Billy Mireles was the first overall selection by the St. Louis Rams in the 2014 NFL Draft. His rise to the top came from a dominate college career at Wake Forest, setting school records in tackles, sacks, forced fumbles, and fumble recoveries. He also had 8 TD's as a fill-in TE during his freshman season.

A 3-time All-American, 2x Butkus award winner, and one-time co-Nagurski award winner (which he shared with the San Diego Chargers Sinilau Porter) as the nation's top defensive player, the Rams knew they had a special opportunity when they traded with the Miami Dolphins for the first overall pick (A trade that would also land them the draft pick used to take Philip Odighizuwa, as well as receiving super-back Lamar Miller).

Mireles has averaged 60 tackles a year in his pro career, a decent number in today's NFL. He has 12 career interceptions, including 7 alone last season. Rams' coach Finn Sanders saw the potential in Mireles as a pass defender, as opposed to a pass rusher, and the results are on display every Sunday during football season.

Mireles plays loose and hits hard. He lives by the motto "Blunt. Force. Trauma" - fitting for the weapon he is.

- C. Kelly
NNFL.com Senior Writer

- The 8pm rule is in effect. If one guy can't get the game in, he can ask for a sim, or his opponent can play the CPU at 8pm on advance night.

- We ENCOURAGE you to let games sim if they're of importance, or if you're opponent really doesn't want his CPU team beaten by a user.

- DON'T BE A FARVE. Sims are o.k., they won't end your season. If the game is more important to the other guy, just agree to sim. We're all adults. It's Madden for fuck's sake.

- How you approach these situations will have a HUGE bearing on whether or not you're in the NNFL on XBox One next season.

That's really it. Be fair, and but also give your opponent the benefit of the doubt.

"BUT SIM INJURIES!"

Suck it up, Sally.

Starting on Wednesday, February 19th, we will be making a switch to 24 hour advances.

We will advance at 10pm every weekday night. Friday-Sunday will be one 48 hour advance.

If games are having trouble being scheduled, the 8PM rule will still be in effect.

The time is now to move quickly.

We understand this does not work for some of you, and if you feel the need to leave, there will be no hard feelings.

For those of you staying with us, well, here comes the fun.

1. Miami Dolphins - De'Anthony Thomas, HB, Oregon
2. Chicago Bears - Johnny Manziel, QB, Texas A&M
3. Denver Broncos - Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon
4. Pittsburgh Steelers - Keith Price, QB, Washington
5. New York Jets - Teddy Bridgewater, QB, Louisville
6. Indianapolis Colts - Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
7. Seattle Seahawks - Austin Sefarian Jenkins, TE, Washington
8. Minnesota Vikings - Ryan Shazier, OLB, Ohio State
9. Dallas Cowboys - Lamarcus Joyner, CB, Florida State
10. New Orleans - Sammy Watkins, WR, Clemson
11. Houston Texans - Mike Evans, WR, Texas A&M
12. St. Louis Rams - Jace Amaro, TE, Texas Tech
13. San Francisco 49ers (via KC) - Telvin Smith, OLB, Florida State
14. Arizona Cardinals - Braxton Miller, QB, Ohio State
15. Detroit Lions - C.J. Moseley, MLB, Alabama
16. Washington Redskins - HaHa Clinton-Dix, FS, Alabama
17. Jacksonville Jaguars - Jake Matthews, LT, Texas A&M
18. Cleveland Browns - Anthony Barr, OLB, UCLA
19. Atlanta Falcons (via STL, thru NE, thru CIN) - Khalil Mack, MLB, Buffalo
20. Atlanta Falcons - Louis Nix III, DT, Notre Dame
21. San Francisco 49ers - Taylor Lewan, LR, Michigan
22. Oakland Raiders - Tre Mason, HB, Auburn
23. Miami Dolphins (via GB) - Derek Carr, QB, Fresno State
24. Tennessee Titans - Donte Moncrief, WR, Ole Miss
25. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Marquise Lee, WR, USC
26. Oakland Raiders (via BUF) - Eric Ebron, TE, North Carolina
27. San Diego Chargers - C.J. Fiedorowicz, TE, Iowa
28. New York Giants - Seantrell Henderson, RT, Miami
29. Tennessee Titans (via BAL) - Cyrus Kouandjio, RT, Alabama
30. Philadelphia Eagles - Xavier Su'a-Filo, OG, UCLA
31. New England - Jaxon Shipley, WR, Texas
32. Carolina Panthers - Dri Archer, HB, Kent State

NEW RULES:

FUTURE PICKS CAN NO LONGER BE TRADED. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.

