League Rules and Guidelines

Madden League Rules:

The Basics:

Create a Coach
All-Pro Difficulty with Custom Sliders
Double XP
8 Minute Quarters

Advances:
Advance schedule will tentatively be Monday and Friday at 7 am EST.  Pending user availability, this can be modified to a 3-day advance.  If all games are completed before the scheduled advance time, the league may be advanced earlier.  Please stay active in the forums or GroupMe for any/all scheduling changes.

Scheduling:
Each week, you will be required to schedule your games.  I will not hold up advance on account of games not being played/scheduled, regardless of reason.  Please check the contact information for your opponent and work to get your game scheduled accordingly.  Try not to use GroupMe as the only source of contacting your opponent.  If they do not respond in GroupMe, please send your opponent a message via Xbox Live.

When scheduling with other users, give your opponent time to respond.  Most of us work and may not have access to our phones during the day, so please respect our time.

Auto Pilot:
If you are unable to play for any reason, please notify me or your opponent in advance.  Auto Pilot will be enabled for 1 week by default, allowing the available user to play the CPU.  

Do not request an AP unless you can provide proof that your opponent has given the okay!  

If you are having scheduling or communication issues with your opponent, please let me know immediately and provide proof of your communication.  I will review the situation and determine if AP is necessary.

GM Style:

You are expected to manage your team like a competent front office staff.  Paul DePodesta is not a good role model.  Your team needs to be in a position where anyone outside the league would want to join and take ownership immediately.

Do's:

• Maintain an active roster at a minimum of 47 players and a maximum of 53, excluding Injured Reserve.
  
• Use the Depth Chart to sort your roster and make necessary cuts.
  
• Monitor the Free Agent market before making any trade decisions.
  
• Sign players to a reasonable contract if desired.
  

Don'ts:

• Hold a Fire Sale for your team.
  
• Trade away a significant number of impact players.
  
• Offer ridiculous contracts to undermine other teams in Free Agency.
  

Depth Chart / Roster:
The positions below are interchangeable, meaning that a player can be manually edited during offseason to the alternative listed.  Once the season has started, the position is "locked" and therefore, the player should be used as a backup at the spot.  

Example: Lardarius Webb has moved to FS in real life.  He is to be used as such in Madden barring injury to the starting CBs.  I have the option, however, during offseason to move him back to corner.

• FB/TE
  
• Offensive Line
  
• DT/DE
  
• DE/OLB
  
• Linebackers
  
• CB/FS/SS
  

Play Calling/Style:

This is a moderately competitive SIM League.  You are expected to mix up play calling on both sides of the ball and not operate like http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/13793761/detroit-lions-oc-joe-lombardi-denies-play-calling-predictable.

• It is important to note that a new scouting feature will allow other users to track your tendencies.  Be mindful of this during standard play and SIM results.
  

NO CUSTOM PLAYBOOKS ALLOWED.  You are only allowed to select from the available team playbooks and "Special" categories (Run and Gun, Balanced, etc.)

• If we find that one team's playbook is excessively favored or used, it will be banned from selection.
  

Offense:
On offense, you should mix up the formations (ex. ACE, I-Form, Strong, Shotgun, Pistol, etc.).  Pass/Run ratio will be monitored and should be relatively balanced.  I understand that in the NFL some teams favor one over the other, but a 2/1 ratio is relatively safe.

Pass/Run Requirements:
Minimum of 7 attempts each per game.  To help with the count, 1 QB/WR rush can be included.  A screen pass which ends in a run will count as shown on the stat sheet.

Restrictions:

• No more than 6 QB rushes per game.  Keenan Reynolds is not on your team and even he transitioned to WR.
  
• A RB must lead your team in rush yards and attempts.  
  
• A WR must lead the team in receptions.
  

Defense:
On defense, you may not run primarily one man or zone defensive set.  You will need to mix it up between man defense, zone defenses, and blitzes.  Avoid using one formation unless caught by preset audibles. 

Play Scenarios:

Catch Types:
Due to their current form and behavior, this is subjective.  Players should be considerate about overuse of Aggressive Catch, but are encouraged to fight fire with fire.

Chew Clock:
Chew Clock is only to be used when taking a knee going into the half or if you are up multiple scores within 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter.

4th Down:
You may go for it on 4th down in the following situations:

• 4th & 1 or inches into opponents territory, but outside your kicker's field goal range.
• Losing by more than 14 points during the first 3 quarters of the game.
• Down at any time during the 4th quarter.  

Goal Line Formation:
You are only allowed to use the goal line formations when you are within 10 yards from scoring or within 5 yards of your own end zone.  This applies to both sides of the ball.

No Huddle/Hurry Up Offense:
No Huddle/Hurry up offense is allowed in the following situations:
• Down by 21 points or more at any time in the game.
• Within the last 2 minutes of the 1st half.
• Anytime during the 4th quarter if you are losing, regardless of point margin.

QB Scrambling:
Realistically, use common sense.  We know what is cheap and results in broken controllers.

