Legacy Football Madden Game Play Rules

Welcome to the first official Legacy Sports Association {Madden 17 Edition} League. We are looking to build on the success of our Legacy Sports Association {MLB The Show edition} that Prophet and Bx created and continue that trend into Madden and hopefully basketball (pending functional servers). It is not a goal we expect to happen overnight but we strive to become the #1 destination for all Sim-style Sports games on the PS4. While we all have previous experience in running leagues we ask for your patience as we work the kinks out during the first season.

Community Founders: Prophet & BxBrotha730
Commissioner/Co-Commissioner of Madden Lg: BxBrotha730 & Prophet2124
Admins: RJ-9911 ; HodgePodge24 ; Zalot

League Conduct

– One thing that we won’t tolerate in this league is blatant disrespect. We expect all members to show respect, not only to all admins, but fellow members as well. I think with all of us being adults we should have an idea of where that line gets crossed. Disagreements will happen. But there is a proper way to handle those without resorting to personal insults/attacks.

– we also expect all members to be active. This means meeting your game deadline and contacting your opponent via PM preferably before advance so you have ample time to schedule the game. Any owner that fails to follow these two key rules will be removed from our league.
– These rules are a basis for the way the game is supposed to be played. Every single thing can’t possibly be written down but it should give you a good enough of an idea to know what type of league this is and how we expect the game to be played . Remember SIM Game play is more important than WINNING at all costs. For example, just because a rule doesn’t explicitly state that a player can’t finish with 300 receiving yards and 5 tds doesn’t mean it’s something that will be tolerated in this league. Use your best judgment and incorporate football logic. Sim > Win.
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Game Recording/Twitch Streaming

Streaming in this league is mandatory in order to make sure all players are following the rules and any complaints that arise can be addressed by looking at the game footage.
Be sure to have your stream quality setting on low to prevent any unnecessary lag during the lag.

Team twitch links can be found on the DL forum under the respective thread (link will be added once page is created).
We encourage both players to be streaming the game. However, In the event that one of the teams is unable stream due to poor internet connection then one stream will suffice.

All that matters is that the game is streamed by someone so that admins as well as members can watch the game.

Make sure to have your twitch broadcasts set to archive so that the game can be reviewed by an admin in case any rule violations are reported.

To make reviews of specific rule violations easier on everyone, you can press the share button on the ps controller and press square to save a video clip of the previous 3-5-15 minutes depending on what your setting is. This clip can then be uploaded to youtube and sent to admins for review

Using the same method as above, we also encourage all members to save clips of their highlights and put them on youtube so that they can be considered for future league highlight reels.
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Game Setup

Difficulty Level: All Madden
Quarter Length: 7 Min (No Accelerated Clock)
Injury: On
Fatigue: On
Ball Hawk: User Preference
Heat Seaker: User Preference
Trade Deadline: Week 8
Custom Playbooks: No
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Madden 16 Game Play

OFFENSIVE PLAYBOOK

– NO CUSTOM Playbooks allowed of any sort

LEAGUE ADVANCEMENT

– We will advance the league every 1 hours For Preseason(UNLESS NOTED) and 48 hours for the Regular season at 12:00 am Eastern, 1:00 am Central, 9:00 pm Pacific. *Note: Time is subject to change if everyone finishes their scheduled games early.

– All members are required to Ready Up once you have completed your checklist for the week. This can be found on the bottom of your checklist.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

DON’T LET IT SIM

– Every time you have a problem getting a hold of your opponent please contact your activity admin (Pending) to let him know about the problem your having. If you do not contact him, or we do not hear from you, and the game gets simmed. You will receive a strikes. This means if you get two unexcused sims you will be removed from the league.

NANO BLITZING / ROCKET CATCHING

– This rule is painfully obvious, you cannot under any circumstance run a NANO BLITZ or ROCKET CATCH. If you are found running either one of these glitches (as well as any other glitches or game exploits) you will be issued TWO strikes!

QUITTING

– Any time you quit a game you will be given 2 strikes. Note: Excludes Mercy Rule.
Thus, DO NOT QUIT YOUR GAMES. Play Them Out

– Don’t restart games for any reason. Lets take our losses and injuries like men as this is football. We will be checking for consistent patterns

STAT PADDING

– Padding stats WILL NOT be tolerated. If teams get caught padding stats, we will issue 2 strikes to the owner along with player/s suspensions.

ONSIDE KICKS

Onside kicks are allowed anytime down by 21 in the 2nd half or down at all in the 4th.
______________________________________________________________________________________

TEAM ROSTER

– Must have 53 players on your Roster to play Games,
– Must have Min: 3 QBS, 3 RBS, 5 WRS

PLAYER POSITION

– You will not be allowed to change players out of position or play people manually out of position on the depth chart. *Note: You will be able to submit a proposal to the admins for a player to play out of position by posting under these rules. They will vote on the player and let you know within 48 hours.

