Official Charter
SUNCOAST STRAT-O–MATIC
FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Revised 2012
Lou Vasquez - Commissioner
Printed November 27, 2012
INDEX
1.0) Scope
2.0) Authority
3.0) Application
4.0) Owner eligibility
5.0) Draft
6.0) Rosters
7.0) Trades
8.0) Division alignment
9.0) Player eligibility
10.0) Statistics
11.0) Absentee rule
12.0) Forfeits
13.0) Player positioning
14.0) Injuries
15.0) Punting out of bounds
16.0) Fumbles
17.0) Sacks
18.0) Onside kickoffs
19.0) Play-offs
20.0) Ties
21.0) Rule variations
22.0) Hand rule
23.0) Eldridge rule (dice)
24.0) Tracy rule (forfeits)
25.0) Metzner rule (QB card)
26.0) Card rule (skill cards)
27.0) Illegal Procedure
28.0) Two minute drill
29.0) Two tight ends, one runningback (supercedes SOMRB)
30.0) Other rules (miscellaneous)
1.0) SCOPE: To define and clarify the rules for the current season of the Suncoast Strat-O-matic League. (SSL)
2.0) AUTHORITY: Upon ratification by a majority of SSL franchise owners, the rules set forth in this charter shall be strictly adhered to by all contestants or their duly appointed representatives.
3.0) APPLICATION: The current S.C.S.F.L. charter shall govern where applicable, superseding all other decisions.
3.1) RULE BOOK: The official Strat-O-Matic rule book (SOMRB) for the current year shall govern all decisions not covered by the current S.S.L. charter.
4.0) OWNER ELIGIBILITY: A Strato owner may own only one team.
4.1) DUES: (Revised 2010) Dues must be paid at or before the annual meeting. Entry fee is $25.00.
4.2) OWNER RULES: Owners must abide by the decisions established by the league. Any decision may be appealed to the commissioner. The appeal will be brought before the total league ownership, and a decision will be made. The decision will be final until the rules meeting the following year.
4.3) Necessity and date of rules meeting is determined by the Commissioner. (2010 revision)
5.0) DRAFT: Only the following teams may be drafted from: Bears; Eagles; Raiders; Bills; Broncos; Bengals; Patriots; Cowboys; Chargers; Steelers; Rams; Titans; Dolphins; Forty-Niners; Buccaneers. There shall be no more than one and one half NFL team per Strato franchise from which to draft.
5.1) DRAFT ORDER: Draft order is in inverse of final standings with exception that those teams that participated in the playoffs will draft last in inverse order of finish.
5.2) DRAFT ORDER TIES: The following format is to be used in case of a tie in
the standings:
A. Head to head
B. Net points between tied teams
C. Coin flip
5.3) Draft will be held annually at the earliest convenience for league members. (2010 addition)
6.0) ROSTERS: Each coach is required to file a roster by midnight on Monday, two weeks after the draft. (2010 revision) Roster information needs to include the players name; NFL team last listed with; position(s) as listed on the cards; any and all ratings. Players must be listed in alphabetical order. All Coaches must receive a copy of all teams ROSTERS, (1998 revision)
6.1) ROSTER LIMITS: Rosters are 54 players. Rosters are limited to 48 active players and six players on injured reserve. Players listed on injured reserve may become active only in the event the active roster is less than 48. Injured reserve may NOT be adjusted during a game.
6.2) WAIVERS: Any player not on an officially filed roster will go into the draft pool for the following season.
7.0) TRADES: No player may be used by more than one team during the same week of schedule play. Trade opening and deadline dates are designated by the commissioner.
7.1) APPROVAL: All trades must be approved and recorded by the commissioner BEFORE any traded player can be used.
7.1.1) NO SAID PLAYER BETWEEN SAID TEAM MAY BE TRADED FOR THE SAME PLAYER TO SAID TEAM IN SUBSEQUENT YEARS. (NO ONE YEAR TRADES)
7.2) TRADE VETOS: Commissioner may veto any trade that is detrimental to the league. Decisions may be appealed to the total league ownership.
