Your Chance To Participate In A New Football Phenomenon (Sandbox Simulations)

[Rain Man]

I apologize if the mods think this is soliciting, and I guess it is, but at the same time it's beta testing a new product developed by long-time planeteers, and it's free.

cdcox and I have been developing a new football game for the thoughtful fan, where players build franchises and compete against each other. A description is below.

If you're interested, we're offering the game for free in Year 1 to Chiefsplanet members, with the goal of both giving the system a dry run and also hooking you like Phillip Morris. You can go to www.sandboxsimulations.com to sign up, and use the access code 6Lanier3.

Here's the overview:

Build and manage a full 53-player roster over multiple seasons, as an offseason activity to give you year-round football

Select your personnel to match your offensive and defensive scheme. Every position matters – even your blocking tight end.

Realistic and accurate simulations of league games based on head-to-head matchups against other teams in your league.


This is essentially a new concept in fantasy football that attempts to simulate as closely as possible the management of a real NFL franchise over a multi-year period. Unlike regular fantasy football, every position on the offense and defense contributes to your success or failure. On special teams, the punter, kicker, and kick returners matter.

In Sandbox Football you will build a team – an entire 53-man football team – via an initial draft, and will maintain it year after year in annual rookie drafts, trading periods, and free agency. You compete against teams in your league. In the first year of the game, before the start of the NFL season, you will build your roster by drafting veterans and rookies through separate drafts, and through trades with other teams in the league. Your roster is frozen at the beginning of the NFL season. During the real regular NFL season, you can focus on your traditional fantasy games and perhaps keep on eye on your Sandbox roster as our statistical models build the data on player performances. At the end of the regular NFL season, the Sandbox season begins. There will be 16 games in the season. In real time, the season will run about 8 weeks (2 alternate reality games per week).

Game outcomes will be simulated based on the performance of individual players during the just-completed NFL regular season. The simulations, developed by a PhD statistical expert, estimate how individual players will perform in the context of your alternate reality team competing head-to-head against other teams in the league and with the specific team that you have built. The simulations will consider the offensive and defensive schemes that you select. So you can build your roster to support a power running game or a high-flying passing attack. You can run a 3-4 or 4-3 base defense. You can run nickel formations or four-wide receiver sets. You can rotate your DL to keep them fresh.

The game is more about building a team than playing video games. So this isn't Madden, but you will have the ability to tweak your game plan to take the best advantage of your roster and the weaknesses of your opponent. Injuries are a factor in the game. If a player is unavailable during weeks 3 through 6 in the NFL, he is also unavailable during the same weeks in the alternate reality season. So roster depth matters. The game simulations are based on the most advanced statistics and the latest research regarding what matters in winning an NFL game. But, the outcomes of the games have a random component, just like real NFL games.

The calendar for the alternate reality league year will look something like this:
• Jan to Mid March: Alternate Reality regular season and playoffs.
• Mid-March to the beginning of NFL season: Roster building through trades, veteran draft (first year), free agent drafts (2nd year and beyond), and rookie draft.
• Beginning of NFL season to end of regular NFL season: Alternate reality league is dormant, but the NFL players are generating their performance stats for the up-coming AR league.
• Rinse and repeat.

Copyright Sandbox Simulations, all rights reserved.

We're still finalizing the cost structure, but this won't be an expensive game to play at all. It might range from a few bucks a year to $50 per year, depending on a few factors.

Year 1 will require a couple of days of drafting with rather high intensity, but we've got it set up where you can put your draft list together and do customized and automated drafting if you like.

So...go! Now! Time to get ready for the draft!

[cdcox]

I'm about to run the sims. Before I do I'll hide the scores. If you want to see the score right away, just scroll to the bottom of the play by play.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Originally Posted by cdcox

I'm about to run the sims. Before I do I'll hide the scores. If you want to see the score right away, just scroll to the bottom of the play by play.

This is gonna be cool.

[rageeumr]

OH BOY OH BOY OH BOY F5 F5 F5

[cdcox]

Agggh. I've dropped 3 in a row. Today my defense choked against Carson Palmer. I lost 31 to 38.

[Dartgod]

Why in God's name would this happen?

4th Q 0:19 2nd and 16 Wichita 23 Matt Flynn passes 11 yards intercepted by Eric Wright and returned 0 yards.
Provo 30, Wichita 28
Provo
4th Q 0:07 1st and 10 Wichita 33 Nick Folk field goal attempt from 50 yards. Good.
Provo 33, Wichita 28

I had a 2 point lead with 7 seconds left and had just intercepted a pass. Why would I try a 50 yd FG?