IF WE FIND YOU HAVE TRADED FUTURE PICKS, YOUR COACH WILL BE FORCED TO RETIRE, AND YOU WILL LOSE ALL OF YOUR PROGESS.

CARRY ON!

In the offseason, Taz and I tried to make a trade that featured a newly signed free agent in Tramon Williams.

That trade looked like this:

Giants Get:
OLB Alex Ogletree

Rams Get:
CB Tramon Williams
31st Overall Draft Pick

There was talk that this type of trade was illegal in the NFL, and enough of a commotion was made about this that Taz and I decided to rework the trade without Williams, so as to calm the league and avoid breaking an NFL rule.

Later on, I signed Matthew Stafford after he was cut by the Detroit Lions. He started 3 games for me, and I decided he wasn't the QB I needed. So I put him on the block, and again received grief for trying to trade a guy that I signed. This time the reason being that I'm getting "something for nothing."

We have since figured out that the NFL employs no rule on trading newly signed free agents.

The NFL doesn't make their contract rules easy to find, but Miedus was able to find 2 instances of teams trading a newly signed Free Agent.

Since we already (prematurely) reversed that trade and said you couldn't trade free agents, I have to put a ban on the practice all together.

So, if you sign a guy you can't trade him until the following offseason.

Thanks

- Syn

We will be advancing to Preseason Week 2 tonight (01/06/2014) @ 10:00PM EST.

We're going to be playing Week 2, as we keep running into the same preseason schedule every year, and I'm sure everyone is tired of that opponent.

When we make this advance, it will also open Free Agency. You are free to sign whoever you want, but you MUST have 53 players on your roster by the time we hit the regular season.

INJURIES WILL BE OFF FOR THIS STAGE.

So, simple breakdown:

- FA Free-For-All - Monday 01/06/2014 - 10:00pm EST
- Opening of Preseason Week 2 - Monday 01/06/2014 - 10:00pm EST

You will have 24 hours to complete your preseason game.

- Advance to Week 1 of the Regular Season - Tuesday 01/07/2014 - 10:00pm EST

Don't ask for an early advance.

Thanks.

Syn

Happy New Years, NNFL.

After the debacle that was the FA/Draft night ("hacker" tears down EA servers), I wanted to speak on some issues in light of the conversations that took place that night.

First, and foremost - Re-scheduling league functions.

We made the decision to move the draft to Sunday, 01/05/2014 at 10:00PM EST.
This decision was made with the best interest of the league in mind. It was also a rushed decision as we had a good portion of the league on at that time, and wanted to get word out while everyone was there.

This decision was not popular with a few of our members. We understand that many of you rearranged your schedule to attend the draft on 01/02, and that the new date does not mesh with your plans.

Unfortunately, it would be virtually impossible to schedule a time and date appropriate for ALL members of the league. So, we scheduled for a time when we felt most of the league could attend. If you've been shafted by this change, I apologize and hope you'll be able to rearrange your schedule again so that you may attend.

Second - League information

Despite this wonderful website that Taz was nice enough to gift to the league, some people are not staying informed on dates/times.
It is the responsibility of the admins to present scheduling information in a clear and visible manner. It is the responsibility of the league members to know where to find this information, and read it.

DaddyLeagues is now the only way we will be divulging important information. I expect everyone to check here daily for new information.
Anything said in the chat is not written in stone. If it's posted in a blog by an admin on DaddyLeagues, you can be certain it's correct (when I'm not making typos!).

Third - Tanking

I want to go on record as saying that while tanking may be a part of the game, I will not tolerate it. If you're good enough to win, you should be winning. We're all very aware of each others skills, and while I understand that this league has seen a good deal of parity, tanking is obvious.

You may say "Well ScoNew tanked in Season 2 and we allowed it" - That is true. However, that was under the old regime.
The entire idea of the worst team in the league getting the #1 pick is to ensure parity continues. It's to help the guys that need it, not the guys that win every season and just want a superstar rookie.

If I suspect you've been tanking, you will be allowed to plead your case to the admins. We will then make a judgment on whether you belong here or not.

Fourth - Advances

We operate under a 48-hour advance schedule. In a perfect world, we would all have the time every single night to play with a 24 hour advance schedule.

MOST of the league is able to get their games in within a day of the advance. As we move on to our fourth season, time is of the essence.
We will be expecting you to get your games in as early as possible. If you can't do so, we expect you to allow your opponent to play the CPU or Sim. Please be proactive in scheduling, as it helps this machine run smoother and faster.

Fifth - Your team's future.

