Every game has weather. Every snap has a call.

Every fourth down is a decision

Coaches now weigh the score, the clock and the field on every fourth down. A team down two scores late goes for it when the math says so, tries the onside kick when it counts and goes for two at the right margins. A team that's ahead runs the clock out the way real teams do. Nobody gives up in the fourth quarter any more.

• Field goals and onside kicks timed like real late-game football
• No more desperation deep shots on fourth down from deep in your own end
• Hurry-up offenses pick routes that fit the yards they need

From alpha to beta

We built an entirely new visualization from the ground up. Every player on the field moves and reacts on his own, and it's built to carry more features in the future, including, eventually, calling plays yourself.

Open a play from the film tab or the drive log and watch it unfold. Step through it frame by frame, let it auto-play, or flip to the next snap.

• Blitzers get answered: the quarterback throws early, escapes, a back picks up the rusher, or he takes the hit
• Receivers sell their routes with a head nod before they break
• Receivers keep their speed after a deep catch instead of slowing down for the defender
• Plays the film can't show yet get a recap card instead

Still a lot to do. About nine snaps in ten are filmed. Most of the rest are flags before the snap, which get a recap card on purpose. Kneel-downs, spikes, jet sweeps and a few kick situations still need work, and some new 1.6 defense, like an edge rusher dropping into coverage, isn't drawn yet. We aren't taking feedback or feature requests on the film yet. We'll open that up once the rest is covered.

Gems in the late rounds

Scouting is a consensus now, and the consensus can be wrong. Some real talent slides, and some late picks bloom a few years into their careers. Your future Pro Bowler might be waiting in round five, and Pro Bowlers now come out of each round in close to the share the real league produces.

• Positions come off the board where they do in real drafts, with fewer reach quarterbacks in round two
• Pass rushers and corners go where they belong, and kickers wait until round four or later
• Once the draft is done, every rookie's ceiling gets one last shake: some picks turn out better than their slot, some worse
• Undrafted Pro Bowlers are rare again, about as rare as they are in the NFL

"One more year?"

When the season ends, the retirement list shows every veteran who's thinking about calling it, and how he's leaning. Ask up to two of them each offseason to come back. You won't see the odds. If he says yes and his deal is up, he signs on for one more year at the premium shown on his card.

You can ask the same man again a year later, though each comeback makes the next one harder to win. And when his mind's made up, there's no asking.

Write-ups that read the standings

Previews know when a club has clinched its division, locked up the top seed or secured a wild card. They know when a team controls its own path and which result elsewhere matters this week. If a claim isn't settled, they won't make it.