Madden 13 Official CAG League - On Hiatus. See you in August for Madden 25!

[quote name='bvharris']We can adjust the sliders for the league, yes.

My feeling is it's never going to be something we do during the season. We might tweak them a bit before we start (though I doubt it will be much, and we will do so transparently). But say if after the first season there were 14,000 interceptions and 3 sacks, we might want to adjust the sliders a bit in order to create a more realistic gameplay experience.

It's not something we're going to be fiddling with week in and week out though, since I think the only thing worse than a game which is unrealistic would be one which is both unrealistic AND inconsistent.[/QUOTE]


Sounds good to me Consistency is very important to me
 
but at the same time if people throw dumb passes that deserve to be picked off??? i like the gamestyle if its a problam it will be fixed in the next madden ... using a slider to make defenders drop picks is taking away from teams with good cbs.... and im the lions so it will really hurt me lol..... neways how about joe flacco..... good job kid!
 
[quote name='sprice8688']using a slider to make defenders drop picks is taking away from teams with good cbs.... [/QUOTE]

Presumably better CBs will still pick off passes at a higher rate than lesser CBs, the overall rate would just be lower.

I personally haven't found interceptions to be too high this year, because from where I'm sitting they've always been high.

I'm not especially keen on changing any sliders before we even start, I'd rather leave it for the first offseason if we think anything has been way too unrealistic. In the meantime it's not like we aren't all playing under the same settings, so it should even out.
 
Anyone see the patch notes anywhere yet?

I'd really love to start tonight, though I'm still hesitant to do so without the CC roster update. We're still 4 days ahead of where we started last year.
 
So, we ARE going to wait until the connected careers roster update (which we don't know the realease date of) until we start the league?
 
[quote name='LVPatriots']So, we ARE going to wait until the connected careers roster update (which we don't know the realease date of) until we start the league?[/QUOTE]

According to this, which was posted last week, the CC update should be available sometime this week. However, that will just be the final 53 man rosters.

If we wanted to start now, my understanding is that it would be the 75 man preseason rosters, which some might find preferable. That roster would include some guys who didn't make the final cuts on NFL teams (for example, the Pats would still have Gaffney and Branch) and also not have some of the late signings.

So if we started today, the rosters we went with would be 75 players but not 100% accurate. If we want to wait, we can start with the 100% accurate final 53-man rosters, but then we presumably wouldn't have any preseason cuts.
 
Regardless of the roster issue, I do want to make sure that the patch notes include some of the most crucial gameplay fixes before we start. Hopefully it does.
 
[quote name='pitfallharry219']https://twitter.com/EAMaddenNFL/status/245551609256497152

The CCM roster update is coming Friday.[/QUOTE]

Thanks. Presumably this will only be the final 53-man version, which would eliminate the need for preseason cuts.

I'd say the rosters we have right now are about 90% good, so I guess it would really come down to whether people are interested in the extra flexibility that would come with 75-man rosters.
 
[quote name='bvharris']Thanks. Presumably this will only be the final 53-man version, which would eliminate the need for preseason cuts.

I'd say the rosters we have right now are about 90% good, so I guess it would really come down to whether people are interested in the extra flexibility that would come with 75-man rosters.[/QUOTE]


Even though I really don't want to wait , I believe that final 53 man roster would be true to and we can expirement with the 75 man roster next season , Plus I don't really feel like spending more time in preseason than we need to spend lol
 
[quote name='Mr Grand Cru']Even though I really don't want to wait , I believe that final 53 man roster would be true to and we can expirement with the 75 man roster next season , Plus I don't really feel like spending more time in preseason than we need to spend lol[/QUOTE]

We'll be spending the same time in it regardless, probably about 1 day per week, and just simming any games which don't get played (I plan to turn off injuries for the length of the preseason if I can). So even if people didn't manually make their cuts, the game would do it automatically.
 
[quote name='bvharris']We'll be spending the same time in it regardless, probably about 1 day per week, and just simming any games which don't get played (I plan to turn off injuries for the length of the preseason if I can). So even if people didn't manually make their cuts, the game would do it automatically.[/QUOTE]

In the connected career I was in I didnt like the cuts that was made by the computer at Least here I wont have to worry about other users snatching players up off the free agent but lets say I miss a cut and they cut someone I didnt want to cut would I be able to retrieve them from free agancy and cut who I would prefer to cut ?
 
And another thing to consider with roster is contracts for players will probably be updated and I think Ochocinco will now be on the free agency if I am not mistaken lol
 
[quote name='Mr Grand Cru']but lets say I miss a cut and they cut someone I didnt want to cut would I be able to retrieve them from free agancy and cut who I would prefer to cut ?[/QUOTE]

Good question. I'd say yes.

I'm leaning towards waiting for the roster update since we now know for sure when it will be.

Also, keep in mind that even once I set up the league, we'll still wait at least a day or two before starting the preseason in order to give everyone the chance to join up (if we start before people join, the CPU will go nuts with signings).

So if the roster update is out Friday, I'd say we'll probably start the preseason on Sunday.
 
[quote name='Doomtime']I'd say there's a 0% chance that we see any gameplay patches this week. They'll take their sweet time.[/QUOTE]

There's no gameplay fixes in the patch which hit today?
 
i like the no slider option also and i thinkwe should start tonight and have the set 75 if we are doing the preaseason..... if no preseason then wait for the roster update.... for me it would be funner to have the option to cut players at my choice.
 
[quote name='sprice8688']i like the no slider option also and i thinkwe should start tonight and have the set 75 if we are doing the preaseason..... if no preseason then wait for the roster update.... for me it would be funner to have the option to cut players at my choice.[/QUOTE]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe preseason is on automatically. I didn't see an option to turn it off. So the only difference if we use the 53-man rosters would be no player cuts (at least not in the first season).
 
[quote name='bvharris']There's no gameplay fixes in the patch which hit today?[/QUOTE]

Still no notes. I don't know why they're waiting to release them.
 
[quote name='bvharris']Good question. I'd say yes.

I'm leaning towards waiting for the roster update since we now know for sure when it will be.

Also, keep in mind that even once I set up the league, we'll still wait at least a day or two before starting the preseason in order to give everyone the chance to join up (if we start before people join, the CPU will go nuts with signings).

So if the roster update is out Friday, I'd say we'll probably start the preseason on Sunday.[/QUOTE]


I mean we can attempt to have everybody to join in on Friday, I think with the built anticipation that this won't be impossible.
 
One other thing I wanted to mention: We're going to be short one owner (DVO) for the start of the league. In order to prevent the Falcons from going on a FA binge, I think we need to have someone occupying that slot. I don't think just having staticz switch back and forth will prevent them from signing FA... Any ideas? I guess we could have someone from the waiting list or the other league fill in until he gets back.
 
[quote name='Mr Grand Cru']I mean we can attempt to have everybody to join in on Friday, I think with the built anticipation that this won't be impossible.[/QUOTE]

I'd think not too, though it only takes one or two stragglers for it to be a problem given that the CPU will automatically make roster moves. Once we're sure when we're starting, we'll let everyone know via PM.
 
We're going to wait for the roster update, so the league will officially start this Friday. Fero and I discussed it and we both agree it's worth waiting for the accurate rosters, and considering ubernes is actually out of town until tomorrow I think we can assume he does as well.

Once the roster is out I'll start the league up and then people can start joining. We'll start the preseason as soon as everyone is in.
 
[quote name='bvharris']I'd think not too, though it only takes one or two stragglers for it to be a problem given that the CPU will automatically make roster moves. Once we're sure when we're starting, we'll let everyone know via PM.[/QUOTE]

That's True , I wish Everybody had Kik messenger lol , has anybody created a twitter or facebook group for everyone ?
 
[quote name='Mr Grand Cru']That's True , I wish Everybody had Kik messenger lol , has anybody created a twitter or facebook group for everyone ?[/QUOTE]

I plan to do at least the twitter thing once the league is up and running. Although as always I should reiterate that while supplemental communication is fine, everyone needs to be able/willing to use CAG to communicate.

To that end, I'm going to reformat the contact info in the OP using the format from the other league to make it easier. Could everyone take a moment to fill this out (don't worry about the PM bit, I'll add that):

Team | CAG Name (click to send private message) | XBL Gamertag | Time Zone | Availability

Example:

Denver Broncos | bvharris | bvharris888 | EST | Any night after 6PM, on weekends by appt

If you want to include additional modes of contact (e-mail, Kik messenger, facebook, etc) feel free to provide that info as well.
 
San Francisco 49ers / Mr Grand Cru / Mr Grand Cru / Est / Any night after 6:30pm and Appointments on Weekends / Twitter: @LicensedLiar / Kik: MrGrandCru / Facebook will be provided upon request.
 
[quote name='bvharris']We're going to wait for the roster update, so the league will officially start this Friday. Fero and I discussed it and we both agree it's worth waiting for the accurate rosters, and considering ubernes is actually out of town until tomorrow I think we can assume he does as well.

