Delta League Rules

[Admin]

1) KICKING GAME RULES:

PUNT RULE - You must punt when the ball on 4th down if it is in your end (if ball is exactly on the 50 - it's not in your end of the field so there are no restrictions on gambling on 4th down)... other reasons you can gamble on 4th down when ball is in your end:
P
a) your behind in the 4th quarter...
b) your behind 3 scores or more anytime...

* QDiggity CAVIAT - if score is TIED in the 4th quarter - you can do 4th down gamble from YOUR 40 to your opponents goaline (this situation occurred in our game & he got screwed in this situation - hence it made sense to create this addendum)

note: when receiving a punt, you are NOT ALLOWED to take an extra blocker off the "D-Line" and bring him in a better blocking angle position... (if you want to bring a player back beside the kicker, move the players over-top of the Kick coverage team's gunners who already drop back on the sanp of the ball...)

- POOCH PUNTS are banned!

XTRA POINTS & SHORT FIELD GOALS - on XTRA points or field goal attempts inside of 30 yards,  YOU CANNOT MANUALLY MOVE ANY PLAYER (unless its a fake...)

2) QB is PROHIBITED from doing UNREALISTICALLY LONG DROP BACKS A QB cannot drop back farther than 12 yards from the Line of scrimmage...

note - the distanced dropped back in the pocket applies regardless of pressure and scrambling ability...

QB is PROBIBITED from doing UNREALUSTIC SPRINT OUTS (on pass plays that are designed for being thrown from a standard pocket)...The QB cannot move laterally (as a preplanned sprint out) more than 5 yards outside of the pocket in pass plays that are designed to be thrown from a standard pocket UNLESS he has been in the pocket - MAKES A LEGIT READ and movement outside of pocket is warranted by that read (because of throwing angles, pass rush or flow of the play)

note - the LATERAL movement of a qb does not apply to ON THE FLY QB scrambles that were forced because of pressure from the distance (if a player is chasing you and forcing you outside, you can run laterally as far as you want)

example of ILLEGAL sprint out:



example of LEGAL sprint out (QB makes a legit read that forces him out of the pocket - and that turned into an on the fly scramble so he is allowed to move laterally as much as he needs to because a defender is pursuing him!):



3) You must PASS RUSH a minimum of 3 players EVERY PLAY... You are prohibited from moving a Defensive Linemen off the Line of Scrimmage (to a traditional LB starting position) before the snap... If you want to play with less DL and more LBs or DBs than call a defense that has such a strategy implemented ...

SPY players do not count as a pass rusher

QB CONTAIN players count as a full pass rusher

Note: spy and contain were changed OCT 19/14 to reflect new play in the game...


4)ROSTER RULES:

You are limited to increasing the speed of all players to three points.  Players do not come to NFL and get "faster" but in the essence of this being a video game we will limit speed increases to a maximum of 3.  If you go beyond 3 points the commish will reduce the speed of the player and you will lose the XP you spent for the increase.


Players played out of position must be REASONABLE and SIM like... (the most obvious example is that u cant play Offensive players on defense and vice versa) unless in an EMERGENCY SITUATION where injuries and fatigues demands this switch from a depth chart perspective... The acceptable changes of positions are as follows:

QB to HB
RB to WR or QB
HB to FB (must be less then 90 speed)
TE to FB or OL (must be minimum 78 STR, 75 run blk and 250 lbs)
FB to TE
OLINE is completely interchangeable

WR cannot play TE!

CB and safeties are interchangeable
LBs are interchangeable
OLB and DE are interchangeable
DE and DT are interchangeable
Safeties to OLB - 83 SPD or slower; 80 HPW or higher

Note: if a change is not listed here - YOU CAN'T DO IT!

You cannot make Multi LEVEL switches (example move MLB to OLB, then from OLB to DE, then from DE to DT)

Note:changing players positions outside of this guideline is against the rules (and will result in forfeiture of that player for the season when he can be switched back to a position that is allowed within the rules...)


- If you drop a player you must wait 24 hours before you resign him.  This is to prevent guys signing FAs (or resigning current players) to huge contracts with no bonus - then dropping them and resigning so they get the bogus CPU generated contract (which is much less then the contract that was given just prior to land that player in the first place!)

