Quote:7. Write 600 words or more on something about anything in the league that interests you. It could be related to statistics, a league issue that you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 600 words about your team’s participation on a Werewolf server or something.
Since joining the league at the end of s37, I have been obsessed with the concept of blocking in the league. As most know, I started my career as a Tight End for the Kansas City Coyotes, and after being initially let down (and later swapping my character to Cornerback), I’ve begun once again to renew my appreciation for dedicated blockers.
In initially crunching the numbers, what I found from Pass Blocking and Run Blocking attributes was that they increased a player’s number of pancakes along with the Strength attribute, but I didn’t see too much else. Yards per carry and total yards in the run game were virtually the same at any amount of Run Blocking. Pass Blocking did increase the accuracy and quarterback rating at higher amounts, however, even if the amount wasn't astounding.
And while pancakes created many opportunities for big plays to happen, they just as often were happening away from a play where it didn't impact much at all. While I could appreciate the necessity and effectiveness of pancakes, they didn't always translate into consistent success.
I began to see when watching games that the longer a quarterback had without pressure to throw the ball, the more likely a pass would be completed. I began to speculate that in preventing a defender to shed a block for a few extra tenths of a second, it was improving the overall offensive capability of the team. I also suspected this line of reasoning was why the “deep” playbook option was removed for being too successful; the QB naturally tried to hold the ball longer for this type of play and saw greater success.
It also explains why the Smashmouth playbook often sees the most success for league offenses, as it relies on a fullback to block on 55% of it’s plays (I-form and pro-set)and a second tight end to block on on 25% of its plays (80% in total having an extra dedicated blocker for the QB). It also suggested that when running a three wide receiver "shotgun" set, the passing game was largely improved by incorporating a blocking tight end rather than a passing tight end to increase the overall completion percentage of the quarterback. This concept that the league has ignored may even be why the west coast and spread playbooks seem less effective overall; because we're collectively ignoring the benefit of true blocking across the tight end and fullback positions and relying too heavily on the five offensive linemen to protect the quarterback.
In my opinion, this reveals an unknown demand for most teams to have a dedicated Fullback and blocking tight end for various reasons. For starters, they can be filled by players who aren’t max earners, and be held for an entire career on a roster for $1m (399 max tpe) or $2m (599 max tpe) to help with cap space and still be entirely effective. Both roles also serve to benefit the offense by acquiring the “blocking fullback” and “blocking tight end” traits; which not only help them to block, but reduce the likelihood that they are given the ball. By keeping the ball in the hands of the max earning receivers and running backs, it increases the value of a lower earning player who is already benefiting the entire offense.
I believe teams should actively seek and nurture more social players on their teams for these roles and would see an improvement. And any team with a lick of sense would thank them for their contributions after every game. And in celebrating them for filling such a selfless role, perhaps even keep them from burning out and leaving the locker rooms as inactive players.