We have seen trades that completely gut the future of your franchise in an attempt to "win now." This is o.k. to continue doing, however, we expect you to see it through and play out the future you've made for yourself. If you trade all of your future picks, we expect you to be here through that future draft. We do not want to try and assign teams in a bad place to new owners. The trade committee will keep this in mind when reviewing trades.

This is all the time I have right now, however, I will have a second part of this "State of the League" later.

Thanks for reading.

- Syn
 

Well, it appears it wasn't mean to be. 

We're all annoyed, and we're all ready to play some fucking football.

NEW SCHEDULE:

Round 3: Sunday, 01/05/2014 -  10:00pm to 10:05pm

Draft: Sunday, 01/05/2014 - 10:05pm to completion.

FA Free for All (and preseason advance): Monday 01/06/2014 - 10:00pm

We've been forunate up to this point. Fuck EA or whoever took the servers down.

OFFSEASON SCHEDULE:

NOTE: SUPER BOWL MUST BE COMPLETED BY TUESDAY 9:00PM EST!!!


Stage 1:  Re-Signing Period.  Begins immediately following the NNFL Super Bowl.  During this time everyone will need to make sure they have all of their re-signings done or those players will enter free agency and be fair game to everyone.

Stage 2:  First round of FA bidding.  Wednesday, 01/01/2014, 9:30pm  EST to Thursday, 01/02/2013 10:10pm EST
(Note: First Round will now run for at least 24 hours, so guys who can't make the Offseason Day can have a shot at bidding,)

Stage 3:  2nd round of FA bidding.  Thursday, 01/02/2014, 10:10 est to 10:15 est.

Stage 4:  3rd round of FA bidding.  Thursday, 01/02/2014, 10:15 est to 10:20 est.

Stage 5:  No Actions

Stage 6:  Final round of FA bidding.  Thursday, 01/02/2014, 10:20 est to 10:25 est.

Stage 7:  FA recap and Final round of Scouting.  Thursday 01/02/2014, 10:25 est to 10:30 est.

Stage 8:  DRAFT.  Thursday, 01/02/2014, 10:30 est to completion.

Stage 9:  Pre-Season and Opening of free for all free agent pick ups.  Friday, 01/03/2014 @ 10:00 est.

As always, we will be playing 1 preseason game. If we end up with the same preseason schedule again, we will be playing week 2 instead of week 1.

Plan accordingly.

It's been another stellar season for the NNFL, and we're only getting stronger. Let's wrap this one up the right way and begin Season 4 on a high.

Throughout our 3 seasons in Madden 25, we've heard more than one complaint about WR's being used as Tight Ends.

There was no rule in place for it, as we rely on the honesty of our members to dictate what's "sim" and what isn't.

In this case, the Admin committee has decided to ban the use of Wide Receivers at the Tight End position.

This decision was made based on a few factors.

1. It will settle the debate once and for all.

2. It's very uncommon in the NFL.

3. We do not believe this package is available in most(if not all) playbooks.

This decision was made not to punish any of our members, but to ensure the debate doesn't rage on throughout the league's lifespan.

Now, this rule will not take effect until NEXT SEASON. You are still free to do this in the playoffs.

Nobody will be grandfathered in to using a WR at TE. If you currently have a WR at TE on your depth chart, you'll need to move him out of there before the beginning of next season.

Thanks - 
The Admin Committee.

- The Playoffs have begun! Congrats to everyone who made it.
To those who didn't make it, fear not. You can turn things around (I had a combined 8-24 record before this season).

- So, the big news. After 31 votes, we have a winner in the Draft Class vote!

We will be using the REAL Draft Class next season. The vote was 17-14 in favor of the Real Draft class.
I've done some testing with it already, and the attributes are varied nicely. There should be no advantages given to people with the game, or with a knowledge of college football.

- I've also begun making key juniors and SOME sophomores into Seniors, so that they will be forced into the draft class (if they're good enough).

- If you have any juniors or even a sophomore you would like to see in the draft

- If you have not already done so, please see the Playoffs / Offseason schedule.


Keep up the great work guys, and have a Happy New Year!

We are quickly advancing Christmas, and as always, it's time to nail down a schedule for the Holidays, the Playoffs, and the Offseason.

We'll just jump right in.

Here is the advance schedule for the remainder of the regular season:

Advance to;
Week 14 - Wednesday 12/18
Week 15 - Friday 12/20
Week 16 - Sunday 12/22
Week 17 - Tuesday 12/24

Week 17 will be held over the course of the Holiday "break."

We will advance to the Wild Card round on Saturday, December 28th.

The playoffs MUST be completed by Sunday, January 5th.

