LEATHERHEAD STRAT FOOTBALL
(L.S.F.L.) LEAGUE CHARTER
(Last updated 11/1/2013)
INFRASTRUCTURE
Vinny Mancini and Mike Roses will serve as Commissioners for
the Leatherhead Strat Football League.
Other league members will assist in the administrative duties as
needed. The league membership as a
whole will vote on key issues.
LEAGUE STRUCTURE
The league will consist of 12 owned teams arranged in one
conference of two divisions each. Each
division will have 6 teams. Each team
will play each opponent in its division twice and four teams in the other
conference for a total of 14 games. The
conference will be named the National Football League (NFL). The two divisions will be named the East
Division and the West Division.
The 2 division winners will play each other in a neutral
site for the Championship. At the end
of the regular season, if two or more divisional winners are a special playoff
will be conducted among the tied teams to reduce the field to just one
team. This special playoff will be considered
to be part of the post-season playoff structure and will not be included in the
regular season’s statistics.
Each week of the season will start on a Monday and end on a
Sunday. Coaches will be required to
play one game every week, with the host team being responsible to submit the
files to the league statistician.
UN-OWNED TEAMS:
Starting in 1962 there will be 2 un-owned teams. The players on these un-owned teams will be
available for drafting by the 12 existing teams.
DIVISIONAL ALIGNMENT:
Teams will be assigned to each division using the following guidelines
beginning with the 1962 season:
(A)
Each of the 12 teams will be seeded from 1 to 12 in the exact
opposite order of the first round of the LSFL Free Agent Draft. Thus, the team drafting first will be seeded
12th; the team drafting second will be seeded 11. In case of
identical records NFL tiebreakers will determine placement.
(B)
The teams seeded: 1st, 3rd, 5th,
7th, 9th & 11th will be placed in the East
Division, while the teams seeded: 2nd, 4th, 6th,
8th, 10th & 12th will be placed in the
West Division.
YEAR OF PLAY
The year of play will be the NFL year that the current card
set is based on.
TEAM NAMES
Coaches will use the team names of the NFL team they
originally select from their initial L.S.F.L. season.
LIFESPAN OF THE LEAGUE
L.S.F.L. shall play
every season released by Strat-O-Matic from 1962 to 1973. The lifespan of the
league may extend beyond 1973 if approved by a majority vote of the active
coaches playing in L.S.F.L. any time before the conclusion of the 1973 L.S.F.L.
season.
ROSTERS
The definition of a
rated player (for all purposes) is:
A player that receives from SOM a passing card, a running card, a pass
receiving card, a kicking card, a punting card, a punt-returning card, or a
kickoff-returning card, or who’s name appears on a Team Offense card or Team
Defense card, in the current year’s card set.
The definition of a
non-rated player (for all purposes) is:
An owned player that received
from SOM a passing card, a running card, a pass receiving card, a kicking card,
a punting card, a punt-returning card, or a kickoff-returning card, or who’s
name appeared on a Team Offense card or Team Defense card, in a prior year but
not in the current year’s card set. A
team retains ownership of a non-rated player until cut or traded. Non-rated players count against the maximum
limit of 47 players on a team. They do
NOT help a team, however, meet the minimum requirements at ANY position. They do NOT count against the maximum limit
at ANY position. If a non-rated player
is cut by a team for any reason he is NOT added to the Free Agent Player Pool.
The definition of a
Rookie Free Agent is: An unowned player that has been rated by
SOM for the first time in the current season.
Rookie players have a team designation of ROK in the Rookie Draft Pool page of the L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook.
The definition of a
Veteran Free Agent is: An unowned player that has been rated by
SOM in the current season and in one or more seasons prior to the current
season. Veteran players have a team
designation of VET
in the Veteran Draft Pool page of
the L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook.
The CUTDOWN DEADLINE is the point where all teams, both
owned and unowned, are required to comply with the maximum roster limit of 47
total players (rated and non-rated).
This deadline will be announced in the L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook.
