Greg and I have been using essentially the same method of play for quite some time. Part of the method of play included a defensive play calling chart for Neutral Downs (Fletch67) and then situational downs. You can find the chart here… https://oguard62.net/method-of-play/. The play calling chart is on page 14.

For years, I have always used the defensive play calling chart throughout the entire game regardless of score and time remaining and most of the time it worked well, but admittedly it always felt wonky (is that a word) when a team was trailing or leading by a wide margin late in the game. I then came across this post on ABTL, https://forums.delphiforums.com/apbabtl/messages/?msg=71460.468

Mark Dergarabedian asked Greg the very question I had been thinking about and it seems my Brother had been holding out on me and was actually using the situational down chart when a team had a two score lead with 5:00 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter. That motivated me to come up with an expanded version of Greg’s idea and came up with the following:

The * defensive alignment being referred to is 3rd/4th down and >=8 yards and ** defensive alignment refers to the 3rd/4th down & 1 yard to go on the situational downs chart. If using the Master Game the reduction rule is also triggered on the * defensive alignment. All audibles, blitzes and keying as described in the Method of Play are in effect. When calling defenses when down, essentially playing to stop the run, ignore the QB Sneak audible unless it is 3rd/4th and 1.

In all situations it is assumed that the trailing team will be calling a pass on every down, and the leading team will run on every down. The audible system would take care of any counter plays, like draws or screens. If you choose to play without the audible system then it is recommended to revert back to the Fletch67 system otherwise you are just, well, “playing with yourself”.

I hope you all find this useful, and I am sure many of you will come up with modification based on your own method of play. The goal here was to give a guide to dealing with playing calls based on score in the 4th quarter.

Mark Zarb has created charts to accurately represent the various types of penalties, infraction yardage, and enforcement notes to assist with stat keeping for seasons ranging from the late 1950s to modern day.  To prevent an excess of individual season charts, Mark has created three automated files for rapid callup for the following eras:

• Pre-1974
• 1974 – 2004
• Modern Era

Under the Penalties tab in the “Modern Era” spreadsheet, I’ve inserted notes in the Penalty Table section referencing the year the penalty came into effect to assist the replayer. For example, Chop Block (2016), Illegal Blind Side Block (2019), etc.

These charts were designed to work in conjunction with his Penalty innovation. To use without having the applicable season ratings, it’s a simple two-step process:

The below files have been added to the Add-ons section under Mark Zarb:

Pre-1974 Automated Penalty Chart

1974 – 2004 Automated Penalty Chart

Modern Era Automated Penalty Chart

I want to take a moment to wish my best friend, Mark Zarb, a Happy Birthday. A reminder of our last Jets game together.

It came to my attention that there might be an issue with Roman Gabriel’s 1962 card. So thought I would post it here to help out (I am currently out of the country).