I would like to sincerely wish each and everyone who visits this site a very Merry Christmas! May the coming year bring good health and happiness!!! Santa was good to “Oguard62”, there were new colored pens and a large button calculator in my stocking and the 1972 card set under the tree! Doesn’t get any better!!!
I truly believe that there is not a greater game to play face-to face than APBA Football. With that said, I’m constantly striving trying to refine my playing technique to not only enhance realism and accuracy, but to provide a “Face-to-Face” (F-T-F) feel to solitaire play. I’ve revised my “Method of Play” presentation to reflect how I currently play the game. The primary changes are to the situational downs, where I’ve tried to minimize “Gaming” the system but allow for some of the tactical decisions that would occur in an F-T-F game. To get the most from the presentation, select “Read Only”, “Enable Content”, “Slide Show” ribbon, “From Beginning” and select from a trusted source when you approach the first instructional video.
Effective immediately, I will no longer refer to the “Situational Down & Distance” chart when calling a draw or screen pass on situational downs (i.e., 1st & > 15, 2nd & > 10, 3rd & >8, and 3rd and 5 to 7 yards). For post-1981 seasons, on third and long situations (8+), I will compare the run rating of the opposing team’s dime package against Fletch67 to determine the defensive alignment. For pre-1981 seasons, I will use the run rating of the opposing team’s standard defense against Fletch67. For post-1981 seasons on third and medium situations (3rd and 5 to 7 yards), I will use the run rating of the opposing team’s nickel package against Fletch67. Now I know that you’re wondering, why don’t I use their passing rating on situational downs? The answer is, poor teams would be in either “S” or “G” way too often on these situations and that is not realistic at all. There is not a single defensive coordinator in the league that would have his team in a run alignment on a third and long situation. However, there are times when poor execution results in a blown coverage and the “Situational Down & Distance” chart allows this to occur on an infrequent basis. The only time the offense is guaranteed to face a “D” alignment is when a screen pass or draw is the result of an audible. I believe this will eliminate any chance of “gaming” the system and provide a more face-to-face feel to the game. In addition, I’m currently revamping my “Method of Play” presentation to mirror my current playing techniques.
At the encouragement and insistance of my good friend, Geoff Giorrdano, I started the process of making instructional videos that correspond with my power point presentations. In addition, after reviewing my briefings from the APBA Football Convention, I realized that the blitzing and keying presentations could be confusing to the audience so I posted revised slides to better explain the process. The updated slides and original presentations are located in the blog’s upper toolbar under “Instructional Videos”.
Now, I realize that Hollywood will NOT be calling anytime soon since the picture quality is not the greatest (low-end cell phone). However, I’m having fun with it and will continue to add to the library in the coming days.
Mr. Jerry Zajack and the fellow members of the National Card Football League (NCFL) are the pioneers for using modern technology (i.e., SKYPE) for APBA Football League play. Jerry articulately explains the many benefits in his presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYFyJUn85X8&feature=c4-overview&list=UUO1lhVCsuv4VJtz5EVb-4LQ. I’ve attached the NFCL’s Rules for APBA Football via SKYPE. I can’t tell you how impressed I was after witnessing his presentation/demonstration first hand. I kept thinking, how cool it would be for me to be able to play a game with Phil Molloy in Australia if the time difference could be navigated.
With more NFL teams leaning towards a fast-paced offense geared towards achieving more offensive plays it’s making it very difficult for the APBA gamer to keep up. Last season, the Patriots in the off-season visited Chip Kelly in Oregon to study his “fast-break” system and increased their plays from scrimmage by an average of 6.8 per game (in 2011 – 67.6 plays from scrimmage compared to 74.4 in 2012). Not only is the NFL a “copycat” league but with Chip Kelly now implementing his system in Philadelphia it’s going to get more difficult to keep up. Why should this be a concern of the APBA gamer you might ask? The jumping off point for achieving statistical accuracy begins with coming as close as possible to “matching” the total plays from scrimmage. Without this, overall yardage will not be as close resulting in a negative trickle-down effect. I’m currently 3 to 4 plays below the actual average in my 2011 NFL replay using current timing rules (half-plays for incomplete passes, out of bounds plays, injuries, change of possessions, etc.) and it will be even harder keeping pace in the future.