The TRADING DEADLINE is the point where all teams are
required to comply with the minimum positional requirements for ALL
positions. It is also the end of the
trading period. This deadline will be
announced in the L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook.
MINIMUM ROSTER REQUIREMENTS BY POSITION
The minimum
requirements by position group are listed below. Please note that these requirements are for RATED players. Non-rated
players may not satisfy a minimum requirement. The position groups are
comprised of one or more roster positions.
A player will only count at one position. If a player is listed with more than one roster position, he will
only count at one position (coach’s choice).
The exception to this rule is special teams players. A player who kicks, punts, returns kickoffs
or returns punts may satisfy the minimum requirement for his special teams
position AND also for one of his other
listed, non-special teams positions. A
player who has multiple special teams positions may satisfy the minimum
requirements for each of the special teams positions he is listed for AND also
for one of his other listed, non-special
teams positions.
All minimum positional requirements must be met by the
TRADING DEADLINE. Teams that fail to meet the minimum
positional requirements at any roster position will have a player assigned to
their team, at the discretion of the commissioner, in order to bring their
roster into compliance. This player
will be the worst (in the opinion of the commissioner) player available at his
position. Any player assigned by the Commissioner will count against the
47-player maximum limit.
Please be aware that this rule applies to ALL positions,
even kicker, punter, kickoff returner, punt returner and quarterback.
Remember, one of the minimum positional requirements is that you must have a
rated QB on your roster with at least 50 pass attempts in the AFL or NFL season
that the current card set is based on.
Position Group Minimum Maximum Roster positions that comprise this group
Quarterback 2 * None QB
Running Back 4 None HB, FB
Wide Receiver
5 None WR
Tight End 2 None
TE
Offensive Tackle 3 None ORT, OLT, OT
Offensive Guard 3 None ORG, OLG, OG
Center 2 None
C
You must have at least 9 rated
offensive linemen on your roster.**
Defensive End 3 None LDE, RDE, DE
Defensive Tackle 3 None LDT, RDT, DT
You must have at least 7 rated
defensive linemen on your roster.
Outside Linebacker 3 None LOB, ROB, OLB, LB
Middle Linebacker 2 None MLB, LB
You must have at least 6 rated
linebackers on your roster.
Cornerback 3 None
LCB, RCB, CB, DB
Safety 3 None
SS, FS, S, DB
You must have at least 7 rated
defensive backs on your roster.
* Each team must have at least ONE quarterback
that threw 50 or more passes in the AFL or NFL season that the current card set
is based on.
** If a team has three or more rated tight ends
on its roster, it may count one of the tight ends as an offensive lineman (any
position).
SPECIAL TEAMS
Kickers: Each
team must have at least one kicker.
Punters: Each
team must have at least one punter.
Kickoff returners:
Each team must have at least one player on its roster that can return
kickoffs. Any kickoff returner can
function as a lone kickoff returner.
Punt returners:
Each team must have at least one player on its roster that can return
punts. Any punt returner can function
as a lone punt returner.
Coverage Cards:
These cards will be based upon the Kickers/Punters that the L.S.F.L.
team uses as their designated Kicker/Punter for the season. While therer may be additional Kickers and
Punters on a teams roster, it is only the designated Kicker and designated
Punter whose coverage card will be used.
INAUGURAL LEAGUE DRAFT
The league will begin with 12 coaches. A lottery will determine the order in which
the 12 coaches can select their teams. Once the order is determined each coach
will select his 1962 N.F.L. team. From
that team each coach will then select 5 players that he wishes to declare his
“Franchise Players”. The league Free
Agent draft will consist of all remaining unprotected players. The draft order will be in inverse order of
the 1962 teams final record:
Rams-Vikings-Eagles-Cardinals-Cowboys-Redskins-49ers-Browns-Colts-Bears-Steelers-Lions-Giants-Packers
This will be a straight, not serpentine draft. (Note)Bears
– Steelers (if taken) will alternate positions every other round. The teams will continue to draft until they
reach their 47-player limit.