Once the roster is out I'll start the league up and then people can start joining. We'll start the preseason as soon as everyone is in.[/QUOTE]
Sounds good...Connected Careers is fucking with us!
 
[quote name='Og whitewidow']They are accurate to starting day..if you do Friday's update it would be NFL week 2 Update.[/QUOTE]

The non-CC rosters are, but not the CC rosters. They're always separate updates. If we started with the rosters which are there for CC right now, they are not accurate. Vontae Davis is still on the Dolphins, for example.

Edit: I always seem to catch peoples posts before they edit, lol. Says something about my productivity at work during Madden season. :D
 
[quote name='Doomtime']I'd say there's a 0% chance that we see any gameplay patches this week. They'll take their sweet time.[/QUOTE]
I feel like that patch was strictly for network issues...it was about the size of the network patches they put out for other EA titles.
 
Philadelphia Eagles | LVPatriots | MurdaModeLV | PST | After 4:30pm PST on weekdays. Usually free anytime on the weekends.
 
League Rules

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ENFqvqkSsFzOT7Gbp_ta7iFU_1W4kabryafskTteswM/edit

We're not quite finished yet, so these are still subject to change. Wanted to get feedback though and also see if I missed anything. I started from scratch and wrote this whole thing, so it's definitely possible I left a few things out which we want to address.

These are mostly what we used last year, though please note the new/updated rules on onside kicks, disconnects, and trade review.

Once we've finalized the rules, they'll be added/linked in the OP.

For those who don't use google docs, I'll post the whole thing below as well:

Madden 13 - Official CAG Madden League Rules
The purpose of this document is to explain the general rules and principles for the Official CAG Madden League. This list is not exhaustive, as things do come up during the course of the year. Consequently, these rules are subject to change (though we will not change them without notice in the thread). No discipline will be handed out for rules not already in this document at the time of infraction. However, if you see something missing from this list, please bring it up rather than seeing it as an opportunity to get away with something.

Commissioners: bvharris, siradam134, ubernes

General Rules and Playstyles
1. Don’t be a dick.
This is the first rule for a reason, and will generally encompass ALL of the other rules. Everyone is in this league to have fun, and when people act like jackasses to one another, it becomes less fun.

1a. No running up the score
Everyone should know what this means. It doesn’t mean you need to start bleeding clock early in the second half (though you can if you want) and it doesn’t mean you have to do nothing but run the ball with a lead. But if you are still actively trying to score with a massive lead in order to pad stats, it will not be tolerated. This will be monitored more carefully than ever this year given that you now earn XP for stats. That is not an excuse for running up the score. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

1b. No showboating
Simple enough: Don’t flip into the endzone. Ever. No one is impressed by it, and it just makes you look like a jerk. Same goes for twirling around randomly while running in for a score, holding the ball out (assuming that’s still in the game) and any other showboating moves. If you want to look cool, save it for your offline franchise. The excuse of “it’s instinct because I do it offline” is only going to work once. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

2. Play like an NFL coach would
This is probably the broadest rule, since not every NFL coach has the same game management style, nor do we expect every Madden player to. However, there are certain things which are not allowed in the league simply because we are trying for as accurate a simulation of real football as possible.

2a. No cheesing
The definition for “cheese” is much like Justice Potter Stewart’s definition for pornography: It’s hard to define, but I know it when I see it. Running 20 yards backwards with the QB before throwing, running the same play over and over again, nano blitzing (which no longer seems possible this year, thankfully), etc. These things should be obvious to anyone who has played in this (or any sim) league before.

2b. Going for it on 4th down
The general rule is “when in doubt, don’t.” There are plenty of people who play online who go for it on every 4th down, that is not okay in this league. If you’re on your half of the field, you should not be going for it on 4th unless you’re at the point of the game where you have no other choice, even if its short yardage. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive in situations where a real NFL coach might be (4th and 1 from your opponents 40, or something like that) but if your opponent makes an issue out of it, it will be discussed. Last year the general guideline was: If you make a non-conventional 4th down call, be prepared to defend it in the thread. If you can’t conceive of a logical/strategic defense of going for it in that situation, that’s probably a good indication that you shouldn’t. There is of course some gray area in this rule, but keep in mind that area is a yard wide, not a mile.

2c. Onside Kicks *NEW RULE*
As many of us have discovered by now, the game UI no longer alerts someone when the opponent is in onside kick formation. Therefore, if you are attempting an onside kick and your opponent does not come out in onside kick formation you must give them the opportunity to either call a timeout or audible into onside coverage. You should wait at least 5 seconds, but 10 would be even better. Quickly kicking to take advantage of your opponent not being ready will not be tolerated.

2d. Running with the QB
Scrambling is allowed. However, you need to do it in a way which is realistic and consistent with how real NFL players do it. Constantly calling 5-wide formations and then scrambling up the middle after the coverage drops is cheese, not strategy. Scrambling should generally either be from designed QB run plays or occur after a play breaks down.


Transaction Rules and Guidelines

1. Free Agents
Free Agent signing in this league are NOT a free for all. What that means is that you are not free to sign whoever you want from the free agent list during the season. There are three different types of free agent signing which will be detailed below.

1a. Free Agent Waiver Period
A couple of times during the first season, we will have free agent signing periods in order to work our way through the existing free agents in the pool. The selection order will function like a draft with the order determined by record (worst-to-best) at the time of the period. There will be four groups of 8 teams which will have a window in which to sign a free agent from the list. When you sign a player, you must also drop one (this will be necessary for most teams given the roster limit anyway). All selections MUST be posted in the thread to be considered valid.

1b. Injury Replacements
If a player on your team is injured, you are allowed to sign a temporary replacement if it is necessary for depth. That means that your team would be below the feasible number of players at that position in order to play. Those minimums are as follows:
QB - 2
HB - 3
FB - 1
WR - 5
TE - 2
OL - 2 each
RE - 2
LE - 2
DT - 3
LOLB - 2
MLB - 3
ROLB - 2
CB - 5
FS - 2
SS - 2
K - 1
P -1

The count will also include excess players at an equivalent position. So if you have 3 healthy LOLB and 1 healthy ROLB, you would be considered to have met the minimum. When signing an injury replacement, you do NOT have to release a player (though obviously you will if you’re at the roster limit) but the player must have a lower OVR rating than the lowest player you have at that position (the equivalent position rule applies here as well). When the injured player returns, you must drop the replacement player.

1c. Offseason Free Agent Signing
Connected Careers now has offseason free agent signing periods, during which teams can bid on free agents (both those with expired contracts from other teams and those in the general FA pool. This process is already regulated by the game, and therefore will not be subject to further review from the league. The only consideration you have when signing FAs in the offseason will be the salary cap and roster limits.

2. Trading
2a. Trade Review *UPDATED RULE*
As with last season, ALL trades will be subject to league/commissioner review. This means when a trade is accepted by both parties, before it is processed in-game it must be submitted in the league thread. There will then be a discussion period after which the trade will need to be approved by the Trade Review Panel. The Trade Review Panel will consist of 5 members: The three league commissioners and two representatives elected by the league. Any member of the panel involved in the particular trade must recuse themselves from the vote. Trade passage will require a simple majority of votes to pass. In the case of a recusal, 3 of 4 votes will be required. All decisions made by the Panel are final, though trades may be re-worked and re-submitted if they are deemed unfair.
2b. Trade Criteria
Like past years, trades will be judged wholly on their own individual merits, but will also consider the financial ramifications of a trade. For example, trading a better player for lesser players/picks will be looked at different if one of the teams gains cap relief by making the trade. Each situation is unique, so the Panel will look at a wide variety of factors when ruling on trades.
2c. Trade Cap
For at least the first season, we will be keeping the existing trade cap in place. If this proves to be unnecessary given the new salary cap element, we may remove it in future seasons. The per-team trade cap is as follows:
6 total trades per season, with 4 Core players max allowed to be traded. A Core player is defined as:
90+ overall player = 2 core players
80-89 overall player = 1 core player
1st round pick = 1 core player*

* For the first season, even future 1sts will count against the current year cap (in case we get rid of the cap in the future). If we do not remove the cap, in subsequent seasons future 1sts will count against the cap for the season before the pick would be made. For example, a 2015 pick would count against the cap for the 2014 season.

2d. Trades w/ CPU teams
This won’t be an issue as long as the league is full, but for now we will NOT be allowing trades with CPU teams. This is subject to change if we can decide on a good way to regulate it.
2e. Pre-traded draft picks
Because the game now honors pre-existing draft trades by default, we will continue to do so. These trades will automatically be reflected in the league rosters.

3. Unsanctioned Transactions
Any unsanctioned transaction (be it a free agent signing or trade) during the season will be reversed by the commissioners, and after a warning a strike will be issued. Seriously, don’t do it.

