I have a love/hate relationship with the box. In Los angeles...only the defense is allowed to shake the box, and the box can not be shaken while the offensive coach is in the process of passing. It must be shaken at the beginning of the play (at the snap of the ball), or at any time after the reception/end of the play. The box can not be shaken once the offensive team begins to separate his men. I like the box because it adds the element of real football (holding, illegal motion, offsetting penalties (double 2's in L.A.) etc
, but it can get out of hand if the dice work against you. I only shake the box in times of desperation (when my opponent scores, or makes a play for a huge gain), or if I'm trying to deliver the knockout blow. I usually chill on the box because it can often work against you. When we first adopted the Shootout Rules in 2000, we allowed both offense and defense to shake the box on any given play, but we changed it the following year to only the defense, because the box was taking over the game. It became a crutch, and something would come up on the box almost every play. I can understand some coaches having a huge problem with the box. I'm just like everybody else...I love the box when it works for me, but hate it when it works against me. I trip off of opponents who shake the box on every play...actually, I like when they shake the box when I have a minimal gain, or no gain. By doing so, there is a chance that it can work against them, by giving me a 1st down, or a extra down to make a big play.