One of the most complicated, and unrealistic (in my opinion), things in the game is the way that Interceptions are handled.  Today, I’m not going to discuss the problems with the chart itself.  Instead, I’m going to focus on determining the player who actually intercepted pass.  This is kind of important as it’s actually vital if you want to inject any kind of identity into a team’s defense that is reflective in the game.

The reason that this is important is because, as we know, defense seems to be an afterthought in the game.  Outside of a defensive total of ratings points, there really isn’t much else for a defense to do.  About the only way that a defense can have an impact in the game is if they intercept a pass, or recover a fumble.  And, if those were returned for a great distance, or even a score, then it would be as if the defense was actually be playing a role in the game.

There are several ways to handle interceptions.  As we know, the boards yield a W-result when the pass is intercepted.  The game player then rolls the dice, and a play result and interceptor are revealed.  That sounds good.  The boards at least place defensive backs deep down the field on passes, and have lineman for passes caught behind the line of scrimmage.  That makes sense until you realize that you want the game to be more realistic by using the Interception Locator Index.  That’s similar to the way that receivers are selected.

So, how does that work, for the benefit of those who don’t know?  Generally, you will see a bunch of players with W-4, W-3, W-1 ratings, etc.  You total those up, and apply it to your index to reveal which player intercepted the pass.  It’s simple.  But, here comes the problem:  What if you Defensive End (d1) is the player who was selected to intercept a long pass, some 50 yards down the field?  That’s ridiculous.

How can we make it more realistic, but still use the locator?  Well, I work backwards, and I find that it is much better.  I first determine which player intercepted the pass based on the index.   Here are the 2022 Houston players with a W-result and their index code:

PITRE                       CB d8                      5              11-22

SMITH                     CB xcb                     3 23-31

KIRKSLEY                LB d3/d6                3              32-36

GREENARD             DE xde                    3              41-45

STINGLEY                S d11                       2              46-52

KING                        CB xcb                     2              53-55

HARRIS                   LB d4.d7                  2              56-62

HUGHES                 DE d5                       2              63-65

NELSON                  CB d9                      1              66

(Note: Okay, let me break into my explanation right here and state that ‘in my mind’ players come and go from the field all throughout the game.  I do not make substitutions or lineup changes throughout the game, except due to injuries. I keep my defensive index numbers the same, and play on.  This way, a backup cornerback might be on the field to intercept a pass, even if he doesn’t actually appear as one of the starters. Make sense?)

So, let’s say that you roll a 25, and you cross reference that with the index (see above) and find a backup cornerback (xcb) is the player who intercepted the pass.   Let’s say it’s Tremon SMITH from Houston.  He’s a W-3, which is tied for the second highest rating on the team, despite not being a starter.  He obviously plays cornerback, and cornerbacks are listed as either d8 or d9 in the game.  (I’m not going to get into 5 and 6 dbs at this time, but I do use those.  This is a simple explanation, so I’ll stick with just using d8 and d9.)  First I decide what position he will be assigned.  I do that by throwing one die.  An odd roll means d8, and an even roll means d9.  Generally, there will be about five to six results on the chart in that column for that player, so I roll again.  Let’s say I got a 3.  I then start at the top of the chart, counting down until I get to the third result for the position selected, and that will be the result.

For example, if the position selected was d8, and the W-column was a W-64, and the roll was a 3, then the third result down from the top is a 34, and it yields 11d8.  Perfect.  Now we have a result which not only uses the finder index, but also yields a result which is realistic for that player, and the play result.  It sounds more complicated than it really is, but it is a much better way of doing it.

Again, this is important because some of these teams actually thrive on defensive scores, and if the ball goes to a player who never intercepted a pass, then the defense has lost an opportunity to make an impact in the game.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Doug