League Policies / Discipline

1. Communication
This is the #1 most important factor in keeping the league running smoothly. ALL league members must be registered at CAG, and while we encourage people to subscribe to and keep up with the thread, at bare minimum you must be able to respond to PMs in a timely fashion. If you can’t do this, then you should find a different league. This is a CAG league, and we expect people to use CAG. Repeated communication issues can lead to a strike.

If you are having trouble contacting your opponent, LET A COMMISSIONER KNOW or post in the thread. That doesn’t mean five minutes after advancement, but if you haven’t heard from someone a day after contact, let us know. Posting half an hour before advancement that you haven’t heard from your opponent isn’t likely to elicit much sympathy and is a good way to get your game simmed.

Most importantly, be proactive. Don’t wait for your opponent to contact you, contact them. The earlier you contact your opponent, the earlier you can play and the less opportunity there will be for something to go wrong. Communication is the backbone of a successful league, we can’t overstate its importance.
2. Advancement
Last year, we generally tried to advance every 3.5/4 days, and we will try to keep a similar schedule this year. We will be willing to adjust up or down depending on extenuating circumstances, but generally will try to stay on schedule. Advancement times will always be listed in the thread title. Additionally, given that there are additional factors this year (practice, scouting, contract negotiations) please try to complete these things in a timely fashion since we’re not going to postpone advancement just because someone didn’t get a chance to practice or scout (scouting points do roll over). If you finish early, please use the in-game functionality to indicate you are ready to advance.
3. Thread Etiquette
This harkens back to the first rule on this list: Don’t be a dick. The same thing that applies to the game applies to the thread. Obviously disagreements will happen, and people will be boisterous, and that’s fine. But in general, please try to keep things in the thread as civil as possible. This is tough to define specifically, but I’d generally go by these two suggestions:

  • No personal attacks
  • Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your mom to read
That should cover most everything, and the rest should be common sense. We’re not going to be incredibly anal about this, but if someone becomes a repeated problem we may consider discipline.

4. Disconnects *UPDATED RULE*
This is especially important this year, since while disconnects themselves aren’t necessarily more common, currently in Connected Careers a disconnected game will ALWAYS give a loss to the owner whose connection was responsible for the disconnect. It’s unclear whether this is a bug or by design, but in either case we do not agree with this way of doing things and will be working around it with our policy. As always, pointing fingers when it comes to disconnects is pointless. Yes, the game considers one party “at fault”, but this doesn’t mean someone is cheating. Sometimes there are freak outages, etc. If it becomes a recurring problem for a specific user, we’ll deal with it.

4a. Do Not Count Any Disconnect
As mentioned above, counting a disconnect at present will automatically give a loss to the person whose connection the game deems to be at fault. If you receive the message about counting the game, that means your opponent disconnected and it will give you a win, even if they were winning. Resist the urge to take the free win, since accepting the disconnect without approval will result in a strike, no warnings given.

4b. What to do if your game disconnects
If your game disconnects, quit out of your game immediately (we suggest quitting out of Madden directly by going to the home screen). This way Madden will not count the game at all and we will be able to determine what to do. Again, counting the game without permission will not be tolerated.

Next, post in the thread/contact the commissioners via PM. There are three of us and we are not that busy, so you will likely get a response very quickly and we will sort the situation out. Again, do not take the law into your own hands.

4c. Handling of disconnects
In most cases of a disconnect, we will ask that the game be replayed. If the game was far along, it is permissible to try to recreate the conditions of the game at the time of disconnect, though this is not required. If for some reason the game cannot be replayed, there are several options we can pursue:

Option 1: Simming
This will be the most common course of action in repeated disconnects, especially when the games are close and the players are of similar skill levels. If you can't get the game in, and there's no body of evidence whatsoever as to who had the upper hand in the matchup (on the field, obviously) than we will sim it. No one likes a sim, but there's no denying it's fair.

Option 2: Play the CPU
If a game disconnects in which one player has a clear late advantage and are not given the option to count the game than sometimes it will be appropriate for the trailing team to temporarily drop from the league and let their opponent play against the CPU. For the most part, nobody is going to be compelled to take this option, and obviously in most cases it will require the consent of both parties. There is plenty of precedent for such a move (I even dropped in the playoffs last year against Doomtime) and I think we can all rationally tell when our opponent has control of the game (even if we don't want to admit it). Obviously this is an inherently subjective question as to whether a game is in hand, and it will be judged on a case by case basis using the following criteria:

  • Size of the lead (as well as the total score)
  • Time remaining
  • Possession and field position
A 3 score lead in the 4th quarter is more in hand than a 2 score lead in the 3rd quarter, and so on. Again, both teams have to agree to this course of action or one side has to have it approved by the commissioner. An example of the latter might be if someone is up 35-7 late in the 4th and the opponent is being belligerent and demanding it be played again. Generally speaking, we should keep this amicable, but as I said we should all have some self-awareness as to when we're beat.

It goes without saying that in this scenario those seen to be running up the score on the CPU or deliberately attempting to injure players will be frowned upon and are less likely to have the opportunity in the future.

Option 3: Subbing
When it's clear that one person or the other is the one who's disconnecting than they are permitted to request a sub who might have better luck connecting to the opponent. This request should be made to the commissioner who will then choose an appropriate sub to try and complete the game. As always, subs should give their full faith effort to win the game and play fair.

Again, don't point fingers saying "it's his fault! his connection sucks!" because you really have no way of knowing for sure. On the other hand, if you suspect it's your connection and not the servers, than say so. It is possible that both teams could be subbed for simultaneously, although in that scenario simming might be the better option.


5. Strikes/Expulsion
No one wants to deal with this topic, but it’s necessary. Over the years we’ve only thrown a handful of people out of the league, so we are not especially trigger happy. Repeated violation of league rules will be dealt with however. Three strikes and you’re out.

Ad Hoc Rules
This is for rules which we have added during last season or this year which deal with specific gameplay issues. These will be more likely to be updated as we go, especially if the issues which they address are patched.

1. QB Hot Swapping
You can not switch from one QB from another in the middle of a drive in order to gain an advantage from bringing in a different style of QB (bringing in a scrambler, for example). This is because the game does not alert your opponent that the QB has been swapped. This does not mean you cannot swap QBs mid-drive, but to do so you must alert your opponent (either by pausing the game and sending a XBL message, or via voice chat if you are using it). The exceptions to this rule are:

  • Wildcat formations. These carry an expectation that the QB might be subbed, and therefore you do not need to alert your opponent if you bring in a different QB for these, since they will see you are in wildcat.
  • Injuries. If your QB gets injured, your opponent will obviously know someone else is coming in.
You do not need to alert your opponent if you begin a NEW possession with a different QB. Single drives that span the end of the 1st or 3rd quarter do count as one continuous possession, so the rule does apply in those cases. Repeated violations of this rule will lead to a strike.
 
[quote name='LVPatriots']If you look on NFL.com's most current power rankings. Where it lists the team name, it says "Tebow" instead of "Jets".[/QUOTE]

tebowlulz.jpg
 
[quote name='bvharris']League Rules

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ENFqvqkSsFzOT7Gbp_ta7iFU_1W4kabryafskTteswM/edit

We're not quite finished yet, so these are still subject to change. Wanted to get feedback though and also see if I missed anything. I started from scratch and wrote this whole thing, so it's definitely possible I left a few things out which we want to address.

These are mostly what we used last year, though please note the new/updated rules on onside kicks, disconnects, and trade review.

Once we've finalized the rules, they'll be added/linked in the OP.

For those who don't use google docs, I'll post the whole thing below as well:

Madden 13 - Official CAG Madden League Rules
The purpose of this document is to explain the general rules and principles for the Official CAG Madden League. This list is not exhaustive, as things do come up during the course of the year. Consequently, these rules are subject to change (though we will not change them without notice in the thread). No discipline will be handed out for rules not already in this document at the time of infraction. However, if you see something missing from this list, please bring it up rather than seeing it as an opportunity to get away with something.

Commissioners: bvharris, siradam134, ubernes

General Rules and Playstyles
1. Don’t be a dick.
This is the first rule for a reason, and will generally encompass ALL of the other rules. Everyone is in this league to have fun, and when people act like jackasses to one another, it becomes less fun.

1a. No running up the score
Everyone should know what this means. It doesn’t mean you need to start bleeding clock early in the second half (though you can if you want) and it doesn’t mean you have to do nothing but run the ball with a lead. But if you are still actively trying to score with a massive lead in order to pad stats, it will not be tolerated. This will be monitored more carefully than ever this year given that you now earn XP for stats. That is not an excuse for running up the score. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

1b. No showboating
Simple enough: Don’t flip into the endzone. Ever. No one is impressed by it, and it just makes you look like a jerk. Same goes for twirling around randomly while running in for a score, holding the ball out (assuming that’s still in the game) and any other showboating moves. If you want to look cool, save it for your offline franchise. The excuse of “it’s instinct because I do it offline” is only going to work once. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

2. Play like an NFL coach would
This is probably the broadest rule, since not every NFL coach has the same game management style, nor do we expect every Madden player to. However, there are certain things which are not allowed in the league simply because we are trying for as accurate a simulation of real football as possible.

