League Rules:
By applying to join our league you are verifying you have read and understand the rules completely. We do not accept the “I did Not Know” excuse for things clearly shown within the rules. We also utilize a daddyleague site so you can review the team before making any commitments so you should have no surprises. These rules are always evolving to adapt to new game flaws / glitches and other areas of concern, but an adult understanding of what playing “SIM” means will cover the vast majority of what is covered here.
Rule #1, this is a Game, and we are All here to have Fun.
Gameplay Rules:
All Play Calling Play calling must be varied (both on offense and defense); repeatedly running the same play or formation is both cheap and cheesy. Varied play calling also applies to run vs pass plays, there is no reason to have a game with 1 pass and 50 rush attempts, or any other obviously unsim stat results (the general rule of thumb is 60/40 depending on your play style run/pass or pass/run). Be realistic!
Running up the score and sportsmanship:
* This rule is very controversial so every situation is different but it's about making good judgement and playing a sim game to the real NFL. All situations will be reviewed on a CASE. BY CASE BASIS. Below are the guideline you need to follow 95% of the time. It will ultimately be up to commish and admins to decide your fate if you don't follow them*
- COMMISHES BIG PET PEEVE: If you are beating an opponent badly, do NOT run the score up. Once you are up 30 points and nearing the end of the 3rd, then the only way you are to score after that point is by a FG. Anyone caught winning by more then 30 points and scoring another TD in a game will be subject to a possible player suspension(s) by commish. "Does not include Special Teams or Defense points". Again to be reviewed on a case by case basis. Example: if the person your playing as 21 points it doesn't mean you should score 30 more exact to make the game 51-21, use good judgement and end the game with good sportsmanship.
Offense:
- QB option plays, play action passes, screens, Slants, or any repetitive play calling used all game will not be tolerated. Again mix it up, This is the NFL not the NCAA. If you abuse any of these plays excessively you will be subject to a violation or even booted from the league.
- QB Sneaks are only allowed 3rd and inches at inzone.
- Do not immediately roll the pocket with QB. If it is a designed roll out that's fine. If your under pressure u can roll out to avoid sacks.
- Do not drop back more than 10 yards with QB on pass plays.
- Your QB should be looking to throw first then run, not the other way around, so it's clear if you pick a pass play you must look to pass first, not run right away with your QB.
- You may only do the hurry up offense if:
- It’s within the 2 minute warning of 2nd and 4th quarters and you are down or tied.
(You should not be going hurry offense with 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter if you’re are up 14 points)
- You may run only 1 hurry up play per offensive possession.
- You may run only 1 fast snap play per offensive possession, otherwise you should allow 3 seconds min when in hike before your QB snaps the ball.
- If a player is manually set in motion you must wait until they have come to a complete stop before you can hike the ball (do not snap while they are in motion). Unless its a designed play from PB.
- Excessive targets to any single player on a team is not in line with sim play style, so don’t do it (this applies to TE, WR, HBs, Everybody).
- Any excessive passing to HB or TE is frowned upon and will be reviewed on a case to case basis. Pass to your WR’s. A WR should always be your first target.
- Goal line formation may ONLY be used within your opponent’s 5 yard line or if you are backed into your 5 yard line to avoid a safety.
- Each team must have at least 2 active TE’s.
- No Offensive lineman may be manually subbed in for a TE
- No team can have a WR set as the third choice for TE. Put a FB there if need be, not a WR. WR'S do not play TE. Check your depth chart.
- Chew Clock: you should not be chewing clock all game. You can only run clock or use chew clock for these 2 reasons:
1. There is 3 mins left in the 4th quarter
2. You are up more then 3 TDs in the 4th quarter and you want to end the game in good sportsmanship without running up the score.
4th Down Rules:
* This rule is very controversial so every situation is different but it's about making good judgement and playing a sim game to the real NFL. All situations will be reviewed on a CASE BY CASE BASIS. Below are the guideline you need to follow 95% of the time. It will ultimately be up to commish and admins to decide your fate if you don't follow them*
ALLOWED TO GO
-If you are down by 10+ in the 4th quarter, with less than 5 minutes remaining passed middle of field (50 yard line) or closer.
-If there is 3 minutes or less remaining in the game, you can go for it any where on the field if you are down or tied (judgement call)
-If you are in the Golden Zone (35-45) of your opponents side of the field, you may go for it unless you are winning by more than 7 points. This is only to be used in cases where a kick is deemed too risky or the flow of the game calls for it.