[Dartgod]

BTW, I loved not knowing the outcome and reading the play-by-play.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Why in God's name would this happen?

4th Q 0:19 2nd and 16 Wichita 23 Matt Flynn passes 11 yards intercepted by Eric Wright and returned 0 yards.
Provo 30, Wichita 28
Provo
4th Q 0:07 1st and 10 Wichita 33 Nick Folk field goal attempt from 50 yards. Good.
Provo 33, Wichita 28

I had a 2 point lead with 7 seconds left and had just intercepted a pass. Why would I try a 50 yd FG?

running up that score huh?

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Dartgod

Why in God's name would this happen?

4th Q 0:19 2nd and 16 Wichita 23 Matt Flynn passes 11 yards intercepted by Eric Wright and returned 0 yards.
Provo 30, Wichita 28
Provo
4th Q 0:07 1st and 10 Wichita 33 Nick Folk field goal attempt from 50 yards. Good.
Provo 33, Wichita 28

I had a 2 point lead with 7 seconds left and had just intercepted a pass. Why would I try a 50 yd FG?

Thanks for posting this. I'll look into it. Probably some confusion in my logic about who had the lead after the interception.

[cdcox]

I've advanced rosters to week 14. Aiming for another sim on Wednesday night.

Tiebreakers for playoff teams We're going to use total net points as the tiebreaker on playoff seedings. If two teams are still tied, we'll flip a coin. I'm not coding the whole NFL tiebreaker procedure (at least not now) and yes, I am aware of the irony.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Whee!

2nd Q 1:53 2nd and 10 Denver 29 PENALTY. False Start Frank Omiyale loss of 5 yards.
2nd Q 1:53 2nd and 15 Denver 34 PENALTY. False Start Frank Omiyale loss of 5 yards.
2nd Q 1:53 2nd and 20 Denver 39 PENALTY. False Start Frank Omiyale loss of 5 yards.
2nd Q 1:53 2nd and 25 Denver 44 PENALTY. False Start Frank Omiyale loss of 5 yards.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Sweet, I finally got the blowout I was hoping for. 55-7, Denver. Complete domination from the first series, when I blocked a punt and scored almost immediately.

Tom Brady - 24 of 38 for 271 yards, 3 TD, 1 rush TD, 1 INT

Reggie Bush - 25 carries, 198 yards, 3 TD, 2 catches, 17 yards, 1 TD :o

Kellen Winslow - 10 catches, 102 yards

Roddy White - 4 catches, 62 yards

Torrey Smith - 2 catches, 38 yards

Santonio Holmes - 3 catches, 36 yards, 2 TD

Sacks: Antonio Garay (2), Chris Clemons, Andre Carter, Michael Boley.

INT: Josh Wilson

This week my gameplan worked well, although the D I was facing wasn't great. Defensively, I increased my blitz percentage quite a bit, and it appeared to pay off. Colt McCoy was only 16 of 39, and was pressured 21 times.

Also had a 64-yard punt return, and I expect my returner to do good things, so that was nice.

Reading the play by play and not knowing the score was fun. Definitely a plus.

[Old Dog]

I did like not seeing the scorer, though I knew how it was going to end when "street free agent" kept getting carries. I had my lineup set and that's not the way it had been, as Starks was my #2 back, but I guess it is what it is at this point.
I'm clearly in the minority as to the validity of this sim.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Old Dog

I did like not seeing the scorer, though I knew how it was going to end when "street free agent" kept getting carries. I had my lineup set and that's not the way it had been, as Starks was my #2 back, but I guess it is what it is at this point.
I'm clearly in the minority as to the validity of this sim.

Starks was injured and will be injured this week too. So if you didn't change your #2 back, his carries would go to the street free agent. Did your #1 back get carries?

I eventually plan to add a depth chart lineup where injury substitutions will be made automatically.

[Old Dog]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Starks was injured and will be injured this week too. So if you didn't change your #2 back, his carries would go to the street free agent. Did your #1 back get carries?

I eventually plan to add a depth chart lineup where injury substitutions will be made automatically.

Yes, Bradshaw got carries as the #1 and I understand that Starks is out this week, but he was listed as eligible when I set the lineup yesterday morning for week 13.

[topher79]

DIVISION TITLE!!!