Player positions that are interchangeable and do not require pre-approval
– FB/TE or TE/FB
– DE/LB or LB/DE
– DT/DE or DT/DE
– CB/FS/SS can be played in any of these slots but no others
– G/T/C can be played in any of these slots but no others
**Anything not mentioned would require an admin approval and be done in the off season.
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Offensive Game Play

RUSHING ATTACK RULE

– Teams should record at Least 10 Rushing Attempts Amongst RB’s on you depth Chart Per Game. What Does That Mean? ( At The end of a game your rushing Unit should have No Less Than 10 rushing Attempts as a whole per game. )

WIDE RECEIVER RULE

– Your #1 or #2 Should be your top overall wide receivers on your Depth Chart.

– We won’t restrict the amount of times you can have your #1 receiver line up in the slot but this is something that shouldn’t be abused/overused.

THE QB RUSH RULE

each team is ONLY allowed 8 total QB rushes. How you arrive at this number, or avoid it is up to you.

– That being said, your OL creates a pocket for your quarterback for a purpose, you are expected to use it. Don’t hike the ball and speed burst to the sideline or drop back your qb 10+ yards at the snap just to give yourself extra time to get receivers open.

– Scrambling is okay in instances where the pocket breaks down or the team is sending heavy pressure but remember only 8 total rushes are permitted.

QB SNEAK RULE ( Pending Upon Testing Once Game Releases )

As of now the QB Sneak tactic will Remain Banned until tested in Madden 16

THE PLAY-ACTION / SCREEN RULE

– Play actions are fair game, but keep it Sim. Thus, ( You are allowed 10 successful Play Actions) during a game. You would never see a team in real life run a Play Action on 3rd and Long no matter how successful they are running the ball because the defense would never bite on it in that situation. Doing it in madden is just an attempt to exploit AI mechanics due to them always reacting to the play action.

– Screen Passes are also a Fair part of the game, but also needs to be kept sim. Thus ( You are allowed 7 successful screen) during a game.

HURRY-UP OFFENSE / 2 MINUTE DRILL

You can only run the no huddle offensive in the LAST two minutes of each half, OR when down 14 points or more at any point in the 2nd half.

MIX UP PLAY CALLING

– Don’t run the same plays excessively. Thus, You Are Not Allowed to Run The Same Play or play type More Then Twice In A Row.

– It’s okay to have a money play or two but those plays are not to be abused/overused. Running the same plays over and over isn’t something that belongs in a Sim-style league. Also you are expected to mix up formations throughout, I.E. don’t run I-form all game.

DRAINING THE CLOCK

– You can only run the clock out with 2:00 minutes left in the either half, or overtime. Other than those specific times the ball must be hiked before 10 seconds on the play clock. (This also doesn’t mean you can just keep hiking the ball with 11 seconds left, do not manipulate these rules.) Play the game, if you want to run a ball controlled offense, sustain long drives, but do not purposely run down the clock because you want to gain an advantage. If you are found doing this, we do have the right to issue you a strike.

FOURTH DOWN RULE

– When faced with a 4th down situation, you should be kicking the majority of the time. This rewards strong defensive play. However, You can go for it on 4th down and 1 or less if inside your opponents 45yrd line as madden has kickers that can kick from that far. Or when trailing in the 4th quarter you can take a gamble at anytime on 4th down.

GOAL-LINE RULE

– You may only run the goal line formation inside your opponents 10yard line or your own 10 yard line. * Note: Every other time, there must be a WR on the field.

GOING FOR TWOOO

– 2 point conversions can only be attempted to go for the win or to make mathematical sense.

AUDIBLES, HOT ROUTES, & FORMATION SHIFTS (Oh My)

– On offense, audibles, hot routes, and formation shifts may only be called once the QB is under center. There are no limits on audibles and hot routes, but keep in mind if your continually audibling and letting the play clock run down, your going to get reported for play clock draining. (See Draining the Clock Rule)

– You may not audible down to a play that would place a WR at the TE or RB position.
*NOTE: If you do, you must call a timeout* You may only change your audible button assignments at the beginning of the game or at halftime.Remember, this is not an audibles vs hot routes league, and if you are found abusing these, we have the right to issue strikes accordingly.

*Note:You must allow every motioning player to set for one full second before hiking the ball, Unless it’s an Auto Motion Style of Play ( The Center Will Hike The Ball Regardless )

THE LAST HAUL

– applies in the 4th quarter if you are winning by 21 points not 35. *Note: In the 4th quarter, under no circumstances can you attempt a last sec TD or FG if the time of regulation has the opportunity to tick away to zero if winning with the ball. You must let the game end. Even if winning by less than 21 points.