No other reasons should you be going for it on 4th down.
2 point Conversions:
2 point conversions can ONLY be attempted if a touchdown puts you up 1 or 5 pts. To make it a 3 or 7 point game and in the 4th quarter if you are down and you need 2 points to tie the score.
Defense:
- Excessive Blitzing is not tolerated.
- You MUST have at least 3 players minimum attacking the quarterback, to counter a running quarterback one of these linemen can occasionally be assigned to spy. However you cannot do this all game long, you should have 3 rushers rushing at a minimum for most of the game. If your opponent is known for running his QB then your are allowed to put a d lineman in spy to match his gameplay. There is nothing wrong with that. (You should not be rushing 2 guys and then sending third d lineman back in coverage with linebackers).
- Moving players: You can only move one defense player before the snap. Do not manually reposition multiple players.
- Any player that is manually moved on defense pre-snap must be the player that the user stays with until the ball is snapped and the play has went on for 3 seconds, then you may switch to a different defender.
- You may NOT move a linebacker all the way up to the d line. He must remain at least 3 yards back from the line if you’re manually going to move him.
- You may ONLY move safeties up to within 3 yards BEHIND the linebackers. They should not be MANUALLY moved up any closer.
- Run Commits can ONLY be used at goal line and inches to stop a TD.
Special Teams:
* This rule is very controversial so every situation is different but it's about making good judgement and playing a sim game to the real NFL. All situations will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Below are the guideline you need to follow 95% of the time. It will ultimately be up to commish and admins to decide your fate if you don't follow them*
- You are NOT allowed to do FIELD GOAL FAKES or PUNT FAKES unless you are down by 7+ in the last two minute of the 4th quarter.
Again, in Field Goal situations 2 point conversions can ONLY be attempted in the 4th quarter and only for this reason: if you are down and you need 2 points to tie the score.
- You are NOT allowed to do an Onside Kick unless you are down by 7+ within the last two minutes of the 4th quarter.
- You can only control the kick off or punt return man when kicked, do not reposition other players to exploit an AI blocking flaw.
- Line drive punts are NOT allowed or short cheesy kick punts.
Scheduling Games:
- It is up to each owner to contact their opponent to schedule a game (make sure you ask what time zone).
- If your opponent does not text or respond to you after 24hours (after the advance or your attempt to contact him, whichever was later), notify an admin and they will take care of it. Make sure you contact the admin at least 12hrs before the advance!
- If you are going out of town, going on vacation, or anything else that will make you unable to play your game, put yourself on “Autopilot” in the Settings menu on madden. Also please notify an admin and your opponent (post in the forum is preferred) so everyone is aware.
- If something comes up and you have a game scheduled, it is your responsibility to text your opponent and let him know that you cannot make it, and to see if you can reschedule. If they can Not reschedule for any reason, the person canceling the original agreed upon time, will be put on AP for that game, since you didn’t make the time you BOTH agreed on. This will only apply if the game time was posted in the forum.
Free Agents:
-You may pick up any FA player at any time who has under a 75 overall rating to fill your roster once FA opens for preseason and only 2 Free Agent players who have over a 75 overall rating.
-You may then only swap up to 2 players on your team with a Free Agent player every advance once the regular
season starts.
We will be watching transactions so please follow these rules to make are job easier we don’t want to be forced to baby sit transactions.
POSITION CHANGE:
If you would like to move a player from one position to another please make your request within the Change of Position forum. A specific admin will review and mark your request as approved/denied.
The following changes are not allowed without a serious plea:
- TE to RB
- HB to TE
There are instances where a Change of Position request is not necessary and you may perform them freely. These cases are listed below:
- Inter-Positional Changes: OL to any OL position, DL to any DL position, LB to any LB position, FS to SS & SS to FS
- Scheme-based Changes: 3-4 Defense (DE to OLB), and 3-4 Defense (OLB to DE)
The true purpose of these rules is to maintain a simulation-style roster. We will consider all requests, but please keep simulation in mind before submitting. Some examples may be seen as exemptions:
- A player has played your requested position in the recent past.
- A player has regressed to a point where his current position is no longer suitable (CB speed/acceleration regression, such as Champ Bailey, to S).
- QB to RB, QB to FB, QB to WR, or QB to TE if his ratings and body-type match the request AND/OR if the player’s storyline/past placed him in a previous position (ex. Denard Robinson, Michael Robinson, Brad Smith).
