Quote Originally Posted by JeffHCross View Post
I've actually been thinking about it off and on all day, and I haven't come up with a good solution yet. Obviously I'm not a pro like the guys at Tiburon, but if I can't even conceptually come with an idea, that doesn't bode well imo. As far as I can tell, the problem stems from the fact that the blockers are told to find the closest threat and go to block that threat. In an open-field situation (as you guys have been talking above), that's exactly what we want to see (yet it doesn't always happen, strange). But in a close area like in my video, obviously, that doesn't work in our favor.

The only thing I can think of is that the blockers should recognize when their block will cross the path of the ball-carrier. That would be a general rule of thumb for any blocker looking for someone to block ... don't impede the ball carrier in order to do it.
since you brought up that vid, i started thinking about it too, and the only thing i can think of would be to implement a "field of vision" all players blocking. from my understanding over the years of discussing this game with everyone, there's a 2 dimensional circle surrounding the football player and he'll pick up any defender who comes into his circle. from the vid you posted though, the fullback reached the end of his route and went searching for someone who was unblocked. maybe it'd just be easier to extend the fullback's route farther upfield, idk, but if not, then thats where the field of vision thing would come into play. ideally, instead of the player using a full circle to find a player to block, it would use the 120-150 or so degrees in front of the player. this would make the player only block who he can see in front of him and would eliminate the bone-headed decision displayed in your vid on the previous page.

Quote Originally Posted by JeffHCross View Post
Otherwise the only thing I could think of is that they need to continue going north instead of turning around ... but there are situations where you want your blockers to clean up threats behind the ball carrier. So I'm at a loss for a "simple" solution, which means the solution is complex ... and those suck to code
ya, its always the exceptions that have to screw everything up.