5) Mix your plays up...We all have our "go to" plays - aka MONEY PLAYS but don't over use any one play... The exception being BASIC FUNDAMENTAL PLAYS that are "main stays" of all offense (example - dives, offtackle or sweeps... and blitz counter passes) - if a defense dictates that a bliitz counter pass be used b/c the defense continues to BLITZ - the offense is not responsible to mix it up as his play call is actually dictated by what the defense calls...

Any NON-base offensive play cannot total more then 20% of your play calls


6) The use of known GLITCHES and ILLEGAL BLITZES (aka NANO BLITZES) blitzes is prohibited...

note - there are many BLITZES that may appear as "NANO " blitzes to some - while others see them sound strategy... A blitz will be determined ILLEGAL if there is no reasonable easy way to defend the blitz (after falling victim to a BLITZ - a player should easily be able to find its counter on subsequent plays) - iof this counter is not relatively obvious and easy to implement - than its an ILLEGAL BLITZ...

7) SNAPPING RULES:

NO HUDDLE: The offense can only use NO HUDDLE as a change of pace tactic.  That means no  more then 15% of their play calls can be NO HUDDLE...
This rule is suspended when:
A) At the end of the first half...
B) If your losing in the 4th quarter...
C) Your down 17 points or more...


MOTION BLOCK SNAP It is illegal to motion a WR or SLOT and snap ball when he is behind the offensive line (making him an extra blocker)
- you can motion block a TE or FB (as long as they are not in slot or WR position to start the play...)
- you can motion block any WR as long as you snap ball when they are beyond the offensive tackle
*this rule was removed when receivers were unable to do this in prior madden additions in order to make rule book more condensed but the tactic had made its way back in the game - hence the rule...


3 SECOND SNAP RULE When the offense comes to the line of scrimmage they must wait 3 seconds AFTER THE LINE IS SET (this means all players who are getting in a 3 point stance have done so - 3 seconds begins when the last player is clearly in his 3 point stance...) - This is to ensure the Defense is able to have a reasonable amount of time to call their base play...
This rule is suspended:
A) in the last 2 minutes of a half - when offense is doing HURRY UP
B) if the offense is down 14 points or more...
C) if the offense is behind in the 4th quarter...

* there will be times when the offense doesn't call their play in time and they will have to SNAP ASAP to avoid a delay of game penalty - you can do this a handful of times each game (but this cannot be a tactic you use to circumvent the rule...)

Example of illegal quick snap - Aka breaking the "3 second snap rule"




MILIKING CLOCK RULE - aka BIGMULLET RULE: You may not milk the clock unless there is 3 minutes left in the half... Milking the clock is defined as repeatedly letting the play clock run down below 10 seconds...
* There will be times when you are indecisive or making subs and cannot snap the ball within these guidlines - AND THATS FINE IF IT HAPPENS OCCASSIONAL - it just cant be something that happens consistently... (no more then 15% of your snaps should run below the threshold)
* you can RUN CLOCK in the last 3 minutes of 2nd quarter and 4th quarter (your opponent needs to use his time outs to prevent the clock from running out at the end half / game...
* every play you run with play clock being +10 seconds can make up for times you snap under 10 seconds; example - if you snap with 5 seconds left on clock 3 plays in a row that can be nullified by snapping once with 25 seconds on play clock;

note: changing offense tempo to CHEW CLOCK by pressing L1 is banned unless your in last 3 minutes of 2nd or 4th quarter... (Of course in a blow out if both teams agree this can be rescinded)

STAT MAX rule - if your playing the CPU or you are up 24 points your players cannot go above the following stat totals:
QB 500 passing 5tds
HB 250 rushing 3tds
any player who catches a ball - 250 receiving 3tds

Combo stats:
* after qb goes over 100 yards rushing - those rush yards count on his passing totals... (Example qb rushes for 175 yards - he can only have 425 passing yards)

- qb rushing tds after 2 tds come off his passing totals (example qb rushes for 3 tds - he can only pass for 3 tds instead of 4)

- HB receiving yards after 100 yards come off his rushing totals... (Example HB gets 150 receiving yards he can only rush for 200 yards instead of 250)

- HB can only have 2 tds receiving then those tds come off his rushing total... (Example HB gets 4 receiving TDs - then he can only rush for 1 TD)

* there are no stat max for defensive players

THE WEASEL CAVIAT: the ESSENCE OF A RULE is always upheld when it can be reasonably ascertained.
- We cannot make rules for every situation that could arise! Players are expected to know the reason why rules are in place.  When situations arise where a rule has not been specifically referenced but the ESSENCE OF A RULE CAN BE REASONABLY ASCERTAINED - then that rule will be upheld based on that essence!