**Individual team draft option
Any team may elect to protect up to an additional 5 players
prior to the start of the draft.
However, each additional protected player then displaces that teams
draft pick. For example, if the Eagles
would protect 4 additional players they would not make a draft selection until
pick number three in round 5. If the
Packers protect an additional two players they won’t make a draft selection
until the final pick of round three etc;
Subsequent Years:
ROOKIE/FREE AGENT DRAFT
All teams will participate in an 8-round draft, to be held
one month prior to the start of the season.
The Rookie/Free Agent Draft ends with the last pick of the 8th round. The draft order for each round will be the
same. Teams will be ranked in order of
their winning percentages from the previous season, in ascending order, with
the lowest winning percentage ranked first, with two exceptions: the runner-up in the championship game will
always be ranked next to last, while the winner of the championship game will
always be ranked last.
Teams that are tied with the same winning percentages will
be ranked in odd-numbered rounds using the following tiebreakers: (1) winning percentage in common games
involving the tied teams, with the lowest winning percentage being ranked
first; (2) schedule difficulty, with the lowest winning percentage being ranked
first; (3) chance. Teams that are tied
with the same winning percentage will have their order reversed on
even-numbered rounds.
The league will
determine the actual method of drafting and it’s members. It will either be a Live Draft using a
chartroom or the draft with be conducted via league wide email. Draft picks
will be untimed, at least in the first two rounds. Each round should last approximately 30 minutes. If this schedule cannot be met then time
limits will be imposed for all teams as follows:
Three minutes per
draft pick. An additional minute will
be given to a coach who is drafting for one or more other teams in addition to
his own team, and for coaches that are involved in the active administration of
the draft. If a team fails to exercise
its draft pick in its allotted time, then that team is considered to have
passed. A team can also voluntarily
announce that it is passing on a draft pick.
A team that has passed on a draft pick may exercise it at any time until
the conclusion of the draft. Once the 8th
round is completed, a team loses all rights to any draft pick that it passed
on.
Draft Pool Eligibility: All rookie and free agents.
SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT
All teams, both owned and unowned, may participate in the
Supplemental Draft. Participation is
optional for owned teams. The draft
order in each round will be the same as for the same round in the Rookie Draft.
The Supplemental Draft is a 3-round, (method to be determined)
draft held within one week after completion of the Rookie/F.A. Draft. Coaches wishing to participate in the draft
may do so by drafting live in the chat room, by designating another coach to
draft for them in the chat room, or by submitting a list of players to be
drafted to the Commissioner.
If you wish to participate in the Supplemental Draft via
list then you must submit TWO lists to the Commissioner via email at least one
minute before the scheduled start time of the Supplemental Draft. The first list, the “draft list”, contains
the names of players that the coach wishes to draft. The second list, the “cut list”, contains the names of players
that the coach wants to cut in order to make room for the new players. The “cut list” may only contain the names of
players that are on a coach’s roster prior to the start of the Supplemental
Draft.
Draft Pool Eligibility: All players listed on the SUPPLEMENTAL DRAFT POOL page in the
L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook. This includes
players not taken in the Rookie Draft and any rated players cut by teams for
any reason on or before the Cutdown Deadline.
Non-rated players that are cut will not
be added to the Supplemental Draft Pool.
Distribution of
remaining players: All players in
the Supplemental Draft Pool that are not drafted will be placed into a pool of
potential future draft picks.
TRADING
The trading period begins with the official start date of the
season. The trading period ends with
the TRADING DEADLINE. The dates for the
start of the season and for the TRADING DEADLINE are announced in the
L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook. Unowned teams may not trade.
Only players and draft picks may be traded. Teams may trade draft picks that they own in the current year and
in the next year only. Teams may NOT
attach conditions to a trade. Players
may not be “rented”: when a team
acquires a player through a trade the acquired player remains a permanent part
of the acquiring team’s roster.