2a. No cheesing
The definition for “cheese” is much like Justice Potter Stewart’s definition for pornography: It’s hard to define, but I know it when I see it. Running 20 yards backwards with the QB before throwing, running the same play over and over again, nano blitzing (which no longer seems possible this year, thankfully), etc. These things should be obvious to anyone who has played in this (or any sim) league before.

2b. Going for it on 4th down
The general rule is “when in doubt, don’t.” There are plenty of people who play online who go for it on every 4th down, that is not okay in this league. If you’re on your half of the field, you should not be going for it on 4th unless you’re at the point of the game where you have no other choice, even if its short yardage. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive in situations where a real NFL coach might be (4th and 1 from your opponents 40, or something like that) but if your opponent makes an issue out of it, it will be discussed. Last year the general guideline was: If you make a non-conventional 4th down call, be prepared to defend it in the thread. If you can’t conceive of a logical/strategic defense of going for it in that situation, that’s probably a good indication that you shouldn’t. There is of course some gray area in this rule, but keep in mind that area is a yard wide, not a mile.

2c. Onside Kicks *NEW RULE*
As many of us have discovered by now, the game UI no longer alerts someone when the opponent is in onside kick formation. Therefore, if you are attempting an onside kick and your opponent does not come out in onside kick formation you must give them the opportunity to either call a timeout or audible into onside coverage. You should wait at least 5 seconds, but 10 would be even better. Quickly kicking to take advantage of your opponent not being ready will not be tolerated.

2d. Running with the QB
Scrambling is allowed. However, you need to do it in a way which is realistic and consistent with how real NFL players do it. Constantly calling 5-wide formations and then scrambling up the middle after the coverage drops is cheese, not strategy. Scrambling should generally either be from designed QB run plays or occur after a play breaks down.


Transaction Rules and Guidelines

1. Free Agents
Free Agent signing in this league are NOT a free for all. What that means is that you are not free to sign whoever you want from the free agent list during the season. There are three different types of free agent signing which will be detailed below.

1a. Free Agent Waiver Period
A couple of times during the first season, we will have free agent signing periods in order to work our way through the existing free agents in the pool. The selection order will function like a draft with the order determined by record (worst-to-best) at the time of the period. There will be four groups of 8 teams which will have a window in which to sign a free agent from the list. When you sign a player, you must also drop one (this will be necessary for most teams given the roster limit anyway). All selections MUST be posted in the thread to be considered valid.

1b. Injury Replacements
If a player on your team is injured, you are allowed to sign a temporary replacement if it is necessary for depth. That means that your team would be below the feasible number of players at that position in order to play. Those minimums are as follows:
QB - 2
HB - 3
FB - 1
WR - 5
TE - 2
OL - 2 each
RE - 2
LE - 2
DT - 3
LOLB - 2
MLB - 3
ROLB - 2
CB - 5
FS - 2
SS - 2
K - 1
P -1

The count will also include excess players at an equivalent position. So if you have 3 healthy LOLB and 1 healthy ROLB, you would be considered to have met the minimum. When signing an injury replacement, you do NOT have to release a player (though obviously you will if you’re at the roster limit) but the player must have a lower OVR rating than the lowest player you have at that position (the equivalent position rule applies here as well). When the injured player returns, you must drop the replacement player.

1c. Offseason Free Agent Signing
Connected Careers now has offseason free agent signing periods, during which teams can bid on free agents (both those with expired contracts from other teams and those in the general FA pool. This process is already regulated by the game, and therefore will not be subject to further review from the league. The only consideration you have when signing FAs in the offseason will be the salary cap and roster limits.

2. Trading
2a. Trade Review *UPDATED RULE*
As with last season, ALL trades will be subject to league/commissioner review. This means when a trade is accepted by both parties, before it is processed in-game it must be submitted in the league thread. There will then be a discussion period after which the trade will need to be approved by the Trade Review Panel. The Trade Review Panel will consist of 5 members: The three league commissioners and two representatives elected by the league. Any member of the panel involved in the particular trade must recuse themselves from the vote. Trade passage will require a simple majority of votes to pass. In the case of a recusal, 3 of 4 votes will be required. All decisions made by the Panel are final, though trades may be re-worked and re-submitted if they are deemed unfair.
2b. Trade Criteria
Like past years, trades will be judged wholly on their own individual merits, but will also consider the financial ramifications of a trade. For example, trading a better player for lesser players/picks will be looked at different if one of the teams gains cap relief by making the trade. Each situation is unique, so the Panel will look at a wide variety of factors when ruling on trades.
2c. Trade Cap
For at least the first season, we will be keeping the existing trade cap in place. If this proves to be unnecessary given the new salary cap element, we may remove it in future seasons. The per-team trade cap is as follows:
6 total trades per season, with 4 Core players max allowed to be traded. A Core player is defined as:
90+ overall player = 2 core players
80-89 overall player = 1 core player
1st round pick = 1 core player*

* For the first season, even future 1sts will count against the current year cap (in case we get rid of the cap in the future). If we do not remove the cap, in subsequent seasons future 1sts will count against the cap for the season before the pick would be made. For example, a 2015 pick would count against the cap for the 2014 season.

2d. Trades w/ CPU teams
This won’t be an issue as long as the league is full, but for now we will NOT be allowing trades with CPU teams. This is subject to change if we can decide on a good way to regulate it.
2e. Pre-traded draft picks
Because the game now honors pre-existing draft trades by default, we will continue to do so. These trades will automatically be reflected in the league rosters.

3. Unsanctioned Transactions
Any unsanctioned transaction (be it a free agent signing or trade) during the season will be reversed by the commissioners, and after a warning a strike will be issued. Seriously, don’t do it.

League Policies / Discipline

1. Communication
This is the #1 most important factor in keeping the league running smoothly. ALL league members must be registered at CAG, and while we encourage people to subscribe to and keep up with the thread, at bare minimum you must be able to respond to PMs in a timely fashion. If you can’t do this, then you should find a different league. This is a CAG league, and we expect people to use CAG. Repeated communication issues can lead to a strike.

If you are having trouble contacting your opponent, LET A COMMISSIONER KNOW or post in the thread. That doesn’t mean five minutes after advancement, but if you haven’t heard from someone a day after contact, let us know. Posting half an hour before advancement that you haven’t heard from your opponent isn’t likely to elicit much sympathy and is a good way to get your game simmed.

Most importantly, be proactive. Don’t wait for your opponent to contact you, contact them. The earlier you contact your opponent, the earlier you can play and the less opportunity there will be for something to go wrong. Communication is the backbone of a successful league, we can’t overstate its importance.
2. Advancement
Last year, we generally tried to advance every 3.5/4 days, and we will try to keep a similar schedule this year. We will be willing to adjust up or down depending on extenuating circumstances, but generally will try to stay on schedule. Advancement times will always be listed in the thread title. Additionally, given that there are additional factors this year (practice, scouting, contract negotiations) please try to complete these things in a timely fashion since we’re not going to postpone advancement just because someone didn’t get a chance to practice or scout (scouting points do roll over). If you finish early, please use the in-game functionality to indicate you are ready to advance.
3. Thread Etiquette
This harkens back to the first rule on this list: Don’t be a dick. The same thing that applies to the game applies to the thread. Obviously disagreements will happen, and people will be boisterous, and that’s fine. But in general, please try to keep things in the thread as civil as possible. This is tough to define specifically, but I’d generally go by these two suggestions:

  • No personal attacks
  • Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your mom to read
That should cover most everything, and the rest should be common sense. We’re not going to be incredibly anal about this, but if someone becomes a repeated problem we may consider discipline.

4. Disconnects *UPDATED RULE*
This is especially important this year, since while disconnects themselves aren’t necessarily more common, currently in Connected Careers a disconnected game will ALWAYS give a loss to the owner whose connection was responsible for the disconnect. It’s unclear whether this is a bug or by design, but in either case we do not agree with this way of doing things and will be working around it with our policy. As always, pointing fingers when it comes to disconnects is pointless. Yes, the game considers one party “at fault”, but this doesn’t mean someone is cheating. Sometimes there are freak outages, etc. If it becomes a recurring problem for a specific user, we’ll deal with it.

4a. Do Not Count Any Disconnect
As mentioned above, counting a disconnect at present will automatically give a loss to the person whose connection the game deems to be at fault. If you receive the message about counting the game, that means your opponent disconnected and it will give you a win, even if they were winning. Resist the urge to take the free win, since accepting the disconnect without approval will result in a strike, no warnings given.

4b. What to do if your game disconnects
If your game disconnects, quit out of your game immediately (we suggest quitting out of Madden directly by going to the home screen). This way Madden will not count the game at all and we will be able to determine what to do. Again, counting the game without permission will not be tolerated.

