Front Office Football Nine Documentation

The Team Menu in the top section of the screen contains links to screens that display information and functions more related to your team than the entire league. This is one of several categories of screens within the game.

Most screens in the team section can be directly accessed from the Team Menu. All screens can be accessed from the main menu system below the top section.

You can view most of the screens in this section from the perspective of any team in the league. However, depth charts and strategy sections will be unavailable, and you won't be able to make changes other than to the team you control.

• Team Overview: The primary Team screen shows your division standings, team rankings in various statistical categories, a schedule for the current season and your team's statistical leaders for the current or most recent season. Prior to the Amateur Draft, there's a list of your team's free agents and free agents you've offered. Afterward, when set, there are lists of your team's offensive and defensive starting players.

• Roster: The roster screen is your primary source of information about the players on a roster. You can view this list from several perspectives, including demographic information, injury status and several ratings groups.

• Team Staff: This screen shows your current coaching staff: head coach, assistant coach, coordinators and strength coach. At the bottom of the screen, there a list of past seasons and your staff for each of those seasons.

• All Coaches: A list of all of the coaches in the league and their major attributes.

You set your team's starters through the three primary depth charts screens. Backups, when needed during simulation, are chosen automatically by the game from active players.

The Action drop-down on these screens gives you the option of having your coordinators set your starters. In the depth chart, you'll notice what's usually a grey circle next to each player slot. You can click on that circle to change it to a red x. Positions with a red x will not be changed by your coordinators when you ask them for recommendations.

If you have set the game setting AI Handles Team Depth Chart to checked, your coordinators will alter your depth chart prior to every game, not necessarily using the choices here.

• QB/OL/Returns: Set your team's starting quarterback, offensive linemen and primary kick and punt returner.

• Skill: Set your team's running backs, tight ends and wide receivers within each personnel group. The game will use those five players every time you run a play from that personnel. If a player is shown in red, it's expected he will tire during the game based on expected (league average) personnel group usage. Tired players do not perform as well.

• Defense: Set your team's defensive starters for each personnel group. The game will use those players every time you're in that personnel group. During games, the personnel the opposing offense uses usually determines your defensive personnel.

• Special Teams: Choose whether your active players participate on special teams. Often starters, especially quarterbacks, do not participate on special teams even though they might be good at it. In the Encouraged column, a red x means a player is discouraged from special teams participation while a green circle means the player may be chosen. You can click on the x or o to change it.

• Active: Choose your active players for each game. During the regular season and playoffs, you are limited to 46 active players. You may use 60 players during the pre-season. The status column shows whether a player is active. A green o means he is and a red x means he isn't. You can click on the x or o to change it.

See the Offensive Game Planning,Defensive Game Planning and Game Plan Settings sections for more details.

The first four screens of the strategy section control your team's offensive playcalling during games. You can use up to 55 different offensive plays in your game plan, creating up to 150 entries (you will call the same play multiple times in games). During games, the game plan is used as a script, going from top to bottom within each section based on the game situation.

Drag plays into the plan to add them. To delete a play from a plan, use the delete action in the Action drop-down.

If you have set the game setting AI Handles Team Game Plan to checked, your coordinators will alter your game plan prior to every game, not necessarily using the choices here.

• 1st Down: The game plan for 1st Down situations - both at possession (the first play of a new possession) and earned (after gaining a first down).

• 2nd Down: The game plan for 2nd Down situations.

• 3rd Down: The game plan for 3rd/4th Down situations.

• Two Minute: The game plan for the two-minute drill (these plays are used rather than the down-distance plays) and for specific red zone situations.

Your playbook is created during training camp and is limited to 200 plays. These are the plays you have to choose from when creating a game plan. Each week during the season, you can change up to eight of these plays.

The playbook contains a list of your team's offensive plays for the season. The drop-down Action list provides functions that will help you add plays.

With defensive game-planning, you build plays by selecting whether you're doubling your opponent's best receiver, choosing a number of players to rush the quarterback and whether you're dedicating a defender to spy on the quarterback in order to prevent long running plays. You then drag a pass coverage onto the defensive game plan. A play consists of the pass coverage plus the spy, double-team and rushing plan.

The play choice is based on your opponent's personnel on the field. For frequently used offensive personnel groups, the defense can have more than one variation in its defense to avoid too much predictability. The four-minute defense is used in situations late in the game when your team is ahead or tied and the offense is in its two- or four-minute offense.

• Analyze: this screen provides an overview of your main defensive groupings, compared to the rest of the league. You can see your team's defensive strengths and weaknesses. This will help in game-plan creation. You can also make quick changes to your depth chart here, though the depth chart screens are better for this.

• Blitzing: this screen allows you to set your blitzing plan for the game. This determines how often each player blitzes when a blitz is called. Defensive linemen are always expected to rush the passer. On individual plays, the game uses this screen to select blitzers.

• Settings: this screen allows you to set your strategies for going for the first down on fourth down, when you go for two after a touchdown and several other settings.

• Weight: At the start of training camp, use this screen to give players instructions for weight training so that they can reach an ideal weight for their position.

When you have a game coming up during the season, this section defaults to show your next opponent.

• Tendencies: this screen shows how often and how effective your opponent is based on down and distance, both on offense and defense.

• Breakdown: this screen shows how effective your opponent is breaking down runs by direction and passes by primary (or targeted) pass route, offense and defense.

• Film Offense: this screen shows how often your opponent uses specific personnel groups on offense, as well as play variations and targeted receivers.

• Film Defense: this screen shows how often your opponent uses specific pass coverages and other defensive options.

• Next Game: this button links to the Game Preview for your upcoming game, if you have one scheduled in the next week.

• Schedule: this screen shows your team's schedule for the season. A checkbox allowing you to simulate your own team's games is located on this screen. When enabled, when you simulate a game day, you can watch as your game is simulated, and call the plays if you like.

• History: this button links to your team's Team History in the Almanac.

• Year in Review: this button links to your team's Team Year section for this season in the Almanac.

• Manage Team: this screen shows a yearly calendar of important dates, contains links to actions you can perform at the current time and provides news about the league. This is a good place to check if you want to know what to do on any given day.

• Find a Player: this screen allows you to search free agents and other teams for players meeting very specific criteria.

• Top Free Agents: during the free agency period, this screen shows the top 150 free agents in the league and their signing status.

• Free Agency: during the free agency period, this screen tracks free agent offers of interest to your team (either offers you've made, or your own free agents receiving offers from other teams).

• Future: this screen shows a list of players who are expected to be available in free agency next year.

• Trade HQ: this screen allows you to make trade offers to other teams or gauge other team interest in your players.

• Draft List: this screen shows this year's Amateur Draft, by round. Before the draft, it shows the draft order. After the draft, it shows the players selected.

• Draft: before the draft, this screen shows the draft pool. During the draft, it's used to make selections as well.

• Mocks: before the draft, once the rookie player pool is created, this screen shows a handful of mock drafts for the league. These change as team needs change.