 1st down, if I call them at all.

Like Jello, I never call the same play twice a drive and I never call the same formation twice unless I need to change the tempo because my team is struggling.

If you are not in field goal range, down in the 4th, or inside the 5 then always punt like a real coach would do.

[superjames1992]

Eh, I don't think there's anything wrong with going for it on 4th down. That being said, you need to stop using money plays. If you'd not cheese and use money plays, you probably wouldn't convert these 4th downs at an 80%+ rate and you'd be bit in the rear if you continued to go for it on 4th down so much.

[StoneCalf]

I agree with this and not running any play more than once per drive sounds like a simple rule to keep from abusing the bread & butter plays.

For the last couple of seasons, I've taken the playcalling issue a step further, because I've been bad about repetitive play calling. I have been alphabetically going through all team's playbooks for each new game. (example, one game I'll use Ohio Bobcats playbook, then next game I have to use Ohio State's PB). I am also grading/rating how much I like each PB as I go, and when I make it all the way through all teams, I plan to use a system where I have to use a certain number of each of the "A" through "F" playbooks per season, but I can choose which games I use my "playbook cards". (not sure if that makes sense- I have it squared away in my head, but kinda hard to explain) I'll have to try it out and see how I like it. Really this is just another way to manage challenge level and keep things fresh.

Plus, going through all team's playbooks has introduced me to some really cool plays, and also many that I don't care for at all.

Quote: Originally Posted by jello1717

The most obvious rule would be to stop using money plays, regardless of down (if the cpu can hardly ever stop it, it's a money play). Also mix up your play calling. I don't allow myself to run any play more than once per drive.

[jbrew2411]

I like that idea StoneCalf. I change my play book each season. I have 4 custom play books I use and always add/remove 5-10 formations each year to keep it fresh.

[cparrish]

Stop using money plays.