Next, post in the thread/contact the commissioners via PM. There are three of us and we are not that busy, so you will likely get a response very quickly and we will sort the situation out. Again, do not take the law into your own hands.

4c. Handling of disconnects
In most cases of a disconnect, we will ask that the game be replayed. If the game was far along, it is permissible to try to recreate the conditions of the game at the time of disconnect, though this is not required. If for some reason the game cannot be replayed, there are several options we can pursue:

Option 1: Simming
This will be the most common course of action in repeated disconnects, especially when the games are close and the players are of similar skill levels. If you can't get the game in, and there's no body of evidence whatsoever as to who had the upper hand in the matchup (on the field, obviously) than we will sim it. No one likes a sim, but there's no denying it's fair.

Option 2: Play the CPU
If a game disconnects in which one player has a clear late advantage and are not given the option to count the game than sometimes it will be appropriate for the trailing team to temporarily drop from the league and let their opponent play against the CPU. For the most part, nobody is going to be compelled to take this option, and obviously in most cases it will require the consent of both parties. There is plenty of precedent for such a move (I even dropped in the playoffs last year against Doomtime) and I think we can all rationally tell when our opponent has control of the game (even if we don't want to admit it). Obviously this is an inherently subjective question as to whether a game is in hand, and it will be judged on a case by case basis using the following criteria:

  • Size of the lead (as well as the total score)
  • Time remaining
  • Possession and field position
A 3 score lead in the 4th quarter is more in hand than a 2 score lead in the 3rd quarter, and so on. Again, both teams have to agree to this course of action or one side has to have it approved by the commissioner. An example of the latter might be if someone is up 35-7 late in the 4th and the opponent is being belligerent and demanding it be played again. Generally speaking, we should keep this amicable, but as I said we should all have some self-awareness as to when we're beat.

It goes without saying that in this scenario those seen to be running up the score on the CPU or deliberately attempting to injure players will be frowned upon and are less likely to have the opportunity in the future.

Option 3: Subbing
When it's clear that one person or the other is the one who's disconnecting than they are permitted to request a sub who might have better luck connecting to the opponent. This request should be made to the commissioner who will then choose an appropriate sub to try and complete the game. As always, subs should give their full faith effort to win the game and play fair.

Again, don't point fingers saying "it's his fault! his connection sucks!" because you really have no way of knowing for sure. On the other hand, if you suspect it's your connection and not the servers, than say so. It is possible that both teams could be subbed for simultaneously, although in that scenario simming might be the better option.


5. Strikes/Expulsion
No one wants to deal with this topic, but it’s necessary. Over the years we’ve only thrown a handful of people out of the league, so we are not especially trigger happy. Repeated violation of league rules will be dealt with however. Three strikes and you’re out.

Ad Hoc Rules
This is for rules which we have added during last season or this year which deal with specific gameplay issues. These will be more likely to be updated as we go, especially if the issues which they address are patched.

1. QB Hot Swapping
You can not switch from one QB from another in the middle of a drive in order to gain an advantage from bringing in a different style of QB (bringing in a scrambler, for example). This is because the game does not alert your opponent that the QB has been swapped. This does not mean you cannot swap QBs mid-drive, but to do so you must alert your opponent (either by pausing the game and sending a XBL message, or via voice chat if you are using it). The exceptions to this rule are:

  • Wildcat formations. These carry an expectation that the QB might be subbed, and therefore you do not need to alert your opponent if you bring in a different QB for these, since they will see you are in wildcat.
  • Injuries. If your QB gets injured, your opponent will obviously know someone else is coming in.
You do not need to alert your opponent if you begin a NEW possession with a different QB. Single drives that span the end of the 1st or 3rd quarter do count as one continuous possession, so the rule does apply in those cases. Repeated violations of this rule will lead to a strike.
[/QUOTE]

Hey i'm from the other Cag league and i was just interested in reading over the rules you guys have in place. First, i like the format you laid them out in, very nice and really easy to read through. Secondly(this is in reference to your disconnection policy), to get one user to play a game vs the cpu instead of a second user. The second user just has to click simulate and it will allow the first user to play against the cpu. It eliminates the need for anyone to temporarily drop out of the league just to get the game played. But be careful with this because once one user has clicked simulate, it won't allow them to unclick it so he has to be sure that's what he wants to do. Feel free to test that if you like.
 
[quote name='Chetty12']Hey i'm from the other Cag league and i was just interested in reading over the rules you guys have in place. First, i like the format you laid them out in, very nice and really easy to read through. Secondly(this is in reference to your disconnection policy), to get one user to play a game vs the cpu instead of a second user. The second user just has to click simulate and it will allow the first user to play against the cpu. It eliminates the need for anyone to temporarily drop out of the league just to get the game played. But be careful with this because once one user has clicked simulate, it won't allow them to unclick it so he has to be sure that's what he wants to do. Feel free to test that if you like.[/QUOTE]

I didn't know that, thanks for the info! That indeed would make things easier, I'll give it a try.
 
If we are plating preseason games I rather start with the 75 man roster to mold my team to me but if we are not playing preseason then I'm fine with waiting to the 15th for the 53 man roster
 
St Louis Ram's | Cag: GpNinja | Gamertag: GpNinja | Central | I can play from about 5pm to midnight Except Wend,Thursday,Saturday's.
 
Re-posting on the new page so people don't miss it:

[quote name='bvharris']League Rules

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ENFqvqkSsFzOT7Gbp_ta7iFU_1W4kabryafskTteswM/edit

We're not quite finished yet, so these are still subject to change. Wanted to get feedback though and also see if I missed anything. I started from scratch and wrote this whole thing, so it's definitely possible I left a few things out which we want to address.

These are mostly what we used last year, though please note the new/updated rules on onside kicks, disconnects, and trade review.

Once we've finalized the rules, they'll be added/linked in the OP.

For those who don't use google docs, I'll post the whole thing below as well:

Madden 13 - Official CAG Madden League Rules
The purpose of this document is to explain the general rules and principles for the Official CAG Madden League. This list is not exhaustive, as things do come up during the course of the year. Consequently, these rules are subject to change (though we will not change them without notice in the thread). No discipline will be handed out for rules not already in this document at the time of infraction. However, if you see something missing from this list, please bring it up rather than seeing it as an opportunity to get away with something.

Commissioners: bvharris, siradam134, ubernes

General Rules and Playstyles
1. Don’t be a dick.
This is the first rule for a reason, and will generally encompass ALL of the other rules. Everyone is in this league to have fun, and when people act like jackasses to one another, it becomes less fun.

1a. No running up the score
Everyone should know what this means. It doesn’t mean you need to start bleeding clock early in the second half (though you can if you want) and it doesn’t mean you have to do nothing but run the ball with a lead. But if you are still actively trying to score with a massive lead in order to pad stats, it will not be tolerated. This will be monitored more carefully than ever this year given that you now earn XP for stats. That is not an excuse for running up the score. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

1b. No showboating
Simple enough: Don’t flip into the endzone. Ever. No one is impressed by it, and it just makes you look like a jerk. Same goes for twirling around randomly while running in for a score, holding the ball out (assuming that’s still in the game) and any other showboating moves. If you want to look cool, save it for your offline franchise. The excuse of “it’s instinct because I do it offline” is only going to work once. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

2. Play like an NFL coach would
This is probably the broadest rule, since not every NFL coach has the same game management style, nor do we expect every Madden player to. However, there are certain things which are not allowed in the league simply because we are trying for as accurate a simulation of real football as possible.

2a. No cheesing
The definition for “cheese” is much like Justice Potter Stewart’s definition for pornography: It’s hard to define, but I know it when I see it. Running 20 yards backwards with the QB before throwing, running the same play over and over again, nano blitzing (which no longer seems possible this year, thankfully), etc. These things should be obvious to anyone who has played in this (or any sim) league before.

2b. Going for it on 4th down
The general rule is “when in doubt, don’t.” There are plenty of people who play online who go for it on every 4th down, that is not okay in this league. If you’re on your half of the field, you should not be going for it on 4th unless you’re at the point of the game where you have no other choice, even if its short yardage. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive in situations where a real NFL coach might be (4th and 1 from your opponents 40, or something like that) but if your opponent makes an issue out of it, it will be discussed. Last year the general guideline was: If you make a non-conventional 4th down call, be prepared to defend it in the thread. If you can’t conceive of a logical/strategic defense of going for it in that situation, that’s probably a good indication that you shouldn’t. There is of course some gray area in this rule, but keep in mind that area is a yard wide, not a mile.

2c. Onside Kicks *NEW RULE*
As many of us have discovered by now, the game UI no longer alerts someone when the opponent is in onside kick formation. Therefore, if you are attempting an onside kick and your opponent does not come out in onside kick formation you must give them the opportunity to either call a timeout or audible into onside coverage. You should wait at least 5 seconds, but 10 would be even better. Quickly kicking to take advantage of your opponent not being ready will not be tolerated.

