Updated on 05/09/22

Game: Summer Sprint will utilize the latest Strat-O-Matic Computer Football game. 

Requirements:   SOM Football latest computer version, the current season authorization code, an email account and a Slack account. There is a $50 entry per team each season. All money collected will be paid out in prizes. The preferred method of payment is via paypal, make sure to select that you are sending money to friends/family so that no fees will be removed by paypal. 

Prize Structure: 

Super Bowl Champion: 50% of the prize fund.

Super Bowl Loser: 30% of the prize fund.

Semi-finalists (the two teams that just missed getting to the Super Bowl): 10% each

League Structure: 

Summer Sprint will be a non-keeper Strat Draft Football league. This is *not* a keeper league. Teams will be created by drafting 10 'Units'. You can draft your units in any order you like. NO TRADES will be allowed. Draft your team and play. 

The units consist of: 

1-Quarterback (Your QB fumble Rating will be assigned from this Unit as well)

2 - Halfback

3 - TE/FB/BB

4 - Offensive Line

5 - Wide Receivers

6 - Defensive Line

7 - Linebackers

8 - Defensive Backs

9 - Kicker / Punter  (Your Kickoff Coverage/Punt Coverage will be assigned from this Unit as well. If a team has more than one kicker or punter on their team they can select either coverage unit. Even if it doesn't match the kicker or punter they actually use in the game.) 

10 - Kick Returner / Punt Returner (You only need one KR or PR.) 

If you are drafting a unit that contains members that also play in a second unit remember it is first come, first served.  For example, in the 2014 card set if you drafted Kansas City Chiefs HB Unit, that removes De'Anthony Thomas from the KC KR/PR and the KC WR 'unit' assuming they had not previously been drafted. It would also remove Knile Davis from the KC KR/PR unit. If a player is eligible for more than one unit, the unit that is drafted first gets that player. 

So for example, if you draft New England Quaterbacks, you get Tom Brady and Brian Hoyer and the New England QB Fumble rating. 

Draft Details:

There will be a 10-round serpentine draft using a random order. There will be 14 - 18 teams and you will play each team once during the regular season. All teams with a record above .500 make the playoffs. The coaches that I am inviting to play in this league are some of the best sports in Strat. With an entry fee and a prize fun involved it is imperative that we remember to treat each other fairly and with respect.

Random Draft Order: 

All coaches will be assigned a three digit draw number from a state lottery for a future draw. For example, Dennis: 4/20/12 California Pick three evening draw. The draw result in this case was 0-5-7. That would be Dennis' draw number. 

The draw numbers will then be ordered highest to lowest. THE HIGHEST 'draw number' picks first. So in the example above, 057 is a crappy draw number. This method will also be used in the case of a playoff seeding tie-breaker. (See below)

Once the draft order is set, the draft will be done via email. I would hope that we could cover a round or two each day once we get started. If things go too slow using this method I will set it up with time slots each night and you will be expected to post your pick on the Strat Forum http://www.stratfanforum.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=43

ALL games are to be played live using the SOM Netplay feature vs. another human coach. No games are to be played vs. the CM. Also, you must finish the game in it's entirety. If you are losing big, do not quit the game and just tell the other coach to finish up. You have made a commitment to the league through good games and bad. Honor that commitment.

League Format:  

Official league email is: summersprint@googlegroups.com . After the game BOTH coaches should push their post game file to the cloud! You can also email the commish directly at: seahawk10@gmail.com  send any questions there.

League Pace:  I will produce the .pre files in chunks. Typically there will be a Month 1 block, a Month 2 block and a Month 3 block.  Each block will have 5-6 games. Each block I will post the .pre files on the website.

League Sportsmanship: Summer Sprint is about having fun.  This league will have a zero tolerance policy for any head coach that cannot respect their peers nor the rules of this league.  All conflicts will be decided by the commisioner (me). Typing 'LOL' or 'Unreal' or 'You are getting ridiculously lucky' during a game is considered poor sportsmanship. In Strat, things usually even out. So keep those type of comments to yourself. Scream and yell all you want on your side of the computer, but keep it civil and respectful in the chat box. The league rules have been tailored to remove some of the 'luck factor' out of the game, at least that is my hope.

