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[TIMB0B]

I think the aggressive/conservative "gameplan adjustments" needs an overhaul. This is a long write up, but I just want to make sure I explain it thoroughly. It's not an overwhelming whole-scale change, but a reworking of gameplan.

First, almost all of the adjustments currently aren't applicable to a gameplan. These adjustments (Big Run, Hold Block, Jump Snap, Strip Ball, Swat/INT, etc.) should strictly fall under a player's specific attributes such as awareness, skill, and discipline (a Discipline attribute should be created regarding a player's penalty propensity - based on their GPA); but there are some of these adjustments that do pertain to coaching philosophy: Zone depth, Option defense (more on this in a moment).

The existing gameplan adjustments don't have to be scrapped in a sense, but merely embedded into the player's attributes giving them more unique identities of whether they're a playmaker or simply a role player - actually bringing the player tendencies to fruition. For example, why should a run stopping tendency DL-man have the same Jump Snap advantage as a pass rushing tendency DL-man? And what does jumping a snap have to do with a gameplan? Coaches ideally would like their DL-men to get off the ball quickly all the time.

And for coaches specifically, playcall aggressiveness should determine the zone depths and option defense (noted above) from the current gameplan adjustments. This is such an important slider because it would give coaches a unique identity as well. Zone blocking, man-to-man blocking, or a balance of both; this could go a long way with offensive playcall aggressiveness. For example, if your coach is aggressive, he'd run a zone blocking scheme. Man-to-man would be conservative. Balanced would include both.

Okay, let's move on to my "gameplan" suggestion...

To make gameplan more authentic, think about what a gameplan is. A gameplan involves at least 2 factors: Your scheme vs your opponent's scheme. So, an ideal way to overhaul gameplan is to base it off of those 2 factors and go from there.

Not much needs to be added to do this. Here's why...

The game currently already has a pseudo gameplan option in the "coach philosophy" menu with the playbook selections, run/pass ratio slider, aggressive playcall slider, and the substitution slider. However, this is for when simulating your games, and does not affect your playcall menu in-game when you actually play.

So, this is what I suggest...

Step 1: Load your game to the "controller select" menu. At this point, your specific offensive & defensive playbooks lock in place as well as your "Aggressive Playcall" slider setting, so if you want to change these you need to back out and do it under coach philosophy.

Step 2: Scout opponent. Like the current "uniform option" at the bottom of the screen, a "scout opponent" option is available where you toggle and see your opponent's playbooks and their run/pass slider settings compared to yours.

Step 3: Create a gameplan. Under the scout opponent option, you can adjust your run/pass sliders for both offense and defense to counter your opponent's. Keep in mind, they may be adjusting theirs to yours.

Step 4: Start game.

Now, here's what your adjustment does. Once you're in-game at the playcall screen, there are three options: "Ask Coach," "By Formation," and "Play Type," Your "gameplan" will be toggled under the "Ask Coach" option. Your pre-game slider adjustments will have sorted/eliminated plays from your playbook and consolidated it into the "Ask Coach" option. However, it doesn't stop there. Your playbook is condensed even further by your "Aggressive Playcall" slider setting. Again, the aggressive playcall slider is unique because it gives your head coach and coordinators a coaching style identity. This slider setting, for a D-coordinator, would determine the aggressive/balanced/conservative zone depth from the existing "gameplan adjustments" the game has.

An example: you're playing an Air Raid offense, so you adjust your sliders to a heavy pass defense ratio. Your base defense may be a 4-3, but your gameplan would remove any formations that don't have at least 5 defensive backs. So all 4-3 formations, 5-2, 4-4, etc. would be removed. Then, with your playcall aggressiveness slider setting (say it's set to very conservative), it would remove all plays with blitzes as well, condensing your playbook to a specific gameplan. With this example, it's a very conservative pass defense gameplan.

On top of all this, coach prestige could be factored in. When you select the "ask coach" option (i.e. your gameplan), if your coordinator is an A+, he would suggest a play that would most effectively work given the situation (1st down, 2nd down, 3rd and long, 3rd and short, etc.). Conversely, if he's a D, he will suggest a poor play given the situation. How the play works, though, ultimately depends on the user (at least offensively).

Even with all this, you could still abandoned your gameplan by simply selecting plays from the "By Formation" or "Play Type" options.

Side note: "No-Huddle" should be added to coach philosophy. There needs to be an actual option to toggle whether you're a huddle/no-huddle offensive team. And in the game, if you're a no-huddle team, you shouldn't have to ever hit the no-huddle button, it automatically goes no-huddle. And if you change formations, it should make the applicable adjustments. A WR shouldn't line up at TE. (Substitutions are still allowed. If you notice in a real game, the ref will stand over the ball. That's because if the offense makes a substitution, the defense is allowed to as well, therefore they stop play until the defense makes their substitutions. Other than that, the offense can snap it as quick as possible if they don't make substitutions. I'd like to see an illegal sub penalty.)