2d. Running with the QB
Scrambling is allowed. However, you need to do it in a way which is realistic and consistent with how real NFL players do it. Constantly calling 5-wide formations and then scrambling up the middle after the coverage drops is cheese, not strategy. Scrambling should generally either be from designed QB run plays or occur after a play breaks down.


Transaction Rules and Guidelines

1. Free Agents
Free Agent signing in this league are NOT a free for all. What that means is that you are not free to sign whoever you want from the free agent list during the season. There are three different types of free agent signing which will be detailed below.

1a. Free Agent Waiver Period
A couple of times during the first season, we will have free agent signing periods in order to work our way through the existing free agents in the pool. The selection order will function like a draft with the order determined by record (worst-to-best) at the time of the period. There will be four groups of 8 teams which will have a window in which to sign a free agent from the list. When you sign a player, you must also drop one (this will be necessary for most teams given the roster limit anyway). All selections MUST be posted in the thread to be considered valid.

1b. Injury Replacements
If a player on your team is injured, you are allowed to sign a temporary replacement if it is necessary for depth. That means that your team would be below the feasible number of players at that position in order to play. Those minimums are as follows:
QB - 2
HB - 3
FB - 1
WR - 5
TE - 2
OL - 2 each
RE - 2
LE - 2
DT - 3
LOLB - 2
MLB - 3
ROLB - 2
CB - 5
FS - 2
SS - 2
K - 1
P -1

The count will also include excess players at an equivalent position. So if you have 3 healthy LOLB and 1 healthy ROLB, you would be considered to have met the minimum. When signing an injury replacement, you do NOT have to release a player (though obviously you will if you’re at the roster limit) but the player must have a lower OVR rating than the lowest player you have at that position (the equivalent position rule applies here as well). When the injured player returns, you must drop the replacement player.

1c. Offseason Free Agent Signing
Connected Careers now has offseason free agent signing periods, during which teams can bid on free agents (both those with expired contracts from other teams and those in the general FA pool. This process is already regulated by the game, and therefore will not be subject to further review from the league. The only consideration you have when signing FAs in the offseason will be the salary cap and roster limits.

2. Trading
2a. Trade Review *UPDATED RULE*
As with last season, ALL trades will be subject to league/commissioner review. This means when a trade is accepted by both parties, before it is processed in-game it must be submitted in the league thread. There will then be a discussion period after which the trade will need to be approved by the Trade Review Panel. The Trade Review Panel will consist of 5 members: The three league commissioners and two representatives elected by the league. Any member of the panel involved in the particular trade must recuse themselves from the vote. Trade passage will require a simple majority of votes to pass. In the case of a recusal, 3 of 4 votes will be required. All decisions made by the Panel are final, though trades may be re-worked and re-submitted if they are deemed unfair.
2b. Trade Criteria
Like past years, trades will be judged wholly on their own individual merits, but will also consider the financial ramifications of a trade. For example, trading a better player for lesser players/picks will be looked at different if one of the teams gains cap relief by making the trade. Each situation is unique, so the Panel will look at a wide variety of factors when ruling on trades.
2c. Trade Cap
For at least the first season, we will be keeping the existing trade cap in place. If this proves to be unnecessary given the new salary cap element, we may remove it in future seasons. The per-team trade cap is as follows:
6 total trades per season, with 4 Core players max allowed to be traded. A Core player is defined as:
90+ overall player = 2 core players
80-89 overall player = 1 core player
1st round pick = 1 core player*

* For the first season, even future 1sts will count against the current year cap (in case we get rid of the cap in the future). If we do not remove the cap, in subsequent seasons future 1sts will count against the cap for the season before the pick would be made. For example, a 2015 pick would count against the cap for the 2014 season.

2d. Trades w/ CPU teams
This won’t be an issue as long as the league is full, but for now we will NOT be allowing trades with CPU teams. This is subject to change if we can decide on a good way to regulate it.
2e. Pre-traded draft picks
Because the game now honors pre-existing draft trades by default, we will continue to do so. These trades will automatically be reflected in the league rosters.

3. Unsanctioned Transactions
Any unsanctioned transaction (be it a free agent signing or trade) during the season will be reversed by the commissioners, and after a warning a strike will be issued. Seriously, don’t do it.

League Policies / Discipline

1. Communication
This is the #1 most important factor in keeping the league running smoothly. ALL league members must be registered at CAG, and while we encourage people to subscribe to and keep up with the thread, at bare minimum you must be able to respond to PMs in a timely fashion. If you can’t do this, then you should find a different league. This is a CAG league, and we expect people to use CAG. Repeated communication issues can lead to a strike.

If you are having trouble contacting your opponent, LET A COMMISSIONER KNOW or post in the thread. That doesn’t mean five minutes after advancement, but if you haven’t heard from someone a day after contact, let us know. Posting half an hour before advancement that you haven’t heard from your opponent isn’t likely to elicit much sympathy and is a good way to get your game simmed.

Most importantly, be proactive. Don’t wait for your opponent to contact you, contact them. The earlier you contact your opponent, the earlier you can play and the less opportunity there will be for something to go wrong. Communication is the backbone of a successful league, we can’t overstate its importance.
2. Advancement
Last year, we generally tried to advance every 3.5/4 days, and we will try to keep a similar schedule this year. We will be willing to adjust up or down depending on extenuating circumstances, but generally will try to stay on schedule. Advancement times will always be listed in the thread title. Additionally, given that there are additional factors this year (practice, scouting, contract negotiations) please try to complete these things in a timely fashion since we’re not going to postpone advancement just because someone didn’t get a chance to practice or scout (scouting points do roll over). If you finish early, please use the in-game functionality to indicate you are ready to advance.
3. Thread Etiquette
This harkens back to the first rule on this list: Don’t be a dick. The same thing that applies to the game applies to the thread. Obviously disagreements will happen, and people will be boisterous, and that’s fine. But in general, please try to keep things in the thread as civil as possible. This is tough to define specifically, but I’d generally go by these two suggestions:

  • No personal attacks
  • Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your mom to read
That should cover most everything, and the rest should be common sense. We’re not going to be incredibly anal about this, but if someone becomes a repeated problem we may consider discipline.

4. Disconnects *UPDATED RULE*
This is especially important this year, since while disconnects themselves aren’t necessarily more common, currently in Connected Careers a disconnected game will ALWAYS give a loss to the owner whose connection was responsible for the disconnect. It’s unclear whether this is a bug or by design, but in either case we do not agree with this way of doing things and will be working around it with our policy. As always, pointing fingers when it comes to disconnects is pointless. Yes, the game considers one party “at fault”, but this doesn’t mean someone is cheating. Sometimes there are freak outages, etc. If it becomes a recurring problem for a specific user, we’ll deal with it.

4a. Do Not Count Any Disconnect
As mentioned above, counting a disconnect at present will automatically give a loss to the person whose connection the game deems to be at fault. If you receive the message about counting the game, that means your opponent disconnected and it will give you a win, even if they were winning. Resist the urge to take the free win, since accepting the disconnect without approval will result in a strike, no warnings given.

4b. What to do if your game disconnects
If your game disconnects, quit out of your game immediately (we suggest quitting out of Madden directly by going to the home screen). This way Madden will not count the game at all and we will be able to determine what to do. Again, counting the game without permission will not be tolerated.

Next, post in the thread/contact the commissioners via PM. There are three of us and we are not that busy, so you will likely get a response very quickly and we will sort the situation out. Again, do not take the law into your own hands.

4c. Handling of disconnects
In most cases of a disconnect, we will ask that the game be replayed. If the game was far along, it is permissible to try to recreate the conditions of the game at the time of disconnect, though this is not required. If for some reason the game cannot be replayed, there are several options we can pursue:

Option 1: Simming
This will be the most common course of action in repeated disconnects, especially when the games are close and the players are of similar skill levels. If you can't get the game in, and there's no body of evidence whatsoever as to who had the upper hand in the matchup (on the field, obviously) than we will sim it. No one likes a sim, but there's no denying it's fair.

Option 2: Play the CPU
If a game disconnects in which one player has a clear late advantage and are not given the option to count the game than sometimes it will be appropriate for the trailing team to temporarily drop from the league and let their opponent play against the CPU. For the most part, nobody is going to be compelled to take this option, and obviously in most cases it will require the consent of both parties. There is plenty of precedent for such a move (I even dropped in the playoffs last year against Doomtime) and I think we can all rationally tell when our opponent has control of the game (even if we don't want to admit it). Obviously this is an inherently subjective question as to whether a game is in hand, and it will be judged on a case by case basis using the following criteria:

  • Size of the lead (as well as the total score)
  • Time remaining
  • Possession and field position
A 3 score lead in the 4th quarter is more in hand than a 2 score lead in the 3rd quarter, and so on. Again, both teams have to agree to this course of action or one side has to have it approved by the commissioner. An example of the latter might be if someone is up 35-7 late in the 4th and the opponent is being belligerent and demanding it be played again. Generally speaking, we should keep this amicable, but as I said we should all have some self-awareness as to when we're beat.

