There has been some discussion around how the META of the league has evolved from year one to today. No one has approached the matter from an academic point of view and this article doesn't pretend to do so either. This article comes from me gathering ideas that I’ve heard from different articles, podcasts, and various media outlets around the ELF community. Most of my information has been accumulated from interviews with coaches, players, and analysts who, indirectly and most likely unintentionally, expressed some partial opinions on the matter. My job here has been to put all these partial opinions together, make some sense of the puzzle, and do some very basic research.
Therefore, the article you are about to read is not an academic piece based on proper research, chewing tons of data and following a formal scientific methodology. In reality, this article is just a basic approach to the matter, inspired by a collection of partial opinions gathered from multiple online sources and backed up by basic data collection and research of my own. In other words, this piece of work is only for your entertainment and if possible, food for thought to some of you.
What does META mean?
We use META or METAGAME as an acronym for “most effective tactics available”. Calling something META means that it's an effective way to achieve the goal of the game, whether it's to beat other players or the game itself. Therefore, it refers to what is powerful or overpowered in matches/games.
Which part of the META are we looking at in this article?
We are going to focus solely on the A-Imports and how these slots are or have been used by teams. A quick reminder on what an A-Import is and rules below:
“The number of so-called A players from countries with college football - USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan - is limited to four, two of whom may be on the field at any time”.
In reality, this means 2 Americans on Offense and 2 Americans on Defense. Yes, dear readers, Americans! … I mean... I only remember a Japanese guy signing an ELF contract back in season 1. No Mexicans that I can recall and well, the odd Canadian but... who cares?... for clarity sake we will refer to A-Imports as Americans from now on.
Let's get started! Looking into the Offense
Quarterbacks
From the very beginning of this league, American quarterbacks have been a very large majority of all signal callers entering the league. Yet, in the first two seasons of the league, we were able to see franchises that gave the reins of their teams to European quarterbacks. It is well known the case of Jan Weinreich who started for Cologne Centurions in seasons 1 and 2 or the case of Salieu Ceesay leading the Sea Devils in season 2. We’d most likely agree that Weinreich had a quite successful tenure leading the Centurions but Ceesay was a let down.
The rationale behind fielding an European quarterback was to free an American spot so that it could be used in another skill position, such as running back plus wide receiver or simply two American wide receivers.
In 2024’s ELF, the European quarterback path seems abandoned and all teams will field North American quarterbacks.
Running Backs
Very few teams have historically bet on signing American running backs although some examples can be found in the early days of the League. The most successful case is that of ELF Legend Madre London when pairing with Jan Weinreich at quarterback and a solid Centurions’ offensive line.
Joques Crawford was another successful example when starting at running back for the 2021 and 2022 Berlin Thunder. Some other attempts at American running backs weren’t as productive i.e Steve McShane at Leipzig.
The idea that spending an american spot on a running back is a suboptimal strategy is prevailing in today’s ELF for 2 reasons:
A competent Offensive Line is needed to make the most of talented American running backs. Unfortunately, good European Offensive lines are difficult to find. Talented Big guys are scarce and in demand in Europe.
European running backs like Glen Toonga, Sandro Platzgummer, Tomiwa Oyewo or Nicolas Khandar, have proved to managers around the league that there is enough athletic talent and skill in Europe to cover this position at a decent level.
Surprisingly, the Milano Seamen have bet on an American running back for this upcoming season, Patrick Carr. If this most recent attempt to go with an American running back fails in Milano, we might be witnessing the extinction of the American running back in the European League of Football for years to come.
Wide Receivers
The American #1 wide receiver has been the preferred choice for most teams since the start of the European League of Football. The #1 wide receiver position is a position quite difficult to master as it requests a good understanding of the specifics of this position such as running good routes, cuts, separation techniques, ball skills, dealing with double teams or zone covers and so on. This position requires far more than only athleticism which is essential as well. In this respect, American wide receivers still hold an important advantage versus European wide receivers although some very good European wide receivers have shown off their skills in the league. Therefore, most ELF teams have chosen to sign a top American wide receiver due to the differential value that it brings to the table compared to their European counterparts.
Conclusion
The American Quarterback-Wide Receiver combo has been the preferred option since the start of the ELF with some attempts at alternative formations mainly in the early days of the league. However, it seems that this Quarterback-Wide Receiver combo has taken almost unanimously over in the 2024 ELF except for one last attempt at the Quarterback-Running Back combo by the Milano Seamen. My guess is that if the Milano Seamen experiment fails this season, the Quarterback-Wide Receiver combo will rule the ELF for years to come.
