RULE #4 - Watch your skill player FATIGUE Options

Watch your rest for your players. There should be no reason why any of your guys are fatigued after 50 offensive plays. The penalties for FAT can really hurt you. I also had this happen in an online game tonight. Basically, my opponent had 3 dangerous receivers, but the TE was fatigued. What did I do? Well, I doubled the other 2 almost exclusively. With little time on the clock, my opponent needed to get into FG range. He was smart enough to know to throw to the TE, but what he didn't realize was the effect of fatigue would have.

First and 10, I double the WR and RB. My opponent throws the TE. The final adjusted number for completion was 43. The dice roll.... 52. The TE lost 8 percentage points because he was fatigued. Add those 8 points back into the adjusted number and it should have been a 53% chance of completion. And with the dice roll of 52 he would have caught it. With the incorrect DC, he would have good yardage to boot. So, instead of a big pickup on first down, it was now 2nd and 10.

Now, if he wasn't fatigued, I might not have been so bold as to double the other 2, knowing that he had 3 weapons, but once he was fatigued, I figured I really only had to worry about 2 guys.
I need to bone up on the damage to the ratings that FAT actually does, but to tell you the truth, I never have a fatigued player once the 50th play is called - never, so I don't worry about the effects.

To be honest, I try to swap out at least one guy on every offensive play for the first half. I don't always force myself to do this, but for the most part it would be really rare to see the same platoon out there for me for more than 2 or 3 plays, unless they are all rested.

Hope this helps!

Mark Miller