It goes without saying that in this scenario those seen to be running up the score on the CPU or deliberately attempting to injure players will be frowned upon and are less likely to have the opportunity in the future.

Option 3: Subbing
When it's clear that one person or the other is the one who's disconnecting than they are permitted to request a sub who might have better luck connecting to the opponent. This request should be made to the commissioner who will then choose an appropriate sub to try and complete the game. As always, subs should give their full faith effort to win the game and play fair.

Again, don't point fingers saying "it's his fault! his connection sucks!" because you really have no way of knowing for sure. On the other hand, if you suspect it's your connection and not the servers, than say so. It is possible that both teams could be subbed for simultaneously, although in that scenario simming might be the better option.


5. Strikes/Expulsion
No one wants to deal with this topic, but it’s necessary. Over the years we’ve only thrown a handful of people out of the league, so we are not especially trigger happy. Repeated violation of league rules will be dealt with however. Three strikes and you’re out.

Ad Hoc Rules
This is for rules which we have added during last season or this year which deal with specific gameplay issues. These will be more likely to be updated as we go, especially if the issues which they address are patched.

1. QB Hot Swapping
You can not switch from one QB from another in the middle of a drive in order to gain an advantage from bringing in a different style of QB (bringing in a scrambler, for example). This is because the game does not alert your opponent that the QB has been swapped. This does not mean you cannot swap QBs mid-drive, but to do so you must alert your opponent (either by pausing the game and sending a XBL message, or via voice chat if you are using it). The exceptions to this rule are:

  • Wildcat formations. These carry an expectation that the QB might be subbed, and therefore you do not need to alert your opponent if you bring in a different QB for these, since they will see you are in wildcat.
  • Injuries. If your QB gets injured, your opponent will obviously know someone else is coming in.
You do not need to alert your opponent if you begin a NEW possession with a different QB. Single drives that span the end of the 1st or 3rd quarter do count as one continuous possession, so the rule does apply in those cases. Repeated violations of this rule will lead to a strike.
[/QUOTE]
 
[quote name='bvharris']League Rules

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ENFqvqkSsFzOT7Gbp_ta7iFU_1W4kabryafskTteswM/edit

We're not quite finished yet, so these are still subject to change. Wanted to get feedback though and also see if I missed anything. I started from scratch and wrote this whole thing, so it's definitely possible I left a few things out which we want to address.

These are mostly what we used last year, though please note the new/updated rules on onside kicks, disconnects, and trade review.

Once we've finalized the rules, they'll be added/linked in the OP.

For those who don't use google docs, I'll post the whole thing below as well:

Madden 13 - Official CAG Madden League Rules
The purpose of this document is to explain the general rules and principles for the Official CAG Madden League. This list is not exhaustive, as things do come up during the course of the year. Consequently, these rules are subject to change (though we will not change them without notice in the thread). No discipline will be handed out for rules not already in this document at the time of infraction. However, if you see something missing from this list, please bring it up rather than seeing it as an opportunity to get away with something.

Commissioners: bvharris, siradam134, ubernes

General Rules and Playstyles
1. Don’t be a dick.
This is the first rule for a reason, and will generally encompass ALL of the other rules. Everyone is in this league to have fun, and when people act like jackasses to one another, it becomes less fun.

1a. No running up the score
Everyone should know what this means. It doesn’t mean you need to start bleeding clock early in the second half (though you can if you want) and it doesn’t mean you have to do nothing but run the ball with a lead. But if you are still actively trying to score with a massive lead in order to pad stats, it will not be tolerated. This will be monitored more carefully than ever this year given that you now earn XP for stats. That is not an excuse for running up the score. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

1b. No showboating
Simple enough: Don’t flip into the endzone. Ever. No one is impressed by it, and it just makes you look like a jerk. Same goes for twirling around randomly while running in for a score, holding the ball out (assuming that’s still in the game) and any other showboating moves. If you want to look cool, save it for your offline franchise. The excuse of “it’s instinct because I do it offline” is only going to work once. Repeated violations of this rule can earn you a strike.

2. Play like an NFL coach would
This is probably the broadest rule, since not every NFL coach has the same game management style, nor do we expect every Madden player to. However, there are certain things which are not allowed in the league simply because we are trying for as accurate a simulation of real football as possible.

2a. No cheesing
The definition for “cheese” is much like Justice Potter Stewart’s definition for pornography: It’s hard to define, but I know it when I see it. Running 20 yards backwards with the QB before throwing, running the same play over and over again, nano blitzing (which no longer seems possible this year, thankfully), etc. These things should be obvious to anyone who has played in this (or any sim) league before.

2b. Going for it on 4th down
The general rule is “when in doubt, don’t.” There are plenty of people who play online who go for it on every 4th down, that is not okay in this league. If you’re on your half of the field, you should not be going for it on 4th unless you’re at the point of the game where you have no other choice, even if its short yardage. This doesn’t mean you can’t be aggressive in situations where a real NFL coach might be (4th and 1 from your opponents 40, or something like that) but if your opponent makes an issue out of it, it will be discussed. Last year the general guideline was: If you make a non-conventional 4th down call, be prepared to defend it in the thread. If you can’t conceive of a logical/strategic defense of going for it in that situation, that’s probably a good indication that you shouldn’t. There is of course some gray area in this rule, but keep in mind that area is a yard wide, not a mile.

2c. Onside Kicks *NEW RULE*
As many of us have discovered by now, the game UI no longer alerts someone when the opponent is in onside kick formation. Therefore, if you are attempting an onside kick and your opponent does not come out in onside kick formation you must give them the opportunity to either call a timeout or audible into onside coverage. You should wait at least 5 seconds, but 10 would be even better. Quickly kicking to take advantage of your opponent not being ready will not be tolerated.

2d. Running with the QB
Scrambling is allowed. However, you need to do it in a way which is realistic and consistent with how real NFL players do it. Constantly calling 5-wide formations and then scrambling up the middle after the coverage drops is cheese, not strategy. Scrambling should generally either be from designed QB run plays or occur after a play breaks down.


Transaction Rules and Guidelines

1. Free Agents
Free Agent signing in this league are NOT a free for all. What that means is that you are not free to sign whoever you want from the free agent list during the season. There are three different types of free agent signing which will be detailed below.

1a. Free Agent Waiver Period
A couple of times during the first season, we will have free agent signing periods in order to work our way through the existing free agents in the pool. The selection order will function like a draft with the order determined by record (worst-to-best) at the time of the period. There will be four groups of 8 teams which will have a window in which to sign a free agent from the list. When you sign a player, you must also drop one (this will be necessary for most teams given the roster limit anyway). All selections MUST be posted in the thread to be considered valid.

1b. Injury Replacements
If a player on your team is injured, you are allowed to sign a temporary replacement if it is necessary for depth. That means that your team would be below the feasible number of players at that position in order to play. Those minimums are as follows:
QB - 2
HB - 3
FB - 1
WR - 5
TE - 2
OL - 2 each
RE - 2
LE - 2
DT - 3
LOLB - 2
MLB - 3
ROLB - 2
CB - 5
FS - 2
SS - 2
K - 1
P -1

The count will also include excess players at an equivalent position. So if you have 3 healthy LOLB and 1 healthy ROLB, you would be considered to have met the minimum. When signing an injury replacement, you do NOT have to release a player (though obviously you will if you’re at the roster limit) but the player must have a lower OVR rating than the lowest player you have at that position (the equivalent position rule applies here as well). When the injured player returns, you must drop the replacement player.

1c. Offseason Free Agent Signing
Connected Careers now has offseason free agent signing periods, during which teams can bid on free agents (both those with expired contracts from other teams and those in the general FA pool. This process is already regulated by the game, and therefore will not be subject to further review from the league. The only consideration you have when signing FAs in the offseason will be the salary cap and roster limits.

2. Trading
2a. Trade Review *UPDATED RULE*
As with last season, ALL trades will be subject to league/commissioner review. This means when a trade is accepted by both parties, before it is processed in-game it must be submitted in the league thread. There will then be a discussion period after which the trade will need to be approved by the Trade Review Panel. The Trade Review Panel will consist of 5 members: The three league commissioners and two representatives elected by the league. Any member of the panel involved in the particular trade must recuse themselves from the vote. Trade passage will require a simple majority of votes to pass. In the case of a recusal, 3 of 4 votes will be required. All decisions made by the Panel are final, though trades may be re-worked and re-submitted if they are deemed unfair.
2b. Trade Criteria
Like past years, trades will be judged wholly on their own individual merits, but will also consider the financial ramifications of a trade. For example, trading a better player for lesser players/picks will be looked at different if one of the teams gains cap relief by making the trade. Each situation is unique, so the Panel will look at a wide variety of factors when ruling on trades.
2c. Trade Cap
For at least the first season, we will be keeping the existing trade cap in place. If this proves to be unnecessary given the new salary cap element, we may remove it in future seasons. The per-team trade cap is as follows:
6 total trades per season, with 4 Core players max allowed to be traded. A Core player is defined as:
90+ overall player = 2 core players
80-89 overall player = 1 core player
1st round pick = 1 core player*

* For the first season, even future 1sts will count against the current year cap (in case we get rid of the cap in the future). If we do not remove the cap, in subsequent seasons future 1sts will count against the cap for the season before the pick would be made. For example, a 2015 pick would count against the cap for the 2014 season.