Playoff Format:

To make the tournament/playoffs at the end of the year you need to finish with a winning record.

The playoffs are a single-elimination style playoffs. Teams will be seeded by wins with a first tie-breaker as head to head among the teams tied. The 2nd tie-breaker is winning percentage vs. playoff teams (strength of victory), the 3rd tie-breaker would be a random draw like we did for the draft order. It is possible/likely that some teams will receive a bye in the first round but it truly depends on the number of teams that make the playoffs. The scenarios are pretty logical. Below are some examples...

Let's say 8 teams finish with a winning record. Then no one gets a bye. It would be:
1 vs. 8
2 vs. 7
3 vs. 6
4 vs. 5
8 teams to 4 teams to 2 teams to 1 team

Now let's say 7 teams make the playoffs. Then the #1 seed gets a bye. It would be:
1 vs. bye
2 vs. 7
3. vs. 6
4 vs. 5
7 teams to 4 teams to 2 teams to 1 team

Same style with 6 teams, top two get a bye:
1 vs. bye
2 vs. bye
3. vs. 6
4 vs. 5
6 teams to 4 teams to 2 teams to 1 team

What if 10 teams make it?
1 vs. bye
2 vs. bye
3. vs. bye
4 vs. bye
5 vs. bye
6 vs. bye
7 vs. 10
8 vs. 9

10 teams to 8 teams to 4 teams to 2 teams to 1 team

Any scenario will fit into this style of playoff format. Finish above .500 and you are guaranteed a playoff spot!

Playoff Seeding Tie-Breakers:

Since we play a balanced schedule (and we play with unlimited Overtime) I am hoping we won't have any tie-breaker issues. Tie-breakers are as follows:

1. Head to Head (if more than two teams are involved then it is W/L% among the tied teams). 

2. Strength of Victory (the combined win/loss percentage of all teams a club has defeated).

3. The third tie-breaker will be random (I don't feel comfortable making it net points as I don't want folks to run up the score).

House rules:

We have added the following formation restrictions:

No showing free safety blitz on 1st down except inside either teams' 10-yard line.

No 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 on 1st and 2nd down except when opponent has 3wr or 4wr on field or inside the last 5 minutes of the half/game. Also unlimited in overtime.

If your opponent breaks one of these house rules you should inform him and he should use a timeout and correct the issue.

Aside from these small restrictions there are no other house rules. Anything the game will allow you to do you can do. Because we are drafting 'Units' the 'Allow looser subs' option will be turned off.  That means that a RCB can't lineup as a LCB, a LLB can't shift over to the RLB spot etc.  

League options to be verified prior to launching the game. If the options don't match what I have listed here it might mean you are connected via a local game and not with the .pre files:

Anything goes! There are no seasonal over usage penalties. Do you best to win your game and have fun. Looser substitution restrictions being turned off will make sure players stay in the positions they were assigned for the most part. If you want to squib kick every kickoff go for it. If you want to swap QB's or move your starting WR's to the 3rd and 4th WR that's fine too. If you feel like running Dan Doornink or Alfred Whittington 15 carries a game, then do it. :-) 

The only house rules we have are as follows:

No showing free safety blitz on 1st down except inside either teams' 10-yard line.

No 3-3-5 or 4-2-5 on 1st and 2nd down except when opponent has 3wr or 4wr on field or inside the last 5 minutes of the half/game. Also unlimited in overtime.

Defense Cards:

There are 15 different defense cards (called DRAFT LEAGUE DEFENSE CARDS by Strat-O-Matic) used in Summer Sprint.  They are identified by type (4-3 RUN, 3-4 RUN and PASS) and quality (EXCELLENT, GOOD, AVERAGE, POOR and VERY POOR).