The maddening rule - extreme size changes will not be allowed when switching a players position;  example you cannot change tall DEs (who have never been in pass coverage in their life) into coverage LBs; another example would be making 300 pound DEs into LB;
* common sense prevails here; if the player is outside the original roster norm - then you cannot take advantage of extreme size differentials when changing players positions; commish decides on what "common sense" is with input from league


Browardgoons "don't be a jerk" Rule- When you are up 4 scores at anytime or 3 scores in the 4th quarter you have following restrictions:
- No pass over 10 yards from LOS (in flight)
- you can only pass the ball one quarter of the time (or once every 4 plays)

* Show some respect for your weaker opponent; run the ball - keep the clock moving and end the game sooner!

[Greenerrrrr]

[Admin]

1) KICKING GAME RULES:

PUNT RULE - You must punt when the ball on 4th down if it is in your end (if ball is exactly on the 50 - it's not in your end of the field so there are no restrictions on gambling on 4th down)... other reasons you can gamble on 4th down when ball is in your end:

a) your behind in the 4th quarter...
b) your behind 3 scores or more anytime...

* QDiggity CAVIAT - if score is TIED in the 4th quarter - you can do 4th down gamble from YOUR 40 to your opponents goaline (this situation occurred in our game & he got screwed in this situation - hence it made sense to create this addendum)

note: when receiving a punt, you are NOT ALLOWED to take an extra blocker off the "D-Line" and bring him in a better blocking angle position... (if you want to bring a player back beside the kicker, move the players over-top of the Kick coverage team's gunners who already drop back on the sanp of the ball...)

- POOCH PUNTS are banned!

XTRA POINTS & SHORT FIELD GOALS - on XTRA points or field goal attempts inside of 30 yards,  YOU CANNOT MANUALLY MOVE ANY PLAYER (unless its a fake...)

2) QB is PROHIBITED from doing UNREALISTICALLY LONG DROP BACKS A QB cannot drop back farther than 12 yards from the Line of scrimmage...

note - the distanced dropped back in the pocket applies regardless of pressure and scrambling ability...


Qb Movement Rule

- your qb can only drop back 12 yards from line of scrimmage - beyond that you are circumventing pass rush; (screen passes are exempt from this rule)

- you can only move 5 yards out of the pocket without pressure AND STILL PASS - You can run out farther without pressure but you must run ball (just like maddening does - that's legit...)

* this rule is suspended if play is designed to be thrown from outside of the pocket - example designed RPO (run pass option) but it must be clear that it's designed this way like a BOOTLEG - SLIDE - QB WAGGLE etc (so if you want to employ such a tactic you can - just be sure it's a play designed that way!)

RUNNING +5 YARDS OUTSIDE OF THE POCKET (on a play that is suppose to be thrown from pocket) without being forced to do so is just a way to get more time to pass - which you should not have! (Eventually all DL get pass their pass blocker - how far DL need to travel to get to qb is a direct relationship to the time you have for WRs to get open or for offense to run playmaker; Having to travel +5 yards out of the pocket is video game glitch to extend that time vs typically the slowest players on the field...)


example of ILLEGAL sprint out:



example of LEGAL sprint out (QB makes a legit read that forces him out of the pocket - and that turned into an on the fly scramble so he is allowed to move laterally as much as he needs to because a defender is pursuing him!):



3) You must PASS RUSH a minimum of 3 players EVERY PLAY... You are prohibited from moving a Defensive Linemen off the Line of Scrimmage (to a traditional LB starting position) before the snap... If you want to play with less DL and more LBs or DBs than call a defense that has such a strategy implemented ...