- RB to FB, RB to WR, WR to TE, or TE to WR if his ratings and body-type match the request AND/OR if the player’s storyline/past placed him in a previous position (ex. Niles Paul, Brian Leonard, Timothy Wright, James Casey, Jacob Hester, David Nelson).
TRADE RULES:
-In order to make a trade, you MUST post the agreed trade in forum for pending trades. Please use the following format: player, age, position, salary, cap hit, and years left on contract. The trade committee will vote on it (Majority rules). Failure to post in this manner will result in trade committee not voting until it’s posted correctly. ALL trades must be posted! Before a trade will be considered “Accepted / Approved” both parties must post their consent of the trade in the forum. One party can simply state they agree, if the first includes all the necessary information.
-There are 4 people on trade committee; you will need at least 3 approvals before you may send the trade.
-Trades posted in the forums ARE binding unless they are “Denied”. Once someone posts a trade no other owners can move in to disrupt or outbid another for that trade.
-Once Submitted please do not spam into the chat to have admins check out the posting, all trades will take a MINIMUM of 12hrs to be cleared.
-After 24hrs if there is no conclusion to your trade, additional admins will actively resolve the trade for you.
-Maximum of 7 players and 4 picks can be traded per season. Free Agent signings do not apply to this cap.
NO TRADING:
-injured players until they return to the field.
- first round or 2nd round pick rookies till next season
-players who have been franchised tag.
-players with over a 10 M cap penalty.
-No team may be allowed to have more than 12 picks per draft. Keep this in mind when trading (this numbers counts all of your picks, including 5th, 6th, and 7th). If you try to go over this amount, commish will chose which of you draft picks he will drop into FA being held there till next season for all to bid on (hint, it will be your best player from that draft)
-No team can have more then 2 pick per round.
-You may not trade a player you got in a previous trade in the same season. If you get a guy in a trade in year one, then you may not trade him away until year two. This also applies to Free Agents, any FA you sign, may not be traded until the next season. If you make a trade in say season 2 during the season for a draft pick , then in that offseason you may trade that pick before draft.
-You must resign any players who are asking to be resigned before you can trade them.
- If someone wants a player of yours who will need to be resigned the following season, you must notify the other owner that they will have to be resigned next season before posting the trade.
Roster Requirements:
Roster must maintain 50 players MINIMUM.
Min: Max:
QB 2 3
HB 3 4
FB 1 2
WR 5 6
TE 2 4
LB 6 9
DE 4 6
DT 2 4
CB 5 6
FS 2 4
SS 2 4
-All Teams are required to have 2 QB's min. since they fixed the QB glitch.
-All Teams are required to have at least 2 active TE’s (if you have two on roster and one is injured, hire someone)
Playing a CPU Team:
- If you see a “CPU” team first thing you should do is double check with an Admin to make sure there is not
someone joining on that team soon. After asking you are free to play your game against the CPU.
- You are only allowed “1? chance vs the CPU. The only exception to this is if it is against an opponent that disconnected and you are playing their CPU to recapture the victory you were disconnected from. Do not beat the computer by more than 30 points, and do not score more than 42 points in the game.
- That means if you score 42 points and the CPU has 45, you are going to lose. CPU games are not free wins or stat padding parties, play smart on offense and defense or risk defeat.
Disconnects or other Connectivity Issues:
-Disconnects happen, it is unfortunately just part of online gaming. When a disconnect occurs, you need to contact the opposing team to determine a resolution. If you are unable to come to a mutually agreed upon decision with your opponent, contact a moderator for assistance.
-Here are some generic / common scenarios and how they will be handled:
-If a disconnect occurs after half time with one team holding a 24+ lead, the winning team can play against the losing teams CPU.
-If disconnected in the last two minutes of the game, and one team has a 10+ lead, or is clearly in position to win (kneeling to burn clock for example), they can replay vs the CPU.
-If the game has not reached half time, you need to restart the game.
-In Any situation when a disconnect happens, your opponent can elect to allow/offer you to play his CPU, that is however totally up to the players and will not be forced by an admin outside of the above scenarios (or similar).
Any inability to reach a solution will ultimately result in the game being simulated.
-Intentional Excessive Grieving (not the kind caused by connectivity issues) is not tolerated and will result in the immediate removal from the league. We are here to form a community and have an enjoyable gaming experience, poor sportsmanship and attitude necessary to excessively grief out on a game does not comply with that vision.