• Use the pocket on pass plays and scramble when necessary (pocket collapse, sack imminent).  Designed rollouts are excluded.
• Do not snap the ball then run towards the sideline and wait for a WR to break his route.  This is a glitch in the game and will not be tolerated.
• Do not drop back a ton of yards so that you can throw deep to your receiver.  We are not playing Madden '06 against CPU.

Special Teams:
Onside kicks are allowed in the following situations:

• You are losing by 28 or more points in the 3rd quarter.
  
• You are losing by multiple scores and there is less than 3 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
  

Field Goals at 60+ yards will not count towards the Run-Up Rule.  These are encouraged due to the absolute ridiculousness of leveling up a kicker.

Pre-Snap Player Movement:
• Defense:
You are allowed to move only one player before the snap as long as it is within that player’s area (ex. You cannot take a LB and move him to the opposite side of the field, and you cannot move a Safety all the way down to the line).  If you move a player before the snap, you must control that player until after the play starts.
• Offense:
You can manually move a player prior to the snap, but that player must be set before the ball is snapped.  Plays that have designed players in motion are fine.  Please do not motion a WR behind the offensive line and then snap the ball.  Once you motion a player to a specific spot, that player must remain there until the ball is snapped.
• Special Teams:
You may not manually move players on special teams prior to the snap.  On kickoffs, you cannot manually move a player as an extra blocker on returns.  You will only need to control the kick returner the game establishes after the ball is kicked.


Glitches:
We all know that with every Madden game, there are glitches in the game.  Past glitches include rocket catching, nano blitzing, and depth chart.  Please do not use glitches as they will be recognized and are not tolerated.

Stat Padding/XP Boosting:
Stat Padding is a bit subjective, but will be monitored continuously.  There is no reason that a WR should average 15 catches per week.

As previously noted, the XP system will be modified to favor a higher rate of progression.  There are weekly goals for players and coaches which sometimes can be downright silly.  This being said, I have no problem with owners giving up "free plays" to help a guy meet these goals.  Please ensure to discuss this with your opponent as needed.

Playing vs Owner:
We all know there are different skill levels of players in Madden.  Be a good sport and do not win by more than 34 points.  Should the game be already fairly decided, it is up to the players if they want to continue.

• For those of you asking, this is based solely on the largest comeback in NFL History.  If someone manages a larger comeback in EMC, this will be increased.
  

In the event of a blowout, the user who is winning needs to begin playing conservatively.  Favor the run and use base coverages to maintain flow of the game.  Do not score to make it worse.  The losing player is not to call timeouts unless down by 21 or less within the two minute warning.

Playing vs CPU:
Please play the CPU in a similar manner as another owner.  Keep the average number of plays in accordance with the league averages.  Play your games fairly against CPU and do not allow their offense to score just so you can score more points. Do not use SuperSim unless I have been previously notified.  

I am willing to concede on Stat Padding for CPU games with Rookies only.

Disconnections/Quitting a Game:
You should never quit during a game (player or CPU).  Doing so is grounds for immediate dismissal.  If EA servers fail or your internet connection craps out, please take a screenshot and message me directly.

Communication should be made and an agreement of the two owners on restarting from scratch or getting the game back to the score at time of disconnection.  This should not lead to an argument.  When in doubt, try to get the score and time back to where it was at time of disconnection. Any disagreements will be settled by the commissioner and likely end in a SIM. Try to avoid that, yes?

By default, follow the guidelines here:

• Restart the game if the score is within 31 points at halftime.
  
• If the run-up rule has been met, the winning team will be awarded a CPU game.  The winner is encouraged to have the same scorers get on the board and "force" a play if necessary.
  
• If a disconnection occurs after halftime, restart the game if the score is within 2 possessions.
  
• If multiple disconnects occur after half, the scoreboard will decide the outcome.  The winning team will be awarded a SIM victory.  
  

Complaints and Consequences:
If you have a complaint, please message me directly and try to be civil.  Yelling and cursing will not help your cause.  If the complaint is about gameplay, please notify me by that week's end and provide proof of the issue.  The complaint will be reviewed and a decision will be made on whether or not any disciplinary action is to be taken.  All complaints will be kept by the person reporting, the impacted user, nature of the incident, and remediation.

I tend to get creative with punishment and have faced some (lots of) criticism for it the past.  It's like every bad Chance card in Monopoly.  Why not just behave well?

Here are the "Defaults" for Disciplinary Action:

1st Complaint: Warning
2nd: Suspension of the highest overall players (1 offense, 1 defense) for one game.
3rd: Suspension of the highest overall players (1 offense, 1 defense) for four games.  Autopilot will be enabled for the upcoming week.
4th: Removal from the league

Final Comments:
(I think) We are all adults and should be treated as such.  You will notice that I often refer to league members as "clowns" or "knuckleheads," which is in good fun.  If I start calling people a--holes, we have a problem.  

While open communication is welcome, try to avoid religion and politics (the stuff that HR actually draws a line on).  Use of foul language and profanity is EXPECTED, but not to be directed at other users.  If you call someone a "f-ckface," I hope it's in jest and that there was already an understanding.

DO NOT post pornography or type any hate speech.  Take that to the EA forums.

Please contact me directly with any feedback.