Game Issues

[ajmh]

I love Wolverine's Basketball games but their Football games are often a frustrating and unrealistic experience.

With the release of the 21 College Football game, I finally have gotten frustrated enough that I need to highlight the issues in the hopes that maybe they will get fixed.
I play in sandbox using AI generated players.

I have posted on both boards my complaints about QB rushing stats, so I won't go into that here, as there are plenty of other issues to cover. Let's begin:

1. The game produces too many good QB's and there is not a significant enough difference between starting and backup QB's. It should be a challenge to find 32 legitimate starting QB's and teams should be in big trouble when they lose their starting QB. Instead backups are typically rated in the 80's and teams barely miss a beat when a starter is injured. You don't really notice a difference until you get to third string QB's with overall ratings in the low 70's. In reality these low 70 QB's should be in contention for some of the last starting jobs in the league.
2. Player potential isn't clear. All you seem to be able to see is current overall ability. It takes a lot of the fun away from the draft and signing end of roster free agents.
3. There are no Long Snappers, even though every team carries one in real life.
4. PR and KR are always the same player, even though in real life these tend to be slightly different skills.
5. You don't actually need a P and a PK. If the player has good kick distance and kick accuracy they can do both jobs just fine.
6. Players have no special teams ability. A lot of end of roster decisions are actually based on whether or not a player can contribute on special teams.
7. It doesn't understand that a SE is somewhat different from a FL or Slot receiver. AI mostly just positions receivers by overall ability in the 1-3 slots
8. It doesn't understand that LT is somewhat different RT. AI just slots overall ability in LT and then RT. Same thing with G, but that is less of an issue.
9. A large number of AI coaches prefer a 5-2 base defense. No one runs a 5-2 base defense.
10. Game doesn't really understand defensive fronts and the difference between a 4-3 and 3-4
11. In particular 3-4 DE are just as likely to be 4-3 DT's as they are 4-3 DE's, and vice versa with 4-3 DT's
12. Game doesn't produce enough NT's even though they are necessary in 3 man front and not all DT's can or should play NT.
13. Game produces too many DT's with "speed rusher" skills. Frankly producing even 1 interior lineman with that skill is too many.
14. In a 3 man front the game actually listed one of my DE's as positioned as the NT in the visual positional display.
15. Game doesn't understand that a 3-4 Edge OLB is more likely to become a DE in a 4-3 then remain at LB
16. Game makes no distinction between the Mike-Will-Sam LB positions. There is a big difference but the game tends to just position players by overall ability.
17. The game will slot SS into the LB role, but will bizarrely slot them into an ILB role. As an LB your SS is most likely going to play as a SAM over the TE.
18. The game does distinguish between SS & FS even though this would be the position I would more likely not distinguish between, particularly with teams who play a lot of Cover2. It seems far more important to distinguish between LB's or T then S.
19. Contracts and salary cap are not at all like they are in the NFL. Huge issue that I believe is highlighted elsewhere.
20. Game doesn't produce enough dual threat QB's. Look at the draft the last few years. Most of the top QB's drafted have dual threat capability.

Overall the game has potential, and I should really like given the sandbox mode which allows a single player to control a whole league. But I find after playing for a little bit that I quickly go back to Front Office Football, even if I can only control a single team.