To mitigate this problem, the APBA gamer should have the ability to implement a “hurry-up offense” mode once or twice per game. When implemented, each play would be timed as a “half-play” regardless of the result. The “hurry-up offense” mode should not exceed six consecutive plays. I believe this would go a long way with keeping up with the torrid pace of today’s professional game. Thoughts?
During one my daily visits to the APBA “Between the Lines” forum I spotted a post by a gentleman (forum name – Festgrber) regarding a dice tower he purchased from http://www.etsy.com/shop/kevinscabins. After clicking on the link, I was immediately impressed with the various handcrafted wood gaming creations and specialty items. Always looking for ways to enhance my gaming experience, I settled on a dark cherry wood tower with the following dimensions (H x L x W): 9” x 8” x 4 ½ “.
Kevin provided top-notch, customer service from the minute that I placed the order. He constantly provided “status updates” of my order up until shipment. As promised, my order shipped on Friday (July 5) from Spring Valley, CA, and arrived in Alabama on Monday (July 8).
I couldn’t be happier with the product. I’ve rolled two games with it and absolutely love it, not to mention it has decreased my playing time by 5-minutes per quarter.
Yesterday I had an overwhelming urge to take a break from my current replay and I found myself perusing through my collection of cards. I hankered to see the legendary names of my boyhood, Starr, Jurgensen, Unitas, Gabriel, Tarkenton, Dawson, Lamonica and of course, my idol, Joe Namath. I settled on my 1967 set created by Mark Zarb. I’ve previously replayed that AFL season years ago; however, after reviewing both leagues rosters it became obvious that a full AFL/NFL replay concluding with Super Bowll II would have to be accomplished upon completion of my current project. To scratch my itch and provide instant relief, I decided to replay a week 4 matchup between the Oakland Raiders and my beloved New York Jets. Doomed by four Lamonica interceptions, this was the only game the Raiders lost that entire season. That Raider team was a power house and possibly the greatest regular season squad in AFL history. I feverishly entered statistics into the dice range calculator to determine reception and interception allocation numbers. Although sacks were not an actual statistic until 1982, the thought of not knowing if it was Big Ben Davidson or Ike Lassiter or Gerry Philbin or Verlon Biggs was unacceptable to me. I entered the QS ratings on the cards into the dice range calculator to determine allocation numbers. Now the only thing remaining was to create the team index cards. I reviewed all receivers’ cards to capture their letter grade(s) and “Yards per Catch” rating, determined Fletch67 dice rolls for neutral downs and team keying rating, wrote down each team’s sack/interception rating and defensive allocation ratings. Armed with this and the “Forced Fumble” and “Team Recovery” charts, I was ready to relive this Saturday evening matchup between two AFL rivals on my table top. The box score and team/individual statistics are below for your review. I’ve listed team QB ratings for the game even though this was not an official statistic yet. Enjoy!
Box Score (Oct 7, 1967) Jets vs Raiders-1967
APBA Football is the game played within the gamer’s mind. I’ve often equated playing APBA Football to listening to a game on the radio because you have to visualize what the announcer is saying. For example, hearing the play-by-play announcer call a third and long situation, “The offense aligns in a 3 by 1 set to the boundary side with a lone setback against a dime defense” my mind automatically visualizes a “Pro Trips Right” formation against a 4-1-6 defensive alignment. It’s no different than me rolling a third and long situation. As outlined in my “Method of Play” presentation, a third and long situation consists of a maximum of 5 five dice rolls to complete the play. As I write the down/distance and play (Medium Pass) on the play-by-play sheet, I visualize the QB calling the play in huddle. The first dice roll is the initial QB read at the line of scrimmage to determine defensive alignment. Is there an uncovered receiver (G) or is the defense in a basic coverage scheme which offers run support (S) or is the coverage specifically designed to stop the pass (D). If the defense is geared to strictly stop the pass (D), is the coverage designed to “bracket” or “double cover” the QB’s first read (first dice roll fell within “Key” rating) or is the defense indicating a possible blitz (second roll of a single dice). If the QB’s pre-snap read determines the called play is destined for failure, does he audible (third dice roll)? The ball is snapped and the QB is either dropping back or in the shotgun formation looking for the open receiver (fourth dice roll) and the fifth roll determines the play result. By visualizing every aspect of the play (i.e., huddle, pre-snap, post-snap and play result) the game becomes alive for me. Not only does this enhance my enjoyment of the game but it eliminates mental distractions allowing me to complete games at a rapid pace.