OFFSEASON SCHEDULE:


Stage 1:  Re-Signing Period.  Sunday, 01/05/2014 @ 10:00PM EST to Monday, 01/06/2014 @ 9:30 est.  During this time everyone will need to make sure they have all of their re-signings done or those players will enter free agency and be fair game to everyone.

Stage 2:  First round of FA bidding.  Monday, 01/06/2014, 9:30 est to 10:10 est.

Stage 3:  2nd round of FA bidding.  Monday, 01/06/2014, 10:10 est to 10:15 est.

Stage 4:  3rd round of FA bidding.  Monday, 01/06/2014, 10:15 est to 10:20 est.

Stage 5:  No Actions

Stage 6:  Final round of FA bidding.  Monday, 01/06/2014, 10:20 est to 10:25 est.

Stage 7:  FA recap and Final round of Scouting.  Monday 01/06/2014, 10:25 est to 10:30 est.

Stage 8:  DRAFT.  Monday, 01/06/2014, 10:30 est to completion.

Stage 9:  Pre-Season and Opening of free for all free agent pick ups.  Tuesday, 01/06/2014 @ 10:00 est.

As always, we will be playing 1 preseason game. If we end up with the same preseason schedule again, we will be playing week 2 instead of week 1.

You may notice there is a 1 week "break" for non-playoff teams between the end of the regular season and the Re-Signing period. We are doing this to ensure that offseason Free Agency and the Draft fall on a Monday, which is our most active night each week.

Plan accordingly.

It's been another stellar season for the NNFL, and we're only getting stronger. Let's wrap this one up the right way and begin Season 4 on a high.

Glendale, AZ - Lamar Miller continued his hot start to the 2015 season, and Tim Tebow threw for 4 touchdowns as the St. Louis Rams defeated the Arizona Cardinals 47-35.

Defenses from both teams struggled to contain either offense, as the two teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards of total offense.

Justin Blackmon broke out this week, catching 3 balls for 129 yards, including a 98 yard TD and 1 other score. Tavon Austin added in 4 catches of his own, for 106 yards and a TD.  Head coach Finn Sanders said the team was confident heading into the matchup. "It was only a matter of time. We made some moves in the depth chart, just switching a few of the receivers to take advantage of matchups. We knew coming in that we would have opportunities to score, and we took advantage of those chances."

On the other side of the ball, St. Louis could not contain the legs of Arizona QB's Othniel Richmond (5 rushes, 121 yards) and Ben Overstreet (6 rushes, 161 yards, 2 TD's). Richmond was replaced by Overstreet early in the second half after fumbling what looked to be a 94 yard TD scramble, and throwing an interception-TD to new Rams cornerback Dominique Rodgers Cromartie.

Overstreet posted big numbers in a valiant attempt to tear victory from the jaws of defeat, but was not enough to overcome the large lead St. Louis had built had that point, a 41-14 lead. Scoring was capped by a 35 yard touchdown strike from quarterback Tim Tebow to Kenbrell Thompkins late in the 4th quarter, putting the game out of reach.

The Rams come back home this Sunday to face the 0-3 Miami Dolphins, who have a tiny penis in a baseball cap coaching their team.

A win, and the Rams move to 3-1, their best start in a decade.

St. Louis, MO - It took 9 games, and 6 Greg Zuerlein field goals, but the St. Louis Rams have removed themselves from the the threat of a winless season. Zuerlein's leg carried the Rams to an 18-13 win over the defending NFC West Champion San Franchisco 49ers.

After the game, head coach Finn Sanders admitted he was thrilled to\win, but withheld any outward excitement. "A win is a win, and I think we're all happy to have that monkey off of our backs. It has to be better though. We can't outkick everyone every week. We need to find that endzone."

Zuerlein's day was made possible on the legs of halfback Lamar Miller, who carried the ball 26 times for 128 yards, never reaching the endzone.

He wouldn't have to though, as the Ram defense forced key turnovers and contained the potent Niners offense.

"I think we were a little surprised to see the passing game be their focus today" said Rams lineback James Laurinaitis. "(Jonathan) Stewart has been a workhorse for them, and has torched us the last 3 meetings. He wasn't getting the ball today, and we were comfortable letting them try to win in the air."

Niners quarterback Colin Kaepernick completed 12 passes for 276 yards, 2 interceptions, and 2 touchdown strikes to receiver Michael Crabtree. It wasn't enough.

Coach Sanders gave the team the day off on Monday. "Enjoy it, rest a little more, and comeback Tuesday ready to practice."

The road doesn't get an easier next week, as the Rams travel to Cincinnati to face the vaunted Bengals defense.