7.2.1) TRADE OBJECTIONS: Any coach may object to any trade to the Commissioner. The commissioner is then required to poll the remaining coaches before the trade can be approved. (1990 addition)
7.3) TRADE DEADLINE: Trading deadline is determined by the commissioner. (2010 revision)
7.4) TRADE LIMITATIONS: No franchise may trade draft picks more than one year (season) in advance.
8.0) DIVISION ALIGNMENT: Shall be determined by a random draw.
9.0) PLAYER ELIGIBILITY: Any player with a legitimate Strato card or rating for the current season is eligible for unlimited use. (Exception - see 13.1 Quarterback)
9.1) PLAYER PIECES: Defensive Player pieces must be constructed for use in board zones. Clear and apparent on these pieces shall be the player's name, position(s), defensive rating, rush rating, and asterisk rating. Pieces supplied by the game company should not be used.
10.0) STATISTICS: The home team coach is required to report the basic statistics of the game. He will report the statistics no later than Monday after the game.
10.1) TEAM STATS: Each league owner will keep official league stats of his own team.
11.0) ABSENTEE RULE: Only the owner or an alternate (not another league member) can participate in any league sanctioned regular season, play-off, or championship Stratomatic games.
12.0) FORFEITS: Only the commissioner can declare a forfeit, any further ruling must be appealed to the league ownership. (2010 revision)
12.1) FORFEIT SCORE: A forfeit will be scored as a 7 - 0 win. Each forfeit will cost the forfeiting team one position in the draft for the following year. (See Jim Tracey rule)
13.0) PLAYER POSITIONING: Every player must play his respective position unless an injury occurs and no substitute is available. (See injuries)
13.1) QUARTERBACKS: May run from scrimmage a maximum of four times each game, NOT including "must runs".
13.1.1) QUARTERBACK INJURY: In case of injury and no Quarterback is available, any player may substitute. Substituting player is not limited to runs from scrimmage, passes may be completed only on the defensive cards.
13.2) RUNNINGBACKS: Halfbacks and Fullbacks constitute "Running backs" and are
interchangeable. Running backs may play as a Tight End or H-Back in the event of an injury to a Tight End and no other Tight End is available. (1 point penalty for both pass and run block ratings)
13.3) WIDE RECEIVERS: Wide Receivers must play designated positions and are adjustable only in the event of an injury.
13.3.1) WIDE RECEIVER INJURIES: Split Ends and Flankers are interchangeable through injuries ONLY if no replacements are available and a legal Strato formation cannot be fulfilled.
13.4) TIGHT ENDS: No exceptions to SOMRB. A Running back may be used through injury. (one point penalty to both ratings)
13.5) H-BACK: Any Tight End may play "H-Back". If Tight End playing H-Back has no pass block rating and one is required, an automatic sack occurs.
13.6) FREE SAFETY: Retains his rating when he moves into a linebacker zone. If the Linebacker is out of position, refer to single coverage, and the "right" column on the receivers card. However if the Free Safety is correctly double teaming a receiver and the Linebacker is out of position, the receiver is still considered double teamed.
13.7) DEFENSIVE TACKLES: Nose Tackles may play any tackle position. (Revised). Left or Right Tackles may play Nose Tackle with one point penalty to all ratings.
13.8) LINEBACKERS: Middle Linebackers may play as LILB or RILB without a penalty to ratings. LILB's and RILB's may play MLB with one point penalty to all ratings. (Revision)
13.8.1) LINEBACKER READINGS: Linebackers stationed in off tackle blitz zones are treated as defensive tackles in the in the " one man / one linebacker " column.
13.8.2) Linebacker run containment addition: In a 3-4 defense the specific left or right inside linebacker must be present on "off tackle" runs or there is NO containment. (1990 addition)
Clarification: Only when the Basic 3-4 alignment is in use and when Extra DB is employed, ILB becomes a Middle linebacker who must move according to the 4-3 defense. (SOMRB Page 7,8)
13.9) EXTRA DEFENSIVE BACK: Any extra Defensive Back, Safety, or Cornerback can be used as an extra back. (See SOMRB for defensive assignment) Extra backs retain their original defensive ratings.
13.10) SPECIAL TEAMS: Punters, Kickers, and punt and kick return men cannot be injured even if injured at another position.
