MFN Basic Rule Building for defenses
Every team needs a good set of Gameplan RULES if they want to succeed. And it will need to be tweeked every once in awhile as you learn more about the game. Also as you watch your games and you see a play where your defense is getting killed or just isn't in the right formation, it may be time for some tweeking. For example, as the game evolves and JDB changes things usually via beta versions (currently we are on Beta 4.6.1) you will need to examine the Game Logs and see how the defense or offense has been changed. This is what I call "doing your homework".
Here is a very simple set of rules to start your defense. The first thing you will want to do is to identify all offensive formations (ie 113 for 1 HB, 1 TE and 3 WR's).
Here are the formations that I have identified:
005 - 5WR
014 - 1TE and 4WR's
023 - 2TE's and 3WR's (There are no offensive plays currently but you can see it when you create a defensive Rule under the Personnel downtab)
104 - 1RB and 4WR's
113 - 1RB, 1TE and 3WR's (Shotgun Normal and Single Normal)
122 - 1RB, 2TE's and 2WR's
131 - 1RB, 3TE's and 1WR (There are no offensive plays currently but you can see it when you create a defensive Rule under the Personnel downtab)
203 - 2RB and 3 WR's
212 - 2RB, 1TE and 2WR's
221 - 2RB, 2TE's and 1WR
230 - 2RB and 3TE's (Goalline)
311 - 3RB's, 1TE and 1WR
What I did from here is create a defensive catchall rule for each of these offensive formations.
These are the Pass Only offensive formations and you should be setting every one of these for defending against the PASS):
005-catchall (set to pass defense and find Quarter and Dime defensive plays).
014-catchall (set to pass defense and find mostly Dime defensive plays, but you can also have some Quarter defensive plays and some Dime defenses)
104-catchall (set to pass defense and find mostly Dime defensive plays, but you can also have some Quarter defensive plays and some Dime defenses)
These are used for both passing and running and require more indepth study to learn when to throw up a good passrush versus a good run stuffing defense. I usually set these up as NEUTRAL and decide which defensive formations matchup the best against each offensive formation)
113-catchall (most prevalent offensive formation as it used extensively by all good GM's, so I usually setup basic Nickle or 3CB defenses here)
122-catchall (lots of play options but most GM's only use 3-5 plays out of this offensive formation, the most prevalent of which is the Singleback Big WR Deep play. Not much to go on here so I usually use either a standard 4-3 or maybe some Nickle 3CB type defenses here)
203-catchall (another highly used offensive formation and to keep it simple here I usually use a lot of Nickle 3CB defenses here)
212-catchall (another commonly used formation with tons of options so this is where you really need to watch a lot of play logs of your opponent and try to make sure you have defensive plays called especially on 2nd downs. As for me I usually try to do a simple matchup with a 4-3 type of defense but will change that for 3rd down and long)
221-catchall (only a few plays are used here but they can be game changers, so don't gloss over this one or you'll have your Goalline defense up and the other GM will substitute his TE's and RB's with fast WR's and you'll be watching your DE's trying to cover them which usually doesn't work out well. I usually use 4-3 type defense here but add a few Goalline just to keep them guessing)
230-catchall (another highly use formation but mostly for runs except for a few pass plays. Mostly I do use Goalline defenses here and spread in a few 4-3 defenses for good measure)
311-catchall (not used that much especially for run plays but it does have a few good pass plays so beware here and make sure you have some pass defenses here)
From here to want to setup a Rule for both Runs and Passes for each of these offensive sets (113, 122, 212, 203, 212, 221, 230 and 311).
In addition, you may want to setup some rules for 2 Minute warning type situations, both near halftime and at the end of the game.
Also, consider both 4th down situations and also short yardage situation for each of these offensive sets. A good example would be putting up a Rule for 311-Last5Mins and have only pass defenses in it.
I know that on the surface this seems like a dauntless task and it isn't even worth your time, but that depends on whether you're playing this game for fun or to win. And also after you have played several seasons you will develop your own set of rules and have them saved (in the MFN cloud) so that they can be added to each league you join. And finally, this is just a basic start of your defensive Rules and I employ about forty just on the defensive side. Many more will need to be created for your offense because each GM has their own style of offense and I can't even begin to start here on what it will take.
Special Note: A lot of veteran MFN GM's have resorted to overusing the play 4-3 Normal Man OLB Flat Zone as it covers almost every offensive play that can be called and if you have good/great LB'ers you even call it against 5WR sets and Goalline sets. It seems to me that JDB has turned off the message that used to say something to the effect "The defense needs to try a different play as this has been called too much". So these GM's only employ one Rule and only have the 999-catchall and call this play (4-3 Normal Man OLB Flat Zone) exclusively. I have even seen a team use this defense for every single defensive playcall in a Sim Bowl Championship game!
