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!

[lostcause]

Originally Posted by brorth

Player Team Att Comp Yards TDs Int Comp % YPA Rating
Alex D. Smith Oklahoma City 443 299 3777 35 8 67.5 8.53 112.7

He's a hoss over here, too.

To compare to:

Alex D. Smith Anchorage 426 289 3512 25 3 67.8 8.24 109.5

I imagine Oklahoma City has better WRs than Anchorage and thus the more TDS. But those 10 tds come with 5 xtra picks. Thats been his best strength for me all year is not giving the ball away - which was not something I expected when I drafted him.

[brorth]

Originally Posted by lostcause

To compare to:

Alex D. Smith Anchorage 426 289 3512 25 3 67.8 8.24 109.5

I imagine Oklahoma City has better WRs than Anchorage and thus the more TDS. But those 10 tds come with 5 xtra picks. Thats been his best strength for me all year is not giving the ball away - which was not something I expected when I drafted him.

WR
Jordy Nelson
Josh Morgan
Kenny Britt
Mario Manningham
TE
Fred Davis
Jacob Tamme
Jimmy Graham

24 TDs between Jimmy Graham (12) and Jordy Nelson (12)

[lostcause]

Originally Posted by brorth

WR
Jordy Nelson
Josh Morgan
Kenny Britt
Mario Manningham
TE
Fred Davis
Jacob Tamme
Jimmy Graham

24 TDs between Jimmy Graham (12) and Jordy Nelson (12)

Jordy and Graham would explain quite a few of those xtra tds. L1 Smith has:
WR
Branch
Burleson
Massoquoi
Jacoby Jones
Brandon Gibson

TE
Vernon Davis (leads team with 7 tds)
Ballard
Boss

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by lostcause

What is Alex Smith's stat line in L2? He appears to be a dominant force, but I think I have several theories on that.

I have one but don't really want to divulge it...

Ah, **** it.

The guys to target in this league could end up being game managers, IMO. A season like Cassel's 2010 season would've been an absolute monster season applied to sandbox. The reason being that we control the volume of the passes they throw.

Smith wasn't asked to do much and when he was, he was put in phenomenal positions to succeed so he had really good numbers, if not high volume ones. Well the fact that they weren't high-volume can be offset by the utilization of a high-volume offense using his 'skill-set' as laid out by his 2011 regular season results.

Essentially sandbox allows you to pro-rate the easy results that Smith got via surprise in a run-oriented offense to a completely different offense in our virtual world. It doesn't account for the fact that, had he been asked to air it out as often as Rodgers, he'd have pissed down his legs and thrown a lot more interceptions. Instead it just takes what he actually did and allows you to do even more of it should you so choose.

There just doesn't seem to be another good explanation for the fact that Smith was easily the 2nd best QB in our league this year and has been a monster in L2 as well.

(Or maybe cdcox will tell me I'm an idiot...certainly a possibility)

[cdcox]

Conference Championship games are scheduled and the rosters are available. Check your lineups carefully since I had to run some codes that may have scrambled things a bit. We'll simulate Friday night.

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

Tom Brady can't hang with Alex D. Smith.

Jake Plummer beat Tom Brady in the NFL playoffs.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Jake Plummer beat Tom Brady in the NFL playoffs.

In New England?

[cdcox]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

In New England?

In three games you never cracked 14 points scored against that Anchorage defense. I'd count you lucky to win any of the three.

[brorth]

Originally Posted by cdcox

Conference Championship games are scheduled and the rosters are available. Check your lineups carefully since I had to run some codes that may have scrambled things a bit. We'll simulate Friday night.

I keep forgetting to mention 2 minor deals with player links to pro football reference:
1. Rashad Charmichael (Texans) on my roster is Roc Carmichael, I think the extra "h" keeps player finder from finding him. Not a big deal because he was IR from training camp last season, but he is looking good this TC for the Texans.
2. Donald Butler (Chargers) doesn't link to his name, either, I don't know why. 16 game starter ILB, 75 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 int.

[brorth]

Originally Posted by Cassel's Reckoning

In New England?

Since you're so upset about not getting to play anymore, I'll let you pick my QB for this week.
It's weaksauce League 2, which probably explains why I still get to play with my roster and gameplan and you get to watch.
But hey, at least part of you will still be alive in the playoffs.

[Rain Man]

I'll point out that Richmond is 1-0 against Anchorage and Duluth is 1-0 against Clearwater in League 1.

[lostcause]

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I'll point out that Richmond is 1-0 against Anchorage and Duluth is 1-0 against Clearwater in League 1.

Oh, that Richmond game. I don't know what your defensive gameplan was, but please don't tip it to DJs...

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by lostcause

Oh, that Richmond game. I don't know what your defensive gameplan was, but please don't tip it to DJs...

The trick to beating Anchorage is going to be figuring something out against that defense.

I'm honestly stumped. I've looked at a couple of teams performances that have similar personnel to mine (and presumably similar gameplans) and can't come up with much.

I think the way to beat them is a power-running team and I just don't have one.

[cdcox]

Box scores now have individual offensive stats. Defense and special teams will be added at some point.

I'm aware that the TOP for some games are incorrect.

[Branden Albert's Huge Balls]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

The trick to beating Anchorage is going to be figuring something out against that defense.

I had almost 400 yards against them in the reg. season finale.

They're not invincible.