Ask a Guru: Emphasize 6 Rated LB Rule

Emphasize 6 Rated Linebacker

A big thanks to John Fries for asking the question, and to Jon Shoemaker for providing the answer to this Ask a Guru!

Question:

Bears vs. Chargers, sim game, 1st q, Bears ball, 3rd and 5 on the Bears 30 yard line.
Bears in a 3WR 1RB 1TE set.
Chargers are normally a base 4-3 defensive team, but on this play they’ve gone to a 4-2-5 defense, replacing a zero-rated MLB with a 4-rated extra DB, covering the extra WR.
Chargers call pass, push the 4-rated Free Safety (who has no coverage responsibilities) up to occupy the otherwise vacated Look In Zone, with 4 DB’s in the Short Pass Zone.
No double teams, no pass rushers, no show blitz.
From the game log, we see Bears call Look In to the Split End, Allen Robinson.The dice roll is black-D, white 6, two red dice totaling 7.Here is the log of the dice roll.  I’ve bolded where the game notes twice that there is 1 man in the zone, the Free Safety.”Mitchell Trubisky hangs in the pocket and looks for Allen Robinson on a Hitch.Allen Robinson bobs and weaves through the defenders for a respectable 13 YARDS.
Defensive player Adrian Phillips wraps his arms around the ball carrier and puts him on the turf.
Chicago gets the first down.
BEGIN PLAY BLACK DIE: 2-D
BEGIN PLAY WHITE DIE: 6
SNAP RAND(1,1000): 131
SNAP FUMBLE CHECK M.TRUBISKY: 1.0 VS. 131
DEFENSIVE CARD(6)
D GUYS IN ZONE: 1
PASSING PLAY DIE: 7
ONE MAN IN ZONE
RATE/WHITE/MEN 4/6/0.
TACKLER RAND(1,52): 24″

But when I look at the View-Card Image for the play result, the game is getting that 13 yard gain from a reading from the defensive cards, with 0 men in the zone, dice roll of 7, good for 13 yards.Here’s my question:How did we get a reading from the 0 men in zone on the Defensive cards, when it is noted twice there is one man in that zone?Is this driven by the next to last line that says: “RATE/WHITE/MEN 4/6/0” ?I’ve been able to replicate this weird result on Look-Ins against the 4-2-5 Defense, with the Free Safety pulled up into that Look In zone, pretty consistently, so something’s off here.Either that, or there is some rule I don’t get, possibly about the 4-2-5, that is forcing the FS to vacate that zone, even though you’ve placed the FS there.

Any suggestions as to how the game system is reading 0 men? Is this a bug, or a feature?

Answer:

“EMPHASIZE 6 LB” RULE – Whenever there is a single defender in the flat/look-in zone you must
check his rating to determine if you consult the “1 Man” or “0 Men” column of the defensive card for a flat
pass. Refer to the “Defense Vs. Flat/Look-in Passes” chart. For example, if the LB is rated 0 then on a roll
of 4 or 5 you would check the “1 Man” column, on a roll of 6 you would check the “0 Men” column.

DEFENSE VS. FLAT/LOOK-IN PASSES

LB Defensive RatingWhite die reading to
check “1 Man” column
White die reading to
check “0 Man” column
Def 0, 4 or 54-5 6
Def 64-6n/a