I decided to test what would happen if I used "Pete Carroll's" default aggression sliders for both offense and defense on a team/coach that I knew well, Ron Rivera. This was because I knew I had seen the Hawks regularly NOT go into no-huddle in the first half.
On the default settings for Rivera (below), I never witnessed the Panthers electing to punt anywhere within the 37 yard line. In addition, I saw the Panthers go into a no-huddle offense immediately after the two minute warning, despite being ahead 11 points.
When I used Pete Carroll's aggression sliders for Ron Rivera (below), I noticed on a 4th down, in the 2nd quarter, the Panthers punted at the 37 yard line. In addition, the team did not go into no-huddle anywhere between the 2:00 and 1:00 marks. They were in the red zone at the time, so this may have been a factor that influenced this decision.
Notice that I moved the offense slider to the
right, not the left, and this results in what would normally be considered a conservative decision. I also notice that Sean Peyton's slider is more to the right as well, which is the team I mentioned elected to punt at the 35 (in the first quarter).
So, all of these instances have in common that they occurred during the
first half of the game. Could this perhaps indicate that the slider controls some aspect of the aggression at different periods in a game, such as first half vs. second half?
Here are some tendencies I notice occur with certain teams. I did not test these specifically, these are just things I recall observing as being out of the ordinary as far as what I usually see in this game. Feel free to chime in if you have noticed any of these occurring or occurring with other teams, I want to get a complete picture of what these sliders do.
Ron Rivera: No-Huddle starting at 2:00 of first half (leading).
Bruce Arians: No-Huddle starting at 2:00 of first half.
Jeff Fisher: No-Huddle in Two-Minute Warning (was tied, 1:20-1:30 remaining). Attempted a 2-point conversion in the Two-Minute Warning of first half.
Pete Carroll: Does not go into No-Huddle in first half (trailing), punted at 37 yard line in first half. Allowed clock to run out in first half.
Bill O'Brien: Attempted 4th Down conversions starting at 15:00 in the fourth quarter (trailing).
Sean Payton: Did not go into No-Huddle in first half (leading). Punted at 35 yard line in first half. Allowed clock to run out in first half.
It
appears that as the offense slider moves to the right the fewer chances the coach takes in the first half, but probably more so in the second half.
Anyone want to try settings between these values for coaches you're used to and tell me what you saw?
Edit:
Just had a thought, every time a coach goes for a FG or does something "aggressive" early in a game and it ends up blowing up in their face it seems like the game tries to "make the coach pay" for that aggression by forcing/allowing the other team to respond immediately with a scoring drive or turnover. What if this is related to the coach aggression slider?
Edit:
Another note, the range is from Ron Rivera and Bruce Arians (farthest left) to Mike Tomlin, Andy Reid, and Sean Payton (farthest right).
Everyone else is in between EXCEPT for "Doug Pederson" in the latest rogerjinx roster, slightly higher than the others. Perhaps this was Kelly's?