And since Im here, let me play devils advocate for a bit. Its not to say your ideas are bad or ill conceived, they arent. But, there are some possible issues with some of them.
[quote name='sgs89']
1. Difficulty level of All-Pro rather than Pro -- more realistic, easier to stop the run, makes the kicking game more challenging.[/quote]
Im leaning towards this change as well. However, we do have many owners who are of a more "pro" level in abilty (this is one of many games they play) I hope that they can make the transition smoothy and this *early warning* will help them prepare. However, Ive not ruled out staying at pro just yet. Ive got a few more things to settle before I can say definitively we are making the change.
[quote name='sgs89']
2. Keep the good rules the Commish instituted for this season -- no QB runs, no rushing with the DTs, no running the clock out prematurely. I thought each of these rules was important and worked well.[/quote]
You can rest assured that all the rules are staying in place. Also, there will be more added due to things that have shown themselves this season. My plan is to set up some discussions on the league board (which, by the way, this should be on the suggestions thread there

) so we can work together to hammer out what we want to do and which direction we want to go.
[quote name='sgs89']
3. Exclude, say, the top 3-4 teams from the league -- while this hasn't been a problem so far, I think it is more fun if no one has the Patriots, Eagles, Steelers. That way, no one wins just by having the far better team.[/quote] I know exactly why you want to do this but there are 2 problems.
#1 Anybody can cheese with any team. Its easier with say the top 3 or 4 but there are many sleeper teams that are easily easily exploited (hello Texans)
#2 It really sucks if you are a fan of a certain team and you cant play as them. Take me for example, Im a buffalo bill through and through. It would be lucky for me that my team wouldnt be cut. However, Phlly, Atl, NE, and a few other fans wouldnt fair as well.
#3 We have eq which balances things moreso than if we didnt. No, its not perfect. NE is far stronger than Chi or Ari. But, it is more balanced.
#4 A truly skilled player can beat somebody who just takes a superteam without much difficulty. Usually these people have 3 or 4 "tricks". Once you shut those down, they struggle mightily.[/quote]
[quote name='sgs89']
4. Make the quarters 7 minutes rather than 5 minutes -- in a few games this season, my opponent has held the ball for the ENTIRE first quarter. This is pretty unrealistic and frustrating, to boot. I think 7 minutes (assuming everyone can invest the time) would be better.[/quote]
Again, another thing that has a 99% chance of happening. If you remember the league originally started at 7 but I dialed it down so I could be sure you guys would be able to handle it (if you cant play 5s, we're wasting our time trying 7's. It slows down the game, makes mistakes not as detrimental and leaves more chances for comebacks. The negative is it takes more time to play games. I dont think the extra minutes should be a problem though.
[quote name='sgs89']
Again, I have really enjoyed this league. I hope we can continue with more seasons in the future![/quote]
Im glad you are enjoying yourself. I hope everyone is. Those who are not feel free to LMK what I can do to make it better. Many of you have already taken me up on this offer and I hope all of you that want to, DO!
Mike