So, I am pretty bummed this season with my Texas Southern squad in Wilk because of the performance of my WR's. Ideally, I should have a darn good passing game with the #3 QB and 2 top-15 WRs.That combination should result in a decent passing attack.

So, I started looking into the steps involved in a pass/completion to help find a solution to my apparent issue. During that research, I started questioning the role of hands in a pass/completion situation. The most recent dev chat is below and I thought I would share. I have not reached any conclusions, but thought I would share.

in 2.0 there was an issue of hands not accually impacting reciever performance, particularly drops. Can you confirm that this has changed for 3.0 and give a short description of how hands is used in the decision tree on a passing play? (mcbethbr - Hall of Famer - 3:23 PM)

Hands for receivers is certainly used in the engine. The newest engine uses hands as a factor in the influence of completion percentage on the play. For instance, when a QB has a chance to throw a pass the completion percentage is based on distance, QB rating, WR rating (which is influenced by hands), DB rating, pressure, and some other various influences on that particular play. The hands of the WR will contribute to his rating and be compared to the DB. In addition, the possible result of the play, drop, will also be determined based on the WR hands/rating.

Nitros, have you been going up against top level dbs? Also from my perspective it's looks like Hands is a factor only in that it modify/affects WR rating. Would you agree? Even though the last sentence seems to contradict that in favor of hands being what is compared to the DB NOT WR Rating. Thanks for sharing.

I do not think I have competed against elite DB's, but certainly good DB's (apologies to my opponent coaches thus far). I am holding off on my assessments so far, but there are some observations I have made:

1. I do not think there is a material difference between 70-90 Hands for dropped passes. Arguably, hands is the main factor in determining a dropped pass. I do not see the needle moving much between 70-90.

2. Hands only contribute to the rating of the WR. This is not surprising.

The secret sauce is figuing out if Hands is diluted more than say SPD or ELU in that process.

I seem to remember fumbles(I know this is not a pass catch but I would think it would be similar; holding on to the ball) was governed by hands, strength, tech according to an old developers chat .

With inferior competition to last year my WR have lower YPC than prior years. Basically, I have the same QB, throwing to the same two WR in the exact same gameplan with reduced results.

QB improved
WR improved

Should have seen improvements. Not so much, so trying to figure out the issue.

			Rushing	Receiving
Year	GP	GS	Rush	Yds	Avg	TD	20+	Lg	St	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	YAC	Thr	Dr
Senior	7	7	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	62	724	11.7	6	336	99	2
Junior	17	17	0	0	0.0	0	0	0	0	88	1271	14.4	12	566	132	1

You could say the same for kickers. Year after year their attributes get better. But sometimes their later years are worse than their earlier ones.
Only thing I can figure is we all know there is certain amount of randomness in this game. I attribute it to that.

ebel: Yep, talking about this one player. I was trying to understand the drop from 14.4 to 11.7 with same offense and same role against not as strong a schedule this year as last year.

I think you hit the nail on the head, there is an outlier game that if you remove those results the average moves to a margin that is very similar. I should have tossed out that odd game and looked at the numbers.

nitros

I think the QB technique/FIQ IMO is the most important indicator of high completion %. I've had some of the best WR's in DII on my roster and I've found it to make little significance when it comes to catching the ball, but the way they shine is when they do catch the ball they seem to make big plays by getting a broken tackle etc.

Of course, you have to consider what type of pressure your facing from the opponent to attack the right spots of the field.

I still believe there is some type of RNG for not only play by play, but also season. I have seen many examples of say a defensive lineman get 15 sacks as a junior, then come back as a senior bigger, faster, stronger ...playing the same position and going against lesser players ....and only getting 8 sacks.

Nothing else explains it other than RNG