Each coach participating in a trade must send an e-mail
directly to the Commissioner announcing the players and/or draft picks involved
in the trade. It is acceptable for only
one participant in a trade to send the details to the Commissioner and copy all
other participants in the trade, who then simply REPLY ALL to the e-mail and
confirm the trade. Trades made during a
draft need only be announced and confirmed in the draft chat room.
Trade Review: Any member (including the
Commissioner) who finds a trade objectionable may contact the Commissioner and
ask for a review of the trade. The
Commissioner will then convene an ad hoc
committee of 2-5 coaches not involved in the trade whose only purpose will be
to review the trade in question. This
committee will include the Commissioner unless the Commissioner is involved in
the trade. The committee can, by
majority vote, reject the trade. If the
vote is tied, the trade is not rejected.
First-Year Restriction: There is no restriction on the ability of first year coaches to
trade.
Trades after the
CUTDOWN DEADLINE: Trades that are
made after all teams comply with the 47-player roster maximum, and before the
TRADING DEADLINE, must involve an equal number of players for all teams
involved in the trade and may not violate the 47-player roster limit.
Trading Deadline: No more trades may be announced after 11:00
PM, Eastern Time, on the TRADING DEADLINE.
The TRADING DEADLINE will be announced in the L.S.F.L. Draft Workbook.
PLAYOFFS
The winner of each division will qualify for the
playoffs. The non-divisional winner in
each conference with the best winning percentage will qualify for the playoffs
as a wild-card team. Any team finishing
the regular season with a winning percentage of .625 or better and that does
not otherwise qualify for the playoffs either as a division winner or as the
non-divisional winner in its conference with the best winning percentage will
qualify for the playoffs as a wild-card team.
CONFERENCE
PLAYOFFS: The seeding in the
conference playoffs will be based solely on the winning percentages of each
team qualifying for the playoffs.
Whether a team is a division winner or a wild-card team will have no
bearing on the seedings. The team with
the best winning percentage will be seeded #1, the team with the second-best
winning percentage will be seeded #2, and so on. The #1 seed is guaranteed a BYE in the first-round of the
playoffs.
TIES
The general rule governing all ties is that tiebreaking
rules only apply to seeding or to determining division winners when the loser
of the tiebreaker will still qualify for the playoffs as a wild-card team. No team can be eliminated from the playoffs
by any tiebreaking rule.
Expansion:
As the N.F.L. expands with two new teams in 1967 the league will look to
add two additional coaches. If prior to 1967 there is enough interest in the
league to add 6 new coaches, those coaches will take over 6 A.F.L. teams using
the same inaugural draft methods as the original 12 coaches. The difference is that the new coaches draft
pool will draw from A.F.L. teams only.
If by 1967 we have 18 active coaches, we will look to add two more teams
and they will draft from the fully merged A.F.L.-N.F.L. player pool, as well as
from existing teams in a method to be determined.
L.S.F.L. GAME RULES
Player Positions:
A player may play any position that the Strat-O-Matic Football game
allows him to play. A player may switch
positions at any time that the Strat-O-Matic Football game allows him to
switch. There are two exceptions:
(1) A
quarterback with fewer than 50 pass attempts in the AFL or NFL season that the
current card set is based on may not start and may only play where noted by
exception below (QB usage restrictions).
(2) A tight end
may NOT play the blocking back position, either in the game or in the depth
charts, unless he is also listed in the Strat-O-Matic rosters as a BB for that
season.
The chart, below, is designed to help you understand what
the SOM game allows. However, the SOM
game, not this chart, is the ultimate authority on what is allowed, subject to
the two exceptions listed above.