SPY players do not count as a pass rusher

QB CONTAIN players count as a full pass rusher

Note: spy and contain were changed OCT 19/14 to reflect new play in the game...


4)ROSTER RULES:

You are limited to increasing the speed of all players to three points.  Players do not come to NFL and get "faster" but in the essence of this being a video game we will limit speed increases to a maximum of 3.  If you go beyond 3 points the commish will reduce the speed of the player and you will lose the XP you spent for the increase.


Players played out of position must be REASONABLE and SIM like... (the most obvious example is that u cant play Offensive players on defense and vice versa) unless in an EMERGENCY SITUATION where injuries and fatigues demands this switch from a depth chart perspective... The acceptable changes of positions are as follows:

QB to HB
RB to WR or QB
HB to FB (must be less then 90 speed)
TE to FB or OL (must be minimum 75 STR, 78 run blk and 250 lbs)
FB to TE
OLINE is completely interchangeable

WR cannot play TE!

CB and safeties are interchangeable
LBs are interchangeable
OLB and DE are interchangeable
DE and DT are interchangeable
Safeties to OLB - 83 SPD or slower; 80 HPW or higher

Note: if a change is not listed here - YOU CAN'T DO IT!

You cannot make Multi LEVEL switches (example move MLB to OLB, then from OLB to DE, then from DE to DT)

Note:changing players positions outside of this guideline is against the rules (and will result in forfeiture of that player for the season when he can be switched back to a position that is allowed within the rules...)


Position changes listed above but outside of TRAINING POSITIONAL GROUPING can only be made ONCE per year; Example:
* OLB to DE is a legal switch mentioned above however they fall into different TRAINING POSITIONAL GROUPING (this would be LB and DL) - so this change could only be made once a year;
* FS to CB is a legal switch above and falls in the same TRAINING POSITIONAL GROUPING therefore such switches do not have a limit;
* QB to RB is a legal switch mentioned above however they fall into different TRAINING POSITIONAL GROUPING (this would be QB and RB) - so this change could only be made once a year;
Note; this is to stop guys from abusing the training system by upgrading players that were not intended by madden to share in the same training upgrades;
Example; owners were doing training that benefited RBs and OLINE but they would make their starting QB the backup RB (just for training) then they would receive maximum XP for both their starting QB and RB and then he would switch him back for gameplay!
We will not stop guys from making such legal changes but these changes can only be made once a year (so if you want to utilize the training system in that way you will be forced to keep that player at that position for the entire year! You will not be allowed to change positions with sole purpose of maximizing XP unless your willing to lose that player to that position for the entire season.


- If you drop a player you must wait 24 hours before you resign him.  This is to prevent guys signing FAs (or resigning current players) to huge contracts with no bonus - then dropping them and resigning so they get the bogus CPU generated contract (which is much less then the contract that was given just prior to land that player in the first place!)

5) Mix your plays up...We all have our "go to" plays - aka MONEY PLAYS but don't over use any one play... The exception being BASIC FUNDAMENTAL PLAYS that are "main stays" of all offense (example - dives, offtackle or sweeps... and blitz counter passes) - if a defense dictates that a bliitz counter pass be used b/c the defense continues to BLITZ - the offense is not responsible to mix it up as his play call is actually dictated by what the defense calls...

Any NON-base offensive play cannot total more then 20% of your play calls


6) The use of known GLITCHES and ILLEGAL BLITZES (aka NANO BLITZES) blitzes is prohibited...

note - there are many BLITZES that may appear as "NANO " blitzes to some - while others see them sound strategy... A blitz will be determined ILLEGAL if there is no reasonable easy way to defend the blitz (after falling victim to a BLITZ - a player should easily be able to find its counter on subsequent plays) - iof this counter is not relatively obvious and easy to implement - than its an ILLEGAL BLITZ...

7) SNAPPING RULES:

NO HUDDLE: The offense can only use NO HUDDLE as a change of pace tactic.  That means no  more then 15% of their play calls can be NO HUDDLE...
This rule is suspended when:
A) At the end of the first half...
B) If your losing in the 4th quarter...
C) Your down 17 points or more...