13.10.1) RETURN MEN: Only players that have single safety return cards can return singularly. A number 1 return man may be used in place of a number 2 return man. Positions must be announced PRIOR to return roll. Number 2 return men may be used ONLY as a number 2 man.
13.11) DICE BROTHERS: If no return man is available, Dice Brothers MUST be used. (Two dice roll)
13.11.1) PUNTS: Punt return rolls: 7, 8, and 12 refer to punting team; 10 is a fumble 0 yards; all other rolls are fair catch.
13.11.2) KICKS: Kick return rolls: 7, 8, and 12 refer to kicking team; 11 is a fumble +22 yards; all other returns are twice the roll in yards. (I.E., a roll of 6 would be +12 yards)
14.0) INJURIES: In the event of an injury, another player of the same persuasion (I.E. Defensive Back; Offensive Lineman; Linebacker; etc.) may be substituted with a one point penalty to any and all ratings. Substitute may play ahead of another player specified for that position.
15.0) PUNTING OUT OF BOUNDS: A team may punt out of bounds from anywhere on the field. The punt is automatically reduced by ten yards and the punting team then rolls one die to see if the punt is out of bounds or not. Odd rolls are out of bounds, even rolls are in bounds and subject to return as normal.
16.0) FUMBLES: Use of the Fumble Return Chart is mandatory. Chart to be provided by S.S.L.. (See addendum to X chart). Fumble recovery dice roll for offense is 2-7, 8-12 for defense. (2009 Revision)
17.0) SACKS: After a sack occurs, two dice must be rolled to determine the outcome.
2 = -13 yds 8 = -7 yds
3 = Fumble, -12 yds 9 = -6 yds
4 = -11 yds 10 = -5 yds
5 = -10 yds 11 = -4 yds
6 = -9 yds 12 = -3 yds
7 = -8 yds
18.0) ONSIDE KICKS: May be attempted after a safety. (SOMRB page 5) Adjust outcome fifteen yards toward kicking team.
19.0) PLAY-OFFS: The two divisional champions and the next two best records shall play off to determine a S.S.L. champion. Division champs will have a weeks rest for injuries before first playoff game. Wild card teams receive no injury rest period. The best record will play the worst record, and 2nd and 3rd best records will play. The winners of these games will go on to the Strato Bowl to determine a league champion. There will be one week of injury rest before the Strato Bowl.
19.1) TIES FOR PLAY-OFF POSITIONS: Will be resolved as follows:
A. Head to head record
B Net points between tied teams
C. Net points all games
D. Play-off
20.0) TIES: There are no ties in Strato. All games are to be played out in sudden death format.
21.0) RULE VARIATIONS: S.S.L. shall NOT use rules described as optional or suggested except as follows.
21.1) PENALTIES: S.S.L. will NOT use the penalty system.
21.2) SHORT YARDAGE DEFENSE: Need not be called in advance when four yards or LESS is remaining for a first down.
21.3) PASS RUSH: S.S.L. WILL use " SUPER ADVANCED PASS RUSH " rules.
21.4) MISCELLANEOUS RULES: S.S.L. SHALL use "ADVANCED ADDITIONAL RULES" (SOMRB page 6) and "SUPER ADVANCED RULES" (SOMRB page 12).
21.5) DEFENSIVE CARDS: WILL be provided by the league. These cards may only be altered during the annual rules meeting and must be STRICTLY adhered to.
22.0) HAND RULE: Offense must have both hands visible when the defense calls it's play.
23.0) ELDRIDGE RULE: All dice must be rolled simultaneously. Two dice must be of the same size and color, the third die shall provide a readily apparent contrast.
24.0) TRACEY RULE: States that a franchise will be penalized one position per forfeit in the draft order for the following season.
25.0) METZNER RULE: Only the official, game provided, league sanctioned play calling card in either blue or black color configuration may be used in officially sanctioned regular season or post season games in this here league.
26.0) CARD RULE: A maximum of six player cards only are allowed on the field. Remaining cards need to be kept separately. Plays can only be called using these six available cards. Using cards other than the afore mentioned six is illegal procedure. All changes must be announced.