|
Game Position
|
Roster Positions that can play
this game position
|
|
Right
Tackle
|
ORT, OLT,
OT
|
|
Right
Guard
|
ORG, OLG,
OG
|
|
Center
|
C
|
|
Left
Guard
|
OLG, ORG,
OG
|
|
Left
Tackle
|
OLT, ORT,
OT
|
|
Quarterback
|
QB
|
|
Fullback
|
FB, HB
|
|
Halfback
|
HB, FB
|
|
Blocking
Back
|
Any
player listed as BB in the game for that season
|
|
Running
Back
|
HB, FB
|
|
Flanker
|
WR
|
|
Split End
|
WR
|
|
3rd wide
receiver
|
WR
|
|
4th wide
receiver
|
WR
|
|
Tight End
|
TE
|
|
2nd tight
end
|
TE
|
|
|
|
|
Left End
|
LDE, RDE,
DE
|
|
Left
Tackle
|
LDT, RDT,
DT
|
|
Right
Tackle
|
RDT, LDT,
DT
|
|
Right End
|
RDE, LDE,
DE
|
|
Left
outside linebacker
|
LOB, ROB,
OLB, LB
|
|
Middle
linebacker
|
MLB, LB
|
|
Right
outside linebacker
|
ROB, LOB,
OLB, LB
|
|
Linebacker
|
LOB, ROB,
MLB, OLB, LB
|
|
Left
Cornerback
|
LCB, RCB,
CB, DB
|
|
Strong
Safety
|
SS, FS,
S, DB
|
|
Right
Cornerback
|
RCB, LCB,
CB, DB
|
|
Free
Safety
|
FS, SS,
S, DB
|
|
1st
defensive back
|
LCB, RCB,
SS, FS, CB, S, DB.
|
|
2nd
defensive back
|
LCB, RCB,
SS, FS, CB, S, DB.
|
Base Defense: L.S.F.L. teams are only allowed to use the 4-3 as their base defense.
Defense Cards: All L.S.F.L. teams will have a Defense Card
based on the following:
4-3 Run Defense = Total the
ratings of the four defensive linemen and add ½ the combined total of the three
linebackers.
4-3 Pass Defense = Total the ratings of the four
defensive backs and add ½ the combined total of the three linebackers.
Each of the different card types
has a different value or threshold to achieve :
Excellent is a combined rating value of 30 or better. (30->33)
Good is a combined rating value of 27 or better but less than
30. (27->29)
Average is a combined rating value of 23 or better but less than
27. (23->26)
Poor is a combined rating value of 19 or better but less than
23. (19->22)
Very Poor is a combined rating value of less than 19. (16->19)
These values are the same for run
and pass card thresholds.
There is no rounding; all decimal
values are truncated. If you have a 20.75 run rating, that’s a 20, not a 21.
The “Quarterback
Starter/Reliever” rule: If a coach
voluntarily substitutes for a quarterback, the quarterback being substituted
for may not return to the game.
QB Usage Restrictions: Quarterbacks who attempted fewer than 50 passes in the AFL or NFL
season that the current card set is based on may NOT be used in a L.S.F.L.
game. The number of passes attempted by
each rated quarterback is listed in the rosters in the OTHER column. There is one exception:
Blowout rule: If you enter the 4th Quarter behind by 21, or
if there is 5:00 or less remaining the fourth quarter and one team is ahead by
17 points or more, then either team may play a quarterback with fewer than 50
NFL pass attempts in order to save usage for your starting Quarterback.
Restriction on the
Usage of the 3-4 Defensive Alignment:
The 3-4 defensive alignment may NEVER
be used in an L.S.F.L. game.
Restrictions on the
Usage of the 3-3-5, 4-2-5 and the 4-1-6 Defensive Alignments: The defense may only use the 3-3-5, 4-2-5 or
the 4-1-6 defensive alignment, if the offensive alignment contains 3 or 4 wide
receivers.
Restriction on
SHOWING BLITZ: There are no
restrictions on a Defense showing blitz.
Penalty For Rules
Violation: The penalty for
violating any of the above restrictions is the loss of a timeout at your
opponent’s request. The timeout must be
taken by the offending team at the earliest possible opportunity. If the rules violation occurs in the first
half and the offending team has no more timeouts then the timeout must be taken
in the second half at the first available opportunity. If the rules violation occurs in the second
half and the offending team has no more timeouts then the timeout must be taken
in the overtime period, if there is one, at the first available opportunity.
