So, looking at the current sack leader, with a total of 11 sacks, MLB Jackson/Giants, I'm assuming that it's acceptable to put 245 lb LBs with high speed/strength atts at the DE spots. Jackson has an Ai rating of 60 for the LB position, which is an afront to all those who draft a DE high, 80+ raters, who are not even on the first page of 40 for sack leaders. You can go right now to the FA pool and get another Jackson and put your "beast" 80+ rated DE in a sub role, he may even do better from that.

Any other exploits that are acceptable that I should be aware of?, like WR with high speed & catch at DB. Expliots are usually associated with a higher speed and lower weight situation with a player playing at a spot "out of position", like having WRs at RB. RB at TE. There are one or two "exploits" that are nearer to simulated pro football, SS at OLB for example, and the occasional use of a WR at a RB position, but they are not frequent. The current #1 exploit is the 90+ speed CB at the RDE spot for punt coverage and punt blocking. That has been ruled out hasnt it? Just making sure I understand what the league preference is regarding exploits and player positioning.

For those who would also like to use an inexpensive, available LB at the DL spots, I would suggest trying FA SLB Rusty Parker with 82 speed & 97 strength, with an Ai default rating of only 49. He should do much better as a rusher than an 80+ rated DE with sub 80 speed. You may give up more yards on the run, but you'll more than make up for it with pressure and sacks on the average.

I know speed kills in this game, but is there some performance penalty for playing guys out of position? If I found a 295 lb DT with good pass rush skills and put him in as a DE, would he still underperform his ratings since he's heavier than a "normal" DE? I know lots of teams play WRs as RBs for their speed, but I always shy away from doing that since it's not their real position and I figure they'd get pushed around since they're not as big as a true RB. Don't think I'll be swapping guys all around, but just wanted to pick the brain of a more experienced owner. Thanks.

Hi Grandad, we are handling exploits on a case by case basis at this point, and waiting for popular sentiment to determine those. Generally, we try to not have tons of rules because that also requires someone to police all those rules.

But with regards to unacceptable exploits, the only one that we have agreed on is the punt block one. That's too gamebreaking. We don't have hard and fast rules like other leagues that say "you must be X number of pounds to be on the DL" for example. Rather, the rule is don't consciously try to trigger an obscene number of blocks by doing something totally out of the ordinary and stuff like a DB on the DL for example. As you know, it is very obvious when someone is actively trying to do it.

But with regard to the other, more borderline exploits, or game flaws, we generally let those fly. You can play LB at DE and SS at LB if that's what you are asking. To me that's generally within the realm of things real football teams might do. And yes, we allow WR at RB and you can have WR only on your team if you really want. If folks don't like that they are free to speak up and we will look at putting in some rules, but in general, the league has been very good at "fair play" and we haven't had anyone go all out "play the exploits." Hopefully that continues, because the last thing I want to do is check everyone's roster all the time to make sure they are comply with rules X, Y and Z.

If you feel that there is a exploit that needs attention that I am not aware of (because I don't play in any other leagues, I'm often behind the curve when it comes to learning about exploits) please let me know and we can investigate and take steps as needed.

Also forgot to mention: I believe the WR at DB is also considered bad form. I haven't written an official rule about that, but no one has done it in years, after one season when a WR played DB and had like 14 INTs, so I think it became an "unspoken rule."

In general, I would say the rule is "try to play fair."

Make sure you have enough active players in your depth chart as well. I (unintentionally) had a WR pulled in at CB in a preseason game because I didn't have enough DBs on the roster. I was scouting a game where the only active QB got injured and was replaced by a WR - it went as poorly as you'd expect.

Ive seen WRs playing CB/SS/FS with ratios of 1 interception per 4 thrown ats, which is one of the worst "exploits" , right behind the punt block, and is not what the game is trying to simulate.

The only reason that I have a problem with a low rated LB leading the league in sacks is that it is detrimental to things like the draft. Why use a high first round pick on a player who would be considered a "beast" DE when you can get better performance from a FA LB on minimum salary/bonus? It's not what the game is attempting to simulate as far as RL pro football.
There's already a lot of discussion in the gen forum and in beta chat (MFN1) about the imbalances of the speed attribute. Which is why you see more players with Ai default ratings of sub 70 with 80+ speed starting and performing very well, on same level as 80 & 90 level rated players. Thats a game problem, not a league problem, but just wanted to make sure what is OK and what is not in Moguls, cheers. PS .... Jacobsen now has 15 sacks, next best is 9 by DE Bates/KMN, Ai def rating: 78, a 6.31 draft pick by LAX, +8 progress.

BS? Yes. Care? Little. Would I do it myself? Shortcuts usually come with shortfalls, so no.

I’ve been known to seek out linebackers and convert them to d-line. I’ve had mixed results. I have never had that level of success.

I have never loved the exploits rule, but for many seasons, many teams wouldn’t attempt to defend against the FL Hitch and led to some massive blowouts and stat inflation.

We are competitive in this league but exploits don’t matter nearly as much as not playing your team to any reasonable level or blowing your team up to win and then quitting when it doesn’t work out.

I tried to defend against FL Hitch vs the Dildozers, and two 75 yard TD passes later.....

Helpful hint, "3-4 Normal 2 Deep Man" is *not* the defense you want to call against that play.