Looking into the Defense
Cornerbacks
From the very beginning of the League it has been common wisdom that at least one American cornerback per team was needed. The rationale behind was very simple: As most teams were fielding an American wide receiver with potential to be a game changer, teams opted to have an American cornerback to counter such a player. Let’s not be so simplistic though. As we will see later on in this article, this rationale has evolved quite a bit over the years.
Is it true that all teams have signed at least one Cornerback per season? Well…nope! Although it’s been the predominant choice during previous seasons, we can find multiple deviations to this dogma and we don’t need to go too far in the past. For instance, the Panthers and Enthroners didn’t sign any American cornerback last season…actually, they didn’t sign a safety either!
Main Defensive combo choices
There have been multiple defensive combos taken by the teams in the first three seasons of the ELF. The variety of choice is much wider on defense than on offense, and teams have tried out different formats. Nonetheless, three combos stand out from the rest.
Linebacker + Defensive Back
“Rusher” + Defensive Back
2 Defensive Backs (Cornerback + Safety / 2 Cornerbacks / 2 Safeties)
Linebacker + Defensive Back
Three teams keep this format for the 2024 season. In 2023 there were five teams choosing this combo. Therefore, it is a combo that is losing traction recently. The rationale explaining why this combo is losing appeal among teams is quite similar to that of running backs we discussed earlier in this article. It is gaining traction the idea that it is possible to find good quality European linebackers in good numbers. It is an agreed fact that the American linebacker is typically better than their European counterpart, but the quality differential that the American linebacker brings versus the European linebacker is perceived to be smaller than the quality differential that Americans bring to other defensive positions versus their European colleagues. Yet, the three surviving American linebackers in the ELF 2024 have well known names like Zachary Blair, AJ Wentland or Dauson Dales.
“Rusher” + Defensive Back
Six teams chose this option in 2023 becoming the most popular last season. This 2024 it looks like 4 or 5 teams will go for this choice. However it will no longer be the most popular defensive combo around. The rationale behind this combo is to build a truly disruptive defensive line while facing weaker offensive lines filled with inexperienced homegrowns in many cases. Loading the defensive line has been regarded as creating sort of an “strategic mismatch” versus an offensive line that can not field Americans and historically has proved to be one of the positions where Europe is still a bit behind in terms of development. Some people around the ELF have voiced the idea to allow a fifth American import as long as this fifth American is just an offensive lineman. Finland has implemented the American offensive lineman as an extra import in their domestic league this season. The arguments in favor of allowing an extra American import if taking the offensive line underline the idea that this would help close the gap within top and bottom teams, make games more competitive and ,most importantly, speed up the processes of developing good players mid term.
2 Defensive Backs
Seven teams will go for this combo in 2024 compared to the 4 teams that bet on this system last season. Clearly on the rise, 2 defensive backs will be the most popular combo this season. Needless to say, we can find different combinations within this combo, like 2 cornerbacks, cornerback + safety or less likely 2 safeties . And within these combinations, we can even break it down further if we’d focus on player profiles/skills…but let’s keep it simple… 2 defensive backs.
As we mentioned earlier in this article, the original rationale behind this combo was “if teams have an American wide receiver, we need an American cornerback to counter him”. This remains somehow true in today’s ELF but it has evolved a little bit. The presence of top level European talent at the wide receiver position with the likes of Anthony Mahoungou, Louis Geyer ...it is putting extra pressure on the defensive back units around the league once these top Europeans pair with an American wide receiver. Along with this, another important factor is that good quality European cornerbacks/defensive backs are very difficult to find. Together with the offensive line, the defensive back position seems to be the other position where European talent is lagging behind. In other words, European wide receivers tend to outclass their defensive backs colleagues more often than the opposite.
Level of coaching plays a part here too. Offensive schemes are becoming more sophisticated every season due to the increasing level of head coaches and offensive coordinators who are landing in the league. The Neuman’s, Tomsula’s, Weidinger’s and so on are creating more demanding in-game situations where the regular European defensive back suffers to read but the regular European wide receiver is ready to exploit.
Conclusion
Teams have been far less predictable on the defensive side of the ball. Multiple combos have been tested since the start of the league. However, if we are to find a common pattern in the early years of the league, this would be that teams are aiming their efforts to attack those areas where they smell blood. In other words, teams seem to direct their efforts to exploit the weaknesses of today's European football, offensive lines and defensive backs.
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