CAN’T TRICK ME RULE

You have ONE fake punt OR fake field goal per game, at any point during the game and from anywhere on the field.

COMMON COURTESY RULE

– If you are ‘WINNING’ by 35 points or more, at any point of the game you must run the ball out. Run as much clock out as possible. You MAY NOT pass the football whatsoever. If you run the football and score a touchdown while staying in these guidelines, that is ok, we cannot force anyone to not score, because that’s not football. Just do not rub it in. If you are in field goal range you can kick a FG as well. If you are on defense and cause a turnover, you can also score. If you are returning a kick or punt, you are also allowed to score. Again, as long as you are not “rubbing it in” some games do get out of control and we can do our best to not embarrass your opponent.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Defensive Game Play

DEFENSIVE FORMATION SET-UP ( IMPORTANT )

– If opponent comes out in a 1 WR formation, you can only come out in a 3 CB formation or less. EX. 3-4, 4-3, Nickle , 46 etc. *Dime/Dollar/Quarters is NOT allowed!

– If opponent comes out in a 2 WR formation, you can only come out in a 3 CB formation or less. 3-4, 4-3, Nickle , 46 etc. *Dime/Dollar/Quarters is NOT allowed!

– If opponent comes out in a 3 WR formation, you can only come out in a 4 CB formation of Dime Formation or less. *Quarters is NOT allowed!

– If opponent comes out in a 4 or more WR formation, you can come out in whatever you prefer.

NOTE: In late game situation where you are leading and your trying to prevent the Obvious deep ball attack (Preferably under 2 minutes) you can come out in whatever you prefer.

MANUAL MOVEMENT OF DEFENDERS ( PRE SNAP )

– At no time are you allowed to move any Defensive Lineup or Linebackers before snap. This is to prevent people from stacking multiple defenders in the box or over an Defensive Lineman and coming free on the snap (nano blitzing). Safeties are allowed to be moved around but can’t be put on the Dline Manually. They must be no closer than LB distance(1 foot behind Dline)

– If a player is Manually Moved (Ex. Safety) You must control that player the entire time before snap. Once the ball is snapped you are allowed to switch players.

– If when coming to the line and you notice a coverage defender not lined up Properly (Specifically CB’s) you are allowed to quickly line them up currently with the WR he is suppose to be guarding.

– DEs can play any zone/qb spy but you can’t manually drop DE/DT into coverage(only assigned zones) DTs can be put on a QB Spy only but you must have 2 downed dlinemen at all times. QB spy is not considered as a downed linemen. Forms: 1-5-5, 1-4-6, 1-3-7 are no longer allowed.

– No Fag Defense: This is where the Defense drops everyone into coverage. You Must have 2 rushing Down Linemans at all times.

DEFENSIVE PLAY-MAKER & SHIFTS

All shifts, LB, DB, DL, are all allowed. Shifting DE+LB’s: You can shift them however you want, but you cannot keep shifting them back and forth so that they are in a weird position when the ball is snapped. Shift them, and leave them there. Do not shift back and forth and back and forth, etc. – hence SHAKE BLITZING.

MANUAL CONTROL OF PLAYERS ( POST SNAP )

It is widely known that Madden does not penalize defenders for pass interference unless the HIT STICK is used before the ball arrives. You MAY manually control defenders to make a play, but you may NOT purposely interfere or bump the receiver past 5 yards from the line of scrimmage. Sometimes it happens accidentally, but if you are doing it repeatedly expect to be subject to league penalties.

RUN-COMMITTING (Updated 11/22/15)

Run commit is banned & Is not allowed in LFL under any circumstances. If you have a hunch on side the ball will be ran on, utilize LB/DL shift or blitzing of that side.

GOAL-LINE

You may only run the goal line formation inside your opponents 10yard line or your own 10 yard line. * Note: Every other time, there must be a WR on the field.
____________________________________________________________________________________________

SPECIAL TEAMS

– Each team is permitted 1 fake punt or field goal a game on 4th down & 3 or less.

– You CANNOT move any defenders pre-snap. FG block, XP block, Punt return. On Punt defense you can move your RETURNER and returner only to catch the ball or move away from ball and that’s all.

– NO ANGLED line drive punting (if you don’t kno what this means, don’t worry about it

– Kickoffs: You are not allowed to High angle kick the kickoffs. i.e. Kicking the ball up in the air to the left of right to cause a player with no hands to catch the ball, and force a fair catch. KICK THE BALL NORMAL AND DON’T DO DUMB SHIT PLEASE!!!