26.1) HENRY RULE: All cards in play must lay on the table in clear view of both contestants. (1994 addition)
27.0) ILLEGAL PROCEDURE: Use of any offensive or defensive formation not described in the SOMRB; calling a play not available on the cards (I.E. running a receiver); use of a defensive player in a zone or manner not described in this charter or the SOMRB; or violating the Card Rule (26.0) shall constitute illegal procedure.
27.1) OFFENSIVE PENALTY: Penalty for offensive illegal procedure is five yards OR loss of down.
27.2) DEFENSIVE PENALTY: Penalty for defensive illegal procedure is five yards AND automatic first down.
28.0) TWO MINUTE DRILL: When the game clock is inside the two minute warning in either the first half or the game, timing rules described under "Penalty Timing" in SOMRB page 11 rule VII shall be used. The following plays move only one tick or fifteen seconds: Incomplete passes; punts; kicks; completed passes (except look-ins) on offensive cards; end runs on offensive cards; and all scoring plays.
28.1) FIRST DOWNS: During the two minute drill, the clock moves only one tick or fifteen seconds on a first down.
28.2) TIME OUTS: During the two minute drill, the clock does not necessarily have to move. Clock does NOT move if normal time for the play is one tick AND you use a time out. Inside two minutes, clock moves one tick for punt OB.
29.0) TWO TIGHT ENDS: The following rule supersedes the rule "TWO TIGHT ENDS, TWO WIDE RECEIVERS, ONE RUNNING BACK " found on page 14 in the SOMRB. "Replace one Running Back with a second Tight End or Blocking Back. The opposing defensive right outside Linebacker is responsible for covering the second Tight End or Blocking Back. The remaining Running Back is designated as a Fullback and is covered by the opposing defensive left outside Linebacker. In addition, the Blocking Back or second Tight End's block ratings would be utilized for all readings of "offensive onside end" (left side) and "Blocking Back". If the Blocking Back or second Tight End is the intended pass receiver and Blocking Back is the indicated pass blocker, an automatic sack occurs if there is an asterisk rated player on the defensive line of scrimmage. There is NO keying on Running backs in this defense unless the defense is in a short yardage defense or the offense is within the opponent's ten yard line."
(1994 addition – REPEALLED) – Disregard the following:
During situations when the defense is not allowed to key the running back, the free safety automatically moves into the defensive zone if a pass is thrown to either the flanker or the split end, provided that the free safety is not double teaming.
30.0) OTHER RULES:
- On offense, Blocking Backs cannot run the ball unless playing in two or three back offense. They must then play the fullback position.
- In all two running back formations, the blocking back is the running back NOT carrying the ball or who is NOT the intended pass receiver. If the quarterback carries the ball the blocking back is the highest rated blocker.
- In the three wide receiver, one running back formation all references to blocking back should be made to running back instead.
- You do NOT need to alternate asterisk player readings if you have more than one asterisk rated player. (SOMRB page 13) Asterisk linebackers must be blitzing to get a sack.
- If a defensive reading of "defender" is required for a pass and the defender is blitzing, the receiver is considered "covered by a zero", unless the ball is inside the defensive ten yard line. You then use the defender's normal rating. If the defender is double-teaming incorrectly the receiver is always considered "covered by a zero". This rule supersedes the rule found on page 16 of the SOMRB. (1989 addition)
- A free safety stationed anywhere on the defensive line does NOT automatically go into any other defensive zone when the offense is in a "three running backs, two tight ends" formation. This rule supersedes the rule found on page 14 of the SOMRB, "THREE RUNNING BACKS, TWO TIGHT ENDS" only. (1991 addition)
- Quarterback takes a knee: (1993 addition) - Select this play by having no disks or coins on the play selector card. When the dice have been rolled, direct the result reading directly to the quarterback’s Linebuck column to see if a fumble occurs. If no fumble occurs, the play automatically results in a one yard loss, and two ticks (30 seconds) on the clock.
- Take a safety: (1994 addition) The offense may elect to take a safety when inside their own ten yard line. Clock moves one tick (unless a time-out is used), and play continues as prescribed in the SOMRB page 6. “When a safety occurs, the team that was scored upon must kick off from their own twenty-yard line. Treat this situation as a kickoff, but reduce the distance by fifteen yards.”