2d. Trades w/ CPU teams
This won’t be an issue as long as the league is full, but for now we will NOT be allowing trades with CPU teams. This is subject to change if we can decide on a good way to regulate it.
2e. Pre-traded draft picks
Because the game now honors pre-existing draft trades by default, we will continue to do so. These trades will automatically be reflected in the league rosters.

3. Unsanctioned Transactions
Any unsanctioned transaction (be it a free agent signing or trade) during the season will be reversed by the commissioners, and after a warning a strike will be issued. Seriously, don’t do it.

League Policies / Discipline

1. Communication
This is the #1 most important factor in keeping the league running smoothly. ALL league members must be registered at CAG, and while we encourage people to subscribe to and keep up with the thread, at bare minimum you must be able to respond to PMs in a timely fashion. If you can’t do this, then you should find a different league. This is a CAG league, and we expect people to use CAG. Repeated communication issues can lead to a strike.

If you are having trouble contacting your opponent, LET A COMMISSIONER KNOW or post in the thread. That doesn’t mean five minutes after advancement, but if you haven’t heard from someone a day after contact, let us know. Posting half an hour before advancement that you haven’t heard from your opponent isn’t likely to elicit much sympathy and is a good way to get your game simmed.

Most importantly, be proactive. Don’t wait for your opponent to contact you, contact them. The earlier you contact your opponent, the earlier you can play and the less opportunity there will be for something to go wrong. Communication is the backbone of a successful league, we can’t overstate its importance.
2. Advancement
Last year, we generally tried to advance every 3.5/4 days, and we will try to keep a similar schedule this year. We will be willing to adjust up or down depending on extenuating circumstances, but generally will try to stay on schedule. Advancement times will always be listed in the thread title. Additionally, given that there are additional factors this year (practice, scouting, contract negotiations) please try to complete these things in a timely fashion since we’re not going to postpone advancement just because someone didn’t get a chance to practice or scout (scouting points do roll over). If you finish early, please use the in-game functionality to indicate you are ready to advance.
3. Thread Etiquette
This harkens back to the first rule on this list: Don’t be a dick. The same thing that applies to the game applies to the thread. Obviously disagreements will happen, and people will be boisterous, and that’s fine. But in general, please try to keep things in the thread as civil as possible. This is tough to define specifically, but I’d generally go by these two suggestions:

  • No personal attacks
  • Don’t write anything you wouldn’t want your mom to read
That should cover most everything, and the rest should be common sense. We’re not going to be incredibly anal about this, but if someone becomes a repeated problem we may consider discipline.

4. Disconnects *UPDATED RULE*
This is especially important this year, since while disconnects themselves aren’t necessarily more common, currently in Connected Careers a disconnected game will ALWAYS give a loss to the owner whose connection was responsible for the disconnect. It’s unclear whether this is a bug or by design, but in either case we do not agree with this way of doing things and will be working around it with our policy. As always, pointing fingers when it comes to disconnects is pointless. Yes, the game considers one party “at fault”, but this doesn’t mean someone is cheating. Sometimes there are freak outages, etc. If it becomes a recurring problem for a specific user, we’ll deal with it.

4a. Do Not Count Any Disconnect
As mentioned above, counting a disconnect at present will automatically give a loss to the person whose connection the game deems to be at fault. If you receive the message about counting the game, that means your opponent disconnected and it will give you a win, even if they were winning. Resist the urge to take the free win, since accepting the disconnect without approval will result in a strike, no warnings given.

4b. What to do if your game disconnects
If your game disconnects, quit out of your game immediately (we suggest quitting out of Madden directly by going to the home screen). This way Madden will not count the game at all and we will be able to determine what to do. Again, counting the game without permission will not be tolerated.

Next, post in the thread/contact the commissioners via PM. There are three of us and we are not that busy, so you will likely get a response very quickly and we will sort the situation out. Again, do not take the law into your own hands.

4c. Handling of disconnects
In most cases of a disconnect, we will ask that the game be replayed. If the game was far along, it is permissible to try to recreate the conditions of the game at the time of disconnect, though this is not required. If for some reason the game cannot be replayed, there are several options we can pursue:

Option 1: Simming
This will be the most common course of action in repeated disconnects, especially when the games are close and the players are of similar skill levels. If you can't get the game in, and there's no body of evidence whatsoever as to who had the upper hand in the matchup (on the field, obviously) than we will sim it. No one likes a sim, but there's no denying it's fair.

Option 2: Play the CPU
If a game disconnects in which one player has a clear late advantage and are not given the option to count the game than sometimes it will be appropriate for the trailing team to temporarily drop from the league and let their opponent play against the CPU. For the most part, nobody is going to be compelled to take this option, and obviously in most cases it will require the consent of both parties. There is plenty of precedent for such a move (I even dropped in the playoffs last year against Doomtime) and I think we can all rationally tell when our opponent has control of the game (even if we don't want to admit it). Obviously this is an inherently subjective question as to whether a game is in hand, and it will be judged on a case by case basis using the following criteria:

  • Size of the lead (as well as the total score)
  • Time remaining
  • Possession and field position
A 3 score lead in the 4th quarter is more in hand than a 2 score lead in the 3rd quarter, and so on. Again, both teams have to agree to this course of action or one side has to have it approved by the commissioner. An example of the latter might be if someone is up 35-7 late in the 4th and the opponent is being belligerent and demanding it be played again. Generally speaking, we should keep this amicable, but as I said we should all have some self-awareness as to when we're beat.

It goes without saying that in this scenario those seen to be running up the score on the CPU or deliberately attempting to injure players will be frowned upon and are less likely to have the opportunity in the future.

Option 3: Subbing
When it's clear that one person or the other is the one who's disconnecting than they are permitted to request a sub who might have better luck connecting to the opponent. This request should be made to the commissioner who will then choose an appropriate sub to try and complete the game. As always, subs should give their full faith effort to win the game and play fair.

Again, don't point fingers saying "it's his fault! his connection sucks!" because you really have no way of knowing for sure. On the other hand, if you suspect it's your connection and not the servers, than say so. It is possible that both teams could be subbed for simultaneously, although in that scenario simming might be the better option.


5. Strikes/Expulsion
No one wants to deal with this topic, but it’s necessary. Over the years we’ve only thrown a handful of people out of the league, so we are not especially trigger happy. Repeated violation of league rules will be dealt with however. Three strikes and you’re out.

Ad Hoc Rules
This is for rules which we have added during last season or this year which deal with specific gameplay issues. These will be more likely to be updated as we go, especially if the issues which they address are patched.

1. QB Hot Swapping
You can not switch from one QB from another in the middle of a drive in order to gain an advantage from bringing in a different style of QB (bringing in a scrambler, for example). This is because the game does not alert your opponent that the QB has been swapped. This does not mean you cannot swap QBs mid-drive, but to do so you must alert your opponent (either by pausing the game and sending a XBL message, or via voice chat if you are using it). The exceptions to this rule are:

  • Wildcat formations. These carry an expectation that the QB might be subbed, and therefore you do not need to alert your opponent if you bring in a different QB for these, since they will see you are in wildcat.
  • Injuries. If your QB gets injured, your opponent will obviously know someone else is coming in.
You do not need to alert your opponent if you begin a NEW possession with a different QB. Single drives that span the end of the 1st or 3rd quarter do count as one continuous possession, so the rule does apply in those cases. Repeated violations of this rule will lead to a strike.
[/QUOTE]

Reminds me of the "Roommate Agreement" on BBT, lmao.
 
I think another thing that NEEDS to be fix is when you hurry up to snap the ball the the QB takes his time and adjust's his staps on his helmet. Then the clock run's out Happned to me last year during a cag game could have won and happend to me again in my offline franchise.
 
Tennessee TITans | Cag: PacerPerspect | Gamertag: PacerPerspect | Eastern | Very flexible, work from home. During Week over Weekends.
 
cincinatti bungals / bseti50 / bseti50 / est / 5pm-midnight ( have email on my phone, best way to contact me, [email protected])



well done bv on the rules...i wish we could lighten up on the diving into the endzone, considering they do it in real life and its fun. i get doing it everytime or when ur up big is a dick move but when its a sick touchdown or a big play its just realistic. and they also made it so u can get laid out if u dive too close to n opponent. i had cj2k get laid out baddd the other day when i tried to dive n he fumbled n got hurt it was messed up.

no biggie tho i wont dive....unless im playin LV.
 
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