– Onside Kicks : Onside kicks are allowed anytime down by 21 in the 2nd half or down at all in the 4th.

– Fair Catch Interference : When receiving a punt, you may NOT intentionally call for a fair catch and then run into the opponents special teams player to induce a 15 yard penalty. This is not sim and will not be allowed. If you do this by mistake, simply decline the penalty.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

CONNECTED CAREERS DISCONNECT GLITCH

– In the event of a disconnection, the leading team can decide whether they want to start over fresh or whether they want to /Possession/Score unless BOTH owners agree to replay from beginning. If ONE owner wants to imitate the events that happened prior to the disconnect and play from that point in the game.

– Any disconnects that occur in the 3rd quarter with 2 minutes or less remaining and the team is up by 21 pts or in the 4th quarter by 17 points, then the User that is Winning can choose to MOCK game back to that point or PLAY CPU putting other user on Auto Pilot/take a sim win. In the 4th quarter with 3 minutes or less if you are down 17 points or more and game DC then the USER that is AHEAD can play CPU to get the WIN, while the USER that was LOSING will put himself on Auto Pilot.*** If a game disconnects and the team losing is down by 18 or more points, and due to time constraints the team who is winning does not have time to mock back the game, then the Commissioners will make decision based on time left and possession to determine whether the team down 19 points should be forced to take a supersim LOSS. ***
___________________________________________________________________________________________

CPU GAMES

– No playing the CPU without an Admin’s permission. Any game with the CPU must be streamed.

– If for whatever reason you are playing the CPU then you may restart 1 time if necessary and time permits.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

TRADES

– All trades must be submitted on the proper Daddy League forum and be approved by the trade committee PRIOR to submitting on console.

– Any player acquired by trade or offseason/In-Season free agent signing must complete a full season on your team before he can become eligible for Trade. Free Agents signed to contracts in offseason must be on your roster for a full season

– 1 trade limit per season

– 2 trade limit During Off-Season
___________________________________________________________________________________________

FREE AGENCY

– Free Agency during the regular season is not a free-for-all. There will be intervals throughout the season where we will open up the pool for owners to request a signing based on a team need.

– It is not acceptable to cut players and then re-sign them to a cheaper 1 year deal during the season. Players are not to be cut/signed until the offseason.

– In the event of an injury to a player, you may request to sign a free agent but it first must be posted and approved by an admin on the daddy league forum

– All teams must have 53 players on their roster. If your team does not meet this criteria, you may have to make roster adjustments including cutting high-profile players to get under the cap enough to field a full roster. If your roster is below the limit, you will not be able to process any trades and are subject to possible penalties.
___________________________________________________________________________________________

SCHEDULING

– Anyone having difficulty/trouble getting ahold of an owner to schedule a game, contact one of the admins with a screenshot of your attempt to get ahold of your opponent for the week (groupme PM conversation or something similar) so that we are made aware of the situation. The purpose is to avoid he said/she said situations.

– All league games are to be scheduled by messaging one another in a GroupMe Private Message. This is in case of disputes we will be able to see who showed the effort in trying to get the game in on time. Players have until 11:00pm et to get their games in. Our GroupMe is our main source to setup game times, but if for whatever reason you can’t reach your opponent then you may contact an admin for assistance. If you send your opponent a message and he doesn’t respond within 24 hours after initial advance then send an admin a screenshot showing that your opponent hasn’t responded.

– If for whatever reason your opponent doesn’t respond while league is on its Scheduled Advance Date, When there is 4 hours left to next advance Contact an Admin & we will grant your team to play your opponent on Auto-Pilot

– No owners are allowed to skip games to allow a SIM. If situation occur ( As they do ), please notify a member of the Admin in a timely manner.

– If both owners make a honest effort to match up and their schedules just won’t allow it then the game will be simmed

– No-shows for scheduled games with an opponent will result in a simmed loss (new feature in madden 16)
__________________________________________________________________________________________

SPORTSMANSHIP

– Winning teams, when the game is effectively over (use football logic fellas), are expected to kneel the ball or run the ball to finish the game clock out. Passes being thrown to run up the score for the winning team or tosses/pitches that are intentionally being run to score won’t be tolerated
– Games must be started no later than 11 PM EST ON ADVANCE DAY OR YOUR GAME WILL AUTOMATICALLY BE SIMMED. Advances will be at 12 AM and we don’t want to hold up the league for the rest of the members.

NOTE: **RULES WILL BE UPDATED ACCORDING UPON RELEASE OF MADDEN 16 & THROUGHOUT THE SEASON
Ideas/suggestions/comments about the rules are encouraged and much appreciated in the thread below this. Your input is important to us