I just took over  team in Tark that runs FC Press. I have generally ran M2M and have done well with that defense. Besides more fouls and the need for higher stamina, what are some other weaknesses of Press. And should I recruit differently than M2M for a Press team?

I don't think Press needs any more stamina than M2M. The fouls generally come from not having the right type of players or playing them with low IQ. To me the biggest difference is that defensive skills in the Press can be almost as low as Zone. I take that as a huge advantage because I that's one less factor to consider in recruiting. Speed and Athleticism are the key to running a successful Press along with M2M type stamina. I obviously like Press a lot but I think I have given a fair assessment. Other coaches may have differing opinions.

I've noticed in the past that low DEF ratings in a  press can make your fouls skyrocket.

Weena it sounds as if you are describing the pre-change zone.  

tianyi-I was in your conference a season ago in Phelan at Manchester.  They ran press and throughout that season I found these things to be true (and if other people have found otherwise, please let me know):

1) Stamina is absolutely crucial to playing the press.  This should be the deal-breaker with recruits.  All guards should end up over 90 stamina and all bigs should get over 80 stamina.

2) Defense is very important when trying to recruit for the press.  Try to get guys who will end up 45 def or better.

3) Ath/Spd is important, but not overly important as it once was.  You may want to recruit one or two pure ath/spd/def/stm guys who have little to no offensive skill, but make sure you do have some good offensive players.

4) IQs are very important when playing press, so try to target some guys who already know the press.

In my opinion a good FCP team is easier to upset than a good M2M team. No real data to support that, just observations from NT results and my own personal experience. Thoughts?

And this may be obvious but you'll also want to pay more attention to SPD for big men when recruiting

I have noticed that press teams do seem more inconsistent.  They seem more likely to upset better schools and also more likely to lose games they should win.  I actually think this is fairly realistic.  In real life teams that press, even situationally, are heavily impacted by the officials.  Very strict officials may cause them to rack up the fouls and struggle against teams they should be able to beat.  Lax officials may let them gain an advantage.  That being said, I'm not at all sure what in the game code could be responsible for making press teams less consistent than teams running other defenses.

For my money?  The fouling.  AN important player being out of the game for long stretches or entirely can have big impacts, and on a press team, if that messes up the depth chart you can get a bit of a stamina cascade effect.  At least it was true on the past press team I ran.

How long would it take to effectively transition from press to m2m, 3 seasons? And to make this transition, would u put 20min into offense, 20 into m2m, and 15 into press so you can run the press while still improving m2m, or just drop press iq all together?

Well, part of that depends on the players you already have, naturally.  What are their IQ's?  How many seniors are you losing?  Generally I would either decide I was going to go with a press or just drop it, bite the bullet and make the switch.  Or decide that you are going to do a man/Press.

Posted by tianyi7886 on 10/24/2010 11:24:00 PM (view original):
How long would it take to effectively transition from press to m2m, 3 seasons? And to make this transition, would u put 20min into offense, 20 into m2m, and 15 into press so you can run the press while still improving m2m, or just drop press iq all together?

Normally, your Freshmen are a "B" IQ after one season of practicing their new defense ... so I would think if you put your Defensive Minutes (for all JR, SO, FR) into M2M, you could get to B (or at least B-) for everyone in one season.  I would think at the start of the 2nd season, you could then play M2M.

Losing 3 SRs with rest of the class at A- to B- in press IQ. To be honest, the last coach should have made the switch this year because he had 5 incoming FR. But maybe he liked playing the press. 

Does def matter for a press? 

Yes, but not as much as for M2M.

In extremely rough terms, I consider SPD twice as important as DE for Press, and DE twice as important as SPD for M2M.

There are a lot of other factors to consider though - for example, unlike DE, SPD is important on offense as well as defense.  

Also, don't forget that ATH, SPD, RB, DE, BLK, ST, and IQ all combine to determine overall defensive effectiveness in every system.

Well I recruited my press team with the mindset of switching to m2m, so I took guys with high def (they have high ath/spd as well) but then decided against switching since all my guys are F IQ in man, and I want to try out a press team to see how it goes. 

Good to know that def still matters so FR with 60 def didn't go to waste. 

Bump up this thread. What's the general consensus of the 3 defenses. I think most believe that it's man > press > zone? My personal feeling about the press is that against good teams, press doesn't generate enough t/os to offset the fouls and higher fg%.

And in view of my Drew team in tark, with a team avg of 65ath, 52 spd, 64 def, would this team be even stronger if it's a m2m defense? I am at an interesting juncture with 5 SR and 3 FR, so if it's time to switch to Man, this is as good of a time as any.