MOTION BLOCK SNAP It is illegal to motion a WR or SLOT and snap ball when he is behind the offensive line (making him an extra blocker)
- you can motion block a TE or FB (as long as they are not in slot or WR position to start the play...)
- you can motion block any WR as long as you snap ball when they are beyond the offensive tackle and that player has become SET in his final position...
* this rule was removed when receivers were unable to do this in prior madden additions in order to make rule book more condensed but the tactic had made its way back in the game - hence the rule...


3 SECOND SNAP RULE When the offense comes to the line of scrimmage they must wait 3 seconds AFTER THE LINE IS SET (this means all players who are getting in a 3 point stance have done so - 3 seconds begins when the last player is clearly in his 3 point stance and your backs are in their stance...) - This is to ensure the Defense is able to have a reasonable amount of time to call their base play...
This rule is suspended:
A) in the last 2 minutes of a half - when offense is doing HURRY UP
B) if the offense is down 14 points or more...
C) if the offense is behind in the 4th quarter...

* there will be times when the offense doesn't call their play in time and they will have to SNAP ASAP to avoid a delay of game penalty - you can do this a handful of times each game (but this cannot be a tactic you use to circumvent the rule...)

Example of illegal quick snap - Aka breaking the "3 second snap rule"




MILIKING CLOCK RULE - aka BIGMULLET RULE: You may not milk the clock unless there is 3 minutes left in the half... Milking the clock is defined as repeatedly letting the play clock run down below 10 seconds...
* There will be times when you are indecisive or making subs and cannot snap the ball within these guidlines - AND THATS FINE IF IT HAPPENS OCCASSIONAL - it just cant be something that happens consistently... (no more then 15% of your snaps should run below the threshold)
* you can RUN CLOCK in the last 3 minutes of 2nd quarter and 4th quarter (your opponent needs to use his time outs to prevent the clock from running out at the end half / game...
* every play you run with play clock being +10 seconds can make up for times you snap under 10 seconds; example - if you snap with 5 seconds left on clock 3 plays in a row that can be nullified by snapping once with 25 seconds on play clock;

note: changing offense tempo to CHEW CLOCK by pressing L1 is banned unless your in last 3 minutes of 2nd or 4th quarter... (Of course in a blow out if both teams agree this can be rescinded)


STAT MAX rule - if you are up 14 points your players cannot go above the following stat totals:
QB 500 passing 5tds
HB 250 rushing 3tds
any player who catches a ball - 250 receiving 3tds



Combo stats:
* after qb goes over 100 yards rushing - those rush yards count on his passing totals... (Example qb rushes for 175 yards - he can only have 425 passing yards)

- qb rushing tds after 2 tds come off his passing totals (example qb rushes for 3 tds - he can only pass for 3 tds instead of 4)

- HB receiving yards after 100 yards come off his rushing totals... (Example HB gets 150 receiving yards he can only rush for 200 yards instead of 250)

- HB can only have 2 tds receiving then those tds come off his rushing total... (Example HB gets 4 receiving TDs - then he can only rush for 1 TD)

* there are no stat max for defensive players

THE WEASEL CAVIAT: the ESSENCE OF A RULE is always upheld when it can be reasonably ascertained.
- We cannot make rules for every situation that could arise! Players are expected to know the reason why rules are in place.  When situations arise where a rule has not been specifically referenced but the ESSENCE OF A RULE CAN BE REASONABLY ASCERTAINED - then that rule will be upheld based on that essence!

The maddening rule - extreme size changes will not be allowed when switching a players position;  example you cannot change tall DEs (who have never been in pass coverage in their life) into coverage LBs; another example would be making 300 pound DEs into LB;
* common sense prevails here; if the player is outside the original roster norm - then you cannot take advantage of extreme size differentials when changing players positions; commish decides on what "common sense" is with input from league


Browardgoons "don't be a jerk" Rule- When you are up 4 scores at anytime or 3 scores in the 4th quarter you have following restrictions:
- No pass over 10 yards from LOS (in flight)
- you can only pass the ball one quarter of the time (or once every 4 plays)

* Show some respect for your weaker opponent; run the ball - keep the clock moving and end the game sooner!

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