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!

[RUSH]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Week 16 rosters are available. Sims on Thursday night.

First time I have seen this thread and just wanted to pop in to say that this is an awesome idea and I hope it works out for you. Would definitely would like to play next year and would gladly pay for it.

Must feel good to have two members talking trash to each other over your game too lol.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by RUSH

First time I have seen this thread and just wanted to pop in to say that this is an awesome idea and I hope it works out for you. Would definitely would like to play next year and would gladly pay for it.

Must feel good to have two members talking trash to each other over your game too lol.

The next stage is to build the commercial site based on what we have learned in the pilot season. We are wanting to test that with a new pilot league drafting from scratch to work out the bugs before we have a huge number of users. We'll be sure to hit you up on that in a Sept/Oct time frame.

[topher79]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

I have the 2nd best pass rush in the league, with the 2nd highest pressure rate. 3rd in sacks, 2nd in YPA allowed, 4th in QB rating allowed, and the top third down defense.

Be afraid. Be very afraid. My pass rush will feast on your tackles.

And due to my 3rd-ranked scoring offense, I'm always playing from ahead.

The ears, they are pinned back.

BTW, I have Tom Brady and PFF's #1 ranked left tackle, good luck getting to my QB.

Do those stats correlate when you play good teams?

vs. Wichita Week 6 a 38-31 victory for you for example:

3 sacks...decent

65.7 passer rating for Newton...check (14/33 so beleive he was pressured a lot)

6.8 YPA...check.

4/12 3rd downs...check.

However your run defense....17 att 168 yds 9.9 ypc 4 touchdowns??? Think we found a weakness.

Difference in game was a Brandon Banks punt return.

Looking forward to our matchup!!!

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

The only "weakness" was bullshit Jesus Sproles. Who also had a kick return for a TD.

Ask the Duluth Pillagers about my run defense (ranked #1).

[topher79]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

The only "weakness" was bullshit Jesus Sproles.

Ask the Duluth Pillagers about my run defense.

Oh yeah....lol

Brady was held in check though.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

And I still won.

I am the greatest team evah.

[Rain Man]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

The only "weakness" was bullshit Jesus Sproles. Who also had a kick return for a TD.

Ask the Duluth Pillagers about my run defense (ranked #1).

You didn't win. We lost. We just had a bad week.

[rageeumr]

I can't figure out if I am terrible at game planning or if my team just isn't as good as I thought it was. I'm painfully weak at WR, but I was very, very happy with my team at every other position. More than anything else, I guess I'm surprised that I'm having so much trouble running the ball.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by rageeumr

I can't figure out if I am terrible at game planning or if my team just isn't as good as I thought it was. I'm painfully weak at WR, but I was very, very happy with my team at every other position. More than anything else, I guess I'm surprised that I'm having so much trouble running the ball.

Your team is averaging 4.85 ypc, 5th best in the league. Marshawn Lynch is averaging a healthy 5.16 ypc. Meanwhile your passing offense is averaging about 6.77 ypa, which is in the lower half of the league. Your run-pass balance is around 37-63. So you are passing more than you are running, even though you are a stronger running team. You would have more rushing yards and likely more overall success, if you ran the ball more in your game plan.

Not to brag on myself, but I think it is pretty cool that you can tweak your game plan to fit your strengths, and it will actually be born out in the simulations. It will definitely pay off to play to your strengths on both sides of the ball with respect to your game plan.

[rageeumr]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Your run-pass balance is around 37-63.

How are you calculating that? I have my 1st and 10 about 50/50. 2nd and manageable is slightly run biased. 2nd and short is heavily slanted to the run. 3rd and manageable is pass-slanted, but 3rd and short is slightly run biased. I feel like the downs where it's reasonable to heavily favor the run, I'm doing so.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by rageeumr

How are you calculating that? I have my 1st and 10 about 50/50. 2nd and manageable is slightly run biased. 2nd and short is heavily slanted to the run. 3rd and manageable is pass-slanted, but 3rd and short is slightly run biased. I feel like the downs where it's reasonable to heavily favor the run, I'm doing so.

In the stat pages your runs total around 300.
Meanwhile Roethlisberger has about 500 attempts.

By your settings, you are more run heavy than I am under normal situations, yet I've got around 400 rushing attempts and fewer pass attempts. I'm guessing I've been getting off to leads more regularly and get more opportunities to run clock. The fact you have been trailing can't be blamed on your defense, since it is decent. For some reason, your overall team just isn't clicking and I don't know exactly why. A couple good receivers and maybe a difference maker on defense and things could start clicking?

[cdcox]

It's kind of late in the season and it's a work in progress, but we now have box scores for each game.

I need to improve formatting and add stats for time of possession, special teams, and individual stats, but we have some crude game stats that will get better over the next few days.

[lostcause]

380 rushing yards against Topeka in week 14, booyakasha, boyz getting it done

[brorth]

Originally Posted by cdcox

It's kind of late in the season and it's a work in progress, but we now have box scores for each game.

I need to improve formatting and add stats for time of possession, special teams, and individual stats, but we have some crude game stats that will get better over the next few days.

Well great, now I don't know if this is morning wood or a full fledged boner.

[cdcox]

Week 16 sims up.


Playoff Seeds

Spoiler!

League 1 Lunar Conference

1. Denver Broncos
2. Clearwater Donkeys
3. Wichita Potheads
4. Anchorage Roadkill Rabbits
5. Austin Armadillos

League 1 Solar Conference

1. Independence Vision (yea!)
2. Fort Wayne Dukes
3. Las Vegas Sharks
4. Ventura Highways
5. Richmond Tigerhawks


League 2 Lunar Conference

1. Oklahoma City Outlaws
2. Topeka Thugs
3. Fort Collins Horseteeth
4. Anchorage Eskimos
5. Round Rock TambaTornado

League 2 Solar Conference

1. Rancho Cucamonga RedRage
2. Pompano Beach Pandas
3. Columbia KC Hood Starz
4. Corona Lights
5. Pembroke Pines Patteeus

Congrats to all the playoff teams!