Penalty For Player Overuse: Please be careful, this is going to be strictly enforced for
Quarterbacks and Running Backs. Once a
Quarterback or Running Back exceeds his 150% usage during the regular season,
he is immediately ineligible to play for the remaining of the regular season
and post season. In addition, the
player will be placed into the Free Agent pool for the next season’s
draft. As a rule of thumb, the N.F.L.
averaged around 30 runs and 30 passes per game in this era. 30 x 14 games = 420
attempts per season. With 150% usage this
means you need to have around 280 Passing Attempts/Rushing Attempts available
on your roster to begin the season.
Please plan for this in your drafting.
STRAT-O-MATIC GAME RULES
SOM Game Rules That
Are Used In L.S.F.L
PENALTIES -
YES,
PLAYER OVERUSAGE - YES
- 150% (REGULAR SEASON) - NO (PLAYOFFS)
USE QB STARTER
FILE - NO,
QB OVERUSAGE -
YES - 150%
RUNNING BACK
FATIGUE - YES,
HOME FIELD
ADVANTAGE - NO,
LINEBACKER IN
RUN CONTAINMENT - YES,
LOW-USAGE RB
CONTAINMENT - YES
USE
INDIVIDUALIZED FUMBLE RATINGS - YES,
DO NOT ALLOW
EXCEEDING LONGEST RUN - YES
DO NOT ALLOW
EXCEEDING LONGEST RECEPTION - NO
EXHAUSTED RB'S WILL GET INJURED - NO
DON'T ALLOW QB'S TO GET INJURED - NO
DUMPOFF RULE -
YES
UPDATED SACK
RULE - YES
IN-GAME REST SYSTEM - NO
EMPHASIZE
6-RATED LBS - YES
GREAT PLAYER IMPACT RULE - NO
LOOSER
SUBSTITUTION RESTRICTIONS - YES
EMPTY FLAT
PASS = GUESSED WRONG - YES
USE VARIABLE FG RULE = YES
QB END RUN
LIMITS - YES,
USE ACTUAL TEAM INTERCEPTION RETURNS - YES,
USE HISTORICAL
TEAM PACE - NO
SOM “Rules Through
The Years” That Are Used In L.S.F.L.:
(Allow 2 Point Conversions AFL teams only), Subtract 10 yards from FG
attempts, Offensive Holding= 15 yards, Spot of Kickoff= 40-yard line, No
overtime, Missed Field Goals= Always Place Ball on the 20-yard line.
SOM “Rules Through
The Years” That Are NOT Used In L.S.F.L.:
Use Newer Goal Posts, Stop Play on Defensive Neutral Zone Penalties,
Start KO Clock When Receiver Catches the Ball, Under 2 minutes Clock runs after
a sack, Stop Inadvertent Face Mask.
SOM League Options
That Are Used In L.S.F.L.: Show
“Other Highlights” On Box score, Tie Games Count In Standings, Save Play Logs
For Every Game.
SOM Game Options That
Are Used In L.S.F.L.: Brief play by
play, Show board game details, Auto Save after Each Play, Do not allow play
animation replay, Show “Other Highlights” on box score, Do not allow CM subs
for human players, Use Strat-O-Matic terminology for plays.
SOM Game Options That
Are NOT Used In L.S.F.L.: All other
game options may not be used in L.S.F.L.,
unless with the mutual consent of both coaches in a game. However, the use
of game sounds, crowd sounds and play break sounds can be decided by each
individual coach. The use of play
animation is NOT allowed unless with the mutual consent of both coaches. If both coaches want to use play animation
then the slider must be set to the fastest speed unless both coaches mutually
agree to a slower speed.
POST GAME RESPONSIBILITIES
It is the responsibility of the coach that HOSTS a game to
send the POST file to the Commissioner IMMEDIATELY following the conclusion of
a game. If, due to technical
difficulties, both coaches take turns hosting a game, then the coach that is
hosting a game when the GAME OVER message is displayed should be the one to
email the POST file.
Commissioners: Vinny Mancini – Mike Roses
*** End of Charter ***