Each team in Summer Sprint will use ONE defense card for running plays and ONE defense card for passing plays.  The run defense card to be used will be determined by the team’s declared base defensive alignment (4-3 or 3-4) and the Combined Rating Values (CRV) of the team’s best defensive linemen and linebackers.  The pass defense card to be used will be determined by the CRV of the team’s best linebackers and defensive backs.  Please note: A player can only count as a starter at one position.  So if you draft 1985 Karl Mecklenburg, who is rated as a DE and an Left ILB you can only count him as the starter at *one* of those positions not both when determining your D-Card. Also, you can declare as a 4-3 to determine your card but you can play a 3-4 during the game if you want (or vice-versa).  You game card in your notebook will be what you declared at the beginning of the season and cannot be changed during the season.  So if you declare that you are a 4-3 base defense and you switch to a 3-4 during the game the play will still be resolved on the 4-3 D-Card.  Which means for linebuck and off-tackle results you will need to put two-men in that zone to get the reading on the 4-3 card of 1-man in zone.  

ONE IMPORTANT POINT: A 0 rated player counts as a '3', one less than a '4', for our calculation purposes.

 There are 4 different methods for calculating the CRV, depending upon the team’s base defensive alignment:

             1.  4-3 RUN DEFENSE:  Total the defensive ratings of your starting LDE and RDE and total the defensive rating of your starting LDT and RDT (subtract one from the defensive rating of a NT being used as a DT). Add to this sum half of the defensive RUN  ratings of your starting RLB, plus your starting LLB, plus your starting MLB.  Retain all fractions:  do not round. Remember, we do not allow looser subs so a RLB cannot play LLB or vice-versa. A player rated at LILB, RILB, or LB can play MLB with no penalty to his rating. A player rated at RDT cannot play LDT or vice-versa. A player rated as a DT start at either RDT or LDT with no penalty to his rating. When calculating the Run defensive rating remember to use the linebackers run rating.  Split defensive ratings means that linebackers will have a pass and run rating now.

             2.  3-4 RUN DEFENSE:  Total the defensive ratings of your starting LDE and RDE and your starting NT (subtract one from the defensive rating of a DT being used as a NT).  Add to this sum half of the defensive RUN ratings of your starting LOLB and your starting ROLB and three-fourths of the defensive RUN ratings of your starting LILB and your starting RILB.  Retain all fractions:  do not round. Remember, a player rated at LILB cannot play RILB, and a player rated at LOLB cannot play ROLB and vice-versa. A player rated at MLB or LB can start at either RILB or LILB with no penalty to his rating. When calculating the Run defensive rating remember to use the linebackers run rating.  Split defensive ratings means that linebackers will have a pass and run rating now.

             3.  4-3 PASS DEFENSE:  Total the defensive ratings of your starting LCB and your starting RCB, plus your starting FS and your starting SS.  Add to this sum half of the combined defensive PASS ratings of your starting LLB, RLB and MLB.  Retain all fractions:  do not round. We do not allow looser subs so a RCB cannot play LCB or vice-versa. A player rated at SS cannot play FS or vice-versa. A player rated as DB or CB may start at either LCB or RCB. A player rated DB or S may start at either FS or SS. When calculating the Pass defensive rating remember to use the linebackers pass rating.  Split defensive ratings means that linebackers will have a pass and run rating now.

             4.  3-4 PASS DEFENSE:  Total the defensive ratings of your starting LCB and your starting RCB, plus your starting FS and your starting SS.  Add to this sum half of the defensive PASS ratings of your starting LOLB and your starting ROLB and one-fourth of the defensive PASS ratings of your starting LILB and your starting RILB.  Retain all fractions:  do not round.  We do not allow looser subs so a RCB cannot play LCB or vice-versa. A player rated at SS cannot play FS or vice-versa. A player rated as DB or CB may start at either LCB or RCB. A player rated DB or S may start at either FS or SS. When calculating the Pass defensive rating remember to use the linebackers pass rating.  Split defensive ratings means that linebackers will have a pass and run rating now.

 Here are the CRV thresholds required for each quality level.  Remember that there is NO rounding.  For example, 29.75 does NOT qualify for EXCELLENT.

             EXCELLENT=  30

            GOOD=             27

            AVERAGE=      24

            POOR=              21

            VERY POOR=   Less than 21