The other day, I gave a big shout-out (and a well-deserved shout-out) to Phil Molloy for his work on the Penalty Boards.  Now, Phil actually came out with this innovation some time ago, and I’m embarrassed to say that I only recently discovered it.  And, it got me thinking . . . I wonder what OTHER innovations worth adopting are on the site.

And, what I noticed is that one contributor consistently improves the quality of the gaming experience in a very real way . . . and that is Mark Zarb.  In particular, his work with Interceptions and Sacks.

I have to be honest . . . Mark actually talked to me at the APBA Convention three years ago about this extraordinary concept, and I kind of blew him off.  I think that most of us who “tinker” with the game company’s rules think that OUR way must be superior to everyone else’s way!  And, I believe that arrogance got in the way of me embracing a very important innovation.

But, after reading about this concept on this site, it’s like a light-bulb went off for me! Mark tried to explain to me how unfair it is for the defense to have their probability of sacking a quarterback or intercepting a pass dependent solely on the quarterback’s card.  You could have a team that routinely gets to the opposing quarterback more often than any other team, but this will not be reflected in the APBA Football experience based on the game company’s rules.

Mark, and our host, Greg Barath, identified this problem years ago and Mark set out to come up with a solution – a solution, I’ll add, that does not require three extra dice rolls, and is so intuitive that I can’t believe my arrogant thick skull didn’t appreciate it until now!

So, I have adopted this innovation – with a little twist (I have to put my own stamp on this idea somehow, don’t I??!!??).  But, suffice it to say that, now when I play with the current version of the Pittsburgh Steelers, they have a much greater chance of sacking an opposing quarterback, because their 56 sacks in 2017 is a full 50% higher than the league average . . . and they SHOULD sack the quarterback more often!

Conversely, the Oakland Raiders, who only had 5 interceptions in all of 2017, 63% below the league average, will find it increasingly harder to actually pick off a pass, despite the result on the quarterback’s card!

So, THANK YOU, Mr. Zarb for your consistent commitment to improving this hobby of ours. I’m only sorry it took me this long to embrace your remarkable idea!!