Sportsmanship and other very important things that you need to know:
- This is a “sim” league and should be treated as such, don’t cheese, be friendly get your games scheduled and have fun. Failure to schedule games or trying to do it last minute is not going to be fun for your opponent.
* This rule is very controversial so every situation is different but it's about making good judgement and playing a sim game to the real NFL. All situations will be reviewed on a case by case basis. Below are the guideline you need to follow 95% of the time. It will ultimately be up to commish and admins to decide your fate if you don't follow them*
- COMMISH BIG PET PEEVE: If you are beating an opponent badly, do NOT run the score up. Once you are up 30 points and nearing the end of the 3rd, then the only way you are to score after that point is by a FG. Anyone caught winning by more then 30 points and scoring another TD in a game will be subject to a possible player suspension(s) by commish. "Does not include Special Teams or Defense points".
- You must attempt to resign players week 1, then so on and so forth until they do/don’t sign, there is no
UNTOUCHABLES in F/A.
- Always play your game, even if you are not in the playoff race it is your responsibility to get your game in and play. Nobody joined this league to play against the CPU so avoid making them when at all possible.
- Be courteous to others, answer texts, and do not flame them via text (or etc.), if there is an issue it is to come to an admin to take care of it. We want this community to stay together and have fun for a long time and tempers and harsh words will not help either of those things happen.
- ALL position changes must be posted and approved by the Committee the same way a trade does.
- ALL playoffs game have to be live streamed, regular season games are recommended to be streamed but not mandatory.
-Do not argue with commish or admins. If you’re given a warning take it like a man and just correct your mistakes. If you cry and complain about it allot you will find yourself banned from this league.
- From now on, if you are playing someone, and you feel they are breaking the rules, this is the protocol you will follow:
A. First and foremost, now we are on the ps4, you can record your games. Thus, I’m telling you here, u double press the share button on your controller and you’ll see a little movie film icon pop up in upper right corner of your screen with a red dot . This tells you it is recording. You are being told, to do this at the start of each quarter (since it only records 15 minutes at a time), so your entire game will be recorded. NO complaints will be heard from now on without video footage. Part of the reason we moved to ps4 is so everything can be recorded. It’s up to you to do that for your own games.
B. Pause the game (if other person pauses game on you, YOU DO NOT UNPAUSE IT until they tell you they are ready to play again) and notify your opponent of what you feel is going on in game that is against the rules . Talk to one another like adults; do not curse one another for any reason. Be an adult and stay calm and talk to each other about it. If you continue to see same issue arise, pause game second time, repeat this step. If after that second notification the opponent continues to break the rules, then you may contact the commish or admins (you must post your complaint in the forum “complaint box “in commish's office area of forums to let him know what’s been going on. DO NOT QUIT THE GAME.
C. If the issues couldn't be resolved by rule B above, take your saved recordings, upload them, and give commish a link to them. Also make sure u save all the texts between the two of you, and forward them to the commish if needed. Again, there better not be any cursing going on by either party. Have some respect and self-control. Understand being upset, do not understand taking things too far. If issues wasn't resolved during game, commish will look over evidence and texts and decide what will be done. Any complaint that comes in, where the above hasn’t been followed, it will be deemed irrelevant. Talk to one another and be civil. Do not go into open chat and just start slamming opponent. If you have an issue , you should talk to them about it, if that doesn't resolve it , then take it to commish (by posting in "complaint box" ), not entire league .ALL COMPLAINTS MUST HAVE VIDEO FOOTAGE TO ACCOMPANY IT, OR IT WILL NOT BE HEARD. But you must try to talk things out between yourselves first and at least notify your opponent of what u feel is wrong, during the game, to give them a chance to stop. However, just because something is working good to stop you or score on you, does not mean, its cheating. Let’s be real here. The rules are pretty well explained.
-Since this is a brand new engine with this Madden, we will not fully know all the glitches and cheats that come along with it. However, if you find one, do not try to exploit it for your benefit. So that being said, it is YOUR responsibility to keep a check up on the rules here in this forum .All of them. Failure to keep up with them, does not exclude you from any new rule. You don’t take the time to keep up with new rules, then you’re subject to their punishments as well.
- If you notice anything that you may think is a glitch or cheat, notify commish and admins, so we can check it out.
PLEASE NOTE ALL RULES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE/BE MODIFICATIONS, any changes will be posted in the rules notification area in the forums.